The emails were to and from Lois Lerner, who used to head the IRS division that processes applications for tax-exempt status.

WASHINGTON -- Investigators said Thursday they have recovered 32,000 emails related to a former IRS official at the heart of the agency's tea party scandal.

But they don't know how many of them are new.

The emails were to and from Lois Lerner, who used to head the IRS division that processes applications for tax-exempt status. Last June, the IRS told Congress it had lost an unknown number of Lerner's emails when her computer hard drive crashed in 2011.

At the time, IRS officials said the emails could not be recovered. But at a congressional hearing Thursday evening, investigators said they recovered thousands of emails from old computer tapes used to back up the agency's email system.

"We recovered quite a number of emails but until we compare those to what's already been produced we don't know if they're new emails," Timothy Camus, a Treasury deputy inspector general for tax administration, told the House Oversight Committee.

Neither Camus nor the inspector general, J. Russell George, would describe the contents of any of the emails at Thursday's hearing.

The IRS says it has already produced 78,000 Lerner emails, many of which have been made public by congressional investigators.

Camus said it took investigators two weeks to locate the computer tapes that contained Lerner's emails. He said it took technicians about four months to find Lerner's emails on the tapes.

Several Oversight Committee members questioned how hard the IRS tried to produce the emails, given how quickly independent investigators found them.

"We have been patient. We have asked, we have issued subpoenas, we have held hearings," said Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, chairman of the committee. "It's just shocking me that you start, two weeks later you're able to find the emails."

The IRS issued a statement saying the agency "has been and remains committed to cooperating fully with the congressional oversight investigations. The IRS continues to work diligently with Congress as well as support the review by the Treasury inspector general for tax administration."

The IRS estimated it has spent $20 million responding to congressional inquiries, generating more than 1 million pages of documents and providing agency officials to testify at 27 congressional hearings.

Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., questioned the significance of the recovered emails in an exchange with Camus.

"So as I understand it from your testimony here today, you are unable to confirm whether there are any, to use your own words, new emails, right?" she asked Camus.

"That is correct," Camus replied.

Maloney: "So what's before us may be material you already have, right?"

Camus: "That is correct."

Maloney: "So may I ask, why are we here?"

The inspector general set off a firestorm in May 2013 with an audit that said IRS agents improperly singled out tea party and other conservative groups for extra scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status during the 2010 and 2012 elections.

Several hundred groups had their applications delayed for a year or more. Some were asked inappropriate questions about donors and group activities, the inspector general's report said.

The week before George's report, Lerner publicly apologized on behalf of the agency. After the report, much of the agency's top leadership was forced to retire or resign, including Lerner. The Justice Department and several congressional committees launched investigations.

Lerner's lost emails prompted a new round of scrutiny by Congress, and a new investigation by the inspector general's office.

Lerner emerged as a central figure in the controversy after she refused to answer questions at two House Oversight hearings, invoking her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself at both hearings. At the first hearing, Lerner made a statement saying she had done nothing wrong.

Last year, the House voted mostly along party lines to hold her in contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions at the hearings.

A motorist died in a rollover accident on the Massachusetts Turnpike on Thursday afternoon that caused major traffic backups in the westbound lane.

These were the most read stories on MassLive.com yesterday. If you missed any of them, click on the links below to read them now. The most viewed photo gallery was the group of images, above, that go with Conor Berry's story about Westfield police seeking the public's help in identifying burglary suspect.

1) 2 Springfield men admit to armed assault in Ludlow dwelling in crime called 'outrageous' by judge [Buffy Spencer]

2) New England Patriots free agency rumors: Would Reggie Bush be a good fit? [Kevin Duffy]

3) Fatal accident on Mass Pike in West Springfield causes major traffic backup in westbound lane [Patrick Johnson]

4) UMass hoping concert with Juicy J, Kesha will draw students from Blarney Blowout [Diane Lederman]

5) Cold temperatures cause ocean water on the coast of Nantucket to freeze (photo) [Michelle Williams]

O'Regan also said Rivera was key to a "massive" crack dealing syndicate.

SPRINGFIELD — Randy Rivera's 15-year prison sentence was either excessive, according to a federal judge, or a public safety measure, according to a federal prosecutor.

Rivera, 34, of Springfield, received the sentence in U.S. District Court on Thursday after pleading guilty to being a felon in possession of a handgun.

While executing a search warrant at his Merwin Street home in 2013, investigators discovered a high-powered, loaded weapon and $132,000 secreted in a hidden panel in the headboard of his bed. Rivera's defense lawyer, Joseph Franco, challenged the search warrant in a move to suppress evidence against his client. That motion was denied by U.S. District Judge Michael A. Ponsor.

Investigators here and in Vermont learned from confidential informants that Rivera had been selling large amounts of crack cocaine in Springfield – including in the parking lot of a Walgreen's on Sumner Avenue – and helping move the drug up to Vermont.

Rivera also was convicted in Vermont for the drug sales and is already serving a 12-year sentence in federal prison. He had five previous drug convictions between 1998 and 2009, according to court filings in the case.

On Thursday, Ponsor handed down the 15-year sentence to run concurrently with the Vermont stint. The judge commented that although the sentence was within the agreed upon range of Rivera's plea deal, he believed it was "excessive."

"I don't believe Mr. Rivera needs a sentence of this length," Ponsor said, while conceding that he found it disturbing that Rivera would become immersed in the drug trade even though it had ravaged his own family. "Mr. Rivera knows better than anyone in this room what the impact of drugs are."

While it was not played in the courtroom, Ponsor and Franco referred to a video chronicle produced by Rivera's federal defender in Vermont, which featured Rivera's family members and youth services workers. They all attested to the terrible circumstances of Rivera's upbringing. Those details were not disclosed in open court and his sentencing memo – which typically includes an outline of a defendant's childhood – was filed under seal.

Franco called the video "powerful" and the presentation likely spared Rivera an even longer sentence.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kevin O'Regan told Ponsor he believed the 15-year-sentence was not excessive but a matter of public safety.

"We are in the middle of an incredible tragedy of drug use and violence in Springfield and Holyoke and all of the cities in this country," O'Regan said. "He had $132,000 in cash hidden in a headboard, plus a high-capacity handgun attached to a magnet so he could quickly reach back, pull it out and come out firing."

O'Regan also said Rivera was key to a "massive" crack dealing syndicate.

"The judgment was made that we have to protect the public here, and that's what I did," the prosecutor told Ponsor.

The judge reiterated that he believed a 10- or 12-year sentence would have been sufficient to that end, and encouraged Rivera not to regard his prison stint as the end of his life.

"It's not the end; there's more to the story," Ponsor told Rivera, who had a large contingent of family and supporters in the courtroom.

A look at some of the disputes revealed through an analysis of MGM Springfield's Final Environmental Impact Review, as submitted to the state and approved on Dec. 31, 2014.

Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz says Manny Junior Andrade of Taunton died at a hospital after a Brockton police officer found him suffering from a gunshot wound in a car Thursday morning.

BROCKTON, Mass. -- A prosecutor says a 23-year-old man has died after being shot in the face in Brockton.

Cruz says Andrade was a passenger in the car, which stopped on North Main Street where the officer was working a detail. Authorities didn't release any more details.

No arrests have been announced. Anyone with information on the shooting is urged to call Brockton police.

Police say Andrade was found in a Mercedes that had a broken rear windshield. Officers recovered several bullet casings on a nearby street.

Police have been called to the 365 Appleton St. hundreds of times for various crimes.

Updated at 9:32 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27, 2015 to note city records show that the building police raided is owned by Windsor Realty, a limited liability company based in Bedford. The resident agent of that company is Lucjan Hronowski, of Bedford.

This updates a story posted at 3:26 p.m. Friday, Feb. 27, 2015.

HOLYOKE -- Just after 2 p.m. Friday (Feb. 27), police knocked on the back door of an apartment at 365 Appleton St. and announced they had a search warrant. A few moments passed. The door stayed closed. Then there was no door.

Police smashed through the door, after waiting but getting no response to the search warrant notice and hearing footsteps thump around the apartment. Police entered and found the half-dozen occupants scrambling out the front door to be arrested by more police in a drug raid at a familiar address, officers said.

"When we hit the door, they were running," said Lt. John Monaghan of the Narcotics/Vice Division of the Holyoke Police Department.

Thirteen people were arrested on heroin charges in the raid Holyoke police conducted with Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section, the FBI Gang Task Force, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration Gang Task Force and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, he said.

The names of those arrested, the specific charges they face and the amount of heroin and cash seized were unavailable because police were in the process of booking the suspects at the Police Station, 138 Appleton St.. All 13 were arrested in the apartment building, he said.

"When we had them, it was just good timing, the lookouts (outside) didn't make us," Holyoke police Detective Liam Glasheen said earlier Friday.

All of those arrested were men in the their 20s and 30s and all were scheduled to be arraigned in Holyoke District Court Monday, he said.

The block at Appleton and Elm streets draws police like the landscape this winter has accumulated snow. In a six-month stretch last year, police were called to that address 259 times. A man was stabbed to death outside there July 14, 2014. Between January 2011 and late July 2014, police were dispatched there 1,274 times.

The property at 365 Appleton St. has another address in city records, 173-177 Elm St., and the 40-unit apartment building is owned by Windsor Realty, a limited liability company based in Bedford, city officials have said.

The resident agent of that company is Lucjan Hronowski, of Bedford, according to online records of the state secretary of state.

The apartment raided Friday was on the rear right side of the second floor, Glasheen said.

"We received several complaints from concerned citizens that said they were seeing drug activity in that apartment," he said.

The culprit, besides a colder-than -usual winter, is the lack of pipeline capacity to bring Natural gas into New England. Without natural gas, power generators have to buy oil and coal on the spot market in order to meet demand. Watch video

This story follows: Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker: Snow costs might be spread over 2 years under budget proposal and Gov. Charlie Baker talks budget, energy, drug abuse at Affiliated Chambers meeting.

SPRINGFIELD - More natural gas flowing into New England is the best and fastest way to lower electricity prices, Gov. Charlie Baker said Friday at the Affiliated Chambers of Commerce of Greater Springfield Outlook 2015 luncheon at the MassMutuall Center.

He said he and his fellow New England governors will announce planed in March to expand pipeline capacity along existing rights of way.

In January, the two major local publicly-owned utilities  hiked their prices.  Eversource, formerly known as Western Massachusetts Electric Co. , increased its electricity rates by 29 percent. National Grid increased rates by 37 percent.

 "My electricity bill is up, too, and I don't like it," Baker said at a pre-lunch press availability at the. "It's not just us. It's Rhode island. It's Connecticut."

The culprit, besides a colder-than -usual winter, is the lack of pipeline capacity to bring Natural gas into New England. Without natural gas, power generators have to buy oil and coal on the spot market in order to meet demand.

Baker blamed his predecessors in the Massachusetts governorship.

"This is the result of not paying attention to what was going on in these energy markets," he said.

He said the Bay State will also keep pursuing green and renewable energy while working on the quicker fix of enlarging pipeline capacity.

There are seven at-large seats on the 13-member City Council.

WESTFIELD - Muneeb "Moon" Mahmood Friday became the first publicly announced candidate for City Council in the fall city elections.

The 22-year-old Westfield State University senior said he will officially announce his candidacy for one of seven at-large seats on the City Council March 12.

Mahmood is a 2012 graduate of Southwick-Tolland Regional High School who will graduate from WSU in May with a bachelor degree in business management. He is completing a four-year WSU program in three years.

He is also a licensed and certified flight instructor at Northampton Airport and was recently appointed to the new Aviation Program Advisory Committee at Westfield Vocational-Technical High School.

Mahmood will officially announce his candidacy and kick off his campaign at the Italian Club at 57 Katharine St. at 6 p.m. March 12.

Westfield's 2015 election season will begin April 6 when nomination papers become available at City Hall.

There are seven at-large and six Ward seats up for grabs on the City Council this year.

The council's Legislative and Ordinance Committee will schedule debate on the issue.

WESTFIELD - The City Council is considering a change in membership, from seven to five members, on the Westfield Flood Control Commission.

The proposal was presented for review and debate earlier this week by Ward 2 City Councilor Mary L. O'Connell and Ward 2 member Ralph J. Figy.

"If approved this will be less cumbersome for the important board," O'Connell said, adding "The change will make it easier for the commission to get a quorum at its meetings."

The request came about after the City Council, earlier this month, rejected a proposal to strip the Flood Control Commission of most of its responsibilities and transfer them to the Water Commission.

That change was proposed as an ordinance amendment presented to the council last August.

O'Connell and several City Councilors argued that the Flood Control Commission plays an important role in the city to ensure public safety from future potential flooding of either Westfield River or Little River or both.

O'Connell said the membership reduction proposed by her and Figy will make it easy for the commission to get a quorum at its meetings. "Meeting the requirement for a quorum is always an issue regardless of the board or commission you are talking about," she said. "Currently with seven members, four members must be present for a quorum. With five members, only three are required to meeting that requirement," O'Connell said.

Figy, who serves as chairman of the council's Legislative and Ordinance Committee will schedule debate on the request at an upcoming meeting.

Chime in with your take on the Minutemen's prospects for 2015!

The University of Massachusetts football team's 2015 schedule is set. We know what teams the Minutemen are playing, when they're playing them and where they're playing them.

All that's left to figure out, it would seem, is how many of those games UMass is actually going to win.

Many figure the team to improve on its 3-game win total from 2014. Apart from the NFL draft-bound Jean Sifrin, just about the entirety of coach Mark Whipple's core of talent is returning for what is shaping up to be one of the most important seasons in program history.

So what do you think? Do Blake Frohnapfel and co. have what it takes to get to bowl eligibility (six wins) and beyond? Can they challenge for the Mid-American Conference crown in 2015?

Take a look at the schedule and vote in the below poll. And be sure to let us know in the comment section how you feel about the team's chances this season!

• Away at Colorado – Sept. 12 at Folsom Field in Boulder, Colorado
• Home vs. Temple – Sept. 19 at Gillette Stadium
• Away at Notre Dame – Sept. 26 at ND Stadium in South Bend, Indiana
• Home vs. Florida International – Oct. 3 at McGuirk Stadium
• Away at Bowling Green – Oct. 10 at Doyt Perry Stadium in Bowling Green, Ohio
• Home vs. Kent State – Oct. 17 at McGuirk Stadium
• Home vs. Toledo – Oct. 24 at Gillette Stadium
• Away at Ball State – Oct. 31 at Scheumann Stadium in Muncie, Indiana
• Home. vs. Akron – Nov. 7 at McGuirk Stadium/Gillette Stadium
• Away at Eastern Michigan – Nov. 14 at Rynearson Stadium in Ypsilanti, Michigan
• Home vs. Miami (Ohio) – Nov. 21 at McGuirk Stadium/Gillette Stadium
• Away at Buffalo – Nov. 27 at UB Stadium in Amherst, New York

Jamel Bolden, 22, is guilty of conspiracy to illegally possess a gun and ammunition and conspiracy to distribute cocaine, according to federal prosecutors.

WORCESTER — A 22-year-old Springfield man was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Worcester to 6½ years in prison for threatening his parents with a loaded gun, according to federal prosecutors.

Jamel Bolden pleaded guilty to conspiracy to illegally possess a gun and ammunition and conspiracy to distribute cocaine in connection with his June 2013 arrest following the domestic dispute with his parents.

Bolden, a convicted felon at the time of his arrest, also agreed to plead guilty to a charge of assault with a dangerous weapon in a related Hampden Superior Court case, according to the terms of a plea agreement with prosecutors.

The gun-and-ammo charges stem from an altercation with his mother and stepfather, prosecutors said. During the domestic incident, Bolden brandished a loaded revolver and told his stepfather that he would "lay him down," prosecutors said.

The gun case was investigated by Springfield police, the federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the office of U.S. Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz. The case was prosecuted by Steven H. Breslow, an assistant federal attorney in Ortiz's Springfield Branch Office.

A 74-year-old Massachusetts man has been charged with trying to hire a hit man to kill a former business associate.

DEDHAM, Mass. -- A 74-year-old Massachusetts man has been charged with trying to hire a hit man to kill a former business associate.

Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrissey says Joseph Eosco of Westwood pleaded not guilty to one count of solicitation of murder Friday in Dedham District Court. He was ordered detained on $100,000 bail.

Morrissey says Eosco was arrested Friday in Canton by state police detectives, including one who posed undercover as a potential hit man for Eosco. Authorities say they found an unlicensed .32-caliber pistol in Eosco's car.

Morrissey says Eosco met several times with the undercover detective to discuss the plot. Officials say Eosco and the former business associate had a substantial financial dispute.

The Associated Press sought comment on the allegations, but couldn't determine whether Eosco had an attorney.

A developer has dropped plans to buy The Boston Globe's headquarters and convert it into a mix-used property, after a partner withdrew from the project.

BOSTON -- A developer has dropped plans to buy The Boston Globe's headquarters and convert it into a mix-used property, after a partner withdrew from the project.

Globe President and Chief Executive Officer Mike Sheehan announced on Friday that Winstanley Enterprises of Concord decided to not move forward with the redevelopment plan for the 16.5 acre site on Morrissey Boulevard, across from the University of Massachusetts Boston.

Sheehan says Globe officials will continue to work with city officials on future plans for the property and search for a potential buyer.

Sheehan also says the Globe will continue working with Colliers International to find new sites for its newsroom, business and printing operations. Several sites around the city are being evaluated for a move planned for late 2016 or early 2017.

Fortier struck a box truck and crossed the median into oncoming traffic, colliding with a tractor-trailer, police said. The cause of the crash is under investigation.

Updates story published at 8:05 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 26.

The Yarmouth Port woman was eastbound near the Westfield line just after 12:30 p.m. when she hit a box truck, crossed the highway median and collided with a westbound tractor-trailer, police said.

Fortier was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The driver of the tractor-trailer was treated for minor injuries at a local hospital.

The cause of the crash remains under investigation and no charges had been filed as of Friday night.

The young people reportedly gathered to fight so they could take video of the fight and post it on social media.

A teenage girl is dead and other young people are injured after someone opened fire when teens in Birmingham gathered to fight and video it for social media, police say.

Birmingham Police Chief A.C. Roper said officers were called to a park in the 900 block of Washington Avenue near Princeton Hospital on the city's west side some time after 5 p.m. on a report of people fighting.

The young people reportedly gathered to fight so they could take video of the fight and post it on social media, Roper said. During the fighting, someone started shooting, and several people were hit, Roper said.

The teen girl was taken to the hospital and died, Roper said. Her identity will be released when family members have been notified.

"It's extremely challenging for us as a police department," Roper said. "It's challenging for these families because here's a group of kids who have decided that they're going to fight and put it on social media where everybody can see it."

Police have several suspects in custody who are being questioned at police headquarters downtown. They're also talking to witnesses.

"Our hearts are broken because this young lady has lost her life and we've got to do better as a society," he said.

-- Jon Reed | @JonDReed 

Bordering on dysfunction, Congress passed a one-week bill late Friday night to avert a partial shutdown of the Homeland Security Department, as leaders in both political parties quelled a revolt by House conservatives furious that the measure left President Barack Obama's immigration policy intact.

WASHINGTON -- Bordering on dysfunction, Congress passed a one-week bill late Friday night to avert a partial shutdown of the Homeland Security Department, as leaders in both political parties quelled a revolt by House conservatives furious that the measure left President Barack Obama's immigration policy intact.

The final vote of a long day and night was a bipartisan 357-60 in the House, a little more than an hour after the Senate cleared the measure without so much as a roll call.

That sent the legislation to the White House for Obama's signature, which the president provided just a few minutes before midnight, capping a day of bruising political battles and rhetoric to match.

"You have made a mess," House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said at one point to Republicans, as recriminations filled the House chamber and the midnight deadline neared for a partial shutdown of an agency with major anti-terrorism responsibilities.

Even some Republicans readily agreed.

"There are terrorist attacks all over world and we're talking about closing down Homeland Security. This is like living in world of crazy people," tweeted Rep. Peter King of New York, a former chairman of the Homeland Security Committee.

Hours after conservatives joined with Democrats to vote down a three-week funding measure, 224-203, the Senate presented a one-week alternative to keep open the agency, which has responsibility for border control as well as anti-terrorist measures.

That amounted to a take-it-or-leave it offer less than three hours before the deadline.

Some Republican opponents -- members of a "Freedom Caucus" -- sat together in the chamber as the vote total mounted in the legislation's favor.

This time, Pelosi urged her rank-and-file to support the short-term measure, saying it would lead to passage next week of a bill to fund the agency through the Sept. 30 end of the budget year without immigration add-ons. Aides to Speaker John Boehner promptly said there had been no such promise made.

Taken together, the day's roller-coaster events at the Capitol underscored the difficulty Republicans have had so far this year in translating last fall's election gains into legislative accomplishment -- a step its own leaders say is necessary to establish the party's credentials as a responsible, governing party. Republicans gained control of the Senate in November's balloting, and emerged with their largest House majority in more than 70 years.

Further demonstrating GOP woes, House GOP leaders abruptly called off a vote on a major education bill that had attracted significant opposition from conservatives as well as Democrats and the White House. Aides attributed that decision to the need to work separately on rounding up enough votes to pass the funding measure for Homeland Security.

For their part, tea party conservatives in the House unflinchingly defended their actions.

"It does not make any difference whether the funding is for three weeks, three months or a full fiscal year. If it's illegal, it's illegal," said Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala.

He referred to a pair of immigration directives issued by Obama. The first, in 2012, lifted the threat of deportation from many immigrants brought to the country illegally as youngsters. Another order last fall applied to millions more who are in the United States unlawfully.

The unexpected House defeat of a three-week spending bill was accomplished by 52 conservatives upset by the deletion of the immigration provisions, alongside solid opposition from Democrats who wanted the agency funded through Sept. 30.

That set an unpredictable chain of events in motion. Homeland Security officials circulated a lengthy contingency plan indicating that about 30,000 employees could expect to be furloughed without passage of funding legislation.

Then the White House announced Obama had spoken with Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid. Moments later, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky strode onto the Senate floor and swiftly gained approval for the seven-day measure.

The Senate had waited all day to play its part in the funding of the agency.

Earlier, a largely symbolic attempt to advance legislation that would repeal Obama's immigration directive of last fall failed on a vote of 57-42, three short of the 60 required.

That separate proposal was "commonsense legislation that would protect our democracy from the egregious example of executive overreach we saw in November," said McConnell, who successfully led his rank and file in recent days to a decision to pass Homeland Security legislation without immigration-related provisions.

Some House Republicans said the entire strategy of passing a short-term measure and seeking negotiations on a longer-term bill that included changes in Obama's immigration policy was flawed. They noted that Senate Democrats had demonstrated their ability to block any challenges to Obama's immigration policies, and that the president had vowed to veto them in any event.

"Some folks just have a harder time facing political reality than others," said Rep. Charlie Dent, R-Pa., speaking of other Republicans.

A three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said that any high-profile case would receive significant media attention, but that knowledge of such case "does not equate to disqualifying prejudice."

BOSTON -- The trial of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev can stay in Massachusetts, a federal appeals court ruled Friday.

A three-judge panel of the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said any high-profile case would receive significant media attention but that knowledge of such case "does not equate to disqualifying prejudice."

"Distinguishing between the two is at the heart of the jury selection process," the panel wrote.

Tsarnaev's lawyers argued that intense media coverage of the case and the large number of people personally affected by the deadly attack made it impossible for him to find a fair and impartial jury in Massachusetts.

Prosecutors insisted that Judge George O'Toole Jr.'s individual questioning of prospective jurors has successfully weeded out people with strong opinions on Tsarnaev's guilt.

In its 2-1 ruling, the appeals court found that the defense did not meet the standards necessary to have the trial moved.

Chief Judge Sandra Lynch and Judge Jeffrey Howard said it was not clear and indisputable that pretrial publicity required a change of venue, and that the ongoing jury selection process did not suggest pervasive prejudice. Furthermore, they said, the defense did not demonstrate irreparable harm if the trial was not moved.

The judges noted that other high-profile terrorism cases such as the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and the prosecution of Zacarias Moussaoui, the man who became known as the "20th hijacker" from the Sept. 11 attacks, occurred in the district where the crimes occurred.

"The nearly two years that have passed since the Marathon bombings has allowed the decibel level of the publicity about the crimes themselves to drop and community passions to diminish," they wrote.

In a dissent, Judge Juan Torruella wrote: "If a change of venue is not required in a case like this, I cannot imagine a case where it would be. ... If residents of the Eastern Division of the District of Massachusetts did not already resent Tsarnaev and predetermine his guilt, the constant reporting on the Marathon bombing and its aftermath could only further convince the prospective jurors of his guilt."

A spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney's office declined to comment on the ruling. A defense attorney did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Tsarnaev's lawyers had asked O'Toole three times to move the trial, but he refused, saying bias among prospective jurors could be rooted out through careful questioning about their thoughts on Tsarnaev and the death penalty.

A panel of 12 jurors and six alternates will be chosen to hear the case. The same jury will decide whether Tsarnaev lives or dies. If he is convicted, the only possible punishments are life in prison without pariole or the death penalty. Only jurors who said they are willing to give meaningful consideration to both punishments can be seated on the jury.

Three people were killed and more than 260 were injured when twin bombs exploded near the marathon finish line on April 15, 2013.

In arguments before the appeals court, federal public defender Judith Mizner said the local jury pool is "connected to the case in many ways" and cannot be counted on to be fair and impartial.

"This attack was viewed as an attack on the marathon itself ... and an attack on the city of Boston," Mizner said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney William Weinreb told the appeals court that prospective jurors who have strong opinions have "unhesitatingly admitted" them, allowing the judge to rule them out as jurors.

Mizner also argued that the trial needed to be moved to maintain public confidence in the judicial system.

Opening statements are scheduled for Wednesday.

The male victim showed up at Mercy Medical Center for treatment for a gunshot wound at about 6:30 p.m. Friday, according to police reports.

SPRINGFIELD — Authorities launched an investigation after a gunshot victim showed up at Mercy Medical Center for treatment Friday evening, but they were unable to immediately locate a shooting scene.

The male victim told police he was shot at about 6:30 p.m., leading investigators to the area of the former Waterfront Club and the new Brookings school that's under construction – roughly where Hickory, Walnut and Allen streets converge – but a search of those areas turned up no apparent evidence.

Springfield Police Sgt. Lawrence Akers said he had no information about the incident, which is under investigation by the Detective Bureau. There was no immediate word on the extent of the victim's injuries.

According to preliminary police reports, the victim told authorities he ran back to his Eastern Avenue apartment near Lebanon Street, where a friend drove him to the hospital.

MAP showing area where man claimed he was shot:

A Pittsfield man was held without the right to bail pending his appearance in Southern Berkshire District Court Monday to face bad check charges.

Dave Canton | dcanton@repub.com 

Pittsfield police told the Berkshire Eagle that Robert A. Sykes, 25, of Fenn Street in was taken into custody Thursday evening after a package store clerk said he accosted him, pushing him in to cooler as he ran out the door of the store.

Police discovered Sykes had warrants issued by the Southern Berkshire District Court in Great Barrington seeking his arrest on some 21 separate counts for stealing, forging and passing bogus checks in the Lenox area. According to police reports, Sykes is accused of taking his father's check book and writing nearly $15,000 in bad checks. Only a portion of those checks, $2,507.79, were checks passed at a Berkshire Bank branch in Lenox. Other checks were passed at Berkshire Banks in Lee and Pittsfield. Police in those towns are continuing to investigate the allegations.

Sykes was arraigned in Central District Court in charges of shoplifting, assault and battery and attempting to shoplift. Judge William Rota ordered Sykes held without the right to bail until Monday when he is due to appear in Southern District Court to face five felony counts of larceny over $250, seven felony counts of passing false checks, seven counts of forgery of a check, and two misdemeanor counts of larceny under $250.

One student remains hospitalized after a weekend drug overdose of 11 students on the Wesleyan University campus.

Dave Canton | dcanton@repub.com 

The Hartford Courant reported that university officials said 11 students were treated for the drug over dose following a "rave" party at a university fraternity Sunday, Feb. 22.. Four students were arrested for distribution of the drug after a police investigation.

Detectives said in arrest warrant affidavits that Eric Lonergan, 22, Rama Agha al-Nakib, 20, and Zachary Kramer, 21, have been charged with distribution of the Molly that apparently made 11 students sick at a party at the Eclectic Society fraternity house on High Street in Middletown.

Detectives said in the affidavits that they seized more than 500 pills, liquids and powders from Lonergan's room. With the help of a pharmacist, police have, so far, been able to identify 16 prescriptions among the pills. Other substances are being tested at a state forensics lab.

Police are concerned that students took a mixture of drugs, which makes treatment difficult.

The Courant quoted Middletown Police Chief William McKenna as saying students taking, "a mixture of several kinds of designer drug chemicals (makes) the health risks unpredictable and treatment to combat the effects complex and problematic."