The rifle bullets now facing a ban were long considered exempt because they were used for sporting purposes, such as target shooting.

ALICIA A. CALDWELL
Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration is considering banning a type of ammunition used in one of the most popular types of rifles because it says the bullets can pierce a police officer's protective vest when fired from a handgun.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is proposing the ban of some types of 5.56 mm rounds -- or .223-caliber -- used in widely available and popular AR-15-style rifles because the bullets can also be used in some new types of handguns. Other types of 5.56 mm rounds would still be legal to buy, own and fire from guns.

The rule change would affect only "M855 green tip" or "SS109" rounds with certain types of metal cores. People who already own the ammunition would be allowed to continue to legally own it, but manufacturers would not be allowed to produce, sell, import or distribute it.

In a letter to ATF Director B. Todd Jones last month, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., objected to the rule change, saying it would "interfere with Second Amendment rights by disrupting the market for ammunition that law-abiding Americans use for sporting and other legitimate purposes."

Armor-piercing handgun ammunition has been banned since 1986 as a way to protect police officers under the federal Law Enforcement Officers Protection Act. The rifle bullets now facing a ban were long considered exempt because they were used for sporting purposes, such as target shooting.

An ATF spokeswoman, Ginger Colbrun, said Monday the agency is considering eliminating the exemption now because of the production of so-called AR pistols that can fire the same cartridge. The agency is accepting public comment about the proposed change until March 16 at the email address APAComments@atf.gov, by fax or postal mail. Colbrun said it's unclear when a final decision will be made.

At issue is the material in the core of the bullets. As long as the bullet's core does not contain particular types of metal, including steel, iron or brass, the bullet would still be legally available.

Colbrun said 32 manufacturers make roughly 168 types of ammunition that can be used in the rifles and would remain legal.

The semi-automatic AR-15 rifle, a commercially available gun that resembles the military's M-16 rifle, has become wildly popular among gun enthusiasts in recent years. It's also been the target of Democratic lawmakers who sought to ban the weapons after the 2012 shooting deaths of a dozen people at a movie theater in Colorado and 20 children and six adults at a school in Connecticut. Those efforts failed, but gun rights advocates, including the National Rifle Association, warned that the administration would continue a push to ban the popular guns.

In a statement last month about the proposed rule change, the NRA told supporters it was a "move clearly intended by the Obama administration to suppress the acquisition, ownership and use of AR-15s" and other rifles. The group urged its members to write to both the agency and members of Congress to object to the rule change.

ATF's proposed ammunition ban has been under consideration since 2011.

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ATF's proposal

Mike Skurko of CBS 3 Springfield expects the storm to start around 6 p.m. in the Springfield area.

SPRINGFIELD - The National Weather Service in Tauton has issued a winter weather advisory in anticipation of a late afternoon storm that could complicate the evening commute.

The weather service is forecasting that much of Western Massachusetts could see a combination of snow, freezing rain and sleet from Tuesday evening on through to Wednesday morning.

The advisory is in effect from 3 p.m. through 10 a.m. Wednesday, and covers much of Massachusetts and northern Connecticut.

The forecast calls for 2 to 4 inches of snow, and up to a tenth of an inch of rain. It calls for the snow to begin in the late afternoon before turning to sleet and freezing rain overnight.

Visibility will be reduced to a quarter-mile at times.

"Untreated roads will be snow covered and slippery Tuesday afternoon into evening, impacting the latter half of the commute," according to the weather service. "Sleet and freezing rain overnight into (Wednesday morning) will be an issue for the morning rush hour."

Mike Skurko, meteorologist with CBS 3 Springfield, the media partner for The Republican and MassLive, said he expects precipitation to begin at about 6 p.m. as the storm moves west to east.

"A quick couple of inches of snow and sleet is expected before a transition to rain and freezing rain occurs. This transition is expected to happen shortly after midnight. By dawn, a few rain showers will be lingering around the region, but wrapping up through the mid-morning hours, " he said.

"Be aware for lingering icy spots for the Wednesday morning commute. There may be more "leftover" problems for Wednesday morning than there were for Monday morning, depending on how fast temperatures can warm up," he said.

The temperature Wednesday afternoon is expected to reach around 40 degrees, he said.

Clinton's office said nothing was illegal or improper about her use of the non-government account and that she believed her business emails to State Department and other .gov accounts would be archived in accordance with government rules.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Hillary Rodham Clinton used a personal email account during her time as secretary of state, rather than a government-issued email address, potentially hampering efforts to archive official government documents required by law.

Clinton's office said nothing was illegal or improper about her use of the non-government account and that she believed her business emails to State Department and other .gov accounts would be archived in accordance with government rules.

"Like Secretaries of State before her, she used her own email account when engaging with any department officials," Clinton spokesman Nick Merrill said. "For government business, she emailed them on their department accounts, with every expectation they would be retained. When the department asked former secretaries last year for help ensuring their emails were in fact retained, we immediately said 'yes'."

"Both the letter and spirit of the rules permitted State Department officials to use non-government email, as long as appropriate records were preserved," he said.

Deputy State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said the agency asked former secretaries of state Madeleine Albright, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice and Clinton last year for records that should be preserved. In response to that request, Clinton provided emails from the personal account that she used during her time as the nation's top diplomat in President Barack Obama's first term from 2009 to 2013. However, she also said that the department has "long had access to a wide array" of Clinton's records, including emails sent between her and officials with an official state.gov email address.

Harf says Clinton's successor, John Kerry, is the first secretary of state to primarily use an official state.gov email account and that the department is now updating its records preservation policies to bring them in line with current regulations. That includes regularly archiving all of Kerry's emails.

Among the messages Clinton provided were 300 that met the criteria for a request for relevant emails from the House Select Committee investigating the September 2012 attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, Harf said. Those emails have been turned over to the committee, she added.

Clinton's use of a personal email account while secretary of state was first reported by The New York Times.

Tumber is the author of the urban planning book 'Small, Gritty and Green.'

HOLYOKE -- The author of "Small, Gritty and Green--The Promise of America's Smaller Industrial Cities in a Low-Carbon World" told a Holyoke audience Monday night that the "urban virtues" of America's small cities have been ignored by planners and policy-makers over the past fifty years.

Catherine Tumber painted a dire picture of cities such as Rochester, New York; Youngstown, Ohio; and Springfield and Holyoke, saying manufacturing has been shipped overseas, that urban planners have destroyed neighborhoods, and that food systems have been taken over by "the commodity system."

Tumber, a visiting scholar at Northeastern's School of Public Policy and Urban Affairs, is an academic fellow with the Massachusetts Institute for a New Commonwealth, or MassINC. Her book, published by the MIT Press, is about the advantages small cities possess in transitioning to a green, low-carbon economy.

Tumber spoke to a crowd of about 60 at the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center as part of an urban planning lecture series sponsored by the Conway School of Landscape Design, a graduate program with campuses in Conway and Easthampton.

Small cities were disproportionately affected by "the factors leading to the urban crisis of the 1960s" such as "urban renewal, urban disinvestment, and massive subsidies for suburbanization and highways," she said.

As for solutions, Tumber warned against knowledge-based economic development: "The idea that innovation is something that can work in large cities, so smaller cities should do it too ... I think that kind of thinking is really detrimental, not only to small cities but to the way we think about the structure of our economy."

Instead of pursuing a knowledge-based economy, small struggling cities should deploy "product and process innovation" that comes straight from the factory floor, said Tumber.

The professor said Holyoke and other such cities have "lost their educational infrastructure for training" and can prosper by manufacturing windmill parts and solar panels, through introducing "artisanal manufacturing," and bringing back agriculture.

"Throughout the years, unbridled mega-sensibility -- which is everywhere evident throughout the culture -- has chafed against the fundamentally conservative environmentalist principals on which I cut my intellectual teeth in the late seventies," said Tumber. "And that, in a nutshell, is that the human condition imposes moral, physical, political, personal, economic, and metaphysical limits to growth."

Holyoke Planning and Economic Development Director Marcos Marrero, sitting in on a panel discussion with Tumber at the end of her presentation, painted a more complex picture.

Marrero said manufacturing is not dead in Holyoke, but an important part of the city's economy. "Walk one block in any direction and you run into manufacturing," said Marrero. "We have flames flying, people bending metal, everything."

Marrero defended his push for economic development that relies upon innovation, saying the knowledge economy works hand-in-glove with the manufacturing economy.

"The city life, the knowledge economy, and manufacturing are not contradictory," said Marrero. "In fact, what our strategy is, is to make them one and the same." Marrero said cities have been centers of knowledge and innovation for thousands of years, and that's not about to change.

Responding to Tumber's claim that small cities lack "training infrastructure," Marrero said regional efforts are underway to train a new generation of workers in the area of precision manufacturing.

Machinists and other skilled workers in their fifties and sixties are set to retire, said Marrero, opening opportunities for young people willing to learn. "The biggest threat to manufacturing in Western Massachusetts is the lack of talent," he said. "It keeps people awake at night."

View full sizeA crowd of about 60, many of them students at the Conway School, attended the lecture. Mary Serreze Photo

In response to an audience question about how to prevent gentrification, Tumber said the answer to that "hundred-million-dollar question" might be creating "urban land trusts controlled by the people who live there."

Marrero said it's not so simple, and that he hasn't seen evidence that gentrification is a big problem in Holyoke. The city suffers from a different problem, he said, where people in unstable communities move out as soon as they improve their socioeconomic condition.

Marrero said he was not willing to sacrifice quality of life to oppose gentrification. "We can't say we can't have nice things," he said. "Like good sidewalks or a good public library."

It's "way too simplistic" to label rising land values as gentrification, said Marrero. "If land values are going up, that's because people value living there," he said.

Marrero pointed to the city's push to redevelop vacant buildings as workforce housing, and other public spending to make the city more attractive.

The recent renovation of Veteran's Park represented a $1.4 million investment, "and that wasn't to bring a bunch of hipsters from Boston," said Marrero. "The Senior Center wasn't built to bring in a bunch of rich people from Northampton."

The Monday night talk was the first of four events planned by the Conway School of Landscape Design in the coming months. On April 27, Northampton-based planning consultant Joel Russell will team up with Lee Pouliot, acting city planner for Chicopee, for a presentation entitled "Getting Cities Right: Creating a public realm that serves everyone."

The talks are free and open to the public. The public lecture series focuses on issues relevant to small, post-industrial cities, said Conway School Director Paul Cawood Hellmund.

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

WESTFIELD - Planning Board member Carl Vincent has announced he plans to seek an at-large seat on the City Council in this year's city elections.

Vincent, an unsuccessful candidate for Ward 2 City Council in the 2013 city election, announced his intentions Tuesday.

If elected, Vincent said he will advocate for improved public safety and focus attention on completion of the Columbia Greenway Rail Trail; additional programs and services for Westfield's senior citizen and veteran populations; insist the city become a good steward of its own property and buildings and work to bring about an inner-city bus transportation service.

"We need to complete the Columbia Greenway Rail Trail for the benefit of the entire community," Vincent said. "This is more than recreational. It will bring additional people to the city in addition to serving our own population and that will help help improve shopping and other ventures in the downtown," he said.

Vincent said construction of a new Senior Center gives the city the opportunity to expand "our already quality programs for seniors. We will have the facility to provide additional programs and services and the new center will also serve to meet veterans' needs."

Vincent said the city must create a system that will guarantee the preservation of "our buildings and property following Westfield's recent investment of $41 million in renovations and energy conservation all City Hall and all municipal buildings including our schools.

"The city needs to ensure that someone, or some department is responsible to oversee preventive maintenance as well as future maintenance and upgrade programs of our building assets. We need someone to keep eyes on the ball," he said.

Vincent, a user of public transportation, said if elected, he will work to create a local bus service for the city and its residents. "Westfield is a large community and it needs a bus service that can serve the general public, and provide transportation to work, shopping, the downtown, Westfield State University and all points within the city boundaries," the candidate said.

He said that bus service can either be provided by Pioneer Valley Transit Authority or a cooperative effort by PVTA, the city and university.

The 61-yer-old Vincent is a retired Westfield firefighter of more than 25 years of service. He is a Marine Corps veteran and has served on the Planning Board since February, 2014.

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

The are seven at-large and six Ward seats on the City Council.

Applications for Northampton's six public housing communities spiked in 2013, with 428 applications submitted for family units and 352 submitted by the elderly and disabled. These are the highest number of applications since 1987, Northampton Housing Authority's data shows.

NORTHAMPTON -- As the cost of rent in the city continues to creep above what many young people, elderly and service workers can afford, so does the number of those seeking low-income housing.

Numbers aren't yet available for 2014, but applications for Northampton's six public housing communities spiked in 2013, with 428 applications submitted for family units and 352 submitted by the elderly and disabled.

These are the highest number of applications since 1987, Northampton Housing Authority's data shows.

As of Feb. 2015, there were 188 elderly and disabled individuals and 25 families on the housing authority's "eligible" waiting list for public housing, according to Jon Hite, executive director of the agency. There were another 40 elderly and disabled and 25 family applications being processed at the time.

Related: More affordable housing needed to keep Northampton diverse, experts say

With those numbers in mind, Hite said a family applying this February would have to wait an estimated five years before being offered a place.

Hite also noted that Northampton public housing has a 99 percent occupation rate at all times, with only 1 percent of the units being turned over.

The interactive graph below shows the number of public housing applications submitted to the Northampton Housing Authority from 2003 to 2013. More than half of those who apply are regularly determined ineligible for a variety of reasons, including a poor landlord references or criminal records, Hite said.

The U.S., Iran and other world powers are racing to meet an end-of-March target to reach the outline of deal, with a July deadline for a final agreement that would put constraints on Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press
GEORGE JAHN, Associated Press

MONTREUX, Switzerland (AP) -- Senior U.S. and Iranian officials kicked off the second day of the latest round of nuclear negotiations here on Tuesday as Israel's leader prepared to deliver a speech to Congress denouncing a potential deal as dangerous to the Jewish state and the world.

As Secretary of State John Kerry and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and their teams sought to hammer out an agreement at a luxury hotel in the Swiss resort of Montreux, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was set to make his case against one 4,090 miles away in Washington.

The U.S. and Iranian sides met for two hours on Tuesday morning before taking a break, according to U.S. officials. The officials said they expected the talks would resume later and likely continue through Netanyahu's address to a joint session of Congress, which will be delivered in the late afternoon local time in Montreux.

"We're working away, productively," Kerry told reporters.

"We are moving and we are talking to be able to make progress," said Zarif. "There are issues and we want to address them. But there is a seriousness that we need to move forward. As we have said all along we need the necessary political will to understand that the only way to move forward is to negotiate."

However, in a sign that Netanyahu's speech is resonating outside Washington, Zarif decried comments that President Barack Obama made on Monday -- as part of an administration-wide effort to push back on the Israeli's criticism -- in which he said that Iran would have to suspend its nuclear activities for at least a decade as part of any final agreement.

"It is clear that Obama's stance is aimed at confronting propaganda by Zionist regime's prime minister and other extremist opponents of the negotiations," Zarif told Iranian reporters, calling it "unacceptable and threatening." Zarif's remarks were carried by Iran's official news agency IRNA.

The U.S., Iran and other world powers are racing to meet an end-of-March target to reach the outline of deal, with a July deadline for a final agreement that would put constraints on Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

The project will help preserve and renovate the former skatehouse at Forest Park to continue educating thousands of students, according to long-time teacher Burt Freedman.

SPRINGFIELD — The City Council voted unanimously to authorize a $4 million project to renovate and expand the Clifford A. Phaneuf Environmental Center at Forest Park, bringing cheers and applause from supporters at City Hall including students, parents, and teachers.

Burt Freedman, a long-time teacher in the Environmental Center of Our Schools program at Forest Park, said Monday night's council vote, approving the funds, ensures the long-term future of the highly popular, highly successful program.

"We are now teaching the second generation of students to go through ECOS," Freedman said. "This building will ensure that ECOS will be enjoyed by generations to come."

The environmental science building was built in the 1930s and served as the skatehouse at Porter Lake. It has housed the ECOS program since 1970, educating many thousands of students. Approximately 10,000 students , teachers and parents come to the center each year, Freedman said.

Freedman and others have been lobbying for the project for many years.

The project is slated to begin April 1.

Colin Rossmiller, 13, a seventh grader at Veritas Charter School, said he participated in ECOS for two years and found it to be fun and educational.

"It's really cool how it gets involved in nature because everything now is so focused on math and reading," Colin said. "I liked being outside instead of being inside all year."

His mother Jennifer Rossmiller, said had gone through the program in the 1980s.

"I could not be happier about it (the project)," Jennifer Rossmiller said. "When I think about where we live in a very urban area, a lot of students in Springfield don't get a lot of exposure to nature. To some this is the only exposure they get. It's just an incredible experience."

Lisa Cataldo, a teacher at Brunton Elementary School who also attended the council meeting, said her students over the years have had an "amazing" learning experience in the ECOS program.

"Continually, year after year, it is by far their favorite experience," Cataldo said. "It's really an amazing experience out there in the woods."

TCD Construction of Peterborough, N.H. submitted the low bid for the project, at $3,399,408.

The council approved $4 million in upfront funds, through borrowing, but will use approximately $2.2 million in federal disaster aid to offset part of that cost, said Timothy J. Plante, the city's chief administrative and financial officer. The city received disaster aid as compensation for the tornado of 2011, earmarking the funds for various capital projects, as approved by the federal government.

The project will preserve and enhance the building, restoring and protecting its historic features, adding numerous energy conservation measures, and expanding its academic and public uses, according to project architect Stephen Jablonski of Jablonski Devriese Architects of Springfield,.

The building is named after the late Clifford Phaneuf, who was a teacher instrumental in creating ECOS, and directed the program for 17 years.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno approved funding for the project through a bond order, and praised the council's needed approval.

"It's an appropriate tie in of education, respect for the environment, health and our beautiful Forest Park area," Sarno said. "I look forward to getting another shovel in the ground for another great project."

Sarno himself participated in ECOS as a student, as did his daughters.

Ward 6 City Councilor Kenneth Shea was among councilors praising the project, saying ECOS is "probably the most important program in the School Department." He said that many students, parents and grandparents have participated in ECOS.

Attorneys in the trial of alleged Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev are scheduled to deliver their opening statements on Wednesday, almost two years since the fateful events of the week of April 15 claimed the lives of four and injured more than 260.

BOSTON -- Attorneys in the trial of alleged Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev are scheduled to deliver their opening statements on Wednesday, almost two years since the fateful events of the week of April 15, 2013, claimed the lives of four and injured more than 260.

Defense attorneys are expected to argue that Tsarnaev was under the influence of his older brother and ultimately not responsible for his actions. His attorneys have shown signs throughout the jury selection process that they are more interested in his sentencing than in his actual acquittal. Prosecutors have said that they will seek the death penalty if Tsarnaev is convicted.

Both sides will be given 45 minutes for opening statements in Judge George O'Toole's courtroom at Moakley Courthouse.

The long jury selection process concluded on Tuesday when 18 individuals were selected out of a pool of 64 for service. The process was delayed frequently by February's brutal weather and a relatively slow daily pace. The original pool of prospective jurors called in January was 1,373.

An analysis by MassLive shows that the jury is comprised of 10 women and 8 men and overwhelmingly white, with a young man of Iranian heritage being the lone exception. The final pool of 64 prospective jurors assembled on Tuesday included just one African-American, a woman. The review showed that the final 18 selected indicated that all showed some kind of openness to the death penalty.

A federal death penalty case goes in two stages: The original trial to determine guilt or innocence and then the sentencing portion, which is really like a second trial. Both portions will use the same jury.

Only three individuals have been successfully put to death since 1988 after being sentenced in a federal court.

Tsarnaev is charged with 30 counts, 17 that could result in a death sentence, stemming from the Boston Marathon bombing and the Watertown shootout that followed later that week.

The full report could serve as a roadmap for significant changes by the department, which commanded national attention after one of its officers shot and killed an unarmed black man, 18-year-old Michael Brown, last summer.

ERIC TUCKER, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A Justice Department report says blacks in Ferguson, Missouri, are disproportionately subject to excessive police force, baseless traffic stops and citations for infractions as petty as walking down the middle of street.

City officials said Tuesday they were reviewing the report, which they expect to be released Wednesday.

With scathing findings of a months-long investigation being released, attention now turns to Ferguson as the city confronts how to fix racial biases that the federal government says are rooted in the police department, court and jail.

The full report could serve as a roadmap for significant changes by the department, which commanded national attention after one of its officers shot and killed an unarmed black man, 18-year-old Michael Brown, last summer.

Similar federal investigations of troubled police departments have led to the appointment of independent monitors and mandated overhauls in the most fundamental of police practices. The Justice Department maintains the right to sue a police department if officials balk at making changes, though many investigations resolve the issue with both sides negotiating a blueprint for change known as a consent decree.

"It's quite evident that change is coming down the pike. This is encouraging," said John Gaskin III, a St. Louis community activist. "It's so unfortunate that Michael Brown had to be killed. But in spite of that, I feel justice is coming."

Brown's killing set off weeks of protests and initiated a national dialogue about police use of force and their relations with minority communities. A separate report being issued soon is expected to clear the officer, Darren Wilson, of federal civil rights charges. A state grand jury already declined to indict Wilson, who has since resigned.

The findings of the investigation, which began weeks after Brown's killing last August, are being released as Attorney General Eric Holder prepares to leave his job following a six-year tenure that focused largely on civil rights. The report is based on interviews with police leaders and residents, a review of more than 35,000 pages of police records and analysis of data on stops, searches and arrests.

A summary provided Tuesday reveals patterns of bias across the criminal justice system, from encounters with patrol officers to treatment in the municipal court and jail.

It says black drivers are far more likely to be searched than white motorists even though they're less likely to be found with contraband. Nearly all people kept at the city jail for more than two days are black, and of the cases in which the police department recorded instances of use of force, the overwhelming majority involved force used against blacks.

Overall, African-Americans make up 67 percent of the population of Ferguson, about 10 miles from downtown St. Louis. The police department has been criticized as racially imbalanced and not reflective of the community's demographic makeup. At the time of the shooting, only three of 53 officers were black, though Mayor James Knowles III has said the city is attracting a large pool of applicants to police jobs, including minority candidates.

Benjamin Crump, the attorney for the Brown family, said the report's findings "confirm what Michael Brown's family has believed all along, and that is that the tragic killing of an unarmed 18-year-old black teenager was part of a systemic pattern of inappropriate policing of African-American citizens in the Ferguson community."

Besides identifying discriminatory police practices, the report alleges a culture of distrust between the police and community fueled by the reliance on fines for revenues. It says blacks are overwhelmingly exposed to citations for minor infractions such as walking in the street or disturbing the peace. The physical tussle that led to Brown's death began after Wilson told him and a friend to move from the street to the sidewalk.

The practice hits poor people especially hard, sometimes leading to jail time when they can't pay, the report says, and has contributed to a cynicism about the police on the part of citizens.

The justice department has conducted roughly 20 civil rights investigations of police departments during Holder's tenure. It's common for federal officials to issue starkly critical findings about police department practices and to demand extensive changes.

"I'm confident," Holder said of the Ferguson report last month, "that people will be satisfied with the results that we announce."

____

Associated Press writers Jim Salter and Jim Suhr in St. Louis and Alan Scher Zagier in Ferguson contributed to this report.

Since Clinton effectively retained control over emails in her private account even after she resigned in 2013, the government would have to negotiate with Clinton to turn over messages it can't already retrieve from the inboxes of federal employees she emailed.

JACK GILLUM, Associated Press
TED BRIDIS, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The computer server that transmitted and received Hillary Rodham Clinton's emails -- on a private account she used exclusively for official business when she was secretary of state -- traced back to an Internet service registered to her family's home in Chappaqua, New York, according to Internet records reviewed by The Associated Press.

The highly unusual practice of a Cabinet-level official physically running her own email would have given Clinton, the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate, impressive control over limiting access to her message archives. It also would distinguish Clinton's secretive email practices as far more sophisticated than some politicians, including Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin, who were caught conducting official business using free email services operated by Microsoft Corp. and Yahoo Inc.

Most Internet users rely on professional outside companies, such as Google Inc. or their own employers, for the behind-the-scenes complexities of managing their email communications. Government employees generally use servers run by federal agencies where they work.

In most cases, individuals who operate their own email servers are technical experts or users so concerned about issues of privacy and surveillance they take matters into their own hands. It was not immediately clear exactly where Clinton ran that computer system.

Clinton has not described her motivation for using a private email account -- hdr22@clintonemail.com, which traced back to her own private email server registered under an apparent pseudonym -- for official State Department business.

Operating her own server would have afforded Clinton additional legal opportunities to block government or private subpoenas in criminal, administrative or civil cases because her lawyers could object in court before being forced to turn over any emails. And since the Secret Service was guarding Clinton's home, an email server there would have been well protected from theft or a physical hacking.

But homemade email servers are generally not as reliable, secure from hackers or protected from fires or floods as those in commercial data centers. Those professional facilities provide monitoring for viruses or hacking attempts, regulated temperatures, off-site backups, generators in case of power outages, fire-suppression systems and redundant communications lines.

A spokesman for Clinton did not respond to requests seeking comment from the AP on Tuesday. Clinton ignored the issue during a speech Tuesday night at the 30th anniversary gala of EMILY's List, which works to elect Democratic women who support abortion rights.

It was unclear whom Clinton hired to set up or maintain her private email server, which the AP traced to a mysterious identity, Eric Hoteham. That name does not appear in public records databases, campaign contribution records or Internet background searches. Hoteham was listed as the customer at Clinton's $1.7 million home on Old House Lane in Chappaqua in records registering the Internet address for her email server since August 2010.

The Hoteham personality also is associated with a separate email server, presidentclinton.com, and a non-functioning website, wjcoffice.com, all linked to the same residential Internet account as Mrs. Clinton's email server. The former president's full name is William Jefferson Clinton.

In November 2012, without explanation, Clinton's private email account was reconfigured to use Google's servers as a backup in case her own personal email server failed, according to Internet records. That is significant because Clinton publicly supported Google's accusations in June 2011 that China's government had tried to break into the Google mail accounts of senior U.S. government officials. It was one of the first instances of a major American corporation openly accusing a foreign government of hacking.

Then, in July 2013, five months after she resigned as secretary of state, Clinton's private email server was reconfigured again to use a Denver-based commercial email provider, MX Logic, which is now owned by McAfee Inc., a top Internet security company.

The New York Times reported Monday that Clinton exclusively used a personal email account it did not specify to conduct State Department business. The disclosure raised questions about whether she took actions to preserve copies of her old work-related emails, as required by the Federal Records Act. A Clinton spokesman, Nick Merrill, told the newspaper that Clinton complied with the letter and spirit of the law because her advisers reviewed tens of thousands of pages of her personal emails to decide which ones to turn over to the State Department after the agency asked for them.

In theory but not in practice, Clinton's official emails would be accessible to anyone who requested copies under the U.S. Freedom of Information Act. Under the law, citizens and foreigners can compel the government to turn over copies of federal records for zero or little cost. Since Clinton effectively retained control over emails in her private account even after she resigned in 2013, the government would have to negotiate with Clinton to turn over messages it can't already retrieve from the inboxes of federal employees she emailed.

The AP has waited more than a year under the open records law for the State Department to turn over some emails covering Clinton's tenure as the nation's top diplomat, although the agency has never suggested that it didn't possess all her emails.

Clinton's private email account surfaced publicly in March 2013 after a convicted Romanian hacker known as Guccifer published emails stolen from former White House adviser Sidney Blumenthal. The Internet domain was registered around the time of her secretary of state nomination.

Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., chairman of the special House committee investigating the Benghazi attacks, said the committee learned last summer -- when agency documents were turned over to the committee -- that Clinton had used a private email account while secretary of state. More recently the committee learned that she used private email accounts exclusively and had more than one, Gowdy said.

President Barack Obama signed a bill last year that bans the use of private email accounts by government officials unless they retain copies of messages in their official account or forward copies to their government accounts within 20 days. The bill did not become law until more than one year after Clinton left the State Department.

___

Associated Press writer Stephen Braun contributed to this report.

Jennifer Pappas, 35, pleaded guilty in front of Hampden Superior Court Judge Mark D. Mason to breaking and entering in the nighttime with intent to commit a felony and larceny over $250 from a person over 60 years old.

The Hampden County Hall of Justice in Springfield.The Republican file 

SPRINGFIELD — Jennifer Pappas of Agawam was sentenced Tuesday to nine months in the Western Massachusetts Regional Women's Correctional Center in Chicopee after pleading guilty to stealing money and jewelry from an 89-year-old woman.

Pappas, 35, pleaded guilty in front of Hampden Superior Court Judge Mark D. Mason to breaking and entering in the nighttime with intent to commit a felony and larceny over $250 from a person over 60 years old for crimes committed in Agawam.

Assistant District Attorney Maida Wassermann said Pappas, whose address is listed in court records as 28 Charles St. in Agawam, used a key the victim had given Pappas' parents to break into the house. Pappas then stole cash and jewelry.

She admitted pawning some of the jewelry for money to buy heroin, Wassermann said.

The nine-month jail sentence will be followed by three years probation, Mason said. Wassermann had asked Mason to sentence Pappas to 2½ years in jail followed by probation.

A hearing is scheduled for April 2 to determine what restitution Pappas owes.

Pappas, who has not been held awaiting trial, must report to the Chicopee facility in a week to begin her sentence.

Skiier Herbert E. Jones Jr. told police he was trying to find his way out of the woods for 6 hours before he called for directions.

This December 2012 photo shows Donna Lawlor cross-country skiing on the Lodge to Lodge trail between camps at the Appalachian Mountain Club's backcountry wilderness lodge near Greenville, Maine. In winter, visitors can reach the lodges and cabins only by cross-country skiing in. (AP Photo/Lynn Dombek)Lynn Dombek 

UNDERHILL, Vermont -- A 66-year-old man who got lost in the woods while skiing on Tuesday finally called for help after being out in the woods for about six hours, according to Vermont State Police.

The man, Herbert E. Jones Jr., of Richmond, Vermont, was uninjured and declined medical attention after he was found sometime around 11 p.m. on Tuesday, police said.

Jones used his cell phone to call 911 at about 9:30 p.m. to report that he had been alpine skiing in Underhill State Park since 1 p.m., that he was lost and could not find his way out.

He told police he had spend the last six hours in the woods trying to find his bearings and a way out.

Police arrived in the vicinity and used a combination of sirens and lights from cruisers and road flares to lead him out of the woods.

When he finally found his way out, he told troopers he was tired but did not need to go to the hospital.

State police remind anyone who is planning to go hiking, snowshoeing or skiing deep into wooded areas to be prepared for the elements and to used GPS systems to aid in navigation.

State Police urge back country hikers, skiers, etc. to be prepared for the elements and to use GPS systems when necessary to aid in navigation.

Here's how it works. Call 911, wait for an answer, then use your telephone's keypad to "talk" to the dispatcher.

It's a terrifying thought: You need to call 911, but you can't speak. Maybe you're injured, choking, or you're trying to seek help without alerting a criminal.

In these sometimes life-or-death situations, there is a silent way to let emergency responders know that you need their help.

It's known as the 911 Silent Call Procedure. Massachusetts State Police sent out a reminder of the decades-old process on social media Tuesday, earning praise and generating surprise from people who didn't know it was an option.

Here's how it works. Call 911, wait for an answer, then use your telephone's keypad to "talk" to the dispatcher.

Press 1 if you need police, 2 for fire and 3 for an ambulance. If the dispatcher asks you questions, 4 means "yes" and 5 means "no."

"If a Massachusetts dispatcher answers a 911 call and it is silent, they will go through these steps to see if there is a response," state police said in a Facebook post. "You do not have to remember this procedure, they will ask you while on the telephone. The dispatcher's screen will show them which numbers are being pressed."

The Silent Call Procedure also helps people with certain disabilities communicate their needs.

The state's public safety office says this method can be used on a "touch tone wireline telephone or a cell phone."

Many on social media were grateful for the notice, having never heard of it or understanding the importance of a reminder. Others asked their local agencies and leaders if the same procedure is used elsewhere.

The jury in the trial of alleged Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokar Tsarnaev has been chosen. Here's a look at some of the jurors that will determine his fate.

The jury in the trial of alleged Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokar Tsarnaev has been chosen. Where the 18 jurors will serve, as regular jurors or as alternates, will be known on Wednesday at the start of opening statements.

The 18 jurors were selected out of a pool of 1,373 that was whittled down to 256 and then again to 64 prospective jurors during a process that lasted the month of February.

Here's a look at some of the jurors that will determine his fate:

Juror 35:

A white middle aged male that works for the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources with knowledge of electricity markets. Said on questionnaires that he thought the War on Terror was overblown. Said that he donated $50 or $75 to the One Fund at an event in Boston. On the issue of the death penalty he said that he could vote to sentence someone to death but would weigh all of the evidence presented to him in an impartial manner and not jump to conclusions. Hinted that he thought Tsarnaev was guilty.

Juror 41:
A white middle aged woman that has worked as a senior executive assistant at a storage hardware corporation since 2005. Juror 41 indicated that she has prior jury experience in two cases: a drunk driving case in 2014 and a hit and run incident "years ago." During her questionaire phase she indicated that she did not watch the news frequently and did not have opinions on international affairs. When asked about Tsarnaev's guilt or innocence she said she had not formed an opinion and was indifferent on the issue of the death penalty.

"I'd have to hear the circumstances of the evidence," she said.

Juror 83
A younger man with an Iranian background who recently lost his job at Best Buy and is taking time off from school. He said his mother was oppressed in her native Iran for practicing her Bahai faith though he does not having anything against Islam. He told the court that he was taught to respect all faiths. Said he can remain impartial on the death penalty though he thinks Tsarnaev was "definitely involved in the bombing." He speaks some Farsi.

Juror 102
A middle-aged woman and unemployed registered nurse. Recently her job at an area hospital ended and she was planning on taking a cross-country trip in April. During her meeting with attorneys and Judge George O'Toole she said that she did not know Tsarnaev's name until she was called for jury service. She is receptive to the death penalty and has no opinion about his guilt or innocence.

Juror 138
A young white man employed by a municipal water department faced questions about his employment from O'Toole and attorneys. He said was "intrigued" by the opportunity to serve on the jury and not looking to get out of work for an extended period of time. During questioning he did not say whether he thought Tsarnaev was guilty or innocent and expressed an openness to the sentencing someone to death.

Juror 229
A white woman who is currently employed as an event planner but has worked in the past as a social worker with victims of domestic violence. She said that she unsure about Tsarnaev's guilt and that she does not trust the media. Indicated that she is receptive to the death penalty.

Juror 286
A middle aged white woman that has worked as the general manager of restaurant for more than 20 years. While she has not served on a federal jury she has served on a state jury in the past. She told the court that she has not formed a strong opinion about Tsarnaev's guilt or innocence and noted that she is open to the death penalty. "I don't feel I'm sentencing someone to death. Their actions did that," she said.

Juror 349
A white woman that works in clothing and product design told the court that she has attended the marathon and owns some Boston Strong paraphernalia. She told the court that she thinks Tsarnaev is probably guilty but she would be able to set that aside if placed on the jury. She is open to the death penalty.

Jury 395
An older white woman that works as a secretary at a law firm said that she was receptive to the death penalty or life in prison as a sentence. Indicated that she thinks Tsarnaev is guilty but she would keep an open mind if on the jury.

Juror 441
A young white man who recently lost his job as an auditor for productivity reasons, said he is actively looking for work and is trying to collect unemployment. Said it was possible for him to vote not guilty for Tsarnaev if he doesn't see a case made beyond a reasonable doubt. Indicated that he did not have any personal connections to the Boston Marathon bombings. Said he was open to sentencing someone to death. "It doesn't really matter to me, not super against it or super lets have death penalty," he said.

Juror 480
A white middle aged male that was working at Mass General Hospital as a telecom engineer on the day of the bombing. Juror 480 said he was receptive to the death penalty and that he did not know if Tsarnaev was involved in the bombing, needs to see all the evidence.

Juror 487
A white mother of four that lives on Cape Cod said that it would be tough to hear evidence and testimony on the youngest bombing victim, Martin Richard. Said that she thinks Tsarnaev played a role in the bombings.

Juror 552
A retired white male in his later years said that he believes everyone is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. Expressed openness to the death penalty but said "life in prison is a worse situation conceivably than being put to death." Said he has no connection to the Boston Marathon bombing. During voir dire he said he thinks Tsarnaev had a role in the bombing but will remain objective as a juror if chosen

Juror 567
A middle-aged white man employed as an air traffic controller for the Coast Guard. Juror 567 told the court that he skeptical of the media, calling it "sensationalist." He said that he can remain impartial if placed on the jury even though he thinks Tsarnaev was probably involved in the bombings. He told the court that he does not have a strong opinion on the death penalty.

588
An older white woman employed as a retail clerk. She told the court that she does not believe the media and that the War on Terror is media driven. She said she is opposed to the death penalty but was open to it in this case and that the trial was about finding out what actually happened that week.

608
A retired white woman once worked as an actuary for Pricewaterhouse Cooper that lost a cousin on her husband's side in Sept. 11 attacks. Indicated in court that she is indifferent on the death penalty. "I'm not for it, I'm not against it," she said.

638
A white female social worker with state Department of Developmentally Disabled appeared very nervous during her voir dire appearance. She told the court that she does not think the media is trustworthy. "I apologize to the news media, but I don't believe anything I see on TV," she said. She indicated that the she supports the death penalty and is unsure of Tsarnaev's guilty

Springfield Republican staff reporter Shira Schoenberg contributed to this report.

A police dog found a shoe box filled with heroin and cocaine, according to reports.

Dave Canton | dcanton@repub.com 

NORTH ADAMS - Two Springfield residents were arrested on drug trafficking charges Monday night after police found them with a shoe box full of cocaine and heroin during a traffic stop, according to reports.

Arrested were Devron Wicks, 27, and Sasha Santiago, 24, both of Springfield, according to the Berkshire Eagle.

Each was charged with trafficking heroin and cocaine and conspiracy to violate drug laws.

Police were apparently looking for their car after being receiving information that Wicks was due to deliver drugs to the North Adams area, according to the Eagle.

When their car was stopped, a police K-9 dog found the shoebox in the trunk. It contained 20 grams of crack cocaine, 98 grams of cocaine, 16 grams of heroin and 1,000 packets of heroin ready for street sales.

Springfield police subsequently obtained a search warrant for their apartment on Pearl Street, near police headquarters, and found more cocaine and heroin, packing materials and a digital scale.

Each denied the charges at their arraignments Tuesday in Northern Berkshire District Court. Wicks was ordered held on $100,000 bail, while Santiago was ordered held on $25,000.

Each is due to appear in court again on April 6.

Police found blood in the bedroom, hallway, bathroom and shower, according to the prosecutor, who said the defendant was hostile at the scene and had an abrasion on his right knuckle.

SPRINGFIELD - A June 16 trial date has been set for a Western New England University football player accused of fracturing his girlfriend's skull at an off campus party last fall.

During a hearing last week, Judge Charles V. Groce III allowed prosecutors to subpoena the victim's medical records from Mercy Medical Center for use at trial.

Defendant John Perry, 21, of Marblehead was charged with aggravated assault and battery for allegedly punching the woman following an argument at a Denver Street home they shared with two other students.

The victim suffered a fractured skull, bleeding on the brain, facial injuries and a broken front tooth, according to prosecutors; she was transported to Mercy Medical Center after police and emergency medical technicians responded to 911 call early on Nov. 16.

During a bail hearing, Assistant District Attorney Melissa Doran said the woman told
medical personnel that Perry punched her after she refused to have sex with him.

Police found blood in the bedroom, hallway, bathroom and shower, according to the prosecutor, who said the defendant was hostile at the scene and had an abrasion on his right knuckle.

But Perry's defense lawyers said his girlfriend was injured after he left the house with two friends.

The victim began drinking Saturday morning at the school's football game, and was still drinking at post-game party at their house attended by about 45 students Saturday night, the lawyer said.

Perry, who left to go to another party, returned home and found her bleeding and dazed on a couch in the basement, the lawyers said.

Perry, who called 911, had no blood on his clothing and his hand injury came from the football game Saturday afternoon, the lawyers said.

For her part, the victim gave vague and conflicting statements about how she was injured and had no memory of what happened the next morning, the lawyers said.

The woman was unable to testify at the bail hearing held six days after the alleged assault. But in a motion filed in late December, Doran said the victim was regaining her memory and would be able to give a statement to police in the next few weeks.

Over the objection of prosecutors, a judge released Perry on condition that he wear an electronic monitoring bracelet, submit to regular alcohol testing, observe a curfew and live at his family's home in Marblehead.

In December, his release conditions were modified to allow him to travel to Springfield to meet with defense lawyer Vincent Bongiorni, one of two attorneys who represented him at the bail hearing. The other, Edward Principe of Marblehead, has withdrawn from the case.

Under the new terms, the defendant is not allowed in Springfield except for legal appointments; the Holyoke Mall, the Burlington Mall in Burlington and victim's home in Arlington are also off limits.

Perry, a junior and linebacker on the football team, was suspended from the school following his arrest in November.

AGAWAM -- The town recently released on its website the design concept for a revitalized Walnut Street Extension, a rundown corridor officials hope to turn into a dining and shopping destination. The concept plan, designed by Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, details project goals and shows what the area might look like after the large-scale makeover. The primary focus of...

AGAWAM -- The town recently released on its website the design concept for a revitalized Walnut Street Extension, a rundown corridor officials hope to turn into a dining and shopping destination.

The concept plan, designed by Pioneer Valley Planning Commission, details project goals and shows what the area might look like after the large-scale makeover. The primary focus of the proposed revitalization would be the portion of Walnut Street Extension from Springfield Street to Ramah Circle North.

The town completed a comprehensive economic development plan in 2010 that identified Agawam's priority sites for improvements. The Walnut Street Extension was named the No. 1 area for development by residents and elected officials.

Goals for the project stipulated in the design concept include:

• Identifying current barriers to greater commercial success on Walnut Street Extension

• Producing a concept design for the Walnut Street Extension street-scape that is supported by the street's existing property owners, tenants and Agawam residents

• Improving parking availability and pedestrian and bicycle movement through the area

• Providing opportunities for an active street life

• Reducing environmental runoff and pollutants leaving the project area

The project is in its conceptual design phase. The town ultimately hopes to maximize the shared parking in the shopping center, improve pedestrian access to the street-scape, create additional shared green space, install better lighting and make road improvements that would better traffic circulation.

The town hasn't put any money into the design phase of the project project so far, but has received grants to contract planning commission consultants for design work. Once the professional design is completed, the town will be eligible to apply for a MassWorks grant worth up to $1 million, said former Agawam Planning and Community Development Director Deborah Dachos, who retired at the end of February.

In May 2014, the Agawam City Council voted to replace the Business A & B and Industrial districts in the extension area with Mixed Use Business C Zoning. The change relaxes building dimensional requirements and allow expansion.

The last major capture of Union troops involved an entire regiment that had originated in Springfield.

The last formal photo taken of Abraham Lincoln taken in February 1865. 

Today (March 4) is the 150 anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's second inaugural address that promised a peace without malice and a healing process as the Civil War wound down.

A look at the Civil War and how it affected soldiers from Western Mass. fared in the month reveals that the last major capture of Union troops involved an entire regiment that had originated in Springfield.

We also have an eyewitness account of that battle and what happened to the nearly 200 local men who were either killed, wounded or captured.

The transcript of Lincoln's speech is also available as part of our ongoing Civil War project. As the president delivered his address actor John Wilkes Booth looked on from just a few yards away at the Capitol building.

The funding application for the project is due April 23.

LUDLOW - Kenn Delude, president and CEO of Westmass Area Development Corporation, told the Board of Selectmen he is optimistic that the planned WinnDevelopment affordable housing project for seniors at the Ludlow mills will receive state funding this year.

"We were unsuccessful last year, but we are optimistic this time around that with continued advocacy we will be successful," Delude said.

Elizabeth Fish, a vice president of WinnDevelopment of Boston, told the Board of Selectmen on Tuesday, "I am confident that we will receive funding this time."

The five-member Board of Selectmen voted to write a letter to the state Department of Housing and Community Development supporting the project and to appropriate up to $300,000 to the project which will be reimbursed by the state.

The funding application for the proposed $28 million project is due April 23.

Delude said the senior housing will be built in Building No. 10 of the Ludlow Mills as part of the redevelopment of the mills by the Westmass Area Development Corporation.

The proposal is for 75 units of affordable rental units for people over age 55. One and two-bedroom units will be built, Fish said.

Selectman William Rooney asked whether preference will be given to Ludlow residents for any of the units.

Fish said the apartments will be marketed in the area, but tenants are chosen through a lottery process.

Selectman Carmina Fernandes praised the location of the proposed development which she said is near the Ludlow Senior Center and the downtown center of Ludlow.

Delude said the development will bring construction jobs to Ludlow.

Selectmen Chairman Manuel Silva estimated that the project could generate $200,000 in taxes to the town each year.

"This is a cornerstone development for the redevelopment of the Ludlow mills," Delude said.

Fernandes said the project will help bring additional development to Ludlow.