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13,000 refugees flow into Western Europe after travel restrictions eased

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HEGYESHALOM, Hungary (AP) — Hungarian police stood by as thousands of migrants hopped cross-border trains Sunday into Austria, taking advantage of Hungary's surprise decision to stop screening international train travelers for travel visas, a get-tough measure that the country had launched only days before to block their path to asylum in Western Europe. Fourteen trains from Hungary's capital of Budapest...

HEGYESHALOM, Hungary (AP) -- Hungarian police stood by as thousands of migrants hopped cross-border trains Sunday into Austria, taking advantage of Hungary's surprise decision to stop screening international train travelers for travel visas, a get-tough measure that the country had launched only days before to block their path to asylum in Western Europe.

Fourteen trains from Hungary's capital of Budapest arrived at the Hegyeshalom station near the Austrian border, disgorging migrants onto the platform. Police didn't check documents as passengers, mostly migrants, walked a few yards (meters) to waiting Austria-bound trains, which typically left less than 3 minutes later. Austrian police said more than 13,000 migrants have passed through their country to Germany over the past two days, far more than expected.

Arabs, Asians and Africans who often have spent weeks traveling through Turkey, Greece and the Balkans to reach Hungary, a popular back door into the European Union, found to their surprise they were permitted Sunday to buy tickets to take them all the way into Austria and Germany. Hungary had insisted last week they would no longer be allowed to do this.


Ticket sellers at Budapest's Keleti station merely rolled their eyes when asked by AP why they were selling Vienna tickets to asylum seekers. Several migrants told the AP they had expected to be rejected, but easily bought international tickets to Vienna without visa checks.

"No check, no problem," said Reza Wafai, a 19-year-old from Bamiyan, Afghanistan, who hopes to join relatives in Dortmund, Germany. He displayed his just-purchased ticket to Vienna costing 9,135 forints ($32.50). He was traveling without a passport, carrying only a black-and-white Hungarian asylum seeker ID.

EU rules stipulate asylum seekers should seek refuge in their initial EU entry point. But virtually none of the migrants want to claim asylum in Hungary, where the government is building border defenses and trying to make it increasingly hard for asylum seekers to enter.

Hungarian government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs told The Associated Press that Hungary had decided to drop visa checks on train ticket customers, a measure introduced only Tuesday, because of the sudden drop in migrant numbers made possible by Germany and Austria's breakthrough decision to take thousands of asylum seekers stuck in Hungary. The country used 104 buses to clear Budapest's central Keleti train station and Hungary's major motorway of more than 4,000 migrants and deliver them to the border.

Sunday's free movement for migrants on trains represented an effort "to return to normality, whatever that is," Kovacs said.

"Last week the security situation was such that we had to step up in-depth checking," Kovacs said, referring to Hungary's effort to require suspected migrants to show valid travel visas when trying to buy train tickets. The rule effectively blocked every migrant from a cross-border train.

"Now anybody can buy a ticket again, and this is normal. Police typically do not check tickets and railways do not check visas," Kovacs said.

But complicating the ever-changing picture, Austria's railway company told the AP it plans to end its connections to Hegyeshalom on Monday. Direct Vienna-Budapest services will take their place, spokeswoman Sonya Horner said. It remains to be seen whether Hungarian or Austrian police will screen those services for migrants traveling without visas.

Hungary, for its part, is making a concerted effort to make it harder for asylum seekers to reach its territory from non-EU member Serbia. Serbia Railways said Hungarian authorities refused Sunday to permit two passenger trains to travel into Hungary citing, for the first time, large groups of migrants aboard.

Serbia Railways said in a statement that migrants refused to disembark from the train before reaching Hungary, the typical practice in recent months. One train was canceled and its legal passengers permitted to enter Hungary by bus, while the second train entered Hungary after migrants aboard were isolated on two carriages that were decoupled and left behind, forcing the migrants to walk to the border.

The week has seen rapid policy reversals: On Monday, Hungary annoyed its EU neighbors by permitting thousands of migrants to storm aboard trains bound for Vienna and the German cities of Munich and Hamburg. On Tuesday, Hungary announced that travelers would require passports and visas to travel west by train to other EU nations, frustrating thousands more migrants who had just bought tickets. On Thursday, Hungary canceled all westbound international services in a failed effort to woo migrants away from Keleti, where they had camped in their thousands, and into state-run refugee camps.

Now Sunday's bigger than expected flow could create a challenge to the asylum support structures in Germany.

Hans Peter Doskozil, police chief of Austria's easternmost Burgenland province, said more than 13,000 migrants have crossed from Hungary over the past two days, far more than expected, and only 90 or so formally sought asylum in Austria, with nearly all planning instead to settle in Germany.

An Austrian police spokesman, Gerald Pangl, said Austria normally would require asylum seekers to complete paperwork on arrival, but there were far too many transients passing through for this to be practical. "At this moment, in this outstanding situation, we cannot handle the procedure, we cannot register all the refugees," he said.

The rapid influx has exposed tensions within Chancellor Angela Merkel's three-party government. She met Sunday with leaders of the Christian Social Union, who are critical of her decision to welcome migrants stuck in Hungary, as well as Social Democrats, who support her move but want more help from the rest of Europe.

Pope Francis on Sunday set an example for Catholic parishes, convents and monasteries across Europe, saying the Vatican will host two refugee families and urging others to commit to sheltering at least one each.

"Faced with the tragedy of tens of thousands of refugees who are fleeing death by war and by hunger, and who are on a path toward a hope for life, the Gospel calls us to be neighbors to the smallest and most abandoned," Francis told pilgrims and tourists in St. Peter's Square.

They arrived by the thousands in Germany, by train, bus and car. Authorities scrambled to register them and provide shelter, and at each stop, migrants received cheers, food and toys for the children. Most Germans have been welcoming, but far-right groups have protested their arrival.

Frontex, the EU border agency, says more than 340,000 asylum seekers have entered the 28-nation bloc this year, the majority fleeing war and human rights abuses in Syria, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and Eritrea.


Springfield Police officer injured in accident

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The officer was taken to a local hospital by ambulance.

Update: The officer will be treated for his injuries and released from the hospital.

SPRINGFIELD - A police officer was injured after being rear-ended by the driver of a Honda on Chestnut Street Sunday night.

The officer, who was brought to the hospital by ambulance, was handling an incident with a dirt bike when he was struck, Police Lt. Brian Keenan said.

He will be treated for his injuries and released from the hospital, he said.

"He was stopped with his lights on," Keenan said of the officer.

The officer was in a gray unmarked Ford Crown Victoria cruiser at the time of the accident. Blue lights continued to be flashing after the accident.

The crash happened at about 7:39 p.m. at the intersection of Lyman Street. The driver of the other car was not injured.

Both cars were towed after the accident. A small motorcycle was also towed from the scene.

The cause of the accident is under investigation, he said.

One lane of Chestnut Street and Lyman Street were closed for a short time while police cleared the scene.

Springfield neighbors plan way to help family displaced by fire

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The fire destroyed the Oregon Street home of a local minister and his family. Watch video

SPRINGFIELD - Neighbors and church members are rallying around the family of Rev. Tom Callard, who lost everything in a fire that destroyed their East Forest Park home early Sunday morning.

"It is a small neighborhood but we have been through a great deal," said Michael Carney, who lives nearby and is also a Springfield Police officer. "It pulls our community closer together."

Many of the homes in the East Forest Park neighborhood were damaged during the June 1, 2011 tornado. More recently residents rallied together to help the family of Marine Gunnery Sgt. Thomas Sullivan, who grew up in the area, when he was killed by a one a gunman in a deadly attack in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Carney said.

The fire at 39 Oregon St. displaced Callard, his wife and two of their children. They were initially assisted by the Pioneer Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross.

The blaze was first reported at about 11:30 p.m., Saturday and is believed to have started in the attic area of the two-story cape. Flames quickly burned through the roof while firefighters were working on it, said Dennis Leger, assistant to Fire Commissioner Joseph Conant.

It took firefighters nearly two hours to extinguish the blaze. For safety reasons fire officials ordered firefighters to leave the interior of the house after about 15 minutes after they started battling the blaze. They then poured water on it from the outside, he said.

Neighbors on either side of the house were also asked to evacuate their homes until firefighters could get the blaze under control. Electrical power was turned off to most of the street for about three hours during the fire.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, Leger said Sunday afternoon.

Carney said he learned of the fire Sunday morning and stopped by to see if he could do anything to help. Callard was there trying to see what he could salvage.

"They lost pretty much everything," he said. "I'm thinking of a community event maybe at St. Anthony's Church. It would be clergy helping clergy and community helping community."

Callard is the priest in charge at Christ Church Cathedral on Chestnut Street in Springfield. His family moved into the home less than a year ago, neighbors said.

Carney said the Episcopal Church located at the Quadrangle is well known for helping people and he would like to turn around and help the Callard family.

"Their primary mission is to help others. They help the homeless and they run a soup kitchen," Carney said.

He said he will work with the family, but is thinking of holding a joint event where neighbors and church members can come together to help the family.

Even Sunday morning, less than eight hours after the fire was extinguished, neighbors continually stopped by to talk to Callard and to ask how they could help.

One gave him a supermarket gift card. Callard said he was not sure where his family was going to spend the night so Carney told him he may be able to help him find temporary housing.

Springfield police investigating drive-by shooting

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A house was struck by several bullets.

SPRINGFIELD - Police are investigating a drive-by shooting that happened Sunday evening on Eastern Avenue.

No one was injured in the shooting but a house at the corner of Eastern Avenue and Quincy Street was struck by several bullets, Police Lt. Brian Keenan said.

The Shot Spotter system recorded multiple shots fired at 6:21 p.m., he said.

"Police recovered shell casings in the area," Keenan said.

Witnesses gave a description of a car which may have involved in the shooting but police were unable to locate the suspect.

Man shot in downtown Chicopee

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Police are looking for four men who may be possible suspects in the shooting.

CHICOPEE - Police are on the scene of a shooting that happened at about 9:30 p.m. Sunday.

One man was shot in the incident, which happened at 66 Cabot St., which is near the intersection of School Street, said Michael Wilk, public information officer for Chicopee Police Department.

The victim was brought to the hospital by ambulance. His condition was not immediately known.

Initial reports show four people may be involved. They are described as white or Hispanic males wearing baseball hats, he said.

The suspects ran up School Street and were reported heading toward the Springfield Street area, Wilk said.

Anyone who may have seen the possible suspects or has any information about the shooting is urged to call 911 to report it to police, Wilk said.

Kentucky clerk who denied gays marriage licenses appeals order putting her in jail

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A Kentucky county clerk has appealed a judge's decision to put her in jail for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- A Kentucky county clerk has appealed a judge's decision to put her in jail for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Attorneys for Rowan County Clerk Kim Davis officially appealed the ruling to the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals on Sunday. The three page motion does not include arguments as to why Davis should be released but amends Davis' earlier appeal of the judge's order.

Davis objects to same-sex marriage for religious reasons and stopped issuing all marriage licenses in June after the U.S. Supreme Court legalized gay marriage nationwide. Two gay couples and two straight couples sued her. U.S. District Judge David Bunning ordered Davis to issue the licenses and the Supreme Court upheld his ruling.

But Davis still refused to do it, saying she could not betray her conscience.

Thursday, Bunning ruled Davis was in contempt of court for disobeying his order and sent her to jail. Her deputy clerks then issued marriage licenses to gay couples Friday with Davis behind bars.

"Civil rights are civil rights and they are not subject to belief," said James Yates, who got a marriage license on Friday after having been denied five times previously.

Mat Staver, one of Davis' attorneys, said the marriage licenses issued Friday are "not worth the paper they are written on" because Davis refused to authorize them. But Rowan County Attorney Cecil Watkins says the licenses are valid. Bunning said he did not know if the licenses were valid but ordered them issued anyway.

Bunning indicated Davis will be in jail at least a week. She could stay longer if she continues to not obey the judge's order. Bunning had offered to release Davis from jail if she promised not to interfere with her deputy clerks as they issued the licenses. But Davis refused.

Staver called the contempt hearing "a charade" saying that Bunning had his mind made up before the hearing began.

Kentucky law requires marriage licenses be issued under the authority of the elected county clerk. Davis views issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples as a stamp of approval of something she believes is a sin. She has said she will not issue marriage licenses until the state legislature changes the law so the licenses can be issued under someone else's authority.

The state legislature is not scheduled to meet again until January and Democratic Gov. Steve Beshear has refused to call a special session. Davis has refused to resign her $80,000-a-year job. As an elected official the only way she could lose her job is to lose an election or have the state legislature impeach her, which is unlikely given the conservative nature of the state General Assembly.

"She's not going to resign, she's not going to sacrifice her conscience, so she's doing what Martin Luther King Jr. wrote about in his Letter from the Birmingham Jail, which is to pay the consequences for her decision," Staver said.

Davis' plight has reignited the gay marriage debate and the limits of religious freedom. Her imprisonment has inspired spirited protests from both sides in this small eastern Kentucky community known mostly as the home to Morehead State University.

Saturday, about 300 people rallied in support of Davis at the Carter County Detention Center where she is being held. Another rally is scheduled for Tuesday with Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.

Grieving parents in Ohio place warning in obit: Alison, 18, died 'of a heroin overdose'

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They aren't the first grieving American parents to cite heroin in an obituary as such deaths nearly quadrupled nationally over a decade, but it's rare.

MIDDLETOWN - Confronted with the sudden death of their 18-year-old daughter, Fred and Dorothy McIntosh Shuemake made a defiant decision: they would not worry about any finger-pointing, whispers or family stigma.

They directed the funeral home to begin Alison Shuemake's obituary by stating flatly that she died "of a heroin overdose." They aren't the first grieving American parents to cite heroin in an obituary as such deaths nearly quadrupled nationally over a decade, but it's rare, even in a southwest Ohio community headed toward another record year in heroin-related deaths.

"There was no hesitation," Dorothy said. "We've seen other deaths when it's heroin, and the families don't talk about it because they're ashamed or they feel guilty. Shame doesn't matter right now."

Her voice cracked as she sat at a table covered with photos of Alison: the high school diploma earned this year, awards certificates, and favorite things such as her stuffed bunny named Ashley that says "I love you" in a voice recording Alison made as a small child.

"What really matters is keeping some other person, especially a child, from trying this ... We didn't want anybody else to feel the same agony and wretchedness that we're left with," she said.
police told CantonRep.com.



She and Fred, a retired Middletown police detective who investigated crimes against children, want to promote a potentially preventive dialogue about what the U.S. Centers for Disease Control calls an epidemic. In Butler County, where the Shuemakes live, the coroner's statistics show heroin-related deaths jumped in two years from 30 to 103 in 2014, with 86 recorded already through the first six months of this year.

Their decision has drawn a wide outpouring of support, both locally and on social media, with online comments and emails from around the world. Scott Gehring, who heads the Sojourner Recovery Services addiction treatment nonprofit in Butler County, praised the Shuemakes' "strength and foresight" to draw attention to heroin's role.

"That's something that needs to happen. People die of overdoses and it gets swept under a rug," Gehring said. "Until we as a society are willing to acknowledge that it is here and affecting all of us, we're going to continue to see the death count rise."

A search of "heroin" on the Legacy.com site with obituaries from more than 1,500 newspapers found only a handful, including Alison's, in the last month. One was from the Ventura County Star in California, describing Cameron Kean Crawford's turquoise eyes, his talent in art and technology and his placid demeanor until "heroin unraveled his life, causing his shocking demise from an overdose on ... his 34th birthday."

Alison's obituary calls her a "funny, smart, gregarious, tenacious and strong-willed teenager with gusto." Dorothy smiled as she talked about Alison's love for "sparkle," which she said also described her personality.

Alison had recently joined a salon staff after being recruited by a manager who admired the way she did her hair and makeup. She and her boyfriend Luther both had two jobs and moved into an apartment together a few weeks ago. Alison, who had been in rehabilitation months earlier for alcohol and marijuana abuse, seemed happy and proud, her parents said.

They were expecting the couple over to do laundry the night of Aug. 25. When they didn't show up, Dorothy phoned and texted without answer. At about 3:30 a.m., their roommate called: "Something's wrong."

She rushed over to the apartment and saw immediately both were "definitely gone." She spotted a needle on the floor.

As police, paramedics and the coroner's investigator did their work, she sat with Alison's body and sang to her their special song, drawn from the children's book "Love You Forever."

Before Alison's obituary was published, her mother called her boyfriend's family to let them know of the plan to name heroin in her obituary. They had no objection.

A few days later, his was published.

It began: "Luther David Combs, 31, of Middletown, passed away Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015, of a heroin overdose."

Springfield police investigate shooting at Edgewater Apartments in North End

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The victim was taken to Baystate Medical Center by a private vehicle before police arrived at the scene.

SPRINGFIELD -- City police are investigating a shooting that occurred Monday afternoon at the Edgewood Apartments in the city's North End.

The victim was reportedly rushed to Baystate Medical Center by a private vehicle before police arrived. There is no word on the victim's condition.

The shooting occurred at about 3 p.m.

Edgewater Apartments is a 10-story building at 101 Lowell St.

People outside the apartment building said they heard no shots and didn't realize anything had happened until police arrived.


Springfield mayoral candidates make final push for votes before Tuesday's election

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The top two vote-getters for mayor of Springfield in Tuesday's preliminary election on Tuesday will earn a spot on the final ballot Nov. 3.

SPRINGFIELD - The seven candidates for mayor spent the Labor Day Weekend striving to ensure their supporters get to the polls at Tuesday's preliminary election using efforts ranging from taking part in community events to waging sign-waving stand-outs at busy intersections.

Several of the candidates said Monday they are confident they will be one of the top two vote-getters Tuesday, with the top two earning a spot on the final ballot Nov. 3.

The preliminary election includes Mayor Domenic J. Sarno, seeking election to a fourth term, and six challengers: Salvatore "Sal" Circosta, Ivelisse Gonzalez, Michael Jones, Johnnie Ray McKnight, Beverly Savage and sticker-write-in candidate Miguel Soto.

The polls are open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., and the candidates said they plan to travel from poll to poll location. There are 64 precincts citywide spread out at 45 locations.

The mayor's race is the sole contest on the preliminary election ballot.

"We take nothing for granted and we have a good story to tell," Sarno said. "We have been able to move forward on all fronts. I love this job. I live it 24/7."

Sarno said the weekend included stand-outs with supporters at numerous busy intersections in Springfield in various neighborhoods.

In addition, he attended the 27th annual Stone Soul Festival at Blunt Park at various times Friday night, Saturday and Sunday.

Circosta said he and his campaigners spent the weekend making phone calls and working to get out the vote on Tuesday.

"I am extremely confident and motivated," Circosta said.

Circosta attended a neighborhood cleanup in the North End, and said he and supporters have been knocking on doors, shaking hands and dropping off campaign literature.

Gonzalez said she drove around the city in her car this weekend, noting that her car looks like a "billboard" - adorned with multiple campaign signs. She also had stand-outs with supporters at Main and Carew streets in the North End on Sunday, and attended a baseball game at Morgan Park.

"I've been all over the place," she said.

Asked how she felt in the final day before the election, Gonzalez said "I feel nervous."

Jones said conducted a kick-off event at the Panache Banquet Hall on State Street on Sunday, and has been canvassing in the various neighborhoods.

"Everything has been going great," Jones said. "I feel very good. I feel confident."

Jones added that he believes his message did get out to the voters.

McKnight also attended the Stone Soul Festival and took part in the parade, while also using the weekend for door-knocking and telephone calls to get people out to vote on Tuesday.

"I feel confident," McKnight said. "I feel like we definitely put in a lot of work, and have been working hard to get out the vote."

McKnight said he is concerned that some voters are not aware of the election date, which was moved up one week aimed at ensuring it did not conflict with a Jewish holy day.

Savage said her weekend included going to a few churches to speak to those who attended, saying her outreach was done with the permission of the church leaders.

She also planned Monday to go out into the city to continue reaching out to voters, she said. She plans to work Tuesday, but would go poll-to-poll after work, she said.

"I feel comfortable right now," Savage said.

Soto said he wanted to take a small break on Sunday, using a trip to Six Flags in Agawam to "re-energize my batteries." He did use the occasion to talk to some local people there, he said.

Soto is not on the ballot, but will count on voters to place his name on the ballot through stickers or write-ins, declining to be specific about his strategy.

"I will be the next mayor of Springfield," Soto said. "I feel very good."

The various candidates took part in three community forums and one television debate in recent weeks. Sarno did not take part in those events, saying he was too busy with work and family commitments and that two of the events conflicted with School Committee meetings, in which he serves as chairman.

Sarno was first elected mayor in 2007, and previously served on the City Council, His opponents have not held public office.

Hillary Clinton says no email apology: 'What I did was allowed'

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Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday she does not need to apologize for using a private email account and server while at the State Department because "what I did was allowed."

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (AP) -- Hillary Rodham Clinton said Monday she does not need to apologize for using a private email account and server while at the State Department because "what I did was allowed."

In an interview with The Associated Press during a Labor Day campaign swing through Iowa, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination also said the lingering questions about her email practices while serving as President Barack Obama's first secretary of state have not damaged her campaign.

"Not at all. It's a distraction, certainly," Clinton said. "But it hasn't in any way affected the plan for our campaign, the efforts we're making to organize here in Iowa and elsewhere in the country. And I still feel very confident about the organization and the message that my campaign is putting out."

Yet even in calling the inquiry into how she used email as the nation's top diplomat a distraction, Clinton played down how it has affected her personally as a candidate.

"As the person who has been at the center of it, not very much," Clinton said. "I have worked really hard this summer, sticking to my game plan about how I wanted to sort of reintroduce myself to the American people."

As she has often said in recent weeks, Clinton told AP it would have been a "better choice" for her to use separate email accounts for her personal and public business. "I've also tried to not only take responsibility, because it was my decision, but to be as transparent as possible," Clinton said.

Part of that effort, Clinton said, is answering any questions about her email "in as many different settings as I can." She noted she has sought for nearly a year to testify before Congress about the issue, and that she is now slated to do so in October.

The one-on-one interview with AP was the second for Clinton in the past four days. On Friday, she did not apologize for using a private email system when asked directly by NBC, "Are you sorry?" Asked Monday by the AP why she won't directly apologize, Clinton said: "What I did was allowed. It was allowed by the State Department. The State Department has confirmed that.

"I did not send or receive any information marked classified," Clinton said. "I take the responsibilities of handling classified materials very seriously and did so."

Clinton's efforts to address the email issue comes as her chief rival for the Democratic nomination, independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, exits the summer surging in still-quite-early public opinion polls and drawing massive crowds to his rallies and events.

Asked for an example of how she differs with Sanders on policy, Clinton demurred. "I'm going to keep laying out what I would do as president, what I stand for. ... I'm very much looking forward to the debates that we're going to have and we'll have plenty of time to draw those contrasts."

Asked when she might start, Clinton said: "I don't have any timing. I'm talking about what I would do as president: where I stand, what I believe."

Late Monday, Clinton picked up the endorsement of Iowa Rep. Dave Loebsack, adding to a growing collection that includes the nod Saturday from New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen. Loebsack told a rally in Hampton, Ill., there was "nobody more qualified" to be president.

Last year, Clinton turned over roughly 55,000 pages of emails to the State Department that she sent and received using a home-brew email server set up at her home in suburban New York while serving as secretary of state from 2009 to 2013.

Clinton has said she set up her own system instead of using a State Department account for the convenience of using a single hand-held email device.

The State Department is currently reviewing and publicly releasing those emails, some showing that Clinton received messages that were later determined to contain classified information, including some that contained material regarding the production and dissemination of U.S. intelligence.

"There is always a debate among different agencies about what something should be retroactively (marked classified)," Clinton told the AP on Monday. "But at the time, there were none. So I'm going to keep answering the questions and providing the facts so that people can understand better what happened."

Last month, Clinton gave the server to the FBI, along with a thumb drive kept by her attorney that contained copies of the emails.

"It is not a criminal investigation, it is a security review," Clinton said. "People are asked to provide any copies of any of these materials that are the subject of the debate. So, I immediately said, 'turn over everything.'"

Clinton added, "I don't know anything technical about servers. But I am informed it doesn't have anything on it. But for safekeeping, turn it over as part of the security review."

Cape escape causes expected problems for drivers trying to leave Cape Cod

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If you had the good sense -- or the great misfortune, depending on how you look at it -- to have left the Cape before 10 this morning (as I did) you probably got across the bridges relatively unscathed.

It should come as no surprise to anyone that drivers trying to leave Cape Cod this Labor Day are having a little bit of difficulty getting across the two bridges that cross the Cape Cod Canal.

If you had the good sense -- or the great misfortune, depending on how you look at it -- to have left the Cape before 10 this morning (as I did) you probably got across the bridges relatively unscathed.

I crossed the Bourne Bridge around 9 a.m., and didn't run into any backup at all. But as I listened to "traffic on the 3s" on WBZ-AM, I heard that by 10:30 a.m. there was an 11 mile backup on the Mid Cape Highway. (Click on link above for real time map.)

As of late afternoon, the Cape Cod Times reported a six mile backup on Route 6 -- not so bad by many Labor Day standards.

CapeCod.com reported that leaving the Cape via the Bourne Bridge was a better option than the Sagamore Bridge for some drivers.

The Bourne Bridge remained a better option but still saw delays of about three miles on MacArthur Boulevard Northbound from the Bourne Rotary with about 2 miles of backups on Sandwich Road between the Bourne and Sagamore Bridges.

For its part, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation posted highway signs in advance of the holiday to avoid travel between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Monday.

One of the things I have learned over the years, is that if the weather is beautiful on Cape Cod, as it is today, people try to get in as many extra hours on the the beaches as possible -- and delay their escape. (If it's a cloudy day, all bets are off, as traffic can be bad all day long.)

Clearly a weekend of beautiful weather was a big attraction for tourists who packed the beaches, hotels and restaurants from Friday night through Monday.

So I figured if I left early, I'd be bucking the trend, but missing a great day.

Oh well, when ya' gotta work, ya' gotta work.

Check out this report about the possibility of a third canal bridge that aired on Memorial Day.


Ware candlelight vigil to bring awareness to community progress on illicit drug use, recovery efforts

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The "We Walk for Recovery" event in Ware on Sept. 26 starts at 4 p.m. at Grenville Park, located off of Church St., and at dusk, there will be a lighted procession to Veterans Park on Main St. across from the town hall

WARE - A candlelight vigil is planned in Grenville Park later this month as a grassroots way to publicize ongoing efforts that have been underway to address the serious drug addiction and crime problem.

In recognition of the magnitude of the issue, Gov. Charlie Baker organized an 18-person working group that, in a June report, illustrated the need to "to change the way the commonwealth treats and even thinks about substance addiction" -- a matter he labeled a public health epidemic.

The "We Walk for Recovery" event in Ware on Sept. 26 starts at 4 p.m. at Grenville Park, located off of Church Street, and at dusk, there will be a lighted procession to Veterans Park on Main Street across from the town hall.

The law enforcement and public health struggle, particularly related to opioid addiction and abuse, is a problem many communities now grapple with, but in Ware it has been magnified -- with state data showing per capita deaths from those illicit substances the highest in the state.

Facing that, members of the Quaboag Hills Community Coalition's Substance Abuse Task Force have been making it their business to amplify responses to the challenge.

The group includes the town of Ware, Hampshire HOPE, Baystate Mary Lane and Wing hospitals, Quabbin Drug Response Unifying Group, Clean Slate Addiction Treatment Centers, and the Northwestern District Attorney's office.

The free event will have booths set up by service providers that specialize in recovery efforts. Tee shirts will be sold, with proceeds from the clothes used to purchase Narcan, which ameliorates the effect of a drug overdose, and is used by first responders and hospital staff.

"We are walking for our community, for people that are still struggling, for people that have lost their lives," said one of the candlelight vigil organizers, Beth Beardslee-Romeo.

In addition to her volunteers efforts, she is a community support worker at the Carson Center for Human Services, with offices in Springfield, Westfield, Pittsfield, and Ware.

Beardslee-Romeo said that despite any perception that efforts are not making progress, those are missing the mark.

"I am grateful from what I've been seeing and hearing," she said. "The community coalition is doing so many great things."

The candlelight vigil from the park to downtown Ware is expected to begin at about 6:30 p.m.

Sept. 26 is also national Drug Take Back Day, when agencies, including the DA's office, will help coordinate a large number of collection sites for people to discard drugs for disposal -- with no questions asked.

 

Photos, video: Three County Fair a treat for Labor Day crowd

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With gorgeous skies and temperatures in the 90's, the Three County Fair ended its 2015 run on Labor Day, treating crowds to a classic agricultural fair. Watch video

 

With gorgeous skies and temperatures in the 90's, the Three County Fair ended its 2015 run on Labor Day, treating crowds to a classic agricultural fair.

To some, it's more of what you hear rather then what you see. It's the clanking and putt-putt of antique steam engines. It's the music of the midway punctuated by the screams of riders. It's the roar of truck engines as they drag race past the grandstand. It's the food vendors hawking their wares as you walk by. It's the baby goats bleating or the roosters crowing in the animal barns.

Take a look at the video and listen to the sounds. You can't miss them.


New statewide clean energy coalition to launch Wednesday

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Mass Power Forward pledges to "fight against polluting energy infrastructure and advocate for renewables and energy efficiency."

HOLYOKE -- A group of Massachusetts activists are forming a new, statewide coalition to push for clean energy.

Mass Power Forward "will fight against polluting energy infrastructure and advocate for renewables and energy efficiency across the Commonwealth, including at the State House," according to a press release from the groups Toxics Action Center, Climate Action Now, and Neighbor to Neighbor.

Mass Power Forward came together "as we celebrate the closing of the Mt. Tom Coal Plant and as opposition grows to the proposed Kinder Morgan NED Pipeline," the statement reads.

On Wednesday morning outside Holyoke City Hall, the group will unveil a list of "75 environmental organizations, community groups, small businesses and faith-based organizations that have endorsed the coalition's principles."

Simultaneous 9 a.m. press conferences will be held Wednesday in Weymouth, Boston, Holyoke, Pittsfield, Peabody and Fall River.

Massachusetts heat wave possible for waning days of summer

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Three consecutive days of 90-degree weather constitutes a heat wave, and we may be in for one, according to meteorologists.

SPRINGFIELD — Some like it hot; others, not so much.

Heat-seekers can rejoice: Today, Labor Day 2015, the mercury rose to 92 degrees at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee, and temperatures are expected to exceed 90 degrees on Tuesday and Wednesday.

For those playing along at home, that constitutes a heat wave – three consecutive days of 90-degree weather. And the odds are pretty good for that to happen, according to Jacob Wycoff, meteorologist with Western Mass News, TV partner of MassLive/The Republican.

"It's unusual, but not unprecedented," Wycoff said of the sultry weather, which comes just as summer is waning. Autumn is less than three weeks away.

Tuesday's high could hit 95 degrees, and Wednesday is expected to reach at least 92, according to the National Weather Service in Taunton. Late Wednesday into early Thursday could feature showers and thunderstorms, followed by a muggy, soggy Thursday afternoon, with high temps reaching about 82.

While heat index values – what the temperature feels like to the human body when relative humidity combines with the air temperature – will likely fall short of the criteria for a heat advisory, temperatures should still reach into the middle to upper 90s during the afternoon hours, the weather service reports.

A slow-moving cold front will bring much-needed rainfall to the area in the form of scattered showers and thunderstorms Thursday into Friday, followed by dry, seasonable weather for the weekend.



Hundreds of frustrated migrants surge past police near Hungary border, march north

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As European leaders debated how to share responsibility for the more than 340,000 people from the Middle East, Africa and Asia who are already seeking refuge, Germany promised to spend billions of euros in extra aid for those already there and those yet to arrive.

By NICOLAE DUMITRACHE
and SHAWN POGATCHNIK

ROSZKE, Hungary -- Hundreds of angry and frustrated asylum-seekers broke through police lines Monday near Hungary's southern border with Serbia and began marching north toward Budapest, while Britain and France pledged to take in tens of thousands more refugees to try to ease the crisis.

As European leaders debated how to share responsibility for the more than 340,000 people from the Middle East, Africa and Asia who are already seeking refuge, Germany promised to spend billions of euros in extra aid for those already there and those yet to arrive. France weighed whether increased airstrikes against Islamic State militants would help to stem the flow of those fleeing Syria.

But the Hungarian prime minister scoffed at a proposed quota system for refugees in the 28-member European Union, saying it wouldn't work unless Europe first secured its borders.

Hungary's inability to control the flow of people across its southern border with Serbia was on graphic display Monday. Crowds who had grown tired of waiting for buses at Hungary's first migrant holding center near the border village of Roszke tore down flimsy police tape, advanced down a country road and walked around and straight through rows of police trying to block them.

Police shoved individual migrants and fired jets of pepper spray, but it had little effect as about half of the 500-strong crowd reached the M5 highway that connects Serbia and Hungary. They headed north along the shoulder, raising their arms and chanting "Germany! Germany!"

Police merely walked beside them as a lone helicopter monitored the marchers' progress north as darkness fell. The highway was blocked for nearly 50 kilometers (30 miles) as a precaution. A few hours later, as the marchers paused by the roadside to try to sleep in the cold on the pavement, police delivered buses and requested they board for delivery to a refugee camp. Most refused.

The northward march mirrored Friday's surge of people down Budapest's motorway toward Austria, which forced Hungary to concede defeat and bus thousands to the Austrian border. Germany's rail company said Monday it had carried 22,000 asylum- seekers over the weekend on more than 100 trains, a number boosted by the fact that Hungary again has dropped visa checks on foreigners buying train tickets for the wealthier countries to the west, particularly Germany.

Following an overnight Cabinet meeting, Germany said it would set aside $6.6 billion to boost aid for asylum-seekers and hire 3,000 more federal police. It also planned to make it easier to build refugee housing and for non-German speakers to hold jobs.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel reflected on what she called "a moving, in some parts breathtaking weekend behind us," when Austria and Germany threw open their borders for thousands of asylum-seekers trying to get out of Hungary. She said all EU countries could help accommodate the families fleeing war and poverty.

Britain and France, seen as less generous than Germany so far, overcame reluctance and stepped up their commitments Monday. British Prime Minister David Cameron said his country would resettle up to 20,000 Syrians from camps in Turkey, Jordan and Syria over the next five years.

"The whole country has been deeply moved by the heartbreaking images we have seen over the past few days," he told Parliament. "It is absolutely right that Britain should fulfill its moral responsibility to help those refugees."

French President Francois Hollande said his country would take in 24,000 refugees over the next two years. To relieve the burden on Germany, he told Merkel that France would take in 1,000 of the migrants who have just arrived from Hungary. Most say they are fleeing the 4-year-old civil war in Syria.

Saying France has to target "the causes of these horrors," Hollande announced possible airstrikes against Islamic State targets in Syria, an idea he previously had resisted. France will send reconnaissance flights over Syria starting Tuesday, he said, and "we will be ready to strike."

Calm returned Monday to the main Austrian-Hungarian border point, where thousands crossed over the weekend by foot, bus, train and car after complaining of neglect and human rights violations in Hungary and refusing to stay in refugee camps there.

Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann and other EU leaders said Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban bungled Hungary's intake of migrants so badly that it left Austria and Germany no choice but to open their borders Saturday.

Orban compared Hungary to a "black sheep" representing a voice of reason in the European flock of countries. He argued that the EU first must focus on security measures to force those from troubled lands to seek asylum in neighboring countries, not in the heart of Europe. He said the current discussions on a new quota to handle 120,000 migrants soon would lead to discussions on hosting millions more.

In a related development, Hungarian Defense Minister Csaba Hende resigned Monday. The statement from Orban's government didn't explicitly blame him for failing to complete the construction of a fence along Hungary's 110-mile border with Serbia, but it was supposed to be finished last month and remains largely incomplete.

The marchers heading for Budapest and, they hoped, eventually Germany blamed Hungary for their difficult and slow journey.

"They treated us very badly. They left us without tents, without blankets, on the ground ... without toilets for two days. We could not ever bear that," said one Syrian man walking along the highway who would give only his first name, Saadi.

Migrants trying to reach the heart of Europe via Turkey, Greece, the Balkans and Hungary have faced dangers, difficulties and delays on every link of the journey.

Scuffles broke out Monday near the village of Idomeni on Greece's northern border with Macedonia, where police angered a 2,000-strong crowd by permitting only small groups to cross every half hour. Tensions eased only when police permitted larger groups to proceed.

Greek Migration Minister Yiannis Mouzalas estimated that at least two-thirds of the more than 15,000 travelers stranded on the eastern Aegean island of Lesbos would be ferried to mainland Greece in the next five days. Lesbos bears the brunt of the refugee influx from nearby Turkey, with more than 1,000 arriving daily on small boats in often dangerous conditions.

Germany has an open-door policy for asylum seekers, particularly from Syria, but also wants to send back travelers who are only job-seekers, not war refugees.

In a late-night meeting that lasted until early Monday in Berlin, the German government decided to make it easier to deport people from stable nations such as Montenegro, Kosovo and Albania.

German media reported that five asylum-seekers were injured in a fire Monday in Rottenburg in southwest Germany -- three when they jumped from a burning house and two who were treated for smoke inhalation. No cause for the blaze was given, although right-wing militants in Germany have set fire to other properties earmarked for asylum-seekers recently.

Merkel's deputy, Sigmar Gabriel, said integrating newcomers into society would require confronting the fears of native Germans.

"There will be conflicts," the economy minister said. "The more openly we talk about the fact that people are worried, that there's fear in the country and that there may be conflicts will, I think, help us deal with this realistically and confront reality."


AP reporters Angela Charlton, Sylvie Corbet and Elaine Ganley in Paris, Frank Jordans and Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin, Gregory Katz in London, Pablo Gorondi and Alexander Kuli in Budapest, Balint Szlanko in Roszke, Hungary, George Jahn in Vienna, and Giannis Papanikos in Idomeni, Greece, contributed to this report.

Photos: Blandford Fair celebrates 148 years of small town fun

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As the silken voices of the Dan Kane Singers mixed in the 90-degree heat with bleating goats and mooing cows, this Western Massachusetts gem of a small town agricultural fair served up tradition right along with the roast beef dinner and homemade pies.

The 148th Blandford Fair ended its 2015 Labor Day weekend celebration in style.

As the silken voices of the Dan Kane Singers mixed in the 90-degree heat with bleating goats and mooing cows, this Western Massachusetts gem of a small town agricultural fair served up tradition right along with the roast beef dinner and homemade pies.

Started not long after the end of the Civil War, this reminder of older times still draws people from near and far for a reminder of the life and values common long before the digital age.

A full roster of events appealing to all ages began Friday afternoon with the usual mix of music, games, competitions, agricultural exhibits and country oddities like the scarecrow making contest and kids corn husking. Rides, food and craft vendors lined the mini midway and the dining hall drew those with a taste for the staples of home-style country cooking. Exhibits and demonstrations of local art are never far from the ox and horse pulls at a small fair and hill town history co-existed with the histrionics of clowns and magic.

As usual in the region, the smaller fairs delight smaller crowds at the season moves once again to the Big E later in September.

Man struck, killed in wheelchair in Chelmsford identified

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James Conlon, 72, was visiting family in Chelmsford when was struck crossing a road at about,

CHELMSFORD -- Authorities have released the name of a man in a wheelchair who died after he was struck by a pickup truck on Saturday.

A Middlesex district attorney said Sunday that 72-year-old James Conlon, of Boston, was visiting family in Chelmsford. He was struck crossing a road at about 3 p.m. Saturday.

Police Chief James Spinney said it appeared that Conlon was using a crosswalk, but it's not clear if he had a light indicating it was safe to cross. The accident happened on Westford Road at the intersection with Drum Hill Traffic Square.

Police said the 45-year-old pickup truck driver, from Hudson, New Hampshire, was cooperating in the investigation.

Alcohol and drugs are not suspected. No charges have been filed.

The investigation is continuing.


 

Guatemalan revolt against establishment extends to presidential election

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Voters choosing a new president Sunday rendered the pre-scandal favorite to third place, possibly shoving him out of the runoff in favor of a former television comedian with no political experience.

By SONIA PEREZ D

GUATEMALA CITY -- A citizen revolt against Guatemala's political establishment that helped oust former President Otto Perez Molina in the midst of a corruption scandal appears to have continued at the ballot box.

Voters choosing a new president Sunday rendered the pre-scandal favorite to third place, possibly shoving him out of the runoff in favor of a former television comedian with no political experience.

But they showed their lukewarm enthusiasm for the entire slate of 14 candidates who most considered as representing the status quo in the small Central American country. The leader going into the Oct. 25 runoff, Jimmy Morales, only got 24 percent of the vote with more than 98 percent of ballots counted Monday.

Sandra Torrez 9715Former first lady and Presidential candidate Sandra Torrez, left, of the National Unity of Hope party sits next to her running mate Mario Leal during a press conference at a hotel in Guatemala City, Monday, Sep. 7, 2015. Voters choosing a new president Sunday rendered favorite Manuel Baldizon to third place, possibly shoving him out of the runoff in favor of Torrez.  
Longtime politician Manuel Baldizon, who was widely expected to be the next president before the customs corruption scandal took down top government officials, was in a fight to make the runoff, losing votes at the final count to former first lady Sandra Torres, who had 19.7 percent to Baldizon's 19.6 percent. He trailed Torres by more than 3,000 votes of at least 5 million cast.

"This is the political collapse of Manuel Baldizon that no one could have imagined," said Daniel Haering, professor at the University of Francisco Marroquin government school. "From now on, Guatemalan politicians are going to have to respond to various political demands of the people."

Luis Fernando Mack, a professor at the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences in Guatemala, said the electoral tribunal has a delicate situation on its hands and important decisions to make to resolve the fight for second place.

"The fight will be fierce, they're going to fight for every vote," Mack said.

Electoral tribunal judge Julio Solorzano said it was the first time the country had experienced a tie for the No. 2 spot in a runoff. He also said the turnout was the highest seen so far in a democratic election in Guatemala, 70 percent, slightly higher than the turnout for 2011.

The candidates in Sunday's election faced an uncomfortable challenge: trying to win popular support in a nation where Perez Molina remains in court custody awaiting a decision on whether he will be tried on graft charges.

Most of the candidates were old-guard figures picked to run before energized prosecutors backed by a mass anti-corruption movement toppled Perez Molina's administration. Many voters were so skeptical that they campaigned for the election itself to be postponed to give them a new crop of choices.

Morales boasted of his outsider status and said he is part of the uprising against corruption. He has promised greater transparency, including media review of government contracts.

Baldizon had led most polls with roughly 30 percent backing. His running mate is accused by prosecutors of influence trafficking, but as a candidate enjoys immunity from prosecution.

Baldizon acknowledged Guatemalans' disgust with crime, corruption and impunity. His campaign website vowed a "modernization of the democratic state" to reform government and combat poverty and social inequality.

Torres divorced former President Alvaro Colom ahead of the last presidential race to try to get around rules barring presidential relatives from running, but was still ruled ineligible. A businesswoman and longtime political party figure, she proposed a coalition government to respond to the concerns of outraged citizens.

The customs corruption scandal, uncovered by prosecutors and a U.N. commission known as CICIG, which is investigating criminal networks in the country, involved a scheme known as "La Linea," or "The Line," believed to have defrauded the state of millions.

Perez Molina is in custody and faces accusations that he was involved in the scheme in which businesspeople paid bribes to avoid import duties through Guatemala's customs agency. He is the first Guatemalan president to resign.

Many of the thousands of protesters who took to the streets in recent months demanding Perez Molina's resignation and the postponing of Sunday's vote later called for a protest vote of blank ballots in the face of the scandal, which also forced Perez Molina's previous vice president, Roxana Baldetti, to resign. She is jailed and facing charges in the corruption scheme.

But the number of null or blank votes Sunday was minimal, according to the official count.


AP writer Alberto Arce contributed to this report from Guatemala City.

Authorities search for disabled boat with possible injured person on Connecticut River in Hatfield

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Public safety officials were searching for a disabled boat on the Connecticut River in Hatfield, according to Western Mass News, TV partner of MassLive/The Republican.

HATFIELD — Authorities were searching the Connecticut River Monday night for a disabled boat with a possible injured person on board, according to Hatfield firefighters, who responded to the South Street area to search for the boat.

The incident was reported shortly before 8:30 p.m.

A law enforcement official told Western Mass News, TV partner of MassLive/The Republican, that the boat's propeller was damaged, immobilizing the vessel.

Additional information wasn't immediately available.


 
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