On the quarter's last trading session, investors were in the mood to buy, especially stocks that have been battered recently.

By BERNARD CONDON

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks rose across the board Wednesday following big gains in Asia and Europe, a buoyant end to the worst quarter for the market in four years.

From worries over a slowing Chinese economy, uncertainty over interest rates and a scary slide in commodity prices, stocks have been hit with one blow after another in the past three months. But on Wednesday, investors were in the mood to buy, especially stocks that have been battered recently. Energy companies and raw material suppliers, the biggest losers in the quarter, rose more than 2 percent each.

The buying began at the opening of trading and swept across all 10 sectors of the Standard and Poor's 500 index. Among the big gainers, fashion company Ralph Lauren jumped 14 percent after announcing a new CEO would take over from its namesake founder.

Tim Courtney, chief investment officer of Exencial Wealth Advisors, said it was only a matter of time before investors started buying given the recent drops.

"I've been surprised we haven't had rallies like the one we're seeing now," Courtney said. After "so many negative days, you're going to get a bounceback."

The S&P 500 jumped 35.94 points, or 1.9 percent, to 1,920.03. The index has fallen seven of the past 10 days, and is off 6.9 percent in the July-September period, the worst quarterly performance since 2011.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 235.57 points, or 1.5 percent, to 16,284.70. It fell 7.6 percent in the quarter. The Nasdaq composite climbed 102.84 points, or 2.3 percent, to 4,620.16.

The rally in the U.S. followed even bigger gains overseas. Stocks indexes in France, Germany, Britain and Japan all climbed more than 2 percent.

The rocky third quarter began with fears over Greece's debt, then moved on to worries about a rout in Chinese stocks, signs of slowing growth in the country and plunging currencies in developing countries that export to it. The S&P 500 dropped more than 10 percent in August from his May high, a drop known on Wall Street as a "correction."

"It's been ugly," said John Canally, an investment strategist at LPL Financial. "We hadn't had a 10 percent pullback since 2011, and people forget how to act."

All five of the biggest drops in the year for the S&P 500 occurred in the last three months. Investors were so jumpy, they even sold on news that previously would have triggered buying. When the Federal Reserve announced earlier this month that it would hold off raising interest rates, the S&P 500 slipped.

On Wednesday, investors mustered enough courage to buy even biotechnology companies, breaking an eight-day streak of drops for the battered sector. The Nasdaq Biotechnology index, down 24 percent from a peak in July, rose 4.5 percent. It fell sharply last week after Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton tweeted that drug prices were too high, then said she would use government drug-buying programs to slash prices if elected.

Among stocks making big moves on Wednesday, Western Digital surged $10.57, or 15 percent, to $79.44 after the digital storage company agreed to a $3.8 billion investment from China's Unisplendour Corp.

The Gap fell $1.72, or nearly 6 percent, to $28.50. The new CEO of Ralph Lauren, Stefan Larsson, will leave his current job as global president of Gap's low-price Old Navy chain. Ralph Lauren rose $14.11 to $118.16.

Chesapeake Energy rose 54 cents, or 8 percent, to $7.33 after announcing that it would cut 15 percent of its workforce.

Investors are waiting for jobs data due out on Friday for clues about when the Federal Reserve may raise interest rates. Policymakers have said they will likely raise rates before the end of the year. On Wednesday, U.S. payroll processor ADP reported that U.S. employers added 200,000 jobs this month, up from 180,000 the previous month.

The price of oil fell slightly as total U.S. crude inventories rose. U.S. crude fell 14 cents to close at $45.09 a barrel in New York. Oil finished the volatile month down 8 percent.

Brent Crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, rose 14 cents to close at $48.37 a barrel in London.

In other futures trading on the NYMEX:

1. Wholesale gasoline rose 2.6 cents to close at $1.389 a gallon.
2. Heating oil rose 1.5 cents to close at $1.513 a gallon.
3. Natural gas fell 6.2 cents to close at $2.524 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Prices of U.S. government bonds didn't move much. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note held steady at 2.05 percent.

Precious metals futures ended slightly lower, but copper prices surged. Gold slipped $11.60 to $1,115.20 an ounce, silver fell six cents to $14.52 an ounce and copper jumped nine cents to $2.34 a pound.

The Massachusetts Animal Coalition has awarded the House Rabbit Connection a grant to help spay and neuter domestic rabbits in the commonwealth, according to a press release from the organization.

The Massachusetts Animal Coalition has awarded the House Rabbit Connection a grant to help spay and neuter domestic rabbits in the commonwealth, according to a press release from the organization.

The grant was awarded as part of the coalition's 'I'm Animal Friendly' campaign to raise awareness about the importance of fixing pets. Not only does spaying and neutering pets help control pet overpopulation but it also is crucial in reducing certain cancers such as testicular, ovarian, and uterine cancer, according to a release from the organization.

Funds raised from the sales of the 'I'm Animal Friendly' license plates go to assist animals throughout the state. For more information go to www.petplate.org

Funds are available for Massachusetts residents only.

To find out if you are eligible for the spay/neuter assistance program contact the House Rabbit Connection at hopline.org

Transcripts of 19 interviews with the Massachusetts Democrat, who died of brain cancer in 2009, were made public Wednesday as part of an oral history project.

By BOB SALSBERG

BOSTON -- In newly released recordings, U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy expresses his frustration over the way a failed 2007 immigration bill was handled in the Senate and the secretive approach President Bill Clinton took on his failed universal health care proposal, which Kennedy called a "catastrophic mistake."

Transcripts of 19 interviews with the Massachusetts Democrat, who died of brain cancer in 2009, were made public Wednesday as part of an oral history project by the Miller Center at the University of Virginia and the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate in Boston.

The interviews, conducted by historian James Sterling Young, took place from 2005 to 2008 and covered a wide range of topics including the civil rights movement, Northern Ireland, the Vietnam War and some of his own political races.

While the Senate's inability to pass immigration legislation in 2007 despite what had been billed as a bipartisan compromise was the fault of both parties, Kennedy blamed "tentative" actions by top Senate Democrats worried about electoral repercussions for ultimately dooming the measure.

"They weren't serious," he complained. "The leadership was not serious about doing it."

Then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Kennedy said, "went on to manufacture a situation to antagonize Republicans, to try to blame them, so there'd be a blame game going on, and stop consideration of a bill."

The result was a historic missed opportunity, said Kennedy, who had been championing immigration reform since he was first elected to the Senate in 1962.

"That's why it's going to take another 45 years for someone else to get this thing passed," he told Young.

Kennedy, who helped shape but did not live long enough to see passage of the Affordable Care Act under President Barack Obama, was also critical of the way Clinton handled the issue early in his first term.

Clinton gave first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton responsibility for overseeing the formulation of health care legislation.

Kennedy maintained the administration erred by spending too much time trying to develop its own health care proposal, rather than consulting with Congress and taking existing ideas, modifying them and moving forward. The result, he said, was an enormously complicated process that never gained traction.

"I think everybody understands now that that was a catastrophic mistake," Kennedy said.

"They underestimated the complexity of it, and then they were faced with a variety of other kinds of issues that came up during this period of time, which diverted the focus and attention away from it," he added.

The New York Times and The Boston Globe first reported excerpts of the interview.

The Miller Center and the Kennedy institute said they also conducted nearly 250 interviews with Senate colleagues, staffers, family members and others as part of the oral history project. An additional 10 interviews with Kennedy were not immediately released, including one with the senator's recollections on the 1969 car accident on Chappaquiddick Island that left a woman dead, the Times reported.

AP writer Mark Pratt contributed to this report.

Hours before Richard Glossip was scheduled to be executed Sept. 16 for ordering the 1997 killing of Barry Van Treese, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals granted a rare two-week reprieve to review his claims of new evidence, including another inmate's assertion that he overheard Justin Sneed admit to framing Glossip.

By SEAN MURPHY

McALESTER, Okla. -- Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin postponed at the last minute Wednesday the execution of an inmate who claims he's innocent, after prison officials said one of the three drugs they had received to carry out the lethal injection didn't match state guidelines.

A Fallin spokesman said the state Department of Corrections reached out immediately to the attorney general's office once prison officials realized they received the wrong drug for use in Richard Glossip's execution, according to Fallin spokesman Alex Weintz. Oklahoma's protocols call for the use of potassium chloride, but the state received potassium acetate instead.

Weintz said the department receives its lethal injection drugs on the day of an execution.

Attorney General Scott Pruitt's office advised Fallin and prison officials that the state's lethal injection guidelines, which had been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court, had to be followed, said Pruitt spokesman Aaron Cooper.

"It is unclear why, and extremely frustrating to the attorney general, that the Department of Corrections did not have the correct drugs to carry out the execution," Cooper said.

Fallin reset Glossip's execution for Nov. 6, saying it would give the state enough time to determine whether potassium acetate is a suitable substitute, or to find a supply of potassium chloride.

"That's just crazy," Glossip said when told of the drug mix-up Wednesday evening. "Nobody has really told me anything," said Glossip, who said he still was in his holding cell when he learned about the postponement. He said he has been returned to his normal cell on death row and is "happy to have 37 more days."

Glossip had called a longtime friend who put the inmate on the line with reporters who had gathered for the second time in two weeks to witness his execution.

Dale Baich, an attorney for Glossip, said he was informed in a letter from the attorney general's office last month that the Department of Corrections had already obtained the potassium chloride and other drugs needed for the execution.

"Oklahoma has had months to prepare for this execution, and today's events only highlight how more transparency and public oversight in executions is sorely needed," Baich said.

Hours before Glossip was scheduled to be executed Sept. 16 for ordering the 1997 killing of Barry Van Treese, the Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals granted a rare two-week reprieve to review his claims of new evidence, including another inmate's assertion that he overheard Justin Sneed admit to framing Glossip.

Glossip has long claimed he was framed by Sneed, a motel handyman who admitted to fatally beating Van Treese with a baseball bat, but said he did so only after Glossip promised him $10,000. Sneed -- who is serving a life sentence -- was the state's key witness against Glossip in two separate trials. But the same court this week denied Glossip's request for an evidentiary hearing and emergency stay of execution, saying the new evidence simply expanded on his original appeals.

The U.S. Supreme Court also refused to block the execution Wednesday, just shortly before Fallin issued her stay.

Department of Corrections Director Robert Patton said he requested the stay after learning officials had the wrong drug "out of due diligence."

"This will allow us time to review the current drug protocol and answer any questions we might have about the drug protocol," he told reporters at the media center near Oklahoma's execution chamber before walking away without taking questions.

Patton took over as head of the corrections department in January 2014. That April, Clayton Lockett writhed and struggled against his restraints after an intravenous line was improperly placed. Lockett died 43 minutes after his lethal injection started.

Fallin has repeatedly denied Glossip's request for a stay of execution, saying in a Tuesday statement that the state "has gone to extraordinary lengths to guarantee that Richard Glossip is treated fairly and that the claims made by him and his attorneys are taken seriously."

"He has now had multiple trials, 17 years of appeals, and three stays of his execution," Fallin said. "Over and over again, courts have rejected his arguments and the information he has presented to support them."

Another one of Glossip's lawyers, Donald Knight, said he will use the additional weeks to press the inmate's claim that he had nothing to do with Van Treese's death.

"Hopefully the extra time will bring us more witnesses who know Justin Sneed is a liar," Knight said.

Besides his innocence claim, Glossip also has been the lead plaintiff in a separate case challenging the state's three-drug execution protocol. His attorneys argue that the sedative midazolam wouldn't adequately render an inmate unconscious before the second and third drugs were administered. They said that presented a substantial risk of violating the Eighth Amendment's prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.

However, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 5-4 in June that the sedative's use was constitutional.

Oklahoma's protocols call for the use of midazolam at the start of an execution. It is followed by vecuronium bromide, which halts an inmate's breathing, and potassium chloride, which stops the heart.

Oklahoma first used midazolam in the Lockett execution. After that, the state increased by five times the amount of midazolam it uses and executed Charles Warner in January. He complained of a burning sensation but showed no other obvious signs of physical distress.

Oklahoma has two more executions planned in upcoming weeks. Benjamin Cole is set to be executed on Oct. 7 for the 2002 killing of his 9-month-old daughter, and John Grant is scheduled to die on Oct. 28 for the 1998 stabbing death of a prison worker at the Dick Connor Correctional Center in Hominy.

A prison spokeswoman said there currently are no plans to delay the executions scheduled for Cole and Grant.

Here are the winning jackpot drawing for Wednesday, September 30, 2015.

Feeling lucky? Perhaps then that $2 you paid for a Powerball ticket will pay off in the latest drawing. Check your numbers here.

The winning numbers in Wednesday evening's Powerball drawing were:
21, 39, 40, 55, 59, Powerball: 17, Powerplay: 3x

The estimated jackpot is $310.5 million. It is the second-highest Powerball jackpot this year.

Powerball drawings are Wednesdays and Saturdays and are offered in the 44 states, Washington D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Barbieri joined Springfield City Councilman Bud Williams and about two dozen others on a walk through Six Corners, a neighborhood struggling with crime and poverty.

SPRINGFIELD — They've done it before, and they'll do it again – march through the streets of Springfield's high-crime areas to show that police officers and the communities they serve are a united front, not enemies.

"We're not an occupying army. We're a public service agency that serves the public," Police Commissioner John Barbieri said Wednesday, shortly before joining city councilors Bud Williams and Melvin A. Edwards, Springfield Fire Commissioner Joseph A. Conant, and Pastor Steven R. Williams Sr., president of the J.C. Williams Community Center/Revival Time Evangelistic Center, for a walk through the Six Corners neighborhood.

The "Violence Awareness Walk" left from the pastor's church late Wednesday afternoon, covering several city blocks before winding up back at the Florence Street sanctuary in the heart of Six Corners.

"We get out in the streets and walk just to show the citizens that we care about them," Barbieri said, noting that the activity isn't a response to a particular crime or incident. "It's just about showing solidarity between the Police Department and the citizens," he said.

Some people may think that a police officer's job is to take people away in handcuffs. But it really has more to do with peace work and social work than locking up bad guys. "Arrest is a small portion of what we do," Barbieri said. "Most of what we do is calls for service," he said, listing the various quality-of-life issues police officers help with on any given day.

City Councilman Williams, a former probation officer, said the walks are held in sections of Springfield that generally are poor and burdened by crime and give community leaders a chance to interface directly with residents. "It helps build community relations," he said. "This is positive. We're trying to be positive."

Another benefit of the walks: crime tips. They give people who may be leery of reporting illicit activity an opportunity to talk directly – and informally – to police officers and city officials, according to Williams.

Among those participating in Wednesday's Violence Awareness Walk were Springfield City Council candidates Jesse Lederman and Yolanda Cancel, the latter of whom has made "canceling" crime, poverty and unemployment campaign bullet points.

Cancel, 38, a mixed-race candidate with black, French Canadian, native American and Puerto Rican roots, is a veritable poster child for diversity. She believes her background gives her a multi-perspective view of Springfield, its people, problems and solutions to move the city forward.

Cancel said she plans to continue her activism no matter what happens on Election Day. "Win or lose, I'll be out here," she said. Her view of Springfield politics is simple: "Step up or shut up," Cancel said. "That's what I'm doing – I'm stepping up, and I'm not going to shut up."

Cynthia Curtis, who attends services at the Revival Time Evangelistic Center on Florence Street, said she participated in Wednesday's walk to reach out to Six Corners residents who may need help. "To let them know there's a better way, that the church is here for them to help, to provide services," she said.

Even though Springfield's overall crime rate continues to decline, regular shootings, stabbings and other violent episodes can give the impression that the city has lost its way. But participants in the Violence Awareness Walk say that's simply not the case, that most people want an end to the negativity, and direct community action is one way to express positivity.

"It's time for a positive change. It's a process," Curtis said.

Barbieri couldn't agree more. "It's a difficult time," the police commissioner said. "Crime is so complex."

But one thing that's beyond dispute is the role the public plays in helping police.

"The community, they are our eyes and ears," Barbieri said.

Forecasters were still gathering data trying to determine how it might affect the U.S.

MIAMI -- Hurricane Joaquin grew into a category 3 storm late Wednesday as it approached the central islands of the Bahamas on a projected track that would take it near the U.S. East Coast by the weekend.

Maximum sustained winds reached 115 mph (185 kph) and hurricane strength winds extended 35 miles (55 kilometers) from the center of the storm over the Atlantic Ocean, said the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami, which predicted Joaquin would develop into a major hurricane in the coming days.

Authorities in the Bahamas prepared for a brush with the storm, with the center expected to pass near or over several islands during the night and Thursday.

A turn to the north and northwest toward the United States was expected late Thursday or Friday, but forecasters were still gathering data trying to determine how it might affect the U.S.

"We've got Air Force reconnaissance planes continuously giving us data from inside the hurricane this morning, and we're going to be throwing a lot more aircraft resources at this problem over the next few days because it still is not certain whether or not Joaquin will directly impact the U.S. East Coast or stay out to sea," said Rick Knabb, director of the National Hurricane Center.

"We would be very concerned about them," Greene said.

Stephen Russell, director of the country's National Emergency Management Agency, said the approach of the storm brought storm surges that washed out a portion of the main road in San Salvador and some people in low-lying areas on the island of Mayaguana were urged to evacuate their homes.

Those islands have relatively small populations, fewer than 1,000 on San Salvador, but they are vulnerable in a storm since most of the people live along the shoreline in modest homes.

A warning also was issued for some more populous islands in the northwestern Bahamas, including Grand Bahama and New Providence, where the capital of Nassau is.

On Eleuthera, a narrow strip to the north of Cat Island, people removed stray coconuts and other debris from their yards and put up storm shutters in blustery winds, said Chris Gosling, who runs a volunteer ambulance service on the island. Islanders have learned from past storms not to take chances.

"People don't panic too much. There's nothing you can do about it. If it comes, it comes, and you do what you can," said Gosling, who has lived on Eleuthera for 27 years. "If the forecast is right we will get some wind and rain and it will go back out to sea."

The U.S. National Hurricane Center's long-term forecast showed the storm could near the U.S. East Coast above North Carolina on Sunday.

"Residents of the Carolinas north should be paying attention and monitoring the storm. There's no question," said Eric Blake, a hurricane specialist with the center. "If your hurricane plans got a little dusty because of the light hurricane season, now is a good time to update them."

The center of the storm late Wednesday was about 170 miles (275 kilometers) east of the central Bahamas and moving toward the southwest at 6 mph (9 kph).

The pull-up-your-pants line isn't Griffin giving criminal advice to young criminals in training. It's him bemoaning the state of affairs in parts of modern-day urban America, where some young men resort to drugs, gangs and violence to carve out reputations for themselves, rather than using sports, college and jobs as guidelines for a righteous life.

This is the first in a series of status-check articles on candidates running for Hampden County sheriff. So far, there are three declared candidates for the job, which hasn't been contested for more than 40 years. The race won't be decided until November 2016, but things are already heating up.

SPRINGFIELD — "Pull your pants up, kid, if you want to outrun the cops," Hampden County sheriff candidate Jack Griffin said on a recent afternoon, directing the comment at no one in particular.

Rather, he was taking a sartorial swipe at dead-end kids in general, those who wind up in jail or an early grave. Those who happen to wear low-slung pants that hang off their backsides, even when they're wearing a belt.

It's a risky proposition, especially for someone who suddenly finds himself running from the law.

"It's awful to see what this whole culture has become," said Griffin, a Springfield native who grew up in The X section of Forest Park in the '70s, back when street kids ran wild and never got shot or stabbed. Almost never.

The pull-up-your-pants line isn't Griffin giving criminal advice to young criminals in training. It's him bemoaning the state of affairs in parts of modern-day urban America, where some young men use drugs, guns and gangs to carve out reputations for themselves instead of education, sports and work as guidelines for a righteous life.

Granted, jobs – factory jobs, union jobs, entry-level jobs with opportunities for advancement – aren't as abundant as they once were. Lots of kids, if given the choice between a well-paying job with bennies and a criminal retirement plan involving iron bars or graveside tears, would never embrace a dishonest lifestyle if honest choices were plentiful.

But still ...

"There's no such thing as a fistfight anymore," groaned Griffin, noting that some of today's young toughs grossly overreact to perceived slights and challenges, using weapons to settle scores instead of fists, wits or basketballs. May the best man win – that's how it was in Griffin's day, when there was really no such thing as gunfire near The X.

"There were no guns!" he exclaimed matter-of-factly.

Now, some young men flex their muscles with firepower, according to Griffin. The shell casings that end up on street corners and the flesh-piercing projectiles that end up in people's lower torsos are regular reminders that "Houston, we have a problem."

ShotSpotter is another reality check, further illustrating the differences between Griffin's day and today. No such thing in Jack's day. But now the high-tech acoustic gunfire-detection system exists in some of the tougher sections of his beloved Forest Park, the neighborhood Griffin left behind years ago for the tranquility of East Forest Park.

Griffin, 56, says he can relate to today's criminal element – the young ones with no apparent lifeplan or exit strategy for the lifestyle they're leading – because he could have wound up on that same path. But his family, his faith – he's a Mass-going Irish Catholic who never misses – and his neighborhood were always there for him. So were sports, particularly basketball and boxing, and nuns, shopkeepers and loads of other mentors, who were never referred to as mentors in his day. Touchy-feelyism didn't exist back then.

The component parts of Griffin's upbringing – the highs, lows and everything in between – made him who he is today. They conspired to lead him into the corrections field, a job he says he relates to on so many levels. "Rehabilitation and corrections, that's my wheelhouse," said Griffin, who spent more than two decades with the Connecticut Department of Corrections, much of it helping addicts get straight.

"Corrections gets in your blood," he said. "You gotta go to work every day, man. You gotta interact with the inmates."

Nick Cocchi, left, and James Gill, both currently ranking officers in the Hampden County Sheriff's Department, are among the three declared candidates running for sheriff. (Facebook) 

Griffin is the first to admit he's no politician. The died-in-the-wool Democrat is no Teddy Kennedy, and he's certainly not the type to offer up platitudes as cures for the cancers eating away at America.

However, he says he is the type who'll bring a "fresh set of eyes" to corrections – his unofficial campaign slogan – if voters from every background, creed and color give him the nod in November 2016. Griffin says he wants to bring a hands-on, street-level perspective to the office of sheriff, a job that hasn't been up for grabs since Mike Ashe became sheriff back in 1974, a title he still holds today.

When Ashe said he wouldn't run again, it spurred a field of contenders that so far includes Griffin, Nick Cocchi (a ranking officer in the Hampden County Sheriff's Department) and James Gill (another ranking official in the Hampden County Sheriff's Department, who's also a minister). All of the candidates are veteran corrections officials, though Griffin has been retired from the Connecticut system for a few years now.

Mike Albano, the former Springfield mayor and current Governor's Councilor, recently said he's seriously considering a run for sheriff. But any movement on that front likely won't happen until early 2016. While that variable has the potential to spark a three-way Democratic primary – Griffin, Cocchi and Albano are all Dems – it remains unclear if Albano will enter the race. Gill was a lifelong Democrat, but he unenrolled from the party for the sheriff's race.

In a recent interview with MassLive/The Republican, Griffin touched on a host of issues, from his preferred location for the alcohol correction center – an issue that has given agita to Ashe and others who wanted to place the facility in Springfield's North End – to his nascent campaign, which is starting to take shape.

Griffin's campaign Facebook page has been up and running for a few months, and now comes his campaign website, backjack2016.blogspot.com. He has a campaign manager, Mark Dorsey, and just last month Griffin got things squared away with the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance, a prerequisite for running for the countywide office.

The donations are starting to trickle in, but Griffin, the newest entrant into the race, still trails Cocchi and Gill by several money miles. He hopes to close the distance as the election, still more than a year away, draws closer.

Facebook and websites aside, Griffin still likes to head up to The X, his old stomping ground, for a cup of coffee. He talks to virtually everyone who walks by. He never says, "Vote for me, Jack Griffin, for sheriff." He just talks to people, most of whom already seem to know him – based on the number of I-got-your-back-Griffs he gets during these walkabouts.

"My campaign is still pretty much word of mouth," Griffin said. "We're in this just to give people a different candidate, a fresh set of eyes. ... People see me as a viable solution to our problems, because I understand rehabilitation and corrections very well."

Griffin says he's also getting some positive feedback from jail employees. "A lot of people who work at the Sheriff's Department are saying, 'Griff, I got you covered' – wink, wink," he said.

On the issue of where to site Ashe's alcohol correctional center – a sticky issue that's now mired in legal red tape – Griffin says the Mill Street location originally mentioned in the same breath as the North End location would be a fine place for the facility. "Mill Street is an ideal location," Griffin said. "It's a no-brainer. The building is big enough. I mean, would you want it in your backyard? No. Mill Street is an ideal site."

The site at 155 Mill St. would have been ideal, Ashe admits, but it's off the table. "We were devastated to leave Howard Street, but we wanted Mill Street," Ashe told The Republican last month. The developers of the Mill Street property withdrew their proposal, citing financial reasons.

No matter where the facility ultimately winds up, Griffin says it has to be in the city of Springfield. "Sixty-seven percent of services are in Springfield. Keep it in Springfield," he said.

Speaking of his competitors in the race, Griffin says he's undaunted by their larger bank accounts. His campaign is planning a kickoff party in March 2016, right before St. Patrick's Day, and he's looking forward to squaring off with Cocchi, Gill and possibly Albano. Or, whomever else decides to join the race.

"I am not the anointed one, I'm not a preacher, and I'm not the 'comeback kid,'" said Griffin. "But what I am is somebody with the passion and commitment to try to make a difference. That's the truth."

Illegal firearms defendant and Haitian immigrant Gliffaud Gelin was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison, and may face deportation.

SPRINGFIELD - During Gliffaud Gelin's second sentencing hearing Wednesday for illegally possessing a loaded, high-capacity gun, a federal judge remarked that the defendant may nonetheless consider himself on a lucky streak.

Gliffaud Gelin 

"I can't believe that he hasn't been deported yet," Ponsor told lawyers in the case. "It's amazing to me that (immigration officials) were not knocking on his door three years ago; I don't understand while he's still here."

He was sentenced to nearly three years behind bars -- 33 months to be exact.

Gelin pleaded guilty to one count of being a previously convicted felon in possession of a handgun. Among his previous convictions was another one in 2011 for illegal possession of a handgun; he received a two-year jail sentence. Six months after his release in 2013, Gelin was arrested by police after briefly pointing a loaded gun at them, then taking off down a dark alley with the gun still flailing in his grip before police, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Todd E. Newhouse,

Newhouse told Ponsor that scenario alone created "a recipe for disaster" and should trigger a sentence of up to 37 months.

Gelin's attorney, Shawn P. Allyn, argued that Gelin's parents immigrated to Springfield when Gelin and his seven siblings were small, but the adults lost their jobs. The parents ultimately moved to New York, and Gelin found himself on his own at a young age, picking up his first shoplifting charge when he was 11.

"He's pretty much been on his own since the age of 10 or 11; what's led him is what's out there on the streets," Allyn told Ponsor.

Gelin told Ponsor he was sorry for his actions and recognized his mistakes could have turned out much worse.

"I'd like to apologize to my parents even though they're not here," he added.

Gelin, 26, also said he had completed custodial training in jail.

Ponsor warned Gelin, of Springfield, to stay far away from guns upon his release. That will be in approximately six months given his time served plus "good time," which shaves 54 days off each year for good behavior in prison, according to Allyn.

"A gun is a poisonous snake; you might as well reach in a bag and grab hold of a rattlesnake; it's the end for you," Ponsor said.

The road is expected to be closed for at least 4 hours while the trailer is unloaded officials said.

SPRINGFIELD - Traffic on Hall of Fame Avenue south of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame will be closed off for at least the next several hours as police deal with a tractor trailer truck that lost its trailer.

The uncoupled trailer, with the tractor parked nearby, blocked off both lanes on West Columbus. The accident happened around 4 p.m. in West Elmwood and West York Street.

Traffic on the one-way road was being detoured at Broad Street.

A specialist from C.J.'s Towing arrived on scene at about 4:30 p.m. Before the trailer can be moved, it first has to be unloaded, he said. That could take up to four hours.

A tow truck was on scene at 5 p.m. but the offloading had not yet started.

Police said it has not been determined what cargo the truck was hauling.

The driver of the truck said they were heading for Orlando, Florida. He declined to speak any further, saying his English was not very good. The driver then pointed out another man who he said could translate for him.

That man spoke sharply to the driver in Spanish, and then said in English that he had nothing to say. "You see what happened," was all he said before shooing a reporter away.

The accident scene is just south of the Hall of Fame, near the vacant lot where the former York Street jail once stood.

FERC agreed to accept an energy study by AG Maura Healey in its review of the Kinder Morgan pipeline.

Massachusetts Senate President Stanley Rosenberg secured several promises from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission during his trip Wednesday to Washington, D.C., the Amherst Democrat said Thursday. The regulatory commission is the agency that will review Northeast Energy Direct, a controversial natural gas pipeline that would cut through the senator's district if approved. 

Rosenberg met with Federal Energy Regulatory Commission chairman Norman C. Bay and commissioner Cheryl LaFleur as part of his trip, which also involved time with Department of Energy officials.

Rosenberg told reporters that the commissioners agreed to accept into the record, as part of public testimony, an upcoming energy study being prepared for Attorney General Maura Healey. The report, due by the end of the month, will identify and evaluate options to address regional electricity reliability needs, including natural gas capacity demand, in New England through 2030. 

Healey has said that regulators should understand future demand, and what cost-effective resources can be deployed to meet that demand, before making major decisions about new pipeline infrastructure. 

The commission had set an Oct. 16 deadline for public comment on the Kinder Morgan - Tennessee Gas pipeline as part of its environmental scoping process. Commissioners promised to review Healey's findings and enter them into the formal record, said Rosenberg.

The federal energy commissioners also agreed to consider adding a state entity as a "cooperating agency" during the preparation of an upcoming draft environmental impact statement. The comprehensive review is required under the National Environmental Policy Act.

Adding a state level "cooperating agency" to the deliberations has never been done by the commission before, but Rosenberg said he was assured there is no such rule prohibiting the practice. Rosenberg said he "looks forward to working with the governor to pursue this potential avenue of giving Massachusetts a seat at the table if he agrees it would be useful."

Once the draft environmental statement is released, there is a four-month comment period, giving the public a "second bite at the apple," Rosenberg said.

Rosenberg said he asked commissioners to clear up an issue having to do with the interaction of state and federal law. Article 97 of the Massachusetts constitution requires a two-thirds vote of the state Legislature for the disposition of conservation land. Kinder Morgan's proposed line would cross more than 100 publicly-conserved parcels. Under the Natural Gas Act, the regulatory commission has the power to preempt state law, but Rosenberg argued that a constitutional provision may pose a unique legal question for the agency. Commissioners agreed to look into the matter and report back, said Rosenberg.

Rosenberg said he asked about attaching conditions to the approval of any pipeline project in Massachusetts, and was told the commission has a standard set of conditions as well as project-specific conditions for individual pipeline projects. Energy commission reprsentatives told Rosenberg they would consider, but not guarantee the adoption of conditions proposed by the state.

Rosenberg said commissioners told him when they evaluate any one pipeline proposal, they look at the the demonstrated need to increase natural gas supply, the environmental impact of the proposed line, and local concerns.

The regulatory commission also considers capacity needs, the overall market price, the reliability of existing infrastructure, and state regulatory body rulings regarding the market, and conducts weekly reviews on market prices, infrastructure, and demand in any market when considering a project, the commissioners told Rosenberg.

The commission does not consider state energy policies and other local impacts, unless these issues are brought to their attention through submitted testimony and comments, Rosenberg added.

"It is imperative, therefore, that citizens, municipalities and other interested parties make their views known," said Rosenberg. "All the participation of the public is quite meaningful, and the participation by the state, in crafting its own energy future, and communicating that to the FERC, is also quite useful and significant in this discussion."

Kinder Morgan, now involved in the so-called "pre-filing" process for Northeast Energy Direct, plans to file its formal application with the commission this fall. Once the application is filed, the timeline for a decision on the pipeline is likely to be 12-18 months, commissioners told Rosenberg. The company has said it would like the pipeline to be up and running by late 2018.

The commission is an independent agency that regulates the interstate transmission of electricity, natural gas, and oil, reviews all proposals to build natural gas pipelines.

_________________________________________________________

Mary Serreze can be reached at mserreze@gmail.com.

Following the reported shooting Thursday at Umpqua Community College in rural southwestern Oregon, members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation called for federal action to prevent future mass shootings.

SPRINGFIELD ‒ Following the reported shootings Thursday at Umpqua Community College in rural southwestern Oregon, members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation called for federal action to prevent such incidents.

Offering prayers to the victims and families of those reported dead, U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., chastised Congress for failing to pass gun-control legislation.

"The epidemic of gun violence in America is not preordained, it is preventable," he said in a prepared statement. "It's time to put real gun control measures on the books. It is time we end the stranglehold the NRA has on gun control policy in our country. Smart gun safety policies should not be about partisan politics; they should be about saving American lives, every day, in every way we can.

"I will not give up this fight. Failure to address this crisis is simply not an option," he added.

U.S. Rep. Bill Keating, D-Bourne, meanwhile, offered similar sentiments in a tweet.

"I join my colleagues in praying for the victims at Umpqua Community College - I also call on them to take action on common-sense gun control," he wrote.

U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, D-Salem, also took to Twitter in the wake of the reported shooting.

"Moment of silence for #UCCShooting, then months of silence on ending gun violence," he tweeted. "Victims deserve a vote."

President Barack Obama, in what he said has become "routine," addressed the nation Thursday in response to the mass shooting at Umpqua Community College and urged the American public and lawmakers around the country to take action. Watch video

President Barack Obama, in what he said has become "routine," addressed the nation Thursday in response to the mass shooting at Umpqua Community College and urged the American public and lawmakers around the country to take action.

"Somehow this has become routine," Obama said during a nearly 13 minute speech. "The reporting is routine, my response here at this podium ends up being routine, the conversation in the aftermath of it. We've become numb to this."

"We talked about this after Columbine, and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charleston," Obama said. "It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun."

The shooting at the Roseburg campus left 10 people dead and seven wounded, officials confirmed during a late-afternoon news briefing.

Obama already this year has given national statements in response to the movie theater shooting in Lafayette, Louisiana, and the Charleston, South Carolina, church massacre.

Obama this time said that the nation's grief isn't enough. "But as I said just a few months ago, and I said a few months before that, and I said each time we have one of these mass shootings, our thoughts and prayers are not enough. It's not enough. It does not capture the heartache and grief and anger that we should feel."

The president urged the Americans and Congress to take action on "sufficient common sense gun safety laws."

He also directly addressed the gun lobby for what he predicted will draw comments that he is once again politicizing the issue. "Well, this is something that we should politicize," Obama said. "It is relevant to our common life together. To the body politic."

He added: "We collectively are answerable to those families who lose their loved ones because of our inaction."

Obama, who is nearing the end of his second term, said the nation is going to have to change its laws. "That is not something I can do by myself," he said.

He closed with a prayer for Roseburg family and friends and a somber note.

"I hope and pray that I don't have to come out again during my tenure as president to offer my condolences to families in these circumstances. But based on my experience as president, I cannot guarantee that, and that is terrible to say."

He then took a long pause. "And it can change."

Below is a full transcript of Obama's speech:

There's been another mass shooting in America. This time in a community college in Oregon.

That means there are more American families, moms, dads, children, whose lives have been changed forever. That means there's another community stunned with grief, and communities across the country forced to relieve their own anguish and parents across the country who are scared because they know it might have been their families, or their children.

I've been to Roseburg, Oregon. There are really good people there.

I want to thank all the first responders whose bravery likely saved some lives today.

Federal law enforcement has been on the scene in a supporting role, and we've offered to stay and help as much as Roseburg needs for as long as they need.

In the coming days we'll learn about the victims. Young men and women who were studying and learning and working hard with their eyes set on the future, their dreams on what they could make of their lives. And America will wrap everyone who is grieving with our prayers and our love.

But as I said just a few months ago, and I said a few months before that, and I said each time we see one of these mass shootings, our thoughts and prayers are not enough. It's not enough.

It does not capture the heartache and grief and anger that we should feel, and it does nothing to prevent this carnage from being inflicted someplace else in America. Next week, or a couple of months from now.

We don't yet know why this individual did what he did. And it's fair to say that anybody who does this has a sickness in their minds. Regardless of what they think their motivations may be. But we are not the only country on earth that has people with mental illnesses who want to do harm to other people.

We are the only advanced country on earth that sees these kinds of mass shootings every few months.

You know earlier this year, I answered a question in an interview by saying, "The United States of America is the only advanced nation on earth in which we do not have sufficient common sense gun safety laws even in the face of repeated mass killings." And later that day, there was a mass shooting in Lafayette, Louisiana.

That day.

Somehow this has become routine. The reporting is routine. My response here at this podium ends up being routine. The conversation in the aftermath of it. We've become numb to this. We talked about this after Columbine, and Blacksburg, after Tucson, after Newtown, after Aurora, after Charleston.

It cannot be this easy for somebody who wants to inflict harm on other people to get his or her hands on a gun.

And what's become routine, of course, is the response of those who oppose any kind of common sense gun legislation.

Right now, I can imagine the press release is being cranked out. "We need more guns," they'll argue. "Fewer gun safety laws."

Does anybody really believe that? There are scores of responsible gun owners in this country, they know that's not true.

We know because of the polling that says the majority of Americans understand we should be changing these laws, including the majority of responsible, law abiding gun owners.

There is a gun for roughly every man woman and child in America. So how can you with a straight face make the argument that more guns will make us safer?

We know that states with the most gun laws tend to have the fewest gun deaths.

So the notion that gun laws don't work, or just will make it harder for law-abiding citizens and criminals will still get their guns, is not borne out by the evidence.

We know that other countries, in response to one mass shooting, have been able to craft laws that almost eliminate mass shootings. Friends of ours, allies of ours. Great Britain. Australia. Countries like ours.

So we know there are ways to prevent it. And of course what's also routine is that somebody somewhere will comment and say, "Obama politicized this issue." Well, this is something we should politicize. It is relevant to our common life together. To the body politic.

I would ask news organizations, because I won't put these facts forward -- have news organizations tally up the number of Americans who've been killed through terrorist attacks in the last decade, and the number of Americans who've been killed by gun violence, and post those side by side on your news reports.

This won't be information coming from me, it will be coming from you.

We spent over a $1 trillion and passed countless laws and devote entire agencies to preventing terrorist attacks on our soil, and rightfully so. And yet, we have a Congress that explicitly blocks us from even collecting data on how we could potentially reduce gun deaths. How can that be?

This is a political choice that we make, to allow this to happen every few months in America. We, collectively, are answerable to those families who lose their loved ones because of our inaction.

When Americans are killed in mine disasters, we worked to make mines safer. When Americans are killed in floods and hurricanes we make communities safer. When roads are unsafe, we fix them, to reduce auto fatalities. We have seat belt laws because we know it saves lives

So the notion that gun violence is somehow difference, that our freedom and our constitution prohibits any modest regulation of how we use a deadly weapon, when there are law abiding gun owners all across the country who could hunt and protect their families and everything do everything that they do under such regulations, doesn't make sense.

So tonight as those of us who are lucky enough to hug our kids a little closer are thinking about the families who aren't so fortunate, I'd ask the American people to think about how they can get our government to change these laws, and to save lives, and to let young people grow up. And that will require a change of politics on this issue.

And it will require that the American people, individually, whether you are a Democrat, or a Republican, and an Independent, when you decide to vote for somebody, are making a determination as to whether this cause of continuing death for innocent people should be a relevant factor in your decision.

If you think this is a problem then you should expect your elected officials to reflect your views. And I would particularly ask America's gun owners who are using those guns -- properly, safely, to hunt, for sport, for protecting their families -- to think about whether your views are being properly represented by the organization that suggests its speaking for you.

And each time this happens I'm going to bring this up. Each time this happens I'm going to say we can actually do something about it, but we're going to have to change our laws. And this is not something I can do by myself. I've got to have a Congress, and I've got to have state legislatures, and governors, who are willing to work with me on this.

I hope and pray that I don't have to come out, again, during my tenure as president to offer my condolences to families in these circumstances. But based on my experience as president, I can't guarantee that, and that is terrible to say.

And it can change.

May God bless the memories of those who were killed today. May he bring comfort to their families, and courage to the injured as they fight their way back, and may he give us the strength to come together and find the courage to change. Thank you.

-- Andrew Theen | atheen@oregonian.com | @cityhallwatch

The Dow Jones industrial average fell about 13 points to close at 16,272.

NEW YORK -- A late turn gave the stock market a meagre gain to start the month Thursday, a day after it finished its worst quarter in four years.

Investors were looking ahead to Friday when the government releases its monthly jobs report. Economists forecast that employers added 200,000 workers to their payrolls last month. Strong hiring would likely raise expectations that the Federal Reserve will increase its benchmark interest rate at its next meeting later this month.

If the jobs report were to show a gain of more than 200,000, people will start wondering about the Fed's next move, said Brad McMillan, chief investment officer at the Commonwealth Financial Network. "That could mean we're in for another big drop," he said.

Mounting concerns about slowing global economic growth and the timing of the Fed's first interest-rate hike in nearly a decade battered markets over recent months.

Without any big developments to drive the action on Thursday, trading appeared aimless. The Standard & Poor's 500 index took a sharp fall in the morning, languished throughout the afternoon then climbed back to finish the day with a slight gain.

The S&P 500 added 3.79 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 1,923.82.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 12.69 points, or 0.1 percent, to 16,272.01 and the Nasdaq composite gained 6.92 points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,627.08.

On Wednesday, the S&P 500, the most widely used measure of U.S. investments, closed out the quarter with a 7.4 percent loss.

"It has been a painful experience, but that's what creates opportunities," said Tom Dinegan, an equity strategist at UBS Wealth Management. "There's more panic in the market than there is in the economy."

Among companies in the news, Dunkin' Brands plunged 12 percent after the company's revenue estimates fell short of analysts' forecasts, and franchisee Speedway announced it would close 100 in-store self-service kiosks. Dunkin' Brands dropped $6 to an even $43.

Twitter lost 8.4 percent amid reports that the social-media company will name co-founder Jack Dorsey as CEO for a second time. Its stock sank $2.26 to $24.68.

In Europe, Germany's DAX fell 1.6 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 0.7 percent. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares edged up 0.2.

There was some encouraging news out of China where an official measure of manufacturing rose in September, up from its lowest level in three years.

Elsewhere in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 jumped 1.9 percent, South Korea's Kospi rose 0.8 percent, and Australia's S&P/ASX 200 advanced 1.8 percent.

Prices for U.S. government bonds edged up, nudging the yield down to 2.04 percent from 2.05 percent late Wednesday. The euro rose to $1.1188 while the dollar dipped to 119.90 yen.

Precious and industrial metals settled with small losses. Gold dropped $1.50 to finish at $1,113.70 an ounce, and silver slipped a penny to $14.51 an ounce. Copper lost 4 cents to $2.30 per pound.

The price of oil fell Thursday on weakness in U.S. manufacturing, which could lead to lower demand for crude. The Institute for Supply Management said Thursday that U.S. manufacturers expanded at their slowest pace in two years last month, held back by faltering global growth.

The price of crude oil fell 35 cents to close at $44.74 a barrel in New York. Brent Crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, fell 68 cents to close at $47.69 in London.

In other futures trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange:

1. Wholesale gasoline remained unchanged at $1.367 a gallon.
2. Heating oil fell 1.7 cents to close at $1.520 a gallon.
3. Natural gas fell 9.1 cents to close at $2.433 per 1,000 cubic feet, its lowest level since the summer of 2012, on high supplies.

The fraternity gathered at the UMass Center at Springfield to acknowledge Woolridge's accomplishment at the downtown campus.

SPRINGFIELD - Springfield native Victor Woolridge, the new chairman of the UMass Board of Trustees was honored by Beta Sigma Boule of Springfield and MassMutual on Thursday.

The fraternity gathered at the UMass Center at Springfield to acknowledge Woolridge's accomplishment at the downtown campus.

UMass President Marty Meehan spoke at the event which was also attended by UMass-Amherst Chancellor Kumble Subaswammy. Nick Fyntrilakis represented MassMutual.

The Department of Public Health said it was the sixth human case of West Nile virus in Massachusetts this year.

BOSTON -- State public health officials say a woman has died of West Nile virus, the second fatality this year.

The Department of Public Health said Thursday it was the sixth human case of West Nile virus in Massachusetts this year. The woman was not identified, but officials say she was a Suffolk County resident in her 90s who likely contracted the virus in the Suffolk County area.

She was hospitalized due to the severity of the illness.

Officials say there is no elevation of risk of West Nile virus as a consequence. The risk level for Boston, Chelsea, Revere and Winthrop is already classified as "high."

State Public Health Veterinarian Catherine Brown says that even as cooler temperatures approach, Massachusetts is still in "peak season" for possible West Nile virus infection.

Weather models showed Joaquin shifting eastward as of late Thursday afternoon, although meteorologists caution that there's still a great deal of uncertainty about its overall track.

SPRINGFIELD — Does Hurricane Joaquin have New England in its crosshairs?

That's a definite maybe, depending on which way the Category 4 hurricane with 130 mph winds tracks over the next couple of days. However, by the time it reaches southern New England – and that's if it reaches this region – it's likely to be a tropical storm, not a hurricane, according to the National Weather Service.

Weather models showed Joaquin shifting eastward late Thursday afternoon, though meteorologists caution there's still a great deal of uncertainty about its overall track. Massachusetts remains within this "cone of uncertainty," said Peter Judge, public information officer for the Massachusetts Emergency Management Agency.

Joaquin's impact on the Bay State depends on its exact track and strength. If it passes close by or makes landfall, flooding rains, damaging winds and coastal flooding are possible, according to meteorologists.

If Joaquin follows its current forecast track, it could impact the Mid-Atlantic States as a Category 2 hurricane by Monday and reach southern New England as a tropical storm by Tuesday.

At a minimum, rain – heavy in places – wind and coastal flooding is expected in the commonwealth.

Bail was set at $125,000 for Victor Castro, 49, who of Holyoke, Massachusetts, who entered not guilty pleas in a White River Junction, Vermont, courthouse to charges alleging heroin and narcotics possession, sales and trafficking.

By ERIC FRANCIS
Special to The Republican

WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, Vt. — A Holyoke, Massachusetts, grandfather is facing multiple felony counts alleging heroin and narcotics possession, sales, and trafficking after he was busted by FBI agents and local police during a raid that took place Wednesday morning in Springfield, Vermont.

Victor Castro, 49, who wrote on his public defender application that he is employed at a carwash in Holyoke, entered not guilty pleas on Thursday afternoon to felony charges that carry a maximum potential sentence of up to 36 years in prison if he were to be convicted of all of them.

Police in Vermont said they were accompanying FBI agents who were attempting to serve a federal arrest warrant upon an unnamed target of a federal drug investigation in Springfield, and when they entered that individual's residence on Wednesday morning they discovered several other people in the house, including Castro. Residents at the house told police Castro had been renting one of the bedrooms at the address for at least a couple of weeks.

A search of Castro's belongings inside his room turned up a silver tin that contained 174 bags of heroin stamped with the street brand name "PAID" along with 74 yellow prescription Clonazepan pills, Springfield Police Officer Anthony Moriglioni wrote in an affidavit filed with the court, adding that a hypodermic needle and a spoon that appeared to be drug paraphernalia were "in plain view" in Castro's room as well.

The court documents did not name the suspects who the FBI were seeking, but did mention that they had been detained along with an unspecified number of other people who were in the home at the time as part of what appears to be an ongoing federal drug investigation.

With the aid of a public defender and a Spanish translator, Castro, who was born in Puerto Rico, entered not guilty pleas to four criminal counts on Thursday afternoon. His public defender, attorney Dan Stevens, told the court that Castro lives in Holyoke with his wife and family, including two grandchildren.

Windsor County Deputy State's Attorney Glenn Barnes told Judge Nancy Corsones that he had spoken to Massachusetts authorities about Castro prior to his arraignment, and Barnes pointed to a history of arrests for drug distribution dating back to 2006 that appear on Castro's record as he asked for bail to be set.

Judge Corsones agreed to impose $125,000 bail upon Casto as she noted from the bench that he appeared to be "utterly lacking in ties to Windsor County" and had notations on his record indicating that warrants had to be repeatedly issued for his arrest in the past.

While explaining her decision to require bail, Corsones said that even though Vermont rarely sees the maximum potential penalties given out in drug cases, she still felt "the evidence of guilty here is great" and thus she said Castro faces the "likelihood of substantial incarceration" if he were to be convicted of the charges now pending against him.

Virginia has executed convicted serial killer Alfredo Prieto, who claimed he was intellectually disabled.

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- A twice-condemned serial killer who claimed he was intellectually disabled was executed in Virginia on Thursday after a series of last-minute appeals failed.

Alfredo Prieto was pronounced dead at 9:17 at the Greensville Correctional Center in Jarrat. The 49-year-old was injected with a lethal three-drug combination, including the sedative pentobarbital, which Virginia received from Texas.

Prieto, wearing jeans and a light blue shirt, showed no emotion as he was strapped to the gurney.

"I would like to say thanks to all my lawyers, all my supporters and all my family members," he said, before mumbling, "Get this over with."

The El Salvador native was sentenced to death in Virginia in 2010 for the murder of a young couple more than two decades earlier. Rachael Raver and her boyfriend, Warren Fulton III, both 22, were found shot to death in a wooded area a few days after being seen at a Washington, D.C., nightspot.

Prieto was on death row in California at the time for raping and murdering a 15-year-old girl and was linked to the Virginia slayings through DNA evidence. California officials agreed to send him to Virginia on the rationale that it was more likely to carry out the execution.

He has been connected to as many as six other killings in California and Virginia, authorities have said, but he was never prosecuted because he had already been sentenced to death.

Prieto is the first inmate to be executed in in Virginia in nearly three years. The last execution took place in January 2013, when Robert Gleason Jr. was put to death in the state's electric chair, which inmates can choose over lethal injection. Gleason had been serving a life in prison for a 2007 murder when he killed his cellmate in 2009.

Virginia's lethal injection protocol calls for the use of pentobarbital, a sedative, at the beginning of the execution. That's followed by rocuronium bromide, which halts an inmate's breathing, and potassium chloride, which stops the heart.

Prieto's attorneys filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking to halt the execution until Virginia officials disclose more information about the supply of pentobarbital, which Virginia received from Texas because another sedative it planned to use expired.

Among other things, his attorneys sought to force the state to disclose the name of the compounding pharmacy, which Texas is allowed by law to keep secret. His attorneys said they were concerned about the quality of the drugs and whether they would bring Prieto "gratuitous and unnecessary pain."

Prieto had also asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene, saying he's intellectually disabled, and therefore ineligible for the death penalty. But the high court declined to grant his requests to stay the execution on Thursday.

His attorneys argued that the state should reconsider whether Prieto is intellectually disabled because the measure used during his 2008 trial was unconstitutional. The Supreme Court ruled last year that Florida can't use rigid cutoffs on IQ test scores to determine whether someone is intellectually disabled. Virginia had a nearly identical law.

The 44-year-old Westfield man died from injuries sustained while cutting down trees for firewood with his family, Huntington Police Chief Robert Garriepy said.

Updates story posted at 6:50 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 1.

The 44-year-old Westfield man died from injuries sustained while cutting down trees for firewood with his family, Huntington Police Chief Robert Garriepy said Thursday night.

The man was cutting on a 20-acre lot on Goss Hill Road when the accident happened around 3:15 p.m. "A tree fell down and crushed him," Garriepy said of the victim, whose identity was withheld pending notification of other family members.

Huntington police and firefighters rushed to the accident scene, a rural area off Route 112. The man was taken by ambulance to Noble Hospital in Westfield, where he was pronounced dead.

"It's a tragic accident," Garriepy said, adding that the man came from "a good family."