A sunny though cold day is ahead for Massachusetts residents.

SPRINGFIELD -- A sunny though cold day is ahead for Massachusetts residents.

The National Weather Service reports Wednesday evening will be cloudy with low temperatures in the 20s and teens. The low will be around 21 degrees in Springfield, 22 in Springfield and 27 in Boston.

There's a 30 percent change of scattered snow showers overnight in Berkshire County. The low will be around 17 degrees in Pittsfield Wednesday.

The temperature will around freezing for much of Massachusetts on Thursday. The high will be near 33 degrees in Boston, Springfield and Worcester. A wind will blow around 10 miles per hour in all three cities Thursday, with gusts up to 22 miles per hour possible in Springfield and Worcester.

The high in the westernmost part of the state will be in the 20s Thursday, with winds up to 13 miles per hour blowing during the day.

The bank robbery was reported around 3:10 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 17, 2016, at the Citizens Bank at 20 Island Pond Road.

SPRINGFIELD — Authorities were investigating a bank robbery in the East Forest Park neighborhood on Wednesday afternoon, Springfield Police Lt. Brian Keenan said.

Keenan said no one was injured in the robbery, which was reported around 3:10 p.m. at the Citizens Bank on Island Pond Road.

The suspect was described as a tall black man in his forties with with white facial hair. He was last seen wearing all green clothing as he fled in a silver or gray SUV-style van in the direction of Roosevelt Avenue, according to preliminary police reports.

The vehicle was driven by another person who reportedly picked up the robber in the area of Frankie & Johnnie's Pizza and Springfield College Brennan Center, which are located across Island Pond Road from the bank. Police were checking local video surveillance cameras to see if they captured any more details about the robbery and the getaway vehicle.

The suspect approached a bank teller with a note demanding money, but there was no mention of a weapon, according to police, who said the robber fled with an unknown amount of cash.

Anyone with information is asked to call detectives in the Major Crimes Unit at 413-787-6355.

MAP showing approximate location of East Forest Park bank robbery:

Gov. Charlie Baker stopped short of agreeing with the Mass. Republican Party, which called for the resignation of state Sen. Brian Joyce after officials from the FBI and IRS raided the senator's law office in Canton. Joyce, a Democrat from Milton, has been under an ethics cloud after a series of Boston Globe articles. Watch video

BOSTON - Gov. Charlie Baker on Wednesday stopped short of agreeing with the Mass. Republican Party, which called for the resignation of state Sen. Brian Joyce after officials from the FBI and IRS raided the senator's law office in Canton.

Joyce, a Democrat from Milton, has been under an ethics cloud since a series of Boston Globe articles sought to demonstrate the senator benefited from a blurry line between his private life and his public office.

Speaking with reporters gathered outside his State House office, Baker took a wait-and-see approach when asked whether he agrees with the state Republican Party's call for Joyce to resign.

"I certainly support the Republican Party but I tend to be careful when it comes to using terms like that, and in this particular case what I would say is that there's an investigation underway, we should see where it goes," said Baker, a Swampscott Republican.

Asked whether Joyce should continue to serve in the state Senate, Baker said, "Look, there's an investigation underway. We'll see what the results of that investigation are."

Baker added: "I think the voters ultimately get to make the call with respect to whether someone's allowed to continue to serve or not on Election Day. And I think that's probably as it should be."

Howard Cooper, Joyce's attorney, said the stories in the media "sparked" an investigation.

"Senator Joyce has been cooperating with each inquiry that has taken place to date resulting from those stories and believes that he has done absolutely nothing wrong," he said in a statement.

Republican Party demands Sen. Joyce's resignation after FBI raid

A spokesman for state Sen. Stanley Rosenberg said the Senate will be "fully cooperative" with any requests from law enforcement officials.

"What I would say is that all of us in public life take the fact that we have to play by the rules seriously," Baker told reporters. "I was troubled some of the issues that were raised previously, with respect to the senator's relationship to some of the folks of his district, and obviously I'm not going to comment specifically on the investigation because I have no information on that. It'll take its course and go wherever it goes."

A digest of news stories from around New England. Bridgewater State Prison guard, accused of selling drugs, wore uniform, showed badge during deals, district attorney says [Boston Herald] Connecticut father clubbed family members in bed before he was shot by police, authorities say [Hartford Courant] Video below Performer killed in 'execution-style' shooting following set at Randolph bar, prosecutor says [Patriot...

A digest of news stories from around New England.

An extraordinary legal fight is brewing with major privacy implications for millions of cellphone users after a federal magistrate ordered Apple Inc. to help the FBI hack into an iPhone used by the gunman in the San Bernardino mass shootings.

WASHINGTON -- An extraordinary legal fight is brewing with major privacy implications for millions of cellphone users after a federal magistrate ordered Apple Inc. to help the FBI hack into an iPhone used by the gunman in the San Bernardino mass shootings.

The clash brings to a head a long-simmering debate between technology companies insistent on protecting digital privacy and law enforcement agencies concerned about losing their ability to recover evidence or eavesdrop on the communications of terrorists or criminals.

On Wednesday, the White House quickly disputed the contention by Apple's chief executive officer, Tim Cook, that the Obama administration is seeking to force the software company to build a "backdoor" to bypass digital locks protecting consumer information on Apple's popular iPhones.

The early arguments set the stage for what will likely be a protracted policy and public relations fight in the courts, on Capitol Hill, on the Internet and elsewhere.

"They are not asking Apple to redesign its product or to create a new backdoor to one of their products," White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. "They're simply asking for something that would have an impact on this one device."

Within hours of the judge's order on Tuesday telling Apple to aid the FBI with special software in the case, Cook promised a court challenge. He said the software the FBI would need to unlock the gunman's work-issued iPhone 5C would be "too dangerous to create" and "undeniably" a backdoor.

Cook compared it to a master key, capable of opening hundreds of millions of locks, and said there was no way to keep the technique secret once it was developed.

"Once the information is known, or a way to bypass the code is revealed, the encryption can be defeated by anyone with that knowledge," Cook said.

At the center of the debate is the private information carried on nearly 900 million iPhones sold worldwide: Photographs, videos, chat messages, health records and more.

There also was swift reaction on the presidential campaign trail, where Donald Trump told Fox News that he agreed "100 percent with the courts," and on Capitol Hill, where the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Richard Burr, R-N.C., said, "Court orders are not optional and Apple should comply."

Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, who fought encryption in the 1990s, said she thought the government should be able to access the phone. On Twitter, Edward Snowden called it "the most important tech case in a decade."

But Rep. Justin Amash, R-Mich., called the Justice Department's request "unconscionable and unconstitutional."

The ruling by U.S. Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym represents a significant victory for the Justice Department, which last year decided not to pursue a legislative fix to address encryption but has now scored a win instead in the courts.

Federal officials until now have struggled to identify a high-profile case to make its concerns resonate. But in siding with the government, Pym, a former federal prosecutor, was persuaded that agents investigating the worst terror attack on U.S. soil since Sept. 11 had been hobbled by their inability to unlock the county-owned phone used by Syed Farook, who along with his wife, Tashfeen Malik, killed 14 people in December before dying in a police shootout.

The dispute places Apple, one of the world's most respected companies, on the side of protecting the digital privacy of an accused Islamic terrorist.

"We have no sympathy for terrorists," Cook said.

Apple has provided default encryption on its iPhones since 2014, allowing any device's contents to be accessed only by the user who knows the phone's passcode. The phone Farook was using, running the newest version of Apple's iPhone operating system, was configured to erase data after 10 consecutive, unsuccessful unlocking attempts.

The magistrate ordered Apple to create special software the FBI could load onto the phone to bypass the self-destruct feature. The FBI wants to be able to try different combinations in rapid sequence until it finds the right one.

The Justice Department said it was asking Apple to help unlock only the iPhone used by Farook and owned by the county government where he worked as an environmental inspector. The judge said the software should include a "unique identifier" so that it can't be used to unlock other iPhones.

"If a court can legally compel Apple to do that, then it likely could legally compel any other software provider to do the same thing," including helping the government install tracking or eavesdropping software on a phone or laptop, said Kevin Bankston, director of the Open Technology Institute at New America.

It was unclear how readily the software might be modified to work against other iPhones, or how quickly Apple might update its own software to render the new bypass ineffective.

The next step in the case wasn't immediately clear, either. The judge gave Apple five days to contest the order as unreasonably burdensome. A magistrate judge on the lowest rung of the federal judiciary almost certainly could not establish meaningful precedent without affirmation from a higher-court judge, which means the fight is likely to proceed up the chain.

The former head of the FBI division responsible for producing some of the FBI's most cunning surveillance tools, Marcus Thomas, said Apple faces a challenge in showing that the government's request is overly burdensome. Thomas, the chief technology officer at Subsentio LLC, said companies that build ultra-secure products that might be used by criminals or terrorists can expect government requests for help.

"Society wants to know that companies aren't producing these complicated services and devices that can be used as weapons against them," he said.

The Open Pantry operates various emergency food pantries, regional housing and more in Greater Springfield.

SPRINGFIELD — As the new director of Open Pantry Community Services Matthew CastleMan hopes to engage the community and help those in need.

Matthew CastleMan 

"I feel I have a purpose in my life to help others," said CastleMan in a prepared statement. The South Hadley resident worked in sales briefly before realizing he wanted to do work that improved the life of others, he said.

"My goal now as OPCS director is to get into the community more and talk about all our services, so that more people within our service area understand what we do. It's important to engage the community so that they feel empowered and believe that they have a stake in the work we do to better the lives of all who live here," he said.

CastleMan, a Connecticut native and a graduate of Southern Connecticut State University, has 10 years of experience with a variety of social services programs and agencies.

"In the past two years as regional director of several Open Pantry programs, Matt proved himself to be an intelligent and compassionate leader who understands the dynamics of the job and is quick to confront any problem with a workable solution," said James T. Cuddy, executive director of South Middlesex Opportunity Council, which the Springfield agency is affiliated with. "Matt sees great opportunity for this organization and we're looking forward to seeing those ideas come to life."

In addition to overseeing the operation and maintenance of 180 units of regional housing, the social services agency also operates an emergency food pantry at 721 State St., the Loaves and Fishes Kitchen meal program at Christ Church Cathedral, the South Congregational Church and the Shiloh Seventh Day Adventist Church, along with the holiday meals program at the High School of Commerce.

The gains capped the longest rally so far in 2016, that has wiped out about half of the market's losses since the beginning of the year.

By MARLEY JAY

NEW YORK -- Stocks climbed Wednesday as investors clung to hope for an international deal to stem a global glut in crude oil with production cutbacks. That sent the price of oil sharply higher, as well as the stocks of major energy companies like Chevron. Tech stocks also rose, led by Microsoft and Facebook.

The gains capped a three-day rally, the longest so far in 2016, that has wiped out about half of the market's losses since the beginning of the year. The Standard & Poor's 500 index hit its lowest point of the year last Thursday, and has risen about 5 percent since then.

Priceline, Fossil, and Garmin rose after reporting robust earnings.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 257.42 points, or 1.6 percent, to 16,453.83. The S&P 500 rose 31.24 points, or 1.7 percent, to 1,926.82. The Nasdaq composite index jumped 98.11 points, or 2.2 percent, to 4,534.06.

The price of oil recovered as investors again hoped for an international deal that will cap or cut production. Several OPEC nations are in talks about freezing production at January's levels, but that deal requires all of OPEC's members to agree, and Iran said Wednesday that it won't stop increasing its exports. Still, investors appeared to be encouraged that the countries are talking.

The price of U.S. crude jumped $1.62, or 5.6 percent, to $30.66 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, rose $2.32, or 7.2 percent, to $34.50 a barrel in London.

U.S. crude soared Friday on anticipation of a deal, but even with the recent gains, it's still down 17 percent this year.

Energy stocks climbed along with the price of oil. Chevron rose $3.50, or 4.1 percent, to $88.31 and Hess picked up $2.63, or 6.4 percent, to $43.47. Tech stocks made big gains, led by Microsoft, which added $1.33, or 2.6 percent, to $52.42, and Facebook, which rose $3.59, or 3.5 percent, to $105.20.

Oil and natural gas company Devon Energy missed out on those gains after saying it will eliminate 20 percent of its staff in the first quarter and slash its spending and its quarterly dividend in response to the diminished price of oil.

The stock lost 93 cents, or 4.4 percent, to $20.33. It's down 69 percent over the last year.

For almost six months, stocks have surged and dropped repeatedly as investors worry about issues like the health of China's economy, the Federal Reserve's plans on interest rates, and plunging oil prices. Sameer Samana, global quantitative strategist for Wells Fargo Investment Institute, said the ride isn't over yet.

"None of those issues have gone away," Samana said. "You'll continue to see that kind of pattern."

Samana said U.S. companies, and large stocks in particular, are doing pretty well and that investors will eventually start paying more attention to their performance. But he said it's possible that volatility in financial markets will start to affect the broader economy, cutting into consumer spending and prompting businesses to cut jobs.

While corporate earnings have been shaky, companies that surpassed analysts' expectations were rewarded on Wednesday. Online travel company Priceline climbed after its profit and revenue beat estimates. The stock gained $124.88, or 11.2 percent, to $1,235.56. Expedia rose 5 percent and TripAdvisor 3 added percent. Expedia and TripAdvisor posted strong results last week.

Personal navigation device maker Garmin rose $5.83, or 16.5 percent, to $41.06 after its fourth-quarter profit topped Wall Street estimates.

Watch and accessories maker Fossil posted strong results, and its annual profit guidance also pleased investors. The stock added $9.84, or 28.6 percent, to $44.30. Fossil was one of the worst-performing stocks in the S&P 500 last year. It lost almost two-thirds of its value as fitness trackers became more popular and the Apple Watch was launched.

Pipeline company Kinder Morgan jumped 10 percent on the rise in oil prices and from the news that Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has taken a 1.2 percent stake in the company. The stock advanced $1.56 and closed at $17.18.

U.S. factories cranked out more cars, furniture and food in January. The Federal Reserve said factory output rose 0.5 percent, the biggest increase since July. Output had fallen in four of the previous five months, and the data suggests U.S. manufacturing may be recovering after struggling last year. While the strong dollar and weak overseas growth have cut into exports and corporate profits, Americans are spending at a solid pace.

In other energy trading, wholesale gasoline rose 3.3 cents to $1 a gallon. Heating oil rose 6.1 cents, or 5.9 percent, to $1.088 a gallon. Natural gas added 3.9 cents, or 2 percent, to $1.942 per 1,000 cubic feet.

The price of gold rose $3.20 to $1,211.40 an ounce and silver inched up 4.3 cents to $15.377 an ounce. Copper added 2.5 cents to $2.076 a pound.

European stocks also rallied. Germany's DAX rose 2.7 percent and France's CAC 40 gained 3 percent. Britain's FTSE 100 picked up 2.9 percent. Asian stocks slumped, however. Japan's Nikkei 225 fell 1.4 percent as investors shrugged off data showing strong machinery orders in January. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1 percent while the Shanghai Composite rose 1.1 percent.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note jumped to 1.82 percent from 1.78 percent. The dollar slipped to 113.77 yen from 113.88 yen. The euro slipped to $1.1139 from $1.1144.

Colleen Russell, 36, was found Monday night after authorities responded to a well-being check at an apartment.

MALDEN -- Authorities have released the identity of a Malden woman who was found dead inside a Massachusetts apartment.

 

Russell was found at about 9 p.m. Monday after authorities responded to a well-being check at a Malden apartment.

Authorities say the incident does not appear to be random.

The investigation is ongoing.

A former Navy crewman was executed Wednesday in Georgia for killing a fellow sailor whose remains were found buried in two states.

JACKSON, Ga. -- A former Navy crewman was executed Wednesday in Georgia for killing a fellow sailor whose remains were found buried in two states.

Travis Hittson, 45, was declared dead at 8:14 p.m. by Warden Bruce Chatman after receiving an injection of the barbiturate pentobarbital at the state prison in Jackson. He was convicted in the April 1992 killing of Conway Utterbeck.

When Chatman asked if he wanted to make a final statement in front of witnesses, Hittson said, "No, sir. I'm alright." He then agreed to have a prayer read.

Georgia doesn't announce exactly when the lethal drugs begin flowing, and the injection isn't visible to observers. But the warden left the execution chamber at 8:04 p.m., and records from past executions show the lethal drug generally begins to flow within a minute or two of the warden's departure.

Hittson blinked repeatedly for several minutes and then appeared to take several deep breaths before becoming still about four minutes after the warden left the execution chamber.

Hittson's lawyers had said he was mistreated and neglected as a child and constantly craved the approval of others. That, they said, combined with alcoholism and relatively low intelligence, made it easy for his direct supervisor in the Navy, Edward Vollmer, to manipulate him into killing Utterbeck.

The State Board of Pardons and Paroles, which is the only entity in Georgia authorized to commute a death sentence, on Tuesday denied Hittson's request for clemency. The board didn't give a reason for the denial, which is standard.

Hittson's lawyers also contended in a court filing that his constitutional rights were violated during sentencing when a judge allowed a state psychologist who had examined Hittson to recount damaging statements Hittson had made about Utterbeck.

A Butts County judge on Tuesday rejected those arguments and the state Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an appeal of that decision and denied a stay of execution.

The U.S. Supreme Court also declined to halt the execution.

Hittson, Utterbeck and Vollmer were stationed in Pensacola, in the Florida Panhandle, in April 1992 when they went to Vollmer's parents' home in Warner Robins in central Georgia for a weekend.

Hittson told investigators he and Vollmer went out drinking the second night they were there, leaving Utterbeck at the house. As they were driving back to the house, Vollmer told Hittson that Utterbeck planned to kill them both and that they needed to "get him" first, according to court filings.

When they reached the house, where Utterbeck was sleeping in a recliner, Vollmer put on a bulletproof vest and took a sawed-off shotgun and a handgun from his car and gave Hittson an aluminum baseball bat. On Vollmer's instructions, Hittson hit Utterbeck several times in the head with the bat and then dragged him into the kitchen where Vollmer was waiting, according to court filings. Vollmer stepped on Utterbeck's hand and Hittson shot him in the head, according to court filings.

Vollmer said they needed to cut up Utterbeck's body to get rid of the evidence, according to court filings. Hittson told investigators he began to cut the body with a hacksaw but he became sick and Vollmer finished dismembering the body, according to court filings.

They buried Utterbeck's torso in Houston County in central Georgia and brought the rest of the remains back to Pensacola and buried them there.

When investigators began questioning Utterbeck's shipmates a couple of months later, Hittson confessed and also implicated Vollmer, according to court filings. He led investigators to Utterbeck's remains and other crime scene evidence.

Hittson was convicted of malice murder, aggravated assault, possession of a firearm during the commission of a crime and theft by taking. He was sentenced to die for the malice murder conviction.

Vollmer reached a plea deal and is serving a life sentence. He was denied parole in 1999 and again last year. Reconsideration of his case had been set for 2020, but based on information offered at Hittson's clemency hearing, the parole board on Wednesday reset that for 2024. Eight years is the maximum delay between consideration dates allowed by board rules.

Hittson was the second person executed in Georgia this year. The state executed five inmates last year, the most it has executed in a calendar year since 1987.

The City Council was conducting its fifth hearing Wednesday night on the site plan for the MGM Springfield casino project.

SPRINGFIELD - New conditions for the MGM Springfield casino project aimed at meeting some of the concerns raised by abutting property owners, were approved Wednesday night by the City Council.

The hearing on Wednesday night was the council's fifth hearing in recent weeks to deal with MGM Springfield's casino site plan, proposed design changes, requests for road closures and issues raised by owners of abutting properties.

MGM is proposing a $950 million casino project within a three-block, 14.5 acre site in the South End

Some of the conditions added Wednesday were negotiated between MGM and several abutting properties, with the city's Law Department and Department of Public Works adding its recommendations. The meeting was at City Hall.

As negotiated, the council set conditions for MGM to provide new sidewalks around the Michelman and Burstein law office property and upstairs apartments on East Columbus Avenue. In addition, MGM will need to provide added access to the law firm's trash receptacles and reimbursements for cloth awnings and other window treatments if there are issues with MGM lighting, under the council conditions.

However, the law firm's request for MGM to provide it with at least 10 free reserved parking spaces in a future MGM lot behind the law office property, was not agreed upon by MGM, nor was it granted in the council conditions.

A 28-spot MGM lot is being built, and the law firm will have access to free, two-hour parking in that lot, MGM officials said. The law firm argued it was losing on-street parking in that area, due to the MGM project, and should be compensated with reserved spaces,

In another matter, the council approved a condition for curbing on Howard Street that is intended to prevent traffic that is leaving the future MGM parking garage from using the Colvest property as a cut-through. MGM will provide and fund curbing to steer the traffic from the cut-through, officials said.

While many requests for mitigation were agreed upon by MGM and abutters, some of them raised concerns that further relief was justified as a result of impacts from the casino project.

Council President Michael Fenton said prior to the meeting that he was hoping the council would be ready to take votes on the site plan and amendments to the host community agreement at the next special council meeting, scheduled for Monday.

As approved by the city and the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, MGM Springfield has been demolishing some of the buildings within the three-block casino footprint, including the former Alfred Zanetti School, and has progressed with site work.

The casino is scheduled to open in September 2018.

The council on Wednesday also began taking up design issues for the casino and its retail and entertainment components.

Additional discussions and votes are anticipated at a special meeting scheduled on Monday, beginning at 5:30 p.m., at City Hall.

"He's being uncooperative," Springfield Police Lt. Brian Keenan said of the victim, who sustained gunshot wounds to the head and foot.

SPRINGFIELD — A man was shot multiple times during an apparent drug deal that went wrong in the city's North End on Wednesday night, according to authorities, who continue to investigate.

"He's being uncooperative," Springfield Police Lt. Brian Keenan said of the victim, who received gunshot wounds to the head and foot. The head injury was a graze wound, Keenan said.

Police received a 6:30 p.m. report of a gunshot victim who showed up at Baystate Medical Center for emergency treatment. The man's injuries were not believed to be life threatening.

The man told police he had arranged to buy heroin on East Hooker streets, where he claimed the shooting happened, but officers were unable to locate shell casings or other evidence of a shooting.

"There's no scene here. No shells or nothing," said an officer who responded to call.

Police cruisers blocked the corner of Main and East Hooker streets as officers investigated.

Anyone with information about the incident can contact detectives in the Major Crimes Unit at 413-787-6355.

MAP showing approximate location of North End assault:

Stephen Zrike as receiver of the Holyoke public schools has complete authority over hiring, firing and policy decisions.

HOLYOKE -- Stephen K. Zrike, the state-appointed receiver in charge of the city's public schools, is scheduled to meet today at 6 p.m. at City Hall with the Joint City Council-School Committee.

The meeting is a chance for councilors especially to get a sense of Zrike's plans to turn around the school system. The system's chronically poor academic performance despite years of warnings to improve is the reason why state officials took the extraordinary step in April of taking over the system and declaring receivership.

The receiver has complete authority over school personnel and other decisions, supplanting the superintendent and School Committee.

Zrike's yearly salary is $185,000.

The meeting of the joint committee with Zrike is a chance for councilors, who don't regularly meet with Zrike, to get updates on progress he has made and obstacles he has found since taking control of the system July 6, said Ward 2 Councilor Nelson R. Roman, chairman of the joint committee.

"Likewise this is as an opportunity for councilors and committee members and the public to clarify any questions they might have concerning the changes that have been made and are being made to the Holyoke Public Schools. I know questions around the transportation budget, charter and out-of-district placement costs, discipline and bullying Statistics, and teacher returning and turn-over rates might all be discussed," Roman said.

The joint committee is a "vital partnership" of the City Council and School Committee, said Roman, who said he appreciated Zrike's willingness to participate in the meeting.

The state Board of Elementary and Secondary Education made the receivership declaration April 28. On June 1, Mitchell D. Chester, commissioner of the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE), announced the appointment of Zrike, formerly superintendent of schools in Wakefield.

Zrike took over the system of more than 5,600 students, 1,500 employees and 11 schools on July 6.

Temperatures in the teens are in store for much of Massachusetts Thursday evening, with snow possible on Friday.

SPRINGFIELD -- Temperatures in the teens are in store for much of Massachusetts Thursday evening, with snow possible on Friday.

The National Weather Service reports Thursday evening will offer clear skies. The low will be around 11 degrees in Springfield, 13 in Worcester, 19 in Boston. The Berkshires will feel single-digit temperatures overnight and the low will be in the mid-20s on Cape Cod.

Friday will sunny with the high in the 30s until after sunset. The high will be near 38 degrees in Springfield and Worcester, 37 in Boston, 36 on the Cape and 34 in the Berkshires.

The National Weather Service currently predicts a 40 percent chance of snow showers for the Pioneer Valley and Central Massachusetts, mainly after 10 p.m. on Friday. If snow falls in Boston, which the National Weather Service estimates a 30 percent chance of, it will be mainly after midnight.

Giving snow a one in five chance of falling in the Berkshires, The National Weather Service estimates any snow will fall after 2 a.m. early Saturday.

Little snow to no snow accumulation is expected across the state.

The deadline to apply to be a firefighter in a Massachusetts city or town in this round of consideration is March 1 and the written Civil Service test will be April 16.

HOLYOKE -- State Civil Service Unit officials and city firefighters will be available to answer questions from prospective firefighters at an open house Feb. 24 from 5 to 7 p.m. at Fire Department headquarters, 600 High St., Chief John A. Pond said Wednesday.

The open house for recruits comes as men and women who want to be firefighters in a Massachusetts city or town have until March 1 to apply for consideration.

"This examination is being held to establish an eligible list from which to fill firefighter vacancies in Civil Service cities and towns. This eligible list may also be used to fill firefighter vacancies in non-civil service jurisdictions," said a notice on the website of the Executive Office for Administration Finance.

The Civil Service test has two parts, written and physical abilities, and each has equal weight, the website said.

Once an application with the $200 fee has been filed, or a fee waiver has been verified, candidates will get an email listing the date, time and place of a physical abilities test, the website said. Also, the written test will take place April 16 at various, to-be-announced sites across the state.

To see the application form, click on this link: https://www.governmentjobs.com/careers/massachusetts/jobs/1256461/2016-firefighter

Visit this web page -- http://www.mass.gov/anf/employment-equal-access-disability/civil-serv-info/exam-info/exam-sched/2016-municipal-firefighter-exam-info.html -- for answers to frequently asked questions, such as what happens if a candidate fails either the physical or the written test.

MGM Springfield is recreating the facade of the former YWCA building at a new location on Howard Street in the South End.

SPRINGFIELD — Contractors for MGM Springfield, preparing to demolish the former YWCA building on Howard Street, were busy saving some of the terra-cotta features on the front brick facade so it can be incorporated into a new casino building.

The raised facade features were being removed on Thursday, in advance of full demolition of the property, officials said. The property has housed the Western Massachusetts Correctional Alcohol Center, which has temporarily relocated to Holyoke pending a finalization of a permanent location.

Constructed in 1907, the former YWCA building is being razed to make way for the casino project, with demolition approved by the Springfield and state historical commissions.

However, MGM agreed to the condition that it will recreate that building's facade perpendicular across Howard Street just west of the old State Armory. The new building will be designed and built to look like the current structure, and will house a sports bar, the bowling alley, and some retail shops and be comparable in height and width to the current building, according to plans.

The work on the Howard Street site follows the demolition of other buildings within the casino footprint including the former Alfred Zanetti School, also on Howard Street.

Chancellor Kumble Subaswammy will attend the gathering, then dinner at Hillel House.

AMHERST - Two more swastikas have been found on the University of Massachusetts campus this month bringing the number to three reported in February.

The latest was found Thursday scratched into a metal bathroom door at Hasbrouck Laboratory near room 219, said spokesman Daniel Fitzgibbons.

Another incident was reported Feb. 16.

This was a swastika made out of snow left on the roof of a car parked in the Orchard Hill dorm area the week before, he said.

On Feb. 2, a swastika was reported etched into a bathroom stall in the Integrative Learning Center.

Fitzgibbons said the police are investigating and the Bias Response Team is involved.

Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy met with students and others Thursday to address the latest reporting.

He will be attending a solidarity gathering Friday night organized by the Student Government Association then having dinner at Hillel House and staying for an anti-Semitism on campus discussion that had been scheduled even before the latest swastika was found.

The chancellor is upset with the acts.

Following the Feb. 2 reporting, he sent an email to the community reporting the event and said he was saddened and angry by what occurred.

"This sort of cowardly act of hatred and intimidation is unacceptable and inconsistent with our campus values of tolerance and inclusion."

"On behalf of the student body, the Student Government Association strongly condemns this shameful acts of hatred against the Jewish community," according to the SGA Facebook posting announcing the solidarity gathering.

"We also want to acknowledge that this is not the first time a marginalized community has been targeted by similar acts of hatred.

"The Student Government Association recognizes that these incidents are not isolated from each other, and are representative of the larger campus climate which continues to disproportionately harass marginalized communities."

Last year, several racist messages were left in dorms and those rallied the community to call for change.

The gathering, which begins at 4:15 p.m. in front of the Fine Arts Center, is intended "to make clear that these acts are unacceptable, and that UMass community does not tolerate these acts perpetrated against any marginalized identity."

At 5:08 p.m., the Hillel House is hosting a candle lighting at the arts center in solidarity to welcome in Shabbat, the Jewish Sabbath, according to the posting.

The dinner and discussion follow.

This solidarity gathering is in collaboration with Subbaswamy, Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs Enku Gelaye, Graduate Student Senate and the Hillel House for Jewish Student Life.

Jeremy Tibbetts, an SGA member and student who wrote about anti-Semitism in the Daily Collegian, said in an email that he sees the event as "a powerful opportunity for us to show unity as a campus and to show that we are above what some campus members think or do."

He helped organize the event.

"We need to combat this hatred that wants to divide us with love that can bring us together."

The principal of a high school in Maine recommended a football player for a prestigious athletic award and scholarship even though he knew the student was under investigation in sexual assaults on two children, a newspaper reported yesterday.

A digest of news stories from around New England.

A shelter-in-place order was enacted for the UMass campus shortly after 6 p.m. when reports surfaced of two suspicious men, one of whom appeared to be armed with a gun, were seen in Pierpont Hall

AMHERST - Students and staff with the Five Colleges are being advised to avoid the UMass campus while the campus in under a shelter-in-place order as police investigate a reported gunman in a Southwest dormitory.

Officials with Amherst and Hampshire College in Amherst, Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley and Smith College in Northampton sent out alerts to campus to avoid the UMass campus until things there are sorted out.

A shelter-in-place order was enacted for the UMass campus shortly after 6 p.m. after reports surfaced of two suspicious men, one of whom appeared to be armed with a gun, were seen in Pierpont Hall in the Southwest Residential Area.

Police were continuing to search the area for the suspects. Everyone on the campus was directed to stay indoors. The campus sent out a notification just after 7 p.m. that the shelter in place order was still in effect, and that it applied to the entire campus.

This is a developing story. More information will be added as it is known.

The top two officials at Grand Canyon National Park are among those facing disciplinary action following a federal report that found they violated policies on reporting and investigating allegations of sexual harassment in the park's river district.

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. -- The top two officials at Grand Canyon National Park are among those facing disciplinary action following a federal report that found they violated policies on reporting and investigating allegations of sexual harassment in the park's river district.

The National Park Service's Intermountain Region director, Sue Masica, declined Thursday to say what specifics actions would be taken against Superintendent Dave Uberuaga, and his deputy Diane Chalfant. The possibilities, in general, range from a warning letter, a reprimand, and suspension to termination, she said.

"You kind of have to match the severity of the action by the individual with the previous records to what's appropriate for the particular circumstance," she said. "I'll be looking at all of that."

A complaint filed in 2014 by 13 former and current Grand Canyon employees prompted an investigation by the U.S. Department of the Interior's Office of Inspector General. The complaint alleged a 15-year pattern of abuse in the river district on rafting trips led by the Park Service.

Members of Arizona's congressional delegation said they were outraged and called for swift action.

The report focused on allegations lodged against four male NPS employees who pressured female co-workers for sex, touched them inappropriately, made lewd comments and retaliated when they were rejected. It also found that disciplinary actions were inconsistent when it came to sexual harassment and that the Grand Canyon's chain of command failed to properly investigate or report allegations of misconduct -- a violation of Interior Department policy.

Masica said Uberuaga and Chalfant are responsible for complying with that policy. She set a May 1 deadline for disciplinary action against them, but the results likely won't be revealed publicly because they are considered personnel matters, she said.

A boatman who propositioned women for sex remains employed at Grand Canyon but is restricted from participating on river trips. Masica said he would be disciplined as well. Two other boatmen resigned in 2006 and 2013 after serving suspensions for sexual harassment. A supervisor who grabbed the crotch of a contract employee retired in 2015, according to the report.

Michelle Kearney, a former Grand Canyon river district ranger who signed on to the 2014 complaint, said she's pleased that the Park Service is "holding people accountable for this behavior."

Other reforms outlined by Masica include third-party reviews of a string of past disciplinary actions to ensure consistency and of a 2013 report by the Equal Employment Opportunity office that looked into similar sexual harassment complaints.

Masica vowed to develop comprehensive training programs, to apologize personally to those who filed the 2014 complaint and to separate the patrol functions of the river district from the support services for rafting trips. Grand Canyon National Park manages 280 miles of the Colorado River, providing emergency and medical services as well as guiding researchers, politicians and students on a dozen river trips per year.

Masica set deadlines within 2016 for the reforms, many of which she'll lead in implementing. She said the reforms hopefully would set a new tone and direction for the Grand Canyon, one of the nation's busiest national parks with more than 5 million visitors a year. Meanwhile, she said she'll push a message of zero tolerance for sexual harassment and hostile work environments.

"While dismayed at the work environment described in the report, I am committed to working to change the situation and keep similar situations from happening again," she wrote in response to the report. "The employees of Grand Canyon National Park deserve nothing less than that."

Kearney praised the reforms as robust and healthy. She suggested that the Park Service seek help from the U.S. Justice Department's Office of Violence Against Women for resources in developing training programs.

The Park Service also should have at least two systems to report misconduct, sexual harassment and violence that are centered on the victim and confidential, she said.

"The system failed. We tried every avenue, and it failed," she said. "It needs to be reviewed. Those people in those positions need to have special training."

The University of Massachusetts lifted an emergency shelter-in-place order shortly after 7:15 p.m

AMHERST - The University of Massachusetts lifted an emergency shelter-in-place order shortly after 7:15 p.m. Thursday, but campus police continue to investigate the circumstances that led to the campus being shut down for more than an hour, officials said.

The order was put in place minutes after 6 p.m. when police were notified of two suspicious men, one of whom appeared to be carrying a gun, in Pierpont Hall, a dormitory in the Southwest Residential District.

Emergency alerts went out to all students, faculty and staff to shelter in place, meaning to go indoors and close the doors behind them. The order was directed at the entire campus, not just Pierpont or the Southwest area.

Students at all of the five colleges were also told to avoid UMass during the emergency.

UMass officials did not disclose any new information about the reasons for the order, or why it had been lifted. Campus officials said more information would be distributed by e-mail.

ALERT: Shelter in place order HAS BEEN LIFTED. Please resume normal activities. Additional information will be provided by UMass email.

— UMass Amherst (@UMassAmherst) February 19, 2016