Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker spoke during a Statehouse event in Boston, where he joined representatives of the pharmaceutical industry to launch a public awareness campaign about how to properly dispose of prescription drugs.

BOSTON -- Gov. Charlie Baker is urging the Massachusetts Legislature, in stronger terms than ever before, to pass his proposed bill to address opioid abuse.

"The clock is ticking," Baker said Wednesday, nothing that an average of four people a day die of opioid overdoses in Massachusetts.

"Before we all get tied up in the budget debate, which we begin at the end of March, it sure would be nice to have an opportunity to add one more tool to the toolkit ... by having a chance to enact what, if it gets to my desk, will be the most far reaching and disruptive piece of legislation passed anywhere in the country to kick the teeth out of this opioid epidemic in the commonwealth," Baker said.

Baker spoke during a Statehouse event, where he joined representatives of the pharmaceutical industry to launch a public awareness campaign about how to properly dispose of prescription drugs.

Baker told reporters afterward that he is worried that other initiatives will take priority leading up to the end of the legislative session in July. "I really want to see this as something that happens before many of these other issues take center stage," Baker said.

The comprehensive opioid bill, which is tied up in a committee of House-Senate negotiators, would limit the size of first-time opioid prescriptions. Various proposals being considered as part of the bill include expanding the state's involuntary commitment law, providing more screening to overdose victims in the emergency room and doing more to educate people about the dangers of drug addiction.

Baker has made addressing a growing epidemic of opioid addiction and overdose deaths a priority for his administration. The goal of the latest public awareness campaign, called MyOldMeds, is to lessen the amount of excess prescription drugs lying around people's homes - which can then be stolen, sold, given away or abused.

The MyOldMeds campaign will include social and digital marketing, and a Massachusetts-specific website, available through myoldmeds.com, to teach residents how to safely use, store and dispose of medications. It is the state version of a national education campaign run by the pharmaceutical industry, which started in New York in 2014.

The campaign recommends that people pour unused medication into a sealable plastic bag, adding water to dissolve it, then add kitty litter, sawdust or coffee grounds before throwing it away. It recommends that people remove personal information from medicine containers before throwing them away.

Steve Ubl, president and CEO of Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America, which is spearheading the campaign, said the opioid epidemic is a growing problem. "The nation's biopharmaceutical industry has long recognized our role in combatting this threat," Ubl said.

Norwood Police Chief William Brooks, president of the Massachusetts Police Chiefs Association, said many police stations in Massachusetts have kiosks where residents can dispose of old medication. The Executive Office of Health and Human Services also maintains a list of drop-off locations. Baker said Walgreens also recently announced plans to set up drop boxes for unused medication in pharmacies around the country.

When the company will close the 18 stores was not revealed

Kohl's will shutter 18 stores this year as the retailer tests out a handful of scaled-down stores.

The announcement came Thursday after the retailer revealed its fourth-quarter earning results, which reported a 1 percent increase in overall sales in 2015.

"While the decision to close stores is a difficult one, we evaluated all of the elements that contribute to making a store successful, and we were thoughtful and strategic in our approach. We are committed to leveraging our resources on our more productive assets," Kohl's CEO Kevin Mansell said in a statement.

The company will release a list of the underperforming locations it will close at the end of March. When Kohl's  will  close the 18 stores was not revealed

There are 1,160 Kohl's locations nationwide,  including 25 in Massachusetts.

There are stores on Boston Road in Springfield and Riverdale Street in West Springfield.

Police have filed a criminal complaint against a woman accused of abandoning a dog outside a Maine animal shelter in January. The dog was later struck by a car and killed.

A digest of news stories from around New England.

The resolution is causing a sharp partisan split among the generally collegiate state Senate.

BOSTON - Democrats in the Massachusetts Senate are pushing for a resolution urging the U.S. Senate to vote on President Barack Obama's next nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court.

The resolution is causing a sharp partisan split among the generally collegiate state Senate.

"It's important to make sure that our citizens...believe in the political system," said state Sen. Kenneth Donnelly, D-Arlington, who sponsored the resolution. Donnelly said it is "insulting and hypocritical" to say Obama's nominee should not be considered because the president is a lame duck, and sending that message makes the United States look weak.

State Senate Majority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, countered that he is "deeply, deeply disappointed and concerned about the future of this Senate" if it begins to debate national issues.

"This resolution is an invitation to the hounds of partisanship to enter this chamber, to consume our thoughts, to consume the debate, at a time when the issues you wisely led us to focus on are pressing and critical," Tarr said, addressing state Senate President Stan Rosenberg, D-Amherst.

Tarr said the state Senate should be a place to work on state issues.

"This resolution would invite us to shift our focus to national politics, and in its very verbiage makes reference to the type of partisanship which we have worked so hard to avoid in this chamber," Tarr said.

After Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died suddenly, Obama, a Democrat, said he will nominate a replacement. But U.S. Senate Republicans, led by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, have said they will not hold hearings on or meet with the nominee. Republicans want to wait to appoint a new justice until the next president takes office in January.

Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., Thursday, Brian Sandoval, a moderate Republican whose name had been floated by the White House as a possible Supreme Court nominee, took his name out of the running less than 24 hours after it surfaced.

"Earlier today I notified the White House that I do not wish to be considered at this time for possible nomination to the Supreme Court of the United States," Vanity Fair magazine quoted Sandoval as saying. "The notion of being considered for a seat on the highest court in the land is beyond humbling and I am incredibly grateful to have been mentioned."

The nomination of Sandoval, a rising star within the G.O.P. and a Latino politician who won two gubernatorial races in Nevada by a landslide, would have vexed Senate Republicans, the magazine opined.

Whether or not the president was bluffing--a likely possibility, given that Sandoval once called Obamacare "ill-conceived"--floating his name for the nomination was an obvious shot across the bow at Republican leaders, reminding them that he has the upper hand in his ability to paint them as obstructionists and use the open Supreme Court seat as a cudgel in the November elections.

Back on Beacon Hill, Kenneth Donnelly's resolution states that the people of Massachusetts "deserve to have a fully functioning Supreme Court with nine justices," and the U.S. Constitution does not limit the president's power to appoint a nominee in an election year. It says failing to consider a nominee would undermine the meaning and intent of the U.S. Constitution "and be a profound disservice to the American people."

The resolution concludes by saying that the Massachusetts Senate urges the U.S. Senate "to swiftly and diligently fulfill their constitutional responsibility by granting a fair hearing and a timely vote to the president's next nominee to the Supreme Court."

The state Senate tabled the resolution on Thursday, pushing it to another week. But conversations with state senators revealed a strong partisan divide, with Democrats supporting the resolution and Republicans opposing it.

Rosenberg said Obama was elected for a full term. He noted that there are matters pending before the court that could affect Massachusetts.

"We've had other Supreme Court justices appointed in fewer months than are remaining in this president's term, so I think that they ought to act in the interest of the country, including Massachusetts," Rosenberg said.

State Sen. Thomas McGee, chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, also supports the resolution.

"To have the potential of a-year-and-a-half from now four-four votes on issues that are really going to make an impact for all of us is the wrong direction to go," McGee said.

McGee said if the president makes a nomination, the U.S. Senate should vote.

"They do not have to approve the president's pick, but they have the responsibility to complete what they have been elected to do as U.S. senators, and that's to have hearings and make a decision to make an informed choice on the candidate the president submits to the U.S. Senate," McGee said.

State Sen. Don Humason, R-Westfield, agreed with other Republicans that the state Senate should not pass the resolution.

"I think we have better things to do in the Massachusetts Senate," Humason said. "Let's let Congress worry about Congress and the state Senate worry about the state Senate."

Several Democratic Western Massachusetts senators support it.

"I think the Senate ought to take up the nominee, and they have an obligation to voters to either vote in favor of it or not," said State Sen. Ben Downing, D-Pittsfield. "I think we ought to go on record. I think they ought to go on record."

State Sen. Eric Lesser, D-Longmeadow, said a split Supreme Court impacts Massachusetts.

"If we don't have finality in decisions, that trickles down to our judicial system, it trickles down to our state system," Lesser said. "No one's saying you have to prejudge the process, but we do have to follow the process."

State Sen. Jim Welch, D-West Springfield, said U.S. senators can decide whether to vote in favor or against a nominee, but they should hold a hearing.

"I think it's important that government and the elected officials go through the process," Welch said. "I think making nominations toward the Supreme Court should be treated fairly, with all due consideration, and should be done in a very professional manner. I think saying right off the bat 'no, we're not even going to take it up,' to me, is far too partisan."

Authorities charged 59-year-old James Andrew MacGillivary, a veteran member of the Maynard Fire Department, with "rape of a child with force" for an alleged assault dating back to 1991.

MAYNARD — A firefighter has been charged with child rape after an investigation into a 25-year-old sexual assault allegation, according to Maynard Police Chief Mark Dubois.

On Thursday, authorities arrested 59-year-old James Andrew MacGillivary, a veteran town firefighter, and charged him with "rape of a child with force" in connection with an alleged incident dating back to 1991. The allegation was made by a former town resident, police said.

"This is a deeply disturbing case involving serious allegations," Dubois said. "Our detectives conducted a thorough investigation, working with the Middlesex District Attorney's Office, to determine the appropriate course of action."

MacGillivary, a member of the Maynard Fire Department since 1986, was being held at police headquarters pending arraignment Friday in Middlesex Superior Court in Woburn.

Maynard Town Administrator Kevin Sweet said he was "deeply disturbed" by the allegations, which led to MacGillivray being placed on leave Feb. 5. A termination hearing is tentatively scheduled for early March.

Maynard Fire Chief Anthony Stowers was out of the country and unavailable for comment, said John Guilfoil, a spokesman for the Maynard Fire Department.

Click earned her master's degree and doctorate, each in communications, from the UMass-Amherst.

Melissa Click, a University of Missouri communications professor who gained notoriety last fall when it came to light that she tried to block journalists from covering an anti-racism demonstration at that campus, has been dismissed from her job, according to reports.

The University of Missouri Board of Curators, the governing board for the university system, voted in closed session Wednesday night to fire Click, citing her actions in two events last fall, the anti-racism in November, and an earlier protest during the annual campus homecoming parade.

Both events were caught on camera.

Click, 45, who earned both her master's degree and her PhD in communications at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst, was already under scrutiny for her actions at a Nov. 9 campus demonstration when she attempted to block photographers. A video that went viral over the internet shows Click yelling "Hey, who wants to help me get this reporter out of here? I need some muscle over here."

One of the students she reportedly pushed at that event filed assault charges against her last month. She was also suspended at that time by the university.

Video of Melissa Click's confrontation with photographer. Click appears at 7:10 mark.

In recent weeks, it was disclosed that Click was part of an October protest when several people tried to block the car carrying the university president during the homecoming parade. Police body camera footage shows that when an officer tried to clear the protesters out of the way, Click began to yell and curse at him.

According to a statement released by the the board chairwoman Pam Henrickson , Click was fired after the board considered her actions not compatible with university policies, nor with what is expected of members of the faculty.

"The board respects Dr. Click's right to express her views and does not base this decision on her support for students engaged in protest or their views. However, Dr. Click was not entitled to interfere with the rights of others, to confront members of law enforcement or to encourage potential physical intimidation against a student," the statement read.

Interim University of Missouri-Columbia Interim Chancellor Hank Foley also issued a statement that read:

"The process the Board of Curators used to reach a determination about Dr. Click's employment at the university is not typical -- but these have been extraordinary times in our university's history, and I am in complete agreement with the board that the termination of Dr. Click is in the best interest of our university. Her actions in October and November are those that directly violate the core values of our university."

The accident happened in the eastbound lane near the rotary, Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Brian Gladu said. One motorist was taken to the hospital for emergency treatment.

AGAWAM — A rush-hour collision between a car and propane truck was causing traffic delays on Route 57 in Agawam on Thursday evening.

The 5:30 p.m. accident happened in the eastbound lane near the rotary, Massachusetts State Police Sgt. Brian Gladu said. The driver of the car was taken to a local hospital for treatment, he said. An update on the driver's condition was unavailable.

The propane truck's tank shifted during the crash, prompting authorities to close two of three eastbound lanes as crews tried to fix the problem. Gladu said the high-speed lane remained open to motorists, who were not in danger.

Heavy delays were still being reported as of 7 p.m. It was not immediately known if anyone was charged in connection with the incident.

UTC Aerospace Systems has 3,500 employees at its Windsor Locks facility, 838 of them are Massachusetts residents. Watch video

WINDSOR LOCKS - It takes a United Technologies Corp. plant in Iowa 11 months to manufacture a fuel injector the size of an office stapler by machining all its tiny parts to tight tolerances then painstakingly assemble those parts into the whole.

Engineers in at the UTC Aerospace Systems Materials and Process Engineering Laboratory in Windsor Locks can make that part for a commercial power generation station in three weeks using additive manufacturing, a 3-D printer that works in metals like titanium and nickel alloys instead of plastic.

"And, by not machining all the parts, we can save all this waste," said Diana Giulietti, materials research and development engineer, gesturing to a giant jar of curly metal waste shavings.

United Technologies Corp. unveiled Thursday two new initiatives Connecticut authorities hope will cement the company's presence in the state through the use of brain power.

One project is the $8 million, 20,000-square-foot Materials and Process Engineering laboratory at UTC Aerospace Systems in Windsor Locks, the former Hamilton Standard and Hamilton Sundstrand facility across from Bradley International Airport. The plant has been there since 1952.

The other new initiative is a $1 million, 5-year commitment to establish a Materials Engineering Center for Excellence at the University of Connecticut 37-miles away in Storrs.

 "UTC could do this anywhere in the country, anywhere in the world," said Mun Choi, provost at the University of Connecticut and a former dean of engineering and professor of mechanical engineering at the university. "The difference is they don't have to go elsewhere to look for talent. They can find it in Connecticut."

The money comes from UTC, not UConn, Choi said.

UConn has a number of programs with UTC throughout Connecticut. At this project in Windsor Locks, 10 graduate students will spend as long as four or five years working at UTC. As many as 20 undergraduates -- sophomores and juniors -- will learn at UTC in Windsor Locks for as long as a year.

The center of excellence will also give UConn a boost when it comes to recruiting the best minds.

"Our graduate students working on PhDs want to bring their technologies to the marketplace," Choi said. "Our undergraduates want too be in this technology because this is where the jobs will be."

At more than 25,000 employers in the state, UTC and all its subsidiaries are the largest private employer in Connecticut.

UTC Aerospace Systems has 4,200 employees around the world. Of those, 3,500 are on this 380-acre campus in Windsor Locks. Of the 3,500 employees at Windsor Locks, 838 or about 24 percent live in Massachusetts.

In Windsor locks, UTC Aerospace Systems designs and produces engine controls for aircraft engines as well as environmental equipment for aircraft, the heating and air conditioning  systems that make jetliners habitable.

UTC still does work on NASA spacesuits. Making space suits for the Apollo moon astronauts made Hamilton Standard in Windsor Locks world famous.

Besides its direct employees, UTC also has a wide network of suppliers stretching throughout Connecticut, said Connecticut Gov. Dannel P. Malloy.

Malloy said the $8 million Windsor Locks lab is part of $500 million in new facilities UTC is building in his state as result of a tax credit agreement Connecticut struck with UTC in 2014. In return, UTC gets tax credits for research and development. there is no direct spending of state dollars, Malloy said.

Also included in the $500 million new headquarters and research facility on the East Hartford campus of UTC's  jet-engine subsidiary, Pratt & Whitney Aircraft.

Malloy said that when he came into office in 2011, the state's relationship with UTC was fractured. He said repairing and growing the relationship has been a major thrust of his administration

"In my line of work, you have good days and bad days," Mallow said.  "You win some. You lose some. Today is a good day." 

Recently, General Electric announced it plans to move its corporate headquarters from Fairfield to Boston.

It is also a good day for rank-and-file workers at UTC in Windsor locks, said John Harrity, president of the Connecticut State Council of Machinists representing 1,000 works at UTC in Windsor Locks including a few of the 30 workers specifically assigned to the new laboratory.

"We believe that you can't be a great state unless you make things," said John Harrity, president of the Connecticut State Council of Machinists which represents union production workers at the plant. "We know we have lost jobs. This, we hope, is one way to keep the jobs we have and to grow them."

Besides 3-D printing, the new laboratory works on extremely-small nano-scale materials and a high-temperature composites lab that develops carbon-on-carbon and silicon carbide-based composites.

The high temperature composites lab moved to Connecticut from Ohio to be close to the other centers of excellence here, said David Carter, senior vice president for engineering, operations and quality for UTC Aerospace Systems.

Getting these new technologies developed and out of the lab onto the production floor is critical to UTC's future, he said. That's because parts in aircraft, satellites  and rockets must be the lightest, strongest and most heat-resistant available.

"In our industry, we push on our materials more than any other industry in the world, " said David Carter, senior vice president for engineering, operations and quality for UTC Aerospace Systems.

In the 3-D printing lab, Venkat R. Vedula, director of materials engineering,  said engineers are able to work out technical problems for UTC business units all over the world.

Giulietti showed how a plastics 3-D printer can be used to make models and prototypes of complicated parts, even printing them out as cutaway models so engineers can get a three-dimensional idea of how things work.

The company plans to add 15 new employees during the five year tax plan.

WESTFIELD - City officials are considering a five-year Tax Incentive Financing plan that will allow Jarvis Surgical Inc. to build a 15,000 square-foot addition to their facility at 53 Airport Rd.

Mayor Brian P. Sullivan and city Advancement Officer Joseph Mitchell have endorsed the proposal and the plan is now before the City Council for approval.

The incentive package will only apply to new property taxes the business will absorb through construction of the addition. Its current annual property tax value of $648,600 will remain in tact through the five years.

Under the incentive, a portion of the new additional property tax on the addition will be $15,416 but Jarvis Surgical will be taxed at a lower rate during the five-year period, Mitchell said.

The first year new tax exemption has been set at $13,875 for the first year and then decrease each of the next four years.

Total tax bill for Jarvis Surgical will be $25,326 for the first year; $27,638, second year; $31,492 third year; $35,346 fourth year and $37,659 for the fifth and final year of the incentive program.

Jarvis currently pays $23,784 in annual property taxes to Westfield.

The addition will add an estimated $444,400 in property value to the business location.

While Jarvis will get a tax break on its addition over the first five years after occupation, the company will still pay a total of $157,461 in taxes on that addition during that time frame.

Jarvis has told city officials it will invest $1.2 million in construction of the addition and another $500,000 in the purchase of new manufacturing equipment.

The company manufactures precision manufacturing in the medical field, including hips and knees. It currently employs 82 workers.

Northgate Medical P.C. improperly billed MassHealth, the healthcare system for the states's neediest residents, over a three-year period, according to an analysis by state Auditor Suzanne Bump's office.

SPRINGFIELD — A Springfield medical provider substantially overbilled MassHealth for services that cost more than the actual services provided, a state audit has found.

Northgate Medical P.C. improperly billed MassHealth, the healthcare system for the states's neediest residents, by more than $191,000 over a three-year period, according to an analysis by the office of state Auditor Suzanne M. Bump.

The audit also determined that Brockton-based Asaker Medical Associates improperly billed MassHealth for over $24,000 in doctor-provided services that were actually performed by nurse practitioners.

"The audits found that both Northgate and Asaker billed MassHealth as if services were provided by a doctor, when in fact the services were provided by nurse practitioners and physician assistants, which are paid at a lower rate," Bump said Thursday. "MassHealth makes up more than one-third of our annual state budget, so it is crucial the funds are spent effectively and that the program operates with integrity."

Roughly one-fifth of the Bay State's 6.7 million residents use MassHealth.

After analyzing millions of MassHealth claims, Bump's office identified that Northgate Medical, located at 125 Liberty St. in Springfield's Metro Center neighborhood, billed for a number of high-value services that far exceeded amounts submitted by peer medical groups. In medical parlance, the practice is known as upcoding: when a provider charges for services that are more expensive than the actual services provided.

According to Bump, both Northgate and Asaker received overpayments from MassHealth, the state's combined Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program, for services ostensibly provided by doctors. In reality, though, the services were provided by nurse practitioners or physicians' assistants, Bump said.

"Our ability to analyze data quickly and identify trends helps us notify MassHealth of potential weaknesses in its claims system and address problems in a timely manner," the auditor said. "It is vitally important that MassHealth quickly address these issues to help control healthcare costs."

MassHealth expenditures account for roughly 38 percent of the state's total annual budget. In fiscal 2015, MassHealth paid healthcare providers $13.6 billion.

A survey released just four days before Massachusetts voters go to the polls shows former secretary of state Hillary Clinton slightly up in the Democratic primary match-up against Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

A survey released just four days before Massachusetts voters go to the polls shows former secretary of state Hillary Clinton slightly up in the Democratic primary match-up against Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders.

The WBUR/MassINC poll has Clinton leading Sanders 49 percent to 44 percent, with leaners, and 7 percent choosing someone else or declaring themselves undecided.

Massachusetts voters, along with voters in 10 other states, go to the presidential primary polls on March 1.

The WBUR/MassINC poll, released Thursday night, surveyed 418 likely Democratic primary voters from Feb. 21 to Feb. 23. The survey used both landlines and cell phones, and the margin of error is plus or minus 4.9 percentage points.

Steve Koczela, president of the MassINC Polling Group framed it as voters wanting experience versus voters wanting change.

"Voters who are looking for experience -- someone with the right experience to be president, is how we phrased it -- then you're very likely to be with Clinton," he told WBUR. "And if you're looking for someone who can bring real change to the political system, that's a Sanders voter."

Clinton margins in MA @WBUR poll:
Men under 50: -21
Women under 50: -9
Men 50 or more: -9
Women 50 or more +41https://t.co/1dZy39pqT3

-- Steve Koczela (@skoczela) February 26, 2016

The full poll is available here.

Clinton supporters have mounted a push as the March 1 primary has neared, with surrogates touting Clinton's experience. On Thursday, State Representative Ruth Balser, D-Newton, joined other women leaders in Massachusetts outside the State House and called Clinton the "single most qualified candidate" for the job.

Earlier this week, Sanders appeared on the UMass Amherst campus, telling the crowd, "When we began this campaign, we were at 3 percent in the polls. We have come a long way in nine months."

A Public Policy Polling survey last week had Sanders up by 7 percentage points. In the poll, Sanders picked up 49 percent to Clinton's 42 percent.

Poll shows Sanders leading Clinton in Mass.

Lowell police arrested 43-year-old Vicheth Prak on a fugitive-from-justice warrant out of Pennsylvania, where the Lowell man is wanted in connection with a 1989 homicide in Philadelphia.

LOWELL — A Pennsylvania cold case just got hot again, following the arrest of a Massachusetts man in connection with a decades-old Philadelphia homicide.

Investigators obtained an arrest warrant for 43-year-old Vicheth Prak, who was taken into custody by Lowell detectives on Wednesday and arraigned on a fugitive-from-justice charge in Lowell District Court on Thursday. Judge Thomas Brennan held Prak without bail and ordered him to return for a March 25 hearing.

Prak is expected to be handed over to Pennsylvania authorities to face charges related to the 1989 shooting death of 18-year-old Terrance Carter, according to Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan, whose office is working with Philly prosecutors.

Carter was shot twice outside a South Philadelphia store on Sept. 11, 1989, Philly.com reports. He was rushed by private vehicle to a city hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Republican businessman Donald Trump holds a commanding lead over the rest of the GOP hopefuls in a Massachusetts presidential primary poll released Thursday night. John Kasich, Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz all trailed the Republican businessman.

Republican businessman Donald Trump holds a commanding lead over the rest of the GOP hopefuls in a Massachusetts presidential primary poll released Thursday night.

The WBUR/MassINC poll of likely Republican voters shows Trump with 40 percent of the vote, including leaners.

Ohio Gov. John Kasich and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio both are at 19 percent.

Ted Cruz, a U.S. senator from Texas, comes in fourth in the poll, with 10 percent support, which was released on Thursday night. Presidential hopeful Ben Carson received 5 percent.

Seven percent picked somebody else or said they were undecided.

Via live telephone interviews with people who have landline and cell phone numbers, the poll surveyed 386 registered voters expected to vote in the primary.

The margin of error is plus or minus 4.9 percent. The full poll is available here.

Massachusetts voters, along with voters in 10 other states, go to the presidential primary polls on March 1.

WBUR Mass. GOP poll: Trump leads among all age groups and income groups: https://t.co/4c7kPUYfje (AP photo) pic.twitter.com/TNepRdV1jM

-- WBUR (@WBUR) February 26, 2016

Trump has drawn little support from elected Republicans who work on Beacon Hill. State Representative Geoff Diehl, R-Whitman, signed on as co-chair of Trump's Massachusetts campaign, becoming the first elected official to do so.

But others have looked elsewhere within the GOP field. The highest ranking Republican in the Massachusetts House, Brad Jones of North Reading, has endorsed Marco Rubio, according to the State House News Service. The wire service noted others went to Kasich.

The state's top Republican, Gov. Charlie Baker, has said he remains undecided about who gets his vote on Tuesday. He backed New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who dropped out after coming up short in the New Hampshire primary earlier this month.

But Baker, who has a 78 percent favorability rating in the WBUR/MassINC poll of likely Republican voters and 56 percent favorability rating among likely Democratic primary voters, has criticized Trump and Cruz, saying he views them as individuals unable to work with others across the aisle in Washington, D.C.

"I haven't decided who I'm going to vote for, but I think it's unlikely that I'll be voting for Donald Trump, yeah," Baker said.

Gov. @CharlieBakerMA on @realDonaldTrump #mapoli pic.twitter.com/QERxZEgpL9

-- Gintautas Dumcius (@gintautasd) February 23, 2016

Two men were rushed to a Plymouth hospital, where one of them succumbed to his injuries, according to authorities.

PLYMOUTH — A man died in a fatal crash on northbound Route 3 in Plymouth on Thursday evening, according to Massachusetts State Police officials at Framingham headquarters.

Troopers from the Bourne barracks responded to a 6:35 p.m. report of a car that drove off the highway between exits 3 and 5.

The driver and his passenger, a 21-year-old man from Providence, Rhode Island, were taken to Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Plymouth, where the passenger was pronounced dead, police said.

Authorities did not identify the driver or release any information about his injuries.

"The facts and circumstances remain under investigation," police officials said, adding that the victim's identity would not be publicly released until family members were notified.

The investigation was handled by members of the State Police Collision Analysis & Reconstruction Section, the Crime Scene Services Section, and troopers assigned to the State Police Detective Unit attached to Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy J. Cruz's office.

Plymouth police and firefighters assisted at the crash scene.

A smaller field of Republican presidential hopefuls squared-off Thursday evening for the final debate before voters in about a dozen states head to the polls to weigh-in on the presidential primary contest.

SPRINGFIELD ‒ A smaller field of Republican presidential hopefuls squared-off in Houston Thursday evening for the final debate before voters in about a dozen states -- including Texas -- head to the polls to weigh-in on the presidential primary contest.

The prime time event, which was broadcast from the University of Houston, marked the 10th time GOP White House hopefuls have gone head-to-head this presidential cycle.

Looking to give their respective campaigns momentum heading into so-called "Super Tuesday" on March 1, the five remaining Republican presidential candidates took aim at each other on immigration, health care and taxes.

CNN lead political anchor Wolf Blitzer moderated the event, which was hosted by CNN, Telemundo and the Salem Media Group.

Here's what you missed from the 10th GOP presidential debate:

Donald Trump continued to criticize Mitt Romney over his failed 2012 Republican presidential run.

Hours after blasting the former Massachusetts governor as "one of the dumbest and worst candidates in the history of Republican politics," on Twitter, Trump took his issues with Romney to the debate stage.

In response to U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio's, R-Fla., claim that the businessman criticized Romney over "self-deportation" before pushing the issue himself, Trump agreed that he blasted the former GOP presidential nominee, but not on immigration.

"I criticized Mitt Romney for losing the election," he said.

Contending that Romney should've won the 2012 White House contest, Trump said the the former governor "ran a terrible campaign."

Romney told Fox News on Wednesday that if the GOP is going to select its nominee, it ought to see what the top three candidates' taxes look like, adding that Trump's tax returns could contain a "bombshell."

Trump, in response to whether he plans to release the documents, told the moderators he would love to do it, but cannot release his tax returns until he's no longer being audited. He added that Romney waited until just over a month before the 2012 election to release his own tax returns.

Rubio and U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, took issue with Trump's record on immigration.

Rubio questioned how serious Trump is about addressing illegal immigration when he has been fined for hiring undocumented workers.

The real estate mogul countered, saying he's the only person on the debate stage who has hired anyone.

"I've hired tens of thousands of people over my lifetime," he said, adding that the incident referred to happened several decades ago.

Cruz joined Rubio in questioning Trump's position, contending that the businessman helped fund congressional lawmakers who worked on legislation to provide amnesty to undocumented immigrants already in the U.S.

The Texas senator further backed up Rubio's claim that Trump hired workers illegally.

"He is promising if he's elected he will go and cut deals in Washington. And he's right. He has supported -- he has given hundreds of thousands of dollars to Democrats," the Texas senator said. "Anyone who really cared about illegal immigration wouldn't be hiring illegal immigrants."

Rubio took issue with the lack of specifics surrounding Trump's health care plan.

The Florida senator pressed the GOP front-runner to provide more specifics about his proposed health care policy.

Trump said he remove "the lines around the states" that limit how many health insurance providers can offer coverage, adding that such a move would resolve many of the issues with the health care system.

"You get rid of the lines, it brings in competition. So, instead of having one insurance company taking care of New York, or Texas, you'll have many," he said. "They'll compete, and it'll be a beautiful thing."

Rubio, who asked what else is included in Trump's health care plan, argued that the businessman continues to repeat himself without offering real details.

Trump took issue with the suggestion, pointing to a recent debate in which New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie blasted Rubio for repeating himself.

"I don't repeat myself," he said. "Here's the guy who repeats himself. I watched him repeat himself five times four weeks ago."

Rubio countered, saying he watched Trump "repeat himself five seconds ago."

"I see him repeat himself every night, he says five things: everyone's dumb; he's gonna make America great again; we're going to win, win win; he's winning in the polls; and the lines around the state," he said.

Ben Carson "whined" about not getting enough time to speak during the debate.

After remaining largely quiet throughout much of the debate, the retired neurosurgeon chatised the moderators over the lack of time he received to respond to an array of issues that other candidates had the opportunity to discuss.

"People say that I whine a lot because I don't get time, I'm going to whine," he said. "I didn't get asked about taxes, I didn't get asked about Israel...you said you're going to be fair to everybody, you didn't ask me about taxes -- I had something to say about that."

Carson then quickly offered his take on the U.S. taxation system, saying he was never audited until he spoke at a national prayer breakfast. The retired neurosurgeon also briefly touched on his foreign policy proposals.

He later implored other candidates to take jabs at him so he could have more air time.

"Can someone please attack me?" Carson asked.

Candidates agreed that Apple should help the FBI access data on the phone used by one of the San Bernardino terrorists.

Arguing that the FBI is simply asking to use its own systems to disable a function that would erase data on one of the terrorist's cell phones, Rubio said he believes the technology company should comply.

"Apple doesn't want to do it because they think it hurts their brand, well, let me tell you, their brand is not superior to the national security of the United States of America," he said.

Cruz praised Rubio for finally agreeing with him on the issue, adding that he believes Apple should be forced to comply with the federal court order.

The Texas senator said accessing the data on one cell phone would not put personal liberties of other Americans at risk and is allowed under the Fourth Amendment.

"We should enforce the court order and find out everyone that terrorist in San Bernardino talked to on the phone, texted with, emailed and absolutely Apple doesn't have a right to defy a valid court order in a terrorism investigation," he said.

Carson contended that "allowing terrorists to get away with things is bad for America."

The retired neurosurgeon said he would expect Apple to comply with the court order, adding that if it doesn't, the company would encourage "chaos in our system."

Ohio Gov. John Kasich, meanwhile, criticized President Barack Obama's handling of the issue, saying he should be convening meetings with Apple and security forces, not litigating it on the front page of national newspapers.

"This is a failure of his leadership to get this done as an executive should be doing it and I'll tell ya, that's why you want a governor," he said. "I do this all the time and we reach agreements all the time."

A sheriff in south-central Kansas said Thursday that four people, including a gunman, are dead after a series of shootings.

HESSTON, Kan. (AP) -- A sheriff in south-central Kansas said Thursday that four people, including a gunman, are dead after a series of shootings at a business, its parking lot and two streets nearby.

Harvey County Sheriff T. Walton said at a news conference that all the dead were shot inside Excel Industries, a plant in Hesston that makes lawn mower products. He said 14 were injured in the shootings, 10 critically.

A law enforcement officer killed the gunman, who worked at the plant, after he began shooting at them, Walton said.

The man traveled between sites firing from a vehicle before reaching the plant, the sheriff said.

Walton said about 150 people were likely in the plant at the time of the shooting, and that the law enforcement officer who killed the suspect "saved multiple, multiple lives." He said the gunman had an assault weapon and a pistol.

The officer who killed the man is "a hero as far as I'm concerned," Walton said.

"This is a fairly peaceful community and to have something like this is tragic," he said.

The sheriff would not discuss a motive but said "there was some things that triggered this individual."

Erin McDaniel, spokeswoman for the nearby city of Newton, said the suspect was known to local authorities. She wouldn't elaborate.

The shooting comes less than a week after authorities say a man opened fire at several locations in Kalamazoo, Michigan, leaving six people dead and two severely wounded.

Martin Espinoza, who works at Excel, was in the plant during the shooting. He heard people yelling to others to get out of the building, then heard popping, then saw the shooter, a co-worker he described as typically pretty calm.

Espinoza said the shooter pointed a gun at him and pulled the trigger, but the gun was empty. At that point, the gunman got a different gun and Espinoza ran.

"I took off running. He came outside after a few people, shot outside a few times, shot at the officers coming onto the scene at the moment and then reloaded in front of the company," Espinoza told The Associated Press. "After he reloaded he went inside the lobby in front of the building and that is the last I seen him."

A nearby college was briefly locked down.

Hesston is a community of about 3,700 residents about 35 miles north of Wichita.

Excel Industries was founded in Hesston in 1960. The company manufactures Hustler and Big Dog mowing equipment and was awarded the Governor's Exporter of the Year award in 2013 from the Kansas Department of Commerce.

Walton said the FBI and the Kansas Bureau of Investigation had been called in to assist. A spokeswoman for the Kansas City office of the FBI did not immediately return a call seeking comment Thursday night.

"This is just a horrible incident. ... There's going to be a lot of sad people before this is all over," Walton said.

The Pioneer Institute had asked Healey to decide whether the legislative exemption is constitutional.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey will not issue an opinion on whether the Legislature should be exempt from the state's Open Meeting Law, despite a request by the conservative-leaning think tank, the Pioneer Institute.

Healey wrote in a letter to the Pioneer Institute that she does not have the authority, under state law, to issue an advisory opinion. The attorney general's authority, she wrote, "does not extend to the constitutional analysis that Pioneer requests."

Under current Massachusetts law, the Legislature - and the governor's office - are exempt from the state's open meeting and open records laws.

The Pioneer Institute believes the Legislature and governor should open their meetings and records to the public.

Although lawmakers are currently considering reforms to the public records law, they have not talked about changing the legislative or gubernatorial exemptions.

The institute asked Healey for an advisory opinion on the constitutionality of the legislative exemption, which allows committees to, for example, vote on bills in private without revealing how individual committee members voted.

"Accountability cannot be achieved if the Legislature exercises its authority behind closed doors without public oversight of the legislative process," wrote the Pioneer Institute's John Sivolella and Mary Connaughton in a letter to Healey's office.

However, First Assistant Attorney General Chris Barry-Smith responded in a letter earlier this month that under the state's Open Meeting Law and under precedent from the Supreme Judicial Court, Healey's office can interpret the law, but it does not have authority to issue that kind of constitutional analysis.

The Pioneer Institute has also urged Gov. Charlie Baker to get rid of the governor's exemption.

Baker has said previously that he is following law and precedent in maintaining the governor's exemption.

Dr. Frank Stirlacci of Springfield, who owns two practices in Hampden County, has agreed to stop practicing medicine – at least for now – after the state's Board of Registration started investigating him.

SPRINGFIELD - A physician who owns two practices in Hampden County has agreed to stop practicing medicine - at least for now - after the state's Board of Registration in Medicine started investigating him.

The investigation comes after Dr. Frank J. Stirlacci, 53, was sued in 2015 by two medical administration companies and, in 2014, found himself in a Louisville, Kentucky criminal court.

Court filings indicated he was jailed for failing to pay funds he owed to his estranged wife, but Louisville police said he was also charged with violating an emergency protective order. Both charges were later dismissed.

Stirlacci's two practices, Southern New England Primary Care in Agawam and Western Massachusetts Primary Care in Springfield, closed their doors Feb. 5.

Springfield attorney Dan M. Kelly, who is representing Stirlacci in his dealings with the Board of Registration in Medicine, said his client fully expects to resolve the issue and begin practicing medicine again.

"He's very concerned about his patients," Kelly said Thursday. He said Stirlacci has been "bending over backward" to help his patients get copies of their medical records so they can find new primary care physicians.

Kelly said he could not comment on what specifically prompted the Board of Registration in Medicine to begin looking into Stirlacci. When asked if the criminal charges or civil suit were factors, he said, "all of these things add up with the Board of Registration in Medicine."

Stirlacci could not be reached for comment, and Kelly said he was not willing to speak with a reporter.

His attorney in the civil matter, Nancy Flahive of Springfield, said the suit had nothing to do with his decision to stop practicing.

The suit was filed in May by New England Practice Management Inc. and Healthcare Management Inc., both headquartered at 62 Myron St. in Springfield. It alleges that Stirlacci violated his contracts with the two companies and deceived them while he was scheming to hide and manipulate his income. It does not say that it has to do with payments to his estranged wife, but says the scheme had to do with "court proceedings."

Stirlacci denies trying to hide funds and said the two companies failure to properly process bills led him to lose his home to foreclosure.

Agreement to stop seeing patients

Kelly said that he is not fully aware of what the Board of Registration in Medicine members suspect Stirlacci of doing wrong, as they have not provided him with all the details of their investigation.

That's one reason his client opted to agree to stop practicing for now - it allows him to collect all the information before deciding how to respond to the board's suspicions. The board would have to hold a disciplinary hearing before it could rule on whether there was violation of state regulations and mete out any punishment.

"There were options and this was the one option that preserves his licensure," Kelly said. Stirlacci signed the agreement Feb. 5.

Kelly described Stirlacci's practices were "very prosperous and healthy." He has a total of about 3,500 patients between the two.

Southern New England Primary Care opened at 2 South Bridge Drive in Agawam in 2006 and Western Massachusetts Primary Care at 405 Armory St. in Springfield opened in 2014.

Criminal charges dismissed

Louisville police said Stirlacci was charged with contempt of court and violating an emergency protective order, but both charges were dismissed on February 26, 2014.

A public information officer said the department has no arrest report, so he may have been summoned to court instead of arrested, but Flahive wrote in court documents that he was "jailed."

Attempts to reach Stirlacci's criminal attorney in that case were unsuccessful.

An emergency protective order is issued when there is an allegation of "immediate and present danger of domestic violence and abuse," according to Kentucky law. The order prevents the person from abusing or contacting the petitioner, but also prohibits "disposing of or damaging any of the property of the parties," which can include money.

In the civil suit, Flahive wrote that at one point Stirlacci was jailed for "failing to pay money he owed to his estranged wife."

Civil suit

The issue of Stirlacci's finances also come into play in the civil suit filed against him in Hampden Superior Court May 1, 2015. Flahive said the issue is a contract dispute.

New England Practice Management Inc. and Healthcare Management Inc. is seeking $231,197 from Stirlacci and his two practices for breach of contract and unfair and deceptive business practices.

The Southern New England Primary Care office at 2 South Bridge Dr. in Agawam closed Feb. 5.Google Maps 

The two companies share an address and some of their corporate officers. NEPM and Healthcare Management signed contracts in 2012 and 2014 respectively, agreeing to provide medical billing, insurance claim processing and other administrative services to Stirlacci's practices.

The companies allege that starting in June of 2014, Stirlacci stopped paying Healthcare Management for their services. Six months later, he stopped paying NEPM, the suit states, and ceased submitting bills to the companies even though he was still seeing patients, thus shorting them their percentage of each bill.

NEPM President Daniel Macero said that when he spoke to Stirlacci about the issue, the doctor indicated he stopped submitting bills because he was manipulating his finances "to appear less financially secure than he actually was" because of another court matter. He even asked Macero for help moving money between accounts to "hide" it, the lawsuit alleges, but Macero refused.

Stirlacci denied the allegation, and his attorney wrote in court filings that Stirlacci has suffered serious problems because the companies failed to see that the bills were paid.

"Since the start of discussions between counselors in this matter, Dr. Frank Stirlacci has been jailed by order of a probate court in the Commonwealth of Kentucky for failing to pay money owed to his estranged wife. He has lost his home to foreclosure in Hampden County," she wrote. "The defendant contends that this was all the result of non-payment for over $300,000 in invoices that were supposed to be processed for payment."

He said in the filing that starting in 2014, the bills he was submitting to the company were not properly processed by NEPM, and so they weren't paid from the insurance companies. Since NEPM received a percentage of each bill, they did not get paid because he was not getting paid, he said.

Stirlacci told the court that he after NEPM's failure to process the bills, he notified the company in writing that the relationship was terminated.

NEPM claimed several issues delayed or prevented bill processing. Stirlacci's credentials were affected when his admitting privileges at Baystate Medical Center expired and were not immediately reinstated, and the practices' account with SequelMed, a platform used to submit bills, was canceled for nonpayment. Both sides argue that the other was responsible for paying the subscription fee.

NEPM also alleged that the company had a verbal agreement with Stirlacci that between his two practices, he would pay a total of $5,500 per month for consulting services - something Stirlacci flatly denies. He said they never had such an agreement and said he was "completely caught off guard" when the company sent him a bill for 10 months of consulting work.

Stirlacci lost his 251 Longhill St. home to foreclosure in December of 2014 due to nonpayment, according to court records. It is not clear where he is currently living.

According to the Southern New England Primary Care's website, Stirlacci is the nephew of Dr. Joseph Stirlacci, who had an office in his home on Sumner Avenue for 40 years and went on to found Sumner Pediatrics.

A message on the phone for Southern New England Primary Care said the office was temporarily closed "due to unforeseen and immediate circumstances." Staff had attempted to contact anyone with upcoming appointments, the message said, and forms to release medical records to new doctors were posted on the office door.

Some patients who were scrambling to get their medical records told Western Mass News that they were upset and shocked that the practice closed without warning. Watch the video below.

As New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie jumps onto the Donald Trump bandwagon, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker says he still hasn't decided who's getting his vote in the Massachusetts presidential primary on March 1. Watch video

BOSTON - As New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie jumps onto the Donald Trump bandwagon, Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker says he still hasn't decided who's getting his vote in the Massachusetts presidential primary on March 1.

"I can tell you this, as I've also said before, I don't anticipate voting for Donald Trump," Baker said Friday. The line was a repeat of what the governor has told reporters as he attempts to stick to the day job in the Corner Office and stay out of national politics as much as possible.

But the wild 2016 election cycle continues to pull the state's top Republican back in. Christie's endorsement of Trump placed the spotlight on Baker at home, since just three weeks ago, Baker had endorsed Christie for president, ahead of the New Hampshire primary.

Christie fell short and dropped out after that primary, and on Friday appeared in Texas alongside Trump to offer his endorsement, despite once saying he doesn't believe Trump is "suited to be president of the United States."

"Chris Christie is very much his own man, and that was part of what made him an attractive candidate for me," Baker told reporters after the news broke. "But I don't believe his endorsement of Donald Trump says much of anything about why I chose to endorse him."

Asked if he was disappointed with Christie, Baker said he was surprised. "I guess because I figured Governor Christie would probably not participate in a campaign at this point," Baker said.

As for the other Republican candidates on the ballot, Baker repeated what he'd said about U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz: He doesn't believe Cruz has "demonstrated an ability to work with people he doesn't agree with."

A reporter noted that Baker's former mentor, former Gov. Bill Weld, has endorsed Ohio Gov. John Kasich.

"Bill Weld's a big boy, he can choose to endorse whoever he likes," Baker said. "As I said previously, I was not planning to make an endorsement."

Does he agree with the pundits who say the Republican nomination is Trump's to lose? "I still think it's pretty early," Baker said. "There haven't been any winner-take-all primaries yet, everything's been proportional. I think obviously the next few months will determine this."

In a statement before Baker's talk with reporters, a Massachusetts Democratic Party spokesman said Baker had endorsed Christie in an effort to stop Trump and Cruz from getting the nomination.

"Well, now that Christie has endorsed Trump, voters here deserve to know where Gov. Baker stands," Pat Beaudry, the spokesman, said in a statement. "Our status quo governor who has shown no real vision for our future can't be status quo on this anymore."

The other two acts to be identified over the next two days.

AMHERST - Migos, a three-member rap group from Atlanta, has been identified as one of three acts to perform March 5 at the free concert for University of Massachusetts students.  

The remaining two acts will be identified over the next two days on the Student Government Association website.

Enku Gelaye, vice chancellor for student affairs and campus life, sent out an email Thursday to the campus about the concert.

"Last year, the first weekend in March was an overall positive experience on campus.

"The Student Government Association (SGA) helped organize the concert at the Mullins Center while other events and activities were also hosted throughout campus."

The SGA is helping to organize the concert again as an alternative to Blarney Blowout revelry.

Last year, the concert that featured Kesha, Juicy J. and Ludicrus drew more than 5,200.

Blarney Blowout activity was essentially shut down with heavy police presence at all apartment complexes.

About 70 were arrested in 2014, but only about half were UMass students.

"We hope you and your friends will make responsible choices the weekend of March 4-6 and help maintain a community defined by safety and civility," Gelaye wrote in the email.

Migos released its first full-length recording this summer called "Yung Rich Nation."