Contending that Donald Trump may be the worst thing to happen to the United States, U2 frontman Bono accused the Republican presidential nominee Tuesday of "trying to hijack" the idea of America.

Contending that Donald Trump may be the worst thing to happen to the United States, U2 frontman Bono accused the Republican presidential nominee Tuesday of "trying to hijack" the idea of America.

Bono, whose real name is Paul David Hewson, told "CBS This Morning" that he believes the businessman poses a threat the the idea of "equality and justice for all" that the U.S. represents.

"America is like the best idea the world ever came up with," he said. "But, Donald Trump is potentially the worst idea that ever happened to America. Potentially. He could destroy it because of what we're saying."

Bono further contended that Trump is "trying to hijack" not just the Republican Party, but the idea of the United States.

"I think it's bigger than all of us," he said. "I think it's -- this is really dangerous."

Despite his concerns and criticism of the GOP presidential nominee, Bono said he would not diminish Trump's backers or underestimate their unease, offering that "there are very real problems facing not just America, but facing Europe."

The U2 rocker added that while he cannot cast a vote in the November election, he will speak out about it as the U.S. president makes decisions that impact the world.

"I'm Irish, I don't have a vote and I can't speak down on people who don't vote and don't want to, but I have a voice and I can say that who sits in that office really affects everyone in this world," he said.

Bono, who has supported the Clinton Foundation, reportedly sought assistance from the nonprofit and then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's office regarding a linkup between the International Space Station during his 2009 tour, according to Politico.

Last Saturday, the East Cost was rocked by explosions in New York and New Jersey, the most serious of which injured 29 people in Manhattan. Here's five things you need to know.

With the cost of higher education ever rising, federal education officials are honoring institutions working to educate students at a lower cost.

SPRINGFIELD -- With the cost of higher education ever rising, federal education officials have honored institutions working to educate students at a lower cost.

The U.S. Department of Education published a list of 25 community colleges located across the country that provide significant opportunities to low income students. Of the 25 schools, three are located in Massachusetts.

"It's important to know that both the college you select and the program you enroll in can have an impact on your post-college earnings - schools that offer more technical or health programs, or where a lot of students transfer to a four-year college, often have higher earnings," states U.S. Department of Education website.

North Shore Community College in Danvers, Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester and Springfield Technical Community College made the list.

The majority of Springfield's community college students - 56 percent - are considered low-income by federal standards. While the annual cost of attending nearby four-year institutions can approach $60,000, the average full-time STCC student pays $8,754 in tuition and fees. Three years after graduation, 73 percent of students have paid off their student loans.

Quinsigamond Community College students typically graduate with even less debt. The average net price is $7,221 per student, which seven of every 10 students pays off in three years after graduating. The median QCC graduate exits college earning $32,700 per year.

Further east, North Shore Community College graduates also can expect to obtain a job offering a higher annual salary than their student debt load. The average student pays $8,150 in tuitions and fees at the Danvers college and makes a little more than $30,000 after graduation. Like other Massachusetts community colleges honored, the majority of NSCC students pay off their student loans within three years of graduating.

The Tulsa police department has released video footage of an officer fatally shooting an unarmed black man on Friday evening.

The Tulsa police department has released video footage of an officer fatally shooting an unarmed black man on Friday evening.

Officer Betty Shelby shot and killed Terence Crutcher, 40, after responding to a report of an abandoned car in the middle of a roadway, the New York Times reported. The local District Attorney's office and the Department of Justice have opened inquiries into the shooting.

The family's attorney, Benjamin Crump, linked Crutcher's death to police killings of other unarmed black people that have sparked protest across the country in recent years.

"This is an issue that is not unique to Tulsa, Oklahoma," Mr. Crump said, according to the Times. "This is an issue that seems to be an epidemic happening all around America. What are we as an American society going to do about it?"

The following video of the shooting, from a police helicopter, contains graphic violence:

The video shows Crutcher, with his hands raised above his head, walking towards a vehicle as Shelby points a gun at his back. He then appears to lower his hands and lean against the car. The exact moment of the shooting is obscured both in the helicopter video and a patrol car dash cam recording, which was also released.

"Time for a taser, I think," one officer in the helicopter says in the video as Crutcher approaches the car.

"That's what I think is about to happen," another officer says.

"Looks like a bad dude, too," the first officer says, before a shout of "shots fired!' comes across the radio.

The department said he was tasered and shot, and that no weapons were found on him or in his car, the Times reported.

Shelby had told a dispatcher that Crutcher was not cooperating, the department said at a news conference. Tulsa Police Chief Chuck Jordan has pledged a full investigation, and Shelby is currently on paid administrative leave, NBC News reported.

The Springfield Partners for Community Action and Harmon Personnel Services has teamed to provide a job fair for veterans.

Don Treeger / The Republican 

SPRINGFIELD -- Springfield Partners for Community Action and Harmon Personnel Services are inviting veterans to participate in a job fair on Wednesday, Sept. 21, at the Springfield Partners office, 721 State St.

The "Veterans Work First" job fair is from 10 a.m. to noon. The organizers are inviting all veterans and active duty personnel to take part for career placement services.

The jobs fair is aimed at helping to close the gap between available jobs and skills of veterans in the community in certain fields, according to the jobs fair news release. There was a similar job fair on June 30.

Program coordinators will be recruiting for the following positions: Customer service (accountant); maintenance (sanitation); and manufacturing (food processing, food production, packaging/boxing, production, and trimmer/packer).

Participants are asked to bring two forms of identification to the job fair.

Springfield Partners provides various services to veterans including case management, claims assistance, educational assistance (tuition/certification assistance, school supplies), emergency needs assistance; employment assistance, moving assistance, temporary transportation assistance, and referrals. There will be staff at the job fair to answer any questions.

Springfield Partners for Community Action is the official anti-poverty agency serving Greater Springfield.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., continued to take issue with Donald Trump this week, arguing that the Republican presidential nominee was intimating violence by suggesting that his Democratic rival's secret service detail disarm.

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., continued to take issue with Donald Trump this week, arguing that the Republican presidential nominee was intimating violence by suggesting that his Democratic rival's secret service detail disarm.

Warren, who has publicly sparred with the businessman throughout the 2016 election cycle, said Trump's Friday comment that the Secret Service's guns should be taken away to see what happens to Hillary Clinton, represents yet another reason why he is not qualified to take over the White House.

"What else do you think he means when he says 'Let her protection -- the Secret Service lay down their arms, then let's see what happens? Of course he is (intimating violence.)'" she said in a late-Monday MSNBC interview. "I'm sorry, for me, that's not even a wink wink, nod nod. This is, Donald Trump saying, 'Hey, there's another way to deal here. This goes back to this question of what kind of a human being are we talking about?"

"He's losing to Hillary Clinton and his answer is to say, 'Somebody should get out there and do violence?'" she added.

The Massachusetts Democrat, who has become an important campaign surrogate for Clinton, further argued that this is not the first time Trump has suggested violence against the former secretary of state, pointing to similar remarks he made in August regarding Secret Service dropping all weapons.

"Donald Trump has now done this twice and he's been called out for it both times," she said. "When you do it twice, it seems to me pretty clear what your motivation is here. I think it's one more example why Donald Trump, not only shouldn't be president, but is truly disqualified to be president."

Warren further called Trump "a nasty little bully who can't win in a fair fight" and accused the GOP nominee of inviting supporters to kill the Democratic nominee as she spoke on behalf of Clinton's campaign in Cleveland on Sunday.

Republican vice presidential nominee Mike Pence, however, pushed back against claims that his running mate was inciting violence, saying Sunday that Trump was simply commenting on Clinton's position regarding the Second Amendment.

"His comment was that if she didn't have all that security, she'd change her attitude about the right to keep and bear arms," he told ABC. "And I'll bet that's probably true."

Trump, contending that Clinton opposes the right to bear arms, said the former first lady's "body guards should drop all weapons."

"I think they should disarm immediately, what do you think?" he said. "Take their guns away, she doesn't want guns. Let's see what happens to her. Take their guns away. Okay? It'd be very dangerous."

Trump on Clinton's bodyguards: "Take their guns away. She doesn't want guns... let's see what happens to her." https://t.co/NBBP1pji5j

— MSNBC (@MSNBC) September 16, 2016

A panel Tuesday night looks at the prison system and women

AMHERST -- The Feinberg Family Distinguished Lecture Series is taking on the prison system in a series of panels, performances, gallery exhibitions, and lectures, with a panel tonight looking at the effect on women.   

Titled "Women, Incarceration and Carceral Feminism," the panel features Andrea James, executive director of Families for Justice As Healing; Mariame Kaba, founding director of Project NIA; journalist Victoria Law; Springfield activist Herschelle Reaves; and Mount Holyoke College gender studies professor Elias Vitulli.

According to the program, women are the fastest growing segment of the U.S. prison population with women of color and transgender women incarcerated at disproportionate rates. 

Tuesday's panel, at 5:30 p.m. in the Cape Cod Lounge in the Student Union building, will look at what this means for women, children, and families, including how to address violence against women in the age of mass incarceration.

On Sept. 28, Reginald Dwayne Betts, author of "A Question of Freedom, The Circumference of a Prison: Youth, Race, and the Failures of the American Justice," System will speak.

Betts was arrested at 16 and served eight years in prison -- all of it in an adult facility, according to the press release. His talk is at 7 p.m. in the Cape Cod Lounge.

According to a press release, the series "will explore the ways that state violence, mass incarceration, and mass criminalization have transformed the U.S. economy, culture and society."

It is funded by UMass history department alumnus Kenneth R. Feinberg. In 2014, the series looked at migration.

Here is a link to the complete schedule.

NORTHAMPTON - Popular American post rock band Explosions in the Sky took the stage at the Calvin Theater on Tuesday, September 20th when their international tour rolled into the venue.

NORTHAMPTON - Popular American post rock band Explosions in the Sky took the stage at the Calvin Theater on Tuesday, when their international tour rolled into the venue.

Explosions in the Sky is known for their uplifting songwriting style, heavily composed of layered guitars and the use of more non traditional instruments like the dulcimer. Their lack of a singer means that their discography is entirely instrumental.

Their international tour follows the release of their 6th studio album The Wilderness which came out on April 1. The Wilderness was eagerly awaited by fans, who haven't seen a new release since 2011 when their last studio album Take Care, Take Care, Take Care came out.

The lack of an album release doesn't mean the band hasn't been busy. In fact, it's quite the contrary for Explosions. Moving into songwriting for motion pictures, the band produced the soundtracks for Prince Avalanche, Manglehorn and Lone Survivor. On the latter of the three, Lone Survivor, they are credited with writing over 15 songs.

The public is also likely no stranger to Explosions in the Sky. Chances are you have heard them on your favorite TV show or in a movie you've seen. Many of their pieces were featured in 2004 high school football flick Friday Night Lights. They have also had features in movies like The Kite Runner, Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story, Love Happens, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and Limbo just to mention a few.

They have also been invited to perform on both the Late Show with David Letterman and the Late Show with Steven Colbert, as well as So You Think you Can Dance.

The band's performance at the Calvin on Tuesday night was nothing short of amazing. Well known for their very emotional performances, the band left nothing to be desired, and the light show that accompanied the performance was pure genius. A wall of interactive light and fog appeared behind the band, at times almost giving the appearance of a blazing fire behind them.

Technically their performance was flawless. Every song was played almost note for note exactly to their albums, a feat which is not easily accomplished with music of such tonal complexity. The band has even referred to their pieces as "cathartic mini-symphonies".

They were supported by vocalist and one-woman band Julianna Barwick prior to their performance. Barwick provided fantastically soothing emotional soundscapes crafted through looping rhythms and vocal melodies.

Explosions in the Sky continues their tour on Wednesday night in Boston at the House of Blues before continuing on to New York City where the American stretch of the tour comes to a close on Friday. The tour will pick up on October 8 in Leeds, United Kingdom and take them through a majority of Europe, ending in Amsterdam for a two night stint at London Calling, Paradiso on October 28 and 29.

For more information about Explosions in the Sky, Julianna Barwick, or shows at the IHEG venues visit their official websites.

The family of Sean Collier, the MIT police officer killed by the Boston Marathon bombers, is trying to create "National First Responders Day," a day of gratitude in honor of police, firefighters, and EMTs.

The family of Sean Collier, the MIT police officer killed by the Boston Marathon bombers, is trying to create "National First Responders Day," a day of gratitude in honor of police, firefighters and EMTs.

Collier's brother Andrew first brought the idea to Congress through Rep. Michael Capuano shortly after the bombing, according to an online petition to create the day. But, the bill, H.R. 4109, didn't pass.

Capuano has reintroduced the bill, and the family is asking supporters to sign the petition so that first responders have an official day in their honor.

"It takes truly unique and selfless heroes to put their lives on the line every day for people they don't know," the petition reads. "Now is the time for all Americans to come together behind one campaign to create one day for all First Responders. One day of gratitude. One day to call their own."

The day would not be a paid holiday, just a day of recognition.

Andrew Collier works for NASCAR, which has teamed up with Hooters Restaurant to promote the bill, according to WCVB. Hooters in Saugus has offered free meals to first responders.

"It's an important cause," Colin Parker, vice president of Hooters, New England and New York, told WCVB. "There are 240 million 911 calls every year, and there's 365 days a year. We can carve out one to give back to them like they deserve."

Local first responders agree.

"It's just validation," Ashley Wreen, a Boston EMT, said to WCVB. "We all go to work every day. Nobody ever knows if they are going to go home. We hope that we do. It doesn't change how we do our job."

The online petition adds signatures to Change.org and We The People. Click here to sign the petition.

A former Peter Pan Bus Lines employee and the owner of a tour company were charged, Attorney General Maura Healey said.

BOSTON -- A former Peter Pan Bus Lines employee and one other have been charged in connection with stealing more than $600,000 from the Springfield-based company through a larceny scheme.

Attorney General Maura Healey announced the results of the approximately 18-month investigation and ensuing charges in a release Wednesday.

Leonard Rottenberg, 67, of Charlestown, was arraigned Tuesday in Suffolk Superior Court on three counts of larceny over $250 by scheme. He denied the charges.

In a criminal complaint, issued Monday in Boston Municipal Court, Julie Katz, 56, of Chestnut Hill, was charged with two counts receiving stolen property over $250. She will be arraigned at a later date.

"We allege these defendants have been working together for years to steal more than half a million dollars by cutting personal checks and authorizing fraudulent invoices," said Healey. "Our office will continue to prosecute those who abuse their positions for their own financial gain."

Healey's office, according to the release, began an investigation in April 2015 after a referral from Peter Pan. The company provided charter bus services to a tour company, TourMappers North America, LLC, d/b/a TourMappers, which is owned by Katz. As director of operations for Peter Pan's Chelsea Division at the time, Rottenberg was responsible for providing the company's charter service and for collecting the money owed to Peter Pan from its customers - such as TourMappers.

Between 2009 and 2014, the services provided by Peter Pan to TourMappers totaled more than $1 million, of which the defendants stole nearly $600,000, according to Healey.

Starting in 2009, Rottenberg allegedly asked Katz to make payments to him personally rather than directly to Peter Pan, Rottenberg received a number of checks from TourMappers, totaling more than $550,000, of which none were sent to Peter Pan for its services.

After receiving payments from TourMappers, Rottenberg issued checks from his personal account to Katz in return, totaling more than $200,000. To conceal the missing payments from his company, Rottenberg allegedly manipulated Peter Pan's accounting records and misapplied other funds.

In a separate scheme between the defendants during that period, Rottenberg presented and approved fraudulent invoices to Peter Pan in the name of TourMappers, for fraudulent services including translators and hospitality personnel that were not provided. Investigators allege that Katz and Rottenberg also shared the proceeds from this scheme through the exchange of payments resulting in the loss of close to $50,000 to Peter Pan.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant Attorney General Edward Beagan, Senior Trial Counsel in Healey's White Collar and Public Integrity Division. It was investigated by the Massachusetts State Police, Financial Investigations Division.

Peter Pan officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

This is a developing story. Additional information will be posted as soon as it is available.

A Boston police officer who pinned a pedestrian to the ground after the man tapped the window of the officer's squad car with an umbrella has been cleared in a use-of-force investigation.

A Boston police officer who pinned a pedestrian to the ground after the man tapped the window of the off-duty officer's car with an umbrella has been cleared in a use-of-force investigation.

WBUR reports that Officer Edward Barrett chased the man down Boylston street before pinning him to the ground with his knee and arresting him.

The incident gained public attention when video of the arrest was posted on Facebook. In the video, the man says he tapped the car window after Barrett cut him off while he was crossing the street.

But Commissioner William Evans said that other witnesses said the man tripped and fell to the ground, rather than being tackled by the officer, according to WBUR.

"He wasn't violently tackled, his head wasn't slammed to the ground and his hair wasn't pulled, and we have plenty of people who backed that up," Evans said.

Evans acknowledged that Barrett, who was off-duty and not in uniform, failed to identify himself as an officer. He will not be disciplined but will undergo counseling.

"An off-duty officer has every right to activate himself" to chase a suspect, Evans told reporters at a press conference, the Boston Globe reported. "That's what he did here. . . . If someone commits a crime, I expect my officers to act."

The Globe reported in May that Barrett, a 20-year veteran of the force, had twice been previously investigated for excessive force allegations. Neither were found substantiated.

A lawyer for the man arrested in the incident took issue with Evans' ruling.

"If you're training your officers to jump on people . . . that's worrisome, because no crime was committed," said Carl Williams of the ACLU of Massachusetts, according to the Globe.

Charles Sennott, Ben Brody and Beth Murphy said the best reporters don't stay home working the phone.

AMHERST -- The best war reporters work an active ground game instead of just conducting phone interviews and relying on official statements, three veteran journalists told a crowd gathered at the University of Massachusetts Tuesday.

"And nobody was better at doing that than James Foley," said Charles Sennott, an award-winning foreign correspondent and former Middle East bureau chief with the Boston Globe. "He had the spirit of what it takes to be there on the ground."

Sennott, with 30 years of reporting under his belt, was in town for a two-day symposium honoring the life of Foley, the New Hampshire native and independent journalist executed by the so-called Islamic State in 2014. At the time of his capture, Foley was freelancing for GlobalPost, the digital news organization Sennott co-founded in 2009.

Tuesday's panel discussion, "Journalists on the Frontiers," featured remarks by Sennott, Southampton resident and war photographer Ben Brody, and documentary filmmaker Beth Murphy, founder of Principle Pictures.

The three are collaborators in Foreverstan, a multimedia reporting effort published by Sennott's latest initiative, the nonprofit GroundTruth Project.

Peril on the job

One question the panel fielded was about the danger of reporting in conflict zones.

Sennott said in years past, members of the press could travel with relative safety, because both sides wanted to have their stories told. Now, organizations like ISIS and Hezbollah use social media for their messaging. "They no longer need journalists," he said.

Murphy recalled her husband delivering words of encouragement before her most recent trip to Afghanistan: "He said, 'this is who you are; this is what you do.'" Nonetheless, she said conditions in the country are far more perilous than they were even five years ago.

Brody said reporters must arrive at their own "calculus of risk." "At this point, I like my life enough that I'm not going to throw it away," he said. "It was less of an issue when I was in my twenties."

Sennott credited Diane and John Foley, parents of the slain journalist, for their work on the issue. The James W. Foley Legacy Foundation advocates for the release of American hostages, for press freedoms, and for keeping journalists safe.

Foley was covering the Syrian civil war in late 2012 when he was abducted by a militia and reportedly held in a Damascus prison. He was missing for two years before being publicly beheaded by the Islamic State group. Video of his execution surfaced online in August 2014. 

Foley, born and raised in New Hampshire, graduated from Marquette University in 1996, from the MFA Program for Poets & Writers at UMass in 2003, and from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism in 2008. He spent time with Teach for America before becoming a photojournalist.

Foley's parents were guests of honor at the symposium. Other luminaries included poet Martin Espada, photographer Diana Matar, novelist and Maaza Mengiste, and writer Sabina Murray. Friends and colleagues of Foley also spoke, as did UMass chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy. 

Monday night featured a screening of Jim: The James Foley Story, the HBO documentary directed by Foley's childhood friend Brian Oakes.

Bearing witness

"Ground Truth" is a term used by NASA, Sennott said, that refers to the fact that measurements taken on the ground are more trustworthy than those taken from space. The ground measurements serve to calibrate satellite imagery.

The Foreverstan narrative starts with a look at the 1,300-mile "Ring Road" connecting 16 of Afghanistan's 34 provinces. The project, which features writing by Sennott, photography by Brody, and video by Murphy, examines years of war and destruction, billions of dollars spent, and many hundreds of lives lost since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001.

Murphy said it's important to have "in-depth time in the field." Her most recent film, What Tomorrow Brings, is about the first school for girls established in Afghanistan. A woman named Razia Jan started the school in 2008, facing danger and overcoming cultural barriers.

The filmmaker spoke about gathering facts, and of "going so much further than the facts" to look at intersections, such as those between teachers, girls, family members, and village leaders.

Murphy said under the Taliban, girls could not go to school. But school is the one place where young Afghan girls can socialize with each other. "There is no such thing as a play date in Afghanistan," she said. She added that women in Afghanistan suffer from high rates of depression, and that early marriage limits their options.

"They are so isolated," she said.

Murphy is also producer of the award-winning documentary Beyond Belief, which tells of two American women whose husbands were killed in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. Instead of harboring bitterness, the women traveled to Afghanistan to help and empower war widows in that country.

Foreverstan: An Introduction from GroundTruth on Vimeo.

Brody, an Iraq War veteran, said he studied journalism at UMass on the G.I. Bill, and started working as a photographer in Afghanistan while still in school. He shared a number of his photographs with the audience, and said each image has a story to tell.

For instance, a dramatic photo which appears to show Afghan soldiers firing artillery into the mountains actually depicts giddy "cooks and mechanics" at a military base in a morale-building exercise.

He showed another photo of a man who had just been injured by a roadside bomb. Other men were shielding him from the sun with a scarf. The man's daughter-in-law had been killed in the explosion.

"It's important to bear witness first hand," Brody said.

He told students in the audience that the ground game is essential.

"You've got to hang out," he said. "Always have your camera with you; always be looking, and always be ready."

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

The proposal calls for a 16-unit complex to be built on McKinstry Avenue.

CHICOPEE - The Planning Board may rescind an approval for a controversial 16-unit condominium complex, citing concerns the developer has not submitted modified plans to address issues brought up by the Fire Department and other city officials.

Sergey Savonin, of Agawam, received a preliminary site plan approval to build a 16-unit condominium complex on 39,200 square feet of property at 114 McKinstry Ave. in June, but he still needs a definitive site plan approval.

The proposal is the second Savonin has submitted for the piece of property. He also received approvals to build a 17-unit complex on the property in 2011 but changed the plans and eliminated one of the units.

Savonin was originally scheduled to appear before the Planning Board in August for a definitive site plan review, but that vote was put off until September.

The developer did not attend the most recent meeting and City Planner Lee Pouliot said he had not submitted any modified plans to correct concerns city officials had.

Pouliot said he could resubmit the plans by the next meeting, which is scheduled for Oct. 6.

Frustrated that no modified plans have been submitted, the Planning Board voted 6-0 to consider rescinding the preliminary site plan approval at its next meeting.

The proposal for the complex has brought objections from neighbors who aired concerns about a variety of issues including the additional traffic the complex will add to the already-busy McKinstry Avenue.

One neighbor spoke at the meeting, saying she and other residents have been concerned the property is overgrown and being used as a dumping ground.

"He is not taking care of what he has, let alone build on it," Renelle Bonavita said.

Rick Steves, the travel writer and PBS television show host, is scheduled to swing through Amherst and Boston in support of Question 4, the November ballot seeking to legalize marijuana in Massachusetts. Here are the details.

BOSTON - Rick Steves, the travel writer and PBS television show host, is scheduled to swing through Amherst and Boston in support of Question 4, the November ballot seeking to legalize marijuana in Massachusetts.

The host of the series "Rick Steves' Europe," which airs locally on WGBH, Steves plans an October tour, according to the "Yes on 4" campaign. The dates and locations are available below.

Steves, who has pushed for legalization in Washington, Colorado and Oregon, also plans to offer a matching Massachusetts campaign donation of up to $100,000, the campaign for legalization said.

"There are so many reasons to end the prohibition on marijuana," Steves said in a statement released by the "Yes on 4" campaign. "Whether you're concerned about the well-being of children, fairness for our minority communities, redirecting money away from criminals and into our state's coffers, stemming the horrific bloodshed in Mexico, or civil liberties, it is clearly time for a new approach."

Opponents of the legalization effort, calling for "No on 4" and including Gov. Charlie Baker and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, argue the ballot question is flawed and marijuana leads users to trying harder substances. Legalization of marijuana will cause the marijuana industry to pour into Massachusetts, they add.

Marijuana remains illegal at the federal level.

Steves has previously said he would be coming to Massachusetts to campaign for the ballot question.

Through previous ballot questions, Massachusetts voters decriminalized small amounts of marijuana in 2008 and legalized medical marijuana in 2012.

The "Yes on 4" campaign on Wednesday released details on Steves' swing. The events are open to the public.

Tuesday, Oct. 11
Sponsored by the UMass Campus Cannabis Reform Coalition
7 p.m.
Cape Cod Lounge, UMass Amherst

Wednesday, Oct. 12
"Women Grow Boston" and "Moms for Regulation and Taxation of Marijuana"
6 p.m.
UMass Club, 1 Beacon Street
Boston

Thursday, Oct. 13
ACLU executive director Carol Rose slated to make opening remarks
7 p.m.
Suffolk University Law School, 120 Tremont Street
Boston

By ERIC TUCKER, LARRY NEUMEISTER and JENNIFER PELTZ, Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — He bought bomb ingredients on eBay and recorded a mirthful video of himself igniting a blast in a backyard. In a handwritten journal, he warned that bombs would resound in the streets and prayed he'd be martyred rather than caught, authorities say. Ahmad Khan Rahami's jihad...

By ERIC TUCKER, LARRY NEUMEISTER and JENNIFER PELTZ, Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) -- He bought bomb ingredients on eBay and recorded a mirthful video of himself igniting a blast in a backyard. In a handwritten journal, he warned that bombs would resound in the streets and prayed he'd be martyred rather than caught, authorities say.

Ahmad Khan Rahami's jihad journal ended with a stark message, according to court papers:

"Death to your oppression."

Federal court complaints filed Tuesday gave a chilling glimpse into what authorities say motivated the Afghan-born U.S. citizen to set off explosives last weekend in New York City and New Jersey, including a bomb that injured 31 people in Manhattan. The blasts came two years after the FBI looked into him but came up with nothing tying him to terrorism.

Rahami remains hospitalized with gunshot wounds from a shootout with police that led to his capture Monday outside a bar in Linden, New Jersey. It wasn't immediately clear whether he had a lawyer who could comment on the charges against him, which include federal terror crimes and state charges of attempting to murder police officers.

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Rahami ordered citric acid, ball bearings and electronic igniters on eBay and had them delivered to a Perth Amboy, New Jersey, business where he worked until Sept. 12, the court complaints said. San Jose, California-based eBay Inc. noted that the products are legal and widely available and said the company had worked with law enforcement on the investigation.

Just two days before Saturday's bombings, a relative's cell phone recorded Rahami igniting incendiary material in a cylinder buried in a backyard, the fuse being lighted, a loud noise and flames, "followed by billowing smoke and laughter," the complaints said.

And the complaints said in his bloodied journal -- damaged by shots from his gun battle with police -- he fumed that the U.S. government was slaughtering Muslim holy warriors and alluded to plans for revenge.

One portion expressed concern at the prospect of being caught before being able to carry out a suicide attack and the desire to be a martyr. Another section included a reference to "pipe bombs" and a "pressure cooker bomb" and declared: "In the streets they plan to run a mile," an apparent reference to one of the blast sites, a charity run in Seaside Park, New Jersey.

"The sounds of bombs will be heard in the streets," the journal declared.

There also were laudatory references to Osama bin Laden, Anwar al-Awlaki -- the American-born Muslim cleric who was killed in a 2011 drone strike and whose preaching has inspired other acts of violence -- and Nidal Hasan, the former Army officer who went on a deadly shooting rampage in 2009 at Fort Hood, Texas, the complaints said.

The FBI has said Rahami apparently was not on its radar at the time of the bombing. But he was in 2014, when the FBI opened up an "assessment" -- its least intrusive form of inquiry -- based on comments from his father after a domestic dispute, the bureau said in a statement.

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"The FBI conducted internal database reviews, interagency checks and multiple interviews, none of which revealed ties to terrorism," the bureau said.

A law enforcement official said the FBI spoke with Rahami's father in 2014 after agents learned of his concerns that the son could be a terrorist. During the inquiry, the father backed away from talk of terrorism and told investigators that he simply meant his son was hanging out with the wrong crowd, according to the official, who was not authorized to discuss the investigation and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

Rahami's father, Mohammad, told reporters Tuesday he called the FBI at the time because Rahami "was doing real bad," having stabbed his brother and hit his mother. Rahami was not prosecuted in the stabbing; a grand jury declined to indict him.

"But they checked, almost two months, and they say, 'He's OK, he's clear, he's not terrorist.' Now they say he's a terrorist," the father said outside the family's fried-chicken restaurant in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Asked whether he thought his son was a terrorist, he said: "No. And the FBI, they know that."

The FBI has faced questions before about whether it could have done more ahead of time to determine whether attackers had terrorist aspirations. The issue arose after the Orlando massacre in June, for instance, when FBI Director James Comey said agents a few years earlier had looked into the gunman, Omar Mateen, but did not find enough information to pursue charges or keep him under investigation.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said President Barack Obama was confident the bureau would review Rahami's interactions with law enforcement "to determine if there's something different that could have been done or should have been done to prevent the violence."

Meanwhile, investigators are looking into Rahami's overseas travel, including a visit to Pakistan a few years ago, and want to know whether he received any money or training from extremist organizations.

Rahami's wife is thought to be a Pakistani national. On a trip to Pakistan in 2014, Rahami emailed his local congressman seeking help because his pregnant wife had an expired passport.

David Duerden, a spokesman for the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi, was unable to confirm or deny reports that Rahami's wife had been questioned in the United Arab Emirates, which is home to a large expatriate Pakistani population and has airports that offer daily flights to Pakistan.

"We're aware of the reports but don't have any comment at this time," he told the AP.

Emirati officials in Dubai and the federal capital Abu Dhabi said they had no information on her.

Federal agents would like to question Rahami. But Rep. Tom MacArthur, R-N.J., who received a classified briefing from the FBI, said Rahami was not cooperating; that could also be a reflection of his injuries.

Rahami, who came to the U.S. as a child, studied criminal justice for a time at a community college, and he worked as an unarmed night guard for two months in 2011 at an AP administrative technology office in Cranbury, New Jersey. At the time, he was employed by Summit Security, a private contractor.

AP global security chief Danny Spriggs said he learned this week that Rahami worked there and often engaged colleagues in long political discussions, expressing sympathy for the Taliban and disdain for U.S. military action in Afghanistan. Rahami left that job in 2011 because he wanted to take a trip to Afghanistan, Spriggs said.

AP spokesman Paul Colford said the news cooperative told law enforcement officials about Rahami's work at the Cranbury facility.

Summit's vice president of security services, Daniel Sepulveda, said Rahami last worked for the company in 2011. Sepulveda said he was unaware of any complaints about Rahami's conduct.

___

Tucker reported from Washington. Associated Press writers Jake Pearson in New York; Michael Balsamo, Michael Catalini and Dake Kang in Elizabeth, New Jersey; Josh Cornfield in Pennsylvania; Adam Schreck in Dubai; and Alicia A. Caldwell, Kevin Freking and Deb Riechmann in Washington contributed to this report.

Blindways is an app that uses crowdsourcing to help blind users navigate Boston's bus system.

GPS devices can only get you so far. The Blindways app is hoping to help fill in this gap and help blind users navigate Boston's bus system.

When using a smartphone GPS, the location is approximate. "The last 30 feet of frustration," as the app calls it, is the space between where the GPS says a bus stop is and where the stop actually is.

"Imagine the frustration of thinking I'm at a bus stop, I wait there, I hear the bus coming (and) it goes right past me," Joann Becker, a technology specialist at Perkins Solutions, said in a video produced by the school to promote the app.

The new app gives more specific directions using landmarks, such as trees or benches, hoping to get users within as close as six feet.

The information is gathered by other users and volunteers. Those users can then pay it forward by adding additional clues. There's also a list of stops that need more clues.

In 2015, a similar app launched in London and Sydney to help people get around its subway system. The app, called Wayfindr, can tell users which station they're entering, how many steps a particular staircase has, and which trains are to their right and left. The app even let's users know they are approaching the end of an escalator, according to CityLab.

The digital creator Umesh Pandya told the American Institute of Graphic Arts, he hopes to expand the app and trials may make their way to the United States.

Last December, Wayfindr received a $1 million grant from Google to create the first open standard for audio wayfinding apps that can be used by developers around the world, according to CityLab.

"Globally, we hope that the open standard will help the market for blind navigation services really take off," Pandya said in a statement.

Police said a white male robbed the First National Bank of Suffield on Bridge Street Tuesday afternoon.

SUFFIELD -- Police are seeking the public's help as they investigate a bank robbery that occurred at the First National Bank of Suffield on Bridge Street Tuesday afternoon.

The white male suspect approached one of the tellers shortly before 2 p.m.,, displayed a firearm and stated it was a robbery, according to the department's Facebook page.

The suspect left the branch, located at 30 Bridge St., after receiving an undisclosed amount of cash.

Those with information are asked to call detective Justin Fuller at 860-668-3870.

The Great Barrington store is the last Kmart location in the Berkshires.

SPRINGFIELD -- Kmart stores in Springfield, Holyoke and Palmer will apparently survive the latest round of store closings at the once-ubiquitous retail chain, but the chain's last location in the Berkshires won't make the cut.

Kmart, now a part of Sears holdings, is closing 64 stores around the country in December, according to a list published by Business Insider. Closeout sales are expected to begin Thursday.

The website attributed the list to employees of the retailer who were not named.

The list of stores to be closed includes the Great Barrington Kmart at 354 Stockbridge Road, according to a report by the Berkshire Eagle.

Among the locations that will remain open are stores at Springfield Plaza, 1277 Liberty St.; at 159 Wilbraham St. in Palmer and in the Holyoke Shopping Center, 2201-2211 Northampton St.

Prior to the shutdowns, Kmart had 1,524 locations around the country.

The business has floundered in recent decades, struggling to compete with Walmart and online retailers and hit hard by the Great Recession.

In its most recent earnings report, Sears Holdings reported a net loss of $395 million. Sears Holdings Corp. stock traded at $11.48 at midday Wednesday, up 9 cents on the day.

Five-and-dime chain S.S. Kresge opened the first Kmart in 1962. The chain grew along with suburban shopping centers. 

In 1976, S.S. Kresge opened 271 Kmart stores in one year, becoming the first-ever retailer to launch 17 million square feet of sales space in a single year, according to a corporate history.

The event is set for Sunday, Oct. 2 at the town's village center ballfield.

CONWAY -- A cast-iron skillet toss, lumberjack contest, live music, turkey dinner, cider pressing, road race, parade, book sale, and Morris dancing. Fried dough and maple ice cream. Pumpkin painting and a duck race on the South River. Did we mention homemade pies?

If you're looking for a Sunday drive and savor the quintessential New England experience, you can't do better than heading up Rt. 116 for The Conway Festival of the Hills on Oct. 2.

Now in its 54th year, the volunteer-run festival celebrates the the crisp fall weather and beauty of Western Massachusetts while raising money for local college scholarships.

The full schedule can be found at the event's website.

If you go:
What: Conway Festival of the Hills
Where: Conway ballfield at the town's village center off Rt. 116
When: Sunday, Oct. 2, with pre-festival events on Saturday

Although Donald Trump recently acknowledged that President Barack Obama was born in the United States, one of the Republican presidential nominee's supporters continued this week to question the authenticity of the commander-in-chief's birth certificate.

Although Donald Trump recently acknowledged that President Barack Obama was born in the United States, one of the Republican presidential nominee's supporters continued this week to question the authenticity of the commander-in-chief's birth certificate.

Joe Arpaio, a Springfield native and the controversial sheriff for Maricopa County Arizona, told the Surprise Tea Party Patriots group Tuesday that he will continue to look into the birth certificate put out by the White House in 2011, The Arizona Republic reported.

"I don't care where he's from. We are looking at a forged document. Period," he reportedly said.

Arpaio began his own investigation into Obama's birth certificate following an August 2011 request from the Surprise Tea Party -- months after Trump raised the issue, according to the newspaper.

The sheriff stressed that he will not just let the investigation drop, The Republic reported.

"I know all the politicians say, 'Sheriff, don't talk about it,'" he said. "But how can I back down when we started it? I'm not going to just forget it."

Arpaio added that while Trump has walked back his previous so-called "birther" claims, he will continue looking into the authenticity of the documents.

"I'm not going to give up, and we're looking into it," he said. "I don't know how it's going to turn out."

Trump said Friday that he believed Obama was born in the United States. The GOP nominee's campaign stressed that he ended the issue when the president released his birth certificate.

"Inarguably, Donald J. Trump is a closer. Having successfully obtained President Obama's birth certificate when others could not, Mr. Trump believes that President Obama was born in the United States," the campaign said in a statement.

Arpaio, who has become known for his hard-line stance on immigration, endorsed Trump's White House bid in late-January.

The controversial sheriff called the businessman a leader who "produces results and is ready to get tough in order to protect American jobs and families."

Arpaio, who has identified himself as "a kid from Six Corners," previously backed former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's 2008 Republican presidential campaign and former Texas Gov. Rick Perry's 2012 bid.