Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi acknowledged that the suspects made "terrible racist statements" during the assault, but that investigators believe the victim was targeted because he has "special needs," not because of his race.

CHICAGO (AP) -- Chicago police don't believe a man beaten in an assault broadcast live on Facebook was targeted because he was white despite profanities made by the accused assailants about white people and President-elect Donald Trump, a police spokesman said Thursday.

Charges are expected soon against four black suspects, Chicago police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said. He acknowledged that the suspects made "terrible racist statements" during the assault, but that investigators believe the victim was targeted because he has "special needs," not because of his race.

Guglielmi said it's possible the suspects were trying to extort something from the victim's family. Investigators said the victim was with his attackers, including one who was a classmate, for up to 48 hours, and the attack left him traumatized.

Video from Chicago media outlets shows the man with his mouth taped shut as a woman and other people cut off his shirt and hair with a knife. One person pushes the man's head with his or her foot. The video appears to show someone off-camera using profanities about "white people" and Trump.

The victim is a suburban Chicago resident who Police Superintendent Eddie Johnson said has "mental health challenges." In a news conference Wednesday, Johnson described the video as "sickening."

"It makes you wonder what would make individuals treat somebody like that," he said.

The investigation began Monday after officers found a man who "was in distress and was in crisis" walking on a street on the city's West Side, Capt. Steven Sasso said. The man was taken to a hospital and it was later discovered that he had been reported missing from an unidentified suburb.

At about the same time, police took several people into custody at a nearby address where they found signs of a struggle and property damage. Investigators determined that the missing man had been at the same address.

When asked Wednesday about the racial comments on the video, Cmdr. Kevin Duffin said the four people in custody were "young adults and they make stupid decisions." Investigators will have to determine whether the racial remarks were "sincere or just stupid ranting and raving" when considering a potential hate crime charge, Duffin said.

The victim was with his attackers for 24 to 48 hours before police found him, and the episode has left him shaken, according to Duffin.

"He's traumatized by the incident and it's very tough to communicate with him at this point," he said.

The victim was a classmate of one of the attackers and initially went with that person voluntarily, Duffin said.

Police haven't identified the individuals in custody, but said three are Chicago residents and one is from suburban Carpentersville. Guglielmi said the suspects are all age 18 or older, and that police were working with prosecutors on Thursday "to build the strongest case."

The City Council, in a unanimous vote Monday, re-elected Cichetti to serve as president of the city's legislative body.

AGAWAM -- City Council President James P. Cichetti has once again been tapped to lead Agawam's legislative branch.

On Monday, the City Council voted 11-0 to re-elect Cichetti as president of the council. For classification purposes, the president is the department head of the city's legislative branch, while Mayor Cohen heads the city's executive branch.

As president, Cichetti, 45, is responsible for "any and all administrative decisions and actions with respect to the City Council and its personnel," according to the Rules and Regulations of the Agawam City Council.

Other unanimous votes on Monday resulted in the re-election of Councilor Joseph Mineo as vice president of the City Council, Cheryl St. John as the city's auditor, and Barbara Bard as administrative assistant to the City Council.

"I'd like to just to thank everybody here for nominating us ... and all the votes," Cichetti said. "We do appreciate it."

Your iPhone has been keeping track of everywhere you've been. Watch video

Your iPhone has been keeping track of everywhere you've been.

If you're creeped out by this, there's a way to clear your history and turn it off for any future trips.

Directions:

1. Go to setting
2. Click on "Privacy"
3. Click 'Location services"
4. Scroll down to System Services, click
5. Scroll down to "Frequent Locations," click
6. Hit clear history and turn off the "frequent locations option"
7. If you want to see the map, click on one of the locations under history

Although, Apple says your data isn't being tracked because it's "kept solely on your device and won't be sent to Apple without your consent." The main reason it's there is to "provide you with personalized services, such as predictive traffic routing."

iPhone's aren't the only device tracking this information, though. According to PCWord, if you have an Android phone and have opted into location history, Google Maps' Timeline feature will show you everywhere you've been.

A 41-year-old Vermont resident was taken into custody Wednesday after allegedly being found in possession of 901 bags of heroin.

A 41-year-old Vermont resident was taken into custody Wednesday after allegedly being found in possession of 901 bags of heroin.

Trooper Kurt D'Angelo of the Massachusetts State Police Northampton Barracks stopped a Ford pickup truck heading north on Interstate 91 Wednesday afternoon for a suspected motor vehicle violation.

While speaking with the driver, the trooper suspected her to be in possession of illegal substances and conducted a search of the vehicle.

The search resulted in finding 901 bags containing a substance believed to be heroin, state police say.

The driver, 41-year-old Corrina Carr, of Vermont, was arrested on the charges of trafficking in heroin and failure to wear a seat belt. Carr was also issued a civil citation for a motor vehicle offense.

Carr is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday in Greenfield District Court.

901 bags of heroin seized on Jan. 4, 2017 by Massachusetts State PoliceMSP 

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, turned to an unlikely source this week when trying to convince his Republican colleagues against moving forward with cuts to federal entitlement programs: President-elect Donald Trump's Twitter feed.

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vermont, turned to an unlikely source this week when trying to convince his Republican colleagues against moving forward with cuts to federal entitlement programs: President-elect Donald Trump's Twitter feed.

The Vermont senator, who was an outspoken critic of Trump throughout the 2016 presidential race, praised the incoming president Wednesday for opposing cuts to Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid in a May 2015 tweet.

Contending that Republican-backed efforts to cut entitlement spending is out of touch with what the American people support, Sanders said the incoming president "was exactly right" in his opposition to such reductions.

"I think it is interesting that we listen to what Donald Trump said during the campaign, that Democrats hear what he had to say during the campaign -- what he campaigned on -- and more importantly, Republicans listen and hear what their leader had to say about these issues," he said.

The senator, pointing to a blown up image of the president-elect's tweet, urged GOP lawmakers to listen to their new leader and refrain from touching entitlement programs.

"I was the first & only potential GOP candidate to state there will be no cuts to Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid," Trump wrote in the May 7, 2015 Twitter post.

I was the first & only potential GOP candidate to state there will be no cuts to Social Security, Medicare & Medicaid. Huckabee copied me.

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 7, 2015

Sanders further called on Trump to veto any proposed Medicaid, Medicare or Social Security cuts, adding that if the president-elect does not intend to keep such promises, he must tell the American people.

"Mr. Trump was right and millions of people voted for him on the belief that he would keep his word," he said.

"Well, it seems to me that Mr. Trump right now has got to do one of two things," Sanders continued. "Number one, if all that he was talking about was campaign rhetoric, then what he's obliged to do now is to tell the American people, 'I was lying' ... But if that is not what the case is, if he was sincere, then I would hope that tomorrow or maybe today he could send out a tweet and tell his Republican colleagues to stop wasting their time and all of our time."

Sanders' floor speech came as Senators debated a budget resolution that lays the groundwork for repeal of the Affordable Care Act, the contentious health care law also known as Obamacare.

The Vermont senator, who waged an unsuccessful 2016 Democratic presidential bid, made universal health care a major part of his campaign platform.

A pretrial hearing for John "Jack" St. Clair for charges that he allegedly slapped and choked his wife has been postponed until March.

PALMER -- Domestic violence charges against a high-profile Western Mass. defense attorney will not move forward until the spring.

John "Jack" St. Clair had been scheduled to appear in Palmer District on Tuesday for a pretrial hearing stemming from a July 29 arrest for allegedly slapping and choking his wife at their East Longmeadow Home, and a second arrest, after his wife complained that he contacted her through a third party, despite language in a restraining order restricting such communication.

The pretrial hearing for charges resulting from both arrests was rescheduled to March 21, according to the Palmer District Court clerk's office.

The restraining order St. Clair allegedly violated was issued amid charges of assault on a family member, witness intimidation and strangulation -a felony- stemming from the July incident during which police were called to St. Clair's home in East Longmeadow at about 9:15 p.m. Police arrived to find blood spattered around the house and St. Clair's wife with bruising on her face and arms, court records show. The alleged victim said St. Clair, whom she said was drunk, grabbed her face, slapped her and choked her.

After ordering St. Clair held for a dangerousness hearing following his arraignment in August, Judge Michael Mulcahy released St. Clair on personal recognizance, but stipulated he must stay away from his wife, undergo evaluations for substance abuse and mental health and remain alcohol-free, among other conditions.

The alleged victim reported to the East Longmeadow Police Department on Sept. 1 that a real estate agent called and text messaged her on behalf of St. Clair on Aug. 11, Aug 23 and Aug. 26, the police report says.

Messages were about clothes, a blender and other things he wanted sent to him at a Connecticut hotel where he was staying, and telling her about the financial burden of living in a hotel.

St. Clair, a former Hampden County prosecutor, has represented high-profile clients as a private criminal defense attorney, such as State Rep. Thomas Petrolati and former Springfield city councilor and ex-homeless shelter director Frankie Keough.

Troopers pulled the car over after seeing it with a blown tail light. That led to the discovery of the drugs, police said.

WILLINGTON, Conn - Connecticut State Police arrested a Brooklyn man on Interstate 84 in Willington Wednesday night for drug possession after a traffic stop for a faulty brake light led to the discovery of close to 50 packets of cocaine, according to police.

State troopers were on I-84 Eastbound when they spotted a car with a blown bulb on one of the rear brake lights.

While talking to the driver, troopers determined there were drugs in the car. A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of 49 packets of heroin.

The driver, Brian Pomposelli, 34, of Brooklyn, New York, was charged with possession of heroin, failure to stop for a stop sign and driving with a suspended license.

He is due to be arraigned Jan. 25 in Rockville Superior Court on Jan. 25, and was released on $5,500 bail.

Willington, Connecticut is roughly 10 miles south of the Massachusetts line.

The eastbound lane of I-84 connects with the Massachusetts Turnpike in Sturbridge, just west of Worcester.

In October, Stanley Black & Decker bought Lenox American Saw along with other part of the the Newell Brands tool division for $1.95 billion in cash

NEW BRITAIN, Conn. -- Stanley Black & Decker added to its portfolio Thursday by buying the venerable Craftsman brand from Sears for for $775 million.

As part of the deal, Stanley Black & Decker will continue to sell Craftsman through Sears and Kmart stores. For the last several years, Craftsman has also been available at Ace hardware stores, including the local Rocky's chain.

Stanley Black & Decker also promised to increase manufacturing in the United States in order to support growth of the Craftsman brand.

"This will add jobs in the U.S., where we have increased our manufacturing headcount by 40 percent  in the past three years," Stanley Black & Decker officials said in a news release.

While calling itself a global company, Stanley Black & Decker says on its website that it manufactures many DeWalt brand tools in the United States, although using parts sourced around the world.

In October, Stanley Black & Decker bought Lenox American Saw along with other parts of the the Newell Brands tool division for $1.95 billion in cash. That deal also included Newell's Irwin brand.

That deal included the 500,000-square-foot Lenox American Saw factory in East Longmeadow, with its 640 employees. A total of 900 people manufacture and market Lenox saw blades and tools in more than 70 countries.

Thursday, Stanley Black & Decker spokesman Tim Perra responded to questions about what the Craftsman deal means for American Saw by pointing out that the American Saw deal is not officially completed.

"Therefore it is too early to comment on integration plans," Perra wrote. "As before, it's still important to note that the two businesses are complementary with little substantial overlap in terms of product offerings and distribution channels. The addition of the Irwin and Lenox brands strengthens Stanley Black & Decker's already strong portfolio of brands and the company's position in hand tool and power tool accessories products."

The long-troubled Sears brand has been cutting back for years. Earlier this week, Sears announced it will close its store at the Enfield Square Mall this spring. Also on the chopping block are three stores in Massachusetts: two Kmart locations in Fairhaven and South Attleboro and a Sears Auto Center in Swansea.

In September, Kmart announced it would shut down 64 stores around the country, including its Great Barrington location. The Great Barrington store was the last remaining Kmart in Berkshire County.

As part of the Craftsman deal, Sears will get $525 million at closing, $250 million in three years, and a perpetual license for the Craftsman brand -- royalty free for 15 years -- and a 15-year royalty stream on all third-party Craftsman sales to new customers that could yield several hundred million dollars more over time.

Danaher Inc. used to manufacture some Craftsman ratchets and wrenches in Springfield before shutting down in 2005.

A proposal to use Massachusetts inmates to build a wall at the border of the United States and Mexico is drawing criticism. Watch video

A plan to use Massachusetts inmates to build a wall at the border of the United States and Mexico is drawing criticism. 

"The proposal is perverse," Laura Rotolo, staff counsel with the ACLU, told The Boston Globe. "It's inhumane, and it's most likely unconstitutional. It's also likely an attempt by Sheriff Hodgson just to ride this wave and become famous nationally. . . . I hope we don't have to take this proposal seriously."

Bristol County Sheriff Thomas Hodgson said during his swearing-in ceremony Wednesday that, should President-elect Donald Trump follow through on a campaign promise to build a wall between the United States and Mexico, he'd like to send inmates from the Bristol County House of Correction work on such a project.

Sheriff offers Massachusetts inmates to build wall along U.S.-Mexico border

"Today, I'm making a formal offer to President-elect Trump, if inmates from Bristol County and others from across the nation through Project N.I.C.E will help build that wall. I can think of no other project that would have such a positive impact on our inmates and our country than building this wall," Hodgson said in recorded remarks.

Rotolo called the plan a "gimmick" and said the ACLU will "use every tool in our toolbox, including litigation, to stop him" if he seeks to implement it. 

Following the swearing-in ceremony, Hodges told reporters he had yet to figure out logistics of the plan, from the cost of transporting thousands of inmates to the Mexican border to where they would be housed while working on such a project.

While Hodgson pitches the idea as a way of providing cheap labor for the government project and means for inmates to learn a new trade, the ACLU calls it a form of slavery. 

"The idea of using modern-day slave labor to send people thousands of miles away from their Massachusetts home to build a wall to keep out other vulnerable populations, it's just preposterous," Rotolo told the Globe.

John Mattleman, a mental health counselor from the Boston area, will be blending advice with humor at the high school on Jan. 26.

WEST SPRINGFIELD — Parenting expert Jon Mattleman will give a talk titled "The Secret Lives of Teens" at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 26, at West Springfield High School, 425 Piper Road.

The free event is sponsored by the West Springfield CARE Coalition, in collaboration with the Lions Club and the West Springfield Park & Recreation Department.

Event organizers are inviting the public to "stop in for a free pasta dinner," compliments of the Lions Club, from 5:45 to 6:30 p.m. in the dining commons. After that, Mattleman will present "Secret Lives" in the auditorium.

The high-energy session lasts about an hour and a half and focuses on what teens are thinking and topics like depression, suicide and substance abuse.

Mattleman, a mental health counselor from outside Boston, earned a bachelor's degree from Clark University and a master's in counseling from the University of Hartford.

He was director of the Stoughton Youth Commission from 1983 to 1993, and director of Needham Youth Services from 1993 to the present. Since 1993, alongside his full-time work, Mattleman has run jonmattleman.com, a consultation and presentation business.

During Mattleman's presentation, West Side Park & Rec staffers will provide supervised activities for younger kids and teens alike, including games, a movie ("The Secret Lives of Pets"), and a chance to swim in the school's pool. Any supervision-related questions may be directed to 413-263-3284.

Adults who attend the event will also have a chance to win a large flat-screen TV.

In the event of snow, the presentation will be moved to Jan. 30. Erin M. Mountain, a communications assistant in the school superintendent's office, has more information at mountain@wsps.org or 413-263-3290.

The CARE Coalition provides education, prevention and intervention efforts to address and reduce underage alcohol and substance abuse.

Police believe Helen Jones, 81, may be the victim of homicide, but are waiting for an autopsy to determine cause of death.

Photo courtesy of Vermont State Police 

ARLINGTON, Vermont - The death of an 81-year-old woman who was found in her home Wednesday night is being investigated as a possible homicide, according to Vermont State Police.

The woman, identified as Helen Jones, lived alone at her home on Buck Hill Road. Her body was found by a friend who had gone to her home to check on her at the request of relatives from out of state, according to police.

A deputy sheriff responded to the scene and then alerted state police. A state police detective responded and observed evidence that suggested the death was a homicide.

Police did not disclose what that evidences or specify on how Jones died.

Police said the investigation is at its earliest stages and the body will be taken to the office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Burlington for an autopsy in an attempt to determine the cause and manner of death.

Vermont State Police investigators are working with the Bennington County State's Attorney's Office.

Police said investigators are interested in speaking with anyone who may have witnessed suspicious activity in the area of Buck Hill Road in Arlington over the past week, or anyone who had contact with Jones. Anyone with information is asked to call Vermont State Police at 802-442-4521.

Arlington is a small town with a population of around 2,200 residents. It is located just north of Bennington, and is about 25 miles north of the Massachusetts line.

Although the Electoral College solidified Donald Trump's 2016 presidential victory last month, several House Democrats are reportedly considering formally challenging the results when Congress meets Friday to certify the win.

Although the Electoral College solidified Donald Trump's 2016 presidential victory last month, several House Democrats are reportedly considering formally challenging the results when Congress meets Friday to certify the win.

Reps. Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland, Ed Perlmutter, D-Colorado, and Bobby Scott, D-Virginia, are among the group of Democrats looking to lodge a protest to the president-elect's Electoral College victory when Congress meets for a joint session to officially count the results, Politico reported.

Although members have the right challenge the Electoral College votes, they would need at least one senator to join the effort for it to have any effect on proceedings, the news outlet noted.

Despite such reported efforts, Democrat-backed challenges to Trump's presidency are unlikely to alter the election's outcome, particularly with a Republican-controlled Congress.

They, however, could give Democrats a new platform to oppose the incoming president.

Raskin told Politico that various groups have urged him to file a challenge and that he was strongly considering one on the grounds of voter suppression. The congressman, however, said he would only move forward with one if he saw compelling evidence of tampering, ballot stuffing or exclusion of voters from the polls.

Claims of foreign interference, he added, are less compelling when it comes to challenging the Electoral College vote as it's hard to prove what impact, if any, alleged Russian hacking had on the outcome.

A spokesman for Scott, meanwhile, said the congressman "is reviewing" more information before deciding whether to challenge the Electoral College results, the news outlet reported.

Perlmutter's office did not respond to Politico's request for comment, but sources who attended a Democratic whip meeting told the news outlet that the congressman said he was weighing a challenge.

House and Senate members have jointly backed Electoral College challenges just twice since the 19th century, including in 2005 when Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-California, joined Ohio Rep. Stephanie Tubbs-Jones to challenge Ohio's electoral votes in George W. Bush's reelection win, Politico reported.

Talk of a such a challenge marks the latest effort to undermine Trump's 2016 presidential win.

Groups unsuccessfully sought to sway Electoral College members against voting for the Republican when electors met in late December.

Electoral College yielded record number of defections against Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump

The president-elect beat Democratic rival Hillary Clinton by an Electoral College margin of 304 to 227 votes to win the White House, despite the former first lady holding a 2.8 million advantage in the popular vote. 

In total, seven electors cast so-called "faithless" votes against the candidates to whom they were bound, including three from Washington who voted for former Secretary of State Colin Powell, a Republican, over Clinton in a failed attempt to block Trump's election.

The American Postal Workers Union announced the move Thursday, declaring victory in a long-running dispute.

The U.S. Postal Service has ended its relationship with office goods retailer Staples, according to an press release from American Postal Workers Union.

Staples will remove Postal Services signage and branding from its a 500 U.S. locations that handle postal services by the first week of March.

It's common for retailers like grocery and drug stores to sell stamps. But Staples was offering more, including priority mail and parcel shipping.

The three-year-old arrangement between the Postal Service and Staples had long angered the American Postal Workers Union, AFL-CIO, which accused the Postal Service of shifting business from post offices staffed by its members to Staples.

"The union contended that this privatization effort undermined the public's right to good quality and secure postal services and represented a shift of good living wage positions to low-wage jobs, thereby hurting the well-being of the communities where the union's members lived," the union's press release said.

The Postal Service began a pilot program of "mini post offices" in Staples locations in 2013 at select locations in California and in suburban Boston. The Postal Workers Union complained. Then the Postal Service said it was a "preferred shipper" program, a change the union said was a ruse.

The union also opposed in 2015 the Staples planned, but ultimately unsuccessful, merger with Office Depot as a way of fighting the post offices in Staples concept.

The American Postal Workers Union represents 200,000 employees of the United States Postal Service.

The suspect vehicle struck the parked car with the front of its passenger-side early Wednesday. Its headlight, front-end and right front quarter panel should have heavy damage, police said,

WEST SPRINGFIELD -- Police are seeking a dark grey "Hyundai-type" vehicle believed to be involved in a hit-and-run accident with a parked car on Churchill Road early Wednesday.

The suspect vehicle struck the parked car with the front of its passenger-side at about 1:30 a.m. Its headlight, front-end and right front quarter panel should have heavy damage, according to a post on the department's Facebook page.

The vehicle has dark gray metal flake paint and a low front-end as Hyundais do. Also, the vehicle now has no power steering because its power steering reservoir was found at the scene.

This same suspect vehicle struck a second parked car in the driveway. If anyone see's this described vehicle or knows someone trying to repair one, please call the West Springfield Police at 413-263-3210. Detective David Gawle is investigating and can be reached at extension 244.

George Graham | ggraham@repub.com 

Shawna Golba was last seen on Dec. 27. She may be in Springfield.

CHICOPEE - Police are asking for help in locating a 37-year-old city woman who has been missing for 10 days.

Shawna Golba was last seen on Dec. 27. She has blond hair, is about 5 feet tall and weighs about 150 pounds. Police are not sure what she was wearing when she was last seen, said Michael Wilk, public information officer for the Chicopee Police Department.

She may possibly be in the area of State Street in Springfield. Her family is concerned about her and asked police for help, Wilk said.

Anyone who knows her whereabouts is asked to contact the detective bureau at 413-594-1730.

A customer service employee of the Lynnfield Post Office on Wednesday pleaded guilty in federal court to importing anabolic steroids from all over the world.

A customer service employee of the Lynnfield post office on Wednesday pleaded guilty in federal court to importing anabolic steroids from all over the world.

John Psehoyas, 54, faced one count of importing anabolic steroids.

According to The U.S. Attorney's office, between August 2014 and March 2016, several online suppliers sold Psehoyas the drugs, which were shipped to him from China, Poland, Turkey and Romania.

"The parcels were addressed to multiple addresses to avoid suspicion, but Psehoyas tracked the parcels using a (United States Postal Service) tracking system" leading to his detection, a U.S. Attorney's office press release said.

The plea agreement stipulated that Psehoyas must resign his job at the Lynnfield post office.

Additional penalties could be severe. Ahead of his April 6 sentencing, Psehoyas faces up to 15 years in prison and a fine of $500,000.

A new school would cost $43,770,320, with state reimbursement of $21,885,160, the report says

SOUTH HADLEY — The 48-year-old Mosier Elementary School should be renovated, or replaced — at costs ranging from $20.3 million to $43.77 million — according to a private consultant's report the district provided to The Republican this week.

"The goal is to identify building needs for improvement," the study says, listing numerous "priorities" that should be addressed including "health and safety" measures "to protect life and property."

The executive summary of the report, written by Flansburgh Architects of Boston, recommends three options South Hadley School Committee should consider. "This includes a conceptual solutions to renovate, add on to, and an all new school for this 2nd to 4th grade facility," the Flansburgh report says.

Each of three "long term" solutions which would involve the town being eligible for state reimbursement of half the costs:

• One recommendation is a "minor addition" and renovation with an estimated $35.4 million price tag with $17,693,022 in state reimbursement.
• The "major addition" and renovation option's estimated cost is $39.4 million with $19,693,989 in state reimbursement.
• A new school would cost $43,770,320, with state reimbursement of $21,885,160, the report says.

The study also discusses a "short term plan" estimated to cost $20.3 million over the next five years.

Mosier School Facility Assessment Flansburgh Executive Summary by The Republican/MassLive.com on Scribd

Ellen Story reflects on her 24 years as a state representative.

The suspect struck another vehicle so hard it pushed the car out of a parking space and into the travel lane.

CHICOPEE - Police are seeking witnesses who may have seen a driver hit and damage another vehicle in the BJ Wholesale Club parking lot this week.

The hit-and-run crash happened at around noon on Tuesday in the parking lot at 650 Memorial Drive, said Michael Wilk, public information officer for the Chicopee Police Department.

The suspect is believed to have been driving an older van which may be gray. "The impact was enough that it moved the vehicle out of the parking spot, into the lane of traffic," Wilk said.

The Traffic Bureau is currently following up on leads but is asking anyone who may have witnessed the crash or has any information about it is being asked to call the bureau at 413-594-1770 or send a private message to the department's Facebook page.

Four black people were charged with hate crimes Thursday in connection with a video broadcast live on Facebook that showed a mentally disabled white man being beaten.

By CARLA K. JOHNSON and CARYN ROUSSEAU ,  Associated Press