A Newburyport man wanted for a parole violation in New Hampshire led police on a chase through several communities and struck other vehicles while trying to avoid capture, according to authorities.

A Newburyport man wanted for a parole violation in New Hampshire led police on a chase through several communities and struck other vehicles while trying to avoid capture, according to authorities.

Massachusetts State Police Trooper Joseph Barteaux stopped an Infinity QX4 on the Lynnway, near the intersection with Harding Street in Lynn, around 1:50 p.m. Saturday for motor vehicle violations.

Police said the driver, Stephen Staffiery, 48, of Newburyport, ran from the car, but then circled back around and got back inside. He then drove away.

The vehicle was spotted on Route 1A in Revere by Transit Police officers. Staffiery fled from the Transit Police officers, who were also assisted by Saugus police.

"The suspect motor vehicle continued to flee onto Revere Street. As the suspect continued to attempt to evade capture, the Infinity struck one vehicle on Revere Street and the suspect then continued onto Route 60 westbound," State Police said. "The Infinity struck two vehicles on Route 60 in Revere as the suspect continued to flee. None of the collisions resulted in injuries."

The chase ended in Saugus. Staffiery ran from his vehicle in a neighborhood on Dale Street, but was caught by police. Staffiery was arrested on 16 different charges and will be arraigned in Lynn District Court Tuesday.

A North Adams man faces felony charges after police alleged he allowed four kids to eat pot-laced brownies. Andrew Lebeau, 46, has a valid medicall marijuana card and grows his own pot in his home.

 

The Berkshire Eagle reported that Andrew LeBeau, 46, was charged with four counts of reckless endangerment of a child and four counts of assault and battery on a child with substancial injury in Northern Berkshire District Court Friday. He entered pleas of not guilty to all charges.

Investigators claimed that four neighborhood children, ranging in ages from 5 to 7 years old, has been at LeBeau's Greylock Avenue home the afternoon of November 10. Later that night some of the children showed adverse reactions, and two of the children were taken to a local hospital, where least one tested positive for marijuana.

One parent told Department of Children and Family investigators that when she told LeBeau that her child was sick after visiting his home, and she claimed he said, "I hope they didn't get into my 'stuff'"

Police and DCF social workers entered LeBeau's home to check on the welfare of his children and found marijuana plants growing Lebeau's bedroom.

LeBeau holds a valid medical marijuana card and grows the herb for his personal use. He told investigators that he has "various ailments" he treats with the pot.

LeBeau was released on his personal recognizance after his Friday appearance in court. He will return to court arch 24 for a pretrial hearing.

More than 1.6 million tickets were bought nationwide for Saturday's drawing.

No one felt the Powerball love on Saturday night, but there is always Wednesday's drawing.

There were no winners when the winning combination was picked: 03-07-09-31-33, Powerball: 20, PowerPlay: 3X

More than 1.6 million tickets were bought nationwide for Saturday's drawing, but a main winner did not exist for the 18th time in a row.

Now, the estimated jackpot is $403 million. The lump sum payment before taxes will be nearly $244 million.

If there is no jackpot winner, the amount grows even larger for the next drawing. 

The amount has been edging up since a $121.6 million jackpot was claimed by a Pennsylvania couple Dec. 17.

Powerball is held in 44 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Constitutional attorney John Bonifaz will speak about his ongoing campaign to impeach Donald Trump at the Greenfield Congregational Church February 27.

GREENFIELD— Amherst attorney John Bonifaz hasn't gotten over the election of Donald Trump as president. He has, in fact, created a movement to end what he calls, "a massive corruption of the American presidency."

Bonifaz is the founder of the Free Speech For People and Roots Action, an organization dedicated to impeaching the president for what he said are violations of the Constitution. Bonifaz will speak about his organization's actions to remove Trump from the White House Monday, February 27 between 6 and 8 p.m. at the Greenfield Congregational Church on Silver Street.

A Constitutional attorney, Bonifaz said Trump's refusal to create a meaningful separation between himself as president and his far-flung business attachments has created a corruption in the office far greater than Nixon's Watergate scandal.

The Emoluments Clause of the Constitution prohibits the president from reaping personal benefit from foreign and domestic governments. Bonifaz maintains that Trump, while turning over day-to-day operations of his business holdings to his sons, will remain involved in the larger "decision-making process." That, he said, is illegal.

Bonifaz's organization has already collected more than 750,000 signatures on a petition to convince U.S. Rep. James McGovern to introduce the impeachment motion in the House.

The Greenfield Congregational Church is located at 43 Silver St. in Greenfield, just off Federal Street also known as Route 5. The presentation is sponsored by the National Alliance of Concerned Americans for the Wellbeing of All People and Earth, Inc., a not-for-profit organization dedicated to slowing and stopping global warming.

John BonifazDave Canton | dcanton@repub.com 

A 37-year-old Massachusetts man is facing federal drug charges in Wyoming after authorities recently charged him in connection with a 135-pound marijuana bust.

A 37-year-old Massachusetts man is facing federal drug charges in Wyoming after authorities recently charged him in connection with a 135-pound marijuana bust.

Federal court records show Frisnel Guerrier of Randolph was in a Wyoming federal court Friday for a detention hearing. He had been charged earlier in the week with possession with intent to distribute over 50 kilograms of marijuana.

The charges against Guerrier, who told police he works as a school bus driver, stem from a July 17, 2016 traffic stop on a highway in Laramie County, Wyoming.

A Wyoming Highway Patrol trooper pulled over Guerrier for speeding as the Massachusetts man drove a white van on the highway. The trooper smelled marijuana coming from the vehicle, according to court records on file in Wyoming federal court.

Troopers searched the van and found 135 pounds of marijuana inside, authorities said

Investigators said they discovered 78 vacuum-sealed plastic bags tucked inside speakers and subwoofers, which were in the back of the van.

Guerrier denied knowing marijuana was inside the van and told authorities he could not smell the marijuana because he has asthma, records said.

The Massachusetts man told investigators he had been driving the van between Boston and California for about 15 months. He was hired by a man to transport speakers for the man's sound company, Guerrier told investigators.

The van was driven to California then left in a motel or apartment complex parking lot and Guerrier then flew back to Boston. If the man needed the van again, Guerrier would fly to California and drive it back to Boston.

Records show Guerrier was paid $2,000 per trip with another $1,000 to help pay for hotels, food and fuel. Someone also paid for Guerrier's plane ticket. Guerrier kept records on his phone of the trips and allegedly drove the van back and forth almost 22 times in 15 months.

A federal judge released Guerrier on $10,000 unsecured bond after his appearance in federal court Friday. Guerrier was ordered to follow numerous conditions as part of his release such as: check in with probation in Massachusetts, turn over his passport and refrain from travelling outside of Massachusetts unless it involves his court case in Wyoming.

Guyette's arrest in what appears to be the Springfield's first hearse rage case came five years after he admitted attacking his wife's car with an crowbar and ax, according to court records.

SPRINGFIELD -- Three years after admitting he used a hearse to drive his estranged wife off the road, an aspiring funeral home director has been sentenced to 18 months in jail for violating his probation in the case.

Dennis Guyette, 34, of Springfield, was sentence last month in Springfield District Court after admitting to probation violations related to the November 2014 hearse rage incident.

Rejecting the defendant's leniency plea, Judge Robert Murphy sentenced him to 18 months at the Hampden County Correctional Center plus two years of probation following his release.

Guyette was initially given an 18-month suspended sentence and two years of probation after pleading guilty in February 2014 to using a hearse to force his wife off the road. That plea came five years after he admitted to attacking his wife's car with a crowbar and ax in 2009.

But following a drunken driving arrest in July and another in November, Guyette was jailed and held for a violation hearing on Jan. 20.

Citing the threat he posed to the public and his ex-wife, Murphy imposed the 18-month jail sentence and ordered Guyette to receive drug and alcohol treatment.

The case began when a Springfield police officer spotted a hearse attempting to run a car off the road on Sumner Avenue in November 2014. "The driver shouted, 'Help, help, help,'" the officer later wrote in his report. "She stated that the person in the hearse was trying to kill her."

While still on probation in that case, Guyette was charged in August with operating under the influence of liquor and leaving the scene of an accident after allegedly losing control of his car on Boston Road, crashing into two telephone poles and then fleeing into St. Michael's Cemetery.

In December, he picked up another OUI charge after allegedly hitting a utility pole in Indian Orchard and fleeing the scene. Police found Guyette asleep behind the wheel of his damaged Dodge pickup, with the keys in his hands and a half-empty bottle of whiskey in the passenger door pocket, according to the arrest report.

Both cases are pending in Springfield District Court.

The stamp will be dedicated in a Presidents Day ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston.

The U.S. Postal Service will commemorate the 100^th year after John F. Kennedy Jr.'s birth with a new stamp, which will be dedicated in a ceremony at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum in Boston on Monday.

The stamp, a "forever" stamp, features a 1960 photograph by Ted Spiegel of Kennedy campaigning for president in Seattle, according to the U.S. Postal Service.

The stamp will be available only at the ceremony on President's Day, and at post offices nationwide beginning Tuesday.

A sheet of stamps will feature a picture of Kennedy in a reflective pose, a copy of a 1970 oil painting by Aaron Shikler.

Kennedy, the 35^th U.S. president, was born May 29, 1917. He was elected president in 1961 and assassinated two years later.

Kennedy's grandson, Jack Schlossberg, said in a statement, "As we mark the centennial of his birth, we hope that the stamp will be an enduring symbol of President Kennedy's call for service, innovation, and inclusion, and his belief that we each have the power to make this world a better place."

U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III, a Massachusetts Democrat whose great-uncle was John F. Kennedy Jr., will attend the ceremony.

The 10 a.m. ceremony will be free and open to the public. It will be followed by a Presidents Day family festival at the library, which will have any entry fee.

The price of stamps is increasing from 47 cents to 49 cents on Sunday.

A Methuen family discovered an owl had flown into their living room Saturday.

A Methuen family had a visitor enter their living room through a chimney Saturday, but it wasn't Santa Claus making a late delivery.

The family discovered a barred owl flew down through a chimney inside their home. The owl ended up in their living room.

This Barred owl flew down the chimney of a Methuen residence and got stuck in the living room. We went up and helped him find the way out. pic.twitter.com/Dxcb7p6ulj

— Animal Rescue League (@ARLBostonRescue) February 18, 2017

The family called the Animal Rescue League of Boston. Officials from the rescue league were able to help remove the owl and get him on his way.

At least two buildings were damaged but no injuries were reported.

SPRINGFIELD - Windows were shot of two downtown buildings early Sunday morning, causing damage but no injuries.

Police detectives are investigating what is believed to have been a drive-by shooting that was reported at about 3 a.m. at the corner of Main and Taylor Streets, Capt. Cheryl Clapprood said.

At least one window was shot out at Urban Gear, 1640 Main St., and a window and door panel were shot out at the New England Farm Workers Council, 1628 Main St., she said.

The city's ShotSpotter, an audio device which records gunfire, picked up 14 shots fired. A witness called police and reported hearing at least five shots, she said.

"One witness and the ShotSpotter indicated the shooter was moving," Clapprood said.

The witness said the shots were coming from a gray or dark-colored Honda. Police are now trying to review video from nearby businesses to see if they can find an image of the car and a description of the shooter, she said.

Police detectives investigating the shooting found a number of shell casings in front of the two businesses and in front of City Church, located at the corner of Main and Taylor Streets.

Anyone who may have witnessed the shooting or has any information about it is asked to call the Detective Bureau at 787-6355 and tell officers the case number is 1909 , Clapprood said.

The fire was found in a special education room Friday night.

PITTSFIELD - A Friday night fire at Pittsfield High School filled one classroom with heavy smoke but did not cause structural damage.

The fire was discovered by a custodian shortly before 8 p.m. in room 120, which houses the special education program, Pittsfield Fire officials said.

The blaze was caused by an electrical problem in a word processor, officials said.

The fire was quickly extinguished but heavy smoke filled the room, officials said.

"It took firefighters almost an hour after extinguishment to remove smoke from the building," officials said.

The fire caused between $10,000 and $15,000 in damage mostly from the smoke.

There was no structural damage to the school so students and staff should be able to return after the vacation, fire officials said.

SpaceX successfully launched its Dragon spacecraft aboard a Falcon 9 rocket on Sunday, a day after canceling a launch because of control system issues.

SpaceX successfully launched its Dragon spacecraft aboard a Falcon 9 rocket on Sunday, a day after canceling a launch because of control system issues.

The rocket lifted off from Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 9:39 a.m. The Dragon cargo vehicle is heading to the International Space Station with 5,500 pounds of supplies.

The vehicle is scheduled to arrive on Wednesday. It will deliver science and supplies to the crew living and working at the space station.

Right on schedule, solar arrays have been deployed on @SpaceX #Dragon cargo spacecraft. Watch: https://t.co/mzKW5uDsTi pic.twitter.com/NCqYrCNR7x

-- NASA (@NASA) February 19, 2017

Dragon is on its way to the International Space Station. Capture by @Space_Station crew set for early Wednesday morning.

-- SpaceX (@SpaceX) February 19, 2017

This is SpaceX's 10^th Commercial Resupply Services mission to the space station. The vehicle will remain docked at the space station for about a month and return to Earth later in March.

Experts will have a de-briefing to discuss the cargo launch. It can be viewed online.

The caller said he was a police officer working with the Internal Revenue Service.

AMHERST - The Police Department is reporting a phone scam caller is pretending to be a police officer and trying coerce people to release their personal information.

Several residents reported receiving calls on Saturday from a person claiming to be an Amherst Police Officer assisting the Internal Revenue Service in an investigation, police said.

The call is a scam, police said.

"This (fake) officer requested personal information over the phone," police said. "Never give out your personal information when receiving an unsolicited call. Hang up."

Things are going 'in the right direction' for Robert Morissette thanks to a no-salt-added diet, medication and several weeks of cardiac rehabilitation.

The Saturday after Thanksgiving 54-year-old Robert Morissette had heart failure. He had been working as an EMT paramedic for AMR in Holyoke and Springfield.

Today, he is retired, more than 50 pounds lighter and working to increase his heart function. Things, he said, are "going in the right direction," thanks to a no-salt-added diet, medication and several weeks of cardiac rehabilitation.

Robert Morissette works toward his goal of running in a 5K as a participant in the cardiac rehabilitation program at Baystate Health's Tolosky Center in Springfield.Anne-Gerard Flynn photo 

Studies continue to show that such medically supervised exercise helps reduce the risk of future cardiac events as well as ease patient anxiety about returning to an active lifestyle. Exercise in general is increasingly credited with longer life spans, and helping to combat chronic disease and stress.

"The weeks before (the cardiac event), I was lifting 400 to 500 pounds - equipment and people - down stairs. I figured once I got here it is going to be nothing. But they really put you through it. I enjoy it. I come three times I week and I do not miss a session," said Morissette, following a recent Wednesday morning workout at Baystate Health's cardiac rehab program in the Tolosky Center in Springfield's North End.

"I have a goal. I want to do a 5K at the end of this year. In order to enjoy this, you have to have a goal."

Morissette, who has participated in the 10K Holyoke St. Patrick's Road Race, said the medically supervised rehab sessions begin "with stretching exercises and then we go to weights."

"Years ago when I ran, I never did anything before, now I understand the stretching and the weight lifting. It brings strength. It loosens you up before you get on the machines. It is really helpful," Morissette said.

"I then do the elliptical for 12 minutes after the stretches and weights. The elliptical is my warm-up. I do it nice and easy. I then get onto the treadmill and that is where I put on the high speed and high resistance and I do a good 20-minute workout on that and then I go to the bike for another 10 minutes for a cool down."

Morissette, who was used to daily walks with his wife Lorraine and their two black Labradors, said he has noticed a significant difference in his endurance since being in cardiac rehab.

"When I started, the first couple of weeks, I had to go home and take a nap. I was just wiped and now I don't. It gives me energy to do things during the day. I go home and I paint walls. I have painted every room in my house twice so far," Morissette said.

Morissette goes to cardiac rehab three days weekly, and to a commercial gym the other four days where he walks 45 minutes to an hour on the treadmill.

He is committed to his regimen because "knowing that if I stop, my heart will stop."

"I don't want to go back to what I was. I don't want to go back to being heavy. I follow my diet and everything. I need to get my heart function up," Morissette said.

He plans to join the cardiac gym when his 36 cardiac rehab sessions end.

"The gym is the best thing for you, especially being monitored. The nurses check your heart rate, check your blood pressure two or three times. They go over your goal plan with you," said Morissette who likes that medical supervision will continue in the wellness program.

"I enjoy being monitored and everything. I want to do that 5K by the end of the year. That is my goal."

A Florida middle school student has confessed to throwing a "2x4'' block of wood at President Donald Trump's motorcade on Friday, not far from the president's Mar-a-Lago estate, authorities said.

A Florida middle school student has confessed to throwing a "2x4'' block of wood at President Donald Trump's motorcade on Friday, not far from the president's Mar-a-Lago estate, authorities said.

Just before 2 p.m. Friday, as the caravan was passing through West Palm Beach, one vehicle in the motorcade was struck by "what was believed to be a small hard object," the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office said in a statement Saturday.

After completing the trip, "several members of the motorcade returned to the scene and began canvassing the area looking for witnesses and any small hard objects along the roadway in that area," the sheriff's office said.

During the investigation, a student from a local middle school admitted to throwing the object at the motorcade; the student also implicated four other students, authorities said.

Along with its statement, the sheriff's office posted a picture of the object: a small block of wood.

Trump rallies supporters in Florida

A map of the area where the incident occurred - on Southern Boulevard between Parker and Lake avenues - shows that it is a major thoroughfare lined with gas stations and strip malls. A middle school campus is a block from the area, though it is unclear whether any of the students allegedly involved were from that school.

A Secret Service spokeswoman confirmed to The Washington Post on Sunday that one vehicle was struck as the motorcade made its way from the airport to Mar-a-Lago but could not give further details because the incident was still under investigation. There were no injuries or major damage to the vehicles, she said.

The sheriff's office declined to give additional details on Sunday morning.

CNN reported that Secret Service agents requested surveillance video from stores along the intersections and that a group of protesters had been in the area when the incident occurred.

Charges will be filed with the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office, authorities said.

Trump has returned to Mar-a-Lago numerous times since being elected president. On Saturday, he held a campaign-style rally in Melbourne, Florida, about 115 miles north of Palm Beach.

(c) 2017, The Washington Post. Amy B Wang wrote this story.

The survey, asking community members for ideas on how to reduce deficit, will remain online until Friday, March, 10, 2017.

File photo-Springfield-The Springfield School Department is asking for community input on budget reduction strategies. (Dave Roback / The Republican)Staff-Shot 

SPRINGFIELD -- Springfield Public Schools and the Springfield School Committee are asking for the public's help to reduce the fiscal 2018 deficit.

A survey has been posted on the school department website where residents can answer questions related to budget reduction strategies for the upcoming school year.

"The survey asks participants to rank several school-related programs and services in the order they consider their importance," according to a statement released by the school department.

The survey also invites participants to suggest potential measures to reduce the deficit.

The survey is available in both English and Spanish and will remain online until Friday, March, 10.

A 29-year-old woman was dragged by a car in Boston Sunday. Police arrested a Dorchester woman in connection with the assault, according to news reports.

A 29-year-old woman suffered life-threatening injuries after another woman dragged her with a car in Boston, according to WCVB News.

The television station reports that 26-year-old Brianna Smith of Dorchester was arrested in connection with the Sunday morning dragging. She faces assault and battery with a dangerous weapon and driving under the influence causing serious bodily injury charges.

The Boston Herald said the victim is listed in critical condition.

A Boston police spokesman told WCVB News that there was a fight involving four women in the South End. Smith was drunk and dragged the victim around 4 a.m. on Massachusetts Avenue.

CBS Boston reports the victim was dragged over a block and then was run over by a cab. The victim is being treated at Boston Medical Center, according to the television station.

Another woman is also being treated at a Boston hospital, according to CBS Boston.

The Department of Public Works is hoping to fix the break by 3 p.m.

HADLEY - A water main break has caused a portion of Bay Road to be closed Sunday.

The water main break is between Middle Street and West Street. Motorists will be able to easily detour around the spot. Those coming from South Hadley can take Middle Road to Route 9 to West Street to get back on Bay Road. Those coming from Northampton can do the reverse, Police Sgt. Mitchell Kuc said.

There is no information about the cause of the break. The Department of Public Works is on the scene making repairs, he said.

Kuc said he does not believe any residents are without water because of the break.

The Department of Public Works is hoping to make repairs and open the road again by 3 p.m., he said.

https://www.google.com/maps/place/Hadley,+MA+01035/@42.3312214,-72.5927493,15z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x89e6d0e04a1b2913:0x4e5ebf1bb58a844e!8m2!3d42.334386!4d-72.5888655

Julie Brefczynski-Lewis of West Virginia University and her team are perfecting what they say is the world's first portable, wearable positron emission tomography (PET) scanner.

By MARK MARCHAND | Special to The Republican

BOSTON -- "Wearables" is the buzz word for a vast array of small, portable devices designed to simplify approaches to personal fitness or managing one's busy life. From the Fitbit on your wrist that monitors steps and heart rate to the Apple Watch that signals incoming phone messages, the new class of personal electronics has helped people simplify their exercise routines and daily schedules -- without involving bulky equipment.

Assistant Professor Julie Brefczynski-Lewis of West Virginia University wants to take the trend further, a lot further. She and her research team in Morgantown, West Virginia, are perfecting what they say is the world's first portable, wearable positron emission tomography (PET) scanner that obtains "live" internal depictions of the human brain working while a person walks or is involved in other physical movement. This development holds great promise for looking deeper and more completely into an active human brain, potentially paving the way for advancements in understanding and, eventually, curing brain-based ailments ranging from Parkinson's disease to dementia.

Unveiled at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston, the early six-pound prototype that sits atop one's head like a bicycle helmet is an attempt to greatly expand the benefits of large, stationary PET scanners in which a patient must sit still while the machine takes its reading.

PET scanners were introduced in 1975 and represented a quantum leap forward in medicine and scientific research, along with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). PET scanners use nuclear medicine to peer into the human body to examine organs, bones and metabolic processes. A patient ingests a radioactive "tracer" fluid, usually a glucose-related liquid, before the scan begins. The system then detects radioactive waves emitted by the fluid and, using a computer, builds a detailed image of bodily organs or processes.

The most common PET scans performed today involve searching for the potential spread of cancer cells.

Brefczynski-Lewis and her co-principal investigator, Stan Majewski, saw the potential of PET scans to study the brain while a patient moved, unlocking some of the secrets behind, for example, how a human maintains balance while walking, a common activity that most don't realize requires a great deal of brainpower and physical coordination. The problem, they saw, was that existing PET scanners couldn't do the job.

"Sure, we could have someone lie down in the anchored, large scanner and tell them to think about walking, and then see what happens inside their brain," Brefczynski-Lewis said. "But we wanted to find a way to allow the patient or subject to actually move while we perform the scan."

The solution came in finding a way to build a smaller scanner and place it atop a human head. Brefczynski and her team members call the new device and associated technology Ambulatory Micro-Dose Positron Emission Tomography helmet, or AM-PET.

"The sensors used in PET scans can now be made a lot smaller," said Brefczynski-Lewis, a professor at the university's Centers for Neuroscience. This allowed her team to build a device with sensors mounted in a circle on the outer perimeter of helmet.

Brefczynski cautioned that the prototype still has limited range. It must remain connected via a cable for power and transmission of imagery to a computer. "But we can still have a subject wear the device and walk around a room to gain actual pictures of how the brain changes while the patient walks. The next step is more

miniaturization of the sensors as well as light batteries and wireless transmission that could allow the patient to wander farther from the system."

Another great use of the new technology, Brefczynski-Lewis said, is to analyze brain function when two humans are talking to each other.

"As people talk today, they make hand gestures, they might lean in and perform other physical motions that send signals about tone and emphasis," she said. "With this technology, we will be able to watch inside the brain as that happens."

Underscoring the complexity of studying the brain was a fellow presenter on the AAAS panel where Brefczynski-Lewis unveiled her prototype.

"The complexity of what all of us are trying to do in studying neuroscience is the simple fact that one single human brain contains over 100 billion neurons," said Professor Elizabeth Hillman of Columbia University. "To place that in perspective, there are only about 7 billion people on the entire planet." Neurons are the nerve cells that make up a human brain.

"We're not even quite sure how all these neurons talk with each other," she added.

The work of Brefczynski-Lewis, Hillman and many other neuroscientists comes under the federal BRAIN initiative announced by the White House in 2013. A public-private partnership, BRAIN is designed to stimulate advances in studying the brain -- with the goal of better understanding the organ and diseases that afflict it.

Brefczynski-Lewis said her work is now in what's known as the "perfect concept" phase and should be ready for more widespread clinical and lab work within several years.

"Our first step will be studying how the brain of a healthy person works," she said. "Once we have that baseline established, we'll begin looking at patients with Parkinson's, dementia and even severe brain trauma."

She is being held on $2,040 bail and is expected to be arraigned on Tuesday.

WARREN - Police arrested a Hardwick woman on a variety of drug charges including distribution of heroin Saturday.

Kristin Dubuque, of the Gilbertville section of the town, was arrested in a West Warren parking lot. She is being held on $2,040 bail, police officials said.

She was charged with possession with intent to distribute heroin, possession of heroin and possession of a Class B substance, Suboxone, police officials said.

More information about her arrest was unavailable Sunday.

Mosul fell to IS in the summer of 2014, along with large swaths of northern and western Iraq.

HAMAM AL-ALIL, Iraq -- U.S.-backed Iraqi forces launched a major air-and-ground offensive Sunday to retake western Mosul from Islamic State militants and drive the extremist group from its last major urban bastion in Iraq.

Ground units pushed into a belt of villages outside the country's second-largest city, and plumes of smoke rose into the sky early in the morning as U.S.-led coalition jets struck militant positions southwest of Mosul and militarized Iraqi police fired artillery.

"This is zero hour and we are going to end this war, God willing," said Mahmoud Mansour, a police officer, as he prepared to move out.

The United Nations warned that hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped inside their homes in Mosul "are at extreme risk," with dwindling fuel, food and water and scarce electricity.

Iraq declared eastern Mosul "fully liberated" last month after three months of fierce fighting, but the militants have continued to stage attacks there, including two suicide bombings against government forces on Sunday.

The battle for western Mosul promises to be even more daunting, as the half of the city west of the Tigris River has older, narrower streets and is still heavily populated.

Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced the start of the latest operation on state TV. Using the Arabic acronym for IS, he said government forces were moving to "liberate the people of Mosul from Daesh oppression and terrorism forever."

Police units quickly entered the village of Athba, about 3 miles (5 kilometers) southwest of Mosul's international airport, encountering only light resistance. Separately, the Iraqi Army's 9th Division moved into the village of Bakhira, also southwest of the city, the Ministry of Defense said.

The U.S.-led coalition has been providing close air support throughout the 4-month-old Mosul offensive and carried out nine airstrikes against IS near Mosul on Saturday, Central Command said. U.S. special operations forces are embedded with some Iraqi units, and thousands of American soldiers are in Iraq to provide logistical and other support.

"We are very close to it, if not already engaged in that fight," U.S. Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told reporters in Abu Dhabi. He declined to go into further detail, saying he owed "confidentiality" to the troops.

Citing witnesses in western Mosul, the United Nations said nearly half of all food shops were closed and bakeries had shut down for lack of fuel and an inability to purchase costly flour. Prices of kerosene and cooking gas have skyrocketed, and many of the most destitute families are burning wood, furniture, plastic or garbage for cooking and heating.

"The situation is distressing. People, right now, are in trouble," Lise Grande, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for Iraq, said in a statement. "We are hearing reports of parents struggling to feed their children and to heat their homes."

Peter Hawkins, of the U.N. agency for children, said: "Three out of five people now depend on untreated water from wells for cooking and drinking as water systems and treatment plants have been damaged by fighting or run out of chlorine."

The humanitarian agencies were gearing up to aid 250,000 to 400,000 civilians who may flee because of the fighting, the statement said. The U.N. estimates 750,000 civilians may be left in western Mosul.

Lt. Gen. Stephen Townsend, a top U.S. commander in Iraq, said the Iraqi forces are an "increasingly capable, formidable and professional force."

"Mosul would be a tough fight for any army in the world, and the Iraqi forces have risen to the challenge," he said in a statement.

Iraqi forces drove IS from eastern Mosul last month, but the militants appear to have left behind sleeper cells to carry out attacks.

Brig. Gen. Yahya Rasool, an Iraqi military spokesman, said a suicide bomber struck a patrol of government-allied Sunni tribal fighters in the Zihoor neighborhood, while another targeted Iraqi troops in Nabi Younis. IS claimed responsibility for both attacks.

Rasool declined to provide casualty figures. Two policemen said one Sunni fighter was killed and nine were wounded in the first attack, while the second attack wounded five soldiers. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to release information.

Iraqi special operations forces, regular army and federal police units are taking part in the offensive along with government-approved paramilitary forces, mainly consisting of Shiite militias, which are operating on the city's outskirts.

Mosul fell to IS in the summer of 2014, along with large swaths of northern and western Iraq.