A 30-year-old Springfield man was arrested early Saturday after Holyoke Police said they found 100 bags of heroin, a small amount of Marijuana and several hundred dollars in cash while conducting a motor vehicle stop.

HOLYOKE -- A 30-year-old Springfield man was arrested early Saturday after Holyoke Police said they found 100 bags of heroin, a small amount of Marijuana and several hundred dollars in cash while conducting a motor vehicle stop. 

Officers stopped Brandon Chambers' vehicle around 12:45 a.m. after he reportedly failed to halt at a stop sign located at the intersection of Essex and Maple Streets, according to Holyoke Police Lt. Jim Albert.

While speaking with Chambers, police noticed what appeared to be several packets of heroin inside the vehicle, Albert said. Officers further reported that they had witnessed Chambers attempt to hide the packets.

Holyoke Police arrested Chambers on charges of failure to stop for a stop sign, possession of heroin, possession with intent to distribute heroin and operating a motor vehicle with a suspended license. 

He will be arraigned in Holyoke District Court on Monday. 

The shoplifting happened at about 1 a.m. Friday in the CVS on 1616 Memorial Drive.

CHICOPEE - Police detectives are asking for help to identify two suspects who took at least 15 tubes of toothpaste and other items from the CVS early Friday morning.

A man and a woman entered the store on 1616 Memorial Drive at about 1 a.m. They spoke to the clerk and asked where the Mederma Cream was located and she lead them to the item, Michael Wilk, public information officer for Chicopee Police said.

Shortly after, she heard a loud noise. When she went to check on the noise, she saw the man walking out of the store carrying about 15 tubes of stolen toothpaste, he said.

As the female walked out right after, the alarm sensors activated, he said.

A search showed at least four boxes of the product had been stolen and the suspects allegedly tampered with security devices on other boxes, Wilk said.

Anyone who can identify the two people caught on camera or has any information about the crime is asked to call the Chicopee Police detectives at 413-594-1730.

Brian Devalle, 18, of West Hartford, Conn., was arrested on Saturday morning, but he was released from custody because he crossed into Connecticut.

A West Hartford, Conn., man was arrested after leading police on a high-speed chase in Longmeadow early Saturday morning.

But Brian Devalle, 18, was released from custody because he crossed the state line into Connecticut.

Longmeadow police said K-9 Officer Amanda Van Buskirk tried to stop a car for speeding on Maple Road at about 2:10 a.m. The driver fled, and the officer discovered the car was stolen.

When the chase turned down Homestead Blvd., which dead ends near Interstate 91, the driver got out and ran, and Van Buskirk deployed K-9 Kai to track him.

Kai tracked the driver to a spot over the state line, where Devalle was being detained by Massachusetts State Police and Enfield police.

Enfield police told The Republican/MassLive that Devalle was taken to their department for an "investigation" and released.

Longmeadow Police Sgt. Eric Wisnouskas said the department will seek a fugitive from justice warrant for Devalle's arrest and rendition to Massachusetts.

This is a developing story. Stay with The Republican/MassLive for more information as our reporting continues.

Carlos D. Principe, 20, of 70 Andrew St., is charged with breaking and entering at night to commit a felony, and destruction and theft of property.

SPRINGFIELD - An observant Sumner Avenue resident helped police catch a man who broke into a church on Saturday morning and tried to steal more than $1,000 worth of sound equipment.

Carlos D. Principe, 20, of 70 Andrew St., is charged with breaking and entering at night to commit a felony, destruction of property and theft of property valued at more than $250.

Police said a citizen called 911 at around 2 a.m. to report the break at the Open House Evangelistic Outreach Ministry. The suspect was seen stacking stolen items in a nearby alleyway.

Responding officers allegedly found Principe trying to steal more than $1,000 worth of speakers, a sound amplifier, electrical cords and a 36-pack of Pepsi.

The witness identified Principe, who is being held pending arraignment Monday in Springfield District Court.

A self-driving car operated by Uber Technologies was involved in a crash in Tempe, Arizona, the latest incident for a company reeling from multiple crises.

A self-driving car operated by Uber Technologies was involved in a crash in Tempe, Arizona, the latest incident for a company reeling from multiple crises.

In a photo posted on Twitter, one of Uber's Volvo self-driving SUVs is pictured on its side next to another car with dents and smashed windows. An Uber spokeswoman confirmed the incident, and the veracity of the photo, in an email to Bloomberg News.

The Uber vehicle was not responsible for the incident and there were no injuries, Tempe police information officer Josie Montenegro told Bloomberg News. Another car failed to yield for the Uber car, causing the autonomous vehicle to flip on its side, according to the police report.

"There was a person behind the wheel," said Montenegro regarding the Uber vehicle. "It is uncertain at this time if they were controlling the vehicle at the time of the collision."

An Uber spokeswoman said, "We are continuing to look into this incident and can confirm we had no backseat passengers in the vehicle."

Uber's self-driving cars began picking up customers in Arizona last month.

Uber, and Chief Executive Officer Travis Kalanick, are currently under scrutiny because of a series of scandals. The ride-hailing company has been accused of operating a sexist workplace. This month, the New York Times reported that Uber used a tool called Greyball to help drivers evade government regulators and enforcement officials. Kalanick said he needed "leadership help" after Bloomberg published a video showing him arguing with an Uber driver.

BREAKING: Self-driving Uber vehicle on it's side after a collision in Tempe, AZ.

Photos by @fresconews user Mark Beach pic.twitter.com/5NCF2KG0rW

-- Fresco News (@fresconews) March 25, 2017

Uber's self-driving car program has also been mired in controversy. Waymo, Alphabet's autonomous driving business, sued an Uber unit called Otto earlier this year for allegedly stealing designs for an important component of driverless cars known as lidar. Uber called the suit "baseless."

The photo, showing the Uber SUV on its side, suggests a relatively high-impact crash. That would be a contrast to the incidents involving self-driving cars tested by Waymo. In more than two million miles of testing on public roads, Waymo's vehicles were mostly minor incidents, often when other cars drove into the back of their vehicles in busy areas.

(c) 2017, Bloomberg. Mark Bergen and Eric Newcomer wrote this story.

Springfield police said Demetric Waddy, 38, of 18 Beaumont St., was spotted driving a stolen car on Fort Pleasant Avenue at 1 a.m. on Saturday.

SPRINGFIELD - A man who police say stole a car, crashed it, broke into another car and then attacked officers with a straight razor faces a long list of charges.

Springfield police said Demetric Waddy, 38, of 18 Beaumont St., was spotted driving a stolen car on Fort Pleasant Avenue at 1 a.m. on Saturday.

When police tried to pull him over, he fled and crashed into a tree near Leyfred and Dickinson streets.

Police said Waddy ran from the crash, and pursuing officers, along with K-9 Warner, followed him to the rear of a home on Orange Street. Waddy was found hiding in a car that he had broken into.

When officers approached, Waddy allegedly attacked the officers with a straight razor. He was quickly disarmed and arrested.

Waddy is charged with motor vehicle theft, refusing to stop for police, driving to endanger, driving with a revoked license, speeding, breaking and entering (motor vehicle), assault with a dangerous weapon and resisting arrest. He also had an outstanding warrant for cocaine possession.

He is being held pending arraignment Monday in Springfield District Court.

Building on the momentum of high-profile marches around the globe, dozens of western Massachusetts residents took to the streets of downtown Springfield Saturday to bring attention to challenges women face.

SPRINGFIELD -- Building on the momentum of high-profile marches around the globe, dozens of western Massachusetts residents took to the streets of downtown Springfield Saturday to bring attention to challenges women face.

The "Process to Progress"-themed event, which included various marches and a city hall rally, brought together activists, leaders and performers in an effort to highlight how women are impacted by things like inequality, health care policies and substance abuse.

Ayanna Crawford, of the newly formed Springfield Women Organize which set up the rally and related marches, said although the event was an outgrowth of the national women's march, it should be looked at as a celebration and not a protest. 

"We're not here to rally against, we're here to celebrate and uplift and encourage and give people an opportunity to really talk about themselves and how they make an impact in their families on an everyday basis," she said in an interview. "We know that women are more times than not the head of their households, so how do we help women? How do we encourage women? How to we make women have a voice that they can use?"

Marchers flood Washington D.C. in protest of President Donald Trump

Crawford said she hoped the event shines a light on the impact women have on Springfield, as well as on communities around the world.

Angela Thorpe, a former East Longmeadow selectman, said although the event wasn't a political forum, she thought it was important to attend given the current state of American politics.

"Our political climate means that we do need to step up," she said. "I'm really concerned and I felt a need to get active."

Thorpe said she is particularly concerned about abortion-related issues, as well as policies that impact pregnant female inmates.

Wilhamenia Allen, of the Women in Recovery Project, meanwhile, said she would like to see more addiction treatment facilities and residential programs for women in Springfield. 

"What I would like to see is women come together more to help that woman who is struggling in our community...This addiction epidemic is running rampant here. I noticed they had opened some men's facilities, but women are still lost in the system," she said. "That's why I'm here."

Springfield City Councilor At-Large Kateri Walsh, who spoke at the rally, said it was inspiring to look out at women who came together in solidarity at City Hall's steps. 

"Many generations of women have paved the way for us today and we need to appreciate the history and what they have done for us," she said. "I hope for all of you, that you will be successful -- not compared or contrasted to the opposite sex -- but equal. But, I would like to say better than the opposite sex."

The event came just two months after of people across Massachusetts and the world took to the streets to promote women's rights and other issues in the wake of President Donald Trump's inauguration.

Women's March on Washington draws thousands of Massachusetts residents to nation's capital

While dozens gathered in downtown Springfield to bring attention to issues women face, backers of the Republican president, held "Make America Great Again" rallies across the country in an effort to show their support for Trump. 

Uber has taken its fleet of self-driving vehicles off the roads while it investigates a Friday night crash that left one of its SUVs sitting on its side.

Uber has taken its fleet of self-driving vehicles off the roads while it investigates a Friday night crash that left one of its SUVs sitting on its side.

Police in Tempe, Arizona, were called to a crash at approximately 6:25 p.m. Friday to find that the Uber SUV had been hit when another vehicle failed to yield, according to the Tempe Police Department. No serious injuries were reported.

The accident once again raises questions about the safety of autonomous driving technology and how it will interact with other drivers on the road. There was a person behind the wheel at the time of the Friday's accident, but an Uber spokeswoman said the vehicle was in self-driving mode and that there were no backseat riders. The company's self-driving fleet has been taken off the roads in Arizona pending the investigation. The company also suspended test vehicles in Pittsburgh, where its autonomous cars also pick up passengers, and San Francisco, where it does not.

Uber has been moving aggressively to put its self-driving vehicles on the road with passengers in the backseat. As a precaution, the vehicles have a safety engineer who can take control if necessary. Others that have been developing the technology longer, including Waymo, Google's self-driving car company, have been hesitant to put ordinary people in their cars without further testing.

Many expect self-driving vehicles will enter the market through ride-sharing services, such as Uber and Lyft. Those services tend to be more popular in urban environments, where autonomous cars will be most useful, and they've already conditioned users to put their safety and trust in the hands of relative strangers.

The crash comes as Uber grapples with a wide range of crises. Among them, several Uber employees have been accused of stealing intellectual property from Waymo and using it as the basis for Uber's self-driving technology. The outcome of that legal fight could affect Uber's future significantly.

Automobile and technology companies alike are dumping billions of dollars into the technology with the idea that one day our cars will no longer need human drivers.

But that future is still far off. In the meantime, vehicles equipped with self-driving capabilities will share the road with human motorists. That will put autonomous vehicles in situations that may seem simple but are actually difficult to navigate, such as what to do when another vehicle honks its horn.

It also remains unclear to what extent self-driving cars will be regulated by federal and state governments. Last year, the Transportation Department released a policy paper outlining 15 guidelines for developers of self-driving cars. In states across the country, legislators are debating how to allow the vehicles to be tested on functioning streets without endangering passengers and other drivers.

It's a push and pull between freewheeling innovation and regulatory oversight that many new technologies endure, but the stakes may be heightened when lives are at stake. Indeed, lawmakers on Capitol Hill have already begun debate about public tolerance for injuries and deaths as a result of self-driving cars.

More than 35,000 people in the United States were killed in motor vehicle accidents in 2015, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The majority of those are the result of human error, and technology enthusiasts believe that number will be reduced significantly as more self-driving vehicles get on the road.

Industry observers expect media coverage of and officials' response to crashes involving self-driving vehicles will shape public perception of their safety. A fatal car collision involving a Tesla Model S received widespread attention because the vehicle was in autopilot mode at the time, though a government investigation later found there were no defects in the software.

Arizona is one of a growing number of states that allow self-driving vehicles to be tested on public roads. Its permitting requirements are also more lenient than in neighboring California, which previously barred Uber from its roads for failing to obtain the proper permits.

(c) 2017, The Washington Post. Steven Overly wrote this story.

A series of calls telling people they have a warrant that appeared to be coming from the Massachusetts State Police's South Boston Barracks are a hoax, authorities said.

A series of calls telling people they have a warrant that appeared to be coming from the Massachusetts State Police's South Boston Barracks are a hoax, authorities said.

Several people notified the State Police on Saturday that they received a hoax telephone call from a person pretending to be an officer. The phone number shows up on the caller identification as the South Boston barracks.

When people answered the call, they were told to wait to speak to an officer regarding a complaint or warrant issued against them. An "officer" then got on the phone and told the call recipients that they could meet police at a local shopping center and resolve the matter by paying police.

Some people were instructed to bring several thousands of dollars, according to State Police.

"The calls are hoaxes. Anyone receiving calls like these, or calls of any similar nature, should immediately hang up," State Police said. "Never go anywhere or provide any personal information or money as a result of an unsolicited, unexpected, or suspicious phone call."

No police department would ever call someone to tell him or her there is a warrant or complaint issued against them. Departments would not call and ask for cash either.

Police officials in Cincinnati said there is no indication terrorism is involved in the deadly shooting inside the Cameo Night Club that left one person dead and 15 other people injured.

Police officials in Cincinnati said there is no indication terrorism is involved in the deadly shooting inside the Cameo Night Club that left one person dead and 15 other people injured.

Assistant Cincinnati Police Chief Paul Neudigate said Sunday morning that the shooting remains under investigation.

"Motive is still unclear but there are no indications this incident is terrorism related," Neudigate posted on Twitter.

Police said there were 16 victims with one man fatally shot. Police in Cincinnati believed there is more than one shooter involved.

WLWT5 News is reporting that of Sunday morning the shooter remained at large.

First responders rushed to the club after the shootings began around 1:30 a.m. The area around the club was closed off.

On scene Cameo Night Club 4601 Kellogg. 14 victims shot, one victim decreased. pic.twitter.com/yMMlTf5Bcl

-- Cincinnati Police (@CincyPD) March 26, 2017

Neudigate told WLWT5 that several of the shooting victims have life-threatening injuries. There were hundreds of people inside the club at the time, he told the television station.

The crash happened at about 6:50 a.m. at the intersection of Rocky Hill Road and Kozera Avenue.

HADLEY - A driver received minor abrasions from a seat belt but no serious injuries after a dramatic single-car crash into two trees Sunday morning.

The crash happened at about 6:50 a.m. at the intersection of Rocky Hill Road and Kozera Avenue. The Police and Fire departments responded to the accident.

The driver lost control of the vehicle, crossed the center line and struck a frozen snowbank. The impact sent the vehicle airborne and into two trees, police said.

An investigation determined the driver, whose name was not released, fell asleep at the wheel, causing the crash, police said.

Anyone with any information is asked to call the department or send a message through its Facebook page.

DEERFIELD - Police are asking people for help to find the thief who broke into the Neighbors Convenience Store this week and stole money from an ATM and other places.

"We are continuing to investigate this break in. If anyone saw anything at the gas station on Conway Road that seemed to raise your suspicion over the past several weeks please call us," police posted on the department's Facebook page.

The crime happened sometime when the store was closed between 10 p.m. Monday and 6 a.m. Tuesday. An ATM machine was broken into, cash was taken from a register and a safe was stolen, police said.

Anyone who may have seen something suspicious near that location is asked to call police at 413-665-2606 or send a message through the department's Facebook page.

Police have arrested one suspect in the breaking and entering.

PALMER - Police have identified two suspects in a breaking and entering in a local restaurant that happened on Feb. 22 and have received arrest warrants for both.

Officers have arrested Jonric Compton, 31, of Palmer, but are seeking Bryan Gilligan, 37, of Brimfield, who officers believe have fled to Connecticut, police said.

Police are working with authorities in the neighboring state to locate Gilligan.

The two were identified after Palmer Police posted a surveillance photo on the department Facebook page asked for information about the breaking and entering. Anyone who has any information about Gilligan's whereabouts is asked to contact Palmer Police at 413-283-5891.

The Sunday morning shooting inside a Cincinnati, Ohio nightclub started when two groups of men got into a dispute and gunfire then erupted.

The Sunday morning shooting inside a Cincinnati, Ohio nightclub started when two groups of men got into a dispute and gunfire then erupted.

The shooting inside the Cameo Night Club left a 27-year-old man dead and 15 others injured. Cincinnati Police Chief Eliot Isaac said during a Sunday press conference that one person is in "extremely critical condition" and there are several other victims with serious injuries.

"We believe that there were more than one shooter," the chief said.

The man who was killed has been identified as Obryan Spikes.

Some of the victims received minor injuries and were released or were expected to be released, the chief said. The shooter or shooters involved in the incident have not been caught as of Sunday morning.

Calls for shots inside the crowded club came in around 1:30 a.m. Eliot said shots were fired from different shooters as the dispute escalated. The club has a history of gun violence including a shooting inside the club on New Year's Day in 2015 and a shooting in the parking lot in September 2015, according to officials in Cincinnati.

"We recognize the horrific nature of this incident. I have full confidence in our police professionals who are devoting all the necessary resources toward working this case," Cincinnati City Manager Harry Black said in a statement. "I want to recognize all of our first responders who answered the call last night and handled a very difficult situation extremely well. As our assessment and investigation continues we will continue to share information as soon as we are able."

Black said in his statement that the dispute is believed to have started between the groups earlier in the day, but Isaac said police officials could not confirm the information.

The club hires off-duty police to check the parking lot area, but the club handles security inside, police said. The club uses wands and pat-downs to check patrons for firearms, but people were able to bring the weapons inside the bar, Isaac said.

Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley said the mass shooting was not a terrorist act, but victims were still terrorized by gun violence. People were going to the club to have a good time and ended up being shot, he said.

"This is totally unacceptable," the mayor said.

The nearly $4 million project will reconstruct Feeding Hills Road, improve an intersection and add bike lanes and sidewalks.

SOUTHWICK - Local police are warning motorists that construction on Route 57 is scheduled to begin on Monday and will cause traffic delays.

Motorists are recommended to seek an alternative route since the work on the street, also known as Feeding Hills Road, is expected to tie up traffic, police said.

"If you have to travel through this area, we ask that you be patient as this project gets underway," police said.

Police will be directing traffic from 7 a.m. through the late afternoon but warn residents there will be delays.

The $3.97 million project will reconstruct Feeding Hills Road between Powder Mill Road and Hudson Drive and will improve the intersection of North Longyard and Foster roads. The project, which will include new sidewalks, bike lanes and traffic signals, is being funded by the state Department of Transportation, according to the town's Department of Public Works.

The project is expected to take at least a year and work is being done by Baltazar Construction, of Ludlow, Public Works officials said.

The company initially planned to begin work in mid-March, but that was delayed because of winter storm Stella, Police said.

The four day home show on the grounds of the Eastern States Exposition featured over 300 vendors.

WEST SPRINGFIELD -- From pools to landscaping to a tiny house visitors to the 2017 Home & Garden Show at the Eastern States Exposition had the opportunity to meet hundreds of area businesses.

"It's been a terrific show," said Brad Campbell who produced this year's show which kicked off on March 23 and runs until 5 p.m. Sunday.

About 15,000 people were expected to attend the annual show which features landscapers, contractors, home and garden specialists and even some food vendors.

Ondrick Natural Earth, a hardscape and masonry supplier based in Chicopee, displayed some of its most popular items including fire pits and pavers.

"We are showcasing propane fire pits this season which work great on a deck or by a pool," said Adam Ondrick, owner of the company. "It produces a much cleaner fire and you are not dealing with wood and smoke."

Ondrick said the home show is an opportunity to meet with area contractors who often purchase his products as well as the general public.

For Andrew Crane, of A. Crane Construction, also based in Chicopee, the show gives him a chance to check in with longtime customers and make new contacts.

"It's a way to build relationships with people," said Crane, the owner of the family-run general contractor business.

"I meet many people who come to the show year after year and maybe the first time they are not going to become a customer, but a few years later when they are ready to renovate or expand their home they will come to me because we have built that relationship over time," Crane said.

As the weather warms up people will be installing pools and spas in their backyards and Sun Splash Pools & Spa in Ludlow is at the home show every year helping people pick the right model for their home.

"It's been a good show this year," said Bill Pegoraro, owner of the business. "We have had a lot of interest in our Marquis spas that have a special MicroSilk technology which hydrates your entire body."

A very popular stop at the show this year was Mountain Village Log Cabins, where Steve Cleveland was highlighting a recreational cabin that can also be used as a tiny house.

"We have been so busy the entire show. People are curious because tiny houses have become so popular," said Cleveland who was continually giving tours of the 10 feet by 26 feet cabin every day of the show.

"For the price of a car a person can own their own home. It seems small, but it actually is very spacious," said Cleveland.

The cost of the display cabin is about $27,000 which includes insulated windows, bunk beds with drawers, electrical, plumbing, a working sink, bathroom and a shower, a water heater, a heating and cooling unit and many more details like cathedral ceilings and a porch and screen door. Heating costs are between $20-$30 a month, he said.

Cleveland said while many communities still have not legalized the use of the cabins as full-time homes, he sees that changing.

"There is a movement, especially of younger people who want to own a home but not live in debt and this is a wonderful alternative," he said.

The show ends at 5 p.m. today. Tickets are $10 and there is a $5 parking fee.

Michael Che said Boston was the most racist city when talking about the Super Bowl batch between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons.

BOSTON - A month after Michael Che made a remark on "Saturday Night Live" calling Boston the 'most racist city" he has ever visited, the star refused to back down.

On Thursday Che told a Boston University crowd that he stands by the comments that came from when talking about the Super Bowl matchup between the New England Patriots and the Atlanta Falcons.

Che is the co-author of the long-running "Weekend Update" skit on Saturday Night Live.

In the skit he said: "I just want to relax, turn my brain off, and watch the blackest city in America beat the most racist city I've ever been to."

Here are some of the things people have been Tweeting about the comment.

The protests were the largest coordinated outpourings of dissatisfaction in Russia since the massive 2011-12 demonstrations that followed a fraud-tainted parliamentary election.

MOSCOW -- Russia's opposition, often written off by critics as a small and irrelevant coterie of privileged urbanites, put on an impressive nationwide show of strength Sunday with scores of protest rallies spanning the vast country. Hundreds were arrested, including Alexei Navalny, the anti-corruption campaigner who is President Vladimir Putin's most prominent critic.

It was the biggest show of defiance since the 2011-2012 wave of demonstrations that rattled the Kremlin and led to harsh new laws aimed at suppressing dissent. Almost all of Sunday's rallies were unsanctioned, but thousands braved the prospect of arrests to gather in cities from the Far East port of Vladivostok to the "window on the West" of St. Petersburg.

An organization that monitors Russian political repression, OVD-Info, said it counted more than 800 people arrested in the Moscow demonstrations alone. That number could not be confirmed and state news agency Tass cited Moscow police as saying there were about 500 arrests.

Navalny, who was arrested while walking from a nearby subway station to the demonstration at Moscow's iconic Pushkin Square, was the driving force of the demonstrations. He called for them after his Foundation for Fighting Corruption released a report contending that Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has amassed a collection of mansions, yachts and vineyards.

Navalny is a persistent thorn in the Kremlin's side. He has served several short jail terms after arrests in previous protests and has twice been convicted in a fraud case, but given a suspended sentence. He intends to run for president in 2018 -- an election in which Putin is widely expected to run for another term -- even though the conviction technically disqualifies him. Putin has dominated Russian political life, as president or prime minister, since 2000.

No overall figures on arrests or protest attendance were available. Some Russian state news media gave relatively cursory reports on the demonstrations; the state news TV channel Rossiya-24 ignored them altogether in evening broadcasts.

Police estimated the Moscow crowd at about 7,000, but it could have been larger. The one-hectare (2.5-acre) Pushkin Square was densely crowded as were sidewalks on the adjacent Tverskaya Street.

In St. Petersburg, about 5,000 protesters assembled in the Mars Field park, shouting slogans including "Putin resign!" and "Down with the thieves in the Kremlin!"

Russia's beleaguered opposition is often seen as primarily a phenomenon of a Westernized urban elite, but Sunday's protests included gatherings in places far from cosmopolitan centers, such as Siberia's Chita and Barnaul.

"Navalny has united people who think the same; that people don't agree with the authorities is obvious from what is going on in the country today," Anna Ivanova, 19, said at the Moscow demonstration. "I am a bit scared."

Scuffles with police erupted sporadically and the arrested demonstrators included a gray-haired man whom police dragged along the pavement. Police cleared the square after about three hours and began herding demonstrators down side streets.

"It's scary, but if everyone is afraid, no one would come out onto the streets," 19-year-old protester Yana Aksyonova said.

The luxuries amassed by Medvedev include a house for raising ducks, so many placards in Sunday's protests featured mocking images of yellow duck toys. Some demonstrators carried running shoes -- a reference to Navalny's assertion that tracking shipments of running shoes for Medvedev helped reveal his real-estate portfolio. Others showed up with their faces painted green, a reminder of a recent attack on Navalny in which an assailant threw a green antiseptic liquid onto his face.

"People are unhappy with the fact that there's been no investigation" of the corruption allegations, said Moscow protester Ivan Gronstein.

There were no comments reported from Putin, Medvedev or other top Russian politicians, leaving in doubt what the Kremlin's strategy may be for countering the protests. Previous waves of demonstrations have dissipated through inertia or the intimidation of increasingly punitive measures; under a 2014 law, holding an unauthorized protest is punishable by 15 days in jail, or five years imprisonment for a third offense.

In Vladivostok, police forcefully detained some demonstrators near the city's railway terminal, in one case falling down a small grassy slope as they wrestled with a detainee.

News reports and social media reported demonstrations in large cities throughout the country, including Novosibirsk, Tomsk and Krasnoyarsk. At least 25 people were reported arrested in Vladivostok and 12 in Khabarovsk.

About 40 people were detained in a small protest in the capital of Dagestan, a restive republic in the Russian Caucasus, according to Tass,

A man wearing a ski mask drove up to a car in Lawrence and shot two women sitting inside of it Saturday night, police said.

A man wearing a ski mask drove up to a car in Lawrence and shot two women sitting inside of it Saturday night, police said.

Lawrence Police Department detectives continue to investigate the drive-by shooting.

Officers were called to the McDonald's on Swan Street in Methuen around 10:45 p.m. Saturday. The two women had been driven to Swan Street after the shooting, authorities said.

First responders discovered that a 19-year-old Haverhill woman and a 20-year-old woman from Sandown, New Hampshire had been shot. One woman had been shot in the leg. She was taken to a local hospital by ambulance.

The other woman had been shot in the head. She was flown by medical helicopter to a Boston hospital.

Police said both women were listed in stable condition Sunday.

The two women were sitting in a parked car on Berkeley Street in Lawrence when a silver BMW drove up to their car.

A man wearing a ski mask and a hooded sweatshirt opened fire on the two women, police said.

"Detectives do not believe that this is a random act of violence," Lawrence Police said in a news release.

The car was wedged between a damaged pole, a rock and a fence. It was missing a wheel and tire.

STONEHAM - A man crashed his car into four utility poles, downing wires, creating an hours-long power outage and prompting the fire chief to declare it the most destructive single-vehicle crash he has ever seen.

The driver, Ryan T. Carney, 22, of Woburn, was arrested and charged with operating under the influence of alcohol and negligent operation of a motor vehicle following the 12:43 a.m. crash on Sunday. He is scheduled to be arraigned in Woburn District Court Monday.

When police and fire responded to 911 calls about the crash on William Street they found three utility poles had snapped off and were on the ground and a fourth was heavily damaged and leaning. Live wires were strewn all other the ground.

"This is the most widespread amount of damage I have seen from a single vehicle crash in my career," Fire Chief Matthew Grafton said.

Nearby a 2009 Acura MDX, which was missing a wheel and tire, was wedged between a damaged utility pole, a rock and a fence, Police Chief James McIntyre said.

The driver, Carney, and his passenger were near the car. Both declined medical treatment but officers determined Carney was allegedly slurring his speech and smelled strongly of alcohol and they arrested him, McIntyre said.

The road is expected to be closed for most of Sunday while utility workers replaced downed poles and wires. There were also power outages in the neighborhood but no residents were injured, Grafton said.

"The clean-up process is complex and multifaceted, with utility poles, wires, and damaged vehicles that must be dealt with," Grafton said. "We will go through this process methodically to ensure the safety of all first responders and residents in the neighborhood, and we appreciate everyone's patience as this work is ongoing."