Victims and witnesses are not cooperating with investigators.

CHICOPEE - A juvenile was taken to the hospital with minor injuries following a shooting in Willimansett Thursday.

The youth was in a car that suspects shot at and was hit by a deflected round, Michael Wilk, Chicopee Police public information officer, said.

The shooting happened at about 5:05 p.m. on Lucretia Avenue. When police arrived they were told the suspects fled in a car heading toward Holyoke, he said.

Police are investigating the crime but the victims and witnesses are not cooperating with detectives so information is limited, he said.

Lucretia Avenue, a short street that runs parallel to the Connecticut River, was blocked for about an hour while police investigated. They also towed a tan Honda hatchback from the scene.

Anyone who saw anything suspicious around that time or has any information about the shooting is asked to call the Chicopee Police Detective bureau at 594-1730 or send a private message to the Department's Facebook page. People can also send anonymous messages to Text a Tip by typing SOLVE CHICOPEE to CRIMES(274637).

"Folks, this type of reckless shooting affects everyone in the area. Innocent bystanders, children, can be struck by stray bullets. The worst thing to do is to keep helpful information secret," Wilk said.

Hillary Clinton, the former presidential candidate and Wellesley College graduate, is speaking to Wellesley's graduating class at commencement ceremonies. Watch live.

Hillary Clinton, the former candidate for president, is set to speak at Wellesley College.

Clinton, a Wellesley graduate, is addressing the graduating class of 2017. Clinton graduated from the private liberal arts college in 1969.

The livestream is available below.

Clinton, a Democrat, has served as a US senator, secretary of state and first lady. She ran for the presidency in 2008 and 2016, losing both times.

She was Wellesley's first student commencement speaker in 1969. Separately, she gave the commencement address in 1992.

Hillary Clinton to address Wellesley College graduates on Friday

The indictment charges that in 2015, Corey Smith brought a minor between Massachusetts, Connecticut and Georgia and had her work as a prostitute.

BOSTON - A Boston man was indicted this week on federal charges for transporting young girls between Massachusetts, Connecticut and as far away as Georgia and forcing them to work as prostitutes, according to the U.S. Attorney.

Corey Smith, 35, was indicted by a federal grand jury on Wednesday on single counts of transporting a minor for the purpose of prostitution, sex trafficking by force or coercion, and two counts of transportation of an individual for the purpose of engaging in prostitution.

According to the office of acting U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts William D. Weinreb, Smith between 2014 and 2015 brought women across state lines in order to perform sex for money.

The indictment charges that between January and March of 2015, Smith brought a minor between Massachusetts, Connecticut and Georgia and had her work as a prostitute.

The indictment also charges that from November 2014 through June 2015, Smith brought an adult woman from Massachusetts, Connecticut and Georgia with the intent of having her perform sex for money, andthat Smith used both threat and force to coerce her into working as a prostitute

The third instance cited in the indictment involves another adult woman. It charges he brought her to locations in Massachusetts and Connecticut for sex work in January-February 2015.

If convicted, Smith could be sentenced to anywhere from 15 year to life in prison on the sex trafficking charge, 10 years to life for transporting a minor, and up to 10 years for transportation for prostitution. 

The case was investigated by the U.S. Attorney's office, the office of Homeland Security Investigations in Boston, and the U.S. Attorney's Civil Rights Enforcement Team.

Police are reviewing the policy of when a uniformed officer visits a child at home after a parent raised concerns about the practice.

AMHERST -- A parent's complaint has prompted the police department to review its policies for sending uniformed officers out on home visits to follow up with children on matters such as bullying incidents.

Police Chief Scott P. Livingstone and Town Manager Paul Bockelman apologized in a joint statement to the Select Board Monday for a "lack of sensitivity" in a case in which an officer went to a home when the child's parents were not there.

The officer was checking in on three families involved in a bullying complaint. 

"At least one of the families understood this incident to be a school-based issue only," the statement reads. "Therefore, the police visit was very disturbing for several reasons: the visit occurred in the evening; the parents were not home during the visit; and there was the concern that the issue had become a police matter."

In a typical case, according to the statement, police refer reports of bullying to school officials, and the allegations are usually addressed in the schools.

"Since this complaint originated at the police department and involved younger children, an officer visited all three families involved as a follow-up," according to the statement.

Police wanted "to confirm that the issues had been addressed and that the children felt safe attending school together," according to the statement. 

Bockelman and Livingstone met with the parents in a discussion also attended by Human Rights Commission Chairman Matthew Charity to talk about what happened and to address how they might better handle something like this in the future.

According to the release, Livingstone "will reexamine when a uniformed police officer makes a home visit to a child."

The statement continued: "We understand that such a visit, in and of itself, may add to the stress of the situation. It is also clear that non- emergency home visits to speak to children are inappropriate unless agreed to or requested by the parent/guardian."

Going forward, the statement read, the department will "reinforce that home visits of minors should only be conducted in the presence and with the support of the parents/guardians."

"We did not do these in this case, and we apologize for that lack of sensitivity," the statement read.

Statement by Town Manager and Police Chief 5-22-17 by ledermand on Scribd

Warren said the commission has been a rubber stamp for the natural gas pipeline industry.

WASHINGTON -- Saying the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has been a reliable rubber stamp for the natural gas pipeline industry, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren announced she is pushing a bill to create an Office of Public Participation and Consumer Advocacy within the agency.

The Massachusetts Democrat said Thursday that she and Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H) had reintroduced The Public Engagement at FERC Act.

The bill would help energy consumers participate in FERC proceedings, which Shaheen described as "needlessly complicated." The commission oversees wholesale electricity markets and is the permitting authority for interstate natural gas pipelines.

Pipeline controversies have been front and center in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, where residents have waged fights against major infrastructure proposals by Kinder Morgan and Spectra.

"For too long, FERC has rubberstamped an industry wish list and ignored concerned voices of Massachusetts citizens -- citizens who do not want natural gas compressor stations built in their backyards or pipeline companies bulldozing state forests," said Warren in a statement. 

Warren, who has gone to bat for Massachusetts pipeline foes in their dealings with FERC, said the legislation would ensure "a pro-consumer, pro-community voice" at the commission.

Also Thursday, the Senate energy committee grilled Neil Chaterjee and Robert Powelson, President Trump's nominees to FERC. The five-member commission has been hobbled without a quorum since February, and unable to approve pipeline projects.

Chaterjee, from Kentucky, is energy policy advisor to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and Powelson a longtime public utility commissioner in Pennsylvania.

Protesters disrupted the Senate hearing, according to reports, and several people were removed by police. 

A coalition of more than 150 environmental groups said they would oppose Trump's FERC nominees. "Within just weeks, FERC could be controlled by Trump. As bad as things are now with FERC, they could get worse," reads the groups' sign-on letter.

From Western Massachusetts, groups signing the letter include Berkshire Environmental Action Team and 350 Mass. Berkshire Node.

The Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources is chaired by Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), who supported the nominations. "We need to move to quickly restore FERC's ability to do its work," she wrote in her opening statement.

From New England, committee member Sen. Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.), who has railed against the fossil fuel industry, was absent, according to video of the hearing. Sen. Angus R. King Jr. (I-Maine) was present and asked a number of questions of the nominees.

The committee also interviewed Dan Brouillette, Trump's nominee for Deputy Secretary of the Department of Energy.

Mary Serreze can be reached at mserreze@gmail.com

Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno presided over a brief ceremony that included speeches and the laying of a wreath at the base of the JFK Eternal Flame that stands in Forest Park

The late President John Fitzgerald Kennedy was remembered in Springfield's Forest Park on Friday as what would be his one-hundredth birthday stands just days away.

Springfield Mayor Domenic Sarno presided over a brief ceremony that included speeches and the laying of a wreath at the base of the JFK Eternal Flame that stands in Forest Park. 

"We must always remember and never forget President Kennedy's spirit to achieve and serve our community for the greater good - his legacy lives on. God rest his soul," said Sarno. "His legacy was always about service. Giving back to one's community, not taking from one's community."

The Eternal Flame in Springfield is one of only two in the United States, with the other at Kennedy's Arlington National Cemetery burial site.

Patrick Sullivan, Springfield's director of parks, buildings and recreation management, added, "We are very pleased to host the eternal flame to honor JFK. My children, even though they were born long after his passing, have an affinity and a respect for what he did for this country. We are very proud to honor his birthday today."

Sarno and Sullivan joined to lay a wreath at the base of the monument, bringing the ceremony to a close. The 100th anniversary of JFK's birth is Monday, May 29, 2017.

Robert Honsch, 73, is on trial in Hampden Superior Court for the 1995 murder of his wife Marcia Honsch, 53, in Tolland State Forest.

SPRINGFIELD -- The murder trial of Robert Honsch, which was in its fifth day of testimony Friday, is a complex case.

Honsch, 73, is on trial in Hampden District Court only for the fatal shooting of his wife, 53-year-old Marcia Honsch. Her body was found in Tolland State Forest in October 1995.

But jurors have heard hours of testimony about the fatal shooting of Elizabeth Honsch, the 16-year-old daughter of Robert and Marcia Honsch. Elizabeth Honsch's body was found behind a New Britain, Connecticut, shopping plaza on Sept. 28, 1995.

Connecticut Chief Medical Examiner Dr. James R. Gill was called to the stand Friday by Assistant District Attorney Karen Bell to testify about his review of the autopsy done by another medical examiner in September 1995.

A photo of Elizabeth Honsch from her autopsy showed a close-up of what Gill identified as an entrance wound on the side of her forehead. Another photo of the young girl's head showed an exit wound on the other side.

He said the entrance wound, with gas from the gun muzzle pulling back the skin, showed "the muzzle was pressed against the skin" when she was shot. The brain was perforated by the shot and there was bleeding and a skull fracture, Gill said. 

He said there would have been immediate unconsciousness and rapid death.

The Connecticut trial of Robert Honsch for the death of Elizabeth Honsch is expected to follow the Hampden Superior Court trial.

Judge Constance M. Sweeney, as she has repeatedly throughout the trial, gave jurors an instruction that Robert Honsch is not charged with any crime here but the death of Marcia Honsch. Jurors may not take evidence of Elizabeth Honsch's death as proof he committed the crime for which he is on trial here, Sweeney said. The evidence about Elizabeth Honsch can only be used to either identify the perpetrator of Marcia Honsch's death or to show both deaths were part of a common scheme or plan or intent, she said.

Defense lawyers Paul Rudof and Andrew Klyman had sought to keep any testimony about Elizabeth Honsch's death out of the trial, but Sweeney had ruled such evidence could come in for the limited purposes.

Investigators said a palm print on the plastic trash bag used to wrap Elizabeth Honsch's body matched Robert Honsch's palm print.

The defense is set to challenge the conclusion that the palm prints were a match.

The killings remained a cold case until 2014, when the Tolland body was identified as that of Marcia Honsch and the body found in New Britain was identified as that of Elizabeth Honsch.

Robert Honsch was arrested in July 2014 in Dalton, Ohio, where investigators said he was living under an assumed name with a new wife and three children.

At the time the two women were killed, they had been living with Robert Honsch in Brewster, New York.

George Staley, special agent with the Ohio attorney general's office, testified Friday he was the one who in 2014 took the "major case prints" of Robert Honsch, which included fingers and palms.

He said he went to Robert Honsch's Dalton, Ohio, house as part of a team of law enforcement from Ohio, Connecticut and Massachusetts executing a search warrant.

He also collected hair samples and did a DNA swab from the cheek of Robert Honsch.

Staley said Honsch was cooperative the whole two hours it took to complete all the procedures.

A Malden Fire Department captain is facing rape charges after officials say he sexually assaulted a victim against her will and violated the restraining order she took out against him.

A Malden Fire Department captain is facing rape charges after officials say he sexually assaulted a victim against her will and violated the restraining order she took out against him.

Steven Edwards, 36, of Wakefield, was arraigned in Woburn Superior Court on Thursday for two counts of rape, assault and battery and two counts of violating a restraining order, according to the office of Middlesex District Attorney Marian Ryan.

The victim is known to Edwards, Ryan said in a statement released Friday.

Edwards was released on personal recognizance by Court Magistrate Matthew Day, who ordered him to have no contact with and stay away from the victim.

Ryan said that Edwards is a captain in the Malden Fire Department. No one at the department could comment on the charges or Edward's employment on Friday afternoon.

Edwards was directly indicted on April 25 by a Middlesex Superior Court grand jury.

The alleged sexual assault took place on July 14, 2015. Edwards and the victim got into a verbal altercation at a residence in Melrose when Edwards sexually assaulted the victim against her will, the statement said.

The victim obtained a restraining order against Edwards in July 2016. But on Aug. 31, 2016, Edwards allegedly violated the restraining order by calling the victim on the phone and being abrasive to her. He "warned" her that the restraining order would not be in place permanently, the statement said.

The next day, Edwards allegedly violated the restraining order again.

The victim dropped her car off at a dealership to be serviced. She got a call from the dealership, telling her that Edwards allegedly instructed the dealership to not return the vehicle to her.

Edwards is scheduled to return to court on July 10.

Michael Patrick McCarthy was charged in 2015 with first-degree murder of 2-year-old Bella Bond, whose body washed ashore in a trash bag on Deer Island in Winthrop. On Tuesday, his defense attorney and prosecutors are slated to make opening statements in McCarthy's trial at Suffolk Superior Court.

Michael Patrick McCarthy was charged in 2015 with first-degree murder of 2-year-old Bella Bond, whose body washed ashore in a trash bag on Deer Island in Winthrop.

On Tuesday, his defense attorney and prosecutors are slated to make opening statements in McCarthy's trial at Suffolk Superior Court in Boston.

Bella Bond was the daughter of McCarthy's former girlfriend, Rachelle Dee Bond, who pleaded guilty in February to charges of being accessory after the fact to murder. She is expected to testify against McCarthy as part of a plea agreement.

McCarthy has pleaded not guilty to the homicide charge and his attorney has pointed the finger at Rachelle Bond for Bella's death.

Prosecutors allege McCarthy killed Bella Bond and stuffed her body into a refrigerator. He later placed her body in Boston Harbor, with Rachelle Bond's help, they allege.

Read Rachelle Bond's plea deal in Baby Bella case

Joseph Amoroso, the father of Bella Bond, has told reporters he plans to attend every day of the trial.

Attorney Jonathan Shapiro is representing McCarthy, a 37-year-old Quincy man. David Deakin is the main prosecutor in the case, and Judge Janet Sanders is presiding over the case.

Sixteen jurors were seated for the case as of Friday, according to Suffolk County District Attorney Dan Conley's office.

Trial set to begin in killing of Bella Bond

A Vermont sex offender was arrested recently for allegedly exposing himself to several "mothers" on Mother's Day.

RUTLAND, VT - Certain behaviors are traditionally frowned upon on national holidays. Others are always frowned upon. And illegal. 

Registered sex offender Richard E. Piper Jr., 62, of Pittsford, Vermont, is accused of exposing himself to two "mothers" in a hotel Jacuzzi in Rutland, Vermont on Mother's Day, May 14, 2017. 

The two women were "enjoying Mother's Day" with their children near the hotel Jacuzzi when Piper allegedly began his illicit activity, according to a statement released by Vermont State Police Friday.  

Police say the children were not exposed to Piper's behavior, though their mothers were. Both women were in their 30s, police said. 

"Two adult female mothers enjoying Mother's Day with their children were subjected to Piper's continuous sexualized behavior," allege Vermont State Police.

The incident occurred at a Holiday Inn located a 476 Holiday Drive in Rutland, Vermont. 

Piper has already been convicted of Lewd and Lascivious Conduct three times previous--twice in 2009 and once in 2012. During one of those incidents, the victim was under the age of 13.

After police were notified of the incident on May 15, Piper was subsequently arrested and arraigned in Rutland Superior Court. 

The ABCC decision says one of the machines contained $1,340 and the other contained $685. When a patron won, they would show the bartender "the winning slip who would then pay out the winnings in cash."

BELCHERTOWN -- The state Alcoholic Beverages Control Commission has determined that the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8428 violated its operating license by permitting gambling on the premises using machines not authorized by the Legislature.

The ABCC said that if no future violations occur in the next two years, the Belchertown VFW's license to pour would not be suspended.

"Administrative review of the licensee's file indicates the club has been in business for 48 years with no prior violations," the ABCC decision says.

"Therefore, the commission suspends the license for five days, of which five days will be held in abeyance for a period of two years provided no further violations ... occur," the decision says. "In addition, the licensee must not possess in or on the licensed premises any automatic amusement devices or video or poker machines."

The ABCC rendered its decision on May 12.

The decision states investigators visited the VFW on Feb. 18, 2016, and ascertained the establishment had two gaming devices operating in violation of state regulations. At a May 9 administrative hearing, "the licensee testified that the two automatic amusement devices have been removed from the premises."

The ABCC decision says one of the machines contained $1,340 and the other contained $685. When a patron won, they would show their winning slip to the bartender, "who would then pay out the winnings in cash." According to investigators, the money to pay winners was in a bag that "contained $103 in U.S. currency."

A copy of the decision was forwarded to Belchertown selectmen, who made it available at Monday's meeting.

The decision says the VFW violated the code of Massachusetts regulations that states:
"Gambling of any sort, except those games of chance authorized by the Legislature and/or local licensing authorities, shall not be permitted on any license premises."

View obituaries from The Republican newspaper in Springfield, Massachusetts.

A man's body was found in a Harvard Dental School lab on Friday.

BOSTON - Authorities are investigating after a man's body was discovered in a laboratory at Harvard Dental School in Boston on Friday morning, according to The Boston Globe. 

The body was found in a building at 190 Longwood Avenue, one of the primary facilities at the school.  

Boston fire and police officials responded to the scene at approximately 10 a.m. Friday. 

A hazardous materials team was also called in to assist with the investigation after police apparently discovered a bag of unknown chemicals lying next to the body.  

Boston Fire Department spokesman Steve McDonald said that the body was found in a laboratory on the third floor of the building. "We... treated the situation as a haz-mat [team] because there were chemicals in the laboratory," said McDonald. 

Investigation showed that the air in the lab was not contaminated.

The body was subsequently removed from the lab and is being examined by a medical examiner, who will determine the cause of death. 

Police earlier reported that the death appears to be a suicide. 

The life sentences that Lee Boyd Malvo received for his role in the sniper shootings which occurred in Virginia in 2002 were thrown out Friday by a federal judge, because he was 17 at the time of the attacks.

WASHINGTON -- The life sentences that Lee Boyd Malvo received for his role in the D.C.-area sniper shootings that occurred in Virginia in 2002 were thrown out Friday by a federal judge, because he was 17 at the time of the attacks.

The Supreme Court ruled in 2012 that mandatory life sentences without the possibility of parole were unconstitutional for juveniles, and in 2016 the court decided that ruling should be applied retroactively.

And so even though Malvo pleaded guilty in Spotsylvania County and agreed to serve two life sentences without parole, in addition to being convicted by a jury and sentenced to two life sentences in Fairfax County, U.S. District Court Judge Raymond Jackson vacated the four sentences and ordered re-hearings for Malvo.

The ruling does not apply to the six life sentences Malvo received in Maryland after he pleaded guilty to six murder charges there. His Maryland lawyers are appealing in both state and federal court on the same grounds, and those cases are pending.

The ruling also does not vacate Malvo's convictions. Instead, the courts in Fairfax and Spotsylvania must resentence Malvo, on the new standards devised by the Supreme Court in 2012, and he could still receive life sentences again in those proceedings.

Malvo, now 32, and John Allen Muhammad were both convicted of 10 murders in a three-week period in the Washington area, beginning with trials in Virginia in 2003. Muhammad was sentenced to death for the slaying in Prince William County of Dean Meyers, and he was executed in 2009.

Prosecutors sought the death penalty for Malvo as well, for the slaying in Fairfax of Linda Franklin outside a Home Depot in the Falls Church area.

But a jury in Chesapeake, Virginia, where the trial was moved because of pretrial publicity, chose a life sentence for Malvo, and Fairfax Circuit Court Judge Jane Marum Roush imposed that sentence in March 2004.

Proud families will gather at high schools across Western Massachusetts for commencement ceremonies this May and June. Find out when and where ceremonies will be held here.

Genene Jones was due to be freed next March under a mandatory release law that was in place when she was convicted.

DALLAS (AP) -- A Texas nurse who is in prison for the 1982 killing of a toddler has been charged with murder in the death of an infant a year earlier, and authorities said Friday that they think she may have killed up to 60 young children around that time.

Genene Jones, 66, is serving concurrent 99-year and 60-year sentences at a Gatesville prison for the 1982 killing of 15-month-old Chelsea McClelland and the sickening of a 4-week-old boy who survived. The girl was given a fatal injection of a muscle relaxant and the boy received a large injection of a blood thinner.

Jones was due to be freed next March under a mandatory release law that was in place when she was convicted. But on Thursday, the Bexar County district attorney's office announced that she has been charged in the 1981 death of 11-month-old Joshua Sawyer, who investigators say died of a fatal overdose of an anti-seizure drug, Dilantin.

During Jones' time working in hospitals and clinics in San Antonio and elsewhere in Texas, children died of unexplained seizures and other complications.

This photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Genene Jones. (Texas Department of Criminal Justice. via AP)Associated Press 

"She's been suspected in dozens of infant deaths and she's only been held accountable in one," he said.

It's not clear why Jones' actions, involving so many suspected victims, were not detected earlier. But Sam Millsap, a previous district attorney in Bexar County, told KSAT-TV in 2013 that medical records at the San Antonio hospital at one point were accidently destroyed, hampering efforts by investigators to prove their suspicions.

Chelsea McClelland died after receiving an injection at a clinic in Kerrville, northwest of San Antonio, and prosecutors at Jones' 1984 murder trial said the nurse lethally injected children there to demonstrate the need for a pediatric intensive care unit at a nearby hospital.

Other prosecutors theorized that Jones' tactic was to take swift medical action and save some of her victims, making herself appear to be a sort of miracle worker.

LaHood said the new murder charge is based on fresh evidence that came to light and a review of old evidence. He also said the deaths of some of the other children are being re-examined and that additional charges could be coming.

Jones has been consistently denied parole over the years. She was due to be released next March after serving one-third of her sentence under a mandatory release law adopted in 1977 to help alleviate prison overcrowding. The law was overhauled 10 years later.

Jones, whose case has been chronicled in two books, a TV movie and numerous articles, was "emotional" when she was served an arrest warrant Thursday, LaHood said.

"We have every reason to believe that she fully expected to get out next year," he said.

Because of the new charge, Jones will be transferred to the Bexar County jail and held on a $1 million bond while the case is prosecuted. A murder conviction brings a maximum sentence of 99 years. LaHood said Jones is not eligible for the death penalty because Texas did not have such a sentence at the time of the 1981 death.

"We will do our best to ensure that Genene Jones takes her very last breath behind bars," LaHood said.

In the wake of Timothy Piazza's death, some people are saying we should get rid of fraternities altogether. Watch video

Timothy Piazza, a 19-year-old pledge at Penn State's Beta Theta Pi, died after drinking a "life threatening" amount of alcohol and falling down the stairs. In the wake of his death, people are saying we should get rid of fraternities altogether. They're a toxic institution with a negative impact on college campuses and communities. Others say a few bad apples shouldn't condemn the whole system. Fraternities provide community to members and work to serve their community. What do you think? 

PERSPECTIVES

Timothy Piazza died while pledging Penn State's Beta Theta Pi. While pledging at the fraternity, Piazza drank a "life-threatening" amount of alcohol, fell down the stairs, and fell unconscious. His fraternity brothers placed him on his side, so he wouldn't choke on his vomit, and left him there until the morning, where he was found dead. 

His fraternity brothers eventually called 911 but it was too late. Making matters worse, members of the fraternity conspired to cover up their involvement; 18 members of the fraternity are facing criminal charges from the death. Sadly, this story is not unique to Penn State or a one-off event. 

The episode reflects a new push to more stringently prosecute fraternity-linked deaths -- there have been more than 60 in the past eight years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg News. In early May, four members of a fraternity at Baruch College in New York, Pi Delta Psi, pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter in the death of a pledge during a hazing ritual in 2013. More than 30 other people have been charged with lesser crimes in the case.

READ MORE: 19 and Coming Into His Own, Until a Fatal Night of Hazing

In the aftermath, Penn State's president Dr. Eric Barron wrote an open letter to the Greek community expressing his profound sadness over Piazza's death. Beta Theta Pi was supposed to be a model fraternity -- they did everything right on paper yet this still happened. He wrote:

Equally troubling are the signs that bad behavior will not end with our rules, it will just go underground. After the new rules were announced, an email from an IFC leader was sent to chapters using a derogatory term to describe women, while encouraging members to have the alcohol upstairs and not have it on the main floor where it risks having checkers discover a violation.

If new rules can just be ignored, or behavior just goes underground, and if there is no willingness to recognize the adverse impact of excessive drinking, hazing, and sexual assault, then is there any hope?

Barron highlights stunning statistics from the school's surveys and research on student life. Students in and around fraternities are at much higher risk for excessive drinking and becoming a victim of sexual assault. Again, this isn't unique to Penn State. 

Seventeen percent of Penn State students are in a fraternity or sorority. We know that students in Greek life self-report excessive drinking that is four times higher than the average student. We know that the vast majority of sexual assaults are associated with alcohol and that an association with Greek life yields a sexual assault victimization rate that is 50 percent higher than the average student. We also know this is a national problem plaguing this generation of students at universities across the country.

What happened to Piazza is a symptom of a larger problem in fraternities. Whatever good these organizations provide for its members and the community are outweighed by the significant harm they cause. Lisa Wade, an associate professor of sociology at Occidental College, argues bad behavior is a fundamental part of fraternity DNA. If fraternities cannot and will not fundamentally change, then colleges should get rid of them altogether. There's no reason to preserve a toxic institution. It's time to abolish fraternities. 

To capitulate to the reasonable demands of outsiders would be to fundamentally change their culture, their role on campus, their very reason for existing. Avoiding risk and obeying common sense safety guidelines would undermine their fundamental character, the specific nature of their identity that is most vital to who they are. Becoming kinder, safer places would do such violence to their legacy that it would mean altering their organizations beyond recognition.

 

Many who are a part of Greek life say fraternities are guilty of some bad practices, but they do a lot of good too. It's important to keep in mind the fraternities who are responsible for these horrible acts are a minority. Peter Jacobs, a writer for Business Insider, says joining a fraternity was "one of the best decisions" he made in his four years in college. 

He highlights:

• Fraternity culture is actually less hostile to women
• Greeks on average have higher GPAs
• Greeks are also considerably more likely to stay enrolled and graduate college
• Greek life is becoming much more diverse
• Joining a Greek organization can help fight loneliness and depression

It's true, there are a lot of things that are bad about fraternities. But there are many more things that are worth saving. People act as though fraternities are non-stop parties, hazing and harassment. They're not. They're communities of people and should be recognized for the complex and important role they play in college life.

Jordan Jayson writes for HuffPost that her experience in Greek life was transformative and defined her college experience. Yes, there was drinking. It's college, there's always going to be drinking. But that's not what made it special. The magic comes from the bonds and friendships formed in Greek life. It's about being part of something bigger. These things are worth saving and preserving. 

Every year, the Pledge Mom took her pledge class on an on an overnight trip near the Blue Ridge Mountains. It was kind of like a giant slumber party. Everyone was asked to bring something important from their past. This was meant to help us open up to each other -- share a piece of ourselves that we wouldn't normally talk about. Story after story poured out of every girl in the trust circle about struggles with body image, untimely death, family issues, substance abuse, assault -- and more. The vulnerability we shared was palpable, it was a great equalizer that formed instant connections and made us close as a pledge class.

 

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A Framingham man pleaded not guilty to child porn charges in U.S. District Court in Boston on Wednesday.

BOSTON - A Framingham man accused of possessing and distributing child porn pleaded not guilty to the charges filed against him during his arraignment in U.S. District Court in Boston on Wednesday, according to court records. 

69-year-old Walter Johnson faces two counts of possession of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography.  

A Harvard University graduate, former high school English teacher and track coach, Johnson was initially taken into custody after an investigation by federal agents found evidence that he collected and traded child porn with other men. 

Under the Yahoo email account name "hungry mann," Johnson is alleged to have used Craigslist ads to communicate with other men interested in adolescents; the men regularly engaged in sexually explicit conversations about children and occasionally traded illegal, sexual images of them, according to a criminal complaint filed against Johnson by a Special Agent with the Department of Homeland Security.  

The children in the pictures received and shared by Johnson ranged in age from infants to pre-pubescent 12 to 14-year-olds, according to the complaint. 

After using an internet search warrant to access the "hungry mann" account, federal investigators with the HSI Child Exploitation and Cyber Group in Boston subpoenaed Verizon internet services for personal information regarding the account. This information ultimately led them to Johnson.

At the time of his arrest, Johnson allegedly confessed to federal agents that he had viewed and shared child porn.  

Johnson was advised of but allegedly waived his Miranda rights, telling investigators about his illegal exploits, and even directing them to a thumb drive hidden in a bedroom door frame that contained his collection of child porn.

Over the course of his career, Johnson had ample opportunities to come into contact with younger individuals--coaching track at Harvard University for 24 years before going on to coach both middle and high school students in Wellesley, Massachusetts, according to the complaint.  

At the time of his arrest, Johnson was an assistant track coach for Wellesley High School. 

Additionally, the complaint states that, at the time of his arrest, Johnson's girlfriend was listed as a third grade teacher in the Framingham public school system.

A driver could be facing a $10,000 bill after he plowed into newly poured concrete in Lincoln, Nebraska, and became stuck.

LINCOLN, Neb. -- A driver could be facing a $10,000 bill after he plowed into newly poured concrete in Lincoln, Nebraska, and became stuck.

In this Wednesday, May 24, 2017 photo, a car is pulled out after it was driven by a 19-year-old driver into the newly poured concrete in Lincoln, Neb. Mike Palm, The City of Lincoln Public Works and Utilities Department via AP 

The accident occurred Wednesday on a portion of a road repair project in the state capital.

Police spokeswoman Angela Sands said Friday that police won't cite the driver, 19-year-old Shadrach Yasiah. A police incident report said it wasn't obvious that the concrete wasn't dry and that Yasiah drove into it through a 24-foot gap between traffic control cones.

Attempts by The Associated Press to contact Yasiah were not successful.

City engineer Thomas Shafer said the driver is responsible for the repairs. He said the contactor estimated it will cost more than $10,000 to pay for removing the car, scraping out the ruined slurry, repouring more and finishing it.

Cornell died May 18 in a hotel bathroom after performing a concert in Detroit.

A quiet memorial service for Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell focused on his love for his family and friends, but it was also studded with Hollywood stars and some of music's most elite names.

"Chris was as melodic as The Beatles, as heavy as Sabbath and as haunting as Edgar Allan Poe," Tom Morello, Cornell's Audioslave bandmate, said during his eulogy, according to the Associated Press. "The demons he wrestled with were real, but he harnessed those demons and rode them like a mother-flipping chariot of lightning strapped with Marshall stacks to make some of the greatest rock 'n' roll of all time."

Cornell, 52, hung himself May 18 in his hotel room in the MGM Grand after playing a concert in Detroit's Fox Theatre. An autopsy confirmed the suicide, but toxicology results are pending. His wife told authorities that Cornell was taking Ativan at the time of his death, an anti-anxiety medication that is also used as a sleep aid.

The memorial service for the father of three and one of the celebrated leaders of the grunge movement was held at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery in California.

An emotional highlight was Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington and guitarist Brad Delson performing Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" for the crowd, according to the AP.

Guests included Brad Pitt, Pharrell Williams, James Franco, Christian Bale, Lars Ulrich and James Hetfield of Metallica, Dave Navarro and Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction, singer-songwriter Joe Walsh, guitarist Nile Rodgers, rocker Courtney Love and Bush's Gavin Rossdale.

Fans waited outside the cemetery for the public viewing opportunity that came later Friday.

Cornell's family has disputed the medical examiner's findings and claimed Cornell may have taken more of his anti-anxiety drug than he was prescribed.