Environmental Police estimated waves in the range of six to eight feet, generated by Saturday's nor'easter, were breaking onto the ocean-facing coast of Jamestown.

JAMESTOWN, R.I. -- Rhode Island officials have identified the Massachusetts couple who died after being swept into the sea while fishing off some rocks at a state park.

The Department of Environmental Management said Monday that 51-year-old Kongjuan Wei and 52-year-old Xianzan Tan were pronounced dead at Newport Hospital after being pulled from the waters off Fort Wetherill State Park in Jamestown by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Witnesses on Sunday morning said they saw a large wave knock Wei down onto the rocks and drag Wei into the water. Tan then jumped into the water in an attempt to rescue her.

The couple lived in Quincy, Massachusetts.

Environmental Police estimated waves in the range of six to eight feet, generated by Saturday's nor'easter, were breaking onto the ocean-facing coast of Jamestown.

Several employees at a school in Orange, Massachusetts have been placed on paid administrative leave, according to WWLP-TV, 22News and The Recorder in Greenfield.

ORANGE -- Allegations of staff misconduct are being investigated at Fisher Hill Elementary School and the principal is no longer in charge at the 59 Dexter St. facility, according to news reports.

Superintendent Tari Thomas said the school district and the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families are investigating, said reports by WWLP-TV, 22News Monday and The Recorder newspaper in Greenfield Sunday.

In an Oct. 25 letter quoted by both news outlets, Thomas said, "Since this is a personnel issue, any and all details are confidential at this time."

WWLP-TV, 22News reported that School Committee Chairwoman Stephanie Conrod said "several employees" at Fisher Hill Elementary School have been placed on paid administrative leave in the Franklin County town.

Protecting the well-being of students is the district's priority, Thomas said, according to the news outlets.

"As the superintendent of schools who is entrusted with caring for other people's children, and as a parent of three children myself (albeit all grown now) I can promise you that the physical and emotional safety and security of our students is always at the forefront of my mind," Thomas said in the letter to parents, according to the news outlets.

Members said they worried a mass shooting would happen in a synagogue after seeing them in many other houses of worship. Watch video

NORTHAMPTON - Hundreds of people from the Jewish community, their friends and supporters of different faiths gathered together two days after a gunman killed 11 people worshiping at a Pittsburgh synagogue to mourn the dead, pray and simply gather together.

The vigil began with a brief gathering and singing outside the Unitarian Universalist Society on Main Street. People lit candles and held a silent walk over State Street ending at the Congregation B'Nai Israel on Prospect Street, joining members of that synagogue.

The congregation had planned to use half the room so Rabbi Justin David said he was speechless when a stream of people kept coming and coming and members quickly started setting up folding chairs and searching for more to accommodate the crowd. Still people stood along the walls, sat in the aisles, on steps and those who could not fit spilled into the hallway.

"There is something about the destruction of innocent lives that shakes people to the core and they want to be together...to express what is on their minds and to share," he said.

Members of the Florence synagogue Beit Ahavah joined the congregation. Beit Ahavah worships at the Unitarian Universalist Society and the two have become friends so they joined as well. Multiple city officials including councilors, state representatives and others also attended.

Multiple people said they have watched mass shootings happen in a school in Florida, at a mosque in Canada, at a First Baptist church in Texas and an African Episcopal Methodist church in South Carolina and worried if a synagogue would be next.

That came true on Saturday when Robert Gregory Bowers killed eight men and three women inside the Tree of Life Synagogue. Four police officers were also shot and injured before they tracked down the gunman. Bowers, who posted anti-Semitic rantings on social media, was hospitalized after being shot by police but is recovering from his injuries.

During the vigil the 11 names of the victims were read. They ranged in age from 54 to 97, two were brothers, two were husband and wife and all 11 were the regular members of the Tree of Life Synagogue, David said.

"Please know we mourn with you, we stand with you, we will resist hatred with you and we will do everything in our power to keep you safe," Northampton Mayor David Narkewicz said.

U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern, D-Worcester, said he cannot explain the level of hate and bigotry the country is seeing now, but said it is not what the country stands for.

"I cannot explain why this is happening but I know there is a way out of it because love is stronger than hate," he said.

Shortly after word spread about the shootings, Beit Ahavah Rabbi Riqi Kosovske said she began receiving calls and messages from old friends, family and even her old high school English teacher.

She read the impressions of a few, including one woman who said sometimes she lights Hanukkah candles and sometimes she doesn't but this year she said she will light all eight and recite all the special prayers and an extra blessing. Kosovske brought some comic relief to the sad ceremony by adding her friend's last line that the candles can be bought at Stop and Shop.

"I'm overwhelmed by the outpouring of the community. It means everything," she said.

Philip Norman, a member of Beit Havah Synagogue stood near the entrance while people milled around trying to find an empty seat. He said he is concerned about the political rhetoric he has been hearing for the past two years that divides so many people and creates hostility.

This vigil instead brought people of different faiths and backgrounds together, he said.

"When people are killed in a safe place of worship, or any other place, I feel it affects me and my community," he said.

MassMutual demolished the former Steiger's department store at Main and Bridge streets in 1994, creating a 'temporary' park that has been there for nearly 25 years.

SPRINGFIELD -- The investors who bought the Tower Square office building, mall and hotel earlier this year now plan to build a luxury hotel on the site of a park across Main Street, according to managing partner Vid Mitta.

The one-acre Steiger Park at Main and Bridge streets was part of MassMutual's $7 million sale of the Tower Square offices and mall in April to Dinesh Patel of East Longmeadow, Vid Mitta of Lexington and Rohit Patel and Kamlesh Patel of Maine.

The investors had already bought the hotel for $10.5 million, also from MassMutual.

Mitta said he has a team working on a plan for the Steiger Park site that includes a hotel with 80 rooms and 80 long-term suites.

"For the suites, it might be a business traveler who wants a kitchen available to them," Mitta said. "It has its own market and no one downtown has something like this. So, customers looking for suites go to Chicopee or someplace else."

Mitta stressed that plans are in the very early stages. While he envisions a five-story building with a bar, restaurant and possibly first-floor retail space, he said he has no estimates yet for the project's cost.

The hotel will operate under a "major, recognized national brand," he said.

"In the past downtown Springfield was not favorable," Mitta said. "With all the recent changes, the casino, the emphasis on public safety -- people will come."

Mitta said he's already had contact with the city.

He and his partners put the Steiger Park site on the market about two months ago for an undisclosed price. But Mitta said the ownership group reconsidered and arrived at the hotel idea a few weeks ago.

The new hotel would offer parking in the Tower Square garage.

He expects rooms in the new hotel to average $150 a night, just under what rooms will cost in the Tower Square hotel once renovations underway are complete and the property regains its Marriott branding.

Mitta said the Marriott name should be back on the building in June 2019. 

Steiger's closed its venerable downtown store in 1994. MassMutual bought the building for one dollar and spent $1 million demolishing it and an airwalk that once carried shoppers over Main Street from Tower Square -- once known as Baystate West -- to the department store.

At the time, there was talk of building an entertainment complex or a convention center at the site.

But it was instead landscaped into what was described as a temporary park that has remained for nearly 25 years. The park hosts farmers markets and other events.

The Oct. 30, 1938 broadcast struck a chord with a public jittery about the rumblings of war in Europe. Watch video

It was WMAS radio, housed in the Hotel Stonehaven in Springfield, that broke the news to Massachusetts listeners 80 years ago: Unstoppable Martian forces had landed in Grover's Mill, New Jersey, and were advancing on New York City.

The Oct. 30, 1938 broadcast on the Columbia Broadcasting System struck a chord with a public jittery about the rumblings of war in Europe and fearful of a foe U.S. military forces were unable to stop.

Of course, it was not real.

Orson Welles and the Mercury Theatre On The Air's adaptation of the H.G. Wells sci-fi novel The War of the Worlds used realistic news bulletins and caused some folks to panic.

It went viral and was "fake news" eight decades before such buzz words became popular.

The scope of the panic has been exaggerated over the years, according to researcher A. Brad Schwartz, author of Broadcast Hysteria: Orson Welles's War of the Worlds and the Art of Fake News.

Schwartz noted that the Mercury Theatre On The Air did not have the audience of its popular prime time rival, Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy.

"The show's regular listenership was so low -- and Charlie McCarthy's was so high -- most people just didn't tune in," he said.

Those who heard Welles' broadcast in eastern Massachusetts would have listened on WPRO in nearby Providence, Rhode Island, Schwartz said. The CBS affiliate in Boston, WEEI, preempted The War of the Worlds to cover debate in the Legislature. 

Among the incidents reported across the Bay State 80 years ago:

• An ambulance was dispatched to Agawam after a woman collapsed during the broadcast.
• A caller to The Boston Daily Globe claimed to see distant fires in New York, while a New England utility received frantic calls to cut the power and blackout cities from the sight of advancing alien foes.
• One Massachusetts man scraped together $3.25 for a railway ticket --  only to learn 60 miles later that he had been duped by a 23-year-old actor-director and his cast.

Upon receiving calls of a nationwide panic, CBS aired a disclaimer later in the hour-long broadcast.

Welles concluded the show, saying it was all done in good fun.

"This is Orson Welles, ladies and gentlemen, out of character to assure you that The War of The Worlds has no further significance than as the holiday offering it was intended to be. The Mercury Theatre's own radio version of dressing up in a sheet and jumping out of a bush and saying 'Boo!' Starting now, we couldn't soap all your windows and steal all your garden gates by tomorrow night ... so we did the best next thing. We annihilated the world before your very ears, and utterly destroyed the C. B. S.  You will be relieved, I hope, to learn that we didn't mean it, and that both institutions are still open for business.

So goodbye everybody, and remember the terrible lesson you learned tonight. That grinning, glowing, globular invader of your living room is an inhabitant of the pumpkin patch, and if your doorbell rings and nobody's there, that was no Martian ...  it's Halloween."

The next day, The War of the Worlds broadcast was front page news across the country.

The Springfield Daily Republican headline read "Hysteria sweeps across U.S. as Martian soldiers attack in radio play," while the Boston Globe's banner read "Radio play terrifies nation."

The late radio legend Norman Corwin, a former reporter for The Springfield Republican, recalled in a 2008 interview that he was rehearsing  a documentary in a nearby studio "and was completely unaware that Orson had emptied the living rooms of America."

"(The) next morning I called a friend of a mine who had worked in master control the night before, and asked him what time the last call came in. He answered after 1 in the morning. The caller, he said, was a man who sounded like a truck driver from New Jersey "Lissen, mister, are you the guys who broadcast that Mars program?" My friend admitted we were. and the caller went on, "Lissen here, man, my wife hoid that program and she got so scared she FLUNG open a door and FELL DOWN A WHOLE FLIGHT OF STAIRS! Jeez, it was a wunnaful program!"

There were threats of lawsuits and government action.

The newly-created Federal Communications Commission launched an investigation, CBS publicly apologized, and Welles' weekly radio show picked up a much-needed commercial sponsor, Campbell Soups.

Welles would later become the star of such films as Citizen Kane and The Third Man.

"I didn't go to jail," he later quipped, " I went to Hollywood."

Some days in the ER, taking care of three patients can be overwhelming, DiGregorio said. Other days, nurses can treat six patients at once with ease.

At Harrington Hospital on a recent Friday around 10 a.m., the attention of the emergency room was focused on one particular trauma bay.

A man had been brought into the ER with a serious cardiac rhythm. Two doctors, two nurses and an EMS provider were all in that trauma bay, trying to quell the man's lethal arrhythmias. 

If the nurse staffing ratios proposed by ballot Question 1 were in place while treating this patient, the emergency room might not be able to keep both nurses on that trauma patient without running the risk of incurring hefty fines, according to Tracy DiGregorio, a Harrington Hospital registered nurse who has worked in the ER for 16 years.

"A nurse could be outside a ratio for that one patient," she said, sitting in the ER of the Southbridge hospital. "And, trust me, you want two nurses in there."

The scenario, DiGregorio said, was a perfect example of how RNs need to self-regulate in the emergency department, something she believes Question 1 will inhibit. 

But the Committee to Ensure Safe Patient Care says the measure, if implemented, would never stop a nurse from going over to help in such a scenario.

The ratios apply to a nurse assigned to the case from beginning to end, explained Kate Norton, a spokeswoman for the committee. Typically patients are assigned to one nurse, although other nurses may be involved in the patient's care.

There is "absolutely nothing" in the measure that prevents a nurse from helping another nurse treat a critical patient, she said.

"There's never going to be a scenario where a nurse is taking care of a patient and goes, 'oh no, I have to stop,'" Norton said.

The ballot question seeks to implement nurse-to-patient staffing ratios, which would be mandatory at all times except for in the case of a state or nationally declared public health emergency.

Nurses across the state are split.

The Massachusetts Nurses Association, a union representing about 23,000 nurses in the state, is pushing heavily to pass the measure, arguing that RNs in Massachusetts have too many patients, leading to poor patient care.

However, other RNs, including many emergency room nurses and Massachusetts chapters of the Emergency Nurses Association and American Nurses Association, have come out against the proposed law.

"There is no average day and that's why I think this bill, it doesn't fit," DiGregorio said. "I don't know what I'm coming into. Who's going to be left over. Who's coming in the door, how sick they're going to be."

Some days in the ER, taking care of three patients can be overwhelming, DiGregorio said. Other days, nurses can treat six patients at once with ease. 

The hospital serves a community of 170,000 residents and sees more than 30,000 annual emergency room visits.

"Busy doesn't always mean unsafe. I think that's what we need to remember as nurses," DiGregorio said. "I expect to be busy. I expect to put at least 8,000 steps on my Fitbit. That's a normal day for me."

At Mercy Medical Center in Springfield, 100 new nurses have been hired in the last year, according to Dr. Mark Kenton, who has worked in the emergency department at the hospital for 15 years.

However, to keep up with the law if passed, Mercy would need to hire an additional 200 nurses, he said. There are currently seven unfilled nurse positions in the emergency room. 

"One of the big problems with this is that it becomes very restrictive from a standpoint of individual needs within our healthcare system," said Kenton, who has taken to Facebook to advocate a "no" vote.

Hospitals across Massachusetts have come out asking voters to say no to Question 1 at the polls on Nov. 6, or before then in communities with early voting. 

"Harrington is proud to deliver safe and quality care to those in our community," Jessica Calcidise, the vice president of nursing and ancillary operations at Harrington HealthCare System said in a statement released last month. "The government has no place in implementing cookie-cutter care across all of our patients, all of our departments, and all our hospitals across Massachusetts." 

At Harrington, 50 new nurses would need to be hired to keep up with the ratios outlined in Question 1, a spokeswoman said.

Dr. Jeffrey Hopkins the medical director of Milford Regional Medical Center's emergency department wrote in a statement that Question 1 would "skyrocket" wait times for patients and emergency room nurses would be "stripped of using their expertise and judgment when it matters most."  

"These arbitrary ratios don't allow for the type of flexibility, discretion or common sense medical decision-making needed to provide emergency care," the statement continued, adding that implementing the measure would set the medical center back $4.7 million. 

Beth Israel Deaconess Hospital in Milton has said Question 1 would cost $4.7 million in the first year alone, and that patients and families could face delays or cancellations of surgeries.

For Lawrence General Hospital, the cost of Question 1 would be $7.9 million initially, according to a statement.

"Question 1 will force us to downsize departments, increase wait times in our emergency room, threaten scheduling of elective surgeries, and cut important health programs that our patients depend on," said Dianne Anderson, a registered nurse and the CEO and president of Lawrence General Hospital. "The last thing we want to do is have our patients wait because this law ties our hands and keeps us from giving them timely service."

Cooley Dickinson Health Care, an affiliate of Massachusetts General Hospital located in Northampton, wrote in a statement that the passage of Question 1 would lead to "severe consequences," taking staffing decisions out of the hands of nurses and managers who make those decisions now based on factors like the acuity of patients, the availability of support staff and the experience level of nurses.

Estimates on the cost of the measure vary.

The Coalition to Protect Patient Safety, an anti-Question 1 group funded by hospitals, has estimated the first-year cost of the measure at $1.31 billion and $900 million in subsequent years. Meanwhile, the union-funded Committee to Ensure Safe Patient Care, which supports the measure, predicts a cost of $35 million to $47 million.

Hospital officials have said the law would be especially devastating for small and rural hospitals, like Harrington. 

Harrington Hospital says it would cost the hospital $6 million to implement Question 1 as written. The hospital would not face an immediate threat of shutting down, a spokeswoman said, but implementing Question 1 leaves open the possibility of having to close in the future.

Proponents of the measure have said that such claims are scare tactics lead by hospital administrators.

"Nurses wrote and support Question 1 because we have tried for years to convince these executives to provide us with conditions, including safe limits on the number of patients we care for, to ensure we can provide the care our patients need when they need it most," Donna Kelly-Williams, a registered nurse and the president of the MNA and co-chairwoman of the Committee to Ensure Safe Patient Care, said in a statement.

Kelly-Williams and the committee criticize hospital executives for taking in seven-figure salaries while saying the measure will force the medical centers to shut down patient services. 

An independent study by MassInsight and BW Research Partners determined the state would need to hire 5,911 new nurses within 37 days to keep up with the measure if it passes.

Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association and Organization of Nurse Leaders estimates that Massachusetts is already short more than 1,200 registered nurses.

On the Harrington Hospital website, there are 28 open positions listed for nursing or nursing support.  

Nearly everyone in the industry agrees: It would be ideal to have more nurses at every hospital. 

"I'm not against safe staffing," DiGregorio said. "I'm against this bill."

Residents of Western Massachusetts can receive free legal advice on Tuesday through the Massachusetts Bar Association's semiannual Western Massachusetts Dial-A-Lawyer call-in program.

Residents of Western Massachusetts can receive free legal advice on Tuesday through the Massachusetts Bar Association's semiannual Western Massachusetts Dial-A-Lawyer call-in program.

Callers may ask questions on any legal topic. The program is provided by the MBA at no charge as a public service.

Residents of Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden and Hampshire counties who have legal concerns or problems should call (413) 782-1659, between the hours of 4 and 7 p.m., tonight to talk to a volunteer lawyer. If a caller gets a busy signal, they are asked to hang up and try again. Normal telephone charges will apply.

The MBA's Western Massachusetts Dial-A-Lawyer program is co-sponsored by Western New England University School of Law, The Republican, El Pueblo Latino, the Massachusetts Association of Hispanic Attorneys and the Hispanic National Bar Association.

Just moments before the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting that left 11 people dead, the suspect is believed to have posted a final social media rant against a Jewish refugee settlement agency most people had never heard of, but which has increasingly become the target of right-wing rage and conspiracy theories.

Just moments before the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting that left 11 people dead, the suspect is believed to have posted a final social media rant against a Jewish refugee settlement agency most people had never heard of, but which has increasingly become the target of right-wing rage and conspiracy theories.

"HIAS likes to bring invaders in that kill our people," Robert Gregory Bowers wrote on the platform Gab early Saturday. "I can't sit by and watch my people get slaughtered. Screw your optics, I'm going in."

The group, formerly known as the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, was founded in 1881 in a Manhattan storefront to assist Jews persecuted in Russia and Eastern Europe. HIAS is now among nine groups that contract with the State Department to help refugees settle in the United States, and it has recently clashed with the Trump administration over policies that have throttled the flow of such newcomers.

Analysts who follow the extreme right say the fixation some extremists have with HIAS appears to be fueled by a mix of anti-Semitism and the recent caustic rhetoric about an immigrant caravan trudging slowly toward the United States.

Specifically, they believe Bowers ascribed to the "white genocide" conspiracy, which holds that Jews are prominent among the forces seeking to destroy the "white race" by bringing in non-white people. The Gab.com account believed to be Bowers' includes several recent postings or re-postings critical of HIAS.

"Who do they blame for these immigration policies? Who do they blame for diversity multi-culturalism? It's the Jews," said Oren Segal, director of the Anti-Defamation League's Center on Extremism. "And so as a Jewish organization that is focused on issues of immigration, that's one of the reasons they were targeted."

Based in the Washington, D.C., suburb of Silver Spring, HIAS has an annual operating budget of $42 million and receives about half of its money from the federal government. Among the thousands of people it has aided are Google co-founder Sergey Brin and singer Regina Spektor.

As the Trump administration restricted the number of refugees allowed into the U.S., HIAS and its local affiliates went from resettling 4,191 refugees in 2016 to 1,632 for the fiscal year that just ended.

Though HIAS strongly supports the rights of asylum seekers to a fair hearing, it has no connection to the immigrant caravan, said spokesman Bill Swersey.

"We're the people who go to the airport, that bring the refugees home, that make sure there's food in the fridge, make sure their kids know where the school is," said Melanie Nezer, HIAS's senior vice president for public affairs.

But right-wing extremists see HIAS in a more sinister light.

Heidi Beirich, who directs the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Project, said HIAS's name comes up on white-supremacist message boards whenever posters become angry about refugees or immigrants. She noted that other resettlement agencies, such as those associated with Christian religions, have not raised the same sort of ire.

It happened toward the end of the Obama administration during the debate over Syrian refugees. Attention ratcheted up recently as President Donald Trump and others started drawing attention to the migrant caravan slowly making its way through Mexico toward the U.S. border.

"White supremacists are ginned up right now," Beirich said.

HIAS also has been public in its opposition to Trump's immigration policies. It sued the administration in 2017 over the executive order halting refugee resettlement. In August, HIAS and the ADL led a delegation of national Jewish organizations to the U.S.-Mexico border.

Segal said the high-profile visit this summer could have drawn the attention of right-wing extremists.

As Bowers appeared in federal court in a wheelchair Monday, HIAS-affiliated offices across the country increased security.

Nezer said the group is still processing the tragedy.

"I think we need to redouble our efforts to stand up for these values and not cower and hide," she said, "because to me that would be the most dangerous response."

CityStage again proved to be the perfect venue as crowds gathered from across the Pioneer Valley for the 6th Annual Bax & O'Brien Live show Friday night.

SPRINGFIELD- CityStage again proved to be the perfect venue as crowds gathered from across the Pioneer Valley for the 6th Annual Bax & O'Brien Live show Friday night. 

The WAQY Rock 102 morning team of Mike Baxendale and John O'Brien coupled with their producer Steve Nagle packed the house and as expected, kept the audience wanting more. 

Since 1995, Bax & O'Brien hosted their show on WAQY/Rock102, and over the course of those 23 years, they've interviewed many notable figures and celebrities.

Trump's proposal to eliminate birthright citizenship by executive order was met with skepticism in Massachusetts on Tuesday by legal experts who say it will not pass constitutional muster.

President Donald Trump's proposal to eliminate birthright citizenship was met with skepticism in Massachusetts Tuesday by legal experts who say it will not pass constitutional muster. 

"The president is coming out of outer space to think that the president has the authority to change the rules on who is a citizen," said Harvard Law Professor Gerald Neuman, an expert on human rights and immigration law. 

Neuman said there have been occasional movements over the years to change the definition of citizenship, but there "is no credible argument" that it is permissible under the U.S. Constitution.

"Tampering with the guarantee of citizenship under the Constitution is an extremely dangerous and serious business," Neuman said.  

Trump told Axios on HBO, in a report published Tuesday, that he is considering signing an executive order to eliminate the right to automatic citizenship for anyone born in the United States.

"We're the only country in the world where a person comes in and has a baby, and the baby is essentially a citizen of the United States ... with all of those benefits," Trump said, according to Axios. "It's ridiculous." 

Other countries, including Canada and Mexico, also provide birthright citizenship. 

Trump, a Republican, has made decreasing illegal immigration a core platform of his presidency. The president said he believes he can eliminate birthright citizenship by executive order.

The 14^th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution states, "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside."

There have at times been movements to reinterpret "subject to the jurisdiction" to exclude people without legal status in the U.S. 

Any move by Trump to change the citizenship laws unilaterally, to eliminate citizenship for children of immigrants without legal status, will almost certainly end up in court.

Ivan Espinoza-Madrigal, executive director of Lawyers for Civil Rights, which advocates for immigrant rights, said, "Lawyers for Civil Rights will not allow the Trump administration to turn back the clock on critical civil rights provisions such as birthright citizenship, and we stand ready to protect communities of color and immigrant communities." 

Espinoza-Madrigal said an executive order eliminating birthright citizenship "is absolutely not constitutional."

Espinoza-Madrigal noted that the 14^th Amendment was ratified in response to the Civil War and the emancipation of American slaves, to ensure that children born to slaves were free U.S. citizens. 

"It has a long history of inclusion in our democracy, and it is directly linked to our history of slavery and racism," Espinoza-Madrigal said. "To now propose to strip immigrants of birthright citizenship is not just unconstitutional but also un-American."

Patricia Montes, executive director of the immigrant rights group Centro Presente, said, "I think the President of the United States is challenging the U.S. Constitution." 

Montes said Trump's comments are part of an "extreme level of racism and xenophobic sentiment" present in the U.S. "There is a level of hate against people of color, in particular migrants and refugees, and I think actions like this are a clear message that they don't want to see people like us in this country," Montes said.

Omar Jadwat, director of the ACLU's Immigrants' Rights Project, called Trump's comments "a transparent and blatantly unconstitutional attempt to sow division and fan the flames of anti-immigrant hatred in the days ahead of the midterms."

Independent legal experts also questioned the legality of Trump's proposal.

Michael Coyne, dean of the Massachusetts School of Law, said citizenship "is not something that is capable of being changed by an executive order."

Coyne said he believes Trump is more likely trying to sway the midterm elections than making a serious attempt to start the process of passing a constitutional amendment. "I think it's much more likely politically motivated than a real desire to undertake a serious process to change the constitution," Coyne said. "It's meat for the base."

The last time the U.S. Supreme Court took up a challenge to birthright citizenship was in 1898, when the court ruled in United States vs. Wong Kim Ark that a child of permanent U.S. residents who were Chinese was a U.S. citizen because he was born in the U.S.

"This question's been analyzed already, and the answer's been given by the Supreme Court," said Ragini Shah, clinical professor of law at Suffolk Law School, who founded the school's immigration clinic. "It's very longstanding law."

Although that case involved a lawful resident, not someone without legal status, Shah said the court interpreted the clause of "subject to the jurisdiction" of the U.S. to mean anyone subject to U.S. laws.

For example, the child of a diplomat who has diplomatic immunity does not get birthright citizenship.

If an immigrant without legal status committed a crime, Shah said, "The undocumented immigrant wouldn't have as a defense, 'I'm not subject to your laws'."

According to the Pew Research Center, there were 275,000 babies born to parents without legal U.S. status in 2014.

Ronald Bonomo, 58, was pronounced dead at the scene in a parking lot at a business at 263 Park Ave.

A Ludlow man died Monday afternoon in a workplace accident at an East Hartford business, according to reports.

Ronald Bonomo, 58, was pronounced dead at the scene in a parking lot at a business at 263 Park Ave., according to NBC News Connecticut.

The Hartford station, citing police sources, said police were called to the scene at around 1:15 p.m. and found Bonomo dead under a truck.

Bonomo was the driver of a propane delivery truck with E. Osterman Gas Company, according to NBC Connecticut.

He was apparently performing some kind of repair under the vehicle when he became entangled in the truck's mechanism and killed.

Employees at the scene tried to aid him but were unable to save him, according to the Greater Hartford Patch.

The Connecticut branch of the federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration is investigating.

ack Burkman, a conservative lobbyist, tweeted that Thursday he "will reveal the first of special counsel Robert Mueller's sex assault victims.

By DEVLIN BARRETT
The Washington Post

WASHINGTON - A spokesman for Robert Mueller said Tuesday that the special counsel's office has asked the FBI to examine claims that women were offered money to say Mueller behaved inappropriately toward them decades ago.

The spokesman, Peter Carr, issued a statement saying that "when we learned last week of allegations that women were offered money to make false claims about the special counsel, we immediately referred the matter to the FBI for investigation."

Carr's statement comes as Jack Burkman, a conservative lobbyist, tweeted that Thursday he "will reveal the first of special counsel Robert Mueller's sex assault victims. I applaud the courage and dignity and grace and strength of my client."

Burkman gained notoriety when he promoted conspiracy theories regarding the still-unsolved killing in 2016 of Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Rich. Those theories have been disputed by law enforcement officials.

The FBI declined to comment, and Burkman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The strange sequence of events began about two weeks ago, when an email account ostensibly belonging to a Florida woman began contacting reporters claiming that a mysterious individual had offered her money to say Mueller had behaved inappropriately when they worked together in the 1970s.

The person sending the emails would not speak on the phone, but claimed she was offered tens of thousands of dollars to say negative about the special counsel, who is investigating Russia's interference in the 2016 presidential election and allegations the Trump campaign conspired with those efforts.

The person who has been emailing reporters over the past two weeks had said she was told that Burkman was behind the effort to pay money to those who made allegations against Mueller.

James "Whitey" Bulger was killed inside a federal prison in West Virginia by another inmate who has mob ties, according to reports.

James "Whitey" Bulger was killed inside a federal prison in West Virginia by another inmate who has mob ties, according to reports. 

Both the Boston Globe and the New York Times cited anonymous sources stating Bulger, 89, was killed the day after transferring to the US Penitentiary Hazelton facility. 

The Globe, citing sources, said the inmate responsible for killing Bulger has mafia ties. The New York Times stated "an organized crime figure" is believed to be the culprit. 

Authorities from the Federal Bureau of Prisons and the US Attorney's Office overseeing that area of West Virginia have not commented on whether or not Bulger was killed by a fellow inmate. 

The New York Times reported Bulger was moved to the West Virginia facility after threatening a staff member at the Florida complex where he previously was being held. 

The Federal Bureau of Prisons said in a statement that Bulger was found unresponsive in the federal prison around 8:20 a.m. Tuesday. 

The statement issued by the Federal Bureau of Prisons made no mention of the circumstances. 

The statement reads:

"On Tuesday, October 30, 2018, at approximately 8:20 a.m., inmate James Bulger was found unresponsive at the United States Penitentiary (USP) Hazelton, in Bruceton Mills, West Virginia. Life-saving measures were initiated immediately by responding staff. Mr. Bulger was subsequently pronounced dead by the Preston County Medical Examiner."

Bulger was transferred to the facility Monday.

The FBI was notified of his death and is investigating.

The US Attorney's Office in the Northern District of West Virginia did not discuss the details surrounding Bulger's death.

"The US Attorney's Office for the Northern District of West Virginia and the FBI will be conducting an investigation into the death of James Bulger," the US Attorney's office said in a statement. "No other information will be released at this time."

Bulger was serving life after he was sentenced in a federal court in Massachusetts on several charges in connection with 11 murders.

A fundraising campaign has raised approximately $11,000 in private contributions for the repair and restoration of the historic Campanile tower at Court Square in Springfield, far short of the estimated $25 million cost. Watch video

SPRINGFIELD -- A fundraising campaign launched in 2014 for the repair and restoration of the historic Campanile tower at Court Square has mustered just over $11,000 in private donations, occurring as estimates for the cost have risen recently to $25 million.

Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and Patrick Sullivan, the city's director of parks, buildings and recreation management, said this week they hope that individuals will be motivated to assist with the fundraising campaign, particularly with a new study of the deteriorated Campanile now taking place.

"We really do need an influx of money," Sarno said. "We continue to pursue grants, working with state and federal officials. This is something I would like to get done but we have to be fiscally prudent."

The Campanile, as part of the historic Municipal Group buildings at Court Square, is "part of our DNA," Sarno said.

A hired architectural firm, Bruner/Cott & Associates of Boston, is leading a $450,000 investigation of the interior and exterior of the campanile. The company is evaluating the Campanile's long-troubled conditions, and the short-term and long-term steps needed to repair and restore the structure.

The study is being funded by the city, along with an application for a $250,000 grant from a new property surtax in Springfield under the Community Preservation Act.

Of $11,236.46 raised in private contributions since 2014, $4,929.03 was spent on engineering and grant preparation services, according to city records. The account now has a balance of just $6,307.43, said Timothy J. Plante, the city's chief administrative and financial officer.

Those wishing to donate to the fund are asked to make contributions payable to "Springfield Council for Cultural and Community Affairs (SCCCA)," and sent to Springfield Campanile Restoration Project, 200 Trafton Road, Springfield, MA 01108. All donations are tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

The 275-foot tall, century-old Campanile needs extensive structural repairs due to age and exposure, officials said. The Campanile is the centerpiece of the Municipal Group buildings that also includes Symphony Hall to the left, and City Hall to the right, when looking from Court Square.

The tower has been boarded off from the public for many years, and has long strips of black webbing on its four corners, to help with efforts to reduce crumbling of the limestone exterior. There is also work needed to repair the Campanile elevator, clock, and to restore its 12 large bronze bells.

When announced in 2014, the co-chairmen of the fundraising committee were listed as William Lowell Putnam, who is now deceased, and Jonathan Fantini Porter of Washington D.C., who is the great grandson of former Springfield Mayor John A. Dennison (1913-15). The Campanile officially opened in 2013.

In addition, U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, and Sarno were listed as honorary co-chairmen, and Councilor Kateri Walsh was appointed the council liaison.

The committee's mission was to pursue local, state and federal funding sources, as well as a major private fundraising effort. At the time, the total fundraising campaign was estimated at $20 million, but costs for full restoration are now estimated at $25 million.

City officials formally launched a $600,000 renovation project at Van Horn Park in Liberty Heights, that includes new playground equipment and a small pavilion.

SPRINGFIELD -- The city formally launched a $600,000 renovation project at Van Horn Park in Liberty Heights on Tuesday that includes new playground equipment and a small pavilion, aided by federal grant funds.

The contractor, Omasta Landscaping of Hadley, was joined by local officials and residents including Mayor Domenic J. Sarno and U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, during the groundbreaking ceremony.

The funding consists of a $300,000 federal grant from the Land and Water Conservation Fund, $150,000 in federal Community Development block grant money, and $150,000 in city funds, as detailed in August.

"The improvements will be a welcome addition to the Liberty Heights and Atwater neighborhoods," Sarno said. "The project illustrates the importance of having a master plan ready so when grants do come available we are ready to participate in the application process."

The renovations includes new playground equipment, site amenities and exercise stations, and the small pavilion, officials said.

The funding follows a master plan for redevelopment of Van Horn Park, located on Armory Street, Sarno said.

The cost of $600,000 included construction, design and the purchase of the pavilion and some equipment from vendors to save money, said Patrick J. Sullivan, the city's director of parks, buildings and recreation management.

The construction contract was for $274,475, and the work is slated to be completed in the summer of 2019.

Prior improvements have included enhanced pedestrian paths around the upper reservoir, a new entrance and parking from Armory Street, site amenities upgrades, and the rebuilding of the lower dam, officials said.

Neal said the federal grant from the National Park Service helps fund a very significant recreational project in Springfield, and helps improve the quality of life for residents.

"When completed, the renovations to Van Horn Park will help improve a vibrant urban open space that the residents of the Liberty Heights and Atwater neighborhoods will enjoy for years to come," Neal said.

Sullivan said the federal grant funds "are a lifeline to urban park systems," culminating a comprehensive plan for Van Horn Park. The city will continue to search for future grant funds for the Carp Pond and upper dam, he said.

Brian Santaniello, chairman of the Park Commission, said the grant funds are great news for visitors to Van Horn Park.

"The park improvements will ensure for quality playground, picnic and splash pad area," Santaniello said. "By local, state, federal government and the business community working together, we can make great things happen for our city."

Two ribbon cutting ceremonies were held Tuesday at the radiology and audiology units.

NORTHAMPTON -- In an effort to offer a holistic approach to medicine and upgrade aging facilities, the VA Central Western Massachusetts Healthcare System in Leeds has improved both its radiology and audiology units as part of multi-year projects.

Officials celebrated the improvements with two ribbon cutting ceremonies Tuesday afternoon. Some of the VA's buildings date to 1922 and have needed upgrades in order to match current needs, said associate director Andrew McMahon, who oversees the healthcare system's facilities. 

Staff including medical center director John Collins were front and center for the ribbon cutting, alongside doctors, veterans and leaders from the American Legion, who he thanked for their ongoing advocacy.

"It's awesome to make a great first impression in a more professional setting and to be able to give back to these veterans who have given so much," said Jill Hawley, chief of audiology and speech pathology. 

Hearing loss and tinnitus are two of the most common problems aging veterans face. The updated audiology clinic offers hearing tests and top-of-the-line hearing aids to veterans, along with treatment options.

The radiology clinic has also undergone about $2.6 million in upgrades and utility restorations, including a new state-of-the-art CT scan machine. The new machine is safer because it gives a lower dose of radiation to patients while offering higher-quality imaging compared with standard machines, said Dr. John D. Hubbard.

"This is a really great addition to our delivery of healthcare," Hubbard said. "We provide a lot of options for tests. Veterans won't need to look elsewhere for their CT imaging."

Above the CT scan machine are bright decorated ceiling tiles with images of the sky, flowers and tree branches -- an idea staff members had to help ease patient stress during scans, said public affairs officer Andre Bowser.

Funding for construction at the Leeds VA, awarded through competitive merit-based grants, has increased considerably over the last few years. In 2015, the facility received $2.1 million, growing to about $6.9 million in 2016, nearly $14 million in 2017, and $19.2 million in 2018. 

Projects have also included additional parking, improving the historic medical center's steam and electrical infrastructure; repaving roads and pathways across campus; and facilitating plans for moves and space upgrades at the medical system's seven other sites of care, according to a press release.

Despite coming to blows on an array of issues as they met for their third and final debate Tuesday, both U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, and Republican challenger Geoff Diehl said they're concerned about the safety of natural gas pipelines in the state.

Despite coming to blows on an array of issues as they met for their third and final debate Tuesday, both U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, and Republican challenger Geoff Diehl said they're concerned about the safety of natural gas pipelines in the state. 

Warren and Diehl, who went head to head during an evening televised forum at WCVB in Needham, agreed that more must be done to address safety concerns relating to natural gas pipelines in wake of explosions that ravaged the Merrimack Valley in September. 

Diehl, a Whitman state representative, said he's "not sure" if natural gas is a safe energy alternative for Massachusetts residents, offering that gas line workers have long raised concerns about them. 

The Republican stressed that the Merrimack Valley explosions "should have never happened," offering that they underscore why the federal government should be more involved in overseeing such lines. 

Warren, meanwhile, noted that she and U.S. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Massachusetts, have raised similar questions about the safety of natural gas lines in Massachusetts -- something she hopes will be addressed at an upcoming U.S. Senate hearing. 

US Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Ed Markey request info on homes damaged, residents displaced by Merrimack Valley gas explosions

"This is really about getting to the bottom of what happened here, getting to the question of how safe natural gas is," she said, arguing that it underscores the issue of who government works for. 

Warren added that she believes there should be a temporary moratorium on new natural gas pipelines in Massachusetts "until we know what went wrong."

Diehl, however, raised concerns about whether Massachusetts could sustain losing such a large amount of its energy sources. 

Warren and Diehl will square off in the Nov. 6 election. Independent U.S. Senate candidate Shiva Ayyadurai will also be on the ballot.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated. 

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, continued to fuel speculation that she will seek a 2020 White House bid Tuesday, reiterating her intention to "look at" a presidential run after the 2018 election.

NEEDHAM -- U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, continued to fuel speculation that she will seek a 2020 White House bid Tuesday, reiterating her intention to "look at" a presidential run after the 2018 election. 

Warren, in her third and final debate against Republican challenger Geoff Diehl at WCVB in Needham, would not say whether she plans to serve her full six-year term if sent back to the Senate this fall. 

The Massachusetts Democrat, who has become an oft-rumored 2020 presidential contender, acknowledged that she plans to "take a look at running for president" after next week's midterm election. 

Elizabeth Warren: 'I will take a hard look at running for President' after midterm elections

The senator, however, stressed that no matter what she decides on 2020, she will always serve in the best interest of Massachusetts residents. 

"I guarantee this: No matter what I do, I will work for the people of the commonwealth of Massachusetts," she said. 

Diehl, who has repeatedly accused Warren of being more focused on the White House than Massachusetts residents, said he will serve his full term if sent to Capitol Hill.

"The answer for me is, 'yes,'" he said. "Ironically, my opponent and President (Donald) Trump do have something in common: Neither one wants to be a senator from Massachusetts, but both want to be president." 

Warren told a crowd in Holyoke last month that she "will take a hard look at running for president," after the Nov. 6 election.

She echoed that plan when asked about her 2020 plans during a stop in Springfield in last week.

The Democrat will face Diehl, a Whitman state representative, and independent candidate Shiva Ayyadurai in the Nov. 6 election. 

Backers of Elizabeth Warren and Geoff Diehl's respective U.S. Senate campaigns braved brisk temperatures and rush-hour traffic Tuesday to rally support ahead of their third and final debate before next week's midterm election.

Backers of Elizabeth Warren and Geoff Diehl's respective U.S. Senate campaigns braved brisk temperatures and rush-hour traffic Tuesday to rally support ahead of the candidates' third and final debate before next week's midterm election. 

Boston-area supporters lined the streets outside WCVB's television studio in Needham, boasting signs for both campaigns, flags and even musical instruments hours before Warren and Diehl took the debate stage.

Sharline Nabulime, of Waltham, said she decided to campaign for Warren outside the debate because she believes the incumbent Democrat has demonstrated her commitment to being a "champion" for Massachusetts in the Senate. 

"Elizabeth Warren understands equity. She's been fighting for all of us to have a level playing field when it comes to achieving the American dream," she said in an interview.

Nabulime, who said she came to the United States as a refugee from Uganda, added that "if it wasn't for people like Elizabeth Warren," she doesn't know what her life would be right now.

"I'm glad that I live in Massachusetts. But, I'm here fighting for others who don't have senators like Elizabeth Warren," she said. "I'm voting for Elizabeth Warren because she's my champion in the Senate and I want it to remain that way."

Patrick Welch, of Amesbury, said he joined other International Union of Painters and Allied Trades members in campaigning for Warren because he believes the incumbent Democrat "supports working people."

Welch added that he likes that Warren "is not a polished politician."

"She's like a regular, down-to-Earth person, kind of like the opposite of (former President Barack) Obama in the way she carries herself. But, she's honest, she's sincere, and she comes from working class roots," he said. "I think that, unlike (President Donald) Trump, she probably really has more empathy and understanding for what working people go through."

Danny Avery, a Westborough resident who campaigned for Diehl outside the debate, however, offered a different take on the incumbent senator. 

"She lies ... I was listening to the people who were chanting for Warren and they were saying how great she was at supporting the hardworking Americans. If she's supporting the hardworking Americans, why doesn't she vote for building the wall?" he said.

Avery, who called Warren "a horrible, horrible representative" for Massachusetts, added that he supports Diehl because offers such a stark contrast to the current senator.

"He's the absolute opposite of (Warren,)" he said. "I just feel Geoff Diehl is going to be a better opportunity. One of his number one things, is doing something about the opioid crisis. Have you heard that out of Elizabeth Warren? I haven't. All I've heard from her is 'oppose,' 'oppose.'" 

Sharon Massaadi, meanwhile, said she traveled from Quincy to campaign for Diehl because she believes he's "a wonderful person."

"He always listens to everybody, he takes the time to talk to you and you can ask him any question and he'll listen to you -- he'll pay attention," she said. "He's a good guy. He believes in all the patriotic, American values -- that's what I believe in."

Warren and Diehl will go head-to-head in the Nov. 6 election.

Independent U.S. Senate candidate Shiva Ayyadurai will also appear on the November ballot against Warren and Diehl. 

Ayyadurai, who has protested his exclusion from the three U.S. Senate debates, was notably absent from the crowd outside the WCVB forum. 

Shiva Ayyadurai supporters disrupt Springfield US Senate debate

Supporters of the independent candidate's campaign disrupted a debate at WGBY in Springfield earlier this month. 

The Massachusetts Police Association Tuesday evening announced it was suspending the duties of Lt. Rick Pedrini after backlash over comments Pedrini had made in columns written for the organization's newsletter, The Sentinel.

The Massachusetts Police Association Tuesday evening announced it was suspending the duties of Lt. Rick Pedrini after backlash over comments Pedrini had made in columns written for the organization's newsletter, The Sentinel.

"Some of the columns that were written in the latest issue of The Sentinel newsletter do not uphold the high standards of the MPA and its mission, the association said in a statement it posted to Twitter Tuesday evening. "The columns in question, which were meant to be taken in a tongue-in-cheek satirical fashion were written for an audience of law enforcement officers and were not meant to be taken literally. They were an evocative response to the emotion felt by all police officers around the state due to the recent senseless deaths of Weymouth Police Officer Michael Chesney and Yarmouth Police Officer Sean Gannon."

Pedrini, an Arlington police lieutenant who was slated to become the MPA's executive director, penned three columns railing against criminal justice reform, progressive policing practices, migrants seeking asylum and Colin Kaepernick.

"I am sick and tired of the social justice warriors telling us how to do our jobs. It's time we forget about 'restraint', 'measured responses', 'procedural justice', 'de-escalation', 'stigma-reduction', and other feel-good BS that is getting our officers killed," Pedrini wrote in the 2018 edition of The Sentinel. "Let's stop lipsynching, please! Let's meet violence with violence and get the job done."

Arlington Police Chief Frederick Ryan told MassLive earlier on Tuesday that Pedrini's comments do not represent the department's viewpoints or policies. Following publication of a story about the columns on MassLive Tuesday, Arlington police relieved Pedrini of duty and placed him on paid administrative leave from the police department. The announcement of Pedrini being relieved of his duties with the Mass. Police Association followed several hours later. 

Pedrini's comments drew support from some in the public, but also were quickly condemned by political leaders around the state.

Hours after the controversial columns surfaced, Gov. Charlie Baker said Pedrini should not be allowed to hold a leadership position in the organization.

Terry MacCormack, a spokesman for Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito's re-election campaign, said they "strongly condemn these disturbing comments that contradict collaborative policing efforts throughout the commonwealth's communities, support the town of Arlington's investigation, and believe that Lt. Pedrini should not hold a leadership role at the Association."

Jay Gonzalez, a Democrat challenging Baker for the governor's office, said earlier Tuesday that he was "disgusted" by Pedrini's comments.

"Rick Pedrini is not suited to lead the Massachusetts Police Association. Governor Baker has been endorsed by the MPA and therefore should immediately demand the organization replace Rick Pedrini," Gonzalez said in a statement. "The public needs to be able to trust our law enforcement officers and Lt. Pedrini has lost that trust."

The association, while stating that the comments were not in line with the values of the police association, defended Pedrini's service.

"Lt. Pedrini is a strong advocate for the law enforcement community and has been throughout his career," the statement by the association read.