The 44-year-old High School of Commerce teacher has lost his job for allegedly punching a vice principal in the face after receiving a poor performance evaluation.

An updated version of this story is now available at MassLive.

SPRINGFIELD — Teacher Willie Vega has been fired for allegedly assaulting a vice principal at the High School Commerce, city school officials announced Tuesday – the same day as Vega's scheduled arraignment in Springfield District Court on assault and other charges stemming from the Dec. 13 incident.

The termination is effective as of today, Springfield Public Schools spokeswoman Azell Cavaan said in a statement issued at 8:23 a.m. Tuesday.

"Springfield Public Schools administrators have notified a nine-year veteran teacher that his employment with the school department has been terminated in connection with last week’s assault against an administrator at the High School of Commerce," Cavaan said.

Vega, 44, is accused of assaulting a female vice principal after receiving a poor performance evaluation. Vega has been on administrative leave since the incident.

Vega will face charges of assault and battery, assault and battery on a public employee and kidnapping at today's arraignment.

According to Springfield police, he became enraged while reading a copy of his evaluation during a Dec. 13 meeting with the vice principal at the State Street high school. He grabbed the report from the woman, stabbed the document with a pen, then crumpled it up, police said.

“Mr. Vega then stood up and punched the vice principal in the face, causing her to fall from her chair,” Sgt. John M. Delaney said.

The vice principal, who hasn't been publicly identified, attempted to flee her office, but Vega blocked the door to the room, police said. The woman managed to call for help on a portable radio.

Authorities said she was taken to a local hospital and treated for a face contusion.

Vega refused to answer questions at a school disciplinary hearing held last week. His decision to remain silent was based on advice from a teacher’s union lawyer, according to Timothy T. Collins, president of the Springfield Education Association.

Collins said Vega had no history of serious disciplinary issues, but he acknowledged that the teacher could be fired for his alleged actions.

A kidnapping charge was added after investigators determined that Vega had held the vice principal against her will, police said.

Cavaan said Vega had not worked since the alleged assault, giving school officials time to conduct an internal review of the matter. The decision to fire the teacher was based on the results of that review, which concluded that Vega had struck the vice principal, Cavaan said.

Romney read Letterman's "Top Ten Things Mitt Romney Would Like to Say to the American People."

Associated PressRepublican presidential candidate Mitt Romney signs autographs after taping an episode of the "Late Show with David Letterman," in New York, Monday, Dec. 19, 2011.

NEW YORK — What would Mitt Romney like to say to the American people? How about this: "Newt Gingrich? Really?"

That's one of the playful messages Romney announced to laughter Monday night on CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman." The Republican presidential hopeful delivered the nightly "Top Ten" list in khakis, shirt and a blue blazer without a tie. Letterman asked the casually dressed candidate, "How'd you do on the back nine?"

While Romney took a gentle dig at Gingrich, his main rival for the GOP nomination, he poked fun at himself too. "Isn't it time," he asked, "for a president who looks like a 1970s game show host?"

And: "I can do a lot, but even I can't fix the Indianapolis Colts."

Romney's No. 1 thing to tell Americans? "It's a hair piece."

___

Letterman's "Top Ten Things Mitt Romney Would Like to Say to the American People":

No. 10 — "Isn't it time for a president who looks like a 1970s game show host?"

No. 9 — "What's up, gangstas? It's the M-I-Double Tizzle."

No. 8 — "I have no proof, but I have a feeling Canada is planning something."

No. 7 — "Actually, I'm only here to meet Tom Cruise."

No. 6 — "Live from New York, it's Saturday night!"

No. 5 — "My new cologne is now available at Macy's. It's Mittstified."

No. 4 — "I just used all my campaign money to buy a zoo with Matt Damon."

No. 3 — "I can do a lot, but even I can't fix the Indianapolis Colts."

No. 2 — "Newt Gingrich? Really?"

No. 1 — "It's a hair piece."

The town’s superintendent announced that he was ending the tradition because, he said, Santa is a religious figure.

SAUGUS – Santa Claus will be visiting Saugus schools after all.

The town’s superintendent on Monday announced that he was ending a nearly 50-year-old tradition of off-duty firefighters dressed as Santa visiting elementary schools to hand out coloring books and crayons to children because he said Santa is a religious figure.

Richard Langlois reversed his decision later in the day after an outcry from firefighters and citizens who say Santa is a secular symbol.

Fire Chief James Blanchard told The Daily Item of Lynn he was “taken aback” by the original decision, but is glad it was reversed.

School Committee member Arthur Grabowski says the superintendent didn’t consult the board before making the original decision he said was “political correctness gone awry.”

The superintendent said the tradition will be revisited next year.

Children will face increasingly difficult challenges such as creating a structure that will support the weight of three science books.

Republican staff photo by Dave RobackFifth-grader Nora Carriveau works on a project in the engineering after-school class at the Herbert Bowie School in Chicopee.

CHICOPEE – Although her classmates at Herbert V. Bowie School were convinced that a square was stronger, Kaylee Lendry was sure it was the triangle.

Her teammates went along with her and, using a triangle design, were able to build a tower of index cards that was strong enough to hold the “Bowie Bow Wow,” a small toy dog.

“The triangle wouldn’t break,” said Lendry, a fifth-grader. “Last week I used cubes and it didn’t work.”

The challenge was done during the second day of the after-school LEGO engineering club that is teaching students basic engineering skills and having them test different concepts while working with LEGO bricks and other building materials, such as index cards and ice cream sticks.

The club, which is held two days a week after school, kicked off in December after the School Committee approved spending $11,000 to fund a variety of after-school programs at Bowie.

The club is not so much for students who want to play with LEGOs but more designed to teach children basic engineering concepts and put them to use to build bridges. Students also learn how to estimate the cost of a project, since real engineers cannot over design a project because it will cost too much to build, said Grace Schofield, the Bowie science teacher who is also leading the club.

Republican staff photo by Dave RobackNathan Whitehead works on a project in the engineering after-school class at the Herbert Bowie School in Chicopee.

Since students are divided into groups and only given a limited amount of materials. They also learn how to work as a team, she said.

“I thought it would be fun and I want to be an architect,” said Nathan Padua, a fifth-grader, explaining why he wanted to join the after-school club.

In the recent challenge, Padua said his team tried a different idea to build a tower of index cards. When it didn’t work, they tried an idea that another team was using with triangles and it was more successful.

Every week Schofield introduces a new engineering concept to the students and also challenges them to build something new. Over time they will have to incorporate different things they learned as the challenges grow more and more difficult.

After the first challenge, Schofield introduced students to posts and lintels, explaining the lintel is a board or something held up by a post. She then asked students to look around the room to identify items using the concept.

Children identified a chair with the legs as posts and the seat brace as a lintel; a table, window frames and, finally, the door frame with a little hinting from Schofield. They then were given a blueprint and boxes of LEGOs and told to build a post and lintel themselves.

“I like it. It is very interesting to build things,” said Ethan Spivey, a fifth-grader.

Later, children will face challenges such as building a wall that will be able to withstand a wrecking ball, and a post and lintel that will support the weight of three science books, Schofield said.

Crimmins paints landscapes as well as abstract paintings.

Photos by Don Treeger / The RepublicanArtist Kristine Crimmins shows some of her paintings that are on display at the Wilbraham Public Library all this month.

WILBRAHAM - Kristine Crimmins will be exhibiting her paintings at the Wilbraham Public Library through the end of December.

She paints landscapes as well as abstract pictures using both oil and acrylic paints.

One of the processes she uses is called monotype. She uses oil paints on specialty papers and then hand presses them on paper.

Her painting, “Red Roses,” is one of those paintings. She was not exactly sure what the work would represent until she printed it.

“It was a surprise,” she said. The work won an honorable mention at the Piedmont Art Show in Somers.

It is on display at the Wilbraham Public Library.

Also on display are some of her landscape paintings of the Enfield lookout at Quabbin, the Wilbraham Town Hall, the first hole at the Wilbraham Country Club and the Springfield skyline.

“Midnight Dancers’ is painted with acrylic paints.

The model in her art class changed her poses so quickly that Crimmins painted a variety of views of her legs in motion. The painting shows a series of “short poses,” Crimmins said.

For Crimmins, painting is a hobby, although she said she is trying to turn it into a business.

The paintings on exhibit in the Brooks Room of the Wilbraham Public Library are for sale at various prices.

There are prints of the works also available for sale.

Crimmins exhibits in the Artist Square Group Gallery in Tower Square in downtown Springfield.

She also paints on silk scarves. Besides paintings the Artist Square Group Gallery sells pottery, antiques, glass and jewelry, Crimmins said.

Crimmins is a member of the Wilbraham Art League, the Tobacco Valley Art Association, the Cape Cod Art Association and the Artist Square Group Gallery in Tower Square which is located near the Food Court.

The gallery in Tower Square is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. until 5 p.m.

Crimmins can be reached at kristinecrimmins@gmail.com or at 596-4057.

About 10 inches of snow had fallen in western Kansas before dawn Tuesday.

Associated PressSidewalks get cleared along the Paseo de Peralta in Santa Fe, N.M. as Santa Fe residents deal with the winter storm that hit Monday Dec. 19, 2011.

WICHITA, Kan. (AP) — Fierce winds and snow that caused fatal road accidents and shuttered highways in five states, crawled deeper into the Great Plains early Tuesday, with forecasters warning that pre-holiday travel would be difficult if not impossible across the region.

Hotels were filling up quickly along major roadways from eastern New Mexico to Kansas, and nearly 100 rescue calls came in from motorists in the Texas Panhandle as blizzard conditions forced closed part of Interstate 40, a major east-west route, Monday night.

About 10 inches of snow had fallen in western Kansas before dawn Tuesday and several more inches along with strong wind gusts were expected, National Weather Service meteorologist Marc Russell said.

"We're talking about whiteout conditions," he said.

Heather Haltli, 29, and her husband were traveling from their home at Hill Air Force Base in Utah to attend a family funeral in Abilene, Texas, but the storm slowed them down so badly that they had to take refuge at the Comfort Inn in Garden City, Kan.

"We've been traveling about 20 miles per hour all the way from Denver," Haltli said Tuesday. She said they had passed up to 15 wrecks including rollovers, upside down cars and jackknifed trucks as they drove through Colorado.

"I don't think we'll be able to make the funeral, but we'll keep going," she said.

Colorado Highway Patrol trooper Nate Reid said the freezing rain and fog came in so fast on Monday that it caught a lot of drivers unaware.

"I can't even count how many rollovers we had," Reid said.

Snowpack and icy conditions forced the closure of roadways across western and southwestern Kansas, including a western section of the I-70, the main thoroughfare that traverses the state.

"Southwest Kansas is pretty much shut down completely," Derek Latham, a dispatcher for the Kansas Highway Patrol in Salina said early Tuesday. "I have one trooper who almost went into a ditch this morning, and he came across four other cars that went into a ditch. That was just this morning."

The storm was blamed for at least six deaths Monday, authorities said. Four people were killed when their vehicle collided with a pickup truck in part of eastern New Mexico where blizzard-like conditions are rare, and a prison guard and inmate died when a prison van crashed along an icy roadway in eastern Colorado.

The late-autumn snowstorm lumbered into the region Monday, turning roads to ice and reducing visibility to zero. The conditions put state road crews on alert and had motorists taking refuge and early exits off major roads across the region.

In northern New Mexico, snow and ice shuttered all roads from Raton to the Texas and Oklahoma borders about 90 miles away. Hotels in Clayton, N.M., just east of where the three states touch, were nearly full. Multiple highways remained closed early Tuesday.

Linda Pape, general manager of the Clayton Super 8 motel said it was packed with unhappy skiers who had been headed to lodges in Colorado and elsewhere in New Mexico.

"They lost a day or two of skiing, and they had budgeted an amount of money they were going to spend, and now they have to spend more staying somewhere else," she said.

Pape said it's not uncommon for skiers to get stuck in Clayton during the winter, and she keeps two freezers and a refrigerator stocked in case roads are closed.

"They are not happy, but we are not letting them go hungry," she said.

The storm came after much of the country had a relatively mild fall. With the exception of the October snowstorm blamed for 29 deaths on the East Coast, there's been little rain or snow. Many of the areas hit Monday enjoyed relatively balmy 60-degree temperatures just 24 hours earlier.

Snowfall tapered off early Tuesday in the Oklahoma Panhandle, although the weather service warned of blowing snow and single digit temperatures later after dark. Up to a foot of snow fell in Boise City, Okla.

On Monday, mail carrier Vicki Roberts said she could no longer see the nearby 4,973-foot-tall Black Mesa, the highest point in Oklahoma, from the window of her home in Kenton.

"I have a mail route and I'm not going," Roberts said. "You just don't get out in this. We'll be socked in here. If we lose power, we'll just read a book in front of the fireplace."

Travel throughout the region was difficult. New Mexico shut down a portion of Interstate 25, the major route heading northeast of Santa Fe into Colorado, and Clayton police dispatcher Cindy Blackwell said her phones were "ringing off the hook" with calls from numerous motorists stuck on rural roads.

Bill Cook, who works at the Best Western in Clayton, said he hadn't seen such a storm since the 1970s, when cattle had to be airlifted with helicopters and the National Guard was called in to help out. His hotel was packed Monday with people "happy they have a room," and some of the children were playing outside in the snow.

Keith Barras, the owner of the Eklund Hotel, a landmark in Clayton since the 1890s, said guests were happily milling around the lobby and he expected to be full by nightfall.

"We have lots of board games, one of our customers has a guitar, we have a piano, so there'll be a party tonight," Barras said.

“She’s blown me away,” said Paul Piquette. “She’s driven.”

Photo by Dave Roback / The RepublicanMembers of the Granby Dufresne Park Ad Hoc committee and the Granby Spirit of all Recreation committee gather for a meeting. From left are Richard Gaj, Sr., ad hoc chair, Paul E. Piquette, ad hoc vice chair, Diane Piquette, SOARS director, Christine Barkyoumb, SOARS treasurer, Richard Gaj, Jr., ad hoc member, Irene Bergeron, SOARS secretary, and Terry Lajoie, ad hoc secretary. They are meeting in the Granby Public Safety complex.

GRANBY – Every town should be so lucky as to have a Diane Piquette.

Piquette is an accountant from Granby who describes herself as shy and quiet. In October, she also became the founder and director of Granby SOARS, or Spirit of All Recreation Society.

The group raises funds for Dufresne Park, a 280-acre sanctuary in Granby with baseball fields, horse corrals, a soccer field, a gated dog park, a playground, a gazebo and pavilions.

People use Dufresne Park for celebrations of all kinds, from weddings to tractor pulls to dog shows that draw 300 people. It has quiet trails for hiking and a pond stocked with fish.

“That park is one of the best assets this town has,” said Selectboard member Lou Barry.

Piquette used to visit the park as a child. Later she took her own children there. “I love it all,” she said. Now her grandchildren use it.

The park supports itself by renting out its pavilions, but times are tough.

The storms this year ravaged the landscape. “Right now the trails are in dire trouble,” said Lisa Anderson, a member of an Dufresne Park ad hoc committee. “Trees are down and widow-makers are hanging everywhere.”

The stove in the main pavilion needs a new hood, to the tune of $5,000 or more. The fence around the dog park is broken and rusted – “a safety hazard,” said Piquette.

She would hear about such problems from her husband, Paul Piquette, a retired forester who joined the ad hoc committee last summer.

Diane decided to take action. She could see that Dufresne Park needed a fund-raising group along the lines of Friends of the Library, or Friends of the Elderly.

She decided to make it a 501C nonprofit agency, so donations would be tax-deductible.

She has been an accountant for 20 years. But nothing prepared her for the arduous task she took on. Filling out a Form 1023 “took me forever,” she said. But she dove right in.

“I was up until three or four in the morning reading regulations,” she said. She wrote a mission statement, ethical policies, everything the state and federal governments needed.

She records the name of every donor and where they want their money to go. She hopes to rally high school kids for a spring clean-up.

Even her husband is amazed by the way this quiet woman has sprung into action. “She’s blown me away,” said Paul. “She’s driven.”

Diane and the other two members of SOARS, Irene Bergeron and Barkyoumb, sent out 100 letters asking for donations. “In four days we made $800,” Diane told the Selectboard.

She was working so hard that by the time she met with the Selectboard to tell them what she was going to do, she had already done it.

“We should have asked first,” she told them meekly.

Piquette was surrounded by members of SOARS and the ad hoc committee, who also spoke eagerly on behalf of their park at the meeting.

What could the Selectboard say? When they got a word in edgewise, they basically asked these dedicated people to report back to them once in a while.

For information on how to make a donation, email granbysoars@gmail.com.

The Dow Jones industrial average, which fell 100 points Monday, was up 236 points in early trading.

Associated Press photoNike shoes are displayed at a shoe store in San Francisco earlier this year. Nike Inc., releases quarterly financial results after the market close Tuesday.

NEW YORK – Stocks surged in early trading Tuesday following encouraging signs out of Europe and a jump in apartment building in the U.S.

German business and consumer confidence rose unexpectedly in December, and the Spanish government pulled off a successful debt auction.

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 236 points, or 2 percent, to 12,005 as of 10 a.m. Eastern time. It fell 100 points the day before. Caterpillar Inc. rose 3.5 percent, the largest gain of the 30 Dow stocks.

Borrowing costs for the Spanish government plunged at an auction of short-term debt, a sign that investors are becoming more confident in the country’s ability to pay back its debt.

Spain raised (euro) 5.6 billion ($7.3 billion), much more than its goal of (euro) 4.5 billion. Investors demanded an interest rate of only 1.74 percent to lend to the government for three months, a steep fall from the 5.1 percent at an auction in November.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 25 points, or 2.1 percent, to 1,231. Energy and materials stocks made the largest gains.

The Nasdaq rose 56, or 2.2 percent, to 2,579.

Europe’s major stock markets also rose. Germany’s DAX soared 2.6 percent. France’s CAC-40 jumped 2.4 percent.

The Commerce Department said builders broke ground on 685,000 new homes last month, a 9.3 percent jump from October. That’s the highest level since April 2010.

Building permits, a gauge of future construction, increased 5.7 percent, spurred by a jump in apartment permits.

The report sent housing stocks sharply higher. PulteGroup Inc. jumped 5.4 percent. D.R. Horton Inc. Lennar Corp. each rose 4.5 percent.

General Mills Inc. dropped 2.3 percent after reporting that its quarterly profit sank 28 percent. The maker of Cheerios and Yoplait yogurt blamed higher costs for ingredients and packaging for pinching profit margins.

School officials said Vega was fired following an internal investigation into the incident.

This is an updated version of a story posted at 8:35 this morning.

Photo by Michael S. Gordon / The RepublicanFormer High School of Commerce teacher Willie Vega appears in Springfield District Court Tuesday on charges of striking a school administrator last week.

SPRINGFIELD – Teacher Willie Vega denied charges Tuesday that he assaulted a vice-principal last week at the High School of Commerce

Vega was arraigned in Springfield District Court a short time after school officials announced that he had been fired following an internal investigation into the incident that occurred on Dec. 13.

Vega, 44, is accused of assaulting a female vice principal after receiving a poor performance evaluation. Vega has been on administrative leave since the incident.

Vega denied charges of assault and battery, assault and battery on a public employee and kidnapping at today’s arraignment. District Court Judge Mark Mason, said Vega, who was summoned to court, will be released on his own recognizance. His only condition was to stay away from the victim

A pre-trial hearing was set for Jan. 25.

Vega’s termination is effective as of Tuesday, Springfield Public Schools spokeswoman Azell Cavaan said in a statement issued at 8:23 a.m.

“Springfield Public Schools administrators have notified a nine-year veteran teacher that his employment with the school department has been terminated in connection with last week’s assault against an administrator at the High School of Commerce,“ Cavaan said.

According to Springfield police, Vega became enraged while reading a copy of his evaluation during a Dec. 13 meeting with the vice principal at the State Street high school. He grabbed the report from the woman, stabbed the document with a pen, then crumpled it up, police said.

“Mr. Vega then stood up and punched the vice principal in the face, causing her to fall from her chair,” Sgt. John M. Delaney said.

The vice principal, who hasn’t been publicly identified, attempted to flee her office, but Vega blocked the door to the room, police said.

The woman managed to call for help on a portable radio. Authorities said she was taken to a local hospital and treated for a face contusion.

Vega refused to answer questions at a school disciplinary hearing held last week. His decision to remain silent was based on advice from a teacher’s union lawyer, according to Timothy T. Collins, president of the Springfield Education Association.

Collins said Vega had no history of serious disciplinary issues, but he acknowledged that the teacher could be fired for his alleged actions.

A kidnapping charge was added after investigators determined Vega had held the vice principal against her will, police said.

Cavaan said Vega had not worked since the alleged assault, allowing school officials time to conduct a full review of the matter.

The decision to fire Vega was based on the results of the internal review, which concluded that Vega struck the vice principal, Cavaan said.

Staff writers Conor Berry and George Graham contributed to this report.

The Longmeadow Knights will compete at the National High School Cheerleading Competition at Walt Disney World in February.

View full sizeMembers of the Longmeadow Knights cheerleading team get ready to head off to national competition at Disney World hosted by ESPN in February.

LONGMEADOW– For Sydney Walt, 13, of Longmeadow, cheerleading is more than just cheering at football games and pep rallies.

“A lot of people don’t realize that it is a sport and takes a lot of training and dedication,” said Walt, a member of the Longmeadow Knights.

The Knights have been selected to participate in the National High School Cheerleading Competition at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida in February.

“We are so excited,” she said. “This is a really big opportunity for us.”

The Knights team is made up of 22 girls from Longmeadow ranging from fourth to eighth grade. The team is sponsored by the Longmeadow Parks and Recreation Department.

“When I first started we didn’t go to a lot of competitions, but now we compete a lot and we take it very seriously,” she said.

Head coach Jessica Prokop said the team has worked very hard to get to this point and deserves an opportunity to compete at such a high level.

The national competition at Disney is considered the most prestigious cheerleading championship in the country. This ESPN-hosted event is nationally televised on ESPN and ESPN2 to over 100 million homes and 32 countries nationwide each year.

“It’s really an honor for us to be a part of it,” Walt said.

The team recently won the Grand Championship at Jingle Jam in Worcester, a cheerleading competition for teams across the state. They have also participated in several other competitions in Boston, Rhode Island and Georgia.

Prokop said it’s great to see girls of different ages working together for the same goal.

The team is now trying to raise money so that all 22 girls can participate in the national competition. They have already been holding bake sales and car washes to raise funds and they will also be holding a megaphone collection outside the Longmeadow Shops soon. They are now looking for corporate sponsorships.

Anyone interested in sponsoring the team can contact longmeadowknights@gmail.com. To learn more about the team visit www.lprd.net or www.longmeadowbizz.com where there is a fan page for the girls and updates on their upcoming events.

Prosecutors said Mehanna and two friends conspired to travel to Yemen so they could receive training at a terrorism camp and eventually go on to Iraq to fight and kill U.S. soldiers there.

Tarek Mehanna

BOSTON – A Sudbury man was convicted Tuesday of conspiring to help al-Qaida and plotting to kill U.S. soldiers in Iraq.

Tarek Mehanna, 24, of Sudbury, faced four terror-related charges and three charges of lying to authorities. A federal jury convicted him Tuesday of all counts.

Prosecutors said Mehanna and two friends conspired to travel to Yemen so they could receive training at a terrorism camp and eventually go on to Iraq to fight and kill U.S. soldiers there.

When the men were unable to find such a training camp, Mehanna returned home and began to see himself as part of the al-Qaida “media wing,” translating materials promoting violent jihad and distributing them over the Internet, prosecutors said.

Mehanna, who was born in the U.S. and raised in the Boston suburbs, will be sentenced April 12 and could be sent to prison for the rest of his life. His mother, Souad Mehanna, sobbed after the verdict was read and was consoled by her younger son, Tamer. Mehanna’s lawyers also wept.

Mehanna’s father, Ahmed, a professor at the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, said he was stunned by the verdict.

“I can’t even think,” he said. “It was political.”

During the trial that started in October, Mehanna’s attorneys portrayed him as an aspiring scholar of Islam who traveled to Yemen to look for religious schools, not to get terrorist training. They said his translation and distribution of controversial publications was free speech protected by the First Amendment.

Prosecutors focused on hundreds of online chats on Mehanna’s computer in which they said he and his friends talked about their desire to participate in jihad, or holy war. Several of those friends were called by prosecutors to testify against Mehanna, including one man who said he, Mehanna and a third friend tried to get terrorism training in Yemen so they could fight American soldiers in Iraq.

Mehanna’s lawyers told jurors that prosecutors were using scare tactics by portraying Mehanna as a would-be terrorist and were trying to punish him for his beliefs.

The defense built its case on the testimony of a half dozen terrorism experts. Mehanna did not testify.

His lawyers acknowledged that Mehanna expressed admiration for Osama bin Laden, but said he disagreed with bin Laden and other al-Qaida leaders about many things, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.

Jurors began deliberating Friday. In his instructions, U.S. District Judge George O’Toole Jr. told them that in order to find Mehanna guilty of conspiracy to provide material support to al-Qaida, they must find that he worked “in coordination with or at the direction of” the terrorist organization. He said independent advocacy on behalf of the organization was not a violation of the law.

The Assistance to Firefighters Grants totaling $1,277,046 include more than $129,000 for the Ludlow and North Adams fire departments in the western part of the state

The Ludlow and North Adams fire departments will be receiving more than $129,000 to upgrade equipment.

BOSTON, Mass. – Seven fire departments across the commonwealth will be upgrading equipment and facilities in 2012 thanks to a recent round of Federal Emergency Management Agency grants.

The Assistance to Firefighters Grants totaling $1,277,046 include more than $129,000 for the Ludlow and North Adams fire departments in the western part of the state.

"We got a real-life reminder last week in Worcester that firefighters put their lives on the line every time that alarm bell rings," said democratic Sen. John Kerry, referencing the death of Worcester firefighter Jon Davies. "It should stiffen everyone’s spines about giving them the tools they need to be safe doing a dangerous job."

Republican Sen. Scott Brown said he was thankful for the grant money and will continue his efforts to bring such funding home to the Bay State.

“Our heroic firefighters deserve to have the equipment and training they need, and I am thankful these resources have been made available to our local departments,” Brown said. “I will continue working within the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee to make sure the Assistance to Firefighters Grants are there for the men and women who serve our communities.”

U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Springfield, said that the grants are part of a larger, coordinated effort to strengthen the nation's overall level of preparedness and ability to respond to fire and related emergencies.

"I have always believed that our firefighters and first-responders deserve the resources necessary to do their jobs effectively," said Neal. "They need federal support to improve their capability to respond to fires quickly and professionally."

Since 2001, the grant program has provided approximately $5 billion in grants to first-responder organizations to obtain much needed response equipment, personal protective equipment, firefighting and emergency vehicle, and training.

The following Massachusetts fire departments have received AFG funding for the new year:

Ludlow Fire Department- $103,950

North Adams Fire Department- $25,840

Somerville Fire Department- $217,862

Swansea Fire Department- $372,397

Worcester Fire Department- $405,139

Halifax Fire Department- $129,618

Malden Fire Department- $22,240

The mother of a missing 20-month-old girl filed paperwork seeking sole custody a day before the girl disappeared from the father's home.

This undated photo obtained from a facebook page shows missing toddler Alya Reynolds. Police in Maine are appealing to the public for help in locating the 20-month-old girl who was last seen Friday night. Waterville Police Chief Joseph Massey held a news conference this afternoon to ask anyone with information about Ayla Reynolds to call police. Ayla's father called police yesterday morning to report that his daughter was not in her bed and couldn't be found. She was last seen sleeping at about 10 p.m. Friday by a family member. (AP Photo/obtained from Facebook)

By GLENN ADAMS, Associated Press

WATERVILLE, Maine (AP) — The mother of a missing 20-month-old girl filed paperwork seeking sole custody a day before the girl disappeared from the father's home, and she said she wants answers from "the last man to see my daughter."

Trista Reynolds told ABC's "Good Morning America" that she and Ayla Reynold's father have been unable to get along in the last few weeks. She said she didn't tell the father, Justin DiPietro, that she'd filed the court paperwork Thursday.

"I've had no contact with him; he's had no contact with me. All I know is he's the last man to see my daughter, and all I want to know where she is," she said Monday.

A phone number for Justin DiPietro couldn't immediately be located. Police were posted outside his house on Monday and said DiPietro was not home.

Over the weekend, police appealed for the public's help in finding the youngster after the father called police Saturday morning to report that his daughter was not in her bed and couldn't be found. Ayla was last seen Friday night.

Wardens search a field for a missing toddler, Monday, Dec. 19, 2011, in Waterville, Maine. Over the weekend, police appealed for the public's help in finding missing 20-month-old Ayla Reynold after her father called police Saturday morning to report that his daughter was not in her bed and couldn't be found. Ayla was last seen Friday night. The Maine Warden Service, the FBI and Maine State Police are assisting Waterville police in the search. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

On Monday, the Maine Warden Service was focusing its search efforts on Messalonskee Stream, which passes a few blocks from the father's home. The FBI and Maine State Police were also assisting Waterville police, said Steve McCausland, spokesman for the Maine Department of Public Safety.

The search continued on Tuesday.

Ayla, who's blond and 2-feet, 9-inches tall, was last seen wearing green one-piece pajamas with polka dots and the words "Daddy's Princess" on them. She had a soft cast on her left arm; Waterville Police Chief Joseph Massey said Ayla broke her arm in a fall three weeks ago.

Massey said investigators interviewed the father, who lives in Waterville, and the mother, who lives in Portland, as well as other family members. He said they all were cooperative.

Authorities interviewed neighbors and searched the area Saturday and Sunday. They also used a search dog at the girl's house to make sure she was not hidden in a closet or some other small space, Massey said.

The police chief said all possibilities were being investigated, including abduction.

"Everything is open. Everything is on the table," he said. "We have not uncovered any information that has sent us in any direction."

Waterville is about 20 miles north of Augusta.

The search appears to be centered in the Williams Street area, according to the Daily Hampshire Gazette.

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Republican file photo

NORTHAMPTON — Police, including a K-9 unit and state police helicopter, were searching for a man in the Meadows area of the city late Tuesday morning, the Daily Hampshire Gazette has reported.

The search is for a man wanted on a warrant, according to the report. It appears to be centered in the Williams Street area and in fields on both sides of Interstate 91.

Additional information was not immediately available.

The Republican led House of Representatives voted Tuesday to reject a Senate plan to extend unemployment benefits and payroll tax cuts for two months.

House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio walks to the House floor on Capitol Hill in Washington as Republicans in the House of Representatives were about to block a Senate proposal to extend a popular tax cut for working Americans for two months. The vote set up a showdown between Boehner and his own party in the Senate plus President Obama and the Democrats. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

WASHINGTON D.C. - Following the rejection of the bipartisan Senate measure for a two-month extension to the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits, most members of the U.S. House of Representatives were planning to leave the nation's capital for holiday vacation.

The Republican-led House vowed to reject the measure earlier this week, citing their displeasure with the compromised bill. On Tuesday afternoon, they voted 229 to 193 to re-open negotiations with the Senate, which effectively kills the bill without allowing supporters to vote for its approval.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said that a two-month extension was unacceptable as House Republicans favored a one-year extension to the benefits.

Senators from both parties said the two-month extension was a stop-gap measure that would alleviate the financial fears of 160 million Americans over the holiday season while allowing enough time for lawmakers to negotiate about how to pay for a further extension.

Following Boehner's criticism of the bill on Sunday, Republican Sen. Scott Brown released a statement critical of what he called an "unwillingness to compromise."

On Tuesday after the vote, Brown once again chastised his House colleagues.

“It angers me that House Republicans would rather continue playing politics than find solutions.Their actions will hurt American families and be detrimental to our fragile economy," Brown said. "We are Americans first; now is not the time for drawing lines in the sand. Without a resolution, millions of workers will take home smaller paychecks, and families relying on unemployment benefits will lose their lifeline. Of all the ugly partisanship that has disappointed the nation this year, this latest episode will hurt hard working Americans directly and immediately. Both parties need to get back to the drawing board and work together for the benefit of our country.”

Without further action, the payroll tax rate will revert to 6.2 percent on Jan. 1, costing nearly 160 million workers a two-month tax break worth nearly $170 annually.

Long-term unemployed citizens will see their benefits disappear on Jan. 1 and there will be a 27 percent decrease in doctors' Medicare reimbursements.

Critics have said that the decrease to Medicare reimbursements may discourage some physicians from treating Medicare-covered patients.

Montague DPW Superintendent Tom Bergeron thinks there may be too many signs in that area.

Photo by Michael S. Gordon / The RepublicanThe pedestrian crosswalks are seen on Unity Street where Unity meets Keith Street, High Street and Broadview Heights.

Question: I am hoping you can help with a longtime problem in our town, in a spot where cars rarely stop for pedestrians.

Five streets intersect at the “crest of the hill” in Turners Falls across from Scotty’s convenience store. It’s a risky situation pulling in and out, etc., and the state made improvements about a year and a half ago with curbing for pedestrian crossings. But the majority of cars whiz by anyone waiting to cross – even my husband, who uses a wheelchair. There are speed limit signs on the state road, (Millers Falls Road) approaching from the south, but they are so old, the reflective material is gone, so no signs are visible in the dark. Drivers are not much more forgiving coming up the hill (state road – Unity Street).

Is there any chance the state can install some cones or warning signs in the area?

– Angela Conti,
Turners Falls

Answer: The area in question is not a state road, and is under the jurisdiction of the town, according to state Department of Transportation spokesman Mike Verseckes.

Montague’s Department of Public Works Superintendent Tom Bergeron said the whole area is signed properly and the crosswalks are repainted every year. The work done 1½ years ago cost $80,000 and was completed “for that purpose, to make that intersection safer,” said Bergeron.

He said the amount of signage, though, could be part of the problem. The area may have “sign pollution,” he said, or so many signs that drivers zone them out and don’t read them all.

Bergeron acknowledged that drivers often go through at 40 to 45 miles per hour, even though the posted speed limit is 25, but there’s nothing the DPW can do about that.

Staff Sgt. Christopher P. Williams, of the Montague Police Department, said the area is safe for pedestrians and complaints about speeding are new to him.

“It’s patrolled most of the time,” he said. “We haven’t had an accident there in a while.”

Bail was set at $10,000 cash after Loung turned herself in.

Photo by Michael S. Gordon / The RepublicanCathy Loung, of Forest Park, is arraigned in Springfield District Court after turning herself in on drug trafficking charges.

SPRINGFIELD - A 43-year-old Forest Park woman denied a charge of trafficking marijuana as well as weapons charges Tuesday in Springfield District Court.

Cathy Loung of 293 Longhill St. was charged after a natural gas leak reported on Longhill Street Thursday afternoon led to the discovery of a "million dollar" marijuana growing operation with hundreds of plants, according to police.

Loung denied charges of trafficking marijuana, violation of a drug free school zone, possession of a firearm, possession of ammunition, possession of a firearm during commission of a felony and possession of a high capacity feeding device. A loaded gun was found in the house, a prosecutor said.

According to assessor records, the property is owned by Cathy Luong, trustee. It was purchased in 2009 for $417,000.

District Court Judge Mark D. Mason accepted the recommendation of Assistant District Attorney Donna S. Donato and defense lawyer Thomas Lesser that bail be set at $10,000 cash for Loung, who turned herself in at court Tuesday on the charges.

She has to surrender her passport and report once a week to the Probation Department.

Loung had bail posted for her immediately and was ordered to report to the Springfield Police Department for booking.

When the marijuana growing operation was discovered Thursday, Sgt. John M. Delaney said the growers rigged the property to get electricity for free by illegally tapping into power from the street.

All told, police confiscated nearly 100 pounds of processed pot from the home, said Delaney, aide to Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet.

"I think this is probably one of the biggest that we have come across in recent history," Delaney said, adding that there was enough unused growing equipment stashed in the garage and basement of the single-family house to supply another half-dozen growing operations of a similar scale.

"This is just the tip of the iceberg," Delaney said.

The operation was uncovered about 4 p.m. when police officer Steven Barker responded to assist the Columbia Gas Company for a reported gas leak in the road that was also leaking into the home, Delaney said.

When gas company workers and Springfield firefighters knocked on the door to evacuate anybody that might be inside, a woman answered the door and refused to let them enter.

The woman closed the door and police were contacted to assist in the entry.

Meanwhile, the woman, carrying a briefcase, fled the home in a white cargo van.
Delaney said investigators later determined that the woman took her computer hard drives.

Once inside, police discovered the large-scale and sophisticated hydroponic marijuana growing operation, Delaney said.

Narcotic detectives, Sgts. Steve Kent and Martin Ambrose, arrived on scene and applied for a warrant.

In total the officers confiscated 40 large plants, 38 medium plants, 104 smaller plants, and rows and rows of marijuana plant fragments and leaves hanging to be dried, Delaney said.

Police also confiscated 50 purple electric ballast boxes with cords, 130 orange and silver ballast boxes, eight huge exhaust vent fans, 24 hydro-light fixtures with reflective hoods, four boxes of high-intensity light bulbs, cases of fertilizer, feeding tubes, reflective foil, heat-sealing machines, packaging material, and a Ruger 9 mm handgun.

Delaney said the illegal power hook-up was for the growing operation only and that power for the rest of the home was legally obtained through the meter. An operation of such size could easily go through $2,000 or $3,000 worth of power each month, Delaney said.

Detectives in the Narcotics Division will be moving towards the confiscation of the house as forfeiture due to the growing operation inside, he said.

A pre-trial conference date was set for Jan. 25 for Loung.

Morgan had run two British tabloids: Rupert Murodch's "News of the World" and then Trinity Mirror Co.'s Daily Mirror.

In this image made from video, CNN star interviewer Piers Morgan answers questions Tuesday, Dec. 20, 2011 from a media ethics inquiry sitting in London, England, about his time at the top of Britain's tabloid industry, at an unknown location in the U.S. Morgan ran two British tabloids - the News of the World and the Daily Mirror - before his editorship was cut short by scandal in 2004. (AP photo, pool)

LONDON (AP) – CNN celebrity interviewer Piers Morgan refused to disclose details Tuesday about his most damning link to Britain’s phone hacking scandal – his acknowledgment that he once listened to a phone message left by Paul McCartney for his then-wife Heather Mills.

In an eagerly awaited appearance before the U.K.’s media ethics committee, Morgan, who replaced Larry King on CNN, was visibly tense, sometimes hostile and often rejected characterizations of his actions made by inquiry lawyers as “nonsense.”

The stakes were high for Morgan. More than a dozen journalists have been arrested, senior executives with Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. media empire have lost their jobs, and top U.K. police officers have resigned over their failure to tackle the phone hacking scandal. His testimony Tuesday was given under oath, and Morgan could be subject to criminal proceedings if he was found to have violated any British laws.

Before his U.S. television career, Morgan ran two British tabloids – first Murdoch’s News of the World and then the Daily Mirror, owned by Murdoch competitor Trinity Mirror.

A key line of questioning centered on comments Morgan made in a 2006 article in the Daily Mail tabloid. In it, Morgan said he was played a phone message left by the former Beatle on Mills’ answering machine, describing it in detail and noting that McCartney “even sang ’We Can Work It Out’ into the answerphone.”

Mills, who went on to divorce McCartney in one of most expensive separations in British history, has said there’s no way Morgan could have obtained the message honestly.

Morgan on Tuesday stubbornly refused to answer almost any questions about how he came to hear the message, saying: “I’m not going to start any trail that leads to the identification of a source.”

But when asked by inquiry chief Lord Justice Brian Leveson whether he could supply any information to back the assertion that he had heard the recording legally, the 46-year-old journalist said he couldn’t.

Earlier, Morgan said he “doesn’t believe” he had ever listened to hacked voicemail messages – and dismissed earlier interviews in which he’d discussed phone hacking at length as having been based on rumor and hearsay.

He also refused to say who had filled him in about the practice.

“My memory’s not great about this. It was a long time ago,” he said.

Morgan was giving evidence to Britain’s media ethics inquiry by video link Tuesday from the United States – one of dozens of phone hacking victims, journalists and tabloid executives to face the inquiry, set up in the wake of the uproar over phone hacking and other unethical newsgathering methods at the News of the World.

The atmosphere turned tense within minutes of Morgan taking his oath. He was quizzed about his relationship to private investigators and freelancers such as “Benji the Binman,” who specialized in raking though celebrities’ trash to look for scoops.

Morgan said he never dealt with private investigators but he did acknowledge buying information from Benji – and said he’d had some qualms about it.

“Did I think he was doing anything illegal? No. Did I think he was doing anything on the cusp of unethical? Yes,” Morgan said.

Witnesses at the inquiry have exposed the seamy side of British journalism, with reporters accused of cooking up stories, blackmailing subjects, hacking phones and paying bribes to police officers to secure tips.

Murdoch himself may testify before the inquiry, according to an offhand comment made by inquiry lawyer Robert Jay. At one point Jay told Morgan to stop speculating about what Murdoch might have remembered about a particular incident in which the two of them clashed.

“We can ask him for his recollection of events when we get there,” Jay said.

The inquiry declined to comment further, and News Corp. did not immediately return an email seeking confirmation. Murdoch earlier in the year testified before Parliament on the subject of phone hacking and shut down the 168-year-old News of the World in July after the full hacking scandal broke.

CNN, meanwhile, broadcast its star’s testimony live Tuesday, but only to its international subscribers.

Separately, Murdoch’s News Corp. media empire announced settlements with seven more prominent figures in the wake of the phone hacking scandal at the News of the World.

The company said in a statement Tuesday it had settled claims brought by Princess Diana’s former lover James Hewitt, ex-Liberal Democrat lawmaker Mark Oaten, TV presenter Ukrika Jonsson, model Abi Titmuss and Paul Dadge, who helped rescue victims of the 2005 London transit bombings. Theatrical agent Michelle Milburn and Calum Best, the son of soccer legend George Best, rounded out the settlement list.

At least one more settlement – with former England soccer player Paul Gascoigne – appeared imminent, according to lawyer Jeremy Reed.

The terms of the new payments announced Tuesday were not disclosed but they are likely to be substantial.

Actress Sienna Miller earlier received 100,000 pounds (nearly $157,000) in damages when she settled with News International; the family of murdered British schoolgirl Milly Dowler were awarded 2 million pounds ($3.1 million) plus 1 million pounds ($1.6 million) from Murdoch himself, which was earmarked for charity.

The funding is intended to be used to help provide transitional and permanent housing and supportive services to homeless people across the state.

BOSTON – Massachusetts is getting a $60 million boost from the federal government to help provide housing to homeless people in the state.

U.S. Sens. John F. Kerry and Scott P. Brown announced the funding on Tuesday, saying it is part of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Continuum of Care grant program.

The funding is intended to be used to help provide transitional and permanent housing and supportive services to homeless people across Massachusetts.

Kerry says the sometimes harsh winter months are particularly difficult for people without homes and the extra federal spending will help ease that.

Brown said the money will not just help provide shelter, but will also help advocacy groups meet the health, social and economic needs of homeless people.

Lockdown drills have become increasingly prevalent in Western Massachusetts schools.

John Suchocki / The Republican12/14/11- Westhampton i- Westhampton Elementary school held a mock school lockdown training exercise involving the State police , Westhampton Police and the Hampshire County District Attorney office and school personal. State police officer James Carmichael and Hampshire County District Attorney Dave Sullivan check one of the the classrooms under lockdown.

WESTHAMPTON – Westhampton Elementary School has joined an increasing number of schools throughout the region to add a lockdown drill to the safety training of its pupils.

The drill is a simple one: the classroom teachers lock their doors, shut out the lights, draw the shades and gather their students in a quiet corner.

It started with an announcement over the school intercom by Principal Deane Bates. “Can I have your attention please, this is a lockdown.”

Northwestern District Attorney David E. Sullivan was on hand as school officials and state and local police conducted the drill. Sullivan and the troopers, carrying passkeys, briefly entered each of classrooms and chatted with the teachers and students.

The pre-kindergarten students were quiet in their darkened room, enjoying lollipops. “Congratulations for being so quiet, thank you,” said Sullivan.

The kindergarteners were clearly enjoying their lollipops as well and the first-graders were quietly reading books as they waited for the drill to end. After the drill, Sullivan and state police presented the school with what they called “go-bags” – backpacks filled with such things as toiletries, lollipops, wind-up radios and bottled water.

“They are made to help them stay in their classrooms for an extended period of time if necessary,” said Lt. Andrew Bzdel, commander of the Northampton barracks.

State Trooper Americo DiLorenzo displayed some of the the items to the gathered students and drew laughter when he pulled out a roll of toilet paper. “Very important,” he said with a grin.

Individual teachers, DiLorenzo said, may want to add items of their own to the go-bags.
The bags were funded by O’Connell Oil, United Plumbing Supply and Blue Stone Studio. “We thought it would be a good idea to put it together,” said James Boudreau, representing O’Connell.

Bates said teachers strive to ease any anxieties that students may have as they prepare for, and undergo, the drill.

“We try to remind them that we don’t normally have emergencies in school and it’s important to know what to do if we actually have one,” he said. The school, pre-kindergarten through Grade 6, has about 145 pupils.

Gregory Morris, a sixth-grader at the school, said he thought it was a good idea. “It helps kids be ready if there really is a lock-down at the school,” he said.

Toni Marcel, president of the PTO, said she was pleased to see the drill go so well. “It’s necessary in today’s day and age. It’s better to be prepared,” she said.

Such go-bags are increasingly prevalent in classrooms nowadays and this marks the first time that state police have presented them to a school that they oversee in Hampshire County.