During the Democratic Party's state convention, Warren received 95.7 percent of the delegate vote, meaning she will be unopposed on the Sept. 6 primary ballot. Watch video

By Dan Ring & Robert Rizzuto, Staff writers

SPRINGFIELD -- U.S. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren won a resounding endorsement from Massachusetts Democrats on Saturday, beating her only in-party opponent by a wide enough of a margin to bar her from the primary ballot.

During the Democratic Party's state convention, Warren received 95.7 percent of the delegate vote, meaning she will be unopposed on the Sept. 6 primary ballot. Her rival, immigration attorney Marisa DeFranco, received far short of the minimum 15 percent vote needed to qualify for the primary ballot.

The convention win spares Warren from a possibly contentious primary. The convention victory could also revitalize Warren’s campaign and give her some new momentum following a month of disputes and finger pointing over her American Indian heritage.

Taking the stage at the MassMutual Center in downtown Springfield, Warren sought to pinpoint some clear differences between her and Republican U.S. Sen. Scott P. Brown. She assailed Brown for his votes against tax increases on the wealthiest people to finance jobs and public works and his votes on student loans and environmental issues.

She also tied Brown to Senate GOP leaders and Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. W. Mitt Romney, labeling Brown “a Mitt Romney Republican” and tool of Wall Street.

“We know where Scott Brown stands – and it’s not with the people of Massachusetts,” Warren said, drawing cheers from the estimated 3,500 delegates.

Warren suggested that Brown is at fault for stirring the controversy over her heritage.

“His answer is to talk about anything except how he votes on jobs, education, the environment, oil subsidies or special deals for Wall Street,’ said Warren. “His answer is to talk about my family and to tell me how I grew up.”

“Well, I say this, if that’s all you've got, Scott Brown, I'm ready,” she said, spreading her arms to shouts and whistles from delegates.

Candy Glazer, longtime chair of the Longmeadow Democratic Town Committee and a member of the Democratic State Committee, said Warren drew some very sharp differences between her and Brown during her speech.

“She came out fighting,” Glazer said. “That’s what you want to see.”

“I thought her speech was awesome,” said delegate Denise Jordan of Springfield, chief of staff for Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno. “She reminded us of what Democratic elected officials from Massachusetts are supposed to do – they are supposed to support all people.”

Brown has said people should be leery of false and misleading attacks on his record. Following the convention, Deputy Chairman of the Massachusetts Republican Party Peter Blute held a press conference at Court Square where he said that the commonwealth benefits from having diversity in its Senate delegation, as Brown, a Republican, and Democratic U.S. Sen. John Kerry now provide.

"In Washington, it is a two-party place and it is better to have someone in the other caucus to advocate for the state," Blute said, making one of several cases he made against Warren being elected. "A lot of time, the discussions take place in the other caucus room and you are better off to have someone there."

Warren, a Harvard law professor and former leader of a federal panel that oversaw the bailout of large banks in 2008, is embroiled in a neck-and-neck general election contest against Brown. A former state senator, Brown stunned the political establishment by defeating Attorney General Martha Coakley to win the unexpired term of the late U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy in January 2010

While few doubted Warren would win the Democratic endorsement, the convention vote removes any possible confusion or ambiguities and allows Warren to focus solely on Brown.

The Senate race in Massachusetts is expected to be the most expensive in the nation and will help determine the balance of power in the chamber, with the majority now held 53-47 by Democrats.

Brown has cast himself as one of the more bi-partisan senators in Washington, a label reaffirmed by a recent Congressional Quarterly study. He has touted his work on laws to help veterans and improve ethics in Washington and his deciding vote on a financial reform law in 2010.

Warren struck some traditional Democratic themes in her speech to the delegates, promising to back Social Security and Medicare and support equal pay and birth-control laws for women.

She scoffed at Brown’s truck and famous barn jacket, two symbols from his successful 2010 campaign that he continues to use.

“Are you ready to tell Scott Brown to put on his $675 dollar barn coat and go home?” she told delegates.

Warren also used the speech to reach out to undecided independent voters beyond the convention hall. She pledged to work for improvements for small businesses, community banks and credit unions, veterans and education to help families.

In her speech to delegates, DeFranco emphasized liberal causes such as universal health care and union rights.

DeFranco’s defeat marked a first for the Democratic party.

View full sizeSPRINGFIELD 06.02.12. - Harvard Law School professor Elizabeth Warren answers questions from reporters after it was announced that she won a record percentage of support from the delegates at the Massachusetts Democratic Convention in Springfield to become the party's official candidate to take on Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown in November. (Republican Photo by Robert Rizzuto)

To qualify for a ballot, a Democratic U.S. Senate candidate in Massachusetts must first obtain at least 10,000 signatures from registered Democrats and then must receive 15 percent of the delegate votes at the convention. Since those rules were approved in 1982, delegates had never previously awarded enough votes to a candidate to eliminate the need for primary, a party spokesman said.

The convention may have helped Warren allay possible concerns stemming from several weeks of media coverage over her American Indian heritage.

Warren, who has taught law at various universities during her career, conceded that she listed her American Indian background in a national legal directory and personally provided that information to the University of Pennsylvania and Harvard after they hired her.

Warren said she never received any affirmative action-type benefits during her career as a law professor with several universities and those institutions have all issued statements saying she was hired for her talents, not her heritage.

“I was happy to hear her directly confront the insane Scott Brown attack on her heritage,” said delegate Edward W. Collins of Springfield, an international representative for a union of electrical workers. “Let’s get that stuff out of the way and talk about what is important.”

Convention organizers conceded they made at least one mistake in failing to have any Hispanic leaders speaking on stage during Saturday’s event at the MassMutual Center.

Democratic State Rep. Cheryl A. Coakley-Rivera of Springfield said it was a glaring omission since 39 percent of Springfield's population is Hispanic and considering the importance of Hispanics to the Democratic party. She said it should have been seen as important to have Hispanics on the stage speaking in the program.

"They want our vote," Rivera said. "But they don't want to see our faces?"

Kevin Franck, communications director for the Massachusetts Democrats, said party leaders take full responsibility for "the error."

"It was a serious mistake," Franck said. "There is no excuse for it."

John E. Walsh , chairman of the Democratic state party, said that there were a couple of prominent Hispanic people on stage throughout the program and that three Hispanic children led the Pledge of Allegiance.

Despite their inclusion, he acknowledged the party should have had included a Latino speaker at the event.

The convention took place in the wake of a survey by the polling institute at Western New England University that showed Warren in a virtual dead heat with Brown.

The poll, done in conjunction with The Republican newspaper and Masslive.com., showed Warren with 45 percent voter support and Brown with 43 percent.

The telephone survey, conducted from May 29-31, included 504 registered voters in the state and holds a 4.4 percent margin of error.

A gunman fired shots in a crowded food court in one of Canada's busiest malls Saturday killing a man and injuring seven others, police said.

Police set up a perimeter outside the Eaton Centre shopping mall in Toronto, Saturday, June 2, 2012. Panic broke out at the Eaton Centre Saturday after shots were fired at the downtown mall packed with weekend shoppers. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Victor Biro)

By ROB GILLIES, Associated Press

TORONTO (AP) — A gunman fired shots in a crowded food court in one of Canada's busiest malls Saturday killing a man and injuring seven others, police said.

Police Chief Bill Blair said the shooting at Eaton Centre in downtown Toronto targeted one individual and there were a number of innocent bystanders. Police constable Victor Kwong said two people were in critical condition after being shot at the Eaton Centre in downtown Toronto, including a 13-year old boy. The 25-year-old man who was killed died at the scene, he said.

Kwong said six people were shot in all, including the deceased.

Two people were trampled on and pushed, including a pregnant woman who went into labor after she was pushed, Kwong said. Blair said investigators have a description of the suspect.

"A lot of innocent people were hurt and a lot of innocent people were put at risk," Blair said. "We will be relentless in our pursuit of the individual or individuals that were responsible. We are receiving a lot of cooperation from the people that were present in the foot court."

Blair called the Eaton Centre an iconic landmark in Toronto, Canada's largest city.

"Any place for discharging a firearm in Toronto is dangerous, in the food court of the Eaton Centre on a Saturday evening, it's not only dangerous, it's outrageous," he said. "I believe every Torontonian is shocked and appalled by this crime."

Toronto prides itself as one of the safest cities in North America. Many Canadians have long taken comfort in the peacefulness of their communities and are nervous about anything that might indicate they are moving closer to their American counterparts.

Witnesses said multiple shots were fired in the mall's food court and that hundreds of panicked shoppers sprinted for the exits. The mall, which is popular with tourists, was evacuated.

A couple hugs as a police officer questions a man outside the Eaton Centre shopping mall in Toronto, Saturday, June 2, 2012. Shots were fired at Toronto's downtown Eaton's Centre Saturday evening. Police are confirming one person has died. (AP Photo/The Canadian Press, Victor Biro)

Swarms of people watched from outside as an injured man with visible bullet wounds was wheeled out on a stretcher.

Toronto Blue Jays baseball player Brett Lawrie tweeted that he sprinted out of the mall after hearing the shots.

"People sprinting up the stairs right from where we just were ... Wow wow wow," Lawrie tweeted.

Marcus Neves-Polonio, 19, was working in the food court when he saw a man pull out a gun and start firing. At least two people were on the ground, he said.

"All of a sudden a herd of people were just running toward us, a massive crowd of people screaming, running, freaking out," said Hannah Stewart, 21, a shopper. "We saw this girl, sitting on the ground, and she had blood on her toes." The girl appeared to have been one of the victims and told Stewart she had just been shot.

Erica Solmes, who manages the McDonald's in the mall's food court, said she heard about 15 shots ring out before a stampede of people made a dash for the exits. Transit service around the mall was shut down for a time.

In 2005, a 15-year-old girl was killed during the Christmas holidays just north of the mall in a shooting that shocked the city during a year of record gun deaths in Toronto.

"Today harkens back to that terrible moment," Blair said. "I am very sadly reminded of that. That was one of the most tragic and shocking events that ever took place in Toronto."

Kwong said police are in the process of reviewing security tapes. He said they had concluded a search of the mall.

"It's absolutely terrible," Toronto Mayor Rob Ford said.

The area around the mall was quickly blocked off after the shooting and the Eaton Centre itself was evacuated and closed down. A portion of a major subway line, which services the mall, was also temporarily shut down.

Police spent much of Saturday evening trying to clear out thousands of people who were milling around outside the mall, mostly trying to figure out what happened.

Officer James Holmes said officers were called out early Saturday after witnesses found a child strapped in a safety seat in the middle of an intersection.

File photo

PHOENIX — Phoenix police have arrested a woman who allegedly drove off after forgetting that her 5-week-old baby was in a car seat on the roof of her vehicle.

Officer James Holmes said officers were called out early Saturday after witnesses found a child strapped in a safety seat in the middle of an intersection.

The boy wasn't hurt. He's now in the custody of Arizona Child Protective Services.

Authorities say the child's mother, 19-year-old Catalina Clouser, her boyfriend and their friends had been smoking marijuana earlier in the evening at a nearby park.

Upset that her boyfriend was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence, police say Clouser went to the home of friends and smoked more marijuana.

Clouser left around midnight. Police say she apparently put the sleeping baby on the roof and drove off, forgetting he was there.

The fire was reported at about 9 p.m. Saturday and an hour later thick black smoke was seen coming from two manholes, followed by a loud noise from one of them.

LYNN, Mass. — An underground fire has caused minor explosions in manholes in Lynn.

The fire was reported at about 9 p.m. Saturday and an hour later thick black smoke was seen coming from two manholes, followed by a loud noise from one of them.

The Daily Item reports that National Grid spokesman Sean Gilligan said some cables burning underground caused minor explosions but that manhole covers did not blow off.

Lynn police and firefighters closed streets in the area and kept onlookers clear of the manholes.

The Items says National Grid has been doing extensive underground work in the areas for several weeks.

Complete poll results and methodology for the June 2 poll examining issues in the 2012 Presidential race.

Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney has seen his favorability ratings drop since February.

President Barack Obama speaks about jobs for veterans, Friday, June 1, 2012, at Honeywell Automation and Control Solutions Global Headquarters in Golden Valley, Minn. (AP Photo/The Star Tribune, Glen Stubbe, Pool)

President Obama’s approval rating in Massachusetts stands at 54 percent, similar to what it was three months ago, according to a poll released Sunday by The Republican and MassLive.com.

The poll, conducted by the Western New England University Polling Institute, found that 54 percent of respondents approved of the job Obama is doing, while 36 percent disapproved. That is a slight drop from a poll conducted Feb. 23-March 1, which pegged Obama’s approval rating at 56 percent, with 35 percent disapproval.

Voters in Massachusetts, a heavily Democratic state, have a far more optimistic view of Obama than voters nationally. Nationally, Obama’s approval rating has been around 48 percent in several recent polls, with an equal level of disapproval, according to data compiled by the website Real Clear Politics.

The poll shows that little has changed in recent months regarding how Massachusetts voters view Obama – an image that is largely positive. At the same time, Republican presidential nominee and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney continues to be seen negatively by voters of his home state.

The polling was conducted May 29-31, before the Department of Labor announced disappointing job numbers for the month of May.

In addition to his job approval ratings, Obama’s favorability ratings also remain high in Massachusetts. According to the Western New England University poll, 57 percent of voters have a favorable view of the Democratic president, and 33 percent have an unfavorable view. That is down slightly from February, when 61 percent of voters viewed Obama favorably and 34 percent viewed him unfavorably.

For Romney, who was governor of Massachusetts from 2003 to 2007, the numbers are nearly reversed. Half of the respondents viewed Romney unfavorably, while 36 percent saw him favorably. Romney’s favorability numbers have dropped since the February poll, when 41 percent viewed him favorably and 46 percent viewed him unfavorably.

Tim Vercellotti, director of the Western New England University Polling Institute and an associate professor of political science, said the drop could be due to the lasting effects of a contentious Republican primary. “It may also be a result of the Obama campaign beginning to focus on Governor Romney’s record in a critical way,” Vercellotti said. “People who may not have thought much about Governor Romney…are now getting negative reminders from the Obama campaign.”

The poll of 504 registered voters has a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.

A new poll by the Republican and MassLive.com, conducted by the Western New England University Polling Institute, finds Obama leading Romney 56 percent to 34 percent in Massachusetts.

President Barack Obama, accompanied by Elizabeth Warren, announces that Warren will head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Friday, Sept. 17, 2010, during an event in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. Although Warren didn't end up in the job, Obama used a recess appointment to name Richard Cordray as the nation's chief consumer watchdog in January 2012.(AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

Democratic Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren has a powerful ally in Massachusetts: President Obama.

Though Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is a former Massachusetts governor, a poll released Sunday by The Republican and MassLive.com found little love for Romney in his home state. The poll, conducted by the Western New England University Polling Institute, found Obama leading Romney 56 percent to 34 percent, with 9 percent undecided.

That dynamic could have significant ramifications in the U.S. Senate race between Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown and Warren. Despite overwhelming support for the Democratic president, Brown and Warren are running neck-and-neck for the Senate. The poll numbers show that while an association with Obama helps Warren, an association with Romney actually hurts Brown. Both Brown and Warren must attract Obama supporters in order to win the race. So while Warren’s campaign has stressed her party ties, Brown has shunned his, focusing instead on his bipartisan work.

“Brown’s strategy would be to tie himself to the president to the extent that he can,” said Tim Vercellotti, director of the Western New England University Polling Institute and an associate professor of political science. “Brown talks about being there for bill signing ceremonies, being with the president. His whole theme is bipartisanship.”

Obama remains popular in the state that chose him over Republican presidential nominee John McCain by a 26-point margin in 2008. Obama’s job approval rating stood at 54 percent in the Western New England University poll, with 36 percent disapproving of the job he is doing. Fifty seven percent of voters had a favorable view of Obama, while 33 percent had an unfavorable view.

In contrast, just 36 percent of respondents had a favorable view of Romney while 50 percent viewed him unfavorably.

Warren has tried to take advantage of Obama’s popularity by emphasizing her connection to the president. One of Warren’s early television ads opened with a picture of Obama and Warren walking side by side, and featured Obama praising Warren for her work creating the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The association is helping Warren. According to the poll, 30 percent of voters associate Warren “very closely” with Obama and another 36 percent associate them “somewhat closely.” Of those who associate the two, 31 percent said they are more likely to vote for Warren because of it and 27 percent are less likely.

Brown, however, is hurt by his ties with Romney. Sixteen percent of voters associate Brown “very closely” with Romney and 48 percent associate them “somewhat closely.” Among those voters, 35 percent said they are less likely to support Brown because of his association with Romney, and only 11 percent are more likely.

(Among independent voters, a vital constituency in Massachusetts, a close association with either Obama or Romney is seen as a negative, though the impact is worse for Brown than for Warren.)

As a result, though Brown supports Romney, he rarely mentions the former Massachusetts governor on the campaign trail. During a question-and-answer session at a recent campaign stop with veterans with Quincy, two separate veterans talked about their support for Romney. Brown never mentioned Romney’s name.

Instead, Brown is more likely to tout his work with Democrats. In one television ad, Brown talked about “standing with President Obama” at the signing of a bill Brown introduced. Brown regularly announces endorsements from Democratic and independent state representatives and mayors.

In response, the Massachusetts Democratic Party has tried to tie Brown to Romney, putting out a web video calling the duo “Bromney” and noting their similar policy positions.

Going forward, Vercellotti said the poll shows that the key to victory for either candidate will be Obama supporters. Romney supporters overwhelmingly (89 percent) support Brown, and Warren (at 4 percent) is unlikely to find significant support there. But among Obama supporters, 16 percent support Brown, while Warren’s support is at 76 percent.

“It is unlikely that Warren will convince many Romney supporters to back her, so she has to protect her base of Obama supporters in order to win,” Vercellotti said. “If Brown can hold on to that 16 percent and expand it, he will be in a strong position to win.”

For some voters, like Edward Metivier, an 83-year-old retiree from New Bedford, any Republican would be a hard sell. A pro-Obama Democrat, Metivier likes Brown’s military background and his record. But he’s leaning toward Warren for reasons of party loyalty. “She would be another Democrat for the Senate,” Metivier said.

But Democrats like Deborah Greene, 56, a teacher’s assistant from Milton, are considering Brown. Greene plans to vote for Obama but is undecided in the Senate race. “I think Senator Brown’s done a nice job. I’m not sure about Elizabeth Warren yet,” Greene said.

Greene said she does not associate Brown with Romney. “I think that Senator Brown has been very successful as an independent voice,” she said. “Even though he’s a Republican, I don’t believe he’s really been labeled.”

Vercellotti said Brown gets no advantage from aligning himself with Romney. And there is little danger that Brown will upset the conservative base of his party by aligning himself with Obama. “Where are they going to go?” Vercellotti said. “Their choices are vote for Brown, or stay home and run the risk Elizabeth Warren wins the Senate seat. They won’t want to do that.”

The poll of 504 registered voters has a margin of error of 4.4 percentage points.

A spokesman in the Northwestern District Attorney’s officer are negotiating what items, if any, will undego DNA tests.

Question: I recall reading a front-page story in the Belchertown Sentinel in March 2009 about the Ken Phoenix murder case being reopened.

Phoenix was reportedly convicted in 1988 of murdering a man at the Belchertown State School, even though the evidence against him was spotty at best, and he had already served 21 years in prison. Two Springfield attorneys and Phoenix’s family were trying to arrange with the Northwestern district attorney’s office a time and place to test the DNA evidence from the murder, in a bid to get Phoenix a new trial and his conviction overturned, so he could finally be freed.

I have heard absolutely nothing about this in the last three years, and haven’t been able to find any information online.

Was the DNA evidence ever tested? Was Phoenix exonerated and released, or is he still in prison?

– Christian Fitzgerald

Answer: New counsel were appointed last year to represent Ken Phoenix on the issue of DNA testing, according to a spokesman in the district attorney’s office.

Lawyers for both sides are still discussing what items, if any, will be tested for DNA, the spokesperson said.

It only took a second for Associated Press photographer Huynh Cong "Nick" Ut to snap the iconic black-and-white image 40 years ago. It communicated the horrors of the Vietnam War in a way words could never describe, helping to end one of the most divisive wars in American history.

Phan Thi Kim Phuc, right, laughs with Associated Press staff photographer Nick Ut, center, and Dr. My Le, who treated Phuc two days after a napalm attack in Vietnam on June 8, 1972, during a reunion in Buena Park, Calif. on Saturday, June 2, 2012. It only took a second for Nick Ut to snap the iconic black-and-white image of her after the attack. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

TRANG BANG, Vietnam (AP) — In the picture, the girl will always be 9 years old and wailing "Too hot! Too hot!" as she runs down the road away from her burning Vietnamese village.

She will always be naked after blobs of sticky napalm melted through her clothes and layers of skin like jellied lava.

She will always be a victim without a name.

It only took a second for Associated Press photographer Huynh Cong "Nick" Ut to snap the iconic black-and-white image 40 years ago. It communicated the horrors of the Vietnam War in a way words could never describe, helping to end one of the most divisive wars in American history.

But beneath the photo lies a lesser-known story. It's the tale of a dying child brought together by chance with a young photographer. A moment captured in the chaos of war that would be both her savior and her curse on a journey to understand life's plan for her.

"I really wanted to escape from that little girl," says Kim Phuc, now 49. "But it seems to me that the picture didn't let me go."

____

It was June 8, 1972, when Phuc heard the soldier's scream: "We have to run out of this place! They will bomb here, and we will be dead!"

Seconds later, she saw the tails of yellow and purple smoke bombs curling around the Cao Dai temple where her family had sheltered for three days, as north and south Vietnamese forces fought for control of their village.

The little girl heard a roar overhead and twisted her neck to look up. As the South Vietnamese Skyraider plane grew fatter and louder, it swooped down toward her, dropping canisters like tumbling eggs flipping end over end.

"Ba-boom! Ba-boom!"

The ground rocked. Then the heat of a hundred furnaces exploded as orange flames spit in all directions.

Fire danced up Phuc's left arm. The threads of her cotton clothes evaporated on contact. Trees became angry torches. Searing pain bit through skin and muscle.

"I will be ugly, and I'm not normal anymore," she thought, as her right hand brushed furiously across her blistering arm. "People will see me in a different way."

In shock, she sprinted down Highway 1 behind her older brother. She didn't see the foreign journalists gathered as she ran toward them, screaming.

FILE - In this June 8, 1972 file photo, crying children, including 9-year-old Kim Phuc, center, run down Route 1 near Trang Bang, Vietnam after an aerial napalm attack on suspected Viet Cong hiding places as South Vietnamese forces from the 25th Division walk behind them. A South Vietnamese plane accidentally dropped its flaming napalm on South Vietnamese troops and civilians. From left, the children are Phan Thanh Tam, younger brother of Kim Phuc, who lost an eye, Phan Thanh Phouc, youngest brother of Kim Phuc, Kim Phuc, and Kim's cousins Ho Van Bon, and Ho Thi Ting. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)

Then, she lost consciousness.

Ut, the 21-year-old Vietnamese photographer who took the picture, drove Phuc to a small hospital. There, he was told the child was too far gone to help. But he flashed his American press badge, demanded that doctors treat the girl and left assured that she would not be forgotten.

"I cried when I saw her running," said Ut, whose older brother was killed on assignment with the AP in the southern Mekong Delta. "If I don't help her — if something happened and she died — I think I'd kill myself after that."

Back at the office in what was then U.S.-backed Saigon, he developed his film. When the image of the naked little girl emerged, everyone feared it would be rejected because of the news agency's strict policy against nudity.

But veteran Vietnam photo editor Horst Faas took one look and knew it was a shot made to break the rules. He argued the photo's news value far outweighed any other concerns, and he won.

A couple of days after the image shocked the world, another journalist found out the little girl had somehow survived the attack. Christopher Wain, a correspondent for the British Independent Television Network who had given Phuc water from his canteen and drizzled it down her burning back at the scene, fought to have her transferred to the American-run Barsky unit. It was the only facility in Saigon equipped to deal with her severe injuries.

"I had no idea where I was or what happened to me," she said. "I woke up and I was in the hospital with so much pain, and then the nurses were around me. I woke up with a terrible fear."

Thirty percent of Phuc's tiny body was scorched raw by third-degree burns, though her face somehow remained untouched. Over time, her melted flesh began to heal.

"Every morning at 8 o'clock, the nurses put me in the burn bath to cut all my dead skin off," she said. "I just cried and when I could not stand it any longer, I just passed out."

After multiple skin grafts and surgeries, Phuc was finally allowed to leave, 13 months after the bombing. She had seen Ut's photo, which by then had won the Pulitzer Prize, but she was still unaware of its reach and power.

She just wanted to go home and be a child again.

___

For a while, life did go somewhat back to normal. The photo was famous, but Phuc largely remained unknown except to those living in her tiny village near the Cambodian border. Ut and a few other journalists sometimes visited her, but that stopped after northern communist forces seized control of South Vietnam on April 30, 1975, ending the war.

Life under the new regime became tough. Medical treatment and painkillers were expensive and hard to find for the teenager, who still suffered extreme headaches and pain.

She worked hard and was accepted into medical school to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor. But all that ended once the new communist leaders realized the propaganda value of the 'napalm girl' in the photo.

She was forced to quit college and return to her home province, where she was trotted out to meet foreign journalists. The visits were monitored and controlled, her words scripted. She smiled and played her role, but the rage inside began to build and consume her.

"I wanted to escape that picture," she said. "I got burned by napalm, and I became a victim of war ... but growing up then, I became another kind of victim."

She turned to Cao Dai, her Vietnamese religion, for answers. But they didn't come.

"My heart was exactly like a black coffee cup," she said. "I wished I died in that attack with my cousin, with my south Vietnamese soldiers. I wish I died at that time so I won't suffer like that anymore ... it was so hard for me to carry all that burden with that hatred, with that anger and bitterness."

One day, while visiting a library, Phuc found a Bible. For the first time, she started believing her life had a plan.

Then suddenly, once again, the photo that had given her unwanted fame brought opportunity.

She traveled to West Germany in 1982 for medical care with the help of a foreign journalist. Later, Vietnam's prime minister, also touched by her story, made arrangements for her to study in Cuba.

She was finally free from the minders and reporters hounding her at home, but her life was far from normal. Ut, then working at the AP in Los Angeles, traveled to meet her in 1989, but they never had a moment alone. There was no way for him to know she desperately wanted his help again.

"I knew in my dream that one day Uncle Ut could help me to have freedom," said Phuc, referring to him by an affectionate Vietnamese term. "But I was in Cuba. I was really disappointed because I couldn't contact with him. I couldn't do anything."

___

While at school, Phuc met a young Vietnamese man. She had never believed anyone would ever want her because of the ugly patchwork of scars that banded across her back and pitted her arm, but Bui Huy Toan seemed to love her more because of them.

The two decided to marry in 1992 and honeymoon in Moscow. On the flight back to Cuba, the newlyweds defected during a refueling stop in Canada. She was free.

Phuc contacted Ut to share the news, and he encouraged her to tell her story to the world. But she was done giving interviews and posing for photos.

"I have a husband and a new life and want to be normal like everyone else," she said.

The media eventually found Phuc living near Toronto, and she decided she needed to take control of her story. A book was written in 1999 and a documentary came out, at last the way she wanted it told. She was asked to become a U.N. Goodwill Ambassador to help victims of war. She and Ut have since reunited many times to tell their story, even traveling to London to meet the Queen.

"Today, I'm so happy I helped Kim," said Ut, who still works for AP and recently returned to Trang Bang village. "I call her my daughter."

After four decades, Phuc, now a mother of two sons, can finally look at the picture of herself running naked and understand why it remains so powerful. It had saved her, tested her and ultimately freed her.

"Most of the people, they know my picture but there's very few that know about my life," she said. "I'm so thankful that ... I can accept the picture as a powerful gift. Then it is my choice. Then I can work with it for peace."

The four-day trip follows the king's first public appearance post-surgery as head of state when he reviewed troops at Spain's annual armed forces day Saturday.

Spain's King Juan Carlos prepares to leave a hospital in Madrid on April 18, 2012. He came under scathing criticism after he went on a safari trip to Botswana as Spain writhes in its one of its worst ever economic crises. The trip only came to light when the king ended up having to be taken to hospital for hip treatment after having fallen. (AP Photo/Paco Campos,Pool)

MADRID (AP) — Spain's king is set to fly to South America for his first major trip since falling and breaking a hip on an elephant hunting trip seven weeks ago.

The Royal Palace said King Juan Carlos is leaving for Brazil on Sunday and will then go to Chile on Monday. He will be accompanied by several business leaders in a bid to drum up business for Spain and reinforce commercial ties with Latin America.

The four-day trip follows the king's first public appearance post-surgery as head of state when he reviewed troops at Spain's annual armed forces day Saturday.

"See if you could have withstood it," he joked with the press about standing for 45 minutes after recovering.

HADLEY – At least three people vandalized a Dunkin’ Donuts at 341 Russell St., causing more than $2,000 in damages. Flowers, bushes and landscaping stones were ripped up, the drive-up menu board was kicked and broken, fencing was broken and two banners were damaged. The crime happened around 1:30 a.m. Saturday, police said. One of the suspects was caught...

Police photoThis person was captured on a video camera at the Dunkin' Donuts on Route 9 in Hadley.

HADLEY – At least three people vandalized a Dunkin’ Donuts at 341 Russell St., causing more than $2,000 in damages.

Flowers, bushes and landscaping stones were ripped up, the drive-up menu board was kicked and broken, fencing was broken and two banners were damaged. The crime happened around 1:30 a.m. Saturday, police said.

One of the suspects was caught on camera and police are hoping for help from the public in identifying the man. He is described as black, in his early to mid 20s wearing jeans shorts, work boots and a light colored Aero long-sleeved shirt. Two other people were also see on the video, at least one of whom was male, but the images were not clear, police said.

Police are also investigating the Saturday morning vandalism of a Oldsmobile Achieva sedan that was parked in the nearby Walmart parking lot on 337 Russell St. which could be connected. Both side mirrors were snapped off and the driver’s side door and rear quarter panel was kicked in and dented.

Anyone with information about the crime should call the police department at 584-0885.

The six have diverse backgrounds and includes a man from Poland and several who speak multiple languages.

Submitted photoSpringfield Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell presents the Chalice to new Rev. Yerick Mendez during the ordination at St. Michael's Cathedral in Springfield Saturday.

SPRINGFIELD – Six priests ordained Saturday have been assigned to serve at churches in Springfield, Agawam, Chicopee and Pittsfield.

The group is the largest class of men to become new priests in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Springfield in 29 years.

During the 2.5 hour liturgy ceremony at St. Michael’s Cathedral, Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell expressed gratitude “that this tiny diocese has six men who would commit to serve God and his people.”

The group is a diverse one, it includes a native of Bielawa Poland, a classical musician and a horticulturist. Three of the men come from outside Western Massachusetts and some are fluent in different languages.

Those ordained were Matthew Alcombright, of North Adams; Daniel Antoni Cymer, a native of Bielawa, Poland; Matthew Guidi, of Holyoke; Yerick Mendez, of Westfield; Peter Naranjo, of Merrimack, N.H.; and James Nolte, of Simsbury, Conn.

Three will be assigned to Springfield churches with Alcombright at Mary Mother of Hope, Mendez at Sacred Heart and Nolte at Our Lady of the Sacred Heart.

Cymer will be at St. John Agawam, Guidi will be at St. Rose de Lima, Chicopee and Naranjo will be at Sacred Heart, Pittsfield.

People can view the entire ceremony as a streaming video at iobserve.org.

Opponents said a casino would ruin the rural character of the area.

LAKEVILLE, Mass. (AP) — Voters in Lakeville voted overwhelmingly against a casino proposed by the Wampanoag tribe of Aquinnah.

WPRI reports that the tally on Saturday was 1,735 opposed and 172 in favor of the casino plan. The vote followed the rejection of a casino proposal in neighboring Freetown.

The Martha's Vineyard-based tribe proposed a 145,000-square-foot casino and 150-room hotel.

Opponents said a casino would ruin the rural character of the area and that it would be too close to the town's regional school campus.

Tribal leaders say the votes in Lakeville and Freetown were non-binding and they plan to move forward with their casino plans.

Today, FiberMark has 600 employees around the world, including 70 in West Springfield. Its paper mills are in Brattleboro, Vt., and Brownville, N.Y. Other plants are in Lowville, N.Y., Reading and Quakertown in Pennsylvania. One plant is in the United Kingdom, and FiberMark has a joint-venture in China which is focused on cheaper, commodity-grade paper.

The Republican / Michael S. GordonApril 25, 2012 - West Springfield - staff photo by Michael S. Gordon - Dean Marabeti, director of merchant sales, at FiberMark headquarters holding a sample book of their Shimmer by Corvon papers.

WEST SPRINGFIELD – FiberMark chief executive officer Anthony P.D. MacLaurin can strip down his company’s corporate strategy to one simple statement.

“Replace plastic,” he says.

That means getting manufacturers that use plastic in book covers, file folders, packaging for consumer goods from cognac and Godiva chocolates to board games to use materials made with cellulose.

It’s what FiberMark would call a “thoughtfully engineered fiber-based material;” the average person calls it paper.

It’s why FiberMark is introducing two products, FiberTag and FiberCard, developed by researchers at its labs here in Western Massachusetts.

The company, now privately held, bought Rexam’s Decorative Specialties Inc. in 2001 for $140 million. It closed the manufacturing facilities in West Springfield a year later, went through a bankruptcy and subsequently converted that facility at 70 Front St. into corporate headquarters, marketing offices and research laboratories.

Today, FiberMark has 600 employees around the world, including 70 in West Springfield. Its paper mills are in Brattleboro, Vt., and Brownville, N.Y. Other plants are in Lowville, N.Y., Reading and Quakertown in Pennsylvania. One plant is in the United Kingdom, and FiberMark has a joint-venture in China which is focused on cheaper, commodity-grade paper, according to MacLaurin.

Here in the U.S., the company focuses on paper that really doesn’t look like paper. One of its products is used to make those labels sewn into the back of jeans near the belt loops.

“We do products where luxury and appearance are important,” said Rose M. Keirnan, FiberMark’s director of marketing.

FiberCard replaces the plastic used in gift cards and hotel-room key cards with a dense, glossy paper that not only accepts the printing of graphics and photos, but takes the magnetic strip and scratch-off space where the PIN number is hidden.

The Republican / Michael S. GordonApril 25, 2012 - West Springfield - staff photo by Michael S. Gordon - FiberMark FiberTags (tm) arranged in a pot of composted FiberTags around a competitor's plastic, non-biodegradable tag at bottom of photo.

Dawson, who won a daytime Emmy Award in 1978 as best game show host, died of cancer.

AP file photoRichard Dawson

NEW YORK (AP) — Richard Dawson, the wisecracking British entertainer who was among the schemers in the 1960s sitcom "Hogan's Heroes" and a decade later began kissing thousands of female contestants as host of the game show "Family Feud" has died. He was 79.

Dawson, also known to TV fans as the Cockney POW Cpl. Peter Newkirk on "Hogan's Heroes," died Saturday night from complications related to esophageal cancer at Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, his son Gary said.

The game show, which initially ran from 1976 to 1985, pitted families who tried to guess the most popular answers to poll questions such as "What do people give up when they go on a diet?"

Dawson won a daytime Emmy Award in 1978 as best game show host. Tom Shales of The Washington Post called him "the fastest, brightest and most beguilingly caustic interlocutor since the late great Groucho bantered and parried on 'You Be Your Life.'" The show was so popular it was released as both daytime and syndicated evening versions.

He was known for kissing each woman contestant, and at the time the show bowed out in 1985, executive producer Howard Felsher estimated that Dawson had kissed "somewhere in the vicinity of 20,000."

"I kissed them for luck and love, that's all," Dawson said at the time.

It was on "Feud" that Dawson met contestant Gretchen Johnson, who appeared on the show teamed with members of her family. After dating for a decade, she and Dawson wed in 1991. They had a daughter, Shannon.

Dawson reprised his game show character in a much darker mood in the 1987 Arnold Schwarzenegger film "The Running Man," playing the host of a deadly TV show set in a totalitarian future, where convicts try to escape as their executioners stalk them. "Saturday Night Live" mocked him in the 1970s, with Bill Murray portraying him as leering and nasty, even slapping one contestant (John Belushi) for getting too fresh.

The British-born actor already had gained fame as the fast-talking Newkirk in "Hogan's Heroes," the CBS comedy that starred Bob Crane and mined laughs from a Nazi POW camp whose prisoners hoodwink their captors and run the place themselves.

Despite its unlikely premise, the show made the ratings top 10 in its first season, 1965-66, and ran until 1971.

"We ran six years," Dawson once quipped, "a year longer than Hitler."

Both "Hogan's Heroes" and "Family Feud" have had a second life in recent years, the former on DVD reissues and the latter on GSN, formerly known as the Game Show Network.

On Dawson's last "Family Feud" in 1985, the studio audience honored him with a standing ovation, and he responded: "Please sit down. I have to do at least 30 minutes of fun and laughter and you make me want to cry."

"I've had the most incredible luck in my career," he told viewers.

"I never dreamed I would have a job in which so many people could touch me and I could touch them," he said. That triggered an unexpected laugh.

Producers brought out "The New Family Feud," starring comedian Ray Combs, in 1988. Six years later, Dawson replaced Combs at the helm, but that lasted only one season. Steve Harvey is the current host.

Dawson was born Colin Lionel Emm in 1932 in Gosport, England. When he was 14 he joined the Merchant Marines, serving three years.

He first got into show business as a stand-up comedian, playing clubs in London's West End including the legendary Stork Room. It was there, in the late 1950s, he met blond bombshell Diana Dors, the film star who became known as Britain's answer to Marilyn Monroe. They married in 1959. The couple divorced in the late 1960s.

Dawson landed roles in TV comedy and variety shows in the early 1960s, including "The Steve Allen Show" and "The Dick Van Dyke Show." Then his performance as a military prisoner in the 1965 film "King Rat" led to his being cast in "Hogan's Heroes," which truly made him a star to American audiences.

He became a frequent celebrity contestant on game shows, which led to hosting jobs on both daytime and prime-time versions of "The Match Game."

While still hosting "The Match Game," he began on "Family Feud," where his popularity grew to such levels that he was mentioned as a frontrunner to win the "Tonight Show" host chair to succeed Johnny Carson, who at the time was considering retirement. Though Carson stayed put, Dawson appeared as a guest host.

Dawson is survived by his widow, Gretchen, their daughter Shannon, two sons, Mark and Gary, from his first marriage, and four grandchildren.

Obituaries from The Republican.

John Hebert

John A. "A Bear" Hebert, of Southwick, passed away May 20. Born in Springfield, he grew up in Southwick. He served in the U.S. Army and the Connecticut National Guard. He was a car salesman for several years as well as a cross-country CDL driver.

Obituaries from The Republican:

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  Anderson, Michael G. "Shorty"
  



• 
  Bozek, Mary (Morsky)
  



• 
  Ciocca, Felice
  



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  Galica, Nancy J. (Bowen)
  



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  Hallam, Barbara L. (Barnett)
  



• 
  Hebert, John A. "A Bear"
  



• 
  Hogue, Micheline Parisi "Mickie"
  



• 
  Jablonski Jr., Stanley E.
  



• 
  Johnston, Atty. Charles Seville
  



• 
  Oleksak, Sharon L. (Teigen)
  



• 
  Paquette, Joan A. (Collins)
  



• 
  Paquette, Norman H.
  



• 
  Swain, Richard
  



• 
  Trezza, Luigi
  



• 
  Trickett, Shirley (Jack)
  

Bryan's estranged girlfriend Charlene Mitchell said he threatened her repeatedly over the weekend, causing her to seek an emergency stay-away order.

SPRINGFIELD — Less than an hour before the first shots rang out, Shawn Bryan was ordered by the court to keep away from his estranged girlfriend.

Bryan, 35, of Hempstead, N.Y., is the suspected shooter in a domestic dispute at an apartment on Lawton Street in Sixteen Acres that claimed the life of Springfield police officer Kevin Ambrose and critically injured Charlene Mitchell, 29.

Bryan, a correctional officer at Rikers Island in New York City, apparently turned the gun on himself and killed himself following the 1 p.m. shooting.

Mitchell was granted a restraining order in Springfield District Court on Monday. According to documents obtained from the court, the order was issued at 12:15 p.m.

The court order mandated that Bryan was to stay away at least 100 yards from Mitchell, and to have no contact with her or their 1-year-old child.

It also notes that Bryan was to surrender his firearms to police.

Mitchell notes in the application that she feared “imminent physical harm” from Bryan, that he was at her home at that moment, and that she believed he was armed.

Mitchell was given a copy of the restraining order after it was issued at 12:15 p.m. on Monday, according to the court records. She was to have delivered the order to the Police Department so it could be served to Bryan.

Forty-five minutes later, Bryan opened fire while police were attempting to serve him the order.

Mitchell, in her application, noted a turbulent relationship and feared for the safety of her daughter and herself at the hands of Bryan, who she describes as “a demon.”

The two ended their relationship 11 months ago, but kept in touch with each other because Mitchell wanted him to have a relationship with his daughter. It was for that reason she allowed him to come to her apartment for visits.

“Shawn has been physical to me. He has always told me that he is crazy and his head is not good,” she wrote. “I have had problems with him from the day we started to date. “

Mitchell said Bryan had been scheduled to pick up a television set on Sunday at 11 a.m., but began calling and texting her on Saturday. “After he kept calling I did answer the phone and he just wanted to say he want(ed) it to be about the child and nothing else. I told him that I feel the same way, it is about her and that’s it.” At that point, Bryan asked if the child was awake and became angry when Mitchell said no and that she didn’t want to speak to him any longer, according to the court documents.

The text message with a threat then followed, according to Mitchell’s narrative. “He is a demon,” she wrote. 

Abuse Prevention Order Taken by Charlene Mitchell Against Shawn Bryan

Brown's communications director said he thinks it would create an undue burden on small businesses.

File photo by Charles Krupa / Associated PressU.S. Sen. Scott Brown, gestures during an address at Bunker Hill Community College in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston last month.

Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown will vote against the Paycheck Fairness Act of 2012 on Tuesday in the Senate, according to one of his aides.

The bill would require employers to prove that any discrepancies between male and female pay are job-related and not based in discrimination, considering a census report revealed that women typically earn 77 cents for every dollar their male counterparts earn for the same position.

Marcie Kinzel, Brown's Washington communications director, noted that the junior senator from Massachusetts voted against the bill in 2010's lame-duck session and that he is not changing his position.

“Senator Brown believes strongly in fair pay, and that employers who discriminate against women should be prosecuted aggressively," Kinzel said in a statement. "However, on the bill before the Senate, Senator Brown believes it will put more burdens on small businesses and could lead to job losses at a time when our economy can least afford it.”

To address matters of gender discrimination regarding pay, Brown instead feels the Equal Pay Act & Title VII of the Civil Rights Act are sufficient.

Although Brown didn't personally wade into the debate on Monday, Senate Republicans have said the Democratic push at this legislation, which mirrors the failed 2010 bill, is another attempt to make it look like Republicans are voting against women's rights.

His office noted that he supports and would have voted for the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act of 2009 which extended the statute of limitations for women looking to seek compensation for long-term pay discrepancies based on gender.

The vote is expected to take place on Tuesday sometime after 2 p.m.

Elizabeth Warren, Brown's rival in the Massachusetts Senate race, said the senator's expected vote sends a bad message to women in the Bay State.

“With his vote, Scott Brown is telling the women of Massachusetts he thinks it’s okay that they continue to earn less than men with the same education doing the same work," Warren said. "His vote is costing Massachusetts families hard earned dollars that they can’t afford to lose in these tough times."

Eighty Mastex employees lost their jobs when the plant closed abruptly in 2009.

File photo by John Suchocki / The RepublicanThe former Mastex buildings, seen in this 2010 photo, have been demolished to make way for the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center.

SPRINGFIELD – One of the former owners of Mastex Industries in Holyoke was sentenced Monday to a year and a day in federal prison

Laurence J. Vincent, 62, of Longmeadow, pleaded guilty in June 2011 to a single count of bank fraud and admitting overstating the company’s inventory by $11 million in order to fraudulently borrow $8.7 million from TD Bank.

His co-owners in the company, Israel Schepps and Jeffrey Stream, both 54 and also from Longmeadow, have pleaded guilty but have not yet been sentenced.

Mastex manufactured 7 million yards of cloth a year primarily for automotive air bags although the company also made cloth for the military and for industrial uses. But Mastex had struggled for years and was hit especially hard when auto sales crashed and the financial markets froze in 2008. The plant closed in February 2009 soon after the fraud was discovered. Eighty workers lost their jobs when the plant finally closed.

The men told investigators they needed the money to keep Mastex afloat. But federal prosecutors said Monday that Vincent used the company’s credit card to take trips during Mastex’s last two years of existence and Vincent’s salary rose by about $20,000 in the last two years the company was in existence to $190,000 a year.

Vincent broke down in tears Monday as he addressed the court and Michael A. Ponsor, senior judge for U.S. District Court in Springfield.

“There is not a day that goes by that I don’t feel the shame,” Vincent said.

Vincent also referred to his service in Navy during the war in Vietnam.

“It hurts me very much that I am now a defendant of the United States,” Vincent said.

Ponsor said he took Vincent’s service into consideration, noting that Vincent served two tours flying medical evacuation helicopter missions and that Vincent received a Bronze Star for bravery.

Ponsor also pointed to Vincent’s leadership in the Holyoke business community and involvement with community organizations and his love for his family.

The courtroom was filled with dozens of friends, family members and business associates. Ponsor said he received a number of letters in support of a short sentence for Vincent.

With provisions for “good time”, Vincent should be out of federal prison in nine to 10 months, Ponsor said.

He also sentenced Vincent to three years of supervisor release and six months of home confinement.

All three defendants – Vincent, Schepps and Stream – will together pay $8.7 million in restitution to TD Bank, Ponsor said.

Mastex was established in 1938. The company has been in Holyoke since 1946. The Bigelow Street site once occupied by Mastex is now the site where the Massachusetts Green High Performance Computing Center is under construction.

In Europe, bond investors appeared less concerned about the finances of some of the region's financially troubled countries.

By DANIEL WAGNER | AP Business Writer

Associated PressTraders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Monday, June 4, 2012. The Dow Jones industrial average opened at its lowest level since December after a 275-point sell-off on Friday caused by grim economic signals, especially a dismal report on the U.S. labor market. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Calm returned to the stock market Monday after a spasm of fearful selling last week. Major indexes closed mixed after trading modestly lower for most of the day.

The Dow Jones industrial average opened at its lowest level since December after a 275-point sell-off on Friday ignited by grim economic signals, especially a dismal report on the U.S. labor market.

Randy Frederick, managing director of active trading and derivatives at the brokerage Charles Schwab, expects trading to remain slow and steady unless traders are moved by positive news, like a surprisingly strong economic report, or fresh fears about Europe's financial stability.

"You've got to find a catalyst for people to enter the market, and frankly, I just don't see one right now," Frederick said.

In Europe, bond investors appeared less concerned about the finances of some of the region's financially troubled countries. Bond yields fell for Italy and Spain, meaning that they appear less likely to default. Lower bond yields translate into decreased borrowing costs for those debt-strapped nations.

The price of the 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell, lifting its yield to 1.53 percent. The yield hit a record low of 1.44 percent on Friday as fears of a global slowdown increased demand for safe investments.

The Dow closed down 17.11 points, or 0.1 percent, at 12,101.46. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose a fraction to 1,278.18. The Nasdaq composite index rose 12.53, or 0.5 percent, to 2,760.01.

Among the ten industry groups in the S&P 500, only three fell: Energy companies, whose revenue will be hurt by falling oil prices; industrials, hit by fears of a global economic slowdown; and financial stocks, which would likely bear the brunt if Europe's problems worsened.

Caterpillar, which exports heavy machinery, fell 2.6 percent on fears that slower building in China and Europe will reduce demand for construction equipment. Most of the other big losers in the Dow average offer global financial services: JPMorgan Chase, General Electric and Bank of America.

Chesapeake Energy, the second-biggest U.S. natural gas producer, rose 6 percent, the most in the S&P 500. The company said it will replace four board members, bowing to pressure from activist shareholder Carl Icahn.

Aside from banks, homebuilders had the biggest declines in the S&P 500. PulteGroup lost 6.8 percent, Lennar 5.3 percent and D.R. Horton 4.8 percent. The declines added to steep losses for all three companies on Friday. In two days, they have lost about one-third of the huge gains that they posted in the first three months of the year.

The S&P 500 has fallen nearly 10 percent since its recent peak of 1,419, reached on April 2. Traders call a decline of that size a market correction.

Since April, traders have grown increasingly nervous about Europe's finances. Spain's banks are in shambles, and Cyprus appears close to joining the club of bailed-out countries that already includes Greece, Portugal and Ireland.

Voters in Greek elections this month might choose leaders who intend to reject Europe's bailout money and harsh spending cuts. That could lead to Greece's expulsion from the euro, potentially rattling financial markets.

Falling bond yields for Spain and Italy added to signs of growing confidence that Europe can avoid a messy breakup of its currency union. The euro rose a penny against the dollar, to around $1.25. It fell last week to a nearly two-year low against the dollar but rose after the May jobs report renewed concerns about the U.S. economy.

European stocks closed mixed.