Supported by a prestigious federal grant, Holmes, 24, was in the first year of a program at the University of Denver dedicated to neuroscience, studying such topics as how the brain works or malfunctions or helping develop drugs to treat epilepsy and other disorders.

Photo by Ted S. Warren / The RepublicanActor Christian Bale and his wife Sibi Blazic view a cross and large display of flowers and stuffed animals dedicated to Veronica Moser-Sullivan, 6, the youngest of the 12 victims of Friday's mass shooting, Tuesday at a memorial in Aurora, Colo. Twelve people were killed when a gunman opened fire during a late-night showing of the movie "The Dark Knight Rises," which stars Bale as Batman.

By P. SOLOMON BANDA
and NICHOLAS RICCARDI

CENTENNIAL, Colo. – James Holmes spent a year in a small neuroscience doctoral program, surrounded by scientists and roughly three dozen classmates delving into the inner workings of the brain.

The University of Colorado, Denver, isn’t saying if they had any warning signs.

Experts say, however, the intimacy of the program and its focus on the brain may not have been enough for staff and students to detect that Holmes was on a course that police say ended with a deadly rampage at a midnight showing of the new Batman movie.

Supported by a prestigious federal grant, Holmes, 24, was in the first year of a program at the Anschutz Medical Campus dedicated to neuroscience, studying such topics as how the brain works or malfunctions or helping develop drugs to treat epilepsy and other disorders.

But it is not behavioral science or psychology, experts say.

David Eagleman, who runs the Initiative on Neuroscience and the Law at Baylor University, said some neuroscientists are experts in mental illnesses and aberrant behavior, but others spend most of their time studying molecular chemistry.

“It’s really only a fraction of professors” who could identify a simmering mental disorder, Eagleman said. “Many people in neuroscience are not specialized in the issue of picking up mental illness ... There are plenty of people who just study mice and cats and stuff like that.”

James Holmes

Holmes is accused of methodically stockpiling weapons and explosives at work and at home that police say he used to kill 12 people and wound 58 more at a movie theater Friday in nearby Aurora. Police say he also booby-trapped his apartment with the intent to kill police officers.

Holmes’ arraignment hearing is on Monday.

Attention continued to focus on victims of the attack and their grieving families, many of whom turned on Tuesday to the grim task of preparing for funerals. Batman star Christian Bale visited survivors of the shooting and stopped by a makeshift memorial to victims near the movie theater where they were shot.

Authorities say Holmes began shopping for firearms while studying neuroscience. He joined the program in June 2011 after receiving a National Institutes of Health grant to cover his tuition and provide a $26,000 annual living allowance.

The school refuses to say what specifically Holmes studied. But an online syllabus listed him as making a presentation in May during a class called “Biological Basis of Psychiatric and Neurological Disorders.”

In early June, Holmes took a standard oral exam that ends a graduate student’s first year. The school will not say whether he passed, but Holmes filed paperwork to withdraw from the program just days later. He never provided a written explanation for his departure.

“He had, as is now common knowledge, excellent academic credentials,” said Barry Shur, dean of the university’s graduate program.

Shur said the graduate program is “like a family” in which faculty carefully monitor students’ progress.

“It would be a logical step to assume there were people in that program who worked closely with him and would have the expertise to assess his behavior,” said Mary Ellen O’Toole, a former FBI profiler and the author of the book “Dangerous Instincts: How Gut Feelings Betray Us.”

“But being able to recognize concerning, troubling behavior does not mean you can prevent a mass homicide,” O’Toole said. “There are many people at a university level who act quirky and strange and don’t go out and commit mass murder.”

Academics studying the human brain may not have the same ability to size up threats as someone who makes his living spending time with people firing guns, O’Toole said.

Glenn Rotkovich, owner of a private Colorado gun range outside Denver, quickly concluded there was something wrong with Holmes.

Holmes applied to join the range in late June. But Rotkovich said that after calling Holmes back and hearing a “bizarre” voice mail message – spoken in a strange, low-pitched voice with heavy breathing – he concluded he didn’t want Holmes as a member.

“I flagged him to people and said, if he shows up, I don’t trust him,” Rotkovich said.

Holmes apparently never went to the range.

The university’s silence on the year Holmes spent there contributed to the mystery surrounding his motivations. Administrators refuse to say whether faculty or students saw signs of dangerous behavior in Holmes. Campus police said they had no information on Holmes before the attack.

Holmes remained in solitary confinement Tuesday in Arapahoe County jail, a day after appearing bleary-eyed and disoriented in his initial court appearance. He could face the death penalty if convicted.

Working to build their case, a team of lawyers from the district attorney’s office spent about 90 minutes inside the movie multiplex where the shooting occurred. Crews were starting to encircle the building with a chain link fence while people continued to flock to a memorial nearby for the victims.

Relatives of those who died were bracing for a string of funeral services, the first of which – for Gordon Cowden, the oldest of those killed – was planned for Wednesday. Meanwhile, a woman whose husband remains in a coma after being shot in the head gave birth to a healthy baby boy in the same hospital Tuesday.

A profile for a man whose name and appearance matched Holmes has been removed from a dating website. Match.com spokesman Matthew Traub on Tuesday confirmed reports on TMZ.com and elsewhere that the profile was posted before the movie theater massacre. Traub would not comment on whether Match.com believes Holmes actually posted the profile.

The profile included the question, “Will you visit me in prison?” and said, “I spend a lot of time thinking about the future, mind (equals) blown.”

The profile photo showed a man whose hair is reddish orange, similar to Holmes’ hair when he appeared in court Monday.

New details emerged about the night of the shooting.

Clad in head-to-toe combat gear, Holmes allegedly burst into a midnight screening of “The Dark Knight Rises,” tossed gas canisters into the crowd and opened fire. Friends Stephanie Davies and Allie Young, who attended, said the gunman moved around the room yelling and seemingly targeting people.

“He would shout, ‘What are you doing? I said stand up!’ And he would pick people up. I saw him stand over someone. I just see hair and him holding the shirt and ‘boom,’” said Davies, 21.

Outside Colorado, men accused of making threats during or after other screenings of the Batman film have been arrested in separate incidents in Maine, Arizona and Southern California, underscoring moviegoers’ anxieties about security.

In Colorado, the shooting has prompted a sudden surge in gun sales.

In three days, the Colorado Bureau of Investigation approved background checks for 2,887 people who wanted to purchase a firearm. That was 25 percent greater than the average Friday-to-Sunday period in 2012, and 43 percent greater than the same period the week prior.

In Arizona, Jeff Serdy, owner of A.J.I. Sporting Goods in Apache Junction, estimated he saw up to 40 percent more traffic than usual in the two days after the killings.

“I looked out on the floor and said to myself, ‘Whoa, look at all these people,’” Serdy said, noting many customers expressed concern that lawmakers may use the shooting to try to pass gun restrictions. Political analysts say there is little appetite in Congress for such laws.

The two-time Golden Globe winner died Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles after a year-and-a-half-long battle with lung cancer.

CBSChad Everett in a publicity photo from the 1969 to 1976 television drama "Medical Center."

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Chad Everett, the blue-eyed star of the 1970s TV series "Medical Center" who went on to appear in such films and TV shows as "Mulholland Drive" and "Melrose Place," has died. He was 75.

Everett's daughter, Katherine Thorp, said he died Tuesday at his home in Los Angeles after a year-and-a-half-long battle with lung cancer.

Everett played sensitive doctor Joe Gannon for seven years on "Medical Center." The role earned him two Golden Globes and an Emmy nomination.

With a career spanning more than 40 years, Everett guest starred on such TV series as "The Love Boat," "Murder, She Wrote" and "Without a Trace." Everett most recently appeared in the TV series "Castle." His films credits included "The Jigsaw Murders," "The Firechasers" and director Gus Van Sant's "Psycho."

Everett was born in South Bend, Ind., and graduated from Wayne State University before moving to Los Angeles and becoming a contract player with MGM.

In perhaps his most memorable recent film role, Everett played an aging lothario who engages in a steamy audition with a young ingénue portrayed by Naomi Watts in director David Lynch's "Mulholland Drive".

Everett is survived by his two daughters, Katherine and Shannon, and six grandchildren. He was married to actress Shelby Grant for 45 years until her death last year.

Blackie said the state should be doing more to revive the economy.

Lincoln A. Blackie

WEST SPRINGFIELD – Complaining state government is not doing enough to revive the stalled economy, Lincoln A. Blackie kicked off his campaign for state representative before more than 60 supporters Tuesday at the Hofbrahaus restaurant.

“Clearly, something is not working here,” Blackie said alluding to the more than 2,600 manufacturing jobs the area lost in 2011.

Instead of helping, Blackie, 22, said told his supporters state government is strangling new businesses with “red tape.”

Blackie, who has no party affiliation, hopes to unseat state Rep. Michael J. Finn, D-West Springfield, in this November’s election. Finn’s 6th Hampden District consists of West Springfield and parts of Chicopee and Springfield.

“We need an independent approach on Beacon Hill. I want to be that independent voice in Boston for the 6th Hampden District,” Blackie said to cheers and applause.

Blackie was introduced by both his former history teacher and wrestling coach Stanley W. Svec as well as Mayor Gregory C. Neffinger. Svec described the candidate as someone who supported U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., and went on to work as his intern.

Neffinger praised Blackie as a candidate who is unafraid to tell voters his reasons for running for office and is willing to be accountable.

Blackie said his mother, Gina, raised him and his two siblings as a single parent.

Introducing her to the gathering, Blackie said, “This is a strong woman behind me and that is why I am the man I am today.”

The gas by itself is not necessarily harmful but one employee was taken to the hospital as a precaution after complaining of dizziness.

Photo courtesy of CBS 3 SpringfieldThe scene outside Ocean State Job Lot on Memorial Drive in Chicopee Tuesday night.

CHICOPEE - Ocean State Job Lot on Memorial Drive was ordered closed Tuesday evening after a malfunction with one of two 75-ton rooftop air conditioning units flooded the store with a freon vapor cloud, a fire official said.

The gas by itself is not necessarily harmful but one employee was taken to the hospital as a precaution after complaining of dizziness, said Deputy Fire Chief Joseph R. Crevier.

Firefighters were called to the scene at around 7:30 p.m. but the leak had been noticed by management as much as two hours earlier, he said. The managers had already contacted a technical support company about the air conditioner but did not report it to the fire department for some time afterward, he said.

Crevier said that when firefighters arrived the vapor cloud could be seen from the floor to the ceiling of the store, and they ordered an immediate evacuation of the building.

The chemical refrigerant known as R-22 is considered non-flammable and is not generally harmful, although it can irritate the eyes and throat, and overexposure can cause dizziness and a loss of concentration. The vapor can displace air and cause asphyxiation in confined spaces.

He said he did not know why the store delayed in contacting the fire department, the managers were instructed on proper procedures in the event it happens again

The state Department of Environmental Protection was also called to the scene, he said.

The store was ordered closed for the remainder of Tuesday to allow for repairs and for the building to be ventilated, he said. It will likely reopen Wednesday.

The two fires Tuesday night are the latest in a series of arson fires reported in Forest Park, although the others were in an area

View full sizeThe Republican | Patrick JohnsonSpringfield firefighters hose down the front siding of a house at 28 Martin St. that was damaged by fire late Tuesday. Fire officials say at least 2 Molotov cocktails were thrown at the vacant house.

SPRINGFIELD - A porch fire late Tuesday at a vacant house on Martin Street in Forest Park was immediately labled arson by fire investigators, Fire Department spokesman Dennis Leger said.

“At least two Molotov cocktails were thrown at the house,” Leger said.

The fire at 28 Martin St. caused an estimated $5,000 damage. The fire was limited to the roof of the front porch and a portion of vinyl siding on the front side. Firefighters quickly extinguished the fire before it could spread to the interior of the single-family
wood-frame residence, he said.

The house is boarded up and has a for-sale sign out front. Neighbors said it had been vacant for several months.

The fire was reported at 10:45 p.m.

About 20 minutes later, firefighters were called to the area of 281 Hartwick St., also in Forest Park, for a report of a tree on fire.

Leger said investigators determined some type of accelerant was sprayed on the tree and then ignited.

Firefighters were able to put the fire out before it could spread.

Leger said a neighbor reported to police that she saw a group of teens lighting the tree on fire, but when she turned on her porch light, the group scattered.

It is unclear if the two fires are related.

View full sizePhoto courtesy of Jed CortisFlames can be seen on the porch roof at 28 Martin St. Tuesday night. At least 2 Molotov cocktails thrown at the house.

He said when he ran out of his house he could see flames “shooting up the side of the house.”

The two fires Tuesday night are the latest in a series of arson fires reported in Forest Park, although the others were in an area about a mile away near White Street and Sumner Avenue.

The Springfield Arson and Bomb Squad has been investigating nine fires reported between Wednesday and Friday on Kimberly Avenue, Burton Street, Palm Avenue and Allen Street in the Forest Park neighborhood, with houses, vehicles and a restaurant being targeted.

No serious damage or injuries were reported through Friday despite the intensity of the attempts. As many of five Molotov cocktails were thrown at a Palm Street home. Rags where shoved into gas tank opening of one vehicle each on Kimberly Avenue and Burton Street and then ignited.

Some of the victims reported being vandalized with graffiti also.

Residents interviewed Saturday said they were having trouble sleeping because of the attacks. Joseph F. Rescia, owner of Touch of Garlic on White Street, where a vehicle in the parking lot was damaged, said “There’s never been anything like this.” He said on Friday police were “patrolling like crazy.”

The City Council Public Health and Safety Committee has scheduled a meeting Wednesday to discuss the matter.

The meeting is scheduled at 4:30 p.m. at the Frederick Harris School Cafeteria at 58 Hartford Terrace. The council has invited representatives of the police, fire, and sheriff’s departments to attend, along with the Forest Park and East Forest Park civic associations.

Officials of Six Flags New England are seeking permission from the city to build the world’s tallest swing set ride at their amusement park in Agawam.

Photo by John Suchocki / The RepublicanLawyer Jonah Goldsmith with client Lance Gouvan, and lawyer John Drake with client Megan Bonny appear before Judge Jacklyn Connly in Northampton District Court .

These were the most read stories on MassLive.com yesterday. If you missed any of them, click on the links below to read them now.

1) One or more suspects enter unlocked and occupied East Longmeadow home, steal credit cards and keys to SUV Photo at right. [George Graham]

2) At dangerousness hearing, Lance Gouvan -- 1 of 2 accused of trying to hang Northampton girl -- held without right to bail; 2nd suspect eligible for bail [Fred Contrada]

3) Six Flags New England seeks to build world's tallest swing set ride in Agawam [Sandra Constantine]

4) Springfield police arrest 31-year-old Indian Orchard resident Melissa Black after she allegedly stabbed boyfriend with kitchen knife [George Graham]

5) Police respond to family scuffle at home of Katherine Jackson [Ray Kelly]

Blatnick, a three-time All-American during his years at Springfield College, was coached by Douglas Parker, who now lives in Longmeadow.

Springfield College archivesOn his way to winning, Springfield College graduate Jeff Blatnick wears his 1984 Olympic gold medal in Greco-Roman wrestling.

Jeff Blatnick wrote one of the classic comeback stories in Olympics lore, overcoming Hodgkins lymphoma to join teammate Steve Fraser as the first Americans to win gold medals in Greco-Roman wrestling.

Blatnick came to Springfield College from his hometown of Niskayuna, N.Y. He had been a state champion wrestler in high school and continued to excel under Doug Parker, a Springfield College icon who coached at the school from 1956 to 1990.

Blatnick made All-America three times and reigned as NCAA Division II national champion in 1978 and ’79, his junior and senior years.

He went on to make the Olympic team for the Summer Games of 1980 in Moscow, but a U.S. protest against the Soviet Union’s invasion of Afghanistan led to a boycott of the Olympics ordered by U.S. President Jimmy Carter.

In 1982, while training for a shot at the 1984 Summer Games, Blatnick was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, leading to removal of his spleen and appendix. After radiation therapy held the disease in remission, he was able to resume training and made the Olympic team for the second time.

Competing in the super-heavyweight division, Blatnick defeated Thomas Johansson, of Sweden, for the gold medal. He thus became the first Springfield College athlete since swimmer Bill Yorzyk in 1956 to win Olympic gold. Yorzyk did it in the 200-meter butterfly at the games held in Melbourne.

“It was a big surprise to some people when Jeff made the Olympic team in 1980 (because he came from a small school), but he was a very intelligent wrestler, and highly motivated,” said coach Parker, who is retired and lives in Longmeadow. “Jeff had a big decision to make after the boycott, and he chose to stay with it and keep working. That’s why he made the team again in 1984.”

Photo by Dave Roback / The RepublicanFormer Springfield College wrestling coach Douglas Parker holds several signed Olympic flags in his home in Longmeadow. Parker coached Olympic gold medalist Jeff Blatnick.

Blatnick, now 55 years old, gave up competitive wrestling in 1988 and served as a television analyst at the 1988 Olympics. From 1994 to 2000, he worked as a TV commentator in the Ultimate Fighting Championship and became its commissioner and rules interpreter in 2001.

He now serves as wrestling coach at Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake High School in New York state. He also makes himself available as a motivational speaker.

“Jeff was the best athlete I ever worked with in my 40 years in the media relations business,” said Howard Davis, an East Longmeadow resident who served as sports information director at Springfield College, then later at the University of Massachusetts.

“He went undefeated in his senior year, and I remember a match at Lehigh that drew a lot of press coverage. We lost the first six or seven, but then Jeff pinned his guy in 23 seconds. He was phenomenal, and he wasn’t that huge – maybe 220 pounds as a senior,” Davis said.

Blatnick has a special place in Springfield College history, and not just because of his Olympic gold.

“To this day, he’s the only Springfield College athlete to be on the cover of an NCAA preseason guide. That was his senior year, 1979,” Davis said.

Boycott blew it:

File photo by John Suchocki / The RepublicanFormer world champion gymnast and Springfield native Marcia Frederick looks at a painting of herself hung in the former Springfield Civic Center administration office in 2003.

When President Carter ordered a U.S. boycott of the 1980 games in Moscow, Marcia Frederick, of Springfield, lost a chance for Olympic gold.

Frederick already had made history at the age of 15, when, in 1978, she became the first U.S. woman gymnast to win a gold medal. She achieved that in the world championships at Strasbourg, France, with a 9.95 on the uneven parallel bars.

Before Frederick, the only U.S. woman to win a gymnastics medal was Cathy Rigby, who took silver at the 1970 world championships.

In 1980, Frederick made the U.S. Olympic team and was close to reaching her stated goal of being “as good as Nadia Comaneci.”

Comaneci, of Romania, did a perfect 10 on the uneven bars at the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal.

Frederick started at the age of 9, working with Leo Leger, of Springfield, at his Pioneer Gymnastics School. She attended Our Lady of Hope School, then Cathedral High School, before moving to Milford, Conn., to work with Muriel Grossfeld, who would become coach of the 1980 Olympic team for the Summer Games in Moscow.

Frederick, Grossfeld and U.S. male star Kurt Thomas never made it to Moscow – and the ’80 Olympic year proved to be the last chance for Frederick.

She was elected to the U.S. Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1995.

Mount Hermon to Munich:
Who was largely responsible for the distance-running boom which swept America in the 1970s?

Answer: Frank Shorter, the only U.S. runner to win two medals as an Olympic marathoner.

Shorter dominated the marathon in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, winning in 2:12:30 only six days after the games had been rocked by a Palestinian terrorist attack, which led to the deaths of 11 members of Israel’s Olympic contingent.

For Shorter, it was a case of going back to his birthplace. He was born in Munich in 1947 while his father was stationed there as a U.S. Army physician.

Shorter has ties to Western Massachusetts as a 1965 graduate of Mount Hermon School in Northfield. As an athlete for the Big Red, he established New England records for the mile run. He also played baseball, and captained the skiing and cross country teams.

He went on to excel at Yale, and reigned as national 10,000 meters champion, and national cross-country champion.

Shorter won the 1972 marathon by a huge margin.

“I knew I had it won at the 22-mile mark,” he said in an interview with the Associated Press.

Shorter also made the U.S. Olympic team for the Summer Games in Montreal. He took the silver medal as unknown Waldemar Cierpinski, of East Germany, won the gold.

Shorter was elected to the Olympic Hall of Fame in 1984, and the USA Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1979.

Demers at work:
Chuck Demers, a 1953 University of Massachusetts graduate who now lives in Sunderland, served as trainer of the U.S. track and field team at the Munich games.

In 1980, he moved into the role of coordinator of athletic therapy for the U.S. team in the Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, N.Y.

Demers is now retired from a long career at Deerfield Academy.

He’s a member of the National Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame, and the Massachusetts Athletic Trainers Hall of Fame.

Diving for bronze:
Divers at Amherst and Mount Holyoke colleges and Amherst Regional High School have something in common – a medal-winning Olympic coach.

That’s Mary Ellen Clark, a Pennsylvania State All-America diver who won bronze medals in 10-meter platform diving at the Summer Olympics of 1992 and ’96.

Clark coaches both the men’s and women’s diving contingents at Amherst College, a post she has held since 2006. She also coaches Mount Holyoke divers, and works with the Amherst Regional team, as well.

She is a seven-time national champion and a three-time member of the U.S. Pan-American Team. In 1996, she was voted one of the nation’s top 10 female athletes by the U.S. Olympic Committee.

Olympic Pain:
In 1912, Western Massachusetts had its first presence in the Summer Olympics as Springfield’s Howard Drew – then regarded as “the fastest man in the world” – went to Stockholm in search of gold.

Based on what he had accomplished against world-class competition, Drew was favored to win the 100- and 200-meter sprints. He never got the chance to run. A hamstring injury incurred in his 100-meter heat sidelined him, and teammate Ralph Craig went on to win both golds for the United States.

Drew was without doubt one of the all-time great athletes to come out of Springfield. He was so versatile, that he also made the U.S. baseball team, which went to Stockholm to demonstrate the sport before Olympic officials.

Drew went on to become national AAU champion in the 100 and 200. He missed out on another Olympic chance in 1916 when the games were canceled because of World War I. He served in the war as an Army supply sergeant.

He went on to law school at Drake University of Des Moines, Iowa, and eventually became a judge in Hartford.

Garry Brown can be reached at geeman1918@yahoo.com

The Friends are seeking volunteers and funds to support the regional shelter.

File photo by John Suchocki / The RepublicanMichael A. Xavie, Gabriella Klinakis and Jocelyn Coira give Westfield Mayor Danial Kanpik a check last year for the Westfield Animal Shelter in honor of their grandfather, the late City Councilor Charles W. Medeiros.

WESTFIELD – Friends of the Westfield Animal Shelter is considered a valuable volunteer group that provides services and funding necessary to care of stray dogs throughout the region.

That is how Kenneth E. Frazer, shelter operations director, characterizes the group that formed about one year after Westfield opened its first animal shelter in February, 2010.

“This group provides for things the city cannot,” said Frazer.

“They are valuable in the service they provide from walking dogs to raising money. They were started to supplement the shelter in manpower and funding,” he said.

The friends group, also know as HEROES, is launching an outreach program to educate the public on shelter services, seek out additional volunteers along with donations and fund raising events.

“We are the fund raising group and we are trying to get the word out about the shelter and the need for donations,” said president Carole J. Tracy.

“The main focus of our effort is the health and medical care needed by many of the dogs at the shelter,” she said.

There is no specific financial goal and Tracy and fellow member Jan F. Marchesi said all public donations are appreciated. The group has raised about $5,000 in the past year.

“Donations can range from food, blankets, cleaning supplies and money,” said Tracy.

Marchesi is launching an educational project for area elementary schools featuring Oscar, an abandoned dog in need for medication attention, that she adopted in April from the shelter.

HEROES provided the necessary finances for an amputation Oscar needed through Springfield’s Dankin Animal Shelter.

“That is what we do,” Marchesi said.

The group currently has a membership of 50 - 60 volunteers who provide cleaning, exercise and other services daily at Westfield Animal Shelter located at 178 Apremont Way.

The shelter has since expanded to include stray dogs from West Springfield and Agawam. Marchesi is currently canvassing those communities to inform residents there that a missing pet may be at the Westfield shelter.

Dogs are kept at the shelter for 10-days before they are eligible, depending on their health, for adoption.

Frazer said the shelter has an municipal operating budget of about $110,000 that finances staff salaries, rent and heat for the shelter. The city has a five-year lease for the facility with Lawry Realty at $2,200 per month.

The friends group has, in addition to raising funds for animal health issues, provided funding a roof over outside kennels at the shelter.

The shelter has capacity for 25 dogs and currently houses 18.

Upcoming fund raising events include a first annual Scramble for Animals golf tournament to benefit the Westfield Animal Shelter and the Friends of the Westfield Homeless Cat Project on Aug. 12 at Oak ridge Golf Club in Agawam.

HEROES is also hosting a tag sale at the Apremont Way shelter on Aug. 17 and 18 and is seeking donations for that sale. Donations can be dropped off at the shelter.

Additional information is available by calling 413-564-0589 for golf registration and 413-386-6379 or dogsheroes@gmail.com for tag sale donations.

The shelter is open Tuesdays through Fridays from noon to 5 p.m.; Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Clapprood said the group is suspected in a string of recent arson fires in the city's Forest Park neighborhood, and that additional charges may be filed.

The Republican | Patrick JohnsonSpringfield firefighters hose down the front siding of a house at 28 Martin St. that was damaged by fire late Tuesday. Fire officials say at least 2 Molotov cocktails were thrown at the vacant house.

PREVIOUS COVERAGE:

• July 19: Springfield arson squad investigating 3 suspicious fires in same Forest Park neighborhood
• July 20: Arsons continue in Forest Park; 2 new cases brings 3-day total to 9
• July 23: Springfield City Council committee schedules meeting to discuss rash of fires in Forest Park area

SPRINGFIELD -- Eight city teenagers were arrested overnight after small fires were set at a vacant Martin Street home, a tree on Hartwick Street and at the Elks Lodge on Tiffany Street.

Dennis Leger, aide to Fire Commissioner Joseph Conant said the Springfield Arson and Bomb Squad continues to probe the fires. Additional fires may have been set overnight in the Tiffany Street area, he said.

“There possibly may be more that are found today as people get up and get around,” he said.

Capt. Cheryl Clapprood said the teenagers -- ranging in age from 15 to 17 -- will face charges that include arson of a dwelling and breaking and entering for a fire set at 28 Martin St. That fire, believed to have been started when two Molotov cocktails were thrown at the house, was reported around 10:45 p.m. Tuesday and caused an estimated $5,000 in damage.

A short time later, Clapprood said, the group allegedly tried to set fire to a statue of an elk outside the Springfield Lodge of Elks at 440 Tiffany Street.

Clapprood said police, arriving at 28 Martin St., received a description of a suspect and later found him at Dwight and Tiffany streets.

Clapprood said that Springfield police, aided by state police and East Longmeadow and Longmeadow police, went on to arrest the other seven.

Arrested were:

• Deiqwon Duke, 17, 12 Crown St.
• Devonte J. Wise, 17, 120 White St.
• Sheinard Holmes, 17, 28 Florence St.
• Clarence Squaire, 17, 12 Crown St.
• Dayne Bennett, 17, 25 Dawson St.
• Angel Navarro, 17, 36 Kimberly Ave.

Also arrested were two juveniles, ages 15 and 16.

Each of the suspects face nine charges, including arson of a dwelling and breaking and entering pertaining to 28 Martin St.. “The kicked in the door and threw in a Molotov cocktail,” she said.

Clapprood said the group is suspected in a string of recent arson fires in the city's Forest Park neighborhood, and that additional charges may be filed.

The City Council Public Health and Safety Committee had scheduled a public forum today to discuss the recent fires. The meeting was set for 4:30 p.m. at the Frederick Harris School Cafeteria at 58 Hartford Terrace. Representatives of the Police, Fire, and Sheriff’s departments were invited to attend, along with the Forest Park and East Forest Park civic associations.

News of the arrests brought some relief to Forest Park neighborhood residents, including some who live on Kimberly Avenue, who said they have not been able to sleep at night because of the series of set fires.

“We have lived here eight years and nothing like this has ever happened,” said Maria Alicea, who lives with her husband, Pedro and their four children at 11 Kimberly Ave.

Pedro Alicea told the The Republican over the weekend that they had three incidents occur at their home last week. First, his work van had a window smashed. Then his truck was targeted with graffiti – “Wolf Gang 666.” The last incident happened Friday, when a burning rag was found stuffed into the truck’s fuel tank opening.

“You can’t ever sleep,” Pedro Alicea told a reporter. “I’m a little nervous.”

Jane Hetzel, president of the Forest Park Civic Association, informed of the arrests Wednesday morning, said she was “very happy” and hopeful that the strong presence police have maintained in the neigbhorhood because of the fires, continues.

“Let’s hope the rash of fires ends,” Hetzel said.

City Councilor Tom Ashe said the Wednesday afternoon meeting will take place as plannned. “We will be covering a variety of topics I am sure,” he said.

Ashe said he was pleased with the prompt police response that yielded the arrests. “I look forward to speaking with the police and fire department to go over the strategy going forward,” he said.

Ashe said described the string of fires and vandalism as “very alarming....This level of total disrespect for the public is now very apparent.”

Jane Hetzel, president of the Forest Park Civic Association, informed of the arrests Wednesday morning, said she was “very happy” and hopeful that the strong presence police have maintained in the neigbhorhood because of the fires, continues.

“Let’s hope the rash of fires ends,” Hetzel said.

Chris Caputo, president of the East Forest Park Civic Association, said the arrests are “good news for the city...I am sure it was a long investigation and a thorough investigation. Hopefully they will be able to put them away.”

View Forest Park arson fires in the month of July. in a larger map

This is a developing story. Updates will be provided as our reporting continues.

State police are investigating a crash involving a Middlesex Sheriff's Department vehicle that reportedly has left one person dead.

BILLERICA, Mass. (AP) — State police are investigating a crash involving a Middlesex Sheriff's Department vehicle that reportedly has left one person dead.

The single-car crash occurred shortly after 4 a.m. Wednesday on Treble Cove Road in Billerica.

Broadcast reports said one person died in the accident.

State police spokesman David Procopio said in a brief statement that a state police crash reconstruction team has been sent to the scene of the accident but that no other details were being released.

A Connecticut man purchased a 17-pound lobster at a Waterford restaurant, then released the crustacean back into Long Island Sound.

WATERFORD, Conn. (AP) — A Connecticut man purchased a 17-pound lobster at a Waterford restaurant, then released the crustacean back into Long Island Sound.

Don MacKenzie of Niantic tells The Day of New London (http://bit.ly/MGvGHb ) he knew the lobster, nicknamed "Lucky Larry" by local children, would have to be about 80-years-old to reach his current size and felt it deserved to live.

MacKenzie won't say how much he paid The Dock restaurant to take Larry off the menu.

He took the lobster back to sea Tuesday, releasing it in a secret location.

MacKenzie received a send-off from a group of children chanting "Let Larry Live" and the lobster was given a salute from the Niantic River Bridge operator who sounded the lift bridge's siren as the boat carrying it headed back to sea.

_

Information from: The Day, http://www.theday.com

A disciplinary hearing is set for a Leominster police officer after an internal investigation found that he directed a racial slur at Boston Red Sox outfielder Carl Crawford.

AP Photo/Charles KrupaBoston Red Sox's Carl Crawford watches the flight of a fly out to center during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Chicago White Sox at Fenway Park in Boston, Monday, July 16, 2012.

LEOMINSTER, Mass. (AP) — A disciplinary hearing is set for a Leominster police officer after an internal investigation found that he directed a racial slur at Boston Red Sox outfielder Carl Crawford.

Officer John Perrault was placed on paid leave last week. City officials have said he could face more severe punishment, including being fired, as a result of the hearing scheduled for Wednesday.

Witnesses said Perrault, who is white, began heckling Crawford, who is black, before a minor league game in Manchester, N.H., earlier this month. The witnesses said Perrault, who was off-duty, called Crawford a "monday," which the player interpreted as a racial slur.

The word can be used as a derogatory term for blacks, and is often associated with Mondays being one of the least-liked days of the week.

Gov. Deval Patrick is weighing his options as he considers what to do with a sentencing overhaul sent to him by lawmakers last week.

The Associated PressMassachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick watches President Obama speaking on television about the Supreme Court's ruling on Obama's health care overhaul, Thursday, June 28, 2012, in Boston. Patrick hailed the court's ruling as a victory for the role of government in helping people help themselves. He said the law gives families more security while holding insurers accountable. (AP Photo/The Boston Globe, Bill Greene)

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1st Congressional District candidate to chat live with readers Thursday: Bill Shein, the Berkshire County writer and political activist who is running to represent the 1st Congressional District in Massachusetts, will participate in a live chat with MassLive.com readers on Thursday, July 26 at noon.

• Casino operators eye 4 potential sites in Springfield
• George Bush speaks at Massachusetts travel convention -- but not about Mitt Romney
• Poll: Elizabeth Warren's favorability numbers rising as Massachusetts voters get to know her

BOSTON (AP) — Gov. Deval Patrick is weighing his options as he considers what to do with a sentencing overhaul sent to him by lawmakers last week.

The bill aims to crack down on habitual offenders by barring parole after a third violent crime. The measure also reduces some mandatory minimum sentences imposed on non-violent drug offenders.

Patrick described the bill on Tuesday as good, but not great. But he told reporters he has not decided whether to sign the measure, veto it, or send it back to lawmakers with amendments.

The legislative session ends next Tuesday.

The governor said he'd prefer the so-called "three strikes" provision include flexibility for judges to allow parole for three-time felons in limited cases. He's also seeking a commitment from lawmakers for further sentencing reform next year.

A building superintendent at an apartment complex just off the Rutgers University campus called the New Brunswick Police 911 line in June 2009. He said his staff had been conducting a routine inspection and came across something suspicious.

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1st Congressional District candidate to chat live with readers Thursday: Bill Shein, the Berkshire County writer and political activist who is running to represent the 1st Congressional District in Massachusetts, will participate in a live chat with MassLive.com readers on Thursday, July 26 at noon.

• Casino operators eye 4 potential sites in Springfield
• George Bush speaks at Massachusetts travel convention -- but not about Mitt Romney
• Poll: Elizabeth Warren's favorability numbers rising as Massachusetts voters get to know her

By ADAM GOLDMAN and MATT APUZZO, Associated Press

NEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) — It's an audiotape the New York Police Department hoped you would never hear.

A building superintendent at an apartment complex just off the Rutgers University campus called the New Brunswick Police 911 line in June 2009. He said his staff had been conducting a routine inspection and came across something suspicious.

"What's suspicious?" the dispatcher asked.

"Suspicious in the sense that the apartment has about — has no furniture except two beds, has no clothing, has New York City Police Department radios."

"Really?" the dispatcher asked, her voice rising with surprise.

The caller, Salil Sheth, had stumbled upon one of the NYPD's biggest secrets: a safe house, a place where undercover officers working well outside the department's jurisdiction could lie low and coordinate surveillance. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks, the NYPD, with training and guidance from the CIA, has monitored the activities of Muslims in New York and far beyond. Detectives infiltrated mosques, eavesdropped in cafes and kept tabs on Muslim student groups, including at Rutgers.

The NYPD kept files on innocent sermons, recorded the names of political organizers in police documents and built databases of where Muslims lived and shopped, even where they were likely to gather to watch sports. Out-of-state operations, like the one in New Brunswick, were one aspect of this larger intelligence-gathering effort. The Associated Press previously described the discovery of the NYPD inside the New Jersey apartment, but police now have released the tape of the 911 call and other materials after a legal fight.

"There's computer hardware, software, you know, just laying around," the caller continued. "There's pictures of terrorists. There's pictures of our neighboring building that they have."

The Associated PressThis July 13, 2011, photo shows the apartment complex in New Brunswick, N.J., where an apartment was rented by an undercover NYPD officer. On June 2, 2009, a building superintendent at the complex just off the Rutgers University campus called 911 after stumbling one of the NYPD's biggest secrets - a safe house, a place where undercover officers working well outside the department's jurisdiction could lay low and coordinate surveillance. The Associated Press has obtained a copy of the 911 call that exposed the NYPD safe house. In 2011, the AP requested a copy of the 911 tape. The New Brunswick Police refused. After the AP sued, the city turned over the tape and emails this week that described the NYPD’s efforts to keep the recording a secret. (AP Photo/Matt Apuzzo)

"In New Brunswick?" the dispatcher asked, sounding as confused as the caller.

The AP requested a copy of the 911 tape last year. Under pressure from the NYPD, the New Brunswick Police Department refused. After the AP sued, the city this week turned over the tape and emails that described the NYPD's efforts to keep the recording a secret.

The call sent New Brunswick police and the FBI rushing to the apartment complex. Officers and agents were surprised at what they found. None had been told that the NYPD was in town.

At the NYPD, the bungled operation was an embarrassment. It made the department look amateurish and forced it to ask the FBI to return the department's materials.

The emails highlight the sometimes convoluted arguments the NYPD has used to justify its out-of-state activities, which have been criticized by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and some members of Congress. The NYPD has infiltrated and photographed Muslim businesses and mosques in New Jersey, monitored the Internet postings of Muslim college students across the Northeast and traveled as far away as New Orleans to infiltrate and build files on liberal advocacy groups.

In February, NYPD's deputy commissioner for legal matters, Andrew Schaffer, told reporters that detectives can operate outside New York because they aren't conducting official police duties.

"They're not acting as police officers in other jurisdictions," Schaffer said.

In trying to keep the 911 tape under wraps, however, the NYPD made no mention of the fact that its officers were not acting as police. In fact, Lt. Cmdr. William McGroarty and Assistant Chief Thomas Galati argued that releasing the recording would jeopardize investigations and endanger the people and buildings.

Further, the apartment, No. 1076, was rented by an undercover NYPD officer using a fake name that he was still using, New Brunswick attorneys told the AP.

"Such identification will place the safety of any officers identified, as well as the undercover operatives with whom they work, at risk," Galati wrote in a letter to New Brunswick.

The city deleted that name from the copy of the tape that it released.

Reached by phone Tuesday, McGroarty declined to discuss the New Brunswick operation. But the recording offers a glimpse inside the safe house: a small apartment with two computers, dozens of black plastic boxes and no furniture or clothes except one suit.

"And pictures of our neighboring buildings?" the dispatcher asked.

"Yes, the Matrix building," Sheth replied, referring to a local developer. "There's pictures of terrorists. There's literature on the Muslim religion."

New York authorities have encouraged people like Sheth to call 911. In its "Eight Signs of Terrorism," people are encouraged to call the police if they see evidence of surveillance, information gathering, suspicious activities or anything that looks out of place.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has defended the police department's right to go anywhere in the country in search of terrorists without telling local police. And New Jersey Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa has said he's seen no evidence that the NYPD's efforts violated his state's laws.

Muslim groups, however, have sued to shut down the NYPD programs. Civil rights lawyers have asked a federal judge to decide whether the spying violates federal rules that were set up to prevent a repeat of NYPD abuses of the 1950s, when police Red Squads spied on student groups and activists in search of communists.

The amount collected by all Senate candidates through the end of June has topped $46.7 million, according to an Associated Press review of campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

The Associated PressThese 2012 file photos show incumbent U.S. Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., left, and Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren, right, in Boston. Brown and Warren have raised more money from supporters than in any other election in state history — and Election Day is still more than three months away. (AP File Photos)

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1st Congressional District candidate to chat live with readers Thursday: Bill Shein, the Berkshire County writer and political activist who is running to represent the 1st Congressional District in Massachusetts, will participate in a live chat with MassLive.com readers on Thursday, July 26 at noon.

• Casino operators eye 4 potential sites in Springfield
• George Bush speaks at Massachusetts travel convention -- but not about Mitt Romney
• Poll: Elizabeth Warren's favorability numbers rising as Massachusetts voters get to know her

By STEVE LeBLANC, Associated Press

BOSTON (AP) — The candidates for U.S. Senate in Massachusetts have raised more money from supporters than in any other election in state history — and Election Day is still more than three months away.

The amount collected by all Senate candidates through the end of June has topped $46.7 million, according to an Associated Press review of campaign finance reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

That's more than the nearly $44.4 million spent during the entire 2010 special Senate election to fill the seat left vacant by the death of longtime Democratic U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, the contest that propelled Republican Scott Brown into the Senate.

The bulk of the money in the current contest — including millions in out-of-state donations — has come from supporters of Brown and Democratic challenger Elizabeth Warren, the only candidates left in the race, signaling the importance both national parties have placed on the race.

Democrats and Republicans see the outcome of the contest as key to control of the Senate.

When the amount of money Senate candidates have loaned their campaigns in past elections is factored out, the amount raised so far in the 2012 election is even more impressive.

In the 2010 special election, Senate candidates in Massachusetts contributed $8.6 million out of their own pockets to their campaigns, most notably Democratic candidate and Boston Celtics co-owner Steve Pagliuca, who poured more than $7.7 million into his campaign. Pagliuca lost the Democratic primary to the party's eventual nominee, Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley.

In 2012, by comparison, neither Brown nor Warren have reported making any personal loans, and all other Senate candidates have loaned less than $64,000 to their campaigns. The seven other candidates have since dropped out or been forced from the field.

The $46.7 million raised in the Senate race also tops the nearly $40.8 million collected by candidates running for governor in 2006 election cycle, when Democrat Deval Patrick was elected, as well as other high-profile U.S. Senate elections in the state. For example, Democratic Sen. John Kerry raised about $10.3 million to fend off a challenge in 1996 from then-Republican Gov. William Weld, who raised just over $8 million.

By comparison, as of the end of June, Brown reported total donations of more than $19.9 million, while Warren has pulled in more than $24.5 million, in what could end up being the most expensive Senate race in the country, not counting money raised and spent by outside groups.

The totals include nearly $2.5 million Brown collected from political action committees and the more than $440,000 Warren accepted from PACs.

The campaigns have used the money for a host of expenses — everything from travel and staff salaries to catering, office supplies, telemarketing, polling and postage.

For Brown, expenses range from $13 for food at a Mexican restaurant in Chicago to more than $61,000 spent on fundraising phone calls. Warren also had a wide range of expenses, from more than a dozen orders to Winston Flowers to hundreds of thousands spent on media production and direct mail.

Ultimately a hefty chunk of the money raised by both candidates will be funneled into television, radio and Internet advertising as Election Day approaches.

Both campaigns have called into question some of the money being raised by their opponent.

Brown has noted that Warren has consistently collected most of her larger contributions from outside Massachusetts. The Brown campaign has tried to portray Warren, who has received donations from Barbra Streisand and Danny DeVito, as part of a Hollywood and liberal elite, and someone who doesn't represent most Massachusetts residents.

During the most recent quarter, Warren raised about 60 percent of her larger donations from outside Massachusetts, while Brown received about 40 percent of his larger donations from outside the state.

The Warren campaign in turn has highlighted contributions Brown has collected from Wall Street, saying he's beholden to big banks.

Both campaigns say they'll have enough money to get their message out before Election Day.

"Wall Street and other powerful interests are going to continue to send their millions to Scott Brown," said Warren campaign manager Mindy Myers. "But with the power of working men and women in the commonwealth behind us, we will continue to have the resources we need to compete and win."

Brown, in turn, has asked his backers to help him combat what he said was an "onslaught of funds" for Warren.

"Every single time Warren asks, her followers answer — with a torrent of cash she will use in the fall to distort and deceive," Brown wrote in an email to supporters. "They've got an extreme agenda and millions of dollars still left to put behind it before Election Day."

The contributions come in donations as small as $10 or $20 up to the maximum allowed under federal campaign finance law. Donors are allowed to give up to $2,500 for primary and another $2,500 during the general election.

The mind-boggling sums raised by both candidates left some voters scratching their heads.

"Is it necessary to raise that amount?" Said Herb Lozano, a 23-year-old youth coordinator from the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston. "Where's the money coming from? Who's funding them? I don't know anyone who would give $2,500 to a Senate candidate."

One reason why both candidates are stockpiling such huge sums of money is an agreement they signed earlier this year designed to discourage outside groups from running attack ads on television, radio and the Internet. The so-called "People's Pledge" — if it holds — means Brown and Warren can't depend on deep-pocketed super PACs and other outside groups from plastering the airwaves with negative ads targeting their rival.

Under the agreement, a candidate who benefits from a third-party group's advertisement has to pay half the cost of the ad to a charity named by the other candidate.

To date, Brown has paid nearly $36,000 to Warren's charity, the Autism Consortium in Boston. Warren hasn't had to write a check.

North Korea said its new, young leader Kim Jong Un is married, announcing it for the first time in a brief and routine state TV report Wednesday evening that ends weeks of speculation about a beautiful woman who accompanied him to recent public events.

AP Photo/David Guttenfelder, FileIn this Sunday, April 15, 2012 file photo, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un waves from a balcony at the end of a mass military parade in Pyongyang's Kim Il Sung Square. North Korea said its new, young leader Kim is married, announcing it for the first time in a brief and routine state TV report Wednesday evening, July 25, 2012.

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — North Korea said its new, young leader Kim Jong Un is married, announcing it for the first time in a brief and routine state TV report Wednesday evening that ends weeks of speculation about a beautiful woman who accompanied him to recent public events.

Kim toured an amusement park with his "wife, comrade Ri Sol Ju" on Tuesday, while a crowd cheered for the leader, the speaker said without giving any more details about Ri, including how long they had been married.

Seven months after inheriting the country from his father, Kim Jong Il, the 20-something leader has been shown in the media several times with the young woman, including at a concert where Mickey Mouse and other Disney characters appeared and at tours of various North Korean sites.

While the woman hasn't been identified until now, media and analysts in the South were quick to guess that she was his wife.

Kim's public appearances with the woman are a striking change from his father's style. Kim Jong Il's 17-year rule was known for its secrecy. His companions and his children weren't mentioned by state media, including Kim Jong Un, who was virtually unknown before his formal introduction to the world in late 2010.

The new leader's style is considered more similar to his grandfather, North Korea founder Kim Il Sung, who built homes, parks and schools and was often shown alongside his wife, Kim Jong Suk, and with children in his arms.

The speculation about Kim Jong Un's private life has coincided with high tension on the Korean Peninsula following a North Korean long-range rocket launch in April and repeated threats by Pyongyang to attack the South.

The farm center will begin next year but be operational in 2014.

Submitted photoThis is an archival photo of an 1894 barn that will be moved to the Wysocki Field for the new UMass Agricultural Learning Center.

AMHERST -- As the University of Massachusetts celebrates its 150th anniversary next year, the school originally known as Mass Aggie is returning to its roots with the creation of the Agricultural Learning Center on the Wysocki field.

While the university has farms in Deerfield, Belchertown and in East Wareham, those are laboratories, explained Stephen Herbert, director for the Center for Agriculture.

The facility at Wysocki field will be an actual working farm, something that hasn’t been on campus in about a century, he said. “Students learning by doing has been lost,” he said.

About 200 students will use the center each year.

“It’s quite an exciting project for us,” said Dennis J. Swinford, director of Campus Planning.

As part of the center, UMass will be relocating an 1894 horse barn and the Blaisdell House from near the George N. Parks Minuteman Marching Band Building to the site on North Pleasant Street. The creation of the center “provides us the opportunity to move the barn to be the centerpiece,” Swinford said.

While the farm itself will be part of the UMass operating budget, UMass will have to raise about $5 million to renovate the barn into classrooms.

The Massachusetts Farm Bureau Federation has pledged $500,000 for the project.

Hebert said he had been considering the creation of the farm center for a little more than a year.

Students studying agriculture “don’t always have the practical skills" to go along with academics.

Students take internships on neighboring farms but that means negotiating transportation. This will be right on campus and offer them the chance to work in myriad fields.

Typically, students work on one kind of farm, he said, but the farm center will offer students the chance to learn to grow fruit trees, vegetables, biofuel crops, and agronomic crops such as wheat and barley. They will also have the chance to study turf management, belted Galloway cows and cranberries.

Hebert said the interest in the center is there in part because of the success of the student initiated and award-winning permaculture garden outside the Franklin Dining Commons and the resurgence of interest in farming and locally produced food.

And the center will not be just for students.

Sandra Thomas, the project manager, said they will offer classes and encourage people to walk to the property where they can learn, something that is part of the university land grant mission. “It’s a wonderful opportunity to learn.”

The plan is to begin the center next year with the formal creation in 2014, Hebert said, adding, “It’s a work in progress.”

Swinford said they don't yet know when they will move the buildings.
UMass officials, meanwhile, are holding a meeting Tuesday in the community room of the police department to present plans and answer questions. That meeting is at 6 p.m.

Futures were mixed Wednesday as investors overlooked a bevy of ugly quarterly earnings on the growing belief that the Federal Reserve will soon step in to revitalize the economy.

(AP Photo/Richard Drew/file)A June 25, 2012 file photo shows Specialist Christopher Trotta working on the floor of the New York Stock. Wall Street was poised for a muted open Tuesday June 26, 2012, with both Dow futures and the broader S&P 500 futures up 0.2 percent. A parade of grim news sent investors fleeing stocks for a third straight day on Tuesday July 24, 2012.

NEW YORK (AP) — Futures were mixed Wednesday as investors overlooked a bevy of ugly quarterly earnings on the growing belief that the Federal Reserve will soon step in to revitalize the economy.

Dow Jones industrial futures added 125 points to 12,649 and the broader S&P futures rose 8.8 points to 1,338.30. Tech heavy Nasdaq futures slid 3.75 points at 2,544.75 after surprisingly weak earnings from Apple and Netflix.

Apple shares fell more than 4 percent in premarket trading Wednesday after the company revealed in its earnings report that consumers, leery about what is ahead for the U.S. economy, are buying lower-end versions of iPads and iPhones.

It was Apple's slowest growth in two years and also a rare miss as it fell short of Wall Street expectations.

More disappointing earnings followed Wednesday, with Ford reporting a 57 percent decline in net income, PepsiCo saying net income tumbled 21 percent. WellPoint, the nation's second largest insurer, lowered its outlook because of falling profits and Delta Air Lines reported second-quarter losses of nearly $200 million due to bad hedging calls on oil.

There were some surprises to the upside, however.

Caterpillar rode a recovery in the housing market and robust mining activity overseas to a profit of $1.7 billion during the quarter, blowing away Wall Street expectations. It also raised its outlook and shares jumped 4 percent in premarket trading.

Boeing, coming off a dazzling performance at the Farnborough Airshow in the U.K., said its second-quarter net income rose 3 percent on strong sales of commercial airplanes and unexpected defense unit growth. It too raised its outlook and shares edged 3 percent higher before the opening bell.

S&P futures jumped 20 points after the pair of industrial power houses put up gigantic numbers, but futures were sharply higher early on with expectations rising that the Federal Reserve, growing impatient with the sputtering economic rebound, will act.

Central bank officials meet next week.

Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress last week of possible actions the Fed could take, including more spending on Treasuries and sustained efforts to keep interest rates low.

Later on Wednesday, the Commerce Department will release its report on new home sales in June. Economists expect sales increased 0.3 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 370,000 in June, according to a survey by FactSet.

Caterpillar cited housing in its surprisingly strong earnings report and a positive number could easily push markets higher Wednesday.

Builders broke ground last month on the most new homes and apartments in nearly four years. And permits to build single-family homes rose to the highest level since March 2010. Surveys also show that builders are more confident in the market, partly because they are seeing more interest from potential buyers.

Cole Hamels will be staying in Philadelphia after all.

Associated PressCole Hamels will be staying with the Philadelphia Phillies after he agreed to a contract on Wednesday.

Cole Hamels has agreed to a six-year, $144 million contract extension with the Philadelphia Phillies, CBSSports.com first reported Wednesday morning.

According to USA TODAY, the deal also includes a vesting option for a seventh year that would make the total value more than $160 million.

Hamels, 28, was set to become a free agent after this season and likely would have been dealt prior to the July 31 nonwaiver trading deadline if the two sides hadn’t come to agreement on a long-term deal.

Drafted by the Phillies in the first round in 2002, Hamels is 85-58 with a 3.38 ERA in 200 games (199 starts) in his seven-season career. He was the MVP of the 2008 NLCS and the 2008 World Series. In 19 starts this season, Hamels is 11-4 with a 3.23 ERA and 131 strikeouts in 133 2/3 innings.

His deal is the most lucrative in Phillies history and is the second-biggest ever for a major league pitcher, trailing only CC Sabathia’s seven-year, $161 million contract with the New York Yankees.

The Phillies’ rotation now includes three pitchers with average salaries worth at least $20 million, with Hamels, lefthander Cliff Lee (five years for $120 million and a $27.5 team option for 2016) and righthander Roy Halladay (three years, $60 million with a $20 million option for 2014).

Given their reported desire to stay below the $178 luxury tax threshold and their 44-54 record, the Phillies still could become seller prior to the trading deadline. Among their possible trade chips: center fielder Shane Victorino and right fielder Hunter Pence. There has even been speculation that Philadelphia will trade Lee, with the Texas Rangers among the teams interested in acquiring him.

London Olympic organizers mistakenly displayed the South Korean flag on a jumbo screen instead of North Korea's before a women's soccer match Wednesday, prompting the North Koreans to refuse to take the field for nearly an hour.

This mobile phone photo provided by James Crossan, shows a mistakenly displayed South Korean flag on a jumbo screen instead of North Korea's, before a women's soccer match which prompted the North Koreans to refuse to take the field for nearly an hour on Wednesday, July 25, 2012, in Glasgow, Scotland. "We will apologize to the team and the National Olympic Committee and steps will be taken to ensure this does not happen again," organizers said. (AP Photo/James Crossan)

FRANK GRIFFITHS
Associated Press

GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — London Olympic organizers mistakenly displayed the South Korean flag on a jumbo screen instead of North Korea's before a women's soccer match Wednesday, prompting the North Koreans to refuse to take the field for nearly an hour.

The flag flap began during player introductions when a North Korean player was introduced along with a shot of the South Korean flag.

The match against Colombia was delayed for more than an hour, and organizers apologized for the error.

"Today ahead of the women's football match at Hampden Park, the South Korean flag was shown on a big screen video package instead of the North Korean flag. Clearly that is a mistake," organizers said. "We will apologize to the team and the National Olympic Committee and steps will be taken to ensure this does not happen again."

The International Olympic Committee put the responsibility on London officials.

"It's a matter for the organizers," IOC spokesman Mark Adams said.

North Korea and South Korea are bitter rivals. The flag mix-up comes amid high tension on the Korean Peninsula following a North Korean long-range rocket launch in April and repeated threats by Pyongyang to attack the South. Seoul and the U.S. have called the launch a cover for a test of banned long-range missile technology. North Korea says the rocket, which broke apart shortly after liftoff, was meant to put a satellite into orbit.

Wednesday's match started 1 hour, 5 minutes late. Fans were confused at first, then turned to doing the wave and finally started booing as they became increasingly restless.

An announcement was eventually made over the public address system about 20 minutes after the scheduled 7:45 p.m. (1845 GMT; 2:45 p.m. EDT) kick off, apologizing for the delay and saying it "was due to an issue behind the scenes. We're trying to resolve it and we'll keep you updated."

To pass more time, music was pumped from the speakers. Players from both teams finally emerged onto the field about 40 minutes after the match was supposed to begin. The players warmed up again for 10 minutes before they returned inside the tunnel to be led out again for the national anthems.

Flag controversies aren't new at the Olympics. At the 1992 Barcelona Games, Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Charles Barkley from the Dream Team draped U.S. flags over their shoulders to hide a rival sponsor's logo on their jackets when they received their gold medals.

At the 2010 Vancouver Games, the Australians displayed a flag with a boxing kangaroo — the mascot for the country's team — in the athletes village, despite an International Olympic Committee rule that usually only permits official national flags to be displayed. The IOC eventually relented.

In 2000, sprinter Cathy Freeman caused a stir when she took a victory lap after winning the 400-meter final at the Sydney Games draped in the Aboriginal flag, which was not recognized as an official national flag by the IOC.

Also in 2000, North and South Korean athletes marched together at the opening ceremony of the Sydney Olympics under the unified Korea flag, sparking a standing ovation. But with relations deteriorating in the years since, each country insists on a separate flag.

Last month, there was another mix-up in Britain. British field hockey officials apologized to the South African women's team for playing the apartheid-era national anthem before one of its matches at the London Cup, a warm-up event for the Olympics.

The event's organizer, Great Britain Hockey, said it was an administrative mistake and offered a "full and unreserved apology."

___

AP Sports Writer Joseph White contributed to this report.