An investigation by the state Inspector General has found that a plan to contain the cost of providing health care to low-income residents is actually costing more.

BOSTON (AP) — An investigation by the state Inspector General has found that a plan to contain the cost of providing health care to low-income residents is actually costing more.

The plan calls for insurers that contract with the state to manage the care of low-income Medicaid patients to negotiate lower prices with providers. The report found that the plans pay higher fees to many hospitals and doctors than the traditional Medicaid program pays for the same services.

Hospitals with a recognizable name or that dominate a particular region were paid up to 2 ½ times the standard rate.

The higher payments cost taxpayers $328 million during the 2011 fiscal year.

The Boston Globe reports that the Inspector General recommends that the state use its contracts with the plans to cap payments.

The Hall of Fame infielder told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Friday that his mother Vi is a tough woman, but her sense of security has been violated.

(AP Photo/Roberto Borea, File)FILE - This June 18, 2002 file photo shows Cal Ripken Jr., right, owner of the Aberdeen IronBirds, and his brother, Bill, walking off the field with their mother, Vi, after she threw out the ceremomial first pitch prior to the team's season-opening debut at the new Ripken Stadium in Aberdeen, Md.

BALTIMORE (AP) — Cal Ripken says his 74-year-old mother is doing "pretty well" and has been comforted by family members since her kidnapping last week.

The Hall of Fame infielder told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Friday that his mother Vi is a tough woman, but her sense of security has been violated. He says she has not yet returned to her home in Aberdeen, Md.

Vi told police she was kidnapped at gunpoint last week, blindfolded and driven around. She was found unharmed in her car the following day.

Cal Ripken has scheduled a news conference for Friday morning in Baltimore, when he's expected to provide an update on the investigation.

Aberdeen, Md., police have released a sketch and video of the suspect, but have provided few details.

A Republican congressman who's retiring in frustration over political gridlock says he hopes the institution doesn't have to hit "rock bottom" before people learn to work together.

The Associated PressIn this Nov. 17, 2004 file photo, Rep. Steven LaTourette, R-Ohio, gestures during an interview with the Associated Press in his on Capitol Hill in Washington. Citing frustration with the climate in Congress, LaTourette has announced he will retire. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Republican congressman who's retiring in frustration over political gridlock says he hopes the institution doesn't have to hit "rock bottom" before people learn to work together.

Ohio's Steven LaTourette tells MSNBC it's more difficult for a reasonable person to get re-elected to Congress because "the red districts are turning redder and the blue districts are turning bluer."

The red-versus-blue theory came to prominence when political analysts began breaking down the electoral map in terms of blue states as Democratic-leaning and red states as Republican. LaTourette says Friday that voters haven't demanded enough. He says when Congress failed to make a deal on budget cuts, quote, "I didn't get one phone call. I didn't get one email."

He says people should have been saying, " 'What's wrong with these chuckleheads.' "

The economy has added an average of 151,000 jobs a month this year — enough to keep up with population growth but not enough to drive down the unemployment rate.

AP Photo/Richard DrewIn this Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012 photo, New York Stock Exchange Senior Compliance Associate Matthew Pizzo, an Air Force veteran who has law and business degrees, works in his office at the New York Stock Exchange. Pizzo had gone two years without work, until recently, as he is now finishing his first week of work at the exchange. U.S. employers added 163,000 jobs in July, a hopeful sign after three months of sluggish hiring.

WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added 163,000 jobs in July, a hopeful sign after three months of sluggish hiring.

The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate rose to 8.3 percent from 8.2 percent in June.

July's hiring was the best since February. Still, the economy has added an average of 151,000 jobs a month this year — enough to keep up with population growth but not enough to drive down the unemployment rate.

"After a string of disappointing economic reports ... we'll certainly take it," said James Marple, senior economist at TD Economics.

The government uses two surveys to measure employment. A survey of businesses showed job gains. The unemployment rate comes from a survey of households and is calculated by dividing the number of unemployed people by the size of the labor force. In July, more people said they were unemployed, while the size of the labor force shrank even more.

Economists say the business survey is more reliable.

Investors appeared pleased with the report. Futures tracking the Standard & Poor's 500 index and the Dow Jones industrial average gained about 1 percent. The stock market is coming off four days of losses. Yields on government bonds also rose as investors moved money out of low-risk assets.

Stronger job creation could help President Barack Obama's re-election hopes. Still, the unemployment rate has been above 8 percent since his first month in office — the longest stretch on record. No president since World War II has faced re-election with unemployment over 8 percent.

A better outlook on hiring could make the Federal Reserve reluctant to take more action to spur growth. The Fed, which ended a two-day policy meeting Wednesday, signaled in a statement a growing inclination to take further steps if hiring doesn't pick up.

But some economists say the job gains need to be greater.

Paul Ashworth, senior U.S. economist for Capital Economics, said July's job gains were a "vast improvement" over the past four months. Still, they were well below the average 252,000 jobs a month added from December through February.

"It also isn't strong enough to drive the unemployment rate lower, which is what the Fed really wants to see. So, on balance, we doubt this would be enough to persuade the Fed to hold fire in September," Ashworth said.

The job gains were broad-based. Manufacturing added 25,000 jobs, the most since March. Restaurants and bars added 29,000. Retailers hired 7,000 more workers. Education and health services gained 38,000. Governments cut 9,000 positions.

Average hourly wages also increased by 2 cents. Over the past year wages have increased 1.7 percent — matching the rate of inflation.

Despite July's gains, the economy remains weak more than three years after economists declared the recession had ended in June 2009. Growth slowed to an annual rate of 1.5 percent in the April-June quarter, down from 2 percent in the first quarter and 4.1 percent in the final three months of 2011.

Manufacturing activity shrank for the second straight month in July, a private survey said Wednesday. Consumer confidence improved slightly last month but remains weak.

Rising pessimism about the future is taking a toll on businesses and consumers, many economists say. Europe's financial crisis has weakened that region's economy, hurting U.S. exports. Worries have also intensified that the U.S. economy will fall off a "fiscal cliff" at the end of the year. That's when tax increases and deep spending cuts will take effect unless Congress reaches a budget deal. A recession could follow, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has warned.

Americans are responding by spending less and saving more. A big reason growth slowed in the second quarter was that consumer spending, which accounts for roughly 70 percent of economic activity, slowed to an annual growth rate of 1.5 percent. That was down from 2.4 percent in the first quarter.

Mitt Romney jumped on the rise in the national unemployment rate, calling the figures a "hammer blow" to middle-class families.

AP Photo/Evan VucciPresident Barack Obama greets the crowd after arriving for a campaign stop at Loudoun County High School on Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012 in Leesburg, Va.

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama got new figures Friday to buttress his argument that he's presiding over steady, if slow, economic growth. But the government's report that the overall rate of unemployment actually crept up to 8.3 percent allows Republican rival Mitt Romney to keep pressure on Obama to defend his record.

The new unemployment numbers showed that private employers added 163,000 jobs in July, the best pace of hiring in five months. The jobless rate rose, however, to 8.3 percent from 8.2. percent in June. And Romney jumped on it, calling the figures a "hammer blow" to middle-class families.

No U.S. president since World War II has faced re-election with unemployment over 8 percent.

Obama was expected to comment on the new jobs numbers later Friday morning at a White House event on middle class tax cuts. Romney was campaigning Friday in Nevada, the state with the nation's highest unemployment rate, before heading to fundraise in Idaho.

Romney released a statement shortly after the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced the new figures for July.

Romney says Americans deserve better than an unemployment rate that stays stubbornly stuck above 8 percent. He says Obama "doesn't have a plan" for boosting growth and said that his economic plan would create 1.2 million new jobs by the end of his first term.

The candidates sparred from afar on the economy Thursday. Romney, campaigning in Colorado, said his economic program would create 12 million jobs in the next four years. Obama told voters in Florida that his rival favors "trickle-down tax cut fairy dust" that has failed to fix the economy in the past.

Romney's plan for job growth included several broad ideas but few specifics. He said he would help small business owners, cut spending to reduce the deficit and cut taxes.

Obama sought this week to draw a contrast with Romney on taxes, saying the Republican's call for extending cuts for upper-income earners would mean higher tax bills for the middle class. The president's new television ad made the case with a highly personalized message: Romney has paid a lower proportion of his income in taxes than many people of lesser means.

Obama planned to hammer his tax message again on Friday by calling on Congress to extend tax cuts for families making less than $250,000 a year before those cuts expire at the end of the year. The president wants to end the tax cuts, first enacted under President George W. Bush, for families making more than $250,000.

While the overall race for the White House remains deadlocked, several polls show Romney with an advantage over Obama on economic issues. A USA Today/Gallup Poll conducted in late July found 50 percent of Americans said Romney is the candidate who would be better at job creation, with 44 percent siding with Obama.

Economists set modest expectations for Friday's jobs report. They expected the economy to have generated just 100,000 jobs last month, which would likely keep the unemployment rate at 8.2 percent.

The trajectory of late hasn't given the Obama White House anything to celebrate.

The American economy grew at a listless 1.5 percent annual pace from April through June, even slower than the 2 percent rate in the first three months of the year.

The economy added only 80,000 jobs in June, erasing any doubt that the United States is in a summer slump for the third year in a row. From April through June, the economy produced an average of just 75,000 jobs a month, the weakest three months since August through October 2010.

The slide comes after the optimism of early 2012, when the first three months of job growth averaged more than 225,000 a month.

Showers and thunderstorms this afternoon, similar pattern for Saturday.

Clouds continue increasing as we head into the afternoon, leading up to scattered showers and thunderstorms developing by the afternoon. No severe weather outbreaks are expected, but a brief heavy downpour is possible for a few storms. High temperatures reach the lower-90s again today, with the humidity levels elevated just a little bit again today as well.

The best chance of rain today will be after 1 p.m. and through the late afternoon, very typical of a summer day in western Massachusetts. The chance of rain will then diminish heading into the evening hours.

Saturday is a similar story as showers and thunderstorms will develop in the afternoon again. Sunday looks partly sunny throughout the day, with an isolated shower possible as a trough moves through the region. One system we will be watching through the weekend is the potential of stronger thunderstorms late Sunday night through the overnight hours into Monday morning. Then we will dry out nicely with plenty of sunshine for the upcoming workweek.

Today: Afternoon showers and thunderstorms, hot and muggy, high 92.

Tonight: Showers and around sunset, mostly cloudy, mild and muggy, low 66.

Saturday: Partly sunny, scattered afternoon showers/thunderstorms, high 90.

Sunday: Partly sunny, an isolated afternoon shower, rain likely overnight, high 86.

Obituaries from The Republican.

Kathleen T. Lavato

Kathleen T. (Burke) Lavato, 65, of Springfield, a former school teacher in New York State and in Maine, as well as Holy Name Grammar School in Springfield where she taught for 6 years, passed away on Tuesday, July 31, 2012 in Baystate Medical Center. She was born in Worcester on April 19, 1947. She was educated in the Worcester school system. Following her graduation from high school, Lavato came to Chicopee to attend Our Lady of the Elms College, graduating in 1969. In 2000, she returned to the work force by joining her husband, William Lavato, in the operation of his business, Lavato Supply Co., Inc. in Chicopee, where she had been serving for the past 12 years as the bookkeeper and office manager.

Obituaries from The Republican:

• Broz, Alice M.

• Burris Jr., Leroy J.

• Cohen, Kenneth

• Flathers, Dorothy M. "Dottie" (Pepperill)

• Lavato, Kathleen T. (Burke)

• Lefebvre, Irene T. (Downey)

• Leondakis, Nicholas A.

• McCormick, Howard W.

• Smith, Donald F.

• Webb, Kenneth J.

Maria Sharapova will play for gold in the Olympic tennis final.

(AP Photo/Elise Amendola)Maria Sharapova of Russia returns to Kim Clijsters of Belgium at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, London at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012.

WIMBLEDON, England (AP) — Maria Sharapova will play for gold in the Olympic tennis final.

The third-seeded Sharapova defeated Russian teammate Maria Kirilenko 6-2, 6-3 in the semifinals at Wimbledon on Friday. She hit a forehand drive volley past Kirilenko on match point.

On Saturday, Sharapova will play either No. 1 Victoria Azarenka or Wimbledon champion Serena Williams.

Sharapova has won four Grand Slam titles, including the French Open this year. She missed the Beijing Olympics in 2008 because of a shoulder injury.

Brown's latest Democratic endorsement comes from Central Massachusetts.

More politics news

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Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Elizabeth Warren will sit down with MassLive.com readers on Friday, Aug. 3 at 12:30 p.m. to take questions on any topic, as she aims to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown in the November election.

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Republican U.S. Sen. Scott Brown is getting a boost from another former Massachusetts mayor who carries a "D" after her name.

Konstantina "Konnie" Lukes, a Worcester city councilor and former Democratic mayor of the city, stumps for the junior senator in a new TV ad aiming to sway independent voters to Brown's graces over his Democratic challenger, Harvard Law professor Elizabeth Warren.

Lukes, a conservative Democrat who crossed party lines and endorsed Brown in April, uses her time in the ad to push Brown's carefully-crafted bi-partisan image.

"I am impressed by Scott Brown's independence, his ability to work with people on both sides of the aisle," Lukes said. "I think we need more Scott Browns. He cuts through all those party alignments."

The ad comes on the heels of a similar TV spot featuring Ray Flynn, a former Democratic mayor of Boston. And as Flynn has backed Republicans in the past, so has Lukes, who was once removed from the Worcester Democratic City Committee for throwing her support behind Paul Cellucci for governor in 1998.

Brown's new TV ad featuring Lukes is airing statewide on cable as well as in the Boston, Springfield, Providence, R.I. and Albany, N.Y., broadcast television markets.

Check out the other endorsements Brown and Warren have racked up here on MassLive.com.

File photo by Charles Krupa / Associated PressU.S. Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., gestures during an address at Bunker Hill Community College in the Charlestown neighborhood of Boston, Wednesday May 2, 2012. Brown told students and teachers at the college that "basic respect across party lines" is needed to avoid "bad laws and a lot of ill will." (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

The Atlanta-based company won't release sales figures but confirmed in a statement that the sales record was broken.

AP Photo/The Wichita Eagle, Travis HeyingCustomers stand in line for a Chick-fil-a meal at the chain's restaurant in Wichita, Kan., on Wednesday. Aug. 1, 2012. The crowd was buying meals to show their support for the company that's currently embroiled in a controversy over same-sex marriage. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Baptist minister, declared Wednesday national "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day." Opponents of the company's stance are planning "Kiss Mor Chiks" for Friday, when they are encouraging people of the same sex to show up at Chick-fil-A restaurants around the country and kiss each other.

ATLANTA (AP) — Chick-fil-A set a one-day sales record on Wednesday amid an ongoing controversy over a company executive's public stance against same-sex marriage, company officials said Thursday.

The Atlanta-based company confirmed in a statement that the sales record was broken Wednesday after it was declared "Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day" by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, a Baptist minister and Fox News talk-show host.

Chick-fil-A vice president Steve Robinson said the company won't release sales figures for Wednesday. Customers lined up outside restaurants and the Rev. Billy Graham, the 93-year-old evangelist, dined on a Chick-fil-A lunch on the record-setting day.

"We are very grateful and humbled by the incredible turnout of loyal Chick-fil-A customers on August 1 at Chick-fil-A restaurants around the country," Robinson in the statement.

Restaurant chain president Dan Cathy told the Baptist Press last month that the company was "guilty as charged" for backing "the biblical definition of a family." Gay rights activists and others answered with calls for boycotts. They plan a national "Kiss In" at Chick-fil-A restaurants on Friday to protest the owners' position. They are asking people of the same sex to show up at Chick-fil-A locations and kiss one other.

"We understand from news reports that Friday may present yet another opportunity for us to serve with genuine hospitality, superior service and great food," Robinson said.

Abby Wambach extended her U.S. record with her eighth career Olympic goal — a mark she holds despite missing the Beijing Games with a broken leg.

(AP Photo/Scott Heppell)United States' Abby Wambach, center, celebrates after scoring a goal with her teammates goal during their women's quarter-final soccer match against New Zealand at St James' Park in Newcastle, England, during the London 2012 Summer Olympics, Friday, Aug. 3, 2012.

By JOSEPH WHITE
AP Sports Writer

NEWCASTLE, England (AP) — These were supposed to be the Hope Solo Olympics for the U.S. women's soccer team. Or the Alex Morgan Games. Instead, they belong so far to the old reliable, Abby Wambach, who has scored in every match to lead the Americans into the semifinals.

The 32-year-old striker slid onto a pass in the 27th minute Friday to knock home her fourth goal of the tournament and then celebrated with a cartwheel in the United States' 2-0 win over New Zealand in the quarterfinals of the Olympic tournament.

Sydney Leroux added an insurance goal in the 87th minute for the two-time defending Olympic champion Americans, who will play the winner of the Britain-Canada match in Manchester on Monday.

Wambach extended her U.S. record with her eighth career Olympic goal — a mark she holds despite missing the Beijing Games with a broken leg — and pushed her international tally to 142, only 16 behind Mia Hamm's world record. For most of the year, she has yielded much of the scoring load to youngster Morgan, but Morgan has played the role of catalyst in this tournament, getting three assists and doing much of the hard work to set up Wambach's goal Friday.

Taking a long ball from Rachel Buehler, Morgan juked one defender and threaded her pass through two others to put the ball on Wambach's sliding right foot at the far post. The U.S. players, always looking for novel ways to display their happiness, then ran to the corner of the field and started doing cartwheels before the crowd of 10,441 at venerable St. James' Park, home of Newcastle.

Wambach's scoring spurt is remarkable given all the attention she draws from the opposition. She's still one of the strongest players in the game and is unmatched in the air, yet three of her four goals have come with her feet. She's also constantly battling her nagging Achilles tendinitis and used a series of holistic and traditional treatments to get ready for the Olympics.

The only downside to Wambach's performance was a yellow card, picked up in the 42nd minute for a hard tackle on midfielder Katie Hoyle. U.S. midfielder Carli Lloyd also was given a yellow card for a foul in the 79th.

Solo recorded her third consecutive shutout, although once again she was rarely challenged. The Americans haven't allowed a goal since France scored twice early in the first half of the Olympic opener.

New Zealand, ranked 23rd in the world, was making its first appearance in the knockout phase of a major tournament. The Football Ferns have lost nine straight to the U.S., with their only win in the series coming in 1987.

While still on a winning streak, the Americans had trouble turning control-of-play dominance into goals for the third straight game. They led Colombia 1-0 before getting two goals late in the second half and beat North Korea 1-0, albeit after slowing the game down in the second half to save their legs for the quarterfinals.

Morgan was just wide with a pair of solid scoring chances, and Morgan and Wambach both had scary collisions with New Zealand goalkeeper Jenny Bindon. Wambach kicked Bindon in the head in the first half, and Morgan did the same in the second half.

Leroux, the youngest player on the team and the only one who wasn't on last year's World Cup squad, entered as a substitute in the 81st minute and soon had her first Olympic goal, outpacing the New Zealand defenders with a run down the left side and beating Bindon with a strong left-footed finish.

Chat live with Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Elizabeth Warren.

Click here to view the chat on a mobile device.

(AP File Photo)In this Sept. 14, 2011 file photo, Harvard Law professor and consumer advocate, Democrat Elizabeth Warren, right, talks with supporters at the J & M Diner in Framingham, Mass.

Supporters say needle exchange saves lives by preventing the spread of diseases, but foes say it just attracts drug addicts.

Photo by David Molnar/The RepublicanHolyoke City Council President Kevin A. Jourdain discusses the Lyman Terrace issue with members of the Redevelopment Committee and the Holyoke Housing Authority, in this March 29, 2012 file photo.

HOLYOKE – City Council President Kevin A. Jourdain has filed a complaint that says the Board of Health violated the Open Meeting Law by voting to establish a needle exchange program July 9 even though the item wasn’t on the agenda.

Jourdain, who has long opposed needle exchange, wants the board’s 3-0 vote rescinded.

He also wants a new meeting posted showing an agenda that specifies a discussion about adopting a needle exchange program so the public and City Council have a chance to attend, he said, in the Open Meeting Law Complaint Form of the Office of the Attorney General.

The complaint was filed Wednesday with the Board of Health and city clerk.

“Good people can disagree about the merits of a needle exchange, but no one is above the law and public discourse in the city of Holyoke does not and should not take place in this fashion. Transparency demands better,” Jourdain said in a press release.

Jourdain said the public was ignored by a process in which the health board listened to pitches in favor of a needle exchange program from eight of 11 advocates who attended the meeting obviously knowing needle exchange would be discussed.

No one spoke in opposition to the city adopting a needle exchange program at the meeting, according to a copy of minutes taken related to the Board of Health meeting and included in Jourdain’s complaint.

Health board Chairwoman Katherine M. Liptak, a registered nurse, couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday night. The other board members are Vice Chairwoman Patricia A. Mertes, a registered nurse, and physician Robert S. Mausel.

City Solicitor Elizabeth Rodriguez-Ross didn’t return a call or email seeking comment.

Jourdain was harshly critical of Mayor Alex B. Morse’s participation in a meeting he said seemed to be an effort “to keep the public in the dark.”

Morse said he would comment after discussing Jourdain’s complaint with Rodriguez-Ross.

OML Complaint vs BOH 7-9-12

In needle exchange, people submit used intravenous-drug needles and get clean needles in return. The goal is to reduce the spread of AIDS and hepatitis C, diseases for which there are no cures and which can be spread through the sharing of infected needles.

Supporters like Morse have said needle exchange is valuable because it can save lives.

Foes like Jourdain have said allowing needle exchange risks making the city a haven for drug addicts who know they can get needles to shoot up heroin.

Among the needle-exchange advocates at the Board of Health meeting were representatives of Tapestry Health, which began operating a needle exchange program at 15-A Main St. soon after Morse gave his approval of the program following the Board of Health vote.

“If the topic of needle exchange was not on the meeting notice,” Jourdain said in the complaint, “then how did all of these individuals know to come to the meeting to speak and make presentations on the topic of needle exchange?”

Among those speaking in favor of a needle exchange program were Police Chief James M. Neiswanger and William D. Fuqua, superintendent of the Department of Public Works. They said they favored the program as a safeguard against the growing hazard of exposure to infected needles, according to meeting minutes.

The July 9 Board of Health agenda included an item “Needle kiosk update/other programs,” which Jourdain said “has nothing whatsoever to do with needle exchange.” The city is making a kiosk available for the deposit of hypodermic needles at the Council on Aging offices in the War Memorial, 310 Appleton St..

Also, Jourdain said, “other programs” as an agenda item is so open a term it could mean anything. That means it fails to meet the standard of notifying the public that a discussion specifically about adopting a needle exchange program would be held, he said.

Needle exchange has been a controversial topic. The City Council over the years has voted against such a program. Voters rejected needle exchange in a nonbinding referendum in 2001. That should have been enough for the Board of Health to know needle exchange was a matter of public concern that required giving people notice of such a discussion and vote, he said.

Tensions remain high at training camp.

APComing of off a season-ending injury last year, New England Patriots center Dan Koppen (67) works a blocking drill against tackle Nate Solder (77) as assistant head coach and offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia, left, shouts orders at practice during NFL football training camp in Foxborough, Mass., Thursday, Aug. 2, 2012.

FOXBOROUGH – An isolated fight can be a good thing for a football team. It shows that the level of competition is high.

When those fights start occurring with regularity, it can signify potential problems.

So it makes sense that members of the New England Patriots were concerned after two more fights broke out during Friday’s practice, just two days removed from the team's last scrum.

“Competition is a good thing,” linebacker Bobby Carpenter said. “Fighting is not. There’s a fine line between taking it to the whistle and taking it a little bit beyond.”

Things went beyond the line Friday. Carpenter and offensive lineman Ryan Wendell were at the heart of the first fight, with nearly everyone in uniform rushed out to join the pushing and shoving.

Less than five minutes later, offensive lineman Darrion Weems and defensive lineman Marcus Forston got involved in a tussle, causing Patrick Chung and others to get involved.

After the second incident, coach Bill Belichick sent the whole team on three laps. As they came back to the middle of the field, Tom Brady lead a players-only meeting before action resumed.

“Brady’s our leader. It’s Brady’s show,” running back Stevan Ridley said. “For him to say something, for him to voice his opinion, that’s nothing that we haven’t heard before. He’s only going to tell us what’s best for this team. … We all listen and key in when he talks.”

Prior to the fights taking place, tensions appeared high and there was some posturing taking place. Cornerback Kyle Arrington stood over wide receiver Julian Edelman and taunted him after breaking up a pass, and Edelman was later involved in a brief shoving match with rookie safety Tavon Wilson.

PRACTICE NOTES: Wide receiver Brandon Lloyd returned to practice and was a full participant after sitting out the last two days.

Rookie Nate Ebner also made his appearance on the field after sitting out the first week of camp with an undisclosed injury. Rookie defensive end Jake Bequette also returned after sitting out Thursday.

Fullbacks Spencer Larsen and Tony Fiametta; tight end Visanthe Shiancoe; offensive linemen Brian Waters, Logan Mankins and Sebastian Vollmer; defensive lineman Myron Pryor; and cornerback Alfonzo Dennard were among those who did not participate.

SCHEDULE: The New England Patriots will take Saturday off before returning to practice Sunday at 1:30 p.m. They will be joined by the New Orleans Saints to conduct joint practices on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Police said Gautier was shot in the face at point-blank range by a single blast from a sawed-off shotgun..

Steven Gonzalez

SPRINGFIELD – Moments after the jury found Steven Gonzalez guilty of murder today in a execution-style killing on Locust Street in 2008, the defendant rolled his eyes and managed a wry smile.

After 1½ days of deliberations, jurors found Gonzalez, 31, of Springfield, guilty of first-degree murder, possessing a sawed-off shotgun, and possessing a firearm without an ID card. He was acquitted on another firearm possession charge.

Despite facing a mandatory life prison sentence, Gonzalez accepted the verdicts with composure, even as a court officer handcuffed him as the verdicts were being read.

But a few minutes later, as Judge Mary Lou Rup was discussing the next step in the case, Gonzalez delivered an explosive kick to the defense table – causing court officers to haul him from the courtroom as a family member sitting in the gallery began to wail.

Given the outburst, the judge continued the deliberations, including a decision on when the sentence will be imposed, until Monday.

Gonzalez was charged with the fatal shotgun shooting of Alexander Gautier on Locust Street on Oct. 17, 2008.

Police said he was shot in the face at point-blank range by a single blast from a 12-gauge sawed-off shotgun. During the trial, a state police chemist said Gonzalez’s DNA was found on the gun’s grip and trigger.

He was arrested three weeks after the shooting in Syracuse, N.Y. At trial, Gonzalez testified that he was with his girlfriend in Connecticut on Oct. 17, 2008, and was not even aware that Gautier had returned to Springfield from Puerto Rico.

Gonzalez acknowledged that he was a heroin addict at the time of the killing, but said denied he was a dealer.

A prosecution witness testified that Gautier had returned from Puerto Rico to take control of the heroin trade in the Locust Street neighborhood.

Gautier was the father of Jeremy Rosario Millan, a 3-year-old boy who was tortured, raped and beaten to death by a 12-year-old in 2004 while in the care of a baby-sitter.

The 12-year-old was placed in custody of the Department of Youth Services until his 18th birthday and his mother was sentenced to nine years in prison for failing to stop the abuse.

Welch is charged with murdering his girlfriend, Jessica Pripstein, in her Easthampton apartment on Feb. 20.

File photoRyan Welch

NORTHAMPTON -- A judge continued the trial of Ryan Welch for the Easthampton murder of Jessica Pripstein to Aug. 28 at a brief pretrial hearing Friday in Hampshire Superior Court.

Welch is charged with murdering Pripstein, his girlfriend, in her Easthampton apartment on Feb. 20. Pripstein, 39, died from what investigators have described as a "sharp force injury to her neck." When police arrived on the scene after an emergency call from Pripstein, they found her dead and Welch, bleeding heavily from an apparent suicide attempt, in the bathroom.

Prosecutor Jeremy Bucci and defense lawyer Paul Rudof asked that a new judge be appointed to hear the case because Judge Mary Lou Rup, who is scheduled to sit in Hampshire Superior Court from November through January, 2013, has recused herself from the case for unspecified reasons.

It sounds like a Hollywood thriller, but the phrase describes the anxiety NASA is expecting as its car-sized robotic rover tries a tricky landing on Mars late Sunday.

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ALICIA CHANG
AP Science Writer

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — Seven minutes of terror.

It sounds like a Hollywood thriller, but the phrase describes the anxiety NASA is expecting as its car-sized robotic rover tries a tricky landing on Mars late Sunday.

Skimming the top of the Martian atmosphere at 13,000 mph, the Curiosity rover needs to brake to a stop — in seven minutes.

The rover is headed for a two-year mission to study whether Mars ever had the elements needed for microbial life. Because of its heft, the 2,000-pound robot can't land the way previous spacecraft did. They relied on air bags to cushion a bouncy touchdown. This time NASA is testing a brand new landing that involves gingerly setting down the rover similar to the way heavy-lift helicopters lower huge loads at the end of a cable. How hard is it? "The degree of difficulty is above a 10," says Adam Steltzner, an engineer at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which manages the mission.

And American University space policy analyst Howard McCurdy says: "It would be a major technological step forward if it works. It's a big gamble."

A communication time delay between Mars and Earth means Curiosity will have to nail the landing by itself, following the half million lines of computer code that engineers uploaded to direct its every move.

After an 8 1/2-month, 352-million-mile journey, here's a step-by-step look at how Curiosity will land:

—Ten minutes before entering the Martian atmosphere, Curiosity separates from the capsule that carried it to Mars.

—Turning its protective heat shield forward, it streaks through the atmosphere at 13,200 mph, slowing itself with a series of S-curves.

—Seven miles from the ground at 900 mph, Curiosity unfurls its enormous parachute.

— Next it sheds its heat shield and turns on radar to scope out the landing site. Now it's 5 miles from touchdown and closing in at 280 mph.

—A video camera aboard Curiosity starts to record the descent.

—A mile from landing, the parachute is jettisoned.

—Curiosity is still attached to a rocket-powered backpack, and those rockets are used to slow it to less than 2 mph.

—Twelve seconds before landing, nylon cables release and lower Curiosity. Once it senses six wheels on the ground, it cuts the cords. The hovering rocket-powered backpack flies out of the way, crashing some distance away.

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Online:

NASA's Mars site: http://mars.jpl.nasa.gov/

Prison officials told police the assault happened at about 9:30 p.m. Thursday in the main hallway of the prison facility.

SOMERS, Ct. - A 60-year-old inmate at Osborn Correctional Center has died of injuries suffered Thursday during an assault from another inmate, Connecticut State Police announced Friday.

The inmate, identified as David Dube of Hartford, was pronounced dead at Yale-New Haven Hospital. He was initially taken to University of Connecticut Medical Center but was transferred to Yale New-Haven when his condition worsened.

An autopsy is scheduled to determine the exact cause of death, police said.

Prison officials told police the assault happened at about 9:30 p.m. Thursday in the main hallway of the prison facility. Dube lost conscious briefly but regained consciousness while still at the facility, according to police.

The scene of the assault was secured by Correctional Officers. Connecticut State Police major crime detectives and troopers responded to the Osborn Correctional Center to begin their investigation, which is ongoing.

No inmates have been charged

Solicitor Elizabeth Rodriguez-Ross agreed with Council President Kevin Jourdain the board violated the Open Meeting Law.

Holyoke City Solicitor Elizabeth Rodriguez-Ross

Updated at 8:19 p.m. with comments from Councilor Dan Bresnahan and Mayor Alex Morse.

HOLYOKE – The Board of Health violated the Open Meeting Law July 9 by failing to post a notice that the meeting would include a discussion and vote on a needle exchange program, the city lawyer said Friday.

“The Board of Health and Commissioners are now on notice of a violation of the Open Meeting Law and must take the appropriate steps to rectify the problem,” City Solicitor Elizabeth Rodriguez-Ross wrote in a letter to Brian P. Fitzgerald, Board of Health director.

Rodriguez-Ross researched the issue based on a complaint about the meeting that City Council President Kevin A. Jourdain filed Wednesday with the Board of Health and city clerk.

The solicitor’s opinion means Jourdain scored at least a partial victory as she agreed the board violated the law with an improper meeting notice. The notice posted for the July 9 meeting failed to note the board would discuss and vote on a needle exchange program.

Rodriguez-Ross said the board’s July 9 needle exchange vote must be rescinded and a new meeting scheduled that properly notes a discussion and vote will be held on needle exchange, as Jourdain sought.

Jourdain thanked Rodriguez-Ross for the opinion. But while Jourdain said the decision should put a halt to needle exhange pending a new Board of Health meeting, Rodriguez-Ross disagreed in a phone interview and said needle exchange can continue to operate.

Tapestry Health, representatives of which attended the July 9 meeting, has begun a needle exchange program at 15-A Main St.

Councilor at Large Daniel B. Bresnahan, the former city health director here, said officials involved in the July 9 approval of needle exchange seemed to have ignored city history on the controversial issue. The City Council over the years has voted against such a program. Voters rejected needle exchange in a nonbinding referendum in 2001.

“Whether you are for needle exchange or not is not, what I am arguing, as the former health director I would never have passed such a sensitive issue without more public comment or at a minimum ensuring that it was properly posted,” Bresnahan said.

Bresnahan said he failed to see how the city can gain from a needle exchange program operating in the heart of downtown. He said the only one gaining was Tapestry Health and Timothy W. Purington, Tapestry’s director of prevention services, a former Ward 4 councilor and supporter of Morse. Purington couldn’t be reached for comment Friday night.

“So much for a new way of political thinking,” Bresnahan said, which he said was a criticism of Mayor Alex B. Morse’s vow to run a transparent government.

Morse replied, “I’m not going to dignify that with a response. If anybody should understand the importance of needle exchange, it should be our former health director.”

Councilor at Large James M. Leahy said in light of Rodriguez-Ross’ opinion about the Open Meeting Law violation, he questioned whether a cease and desist order should be made to halt Tapestry Health’s needle exchange program. Leahy’s comments were in a copy of an email he sent to Rodriguez-Ross and Jourdain.

Jourdain also has contested that local approval to establish a needle exchange program was achieved. He said a City Council vote was needed for such a program to operate. But Rodriguez-Ross said the approvals needed were the ones that occurred July 9, the health board vote and approval of Mayor Alex B. Morse.

In the letter to Fitzgerald, Rodriguez-Ross agreed with Jourdain on another point. Under city ordinance, the board must provide the City Council with three days written notice before a meeting.

A call placed to Fitzgerald for comment had yet to be returned Friday.

In needle exchange, people submit used intravenous-drug needles and get clean needles in return. The goal is to reduce the spread of AIDS and hepatitis C, diseases for which there are no cures and which can be spread through the sharing of infected needles.

Supporters have said needle exchange is valuable because it can save lives.

Foes have said allowing needle exchange risks making the city a haven for drug addicts who know they can get needles to shoot up heroin.

Mallett has a chance to move up the depth chart with a strong spring.

APTired of being in the shadows, Ryan Mallett (15) is trying to move up the Patriots' depth chart.

FOXBOROUGH – The playbook Ryan Mallett was handed this spring felt thinner than how he remember it.

After spending his rookie season lost in a sea of information that left him overwhelmed, this time his playbook felt like a familiar, well-worn novel in his hands.

“I was lost sometimes last year because I wasn’t here from Day 1 of the camp,” Mallett said. “It’s hard to catch up once you fall behind.”

Now he’s determined to never fall behind again. Mallett spent his offseason preparing to audition for a better job after spending last year third on the depth chart.

It paid off.

He arrived to training camp in great shape and has been impressive enough directing the Patriots’ complex offense that the coaching staff openly declared that he could replace Brian Hoyer as Tom Brady’s backup with a strong preseason performance.

“I think it’s been a pretty good competition – Bill (Belichick) alluded to this the other day, I think – the competition between Brian and Ryan has been pretty good,” director of player personnel Nick Caserio said.

Mallett, a top talent who slipped to the Patriots in the third round of the 2011 draft due to concerns about his maturity level, can also feel a shift taking place and has regained the confidence that allowed him to pass for 7,493 yards and 62 touchdowns during two seasons at Arkansas.

The offense can still feel foreign to him at times and there are occasional hiccups when he’s under center, but he’s nearly fluent after spending last season trying to pick up enough phrases to get by while learning behind Brady and Hoyer.

Spending a year in the shadows and observing his teammates was frustrating and at times trying for Mallett, who was used to being always being the most talented player on the field, but he admits that he became a better player serving in that capacity.

“I feel like you can always take the knowledge that they’ve learned over the years and apply it to your game,” Mallett said. “You learn, you work on all the little things, then overall all the big things when it comes to the team drills.

“It’s a process, but I feel a lot more comfortable.”

Mallett understands that he has a long way to go and has no illusions about knocking Brady from his perch, but he admits that he has Hoyer within his sights.

Despite their close friendship, Mallett wants the repetitions Hoyer receives during practices and the opportunity to show the coaching staff what he can do on a daily basis.

“Competition is always healthy,” Mallett said. “Me and Brian are good friends, so we have a lot of fun with it. We’re just trying to make the better and keep the team moving.”

If Mallett is able to seize this opportunity it could allow the Patriots to shop Hoyer, who is set to become a free agent after the season, to teams in need of a quarterback.

But any potential moves won’t be determined until after the preseason.

"When we get into the preseason, they'll have plenty of opportunity and we'll see how they perform in game situations," Caserio said.

Nothing is guaranteed, but at least he has a shot. That’s all Mallett can ask for.

It may also be all he needs.