The amount of heat-trapping pollution the world spewed rose again last year by 3 percent. So scientists say it's now unlikely that global warming can be limited to a couple of degrees.

A cyclist wears a face mask while cycling through polluted air in Lanzhou, in China's western Gansu Province, in this Dec. 5, 2006 file photo. The amount of heat-trapping pollution the world spewed rose again last year by 3 percent. . Associated Press

SETH BORENSTEIN

WASHINGTON — The amount of heat-trapping pollution the world spewed rose again last year by 3 percent. So scientists say it's now unlikely that global warming can be limited to a couple of degrees, which is an international goal.

The overwhelming majority of the increase was from China, the world's biggest carbon dioxide polluter. Of the planet's top 10 polluters, the United States and Germany were the only countries that reduced their carbon dioxide emissions.

Last year, all the world's nations combined pumped nearly 38.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the air from the burning of fossil fuels such as coal and oil, according to new international calculations on global emissions published Sunday in the journal Nature Climate Change. That's about a billion tons more than the previous year.

The total amounts to more than 2.4 million pounds (1.1 million kilograms) of carbon dioxide released into the air every second.

Because emissions of the key greenhouse gas have been rising steadily and most carbon stays in the air for a century, it is not just unlikely but "rather optimistic" to think that the world can limit future temperature increases to 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), said the study's lead author, Glen Peters at the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research in Oslo, Norway.

Three years ago, nearly 200 nations set the 2-degree C temperature goal in a nonbinding agreement. Negotiators now at a conference under way in Doha, Qatar, are trying to find ways to reach that target.

The only way, Peters said, is to start reducing world emissions now and "throw everything we have at the problem."

Andrew Weaver, a climate scientist at the University of Victoria in Canada who was not part of the study, said: "We are losing control of our ability to get a handle on the global warming problem."

In 1997, most of the world agreed to an international treaty, known as the Kyoto Protocol, that required developed countries such as the United States to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by about 5 percent when compared with the baseline year of 1990. But countries that are still developing, including China and India, were not limited by how much carbon dioxide they expelled. The United States never ratified the treaty.

The latest pollution numbers, calculated by the Global Carbon Project, a joint venture of the Energy Department and the Norwegian Research Council, show that worldwide carbon dioxide levels are 54 percent higher than the 1990 baseline.

The 2011 figures for the biggest polluters:

1. China, up 10 percent to 10 billion tons.

2. United States, down 2 percent to 5.9 billion tons

3. India, up 7 percent to 2.5 billion tons.

4. Russia, up 3 percent to 1.8 billion tons.

5. Japan, up 0.4 percent to 1.3 billion tons.

6. Germany, down 4 percent to 0.8 billion tons.

7. Iran, up 2 percent to 0.7 billion tons.

8. South Korea, up 4 percent to 0.6 billion tons.

9. Canada, up 2 percent to 0.6 billion tons.

10. South Africa, up 2 percent to 0.6 billion tons.

Five states were to announce Monday that they will add at least 300 hours of learning time to the calendar in some schools starting in 2013.

Students walk in the hallways as they enter the lunch line of the cafeteria at Draper Middle School in Rotterdam, N.Y. School for thousands of public school students is about to get quite a bit longer. Five states announced Monday, Dec. 3, 2012, they will add at least 300 hours of learning time to the calendar in some schools starting in 2013. The Associated Press

JOSH LEDERMAN

WASHINGTON (AP) — Open your notebooks and sharpen your pencils. School for thousands of public school students is about to get quite a bit longer.

Five states were to announce Monday that they will add at least 300 hours of learning time to the calendar in some schools starting in 2013. Colorado, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New York and Tennessee will take part in the initiative, which is intended to boost student achievement and make U.S. schools more competitive on a global level.

The three-year pilot program will affect almost 20,000 students in 40 schools, with long-term hopes of expanding the program to include additional schools — especially those that serve low-income communities. Schools, working in concert with districts, parents and teachers, will decide whether to make the school day longer, add more days to the school year or both.

A mix of federal, state and district funds will cover the costs of expanded learning time, with the Ford Foundation and the National Center on Time & Learning also chipping in resources. In Massachusetts, the program builds on the state's existing expanded-learning program. In Connecticut, Gov. Dannel Malloy is hailing it as a natural outgrowth of an education reform law the state passed in May that included about $100 million in new funding, much of it to help the neediest schools.

Spending more time in the classroom, education officials said, will give students access to a more well-rounded curriculum that includes arts and music, individualized help for students who fall behind and opportunities to reinforce critical math and science skills.

"Whether educators have more time to enrich instruction or students have more time to learn how to play an instrument and write computer code, adding meaningful in-school hours is a critical investment that better prepares children to be successful in the 21st century," Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a statement.

The project comes as educators across the U.S. struggle to identify the best ways to strengthen a public education system that many fear has fallen behind other nations. Student testing, teacher evaluations, charter schools and voucher programs join longer school days on the list of reforms that have been put forward with varying degrees of success.

The report from the center, which advocates for extending instruction time, cites research suggesting students who spend more hours learning perform better. One such study, from Harvard economist Roland Fryer, argues that of all the factors affecting educational outcomes, two are the best predictors of success: intensive tutoring and adding at least 300 hours to the standard school calendar.

More classroom time has long been a priority for Duncan, who warned a congressional committee in May 2009 — just months after becoming education secretary — that American students were at a disadvantage compared to their peers in India and China. That same year, he suggested schools should be open six or seven days per week and should run 11 or 12 months out of the year.

But not everyone agrees that shorter school days are to blame. A report last year from the National School Boards Association's Center for Public Education disputed the notion that American schools have fallen behind in classroom time, pointing out that students in high-performing countries like South Korea, Finland and Japan actually spend less time in school than most U.S. students.

The broader push to extend classroom time could also run up against concerns from teachers unions. Longer school days became a major sticking point in a seven-day teachers strike in September in Chicago. Mayor Rahm Emanuel eventually won an extension of the school day but paid the price in other concessions granted to teachers.

Just over 1,000 U.S. schools already operate on expanded schedules, an increase of 53 percent over 2009, according to a report being released Monday in connection with the announcement by the National Center on Time & Learning. The nonprofit group said more schools should follow suit but stressed that expanded learning time isn't the right strategy for every school.

Some of the funds required to add 300 or more hours to the school calendar will come from shifting resources from existing federal programs, making use of the flexibility granted by waivers to No Child Left Behind. All five states taking part in the initiative have received waivers from the Education Department.

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Online:

National Center on Time & Learning: http://www.timeandlearning.org

National School Boards Association's Center for Public Education: http://tinyurl.com/88zauew

Both House Speaker John Boehner's and Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner's latest remarks indicate it could be some time before serious negotiations begin between the White House and Republicans on how to avert the fiscal cliff.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner answers questions about averting the "fiscal cliff" on an episode of "Face the Nation"€ on Sunday, Dec. 2, 2012. Geithner said Republicans have to stop using fuzzy "œpolitical math"€ and say how much they are willing to raise tax rates on the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans and then specify the spending cuts they want. The Associated Press

ANNE FLAHERTY

WASHINGTON — Republicans have to stop using "political math" and say how much they are willing to raise tax rates on the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans and then specify the spending cuts they want, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner said in an interview that aired Sunday.

Just four weeks from the proverbial "fiscal cliff," House Speaker John Boehner countered that Republicans have a plan for providing as much as $800 billion in new government revenue over the next decade and would consider the elimination of tax deductions on high-income earners. But when pressed on "Fox News Sunday" for precise details, the Ohio Republican declined to say.

There are "a lot of options in terms of how to get there," Boehner said.

Both Boehner's and Geithner's latest remarks indicate it could be some time before serious negotiations begin between the White House and Republicans on how to avert economic calamity expected in less than a month when President George W. Bush-era tax cuts expire and automatic, across-the-board spending cuts kick in.

Last week, the White House delivered to Capitol Hill its opening plan: $1.6 trillion in higher taxes over a decade, hundreds of billions of dollars in new spending, a possible extension of the temporary Social Security payroll tax cut and enhancing the president's power to raise the national debt limit.

In exchange, the president would back $600 billion in spending cuts, including $350 billion from Medicare and other health programs. But he also wants $200 billion in new spending for jobless benefits, public works projects and aid for struggling homeowners. His proposal for raising the ceiling on government borrowing would make it virtually impossible for Congress to block him.

Republicans said they responded in closed-door meetings with laughter and disbelief.

"I was just flabbergasted," Boehner said. "I looked at him (Geithner) and I said, 'You can't be serious.'" Boehner described negotiations as going "nowhere, period," and said "there's clearly a chance" the nation will go over the cliff.

Geithner, the administration's point man for negotiations, was slightly more optimistic while saying the ball was in Boehner's court. But the treasury secretary also said he didn't expect a counteroffer right away, as Republicans work to sort out tensions within the party in the wake of bruising national elections that left Democrats in charge of the White House and the Senate.

Boehner acknowledged in his interview, aired Sunday, that he wasn't happy with public remarks by Republican Rep. Tom Cole of Oklahoma, who said he was ready to go along with Obama's plan to renew expiring income tax cuts for the majority of Americans and negotiate the rates on top earners later.

"They're trying to figure out where they go next," Geithner said of Republicans, "and we might need to give them a little time to figure out where they go next."

He called the back-and-forth "normal political theater," saying all that's blocking a timely deal is the GOP's reluctance to accept higher tax rates on the wealthy.

"It's welcome that they're recognizing that revenues are going to have to go up. But they haven't told us anything about how far rates should go up ... (and) who should pay higher taxes," Geithner said.

House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said Sunday that she will try to force a vote on the Senate-passed bill favored by Democrats to avert a fiscal cliff. But she was unlikely to line up enough Republicans to succeed.

Obama's political team ramped up its efforts, blasting out an email Sunday night urging supporters to pressure Congress to extend tax cuts that would add up to about $2,000 for a middle-class family of four.

Stephanie Cutter, who was Obama's deputy campaign manager, said in the email that the president was trying to get Congress to "do the right thing and act before the New Year, but he needs our help. We've got a good track record here: When we make our voices heard and urge Congress to take action — whether it's about health care, student loans, Wall Street reform, or 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell' — they listen."

Republican leaders have said they accept higher tax revenue overall, but only through what they call tax reform __ closing loopholes and limiting deductions __ and only coupled with tough measures to curb the explosive growth of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.

"If we gave the president $1.6 trillion of new money, what do you think he'd do with it?" asked Boehner. "He's going to spend it. It's what Washington does."

Cole didn't back down Sunday on his earlier comments that Republicans should agree to Obama's plan for continuing Bush's tax rates for middle-class America and focus the negotiations on the other issues. Doing so, he said, would make the GOP position even stronger.

"The reality is, nobody can look at this budget and think if you don't reform entitlements you can balance it. You can give the president every tax increase he's asked for, you'd still be in the hole," he said.

Geithner appeared on CBS' "Face the Nation," NBC's "Meet the Press," CNN's "State of the Union," ABC's "This Week" and "Fox News Sunday." Cole appeared on ABC "This Week."

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Associated Press writers Mark S. Smith and Ken Thomas in Washington and Erik Schelzig in Nashville, Tenn., contributed to this report.

A Ludlow woman recalled her mother and grandmother in giving $250 to the Toy for Joy fund.

SPRINGFIELD – Deborah A. Miele of Ludlow says her mother’s memory has prompted her to give to the Toy for Joy fund every year since her death six years ago.

“My mom always tried to give us at least one thing we really wanted for Christmas,” she said of the late Elsbeth M. Costa. “That is what I would like every child to have.”

Miele gave a check of $250 written on her account with her husband, Antonio A. Miele Jr.

She recalled that shortly after the Depression her grandmother secretly took $20 from money that her mother had saved from her paper route in order to buy Christmas presents for her and her brother and sister.

Miele recalled that her grandmother said her mother would not miss the money, but her children would miss not getting any Christmas presents.

“I don’t think any child should wake up disappointed on Christmas Day. Every child should have something from Santa if they believe in him,” Miele said.

As of today, generous-hearted Pioneer Valley residents and businesses have donated a total of $5,860 to the Toy for Joy Fund, which provides holiday presents to needy children in the region.

Donations calculated for Sunday totaled $880, with the Mieles being the most generous givers. That leaves the fund with $144,140 still needed to reach this year’s goal of $150,000.

Toy for Joy is sponsored by the Salvation Army and The Republican. It pays for holiday gifts for children in Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties. This holiday season marks the second year in a row Hasbro Inc. has joined in the effort. The East Longmeadow company will donate a portion of the toys as well as provide help distributing the them.

Salvation Army chapters in Springfield, Greenfield, Holyoke, Northampton and Westfield are taking part in this year’s program.

For more information, call 733-7581. To make a contribution to the Toy for Joy fund, write: Toy for Joy, P.O. Box 3007, Springfield 01102. Contributions may also be dropped off with the coupon at The Republican, 1860 Main St., Springfield, weekdays between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. until Dec. 21.

Here’s a list of the latest contributors:

• In memory of Bronishaw and Josephine Kasperek and Romeo and Priscilla Martin, $20
• In loving memory of my parents George and Helen Liptak, $50
• Merry Christmas all from Joan and Bob, $50
• In memory of Annette Lortie and Christina Beshaw, $100
• From Bob and Josie, $100
• In honor of grandchildren Sarah, Parker and Alex from GMA and GPA, $20
• Paul and Victoria, $25
• Benjamin and Thomas, $50
• In honor of our grandchildren Sophie and Stella from Papa and GMA, $20
• In loving memory of Tara, Colleen and Todd, $100
• Mr. and Mrs. Miele, $250
• In memory of Casey, Bisnette and Noel families, $20
• In memory of Philip Mirarchi, Rose, Hugo and Roger Sedran, $50
• From a couple of cute canines, $25

RECEIVED: $880
TOTAL TO DATE: $5,860
STILL NEEDED: $144,140

Letter writer: I can’t imagine that in these United States of America in 2012, our elected officials could make a separate pledge to a nondescript person to not raise taxes – and obviously a man who could not be elected to any position.

Susan Rice should testify under oath

United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice listens at right as President Barack Obama speaks before a meeting with his cabinet Wednesday in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington. Earlier, Rice continued her fight on Capitol Hill to win over skeptics in the Senate who could block her chances at becoming the next U.S. secretary of state. Republican lawmakers said they were even more troubled after face-to-face meetings with her over the handling of the Sept. 11 deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya. White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew is at center. Associated Press / Jacquelyn Martin

A U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations doesn’t take it upon herself to suddenly go to five major television programs to discuss what happened in Benghazi, Libya. She was sent. This is a certainty.

The person, or persons, who sent her knew that the attack was not a spontaneous response to a YouTube video, but an organized terrorist attack. The fact that she said just the opposite shows that this was purposeful misinformation, most probably due to the Obama administration pre-election narrative that Osama bin Laden was dead, al-Qaida and terrorism were on the wane, and that the Mid East -Libya foreign policy was working.

What has been coming out of the congressional meetings is more obfuscation, not the facts and truth. In addition nebulous words are used like “the White House,” or “the intelligence community,” cleverly worded non-person, inanimate entities so no blame can be affixed to any one person.

They could just as well say that Yankee Stadium requested her to go on the television programs. What needs to be done is to question Susan Rice under oath the following questions:

1.) Who, what person or persons, sent you to go on the television programs and requested you to say what you did? Specifically name them.

2.) Who requested that the major television shows provide time for you to be on the shows. What person or persons specifically?

3.) When you went on the shows did you know in advance that the attack was not a spontaneous response but an organized terrorist attack? Yes or no?

The attack on the American consulate in Benghazi was extremely serious. It was an attack on America, and it resulted in the murder of four Americans. The American people deserve the truth. Only by bringing out the above facts and asking Susan Rice the tough, but needed, questions above will we get the answers.

– AL DILASCIA, Chicopee

Pledge signers don’t belong in Congress

In this Feb. 11, 2012 fie photo, anti-tax activist Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, addresses the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington. For decades, Norquist vowed to drive Republicans out of office if they didn’t pledge to oppose tax increases. Many signed on, but now, several senior Republican lawmakers are breaking ranks, willing to consider raising more money through taxes as part of a deal with Democrats and the White House to avoid a catastrophic budget meltdown. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, file

I can’t imagine that in these United States of America in 2012, our elected officials could make a separate pledge to a nondescript person to not raise taxes – and obviously a man who could not be elected to any position.

What type of hapless, timorous people are we electing to Congress to run our country?

If a personable individual was trying to take over the country, would these guileless, dishonorable men or women sign some idiotic pledge on his or her behalf?

Many of our elected officials are acting like juveniles! They pledged to serve our country – and they earn enough money – not some person’s agenda.

– THERESA LANE, West Springfield

Editor's note: The "separate pledge to a nondescript person" the letter-writer refers to is the “Taxpayer Protection Pledge,” a pledge, pushed by Grover Norquist through his Americans for Tax Reform group, which commits signatories to oppose all tax increases. Almost every Republican member of Congress has signed the pledge.

Public safety a must for holiday shoppers

Black Friday has come and gone, Friday, and like every year, stores were packed with people looking for great deals. To make sure that the chaos was kept to a minimum, security guards and police officers were standing by in stores.

As a student at American International College, I believe that these are necessary precautions that must be taken to prevent unnecessary injuries as people flood to the stores to shop for the holidays.

– TIARA WHITE, Springfield

Patriots’ injuries hurt playoff chances

During the New England Patriots’ destruction of the Indianapolis Colts in a 59-24 victory, the Pats’ star tight end, Rob Gronkowski, broke his forearm.

This is a huge loss for the Patriots as they attempt to make their way into the playoffs. What I don’t understand is, why was their star tight-end was even on the field during this blowout. The game was over and the score had been 58-24 with the field goal unit coming in for the extra point.

Gronk broke his forearm on a block. Not a catch, but a block! Are you serious New England, this can come back to bite you. This is the Patriots’ second tight-end to receive an injury that will keep him off the field.

What do the Patriots do the rest of the season without a receiving tight-end? Gronk is down for at least four to six weeks and their other star tight end, Aaron Hernandez, is out for at least another two weeks. Maybe the Patriots will learn from their mistakes and rest their star players in blow out situations instead of risking potential injuries down the stretch.

– CHRISTOPHER SHEPHARD, Springfield

DevelopSpringfield is hosting a welcome reception for Minkarah from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Red Rose Pizzeria Restaurant, 1060 Main St.

John "Jay" Minkarah is the new chief of DevelopSpringfield. Photo provided

John “Jay” Minkarah Photo provided

SPRINGFIELD – DevelopSpringfield, a public-private partnership charged not only with helping business but with directing tornado recovery, welcomed its new president and CEO, A John “Jay” Minkarah, on Monday.

Monday also was the first business day following the Worthington Street gas explosion, which is the latest curveball thrown to a city that’s almost gotten used to them.

“It’s been a whirlwind,” Minkarah said.

He had served as economic development director for Manchester, N.H., and has worked in planning and economic development in southern New Hampshire for almost 25 years. Prior to coming to Manchester in 2007, he served as economic development director Nashua, community development director for Merrimack and as a planner for the Nashua Regional Planning Commission.

Minkarah received a bachelor of urban planning from the University of Cincinnati in 1986 and a law degree from The University of New Hampshire School of Law (formerly Franklin Pierce Law Center) in Concord in 1994.

In Springfield, he replaces interim DevelopSpringfield president Kevin M. Sweeney.

Last week, Minkarah left Springfield to tour Allentown and Bethlehem, Pa., with a delegation of Pioneer Valley business and community leaders as part of the City2City program organized by the Federal Reserve banks of Boston and Philadelphia.

DevelopSpringfield is hosting a welcome reception for Minkarah from 5 to 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday at the Red Rose Pizzeria Restaurant, 1060 Main St. Minkarah said he’s got to meet with key stockholders in the community.

“Of course this is going to be an ongoing process,” he said.

DevelopSpringfield was founded in 2008 to aid economic development with storefront improvement programs. It’s also still working on attracting a full-line supermarket to the State Street neighborhood.

Following the 2011 tornado, DevelopSpringfield took the lead in coming up with redevelopment plans, including a recommendation to relocate the South End Community Center destroyed in the tornado, said chairman Nicholas A. Fyntrilakis, a vice president at MassMutual Financial Group.

“There are some things that are moving along pretty well with respect to tornado recovery,” Fyntrilakis said. “We are waiting to see what happens with some bigger properties like Cathedral High School and the former MacDuffie School.”

DevelopSpringfield has an annual budget of about $500,000 and $2 million in capital earmarked for tornado redevelopment.

“The grocery store and storefront improvement programs all continue,” Fyntrilakis said. “We are also going to be in ongoing discussions about how we can help out on Worthington Street.”

Fyntrilakis said Minkarah has a great deal of experience redeveloping unused urban spaces, particularly old mills.

“Redevelopment is really why he is here and what drives him,” Fyntrilakis said.

In Manchester, that included the River’s Edge project, a 17-acre former meat processing site and the Pandora Mill building downtown, Minkarah said.

“I need to stress that none of those projects were mine alone,” Minkarah said. “It is always about being part of a team with the city, developers and others. That’s how you get things done.”

Sunshine returns today, highs in the 50s through tomorrow.

Areas of fog and low-lying clouds will be across parts of western Massachusetts for sunrise, remains of the system that moved through last night. It will stay dry, and this will dissipate as temperatures start warming up.

Overall, Monday looks to be a pleasant and unusually warm December day. Mostly sunny skies will be back in town by this afternoon, and high temperatures get into the lower-50s (average highs are in the lower-40s).

Clouds will return, with an isolated batch of showers trying to develop across New England, on Tuesday. Another cold front delivers more rain showers for Wednesday. Expect a more December-like cool down for the second-half of the week.

Today: Morning clouds/fog, becoming mostly sunny, mild, high 52.

Tonight: Partly cloudy, comfortable, low 34.

Tuesday: Isolated showers, mainly north, partly sunny, mild, high 57.

Wednesday: Rain showers, cooler, high 45.

Radar | 5 Day Forecast

Lauer has become a target of fans and critics since "Good Morning America" rose in the ratings.

Matt Lauer of NBC's "Today." AP file photo

NBC "Today" executive-in-charge Alexandra Wallace is denying reports that she plans to fire host Matt Lauer in February if the morning show's ratings do not improve.

RadarOnline and other sites quoted show insiders in recent days as saying Wallace has told her NBC bosses she will have to “replace Matt if the ratings continue to tank.”

Reached for comment, Wallace told the New York Post "there is absolutely no truth to this.”

“There have been some recent outrageous claims regarding Matt and the 'Today' show, and an awful lot of piling on from nameless, faceless sources. These stories are wrong and irresponsible," Wallace said.

Lauer has become a target of fans and critics in light of “Good Morning America’s” jump to No. 1 in the ratings and the firing of Ann Curry as Lauer's co-host this past summer.

Chicago bluesman Buddy Guy and ballerina Natalia Makarova were also honored.

span class="caption">President Barack Obama, right, and first lady Michelle Obama, second from right, with the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors recipients, ballerina Natalia Makarova, left, and actor and director Dustin Hoffman, stand as the National Anthem is played during the Kennedy Center Honors Gala at the Kennedy Center in Washington, Sunday, Dec. 2, 2012. AP

WASHINGTON (AP) — David Letterman's "stupid human tricks" and Top 10 lists vaulted into the ranks of cultural acclaim Sunday night as the late-night comedian received this year's Kennedy Center Honors with rock band Led Zeppelin, an actor, a ballerina and a bluesman.

Stars from New York, Hollywood and the music world joined President Barack Obama at the White House on Sunday night to salute the honorees, whose ranks also include actor Dustin Hoffman, Chicago bluesman Buddy Guy and ballerina Natalia Makarova.

The honors are the nation's highest award for those who influenced American culture through the arts. The recipients were later saluted by fellow performers at the Kennedy Center Opera House in a show to be broadcast Dec. 26 on CBS.

Obama drew laughs from his guests when he described the honorees as "some extraordinary people who have no business being on the same stage together."

Noting that Guy made his first guitar strings using the wire from a window screen, he quipped, "That worked until his parents started wondering how all the mosquitoes were getting in."

The president thanked the members of Led Zeppelin for behaving themselves at the White House given their history of "hotel rooms trashed and mayhem all around."

Obama noted Letterman's humble beginnings as an Indianapolis weatherman who once reported the city was being pelted by hail `the size of canned hams.'"

"It's one of the highlights of his career," he said.

All kidding aside, Obama described all of the honorees as artists who "inspired us to see things in a new way, to hear things differently, to discover something within us or to appreciate how much beauty there is in the world."

"It's that unique power that makes the arts so important," he added.

Later on the red carpet, Letterman said he was thrilled by the recognition and to visit Obama at the White House.

"It supersedes everything, honestly," he said. "I haven't won that many awards."

During the show, comedian Tina Fey said she grew up watching her mom laugh at Letterman as he brought on "an endless parade of weirdos."

"Who was this Dave Letterman guy?" Fey said. "Was he a brilliant, subtle passive-aggressive parody of a talk show host? Or just some Midwestern goon who was a little bit off? Time has proven that there's just really no way of knowing."

Alec Baldwin offered a Top 10 reasons Letterman was winning the award, including the fact that he didn't leave late night for a six-month stint in primetime — a not-so-subtle dig at rival Jay Leno.

Jimmy Kimmel, who will soon compete head-to-head with Letterman on ABC, said he fell in love with Letterman early in life and even had a "Late Night" cake on his 16th birthday.

"To me it wasn't just a TV show," Kimmel said. "It was the reason I would fail to make love to a live woman for many, many years."

For Buddy Guy, singers Bonnie Raitt, Tracy Chapman and others got most of the crowd on its feet singing Guy's signature "Sweet Home Chicago."

Morgan Freeman hailed Guy as a pioneer who helped bridge soul and rock and roll.

"When you hear the blues, you really don't think of it as black or white or yellow or purple or blue," Freeman said. "Buddy Guy, your blue brought us together."

Robert De Niro saluted Hoffman, saying he had changed acting, never took any shortcuts and was brave enough to be a perfectionist.

"Before Dustin burst on the scene, it was pretty much OK for movie stars to show up, read their lines and, if the director insisted, act a little," De Niro said. "But then Dustin came along — and he just had to get everything right."

By the end of the night, the Foo Fighters, Kid Rock and Lenny Kravitz got the crowd moving to some of Zeppelin's hits at the Kennedy Center.

Jack Black declared Zeppelin the "greatest rock and roll band of all time."

"That's right. Better than the Beatles. Better than the Stones. Even better than Tenacious D," he said. "And that's not opinion — that's fact."

For the finale, Heart's Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson sang "Stairway to Heaven," accompanied by a full choir and Jason Bonham, son of the late Zeppelin drummer John Bonham.

Zeppelin front man Robert Plant and his bandmates John Paul Jones and Jimmy Page seemed moved by the show.

Meryl Streep first introduced the honorees Saturday as they received the award medallions during a formal dinner at the U.S. State Department hosted by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Clinton said ballerina Makarova "risked everything to have the freedom to dance the way she wanted to dance" when she defected from the Soviet Union in 1970.

Makarova made her debut with the American Ballet Theatre and later was the first exiled artist to return to the Soviet Union before its fall to dance with the Kirov Ballet.

Clinton also took special note of Letterman, saying he must be wondering what he's doing in a crowd of talented artists and musicians.

"Dave and I have a history," she said. "I have been a guest on his show several times, and if you include references to my pant suits, I'm on at least once a week."

An independent analysis has found that malfunctioning freezer controls caused the defrosting of 147 brain samples at a Boston area hospital, including many critical for autism research.

BELMONT, Mass. (AP) — An independent analysis has found that malfunctioning freezer controls caused the defrosting of 147 brain samples at a Boston area hospital, including many critical for autism research.

Staff at Harvard-affiliated McLean Hospital discovered in late May that one of its 24 brain bank freezers had lost power days earlier. No one noticed because the digital readout on the front of the freezer still indicated minus 79 degrees and a backup system also malfunctioned.

McLean officials tell the Boston Globe (http://b.globe.com/TEjwwU ) since the malfunction all freezers at the Harvard Brain Tissue Resource Center have undergone a thorough inspection.

Some researchers criticized the hospital for putting the brains in the same freezer.

The lost autism brains make up about one-third of the Autism Tissue Program, which is run by the advocacy group Autism Speaks.

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Information from: The Boston Globe, http://www.boston.com/globe

Families who are looking for books to integrate religion into their children's story time might consider "The Christmas Story: The Brick Bible for Kids," by Brendan Powell Smith, and "Daddy Christmas & Hanukkah Mama," by Selina Alko.

Nancy Felton, co-owner and childrens book buyer, with holiday childrens books by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague at Broadside Books. Republican photo by MICHAEL S. GORDON

By TIERA N. WRIGHT

With Christmas, Hanukkah and Kwanzaa right around the corner Nancy Felton of Broadside Bookshop in Northampton, Marika McCoola of Odyssey Bookshop in South Hadley, and Martha Coons of the Springfield Central Library give a number of book suggestions that are sure to fill the stockings and holiday spirit of kids and young adults this holiday season.

The cold weather season is also upon us.

For that reason, one of McCoola's suggestions is "Twelve Kinds of Ice," by Ellen Bryan Obed, and illustrated by Barbara McClintock.

The book, McCoola says, "celebrates winter from the first appearance of ice on the edges of the road to the final melting puddle."

She added, "Barbara McClintock's gorgeous illustrations make this book a perfect gem."
Two books that both Felton and McCoola like are by Hatfield resident Jane Yolen and illustrator Mark Teague.

"How Do Dinosaurs Say Merry Christmas?" and "How Do Dinosaurs Say Happy Chanukah?" Both books were released at the beginning of September are a part of the already established "How Do Dinosaurs?" series.

- A selection of holiday childrens books at Broadside Books. Republican photo by MICHAEL S. GORDON

"With minimal text and colorful illustrations, these are great for two- to five year-olds" McCoola said.

Families who are looking for books to integrate religion into their children's story time
might consider "The Christmas Story: The Brick Bible for Kids," by Brendan Powell Smith, and "Daddy Christmas & Hanukkah Mama," by Selina Alko.

McCoola called "The Christmas Story" a book for "Lego lovers" as it is "a religious book illustrated with photographs of scenes made entirely of Legos."

Among the holiday childrens books at Broadside Books is Daddy Christmas & Hanukkah Mama by Selina Alko. Republican photo by MICHAEL S. GORDON

She recommended the Alko book for "families who celebrate both Hanukkah and Christmas."

For a classic holiday book choice, Felton suggested the edition of "The Nutcracker" by E.T.A. Hoffmann with pictures Maurice Sendak.

For a fun activity purchase, she suggested "Where's Waldo? Santa Spectacular" by Martin Handford.

"Games, puzzles, stickers; this book will keep kids occupied during boring shopping trips, long rides to relatives, or an adult's holiday party" McCoola said.

For older readers, Coons recommended "Have Yourself a Very Vintage Christmas: Crafts, Decorating Tips, and Recipes, 1920s-1960s" by Susan Waggoner.

"I think that teens feel a little caught between childhood and adulthood," said Coons, who dubbed holiday-themed books as "transition gifts" that also allow young adults to "learn more about their roots."

"These give them projects to work," and they also present teens with suitable gift ideas that will help them save money, she said.

For cultural buffs, Coons had three recommendations.

"Kwanzaa: A Celebration of Family, Community and Culture," by Maulana Karenga, "A Kwanzaa Keepsake: Celebrating the Holiday with New Traditions and Feasts," by Jessica Harris, and "A Different Light: The Hanukkah Book of Celebration," by Barbara Spectre and Noam Zion.

For fiction lovers, she recommends "Feast of Lights," by Ellen Jaffe; a book that tackles familial and cultural traditions during Hanukkah.

For those looking for entertainment aside from the holiday theme, Coons also suggested "Shadow and Bone," the first book of the trilogy series by Leigh Bardugo; a book she dubbed an "epic story."

In this age of video games and other technology, Felton feels books make great physical gifts because it is "a way for parents and children to share the holidays by reading and this gives the kids a broader idea of the holidays outside of their family traditions."

For a hardcover family pictorial book about general cultural traditions, the first book in The Republican's heritage series, "The Irish Legacy: A History of the Irish in Western Massachusetts," is available from the newspaper and from area bookstores include The Odyssey in South Hadley and the Cottage in Holyoke. There is a release party for the book to which the public is invited without charge on Dec. 9 from 1 to 4 p.m. in Alumnae Library at the Elms College in Chicopee, and an interview with some of the contributors airing Dec. 4 at 7:30 p.m. on WGBY-TV57.

An extensive study of the brains of dead athletes and others shows that most had signs of brain damage after suffering repeated head injuries.

AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File

BOSTON (AP) — An extensive study of the brains of dead athletes and others shows that most had signs of brain damage after suffering repeated head injuries.

The study published Monday by the Boston University School of Medicine reports on the autopsies of 85 brain donors.

The autopsies revealed extensive evidence of protein tangles clogging brain tissue and causing the destruction of brain cells in football players, wrestlers, hockey players, boxers, and military combat veterans.

The researchers reported in the journal Brain that 68 of the 85 individuals they examined, all of whom had experienced repeated head trauma, had evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy.

Co-author Dr. Robert Cantu tells The Boston Globe (http://bo.st/UkaENu ) the study should convince doubters that CTE is a real condition caused by repeat head injuries.

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Information from: The Boston Globe, http://www.boston.com/globe

The New York City homeless man — whose gift of boots from an NYPD police officer became an online sensation — is back on the streets with no shoes.

This photo provided by Jennifer Foster shows New York City Police Officer Larry DePrimo presenting a barefoot homeless man in New York's Time Square with boots Nov. 14, 2012 . Foster was visiting New York with her boyfriend on Nov. 14, when she came across the shoeless man asking for change in Times Square. As she was about to approach him, she said the officer came up to the man with a pair of all-weather boots and thermal socks on the frigid night. She took the picture on her cellphone. It was posted Tuesday night to the NYPD's official Facebook page and became an instant hit. More than 350,000 users "liked" it as of Thursday afternoon, and over 100,000 shared it. (AP Photo/Jennifer Foster) The Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — The New York City homeless man — whose gift of boots from an NYPD police officer became an online sensation — is back on the streets with no shoes.

The New York Times found him Sunday night wandering barefoot in Manhattan. The paper identified him as Jeffrey Hillman, formerly of South Plainfield, N.J.

Asked about the $100 all-weather boots Officer Larry DePrimo gave him on Nov. 14, Hillman says he's hidden them because "they are worth a lot of money."

He says he's grateful for the gift, but he wants "a piece of the pie" because the photo was posted online "without permission."

An Arizona tourist snapped the photo of the officer presenting new boots to Hillman. It went viral after it was posted on the NYPD's Facebook page.

Detectives have long wondered what secrets serial killer John Wayne Gacy and other condemned murderers took to the grave when they were executed — mostly whether they had other unknown victims.

This photo taken Friday, Nov. 30, 2012, in Chicago shows three vials of mass murderer John Wayne Gacy's blood recently discovered by Cook County Sheriff's detective Jason Moran. The sheriff’s office is creating DNA profiles from the blood of Gacy and other executed killers and putting them in a national DNA database of profiles created from blood, semen, or strands of hair found at crime scenes and on the bodies of victims. What they hope to find is evidence that links the long-dead killers to the coldest of cold cases and prompt authorities in other states to submit the DNA of their own executed inmates and maybe evidence from decades-old crime scenes to help them solve their own cases. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green) The Associated Press

By DON BABWIN, Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) — Detectives have long wondered what secrets serial killer John Wayne Gacy and other condemned murderers took to the grave when they were executed — mostly whether they had other unknown victims.

Now, in a game of scientific catch-up, the Cook County Sheriff's Department is trying to be creative: They've created DNA profiles of Gacy and others and figured out they could get the executed men entered in a national database shared with other law enforcement agencies because the murderers were technically listed as homicide victims when they were put to death by the state.

The department's hope is to find matches of DNA evidence from blood, semen or strands of hair, or skin under the fingernails of victims that link the long-dead killers to the coldest of cold cases. And they're hoping to prompt authorities in other states to submit the DNA of their own executed inmates or from decades-old crime scenes.

"You just know some of these guys did other murders" that were never solved, said Jason Moran, the sheriffs' detective leading the effort, noting that some of the executed killers ranged all over the country before the convictions that put them behind bars for the last time.

The Illinois testing, which began during the summer, is the latest chapter in a story that began when Sheriff Tom Dart exhumed the remains of unknown victims of Gacy to create DNA profiles that could be compared with the DNA of people whose loved ones went missing in the 1970s, when Gacy was killing young men.

That effort, which led to the identification of one Gacy victim, caused Dart to wonder if the technology could help answer a question that has been out there for decades: Did Gacy kill anyone besides those young men whose bodies were stashed under his house or tossed in a river?

"He traveled a lot," Moran said of Gacy. "Even though we don't have any information he committed crimes elsewhere, the sheriff asked if you could put it past such an evil person."

This 1978 file photo shows serial killer John Wayne Gacy. Three vials of Gacy's blood were recently discovered by Cook County Sheriff's detective Jason Moran. The sheriff’s office is creating DNA profiles from the blood of Gacy and other executed killers and putting them in a national DNA database of profiles created from blood, semen, or strands of hair found at crime scenes and on the bodies of victims. What they hope to find is evidence that links the long-dead killers to the coldest of cold cases and prompt authorities in other states to submit the DNA of their own executed inmates and maybe evidence from decades-old crime scenes to help them solve their own cases. (AP Photo) The Associated Press

Moran thought he was out of luck. But then Will County Coroner Patrick O'Neil surprised him with this revelation: In his office freezer were blood samples from Gacy and at least three other executed inmates. The reason they were there is because after the death penalty was reinstated in Illinois in the 1970s, executions were carried out in Will County — all between 1990 and 1999, a year before then-Gov. George Ryan established a moratorium on the death penalty. So it was O'Neil's office that conducted the autopsies and collected the blood samples.

But there was bigger obstacle.

While the state does send to the FBI's Combined DNA Index System the profiles of homicide victims no matter when they were killed, it will only send the profiles of known felons if they were convicted since a new state law was enacted about a decade ago that allowed them to be included, Moran said.

That meant the profile of Gacy, who received a lethal injection in 1994, and the profiles of other executed inmates could not qualify for the database under the felon provision. They could, however, qualify as people who died by homicide.

"They're homicides because the state intended to take the inmate's life," O'Neil said.

Last year, authorities in Florida created a DNA profile from the blood of executed serial killer Ted Bundy in an attempt to link him to other murders. But officials there, where the law allows profiles of convicted felons be uploaded into the database as well as the phase-in of profiles of people arrested on felony charges, don't know of any law enforcement agency reaching back into history the way Cook County's sheriff's office is.

"We haven't had any initiative where we are going back to executed offenders and asking for their samples," said David Coffman, director of Florida Department of Law Enforcement's laboratory system. "I think it's an innovative approach."

O'Neil said he is still looking for blood samples of the rest of the 12 condemned inmates executed between 1977 when Illinois reinstated the death penalty and 2000 when then-Gov. George Ryan established a moratorium. So far, DNA profiles have been done on the blood of Gacy and two others; the profile of the fourth inmate has not yet been done.

Among the other executed inmates whose blood was submitted for testing was Lloyd Wayne Hampton, a drifter executed in 1998 for his crimes. Not only did Hampton's long list of crimes include crimes outside the state — one conviction was for the torture of a woman in California — but shortly before he was put to death, he claimed to have committed other murders but never provided details.

So far, no computer hits have linked Gacy or the others to any other crimes. But Moran and O'Neil suspect there are investigators who are holding DNA evidence that could help solve them.

That is exactly what happened during the investigation into the 1993 slayings of seven people at a suburban Chicago restaurant, during which an evidence technician collected a half-eaten chicken dinner even though there was no way to test it for DNA at the time.

When the technology did become available, the dinner was tested and it revealed the identity of one of two men ultimately convicted in the slayings.

Moran says he wants investigators in other states to know that Gacy's blood is now open for analysis in their unsolved murders. He hopes those jurisdictions will, in turn, submit DNA profiles of their own executed inmates.

"That is part of the DNA system that's not being tapped into," he said.

According to a study released by the Massachusetts Budget and Police Center, unemployment was 13.8 percent among young adults ages 16 to 24 in 2011 – nearly double what that figure was in 2000.

The Republican staff file photo

The saying goes, what goes up must come down, but that adage is being seriously tested by youth unemployment rates that have skyrocketed since the economic downturn of 2008.

According to a study released by the Massachusetts Budget and Policy Center, unemployment was 13.8 percent among young adults ages 16 to 24 in 2011. That is nearly double the 6.7 percent rate registered in 2000. Put another way, close to one in every seven young adults are unemployed compared to one in fifteen in 2000.

The unemployment rates for all adults dropped slightly between 2009 and 2011, according to the study, while the unemployment rates for youth remained virtually unchanged.

Patricia H. Crosby, executive director of the Hampshire-Franklin Regional Employment Board said legions of young adults have begun their entry into the workforce either through a string of odd jobs or not at all.

"When I was a teen, it was the exception that someone didn't have an after-school job or a summer job," Crosby said. "Now it's the exception that a teen does have a job. And the better off their families are and the better connected, the better their chances are of getting a job. It's all about connections."

The study does note that high school dropout rates have improved slightly since 2007 but the predictable constants in that arena remain the same: for those who are poor, have limited English proficiency or disabilities, the dropout rate is notably higher than for high school students in general.

Data from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education show that in 2011, the yearly dropout rate for all students was 2.7 percent, down from 3.8 percent in 2007. The dropout rate for low-income students was 4.8 percent, down from 5.8 percent in 2007. Those with limited English proficiency had a 10.4 percent dropout rate in 2007, dropping to 7.9 percent in 2011.

Crosby said that her agency sees youths who have been unemployed for years at a time.

"It lowers your expectations. You have kids who do temporary landscaping, moving pianos ... odd job stuff is a way of life that emerges. It really limits young people’s lives, so the youth programs that we have is more critically important," she said.

A growing group of unemployed youth are deemed "disconnected." The study shows that while state funding for youth employment programs has crept up, the funding has been inconsistent and has fluctuated from year to year. Also, higher education investment has declined nearly 30 percent since fiscal year 2001.

The premier state line items funding youth employment are "Connecting Activities," which received $8 million in state funds in fiscal year 2007 and just under $3 million this fiscal year; a Transitional Employment Program which received $2 million this fiscal year and Youth Build grants which also received $2 million this year, among a handful of others.

The total of state funding earmarked for youth employment programs this fiscal year was $16.7 million, according to the study.

Crosby said the Connecting Activities program requires matching funds from private employers and exposes youth to early job opportunities – good and bad.

She said the economy will have to continue to take a significant turn for the better for the employment landscape for adults, and subsequently youth, to change.

"Right now you'll see more adults in entry-level jobs like working at Burger King and delivering papers. The economy needs to get significantly better for those jobs to return to their rightful place as jobs for youth," Crosby said.

NBC "Today" executive-in-charge Alexandra Wallace is denying reports that she plans to fire host Matt Lauer in February if the morning show's ratings do not improve.

This photo provided by Jennifer Foster shows New York City Police Officer Larry DePrimo presenting a barefoot homeless man in New York's Time Square with boots Nov. 14 . Foster was visiting New York with her boyfriend when she came across the shoeless man asking for change in Times Square. As she was about to approach him, she said the officer came up to the man with a pair of all-weather boots and thermal socks on the frigid night. She took the picture on her cellphone. Yesterday, the man was seen in Times Square again with no shoes on. Associated Press / Jennifer Foster

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) Chicopee teen, Keough Collins, identified as victim in Springfield homicide [The Republican Newsroom]

2) Homeless man shoeless again in NYC despite boots Photo at right. [Associated Press]

3) NBC denies it plans to fire Matt Lauer from 'Today' show [Associated Press]

4) East Springfield residents disappointed that Ameristar Casinos has withdrawn proposal to build Page Boulevard hotel-gaming complex [Conor Berry]

5) Massachusetts among 5 states to increase class time in some schools [Associated Press]

Massachusetts is poised to play a key role in the development of alternative energy.

A test wind farm is seen off the coast of England this summer.

The wind is picking up in America’s race to harness alternative energy and reduce increase the nation’s energy independence.

Federal officials announced on Friday that it plans to sell leases for wind farms off the coasts of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Virginia, marking the first time it has sold competitive leases for wind energy on the outer continental shelf. The leases will be sold next year.

With two out of three of the wind farms located in New England, the region is poised to be the leader of the nascent American industry and that’s good news for the region’s economy.

“Wind energy along the Atlantic holds enormous potential, and today we are moving closer to tapping into this massive domestic energy resource to create jobs, increase our energy security and strengthen our nation’s competitiveness in this new energy frontier,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a written statement.

The Cape Wind project in federal waters off Cape Cod was the nation’s first offshore wind project to be approved by the federal government after 10 years of torturous regulatory review and fierce opposition from groups who argued the project would spoil a beautiful and historic landscape. It is scheduled to be up and running by 2015.

The latest news on the wind-farm front is another important step in the nation’s quest to reduce its independence on foreign oil. We’re pleased that Massachusetts will play a part in that quest.

The responsibility belongs to the city, according to Frank Czepiel, chairman of Chicopee’s Commission for the Disabled.

Question: I was wondering who is responsible for marking the handicap space in front of the Main Street post office in Chicopee.

Currently, the space does have a sign for handicap parking but the sign is hard to see as other signs are on the pole along with it, and the many newspaper and free ad containers near the pole make the signs on the pole hard to see.

I use this post office a lot and I parked in this handicap spot without being aware it was a handicap spot.

Is the city of Chicopee is responsible for marking the curb and the street for the handicap space or is the post office responsible?

– A.B., Chicopee

Answer: The responsibility for maintaining that parking space belongs to the city, according to Frank Czepiel, chairman of the city’s Commission for the Disabled.

He said the commission recently did an audit of all the specially designated parking spaces for disabled people and said some are set incorrectly and will be eliminated, and there are problems with others.

Czepiel said he is aware of the problem with the different containers cluttering the sidewalk and making it difficult to see the sign.

“If I receive a formal complaint, I will go to the city and the Department of Public Works with it. If that doesn’t work, I will go to Boston,” he said. The state’s Health and Human Services Department has a variety of different commissions that assist with issues for the disabled.

Czepiel said he generally has good luck with the Department of Public Works assisting with complaints.

A formal complaint may be filed with the Commission for the Disabled or with the mayor’s office in Chicopee City Hall. 

The trial of a Fitchburg man charged with killing his wife with an overdose of morphine then putting her body in a suitcase and leaving it in the woods is getting under way.

WORCESTER, Mass. (AP) — The trial of a Fitchburg man charged with killing his wife with an overdose of morphine then putting her body in a suitcase and leaving it in the woods is getting under way.

Opening statements in the murder trial of 32-year-old nurse Asim Amran are scheduled for Tuesday in Worcester Superior Court.

The Telegram & Gazette reports that prosecutors say Amran killed 27-year-old Faiza Malik, whose decomposed body was found Aug. 20, 2009, in a suitcase in Oxford, about 30 miles from their home. An autopsy determined that she died of morphine poisoning.

She was reported missing by family members on Jan. 4, 2009.

Amran's lawyer could not be reached.

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Information from: Telegram & Gazette (Worcester, Mass.), http://www.telegram.com

Police say Williams also was involved in an altercation with three fans Friday evening after they tried to take a photo with him.

Katt Williams

SEATTLE (AP) — Stand-up comedian and actor Katt Williams said he was ordered to leave a Seattle hotel late Monday, hours after he was released from jail following a dispute at a bar.

Williams was ordered to leave a Courtyard Marriott after an unspecified incident that involved a police presence, Seattlepi.com reported.

Williams didn't say why he was ejected, and neither police nor a hotel manager immediately returned calls from the Associated Press. Attempts to reach Williams were not immediately successful.

Williams was released from jail early Monday after police say he argued with a patron at a bar, menaced the manager with a pool cue and refused to leave World Sports Grille on Sunday. He was also accused of flicking a cigarette into a woman's face through a car window and throwing a rock at the vehicle.

Police say Williams struggled with officers who arrested him and jailed him for investigation of assault, harassment and obstruction.

Police say Williams also was involved in an altercation with three fans Friday evening after they tried to take a photo with him. He said they had forced their way into his dressing room.