During his victory speech on Tuesday night, Gomez reminded people of Markey's long tenure in Washington.

BRAINTREE — U.S. Rep. Edward Markey on Friday went on the offensive against his Republican opponent in the U.S. Senate race, repeatedly calling him “a candidate of the past” who wants to roll back federal financial, health and environmental regulations and embrace the policies of former President George W. Bush.

With new polls showing a close contest, Markey, a Democrat from Malden, campaigned on the South Shore, the home territory of his rival, Republican Gabriel Gomez of Cohasset, in the June 25 special Senate election. Speaking to reporters, Markey said Gomez would support the goals of the “Tea Party Republicans” in Washington.

“My opponent wants to take us back to the Bush era,” Markey told reporters during a stop at the Olympian Diner & Restaurant in Braintree. “President Bush had mindless tax cuts mainly for billionaires that he did not pay for, two wars that Bush and the Republicans did not pay for. They allowed a casino to be set up on Wall Street . . . . My opponent . . . is the candidate of the past.”

Gomez, a former Navy SEAL and private equity investor in Boston, was scheduled to greet people outside the Boston Celtics playoff game on Friday night in Boston.

In a statement in response to Markey's comments in Braintree, Will Ritter, press spokesman for Gomez, said: “Career politician Ed Markey is living in the past. He’s running against the past and attacking candidates from the past. Gabriel Gomez is focused on the future.”

Markey's campaign manager on Friday delivered a letter to Gomez’s campaign manager, asking Gomez to sign a pledge discouraging spending by outside groups on campaign ads. Gomez has turned down the offer, saying Markey already has a fund-raising edge from his decades in Congress.

“He doesn't want watchdogs on the Wall Street beat.," Markey said of Gomez."He wants lapdogs on the Wall Street beat . . . That's why so much outside money is going to come into Massachusetts. They want to take the watchdog off of Wall Street once again. That's what he stands for. That's what he is running on.”

In his own letter to Markey, Gomez said Markey should return $3.4 million in campaign donations that Markey received from special interest groups over his years in Congress.

“I will take the same pledge that my parents took when they became U.S. citizens and that I took when I joined the US Navy – to uphold and defend the constitution of the United States of America,” said Gomez.

Markey downplayed the significance of the new polls that showed him in a tight race with Gomez. “You just can't pay attention to them. The people are going to decide and it will be on June 25.”

Gabriel Gomez, a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, stands with supporter Greer Swiston of Newton at a polling place in Wellesley on Tuesday.The Republican photo by Dan Ring 

According to a poll by Public Policy Polling, Markey was supported by 44 percent of likely voters, compared to 40 percent for Gomez. In the telephone poll of 1,539 likely voters taken Wednesday and Thursday, a total of 16 percent were undecided.

The poll’s margin or error was plus or minus 2.5 percentage points.

In another poll taken on Wednesday by the Emerson College Polling Society, Markey was supported by 42 percent of registered voters while Gomez was at 36 percent. The poll of 797 registered voters had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.4 percentage points.

Gomez issued a statement on the post-primary polls.

“These results confirm that voters agree with my reform plan to reboot Congress, including term limits, a balanced budget amendment, and a pay freeze for Congress. Congressman Ed Markey is against these reforms,” Gomez said.

“Congressman Markey began this campaign by slinging mud, and by refusing to accept my challenge of three debates,” Gomez said. “Congressman Markey is the poster boy for term limits in Washington, and these polls show voters agree.”

Markey made a swing through two communities, including Braintree and Marshfield on the South Shore, that voted decisively for his more conservative primary opponent, U.S. Rep. Stephen F. Lynch, of Boston.

“I'm running on an agenda that is very much consistent with President Obama's view for the future,” Markey said. “Ultimately, that is going to be the successful formula here in Massachusetts in 2013.”

Markey defeated Lynch by 57 percent to 43 percent on Tuesday. Gomez won a three-way primary and bested his closest opponent, former U.S. Attorney Michael J. Sullivan, by 51 percent to 36 percent.

Markey, 66, is about 20 years old than Gomez, 47. Markey is a 36-year member of the U.S. House in Washington, while Gomez has never served in elective office and lost a contest for selectman in Cohasset a decade ago.

During his victory speech on Tuesday night, Gomez reminded people of Markey’s long tenure in Washington. Gomez said he was playing little league baseball when Markey was elected in 1976 and he reminded people that “Al Gore had not yet invented the Internet” and that the $16 trillion national debt was then not even $1 trillion.

Markey responded to a question about whether the age difference between him and Gomez would be a factor in the election.

“This is really a campaign about the future versus the past,” Markey said. “He is the candidate of the past .. of an agenda which has been discredited, which we are just recovering from here in Massachusetts and across the country.”

All 20 of the cities have said they will participate, Chakrabarti said. But most are still formulating their contest entries. Nothing is due until late July and winners won’t be picked until January of 2014, Chakrabarti said. There will be six to eight winners receiving separate awards of $700,000 to $60,000 on the low end.

April 24, 2013 - Springfield - staff photo by Michael S. Gordon - Jay Minkarah, president and CEO of DevelopSpringfield in front of 83 Maple St., another of the organization's progrjects..The Republican / Michael S. Gordon 

“They have to have a common vision for what they do,” said Prabal Chakrabarti, vice president of regional and community outreach at the Boston Fed.

A. John "Jay" Minkarah, president and CEO of DevelopSpringfield, said his organization is preparing a proposal on behalf of Live Well Springfield. The idea is to expand Live Well Springfield’s focus beyond exercise, like a rowing program on the Connecticut River, and nutrition, like encouraging farmers markets, fresh produce and a full-service grocery store in the Mason Square neighborhood.

New programs could include housing, job preparedness and work force development, Minkarah said. But the nuts-and-bolts have yet to be decided, he said.

Minkarah was in Boston Friday when the Boston Fed conducted a kick-off event and informational seminar Friday for its Working Cities Challenge.

It’s a contest, Chakrabarti said by phone Friday, open to 20 downtrodden but rebuilding small cities across Massachusetts: Brockton, Chelsea, Chicopee, Everett, Fall River, Fitchburg, Haverhill, Holyoke, Lawrence, Lowell, Lynn, Malden, New Bedford, Pittsfield, Revere, Salem, Somerville, Springfield, Taunton, and Worcester.

All 20 of the cities have said they will participate, Chakrabarti said. But most are still formulating their contest entries. Nothing is due until late July and winners won’t be picked until January 2014, Chakrabarti said. There will be six to eight winners receiving separate awards of $700,000 to $60,000 on the low end.

But there is a catch, the Fed is only accepting one application from each city. Each city must work together on a plan in order to compete. “It’s about building community,” he said.

The program is similar to the City2City trips the Boston Fed has a hand in putting together. City2City has brought civic leaders from the Pioneer Valley to Allentown, Pa., Winston-Salem, N.C., and Grand Rapids, Mich.

“But it is not just the trip,” Chakrabarti said. “It’s about getting all these leaders from Springfield in a bus or a plane and getting them to talk to each other, break down those silos.”

Winning cities will have to show the Fed that they are making changes, Chakrabarti said.

“Are you going to change the way money flows around your city,” he said. The money comes from private donors and from the state.

Investigators are using heavy equipment to dig through the destroyed building in their search for the cause of the fire.

 

Westfield firefighters on Friday morning remain on the scene of Thursday's fire at Western Massachusetts Truss Company. The destroyed building is seen in the center of the picture between the two fire trucks.The Republican | John Suchocki 

This is an update of a story originally posted at 1:02 a.m. Friday

WESTFIELD - Investigators with the Westfield Fire Department and the state Fire Marshal's Office were still working to determine the cause of a Thursday night fire that destroyed a fabrication building at Westfield Truss, 100 Apremont Way, officials said.

Jennifer L. Mieth, spokeswoman for state Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan, said that on Friday afternoon investigators were using heavy equipment to dig through the rubble at the site in hopes of finding where the fire started.

"It's way too early to discuss a cause," she said.

The fire swept through the building, burning it to the ground before the flames could be extinguished. When firefighters arrived on scene about 9:30 p.m., the structure was fully engulfed, said Deputy Chief Mark Devine of the Westfield Fire Department.

Westfield firefighters hose down remaining hot spots at a fire that destroyed a building at Western Massachusetts Truss Co. on Apremont Way.The Republican | Patrick Johnson 

Western Mass Truss Company manufactures wooden prefabricated structural support systems for roof and flooring structures. Much of the fuel for the fire was lumber used in making those trusses, he said.

Devine declared the building a total loss.

Damage was not limited to the Western Mass Truss Company property, Devine said. Embers from the blaze were swept some 200 yards to start a small fire that damaged a storage building belonging to Martin Floor Covering on Southampton Road.

Devine said some 25 firefighters and eight pieces of firefighting apparatus were used in battling the blaze. Additional units from Agawam and Southwick provided backup service to Westfield.

Reporter Dave Canton contributed to this report.

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Menwer works as a legislative aide and is a noncommissioned officer in the National Guard.

Yasser MenwerJohn Suchocki, The Republican 

HOLYOKE -- Fire Commission member Yasser Menwer will gather signatures on nomination papers in his bid for the Ward 5 City Council seat Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at Dino's Pizza Restaurant, 615 Homestead Ave.

Menwer is a district aide to state Rep. Aaron M. Vega, D-Holyoke, and a senior noncommissioned officer at Barnes Air National Guard base in Westfield. Menwer said the event at Dino's will be a combination signature drive and meet-and-greet with residents.

Menwer will be trying to unseat incumbent Ward 5 Councilor Linda L. Vacon in the Nov. 5 election.

Markey led Gomez 44 to 40 percent in a survey conducted May 1-2 by Public Policy Polling, and 42 percent to 36 percent in an Emerson College Polling Society poll.

Democrat Ed Markey has leads of 4 and 6 points over Republican Gabriel Gomez in the first polls of the general election in the 2013 Massachusetts Senate special election.

Markey, 66, a 36-year congressman from Malden, and Gomez, 47, a businessman and former Navy SEAL from Cohasset, both easily won their respective primary elections on Tuesday. They will be on the ballot in the June 25 special election to fill the remainder of the term of the seat vacated by Secretary of State John Kerry. The winner faces re-election next year.

Markey led Gomez 44 to 40 percent in a survey conducted May 1-2 by Public Policy Polling, a Democratic-leaning group. But Gomez led 47-31 among independents, a margin that bodes well for any GOP candidate seeking to win a general election in a state that has three times as many registered Democrats as Republicans. Markey led 68-21 among Democrats, while Gomez led 70-17 among Republicans.

Gomez was viewed favorably by 41 percent of voters, with 27 percent having an unfavorable opinion about him. Markey was seen favorably by 44 percent of respondents, but had a negative rating of 41 percent.

The poll of 1,539 likely voters, conducted through automated telephone interviews, has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.5 percent.

In the second poll, by the Emerson College Polling Society, a student organization at Emerson College in Boston, Markey led Gomez 42 percent to 36 percent among the 797 respondents surveyed on May 1. Gomez had another large lead among independents – 46 to 25 percent. Markey was favored by 46 percent of female respondents to 29 percent for Gomez, while Gomez led the male vote 44-37.

Regionally, Markey led in Boston (57-19), Central/South Shore (40-38) and Western Massachusetts (43-34), while Gomez led Central/North Shore (46-33) and Metro Boston was a tie (39-39).

The Emerson poll showed similar favorable/unfavorable gaps for the candidates. Gomez was viewed favorably by 45 percent of voters, with 25 percent viewing him unfavorably, compared to Markey's favorability/unfavorability numbers of 48 and 37.

The poll has a margin of error of 3.4 percent.

His death certificate cites Tsarnaev's "gunshot wounds of torso and extremities" and lists the time of his death as 1:35 a.m. on April 19, four days after the deadly bombing, according to a funeral home director,

View full sizeIn this Feb. 17, 2010, photo, Tamerlan Tsarnaev smiles after accepting the trophy for winning the 2010 New England Golden Gloves Championship. Tsarnaev, 26, who had been known to the FBI as Suspect No. 1 in the Boston Marathon explosions and was seen in surveillance footage in a black baseball cap, was killed overnight on Friday, April 19, 2013, officials said. AP Photo/The Lowell Sun, Julia Malakie 

BOSTON — A suspect in the Boston Marathon bombings died from gunshot wounds and blunt trauma to his head and torso, a funeral director said Friday.

Worcester funeral home owner Peter Stefan has 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev's body and read details from his death certificate. The certificate cites Tsarnaev's "gunshot wounds of torso and extremities" and lists the time of his death as 1:35 a.m. on April 19, four days after the deadly bombing, Stefan said.

Tsarnaev died after a gunfight with authorities who had launched a massive manhunt for him and his brother, ethnic Chechens from Russia who came to the United States about a decade ago. Police have said he ran out of ammunition before his younger brother dragged his body under a vehicle while fleeing.

Tsarnaev's family on Friday was making arrangements for his funeral as investigators searched the woods near a college attended by 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was captured less than a day after his brother's death.

The funeral parlor in Worcester is familiar with Muslim services and said it will handle arrangements for Tamerlan Tsarnaev, whose body was released by the state medical examiner Thursday night.

The body initially was taken to a North Attleborough funeral home, where it was greeted by about 20 protesters. Stefan, owner of Graham Putnam and Mahoney Funeral Parlors in Worcester, an hour's drive west of Boston, said everybody deserves a dignified burial service no matter the circumstances of his or her death and he is prepared for protests.

"My problem here is trying to find a gravesite. A lot of people don't want to do it. They don't want to be involved with this," said Stefan, who said dozens of protesters gathered outside his funeral home, upset with his decision to handle the funeral. "I keep bringing up the point of Lee Harvey Oswald, Timothy McVeigh or Ted Bundy. Somebody had to do those, too."

Meanwhile, two U.S. officials said Dzhokhar Tsarnaev told interrogators that he and his brother initially considered setting off their bombs on July Fourth.

Boston police said they planned to review security procedures for the Independence Day Boston Pops concert and fireworks display, which draws a crowd of more than 500,000 annually and is broadcast to a national TV audience. Authorities plan to look at security procedures for large events held in other cities, notably the massive New Year's Eve celebration held each year in New York City's Times Square, Massachusetts state police spokesman David Procopio said.

Gov. Deval Patrick said everything possible will be done to assure a safe event.

"I think the most important thing is that we got them, and there's investigation continuing about where the other leads may lead," he said. "I can tell you, having been thoroughly briefed, that the law enforcement at every level is pursuing everything."

As part of the bombing investigation, federal, state and local authorities were searching the woods near the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth campus, where Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was a student. Christina DiIorio-Sterling, a spokeswoman for U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz, could not say what investigators were looking for but said residents should know there is no threat to public safety.

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, who was found hiding in a tarp-covered boat in a suburban Boston backyard, faces a charge of using a weapon of mass destruction to kill. Three of his college classmates were arrested Wednesday and accused of helping after the bombing to remove a laptop and backpack from his dormitory room before the FBI searched it.

The April 15 bombing, using pressure cookers packed with explosives, nails, ball bearings and metal shards, killed three people and injured more than 260 others near the marathon's finish line.

The brothers decided to carry out the attack before Independence Day when they finished assembling the bombs, the surviving suspect told interrogators after he was arrested, according to two U.S. officials briefed on the investigation. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation.

Investigators believe some of the explosives used in the attack were assembled in Tamerlan Tsarnaev's home, though there may have been some assembly elsewhere, one of the officials said. It does not appear that the brothers ever had big, definitive plans, the official said.

The brothers' mother insists the allegations against them are lies.

Meanwhile, the Department of Homeland Security ordered border agents to immediately begin verifying that every international student who arrives in the U.S. has a valid student visa, according to an internal memorandum obtained Friday by The Associated Press. The new procedure is the government's first security change directly related to the Boston bombings.

The order from a senior official at U.S. Customs and Border Protection, David J. Murphy, was circulated Thursday and came one day after President Barack Obama's administration acknowledged that one of the students accused of hiding evidence, Azamat Tazhayakov, of Kazakhstan, was allowed to return to the U.S. in January without a valid student visa.

Tazhayakov's lawyer has said he had nothing to do with the bombing and was shocked by it.

A benefit concert featuring Aerosmith, James Taylor and Jimmy Buffett is scheduled for May 30 at the TD Garden in Boston. The proceeds will go to The One Fund, which has taken in more than $28 million for those injured and the families of those who were killed.

The fund's administrator, Kenneth Feinberg, said Friday he plans to hold meetings with victims next week and begin cutting checks by the end of June.

The fire was in a wooded area 200 to 300 yards off the road.

BELCHERTOWN - Firefighters were called to put out a brush fire in a wooded area of Stebbins Road Friday evening.

The fire was located some 200 to 300 feet off the Stebbins Road near Bay Street. Firefighters used a hose from from an all-wheel drive tanker truck to douse as much of the area as they could, while other firefighters carried water in on their backs.

The fire was out by around 7:30 p.m.

Easthampton firefighters also had to contend with a brush fire Friday morning in a wooded area off Pleasant Street.

Much of southern New England in areas away from the coast are under elevated fire watch due to dry conditions and an excess of dead grass, leaves and brush in open areas.

Officials in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Hampshire are discouraging anyone from conducting open burning of any kind due to the high degree of fire danger.

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A solar-powered airplane left Northern California on Friday for the first leg of a planned cross-country trip that its co-pilot described as a "milestone" in aviation history.

By HAVEN DALEY

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — A solar-powered airplane left Northern California on Friday for the first leg of a planned cross-country trip that its co-pilot described as a "milestone" in aviation history.

The Solar Impulse — considered the world's most-advanced sun-powered plane — left Moffett Field in Mountain View just after dawn. Its creators said the trip is the first attempt by a solar airplane capable of flying day and night without fuel to fly across America.

It plans to land at Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix, Dallas-Fort Worth airport in Texas, Lambert-St. Louis airport, Dulles airport in the Washington area and New York's John F. Kennedy airport. Each flight leg will take about 19 to 25 hours, with 10-day stops in each city.

"All the big pioneers of the 20th century have tried to fly coast to coast across America," said co-pilot and one of the plane's founders, Bertrand Piccard. "So now today we're trying to do this, but on solar power with no fuel with the first airplane that is able to fly day and night just on solar power."

The plane is powered by about 12,000 photovoltaic cells that cover massive wings and charge its batteries.

The delicate, single-seat Solar Impulse flies around 40 mph and can't go through clouds. It weighs about as much as a car, making it vulnerable to bad weather.

Its creators said solar planes will never replace fuel-powered commercial flights. But the goal is to showcase the potential of solar power.

"What we look for is to have a new milestone in this very exciting history of aviation that can attract interest of the people, of the political world, of the media and show that with renewable energies and clean technology for energy efficiency, we can achieve impossible things," Piccard said.

The plane has previously impressed audiences in Europe. It is expected to reach Phoenix around 1 a.m. Saturday.

Carmelo Anthony scored 21 points and the New York Knicks held on after blowing most of a 26-point lead to beat the Boston Celtics 88-80 in Game 6 on Friday night and advance in the postseason for the first time since 2000.

BOSTON — Carmelo Anthony scored 21 points and the New York Knicks held on after blowing most of a 26-point lead to beat the Boston Celtics 88-80 in Game 6 on Friday night and advance in the postseason for the first time since 2000.

Iman Shumpert scored 15 of his 17 points in the second half, when the Celtics cut a 75-49 deficit to four points. But Anthony made a jumper to give New York an 81-75 lead and then sank a 3-pointer, then J.R. Smith converted a three-point play to restore the double-digit lead the Knicks had nursed most of the game.

Jeff Green scored 21 points for the Celtics, who had rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the series and had a chance, at home, to force a decisive seventh game.

No NBA team has advanced in the playoffs after losing the first three games.

A Buy Springfield Now seminar is intended to aid potential home-buyers.

SPRINGFIELD -- Buy Springfield Now, a public-private partnership formed to promote home ownership in the city, has a free homebuyer seminar on Saturday, May 4.

The seminar is from 9 to 11 a.m., at the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame at 1000 West Columbus Ave. Those attending can meet with lenders, real estate agents, nonprofit organizations, lawyers, neighborhood councils and vendors.

Attendees can find out what properties are for sale in Springfield and if they qualify to purchase them. Open houses will follow on Sunday around the city.

EASTHAMPTON – The Great American Rain Barrel Company and the city Planning Department are offering residents the chance to buy rain barrels at a discount. The 60‐gallon rain barrels are made from repurposed food grade shipping drums and available in green, brown or gray for $69 each. Residents can order online or by calling (800) 251‐2352. Orders must be placed...

EASTHAMPTON – The Great American Rain Barrel Company and the city Planning Department are offering residents the chance to buy rain barrels at a discount.

The 60‐gallon rain barrels are made from repurposed food grade shipping drums and available in green, brown or gray for $69 each.

Residents can order online or by calling (800) 251‐2352.

Orders must be placed by June 7 and pick-up is June 15 from 9 to 11 a.m. at the Municipal Building parking lot.

AMHERST - Max Page, professor of art and history at the University of Massachusetts, was one of three scholars who to receive the Rome Prize for Historic Preservation and Conservation. The American Academy in Rome presents the awards to honor “the highest standard of excellence in the arts and humanities.” Past winners include architects Robert Venturi and Louis Kahn, composers...

AMHERST - Max Page, professor of art and history at the University of Massachusetts, was one of three scholars who to receive the Rome Prize for Historic Preservation and Conservation.

The American Academy in Rome presents the awards to honor “the highest standard of excellence in the arts and humanities.”

Past winners include architects Robert Venturi and Louis Kahn, composers Aaron Copland and Laurie Anderson and writers Ralph Ellison and William Styron.

The prize includes a fellowship that provides a stipend, studio or study, room and board in Rome for up to two years—and the opportunity for recipients to expand their own professional, artistic or scholarly pursuits, according to a press release.
Page plans to spend the spring semester of 2014 in Italy.

Springfield officials are looking for buyers able to redevelop the sites without harming the historic significance of each building, officials said.

60 Byers St.File photo / The Republican 

SPRINGFIELD – The city is seeking buyers for two tax-foreclosed properties at 60 Byers St., in the downtown, and at 176 Maple St., in the South End, with a focus on historic preservation at both sites.

The Byers Street property is among just a few buildings in Springfield with an international style architecture, said Tina Quagliato, the city’s deputy director of neighborhood stabilization.

In addition, all three apartments in the building are occupied, she said.

The other property on Maple Street is vacant, and the city failed to find a suitable buyer earlier this year, Quagliato said.

176 Maple St.File photo / The Republican 

“I think on both of them, the city is hopeful of getting some quality proposals,” Quagliato said.

Proposals to buy and redevelop the sites must be received by 2 p.m., on May 22, at the Purchasing Department at City Hall.

A site tour is scheduled at 60 Byers St., at 2 p.m. on May 8.

A tour is scheduled at 176 Maple St., at 10 a.m. on Saturday, and at 1 p.m., on May 13.

Due to unique architecture of the site on Byers Street, the city is requiring the buyer to enter into a Historic Preservation Agreement prohibiting exterior changes without approval of the Springfield Historical Commission, Quagliato said.

Robert McCarroll, a member of the local historical commission, praised the effort.

“It is a unique building for the city, one of a handful of mid-20th century modern design residences,” McCarroll said.

When built in the mid-1950s, typically the preference was colonial revival, and Tudor-styled residences rather than the modern international style, he said.

The city is most interested in proposals for the Byers Street site that will improve the property and maintain the affordable housing restrictions there, according to the Request for Proposals.

The site is across from the Springfield Armory National Historic Site and the Springfield Technical Community College campus.

Regarding the Maple Street property, the city is offering $75,000 in federally funded Community Development Block Grant assistance, made available for exterior restoration.

It is part of a group of row houses including an adjacent property at 174 Maple St., that already has a buyer, Quagliato said.

It is within the Maple Hill Local Historic District.

Funeral arrangements for the Boston Marathon bombing suspect killed in a shootout with police are being handled by a funeral home that has experience with Muslim services.

BOSTON (AP) — Funeral arrangements for the Boston Marathon bombing suspect killed in a shootout with police are being handled by a funeral home that has experience with Muslim services.

Peter Stefan, owner of Graham Putnam and Mahoney Funeral Parlors in Worcester confirmed Friday he is handling funeral arrangements for Tamerlan Tsarnaev but he could not confirm whether he has possession of the body.

Stefan says everybody deserves a dignified burial service no matter the circumstances of their death and he is prepared for protests. He says arrangements have yet to be worked out.

Several protesters showed up outside a North Attleborough funeral home Thursday night where Tsarnaev's body was taken following its release by the state medical examiner.

Timothy Nay of the Dyer-Lake Funeral Home says he is no longer in possession of the body.

With a second airstrike against Syria in four months, Israel enforced its own red line of not allowing game-changing weapons to reach Lebanon's Hezbollah, a heavily armed foe of the Jewish state and an ally of President Bashar Assad's regime, Israeli officials said Saturday.

View full sizeThis photo released on the official Facebook page of Syrian President Bashar Assad, shows Syrian president Bashar Assad, right, surrounded by bodyguards as young people, wave at him during the inauguration ceremony on Saturday of a statue dedicated to "martyrs" from Syrian universities who died in the country's two-year-old uprising and civil war, in Damascus, Syria, Saturday, May. 4, 2013. Assad's second public appearance in a week came as Israeli officials confirmed the country's air force carried out a strike against Syria, saying it targeted a shipment of advanced missiles bound for the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. (AP Photo) 

BEIRUT — With a second airstrike against Syria in four months, Israel enforced its own red line of not allowing game-changing weapons to reach Lebanon's Hezbollah, a heavily armed foe of the Jewish state and an ally of President Bashar Assad's regime, Israeli officials said Saturday.

But the strike, which one official said targeted a shipment of advanced surface-to-surface missiles, also raised new concerns that the region's most powerful military could be dragged into Syria's civil war and spark a wider conflagration.

Fighting has repeatedly spilled across Syria's borders into Turkey, Lebanon, Iraq, Jordan and the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights during more than two years of conflict, while more than 1 million Syrians have sought refuge in neighboring countries.

The airstrike, which was carried out early Friday and was confirmed by U.S. officials, comes as Washington considers how to respond to indications that the Syrian regime may have used chemical weapons in its civil war. President Barack Obama has described the use of such weapons as a "red line," and the administration is weighing its options — including possible military action.

Israel has said it wants to stay out of the brutal Syria war, but could inadvertently be drawn in as it tries to bolster its deterrence and prevent sophisticated weapons from flowing from Syria to Hezbollah or other extremist groups.

Israel and Hezbollah fought a monthlong war in mid-2006 that ended in a stalemate.

Israel believes Hezbollah has restocked its arsenal with tens of thousands of rockets and missiles, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly stated the Jewish state would be prepared to take military action to prevent the Islamic militant group from obtaining new weapons that could upset the balance of power.

It is especially concerned that Hezbollah will take advantage of the chaos in neighboring Syria and try to smuggle advanced weapons into Lebanon. These include anti-aircraft missiles, which could hamper Israel's ability to operate in Lebanese skies, and advanced Yakhont missiles that are used to attack naval ships from the coast.

While Israeli officials on Saturday portrayed the latest airstrike as the continuation of Israel's deterrence policy, more Israeli attacks could quickly lead to an escalation, leaving open the possibility of retaliation by Hezbollah or even the Assad regime and Syria ally Iran.

In January, Israeli aircraft struck a shipment of what was believed to be Russian-made SA-17 anti-aircraft missiles bound for Hezbollah, according to U.S. officials. Israeli officials have strongly hinted they carried out the airstrike, though there hasn't been formal confirmation.

Neither Hezbollah nor Syria responded to that strike.

In a warning to Israel earlier this week, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah said his militia "is ready and has its hand on the trigger" in the event of an Israeli attack on any targets in Lebanon.

Details about Friday's strike remained sketchy.

The U.S. officials said the airstrike apparently hit a warehouse, but gave no other details.

Israeli officials did not say where in Syria the Israeli aircraft struck or whether they fired from Lebanese, Syrian or Israeli airspace.

Israel possesses bombs that can travel a long distance before striking their target. The use of such weapons could allow Israel to carry out the attack without entering Syrian skies, which would risk coming under fire from the regime's advanced, Russian-made anti-aircraft defenses.

The Israeli and U.S. officials spoke anonymously because they had not been given permission to speak publicly about the matter.

Obama said Saturday it was up to Israel to confirm or deny any strikes, but that the U.S. coordinates very closely with Israel.

"The Israelis, justifiably, have to guard against the transfer of advanced weaponry to terrorist organizations like Hezbollah," Obama told the Spanish-language TV station Telemundo.

The Syrian government said it had no information on an Israeli attack, while Hezbollah and the Israeli military spokesman's office declined comment.

Amos Gilad, an Israeli defense official, would not confirm or deny the airstrike, but played down cross-border tensions.

Hezbollah has not obtained any of Syria's large chemical weapons arsenal and is not interested in such weapons, Gilad said. Instead, the militia is "enthusiastic about other weapons systems and rockets that reach here (Israel)," he said Saturday in a speech in southern Israel.

Assad "is not provoking Israel and the incidents along the border (between Syria and the Israeli-controlled Golan) are coincidental," Gilad said.

After Hezbollah's military infrastructure was badly hit during the 2006 war, the group was rearmed by Iran and Syria — with Tehran sending the weapons and Damascus providing the overland supply route to Lebanon.

"This is a very sophisticated network of Iranian arms, Syrian collection, storage, distribution and transportation to Hezbollah," said Salman Shaikh, director of The Brookings Doha Center and in 2007 involved in U.N. weapons monitoring in Lebanon.

Shaikh said Israel had detailed knowledge of weapons shipments to Hezbollah at the time and most likely has good intelligence now. "The Israelis are watching like hawks to see what happens to these weapons," he said.

With Israel apparently enforcing its red lines, much now depends on the response from Hezbollah and Syria, analysts said.

Israeli officials have long feared that Assad may try to draw Israel into the civil war in hopes of diverting attention and perhaps rallying Arab support behind him.

But retaliation for Israeli airstrikes would come at a high price, said Moshe Maoz, an Israeli expert on Syria.

"Bashar has his own problems and he knows that conflict with Israel would cause the collapse of his regime," Maoz said. "He could have done that long ago, but he knows he will fall if Israel gets involved."

Hezbollah, which is fighting alongside Assad's troops, appears to have linked its fate to the survival of the Syrian regime. Nasrallah, the Hezbollah chief, said this week that Syria's allies "will not allow Syria to fall into the hands of America or Israel."

On the other hand, Hezbollah could endanger its position as Lebanon's main political and military force if it confronts Israel, and it's not clear if the militia is willing to take that risk.

Hezbollah isn't Israel's only concern. Israeli officials believe it is only a matter of time before Assad's government collapse, and they fear that some of the Islamic extremist groups battling him will turn their attention toward Israel once Assad is gone.

Reflecting Israel's anxiety, the Israeli military called up several thousand reservists earlier this week for what it called a "surprise" military exercise on its border with Lebanon.

Obama has said the use of chemical weapons would have "enormous consequences," but has also said he needs more definitive proof before making a decision about how to respond.

Obama said Friday that he didn't foresee a scenario in which the U.S. would send troops to Syria. Instead, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel has said Washington is reviewing its opposition to arming the opposition.

The U.S. so far has balked at sending weapons to the rebels, fearing the arms could end up in the hands of al-Qaida-linked groups or other extremists in the opposition ranks.

Secretary of State John Kerry, meanwhile, is heading to Moscow next week to try to persuade Russian President Vladimir Putin to support, or at least not veto, a fresh effort to impose U.N. penalties on Syria if Assad doesn't begin political transition talks with the opposition.

Russia, alongside China, has blocked U.S.-led efforts three times at the United Nations to pressure Assad into stepping down.

In Syria, about 4,000 Sunni Muslims fled the coastal town of Banias on Saturday, a day after reports circulated that dozens of people, including children, had been killed by pro-government gunmen in the area, activists said.

Also Saturday, Assad made his second public appearance in a week in the capital Damascus. Syrian state TV said Assad, who rarely appears in public, visited a Damascus campus, and footage showed him being thronged by a large crowd. The report said Assad inaugurated a statue dedicated to "martyrs" from Syrian universities who died in the country's uprising and civil war.

One of the bills would allow illegal immigrants to legally obtain a driver's license.

State Rep. Cheryl A. Coakley-Rivera, far right, who co-sponsored the event, marches with supporters of immigration reform march from the former Federal Building to the steps of City Hall.

The Republican / David Molnar 

SPRINGFIELD – Yvette Martinez talked about how her husband, an immigrant who entered the U.
S. illegally, was stopped for a minor driving infraction while heading to the store.

“Our lives were turned upside down when what we thought was a routine traffic stop turned into a nightmare,” she said. “My husband is facing deportation at any time.”

Martinez is a Springfield native and her husband is from Honduras. Although the couple is married, they had not begun the process to get him proper documentation, rally organizers said.

She was one of more than 100 people, many of them immigrants in the country illegally, who marched down Main Street and stopped at City Hall and the former Federal building to show their support for two bills being considered by the state legislature.

One would give undocumented immigrants an opportunity to obtain a legal driver’s license. The second would separate duties of local and state police from federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement so people would feel comfortable speaking to police without concerns of being detained for months and possibly deported, said Alvaro Ramirez, an organizer for Just Communities, through an interpreter.

Ramirez said the drivers license measure would keep communities safer because it would allow immigrants to register and insure their cars legally.

“Most people here are undocumented and this is a coming out of the shadows for them,” Ramirez said.


Just Communities of Western Massachusetts was joined by nine other organizations, including New England International Chaplaincy, Western Mass Jobs with Justice and Hampshire Franklin Central Labor Council.

State Rep. Cheryl Coakely-Rivera, D-Springfield, who also sponsored the rally, said ineffective federal and state immigration laws need to be changed.

But she said the current bills are focusing on those who are living and working in the community now.

“There is a fairness issue for people who are here,” she said.

Coakley-Rivera said the bill that would give people the right to a legal license is key since most drive to work.

The second bill is in its infancy, but is designed so undocumented immigrants would not be afraid to provide information to police or call for help, she said.

During the rally she emphasized the country’s long history of immigration adding that the diversity has enhanced this country.

“I work every day, you work every day....I love this country, you love this country,” she said. “The only difference between you and me is I am a citizen.”

During the rally, Mayra Montiel, of Mexico, talked about how her husband has been detained since he was stopped while bring their children to school.

“We are not criminals. We are not murderers. We are productive people. We are working people,” she said.

Sgt. Eric D. Hall of the Westfield Police Department Community Police Unit spearheaded the project in an effort to remove trash from the downtown area of the city and eradicate graffiti that has plagued city buildings, landmarks and structures.

WESTFIELD – Thirty-five teens from two schools and two organizations spent six hours of their Saturday picking up litter and painting over graffiti in a clean-up project sponsored by the police department.

Sgt. Eric D. Hall of the Westfield Police Department Community Police Unit spearheaded the project in an effort to remove trash from the downtown area of the city and eradicate graffiti that has plagued city buildings, landmarks and structures.

Hall welcomed teen volunteers from the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Westfield, the YMCA of Greater Westfield, Westfield Vocational Technical High School and Westfield High School, who arrived at their first meeting point at 8 a.m. and continued until 1:30 p.m.

Although community clean-up days are common, Hall said this was the first time one was conducted on such a large scale with so many volunteers.

“When we were first starting the planning, we were thinking smaller and concentrating on the trash,” he said. “But then we looked around at all the graffiti and decided we wanted to cover it up, and as more people volunteered, the project took on a wider scope.”

Public places were not the only areas targeted by the volunteers. Hall said merchants were approached and asked if they wanted their graffiti-laden walls painted. The Stay and Play Laundromat on Franklin Street took them up on their offer.

While dozens of bags of litter were collected, the main focus of the initiative was to cover graffiti, which, Hall said, must be painted and covered immediately to deter further tagging.

“The longer graffiti stays on a surface, the more likely it is that more graffiti will appear. If paint and markings are removed promptly, it discourages would be vandals from tagging in the future,” he said.

One of the bigger areas painted Saturday was the large cement wall that boarders the Westfield River between the new Great River Bridge and the railroad bridge, as well as a structure at Whitney Field and Chapman Park.

“We followed the railroad trail and picked-up trash along the way,” Hall said.

For WHS student Andrew J. Kimmett, 17, volunteering for the clean-up was a no-brainer.
“I love helping people,” the teen said. “Doing this helps me grow as a person, and I’m proud of myself.”

Hall said he expects the painted-over graffiti to remain clean “for a while,” and added that with the area around the Great River Bridge opened-up where taggers can be easily seen, along with newly-mounted police cameras there is a greater chance that Saturday’s hard work was not in vain.

Home Depot provided the paint, while Rocky’s Hardware donated the supplies.

There have been multiple fires across Western Massachusetts for the past two weeks.

 

Fire Departments in Springfield and Chicopee have been fighting a total of four brush fires Saturday afternoon.

Dry conditions have left firefighters across Western Massachusetts busy for the past two weeks with widespread brush fires.

The biggest of the three Saturday was reported at about 4:30 p.m. at 1215 Wilbraham Road in the woods behind Western New England University. Three engine companies responded to the fire and firefighters battled the blaze for about two hours, said Dennis Leger, aide to Springfield Fire Commissioner Joseph Conant.

A second small fire mainly limited to one tree was reported in Forest Park at about 5 p.m. Firefighters quickly extinguished it, Leger said.

Springfield firefighters also extinguished a third fire near the railroad tracks behind Verge and Stocker streets. The fire was reported at about 6 p.m. and burned between 5 to 7 acres before it was mostly extinguished at about 7:15 p.m.

Ludlow Fire Department assisted. Fire officials have asked all trains to be stopped while they battled the blaze.

In Chicopee, the Fire Department fought a small blaze in woods off McKinstry Avenue. The fire started at about 5 p.m. and has been extinguished.

Masslive will update as more information becomes available.

By RODRIQUE NGOWI BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) — The American Gerbil Society's annual pageant brought dozens of rodents scurrying to New England this weekend for a chance to win "top gerbil." The Bedford competition called for agility demonstrations in which the gerbils must overcome obstacles and race to the end of a course. Breeders of the small animals vie for...

Katie Johnson, a gerbil breeder from Milford, holds a gerbil prior to Saturday's American Gerbil Society's annual New England pageant. The small rodents were judged on body type and color, and will feature agility demonstrations where they must overcome various obstacles and race to the end of the course. Associated Press photo 

By RODRIQUE NGOWI

BEDFORD, Mass. (AP) — The American Gerbil Society's annual pageant brought dozens of rodents scurrying to New England this weekend for a chance to win "top gerbil."

The Bedford competition called for agility demonstrations in which the gerbils must overcome obstacles and race to the end of a course. Breeders of the small animals vie for coveted ribbons based on body type and agility.

"A male gerbil should be a good, strong, hefty-looking gerbil," said Libby Hanna, president of the American Gerbil Society. "If you are going to think of it in human terms, you might think of a football player — somebody who's big, thick neck, nice, strong-looking male gerbil."

An ideal female gerbil will have a more streamlined appearance that even humans covet, she said.

"So she would be strong and athletic-looking — not really scrawny, but slim," said Hanna, who serves as a judge in the show. "I usually use a figure skater as my mental image or gymnasts — so obviously a gymnast is not necessarily a big, big woman, but she's gonna be strong, muscular and athletic."

The Friday-Saturday show drew gerbil enthusiasts and breeders from around the country and culminates in the presentation of champion and breeder certificates.

Fourteen-year-old Sarah Kaden from Bordentown, N.J., thinks gerbils have great personalities.

"Even though they are so little, they are very different from each other and they smell a lot less than my brother's hamsters," she said Friday.

That sentiment is not surprising since the small, furry and inquisitive creatures look cute when they nibble on their food, stand on their hind feet or scurry around their environment.

Gerbils are perfect pets for modern families as they don't require to be taken out for a walk, could easily fit in a small apartment and their tanks only need to be cleaned about once a week.

Still, some people freak out when they visit friends and see gerbils in the home.

"I've had a couple of people come to my house that actually didn't know that I had gerbils. They were sort of freaked out, but I just told them that it was OK, they stay in their tanks, there was nothing to worry about," said Diane Nott who traveled from Elyria, Ohio, to compete in the show.

Gerbils thrive in desert habitats and their growing popularity as pets led authorities in California and Hawaii to make it illegal to keep them since the weather there would make it possible for escaping animals to flourish in wild colonies that would damage crops and native plants.

At the New England show, each animal undergoes a health check. Inspectors look at the whiskers, teeth and mouths and check to ensure the rodents have no runny noses, bugs, loss of fur on their tails or other signs of health problems.

Donna Anastasi of Waltham got hooked on gerbils after buying them for her daughters when they were younger.

"Anyone can buy a $12 gerbil and get into the sport of gerbil showing or gerbil agility," said Anastasi, who is also vice president of the American Gerbil Society. "It's very fun ... easy and affordable and something you can do with your kids."

One of the deadliest days in months included a roadside bombing and a fatal shooting by an Afghan soldier

Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks during a news conference in Kabul, Afghanistan, Saturday, May 4, 2013. Karzai says the director of the CIA assured him that regular funding his government receives from the agency will not be cut off. Associated Press