Syrian President Bashar Assad said Thursday that his country "will defend itself against any aggression," signaling defiance to mounting Western warnings of a possible punitive strike over a suspected poison gas attack blamed on his regime.

ALBERT AJI, Associated Press
KARIN LAUB, Associated Press

DAMASCUS, Syria (AP) — Syrian President Bashar Assad said Thursday that his country "will defend itself against any aggression," signaling defiance to mounting Western warnings of a possible punitive strike over a suspected poison gas attack blamed on his regime.

U.N. chemical weapons inspectors toured stricken rebel-held areas near the Syrian capital of Damascus for a third day Thursday, ahead of a weekend departure that could clear the path for military action against Syria.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged Western powers to hold off on any decisions until his experts can present their findings to U.N. member states and the Security Council.

The suspected chemical weapons attacks took place Aug. 21 in suburbs east and west of Damascus. The humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders has said the strikes killed 355 people.

President Barack Obama said he has not decided how the U.S. will respond. However, he signaled Wednesday that the U.S. is moving toward a punitive strike, saying he has "concluded" that Assad's regime is behind the attacks and that there "need to be international consequences."

The Syrian regime has denied a role in the attacks, suggesting instead that anti-government rebels carried them out to frame Assad.

The Syrian president struck a tough tone Thursday. His comments, from a meeting with a delegation from Yemen, were reported by the state news agency SANA.

"Threats to launch a direct aggression against Syria will make it more adherent to its well-established principles and sovereign decisions stemming from the will of its people, and Syria will defend itself against any aggression," Assad said.

It's not clear if Assad would retaliate for any Western strikes or try to ride them out in hopes of minimizing the risk to his own power.

Already, the conflict has sparked growing anxiety among civilians in neighboring countries.

Israelis stood in long lines Thursday for government-issue gas masks. Turkey's government crisis management center said officials had designated bunkers at seven areas along the border. And Lebanon's foreign minister, Adnan Mansour, warned that international military action against Syria would pose a "serious threat" to the security and stability of the region, particularly in Lebanon.

Meanwhile, both Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron were trying to shore up domestic political support Thursday for possible military action.

The Obama administration was planning a teleconference briefing Thursday on Syria for leaders of the House and Senate and national security committees, U.S. officials and congressional aides said.

Cameron convened Parliament for an emergency meeting to vote on possible international action against Syria.

Ahead of the session, the British government released documents meant to bolster the case that chemical weapons were used by Syria, including an intelligence assessment that said regime involvement was "highly likely." The government also said legal conditions have been met for taking action against Syria.

Earlier, Cameron had promised lawmakers he would not go to war until the U.N. weapons team has had a chance to report its findings.

The speaker of the Syrian parliament, Jihad Allaham, sent a letter to his British counterpart, urging British lawmakers not to endorse military action.

In Vienna, Ban said he spoke to Obama a day earlier about ways to expedite the U.N. investigation. Ban said the U.N. team is set to leave Syria on Saturday, and suggested that Western powers hold off on any decisions until the inspectors have presented their findings.

Ban said he told Obama on Wednesday that the U.N. investigators "should be allowed to continue their work as mandated by the member states and I told him that we will surely share our information and our analysis."

"Diplomacy should be given a chance, and peace given a chance," Ban said. "It's important that all the differences of opinions should be resolved through peaceful means and through dialogue."

The U.N. inspectors toured the eastern Damascus suburb of Zamalka on Thursday, according to anti-regime activists and amateur video.

In one of the videos, the inspectors stood next to their U.N. vehicles, and the accompanying caption indicated Thursday's date and the location. In another video, the U.N. convoy was seen driving through a street, accompanied by armed rebels in pickup trucks.

The U.N. team did not issue a statement about its plans Thursday.

On two previous tours this week, the inspectors visited a western suburb of the city as well as Zamalka where they took biological samples from suspected victims. Ban has said the samples would be analyzed and presented to the U.N. Security Council.

In countries neighboring Syria, governments began taking precautions against possible Syrian retaliation.

Israel has called up reservists and deployed missile defense batteries in preparation for a possible Syrian response to an American attack.

In Turkey, the government's crisis management center said on Twitter that a team of 100 chemical weapons experts were sent to the border area, which was being screened for any signs of chemical attacks.

Turkey is Assad's strongest critic and has backed Syria's opposition and rebels. The country said this week it would take part in any international coalition that would move against the Syrian government.

___

Laub reported from Beirut. Associated Press writers Yasmine Saker in Beirut, Tia Goldenberg in Jerusalem, Gregory Katz in London and George Jahn in Vienna contributed reporting.

British Prime Minister David Cameron said his country would hold off on joining any military efforts until a U.N. chemical weapons inspection team releases its findings.

DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press
JULIE PACE, Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is vowing that American retaliation for Syrian chemical weapons use would send a "strong signal," as U.S. intelligence officials readied briefings for Congress on evidence aimed at linking last week's attack to President Bashar Assad's government.

But even as the U.S. moves closer to possible military action, new hurdles appear to be slowing the formation of an international coalition to undertake military action. And questions remain about the strength of the case against Assad.

Russia blocked British efforts to seek a force resolution at the United Nations. British Prime Minister David Cameron said his country would hold off on joining any military efforts until a U.N. chemical weapons inspection team releases its findings. U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said the team is expected to complete its inspection Friday and report to him Saturday; they will share their conclusions with members of the Security Council, Ban said, but he didn't specify when that might happen.

"If any action would be taken against Syria it would be an international collaboration," Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel reiterated Thursday.

Still, the Obama administration vowed to take action even without the backing of allies or the U.N. The president said that while he had not settled on a response to last week's purported chemical weapons attack near Damascus, the U.S. has concluded that Assad's regime perpetrated the attack, which killed at least 100 Syrians.

"And if that's so," Obama said during an interview with "NewsHour" on PBS, "then there need to be international consequences."

Obama did not present specific evidence to back up his assertion that the Assad regime is responsible for the Aug. 21 attack.

U.S. officials were also in search of additional intelligence to bolster the White House's case for a strike against Assad's military infrastructure. American intelligence intercepted lower-level Syrian military commanders' communications discussing the chemical attack, but the communications don't specifically link the attack to an official senior enough to tie the killings to Assad himself, according to three U.S. intelligence officials. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the intelligence publicly.

The administration was planning an intelligence teleconference briefing Thursday on Syria for leaders of the House and Senate and the national security committees in Congress, U.S. officials and congressional aides said. Officials also said an unclassified version of the report by the Office of the Director for National Intelligence would be made public this week.

The White House ideally wants intelligence that links the attack directly to Assad or someone in his inner circle, to rule out the possibility that a rogue element of the military decided to use chemical weapons without Assad's authorization.

That quest for added intelligence has delayed the release of the report laying out evidence against Assad. The report was promised earlier this week by administration officials.

The CIA and the Pentagon have been working to gather more human intelligence tying Assad to the attack, relying on the intelligence services of Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Israel, the officials said.

Both the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency have their own human sources — the rebel commanders and others who cross the border to brief CIA and defense intelligence officers at training camps in Jordan and Turkey. But their operation is much smaller than some of the other intelligence services, and it takes longer for their contacts to make their way overland.

Britain added a hurdle to deliberations about a military strike on Wednesday when it went to the U.N. Security Council with a draft resolution that would authorize the use of military force against Syria. The British resolution would authorize "all necessary measures under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter to protect civilians from chemical weapons." Chapter 7 allows the use of international armed force to back up U.N. decisions.

As expected, the five permanent members of the Security Council failed to reach an agreement as Russia reiterated its objections to international intervention in the Syrian crisis. Russia, along with China, has blocked past attempts to sanction the Assad government.

Obama said he was not seeking a lengthy, open-ended conflict in Syria, indicating that any U.S. response would be limited in scope. But he argued that Syria's use of chemical weapons not only violated international norms, but threatened "America's core self-interest."

"We do have to make sure that when countries break international norms on weapons like chemical weapons that could threaten us, that they are held accountable," he said.

___

AP Intelligence Writer Kimberly Dozier contributed to this report.

Clark wants to raise the minimum wage, mandate paid sick time and pass the Paycheck Fairness Act.

State Sen. Katherine Clark, a Democratic candidate for the Massachusetts 5th District congressional seat, laid out her campaign platform this week, a document that indicates the strong emphasis Clark places on the economic issues affecting women and families.

“I think that what Congress doesn’t understand, that the rest of us understand, is when women are doing better, families are doing better, and that makes these issues everyone’s issues,” Clark said.

Clark laid out several proposals, which she discussed in an interview with The Republican/MassLive.com, which would, among other things, raise the minimum wage, mandate paid sick time and add money for early childhood education.

If elected, Clark said she would join House Democrats in pushing for the Paycheck Fairness Act. The Equal Pay Act of 1963 prohibits paying men and women unequally for the same work. The Paycheck Fairness Act would change some legal requirements to make it easier for women for prove discrimination. Employers can now argue as a defense that a wage disparity is due to any factor “other than sex.” Under the Paycheck Fairness Act, the employer would have the burden of proving that a wage disparity is job-related. It would strengthen the penalties for equal wage violations and prohibit companies from retaliating against employees who discuss compensation.

Critics charge that the bill would place an undue burden on businesses. The bill was widely dismissed in Congress as a political tool for Democrats to force Republicans to take a vote that would seem unfriendly to women. Similar bills failed in the Senate in 2010 and 2012.

State Sen. Katherine ClarkWebsite of Katherine Clark 

Clark said she thinks the bill is important, with statistics showing women still make 77 cents for each dollar a man makes. “The Paycheck Fairness Act would enable us to get transparency around the issue of compensation to start giving those businesses and women the tools they need to make sure everyone’s getting paid an equal wage for an equal day’s work,” Clark said.

Clark also wants to raise the minimum wage. She supported a bill in the Massachusetts legislature that would increase the state minimum wage from $8 to $11 an hour. She said she thinks $11 is “about right” for the federal minimum wage as well. That would go further than Democratic President Barack Obama, who has called for raising the federal minimum wage to $9 from its current $7.25.

“Raising the minimum wage is a great way to make sure people are able to support their families, able to afford good housing, and actually be good consumers to pay taxes and put money back into our economy,” Clark said.

Business groups have opposed efforts to raise the minimum wage. Brian Gilmore, a spokesman for Associated Industries of Massachusetts, said raising the minimum wage escalates the cost of hiring entry level workers, and discourages companies from hiring. Gilmore said many people in minimum wage jobs are working part-time to supplement another income or are young people seeking experience.

“One of the problems we have is there are not enough jobs currently, especially for young people who want to experience the world of work,” Gilmore said. “The issue is do you want to provide entry level positions to young folks or people want to work part time to supplement their income or not?”

Clark has also been involved in a state legislative effort to require Massachusetts businesses to offer paid sick leave. She would like to see a similar policy nationwide. Clark said it is a public health issue to let people to stay home when they are sick. She called it “a basic right of workers” to care for a family member without losing pay.

Businesses have generally opposed mandated paid sick leave, arguing that it should be negotiated between workers and employers. “One size does not fit all, especially for small firms where they don’t have a lot of people to cover unexpected absences,” Gilmore said.

Other priorities for Clark include adding funding for early childhood education; protecting abortion rights; banning assault weapons and high capacity magazines; and avoiding cuts to Social Security and Medicare.

Several unions have endorsed Clark, including chapters of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, ironworkers and steelworkers, as have women’s groups including EMILY’s List.

Katie Donovan, founder of Equal Pay Negotiations LLC, which helps women negotiate higher pay, said she supports Clark because of her emphasis on women’s economic issues. She believes more attention should be paid to the fact that women earn less than men, because of cultural or historical reasons or because women react differently in different situations. She supports raising the minimum wage and mandating sick leave. “Money…gives you the freedom and equality to make choices,” Donovan said. “We make money through work, then we can make choices that way. If we are at a disadvantage, man or woman, in employment, we’re at a disadvantage at making choices about our life.”

Clark is facing State Sens. Karen Spilka and Will Brownsberger, State Rep. Carl Sciortino and Middlesex County Sheriff Peter Koutoujian in an Oct. 15 Democratic primary.

The Boston Marathon will accept an extra 9,000 runners for next year's race.

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Marathon will accept an extra 9,000 runners for next year's race.

The expanded field of 36,000 will have room for the 5,624 who were invited back because they were stopped on the course when two bombs went off at the finish line this year. It will also allow many to run to honor the victims of the explosions that killed three and injured hundreds more.

The Boston Athletic Association says registration for the 2014 race will open Sept. 9 and continue through the week. Those with faster times will have the first chance to register.

Next year's race would be the second largest in the 118-year history of the world's oldest and most prestigious annual marathon. The 100th anniversary race in 1996 had a field of more than 38,000.

Mohegan is facing competition from 2 other casino operators for the Western Massachusetts license.

PALMER — The long-awaited host community agreement between this town and Mohegan Sun for a resort casino features $15.2 million in annual mitigation payments, along with an additional $2.94 million up-front payment.

Town manager Charles T. Blanchard said the annual mitigation payment will total approximately $18 million, including revenue sharing. He said the total first payment will be $20 million.

"I can't tell you how ecstatic I am. I'm glad it's finally over," District 4 Town Councilor Donald Blais said before the 11 a.m. signing ceremony at the Palmer Public Library.

Mohegan is proposing a nearly $1 billion resort casino on 152 acres owned by Northeast Realty across from the Massachusetts Turnpike Exit 8 on Thorndike Street (Route 32).

The plan has been years in the making, and the Connecticut-based casino operator is facing competition for the sole Western Massachusetts casino license from MGM Resorts International in Springfield and Hard Rock New England in West Springfield.

The $16 million includes fixed payments totaling $15.2 million and a percentage of gaming revenue equal to .25 percent of the first $400 million in revenue.

Funds from the annual mitigation payments will be appropriated at the discretion of the town, but is is estimated that the following amounts will be allocated from the Mohegan Sun proceeds: $1.125 million for municipal programs and economic development; $875,000 for expansion of staff and equipment at Palmer Fire District No. 1; $816,000 to hire additional police officers and fund the Police Department; $530,000 to assist in financing a new public works garage; $450,000 for expansion of emergency medical services; $295,200 for the Bondsville, Three Rivers and Thorndike fire districts; $250,000 for the Department of Public Works; and $168,800 to the Inspectional Services Department to hire building inspectors and a health inspector and clerk.

Improvements to the turnpike exit and for Route 32 total $16.5 million.

The casino project also is expected to generate an estimated $900,000 to $1.4 million in annual hotel occupancy taxes and an additional $225,000 in annual meals taxes to the town. The town's total annual budget is approximately $33 million.

“This historic agreement marks the formal start of perhaps the most important local election campaign in Palmer’s history,” David Whitney, treasurer of the Yes for Palmer Campaign, said in a statement. “We have an extremely motivated group of volunteers and supporters who want to help bring quality jobs, new economic opportunity and tens of thousands of visitors to Palmer. Yes for Palmer means ‘Yes’ to a better future.”

The Town Council will meet on Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the municipal building to approve the agreement, and to set a referendum date. The vote likely will be scheduled sometime in early November.

The casino would feature 3,000 slot machines and 80 table games in approximately 320,000 square feet. There will be a 250-room hotel and conference center, a casual dining restaurant and fine dining restaurant, a 230,000-square-foot retail development featuring more dining options, and other entertainment, including a cinema. There also will be a water park, with another 300-room hotel.

Casino licenses are expected to be awarded by the state Gaming Commission in April. Mohegan Sun expects to complete a substantial amount of the project within 27 months of receiving the license.

Palmer Host Community Agreement With Mohegan Sun by masslive

Summary of Host Community Agreement Between Palmer and Mohegan Sun by masslive

Summary of Principal Terms of Host Community Agreement Between Palmer and Mohegan Sun by masslive

This is a developing story; follow MassLive.com for updates throughout the day and read a full story in The Republican on Friday.

Teter lived in Panama as a sustainable agriculture volunteer for two years, where she made a lasting impact on the community.

Granville resident Rachel Teter only lived in Panama for two years – but the library she built and agricultural techniques she taught local residents will make a lifelong impact on the community she helped while in the Peace Corps.

Teter is a 2010 graduate of Arcadia University in Glenside, Pa., where she studied international business and culture. She studied abroad for three semesters while at Arcadia, which helped her prepare for the drastic changes of living in unfamiliar surroundings. However, adjusting to the way of life in the sleepy village of El Platano, Colon in Panama was still a challenge.

“Where I lived it was a very small community, about 150 people, and no electricity,” said Teter. “You had to walk 40 minutes just to get to the community from the main road. Most of these people had never spoken to, let alone lived with, any foreigners, and I was there for two years, so I really got to know them and they really got to know me. Watching our relationship grow over the two years, it was very rewarding but also very hard at times because when you leave you’ll probably never see any of these people again.”

And as any traveler knows, a language barrier can be difficult, especially for an extended period of time. “I would keep in touch with my parents through letters and get Internet access once a month. So it’s hard, you’re around people that don’t speak your language. I learned Spanish, but still, not being able to express yourself takes its toll,” said Teter.

Rachel Teter, of Granville, poses with children of a village in Panama. She helped to build a library for the children.Submitted photo 

“My library project started by me bringing books home, back to my site in my community. There was a girl named Amaryllis, and she and her little sister would always come over and read and visit. Every time I would leave the site and come back they would ask if I had new books, so I always had new ones. She used to be shy and would barely talk but she became an outgoing person, partly because she got to know me better, but she started to grow up and I’d like to think I was a part of that,” said Teter.

Teter applied for a $3,000 grant to build the library on an existing foundation on the school grounds. The grant was approved, and the library now has 300 books and more than three dozen games.

Although Teter has no immediate plans to visit Panama, she hopes to someday return to the community to visit the people and see the progress of the library. She will be attending American University in Washington, D.C. this fall to get her master’s in international development, but will try to visit Panama after receiving her master’s in three or four years, she said.

“Overall, it’s extremely rewarding, but I can’t say that it’s for everyone because you are very isolated from your family for a long time. But you learn a lot and you really learn a lot about yourself. You end up spending a lot of time alone; taking public transportation, waiting a long time for things, but it’s been very rewarding. You build lasting relationships and friendships with other volunteers and people in your community,” Teter said.

Fast workers are expected to participate in a one-day strike across Boston today.

BOSTON - Fast-food workers throughout the Boston area are preparing for a one-day strike today to protest low wages in the industry and call for unionization at eateries like McDonald'€™s, Wendy's, and Burger King.

The protests, organized by SEIU Local 509 and the progressive activist group MassUniting, are expected to last all day at fast-food joints across the city.

A rally at the bandstand on Boston Common is planned for 4 pm. Senator Ed Markey is slated to join, according to his office schedule.

"Our country's fastest growing jobs are also the lowest paid, slowing the recovery and hurting our local economy. While the fast-food industry is making record profits, its workers are forced to rely on public assistance just to afford the basics," said the strike organizers in a statement.

According to the statement sent by Local 509, the protests were inspired by the fast-food strikes that took place in other cities such as New York this summer. The protests are part of a growing effort by labor organizations to unionize workers in traditionally non-union service sectors. Unions have stepped up their efforts to unionize workers at places like WalMart and McDonalds in recent years.

A 53-year-old Chicopee man suffered a compound fracture to one of his legs following a accident on Chicopee Street where he lost control of his motorcycle, police said.

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. The most viewed photo gallery was Dave Roback's images of Springfield police investigating an officer-involved shooting, above.

1) Donor withdraws planned gift to Westfield State University [Associated Press]

2) Springfield police investigating assault involving boyfriend who reportedly knocked out girlfriend's teeth in Forest Park neighborhood [Conor Berry]

3) Chicopee man, 53, injured in motorcycle accident [Patrick Johnson]

4) PM News Links: Bullied sophomore commits suicide, volunteer resigns after posting racial slurs about President Obama, and more [Dwight Shepard]

5) Gun-toting, foul-mouthed police chief Mark Kessler won't back down [Associated Press]

The museum provides hands-on exhibits on art and science for children to learn and enjoy for a $6 admission.

Children and parents at Holyoke Children's Museum watch as artist Mike Rondeau carves ice sculpture in December 2011.David Molnar, The Republican 

HOLYOKE -- The Holyoke Children's Museum will close for an annual cleaning and renovation from Sept. 10 to 27 and will reopen Sept. 28.

The reopened museum at 444 Dwight St. will include two new exhibits, a press release said.
Admission for those who are age 1 and older is $6. Senior citizens pay $3 and children younger than 1 and museum members get in free.

"The Children’s Museum provides a unique setting in which children and adults learn together about art, science and the world around them. Through hands-on exhibits, children challenge themselves, discover how the world works, explore new roles for themselves, and learn by doing," according to the museum website.

The big stories of the day in Boston include Patriots quarterback Tim Tebow, striking fast food workers in Boston, and a town administrator facing indecent exposure charges.

I spent the day yesterday with striking food workers and progressive activists calling for a higher minimum wage and better workplace conditions at fast food joints across the city. Here's my report.

The number of homeless families living in hotels on state subsidies has skyrocketed and now costs the state nearly $1 million a week, writes the Boston Herald's Matt Stout.

Our own Michelle Williams reports on the $80,000 in fines former lieutenant governor Tim Murray has to pay for violating campaign laws.

The fallout from the club drug death of a 19-year-old woman at the House of Blues continues as police respond to a growing fad, writes the Boston Herald's Dave Wedge.

Guys, let's give it up for Tim "Touchdown Tebow as he connected not once, but twice in the end zone with receivers on his own team. Way to go Tebow! Now we wait to find out if he'll be the second third string quarterback for your New England Patriots going into the regular season. Our own Nick Underhill's got it covered.

The town administrator of Derry, N.H. turned himself into police after being charged with indecent exposure and lewdness reports the Lawrence Eagle Tribune's Doug Ireland.

Oh and somebody stole a ton of bras from a Peabody Victoria's Secret. Apparently bra theft is a thing that occurs outside college campuses now.

Here's a look at key Syria developments around the world Friday amid heightened tensions over potential military action.

The Associated Press

United Nations experts are investigating the alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria as the United States and its allies prepare for the possibility of a punitive strike against President Bashar Assad's regime, blamed by the Syrian opposition for the attack. The international aid group Doctors Without Borders says at least 355 people were killed in the Aug. 21 attack in a suburb of Damascus, the Syrian capital.

Here's a look at key Syria developments around the world Friday amid heightened tensions over potential military action:

FRANCE:

French President Francois Hollande said his country can go ahead with plans to strike Syria for allegedly using chemical weapons despite the British parliament's failure to endorse military action. He told the newspaper Le Monde that the "chemical massacre of Damascus cannot and must not remain unpunished."

SYRIA:

U.N. experts began what is expected to be the last day of their investigation into the Aug. 21 attack. After an early morning delay, three U.N. vehicles left a Damascus hotel for more on-site visits. It was not immediately known where they were going.

RUSSIA:

Presidential foreign policy advisor Yuri Ushakov expressed puzzlement over why the U.N. team was leaving so soon "when there are many questions about a possible use of chemical weapons in other areas in Syria." He said Russia has not seen the U.S. intelligence that Washington claims proves the role of the Syrian government in last week's alleged chemical weapons attack.

BRITAIN:

Treasury chief George Osborne warned that Britain should not turn its back on the world after the stunning parliamentary defeat of a government motion for military intervention in Syria. He told the BBC there will be "national soul-searching" about Britain's global role after the "no" vote.

UNITED STATES:

President Barack Obama prepared for the possibility of launching unilateral American military action against Syria within days as Britain opted out. Top U.S. officials spoke with certain lawmakers for more than 90 minutes in a teleconference Thursday evening to explain why they believe Syrian President Bashar Assad's government was the culprit in the suspected chemical attack last week.

GERMANY:

German government spokesman Steffen Seibert said Germany isn't considering joining military action against Syria and hasn't been asked by others to do so. Berlin has called for the international community to take a "clear position" following the alleged chemical attack, but has left open what exactly that might entail.

IRAN:

Supporters of Assad planned a rally after Friday prayers at Tehran University. The demonstration was not directly backed by the Iranian government, which is a close Syria ally, but the protest would not be allowed to take place without permission from authorities.

Peabody police are investigating the theft of almost $4,000 worth of women's undergarments from the Victoria's Secret at the Northshore Mall.

PEABODY, Mass. (AP) — Peabody police are investigating the theft of almost $4,000 worth of women's undergarments from the Victoria's Secret at the Northshore Mall.

The pilfering of 72 bras worth $52 each reported Thursday is the latest of nine thefts from the store since April, but may be the biggest.

The Salem News (http://bit.ly/14dFRq6 ) reports that a store employee contacted police around 1 p.m. Thursday to report the theft.

The store reported the loss of $1,500 of merchandise just a week ago. Before that, it reported that 60 bras had been stolen in the days before July 16, and on June 9 "another high-volume panty larceny" had occurred.

In another incident in May, store workers say 165 pairs of underwear had been stolen.

There have been no arrests in any of the thefts.

___

Information from: The Salem (Mass.) News, http://www.salemnews.com

A three-car crash on the MassPike ties up taffic.

The Republican [file] 

WEST SPRINGFIELD — A three-car accident near Exit 4 in the westbound lanes of the Massachusetts Turnpike has backed up traffic, Massachusetts State Police report.

Speaking around 8:15 a.m., Trooper Jason Sternfield at the Westfield Barracks said tow trucks were on the scene of the 7:45 a.m. crash and were removing the vehicles.

There were no injuries in the collision, he said.

Traffic was backed up to Exit 5 in Chicopee, Sternfield said.

French President Francois Hollande expressed readiness Friday to push ahead with plans to strike Syria for allegedly using chemical weapons despite the British parliament's rejection of military action.

ELAINE GANLEY
Associated Press

PARIS (AP) — French President Francois Hollande expressed readiness Friday to push ahead with plans to strike Syria for allegedly using chemical weapons despite the British parliament's rejection of military action. Washington also was preparing for the possibility of a strike against the Damascus regime within days.

"The chemical massacre of Damascus cannot and must not remain unpunished," Hollande said in an interview with the newspaper Le Monde, published Friday, as U.N. experts in Damascus began what is expected to be the last day of their probe into the alleged attack.

The French president reiterated that France wants a "proportional and firm action." When asked about the type of intervention, however, he said "all options are on the table."

Hollande suggested that action could even come ahead of Wednesday's extraordinary session of the French Parliament, called to discuss the Syria situation; lawmakers' approval is not needed for Hollande to order military action.

"I will not take a decision before having all the elements that would justify it," he told Le Monde. However, noting that he had convened parliament, he added: "And if I have (already) committed France, the government will inform (lawmakers) of the means and objectives."

The British parliament voted late Thursday against military action in Syria, whittling down the core of the planned coalition to the United States and France. Italy and Germany have said they won't take part in any military action.

The British 'no' vote raised questions about France's participation — and ratcheted up pressure on U.S. President Barack Obama, who is also facing domestic skepticism about military intervention in Syria.

Amid the resistance, the U.S. administration shared intelligence with lawmakers Thursday aimed at convincing them the Syrian government used chemical weapons against its people and must be punished.

Obama appeared undeterred by the difficulties forming an international coalition, and advisers said he would be willing to retaliate against Syria on his own.

"The president of the United States is elected with the duty to protect the national security interests in the United States of America," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.

France has more intimate ties to Syria, having once ruled the country; it also has warplanes and strategic interest in the region. Paris has embraced the Syrian opposition and urged a firm response against Assad over the purported Aug. 21 chemical weapons attack outside Damascus. But Hollande appears to be facing increasing political and public resistance against moving against Syria quickly.

Hollande said that France is among the few nations capable of "inflicting a sanction by the appropriate means" and "it is ready." But a decision will be made in close coordination with allies, he added.

French military analysts say France's most likely role would be from the air, including use of Scalp cruise missiles that have a range of about 500 kilometers (300 miles), fired from Mirage and Rafale fighter jets. French fighters could likely fly directly from mainland France — much as they did at the start of a military campaign against Islamic radicals in Mali earlier this year — with support from refueling aircraft. France also has six Rafale jets at Al Dhafra air base, near Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates on the Persian Gulf, and 7 Mirage-2000 jets at an air base in Djibouti, on the Red Sea.

Hollande reiterated that any action is aimed at punishing the regime of Bashar Assad, not toppling him.

"I won't talk of war but of a sanction for a monstrous violation of the human person. It will have a dissuasive value," he said.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has warned that military strikes would lead to long-term destabilization of Syria and the region. He has spoken against any use of force without U.N. Security Council approval, which he said would be a "crude violation of international law." Russia has remained a strong ally of Syria throughout the civil war, which has left more than 100,000 people dead.

In Damascus, three U.N. vehicles headed out for more on-site visits on Friday, after an early morning delay.

The U.N. said Thursday that the inspectors would wrap up their investigation Friday and leave Syria for the Hague, Netherlands, the following day. Some of the experts will travel to laboratories in Europe to deliver the material they've collected this week during trips to the Damascus suburbs purportedly hit by toxic gas.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's foreign policy adviser expressed puzzlement Friday at why the U.N. team was leaving so soon.

"We don't quite understand why the entire team had to be going back to the Hague when there are many questions about a possible use of chemical weapons in other areas in Syria," said Yuri Ushakov.

The mandate of the U.N. team is to determine whether chemical agents were used in the attack — not who was responsible. But the U.N. has suggested that evidence collected by investigators — including biological samples and interviews — might give an indication of who was behind the attack.

Hollande said that a chemical attack is "an established fact ... and the question is to know who are the authors of this frightening act." But he reiterated what France has said for several days, that Paris has a "range of indices which point to the responsibility of the regime."

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Angela Charlton in Paris and Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, contributed to this report.

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Ralph Waldo Emerson professor of poetry at Harvard University, from 1998 to 2006.

Irish poet Seamus Heaney. Associated Press file photo 

Seamus Heaney, Ireland's beloved poet who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1995, has died in a Dublin hospital at the age of 74, according to his publisher, Faber & Faber.

Heaney was the Ralph Waldo Emerson professor of poetry at Harvard University, from 1998 to 2006. Heaney, who gave a reading at UMass-Amherst in 2000, was the author of 13 volumes of poetry, including "Death of a Naturalist, as well as two plays and other works. Among his most famous pieces is his one-of-a-kind translation of the eighth-century poem "Beowulf," published in 2000.

Heaney's work reflected both the rural life he knew as a young boy as well as Ireland's sectarian troubles. His poem, “Requiem for the Croppies,” paid tribute to the Irish rebels of 1798. and was published on the 50th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising.

When President John F. Kennedy made his historic visit to Ireland in 1963, the speakers included Heaney. Heaney was also among the first group elected into Aosdana, the National Irish Arts Council.

Heaney, born on the family farm in Northern Ireland, the first of nine children, was the third Irishman to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, joining Yeats and Samuel Beckett. He learned both Irish and Latin at a Catholic boarding school in Northern Ireland, and went on to graduate with a first class honors degree from Queens University in Belfast.

" We are blessed to call Seamus Heaney our own and thankful for the gift of him in our national life. ... There are no words to describe adequately our nation's and poetry's grief at the passing of Seamus Heaney," said Irish Prime Minister Enda Kenny of Heaney's death.

Among his fans on this side of the Atlantic is U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, who often quoted him in his speeches and writing.

In selecting Heaney, the Nobel committee said he produced "works of lyrical beauty and ethical depth, which exalt everyday miracles and the living past."

In 1965, Heaney married school teacher Marie Devlin, a County Ardhoe native who in 1994, published "Over Nine Waves," a collection of Irish legends.

Heaney had suffered a stroke in 2006.

Days of finding a quarter under your pillow are long gone. The Tooth Fairy no longer leaves loose change.

NEW YORK (AP) — Days of finding a quarter under your pillow are long gone. The Tooth Fairy no longer leaves loose change.

Kids this year are getting an average of $3.70 per lost tooth, a 23 percent jump over last year's rate of $3 a tooth, according to a new survey by payment processor Visa Inc., released Friday. That's a 42 percent spike from the $2.60 per tooth that the Tooth Fairy gave in 2011.

Part of the reason for the sharp rise: Parents don't want their kids to be the ones at the playground who received the lowest amount.

"A kid who got a quarter would wonder why their tooth was worth less than the kid who got $5," says Kit Yarrow, a consumer psychologist and professor at Golden Gate University.

To avoid that, Brian and Brittany Klems asked friends and co-workers what they were giving their kids. The Klems, who have three daughters and live in Cincinnati, settled on giving their 6-year-old daughter Ella $5 for the first tooth that fell out, and $1 for any others. They say that $5 was enough without going overboard. They didn't want other families to think they were giving too much.

Then Ella found out that one of her friends received $20 for a tooth.

"I told her that the Tooth Fairy has only so much money for every night, and that's how she decides to split up the money," says Brian Klems, 34, a parenting blogger and author of "Oh Boy, You're Having a Girl: A Dad's Survival Guide to Raising Daughters."

Confused about what to give?

Ask other parents what they're giving, says Jason Alderman, a senior director of financial education at Visa. That can at least get you in the ballpark of what your kids' friends are getting, he says. Alderman gave his two kids $1 a tooth.

"I think we we're on the cheap side," he says. Other families gave about $5 a tooth. One family gave their kid an antique typewriter. "I have no idea how they got that to fit under the pillow," he laughs.

Visa also has a downloadable Tooth Fairy Calculator app that will give you an idea of how much parents in your age group, income bracket and education level are giving their kids, says Alderman. The calculator is also available on the Facebook apps page.

How much kids are getting from the Tooth Fairy depends on where they live. Kids in the Northeast are getting the most, according to the Visa study, at $4.10 per tooth. In the west and south, kids received $3.70 and $3.60 per tooth, respectively. Midwestern kids received the least, at $3.30 a tooth.

Then there are the heavy hitters.

After losing her first tooth, 5-year-old Caroline Ries found a $100 bill under her pillow, along with a brand new My Little Pony toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste.

But there was a catch.

Her mother, Nina Ries, also left a note saying that the $100 had to go straight to Caroline's college fund. The Tooth Fairy would give her another $20 to spend anyway she likes if she brushes her teeth every day after lunch for a month. She did, and 30 days later Caroline found $20 under her pillow.

Ries, a 39-year-old lawyer and owner of Ries Law Group in Santa Monica, Calif., says that $120 is a lot to give, but she believes that she is teaching her daughter that education and taking care of your teeth is important. Ries says her friends give their kids about $20 a tooth.

That's way more than the $1 Ries used to get for losing her teeth as a child.

"It's incredible inflation," she says.

The Visa survey results are based on 3,000 phone interviews conducted in July.

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Tooth Fairy Calculator: https://apps.facebook.com/449594221747991/

The Worcester SWAT team was called in Thursday night after shots were fired during home invasion on Cohasset Street

The Worcester SWAT team was called in Thursday night after shots were fired during a home invasion on Cohasset Street.

Just after 11 p.m. Thursday, Worcester police officers responded to a report of a break-in at the home at 2 Cohasset St. When officers arrived, they saw "two masked men armed with handguns inside the first floor apartment," according to a statement by Worcester police.

The police called in for backup, setting up a perimeter while other officers arrived at the scene. Minutes after backup arrived, a window was broken on the left side of the building and officers observed "the muzzle flash of the gun and the males jumping out of the window just as the shots were fired," according to the statement.

A gun was found on the ground near the window, police said.

As two men attempted to run from the building, police apprehended one suspect, 29-year-old Devon McLeod of Worcester. The second suspect, 18-year-old Kasiem Smith of Worcester, was found when he attempted to hide in a nearby apartment building, police said.

McCleod had two "clear baggies of marijuana and $2,050 in cash," on him when police apprehended him, according to the police report.

According to police, McCleod and Smith are "known gang members here in the city."

As officers arrested the pair, Worcester SWAT team arrived to determine if there were additional suspects in the building or if there was a possible hostage situation. In the apartment, officers observed a "large amount of marijuana," according to police, in the apartment and another gun.

Upon seeing the drugs and weapon, police obtained a search warrant and spent the night searching the home.

Four people were inside the apartment at the time; none were hurt. Tenant Jonathan Ren, 20, was arrested and charged with possession of a Class D Substance with the intent to distribute.

McCleod and Smith were both arrested and each charged with four counts of home invasion, four counts of assault, armed robbery, four counts of armed assault with intent to murder, use of a firearm in the commission of a felony, carrying a firearm without a license and carrying a loaded firearm without a license. McCleod was also charged with possession of a class D substance with intent to distribute.

The department's investigation is still open, police said, and more charges may be filed.

Looking for an interesting start to Labor Day weekend? The EcoTarium is offering free admission Friday, welcoming visitors to explore science and nature without leaving the city.

Looking for an interesting start to Labor Day weekend? The EcoTarium is offering free admission Friday, welcoming visitors to explore science and nature without leaving Worcester.

As a part of the "Free Fun Friday" program, sponsored by the Highland Street foundation, 60 museums and culture centers in the Commonwealth are open with free admission each Friday this summer.

The EcoTarium is one of six locations with free admission Friday. Others include: Plimoth Plantation, in Plymouth; New Repertory Theatre, Watertown; Norman Rockwell Museum, in Stockbridge; The Discovery Museums, in Acton; and The Mount: Edith Wharton's Home, in Lenox.

All exhibits included in EcoTarium's general admission are free to the public Friday.

In addition to the museum's permanent exhibits, the EcoTarium has three science and nature features.

The "DinoTracks" exhibit features: three life-size dinosaurs, Dilophosaurus, Coelophysis, and Stegosaurus; footprints found in Connecticut and Holyoke; an explanation of how the imprints of fossil tracks are studied to determine the size, speed and type of dinosaur. The exhibit is presented in English, French and Spanish.

At the top of the museum, visitors are invited to explore high heights in "The Arctic Next Door: Mount Washington." In a phone-booth sized hurricane simulator, people can feel the fury of hurricane force winds. A bouldering wall enables guests to test their climbing skills. For those who prefer a more visual, less physical experience, the exhibit offers a virtual visit driving up Mt. Washington.

The museum also invites guests to journey down the rabbit hole and explore the adventures of Alice in Wonderland. Children can learn about geometry and physics by observing croquet Queen and King of Hearts' garden. The Mad Tea Party allows children to play together, substituting the Mad Hatter's nonsense with science.

The Alden Digital Planetarium, Explorer Express Train, and Tree Canopy Walkway are not included in free admission.

The EcoTarium expects large crowds and recommends visitors plan ahead. With limited parking, the museum warns that visitors may not be able to park onsite and may need to walk a short distance to the museum.

The EcoTarium is located at 222 Harrington Way in Worcester. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday.

Damage was confined to an upstairs bathroom and to the unit's roof.

CHICOPEE -- An early morning fire at the Leo P. Senecal Apartments left one unit with minor damage, temporarily displacing a father and son who escaped without injury.

The blaze at 90 1/2 Meetinghouse Road in the city's Willimansett Neighborhood was reported shortly after 5:30 a.m. Damage was confined to an upstairs bathroom and to the unit's roof.

Deputy Chief Dean Desmarais, reading a report filed by scene commander Deputy Chief Robert Kosiorek, said firefighters arrived at 5:36 a.m. and saw flames coming from the ridge vent of the unit's roof. The occupants had exited the building by the time firefighters arrived, Desmarais said.

The unit's tenant said the fire began when a bathroom ceiling exhaust fan that had been running for a prolonged period of time overheated. Desmarais confirmed that the fan was the source of the fire, noting that flames burned a flexible vent hose and some of the building's framing members.

The building remained structurally sound, Desmarais said, and damage to the unit was estimated at $1,500 to $2,000.

Desmarais said the family would be able to return to the unit once repairs had been made.

The 226-unit complex is a state-aided development operated by the Chicopee Housing Authority, and executive director Monica Pacello Blazic said she planned to meet with the tenant this morning to review his temporary housing options.

Those options, Blazic said, included staying with family, if possible; finding another vacant unit in the housing authority's inventory; or, a temporary hotel stay. Blazic said any hotel costs would be paid for by the housing authority and then reimbursed through the state's insurance policy on the complex.

"We've been through enough fires to know the procedure," Blazic said, citing a 2012 fire at a Debra Drive housing authority property that heavily damaged eight units.

Blazic said repairs could take one to two weeks, but Desmarais said he believed the family could return as soon as later this evening.

The complex opened in 1951 and continues to operate as a Chapter 200 family development, which gives preference to veterans and their dependents, according to the housing authority's website.

Staff writer David Canton contributed reporting.

Steven Chan was arrested Thursday night by Newton police and state police. He is charged with two counts of possession of child pornography and one count of dissemination of child pornography.

NEWTON, Mass. (AP) — A Newton teacher has been arrested on child pornography charges.

Steven Chan was arrested Thursday night by Newton police and state police. He is charged with two counts of possession of child pornography and one count of dissemination of child pornography.

The 57-year-old Chan is scheduled to be arraigned Friday in Newton District Court.

Chan is listed as a math teacher at the F.A. Day Middle School in Newton. He is also the boys' gymnastics coach at Newton North High School.

It could not immediately be determined if Chan has a lawyer.

The Newton school superintendent did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

In January, another Newton teacher was sentenced to a 45-year prison term by a federal judge in Louisiana for participating in an international child pornography ring.