On Monday, the Justice Department will issue a policy memo to its employees instructing them to give lawful same-sex marriages full and equal recognition, to the greatest extent possible under the law.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- In an assertion of same-sex marriage rights, Attorney General Eric Holder is applying a landmark Supreme Court ruling to the Justice Department, announcing Saturday that same-sex spouses cannot be compelled to testify against each other, should be eligible to file for bankruptcy jointly and are entitled to the same rights and privileges as federal prison inmates in opposite-sex marriages.

The Justice Department runs a number of benefits programs, and Holder says same-sex couples will qualify for them. They include the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund and benefits to surviving spouses of public safety officers who suffer catastrophic or fatal injuries in the line of duty.

"In every courthouse, in every proceeding and in every place where a member of the Department of Justice stands on behalf of the United States, they will strive to ensure that same-sex marriages receive the same privileges, protections and rights as opposite-sex marriages under federal law," Holder said in prepared remarks to the Human Rights Campaign in New York. The advocacy group works on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equal rights.

Just as in the civil rights struggles of the 1960s, the stakes in the current generation over same-sex marriage rights "could not be higher," said Holder.

"The Justice Department's role in confronting discrimination must be as aggressive today as it was in Robert Kennedy's time," Holder said of the attorney general who played a leadership role in advancing civil rights.

On Monday, the Justice Department will issue a policy memo to its employees instructing them to give lawful same-sex marriages full and equal recognition, to the greatest extent possible under the law.

Holder's address is the latest application of a Supreme Court ruling that struck down a provision in the Defense of Marriage Act defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman. The decision applies to legally married same-sex couples seeking federal benefits.

After the Supreme Court decision last June, the Treasury Department and the IRS said that all legally married gay couples may file joint federal tax returns, even if they reside in states that do not recognize same-sex marriages. The Defense Department said it would grant military spousal benefits to same-sex couples. The Health and Human Services Department said the Defense of Marriage Act is no longer a bar to states recognizing same-sex marriages under state Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Programs. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management said it is now able to extend benefits to legally married same-sex spouses of federal employees and annuitants.

Holder told his audience:

--The Justice Department will recognize that same-sex spouses of individuals involved in civil and criminal cases should have the same legal rights as all other married couples, including the right to decline to give testimony that might violate the marital privilege. Under this policy, even in states where same-sex marriages are not recognized, the federal government will not use state views as a basis to object to someone in a same-sex marriage from invoking this right.

--The U.S. Trustee Program will take the position that same-sex married couples should be eligible to file for bankruptcy jointly and that domestic support obligations should include debts such as alimony owed to a former same-sex spouse.

-- Federal prisoners in same-sex marriages will be entitled to visitation by a spouse, inmate furloughs during a crisis involving a spouse, escorted trips to attend a spouse's funeral, correspondence with a spouse and compassionate release or reduction in sentence based on an inmate's spouse being incapacitated.

At a pin-on ceremony presided over by Maj. Gen. Richard Haddad, vice commander of the Air Force Reserve Command, Steven Vautrain became the latest local base commander to earn the rank of general.

CHICOPEE — The commander of the 439th Airlift Wing at Westover Air Reserve Base in Chicopee got a promotion on Saturday, as per the order of President Barack Obama, Steven Vautrain ascended to the rank of brigadier general.

At a pin-on ceremony presided over by Maj. Gen. Richard Haddad, vice commander of the Air Force Reserve Command, Vautrain became the latest local base commander to earn the rank of general.

Haddad, who has worked with Vautrain over the course of his career, looked on to the hundreds in attendance as he explained that the honor of such a promotion is a shared one.

"Going to this level of the United states Air force doesn't happen by yourself. It's a team effort," Haddad said. "None of us could get to this point without our colleagues and the sacrifice of our families and (Vautrain's wife) Katie has done that every step of the way."

In reflecting on the oath of office and the U.S. Constitution, which Haddad mentioned in his introduction, Vautrain said "'We the people' isn't just about me, and instead what all of us, civilians included, do for this nation every day."

Vautrain joined the military in 1983, shortly after graduating from the University of Miami with a bachelor's degree in computer science. He holds a master's degree in military history and is a pilot who has had a wide variety of assignments including tours of duty in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Steven Vautrain, commander of the 439th Airlift Wing at Westover Air Reserve Base, was promoted to rank of brigadier general on Saturday, at a special pin-on ceremony in Chicopee.The Republican | Don Treeger 

Vautrain has served at several bases, as his assignments have taken him around the country and overseas to the aforementioned war zones as well as Japan. He is a certified command pilot with more than 5,300 hours of flight time under his belt.

Before coming to Westover in 2011, Vautrain was chief of deployment and distributions operations for the U.S. Transportation Command in Illinois. He was nominated for promotion to brigadier general by Obama on Nov. 13 and the nomination was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on Dec. 20.

Vautrain, who lives in South Hadley with his wife Katie, said he expects to be transferred to another position within the next two years. This is their 20th move together, he said at the ceremony Saturday.

"Katie has stood with me through thick and thin. We've had some tough times and we've had some great times," Vautrain said. "But through all of it, I couldn't do it without her."

His career goal would eventually to become chief of the Air Force Reserve, but Vautrain said his next step will likely be to work in a joint-environment with other military officials at the Pentagon.

Naughton began making calls to supporters on Saturday afternoon, the first day of the Democratic caucuses, to inform them of his decision.

By Matt Murphy, STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE

BOSTON — Rep. Hank Naughton, a private practice attorney and military lawyer, plans to drop out of the race for attorney general amidst weak fundraising by his campaign and a recent poll showing his two Democratic competitors gaining traction among voters where he has not, according to a source close to the candidate.

Naughton began making calls to supporters on Saturday afternoon, the first day of the Democratic caucuses, to inform them of his decision. The person familiar with Naughton’s decision said he plans instead to seek re-election to an eleventh term in the House in November.

Naughton flirted with running for lieutenant governor before shifting his sights to the attorney general’s office after Attorney General Martha Coakley announced that she would be running for governor after two terms as the state’s top law enforcement officer.

He announced his campaign for attorney general in October, but has been overshadowed since by the entrance to race of former state Sen. Warren Tolman and upstart former assistant Attorney General Maura Healey.

Naughton, who co-chairs the Legislature’s Committee on Public Safety and has been involved in developing gun reform legislation this session, joined the Army Reserves after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001 and has done tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A poll released last week by Suffolk University showed Naughton trailing badly to Tolman and Healey. Though 56 percent of the electorate was still undecided in the early stages of the race, according to the poll, Naughton had less than 2 percent support to Tolman’s 24.6 percent and Healey’s 16.5 percent.

The Clinton Democrat also posted anemic fundraising numbers for January, collecting just $2,930 in contributions leaving him with $26,369 in his campaign account. Meanwhile, Tolman raised $82,569 last month to boost his campaign account to $417,398, while Healey raised $73,958 and had $236,962 in cash on hand at the end of January.

The Westover Metropolitan Development Corporation is planning a fourth industrial park near the Massachusetts Turnpike.

CHICOPEE – The 1970s downsizing of Westover Air Force Base seemed like a devastating economic blow to the region that depended on the military presence, but it turned into a financial opportunity creating thousands of jobs and millions in taxes.

This year marks the 40th anniversary of the creation of the Westover Metropolitan Development Corporation and its four industrial parks developed on land vacated by the military.

“The fear was we were going to lose all the economic spin-off that came from the 8,000 people who had lived there,” said Allan W. Blair, president of Westover Metropolitan Development Corporation.

In 1973 the military decided to convert Westover, built in 1939 as a Strategic Air Command Base, to the first free-standing Air Force Reserve base, said Master Sgt. Andrew Biscoe, public relations technician for Westover.

It was post Vietnam and the Department of Defense was cutting costs and didn’t need as much of a military presence. The base, which had as many as 25,000 employees in the 1960s, had already been downsized considerably over the past few years, Biscoe said.

The change meant the military no longer needed all 4,700 acres of land and many of the buildings it owned.

“It was creating a big vacancy when all the people went away. It was scary,” Blair said. “People wanted a place that could generate tax money and jobs.”

In 40 years that is exactly what Westover Metropolitan did. It now has about 50 businesses that collectively employ about 3,000 people. They generate an estimated $2 million in tax revenue a year for Chicopee and more than $1.6 million in Ludlow.

But creating an industrial park from a vacant military base, with all its quirks, was not easy, Blair said.

A special act of the legislation accepted the about 2,500 acres of property deemed surplus in Ludlow, Chicopee and Granby and created Westover Metropolitan, which was a spin-off of the non-profit Economic Development Corporation, to manage that property, Blair said.

The outgoing base commander Col. Vincent H. McGovern was named executive director of the corporation and he, his employees and board members started crafting a master plan for the land.

“He knew everything about the base and he was the logical person to take it over,” said Blair, who was hired as director in 1984.

Drawing up the initial plan took time. Not only did the Metropolitan Corporation receive empty land, it also inherited airplane hangars, hundreds of units of housing, bomb storage bunkers and the motor pool complete with dozens of fuel tanks, which were removed only recently.

In some ways the property was ideal, Blair said.

“All this area is flat there is sandy soil so there is good drainage and good access to highways,” Blair said.

But in other ways there was a tremendous amount of complicated issues to deal with. Most of the utilities, for example, were built to be self-contained in the base. Westover Metropolitan had to figure out what was military, what was owned by the city and how new utilities could be added.

“In some cases the military did some upgrades and sometimes we would install utilities. Sometimes we got grants and sometimes we would borrow, paying off bonds when we sold property,” he said. “We tried not to go to the cities and towns to defray the costs.”

Some of the housing was turned over to developers who renovated some buildings and razed and rebuilt others to create the Doverbrook and Riverview condominium complexes.

Air Park East, which covers about 900 acres mainly in Ludlow, was the first property to be acquired. There are a number of businesses on the land, the Hampden Correctional Facility in Ludlow is located there and about half the property is owned by a utility company, Blair said.

Air Park West, which has about 256 acres, is probably the most unique properties. Development started around 1978 and there are now 33 businesses and 18 acres that was an old fuel farm which was recently cleaned up and now available for development, he said.

One of the most unique parts is the municipal airport that Westover Metropolitan inherited. The hanger was completely renovated several years ago and the runway and air control tower is shared with the air base.

“It is very rare,” Blair said. “When the plans were put together it was anticipated the airport would be a benefit to businesses to carry cargo but that didn’t work out that way because Fed Ex and UPS started at the same time.”

There have been many other ideas including aircraft maintenance and air cargo especially for large jets because of the runway size.

The airport has some success in the 1980s when Emery Worldwide Freight Services, a cargo company, employed 100 people and flew to Europe daily, but then the company merged with a trucking company and stopped flying.

Then in 2007 Sky Bus operated shuttles to Ohio and North Carolina. “It came together with a combination of business and leisure travel and showed it could work but the company went bankrupt,” Blair said.

Being part of Westover is a benefit but also a detraction for the airport because the control tower is only open from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m., making it difficult to compete with most airports which never close.

“Thirty-two years after we opened we still haven’t found our niche,” Blair said.

The third part of the plan was developing the 100 acres acquired in 1989 that became Air Park North. That parcel was one of the quickest to develop because Avery Dennison, a packaging and labeling company, purchased 30 acres almost immediately and constructed a 400-square-foot building.

Three other large companies quickly followed filling that park, Blair said.

In 40 years there have been a few businesses which have stayed for decades, such as Avery Dennison. Many others have been resold and used for entirely different purposes, he said.

There remain a few vacant parcels and some empty buildings but not much land is left.

Now Westover Metropolitan is expanding again to create Air Park South. It has acquired 87 acres of land, 57 of which it purchased from the city. The organization is still working to purchase at least two more parcels to expand to 100 acres.

“One of the advantages of this property is potential businesses could be seen from the Mass Turnpike,” Blair said.

The development of the industrial parks has been crucial to the growth of Chicopee’s industrial base, City Planner Catherine L. Brown said.

Since Chicopee, like many older cities, has little open space, the only other option is to renovate old mill buildings and that often does now work for companies which want modern amenities, she said.

“Without that land we didn’t have any place for anyone to go. There are little pockets of property but not significant land in one place to acquire,” she said.

While entering its 40th year, one of the concerns Blair has is maintaining the health of Westover Air Reserve Base, which is facing federal budget cuts and could lose half of its fleet of 16 planes in 2016.

One of those key elements will be to become a better partner and to find a solid use for the airport, Blair said.

In the Northeast U.S., heroin has made a big comeback recently, leaving local, state and federal authorities and drug treatment programs working feverishly to stem the tide.

GREENFIELD — Two children were placed in the custody of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families on Friday after police say they were found inside a home where the adults were in possession of heroin.

Around 9 p.m., the Northwestern District Anti-Crime Task force and Greenfield police executed a search warrant 6 Oak Courts as part of an investigation into heroin sales. According to the Greenfield Housing Authority's website, "Oak Courts is a family public housing development with 2 and 3-bedroom units."

Caitlyn Shepard and Steven C. Sochocki, both 24, were arrested and charged with possession of heroin and illegal possession of an unspecified prescription drug. A third female who police didn't initially name is to be arraigned on a single count of possession of heroin.

Police say they found only a few bags of heroin in the home but came across a significant amount of empty heroin packets with as many as seven different branded stamps on them. The children, an 8-year-old and a 4-year-old, are in temporary custody of the state pending the outcome of Shepard and Sochocki's court proceedings.

In the Northeast U.S., heroin has made a big comeback recently, leaving local, state and federal authorities and drug treatment programs working feverishly to stem the tide. A major drug bust in the Bronx in late January highlighted what authorities expect is one of many high-volume heroin mills operating to process, package and distribute the relatively cheap opiate to communities across New York's tri-state area and much of New England.

Care providers have a responsibility to make considerable adjustments to ensure quality and health, even as we lower cost.

By CRAIG MELIN

As Cooley Dickinson Hospital looks to the future, and as I prepare to step down from the role that I have been privileged to hold for these past several decades, I am pleased to have the opportunity to offer my perspectives about the Cooley Dickinson Health Care system, the environment in which it operates, and how we are addressing the challenges we face.

At more than 17 percent of the gross national product, health-care costs too much for consumers, businesses, and the government. Care providers have a responsibility to make considerable adjustments to ensure quality and health, even as we lower cost.

Cooley Dickinson Hospital is addressing these imperatives with a four-part strategy: dropping our prices, adopting new insurance models that promote our focus on quality AND health improvement, changing our care model, and partnering with Massachusetts General Hospital.

Dropping Prices

To aggressively reduce the cost of care, we held overall price increases to 3 percent annually in 2010 and 2011, and only 2 percent for each of the past three years. Over the past three years, Cooley has discounted rates (as much as 15 percent over two years) paid by a number of health plans, including Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, Health New England, and Tufts.

We are in negotiations with other major commercial insurers. These price reductions have a two-part impact upon consumers. First, they lower the amount insurers pay us so they can pass savings to consumers through lower premiums or smaller increases. Second, they lower copays for some patients. Our price reductions can also reduce out-of-pocket costs patients pay for deductibles.

New Insurance Model

Cooley Dickinson is pleased to participate in new insurance models companies are offering. “Population health” insurance plans that support providing good care and helping people stay healthy reward Cooley Dickinson for health improvement services we’ve previously provided without payment, like visiting nurses for congestive heart failure and using expensive machines to have the lowest possible infection rates.

Craig Melin 

Two years ago, the providers of Cooley Dickinson became the first full medical staff in Western Massachusetts to join the Blue Cross Alternative Quality Contract, through which Blue Cross provides significant incentives to improve quality and keep people healthier. Our medical staff has implemented care protocols designed to address every Blue Cross goal. In 2013, we worked with Health New England to develop a contract that, like the Blue Cross model, has incentives for us to improve quality and reduce costs.

This January, 23 Cooley Dickinson physicians joined, as a Massachusetts General partner, the Pioneer ACO (Accountable Care Organization) program to provide more than 4,000 Medicare patients with a similar “population health” program. Additional physicians are poised to join and expand this option to more seniors in future years.

New Care Model

The change in our care model is to develop a series of health centers that integrate primary care and specialty providers in one site. Primary-care practices are becoming patient centered medical homes that emphasize care coordination and communication.
To improve care coordination, help patients get care they need faster, and make it easier for patients to get primary care guidance, we are placing key specialists in care sites — along with outpatient services like rehab, laboratory, and often radiology — and expanding primary care teams with nurse practitioners, nurses, medical assistants, physician assistants, and others.

This approach embraces and supports the forward-thinking model of our Valley Medical Group colleagues in Hampshire and Franklin counties. Cooley Dickinson’s sites for the new model include a new 50,000-square–foot facility at Atwood Drive, near Interstate 91 Exit 18 in Northampton and a remodeled University Drive site in Amherst. Both will open in 2014.

We are also investing in technology that will improve care coordination and communication. We are building a system-wide Health Information Exchange that connects protected patient information to:

• All of our doctors at the hospital and in the community;

• The laboratory, radiology, Emergency Department, surgery, and specialty services at the hospital; and

• Visiting nurse and hospice care.

This immediate access means that if you are a patient of a Cooley Dickinson physician and visit our Emergency Department, our providers will have your health information to provide the most informed care.

Benefits of Massachusetts General Partnership

Our partnership with Massachusetts General, which started in July 2013, helps with care coordination by building Mass. General programming into our community care through onsite programs and telemedicine rather than redirecting care to outside, disconnected sites.

A prime example of onsite care is bringing the Massachusetts General Cancer Center program to the Cooley Dickinson campus, with Mass. General oversight provided by Mass. General physicians in Northampton. The program will begin this summer in temporary space and be relocated to a Mass. General-Cooley Dickinson designed facility in 2015.

Other programs to provide local access to Mass. General care are in the design phase. In addition, Mass. General is helping to recruit Mass. General-trained specialists to join the Cooley Dickinson staff.

Mass. General TeleHealth programs bring the Boston specialists to patients’ bedsides at Cooley Dickinson via state-of-the-art videoconferencing. Specialists currently available through this program are: neurologists to assess stroke patients; experts in burns and other thermal injuries, such as frostbite; and neurosurgeons to help evaluate brain tumors. Telemedicine with other Mass. General specialists will expand in coming years.

Finally, Mass. General and Cooley Dickinson are collaborating to bring the best of quality protocols from each campus to our care in our community, simultaneously enhancing quality even as we lower cost.

Joanne Marqusee is the new president and CEO of Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton.Submitted Photo 

Cooley Dickinson moved aggressively to achieve national recognition for quality of care over the 25 years I was privileged to be its leader. I left Cooley Dickinson on Jan. 31 following the announcement that a national search narrowed from 300 candidates to select Joanne Marqusee to lead Cooley Dickinson into the new health-care era.

I retire from Cooley Dickinson secure in the knowledge that Cooley Dickinson and Massachusetts General Hospital are collaborating to lower the cost of care and to bring greater depth and breadth of services directly into our community. I am confident our care system will continue to help patients connect regionally when appropriate for care not available at Cooley Dickinson and facilitate access to nationally renowned care at Mass General when patient needs are beyond our region’s capacity. Care and health in our community are in good hands.

Craig Melin retired on Jan. 31 as president of Cooley Dickinson Hospital; to learn more about Cooley Dickinson, go online to cooley-dickinson.org.

Bay Path hopes to open the Health Sconces building in East Longmeadow.

LONGMEADOW — Bay Path College's new Center for Health Sciences is on schedule to be completed in January of 2015, officials said.

The school has also come to an agreement with MassDevelopment which has issued $19.5 million in tax-exempt bonds on behalf of Bay Path College, said Michael Giampietro, vice president for finance and administrative services at the school.

MassDevelopment is the state’s finance and development agency, which works with businesses, nonprofits, financial institutions and communities to stimulate economic growth.

Bay Path will use bond proceeds to build the 56,000-square-foot, two-story Center for Graduate Studies in Health Sciences on 11 acres of land in East Longmeadow on Denslow Road.

"Steady growth in the number of graduate school programs at our Longmeadow campus necessitated that we expand our physical plant,” Giampietro said.“Because our campus is landlocked and fully built out, we made the decision to purchase 11 acres in East Longmeadow, about three miles from our main campus, and to establish our graduate center for health sciences there."

A portion of the bond proceeds will refund a previous MassDevelopment bond, which funded projects at the main campus in Longmeadow. The remaining $13 million will be used to build the center. Peoples Bank, United Bank, and NUVO Bank & Trust Company purchased the bonds.

"We wanted to work with local banks. It's good for the college and it's also good for local businesses," Giampietro said.

The health sciences building will be a state-of–the-art academic facility for graduate classes in the occupational therapy and the physician assistant programs. This is the largest building project in the college’s history.

“Bay Path College’s Health Sciences program provides a unique learning experience that enables students to become confident professionals,” said MassDevelopment President and CEO Marty Jones in a prepared statement. “We are pleased to leverage this low-cost financing on behalf of Bay Path College, furthering its expansion in Western Massachusetts and the level of education the school can provide.”

The Hitchcock Center in Amherst hopes to break ground on new facility at Hampshire College in 2015.

AMHERST – After about a year on the design table, the Hitchcock Center for the Environment has released the concept design for its 8,500-square-foot environmental education center that will be built on the Hampshire College campus.

In late 2011, Hampshire College and the Hitchcock Center signed an agreement to construct a new building on the campus. Last March, it settled on a site on Route 116 between the Red Barn and the college's Farm Center.

This is the next big step in the process, said Julie Johnson, the center's director.
The center is striving for Living Building Challenge certification, the highest environmental standard there is surpassing the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. There are only five buildings that are so certified in the United States, Johnson said.

Smith College's Bechtel Environmental Classroom, a 2,500-square-foot classroom building in Whately, is one of the five.

Johnson said trying to meet this certification challenge is not easy and they want to share the process.

According to the standard, the building must avoid using any Red List materials; which means materials containing such things as asbestos, petrochemical fertilizers and pesticides, and polyvinyl chloride among others. It must also be a net zero energy building, meaning it generates as much energy as it uses, and net zero water with composting toilets, rainwater recapture and storm water treatment.

The center must also place an equal amount of land as that on which the property is sited into a permanent conservation easement.

To meet the standard, the center is working with designLAB Architects of Boston, Soden Sustainability Consulting and Berkshire Design Group among its partners. Meeting the standard is more costly but she said they want to be pioneers and educate people about the building process. “It’s exciting,” she said.

"The creation of our Living Building Project is the most significant moment in Hitchcock’s history since its founding 50 years ago. It’s an incredibly challenging project,” said board president Sarah laCour in a statement.

The project is in the quiet fund-raising stage and she said they will likely announce its open fund raising in six to nine months with the goal of breaking ground in 2015. The fund-raising goal is $7.9 million, but $1.2 million will be for an endowment.

The center serves about 30 communities mostly in Hampshire, Hampden and Franklin counties and hosts about 50 different schools a year. But it has outgrown its 4,500-square-foot carriage house at the Larch Conservation area.

Mayor Martin Walsh said city officials and police need help from the community to find out where guns are.

The Oregonian, file 

BOSTON (AP) — Mayor Martin Walsh says Boston's police department and the city will initiate a gun buyback after a 14-year-old boy was accused of accidentally shooting and killing his 9-year-old brother.

Walsh said city officials and police need help from the community to find out where guns are.

The city has been considering a gun buyback for several weeks following nine homicides in January. Police say many were gang-related.

Clergy met with Police Commissioner William Evans and Superintendent in Chief William Gross at the end of January to discuss ways to end the violence. A gun buyback emerged as a possibility.

Walsh says the buyback will now go forward.

Saying it needed to prevent inbreeding, the Copenhagen Zoo killed a 2-year-old giraffe and fed its remains to lions as visitors watched.

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Saying it needed to prevent inbreeding, the Copenhagen Zoo killed a 2-year-old giraffe and fed its remains to lions as visitors watched, ignoring a petition signed by thousands and offers from other zoos and a private individual to save the animal.

Marius, a healthy male, was put down Sunday using a bolt pistol, said zoo spokesman Tobias Stenbaek Bro. Visitors, including children, were invited to watch while the giraffe was then skinned and fed to the lions.

Marius' plight triggered a wave of online protests and renewed debate about the conditions of zoo animals. Before the giraffe was killed, an online petition to save it had received more than 20,000 signatures.

But the public feeding of Marius' remains to the lions was popular at Copenhagen Zoo. Stenbaek Bro said it allowed parents to decide whether their children should watch what the zoo regards as an important display of scientific knowledge about animals.

Stenbaek Bro said the zoo, which now has seven giraffes left, was recommended to put down Marius by the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria because there already were a lot of giraffes with similar genes in the organization's breeding program.

The Amsterdam-based EAZA has 347 members, including many large zoos in European capitals, and works to conserve global biodiversity and achieve the highest standards of care and breeding for animals.

Stenbaek Bro said EAZA membership isn't mandatory, but most responsible zoos are members of the organization.

He said his zoo had turned down offers from other zoos to take Marius and an offer from a private individual who wanted to buy the giraffe for 500,000 euros ($680,000).

Stenbaek Bro said a significant part of EAZA membership is that the zoos don't own the animals themselves, but govern them, and therefore can't sell them to anyone outside the organization that doesn't follow the same set of rules.

He also said is important for the breeding programs to work.

The zoo's scientific director, Bengt Holst, said the giraffe breeding program is similar to those used in deer parks, where red deer and fallow deer are culled to keep populations healthy.

"The most important factor must be that the animals are healthy physically and behaviorally and that they have a good life while they are living whether this life is long or short. This is something that Copenhagen Zoo believes strongly in," he said in a statement.

Holst said the zoo doesn't give the giraffes contraceptives because they have "a number of unwanted side effects on the internal organs" and the zoo believes parental care is an important part of the animal's natural behavior.

The organization Animal Rights Sweden said the case simply highlights what they believe zoos do to animals regularly.

"It is no secret that animals are killed when there is no longer space, or if the animals don't have genes that are interesting enough," the organization said in a statement. "The only way to stop this is to not visit zoos."

It pointed out some zoos work to preserve species of animals, but never individual ones.

"When the cute animal babies that attract visitors grow up they are not as interesting anymore," it said.

Obituaries from The Republican.

Rev. Jeddie Brooks Jr. 

Father Jeddie P. Brooks, Jr, 63, died Tuesday. A native of Adams, he graduated from Adams Memorial High School and studied at Don Bosco College in Newton, N.J., St. Thomas Seminary in Bloomfield, Conn., and Niagara University. He completed his seminary studies at Mount St. Mary Seminary, and was ordained to the priesthood in 1977. He first served as parochial vicar at the former Our Lady of Hope Parish in Springfield and then at St. Mary Parish in Longmeadow. In 1994, he was appointed pastor at St. Patrick Parish in Monson, serving there until his retirement in 2013. In 2003, he was named administrator of St. Christopher Parish in Brimfield, and also remained in that position until his retirement.

The Obama administration has eased the rules for would-be asylum-seekers, refugees and others who hope to come to the United States or stay here and who gave "limited" support to terrorists or terrorist groups.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Obama administration has eased the rules for would-be asylum-seekers, refugees and others who hope to come to the United States or stay here and who gave "limited" support to terrorists or terrorist groups.

The change is one of President Barack Obama's first actions on immigration since he pledged during his State of the Union address last month to use more executive directives.

The Department of Homeland Security and the State Department now say that people considered to have provided "limited material support" to terrorists or terrorist groups are no longer automatically barred from the United States.

A post-Sept. 11 provision in immigrant law, known as terrorism related inadmissibility grounds, had affected anyone considered to have given support. With little exception, the provision has been applied rigidly to those trying to enter the U.S. and those already here but wanting to change their immigration status.

This photo taken Feb. 7, 2014 shows real estate agent Morteza Assadi, 49, in his home in Vienna, Va., Friday, Feb. 7, 2014. The Obama administration has eased the rules for would-be asylum seekers, refugees and others who hope to come to the United States or stay here and who gave "limited"€ support to terrorists or terrorist groups. For Assadi, the law has left him in a sort of immigration purgatory while his green card application has been on hold for more than a decade. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

For Morteza Assadi, a 49-year-old real estate agent in northern Virginia, the law has left him in a sort of immigration purgatory while his green card application has been on hold for more than a decade.

As a teenager in Tehran, Iran, in the early 1980s, Assadi distributed fliers for a mujahedeen group that opposed the government of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and was at one time considered a terrorist organization by the U.S. government. Assadi said he told the U.S. government about his activities when he and his wife applied for asylum in the late 1990s. Those requests were later granted and his wife has since become a U.S. citizen. But Assadi's case has remained stalled.

"When we are teenagers, we have different mindsets," Assadi said. "I thought, I'm doing my country a favor."

Assadi said he only briefly associated with the group, which was removed from Washington's list of terrorist organizations in 2012, and that he was never an active member or contributor to its activities. Now he's hopeful that the U.S. government will look at his teenage activities as "limited."

His lawyer, Parastoo Zahedi, said she has filed case in federal court to force U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to process Assadi's green card application, but now hopes the government will act on its own.

"In the past, the minute your name was associated with a (terrorist) organization you were being punished," Zahedi said. "Not every act is a terrorist act and you can't just lump everyone together."

The Homeland Security Department said in a statement that the rule change, which was announced last week and not made in concert with Congress, gives the government more discretion, but won't open the country to terrorists or their sympathizers. People seeking refugee status, asylum and visas, including those already in the United States, still will be checked to make sure they don't pose a threat to national security or public safety, the department said.

In the past, the provision has been criticized for allowing few exemptions beyond providing medical care or acting under duress. The change now allows officials to consider whether the support was not only limited but potentially part of "routine commercial transactions or routine social transactions."

The change does not specifically address "freedom fighters" who may have fought against an established government, including members of rebel groups who have led revolts in Arab Spring uprisings.

In late 2011, Citizenship and Immigration Services said about 4,400 affected cases were on hold as the government reviewed possible exemptions to the rule. It's unclear how many of those cases are still pending.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the rule change will help people he described as deserving refugees and asylum-seekers.

"The existing interpretation was so broad as to be unworkable," Leahy, D-Vt., said in a statement. He said the previous rule barred applicants for reasons "that no rational person would consider."

Republican lawmakers argued that the administration is relaxing rules designed by Congress to protect the country from terrorists.

Rep. Bob Goodlatte, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, called the change naive given today's global terrorist threats.

"President Obama should be protecting U.S. citizens rather than taking a chance on those who are aiding and abetting terrorist activity and putting Americans at greater risk," said Goodlatte, R-Va.

Little more than a week after Groundhog Day, the evidence is mounting that lawmakers have all but wrapped up their most consequential work of 2014, at least until the results of the fall elections are known.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Little more than a week after Groundhog Day, the evidence is mounting that lawmakers have all but wrapped up their most consequential work of 2014, at least until the results of the fall elections are known.

"We've got a lot of things on our plate," House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said recently when asked what Congress will be busy with this year, but he predicted no breakthrough accomplishments on immigration, taxes or any other area.

"Why don't we just pack up and go home?" countered House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi of California after Boehner blamed President Barack Obama for lack of movement on immigration. "What we're supposed to do is legislate and not make up excuses as to why we don't."

Immigration legislation is hardly the only area where inaction is the likeliest outcome.

A Senate-passed bill has fallen into the congressional equivalent of a black hole in the House, where conservative critics cite a changing series of reasons for not wanting to take action.

Initially, they said they didn't want to vote on a bill because they oppose amnesty for immigrants living in the country illegally. Then they observed it would be a political mistake to shift focus away from their own opposition to the health care law, which unites them, and turn it onto an issue that divides them. Most recently, Boehner, who has said repeatedly he wants to pass an immigration bill, has joined others in citing a lack of trust with Obama as a reason for inaction.

If immigration legislation is moribund in the House, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has made it clear he doesn't intend to seek passage of a second Obama priority, this one a bill to facilitate passage of trade deals with Europe and Asia.

"I'm against fast track," said the man who sets the Senate's agenda, referring to the measure Obama wants. "I think everyone would be well advised just to not push this right now."

The legislation is opposed by large segments of organized labor, the very unions that Democrats will be counting on to pour money and manpower into their bid to hold control of the Senate in the November election.

Republicans need to gain six seats to win a majority. They say they increasingly are bullish about their prospects, what with the country generally pessimistic about the future, Obama's favorability ratings well below the levels of his re-election campaign, and controversies afflicting the president's health law.

While Reid hasn't said so, other lawmakers and aides speculate that trade could top the agenda of any postelection session of Congress.

An overhaul of tax laws seems further off than it did a year ago. There was scant evidence of progress in 2013, and now a transition is occurring at the Senate Finance Committee, where Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., has yet to announce his priorities as incoming chairman. He will succeed Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., who was confirmed on Thursday as ambassador to China.

Deficit reduction, the driving force of the tea party-heavy House majority, now occupies a back seat, and the projected deficit for the current budget year is the lowest since George W. Bush was in the White House.

Nor do Republicans appear likely to compromise any time soon on an increase in the minimum wage or other items on Obama's agenda.

The first bill the Democrats put on the Senate floor this year, to renew benefits for the long-term unemployed, is stalled by Republican opposition. Even an eventual compromise wouldn't be much to brag about. Congress has passed similar bills repeatedly in the wake of past economic downturns.

Not that much of significance has been done up until now.

With much fanfare, lawmakers recently completed work on a five-year farm bill -- two years late.

By month's end, lawmakers are virtually certain to raise the nation's debt limit. That, too, is a relatively routine measure, even if in recent years it has passed only after considerable brinkmanship.

Another potential area for compromise is legislation to overhaul the system for reimbursing doctors who treat Medicare patients.

The bipartisan supporters of a measure along those lines have yet to agree on how to offset the cost, though.

Millions of Americans who have gone without jobs or raises have found themselves wondering something about the economic recovery: Is this as good as it gets?

WASHINGTON (AP) — In the 4½ years since the Great Recession ended, millions of Americans who have gone without jobs or raises have found themselves wondering something about the economic recovery:

Is this as good as it gets?

It increasingly looks that way.

Two straight weak job reports have raised doubts about economists' predictions of breakout growth in 2014. The global economy is showing signs of slowing — again. Manufacturing has slumped. Fewer people are signing contracts to buy homes. Global stock markets have sunk as anxiety has gripped developing nations.

Some long-term trends are equally dispiriting.

The Congressional Budget Office foresees growth picking up through 2016, only to weaken starting in 2017. By the CBO's reckoning, the economy will soon slam into a demographic wall: The vast baby boom generation will retire. Their exodus will shrink the share of Americans who are working, which will hamper the economy's ability to accelerate.

At the same time, the government may have to borrow more, raise taxes or cut spending to support Social Security and Medicare for those retirees.

Only a few weeks ago, at least the short-term view looked brighter. Entering 2014, many economists predicted growth would top 3 percent for the first time since 2005. That pace would bring the U.S. economy near its average post-World War II annual growth rate. Some of the expected improvement would come from the government exerting less drag on the economy this year after having slashed spending and raised taxes in 2013.

In addition, steady job gains dating back to 2010 should unleash more consumer spending. Each of the 7.8 million jobs that have been added provided income to someone who previously had little or none. It amounts to "adrenaline" for the economy, said Carl Tannenbaum, chief economist for Northern Trust.

And since 70 percent of the economy flows from consumers, their increased spending would be expected to drive stronger hiring and growth.

"There is a dividing line between a slow-growth economy that is not satisfactory and above-trend growth with a tide strong enough to lift all the boats and put people back to work," said Chris Rupkey, chief financial economist at Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi. "That number is 3 percent."

The recovery had appeared to achieve a breakthrough in the final quarter of 2013. The economy grew at an annual pace of 3.2 percent last quarter. Leading the upswing was a 3.3 percent surge in the rate of consumer spending, which had been slack for much of the recovery partly because of high debt loads and stagnant pay.

Yet for now, winter storms and freezing temperatures, along with struggles in Europe and Asia, have slowed manufacturing and the pace of hiring.

Just 113,000 jobs were added in January, the government said Friday. In December, employers had added a puny 75,000. Job creation for the past two months is roughly half its average for the past two years. A third sluggish jobs report in February would further dim hopes for a breakout year.

"Three months in a row would mean the job market is taking a turn for the worst," said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist for PNC Financial Services.

Former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman have suggested that the economy might be in a semi-permanent funk. In November, Summers warned in a speech that the economy is trapped by "secular stagnation." By that, he meant a prolonged period of weak demand and slow growth.

If the United States hasn't already slipped into that period, the CBO predicts it could over the next four years. That's when the retirements of baby boomers would start to restrain growth.

The economy will expand 2.7 percent in 2017 before declining to an average of 2.2 percent through 2024, the CBO estimates. That's about as sluggish as the current recovery has been, on average, so far.

There are no documented examples of an economy that had to emerge from a financial crisis while simultaneously absorbing the effects of an aging population, noted Harvard University economist Carmen Reinhart, who has researched eight centuries of crises with her colleague Ken Rogoff.

"These things are new," she said.

Many Americans who endured the worst of the downturn remain wary, sensing that the recession caused an enduring downshift. Some businesses are still reluctant to hire despite higher revenue.

Consider Linda Tool & Die in Brooklyn. The company slashed its average workweek to 32 hours after the recession struck. Those cuts helped preserve employees' health care benefits. It also enabled the 61-year old company to invest in technology to try to stay competitive in a tough environment.

But as business has improved with more orders from aerospace companies, CEO Mike Dimarino has chosen overtime over hiring.

"I'd rather give the people who stuck with me during the dark days a few extra bucks," he said.

Likewise, some people have downshifted to careers they view as better safeguards against a downturn. One is Phillip Romine, 28, who said he now prizes job security over the allure of overtime pay.

Before being laid off by General Motors in 2009, Romine had been building Chevy and Pontiac sedans in Michigan.

Many months after his layoff, GM offered to rehire Romine. His answer? No thanks. Romine chose to stay in school and complete his associate's degree.

Now a physical therapist, he finds fulfillment in serving people. Yet he feels his generation may never match his parents' lifestyle. His father's GM factory pay was enough to buy a home on several acres with a swimming pool — something Romine regards as a fantasy for him and his generation.

"I feel like right now I'm maintaining," he said.

An economy that grew faster than 3 percent would likely make it easier for the 3.6 million other Americans who have gone without a job for more than six months to find work.

By his own count, Brian Perry has applied for nearly 1,500 jobs since being let go as a law clerk in 2008. The 56-year old Perry lives in Rhode Island, where the 9.1 percent unemployment rate is 2.5 percentage points above the national average.

Perry remains optimistic that a job is forthcoming. He thinks a more robust economy would create better opportunities for the long-term unemployed like him.

"More growth equals more potential," he said. "If you hire more people, there's more money in their pockets."

The weakness of the recovery stems in part from the usual lingering hangover from financial crises, according to research by Harvard's Reinhart and Rogoff. Their research shows that it takes a decade to fully heal. Last month, they released a paper suggesting that the U.S. economy has actually fared well during this recovery compared with other economies that have suffered a financial crisis.

And Reinhart noted that their records show no precedent for an economy that emerged from a financial crisis while facing a profound demographic shift.

She does offer a smidgen of optimism: History suggests that economies that seem doomed can sometimes enjoy sudden turnarounds and unexpected bursts of energy. American consumers were walloped by high gasoline prices and low growth in the 1970s. Yet the feared downward spiral never happened as the economy roared through the 1980s.

"Financial crises do not last forever," Reinhart said. "A decade is a long time. But a long time is not the same as forever."

WESTFIELD– When Renee J. Charbonneau was named the West Springfield Colleen after casually cracking jokes during the interview portion of the contest, she was shocked at the outcome. “This is such an honor because I wasn’t expecting it at all,” she said. “I just entered the contest for fun.” Each of the five young women, including court members Meredith E....

WESTFIELD– When Renee J. Charbonneau was named the West Springfield Colleen after casually cracking jokes during the interview portion of the contest, she was shocked at the outcome.

“This is such an honor because I wasn’t expecting it at all,” she said. “I just entered the contest for fun.”

Each of the five young women, including court members Meredith E. Lafond, Courtney L. E. Harlow, Elana E. Nielsen and Emily M. Daviau, were asked to answer the same question: Who is the most influential person in your life.

Master of Ceremonies Ted Hebert began each interview asking the contestants to repeat the question. Charbonneau did so by at first responding, “How many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop,” which was met with laughter and applause from the audience.

As she took the microphone from Hebert to answer the real question, she said, “Four thousand,” then proceeded to credit the children with whom she works on the Parks and Recreation Department swim team.

“Everyone I’ve met has had an impact on me, but those little kids are fearless,” she said. “They have no worries. They just want to get to the other end of the pool.”

In turn, Charbonneau added, those children have passed their outlook on life and challenge onto her.

“They taught me how to be fearless, and I’m ready to be that person for them.”

In addition to the naming of the Colleen and her court during the West Springfield St. Patrick’s Committee 19th Annual Cead Mile Failte Night held at the Westwood in Westfield, award recipients were also announced.

Leading the West Springfield contingent in the 2.6-mile Holyoke St. Patrick’s Parade on March 26 will be Aldo Paier who was given a shillelagh (walking stick) by the parade committee.

Dominic and Michele Battista were named the Ray DiStefano Citizenship Award winners; Jerry and Karen Drudi, of Russo Opticians, were given the Old Mittineague Award; William Joseph received the Jinx Powers Award; and Mary Flaherty was named the senior colleen.

Selected as the Sons of Erin 2014 Colleen and her court, respectively, were Paige E. Templeton, 17, of Westfield, Sadie B. Burnham, 18, of Southwick, Hannah F. Sullivan, 18, of Westfield, Kayleen E. Welch, 17, of Westfield and Victoria L. Sullivan, 19, also of Westfield.

WESTFIELD – A stunned Paige E. Templeton was named the Westfield Colleen Friday from among 15 contestants and said she is looking forward most to the trip to Ireland that comes with the title.

“I’m really excited to go to Ireland,” she said.

Chosen as Templeton’s court members were Sadie B. Burnham, 18, of Southwick, Hannah F. Sullivan, 18, of Westfield, Kayleen E. Welch, 17, of Westfield and Victoria L. Sullivan, 19, also of Westfield.

The selection of the Colleen and her court, as well as the naming of award winners, was held during the Sons of Erin 33rd Annual Colleen Ball Friday night at Chez Josef in Agawam.

Still in shock from the winning announcement, Templeton, 17, surrounded by family and friends, said she did not think she had a chance at winning the title because her family is not involved with the Sons of Erin.

“I have friends who did it, so I thought I’d try,” she added.

Winning, Templeton said, was an added perk to the benefits she received from entering the competition, including spending more time with her grandparents.

“I went over my Irish heritage with my grandparents and learned a lot,” she said. “The competition also gave me more confidence.”

Templeton’s parents, Karen and Jeff Templeton, said their daughter took the initiative and undertook her journey to the colleen contest on her own.

“I’m so proud of her,” Jeff Templeton said. “The Sons of Erin runs a great event. We were so nervous for her.”

A senior at Westfield High School, Templeton is a member of the school’s varsity field hockey team, works at the Summer House in Southwick and rides horses at King Oak Farm where she is the captain of its Interscholastic Equestrian Team.

Templeton also volunteers as a server at the Westfield soup kitchen and is a day-care provider at the First Congregational Church in Westfield.

In addition to the naming of the Colleen and her court, the Sons of Erin announced as parade marshal Dr. Brian Sutton, and named Kevin Fitzgerald as the Thomas M. Kane Irishman of the Year and Eileen Hurley as Irishwoman of the Year.

For the first time, the Sons of Erin named a recipient of the newly created Billy Buzzee St. Pat on the Back Award in memory of the club member. His sister, Barbara Buzzee, was on hand along with Peter Miller in announcing longtime member Rosie Hogdon as the winner.

“This award will go annually to any individual for selflessly contributing to the club and furthering the Irish-American culture,” Miller said. “It’s the perfect award to carry on Billy’s name.”

Upon accepting the award, a very surprised and emotional Hogdon, who was hailed by Miller as the one person who is always behind the scenes cooking and cleaning without seeking attention, said she was honored to be named the first recipient.

“I’m so proud to be part of this club,” she said through tears. “I’m so proud to be getting Billy’s award.”

The South Hadley selectboard meeting Tuesday was packed with Holyoke Hospital staff including several doctors as the organization’s new president told the board being involved in the wider community is a goal the hospital takes seriously.

Spiros Hatiras, who became president of Holyoke Medical Center in September 2013, addressing the South Hadley selectboard at their Feb. 4, 2014 meetingJim Russell 

SOUTH HADLEY – The South Hadley Selectboard meeting Feb. 4 was packed with Holyoke Medical Center staff, including several doctors as the organization’s new president told the board that being involved in the wider community is a goal the hospital takes seriously.

Spiros Hatiras, 48, who became president of Holyoke Medical Center in September, said that in addition to being a good corporate neighbor and providing quality health care, he wants to improve the food service operation and purchase food locally.

“We haven’t been as involved in the community as we should be,” Hatiras said. “We want to be in the community and work with South Hadley – work with seniors, [conduct] blood drives. We are so close” to the town.

“We are considering upgrading our dining service – to improve the menu and increase the use of local suppliers – we are talking about local food, everything prepared fresh,” he said. “We are going to have a farmers market on site.”

Hatiras serves as chief executive officer as well as president. He earned a bachelor of science in physical therapy from National Technical University of Athens, Greece; and a master's in health care administration at New York University.

Prior to his Holyoke appointment, Hatiras was chief executive officer for two years at Hoboken University Medical Center in Hoboken, New Jersey.

He was also the CEO at NITHealth in New York City.

“We are always looking for opportunities to enhance services” in South Hadley, Selectboard Chairman John Hine said. “We are all ears and ready to work – to partner.”

Hatiras said, “We are the number one hospital in stroke care.”

He touted the use of laughing gas, or nitrous oxide, at the hospital’s birthing center.

“We are the only hospital in Massachusetts that offers our mothers laughing gas during labor, and one of the very few in the United States doing it," Hatiras said.

Town administrator Michael Sullivan asked facetiously: “Is nitrous oxide available for husbands?”

“No, but you can have it for your meetings,” Hatiras responded with a smile.

Holyoke Medical Center is part of Valley Health Systems. The system also includes Holyoke VNA and Hospice and Western Mass. Physicians Association.

The Big 12 acted swiftly in banning the All-America guard Sunday, saying in a statement the penalty was handed down for "inappropriate conduct with a spectator."

STILLWATER, Okla. -- Oklahoma State star Marcus Smart was suspended three games Sunday by the Big 12 for shoving a fan in the closing seconds of the Cowboys' loss at Texas Tech on Saturday night.

The Big 12 acted swiftly in banning the All-America guard Sunday, saying in a statement the penalty was handed down for "inappropriate conduct with a spectator."

View full sizeOklahoma State's Markel Brown(22) and Phil Forte(13) hold Marcus Smart(33) after Smart shoved a fan during their NCAA college basketball game in Lubbock, Texas, Saturday, Feb, 8, 2014.AP Photo/Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, Tori Eichberger

Texas Tech released a statement saying they conducted a thorough investigation. Orr denied making a racial slur and Tech says the evidence backs up Orr's statement.

Orr, who has traveled to dozens of Tech games a year, has voluntarily agreed to not attend any Red Raiders home or away games for the remainder of the season, according to the statement.

"I would like to take this opportunity to offer my sincere apologies to Marcus Smart, Oklahoma State, Tubby Smith and the Texas Tech Men's Basketball program," Orr said in the statement. "My actions last night were inappropriate and do not reflect myself or Texas Tech -- a university I love dearly. I regret calling Mr. Smart a 'piece of crap' but I want to make it known that I did not use a racial slur of any kind."

Federal prosecutors and lawyers for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev will be in court this week for the first time since U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder authorized prosecutors to seek the death penalty against Tsarnaev.

BOSTON (AP) — Federal prosecutors and lawyers for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev (joh-HAHR' tsahr-NEYE'-ehv) will be in court this week for the first time since U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder authorized prosecutors to seek the death penalty against Tsarnaev.

A status conference is scheduled Wednesday in U.S. District Court.

The 20-year-old Tsarnaev is charged with carrying out a terrorist attack that killed three people and injured more than 260. Prosecutors say he and his older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, built pressure cooker bombs, then placed them near the finish line of the marathon last April 15.

Prosecutors announced Jan. 30 that they will seek the death penalty against Tsarnaev. He has pleaded not guilty to a 30-count federal indictment.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev died following a shootout with police.

A newspaper reported Sunday that Boston police responded to several calls on reports of violence in the past year at the house where a 14-year-old boy is accused of accidentally shooting and killing his 9-year-old brother on Friday.

BOSTON — A newspaper reported Sunday that Boston police responded to several calls on reports of violence in the past year at the house where a 14-year-old boy is accused of accidentally shooting and killing his 9-year-old brother on Friday.

The Boston Herald reports (http://bit.ly/1gi3SDd ) that according to police reports it obtained, officers visited the apartment last June on a report of a 13-year-old boy who hit his brother and his mother and threw his brother to the ground.

On June 22, 2013, a 13-year-old juvenile was reported to have "hit the brother and the mother...slapped their . brother . in the face and threw him to the ground," according to the report.

The caller said the suspect "then pushed their mother .... to the ground, began fist fighting her ... and made threats to kill her . the suspect has been very aggressive towards the family lately." The suspect was placed under arrest.

On May 10, 2013, police spoke to the mother of the suspect "who stated that her son . had gone missing from a DCF facility in Norwood. Ms. (redacted) stated that the facility had reported the victim missing . with the Norwood Police Department." The 13-year-old returned home and "she wants him to stay home."

The teen will be arraigned Monday on delinquency charges of involuntary manslaughter and illegal possession of a firearm related to the shooting death.