While swimming off the shore of Nantucket, a Texan family was caught in a large rip current off the small island.

While swimming off the shore of Nantucket, a Texan family was caught in a large rip current off the small Island.

Derrick Johns, and his teenage daughter Erynn, were swimming at Nobadeer Beach on Tuesday when the pair became caught in a strong rip current and had trouble keeping their heads above the surface.

Seeing her husband and daughter flailing in the waves, Jennifer Johns bolted into the ocean to help. She also became in need of saving. 

"I was a Marine and I've been in some pretty harrowing situations," Derrick Johns told The Globe. "That one was the scariest, because it wasn't just me, it was my wife and daughter."

As lifeguards pulled Jennifer from the water, a fellow beachgoer jumped into the ocean to help her husband. Derrick was able to break through the current and pull his daughter out by grabbing the selfie stick attached to her wrist. 

Nantucket Harbor Master Sheila Lucey told The Globe that lifeguards have rescued or assisted 135 people on the Island since July 1. 

The weekly 1550 Main Lunchtime Concerts on the Plaza featured the easy sound of the Springfield-based TMJ Connection. Watch video

SPRINGFIELD — Cool jazz on a warm day vibrated loose the workers and residents of nearby streets in downtown Springfield Thursday.

The weekly 1550 Main Lunchtime Concerts on the Plaza featured the easy sound of the Springfield-based TMJ Connection like a summer breeze dancing around historic brick buildings as well as the more modern 1550 Main St. where the series is based.

Every Thursday from June through August, a different musical act will perform on the plaza at that address for music lovers under umbrellas at tables or on the raised lawn behind them. MassDevelopment, which owns the building at 1550 Main St., and its management company, CBRE New England, are co-sponsors of the concerts.

The idea for the series, according to property manager William Woodsome, is to promote the overall economic development and livability of the city.

Jarreau Pitts leads the TMJ Connection from behind his keyboard, providing the musical support for drummer Trevor Pitts, bassist Kyle Blake, the clear, crisp sound of Jeremy Turgeon's trumpet and the effective and affecting song interpretations of vocalist Andrea Pitts. Their specialty is jazz and rhythm and blues.

The concert series is presented every Thursday from noon to 1:30. If it rains, the event is scheduled for another day that week.

John Rhodes, lawyer, teacher and former mayor of Westfield, has died. He was 70 years old.

John Rhodes, lawyer, teacher and former mayor of Westfield, has died. He was 70 years old.

Rhodes spent most his life in Westfield and many years in the city's public service. He was a teacher in the Westfield Public Schools, a young and, in his own description, ambitious mayor for two terms in the 1970s, a city solicitor and a city prosecutor.

Born in Portland. Maine in 1945, Rhodes moved to Westfield in his youth. He played football and wrestled before graduating from Westfield High School in 1963; after a year at Springfield College, he enlisted in the Marines and served a tour in Vietnam, according to an obituary.

He taught math and science and coached football at Westfield High School, and had two children with his wife Carol. Rhodes was elected mayor in 1973 at the age of 28, and served for four years; he would run again decades later, launching an unsuccessful campaign to unseat George Varelas in 1991.

He briefly moved with his family to Montgomery in 1988, but told the Republican during the 1991 campaign that Westfield was where he had put down roots.

"I never felt I left. I practice law here and I've been a property owner here for many years." Rhodes said.

Rhodes earned advanced degrees from Westfield State College and Western New England College, and opened a law practice. He served terms as city attorney and city prosecutor from 1981 to 1985.

Later in life, Rhodes still found himself at city hall, representing permit applicants as an attorney before the city council, according to the Republican.

He is survived by his wife Carol Rhodes, son Matthew Rhodes, daughter Kathryn Smutnick and sister Barbara Metro. Visiting hours will be held from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Firtion-Adams Funeral Service, with a graveside service at 2 p.m. Monday in St. Mary's Cemetery in Westfield.

A Superior Court judge on Thursday kept alive a flurry of lawsuits against the Massachusetts Gaming Commission, tied to the panel’s awarding of an Eastern Massachusetts casino license to Wynn Resorts.

BOSTON - A Superior Court judge on Thursday kept alive a flurry of lawsuits against the Massachusetts Gaming Commission and tied to the panel's awarding of an Eastern Massachusetts casino license to Wynn Resorts.

The city of Boston, one of three cities suing the five-member panel of gambling regulators, alleges that the commission acted unethically and violated its own rules by giving the license to Wynn for a planned casino in neighboring Everett. The other cities make similar claims. An outside attorney hired by the city of Boston, Thomas Frongillo, says Boston was also denied "host community status," despite the expectation that three-quarters of the Wynn casino's traffic will go through Boston's Charlestown neighborhood.

Earlier in the day, at a Gaming Commission meeting in South Boston, its chair Stephen Crosby defended the commission's licensing. "Because the gaming establishment is not in Boston," he said, when asked why Boston wasn't designated a "host community." "It's right in the (state gambling) law. It's pretty straightforward. If the gaming establishment is in a community, it's a host community. If it isn't, it isn't."

He added, "We believe we have abided by all the rules and have treated everybody fairly and have extended ourselves on behalf of many of the parties, to be sure they had a fair shot."

The commission awarded the resort casino license to Wynn, which plans to build a $1.7 billion facility in 2014. Wynn is hoping to open the casino in 2018.

Here are several takeaways from the two-hour hearing in Suffolk Superior Court, which drew a standing-room-only crowd to watch a face-off between attorneys from the Gaming Commission; the cities of Boston, Somerville and Revere; and Mohegan Sun, which was Wynn's rival for the license:

1. Judge Janet Sanders - who also recently handled the Partners HealthCare unsuccessful expansion bid - rejected an argument from attorneys for the Gaming Commission who said that the city of Boston's 153-page lawsuit should be thrown out because it was too long. "The claims are meritless in addition to being too long," said the commission's outside attorney, David Mackey, before the judge denied the commission's motion. The Gaming Commission is expected to take another tack in a new push to dismiss the Boston lawsuit later in July.

2. Judge Sanders encouraged the Gaming Commission to keep providing records to the plaintiffs outlining the commission's decision to award the casino license to Wynn. The commission says it has already provided 108,000 pages of documents, but they had held some back, citing privacy and competitive casino information concerns.

3. But the subpoenas the city of Boston pushed for are on hold until the judge makes further determinations on which lawsuits move ahead. Most of the subpoenas deal with allegations of improper access to a "wiretap room" in the state attorney general's office. The subpoenas allege that private investigators working for Wynn received access to the room. The Gaming Commission became aware of the allegations last week, when it received the subpoenas, the commission's lawyers said. The commission's investigations bureau is now looking into the claim. Wynn, which was not included in the city of Boston's lawsuit against the commission, has denied the claims in the subpoenas.

4. The next big court date is in September. Judge Sanders set Sept. 22 as the day for a hearing on motions to dismiss several of the lawsuits and other legal requests. Be prepared for another couple of months of fierce fighting, through legal letters and in the press, between Boston City Hall, the Gaming Commission, and Wynn Resorts. Earlier this week, Wynn threatened to file a defamation lawsuit against the city and Boston Mayor Marty Walsh over "your campaign of falsehoods," particularly what was included in the subpoenas. A city of Boston spokeswoman said earlier in the week Walsh stands by all the assertions city of Boston attorneys have made.

Shira Schoenberg contributed reporting.

Brianne Altice pleaded guilty to three counts of forcible sexual abuse in April.

FARMINGTON, Utah -- A judge sentenced a former high school English teacher who pleaded guilty to sexually abusing three male students to at least two and up to 30 years in prison Thursday.

Prosecutors say one of the boys was 16 and two were 17 when Brianne Altice had sex with them. The 36-year-old Altice was initially free while her case played out, but was sent to jail in January after allegations emerged that she continued a sexual relationship with one of the boys while she was out on bail.

Her lawyer said Altice is a damaged person who gave into daily flirtations from the boys because she was belittled at home and dealing with self-esteem problems.

She cried as she apologized to the victims at a sentencing hearing Thursday.

"I am human and I messed up during a very vulnerable time in my life," she said.

The mother of the then-16-year-old victim said her son was also vulnerable.

"You hurt my son in ways that you will never know. You hurt all of those boys," said the woman. She did not give her name, and The Associated Press does not generally identify family members of sexual assault victims to avoid revealing a victim's identity.

Altice pleaded guilty to three counts of forcible sexual abuse in April.

Altice sent a handwritten letter to Judge Thomas Kay last month asking him not to send her to prison. She said she's harmless, and promised she wouldn't repeat the crime.

But Kay said Thursday that she needs to change her life, and he believed that would require prison time.

"You were the adult, you were the teacher, you were the one that could have stopped that from happening," he said.

Prosecutors say she befriended the boys, allowing them to hang out in her classroom, and the relationships later turned sexual. One victim said he considered her to be his girlfriend during their yearlong sexual relationship.

She was fired shortly after the allegations came to light, and her husband filed for divorce and custody of their child.

Her lawyer Ed Brass said she was no longer the boys' teacher when the sex occurred. He later said she took the plea deal to avoid an uncertain outcome at trial.

Parents of two boys sued the school district, saying that officials knew that Altice was behaving inappropriately but didn't do enough to stop her. They alleged in court papers that the running joke at the high school was, "Who is Ms. Altice sleeping with now?"

One lawsuit was withdrawn after state attorneys said schools aren't responsible for injuries arising from assaults. The other is still pending.

Altice was first arrested in October 2013 after a student reported having a relationship with her, and two more victims later came forward with similar allegations.

Six residents, including a schoolgirl, told the council that truck traffic heading towards the industrial park and speeding make the street unsafe, especially for their children.

NORTHAMPTON - The City Council heard from Lincoln Avenue residents who are unhappy with traffic on their street during its public comment session Thursday.

Six residents, including a schoolgirl, told the council that truck traffic heading towards the industrial park and speeding make the street unsafe, especially for their children. Joseph Squires of 38 Lincoln Avenue said the traffic makes the street dirty and dangerous.

"It's gone from bad to a nightmare," he said.

Even members of the public who do not live on the street supported the cause. Jasper Lapienski, who lives on West Street, said he once worked in the industrial park.

"I think (Lincoln Avenue) is the truck escape route," he said.

Roy Martin who, like Lapienski, is a regular speaker at the sessions, said he was going to talk about the appointment of Fire Chief Duane Nichols but decided to talk about Lincoln Avenue instead after learning that Nichol's appointment will be referred to committee. He suggested making Lincoln Avenue one-way.

"Maybe that will solve the problem," he said.

In other business, the council did some book-keeping, transferring money from one account to another at the request of Mayor David J. Narkewicz. It also approved land purchases and conservation restrictions off Easthampton, Manhan and Island roads.

HOLYOKE - Thursday night, July 9th, was t-shirt giveaway and Chicopee Night at the Valley Blue Sox game against Vermont. The game was played at Holyoke's Mackenzie Field. The first 500 fans to the baseball game received a free Valley Blue Sox t-shirt. East Longmeadow's own Steve Moyers started on the mound for the Blue Sox. The Blue Sox are...

HOLYOKE - Thursday night, July 9th, was t-shirt giveaway and Chicopee Night at the Valley Blue Sox game against Vermont. The game was played at Holyoke's Mackenzie Field.

The first 500 fans to the baseball game received a free Valley Blue Sox t-shirt. East Longmeadow's own Steve Moyers started on the mound for the Blue Sox.

The Blue Sox are in second place in the NECBL North Division standings.

HOLYOKE - Thursday night, July 9th, was t-shirt giveaway and Chicopee Night at the Valley Blue Sox game against Vermont. The game was played at Holyoke's Mckenzie Field. The first 500 fans to the baseball game received a free Valley Blue Sox t-shirt. East Longmeadow's own Steve Moyers started on the mound for the Blue Sox. The Blue Sox are...

HOLYOKE - Thursday night, July 9th, was t-shirt giveaway and Chicopee Night at the Valley Blue Sox game against Vermont. The game was played at Holyoke's Mckenzie Field.

The first 500 fans to the baseball game received a free Valley Blue Sox t-shirt. East Longmeadow's own Steve Moyers started on the mound for the Blue Sox.

The Blue Sox are in second place in the NECBL North Division standings.

The robbery was reported at 11:37 p.m. Thursday, July 9, at the CVS pharmacy at 615 Belmont Ave. in Springfield's Forest Park neighborhood.

SPRINGFIELD — Police were investigating an armed robbery at the CVS store near The X late Thursday night.

Officers were dispatched to the Belmont Avenue pharmacy in the city's Forest Park neighborhood at 11:37 p.m. The suspect reportedly lifted up his shirt to reveal a gun in his waistband, then allegedly stated, "Don't be a hero; give me the money."

The suspect was described as a light-skinned Hispanic man wearing blue jeans, a blue Yankees cap and a pinstriped shirt, according to initial police reports.

Multiple patrol units checked surrounding streets for the suspect as detectives from the Major Crimes Unit interviewed witnesses at CVS.

As of 11:55 p.m., investigators were attempting to arrange a "showup" – the showing of a suspect to a victim by police in the hope of identifying the suspect as the culprit..

Anyone with information about the robbery is asked to text a tip to CRIMES or call detectives at 413-787-6355.

MAP showing approximate location of armed robbery:

West Springfield will receive $98,500 from a reserve fund established by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to use for consultant and legal assistance and for a traffic study. Springfield was denied its request for $234,500 to fund the city's casino liaison office and for legal services tied to the casino.

BOSTON - West Springfield will receive $98,500 from a reserve fund established by the Massachusetts Gaming Commission to use for consultant and legal assistance and for a traffic study.

The money is meant to help the town plan for the opening of MGM Springfield, to help it with ongoing negotiations with MGM's developer, and to look at things like traffic impacts.

Although West Springfield entered into a "surrounding community agreement" with MGM Springfield, that agreement only requires MGM to pay money to West Springfield once the casino starts operating.

John Ziemba, the ombudsman between outside groups and the Gaming Commission, said West Springfield has already spent town resources on planning and "will continue to spend significant planning resources to deal most effectively with its new neighbor."

In March 2015, the Massachusetts Gaming Commission established a $17.5 million Community Mitigation Fund, from which communities can apply for money to offset costs related to casino construction or for planning relating to the impact of casinos.

West Springfield is the first community to receive money from the fund.

Several other cities and towns requested money from funds controlled by the Gaming Commission for specific purposes. Springfield asked for $234,500 to fund the city's casino liaison office and for legal services tied to the casino.

The Gaming Commission denied the request. Officials said that those costs were covered in the host community agreement that Springfield signed with MGM.

The commission also denied requests by several towns in eastern Massachusetts. Massachusetts Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby said the fund was meant to address unanticipated problems, not to be a way to pay for known expenses where existing agreements fall short.

"If host communities didn't get sufficient funds to mitigate the impacts of casinos, what were they doing?" Crosby said.

Cars can reach temperatures in excess of 100 degrees in a matter of minutes, police said.

SOUTHWICK - The Southwick Police Department warns that pet owners should leave their pets at home and that the car can reach dangerously high temperatures for pets in a matter of minutes.

"In the summer months, a vehicle, even with the windows open, can reach temperatures in excess of 100 degrees in a matter of minutes," police said in a news release.

According to police, dogs will begin to stress in less than five minutes.

As much as dogs love riding in the car with the windows open, they can begin to stress from the inability to cool down, police said.

"As much as dogs love to ride in the car, unless they are in air conditioning, the best option is to leave them home," police said.

A fantastic weekend is on the way

We'll see plenty of sunshine and clear skies this evening. It will be nice and dry as temperatures cool as high pressure settles across the region.

With a dry air mass settling in temperatures will be able to cool into the 50s by morning. You may be able to shut the A.Cs. off and open up the windows! Not bad for a July night.

The sunshine and warm weather will stay with us through the weekend. Tomorrow will start cool and comfortable with plenty of sunshine. A few clouds will mix in tomorrow afternoon as a disturbance tracks across eastern Canada. But not to worry, we are NOT expecting any rain. It will be warm tomorrow afternoon but still dry with temps climbing into the upper 80s. A few spots may nudge 90.

The humidity will build in slightly on Sunday with full sunshine. It may be a degree or two warmer on Sunday so many spots will touch 90, something we have yet to do so far this month. It should be a great weekend for all outdoor events! Get out and enjoy if you can!

U.S. stocks logged their best day in two months Friday as Greece appeared to move closer to securing a bailout deal that will enable it to avoid bankruptcy and keep the country in the euro.

By STEVE ROTHWELL
AP Markets Writer

NEW YORK -- U.S. stocks logged their best day in two months Friday as Greece appeared to move closer to securing a bailout deal that will enable it to avoid bankruptcy and keep the country in the euro.

Greece and its creditors appeared to be narrowing their differences after Athens offered reform proposals in order to secure a third bailout of around 53 billion euros ($59.5 billion). A final decision could be made on Sunday.

A second day of gains for Chinese stocks also encouraged investors. U.S. stocks had fallen sharply on Wednesday, in part on concern that a monthlong slump in China's stock market could crimp growth in the world's second-largest economy.

"This is a giant collective exhaling," said Kristina Hooper, U.S. investment strategist at Allianz Global Investors. The Greek deal "is not done, but we're closer than we have been in a while."

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 25.31 points, or 1.2 percent, to 2,076.62. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 211.79 points, or 1.2 percent, to 17,760.41. The Nasdaq composite gained 75.30 points, or 1.5 percent, to 4,997.70.

The gains pushed the S&P 500 back into positive territory for the year.

On Friday, stocks in China jumped before the U.S. market opened. China's Shanghai Composite Index jumped 4.5 percent, paring its losses for the month to 24 percent.

The Chinese market is only recovering after the government intervened heavily and about half of the companies listed in mainland China suspended trading in their stocks.

That's making some investors cautious.

"The policy makers appear to have some success in stabilizing values, but fifty percent of Chinese stocks are not currently trading," said Jim McDonald, chief investment strategist at Northern Trust.

Back in the U.S., airline stocks rallied after American Airlines, the nation's largest carrier, signaled that it was cutting back on its growth plans this year amid signs that average fares are declining. American said it expects to increase passenger-carrying capacity by 1 percent this year, down from an earlier forecast of 2 percent. American Airlines rose $1.54, or 3.9 percent, to $41.21. Delta Air Lines jumped $1.91, or 4.7 percent, to $42.46.

Investors also followed a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen on Friday.

Speaking in Cleveland, Ohio, Yellen said that the Fed is on track to start raising interest rates later this year, but expressed concerns over headwinds that are still holding back the U.S. economy, in particular lingering weakness in the labor market and new potential threats overseas.

David Kelly, chief global strategist at JPMorgan Asset Management, said after the speech that he expected the Fed to lift interest rates in September, provided that Greece reaches a deal with its creditors and there were no major financial crises between now and then.

Investor start focusing on second-quarter earnings next week as the pace of company reporting picks up.

Among the companies reporting are banks, including JPMorgan, Bank of America and Wells Fargo, as well as Delta, Netflix and Intel.

"Earnings will be adequate, we don't expect them to blow out the lights," said Allianz's Hooper. "It will be a subdued, but mildly positive earnings environment."

Companies in the S&P 500 are forecast to report that earnings shrank by 4.5 percent on average. While that would be the first contraction in earnings in almost six years, the figures are distorted by a big drop in energy company earnings following the collapse in the oil price last year.

In bond trading, prices fell. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note climbed to 2.40 percent from 2.32 percent on Thursday. The euro surged against the dollar, climbing 0.7 percent to $1.1151. The dollar rose 0.7 percent against the Japanese currency, to 122.80 yen.

The price of oil declined slightly and ended the week down 7 percent on concerns about economic growth in Europe and China as well as robust production from U.S. drillers. Benchmark U.S. crude fell 4 cents to close at $52.74 a barrel in New York. It ended last week at $56.93 a barrel. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils used by many U.S. refineries, rose 12 cents Friday to close at $58.73 a barrel in London.

In metals trading, silver rose 12 cents to $15.47 an ounce. Gold dropped $1.30 to $1,157.90 an ounce. Copper fell 1.3 cents to $2.55 a pound.

In other futures trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange:

-- Wholesale gasoline fell 2.8 cents to close at $2.017 a gallon.

-- Heating oil fell 0.4 cent to close at $1.740 a gallon.

-- Natural gas rose 4.4 cents to close at $2.770 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Atkins, 19, was shot to death by her former boyfriend, Terrance Brown, 24, on July 4, 2013, at her Federal Street apartment, according to Springfield police and prosecutors.

SPRINGFIELD — It's been two summers since Tyshianna Atkins was shot and killed by her former boyfriend in the Metro Center section of Springfield. But her family and friends are not about to let the teenager become a faded memory, a dusty homicide statistic in a manila folder tucked away in the bottom drawer of a file cabinet.

One reason Atkins, known as "Anna" by family and friends, won't become a dusty statistic is her family and friends, who each year since her death on July 4, 2013, have used the occasion to shed light on the persistent problem of domestic violence. The other reason she won't become a dusty stat is because police quickly apprehended the person responsible for her death, and he's now in prison.

Late Friday afternoon, about 100 people, wearing purple ribbons and T-shirts with Atkins' likeness, marched south on Main Street until they reached City Hall, where they remembered Atkins as a joyful, loving person. She was only 19 when she died from a single gunshot wound to the chest. The fatal shot was fired by Terrance Brown, Atkins' then-boyfriend, who pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in January and currently is serving 25 years to life.

The reason for the crime: Atkins broke up with Brown and started a new relationship with another person.

On Friday, though, it was about celebrating Atkins' short life, not the events leading to her death. Several young children held a large banner that included photos of Atkins and the words "trust," "love" and "loyalty."

"We do this every year around this time," said Atkins' sister, who was among the large crowd on the steps of City Hall.

A handful of police officers watched the procession as it marched peacefully along the sidewalk to City Hall Place, just as the evening rush hour was getting underway. There were no problems associated with the gathering, which broke up after a roughly 15-minute vigil outside City Hall.

CRD Metalworks owner Chris Duval says the flags are just "decorations."

WILLIAMSBURG -- While the recent appearance of two prominent Confederate battle flags outside a Williamsburg workplace has left some people stunned, CRD Metalworks owner Chris Duval says "it's only a decoration."

"We've been accused of showing hatred to our neighbors, accused of being racists," said Duval, found at the 17 Hyde Hill Road metal shop Friday afternoon. "That's not true. We love our neighbors. And my wife is from South America; from Colombia."

The flags, one a sheet-metal fabrication bolted to the side of the facility, and the other a cloth flag waving in the breeze, were put up about a week ago, said Duval. Also seen on the flagpole Friday were a yellow Gadsen flag proclaiming "Don't Tread on Me" and the three-colored flag of Colombia.

A petition, already signed by dozens, has been circulating asking Duval to take the flags down. And Keith Harmon Snow, who lives nearby at 6 Hyde Hill Road, is one of several to speak out against the flag display on Facebook:

"To my neighbors who have hoisted a Confederate battle flag up their flagpole and posted another large Confederate battle flag on the side of their business -- you have chosen to make a statement that offends many good people in the world today. The battle flag is a symbol of hatred and injustice that has been flown by white supremacists of the Ku Klux Klan and others, and has most recently been used to enshrine the murder of innocent people worshiping their God in their place of sanctuary. Please take these symbols of hate down, and we can together burn them, and declare our community a place safe for all people."

Duval, for his part, said the "decorations" at his business would not be a big deal if the "PC police" hadn't gotten involved.

The flag issue is apparently not the only conflict between Snow and Duval.

Speaking outside his home Friday, Snow described a long-simmering dispute, stemming back at least five years, when Snow played a prominent role in an ultimately successful effort to shut down a shooting range in Williamsburg. Duval and his friends used to shoot at the range, and now discharge firearms behind the metal shop onto a neighbor's property instead, said Snow.

"There are four houses for sale on this street because of their behavior," said Snow.

Snow is also fighting Duval and CRD Metalworks before the town's zoning board, claiming that Duval has illegally expanded his business into a manufacturing facility. Duval in February told the Daily Hampshire Gazette that his business should not be "held hostage" because certain neighbors do not like him as a person.

Asked if he believes Duval is a racist, Snow said it's possible that Duval "didn't previously know the meaning of the flag." The Confederate flag is a symbol of hate used to enshrine the murder and terrorism of African-Americans, said Snow. "Now that he knows, we hope he will take it down."

Duval and his shop manager Rob Parker said they had been talking about fabricating the flag symbol long before nine African-American church-goers were killed in a Charleston, South Carolina church last month, touching off heated nationwide debate about the flag and its symbolism.

Parker insisted that the Confederate flag is simply a part of hard-working American rural culture. "It's a symbol of redneck pride," he said. "And what I mean by a redneck is someone who straps his boots on every day, seven days a week, and goes to work."

CRD Metalworks, in business since 2005, fabricates Woodbine firewood processors, large machines that can quickly create firewood from 38-foot-long logs that are 24-inches thick, said Parker. The company ships the machines, designed by Duval, all over the world.

"We employ 14 people full-time, pay them good wages and benefits. We run the largest firewood machine facility in the world, right here in Burgy," Parker said. "We do good things for the community."

Snow, for his part, said he just wants the neighborhood to be a "friendly place where everyone feels welcome," and that the flag is inappropriate because "it represents absolute terror to people of color."

On Friday, even as Snow and Duval spoke with reporters, the Confederate flag was lowered for the last time at the South Carolina Capitol as a crowd of hundreds erupted in cheers.

Mary Serreze can be reached at mserreze@gmail.com

How excited is Scott Walker about running for president? So excited that he announced accidentally on Twitter three days early.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- How excited is Scott Walker about running for president?

So excited that he announced accidentally on Twitter three days early. Wisconsin's Republican governor posted and soon deleted a message on his verified Twitter account Friday evening that said, "Scott Walker is running for president."

It's no secret that Walker will enter the 2016 presidential race in Wisconsin on Monday afternoon. Yet before Friday, he hadn't formally declared it himself.

Asked to clarify, Walker spokesman AshLee Strong had only this to say: "Stay tuned for Governor Walker's announcement on Monday."

He is set to become the 15th Republican presidential candidate after he re-confirms his intentions Monday.

Screenshot from Walker's Twitter feed.Scott Walker | Twitter 

Reddit said Friday that interim CEO Ellen Pao resigned from the company, and co-founder Steve Huffman is back as its CEO.

NEW YORK -- Reddit said Friday that interim CEO Ellen Pao resigned from the company, and co-founder Steve Huffman is back as its CEO.  

The freewheeling online discussion forum and news site, which says it had 164 million unique visitors last month, has been rocked by unrest recently. The firing of a popular staffer earlier this month upset some users, leading to volunteers shutting down parts of the site, and there have been protests over new policies intended to fight harassment. 

A statement posted on Reddit by Reddit board member Sam Altman Friday said that Pao, who became interim CEO in November, resigned from Reddit by mutual agreement and will continue to advise the board for the rest of 2015.

Altman acknowledged that Reddit moderators should have better tools and communication from the company, but took some users to task for the nature of their comments about Pao.

He said Reddit accepts disagreements, but said the site must exercise compassion if it wants to be a great community and said some of the things Reddit users wrote about Pao were "sickening."

"Disagreements are fine. Death threats are not, are not covered under free speech, and will continue to get offending users banned," Altman wrote.

In an email, Pao said she resigned because Reddit's board was asking for faster user growth than she could deliver while holding on to the site's core values. She defended Reddit's policy changes, saying that despite criticism, the new rules are making the community stronger.

"We've taken bold and often controversial stances, but always with the greater good of the community in mind," she said. "We tackled the thorny issues of harassment on the site, banning harassing behavior without censoring ideas. Though we came under fire on many fronts, we did not waver, working 24/7 to try to keep the site harassment-free."

In a statement posted to Reddit, Pao thanks users who were supportive, saying the positives from the site far outweighed the negatives, and she urged Redditors to "remember the human" behind the keyboard.

This month Reddit fired Victoria Taylor, who helped run the site's popular "Ask Me Anything" feature, where Reddit users submit questions to celebrities and other notable people. President Barack Obama, for example, has answered questions on that forum. Some volunteer moderators protested her ouster by shutting down sections of the site, including Ask Me Anything.

Reddit also announced anti-harassment guidelines this year and in June it banned a few groups for violating those rules. Reddit is known for an almost-anything goes style, but leadership said in May that it was unhappy with harassment on its site and survey data showed its users were also upset about the behavior. The company apologized and said it would do a better job of communicating with moderators and users.

Early this year Reddit said it would remove photos, videos or links that featured explicit content if the person in the image didn't give permission for it to be posted. That came months after hackers obtained nude photos of Jennifer Lawrence and other celebrities and posted them to Reddit, among other social media sites.

Huffman co-founded Reddit in 2005 with Alexis Ohanian. Conde Nast acquired Reddit the following year, and both Huffman and Ohanian left the company in October 2009. Ohanian returned as San Francisco-based Reddit's executive chairman in November.  

Before becoming Reddit's CEO, Pao had worked for a storied Silicon Valley venture capital firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. She lost a high-profile gender discrimination lawsuit against Kleiner Perkins in March that brought up issues of the gender imbalance and difficulties faced by women working in Silicon Valley.

Police were investigating a fatal motorcycle crash after a biker reportedly collided with an SUV at Montgomery and Dale streets just before 7:30 p.m. Friday.

CHICOPEE — Police were investigating a fatal crash involving a motorcycle and an SUV at Montgomery and Dale streets shortly before 7:30 p.m. Friday.

The intersection was closed and an accident reconstruction team was on scene, according to Chicopee Police Officer Michael Wilk, the department's public information officer.

"Please avoid this area so officers can reconstruct the accident. We will update when we have additional info," Wilk said in a Facebook message.

MassLive / The Republican will provide more details as information becomes available.

MAP showing approximate location of fatal crash:

Preliminary police reports indicated up to six teenagers were involved in an armed robbery near Primo's Pizza, 824 Worthington St., early Friday evening, July 10.

SPRINGFIELD — A report of a gun-to-the-head robbery near a Worthington Street pizzeria triggered a heavy law enforcement response from city, state and even Amtrak police after some of the suspects fled toward the railroad tracks between Taylor and Liberty streets.

At least a dozen police units swarmed the Taylor Street area early Friday evening, with a few more cruisers on the other side of the tracks on Liberty, after a male victim told police a group of teenagers stole his scooter and threatened him with a gun near Primo's Pizza around 6:20 p.m.

By 6:30 p.m., police said they had one suspect in custody as they searched for several more. Preliminary police reports indicated about six teens, at least one of whom was armed with a black, 9 mm-style handgun, were involved in the robbery. The victim's scooter was recovered, according to police reports.

From the crime scene near the pizza parlor, the suspects ran down Kibbe Avenue toward Taylor Street and entered the wooded area by the train tracks. That's where police seemed to focus their attention, while crowds gathered to watch the drama unfold.

"The victim, at this time, had a gun put to his head," said one of the first responding officers.

The victim was seen talking on a cellphone as he waited in the back seat of a police cruiser parked on Armory Street between Taylor and Genesee streets.

The investigation is being handled by the Springfield Police Department's Major Crimes Unit. Anyone with information about the crime is asked to call detectives at 413-787-6355 or text a tip to CRIMES.

MAP showing area where armed robbery was reported:

Someone else's sex tape is proving to be costly for 50 Cent: A jury ordered the rapper-actor Friday to pay $5 million to a woman who said he acquired a video she made with her boyfriend, added himself as a crude commentator and posted it online without her permission.

NEW YORK -- Someone else's sex tape is proving to be costly for 50 Cent: A jury ordered the rapper-actor Friday to pay $5 million to a woman who said he acquired a video she made with her boyfriend, added himself as a crude commentator and posted it online without her permission.

And the Manhattan jurors are set to continue deliberating next week on possible further, punitive damages in Lastonia Leviston's invasion-of-privacy lawsuit against the multiplatinum-selling "Get Rich or Die Tryin'" artist.

Attorney William A. Brewer III says 50 Cent and his legal team are "disappointed in the verdict but very appreciative of the service of the jury and the court." Leviston's lawyer, Philip Freidin, declined to comment on the award, first reported by the Daily News of New York.

The lawsuit stems from a 13-minute video that appeared online in 2009 featuring a wig-wearing 50 Cent as a narrator dubbed Pimpin' Curly. The character made explicit remarks about Leviston and taunted rap rival Rick Ross, who wasn't in the video but has a daughter with Leviston. At the time the video surfaced, Ross and 50 Cent were trading barbs via video, lyrics and interviews.

50 Cent got the 2008 tape from the man in it, Leviston's boyfriend at the time. The rapper and his lawyers said that 50 Cent didn't actually post the video but that Leviston's then-boyfriend said she wouldn't mind if he did, and he thought that would suffice.

The Pimpin' Curly character was just "joking" by referring to Leviston as a "porn star," 50 Cent said during sworn pre-trial questioning that was played for the jury, according to news reports. He didn't testify at the trial.

But Leviston, of Pembroke Pines, Florida, said she was horrified and humiliated when the video appeared online.

"This was something done to me. I didn't have a choice. I would never, ever do this to myself," she testified, according to news reports.

Born Curtis Jackson, 50 Cent burst to the fore of gangsta rap with 2003's "Get Rich or Die Tryin,'" its lead single, "In Da Club," and a tough life story that included being shot nine times.

Now 40, he's also a businessman -- his interests have ranged from mining to water drinks -- and an actor whose credits include the Starz network action series "Power" and the upcoming boxing movie "Southpaw."