An open meeting was held Sunday night to discuss issues of sexual assault and abuse.

AMHERST -- Amherst College President Carolyn “Biddy” Martin is making it clear that sexual violence and misconduct will not be tolerated on campus.

Martin wrote a letter to the college community in response to a first-person account of an alleged May, 2011 campus rape written by former student Angie Epifano that appeared in the Amherst Student Wednesday. The story also detailed Epifano's attempts to get help from the campus.

Martin called the account "horrifying."

Changes in disciplinary procedures

Martin, who became college president in the summer of 2011, wrote, "[I]n response to [Epifano's] story still more accounts of unreported sexual violence have appeared in social media postings and in emails I have received from several students and alumni."

She continued: "Clearly, the administration’s responses to reports have left survivors feeling that they were badly served. That must change, and change immediately. I am investigating the handling of the incident that was recounted in The Student. There will be consequences for any problems we identify, either with procedures or personnel."

Martin's letter outlined several changes to the school's disciplinary hearing process. The changes, approved earlier this year by the College Council and Committee of Six, are specific to sexual misconduct:

In the past, Martin said, both the person accused and the accuser had to to gather information on their own to support their case. "That was deeply problematic," she said.

Now, the campus is using a trained investigator to meet with the complainant, respondent, and relevant witnesses to gather evidence and prepare a report for distribution to the two parties and the discipline committee. "Using an investigator permits a more complete investigation and lessens the burden on the complainant and the respondent in preparing their respective cases," she wrote.

Martin, who is the first female president of the college that became co-ed in 1975, said she learned there had been problems with existing policies last year after meeting with faculty and staff about the campus.

"Quite a number of students thought the sexual assault policies were in need of improvement and change," she said.

Forum held; next steps outlined

On Sunday night, three days before the Amherst Student story appeared, Martin held an open meeting about issues related sexual assault to abuse, prompted by outcry over a cartoon printed on t-shirt distributed by a fraternity last year.

The shirt depicted a scantily clad woman being roasted on a spit over a fire. In the foreground stood an anthropomorphized pig smoking a cigar. The t-shirt's slogan read, "Roasting Fat Ones Since 1847."

Students felt the issues sparked from that cartoon were not adequately addressed and "were linking it to problems of the lack of respect for women and sexual misconduct," Martin said.

At the end of Sunday's meeting participants agreed upon a number of "action steps," including:

• Student membership on the Title IX committee.


• Enhanced communication about the changes that are in play.


• Improvements in support for survivors of sexual assault.


• A review of penalties for those found responsible for sexual misconduct and assault.


• Student representation on the Student Life working group that will be part of the College’s strategic planning effort.


• Consideration of the regulation or disbanding of off-campus fraternities as part of the longer term strategic planning discussion.

"What's happening here is students are empowering themselves to speak out about it. We will do everything possible to educate and try and change a culture so we can be on the prevention side," she said.

"I'm an at an age of where it’s both shocking and unsurprising that in 2012 we’re still fighting battles that have been fought for a long time.” And the battle is “far from gone."

Story goes viral

Meanwhile word of the Amherst Student story has gone viral on the Internet.

A story on the t-shirt and sexual violence was reported on the Huffington Post earlier Friday.

More than a dozen pages of comments have been posted in response to Angie Epifano’s, story on the Amherst Student site.

According to the Clery Report which requires intuitions to provide a security report yearly, there were 15 forcible sex offenses reported on campus in 2011, up from 14 the year before and seven in 2009.

But those are only the reported numbers. Martin, who has been at two institutions previously, knows the problems are not unique to the campus.

Still, she is speaking out publicly to address it.

“I think acknowledging problems…one has a better chance of making this better than staying silent,” she said.

Mayor Domenic Sarno appointed Joseph Conant as interim fire commissioner in January after the retirement of Gary Cassanelli.

Jerrold Prendergast

SPRINGFIELD – Deputy Fire Chief Jerrold E. Prendergast urged Mayor Domenic J. Sarno this week to move forward with the search and selection of a new, permanent fire commissioner, saying the current nine-month delay has left the department “at least in an unsettled state.”

Prendergast, who serves as the Fire Department’s chief of administration, said in a two-page letter to Sarno that the search process should begin “sooner rather than later” to find a replacement for former Fire Commissioner Gary Cassanelli, who retired in January.

“In my opinion, our department under the current circumstances, is at least in an unsettled state due to the reality of not having not only the position of Commissioner unfilled, but also due to the fact that by not having this position filled on a permanent basis, other lesser but important department positions are being left in an state of flux,” Prendergast said.

Sarno was not immediately available for comment on Prendergast’s letter.

Sarno, while not yet making the permanent appointment, did immediately appoint an acting commissioner, Joseph A. Conant, in a move that appeared to bypass Prendergast.

Just weeks earlier, the state Civil Service Commission issued a ruling that sharply criticized upper management in the Fire Department for its hiring practices, saying Prendergast was improperly involved in a 2010 selection process that resulted in his own son being hired as a firefighter. Cassanelli defended Prendergast at the time.

Prendergast, in his letter this week, alleges that Conant does not meet minimum requirements for fire commissioner under city ordinance.

Under ordinance, the commissioner “shall have had at least seven years’ experience as a deputy fire chief, or equivalent rank, in a federal, state or local fire department, or equivalent body of experience in the private sector,” the law reads. In addition, the commissioner must have a master’s degree “in a field related to his or her duties from an accredited institutions of higher learning or an equivalent degree,” the ordinance states.

Prendergast said he believes the commissioner position could attract a significant number of candidates.

This is a developing story. It will be updated as our reporting continues.

A day after the league turned down three counter proposals from players, the NHL wiped out the third week of the season on Friday.

Pittsburgh Pengiuns' Sidney Crosby, center, stands with Dan Cleary, left, of the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Blackhawks' Jonathan Toews, right, as they listen to NHLPA executive director Donald Fehr speak to journalists during a news conference following collective bargaining talks with the league in Toronto on Thursday, Oct. 18, 2012. AP Photo

NEW YORK (AP) — The NHL has canceled more games while holding out hope it can squeeze in a full regular-season schedule.

A day after the league turned down three counter proposals from players, the NHL wiped out the third week of the season on Friday.

A total of 135 games through Nov. 1 have been canceled, which amounts to 11 percent of the season.

In its third lockout since 1994, the NHL is sticking to its most recent proposal that stated a full 82-game-per-team schedule could be played if the season begins by Nov. 2. The league says a deal must be reached with the union by Thursday for that to happen.

Two weeks ago, the league called off 82 games from Oct. 11- 24, and another 53 were canceled Friday.

No new talks have been scheduled.

Springfield Treasurer-Collector Stephen Lonergan and Palmer Treasurer-Collector Paul Nowicki are 2 of 4 finalists to replace Gregory Kallfa.

WESTFIELD — Springfield Treasurer-Collector Stephen J. Lonergan and Palmer’s Treasurer-Collector Paul A. Nowicki are two of four finalists for the job of city treasurer here.

Also in the running are Meghan C. Miller, assistant controller at Appleton Corporation in Holyoke, and Kathleen Cooley, a fiscal manager at the New England Farm Workers' Council fuel assistance program.

The treasurer appointment is with the authority of the City Council, which is expected to take action at its Nov. 1 meeting.

Gregory Kallfa

Westfield Treasurer Gregory I. Kallfa announced last year his plan to retire next month after 30 years in the position.

Finalists were interviewed this week by the council’s Personal Action Committee. Chairman Brent B. Bean II said the committee will meet next week to decide on its recommendation to the full council for appointment.

“This pool represents very highly qualified applicants for the treasurer position,” Bean said.

That characterization was shared by fellow City Councilor Brian P. Sullivan.

“Each candidate is extremely well qualified. It will be a difficult decision, but we are pretty lucky to have this caliber of experience to consider,.” said the third Personal Action Committee member, Ward 3 Councilor Anne W. Callahan.

Lonergan has served as Springfield’s treasurer-collector since 2005. He holds a bachelor of science and master’s degree in business administration from Bentley College. Prior to his current position, Lonergan worked in the mortgage and insurance industry.

Nowicki is a former treasurer-collector in Ware, Southwick and Watertown. He has been treasurer in Palmer since 2010 and holds a bachelor's degree in marketing and finance from Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts.

Miller has a bachelor of arts degree in accounting and Spanish from St. Anselm College in New Hampshire. She has held her current position as assistant controller since June, and prior to that was employed as a senior auditor since 2006 at Wolf & Company in Springfield.

Cooley holds a bachelor's degree in business administration and accounting and a master’s degree in public administration from American International College. She has served as fiscal manager at the New England Farm Workers' Council since 2008, and she served as interim assistant treasurer for the city of West Springfield from 2005 to 2007.

The four candidates were selected from a field of 17 applicants. The job posting did not list a salary, which officials said will be based on experience. Kallfa currently earns about $78,000 annually.

Police here believe the same person is responsible for three purse snatchings reported between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. Thursday evening -- two on Boston Road and the third on Breckwood Boulevard.

SPRINGFIELD -- Police here believe the same man is responsible for three purse snatchings reported between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m. Thursday evening -- two on Boston Road and the third on Breckwood Boulevard.

Sgt. John Delaney, aide the Police Commissioner William J. Fitchet, said the first incident took place in the parking lot of the Hot Table at 455 Breckwood Blvd. at 7:05 p.m.

The 22-year old female victim was walking through the parking lot when a white male about 6 feet to 6 feet, 3 inches tall, wearing baggy, black clothing, and described as having a neck tattoo allegedly took her purse and fled down Breckwood, Delaney said.

The second incident occurred 15 minutes later in the parking lot of Petco at
1694 Boston Road, where a man matching the description of the alleged purse snatcher in the Breckwood incident tried grabbing a woman's purse.

"Witnesses observed the criminal get into a dark colored late model Toyota or Mazda," Delaney said.

The third incident too place at 7:50 p.m. near the intersection of Boston Road and Glenwood Street. The female victim was at a bus stop when a man matching the previous descriptions struck her in the face and ripped her purse from her shoulder, Delaney said.

The woman was sitting with her young daughter at the time. The man then fled into the parking lot where witnesses observed him getting into an older model red vehicle with a loud muffler, Delaney said .

Delaney advised that "females carrying purses should be reminded to be aware of their surroundings in the Boston Road area and to keep their pocketbooks and purses in the trunk of their cars when shopping."

View Scenes of Thursday's purse snatchings in a larger map

The two presidential rivals will face off in their 3rd and final debate on Monday night.

President Barack Obama and Republican presidential candidate and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney participate in the second presidential debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, N.Y., Tuesday, Oct. 16, 2012.

Going into Monday night's third and final presidential debate, the latest Gallup seven-day tracking poll of likely voters shows Republican challenger Mitt Romney holding a 7 percentage point lead over President Barack Obama at 52 percent to 45 percent.

Gallup's likely voter procedures involve asking poll respondents seven separate questions about their interest in the coming election, their past voting behavior, and their current intention to vote in the coming election.

Frank Newport, editor-in-chief of Gallup, speaking to the Washington Post, cautioned the results may not fully reflect the outcome of Tuesday's second presidential debate.

“I think we’re still seeing leftover positive support for Romney and I don’t think we’re seeing impact yet from the second debate,” Newport said.

Statistician Nate Silver argued in the New York Times that Gallup's numbers are off and the race is much closer, as other polls have indicated.

There are 18 days remaining until the Nov. 6 election.

The Minutemen have tough sledding in their immediate future, but wins could be hiding at the end of the schedule.

Katie Bateman & Abigail Ayotte raise a sign showing their support for UMass. J. Anthony Roberts

FOXBOROUGH — 0-9. That’s essentially what the University of Massachusetts football team is staring at right now.

No, I didn’t misread the record. I’m aware the Minutemen are currently just 0-7.

But let’s face reality, there is very little chance UMass is winning on the road against Vanderbilt, an SEC opponent, or Northern Illinois, which ranks somewhere between one and three in the Mid-American Conference depending on who you ask.

I’m not saying this to tear UMass down. To steal a line from the coach of Gillette Stadium’s most prominent tenant, “It is what it is.”

And “what it is” is not very good right now. We saw that today. Progression has turned into regression. A team that came within a sniff of beating a now-ranked opponent has gone from confident on offense to impotent.

The losses of the likes of wide receiver Alan Williams and tight end Rob Blanchflower hurt. The loss of right guard Nick Speller hurts the most.

What it also is, though, is a situation that could improve.

Allow me to explain.

UMass has two options in the next two weeks. It can allow Vanderbilt and Northern Illinois to beat them into a pulp, and spend the rest of the season sleepwalking.

Or, the Minutemen can focus on what’s really important, not worry for one second about the score for the next two weeks, and figure out how to turn those games into teaching tools that will get them close to where they were three weeks ago.

The reason it’s worth improving is the three winnable games that lie at the end of the schedule. Akron’s defense is downright atrocious. Buffalo’s offense is nearly as bad. Central Michigan seemingly can’t go five minutes without turning the ball over, and has a coach that may or may not be employed when the Chippewas ship out to Foxborough for the season finale.

Two of those games are at home (Buffalo and Central Michigan).

The goal has to be respectability at this point. We thought Charley Molnar and Co. had gotten there three weeks ago.

Turns out we were wrong.

0-12 is not respectable. 1-11 isn’t really either, but at least you’re not the butt of every joke. 2-10, after an 0-9 start, is respectable as far as I’m concerned. The Minutemen didn’t design their conference schedule. The fact that their three weakest opponents are also their final three is no fault of theirs. If UMass can get back to the level it was at against Miami (Ohio) and Ohio it has a very good chance to win two of those final three games.

Maybe I’m wrong. Maybe UMass springs a monumental upset in the next two weeks, and I look like a fool (it wouldn’t be the first time). But if I’m Charley Molnar, I do whatever it takes to put my team in position to win its final three games. If that means resting guys the next couple of weeks, so be it. If that means holding plays back, so be that too.

I know for a fact Molnar doesn’t care what I think — he shouldn’t quite frankly. But it’s not a stretch to say 2-10 looks a heck of a lot better to recruits than 0-12, and ultimately, that’s what this team needs right now — to build a nucleus of young players that can, in three years or so, be competitive in the MAC.

It also helps on the home front. A winless season does nothing but increase the volume of the voices that believe the move to the FBS and MAC was a mistake.

0-9 is where they’re headed almost assuredly.

What happens after that could very well be determined by what happens in the next two weeks. And what happens in the season’s homestretch, could go a long way toward the future.

The woman was being treated for gunshot wounds and was in critical condition, as was a 6-year-old boy with a gunshot wound to the pelvis and a 7-year-old girl with a gunshot wound to the chest, according to a department statement.

Inglewood emergency personnel respond to the scene where a man, wearing a mask, set a duplex on fire and then shot five members of a family on Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012 in Inglewood, Calif. A father and his 4-year-old son were killed and a woman and two other young children were wounded by the gunman, authorities said. A 6-year-old boy and a 7-year-old girl were in critical condition, Inglewood Police Chief Mark Fronterotta said. The woman, said to be the children's mother, was being treated for gunshot wounds to the knee and pelvis. An 8-year-old boy was uninjured. Associated Press

The Associated Press

INGLEWOOD, Calif. — Police searched for a gunman who wore a painter's mask as he set fire to a home before going on a shooting spree early Saturday, killing a father and his 4-year-old son and injuring a woman and two other young children near Los Angeles.

The 30-year-old father was shielding two of his children when he was shot, Inglewood Police Chief Mark Fronterotta said.

Also, the 28-year-old woman — said to be the children's mother — carried the wounded 4-year-old to a neighbor's yard after the attack.

"This extraordinary rescue attempt by the mother occurred in spite of the fact that she had gunshot wounds to both legs," a police department statement said.

A SWAT team has set up a perimeter and was using dogs to search for the attacker, who may have lived in a rear house on the property, Fronterotta said.

Police have no motive. But a neighbor, Judy Castellanos, told the Los Angeles Times that the suspect lived in one of three units on the property and described him as "really weird" and "dangerous." She said he had not paid his rent for years and that a new property owner had been trying to evict him.

"He had been asked to leave by the end of this month," she told the newspaper, adding that he was reclusive and would not let anyone look inside his home.

Five neighboring houses in Inglewood were evacuated as officers searched residences and the trunks of cars. Other nearby residents were told to remain inside with their doors locked. The suspect was described as armed and dangerous.

Detectives determined the suspect set the house ablaze at about 4 a.m. before he began shooting, Fronterotta said.

He apparently wore a painter's mask during the attack to try to shield his identity, the chief said. Investigators were trying to determine whether he fled or remained in the house as it burned.

Television footage showed a home gutted by flames and a plume of smoke rising over the residential neighborhood early Saturday.

The woman was being treated for gunshot wounds and was in critical condition, as was a 6-year-old boy with a gunshot wound to the pelvis and a 7-year-old girl with a gunshot wound to the chest, according to a department statement.

The father died in surgery, as did the 4-year-old boy.

An 8-year-old boy was uninjured.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who issued a statement praising the military for enforcing the blockade, said there "is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza" and accused the activists of trying to "to provoke and slander Israel's name."

This photo released by the Israel Defense Forces, shows the Swedish-owned, Finnish-flagged boat, Estelle as it near the waters off the Gaza Strip Saturday Oct 20, 2012. Israeli naval vessels thwarted the advance of a pro-Palestinian boat attempting to reach Gaza on Saturday in defiance of Israel's blockade of the territory, the military said. Associated Press

DIAA HADID
Associated Press

JERUSALEM — Israeli troops on Saturday commandeered a Gaza-bound ship that tried to break through Israel's blockade of the Hamas-ruled seaside strip, the military said. European lawmakers and other pro-Palestinian activists aboard did not resist, and the Finnish-flagged vessel was diverted to an Israeli port.

The trip by the ship, Estelle, marked the latest challenge to the air, land and sea embargo of Gaza that Israel imposed after the Islamic militant Hamas group seized the territory in 2007. Israeli officials say they need to enforce the blockade to prevent weapons smuggling.

Hamas called for more attempts to break the sea blockade.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who issued a statement praising the military for enforcing the blockade, said there "is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza" and accused the activists of trying to "to provoke and slander Israel's name."

"If human rights were really important to these activists they would have sailed for Syria. We will continue to protect our borders," he said.

Six Israeli naval vessels stopped the Estelle when it was about 30 nautical miles from Gaza, and masked soldiers boarder the ship and ordered it to sail to Israel's Ashdod port, said Victoria Strand, a spokeswoman for the activists. The boat arrived at the port Saturday night and will be inspected to see what is on board, the Israeli military said.

The activists will be questioned by immigration officials and then deported to their home countries within 72 hours, said Sabine Hadad, spokeswoman for Israel's Interior Ministry.

The Swedish-owned Estelle left Naples, Italy, on Oct. 7 with about 30 people from eight countries, including lawmakers from Norway, Sweden, Greece and Spain, as well as Israeli activists and a 79-year-old former legislator from Canada.

Israeli military spokeswoman Lt. Avital Leibovich accused the activists of staging a provocation.

"We have this blockade because there are constant smuggling attempts of weapons, munitions that eventually reach the hands of terror organizations inside Gaza," she said.

Over the past decade, Gaza militants have fired thousands of rockets and mortar rounds toward Israeli border towns.

Although Hamas and Israel have maintained an unwritten truce for more than two years, violence occasionally flares in the area. Most recently, an Israeli strike on a prominent al-Qaida-inspired jihadi prompted two days of tit-for-tat rocket fire and strikes last week.

Strand, a spokeswoman for the activists, said the takeover of the Estelle by Israeli forces was a "demonstration of ruthlessness."

The ship was carrying cement, basketballs and musical instruments, Strand said. It was emblazoned with "Ship to Gaza" on one side, and also flew the colorful red, green, black and white Palestinian flag.

Israel, aided by Egypt, closed Gaza's borders after Hamas seized control and drove out forces loyal to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas more than five years ago. Israel eased its restrictions after its raid of a Turkish-led blockade-busting flotilla in 2010 left nine activists dead and sparked international condemnation.

Still, Israel continues to block sea access to Gaza and severely restricts its ability to export goods and import raw materials.

Activists say the blockade amounts to collective punishment of Gaza's 1.6 million residents, denying them the chance to trade and travel freely. Neighboring Egypt continues to impose restrictions at its passenger crossing with Gaza.

The blockade has deepened the hardships in Gaza, where three in four residents rely on U.N. food aid to get by, according to U.N. figures.

"It's hard to imagine what threat one sailboat, loaded with humanitarian supplies and a small number of people, could do to" Israel's mighty military, said Eva Manly, the wife of former Canadian parliamentarian James Manly. She said she lost contact with her 79-year-old husband early Saturday.

Israeli Defense Ministry spokesman Joshua Hantman said the goods onboard would be checked before entering Gaza through the Israeli-controlled land crossing, Kerem Shalom. He said Israel allows some 50,000 tons of goods into Gaza every week. Gaza residents also use dozens of smuggling tunnels linked to neighboring Egypt to bring in contraband goods, particularly construction materials.

Hantman said militants have tried in the past to smuggle weapons into Gaza by sea. In 2011, a vessel carrying 50 tons of weaponry sought to reach Gaza, while in 2009, a boat tried to bring in some 500 tons of weapons, he said.

A Hamas spokesman condemned Israel's actions as "piracy."

"This confirms that the (Israeli) occupation is maintaining its control and isolation of Gaza. There must be more flotillas of solidarity activists to Gaza," said Fawzi Barhoum.

Associated Press writers Ibrahim Barzak in Gaza City and Karl Ritter in Stockholm contributed to this report.

Moussa Ibrahim was said to have been captured while trying to flee the city, a claim he vehemently denied in the recording.

In this Friday, July 29, 2011 file photo, Libyan government spokesman Moussa Ibrahim talks during a press conference concerning the death of Abdel-Fattah Younis, in Tripoli, Libya. The Libyan government on Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012 announced the capture of Moammar Gadhafi's ex-spokesman, Moussa Ibrahim, as he was trying to flee Bani Walid, as the oil-rich North African nation marked the anniversary of the ousted dictator's death. Bani Walid has been the site of fierce fighting between pro-government forces and fighters holed up in what was once a stronghold for Gadhafi supporters. Associated Press

PAUL SCHEMM
Associated Press

TRIPOLI, Libya — The Libyan government said Saturday that its forces had detained one of the key members of Moammar Gadhafi's inner circle, but a recording purported to be the slain leader's former spokesman denied the claim in an online posting and said he's not even in the country.

The dueling reports, neither of which could be independently verified, came on the anniversary of the capture and killing of Gadhafi as a brutal civil war came to an end. The confusion reflected the turmoil that has persisted over the past year, leaving the oil-rich North African nation deeply divided.

The anniversary of Gadhafi's death comes as a battle over Bani Walid underscores the challenges facing the country, which is awash with weapons and militias that remain largely out of control of the weak central government.

Moussa Ibrahim was said to have been captured while trying to flee the city, a claim he vehemently denied in the recording.

Bani Walid, some 90 miles southeast of Tripoli, was the last major city in Libya to fall to the uprising, thanks in part to its protected location in a valley near the mountains. Over the past year, it has seen periodic violence and emerged as the most significant town in Libya still resisting the country's new authorities since Gadhafi was slain near his hometown of Sirte last year.

"We've lost too many people in Bani Walid and we are still losing them so I don't think it's time for a celebration," said Abdessalem Mahfoud, a local neighborhood council member in Tripoli.

The turmoil in Libya, which overthrew Gadhafi last year with the help of NATO airstrikes, has become a campaign issue in the U.S. presidential race after an attack on the U.S. consulate in the eastern city of Benghazi killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.

For many who fought against Gadhafi, the new Libya cannot be born until the last vestiges of the old regime, fugitives like Ibrahim and towns like Bani Walid, have been routed.

"I don't think things are really moving in the right direction until we finish with Bani Walid because it is stopping us from making a new Libya," said Abdel-Basit al-Mzirig, a former deputy justice minister and now on Libya's human rights council.

A statement from the prime minister office said that Ibrahim was caught at a checkpoint outside Bani Walid while trying to flee a recent uptick in fighting over the town and would be taken to Tripoli for questioning.

However, the government produced no proof of its claim and hours later, Ibrahim had not been seen in public. State television did briefly show a photograph of a man in a hospital bed with a bandaged shoulder which they labeled as the former spokesman, but the veracity of the photo could also not be confirmed.

The urbane, English-speaking Ibrahim became the face of the regime in its final months and was the most well-known former regime figure to remain unaccounted for after Gadhafi's son and heir-apparent Seif al-Islam was taken late last year. The regime's former intelligence chief Abdullah al-Senoussi was later detained in Mauritania and extradited to Libya.

It is not clear what charges Ibrahim might face, but officials in the past have suggested he might be accused of incitement and disseminating false information.

The seven-minute recording, which was posted on Ibrahim's Facebook page, rejected the reports that he had been captured, as well as rumors about the detention of Gadhafi's son Khamis, who was reportedly killed last year.

"We are outside of Libya. We have no relations with Bani Walid and no contact with it. We are nowhere near Bani Walid," he said.

Libyans have failed to overcome deep enmities between those who fought to overthrow Gadhafi and former loyalists of the late leader, whose eccentric and brutal rule focused on pitting tribes against one another.

Al-Mzirig said many remnants of the old regime are still working inside the government and only after they have been removed will the country fulfill the promises of the uprising, which began in February 2011 as part of the Arab Spring wave of revolts that swept the Middle East but quickly morphed into a civil war.

This attitude, common among many who fought in the uprising, bodes ill for future efforts to bring rival groups together.

In the year since Gadhafi's death, conflicts have broken out around the country, and despite the unprecedented election of a 200-person national assembly, the central government is weak and power remains with the armed groups that sprung up with the rebellion.

A hard-line Islamist militia in Benghazi, Ansar al-Shariah, is widely believed to have been behind the Sept. 11 attack on the U.S. consulate, although it has denied responsibility.

These groups, especially the armed militias, have often pursued their own agendas, some dating back to longstanding feuds inside a country Gadhafi controlled unchecked for more than four decades.

After Gadhafi was killed, the former rebels negotiated a takeover of the Bani Walid and then looted it, prompting the angry citizens to form their own militia and throw out their new rulers in January.

The tensions boiled over when one of the rebels celebrated for being among those who captured Gadhafi, Omran Shaaban, was captured and allegedly tortured by the Bani Walid militia.

He later died in a French hospital and stencils of his name and face can be seen painted on buildings in Tripoli. As the militias gathered for revenge, the government authorized them to retrieve those responsible for the killing, setting the stage for the current siege.

"We are protecting Libya because there are pro-Gadhafi people in Bani Walid. There are many wanted people there — they are devils," said Omar Saleh, a militiamen with the Libyan Shield manning the Umm Rashrash checkpoint 60 kilometers (40 miles) from Bani Walid. "We haven't started to bombard them yet — we could if we wanted — but we are afraid of hitting civilians."

Libya is still building a national army and transitional authorities depended heavily on ex-rebel forces such as Libya Shield to secure the country.

The civilians, meanwhile, streamed out of the town as the steady thump of heavy machine guns could be heard from miles away.

They said the main road was blocked but they had taken dirt roads through olive groves toward the nearby town of Tarhouna.

Trucks piled high with mattresses and filled with children and women wearing all-encompassing robes were searched by the militia before being sent on their way.

"I left Bani Walid at 5 a.m. There is random shelling there and people are dying, including women and children," Ghaith Hadi Ghaith said as he waited for his car to be inspected. "There is nothing to eat or drink."

He said the shooting was coming from all sides. He claimed the city only had 150 to 160 pro-Gadhafi people, but that was hotly disputed by the militiamen who said there was a list of 400 wanted figures from the old regime and hundreds more gunmen.

The UN representative to Libya Tarek Mitri called for a mediated settlement, urging all involved to abide by "international humanitarian principles" and avoid targeting civilian areas.

According to hospital official in Misrata who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media, said 14 Libya Shield fighters were killed in Saturday's fighting and 120 wounded.

Associated Press writers Esam Mohamed in Tripoli and Sarah El Deeb in Cairo contributed to this report.

Hamas prevented voting in the Gaza Strip and boycotted the contest in the West Bank, arguing that elections can only be held once Hamas and Fatah reconcile. "We ask to stop this disgrace," said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum, dismissing Saturday's vote as meaningless.

Palestinian women wait to cast their votes at a polling station in the West Bank town of Kabatyeh, near Jenin, Saturday, Oct. 20, 2012. Palestinians voted for mayors and local councils in 93 communities across the West Bank on Saturday, their first chance to cast ballots in six years. Associated Press

KARIN LAUB and
MOHAMMED DARAGHMEH
Associated Press

RAMALLAH, West Bank — Palestinians voted for local councils in dozens of West Bank towns Saturday, but Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his Fatah movement didn't get the sweeping endorsement they hoped for — even as archrival Hamas boycotted the vote.

Turnout was just under 55 percent, reflecting voter apathy, and in several key towns, Fatah renegades won more council seats than candidates endorsed by Abbas' party, election officials said.

The toxic rivalry between Fatah and the Islamic militant Hamas also loomed large over the first Palestinian ballot in six years. The political rift, which broke open after Hamas seized Gaza from Abbas in 2007, made it unlikely Saturday's vote will be followed anytime soon by overdue elections for parliament and president.

Hamas prevented voting in the Gaza Strip and boycotted the contest in the West Bank, arguing that elections can only be held once Hamas and Fatah reconcile. "We ask to stop this disgrace," said Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum, dismissing Saturday's vote as meaningless.

Saeb Erekat, a senior Abbas aide, countered that "Hamas cannot have a veto on democracy." Critics say the group banned voting in Gaza to prevent largely vanquished rivals, particularly from Fatah, from gaining a new foothold there.

The election was held at a time when Abbas' Palestinian Authority, a self-rule government in parts of the Israeli-controlled West Bank, is facing a slew of difficulties.

It is mired in a chronic cash crisis and has struggled to cover the government payroll. Efforts to heal the Palestinian political split have failed. And prospects are virtually nil for resuming meaningful talks with Israel on setting up a Palestinian state in the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem, the territories Israel captured in 1967.

"Fatah has been suffering two big crises, the failure of the peace process and the failure of the government to provide salaries and proper services," said analyst Bassem Zbaidi. "It resorted to the elections to get legitimacy, but the movement did not do well in the elections."

Some 505,000 voters were eligible to choose new councils in 93 towns and villages in the West Bank, picking from lists of candidates rather than individuals. In an additional 179 communities, residents reached power-sharing deals, many brokered by clan leaders, and decided to forgo elections.

In another 82 villages, there were no candidates, said election official Fareed Tomallah.

Polls opened at 7 a.m. (0500 GMT) and closed 12 hours later.

With nearly all of the votes counted, the official Fatah list won 10 out of 15 seats in the West Bank's largest city, Hebron, election officials said. However, Fatah renegades did better than the movement's official candidates in the cities of Nablus and Ramallah, as well as the town of Jenin, the officials said.

Fatah, once the dominant Palestinian movement, has been plagued by infighting for years, and it was not unusual for those who failed to get on Fatah's official lists to compete against their party colleagues.

While Saturday's vote to some extent measures the standing of Fatah, clan loyalties also play a major role in local elections.

Some Palestinians said there was no point in voting. "People are crushed by heavy burdens," said Mohammed Nasser, a 25-year-old accountant in the city of Ramallah. "Would these elections solve our problems? Of course not."

Local council elections were last held in the West Bank and Gaza in several stages in 2004 and 2005, and Hamas won control of a number of main cities at the time. This was followed by presidential elections in January 2005, with Abbas chosen to replace Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat who had died two months earlier. In January 2006, Hamas defeated Fatah by a large margin in parliamentary elections.

After the Hamas takeover of Gaza in June 2007, the political rift became insurmountable. The rivals set up separate governments in the West Bank and Gaza, which are to make up the bulk of a Palestinian state, and failed to agree on terms for holding new elections.

Elected politicians in both camps have been losing support because they have overstayed their mandates.

"There is no leadership now, either in the West Bank or Gaza, that can claim legitimacy in any meaningful sense," said Khaled Elgindy at the Brookings Institution, a Washington think tank.

At the same time, holding general elections in just the West Bank or Gaza was not seen as an option because it would cement the split.

In calling local elections in the West Bank, Fatah hoped to renew voter support, without appearing to harden the rift with Gaza. Abbas praised Saturday's vote as a "good beginning" and said he hoped local elections would be held soon in Gaza and east Jerusalem.

The West Bank voting was one of the few remaining options for Abbas, whose various strategies have run into dead ends.

"They are flailing in all directions," Nathan Brown, an analyst at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, said of the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank. "They can't go to the international community for financial support. They can't do (general) elections. They can't do reconciliation. So (they say) let's at least do municipal elections."

Skurko said the day's temperatures did not break the record of 81 degrees but were about 10 degrees warmer than average.

SPRINGFIELD - Though Saturday's high temperatures didn't break any records, the unseasonable warmth drove people outdoors and attendance up at local parks.

"I had to pull out some of the summer clothes I stored away," said Lucy Diaz, 21, who joined what appeared to be a couple of impromptu volley ball games at a field in Forest Park.

Similarly, Dean Nigrosh, 34, said he tweaked his resolve to begin teaching his 4-year-old son to ride a two-wheeler in the spring.

"He wasn't quite big enough over the summer and I didn't think we'd have enough opportunity to practice once the weather started getting cold ... but I couldn't resist when he asked me to go out with him today," Nigrosh said.

CBS 3 Springfield Meteorologist Mike Skurko said Saturday's high hit the mid-70s following a washout on Friday.

Skurko said the day's high did not break the record of 81 degrees but was about 10 degrees warmer than average.

"It should stay pretty sunny for a couple of days," Skurko said, adding that temperatures will dip back to "a more October-like" low 60s through Monday. The week is expected to remain consistently sunny, he said.

Skurko said a low pressure front that brought Friday's rain would typically exit to the east, but went north in that instance, bringing southerly winds with it.

While surveys have consistently shown most Americans support keeping abortion legal in certain circumstances, in many places it is hard and getting harder to get an abortion.

Dr. Marvin E. Buehner sits in an exam room at his clinic in Rapid City, S.D. Dr. Buehner was instrumental in overturning legislation in South Dakota banning abortions. While the majority of Dr. Buehner's work is delivering babies, he can perform pregnancy terminations only when there is a risk to the mother's life, Dr. Buehner said.

LINDSEY TANNER

CHICAGO — It's legal to get an abortion in America, but in many places it is hard and getting harder.

Just this year, 17 states set new limits on abortion; 24 did last year, according to the Guttmacher Institute, a pro-abortion rights nonprofit whose numbers are widely respected. In several states with the most restrictive laws, the number of abortions has fallen slightly, pleasing abortion opponents who say the laws are working.

Some of the states with the toughest laws are spread across a big middle swath of the country, stretching from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.

In South Dakota, which has just one abortion clinic, lawmakers want to extend the required waiting period from two days to three for women seeking to end a pregnancy. Next door in North Dakota, there's only one clinic. The same is true in Mississippi, where a new law threatens that lone clinic's existence. In several states, doctors now must warn women about purported risks from abortion that most scientists reject.

There are hurdles even in states like Illinois, where abortion laws are more lenient and clinics relatively plentiful.

Patients arriving for abortions at a Granite City, Ill., clinic can expect to find their photographs on an anti-abortion activist's website. And before her abortion in June, a Chicago woman says her own gynecologist refused to offer any advice, fearing that just mentioning abortion could endanger her job at a Catholic hospital.

"The level and scope of activity on abortion and family planning is completely unparalleled to anything we have seen before," said Elizabeth Nash, Guttmacher's states issues manager.

"The way people are attacking abortion is distressing because they are getting much more creative the way they're chipping away" at it, said Dr. Renee Mestad, an OB-GYN who provides abortions in upstate New York. Access to abortion isn't much of a problem there. But it was where she used to work in Missouri.

"The ideal thing would be that no one gets pregnant unless they're ready — that all pregnancies are desired pregnancies, but that's not what happens," Mestad said.

While surveys have consistently shown most Americans support keeping abortion legal in certain circumstances, many people's views are nuanced. A Gallup poll last month found nearly as many voters consider themselves "pro-life" as those who say they are "pro-choice."

And a new Gallup poll released Wednesday found that nearly 40 percent of female registered voters surveyed in 12 swing states consider abortion the most important election issue for women — even outranking jobs.

President Barack Obama supports access to abortion. GOP challenger Mitt Romney says Roe vs. Wade, the Supreme Court's nearly 40-year-old decision legalizing abortion, should be overturned, which would allow states to ban abortion.

Anti-abortion attorney Teresa Collett, a law professor at the University of St. Thomas in Minneapolis, says her ideal would be "to live in a country where abortion is not even really thinkable." She'd like to see Roe vs. Wade overturned, but even if it is, she said, the debate won't end because it would be up to states to ban abortion.

Some seem to be moving in that direction.

—More than 30 new abortion laws have been enacted this year, a record topped only by the unprecedented 92 laws last year.

—Most states — 41 — ban abortion after a certain stage of pregnancy, generally around 20 weeks, unless the mother's life or health is in danger. In many of those states, the bans are based on a challenged premise that fetuses that early can feel pain.

—Pre-abortion counseling is required in 35 states; 26 require waiting periods after counseling, and in 13 states, the counseling must warn women about alleged risks from abortion.

States within the nation's most restrictive region, the midsection, include North and South Dakota, which each have only one abortion clinic and have seen the number of abortions drop slightly since 2008.

And they include Texas, which has the most prescriptive counseling laws — requiring, among other things, that doctors tell women abortion is linked with breast cancer. A group of scientists convened by the National Cancer Institute in 2003 concluded abortion did not raise the risk of breast cancer.

A Texas law passed last year requires women to get an ultrasound and their doctors to describe the fetus. Texas abortions also have dropped every year since 2008.

Next door, in Oklahoma, state authorities are fighting court action blocking a law with similar requirements. Collett, the anti-abortion attorney, has helped Oklahoma defend the 2010 law. She says it might lead some women to change their minds.

While records from several states with restrictive laws show fewer abortions in recent years, whether there has been a true decline is uncertain. Not all states track the rate — the number of abortions per 1,000 women of reproductive age. Pregnancies are down, too, in many states, a development some experts link to a weak economy. The most recent national abortion statistics are from 2008. The trend shows the number and rate of abortions have generally leveled off after a long period of decline.

In South Dakota, a new law facing a legal challenge would impose a three-day waiting period. During that time, a woman would have to visit a crisis pregnancy center discouraging abortion. Utah is the only other state with a waiting period that long, but it doesn't require such specific counseling.

In July, a federal appeals court in South Dakota upheld a 2005 law requiring doctors to warn that abortions increase risks for suicide. Scientific research disputes this.

Dr. Carol Ball, at the state's lone abortion clinic, in Sioux Falls, says information she's required to tell patients is "of questionable validity" and designed to make them feel shame and guilt.

"They're throwing hurdles in front of us to see when we stop jumping in front of them. If I stop, it means they win and women of South Dakota lose, and I'm not willing to let that happen," Ball said.

Across the state to the west in Rapid City, Dr. Marvin Buehner cares for women with high-risk pregnancies and does a few abortions each year when pregnancy endangers the patient's life.

He's required to describe each fetal stage and explain that abortion ends the life of a separate human being — even to women whose fetuses have deadly abnormalities and won't survive.

"It's just incredible," Buehner said.

One of his patients is a 31-year-old woman who gave birth Oct. 14 to a stillborn baby with a rare, inherited and ultimately fatal condition called achondrogenesis, which causes severe deformities. She had two previous babies with the same condition. One was also stillborn, the other died an hour after birth.

She had considered abortion when tests showed this baby, too, was doomed, but couldn't afford the cost. It would have involved traveling nearly six hours to the Sioux Falls clinic. And because her life wasn't at risk, Medicaid in her state wouldn't pay for it, even though it was clear her baby would be born dead or die shortly after birth.

In Illinois, laws are relatively lenient. The Hope Clinic in Granite City in Southern Illinois caters to women from neighboring states like Missouri and Kentucky where it's harder to get an abortion.

Tamara Threlkeld, the clinic's executive director, said despite increasingly difficult access, Hope Clinic has not seen any increase in patients with later-term pregnancies seeking abortions.

Though you'd expect to see that trend, "they're able to find us" early on, she said.

Most abortions occur in the first 12 weeks when the embryo is about the size of a lima bean. Major organs have begun developing, but the embryo at this stage looks nothing like the photographs of mangled fetuses that abortion foes promote. Those pictures generally represent late-term abortions, those after five months, which account for less than 2 percent of abortions.

Women who visit Hope Clinic can expect to find Angela Michael. She is a long-shot Democratic candidate seeking to unseat longtime GOP Congressman John Shimkus in Illinois' 15th district.

Michael is a retired obstetrics nurse who has run TV commercials showing graphic images of dismembered fetuses. She regularly pickets outside the clinic, encouraging patients to change their minds. She also photographs them and posts their pictures on her website.

She said she has compassion for these women, but considers abortion murder.

The photographs she promotes may not depict typical abortions, but Michael says they sometimes work to persuade women to continue their pregnancies.

"I really didn't go into this race with the hopes of winning. My point was to be the messenger" against abortion, she said.

Some Hope Clinic patients come from Kentucky, where the number of abortions has steadily dropped from almost 4,400 in 2007 to roughly 3,900 in 2010.

Kentucky's only two abortion clinics are in Louisville and Lexington, an hour apart and several hours from some of the state's most impoverished counties. Kentucky requires a 24-hour waiting period, and five of the seven surrounding states also have waiting periods. Public funding of abortions in Kentucky is limited to cases of rape, incest or when pregnancy endangers a woman's life.

Mississippi has similar restrictions and only one abortion clinic, in Jackson, threatened with closure because of a new law requiring providers to have local hospital admitting privileges. State Health Department data show Mississippi abortions have steadily dropped, from nearly 3,000 in 2007 to about 2,200 in 2011. Meanwhile, the number of Mississippi residents seeking abortions out of state grew from fewer than 2,000 a decade ago to at least 3,000 in more recent years, according to data from the state Department of Health.

"Never have times been this restrictive," said Dr. Willie Parker, a Washington, D.C.-based physician who since June has traveled periodically to Mississippi to provide abortions.

Parker said he's often struck by the hardship many women face, and told of a 33-year-old mother of four who lost a child to cancer two years ago. She was unemployed and still grieving when she learned she was pregnant again. The woman traveled three hours to the Jackson clinic to get required counseling in June. Then she had to return the next week for the abortion.

"She told me she couldn't afford to have another child financially or emotionally," Parker said.

He said he doesn't know whether she was using birth control; he doesn't usually ask.

"All I need is to make sure that they're certain" about abortion. Most "have already been thinking about this decision for weeks on end," he said.

___

CDC abortion data: http://1.usa.gov/7drlmU

Guttmacher Institute: http://www.guttmacher.org

Jeter was injured Oct. 13 in the 12th inning of the AL championship series against Detroit while trying to field a grounder.

AP New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter reacts after injuring himself in the 12th inning of Game 1 of the American League championship series against the Detroit Tigers early Sunday, Oct. 14, 2012, in New York.

NEW YORK – Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter has had surgery to repair a broken left ankle.

Dr. Robert Anderson operated Saturday in Charlotte, N.C. The Yankees said complete recovery for their 38-year-old captain is expected to take four-to-five months.

Jeter was injured Oct. 13 in the 12th inning of the AL championship series against Detroit while trying to field a grounder. The Tigers went on to sweep the Yankees.

Voters will weigh in Nov. 6 on a ballot question to make Massachusetts the third state, after Oregon and Washington, to legalize physician-assisted suicide for people with terminal illnesses.

LINDSEY ANDERSON

BOSTON — Leaders on opposite sides of Massachusetts' right to die debate are fighting for the same reason: Both have watched loved ones receive fatal diagnoses.

Dr. Marcia Angell supports the initiative. Her father shot himself to death rather than die from metastatic prostate cancer in 1988. She believes he would've lived longer and not turned to a pistol had assisted suicide been available.

Rosanne Bacon Meade's sister-in-law is still fighting cancer, 18 months after doctors gave her three months to live. She opposes the measure, saying diagnoses are often wrong.

Voters will weigh in Nov. 6 on a ballot question to make Massachusetts the third state, after Oregon and Washington, to legalize physician-assisted suicide for people with terminal illnesses. Money has poured in from both supporters and opponents, many with personal stories like Angell's and Meade's.

The measure would allow terminally ill patients whose doctors say they have six months or less to live to obtain lethal doses of medication.

A Suffolk University/7 NEWS poll in September found 64 percent of 600 likely Massachusetts voters support legalization, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

The initiative stems from a ballot petition filed by Boston-based Dignity 2012 and a terminally ill Stoughton man's 2009 attempt to get a similar bill passed in the state legislature. Lawmakers didn't take action, and Al Lipkind died of stomach cancer that year.

Thirty-four states prohibit assisted suicide outright, while Massachusetts and six others ban it through common law. Montana's Supreme Court ruled state law doesn't prohibit doctors from helping patients die.

"It's not a question of life versus death," said Angell, lead signer of the petition and former editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine. "It's a question of what kind of death."

Religious and medical groups and advocates for the disabled are the measure's primary opponents. They've raised more than $1.6 million so far, compared with nearly $500,000 for supporters, mostly patients' rights and AIDS groups.

Opponents say the bill is open to abuse. Patients may be influenced by family members, they say, or go from doctor to doctor until they find the required two to confirm they are terminally ill, not depressed and voluntarily requesting the prescription.

They say terminally ill patients are often depressed and may irrationally choose to end their lives even though misdiagnoses are common.

A diagnosis is a "crude estimate," said Dr. Richard Aghababian, president of the Massachusetts Medical Society, which opposes the initiative.

Supporters say the law has effective safeguards, including prohibiting doctors from prescribing the drugs to people with depression or impaired judgment. It would require patients to make two oral requests at least 15 days apart, then a written request signed by two witnesses.

Doctors would have to notify patients of alternatives like hospice care and wait 48 hours after the written request to write prescriptions.

In Washington, 103 people requested the prescriptions in 2011 and 71 used them. In Oregon, 114 people obtained prescriptions and 70 used them.

Most Oregon residents who used the assisted suicide law took fatal doses of secobarbital, often 100 or so pills emptied into a glass of water. About one-third chose another barbiturate, pentobarbital. Patients typically slip into a coma and die within 25 minutes, though death sometimes took up to two days.

Loss of autonomy, dignity and decreased ability to engage in activities that make life enjoyable were the top reasons Oregon residents choose to obtain the prescription.

John Kelly, director of a disability rights group against assisted suicide, said many terminally ill people choose to die when the lives they face look like his as a quadriplegic. The bill is "based on judgments on the quality of people's lives," he said.

The Rev. Tim Kutzmark of Reading, a Unitarian Universalist, was staunchly against physician-assisted suicide while studying at Harvard Divinity School.

Then he "entered the real world," visiting dying parishioners and talking with congregants who sought information about the underground networks of medical professionals who advise patients on ending their lives.

He watched his close friend and mentor, theater critic Arthur Friedman, slowly die from Parkinson's disease in 2002. Friedman waited for the moment when he could no longer swallow and could refuse food and water, effectively starving himself to death.

Kutzmark said the experience "rocked my world." He now believes prohibiting assisted suicide violates the sanctity of life.

"These are profound, the most profound questions that an individual can wrestle with," Kutzmark said. "They're so profound and hard."

Hundreds of skateboarders who were banned from rolling through New York City in an annual race called the Broadway Bomb took to the streets anyway, despite a heavy police presence.

NEW YORK — Hundreds of skateboarders who were banned from rolling through New York City in an annual race called the Broadway Bomb took to the streets anyway, despite a heavy police presence.

Police massed on Manhattan's West Side Saturday in an attempt to deter nearly 2,000 skaters from defying a court order cancelling the 8-mile cruise down the Great White Way. No arrests have been reported.

Officers played warnings over a loudspeaker and deployed orange nets to block intersections, but they also tolerated some groups of skateboarders who detoured around the barricades and rolled south.

Last year, around 1,000 people rode longboards all the way to Wall Street from Morningside Heights.

But this year the city got a judge to issue an order blocking the event as unsafe.

It remained unclear Saturday what information led Oregon police to a neighbor and acquaintance who quickly emerged as a suspect in her death last week.

This department of motor vehicles image provided by the City of Gresham, Ore., shows Whitney Heichel. AP

GRESHAM, Ore. — The discovery of a 21-year-old woman's body on a remote, forested mountain gave a terrible answer to the family, friends and church members who worked so hard to find out what happened to her.

But it remained unclear Saturday what information led police to a neighbor and acquaintance who quickly emerged as a suspect in her death last week.

Jonathan Holt, 24, of Gresham, a resident of the apartment complex where Whitney Heichel lived with her husband, was arrested for investigation of aggravated murder Friday night, about the same time her body was found on Larch Mountain, east of Gresham.

He was scheduled to be arraigned Monday in Clackamas County.

Police said autopsy results would not be released Saturday and sought to derail speculation that Holt's relationship with Heichel was anything more than as an acquaintance.

"There is no evidence that has surfaced in the investigation leading investigators to believe there was anything more," according to a city news release.

Heichel reportedly left her apartment Tuesday morning for her job as a Starbucks barista. She never showed up, and three hours later, her husband, Clint, called police. He told investigators he tried to reach Whitney multiple times after her boss alerted him that she never arrived for her 7 a.m. shift.

Police said Heichel's ATM card was used at a nearby Troutdale gas station at 9:14 a.m. Tuesday. Two hours later, family and friends discovered her sport utility vehicle in a Wal-Mart parking lot with the passenger side window smashed.

Some of her items were found in a trash bin nearby, and a child later found her cellphone in a field that lies between the gas station and the Wal-Mart.

Police began searching Larch Mountain on Wednesday, believing that Heichel's SUV was driven there, and discovered her body Friday night. The family's search team had discovered a license plate and other "items of interest" on Larch Mountain, police Chief Craig Junginger said.

Holt first came to their attention Wednesday, when he volunteered to be interviewed, Junginger said, and two interviews revealed inconsistencies in his statements. He submitted to fingerprint and DNA analysis, and that helped tie him to the SUV, the chief said.

It was not immediately clear if Holt had obtained a lawyer. He remained held without bail at the Multnomah County Detention Center.

Police did not respond to requests for comment Saturday and said in an email that no further information would be released.

Jim Vaughn, a family spokesman, thanked police for their commitment in the case.

"Whitney was a very loving person," he said Friday. "She was warm, she was kind, she was everything you would want in a friend, relative, spiritual fellow worshipper."

He asked for privacy for the family, saying: "Our loss and heartache is too much to bear right now."

"To say that this case brought fear and anxiety to the community is a vast understatement," Mayor Shane Bemis said. "As we watched these events unfold, Whitney in many ways represented all of our wives, daughters, sisters, friends and loved ones."

The original venue is owned by a conglomerate that plans to uproot 182 trees for a parking lot and mall expansion in a northern mountain city.

Musician Sting and his wife Trudie Styler attend the Time 100 Gala, celebrating the 100 most influential people in the world, on in this April 26, 2011 file photo, in New York. AP File Photo

MANILA, Philippines — Sting has moved the location of his "Back to Bass Tour" concert in the Philippines following a petition by environmentalists who said the original venue is owned by a conglomerate that plans to uproot 182 trees for a parking lot and mall expansion in a northern mountain city.

The SM Mall of Asia Arena said on Saturday that changing the site of the Dec. 9 concert was "the decision of the artist himself."

"Understandably, the known environment advocate artist was left with no choice in spite of the SM representatives' appeal," it said in a statement.

SM Prime Holdings, which operates SM malls and the arena on Manila Bay, is owned by the Philippines' richest man, mall mogul Henry Sy.

Environmentalists said in their petition that as a champion of the environment, "Sting can't be saving rainforests and enabling SM to rape the environment at the same time!"

Sting and his wife Trudie Styler established The Rainforest Foundation in 1989 to protect tropical rainforests and the people who live there.

Arena business manager Arnel Gonzales told The Associated Press that the venue became "collateral damage" in the environmentalists' campaign.

"With this successful move to stop Sting from holding the concert at SM MOA Arena, and referring to the venue as an 'oppressor,' it is now looking more like the court battle has extended from saving trees, to ruining a corporate giant's reputation completely," the arena said in its statement.

A local court has temporarily stopped the mall expansion plans in northern Baguio city.

Karlo Marko Altomonte, who initiated the petition, wrote Sting's foundation saying that removing the trees would significantly increase air pollution and the risk of landslides and flooding in an area near schools.

"Thank you, Sting, for helping us defend our environment, our heritage, our home," he wrote on his Facebook page.

The county sheriff's office said in a news release that the men were approached by an "armed, naked and irrational female."

In this Aug. 28 file photo, police in Tampa, Florida patrol the streets during the Republican National Convention. Two off-duty law enforcement officers Saturday fatally shot an armed, naked woman in Hernando County, north of Tampa. AP File Photo

TAMPA, Fla. — Two off-duty Florida law-enforcement officers fatally shot an armed, naked woman who confronted them at a social gathering Saturday, authorities said.

The shooting occurred at about 1:15 p.m. Saturday in Hernando County, north of Tampa. The county sheriff's office said in a news release that the men were approached by an "armed, naked and irrational female." The news release does not identify the weapon, but it says "one or both of the law enforcement officers fired their weapons, striking the female." She died at the scene.

Both officers have been placed on administrative leave as the Florida Department of Law Enforcement investigates the shooting in the Spring Hill community.

Authorities have identified the officers as Hernando County sheriff's Detective Rocky Howard and Tampa police officer William Mechler, who have served six and four years, respectively. Tampa police say Mechler was "off duty and acting in the capacity of a private citizen."

Lt. Cinda Moore, a spokeswoman for the Hernando sheriff's office, said in an email late Saturday that she could not immediately identify the woman or disclose the weapon she was carrying. She said she also could not comment on what the woman specifically said or did or whether she was told to drop the weapon, explaining that the FDLE is leading the investigation.

The Hernando County sheriff's office does permit the carrying of service weapons when off-duty, she said.

The Tampa-area shooting comes two weeks after a naked, unarmed University of South Alabama freshman was fatally shot by a campus police officer after going to the police station there and pounding on the glass. The shooting has led to protests by students.

Police said 18-year-old Gil Collar had taken LSD and acted aggressively when an officer came outside carrying a gun. The officer repeatedly backed away from the student before firing. An attorney for the student's family says Collar never touched the officer and the fatal shooting never should have happened. Authorities have said a grand jury will review that shooting to determine whether charges should be filed.

The water levels are far from reaching worrisome conditions, experts say.

10.18.2012 | BELCHERTOWN -- The spillway at Quabbin Reservior shows the lake's low water level. The Republican | John Suchocki

Even though the drought in southern New England has been mild compared to conditions in other parts of the country, the water level at Quabbin Reservoir is the lowest it’s been at this time of year in nearly a decade.

Less than normal rainfall every month from November 2011 through April 2012, including a nearly snowless winter that sent little spring runoff into the massive reservoir, left Quabbin at 88.9 percent of capacity on Oct. 1.

But because it is so large – 417 billion gallons when filled – it will take perhaps years of drought to draw the Quabbin down to worrisome levels.

“Given Quabbin’s huge volume – it holds almost 6 years worth of water use – we are able to capture the extra water in wet years to more than make up for dry years. We’ve got plenty of water,” said Frederick A. Laskey, the executive director of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority, which oversees the reservoir.

Quabbin Reservoir was created in the 1930s by the damming of the Swift River Valley, which required the flooding of four towns in the valley. The reservoir is the main water supply for much of eastern Massachusetts as well as Chicopee, Wilbraham and South Hadley.

Smaller reservoirs and ground wells can be easily depleted by persistent dry conditions or raised quickly with a few months of heavy rain. And, many in Hampden, Hampshire and Franklin counties that fell to low levels after the dry winter have recovered due to normal rains in August and September.

However, larger reservoirs typically need a much longer period of above normal rains to refill. In 1967, after more than four years of drought, Quabbin Reservoir fell to 45 percent of capacity. It was not until 1976 that it again reached full capacity.

Since January 2005, on average, Quabbin has been 96 percent full. The lowest point the reservoir has reached since 2005 was 87.6 percent full in January 2008.

Cobble Mountain Reservoir, the 22.5-billion gallon reservoir in Blandford that serves the city of Springfield, was at 72 percent of capacity on Oct. 1.

“The 10-year average for this time of year is approximately 78 percent,” said Katherine J. Pedersen, of the Springfield Water and Sewer Commission.

“We are not concerned at this point because summer is over, and that is our peak water-use season,” she said.

In most years, the melting of snow in spring raises the water level significantly in reservoirs. However, following the last snow season, when less than half the normal amount of snow fell in most of the Pioneer Valley, there was little snowmelt in the spring.

If the predictions involving global warming prove true, water officials fear that the spring runoffs will be less help in keeping reservoirs at desired levels in New England. 