United Airlines is getting its 787s back in the air.

The planes are returning after a four-month grounding because of smoldering batteries on 787s owned by two other airlines. The incidents included an emergency landing of one plane, and a fire on another.

United’s first 787 flight on Monday is scheduled for 11 a.m. from Houston to Chicago.

United says it is going to initially use 787s on domestic flights. It plans to restart international flights with new Denver-to-Tokyo service June 10.

United Continental Holdings Inc. has six of the planes. It says four have gotten the redesigned battery system from plane maker Boeing. The other two planes will be fixed in the coming days, United says.

Democratic U.S. Senate Candidate Ed Markey (Left) and Republican Candidate Gabriel Gomez (Right)

BOSTON (AP) — Republican U.S. Senate candidate Gabriel Gomez is hoping to get a needed boost of cash and enthusiasm when U.S. Senator John McCain, an Arizona Republican and fellow Navy veteran, stops by for a fundraiser and morning rally.

The Monday rally is planned for a Boston VFW post in the city’s Dorchester neighborhood. Tickets to the fundraiser range from $2,600 for lunch to $37,000 per person for a VIP round-table.

Democratic candidate Edward Markey on Monday is planning to attend a Congressional Badge of Bravery Ceremony at the Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston to honor Woburn Police Officer Mark Gibbons for his actions after a jewelry store robbery.

Markey could also release six years of tax returns as early as this week. Gomez has already released six years of returns.

The election is June 25.

REGION, Mass (WGGB)- We had showers come through this evening, but for the most part we will remain dry for the rest of tonight. Although a pop-up shower or sprinkle is not completely out of the question. Tonight will feature cloudy skies with some showers around and low temperatures in the low to mid 50′s.

My recommendation for this week– Keep your umbrella handy! I expect scattered showers every day this week. Also temperatures will be mild in the mid to upper 70s, near 80 degrees at times this week and a bit sticky.

Good news is that no day will be a wash-out with rain from start to finish. For the most part it will be dry for the first half of the day and we will have afternoon showers and even possible thunderstorms.

As you head out the door Monday morning expect mostly cloudy skies with a few breaks of sun. It will feel a bit more humid as the day goes on with showers and even a few thunderstorms possible as we head into the afternoon. Highs on Monday will run in the upper 70′s to near 80 degrees.

As a warm front stalls just to our North expect mostly cloudy skies for the remainder of the week with a chance of showers anytime during the period. It will not be raining all the time but you would want to keep the umbrella handy. Daytime highs will run in the mid to upper 70′s and nighttime lows will run in the mid to upper 50′s.

MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND: It is looking nice! Things should start to dry out and cool down in time for next weekend.

Have a great night,
Brittany Decker

(Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

(AP) — Another day, another domination for Taylor Swift: She was the red hot winner at the Billboard Music Awards.

Swift won eight of 11 awards, including top artist and top Billboard 200 album for “Red.” She told the crowd: “You are the longest and best relationship I ever had.”

She also had a colorful performance of her hit “22″ — starting backstage and working her way to the main stage on the back of a bike with help from a dozen background dancers and a flurry of red balloons.

Justin Bieber also performed — twice — and was also a multiple winner with three awards, including top male artist, social artist and the fan-voted milestone award, beating out Swift and Bruno Mars. When accepting the latter — where boos were heard — he alluded to the tumultuous weeks he’s had in the public eye.

“I’m 19 years old; I think I’m doing a pretty good job. And basically from my heart I really just want to say it should really be about the music, it should be about the craft that I’m making. This is not a gimmick,” he said. “I’m an artist and I should be taken seriously and all this other bull should not be spoken.”

Bieber performed with will.i.am and solo when he sang “Take You” in leather pants, a leather vest and a black shirt that had one sleeve, as blue laser lights beamed.

Miguel, too, had a show-stopping performance, though he seemed to kick a fan when he jumped over the crowd while singing his hit “Adorn.” The R&B singer seemed to have landed part of his body on one woman, who walked away, and kicked another, who held her head low.

Miguel wrote on Twitter following the incident: “got caught up in the moment, thank goodness Khyati is okay”

Maroon 5 and fun. were also nominated for 11 awards and walked away with one win each in pre-telecast announcements. Gotye and Rihanna had the second-most wins with four awards each.

But the awards show, airing live from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on ABC, is less about the trophies — which reflect success on the Billboard charts — and more about the performances. Selena Gomez sang her seductive new hit, “Come & Get It,” while Chris Brown danced around the stage to his latest single, “Fine China,” though his voice began to crack during the performance. Duo Macklemore & Ryan Lewis also performed their massive hit, “Thrift Shop,” which won top rap song.

“First and foremost, gotta thank Goodwill, gotta thank Value Village,” Macklemore said to laughs.

Mars and his band kicked off the show in silky red suits that matched their silky dance moves, with bright gold disco balls hanging above them during a performance of the upbeat and old-school flavored “Treasure.”

Nicki Minaj won the first award in the live telecast for top rap artist, beating out Drake, Flo Rida, Pitbull and Psy.

“I definitely did not expect this one,” she said, wearing a bright red dress.

She performed “High School” with Lil Wayne and gave the rapper a provocative lap dance onstage.

Prince, who received the icon award, closed the awards show with a melody of his jams in a turquoise and purple ensemble. He sang, dance and rocked on the guitar.
Madonna won top touring artist, dance artist and dance album for “MDNA.”

“Thank you for supporting me for three decades. Without you I truly wouldn’t be here,” she said.

Pitbull made two appearances, one with Jennifer Lopez and another with Christina Aguilera. His hit with Aguilera, “Feel This Moment,” samples A-Ha’s “Take On Me” and Morten Harket came out to sing a line from the song.

Comedian-actor Tracy Morgan was the show’s host, and he dressed as Psy in a bright yellow suit when the rapper-singer was onstage to present an award. They had a dance battle to Psy’s new single, “Gentleman.”

____

Online: http://www.billboard.com/bbma

___

Follow Mesfin Fekadu at http://www.twitter.com/MusicMesfin

Associated Press

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

(AP Photo/The Wichita Eagle, Travis Heying)

By SEAN MURPHY, Associated Press

EDMOND, Okla. (AP) — One of several tornadoes that touched down Sunday in Oklahoma turned homes in a trailer park near Oklahoma City into splinters and rubble and sent frightened residents along a 100-mile corridor scurrying for shelter.

The tornadoes that touched down in Oklahoma, Kansas and Iowa were part of a massive, northeastward-moving storm system that stretched from Texas to Minnesota.

At least four separate tornadoes touched down in central Oklahoma late Sunday afternoon, including the one near the town of Shawnee, 35 miles southeast of Oklahoma City, that laid waste to much of a mobile home park.

One person in central Oklahoma is dead tonight according to CNN– and the damage is only mounting.

Getting into the area was made difficult by the overturned tractor-trailers that forced the closure of a section of Interstate 40.

A storm spotter told the National Weather Service that the tornado left the earth “scoured” at the mobile home park.

Forecasters had been warning for days that the weekend storm system could produce tornadoes, and emergency responders throughout the region were keeping a close eye on it Sunday night as it moved northeastward. Tornado watches or warnings were in effect through late Sunday in several states.

Dozens of homes were damaged by the other tornadoes that touched down in Oklahoma, but emergency officials had no immediate reports of injuries caused by any of them, including the first of the afternoon that hit Edmond, a suburb north of Oklahoma City, before making its way toward Tulsa, 90 miles to the northeast.

“I knew it was coming,” said Randy Grau, who huddled with his wife and two young sons in their Edmond home’s safe room when the tornado hit. He said he peered out his window as the weather worsened and believed he saw a flock of birds heading down the street.

“Then I realized it was swirling debris. That’s when we shut the door of the safe room,” said Grau, adding that they remained in the room for 10 minutes.

In Wichita, Kan., a tornado touched down near Mid-Content Airport on the city’s southwest side shortly before 4 p.m., knocking out power to thousands of homes and businesses but bypassing the most populated areas of Kansas’ biggest city.

“At this point, there are very few reports of damage and no reports of fatalities or injuries, and we’re very grateful for that,” said Sedgwick County Emergency Management Director Randy Duncan.

There were also two reports of tornadoes touching down in Iowa Sunday night, including one near Huxley, about 20 miles north of Des Moines, and one in Grundy County, which is northeast of Des Moines, according to the Des Moines Register. There were no immediate reports of major damage or injuries.

In Oklahoma, aerial television news footage showed homes that appeared to have suffered significant damage northeast of Oklahoma City. Some outbuildings appeared to have been leveled, and some homes’ roofs or walls had been knocked down.

“When I first drove into the neighborhood, I didn’t see any major damage until I pulled into the front of my house,” said Csabe Mathe, of Edmond, who found a part of his neighbor’s fence in his swimming pool. “My reaction was: I hope insurance pays for the cleaning.”

“I typically have two trash cans, and now I have five in my driveway.”

The Storm Prediction Center had been warning about severe weather in the region since Wednesday, and on Friday, it zeroed in on Sunday as the day the storm system would likely pass through.

“They’ve been calling for this all day,” Edmond resident Anita Wright said after riding out the twister in an underground shelter. She and her husband Ed emerged from their hiding place to find uprooted trees, downed limbs and damaged gutters in their home.

In Katie Leathers’ backyard, the family’s trampoline was tossed through a section of fence and a giant tree uprooted.

“I saw all the trees waving, and that’s when I grabbed everyone and got into two closets,” Leathers said. “All these trees just snapped.”

___

Associated Press writers Heather Hollingsworth in Kansas City, Mo., and Kelly P. Kissel in Little Rock, Ark., contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Around 7 pm Friday, Holyoke police searched an apartment at 173 Elm Street after receiving a tip. They arrested 24 year old Ricardo Vargas and say they seized a large quantity of heroin, a stolen pistol, and numerous rounds of ammunition including hollow point bullets.

The amount of heroin found equaled 522 packets.

Vargas faces 10 separate charges including possession of narcotics, possession with intent to distribute, possession of a loaded firearm, and receiving stolen property.

He’ll be arraigned in Court Monday morning.

The steady influx of families and friends celebrating the achievement means green for restaurants like the Northampton Brewery near the area’s 5 major colleges:

Amherst, Smith, UMass Amherst, Hampshire, and Mt. Holyoke.

“It’s always special this time of year to have graduates come in,” said Abby Martin, the general manager of Northampton Brewery. “We want to do something special for them, so we have special ingredients for them like mixed greens and then all the way to the Grad Ale

Martin also says some graduates already work at the brewery.

SPRINGFIELD (WGGB) — More than 1,000 American International Students walked across the stage at Springfield’s MassMutual Center during their graduation ceremony Sunday.

93-year-old Raissi Stewart received an honorary degree from her alma mater – after initially graduating in 1942.

She returned in 1949 after getting her master’s from UConn, working in the Alumni Office.

Students say seeing Stewart on that stage motivates them.

“That is just overwhelming and it just goes back to the importance of education, the importance of progressing,” said AIC graduate Silas Cooper. “And I think she’s truly an inspiration to me.”

As a teacher for five decades, Stewart also played an integral part in founding the College of the Virgin Island’s St. Croix campus.

(AP Photo/Elise Amendola)

BOSTON (AP) – With a bullet still in his body, the police officer who survived a showdown with the Boston Marathon bombing suspects said Sunday he’s determined to return to duty.

Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority Officer Richard Donahue has been recovering alongside victims injured in the April 15 attack by the marathon’s finish line since his transfer to Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital in Boston on Friday.

The 33-year-old uses crutches to get around now, and is coping with nerve damage that makes it painful to walk and difficult to sleep. But sitting alongside his wife Kim Donahue, the transit officer said he’s getting stronger and healthier every day.

Besides building strength to walk on his own, Donahue also is doing speech therapy and other exercises to prepare his mind and body to head home again. He said he’s looking forward to the end of his hospitalization so he can spend more time with his 7-month-old son, who’s gotten four new teeth in the meantime, and toss a ball around with his family’s beagle.

Donahue doesn’t recall anything about the gun battle that left him wounded on a street in suburban Watertown. His last memory from the day he almost bled to death is roll call at the start of his shift.

That was hours before Donahue responded to the call that came after authorities say bombing suspects Tamerlan and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev fatally shot his police academy friend, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Officer Sean Collier.

It was in Watertown that Donahue suffered a severed femoral artery when a bullet pierced his groin during a gun battle with the Tsarnaev brothers.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev died on the same street where Donahue was wounded. Authorities have said Dzhokhar Tsarnaev drove over his brother while fleeing the scene after Tamerlan, 26, ran out of ammunition and was tackled by officers.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev’s cause of death was listed as gunshot wounds and blunt trauma to his head and torso.

But Donahue, an MBTA officer of three years, has no memory of the encounter that nearly killed him.

“As of right now, it’s all been a blackout,” he said.

Exactly how Donahue was wounded isn’t clear. He said if his injury turned out to be from a fellow officer’s bullet, he was just glad police “got the job done” at a chaotic scene where authorities said the suspects tossed explosives and fired on officers.

“If it was friendly fire, it was friendly fire, he said. “We got the job done and the other suspect got captured shortly thereafter, so I’m just happy with that.”

The transit officer said he is in favor of authorities filing additional charges against Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in connection with Collier’s death and his own close call. But he wouldn’t say if he favored the death penalty in the case of a guilty verdict for the 19-year-old, who remains in a prison hospital after his arrest.

“One of them, I guess, has already been brought to justice,” Donahue said of Tamerlan Tsarnaev.

Donahue’s wife said she’s proud of her husband, and while they won’t use the word “hero” a lot at home, their 7-month-old son will have a lot to live up to as he grows up.

“We keep saying he’s not going to be able to get away with anything. Like, ‘Oh, you don’t want to eat your green beans? Well, Daddy’s got a bullet in his leg and came back from the dead. So, if you could do us a favor and just eat your food that would be great,’” the 31-year-old mom said with a smile.

MBTA Police Chief Paul MacMillan nodded in approval Sunday as he heard Donahue talking about getting back into the shape he was before the line of duty shooting.

“I think it’s absolutely incredible the effort that was put into saving his life that night and the fact that he has come so far,” the chief said later. “… We’d love to get him back, but we want him to get well first and foremost.”

© 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

by STEPHEN SINGER, Associated Press

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Traffic in southwest Connecticut could be a mess for as much as a week until service is restored to the commuter rail line affected by a derailment that injured scores of passengers, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy warned Sunday.

Malloy used dire language to describe traffic troubles for the work week ahead in an area that even in normal times is a pain for motorists. And the governor warned that the weather will not cooperate as rainy weather forecast will make driving a bit more treacherous.

Malloy even urged commuters to stay out of the state if possible.

“Tomorrow’s commute will be extremely challenging,” he said at a brief news conference in Hartford. “Residents should plan for a week’s worth of disruptions.”

If all 30,000 affected commuters took to the highways to get to work, “we would literally have a parking lot,” the governor said. If a substantial number of affected consumers hit the roads, traffic will be “greatly slowed,” he said.

The state will dispatch more state troopers and tow trucks to respond to car accidents that could come with crowded roads and slipper conditions, he said.

“If you are going to New York and you get to New York or you’re transporting yourself to New York you may decide that perhaps you should stay there for the duration of this disturbance,” Malloy said.

Crews will spend days rebuilding 2,000 feet of track, overhead wires and signals following the collision between two trains Friday evening that injured 72 people. Nine remained hospitalized, with one critically.

“This amounts to the wholesale reconstruction of a two-track electrified railroad,” he said.

Several days of around-the-clock work will be required, including inspections and testing of the newly rebuilt system, Metro-North President Howard Permut said. The damaged rail cars were removed from the tracks on Sunday, the first step toward making the repairs.

Starting with the Monday morning rush-hour, a shuttle train will operate about every 20 minutes between New Haven and Bridgeport and two shuttle buses will run between Bridgeport and Stamford stations, state transportation officials said.

For morning and evening peak commutes, limited train service will operate between Grand Central Terminal and Westport.

State officials said travel times will be significantly longer than normal and trains will be crowded. Commuters are advised to use the Harlem line in New York.

Amtrak service between New York and New Haven was also suspended and there was no estimate on service restoration. Limited service was available between New Haven and Boston.

Jim Cameron, chairman of the Connecticut Rail Commuter Council, said he’s asked officials in numerous towns to suspend parking rules to accommodate what could be tens of thousands of motorists driving to unaffected train stations. Twelve stations are affected by the shutdown.

But Cameron said he doubts many commuters will use three modes of transportation to get to work: driving their cars to catch a bus to get to a train station for the final leg.

He suggested that local and regional officials post highway signs directing motorists to available parking so motorists “don’t get off the highway and drive in circles looking for where to dump their cars.”

About 700 people were on board the trains Friday evening when one heading east from New York City’s Grand Central Terminal to New Haven derailed just outside Bridgeport. It was hit by a train heading west from New Haven.

Dan Solomon, a trauma surgeon who lives in Westport and was headed to work at Yale-New Haven Hospital in New Haven, was on the train that derailed. He said he treated several injured passengers, including a woman with severely broken ankles.

He said he was in a front car that was not as badly affected as cars in the rear of the train.

“I hardly lost my iced tea,” Solomon said in an interview.

Solomon said walls were torn off both trains and he quickly checked injured passengers to separate the most badly injured from others.

“When the EMS arrived, I was covered in everyone’s blood,” he said.

Investigators are looking at a broken section of rail to see if it is connected to the derailment and collision. Officials said it wasn’t clear if the rail was broken in the crash or earlier.

NTSB investigators arrived Saturday and are expected to be on site for seven to 10 days. They will look at the brakes and performance of the trains, the condition of the tracks, crew performance and train signal information, among other things.

The MTA operates the Metro-North Railroad, the second-largest commuter railroad in the nation. The Metro-North main lines – the Hudson, Harlem, and New Haven – run northward from New York City’s Grand Central Terminal into suburban New York and Connecticut.

The last significant train collision involving Metro-North occurred in 1988 when a train engineer was killed in Mount Vernon, N.Y., when one train empty of passengers rear-ended another, railroad officials said.

© 2013 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

In fact, two months ago, Governor Deval Patrick signed this proclamation making May Drowning Awareness Month, noting that it’s the leading cause of accidental death in children. “Always make sure your child is supervised at all times. We can’t stress that enough. Children are very quick, they can easily fall into the pool,” said Diane Hieronyus, Assistant Store manager at Chicopee’s Teddy Bear Pools & Spas.

Hieronyous adds that state law mandates that homeowners have a latch, gate, and alarm for their pools.

Last year, a Boston man invented a headband sensor that would sound an alarm after it’s been submerged for 30 seconds. Another device installed in the pool would sound an alarm as soon as someone jumps in. Still, folks say that nothing can take the place of vigilance. “I don’t think we need it. If you’re right there, and we’ve had kids fall over the side. But we’re right there,” Sandra Helliwell stated.

We taught our grandkids to swim as early as humanly possible, and now their water bugs, but we still watch them,” Peter Helliwell added.

It’s also recommended that homeowners keep rescue and first aid equipment near their pools.

According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, 137 children under the age of 15 drowned in a pool or spa last year.

The operators of the biggest casino in North America are proposing a $1 billion, 300,000-square foot resort off I-495 in Milford, Mass., about 40 miles southwest of Boston. Plans call for more than 4,000 slot machines, dozens of table games and hotel rooms, restaurants and other attractions.

Foxwoods is pressed by stiff competition in the Northeast. It’s seeking new markets and more revenue.

The casino can expect a barrage of questions from Milford officials and residents skeptical about its finances and the impact on traffic, water and sewer systems and police and fire services.

CEO Scott Butera says Foxwoods is on sound financial footing to take on the huge undertaking.

The performances which began on Friday featured a double cast of over 100 children representing more than 30 communities throughout the Pioneer Valley.

Starlight’s Youth Theatre is a non-profit organization that is dedicated to providing quality education and production of children’s theatre.

The event marks Longmeadow’s celebration of their colonial history on the Town Green. Antiques, music, food and activities like the community campfire Saturday night and the parade that was held this morning.

Long Meddowe Days is the towns primary fundraiser for the Longmeadow Historical Society.

Those include the IRS targeting of conservative groups and lingering questions about last year’s terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya.

The troubles could make it harder for Republican candidate Gabriel Gomez to turn the focus of the race back to jobs, the economy and the budget as he tries to tie his rival, longtime Democratic Congressman Edward Markey, to the nation’s sluggish recovery.

But the episodes could also prove problematic for Markey and other Democratic candidates if the public begins to blame President Barack Obama for the perceived overreach of the Democratic administration.

The special election to fill the Senate seat formerly held by Secretary of State John Kerry is June 25.

The Shot Spotter program alerted police to the incident just after midnight Sunday. Responding officers found several 45-caliber bullet casings in the street.

According to police, a witness claims to have seen a black male, wearing a black sweatshirt with stripes, exit a building in the area. He then reportedly fired several times into the air before fleeing the scene.

Police are still investigating, and do not currently have any suspects.

By BARBARA RODRIGUEZ, Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — It’s all about the odds, and one lone ticket in Florida has beaten them all by matching each of the numbers drawn for the highest Powerball jackpot in history at an estimated $590.5 million, lottery officials said Sunday.

The single winner was sold at a supermarket in Zephyrhills, Fla., according to Florida Lottery executive Cindy O’Connell. She told The Associated Press by telephone that more details would be released later.

“This would be the sixth Florida Powerball winner and right now, it’s the sole winner of the largest ever Powerball jackpot,” O’Connell told AP. “We’re delighted right now that we have the sole winner.”

She said Florida has had more Powerball winners than any other state.

The winner was not immediately identified publicly and O’Connell did not give any indication just hours after Saturday’s drawing whether anyone had already stepped forward with that winning ticket.

With four out of every five possible combinations of Powerball numbers in play, lottery executives said earlier that someone was almost certain to win the game’s highest jackpot, a windfall of hundreds of millions of dollars — and that’s after taxes.

Saturday night’s winning numbers were 10, 13, 14, 22 and 52, with a Powerball of 11.

Estimates had earlier put the jackpot at around $600 million. But Powerball’s online site said Sunday that the jackpot had reached an estimated $590.5 million.

Terry Rich, CEO of the Iowa Lottery, initially confirmed that one Florida winning ticket had been sold. He told AP that following the Florida winner, the Powerball grand prize was being reset at an estimated jackpot of $40 million, or about $25.1 million cash value.

The chances of winning the prize were astronomically low: 1 in 175.2 million. That’s how many different ways you can combine the numbers when you play. But lottery officials estimated that about 80 percent of those possible combinations had been purchased recently.

While the odds are low for any one individual or individuals, O’Connell said, the chance that one hits paydirt is what makes Powerball an “exciting game to play.”

“There is just the chance that you will have the opportunity and Florida is a huge Powerball state. We have had more winners than any other state that participates in Powerball.”

Such longshot odds didn’t deter people across Powerball-playing states — 43 plus Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands — from lining up at gas stations and convenience stores Saturday for their chance at striking it filthy rich.

Calls by AP to the Publix supermarket outlet in Florida where the winning ticket was sold were not answered Sunday.

Elsewhere, Rich said, lottery officials reported 33 winning tickets for a $1,000,000 prize each were sold around 17 states, led by six tickets in New York. He said lotteries reported 2 winning tickets each for the $2,000,000 PowerPlay, one in New York and the other in South Carolina.

Before the drawing, there was a rush for tickets around the country.

At a mini market in the heart of Los Angeles’ Chinatown, employees broke the steady stream of customers into two lines: One for Powerball ticket buyers and one for everybody else. Some people appeared to be looking for a little karma.

“We’ve had two winners over $10 million here over the years, so people in the neighborhood think this is the lucky store,” employee Gordon Chan said as he replenished a stack of lottery tickets on a counter.

The world’s largest jackpot was a $656 million Mega Millions jackpot in March 2012. If $600 million, the jackpot would currently include a $376.9 million cash option.

Clyde Barrow, a public policy professor at the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, specializes in the gaming industry. He said one of the key factors behind the ticket-buying frenzy is the size of the jackpot — people are interested in the easy investment.

“Even though the odds are very low, the investment is very small,” he said. “Two dollars gets you a chance.”

That may be why Ed McCuen has a Powerball habit that’s as regular as clockwork. The 57-year-old electrical contractor from Savannah, Ga., buys one ticket a week, regardless of the possible loot. It’s a habit he didn’t alter Saturday.

“You’ve got one shot in a gazillion or whatever,” McCuen said, tucking his ticket in his pocket as he left a local convenience store. “You can’t win unless you buy a ticket. But whether you buy one or 10 or 20, it’s insignificant.”

Seema Sharma doesn’t seem to think so. The newsstand employee in Manhattan’s Penn Station purchased $80 worth of tickets for herself. She also was selling tickets all morning at a steady pace, instructing buyers where to stand if they wanted machine-picked tickets or to choose their own numbers.

“I work very hard — too hard — and I want to get the money so I can finally relax,” she said. “You never know.”

___

Associated Press Radio Correspondent Julie Walker and AP writers Jeffrey Collins in Columbia, S.C., Betsy Blaney in Lubbock, Texas, Russ Bynum in Savannah, Ga., John Rogers in Los Angeles and Verena Dobnick in New York contributed to this report.

___

Follow Barbara Rodriguez at http://twitter.com/bcrodriguez .

Associated Press

Copyright 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Earlier this week, Lois Lerner – Director of the IRS Tax Exempt Organizations Division – backed out of giving the speech after the agency admitted it unfairly scrutinized conservative groups when they applied for tax-exempt status.

“She made the call to us and expressed the fact that this was a graduation and a graduation is supposed to be a time of celebration and energy and the publicity would detract from that,” said Barbara Moffat, VP of Marketing at WNEU. “While commencement speakers are a time honored tradition, the real important part is when that student walks across the stage.”

Moffat says this won’t deter Western New England University from asking a government official to speak at commencement ceremonies in the future.

The Wofa Drum and Dance Company consists of students from the Pioneer Valley Performing Arts School, who held the concert to raise money for a cultural immersion trip.

The groups founder, and teacher at PVPA, Kabisko Kaba hopes to take his students to his home country of Guinea, West Africa in January of next year.

He and the 14 students hope to raise almost $30,000 for the trip to study drumming, dance, language and culture.

The group spreads cultural knowledge throughout the community, through performances and work shops at local schools and camps. The Wofa name means “let’s get together” in the Sousou language.