This photo shows a general view of Atlanta, Georgia. Baggy trousers that hang way below the belt and expose what the wearer has on underneath could soon be banned in the southern US city of Atlanta, a city council spokesman said.(AFP/File)
Friday, August 24, 2007
Pull up your trousers!!!
This photo shows a general view of Atlanta, Georgia. Baggy trousers that hang way below the belt and expose what the wearer has on underneath could soon be banned in the southern US city of Atlanta, a city council spokesman said.(AFP/File)
Monday, August 20, 2007
Hurricane Dean
"Mean Dean" as they are calling it, Hurricane Dean is on it's way to Cancun, Mexico. Be careful! Cuidado!My Birthday
Well I had an okay birthday, it was the 10th. My mum's uncle passed away on that day. I did not make it to his funeral because of work. My grandmum and aunt came up from Florida for a few days. All is well as can be now. Take care!
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Alex Rodriguez becomes youngest in baseball history to hit 500 home runs
Alex Rodriguez becomes youngest in baseball history to hit 500 home runs
By JAY COHEN, AP Sports Writer
August 4, 2007
NEW YORK (AP) -- Alex Rodriguez leaned to his right and watched the ball as it sailed toward the foul pole in left. When it stayed true, he raised his hands in the air -- the long wait for No. 500 was finally over.
Rodriguez became the youngest player in major league history to hit 500 home runs, connecting on the first pitch he saw Saturday to end a 10-day wait.
"I acted like a goofball running around the bases, but you only hit 500 once," he said after the New York Yankees beat Kansas City 16-8.
The 32-year-old Rodriguez stood at home plate for a second after his first-inning drive off Kyle Davies, waiting to see where it would land.
"I haven't hit one in so long I didn't know if it was going to be foul," he said. "Where that ball started, last week that ball would've hooked foul probably about 20 feet."
After more than a week of watching his teammates hit a lot of home runs, it was A-Rod's turn. He started trotting around the bases with a wide grin on his face as the sellout crowd at Yankee Stadium cheered wildly. He finished with three hits, along with a hug from Derek Jeter.
"I've conceded the fact that you can't will yourself to hit a home run. I tried hard for about five days," Rodriguez said.
A-Rod spoke with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and commissioner Bud Selig after the game. Selig was expected to be in San Diego to watch Barry Bonds try to break Hank Aaron's career home run record, and reportedly hasn't talked to the Giants slugger in years.
Rodriguez homered eight days after his birthday and surpassed Jimmie Foxx (32 years, 338 days) as the youngest player to reach 500. A-Rod is the 22nd player to reach the mark, the second this season behind Frank Thomas -- Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome might get there this year, too.
It may not take very long for Rodriguez to rise to the top of the list, either. Bonds was two away from breaking Aaron's record of 755 heading into San Francisco's game Saturday night.
Rodriguez leads the majors with 36 home runs this season, one more than he hit last year.
"His prime years are ahead of him, basically," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "This is a stop-off for him. It's not a destination."
Rodriguez hugged Jeter and Bobby Abreu, who both scored on the landmark home run, and blew a kiss toward the stands after completing his trip around the bases. His teammates were already on the field and he embraced several of them on his way back to the bench.
"It was awesome and then you kind of get that high school reception when you hit a home run and all of the guys are out of the dugout," Rodriguez said. "It was awesome. Pretty cool."
The crowd buzzed and roared again when A-Rod stuck his head out of the dugout for the long-awaited curtain call, which came 10 days after he hit No. 499.
"He deserves it," teammate Johnny Damon said. "He has been a tremendous asset to this game."
After he took his seat next to Jeter, the Yankees captain reached out and playfully rubbed A-Rod's head as the two superstars laughed. They were close when they were younger but Rodriguez admitted in spring training that their relationship had cooled over the years.
The All-Star third baseman became the third player to hit 500 as a Yankee and the second to do it in the Bronx. Babe Ruth did it at Cleveland on Aug. 11, 1929, and Mickey Mantle reached the mark at home against Baltimore on May 14, 1967.
"Nobody wants to give up a homer, be a part of history that way," Davies said. "I was trying to throw a sinker down and in and I didn't get it down and in far enough."
Rodriguez went into a tailspin after hitting No. 499 on July 25 at Kansas City. He was hitless in a career-worst 22 straight at-bats before ending the slump Thursday.
His 500th came in his 1,855th game. Only two players took fewer games to reach 500: Mark McGwire (1,639) and Ruth (1,740).
"This was a fantastic, monumental achievement," Steinbrenner said in a statement released by spokesman Howard Rubenstein.
A Rutgers student ended up with the ball, and the Yankees said he didn't want to be identified. Team spokesman Jason Zillo was negotiating with the man about the ball.
"I really want it back," Rodriguez said. "But if not, I congratulate him for catching it. Nice catch."
In the meantime, his batting helmet was headed for the Hall of Fame.
A-Rod and Yankees fans have had an up-and-down relationship since he joined the team in 2004.
"It takes awhile in New York," Rodriguez said. "For some people, it takes six months to a year. I think it truly took me three to four years to understand New York."
Robinson Cano tied a career high with four hits and Bobby Abreu scored four runs for New York, which has won five of its last six to improve to a season-best 10 games over .500. Mike Myers (3-0) got the last out of the fifth to earn the win.
Davies lasted just three innings in his first start for Kansas City, which acquired him from the Braves on Tuesday for reliever Octavio Dotel. John Bale (0-1) got the loss.
Rodriguez was the overall No. 1 pick in the 1993 draft by Seattle. One year later, he became the third 18-year-old shortstop in the majors since 1900. At that point, he gave little indication that he would develop into a two-time AL MVP and one of the game's greatest home run hitters.
A-Rod's first home run came on June 12, 1995, against Tom Gordon and Kansas City.
Notes:
Rodriguez scored three times and became the first player in major league history with 10 straight seasons of at least 35 homers, 100 RBIs and 100 runs scored.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-rodriguez-500homers&prov=ap&type=lgns
By JAY COHEN, AP Sports Writer
August 4, 2007
NEW YORK (AP) -- Alex Rodriguez leaned to his right and watched the ball as it sailed toward the foul pole in left. When it stayed true, he raised his hands in the air -- the long wait for No. 500 was finally over.
Rodriguez became the youngest player in major league history to hit 500 home runs, connecting on the first pitch he saw Saturday to end a 10-day wait.
"I acted like a goofball running around the bases, but you only hit 500 once," he said after the New York Yankees beat Kansas City 16-8.
The 32-year-old Rodriguez stood at home plate for a second after his first-inning drive off Kyle Davies, waiting to see where it would land.
"I haven't hit one in so long I didn't know if it was going to be foul," he said. "Where that ball started, last week that ball would've hooked foul probably about 20 feet."
After more than a week of watching his teammates hit a lot of home runs, it was A-Rod's turn. He started trotting around the bases with a wide grin on his face as the sellout crowd at Yankee Stadium cheered wildly. He finished with three hits, along with a hug from Derek Jeter.
"I've conceded the fact that you can't will yourself to hit a home run. I tried hard for about five days," Rodriguez said.
A-Rod spoke with Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and commissioner Bud Selig after the game. Selig was expected to be in San Diego to watch Barry Bonds try to break Hank Aaron's career home run record, and reportedly hasn't talked to the Giants slugger in years.
Rodriguez homered eight days after his birthday and surpassed Jimmie Foxx (32 years, 338 days) as the youngest player to reach 500. A-Rod is the 22nd player to reach the mark, the second this season behind Frank Thomas -- Manny Ramirez and Jim Thome might get there this year, too.
It may not take very long for Rodriguez to rise to the top of the list, either. Bonds was two away from breaking Aaron's record of 755 heading into San Francisco's game Saturday night.
Rodriguez leads the majors with 36 home runs this season, one more than he hit last year.
"His prime years are ahead of him, basically," Yankees manager Joe Torre said. "This is a stop-off for him. It's not a destination."
Rodriguez hugged Jeter and Bobby Abreu, who both scored on the landmark home run, and blew a kiss toward the stands after completing his trip around the bases. His teammates were already on the field and he embraced several of them on his way back to the bench.
"It was awesome and then you kind of get that high school reception when you hit a home run and all of the guys are out of the dugout," Rodriguez said. "It was awesome. Pretty cool."
The crowd buzzed and roared again when A-Rod stuck his head out of the dugout for the long-awaited curtain call, which came 10 days after he hit No. 499.
"He deserves it," teammate Johnny Damon said. "He has been a tremendous asset to this game."
After he took his seat next to Jeter, the Yankees captain reached out and playfully rubbed A-Rod's head as the two superstars laughed. They were close when they were younger but Rodriguez admitted in spring training that their relationship had cooled over the years.
The All-Star third baseman became the third player to hit 500 as a Yankee and the second to do it in the Bronx. Babe Ruth did it at Cleveland on Aug. 11, 1929, and Mickey Mantle reached the mark at home against Baltimore on May 14, 1967.
"Nobody wants to give up a homer, be a part of history that way," Davies said. "I was trying to throw a sinker down and in and I didn't get it down and in far enough."
Rodriguez went into a tailspin after hitting No. 499 on July 25 at Kansas City. He was hitless in a career-worst 22 straight at-bats before ending the slump Thursday.
His 500th came in his 1,855th game. Only two players took fewer games to reach 500: Mark McGwire (1,639) and Ruth (1,740).
"This was a fantastic, monumental achievement," Steinbrenner said in a statement released by spokesman Howard Rubenstein.
A Rutgers student ended up with the ball, and the Yankees said he didn't want to be identified. Team spokesman Jason Zillo was negotiating with the man about the ball.
"I really want it back," Rodriguez said. "But if not, I congratulate him for catching it. Nice catch."
In the meantime, his batting helmet was headed for the Hall of Fame.
A-Rod and Yankees fans have had an up-and-down relationship since he joined the team in 2004.
"It takes awhile in New York," Rodriguez said. "For some people, it takes six months to a year. I think it truly took me three to four years to understand New York."
Robinson Cano tied a career high with four hits and Bobby Abreu scored four runs for New York, which has won five of its last six to improve to a season-best 10 games over .500. Mike Myers (3-0) got the last out of the fifth to earn the win.
Davies lasted just three innings in his first start for Kansas City, which acquired him from the Braves on Tuesday for reliever Octavio Dotel. John Bale (0-1) got the loss.
Rodriguez was the overall No. 1 pick in the 1993 draft by Seattle. One year later, he became the third 18-year-old shortstop in the majors since 1900. At that point, he gave little indication that he would develop into a two-time AL MVP and one of the game's greatest home run hitters.
A-Rod's first home run came on June 12, 1995, against Tom Gordon and Kansas City.
Notes:
Rodriguez scored three times and became the first player in major league history with 10 straight seasons of at least 35 homers, 100 RBIs and 100 runs scored.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-rodriguez-500homers&prov=ap&type=lgns
Another record poppy crop in Afghanistan
Another record poppy crop in Afghanistan
By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer
Sat Aug 4, 12:27 PM ET
WASHINGTON - Afghanistan will produce another record poppy harvest this year that cements its status as the world's near-sole supplier of the heroin source, yet a furious debate over how to reverse the trend is stalling proposals to cut the crop, U.S. officials say.
As President Bush prepares for weekend talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, divisions within the U.S. administration and among NATO allies have delayed release of a $475 million counternarcotics program for Afghanistan, where intelligence officials see growing links between drugs and the Taliban, the officials said.
U.N. figures to be released in September are expected to show that Afghanistan's poppy production has risen up to 15 percent since 2006 and that the country now accounts for 95 percent of the world's crop, 3 percentage points more than last year, officials familiar with preliminary statistics told The Associated Press.
But counterdrug proposals by some U.S. officials have met fierce resistance, including boosting the amount of forcible poppy field destruction in provinces that grow the most, officials said. The approach also would link millions of dollars in development aid to benchmarks on eradication; arrests and prosecutions of narcotraders, corrupt officials; and on alternative crop production.
Those ideas represent what proponents call an "enhanced carrot-and-stick approach" to supplement existing anti-drug efforts. They are the focus of the new $475 million program outlined in a 995-page report, the release of which has been postponed twice and may be again delayed due to disagreements, officials said.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because parts of the report remain classified.
Counternarcotics agents at the State Department had wanted to release a 123-page summary of the strategy last month and then again last week, but were forced to hold off because of concerns it may not be feasible, the officials said.
Now, even as Bush sees Karzai on Sunday and Monday at the presidential retreat in Camp David, Md., a tentative release date of Aug. 9, timed to follow the meetings, appears in jeopardy. Some in the administration, along with NATO allies Britain and Canada, seek revisions that could delay it until at least Aug. 13, the officials said.
The program represents a 13 percent increase over the $420 million in U.S. counternarcotics aid to Afghanistan last year. It would adopt a bold new approach to "coercive eradication" and set out criteria for local officials to receive development assistance based on their cooperation, the officials said.
Although the existing aid, supplemented mainly by Britain and Canada and supported by the NATO force in Afghanistan, has achieved some results — notably an expected rise in the number of "poppy-free" provinces from six to at least 12 and possibly 16, mainly in the north — production elsewhere has soared, they said.
"Afghanistan is providing close to 95 percent of the world's heroin," the State Department's top counternarcotics official, Tom Schweich, said at a recent conference. "That makes it almost a sole-source supplier" and presents a situation "unique in world history."
Almost all the heroin from Afghanistan makes its way to Europe; most of the heroin in the U.S. comes from Latin America.
Afghanistan last year accounted for 92 percent of global opium production, compared with 70 percent in 2000 and 52 percent a decade earlier. The higher yields in Afghanistan brought world production to a record high of 7,286 tons in 2006, 43 percent more than in 2005.
A State Department inspector general's report released Friday noted that the counternarcotics assistance is dwarfed by the estimated $38 billion "street value" of Afghanistan's poppy crop, if all is converted to heroin, and said eradication goals were "not realistic."
Schweich, an advocate of the now-stalled plan, has argued for more vigorous eradication efforts, particularly in southern Helmand province, responsible for some 80 percent of Afghanistan's poppy production. It is where, he says, growers must be punished for ignoring good-faith appeals to switch to alternative, but less lucrative, crops.
"They need to be dealt with in a more severe way," he said at the conference sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "There needs to be a coercive element, that's something we're not going to back away from or shy away from."
But, in fact, many question whether this is the right approach with Afghanistan mired in poverty and in the throes of an insurgency run by the Taliban and residual al-Qaida forces.
Along with Britain, whose troops patrol Helmand, elements in the State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development, the Defense Department and White House Office of National Drug Control Policy have expressed concern, saying that more raids will drive farmers with no other income to join extremists.
There is also skepticism about the incentives in the new strategy from those who believe development assistance should not be denied to local communities because of poppy growth, officials said.
Opponents argue that the benefits of such aid, new roads and other infrastructure, schools and hospitals, will themselves be powerful tools to combat the narcotrade once constructed.
One U.S. official said the plan was a good one but might take another year or two before it can be effectively introduced.
___
On the Net:
White House Office of National Drug Control Policy:
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/
State Department Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs:
http://www.state.gov/p/inl/
Audio link to comments on new strategy by acting Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Thomas Schweich at the Center for Strategic and International Studies:
http://www.csis.org/component/option,com_csis_events/task,view/id,1350/
U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime:
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/index.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070804/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_afghanistan
By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer
Sat Aug 4, 12:27 PM ET
WASHINGTON - Afghanistan will produce another record poppy harvest this year that cements its status as the world's near-sole supplier of the heroin source, yet a furious debate over how to reverse the trend is stalling proposals to cut the crop, U.S. officials say.
As President Bush prepares for weekend talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai, divisions within the U.S. administration and among NATO allies have delayed release of a $475 million counternarcotics program for Afghanistan, where intelligence officials see growing links between drugs and the Taliban, the officials said.
U.N. figures to be released in September are expected to show that Afghanistan's poppy production has risen up to 15 percent since 2006 and that the country now accounts for 95 percent of the world's crop, 3 percentage points more than last year, officials familiar with preliminary statistics told The Associated Press.
But counterdrug proposals by some U.S. officials have met fierce resistance, including boosting the amount of forcible poppy field destruction in provinces that grow the most, officials said. The approach also would link millions of dollars in development aid to benchmarks on eradication; arrests and prosecutions of narcotraders, corrupt officials; and on alternative crop production.
Those ideas represent what proponents call an "enhanced carrot-and-stick approach" to supplement existing anti-drug efforts. They are the focus of the new $475 million program outlined in a 995-page report, the release of which has been postponed twice and may be again delayed due to disagreements, officials said.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because parts of the report remain classified.
Counternarcotics agents at the State Department had wanted to release a 123-page summary of the strategy last month and then again last week, but were forced to hold off because of concerns it may not be feasible, the officials said.
Now, even as Bush sees Karzai on Sunday and Monday at the presidential retreat in Camp David, Md., a tentative release date of Aug. 9, timed to follow the meetings, appears in jeopardy. Some in the administration, along with NATO allies Britain and Canada, seek revisions that could delay it until at least Aug. 13, the officials said.
The program represents a 13 percent increase over the $420 million in U.S. counternarcotics aid to Afghanistan last year. It would adopt a bold new approach to "coercive eradication" and set out criteria for local officials to receive development assistance based on their cooperation, the officials said.
Although the existing aid, supplemented mainly by Britain and Canada and supported by the NATO force in Afghanistan, has achieved some results — notably an expected rise in the number of "poppy-free" provinces from six to at least 12 and possibly 16, mainly in the north — production elsewhere has soared, they said.
"Afghanistan is providing close to 95 percent of the world's heroin," the State Department's top counternarcotics official, Tom Schweich, said at a recent conference. "That makes it almost a sole-source supplier" and presents a situation "unique in world history."
Almost all the heroin from Afghanistan makes its way to Europe; most of the heroin in the U.S. comes from Latin America.
Afghanistan last year accounted for 92 percent of global opium production, compared with 70 percent in 2000 and 52 percent a decade earlier. The higher yields in Afghanistan brought world production to a record high of 7,286 tons in 2006, 43 percent more than in 2005.
A State Department inspector general's report released Friday noted that the counternarcotics assistance is dwarfed by the estimated $38 billion "street value" of Afghanistan's poppy crop, if all is converted to heroin, and said eradication goals were "not realistic."
Schweich, an advocate of the now-stalled plan, has argued for more vigorous eradication efforts, particularly in southern Helmand province, responsible for some 80 percent of Afghanistan's poppy production. It is where, he says, growers must be punished for ignoring good-faith appeals to switch to alternative, but less lucrative, crops.
"They need to be dealt with in a more severe way," he said at the conference sponsored by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. "There needs to be a coercive element, that's something we're not going to back away from or shy away from."
But, in fact, many question whether this is the right approach with Afghanistan mired in poverty and in the throes of an insurgency run by the Taliban and residual al-Qaida forces.
Along with Britain, whose troops patrol Helmand, elements in the State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development, the Defense Department and White House Office of National Drug Control Policy have expressed concern, saying that more raids will drive farmers with no other income to join extremists.
There is also skepticism about the incentives in the new strategy from those who believe development assistance should not be denied to local communities because of poppy growth, officials said.
Opponents argue that the benefits of such aid, new roads and other infrastructure, schools and hospitals, will themselves be powerful tools to combat the narcotrade once constructed.
One U.S. official said the plan was a good one but might take another year or two before it can be effectively introduced.
___
On the Net:
White House Office of National Drug Control Policy:
http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/
State Department Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs:
http://www.state.gov/p/inl/
Audio link to comments on new strategy by acting Assistant Secretary of State for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Thomas Schweich at the Center for Strategic and International Studies:
http://www.csis.org/component/option,com_csis_events/task,view/id,1350/
U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime:
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/index.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070804/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_afghanistan
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
"Prince" Frederick von Anhalt
Prince von A-Hole Naked in His Rolls
Posted Jul 30th 2007 5:14PM by TMZ Staff
Zsa Zsa Gabor's husband, the wacky Freddy von Anhalt, 64, was photographed after a trio of women robbers (he says) pulled up next to him, asked for a photo, but instead robbed him at gunpoint and left him naked and cuffed to his Rolls-Royce. Don't ya just hate when that happens?
The imbecilic 9th husband of 90-year-old Zsa Zsa previously injected himself into the national news by claiming to be the father of Dannielynn Birkhead, saying that he had an affair with the late Anna Nicole Smith. No one has corroborated that alleged liaison. There were also no witnesses to the "robbery."
The wackadoodle Prince has been involved in a feud with Gabor's beleaguered daughter, Francesca Hilton. A Santa Monica Judge fined Zsa Zsa $3,800 for not showing up in court the other day, in a suit said to be instigated by the Prince, claiming that Francesca forged Gabor's signature to take out a $2 million loan with Gabor's Bel Air home as collateral. The Prince said Zsa Zsa will no longer appear in public. According to sources, he also has no interest in the Bel Air mansion because of a prenup with the former Miss Hungary of 1936.
The matter will now go to trial on September 14. Francesca's rep, PR maven Ed Lozzi, told TMZ that Zsa Zsa still talks to her daughter every day. Francesca said (through Lozzi) that when Zsa Zsa called to tell her about "the robbery," she told her daughter, "Dahlink, Frederick first said it was three aliens, but I told him to say it was three humans, because people would think he was crazy." Sources say that video surveillance tapes of Bellagio Road are being reviewed, and that a major publication is asking the D.A. To investigate the "robbery." Filing a false police report is a misdemeanor.
http://www.tmz.com/2007/07/30/prince-von-a-hole-naked-in-his-rolls/
http://www.tmz.com/2007/07/30/prince-von-a-hole-naked-in-his-rolls/
Teen Bullies Man w/ Learning Disability to Death
Hope they rot in Hell. This is why the United States has the death penalty!
-----------------
Evil teenager bullies man with learning difficulties to death
A 17-year-old-girl brutally tortured a man with learning difficulties before forcing him to drop to his death from a 100ft viaduct.
Sick teenager Sarah Bullock ordered Steven Hoskin to dangle from railings high above the ground before she stamped on his fingers until he let go.
Bullock, who was just 16 at the time of the horiffic murder, was jailed for ten years yesterday after being convicted along with her boyfriend Darren Stewart and a second man.
Vulnerable Mr Hoskin, 39, had an IQ in the bottom half a per cent of the population and was treated "like a slave" after the pair moved into his flat.
They beat him up, burned him with cigarettes and made him wear a dog lead call them "sir".
They also took pictures of him sitting against a wall under graffiti spelling out the words "scum bag" and "should be hung".
Then in July last year - after torturing him for an hour and a half - they force-fed him 70 paracetemol.
Along with their friend Martin Pollard, 21, they then made him falsely confess to being a paedophile and frog-marched him to a viaduct in the middle of the night.
As they lead him to his death, Mr Hoskin - who was terrified of heights - was convinced he would be shot by snipers if he cried out for help.
Bullock ordered him to dangle over the edge, where he clung on to a set of railings, before she kicked him in the face and stamped on his hands, shouting "Come on you f***ing* pr**k".
Mr Hoskin, who was described as a child in a man's body and had a reading age of just six - fell 100ft and landed on top of a parked car. He died of massive injuries.
His body was discovered the next day by police who arrested the three friends as well as two 17-year-olds who cannot be named for legal reasons.
During their trial, a jury heard the murder was the culmination of months of physical and mental torture meted out to Mr Hoskin.
Stewart and Bullock, of St Austell, Cornwall, were found guilty of murder at Truro Crown Court on Friday.
A judge lifted an order banning the publication of Bullock's name and jailed her for at least ten years.
Stewart was jailed for life with a minimum of 25 years, while Pollard was cleared of murder but convicted of the lesser charge of manslaughter and jailed for eight years.
Mr Justice Owen said their victim had been "bullied to death".
He said: "Your victim was a highly vulnerable man with severe learning difficulties".
"He was subjected to substantial mental and physical cruelty in which he was violently assaulted, degraded and humiliated.
"A dog lead was put around his neck. He was dragged around and forced to lick spilt drink from the floor. Cigarettes were stubbed out on his head.
"He continued: "He was then walked onto the railway viaduct where he was forced to climb over the rail and fell to his death. You literally bullied him to death.
"The judge also criticised social services for failing to protected Mr Hoskin from his killers.
The court heard Stewart and Bullock began their campaign of bullying after moving into their victim's flat in St Austell, Cornwall, in 2005.
On July 5 the violence and bullying culminated in his being beaten and tortured for 90 minutes and then murdered.
After the murder, the jury heard that Pollard went back to Steven's flat and stole his stereo.
Stewart and the girl also returned to the flat, tidied it up, and then had sex.
During the trial Pollard and Stewart both admitted tormenting Steven but said it was Bullock who had killed him.
Pollard, of Bodmin, Stewart, and Bullock, of St Austell, had pleaded not guilty to the murder on July 6, 2006.
The two 17-year-olds have been found guilty of assault occasioning ABH on July 5 and will be sentenced later.
The pair, also from St Austell, and Bullock were found guilty to falsely imprisoning Steven on July 5.After the verdict Mr Hoskin's uncle Thomas said in a statement: "Steven was tortured, beaten and eventually murdered by a group of people who took advantage of his inability to recognise evil in people.
"Steven led a simple life in many ways and our family were devastated to hear of his untimely death. We now hope he can finally rest in peace.
"Senior investigating officer DCI Mike Fowkes added: "Steven was a gentle man. What he lacked in academic skills he made up for in his openness and generosity.
"Collectively their behaviour culminated in unparalleled cruelty and evil that has absolutely no place in modern society.
"Cornwall County Council has pledged to launch a review into the care of Steven Hoskin.
Monday, July 16, 2007
ESCAPED! Criminally Insane Man on the Loose!
ESCAPED! Criminally Insane Man on the Loose!
This happened last night at the facility I work at. There are two buildings, one is for the criminals (the foresnic center) which is a maximum security facility with 62 inmates, and the other is lower security with about 250 psychiatric patients. They don't specify in this article but did report it on the news.
There is a nation-wide manhunt for Bullocks.
Murder Suspect Escapes From Mental Health Facility
Jul 16 2007 6:20PM
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Police are still searching for a man who escaped from the Twin Valley Behavioral Healthcare facility late Sunday night.
Jerry Bullucks (pictured above) was being held at the facility on Columbus' west side on two counts of attempted murder, 10TV's Penny Moore reported.
It was believed that Bullucks, 19, escaped from the facility shortly before midnight. He was last seen near West Broad Street at about 1:30 a.m., police said.
Police searched a home on Oakley Avenue and West Broad Street at about 4:30 a.m. after they received a phone call that he may have been there. Officers broke into home but did not find anyone inside, 10TV News reported.
He was charged with two counts of aggravated murder, one count of felonious assault, one count of attempted aggravated murder and four counts of aggravated robbery.
Bullucks was taken to the mental health facility instead of going to jail, 10TV News reported.
Currently, 62 patients are housed inside individual rooms at Twin Valley. All have been referred to the facility through the Ohio court system to be restored to competency, or because they were found legally insane after committing a crime, Moore reported.
Bullucks is the first patient to escape from Twin Valley, Moore reported.
Laura Wentz with the Ohio Department of Mental Health said staff members are required to take counts of patients several times a day.
"Counts are done every 15 minutes in all of our facilities to make sure people are where they are supposed to be at that time," Wentz said. "To my understanding, the checks were done (Sunday night) as scheduled."
Bullucks is described as black, 5 feet 8 inches tall, and was wearing a blue Nike shirt with a white T-shirt underneath, denim shorts and blue tennis shoes. Police said he is considered to be dangerous.
Anyone with information is asked to call police.
Stay with 10TV News and 10TV.com for additional information.
http://10tv.com/?sec=&story=sites/10tv/content/pool/200707/325706003.html
Here is more...
If you see Bullocks, please call police!
This happened last night at the facility I work at. There are two buildings, one is for the criminals (the foresnic center) which is a maximum security facility with 62 inmates, and the other is lower security with about 250 psychiatric patients. They don't specify in this article but did report it on the news.
There is a nation-wide manhunt for Bullocks.
Murder Suspect Escapes From Mental Health Facility
Jul 16 2007 6:20PM
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Police are still searching for a man who escaped from the Twin Valley Behavioral Healthcare facility late Sunday night.
Jerry Bullucks (pictured above) was being held at the facility on Columbus' west side on two counts of attempted murder, 10TV's Penny Moore reported.
It was believed that Bullucks, 19, escaped from the facility shortly before midnight. He was last seen near West Broad Street at about 1:30 a.m., police said.
Police searched a home on Oakley Avenue and West Broad Street at about 4:30 a.m. after they received a phone call that he may have been there. Officers broke into home but did not find anyone inside, 10TV News reported.
He was charged with two counts of aggravated murder, one count of felonious assault, one count of attempted aggravated murder and four counts of aggravated robbery.
Bullucks was taken to the mental health facility instead of going to jail, 10TV News reported.
Currently, 62 patients are housed inside individual rooms at Twin Valley. All have been referred to the facility through the Ohio court system to be restored to competency, or because they were found legally insane after committing a crime, Moore reported.
Bullucks is the first patient to escape from Twin Valley, Moore reported.
Laura Wentz with the Ohio Department of Mental Health said staff members are required to take counts of patients several times a day.
"Counts are done every 15 minutes in all of our facilities to make sure people are where they are supposed to be at that time," Wentz said. "To my understanding, the checks were done (Sunday night) as scheduled."
Bullucks is described as black, 5 feet 8 inches tall, and was wearing a blue Nike shirt with a white T-shirt underneath, denim shorts and blue tennis shoes. Police said he is considered to be dangerous.
Anyone with information is asked to call police.
Stay with 10TV News and 10TV.com for additional information.
http://10tv.com/?sec=&story=sites/10tv/content/pool/200707/325706003.html
Here is more...
If you see Bullocks, please call police!
Murder Suspect Escapes From Behaviorial Center
Monday, Jul 16, 2007 - 08:16 AM Updated: 05:54 PM
By Denise Yost
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- State authorities are looking for a murder suspect who escaped from a behavioral center overnight.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol said Gerald Bullocks, 19, escaped from the Twin Valley Behavioral Center shortly before midnight, NBC 4 reported.
Bullocks is charged with two counts of aggravated murder. He is accused of shooting two men during a drug deal in Cincinnati on New Year's Eve. One of the men involved in the shooting died.
Officials at the facility have been tight-lipped about the escape, refusing to answer questions about how Bullocks escaped and how many guards were on duty Sunday night.
When asked specific questions, Twin Valley officials referred NBC 4 to OSP. When OSP officials were approached, they referred questions back to Twin Valley.
According to a confidential source, Bullocks was in the state's only maximum security unit for mental health patients for three weeks. The source told NBC 4 that Bullocks somehow accessed the facility's courtyard where he jumped a fence and was able to escape over a large wall.
According to the Web site for the center, ( http://www.mh.state.oh.us/ibhs/bhos/tvbh.html ), patients at the facility are treated for a variety of disorders, including schizophrenia, depression and bipolar disorder.
Some patients are referred to the center by criminal courts.
Bullocks is described as being 5 feet 8 inches tall. He was last seen wearing a Nike sweatshirt and jean shorts.
Anyone with information is asked to call OSP at 614-466-2660.
According to numbers provided by patrol officials, there have been four escapes, including Bullocks, at the facility since 2002.
The patrol said that in only one of the cases, the escapee was not under court commitment -- meaning that when they escaped, charges would not be filed against them.
In the seven mental health facilities run by the state, there have been an additional 40 escapes since 2002.
Stay with NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com for additional information.
http://www.nbc4i.com/midwest/cmh/news.apx.-content-articles-CMH-2007-07-16-0003.html
Sunday, July 08, 2007
7 new wonders of the world chosen
7 new wonders of the world chosen
By BARRY HATTON, Associated Press Writer
LISBON, Portugal - The Great Wall of China, Rome's Colosseum, India's Taj Mahal and three architectural marvels from Latin America were among the new seven wonders of the world chosen in a global poll released on Saturday.
Jordan's Petra was the seventh winner. Peru's Machu Picchu, Brazil's Statue of Christ Redeemer and Mexico's Chichen Itza pyramid also made the cut.
About 100 million votes were cast by the Internet and cellphone text messages, said New7Wonders, the nonprofit organization that conducted the poll.
The seven beat out 14 other nominated landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower, Easter Island in the Pacific, the Statue of Liberty, the Acropolis, Russia's Kremlin and Australia's Sydney Opera House.
The pyramids of Giza, the only surviving structures from the original seven wonders of the ancient world, were assured of retaining their status in addition to the new seven after indignant Egyptian officials said it was a disgrace they had to compete.
The campaign to name new wonders was launched in 1999 by the Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber. Almost 200 nominations came in, and the list was narrowed to the 21 most-voted by the start of 2006. Organizers admit there was no foolproof way to prevent people from voting more than once for their favorite.
A Peruvian in national costume held up Macchu Piccu's award to the sky and bowed to the crowd with his hands clasped, eliciting one of the biggest cheers from the audience of 50,000 people at a soccer stadium in Portugal's capital, Lisbon.
Many jeered when the Statue of Liberty was announced as one of the candidates. Portugal was widely opposed to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Another Swiss adventurer, Bertrand Piccard, pilot of the first hot-air balloon to fly nonstop around the world, announced one of the winners — then launched into an appeal for people to combat climate change and stand up for human rights before being ushered off the stage.
The Colosseum, the Great Wall, Machu Picchu, the Taj Mahal and Petra had been among the leading candidates since January, while the Statue of Christ Redeemer received a surge in votes more recently.
The Statue of Liberty and Australia's Sydney Opera House were near the bottom of the list from the start.
Also among the losing candidates were Cambodia's Angkor, Spain's Alhambra, Turkey's Hagia Sophia, Japan's Kiyomizu Temple, Russia's Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral, Germany's Neuschwanstein Castle, Britain's Stonehenge and Mali's Timbuktu.
Weber's Switzerland-based foundation aims to promote cultural diversity by supporting, preserving and restoring monuments. It relies on private donations and revenue from selling broadcasting rights.
The U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, keeps a list of World Heritage Sites, which now totals 851 monument. But the agency was not involved in Weber's project.
The traditional seven wonders were concentrated in the Mediterranean and Middle East. That list was derived from lists of marvels compiled by ancient Greek observers, the best known being Antipater of Sidon, a writer in the 2nd century B.C.
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes and the Pharos lighthouse off Alexandria have all vanished.
___
On the Net: http://www.new7wonders.com/
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070707/ap_on_re_eu/new_seven_wonders
By BARRY HATTON, Associated Press Writer
LISBON, Portugal - The Great Wall of China, Rome's Colosseum, India's Taj Mahal and three architectural marvels from Latin America were among the new seven wonders of the world chosen in a global poll released on Saturday.
Jordan's Petra was the seventh winner. Peru's Machu Picchu, Brazil's Statue of Christ Redeemer and Mexico's Chichen Itza pyramid also made the cut.
About 100 million votes were cast by the Internet and cellphone text messages, said New7Wonders, the nonprofit organization that conducted the poll.
The seven beat out 14 other nominated landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower, Easter Island in the Pacific, the Statue of Liberty, the Acropolis, Russia's Kremlin and Australia's Sydney Opera House.
The pyramids of Giza, the only surviving structures from the original seven wonders of the ancient world, were assured of retaining their status in addition to the new seven after indignant Egyptian officials said it was a disgrace they had to compete.
The campaign to name new wonders was launched in 1999 by the Swiss adventurer Bernard Weber. Almost 200 nominations came in, and the list was narrowed to the 21 most-voted by the start of 2006. Organizers admit there was no foolproof way to prevent people from voting more than once for their favorite.
A Peruvian in national costume held up Macchu Piccu's award to the sky and bowed to the crowd with his hands clasped, eliciting one of the biggest cheers from the audience of 50,000 people at a soccer stadium in Portugal's capital, Lisbon.
Many jeered when the Statue of Liberty was announced as one of the candidates. Portugal was widely opposed to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq.
Another Swiss adventurer, Bertrand Piccard, pilot of the first hot-air balloon to fly nonstop around the world, announced one of the winners — then launched into an appeal for people to combat climate change and stand up for human rights before being ushered off the stage.
The Colosseum, the Great Wall, Machu Picchu, the Taj Mahal and Petra had been among the leading candidates since January, while the Statue of Christ Redeemer received a surge in votes more recently.
The Statue of Liberty and Australia's Sydney Opera House were near the bottom of the list from the start.
Also among the losing candidates were Cambodia's Angkor, Spain's Alhambra, Turkey's Hagia Sophia, Japan's Kiyomizu Temple, Russia's Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral, Germany's Neuschwanstein Castle, Britain's Stonehenge and Mali's Timbuktu.
Weber's Switzerland-based foundation aims to promote cultural diversity by supporting, preserving and restoring monuments. It relies on private donations and revenue from selling broadcasting rights.
The U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, or UNESCO, keeps a list of World Heritage Sites, which now totals 851 monument. But the agency was not involved in Weber's project.
The traditional seven wonders were concentrated in the Mediterranean and Middle East. That list was derived from lists of marvels compiled by ancient Greek observers, the best known being Antipater of Sidon, a writer in the 2nd century B.C.
The Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Temple of Artemis at Ephesus, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes and the Pharos lighthouse off Alexandria have all vanished.
___
On the Net: http://www.new7wonders.com/
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070707/ap_on_re_eu/new_seven_wonders
Saturday, July 07, 2007
Fierce heat wave fuels Western wildfires
Fierce heat wave fuels Western wildfires
By JENNIFER DOBNER, Associated Press Writer
SALT LAKE CITY - A scorching heat wave coupled with tinder-dry conditions sent wildfires running amok throughout the West on Saturday, forcing authorities to evacuate homes and close highways and wilderness areas.
A 160,000-acre wildfire in Utah jumped a freeway Saturday, forcing the closure of Interstate 15 for a 100-mile stretch through central Utah, fire officials said. The fire, about 120 miles south of Salt Lake City, also forced the evacuations of Cove Fort and the Blundell Geo Thermal Power Plant, where it was threatening railroad lines, bridges and several homes, Color County Fire Information Officer LaCee Bartholomew said.
Interstate 70 was also closed in Richfield, Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Steve Winward said.
The fire, which has burned about 250 square miles, was triggered by lightning Friday afternoon and was pushed north and west Saturday by high winds, Bartholomew said. Fire crews had help from air tankers, but the heavy smoke was increasing the risk to those on the ground, she said.
Lightning also sparked more than a dozen fires that have charred about 55 square miles in remote northern Nevada, where the temperature in Elko hit 94 on Saturday.
One fire had burned 36 square miles, or 23,000 acres, along the Idaho border, said Mike Brown, a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. It was 10 percent contained Saturday, officials said. A firefighter was treated at and released from a hospital in Twin Falls, Idaho, with burns.
Another fire blackened 11 square miles, or 7,000 acres, about five miles southwest of Carlin. It burned two mobile homes and several smaller structures, and shut down a section of Interstate 80 for six hours overnight, fire information officer Tracie Winfrey said. On Saturday morning, the fire was 40 percent contained.
Yet another Nevada fire that was started by lightning Saturday threatened structures and led to the evacuation of campers about 30 miles south of Elko, officials said.
In California, more than 400 firefighters battled a blaze that has consumed 17,000 acres of the 2 million-acre Inyo National Forest east of Yosemite National Park, forest spokeswoman Nancy Upham said Saturday. Firefighters were searching for and evacuating hikers and backpackers.
A section of Highway 395, which runs along the eastern spine of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, was closed, and many smaller roads leading from the highway into the mountains were also closed. Campgrounds and a lodge had been evacuated, Upham said.
Wildfires also burned in Southern California, western Colorado, northern Arizona, eastern Oregon and northeastern Washington.
The fires have been fueled by an oppressive heat wave that has been felt throughout the region for days but has now eased a bit in places. Still, forecasters predicted little relief in the days ahead for a region where many cities have baked in triple-digit temperatures.
In Idaho, residents of the Wood River Valley and Boise were warned they could see electrical failures in the middle of the heat wave. A wildfire damaged dozens of power poles on Friday and caused one to fall on a substation and destroy a transformer, said Jeff Beaman, a spokesman for Idaho Power.
The damage could cause rotating outages, and residents were asked to reduce their power usage so the utility could meet demand, Beaman said.
In Montana, it was even too hot to fish.
Yellowstone National Park and state fisheries managers asked anglers starting Saturday not to fish on some Montana rivers between noon and 6 p.m. because of drought and scorching weather. Water temperatures in some lower-elevation rivers have reached 73 degrees in recent days, conditions that can stress and even kill fish, the National Park Service said Friday.
Park officials hoped the voluntary restrictions would prevent mandatory closures later in the season.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070708/ap_on_re_us/wildfires
By JENNIFER DOBNER, Associated Press Writer
SALT LAKE CITY - A scorching heat wave coupled with tinder-dry conditions sent wildfires running amok throughout the West on Saturday, forcing authorities to evacuate homes and close highways and wilderness areas.
A 160,000-acre wildfire in Utah jumped a freeway Saturday, forcing the closure of Interstate 15 for a 100-mile stretch through central Utah, fire officials said. The fire, about 120 miles south of Salt Lake City, also forced the evacuations of Cove Fort and the Blundell Geo Thermal Power Plant, where it was threatening railroad lines, bridges and several homes, Color County Fire Information Officer LaCee Bartholomew said.
Interstate 70 was also closed in Richfield, Utah Highway Patrol Lt. Steve Winward said.
The fire, which has burned about 250 square miles, was triggered by lightning Friday afternoon and was pushed north and west Saturday by high winds, Bartholomew said. Fire crews had help from air tankers, but the heavy smoke was increasing the risk to those on the ground, she said.
Lightning also sparked more than a dozen fires that have charred about 55 square miles in remote northern Nevada, where the temperature in Elko hit 94 on Saturday.
One fire had burned 36 square miles, or 23,000 acres, along the Idaho border, said Mike Brown, a spokesman for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. It was 10 percent contained Saturday, officials said. A firefighter was treated at and released from a hospital in Twin Falls, Idaho, with burns.
Another fire blackened 11 square miles, or 7,000 acres, about five miles southwest of Carlin. It burned two mobile homes and several smaller structures, and shut down a section of Interstate 80 for six hours overnight, fire information officer Tracie Winfrey said. On Saturday morning, the fire was 40 percent contained.
Yet another Nevada fire that was started by lightning Saturday threatened structures and led to the evacuation of campers about 30 miles south of Elko, officials said.
In California, more than 400 firefighters battled a blaze that has consumed 17,000 acres of the 2 million-acre Inyo National Forest east of Yosemite National Park, forest spokeswoman Nancy Upham said Saturday. Firefighters were searching for and evacuating hikers and backpackers.
A section of Highway 395, which runs along the eastern spine of the Sierra Nevada mountain range, was closed, and many smaller roads leading from the highway into the mountains were also closed. Campgrounds and a lodge had been evacuated, Upham said.
Wildfires also burned in Southern California, western Colorado, northern Arizona, eastern Oregon and northeastern Washington.
The fires have been fueled by an oppressive heat wave that has been felt throughout the region for days but has now eased a bit in places. Still, forecasters predicted little relief in the days ahead for a region where many cities have baked in triple-digit temperatures.
In Idaho, residents of the Wood River Valley and Boise were warned they could see electrical failures in the middle of the heat wave. A wildfire damaged dozens of power poles on Friday and caused one to fall on a substation and destroy a transformer, said Jeff Beaman, a spokesman for Idaho Power.
The damage could cause rotating outages, and residents were asked to reduce their power usage so the utility could meet demand, Beaman said.
In Montana, it was even too hot to fish.
Yellowstone National Park and state fisheries managers asked anglers starting Saturday not to fish on some Montana rivers between noon and 6 p.m. because of drought and scorching weather. Water temperatures in some lower-elevation rivers have reached 73 degrees in recent days, conditions that can stress and even kill fish, the National Park Service said Friday.
Park officials hoped the voluntary restrictions would prevent mandatory closures later in the season.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070708/ap_on_re_us/wildfires
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Congratulations Nancy Grace!
Well I retract any doubt I had earlier today. Nancy Grace announced tonight on her CNN show that she in fact is married and expecting twins. Above is a wedding photo.NANCY'S SECRET WEDDING
AND SHE'S HAVING TWINS
By MICHAEL STARR
June 26, 2007 -- NANCY Grace is revealing that she was secretly married in April-and that she's expecting twins in January.
"I'm finally not keeping it a secret anymore," she told The Post.
Grace says she still hasn't told CNN that she's pregnant. She'll officially make the announcement tonight on her Headline News show, "Nancy Grace."
Grace married David Linch -an Atlanta investment banker she has known since they attended Mercer College together in the late 1970s.
"We've been in touch all these years and a lot of time we were separated by geography and time," she says. "It was a spur-of-the-moment decision to get married. I told my family only two days before [the wedding].
"We got married in April in Atlanta with just my family and his family there," she says. "It was a simple ceremony conducted by my longtime pastor from a little Methodist church in Macon.
"I walked down the aisle to my favorite song, 'Moon River,' and I did my own vows. I read from the Book of Ruth and I wore my sister's bridal veil.
"I never thought it would happen like this," she says. "I thought 'mother' and 'wife' was just not part of God's plan for me.
"This is such a blessing, and I just can't believe that, at my age, I would find such happiness."
She declined to say if she'd had fertility treatments in order to become pregnant at age 47.
"But you tell women out there that there is hope," she said.
Time will tell if motherhood and marriage mellows the cable news channel host's pit-bull disposition.
But her personal news does answer questions that arose when she left Court TV last month.
"I knew something had to go, and that [something] was Court TV," she says. "I was firm that I wanted out of my option, but I didn't reveal that I was carrying twins."
So how does Grace think CNN will react to the news? "They'll be thrilled," she says. "I don't think they'll be angry at all."
http://www.nypost.com/seven/06262007/tv/nancys_secret_wedding_tv_michael_starr.htm
Benoit strangled wife, smothered son
You will be missed, Chris. I hope you and your family are at peace now.Benoit strangled wife, smothered son
By GREG BLUESTEIN, Associated Press Writer
ATLANTA - Pro wrestler Chris Benoit strangled his wife, suffocated his 7-year-old son and placed a Bible next to their bodies before hanging himself by the pulley of a weightlifting machine, authorities said Tuesday.
Investigators also found prescription anabolic steroids in the house, Lt. Tommy Pope of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department. He would not comment on Benoit's state of mind or possible motive.
Autopsies showed all three died of asphyxiation, Pope said.
Benoit's wife, Nancy, was killed Friday in an upstairs family room, her feet and wrists were bound and there was blood under her head, indicating a possible struggle, Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard said.
The son, Daniel, was likely killed late Saturday or early Sunday, the body found in his bed, Ballard said.
Benoit apparently killed himself several hours and as long as a day later, Ballard said. His body was found in a downstairs weight room, his body found hanging from the pulley of a piece of exercise equipment.
The prosecutor said he found it "bizarre" that the WWE wrestling star spread out the killings over a long weekend and appeared to remain in the house for up to a day with the bodies.
"I'm baffled about why anybody would kill a 7-year-old," Ballard said. "I don't think we'll ever be able wrap our head around that."
Earlier, a law enforcement official speaking on a condition of anonymity said Benoit strangled his wife and smothered his son.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070626/ap_on_re_us/wrestler_dead
By GREG BLUESTEIN, Associated Press Writer
ATLANTA - Pro wrestler Chris Benoit strangled his wife, suffocated his 7-year-old son and placed a Bible next to their bodies before hanging himself by the pulley of a weightlifting machine, authorities said Tuesday.
Investigators also found prescription anabolic steroids in the house, Lt. Tommy Pope of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department. He would not comment on Benoit's state of mind or possible motive.
Autopsies showed all three died of asphyxiation, Pope said.
Benoit's wife, Nancy, was killed Friday in an upstairs family room, her feet and wrists were bound and there was blood under her head, indicating a possible struggle, Fayette County District Attorney Scott Ballard said.
The son, Daniel, was likely killed late Saturday or early Sunday, the body found in his bed, Ballard said.
Benoit apparently killed himself several hours and as long as a day later, Ballard said. His body was found in a downstairs weight room, his body found hanging from the pulley of a piece of exercise equipment.
The prosecutor said he found it "bizarre" that the WWE wrestling star spread out the killings over a long weekend and appeared to remain in the house for up to a day with the bodies.
"I'm baffled about why anybody would kill a 7-year-old," Ballard said. "I don't think we'll ever be able wrap our head around that."
Earlier, a law enforcement official speaking on a condition of anonymity said Benoit strangled his wife and smothered his son.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070626/ap_on_re_us/wrestler_dead
Is Nancy Grace married and pregnant?
Supposedly this is the pregnant Nancy, I just don't buy it...I am the moderator of a Nancy Grace discussion group. Do you fans think this is true?
http://levi56.proboards58.com/index.cgi?board=nancynews&action=display&thread=1182872579&page=1
http://www.celebrity-babies.com/2007/06/cnns-nancy-grac.html
http://www.accesshollywood.com/news/ah5880.shtml
http://levi56.proboards58.com/index.cgi?board=nancynews&action=display&thread=1182872579&page=1
http://www.celebrity-babies.com/2007/06/cnns-nancy-grac.html
http://www.accesshollywood.com/news/ah5880.shtml
First Photo: CNN's Nancy Grace Pregnant With Twins! Tuesday June 26, 2007
Anchorwoman and lawyer Nancy Grace is known for exposing the truth on her self-titled program on CNN's Headline News, but she's been keeping a huge secret of her own: twins! Grace, 47, is revealing that she is four months pregnant.
(The father is her investment banker husband, David Linch, 48, whom she wed April 21.)
"I kept [the pregnancy] quiet because I wanted to make sure all would be healthy," Grace, a Georgia native, tells Us. "I've worn loose-fitting clothes and I guess [audiences] just thought I was getting heavier!"
Any crazy cravings? "Watermelon, peaches and my mother's southern fried chicken!"
http://www.usmagazine.com/cnn_s_nancy_grace_pregnant_with_twins
Anchorwoman and lawyer Nancy Grace is known for exposing the truth on her self-titled program on CNN's Headline News, but she's been keeping a huge secret of her own: twins! Grace, 47, is revealing that she is four months pregnant.
(The father is her investment banker husband, David Linch, 48, whom she wed April 21.)
"I kept [the pregnancy] quiet because I wanted to make sure all would be healthy," Grace, a Georgia native, tells Us. "I've worn loose-fitting clothes and I guess [audiences] just thought I was getting heavier!"
Any crazy cravings? "Watermelon, peaches and my mother's southern fried chicken!"
http://www.usmagazine.com/cnn_s_nancy_grace_pregnant_with_twins
Monday, June 25, 2007
No matter how it happened, I will miss Chris Benoit.
Wrestler Benoit, wife and son found dead
By DEBBIE NEWBY, Associated Press Writer
FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. - WWE wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife, and son were found dead Monday and police said they were investigating the deaths as a murder-suicide.
Detective Bo Turner told television station WAGA that the case was being treated as a murder-suicide, but said that couldn't be confirmed until evidence was examined by a crime lab.
The station said that investigators believe the 40-year-old Benoit killed his wife, Nancy, and 7-year-old son, Daniel, over the weekend, then himself on Monday. A neighbor called police, and the bodies were found in three rooms.
Lead investigator Lt. Tommy Pope, of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department, told The Associated Press the deaths were being investigated as homicide, and that the causes of death awaited autopsy results on Tuesday. Pope said the bodies were discovered about 2:30 p.m., but refused to release details.
The house is in a secluded neighborhood set back about 60 yards off a gravel road, surrounded by stacked stone wall and a double-iron gate. On Monday night, the house was dark except for a few outside lights. There was a police car in front, along with two uniformed officers.
Benoit was a former world heavyweight and Intercontinental champion. He also held several tag-team titles during his career.
"WWE extends its sincerest thoughts and prayers to the Benoit family's relatives and loved ones in this time of tragedy," the federation said in a statement on its Web site.
Benoit was scheduled to perform at the "Vengeance" pay-per-view event Sunday night in Houston, but was replaced at the last minute because of what announcer Jim Ross called "personal reasons."
The native of Canada maintained a home in metro Atlanta from the time he wrestled for the defunct World Championship Wrestling.
The WWE canceled its live "Monday Night RAW" card in Corpus Christi, Texas, and USA Network aired a three-hour tribute to Benoit in place of the scheduled wrestling telecast.
"My relationship with Chris has extended many years and I consider him a great friend," Carl DeMarco, the president of WWE Canada, said in a statement. "Chris was always first-class — warm, friendly, caring and professional one of the best in our business."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070626/ap_on_re_us/wrestler_dead
By DEBBIE NEWBY, Associated Press Writer
FAYETTEVILLE, Ga. - WWE wrestler Chris Benoit, his wife, and son were found dead Monday and police said they were investigating the deaths as a murder-suicide.
Detective Bo Turner told television station WAGA that the case was being treated as a murder-suicide, but said that couldn't be confirmed until evidence was examined by a crime lab.
The station said that investigators believe the 40-year-old Benoit killed his wife, Nancy, and 7-year-old son, Daniel, over the weekend, then himself on Monday. A neighbor called police, and the bodies were found in three rooms.
Lead investigator Lt. Tommy Pope, of the Fayette County Sheriff's Department, told The Associated Press the deaths were being investigated as homicide, and that the causes of death awaited autopsy results on Tuesday. Pope said the bodies were discovered about 2:30 p.m., but refused to release details.
The house is in a secluded neighborhood set back about 60 yards off a gravel road, surrounded by stacked stone wall and a double-iron gate. On Monday night, the house was dark except for a few outside lights. There was a police car in front, along with two uniformed officers.
Benoit was a former world heavyweight and Intercontinental champion. He also held several tag-team titles during his career.
"WWE extends its sincerest thoughts and prayers to the Benoit family's relatives and loved ones in this time of tragedy," the federation said in a statement on its Web site.
Benoit was scheduled to perform at the "Vengeance" pay-per-view event Sunday night in Houston, but was replaced at the last minute because of what announcer Jim Ross called "personal reasons."
The native of Canada maintained a home in metro Atlanta from the time he wrestled for the defunct World Championship Wrestling.
The WWE canceled its live "Monday Night RAW" card in Corpus Christi, Texas, and USA Network aired a three-hour tribute to Benoit in place of the scheduled wrestling telecast.
"My relationship with Chris has extended many years and I consider him a great friend," Carl DeMarco, the president of WWE Canada, said in a statement. "Chris was always first-class — warm, friendly, caring and professional one of the best in our business."
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070626/ap_on_re_us/wrestler_dead
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Christopher Vaughn charged with murder
Yet another tragedy...
Man charged with killing wife, 3 kids
By CARLA K. JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer
JOLIET, Ill. - Just hours before a man was to attend a memorial service for his wife and three young children, authorities arrested him at a Missouri funeral home on charges of gunning down his family in their sport utility vehicle.
Police initially said Christopher Vaughn, 32, was not a suspect in the killings that were discovered June 14 after Vaughn flagged down a motorist on a service road in Channahon, about 40 miles southwest of Chicago.
Vaughn, who works as a computer forensic adviser, had been shot in the thigh. His wife, Kimberly, 34, was shot once, while each their children — Abigayle, 12; Cassandra, 11; and Blake, 8 — were shot twice.
His handgun was found at the scene, authorities said.
Prosecutor James Glasgow, who declined to discuss possible motives, said Vaughn with charged with two murder counts per victim.
One set of counts alleges he shot with intent to kill and the other alleges he shot knowing that it was likely to cause death or great bodily harm.
Before he was arrested, Vaughn had voluntarily met with investigators three times to answer questions.
Authorities would not say what evidence tipped the balance enough to allow them to seek an arrest warrant from a judge late Friday.
The charges were built from numerous interviews, forensic evidence, computer files and phone records, authorities said.
Glasgow said he has 120 days to decide whether to seek the death penalty."We are hopeful that with the issuance of these charges that Kimberly Vaughn and her three beautiful children can truly rest in peace," said Glasgow.
"Everyone who came in contact with this case was moved by what they saw."Word of Vaughn's arrest circulated among the mourners as the service, hundreds of miles away at New Hope Presbyterian Church in St. Charles, Mo., drew to a close.
"We should not be here today, but the events of this past week have been thrust upon us, events which are indescribable and unspeakable," said the Rev. Christopher James.
The church was a special place for Kimberly Vaughn and the children; she attended since its 1994 inception and it was the place the kids were later baptized.
Kimberly Vaughn's parents still attend the church.
The service included no caskets. Kimberly Vaughn and her children had been quietly buried in a nearby cemetery to avoid media attention.
Photographs showing the kids at play or their mother's days playing volleyball filled four poster boards at the church.
Only one of the roughly 100 pictures — a small snapshot of the family — showed Christopher Vaughn.
The Vaughns, who once lived in Missouri, moved from Washington state to the Chicago area about a year ago. They lived briefly in Aurora before relocating to a spacious home in Oswego.
Glasgow said he hoped Vaughn would be extradited from Missouri to Illinois soon. He said Vaughn indicated he intended to fight extradition.
Phone messages seeking comment were left Saturday at the offices of Christopher Vaughn's attorney in Missouri. Vaughn was being held without bond at St. Charles County Detention Center, authorities said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070624/ap_on_re_us/bodies_found
Man charged with killing wife, 3 kids
By CARLA K. JOHNSON, Associated Press Writer
JOLIET, Ill. - Just hours before a man was to attend a memorial service for his wife and three young children, authorities arrested him at a Missouri funeral home on charges of gunning down his family in their sport utility vehicle.
Police initially said Christopher Vaughn, 32, was not a suspect in the killings that were discovered June 14 after Vaughn flagged down a motorist on a service road in Channahon, about 40 miles southwest of Chicago.
Vaughn, who works as a computer forensic adviser, had been shot in the thigh. His wife, Kimberly, 34, was shot once, while each their children — Abigayle, 12; Cassandra, 11; and Blake, 8 — were shot twice.
His handgun was found at the scene, authorities said.
Prosecutor James Glasgow, who declined to discuss possible motives, said Vaughn with charged with two murder counts per victim.
One set of counts alleges he shot with intent to kill and the other alleges he shot knowing that it was likely to cause death or great bodily harm.
Before he was arrested, Vaughn had voluntarily met with investigators three times to answer questions.
Authorities would not say what evidence tipped the balance enough to allow them to seek an arrest warrant from a judge late Friday.
The charges were built from numerous interviews, forensic evidence, computer files and phone records, authorities said.
Glasgow said he has 120 days to decide whether to seek the death penalty."We are hopeful that with the issuance of these charges that Kimberly Vaughn and her three beautiful children can truly rest in peace," said Glasgow.
"Everyone who came in contact with this case was moved by what they saw."Word of Vaughn's arrest circulated among the mourners as the service, hundreds of miles away at New Hope Presbyterian Church in St. Charles, Mo., drew to a close.
"We should not be here today, but the events of this past week have been thrust upon us, events which are indescribable and unspeakable," said the Rev. Christopher James.
The church was a special place for Kimberly Vaughn and the children; she attended since its 1994 inception and it was the place the kids were later baptized.
Kimberly Vaughn's parents still attend the church.
The service included no caskets. Kimberly Vaughn and her children had been quietly buried in a nearby cemetery to avoid media attention.
Photographs showing the kids at play or their mother's days playing volleyball filled four poster boards at the church.
Only one of the roughly 100 pictures — a small snapshot of the family — showed Christopher Vaughn.
The Vaughns, who once lived in Missouri, moved from Washington state to the Chicago area about a year ago. They lived briefly in Aurora before relocating to a spacious home in Oswego.
Glasgow said he hoped Vaughn would be extradited from Missouri to Illinois soon. He said Vaughn indicated he intended to fight extradition.
Phone messages seeking comment were left Saturday at the offices of Christopher Vaughn's attorney in Missouri. Vaughn was being held without bond at St. Charles County Detention Center, authorities said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070624/ap_on_re_us/bodies_found
Saturday, June 23, 2007
More details in Jessie Davis case
Body reportedly recovered from Meyers LakeUPDATE: 5:13 PM, Saturday, June 23, 2007
Investigators reportedly found a body in Meyers Lake believed to be that of Jessie Marie Davis.
A source close to the family of Bobby Cutts Jr. said the body was found earlier today.
Davis was nine-months pregnant with a child believed to be Cutts' and had a 2-year-old by him. The 26-year-old was last seen June 13, and Cutts was among the last people known to have talked with her.
Sources said Cutts is in custody, and the Stark County Sheriff's Department has a press conference scheduled for 6 p.m. today.
Cutts, 30, has been a Canton police officer since 2001.
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=361502
Of course we know this was bogus, probably trying to throw off the investigation. Meyer's Lake is too far south of Cuyahoga Nat'l Park. If it is her that was found at the lake, then who was found at the park, and vice versa?
Above is a map. You can't see it on here but Meyer's Lake is between Canton and Akron. The park is north of Akron.
Jessie Marie Davis Found!
Family asks for peace and quiet
UPDATE: 6:32 PM, Saturday, June 23, 2007
Now that her body has been found, the family of Jessie Marie Davis is asking to be left alone to grieve.
Rick Pitinii, the attorney for the Porter-Davis familiy attended a press conference tonight, at which Stark County Chief Deputy Rick Perez announced the arrest of Bobby L. Cutts Jr. in the death of Davis and her unborn girl. Cutts is going to be charged with two counts of murder Monday in Canton Municipal Court.
The attorney asked that the media leave the family alone for the next few days.
Cutts was arrested today in the deaths of Davis, 26, and the child she was to deliver July 3.
The body of Davis, who has not been seen since June 13, was recovered about 3:30 p.m. today in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Summit County. Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Rick Perez said he cannot say exactly where the body was recovered or what led investigators to the site because the case remains under investigation.
Stark County Prosecutor John Ferrero acknowledged there is lots he and investigators won’t say. “This case is still being investigated and a lot of items you people want to know we can’t disclose at this time because it still under invesigation. We ask for your patience.”
Cutts, 30, has been a Canton police officer since 2001. Canton Police Chief Dean McKimm joined tonight’s press conference. He said though he’s saddened by the outcome of the case, it also proves that “no matter who you are and what position you hold, law enforcement will pursue justice.”
“ While Canton PD has kept a major distance from this investigation, we stand ready able and anxious to continue our cooperation ... through the conclusion of this case,” he said. “No one wants a quicker resolution to this than law enforcement.”
Davis family gathered at the Stark County Sheriff’s Department shortly before the press conference began at 6 p.m.
Also at the sheriff’s office were people who lead a search by EquuSearch, who for three days combed area of Lake Township near Davis’ Essex Avenue NW duplex.
Authorities questioned Cutts several times over the past week and searched his Aryshire Avenue NE home on Monday and again on Wednesday.
Cutts had acknowledged he spoke to Davis on the night of June 13, though he had said it was by phone.
He had denied he had anything to do with her disappearance.
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=361519&r=0&Category=9&subCategoryID=0
Authorities expected to question woman in Davis' murder case
UPDATE: 6:57 PM, Saturday, June 23, 2007
BY Todd Porter REPOSITORY STAFF WRITER
Investigators are expected to question a friend of Bobby Cutts Jr. who may have helped him take the body of Jessie Marie Davis from her Lake Township home to a wooded site in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Cutts has been arrested and will be formally charged Monday with two counts of murder — that of Davis and of the girl she was to give birth to on July 3.
A source who has supported Cutts since Davis went missing on June 13 or 14 said Cutts told him he “came to the house and found her (Davis) lying on the floor. ... He called a girl he knows to help him move the body.”
The source said Cutts did not say he had caused Davis’ death, but said he moved the body because he feared no one would believe him.
The source had spoken with Cutts' mother Saturday afternoon.
Cutts told The Repository earlier this week that he had nothing to do with Davis’ disappearance.
Asked if he believed Davis would be found alive, he said, “Hopefully.”
Cutts was questioned and read his rights on June 15 by local authorities, his attorney Bradley Iams said. He was interviewed without being Mirandized by the FBI on Wednesday morning, Iams said.
The Repository spoke to a woman who said Cutts phoned her several times late Wednesday night into Thursday morning. The woman, who The Repository granted anonymity because she was romantically involved with Cutts and is married with children, said Cutts phoned her around 10:30 and asked her to join him at Champs, a bar in Canton where Cutts was seen until about 12:30.
The woman never joined him.
The woman's attorney said Cutts phoned her several times from the bar, based on background music, and then called her from his car after he left to meet with him. She said she did not hear from Cutts after 2 a.m. Thursday.
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=361522&r=0&Category=9&subCategoryID=0
UPDATE: 6:32 PM, Saturday, June 23, 2007
Now that her body has been found, the family of Jessie Marie Davis is asking to be left alone to grieve.
Rick Pitinii, the attorney for the Porter-Davis familiy attended a press conference tonight, at which Stark County Chief Deputy Rick Perez announced the arrest of Bobby L. Cutts Jr. in the death of Davis and her unborn girl. Cutts is going to be charged with two counts of murder Monday in Canton Municipal Court.
The attorney asked that the media leave the family alone for the next few days.
Cutts was arrested today in the deaths of Davis, 26, and the child she was to deliver July 3.
The body of Davis, who has not been seen since June 13, was recovered about 3:30 p.m. today in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park in Summit County. Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Rick Perez said he cannot say exactly where the body was recovered or what led investigators to the site because the case remains under investigation.
Stark County Prosecutor John Ferrero acknowledged there is lots he and investigators won’t say. “This case is still being investigated and a lot of items you people want to know we can’t disclose at this time because it still under invesigation. We ask for your patience.”
Cutts, 30, has been a Canton police officer since 2001. Canton Police Chief Dean McKimm joined tonight’s press conference. He said though he’s saddened by the outcome of the case, it also proves that “no matter who you are and what position you hold, law enforcement will pursue justice.”
“ While Canton PD has kept a major distance from this investigation, we stand ready able and anxious to continue our cooperation ... through the conclusion of this case,” he said. “No one wants a quicker resolution to this than law enforcement.”
Davis family gathered at the Stark County Sheriff’s Department shortly before the press conference began at 6 p.m.
Also at the sheriff’s office were people who lead a search by EquuSearch, who for three days combed area of Lake Township near Davis’ Essex Avenue NW duplex.
Authorities questioned Cutts several times over the past week and searched his Aryshire Avenue NE home on Monday and again on Wednesday.
Cutts had acknowledged he spoke to Davis on the night of June 13, though he had said it was by phone.
He had denied he had anything to do with her disappearance.
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=361519&r=0&Category=9&subCategoryID=0
Authorities expected to question woman in Davis' murder case
UPDATE: 6:57 PM, Saturday, June 23, 2007
BY Todd Porter REPOSITORY STAFF WRITER
Investigators are expected to question a friend of Bobby Cutts Jr. who may have helped him take the body of Jessie Marie Davis from her Lake Township home to a wooded site in the Cuyahoga Valley National Park.
Cutts has been arrested and will be formally charged Monday with two counts of murder — that of Davis and of the girl she was to give birth to on July 3.
A source who has supported Cutts since Davis went missing on June 13 or 14 said Cutts told him he “came to the house and found her (Davis) lying on the floor. ... He called a girl he knows to help him move the body.”
The source said Cutts did not say he had caused Davis’ death, but said he moved the body because he feared no one would believe him.
The source had spoken with Cutts' mother Saturday afternoon.
Cutts told The Repository earlier this week that he had nothing to do with Davis’ disappearance.
Asked if he believed Davis would be found alive, he said, “Hopefully.”
Cutts was questioned and read his rights on June 15 by local authorities, his attorney Bradley Iams said. He was interviewed without being Mirandized by the FBI on Wednesday morning, Iams said.
The Repository spoke to a woman who said Cutts phoned her several times late Wednesday night into Thursday morning. The woman, who The Repository granted anonymity because she was romantically involved with Cutts and is married with children, said Cutts phoned her around 10:30 and asked her to join him at Champs, a bar in Canton where Cutts was seen until about 12:30.
The woman never joined him.
The woman's attorney said Cutts phoned her several times from the bar, based on background music, and then called her from his car after he left to meet with him. She said she did not hear from Cutts after 2 a.m. Thursday.
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=361522&r=0&Category=9&subCategoryID=0
UPDATE: Jessie Davis case
Ohio sheriff: Found baby is not missing woman's
POSTED: 10:59 p.m. EDT, June 22, 2007
Story Highlights
• NEW: Pastor says he's praying with woman's boyfriend every day
• Adult admits leaving newborn on stranger's doorstep, sheriff says
• Missing woman's mom says she suspects boyfriend, a police officer
• Davis, 26, near term, hasn't been heard from since June 13
UNIONTOWN, Ohio (AP) -- A baby girl found on an Ohio doorstep does not belong to a missing pregnant woman, the Wayne County Sheriff's Department said Friday.
The baby was discovered about 45 miles from the home of Jessie Davis, who was nearly nine months pregnant with a girl when she disappeared last week.
A woman who said she concealed her pregnancy from her family admitted leaving the newborn on the doorstep, Wayne County Sheriff Thomas Maurer said. That case has been turned over to the county prosecutor's office.
"This incident is not related to the ongoing investigation by the Stark County Sheriff's Office in the disappearance of Jessie Davis," Maurer said in a news release.
Davis, 26, was reported missing one week ago Friday after her mother found the young woman's bedroom in disarray, the furniture overturned and Davis' young son home alone.
The 2-year-old boy, who may be the only witness to his mother's disappearance, told investigators: "Mommy was crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy's in rug."
On Friday, some 250 volunteers lined up for a second day to help search surrounding fields and woods for any sign of Davis. More than 1,800 volunteers had turned up Thursday to scour backyards, vacant fields and a Christmas tree farm.
Davis' mother, Patricia Porter, was the last person to speak to Davis on June 13 and said she's focused on finding her daughter.
"We are not stopping, and whoever's done this, I hope they don't think that we're going home," she said Friday. "No one's going home and we are not stopping until we find her and find who did this to her."
When Porter was asked Friday by NBC's "Today" show if she considered Bobby Cutts Jr., the father of Davis' 2-year-old son and possibly of her unborn baby, a suspect, she replied: "Yes, he's a suspect."
"I still pray that it's not him," she said. "That doesn't mean that I don't think he's a suspect, as well."
Her attorney, Rick Pitinii, said later that her comments about Cutts were based more on her emotions than on any evidence in the case.
Authorities have talked with Cutts, a Canton police officer, and searched his home, but investigators have repeatedly said he is not a suspect. Cutts, 30, says he had nothing to do with Davis' disappearance.
The pastor of the church Cutts attends has been praying with him every day, and said Friday that Cutts, as a police officer, understands why the boyfriend of a missing woman would be under scrutiny.
"He understands what goes with the territory," said the Rev. C.A. Richmond Sr., pastor at Logos Baptist Assembly. "Of course he is anxious for a resolution and disposition of the whole matter and he is confident they will find he had nothing to do with her disappearance."
One of the people searching for Davis on Friday, Karrin Herberghs, 38, of Plain Township, said Cutts was the assistant coach for her 5-year-old daughter's soccer team this year.
"He was at every game," Herberghs said. "He was very pleasant and very good with the kids."
One of Cutts' two children with his wife, Kelly, was also on the team. Cutts has said they are separated but have not filed for divorce and that his wife knew he had a relationship with Davis.
Davis' father searched with volunteers on Thursday, but her family is no longer participating.
"It's too stressful every time a dog comes across something," her sister Whitney said.
Scott Wheeler, 39, of East Canton, volunteered to search Friday for 2½ hours before work. He brought a flashlight and insect repellent, and organizers cautioned searchers to be ready for rough terrain, saying shorts and sandals would not be sufficient.
Some searchers had chest-high walking sticks and golf clubs to check the underbrush.
Porter said Friday that Davis' young son, Blake, was keeping everyone motivated and displaying many characteristics of his mother. She described Jessie Davis as her best friend, a woman without enemies who "always had a big smile on her face."
Blake "has periods where he just lays his head down on the couch and has this horrible look of sadness, and then the next moment he'll have this big, beautiful smile. He really is what keeps us going," Porter told ABC's "Good Morning America."
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/06/22/missing.woman.ap/index.html
POSTED: 10:59 p.m. EDT, June 22, 2007
Story Highlights
• NEW: Pastor says he's praying with woman's boyfriend every day
• Adult admits leaving newborn on stranger's doorstep, sheriff says
• Missing woman's mom says she suspects boyfriend, a police officer
• Davis, 26, near term, hasn't been heard from since June 13
UNIONTOWN, Ohio (AP) -- A baby girl found on an Ohio doorstep does not belong to a missing pregnant woman, the Wayne County Sheriff's Department said Friday.
The baby was discovered about 45 miles from the home of Jessie Davis, who was nearly nine months pregnant with a girl when she disappeared last week.
A woman who said she concealed her pregnancy from her family admitted leaving the newborn on the doorstep, Wayne County Sheriff Thomas Maurer said. That case has been turned over to the county prosecutor's office.
"This incident is not related to the ongoing investigation by the Stark County Sheriff's Office in the disappearance of Jessie Davis," Maurer said in a news release.
Davis, 26, was reported missing one week ago Friday after her mother found the young woman's bedroom in disarray, the furniture overturned and Davis' young son home alone.
The 2-year-old boy, who may be the only witness to his mother's disappearance, told investigators: "Mommy was crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy's in rug."
On Friday, some 250 volunteers lined up for a second day to help search surrounding fields and woods for any sign of Davis. More than 1,800 volunteers had turned up Thursday to scour backyards, vacant fields and a Christmas tree farm.
Davis' mother, Patricia Porter, was the last person to speak to Davis on June 13 and said she's focused on finding her daughter.
"We are not stopping, and whoever's done this, I hope they don't think that we're going home," she said Friday. "No one's going home and we are not stopping until we find her and find who did this to her."
When Porter was asked Friday by NBC's "Today" show if she considered Bobby Cutts Jr., the father of Davis' 2-year-old son and possibly of her unborn baby, a suspect, she replied: "Yes, he's a suspect."
"I still pray that it's not him," she said. "That doesn't mean that I don't think he's a suspect, as well."
Her attorney, Rick Pitinii, said later that her comments about Cutts were based more on her emotions than on any evidence in the case.
Authorities have talked with Cutts, a Canton police officer, and searched his home, but investigators have repeatedly said he is not a suspect. Cutts, 30, says he had nothing to do with Davis' disappearance.
The pastor of the church Cutts attends has been praying with him every day, and said Friday that Cutts, as a police officer, understands why the boyfriend of a missing woman would be under scrutiny.
"He understands what goes with the territory," said the Rev. C.A. Richmond Sr., pastor at Logos Baptist Assembly. "Of course he is anxious for a resolution and disposition of the whole matter and he is confident they will find he had nothing to do with her disappearance."
One of the people searching for Davis on Friday, Karrin Herberghs, 38, of Plain Township, said Cutts was the assistant coach for her 5-year-old daughter's soccer team this year.
"He was at every game," Herberghs said. "He was very pleasant and very good with the kids."
One of Cutts' two children with his wife, Kelly, was also on the team. Cutts has said they are separated but have not filed for divorce and that his wife knew he had a relationship with Davis.
Davis' father searched with volunteers on Thursday, but her family is no longer participating.
"It's too stressful every time a dog comes across something," her sister Whitney said.
Scott Wheeler, 39, of East Canton, volunteered to search Friday for 2½ hours before work. He brought a flashlight and insect repellent, and organizers cautioned searchers to be ready for rough terrain, saying shorts and sandals would not be sufficient.
Some searchers had chest-high walking sticks and golf clubs to check the underbrush.
Porter said Friday that Davis' young son, Blake, was keeping everyone motivated and displaying many characteristics of his mother. She described Jessie Davis as her best friend, a woman without enemies who "always had a big smile on her face."
Blake "has periods where he just lays his head down on the couch and has this horrible look of sadness, and then the next moment he'll have this big, beautiful smile. He really is what keeps us going," Porter told ABC's "Good Morning America."
http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/06/22/missing.woman.ap/index.html
Thursday, June 21, 2007
BREAKING NEWS: JESSIE DAVIS
Jessie Marie DavisAge: 26
Last seen: 6/16/07
Location: North Canton, OH
Please call: 330-430-3818
Reward: $15,000
Thursday, June 21, 2007
UNIONTOWN, Ohio — Cadaver dogs searching for missing pregnant mom Jessie Davis have been put on the scent of a fresh mound of dirt in a waste area at Highland Park Street NW and Aultman Avenue, in Canton.
A sergeant with the Springfield Police Department called for the dogs around noon Thursday when the mound was discovered. Five dogs and their handlers are concentrated in an area off Highland Park, where a lot of trash has been dumped.
The search party with the group has been asked to wait on a grassy hill roughly 50 feet from where the cadaver dogs are concentrated.
Craig Cassidy was among the volunteers to discover the mound of dirt.
"We came across a mound that looked as though it had been freshly dug up," he told FOX News. "They brought in five or six dogs." He said the indication was that "there was something there," but he hasn't been back to the site since.
The dogs are still on the scene.
One of the volunteer searchers, a 10-year-old boy, found a green rug in the vicinity with a white pattern. The rug seemed to have been there for a lengthy period of time.
Meanwhile, the Stark County Sheriff's department has scheduled today's press conference for 5 p.m. at the sheriff's office.
MORE @ http://tinyurl.com/2dtws2
MISSING: JESSIE DAVIS, PREGNANT
Jessie Marie Davis
Age: 26
Last seen: 6/16/07
Location: North Canton, OH
Please call: 330-430-3818
Reward: $15,000
More Than 1,000 Search For Missing Pregnant Woman
Jun 21 2007 1:20PM
UNIONTOWN, Ohio - Several hundred people formed a line about two football fields long Thursday to get ready to help search for the neighborhood around the home of a missing woman who was 9 months pregnant when she disappeared.
Texas EquuSearch, an internationally active search team, brought in sonar equipment to northeast Ohio to check ponds and a remote-control airplane equipped with a camera to look for any sign of 26-year-old Jessie Davis.
SLIDESHOW: Images Of Woman, Case
Some of the approximately 500 volunteers waiting for the search to start brought their dogs or children. Many sipped donated bottles of water, and one man had a hiking stick. People continued to join the line along a sidewalk to sign up at a fire station to help.
"They're going to help us find Jessie, hopefully, bring her back safe," said the missing woman's younger sister, Whitney Davis.
"It's crazy. This is a high-profile case," she said.
Jessie Davis (pictured, left), whose baby is due July 3, was last heard from in a phone call with her mother on June 13. Two days later, her mother checked on her home in nearby Lake Township and found it in shambles, with the furniture overturned, a comforter missing and her 2-year-old grandson wandering around alone.
The little boy told investigators: "Mommy was crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy's in rug." A pool of bleach was on the bedroom floor, and the contents of Davis' purse were scattered in the kitchen.
"We're holding onto that hope that maybe she's still alive out there," said EquuSearch director Tim Miller. "That would be the greatest thing in the world, but realistically, we know after a period of time that that normally doesn't happen."
Miller started EquuSearch his 16-year-old daughter, Laura, disappeared in Texas and was found dead 17 months later. Funded through donations, the group offers search-and-rescue training and uses specialized search equipment to help recover human remains around the world and search for missing children. It has worked on hundreds of missing persons cases, including the 2005 disappearance of Natalee Holloway, 18, in Aruba.
"We're probably looking at somewhat of a miracle in this case," Miller said. "We also know if that person is deceased out there it's very important we find them as quickly as we can find them so they can determine cause of death."
On Wednesday, for the second time in three days, investigators searched the home of the man who fathered Davis' 2-year-old son and unborn daughter, although authorities have repeatedly said Canton police officer Bobby Cutts Jr. is not a suspect.
Cutts, 30, told The (Canton) Repository he had nothing to do with Davis' disappearance, and that he has slept little and had no appetite since she vanished.
Sheriff's investigators and FBI agents carried out more than a dozen white cardboard boxes, a few brown bags and three large black plastic bags during a search that lasted more than three hours.
A legal order allowed investigators to obtain some of Davis' cell phone records, which are being reviewed, Stark County sheriff's Chief Deputy Rick Perez said at a news conference Wednesday.
Cutts, who also has two children with his wife, Kelly, said they are separated but have not filed for divorce and that his wife knew he had a relationship with Davis.
He said he last spoke with Davis at 8 p.m. on June 13, about 90 minutes before she last spoke with her mother.
Cutts' mother, Renee Horne, told the Repository that agents at her son's home were looking for Davis' cell phone and a quilt missing from the Davis's home.
Horne said FBI agents questioned her son twice Wednesday, and read him his Miranda rights during the second interview. Investigators also took Cutts' two cell phones, Horne said.
Meanwhile, authorities said DNA tests would not be finished until next week on a newborn girl left on a porch about 45 miles away from Davis' home.
Authorities are trying to determine if the infant, less than 24 hours old when it was found Monday evening in Wooster, is related to Davis. A bottle and can of formula left in the basket with the newborn were sent to be tested for fingerprints or any other evidence.
On its Web site, the FBI lists the case as a kidnapping. But FBI spokesman Scott Wilson in Cleveland said the label is standard whenever foul play is a possibility, and the agency doesn't know if Davis was abducted or not.
The FBI is offering a $10,000 reward for information leading to Davis' whereabouts. EquuSearch added a $5,000 reward.
Thursday morning, the volunteers gathered at the firehouse near a sign that read, "Pray for Jessie," to help EquuSearch's efforts.
"My heart goes out to them," said Lisa Dillon, 47, who took a vacation day from her state job to aid in the search. "I just want to help."
Stay with 10TV News and refresh 10TV.com for continuing coverage.
Previous Stories:
June 20, 2007: FBI Conducts New Search, Offers $10K Reward In Missing Mom Case
June 19, 2007: Foul Play Suspected In Pregnant Woman's Disappearance
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
http://www.10tv.com/?sec=&story=sites/10tv/content/pool/200706/1300067200.html
What would Jack Bauer do?
Thank you HQ for bringing this to my attention.
Canadian jurist prompts international justice panel to debate TV drama 24's use of torture
COLIN FREEZE
June 16, 2007
OTTAWA -- Justice Antonin Scalia is one of the most powerful judges on the planet.
The job of the veteran U.S. Supreme Court judge is to ensure that the superpower lives up to its Constitution. But in his free time, he is a fan of 24, the popular TV drama where the maverick federal agent Jack Bauer routinely tortures terrorists to save American lives. This much was made clear at a legal conference in Ottawa this week.
Senior judges from North America and Europe were in the midst of a panel discussion about torture and terrorism law, when a Canadian judge's passing remark - "Thankfully, security agencies in all our countries do not subscribe to the mantra 'What would Jack Bauer do?' " - got the legal bulldog in Judge Scalia barking.
The conservative jurist stuck up for Agent Bauer, arguing that fictional or not, federal agents require latitude in times of great crisis. "Jack Bauer saved Los Angeles. ... He saved hundreds of thousands of lives," Judge Scalia said. Then, recalling Season 2, where the agent's rough interrogation tactics saved California from a terrorist nuke, the Supreme Court judge etched a line in the sand.
"Are you going to convict Jack Bauer?" Judge Scalia challenged his fellow judges. "Say that criminal law is against him? 'You have the right to a jury trial?' Is any jury going to convict Jack Bauer? I don't think so.
"So the question is really whether we believe in these absolutes. And ought we believe in these absolutes."
What happened next was like watching the National Security Judges International All-Star Team set into a high-minded version of a conversation that has raged across countless bars and dinner tables, ever since 24 began broadcasting six seasons ago.
Jack Bauer, played by Canadian Kiefer Sutherland, gets meaner as he lurches from crisis to crisis, acting under few legal constraints. "You are going to tell me what I want to know, it's just a matter of how much you want it to hurt," is one of his catchphrases. Every episode poses an implicit question to its viewers: Does the end justify the means if national security is at stake? On 24, the answer is, invariably, yes.
But sometimes this message proves a little too persuasive. Last November, a U.S. Army brigadier-general, Patrick Finnegan, of West Point, went to California to meet with the show's producers. He asked if the writers would consider reining in Agent Bauer. "The kids see it, and say, 'If torture is wrong, what about 24?" he told The New Yorker in February.
He argued that "they should do a show where torture backfires." It's not just the military that's watching 24. It turns out that the judges who struggle to square the Guantanamo Bay prison camp experiment with the British Habeas Corpus Act of 1679 are watching the show, too. It was Mr. Justice Richard Mosley of the Federal Court of Canada who inadvertently started the debate, with his derogatory drive-by slight against Jack Bauer, the one that so provoked Judge Scalia.
In his day job, the Canadian judge wrestles with the implications of torture. Last winter, for example, Judge Mosley ordered an Osama bin Laden associate freed from seven years prison and into strict house arrest in Toronto.
Judge Mosley told the panel that rights-respecting governments can't take part in torture or encourage it in any way. "The agents of the state, and the agents of the Canadian state, under the Criminal Code, are very much subject to severe criminal sanction if they would engage in torture," he said.
But the U.S. Supreme Court judge choked on that position, saying it would be folly for laws to dictate that counterterrorism agents must wear kid gloves all the time. While Judge Scalia argued that doomsday scenarios may well lead to the reconsideration of rights, in his legal decisions he has also said that catastrophic attacks and intelligence imperatives do not automatically give the U.S. president a blank cheque - the people have to decide. "If civil rights are to be curtailed during wartime, it must be done openly and democratically, as the Constitution requires, rather than by silent erosion through an opinion of this court," he dissented in a 2004 decision. The judicial majority ruled that a presidential order meant that an American "enemy combatant" wasn't entitled to challenge the conditions of his detention, which happened to be aboard a naval brig.
As they discussed torture in Ottawa, the judicial panelists from outside the United States argued that any implicit or explicit sanction of torture is a slippery slope.
Some said that legal systems might do well to enforce anti-torture laws, even if it meant prosecuting rogue agents. "What if the guy is not the guy who's going to blow up Los Angeles? But some kind of innocent?" asked Lord Carlile of Berriew, a Welshman who acts as the independent reviewer of Britain's terrorism laws.
Torture can lead to false confessions, he said. "How do you protect that person's civil rights from the risk of very serious wrongful conviction?" But Lord Carlile, a barrister by training, added that he was also concerned with Jack Bauer's rights. "I'm sure I could get him off," he said.
One panelist deadpanned that saving Los Angeles from a nuke would likely be a mitigating factor during any sentencing of Jack Bauer.
When the panel opened to questions and commentary from the floor, a senior Canadian government lawyer said: "Maybe saving L.A. is an easy question. How many people are we going to torture to save L.A.?" asked Stanley Cohen, a senior counsel for the Justice Department, who specializes in human rights law. "How much certainty do we get to have that we have the right person in front of us?" Then Lorne Waldman, the lawyer for the famously wronged engineer Maher Arar, emerged from the crowd to say that very little of the conversation sounded hypothetical to him.
Mr. Arar was among a series of Canadian Arabs who emerged from lengthy ordeals in Syrian jails to complain of torture. Their common complaint is that Syrian torture - including beatings with electric cables - flowed from a wrongly premised Canadian investigation after 9/11.
A host of security agents, Mr. Waldman argued, acted with utmost urgency against innocents, after wrongly fearing a bomb plot was afoot.
Generally, the jurists in the room agreed that coerced confessions carry little weight, given that they might be false and almost never accepted into evidence. But the U.S. Supreme Court judge stressed that he was not speaking about putting together pristine prosecutions, but rather, about allowing agents the freedom to thwart immediate attacks.
"I don't care about holding people. I really don't," Judge Scalia said.
Even if a real terrorist who suffered mistreatment is released because of complaints of abuse, Judge Scalia said, the interruption to the terrorist's plot would have ensured "in Los Angeles everyone is safe." During a break from the panel, Judge Scalia specifically mentioned the segment in Season 2 when Jack Bauer finally figures out how to break the die-hard terrorist intent on nuking L.A. The real genius, the judge said, is that this is primarily done with mental leverage. "There's a great scene where he told a guy that he was going to have his family killed," Judge Scalia said. "They had it on closed circuit television - and it was all staged. ... They really didn't kill the family."
Gospel according to Jack
"Tell me where the bomb is or I will kill your son."
"I don't want to bypass the Constitution, but these are extraordinary circumstances."
"I need to use every advantage I've got."
"If we want to procure any information from this suspect, we're going to have to do it behind closed doors."
"I'm talking about doing what's necessary to stop this warhead from being used against us."
"When I'm finished with you, you're gonna wish that you felt this good again."
"You don't have any more useful information, do you?"
Sources: New Yorker, IMDB
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070616.BAUER16/TPStory/TPNational/Television/
Canadian jurist prompts international justice panel to debate TV drama 24's use of torture
COLIN FREEZE
June 16, 2007
OTTAWA -- Justice Antonin Scalia is one of the most powerful judges on the planet.
The job of the veteran U.S. Supreme Court judge is to ensure that the superpower lives up to its Constitution. But in his free time, he is a fan of 24, the popular TV drama where the maverick federal agent Jack Bauer routinely tortures terrorists to save American lives. This much was made clear at a legal conference in Ottawa this week.
Senior judges from North America and Europe were in the midst of a panel discussion about torture and terrorism law, when a Canadian judge's passing remark - "Thankfully, security agencies in all our countries do not subscribe to the mantra 'What would Jack Bauer do?' " - got the legal bulldog in Judge Scalia barking.
The conservative jurist stuck up for Agent Bauer, arguing that fictional or not, federal agents require latitude in times of great crisis. "Jack Bauer saved Los Angeles. ... He saved hundreds of thousands of lives," Judge Scalia said. Then, recalling Season 2, where the agent's rough interrogation tactics saved California from a terrorist nuke, the Supreme Court judge etched a line in the sand.
"Are you going to convict Jack Bauer?" Judge Scalia challenged his fellow judges. "Say that criminal law is against him? 'You have the right to a jury trial?' Is any jury going to convict Jack Bauer? I don't think so.
"So the question is really whether we believe in these absolutes. And ought we believe in these absolutes."
What happened next was like watching the National Security Judges International All-Star Team set into a high-minded version of a conversation that has raged across countless bars and dinner tables, ever since 24 began broadcasting six seasons ago.
Jack Bauer, played by Canadian Kiefer Sutherland, gets meaner as he lurches from crisis to crisis, acting under few legal constraints. "You are going to tell me what I want to know, it's just a matter of how much you want it to hurt," is one of his catchphrases. Every episode poses an implicit question to its viewers: Does the end justify the means if national security is at stake? On 24, the answer is, invariably, yes.
But sometimes this message proves a little too persuasive. Last November, a U.S. Army brigadier-general, Patrick Finnegan, of West Point, went to California to meet with the show's producers. He asked if the writers would consider reining in Agent Bauer. "The kids see it, and say, 'If torture is wrong, what about 24?" he told The New Yorker in February.
He argued that "they should do a show where torture backfires." It's not just the military that's watching 24. It turns out that the judges who struggle to square the Guantanamo Bay prison camp experiment with the British Habeas Corpus Act of 1679 are watching the show, too. It was Mr. Justice Richard Mosley of the Federal Court of Canada who inadvertently started the debate, with his derogatory drive-by slight against Jack Bauer, the one that so provoked Judge Scalia.
In his day job, the Canadian judge wrestles with the implications of torture. Last winter, for example, Judge Mosley ordered an Osama bin Laden associate freed from seven years prison and into strict house arrest in Toronto.
Judge Mosley told the panel that rights-respecting governments can't take part in torture or encourage it in any way. "The agents of the state, and the agents of the Canadian state, under the Criminal Code, are very much subject to severe criminal sanction if they would engage in torture," he said.
But the U.S. Supreme Court judge choked on that position, saying it would be folly for laws to dictate that counterterrorism agents must wear kid gloves all the time. While Judge Scalia argued that doomsday scenarios may well lead to the reconsideration of rights, in his legal decisions he has also said that catastrophic attacks and intelligence imperatives do not automatically give the U.S. president a blank cheque - the people have to decide. "If civil rights are to be curtailed during wartime, it must be done openly and democratically, as the Constitution requires, rather than by silent erosion through an opinion of this court," he dissented in a 2004 decision. The judicial majority ruled that a presidential order meant that an American "enemy combatant" wasn't entitled to challenge the conditions of his detention, which happened to be aboard a naval brig.
As they discussed torture in Ottawa, the judicial panelists from outside the United States argued that any implicit or explicit sanction of torture is a slippery slope.
Some said that legal systems might do well to enforce anti-torture laws, even if it meant prosecuting rogue agents. "What if the guy is not the guy who's going to blow up Los Angeles? But some kind of innocent?" asked Lord Carlile of Berriew, a Welshman who acts as the independent reviewer of Britain's terrorism laws.
Torture can lead to false confessions, he said. "How do you protect that person's civil rights from the risk of very serious wrongful conviction?" But Lord Carlile, a barrister by training, added that he was also concerned with Jack Bauer's rights. "I'm sure I could get him off," he said.
One panelist deadpanned that saving Los Angeles from a nuke would likely be a mitigating factor during any sentencing of Jack Bauer.
When the panel opened to questions and commentary from the floor, a senior Canadian government lawyer said: "Maybe saving L.A. is an easy question. How many people are we going to torture to save L.A.?" asked Stanley Cohen, a senior counsel for the Justice Department, who specializes in human rights law. "How much certainty do we get to have that we have the right person in front of us?" Then Lorne Waldman, the lawyer for the famously wronged engineer Maher Arar, emerged from the crowd to say that very little of the conversation sounded hypothetical to him.
Mr. Arar was among a series of Canadian Arabs who emerged from lengthy ordeals in Syrian jails to complain of torture. Their common complaint is that Syrian torture - including beatings with electric cables - flowed from a wrongly premised Canadian investigation after 9/11.
A host of security agents, Mr. Waldman argued, acted with utmost urgency against innocents, after wrongly fearing a bomb plot was afoot.
Generally, the jurists in the room agreed that coerced confessions carry little weight, given that they might be false and almost never accepted into evidence. But the U.S. Supreme Court judge stressed that he was not speaking about putting together pristine prosecutions, but rather, about allowing agents the freedom to thwart immediate attacks.
"I don't care about holding people. I really don't," Judge Scalia said.
Even if a real terrorist who suffered mistreatment is released because of complaints of abuse, Judge Scalia said, the interruption to the terrorist's plot would have ensured "in Los Angeles everyone is safe." During a break from the panel, Judge Scalia specifically mentioned the segment in Season 2 when Jack Bauer finally figures out how to break the die-hard terrorist intent on nuking L.A. The real genius, the judge said, is that this is primarily done with mental leverage. "There's a great scene where he told a guy that he was going to have his family killed," Judge Scalia said. "They had it on closed circuit television - and it was all staged. ... They really didn't kill the family."
Gospel according to Jack
"Tell me where the bomb is or I will kill your son."
"I don't want to bypass the Constitution, but these are extraordinary circumstances."
"I need to use every advantage I've got."
"If we want to procure any information from this suspect, we're going to have to do it behind closed doors."
"I'm talking about doing what's necessary to stop this warhead from being used against us."
"When I'm finished with you, you're gonna wish that you felt this good again."
"You don't have any more useful information, do you?"
Sources: New Yorker, IMDB
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20070616.BAUER16/TPStory/TPNational/Television/
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Trenton Duckett’s Father Continues Search For Missing Son
Friday, June 15, 2007 10:42:42 PM
It's been nearly a year since Trenton Duckett vanished from his Lake County home, and still no clues as to where the toddler is.
But Trenton father, Josh Duckett is holding out hope that this will be his last Father's Day without his son.
The 22-year-old has been looking for his two year old son since August when he disappeared. The boy's mother, Melinda, said the boy was snatched from her apartment. Josh is staying optimistic and focused.
If you have any information, you are asked to call 1-877-Trent-65, or the Leesburg Police Department.
http://www.cfnews13.com/News/Local/2007/6/15/trenton_duckett_search_continues.html
It's been nearly a year since Trenton Duckett vanished from his Lake County home, and still no clues as to where the toddler is.
But Trenton father, Josh Duckett is holding out hope that this will be his last Father's Day without his son.
The 22-year-old has been looking for his two year old son since August when he disappeared. The boy's mother, Melinda, said the boy was snatched from her apartment. Josh is staying optimistic and focused.
If you have any information, you are asked to call 1-877-Trent-65, or the Leesburg Police Department.
http://www.cfnews13.com/News/Local/2007/6/15/trenton_duckett_search_continues.html
Slain Boy's Mother Has Child Endangerment Conviction
POSTED: 4:55 pm EDT June 15, 2007
UPDATED: 6:49 pm EDT June 15, 2007
Court documents released Friday show a toddler found slain was placed in his father's custody in April after the boy's mother was convicted of permitting drug abuse and child endangerment.
The boy's father, Fred Roman, was arrested and charged with murder on Thursday accused of killing 16-month-old Jacob Fleischer by blunt force trauma to the head.
In April, police raided a handful of homes in Toronto. One of the people arrested on drug charges was Channe Fleischer, the boy's mother.
Fleischer was later convicted of permitting drug abuse and child endangerment.
She is currently on probation and was offered to check into a rehabilitation program, but officials said she never did. Police said for that reason, the boy was staying with Roman.
Both parents were scheduled to settle their custody agreements in July.
Roman remains in the Jefferson County Justice Center on $1 million bond.
http://www.wtov9.com/news/13512635/detail.html
UPDATED: 6:49 pm EDT June 15, 2007
Court documents released Friday show a toddler found slain was placed in his father's custody in April after the boy's mother was convicted of permitting drug abuse and child endangerment.
The boy's father, Fred Roman, was arrested and charged with murder on Thursday accused of killing 16-month-old Jacob Fleischer by blunt force trauma to the head.
In April, police raided a handful of homes in Toronto. One of the people arrested on drug charges was Channe Fleischer, the boy's mother.
Fleischer was later convicted of permitting drug abuse and child endangerment.
She is currently on probation and was offered to check into a rehabilitation program, but officials said she never did. Police said for that reason, the boy was staying with Roman.
Both parents were scheduled to settle their custody agreements in July.
Roman remains in the Jefferson County Justice Center on $1 million bond.
http://www.wtov9.com/news/13512635/detail.html
Thursday, June 14, 2007
Heavy snow falls in Australia
Heavy snow falls in southern NSW
June 14, 2007 - 2:49PM
Up to 15 cm of snow has fallen in parts of southern NSW in what the Bureau of Meteorology says is a once in 20 year event.
The bureau said the heaviest snowfalls were in areas east of Canberra, including the NSW towns of Bungendore and Captains Flat.
Braidwood, southeast of the ACT, received a 22mm fall between 5am and 9am on Thursday.
A BoM spokesman said the extremely rare event resulted from a low pressure system off NSW's mid north coast.
He said it had triggered a combination of high precipitation and low temperatures in areas south of Sydney and the state's central tablelands.
As the system deepened and moved south, it was expected to bring severe weather to the eastern seaboard, including Sydney, within the next 48 hours, the spokesman said.
Very heavy rain was expected and gale warnings were issued for coastal waters.
The cold and rainy conditions in Sydney were expected to continue until at least early next week.
Wednesday's minimum temperature of 6.5 degrees celsius in Sydney was the city's coldest recorded minimum so far this year.
The BoM said the current persistent weather pattern was unusual.
"I can't recall the last time we had one event after another after another," the spokesman said.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Heavy-snow-falls-in-southern-NSW/2007/06/14/1181414440614.html
June 14, 2007 - 2:49PM
Up to 15 cm of snow has fallen in parts of southern NSW in what the Bureau of Meteorology says is a once in 20 year event.
The bureau said the heaviest snowfalls were in areas east of Canberra, including the NSW towns of Bungendore and Captains Flat.
Braidwood, southeast of the ACT, received a 22mm fall between 5am and 9am on Thursday.
A BoM spokesman said the extremely rare event resulted from a low pressure system off NSW's mid north coast.
He said it had triggered a combination of high precipitation and low temperatures in areas south of Sydney and the state's central tablelands.
As the system deepened and moved south, it was expected to bring severe weather to the eastern seaboard, including Sydney, within the next 48 hours, the spokesman said.
Very heavy rain was expected and gale warnings were issued for coastal waters.
The cold and rainy conditions in Sydney were expected to continue until at least early next week.
Wednesday's minimum temperature of 6.5 degrees celsius in Sydney was the city's coldest recorded minimum so far this year.
The BoM said the current persistent weather pattern was unusual.
"I can't recall the last time we had one event after another after another," the spokesman said.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/National/Heavy-snow-falls-in-southern-NSW/2007/06/14/1181414440614.html
Monday, June 11, 2007
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Oh Great Spirit!
Oh Great Spirit,Whose voice I hear in the winds,
And whose breath gives life to all the world,
hear me!
I am small and weak,
I need your strength and wisdom.
Let me walk in beauty,
and make my eyes ever behold the red and purple sunset.
Make my hands respect the things you have made
and my ears sharp to hear your voice.
Make me wise so that I may understand the things you have taught my people.
Let me learn the lessons you have hidden in every leaf and rock.
I seek strength, not to be greater than my brother,
but to fight my greatest enemy - myself.
Make me always ready to come to you with clean hands and straight eyes.
So when life fades,
as the fading sunset my spirit may come to you without shame.
--Chief Yellow Lark, Lakota Tribe
Prober: CIA ran secret jails in Europe
By ELAINE GANLEY, Associated Press Writer
PARIS - The CIA ran secret jails in Poland and Romania to interrogate key terror suspects, shackling and handcuffing inmates, keeping some naked for weeks and reducing contact with the outer world to masked and silent guards, a European investigator said Friday.
The CIA called the report "distorted," but stopped short of denying the existence of prisons in the two countries — the agency said it does not discuss the location of its overseas facilities. Poland and Romania also vehemently denied the allegations.
"High value detainees" like self-proclaimed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and suspected senior al-Qaida operative Abu Zubaydah were held in Poland, said the report, which cited CIA sources. It said lesser detainees, but still of "remarkable importance," were taken to Romania.
Top officials in both countries knew of the detention centers, said the report by Swiss Sen. Dick Marty, a former prosecutor asked by the Council of Europe, a human rights watchdog, to investigate CIA activities after media reports of secret prisons emerged in 2005.
Marty did not rule out the CIA having more such prisons in Europe, but told reporters he did not include that in his report because his sourcing was insufficient. He accused Germany and Italy of obstructing investigations into secret detentions.
The report said its conclusions about the clandestine prisons relied on "multiple sources which validate and corroborate one another." Marty said his team spoke with "over 30 one-time members of intelligence services in the United States and Europe" as well as former or current detainees and human rights activists.
While conceding at a news conference that sources for the report were limited, Marty said they were "well placed," including some who "were implicated."
The alleged prisons were at the center of a "spider's web" of purported human rights abuses that Marty outlined in his initial investigation a year ago. That report focused on flights to spirit detainees to CIA hideouts with landing points in at least 14 nations.
He said he saw his reports as a "dynamic of truth" and hoped they will stir debate over what he charges were blatant abuses of human rights.
Clandestine prisons and secret CIA flights involving European countries would breach the continent's human rights treaties, although the Council of Europe has no power to punish countries. The council, which is separate from the European Union, was set up four years after World War II to promote democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Europe.
Officials at the EU have said previously that they trust the denials of Poland and Romania about hosting secret jails.
CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano did not address whether there were secret detention centers, but he disputed the report's characterization of the agency's activities.
"When you see words like apartheid and torture in the document, that tells you it's biased and distorted," he said. "The CIA's counterterror operations have been lawful, effective, closely reviewed and of benefit to many people — including Europeans — in disrupting plots and saving lives. Our counterterror partnerships in Europe are very strong."
Following a meeting with President Bush in Gdansk, Polish President Lech Kaczynski told reporters: "I know nothing about any CIA prisons in Poland." His predecessor, Aleksander Kwasniewski, who was president in 2001-05, said: "I deny it. I've said as much several times."
Former Romanian President Ion Iliescu, mentioned in a list of ranking officials who allegedly had knowledge of the prisons, dismissed Marty's report as "stupid."
The report, which did not give specific locations for the alleged jails, provided graphic descriptions of conditions.
It told of prisoners being kept naked for weeks, sometimes attached to a "shackling ring" in cells. Buckets served as toilets. Masked guards who never spoke were the only contact for those consigned to four-month isolation regimes.
Cells, sometimes equipped with video cameras, were cramped and kept extremely hot or cold, the report said. Prisoners had to listen to irritating noises, including "torture music," rock or rap as well as "distorted" verses of the Quran, it said.
Bush acknowledged the existence of a secret detention program last September, when he announced the CIA had moved Sheikh Mohammed and 13 other suspected terrorists to the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay.
Marty's report said Poland and Romania hosted secret prisons under a special post-Sept. 11 CIA program to "kill, capture and detain" key terrorist suspects. It said the jails grew out of a secret pact within NATO shortly after the terror attacks on the U.S.
The pact "allowed the CIA to be able to move around Europe unobstructed, without undergoing any control and, especially, the NATO (security) protocol on secrecy was applied," Marty said.
In Italy, the first trial stemming from the CIA's detention program opened Friday without the presence of any of the 26 Americans charged with the 2003 kidnapping of a Muslim cleric suspected of terrorist ties. The trial has irritated U.S.-Italian relations and its opening coincided with Bush's arrival in Rome.
Associated Press writers John Leicester and Jan Sliva contributed to this report.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070609/ap_on_re_eu/cia_secret_prisons_11;_ylt=AkK3rihw0fN.2JXpCEK7G7sL1vAI
PARIS - The CIA ran secret jails in Poland and Romania to interrogate key terror suspects, shackling and handcuffing inmates, keeping some naked for weeks and reducing contact with the outer world to masked and silent guards, a European investigator said Friday.
The CIA called the report "distorted," but stopped short of denying the existence of prisons in the two countries — the agency said it does not discuss the location of its overseas facilities. Poland and Romania also vehemently denied the allegations.
"High value detainees" like self-proclaimed 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and suspected senior al-Qaida operative Abu Zubaydah were held in Poland, said the report, which cited CIA sources. It said lesser detainees, but still of "remarkable importance," were taken to Romania.
Top officials in both countries knew of the detention centers, said the report by Swiss Sen. Dick Marty, a former prosecutor asked by the Council of Europe, a human rights watchdog, to investigate CIA activities after media reports of secret prisons emerged in 2005.
Marty did not rule out the CIA having more such prisons in Europe, but told reporters he did not include that in his report because his sourcing was insufficient. He accused Germany and Italy of obstructing investigations into secret detentions.
The report said its conclusions about the clandestine prisons relied on "multiple sources which validate and corroborate one another." Marty said his team spoke with "over 30 one-time members of intelligence services in the United States and Europe" as well as former or current detainees and human rights activists.
While conceding at a news conference that sources for the report were limited, Marty said they were "well placed," including some who "were implicated."
The alleged prisons were at the center of a "spider's web" of purported human rights abuses that Marty outlined in his initial investigation a year ago. That report focused on flights to spirit detainees to CIA hideouts with landing points in at least 14 nations.
He said he saw his reports as a "dynamic of truth" and hoped they will stir debate over what he charges were blatant abuses of human rights.
Clandestine prisons and secret CIA flights involving European countries would breach the continent's human rights treaties, although the Council of Europe has no power to punish countries. The council, which is separate from the European Union, was set up four years after World War II to promote democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Europe.
Officials at the EU have said previously that they trust the denials of Poland and Romania about hosting secret jails.
CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano did not address whether there were secret detention centers, but he disputed the report's characterization of the agency's activities.
"When you see words like apartheid and torture in the document, that tells you it's biased and distorted," he said. "The CIA's counterterror operations have been lawful, effective, closely reviewed and of benefit to many people — including Europeans — in disrupting plots and saving lives. Our counterterror partnerships in Europe are very strong."
Following a meeting with President Bush in Gdansk, Polish President Lech Kaczynski told reporters: "I know nothing about any CIA prisons in Poland." His predecessor, Aleksander Kwasniewski, who was president in 2001-05, said: "I deny it. I've said as much several times."
Former Romanian President Ion Iliescu, mentioned in a list of ranking officials who allegedly had knowledge of the prisons, dismissed Marty's report as "stupid."
The report, which did not give specific locations for the alleged jails, provided graphic descriptions of conditions.
It told of prisoners being kept naked for weeks, sometimes attached to a "shackling ring" in cells. Buckets served as toilets. Masked guards who never spoke were the only contact for those consigned to four-month isolation regimes.
Cells, sometimes equipped with video cameras, were cramped and kept extremely hot or cold, the report said. Prisoners had to listen to irritating noises, including "torture music," rock or rap as well as "distorted" verses of the Quran, it said.
Bush acknowledged the existence of a secret detention program last September, when he announced the CIA had moved Sheikh Mohammed and 13 other suspected terrorists to the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay.
Marty's report said Poland and Romania hosted secret prisons under a special post-Sept. 11 CIA program to "kill, capture and detain" key terrorist suspects. It said the jails grew out of a secret pact within NATO shortly after the terror attacks on the U.S.
The pact "allowed the CIA to be able to move around Europe unobstructed, without undergoing any control and, especially, the NATO (security) protocol on secrecy was applied," Marty said.
In Italy, the first trial stemming from the CIA's detention program opened Friday without the presence of any of the 26 Americans charged with the 2003 kidnapping of a Muslim cleric suspected of terrorist ties. The trial has irritated U.S.-Italian relations and its opening coincided with Bush's arrival in Rome.
Associated Press writers John Leicester and Jan Sliva contributed to this report.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070609/ap_on_re_eu/cia_secret_prisons_11;_ylt=AkK3rihw0fN.2JXpCEK7G7sL1vAI
Friday, June 08, 2007
Acropolis, Chichen Itza lead New 7 Wonders contest
Thu Jun 7, 10:24 AM ET
LISBON (Reuters) - The Acropolis in Athens and Mexico's Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza are among the leaders in a competition, ending in one month, to choose the New Seven Wonders of the World, the organizers said on Thursday.
The winners will be chosen through a global online and phone vote, organizers of the New 7 Wonders of the World (www.new7wonders.com) competition said, a far cry from the methods used by the Greeks who chose the original Seven Wonders more than 2,000 years ago.
Some 50 million people have voted so far in the competition designed to produce a 21st century list of the world's greatest man-made heritage sites, but Tia Viering, a spokeswoman for the organization, said the result is wide open.
The winning list will be announced in Lisbon on July 7.
Many countries are carrying out special events to encourage people to vote for their sites, Viering said. "There are some really creative, phenomenal things going on in the last four weeks that will influence the final result."
These include an Indian singer dedicating a song to the Taj Mahal and Brazil's soccer team urging Brazilians to vote for Christ Redeemer, the statue that adorns Rio de Janeiro's skyline.
The most popular 10 sites so far include both the Taj Mahal and Christ Redeemer, along with the Colosseum in Rome, the Eiffel Tower, the Great Wall of China, Peru's Machu Picchu, Petra in Jordan, and the statues of Easter Island.
Viering said the number of votes so far for each site will not be divulged as it could influence the final result.
The organization running the competition, which could become the largest ever global poll, was established by Swiss/Canadian filmmaker Bernard Weber.
Only one of the seven wonders of the ancient world remains standing today -- the Pyramids of Giza. The originals, located in the Mediterranean region, also included the Lighthouse of Alexandria and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070607/sc_nm/wonders_vote_dc;_ylt=AoHZDGNmug5sch.eBcU4JJbMWM0F
LISBON (Reuters) - The Acropolis in Athens and Mexico's Mayan ruins at Chichen Itza are among the leaders in a competition, ending in one month, to choose the New Seven Wonders of the World, the organizers said on Thursday.
The winners will be chosen through a global online and phone vote, organizers of the New 7 Wonders of the World (www.new7wonders.com) competition said, a far cry from the methods used by the Greeks who chose the original Seven Wonders more than 2,000 years ago.
Some 50 million people have voted so far in the competition designed to produce a 21st century list of the world's greatest man-made heritage sites, but Tia Viering, a spokeswoman for the organization, said the result is wide open.
The winning list will be announced in Lisbon on July 7.
Many countries are carrying out special events to encourage people to vote for their sites, Viering said. "There are some really creative, phenomenal things going on in the last four weeks that will influence the final result."
These include an Indian singer dedicating a song to the Taj Mahal and Brazil's soccer team urging Brazilians to vote for Christ Redeemer, the statue that adorns Rio de Janeiro's skyline.
The most popular 10 sites so far include both the Taj Mahal and Christ Redeemer, along with the Colosseum in Rome, the Eiffel Tower, the Great Wall of China, Peru's Machu Picchu, Petra in Jordan, and the statues of Easter Island.
Viering said the number of votes so far for each site will not be divulged as it could influence the final result.
The organization running the competition, which could become the largest ever global poll, was established by Swiss/Canadian filmmaker Bernard Weber.
Only one of the seven wonders of the ancient world remains standing today -- the Pyramids of Giza. The originals, located in the Mediterranean region, also included the Lighthouse of Alexandria and the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070607/sc_nm/wonders_vote_dc;_ylt=AoHZDGNmug5sch.eBcU4JJbMWM0F
Scientists find gene link to Alzheimer's
Thu Jun 7, 6:47 PM ET
PHOENIX - A team of Arizona researchers think they've found a gene that could help better predict a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease"
The gene — called GAB2 — seems to affect the odds that some people will get the progressive neurological disease that afflicts about 5 million Americans, according to the research team led by the Translational Genomics Research Institute and Banner Alzheimer's Institute.
"This is a major breakthrough in Alzheimer's genetic research that will have an impact on the clinical treatment of the disease," said Dr. Dietrich Stephan, director of TGen's neurogenomics division.
Researchers here believe the study marks a new milestone for genetic research of Alzheimer's disease because it used a high-powered computer chip to measure more than a half-million genetic variations, the most robust such study to date.
Alzheimer's triggers memory lapses, clouds the thought process and leads to confusion and death in older adults.
About 78,000 Arizonans suffered from Alzheimer's in 2000, a number expected to jump to 130,000 by 2025, according to Banner Alzheimer's Institute.
Researchers worldwide are not sure what causes the disease. They do know that sufferers' brains are harmed by plaques and tangles that block signals and ultimately cause cells to shrink and die.
TGen's Stephan began investigating the possibility of conducting an ambitious study of the disease three years ago.
He sought funding from the Kronos Science Laboratory in Phoenix, which provided most of the money for the $5 million project.
In turn, Kronos secured the intellectual property rights from the Arizona study and is seeking patent protection for the GAB2 gene and its role in the onset of Alzheimer's.
The study is the latest to draw national attention for the gene investigators at TGen, which launched here five years ago as part of a push to build Arizona's research prowess.
Other significant studies conducted by TGen and collaborators in Arizona include genetic tests relating to pancreatic cancer and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070607/ap_on_he_me/alzheimer_s_link;_ylt=AhYqSAuXkrUBE0oh5pI3APHMWM0F
PHOENIX - A team of Arizona researchers think they've found a gene that could help better predict a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease"
The gene — called GAB2 — seems to affect the odds that some people will get the progressive neurological disease that afflicts about 5 million Americans, according to the research team led by the Translational Genomics Research Institute and Banner Alzheimer's Institute.
"This is a major breakthrough in Alzheimer's genetic research that will have an impact on the clinical treatment of the disease," said Dr. Dietrich Stephan, director of TGen's neurogenomics division.
Researchers here believe the study marks a new milestone for genetic research of Alzheimer's disease because it used a high-powered computer chip to measure more than a half-million genetic variations, the most robust such study to date.
Alzheimer's triggers memory lapses, clouds the thought process and leads to confusion and death in older adults.
About 78,000 Arizonans suffered from Alzheimer's in 2000, a number expected to jump to 130,000 by 2025, according to Banner Alzheimer's Institute.
Researchers worldwide are not sure what causes the disease. They do know that sufferers' brains are harmed by plaques and tangles that block signals and ultimately cause cells to shrink and die.
TGen's Stephan began investigating the possibility of conducting an ambitious study of the disease three years ago.
He sought funding from the Kronos Science Laboratory in Phoenix, which provided most of the money for the $5 million project.
In turn, Kronos secured the intellectual property rights from the Arizona study and is seeking patent protection for the GAB2 gene and its role in the onset of Alzheimer's.
The study is the latest to draw national attention for the gene investigators at TGen, which launched here five years ago as part of a push to build Arizona's research prowess.
Other significant studies conducted by TGen and collaborators in Arizona include genetic tests relating to pancreatic cancer and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease.
Information from: The Arizona Republic, http://www.azcentral.com
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070607/ap_on_he_me/alzheimer_s_link;_ylt=AhYqSAuXkrUBE0oh5pI3APHMWM0F
Tuesday, May 29, 2007
Don't be a Victim......thanks Bump
Surviving
Some people refer to us as victims of our problems, but we should not accept such labeling. A better term for us is survivors. Working in step with our Higher Power, we should view ourselves as capable of rising above all the challenges and conditions that confront us. If we call ourselves victims, we'll soon be inviting more people and situations to victimize us. As survivors, however, we will always learn to sail through the roughest storms. Looking at the general world situation, it does seem realistic to say that lots of people are victims. But we must always take into account the vast power that resides in every human soul. People have tremendous power to change their conditions, and when word of this finally gets around, we'll see a worldwide spiritual awakening that will change everything for the better.
Saturday, May 26, 2007
I'd like to live as a poor man with lots of money. - Pablo Picasso
Some of us were taught not to place a lot of value on money. After all, it's only money, and money can't buy happiness. True enough. While many of us don't place much value on money, we manage to value the possessions that money can buy. The result is that we treat money frivolously and spend it recklessly.
We know it's true that love and the quality of our relationships are far more valuable than money. We also know we can't put a price tag on good health. We begin, however, to appreciate and to value money for what it is -- a means to an end and a responsibility. When we value money, we're less likely to spend it carelessly or frivolously. We're more likely to save it and to put it to good use
We know it's true that love and the quality of our relationships are far more valuable than money. We also know we can't put a price tag on good health. We begin, however, to appreciate and to value money for what it is -- a means to an end and a responsibility. When we value money, we're less likely to spend it carelessly or frivolously. We're more likely to save it and to put it to good use
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