Teacher Fired for Marrying Divorced Man to Sue Catholic School

A San Antonio teacher plans to sue her former employer, a Catholic high school, saying she was fired for marrying a man who had been divorced, a proceeding not recognized by the Catholic Church, the San Antonio Express-News reported Tuesday.
Marquis LaFortune, 25, filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission after her Nov. 22 ceremony. She claims that once the school found out her fiancé had been divorced, Deacon Patrick Cunningham told her she had three options: seek an annulment, resign or be fired.
“I would have resigned if I'd felt like I'd done something wrong,” LaFortune told the Express-News last week. “I couldn't get out of bed. It's just been this cloud. It was supposed to be the best week of my life, and I had to pull myself together for the ceremony.”
Central Catholic High School said federal law upholds the institution's decision.
“We have very clear policies on what we expect from Catholic people on our faculty, and there has been a violation of that,” Brother Peter Pontolillo told the Express-News. “When a person does something that is obviously contrary to everything that our Catholic school stands for, we cannot just look through our fingers.” more

Who said that crime doesn’t pay?

Crime shouldn’t pay but in the case of perverted Plattsburgh politico predator George “Chris” Ortloff, he will reportedly collect a $53,000 a year pension for the rest of his life, courtesy of the state taxpayers, even while he’s serving a minimum sentence in federal prison after admitting that he used the Internet to attempt to engage in sexual acts with girls he believed to be 11 and 12 years old.
Ortloff, 61, a former 10-term Assemblyman from Plattsburgh and most recently a commissioner on the state Parole Board, pulling down an annual salary of $101,600, was arrested in the nude on Oct. 13 at a Colonie motel where he thought he was meeting the pre-teen girls. He pleaded guilty this week to a single felony count to avoid being indicted and to gain his release until sentencing.

Police said that between June of 2008 and his arrest on Oct. 13, Ortloff had been communicating over the Internet with an undercover investigator with the New York State Police, trying to set up a sexual liaison in Albany although he believed he was communicating with the girls’ mother. The “mother” was actually an undercover investigator assigned to the New York State Police’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in Albany.

Ortloff could be sentenced up to life in prison when he returns to federal court on April 23, after posting a $100,000 bond and released so he could be home for Christmas. The minimum term he must serve, unless there’s some sweetheart deal, is 10 years during which the state will pay him over a half million dollars. more

Chronic 911 caller charged with harassing authorities

A Tamaqua man who had more than 100 contacts with police in the past two years faces charges of harassing authorities with calls about a rock in his yard being moved 4 inches, pool water ruining his grass and children making noise.David W. Roeder, 51, of 130 W. Spruce St. should face single counts of persistent disorderly conduct and recklessly endangering another person, District Judge Stephen J. Beyer of Tamaqua ruled. Beyer dismissed a count of harassment by communication.Beyer's ruling came exactly two years after Tamaqua Police Chief Dave Mattson, then a patrolman, advised Roeder in writing "to cease and desist the nonsense calls to the station and 911 center."In an arrest affidavit, police say they brought the charges after years of warning Roeder against making phone calls to Schuylkill County Communications Center without a legitimate complaint. His calls tied up emergency telephone lines and operators and kept police officers from responding to legitimate police calls, the affidavit says.

Court Strikes Down Sex Offender's 28-Year Sentence

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ―
A federal appeals court has ruled that a convicted sex offender's 28-year prison sentence for failing to properly update his home address with authorities was too harsh.The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco ordered a lower court to reconsider the punishment of Cecilio Gonzalez. He was handed the lengthy term under California's three-strikes law, which requires a minimum prison sentence of 25 years after a third violent or serious felony conviction.Gonzalez had failed to check in with authorities five days after his birthday. Sex offenders are required to update authorities annually of their home addresses.The appeals court said that failure to update his Burbank address was a technical violation and didn't count as a third strike.

A man tried to kill his girlfriend with a knife and fork

LAKE WORTH — A man faced a judge this morning on attempted homicide charges after deputies say he tried to kill his girlfriend with a knife and fork.
According to investigators, Arlen Arguijo was involved in an argument with his live-in girlfriend on the corner of Lake Wood Road and Kirk Road Saturday afternoon. Arguijo pulled a fork out of his pocket and tried to stab the victim several times. He then grabbed a folding knife and attempted to stab his girlfriend, telling her he would kill her and her children.
The victim sustained lacerations to her fingers as she fought to get away. A witness to the fight intervened and the victim was able to get away.
Arlen Arguijo now faces attempted homicide and aggravated assault charges.

Hubby: If you slept with my wife, get a test

A Toronto man who was infected with the HIV virus by his stripper ex-wife is pleading for other men who may have had sex with her to get tested for the disease. "I know there were other men she slept with," Percy Whiteman claimed yesterday of his ex, Suwalee Iamkhong, who's fighting deportation from Canada. "I am lucky that I was able to find out early."
Iamkhong, 39, arrived in Canada from Thailand in 1995 and danced at Toronto's Zanzibar Tavern for most of her career, which lasted until 2004.
NO EVIDENCE
While Whiteman alleges his former wife had sex with other men, no evidence has yet been presented publicly.
She was sentenced in August 2007 to three years in jail after being convicted of criminal negligence causing bodily harm for infecting Whiteman with HIV. Whiteman, who married Iamkhong in 1997, told court that he didn't know she had AIDS until the woman fell ill in 2004.
The Canadian government wants to deport Iamkhong, who is being detained in an immigration holding facility. A final deportation date has not been set.
Whiteman sponsored Iamkhong and according to immigration laws, is financially responsible for her until 2011.
"I don't think justice was fully served," he said. "She should have been deported a long time ago for what she's done to others."
Whiteman has since founded Positive Survivors Living with HIV AIDS to help men in similar situations.
'LIFE AT STAKE'

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Man Robs Bank with his check stub, arrested

CHICAGO — The robber's threatening note made a Chicago bank job easy to solve: The FBI says the suspect wrote it on his pay stub.
An FBI affidavit says the man walked into a Fifth Third Bank on Friday and handed a teller a note that read "Be Quick Be Quit . Give your cash or I'll shoot."
The robber got about $400 but left half of his note. Investigators found the other half outside the bank's front doors. Authorities say that part of the man's October pay stub had his name and address.
The suspect was arrested at his Cary home. A judge ordered him held without bond Monday. If convicted of bank robbery, he faces 20 years in prison.

Deputies say Lake Worth man tried to kill girlfriend with knife, fork

LAKE WORTH — A man faced a judge this morning on attempted homicide charges after deputies say he tried to kill his girlfriend with a knife and fork.
According to investigators, Arlen Arguijo was involved in an argument with his live-in girlfriend on the corner of Lake Wood Road and Kirk Road Saturday afternoon. Arguijo pulled a fork out of his pocket and tried to stab the victim several times. He then grabbed a folding knife and attempted to stab his girlfriend, telling her he would kill her and her children.
The victim sustained lacerations to her fingers as she fought to get away. A witness to the fight intervened and the victim was able to get away.
Arlen Arguijo now faces attempted homicide and aggravated assault charges.

Man blows himself up after smoking while attached to ventilator

The 75-year-old man was admitted to the Prince of Wales Hospital in Hong Kong on Sunday with severe facial burns after lighting up in his home while the ventilator's plastic tubes were still running to his nose.
The man relies suffers from lung disease, caused by his smoking, and relies on the oxygen tank to stay alive.
The South China Morning Post reported the man's doctor said the man knew he shouldn't smoke while the ventilator was going, but took the risk because his cigarette craving was so intense.

Study: black on black crime is Quickly Rising Teens

The study, to be released Monday by criminologists at Northeastern University in Boston, comes as FBI data is showing that murders have leveled off nationwide.
Not so for black teens, the youngest of whom saw dramatic increases in shooting deaths, the Northeastern report concluded.
Last year, for example, 426 black males between the ages of 14 and 17 were killed in gun crimes, the study shows. That marked a 40 percent increase from 2000.
Similarly, an estimated 964 in the same age group committed fatal shootings in 2007 — a 38 percent increase from seven years earlier. The number of offenders is estimated because not all crimes are reported, said Northeastern criminologist James Alan Fox, who co-authored the study.
"Although the overall rate of homicide in the United States remains relatively low, the landscape is quite different for countless Americans living, and some dying, in violence-infested neighborhoods. more

Boss jailed after stabbing employee in bottom with pitchfork

Michael Parker lost his temper with Mark Reene and committed five separate assaults, on one occasion attacking him with a chainsaw.

In another incident, the 51-year-old gouged at Mr Reene's eyes and punched him in the face while calling him "thick" and threatening to kill him.

The court heard that the 44-year-old put up with the abuse for six months because Parker threatened to hurt Mr Reene's family if he told anyone about the attacks.

But the final straw came when Parker punched out two of Mr Reene's front teeth and skewered his left buttock with a pitchfork.

He called police and officers arrested Parker, from Godalming, Surrey, in April. He admitted a charge of putting a person in fear of violence and was last night beginning an eight-month prison sentence.

Guildford Crown Court heard that Parker claimed he became violent when staff did not live up to his "very high expectations".

Prosecutor Gordon Ross said that Parker was cutting wood with a chainsaw when he first attacked Mr Reene.

Parker, who was managing director of gardening firm The Larger Plant in Chertsey, Surrey, lost his temper with Mr Reene because he had failed to hold a log straight while he was sawing it.

He lashed out at Mr Reene, punching him several times in the face, before hitting him in the groin with the chainsaw.

Mr Reene needed hospital treatment and a week off work to recover from the beating.
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Beverly Hills doctor powered his SUV using his patients' spare tires.

Liposuctioning unwanted blubber out of pampered Los Angelenos may not seem like a dream job, but it has its perks. Free fuel is one of them.

For a time, Beverly Hills doctor Craig Alan Bittner turned the fat he removed from patients into biodiesel that fueled his Ford SUV and his girlfriend's Lincoln Navigator.


Love handles can power a car? Frighteningly, yes. Fat--whether animal or vegetable--contains triglycerides that can be extracted and turned into diesel. Poultry companies such as Tyson are looking into powering their trucks on chicken schmaltz, and biofuel start-ups such as Nova Biosource are mixing beef tallow and pig lard with more palatable sources such as soybean oil. Mike Shook of Agri Process Innovations, a builder of biodiesel plants, says this year's batch of U.S. biodiesel was likely more than half animal-derived since the price of soybeans soared.

A gallon of grease will get you about a gallon of fuel, and drivers can get about the same amount of mileage from fat fuel as they do from regular diesel, according to Jenna Higgins of the National Biodiesel Board. Animal fats need to undergo an additional step to get rid of free fatty acids not present in vegetable oils, but otherwise, there's no difference, she says. more

A South Carolina man leaped to his death from a freeway overpass

A South Carolina man leaped to his death from a freeway overpass in San Clemente this morning and fell through the windshield of a diesel truck, but the big rig's driver was not injured, authorities said.

The 25-year-old man, whose identity was not released, jumped onto the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 at Camino de Estrella shortly after 3 a.m., crashing through the windshield on the passenger side of the truck. The driver managed to pull to the side of the freeway safely, said Orange County sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino.


The unidentified driver was "badly shaken" but was uninjured, Amormino said.

If the man had landed on the driver's side, "it certainly would have caused another collision and perhaps another fatality," Amormino said.

An investigation by the California Highway Patrol and the Orange County Sheriff's Department delayed traffic on the freeway for a couple of hours.

Couple arrested for having a garage sale

NATCHEZ, Miss. -- A garage sale from a Natchez home gave a couple enough money to move to Louisiana.

One catch, they didn't own anything they sold.

Police say when Jerry and Teresa Dyess moved out of their fully furnished rental home in March, they sold everything at a garage sale. The owner of the house filed a complaint.

When Teresa Dyess was stopped Monday on a traffic violation in Bossier City, La., she was arrested on a grand larceny warrant from Natchez. Jerry Dyess was arrested when he came to bail Teresa Dyess out.

Both were being held in the Natchez jail on $7,500 bond each pending an initial court appearance.

John Costelloe's (Johnny Cakes ) died he was 47

The Brooklyn actor who played Johnny Cakes - the gay-fireman lover of a mob capo on "The Sopranos" - killed himself in a holiday tragedy that has stunned family and friends.
The front door to John Costelloe's Sunset Park home was still sealed with police stickers yesterday, more than a week after the rugged 47-year-old actor committed suicide.
Costelloe, a former FDNY firefighter, shot himself in the head in his basement bedroom on Dec. 16, cops and pals said.
"It's beyond me. This is too much for me to handle right now," the actor's dad, Michael Costelloe, 77, said yesterday.
Firefighter and former colleague Matt Dwyer couldn't believe his friend was gone. more

A Canadian woman who went missing last week in a blizzard has been found alive, lost in almost a foot of snow for four days

Donna Molnar, 55, set off from home in Ancaster, Ontario, on Friday but her car got stuck in a field of snow drifts.
The vehicle was found a day later, abandoned by the side of a road.
By this time, fears for her survival were mounting and it was not until Monday, when police officer Ray Lau was trudging through almost knee-high snow, that his dog Ace picked up the woman's scent.
Officer Lau was stunned to find Mrs Molnar still breathing.
He said: "When I came up to her she was covered in snow, just her face and her neckline was exposed. I was surprised she was alive."
Mrs Molnar was wearing a simple winter jacket and she had been buried in snow just a few hundred yards from where her car had been found.
Police believe the snow's insulating effect was what kept her alive.
Now in hospital, doctors say Mrs Molnar may lose some extremities after her ordeal in the freezing conditions - but she will live. more

'Sopranos' Actor Cleared Of Murder

NEW YORK — A slain police officer's sister reacted with disgust after a jury cleared a former actor on "The Sopranos" of her brother's killing during a botched burglary three years ago.

Lillo Brancato Jr. on Monday was convicted of a lesser charge of attempted burglary. He faces from three to 15 years in prison; the former actor could get credit for time served because he has been behind bars nearly three years.

"What message is this sending out to the New York City police officers today? It's wrong," said Yolanda Rosa Nazario, sister of the victim.

Prosecutors said Brancato, 32, and accomplice Steven Armento broke into a basement apartment to steal prescription drugs after a night of drinking at a strip club in December 2005. Officer Daniel Enchautegui (En-chow-TAY'-gee), who lived next door and was off duty, came out to investigate.

Armento blasted the 28-year-old officer with his .357 Magnum, hitting him in the heart. The dying officer fired back, wounding both men. Armento was convicted earlier this year of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Brancato, who acknowledges problems with drugs and alcohol, said he was unaware Armento, 48, was carrying a weapon. He also argued he did not directly take part in the killing and was not armed. more

8-Year-Old allowed to go home for holidays, while awaiting first-degree murder charges

For one 8-year-old boy in Arizona, heading home for the holidays is a respite unlike most others.

Because after he spends time with his mother, he'll return to juvenile detention where he will await potential first-degree murder charges.

The boy, whose name has not been released because of his age, has been charged with a double homicide for allegedly shooting his father and another man with a single-shot .22 rifle four times each Nov. 5.

He reportedly confessed during an hourlong interrogation video released by the Arizona's Prosecutor's Office.

In the video, the boy admits to the shooting about 40 minutes in, but said it was because his father was already "suffering."

By that point, however, the boy had changed his story several times about the events that had led to the death of the two men.

"I went upstairs and then I saw my dad and then I got the gun and then I fired it at my dad," the boy said calmly. "He was on the ground and then I reloaded it."

When police asked him whether he shot his father because he was mad at him, he offered a noncommittal "hmm," but said he is in trouble "most of the time" at home, mostly for lying.

Police interrogated him without legal counsel present, causing some juvenile defenders to suspect police coercion, which the police deny. more

Brutally Tortured Teen Tied to Tree Dies From Dehydration

MACCLESFIELD, N.C. — A 13-year-old left tied to a tree as punishment for 18 hours in June had been badly beaten and likely died from dehydration and heat stroke, an autopsy report showed.

The report, made public Monday, also says Tyler McMillan's body was covered with insect bites and he had bruises caused by a rod-like instrument and flesh missing from his buttocks. Marks on his wrists and ankles show he may have been restrained with plastic ties.

Authorities say Tyler McMillan's parents found him unresponsive on June 12 after he had been tied to a tree overnight as punishment. His father, Brice McMillan, and stepmother, Sandra McMillan, have been charged with murder and felony child abuse.

Autopsy results were released after Raleigh television station WRAL challenged a judge's order to seal the results based on a defense motion. Attorneys for WRAL wrote Superior Court Judge Franklin R. Brown in late October to challenge his ruling. The station received a copy of the autopsy on Monday, along with an order from Senior Resident Superior Court Judge Milton Fitch Jr. The station provided a copy to The Associated Press.

The report says Tyler McMillan's body temperature was 105.6 degrees when he arrived at the hospital. Brice McMillan told a deputy the teen was tied to a tree and forced to sleep outside on June 10 because he was being disobedient. Tyler McMillan was released the next morning, but again tied up that night for bad behavior. more

Man loses arm in watercraft accident off

POMPANO BEACH - A 22-year-old man's arm was severed in a personal watercraft accident Saturday near the Hillsboro Inlet.The man had been riding on an inner tube that was tied to the personal watercraft with a rope, which he had wrapped around his arm. A large wave apparently struck the watercraft and inner tube with such force that the rope tightened around the man's arm and cut right through, authorities said. more

Criminals received invitation to take part in "scratch off" for cash

CHICAGO — There's more than one way to catch a fugitive. Turns out a promise of extra holiday cash makes an effective trap this time of year.
Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart said Sunday that a fugitive sweep led to the arrest of 230 suspects on warrants for forgery, aggravated battery and other crimes.
More than 60 of those suspects fell for a ruse with a holiday theme. They got invitations to take part in a survey to help retailers figure out the needs of holiday shoppers.
Included was a "scratch off" card redeemable for at least $500 if they brought it along to the hotel where the survey would be conducted. Those who showed up were taken into custody.
One of the fugitives arrived with marijuana in his pocket. Possession of cannabis was added to his charges.

Neighbor makes fake 911 calls because she wanted to know what neighbors were doing

Just after 8:30 this morning, Temple Terrace police say they received a call that the resident of a home on 5400 E. Busch Blvd. was injured and that a man was in the yard firing a revolver.

When police arrived at the scene, they saw a familiar figure walking from a payphone at a nearby Kmart where the calls were made, according to a report.

According to the report, police questioned Lorrie Ann Fernandez, 39, who denied making any calls. Then the officers recognized Fernandez.

Last month, she called 911 to report that someone was possibly injured and that she heard gunshots. At the time, she told police that she called 911 "because she wanted to know what her neighbors were doing." more

Tree Man Faces New Operations

TANJUNG JAYA, Indonesia (Reuters) - An Indonesian man dubbed the "tree man" because of the gnarled warts all over his body said on Friday his condition had worsened again although he still hoped to recover and find a job.

Dede, who like many Indonesians goes by one name, returned home from hospital in August after six kilograms (13 pounds) of warts were surgically removed from his body and has been treated as an out-patient since.

"Those (warts) that were removed are growing again and started to reappear after I returned home," Dede told Reuters, adding that for a time he could go fishing and use a cell phone but now needed assistance again for such activity.

An American doctor has previously said the warts were the result of severe Human Pappiloma Virus (HPV) infection, but the disease is not life-threatening. Doctors say his case is thought to be the worst of its type in the world. more

Prosecutors says L.A. Serial Killer may be 4 or 5

Four or more men may be responsible for the murders of dozens of women in Los Angeles in the 1980s and 1990s, in what became known as the "Southside Slayer" killings, police and prosecutors say.

Prosecutors have charged a convicted murderer already serving life in prison, Michael Hughes, with four new killings that took place in South Los Angeles between 1986 and 1993. Hughes, 52, pleaded not guilty Wednesday. His attorney, Michael Kallen, declined to comment on the case.

The killings occurred during a crime wave linked to the crack cocaine epidemic that swept through the city. Police initially believed many of the victims, often poor, drug-addicted women, were targets of a serial killer known as the Southside Slayer.

Using DNA evidence, detectives reinvestigating unsolved cases from that era now believe that many of the killings attributed to the Southside Slayer were in fact the work of several men who were stalking the same area during the same time. more

Shooting victim goes to work with bullet in head

RIVIERA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- A man who was hit by a stray bullet in the back of the head is back at work - with the slug still stuck in his skull. E.T. Strickland, 74, a commercial real estate seller, said the bullet hurts, but not enough to keep him from his job. more

Mother and Daughter charged with battery of a police officer

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A police officer at Riverside High School wound up in a fight with a mother and a student as he tried to escort them off school property today.

It all started with a bad situation that wound up getting a lot worse.

A fight broke out in the girls' bathroom about 11 a.m. today. Students had gathered to watch.

The fight was broken up by teachers, along with the on-duty school resource officer, Sgt. B.D. Reynolds, according to a statement issued by Kanawha County Sheriff's Lt. Bryan Stover.

During the commotion, a 15-year-old girl became belligerent and started cursing at one of the teachers, Stover said. The girl was escorted to Principal Paula Potter's office, where she was suspended for her behavior and aggression toward the teacher, Stover said.

The girl's mother, Tina Williams, 36, was called to pick her up from the high school in Quincy, but when she arrived she was very upset.

Williams started causing a disturbance in the school and tried to search the hallway for the teacher her daughter was accused of behaving aggressively toward, Stover said. Williams made threats toward the teacher, according to the deputy's statement.

Reynolds was able to stop Williams and escort her and her daughter out of the building. Williams refused to leave school property, and Reynolds placed her under arrest.

While Reynolds was trying to handcuff Williams, the girl approached the officer and punched him in the face. more

Colorado Doctor Finds Foot In Newborn's Brain

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- A Colorado Springs family is part of one of the strangest cases in medical history.

Dr. Paul Grabb, a pediatric brain surgeon, said he discovered a small foot growing inside the brain of 3-day-old Sam Esquibel, reported KMGH-TV in Denver.

The appendage threatened the newborn's life When Grabb performed the life-saving surgery at Memorial Hospital for Children in Colorado Springs, he was in for another surprise: he also found what appeared to be parts of an intestine in the folds of the infant's tiny brain, in addition to another developing foot, hand and thigh. more

Florida Man Steals Hearse During Funeral

WEST PARK, Fla. — Authorities say a Hallandale Beach man stole a hearse as mourners attended a funeral.

The Broward Sheriff's Office reports that 18-year-old Johnny Silfrain jumped into a black hearse parked outside a West Park church Wednesday morning and drove off.

The report says Silfrain stopped at his house and asked relatives if they wanted to go for a ride in a hearse. Deputies eventually spotted the hearse heading back toward the church and began pursuit.

When deputies tried to take Silfrain into custody, authorities say he drove toward one of them. Silfrain was shot in the leg but kept driving. The service was still in progress when Silfrain got back to the church. He was arrested and taken to a hospital for his injury.

Charges are pending.

Mafia Boss Hangs Himself in Prison After Arrest

One of the Mafia bosses and clan members arrested in a major police crackdown hung himself in his prison cell in Palermo, Italy, just hours after his arrest Tuesday.

Gaetano Lo Presti, 52, who had taken over control of Mafia clans in the Porta Nuova area of Palermo and had previous convictions, was found dead in Pagliarelli prison, police said Wednesday.

Authorities had ordered the sweeping raids to prevent what they said were mob efforts to rebuild Cosa Nostra. Some 90 suspects were arrested in the blitz.

His suicide appeared to be related to clan feuds. Lo Presti took over the Porta Nuova district only a year ago, after the murder of a rival boss, Niccolo Ingarao.

In addition, investigators said Lo Presti may have feared a revenge attack after his intercepted telephone calls were used as evidence by anti-Mafia police to track down Giuseppe Salvatore Riina, son of the imprisoned Cosa Nostra Godfather, Toto Riina. Giuseppe Riina is serving a 14-year sentence for Mafia association, extortion and money laundering. more

Little Adolf Hitler Campbell denied a Birthday cake

EASTON, Pa. — The father of 3-year-old Adolf Hitler Campbell, denied a birthday cake with the child's full name on it by one New Jersey supermarket, is asking for a little tolerance.

Heath Campbell and his wife, Deborah, are upset not only with the decision made by the nearby ShopRite, but also with an outpouring of angry Internet postings in response to a local newspaper article about the cake.

Heath Campbell, who is 35, said in an interview Tuesday that people should look forward, not back, and accept change.

"They need to accept a name. A name's a name. The kid isn't going to grow up and do what [Hitler] did," he said. more

Child Writes to Santa, Asks for Molestation to End

PHARR, Texas — A 9-year-old girl's letter to Santa Claus asking that a relative stop touching her and her sister has led to the arrest of a 55-year-old Pharr man on charges of continuous sexual abuse of a young child, according to a newspaper report.

Andres Enrique Cantu, 55, of Pharr, remained in the Hidalgo County Jail Monday night after his arrest Friday. His bond was set at $100,000. It wasn't immediately clear if Cantu had an attorney.

The girl wrote the letter Thursday and turned it in at Cesar Chavez Elementary School, The (McAllen) Monitor reported. It wasn't clear whether the letter was for a school assignment.

Read a copy of the police complaint at the Smoking Gun.

A probable cause complaint said a counselor at the school reported that the student turned in a wish list to Santa asking that the relative stop touching her and her sister. A day later she was interviewed at the Children's Advocacy Center in Edinburg, which works with abused children, and told authorities about the alleged molestation. Police investigators believe the molestation occurred over a four-year period, according to the complaint. more

22 year old case of Adam Walsh finally has been closed

Hollywood, Fla., Police Chief Chad Wagner announced Tuesday that the department had concluded that Ottis Toole, a serial killer who died in jail in 1996, was the man who kidnapped and decapitated the young boy.

The announcement brought to a close a case that had angered the Walsh family for more than two decades, inspired the television show about the nation's most notorious criminals and triggered changes in how authorities search for missing children.

"Who could take a 6-year-old and murder and decapitate him? Who?" an emotional John Walsh said at Tuesday's news conference. "We needed to know. We needed to know. And today we know." more

Boy rescued from airtight bank safe

A dramatic battle to free a trapped eight-year-old Turkish boy from an airtight bank safe has been captured on camera.

Watched by scores of onlookers, fire officers in Istanbul used a sledgehammer and electric saw to free Cihan Sevinc.

The youngster had found the disused unit while playing in a footpath in Istanbul with friends. It had been left outside a safe shop, whose owner was away on holiday.

Unaware of the danger it posed Cihan climbed into the safe, his companions shutting the door behind him as a joke. One alarmed passer by who saw what had happened called the fire brigade. "I saw the children playing. Then they put the boy in the vault and closed the door. I rushed and called the police," the witness said.

To see video of rescue.

Police take advantage of a Drunk Girl

Critical Mass Bicyclist Assaulted by NYPD

Del. Man Charged In Bizarre Castration Plot

HOCKESSIN, Del. (CBS 3) ― A Delaware man has been arrested after being accused of arranging a bizarre plot that involved castrating his ex-son-in-law.

Wilbur Eichman has been charged with one count of criminal solicitation after he paid a man cash to beat up his ex-son-in-law.

Police say Eichman paid 34-year-old Charles Pernot $1,200 to beat up the victim and even offered up a bonus if Pernot cut off the victim's genitals.

"He offered or suggested he use a high power rifle and he said that if you castrate him, there will be a bonus in that for you, an additional $3,000," Corporal Trinidad Navarro said.

Investigators said Eichman even wanted his ex-son-in-law's genitals brought to him.

Police said Pernot attacked the 44-year-old victim on December 11 in the stairwell of his apartment by striking him in the face and demanding money during the assault. Pernot fled the scene when the victim began to yell for help.

"The next day, our victim receives a phone call from the person saying he's the assailant, he's the one who was hired essentially to beat him up," Navarro said. "And he had some information that somebody that the victim knew wanted him hurt."

Navarro said the assailant told the victim that if he wanted the information, he would have to pay $500.

"So they agree to meet in a public place and it's at that point he hears the conversation on this person's cell phone and recognizing the voice as his ex-father-in-law," Navarro said.

Pernot was charged with attempted robbery, attempted burglary and conspiracy.

Eichman was arrested late Saturday and charged with one count of criminal solicitation. He has been arraigned and released after posting a $500 secured bail.

Florida police are expected to announce that they are ready to close murder investigation of Adam Walsh

Florida police are expected to announce today that they are ready to close the 1981 abduction and murder investigation of Adam Walsh, one of the country's most famous cold cases, law enforcement sources tell ABC News.


The 6-year-old son of "America's Most Wanted" host John Walsh went missing from a Hollywood, Fla., mall more than 27 years ago. His head was discovered two weeks later, though his body was never found.

Hollywood police said they would hold a news conference on the case this afternoon. Police sources did not immediately identify the suspected killer, but Walsh has long said that be believes Ottis Toole, a drifter who died in prison in 1996, killed his son.

The murder tranformed Walsh's life, turning him from a middle-class hotel marketing executive into one of country's best known advocates for missing children.


"We were absolutely devastated, heartbroken," he told Larry King on the 25th anniversary of the incident. "We had nothing in common but the anger and the grief. And [Walsh's wife, Reve] said, 'You know, we're destroying ourselves. This is not something that Adam would want. We've forgotten who the real victim is.'"

Walsh, who will turn 63 later this month, started the Adam Walsh Child Resource Center and co-founded the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. His television show, "America's Most Wanted," debuted in 1988.


Since 1984, the center has assisted law enforcement with more than 148,160 missing child cases, resulting in the recovery of more than 132,300 children.

"America's Most Wanted" went on to become one of the country's longest-running television shows. It began profiling missing persons, especially children, in 1991. It was briefly canceled in 1996, but reappeared after a public outcry. The show says its reports have led to the capture of more than 1,000 fugitives.
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Madonna settles divorce for 50M pounds ($76M)

LONDON (AP) - Madonna has settled her divorce with ex-husband Guy Ritchie for at least 50 million pounds ($76 million), the singer's spokeswoman said Monday.
Liz Rosenberg told The Associated Press the settlement was in the range of 50 million to 60 million pounds ($76 million to $92 million) as part of their divorce agreement, a figure she said included the value of the couple's country home, Ashcombe House in western England.

Rosenberg said the couple's west London pub—the Punchbowl—would also remain with Ritchie.

A representative for the British filmmaker declined comment.

The couple were reportedly worth some $525 million, the vast majority of which belonged to Madonna. Ritchie had an estimated $35 million fortune.

Their multimillion pound (dollar) settlement is about twice the size paid out in Britain's latest high-profile celebrity divorce, that of former Beatle Paul McCartney and model Heather Mills.

"I'd assume it's one of the largest payouts ever in a divorce settlement," Rosenberg said.

The biggest contested divorce settlement in English history was the 48 million pounds (about $90 million at the time) insurance tycoon John Charman was ordered to pay his ex-wife in 2006.

But U.K.-based entertainment lawyer Ambi Sitham said it made sense for Madonna to divest herself of her British property.

"She's got no interest in remaining here," Sitham said. "She's relocating and moving back to New York. It's money she's already paid out—what is she going to do, try to sell the houses in a flagging market?" more

Alexandra Burke - Hallelujah a very moving performace

I have watched several performers on these shows and I must admit that this performance pushed me over the edge. This is what its all about!!!!!!!!!! Can you feel it?

11-year-old Cleveland boy shoots his 8-year-old brother, police say

Cleveland boy, 8, shot playing “gangster” with brother

CLEVELAND — As Joan Hicks watched television in her basement Friday morning, the two grandsons left in her care when her daughter went to prison found a gun and decided to play a game they called "Gangster."

The pop of the .25-caliber handgun sent Hicks racing upstairs at 9:10 a.m. where she found the 8-year-old boy bleeding from a gunshot wound to his side. His 11-year-old brother had shot him, police said.

The boys found the gun in Hicks' car but family members said it was not hers. It belonged to the boys' aunt, they said, and it was unclear why it was in the car or how the boys found it.

Officers arrested the older boy for felonious assault. He was held at the Juvenile Detention Center. Hicks faces a charge of failing to secure a deadly weapon, police said. Cops seized two other .45-caliber handguns from the home. more

Woman returns $100,000 found at Cracker Barrel

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - A Murfreesboro, Tenn., woman chose not to follow the old saying "Finders keepers, losers weepers" when she discovered nearly $100,000 in a bag at a local Cracker Barrel restaurant. But it wasn't that the thought didn't cross her mind.
"Satan will tempt you," said Billie Watts, 75. "I have been having real bad teeth problems. I thought, 'I'll get my teeth fixed.' "
She ultimately decided to return the money she found in a bag in the women's restroom to its rightful owner.

Watts had to be coaxed by Michael Peralta, one of her 12 grandchildren, to tell her story.
"I'm proud of her because if anyone in the world deserved to find $97,000 it was them," Peralta, 31, said of his grandparents, who live in an apartment and depend on their Social Security checks.
The excitement began when Watts stopped by the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store with her husband, Malcolm, Thursday afternoon. In the bathroom, she found a tapestry bag hanging on a hook on one of the stall doors.
"It had a Manila envelope that was sticking out of the bag," she said. "It couldn't zip up; it was too full."
She searched the bag for the identity of its owner. Inside the envelope was a picture of two women and a child, but no names. Then she spotted the money.
"I said 'Oh my goodness,' " Watts recalled Monday. "I have never seen that much money in my whole life. I counted the money. There was $97,000 in $1,000 bills. They were neatly stacked inside the bag. "
Watts decided to leave the restaurant with the money.
"I was afraid to go to the counter," she said. "Maybe the wrong person could get ahold of it."
After the couple returned home, Watts called the Cracker Barrel restaurant.
"I told them I found something in the bathroom. I just left my number and asked them to call me."
In 10 to 15 minutes, a woman called.
"I knew it was the right person when she called. She identified the picture, the envelope and the money," said Watts. "I met her in front of the Cracker Barrel about 15 to 20 minutes after she called me." more

Madoff's $50 Billion Swindle leaves Victims Around the World

ABC News' Joel Siegel reports: The scope of Bernie Madoff's $50 billion Ponzi scheme is becoming clearer, and it's enormous. Newspapers and Web sites from around the world today are filled with stories about new victims.

In South Korea, institutional investors may have lost $100 million. French bank BNP Paribas, Tokyo-based Nomura Holdings and Zurich's Neue Privat Bank also suffered losses.

Spanish newspapers reported that a fund run by leading bank Santander was heavily exposed and that investors in Spain risk losing about $3 billion. And Swiss bankers face losses of up to $5 billion.

Among the boldface names who have lost money are Kay Windsor women's apparel founder Carl Shapiro, who lost $150 million to $400 million; and Nine West founder Jerome Fisher, who lost $150 million, the New York Post reports. Sen. Frank Lautenberg's office has confirmed he had an account with Madoff, and reportedly so did a former owner of the Philadelphia Eagles.

Irwin Kellner, the chief economist of MarketWatch.com, already has filed a lawsuit, claiming a $3 million loss.

The New York Times quotes associates of Mets owner Fred Wilpon as worrying that Wilpon's losses might affect the operation of the team -- though Bob DuPuy, Major League Baseball's president and chief operating officer, told The Times despite Wilpon's losses, baseball officials "expect it to be business as usual" for the Mets.

“Any fraud that has been committed against Fred is something of deep distress to all of us and we feel very badly about the entire matter, but we all believe that this will not affect the team,” DuPuy said.

Less well-heeled people lost money, too. The New York Daily News has the story of a retired carpet salesman and his wife from Long Island, N.Y. and Boynton Beach, Fla., whose life savings of nearly $1 million is gone. more

Many call center jobs moving back to US

Many consumers are used to getting customer service on the phone from international call centers, but now some companies are offering domestic aid for a price.
Telephone inquiries for computer giant Dell are typically fielded in India, but now the company will guarantee that customers speak to someone in North America — for an extra $12.95 a month.

"Not only are companies choosing in many cases to deliver customer care from the U.S., but they're actually choosing to deliver customer care from agents' homes," said IDC customer service analyst Stephen Loynd.

Dell isn't the only company moving away from outsourcing; cell phone company Jitterbug boasts in its ads that its operators are in the U.S.

"We really believe that our customer satisfaction saves us more money in the long term than off shoring," said Jitterbug CEO David Inns.

The move from overseas back to the States isn't just about ending years of customer complaints about not being able to reach an operator stateside.

Bush gets the boot.

BAGHDAD (Dec. 14) - His legacy forever linked to an unpopular war, President George W. Bush flew under intense security to Iraq on Sunday where he called the nearly six-year conflict hard but necessary to protect the United States and give Iraqis hope. "The war is not over," he declared.

Bush got a size-10 reminder of the intense opposition to his policies when a man threw two shoes at him — one after another — during a news conference with Iraq Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. "This is the end!" shouted the man, later identified as Muntadar al-Zeidi, a correspondent for Al-Baghdadia television, an Iraqi-owned station based in Cairo, Egypt.
Bush ducked both throws. Neither leader was hit.
"All I can report is a size 10," the president joked.
Bush visited the Iraqi capital just 37 days before he hands the war off to President-elect Barack Obama, who has pledged to end it. The president wanted to highlight a drop in violence in a nation still riven by ethnic strife and to celebrate a recent U.S.-Iraq security agreement, which calls for U.S. troops to withdraw from Iraq by the end of 2011.
"There is still more work to be done," Bush said after his meeting with al-Maliki, adding that the agreement puts Iraq on solid footing. more

Atlanta Shooter gets max sentence

Terry McMillan’s ex husband

Terry McMillan’s ex husband Jonathan Plummer has found himself a new man.

Is it safe to say Mr. Plummer has a new plumber, and he is not working for the water company any more!

Ex-Nasdaq investor confessed to a fraud of $50 billion

Some of America’s wealthiest socialites are facing ruin after the arrest of a Wall Street big hitter accused of the largest investor swindle perpetrated by one man.
Shock and panic spread through the country clubs of Palm Beach and Long Island after Bernard Madoff, a trading powerbroker for more than four decades, allegedly confessed to a fraud that will cost his wealthy investors at least $50 billion — perhaps the largest swindle in Wall Street history.
Madoff, 70, a former Nasdaq stock chairman, was apparently turned in by his two sons and arrested on Thursday morning at his Manhattan apartment by the FBI. Andrew Calamari, a senior enforcement official at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, described the scheme as “a stunning fraud that appears to be of epic proportions."
The FBI’s criminal complaint states that when two federal agents arrived at Madoff’s apartment, he told them: “There is no innocent explanation.” The agents say that he told them “he paid investors with money that wasn’t there," that he was “broke” and that he expected to go to jail.

Many of his investors came from the enormously wealthy enclaves of Palm Beach, Florida and Long Island, New York, where people had invested billions in Madoff’s firm for decades. He was a fixture on the Palm Beach social scene, and was a member of some of its most exclusive clubs, including the Palm Beach Country Club and Boca Rio Golf Club, where he drummed up much of his business. more

Vero Beach woman gets 55 years for writing bad checks

VERO BEACH — It was $1,900 here and $10,000 there.
On Friday, it all added up to a sentence of 55 years in state prison for 42-year-old Johnnie Miles, whose criminal record — of bad checks and financial fraud — dates to when she was 14 years old, according to court officials.
A month ago, a six-member Indian River County jury found the 29th Avenue resident innocent of the latest charges against her: defrauding a store out of $7,500 during a three-month period in 2007.
But under state rules, Circuit Court Judge Dan Vaughn was allowed to take another look at the facts in the latest case. That's because she was on probation for a 2003 conviction for grand theft and fraud in Indian River County.
Because of her record, Vaughn gave her the maximum for probation violation: 11 five-year state jail terms, all to be servedconsecutively, adding up to 55 years. Each five-year term is for the 11 offenses for which she served four years in state prison.
Her record goes back even further, including an additional 20 felony fraud and theft convictions, nine petty theft convictions and seven misdemeanor cases, according to county court records.
"She is one of the most notorious thieves" in the county, said Assistant State Attorney Adam Chrzan, who handled her latest case.
Her record, the attorney said, includes such things as making purchases using just credit card numbers. She told a store owner she was the victim of an identify theft and her card was stolen.
In the recent trial, Chrzan said the jury may have been swayed by testimony that a person identifying herself as Johnnie Miles called Riverside Bank claiming her checkbook and credit card were stolen, leading to fraudulent charges.
During sentencing on Friday, Miles made no comment.

Girl Accused of Seeking Hit on Father

A 15-year-old Hagerstown girl suspected of being part of a clique of teens who liked to suck one another's blood approached a friend on a crowded high school bus in October and asked him to kill her father, prosecutors say.
Prosecutors in Washington County in Western Maryland allege that she told the friend, a male classmate, that he could find her father at 5 a.m., climbing into the work truck he parked in the alley behind their rowhouse.
And that was where, on Halloween morning, her father's body was found in a pool of blood. He had been stabbed repeatedly in the head and neck.
This week, the girl was ordered held without bond on charges of soliciting murder.
In recent court hearings, however, this has become clear: The suspect charged in the man's death was not the male classmate she is accused of soliciting for the killing but another of the girl's friends, a 19-year-old accused of confronting the father because of the belief -- unsupported, prosecutors say -- that he was abusing his daughter.
John Dunlap, assistant state's attorney for Washington County, said police and prosecutors began investigating the man's daughter and her friends because the man "had no problems with nobody."
"The only thing he had a problem with was his daughter and her group of friends," Dunlap said. They were a goth "crew, sucking each other's blood, cutting each other."
The Washington Post is not identifying the girl because she is charged as a juvenile. The father is not being identified because he and his daughter share a last name. The male classmate has not been charged.
The 19-year-old, Alec S. Eger, has been charged with first-degree murder. more

Kentucky Fried Chicken fired for turning sink into hot tub

After putting the photos up on MySpace, one of the unidentified girls listed herself as a 17-year-old worker at the Anderson KFC near Redding.

Record Searchlight
LOS ANGELES - They serve fast food, but they're slow learners.

Four months after a Burger King employee lost his job for taking a bubble bath in a restaurant sink, three scantily clad teens were fired when they turned a basin at their northern California KFC into their personal hot tub.

They landed in hot water with the chicken chain's management when one of the bikini-clad dimwits made the same mistake as the Ohio Burger King employee - she posted photos of the dippy escapade on MySpace.

The photos included captions such as "haha KFC showers!" and "haha we turned on the jets," and were filed under a gallery called "KFC moments," according to the Record Searchlight newspaper in Redding, Calif.

The story broke before the unidentified girl could scrub public access to her profile. On her MySpace page, the girl listed herself as a 17-year-old worker at the Anderson KFC near Redding.

"I'm a KFC worker, they are my best friends and my family," she said on her site.

The three were suspended Tuesday - and have since been fired, said KFC spokesman Rick Maynard. more