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Marine at 'Toys for Tots' drive stabbed by theft suspect

By the CNN Wire Staff

The suspect attempted to conceal property and was confronted by Best Buy employees, authorities said.

A Marine Corps reservist helping in a "Toys for Tots" drive was stabbed Friday when he grappled with a fleeing shoplifting suspect, authorities in Augusta, Georgia, said.

Cpl. Phillip Duggan, 24, suffered a single stab wound. He was treated and released from the hospital later Friday, Sgt. Dan Carrier of the Richmond County Sheriff's Office said. "He's doing fine."

The suspect attempted to conceal property and was confronted by Best Buy employees, authorities said. An employee struggled with the suspect, who brandished a knife. The employees backed away from the armed man to prevent any injury to themselves or customers, Carrier told CNN.

Duggan and several other Marines wearing their dress blues were conducting the annual toy drive in the breezeway of the Best Buy when they heard the commotion and saw the suspect flee through the store entrance, Carrier said.

Duggan tackled the suspect and other Marines also moved to stop the suspect, who stabbed Duggan once in the middle of his back, close to his spine, Carrier said.

"They jumped on top of him, and they pulled him down," said "Toys for Tots" volunteer Larry Frelin.

"It took about five different people on top of him, but unfortunately he had a knife. He brought the knife around and managed to get it in the back of the Marine," Frelin told CNN affiliate WRDW.

Tracey Attaway, 39, was in custody Friday night and was charged with armed robbery, aggravated assault and possession of a knife during the commission of a crime, authorities said.

CNN was unable to reach Duggan or the Attaway residence late Friday.

"Most people who shoplift don't take it to this extreme," Carrier said. Read more at articles.cnn.com

 

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Argentinean man arrested for allegedly fathering 10 kids with daughter

By the CNN Wire Staff

(CNN) -- An Argentinean court has charged and ordered the arrest of a man who allegedly fathered ten children with his daughter, a local government agency reported Saturday.

A court in Reconquista, in the province of Santa Fe, alleged that the man violated his daughter for 30 years, the Santa Fe government's web site reported.

Other cases of sexual abuse were reported in the area 2009, triggering a special inquiry, the government site reported.

Renconquista judge Virgilio Palud was quoted by the government site as claiming that family-based "sexual abuse is common currency in the north of Santa Fe."

The judge said that two other cases of men fathering children with their daughters have been reported in nearby provinces, the site said.

In April 2008, the world was shocked by the secret life of Josef Fritzl, the so-called "Monster of Austria" who fathered seven children with his daughter, who he kept in confinement.

"This case is more serious than the one in Austria," Palud was quoted as saying in a Santa Fe newspaper.

Palud said the Santa Fe woman had been raped since she was 13 and that she was regularly threatened by her father.

The government site does not give the name of the accused father or his daughter.

The site quoted Palud as saying that the oldest child born to the pair committed suicide when he learned that his grandfather was also his father.

Court-ordered DNA tests proved the veracity of the story, the government site reported. The woman, now 43, has children ranging from age 7 to 27. Read more at www.cnn.com

 

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3 Michigan boys missing after father drops them off to attempt suicide

By the CNN Wire Staff

An amber alert has been issued for Alexander, 7, Andrew, 9, and Tanner Skelton, 5.

(CNN) -- Police and neighbors were searching for three young Michigan boys Saturday who have been missing since their father claimed he dropped them off with a woman before trying to kill himself a day earlier.

The father survived his suicide attempt and is being cared for in a mental health facility, said Morenci, Michigan, Police Chief Larry Weeks on Saturday.

But Michigan authorities do not know what has happened to his boys -- 5-year-old Tanner Skelton, 7-year-old Alexander William Skelton and 9-year-old Andrew Skelton -- prompting them to issue an Amber Alert on Friday.

Weeks said that the boys' father, John Skelton, told police that he dropped the boys off Friday morning with a woman he identified as Joann Taylor -- in part to ensure they didn't see him while and after he tried to commit suicide.

John Skelton told police that the woman, whom he allegedly met on the internet, was supposed to drop the boys off at their home in Morenci, a southern Michigan town of about 2,400 people about 40 miles west-northwest of Toledo, around 3 p.m. Friday.

But the boys never went home and, Weeks added, authorities still aren't sure if John Skelton's story -- including Joann Taylor's existence -- is true or a fabrication.

"We have not been able to locate a Joann Taylor or confirm that she even exists," Weeks told reporters Saturday evening.

The last non-family member saw the boys at 5 p.m. on Thursday, according to the chief.

Their mother, Tanya, has been with police "virtually the entire day" on Saturday, answering questions and serving as what Weeks called a "valuable resource at this time."

Weeks said Tanya Skelton had "contact with someone alleging to be Joann," adding only that this communication was not necessarily by phone or in person.

According to the Amber Alert, Taylor may have been from Jackson or Hillsdale counties and may be driving a silver van. Still, Weeks reiterated that they have yet to confirm she is real and, if so, if she is with the boys.

Saturday's press conference was crowded with media and residents of Morenci, many of whom have been searching for the young boys. Dozens spent Saturday searching along Bean Creek, Wakefield Park and the Riverside Natural Area -- all in Morenci -- according to Toledo-based CNN affiliate WUPW.

"We just hope they're somewhere safe and warm playing video games," volunteer Carol Garcia told WUPW.

But authorities thus far have offered few tips pointing community members to places where the young Skeltons might be.

"We understand their drive and desire to be out there," said Weeks. "The fact is, I cannot tell the community there's a specific location they should be searching."

The alert notes that Tanner is 3 feet, 6 inches tall, has strawberry blond hair, has blue eyes and weighs about 40 pounds. Alexander is 3 feet, 9 inches tall, has brown hair and eyes, weighs about 45 pounds and has scars on his hairline and chin. The oldest brother, Andrew, is 4 feet, 1 inch tall, has brown hair and eyes and weighs roughly 57 pounds. Read more at www.cnn.com

 

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Police: 2 Men Shot Inside Suburban Detroit Mall

Reports Say Gunshots Rang Out in Eastland Mall in 2 Separate Places

Stories Ex-Cop Gets 2 Years in Shooting of Unarmed Man FBI: 5th Va. Shooting Linked to Earlier Cases

(AP)  Police say two men have been critically injured in shootings inside a suburban Detroit shopping mall. The mall has been closed as police search for whoever fired the shots. Harper Woods deputy police chief Jim Burke tells The Associated Press the shootings happened around 6 p.m. when a group of teenagers fired on a rival group at Eastland Mall east of Detroit. Burke says the men were taken to St. John's Hospital in Detroit, and both were expected to survive. He says an 18-year-old was shot in the chest, and an employee at a clothing store was shot in leg. He says there had apparently been a long-running dispute between the two rival groups. Read more at www.cbsnews.com

 

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North Korea has vowed to hit back if its waters are violated during joint US-South Korean military exercises

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North Korea warning over South Korea-US military drill

North Korea has vowed to hit back if its waters are violated during joint US-South Korean military exercises, the North's state-run news agency reports.

China has expressed concern about military activity so close to its territory

Continue reading the main story Inside North Korea Why border hot-spot is war relic US resorts to carrier diplomacy Hard choices for South Korea China's muted response

The warning came as residents of a South Korean island shelled on Tuesday by Pyongyang were briefly ordered to shelter in bunkers.

South Korea's Yonhap agency said the order was given after artillery fire was heard on Yeonpyeong Island.

Earlier, South Korea and the US began their exercises off Korea's coast.

Pyongyang has condemned the live bombing and firing drill - which is set to last four days - as a provocation.

The US says the exercises are intended to deter North Korea from launching further attacks on the South.

China has also expressed concern about military activity by foreign navies so close to its territory, and has warned the Americans not to stray too close.

The evacuation order on Yeonpyeong was lifted after about 40 minutes

'Missiles deployed'

"We will deliver a brutal military blow on any provocation which violates our territorial waters," the North's state-controlled KCNA news agency said.

The warning was expressed shortly after the US-South Korean drills began in the Yellow Sea, about 125km (77 miles) south of the disputed maritime border between the two Koreas, about 40km off the Korean coast.

Later on Sunday, the residents of Yeonpyeong Island were briefly ordered to evacuate the area and go to shelters. The order was lifted about 40 minutes later.

The reason for the alert remains unclear, but it came after artillery fire was reportedly heard on the island.

Most of some 1,700 residents on Yeonpyeong have already left the island, but some 20 people are still there.

Separately, Yonhap reported that Pyongyang had placed surface-to-surface missiles on launch pads in the Yellow Sea and also moved surface-to-air missiles to frontline areas.

So far there has been no independent confirmation of the report.

The BBC's Chris Hogg, in the South Korean capital Seoul, says military sources there say that planning for the war games began before North Korea's attack in which four South Koreans - two marines and two civilians - were killed.

But the sources add that the intensity of the live fire and bombing drills will now be stepped up.

The US aircraft carrier the USS George Washington and four other US navy vessels are being joined by South Korean destroyers, patrol vessels, frigates, support ships and anti-submarine aircraft.

The George Washington is likely to be stationed further south in international waters, but still technically within striking range of Chinese cities.

In an earlier statement, KCNA warned that "if the US brings its carrier to the West Sea of Korea (Yellow Sea), no-one can predict the ensuing consequences."

Continue reading the main story North Korea: Timeline 2010 26 March: South Korean warship, Cheonan, sinks, killing 46 sailors 20 May: Panel says a North Korean torpedo sank the ship; Pyongyang denies involvement July-September: South Korea and US hold military exercises; US places more sanctions on Pyongyang 29 September: North holds rare party congress seen as part of father-to-son succession move 29 October: Troops from North and South Korea exchange fire across the land border 12 November: North Korea shows US scientist new - undeclared - uranium enrichment facility 23 November: North shells island of Yeonpyeong, killing at least four South Koreans In pictures: S Korean anger US-South alliance under pressure Koreans angry and worried Brief history of the Korean War

China's role

On Saturday, North Korea accused the South of using civilians as human shields on Yeonpyeong island.

The North's state media said the South was using the deaths of the two civilians for propaganda, in its words "creating the impression that the defenceless civilians were exposed to indiscriminate shelling from the North".

Pyongyang said it had been provoked by the South's military exercises, which were being carried out close to Yeonpyeong.

It said the North had sent a "telephone notice" on the morning of the shelling "to prevent the clash at the last moment" but the South continued its "provocation".

The US has called on China, North Korea's only ally, to increase its pressure on Pyongyang to prevent further incidents.

China has said its "top priority" is to keep the situation under control. Beijing has begun a series of talks in an attempt to ease the tension.

On Sunday, the Chinese state-run Xinhua news agency said that Choe Tae-Bok, the head of North Korea's parliament, would visit Beijing on Tuesday.

The announcement came as senior Chinese foreign policy adviser Dai Bingguo was holding talks in Seoul with South Korea's top officials.

Our correspondent says that Beijing now appears to be taking a more active role in dealing with the regional crisis.

However, the top US military commander, Admiral Mike Mullen, said earlier he did not know "why China doesn't push harder" with Pyongyang.

In an interview with CNN due to be broadcast on Sunday but released as a transcript, Adm Mullen said Beijing appeared to mistakenly believe it could control North Korea's leader, Kim Jong-il.

"I'm not sure he is controllable," Adm Mullen said.

More on This Story

Inside North Korea Why border hot-spot is war relic Historian Andrew Salmon looks at why the maritime border to the west of the Korean Peninsula is a flashpoint for confrontation between the two Koreas. US resorts to carrier diplomacy Hard choices for South Korea China's muted response As it happened: Artillery clash Background North Korea firing: Why now? Q&A: North Korea nuclear talks Q&A: Inter-Korean crisis Timeline: Nuclear stand-off The Korean War armistice A guide to North Korea

From other news sites Reuters UK WRAPUP 2-N.Korea readies missiles as US, South Korea begin drill 3 hrs ago Korea Herald S. Korea, U.S. start major naval drills to warn N.K. 6 hrs ago Telegraph South Korea: despach from the frontline of World War Three 6 hrs ago Guardian.co.uk Both Koreas issue threats on eve of US-Seoul war games 6 hrs ago Sky News US And S Korea Prepare For Military Exercises 13 hrs ago About these results Read more at www.bbc.co.uk

 

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Small Business Saturday (Sabbath) Hopes to Keep Holiday Shopping Local - ABC News

URL:  http://abcnews.go.com/Business/small-business-saturday-...

National Event Meant to Raise Awareness About the Importance of Small Business to Local Communities



By KEVIN DOLAK



Now that the dust from Black Friday has settled in shopping malls and megastores across the country, small businesses are hoping for big returns on the country's first ever Small Business Saturday.



Firmly planted between Black Friday and Cyber Monday -- when online retailers offer huge sales -- Small Business Saturday was designed to encourage shoppers across the U.S. to support local merchants in their holiday shopping as a means of driving up local economies.



Over a dozen advocacies along with public and private organizations have joined American Express, the event's primary sponsor, to declare today Small Business Saturday and raise awareness about the importance of small business to local communities.



The event is not meant to discourage people from shopping at larger chains or online. Rather, its advocates hope to encourage consumers to dedicate a percentage of their holiday shopping budget to local businesses -- be it by having dinner at a local restaurant or buying gifts at neighborhood stores.



To support the cause, American Express is offering its cardholders the opportunity to earn a $25 statement credit on purchases of at least $25 on Small Business Saturday at locally owned independent small businesses.



"We wanted to be the catalyst for a movement for small businesses," Ken Chenault, Chairman and CEO of American Express said in a recent interview on NBC's "Today" show. "We all know how important small business is to our economy. Small businesses generated 60-80% of the net new jobs over the last decade."



"We really wanted to raise awareness and get people involved. We're all in this together we can make a difference. When you buy local and small business, you're creating jobs," Chenault added.



According to a 2004 study by Economic Impact, for every $100 consumers spend at a local business, $68 remains in the local economy, whereas only $43 remains in the local economy when that $100 is spent at a chain store. Over the past two decades, small businesses created 65 percent of net new jobs.



The event has picked up publicity recently, particularly online via social media sites. Now with over a million fans, the event's Facebook page is one of the site's fastest growing fan pages. According to AllFacebook the page has had 850,000 'likes' in just over two weeks. Meanwhile, Twitter users are using the hash tag "#SmallBizSat" to promote the event and discuss what local bargains they are offering and finding.



"Black Friday is mostly for big stores, so it's nice to have an incentive to shop in your own neighborhood," Kari Johnson, manager of a Portland, Ore. cookware store told ABC News affiliate KATU-TV. "We're doing it to get people out to shop locally."



Shoppers seeking out deals associated with the event can find a list of some participating business at the National Federation of Independent Business website.

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U.S. strips intelligence analyst of security clearance and job but won't say why

URL:  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/20...

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Superior court overturns contempt ruling for York County DA's office

The ruling was made after the district attorney's office refused to release the name of a confidential informant.

By REBECCA LeFEVER Daily Record/Sunday News

York, PA - The state Superior Court on Nov. 19 overturned a York County court ruling that held the York County District Attorney's Office in contempt for refusing to release the name of a confidential informant. Former District Attorney Stan Rebert originally appealed the ruling made by York County Judge Michael Brillhart in a 2009 drug case. Tom Kearney, the current DA, led the appeal after he took office this year. Brillhart levied the $5,000 contempt sanction against the DA's office in August 2009 when senior prosecutor David Maisch defied Brillhart's pretrial order to supply the name of an informant to the defense. "I have the highest respect for the judge who made the decision, but we decided the ruling was wrong -- and we can all be wrong sometimes," Kearney said Friday of Brillhart's ruling. During a hearing in 2009, Rebert decided to drop the drug charges against Douglas McClain Jr. of Baltimore rather than reveal the identity of the informant. Brillhart ruled the informant was a witness and involved in the drug transaction, and ordered the release of the person's identity. Maisch discussed the ruling with his superiors before refusing to identify the confidential informant. "You've got to stick with your decision to withhold information," Rebert said Friday. "Sometimes you've got to stand your ground, but remember to evaluate things on a case-by-case basis." A court can limit the types of sanctions imposed as a result of discovery rules, according to documents for the appeal of the district attorney's office. Once the drug charges were dropped, the issue of contempt should have ended, the documents state. The state's District Attorney's Association has contacted Kearney for additional information about the case to provide as an example for action other DA's can make in similar cases. "We must consider the risks of the informant who we promised anonymity," Kearney said. "People can be pretty dangerous, and there is always concern for the safety of a confidential informant." rlefever@ydr.com; 771-2088 The drug case Douglas McClain Jr. of Baltimore was arrested on charges of possession with intent to deliver 1 1/2 pounds of marijuana in January 2009. York County Drug Task Force members and York City Police officers met with a confidential informant who arranged to purchase the marijuana from McClain, according to court documents. McClain drove from Baltimore with the marijuana, was pulled over and arrested in York, court documents state. The York County District Attorney's Office later dropped the charges against McClain to avoid identifying the informant. Read more at www.ydr.com

 

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Pensioner builds brick wall and traps himself in basement

A German DIY enthusiast accidentally walled himself into his own basement and only managed to escape by drilling his way through to his neighbours, police said Thursday. Bailout fund could top €750 billion, Weber says - Business & Money (25 Nov 10) Petraeus lauds Bundeswehr efforts - National (25 Nov 10) Merkel attacks 'obstructionist' Greens - Politics (24 Nov 10) The 64-year-old pensioner in the eastern town of Gumperda had – inexplicably – aimed to seal off the entrance to his cellar and went downstairs armed with bricks, mortar as well as food and drink. "Whoops, you could say," the police station in nearby Kahla said in a statement. "He was on the wrong side of the wall when his work was finished." The pensioner, whose name was not released, spent the weekend trapped in the basement but on Monday decided to take action. Using a drill hammer, he went to work not on his own wall but on the firewall separating his home from his neighbours'. The neighbours, with whom the pensioner had already been quarrelling for months, called the police when they heard the loud drilling. Officers were waiting for the hobby handyman when he broke through to the other side. AFP/dw Read more at www.thelocal.de

 

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Thailand foetus find breaks abortion taboo

By Rachel Harvey

BBC News, Bangkok

Cartons of milk and children's toys are placed at the shrine in the Buddhist temple in Bangkok

In a quiet corner of a Buddhist temple in Bangkok, an impromptu shrine has been created.

Cartons of milk and children's toys have been placed on the ground in front of an unimposing grey building divided up into small compartments marked by padlocked doors.

This is the temple morgue, where bodies are stored before being cremated. But the shrine is unusual.

The offerings have been left to ease the transition of restless souls from this life to the next: the souls of 2,002 aborted foetuses that were recently discovered behind the locked doors.

The remains are widely believed to have come from illegal clinics.

Abortions are only permitted in Thailand in cases of rape, incest or where the mother's life is in danger.

But official statistics suggest around 300,000 abortions are carried out each year, the vast majority in back-street clinics.

The gruesome discovery of so many foetuses in the grounds of a temple has prompted debate about an issue usually considered taboo.

Tendency to panic

Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva has so far resisted demands for new legislation, saying the problem lies in society's values.

But on the outskirts of Bangkok, in a compound of buildings surrounded by gardens, the sense of shock and moral outrage is muted.

This is the headquarters of the Association for the Promotion of the Status of Women.

The organisation provides shelter and advice for women struggling to cope with unexpected pregnancies.

Maytinee Bhongsvej has been working here for almost 20 years, first as a volunteer, now as the director. In all that time, she has seen little change.

Young women in particular, she said, are often ignorant about sexual matters so when they accidentally become pregnant, there is a tendency to panic.

"They do everything they can think of to get rid of it," Maytinee said, in a calm voice that belied her evident frustration.

"They walk into things deliberately, have accidents deliberately, fall down the stairs, get a friend to kick them in the tummy, all because they don't know what to do."

Noi, an orphan, says she received no guidance from school teachers or doctors

Noi (not her real name) was 17 when she discovered she was pregnant.

She and her boyfriend at the time did have condoms but did not want to use them. They thought they would be fine.

A year later, she is living at the centre with a one-year-old daughter curled up in her lap.

Noi's boyfriend told her he wasn't ready to look after a baby and that she should have an abortion.

"But I was so scared," Noi said, "and I didn't have any money and I didn't really want to have an abortion.

"My boyfriend said if I kept the baby, he would leave - and he did. He went off with someone else."

A friend told her about the women's centre. Noi is an orphan and all the advice she sought or received up to that point had been from her peers, not from school teachers or doctors.

It didn't even occur to her to talk to an adult.

Noi now plans to finish school and look for a job. But as a single mother, she knows her options may be limited in what is still, in many ways, a very conservative society.

Sex for sale

But Thailand is also a society full of contradictions. Parts of central Bangkok reveal the seedier side of life.

Open-air bars line the streets with names that leave little to the imagination: "Red lips", "Pretty girls", "Spanky's".

The bar stools are occupied by women waiting to entertain male customers.

Bangkok has a reputation for being the city where anything goes. Sex is for sale and all tastes are catered for.

There are pole-dancing clubs next door to lady boy shows and Western men looking for younger Asian girlfriends.

It is all here and you don't have to look very far. Yet sex is rarely spoken about in Thai schools or within families.

Few women working in the bars were willing to talk either, though more because they were worried about getting into trouble with the bar owners than because they were uncomfortable with the subject.

In fact, those that did speak were very upfront. It would be good if people talked about sex more openly, one said. But in Thai culture, that doesn't happen.

"One group may want to start a discussion to make people more aware but there's always another that says it's not the right time for kids to learn about these things," she said.

"But all the girls here know how to look after themselves."

In the middle of the quadrangle of bars where she was talking was a large Buddhist statue.

Throughout the evening, women stopped to offer prayers before disappearing into the clubs and bars to start work.

Religion is often cited as the driving force of conservatism in this predominantly Buddhist nation. But there is one leader of the faith who thinks it may be time for a new approach.

Phramaha Vajiramedhi believes apportioning blame in cases of abortion is not helpful

In a room filled with his books and DVDs, a bespectacled Phramaha Vudhijaya Vajiramedhi sat in a chair while followers respectfully positioned themselves at a lower level on the floor.

Phramaha Vajiramedhi is a charismatic, highly popular, media-savvy 37-year-old monk. When he speaks, people tend to listen.

Buddhists are fundamentally opposed to any kind of killing, including abortion. But Phramaha Vajiramedhi believes apportioning blame is not helpful.

"We need to adjust the old-fashioned way of teaching morality," he said.

"We can't just keep saying that abortion is a sin, abortion is bad karma. We need to understand that when a woman decides to have an abortion, it has something to do with a lack of sex education or she might have problems at home.

"Monks must do more than telling people it's a sin. We have to find solutions too," Phramaha Vajiramedhi said.

That sentiment is shared by Maytinee Bhongsvej from the Association for the Promotion of the Status of Women. But she wants more practical, as well as spiritual, help to be made available.

Ms Maytinee said: "If a woman decides to abide by the law and keep her baby knowing that she is not really ready for that, once she delivers the baby, who extends their hand to help? No one.

"If you don't want legal abortion, you have to have a better system to look after the women who go through with the pregnancy."

There is clearly much soul-searching still to be done.

But there is perhaps one positive outcome from the terrible discovery of the temple foetuses.

Thailand is at last openly debating an issue previously left unspoken.

Related stories Thailand foetus find passes 2,000 19 NOVEMBER 2010, ASIA-PACIFIC Country profile: Thailand 19 MAY 2010, COUNTRY PROFILES Timeline: Thailand 19 MAY 2010, COUNTRY PROFILES Foetuses found in Thailand temple 16 NOVEMBER 2010, ASIA-PACIFIC Read more at www.bbc.co.uk

 

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