S. Korea shuts schools due to radioactive rain
msnbc.com news services
April 7, 2011
TOKYO — Dozens of schools in South Korea closed Thursday amid concerns about radioactive fallout from Japan’s nuclear disaster.
Classes were canceled or shortened at more than 150 schools as rain fell across the country.
Authorities said radiation levels in the rain posed no health threat.
Read more at www.infowars.com
Ark. court strikes down law barring 'gay' adoptions
LITTLE ROCK, AR - The Arkansas Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a voter-approved initiative that barred same-sex couples and other unmarried people living together from serving as adoptive or foster parents.
Associate Justice Robert L. Brown wrote for the court that the law would encroach on adults' right to privacy in the bedroom. "Act 1 directly and substantially burdens the privacy rights of 'opposite-sex and same-sex individuals' who engage in private, consensual sexual conduct in the bedroom by foreclosing their eligibility to foster or adopt children," Brown wrote.
The law, which was never enforced, would have effectively banned same-gender couples from adopting or fostering children because they can't legally marry in Arkansas. It also would have been extended to unmarried heterosexual couples who live together.
Voters approved the measure in 2008 after the state Supreme Court overturned a Human Services Department policy preventing homosexuals from serving as foster parents in 2006.
The American Civil Liberties Union sued on behalf of a group of families, arguing that the law arbitrarily bans qualified families from consideration when the state has too few foster and adoptive families. It said it knew of 29 people from a dozen families who claimed the law would have an impact on them.
Some of the law's opponents were worried that they would not be able to let a homosexual relative adopt their children if they should die.
A state judge had struck down the law last April because he said it forced unmarried couples to choose between their relationships and becoming adoptive parents. The attorney general later asked the Supreme Court to reverse that decision, arguing that fostering or adopting a child is not a constitutionally protected right.
When the lawsuit was filed in late 2008, Arkansas and Utah were the only states with bans on unmarried couples fostering or adopting children. Mississippi banned homosexual couples, but not single homosexual men, from adopting children. Florida was the only state to completely bar homosexual adoption until a federal judge ruled the ban unconstitutional in December 2008.
Reaction
Bruce Babione, an attorney with the Alliance Defense Fund, tells OneNewsNow: "The needs of children outweigh the wants of adults. The court's decision tragically places more importance on the sexual interests of adults than on protecting children."
The attorney argues that the voters in Arkansas did understand the best interests of children. "The people of Arkansas believe that children deserve the most safe and stable home environments possible. They cast their ballots to ensure that children would not be deprived of the best possible homes and they decisively approved ACT 1 for that purpose only," he says. "But the courts struck down the will of the people anyway."
Voters passed Act 1 in 2008 with a 54-to-43 percent margin.
One Current and Three Former Chicago Police Officers, Once Assigned to Disbanded Elite SOS Unit, Charged with Federal Civil Rights Violations
Two Also Facing Federal Tax Charges and One Also Accused of Planning Murder-for-Hire of Fellow Officer
CHICAGO—One current and three former Chicago police officers who were members of the disbanded Special Operations Section (SOS), an elite city-wide unit, were charged today with federal civil rights violations for allegedly presenting false information and testimony to conceal unlawful searches or arrests during which hordes of cash were often stolen between 2003 and 2006. Two of the former officers were also charged with federal tax offenses, and one of them, Jerome A. Finnigan, is also facing a charge that was filed against him previously for allegedly planning the murder-for-hire of a former fellow officer who was a potential witness against him. The civil rights charges are new, and the other three defendants were charged with federal crimes for the first time today, following a lengthy joint state and federal investigation of the activities of rogue officers within the disbanded special unit. Seven other former officers assigned to the SOS have previously pleaded guilty to state charges and been sentenced.
Finnigan and former officer Keith A. Herrera were charged together with conspiracy to violate the civil rights of individuals, in concert with other unnamed officers assigned to the SOS. Finnigan and Herrera allegedly “routinely and regularly” performed unlawful arrests and searches while conducting criminal investigations, and, when the opportunity arose, stole cash for their own benefit from those arrested and the places being searched. The charges allege that Finnigan’s share of the money stolen in 2004 and 2005 totaled approximately $200,000, while Herrera allegedly netted approximately $40,000 in 2005—all of which came from a larger pool of approximately $600,000 that allegedly was stolen in five separate episodes in 2004 and 2005.
All four defendants, through their attorneys, have authorized the government to disclose that they will be pleading guilty to the charges filed today. Finnigan and Herrera are also facing related state charges, and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office intends to dismiss those cases after the federal charges are resolved.
Finnigan, 48, who joined the police department in 1988, has remained in federal custody and resigned from the department since he was arrested in September 2007. Herrera, 33, who joined the department in 2000, also has since resigned. They were each charged with one count of civil rights conspiracy and one count of filing a false federal income tax return, and Finnigan alone faces one count of murder-for-hire. Both will be arraigned at a later date in U.S. District Court.
Charged with misdemeanor civil rights violations in separate criminal informations filed today in federal court were former officer Stephen DelBosque, 35, who joined the department in 2000 and has since resigned, and current officer Eric J. Olsen, 37, who joined the department in 1995 and is on call-back status. Both of them have also authorized the government to disclose that they will be pleading guilty to the charges, and will be arraigned at a later date in U.S. District Court.
“These serious charges do not reflect the conduct of the thousands of police officers who risk their lives each day to serve with honor and integrity,” said Patrick J. Fitzgerald, United States Attorney for the Northen District of Illinois. “As a result of a thorough investigation, the SOS was disbanded and other defendants were brought to justice in the state courts.”
Mr. Fitzgerald announced the federal charges with Anita Alvarez, Cook County State’s Attorney; Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Alvin Patton, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division.
The civil rights conspiracy count alleges that Finnigan and Herrera, together with other unnamed SOS officers, used and agreed to use their position and authority as police officers to unlawfully stop and detain individuals, to unlawfully search individuals and residences, to deprive individuals of money without due process of law, and to cause individuals to be charged with offenses based upon false evidence.
According to the charges:
On Feb. 14, 2004, Finnigan and others arrested Person A, who was distributing two kilograms of cocaine to Person B, and caused Person A to disclose that cocaine was located in a garage on South Campbell and cash was located in Person A’s residence on South Kostner. After seizing approximately 33 kilos of cocaine from the garage and $30,000 to $35,000 cash from Person A’s residence, Finnigan and other officers inventoried as evidence with the department 35 kilograms of cocaine taken from Person A and the garage and only $10,000 of the money. Persons A and B were charged based on police reports that falsely stated that only $10,000 was taken from Person A’s residence. Finnigan and other officers allegedly divided among themselves the $20,000 to $25,000 that they had seized but did not inventory. On March 9, 2004, Finnigan allegedly testified falsely before a Cook County grand jury that only approximately $10,000 was recovered from Person A’s residence;
On Sept. 18, 2004, Finnigan and other officers made a traffic stop of Person C without a lawful basis near 47th and Central and took the keys to Person C’s residence on South Luna. Without a warrant or consent, Finnigan and other officers unlawfully searched the residence and took approximately $450,000 in cash, which they divided among themselves;
On Nov. 11, 2004, Finnigan, Herrera and other officers made a traffic stop of Person D without a lawful basis on North Laramie. Without a warrant or consent, the officers unlawfully searched Person D’s residence on West Hadden and took approximately $10,000 in cash, which they divided among themselves after releasing Person D. On Jan. 14, 2005, after news accounts in which Person D claimed that officers stole money, Herrera and other officers agreed to and did provide false statements to the department’s Internal Affairs Division, denying an illegal search and taking any money, and falsely claiming that a certain police sergeant was present at the search of Person D’s residence;
On May 17, 2005, Finnigan, Herrera and other officers made a traffic stop of Person E without a lawful basis on South Karlov. Without a warrant or consent, the officers unlawfully searched Person E’s residence on South Karlov and took narcotics and approximately $30,000 in cash. The officers inventoried only $463 of the money seized and charged Person E with possession of the narcotics based on police reports that falsely stated that Person E discarded narcotics when police approached and that a total of only $463 was seized from Person E’s residence. The officers divided among themselves the approximately $29,500 that was stolen. On Sept. 9, 2005, Finnigan, Herrera and other officers made a traffic stop of Person E on North Sacramento without a lawful basis and cited Person E for traffic offenses that Person E did not commit to intimidate Person E not to complain about the stolen money; and
On Aug. 15, 2005, without a warrant or consent, Finnigan, Herrera and other officers unlawfully searched Person F’s residence on North Keeler and unlawfully seized two firearms, 12 kilograms of cocaine, 25 pounds of marijuana and approximately $88,000 in cash. The officers inventoried the firearms, cocaine and marijuana and only $1,800 of the money taken from Person F. They caused Persons F and G to be charged based on police reports that falsely stated that Persons F and G were each arrested in possession of a firearm and the search of Person F’s residence was lawful because Person F had fled and was pursued into the residence. The officers divided among themselves the approximately $86,000 that was stolen.
The tax charges allege that Finnigan failed to report on his 2004 federal income tax return approximately $174,500 in income from the money he had stolen from individuals he had arrested, and that Herrera failed to report on his 2005 federal income tax return approximately $40,000 in income from the money he had stolen from individuals he had arrested.
In September and December 2006, state criminal charges were brought against Finnigan and other SOS officers, who were then suspended from duty, for allegedly abusing their police powers to unlawfully arrest and search individuals, search residences and seize property. The murder-for-hire charge alleges that in July and August 2007, Finnigan discussed with Chicago Police Officer 1 paying someone to kill Chicago Police Officer 2, who Finnigan believed would likely be a witness in one or more of the state cases.
On Sept. 18, 2007, Finnigan met with Officer 1, who was then cooperating with law enforcement, in Finnigan’s residence and allegedly discussed the reliability and cost of hiring someone to kill Officer 2, and suggested that Officer 1 could also try to find someone to kill Officer 2. On Sept. 21, 2007, Finnigan spoke by phone with Officer 1 and they agreed to meet in a parking lot where Officer 1 told Finnigan that he had found someone to kill Officer 2 for money, but needed a photo of Officer 2 in civilian clothes to give to the purported killer. Finnigan allegedly provided such a photo and instructed Officer 1 to wipe off any fingerprints and to handle it carefully. Later that evening, Finnigan and Officer 1 again spoke by phone and agreed that Office 1 could come by Finnigan’s residence immediately to get Officer 2's new address. Finnigan was arrested on Sept. 26, 2007, and charged in a complaint with using a telephone with intent to commit a murder-for-hire and has remained in federal custody since then.
Regarding DelBosque, the charges allege that on Dec. 2, 2005, he testified falsely before a state grand jury that Person A had dropped a bag containing two bricks of cocaine when approached by SOS officers on Nov. 4, 2005, in front of a residence on North Normandy. In fact, DelBosque was present and knew that Person A did not possess narcotics when arrested. SOS officers then unlawfully searched the residence and detached garage on North Normandy and found four firearms in the residence and 101 kilos of cocaine in the garage. The officers prepared a police report falsely stating that they had a lawful basis to arrest Person A when they approached and the person dropped a bag containing two bricks of cocaine.
Regarding Olsen, the charges allege that on April 21, 2004, he testified falsely at a state court preliminary hearing that he had arrested Person A for drug possession after he observed Person A publicly consuming alcohol outside a tavern on West 63rd and could see a plastic bag consistent with narcotics packaging protruding from Person A’s waistband. In fact, on March 27, 2004, Olsen allegedly had conducted an unlawful search of Person A, who was then a patron in the tavern, and found cocaine.
The civil rights conspiracy against Finnigan and Herrera, and the murder-for-hire charge against Finnigan alone, each carry a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. The tax counts against each of them carry a maximum of three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. In addition, a defendant convicted of tax offenses faces mandatory costs of prosecution and remains civilly liable to the Government for any and all back taxes, as well as a civil fraud penalty of 75 percent of the underpayment plus interest.
The misdemeanor civil rights charges against DelBosque and Olsen carry a maximum penalty of a year in prison and a $100,000 fine. Upon conviction of any of the crimes charged, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines. The government is being represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian Netols and Cook County Assistant State’s Attorneys Jack Blakey and Lynn McCarthy, who also serve as Special Assistant U.S. Attorneys.
The public is reminded that an information contains only charges and is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Austin Ayers Winther was charged today by indictment with one count of attempting to entice another individual to travel in interstate commerce to engage in illegal sexual activity, one count of attempting to use a means of interstate commerce to entice an minor into engaging in illegal sexual activity, and four counts of attempting to transfer obscene matter to a child less than 16 years of age, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.
Information Regarding the Defendant
Name: Austin Ayers Winther
Address: Philadelphia
Age or Year of Birth: 64
If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of lifetime imprisonment, a mandatory minimum 10 years’ imprisonment, a $1,500,000 fine, and a $600 special assessment.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sherri A. Stephan.
Jihad Comes to Rio: Muslim Kills 12 @ Kids School, Cites Islam in Suicide Note
Hey, it’s another “Religion of Peace” massacre of kids, this time at a school for poor kids in Rio. Alhamdillullah [Praise allah]. And while the police admit that perpetrator was a devout Muslim who referred to Islam in his suicide note before murdering multiple children, they want to stress that there was no religious motivation here. Alhamdillullah thelanthah [Praise allah, #2].
Rio De Jihado: Muslim Cites Islam in Massacre of Kids
RIO DE JANEIRO — At least 11 people, mostly children, died Thursday and more that 15 were wounded when an armed man attacked a school in Realengo in the poor suburbs of Rio de Janeiro.
According to a preliminary police report, the attacker — a 24- year-old former student at the school — was among the dead after shooting himself in the head. He attacked Tasso da Silveira school, where some 400 students ages 9-14 were in classes.
Police Col. Djalma Beltrami said the killer used two handguns and a lot of ammunition. The suspect left behind a letter, in which he anticipated committing suicide after the attack. Beltrami, however, gave no details of any possible motive.
Huh? Someone references Islam in a calculated pre-massacre letter, but that ain’t the motive?
Beltrami said the attacker was friendly as he went into the school, chatting with administrators and teachers and asking for permission to address the children. When he reached the third floor of the building, the suspect entered one of the classrooms and started to shoot at students, killing nine girls and one boy. . . .
Roselane de Oliveira, a sister of the attacker, told Rio de Janeiro radio station Band News that the young man “was very strange.”
“He had no friends, and he spent all his time on the Internet,” she said.
In recent months, she said, he appeared to have got closer to Islam.
BINGO.
Police stressed, however, that there was no concrete evidence that the attack had either a religious or a political motive.
Riiiiight.
NH Bishop Branded a 'Pedophile Pimp' Gets Apology
Concord, N.H. (AP) - The Republican leader of the New Hampshire House has apologized to a Roman Catholic bishop he called a "pedophile pimp."
A spokesman for state Rep. D.J. Bettencourt says Thursday's private meeting with Bishop John McCormack went well and he's pleased. Spokesman Jim Rivers says Bettencourt isn't commenting on the discussion.
McCormack was an aide to Cardinal Bernard Law in Boston, where the Catholic sex abuse scandal began. He was in charge of investigating sexual misconduct allegations.
The Salem politician last week called the bishop a "pedophile pimp" who should've been led from the Statehouse in handcuffs after criticizing deep cuts to social services in the House budget.
Bettencourt wrote online McCormack had no business urging lawmakers to protect the vulnerable given his role in the clergy sex abuse scandal. He later said his comment was inappropriate.
11 Children Killed in Brazil School Shooting
11 Children Killed in Brazil School Shooting
A woman reacts outside a school after a shooting at the school in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday April 7, 2011. Brazilian authorities say that a gunman opened fire in an elementary school in Rio de Janeiro and at least 13 people are dead, including the gunman. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)
Rio de Janeiro (AP) - A gunman roamed the halls of an elementary school in Rio de Janeiro on Thursday and killed 11 children, lining them up against a wall and shooting them in the head at point-blank range as he shouted, "I'm going to kill you all!"
It was the worst school shooting in Brazil - and would have been deadlier if the gunman had not been shot in the legs by a police officer, who said the man then fell down some stairs and shot himself in the head.
Images taken with a cell phone and posted on YouTube showed students fleeing wildly, screaming for help, many with their white and blue school shirts soaked in blood.
At least 18 people, mostly students, were injured, many by gunfire, and taken to local hospitals, said Rio state Health Secretary Sergio Cortes. At least four were in grave condition.
The dead included 10 girls and one boy, plus the gunman, Cortes said. The ages of the children were not immediately known.
"He came in shooting," said Andreia Machado, recounting what her 13-year-old daughter, Thayane, told her before going into surgery.
Thayane was hit by three bullets and lost feeling in her legs because one hit her spine, said her mother. Crying as she spoke, Machado wondered if her daughter would ever be able to return to school - or walk.
"She's such an active child," she said. "That's the biggest fear I have, her not being able to walk again. But we have to trust in God."
The gunman was identified as 23-year-old Wellington Oliveira, who had once attended the Tasso da Silveira school in a working-class neighborhood in western Rio.
No motive was known, but authorities said the shooter left a rambling and mostly incoherent letter at the scene indicating he wanted to kill himself.
The letter also explained in detail how Oliveira wanted his corpse to be cared for - bathed and wrapped in a white sheet that he left in a bag in the first room where he said he would start shooting. The letter also states that the gunman should not be touched by anyone who is "impure" unless they wear gloves.
"If possible I want to be buried next to my mother. A follower of God must visit my grave at least once. He must pray before my grave and ask God to forgive me for what I have done," read the letter, portions of which were posted on the Globo television network's website.
Edmar Peixoto, the deputy mayor of western Rio, said the letter also stated the gunman was infected with the AIDS virus.
The public school was in the midst of celebrating its 40th anniversary, and students' handmade posters commemorating the day could be seen through school windows.
Rio Police Chief Martha Rocha said that when Oliveira first entered the school he told staff members he was there to give a lecture.
Shortly afterward, he opened fire. Rocha said he was carrying two pistols and an ammunition belt. He fired off at least 30 rounds.
Rio is a city rife with drug-gang violence in its vast slums, but school shootings are rare. The gunman had no criminal history, Rocha told a news conference.
About 400 people were inside the school when the shooting began about 8:30 a.m. local time (7:30 a.m. EDT, 1130 GMT). The school serves grades one through eight.
"What happened in Rio is without a doubt the worst incident of its kind to have taken place in Brazil," said Guaracy Mingardi, a crime and public safety expert at the University of Sao Paulo.
Jade Ramos, a student at the school, said the gunman repeatedly yelled "I'm going to kill you all!"
"He had already killed a lot of children in the first floor and in the yard," she told the Globo television network. "He kept telling the kids to face the wall and was shooting at their heads. The children kept begging, 'No, please!' There was a lot of blood, children agonizing on the stairs."
Ramos said she escaped by running into a classroom, where a teacher then locked the door and barricaded it with tables.
Police were alerted to the shooting when two young boys, at least one with a gunshot wound, ran up to two officers on patrol about two blocks away. The officers sprinted to the school and at least one quickly located the gunman on the second floor and traded shots with him.
"He saw me and aimed a gun at me," said officer Marcio Alves. "I shot him in the legs, he fell down the stairs and then shot himself in the head."
Rio Mayor Eduardo Paes said life at the four-story, pastel yellow and green school was turned into a "hellish nightmare."
"This day would have been so much worse if it weren't for the hero policeman," Paes told reporters at the school.
Authorities closed the school temporarily while they investigate, but Paes said it would reopen.
Rio Gov. Sergio Cabral called the shooter a "psychopath" and said there were no indications anyone else was involved in the shooting, but that the investigation would continue.
"We have to investigate where he got the weapons and where he learned to use them," the governor said.
Terrified parents rushed to the school in the Realengo neighborhood. Television images showed them crying and screaming for information about their children.
Zilda Nunes, 67, lives across the street from the school and said three of her grandchildren were inside when the shooting began.
She screamed for help when she heard the gunfire, but didn't enter the building. As students fled, she offered them sugar water to help calm them down, she said.
"There were so many children shot, so much blood," Nunes said. "People were asking for help, but what could I do?"
Three helicopters were landing and taking off from a football field next to the school, ferrying the wounded to hospitals.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff, attending an event in the capital, Brasilia, lamented the deaths of "defenseless children."
"I ask for one minute of silence for these children who were taken so early from their life," she said, her voice cracking and eyes welling with tears. "It's not in the nature of our nation to have these types of crimes."
Associated Press writers Bradley Brooks, Stan Lehman and Tales Azzoni in Sao Paulo contributed to this report.
Read more at www.cnsnews.com
Pennsylvania Man Gets Prison for YouTube Threat of Lawmaker
Philadelphia (AP) - A Philadelphia man has been sentenced to two years in prison for threatening U.S. Rep. Eric Cantor of Virginia in a YouTube video.
Federal prosecutors say 38-year-old Norman LeBoon was sentenced Thursday to 24 months in prison followed by three years' supervised release. He pleaded guilty in November in connection with the YouTube video posted earlier that year.
Prosecutors say LeBoon called the Republican congressman "a liar" and "a Lucifer" in the video and vowed to shoot him.
LeBoon will be required to get mental health treatment. He is also required to have no contact with Cantor or any member of Cantor's family.
Cantor was voted House majority leader when the Republican-led Congress convened in January.
Robbery Suspect
York City Police Department
York City Police Detective Bureau is investigating a Robbery that happened at the Turkey Hill located at 742 Roosevelt Ave. on 04/06/2011 at 1145pm. The Robbery suspect is a white male, slim build with light brown hair. He appeared to be in his late 30's to early 40's and has a tattoo on his left forearm and stand approximately 5'5 inches tall. He did not conceal his face and wore blue jeans and a light blue short sleeve polo style shirt with dark blue and white horizontal stripes. Anyone with information is asked to contact Detective Ripley at 717-849-2219 or call the York City Police tip line at 849-2204 to leave an anonymous message.
Contact Information
Contact Name:
Detective Ripley
Contact Name:
Contact Email:
gripley@yorkcity.org
Contact Email:
Contact Phone:
854-4526
Contact Phone:
Researchers Find Sperm Counts on the Decline
MIAMI (CBS4) — When a couple has trouble getting pregnant, they often assume it’s because there’s a problem with the woman but that’s not always the case. The leading cause of male infertility is low sperm count and researchers have found sperm counts on the decline.
Dave and Teri have been trying to get pregnant since they married five years ago. They both assumed the problem was hers.
“It never crossed my mind that I was infertile or would have a problem with fertility,” said Dave.
Male fertility specialist Dr. Paul Turek said men did not think about their fertility. He says guys are like cars. “Men are engines that run hard almost all the time. And you can poison the engine. Not poison it but give it diluted fuel, water it down, get it out of tune somehow.”
Diluting the fuel is not something most men like to think about. However, according to studies in Europe and the United States, sperm counts and sperm quality have been dropping for the past 50 years. Guys typically have no idea how the environment or their own lifestyle can affect fertility.
“You know you can bring a sperm count to zero by taking hot baths every other day for a month,” Turek said. “It’ll take you three months to recover. It’ll go to zero.” That’s only the beginning of his list of sperm killers. “Smoking, nicotine, tobacco, other recreational drugs are bad,” Turek said.
Turek also said excess alcohol and hair loss medications can affect sperm count, along with illnesses, opiates and stress.
Read more at www.prophesyagain.com
