http://www.talkdelaware.com/ All general news will be posted here. en Sun, 19 May 2013 10:53:04 GMT vBulletin 60 http://www.talkdelaware.com/images/misc/rss.png http://www.talkdelaware.com/ http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21834-Search-for-suspects-after-19-injured-in-shooting-at-New-Orleans-Mother-s-Day-parade&goto=newpost Mon, 13 May 2013 13:42:22 GMT New Orleans police are searching for as many as three gunmen after 19 people, including two children, were injured in a shooting at a Mother's Day parade.
Police say they saw three suspects running from the scene, but no arrests had been made as of early Monday. Grainy surveillance video released by New Orleans police shows a crowd suddenly scattering in all directions, with some falling to the ground. They appear to be running from a man who turns and runs out of the picture. The person is wearing a white T-shirt and dark pants. The image isn't clear, but authorities hope someone will recognize him and notify investigators.
At least three of the victims were seriously wounded. Of the rest, many were grazed and authorities said that overall most wounds were not life threatening. No deaths were reported.
The victims included 10 men, seven women, a boy and a girl. The children, both 10 years old, were grazed and in good condition. Police said at least two people were in surgery Sunday night.
The shooting — described by the FBI as a flare-up of street violence — shattered the festive mood surrounding the parade that drew hundreds of people to the 7th Ward neighborhood of modest row houses not far from the French Quarter. Cell phone video taken in the aftermath of the shooting shows victims lying on the ground, blood on the pavement and others bending over to comfort them.
Mayor Mitch Landrieu urged witnesses to come forward with information during a news conference Sunday night at a hospital where gunshot victims were taken.
"These kinds of incidents will not go unanswered. Somebody knows something. The way to stop this violence is for you all to help," he said.
Outside the hospital on Sunday night, Leonard Temple became teary as he talked about a friend who was in surgery after being shot three times during the parade. Temple was told the man was hit while trying to push his own daughter out of the way.
"People were just hanging out. We were just chilling. And this happened. Bad things always happen to good people," said Temple, who was at the parade but didn't see the shootings.
In the late afternoon, the scene was taped off and police had placed bullet casing markers in at least 10 spots.
Second-line parades are loose processions in which people dance down the street, often following behind a brass band. They can be planned events or impromptu offshoots of other celebrations. They trace their origins to the city's famous jazz funerals.
A social club called The Original Big 7 organized Sunday's event. The group was founded in 1996 at the Saint Bernard housing projects, according to its MySpace page.
The neighborhood where the shooting happened is a mix of low-income and middle-class row houses, some boarded up. As of last year, the 7th Ward's population was about 60 percent of its pre-Hurricane Katrina level.
The crime scene was about 1.5 miles from the heart of the French Quarter and near the Treme neighborhood, which has been the centerpiece for the HBO TV series "Treme."
Sunday's violence comes at a time when the city is struggling to pay for tens of millions of dollars required under a federal consent decree to reform the police department and the city jail.
Shootings at parades and neighborhood celebrations have become more common in recent years as the city has struggled with street crime. Earlier this year, four people were shot following an argument in the French Quarter during the last weekend of partying before Mardi Gras. The victims survived, and several suspects were eventually arrested.
Police vowed to make swift arrests. Serpas said it wasn't clear if particular people in the second line were targeted, or if the shots were fired at random.
"We'll get them. We have good resources in this neighborhood," Serpas said.
Police also say a reward of $10,000 is being offered for information leading to arrests and indictments in the case




Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/05/13...#ixzz2TBCpqNKU ]]> General News longnecker http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21834-Search-for-suspects-after-19-injured-in-shooting-at-New-Orleans-Mother-s-Day-parade http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21824-Colorado-Democratic-lawmakers-face-recall-efforts-for-votes-on-gun-control&goto=newpost Sat, 11 May 2013 18:17:56 GMT * Colorado Democratic lawmakers who recently helped pass some of the toughest gun-control laws in the country now face the political backlash of...

• Colorado Democratic lawmakers who recently helped pass some of the toughest gun-control laws in the country now face the political backlash of recall efforts.

Two groups are targeting state Rep. Mike McLachlan and state Sens. Angela Giron, Evie Hudak and John Morse.
The Democrat-controlled legislature passed bills that ban magazines holding more than 15 rounds and require background checks for all gun transfers. They were signed into law in March by Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper.
Morse, the Senate president, pushed a more far-reaching proposal that called for holding owners, sellers and makers of assault-type weapons liable for havoc inflicted by their guns.
He pulled the bill upon realizing he didn’t have enough votes. But his efforts have still drawn the ire of the groups.
The petition drives are being organized by the organizations Pueblo Freedom and Rights Group. They will need signatures from 25 percent of the vote in each lawmaker’s district to trigger a special election.
The signature deadline is May 21. Colorado’s Secretary of State office confirmed with FoxNew.com that it has approved the forms for the petition drives.
The legislature also passed a bill before adjourning Friday that prohibits domestic-violence offenders from owning guns.And Hickenlooper is also expected to sign that legislation.
Morse is getting help from a group called "A Whole Lot of People for John Morse," which is collecting money and petition signatures to fight the recall effort. The group has so far raised $23,050, according to The Daily Caller.
Connecticut, Maryland and New York also have passed tighter gun-control measures following the Dec. 2012 mass shooting at a Connecticut school in which 20 first-graders and six adults were killed. However, there are no indications of organized recall efforts in those Democratic-leaning states.
Hudak angered gun-rights advocates and others, beyond her support for tighter firearms control, because of a comment to a rape victim testifying against a bill that would have banned concealed weapons on college campuses.
She suggested the attacker might have used the gun on the woman had she been carrying a concealed weapon, saying “statistics are not on your side even if you had a gun.”
The bill was pulled and Hudak apologized.




Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013...#ixzz2T0dc5ujt ]]> General News longnecker http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21824-Colorado-Democratic-lawmakers-face-recall-efforts-for-votes-on-gun-control http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21817-Texas-Launches-Criminal-Probe-Into-Plant-Explosion-Paramedic-Arrested&goto=newpost Sat, 11 May 2013 05:07:18 GMT

WACO, Texas (AP) - Texas law enforcement officials have launched a criminal investigation into last month's deadly fertilizer plant explosion, after weeks of treating it as an industrial accident.

A statement from the Texas Department of Public Safety doesn't say what prompted it to ask the Texas Rangers and the McLennan County Sheriff's Department to conduct a criminal probe. It only says the department wants "to ensure that no stone goes unturned and that all the facts related to this incident are uncovered."

The announcement comes on the same day a paramedic who helped to evacuate residents the night of the explosion was arrested on a charge of possessing a destructive device. It's not clear whether the charge has any connection to the April 17 blast that killed 14 people and devastated the rural town of West.

Bryce Reed was one of several paramedics who helped evacuate residents from nearby apartments after a fire erupted at West Fertilizer Co. The blast occurred a short time later.

Reed was booked early today and turned over to agents from the Bureau of Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. He made an initial court appearance in federal court in Waco, but did not enter a plea.
http://www.wmdt.com/story/22217575/t...lant-explosion ]]> General News longnecker http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21817-Texas-Launches-Criminal-Probe-Into-Plant-Explosion-Paramedic-Arrested http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21815-Newtown-panel-Tear-down-Sandy-Hook-rebuild&goto=newpost Sat, 11 May 2013 04:43:48 GMT * NEWTOWN, Conn. – A task force of elected officials in Newtown on Friday recommended tearing down Sandy Hook Elementary School, the school where 20...

• NEWTOWN, Conn. – A task force of elected officials in Newtown on Friday recommended tearing down Sandy Hook Elementary School, the school where 20 first-graders and six educators were killed in December, and rebuilding on the same site.

The group of 28 town elected officials voted unanimously in favor of a plan that would construct a new building in the same location.
The proposal now goes to the local school board, which has final authority.
The panel had narrowed a list of choices to renovating or rebuilding on the school site or building a new school on property down the street. Each would cost between about $48 million and $60 million.
The 430 surviving students are attending a renovated school renamed Sandy Hook Elementary School in the neighboring town of Monroe.
Officials had said that whatever choice is made, a new or renovated school wouldn't be ready by Aug. 27, the start of the next school year.
A study found building a new school on the existing site would cost $57 million.
Sandy Hook Elementary School hasn't housed students since the killings. Some town residents said the school should be torn down because they couldn't imagine sending children back there. Others favored renovating the school, with some saying that tearing it down would be a victory for evil.
Residents of towns where other mass school shootings occurred have grappled with the same dilemma. Some have renovated, some have demolished.
Columbine High School in Colorado, where two student gunmen killed 12 schoolmates and a teacher in 1999, reopened several months afterward. Crews removed the library, where most of the victims died, and replaced it with an atrium.
Virginia Tech converted a classroom building where a student gunman killed 30 people in 2007 into a peace studies and violence prevention center. And an Amish community in Pennsylvania tore down the West Nickel Mines Amish School and built a new school a few hundred yards away after a gunman killed five girls there in 2006.
On the morning of Dec. 14, gunman Adam Lanza, who had killed his mother at their Newtown home, went to Sandy Hook Elementary School and opened fire with an assault rifle, killing the 20 children and the six adults. He killed himself as police arrived at the school.
The school shooting, one of the deadliest in U.S. history, has spurred national debate about gun control and Second Amendment rights.
Police have not disclosed possible motives for the Newtown killings. Law enforcement officials have said Lanza showed an interest in other mass killings and played violent video games.




Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/05/10...#ixzz2SxKcVT3M ]]> General News longnecker http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21815-Newtown-panel-Tear-down-Sandy-Hook-rebuild http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21802-High-school-student-arrested-after-cleaning-lady-allegedly-finds-improvised-explosive&goto=newpost Thu, 09 May 2013 04:53:16 GMT * An 18-year-old Arizona high school student was arrested Tuesday after a cleaning lady found what was later determined to be an improvised explosive...

• An 18-year-old Arizona high school student was arrested Tuesday after a cleaning lady found what was later determined to be an improvised explosive device (IED) while going about her duties in a home.

Joshua Prater was arrested on charges of misconduct involving weapons and possessing a prohibited weapon after the woman, who was not identified, found the device and brought it to a Tempe fire station, MyFoxPhoenix.com reports.
The woman also reported seeing suspicious materials in the home and a bomb squad was called to examine the device.
"They had it X-rayed, they saw it was a valid IED," Tempe Police Sgt. Mike Pooley told MyFoxPhoenix.com. "It was something that wasn't big, but could cause serious injuries and the death of someone."
The station reports authorities do not know what Prater was planning to do with the device, but that the teen's parents reportedly told police he learned how to make the bomb from his friends. Police also say there is no indication at this time that the intended target was Marcos de Niza High School, where Prater is a student.
Police say the woman who found the bomb may have saved lives by turning it in.
"She did the right thing," Pooley told MyFoxPhoenix.com. "This a very dangerous device that could have killed somebody."




Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/05/08...#ixzz2Slg5StfQ ]]> General News longnecker http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21802-High-school-student-arrested-after-cleaning-lady-allegedly-finds-improvised-explosive http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21780-Ky-mother-had-just-stepped-away-when-5-year-old-shot-sister-with-gun-he-got-as-gift&goto=newpost Tue, 07 May 2013 04:48:52 GMT BURKESVILLE, Ky. – A southern Kentucky coroner says the mother of a 2-year-old girl fatally shot by her 5-year-old brother had just stepped away... BURKESVILLE, Ky. – A southern Kentucky coroner says the mother of a 2-year-old girl fatally shot by her 5-year-old brother had just stepped away from the children when the shooting occurred.
Cumberland County Coroner Gary White tells WKYT-TV that the mother said she had been outside on a porch for "no more than three minutes."
Kentucky State Police say the girl was shot Tuesday afternoon in Cumberland County and was later pronounced dead.
Cumberland County Coroner Gary White told the Lexington Herald-Leader the boy received the .22-caliber rifle as a gift and is used to shooting it. He said the rifle was kept in a corner and the family didn't realize a shell was left inside it.
White says the shooting will be ruled accidental. An autopsy is scheduled for Wednesday.




Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/05/01...#ixzz2SZy0auz0 ]]> General News longnecker http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21780-Ky-mother-had-just-stepped-away-when-5-year-old-shot-sister-with-gun-he-got-as-gift http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21776-Study-pegs-cost-of-immigration-bill’s-mass-legalization-at-6-3-trillion&goto=newpost Mon, 06 May 2013 16:10:38 GMT The comprehensive immigration overhaul being taken up in the Senate this week could cost taxpayers $6.3 trillion if 11 million illegal immigrants are...
The comprehensive immigration overhaul being taken up in the Senate this week could cost taxpayers $6.3 trillion if 11 million illegal immigrants are granted legal status, according to a long-awaited estimate by the conservative Heritage Foundation.
The cost would arise from illegal immigrants tapping into the government's vast network of benefits and services, many of which are currently unavailable to them. This includes everything from standard benefits like Social Security and Medicare to dozens of welfare programs ranging from housing assistance to food stamps.
The report was obtained in advance by Fox News.
"No matter how you slice it, amnesty will add a tremendous amount of pressure on America's already strained public purse," Robert Rector, the Heritage scholar who prepared the report, said in a statement.
The study is already coming under criticism from some groups and economists who challenge its assumptions, claiming the legalization would help fuel economic growth. Heritage Foundation President Jim DeMint, though, defended the study ahead of its release Monday morning.
"There's no way you can look at this and say that it's good for the American taxpayer," he told Fox News.
The numbers could raise additional concerns for Republicans as a Senate committee prepares to consider the legislation later this week.
The comprehensive study, aside from looking at benefits, also factored in the cost of public education and other services like highways and police. The government is already providing some of those services to illegal immigrants, so the $6.3 trillion figure would not represent all new costs.
But most of that cost would be new spending, according to Heritage, as illegal immigrants gain access to additional government programs. The study acknowledges that, for a 10-year period, illegal immigrants seeking a reprieve would be barred from these benefits. After that window, though, Heritage forecasts the costs skyrocketing.
On an annual basis, the report estimates the cost will be $106 billion after the interim phase is over. In the course of their lifetime, the report estimates that illegal immigrant households would receive an average of $592,000 in government benefits.
The $6.3 trillion figure is based on what illegal immigrants would cost the government over the course of their lifetime. It factors in the expected $3.1 trillion in taxes they'd pay to the government.
Supporters of immigration legislation have been skeptical of efforts to assign a cost to the immigration bill. Proponents argue that the value of bringing millions of illegal immigrants out of the shadows and presumably into the taxpaying workforce is immeasurable.
Stephen Moore, an economist and Wall Street Journal writer, said many economists challenge the notion that immigrants are a net cost to the country.
He told Fox News despite the Heritage findings, there are other studies showing the legalization will be an economic boon that could grow the economy -- in turn alleviating the country's deficit problem.
Moore said it's important to look at both sides of the equation, factoring in that while immigrants can use benefits, they also will become more productive. He noted many immigrants are entrepreneurial, starting businesses that grow the economy.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a key co-author of the legislation, has also stressed that illegal immigrants applying for legal status would not have access to federal benefits while they are applying.
After obtaining a green card, they would still be ineligible for many federal benefits for five years.
The legislation also might not legalize all 11 million illegal immigrants. Some could be disqualified if they have a felony record or other problems in their background.
Heritage claims its estimate is on the conservative end.
"Those who claim that amnesty will not create a large fiscal burden are simply in a state of denial concerning the underlying redistributional nature of government policy in the 21st century," the report said.









Read more:http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013...#ixzz2SWt32JoS ]]> General News longnecker http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21776-Study-pegs-cost-of-immigration-bill’s-mass-legalization-at-6-3-trillion http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21770-No-room-for-fallen-Texas-firefighters-on-monument&goto=newpost Sun, 05 May 2013 18:59:17 GMT Recent processions and eulogies memorialized the 10 firefighters killed last month in a West, Texas, fertilizer plant explosion, but making their...

Recent processions and eulogies memorialized the 10 firefighters killed last month in a West, Texas, fertilizer plant explosion, but making their names a permanent part of Texas history may prove difficult.

A 50-foot-tall memorial to Texas volunteer firefighters killed in the line of duty located on the Texas Capitol grounds in Austin has run out of room to add more names. The bronze statue of a fireman with a baby cradled in one hand, a lantern in the other, is one of the oldest monuments in Austin and one of most prestigious recognitions of fallen volunteer firefighters, said Chris Barron, executive director of the State Firemen's and Fire Marshals' Association of Texas. The last name was added in 2011: Thomas Araguz III, a captain with the Wharton Volunteer Fire Department who was killed the previous year fighting a fire at an egg farm in Boling, Texas, near Houston.
The association, which owns the statue, needs to raise more than $100,000 to build an expansion to the memorial, Barron said. The West explosion - one of the deadliest incidents involving firefighters in Texas history - has injected a renewed sense of urgency to the project, he said.
"We need to honor those who gave the ultimate sacrifice," Barron said. "The only way to do that is to expand the monument."
Volunteer fire departments make up about 78% of Texas' 1,400 fire departments across the state, he said. Between four and six are killed each year while on duty.
Erected in 1896, the volunteer firefighters' statue sits on the south lawn of the Capitol and is the second-oldest among the 22 monuments spread across the grounds, said Ali James, Capitol curator. Only the Heroes of the Alamo monument, erected in 1891, is older. Visitors coming into the Capitol are greeted by the firefighter's towering pose and are drawn to the 138 names etched in the pedestal, she said.
Names on the monument range from the 27 volunteer firefighters killed in the 1947 Texas City ship explosion, to the 19 killed in a 1956 refinery fire in North Texas, to more recent firefighters who have died battling wildfires. Since the monument filled up, seven more names have been added to a temporary granite slab laid next to it, James said.
The West firefighters - all volunteers - deserve to have their names permanently etched next to their fallen colleagues, she said.
"It's a very important structure," James said. "It really gives you a chance to reflect on their service."
State Rep. Drew Springer said he found out the memorial had no more room for new names last year while attending a memorial for fallen firefighters from his district. He called Barron and pledged to help create a fundraising strategy and line up potential donors to raise the necessary money for the expansion, he said.
The tragedy at West puts the effort in the spotlight, said Springer, a volunteer firefighter himself from Muenster, Texas.
"It's our only spot in the state where we're recognized," he said of the memorial. "To have it at the Capitol means an awful lot."
Before the memorial filled up, new names were added every other year in a ceremony that included an honor guard march and solemn pipes-and-drum dirge, Barron said. More than 1,000 spectators usually attended, including several hundred firefighters.
It'll be a shame to squander that level of recognition for volunteers who put their lives on the line for free, he said.
"They're getting paid nothing," Barron said. "We can at least honor them by putting their names on an historical artifact.
http://www.delawareonline.com/usatoday/article/2131617
:1confused:If they could raise the $100,000 that would be needed to expand the monument wouldn't it be better to give it to the families of those volunteer firefighters?




]]> General News longnecker http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21770-No-room-for-fallen-Texas-firefighters-on-monument http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21766-Track-Team-Disqualified-for-Thanking-God&goto=newpost Sun, 05 May 2013 13:49:41 GMT A Texas high school track team was disqualified from competing in the state championships because one of the runners made a gesture thanking God...
A Texas high school track team was disqualified from competing in the state championships because one of the runners made a gesture thanking God after he crossed the finish line.
Derrick Hayes, the anchor of the Columbus High School 4×100 relay team had just crossed the finish line when he raised his finger to the sky – thanking the Lord for winning the race that would send them to the state finals.
But a judge with the University Interscholastic League, the governing body for high school athletics in Texas, ruled that the gesture was a violation of the taunting rule – and the Cardinals were stripped of their victory.
“I think it’s a travesty,” said K.C. Hayes, Derrick’s dad. “It’s a sad deal. Those kids worked hard.”
Robert O’Connor, the superintendent of the school district filed an appeal, but so far the UIL is standing by its rule.
“It’s a harsh consequence for what some people may deem a small gesture,” O’Connor told MyFoxHouston.com. “The rule states no celebratory gestures including raising your arms.”
The team was officially disqualified for “unsporting conduct.”
The UIL said they do not have a rule banning religious expression – it’s just a matter of where you express it.
“You can do whatever you want to in terms of prayer, kneeling or whatever you want to once you get out of the competition area. You just can’t do it in the competition area. It goes back to the taunting rule. I can’t taunt my opponent,” the superintendent told MyFoxHouston.com.
The Texas Tribune reports that Gov. Rick Perry has called for the UIL to investigate the incident and take whatever action is necessary to ensure religious freedom and expression is protected at competitions.
In his letter, Perry said he would “not tolerate the suppression of religious freedom anywhere.”
“It is unconscionable that a student athlete could be punished for an expression of religious faith or that an act of faith could disqualify an athlete in a UIL competition,” Perry told the newspaper.
http://radio.foxnews.com/toddstarnes...nking-god.html



]]> General News longnecker http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21766-Track-Team-Disqualified-for-Thanking-God http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21765-Utah-soccer-referee-punched-by-player-dies-police-say&goto=newpost Sun, 05 May 2013 13:44:32 GMT MURRAY, Utah – A 46-year-old soccer referee who was punched by a teenage player during a game and later slipped into a coma has died, police said.... MURRAY, Utah – A 46-year-old soccer referee who was punched by a teenage player during a game and later slipped into a coma has died, police said.
Ricardo Portillo of Salt Lake City passed away at the hospital, where he was being treated following the assault last weekend, Unified police spokesman Justin Hoyal said Saturday night.
Police have accused a 17-year-old player in a recreational soccer league of punching Portillo after the man called a foul on him and issued him a yellow card.
"The suspect was close to Portillo and punched him once in the face as a result of the call," Hoyal said in a press release.
The teen, whose name hasn't been released because of his age, has been booked into juvenile detention on suspicion of aggravated assault.
Hoyal said authorities will consider additional charges since Portillo has died.
He said an autopsy is planned. No cause of death was released.
Portillo suffered swelling in his brain and had been listed in critical condition, Dr. Shawn Smith said Thursday at the Intermountain Medical Center in the Salt Lake City suburb of Murray.
The victim's family, which publicly spoke of Portillo's plight this past week, has asked for privacy, Hoyal said.
Johana Portillo, 26, said last week that she wasn't at the April 27 game in the Salt Lake City suburb of Taylorsville, but she said she's been told by witnesses and detectives that the player hit her father in the side of the head.
"When he was writing down his notes, he just came out of nowhere and punched him," she said.
Accounts from a police report, Portillo's daughter and others further detail what occurred.
The teenager was playing goalie during a game at Eisenhower Junior High School in Taylorsville when Ricardo Portillo issued him a yellow card for pushing an opposing forward trying to score a goal. In soccer, a yellow card is given as a warning to a player for an egregious violation of the rules. Two yellow cards lead to a red card and expulsion from the game.
The teenager, quite a bit heavier than Portillo, began arguing with the referee, then unleashed a punch to his face. Portillo seemed fine at first, then asked to be held because he felt dizzy. He sat down and started vomiting blood, triggering his friend to call an ambulance.
When police arrived around noon, the teenager was gone and Portillo was laying on the ground in the fetal position. Through translators, Portillo told EMTs that his face and back hurt and he felt nauseous. He had no visible injuries and remained conscious. He was considered to be in fair condition when they took him to the Intermountain Medical Center.
But when Portillo arrived to the hospital, he slipped into a coma with swelling in his brain. Johana Portillo called detectives to let them know his condition had worsened.
That's when detectives intensified their search for the goalie. By Saturday evening, the teenager's father agreed to bring him down to speak with police.
Portillo's family said he had been attacked before, and Johanna Portillo said she and her sisters begged their father to stop refereeing because of the risk from angry players, but he continued because he loved soccer.
"It was his passion," she said. "We could not tell him no."




Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/05/05...#ixzz2SQRdZuBI ]]> General News longnecker http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21765-Utah-soccer-referee-punched-by-player-dies-police-say http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21763-Texas-plant-that-blew-up-carried-1M-policy&goto=newpost Sat, 04 May 2013 23:58:46 GMT

• McALLEN, Texas (AP) — The Texas fertilizer plant that exploded last month, killing 14 people, injuring more than 200 others and causing tens of millions of dollars in damage to the surrounding area had only $1 million in liability coverage, lawyers said Saturday.

Tyler lawyer Randy C. Roberts said he and other attorneys who have filed lawsuits against West Fertilizer's owners were told Thursday that the plant carried only $1 million in liability insurance. Brook Laskey, an attorney hired by the plant's insurer to represent West Fertilizer Co., confirmed the amount Saturday in an email to The Associated Press, after the Dallas Morning News first reported it.
"The bottom line is, this lack of insurance coverage is just consistent with the overall lack of responsibility we've seen from the fertilizer plant, starting from the fact that from day one they have yet to acknowledge responsibility," Roberts said.
Roberts said he expects the plant's owner to ask a judge to divide the $1 million in insurance money among the plaintiffs, several of whom he represents, and then file for bankruptcy.
He said he wasn't surprised that the plant was carrying such a small policy.
"It's rare for Texas to require insurance for any kind of hazardous activity," he said. "We have very little oversight of hazardous activities and even less regulation."
On April 17, a fire at the West Fertilizer Co. in West, a town 70 miles south of Dallas, was quickly followed by an earth-shaking explosion that left a 90-foot wide crater and damaged homes, schools and nursing home within a 37-block blast zone. Among those killed were 10 emergency responders.
State and federal investigators haven't determined what caused the blast.
The plant had reported just months before the blast that it had the capacity to store 270 tons of ammonium nitrate, but it was unknown how much was there at the time of the explosion.
Roberts said that even without a conclusive cause, negligence lawsuits can proceed.
"The law allows courts to presume negligence when something happens that would not ordinarily occur but for negligence," Roberts said. "A fire might be an unavoidable accident, but a fire of this magnitude resulting from a fire is not an unavoidable accident."
Lawyers will look for any other assets the company might have and search for other responsible parties, he said.
http://www.mediacomtoday.com/news/re..._carried_1m-ap





]]> General News longnecker http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21763-Texas-plant-that-blew-up-carried-1M-policy http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21761-Navy-To-Run-Carrier-Operations-From-NASA-Wallops&goto=newpost Sat, 04 May 2013 10:33:26 GMT WALLOPS ISLAND, Md. - NASA has announced a new partnership with the U.S. Navy. Starting as soon as this summer, the Navy will use the Wallops Flight... WALLOPS ISLAND, Md. - NASA has announced a new partnership with the U.S. Navy. Starting as soon as this summer, the Navy will use the Wallops Flight Facility for Field Carrier Landing Practice operations. The aircrafts are twin-engine, turboprops, which are reportedly much quieter than jet aircraft.
Bill Wrobel, director of Wallops, said, "We believe this partnership between NASA and the Navy provides the best services for the lowest cost to the American taxpayer. We are steadfast in our commitment to serving as good stewards of taxpayer dollars. In addition, this Navy aircraft activity will help NASA maintain the airfield to support the agency's missions and also provide an economic benefit to the local area."
The Navy's use of Wallops will give some relief at their Auxillary Landing Field in Chesapeake, VA. According to the report, around 20,000 aircraft passes could be conducted during training periods, over the course of the year. Around 10 to 15 weeks in total, during which around 120 Navy personnel will be living in the area.
The Navy will be giving NASA $1.9 million to help repair and upgrade the airfield. Improvements to the airfield are expected to start within the next few weeks. Earlier this year, the Navy reportedly found that there would be no significant impact on the environment from the Navy conducting FCLP and airfield improvements.
"This is important to NASA Wallops because it gives you the ability to utilize the runway to its full capacity. It supports the taxpayers because it does allow us to do that and provide them (the navy) a low cost alternative to doing these flights. So it's a win for us in that it does maintain our facility. It helps the taxpayer because it provides a low cost activity and it supports the local economy. So I think it's a win-win-win. I think everyone in the long run will get something out of this," says Keith Koehler, Public Affairs officer of NASA
http://www.wmdt.com/story/22143606/n...m-nasa-wallops ]]> General News longnecker http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21761-Navy-To-Run-Carrier-Operations-From-NASA-Wallops http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21755-Commerce-nominee-tangled-in-massive-bank-collapse-that-cost-depositors-millions&goto=newpost Fri, 03 May 2013 00:48:18 GMT

• President Obama's nominee for Commerce secretary was embroiled in a massive bank failure more than a decade ago, in a collapse that cost depositors and federal insurers millions of dollars.

The 2001 collapse of Superior Bank FSB now appears likely to re-emerge, more than a decade later, as Commerce nominee Penny Pritzker prepares for a confirmation hearing and Republicans already draw attention to the bank implosion.
Pritzker's family, which founded Hyatt and is one of the wealthiest in the country, co-owned Superior Bank at the time of its collapse. The lawyer who represented depositors in the case told FoxNews.com on Thursday that the Pritzker family enjoyed a "special deal" while the "little guys" ended up "footing the bill."
"The message of our Cabinet members should be people who do the right thing," attorney Clint Krislov said Thursday. "And it should not be a message of, if you're very wealthy you get a special deal and you get to sit on the Cabinet, too."
Uninsured depositors at the Illinois bank are still owed roughly $10 million, according to federal records -- after a court challenge was rejected in 2007, those savings may never be recovered. The collapse also cost the FDIC, which insures banks, nearly $300 million.
The failure, according to federal regulators, was triggered by a pattern of risky lending.
The Office of Thrift Supervision took the rare step of shuttering the Hinsdale, Ill., bank on July 27, 2001. The office said at the time the bank "suffered as a result of its former high-risk business strategy," including "significant volumes of subprime" mortgage and auto loans.
What happened after the collapse, though, is what triggered the lawsuit involving Krislov.
The Pritzker family, as part of a settlement to shield itself from liability, agreed to pay $460 million to the federal government. But the family was subsequently able to claim part of a separate $125 million settlement from the bank's accounting firm.
Krislov said the family was first in line for the money, followed by the depositors.
"That is what is fundamentally troubling," he said. "They got a priority ahead of depositors while depositors were still short."
An FDIC representative, though, suggested to the Chicago Tribune in 2004 that the sheer size of the $460 million settlement justified the trade-off.
"If it means $30 million is turned over to the Pritzkers, I think it's hard to dispute that it's not advantageous for creditors of that failed institution," the spokesman said.
Pritzker's involvement with the bank's questionable lending practices is unclear. She served as chairwoman of the bank from 1991 to 1994, after her uncle Jay went in with another wealthy family to buy Superior in the late '80s.
Pritzker spokeswoman Susan Anderson stressed that Pritzker was not an officer or director at the time the bank failed.
"She left its board in 1994, seven years before the bank failed. During her tenure, the bank received clean audits and regulators gave it high marks," she said in an email to FoxNews.com, calling her record as a manager "extraordinary."





Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013...#ixzz2SBb4tNUJ ]]> General News longnecker http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21755-Commerce-nominee-tangled-in-massive-bank-collapse-that-cost-depositors-millions http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21745-California-woman-accused-of-sneaking-juice-mixed-with-rubbing-alcohol-into-Starbucks&goto=newpost Wed, 01 May 2013 10:55:02 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO – A California woman faces attempted murder charges after police say she tried to sneak orange juice bottles spiked with a lethal amount of rubbing alcohol inside a Starbucks.
San Jose Police arrested Ramineh Behbehanian, 50, late Monday. A customer reported seeing the woman take two bottles of orange juice from her bag and place them in an open-air refrigerated display case at a Starbucks in San Jose around 3:45 p.m., Sgt. Jason Dwyer said Tuesday.
When the customer told a store manager what he saw, Behbehanian fled. A store employee followed Behbehanian to the parking lot and jotted down her license plate number as she drove off. Other employees called 911 after noticing the bottles had a toxic smell, Dwyer said.
Firefighters on the scene tested the contents and determined that the bottles contained a "lethal quantity" of isopropyl rubbing alcohol mixed with the juice, Dwyer said.
No one drank from the bottles, said Dwyer, who praised the customer's quick actions.
"This person was heads-up enough and reported suspicious activity," Dwyer said. "I think that person saved lives by doing that."
Officers tracked down Behbehanian Monday night at her San Jose home located about five miles away from the store. She was placed into custody on suspicion of attempted murder and felony poisoning, Dwyer said.
Police are still looking for a motive.
"We don't know if she has done this before or if she had plans to do this again," Dwyer said. "We have no reason to believe that there are other coffee shops with similar dangers."
Dwyer declined to say how much rubbing alcohol was actually in the bottles, but he said it was sufficient for police to charge Behbehanian with attempted murder.
The Starbucks store in San Jose was closed after Monday's incident but reopened the next morning, Starbucks spokesman Zack Hutson said Tuesday.
"We're immensely grateful to the vigilant customer who immediately did the right thing by notifying our store partners who immediately pulled the juice from the shelves and quickly notified the authorities," Hutson said.
As a precaution, Hutson said that the Starbucks store in San Jose pulled all of its remaining juices from the open-air refrigerator and destroyed them. Other Starbucks nearby were also alerted and told to check all their juice bottles to make sure none of its seals were broken.
Behbehanian could make her first appearance in court as soon as Thursday, authorities said.




Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/04/30...#ixzz2S2KFJB4J ]]> General News longnecker http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21745-California-woman-accused-of-sneaking-juice-mixed-with-rubbing-alcohol-into-Starbucks http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21741-FCC-s-Expansion-Proposal-For-Obama-Phones-Delayed&goto=newpost Wed, 01 May 2013 05:18:43 GMT *SALISBURY, Md.- *If you receive food stamps, medicaid or other government assistance you may qualify for a free cell phone. A federal assistance...


SALISBURY, Md.- If you receive food stamps, medicaid or other government assistance you may qualify for a free cell phone. A federal assistance program, Lifeline, has no bills, contracts or credit checks. But Lifeline appears to be on its last breathe, which Ronald Williams, of Princess Anne, does not mind.

"Lose the phones. Have people who are actually looking for a job come get the phones. Don't just have them call an 800- number and send them in."

Some federal lawmakers are asking 'the feds' to take a look into what they are calling, "Obama Phones."

Williams, who pays about $100 in cell phone charges each month, said the 'Obama Phones' are getting into the wrong hands.

"It's not getting the results they [federal lawmakers] want," said Williams. "If unemployment isn't going down. If the people that have received the phones haven't gotten a job yet, put it that way, they are probably not looking."

Maryland is doing most of the damage. The state is the second highest target for fraud, according to the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Phones are popping up at crime scenes and in drug deals. Phone user Steve Stanley said that is not always the case.

"Once I came home from prison, I didn't have a lot of things and one of things was a phone," said Stanley.

Stanley said he uses his phone for only important things.

"It's like a small, little small phone. It doesn't have a camera on it," said Stanley while describing his phone. "I actually use the government phone for doctor appointments."

But Williams isn't buying it.

"We pay the government to set up programs that they believe is beneficial for the people. Now taxpayers don't like this program," said Williams.
He added, "our government officials or even our local officials are making this crap up. But who are they actually trying to help by giving them a free phone?"

Stanley said it will help him and others who can't imagine life without lifeline.
http://www.wboc.com/story/22123801/f...phones-delayed



:1hissyfit: These free phones don't even have cameras.:1rolleyes:


]]> General News longnecker http://www.talkdelaware.com/showthread.php?21741-FCC-s-Expansion-Proposal-For-Obama-Phones-Delayed