GIBSONTON, FLORIDA: TWO STUDENTS SHOT AT BUS STOP, ONE SUSPECT ARRESTED, GUNMAN STILL LOOSE

Sheriff’s officials say two East Bay High students were stable when they were flown to Tampa General Hospital on Monday.

VICTIMS OF SHOOTING, FRIENDS JESSICA DAVIS, 16, AND GREG POWELL, 16

Jeffrey Brian Argo, suspect driving car

8029 Carriage Pointe Drive, off Symmes Road, at 3:30 pm

One suspect in bus stop shooting arrested
By: Beau Zimmer

UPDATE:

Hillsborough County Deputies have arrested the person they say was driving the vehicle involved in a bus stop shooting of two East Bay High School students. He is 19-year-old Jeffrey Brian Argo. He was arrested around 2 o'clock this morning on Gibsonton Drive and Highway 301. Deputies are still looking for the gunman.

Gibsonton, Florida-- Two students from Eastbay High School in Hillsborough County are at Tampa General Hospital after being gunned down shortly after getting off their school bus Monday afternoon.

It happened in the Carriage Pointe Subdivision off Symmes Road around 3:30. The two students, both 16 years old, were identified by family members and close friends as Jessica Davis, a junior at Eastbay and sophomore Greg Powell. Both were stabilized by emergency crews on scene before being flown to Tampa General Hospital.

THERE IS MORE TO THIS STORY IN GIBSONTON, FLORIDA...

http://www.tampabays10.com/news/specials/popular/article.aspx?s=popular&storyid=69999

JOSE ESPINOSA, OTIS BLUNT ESCAPE UNION COUNTY JAIL: THE MANHUNT IS ON!

Otis Blunt, left, and Jose Espinosa escaped from the Union County Jail Saturday night, officials say.

Escaped prisoner Jose Espinosa left a dummy in his cell in his place.

Pinups of bikini-clad women hid jailbreak route, officials say

(CNN) -- Two inmates at New Jersey's Union County Jail made a movie-style escape Saturday and remained at large Monday, according to Union County Prosecutor Ted Romanko.

Twenty-year-old Jose Espinosa and 32-year-old Otis Blunt, who are considered armed and dangerous, were discovered missing from their cells at about 5:15 p.m. Saturday, Romanko said.

The men left behind dummies in their beds, cinder block dust and a note wishing authorities "Happy Holidays."

Espinosa, who recently pleaded guilty to aggravated manslaughter, was to be sentenced on January 25 and faced a minimum of 17 years in prison. Blunt was being held in lieu of $75,000 bond on weapon and robbery charges.

Both men were being housed in the high security area of the multilevel jail, Romanko said.
Police said Espinosa and Blunt were in adjacent cells and used a long metal wire to scrape away mortar around the cinder block between their cells and the outer wall in Espinosa's cell.

READ MORE...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/law/12/17/nj.jailbreak/index.html

ASQA PARVEZ: PUBLIC FUNERAL CANCELLED

A young woman wipes tears from her eyes as she remembers Aqsa Parvez outside the Mississauga mosque where the teen's public funeral was supposed to be held. (J.P. Moczulski/Canadian Press)

Mourners upset at decision to cancel public funeral for slain Ont. girl
Family decides to have private burial
Saturday, December 15, 2007
CBC News

A teenage girl whose father has been charged in her death was buried quietly on Saturday morning in Mississauga, Ont., shocking dozens of mourners who showed up for her funeral hours later, only to find out it had been cancelled.

"Everyone was so prepared to come here and see her face for one last time, and all of a sudden they're saying it's not going to be here," Riana Ahmad, a friend, said outside the Islamic Centre mosque in Mississauga, where the funeral had been scheduled to take place.

"They shouldn't do that," another mourner, Babithiraa Thevathasan, added. "She's gone, you can't do that. You should let everyone see her no matter what."

READ MORE...
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2007/12/15/funeral-parvez.html

SHAWN ECKARDT/BRIAN GRIFFITH: TONYA HARDING BODYGUARD DIES AT 40

Admitted Olympic Skater Nancy Kerrigan Attacker Brian Sean Griffith Dies at 40
Sunday, December 16, 2007
ASSOCIATED PRESS

PORTLAND, Ore. — Brian Sean Griffith, a former bodyguard to figure skater Tonya Harding who admitted a role in the attack on her rival Nancy Kerrigan during Olympics tryouts, has died. He was 40.

Griffith died Wednesday of what his doctor reported as natural causes, according to the Washington County medical examiner's office. The specific cause of death is expected to be listed when the doctor files a death certificate, which could take two weeks, the medical examiner's office said.

Formerly Shawn Eckardt, Griffith had changed his name since the attack in an attempt to put it behind him.

Griffith, of Beaverton, was Harding's bodyguard when the Portland-born skater competed for a spot on the U.S. Olympic figure skating team in 1994.

That January, an assailant clubbed Kerrigan in the knee, forcing her out of the competition. The International Committee of the U.S. Figure Skating Association granted Kerrigan a spot anyway, and she recovered in time to win a silver medal at the Olympics.

READ STUNNING UPDATE...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,316988,00.html

TIFFANY JOHNSON: VICTIM OF COLORADO SHOOTER

TIFFANY JOHNSON, BEAUTIFUL, EXTRAORDINARY LADY

Shooting victim remembered as 'beautiful, extraordinary lady'

CHISHOLM, Minnesota (AP) -- The body of Tiffany Johnson, one of four people killed in two shootings in Colorado, was returned to northern Minnesota, where she was remembered as a young woman well loved by friends and family.

Johnson, 26, was remembered at a funeral service Saturday. She was killed by a gunman who police said committed suicide after the second rampage.

She was working as a hospitality director at the Youth With a Mission training center in Arvada when she and another worker were killed by the gunman, a former student at the center.

Meanwhile, nearly 300 people came to support the family of the gunman, Matthew John

Murray, 24, at a private service Friday in Denver, the Rocky Mountain News reported.

About 900 mourners packed St. Joseph's Catholic Church in Chisholm for Johnson's service Saturday. A memorial service was held earlier in the week in Colorado.

"She always told me, 'Dad, you think you can control things, but you can't. The Lord controls things,' " her father, Tom Johnson, told mourners. "I'd like to ask all of you to -- instead of saying 'I love you' on the telephone to your children -- to look them in the eye and say 'I love you' -- because Tiff taught me that."

READ MORE...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/12/16/shootings.funeral.ap/index.html

AQSA PARVEZ: THE DOUBLE LIFE OF MUSLIM WOMEN IN CANADA

AQSA PARVEZ: DEAD AT SIXTEEN. WHY?

Who will speak for Aqsa Parvez?
Dec. 14, 2007

Sixteen-year-old Aqsa Parvez did not want to wear the hijab.

The Middle Eastern head covering has become the most significant icon for Islam in the West, which is unfortunate, since 90 per cent of Muslim women in this country don't wear one. By extension, they get dismissed as not being authentic Muslims.

The CBC's own Little Mosque on the Prairie plays into this stereotype by showing every prominent Muslim woman in a hijab. This superficial measurement of Muslim-ness has become so prevalent that a small but increasing number of families are pushing it on their daughters.

Aqsa, a Pakistani-Canadian, was just one of the victims of this growing obsession.

Now that Aqsa is dead, who will speak for her?

Who will speak for the countless Muslim girls who lead double lives and who suffer in silence in their homes?

Who will make sure they aren't abused or killed?

Who chooses?

Most Islamist men and women say that a woman chooses to wear the hijab. But, all too often, that choice is taken away from young Muslim girls.

They are being told by their parents and their imams that if they don't wear the hijab, they are no longer Muslim. This occurs even though the Koran, Islam's holy book, does not say that a woman has to cover her hair.

Take a walk in downtown Toronto, Montreal, Windsor or other cities with large Muslim populations. You will see little girls, as young as four, five and six, wearing hijabs on their way to school.

Did these little girls really make a choice to wear the hijab?

Did they make a declaration to their parents that they want to be religiously pious and sexually modest?

Common sense indicates that these children did not choose for themselves.

READ MORE ABOUT ISLAM IN CANADA...

http://www.cbc.ca/news/viewpoint/vp_fatah/20071214.html

A PEDOPHILE'S DREAM COME TRUE: WESTJET AIRLINE ALLOWS CHILD TO FLY UNATTENDED

Sara-Maude St-Louis plays with her father in Pontiac, Que.after taking a WestJet flight by herself from Edmonton.(CBC)

WestJet allows stranger to walk five-year-old girl off flight
Friday, December 14, 2007
CBC News

The parents of a five-year-old girl travelling alone are furious with WestJet for breaking its own guidelines and allowing a stranger to accompany the child off a flight.

Sara-Maude St-Louis, 5, was taking her first plane ride Thursday from Edmonton, where she lives with her mother, to Montreal to see her father. The parents paid a special fee to ensure someone from the airline would look after her.

Her mother and stepfather took Sara-Maude to the gate under the impression that WestJet staff members would check on her during the flight and then escort the little girl off the plane when she arrived at her destination, which is the company's policy for unaccompanied minors.

Pierre Cataford, a father of four from Montreal, played games and drew pictures with Sara-Maude during the long flight.

The girl was wearing a large VIP tag around her neck, but Cataford told CBC News that he did not see flight attendants check on her.

When the plane landed in Montreal, Cataford said he waited for someone to escort Sara-Maude but no one came, so he walked the five-year-old off the plane as crew members waved goodbye to them.

Sara-Maude's father said he was shocked to see a stranger walking into the arrivals area with his daughter.

(snip)

Canada does not have a policy that makes it mandatory for airlines to look after children who travel alone.

"Canadian laws are set out that way as we speak right now and they give all the flexibility to air carriers to establish their own rules," said Jadrino Huot of the Canadian Transportation Agency.

READ MORE...

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2007/12/14/westjet-girl.html

LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY: TWO STUDENTS FROM INDIA MURDERED IN CAMPUS APARTMENT

LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY LOGO

MEDIA CREDIT: TREY PENTECOST/ DAILY REVEILLE

Dec. 13: Officials remove a body from campus housing at LSU.

Two Doctorate Students Killed on LSU Campus

During What Cops Call Home Invasion
Friday, December 14, 2007

BATON ROUGE, La. — Two students were found shot to death in a home invasion at a Louisiana State University apartment, and officials decided to keep the campus open Friday while police searched for three suspects.

The victims, Chandrasekhar Reddy Komma and Kiran Kumar Allam, both doctorate students from India, were found inside an apartment at the Edward Gay complex late Thursday night after authorities received an emergency call.

Police patrols were increased on the 30,000-student campus Friday and students were told to be cautious, but the university was not locked down. Students were taking the last of their final exams, and many had already left for the semester.

READ BREAKING NEWS...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,316820,00.html

The University issued the following statement:

The LSU Police Department is investigating a double homicide that took place on LSU's campus late in the evening on Thursday, Dec. 13. The homicides occurred at the Edward Gay Apartments, located near the intersection of West Roosevelt Street and Gov. Claiborne Drive, adjacent to the LSU Band practice field.

The victims, Chandrasekhar Reddy Komma and Kiran Kumar Allam, were both male Ph.D. students at LSU, and both were international students. The students were found inside an apartment at the Edward Gay complex.

LSUPD is currently working the case, with assistance from the Baton Rouge Police Department, but no suspects have been identified. Therefore, university officials are urging the LSU community to use caution when moving about campus this morning.

The initial call to LSUPD came in at 10:37 p.m. as a medical emergency. Officers and medical personnel were immediately dispatched to the scene, assessed the situation and notified their supervisors at LSUPD. Those supervisors then contacted university officials, who rushed to campus, gathered the latest information and sent out an emergency text message to members of the LSU community who had previously registered their cell phones with the university's emergency text-message system.

University officials also sent out a broadcast e-mail to members of the LSU community, sent a broadcast voice message to all campus phones and posted a message to the LSU Web site.

READ MORE AT "THE DAILY REVEILLE, " LSU NEWSPAPER ONLINE...

http://media.www.lsureveille.com/media/storage/paper868/news/2007/12/07/News/%20Update.Shooting.Victims.Identified.As.Students.305.A.m-3143991.shtml

NICCO TATUM: VEGAS SHOOTER CAPTURED AT DENVER BUS DEPOT

Security was increased at Mojave High School in Las Vegas on Wednesday, Dec. 12, 2007, the day after six young people were shot at a nearby bus stop.
(AP Isaac Brekken)

Vegas shooting suspect arrested in Denver
By Kieran Nicholson, The Denver Post
12/13/2007

Good police work and a long-distance rapport helped police snag a suspect in a Las Vegas multiple drive-by shooting at a bus stop in Denver.
"It was just good communication across state lines," said Sonny Jackson, a Denver police spokesman.

Nicco Tatum, 18, was arrested at about 10 p.m. Wednesday at the downtown Denver Bus Terminal, at 19th and Curtis streets. Tatum is wanted in connection with a shooting at a school-bus stop in Las Vegas that injured six young people, police said.

He was taken into custody without incident, Jackson said, by the Fugitive Location and Apprehension Group (FLAG), which included Denver SWAT and U.S. Marshals Service members.

Chief Deputy Ken Deal with the Marshals Service in Denver said his office was alerted by counterparts in Las Vegas that Tatum was on a Greyhound bus heading for Chicago that would make a stop in Denver.

FLAG officers waiting for Tatum in Denver watched one bus that the suspect was supposed to be on arrive and unload, but Tatum wasn't found.

The FLAG group was patient and waited for a second bus, Deal said.

"They just stayed put," Deal said. "At that point in time, there wasn't any reason for them to leave."

Tatum was traveling alone and had several bags of clothing with him, Deal said.

He is expected to be booked on six counts of attempted murder with a deadly weapon and six counts of battery with a deadly weapon.

READ UPDATE...

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_7710072

AQSA PARVEZ: CANADIAN MUSLIM KILLS DAUGHTER

(FACEBOOK)

(FACEBOOK)

Canadian Muslim Teen's Dad Charged in Her Murder;

Friends Say They Clashed Over Head Scarf

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

TORONTO — A Canadian man has been charged with murdering his own daughter, and her friends say the two clashed over her refusal to wear a Muslim head scarf. Police have not commented on a motive.

Aqsa Parvez, 16, of Mississauga, Ontario, was rushed to hospital in critical condition Monday after a man made an emergency call in which he claimed to have killed his daughter, police said. She died late Monday night.

The emergency call "came in from the father saying he had killed his daughter," police spokesman Wayne Patterson said. "Police arrived and rushed her to hospital and she passed away."

(snip)

Muslim leaders cautioned against jumping to conclusions.

"I don't want the public to think that this is really an Islamic issue or an immigrant issue," said Mohamed Elmasry of the Canadian Islamic Congress. "It is a teenager issue."

The girl's father, Muhammad Parvez, 57, made a brief court appearance Tuesday morning and was remanded in custody pending another court appearance Wednesday.

Aqsa Parvez's brother, Waqas Parvez, 26, is facing a charge of obstructing police and remains in custody pending a Dec. 14 hearing.

READ MORE...
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,316550,00.html

READ ACCOUNT FROM CANADIAN NEWS...

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2007/12/12/hijab-reaxn.html

CHOMPING SADLY...
What a sad case over something that most of us would think is just plain stupid! A hijab??? What a silly thing to be enraged about. This family moved from a muslim country where their traditions are respected to a country where these traditions are no longer necessary. This beautiful young woman wanted the freedom to be herself and to have her own beliefs.

Mr. Parvez, isn't that why you wanted to live in a non-muslim society? To enjoy it's freedoms? If that is not the reason, then, please, Mr. Parvez, tell us why you brought your family here.

GEERT WILDERS: DUTCH POLITICIAN TO MAKE ANTI MUSLIM FILM

GEERT WILDERS, DUTCH POLITICIAN

Controversial Anti-Muslim Dutch Film Adds to Already Simmering Tensions
Michael Park, December 11, 2007

FOXNEWS

Threats of murder. Fears of riots and religious violence. Demands for censorship. Politicians in hiding, fearing for their lives. A government preparing for the worst.

It's happening right now in a most unlikely place ... the Netherlands, once regarded as Europe's quietest and most stable nation.

And it's all happening because of a 10-minute movie that hasn't even been made yet.

It's the work of Dutch lawmaker Geert Wilders, who calls his movie "a call to shake off the creeping tyranny of Islamicization." Wilders plans to present it to his country on television sometime next month.

"People who watch the movie will see that the Koran is very much alive today, leading to the destruction of everything we in the Western world stand for, which is respect and tolerance," Wilders, the 41-year-old leader of the right-wing Party for Freedom, said in a telephone interview.

"The tsunami of Islamicization is coming to Europe. We should come to be far stronger."

Like other European countries, the Netherlands is struggling to cope with an influx of Muslim immigrants, and the newcomers are often relegated to working at low-paying jobs and living in high-crime ghettos. Though the Dutch boast of their culture of tolerance, tensions have been high, with some blaming rising unemployment and crime on newcomers from Muslim countries like Turkey, Morocco and Somalia.

READ MORE...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,313741,00.html

ATLANTA FALCONS MICHAEL VICK: 23 MONTHS IN PRISON FOR DOGFIGHTING

Michael Vick Sentenced to 23 Months in Jail for Role in Dogfighting Conspiracy
Monday, December 10, 2007

RICHMOND, Va. — Michael Vick was sentenced to 23 months in prison Monday for running a "cruel and inhumane" dogfighting ring and lying about it.

The suspended Atlanta Falcons quarterback could have been sentenced up to five years by U.S. District Judge Henry E. Hudson. Vick, who turned himself in Nov. 19 in anticipation of his sentence, was wearing a black-and-white striped prison suit.

After Vick apologized to the court and his family, Hudson told him: "You need to apologize to the millions of young people who looked up to you."

(snip)

Before the hearing, Michael Vick's brother, Marcus Vick, sat with his right arm around their mother, comforting her as she buried her head in her hands and wept.

Vick was suspended without pay by the NFL and lost all his lucrative endorsement deals. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell was asked after Monday's ruling if Vick should play again.

READ MORE ABOUT THE SENTENCE...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,316319,00.html

COLORADO SHOOTER MATHEW MURRAY: FAMILY ASKS FOR FORGIVENESS

Gunman's family asks for forgiveness
By Demetria Gallegos, The Denver Post
12/10/2007

The uncle of 24-year-old Matthew Murray choked with emotion as he read a statement on behalf of Murray's parents.

"Our family cannot express the magnitude of our grief for the victims and families of this tragedy," Phil Abeyta read at an early-evening press conference at the headquarters of Youth With a Mission, on the Faith Bible Chapel campus in Arvada.

"On behalf of our family and our son, we ask for forgiveness. We cannot understand why this happened," Abeyta read. "We ask for prayers for the victims and their families."

The family is cooperating fully with police, according to Abeyta.

He spoke just after the director of Youth With a Mission, a worldwide missionary-training program, confirmed that Murray was enrolled five years ago.

READ MORE...
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_7684866

SECURITY GUARD JEANNE ASSAM: COLORADO HERO

HERO JEANNE ASSAM

Security Guard: 'God Guided Me And Protected Me'
Jeanne Assam Stopped Gunman At New Life Church
Thomas Hendrick, News Editor

December 10, 2007

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- Jeanne Assam appeared before the news media for the first time Monday and said she "did not think for a minute to run away" when a gunman entered the New Life Church in Colorado Springs and started shooting.

There was applause as Assam spoke to reporters and TV cameras saying, "God guided me and protected me."

New Life's Senior Pastor Brady Boyd called Assam "a real hero" because Murray "had enough ammunition on him to cause a lot of damage."

When asked by a reporter if she felt like a hero, Assam said, "I wasn't just going to wait for him to do further damage."

"I give credit to God," she said.

Assam described how the gunman, Matthew Murray, entered the east entrance of the church firing his rifle.

READ MORE ABOUT A TRUE HERO...

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/14817480/detail.html

COLORADO SPRINGS: GUNMAN KILLS ONE, WOUNDED FOUR AT NEW LIFE CHURCH

NEW LIFE CHURCH, COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO

Gunman killed after opening fire at church

(CNN) -- A gunman attacked worshippers at a Colorado Springs, Colorado, megachurch Sunday afternoon, killing one person and wounding four others before being killed by a security staff member, the city's police chief said.

Chief Richard Myers called the person "a courageous security staff member who probably saved many lives today."

He said some of the shooting victims being treated at the hospital have life-threatening injuries.
Several "suspicious devices" were found at the church, Myers said.
SWAT teams were clearing the multiple buildings at New Life Church, along with an explosives unit, he said.

Rev. Brady Boyd, senior pastor of New Life Church, said the church had a security plan in place.

(snip)

The shooting occurred about 12 hours after a shooting at a missionary training center in Arvada, outside Denver, Colorado, left two people dead and two wounded. The gunman in that incident was still at large Sunday afternoon.

There was no known connection between the two incidents Sunday afternoon, Howard said, but he did not rule out that possibility. Arvada and Colorado Springs are about 80 miles apart.

WILL LOOK FOR UPDATE MONDAY...READ MORE...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/12/09/church.shooting/index.html

SHOOTING AT ARVADA, COLORADO: 2 DEAD AT FAITH BIBLE CHAPEL

2 dead, suspect at large after shooting at missionary training campus
posted by: Jack Maher , Executive Producer
updated by: Dan Boniface , Web Producer

12/9/2007

ARVADA - A lone gunman opened fire on a missionary training campus early Sunday morning, shooting four people, two of whom have died and one who is in critical condition.

Arvada Police investigators say the gunman walked into a dorm-like residence hall on the Faith Bible Chapel Campus at the Youth with a Mission facility near 64th & Ward Road just after midnight and began shooting.

"He entered the facility, opened fire and four of the youth inside that facility were injured," said Arvada Police Spokeswoman Susan Medina. All four people were rushed to area hospitals.

The Regional Director of the program, Peter Iliyn, says two of the victims have died from their injuries and a third is in critical condition. The condition of the fourth victim is unknown at this time. Their identities have not been released at this time.

Police say the two people who died were "youths."

READ MORE ABOUT ARVADA, COLORADO KILLING...
http://www.9news.com/news/top-article.aspx?storyid=82457

Please, help find the gunman!

Anyone with information should call the Arvada Police Department through the non-emergency line (720) 898-6900.

ARVADA, COLORADO: FOUR SHOT AT MISSIONARY TRAINING CENTER

Gunman opens fire in Colo Christian missionary center, 4 injured
By GEORGE MERRITT Associated Press Writer
12/09/2007

ARVADA, Colo.—A gunman walked into a training center dormitory for young Christian missionaries in a Denver suburb early Sunday and opened fire, wounding at least four people.

The shooting happened at about 12:30 a.m. at the Youth With a Mission center, Arvada Police spokeswoman Susan Medina said. About 45 people were evacuated from the dormitory.

The extent of the injuries was not clear, and the gunman was still at large Sunday morning.
Witnesses told police that the gunman was a 20-year-old white male, wearing a dark jacket and skull cap. He may have glasses or a beard.

Police searched through the night with several dogs and nearby houses were notified via 911 to be on the lookout. Medina said residents should look out their windows to see if the snow had been disturbed overnight.

READ MORE ABOUT COLORADO SHOOTING...

http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_7677165

Gunman at large:

Anyone with information should call the Arvada Police Department through the non-emergency line (720) 898-6900.

NEWPORT BEACH GYPSIES FEUD OVER FORTUNETELLING BIZ

Angelic Sanctuary fortunetelling shop on Balboa Island...
in Newport Beach, Calif., is shown on Sept. 11, 2007. A dispute between two Gypsy clans over control of the fortunetelling trade in this Southern California city has spilled into court, offering a rare glimpse of an insular culture that has long settled scores according to its own Old World rules of honor. The trouble started two years ago when Edward Merino and his wife, Sonia, opened fortunetelling shops in two trendy resort areas called Balboa Island and Carona del Mar. The bright and airy "Angelic Sanctuary" shops offer "divine soul portraits" and crystal readings (Chris Carlson/AP Photo)

Gypsy Clans Feud Over Fortunetelling Biz
Wednesday, December 05, 2007
By GILLIAN FLACCUS, Associated Press Writer

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — A dispute between two Gypsy clans over control of the fortunetelling trade in this Southern California city has spilled into court, offering a rare glimpse of an insular culture that has long settled scores according to its own Old World rules of honor.

The turf war in well-to-do Orange County has unfolded like a gangster movie, with allegations of death threats, a graveside scuffle, and nicknames like "White Bob" and "Black Bob" _ details revealed in a police report and requests for restraining orders.

"The older Gypsies are pulling out their hair, not wanting the courts in our business because they'll find out too much about us," said Tom Merino, who is distantly related to one of the clans but has spurned his heritage. "Ignorance is the Gypsies' weapon against the outside world."

The Stevens and Merino clans, like other Gypsy families, have run numerous fortunetelling businesses in Southern California for decades.

The trouble started two years ago when Edward Merino and his wife, Sonia, opened fortunetelling parlors in two trendy resort sections of Newport Beach, not far from where the Stevenses did business.

Members of the Stevens clan promptly broke in, stole a credit card machine and threatened to kill the Merinos if they didn't shut the places down, the Merinos claim in court papers. Since then, the bad blood has only gotten worse.

READ ABOUT THE GYPSY FEUD...
http://www.abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/wireStory?id=3958495

ROBERT HAWKINS: OMAHA WESTROADS MALL GUNMAN ONLY 19 YEARS OLD

ROBERT HAWKINS

Mall gunman made call about suicide note
By OSKAR GARCIAASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
DECEMBER 6, 2007

OMAHA, Neb. -- Less than an hour before he killed eight people and himself in a mall shooting spree, a troubled teenage gunman called the woman who had taken him in to tell her about a suicide note - but she said Thursday she never thought he would hurt anyone but himself.

Debora Maruca-Kovac told CBS's "The Early Show" she found the note after Robert A. Hawkins, 19, called to thank her and her family for their help, to express his love, and to tell her he had left the note behind.

"He had said how much he loved his family and all his friends and how he was sorry he was a burden to everybody and his whole life he was a piece of (expletive) and now he'll be famous," she said, describing the note. "I was fearful that he was going to try to commit suicide but I had no idea that he would involve so many other families."

(snip)

Hawkins moved from his family's home about a year ago. Maruca-Kovac and her husband, whose sons were friends with Hawkins, welcomed him into their home and tried to help him.

"When he first came in the house, he was introverted, a troubled young man who was like a lost pound puppy that nobody wanted," Maruca-Kovac told The Associated Press.

READ MORE ABOUT THIS TRAGIC MALL SHOOTING...

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110ap_mall_shooting.html?source=mypi

SEAN TAYLOR MURDERED BY 17-YEAR-OLD

17-Year-Old Charged With Gunning Down NFL Star Sean Taylor
Wednesday, December 05, 2007

ASSOCIATED PRESS

MIAMI — The 17-year-old suspect in the death of Sean Taylor was accused Tuesday of firing the shot that killed the Washington Redskins safety.

A Miami-Dade grand jury identified Eric Rivera as the gunman in its indictment.
Rivera and his three co-defendants were indicted by the grand jury on charges of first-degree felony murder and armed burglary.

Charles Wardlow, 18; Jason Mitchell, 19; and Venjah Hunte, 20; were ordered held without bail during brief court appearances via a videoconference from Miami-Dade County jail. The three, who stood silently during the hearing, will remain at the jail under suicide watch after Judge John Thornton Jr.'s ruling.

READ MORE OF THIS UPDATE...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,315167,00.html

WHERE'S GLOBAL WARMING WHEN YOU NEED IT?

MURTHA: TO GRUMP OR NOT TO GRUMP

WISCONSIN CHILD ABUSE: PARENTS BEAT AND DUCT TAPED TWO SONS TOGETHER

CHIPPEWA FALLS, WISCONSIN (OLD POSTCARD)
Cops: Wisconsin Parents Poured Water on Pantsless, Duct-Taped Children Outside
Saturday, December 01, 2007
ASSOCIATED PRESS

CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. — A man and wife from Cadott face child neglect charges that include allegations they duct-taped their two boys together as they stood outside without their pants and also poured water on them.

A criminal complaint filed in Chippewa County Circuit Court said the case began Oct. 18 when a sheriff's investigator and social worker spoke with a 6-year-old boy at Cadott Elementary School who had bruising around one hip, across his back and on the left jaw and ear area.

Investigators said they learned the boy's mother slapped him on the face and his stepfather punished him with a belt. They said they also learned of an incident in which the boy was hit with a belt and then had to stand duct-taped to his 7-year-old stepbrother as they were standing outside with no pants on and water was poured on them.

The 28-year-old husband was charged with two counts of physical abuse of a child and one of causing mental hart to a child. His 27-year-old wife was charged with two counts of child neglect and one of causing mental harm by failing to protect a child.

The are scheduled to be in court Jan. 2.

KEEP UP WITH THIS WISCONSIN TRIAL...
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,314444,00.html

SEAN TAYLOR: THREE MURDER SUSPECTS CAPTURED

Three held for questioning in Sean Taylor killing, law enforcement source says
Updated Nov. 30, 2007

MIAMI (AP) — Police have detained at least three people in the Fort Myers area for questioning in the death of Washington Redskins football star Sean Taylor.

A law enforcement official in Lee County confirmed the men from the Fort Myers area were in custody, but requested anonymity because the investigation is being handled by Miami-Dade County police.

Miami-Dade police Detective Carlos Maura said he was not aware of anyone in custody. He said only that detectives were in the Fort Myers area for a case, but declined to say which one.

The Miami Herald, which first reported the development on its Web site, said investigators believe three suspects learned of Taylor's house through someone who unwittingly set up the burglary by bragging about his wealth. The suspects include two teenagers and a man in his 20s, all from the Fort Myers area, the paper reported.

READ THE UPDATE ON THIS MURDER CASE...
http://www.courttv.com/news/2007/1130/sean_taylor_ap.html

CHOMPING AT THE BIT...
I thought it was suicide for a few days. Boy, was I wrong. Three guys, and maybe more, took part in the slaughter of this youthful Washington Redskins football player. What else will the police reveal? Stay tuned...

EMILY SANDER BODY FOUND: POLICE LOOKING FOR ISRAEL MIRELES

ISRAEL MIRELES
MAP OF LOCATION WHERE EMILY SANDER FOUND

Emily Sander Case Now a Homicide Investigation
Updated November 29, 2007

by Chris Durden

The search for 18-year-old Butler Community College student Emily Sander may be over. On Thursday, searchers found a body matching Sander's description along U.S. 54 about 50 miles east of El Dorado.

Map of location where the body was found

El Dorado Police Chief Tom Boren says the Sander's family has been notified even though a positive ID will likely take several days.

Sander was last seen Friday night leaving The Retreat bar. Police say she was with 24-year-old Israel Mireles. Police now say he is a suspect in the homicide investigation.

Earlier this week, a car rented by Mireles turned up in Vernon, Texas. Investigators believe Mireles is with his 16-year-old girlfriend, Victoria Martens. Martens is pregnant. Authorities say it's possible the two are heading to or are already in Mexico

Police say they have talked with the operators of an adult website that Sander posed for and believe it did not play a role in her disappearance.

Investigators also collected evidence from a motel room a short distance from the bar where Sander disappeared. Police say there was a lot of blood in the room and a floral print bed sheet (pictured) is missing. Authorities say anyone who finds it should contact law enforecment immediately.

CRIME ALERT!

READ MORE.

LET'S FIND THIS SUSPECT TODAY...

http://www.kwch.com/global/story.asp?s=7405774

MISSING STUDENT EMILY SANDER/ZOEY ZANE: BODY FOUND IN KANSAS

Emily Sander/Zoey Zane

Cops Say Body Found During Search Matches Description of Missing Student
ASSOCIATED PRESS, November 29, 2007

EL DORADO, Kan. — The preliminary physical description of a body found east of here matches that of missing college student Emily Sander, El Dorado Police Chief Tom Boren said.

Boren said the body was found around 2:20 p.m. Thursday, about 50 miles east of El Dorado, where the 18-year-old Sander had attended college and was last seen leaving a bar with a man who has been the subject of a nationwide search.

Her case drew wide attention after it was revealed that she appeared nude on a popular adult Web site under the name Zoey Zane. That site was temporarily inaccessible Thursday, as were several sites that bill themselves as "fan" sites of Zane.

READ MORE ABOUT THIS MYSTERIOUS MURDER...
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,313984,00.html

KUCINICH: THEY'RE COMING TO TAKE YOU AWAY

A GENUINE DENNIS KUCINICH TIN-FOIL-HAT KIT

Kucinich: Time to question Bush's mental health
THE PHILDELPHIA INQUIRER STAFF REPORT, Tue, Oct. 30, 2007

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D. Ohio) suggested today that President Bush's comment about a nuclear Iran precipitating "World War III" is a sign of mental instability."

I seriously believe we have to start asking questions about his mental health," Kucinich, a back-of-the-pack candidate for president, said in an interview with The Inquirer's editorial board. "There's something wrong. He does not seem to understand his words have real impact."

At a news conference two weeks ago, Bush said, "I've told people that if you're interested in avoiding World War III, it seems like you ought to be interested in preventing them (Iran) from having the knowledge necessary to make a nuclear weapon."

“Dennis Kucinich has always been a hard guy to take seriously. but this takes the cake," said Dan Ronayne, Republican National Committee spokesman. "Maybe he thinks preposterous quotes are the only way he can get his failed campaign any attention.”

READ MORE...

http://www.philly.com/philly/hp/news_update/10892891.html

This speech is from a man who believes in aliens. Can the aliens please, pleease, come soon, and return him to the proper planet? He is obviously living on the wrong one!

CHOMP

KUCINICH: MASTER OF FLIP-DIP THINKING...AND FASHION

Kucinich Protests Army School That Trains Latin American Soldiers

Sunday, November 18, 2007

FOX NEWS

COLUMBUS, Ga. — Democratic presidential hopeful Dennis Kucinich said Sunday the thinking that went into producing an Army school blamed for human rights abuses in Latin America was the same that led the U.S. to war in Iraq and could cause it to raid Iran.

Kucinich was speaking at the 18th annual protest of the school at Fort Benning that trains Latin American soldiers, police and government officials. One of his first acts as president if elected would be to close the school, he said.

"The type of thinking that produced this school is the same type of thinking that produced the war in Iraq and is producing a war against Iran," Kucinich said. The Ohio congressman and former Cleveland mayor was addressing a crowd estimated by local police to number roughly 10,000.

READ MORE...

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,312110,00.html

THE VIEW: LAURA INGRAHAM WHOMPS THE WHOOPIE!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzLDhrOLFkE

If you can't get enough of Laura Ingraham, ( I listen to her show every morning), you can now catch her every Friday evening on Fox & friends!

MUST-SEE LAURA TV ALERT! Watch "The Ingraham Angle" segment on FNC's O'Reilly Factor every Friday! Catch her on Fox & Friends Wednesday, 11/14 at 7:50 AM ET. She subs for O'Reilly on The Factor, Friday 11/16, Monday 11/19, and Tuesday 11/20.

Laura Ingraham's official website: http://lauraingraham.com/

HILLARY AUDITIONS FOR SNL (SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE)

Presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton, meets her Waterloo.

After a conference with reporters, Senator Clinton stood with a row of five stately-looking U.S. flags behind her. She answered questions, and was escorted to an opening of the blue curtains at the rear.

Whoopsie!

One flag fell...the others followed!

Chaos ensued!

You just have to see this to believe it...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VvOqUvvO9Y

CANADA: LAW ALLOWS VOTING MUSLIM WOMEN TO CONCEAL FACE

Farhat Mirza, vice-president of the Council for the Advancement of Muslim Professionals in Montreal, says she only wears her niqab for religious activities.
(Peter Mccabe/Canadian Press)

Quebec politicians, Muslims slam new election rules on veils.
Federal law now allows women wearing niqabs or burkas to vote with their faces concealed.
Friday, September 7, 2007 CBC News

Quebec Premier Jean Charest is slamming new federal election rules that will allow Muslim women with concealed faces to vote in coming byelections, calling the policy a bad one.

(snip)

Muslim women wearing niqabs or burkas over their faces won't have to remove them to vote in the three byelections, according to Bill C-31, a new federal law.

Elections Canada spokesman John Enright says new electoral rules enacted in June provide guidelines to identify registered voters whose faces are hidden for medical or religious reasons.

The new rules give electors wearing niqabs or burkas an option for providing identification: they can present two pieces of ID, of which at least one must state their address, or they can have another voter registered in the same district vouch for them.

Veiled voters who only present one piece of government identification will have to show their face to confirm their identity, Enright said.

READ MORE...
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2007/09/06/qc-niqab0906.html

OUTSPOKEN AGAINST THE OUTSPOKEN: LAURA INGRAHAM GUEST HOSTS ON "THE VIEW"

Laura Ingraham

Elizabeth Hasselback

Laura Ingraham, popular radio talk show host, and author of "Power to the People," will be a guest host on the now infamous tv show, "The View."

Laura will fill in for Elizabeth Hasselback next Monday, November 12th. She'll be the lone conservative up against Whoopie Goldberg. It's gotta be a great show!

Should be a classic fireworks show!

You Tube material, for sure.

FRED THOMPSON NAILS HILLARY CLINTON

Fred Thompson, talking to Sean Hannity, about Hillary's eventual support of Spitzer's plan for driver's licenses for illegal immigrants:

"It took her twelve hours to come up with the wrong answer."

JODI HUISENTRUIT: WE HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN YOU!

Jodi Sue Huisentruit
Jodi was a television news anchor for KIMT-TV, Mason city, Iowa. It is believed that she was abducted while on her way to work in the early morning hours of June 27th, 1995. She was 27 years old at the time.

This page is dedicated to a new investigation in hopes to find any information related to the case. This is the most accurate and up to date source for Jodi Huisentruit information. Your questions and comments are always welcome.

FIND JODI

http://www.findjodi.com/

Do you have any information to find Jodi?
Please, contact the Charley Project.
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/h/huisentruit_jodi.html

FRIENDS, FAMILY, CONCERNED CITIZENS
http://jodisnetworkofhope.com/

NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING ADULTS...
http://www.theyaremissed.org/ncma/gallery/ncmaprofile_all.php?A200300386S

I have posted this article to let Jodi's friends and family know that Jodi is remembered. Jodi wanted to be a news anchor, and her dream came true. She became a news anchor/producer at KIMT-TV in Mason City, Iowa. She loved her job.

Sometime during the early morning hours of June 27, 1995, Jodi vanished. She never showed up for her 4:00 am tv show. Some of her belongings were scattered near her car. There were no signs of a struggle in her apartment.

Her case remains open...and unsolved!

ALIENS EMBARRASSED BY KUCINICH

LONDON LIBRARIES CARRY RADICAL MUSLIMS BOOKS

Douglas Murray says taxpayers' money should not fund extremism.

Books by radical cleric Abu Hamza were found in London libraries.

Radical books in London libraries
By Richard Watson, Correspondent, BBC Newsnight

Public libraries serving the densest population of Muslims in London have been inundated with extremist literature, according to a report.

(snip)

Its main author Douglas Murray told BBC2 Newsnight: "This is a collection that is warped towards one particular extreme interpretation of Islam."

Most controversially, several books written by two of Britain's most notorious terrorist sympathisers were found in public libraries.

Two books by Abu Hamza al-Masri, who used to preach at Finsbury Park mosque, are in the collection, as is one book by Sheikh Abdullah al-Faisal, whose lectures inspired two of the London bombers. Both men have been convicted of incitement to murder, but not on the basis of these writings.

The former Islamist Ed Hussain, who grew up in Tower Hamlets, said: "The shocking thing is that this stuff is available and there are people out there borrowing it.

"The worry is how many of those people - it might be a small number, but small enough to cause carnage - who are then prepared to literally act upon those teachings."

Mr Murray said: "Taxpayers' money should not be used to fund extremism... after all the library system is meant to educate and inform, not to cause separatism and bigotry."

'Hatred of women'

The Tower Hamlets collections also include multiple works by the founders of modern political Islam, Sayed Qutb and Sayed Abdullah Maududi, and a large number of texts from Saudi scholars, promoting the Wahhabi fundamentalist school of thought.

These, the report says, refer to "incredible hatred of women, incredible hatred of non-Muslims... and of Muslims who are not part of the Wahhabi tradition".

READ MORE...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/6980888.stm