Shelby County Tennessee Court May Jail Woman At Taxpayer Expense For Baptizing Her 2 Children

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE — A Shelby County mother is facing contempt-of-court charges and possible jail time for baptizing her two children without the knowledge or consent of her ex-husband.

This week the Tennessee Court of Appeals said Lauren Jarrell must face a criminal contempt hearing for violating a court order that said major decisions regarding the religious upbringing of her two children should be made jointly with her-ex-husband.

The mother and her ex-husband, Blake Jarrell, are both Christian — he’s a Methodist and she’s a Presbyterian.

Court records say the father thought the children should be baptized once they are older. He has asked that his ex-wife be found in criminal contempt for baptizing the children without his knowledge or permission.

If convicted, she could face 20 days in jail and a $100 fine.

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Daly City California Police Recommend Purple Dinosaur Medical Marijuana Delivery Service

DALY CITY, CALIFORNIA – Medical marijuana dispensaries are verboten in Daly City, Calif., following the City Council’s vote Monday to ban them. But delivery options are available to marijuana-seekers — just ask the police.

Cops gave several reasons why medical marijuana dispensaries should be banned in the San Mateo County city just south of San Francisco, according to SF Weekly. One is that 25 indoor pot farms were discovered in Daly City in 2011, according to police. Another is that cannabis patients can drive to San Francisco — or get their medicine delivered. The cops mentioned one service by name.

“There are numerous locations where Daly City residents can purchase medical marijuana within a short distance,” police wrote in the report. “The Purple Dinosaur Delivery Service is one of several dispensaries that will deliver to Daly City for free with a minimum purchase of $60 dollars [sic] or there is a $5 dollar delivery fee.”

For free!

It seems dispensaries were never going to be allowed in Daly City without a fight — or some kind of violence, according to City Coucilmember David Canepa, who said that dispensaries would only be allowed “over my dead body.”

The recommendations by police to go north or to get marijuana delivered also bodes well for San Francisco: three new dispensaries in the Excelsior District recently won approval, and that’s just a short distance from Daly City.

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Additional $17 Trillion Funding Gap Found In Doomed Obamacare Law

WASHINGTON, DC – Senate Republican staffers continue to look though the 2010 health care reform law to see what’s in it, and their latest discovery is a massive $17 trillion funding gap.

“The more we learn about the bill, the more we learn it is even more unaffordable than was suspected,” said Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions, the Republicans’ budget chief in the Senate.

“The bill has to be removed from the books because we don’t have the money,” he said.

The hidden shortfall between new spending and new taxes was revealed just after Supreme Court justices grilled the law’s supporters about its compliance with the Constitution’s limits on government activity. If the court doesn’t strike down the law, it will force taxpayers to find another $17 trillion to pay for the increased spending.

The $17 trillion in extra promises was revealed by an analysis of the law’s long-term requirements. The additional obligations, when combined with existing Medicare and Medicaid funding shortfalls, leave taxpayers on the hook for an extra $82 trillion in health care obligations over the next 75 years.

The federal government has an additional $17 trillion unfunded gap in other obligations, including Social Security, bringing the total shortfall to $99 trillion.

That shortfall is different from existing debt. The federal government already owes $15 trillion in debt, including $5 trillion in funds borrowed during Obama’s term in office.

That $99 trillion in unfunded future expenses is more more than six years of wealth generated by the United States, which now produces just over $15 trillion of value per year.

The $99 trillion funding gap is equal to almost 30 years of the the current federal budget, which was $3.36 trillion for 2011.

Currently, the Social Security system faces $7 trillion shortfall between spending and taxes over the next 75 years, according to the Government Accountability Office.

Also, Medicare will is underfunded by $38 trillion, and Medicaid will consume another $20 trillion of the taxpayer’s wealth beyond what is budgeted, according to estimates prepared by the actuarial office at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

The short-term cost of the Obamacare law is $2.6 trillion, almost triple the $900 billion cost promised by Obama and his Democratic allies, said Sessions.

The extra $17 trillion gap was discovered by applying standard federal estimates and models to the law’s spending obligations, Sessions said.

For example, Session’s examination of the health care law’s “premium support” program shows a funding gap $12 billion wider that predicted.

The same review also showed the law added another $5 trillion in unfunded obligations for the Medicaid program.

“President Obama told the American people that his health law would cost $900 billion over ten years and that it would not add ‘one dime’ to the debt… this health law adds an entirely new obligation—one we cannot pay for—and puts the entire financing of the United States government in jeopardy,” Sessions said in a floor speech.

“We don’t have the money… We have to reduce the [obligations] that we have.”

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Montgomery Alabama Nightclub Hopes To Lure Local Minority Component With “Food Stamp Friday” Party

MONTGOMERY, ALABAMA – A nightclub in Montgomery, Ala. is raising eyebrows by hosting a “Food Stamp Friday” party on April 6 that seems to glamorize life on the federal government’s food assistance program.

An invitation for the April 6 party obtained by The Daily Caller tells patrons of the Rose Supper Club in North Montgomery that the Friday night cover charge will be just $5 if a “food stamp card” is shown upon arrival.

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was designed for Americans living at near-poverty levels.

According to the flashy, postcard-size flier advertising the party, there will be “free shots at the door.” The announcement’s artwork mimics an Electronic Benefit Transfer card, the debit card used by Americans to redeem their SNAP benefits.

Glamorizing federal assistance bothers some who have seen the posters.

“I just don’t understand how they are promoting this without anyone saying anything about it,” Stephanie Pope, a Montgomery resident who has seen the fliers in gas stations, told TheDC.

Orlando Rogers, an employee who answered the telephone at the Rose on Thursday, confirmed that the “Food Stamp Friday” party is taking place at the venue next month.

Rogers said he wasn’t involved in the planning of the party, so he couldn’t comment on the event’s theme.

“It’s just a little party they’re having,” he said.

But another Rose employee had strong feelings about Food Stamp Friday, telling TheDC that he is not comfortable with the theme because it’s disrespectful.

“Now that’s hurting somebody’s feelings,” Richard Thomas told TheDC. “Name this party something else.”

Thomas said he knows of at least three phone calls placed to the venue complaining about the party’s theme. He said a young party promoter chose the name.

“I don’t know what these young people are doing,” he said.

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Connecticut State Police Memo Encouraged Ticket Writing To Meet Quota Based On Tickets Written By Another State Police Barracks – Another Memo Offers Free Pizza For Shift With Most Tickets

CONNECTICUT – An eye-opening state police internal memorandum obtained by News 8 challenges state troopers in one barracks to out-perform their trooper colleagues by writing hundreds of tickets on Friday.

The memo, distributed at Troop I in Bethany and obtained exclusively by News 8, basically lays down the gauntlet and any driver on a state highway is fair game.

According to this document, starting tonight at midnight, patrols will be stepped up. The memo from Lt. Anthony Schirillo says in part;

“…we have to issue at least 60 infractions / Misdemeanors each shift for a total of 180 infractions in order to outperform both Troop F and Troop G.

“…One day Troop F issued 301 tickets. Troop G responded by issuing 345 in one day. We can do better…

“I am asking that everyone, myself included, contribute to this effort…

“NOTE if we happen to issue 350 tickets in one day that would be stellar.”

News 8 spoke at length with Lt. Paul Vance, spokesman for the Connecticut state police. In response to the allegation that this is a quota system, which the state police union alleges, Lt. Vance said no one is given a quota, this is not a game, they don’t do that, and have never done that.

Another memo obtained by News 8 says “The master sergeant and I will buy pizza for the shift with the highest total.”

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71 Year Old Woman Shot And Arrested For Defending Herself During Warrantless Home Invasion By Lee County Florida Deputies

LEE COUNTY, FLORIDA – A 71-year-old woman stood at her bedroom doorway pointing a .45 caliber handgun and warned the visitors in her home that she would shoot.

Patricia Mapes stood her ground. It didn’t matter that the visitors were Lee County deputies, according to arrest reports.

“I don’t care who you are. I’ll shoot you,” Mapes told deputies last Friday night (March 23) after they entered her home, called out for the woman and identified themselves.

Mapes fired at the three deputies and they fired back. During the exchange, Mapes was struck and fell to the ground, according to the arrest report. She was taken to Lee Memorial Hospital with undisclosed injuries.

On Thursday, at the hospital, Mapes was arrested and is facing charges of two counts of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer.

The deputies had responded to Mapes’ home on the 16000 block of Briarcliff Lane in Lee County after her daughter called authorities, concerned her mother was suicidal, according to reports. Mapes had received bad news earlier in the day and said she “couldn’t take it anymore.”

Deputies say they knocked several times on Mapes’ front door and received no response. The front door was unlocked and Mapes’ car was in the garage, according to reports.

When Mapes confronted them with a gun the deputies started backing off. And after she started shooting the deputies said they “thought they were going to die,” according to the arrest report

Sheriff Mike Scott said last week the deputies were at Mapes’ home for “a little more than a welfare check.” The sheriff also defended the deputies for shooting the elderly woman.

“When someone is shooting at us, we don’t ask them how old they are,” Scott said.

The deputies, whose names have not been released, are on paid administrative leave until the investigation is turned over state, agency spokesman Tony Schall said. Mapes was released on bond on Friday.

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Poverty Pimp/Attention Whore Turned Terrorist: Al Sharpton To Call For An “Escalation” If Zimmerman Is Not Arrested For Killing Druggie Who Attacked Him

SANFORD, FLORIDA – If George Zimmerman is not arrested in the shooting death of Trayvon Martin soon, theRev. Al Sharpton will call for an escalation in peaceful civil disobedience and economic sanctions.

Sharpton would not say the efforts would be taken against the city of Sanford specifically, but he has been critical of the police department’s handling of the case.

Saturday’s scheduled 11 a.m. march from Crooms Academy of Information Technology to the Sanford Police Department headquarters was organized by National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Coordinators said people will be bused in from other states to participate.

The civil rights activist and syndicated television show host said he will elaborate on this plan Saturday.

“I will speak about how the National Action Network will move to the next level if Zimmerman isn’t arrested,” Sharpton said, who founded the organization. He added that it was the Martin family and lawyers who first asked him to get involved and nationalize this story.

TheRev. Jesse Jacksonis also expected to participate in the event.

The case has ignited ire and debate across the nation, galvanizing thousands of Trayvon supporters to the streets and social media, donning hoodies and toting Skittles.

Sanford police this week released a video of a handcuffed George Zimmerman apparently showing no visible signs of physical injury after he claimed that he shot the 17-year-old Miami teenager in self-defense.

Zimmerman’s family have come to his defense on national news networks, releasing details about his version of what happened the night of Feb. 26 when police found the teen face down in wet grass.

Sharpton said the recent revelations only underscores the need for an immediate arrest and trial.

“Whether he [Zimmerman] had a swollen or broken nose, neither one means he had to take a 9mm and kill someone,” he said. “It’s not about saying Zimmerman is innocent or guilty, this is about whether there was probable cause to arrest him.”

He criticized the way authorities have released information about the case and said they are setting a harmful precedent, he said.

Sanford city officials announced several road closures in anticipation of the march including 13th street, from U.S. Highway 17-92 to Lake Avenue; as well as, Persimmon Street from McCracken Road to 13th.

The demonstration is expected to end at 2 p.m., organizers said.

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Broke: Passaic New Jersey Considers Charging For Emergency Services

PASSAIC, NEW JERSEY – When emergency crews respond to a car or building fire in Passaic, a bill might soon be sent out.

WCBS 880′s Levon Putney On The Story

When the Passaic City Council meets next Tuesday, Mayor Alex Blanco said what they will not decide to do is levy fees against people in car accidents or building owners whose structures catch fire.

What they will do is go after the insurance companies.

“If you are a policy owner, you are already paying for it — this fire department service charge provision,” the mayor told WCBS 880 reporter Levon Putney on Friday.

He said the fees would only be applied if claims are made, and no fees would be levied for those without insurance.

There would be a $1,000 fee to respond to fires in buildings over four stories high. Single, two, and three-family homes would be exempt.

As for car fires, auto insurance would be billed $600.

Of course, a concern is that insurance companies will simply jack up their premiums.

“I feel that it would be unethical on their part,” Blanco said.

This is just the latest way the city is trying to deal with its budget woes, including elimination of free Sunday parking and charging for designated handicapped parking.

“We have lost $2 million in [state] aide,” said Blanco.

He said he believes these fees would raise about $200,000 a year.

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Job/Business Killer: US Corporate Tax Now The Highest In The World

Come Sunday, America finally has something to crow about in its economic war with China and Japan: It will have the highest jobs-killing corporate tax rate in the industrialized world.

No, it’s not an April Fool’s joke. When Japan officially slashes its rate to 36.8 percent Sunday, America’s will be tops at 39.2 percent.

President Obama has proposed a rate of 28 percent, but Republicans charge that it comes with $350 billion in new, off-setting taxes. The GOP is pushing for a cut to 25 percent, but the election year is getting in the way of any deal.

The Business Roundtable has been pushing for a clean cut in corporate tax rates, claiming it would spur job growth and industrial reinvestment. They even cite a recent move by England to cut their tax rates from 28 percent to 22 percent, which officials called “an advertisement for investment and jobs in Britain.”

Tita Freeman of the Business Roundtable told Secrets, “Comprehensive tax reform is an imperative for the U.S. if we are going to remain a leader in the worldwide economy.”

Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee, has also been pressing for action on the tax rate. “Even Russia, at 20 percent, and China, at 25 percent, have lower rates than America does. The difference in tax rates means American companies are trying to compete with one hand tied behind their backs,” he said.

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Texas Gives Special No Death Penalty Deal To Notorious Serial Killer – Killed Newlywed Couple And Hitchhikers Across US – Had Torture Chamber In Back Of His Truck – Averaged 3 Kills A Month In 1990′s

TEXAS – A serial killer who set up a torture chamber in his truck and kidnapped mostly female hitchhikers across the United States has admitted murdering a newlywed couple in Texas, according to reports.

Robert Ben Rhoades — already serving a life sentence for the death of a 14-year-old girl in Illinois — this week pleaded guilty in West Texas to killing Patricia Candace Walsh and her husband Scott Zyskowski, both in their 20s, the Deseret News reported.

Prosecutors had agreed not to seek the death penalty in exchange for the pleas and Rhoades, 65, was given two life sentences, the News said.

The paper said Rhoades, a long-haul truck driver, was the subject of the book “Roadside Prey” by Alva Busch.

In his cab was “a type of dungeon with handcuffs on the ceiling,” the News reported. In 1996, the Tucson Weekly, citing officials, said it was believed that Rhoades had been killing an average of three women a month by the early 1990s.

The Associated Press reported the couple, from Seattle, were hitchhiking to Georgia to preach the Christian gospel, when they took a ride from Rhoades near El Paso, Texas in early 1990.

FBI spokeswoman Shauna Dunlap said investigations concerning Rhoades were continuing.

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Sanford Florida Police And Prosecutors Resisted Release Of 911 Tapes Concerning Dead Druggie Trayvon Martin

SANFORD, FLORIDA — The mayor of the city where Trayvon Martin was killed says he overruled police and prosecutors who opposed the release of tapes of 911 calls, telling them: “We’re not here to hide anything.”

Jeff Triplett, who is a senior vice president at United Legacy Bank and part-time mayor of Sanford, said he took the decision after Martin’s family asked for the release of recordings of a call that shooter George Zimmerman made to police and 911 calls from neighbors who heard the confrontation.

Police, prosecutors and the city attorney opposed releasing the calls because of the ongoing investigation, Triplett told Reuters.

“Everyone was saying to me, no, no, no, don’t turn them over,” he said. “I just continually asked, ‘Why wouldn’t we do this?’”

“I made that call to try to settle everything down a little bit, to let the family hear what transpired. We were being accused of a lot of things, or the police department was, so we can take the step to say, ‘We’re not here to hide anything,’” Triplett added.

World is ‘watching’
Triplett was governs a population of about 54,000, 30 percent of whom are black and have long complained bitterly about police mistreatment.

“I ran for office to make a better Sanford. And this comes on your plate, and it’s just amazing,” 43-year-old Triplett told Reuters in an interview.

“The decisions I’m trying to make, I could be not only held accountable for them from the city side but from the nation and the world that’s watching right now,” he added.

Spike Lee apologizes to Florida couple, agrees to pay for retweeting their address

Martin’s death has drawn international attention, spurred protests in American cities and prompted a federal review.

George Zimmerman’s brother said late on Thursday that medical records will prove that his brother was attacked and his nose was broken by Trayvon Martin before he fatally shot the teen.

Robert Zimmerman Jr. told CNN’s Piers Morgan: “We’re confident the medical records are going to explain all of George’s medical history,” he said.

Controversy surrounding the case deepened Thursday when surveillance video footage of George Zimmerman being led from a police car shortly after he fatally shot Martin appeared not to show any obvious signs of injuries or bloodstains.

The footage, obtained by ABC News, shows a handcuffed Zimmerman getting out of the police car unaided and walking into the police station.

In the video, there are no readily visible signs of injuries to Zimmerman’s head or blood on his clothes. However, he is wearing a red jacket, which could obscure blood stains. Also, at one point, an officer pauses to look at the back of Zimmerman’s head, which he claims was injured by Martin.

Triplett has had a mixed reaction: he has been booed off a stage, defended by black community leaders, and lectured on racial justice by civil rights activists.

He described how, on March 16, he invited Martin’s family and lawyers to his office at City Hall to listen to the 911 calls prior to the public release. Natalie Jackson, an Orlando civil rights lawyer, was also present.

Martin’s mother weeps
Triplett played the calls on his office computer. Someone was heard crying for help. Martin’s mother wept and ran from the room, convinced it was her son, Jackson said. Everyone was moved to tears.

“It was very emotional,” Triplett recalled. “Obviously when you hear something like that, there couldn’t be anything worse for a family member or a parent … and to hear your own son, what transpired at the last second.”

Police video shows George Zimmerman shortly after Trayvon Martin shooting

Not everyone approves of Triplett’s actions. Sanford City Commissioner Patty Mahany said she thought he meant well, but that he had drawn more attention to the case and the calls could influence jurors in any trial.

“I think it stirred up a lot of anger in very well-meaning people who still don’t have the whole story,” Mahany said.

Meanwhile, a college newspaper has apologized for publishing a cartoon about the Martin case after it received complaints, according to a report in the LA Times.

The editorial board of the University of Texas at Austin’s Daily Texan said its decision to publish the cartoon “showed a failure in judgment on the part of the editorial board”, adding that the cartoonist responsible, Stephanie Eisner, had left the paper.

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Fired CIA Employee Tweeting Info After Being Abused By Agency

WASHINGTON, DC – The Twitter feed belonging to Lynnae Williams at first glance looks like most Twitter feeds. There are tweets about what she is reading (Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Madame Bovary); tweets about politics (leans toward the Occupy movement); and tweets about food (tuna casserole, carrot-cake muffins).

But on closer inspection, the feed features something rare for Twitter and even the Internet: detailed disclosures about the CIA. On Tuesday for example, Williams tweeted, “The #Farm is #CIA’s training center near #Williamsburg, Virginia. I think it’s the Kisevalter Center or something.”

In other tweets, Williams, who in 2009 spent nearly four months training to be a CIA spy, details her own experiences with CIA case officers, psychiatrists, and the special security division of the agency that serves as the CIA’s police force. In short, Williams since late February has been disclosing details of her brief CIA career in 140 characters or less.

I caught up with the 35-year-old would-be spy on Wednesday at the Washington mission for the Palestine Liberation Organization. She was interviewing for a job there in government and press relations. “The interview went well,” she said, even though “I don’t have substantial knowledge in the area. I don’t speak the language.” Williams, who does speak Japanese, added, “I don’t know enough about the [Arab-Israeli] conflict, but I hope they resolve it.”

Williams says she began tweeting because she wanted an outlet to tell the world about her disputes with the CIA and what she calls a pattern of corruption at the agency. She also publishes a blog called CIA corrupt. “I wanted to start the Twitter account with my blog to get out my message,” she says.

A spokesman for the CIA declined to comment for this story. Another U.S. intelligence officer, who was not authorized to speak to the press, told The Daily Beast that the agency is aware of the Twitter feed and that Williams is a hot topic on classified social networking, such as the classified intelligence community version of Facebook known as A-Space. Williams has disclosed her official medical records on her blog and other personal documents related to her time in the intelligence community.

Eli Lake discusses his story on Lynnae Williams.

Williams’s main grievance with the agency revolves around her termination. Williams says that as a trainee in the agency’s national clandestine service, she was sent to Dominion Hospital, a public mental-health facility in northern Virginia. Williams referred to the hospital in the interview and her Twitter feed as the CIA’s “psychological prison.” She said the place had white walls and inedible food, and that doctors there urged her to take Risperdal, a drug commonly prescribed to schizophrenics and Lithium, a drug prescribed to manic depressives.

Williams says she refused and eventually her parents drove up from Atlanta and discharged her. “They wanted to keep me for observation,” she said. “It’s not a nice place, it’s dilapidated. It’s called a hospital, but it’s a prison, you can’t get out unless they let you out.”

All told, by Williams’s account, she spent one night at Dominion Hospital in 2009 and then another five days in the hospital’s outpatient program.

Melissa Ozmar, a spokeswoman for Dominion Hospital said, “We’re not going to disclose information about what patients we see that work for certain agencies. Given the proximity of our facility, it is not unrealistic to think that employees and their families for some agencies would seek help from our hospital.”

Ozmar declined to discuss Williams or her stay at Dominion. “It’s not our practice to discuss anything about our patients,” she said. When asked if she agreed that the hospital was like a prison, Ozmar said, “ For patient safety we do have restricted access. But the hospital could not in anyway be compared to a prison.”

Williams say she first applied to work at the CIA in 2006, while she was earning her master’s degree at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. She landed a job instead at the Defense Intelligence Agency as an analyst. At first, Williams says, she worked on counterterrorism projects, then on studies of China’s leadership. In 2007, she says, she was shipped out to a clandestine facility in Iraq, where she worked as an Arabian Peninsula analyst.

In July 2009, Williams says she was transferred to the CIA’s national clandestine service training program, where she took the “field tradecraft course.” Williams says her life changed permanently on Oct. 27, 2009, when a colleague reported her to CIA security for what she says was “bizarre and inappropriate behavior,” such as looking on classified computers for information about herself and telling colleagues that she was being followed. She had a meeting with a CIA psychiatrist that day, who ordered her to take a medical exam, with urine samples, and inquired about her self-acknowledged attention deficit disorder. “She asked me about my family’s mental-health history,” Williams says of the CIA psychiatrist. “My aunt has schizophrenia—I did not tell her that.” Later that evening, Williams had an auto accident and says she was cited by Washington, D.C., police for leaving the scene. After that, Williams says, the CIA ordered her to Dominion Hospital.
Lynnae Williams

Lynnae Williams. , Eli Lake

Since her time there, Williams has been fighting a largely losing battle with the agency. In 2010, she says, her security clearance was suspended and the agency stopped paying her salary. She is pursuing legal redress against the CIA for wrongful termination, but her odds don’t look good. On Wednesday, Williams posted on Twitter a response from the American Civil Liberties Union declining to take up her case.

Mark Zaid, a national-security attorney who regularly represents intelligence officers in legal actions against the U.S. intelligence community, said, “Based on the current state of the law, unfortunately the judiciary will not adjudicate adverse clearance decisions, no matter how abusive, incorrect, or absurd they may have been.”

Zaid says that medical issues at the CIA can at times “be used as weapons,” adding “I have had CIA clients sent to alcohol and drug treatment. The agency has spent thousands of dollars for people to get treatment and then they fire them, which doesn’t make any sense to me.”

Without a security clearance, Williams will not likely be able to find employment with intelligence contractors, as many retired intelligence officers do. Nonetheless, she says she will continue to apply for jobs in foreign affairs. She also intends to continue tweeting. “I did not think of myself as a whistleblower.” But on further reflection, Williams acknowledges, “I suppose it would be an appropriate term.”

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US Customs Places Order For 450,000,000 Rounds Of Ammunition

WASHINGTON, DC – The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and its Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office is getting an “indefinite delivery” of an “indefinite quantity” of .40 caliber ammunition from defense contractor ATK.

U.S. agents will receive a maximum of 450 million rounds over five years, according to a press release on the deal.

The high performance HST bullets are designed for law enforcement and ATK says they offer “optimum penetration for terminal performance.”

This refers to the the bullet’s hollow-point tip that passes through barriers and expands for a bigger impact without the rest of the bullet getting warped out of shape: “this bullet holds its jacket in the toughest conditions.”

We’ve also learned that the Department has an open bid for a stockpile of rifle ammo. Listed on the federal business opportunities network, they’re looking for up to 175 million rounds of .223 caliber ammo to be exact. The .223 is almost exactly the same round used by NATO forces, the 5.56 x 45mm.

The deadline for earlier this month was extended because the right contractor just hadn’t come along.

Looks like the Department of Homeland Security means business.

Thanks to loyal BI Military & Defense Twitter follower Allen Walter for the heads up.

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Marathon Florida Mailwoman Veronica Johnson Delivered Mail And Drugs – Busted With 10 Pounds Of Marijuana

MARATHON, FLORIDA – A Marathon mail carrier was arrested Tuesday after authorities say she was delivering more than letters.

Veronica Johnson, 49, was arrested on marijuana possession charges after she was caught with a package with 10 pounds of pot inside, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities say the Postal Service had received information about a package believed to have drugs inside that was addressed to an elderly Marathon woman.

When the package arrived at the Marathon Post Office, it was given to Johnson for delivery, but when she delivered mail to the elderly woman’s address, she didn’t deliver the package and instead put it in the trunk of her car, the sheriff’s office said.

Detectives questioned Johnson, who said she takes delivery of the marijuana for a man who pays her $200 per package, the sheriff’s office said. Johnson said she’d delivered the packages several times in the past and knows what is inside them, authorities said.

Johnson was arrested and booked into jail. She was being held without bond and it was unknown whether she has an attorney.

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Portland Oregon Police Officers Meet Skywest Plane Carrying 2 Children Who Wouldn’t Fasten Their Seatbelts

PORTLAND, OREGON — A Skywest crew radioed authorities Tuesday when two children refused to fasten their seat belts on a flight from Long Beach to Portland, Ore.

Officers with the Port of Portland Police Department were called to meet the Skywest-operated Alaska Airlines plane when it landed at Portland International Airport at 7:20 p.m., Alaska spokeswoman Marianne Lindsey told CBS2.

“During the flight, the children became disruptive and wouldn’t stay in their seats and wouldn’t fasten their seat belts, which is against federal regulations,” she said in a statement.

It was unknown if they were seated at the time of the landing.

“Following this, an Alaska Airlines supervisor meet with the family (of four), talked with them about the need to comply with Federal Air Regulations that the children must be in their seats and remain buckled when asked,” Lindsey added. “Our supervisor then personally escorted the family to the gate for their connecting flight Alaska Airlines Flight 2056 from Portland to Seattle which departed at 8:30 p.m.”

The family’s name has not been released.

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10 Year Old Child On Tricycle Charged With Felony By Fort Walton Florida Police For Stealing Bicycle

FORT WALTON BEACH, FLORIDA – A 10-year-old child was arrested and charged with felony burglary after stealing a bicycle, temporarily leaving his tricycle at the scene of the crime in order to get away successfully.

According to the Fort Walton Beach Police Department, a local woman reportedly had her bicycle stolen, along with her son’s air rifle.

Responding officers found the suspect, Daryl Pitts, nearby in possession of a bicycle whose serial numbers matched those of the one he had to the one that was stolen.

Daryl had returned to the scene on his tricycle after first taking the gun, which he left at the scene of the crime in order to ride away on the bike.

The victim’s fiance saw Daryl retreating after he returned to get his tricycle, and was able to describe him to authorities.

“[He] eventually admitted to stealing the … pistol from the garage … then returning later to steal the bicycle,” the incident report, provided to CBS Tampa by authorities, states.

He had initially claimed the bicycle, worth a reported $400, was his.

“I read the juvenile defendant … his Miranda Warning in the presence of his stepmother,” the report adds. “[He] knowingly and intentionally committed burglary to an occupied dwelling by entering the garage on two separate occasions.”

Daryl was ultimately released to his stepmother.

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Boston Massachusetts TSA Screener Andrew Cheever Sentenced To Just 3 1/2 Years In Prison For Child Pornography

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS - A former employee of the U.S. Transportation Security Administration has been sentenced to nearly three and a half years in prison for possessing child pornography.

Federal prosecutors say 34-year-old Andrew Cheever of Lowell was sentenced Wednesday to three years and five months behind bars and two years of probation. He was also ordered to read victim impact statements of six children depicted in the pornography he collected.

He pleaded guilty in December.

Authorities say Cheever had thousands of child pornography images and videos on his home computer and made them available on the Internet using peer-to-peer file sharing software.

Cheever was a security checkpoint screener at Logan International Airport until he was taken into custody in September.

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Hero To Zero: Hundreds Of Utah State Police 2007 “Trooper Of The Year” Lisa Steed’s DUI Called Into Question – Also Attacted Innocent Motorist With Taser Weapon

UTAH – Lisa Steed was named Utah Highway Patrol’s “Trooper of the Year” in 2007 for making more than 200 DUI arrests, but now all of her cases could be in question because she admitted she did not follow proper protocol while administering a DUI check.

It is the second time Steed’s DUI arrests have gained notoriety. A 2009 dashcam video shows her Tasering a motorist who was later determined to be sober.

“The cumulative facts may well have a significant ripple effect across every case she’s touched,” Salt Lake City attorney Joseph Jardine told ABCNews.com. “This could become the basis for overturning multiple convictions in the past.”

Jardine is representing Theron Alexander, who claims Steed violated procedure when she administered a breathalyzer test before a field sobriety test in March 2010.

“The credibility of an investigating officer is paramount. If you can’t trust the cop at their word, there’s very little left that you can trust with an investigation,” Jardine said.

At a court hearing on Tuesday, Steed admitted that she had removed her microphone during the incident in order to perform an unauthorized action.

“She specifically stated [Tuesday] that she took the microphone off so her superior wouldn’t know what she was doing,” Jardine said. “We’re concerned that she may have a tendency to stretch the truth when it suits her purposes. Our objective is to probe her credibility.”

Steed’s attorney Greg Skordas does not believe that the incident is any reflection of his client’s credibility.

“It doesn’t affect her credibility. It affects the way she does things, her ability to follow instructions,” Skordas told ABCNews.com. “It doesn’t mean she’s dishonest.”

Skordas said that Steed was simply trying to give the person she had pulled over “the benefit of the doubt” by skipping straight to the breathalyzer test and not having them get out of the car.

“It wasn’t anyone she knew. I think she was just being overly sensitive,” Skordas said. “There wasn’t any bad intent. It was one of those, no good deed goes unpunished.”

This is not Steed’s first run-in with the law. In 2009, a police car dashcam recording caught her Tasering a man during a DUI stop after he refuses to get out of his car, saying he’d like to call a lawyer.

The man, Ryan Jones, can be heard calmly saying, “Ma’am, please don’t shoot me with a Taser,” before Steed zaps him and he beings to scream. When Jones was eventually tested, his blood alcohol level was a 0.03, well below the legal limit.

The case was settled in November 2011 when the state paid Jones $40,000 without admitting wrongdoing.

When asked about the Taser case, Skordas said, “She took her lumps, she was reprimanded and we move on.”

“Unfortunately, you have 300 cases and two go south and then all of a sudden you have a history,” he said. “She wasn’t named Trooper of the Year because she has a history. She works very, very hard and had a couple of unfortunate incidents, which she also stepped up to the plate for.”

Steed has not been charged with a crime at this point, but Jardine believes she has a “huge insubordination problem” that needs to be dealt with.

“It’s hard to say why she would do it specifically,” Jardine said. “Is it pressure from her past achievements? Is it her desire to outdo the other officers in the state? Is it for advancement? Is it for all of the above? Who knows?”

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Obama Based Deficit Reduction Bill Lies Smoldering On U.S. House Floor – President’s Own Budget Shot Down Last Month Without A Single Vote In Favor

WASHINGTON, DC – The Bowles-Simpson deficit-reduction plan went down to a crushing defeat in the House late Wednesday night in a vote that damages the one bipartisan proposal that just a few months ago had seemed like a possible solution to the country’s debt woes.

The 382-38 defeat, with just 16 Republicans and 22 Democrats voting for it, marks a bad end to what began nearly two years ago, when President Obama tapped former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles, a Democrat, and former Sen. Alan Simpson, a Republican, to lead a deficit-reduction committee.

Their report has popped up in every deficit discussion since then, but had never gotten a vote in either chamber until this week, when opponents prevailed.

“This doesn’t go big. This doesn’t tackle the problem. This doesn’t do the big things,” said Rep. Paul D. Ryan, Wisconsin Republican and chairman of the Budget Committee. “You can never get the debt under control if you don’t deal with our health care entitlement programs.”

The debate came as the House worked its way through its fiscal year 2013 budget plan, which Mr. Ryan wrote.
The Bowles-Simpson plan was offered as an alternative on the chamber floor.

Minutes earlier, the House also defeated Mr. Obama’s own budget, submitted last month, on a 414-0 vote arranged by Republicans to embarrass the president and officially shelve his plan.

“It’s not a charade. It’s not a gimmick — unless what the president sent us is the same,” said Rep. Mick Mulvaney, a freshman Republican from South Carolina who sponsored Mr. Obama’s proposal for purposes of the debate. “I would encourage the Democrats to embrace this landmark Democrat document and support it. Personally, I will be voting against it.”

The House also defeated an alternative offered by the Congressional Black Caucus that would have included $4 trillion in additional tax increases on top of those Mr. Obama proposed, and used that money to boost spending on domestic programs. That plan was killed 314-107.

But the Bowles-Simpson plan was the most anticipated vote of the evening, earning its first-ever vote in either chamber.

“There’s a consensus in america we have to reduce our deficit,” said Rep. Rob Andrews, New Jersey Democrat.

“Most of it should be by cutting spending, and some of it should be in revenue contribution by the wealthiest Americans.”

The plan was sponsored by Rep. Jim Cooper, Tennessee Democrat, and Rep. Steve LaTourette, Ohio Republican, and was backed by Mr. Bowles and Mr. Simpson, who said it faithfully represented their goals.

But it was attacked by those on both ends of the political spectrum, leaving the two chief sponsors to defend themselves. Mr. LaTourette listed a series of attacks he said were untrue, adding after each: “False. Your pants are on fire.”

Rep. Charlie Bass, New Hampshire Republican, said he also supports House Republicans’ budget but said that plan doesn’t have a chance in the Senate, and without a final agreement on a congressional budget it will make it impossible to agree to spending limits and extending the Bush-era tax cuts.

“Compromise is not a capitulation of principle,” Mr. Bass said.

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IRS Seeks 4,000 More Agents And Plans To Spend $303 Million On Doomed Obamacare Scheme

WASHINGTON, DC – The Internal Revenue Service wants to add about 4,000 agents to hunt down tax cheats and still plans to spend $303 million building a system to oversee Obamacare even though its future looks bleak in the U.S. Supreme Court.

A new Government Accountability Office review of the IRS 2012 tax return season and the taxman’s fiscal 2013 budget request also found that the agency’s customer service rating has slipped and 5.5 million returns were delayed a week because of a computer programming glitch.

The news isn’t all bad though. A March 20 GAO performance audit found that the agency has seen a steady increase in e-filing and had processed 68 million returns so far, a 3 percent bump. What’s more, IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman said that the American Customer Satisfaction Index for his team has jumped to 73 percent and he added that for every $1 spent on enforcement, the agency collects a return of $4.30.

The audit looked at everything from customer service to pending budget issues. It found that the agency’s “level of service” via phone calls dropped from 70 percent last year to 61 percent currently, and that the number of “abandoned (calls,) busies and disconnects” jumped 41 percent this year and almost 150 percent since 2009. The average wait time for IRS help also surged 48 percent to 16.6 minutes.

As for the new workers sought, the GAO said the total will be about 4,500 with nearly 4,000 slated for enforcement. The IRS, however, argues that past budget cuts have forced the agency to cut jobs and set a hiring freeze. On the $303 million for Obamacare, the GAO said it will “continue the development of new systems and modifications of existing systems required to support new tax credits.”

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Miami Florida SWAT Team Called After Nutcase TSA Agents Jeffrey Piccolella And Nicholas Anthony Puccio Trashed Hotel Room, Threw Furniture Out Window, And Shot Into Neighboring Clothing Store

MIAMI, FLORIDA – Miami Beach police say two Transportation Security Administration officers partied a little too hard Tuesday night, trashed their South Beach hotel room and then picked up a semi-automatic handgun and shot six rounds out the window.

One bullet pierced a $1,500 hurricane impact resistant window at a nearby Barneys New York, penetrated a wall and tore into some jeans in the closed store’s stockroom, according to store manager Adelchi Mancusi.

No one was injured.

Jeffrey Piccolella, 27, and Nicholas Anthony Puccio, 25, were arrested just before midnight. The Palm Beach County men have been charged with criminal mischief and use of a firearm while under the influence.

In a city known for wild, late-night behavior, merely tossing speakers, lamps, a phone, ice chest and vase out a second floor room at the Hotel Shelley, 844 Collins. Ave., might not have drawn much attention.

But according to an incident report, a front desk clerk and security guard called police about 11:18 p.m. after they heard one gun shot, followed by three to five more after a few seconds. When the clerk went back inside the hotel, a guest told him someone was throwing furniture and bric-a-brac out the window of room 217, where Piccolella and Puccio were staying the night.

Detective Vivian Hernandez, a police spokeswoman, said officers arrived and, after a shell casing was found on the ground amid broken room furnishings, the SWAT team was called out.

Investigators went to the mens’ room and then took them to police headquarters.

In a recorded interview, Piccolella told a detective he and Puccio were drinking before returning to their hotel room, according to the incident report. He allegedly said they opened a window, tossed several objects out and then Piccolella grabbed a .380-calliber pistol from his luggage and they took turns shooting out the window.

Puccio said the story was untrue, according to the report.

Police impounded the gun.

Hotel management said $400 in furniture was destroyed.

The two men were booked at the Pre-Trial Detention Center on $5,500 bond each.

TSA spokesman Jon Allen wrote in an email that Piccolella and Puccio are part-time officers who have worked one and two years, respectively, for the agency. They were not in Miami Beach on TSA business, according to Allen.

“TSA holds its employees to the highest professional and ethical standards,” Allen wrote. “We will review the facts and take appropriate action as necessary.”

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More Informaiton Emerges With Respect To Dead Druggie Trayvon Martin – Wannabe Gangster Asked Others On Twitter To Shoot Someone

FLORIDA – The Daily Caller has identified a second Twitter handle that was used by the late Trayvon Martin during the last weeks of 2011. Tweeting in December under the name “T33ZY TAUGHT M3,” Martin sent a message that read, “Plzz shoot da #mf dat lied 2 u!”

This tweet, retrieved via the social analytics website PeopleBrowsr.com, shows the late Trayvon Martin tweeting a message that read, “Plzz shoot da #mf dat lied 2 u!” He was using the handle “T33ZY TAUGHT M3” near the end of 2011. (PeopleBrowsr/Twitter)

It’s unclear who Martin intended the message for, or whether he intended it to be taken literally.

The photo Martin chose to represent himself on Twitter as “T33ZY TAUGHT M3″ depicts him in a black Polo cap, looking into the camera and extending his middle finger. The photo’s file name on Twitter’s server indicates that it was taken on the afternoon of June 17, 2010.

At least one website issued a retraction this week after mistakenly linking Martin to a middle-finger-salute image on a Facebook account corresponding to a Georgia teenager who shares Martin’s name. This image, however, was uploaded to Twitter by the teen himself.

On Tuesday TheDC published 152 pages of Martin’s Twitter activity that were retrieved using the social analytics product PeopleBrowsr.

Additional searches via the same website yielded the Twitter handle “T33ZY TAUGHT M3,” whose activity spanned just one month and ended shortly before Martin began tweeting as “NO_LIMIT_NIGGA.” His Twitter activity under that newer screen name began with the tweet: “NEW NAME, NEW BACKGROUND, NEW TWEETCON, I MAKE CHANGS B4 NEW YEARS!”

Although The Daily Caller has not confirmed with Martin’s family that the earlier Twitter handle belonged to the 17-year-old, there is significant evidence for the conclusion.

A basic Google search for “@T33ZY_TAUGHT_M3″ on Wednesday indicated that corresponds to a defunct Twitter account once used by someone named “Tray.” The same name, entered into the Google Images search engine, generated the photo of Martin flipping off the camera.

Upper-arm tattoos visible in that photo match those depicted in the Trayvon Martin’s MySpace page, which TheDC has also identified. That account includes numerous features, including photos of family members, indicating that it belonged to the slain teen.

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Maryland TSA Manager Bryant Jermaine Livingston Arrested, Charged With Running Prostitution Ring

SILVER SPRING, MARYLAND – A manager at the Transportation Security Administration has lost his job after being arrested on prostitution-related charges. According to court documents, the agency had received a complaint of “very similar” activities back in 2009.

Bryant Jermaine Livingston, 39, was arrested while on the job as a supervisor of TSA agents at Dulles International Airport. The Manassas, Virginia resident, said by phone he is innocent of the charges, but declined to discuss the details of the case.

According to charging documents, on February 15th, Livingston used cash to rent a room at the Crowne Plaza Hotel on Georgia Ave. in Silver Spring, Md. The hotel manager recognized Livingston as a previous customer who, on earlier occasions had “groups of males and females frequently entering and exiting Livingston’s room,” according to a court document.

Similar activity was happening on February 15, so the manager called Montgomery County Police to report likely prostitution. Responding officers offered to accompany the manager as she went to evict the people from the room.

At the doorway, Livingston denied prostitution was occurring, and invited the manager and police into the room.

Responding officers say they saw, “11 people inside the room [including] three naked females and four males attempting to get dressed. Multiple people were laying on the two beds and other people were sitting in chairs and standing in the room.”

In a hallway interview, Bryant Livingston told the police officers he “runs the airport security at Dulles,” according to the charging document.

A spokesman for the Transportation Security Administration confirmed that Livingston had worked for the agency since Oct. 29, 2002, but he is now “no longer employed by TSA.”

In a subsequent interview, one of the men in the room told Montgomery County police that, “he paid Livingston $100 to enter the hotel room to engage in sexual activities.” Charging documents also say a TSA investigator told police that, “in 2009, a very similar complaint concerning Livingston was on record. The complaint alleged that Livingston was operating a prostitution ring and charging individuals $25. for sexual acts.”

The TSA spokesman had no immediate explanation as to what, if anything, the agency did about the earlier complaint.

Bryant Livingston is facing five prostitution-related charges. His attorney, Jason Cleckner, declined to comment on the case. Livingston has been released on his own recognizance, and faces trial on May 8th.

In Maryland, a person convicted of prostitution can face up to a year in jail.

TSA Statement:
“TSA cooperated fully with law enforcement during their investigation into this matter. The allegations against this individual are unacceptable and in no way reflect the integrity and professionalism of the more than 50,000 security officers who strive every day to ensure the security of the traveling public.”

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Pilot Has Metal Breakdown While On Duty – So Federal Prosecutors File Criminal Charges And He Now Faces 20 Years In Federal Prison

DALLAS, TEXAS – Federal prosecutors in Dallas have filed a criminal complaint against the pilot accused of causing a disturbance on a JetBlue flight that had to be diverted to Amarillo Tuesday.

Clayton Osbon, 49, is facing a charge of knowingly interfering and attempting to interfere with the performance of the duties of a flight crew member and flight attendant of the aircraft.

According to the criminal affidavit, Osbon showed up late for the flight from New York to Las Vegas and missed the crew briefing. The affidavit says he wasn’t acting strangely before takeoff, but “as they were climbing out of JFK, Osbon said something to the (pilot) about being evaluated by someone.”

The pilot told investigators Osbon then began speaking about his church and how he needed to “focus.” The captain then made incoherent statements about religion, the affidavit says.

Osbon’s colleague told investigators he first became concerned after the captain said “things just don’t matter” before yelling over the radio at air traffic control to be quiet.

The affidavit then says Osbon turned off the radios and began dimming the monitors and scolded other pilots for attempting to speak with air traffic controllers.

The pilot told investigators he “became really worried” after Osbon declared “we need to take a leap of faith.” Soon after, the affidavit says the captain told the pilot “we’re not going to Vegas.”

After this, the affidavit says Osbon exited the cockpit and attempted to charge into an occupied bathroom. Another pilot slipped into the cockpit to take over Osbon’s duties, the affidavit says.

Passengers told reporters Tuesday that Osbon began exhibiting bizarre behavior just before realizing he had been locked out of the cockpit. Osbon allegedly began screaming “let me in” and banged on the door so hard the other pilots thought he was going to break through, the affidavit states.

The rest of the crew was concerned, the affidavit says, because Osbon disregarded security protocol upon leaving the cockpit.

He aggressively grabbed a flight attendant’s hand and then began banging on the occupied restroom, telling a passenger she needed to exit because he needed to use it, the affidavit says.

After leaving the lavatory, the affidavit says Osbon mentioned “150 souls on board.”

Colleagues tried to keep Osbon near the back of the plane, but he sprinted back up the cabin’s aisle after asking a male passenger “if he had a problem.”

Passengers said Osbon began yelling about Jesus, Sept. 11, Iraq, Iran and terrorists and asked them to “pray f––– now for Jesus Christ” before a flight attendant jumped on the intercom and asked for those onboard to “restrain him.”

The affidavit says the captain also yelled “Guys, push it to full throttle.”

Osbon was tackled to the floor and pinned until the plane landed in Amarillo. Flight 191 departed New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport about three-and-a-half hours before the disruption and was on its way to Las Vegas. The flight was scheduled to take five hours.

Interference with Flight Crew Members and Attendants is punishable by a $250,000 fine and/or up to 20 years in prison, according to this Federal Aviation Administration document.

JetBlue had already suspended the captain before he was charged. Osbon is currently being held at an in-state medical facility.

Late Tuesday afternoon, CBSDFW received this statement from the FAA:

“This morning, at approximately 9:53 a.m. Central Time, a Jet Blue flight en route to Las Vegas from New York JFK International Airport was diverted to Amarillo Rick Husband International Airport for an onboard medical emergency.

Preliminary information indicates that after landing, it was learned that the co-pilot became concerned that the captain exhibited erratic behavior during the flight. The captain had exited the cockpit during the flight, after which the co-pilot locked the door. When the captain attempted to enter the locked cockpit, he was subdued by passengers. After the flight landed safely, local law enforcement secured the pilot without incident, and he was transported by ambulance for medical evaluation.

The aircraft was towed to the terminal building and the passengers were safely deplaned from the aircraft. Passengers are currently awaiting continuation of their travel to Las Vegas.

The FBI, FAA, TSA and local law enforcement are coordinating on this incident.”

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Illinois US Representative Bobby Rush Booted From House Floor Foor Hoodie And Sunglasses – Emulating Dead Druggie Trayvon Martin…

WASHINGTON, DC – Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., lost his right to speak on the House floor after he violated rules by putting on a hoodie and sunglasses in honor of Trayvon Martin, the Florida teen shot last month.

“May God bless Trayvon Martin’s soul, his family and — [inaudible]” Rush said as he was removed from the House floor this morning for wearing a hoodie.

Rush was wearing a grey hoodie under his suit jacket. He took off his jacket, pulled the hood over his head and put on sunglasses while saying “racial profiling has to stop, Mr. Speaker. Just because someone wears a hoodie does not make them a hoodlum,” he said.

“The member will suspend,” said a visibly frustrated Rep. Gregg Harper, R-Miss., the speaker pro tempore administrating the morning session. “The member is no longer recognized. The chair will ask the sergeant-at-arms to enforce the rules on decorum.”

Rush shouted Bible passages over the sound of the gavel as the speaker interrupted him, but he was eventually pulled from the House floor. “The chair will ask the sergeant-at-arms to enforce the rules on decorum,” Harper said.

Rush’s “donning of the hood” violated clause five of House Rule 15 against wearing hats on the House floor.

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Overactive Imagination: Druggie Wannabe Gangser/Thug Treyvon Martin Was “Hunted Down Like A Dog”

FLORIDA – Rep. Frederica Wilson (D-Florida): This is Treyvon Martin. Trayvon Martin’s murderer is still at large. It’s been one month, thirty days, with no arrest. I want America to see this sweet young boy who was hunted down like a dog, shot in the street, and his killer is still at large.

Not one person has been arrested in Treyvon’s murder. I want to make sure that America knows that in Sanford, Florida, there was a young boy murdered. He is buried in Miami, Florida, and not one person has been arrested even though we all know who the murderer is. This was a standard case of racial profiling. No more! No more! We will stand for justice for Treyvon Martin.

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New Orleans Police Officer Giroir Quits After Posting “At Like A Thug Die Like One!” Comment Online About Druggie Florida Teen Trayvon Martin’s Death After He Attacked Neighborhood Watch Captain

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – New Orleans A New Orleans police officer who posted an offensive comment online about slain Florida teen Trayvon Martin resigned on Tuesday.

Superintendent Ronal Serpas accepted his resignation.

“My responsibility to the people of New Orleans, as well as to the professional officers on this police force, demanded I take swift action in this matter. I have accepted Giroir’s resignation, and believe it is in the best interest of this department and this city,” Serpas said.

Under a news story on Martin, officer Jason Giroir wrote on the website of CNN affiliate WWL: “Act like a Thug Die like one!”

He admitted to the post and submitted his resignation after being told Serpas was calling for a pre-termination hearing, according to police.

The superintendent suspended Giroir without pay on Monday, when news of the incident broke.

“To say that I’m angry is an understatement. I’m furious,” Serpas said then.

Trayvon Martin, 17, was killed February 26 as he walked back to his father’s fiancee’s house in Sanford, Florida, after a trip to a convenience store. Police say he was unarmed, carrying a bag of Skittles candy and an iced tea. He was shot by George Zimmerman, who has told authorities he was acting in self-defense.

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200 Daily Thefts From Baggage By Workers At New York’s John F. Kennedy Airport

NEW YORK, NEW YORK — Think twice before you check your luggage at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

Cash, jewelry, electronics and other valuables are being stolen from passengers’ baggage at a staggering rate.

It’s happening as a result of inside jobs that aren’t being stopped, CBS 2’s Marcia Kramer reports exclusively.

All Rita Lamberg has left is an empty jewelry drawer and pictures of the $160,000 worth of watches, rings and necklaces that were stolen from her baggage at JFK Airport.

“I am so sick. This is a lifetime, a lifetime of my savings,” Lamberg said.

But Lamberg isn’t alone. Law enforcement sources told Kramer that thefts at the airport have increased at a staggering and alarming rate. There are now more that 200 a day — and that’s every day. Baggage handlers, jetway workers and even security people are all in on the ongoing scam to steal you blind.

“The belly of the airplane has become like a flea market for airport employees. They go in there and go through all the luggage unencumbered, unchecked,” JFK security lawyer Kenneth Mollins said.

Mollins is representing Lamberg as she tries to get reimbursed by the airline. Former NYPD detective Frank Shea was hired by other clients who were also ripped off at the airport. They both said the theft problem at JFK is a nightmare that is going unchecked.

“What we’re seeing out there is that really anything that isn’t nailed down is being stolen and for that matter I would caution, some day, if there weren’t tires missing from an aircraft,” Shea said.

Sources told Kramer that one of the things that makes the thieves so successful is that they engage in luggage profiling. They go after the most expensive luggage, but they also check out where you come from. So if you live in Scarsdale or Muttontown or North Woodmere you’re more likely to have your bags opened and possibly things stolen.

“It’s really occurring on the tarmac or as it’s being loaded onto the aircraft,” Shea said.

Once they’ve found the goodies, Shea said there are many ways to make off with them.

“Sometimes they get loaded into the back of one of the vehicles out at the airport. They’re searched through. They can be discarded as rubbish. Other times they are leaving the airport grounds,” Shea said.

In other words, thieves steal your bags, but as a passenger you never find that out. The airlines say they are lost in transit.

“The airlines don’t want to report these thefts because it’s bad for business,” Mollins said.

And they don’t want to talk to reporters about it because even if your luggage isn’t stolen you could still be a target.

“Fares go up clearly because of this. It’s a cost of doing business. They pay out and they hide the fact that these items are stolen,” Mollins said.

Most travelers have no idea what’s going on.

“You now scared the hell out of me,” said Sutton Place resident Louis Polk.

“I’m surprised. I didn’t know it was so, so bad,” added Rosana Perez of the Bronx.

And every time Lamberg looks into the emptiness of her jewelry drawer she said she feels, “heartbroken. I can’t believe it happened to me.”

The Port Authority, which owns JFK, said that workers are fingerprinted and given background checks though the FBI database.”

Even so, the agency said it’s going to install more cameras around the airport to help combat the problem Kramer has exposed.

Experts said that what really needs to happen is for the Federal Aviation Administration to tighten standards and for airlines to consider putting cameras in the belly of their planes.

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US Federal Government’s High Profile Michigan Court Case Against “Homegrown Rutal Extremists” Falls Apart At The Seams – Bogus Charges Dismissed By Trial Judge

DETROIT, MICHIGAN — A federal judge on Tuesday gutted the government’s case against seven members of a Michigan militia, dismissing the most serious charges in an extraordinary defeat for federal authorities who insisted they had captured homegrown rural extremists poised for war.

U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts said the members’ expressed hatred of law enforcement didn’t amount to a conspiracy to rebel against the government. The FBI had secretly planted an informant and an FBI agent inside the Hutaree militia starting in 2008 to collect hours of anti-government audio and video that became the cornerstone of the case.

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“The court is aware that protected speech and mere words can be sufficient to show a conspiracy. In this case, however, they do not rise to that level,” the judge said on the second anniversary of raids and arrests that broke up the group.

Roberts granted requests for acquittal on the most serious charges: conspiring to commit sedition, or rebellion, against the U.S. and conspiring to use weapons of mass destruction. Other weapons crimes tied to the alleged conspiracies also were dismissed.

“The judge had a lot of guts,” defense attorney William Swor said. “It would have been very easy to say, ‘The heck with it,’ and hand it off to the jury. But the fact is she looked at the evidence, and she looked at it very carefully.”

The trial, which began Feb. 13, will resume Thursday with only a few gun charges remaining against militia leader David Stone and son Joshua Stone, both from Lenawee County, Mich. They have been in custody without bond for two years.

Prosecutors said Hutaree members were anti-government rebels who combined training and strategy sessions to prepare for a violent strike against federal law enforcement, triggered first by the slaying of a police officer.

But there never was an attack. Defense lawyers said highly offensive remarks about police and the government were wrongly turned into a high-profile criminal case that drew public praise from U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, who in 2010 called Hutaree a “dangerous organization.”

David Stone’s “statements and exercises do not evince a concrete agreement to forcibly resist the authority of the United States government,” Roberts said Tuesday. “His diatribes evince nothing more than his own hatred for — perhaps even desire to fight or kill — law enforcement; this is not the same as seditious conspiracy.”

U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade declined to comment. Two years ago, when militia members were arrested, she said it was time to “take them down.”

The FBI had put a local informant, Dan Murray, inside the militia in 2008 and paid him $31,000. An FBI agent from New Jersey also was embedded. Steve Haug, known as “Jersey Steve,” posed as a trucker and spent months secretly recording talks with Stone. He even served as Stone’s best man at his wedding, a celebration with militia members wearing military fatigues.

Haug repeatedly talked to Stone about building pipe bombs and getting other sophisticated explosives. The FBI rented a warehouse in Ann Arbor where the agent would invite him and others to store and discuss weapons.

Haug told jurors he was “shocked” by Stone’s knowledge of explosives, noting it matched some of his own instruction as a federal agent.

Stone was recorded saying he was willing to kill police and even their families. He considered them part of a “brotherhood” — a sinister global authority that included federal law enforcers and United Nations troops.

He had bizarre beliefs: Stone suspected Germany and Singapore had aircraft stationed in Texas, and thousands of Canadian troops were poised to take over Michigan. He said the government put computer chips in a flu vaccine.

He had a speech prepared for a regional militia gathering in Kentucky in 2010, but bad weather forced him and others to return to Michigan. Instead, he read it in the van while a secret camera installed by the FBI captured the remarks.

“It is time to strike and take our nation back so that we may be free again from tyranny,” Stone said. “Time is up, God bless all of you and welcome to the new revolution.”

Swor said Stone is a Christian who was bracing for war against the Antichrist.

“This is not the United States government. This is Satan’s army,” Swor told the judge Monday, referring to the enemy.

Militia members cleared of all charges were Stone’s wife, Tina Stone, and his son, David Stone Jr.; Thomas Piatek of Whiting, Ind.; Michael Meeks of Manchester, Mich.; and Kris Sickles of Sandusky, Ohio.

“It’s hard to believe it’s over,” said Tina Stone, crying as she spoke by phone. “Thank God we live in a country where we do have freedom of speech.”

Joshua Clough of Blissfield, Mich., pleaded guilty to a weapons charge in December and awaits his sentence. Jacob Ward of Huron, Ohio, will have a separate trial.

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President Obama’s Illegal Immigrant Half Uncle Gets A Slap On The Wrist In Massachusetts Court For Drunk Driving

FRAMINGHAM, MASSACHUSETTS – Onyango Obama — the president’s illegal alien half uncle — admitted to sufficient facts today in his drunken driving bust and his case is being continued without a finding for one year — but he must surrender his license.

Obama, 67, was ordered to give up his license for 45 days, effective today, a Framingham District Court judge ruled. He left court without speaking to the press.

Obama had been waging an aggressive legal battle against Framingham cops ever since he was pulled over Aug. 24 for driving erratically and blowing 0.14 on a Breathalyzer. But his attorney today said it was time to move on.

“After a thorough review, we felt it was in his interests to end the matter without any further proceedings. He’s glad to have this behind him,” said Obama’s attorney P. Scott Bratton.

The attorney added that Obama wants to “get on with his life” and to “get on with his normal quiet existence in society.”

As for Obama’s illegal alien status, his attorney added the deportation proceedings were due to his failure to “renew immigration paperwork.” Bratton said he expects that to be resolved, but he did not elaborate.

When he was arrested by Framingham police, he suggested his first call should be to the White House. A spokesman for the president told the Herald that call was never made. He actually called his boss at Conti’s Liquors.

Obama, who has been living illegally in the United States for nearly 20 years, has returned to work at Conti Liquors in Framingham.

Middlesex District Attorney Gerard T. Leone, Jr. said Obama has accepted responsibility for the “essence” of the charges.

“By admitting to sufficient facts today to operating under the influence and failure to yield at an intersection, the defendant has admitted responsibility for the essence of the crime he committed and has now been held accountable for his actions,” Leone said.

The DA added Obama almost crashed into a Framingham police cruiser the night of the arrest. Once pulled over, the DA said Obama’s speech was slurred, “his eyes were red and glassy and there was an odor of alcohol coming from inside the motor vehicle.” Obama then failed several field sobriety tests and his blood alcohol was almost twice over the legal limit.

Obama was also put on probation for one year.

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Self Defense: Chicago Illinois Charged 80 Year Old Man After He Shot Burglar Stealing Liquor In His Home

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS – Neighbors are calling on prosecutors to drop charges against an 80-year-old owner of a local tavern who allegedly shot a burglar in his Englewood home on the South Side.

“If a man can’t defend himself from harm, what can he do?” asked Darryl Smith, surrounded at a news conference by dozens of longtime Englewood residents and activists. “If he hadn’t defended himself, we would be here for a different reason — because an intruder came in and killed him.

“We’re outraged as a community and we’re calling for the state’s attorney’s office to drop the charges,” he added. “This man has done nothing wrong.”

Police say Homer Wright and his wife were sleeping when someone broke into their home in the 6400 block of South Morgan Street about 6:30 a.m. Monday. The intruder, identified by police as Anthony Robinson, broke through several boards and entered through a rear bathroom window attempting to steal some liquor.

Wright was awakened by his wife and grabbed a handgun and shot Robinson in the lower right leg, police said.

Robinson, 19, of the 6000 block of South Wood Street, was charged with felony burglary after he was treated at St. Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center and released.

Robinson, wearing a white-and-blue hospital gown and his left hand wrapped in a bandage, limped into bond court this afternoon, where Judge Donald Panarese Jr. ordered him held on $150,000 bond.

Wright was charged with one felony count of unlawful use of a weapon after police discovered he had two prior weapons convictions from 1968 and 1994, officials said. Records show Wright also was convicted of theft in 1990. Wright turned his gun over to detectives.

Panarese ordered Wright released on his own recognizance.

On his South Side block, Wright is known as a hard-working neighbor who runs a bar that has become a neighborhood institution. Known as “Tank,” Wright has operated the bar next to his home for more than 40 years, neighbors said.

“He doesn’t fiddle around and he’s strictly business,” said Delmar Dunn, who operates a barber shop across the street from the bar. “He tries to keep order and he tolerates no foolishness. He’s not an aggressive man, so I’m surprised he shot. He must have been pretty afraid or concerned for his own safety.”

Anita Dominique, head of the block club in the neighborhood, said she has known Wright for more than 30 years. “He is a pillar of our community,” she said. “What does it say to me and other senior citizens that we will be arrested if we defend ourselves?”

Smith said police and prosecutors should have found a way to avoid charging Wright. “Just take the gun,” Smith said.

Speaking to reporters Tuesday at an unrelated news conference, Mayor Rahm Emanuel declined to talk about Wright’s arrest. “I cannot comment on it in the middle of an investigation. It would be inappropriate,” he said.

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“No Limit Nigger” – Details Emerge With Respect To Florida Shooting “Victim” Trayvon Martin After He Attacked Neighborhood Watch Captain And Ended Up Dead – Often In Trouble, Drugs, Burglary Tools, Womens Jewelery, May Have Attacked Bus Driver, School Suspensions, Graffiti, Etc, Etc. – Poverty Pimps Sharpton And Jackson Continue Their Usual BS

SANFORD, FLORIDA – Trayvon Martin was suspended from school three times in the months before he was shot dead by a neighborhood watchman, it emerged today.

The new claims, revealed in a leaked report, paint a different picture, one of a teenager who frequently found himself in trouble with authorities.

It was also revealed that he might have attacked a bus driver, according to a Twitter account that some claim belonged to the teen.

The Miami Herald claims that in October, he was caught with a ‘burglary tool’ – a flathead screwdriver – and 12 pieces of women’s jewellery. Martin insisted that they did not belong to him.

Earlier, he had been suspended for skipping school and showing up late to class. And most recently, in February, he was suspended again when officials found a ‘marijuana pipe’ and an empty baggie with traces of the drug.

The fresh claims are likely to be seized upon by supporters of George Zimmerman who say the teenager launched an unprovoked attack on the neighbourhood watch volunteer moments before Trayvon was shot dead.

New picture emerges: This photograph, taken from a Twitter account the reportedly belonged to Trayvon, shows an older image of the teen — just as new reporting are casting a different light on his behavior

Killing: Trayvon Martin (left) was shot dead by George Zimmerman (right) one month ago today in a gated community in Sanford, Florida

The revelation about the suspension in October, in a school report obtained by the Herald, was condemned today by Trayvon’s family as part of a campaign to smear their dead son.

The boy’s mother, whose unarmed son was shot dead last month by neighbourhood watch captain George Zimmerman in a gated community, said: ‘They killed my son and now they’re trying to kill his reputation.’

The conservative news site the Daily Caller and the blog the Wagist claim they have unearthed a Twitter account, which has since been taken down, that belonged to the teen.

Among many Tweets, the Wagist claims, is a message from his cousin implying that Trayvon attacked a bus driver.

‘Yu ain’t tell me yu swung on a bus driver,’ a user Tweeted to Travyon’s alleged account five days before he was killed.

Meanwhile, Joe Oliver, Zimmerman’s longtime friend, told Good Morning America Monday that no matter how the case comes out — even if the shooting is ruled justified — ‘George has virtually lost his life, too.’

Mr Oliver said Zimmerman has gone into hiding and is in fear of his life over the public outcry for his arrest. A fringe group, the New Black Panther Party, has offered a $10,000 reward for his ‘capture.’

The boy’s parents say that they have never heard the claim about the screw driver and jewellery.

The October suspension was officially for graffiti, after he and some friends wrote ‘W.T.F.’ on a school locker.

According to an October report of the incident by the Miami Dade Schools Police, obtained by the Miami Herald, Trayvon never received any punishment for the jewellery because he said it was not his and it belonged to a friend.

MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell claims he frightened away George Zimmerman’s lawyer, Craig Sonner, because he planned to ask him tough questions.

Sonner has been making rounds with the media since Sunday and publicly defending Zimmerman’s shooting of Trayvon Martin as self-defense.

However, O’Donnell said previous interviews, mostly with network TV morning show hosts, have been too soft on Mr Sonner — who has mostly refused to give specific details about the case.

‘He’s in our car right now, taking him home from our studio, afraid to face the questioning he would face on this show,’ the host said.

In lieu of Mr Sonner, O’Donnell chose symbolically interview an empty chair and ask the questions he intended to put to the attorney.

They include:

‘Who is paying you, Mr Lawyer?’

‘Does George Zimmerman have a job?’

‘Did you represent him when he was arrested for assault on a police officer in 2005?’

‘Your client was not injured enough to go to the hospital that night. You say he sought some sort of medical treatment the next day. Do you have those medical records that you can show us?’

In total, he had 12 pieces of mostly women’s rings and earrings in his bag.

Instead, he was suspended on October 21for the graffiti charge.

Ben Crump, a lawyer for Trayvon’s parents, said that they ‘never heard anything like this about a bag of jewellery….And anyway, it’s completely irrelevant to what happened February 26.

‘They never heard this, and don’t believe it’s true. If it were true, why wouldn’t they call the parents? Why wasn’t he arrested?

‘We think everybody is trying to demonize him.’

The Martin family has admitted that the October suspension was his second, and that he had previously been suspended for tardiness and truancy.

The third, and arguably most serious suspension, came in February in the days leading up to his death.

According to the Miami Herald, Miami-Dade Schools Police reported finding a bag with marijuana residue and a ‘marijuana pipe’ in the 17-year-old’s possession.

The boy was never criminally charged, but the Dr. Michael M. Krop Senior High School has a zero-tolerance policy when it comes to drug related incidents so he was suspended for an undisclosed amount of time.

Mr Crump said: ‘If he and his friends experimented with marijuana, that is completely irrelevant. What does it have to do with killing their son?’

After rallies and meetings all day Monday in Sanford, Florida, where the shooting occurred, Trayvon’s parents are expected to appear on Capitol Hill Tuesday as the US Congress takes up the issue of racial profiling.

The hearing in front of the House Judiciary Committee comes as nearly three quarters of Americans believe Zimmerman should be arrested, according to a CNN/ORC International poll.

Only 11 percent of the people surveyed believe Zimmerman should not be arrested. The rest are unsure.

The unanimity against Zimmerman’s shooting even crosses racial and lines. About 67 percent of whites support his arrest and 86 percent of non-whites. Majorities of Republicans, Democrats and independents are all on the same page.

At a Sanford City Council meeting Monday, which turned into a public forum on the Trayvon shooting, Rev Al Sharpton gave city leaders a petition with 2 million signatures of people calling for Zimmerman to be locked up.
Kitted out: These supporters brought Skittles and Iced Tea with them to the rally, as they were the only two things Trayvon had on him at the time of the fatal incident

The shirt is likely a reference to a lyric by Florida rapper Plies, who uses the term to describe racist judges who deliver harsh prison sentences.

The incendiary slogans are likely to fuel rising racial tension surrounding the killing of the teenager.

The new details about Trayvon’s past come the same day as thousands marched through the streets of Sanford, where the shooting happened, to demand justice.

The boy’s mother and father joined the rally, where they called for justice.

His mother said: ‘I know I cannot bring my baby back. But I’m sure going to make changes so that does not happen to another family.’

While his father Tracy said Zimmmerman ‘needs to be arrested’. ‘He needs to be put on trial.

The national attention from perennial leaders of the black community, Sharpton and Rev Jesse Jackson is not welcome, according to C.L. Bryant, the former head of the NAACP in Garland, Texas.

‘His family should be outraged at the fact that they’re using this child as the bait to inflame racial passions,’ the conservative pastor told the Daily Caller.

He said they were ‘acting as though they are buzzards circling the carcass of this young boy.’

Trayvon’s parents and civil rights leaders spoke after a dramatic police account of the fatal shooting claimed the black teen launched an unprovoked attack on the neighborhood watch volunteer in which he punched him in the face, knocked him to the ground and then bashed his head into the sidewalk several times before trying to grab his gun.

The report, leaked to the Orlando Sentinel and ABC News and based on anonymous sources, supports accounts from George Zimmerman’s allies that he acted in self-defense when he shot dead the 17-year-old one month ago in Sanford Florida.

The embattled Sanford Police Department, while condemning the leak, confirmed that the story was consistent with information private to the State Attorney’s office, which is currently considering whether to file charges against Zimmerman.

The police account is also based mostly on Zimmerman’s own words to officers after they arrived at the gated community February 26, but it is the most complete picture of his side of the shooting that has been released publicly.

As the Orland Sentinel reports, Zimmerman got out of his car and followed Trayvon as he walked back to the home of his father’s girlfriend after picking up snacks at a local convenience store.

Zimmerman called 911 to report a suspicious black teenager who looked like he might be on drugs.

As he walked after the teen, the police dispatcher told Zimmerman he didn’t need to keep following.

A minute passes and police don’t know what happens.

Then, according to Zimmerman, Trayvon approached him from behind and they ‘exchanged words.’

Trayvon asked Zimmerman if he had a problem. Zimmerman said, ‘no.’

Then, according to Zimmerman, Trayvon said, ‘Well now you do,’ and unexpectedly punched Zimmerman in the face, knocking him to the ground.

Trayvon, 6-foot-3 and 140 pounds, then reportedly climbed on top of the 250-pound Zimmerman and bashed his head into the sidewalk several times.

One unidentified witness, who did not see the shooting, said he saw a younger man on top of an older man and the older man was screaming for help.

Police say the cries that witnesses reported, which Trayvon’s family say were coming from the teen, are actually likely from Zimmerman.

Zimmerman, who had a permit to carry a handgun, shot Trayvon once in the chest at very close range, killing him.

‘If he and his friends experimented with marijuana, that is completely irrelevant. What does it have to do with killing their son?’

According to police reports and accounts given by Zimmerman’s lawyer, Craig Sooner, the 28-year-old’s nose was bloody or broken, his lip was bleeding and he had a bloody gash on the back of his head.

As the national outcry over the shooting continued to gather momentum, Zimmerman’s allies say he was in a ‘fight for his life.’

‘It’s not a racial issue. George Zimmerman is absolutely not a racist,’ Zimmerman’s lawyer told the Today Show Monday. Zimmerman is half white and half Hispanic.

His friend Joe Oliver joined his lawyer for several TV interviews Sunday and Monday to publicly defend Zimmerman.

‘The bottom line is there was a life and death struggle in that instance and someone was going to die,’ Mr Oliver told the Today Show.

‘Because he was there and he knows what happened…he’s been very confident — naively — that this would all blow over,’ Mr Oliver said in an appearance on ABC’s Good Morning America Sunday. He added that Zimmerman cried for days after the incident.
Too young: Trayvon Martin, seen here in a family photo from a ski trip, was simply holding Skittles when he was shot

Police did not arrest Zimmerman after the February 26 because he cited Florida’s so-called ‘Stand Your Ground’ law, which does not require residents to retreat and allows them to defend themselves when they have reasonable belief that they will be killed or severely injured.

That law could also make it difficult to win a conviction if they file charges against Zimmerman, a top prosecutor told Good Morning America Monday.

‘The Stand Your Ground law is one portion of justifiable use of deadly force,’ veteran State Attorney Angela Corey said.

‘And what that means is that the state must go forward and be able to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt… So it makes the case in general more difficult than a normal criminal case.’

Despite being legally justified, according to friends, Zimmerman is remorseful about killing Trayvon.

Mr Oliver said Zimmerman wishes he could tell the boy’s parents he is ‘very, very sorry.’

Widespread protests: Maurice Collier (L) and Josie Dean stand in protest before students from historically black colleges in Atlanta arrive at the Georgia capitol to protest the shooting

Widespread protests: Maurice Collier (L) and Josie Dean stand in protest before students from historically black colleges in Atlanta arrive at the Georgia capitol to protest the shooting
Support: New York state senators Kevin Parker (left) Bill Perkins (center) and Eric Adams wear hooded sweatshirts during session in the Senate Chamber in Albany today to show their support for Florida teenager

Furthermore, Mr Oliver says, Zimmerman, who is currently in hiding, didn’t stop crying for days after the killing.

The interviews comes the same day as a new report says that Justice Department investigators may try to charge him with a hate crime, and they are thought to be using the alleged murmuring on the 911 call to argue he said a racial slur before fatally shooting the teen.

‘They killed my son and now they’re trying to kill his reputation’

-Sabrina Fulton, Trayvon’s mother

‘If that was a racial epithet that preceded the attack on Trayvon Martin, we definitely have a hate crime,’ said Drexel University law professor Donald Tibbs.

‘It sounds pretty obvious to me.’

Even if Zimmerman is not charged, the entire Sanford police department may be investigated regardless to see if they destroyed or hid any evidence during their initial investigation.

Mr Oliver also identified the voice screaming in the now-infamous 911 tapes as the Neighbourhood Watch captain, not of Martin as the teen’s parents claim.

‘From the clips that I’ve heard online, I heard George. That sounded like someone who was in dire need of help. It sounded like George.’

‘At that point, either George or Trayvon was going to die.’

Despite the defense from Zimmerman’s allies, a new witness has stepped forward and said she and her roommate heard Trayvon screaming before hearing a shot being fired.

In an interview which aired on Dateline NBC Sunday night, Mary Cutcher said that she and her roommate ran out after hearing the shot.

‘We both saw him straddling the body, basically, a foot on both sides of Trayvon’s body and his hands pressed on his back,’ Ms Cutcher said of she and her roommate.

‘It sounded young. It didn’t sound like a grown man is my point. It sounded to me like someone was in distress and it wasn’t like a crying, sobbing boo-hoo, it was a definite whine.

‘He started walking back and forth like three times with his hand on the head and kind of, he was walking like kind of confused.

‘He was in shock.’

This version of events plays into the beliefs of millions of protestors who have called for Zimmerman to be charged with murder for shooting the teen and believe the killing was racially motivated.

Ms Fulton, Trayvon’s mother, filed applications with the U.S. Trademark and Patent Office to seek ownership of the phrases ‘I Am Trayvon’ and ‘Justice for Trayvon’ which supporters have adopted as rallying cries.

Ms Fulton’s lawyer, Ms Major Morris, told the Associated Press that the money that will be gathered from the trademark will go to ‘projects that will assist other families who experience similar tragedies’.

She denied that Ms Fulton had any intention of profiting from the move.

The case has become a national issue, and the slain teen’s parents have both quit their jobs to help see that the fight for justice continues. In that effort, they have allowed their lawyers to set up a donation fund for the legal costs, but now they fear that other fake sites have sprung up, hoping to profit from the national outrage.

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Much Ado About Nothing: Negros Rally In Support Of Dead Druggie Who Died Attacking Florida Man – Man’s Injuries Consistant With Attack, Witness Accounts, And Defending Himself

FLORIDA – The attorney counseling George Zimmerman, who shot unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin as he was walking home from the store with a bag of Skittles, says if charges are filed, Zimmerman will argue that he acted in self-defense and that Florida’s stand-your-ground law applies.

Attorney Craig Sonner said the public is only hearing part of the story, and when all the facts come out, it will be clear that Zimmerman acted in self defense. A grand jury is scheduled to begin hearing the case April 10.

“George Zimmerman suffered a broken nose, and had an injury to the back of his head, he was attacked by Trayvon Martin on that evening,” Sonner said. “This was a case of self defense.”

When asked why Zimmerman went after Martin, even though a 911 dispatcher told him not to, Sonner said: “Those are questions that will be answered.”

Sonner said the so-called stand-your-ground law, under which a person who feels threatened is not required to retreat and can “meet force with force” if attacked, will be applicable in the case.

Sonner insisted that Zimmerman is not a racist, pointing out that he and his wife mentored for two black children for free.

“When I asked this mother [of the mentees], who trusted [Zimmerman and his wife], and she’s an African-American, if she trusted George Zimmerman, she said she did, and I asked her if there was anything that caused her to believe that she was a racist, and she said, ‘Absolutely not.’ And I said, went further, ‘Did you ever hear him use racial slurs in any time that you’d been around him?’ And she said, ‘no’ as well,” Sonner said.

Joe Oliver, a family friend of Zimmerman’s who spoke with him this weekend, told ABC News that as a volunteer community watch commander, Zimmerman had to look out for suspicious-looking people.

“There are people who have accused George of profiling, well, I would think as a watch commander you are keeping an eye out for people you don’t recognize in your neighborhood,” Oliver said.

“The reason why he was following this suspicious person that he saw was because the neighborhood had a rash of break-ins,” he said. “George had no intention of taking anyone’s life. He cried for days after.”

Oliver said the headlines have taken a toll on Zimmerman, his wife, and his family.

“He’s moved, they’ve disconnected their phone numbers, they’re in hiding, they’re fearful,” Oliver said.

The Zimmerman family friend also denied that a word the watchman is heard blurting out on one of the 911 tapes is the racial slur, “coon.” Oliver said the word he hears Zimmerman saying is “goon.”

“As far as, I mean as far as George being racist, I didn’t take it as a racist term. I heard ‘goon’ and talking to my teenage daughter, apparently goon is a term of endearment in high school these days,” he said.

“He wasn’t talking to Trayvon when that comment was made. He was speaking a generality in that this suspicious person was someone who he – lumped in — as always getting away — goon, coon. I mean, the bottom line, he thought he needed to keep an eye on this individual for whatever reason,” Oliver said.

Oliver said he believes the voice screaming for help on the 911 tape is Zimmerman’s.

After talking with Zimmerman, Oliver says he’s convinced that it came down to a final life-or-death moment: “At that point, either George or Trayvon was going to die.”

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Law To Prevent Insider Trading By Congress Members Will Cost Taxpayers $1.5 Million And $200K Per Year

WASHINGTON, DC – This wasn’t supposed to happen. In Congress drive to clean up its act and pass the “Stock Act” to provide transparency to Wall Street holdings members have, taxpayers are getting stuck with the bill.

Senate Sergeant at Arms Terrance Gainer reveals that it will cost $1.5 million to develop software and programs to provide the easy-to-use electronic disclosure of lawmaker holdings required in the legislation.

Plus, he adds, when up and running, it will likely cost another $200,000 a year just to operate and maintain.

The act was passed after new controversies arose over the massive stock portfolios of congressional leaders who work on legislation impacting the very companies they’re invested in. Nobody has suggested–yet–that maybe some of their profits should fund the sunshine initiative, not taxpayers.

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Study Flops As Scientists Can’t Find Males Who Haven’t Seen X-Rated Material

CANADA – Scientists studying the effects of pornography fell at the first hurdle – after failing to find a man who had not viewed X-rated material.

The researchers were comparing the views of men in their 20s who had never been exposed to pornography to regular users.

But Professor Simon Louis Lajeunesse, of Montreal University in Canada, said: ‘We started our research seeking men who had never consumed pornography. We couldn’t find any.’

Although hampered in its original aim, the study was then changed to examine the habits of men who regularly used porn.

It found single young men viewed such material on average for 40 minutes three times a week, compared with those in relationships, who watched it 1.7 times a week for 20 minutes.

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Farmers Branch Texas Pissed Away 5 Million In Taxpayer Funds Defending Poorly Written Law Banning Rentals To Illegal Immigrants Within City Limits – Still Fighting In Court Instead Of Rewriting Flawed Law

FARMERS BRANCH, TEXAS – Local officials in a Dallas suburb say they plan to continue pushing for a ban on undocumented immigrants renting property within the city limits — a measure that has cost the city $5 million and remains unenforceable due to court challenges.

The fight has pushed Farmers Branch, a quiet collection of bedroom communities and office parks, into the national debate about illegal immigration. Local Latinos say it also has made U.S. citizens and immigrants feel unwelcome in the city, where the Latino population has fallen in recent years.

City officials and law backers argue that undocumented immigrants strain local schools and police resources. They also note that local voters supported an early version of the law five years ago by a 2-to-1 margin.

Best Pix of the Week

“We’re trying to solve a problem that people perceive to have,” Mayor Jack Glancy told The Associated Press. “If the (federal) government would do what it’s supposed to do, we wouldn’t be in the middle of this thing.”

The city council must now decide whether to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court or push for a hearing before the full 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where a three-judge panel last week upheld a lower court’s ruling blocking the law.

Farmers Branch’s city council, which has never included a Latino, has in recent years declared English to be the city’s official language and resisted efforts to shift voting from an at-large system, which Latinos complain dilutes their voice. The council first passed a renters’ ban in 2006, but replaced it two years later on the advice of its attorneys.

The new law would require all renters to obtain a city license and the city’s building inspector to check the status of any applicant who wasn’t a U.S. citizen. Undocumented immigrants would be denied a renters’ permit, and landlords who knowingly allowed them to stay could have their renters’ license barred.

Celebrities Who Were Once Undocumented

A federal judge put that law on hold after landlords and renters sued the city, and courts have continued to block it — most recently on Wednesday by the 5th Circuit.

Similar bans pushed in other cities, most notably Fremont, Neb., and Hazleton, Pa., are in the middle of similar court fights.

A judge recently allowed Fremont to require renters to obtain a permit but stopped the city from revoking the permits if renters were found to be illegal immigrants.

Hazleton’s law, which would sanction business owners for employing illegal immigrants and property owners for renting to them, also is on hold. But backers will get a new hearing because the Supreme Court last year, citing its decision in another case, vacated a federal appeals court’s ruling against the law.

Kris Kobach, a national advocate for tougher immigration laws and Kansas’ secretary of state, has represented Farmers Branch in court and said the city would have a good chance if it continues its case. He noted that much of the legal work has been done, so costs shouldn’t grow much.

Latino civil rights group MALDEF, which is helping fight the Farmers Branch law, said backers of such laws should give up.

“The federal courts have made clear that cities cannot make their own immigration laws and target residents for expulsion simply because of their race or nationality,” Nina Perales, MALDEF’s vice president of litigation, said in a statement.

Despite rallies and heated protests at the time, Ben Robinson, a Farmers Branch councilman, points to the 2007 referendum that showed strong support for the law.

“As far as I know, they still feel that way,” he said.

Glancy emphasized that the city is targeting undocumented immigrants, not documented immigrants or U.S. citizens, noting that the city’s library hosts English classes. Thursday’s class drew 50 people from all over the world — Cambodia, Germany and several Latin American countries — who sounded out nouns and verbs with the help of local volunteers.

The mayor also said that since the law was first passed, the number of car accidents involving uninsured drivers has declined and fewer students have moved in and out of local schools.

Statistics from the Carrollton-Farmers Branch school district, which includes parts of Farmers Branch and surrounding cities, show the percentage of “mobile” students has fallen, though district spokeswoman Angela Shelley said the school does not keep track of students’ immigration status.

A message seeking comment from local police about Glancy’s uninsured drivers claim wasn’t returned.

“Something needed to be done,” Glancy said. “The federal government wasn’t doing it. People were frustrated, and we’re the ones closest to the people.”

A Flawed Immigrant Detention System?

Elizabeth Villafranca sees things differently. Villafranca owns a local Mexican restaurant and moved to Farmers Branch after the push to ban undocumented immigrant residents began. She ran and lost for city council.

Villafranca said she and other U.S.-born Latinos, along with legal immigrants, are more often pulled over by police or threatened by other residents. Though the law never went into effect, Villafranca said, supporters “had the effect they wanted.”

Longtime resident Jack Viveros, a financial planner, said friends and neighbors started asking questions about his background in recent years.

“It’s still a dividing factor,” Viveros said. “It has divided the city dramatically.”

The city has an annual budget of $77 million and has to cut salaries and benefits in recent years, making the $4.5 million spent on immigration-related lawsuits stand out.

Robinson, the longtime councilman, called the legal fees “outrageous” but said he supported continuing the case.

“I think the only way that we’re ever going to have a proper handle on, and control over, illegal immigration in this country is by the states and the cities having the types of laws … necessary to control illegal immigration,” he said.

Viveros said he wanted the case to end so the city could heal.

“When we drop this thing, when it’s finally done and over with, it’s like a relationship with a person,” Viveros said. “When you first break up, you’re hateful and angry and all that kind of stuff. After time, things just become acceptable and things go back to normal.”

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Broke: Baltimore Maryland Considerings Selling 15 Publicly Owned Historic Sites

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND - More than a dozen historic landmarks in Baltimore may be up for sale soon.

But as Gigi Barnett reports, the city first wants to know how much they will bring in first.

The city says its historic buildings are a liability, an eyesore and a drain on its pockets.

Baltimore’s Shot Tower was the tallest building in the nation back in 1828 and became a national historic landmark in the early 1970s. The city says it wants to know how much the Shot Tower is worth to a private developer.

“We have some great properties in unique locations and we hope we can find the right kind of marriage to make it work,” said City Director of Planning Thomas Stosur.

The city is weighing the costs of selling or leasing about 15 of its historic sites. Selling the real estate could beef up the city’s cash-strapped budget, as some of the properties are abandoned, old and dilapidated.

Stosur says a consultant is coming in to appraise the sites.

“Real estate is location, location, location. That’s why we’re hiring a specific firm to go in and look because they’re unique properties,” Stosur said.

Some residents say the plan would save city history.

“If they could find a buyer that would do the work and maintain it, I think it would be a good thing,” said resident Durward Center.

Roland Park’s water tower is also on the list. Originally built back in 1905, the tower became defunct in 1930 and in recent years has fallen into grave disrepair. Some Roland Park residents, however, say the tower belongs to the public.

“They’re part of Baltimore. They’re historic landmarks. I don’t think anyone should own them. It should be a Baltimore thing,” said resident Liz Wildt.

Of the 15 sites, 12 of them are protected by a historic landmark designation. That means any developer who buys or leases them must first get their plans approved.

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake recently asked the city’s spending board to approve $46,000 in consultant fees to appraise the historic sites.

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Black Based US Terror Organization Black Panther Party Openly Advertises $10,000 Bounty

WASHINGTON, DC – The new Black Panther Party offered a bounty of $10,000 Saturday for the “capture” of a Florida neighborhood watch captain who killed unarmed teen Trayvon Martin.

“An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth,” leader Mikhail Muhammad said after announcing the reward for George Zimmerman at a protest in Sanford, Fla.

Muhammad called on 5,000 black men to mobilize and capture the neighborhood watch volunteer.

“If the government won’t do the job, we’ll do it,” Muhammad said, leading chants that included “freedom or death” and “justice for Trayvon.”

Muhammad said New Black Panther’s chairman, Malik Zulu Shabaz of Washington, was taking donations from black entertainers and athletes.

The group hopes to collect $1 million off the outrage by next week.

New Black Panthers members pointed to what they called the inaction of government officials — from Sanford city officials up to the governor — and accused them of lying and delaying justice.

They also said Angela Corley, the newly appointed special prosecutor, was an enemy of the black community.

“She has a track record of sending innocent young black men and women to prison,” Muhammad said.

The Southern Poverty Law Center calls the New Black Panther Party, a black-separatist group created in 1989, “virulently racist and anti-Semitic.”

Martin, who is African-American, was wearing a hoodie and carrying a pack of Skittles and an ice tea on the night of Feb. 26. He was heading back to his father’s fiance’s townhouse.

Zimmerman, 28, called 911 to report a suspicious person in the gated community and followed the teen despite the dispatcher’s request that he stand down.

Zimmerman said he shot Martin in self-defense. Zimmerman’s family says he is Hispanic and race was not an issue.

A Florida man was also charged Friday with threatening to kill Sanford Police Chief Bill Lee and his family.

Lee temporarily stepped down as chief over the case.

Trayvon’s mom said she was having a hard time realizing that her son’s not coming home, People magazine reported Saturday.

“I look at every door and think, he’s just going to walk through it any minute,” Sybrina Fulton told the magazine.“I just want to see him again, but I can’t.

“He’s in heaven, looking down at me.”

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Finally: New York City Police Detective Fired And Three Others Forced To Resign After Shooting And Killing 23 Year Old Sean Bell Outside Nightclub In 2006

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - A New York police detective has been fired and three other officers forced to resign over the 2006 shooting death of a 23-year-old man outside a Queens nightclub, authorities said.

The disciplinary action went into effect late Friday after Police Commissioner Ray Kelly accepted the ruling of a police department administrative trial of the officers involved in the shooting death of Sean Bell.

Detectives Gescard Isnora, Marc Cooper, and Michael Oliver were acquitted of criminal charges in April 2008, but the three men, along with Lt. Gary Napoli, Detective Paul Headley, and Officer Michael Carey faced a an administrative trial investigating if the officers had acted improperly.

“There was nothing in the record to warrant overturning the decision of the department’s trial judge,” NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne said of Kelly’s ruling.

Isnora, who fired the first shots that killed Bell, was fired, effective immediately, according to police. Oliver, Napoli and Cooper forfeited all time and leave balances and were forced to retire while Headley received a letter of instructions and re-training in tactics. Carey was cleared of wrongdoing, police said.

Bell and friends Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield were shot after an altercation with plainclothes detectives outside a Queens nightclub where Bell’s bachelor party was held on the night before his wedding. Bell died at the scene, and Guzman and Benefield were seriously wounded.

Accounts of the incident varied. Undercover officers, who were investigating the club for prostitution allegations, said they identified themselves as police, but witnesses and the wounded men said they did not.

The detectives said they believed at least one of the men had a gun, but no gun was found. And one of the officers said that Bell, instead of obeying his command to stop, hit him with his vehicle.

The incident quickly became a touchstone for those who believe police — in New York and elsewhere — have a record of excessive force, particularly against black men. Bell was African-American, as were the two men wounded and two of the three police officers.

The officers fired 50 shots in just a few seconds.

Oliver fired his gun 31 times that night, pausing to reload his weapon, while Isnora fired 11 times and Cooper, whose leg was brushed by Bell’s moving car, fired four times, police said.

The shooting sparked street protests, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg called it “inexplicable” and “unacceptable,” saying “it sounds to me like excessive force was used.”

In July 2010, New York City paid out more than $7 million to the family of Bell and the two other men shot by the officers.

Sanford Rubenstein, who has represented the Bell estate as well as Guzman and Benefield, responded to Kelly’s decision saying, “It was appropriate for the commissioner to follow the recommendation of the trial judge based on the evidence.”

Isnora’s attorney, Philip Krasyk was unavailable for comment Saturday.

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Broke And Desperate: New York City Considers Charging Bicyclists Tolls On East River Bridges

NEW YORK, NEW YORK – The city’s former traffic commissioner has a new plan to put tolls on East River bridges. But this proposal has some novel “selling points,” including a first-ever toll for cyclists.

Plan to toll the bridges have come and gone over the past few years, but the latest one by Sam Schwartz is starting to pick up steam, maybe because it goes after everyone.

“I’m trying to be equal opportunity pain throughout the region,” Schwartz said.

Schwartz, known as “Gridlock Sam” to many, wasn’t kidding Friday when he told CBS 2’s Marcia Kramer that his new plan to raise $1.2 billion a year tolling the East River bridges will hit a lot of people. He wants to make everyone pay, even some who think they should be exempt.

“I’m asking the bike riders to pay 50 cents each way to use the bridges coming into our Central Business District,” Schwartz said.

Schwartz also wants to put a new surcharge on yellow and livery cabs, a surcharge on so-called “black cars” and a surcharge on parking in Midtown. New tolls would be put on the Ed Koch Queensboro, the Williamsburg, Manhattan and Brooklyn bridges.

Driver would pay $5 with E-ZPass; $7 without.

But in exchange for keeping cars out of the Central Business District below 60th Street, Schwartz wants to reduce – that’s right, reduce — tolls on uptown spans, the Triboro, Whitestone and Throgs Neck bridges.

The round-trip tab would drop from $13 to $8.

With Mayor Michael Bloomberg in Asia, Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway said that while the mayor isn’t supporting a congestion pricing plan at this time, it is necessary to find some way to fund mass transit.

“It is definitely vital that we figure out how we’re going to fund transit for the long term. It’s the only way New York City is going to stay competitive,” Holloway said.

Drivers are definitely not on board.

“It may help with traffic, but I mean I think we pay for enough as far as tolls coming into the city and gas prices the way it is. I don’t think we need more tolls,” Brooklyn resident Lance Smith said.

“I think it would just slow traffic more. I’m not really for it,” added Rhonda Rosenfeld of New Hyde Park.

“That would be a disaster,” another person said.

Just for the record, before 1911 there were tolls on the Ed Koch bridge — 10 cents for cars, 5 cents for push carts and 3 cents for horses.

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Attention Whore/Poverty Pimp Jesse Jackson Claims Blacks Are “Under Attack” – Despite Nation’s Crime Statistics Showing More Blacks Attack Whites Than The Other Way Around…

FLORIDA – Civil rights leader Jesse Jackson said Friday that he’s grateful the rest of the country has sat up and taken notice of the tragic slaying of Trayvon Martin. But he can’t help but wonder: Why has it taken so long for everyone else to recognize the chronic injustices that African Americans face?

“We’re surprised that everyone else is surprised,” Jackson told the Los Angeles Times. African Americans have tried for decades to get the rest of America to understand their plight, he said, particularly their beliefs that justice is still elusive in many parts of America, especially the Deep South.

Then along comes the Trayvon Martin case, and facts that are not in contention: Volunteer neighborhood watch captain George Zimmerman pursued and then gunned down the unarmed 17-year-old last month, and never faced arrest because police said there was no evidence to contradict his claim that he fired in self-defense.

“I hope that this will be a transformative moment,” Jackson said.

Jackson was speaking Friday morning from the Chicago offices of his Rainbow PUSH Coalition. He had just returned from duties in Belgium and Switzerland. He was in Geneva on Wednesday as part of a delegation of religious leaders trying to find a way to end the violence in Syria. Jackson was preparing to get back on a plane for a flight south so he can add his voice to the growing protests in and around Sanford, Fla., where Martin’s shooting took place.

Jackson said the Martin case is getting plenty of media attention overseas, attention that is both embarrassing to white America and humiliating to black America.

Moreover, he said, the failure to make an arrest in the case takes away the nation’s “moral authority” to address injustices in other countries when it fails to do the same within its own borders.

Jackson predicted that the protests will continue to multiply in number and that the ranks of protestors will swell until Zimmerman is arrested.

“As long as he is outside of the court system, the protests will intensify and spill over into other dimensions,” Jackson said. “His lack of appearance in the court system is a source of embarrassment and humiliation. He needs to face the court.”

Jackson said that there is a mistaken assumption in some corners of America that all racial problems went away with the election of President Obama. “There was this feeling that we were kind of beyond racism,” he said. “That’s not true. His victory has triggered tremendous backlash.”

He added: “Blacks are under attack.” African American families are facing record home foreclosures and unemployment. Their children are burdened with student loan debt. States, particularly conservative ones, are passing voter laws that leaders know will disenfranchise blacks and other minorities. Meanwhile, the nation’s prisons are brimming with black faces, he said, and their numbers that suggest that the legal system is quicker to send blacks to prison than whites.

Jackson said gunfire in America continues to be a problem for all Americans — not just blacks. Why, he asked, isn’t America outraged, that far more people die of gun violence in one year in America than the number of soldiers killed in the wars waged in Iraq and Afghanistan?

“Our disparities are great,” he said. “Targeting, arresting, convicting blacks and ultimately killing us is big business.”

Jackson said he also wants to see the Martin protests accomplish something else beyond justice for the slain teen’s family. He said he wants the repeal of Florida’s controversial “stand your ground” law, which gives legal protection to people who fight back in self-defense. Some believe that the Florida police were nodding to that law when they declined to arrest Zimmerman after the Feb. 26 shooting.

Many other states have similar statutes, Jackson said, and he wants them all repealed, starting with Florida’s.

“No justice, no peace,” he said. “The indifference to this kind of pain is just going to intensify the protests.”

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Nutcase Hermosa Beach California Police Officer Anthony Parente Intentionally Rear Ended Car With His Motorcycle – Motorist Faced Bogus Charges Based On The Cops Lies – Cop Has Record Of Causing Accidents And Claiming Injuries – Black Box On Motorcycle “Mysteriously Disappeared” – Video Proved Cop Was Lying

HERMOSA BEACH, CALIFORNIA – After 18 months of intense investigation, that was the prosecution’s position when it finally came time to put up or shut up in its controversial assault-on-a-cop case filed against South Bay motorist Brian Hitchcock.

Hitchcock had always insisted he was being unfairly blamed for a traffic accident after a Hermosa Beach motorcycle cop rear-ended him in Redondo Beach, flew off his bike and landed headfirst in the backseat of Hitchcock’s convertible — a bizarre mishap that produced a globally viral photo showing the cop’s booted feet sticking up.

But after the Redondo Beach city attorney suddenly dropped charges of assault and reckless driving without any explanation or apology, Hitchcock viewed his ordeal in a more sinister light.

“This was no accident,” he told L.A. Weekly. “This was an ambush by a cop operating under the color of authority.”

Moments before jury selection was to begin in January, Redondo Beach City Prosecutor Brenda Coe dismissed three misdemeanor charges against Hitchcock. Yet the case had turned his life upside-down. Facing up to two years in jail, he was eager for his day in court.

His lawyer, Thomas Beck, said he was ready to prove that Hermosa Beach Police Officer Anthony Parente was lying about the collision and had a record of causing accidents and claiming injuries in which he not only filed for workman’s compensation and collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer money but also targeted the victim’s insurance company.

“This was part of a pattern on Officer Parente’s part to scam people for money,” Beck said. “He’s made a career out of it. This guy ought to be prosecuted for filing a false police report and workman’s comp fraud.”

Beck said the 44-year-old Parente had taken medical leave and filed for workman’s comp six times — three times during his four years with the Inglewood School Police Department and three with the Hermosa Beach PD, where he was hired July 1, 2005.

Parente did not respond to a half-dozen messages from the Weekly seeking comment. Coe was not available for comment because she quit soon after she dropped the charges against Hitchcock.

Hermosa Beach interim Police Chief Steve Johnson declined to comment on Parente, who is on disability leave and collecting workman’s comp — 20 months after he suffered so-called soft-tissue injuries.

While the law enforcement agencies that once pursued Hitchcock have gone silent, Beck gladly laid out his version of a prosecution-turned-persecution against the 60-year-old, churchgoing Mormon, who works as a technical writer at Skechers in Manhattan Beach.

Beck said Hitchcock soon will file a lawsuit against Parente and the Hermosa Beach Police Department.

The case became notorious because of a WTF picture of Parente’s legs sticking out of Hitchcock’s backseat on June 8, 2010. Seconds before that, Hitchcock had pulled up next to Parente’s motorcycle at a red light at the intersection of Artesia Boulevard and Ford Avenue in Redondo Beach.

Parente later claimed that when the light turned green, Hitchcock started speeding in the parking lane and then abruptly pulled over, cutting the officer off. Parente turned on his siren, he said, to cite Hitchcock for a traffic violation.

However, there were problems with Parente’s version. By his own written admission, he turned on his siren when he was only two to three feet behind Hitchcock — far closer than law enforcement training guidelines. The noise startled Hitchcock so badly that he hit the brakes — exactly the danger training warns of. The next thing he knew, a cop was upside down in his car.

Parente put out an “officer down” call, and the baffled Hitchcock was swarmed by officers from Hermosa, Redondo and Manhattan Beach. He was interviewed several times at the scene and his car was impounded.

Hitchcock maintained that he was never in the parking lane, had accelerated normally and didn’t cut Parente off. As reported in the Weekly in February 2011 (“Officer Down,”), three eyewitnesses supported Hitchcock’s account and L.A. District Attorney Steve Cooley refused to bring charges.

But Redondo Beach detectives continued their investigation. “They were carrying water for the Hermosa PD,” Beck alleged. “These little suburban PD’s stick together when a cop does something wrong.”

Six months after the collision, Coe filed three misdemeanor charges against Hitchcock. Then, during the discovery process, Hitchcock’s attorney learned that Redondo detectives had a surveillance video of the collision. The detectives claimed the video was too grainy to reveal anything. But Beck took it to a video specialist, who slowed it down. Beck said the tape clearly showed Hitchcock was telling the truth.

Then the dogged Beck learned that Parente’s motorcycle had a “black box,” which records traffic data such as speed — yet Hermosa police reported to the court that it had mysteriously disappeared.

Beck also interviewed three eyewitnesses who were prepared to testify that Hitchcock was telling the truth.

Beck’s star witness, however, was to be another motorist, Peter Brown, who had a similar experience with Parente. Brown, a field engineer for General Electric, told the Weekly that in April 2008 he was stopped at a red light in Redondo Beach when Parente rear-ended him with a police car.

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Broke Nassau County New York Goes After Schools With Illegal Toilet Tax

EAST WILLISTON, NEW YORK — Schools in Nassau County have joined together to try and flush away a new fee they say will literally drain their budgets.

Every flush in every school could soon cost taxpayers, thanks to a new sewer use fee. However, school districts are fighting back against what they’ve dubbed a “toilet tax,” reports CBS 2’s Carolyn Gusoff.

“It is absurd,” East Williston School Board President Mark Kamberg said Tuesday.

Especially, critics said, at Wheatley School, which doesn’t even have sewers.

“We have septic tanks and the water seeps into the ground,” Kamberg said.

Wheatley’s water goes into its own tanks, the ground or it gets consumed. Yet Wheatley, like all of Nassau’s schools, is expected to pay the new sewer fee imposed by County Executive Ed Mangano, who in effect said for too long not-for-profits have been getting a free flush.

“The free ride is over and homeowners will no longer subsidize this expense,” Mangano said.

However, schools have warned they’ll have to raise taxes to pay the fee.

“They have shifted the burden of sewer tax onto the back of school districts,” Kamberg said.

In all, 19 school districts have joined together to sue Nassau, saying the flushing fee is illegal.

“This is clearly a tax and the reality is that school districts are tax-exempt organizations,” said Greg Guercio, the attorney for the school districts.

The one penny-per gallon fee translates into hundreds of thousands of dollars for bigger school districts. For East Williston, it would amount to $87,000 this year alone.

“For us, it’s a large amount of money. It’s like a teacher salary,” East Williston Assistant Superintendent for Business Jackie Fitzpatrick said.

The fight will likely go to trial. While the case is pending districts don’t have to pay the fee, but have to budget for it, and that could mean raising taxes.

Other not-for-profits like houses of worship and fire houses will not be required to pay the new fee.

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Columbus Ohio Bus Driver Laura Roberson Choked Third-Grade Special Needs Girl On Bus

COLUMBUS, OHIO — A veteran bus driver accused of choking a third-grade special-needs student as she was driving the girl home from school in an encounter captured on video was fired by the school district on Thursday, a district spokesman said.

The Columbus City Schools district fired driver Laura Roberson on a district charge of malfeasance for inappropriate contact with a student, district spokesman Jeff Warner said.

Warner said a surveillance system recorded Roberson on Tuesday afternoon while she drove the 9-year-old student she was driving from school on Tuesday. He was not sure how many other children were on the district bus used to transport special-needs children, and did not know whether the girl required treatment for any injuries.

Roberson, 59, of Canal Winchester, did not immediately return calls to her home.

The district had suspended Roberson without pay pending the Thursday hearing that resulted in her dismissal. No other details of the hearing were immediately released.

Warner says it is not clear what led to the encounter but he said the recording showed that Roberson’s actions “were not physically appropriate.”

He said that the girl’s foster mother reported the matter to police and to the school, but Warner did not know whether criminal charges had been filed.

A police report did not list Roberson as a suspect, The Columbus Dispatch has reported. The report said no weapons were used, but that the student was injured.

Police did not immediately return calls Thursday.

Roberson had been a driver for the 50,000-student district since 1984, and the only other incident reported against her was backing into a stop sign in 2009, Warner said.

He said the district has more than 800 drivers who do great work and have a difficult job.

“But we want to everything we can to protect our students and to ensure that they are transported to school in a safe and caring fashion,” he said.

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US Secret Service Pisses Away Tax Dollars Trying To ID Woman Who Said “Pretend Its Obama” While Candidate Was Firing Pistol At Target On Shooting Range

WEST MONROE, LOUISIANA – Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum said Friday that he will support the eventual GOP nominee, if it isn’t him, despite what he insists are similarities between front-runner Mitt Romney and President Barack Obama that make them indistinguishable on some issues.

“I will support whoever wins the Republican primary to beat Barack Obama,” Santorum told supporters at a police gun range in northern Louisiana.

Poised to do well in Louisiana’s primary Saturday, Santorum sought to explain his comment Thursday in Texas that Romney and Obama are so similar on the issues that Republicans might just as well vote to give the president a second term instead of casting their ballots for Romney.

Santorum argues that he is the only Republican candidate who can offer voters a stark contrast with Obama.

After testing his marksmanship with a .45 caliber semiautomatic Colt pistol, Santorum told reporters: “If you don’t have a choice, then a lot of voters are going to vote for what they have. That’s why we have to have a choice.”

“I’ve said repeatedly and will continue to say, I’ll vote for whoever the Republican nominee is and I will work for him,” he added. “Barack Obama is a disaster, but we can’t have someone who agrees with him on some of the biggest issues of the day.”

While Santorum tamped down one fire, a supporter in the audience added an off-message wrinkle. As he fired the pistol, a woman in the crowd shouted: “Pretend it’s Obama.”

Santorum was wearing protective ear muffs. He said later that he didn’t hear the remark but denounced it as “absurd.”

“It’s a very terrible and horrible remark and I’m glad I didn’t hear it,” he said.

The Secret Service, which provides security for Santorum, was trying to identify the woman.

“Typically, in an incident like this, we attempt to identify the individual, speak to them and then figure out what the next steps are,” said spokesman Edwin Donovan. “People have a right to free speech but we have a right and an obligation to determine what their intent is.”

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Disgraced US Attorney General Eric Holder’s Department Had Probable Cause To Arrest Gun Runner, Eight Months Before Border Patrol Agent’s Death Ended Operation That Supplied Drug Cartels With Weapons

WASHINGTON, DC – Documents released Thursday show that federal agents appeared to have probable cause to arrest the biggest buyer of assault weapons in the Fast and Furious operation — eight months before Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry’s death ended the scandal-ridden program.

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., and Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, have demanded Attorney General Eric Holder provide a briefing as to why ringleader Manuel Celis Acosta was not arrested earlier given repeated evidence that he was running guns.

“I think the Department of Justice is the Department of Injustice,” Grassley said on Capitol Hill. “They can’t expect people to believe that they couldn’t arrest this guy.”

On April 2, 2010, Phoenix Police stopped Celis Acosta. In the car they found eight weapons, none of which were registered to him. At least one, a Colt .38, had been bought just a few days earlier by Uriel Patino, who had already bought 434 weapons in the previous six months.

It is illegal to buy a gun for anyone other than yourself. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has argued it did not have probable cause to arrest Patino or Celis Acosta. These new documents suggest they did, raising new doubts about the agency’s desire to actually bust the trafficking ring.

Two months later, on May 29, 2010, Celis Acosta was stopped again, this time driving a 2002 BMW 754i trying to cross into Mexico. Inside, border agents found 74 rounds of AK-47 ammunition and nine cell phones hidden in the trunk. ATF Special Agent Hope MacAllister and her counterpart from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Layne France, released him after he promised to cooperate in the future. MacAllister wrote her phone number on a $10 bill.

Celis Acosta had been under ATF surveillance since October 2009. He had been a suspect in a Drug Enforcement Administration investigation, but when he began buying guns for the Sinaloa Cartel, the DEA alerted ATF. The two agencies shared a wiretap until ATF got its own. The ATF also set up a camera mounted on a telephone pole outside his home where they watched guns and money change hands in his garage multiple times.

On April 7, police in El Paso also seized another load of weapons assembled by Celis Acosta. All the guns had been bought in Phoenix by straw buyers under watch by Operation Fast and Furious. Some belonged to Patino, who again appeared to be trafficking weapons.

ATF managers have told Congress they could not arrest anyone because the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Arizona would not allow it since agents lacked probable cause that a crime was committed. They also admit knowingly allowing some guns to be illegally purchased in order to further their investigation.

Many in Congress don’t buy it.

“If you find somebody carrying a massive number of guns across the border that you didn’t have reason to arrest them?” said Grassley. “That just doesn’t hold water as far as I am concerned. It doesn’t pass the laugh test.”

More than 100 Republicans in the House have signed a resolution asking for Holder to resign.

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Los Angeles California Police To Ignore State Law To Protect Unlicensed Illegal Immigrant Drivers – Who Are 5 Times More Likely To Be Involved In Fatal Accidents And More Likely To Flee Scene Of A Crime

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – The Los Angeles Police Department will soon start ignoring California state law, which requires police to impound the vehicles of unlicensed drivers for 30 days.

The majority of unlicensed motorists in Los Angeles are immigrants who are in the country illegally and have low-income jobs. The LAPD says the state’s impound law is unfair because it limits their ability to get to their jobs and imposes a steep fine to get their car back.

As long as drivers can produce some form of I.D., proof of insurance and vehicle registration, they’ll be allowed to keep their car. Police Chief Charlie Beck insists that it’s simply leveling the playing field.

“It’s about fairness. It’s about equal application of the law,” Beck told a Los Angeles TV station earlier this month.

Opponents of Beck’s decision are furious and refer to studies showing unlicensed drivers are among the most dangerous on the road. Indeed, a 2011 AAA study titled “Unlicensed to Kill” finds they are five times more likely to be involved in fatal crashes and more likely to flee the scene of a crime.

The decision has angered Don Rosenberg, a resident of Los Angeles County, who lost his 25-year old son, Drew, in a 2010 accident caused by an unlicensed driver in San Francisco, a city with lax impound policies. The driver, who tried fleeing the scene, had previously been pulled over but was allowed to retrieve his car after a short time, months before the accident.

“It doesn’t matter to me who killed my son– what their nationality was. It was the fact that if the law were followed, he’d be alive today,” Rosenberg told Fox News.

Los Angeles District Attorney Steve Cooley wrote Chief Beck, saying his policy would be “invalid” in light of state law, which states a vehicle “shall be impounded.” But supporters of Beck’s decision say, regardless of the law, he’s doing the right thing for illegal immigrants who cannot yet obtain driver’s licenses here.

“A low-income person doesn’t have the ability to pay the fees after 30 days to get their car back,” said Cardinal Roger Mahony, former Archbishop of Los Angeles and an immigration activist. “Basically, we’re just creating more punitive problems for them.”

The L.A. Police Commission voted in favor of the new policy 4-1 last month. The LAPD says officers will begin implementing it in a matter of weeks. The city attorney has also sided with Beck’s decision.

Immigrant advocates say the controversy highlights the need to provide provisional driver’s licenses for illegal immigrants.

Don Rosenberg says he’d favor that, as long as the police enforce state law by impounding unlicensed drivers’ cars when pulled over. But he believes that the city is pandering to the Latino community and doesn’t hold out hope that the policy will change anytime soon.

“It’s more important that people who are in the country illegally get to drive than it is that people who are here get to live,” he said.

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US Immigrant Prison System “Deeply Flawed”

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY – The current immigrant detention system in the United States is deeply flawed, and New Jersey’s newest detention facility offers proof that federal reforms are falling short, immigration advocates said Friday at a conference on the issue.

A report by a coalition of immigration rights groups and New York University’s law school focused on conditions at an immigration detention facility in Essex County as emblematic of problems with immigration detention system nationwide.

The report finds that despite the emphasis by President Barack Obama’s administration on reforming the civil detention system, facilities like the one in Essex County fail to meet several national detention standards for immigrants, issued in 2008 and 2011 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which cover everything from access to attorneys to recreation and health care.

“We feel this is only the tip of the iceberg of what’s occurring,” said Alina Das, co-director of the Immigrant Rights Clinic at NYU’s law school, who worked on the report. “We’re very concerned about the conditions in New Jersey.”

In New Jersey, the report’s authors said they received more than 200 detainee grievances from the newly expanded detention facility at the Essex County Correctional Facility and nearby, privately operated Delaney Hall. Arguing that the facilities do not fully comply with ICE standards, the report documents problems with everything from access to legal assistance and worship services to adequate health care, food and other basic services for detainees.

The concern, Das said, is that federal immigration authorities have touted the new agreement between ICE and Essex County to expand detention bed space in the New York metropolitan area, as well as a new facility opened this month in Karnes City, Texas, as more humane, reform-minded facilities.

“Whatever Delaney Hall is, it’s not a model detention facility,” Das said.

ICE Spokesman Harold Ort said the agency has made “tremendous strides” toward reforming the immigration detention system, including the hiring of more than 40 detention services managers to increase oversight at detention facilities and conduct inspections and regular visits. The agency has also reduced the overall number of detention facilities from 370 to 255 nationwide, Ort said, and is committed to a closer working relationship with non-governmental groups to improve detainee treatment, as well was efficiency and oversight at detention facilities.

Alfaro Ortiz, the director of the Essex County Correctional Facility, disputed the report’s findings and said it was part of an ongoing campaign to discredit his facility. The county signed a new agreement with ICE in 2011 to increase the number of immigration detainees in the Essex jail and an adjoining privately run facility from about 500 to 1,250.

Ortiz insists the Essex facilities provide safe, humane and decent accommodations that provide closer access for detainees to family members and immigration lawyers. The jail is accredited by the National Commission for Correctional Health Care and has earned a 100 percent rating from the New Jersey Department of Corrections for the past four years, Ortiz added.

“We look forward to working with ICE to provide the detainees with the best service possible,” Ortiz said.

The conference on immigration detention, held at the Newark campus of Rutgers University, focused on eliminating mandatory detention altogether.

Immigrant under mandatory detention are classified as civil and not criminal detainees, and advocates have long argued that the majority are low-risk individuals who do not need to be detained in order to comply with deportation orders or court-related obligations.

Judy Rabinovitz, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union Immigrants’ Rights Project who spoke at Friday’s conference, said much of the huge expansion in immigrant detention facilities was largely unnecessary, as the majority of immigrant detainees pose neither a danger nor a flight risk.

“A fundamental shift is needed in how we look at detention, and to see detention as a last resort,” she said.

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Matawan-Aberdeen New Jersey Middle School Principal Announces “No Hugging” Policy Over PA System

MATAWAN, NEW JERSEY – There is a lot of confusion at Matawan-Aberdeen Middle School, where students say the principal made an unusual announcement last week.

“First, I heard over the loudspeaker ‘We are a no hugging school’ and we are…’This is our new policy,’” student John Carelli told CBS 2′s Cindy Hsu on Thursday.

Some of the students went home with stories about a hugging ban that if they hugged in school, they could be suspended.

Some parents, including Tammy Sabatini, who has had three kids attend the school, found the idea crazy.

“They’ve hugged forever since they were babies and now they’re being told they can’t do it,” Sabatini said.

“It’s stupid, I’ve never heard of such a thing. Why can’t you hug?” another parent told 1010 WINS’ Steve Sandberg. “That’s how we grew up, with affection. You hug, you kiss.”

“It’s kind of silly,” one man said. “When I was in middle school I hugged my friends — boys and girls. I don’t know what the big deal is.”

On Wednesday night, many parents received the following recorded message from the principal, trying to clarify things:

“Hugging can be inappropriate and we want to make sure that there’s no inappropriate physical contact. We certainly do not have a policy against hugging nor do we intend to or have we suspended students for hugging,” the message said.

The message went on to say the school wants the students to stay focused on academics. CBS 2′s Hsu tried to talk to the principal about the issue, but he had no comment. The school superintendent also had no comment.

“I just think it’s an outrage. It’s hugging. It’s not like it’s going to kill anyone,” said student Miranda Allen.

“If they can’t do it in school, they have plenty of time to hug their friends outside of school — when they’re home under the supervision of their parents, and when they’re in school, they can learn,” parent Deirdre Ring said.

So while there’s still a lot of confusion over the whole issue, students say they will keep on hugging off school grounds.

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Crazed French President Wants To Imprison Those Who Visit Anything His Government Calls “Extremist” Web Sites

PARIS, FRANCE - France’s president proposed a sweeping new law Thursday that would see repeat visitors to extremist web sites put behind bars – one of several tough measures floated in the wake of a murderous shooting spree.

The proposed rules, unveiled by Nicolas Sarkozy after the death of an Islamist fanatic wanted for a horrifying series of execution-style murders, have alarmed journalists and legal experts, who say they risk pulling the plug on free expression.

Sarkozy, who is only a month away from an election, argued that it was time to treat those who browse extremist websites the same way as those who consume child pornography.

“Anyone who regularly consults Internet sites which promote terror or hatred or violence will be sentenced to prison,” he told a campaign rally in Strasbourg, in eastern France. “Don’t tell me it’s not possible. What is possible for pedophiles should be possible for trainee terrorists and their supporters, too.”

French law calls for up to two years in prison and (EURO)30,000 (roughly $40,000) in fines for repeat visitors to child porn sites, although whether the proposed anti-terror rules would carry similar penalities isn’t clear.

When asked, Sarkozy’s office directed a query seeking details to the Ministry of Justice, which didn’t immediately offer clarification.

Journalists and lawyers are concerned.

“Trying to criminalize a visit – a simple visit – to a website, that’s something that seems disproportionate,” said Lucie Morillon, who runs the new media bureau of journalists’ watchdog group Reporters Without Borders.

“What’s especially worrying for us is how you are going to know who’s looking at what site. Does this announcement mean the installation of a global Internet surveillance system in France?”

Media lawyer Christophe Bigot seconded her concerns, saying that any such law – if passed – would be a serious blow to the democratic credentials of a country that considers itself the home of human rights.

“I don’t see how you can assume that a person who connects (to an extremist website) not only shares the ideas that are being expressed there but is ready to act on them,” Bigot said. “That seems to be a very dangerous shortcut – a real step back in terms of individual liberty.”

Bigot said it wasn’t clear to him to what degree Sarkozy’s proposals were serious. In any case, France’s Parliament isn’t in session, but could be called back for urgent legislation. Otherwise, an eventual law would be contingent on Sarkozy’s reelection.

The tightening presidential race has been upended by the shooting rampage blamed on Mohamed Merah, a 23-year-old Frenchman of Algerian descent who allegedly killed three French paratroopers, three Jewish schoolchildren and a rabbi before dying in a violent confrontation with police in the southern French city of Toulouse earlier Thursday.

Sarkozy has France’s far-right nipping at his heels, so he’s been under pressure to appear tough. A poll released Thursday by the CSA firm suggested that Sarkozy may benefit politically from a hardening of attitudes toward extremist violence.

Morillon said she understood the emotional appeal of a crackdown on online radicalization in the wake of such atrocities.

Still, she said, “you have to be careful not to attack the wrong target.”

“Once more it’s the Internet that’s being blamed, as if the Internet was the source of all evil.”

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