Category Archives: News

Congressman in Drug Case Resigns Seat in Florida

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28RADEL-master180WASHINGTON — Representative Trey Radel, Republican of Florida, who pleaded guilty in November to a misdemeanor charge of buying 3.5 grams of cocaine and was sentenced to a year of probation, resigned from Congress effective Monday evening.

Mr. Radel, 37, a freshman legislator, quietly returned to Congress in January after nearly a month at a private rehabilitation center in Naples, Fla., but he announced his resignation plans on Monday morning.

Referring to his “personal struggles,” Mr. Radel wrote to Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio, “While I have dealt with those issues on a personal level, it is my belief that professionally I cannot fully and effectively serve as a United States representative to the place I love and call home, Southwest Florida.”

When he was arrested, in Washington, Mr. Radel said he struggled “with the disease of alcoholism.”

His plan to resign was first reported by Politico.

Read more at The New York Times

Base Jumper Fatality at the Little Colorado River Canyon Area

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Page—On Friday, January 24, 2014 at 5:30 pm Coconino County Sheriff’s Deputies received a report of a possible base jumping fatality near the confluence of the Little Colorado River and main Colorado River channel. Friends of the base jumper waiting on the canyon floor reported him missing after he attempted a second jump from the canyon edge. After hiking out of the canyon they were able to see their missing friend approximately 2000 feet from the top of the canyon. Stather was using a popular wing suit and parachute worn by many jumpers in the sport.

Attempts to reach a 41 year old David Stather of Calgary, Canada by helicopter that evening were not possible due to darkness and lack of visibility. On Saturday, January 25 an Arizona Department of Public Safety helicopter assisted Coconino County Sheriff’s Office Deputies and Search and Rescue in locating Stather. He was confirmed deceased from his injuries due to a fall trauma. Stather was air lifted from the canyon.

David Stather was a well-known and respected respiratory therapist and surgeon at the Alberta Health Center in Canada. He is survived by his parents who reside in Guelph in the Ontario Province of Canada.

This incident is currently under investigation by the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office and Coconino County Medical Examiner’s Office.

Homeowner’s son shoots, kills burglary suspect in Van Zandt County

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DALLAS, Tx.—A man suspected of burglarizing a homeowner in Van Zandt County was shot and killed early Tuesday morning by the homeowners son.

The homeowner woke up to see a man burglarizing his pickup truck that was parked in his front yard. He approached the man with a rifle, intending to hold him until law enforcement could arrive, but the man fled the scene, according to the Van Zandt County Sheriff’s Office.

The homeowner fired at the man and then noticed a truck parked in the dark near the roadway, which he believed belonged to the man so he got in the truck and took the keys out of the ignition to prevent him from leaving the scene. The man confronted the homeowner and disarmed him, assaulting him with the rifle, authorities said.

The homeowners son saw the man raising the rifle and, fearing the man was about to shoot his father, shot the suspect, killing him instantly.

More at Dallas News

India disappointed with new Russian stealth fighter

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Sukhoy1
India is reportedly disappointed with the result of a fighter program between the Indian Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) and Russian Rosoboronexport and Sukhoi announced in December of 2010.

The initial press release indicated that the proposed Fifth Generation Fighter:

…will have advanced features such as stealth, supercruise, ultra-maneuvrability, highly integrated avionics suite, enhanced situational awareness, internal carriage of weapons and Network Centric Warfare capabilities.

After delivery of the prototype, however, FOX News reports:

The Russian prototype is “unreliable, its radar inadequate, its stealth features badly engineered,” said Indian Air Force Deputy Air Marshall S Sukumar at a Jan. 15 meeting, according to minutes obtained by the Business Standard.

The Indian government, the largest importer of arms according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, routinely buys from Russia and the west. The U.S., however, has so far refused to provide the advanced Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter. Some defense experts indicate that the Indian Air Force may not be currently ready for the F-35 according to the FOX article.

Defense consultant Robbin Blair indicated that the Air Force of India may be leaning toward the French-designed Dassault Rafale fighter jets depending on what the French add to the aircraft.

This plane is quickly built and apparently tests better than the Russian prototype.

Michaels Warns of Possible Data Breach

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Crafts-Store Chain Says It May Have Been Victim of Attack

By Andrew Dowell, Wall Street Journal

MK-CJ597_MICHAE_D_20140126182729Michaels Stores Inc. said it may have been the victim of an attack on its data security, making it the third major chain in a rash of assaults aimed at U.S. retailers.

In a statement on its website, the arts-and-crafts retailer said it had recently learned of possible fraudulent activity involving credit or debit cards that had been used at Michaels. The company said it hasn’t determined that a breach occurred, but said it is working with federal law-enforcement authorities and computer-security experts to determine what happened.

The disclosure echoed recent acknowledgments by Target Corp. and Neiman Marcus Group that they had suffered data breaches that compromised customers’ card information. Target said 40 million debit and credit card accounts had been affected, and Neiman said last week that 1.1 million accounts had potentially been exposed. In those cases, software was slipped into the retailers’ systems to quietly scrape card data.

Michaels, like those two retailers, made its comments following inquiries from security researcher and blogger Brian Krebs. In the statement, Michaels Chief Executive Chuck Rubin said the retailer was disclosing the issue to alert customers so they could take steps to protect themselves.

Read more at the Wall Street Journal

Somali militant killed in missile attack

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us-forces-launch-missile-strike MOGADISHU, Somalia — A member of Somali rebel group al-Shabab was killed Sunday by a missile fired by a suspected drone, a rebel commander said, blaming the U.S. for the strike.

Abu Mohamed told The Associated Press that Sahal Iskudhuq, a militant commander who was believed to be close to al-Shabab’s top leader, was killed when his car was hit by a missile in Somalia’s Lower Shabelle region. The attack took place in a village called Hawai, he said.

A Somali intelligence official confirmed the attack, describing the victim as a “dangerous” militant. His driver was also killed in the attack, the official said on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to reveal the information.

Mohamed blamed the attack on the U.S., which flies drones over Somalia that occasionally fire at one of al-Shabab’s top leaders.

Read more here at Miami Herald

Donor beware. You are in Kansas.

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william-marottaAnswering a Craigs List ad, William Marotta donated a few cup fulls of sperm to a lesbian couple who performed an artificial insemination procedure in their home. He even signed a contract waiving his parental rights and responsibilities and even made the donation for free waiving the $50. The child was born in December of 2009. Recently, however, the lesbian couple separated and now he has to pay the $50 with interest.

Upon separating, one of the woman became ill and could not work. She applied for assistance which prompted the Kansas Department for Children and Families to file a case against Marotta.

Shawnee County District Court Judge Mary Mattivi has ruled that Marotta owes $6000 for back child support, and must continue to pay child support, for the four-year old child he and his wife only met once by chance.

The reason for the decision is that the artificial insemination was performed at home without the assistance of a doctor.

According to the Kansas City Star:

The judge’s ruling against Marotta seems to be consistent with a ruling in a polar-opposite Kansas case of several years ago, in which a sperm donor who had wanted parental privileges was denied because the baby makers also did not follow the law.

SEE ALSO: CNN

Washington blow dart suspect: ‘I’m a moron’

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blowdartCOLFAX, Washington––A man accused of shooting a woman and man with a blow dart in two separate attacks in Washington state has made his first court appearance on assault charges.

KREM-TV reports 18-year-old Joseph Gillies of Tacoma appeared in court Thursday in Whitman County. He was released from jail until his next court appearance at the end of the month.

Gillies is accused of shooting a woman with a blow dart Jan. 12 on the Washington State University campus. He’s also accused of hitting a man with a dart two days later while walking in Pullman.

Read more at FOX News

VA Health care roll out problem: The ID.

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ABC Action News in Florida reported November 6th that the new Veteran identification cards have a bar code that can be read by bar code scanner aps on “smart phones” revealing social security numbers. Use of these aps can lead to identity theft of veterans.

Although the the web site for the Department of Veteran’s Affairs has a warning about the problem, veterans were not told when receiving their card about the anomaly.

VA says that the problem will be fixed in the next generation of cards expected to be issued this year.

2-1-1 Arizona gets you connected with vital information

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211arizonaArizona residents can get vital resource information at the web site 2-1-1 Arizona. The web site is part of a nation-wide effort to provide information for community referral services.

The web site even breaks down the resources to specific counties such as the one for Coconino County.

If you plan to move out of state, you can always reference the national web site before you even pack.

If you need to reach out for help, this site should give you the leads you need.