Muslims protest weekly's prophet cartoon; 4 killed in Niger

Muslims protest weekly's prophet cartoon; 4 killed in Niger 
 

Supporters of a Pakistani religious party Jamaat-i-Islami rally to protest against caricatures published in French magazine Charlie Hebdo, in Peshawar, Pakistan, Friday, Jan. 16, 2015. Pakistani students are clashing with police during protests against the French satirical magazine that was attacked last week for publishing images of the Prophet Muhammad.

  

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) -- Muslim anger flared over a French satirical weekly's latest caricature of the Prophet Muhammad, with four people reported killed and dozens injured at a protest Friday in the West African country of Niger, and violent clashes between demonstrators and police in Pakistan, Jordan and Algeria.

Supporters say the cartoon on the cover of Charlie Hebdo is a defiant expression of free speech following a terrorist attack on the publication's Paris offices that killed 12 people on Jan. 7, but many Muslims viewed it as another attack on their religion.

The new issue has a drawing of Muhammad, with a tear rolling down his cheek and a placard that reads "Je Suis Charlie" - a saying that has swept France and the world since the killings. The depiction of the prophet is deemed insulting to many followers of Islam.

A French cultural center was set ablaze by protesters in the town of Zinder in southern Niger, and one security officer and three demonstrators were killed in the melee, said Interior Minister Hassoumi Massaoudou. Another 20 security officers and 23 civilians were injured, he said.

The government of Niger, a former French colony, has banned the sale of Charlie Hebdo.

Many of the protests across the Muslim world began after midday prayers Friday, Islam's holy day.

Demonstrations were held in the Pakistani cities of Karachi, Lahore and the capital of Islamabad.

Clashes erupted in Karachi when protesters started heading toward the French consulate, throwing stones at police, who pushed them back with water cannons and tear gas.

Agence France-Presse photographer Asif Hassan was shot and wounded, said AFP news director Michele Leridon, although "his life does not seem in danger." AFP said it was trying to find out whether Hassan was targeted or shot accidentally.

Three other people, including two journalists and one police officer, were treated for minor injuries and released from Jinnah Hospital, said Dr. Seemi Jamali.

Police officer Naseer Tanoly said some of the protesters were armed and opened fire on the police, who shot into the air to disperse the crowd. The protesters were mostly students affiliated with the Jamaat-e-Islami political party.

Umair Saeed, an official with the party's student wing in Karachi, denied the students had weapons and said the police had opened fire.

About 1,000 people gathered in Islamabad to condemn the French publication. The demonstrators carried signs that read "Shame on Charlie Hebdo," and "If you are Charlie, then I am Kouachi" - referring to the brothers Cherif and Said Kouachi, who were killed after carrying out the attack on the newspaper office. They had claimed to be sent by al-Qaida in Yemen.

A second day of protests in Lahore drew about 800 people.

On Thursday, Pakistani lawmakers passed a resolution against cartoons of the prophet and marched outside parliament to protest Charlie Hebdo's latest cover.

The demonstrations overshadowed smaller rallies in Islamabad and elsewhere to commemorate the Peshawar school attack one month ago by Taliban gunmen that killed 150 people, many of them children. Those attending the rallies urged the government to do more to curb support for militancy and extremism, which many say have flourished at mosques and religious schools.

In Washington Friday night, dozens of Muslims primarily from Pakistan rallied to show solidarity with those demonstrating in Pakistan against terrorism and commemorating the Peshawar school attack one month ago.

In a rare protest in the Algerian capital of Algiers, thousands of young men marched to protest the French satirical newspaper. The demonstrators threw bottles and rocks at security forces, who responded with tear gas.

Protesters carried banners saying, "I am not Charlie, I am Muhammad," and chanted slogans that date back to a banned Islamist party whose election victory in 1991 precipitated a civil war.

Some broke through police barriers and surged toward the parliament building, prompting volleys of tear gas by police and running street battles. The office of the state airline was torched.

Police eventually dispersed the demonstrators by using snow plows and tear gas, according to media reports. It was not clear how many were arrested or hurt in the unrest.

The demonstration, which had a degree of official backing when authorities called for imams to dedicate Friday prayers to the life of the prophet, was unusual for Algiers, where protests have been banned since 2001.

Clashes broke out in the Jordanian capital of Amman between security forces and about 2,000 protesters organized by the Muslim Brotherhood, the country's largest opposition group. Riot police used batons to disperse the people as they tried to march to the French Embassy.

The crowd chanted slogans against Charlie Hebdo and Jordanian officials for taking part in a unity march in Paris on Sunday. The Jordanian royal household denounced Charlie Hebdo's latest cover, saying publishing the cartoon was "irresponsible and far from the essence of freedom of expression." King Abdullah and Queen Rania, however, took part in the Paris march in solidarity with the victims of the terror attack.

Also Friday:

- About 160 men in Istanbul said funeral prayers to honor the Kouachi brothers.

- Several hundred worshippers marched briefly in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, demanding the expulsion of the French ambassador.

- Saudi Arabia's top council of senior clerics said Charlie Hebdo's latest depiction of the prophet served extremists looking to justify murder and terrorism.

- Qatar urged Western media "to respect others and their beliefs."

Immigrants can now get Mexican birth certificates in US

Immigrants can now get Mexican birth certificates in US 
 

FILE - Visitors walk from the Mexican Consulate in Little Rock, Ark., after the grand opening of the building in this Wednesday, April 25, 2007 file photot. The Mexican government on Thursday Jan. 15, 2015 will start issuing birth certificates to its citizens at consulates in the United States, seeking to make it easier for them to apply for U.S. work permits, driver's licenses and protection from deportation.

  

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) -- For Mexicans living in the U.S. illegally and hoping to stay in the country under President Barack Obama's new immigration policy, things just got one step simpler.

On Thursday, the Mexican government began issuing birth certificates to its citizens at its consulates in the United States.

That will make it a little easier for Mexicans hoping to obtain U.S. work permits, driver's licenses and protection from deportation.

Up until now, Mexico required its citizens to get birth certificates at government offices in Mexico. Many of those living in this country had to ask friends and relatives back home to retrieve the paperwork.

Pedro Zamora, a 52-year-old cook, took advantage of the new program to obtain his birth certificate at the Mexican consulate in Santa Ana, California. He plans to apply for a California driver's license this week.

Before the change took place, Zamora had to ask his sister-in-law to pick up his son's and daughter's birth certificates in Colima, Mexico, so they could apply for Obama's immigration program for those brought to the U.S. illegally as children. But Zamora said the paperwork got lost in the mail - twice.

"It would take seven or 15 days and there was a risk of losing it," Zamora said.

While Republicans in Congress are trying to undo Obama's plan to shield millions of immigrants living illegally in the U.S. from deportation, Mexico is trying to help them stay here and continue sending money back to relatives across the border.

About half of the 11 million immigrants living in the U.S. illegally are from Mexico, and immigration experts say roughly 3 million of them could be eligible under the administration's plan.

Immigrants will probably need to produce photo identification such as a passport to apply for the program. And to get a Mexican passport, they need a birth certificate.

That has proved to be a problem for many Mexican immigrants.

Those who cross the border illegally to reach the United States rarely carry documents with them on the treacherous journey, partly to avoid detection. And some Mexicans born in remote, rural communities do not make the necessary journey to the nearest government office to start the process of obtaining a birth certificate.

Mexico's 50 consulates in the U.S. can now access data in Mexico and print birth certificates here, said Arturo Sanchez, consul for press and commercial affairs in Santa Ana.

Consulates should be able to issue birth certificates for nearly all places in Mexico, though some villages where documents are not digitally recorded may not be covered, Sanchez said.

The new practice comes two weeks after California - home to more Mexicans than any other state - began issuing driver's licenses to immigrants who are in the country illegally.

After handing out birth certificates in Santa Ana, Jose Antonio Meade, Mexico's secretary of foreign affairs, said his government hopes Obama's program moves forward and that "the gap that today exists between the rights of citizens and the rights of immigrants every day will continue closing."

Rep. Duncan Hunter, who represents a San Diego-area congressional district, complained that U.S. and Mexican policies have combined to send more people across the border illegally.

"The administration's position and efforts seem to better align with Mexico's interests than they do with our own - and that's disappointing," he said.

Jessica Vaughan, director of policy studies at the Center for Immigration Studies, said she believes Mexico is trying to make it easier for its citizens to stay here because of the money they send back.

Mexican migrant workers living abroad sent home $21.6 billion to their families in 2013, according to the country's central bank.

Vaughan, whose organization wants tighter limits on immigration, said ensuring birth certificates are authentic is critical because they are used to obtain key identity documents such as passports.

"If we can trust the Mexican government to do its due diligence and establish a system with integrity, then this will work," she said. But she added: "That is a big if."

2 men reach top of Yosemite's El Capitan in historic climb

2 men reach top of Yosemite's El Capitan in historic climb 
 

Kevin Jorgeson, bottom left, raises his arms beside Tommy Caldwell after both reached the summit of El Capitan, Wednesday, Jan. 14, 2015, as seen from the valley floor in Yosemite National Park, Calif. Caldwell and Jorgeson became the first to free-climb the rock formation's Dawn Wall. They used ropes and safety harnesses to catch them in case of a fall, but relied entirely on their own strength and dexterity to ascend by grasping cracks as thin as razor blades and as small as dimes.

  

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif. (AP) -- A pair of Americans completed what had long been considered the world's most difficult rock climb Wednesday, using only their hands and feet to scale a 3,000-foot vertical wall on El Capitan, the forbidding granite pedestal in Yosemite National Park that has beckoned adventurers for more than half a century.

Tommy Caldwell and Kevin Jorgeson became the first to free-climb the rock formation's Dawn Wall, a feat that many had considered impossible. They used ropes and safety harnesses to catch themselves in case of a fall, but relied entirely on their own strength and dexterity to ascend by grasping cracks as thin as razor blades and as small as dimes.

The effort took 19 days as the two dealt with constant falls and injuries. But their success completes a yearslong dream that bordered on obsession for the men.

Caldwell was the first to finish Wednesday afternoon. He waited on a ledge for Jorgeson, who caught up minutes later. The two embraced before Jorgeson pumped his arms in the air and clapped his hands above his head. Then they sat down for a few moments, gathered their gear, changed clothes and hiked to the nearby summit.

About 200 people were waiting for them, including Caldwell's wife and Jorgeson's girlfriend, who welcomed them to the top with hugs and kisses. It will take the pair two to three hours to hike down the mountain.

In the meadow far below, another crowd broke into cheers. Relatives of the men watched on telescopic monitors.

Caldwell's mother, Terry, said her son could have reached the top several days ago, but he waited for his friend to make sure they got there together.

"That's a deep, abiding, lifelong friendship, built over suffering on the wall together over six years," she said.

President Barack Obama sent his congratulations from the White House Twitter account, saying the men "remind us that anything is possible."

The trek up the world's largest granite monolith began Dec. 27. Caldwell and Jorgeson lived on the wall itself, eating and sleeping in tents fastened to the rock thousands of feet above the ground and battling painful cuts to their fingertips much of the way.

Free-climbers do not pull themselves up with cables or use chisels to carve out handholds. Instead, they climb inch by inch, wedging their fingers and feet into tiny crevices or gripping sharp, thin projections of rock. 

In photographs, the two appeared at times like Spider-Man, with arms and legs splayed across the pale stone that has been described as smooth as a bedroom wall.

Both men needed to take rest days to heal. They used tape and even superglue to help protect their raw skin. At one point, Caldwell set an alarm to wake him every few hours to apply a special lotion to his throbbing hands.

They also endured physical punishment whenever their grip slipped, pitching them into long, swinging falls that left them bouncing off the rock face. The tumbles, which they called "taking a whipper," ended with startling jolts from their safety ropes.

Caldwell, 36, and Jorgeson, 30, had help from a team of supporters who brought food and supplies and shot video of the adventure.

The pair ate canned peaches and occasionally sipped whiskey. They watched their urine evaporate into the thin, dry air and handed toilet sacks, called "wag bags," to helpers who disposed of them.

There are about 100 routes up the rock known among climbers as "El Cap," and many have made it to the top, the first in 1958. Even the Dawn Wall had been scaled. Warren Harding and Dean Caldwell (no relation to Tommy) made it up in 1970, using climbing ropes and countless rivets over 27 days.

No one, however, had ever made it to the summit in one continuous free-climb - until now.

"He doesn't understand the magnitude of the accomplishment and the excitement generated," said Caldwell's father, Mike Caldwell.

The pioneering ascent comes after five years of training and failed attempts for both men. They only got about a third of the way up in 2010 when they were turned back by storms. A year later, Jorgeson fell and broke an ankle in another attempt. Since then, each has spent time on the rock practicing and mapping out strategy.

On this try, as the world watched and followed on Facebook and Twitter, Jorgeson was stalled in a lower section that took 11 attempts over seven days.

"As disappointing as this is, I'm learning new levels of patience, perseverance and desire," Jorgeson posted online. "I'm not giving up. I will rest. I will try again. I will succeed."

Caldwell, of Estes Park, Colorado, is no stranger to El Cap. He has free-climbed 11 different routes and was the first to make such ascents of the Dihedral Wall and West Buttress. He was the third to free-climb the Nose on El Cap. He also made his way up a challenging El Capitan route in fewer than 24 hours - becoming only the second person to do so - only months after accidentally severing his left index finger with a table saw in 2001.

Jorgeson, of Santa Rosa, California, has an impressive list of climbs in the U.S., Europe and South Africa. He works as a climbing instructor and co-founded an advocacy group for climbers.

John Long, the first person to climb up El Capitan in one day in 1975, said it was almost inconceivable that anyone could do something as "continuously difficult" as Caldwell and Jorgeson's free-climb.

Defiant Charlie Hebdo fronts Muhammad, drawing more threats

Defiant Charlie Hebdo fronts Muhammad, drawing more threats 
 

The new chief editor of French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, Gerard Biard, left, and columnist Patrick Pelloux, right, comfort cartoonist Luz during a press conference in Paris, France, Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015. Twelve people died when two masked gunmen assaulted the newspaper’s offices on Jan. 7, including much of the editorial staff and two police. It was the beginning of three days of terror around Paris that saw 17 people killed before the three Islamic extremist attackers were gunned down by security forces. Charlie Hebdo had faced repeated threats for depictions of the prophet, and its editor and his police bodyguard were the first to die.

  

PARIS (AP) -- Charlie Hebdo released a new version of its irreverent and often offensive newspaper Tuesday, defiantly putting a caricature of the Prophet Muhammad on the cover that drew immediate criticism and threats of more violence.

The newspaper also skewered other religions, and ran a double-page spread illustrating Sunday's march in Paris that drew more than a million people to condemn terrorism, claiming that the turnout was larger "than for Mass."

"For the past week, Charlie, an atheist newspaper, has achieved more miracles than all the saints and prophets combined," it said in the lead editorial. "The one we are most proud of is that you have in your hands the newspaper that we always made."

Charlie Hebdo planned an unprecedented print run of 3 million copies Wednesday - one week to the day after the assault by two masked gunmen that killed 12 people, including much of its editorial staff and two police officers. It was the beginning of three days of terror that saw 17 people killed before the three Islamic extremist attackers were gunned down by security forces.

Surviving staff members are now using the offices of the Liberation newspaper, which has loaned out space.

The latest cover shows a weeping Muhammad, holding a sign reading "I am Charlie" with the words "All is forgiven" above him.

Zineb El Rhazoui, a journalist with the weekly, said the cover meant the journalists are forgiving the extremists for the attack.

Renald Luzier, the cartoonist who drew the cover image under the pen name "Luz" said it represents "just a little guy who's crying."

Then he added, unapologetically: "Yes, it is Muhammad."

Speaking at a news conference in Paris on Tuesday at which he repeatedly broke down crying, Luzier described weeping after he drew the picture.

Charlie Hebdo had faced repeated threats and a firebombing for depictions of the prophet, and its editor and his police bodyguard were the first to die. Many Muslims believe all images of the prophet are blasphemous.

Before the new edition was even released, one of Egypt's top Islamic authorities had warned Charlie Hebdo against publishing more cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad. Dar al-Ifta, which is in charge of issuing religious edicts, called the planned cover an "unjustified provocation" for millions of Muslims who respect and love their prophet and warned the cartoon would likely spark a new wave of hatred.

Indeed, criticism and threats immediately appeared on militant websites, with calls for more strikes against the newspaper and anonymous threats from radicals, according to the SITE Intelligence Group, a U.S.-based terrorism monitor.

The latest issue of Charlie Hebdo maintained the intentionally offensive tone that made the newspaper famous in France. The first two pages included drawings by the slain cartoonists: One showed a much-loved late French nun talking about oral sex; another showed Muslim, Christian and Jewish leaders dividing up the world.

The lead editorial laid out a vigorous defense of secularism, and of the newspaper's right to lampoon religions and hold their leaders accountable - and ended with a critique of the pope.

But most of the controversy centered on the cover and its depiction of the Prophet Muhammad.

Around the world, news organizations took different approaches to illustrating stories about the Charlie Hebdo cover. In the United States, CBS programs and The New York Post ran images of the cover, while the ABC network didn't. The New York Times also didn't publish it, but included a link to it. CNN didn't show the cover online or on the air. 

The Associated Press had not run previous Charlie Hebdo cartoons showing Muhammad, and declined to run the latest one as well, based on its policy to avoid images designed to provoke on the basis of religion.

In Europe, Spain's leading daily newspapers published the image online and the state broadcaster showed it on news bulletins. In Britain, The Times of London, the Guardian and the Independent went with the image, while The Daily Telegraph didn't. The BBC showed the new cover on news programs. Germany's Sueddeutsche Zeitung, Der Spiegel and Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung all used it on their websites.

Divers retrieve 2nd black box from AirAsia crash

Divers retrieve 2nd black box from AirAsia crash

Indonesian divers hold FDR (Flight Data Recorder) of the AirAsia flight QZ8501 onboard the navy vessel KRI Banda Aceh, Monday, Jan. 12, 2015. Divers retrieved one black box Monday and located the other from the AirAsia plane that crashed more than two weeks ago, a key development that should help investigators unravel what caused the aircraft to plummet into the Java Sea.

 

PANGKALAN BUN, Indonesia (AP) -- Divers retrieved the crashed AirAsia plane's second black box from the bottom of the Java Sea on Tuesday, giving investigators essential tools to piece together what brought Flight 8501 down.

The cockpit voice recorder was freed from beneath the heavy ruins of a wing early in the morning from a depth of about 30 meters (98 feet), a day after the aircraft's flight data recorder was recovered, said Tonny Budiono, sea navigation director at the Transportation Ministry.

"Thank God," he said. "This is good news for investigators to reveal the cause of the plane crash."

The device will be flown to the capital, Jakarta, to be downloaded and analyzed with the other box. Since it records in a two-hour loop, all discussions between the captain and co-pilot should be available.

The plane crashed 42 minutes into a flight from Surabaya, Indonesia, to Singapore on Dec. 28. All 162 people on board were killed, but only 48 bodies have been recovered so far.

The find is the latest boost in the slow-moving hunt to scour the shallow, murky stretch of ocean.

Over the weekend, the tail of the Airbus A320 was recovered, emblazoned with the carrier's red-and-white cursive logo. The black boxes are housed inside the tail, but were missing when the wreckage was pulled to the surface.

The devices were soon located after three Indonesian ships detected two strong pings being emitted from their beacons, about 20 meters (22 yards) apart. Strong currents, large waves and blinding silt have hindered divers' efforts throughout the 17-day search, but they took advantage of calmer early morning conditions on both days to extract the instruments.

The information pulled from the black boxes - which are actually orange - will likely be vital. Designed to survive extreme heat and pressure, they should provide investigators with a second-by-second timeline of the flight.

The voice recorder captures all conversations between the pilots and with air traffic controllers, as well as any noises heard in the cockpit, including possible alarms or explosions. The flight data recorder saves information on the position and condition of almost every major part in the plane, including altitude, airspeed, direction, engine thrust, the rate of ascent or descent and what up-or-down angle the plane was pointed.

"There's like 200-plus parameters they record," said aviation expert John Goglia, a former U.S. National Transportation Safety Board member. "It's going to provide us an ocean of material."

In their last contact with air-traffic controllers, the pilots of the AirAsia jet asked to climb from 32,000 feet (9,750 meters) to 38,000 feet (11,580 meters) to avoid threatening clouds, but were denied permission because of heavy air traffic. Four minutes later, the plane dropped off the radar. No distress signal was received.

Searchers also have been trying to locate the main section of the plane's cabin, where many of the victims' corpses are believed to be entombed.

Decomposition is making identification more difficult for desperate families waiting to bury their loved ones. Nearly all passengers and crew were Indonesian.

"I still believe many victims remain trapped there, and we must find them," said Gen. Moeldoko, Indonesia's military chief, who uses one name.

 

Violence fuels debate among Muslims over interpreting faith

Violence fuels debate among Muslims over interpreting faith
 

In this Friday, Jan. 9, 2015 photo, an Egyptian Muslim pauses inside Ibn-Tulun Mosque, one of the oldest mosques in Cairo, Egypt. Amid violence like the attack in Paris on a satirical newspaper over its depictions of the Prophet Muhammad, there’s been increasing discussions among Muslims who say their community must re-examine their faith to modernize its interpretations and sideline extremists. There is a growing debate within Islam about whether and how to reject a radical minority that some fear is dragging them into conflict and wrecking the faith.

CAIRO (AP) -- After gunmen in Paris killed 12 people, Saudi Arabia's top body of Muslim clerics quickly condemned the attack and said it could have no acceptable justification. It was a signal from some of the Islamic world's strictest voices that cartoons lampooning the Prophet Muhammad in the French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo were not a reason to kill the artists.

Only days later, Saudi Arabia sent an opposing message: On Friday, a young Saudi was whipped 50 times in a public square in the city of Jiddah, the first of what will be 20 such weekly rounds of lashes. That, along with 10 years in prison, is his sentence from the kingdom's religious-based courts for insulting Islam, based on posts on his blog criticizing prominent clerics close to the monarchy.

The contradiction points to the difficulties at a time of a growing debate within Islam about whether and how to reject a radical minority that some fear is dragging them into conflict and wrecking the faith.

Western critics are increasingly brazen about suggesting there is something inherent in Islam that is sparking violence by some of its adherents. Most Muslims reject this, arguing that the tumult of the post-colonial Middle East has created fertile ground for radicalism among people whose faith is fundamentally one of peace.

Nonetheless, the past year has seen increasing voices among Muslims saying their community must re-examine their faith to modernize its interpretations and sideline extremists. As much as recent attacks in the West, the rise of startlingly vicious violence by Sunni Muslim militants in the name of Islam against fellow Muslims, including Sunnis, brought it home for many Muslims that something must change in religious discourse.

In Syria and Iraq, the Islamic State group has butchered entire families of Sunnis and beheaded Sunni soldiers, as well as Western hostages. In Pakistan, a Dec. 16 militant attack on a school that killed 150 people, mostly children, stunned the country. It made many Pakistanis question any empathy they felt in the past toward militant groups - the attitude of "even if they're wrong, they're still fellow Muslims."

"Now I hear more people talking openly against extremism and militancy," said Hasan-Askari Rizvi, an independent political analyst in Pakistan.

When people ask "why Islam?", much of the answer has little to do with the religion itself. The Arab world has seen decades of bloodshed and foreign intervention unlike any in any other region - long entrenched dictatorships, regime suppression, two Iraq wars, the Syrian civil war and Libya's turmoil.

Those conflicts have stirred up hatreds - against the U.S., against the West, against Shiites and other communities - that rebound back into religion. Some youth angered by the conflicts find the answers in the version of "true Islam" touted by extremists like al-Qaida and the Islamic State group and promoted on the Internet. Those groups tell them Islam requires them to use violence to defend the faith, then provide whole networks to make it easy for them to do so.

Notably, Cherif Kouachi, one of the French brothers behind the Charlie Hebdo killings, appears to have been first radicalized by hearing of abuses of Iraqi inmates by American guards at Abu Ghraib prison.

The attack on Charlie Hebdo prompted condemnations from across the Muslim world -and fueled voices in the West contending that Islam fuels violence. Social media feeds bristled that insults to other religions do not tend to spark murders.

That frustrates many Muslims who tire of apologizing for an extremist fringe they view as distorting their religion. Still, Muslims are also turning inward for change in the community.

The most prominent call came days before the attack, when Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi gave a speech to Muslim clerics saying interpretations developed over centuries have made the Muslim world a "source of worry, danger, killing and destruction in the whole world." He called for a "religious revolution" to modernize the faith.

The Paris attack added a complication to the debate, because of the magazine's extremely broad lampooning of Islam's Prophet Muhammad. Muslims who denounced the killings were often clearly discomfited by the content and defended their right to be upset over cartoons even some Western critics said crossed into racism.

In Egypt and Lebanon, political cartoonists published cartoons expressing solidarity with Charlie Hebdo, with images of pens standing up to gunmen. On Twitter, some pointed to Ahmed Merabet, a Muslim policeman of Algerian heritage killed by the attackers. "I am Ahmed the dead cop. Charlie ridiculed my faith and culture and I died defending his right to do so," was a tweet of solidarity circulating among Muslims.

"Obviously the act of terrorism is a far greater evil that the question of satirical comments," Khalid Samad, a lawmaker from an Islamist political party in mostly Muslim Malaysia, said.

But some in the religious establishment struggled with the issue.

On pan-Arab satellite channel al-Arabiya Thursday night, an official from al-Azhar, the state-run Egyptian institution that is one of the most prestigious centers of Sunni Islam, said al-Azhar is working to modernize religious discourse, in part by interpreting texts in light of the context in place and time as opposed to literally.

"But we can't exonerate the West for its insulting of the prophet. I'm not justifying what happened, but these are causes," Sheikh Ashraf Saad said. "Just as we condemn extremists, we must also condemn these freedoms that have reached the point of insulting the prophet."

He was countered by a Saudi journalist on the panel, Mshari al-Thaydi. "But the question is, why is it Muslims who get so angry and kill and blow things up? The French magazine insulted the pope, the Dalai Lama. ... Why do we express our anger in this way?

"We have 1,436 years in the history of Islam," he said. "Why do we hand ourselves over to a particular person who picks what he wants from that heritage and says that's Islam and accept it or you've left the faith?"

That hits to the issue of who speaks for Islam, where in the Sunni branch in particular, individual clerics build on centuries of scholarship to argue what the faith requires.

Al-Qaida and the Islamic State group roughly take elements from two relatively modern strands. One is the writing of Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood thinker Sayed Qutb, with its tenets that Muslim society has fallen from faith and violent jihad must be waged to bring "God's rule." The other is Wahhabism, a reform movement with a strict, literal and uncompromising interpretation of texts aimed at purging Islam of innovations. Wahhabism became the official doctrine of Saudi Arabia, which has promoted it around the Muslim world.

State religious institutions across the region, meanwhile, are widely criticized as stagnant. Government control has undermined their credibility among both liberal Muslims and militants. That was clear when Saudi Arabia's top religious body, the Council of Senior Scholars, condemned the Paris attack and called it "unacceptable under any justification."

That prompted a torrent of derision on Twitter from militant sympathizers who accused the clerics of doing the bidding of the U.S.-allied Saudi monarchy and protecting those who insult Muhammad. "The masks fall and reveal those who lick the boots of dictators," one proclaimed.

 

Obama proposes publicly funded community colleges for all

Obama proposes publicly funded community colleges for all 

President Barack Obama speaks at Pellissippi State Community College, Friday, Jan. 9, 2015, in Knoxville, Tenn., about new initiatives to help more Americans go to college and get the skills they need to succeed.

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- President Barack Obama on Friday proposed to bring the cost of two years of community college "down to zero" for all Americans, an ambitious nationwide plan based on a popular Tennessee program signed into law by that state's Republican governor.

However, the idea and its $60 billion federal price tag over 10 years would have to make the grade with a Republican Congress that is showing little appetite for big new spending programs. Obama, who plans to push the issue in his Jan. 20 State of the Union address, argued that providing educational opportunity and creating a more skilled U.S. workforce shouldn't be a partisan issue.

"Community college should be free for those willing to work for it because, in America, a quality education should not be a privilege that is reserved for a few," he said in a speech at Pellissippi State Community College. He said a high school diploma is no longer enough for American workers to compete in the global economy and that a college degree is "the surest ticket to the middle class."

The White House estimated that 9 million students could eventually participate and save an average of $3,800 in tuition per year if they attend fulltime. Students would qualify if they attend at least halftime, maintain a 2.5 grade point average and make progress toward completing a degree or certificate program. 

Participating schools would have to meet certain academic requirements.

At North Lake College, part of the Dallas County Community College system, student Courtney Banks said such a program would help her and also allow others to enroll in classes.

"Other people, other young adults would be willing to get into school because it wouldn't be so far out of reach," she said. She added she's still trying to pay back loans from a previous school. "It costs a lot of money," she said.

The White House said the federal government would pick up 75 percent of the cost and the final quarter would come from states that opt into the program - a cost of $20 billion over 10 years. Spokesman Eric Schultz said Obama will propose new programs to pay for the federal portion in his budget next month.

Obama is calling the idea America's College Promise, modeled after Tennessee Promise, which Republican Gov. Bill Haslam signed into law last year to provide free community and technical college tuition for two years. It has drawn 58,000 applicants, almost 90 percent of the state's high school seniors. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Obama's former White House chief of staff, has a similar program for students in his city.

"If a state with Republican leadership is doing this and a city with Democratic leadership is doing this, how about we all do it," Obama said.

Obama brought Tennessee's two Republican senators, Bob Corker and Lamar Alexander, with him on Air Force One for the event. But both said they thought states, not the federal government, should follow Tennessee's lead.

"Creating a federal program to me is not the way to get good things to happen in education," Corker told reporters from his seat in the third row of the speech. "You're always better off letting states mimic each other."

Alexander, a former education secretary who is set to take over the Senate committee that oversees education, said Washington's role should be to reduce paperwork for student aid applications. Obama said he agrees and wants to see that happen this year.

Obama also was joined on the trip by Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, who drew applause when she told the audience she's been teaching English at community college for 20 years and still does as second lady. "This is the moment for community colleges to shine," she said.

The president and vice president also visited a manufacturing facility, Techmer PM in nearby Clinton, Tennessee, to promote a second proposal to create a fund to help low-wage workers with high potential get training in growing fields such as energy, information technology and advanced manufacturing.

"If the last decade was characterized by outsourcing, I wanted to define this decade for insourcing," Obama said.

He also named the Institute at Knoxville his fifth manufacturing hub, along with Youngstown, Ohio; Raleigh, North Carolina; Detroit and Chicago. Tennessee's hub will include 122 public and private partners teaming to make lighter and stronger manufacturing materials for things like fuel-efficient cars or wind turbine blades.

Obama and Biden checked out a 3D printed carbon fiber replica of a Shelby Cobra, which weighs half as much as the 1960s original but is just as strong. The seats were blocked off so they couldn't climb in.

"Biden wants to put on his aviator glasses," Obama joked, in reference to a spoof video the vice president once did giving "Veep" actress Julia Louis-Dreyfus a ride in a Corvette.

"It ain't my Corvette, but it's OK," Biden responded.

Attorney seeks to use Boy Scout files in sex abuse trial

Attorney seeks to use Boy Scout files in sex abuse trial
 

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- A lawsuit brought by a 20-year-old man who was molested by a Boy Scout leader in 2007 could force the organization to reveal 16 years' worth of "perversion" files documenting sex abuse allegations.

Files that were kept by the Boy Scouts of America between 1960 and 1991 already have been made public through other civil cases.

The release of the more recent files - from 1991 to 2007 - could reveal how much the Boy Scouts have improved their efforts to protect children and report abuse after several high-profile cases.

In 2012 the Oregon Supreme Court ordered the Scouts to make public a trove of files from 1965 to 1985. The records showed that more than a third of abuse allegations never were reported to police and that even when authorities were told, little was done most of the time.

Those documents came to light after a jury in 2010 imposed a nearly $20 million penalty against the Scouts in a molestation case in Portland, Oregon.

Since then, plaintiff attorneys in several states, including Texas and Minnesota, have sought to publicize the more recent records through similar lawsuits. Those cases have settled before trial, leaving the records sealed.

Now the issue moves to Santa Barbara County, where a judge will hear arguments Friday on whether to admit the documents as evidence. Jury selection is set to begin next week.

The issues at play with the Scouts are similar to legal battles over the release of confidential Roman Catholic clergy abuse files, said Jody Armour, a law professor at the University of Southern California.

The judge in the Boy Scouts case faces a balancing act between the privacy rights of the Scout leaders in the files and the duty to protect children.

However, "the Boy Scouts just aren't in a very sympathetic position," Armour said. "They seem to be trying to shield themselves from liability behind confidentiality and privacy."

In the Santa Barbara case, the lawsuit states, a 29-year-old Scout volunteer, Al Stein, pulled down the pants of a 13-year-old boy and fondled him while the child was working at a Christmas tree lot fundraiser. 

According to the civil complaint, the boy had bruising and lacerations at his beltline.

Stein had done something similar to a boy six months before, but the incident never was reported to the Boy 

Scout leadership even though another Scout volunteer knew of it, said Tim Hale, the plaintiff's attorney.

In the Oregon case, plaintiff's attorneys argued that Scout leaders knew about the background of the perpetrator. Those lawyers said the Boy Scouts referred to a subset of personnel documents that detail to sex abuse as "perversion" files.

The jury found the organization negligent for allowing former assistant scoutmaster Timur Dykes to associate with children after he acknowledged to a Boy Scout official in 1983 that he had molested 17 boys.

Stein, now 36, pleaded no contest to felony child endangerment in 2009 and was sentenced to two years in prison and paroled early. He was most recently living in Salinas, California, as a registered sex offender. He was banned from the Boy Scouts in 2007.

The Associated Press does not identify sex abuse victims unless they request it.

Hale called the files "by far the biggest evidence of this policy of secrecy and the shortcomings of the education provided" on sexual abuse.

"They had this wealth of information in the files that they could have used. Instead, they just sat on it," he said.

Paul Ryan Ortuno and Sheyanne Bane, attorneys for the Boy Scouts, did not return calls or emails seeking comment.

The Boy Scouts of America said in an emailed statement that Stein's behavior was "absolutely unacceptable" but did not address the larger issue of why the perversion files should remain private.

In court papers, the organization has argued that the files were used to keep track of unacceptable volunteers and keep them out of scouting and that releasing them is a violation of privacy.

The Scouts instituted mandatory reporting for suspected child abuse in 2010 and now has a requirement that children be accompanied by at least two adults at all times.

In 2012, Santa Barbara County Judge Donna Geck ordered the Scouts to turn over all files from 1991 to the present to Hale but ordered them kept under seal.

Last year, she narrowed the scope of the trial to exclude negligence in hiring and supervision, among other things, but ruled that the plaintiff could pursue punitive damages for negligent failure to educate and warn parents and volunteers about childhood sexual abuse.

If Hale prevails on Friday, he will be allowed to try to introduce certain documents from the files as evidence during trial. Documents that are not part of the trial will remain sealed, but the media and other interested parties could petition the judge to make them public.

That's what happened in Oregon. After the 2010 verdict, the Oregon Supreme Court ordered the Scouts to release the files with the victims' names redacted after The Associated Press and other media outlets sought their release.

 

Roger Robbie, the Hip Hop Raccoon

Obama calls French shooting 'cowardly evil attacks'

Obama calls French shooting 'cowardly evil attacks' 

President Barack Obama pauses while speaking to members of the media prior to his meeting with Secretaryof State John Kerry and Vice President Joe Biden, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2015, in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington. Obama called the shootings at French newspaper a 'cowardly evil attack' on journalists and a free press.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama called Wednesday's deadly shooting at a satirical newspaper in Paris "cowardly evil attacks" on journalists and a free press and vowed to help France pursue the terrorists who went on the run.

Obama said the attack that left 12 dead in France's deadliest terror attack in at least two decades is a reminder that such tragedies can occur anywhere in the world. He promised to stay vigilant and "hunt down and bring the perpetrators of this specific act to justice, and to roll up the networks that help to advance these kinds of plots."

"The fact that this was an attack on journalists, attack on our free press, also underscores the degree to which these terrorists fear freedom of speech and freedom of the press," Obama said from the Oval Office during a meeting with Secretary of State John Kerry and Vice President Joe Biden.

"But the one thing that I'm very confident about is that the values that we share with the French people, a belief - a universal belief in the freedom of expression, is something that can't be silenced because of the senseless violence of the few," he added.

Obama later telephoned French President Francois Hollande from Air Force One en route to Detroit for a speech. Obama offered his condolences and expressed solidarity with Hollande and the people of France, the White House said in a statement. Obama also offered help from the United States as France tries to bring the perpetrators of the attack, and any possible accomplices, to justice.

Hollande thanked Obama for his support and updated the president on steps to care for victims and arrest those responsible, the White House said.

Three masked gunmen stormed the office of the satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo at noon-time on Wednesday and then escaped in a car. Charlie Hebdo has been repeatedly threatened for its caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad and other controversial sketches.

Witnesses said the shooters shouted "Allahu akbar!" France raised its security alert to the highest level, as thousands honored the victims from Republique Square in Paris.

"What that beautiful city represents - the culture and the civilization that is so central to our imaginations - that's going to endure," Obama said. "And those who carry out senseless attacks against innocent civilians, ultimately they'll be forgotten."

Earnest said U.S. officials have been in touch with French counterparts but it's "still in the early stages" of figuring out who was responsible for the attack and he couldn't say whether the gunmen were tied to a specific terror group.

"We're still trying to figure out who is responsible for this attack and what their motivations are but as a general matter, we're very mindful of the threat from foreign fighters and the need to try to counter some of the extremist ideology that ISIL is propagating," Earnest said, using an acronym for Islamic State militants.

Asked about what responsibility news organizations had when it comes to publishing provocative material, Earnest said, "There is no legitimate act of journalism - however offensive some people might find it - that justifies an act of violence, particularly an act of violence on the scale we saw today. That said, it is up to media organizations to make their own decisions about what they choose to publish, what stories they choose to pursue and what sort of commentary they want to broadcast about the world."

Obama called France one of America's strongest allies in dealing with terrorists and said they had been with the U.S. "every moment" since the Sept. 11 attacks.

"For us to see the kind of cowardly evil attacks that took place today I think reinforces once again why it's so important for us to stand in solidarity with them, just as they stand in solidarity with us," Obama said.

Obama said he would be talking with Kerry about protecting Americans living across the globe. Later, Obama counterterrorism adviser Lisa Monaco told MSNBC that there's no evidence of any threat to U.S. personnel in Paris.

Kerry, who has visited Paris more than any other foreign city as America's top diplomat, spoke earlier from the State Department in both English and French to offer America's support.

"I would like to say directly to the people of Paris and of all of France that each and every American stands with you today - not just in horror or in anger or in outrage at this vicious act of violence - but we stand with you in solidarity and in commitment both to the cause of confronting extremism and in the cause which the extremists fear so much," Kerry said.

French police hunt gunmen who killed 12 at weekly newspaper

French police hunt gunmen who killed 12 at weekly newspaper 

French President Francois Hollande, center, flanked with security forces arrives outside the French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo's office, in Paris, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2015. Masked gunmen stormed the offices of a French satirical newspaper Wednesday, killing at least 11 people before escaping, police and a witness said. The weekly has previously drawn condemnation from Muslims.

  

PARIS (AP) -- Police hunted for three heavily armed men with possible links to al-Qaida in the military-style, methodical killing of 12 people Wednesday at the office of a satirical newspaper that caricatured the Prophet Muhammad.

President Francois Hollande, visiting the scene of France's deadliest such attack in more than half a century, called the assault on the weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo "an act of exceptional barbarism."

France raised its terror alert system to the maximum - Attack Alert - and bolstered security with more than 800 extra soldiers to guard media offices, places of worship, transport and other sensitive areas. Fears had been running high in France and elsewhere in Europe that jihadis returning from conflicts in Syria and Iraq would stage attacks at home.

Two officials identified the suspects as French brothers Said and Cherif Kouachi, in their early 30s, and 18-year-old Hamyd Mourad, whose nationality wasn't immediately clear.

Heavily armed police moved into the city of Reims, in France's Champagne country east of Paris, apparently searching for the suspects. Video from BFM-TV showed police dressed in white apparently taking samples inside an apartment. It was not immediately clear who lived there.

One of the police officials said they were linked to a Yemeni terrorist network, and Cedric Le Bechec, a witness who encountered the escaping gunmen, quoted the attackers as saying: "You can tell the media that it's al-Qaida in Yemen."

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the sensitive and ongoing investigation.

Cherif Kouachi was sentenced to 18 months in prison after being convicted of terrorism charges in 2008 for helping funnel fighters to Iraq's insurgency. He said he was outraged at the torture of Iraqi inmates at the U.S. prison at Abu Ghraib near Baghdad.

The masked, black-clad men with assault rifles stormed the offices near Paris' Bastille monument in the Wednesday noontime attack on the publication, which had long drawn condemnation and threats - it was firebombed in 2011 - for its depictions of Islam, although it also satirized other religions and political figures.

Shouting "Allahu akbar!" as they fired, the men used fluent, unaccented French as they called out the names of specific employees.

Artist Corinne Rey told the French newspaper L'Humanite that she punched in the security code to the Charlie Hebdo offices after she and her young daughter were "brutally threatened" by the gunmen.

Eight journalists, two police officers, a maintenance worker and a visitor were killed, said prosecutor Francois Molins. He said 11 people were wounded - four of them seriously.

After fleeing, the attackers collided with another vehicle, then carjacked another car before disappearing in broad daylight, Molins said.

Among the dead: the paper's editor, Stephane Charbonnier.

The staff was in an editorial meeting and the gunmen headed straight for Charbonnier - widely known by his pen name Charb - killing him and his police bodyguard first, said Christophe Crepin, a police union spokesman.

Rey said the assault "lasted five minutes. I hid under a desk."

Two gunmen strolled out to a black car waiting below, one of them calmly shooting a wounded police officer in the head as he writhed on the ground, according to video and a man who watched in fear from his home across the street.

The witness, who refused to allow his name to be used because he feared for his safety, said the attackers were so methodical he first thought they were members of France's elite anti-terrorism forces. Then they fired on the officer.

"They knew exactly what they had to do and exactly where to shoot. While one kept watch and checked that the traffic was good for them, the other one delivered the final coup de grace," he said.

"Hey! We avenged the Prophet Muhammad! We killed Charlie Hebdo," one of the men shouted in French, according to video shot from a nearby building.

The other dead were identified as cartoonists Georges Wolinski and Berbard Verlhac, better known as Tignous, and Jean Cabut, known as "Cabu." Also killed was Bernard Maris, an economist who was a contributor to the newspaper and was heard regularly on French radio.

Le Bechec, the witness who encountered the gunmen in another part of Paris, described on his Facebook page seeing two men "get out of a bullet-ridden car with a rocket-launcher in hand, eject an old guy from his car and calmly say hi to the public, saying `you can tell the media that it's al-Qaida in Yemen.'"

Charlie Hebdo has been repeatedly threatened for its caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad and other sketches. One cartoon, released in this week's issue and titled "Still No Attacks in France," had a caricature of a jihadi fighter saying "Just wait - we have until the end of January to present our New Year's wishes." Charb was the artist.

In a somber address to the nation Wednesday night, Hollande pledged to hunt down the killers, and pleaded with his compatriots to come together in a time of insecurity and suspicion.

"Let us unite, and we will win," he said. "Vive la France!"

France raised its security alert to the highest level and reinforced protective measures at houses of worship, stores, media offices and transportation. Schools closed across Paris, although thousands of people later jammed Republique Square near the site of the shooting to honor the victims, waving pens and papers reading "Je suis Charlie" - "I am Charlie." Similar rallies were held in London's Trafalgar Square as well as Madrid, Barcelona, Berlin and Brussels.

"This is the darkest day of the history of the French press," said Christophe DeLoire of Reporters Without Borders.

Both al-Qaida and the Islamic State group have repeatedly threatened to attack France, which is conducting airstrikes against extremists in Iraq and fighting Islamic militants in Africa.

During Cherif Kouachi's 2008 trial, he told the court, "I really believed in the idea" of fighting the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq.

In the winter 2014 edition of the al-Qaida magazine Inspire, a so-called chief describing where to use a new bomb said: "Of course the first priority and the main focus should be on America, then the United Kingdom, then France and so on."

In 2013, the magazine specifically threatened Charb and included an article titled "France the Imbecile Invader."

The attack was condemned by world leaders.

President Barack Obama offered U.S. help in pursuing the gunmen, saying they had attacked freedom of expression. He offered prayers and support for France, which he called "America's oldest ally."

British Prime Minister David Cameron said his country stood united with France,

"We stand squarely for free speech and democracy. These people will never be able to take us off those values," Cameron said in the House of Commons.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also condemned the attack as a "cynical crime," and pledged cooperation in fighting terrorism.

"I think all of Europe is crying today," said Italian Premier Matteo Renzi. "All the free world is crying. All men and women who believe in freedom and reason are crying."

Salman Rushdie, who spent years in hiding after his novel, "The Satanic Verses," drew a death edict from Iran's religious authorities, said all must stand with Charlie Hebdo "to defend the art of satire, which has always been a force for liberty and against tyranny, dishonesty and stupidity."

Mohammed Moussaoui, president of the Union of French mosques, condemned the "hateful act," and urged Muslims and Christians "to intensify their actions to give more strength to this dialogue, to make a united front against extremism."

The Organization of Islamic Cooperation based in Jiddah, Saudi Arabia, which represents 57 Muslim-majority nations, added its condemnation, saying that violence and radicalism were the biggest enemies of Islam and went against all its fundamental principles and values.

A tweet from an al-Qaida representative who communicated Wednesday with The Associated Press said the group was not claiming responsibility for the attack, but called it "inspiring."

Supporters of militant Islamic groups praised it. One self-described Tunisian loyalist of al-Qaida and the Islamic State group tweeted that the attack was well-deserved revenge against France.

The hashtag (hash)JeSuisCharlie was trending as people expressed support for the weekly and for journalistic freedom. The weekly's website collapsed earlier Wednesday but was later restored.

It was the deadliest attack on journalists since 2009, when 32 journalists were killed in an ambush on a political convoy in the southern Philippines.

Philippe Val, one-time Charlie Hebdo chief, raised the possibility of publishing a special edition of the newspaper, saying "a way of speaking has been exterminated."

"We must respond, because we must testify for them," he told RTL radio.

No motive for attack that wounded 3 and left baby dead

No motive for attack that wounded 3 and left baby dead 

RETRANSMISSION TO UPDATE THAT THE MISSING BABY WAS FOUND DECEASED - Missing baby Eliza Delacruz is seen in an undated photo provided by the Long Beach Police Department. The 3-week-old baby who was abducted after her parents and another adult were wounded in a shooting at a Long Beach residence has been found dead and authorities are searching for a suspect. The child had been declared missing when police went to the home in the evening of Jan. 3, 2015, after receiving a call about the shooting and found two brothers and the baby's mother with gunshot wounds. One of the brothers is the father of the child.

LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) -- Police are pleading for the public's help finding a gunman who wounded three members of a California family and stole a 3-week-old baby girl who was later found dead in a trash bin near the Mexican border.

Investigators have no leads and no motive for the weekend attack, which took place in a densely populated neighborhood, Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna said at a Monday afternoon news conference.

"Somebody somewhere saw what happened, and we need you to come forward," Luna said.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors planned to offer a $10,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction, he said.

The baby, a 10-pound girl named Eliza Delacruz, was found dead Sunday in a trash bin behind a strip mall in Imperial Beach, about 120 miles south of the Long Beach neighborhood where her father, mother and uncle were shot a day earlier.

The mother and uncle remained hospitalized in critical condition.

A homeless man discovered the infant's body in the city near Mexico, raising the possibility that the assailant crossed or hoped to cross the border. Mourners erected a makeshift memorial of candles and flowers outside a pizza shop at the mall.

"To take a precious child from home, throw her in a dumpster like a piece of trash, is something only a very heartless person would do," Luna said.

Long Beach detectives believe the family was targeted for some reason but do not yet know the motive, police spokeswoman Marlene Arrona said earlier. They would say only that they are looking for a man who is either black or Hispanic.

The family's Long Beach residence showed no sign of forced entry, and nothing was taken, homicide Lt. Lloyd Cox told the Long Beach Press-Telegram on Sunday.

"We believe that this is not a random act," Cox said. "We are going through the backgrounds of all the individuals who live here, but it appears to be very personal."

The San Diego County medical examiner's office said it was unknown where or when the infant died before her body was found. An autopsy had not yet been performed, and no cause of death was released.

Aaron Cruz lives next door to the victims' two-story stucco house in a working-class neighborhood. He said the baby's father is a veterinary technician who works six days a week and was thrilled to be a dad at age 23.

Cruz, who described himself as the man's best friend, said the family often hosted large barbecues and parties on their front lawn after moving in a few years ago.

The baby's parents and uncle lived there with another uncle and the baby's grandparents, but no one else was there when the shooting happened, Cruz said.

"He had just gotten off work, and this happened to him. It was a normal day for him," he said. "This was out of nowhere."

Cruz recalled a large baby shower with dancing that the family threw in November.

"It was his first and only daughter," Cruz said, as he relit candles that had fizzled out in the breeze. "He was robbed of fatherhood."

A trickle of mourners went by the family's home Monday. Christmas lights hung on the porch over a string of yellow police tape, and a wreath decorated the door.

Joseph Guerrero stopped with his wife and 4-year-old son to leave a candle and balloon. He didn't know the victims but was moved by the infant's death.

"We have three girls and our son, and when we were picking out the balloon, I just squeezed my daughter's hand thinking about what they were going through," he said.

A woman who identified herself as the baby's grandmother and the mother of the two injured brothers also stopped by but left in tears without going inside the house.

Meanwhile, police defended their decision not to issue an Amber Alert for the baby because they lacked a description of the suspect's vehicle.

"One of the criteria for that is having a license plate number. We don't even have that," Arrona said.

Investigators were asking anyone with information to call or send tips to their anonymous hotline. "We really need the public's help," Arrona said.

 

Mayor eulogizes officer as cops outside turn backs

Mayor eulogizes officer as cops outside turn backs 
 

Some police officers turn their backs as Mayor Bill de Blasio speaks during the funeral of New York Police Department Officer Wenjian Liu at Aievoli Funeral Home, Sunday, Jan. 4, 2015, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. Liu and his partner, officer Rafael Ramos, were killed Dec. 20 as they sat in their patrol car on a Brooklyn street. The shooter, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, later killed himself.

NEW YORK (AP) -- Thousands of police turned their backs Sunday as Mayor Bill de Blasio eulogized an officer shot dead with his partner, repeating a stinging display of scorn for the mayor despite entreaties to put anger aside.

The show of disrespect came outside the funeral home where Officer Wenjian Liu was remembered as an incarnation of the American dream: a man who had emigrated from China at age 12 and devoted himself to helping others in his adopted country. The gesture among officers watching the mayor's speech on a screen added to tensions between the mayor and rank-and-file police even as he sought to quiet them.

"Let us move forward by strengthening the bonds that unite us, and let us work together to attain peace," de Blasio said at the funeral.

Liu, 32, had served as a policeman for seven years and was married just two months when he was killed with his partner, Officer Rafael Ramos, on Dec. 20. Liu's longtime aspiration to become a police officer deepened after the Sept. 11 terror attacks, his father, Wei Tang Liu, said through tears.

And as he finished his daily work, the only child would call to say: "I'm coming home today. You can stop worrying now," the father recalled during a service that blended police tradition with references to Buddha's teachings.

Dignitaries including FBI Director James Comey and members of Congress joined police officers from around the country in a throng of over 10,000 mourners.

"When one of us loses our lives, we have to come together," said Officer Lucas Grant of the Richmond County Sheriff's Office in Augusta, Georgia.

After hundreds of officers turned their backs to a screen where de Blasio's remarks played during Ramos' funeral last week, Police Commissioner William Bratton sent a memo urging respect, declaring "a hero's funeral is about grieving, not grievance."

But some officers and police retirees said they still felt compelled to spurn the mayor. Police union leaders have said he contributed to an environment that allowed the officers' slayings by supporting protests following the police killings of Eric Garner on Staten Island and Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.

"The mayor has no respect for us. Why should we have respect for him?" said retired New York Police Department Detective Camille Sanfilippo, who was among those who turned their backs Sunday. Retired NYPD Sgt. Laurie Carson called the action "our only way to show our displeasure with the mayor."

Officers spun back around when Bratton took the podium to speak. Later, de Blasio stood outside the funeral home, to no visible reaction from officers, observing an honor guard and other rituals.

At Liu's wake Saturday, Gov. Andrew Cuomo called the officers' slayings a tragic story of "pure and random hatred." Cuomo didn't attend the funeral, which came as he prepared to bury his father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo.

The officers' killer, Ismaaiyl Brinsley, committed suicide shortly after the brazen daytime ambush on a Brooklyn street. Investigators say Brinsley was an emotionally disturbed loner who had made references online to the killings this summer of unarmed black men at the hands of white police officers, vowing to put "wings on pigs" in retaliation.

The deaths strained an already tense relationship between city police unions and de Blasio. Patrolmen's Benevolent Association President Patrick Lynch, whose rank-and-file union is negotiating a contract with the city, turned his back on the mayor at a hospital the day of the killings and said de Blasio had "blood on his hands."

Many people, including Cardinal Timothy Dolan, have since pressed all parties to tone down the rhetoric. On Saturday, officers standing outside Liu's wake saluted as the mayor and commissioner entered.

After Sunday's show of disdain, Lynch said officers "have a right to have our opinion heard, like everyone else that protests out in the city" and noted that officers' "organic gesture" was outside the service. The mayor got a respectful reception among police officials inside.

The NYPD declined to comment, and de Blasio spokesman Phil Walzak said the mayor was focused on honoring the fallen officers.

But outside, retired NYPD officer John Mangan stood with a sign that read: "God Bless the NYPD. Dump de Blasio." And Patrick Yoes, a national secretary with the 328,000-member Fraternal Order of Police, praised Lynch's stance toward the mayor.

"Across this country, we seem to be under attack in the law enforcement profession," Yoes said. "We are public servants. We are not public enemies."

George Breedy, a lieutenant with the St. Charles Parish Sheriff's Department in Louisiana, said he wouldn't protest de Blasio. "We're here to pay respect to the officers," Breedy said.

Liu's funeral arrangements were delayed so relatives from China could travel to New York, where he married Pei Xia Chen this fall.

"He is my soul mate," she said. "My hero."

Nina Milano: Philadelphia Front Page News Out And About Sexy Model

Nina Milano: Sexy And Lovely Model Philadelphia Front Page News