AP PHOTOS: Easter celebrations around the world

AP PHOTOS: Easter celebrations around the world 

Pope Francis delivers the Urbi et Orbi (to the city and to the world) blessing at the end of his first Easter Sunday Mass in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican Sunday, March 31, 2013. Pope Francis celebrated his first Easter Sunday Mass as pontiff in St. Peter's Square, packed by joyous pilgrims, tourists and Romans and bedecked by spring flowers. Wearing cream-colored vestments, Francis strode onto the esplanade in front of St. Peter's Basilica and took his place at an altar set up under a white canopy.

On Easter Sunday, the most holy day of the Christian calendar, believers attended religious services - whether among the packed crowds before a new pope in St. Peter's Square, at sunrise services in India and Pakistan, or at churches flanked by blast walls and security cordons in Iraq.

Texas DA slain in his home; had armed himself

Texas DA slain in his home; had armed himself 

This undated photo taken from the Kaufman County, Texas, website shows Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland. McLelland and his wife were found killed in their house, Saturday, March 30, 2013, two months after one of his assistants was gunned down near their office, authorities said.

 

KAUFMAN, Texas (AP) -- Kaufman County District Attorney Mike McLelland took no chances after one of his assistant prosecutors was gunned down two months ago. McLelland said he carried a gun everywhere he went and was extra careful when answering the door at his home.

"I'm ahead of everybody else because, basically, I'm a soldier," the 23-year Army veteran said in an interview less than two weeks ago.

On Saturday, he and his wife were found shot to death in their rural home just outside the town of Forney, about 20 miles from Dallas.

While investigators gave no motive for the killings, Forney Mayor Darren Rozell said: "It appears this was not a random act."

"Everybody's a little on edge and a little shocked," he said.

The slayings came less than two weeks after Colorado's prison chief was shot to death at his front door, apparently by an ex-convict, and a couple of months after Kaufman County Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse was killed in a parking lot a block from his courthouse office. No arrests have been made in Hasse's slaying Jan. 31.

McLelland, 63, is the 13th prosecutor killed in the U.S. since the National Association of District Attorneys began keeping count in the 1960s.

Sheriff David Byrnes would not give details Sunday of how the killings unfolded and said there was nothing to indicate for certain whether the DA's slaying was connected to Hasse's.

El Paso County, Colo., sheriff's spokesman Sgt. Joe Roybal said investigators had found no evidence so far connecting the Texas killings to the Colorado case, but added: "We're examining all possibilities."

Colorado's corrections director, Tom Clements, was killed March 19 when he answered the doorbell at his home outside Colorado Springs. Evan Spencer Ebel, a white supremacist and former Colorado inmate suspected of shooting Clements, died in a shootout with Texas deputies two days later about 100 miles from Kaufman.

McLelland himself, in an Associated Press interview shortly after the Colorado slaying, raised the possibility that Hasse was gunned down by a white supremacist gang.

The weekend slayings raised concerns for prosecutors across Texas, and some were taking extra security precautions. Byrnes said security would be increased at the courthouse in Kaufman but declined to say if or how other prosecutors in McLelland's office would be protected.

Harris County District Attorney Mike Anderson said he accepted the sheriff's offer of 24-hour security for him and his family after learning about the slayings, mostly over concerns for his family's safety. Anderson said also would take precautions at his Houston office, the largest one in Texas, which has more than 270 prosecutors.

"I think district attorneys across Texas are still in a state of shock," Anderson said Sunday.

McLelland, elected DA in 2010, said his office had prosecuted several cases against racist gangs, who have a strong presence around Kaufman County, a mostly rural area dotted with subdivisions, with a population of about 104,000.

"We put some real dents in the Aryan Brotherhood around here in the past year," he said.

In recent years, the DA's office also prosecuted a case in which a justice of the peace was found guilty of theft and burglary and another case in which a man was convicted of killing his former girlfriend and her 10-year-old daughter.

McLelland said he carried a gun everywhere, even to walk his dog around town, a bedroom community for the Dallas area. He figured assassins were more likely to try to attack him outside. He said he had warned all his employees to be constantly on the alert.

"The people in my line of work are going to have to get better at it," he said of dealing with the danger, "because they're going to need it more in the future."

The number of attacks on prosecutors, judges and senior law enforcement officers in the U.S. has spiked in the past three years, according to Glenn McGovern, an investigator with the Santa Clara County, Calif., district attorney's office who tracks such cases.

For about a month after Hasse's slaying, sheriff's deputies were parked in the district attorney's driveway, said Sam Rosander, a McLelland neighbor.

The FBI and the Texas Rangers joined the investigation into the McLellands' deaths.

McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, 65, were the parents of two daughters and three sons. One son is a police officer in Dallas. The couple had moved into the home a few years ago, Rozell said.

"Real friendly, became part of our community quickly," Rozell said. "They were a really pleasant, happy couple."

PA looks to borrow $950 million in bonds: Friday Morning Coffee | PennLive.com

PA looks to borrow $950 million in bonds: Friday Morning Coffee | PennLive.com

"... According to our pal Bill Toland of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the state will sell the tax-exempt general obligation bonds next week to help finance $40 million in environmental cleanup through the Growing Greener II program; $110 million in water and sewer upgrades and $800 million in various road, bridge and public building improvement projects..."more at http://blog.pennlive.com/

03-01-13 Efficacy and Law Enforcement Agianst Prohibition | NewsTalk 1400 WDWS-AM

03-01-13 Efficacy and Law Enforcement Agianst Prohibition | NewsTalk 1400 WDWS-AM

SAfrica: Mandela responds positively to treatment

SAfrica: Mandela responds positively to treatment 

FILE - In this June 17, 2010 file photo, former South African President Nelson Mandela leaves the chapel after attending the funeral of his great-granddaughter Zenani Mandela in Johannesburg, South Africa. The South African presidency says Nelson Mandela was re-admitted to hospital with a recurrence of a lung infection Thursday March 28, 2013.

JOHANNESBURG (AP) -- Nelson Mandela was back in the hospital for the third time in four months Thursday, and the 94-year-old former South African president was reported to be responding well to treatment for a chronic lung infection.

South Africa's presidency said that doctors were acting with extreme caution because of the advanced age of the anti-apartheid leader, who has become increasingly frail in recent years.

The Nobel Peace Prize laureate was admitted just before midnight to a hospital in Pretoria, the South African capital. He has been particularly vulnerable to respiratory problems since contracting tuberculosis during his 27-year imprisonment for fighting white racist rule in his country.

"The doctors advise that former President Nelson Mandela is responding positively to the treatment he is undergoing for a recurring lung infection," the presidency said in a statement. "He remains under treatment and observation in hospital."

Mandela, who became South Africa's first black president in 1994, is a revered figure in his homeland, which has named buildings and other places after him and uses his image on national bank notes.

"I'm so sorry. I'm sad," Obed Mokwana, a Johannesburg resident, said after hearing that Mandela was back in the hospital. "I just try to pray all the time. He must come very strong again."

In December, Mandela spent three weeks in a hospital in Pretoria, where he was treated for a lung infection and had a procedure to remove gallstones.

Earlier this month, he was hospitalized overnight for what authorities said was a successful scheduled medical test.

Presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj, referring to Mandela by his clan name "Madiba," said the latest stay was not for previously planned treatment.

"No, this wasn't scheduled. As you will appreciate the doctors do work with a great sense of caution when they are treating Madiba and take into account his age," he said. "And so when they found that this lung infection had reoccurred, they decided to have him immediately hospitalized so that he can receive the best treatment."

He said there had been a global outpouring of messages expressing concern for Mandela's health.

President Jacob Zuma wished Mandela a speedy recovery.

"We appeal to the people of South Africa and the world to pray for our beloved Madiba and his family and to keep them in their thoughts. We have full confidence in the medical team and know that they will do everything possible to ensure recovery," his office quoted him as saying.

In February 2012, Mandela spent a night in a hospital for minor diagnostic surgery to determine the cause of an abdominal complaint. In January 2011, he was admitted to a Johannesburg hospital for what officials initially described as tests but turned out to be an acute respiratory infection. He was discharged days later.

He also had surgery for an enlarged prostate gland in 1985.

The apartheid government released Mandela in 1990. Four years later, he became the nation's first democratically elected president under the banner of the African National Congress, helping to negotiate a relatively peaceful end to apartheid despite fears of much greater bloodshed. He served one five-year term as president before retiring.

Perceived successes during Mandela's tenure include the introduction of a constitution with robust protections for individual rights and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, a panel that heard testimony about apartheid-era violations of human rights as a kind of national therapy session.

Mandela last made a public appearance on a major stage when South Africa hosted the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament.

Until his latest string of health problems, Mandela had spent more time in the rural village of Qunu in Eastern Cape province, where he grew up. He was visited there in August by then-U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Doctors said in December that he should remain at his home in Johannesburg to be close to medical facilities that can provide the care he needs.

Lawmakers rush to catch up on gay marriage

Lawmakers rush to catch up on gay marriage 

FILE - In this May 11, 2010 file photo, Kay Hagan, D-N.C. speaks at a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington. For years, American opinion on gay marriage has been shifting. Now Washington is tripping over itself trying to catch up. In less than two weeks, seven sitting senators _ all from moderate or Republican-leaning states _ announced their support, dropping one by one like dominos. Taken together, their proclamations reflected a profound change in the American political calculus: For the first time, elected officials from traditionally conservative states are starting to feel it's safer to back gay marriage than risk being the last to join the cause.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- For years, American opinion on gay marriage has been shifting. Now lawmakers are in a mad dash to catch up.

In less than two weeks, seven senators - all from moderate or Republican-leaning states - announced their support, dropping one by one like dominos. Taken together, their proclamations reflected a profound change in the American political calculus: For the first time, elected officials from traditionally conservative states are starting to feel it's safer to back gay marriage than risk being the last to join the cause.

"As far as I can tell, political leaders are falling all over themselves to endorse your side of the case," Chief Justice John Roberts told lawyers urging the Supreme Court on Wednesday to strike down a law barring legally married gay couples from receiving federal benefits or recognition.

It was the second of two landmark gay marriage cases the justices heard this week, the high court's first major examination of gay rights in a decade. But the focus on the court cases - replete with colorful, camera-ready protests outside the court building - obscured the sudden emergence of a critical mass across the street in the Capitol as one by one, senators took to Facebook or quietly issued a statement to say that they, too, now support gay marriage.

For some Democrats, like Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill and Montana Sen. Jon Tester, the reversal would have been almost unfathomable just a few months ago as they fought for re-election. The potential risks were even greater for other Democrats like North Carolina Sen. Kay Hagan and Alaska Sen. Mark Begich, already top GOP targets when they face voters next year in states that President Barack Obama lost in November. After all, it was less than a year ago that voters in Hagan's state approved a ban on gay marriage.

Those four Democrats and two others - Mark Warner of Virginia and Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia - were swept up in a shifting tide that began to take shape last year, when Obama, in the heat of his re-election campaign, became the first sitting president to endorse gay marriage. Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, a potential contender in the next presidential election, followed suit in mid-March. As support among party leaders builds, rank-and-file Democrats appear wary of being perceived as hold-outs in what both parties are increasingly describing as a civil-rights issue.

"They're reflecting what they're seeing in the polls - except the most extreme of the Republican base," former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, a Republican who supports gay marriage, said in an interview. "From a purely political perspective, if you want to be a leader of the future, you look at the next generation. They are overwhelmingly in favor of this."

Reince Priebus, the chairman of the Republican Party, cautioned in a USA Today interview that the GOP should not "act like Old Testament heretics."

Among Republicans, whose party platform opposes gay marriage, the shift in position has mostly been limited to former lawmakers and prominent strategists. Still, a distinct change in tone was palpable this month when Ohio Sen. Rob Portman, a Republican whom presidential candidate Mitt Romney vetted last year as a potential running mate, declared his support, citing a personal conversion stemming from his son coming out to him as gay.

Rather than blast Portman for flouting party dogma or failing an ideological litmus test, Republican leaders shrugged, indicating that even if Republicans, as a party, aren't prepared back gay marriage, they won't hold it against those in their ranks who do.

In the Republican-controlled House, where most members come from lopsided districts heavily skewed to one party or the other, GOP leaders are not wavering publicly from their staunch opposition. In fact, when the Obama administration stopped defending the Defense of Marriage Act in court, it was House Republicans who took up the mantle. Democrats said Thursday that Republicans have spent as much as $3 million in taxpayer funds to defend the law, now before the Supreme Court.

"It's like immigration. The party realizes they are on the losing side of some of these issues," said former Rep. Jim Kolbe, an Arizona Republican. Kolbe came out as gay in 1996 while in office and will mark another milestone in May when he and his longtime partner get married in Washington.

"They want to make the shift, but you have got to do it in a politic and strategic way," Kolbe said. "It's a matter of how and when you take down one flag and run up the other."

Kolbe and Whitman joined dozens of other prominent Republicans in signing a friend-of-the-court brief urging the Supreme Court to strike down the law barring federal recognition of gay marriages. But with House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, still defending the law and social conservative groups vowing payback for those who abandon it, prospects are slim that Congress will move any time soon to repeal it on its own.

"It's sort of a bandwagon effect among the cultural elite," said Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council, which opposes gay marriage. "Some of these politicians who have changed their position, those who live in more conservative states, may pay for that shift with a defeat in their next election."

If public opinion continues to move in the direction it has been for the last 15 years, what's true for the next election may not be true just a few years down the line - even for Republicans.

When Gallup first asked in polls about gay marriages, in 1996, just 27 percent felt they should be valid. That figure climbed to 44 percent two years ago, and reached a majority by last November, when 53 percent said gay marriages should be recognized. Among independents, a key barometer for politicians, support has jumped 23 points to 55 percent, including a six-point gain since 2010.

Even among Republicans, support has grown by 14 percentage points since 1996, although there's been no significant movement among Republicans since 2010, when 28 percent backed legal marriage.

"A lot of Republicans have come to the conclusion we can't live one life in private but advocate another life in public," said Republican strategist Alex Castellanos. "We all know families who are loving parents of the same gender who are raising great kids."

Nation of Islam followers denied religious freedom in state prison, inmate claims in lawsuit | PennLive.com

Nation of Islam followers denied religious freedom in state prison, inmate claims in lawsuit | PennLive.com

Lawmaker questioning no-bid state website contract | PennLive.com

Lawmaker questioning no-bid state website contract | PennLive.com

"... The five-year Pennsylvania contract, effective Dec. 1, would pay NIC through fees that are to be imposed on optional, high-volume transactions initiated by businesses, such as insurance companies seeking driving records, the Office of Administration spokesman said. NIC has contracts with 28 other states, and a spokeswoman for the company would not discuss why the Pennsylvania contract was the only one that was a sole-source agreement....." ...More at PennLive.com

Election 2013: City of Harrisburg Candidates Forums/Debates - Today's The Day Harrisburg

Election 2013: City of Harrisburg Candidates Forums/Debates - Today's The Day Harrisburg

Election 2013: City of Harrisburg Candidates Forums/Debates

This list will be updated as more events are scheduled.

• Thursday, April 4th 6-8pm: Harrisburg Hope City Council Candidates Debate. Midtown Scholar Bookstore (1302 N 3rd St,  Harrisburg)

• Monday, April 8th 6-8pm: Stonewall Dems Candidates Night. Stage on Herr/HMAC (1110 N 3rd St,  Harrisburg)

• Thursday, April 11th 6-8pm:  South Allison Hill Homeowners and Residents Association Mayor Candidates Night. Derry Street United Methodist Church (1508 Derry St,  Harrisburg)... Follow to Today's The Day Harrisburg

Q&A with tla: 'What's going on with the Harrisburg election?' | PennLive.com

Q&A with tla: 'What's going on with the Harrisburg election?' | PennLive.com

Merit selection will make picking judges more political, not less: As I See It | PennLive.com

Merit selection will make picking judges more political, not less: As I See It | PennLive.com

Singer Dionne Warwick files for bankruptcy in NJ

Singer Dionne Warwick files for bankruptcy in NJ 

FILE - This Nov. 3, 2012 file photo shows singer Dionne Warwick after receiving the lifetime acheivement award at the 2012 MOBO Awards in Liverpool. Warwick claims in a recent bankruptcy filing that she owes nearly $10 million in back taxes. The South Orange resident and singer of classics such as “Walk On By," “I Say a Little Prayer” and “Do You Know the Way to San Jose” filed a Chapter 7 petition in U.S. bankruptcy court in New Jersey last Thursday.

NEWARK, N.J. (AP) -- Singer Dionne Warwick claims in a recent bankruptcy filing that she owes nearly $10 million in back taxes and her monthly expenses exceed $20,000.

The South Orange resident and singer of classics such as "Walk On By," `'I Say a Little Prayer" and "Do You Know the Way to San Jose" filed a Chapter 7 petition in U.S. bankruptcy court in New Jersey last Thursday.

In the filing, the 72-year-old Warwick listed liabilities that include nearly $7 million owed to the Internal Revenue Service for the years 1991 to 1999 and more than $3 million in business taxes owed to the state of California.

Warwick, a cousin of the late Whitney Houston, also listed $20,950 in monthly income from royalties, retirement income and a contract with Culver City, Calif.-based Star Girl Productions. Her monthly expenses total $20,940 and include $5,000 for housekeeping/housesitting.

Warwick's publicist said that the singer was victimized by bad financial management in the 1990s and that she has paid back the actual amount of the taxes, but penalties and interest have accumulated over the years.

"In light of the magnitude of her tax liabilities, (Dionne) Warwick has repeatedly attempted to offer re-payment plans and proposals to the IRS and the California Franchise Tax Board for taxes owed," Kevin Sasaki said in an email Tuesday. "These plans were not accepted, resulting in escalating interest and penalties. Although the actual amount of back taxes owed has been paid, the resulting penalties and interest has continually accrued."

Court grounds packed on first day of marriage case

Court grounds packed on first day of marriage case 

FILE - In this Sept. 6, 2011 file photo, opponents of gay marriage outside a courthouse in San Francisco where the California Supreme Court was hearing arguments on California's ban on same-sex marriage. On Tuesday, the US Supreme Court will begin hearing two days of cases involving gay marriage.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- They mostly kept their distance, these supporters and opponents of gay marriage, as they massed Tuesday in front of the Supreme Court to proclaim with signs and slogans their conflicting views about the cutting-edge question before the justices.

People who favor legalizing same-sex marriage carried pictures of gay weddings and families and held signs that read "marriage is a constitutional right." They waved American and rainbow flags, and one man in devil horns danced in pink heels and a rainbow tutu.

Opponents, meanwhile, marched down a roadway in front of the court, hoisting placards including "Every child deserves a mom & dad" and "Vote for holy matrimony."

By the time the court began its session, which on Tuesday dealt with California's ban on same-sex marriage, the sidewalk outside was packed. Supporters spilled over to the other side of the roadway. "Gay, straight, black, white, marriage is a civil right," the crowd chanted at one point, followed by "we honor this moment with love."

Many supporters of gay marriage came with homemade signs including ones that read "a more perfect union," "love is love," and "`I do!' want 2 B (equals)" Some signs had pictures of gay couples. "Together 34 years," read one, "married with pride," said another.

Gahan Kelley and Bonnie Nemeth, both 69, of Richmond, Va., had matching signs with their California marriage license on one side and a picture of their wedding ceremony on the other. The couple married in California during the 142 days when it was legal.

"This decision can change our lives tremendously," said Kelley of the Supreme Court cases.

Nemeth said she was hopeful that the court would support gay marriage.

"I really think we're going to win," she said.

Another couple, Stacey Parker, 37, and Debbie Sentner, 43, drove from Toledo, Ohio, to Washington to demonstrate. The pair married in Massachusetts in 2009, but their home state doesn't recognize their marriage. On Tuesday they carried signs that said "Tired of being a second class citizen" and "we the people means everyone."

"To us we feel married but we don't really feel complete until we can actually get all the rights and recognition that a lot of people take for granted," Parker said.

While many people were at the court to demonstrate, others stood in line to get inside the court to hear the arguments. Actor-director Rob Reiner, who helped lead the fight against California's Proposition 8, which barred gay couples from marrying in the state, was at the head of the line. Some people had waited since last Thursday - even through light snow - for coveted seats to hear the argument.

Supporters of gay marriage were initially the majority of the crowd standing outside the court, but a smaller group stood holding signs backing traditional marriage. Mike Krzywonos, 57, of Pawtucket, R.I., wore a button that read "marriage 1 man + 1 woman." Krzywonos, a retired metal worker, said his group is the "silent majority."

"The whole country does not want this," he said as helped hold a sign that read, "just because you don't get it does not give you the right to change it."

The crowd of opponents swelled just as the court began considering the case not long after 10 a.m. EDT. 

Opponents staged a march down the street in front of the court as supporters stood on both sides of the roadway. Some conversations between the two sides got heated, even with police escorting the group. Austin Ruse, 56, was one of the people who exchanged words with the other side, asking two women supporting same-sex marriage whether a man should be allowed to marry his adult son.

"If anyone can get married then marriage has no meaning," Ruse said later.

Christine Clark, 47, of Pittsfield, Pa., was participating in the march with her teenage children and their cousin. She said she knows and loves gay people but does not believe in gay marriage.

"We're not hating," said her daughter, Lydia Clark, 13.

Outside the court after the argument had concluded, supporters of same-sex marriage chanted, "Equal justice under the law," the motto inscribed on the face of the marble court building, and cheered as their attorneys, David Boies and former solicitor general Ted Olson, emerged from the court.

Boies called the arguments a "very thoughtful hearing." Asked if the court was ready to make a sweeping ruling, Olson said he had "no idea."

But Olson said public support is in favor of same-sex marriage.

"We are confident where the American people are going with this," he said. "We don't know for sure what the United States Supreme Court is going to do, but we're very, very gratified that they listened, they heard, they asked hard questions, and there's no denying where the right is and we hope that the Supreme Court will come out in that way when they make this decision in June."

Andrew Pugno, an attorney for ProtectMarriage.com, the group that defended Proposition 8 in court, said his side was able to say everything they wanted to during arguments and would look forward to the court's decision.

"I think that we'll see a very reasoned decision from this court," he said.

The court will hear one more day of arguments on the issue of gay marriage. On Wednesday the court will consider a case involving the federal Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman.

Dismiss lawsuit by man who was wrongly jailed and forced to pay child support, U.S. judge urged | PennLive.com

Dismiss lawsuit by man who was wrongly jailed and forced to pay child support, U.S. judge urged | PennLive.com

Kids Hurt, Killed by Restraints at School | Photos - ABC News

Kids Hurt, Killed by Restraints at School | Photos - ABC News

Court: Drug Dog Sniff Is Unconstitutional Search - ABC News

Court: Drug Dog Sniff Is Unconstitutional Search - ABC News

Fines, jail time await illegal dumpers in Harrisburg, officials say | PennLive.com

Fines, jail time await illegal dumpers in Harrisburg, officials say | PennLive.com

Obama's Seder tradition has roots in Harrisburg campaign stop | PennLive.com

Obama's Seder tradition has roots in Harrisburg campaign stop | PennLive.com

Woods back on top in golf

Woods back on top in golf 

Tiger Woods, left, and Arnold Palmer share a laugh during the trophy presentation after Woods won the Arnold Palmer Invitational golf tournament in Orlando, Fla., Monday, March 25, 2013.

  

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- The moment was vintage Tiger Woods, and so was his reaction.

Seconds after Rickie Fowler made a 40-foot birdie putt on the 12th hole to pull within two shots of the lead, Woods posed over his 25-foot birdie putt until he swept the putter upward in his left hand and marched toward the cup as it dropped for a birdie.

Fowler, standing on the edge of the green, turned with a slight smile as if to say, "What else can I do?"

Woods won the Arnold Palmer Invitational on Monday and returned to No. 1 in the world for the first time since October 2010, the longest spell of his career. After all that time, after so much turmoil with his personal life and his health, Woods looks as good as ever.

Maybe better.

"It's a byproduct of hard work, patience and getting back to winning golf tournaments," Woods said.

He essentially wrapped up his eighth title at Bay Hill with an 8-iron out of a fairway bunker on the par-5 16th that easily cleared the water and landed safely on the green for a two-putt birdie. Woods dangled his tongue out of his mouth as the ball was in the air, another sign of his swagger.

Just like his other two wins this year, Woods never let anyone get closer than two shots in the final round. With a conservative bogey he could afford on the final hole, he closed with a 2-under 70 for a two-shot win over Justin Rose.

Woods walked off the 18th green waving his putter over his head - truly a magic wand at Bay Hill - to acknowledge the fans who have seen this act before. His eighth win in the Arnold Palmer Invitational tied a PGA Tour record that had not been touched in 48 years.

This win had extra significance. He's back to No. 1.

"If I get healthy, I know I can play this game at a high level," Woods said. "I know I can be where I'm contending in every event, contending in major championships and being consistent day in and day out - if I got healthy. That was the first step in the process. Once I got there, then my game turned."

A year ago, he came to Bay Hill without having won in more than 2 1/2 years. He left this year having won six times in his last 20 starts on the PGA Tour.

Next up is the Masters, where Woods will try to end his five-year drought in the majors.

"I'm really excited about the rest of this year," Woods said.

Woods fell as low as No. 58 in the world as he coped with the collapse of his marriage, a loss of sponsors and injuries to his left leg. One week after he announced he was dating Olympic ski champion Lindsey Vonn, Woods returned to the top of golf.

"Number 1 !!!!!!!!!!!!!" Vonn tweeted moments after his win.

Asked if there was any correlation to his winning right after going public with his relationship, Woods smiled and said, "You're reading way too much into this."

Like so many other victories, this one was never really close.

Fowler pulled to within two shots with a 25-foot birdie putt on the 14th hole, but after he and Woods made bogey on the 15th, Fowler went at the flag on the par-5 16th and came up a few yards short and into the water. Fowler put another ball into the water and made triple bogey.

"I was swinging it well. I made a few putts, and trying to put a little pressure on them, let them know I was there," Fowler said. "Just would like to have that 7-iron back on 16. Just kind of a touch heavy."

Woods played it safe on the 18th, and nearly holed a 75-foot par putt that even drew a big smile from the tournament host.

Woods tied the tour record of eight wins in a single tournament. Sam Snead won the Greater Greensboro Open eight times from 1938 to 1965 at two golf courses. Woods tied his record for most wins at a single golf course, having also won eight times at Torrey Pines, including a U.S. Open.

"I don't really see anybody touching it for a long time," Palmer said while Woods made his way up the 18th fairway. "I had the opportunity to win a tournament five times, and I knew how difficult that was."

Rose, who played the first two rounds with Woods, closed with a 70 to finish alone in second.

He pulled to within two shots of Woods with a birdie on the 16th. Woods was in the group behind him in the fairway bunker on the par 5, and hit 8-iron over the water and onto the middle of the green for a two-putt birdie to restore his margin.

"He plays every shot like he plays them on Sunday," Rose said. "His intensity is the same on Thursday often as it is on Sunday, and that makes Sunday a lot less different for him. He plays in that kind of atmosphere far more regularly than a lot of guys do, and it's an adjustment for most of us. It's a known for him."

Fowler had to settle for a 73 and a tie for third with Mark Wilson (71), Keegan Bradley (71) and Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano (72).

Rory McIlroy had been No. 1 since he won the PGA Championship last August. He can reclaim the No. 1 ranking by winning the Houston Open this week. Woods heads home to south Florida for two weeks before the Masters.

Asked the last time he felt this good going to Augusta National, Woods replied, "It's been a few years."

This was the fourth time in his career that he already had three PGA Tour wins before the Masters - he didn't win a green jacket in any of the previous years (2000, 2003 and 2008). More telling, perhaps, is that Woods has won back-to-back starts for the first time since the Buick Open and Bridgestone Invitational in August 2009.

"I think it shows that my game is consistent," he said. "It's at a high level."

Woods finished at 13-under 275 and won for the 77th time on the PGA Tour, moving to within five of Snead's record.

Fowler, his first time playing with Woods in the final group, opened with eight pars when he needed to be making up ground. And when he finally had a few openings on the back nine, Woods refused to let him through.

Woods salvaged a two-putt par with a 7-footer on the 11th hole to keep a three-shot lead. On the next hole, Fowler looked to gain some momentum when he made a 40-foot birdie putt only for Woods to match him with that 25-foot birdie.

Woods produced some absurd statistics with the putter this week, making 19 of 28 putts from between 7 feet and 20 feet.

He walked off the green to share a handshake with Palmer, along with a big smile and some words that Woods said were best kept private. He left the course in that familiar blue blazer that goes to the winner.

And he left as the No. 1 player in the world.

It's the 11th time that Woods has gone back to No. 1, tied with Greg Norman since the ranking began in 1986. Still to be determined is how long Woods stays there this time.

Gun link, but many questions in corrections death

Gun link, but many questions in corrections death 

FILE - This undated image provided by the Colorado Department of Corrections shows its director Tom Clements. Sheriff's Lt. Jeff Kramer says Clements was shot to death around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday night March 19, 2013 when he answered his front door in Monument, north of Colorado Springs. Personal safety is always on the mind of most correctional officers and prison administrators when they’re working the prison tower or shaking down inmate cells for contraband. But increasingly it’s also a concern at the end of their shifts and off prison grounds. The slaying of Clements has officers checking their review mirrors more often and industry experts recommending a closer look at security off the job.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) -- Colorado corrections chief Tom Clements and his wife were watching television when the doorbell rang last Tuesday night. Clements opened the door and was shot to death.

"My life was changed forever," Lisa Clements told hundreds of people, including corrections guards and officials from around the country, who gathered at a memorial service for her husband Monday.

Nearly a week after Clements' death, investigators in Colorado say the gun suspect Evan Ebel used in a shootout with authorities in Texas is the same one used to kill Clements. However, they don't know yet whether Ebel is the person who shot Clements, whether he acted alone and what motivated the slaying of a corrections' chief admired by prisoner advocates and prison guards alike. Authorities warned that could take some time.

Until investigators determine whether Ebel, paroled from Colorado's prison system, in January, acted alone, "it's hard to know what his role was," Lt. Jeff Kramer of the El Paso County Sheriff's Office told The Associated Press.

"He remains a suspect in our investigation, obviously, especially after receiving this confirmed link from Texas," he said.

No other suspects have been named.

Denver police suspect Ebel was involved in the killing of pizza deliveryman Nathan Leon. His body was found two days before Clements was killed.

Investigators also do not know whether the pizza box and Domino's Pizza shirt or jacket found in the car Ebel was driving when he was captured in Texas - similar to one spotted near Clements home - were used by the killer to persuade Clements to open the door of his home, Kramer said.

A federal law enforcement official says Ebel was a member of the 211 Crew, a white supremacist prison gang in Colorado.

Kramer said investigators are looking at who Ebel's associates were in prison and outside of prison.

At the memorial service at New Life Church, both Lisa Clements and Gov. John Hickenlooper spoke about Clements' strong belief in redemption. His family said he decided as a teenager to work in corrections after visiting his uncle in prison, and he worked to reduce the use of solitary confinement in Colorado prisons.

Standing with her two daughters, Lisa Clements, a psychologist who oversees Colorado's state mental health institutes, said her husband of 28 years would want justice as well as forgiveness.

"We want everyone who hears Tom's story to know that he lived his life believing in redemption, in the ability of the human heart to be changed. He would want justice certainly but moreover he'd want forgiveness. Our family prays for the family of the man who took Tom's life and we will pray for forgiveness in our own hearts and our own peace," she said.

Hickenlooper, who hired Clements about two years ago, told mourners that he was both pragmatic and principled.

"He had common sense and he had courage," Hickenlooper said.

Hickenlooper is a longtime friend of the suspect's father, attorney Jack Ebel, who testified two years ago before state lawmakers that solitary confinement was destroying his son's psyche.

Hickenlooper confirmed he mentioned the case to Clements as an example of why the prison system needed reform before the job was offered, but the governor said he did not mention Evan Ebel by name.

There was no indication that Hickenlooper's relationship with Jack Ebel played a role in the shooting. Hickenlooper said he did not having any role in Evan Ebel's parole in January.

Jack Ebel issued a statement offering condolences to all those who have suffered from his son's actions.

Clements, born in St. Louis, worked for 31 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections, both in prison and as a parole officer, before being hired in Colorado. He began a review of the state's solitary confinement system and eventually reduced the number of prisoners being held in solitary confinement. He closed a new prison built specifically to hold such prisoners - Colorado State Penitentiary II.

Taxpayers, turnpike users pay price for corruption | TribLIVE

Taxpayers, turnpike users pay price for corruption | TribLIVE

Same Ole, Same Ole - Today's The Day Harrisburg

Same Ole, Same Ole - Today's The Day Harrisburg

Breaking Traditions 2013 -- Welcome to Our Conference!!

Breaking Traditions 2013 -- Welcome to Our Conference!!

No. 2 Ohio State beats Iowa State 78-75 on late 3

No. 2 Ohio State beats Iowa State 78-75 on late 3 

Iowa State forward Georges Niang (31) and guard Korie Lucious, top, struggle with Ohio State guard Aaron Craft for a loose ball in the first half of a third-round game of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Sunday March 24, 2013, in Dayton, Ohio.

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) -- Aaron Craft dribbled in place at the top of the arc, watching to see if any of his Ohio State teammates were getting open near the basket for a game-winning shot.

Nothing there.

The point guard had a clear look at the clock as it raced toward zero atop the backboard. He realized what he had to do - take a little Ohio State tournament history into his hands.

Craft held the ball until he had no other choice, then swished a 3-pointer with a half-second left Sunday for a 78-75 victory over Iowa State, sending the Buckeyes to a school-record fourth straight trip to the round of 16.

No. 2 Ohio State had managed to escape as the lone high seed left in the NCAA tournament's most-busted bracket.

"The moment's a lot bigger than me," said Craft, who had allowed Iowa State to catch up with missed free throws and an errant jumper. "It just happened to be in my hands at the end."

Ohio State (28-7) needed Craft's fearless shot - over 6-foot-7 defender Georges Niang - to avoid yet another upset in the oh-so-wild West Regional. Four of the top five seeds fell fast and hard in the first weekend.

The Buckeyes' 10th straight win sent them to Los Angeles for a game on Thursday against sixth-seeded Arizona.

"With all that's gone on in college basketball, anything's possible," Craft said. "You can see it with what's gone on in our bracket right now."

Tenth-seeded Iowa State (23-12) overcame a late 13-point deficit by hitting 3s - the Cyclones' specialty - but wound up beaten by one, a tough way to have their upset bid end.

"We played our hearts out," said Will Clyburn, who scored 17 points. "It was a tough game and he made a tough shot. He made a great play."

Craft's missed free throws helped Iowa State catch up. He missed the front end of a pair of one-and-one chances and was off on a jumper from just inside the arc with 29.2 seconds left and the score tied.

The Cyclones knocked the ball out of bounds while trying for the rebound, setting up the final chance. Coach Thad Matta called a timeout and went over the options.

"I told 'em, `Hey, let's get the last shot; let's play for the win here,'" Matta said.

When the Cyclones switched coverages to take away leading scorer Deshaun Thomas and put their tall freshman on Craft, the point guard decided to take it himself.

Not a bad outcome, Iowa State thought.

"He had a tough shot," said Korie Lucious, who led Iowa State with 19 points. "He hadn't hit a 3 all game."

The officials reviewed the play to confirm that Craft's foot was behind the arc when he shot. Lucious didn't come close on a long heave as the final half-second ran off.

Lucious stood on the court after the buzzer sounded, stung by the final half-second. Coach Fred Hoiberg was unable to make an opening comment during the postgame news conference, the pain etched all over his face.

Thomas led Ohio State with 22 points, and Craft had 18. LaQuinton Ross scored 10 straight for the Buckeyes as they built that second-half lead.

The Buckeyes escaped Dayton - the scene of a couple of recent NCAA tournament disappointments - as the lone high seed left in the West.

No. 3 New Mexico, No. 4 Kansas State and No. 5 Wisconsin were knocked out right away, losing their openers. No. 1 Gonzaga joined them Saturday night, shocked by ninth-seeded Wichita State 76-70.

The Buckeyes had opened the tournament in Dayton twice previously under Matta and lost despite thousands of fans providing a home-court feeling.

Perhaps it was fitting that this one was decided by a 3.

The Cyclones lead the nation in 3-pointers, with nearly 44 percent of their attempts coming from behind the arc. Defense has been Ohio State's foundation during its late winning streak, which included the Big Ten tournament title.

With Craft anchoring Ohio State's perimeter defense, the Cyclones had trouble getting open shots and missed eight of their first 12 from behind the arc. They finished 12 of 25 on 3-pointers.

The Cyclones also lost one of their best perimeter defenders and their second-best 3-point shooter late in the first half. Guard Chris Babb got treatment on his left leg in the final minute of the half and went to the locker room early. Babb sat on the bench for the rest of the game.

The Buckeyes pushed the lead to six points at the start of the second half, but Melvin Ejim's putback cut it to 52-51. He and Craft bumped into each other and traded words heading into a timeout with 11:43 left.

Neither side was budging.

Coming out of the timeout, the Buckeyes put together their best run of the game. Ross hit a pair of 3s, a layup off a steal and two free throws for a 65-53 lead with 8:18 to go.

The Cyclones turned to the 3 - both versions - to pull even. Lucious' three-point play tied it 69-all with 3:53 left, completing a 13-0 run. Craft missed the front end of a pair of one-and-one chances during that spurt.

Craft tried not to think about his previous misses as he watched the white numbers on the clock tick down and squared up to decide the game.

"If I miss, we still have overtime," he said. "So it's not as big of a pressure situation."

Winning $338M Powerball jackpot ticket sold in NJ

 Winning $338M Powerball jackpot ticket sold in NJ 

FILE - In this Friday, Nov. 23, 2012 file photo, a Powerball form and purchased ticket are on the counter at the Jayhawk Food Mart in Lawrence, Kan. A single ticket sold in New Jersey matched all six numbers in the Saturday night, March 23, 2013 drawing for the $338.3 million Powerball jackpot, lottery officials said.

  

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- When Teddy Jackson heard Sunday morning that the lone winning ticket for a $338.3 million Powerball drawing was sold in New Jersey, the Toms River resident combed through his 40 tickets and hoped for the best.

About 20 minutes later, after checking each ticket at least a couple times, Jackson realized he would have to go work on Monday.

"There were a few where I had one or two numbers, but that was it," the 45-year-old electrician said Sunday. "Now, I have to watch someone else get my money, buy the powerboat I would have gotten .... it was fun to dream about those things for a few minutes while I checked everything."

Details on where and when the winning ticket was purchased and other related information were not disclosed Sunday by New Jersey Lottery officials, who also would not say if anyone claiming to hold the ticket had contacted them as of Sunday afternoon.

They said information on the ticket would be released at a news conference on Monday morning at the lottery's headquarters in Lawrenceville.

Lottery officials say it was the fourth-largest jackpot in Powerball history. The numbers drawn were 17, 29, 31, 52, 53 and Powerball 31. A lump sum payout would be $221 million.

Retailers in New Jersey said the growing jackpot had spurred a big boost in ticket sales in recent days, and many people were willing to stand in long lines to get their tickets. Staffers at some stores said Sunday that they didn't know where the winning ticket had been sold.

"We are hoping that we sold it here because that would be a blessing for one of our customers in these tough times," said a worker at a Camden area convenience store.

Lottery officials said 13 tickets worth $1 million apiece - matching the first five numbers but missing the Powerball - were sold in Arizona, Florida (2), Illinois, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina and Virginia.

Powerball said on its website that the grand prize jackpot has now been reset to an estimated $40 million or a lump sum cash amount estimated at $25 million for Wednesday's next drawing.

No one had won the Powerball jackpot since early February, when Dave Honeywell in Virginia bought the winning ticket and elected a cash lump sum for his $217 million jackpot.

The largest Powerball jackpot ever came in at $587.5 million in November. The winning numbers were picked on two different tickets - one by a couple in Missouri and the other by an Arizona man - and the jackpot was split.

Nebraska still holds the record for the largest Powerball jackpot won on a single ticket - $365 million. That jackpot was won by eight workers at a Lincoln meatpacking plant in February 2006.

Powerball is played in 42 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The chance of matching all five numbers and the Powerball number is about 1 in 175 million.

Powerball said on its website that the game is played every Wednesday and Saturday night when five white balls are drawn from a drum of 59 balls and one red ball is picked from a drum with 35 red balls. It added that winners of the Powerball jackpot can elect to be paid out over 29 years at a percentage set by the game's rules - or in a lump sum cash payment.

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- When Teddy Jackson heard Sunday morning that the lone winning ticket for a $338.3 million Powerball drawing was sold in New Jersey, the Toms River resident combed through his 40 tickets and hoped for the best.

About 20 minutes later, after checking each ticket at least a couple times, Jackson realized he would have to go work on Monday.

"There were a few where I had one or two numbers, but that was it," the 45-year-old electrician said Sunday. "Now, I have to watch someone else get my money, buy the powerboat I would have gotten .... it was fun to dream about those things for a few minutes while I checked everything."

Details on where and when the winning ticket was purchased and other related information were not disclosed Sunday by New Jersey Lottery officials, who also would not say if anyone claiming to hold the ticket had contacted them as of Sunday afternoon.

They said information on the ticket would be released at a news conference on Monday morning at the lottery's headquarters in Lawrenceville.

Lottery officials say it was the fourth-largest jackpot in Powerball history. The numbers drawn were 17, 29, 31, 52, 53 and Powerball 31. A lump sum payout would be $221 million.

Retailers in New Jersey said the growing jackpot had spurred a big boost in ticket sales in recent days, and many people were willing to stand in long lines to get their tickets. Staffers at some stores said Sunday that they didn't know where the winning ticket had been sold.

"We are hoping that we sold it here because that would be a blessing for one of our customers in these tough times," said a worker at a Camden area convenience store.

Lottery officials said 13 tickets worth $1 million apiece - matching the first five numbers but missing the Powerball - were sold in Arizona, Florida (2), Illinois, Minnesota, North Carolina, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania (2), South Carolina and Virginia.

Powerball said on its website that the grand prize jackpot has now been reset to an estimated $40 million or a lump sum cash amount estimated at $25 million for Wednesday's next drawing.

No one had won the Powerball jackpot since early February, when Dave Honeywell in Virginia bought the winning ticket and elected a cash lump sum for his $217 million jackpot.

The largest Powerball jackpot ever came in at $587.5 million in November. The winning numbers were picked on two different tickets - one by a couple in Missouri and the other by an Arizona man - and the jackpot was split.

Nebraska still holds the record for the largest Powerball jackpot won on a single ticket - $365 million. That jackpot was won by eight workers at a Lincoln meatpacking plant in February 2006.

Powerball is played in 42 states, Washington, D.C., and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The chance of matching all five numbers and the Powerball number is about 1 in 175 million.

Powerball said on its website that the game is played every Wednesday and Saturday night when five white balls are drawn from a drum of 59 balls and one red ball is picked from a drum with 35 red balls. It added that winners of the Powerball jackpot can elect to be paid out over 29 years at a percentage set by the game's rules - or in a lump sum cash payment.

FreedomThroughChoices: An Open Letter to President Obama by Charlotte Wel...

FreedomThroughChoices: An Open Letter to President Obama by Charlotte Wel...: As a National Board Certified teacher, with 34 years of teaching in American public schools and international schools in four different cou...

At Yad Vashem in Israel, Obama Urges Action Against Racism - NYTimes.com

At Yad Vashem in Israel, Obama Urges Action Against Racism - NYTimes.com

Ed Rendell urges Democrats to fight changes in awarding electoral votes | PennLive.com

Ed Rendell urges Democrats to fight changes in awarding electoral votes | PennLive.com

Shell casings may tie Texas shootout to Colo death

Shell casings may tie Texas shootout to Colo death 

This undated photo released by the Colorado Department of Corrections shows paroled inmate Evan Spencer Ebel. Ebel, 28, is the man who led Texas authorities on a 100 mph car chase that ended in a shootout Thursday, March 21, 2013, and may be linked to the slaying of Colorado's state prison chief.

  

DECATUR, Texas (AP) -- Shell casings from a Texas shootout with a white supremacist Colorado parolee are the same make and caliber as those found at the home of Colorado's prison chief after he was killed, according to legal papers.

It's the closest link yet between Evan Spencer Ebel - who died in the shootout - and the slaying of Tom Clements, who was shot and killed when he opened his door Tuesday evening.

Authorities also say they found a Domino's pizza bag and a jacket or shirt in the trunk of the car Ebel was driving when Texas deputies tried to pull him over - a link to another slaying, that of a pizza deliveryman whose body was found Sunday.

In a case that's been confusing in how the suspect is connected to each crime, the search warrant documents released Friday in Texas brought some clarity.

Ebel, 28, is a Colorado parolee with a long record of convictions since 2003 for various crimes including assaulting a prison guard in 2008. He was a member of a white supremacist prison gang called the 211s, a federal law enforcement official told The Associated Press. The official was not authorized to speak publicly about the case and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity.

Colorado officials would not confirm Ebel's gang ties or say whether they had anything to do with the death of prisons director Tom Clements. But they locked down prisons Friday for the second time since Clements' slaying without giving a reason, and said state troopers are providing extra security for Colorado government officials.

"We are at a heightened alert," said Steve Johnson of the Colorado Bureau of Investigation at a Friday news conference.

Denver police said they were "confident" Ebel was involved in the death of Nathan Leon, 27, the pizza man whose body was found Sunday.

They've been less forthcoming about his link to Clements' death, aside from saying the car Ebel was driving during the shootout in Texas is similar to one seen at Clements' home the night of the shooting.

Ebel fired at Texas authorities who tried to stop him Thursday. The .9 mm Hornady casings found after the Texas shootout match those found at Clement's house, Texas Ranger Anthony Bradford wrote in the application for a search warrant.

Authorities said they were running ballistics tests to see if they could conclusively link the gun Ebel used in Texas with the one that killed Clements.

The FBI and local officials were also beginning to examine another case that appears similar to the Clements killing - the Jan. 31 slaying of a prosecutor in Kaufman - about 100 miles from where Ebel crashed and got into the shootout. Mark Hasse was gunned down as he walked across a parking lot to the courthouse.

Authorities have investigated whether Hasse's death could be linked to a white supremacist gang. On Friday they said they will see if there is any connection to Clements' murder.

"This is part of routine investigative work when two crimes occur under somewhat similar circumstances," Kaufman Police Chief Chris Aulbaugh said in a statement on the look at any links with the Clements case.

Ebel's tie to Clements' killing comes from the car he drove - a black Cadillac with mismatched Colorado plates that fit the description of a vehicle spotted outside Clements' home just before the prison chief answered his front door and was shot to death.

Texas authorities spotted the car Thursday and gave chase after Ebel shot and wounded a deputy. They fatally shot him after he crashed into a semi and opened fire on his pursuers.

Ebel is not on the radar of the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks extremist groups, but the center rates the gang as one of the most vicious white supremacist groups operating in the nation's prisons, comparable to the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas. Founded in 1995 to protect white prisoners from attacks, it operates only in Colorado and has anywhere from between a couple hundred to 1,000 members, senior fellow Mark Potok said Friday.

The gang has grown into a sophisticated criminal enterprise where members are assigned military titles like "general" and extort money from fellow prisoners, regardless of race. Released members are expected to make money to support those still in prison, Potok said. He said members have to attack someone to get in and can only get out by dying.

"It's blood in and blood out," he said.

In 2005, 32 members were indicted for racketeering and the gang's founder, Benjamin Davis, was sentenced to over 100 years in prison.

The killing of Clements, 58, shocked his quiet neighborhood in Monument, a town of rolling hills north of Colorado Springs, for its brutality: He answered the door of his home Tuesday evening and was gunned down. Authorities wouldn't say if they thought the attack was related to his job, and all Clements' recent public activities and cases were scrutinized.

The Texas car chase started when a sheriff's deputy in Montague County, James Boyd, tried to pull over the Cadillac around 11 a.m. Thursday, authorities there said. They wouldn't say exactly why he was stopped, but called it routine.

Ebel opened fire on Boyd, wounding him, Wise County Sheriff David Walker. Ebel then fled south before crashing into a semi as he tried to elude his pursuers.

After the crash, Ebel he got out of the vehicle, shooting at deputies and troopers who had joined the chase. He shot at Decatur Police Chief Rex Hoskins four times as the chief tried to set up a roadblock.

"He wasn't planning on being taken alive," Hoskins said.

Boyd, the deputy who was shot, was wearing a bulletproof vest and was at a Fort Worth hospital, authorities said. Officials Friday said he was able to sit up and appeared to be recovering.

Legal records show Ebel was convicted of several crimes in Colorado dating back to 2003, including assaulting a prison guard in 2008. He apparently was paroled, but Colorado Department of Corrections spokeswoman Alison Morgan said she could not release information on prisoners because of the ongoing investigation into Clements' death.

Scott Robinson, a criminal defense attorney and media legal analyst, represented Ebel in 2003 and 2004. He said Ebel had been sentenced to a halfway house for a robbery charge in 2003 before he was accused in two additional robbery cases the following year that garnered prison sentences of three and eight years.

"I thought he was a young man who was redeemable, otherwise I wouldn't have taken the case," Robinson said, saying he didn't recall the details of the case.

Robinson said he knew Ebel before he got in trouble. He said Ebel was raised by a single father and had a younger sister who died in a car accident years ago.

Vicky Bankey said Ebel was in his teens when she lived across from him in suburban Denver until his father moved a couple of years ago. She remembers seeing Ebel once jump off the roof of his house. "He was a handful. I'd see him do some pretty crazy things," she said.

"He had a hair-trigger temper as a kid. But his dad was so nice," Bankey said.

Ebel's father didn't return multiple phone calls.

Clements came to Colorado in 2011 after working three decades in the Missouri prison system. Missouri Department of Corrections spokeswoman Mandi Steele said Thursday the department was ready to help in the probe if asked.

The last public official killed in Colorado in the past 10 years was Sean May, a prosecutor in suburban Denver. An assailant killed May as he arrived home from work. Investigators examined May's court cases, but the case remains unsolved.

Late night: Senate Democrats work to pass budget

Late night: Senate Democrats work to pass budget

A Senate aide delivers a stack of documents bound in red tape being used as a prop during debate on the budget in the Senate, at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, March 22, 2013. The paperwork was described as the federal regulations dealing with the Affordable Care Act, often called "Obamacare."

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Senate Democrats neared approval of their first budget proposal in four years on Friday, calling for almost $1 billion in tax increases over the coming decade while sheltering safety net programs targeted by House Republicans. The Democrats also would reverse automatic spending cuts that are beginning to strike both the Pentagon and domestic programs.

The nonbinding but politically symbolic measure caters to party stalwarts on the liberal edge of the spectrum just as the House GOP measure is crafted to appeal to more recent tea party arrivals.

Approval of the Senate version was expected to come long after dark - after dozens of votes on amendments, many of which were offered in hopes of inflicting political damage on Democratic senators up for re-election in GOP-leaning states like Alaska and Louisiana.

Some $1 trillion in new revenue would flow to the government over the coming decade - on top of more than $600 billion in taxes on upper-income earners approved in January - and would be coupled with a net $875 billion in spending cuts. Those reductions would be generated by modest cuts to federal health care programs, domestic agencies and the Pentagon and reduced government borrowing costs. The budget proposes $100 billion in new spending for infrastructure projects and job training programs.

The president will reveal his own overdue tax-and-spending plan in two weeks, a plan that will be judged in part by whether it offers new, more politically risky proposals that could form the foundation for a bipartisan agreement between the two houses.

Senators braced for dozens of votes during a marathon session running late on Friday, with some predicting a final vote on the Democratic plan in the pre-dawn hours of Saturday. In early voting Friday morning, Democrats rejected the latest attempt to repeal Obama's landmark health care law by a strictly party-line vote.

The Senate has already taken several politically freighted votes, including a move by Democrats to force a vote on the Paul Ryan House budget, which was rejected by a 59-40 vote Thursday night, with five Republicans joining every Democratic senator in opposition.

Republicans countered with a move by Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., putting Democrats on record in opposition to balancing the budget by the end of the decade. It failed on a near party-line vote.

Additional votes on Friday could feature forays into off-topic subjects like super-sized soft drinks, domestic drone strikes, handguns and abortion - in addition to the more traditional subjects of taxes, spending and debt.

It all concerned a largely symbolic measure known as a budget resolution, not binding legislation that could be sent to the president to become law. The Senate budget measure and the starkly different version passed by the House on Thursday seek to set parameters for follow-up legislation on taxes and spending.

The dueling House and Senate budget plans are anchored on opposite ends of the ideological spectrum in Washington. No Democrats voted for the House budget, and not a single Republican will vote for the Senate plan, written by new Budget Committee Chairman Patty Murray, D-Wash. The GOP plan caters to tea party forces, while Murray was forced to reach out to liberals, rather than revive proposals such as increasing out-of-pocket Medicare costs for better off beneficiaries that were discussed when she co-chaired a failed 2011 deficit "supercommittee."

While the House GOP plan seeks $4.6 trillion in spending cuts over 10 years on top of the $1.2 trillion in automatic cuts in the same timeframe. Murray's plan promises to replace the $1.2 trillion in automatic cuts, required under a hard-fought 2011 budget pact because of the failure of Washington follow up that deal with another deficit-cutting plan. She notes that they were never intended to take effect and were instead aimed at forcing Republicans and Democrats into a deal. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office warns the $85 billion in cuts set to strike the economy this year could cost 750,000 jobs.

Murray combines $975 billion in unspecified tax increases with net cuts in spending of $875 billion to replace the automatic cuts. The plan promises a $693 billion deficit in 2014, dropping to the $400 billion range for the middle years of the decade. While large, such deficits would hover just above 2 percent of gross domestic product, a level that many analysts see as economically sustainable.

All told, the slashing House budget projects $4 trillion more in deficit cuts than the Murray plan, but only by assuming cuts to Medicaid, food stamps and farm programs, among others - and cutting domestic agency spending covering such areas as education, the FBI, NASA and housing subsidies by almost 20 percent next year.

The Democratic plan sticks to agency budget "caps" set in the 2011 deal and leaves safety-net programs for the poor virtually alone. Its cuts to the rapidly spiraling Medicare program are limited to health care providers and are less stringent than those proposed by Obama.

"The Senate budget puts forward serious, responsible deficit reduction that reflects the recommendations of bipartisan experts, and the values and priorities of the American people," Murray said.

Senate Republicans did not draft a budget plan of their own, though 40 of them voted for the House GOP measure. Instead, they focused their fire on the Democratic version, saying it does nothing about the rapidly rising costs of Medicare and other benefit programs, while allowing the national debt to reach $24.4 trillion by 2023.

"In addition to having these huge tax increases - the biggest in the history of the country - this budget also has huge spending," said Sen. Rob. Portman, R-Ohio. "The spending is actually an increase when you wipe away all the gimmicks."

Pennsylvania Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Krancer Joins Blank Rome LLP - PR Newswire - The Sacramento Bee

Pennsylvania Environmental Protection Secretary Michael Krancer Joins Blank Rome LLP - PR Newswire - The Sacramento Bee

Barry Horn found not guilty of most serious charges | PennLive.com

Barry Horn found not guilty of most serious charges | PennLive.com

PA court may decide case on warrantless GPS tracking - Wednesday Morning Coffee | PennLive.com

PA court may decide case on warrantless GPS tracking - Wednesday Morning Coffee | PennLive.com

Shivs, more on display at historic Philly prison

Shivs, more on display at historic Philly prison 

In this Tuesday, March 12, 2013 photo, shown examples of shanks made by inmates at the Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia. The defunct and decayed prison that serves as one of Philadelphia's quirkiest tourist attractions, plans to displaying dozens of never-before-seen artifacts for 10 days only in a "pop-up museum."

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A mounted wooden fish. Dog figurines. Colorful soap carvings of clowns and Santa. A wallet made of interwoven cigarette packs. It sounds like a bad garage sale - until you get to the shivs. And the century-old mug shot book. And the inmate death ledger.

Those items are among dozens of prison artifacts set for display at the historic Eastern State Penitentiary in Philadelphia. The brief exhibit opens Saturday and runs for 10 days.

The defunct and decayed prison, which once housed gangster Al Capone, was abandoned in 1971 but has since been preserved in a state of semi-ruin, becoming one of the city's eeriest and quirkiest tourist attractions.

The objects have never before been exhibited because the dank, decrepit facility didn't have any climate-controlled rooms. But recent renovations will allow the prison to temporarily convert its staff conference room into a "pop-up museum."

Chronicling the inmates' arc of arrival, hard time and departure, artifacts range from mug shots and the prison's original front-gate key to handicrafts, shanks and a death ledger. Many died of tuberculosis; some were executed elsewhere; others served their sentences and went home.

The objects remind visitors that hundreds of people once lived and worked in the now spooky and silent cellblocks, said Sean Kelley, director of public programming. The site also featured amenities such as a synagogue, chapel, print shop and curio store, where inmate crafts were sold to the public.

"Life here was incredibly varied. ... A lot of people find that surprising," Kelley said. "It's amazing how this place was really a small city."

The prison sits behind forbidding, 30-foot-tall walls in the city's Fairmount section. It was an architectural marvel when it opened in 1829, boasting indoor plumbing and central heat even before the White House. Such conveniences enabled solitary confinement that would, ideally, lead to penitence - thus the term "penitentiary." The solitary system was scrapped in 1913.

After closing more than 40 years ago, the facility largely became a crumbling mess until historical preservationists stepped in. It reopened for daily tours in 1994.

That's about when former staff and ex-inmates started returning keepsakes of their time at Eastern State, Kelley said. One guard's widow showed up with a bag full of her husband's mementos, including a nearly complete set of a magazine that prisoners published from 1956-67.

"The objects have been coming back to us for years," Kelley said.

That includes an inmate-made model clipper ship, which was returned in 2010 by Edwin Feiler Jr., of Savannah, Ga. Feiler had bought the foot-tall boat - and dozens of smaller ones, also crafted by prisoners - for a Navy-themed party at his University of Pennsylvania fraternity in the 1950s after hearing about the inmates' handiwork through word of mouth.

In a recent phone interview, Feiler vividly recalled "the crash" of the penitentiary gate as it closed behind him when he picked up the crafts. The ship would later spend decades as decor at his beach house on Georgia's Tybee Island.

He decided to give it back to Eastern State after his daughter, Cari Feiler Bender, began doing publicity for the site.

"When something like that's on display, it becomes more meaningful to everybody," Feiler said. "All you have now are those (prison) walls, but there were people there. It was alive."

Eastern State archivist Erica Harman said one of her favorite objects is a 2-inch-tall decorative cutlery set that an inmate carved from soup bones in 1856. He used a jackknife, which was allowed during the era of solitary confinement.

Harman called the exhibit "a great reminder of the inmates' humanity."

"They're not just numbers, they're not just criminals. They're people," she said. "That can be hard to remember when you're looking at locks, cells and keys."