Assault Rifle Used To Rob 'Wild & Crazy Beauty Supply Store'

 

PHILADELPHIA - 

 Police say two guys broke out an AR-15-style assault rifle to commit a beauty supply store robbery in Hunting Park that was caught on surveillance video.
This happened Wednesday at 6:05 p.m. at the Wild & Crazy Beauty Supply store located at 4326 North Broad Street in Hunting Park.
Police say the duo entered the store with their faces covered, and one pointed the weapon at employees, demanding that they fill a dark-colored bag with money from the cash registers. The other stayed near the front door, acting as a lookout.
Police said that, after taking an undetermined amount of money, both suspects ran away in an unknown direction.
Police described both suspects as black males in their late teens to early-20s with medium builds.
The one carrying the assault rifle had his face covered with a black neoprene ski mask while wearing a black Nike hooded sweatshirt, black colored pants, an Armani Exchange belt and dark-colored sneakers. The other had an animal print mask, wore a gray hooded Adidas sweatshirt with a logo in black on the front, dark colored pants and gray sneakers with bright red laces.
If you see these suspects, police say don't approach them; call 9-1-1 immediately. To submit a tip, call 215-686-TIPS (8477) or text to PPD TIP (773847).
If you have any information about this crime or these suspects, please contact Northwest Detectives Division at 215-686-3353/3354.

Mexican drug cartels now make money exporting ore

Mexican drug cartels now make money exporting ore 

In this Aug. 14, 2013 photo, Mexican army soldiers enter the iron ore mine in the town of Aquila, Mexico. A resident of Aquila, said that since 2012, the Knights Templar cartel demanded residents hand over part of the royalty payments from the local iron ore mine operated by Ternium, a Luxembourg-based consortium. Mexican drug cartels long ago moved into oil theft, pirated goods, extortion and kidnapping, but it still came as a shock this month when federal officials revealed the gangs have broadened the scope and sophistication of their economic empires by entering the country’s lucrative mining industry, exporting iron ore to Chinese and other foreign mills.

MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Mexican drug cartels looking to diversify their businesses long ago moved into oil theft, pirated goods, extortion and kidnapping, consuming an ever larger swath of the country's economy. This month, federal officials confirmed the cartels have even entered the country's lucrative mining industry, exporting iron ore to Chinese mills.

Such large-scale illegal mining operations were long thought to be wild rumor, but federal officials confirmed they had known about the cartels' involvement in mining since 2010, and that the Nov. 4 military takeover of Lazaro Cardenas, Mexico's second-largest port, was aimed at cutting off the cartels' export trade.

That news served as a wake-up call to Mexicans that drug traffickers have penetrated the country's economy at unheard-of levels, becoming true Mafia-style organizations, ready to defend their mines at gun point.

Three Michoacan state detectives were wounded in an ambush earlier this week when they were traveling to investigate a mine taken over by criminals. When reinforcements arrived, those officers were also ambushed, part of a string of attacks on police in Michoacan on Wednesday and Thursday that left two officers dead and about a dozen wounded.

The Knights Templar cartel and its predecessor, the La Familia drug gang, have been stealing or extorting shipments of iron ore, or illegally extracting the mineral themselves and selling it through Pacific coast ports, said Michoacan residents, mining companies and current and former federal officials. The cartel had already imposed demands for "protection payments" on many in the state, including shopkeepers, ranchers and farmers.

But so deeply entrenched was the cartel connection to mines, mills, ports, export firms and land holders that it took authorities three years to confront the phenomenon head-on. Federal officials said they are looking to crack down on other ports where drug gangs are operating.

"This is the terrible thing about this process of (the cartel's) taking control of and reconfiguring the state," said Guillermo Valdes Castellanos, the former head of the country's top domestic intelligence agency. "They managed to impose a Mafia-style control of organized crime, and the different social groups like port authorities, transnational companies and local landowners, had to get in line."

Valdez Castellanos said that even back in 2010, the La Familia cartel would take ore from areas that were under concession to private mining companies, sometimes with the aid or complicity of local farmers and land owners, then sell the ore to processors, distributors and even, apparently, foreign firms.

Mexico's Economy Department said the problem was so severe that it prompted the government to quietly toughen rules on exporters in 2011 and 2012 and make them prove they received their ore from established, recognized sources.

Many exporters couldn't. In 2012, the department denied export applications from 13 companies, because they didn't meet the new rules. And the problem wasn't just limited to Michoacan, or the Knights Templar cartel.

"Since 2010, evidence surfaced of irregular mining of iron in the states of Jalisco, Michoacan and Colima," 

the department said in a statement to The Associated Press.

"That illegal activity was encouraged by the great demand for iron by countries such as China, to develop their industries," according to the department. "Many trading companies began to build up big stockpiles of legally and illegally obtained iron (ore), that was later shipped out for export."

A Mexican federal official, who was not authorized to speak on the record, said the cartels would use a combination of threats and outright theft to get the ore from mines. He said the nexus between the cartels and export companies was key.

"They extort the merchandise from mining companies and then export it through legal companies, or they rob trucks full (of ore) that later turn up in a legal manner," the official said.

Ofelia Alcala, a resident of the Michoacan mining village of Aquila, said that since 2012, the Knights Templar cartel has demanded residents hand over part of the royalty payments from a local iron ore mine operated by Ternium, a Luxembourg-based consortium. Alcala, a member of a self-defense group that rose up in arms in Aquila this summer to kick the cartel out, said the cartel also had been hiring people to extract the ore without permits, and then exporting it through another Pacific coast port, Manzanillo.

"They weren't content with getting our money and robbing our trucks, so they began secretly extracting our minerals," said Alcala.

Ternium said in a statement that it has received reports of irregular mining near its operations in Aquila.

"Those have been passed on to the appropriate authorities," the company said in a statement.

Government figures show the amount of iron ore being exported to China quadrupled between 2008 and the first half of 2013, rising to 4.6 million tons per year, precisely during the period the La Familia cartel and later the Knights Templar cemented their control over Michoacan.

In 2008, Lazaro Cardenas handled only 1.5 percent of Mexico's iron ore exports to China; by mid-2013, the seaport was shipping out nearly half.

In 2010, the attorney general's office estimated the cartels shipped 1.1 million tons of illegally extracted iron ore abroad that year.

Officials said the export scheme may have involved other sea ports, and that more military takeovers may be necessary.

The cartel mining issue also resurfaced last year in the coal-mining state of Coahuila bordering Texas. The former governor, Humberto Moreira, called a press conference to claim that Heriberto Lazcano, leader of the Zetas cartel, was running illegal coal mining ventures and partnering with legitimate ones. So far, none of the accusations have been proven.

The only known arrests related to cartel mining operations occurred in Michoacan in 2010, when Ignacio Lopez Medina, an alleged member of La Familia, was accused of selling ore illegally to China, the federal Attorney General's Office said at the time.

But the arrest apparently came to little; the Attorney General's Office could not say whether Lopez Medina had been tried or convicted of that crime, nor could The Associated Press determine if he is represented by a lawyer or is still in custody.

The Chinese Chamber of Commerce did not immediately respond to requests for information on companies that have been involved in buying ore from cartels, knowingly or otherwise.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry declined to comment on whether China had any measures in place to ensure the legal provenance of such imports.

The iron ore, meanwhile, has both swelled the cartels' bankrolls, giving them more money to buy guns and bribe officials, and fed the hunger of Asian steel mills.

And it may be a two-way trade: Precursor chemicals the cartel uses to make methamphetamines often arrive from China at both the Lazaro Cardenas and Manzanillo ports.

 

IRS Warns of Pervasive Telephone Scam

IRS YouTube Video:
Tax Scams: English | Spanish | ASL



WASHINGTON — The Internal Revenue Service today warned consumers about a sophisticated phone scam targeting taxpayers, including recent immigrants, throughout the country.

Victims are told they owe money to the IRS and it must be paid promptly through a pre-loaded debit card or wire transfer. If the victim refuses to cooperate, they are then threatened with arrest, deportation or suspension of a business or driver’s license. In many cases, the caller becomes hostile and insulting.

“This scam has hit taxpayers in nearly every state in the country.  We want to educate taxpayers so they can help protect themselves.  Rest assured, we do not and will not ask for credit card numbers over the phone, nor request a pre-paid debit card or wire transfer,” says IRS Acting Commissioner Danny Werfel. “If someone unexpectedly calls claiming to be from the IRS and threatens police arrest, deportation or license revocation if you don’t pay immediately, that is a sign that it really isn’t the IRS calling.” Werfel noted that the first IRS contact with taxpayers on a tax issue is likely to occur via mail
Other characteristics of this scam include:

• Scammers use fake names and IRS badge numbers. They generally use common names and surnames to identify themselves.
• Scammers may be able to recite the last four digits of a victim’s Social Security Number.
• Scammers spoof the IRS toll-free number on caller ID to make it appear that it’s the IRS calling.
• Scammers sometimes send bogus IRS emails to some victims to support their bogus calls.
• Victims hear background noise of other calls being conducted to mimic a call site.
• After threatening victims with jail time or driver’s license revocation, scammers hang up and others soon call back pretending to be from the local police or DMV, and the caller ID supports their claim.

If you get a phone call from someone claiming to be from the IRS, here’s what you should do:

• If you know you owe taxes or you think you might owe taxes, call the IRS at 1.800.829.1040. The IRS employees at that line can help you with a payment issue – if there really is such an issue.
• If you know you don’t owe taxes or have no reason to think that you owe any taxes (for example, you’ve never received a bill or the caller made some bogus threats as described above), then call and report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at 1.800.366.4484.
• If you’ve been targeted by this scam, you should also contact the Federal Trade Commission and use their “FTC Complaint Assistant” at FTC.gov.  Please add "IRS Telephone Scam" to the comments of your complaint.

Taxpayers should be aware that there are other unrelated scams (such as a lottery sweepstakes) and solicitations (such as debt relief) that fraudulently claim to be from the IRS.
The IRS encourages taxpayers to be vigilant against phone and email scams that use the IRS as a lure. The IRS does not initiate contact with taxpayers by email to request personal or financial information.  This includes any type of electronic communication, such as text messages and social media channels. The IRS also does not ask for PINs, passwords or similar confidential access information for credit card, bank or other financial accounts. Recipients should not open any attachments or click on any links contained in the message. Instead, forward the e-mail to phishing@irs.gov.

More information on how to report phishing scams involving the IRS is available on the genuine IRS website, IRS.gov.

Iran sanctions eased, but pinch still felt

Iran sanctions eased, but pinch still felt 

FILE - In this Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012, file photo, Iranians walk in a corridor of the main old Bazaar of Tehran, Iran. The Iranian economy has been battered since 2011, when the U.S. and Europe broadened economic sanctions against Iran to include crucial oil and banking sectors. But the sanctions relief offered to Iran by the U.S. and five world powers in November 2013, has already begun to boost morale in the business community

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) -- The sanctions relief offered to Iran by the U.S. and five world powers has begun to get the gears of commerce slowly turning again in an economy that remains in shambles.

The Obama administration estimates relief from some sanctions in exchange for a temporary pause in Iran's nuclear enrichment program will amount to just $7 billion. That's a meager amount for the economy of a nation of nearly 80 million people - it's less than one month's worth of Iran's oil production and just 7 percent of Iran's overseas cash that remains frozen under the sanctions.

Still, Iranians see the move as a much needed step toward a more normal economy after years of crippling inflation and job losses.

"Markets operate on a psychological basis," says Ray Takeyh, an Iran expert at the Council on Foreign Relations and former U.S. State Department senior adviser. "The psychology of Iranian commerce has changed."

Rahmat Dehghani, a glazier, says he has been invited to discuss a new hotel project in the northeastern city of Mashhad, 550 miles (900 kilometers) east of the capital, Tehran.

"For months, the owner had delayed any discussion about his project since the future was not clear for any investment," he said.

The Iranian economy was already struggling under the weight of corruption, mismanagement and costly food, energy and cash subsides for the poor when the U.S. and Europe broadened economic sanctions against Iran to include its crucial oil and banking sectors in late 2011.

Oil sales plummeted by about 1.5 million barrels per day, depriving Iran of about $80 billion since early 2012, according to the White House. At the same time, much of the revenue Iran did earn from exports to a few Asian countries that were allowed to buy Iranian oil remained out of the country. The sanctions required oil buyers to pay into locked bank accounts that Iran can access only to purchase non-sanctioned goods or humanitarian supplies.

Manufacturers found it increasingly difficult to buy crucial components to make products or keep factories running. Inflation and unemployment soared and Iran's national currency, the rial, lost more than half its value.

"People can't save, they can't invest, it's hard to buy a home, no one can trust the currency, no one knows what they really earn," says Anthony Cordesman, a Middle East and energy expert at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

At the same time, Iran is believed to have provided the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad with billions of dollars in economic aid and fuel over the past three years as Syria's civil war erupted.

Public grumbling grew. Prices for staples such as chicken and lamb climbed out of reach of many low-income Iranians. Late last year, Iranian riot police were deployed at key intersections in Tehran after sporadic protests flared.

That frustration led to the election of President Hassan Rouhani, who campaigned on economic reforms. Iranians blamed former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for mismanagement and corruption that many believe was at least as damaging to the economy as the West's sanctions.

The bleak conditions may have also forced Rouhani - backed by Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei - to back the nuclear deal struck Sunday in Geneva between Iran and the U.S., Russia, China, France, the U.K. and Germany.

Rouhani, in an address delivered this week on the occasion of his first 100 days in office, said the Iranian economy contracted 6 percent in the last year. That compares with a 4.7 percent decline in the U.S. economy during the Great Recession, which lasted from December 2007 to June 2009.Rouhani pledged to halt the recession by March of next year and reduce inflation to an annual rate of 25 percent by the end of next year.

The White House says the nuclear deal keeps in place "the overwhelming majority of the sanctions regime." Almost all of Iran's approximately $100 billion in foreign exchange holdings remains inaccessible or restricted by sanctions.

That means for the vast majority of Iranians, the deal will do little to alleviate the cost of daily life. Inflation hovers around 35 percent, pushing the price of goods ever higher. Officially, unemployment is around 13 percent, though that number is widely thought by experts to be much higher.

"Iran will continue to bleed financially," said risk consultancy Eurasia Group in a report.

But sanctions will be suspended on gold and precious metals, Iran's auto sector and petrochemical exports. Restrictions on oil exports will get no tighter, as they were slated to, and restrictions on insurance were loosened, which will help make it easier for Iran to sell the oil it can. The agreement also gives Iran's aviation industry a boost by allowing airlines to buy needed parts.

And, importantly, the deal began to restore some confidence in the Iranian economy after an extraordinarily dark period. The public reaction to the deal was largely positive, and the rial immediately gained about 3 percent against the dollar, according to money exchangers in Tehran.

Amin Naderi, who imports sportswear, has been shrinking his business for months in fear that the economy would continue to slide and fewer people would buy his product. Now, he says, the situation is looking brighter.

When - and whether - a brighter outlook will turn into real gains for Iranians, though, remains to be seen. Reza Ghazinouri, a former Iranian student activist now at the Washington-based human rights group United For Iran, says Iranians seem overwhelmingly happy with the deal and what it could mean for the economy. 

But with sanctions relief so limited, he worries hopes are too high.

"A very very small percentage of people are unhappy with this," he says. "The rest of the people are really happy. But they are hoping too much."

Egypt: Heavy prison sentence for Islamist women

Egypt: Heavy prison sentence for Islamist women 

Egyptian women supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi stand inside the defendants' cage in a courtroom in Alexandria, Egypt, Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2013. An Egyptian court has handed down heavy sentences of 11 years in prison to 21 female supporters of the ousted Islamist president, many of them juveniles, for holding a protest.

CAIRO (AP) -- Nearly two dozen Islamist women and girls, some as young as 15, were handed heavy prison sentences Wednesday for protesting in a court ruling that came a day after police beat and terrorized prominent female activists in a crackdown on secular demonstrators under a tough new anti-protest law.

The harshness of the sentences and the scenes a day earlier were new signs that the military-backed government is becoming bolder in silencing dissent, turning to abuses reminiscent of the Hosni Mubarak era. 

Authorities have been justifying tougher measures as needed to fight terrorism and bring stability - while they also appear to be exploiting divisions among secular democracy activists.

The crackdown is rearranging Egypt's political map after months when authorities were focused on crippling the Muslim Brotherhood and other Islamist backers of ousted President Mohammed Morsi.

This week, security forces have moved against secular youth activists opposed to the military and police. Some government supporters warn that its actions are widening the base of the opposition and could bring together Morsi supporters and the secular activists, though they bitterly oppose the Islamists and Morsi as equally authoritarian. The crisis is fragmenting the loose coalition of liberal and secular groups that supported the military in its July 3 removal of Morsi.

In a Mediterranean city of Alexandria courtroom, the 21 young female defendants flashed defiant smiles to the media, standing handcuffed in white head scarves and white prison uniforms in the defendants cage. They were convicted on charges related to holding an Oct. 31 protest in the city demanding Morsi's reinstatement.

Among them were seven teenagers aged 15 and 16, who were sentenced to prison terms until they turn 18. The rest - most aged 18 to 22 - were sentenced to 11 years in prison. Six other Brotherhood members were sentenced to 15 years in prison for inciting the demonstrations.

"We thought they will get a month or something but we were shocked with the 11 years," defense lawyer al-Shimaa Ibrahim Saad said.

The Muslim Brotherhood's political arm, the Freedom and Justice Party, said the sentences are meant to be a "deterrent" for the group's opposition to the military, vowing the verdict "will only increase the determination of the people to get their rights."

Meanwhile, hundreds of secular youth activists protested Wednesday in downtown Cairo against the government's clampdown on dissent. At the center of the crisis is the law issued this week banning any protests or public political gatherings of more than 10 people without a prior police permit, imposing stiff fines and jail terms for violators.

"Those thinking the authoritarian pharaonic style works will find it doesn't anymore," said one protester, Laila Soueif. "There will be a third wave of the revolution much more violent than before. We are witnessing a turning point."

A day earlier, security forces broke up two small activists' protests in Cairo. Security forces beat and dragged women protesters outside parliament.

The images were reminiscent of the days of Mubarak, the autocrat who ruled the country for nearly 30 years and was ousted in a 2011 uprising. Under his rule, police at times focused on humiliating female protesters. Similarly, under the rule of the military that followed his ouster, police broke up an anti-military protest, half-stripping a female protester and stomping on her chest.

After breaking up Tuesday's protest, police detained 14 women, then drove them in a van through the desert where they were dropped off on a remote road in the middle of the night, several of the women said. That too is a tactic used by Mubarak-era police to intimidate protesters.

"They want to terrorize us," said Mona Seif, a prominent activist who was among the 14 women. "I think the interior minister decided to escalate and tell everyone whose family was killed... beaten or anything that I am here, this is how I do business, and if you don't like it, beat your head against the wall."

In the face of the criticism, the Cabinet issued a strongly worded statement saying it is determined to implement the new protest law with "all firmness and force ... so freedom doesn't turn to chaos." It linked it to a "war on terrorism" - pointing to the Brotherhood protests and violence by Islamic militants in Sinai.

"There are elements that want to spread domestic chaos in a desperate attempt to hurt the prestige of the state," it said.

The law comes ahead of an election season that will include a referendum on amendments to the Islamist-drafted, Morsi-era constitution. Authorities have shown they are eager to push through the new charter - but they could face troubles in the January vote on two fronts.

Secular activists oppose the document because of wider powers it gives the military and the president. The Brotherhood rejects the entire amendment process - along with the new government in general - and although it has been weakened by a crackdown, it has kept up protests for over 20 weeks and can still mobilize against the document.

On Wednesday, the prosecutor general's office ordered 24 people who were arrested in Tuesday's activist protest to be held for four days for questioning on possible charges of violating the protest law.

In a statement, the prosecutors office accused the protesters of "chanting antagonistic slogans against the state" and refusing to end their rally. It said the demonstration "disturbed traffic and affected citizens' interests," terms mentioned in the protest law as violations justifying police action. It also accused them of attacking a police officer and taking his telephone.

The prosecutor also ordered the arrests of Alaa Abdel-Fattah and Ahmed Maher, two top activists, on suspicion of inciting others to break the protest law, the state news agency MENA said.

In a sign of the Islamists' eagerness to find a common cause with secular activists, the Brotherhood-led coalition supporting Morsi reached out to them Wednesday with a statement denouncing "brutal repression" of the protests the day before, saying the "youth of the revolution stand united."

The spokesman of the Muslim Brotherhood-led coalition, Diaa al-Sawi, said he will contact youth activists to coordinate rallies.

They met a quick rejection, however, from the youth activists, who joined the massive anti-Morsi protests that preceded his ouster.

"A message to the Muslim Brotherhood: we will not put our hands in the hands of those who betrayed and hijacked the revolution," said Hossam Moanis, spokesman of one activist group, the Popular Current.

 

Same-sex couple's wedding a first for Illinois

Same-sex couple's wedding a first for Illinois

Holding their Illinois marriage license, Vernita Gray, left, and Patricia Ewert smile at friends after they were married by Cook County Judge Patricia Logue, the first gay marriage in Illinois, at the couple's home Wednesday, Nov. 27, 2013, in Chicago. U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin on Monday, Nov. 25, 2013, ordered the Cook County clerk to issue an expedited marriage license to Gray and Ewert before the state's gay marriage law takes effect in June 2014, because Gray is terminally ill.

CHICAGO (AP) -- In a short ceremony inside their Chicago apartment, two beaming brides made Illinois history Wednesday as they became the first gay couple to wed under the state's new law legalizing same-sex marriage.

The law approved last week doesn't go into effect until June, but one of the women - Vernita Gray - is terminally ill with cancer, so she and her partner of five years, Patricia Ewert, were granted an expedited marriage license by a federal judge's order.

The two made it official Wednesday in front of more than 20 friends at their high-rise home on the city's North Side. A Cook County judge officiated, and a close friend who deemed himself the "flower girl" tossed rose petals and the couple kissed several times.

They were pronounced wife and wife.

"This is the realization of a very long cherished dream for them both," Camilla Taylor, the head of the legal advocacy group Lambda Legal, which helped represent the couple, said before the wedding day.

When Illinois became the 16th state to legalize gay marriage earlier this month, it was bittersweet for the couple, in their mid-60s. They feared that Gray might not live until the law would allow them to wed. They filed a lawsuit, and a federal judge allowed the two women, in their mid-60s, to get an expedited marriage license.

"She went from one day being as full of energy as she could be to being completely bedridden," Ewert said of her partner's deterioration.

As for waiting until June, Ewert said: "It's a long time in the cancer world."

But the mood was cheerful and festive Wednesday; Ewert wore leopard print and Gray donned a dark leather jacket. They quick signed the papers after the ceremony.

"It's a great day for Vernita and Pat, and an historic day for Illinois, for a deserving and loving couple to have the chance to be married on an expedited basis," John Knight, LGBT Project Director at the ACLU of Illinois, said in a statement. "Their love and commitment to each other has been demonstrated over time, and we're thrilled they didn't have to wait."

Their legal battle could be just the beginning and may fuel efforts to change the effective date of the law, which Gov. Pat Quinn signed last week. There's legislation pending to allow the law to take effect immediately and it could come up in late January when lawmakers gather in Springfield.

Quinn, who helped Illinois legalize civil unions in 2011, said if lawmakers sent him that bill, he'd sign it.

"I'd say the sooner the better," the governor told reporters this week.

The women filed a lawsuit in federal court Friday, citing Gray's cancer as a reason to get a marriage license quickly. Then on Monday, a judge ordered the license and Cook County clerk officials hand-delivered it.

Taylor said marriage means that Ewert will be better protected when it comes to taxes and other federal benefits not guaranteed with a civil union.

The two first met at a work event hosted by the Cook County state's attorney's office and soon started dating. They were engaged in 2009. Ewert said she was "immediately attracted" to Gray, who worked as a victims' advocate in the Cook County court system. Ewert works for state Rep. Kelly Cassidy, a Chicago Democrat.

"Vernita is bigger than life. She has done so much with her life and given so much to her community," Ewert said. "She is a force of nature."

But both women have struggled with health issues; both have had breast cancer. Gray was first diagnosed in 1996 and underwent chemotherapy about the same time as Ewert.

However, things worsened for Gray, especially in June when cancer was found in her brain. She underwent surgery to have a tumor roughly the size of a golf ball removed from her head.

It was also around that time when the women watched efforts to legalize gay marriage stall in the Illinois Legislature, which Ewert said was "terribly" disappointing.

The measure first passed the Illinois Senate on Valentine's Day, but the House sponsor said he didn't have the votes in his chamber in May and didn't call it for a vote. He vowed to bring it back and did so earlier this month when it passed through his chamber by a close margin.

The June 1 date has created some headaches for county clerk offices since it's a Sunday. Some have said they'll be open for business that day, while others said they won't have the resources.

Ahead of the wedding day, Ewert said she was happy to see the judge's quick turnaround.

"Things went so much faster than we expected them to," she said. "We didn't expect there to be so much interest. We're just two little old ladies from Chicago."

 

Rain and snow threaten to snarl holiday travel

Rain and snow threaten to snarl holiday travel

William Witters, of Valparaiso, Ind., waits for a ride in a wheelchair after passing through security at Chicago Midway International Airport on Tuesday, Nov., 26, 2013. Thanksgiving travelers scrambled to book earlier flights Tuesday to avoid a sprawling storm bearing down on the East Coast with a messy mix of snow, rain and wind that threatened to snarl one of the busiest travel days of the yea

NEW YORK (AP) -- Thanksgiving travelers scrambled to book earlier flights Tuesday to avoid a sprawling storm bearing down on the East Coast with a messy mix of snow, rain and wind that threatened to snarl one of the busiest travel days of the year and ground giant balloon versions of Snoopy and SpongeBob SquarePants in the Macy's parade.

The characters that soar between Manhattan skyscrapers every year may not lift off Thursday if sustained winds exceed 23 mph and gusts exceed 34 mph, according to city rules enacted after fierce winds in 1997 caused a Cat in the Hat balloon to topple a light pole and seriously injure a spectator.

Current forecasts call for sustained winds of 20 mph and gusts of 36 mph.

"At this time, it is too early to make any determinations on the flight of the giant balloons," said Macy's spokesman Orlando Veras. "On Thanksgiving morning, Macy's works closely with the NYPD, who, based on real time weather data and the official regulations determine if the balloons will fly and at what heights."

Balloons have been grounded only once in the parade's 87-year history, when bad weather kept them from flying in 1971. They're set to be inflated in Manhattan on Wednesday evening.

Meanwhile, meteorologists warned that the storm, which has moved across the country, would almost certainly upset holiday travel plans on Wednesday for those hoping to visit loved ones in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast. Many travelers were moving to earlier flights, taking advantage of airlines' policies to waive their normal change fees.

Lisa Jablon was originally supposed to fly Delta from New York City to Syracuse, N.Y., on Wednesday at 9:39 a.m. But after following the storm's movements, she decided to jump on the last flight out Tuesday night.

"I'm flying up to spend the holiday with my boyfriend's family and I didn't want to get stuck," Jablon said. 

"The rain seems to be better off tonight than it looks tomorrow morning."

The good news is that the storm is supposed to pass through the Northeast before Thanksgiving Day, with the weather mostly clearing up by Wednesday evening.

Most airlines are hoping the storms won't be too severe, allowing them to continue operating a nearly full schedule with few cancellations, but likely a lot of delays, said Daniel Baker, CEO of FlightAware, a global flight tracking service.

"Cancellations are used as a good, preventative measure to avoid cascading delays that can negatively impact travelers thousands of miles away," Baker said.

Heavy rain and high winds would affect travel by air and road in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic and could have a ripple effect on airports with departing and originating flights elsewhere.

Heavy rain and breezy conditions were in the forecast Wednesday from the Carolinas to the Northeast, with ice and snow a possibility in the Appalachians, western Pennsylvania and western New York.

The storm system, already blamed for at least 11 deaths, could also spawn isolated tornadoes in the Florida Panhandle. The Southeast is set to suffer soaking rain in the coming days, primarily in Alabama, Tennessee and Kentucky.

"It couldn't have come at a worse time," said meteorologist Tim Morrin of the National Weather Service. 

"Visibility will be restricted not only by the rain and wash from other cars, but from the fog."

After arguing with American Airlines on Tuesday, David Short was able to board a flight from New York City to Dallas a day earlier than planned. The airline initially told him it would cost $2,000 to get on the earlier flight, but a few hours later a representative told him the airline was offering flight-change waivers at no cost.

"It was definitely very frustrating and stressful, but it's all working out," Short said.

This holiday will likely see the most air travelers since 2007, according to Airlines for America, the industry's trade and lobbying group, with the busiest day being Sunday, an estimated 2.56 million passengers. 

Wednesday is expected to be the second-busiest, with 2.42 million passengers.

 

Contractor charged with murder in Philly collapse

Contractor charged with murder in Philly collapse

FILE - In this file photo taken June 5, 2013, rescue personnel search the rubble of a building that collapsed on Market Street in downtown Philadelphia, leaving six people dead. Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams on Monday, Nov. 25, 2013 said that contractor Griffin T. Campbell has been charged with third-degree murder, as well as manslaughter, in connection with the collapse.

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- A cut-rate building contractor will face murder charges for a botched demolition in downtown Philadelphia that killed six people inside an adjacent store, officials announced Monday.

Prosecutors called Griffin Campbell "the center of culpability" for the June collapse, and said he ignored his client's warning the night before that disaster was imminent.

"The tragic and preventable collapse ... robbed our city of six amazing Philadelphians that perished in the rubble and left an additional 13 wounded," Philadelphia District Attorney Seth Williams said at a news conference. "The motive was greed."

Campbell, 49, had a deadline to meet, was being paid a flat fee, and wanted to preserve as much salvageable material as he could, leading him to cut corners, Williams said. He charged Campbell with six counts each of third-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter, along with other charges.

Griffin's subcontractor, equipment operator Sean Benschop, had previously been charged with involuntary manslaughter, and remains in custody on $1.6 million bail.

The building owner who chose Campbell's $112,000 bid to take down three attached storefronts - when other bids were two or three times that amount - was not charged Monday. And his architect was given immunity in exchange for his grand jury testimony. However, the panel has not finished its work, and Williams declined to comment on whether owner Richard Basciano could be charged.

The collapse occurred when an unsupported brick wall crashed down onto a smaller Salvation Army store, trapping shoppers and workers in rubble. Campbell was also charged with risking a catastrophe, conspiracy and endangerment.

He was expected to surrender to police Monday. A call to his cellphone went unanswered, and his lawyer did not return a call for comment.

Benschop allegedly operated heavy equipment while high on marijuana and painkillers. In addition to the earlier charges, the grand jury charged him Monday with criminal conspiracy.

"Mr. Benschop had nothing to do with the planning of how that building was coming down. He showed up to work and the contractor told him what to do," defense lawyer Daine Grey said Monday.

Williams agreed that Campbell alone chose the demolition method and supervised the job site.

Rather than work from the top down and brace unsupported walls along the way, he instead had workers remove the building's facade, and then take out the lateral floor joints for salvage. That left the brick side walls unsupported.

Meanwhile, heavy equipment being used at the scene and trains running underneath the site caused vibrations that increased the risk of a collapse, they said.

"This was a clearly hazardous demolition, not just on the day of the accident, but on the days and weeks leading up to the accident," said lawyer Robert Mongeluzzi, who represents several victims' families.

"The shame of this accident is that this (demolition process) was debated back and forth between STB (Basciano's company) and the Salvation Army," he said, referring to emails that show the collapse was predicted while the parties bickered. "This was a game of chicken in which neither STB nor the Salvation Army wanted to blink."

Basciano, a commercial developer once dubbed the pornography king of New York's Times Square, was razing the run-down buildings to make way for redevelopment. His architect, Plato Marinakos, who had secured the demolition permit, testified before the grand jury after he was promised immunity.

Several lawsuits have been filed against Basciano, Campbell, Benschop and others. The victims' lawyers also accuse the city of lax oversight of the demolition process, but the city is generally immune from such lawsuits. One of the shoppers killed was 24-year-old Anne Bryan, the daughter of the city treasurer.

The most seriously injured survivor, 52-year-old Mariya Plekan, lost both legs after spending nearly 13 hours in the rubble.

Ohio prep football rape grand jury charges 4 more

Ohio prep football rape grand jury charges 4 more

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine announces indictments against four additional people in relation to the 2012 rape of a high school student, on Monday, Nov. 25, 2013 in Steubenville, Ohio. The charges against Superintendent Mike McVey include felony counts of obstructing justice, DeWine said. An elementary school principal, Lynnett Gorman, 40, and a strength coach, Seth Fluharty, 26, are charged with failing to report possible child abuse. A former volunteer coach, Matthew Bellardine, 26, faces several misdemeanor charges, including making false statements and contributing to underage alcohol consumption.

STEUBENVILLE, Ohio (AP) -- An Ohio school superintendent and three others were charged Monday with lying or failing to report possible child abuse after an investigation prompted by the rape of a nearly passed-out 16-year-old girl by two high school football players.

The investigation included crimes committed in connection with the case against two members of the celebrated Steubenville High School football team as well as a separate alleged rape that happened in April 2012, four months before the assault that drew nationwide attention over allegations that prosecutors should have charged more players.

Hacker activists helped propel coverage of the rape case and press allegations of a cover-up, including reposting of a 12-minute Internet video made within hours of the attacks in which a former Steubenville student joked about the victim.

Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine convened the grand jury to look into the behavior of school administrators and other adults in the community after the two players were convicted last March. Under the law, educators are required to report allegations of child abuse.

Two people had already been charged before Steubenville Superintendent Mike McVey, strength coach Seth Fluharty, volunteer football coach Matthew Belardine and elementary school principal Lynnett Gorman were charged Monday.

McVey's charges include felony counts of obstructing justice and tampering with evidence and a misdemeanor charge alleging he made a false statement in April 2012. McVey wasn't immediately available for comment, and messages were left for his attorney.

Belardine, whose house authorities said was the scene of the underage drinking party that preceded the rape last summer, faces several misdemeanor charges, including making a false statement and contributing to underage alcohol consumption. Belardine's father, Tim, said his son wasn't commenting immediately while he worked out legal representation.

Fluharty was charged with failing to report possible child abuse in August 2012. Columbus attorney Tom Tyack said he had been contacted to represent Fluharty but could not comment.

Gorman is charged with failing to report possible child abuse in April 2012. Her attorney, Stephen LaMatrice, said she will plead not guilty and the charge isn't connected to the football players' case, but declined to elaborate.

DeWine announced the grand jury's creation March 17, the day a judge convicted Ma'Lik Richmond and Trent Mays of digitally penetrating a West Virginia girl after an alcohol-fueled party that followed a team scrimmage.

The grand jury earlier charged the Steubenville schools' information technology director with tampering with evidence, obstructing justice, obstructing official business and perjury. The panel also indicted that man's daughter on theft and receiving stolen property charges unrelated to the rape case. Both pleaded not guilty.

The case has long been marked by allegations that more football players should have been charged and that police and prosecutors tried to cover up aspects of the case early on. Authorities counter that the two teens were arrested and charged within days of the attack.

DeWine said he believes the grand jury's work is done, barring any new evidence, and acknowledged people may wonder why still others weren't charged.

"It is simply not sufficient that a person's behavior was reprehensible, disgusting, mean-spirited or just plain stupid," DeWine said.

A group of about a dozen Steubenville High School students spent their lunch break at the curb outside the scene of DeWine's news conference, chanting the school's "Big Red" cheers at passing cars: "We love Big Red, yes we do. We love Big Red, how 'bout you?'"

The students said they were expressing their support for their school, not any party involved in the investigation.

Big Red football is a big deal in the economically depressed city of about 18,000, a former steel town that shed thousands of jobs in past decades.

Michael Moore, 21, who had attended the school, said it was disturbing to hear the investigation reached the upper levels of the community's educational leadership.

"These are people we are supposed to look up to," said Moore, 21. "They can't be doing stuff like that."

Derek Smith, 47, whose son is a fifth grade student at the school overlooking the stadium home of the football team, said he was upset that school leaders might have been involved.

"Of course, it's always disturbing when you find out that the people that are in charge of your kids at school have been charged with this kind of thing," he said.

Richmond, 17, was convicted of rape and sentenced to a year in the juvenile prison system. Mays, also 17, was convicted of rape and of using his phone to take a picture of the girl naked and sentenced to two years in juvenile detention.

 

Wintry storm threatens Thanksgiving travels

Wintry storm threatens Thanksgiving travels 

Icicles formed on a photinia bush after the first round of winter weather moved through Tarrant county, Texas, Sunday, Nov. 24, 2013. A second, stronger round of freezing precipitation is expected to hit north Texas Sunday night and Monday morning.

A large storm already blamed for at least eight deaths in the West slogged through Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico and other parts of the Southwest on Sunday, leading to hundreds of flight cancellations as it slowly churned east ahead of Thanksgiving.

After the storm plows through the Southwest, meteorologists expect the Arctic mass to head south and east, threatening plans for Tuesday and Wednesday as people hit the roads and airports for some of the busiest travel days of the year.

More than 300 flights were cancelled at Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, representing about one-third of the scheduled departures, and a spokeswoman said deicing equipment had been prepared as officials planned for the worst in a flurry of conference calls and meetings.

"It's certainly going to be a travel impact as we see the first few people making their way for Thanksgiving," National Weather Service meteorologist Tom Bradshaw said.

The National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning for chunks of North Texas from noon Sunday until midday Monday. Parts of Oklahoma are also under a winter storm warning, while an advisory has been issued for other parts of the state. A mix of rain and sleet began falling north of Dallas on Interstate 35 by midday Sunday, and areas of southwestern Oklahoma woke up to several inches of snow.

Some elevated overpasses had icy surfaces, but Bradshaw said the worst weather could be expected between 3 a.m. and 9 a.m., possibly snarling morning rush hour.

Several inches of snow fell overnight in Altus in far southwestern Oklahoma, said Damaris Machabo, a receptionist at a Holiday Inn motel.

"It looks great. I love the snow," Machabo said. The snow and freezing temperatures made driving in the area treacherous, but Machabo said she had no problems getting to work early Sunday. Forecasts called for more snow in the area later in the day.

Portions of New Mexico - especially in some of the higher elevations - also had several inches of snow, and near white out conditions were reported along stretches of Interstate 40 west of Albuquerque.

Then along the New Mexico-Texas border, into the El Paso area, a mix of snow, sleet and ice forced some road closures and created messy driving conditions.

Flagstaff in Arizona had 11 inches of snow by early Sunday, and was expected to get another inch by the end of the day before the storm petered out. Metro Phoenix and other parts of central Arizona received between 1 1/2 to 2 1/2 inches of rain over the course of the storm. The storms caused cancellations of sporting events and parades and damaged the roofs of homes across Arizona.

In Tucson, firefighters on Friday recovered the body of a man who was swept away by high water in the Santa Cruz River. Tucson police said Sunday an autopsy revealed signs of trauma, and they were investigating the death as a homicide. They did not say whether they had ruled out the storm as a cause of his death.

By early Sunday, the weather was blamed for at least eight deaths in several fatal traffic accidents. The storm also caused hundreds of rollover accidents, including one that injured three members of singer Willie Nelson's band when their bus hit a pillar on Interstate 30 near Sulphur Springs, about 75 miles northeast of Dallas.

Dallas prepared for the storm by declaring "Ice Force Level 1," code for sending 30 sanding trucks to trouble shoot hazardous road conditions.

At Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport, spokeswoman Cynthia Vega said most of the cancelled flights were in the afternoon and evening hours and were with American Airlines and American Eagle. The possibility of ice on the runways led to a series of conference calls and meetings early Sunday, she added, noting the airport had liquid and solid deicers ready for use.

The storm system, though, was particularly hard to predict because a couple of degrees here or there with the temperature will determine whether regions see rain, sleet or snow, Bradshaw said.

"It's very difficult to pin those down," Bradshaw said. "It's slow moving and it's sort of bringing its energy out in pieces so it's kind of hard to time these as they come across with a great deal of accuracy."

South Jersey Man Sentenced For Fatal AC Street Fight

South Jersey Man Sentenced For Fatal AC Street Fight

 

MAYS LANDING, N.J. (AP) — A southern New Jersey man convicted of fatally stabbing a man during a street fight in Atlantic City has been sentenced to 40 years in prison.

Manuel Concepcion Jr. was convicted last month on aggravated manslaughter and weapons charges stemming from the July 2011 attack on 45-year-old Ignacio Castro, who died about three weeks later from his wounds. Besides the sentence he received this week on those charges, Concepcion also received a concurrent four-year term for an unrelated cocaine possession charge.

For full story go to:  http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Column: A nation grieves and the NFL plays on

Column: A nation grieves and the NFL plays on 

FILE - In this Nov. 24, 1963, file photo, Detroit Lions' Nick Pietrosante, left, and Wayne Walker (55) stand during ceremonies honoring slain President John F. Kennedy before an NFL football game against the Minnesota Vikings at Metropolitian Stadium in Minneapolis. Americans grieved in front of their televisions on a brutally grim Sunday afternoon 50 years ago as a horse-drawn caisson took the body of President Kennedy to lie in state in the Capitol rotunda. As unimaginable as it might seem today, in seven cities men played football as the NFL went on despite the assassination two days earlier.

Americans grieved in front of their television sets on a brutally grim Sunday afternoon 50 years ago as a horse-drawn caisson took the body of President Kennedy from the White House to lie in state in the Capitol Rotunda.

In Dallas, a nightclub operator named Jack Ruby further stunned the nation that day by shooting Lee Harvey Oswald to death in black-and-white images broadcast across the country.

And in seven U.S. cities, men put on their shoulder pads, strapped on their helmets and took the field to play games that suddenly didn't seem so fun anymore.

As unimaginable as it might seem today - and did seem to many even then - the NFL played on despite the assassination of a president just two days earlier.

"Everyone has a different way of paying respects," Commissioner Pete Rozelle said that day at Yankee Stadium. "I went to church today and I imagine many of the people at the game here did, too. I cannot feel that playing the game was disrespectful, nor can I feel that I have made a mistake."

Rozelle was wrong on both counts, something he would later admit when he called his decision to play the games the worst mistake he made in 29 years as commissioner. But play them they did, from stadiums in the East to the Los Angeles Coliseum even as the rival American Football League canceled its slate of games and most colleges had canceled theirs the day before.

Rozelle would later say he made his decision the afternoon of the assassination based partly on advice from Pierre Salinger, the White House press secretary, who told him Kennedy would have wanted the games played. The decision was made a bit easier by the fact teams in Dallas and Washington were both playing on the road that weekend and the NBA and NHL went on with their limited schedules.

But even within the league there were deep divisions on the propriety of playing before Kennedy had even been laid to rest. The Redskins offered to forgo their $75,000 guarantee so they wouldn't have to take the train to Philadelphia, and Eagles President Frank McNamee was so unhappy about his team playing that he went to a memorial for the president at Independence Hall rather than the game.

"Simply and flatly the game is being played by order of the commissioner," McNamee said tersely.

If there were any great performances that day, they went widely unnoticed. The games were not televised because CBS was devoting its airwaves fulltime to coverage of the assassination, and sports writers of the day were as much in mourning as everyone else.

"Big men were playing a boy's sport at the wrong time," sports columnist Arthur Daley wrote in The New York Times.

Some players - particularly those on the Los Angeles Rams - had no desire to play. They took the field because they had to, because the commissioner had declared the games would go on.

Others almost seemed to welcome the respite from the dreariness of the day.

"It was hard to think football before the game," St. Louis quarterback Charlie Johnson said that day. "Then it passed."

"I think everybody felt something," Chicago Bears tight end Mike Ditka said. "Not having known the man, however, I think he would have not wanted it postponed. So we go out on the field - and it's business to us - and after the first kickoff all you think about is the Steelers."

The fans might have been seeking an escape themselves. Despite worries that stadiums could be half empty, games in New York, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia were all sellouts. And while about 150 tickets were sent back for refunds in Pittsburgh, another 300 were sold the day before the game.

At the stadiums, flags were at half-staff and there was a moment of silence before the game. Fans were asked to join in singing the national anthem, and many had transistor radios tuned in to the latest developments in Dallas and Washington.

The NFL was hardly the sports behemoth it is today. It had just 14 teams - the Detroit Lions were sold that week for $6 million - and lagged behind baseball and college football in popularity. The league had just weathered a gambling scandal, it faced competition from the upstart yet still decidedly inferior AFL and the first Super Bowl was still four years away.

Still, the decision to play was shocking to many, made even more so when the shooting of Oswald was captured on TV just minutes before the East Coast games were scheduled to kick off. So much had happened in the previous 48 hours that it seemed incomprehensible that playing football games would somehow restore some normalcy to a shattered nation.

That they played football that Sunday was a blunder Rozelle would come to regret. It was also one the NFL would take pains to avoid after the 911 attacks, when the entire season was pushed back a week while workers dug through the rubble of the World Trade Center.

Sports can be a healer, but it can't heal everything. Certainly not a nation traumatized by the killing of a president who always seemed so full of life.

On that painful Sunday a half century ago, nothing could.

 

APNewsBreak: Navy Yard gunman had access pulled

APNewsBreak: Navy Yard gunman had access pulled 

This image from video provided by the FBI, shows Aaron Alexis moving through a hallway of Building #197 at the Washington Navy Yard in Washington, carrying a Remington 870 shotgun. Senior U.S. officials say the company that employed the Washington Navy Yard shooter withdrew his access to classified material for two days in August when mental health problems became evident, but restored it quickly and never told the Navy about the incident.

 

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The company that employed the Washington Navy Yard shooter pulled his access to classified material for two days in August when mental health problems became evident, but restored it quickly and never told Navy officials about the withdrawal, The Associated Press has learned.

An initial Navy review revealed that the Fort Lauderdale, Fla.-based company, The Experts, ordered computer contractor Aaron Alexis back to Washington, D.C., after a police incident in Rhode Island in August, according to senior U.S. officials. The company then withdrew his ability to access secret-level data for two days, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the investigation. It did not disclose why his access was reinstated. Less than six weeks later, the former Navy reservist gunned down 12 civilian workers in a Navy Yard building, and police fatally shot him.

The Experts did not immediately return messages seeking comment.

The classified access revelation has raised questions about whether the company's disclosure of the discipline could have brought Alexis to Navy officials' attention earlier and perhaps prevented the massacre. The Navy did an initial review into the matter, but it has not yet been released. Officials also have done a full investigation, including what prompted the company's decision and why the government was never told. Naval leaders now are reviewing that report.

The shooting spree triggered several Navy and Defense Department reviews into base security and contractor requirements, including questions about how thorough the background checks are for security clearances and whether more vigilant monitoring and reassessments should be done.

While the Navy reviews have not been released, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus has sent out a notice to the fleet directing all commanders and civilian leaders in the Navy to scrutinize the records of any personnel who are allowed to access classified information.

In the message, Mabus said that this new records review should look at credit card delinquencies, discipline, police or legal reports and urinalysis reports.

Mabus said that if information is discovered that had not been disclosed already, it must be reported, and commanders must determine whether the employee's access to classified data should be cut off. He ordered commanders to submit full reports to Navy and Marine leaders on what they found and any actions taken by mid-January.

According to officials familiar with the Navy investigation, The Experts removed Alexis' access to secret information on August 7 and restored access on August 9, but there is nothing in the record explaining the decisions. The timing, however, aligns with the day Alexis called Newport, R.I., police, complaining that voices were harassing him through a wall at his hotel and he worried they might harm him.

Police said they were called to the Marriott around 6 a.m. on Aug. 7, and Alexis told them he was in town as a naval contractor and that he believed people were following him and using a microwave machine to send vibrations into his body so he could not fall asleep. Police alerted the local Navy base that day that Aaron Alexis was hearing voices, but the information went no further.

Under U.S. rules, The Experts was required to report any behavior that could be considered detrimental to security, and that information was supposed to be passed along to the commander at the Washington Navy Yard.

Alexis began working at the Navy Yard this summer refreshing computer systems.

The Experts said it ran two background checks on Alexis that turned up only a traffic violation. It also said the Pentagon confirmed twice that Alexis had a valid security clearance.

Alexis was granted a secret-level security clearance while in the Navy, and it carried over when he went to work as a computer contractor. He was granted access to the Washington Navy Yard and to Building 197 as an employee of The Experts, a Hewlett-Packard subcontractor.

Hewlett-Packard Co. has said it was severing ties with The Experts, saying the company failed to respond appropriately to Alexis' mental health issues. HP has told U.S. officials that it did not receive any adverse information reports on Alexis before the September 16 shooting.

In a note he left behind and found by investigators after the shooting, Alexis claimed that he was driven to the shooting rampage because he was being bombarded by extremely low-frequency radio waves. The FBI has said that the note, along with peculiar carved notations on his gun, suggested he was in the throes of profound paranoia and delusions.

His shotgun, which he purchased two days before the shooting from a gun shop in Virginia, was etched with messages including "My ELF Weapon!" - an apparent reference to extremely low-frequency waves - and "End to The Torment!"

In response to the shooting, Mabus ordered a series of reviews, including four quick studies on Alexis' Navy career, contractor obligations, the security clearance process and physical base security. He also ordered two longer reviews - one on physical security and one encompassing a full investigation into exactly how the events of the shooting unfolded. All six reviews have been completed, but they have not yet been released.

Mabus said that investigation into the shooting must determine whether HP and The Experts complied with background investigation requirements; find out who knew about the August police incident and clearance action; figure out what happened and whether it was reported as required; and if government or military officials were notified, find out whether proper procedures were followed.