US prosecutors seek execution of marathon suspect

US prosecutors seek execution of marathon suspect

FILE - This file photo provided Friday, April 19, 2013 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation shows Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, charged with using a weapon of mass destruction in the bombings on April 15, 2013 near the finish line of the Boston Marathon. On Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder authorized the government to seek the death penalty in the case against Tsarnaev.

BOSTON (AP) -- Federal prosecutors Thursday announced they will seek the death penalty against 20-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev in the Boston Marathon bombing, accusing him of betraying his adopted country by ruthlessly carrying out a terrorist attack calculated to cause maximum carnage.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to press for Tsarnaev's execution was widely expected. The twin blasts last April killed three people and wounded more than 260, and over half the 30 federal charges against Tsarnaev - including using a weapon of mass destruction to kill - carry a possible death sentence.

"The nature of the conduct at issue and the resultant harm compel this decision," Holder said in a statement of just two terse and dispassionate sentences that instantly raised the stakes in one of the most wrenching criminal cases Boston has ever seen.

Tsarnaev has pleaded not guilty. No trial date has been set.

In a notice of intent filed in court, federal prosecutors in Boston listed factors they contend justify a sentence of death against Tsarnaev, who moved to the U.S. from Russia about a decade ago.

"Dzhokhar Tsarnaev received asylum from the United States; obtained citizenship and enjoyed the freedoms of a United States citizen; and then betrayed his allegiance to the United States by killing and maiming people in the United States," read the notice filed by U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz.

Prosecutors also cited Tsarnaev's "lack of remorse" and allegations that he killed an MIT police officer as well as an 8-year-old boy, a "particularly vulnerable" victim because of his age. They also said Tsarnaev committed the killings after "substantial planning and premeditation."

In addition, they cited his alleged decision to target the Boston Marathon, "an iconic event that draws large crowds of men, women and children to its final stretch, making it especially susceptible to the act and effects of terrorism."

Tsarnaev's lawyers had no immediate comment.

In an interview with ABC, Tsarnaev's mother, Zubeidat, who lives in Russia, said: "How can I feel about this? I feel nothing. I can tell you one thing, that I love my son. I will always feel proud of him. And I keep loving him."

Prosecutors allege Tsarnaev, then 19, and his 26-year-old brother, ethnic Chechens from Russia, built and planted two pressure-cooker bombs near the finish line of the race to retaliate against the U.S. for its military actions in Muslim countries.

The older brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, died in a shootout with police during a getaway attempt days after the bombing. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was wounded but escaped and was later captured hiding in a boat parked in a yard in a Boston suburb.

Authorities said he scrawled inside the boat such things as "The US Government is killing our innocent civilians" and "We Muslims are one body, you hurt one you hurt us all."

Killed in the bombings were: Martin Richard, 8, of Boston; Krystle Campbell, 29, of Medford; and Lu Lingzi, 23, a Boston University graduate student from China. At least 16 others lost limbs. Tsarnaev is also charged in the slaying of the MIT officer and the carjacking of a motorist during the brothers' getaway attempt.

Campbell's grandmother, Lillian Campbell, said she isn't sure she supports the death penalty but fears Tsarnaev will "end up living like a king" in prison.

"I think it's the right decision to go after the death penalty," said Marc Fucarile, who lost his right leg above the knee and suffered other severe injuries in the bombing. "It shows people that if you are going to terrorize our country, you are going to pay with your life."

Amato DeLuca, a lawyer for Tamerlan Tsarnaev's widow, said: "Whatever he's alleged to have done, presumably he can pay for it with his life. Putting this boy to death doesn't make any sense to me."

Well before the attorney general's decision came down, Tsarnaev's defense team added Judy Clarke, one of the nation's foremost death penalty specialists. The San Diego lawyer has negotiated plea agreements that saved the lives of such clients as the Unabomber and Olympic Park bomber Eric Rudolph.

Legal experts have said that court filings suggest the defense may try to save Tsarnaev's life by arguing that he fell under the evil influence of his older brother.

"I think their focus ... will probably be to characterize it as coercion, intimidation and just his will being overborne by the older brother," said Gerry Leone, a former federal prosecutor in Boston who secured a conviction against shoe bomber Richard Reid.

"They'll, say, talk about how he was a teenager, never been in trouble before, and in many respects, looks like the average United States college student."

Massachusetts abolished its own death penalty in 1984, and repeated attempts to reinstate it have failed in the Legislature. A Boston Globe poll conducted in September found that 57 percent of those questioned favored a life sentence for Tsarnaev, while 33 percent supported the death penalty for him.

Jurors for federal cases tried in Boston are drawn from the Boston metropolitan and eastern Massachusetts - a politically liberal region, but also the part of the state most directly affected by the tragedy.

Two other federal death penalty cases have been brought in Massachusetts. A former veterans hospital nurse who killed four patients by overdosing them was spared the death penalty by a jury. A man accused in the carjack killings of two Massachusetts men was sentenced to death in 2003, but the punishment was overturned and he is awaiting a new penalty trial.

Since the federal death penalty was reinstated in 1988, 70 death sentences have been imposed, but only three people have been executed, including Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh in 2001.

The last federal execution was in 2003, when Gulf War veteran Louis Jones Jr. was put to death for kidnapping 19-year-old Army Pvt. Tracie McBride from a Texas military base, raping her and beating her to death with a tire iron.

 

Amanda Knox's murder conviction upheld on appeal

Amanda Knox's murder conviction upheld on appeal 

FILE - This is an undated file photo released by the Italian Police of 22-year-old murdered British university student Meredith Kercher. Few international criminal cases have cleaved along national biases as that of American student Amanda Knox, awaiting half world away her third Italian court verdict in the 2007 slaying of her British roommate, 21-year-old Meredith Kercher. Whatever is decided this week, the protracted legal battle that has grabbed global headlines and polarized trial-watchers in three nations probably won't end in Florence. With the first two trials producing flip-flop guilty-then-innocent verdicts against Knox and her former Italian boyfriend, Raffaele Sollecito, the case has produced harshly clashing versions of events. A Florence appeals panel designated by Italy's supreme court to address errors in the appeals acquittal is set to deliberate Thursday, Jan. 30, 2014, with a verdict expected later in the day.

FLORENCE, Italy (AP) -- An appeals court in Florence on Thursday upheld the guilty verdict against U.S. student Amanda Knox and her ex-boyfriend for the 2007 murder of her British roommate. Knox was sentenced to 28 1/2 years in prison, raising the specter of a long legal battle over her extradition if the conviction is upheld.

Lawyers for Knox and her co-defendant Raphael Sollecito vowed to appeal to Italy's highest court, a process that will take at least another year, dragging out a legal saga that has divided court-watchers in three nations.

In a statement from Seattle, where she had awaited the verdict, Knox said she was "frightened and saddened" by the decision, which she said was unjust and the result of an overzealous prosecution and narrow-minded investigation.

"This has gotten out of hand," she said. "Having been found innocent before, I expected better from the Italian justice system."

After nearly 12 hours of deliberations, the court reinstated the guilty verdicts first handed down against Knox and Sollecito in 2009 for the death of Meredith Kercher. Those verdicts had been overturned in 2011 and the pair freed from prison, but Italy's supreme court vacated that decision and sent the case back for a third trial in Florence.

Knox's attorney, Carlo Dalla Vedova, said he had called Knox by telephone and informed her that the Florence court had not only confirmed the guilty verdict, but had increased the sentence from the original 26 years.

"She was petrified. Silent," he said.

Sollecito was in court Thursday morning, but he didn't return for the verdict.

Sollecito's lawyers said they were stunned by the conviction and Sollecito's 25-year sentence and would appeal.

"There isn't a shred of proof," attorney Luca Maori said.

Presiding Judge Alessando Nencini ordered Sollecito's passport revoked but made no requests for Knox's movements to be limited, saying she was "justifiably abroad."

Experts have said it's unlikely that Italy would request Knox's extradition before the verdict is final. If the conviction is upheld on a final appeal, a lengthy extradition process would likely ensue.

Knox's defense team gave its last round of rebuttals earlier Thursday, ending four months of arguments in the third trial for Kercher's murder in the Italian university town of Perugia.

Kercher's brother and sister were in the courtroom for the verdict, and said the outcome was the best they could have hoped for.

"It's hard to feel anything at the moment because we know it will go to a further appeal," said her brother, Lyle Kercher. Asked if he was satisfied, he said: `'No matter what the verdict was, it never was going to be a case of celebrating anything."

Knox's lawyer, Dalla Vedova, had told the court he was "serene" about the verdict because he believes the only conclusion from the files is "the innocence of Amanda Knox."

"It is not possible to convict a person because it is probable that she is guilty," Dalla Vedova said. "The penal code does not foresee probability. It foresees certainty."

Dalla Vedova evoked Dante, noting that the Florentine writer reserved the lower circle of hell for those who betrayed trust, as he asserted that police had done to Knox when they held her overnight for questioning without legal representation and without advising her that she was a suspect.

Knox had returned to Seattle after spending four years in jail before being acquitted in 2011. In an email to this court, Knox wrote that she feared a wrongful conviction.

 

Bieber turns self in on expected charge in Canada Bieber turns self in on expected charge in Canada

Bieber turns self in on expected charge in Canada
 

TORONTO (AP) -- Justin Bieber has turned himself in to Toronto police for an expected assault charge.

Bieber arrived Wednesday evening at a police station to a crush of media and screaming fans.

A police official says the charge has to do with an alleged assault on a limo driver in December. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Toronto police said in late December they were looking into allegations that a member of Bieber's entourage assaulted a limo driver who was ferrying the Canadian pop star and several others. Police said at the time it was unclear whether Bieber was involved.

A spokesman for Bieber had no comment Wednesday.

Bieber emerged from a black SUV wearing a winter coat and a backwards ball cap.

 

 

Thug Angel and Golddigger Killer Jeff Carol Joins Us On A New Day Is Here

A New Day Is Here is proud to announce this weeks guest, Jeff Carroll. Jeff Carroll is a writer and filmmaker who is at his core and activist. His writings have some sort of social message. He has written both non-fiction and fiction. He says he has an L. Ron Hubbard complex because he hopes to write so well it will change the behavior of people. He has written the Hip Hop Dating Guide and produced the movie Gold Digger Killer. He writes and produces films, comic books, and both fiction and non-fiction books for his company Hip Hop Comix N Flix (www.hhcnf.blogspot.com).  

His short stories have been published in the anthology Bloodlines Tales From The African Diaspora, Shriekfreak Quarterly magazine and the Black Science Fiction Society’s Genesis magazine. In addition to his writings Jeff Carroll is the first Hip Hop dating coach and he speaks to college and high school students about healthy dating. He lives in South Florida with his wife and son. Follow him on Facebook he’s always posting something good.

Join us on Saturday February 1, 2014 at 6 am EST. http://www.blogtalkradio.com/hudsonliberty/2014/02/01/a-new-day-is-here-tips-on-success-in-life-and-business-with-jeff-carroll or Call in to speak with the host (646) 595-4215

m the Creator of the 1 Minute Success System and the Producer of Wonderful Women and the Internet Plus a new 1/2 hour variety talk show is here "A New Day Is Here" Get ready for some "Edutrainment" with Clarence Coggins the Crown PRince of WeB 2.0 http://leads4life.tk 

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Mexican vigilante legalization plan carries risks Mexican vigilante legalization plan carries risks

Mexican vigilante legalization plan carries risks 

FILE - In this Jan. 14, 2014 file photo, armed men belonging to the Self-Defense Council of Michoacan, (CAM), stand guard at a checkpoint at the entrance of Antunez, Mexico. The government announced that it had reached a deal with vigilante leaders to incorporate the armed civilian groups into old and largely forgotten quasi-military units called the Rural Defense Corps. Vigilante leaders met Tuesday Jan. 28, with government officials to hash out details of the agreement.

MEXICO CITY (AP) -- After months of tacit cooperation with rural vigilantes trying to drive out a cult-like drug cartel, the Mexican government is seeking to permanently solve one of its toughest security problems with a plan to legalize the growing movement and bring it under the army's control.

But the risks are high.

To succeed, the government must enforce military discipline and instill respect for human rights and due process among more than 20,000 heavily armed civilians, then eventually disband them and send them back home in the western state of Michoacan.

In other Latin American countries, similar experiments have created state-backed militias that carried out widespread human rights abuses as armed civilians turned to vengeance, or assisted in mass killings. The Mexican army itself has been accused of rights abuses during the more than seven-year war against organized crime that has seen it deployed as a police force in much of the country.

Vigilante leaders met Tuesday with government officials to hash out details of the agreement that would put avocado and lime pickers with AR-15 semi-automatic rifles under army command. The Mexican military has a century-old tradition of mobilizing "rural defense corps" manned by peasants to fight bandits and uprisings in the countryside.

If the latest experiment works, it will resolve one of the thorniest dilemmas in the barely year-old administration of President Enrique Pena Nieto: how to handle a movement that sprang up outside the law but successfully took on a pseudo-religious drug cartel, the Knights Templar, which Mexican authorities had been unwilling or unable to take on for years.

Over the last year, the vigilantes, many of them former migrant workers who spent years in the United States, have seized a dozen towns terrorized by extortion, killings and rapes at the hands of the cartel's gunmen. Members of the Knights Templar have tried to portray themselves as soldiers in a reincarnation of a medieval religious order dedicated to Christianity and the expulsion of abusive police from their communities.

In many instances, Associated Press reporters have witnessed federal forces stand on the sidelines while the "self-defense" forces routed the cartel, and occasionally even aid the vigilantes by conducting joint patrols and manning highway checkpoints together.

Mexican experts so far have widely accepted the administration's plan announced late Monday, calling it a smart way to maintain the movement's momentum against the Knights Templar while protecting the government against charges it was ceding the rule of law in the "hot lands" of Michoacan, a rugged Pacific Coast state of rich agricultural land and mountains studded by marijuana fields and methamphetamine labs.

But in other parts of Latin America, the news stirred traumatic memories.

Claudia Samayoa, a human rights activist in Guatemala, said the thousands of deaths attributed to the army-backed Peasant Self Defense Patrols during the country's 1960-1996 civil war are too fresh to allow for more paramilitary forces in the region.

"The cure is going to be worse than the disease," Samayoa said. "It would be better not to go down that road, and instead strengthen law enforcement and the justice and public safety systems."

Margarita Solano, of the U.S. risk-analysis firm Southern Pulse, said Mexico's vigilantes have awakened memories of her native Colombia's experience with self-defense forces such as the "Convivir" movement that fought leftist rebels in the 1990s. While the groups were initially welcomed, some were later accused of rights abuses.

"I'm finding differences and certain similarities that are frightening," Solano said.

Mexican authorities are portraying the legalization of the "self-defense" forces as a stop-gap measure. Unable to disarm the vigilantes because of the popular support they have for kicking the Knights Templar out of much of the state, federal officials will now have to work with them to clean up the rest of the gang - and then persuade the vigilantes to demobilize. The government has stressed the plan is temporary, and says vigilantes will have to register their guns.

With self-defense checkpoints on most major roads in Michoacan's hot lands, and armed vigilantes often drinking beer or smoking marijuana at their posts, there are ample possibilities for abuses.

But many Mexicans are less concerned than outsiders about the potential for wrongdoing by the vigilantes. They note there are fundamental differences between Michoacan, where relatively prosperous farmers are funding the vigilantes to fight cartel extortions, and Guatemala, Colombia and Peru, where poor farmers were pressed by right-wing governments into fighting bitter wars against leftist rebels.

In the rich, flat lands of Michoacan, "there aren't any leftist guerrillas or poor farmers," said Raul Benitez, a security expert at Mexico's National Autonomous University. "Here there are well-off farmers fighting criminals."

Unlike the vigilante movement in the neighboring Mexico state of Guerrero, where "self-defense" forces are often anti-government, many of Michoacan's vigilantes say they just want to get back the rich pasture and lime groves that the Knights Templar stole from them.

It is a mixed movement, in which upper middle-class orchard owners, ranchers and businessmen often pay farmworkers to help man -defense patrols and buy them guns. But the poor were also affected by the cartel's extortions and abuses, and have often have reasons of their own to join the movement.

"The comparisons with Colombia, Peru or Guatemala are an aberration," Benitez said. "Right now, the `self-defense' forces need the respect of the local residents and public opinion, so I think they are not going to commit any crimes now."

Obama vows to act 'wherever and whenever' he can

Obama vows to act 'wherever and whenever' he can
 

President Barack Obama walks along the Colonnade at the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2014, hours before giving his State of the Union Address before a joint session of Congress.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Declaring that upward economic mobility has stalled for millions of Americans, President Barack Obama is challenging a deeply divided Congress to restore the nation's belief in "opportunity for all" - while telling lawmakers he will act on his own "wherever and whenever" he can.

"America does not stand still and neither will I," Obama was saying in his State of the Union address Tuesday night. Excerpts of his remarks were released in advance.

The president's address, delivered before a joint session of Congress and millions of Americans watching on television, marks the opening salvo in a midterm election fight that will quickly consume Washington. 

Democrats, seeking to cast Republicans as protectors of the rich, have pressed Obama to focus more on issues of economic fairness and shrinking the gap between the wealthy and the poor.

The initiatives Obama planned to unveil Tuesday night were tailored to fit those themes. He was to announce executive action to raise the minimum wage for new federal contracts, help the long-term unemployed find work and expand job-training programs. He also planned to renew his calls for Congress to expand the minimum wage increase to all workers, pass a sweeping immigration overhaul and increase access to early childhood education programs - all initiatives that stalled after Obama first announced them in last year's State of the Union address.

While unemployment is falling and financial markets are soaring, Obama acknowledged that many Americans have yet to see effects of any broader economic recovery.

"The cold, hard fact is that even in the midst of recovery, too many Americans are working more than ever just to get by, let alone get ahead," Obama says. "And too many still aren't working at all."

Obama's go-it-alone strategy, with modest steps for now, is aimed both at jumpstarting his stagnant second term and prodding a divided Congress to take additional action to boost economic opportunity for millions of Americans. But there's little indication lawmakers are ready to follow along, particularly as the nation barrels toward the midterm elections.

Keenly aware of Congress' slim record of recent accomplishments, White House officials see a robust rollout of executive actions as the most effective way to show the public that Obama still wields power as the clock ticks on his presidency.

Yet much of what the president can do on his own is limited, as evidenced by the minimum wage proposal officials previewed ahead of Tuesday's prime-time address. The executive order will increase the minimum hourly payment for new federal contract workers from $7.25 to $10.10. But because the measure affects only future contracts, its immediate impact will be minimal.

"The question is how many people, Mr. President, will this executive action actually help?" said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. "I suspect the answer is somewhere close to zero."

The White House says the wage hike would most benefit janitors and construction laborers working under new federal contracts, as well as military base workers who wash dishes, serve food and do laundry. But officials did not say how many people would fall into those categories.

Obama will seek to build on the executive order by renewing his call for Congress to pass a minimum wage increase for all American workers, a proposal that gained little traction after he first announced it in last year's State of the Union address. But White House officials feel somewhat optimistic that they could get backing this year given that some Republican lawmakers have also indicated an interest in working on income inequality and economic mobility issues.

Washington's current focus on inequality comes as many parts of the economy are gaining strength. But the soaring financial markets and corporate balance sheets stand in contrast to the millions of people still out of work or struggling with stagnant incomes that don't stretch as far as they used to.

Seeking to address those issues, Obama will also announce executive actions on job training, boosting employment opportunities for the long-term unemployed and expanding retirement savings for low- and middle-income Americans.

The retirement savings proposal is geared toward workers whose employers don't currently offer such plans. The program would allow first-time savers to start building up savings in Treasury bonds that eventually could be converted into traditional IRAs, according to two people who have discussed the proposal with the administration. Those people weren't authorized to discuss the plan ahead of the announcement and insisted on anonymity.

Obama will also tout an initiative to secure commitments from big corporations not to discriminate against the long-term unemployed during hiring. Representatives from major companies will join the president at the White House on Friday to promote the effort.

Some Republicans have warned that the president's focus on executive orders could backfire by angering GOP leaders who already don't trust the White House.

"The more he tries to do it alone and do confrontation, the less he's going to be able to get cooperation," said John Feehery, a former top House Republican aide.

The president will still try to score a few legislative victories this year, namely an overhaul of the nation's broken immigration laws. The Senate passed landmark legislation last summer, but the effort stalled in the Republican-led House. Conservatives are pushing back against the president's call to create a pathway to citizenship for the 11 million people living in the U.S. illegally. And some Democrats would prefer to use the unresolved issue to mobilize Hispanic voters for this year's elections.

Obama will follow his State of the Union address with a quick trip Wednesday and Thursday to Maryland, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and Tennessee to promote his proposals.

 

Family: Brain-dead Texas woman off life support

Family: Brain-dead Texas woman off life support 
  

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) -- A brain-dead, pregnant Texas woman's body was removed from life support Sunday, as the hospital keeping her on machines against her family's wishes acceded to a judge's ruling that it was misapplying state law.

Marlise Munoz's body soon will be buried by her husband and parents, after John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth announced it would not fight Judge R.H. Wallace Jr.'s Friday order to pronounce her dead and return her body to her family. The 23-week-old fetus she was carrying will not be born.

The hospital's decision Sunday brings an apparent end to a case that became a touchstone for national debates about the beginning and end of life, and whether a pregnant woman who is considered legally and medically dead should be kept on life support for the sake of a fetus.

Munoz's husband, Erick Munoz, sued the hospital because it would not remove life support as he said his wife would have wanted in such a situation. Erick and Marlise Munoz worked as paramedics and were familiar with end-of-life issues, and Erick said his wife had told him she would not want to be kept alive under such circumstances.

But the hospital refused his request, citing Texas law that says life-sustaining treatment cannot be withdrawn from a pregnant patient, regardless of her end-of-life wishes.

Wallace sided Friday with Erick Munoz, saying in his order: "Mrs. Munoz is dead."

Wallace had given the hospital until 5 p.m. Monday to comply with his order, but officials there announced Sunday morning that it would forego any appeal.

"From the onset, JPS has said its role was not to make nor contest law but to follow it," according to a statement released by hospital spokeswoman J.R. Labbe. "On Friday, a state district judge ordered the removal of life-sustaining treatment from Marlise Munoz. The hospital will follow the court order."

Shortly afterward, Erick Munoz's attorneys announced that she had been disconnected from life support about 11:30 a.m.

"May Marlise Munoz finally rest in peace, and her family find the strength to complete what has been an unbearably long and arduous journey," they said in a statement.

Erick found his wife unconscious in their Haltom City, Texas, home Nov. 26, possibly due to a blood clot. Doctors soon determined that she was brain-dead, which meant that she was both medically and legally dead under Texas law, but kept her on machines to keep her organs functioning for the sake of the fetus.

Erick Munoz described visiting his wife in the hospital, saying her eyes were now glassy and the smell of her perfume had given way to a smell he knew to be of a dead body. His attorneys told Wallace on Friday that doctors had performed medical care on her body over his protests.

"There is an infant, and a dead person serving as a dysfunctional incubator," attorney Heather King said.

Marlise Munoz's parents, Ernest and Lynne Machado, agreed with Erick Munoz and sat next to him at Friday's hearing.

But Larry Thompson, a state's attorney arguing on behalf of the hospital Friday, said the hospital was trying to protect the rights of the fetus as it believed Texas law instructed it to do. The hospital's attorneys cited a section of the Texas Advance Directives Act that reads: "A person may not withdraw or withhold life-sustaining treatment under this subchapter from a pregnant patient."

"There is a life involved, and the life is the unborn child," Thompson told the judge.

Legal experts interviewed by The Associated Press said the hospital was misreading the Texas Advance Directives Act and that the law doesn't have an absolute command to keep someone like Munoz on life support.

"This patient is neither terminally nor irreversibly ill," said Dr. Robert Fine, clinical director of the office of clinical ethics and palliative care for Baylor Health Care System, in an interview earlier this month. "Under Texas law, this patient is legally dead."

Erick and Marlise Munoz already had one son, and Erick Munoz told The Associated Press how he had once looked forward to the birth of their second child. But both the hospital and his attorneys agreed the fetus inside Marlise Munoz could not be delivered this early, and not much is known about the fate of children born to mothers who have suffered brain death.

Munoz's attorneys said the fetus had significant abnormalities, including a deformation of the lower body that made it impossible to determine a gender.

Whether the Munoz case leads Texas to change the law remains unclear. In recent years, the Legislature has enacted several new anti-abortion restrictions, including setting the legal guideline for when a fetus can feel pain at 20 weeks - a milestone Marlise Munoz's fetus had passed about three weeks ago.

The case has been noted by Republican Texas Gov. Rick Perry and the two leading candidates running to replace him, but none of them has called for any new laws yet or action as a result of the case.

Republican Attorney General Greg Abbott, through a spokesman, said the case was a "heartbreaking tragedy" and that "Texas strives to protect both families and human life, and we will continue to work toward that end."

Texas Sen. Wendy Davis, a Democrat from Fort Worth, said through a spokeswoman that any decision like this "should be made by Mrs. Munoz's family, in consultation with her doctors."

Md. mall gunman was avid skater, no criminal past

Md. mall gunman was avid skater, no criminal past

Howard County police chief William McMahon speaks to reporters at the parking lot of the Mall in Columbia, Md., after a shooting at the mall on Saturday Jan. 25, 2014 in Howard County, Md. Police in Maryland say three people died Saturday in a shooting at a mall in suburban Baltimore, including the presumed gunman.

COLUMBIA, Md. (AP) -- The 19-year-old Maryland mall gunman was a skateboarding enthusiast who took a taxi to the mall, carrying a 12-gauge shotgun he'd purchased legally a month earlier, plenty of ammunition and some crude homemade explosives inside a backpack, authorities said.

Darion Marcus Aguliar entered the Mall in Columbia around 10:15 a.m. Saturday near Zumiez, a shop that sells skateboarding gear, and went downstairs to a food court directly below. Less than an hour later, he returned to the store, dumped the backpack in a dressing room and then started shooting, police said.

Shoppers fled in a panic or barricaded themselves behind closed doors and police arrived within 2 minutes of the first 911 call. They found three people dead, including Aguilar, who killed himself, police said.

The shooting has baffled law enforcement and acquaintances of Aguilar, a quiet, skinny teenager who graduated from high school less than a year ago and had no criminal record. Police spent Sunday trying to piece together his motive, but by late afternoon, it remained elusive.

After Aguilar had fired between six and nine shots, two Zumiez employees were dead, police said. One victim, Brianna Benlolo, a 21-year-old single mother, lived half a mile away from Aguilar in the same College Park neighborhood, but police said they were still trying to determine what, if any, relationship they had. 

Although they lived close to Maryland's largest university, neither was a student there.

The other employee, Tyler Johnson, didn't know Aguilar and did not socialize with Benlolo outside of work, a relative said.

Tydryn Scott, 19, said she was Aguilar's lab partner in science class at James Hubert Black High School and said he hung out with other skaters. She said she was stung by the news.

"It was really hurtful, like, wow - someone that I know, someone that I've been in the presence of more than short amounts of time. I've seen this guy in action before. Never upset, never sad, just quiet, just chill," Scott told The Associated Press. "If any other emotion, he was happy, laughing."

Aguilar graduated in 2013, school officials confirmed.

"There are a lot of unanswered questions," Howard County Police Chief William McMahon said at a news conference. Aguilar purchased the shotgun legally last month at a store in neighboring Montgomery County.

It took hours to identify the gunman since he was carrying ammunition and a backpack containing homemade explosives, McMahon said. Officers searched Aguilar's home Saturday night, recovering more ammunition, computers and documents, police said.

The home is a two-story wood-frame house in a middle-income neighborhood called Hollywood, near the Capital Beltway. No one answered the door Sunday morning. There was a Christmas wreath on the front door and signs that read "Beware of Dog."

Aguilar and his mother rented the home. Sirkka Singleton, who owns the property with her husband and lives a block away, said they use a property manager to find tenants and have never met the Aguilars. She declined to say who the property manager was.

A roommate who answered the door at Benlolo's home confirmed that she lived there but declined to comment further. Two police officers went into the home after he spoke briefly to a couple of reporters.

Residents described the neighborhood as a mix of owners and renters, including some University of Maryland students. But university spokeswoman Katie Lawson said neither the victims nor the gunman attended the school.

A man who answered the phone at Johnson's residence in Mount Airy, northwest of Baltimore, said the family had no comment. The victim's aunt told a local television station that she did not believe her nephew knew Aguilar.

Sydney Petty, in a statement to WBAL-TV, said she did not believe her nephew had a relationship with Benlolo.

"Tyler didn't have anything beyond a working relationship with this girl, and he would have mentioned it if he did, and we're just as confused as anybody," Petty said.

She said her nephew also worked at a drug rehabilitation center in Mount Airy, for which she served on the board.

Five other people were hurt in the attack, but only one was hit by gunfire - a woman who was in the food court downstairs from the store and was hit in the foot. All were released from hospitals by Saturday evening.

At the time of the shooting, the mall was busy with weekend shoppers and employees.

Police searched the mall with dogs overnight. Stores were to reopen Monday afternoon.

Benlolo's grandfather, John Feins, said in a telephone interview from Florida that his granddaughter had a 2-year-old son and that the job at Zumiez was her first since giving birth to her son.

"She was all excited because she was the manager there," he said.

He described his daughter's family as a military family that had moved frequently and had been in Colorado before moving to Maryland about two years ago. He said his granddaughter was on good terms with her son's father, and they shared custody.

"I mean, what can you say?" he said. "You go to work and make a dollar and you got some idiot coming in and blowing people away."

 

Dr. Herbert Harris joins us live tomorrow morning

 We are  pleased to announce that our next guest is the author of the 12 Universal Laws of Success Dr. Herbert Harris. The last person who passed the New York State Bar Examine without having to go to Law School Dr. Harris will be sharing with us how to make today the turning point for the rest of our lives.

The next installment of a New Day is Here broadcast live Saturday January 25, 2014 at 6 am EST. Call in to speak with the host (646) 595-4215 or listen online at http://hudsonliberty.com/tv

From the Creator of the 1 Minute Success System and the Producer of Wonderful Women and the Internet Plus a new 1/2 hour variety talk show is here "A New Day Is Here" Get ready for some "Edutrainment" with Clarence Coggins the Crown PRince of WeB 2.0 http://leads4life.tk

The next installment of a New Day is Here broadcast live Saturday January 25, 2014 at 6 am EST.

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Clarence Coggins

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Woman shot at Nev. hospital dies; husband charged

Woman shot at Nev. hospital dies; husband charged 

This photo provided by the Carson City Sheriff 's Departmentshows William Dresser. Dresser was arrested Sunday Jan. 19, 2014, after firing one shot with small-caliber semi-automatic handgun that struck his wife in the chest at Carson Tahoe Regional Medical Center in Carson City. Dresser was placed on suicide watch at a local jail.

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) -- An 86-year-old Nevada woman shot by her husband while hospitalized died Wednesday and her spouse of more than six decades was charged with murder, authorities said.

Frances Dresser of Douglas County died from injuries suffered when she was shot once in the chest Sunday while at Carson-Tahoe Regional Medical Center, Carson City Sheriff Ken Furlong said.

Her husband told officers he planned to "end his wife's suffering" by killing her and then himself, but his gun jammed, police said.

District Attorney Neil Rombardo said William Dresser, 88, was charged Wednesday with "open murder" with use of a deadly weapon.

Rombardo said open murder gives him discretion to amend the charges as more facts about the case emerge. Nevada law does not recognize or make a distinction for so-called mercy killings, he said.

"Filing open murder allows us to achieve justice for the victim, for the family and the community, which is our ultimate goal," Rombardo said. "My heart goes out to the family."

Furlong described Dresser as emotional but stable, adding he has some "significant" health problems and is on suicide watch.

"I'm not sure he was aware that she was alive," Furlong said. "He intended to end her suffering, and he caused more."

William Dresser was arrested Sunday after firing one shot at his wife with a small-caliber handgun.

The shooting happened on the third floor in the hospital's rehabilitation ward, where Frances Dresser was being treated for a previous injury.

"Dresser suggested to officers that his motive was to end his wife's suffering," Furlong said.

According to a police report, William Dresser told officers he had brought four bullets - two for his wife, two for himself - but the gun jammed after the first shot.

State Department of Corrections officers who were nearby and hospital security subdued William Dresser until deputies arrived.

The man was "crying and mumbled words to the effect of, `I did not accomplish my goal,'" an officer wrote.

After the shooting, Frances Dresser was flown to Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno, where she died three days later.

Authorities were investigating William Dresser's claims that his wife became paralyzed and incapacitated after a fall at the couple's home two weeks ago. The couple had been married 63 years.

William Dresser was scheduled for an initial court appearance Thursday. It wasn't immediately known if he had retained or been appointed a lawyer.

 

Court appeals at least temporarily delay execution

Court appeals at least temporarily delay execution

This handout image provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Edgar Tamayo. Attorneys for the Mexican national on Texas death row for the slaying of a Houston police officer hoped a civil suit, challenging what they argued is an unfair and secretive clemency process in the nation’s most active capital punishment state would block the inmate’s scheduled execution this week. Tamayo, 46, was set for lethal injection Wednesday evening, Jan. 22, 2014, in Huntsville.

HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) -- The execution of a Mexican national was at least temporarily put on hold Wednesday as the U.S. Supreme Court considered appeals to keep 46-year-old Edgar Tamayo from the Texas death chamber.

Tamayo's execution had been scheduled for 6 p.m. CST Wednesday for the slaying 20 years ago of a Texas police officer, Guy Gaddis, 24. The state still could execute Tamayo before midnight if the Supreme Court rules in its favor.

Texas officials have opposed appeals to stop the scheduled lethal injection, despite pleas and diplomatic pressure from the Mexican government and the U.S. State Department.

Tamayo's attorneys and the Mexican government contend Tamayo's case was tainted because he wasn't advised under an international agreement that he could get legal help from his home nation after his arrest. 

Legal assistance guaranteed under that treaty could have uncovered evidence to contest the capital murder charge or provide evidence to keep Tamayo off death row, Mexican officials have said.

Records show the consulate became involved or aware of the case just as his trial was to begin.

Secretary of State John Kerry previously asked Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott to delay Tamayo's punishment, saying it "could impact the way American citizens are treated in other countries." The State Department repeated that stance Wednesday.

But Abbott's office and the Harris County district attorney opposed postponing what would be the first execution this year in the nation's most active capital punishment state, where 16 people were put to death in 2013.

The high court was considering at least two appeals. One focused on the consular issue. The other was related to whether Tamayo was mentally impaired and ineligible for the death penalty. The execution warrant remains in effect until midnight.

Tamayo's lawyers went to the Supreme Court after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said an appeal this week renewing an earlier contention that Tamayo was mentally impaired and ineligible for execution was filed too late.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Tuesday rejected Tamayo's request for clemency.

"It doesn't matter where you're from," Perry spokeswoman Lucy Nashed said. "If you commit a despicable crime like this in Texas, you are subject to our state laws, including a fair trial by jury and the ultimate penalty."

Gaddis, who had been on the force for two years, was driving Tamayo and another man from a robbery scene when evidence showed the officer was shot three times in the head and neck with a pistol Tamayo had concealed in his pants. The car crashed, and Tamayo fled on foot but was captured a few blocks away, still in handcuffs, carrying the robbery victim's watch and wearing the victim's necklace.

At least two other inmates in circumstances similar to Tamayo's were executed in Texas in recent years.

The Mexican government said in a statement this week it "strongly opposed" the execution and said failure to review Tamayo's case and reconsider his sentence would be "a clear violation by the United States of its international obligations."

Tamayo was in the U.S. illegally and had a criminal record in California, where he had served time for robbery and was paroled, according to prison records.

"Not one person is claiming the suspect didn't kill Guy Gaddis," Ray Hunt, president of the Houston Police 

Officers' Union, said. "He had the same rights as you and I would have.

"This has been looked at, heard, examined and it's time for the verdict of the jury to be carried out."

Tamayo was among more than four dozen Mexican nationals awaiting execution in the U.S. when the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, ruled in 2004 they hadn't been advised properly of their consular rights. The Supreme Court subsequently said hearings urged by the international court in those inmates' cases could be mandated only if Congress implemented legislation to do so.

"Unfortunately, this legislation has not been adopted," the Mexican foreign ministry acknowledged.

 

What Melody Means In La Dominica Republicana: With Your Radio Host Ninabel De Jesus

What Melody Means In La Dominica Republicana: With Your Radio Host Ninabel De Jesus

 

Ninabel De Jesus, Radio Host

Latin American host, Ninabel De Jesus sends her music selections known as “ Dominican Bachata,” and “Merengue” -a sound meditated upon by hundreds of thousands of Latin Americans every day, across Dominican Republic and up to the U.S. A.   All the way from La Dominican Republic, Ninabel De Jesus is the hosts’ of music choice you should hear.   

Drop by Power WVSR 1360 Philly Internet radio, www.fpnnews.us and www.frontpagenes.us, weekdays and weekends, hear Ninabel De Jesus Live featured songs, for dance and celebration, that is moving and shaking in Latin America.