BREAKING NEWS ~ HOT TOPICS

[gwen]

Senior Citizen Named Alleged Shooter in Deadly Vegas Court Assault
Cops: Johnny Lee Wicks Shot Two Men, One Fatally, Before He Was Killed by Return Fire

The man who allegedly shot and killed a security officer and wounded a U.S. Marshal today in an early morning shootout at the federal courthouse in Las Vegas had sued the Social Security Administration for "race discrimination," claiming his benefits were unfairly reduced.

Federal investigators identified the alleged gunman as 66-year-old Johnny Lee Wicks. He was shot and killed by court officers who returned fire, according to FBI Special Agent Joseph Dickey.


While officials have not publicly discussed a motive for the shooting, investigators learned this afternoon that Wicks had a dispute with a Social Security officer who worked in the courthouse. According to court documents obtained by ABC News, Wicks filed a suit against the Social Security Administration in 2008.

The case was thrown out in 2009, according to the documents.

Court Officer, a Former Cop, Dies of Wounds
The shooting occured just as the courthouse was opening for the day and jurors were filing into the building.

A local food vendor told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he heard two or three "pops" just after 8 a.m. and then more rounds of shots that "went in cycles."

"It sounded like a fireworks show," said Jon McGovern, who estimated that he heard at least 30 to 40 exchanges of shots.

McGovern told the paper that after the shooting groups of people were running away from the courthouse screaming, "Get down, get shelter."

"A deputy U.S. marshal and court security officer were shot at the Lloyd D. George Federal Courthouse in Las Vegas this morning. The gunman was shot by Marshal's Service personnel and has been pronounced dead," U.S. marshals spokesman Jeff Carter said earlier Monday. "The deputy U.S. marshal is in stable condition at a local hospital."

He added, "Unfortunately, the court security officer succumbed to his wounds and passed away."

Carter later identified the court security officer as Stanley W. Cooper, who worked for Akal Security after serving for 26 years in the Las Vegas Metro Police Department.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with his family," Carter said.

The federal building was evacuated after the shooting, and a Twitter feed from the Las Vegas Metro Police Department advised local residents to "avoid the area" surrounding the 300 block of S. Las Vegas Blvd.

Las Vegas police spokeswoman Barbara Morgan told the Associated Press that the gunman had been shot in the head and apprehended outside near the federal building.

"It looks like he went in there and just started unloading, we don't know," Morgan said.

According to the AP, the building where the shooting occurred is home to federal courts and offices for officials including U.S. Sens. Harry Reid and John Ensign.

A message posted on Sen. Reid's Twitter account after the shooting read, "This tragedy in Las Vegas serves as a reminder of the sacrifices all law enforcement officials make on our behalf each and every day."

A statement issued by John Clark, the director of the U.S. Marshals Service, offered condolences to family and friends of the shooting victims.

"Rest assured, the brave and immediate actions of these two individuals saved lives by stopping the threat of a reckless and callous gunman who had no regard for who or how many victims were struck down by his senseless actions. They are heroes."

http://abcnews.go.com/US/federal-marsha ... id=9473808

[Eliza]

abcnews.go.com/GMA



Vegas Court Shooter Johnny Lee Wicks Set Condo on Fire Before Attack

Johnny Lee Wicks Shot Dead After Killing Court Officer, Wounding U.S. Marshal

By MIKE VON FREMD, EMILY FRIEDMAN and JASON RYAN
Jan. 5, 2009 —


The senior citizen who is being blamed for a Las Vegas courthouse shooting that killed a security officer had set his condo on fire in a fit of rage before the attack.

Friends and family told ABC News that Johnny Lee Wicks, 66, was so upset that his monthly Social Security check was being reduced that he set fire to his home in a gated retirement community around 5 a.m. Monday.

Wicks died in the shootout at the Lloyd D. George Federal Courthouse, shot and killed by court officers who returned fire, according to FBI Special Agent Joseph Dickey. A U.S. marshal who was wounded remains in stable condition.

Wicks, who was black, had sued the Social Security Administration for "race discrimination," claiming his benefits were unfairly reduced.

While officials have not publicly discussed a motive for the shooting, investigators learned Monday that Wicks had a dispute with a Social Security officer who worked in the courthouse. According to court documents obtained by ABC News, Wicks filed suit against the Social Security Administration in 2008.

The case was thrown out in 2009, according to the documents.



Court Officer, a Former Cop, Dies of Wounds

The shooting occured just as the courthouse was opening for the day and jurors were filing into the building.

A local food vendor told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he heard two or three "pops" just after 8 a.m. Monday and then more rounds of shots that "went in cycles."

"It sounded like a fireworks show," said Jon McGovern, who estimated that he heard at least 30 to 40 exchanges of shots.

McGovern told the paper that after the shooting groups of people were running away from the courthouse screaming, "Get down, get shelter."

U.S. marshals spokesman Jeff Carter identified the deceased court security officer Monday as Stanley W. Cooper, who worked for Akal Security after serving for 26 years in the Las Vegas Metro Police Department.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with his family," Carter said.


Vegas Shooting Site Housed Offices for Sens. Harry Reid and John Ensing

The federal building was evacuated after the shooting, and a Twitter feed from the Las Vegas Metro Police Department advised local residents to "avoid the area" surrounding the 300 block of S. Las Vegas Blvd.

Las Vegas police spokeswoman Barbara Morgan told the Associated Press that the gunman had been shot in the head and apprehended outside near the federal building.

"It looks like he went in there and just started unloading, we don't know," Morgan said.

The building where the shooting occurred is home to federal courts and offices for officials including U.S. Sens. Harry Reid and John Ensign.

A message posted on Reid's Twitter account after the shooting read, "This tragedy in Las Vegas serves as a reminder of the sacrifices all law enforcement officials make on our behalf each and every day."

A statement issued by John Clark, the director of the U.S. Marshals Service, offered condolences to family and friends of the shooting victims.

"Rest assured, the brave and immediate actions of these two individuals saved lives by stopping the threat of a reckless and callous gunman who had no regard for who or how many victims were struck down by his senseless actions. They are heroes."

[apodixis]

Had someone shot up a federal courthouse and killed a marshal over tea party type issues, this story would probably be hyped on lefty media ad nauseum for days:

“Las Vegas Shooting Follow-up”

Excerpt:

“Wicks had filed a racial discrimination suit against the Social Security Administration because his benefits were cut. The suit got tossed and, apparently, that is what set him off. Over on True/Slant, Michael Roston hopes that Wicks’s deranged understanding of race in America isn’t used by neocons as a polemic against tolerance:

Of course, I’m still trying to be hopeful that the fact that Wicks was a black man shooting at a federal building won’t also be worked into the kulturkampf by agents of conservative histrionics. Rush Limbaugh is taking a few days off after his brush with the medical system, so he won’t be going on air tomorrow to declare that crimes like this happen only in “Obama’s America.” If anyone else out there was thinking about saying something like that, please, don’t. Let’s just all be thankful that there weren’t any more senseless deaths from this tragedy today.”

Read more………

http://abovethelaw.com/2010/01/las_vega ... low-up.php

For more details:

http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/20 ... the-courts

[Eliza]

Absolutely. Look at what the corrupt main stream media, and left-winged nutters did with the the "murder of the census worker."

The loons were actually blaming Glenn Beck!

Turns out it was a suicide scheme to cash in on life insurance.

[resigned]

AP Sources: Colorado Gov. Ritter to Retire

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: January 5, 2010
Filed at 9:58 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Democratic sources tell The Associated Press that Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter won't run for re-election this fall.

The first-term Democrat was elected in 2006 in a pivotal swing-voting state. He has been widely considered a rising star in the Democratic Party.

Two Democrats with knowledge of Ritter's decision disclosed it on the condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to publicly discuss the governor's political plans.

Among potential Democratic candidates: Denver Mayor John Hickenlooper and Andrew Romanoff, a former state legislator who is challenging Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet for the party's nomination.

Two Republicans are seeking the GOP nomination: former congressman Scott McInnis and businessman Dan Maes.


http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/01 ... ernor.html

[Fashionista]

<center>



6.5 earthquake strikes off California coast
January 9, 2010 8:47 p.m. EST


The quake ran about 10 miles deep in northern California,
near Eureka</center>



(CNN) ~~ A 6.5-magnitude earthquake has struck off California's northern coast, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

The quake, which ran about 10 miles deep, hit at 4:27 p.m. (7:27 p.m. ET) Saturday, about 25 miles from Eureka.

There were reports of power outages in some areas, CNN affiliate KCRA said.

"I was talking on the phone and all of a sudden it started shaking. I thought my TV was going to fall over," Eureka resident Cole Machado told CNN.

He said the power cut out for a few seconds and there were reports of downed phone lines and broken windows in the the nearby town of Ferndale.

Ferndale resident Jessica Stephens Tucker described the movement from the temblor: "It rolled and rolled and then it slammed."

There was no tsunami warning issued.

There were no immediate reports of injuries, according to the U.S. Coast Guard in Humboldt County.



http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/01/09/califo ... index.html

[Fashionista]

<center>


Mark McGwire admits using steroids when he broke home run record, AP reports</center>


(AP) Mark McGwire finally came clean Monday, admitting he used steroids when he broke baseball's home run record in 1998.

McGwire said in a statement sent to The Associated Press on Monday that he used steroids on and off for nearly a decade.

"I wish I had never touched steroids," McGwire said in a statement. "It was foolish and it was a mistake. I truly apologize. Looking back, I wish I had never played during the steroid era."

McGwire also used human growth hormone, a person close to McGwire said, speaking on condition of anonymity because McGwire didn't include that detail in his statement.

McGwire's decision to admit using steroids was prompted by his decision to become hitting coach of the St. Louis Cardinals, his final big league team. Tony La Russa, McGwire's manager in Oakland and St. Louis, has been among McGwire's biggest supporters and thinks returning to the field can restore the former slugger's reputation.

"I never knew when, but I always knew this day would come," McGwire said. "It's time for me to talk about the past and to confirm what people have suspected."

He became the second major baseball star in less than a year to admit using illegal steroids, following the New York Yankees' Alex Rodriguez last February.

Others have been tainted but have denied knowingly using illegal drugs, including Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa and David Ortiz.

Bonds has been indicted on charges he made false statements to a federal grand jury and obstructed justice. Clemens is under investigation by a federal grand jury trying to determine whether he lied to a congressional committee.

"I'm sure people will wonder if I could have hit all those home runs had I never taken steroids," McGwire said. "I had good years when I didn't take any, and I had bad years when I didn't take any. I had good years when I took steroids, and I had bad years when I took steroids. But no matter what, I shouldn't have done it and for that I'm truly sorry."

Big Mac's reputation has been in tatters since March 17, 2005, when he refused to answer questions at a Congressional hearing. Instead, he repeatedly said "I'm not here to talk about the past" when asked whether he took illegal steroids when he hit a then-record 70 home runs in 1998 or at any other time.

"After all this time, I want to come clean," he said. "I was not in a position to do that five years ago in my congressional testimony, but now I feel an obligation to discuss this and to answer questions about it. I'll do that, and then I just want to help my team."

The person close to McGwire said McGwire made the decision not to answer questions at that hearing on the advice of his lawyers.

McGwire disappeared from the public eye following his retirement as a player following the 2001 season. When the Cardinals hired the 47-year-old as coach on Oct. 26, they said he would address questions before spring training, and Monday's statement broke his silence.

"I remember trying steroids very briefly in the 1989/1990 offseason and then after I was injured in 1993, I used steroids again," McGwire said in his statement. "I used them on occasion throughout the '90s, including during the 1998 season."

McGwire said he took steroids to get back on the field, sounding much like the Yankees' Andy Pettitte two years ago when he admitted using HGH.

"During the mid-'90s, I went on the DL seven times and missed 228 games over five years," McGwire said in the statement. "I experienced a lot of injuries, including a ribcage strain, a torn left heel muscle, a stress fracture of the left heel, and a torn right heel muscle. It was definitely a miserable bunch of years, and I told myself that steroids could help me recover faster. I thought they would help me heal and prevent injuries, too."

Since the congressional hearing, baseball owners and players toughened their drug program twice, increasing the penalty for a first steroids offense from 10 days to 50 games in November 2005 and strengthening the power of the independent administrator in April 2008, following the publication of the Mitchell Report.

"Baseball is really different now - it's been cleaned up," McGwire said. "The commissioner and the players' association implemented testing and they cracked down, and I'm glad they did."



.

[Eliza]

www.stltoday.com

01.11.2010 2:15 pm
Mark McGwire: “I used steroids"

By Derrick Goold

St. Louis Post-Dispatch


ST. LOUIS — Mark McGwire acknowledged it was “time for me to talk about the past” and admit he used steroids during his playing career in a statement from the former slugger released today by the St. Louis Cardinals.

“I used steroids during my playing career and I apologize,” McGwire said in the statement released by the Cardinals to media outlets around the country. “I remember trying steroids very briefly in the 1989/1990 off season and then after I was injured in 1993, I used steroids again. I used them on occasion throughout the nineties, including during the 1998 season. I wish I had never touched steroids. It was foolish and it was a mistake. I truly apologize. Looking back, I wish I had never played during the steroid era.”

McGwire also conducted a 20-minute telephone interview with Associated Press after the statement was released. AP reported that McGwire’s voice repeatedly cracked with emotion as he recounted telling his wife, parents and son that he had used steroids.

His voice breaking, McGwire said, “It’s the first time they’ve ever heard me, you know, talk about this. I hid it from everybody.”

McGwire also said he called commissioner Bud Selig and Cardinals manager Tony La Russa earlier in the day to personally apologize.

In 1998, while with the Cardinals, McGwire broke the single-season home run record held by Roger Maris. McGwire hit 70 that season, a record that stood until Barry Bonds broke it in 2002.

The reason McGwire acknowledge the use in a statement today, he said in the release, was because of imminent return to the game as the Cardinals hitting coach. Manager Tony La Russa announced in November that McGwire would be joining the coaching staff. Promises by the organization then to make McGwire available “sooner rather than later” did not manifest as attempts to put McGwire before the media were unsuccessful, due to scheduling or other reasons. In the release, he says his return to baseball is a reason for him to “come clean” on subjects he couldn’t five years ago in front of Congress.

Called before Congress in 2005, McGwire refused to talk about whether he used performance-enhancing drugs during his career. Pressed on the matter by representatives, McGwire deflected the questions with a phrase that hooked onto his career: He refused to “talk about the past.”

McGwire said he was sorry for using steroids in the statement today.

“During the mid-90s, I went on the DL seven times and missed 228 games over five years,” McGwire said in the statement sent to media organizations, including the Post-Dispatch. “I experienced a lot of injuries, including a rib cage strain, a torn left heel muscle, a stress fracture of the left heel, and a torn right heel muscle. It was definitely a miserable bunch of years and I told myself that steroids could help me recover faster. I thought they would help me heal and prevent injuries too.

“I’m sure people will wonder if I could have hit all those home runs had I never taken steroids,” he continued. “I had good years when I didn’t take any and I had bad years when I didn’t take any. I had good years when I took steroids and I had bad years when I took steroids. But no matter what, I shouldn’t have done it and for that I’m truly sorry.”

McGwire has been eligible for the Hall of Fame in the previous four votes, and each time he’s hovered around the 23-percent mark. That keeps him on the ballot, but he needs 75 percent for enshrinement.

McGwire retired after the 2001 season with 583 career home runs.

McGwire has already started some of his responsibilities as Cardinals hitting coach. He has requested video of the hitters he’ll be working with. He also worked personally with Skip Schumaker and Brendan Ryan this winter. Schumaker and Matt Holliday have also worked with McGwire during recent offseasons.

“I’m grateful to the Cardinals for bringing me back to baseball,” McGwire concludes in his statement. “I want to say thank you to Cardinals owner Mr. DeWitt, to my GM, John Mozeliak, and to my manager, Tony La Russa. I can’t wait to put the uniform on again and to be back on the field in front of the great fans in Saint Louis. I’ve always appreciated their support and I intend to earn it again, this time as hitting coach. I’m going to pour myself into this job and do everything I can to help the Cardinals hitters become the best players for years to come.

“After all this time, I want to come clean. I was not in a position to do that five years ago in my Congressional testimony, but now I feel an obligation to discuss this and to answer questions about it. I’ll do that, and then I just want to help my team.”

-30-

[Fashionista]

<center>Earthquake strikes Venezuela</center>

January 15, 2010 2:26 p.m. EST


(CNN) -- An earthquake with preliminary magnitude of 5.6 struck eastern Venezuela on Friday, the U.S. Geological Survey reported.

The quake's epicenter was about 25 miles from Carupano, near the Caribbean coast in northeastern Venezuela, the agency said. It was 7 miles deep.

The geological survey revised its estimates after initially reporting the quake as having a 5.7 magnitude and an epicenter slightly closer to Carupano. The revised location is about 235 miles east of the Venezuelan capital, Caracas.

There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.




http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/americas/ ... tml?hpt=T2

[Fashionista]

Nancy Grace NOT Camera Ready


http://www.refugeesunleashed.net/viewto ... 795#960795




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[Fashionista]

<center>



Rep. John Murtha of Pennsylvania has died at the age of 77, according to his office.





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[Fashionista]

<center>Earthquake rattles northern Illinois</center>

February 10, 2010 -- Updated 1459 GMT (2259 HKT)

(CNN) -- An early morning earthquake rattled northern Illinois on Wednesday, shaking an area about 50 miles west-northwest of downtown Chicago, the U.S. Geological Survey said.

The quake was originally reported as having a magnitude of 4.3, but the USGS later downgraded it to magnitude 3.8. It hit just before 4 a.m. CT (5 a.m. ET), with an epicenter about 3 miles underground. The USGS pinpointed the quake between the towns of Virgil and Sycamore, Illinois.

Millions of people felt the temblor, with reports coming in to the USGS from Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Ohio, Indiana, Michigan, Iowa and Wisconsin, as well as Illinois. Members of the public sent more than 10,000 reports of the earthquake to the USGS within the first few hours after it struck.

Several callers to CNN said the quake shook their homes severely, but there were no immediate reports of major damage.

Doug Dupont of Belvidere, Illinois, about 70 miles northwest of downtown Chicago, said the quake shook him out of bed and caused a 1-foot-long crack in the wall of his kitchen.

"It was really scary. It felt like a train was going by our house," Dupont said. "This is not California. This is northern Illinois. We are not supposed to get earthquakes."

Rex Covington, who lives about five miles west of Elgin, Illinois, told CNN affiliate WGN that the tremor lasted five or six seconds -- and also shook him out of bed.

"I was sleeping and the whole bed was shaking, it was that violent," Covington said.

"The whole house shook," Walter Mockus of St. Charles, Illinois, told WGN. "The chimes that hang were all ringing. It was so loud, I thought a plane had gone down."

The shaking also woke up Sarah Evans, of Elgin, Illinois. She immediately turned to the microblogging site Twitter, where she has 38,000 "followers," to see if anyone else had felt the quake.

Evans instantly found others in her area who had experienced the shaking, and says she found them comforting because "I'd never felt an earthquake before."

The Illinois earthquake was mild compared to the one that leveled parts of Haiti last month, according to the USGS. The Haiti quake was about 33,000 times as powerful.

Some of the strongest earthquakes ever known to hit the United States took place in the Mississippi River valley in 1811, 1812, and 1895, but Wednesday's Illinois event was 250 miles or more to the north of those temblors, said Randy Baldwin, a geophysicist with the USGS.

"This is a different area geologically," he said, calling Wednesday's earthquake unrelated to the New Madrid quakes of the 19th century.

CNN's Richard Allen Greene contributed to this report.


http://edition.cnn.com/2010/US/02/10/il ... index.html?

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[Fashionista]

<center>


Bill Clinton Hospitalized With Heart Issue</center>


Former President Bill Clinton was rushed to a Manhattan hospital late this afternoon, sources tell ABC News.

A look back at presidential history from 1960 to 2008.Clinton, 63, was transported to Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in Manhattan for a condition related to his heart.

ABC News' chief political correspondent George Stephanopoulos reported that sources said he was taken to the hospital "likely for a stent procedure."




http://abcnews.go.com/






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[SavannahStar]

Bill Clinton hospitalized for chest pains
Spokesman says former president is 'in good spirits' after receiving stents
msnbc.com news services
updated 5:11 p.m. ET, Thurs., Feb. 11, 2010
Former President Bill Clinton was hospitalized Thursday in New York City after experiencing chest pains, according to a spokesman.

"Today President Bill Clinton was admitted to the Columbia Campus of New York Presbyterian Hospital after feeling discomfort in his chest," spokesman Doug Band said in a statement. "Following a visit to his cardiologist, he underwent a procedure to place two stents in one of his coronary arteries."

"President Clinton is in good spirits, and will continue to focus on the work of his Foundation and Haiti's relief and long-term recovery efforts," said the spokesman.

A stent is small mesh tube that is used to treat narrowed or weakened arteries.

A hospital source said that Clinton called the head of cardiology at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital two days ago, saying that he was not feeling well. Clinton was originally scheduled to come in to the hospital Wdnesday but postponed the appointment until Thursday.

Clinton's wife, former first lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, had a scheduled meeting at the White House at 3:30 p.m. on Thursday.

In 2004, Clinton underwent a successful quadruple bypass operation to free four blocked arteries.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35355089/ns ... ?GT1=43001

[Fashionista]

.


<center>Mitt Romney attacked by passenger on flight from Vancouver Winter Olympics</center>

By Michael Sheridan
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Tuesday, February 16th 2010, 9:13 AM

<center></center>



Mitt Romney is used to politicians taking shots at him, but was caught off guard when a plane passenger took a swing.

An unhappy man on a flight out of Vancouver got the boot on Monday when he threatened the former Massachusetts governor.

Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom says the one-time presidential candidate and his wife, Ann, were an Air Canada plane which was getting ready to take off when the incident occurred.

The man seated in front of Mrs. Romney pushed his seat back, and when the GOP politician asked that he put his seat upright for take off, the passenger became "physically violent," according to Canada's The Globe and Mail.

The ex-gov did not retaliate, his spokesman said, as the airline crew intervened. The plane returned to the gate, the man was ejected, and the flight resumed.

Romney was the CEO of the 2002 Salt Lake Games, and he and his wife were guests of honor at the Vancouver Olympics.


http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2010/02 ... mpics.html



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[Fashionista]

<center>Alexander Haig, former secretary of state, dies at 85



(1924-2010)</center>



Alexander Haig, a former Army general and adviser to three presidents, died Saturday of complications from an infection. He was 85.


By James Hohmann
Special to The Washington Post
Saturday, February 20, 2010; 12:23 PM

Retired Army Gen. Alexander Haig, who held influential positions in the United States military and in politics and who as White House chief of staff shepherded Richard M. Nixon toward peacefully resigning the presidency, died today at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore of complications from an infection. He was 85.

Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter sent the four-star general to Europe as supreme commander of NATO. Ronald Reagan made him secretary of state, resulting in a brief and stormy tenure in which he famously tried to assert command after the attempted assassination of the president. And Gen. Haig himself, a tall man with blue eyes who kept his chin-up military bearing long after he left the service, ran for the Republican presidential nomination in 1988.

In a statement, President Obama said Gen. Haig "exemplified our finest warrior-diplomat tradition of those who dedicate their lives to public service."

Gen. Haig's influence peaked in his late 40s during Nixon's last 16 months in office, when brewing developments in the Watergate scandal damaged and increasingly distracted the president. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger famously told Gen. Haig to keep the country together while he held the world together during one of the greatest constitutional crises in the nation's history. Special prosecutor Leon Jaworski, and many others, called Gen. Haig the "37 1/2 president."

Gen. Haig, untainted by the botched break-in to the Democratic National Committee headquarters, took over as chief of staff in May 1973 from H.R. "Bob" Haldeman, who would spend 18 months in prison for his role in the Watergate scandal. When the public learned about the secret Oval Office taping system, which would eventually implicate Nixon in the coverup, Gen. Haig acknowledged later that he urged the president to destroy the tapes.


When Watergate special prosecutor Archibald Cox, Jaworski's predecessor, pursued his investigation too aggressively for Nixon's comfort, the president dispatched Gen. Haig in October 1973 to instruct acting Attorney General William Ruckelshaus to fire Cox. "Your commander in chief has given you an order," Gen. Haig told him. Ruckelshaus refused, quitting instead in what became known as the Saturday Night Massacre.

Gen. Haig, while vigorously defending the president, realized the direness of the mounting evidence and arranged a series of meetings between Nixon, his lawyers and leading members of Congress to make his boss understand that their position had become untenable in the summer of 1974.

"I would have gladly stayed with him through the entire impeachment process," Gen. Haig wrote in his 1992 memoir, "Inner Circles."

Gen. Haig said he thought Nixon needed to make the final decision, but he "smoothed the way" by presenting resignation as the only serious option, according to the account of this period in journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's 1976 book "The Final Days." After the president broached the possibility of suicide, the authors noted, Gen. Haig ordered doctors to take away Nixon's tranquilizers and deny his requests for pills.

Then, on Aug. 1, 1974, Gen. Haig told Vice President Ford that he should prepare to assume the presidency. Critics charged later that he brokered a deal that got Nixon a pardon in exchange for stepping down. Gen. Haig maintained that he never implicitly or explicitly made such an offer.

Gen. Haig stood on the White House lawn eight days later when Nixon finally left town on Aug. 9. The chief of staff had his arms folded, but he discreetly gave a thumbs-up to his disgraced boss.

Powerful mentors


Alexander Meigs Haig Jr. was born on Dec. 2, 1924, in the Philadelphia suburb of Bala Cynwyd, Pa. He was 10 when his father, a lawyer, died of cancer and left only $5,000 in life insurance money. Gen. Haig was the second of three children, but he assumed an important role in family matters as the oldest male.

Read More>>> http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co ... 0022001340




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[resigned]

Cheney hospitalized with chest pains, staff says



February 22, 2010 8:11 p.m. EST

(CNN) -- Former Vice President Dick Cheney was hospitalized Monday with chest pains, according to his office.

Cheney, 69, is resting comfortably at George Washington University Hospital and his doctors are evaluating the situation, his staff said in a statement.

Cheney has a long history of heart problems. He has suffered four heart attacks dating to 1978, when he was 37. He suffered his second in 1984 and a third in 1988 before undergoing quadruple bypass surgery to unblock his arteries. His fourth heart attack occurred in November 2000, after he was elected vice president. At that time, doctors inserted a stent to open an artery.

Doctors in 2001 implanted a heart monitoring device to keep track of his heart rhythm and slow it down if necessary. In 2008, he underwent a procedure to restore his heart to a normal rhythm after doctors found he was experiencing a recurrence of atrial fibrillation.

Cheney served under former President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2009. He has been a vocal critic of the current administration since he left office, most recently appearing on ABC's "This Week" where he railed against President Barack Obama's policies on terror and the Iraq war.

He has accused the Obama administration of failing to treat the fight against terrorists as war, citing the decision to give accused 9/11-mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed a civilian trial, giving the failed Christmas Day airline bomber the privileges of the U.S. criminal justice system, and the decision to shut down the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Cheney also served in the administrations of former Presidents Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford and George H.W. Bush.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/02/22/ ... tml?hpt=T1

[sarge]

Officers: Pakistan arrests American-born al-Qaida AP March 7, 2010


KARACHI, Pakistan – The American-born spokesman for al-Qaida has been arrested by Pakistani intelligence officers in the southern city of Karachi, two officers and a government official said Sunday, the same day Adam Gadahn appeared in a video calling for Muslim violence.

The arrest of Gadahn is a major victory in the U.S.-led battle against al-Qaida and will be taken as a sign that Pakistan is cooperating more fully with Washington. It follows the recent detentions of several Afghan Taliban commanders in Karachi.

read rest of article...........
Officers: Pakistan arrests American-born al-QaidaAPMarch 7, 2010 http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/as_pakistan_al_qaida_arrest

[ThePhoenix]

Breaking news -

Court has ruled estate of ANS does not get any money from estate of late oil baron.

(Sorry for doubling posting this Fash. I didn't know where it belonged.)

[ThePhoenix]

SKOREAN NAVY VESSEL FIRES TOWARDS UNIDENTIFIED VESSEL IN NORTH...
MANY SAILORS FEARED DEAD ON STRICKEN SHIP...
POSSIBLE TORPEDO ATTACK...

www.drudgereport.com

[ThePhoenix]

South Korean navy ship 'sinking near North'


A South Korean navy ship with about 100 personnel on board is sinking off the west coast near North Korea, possibly due to a torpedo attack, reports say.

The ship was sinking near Baengnyeong island, Yonhap news agency quoted navy officials as saying.

It also said the South Korean ship had fired shots toward an unidentified ship in the North. The incident has not been confirmed by government officials.

A rescue operation was said to be under way, amid fears for the sailors.

The South Korean government has convened an emergency meeting, according to the officials.

The ministry of defence has not confirmed the reports of North Korean involvement.

The Yellow Sea border was the scene of deadly naval battles in 1999 and 2002 and of a fire fight last November which left a North Korean patrol boat in flames and one dead.

The South Korean vessel alleged that the North Korean vessel had crossed the disputed sea border - a charge North Korea denied.

[Hannie]

Sources: Suspect Charged in Connection to Somer Thompson Case


Police arrested and charged a suspect this morning in connection with the case of murdered 7-year-old, according to sources with direct knowledge of today's events




It's unclear what exactly 24-year-old Jarred Harrell, a former neighbor of the Thompsons, has been charged with, but police scheduled a news conference and promised to announce a "major development" today in the kidnapping and murder of the Florida girl.

No grand jury has been convened in the case, ruling out the possibility that Harrell has been charged with first-degree murder at this time, according to the sources.

Harrell had been named a person of interest in the case in early February when he was arrested on 29 unrelated counts of child pornography. Additional unrelated pornography and child molestation charges followed, to which he pleaded not guilty.

Thompson was last seen walking to her Orange Park, Fla., home from school with her older sister, Abby, and twin brother Samuel. Her body was found two days later in a Georgia landfill.

[resigned]

Barbara Bush hospitalized in Houston
Hasn't been feeling well for several weeks, sources tell NBC News

Former first lady Barbara Bush was hospitalized in Houston for tests after not feeling well for several weeks, NBC News reported Saturday night.

Former President George H.W. Bush took Mrs. Bush, 84, to Methodist Hospital on Saturday morning for routine testing, said Jean Becker, spokeswoman for the former president in Houston.

Sources told NBC that the problem was not believed to be related to her heart or the aortic valve operation that she underwent in March 2009.

Doctors hoped to let her go home Sunday or Monday, Becker said.

Mrs. Bush underwent surgery a year ago to have her aortic valve replaced by a valve from a pig. That surgery was performed because she was suffering from a severe narrowing of the main valve.

Mrs. Bush underwent surgery in November 2008 for a perforated ulcer. When she lived at the White House, she disclosed she was suffering from an overactive thyroid ailment known as Graves' disease. The disease causes teary eyes and double vision, according to her doctors.


http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/36069550/ns ... _politics/

[yankee-in-france]

Suicide bombings hit Moscow Metro
At least 38 people have been killed after two female suicide bombers blew themselves up on Moscow Metro trains in the morning rush hour, officials say.

Twenty-four died in the first blast at 0756 (0356 GMT) as a train stood at the central Lubyanka station, beneath the offices of the FSB intelligence agency.

About 40 minutes later, a second explosion ripped through a train at Park Kultury, leaving another 14 dead.

The FSB said it was likely a group from the North Caucasus was responsible.

The BBC's Richard Galpin in Moscow says no group has yet said it carried out the attacks, but past suicide bombings in the capital have been carried out by or blamed on Islamist rebels fighting for independence in Chechnya.


“ People were yelling like hell... Within about two minutes everything was covered in smoke ”
Alexei, witness

In February, Chechen rebel leader Doku Umarov said "the zone of military operations will be extended to the territory of Russia... the war is coming to their cities".

At an emergency meeting with senior officials, President Dmitry Medvedev vowed to uphold the "policy of suppressing terror and the fight against terrorism".

"We will continue operations against terrorists without compromises and to the end," he said.

Federal security forces have scored a series of successes against militants in the North Caucasus in recent weeks. In February, at least 20 insurgents were killed in an operation by troops in Ingushetia.

'Panic'

Emergency services ministry spokeswoman Irina Andrianova said the first explosion tore through the second carriage of a train as it stood at Lubyanka at the peak of the rush hour.

AT THE SCENE
Yuri Maloveryan BBC News, Moscow
Outside Lubyanka Station, traffic has been restored, but Lubyanka Square remains closed to pedestrians - there are only police, officials and journalists. There are reports of informal taxis charging thousands of roubles - up to 4,000 roubles (£90) - for a fare that would normally cost 150 roubles (£3.40) - to get people to where they want.

Following news of the attacks, some people went back home, but many still came in to work using the rest of the Metro network, which is almost impossible to close down because it is so big and so heavily used.

The station, on both the busy Sokolnicheskaya and Tagansko-Krasnopresnenskaya lines, lies beneath the headquarters of the Federal Security Service (FSB).

"I was moving up on the escalator when I heard a loud bang, a blast. A door near the passage way arched, was ripped out and a cloud of dust came down on the escalator," an eyewitness named Alexei told Rossiya 24 TV channel.

"People started running, panicking, falling on each other," he said.

The second blast at Park Kultury, which is six stops away from Lubyanka on the Sokolnicheskaya line, came at 0838 (0438 GMT). It struck at the back of the train as people were getting on board.

"I was in the middle of the train when somewhere in the first or second carriage there was a loud blast. I felt the vibrations reverberate through my body," one passenger told the RIA news agency.

"People were yelling like hell," he said. "There was a lot of smoke and within about two minutes everything was covered in smoke."

More than 60 people were injured in the two attacks, 30 of them badly, officials said.

In a meeting with President Medvedev, FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov said its investigators believed the attacks had been carried out by "terrorist groups related to the North Caucasus".


"This is likely to be our main conclusion, because fragments of the bodies of two female suicide bombers were found earlier at the scene of the incident and examinations show that these individuals came from the North Caucasus region," he said.

Citing a preliminary forensic report, Mr Bortnikov added that the devices had been made with the powerful explosive, hexogen, which is more commonly known as RDX.

The bomb that went off at Lubyanka station had an equivalent force of up to 4kg of TNT, while the bomb at Park Kultury was equivalent to 1.5-2kg of TNT, he said. The devices were filled with chipped iron rods and screws for shrapnel.

Federal prosecutors said they had opened an investigation into "suspected acts of terrorism".

'Heinous crime'

Parts of the Metro system have been closed down as a precaution, and 700 interior ministry troops have been deployed on the streets.

"The whole city is a mess, people are calling each other, the operators can't cope with such a huge number of calls at a time," said Olga, a BBC News website reader in Moscow. "Those who witnessed the tragedy can't get over the shock."

President Medvedev asked officials to increase security on the public transport system nationwide. "What was being done needs to be substantially strengthened," he said. "Look at this problem on the scale of the state, not only as it applies to a particular type of transport and a particular city."

Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, who has cut short a visit to the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk, said a crime that was "terrible in its consequences and heinous in its manner" had been committed.

"I am confident that law enforcement bodies will spare no effort to track down and punish the criminals. Terrorists will be destroyed," he added.

US President Barack Obama condemned the "outrageous acts", and said the American people stood united with the people of Russia in opposition to violent extremism.


MOSCOW METRO ATTACKS

March 2010: Two suicide bombers blow themselves up at Lubyanka station and Park Kultury station, killing 35 people
August 2004: Suicide bomber blows herself up outside Rizhskaya station, killing 10
February 2004: Suicide bombing on Zamoskvoretskaya line, linking main airports, kills 40
August 2000: Bomb in pedestrian tunnel leading to Tverskaya station kills 13
February 2000: Blast injures 20 inside Belorusskaya station
June 1996: Bomb on the Serpukhovskaya line kills four
January 1998: Three injured by blast at Tretyakovskaya station
The EU's foreign affairs chief, Baroness Ashton, also condemned the bombings and offered the bloc's "solidarity to the Russian authorities". Nato Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen pledged its commitment to fight with Russia against terrorism.

The co-ordinated attacks were the deadliest in Moscow since February 2004, when at least 39 people were killed by a bomb on a packed metro train as it approached the Paveletskaya station.

Six months later, a suicide bomber blew herself up outside another station, killing 10 people. Both attacks were blamed on Chechen rebels.

In November, Doku Umarov said his Caucasian Mujahadeen had carried out a bombing that killed 26 people on board an express train travelling from Moscow to Russia's second city of St Petersburg.

The attack came six months after President Medvedev declared an end to Russia's "counter-terrorism operations" in Chechnya, in a bid to "further normalise the situation" after 15 years of conflict that claimed more than 100,000 lives and left it in ruins.

Despite this, the mainly Muslim republic continues to be plagued by violence, and over the past two years Islamist militants have stepped up attacks in neighbouring Ingushetia and Dagestan.




Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/e ... 592190.stm

Published: 2010/03/29 13:13:59 GMT

© BBC MMX

[pausebreak]

AUSTIN, Texas — A family spokesman says Luci Baines Johnson, the youngest daughter of former President Lyndon Johnson, is being treated at the Mayo Clinic for what doctors suspect is a rare autoimmune disorder that affects the nervous system.

Spokesman Tom Johnson says an emergency medical charter flew Johnson to the clinic in Rochester, Minn., on Friday. She was admitted to a hospital in Austin, Texas, on Wednesday after experiencing weakness in her limbs.

The spokesman's statement says doctors suspect Guillain-Barre syndrome, which affects the nerves that control movement and can cause paralysis. He says the former first daughter was in excellent health before she was taken to the hospital this week.

He says Johnson's husband and her sister, Lynda Johnson Robb, are among the relatives with her at the hospital.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/met ... 63564.html

eta: mods I meant to post this in breaking news could you move please? TIA