Author Archive
Today’s top world stories Evening Edition 3/20/2010
by xrammyx on Mar.20, 2010, under My World
Today’s top world stories
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Today’s top world stories 3/20/2010
by xrammyx on Mar.20, 2010, under My World
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Today’s top world stories 3/19/2010
by xrammyx on Mar.19, 2010, under My World
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Today’s top world stories 3/18/2010
by xrammyx on Mar.18, 2010, under My World
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DFW Area News 3/18/2010
by xrammyx on Mar.18, 2010, under My World
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‘Partiers’ Damage 80 Tombstones in Corsicana Cemetery Say Sheriff’s Deputies
Alleged Gender Trick Leads to Shooting
Sandra Bullock Moves Out Amid Jesse James’ Affair Rumors
‘My Mom’s on Facebook’ Song Taps into Social Networking Dilemma
Watch FOX 4 News at Noon Streaming Live
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Facebook Friend Donates Kidney
by xrammyx on Mar.18, 2010, under My World
DALLAS – An 11-year-old boy has a new lease on life after receiving a kidney from a his mother’s childhood friend. FOX 4’s Shaun Rabb reports the pair lost touch for about 30 years and then reconnected on Facebook.
Facebook Friend Donates Kidney
Green Bay’s most stolen street sign? Mullet place
by xrammyx on Mar.15, 2010, under My World
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — The most frequently stolen street sign in Green Bay isn’t Lombardi Avenue, Reggie White Way or Brett Favre Pass. The distinction goes to a short street on the city’s southwest side. Its name brings to mind the helmet-style haircut of the 1980s – the cut perhaps best personified by country music singer Billy Ray Cyrus….
Female Prison Guards Often Behind Sex Misconduct
by xrammyx on Mar.15, 2010, under My World
HELENA, Mont. — Inmate Michael Murphy usually started by seeking a small favor. That would often lead to a kiss or love letters. And in at least five cases, he convinced female prison employees to have sex with him or do other illegal favors.
In each of those cases, the female corrections employees were caught, shamed and forced out of a job, according to documents detailing an investigation by Montana prison officials and obtained by The Associated Press after an open-records lawsuit.
The female officers described Murphy as the aggressor, even as the predator. But that makes no difference in either state or federal penitentiaries, where prison employees — male or female — are the violators if they have sex with inmates.
A Justice Department study shows that cases like Murphy’s are common: Female staff are more often implicated than their male counterparts in prison sexual misconduct. While many cases could be considered consensual, incarceration experts and female prison guards say the problem is much more complicated.
In some cases, the women reported that they couldn’t say no to the inmate out of fear, or were afraid to go to a co-worker out of shame at what had happened. One small mistake often led to something else.
Experts say there is a culture of silence in the prisons that makes it difficult for female guards to come forward with problems before they spin out of control.
Documents detailing the state investigation into Murphy’s liaisons show he persuaded at least five Montana female prison employees to break the rules over several years. He even convinced his therapist to have sex with him, and was able to arrange one-on-one meetings with her even though prison officials knew of his past history with female workers.
Cover-up charges were filed against one of the female prison workers. Murphy, 36, faced no charges. He is serving time for theft, forgery and other charges.
No sexual assault charges were filed at the time against the women due to lack of evidence, according to the documents. But in letters to newspapers and in a request to the ACLU of Montana, Murphy wrote that he had been sexually assaulted by some of the women. Prison officials would not allow him to be interviewed for this story.
The confidential and lengthy internal investigation tells a complicated tale about how an inmate manipulated prison staff.
The therapist, for instance, told internal investigators that she knew she had been manipulated and compromised. She said she allowed Murphy to kiss her one day in her office and the relationship spiraled out of control from there.
The man who once ran New York City’s corrections department has little sympathy for female prison workers who see themselves as victimized in these cases.
Martin Horn, now a professor at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, said female workers who have sex with inmates are often treated less harshly by officials than male worker who do the same.
"As long as we have a double standard we are going to see these kind of behaviors," Horn said. "It is a very slippery slope we go down if we say we are not going to hold female officers to the same standard."
A 2007 U.S. Department of Justice study analyzing the prevalence of sexual assault in state and federal prisons found that 58 percent of staff perpetrators of sexual misconduct were female.
One expert on the issue says the "culture of silence" in prisons makes it tough on the female workers.
"Even if the staff did small favors, they should have felt free enough to communicate with their superiors about the fact that they were by being blackmailed by the inmate," said Brenda Smith, a law professor at American University who has studied prison rape issues.
Montana corrections officials said they have cases dating back to 2003 where two female workers at the state prison in Deer Lodge were disciplined for some sort of undisclosed involvement with Michael Murphy. Murphy rocked the prison again in 2008 when it was learned three more had become involved with him.
The prison launched a lengthy internal investigation, and Murphy was later transferred to a facility in Glendive.
Montana State Prison Warden Mike Mahoney said 41 percent of the system’s employees are female. He said it is impossible to separate female staff from any particular inmate, even one who has proven skilled at compromising workers.
He said the prison always stresses to workers not to get involved with inmates in even the smallest way, and to never reveal personal details of any type. The warden said Murphy’s case, though, will likely provide lessons to improve the training.
Today’s top science and technology stories 3/12/2010
by xrammyx on Mar.12, 2010, under My World
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Actor Corey Haim dies at age 38
by xrammyx on Mar.10, 2010, under My World
I don’t care what people say about his past and his drug use, he will be missed and I will never forget him. It was so awesome to have grown up watching his movies in the 80’s and made us think, “hey I want to be like him” heck I wanted to be a vampire killer when I first saw the movie.
His role in the Lost Boys sure heck made an impact of future stars and future movies. Still today people are still talking about that movie or looking for ways to talk to anyone that does anything with vampires since we have the popular show True Blood and other vampire shows and movies.
I remember when I first saw Haim in the movie Lost Boys and how he was such a cool person in the movie, then I remember his second movie License to Drive which I thought another great movie especially being along side with Heather Graham. I do have to say that I never seen Lucas till later years in my life and when I first watched that movie, adversity was so much to overcome especially for a kid trying to become something he couldn’t be. I know that sometimes I felt like him in Lucas and it took so many things to come together and be the better person.
I just hope that Corey did not suffer in his final hours and I hope people remember him for the good stuff he did in his life, even though he was a rough person later in life we all need to remember where he came from and how made an impact in so many ways. I will always remember Corey for cool attitude in his younger years and that’s how I will always remember him.
Frank
Below is the story of his life done by msnbc…
LOS ANGELES – Corey Haim, a 1980s teen heartthrob for his roles in “Lucas” and “The Lost Boys” whose career was blighted by drug abuse, has died. He was 38.
Haim died at 2:15 a.m. Wednesday at Providence St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank, Los Angeles County coroner’s Lt. Cheryl MacWillie said.
An autopsy will determine the cause of death and there were no other details, she said. Police Sgt. Michael Kammert said there’s no evidence of foul play.
Haim had flulike symptoms before he died and was getting over-the-counter and prescription medications, Police Sgt. William Mann said. The cause of death is unknown, Mann said.
“He could have succumbed to whatever (illness) he had or it could have been drugs. Who knows?” Mann said. “He has had a drug problem in the past.”
Child star Haim dies of reported overdose
NBC’s Janet Shamlian reports on the death of actor Corey Haim. He died of an apparent overdose at age 38.
Today show
Haim was taken by ambulance to the hospital from an apartment in Los Angeles near Burbank. The enormous complex is known as Oakwood and is popular with young actors, Kammert said.
Haim acknowledged his struggle with drug abuse to The Sun in 2004.
“I was working on ‘Lost Boys’ when I smoked my first joint,” he told the British tabloid.
“I did cocaine for about a year and a half, then it led to crack,” he said.
Haim said he went into rehabilitation and was put on prescription drugs. He took both stimulants and sedatives such as Valium.
“I started on the downers which were a hell of a lot better than the uppers because I was a nervous wreck,” he said. “But one led to two, two led to four, four led to eight, until at the end it was about 85 a day.”
In 2007, he told ABC’s “Nightline” that drugs hurt his career.
“I feel like with myself I ruined myself to the point where I wasn’t functional enough to work for anybody, even myself. I wasn’t working,” he said.
The Toronto-born actor got his start in television commercials at 10 and earned a good reputation for his work in such films as 1985’s “Murphy’s Romance” and his portrayal of Liza Minelli’s dying son in the 1985 television film “A Time to Live.”
His career peaked and he became a teen heartthrob with his roles in the 1986 movie “Lucas,” and “The Lost Boys,” in which he battled vampires.
Where are they now? Here’s a look at child actors who tumbled from the top.
more photos
In later years, he made a few TV appearances and had several direct-to-video movies. He also had a handful of recent movies that have not yet been released.
But in 1997 he filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, listing debts for medical expenses and more than $200,000 in state and federal taxes.
His assets included a few thousand dollars in cash, clothing and royalty rights.
In recent years, he appeared in the A&E reality TV show “The Two Coreys” with his friend Corey Feldman. It was canceled in 2008 after two seasons. Feldman later said Haim’s drug abuse strained their working and personal relationships.
In a 2007 interview on CNN’s “Larry King Live,” Haim called himself “a chronic relapser for the rest of my life.”
Suspect Charged In Sports Bar Beating Death
by xrammyx on Mar.09, 2010, under My World
Suspect Charged In Sports Bar Beating Death
Police have arrested a suspect in the beating death of a man Sunday outside a Fort Wright sports bar.
MORE DETAILS: <http://www.wlwt.com/tu/5O6SEEgMI.html>
Pet shop owner claims fish is 43, weighs 20 pounds
by xrammyx on Mar.09, 2010, under My World
NEW YORK (AP) — It sounds fishy but a New York City pet shop owner says it’s true. Buttkiss, the black pacu he owns, is 43 and weighs 20 pounds. A pacu is a breed that’s related to the piranha. Steve Gruebel owns Cameo Pet Shop in Queens. He got Buttkiss in 1967 when he was just a wee thing. He sold him a year later when Buttkiss was two inches long. But in 1970, Buttkiss was returned when he outgrew the buyer’s tank….
Deputy Hailed as Hero in Wal-Mart Shootout
by xrammyx on Mar.09, 2010, under My World
DALLAS – An off-duty sheriff’s deputy was hailed as a hero Monday for preventing further bloodshed by shooting at a gunman who was headed into a Wal-Mart in east Texas following a shootout with police .
Delta County Deputy Paul Robertson was shot in the chest Sunday as he exchanged gunfire with the man at the store in Commerce, Sheriff Gerald Teague said. The suspect died. Authorities say they are unsure whether Robertson or Commerce police fired the fatal shots.
"Obviously, he saved lives," Teague said. "There’s no telling what the guy was going to do in Wal-Mart with those weapons."Authorities identified the gunman as 29-year-old Artenio Rodriguez of Commerce. A working telephone number could not be located for his family.
The incident began when police received a call that Rodriguez was firing shots into the air in nearby Greenville, about 50 miles northeast of Dallas. Commerce police intercepted the car just outside the city limits, where the man exchanged gunfire with officers, city spokeswoman Marty Cunningham said.
He then drove to Wal-Mart and tried to enter the store carrying a handgun and an assault rifle. Robertson, a father of two, was inside shopping with his wife.
"He heard the commotion and people screaming," Teague said. "He told his wife to go to the rear of the store. The man was just outside the store where the entrance is. He ordered him to put the weapons down and the guy didn’t."
Robertson identified himself as a law enforcement official and ordered Rodriguez to drop his weapons, Cunningham said.
Robertson shot at the suspect six times, Teague said. It’s unclear how many times the suspect was struck. Police also fired on him from the parking lot.
Authorities say Robertson’s wound was caused by the shooter and not by Commerce police.
The deputy was texting friends and talking on the telephone Monday and expected to be released from the hospital later in the day, Teague said.
"He’s doing great," Teague said. "He is very courageous."
Driver arrested after hit-and-run kills 13-year-old
by xrammyx on Mar.07, 2010, under My World
NEW CANEY — A driver was arrested on Saturday after a hit-and-run in southeast Montgomery County killed a 13-year-old boy walking with a friend.
Kendrick Owens, a seventh-grader leaving a sleepover, was struck by a pickup on FM 1485 and Kidd Cemetery Road. He and a friend were walking on the paved shoulder when the truck swerved into their path. The friend jumped out of the way, but the impact threw Kendrick over a guard rail.
The Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office said several motorists had reported a reckless driver traveling in a 1998 blue Dodge Dakota. After the child was hit, witnesses reportedly rushed to help him while a wrecker driver followed the pickup.
KHOU-Channel 11 reports that the suspect drove to his home in the 17000 block of Oak Grove and ran into the home, but came out a few minutes later.
The wrecker driver told the suspect that he struck a child. Officers arrived and arrested the man, KHOU said.
Kendrick was airlifted to a hospital with a severe head injury, but died later. Family and friends gathered at the New Caney Worship Center Saturday evening to hold a vigil for the boy, KHOU reported.
DPS troopers said the suspect, who reportedly smelled heavily of alcohol, is facing charges of failing to stop and render aid and intoxication manslaughter.
S. Texas man found competent to stand trial in kids’ beheadings
by xrammyx on Mar.07, 2010, under My World
BROWNSVILLE — A man accused of beheading three children has been found competent to stand trial.
A jury on Friday found John Allen Rubio, 29, competent to stand trial in the 2003 deaths in Brownsville.
The Brownsville Herald reports that defense attorney Ed Stapleton argued that Rubio has a delusional disorder. State prosecutors said Rubio has been faking the disorder and did not suffer from any mental illness.
Rubio is being retried after an appeals court in 2007 reversed his conviction. The court cited the prosecution’s use of videotaped testimony from the children’s mother, Angela Camacho, that did not allow for cross-examination.
Camacho, Rubio’s common-law wife, was convicted in the killings and sentenced to life in prison.
Rubio was the biological father of one of the children.
S. Texas man found competent to stand trial in kids’ beheadings
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