Army sergeant charged with slaying female soldier at Colorado
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:53:44 -0500
DENVER (Reuters) - An Army sergeant has been charged with premeditated murder over the death of a fellow soldier found dead in her barracks at a Colorado base earlier this month, military officials said on Friday. Vincinte Jackson, a sergeant assigned to the 576th Engineer Company, 4th Engineer Battalion at Fort Carson, Colorado, has been detained on charges of killing Specialist Brandy Fonteneaux, the Army said in a statement. Fonteneaux, of Houston, a food-operations specialist with the same unit, was found stabbed to death at the post on the morning of January 8, investigators said. ...
"Barefoot Bandit" gets 6.5 years of federal time
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:51:06 -0500
SEATTLE (Reuters) - A serial burglar nicknamed the "Barefoot Bandit" was sentenced on Friday in Seattle to 6-1/2 years in prison for his guilty plea to federal charges stemming from a sensational, two-year crime spree as a sometimes-shoeless teenage runaway. The federal judge also ordered that Colton Harris-Moore, 20, serve his federal sentence simultaneously with a state term of more than seven years in a move his lawyers say could see him freed before his 26th birthday. ...
"Barefoot Bandit" gets 6.5 years of federal time
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:51:06 -0500
SEATTLE (Reuters) - A serial burglar nicknamed the "Barefoot Bandit" was sentenced on Friday in Seattle to 6-1/2 years in prison for his guilty plea to federal charges stemming from a sensational, two-year crime spree as a sometimes-shoeless teenage runaway. The federal judge also ordered that Colton Harris-Moore, 20, serve his federal sentence simultaneously with a state term of more than seven years in a move his lawyers say could see him freed before his 26th birthday. ...
Arizona candidate appeals English ability court decision
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:50:03 -0500
PHOENIX (Reuters) - A woman barred from seeking elected office in an Arizona border town by a judge who ruled she did not have a sufficient grasp of English has decided to fight the controversial ruling, and filed an appeal on Friday, her lawyer said. A Yuma County judge disqualified Alejandrina Cabrera, a U.S. citizen born in Yuma, from running for a seat on the city council in the town of San Luis this week for what he called a "large gap" between her English proficiency and that required to serve on the council. ...
Arizona candidate appeals English ability court decision
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:50:03 -0500
PHOENIX (Reuters) - A woman barred from seeking elected office in an Arizona border town by a judge who ruled she did not have a sufficient grasp of English has decided to fight the controversial ruling, and filed an appeal on Friday, her lawyer said. A Yuma County judge disqualified Alejandrina Cabrera, a U.S. citizen born in Yuma, from running for a seat on the city council in the town of San Luis this week for what he called a "large gap" between her English proficiency and that required to serve on the council. ...
At home in Texas, Perry gets rocky welcome
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:46:28 -0500
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Governor Rick Perry has gotten a rocky welcome home to Texas, facing low poll numbers and criticism over state expenses related to his failed campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. Travel for Perry's security team cost the state nearly $800,000 between September and November, according to a new report from the state Department of Public Safety. The money paid for airfare, food and hotels for the governor's protective detail during trips both in Texas and to out-of-state locations such as Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Manchester, New Hampshire. ...
At home in Texas, Perry gets rocky welcome
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:46:28 -0500
AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - Governor Rick Perry has gotten a rocky welcome home to Texas, facing low poll numbers and criticism over state expenses related to his failed campaign for the Republican presidential nomination. Travel for Perry's security team cost the state nearly $800,000 between September and November, according to a new report from the state Department of Public Safety. The money paid for airfare, food and hotels for the governor's protective detail during trips both in Texas and to out-of-state locations such as Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Manchester, New Hampshire. ...
Accused Utah school bomb plotter said inspired by Columbine
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:45:59 -0500
ROY, Utah (Reuters) - One of two Utah teenagers accused of plotting to set off a bomb at a school assembly was inspired by the 1999 Columbine massacre in Colorado and visited the high school there to interview its principal, authorities said in court papers released on Friday. The revelations surfaced as the older of the two Roy High School students arrested on Wednesday, Dallin Morgan, 18, was charged by Weber County prosecutors with possession or use of a weapon of mass destruction. ...
Accused Utah school bomb plotter said inspired by Columbine
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:45:59 -0500
ROY, Utah (Reuters) - One of two Utah teenagers accused of plotting to set off a bomb at a school assembly was inspired by the 1999 Columbine massacre in Colorado and visited the high school there to interview its principal, authorities said in court papers released on Friday. The revelations surfaced as the older of the two Roy High School students arrested on Wednesday, Dallin Morgan, 18, was charged by Weber County prosecutors with possession or use of a weapon of mass destruction. ...
Obama administration bolsters homeowner lifeline
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:31:38 -0500
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration, in an election-year bid to help distressed homeowners, on Friday expanded its main foreclosure prevention program, and pushed for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to forgive mortgage debt. The administration said it would extend the life of the Home Affordable Mortgage Program by a year through 2013 and widen it to reach more heavily indebted homeowners. ...
Obama administration bolsters homeowner lifeline
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 22:31:38 -0500
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Obama administration, in an election-year bid to help distressed homeowners, on Friday expanded its main foreclosure prevention program, and pushed for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to forgive mortgage debt. The administration said it would extend the life of the Home Affordable Mortgage Program by a year through 2013 and widen it to reach more heavily indebted homeowners. ...
Mistrial declared in New Orleans police shooting cover up
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:35:41 -0500
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - A federal judge declared a mistrial on Friday in the case of a retired police detective accused of conspiring to cover up wrongdoing in fatal police shootings in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a lawyer for the officer said. Gerard Dugue was accused of plotting to conceal wrongdoing in the 2005 fatal shooting of two unarmed civilians by police on the Danziger Bridge as much of the city remained underwater from flooding in the chaotic days following the storm. Dugue was not directly involved in the shootings. ...
Mistrial declared in New Orleans police shooting cover up
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:35:41 -0500
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - A federal judge declared a mistrial on Friday in the case of a retired police detective accused of conspiring to cover up wrongdoing in fatal police shootings in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, a lawyer for the officer said. Gerard Dugue was accused of plotting to conceal wrongdoing in the 2005 fatal shooting of two unarmed civilians by police on the Danziger Bridge as much of the city remained underwater from flooding in the chaotic days following the storm. Dugue was not directly involved in the shootings. ...
St. Louis to host first major parade for Iraq War vets
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:35:14 -0500
ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - At least 1,000 Iraq War veterans and their family members are expected to march in St. Louis on Saturday in the nation's first major homecoming parade honoring U.S. soldiers who served in the war, a coalition of veteran groups, private citizens and local officials said. Since the last troops left Iraq in December there have been scattered small events, including a speech by President Barack Obama at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, thanking veterans for their service, but no major parade of the style seen at the end of World War One and World War Two. ...
St. Louis to host first major parade for Iraq War vets
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:35:14 -0500
ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - At least 1,000 Iraq War veterans and their family members are expected to march in St. Louis on Saturday in the nation's first major homecoming parade honoring U.S. soldiers who served in the war, a coalition of veteran groups, private citizens and local officials said. Since the last troops left Iraq in December there have been scattered small events, including a speech by President Barack Obama at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, thanking veterans for their service, but no major parade of the style seen at the end of World War One and World War Two. ...
Dougherty gang jailbreak plot foiled in Colorado
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:58:55 -0500
DENVER (Reuters) - A daring jailbreak planned by one of three Florida siblings accused in a multistate crime spree was thwarted when officers at a Colorado lockup where the trio are being held uncovered the plot, authorities said on Friday. Dylan Stanley Dougherty was accused of having stashed a homemade knife in his cell as part of a plot to escape from the Huerfano County jail through a plumbing duct and then bust out his sister, according to an arrest affidavit. ...
Dougherty gang jailbreak plot foiled in Colorado
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:58:55 -0500
DENVER (Reuters) - A daring jailbreak planned by one of three Florida siblings accused in a multistate crime spree was thwarted when officers at a Colorado lockup where the trio are being held uncovered the plot, authorities said on Friday. Dylan Stanley Dougherty was accused of having stashed a homemade knife in his cell as part of a plot to escape from the Huerfano County jail through a plumbing duct and then bust out his sister, according to an arrest affidavit. ...
'Barefoot Bandit' sentenced to 6 1/2 years
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:19:19 -0500
After a two-year international crime spree in which he survived a handful of crash landings, Colton Harris-Moore — the infamous "Barefoot Bandit" — says he's lucky to be alive.
Fading Gingrich attacks Romney in ad
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 20:12:42 -0500
MIAMI (Reuters) - Newt Gingrich struggled to regain momentum in the Republican presidential race on Friday as two new polls showed him falling behind rival Mitt Romney, who was seen as the winner of the final debate before the Florida primary. The White House contenders courted Florida's sizable Hispanic vote, many of them Cubans, with appearances on Friday at the Hispanic Leadership Network, where Romney received an unusually warm reception and the reaction to Gingrich was more sedate. ...
Doctor convicted in Jackson death seeks release
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:55:31 -0500
The doctor convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Michael Jackson's death asked a judge Friday to release him from jail pending his appeal.
Friend says on 911 call Demi Moore was convulsing
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:37:55 -0500
Demi Moore smoked something before she was rushed to the hospital on Monday night and was convulsing and "semi-conscious, barely," according to a caller on a frantic 911 recording released Friday by Los Angeles fire officials.
Fitch warns Washington state over budget gap
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:31:10 -0500
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - On the heels of a warning on Friday by Fitch Ratings that it could lower its rating on Washington state's general obligation bonds, a top lawmaker said talks on balancing the state budget would gain momentum after a key forecast next month. Fitch in a statement affirmed its 'AA+' rating on approximately $17. ...
Special election set for June 12 to fill Giffords' seat
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:05:07 -0500
PHOENIX (Reuters) - Arizona Governor Jan Brewer on Friday ordered a special general election to be held on June 12 to fill a congressional seat vacated by Tucson Democrat Gabrielle Giffords, who resigned to focus on recovering from a gunshot wound to the head. The Republican governor also set an April 17 primary to choose the candidates who will vie to replace Giffords in what has proved to be a highly competitive district in southern Arizona. ...
Top Army general backs plan to cut 80,000 troops
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 19:03:00 -0500
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Army's top general on Friday endorsed plans to reduce the size of his force by 80,000 soldiers over the next six years, pledging a steady drawdown that would take care of troops and their families rather than "running our nation's Army off a cliff." General Ray Odierno, the Army chief of staff, said the drawdown would begin this year and take place mainly through attrition. It would include withdrawal of two heavy infantry brigades from Europe, one in 2013 and another in 2014, both of which would be removed from the force rather than relocating to the United States. ...
Newly discovered color photos from inside Hitler’s private home
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:52:16 -0500
Several never-before-seen photographs have emerged from Adolf Hitler's personal photographer, giving a first time look at Hitler's Berlin apartment and Bavarian estate. The Mirror reports that photographer Hugo Jaeger was one of the few photographers working with color photography at the time and was granted access to Hitler's living and study quarters, showing artwork and [...]
Officials vow to replace Kentucky bridge hit by cargo ship
Fri, 27 Jan 2012 18:31:01 -0500
(Reuters) - Officials in western Kentucky vowed on Friday to quickly rebuild or replace a bridge over the Tennessee River after a cargo ship that carries military rocket parts slammed into it, destroying the main truss. The two-lane bridge was empty when the 312-foot-long Delta Mariner plowed into it Thursday night, tearing a 300-foot-wide gap in the structure, state transportation officials said. The ship's crew escaped injury. The coast guard said the ship was not carrying hazardous cargo at the time of the accident. ...
