Thursday, May 3, 2012

Neo-Nazi suspected in Arizona murder-suicide

Neo-Nazi suspected in Arizona murder-suicide


Neo-Nazi suspected in Arizona murder-suicide

Posted:

Gilbert Police Sergeant Balafas speaks during a news conference near the scene of a shooting in GilbertGILBERT, Arizona (Reuters) - The Neo-Nazi founder of an anti-immigrant border militia is believed to have shot and killed four people before turning a gun on himself following a domestic dispute at a home in a Phoenix suburb, police said on Thursday. Police believe Jason Todd "J.T." Ready opened fire at a house in Gilbert on Wednesday, killing his girlfriend, her daughter, the daughter's boyfriend and the young couple's toddler daughter. He then shot himself, Gilbert Police Sergeant Bill Balafas said. Ready, 39, founded the U.S. ...


Lawyer for U.S. soldier accused of Afghan massacre objects to background check

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Handout photo of Staff Sgt. Robert Bales at Fort IrwinSEATTLE (Reuters) - The lawyer representing Robert Bales, the U.S. Army staff sergeant accused of killing 17 Afghan villagers, is objecting to a routine background check required by the military. Seattle-based attorney John Henry Browne, a self-described ex-hippie who has been married seven times and used to play bass in a rock band, said he has no secrets to hide but is opposed to the check on principle. "I don't think a defense lawyer should be 'vetted' by the government," Browne wrote in an email to Reuters on Thursday. "It is intrusive and has a chilling effect on the right to counsel. ...


Lawmakers push for vote to limit post office closures

Posted:

To match Special Report USA/USPSWASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of lawmakers is trying to drum up support in the House of Representatives to vote on a Senate-passed bill that would make it tougher for the Postal Service to close some facilities, in part by targeting representatives who may lose postal facilities and jobs in their districts. The group hopes representatives who are concerned about the planned closures of post offices or mail processing sites under the Postal Service's own cost-cutting plan will join them in pressing House leadership to hold a vote on the Senate bill. ...


Obama administration urges freer access to cellphone records

Posted:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress should pass a law to give investigators freer access to certain cellphone records, an Obama administration official said on Thursday, in remarks that raised concern among advocates of civil liberties and privacy. Jason Weinstein, a deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's criminal division, argued that requirements for warrants at early stages of investigations would "cripple" prosecutors and law enforcement. The U.S. ...

Parents of boy forcibly tattooed sue school district

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(Note: Contains offensive language in paragraph three) LITTLETON, New Hampshire (Reuters) - The parents of a New Hampshire teenager who was assaulted and forcibly tattooed on the buttocks by four older students during school hours have filed suit against the school district. Michael and Tammy Austin are seeking unspecified damages from the district in Concord, New Hampshire, which they say failed to provide a safe environment for their son and to protect him from bullying in the May 2010 incident. ...

Crackdown on drug thieves has trails to Florida

Posted:

(Reuters) - Prosecutors in a number of states have charged dozens of suspects with stealing prescription drugs from warehouses and tractor trailers across the country, including two brothers accused of grabbing more than $70 million of prescription drugs two years ago from an Eli Lilly & Co warehouse in Connecticut. The national crackdown on heists of prescription drugs involved coordinated arrests and indictments in Connecticut, New Jersey and Florida. The U.S. ...

Alabama Senate passes tax for bankrupt county

Posted:

(Reuters) - The Alabama State Senate on Thursday approved a bill allowing cash-strapped Jefferson County to revive a local jobs tax that county officials say is central to working out its $4.27 billion bankruptcy case. The bill, which must also be approved by the legislature's lower house and the governor, would allow any county in Alabama seeking relief from creditors under Chapter 9 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code to levy and collect taxes. The bill is worth about $60 million a year to Jefferson County and passed in Montgomery with a vote of 16 to 11, with one senator abstaining. ...

Two arrested after immigrants found stashed in Texas houses

Posted:

EDINBURG, Texas (Reuters) - Two men face charges of harboring illegal immigrants after authorities found 115 migrants inside three small South Texas houses, some of whom had not had access to food or water for days, federal court records published on Thursday showed. Police responded to an emergency call on Wednesday from an immigrant inside one of the stash houses. The home was bound with padlocks and chains from the outside, with bars covering the windows, said Oscar Trevino, a police spokesman in Edinburg, about 15 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. ...

Key partner at law firm Dewey defects to rival

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People walk past a sign outside law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf in New York CityNEW YORK (Reuters) - A raft of new partner defections including a key rainmaker hit Dewey & LeBoeuf on Thursday, as management found itself denying a report that the troubled U.S. law firm planned to close shop as early as in the next two weeks. Morton Pierce, a Dewey vice chairman, will join White & Case, along with seven corporate and M&A partners in New York, a spokeswoman for White & Case said. In addition to the group's departure, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius said on Thursday it had hired three litigation partners from Dewey's London office, including its managing partner, Peter Sharp. ...


Judge in Penn State abuse case OKs defense legal tactics

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Jerry Sandusky, former Penn State football defensive coordinator, arrives for a hearing at the Centre County Courthouse in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania(Reuters) - The judge overseeing the sexual abuse case against former Penn State University football coach Jerry Sandusky ruled on Thursday that his lawyers were within their rights to issue subpoenas to the police, a school district and the state's labor department, among others. The judge's ruling came in response to complaints from prosecutors that Sandusky's legal team, headed by Joe Amendola, had embarked on a "fishing expedition" ahead of next month's trial. They asked that the judge rein in Amendola's use of subpoenas. ...


Key witness in Clemens perjury case could testify Tuesday

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Former Major League Baseball pitcher Clemens arrives with his legal team at the federal courthouse in WashingtonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - A key witness in the federal perjury trial of Roger Clemens, his former trainer, could testify on Tuesday, a prosecutor said on Thursday, setting the stage for a possible courtroom confrontation between the baseball legend and his ex-assistant. Testimony from the witness, Brian McNamee, is critical to the government's charges that Clemens lied to Congress about using anabolic steroids and human growth hormone. "I don't think we will reach Mr. McNamee until Tuesday," U.S. Assistant Attorney Steven Durham told Judge Reggie Walton as part of a discussion about scheduling. ...


Two arrested after 115 immigrants stashed in Texas

Posted:

EDINBURG, Texas (Reuters) - Two men face immigrant harboring charges after authorities found 115 undocumented people inside three small South Texas houses, some of whom did not have access to food or water for days, according to federal court records published on Thursday. Police responded to an emergency call on Wednesday from an illegal immigrant inside one of the stash houses. The home was bound with padlocks and chains from the outside, with bars covering the windows, said Oscar Trevino, a police spokesman in Edinburg, about 15 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. ...

Militia leader suspected in Arizona murder-suicide

Posted:

File photo of JT Ready near DouglasGILBERT, Arizona (Reuters) - A prominent border militia leader and reputed neo-Nazi is believed to have shot and killed four people before turning a gun on himself following a domestic dispute at a home in a Phoenix suburb, police said on Thursday. Police believe Jason Todd "J.T." Ready opened fire at a house in Gilbert on Wednesday, killing his girlfriend, her daughter, the daughter's boyfriend and their toddler daughter, then shot himself, Gilbert Police Sergeant Bill Balafas said. Ready, 39, founded the U.S. Border Guard, a private-citizen militia in Arizona. ...


California medical pot crackdown hits upscale Santa Barbara

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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A crackdown on California's medical marijuana supply chain by federal authorities targeting the state's illegal drug trade arrived this week in the affluent, coastal county of Santa Barbara. The latest actions include three asset forfeiture lawsuits filed against properties housing marijuana operations and warning letters sent to people associated with 10 cannabis dispensaries deemed "illegal marijuana stores," federal officials said. "All known marijuana stores in Santa Barbara County are now the subject of federal enforcement actions," a statement from the U.S. ...

Stricken lawmaker who won Obama's Senate seat heads home

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Republican Senate candidate Mark Kirk of Illinois speaks to supporters after beating Democratic nominee Alexi Giannoulias, at an election night rally in WheelingCHICAGO (Reuters) - Mark Kirk, the Republican who won the Senate seat that Barack Obama vacated when he became president, is leaving a medical center where he has been recovering since suffering a major stroke three months ago, his family said on Thursday. The family's statement did not say when Kirk, the junior senator from Illinois, might return to the Senate. But it said the 52-year-old had begun physical therapy to increase his mobility and independence and was "maintaining his schedule with staff." Kirk, a five-term member of the U.S. ...


Thieves stealing manhole covers in New York City, utility says

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A New York City police officer stands guard near the United Nations building in New YorkNEW YORK (Reuters) - Manhole covers are being stolen from the streets of New York City, leaving dangerous holes in the roads and sidewalks, authorities said on Thursday. More than 30 manhole covers have been stolen in the city's Brooklyn, Queens and Bronx boroughs since early March, presumably by thieves selling them for scrap metal, said a spokesman for the Con Edison utility company. "Stealing manhole covers is dangerous," said Milovan Blair, Con Edison's vice president for Brooklyn-Queens Electric Operations. ...


Arson blamed in Long Island wildfire that scorched 1,100 acres

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York state authorities are blaming arson for a wildfire this month that burned 1,100 acres, destroyed three homes and injured three firefighters in Long Island's Suffolk County. One of the state's worst wildfires in recent history, the blaze also destroyed a commercial building and damaged several other structures after it started on April 9 and before it was fully contained on April 12, the newspaper Newsday reported. ...

Can portfolio theory save lives?

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A patient waits in the hallwayNEW YORK (Reuters) - With U.S. biomedical research under assault by everyone from patients to Congress for turning so few scientific discoveries into treatments, a leading finance expert says decisions about what studies to bankroll should be made the same way pension funds, mutual funds, and university endowments decide how to invest their money. Those decisions should be guided by "financial portfolio theory," argues a paper published Wednesday in the science journal PLoS ONE. ...


Prosecutors seek to resume California executions after 6-year ban

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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Los Angeles prosecutors asked a judge on Wednesday to order the execution of two condemned killers using a single drug for lethal injections, a move intended to end a 6-year hold on the death penalty in California over the method used by the state. The move comes days after Democratic Governor Jerry Brown told prison officials to consider using the single-drug execution protocol, and ahead of a November ballot measure that seeks to repeal capital punishment in the state. ...

Gunman kills four in Phoenix suburb, commits suicide

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Gilbert Police Sergeant Balafas speaks during a news conference near the scene of a shooting in GilbertGILBERT, Arizona (Reuters) - A gunman, identified by local media as a prominent border militia leader and a reputed neo-Nazi, shot dead four people including a toddler girl in Arizona on Wednesday before apparently committing suicide, police said. The gunman opened fire at a house in Gilbert, a suburb of Phoenix, Gilbert Police Sergeant Bill Balafas said. He could not immediately confirm the identity of the gunman. The Arizona Republic newspaper, citing unnamed police sources, identified the suspected shooter as Jason "JT" Ready, a reputed neo-Nazi who founded the U.S. ...


Romney pulls into tie with Obama in Ohio, Florida: poll

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Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign event at the Exhibit Edge building in ChantillyWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has pulled into a virtual tie with President Barack Obama in the crucial swing states of Ohio and Florida, but Obama retains a solid lead in Pennsylvania, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released on Thursday. Romney gained ground on Obama over the last month in Ohio and Florida, fiercely contested battleground states that will be critical to deciding the winner of the November 6 presidential election. ...


U.S. fighter jet crashes in United Arab Emirates

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WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A U.S. fighter jet crashed on Thursday during a training mission in the United Arab Emirates, a U.S. official said, but no one was hurt. The F-15E Strike Eagle crashed on Thursday morning, the Air Force said in a statement. Both pilots ejected from the plane safely, and the cause of the crash is being investigated. While the Pentagon said the location of the crash could not formally be released because the host government preferred not to do so, a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the plane went down in the United Arab Emirates. ...

Florida governor rejects Republican convention gun ban

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Florida Governor Scott speaks during an interview in New YorkTallahassee, Florida (Reuters) - Florida Governor Rick Scott has rejected a request by Tampa's mayor to allow local authorities to ban guns from the city's downtown during the Republican National Convention in August. Citing Second Amendment protections in the U.S. Constitution, Scott told Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn conventions and guns have co-existed since the nation's birth and would continue to do so during the four-day event beginning August 27. ...


Convicted Texas killer gets stay of execution

Posted:

AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) - A Texas man won a stay of execution on Wednesday for the second time this year, just hours before he was set to die for the killing of a man authorities say was targeted for his Harley Davidson motorcycle. Anthony Bartee, 55, was set to die by lethal injection on Wednesday evening for the 1996 robbery and killing of David Cook, according to a report by Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott. On Wednesday afternoon, a U.S. ...

Lawmakers push for vote to limit post office closures

Posted:

To match Special Report USA/USPSWASHINGTON (Reuters) - A bipartisan group of lawmakers is trying to drum up support in the House of Representatives to vote on a Senate-passed bill that would make it tougher for the Postal Service to close some facilities, in part by targeting representatives who may lose postal facilities and jobs in their districts. The group hopes representatives who are concerned about the planned closures of post offices or mail processing sites under the Postal Service's own cost-cutting plan will join them in pressing House leadership to hold a vote on the Senate bill. ...


Two arrested after immigrants found stashed in Texas houses

Posted:

EDINBURG, Texas (Reuters) - Two men face charges of harboring illegal immigrants after authorities found 115 migrants inside three small South Texas houses, some of whom had not had access to food or water for days, federal court records published on Thursday showed. Police responded to an emergency call on Wednesday from an immigrant inside one of the stash houses. The home was bound with padlocks and chains from the outside, with bars covering the windows, said Oscar Trevino, a police spokesman in Edinburg, about 15 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. ...

Neo-Nazi suspected in Arizona murder-suicide

Posted:

Gilbert Police Sergeant Balafas speaks during a news conference near the scene of a shooting in GilbertGILBERT, Arizona (Reuters) - The Neo-Nazi founder of an anti-immigrant border militia is believed to have shot and killed four people before turning a gun on himself following a domestic dispute at a home in a Phoenix suburb, police said on Thursday. Police believe Jason Todd "J.T." Ready opened fire at a house in Gilbert on Wednesday, killing his girlfriend, her daughter, the daughter's boyfriend and the young couple's toddler daughter. He then shot himself, Gilbert Police Sergeant Bill Balafas said. Ready, 39, founded the U.S. ...


Alabama Senate passes tax for bankrupt county

Posted:

(Reuters) - The Alabama State Senate on Thursday approved a bill allowing cash-strapped Jefferson County to revive a local jobs tax that county officials say is central to working out its $4.27 billion bankruptcy case. The bill, which must also be approved by the legislature's lower house and the governor, would allow any county in Alabama seeking relief from creditors under Chapter 9 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code to levy and collect taxes. The bill is worth about $60 million a year to Jefferson County and passed in Montgomery with a vote of 16 to 11, with one senator abstaining. ...

Fat guarantees helped weaken Dewey & LeBoeuf

Posted:

NEW YORK (Reuters) - In its race to become one of the world's biggest law firms, Dewey & LeBoeuf doled out rich compensation guarantees to attract and keep top-shelf legal talent. Now, as the firm bleeds partners and clients on an almost-hourly basis, these guarantees -- which Dewey appears to have issued more widely than other firms -- are being blamed for the firm's unraveling. Compensation guarantees are promises to pay attorneys a certain dollar amount no matter how the firm or the individual performs. ...

Crackdown on drug thieves has trails to Florida

Posted:

(Reuters) - Prosecutors in a number of states have charged dozens of suspects with stealing prescription drugs from warehouses and tractor trailers across the country, including two brothers accused of grabbing more than $70 million of prescription drugs two years ago from an Eli Lilly & Co warehouse in Connecticut. The national crackdown on heists of prescription drugs involved coordinated arrests and indictments in Connecticut, New Jersey and Florida. The U.S. ...

Key partner at law firm Dewey defects to rival

Posted:

People walk past a sign outside law firm Dewey & LeBoeuf in New York CityNEW YORK (Reuters) - A raft of new partner defections including a key rainmaker hit Dewey & LeBoeuf on Thursday, as management found itself denying a report that the troubled U.S. law firm planned to close shop as early as in the next two weeks. Morton Pierce, a Dewey vice chairman, will join White & Case, along with seven corporate and M&A partners in New York, a spokeswoman for White & Case said. In addition to the group's departure, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius said on Thursday it had hired three litigation partners from Dewey's London office, including its managing partner, Peter Sharp. ...


Two arrested after 115 immigrants stashed in Texas

Posted:

EDINBURG, Texas (Reuters) - Two men face immigrant harboring charges after authorities found 115 undocumented people inside three small South Texas houses, some of whom did not have access to food or water for days, according to federal court records published on Thursday. Police responded to an emergency call on Wednesday from an illegal immigrant inside one of the stash houses. The home was bound with padlocks and chains from the outside, with bars covering the windows, said Oscar Trevino, a police spokesman in Edinburg, about 15 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. ...

Key witness in Clemens perjury case could testify Tuesday

Posted:

Former Major League Baseball pitcher Clemens arrives with his legal team at the federal courthouse in WashingtonWASHINGTON (Reuters) - A key witness in the federal perjury trial of Roger Clemens, his former trainer, could testify on Tuesday, a prosecutor said on Thursday, setting the stage for a possible courtroom confrontation between the baseball legend and his ex-assistant. Testimony from the witness, Brian McNamee, is critical to the government's charges that Clemens lied to Congress about using anabolic steroids and human growth hormone. "I don't think we will reach Mr. McNamee until Tuesday," U.S. Assistant Attorney Steven Durham told Judge Reggie Walton as part of a discussion about scheduling. ...


Obama administration urges freer access to cellphone records

Posted:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress should pass a law to give investigators freer access to certain cellphone records, an Obama administration official said on Thursday, in remarks that raised concern among advocates of civil liberties and privacy. Jason Weinstein, a deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department's criminal division, argued that requirements for warrants at early stages of investigations would "cripple" prosecutors and law enforcement. The U.S. ...

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