Sunday, March 30, 2014

Horrific Taboo: Female Circumcision on the Rise in U.S.

By Annabel Roberts and Marian Smith

When Marie was two years old, a woman in her village in Africa cut off her clitoris and labia. Now 34 and living thousands of miles away in New York, she is still suffering.

“I have so many problems, with my husband, with sex, with childbirth,” she told NBC News, withholding her real name to protect her identity. “The consequences on my life are all negative, both physically and psychologically."

The practice of Female Genital Mutilation is common across much of Africa, where it is believed to ensure sexual purity before marriage. But Marie says FGM is also “very common” in some communities in America.

“The pressure to get daughters cut is great,” she said.

“We need to make it something that can be discussed.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least 150,000 to 200,000 girls in the U.S. are at risk of being forced to undergo cutting. The CDC says “at risk” because there are no actual records of the practice, only estimates – and old estimates at that. Its latest data date to 1997, the year after it was banned in the U.S.

But experts who work with victims and their communities say FGM is on the rise.

"It is hard to believe this is the real number because of how much [FGM-practicing] communities are growing, especially in the last two or three years," said Mariama Diallo, African community specialist at Sanctuary for Families, a New York-based non-profit dedicated to helping domestic violence and trafficking victims. Her organization could only extrapolate using census data when it issued a report on the growing problem last year.

Immigration to the U.S. from countries in Africa quadrupled between 1990 and 2011 from 360,000 to 1.6 million according to a recent report released by New York City’s planning department.

“The numbers need to be updated – but this needs funding and no one is interested,” said Dr. Nawal Nour, founder of the African Women’s Health Practice at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

Lack of Prosecutions

There are different degrees of FGM, the most severe form being the narrowing of the vaginal opening by repositioning the labia and stitching up the opening, sometimes leaving a hole the size of a matchstick for the passing of urine and menstrual flow.

The cutting is often carried out without anesthetic on girls between infancy and the age of eight. Victims can suffer numerous physical and mental health problems: severe abdominal pain, vaginal and pelvic infections, pain during sex, complications during childbirth.

Image: 'Marie' poses for a picture at Sanctuary for Families in New York — “People won't report against their families,” Marie says about the lack of prosecutions of FGM in the U.S.

In Phoenix, Arizona, a staggering 98 percent of Somali women being treated at the Refugee Women’s Health Clinic have been circumcised, founder Dr. Crista Johnson said. She estimates the Somali community is at least 12,000-strong.

Johnson has supported such victims all over the country – from Washington,D.C., to Michigan to California – and says the spike in immigration from such communities has been astonishing in recent years.

“The number has easily quadrupled because of migration patterns,” she added.

So with such numbers, why has there only been one successful prosecution in the U.S.?

“People won't report against their families,” Marie said. Since the mutilation is usually organized by the child’s mother or grandmother and supported by the father, many cases go unreported, case workers say.

“Even if there is protection from the government, it is difficult for a victim to disclose it through fear of retaliation from their family, and fear of losing their family,” she said.

Still, experts believe the law is a useful deterrent. Johnson says there is a sense of resignation among the families that they must abide by U.S. laws. Nour agreed, saying: “Parents are afraid to do anything that will get them deported.”

Taboo Topic

“This has been such a taboo topic, we [haven’t been able to] take it out from under the table. We need to make it something that can be discussed,” said Shelby Quast, senior policy adviser of Equality Now, an international women’s rights NGO.

“There has to be a huge shift so that we identify this as a form of violence against girls – and not something that's protected as a cultural and religious tradition,” she said.

Image: A tool used for Female Genital Mutilation in Tanzania — Some of the blunt and dirty tools used to carry out female circumcision in Tanzania, where 15 percent of women and girls are cut. The rate is far higher in other parts of Africa: In Burkina Faso, where Marie was cut, the rate is 73 percent. Somalia has the highest rate at 98 percent.

Support for victims is also comparatively poor in the U.S., health workers say. Nour in Boston and Johnson in Arizona run the only two clinics dedicated to supporting FGM victims in the U.S.

Comparatively the U.K. – with only a fifth of the population of the U.S. – has 15 specialist clinics. British midwife Comfort Momoh, who runs one such operation, recently visited the U.S. to research American facilities.

Coming from Europe, where campaigners are making strides in turning FGM into a mainstream issue, Momoh was shocked to see “no proper coordination and hardly anywhere for girls to go for support,” she said. “The situation is well, well behind the U.K.”

Campaigners say reaching out to practicing communities and educating them about the risks and consequences is critical to ending FGM.

"If the police are called and told a child is at risk, what will the policeman do if he does not know what FGM is? We need to tell them about it, tell them it's a violation,” Diallo said. "Every single professional needs to know they have an obligation: doctors, nurses, school teachers.... Everyone has to see it as their responsibility to protect children."

'Shame and a Prison Term'

In France, which is also home to significant communities which traditionally practice FGM, experts say enforcing the law and outreach to practicing communities must go together.

In stark comparison to the single American case, there have been over 100 successful prosecutions in France, with prison sentences for those found guilty of cutting or of allowing their daughters to be cut.

"I don't want my kids to undergo the same fate as me."

“There was no need for a special law that would amount to pointing the finger towards immigrants,” said French lawyer Linda Weil-Curiel, who has spent years bringing cases against suspected perpetrators to court.

“We had enough legal provisions in the penal code to prosecute and punish the 'mutilation of minors,' and the penal code is applicable to everyone on French soil, without discrimination.”

She believes these prosecutions helped reduce the practice. “The large publicity in the media of the trials sent a clear message to the families: This is what you are going to get – shame and a prison term – if you do not respect the law.”

There are no further prosecutions on the horizon in America – although there has been some progress.

Legislation was strengthened in January 2013 with a federal law making “vacation cutting” illegal – when girls are taken during their school vacations to countries where FGM is widely practiced to be cut there.

"They have passed the law. Now they need to enforce it," Diallo said.

But for Marie it's too late. "My organs were removed for my whole life, I can't change it; psychologically that is very difficult," she said. "But I don't want my kids to undergo the same fate as me."

Petra Cahill and Jamieson Lesko of NBC News contributed to this report.

Image: Amran Mahamood, who made a living for 15 years by circumcising young girls — Amran Mohamud, 40, spent 15 years cutting girls. She remembers the girls who wouldn't stop bleeding. She remembers the infections that set in. Four years ago she abandoned the trade after a religious leader convinced her it was not an Islamic tradition. Mohamud, who learned the profession from her mother, carried out the cutting procedure on her oldest daughter. But her granddaughters will not have it done. She said even her mother is against the practice now. "I reminded her of the problems we've seen," Mohamud said.

First published March 30th 2014, 3:55 am

Two Spanish Journalists Freed After More Than Six Months in Syria

MADRID — Two Spanish journalists held hostage in Syria by an al Qaeda-linked militant group for 194 days have been freed and handed over to the Turkish military in good health, one of the men told his employer, El Mundo newspaper.

El Mundo Middle East correspondent Javier Espinosa called the newspaper's newsroom late on Saturday to say he and freelance photographer Ricardo Garcia Vilanova had been released and to inform their families.

Spain's Foreign Ministry confirmed the men had been freed, but gave no further details.

Image: Spanish reporter Javier Espinosa, reacts as his son Yerai runs towards him upon his arrival at the military airport of Torrejon in Madrid — Spanish reporter Javier Espinosa, reacts as his son Yerai runs towards him upon his arrival at the military airport of Torrejon in Madrid, Spain, March 30.

The two men were captured Sept. 16 by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) rebel group at the checkpoint Tal Abyad in the Raqqa province on the border with Turkey.

Their kidnapping had been kept quiet until Dec. 10 at the request of their families because of negotiations with the rebels holding the men.

Image: Spanish freelance photographer Ricardo Garcia Vilanova — Spanish freelance photographer Ricardo Garcia Vilanova, right, walks off a plane after being held six months held in Syria, is welcomed by Spanish First Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria, left, upon his arrival to Torrejon de Ardoz air base in Madrid province, central Spain, March 30.

They had been travelling with members of the rebel Free Syrian Army, who were also taken by ISIL but released after 12 days.

The journalists had been attempting to leave Syria after two weeks covering the conflict when they were taken, the newspaper said.

— Reuters

First published March 30th 2014, 4:52 pm

Saturday, March 29, 2014

Jeb Bush, Chris Christie Court Vegas Billionaire

By Kasie Hunt

AS VEGAS — Who will the billionaire owner of the lavish Venetian and Palazzo casinos bet on for president in 2016?

Four potential Republican hopefuls — all governors or former governors — flocked to Sin City this week to lay their cards on hotel mogul Sheldon Adelson's table.

Among them: Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Ohio Gov. John Kaisch and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie — fresh from a week of tough questions over an internal report that purportedly cleared him of responsibility in the scandal surrounding lane closures on the George Washington Bridge.

And after a spirited press conference Friday, Christie's Saturday speech at the Republican Jewish Coalition's annual spring meeting seemed another step toward the return of the pugnacious, pre-scandal governor.

"We cannot have a world where our friends are unsure of whether we will be with them and our enemies are unsure of whether we will be against them," Christie told the conservative Jewish donors who had gathered in a ballroom deep in the Las Vegas Sands convention center complex.

"In New Jersey, nobody has to wonder whether I'm for them or against them."

The audience laughed.

Image: NJ Gov. Chris Christie Speaks At Republican Jewish Coalition Leadership Meeting In Vegas — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie speaks during the Republican Jewish Coalition spring leadership meeting at The Venetian Las Vegas on March 29 in Las Vegas, Nev. The Republican Jewish Coalition began its annual meeting with potential Republican presidential candidates in attendance, along with Republican super donor Sheldon Adelson. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush are among the highlighted speakers.

Much of the money went to a super PAC supporting Newt Gingrich — an effort blamed for dragging out the primary process and doing damage eventual nominee Mitt Romney in the process.

After Romney won the nod, Adelson donated millions to the cause; but in some ways the damage was already done.

The casino owner is has not yet picked a horse in the 2016 race but — in a post-Citizens United world that allows super PACs and outside groups to take unlimited donations from individuals, corporations and unions — support is considered extremely valuable.

Saturday's occasion was the spring meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition, a group Adelson backs in part to advance Israel's interests. Not on the list of speakers for Saturday: Conservative icon Ted Cruz or libertarian Rand Paul. Paul in particular is viewed with skepticism among pro-Israel Republicans.

At the meeting, Christie seemed to do a better job engaging with the audience than Walker, who spoke first and emphasized his ties to the Jewish community by referencing the Hebrew origin of his son's name (Matthew) and saying he also lights a "Menorah candle" during the Christmas holiday season.

"In New Jersey, nobody has to wonder whether I'm for them or against them."

Earlier in the week, Adelson met privately with Bush, who addressed the Coalition's senior members at Adelson's company airport hangar.

Christie's speech on Saturday amounted to an implicit critique of President Barack Obama's approach to foreign policy and national security — the central concerns of those donors in attendance — and an argument for his own personality and style of governing.

"We no longer have a government that people around the world want to emulate," Christie warned. "The dysfunction in Washington, D.C., is no longer being emulated around the world; it is being mocked around the world as a government that will not get out of its own way."

"In the end, we all get known and characterized for how we speak, maybe me more than some others," Christie joked at the beginning of his speech. "If you have a particular style or approach, people get fascinated with that part of your approach. That's fine."

It was also a plea for party unity — a message that Adelson is said to be looking for.

"It's time for us to stop as a party to worry about winning the argument, and focus on winning the election," Christie said. "We have to stop killing each other. I always thought that's what political parties were put together to do."

Christie: ‘I’m in This Business to Win Elections’

"I understand my obligation as a chief executive is to constantly question, and to never to be comfortable," Christie explaining the lessons he has learned from the scandal. "And to the extent that you ever do become comfortable, you put yourself and the trust that people have given to you at risk."

He also took questions about a Muslim man he nominated for a judgeship and at one point, Christie drew whispers from the crowd: He referred to Palestine as the "occupied territories," a politically loaded description that many conservative Jews object to.

The RJC's meetings have historically been closed to the press, but have been opened in recent years as major politicians have addressed it. Mitt Romney addressed the gathering in 2011, before he officially announced his presidential bid.

Image: Sheldon Adelson — Sheldon Adelson listens as New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie speaks during the Republican Jewish Coalition, on March 29, in Las Vegas. Several possible GOP presidential candidates gathered in Las Vegas as Adelson, a billionaire casino magnate, looks for a new favorite to help on the 2016 race for the White House.

All the speakers focused on national security and foreign policy, particularly as it relates to Israel; former U.N. ambassador John Bolton opened the gathering and drew perhaps the loudest applause of all.

But it was also clear that the overarching point of the trip to Las Vegas was to make a pitch to an audience of one.

"Hey, Sheldon, thanks for inviting me," Kaisch, the Ohio governor, said as he closed his luncheon remarks, the last of at least a half-dozen times he used addressed the mogul by first name during his speech.

"I don't travel to these things much, but this was one that I thought was really, really important."

First published March 29th 2014, 7:21 pm

Security Breach: Alleged Drunken Man on Dallas-Fort Worth Airport Tarmac

An alleged drunken passenger was able to make it on the Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport tarmac without anyone noticing him on Wednesday.

Airport officials are investigating how the security breach happened.

Investigators said construction workers noticed 29-year-old David Bohanan, from Corpus Christi, walking around on the tarmac carrying two bags and not wearing a badge.

When they approached him, he appeared lost or confused and then told workers a baggage handler had instructed him to follow him.

The employees called security who arrested Bohanan for public intoxication.

DFW Airport official, David Magana, said they don’t believe Bohanan posed any risk to passengers.

“Keep in mind the customer was already screened. He was a screened passenger so he had passed through a checkpoint within the airport system,” Magana explained.

Upon further investigation, Magana said officers believe Bohanan slipped passed a barricade into a restaurant that was closed.

From there he pushed his way through a fire escape door, that did not sound and wandered onto the tarmac.

“This happened after hours - that’s not an excuse - I’m just saying it happened after hours and there’s a lot less people around to protect against that door being open and that kind of thing,” Magana said.

Magana said the door that didn’t sound has since been fixed and others are under investigation.

Still the question remains, how no one spotted Bohanan before making his way to the tarmac.

“It is a concern he made it on to the aircraft operations area," Magana said. "Clearly that shouldn’t of happened and we're clearly going to look at that and look at opportunities to improve because that shouldn't happen. Especially for a person in the condition he was in.”

— NBC Dallas/Fort Worth
First published March 29th 2014, 11:25 am

FBI investigating police shooting of camper

AP Photo: Albuquerque Police Department

This March 16, 2014 photo from an Albuquerque Police Department lapel camera still shows a standoff with an illegal camper in the Albuquerque foothills, before police fired six shots at the man.

8 hr ago By JERI CLAUSING of Associated Press

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The FBI has opened an investigation into the recent police shooting of a homeless camper as he appeared to be surrendering, officials said Friday.

It is the first confirmed criminal investigation of Albuquerque police by federal officials, who more than a year ago launched a civil rights probe of the department over allegations of excessive force and a spike in police shootings. Since 2010, police have been involved in 37 shootings, 23 of them fatal.
In a statement, the FBI said it will investigate the fatal March 16 shooting to "assure the public that a thorough and fair investigation will be conducted."

Community leader Ralph Arellanes hailed the announcement, but he said it was "long overdue."
"This was something that caught the attention of the world," Arellanes, director of the League of United Latin American Citizens' New Mexico chapter and a member of the city's police oversight task force, said in reference to video of the shooting that was posted on numerous websites. "It's a tremendous injustice. A tremendous tragedy. And I also think there are more cases that (the U.S. Department of Justice) needs to refer for criminal proceedings."

Albuquerque police fatally shot James Boyd, 38, in the Sandia foothills following an hours-long standoff and after he threatened to kill officers with a small knife, authorities said. He died after officers fired stun guns, bean bags and six live rounds, authorities said.

But a helmet-camera video showed Boyd, who claimed to be a federal agent, agreeing to walk down the mountain with them, gathering his things and taking a step toward officers just before they fired.
Just hours after hundreds took to the streets Tuesday night to protest that shooting, Albuquerque police shot and killed a 30-year-old man at a public housing complex after authorities said he opened fire on officers.
The next day, Department of Justice officials investigating the Albuquerque Police Department met with community members who have complained about a culture of abuse at the police department and a lack of independent review of shootings by officers. At that meeting, officials indicated they have referred some of the cases to criminal investigators, Arellanes said. But he said they declined to say which cases or how many.
Arellanes said he was "very, very happy" to hear that one of those cases was the Boyd shooting.
Earlier this week, New Mexico Attorney General Gary King said he also plans a probe of the most recent shootings.

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

Charlotte Mayor Resigns After Corruption Arrest

By M. Alex Johnson

Charlotte, N.C., Mayor Patrick Cannon resigned after only 114 days in office Wednesday night after he was arrested on federal corruption charges that allege he accepted tens of thousands of dollars from undercover agents, at least once in the mayor's office itself.

"I regret that I have to take this action, but I believe that it is in the best interest of the City for me to do so," Cannon, 47, a longtime Democratic member of the City Council who was inaugurated as mayor in December, said in a letter to the city manager and the city attorney.

Mayor Pro Tem Michael Barnes, a five-term Democratic member of the City Council, immediately becomes mayor of a booming city that's bigger than Boston, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., and Denver.

Cannon was released on $25,000 bond pending his indictment Wednesday at a brief hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge David Keesler in Charlotte. He wouldn't comment as he left the courthouse Wednesday.

Patrick Cannon spoke to students at Queens University in Charlotte during his campaign for mayor last year.

If convicted of all three counts of theft and bribery, wire fraud, and extortion, he could face as long as 50 years in federal prison and fines up to $1.5 million, the U.S. attorney's office said in a statement.

In an affidavit attached to a 46-page criminal complaint (PDF), the FBI disclosed that it began investigating Cannon in August 2010, when he was a member of the City Council and Charlotte's mayor pro tem.

Over the next three-plus years, the FBI alleges, Cannon solicited and accepted bribes of about $48,000 in cash and other assets — including airline tickets, a hotel room and use of a luxury apartment — from undercover agents posing as commercial real estate developers and investors.

The "businessmen" wanted favors from city zoning, planning and permitting officials — who are highly influential in Charlotte, one of the South's biggest business and commercial centers.

At least once, Cannon accepted a large cash bribe in the mayor's office itself, when he took $20,000 in cash in a leather Fossil briefcase on Feb. 21, according to the affidavit.

In one of their meetings, Cannon told an undercover agent a few days before he attended a meeting of new mayors with President Barack Obama in December that "I'm still in play" and offered to raise the agent's purported concern over an extension of a transit line with Obama, according to the FBI.

First published March 26th 2014, 5:13 pm

Construction Worker Describes Daring Rescue From Houston Fire

A Houston construction worker who was saved in a dramatic rescue after getting stuck on a fifth-floor ledge as fire consumed a massive apartment complex said Wednesday that he knew he had to act quickly to save himself.

"I said, 'I'm going to die right here. I got to do something,'" Curtis Reissig, 56, told reporters outside of his home in Conroe, Texas.

Reissig suffered minor burns to his face and hand in Tuesday's fire, which destroyed the planned $50 million luxury apartment complex.

He said that once he realized he was stuck on the fifth floor and flames got closer and hotter, he decided to swing down to the fourth-floor ledge.

There, he was spotted by firemen at the scene, who drove a fire truck with an extended ladder toward him, so he could jump on it.

The harrowing rescue was caught on video by Karen Jones, who works in a nearby office.

The cause of the fire was under investigation Wednesday.

— Becky Bratu and Krista Brunson

First published March 26th 2014, 6:43 pm

Boston Firefighters Battle Massive Brownstone Fire

Two firefighters were killed and at least 18 people were taken to area hospitals as Boston firefighters battled a nine-alarm fire in the city's Back Bay neighborhood Wednesday.

The fire extended up from the basement of the four-story brick brownstone building, according to New England Cable News.

Image: Firefighters fight a multi-alarm fire at a four-story brownstone in the Back Bay neighborhood near the Charles River — Firefighters fight a multi-alarm fire at a four-story brownstone in the Back Bay neighborhood near the Charles River on March 26, in Boston.

At least three firefighters were among those taken to the hospital, according to The Associated Press.

A Red Cross team was also at the site of the blaze.

The Boston Transportation Department told drivers to avoid the Back Bay during their evening commute.

Image: Firefighters attend to an injured firefighter at the scene of a nine-alarm fire in Boston, March 26. — Firefighters attend to an injured firefighter at the scene of a nine-alarm fire in Boston, March 26.

First published March 26th 2014, 4:05 pm

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Woman Hiding for 18 Years Found in Key West

A Kansas City woman who has been in hiding for 18 years was found Friday in Key West, according to the Monroe County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies said 66-year-old Michelle Singleton was living in a houseboat under a different name almost two decades after she failed to appear in federal court for sentencing on charges of payroll check fraud in March of 1996.

When Monroe County detectives received a photo of Singleton, Sgt. Donald Catala said he had seen this woman several times in Key West. Deputies ran a records check that showed a woman by the name of Catherine Harris was living at an address in Hilton Haven, deputies said. She had a 1994 Honda with a Florida tag and a Florida driver's license that expired in 2012, according to authorities.

Woman Shot in Forehead: "It Still Feels Like It's a Dream"

A comparison of Singleton's picture with the license photo of Harris confirmed they were the same person, deputies said.

Secret Service and local officials went to the houseboat Singleton was living on, which was moored at a pier at 15 Hilton Haven Drive, and found her there, deputies said. When they asked for her ID, she gave them her expired license. They then asked for a birth certificate, and she pulled it out a file, but when she did other pieces of paper fell out. Those papers turned out to be her real social security card and birth certificate, deputies said.

WATCH: Man Rescues Coyote From Water

Singleton told deputies she had obtained a birth certificate with the name Harris on it one month after she fled Kansas City. She said she used that birth certificate to get her Florida Driver's license, but she hadn't renewed it because the rules had changed for applying for a license, according to deputies.

The woman admitted to being Michelle singleton and was taken into federal custody on fugitive charges, deputies said. She also said she was in the process of trying to sell her houseboat and move to the Dominican Republic, according to officials.

First published March 22nd 2014, 7:45 pm

Washington Mudslide Kills Three After Demolishing Homes

Three people were killed and eight were injured in a mile-long mudslide near Seattle that completely demolished at least six houses Saturday morning and caused flooding, officials said.

“First responders heard someone inside screaming for help” as the landslide swept through the house, a river and onto a road in Oso in Snohomish County at approximately 11 a.m. (2 p.m. ET) Saturday, said Washington State Patrol Trooper Mark Francis.

A 58-year-old patient in critical condition was taken to Skagit Valley Hospital. Four other victims are being cared for at Cascade Hospital.

One of the people rescued died later at an area hospital, authorities said.

The Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office, Washington State Patrol, Washington Department of Transportation and Army Corps were carrying out search and rescue operations on Saturday afternoon, according to the DOT. The Department of Emergency Management, U.S. Navy and local fire departments were also involved in the search, the statement said.

Portions of State Route 530 were shut down, and the monster mudslide “diverted part of a local river, which started a flood in the area,” Francis said.

"Very high potential for fast upstream, downstream flooding. Prep now in case you have to leave quickly," the Snohomish County Government warned in a tweet four hours after the initial slide.

Officials said reverse 911 calls have been going out to residents in the area warning them of the danger of flooding upstream from the slide, as well as the possibility of a downstream flooding should there be a catastrophic breach by the river.

The commander of the Snohomish County Search & Rescue team told NBC affiliate KING5 that the slide is the largest he's seen in the area in 30 years.

The cause of the slide appears to be that the ground was oversaturated by heavy rainfall, the government statement said.

Francis said Snohomish County rainfall accumulations have broken records for the month of March.

Image: The aftermath of a landslide blocks State Route 530 near Oso, Washington — The aftermath of a landslide blocks State Route 530 in Snohomish, Washington.

First published March 22nd 2014, 4:55 pm

Saturday, March 15, 2014

Charges Dismissed Against Defendant in Fla. College Band Hazing

Charges are off the table for one of the former Florida A&M University band members initially implicated in a hazing ritual that killed another band member.

The state is dismissing manslaughter and felony hazing charges against Henry Nesbitt, his attorney, Zachary White, told NBC News on Saturday.

Nesbitt had called 911 during a November 2011 hazing ritual that led to band member Robert Champion's death, authorities said. Witnesses, however, said Nesbitt was not heavily involved in the hazing, The Associated Press reported.

"We were hopeful all along that there was a lack of evidence there against Mr. Nesbitt," White said.

Fifteen band members were charged with punching, kicking and striking Champion, 26, during a ritual known as "Crossing Bus C," which led him to collapse. Seven former band members have been sentenced to probation and community service and two have pleaded no contest to manslaughter.

The shocking hazing death grabbed national headlines and led to the band's temporary suspension.

Nesbitt is still on the state's witness list, and his attorney says he may still have to testify.

"There was no deal or backroom deal, no agreement," his attorney said.

In September 2013, almost two years after Champion's death, FAMU band members had their first performance back on the football field.

— Alessandra Malito

First published March 15th 2014, 4:02 pm

Florida Man Fatally Stabs Boss Over Photo Taken Without Permission

Loved ones of "Jimmy the Greek Taverna" owner Dimitrios Karaloukas gathered to celebrate his life at the Glades Road restaurant he owned and loved Friday, one day after the man was fatally stabbed by an employee police said was angry about a photo.

"He would just hang out, and just sprawl out. Had a nice personality. Just a very nice man — the whole family," one person said. "We all, everywhere, feel terrible."

Tilus Lebrun, 36, was arrested Thursday evening after deputies say he fatally stabbed Karaloukas in a restaurant because the boss took a photo of him without his permission, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office.

Image: Tilus Lebrun — Tilus Lebrun was arrested Thursday evening after deputies say he fatally stabbed his boss in a restaurant because he took a photo of him without his permission, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office in Florida.

He worked at Jimmy The Greek Taverna Restaurant in Boca Raton, where witnesses say he pulled out a knife and stabbed the restaurant’s 61-year-old owner. Officials say the owner was sitting down in the restaurant when he was attacked by Lebrun. He was stabbed three times on his left side and once in his back and later died of his injuries.

An unidentified male who was an employee at the restaurant was also attacked by Lebrun. The victim was stabbed numerous times and is undergoing lifesaving surgery at Delray Medical Center, authorities said.

Deputies found Lebrun near the restaurant outside wearing an apron and holding a large knife. He later told deputies, “I killed him because he took my photograph on March 2nd and posted it on the internet,” according to authorities.

Lebrun has been charged with first degree premeditated murder and murder while engaged in a certain felony offense.

He was being held without bond Friday. It is not known at this time if he has an attorney.

— NBC South Florida

First published March 15th 2014, 2:16 pm

Thursday, March 13, 2014

Houston father shoots and kills boy in teen daughter's room

4 hr ago By Reuters

HOUSTON, March 13 (Reuters) - A Houston father shot and killed a teenage boy he found in the room of his 16-year-old daughter in the pre-dawn hours of Thursday, the Harris County Sheriff's Office said.

The father heard noises coming from the room and went to investigate. Upon finding the 17-year-old boy with his daughter, the father got into a fight with the boy, and "the homeowner, who was armed, shot the male once," the office said.
Police have not released the name of the 55-year-old father or the dead teenager, who the daughter first said she did not know and then said she did.
The incident was under investigation and no charges have been filed, according to the sheriff's office. (Reporting by Andrea Lorenz; Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Steve Orlofsky)

Police: Md. mall shooter fascinated by Columbine

AP Photo: Howard County Police Department

In a video surveillance photo taken on Jan. 25, Darion Aguilar approaches a Zumiez skateboarding and snowboarding store in Columbia Mall in Columbia, Md. Aguilar killed two employees store before turning his gun on himself.

1 day ago By JESSICA GRESKO of Associated Press

MARRIOTTSVILLE, Md. (AP) — The Maryland mall gunman appeared obsessed with mass murder and may have fixated on the 1999 Columbine High School shooting, dressing like one of the shooters and timing his attack so that it occurred about the same time of day as the Colorado massacre, police said Wednesday.

Howard County Police Chief William J. McMahon said during a news conference that investigators found no indication that 19-year-old Darion Aguilar knew the two people he killed Jan. 25 at The Mall in Columbia. Aguilar killed himself soon after the shootings.
Investigators found thousands of searches on Aguilar's computer related to mass murder, school shootings, guns and explosives. Aguilar showed "a particular fascination with the Columbine shooting," McMahon said.
He also looked up websites for people with mental health problems, and he told a doctor he was hearing voices in the months before the shooting.

Several pieces of information led police to believe Aguilar may have had a fixation with the shooting at Columbine, where two students killed 12 classmates and a teacher and wounded 26 others before killing themselves in the school's library. Police believe Aguilar may have waited inside the mall for over 40 minutes in order to begin his shooting about the same time that the Columbine massacre started. He also downloaded a video game based on the Columbine killing, though it's not clear if he played it, McMahon said.
Just before he emerged from the dressing room of the Zumiez skateboarding and snowboarding store to begin the shooting, Aguilar took a picture of himself in the mirror and posted it to the social media website Tumblr. Some of way he is dressed, wearing a white T-shirt, boots and cargo pants with his shotgun in a sling around him, is reminiscent of one of the Columbine killers, McMahon said.
"I had to do this. Today is the day," Aguilar wrote in a post with the photo, adding that he woke up and "felt no emotions no empathy no sympathy."
McMahon said investigators believe Aguilar took the picture to gain notoriety and intended for police to find it and show it to the public.
"We're not going to help him have that notoriety," McMahon said.

Maryland mall shooting: A journal entry written by Darion Aguilar, who killed two employees at a Maryland mall.

AP Photo: Howard County Police Department

A journal entry written by Darion Aguilar, who killed two employees at a Maryland mall Jan. 25.

McMahon also talked about what has been described as Aguilar's "journal." McMahon said what police discovered was about 20 handwritten loose-leaf pages in roughly chronological order. In a portion police released, Aguilar makes an angry, expletive-laced statement in which he anticipates the killings in "a couple of hours."
"Everything seems fake. I think that I may already be dead," he wrote.
At another point in the papers, he acknowledged he needed to see a psychiatrist, McMahon said.
Aguilar told a doctor in April that he was hearing voices, but they were "nonviolent and nonspecific," the chief said. The doctor referred him to a psychiatrist, but police could not find that Aguilar ever met with one. McMahon said the doctor told police he later followed up with Aguilar's mother, but she does not remember the conversation.
A review of Aguilar's Internet searches found visits to mental health sites, including ones for people considering suicide.
"He knows he's sick. He knows he has problems that need to be addressed. He writes it in his journal. He writes in his journal he's not comfortable talking to his mother about it," McMahon said, adding that there was no indication he ever spoke with anyone about his concerns.
Police said they released more information about the case in an effort to bring closure for the community, including the families of Aguilar's victims, 21-year-old Brianna Benlolo and 25-year-old Tyler Johnson. They were both Zumiez employees.
McMahon said the investigation is continuing, though no new significant information is expected.

Toddler found with heroin at NJ daycare center

1 day ago By Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New Jersey man has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child after his toddler was found with dozens of heroin packets at daycare, police said on Tuesday.

A worker at the child-care center in Paterson, New Jersey, about 20 miles west of New York City, discovered 48 glassine envelopes of heroin stuffed in the 2-year-old's jacket on Monday, according to Paterson Police Lieutenant Bert Ribeiro.
The employee called police, who determined the father had accompanied the child to the center that day.
There was no indication the child was aware the drugs were in his jacket, police said.

The child's father, identified by police as Phillip Young, 27, was arrested and being held on $85,000 bail, authorities said.
(Reporting by Victoria Cavaliere; Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Gunna Dickson)

Cops: 2 OD on heroin as kids play at McDonald's

Getty Images: Justin Sullivan

A sign stands outside of a McDonald's restaurant in San Francisco.

5 hr ago By Associated Press

CINCINNATI (AP) — An Indiana couple has been arrested in Ohio on child endangering charges because police say they overdosed on heroin in a McDonald's play area.

Hamilton County court records show that the fire department in Green Township, just west of Cincinnati, responded to a call Sunday of two adults needing attention in the restaurant's children's play area. Authorities say one was unconscious and not breathing; the other was conscious but unresponsive.
They recovered from what police say were "life-threatening overdoses" of heroin. Authorities say the couple acknowledged taking the drugs while with their two children, a 5-year-old girl and 8-year-old boy.
Court documents show each pleaded not guilty. Robert Paul Palmer, 37, was being held Thursday on $10,000 bond. Tamica Lynn Jeffers, 33, was being held on $6,000 bond.

Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Grieving the Unknown: Families of the Missing Face Painful Limbo

By Melissa Dahl

In the five days since the plane disappeared, these loved ones have been in anguished limbo — a state known as "ambiguous loss," coined by psychologist and author Pauline Boss.

“That is, when somebody is missing or has vanished without a trace, and you don’t know their fate, or the whereabouts of their body, and whether they’re dead or alive,” Boss says. “So it becomes so uncanny, and strange, for the families; they’re never quite sure if the person is truly dead.”

It’s a feeling that can apply to dozens of experiences, like losing a pregnancy, or losing a family member, small pieces at a time, to Alzheimer’s or dementia. And it also applies to the families of the missing: missing children, missing persons, or soldiers missing in action.

“It is the worst kind of loss to process — I don’t mean to say one kind of loss is worse than another. But this is the kind of loss that creates suffering without closure,” Boss said. “There is no closure, ever, if bodies can’t be found.”

One afternoon in Omaha, Kelly Murphy’s 19-year-old son, Jason Jolkowski, left their home to head to work. His little brother saw him leave the house, and neighbors saw him walking to his old high school, where a co-worker planned to meet him in order to give him a ride.

“And that was the last anyone ever saw him,” says Murphy. “He literally just disappeared off the face of the earth. It’s been 12 years and we really don’t know anything more than we did on day one.” She says that usually, families in this situation have something to work with: a violent boyfriend, an estranged parent, a missing jetliner. “But this one, there’s just absolutely nothing. And that makes it harder; you have nothing to go on.”

"You go through partial stages of grief but you can’t go through all the stages. You don’t know what you’re grieving for."

Part of the reason that ambiguous loss might be so taxing on a person is the fact that our brains crave information. Some scientists have posed the theory that humans are, innately, information-seeking creatures; we need answers, we need closure and we need an ending. “It becomes a problem of cognition. It’s actually difficult for the brain to process this loss because there is no information about it,” Boss says.

“You go through partial stages of grief but you can’t go through all the stages. You don’t know what you’re grieving for,” Murphy says. She’s been reading the stories of the families of the Malaysia Airlines passengers calling their loved ones’ cell phones; in the days and weeks after Jason disappeared, she did the same thing with Jason’s phone.

“So I can relate to what they’re going through. You want to cling to hope,” Murphy says. “But as the days pass, I’m sure that, in their logical minds, they know, this doesn’t look good. What I hope for them is that they find some answers that give them some sort of peace.”

Because after a death, there are a prescribed set of rituals, according to your culture: throwing a handful of dirt on the coffin, or spreading the ashes in a favorite place of the deceased. All of these rituals have a purpose, helping the person process the grief. But with the missing — when a person is simply, mysteriously gone — the people left behind are helpless. Any ritual or burial or memorial has to be purely symbolic.

This was Sue Scott’s life for 45 years, since Dec. 30, 1969, when her brother’s plane went missing in Laos.

“Even though the flame of hope is so minute after so many years, you never quite give that up,” Scott said. “I think you’re always hoping for them to walk through the door. I don’t think that ever goes away. Some miracle will happen and they will walk through the door.”

Image: Captain Doug Ferguson, left, went missing in action in 1969. Jason Jolkowski was 19 when he disappeared. — Captain Doug Ferguson, left, went missing in action in 1969. Jason Jolkowski was 19 when he disappeared.

Little bits of information trickled in over the last four decades about Captain Doug Ferguson: Investigators found his crash site. They learned that he died holding off the enemy, while two pilots were rescued. Later, they found pieces of his plane. And then, confirmed just last week — they found him. Ferguson’s remains were finally found and identified, Scott said.

“Many had said that it was really gut-wrenching. So I didn’t know what to expect,” Scott said of when she heard the news last week. “But, actually, I felt a sense of peace as a result.

“For me, in some sense, it was a sense of relief, to finally be able to move forward. And I don’t mean ‘get on with my life.’ What I mean is to celebrate his life,” Scott said.

Scott got her answer, and Captain Doug Ferguson will finally be coming home to Tacoma, Wash., on May 1, to be buried. Her story has a concrete ending.

Murphy’s, after more than a decade, still doesn’t. So she’s learned to “live in the not-knowing,” as she calls it. It’s not something she’ll ever “get over,” and she’s not interested in that, anyway. She’s channeled her grief over Jason’s disappearance into the formation of Project Jason, a nonprofit that provides support for missing persons.

“They will grieve off and on for the rest of their lives, and this is normal,” Boss says. “There is no closure on ambiguous loss, and we need to acknowledge that. It’s OK to not get over it; that’s OK even with an ordinary death.”

First published March 12th 2014, 3:52 pm

Gas blast destroys 2 NY buildings; 3 people dead

AP Photo: John Minchillo

Firefighters battle a fire after a building collapse in the East Harlem neighborhood of New York, Wednesday, March 12, 2014.

1 min ago By JAKE PEARSON and JONATHAN LEMIRE of Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — A gas leak triggered an earthshaking explosion that flattened two apartment buildings on Wednesday, killing at least three people, injuring more than 60 and leaving nine missing. A tenant said residents had complained repeatedly in recent weeks about "unbearable" gas smells.

By evening, rescue workers finally began the search for victims amid the broken bricks, splintered wood and mangled metal after firefighters spent most of the day dousing the flames. Heavy equipment, including back hoes and a bulldozer, arrived to clear the mountain of debris where the two five-story East Harlem buildings stood. Flood lights were in place. Thermal imaging cameras were at the ready to identify heat spots — bodies or pockets of fire.

Witnesses describe NY building collapse

The recovery was facing hardship in the form of the weather, which was expected to below freezing with rain. Some parts of the debris pile were inaccessible because of a sinkhole caused by a subsurface water main break, officials said.

Gallery: Building explosion in NYC

The fiery blast, on Park Avenue at 116th Street, not far from the edge of Central Park, erupted about 9:30 a.m., around 15 minutes after a neighboring resident reported smelling gas, authorities said. The Con Edison utility said it immediately sent workers to check out the report, but they didn't arrive until it was too late.

MSN News

The explosion shattered windows a block away, rained debris onto elevated commuter railroad tracks close by, cast a plume of smoke over the skyline and sent people running into the streets.
"It felt like an earthquake had rattled my whole building," said Waldemar Infante, a porter who was working in a basement nearby. "There were glass shards everywhere on the ground, and all the stores had their windows blown out."
Police said two women believed to be in their 40s were among the dead.
Hunter College identified one as Griselde Camacho, a security officer who had worked for the college since 2008.
Another of the people who died was Carmen Tanco, 67, a dental hygienist.
The identity of the third victim wasn't immediately disclosed.
At least three of the injured were children; one, a 15-year-old boy, was reported in critical condition with burns, broken bones and internal injuries. Most of the other victims' injuries were minor and included cuts and scrapes.
Fire officials said some people were unaccounted for but cautioned they may not have been in the buildings.
A tenant in one of the destroyed buildings, Ruben Borrero, said residents had complained to the landlord about smelling gas as recently as Tuesday.
A few weeks ago, Borrero said, city fire officials were called about the odor, which he said was so bad that a tenant on the top floor broke open the door to the roof for ventilation.
"It was unbearable," said Borrero, who lived in a second-floor apartment with his mother and sister, who were away at the time of the explosion. "You walk in the front door and you want to turn around and walk directly out."
The fire department said a check of its records found no instances in the past month in which tenants of the two buildings reported gas odors or leaks.

Family of NY victims search for loved ones

Edward Foppiano said the block was last checked on Feb. 28 as part of a regular leak survey, and no problems were detected.
City records show that the building Borrero lived in was owned by Kaoru Muramatsu. A phone number listed for Muramatsu rang unanswered.
City building records don't show any work in progress at either address, but the building owned by the Spanish Christian Church had obtained permits and installed 120 feet (37 meters) of gas pipe last June.
Con Ed said it remains to be seen whether the leak was in a company main or in customer-installed inside plumbing. The gas main that serves the area was made of plastic and cast iron, and the iron dated to 1887, Foppiano said.
A National Transportation Safety Board team arrived in the evening to investigate. The agency investigates pipeline accidents in addition to transportation disasters.
The tragedy brought the neighborhood to a standstill as police set up barricades to keep residents away. Thick, acrid smoke made people's eyes water. Some people wore surgical masks, while others held their hands or scarves over their faces. Witnesses said the blast was so powerful it knocked groceries off store shelves.
The Metro-North Railroad, which serves 280,000 riders a day in New York and Connecticut, suspended service to and from Grand Central Terminal, one of the nation's busiest commuter hubs, for much of the day while the debris was removed from its tracks, the structural integrity of the elevated structure was checked and test trains were run past the explosion site to see if vibrations would endanger the rescue effort. Service resumed late in the afternoon.
___
Associated Press writers Verena Dobnik, David B. Caruso, David Crary, Leanne Italie and Meghan Barr contributed to this report.

Snowy Ohio 50-Vehicle Pileup Kills 3, Badly Injures Trooper

By M. Alex Johnson

Three people were killed and a state trooper was seriously injured Wednesday in a mammoth series of accidents involving more than 50 vehicles just 10 miles apart on the snowy Ohio Turnpike, state Highway Patrol said.

No information was immediately available on the people who were killed

Trooper Andrew B. Clouser, 29, was in serious condition at Mercy St. Vincent Medical Center in Toledo with injuries to his legs and abdomen. Clouser was pinned between two vehicles while responding to a crash that occurred about 1:25 p.m. ET in the eastbound lanes of the turnpike between Toledo and Cleveland, the patrol said.

Forty minutes later, vehicles began piling up after a second accident in the westbound lanes about 10 miles up the turnpike near Sandusky.

Image: A 50-vehicle crash on the Ohio Turnpike — The accidents left dozens of vehicles twisted and disabled Wednesday on the Ohio Turnpike.

About 50 disabled and damaged cars and trucks stretched over 10.2 miles of the turnpike in both directions Wednesday, twisted and toppled like Tinker Toys. The turnpike authority told motorists to avoid the roadway in Erie and Sandusky counties.

By 9 pm. ET, one westbound lane of I-80 had been reopened, said state Highway Patrol spokeswoman Lt. Anne Ralston.

Highway Patrol was beginning to clear parts of the pileup after 9 p.m. ET, but they did not have an estimation of when it would be clear enough to let traffic begin to flow on the eastbound lanes, according to Ralston.

The authority blamed the accidents on the snowy weather, which that State Patrol said severely limited visibility.

A late-winter storm dropped up to 7 inches of snow overnight Tuesday and Wednesday in parts of the Midwest. The storm was moving into the Northeast on Wednesday night.

First published March 12th 2014, 7:05 pm

M. Alex Johnson