Tag Archives: National

Secret hearings in case of Chandra Levy slaying

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chandra-levyWASHINGTON (AP) — A judge has been holding secret hearings in the case of the man convicted in the 2001 killing of Chandra Levy, the latest twist in a high-profile murder that went unsolved for years and captivated the public because of the intern’s romantic relationship with a California congressman.

The meetings, held sporadically behind closed doors at the courthouse over the last several weeks, raise questions about what comes next in a criminal case that appeared resolved by the 2010 conviction of Ingmar Guandique. The illegal immigrant from El Salvador is now serving a 60-year prison sentence in Levy’s death, but the hearings could signal a problem with the prosecution of the case.

Authorities acknowledged they had no DNA evidence or witnesses linking Guandique to the crime, building their prosecution instead around a jailhouse informant who said Guandique had confessed behind bars that he was responsible for Levy’s death. They also said the attack on Levy fit a pattern of assaults by Guandique on other female joggers in the same location where she went missing and during the same timeframe.

Guandique, who was already imprisoned for those attacks when he was accused in Levy’s death in 2009, professed innocence at his sentencing hearing. His lawyers said police and prosecutors made him a scapegoat for a botched investigation.

Read more at USA Today

Court says Obama appointments violate constitution

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WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama violated the Constitution when he bypassed the Senate last year to appoint three members of the National Labor Relations Board, a federal appeals court ruled Friday in a far-reaching decision that could severely limit a chief executive’s powers to make recess appointments.

The decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit marked a victory for Republicans and business groups critical of the labor board. If it stands, it could invalidate hundreds of board decisions over the past year, including some that make it easier for unions to organize.

When Obama filled the vacancies on Jan. 4, 2012, Congress was on an extended holiday break. But GOP lawmakers gaveled in for a few minutes every three days just to prevent Obama from making recess appointments. The White House argued that the pro forma sessions – some lasting less than a minute – were a sham.

Read more at AP News

Gun Owners Refuse to Register Under New York Law

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After Democrats in New York rammed a sweeping assault on the right to keep and bear arms through the legislature that failed to exempt police officers from the draconian restrictions, gun owners and even some lawmakers are planning what has been dubbed potentially the largest act of civil disobedience in state history. According to news reports, gun rights activists are urging everyone to defy far-left Governor Andrew Cuomo’s new registration mandate while daring authorities to “come and take it.”

Analysts say the legislation, passed in a frenzy last week in the wake of the Newtown shooting, represents the most brazen infringement on the right to keep and bear arms anywhere in the nation. Among other points, the so-called SAFE Act seeks to limit magazines to just seven bullets, require virtually all of the estimated one million semi-automatic rifles in the state to be registered with authorities, mandate reporting of patients who express indications that they may have thoughts about hurting themselves or others by doctors, and more.

Aside from being unconstitutional, experts on gun violence also point out that the draconian schemes are a bad idea: Studies have repeatedly shown that more guns lead to less crime, and the phenomenon is obvious across America — just compare Chicago or D.C. to Alaska or Wyoming. The mandated reporting requirements for doctors, meanwhile, have come under fire from across the political spectrum. Whether it will even be possible to enforce the bill, however, remains to be seen.

Preparations are already being made for mass resistance. “I’ve heard from hundreds of people that they’re prepared to defy the law, and that number will be magnified by the thousands, by the tens of thousands, when the registration deadline comes,’’ said President Brian Olesen with American Shooters Supply, among the biggest gun dealers in the state, in an interview with the New York Post.

Even government officials admit that forcing New Yorkers to register their guns will be a tough sell, and they are apparently aware that massive non-compliance will be the order of the day. “Many of these assault-rifle owners aren’t going to register; we realize that,’’ a source in the Cuomo administration told the Post, adding that officials expect “widespread violations” of the new statute.

Read more at The New American

Sandy victims left out in the cold during arctic blast

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The brutal cold snap affecting much of the country is taking a devastating toll on victims of superstorm Sandy, many of whom are camped out in tent cities or living in homes without power, heat or running water.

Hundreds of people in New York’s Staten Island and along the Jersey Shore are still without basic necessities nearly three months after the devastating storm struck.

“Many families in Union Beach are using space heaters to warm upstairs,” said Jeanette Van Houten, a resident from the small New Jersey town that was among the hardest-hit communities. “There’s people with no heat, no electric, but they are staying in the house because it’s better than having to deal with FEMA and having to leave hotels every two weeks.

Read more at FOX News

Multiple vaccine doses have resulted in up to 145,000 child deaths in past 20 years

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(NaturalNews) The recommended childhood vaccination schedule has changed dramatically over the years, with children now receiving upwards of 30 vaccines, including multiple combination vaccines, before the age of six. And in many cases, doctors and nurses administer half a dozen or more vaccines all at once during a single visit to make sure children get all these shots and to save time. But according to data compiled from the government’s Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS), as many as 145,000 children or more have died throughout the past 20 years as a result of this multiple vaccine dose approach, and few parents are aware of this shocking fact.

In a study recently published in the journal Human & Experimental Toxicology, researchers evaluated the overall number of hospitalizations and deaths associated with vaccines administered between 1990 and 2010, and compared this data to the number of vaccines given at one time to individual children. Hospitalizations and deaths resulting from one vaccine dose were compared to those of two vaccine doses, in other words, and the same all the way up to eight vaccine doses. Researchers also evaluated overall hospitalization and death rates associated with getting one to four combined vaccine doses, five to eight combined vaccine doses, and one to eight combined vaccine doses.

Upon analysis, the team found that the more vaccines a child receives during a single doctor visit, the more likely he or she is to suffer a severe reaction or even die. According to Heidi Stevenson from Gaia Health, for each additional vaccine a child receives, his or her chance of death increases by an astounding 50 percent — and with each additional vaccine dose, chances of having to be hospitalized for severe complications increase two-fold. To sum it all up, the overall size of the vaccine load was found to be directly associated with hospitalization and death risk, illustrating the incredible dangers of administering multiple vaccines at once.

Read more at Natural News

Texas sheriff joins growing list of those who will not tolerate unconstitutional gun grabs from feds

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(NaturalNews) In response to calls from President Obama and his allies in Congress for expanded gun control measures, a movement is spreading among local sheriffs: More of them are standing up and saying publicly they won’t enforce any new laws they consider unconstitutional, specifically any new statutes calling for outright gun bans.

The latest local law enforcement official to lay down a pro-gun gauntlet is Collin County, Texas, Sheriff Terry Box, who declared that neither he nor his deputies would enforce unconstitutional gun laws passed or decreed by those he calls misguided politicians.

‘I won’t participate in the enforcement of laws that violate our constitutional rights’

Box issued a statement recently laying out his position:

In light of recent events I feel I need to make a public statement of my views on this subject. As the Sheriff of Collin County, Texas, I have for the past 28 years served to protect and keep safe all citizens of our county, recognizing the trust placed in me with this profoundly important responsibility.

Unfortunately, the recent surge in the numbers of innocent victims who have died at the hands of unstable criminals has prompted politicians in Washington to seek to pass laws that would seriously erode the constitutional rights of innocent and law abiding citizens.

Neither I, nor any of my deputies, will participate in the enforcement of laws that violate our precious constitutional rights, including our Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.

As long as I remain Sheriff of Collin County, I will not participate in the actions of misguided politicians who seek to impede our citizen’s right to all of the privileges afforded by our Constitution.

Box, who is not new to his office and seeking a reputation, posted the statement on his personal Facebook page after he said he’d been contacted by hundreds of folks asking him to take the pro-gun stand.

Read more at Natural News

Some men get mad. Some men show tenderness.

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Apparently a man in England found out his wife listed herself on an Internet dating site. While some men might get mad, this “crazy” “idiot” of a husband decided to show tenderness. He combined his wife’s love of her horses with her love of her Peugeot. Happy Valentines day.

Houston waiter refuses to serve customer who insulted Down syndrome boy

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A Houston waiter’s Facebook page has been inundated with friend requests and messages after a story of how he stood up for a special needs child went viral.

Michael Garcia, a waiter at Laurenzo’s, was serving a family who have been regulars since the restaurant opened. The family includes 5-year-old Milo, who has Down syndrome.

“Milo wasn’t being bad, he was just talking and making little noises,” Garcia told FoxNews.com. But a customer at a nearby table who was also with his family began making comments about Milo.

Read more at FOX

Trapped dolphin asks diver for help

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On January 11th, a bottlenose dolphin off the coast of Hawaii tangled in fishing line desperately sought out the assistance of a diver for help. The dolphin waited patiently while diver Keller Laros worked for about eight minutes to free the trapped animal.

Mr Laros was leading a group of snorkelers for a manta ray dive experience off the Big Island’s Kona International Airport when the dolphin squealed out.

The diver explained, ‘The way he came right up and pushed himself into me there was no question this dolphin was there for help.’

SEE ALSO: Mail Online

3 wounded, 2 detained in Texas college shooting

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texas-horizontal-gallery(CNN) — Students ducked under desks and ran for cover during a shooting at a community college in Texas on Tuesday that left three people wounded.

“I just started hearing people shouting and yelling and running,” said Amanda Vasquez, a freshman who was in English class when the shooting erupted at the North Harris campus of Lone Star College in Houston. “I immediately tried to get under the desk, tried to hide …

“I called my mom as soon as I could just because you never know. I didn’t know if this was going to be the last time I was going to be able to speak with her. So I just wanted to make sure she knew that I loved her,” Vasquez told CNN’s AC360°.

Officials from the Harris County Sheriff’s Office are still in the initial stages of their investigation, but here is what they have said so far.

The early-afternoon shooting apparently stemmed from an argument between two men. At least one of the men was armed and at least one had a student ID.

Read more at CNN News