Saturday, September 15, 2007

Missing Michigan Newborn Girl Found Alive in South Carolina

Amazingly, good news in the case of the newborn baby girl kidnapped in Michigan. The child has been found alive in South Carolina.




Police found a newborn girl kidnapped in Michigan found alive in South Carolina Saturday.


Newborn Israel Bell, missing since Thursday, was abducted by a 17-year-old named Jasmin, according to police. Bell was found with Marquesta Nelson, who is nicknamed Jasmin.



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MS, Cancer, Don't Stop Edwards or Romney Spouses

Both Ann Romney and Elizabeth Edwards are married to men who want to be president. One's a Republican, the other is a Democrat. They might wind up facing each other in the battle for the White House.




But the two women have forged a strong bond, one based on their shared challenges: both suffer from chronic diseases that will eventually kill them. Edwards has incurable breast cancer. Romney has multiple sclerosis, or MS.


But they're both on the campaign trail, and they both understand and support each other's courage and struggles. In this, perhaps Romney and Edwards give the greatest message about politics: in the end, it's all about people reaching out to people, not campaign carnage.




To follow her for a day on the campaign trail is to see an Elizabeth Edwards who looks the picture of health. Her hair is full, and her blue eyes as bright as ever. She has slimmed down since the 2004 campaign, but insists that is the hard earned badge of dieting, not disease. Still, every now and then, there comes a reminder. Before taking off her jacket recently in an uncomfortably warm living room in Bow, N.H., she asked a local television crew and a TIME photographer to move and shoot her from her left side, because her right arm is swollen from the treatment of her lymph nodes. Losing her train of thought in trying to answer a multi-part question someone asked her at a school in Manchester, she joked: "I call it chemo-brain; I could blame it on the fact that I'm 58."


When it comes to the never-ending debate over Elizabeth and John Edwards' decision to continue his campaign after her diagnosis with incurable breast cancer, much of the blame has been directed at her. In devoting herself to her husband's goal, was she ignoring what might be best for her children? Earlier this month, Edwards got into a public spat with a Clinton supporter, who had blogged that she was a "terrible mother." Elizabeth, a lifelong insomniac who spends her wakeful hours surfing the internet, came across the post and wrote back: "You don't get to judge me because you think you know exactly what you would do if you had my disease. I want to be really clear: you don't know."


But there is at least one person who did know. Ann Romney, who was diagnosed in 1998 with multiple sclerosis, called Elizabeth shortly after the Edwards made their announcement in March. "I totally understand why you're still fighting," Romney told her. "I totally get it."



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Friday, September 14, 2007

Faulty Brakes, Falling Wheels: Major Chrysler & Honda Recalls

These days, it seems like they oughtg to just issue you a freebie checkout for an "automatic recall" one year from date of purchase.


Chrysler LLC said Friday it would recall nearly 300,000 sport utility vehicles to address potential braking problems while driving uphill.


In a separate move, Honda Motor Co. said it was recalling more than 180,000 Civics from the 2006-2007 model year to fix a wheel-bearing seal that could leak and lead to a wheel falling off the car.



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Giuliani Wastes No Time In Chiding Hillary Over MoveOn

As noted in an earlier story, Hillary Clinton may have made a key mistake in her presidential campaign. By firmly allying herself with MoveOn.Org and the now infamous New York Times ad calling Gen. David Petraeus a traitor, Clinton has literally handed Republicans a rallying point for those who are not far left.


Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani criticized Democratic front-runner Hillary Rodham Clinton in a full-page ad in Friday's New York Times, accusing her of attacking Iraq war commander Gen. David Petraeus' character.



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The elegant businesswoman and her middle-class paedophile ring

Sometimes the seemingly most successful, most respected people are only presenting a veneer to cover the dark side of abhorrent lives. This pedophile ring included an Oxford graduate, and Army veteran who worked for the Ministry of Defence in Whitehall.



The internet also plays a part in these swirling depths of depravity and child sexual abuse.



Monica McCanch presented a well-dressed face of confident respectability to the world. She worked for Pfizer, the pharmaceutical company, in Kent before taking redundancy last year for a new life in Jamaica, where she planned to invest in eco-tourism.


She told friends that she was making a fresh start after the break-up of her 29-year marriage to Norman McCanch, a well-regarded naturalist. But she was also trying to leave behind the disturbing secret of her involvement in a paedophile ring that subjected a number of children to repeated abuse and posted videos of their torment on the internet.


Yesterday the past caught up with McCanch, 55, when she pleaded guilty to four offences of sexual activity with a child and one of engaging in sexual activity in the presence of a child. She stood, head bowed, at Maidstone Crown Court, as Judge Jeremy Carey told her that her crimes were grave and jailed her for six years.



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Author Says He Was Told O.J. Book Was Confession

How brazen. O.J. Simpson's disdain for the rest of humanity never ceases to amaze.


Pablo Fenjves, author of O.J. Simpson’s controversial book, “If I Did It,” says the book’s original publisher told him it was a confession.


Fenjves writes in a prologue to the book, obtained by this column exclusively, that Judith Regan, then of ReganBooks/HarperCollins, told him:


“He wants to confess, and I’m being assured it’s a confession. But this is the only way he’ll do it.”


The book, which was canceled by HarperCollins and is today being published by Beaufort Books after a court battle, now belongs to the family of Ronald Goldman. A civil jury found Simpson responsible for the 1994 slayings of Goldman and Simpson’s ex-wife Nicole Brown. A criminal jury acquitted him of murder charges.



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Thursday, September 13, 2007

Kid Rock Explains Why He Hit Tommy Lee

Sounds like a special episode of Sleazy and Sleazier to me. But who's who?




The trigger points for Sunday night's fisticuffs at the MTV Video Music Awards between Tommy Lee and Kid Rock – which resulted in Rock's being cited by Las Vegas police – was explained in part by Rock on Thursday morning's The Kevin & Bean Show on Los Angeles' KROQ-FM.


"It's been going on for five years," Rock (real name: Robert James Ritchie), 36, said of the strained relationship between him and Lee – who, like Rock, is a former husband of Pamela Anderson. "I did what any man would do, any man across the country, across the world would do," he said, adding that "it kills me just to be associated with, to have my name in a sentence with him, it honestly destroys me."



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Manhunt Underway After Miami Shooter Kills 1 Cop, Injures 3 More

This is a developing story. Fox News is offering live video.


A gunman shot and killed a Florida police officer and injured three others Thursday, prompting a massive manhunt and a lockdown of several Miami-area schools, officials said.


Sean Sherwin Labeat, 25, wearing a bullet-proof vest, fired a high-powered weapon and fled the scene after officers approached his vehicle for a traffic stop, according to police.


Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez, a former police officer, said the "extremely violent" suspect "assassinated" a police officer.



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Fossett: New Witnesses Report Seeing Plane Like His

Will a report of a similiar plane flying into a canyon help solve the mystery of what happened to adventurer Steve Fossett?


After finding a half-dozen old airplane wrecks over 10 days, crews searching for missing aviator Steve Fossett focused on new tips about planes flying in the area the day his disappeared.


A Blackhawk helicopter and several ground crews were dispatched late Wednesday afternoon to a spot in the Pinenut Mountains in western Nevada where two witnesses reported seeing a plane like Fossett's fly into a canyon but not fly out on Labor Day.



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Violent crime affects canine cops, too

K( officers--yes, the dogs are official officers--are a vital part of many police forces. From enforcement to drug sniffing, these dogs risk their lives, too.



The bonds between the human-canine partners are often deep, and for many, life-long. After retirement, some K9s stay with their human parners within the family.

The best of them go easily from hard work to appearances in schools. Their bravery is legendary.

In earlier years, I bred and showed German Shepherds. Not all went to show rings--some became well-loved family pets, others went to police officers. One in particular still lives in my heart, and that of many others.

His name was Gator, and he became our town's first ever K9 officer, an innovation regarded with unease by the chief. But he and his partner set a precedent. Gator excelled in not only law enforcement with violent suspects, but also in drug detection.

Sadly, Gator was later poisoned by a drug dealer. Although Gator's partner knew who had done it, there wasn't enough evidence to bring him to trial. Even today, the memory of Gator, who loved greeting kids at school visits, too, and loved his partner's family, brings borh tears and smiles.



Halo the Orange County sheriff's dog came away with a split nose, bloodshot eyes and a swollen face after an encounter early Wednesday with a fleeing suspect.


His handler, Sgt. Jeff Doyle, was grateful.


It could have been worse -- like the partially separated shoulder a suspect gave Halo in February. Or the gunshots, stab wounds and other injuries Central Florida police dogs are suffering these days.



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Sunni Sheik Leader, U.S. Ally Against Al Qaeda, Assassinated

The most prominent figure in a U.S.-backed revolt of Sunni sheiks against al-Qaida in Iraq was killed Thursday by a bomb planted near his home in Anbar province, 10 days after he met with President George W. Bush, Iraqi and U.S. officials said.


Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha and two of his bodyguards were killed by a roadside bomb planted near the tribal leader's home in Ramadi, Anbar's provincial capital, said Col. Tareq Youssef, supervisor of Anbar police.



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TV Veterans Launch Web-Only Show

Is the internet the new TV for younger generations? Would you tune into a show shown only on the web, and then join their social networking site?



Some TV veterans are about to find out.


The creative minds behind such TV shows as "Thirtysomething" and "My So-Called Life" are launching a Web-based show, hoping to find the artistic freedom online that they say is lacking on broadcast networks.


The show, called "Quarterlife," will debut Nov. 11 on MySpace.com and will also be paired with its own social networking site that will include story extras as well as career, romance and and other information for the show's young audience.



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Madeleine judge gives police warrant to seize diary, laptop and Cuddle Cat

The Portugese police want more physical evidence, the McCanns issue a defiant challenge to cops, then go out and pose for playful pictures. Wealthy contributors to Madeleine's Fund reportedly are refusing to give more so that they don't fund public relations or legal moves by the McCanns.




The story grows weirder, and more public, every day, it seems.


A Portuguese judge has signed a warrant instructing British police to seize items of evidence from the home of Kate and Gerry McCann.


The police, who could visit the McCanns as early as this morning, are expected to take Mrs McCann's private diaries, her husband's laptop computer and Madeleine's 'cuddle cat' toy.


Yesterday, the McCanns challenged the Portuguese police to produce their daughter Madeleine's body to prove they killed her.



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Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Israel stages limited Gaza incursion

This is a developing story.


Israeli ground troops entered the central Gaza Strip Wednesday night, a day after rocket fire from the Palestinian territory wounded dozens of Israeli soldiers. But the military described the incursion as routine and said it was not part of a large-scale mission.


The army gave no further information.


Early Tuesday morning, a Palestinian rocket from Gaza struck an army base in Israel just north of Gaza and wounded 40 soldiers as they slept in their tents. One soldier was in critical condition.


But Israel has ruled out a large-scale military retaliation, a decision some Israelis questioned.



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Judge postpones trial for former astronaut Lisa Nowak

Hopefully, this will also give time for some of the media furor to die down and an actual trial go on instead of a trial by media and gossip. Or is that too much to hope for?


The judge overseeing the case against former astronaut Lisa Marie Nowak has postponed the trial, possibly until next year, the county court clerk's Web site shows.


Records on the Orange County Clerk of Courts Web site says the state filed a motion to delay the trial, which was granted by Orange Circuit Judge Marc Lubet. The trial was scheduled to begin Sept. 24.


Because Nowak's attorneys have filed notice of intent to use an insanity defense, the clerk's Web site says dates would be set when the 2008 judicial calendar is distributed.





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Impressing the Ladies: Forbidden Fruit & Powerful Gifts, Jungle Style

Here's the tip of the day to impress the ladies: risk a lot to bring a really sweet bit of forbidden fruit for her to pick over. Hey, science says so!


Male chimpanzees will risk serious injury to provide females with the "forbidden fruit" that they crave, reveals a study of chimps in western Africa.


The males advertise their prowess and impress potential mates by stealing papaya from local farms, researchers found.



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Why is Steve Fossett So Hard To Find?

Steve Fossett cannot possibly have disappeared into thin air. But for now, it seems that way.


More than a week after he took off on a routine flight in western Nevada, there is still no sign of him or his single-engine plane. Pilots, coordinated by the Nevada wing of the Civil Air Patrol, have been scanning an area twice the size of New Jersey.



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