1 Avatar Fox $760,507,625 2009^
2 Titanic Par. $600,788,188 1997
3 The Dark Knight WB $533,345,358 2008
4 Star Wars Fox $460,998,007 1977^
5 Shrek 2 DW $441,226,247 2004
6 E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial Uni. $435,110,554 1982^
7 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace Fox $431,088,301 1999^
8 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest BV $423,315,812 2006
9 Toy Story 3 BV $415,004,880 2010
10 Spider-Man Sony $403,706,375 2002
11 Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen P/DW $402,111,870 2009
12 Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith Fox $380,270,577 2005
13 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King NL $377,027,325 2003
14 Spider-Man 2 Sony $373,585,825 2004
15 The Passion of the Christ NM $370,782,930 2004^
16 Jurassic Park Uni. $357,067,947 1993
17 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers NL $341,786,758 2002^
18 Finding Nemo BV $339,714,978 2003
19 Spider-Man 3 Sony $336,530,303 2007
20 Alice in Wonderland (2010) BV $334,191,110 2010
21 Forrest Gump Par. $329,694,499 1994
22 The Lion King BV $328,541,776 1994^
23 Shrek the Third P/DW $322,719,944 2007
24 Transformers P/DW $319,246,193 2007
25 Iron Man Par. $318,412,101 2008
The Top 25 Domestic Grossing Films In American History........................
The narcotics detective had testified that while sitting in his unmarked car, he saw a man selling crack cocaine along Bronx Boulevard.
The detective, Francisco Payano, said that he had then called in other officers and that they had arrested one man on charges of dealing drugs and three who Detective Payano said had been the man’s customers.
There was little to indicate that these arrests on Jan. 2, 2009, were anything but the result of straightforward, street-level policing.
But on Thursday, the Bronx district attorney, Robert T. Johnson, charged that Detective Payano, 35, never observed the drug deals he claimed to have witnessed. In a perjury indictment that fills 48 pages, prosecutors say he made up a substantial amount of his story.
Prosecutors said Detective Payano’s narrative began to fall apart last year when a lawyer for Omar Tawdeen, the man accused of dealing drugs, brought to court evidence from a nearby surveillance camera. That recording indicated no drug activity at the corner of Bronx Boulevard near East 224th Street, in Williamsbridge, at 1:12 p.m. the day of the arrests, contrary to what the detective claimed, prosecutors said.
In fact, the recording showed that the detective himself was not present, prosecutors said.
On Thursday, Detective Payano turned himself in to the authorities and pleaded not guilty in State Supreme Court in the Bronx to 64 counts of perjury and other charges, his lawyer, Bruce Wenger, said in a telephone interview. Detective Payano was released pending trial.
The indictment dissects the account the detective offered first to the grand jury, and later to the judge presiding over Mr. Tawdeen’s case. At times, the detective offered a high level of detail: Mr. Tawdeen, for instance, carried the crack in his right jacket pocket, Detective Payano said.
He said that he was parked 50 to 60 feet away, and that the first customer was a woman, followed by two men.
The charges against Mr. Tawdeen have been dropped, prosecutors said. But at least one person arrested with him pleaded guilty to misdemeanor drug possession charges, said a spokesman for the district attorney’s office, Steven Reed.
The cases against two other people arrested with Mr. Tawdeen were sealed, Mr. Reed said.
Mr. Tawdeen could not be reached for comment, and his lawyer did not return messages seeking comment.
Detective Payano has been a member of the Police Department since 2003. He is suspended without pay, the police said.
Michael J. Palladino, president of the detectives’ union, the Detectives’ Endowment Association, said in a statement, “The D.E.A. will defend Detective Payano, and I urge people not to rush to judgment, and to wait for all the facts to be known.”
Narcotics Detective Faces Perjury Charges.....................
A new policy intended to combat ticket-fixing in the Bronx requires that police officers hand their summonses to desk sergeants. But some officers are apparently taking the requirement a step further: they wait to watch the sergeant electronically scan those tickets, and even resist orders to return to patrol until they have seen the entire transaction.
Then they mark the moment in their memo books — their proof that the ticket did not disappear on their watch.
But that is not the only subtle change occurring around Bronx station houses since a grand jury was empanelled in April to hear evidence against officers fixing traffic tickets for friends and relatives, often with union leaders conveying the requests and making sure the favors were carried out.
In another sign of frayed nerves, those same union leaders are suddenly hard to find.
Once the “Mr. Fix-Its” for the rank and file — arrangers of shift changes, finders of the right union benefits forms and defenders against excessive force complaints — some union leaders are not picking up their phones when officers call them, several said.
But the phone is ringing in the precincts. Residents are calling to heckle officers, demanding their tickets be voided.
“All we get all day on the phone is, ‘Why do the cops have to stop me?’ ‘You guys are fixing tickets; can’t you fix this for me?’ ” said one officer assigned to patrol in one of a dozen station houses in the Bronx. Like most others interviewed, the officer insisted on anonymity.
As many as 40 officers could face criminal charges, and hundreds more may face disciplinary proceedings in the department when the grand jury is finished, most likely in July. Since the investigation began, Internal Affairs Bureau detectives and Bronx prosecutors have been treating precincts as if they were organized criminal enterprises, using multiple wiretaps and calling in officers to testify before the grand jury against others.
Guessing where and when it will end, or how deep and widespread the misconduct will prove to be, has become something of a police officer parlor game. It has brought a dark mood to the precincts. The absence of information means that layers of emotions fill the vacuum: fear, anger and indignation.
In interviews, some officers cited what they felt was an overzealousness by prosecutors. One officer said the scandal had isolated officers. Officers are scared even to talk shop with one another — especially on anything involving traffic tickets, which for many in the current numbers-driven environment is no small part of the measure of an officer’s productivity.
“You used to joke: ‘Who did you write today? Which star?’ ” said the officer, describing interactions with colleagues who patrol around Yankee Stadium. “ ‘Did you write them a summons?’ ” Now, the officer said, “you can’t even joke about that.”
Feelings about the investigation have cut into conversations among officers across the city, at precinct station houses, on city streets, at 1 Police Plaza, or in the backs of bars or restaurants.
“Everybody is on edge,” said Edward D. Mullins, the head of the Sergeants Benevolent Association. “They don’t know what is going to happen. They don’t know who is involved. There is all kinds of talk of people wearing wires; up on cellphones.”
Referring to the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association, he said, “The latest rumor is they are sitting up on the phones in the P.B.A. office and the cops can’t even call their own unions.”
Put another way by a veteran officer in the Bronx: “There are a lot of cops waiting out there for the other shoe to drop. It’s not just a question of you, but your friends. Are you going to find out that the guy next to you is taking bribes?”
Nearly all officers interviewed voiced one strong sentiment upfront: anyone who took a bribe to make a summons disappear deserves the worst. Yet that easy answer deflects a question about whether the lesser transgressions — doing the unpaid favor of scrapping a ticket after it is written or taking a dive in traffic court — are corrosive to the department’s legitimacy. On that question, there are deeper divisions.
“If someone was taking money, shame on them,” said a current delegate in the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association. “But if someone in my family got a summons, I would try to help them out.” He added, “If one of my cops says to me, ‘My father got a ticket, can you help me out?’ I say, ‘I’ll do what I can.’ ”
State Senator Eric Adams, a Democrat from Brooklyn and a former city police captain who has been talking to his friends on the force about the issue, said such professional courtesies did not amount to corruption. He said it was a norm in law-enforcement agencies around the country. “Other states are laughing at us,” Mr. Adams said. “They’re saying, ‘Are you guys kidding me?’ ”
But to other officers, those who have tried to steer clear of breaking rules, however small, fixing tickets after they are written represents unfairness. “The city is full of decent people who don’t know cops, and I can only imagine their frustration in learning that the other half of the city that is either related to police or best friends with a cop can get their ticket fixed,” a long-serving officer in the Bronx said.
He said the scandal represented a department “lurching toward complete legitimacy.”
The scandal has caused divisions between police officers, who expect to be hit the hardest, and superiors, whom many say were often the drivers of the ticket-fixing practices. That has led some to express a feeling of abandonment — a sense that the high-level officials are feigning shock over a system everyone happily embraced.
Because some of them were the subject of wiretaps or grand jury proceedings, union officials are offering none of their usual reassurances, adding to officers’ sense of foreboding about what comes next. For one officer, Marco Varela, his unsuccessful campaign for second vice president in the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association elections led him to about half the city precincts, though he was getting by far the frostiest receptions in station houses in the Bronx.
“When you go in there in a suit, they look at you strange, like you’re part of Internal Affairs,” said Mr. Varela, who is assigned to a patrol car in Upper Manhattan.
“The atmosphere in the Bronx makes it the toughest place to work,” he added. “It’s the toughest place to work in the world, moralewise.”
At least a few younger officers are rethinking their relationships with the department or with their careers. A cynicism has taken hold as a new generation of officers, many in their late 20s, grapple for the first time with the taint of corruption. For some, the scandal has ironically blunted their willingness to blanket their patrol area with summonses.
“People are literally scared to go on patrol or write a summons,” said the officer who is assigned to patrol in the Bronx. “You’re scared to approach someone because you’re not sure what the outcome is.”
The numbers support the officer, to a point. The number of summonses for moving violations written by police officers in the Bronx has declined to 63,948 through June 5, compared with 69,987 through the same period a year ago, a 9 percent reduction, according to numbers provided by the department. Citywide, those numbers have dropped to 424,359 this year, compared with 451,494 last year, a 6 percent drop, the numbers show.
Paul J. Browne, the Police Department’s chief spokesman, said the decline in traffic and parking summonses was not believed to be attributable to the investigation. “The fact of the matter is, these numbers fluctuate based on observed violations,” he said.
A police sergeant pleaded guilty on Monday to performing illegal searches of the cars and an apartment of people he had stopped, and then lying in court about his justification for the searches.
The sergeant, William Eiseman, a 12-year veteran of the force, accepted a deal that calls for him to serve weekends in jail for three months. Sergeant Eiseman lost his job with the Police Department on Monday afternoon because he pleaded guilty to a felony.
He and a second policeman, Officer Michael Carsey, were indicted last year. Officer Carsey, who is also charged with lying in court about a search, elected to take his case to trial, which is scheduled for Aug. 29.
According to the indictment, Sergeant Eiseman testified during a hearing in May 2008 that he saw smoke and smelled marijuana coming from Antoine Melville’s illegally parked van. Sergeant Eiseman also testified that he and Officer Carsey saw pictures of contraband on Mr. Melville’s iPhone and that when they questioned him about it, he said he knew his rights and “You can’t get those in my apartment.”
That statement was used to search Mr. Melville’s apartment, where drugs and a gun were found. But Mr. Melville, who was charged with gun and drug possession, never told Sergeant Eiseman there was contraband in his apartment, according to the indictment, a point the sergeant conceded on Monday before Justice Juan Merchan in State Supreme Court in Manhattan.
After the judge read aloud the allegations, Sergeant Eiseman admitted to one count of first-degree perjury, which carries a maximum seven-year prison sentence, and three counts of official misconduct. He also admitted illegally searching the cars of two men he had stopped in July 2008.
Sergeant Eiseman’s lawyer, Andrew Quinn, had asked Justice Merchan to spare his client jail time because he bent the rules in an overzealous effort to keep the streets clean, not to help himself.
“He never once arrested an individual who was guilty of no crime,” Mr. Quinn said in court. “He was trying to get guns and drugs off the streets.”
Mr. Quinn said Sergeant Eiseman, who will forfeit his pension, had been a sergeant for four years. He also had served in the military.
Although the prosecution made no recommendation for a sentence, Julio A. Cuevas Jr., an assistant district attorney, said Sergeant Eiseman had committed perjury, falsified paperwork and trained subordinates to do the same.
His conduct, Mr. Cuevas said, “really attacks the heart of the system, undermines the integrity of the system.”
Formal sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 6.
The Washington Post analyzed major construction and renovation projects currently funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, a total of 5,100 development deals worth $3.2 billion. The Post found that nearly 700 projects awarded $400 million appear to be stalled or abandoned. An additional 600 projects have not drawn any of the money allocated, tying up $250 million.
In 2005, Prince George's County delivered $350,000 in federal funds to the nonprofit Kairos Development Corp, which proposed to build 56 condominiums on this empty lot. But Kairos did not own the land or have permission to build on it. The owners of the property ultimately decided not to sell to Kairos. Six years later, the lot is still empty and the affordable-housing deal is dead. A Kairos official said the project became "unfeasible due to significant change in selling prices." The county wrote off the loan.
Housing officials delivered $270,000 to build houses on this lot and others. A nonprofit developer did some planning and environmental work, but eventually went under. Nearly a decade later, the project is incomplete. "Everything takes so damn long," said East Orange Mayor Robert Bowser. "There are so many complications."
Since 2001, the Metropolitan Development and Housing Agency of Nashville invested $1.7 million in this delayed project, meant to provide about 40 homes for low-income families. Federal money was spent to buy land and put in roads and utilities, but there is no money to start construction. "We essentially kind of moth-balled it for the moment," said Joe Cain, director of development. "We are holding it."
Since 2006, housing officials in Anaheim invested a total of $5.5 million in federal funding to buy and build housing on this lot. But the developer doesn't have the money to move forward. Housing officials say they are hoping the developer can quickly secure funding to start construction.
A bipartisan group of federal lawmakers is calling on Congress to look into the nation’s housing-construction program for the poor, citing years-long delays and other breakdowns that have thwarted the production of hundreds of affordable-housing projects.
Senate Banking Chairman Tim Johnson (D-S.D.) and Sen. Richard C. Shelby (Ala.), the panel’s ranking Republican, said Monday that they will seek to investigate the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOME program, which delivers $2 billion a year to local housing agencies to build and renovate homes around the country.
Public housing makes me feel...
"Do you live in public housing? Work with HUD? Inspect HUD buildings? Help our reporters tell the next story."Your Take
Explore how HUD spent, misspent or never spent $3.2 billion on housing construction across America.
.Rep. Elijah E. Cummings (Md.), the ranking Democrat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, also called for an investigation, sending a letter on Tuesday to committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.).
“It’s quite disturbing,” Cummings said. “I expect every dime to be spent effectively and efficiently. The American people are not getting what they bargained for. This is one that hits home — literally.”
Three other lawmakers — Reps. Spencer Bachus (R-Ala.), chairman of the Financial Services Committee; Randy Neugebauer (R-Tex.), chairman of the subcommittee on oversight and investigations; and Judy Biggert (R-Ill.), chairman of the Ssbcommittee on housing and insurance — sent a letter to HUD on Tuesday demanding detailed information about delayed projects and the agency’s oversight.
A year-long Washington Post investigation , published this week, found that nearly 700 construction projects awarded $400 million have been idling on HUD’s books — some for a decade or longer — leaving a blighted trail of empty lots and abandoned buildings in neighborhoods nationwide. HUD cuts checks but does not track the pace of construction and often fails to spot delayed or defunct projects, The Post found.
“We are deeply concerned by these reports, particularly at a time when so many Americans are in need of affordable housing,” Johnson and Shelby said in a joint statement.
HUD officials defended the HOME program this week, noting that the 700 projects cited by The Post represent 2.5 percent of 28,000 active developments. Officials added that some of the projects are delayed because “we’re in the middle of a housing crisis in this country.”
The Post did not attempt to track all 28,000 open projects, instead analyzing 5,100 deals worth $50,000 or more. Hundreds were started years before the housing crisis. In addition to the 700 projects, The Post identified 600 development deals that have never drawn any money even though it has been available for a year or more, tying up $250 million. In January, HUD started canceling these projects.
Where does that leave Minoroties? Where does that leave the poor? Where does that leave the lower middle class? Think About It... They can blow all of this money but what if they gave every American citizen 1,000,000 Million dollars that would equal up to about 325,000,000 dollars according to the recent census report,since their in the business of throwing away money. Give it to the ones your supposed to be helping and let them have the option of throwing it away instead of HUD playing games with hundreds of millions of dollars that can be used to affect people's lives with affordable and decent housing. Think About It.....(THACHILLONE)
(washington post)
Activists today called for the formation of a civilian review board and an FBI investigation following Saturday's officer-involved shooting in the Bayview District.
Groups including the Idriss Stelley Foundation, SF Education Not Incarceration and the SF Bayview National Black Newspaper will gather Monday to issue a call for change in response to the shooting, said Mesha Irizarry, executive director of the Idriss Stelly Foundation.
The groups also want to see District Attorney George Gascon removed from the investigation, saying he has a conflict of interest since he was once chief of police, said Irizarry, who is also a member of San Francisco's marijuana oversight committee.
San Francisco police today announced that investigators have recovered a gun they believe was used by the 19-year-old man killed Saturday near a Bayview train platform.
The man had been detained by patrol officers conducting a fare inspection at a Municipal Transportation Agency light rail stop at Third Street and Palou Avenue at about 4:45 p.m., police Sgt. Michael Andraychak said.
The officers were stationed in the area as part of an increased police presence to respond to recent shootings in the neighborhood, Andraychak said.
The man ran from the officers and allegedly pulled out a handgun and shot at them as they chased him on foot, police said.
At least one of the officers returned fire and wounded the suspect.
He was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead at 7:01 p.m., police said.
No officers or witnesses were injured in the shooting.
Amateur video footage of the exchange showed that a passerby picked up the suspect's handgun in the aftermath of the shootout and took it from the area before investigators were able to establish a crime scene, police said.
With the help of witnesses, police were able to identify the individual who took the gun and retrieved it this afternoon, Andraychak said.
Police have not released the name of the man who was killed, citing an ongoing investigation.
The shooting has already triggered one impromptu demonstration, which took place shortly before 1 a.m. in the Mission District. An angry crowd gathered near 16th and Valencia streets for a walking demonstration.
Supervisor Malia Cohen on Saturday issued a statement expressing sympathy for the family of the man killed and urging anyone with information to contact the police.
"I intend to review the results of the internal investigation from the police department to ensure department protocol was followed," Cohen said.
SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco police shot and killed a man who fled a routine transit fare inspection, firing on officers as he ran before being shot multiple times.
The unidentified 19-year-old man was approached by officers working a "crime reduction detail" in the city's crime-ridden Bayview district. As they began to question him, he ran and began firing back at the officers. At that point, at least one officer returned fire, striking and killing the man.
The aftermath of the shooting was captured on multiple cell phone videos. One video, seen below, is titled "SFPD Ruthlessly Shoots and Kills Unarmed 19yr old Man over $2 Bus Fair" and depicts a tumultuous scene following the shooting, as the suspect can be seen moving in a pool of blood. The crowd is heard angrily yelling at officers, claiming the shooting was prompted by the suspect's failure to pay the $2 fare.
Today, SFPD announced they recovered a gun they believed was used by the suspect.
"Someone picked up the firearm that the suspect had shot with and ran southbound up the street with it," San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr told ABC 7. "Luckily, someone else in the crowd took video...and officers have been able to track that firearm and we believe we have it in custody."
Suhr may be referring to the second video below, titled "Aftermath of Bayview gun battle in San Francisco", in which there appears to be a silver handgun on the sidewalk at around the 0:15 mark.
The suspect was also a person of interest in a fatal Seattle shooting that occurred last week, in which a pregnant woman died from her injuries. He had two felonies in Washington state, and was out on parole.
The shooting sparked protests both Saturday and Sunday in San Francisco's Mission and Bayview districts. The protests were largely controlled, with only minor damage reported and no arrests
We are the reality-show generation. Instead of doing, we watch: We watch people sing, dance with B-level stars, fist pump, pawn stuff, pick a husband/wife, get extreme makeovers to their homes and faces, be "real" housewives, keep up, lose weight, go to rehab, get fired, survive.
And the voyeuristic nature has spilled into everyday life. Thanks to Facebook, Twitter, Google+, YouTube and a host of other social media platforms, all the world's now truly a stage, and we are all players in the reality show of life -- either as the "stars" or as the self-appointed pundits.
Observing events and then commenting about them on social media has become our national religion. We anxiously wait for the next celebrity to screw up, another politician to be caught in a sex scandal, the verdict in an even higher profile murder trial or simply a friend to do something stupid so that we can quickly begin worshipping at the altar of the social media platform of our choice to offer our (or read others') opinions, jokes, jibes and the occasional insightful thought.
In the past, people would recount where they were when an historic event occurred such as the Kennedy assassination, the space shuttle exploding or the 9/11 attacks. In the future, we will instead recall what we tweeted, posted or read on social media platforms about such events.
Yes, it's fun, and I'm guilty of doing the same thing. But here is my growing concern: Are we becoming the laziest generation?
Is social media becoming our opiate of the masses seducing us into being slacktivists, believing that simply because we make a cyber comment, we are somehow actually affecting our world? Will our generation leave a lasting legacy or just millions of snarky tweets?
Look at the preceeding generations: In the 1940s and '50s, there was the "Greatest Generation," a generation of doers, not watchers, who through their dedication, work ethic and sacrifice, built our nation into an economic superpower.
They were followed in the '60s and early '70s by a generation that took to the streets to oppose the Vietnam War and press for civil rights, causing American policy to change on both the foreign policy and domestic fronts.
In contrast to their activism, many of us are only engaged in slacktivism: clicking "Like" on Facebook, digitally signing an online petition or retweeting someone else's thoughts on Twitter.
That is a good start, but it will take more than that to cause meaningful change. We need to look no further than the recent democratic revolutions in the Arab world for guidance. Protesters there utilized social media, but they didn't just post comments on people's Facebook walls and sit back; they then took to the streets and risked life and limb to effectuate change. All the tweets in the world would not have driven the presidents of Egypt or Tunisia from their offices.
What is more likely to get our generation into the streets to protest: a political issue or Facebook imposing a fee to use it?
I know that in today's increasingly complex and challenging world it seems that one individual can't have an impact on the issues facing our country or our planet, but you can, and if you choose to, you will.
As Robert F. Kennedy's inspirational yet realistic statement tells us: "Few will have the greatness to bend history itself; but each of us can work to change a small portion of events, and in the total of all those acts will be written the history of this generation."
I'm not in any way advocating that we stopping using social media -- in fact, please follow me on Twitter or add me on Facebook and Google+ -- but if there is an issue you really want to make a difference on, it will take more than a tweet of 140 characters or updating your Facebook status to do it.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Dean Obeidallah.
A Florida teen bludgeoned his parents to death with a hammer, stashed their bodies in a bedroom, then hosted dozens of people for a house party, police said Monday.
Tyler Hadley, 17, is in police custody, booked just before 5 p.m. Monday on two counts of second-degree murder with a weapon, according to the St. Lucie County Sheriff's website. Port St. Lucie Police spokesman Tom Nichols told reporters earlier that the teenage boy, who will be tried as an adult, was denied bond.
Around 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Port St. Lucie Police Capt. Don Kryak said Hadley posted an invitation on Facebook, inviting friends to a party at his house.
Sometime after that, police said he used a 22-inch framing hammer to fatally beat his parents -- Blake and Mary-Jo Hadley -- in the head and torso outside their master bedroom door of their Port St. Lucie home. He then dragged them inside the room and used "books, files, towels, anything that he could find inside the home to cover the bodies," Nichols said.
Then, the teenager proceeded to party.
Between 40 and 60 people turned up sometime after 9 p.m., according to police. Nichols said that "during the party and after the party, there was a rumor that perhaps Tyler had killed his parents." But, while saying police wanted to talk to more partygoers, he did not indicate if anyone else saw the dead couple's bodies locked in the master bedroom.
Police became involved after getting an anonymous tip, which led them to conduct a welfare check at the house around 4:20 a.m. Sunday.
Kryak said Tyler Hadley appeared "nervous" when law enforcement officers arrived, telling them his parents were out of town. They eventually found the alleged murder weapon lying between his parents' bodies.
"The crime scene was certainly a merciless killing," the police captain said. "It was brutal."
Autopsies are being conducted on Blake and Mary-Jo Hadley, though police repeated that they believe both died from "blunt force trauma."
Tyler Hadley had dropped out of St. Lucie Centennial West High School and later took classes at Indian River State College, Kryak said.
Nichols said police do not know why the teen, who has made "no incriminating statements," may have killed his parents. There are no plans to charge anyone else in connection with the pair's deaths.
"I've known Mary-Jo since she was in high school in Fort Lauderdale," Charlene Moses, a family friend, told CNN-affiliate WPTV. "They are a nice family. The kids are always nice."
(cnn)
Tyler Hadley, of Port St Lucie, Florida, allegedly beat his school teacher mother Mary-Jo and father Blake to death with a hammer, which was found lying between their bodies.
The teen is thought to have killed his parents before hosting a party for 40 to 60 people on Saturday night after posting invitations on Facebook.
The party started at around 9pm and went on until around 3am.
Police arrived at the ranch-style home the next day after an anonymous tip.
Hadley had been 'nervous and panicky,' they said and there were beer cans strewn all over the garden.
He initially told police his parents were out of town.
Police then found the bodies of Mr and Mrs Hadley in the master bedroom where the door had been
They are believed to have died after the Facebook invitation went out, which happened at about 1:30 pm on Saturday, although the exact time of the brutal killing is unclear.
Their bodies were partially buried under various items including linen, books, picture frames and towels.
Mrs Hadley, 47, is believed to have been killed first and then Mr Hadley, 54, afterwards.
They were not, authorities
While is not clear what the motive for the alleged killing was, a resident told WSVN News he had heard Hadley's parents had refused to let the teen have a party.
Similarly one of the teens attending the party said to WOKV that the 17-year-old killed his parents because they 'wouldn't let him throw a party.'
The teen had dropped out of his high school and the family was being sued for $15,000 after Hadley hit and injured a child while driving a car registered to his father in June 2010, according to court documents.
Hadley has been arrested and charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
He is being held without bond and will be charged as an adult, police said.
'I've known Mary-Jo since she was in high school in Fort Lauderdale,' family friend Charlene Moses told WPTV.
'They are a nice family. The kids are
WASHINGTON -- The head of the Republican National Committee is asking for a Justice Department investigation of President Barack Obama over a fundraising video and e-mail that the GOP chief claims is "apparent criminal behavior."
Reince Priebus on Monday wrote Attorney General Eric Holder to complain that Obama's re-election campaign filmed a web video in the White House's Map Room and then mailed it to supporters. Federal law prohibits political activity in government offices; the Map Room is in the executive mansion but not the office-filled West Wing.
Previous presidents have faced questions about political activity in the White House and each of Obama's predecessors has concluded that using the residence does not violate the law. Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Bill Clinton filmed ads at the White House.
(HUFFINGTONPOST)
Flower Mound, TX (WFAA/CNN) – Thanks to a little-known law in Texas, a man apparently won ownership of a house for less than $20, but neighbors aren’t happy with his deal and are trying to get him out.
Flower Mound’s Waterford Drive is lined with well-manicured, $300,000 homes. So when a new neighbor moved in without the usual sale, mortgage-paying homeowners had a few questions.
“What paperwork is it and how is it legally binding if he doesn’t legally own the house? He just squats there,” neighbor Leigh Lowrie said.
Lowrie and her husband said the house down the street was in foreclosure for more than a year and the owner walked away.
Then, the mortgage company went out of business. Apparently that opened the door for someone to take advantage of the situation, and that person was Kenneth Robinson who said he’s not squatter.
He said he moved in on June 17th after months of research about a Texas law called “adverse possession.”
“This is not a normal process, but it is not a process that is not known. It’s just not known to everybody,” he said.
Robinson said a piece of paper gives him rights to the house. It’s an online form he printed out and filed at the Denton County Courthouse for $16.
It says the house is abandoned and he’s claiming ownership.
“I went through and added some things here for my own protection,”
he said.
The house is virtually empty with just a few pieces of furniture and has no running water or electricity.
But, Robinson said, just by setting up camp in the living room, Texas law gives him exclusive negotiating rights with the original owner.
If the owner wants him out, he would have to pay off his massive mortgage debt and the bank would have to file a complicated lawsuit.
Robinson said he believes neither is likely. So if he stays in the house, after three years he can ask the court for a title, which he said is his eventual goal.
“I want to be the owner of the record. At this point, because I possess it, I am the owner,”
he said.
Robinson posted no trespassing signs after neighbors asked police to arrest him for breaking in.
Flower Mound officers said they can’t remove him from the property because home ownership is a civil matter, not criminal. Lowrie and her neighbors continue to look for legal ways to get him out.
“If he wants the house, buy the house like everyone else had to. Get the money, buy the house,” she said.
Robinson said he’s not buying anything, and as far as he’s concerned, the $330,000 house is already his and he has the paperwork to prove it. Source
He’s working the system like so many others have before… Neighbors are mad cause he is black.
Millions march against Libya War
By Saeed Shabazz -Staff Writer- | Last updated: Jun 29, 2011 - 5:04:55 PM
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'There have been times in history when the people have been faced with grave challenges, and they have met those challenges with profound, sustained actions that have made a difference. ..We believe this is one of those times.'
—Lawrence Hamm, Peoples Organization for Progress chairman
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NEW YORK (FinalCall.com) - Disturbed by what they see as a White House that has ignored their concerns, anti-war activists called a press conference in Harlem to announce the “Millions March in Harlem” protest and their demand for an end to the bombing of the North African nation of Libya and ending illegal sanctions against Zimbabwe in Southern Africa.
The coalition includes Pan African activists, anti-war and progressive organizations, and the Nation of Islam, said protest organizers at the June 21 press conference at the Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. State Office Building
“We want to get a million people in the streets,” said Viola Plummer of the Brooklyn-based December 12th International Secretariat, or December 12th Movement. Her group is a UN recognized non-governmental organization that works on domestic and human rights issues, reparations and advocates on behalf of Africa and the Black Diaspora worldwide.
The march is scheduled for August 13.
“We need to go into our communities to build a consciousness concerning the connections to what is happening in Africa, and how these events relate to the struggle here in Harlem,” Omowale Clay, also a December 12th member, explained during the press conference.
Anti-war activists expressed their full support for the Harlem march. “That is what is needed against these wars—a huge mobilization,” Sara Flounders from the anti-war International Action Center told The Final Call.
One of the keynote speakers at the press conference was Father Miguel d'Escoto Brockman, a former foreign minister of Nicaragua during the popular Sandinista regime of former President Daniel Ortega. The fiery priest, who also served as the 63rd president of the United Nations General Assembly, gave a history lesson about the workings of the UN, and how the world body complements the “imperialist agenda of the United States government.”
The atmosphere created by the U.S. in the international community is like “taking arsenic,” he said.
Father Miguel d'Escoto has never bitten his tongue when it comes to condemning U.S. hegemony. During an acceptance speech at the UN, he spoke out against “acts of aggression” in Iraq and Afghanistan.
“The behavior of some member states has caused the UN to lose credibility as an organization capable of putting an end to war and eradicating our planet,” he said. His remarks were immediately condemned by U.S. officials at the United Nations.
Father d'Escoto continued his condemnation of U.S. foreign policy during his talk in Harlem, saying, “The U.S. is dedicated to war.
“The U.S. talks about terrorism. The U.S. is a terrorist power,” declared the fiery priest/politician.
Meanwhile news organizations prompted by the regimes in Washington, Great Britain and France said Libya's Muammar Gadhafi was going to slaughter thousands of his people, he noted. “No one ever saw a picture of the alleged slaughter in Libya, but the UN voted for resolutions 1970 and 1973,” he said. These UN Security Council resolutions also asked for an International Criminal Court warrant for individuals inside the Gadhafi government in Tripoli.
‘United Nation's body a war council'
“The U.S. and its allies at the UN are using the two UN resolutions as their cover for regime change,” said Abdul Akbar Muhammad, the international representative of the Nation of Islam, one of the supporting organizations for the August march.
“The United Nations has become a war council,” Mr. Muhammad said.
The African Union nations at the United Nations should say “later for the UN until we see you are becoming a peace council,” he added.
Mr. Muhammad pointed to targeting of Zimbabwe, when the West decided to remove President Robert Mugabe, following his efforts to take farmland from White commercial farmers and return the land to the people of Zimbabwe.
But, Mr. Mugabe has withstood the imperialist onslaught, said Mr. Muhammad.
Still just as the West went after President, the West is going after Pres. Gadhafi, who for now is holding his position as NATO continues its air strikes, he continued.
NATO continues to say its war making is protecting the civilian population in Libya, but activists say the opposite is happening.
Western nations, led by the U.S. in the Security Council, continue to stymie efforts by the African Union to get a Presidential Statement reaffirming Resolution 1973 forbids any foreign occupation force of any form on any part of Libyan territory.
In the corridors outside of the Security Council, members of diplomatic delegations representing the three African nations on the council huddled together. South Africa, Gabon and Nigeria said their proposed statement stresses the need for “a political solution” to the conflict in Libya.
According to press leaks, the Presidential Statement also says: “The Security Council reaffirms its strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and national unity of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.”
A UN Security Council presidential statement, while not legally binding, reflects the overall consensus of member states. The statement is usually issued when a permanent member, such as U.S., UK, France, China or Russia, threatens to use their veto. The sitting president of the council then signs the statement. Gabon held the seat for the rotating presidency for the month of June.
White House spends $10 million a day on NATO warmongering
President Obama, back in March, said he had “ordered our armed forces to help protect the Libyan people from the brutality of the regime of President Gadhafi.” The operation had a “limited scope” and a “specific purpose,” said Mr. Obama.
“It's in our national interest to act. And it's our responsibility,” said America's first Black president.
However Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador at the UN, told reporters June 23 the Security Council urged the 192-member world body to recognize the Transitional National Council as the legitimate representative of the Libyan people.
The New York Times wrote that the United States is spending $10 million a day to supply the NATO war machine against Libya, Mr. Muhammad noted. “What could $70 million do for the community of Harlem?” he asked. Letters should be sent to the White House asking the president to take a look at the suffering in Harlem, Mr. Muhammad suggested.
According to Ms. Flounders. sixty percent of the people in the U.S. say they are against what is taking place in Libya.
She admitted activists now see Congress will be no help and mixed-signals are coming out of Washington. Ms. Flounders is referring to a June 24 vote, when the House of Representatives voted 238-180 against a Republican-led effort to halt the funds for the Libyan war; and voted 295-123 in a so-called symbolic gesture to challenge the president's authority to continue supporting the NATO-led action.
There was hope that some politicians understood what is happening to Americans, said Ms. Flounders. “The U.S. Conference of Mayors on June 20 said to President Obama, redirect the billions spent on war toward urgent domestic needs,” Ms. Flounders noted.
Coalition members in support of the Aug. 13 march also include the New Black Panther Party, All African People's Revolutionary Party, and the Committee to Eliminate Media Offensive to African People, International Association Against Torture, the Freedom Party, and other groups to be announced.
Scheduled for June 27, the Newark-based Peoples Organization for Progress was to launch their “Daily People's Campaign for Jobs, Peace and Equality” One of the key issues the group will deal with is ending wars in Libya, Iraq and Afghanistan. “There have been times in history when the people have been faced with grave challenges, and they have met those challenges with profound, sustained actions that have made a difference,” said Lawrence Hamm, Peoples Organization for Progress chairman. “We believe this is one of those times,” he added. The date June 27 is also the official end date for NATO's 90-day “no-fly zone” mandate in Libya.
Fox News Twitter Hacked, Message Says “President Obama Is Dead”
Fox News has continuously shown their lack of support of Barack Obama in the past by reporting him dead in headlines and confusing him with Osama Bin Laden more than once.
This time the Fox News Twitter account was reportedly hacked and a message was posted stating President Barack Obama was assassinated yesterday.
According to the New York Times, the tweets gave gruesome accounts of the President's alleged demise, and even went so far as to wish Vice President Joe Biden luck in his new position as President of the United States.
Jeff Misenti, vice president of Fox News, said, "We will be requesting a detailed investigation from Twitter about how this occurred, and measures to prevent future unauthorized access into FoxNews.com accounts."
Just like they investigated the mishaps before, we're sure they'll get to the bottom of this and fix the problem with their accuracy reporting the news when it comes to the nation's president.
Or maybe they'll continue until they get to report him really being out of office.
(hiphopwired)
The US Secret Service has launched a probe into the apparent hacking of an Twitter account operated by 'Fox News' which announced that President Barack Obama was assassinated on America's national day. "The Secret Service is investigating the matter and will conduct the appropriate follow-up," the US media quoted as saying George Ogilvie, the spokesperson for the elite force which is charged with protecting the President.
The @foxnewspolitics feed stated yesterday: "@BarackObama has just passed. The President is dead. A sad 4th of July, indeed. President Barack Obama is dead."
The next one, "@BarackObama has just passed. Nearly 45 minutes ago, he was shot twice in the lower pelvic area and in the neck; shooter unknown. Bled out."
In fact, the hackers wrote six tweets, reporting that Obama had been shot to death in Iowa and the gunman had not been apprehended. The messages remained online for more than two hours before they were taken down.
Fox News said the tweets were "malicious" and "false" and announced it will conduct an investigation of its own.
"We will be requesting a detailed investigation from Twitter about how this occurred, and measures to prevent future unauthorised access into FoxNews.com accounts," Fox News Digital general manager Jeff Misenti said.
"Those reports are incorrect, of course, and the president is spending the July 4 holiday with his family," the US broadcaster added.
The 'BBC', which reported the hacking, had yesterday claimed that a group of individuals, calling themselves 'The Script Kiddies' appeared to claim responsibility. But, it said it was unclear why Fox News became the target of the attack.
Fox News is said to be the most-watched cable news network in the US, with its prime time shows attracting two million viewers, well ahead of rivals CNN and MSNBC.
The Secret Service is stepping in to investigate the recent hacking of Fox News’ political twitter account after messages were posted claiming President Obama had been assassinated.
FoxNews.com alerted the Secret Service to the hacking on Monday and the agency, tasked with protecting the President, is examining the tweets and will conduct the appropriate follow up.
The Fox account was hacked early Monday morning and six tweets were posted reporting that the President had been shot and killed in Iowa. In reality, the President was in Washington yesterday celebrating the Fourth of July at the White House with military families.
Fox later called the messages, which went out to the 34,000 followers of its political twitter account, “false” and “malicious” and said it “regrets any distress” the tweets may have caused.
Fox is also working with Twitter to address the situation. "We will be requesting a detailed investigation from Twitter about how this occurred, and measures to prevent future unauthorized access into FoxNews.com accounts," Vice President and General Manager of Fox News Digital Jeff Misenti said in a written statement.
