April 1st, 2008 by joeldamos
That headline is correct — third-graders were held today by police in Georgia for a plot to seriously harm their teacher.
The children arrived at school carrying a knife, handcuffs and duct tape ready to abduct and allegedly torture their instructor. The shocking story arrives out of Waycross, Georgia, Tuesday with local residents and national news station both reporting shock.
Involving as many as nine boys and girls, the Center Elementary School was the scene today for a half-dozen police cars descending on the school in what witnesses thought initially was a school shooting.
Police were clued into the planned attack on Friday by another student and were ready for the students involved when they arrived today at school.
Officials said that the children planned to abudct the instructor, knock her out with a paperweight and then stab her with the knife. They did not intend to kill her, so they say, but that statement does not seem to be influencing any police investigating the threat.
The nine students have been reunited with their parents and many have been placed on long-term suspension while the police continue their investigation.
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March 25th, 2008 by joeldamos
D.B. Cooper, the name is synonymous with getting away with crime. Then, there is the other aspect of his legend that is domestic hijacking of airplanes. What he did is such a rarity, the vulnerability of 9/11 struck America to its core.
Cooper stands out because of the nature of his crime and now he is in the news once again. After taking a small aircraft hostage, he landed it, was paid the money he demanded and disappeared into history.
The FBI is reporting that it is taking a long look at a segment of a parachute found in Washington state earlier today and its implication to this almost 25-year case.
So, who is D.B. Cooper?
He is the man who hijacked a Northwest Orient flight from Portland to Seattle in 1971, got what he wanted and was never heard from again. The aircraft landed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport and he released the passengers for $200,000 in cash.
D.B. Cooper then demanded that he be flown to Mexico where he promptly parachuted out of the airplane flying him to his desired locale. He has never been seen since. Cooper’s tale was chronicled in the 1981 film, “The Pursuit of D.B. Cooper.”
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March 14th, 2008 by joeldamos
As the now ex-Governor of New York adjusts to life without a state police escort, the woman at the center of his prostitution ring scandal may have herself a singing career.
Until recently only known as “Kristen,” Ashley Alexandra Dupre has a MySpace page with her music playing throughout. Her song “What We Want” has received almost 2.9 million hits. It seems the 22-year-old had produced a few demos to no avail and when it seemed her singing career was going nowhere, she took up high-price prostitution.
The recent Mayflower Hotel visit with Eliot Spitzer was not her only meeting with the former Governor and Attorney General who made his name busting rings like the one he is alleged to be involved with.
Knowing how the celebrity machine works, seeing Dupre’s name on the pop charts in the next 18 months hardly seems a stretch. She may even hit number one - she is on Yahoo’s top internet search list.
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March 13th, 2008 by joeldamos
With nothing left to do but to leave his job to stop the bleeding, New York Governor Eliot Spitzer did just that Wednesday. Catching nobody by surprise, Spitzer made a quick announcement to the press before heading off without answering questions.
“Over the course of my public life, I have insisted — I believe correctly — that people regardless of their position or power take responsibility for their conduct,” Spitzer said during his resignation. “I can and will ask no less of myself. For this reason, I am resigning from the office of governor.”
Making headlines all week, the Spitzer case has added new elements in the last 24 hours that has made it impossible for the Governor to keep his job.
The New York Timesis reporting that Spitzer has spent upwards of $80,000 on high-priced prostitutes over the last 10 years. What may cause the now former-Governor even more problems with federal or state investigators is whether he laundered any of that money.
In the effort to hide the money he was spending on prostitutes from his wife, Spitzer moved his money around from bank to bank to hide the money trail. For the former prosecutor who made a name for himself putting away white-collar criminals in large part due to money laundering, the very thing that made him famous could be putting him in jail.
Most legal analysts suggest that Spitzer will not be charged with Man Act, a little used law on the books since 1910 to prevent women from being moved from state to state for prostitution. But, his biggest issues will be with the money laundering, and whether state or federal prosecutors go after him, the charges could vary.
In other news, “Kristen,” the woman in the middle of the Spitzer ordeal, has been hiding out in her New York apartment. The Times also uncovered the prostitute’s identity and determined that Spitzer had met the 22-year-old on more than one occasion.
Also released yesterday is that Spitzer used prostitutes in New York, Washington, Dallas and Miami.
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March 10th, 2008 by joeldamos
New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, as reported by The New York Times in today’s editions, has been caught on tape soliciting prostitution. The recording was obtained through federal wiretap activities that sought to snare persons in their web seeking paid sex.
They could have never expected that one of the subjects they’d nab would be the Governor of New York. In an investigation that has been ongoing for several months, “Client 9,” as the Spitzer was called was identified meeting a woman in a Washington, D.C. hotel last month.
With his wife standing by him, the Governor held a press conference today to explain the situation.
“I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard I expected of myself,” Spitzer said. “I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family.”
Four individuals associated with the so-called Emperors Club VIP were arrested earlier this week in connection with the sting operation. It is reported that the female escort Spitzer was connected with charges upwards of $5,500 an hour.
The four individuals charged thus far are alleged to have coordinated wealthy men with high-priced prostitutes in the New York, Washington, D.C., London, Miami, London, Los Angeles and Paris areas.
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March 8th, 2008 by joeldamos
In the department of who ever thought this was a good idea, a Florida woman is in some serious trouble for taking her child out of her car during a car wash and hosing her down with the hot water. The entire scene was caught on video (what isn’t these days?) and because of the disturbing tape, the police arrested the woman Friday afternoon.
Niurka Ramirez was charged with child abuse in Orlando for attempting to discipline her daughter in the midst of a temper tantrum. Ramirez claimed she wasn’t being too cruel - she didn’t have the water on full pressure. After posting $1,000 bail, she was released from jail and is awaiting trial.
The child, who has not been named, is doing fine and after doctors checked her out, reported no signs of physical injuries. The mental ones are just beginning.
The video is below, warning: it is disturbing.
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March 4th, 2008 by joeldamos
Now it is difficult at times to muster the energy to clock in for that daily grind. But a bullet hole through the shoulder to avoid the office, now that may be extreme.
For Daniel Kuch of Pasco, Washington that is exactly what he did to avoid going to work and now authorities are filing charges.
Kuch’s friend, Kurtis Johnson, is currently being charged with reckless endangerment for taking a gun, pointing it at Kuch’s shoulder and pulling the trigger. When the police arrived to talk to Kuch, he reported he had been a victim of a drive-by shooting…in rural Washington.
Police are not saying what Kuch did for a living or even if he still has a job. But they are admitting that Kuch said while being taken into custody that this was an extreme way to get out of a drug test.
You think?
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February 23rd, 2008 by joeldamos
Will he resign or face the questions of an almost certain ethics inquiry?
The Arizona Republican Congressman Rick Renzi has had the whispers of wrongful dealings for over a year as investigators compiled evidence. After federal indictments were filed in Tucson, the politician has been absolutely quiet about the charges.
House leadership are counting on the legislator to resign given the nature of the allegations. The charges center on his benefiting from a real estate deal where Renzi promised to offer legislative support for a developer in return for work that resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars of profit.
To add insult to injury, those thousands of dollars, the government is alledging he laundered as well. If guilty, Renzi is looking at years in jail and hundreds of thousands of dollars in fines.
In the summer of 2006, Renzi announced he would not seek re-election.
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February 13th, 2008 by joeldamos
Launched by the Mitchell Report that cited over 90 major league baseball players for using steroids, Roger Clemens is currently in front of the United States Congress testifying under oath as to his involvement.
Many of the players named in the report have not been called before the legislative body. It seems the reason Clemens presence was requested is because of his very public denials from “60 Minutes” to ESPN News. Figuring he was willing to talk about it, Congress subpoenaed him to chat about it in person after putting his hand on a bible.
With his wife, Debbie, at his side, Clemens is currently the picture of stoicism as he testifies. In a conversation in question, he reported to the legislators that he was speaking about his wife’s growth hormones, not his own that he personally took.
Only two players participated in the Mitchell report which is why Congress has taken such a keen interest in getting athletes into the leather seats in front of them to answer to the questions they are ruining America’s pastime.
Fellow Yankee pitcher Andy Pettite himself is embroiled in this mess and early testimony from Clemens has been focused on Pettite and the trainer who has publicly said he injected both pitchers with steroids. Clemens earlier in his testimony said he was “shocked” that Pettite had taken the same growth hormones as his wife.
So far, Clemens has been repeated warned by Congressman Cummings of Maryland, that “Mr. Clemens, once again I remind you, you are under oath.”
Does not sound good so far for the person who has served as the game’s dominant pitcher for two decades.
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February 1st, 2008 by joeldamos
Another tainted product out of China, and this time the scare involves prescription drugs. A state-owned pharmaceutical company is being accused of having a hand in the paralysis and other serious ailments.
Shanghai Hualian, a Chinese company that exports products to the United States, including medication for leukemia and the so-called Abortion Pill, RU-486, is feeling the heat as patients in China are becoming seriously ill that are taking the leukemia pill.
The RU-486 pill is made in a different factory than the leukemia medication in question, yet concerns across the world are raised as another realm of product from China has become dangerous for world consumption.
Back in December, the Chinese government began an investigation into the business practices of the heads of the company
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