Saturday, March 31, 2012

UPDATE 4-Three winners of record $656 mln U.S. lottery jackpot

Three winners who could share a $656 million windfall from the largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history bought their lucky tickets at a 7-Eleven store in Maryland, a Motomart convenience story in Illinois and somewhere in northeast Kansas, lottery officials said on Saturday.

Lottery officials said the 7-Eleven store was in Milford Mill, Maryland, near Baltimore, and the Motomart convenience store in the southern Illinois farming town of Red Bud. Kansas lottery officials were not releasing the exact location where the ticket was sold except to say that it was in the most populated northeast part of the state.

"Each of the winners gets $105.1 million in cash after taxes roughly, but who cares about pennies at this point?" said Carole Everett, spokeswoman for the Maryland Lottery.

The winners whose tickets had all six numbers of the Mega Millions lottery drawn on Friday night will split the jackpot, the biggest in U.S. history, which rose to $656 million after all sales were tallied, lottery officials said.

The winning numbers announced at the drawing in Atlanta were 2-4-23-38-46 and Mega Ball 23. Winners could receive either a one-time payment of their share or take it in 26 annual installment payments.

Rick Santorum Calls Barack Obama A “Government N*gger”

UPDATE 1-Record $640 mln U.S. lottery has at least one winner

The largest lottery jackpot in U.S. history totaling $640 million has at least one winner and officials were waiting early on Saturday to see if there are other winning tickets.

Maryland lottery officials announced that a winning ticket was purchased at a store in Baltimore County, though they had not identified the winner yet.

"This is truly remarkable and historic," said Maryland lottery director Stephen Martino.

Friday, March 30, 2012

Mega Millions jackpot grows to an estimated $640 million

Tonight’s Mega Millions lottery jackpot has grown to an estimated $640 million, according to the Massachusetts Lottery.

The jackpot had already broken the record Thursday for the largest lottery prize in history.

The new estimate, which was $100 million higher than Thursday’s, was announced this morning after officials from participating states spoke with each other and assessed the volume of ticket sales. Paul Sternburg, executive director of the Massachusetts Lottery, said the estimate was conservative and could rise even higher after all the ticket sales are tallied tonight.

Breach Hits Card Processor Global Payments

Son of Shooting Victim Kenneth Chamberlain Meets with Prosecutors

And this update to a story from Thursday’s broadcast on the case of Kenneth Chamberlain, a 68-year-old African-American Marine veteran fatally shot by White Plains, New York police in his home last year. On Thursday, Chamberlain’s son, Kenneth Chamberlain, Jr., met with Westchester County prosecutors who assured him that a grand jury will hear evidence in the case. Kenneth Chamberlain Junior has called for the prosecution of the officers who killed his father. After the meeting, he criticized police for refusing to release the name of the officer who fired the fatal shots. The police had responded to a false alarm from Chamberlain’s medical alert pendant. The officers broke down Chamberlain’s door, tasered him, and then shot him dead. Speaking to Democracy Now, Kenneth Chamberlain, Jr. described an audio recording from the medical alert system operator that captured the moment the police barged into his father’s home.

Kenneth Chamberlain, Jr.: "You hear him asking them why they’re doing this to him. He says, 'I am a 68-year-old man with a heart condition, why are you doing this to me? I know what you’re going to do, you're going to come in here and kill me.’ You also hear him pleading with the officers again, over and over. At one point, that is when the expletives are used by one of the police officers."

Amy Goodman: "What did they say?"

Kenneth Chamberlain, Jr.: "Where they say, I don’t give a 'F.' And then they use the N-word. And then, as I said, ultimately, they bust down the door."

Killed at Home: White Plains, NY Police Called Out on Medical Alert Shoot Dead Black Veteran, 68

As the Trayvon Martin case draws national attention, we look at another fatal shooting of an African-American male that has received far less scrutiny. Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr., a 68-year-old African-American Marine veteran, was fatally shot in November by White Plains, NY, police who responded to a false alarm from his medical alert pendant. The officers broke down Chamberlain’s door, tasered him, and then shot him dead. Audio of the entire incident was recorded by the medical alert device in Chamberlain’s apartment. We’re joined by family attorneys and Chamberlain’s son, Kenneth Chamberlain, Jr., who struggles through tears to recount his father’s final moments, including the way police officers mocked his father’s past as a marine. "For them to look at my father that way, (with) no regard for his life, every morning I think about it," he says. [includes rush transcript]

Justice for Kenneth Chamberlain Sr.

This petition is regarding the upcoming Grand Jury hearing in the case of Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr., an unarmed elderly black citizen who was shot to death by the White Plains Police Department. This case not only brings into question the policies and practices of this department; but it is an open question whether it was inevitable, particularly in light of the audio tapes and video tapes witnessed by Mr. Chamberlain’s family members and attorneys where racial slurs and expletives were used before ultimately shooting him twice in the chest and killing him. It is imperative that those tapes be made available to the Grand Jury, and that all other evidence be presented as well. I am concerned that secrecy so far--for example, the names of officers involved have not been released--bodes badly for transparency in this case as it moves forward. Nor am I aware of any public statements about the case from elected officials calling for openness.

Members of Mr. Chamberlain’s family and community--and a much wider circle of people who need to know there is fairness in the criminal justice system--seek reassurance that, no matter what the verdict, the process has been open, honest, and just. We, the undersigned, implore Westchester County District Attorney Janet DiFiore to no longer allow police misconduct, brutality, or criminality to happen in this community and ask that these officers be indicted and charged with murder and civil rights violations.

On November 19, 2011, at approximately 5 a.m., my father, 68-year-old Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr., was at his home located at 135 S. Lexington Avenue in White Plains, New York. He was a 20-year veteran of the Westchester County Department of Corrections, and he proudly served the United States of America as a Marine, receiving an honorable discharge. He stood about 5 feet, 9 inches tall, and he suffered from a heart condition.

His medical alert device sent an alert to his service provider, which placed a call to the City of White Plains Department of Public Safety. In response to the call, police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical technicians went to my father’s home. Once at his house, the police knocked on my father’s door and were verbally greeted by him. He told them that he did not need assistance and that there was no medical emergency. He told them that he did not call them.

Despite being told that there was no need for their services, the police refused to leave and insisted that my father let them into his home.

My father had not committed any crime, and he declined to let them into his home. My father communicated with police at length, and his medical alert service provider advised the White Plains Police Department that they wanted to withdraw their request for medical assistance because there was no emergency.

Despite this information, the police continued to insist that they gain an entry to my father’s apartment.

During the incident, the police banged on my father’s door over and over again, causing him to fear for his life. In fact, my father contacted his medical alert service provider while the police were banging on his door and asked them for help.

He told them that the White Plains Police employees were outside his door and were going to kill him. The medical alert service provider recorded the communications between the police and my father. During the incident, the police were disrespectful to my father and threatened him as he stood in his apartment and told them that he just wanted to be left alone. The police continued to bang on my father’s door for approximately an hour.

During that time they taunted my father, cursed at him, and called him a "nigger." They ultimately broke through his apartment door and forced their way into his apartment, all without his consent. Upon entering his home, and without warning or prior verbal warnings or orders, police immediately used a Taser weapon against my father and attempted to shock him with the Taser’s electricity.

My father was standing approximately six to eight feet away from the officers, and he was wearing nothing but boxer shorts when the police began their assault against him. After using the Taser against my father, everything else is questionable except for the fact that two 40 caliber rounds were fired into my father which resulted in his death. In my opinion my father was murdered!

We are asking the Westchester County D.A. to bring a criminal indictment, and we call on the United States Department of Justice or the New York State Attorney General to prosecute this as a hate crime, since it appears that his killing was motivated by hate.

Randolph McLaughlin, attorney for the family of Kenneth Chamberlain. He is a longtime civil rights attorney. He teaches at Pace Law School.

Mayo Bartlett, attorney for family of Kenneth Chamberlain. He is the former chief of the Bias Crimes Unit of the Westchester County District Attorney’s office and the former chair of the Westchester County Human Rights Commission.

Kenneth Chamberlain Jr., son of Kenneth Chamberlain, Sr

New York State Senate: Suzi Oppenheimer

Parents who fear child may have autism urged to be pushy as early treatment 'crucial'

What to do if you win the Mega Millions lottery jackpot

Wife shot dead by husband after dog poops in house: police

A 76-year-old Texas man was charged with murder for shooting his wife and two dogs after one of the animals pooped in the house.

Police arrested Michael Stephen Stolz after a five-hour standoff at the man's home in the Dallas suburb of Lewisville late Tuesday. He was charged with murder in the shooting death of his wife, Bernice Stolz, and remained in the Denton County Jail on Wednesday on a $250,000 bond.

Stolz told officers he shot his 49-year-old wife and the couple's two dogs after the German Shepherd mix defecated on the floor on Saturday, said Lewisville Police Capt. Kevin Deaver. He told officers that he shot the dog, then their other dog, a Rottweiler, then his wife, who was screaming because of the shootings of the dogs, Deaver said.

Obama won’t buy Mega Millions ticket, White House says

President Barack Obama won't be joining the throngs of Americans lining up to buy a Mega Millions ticket, the White House said Thursday as the multi-state lottery's jackpot hit a record estimated $540 million jackpot ($389.8 million if you take the cash option).

But "I'm going to run out and buy one," press secretary Jay Carney lightheartedly told reporters as he wrapped up his daily briefing.

Earlier, at a deli a few blocks from the White House, customers lined up six deep to trade their greenbacks for the salmon-pink tickets, some of which bear the mention "D.C. Lottery Commemorative Ticket" and "I played the world's largest jackpot!"

House approves Paul Ryan budget plan

The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday approved a $3.53 trillion budget proposal that would reduce spending by more than $5 trillion over 10 years compared to President Barack Obama's budget recommendations, would overhaul the federal Medicare program, and would reduce taxes and spending on certain programs.

The House voted 228-191 to pass the bill with 10 Republicans opposing it. Democrats unanimously opposed the measure.

The bill, championed by House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., is destined for almost sure defeat in the Democrat-led Senate, but its passage in the House will be used by Republicans to contrast the spending priorities of each party.

The projections within the bill are based on the assumption that the federal health care law will be repealed, and while the plan reduces spending, it would still leave federal coffers with a deficit of nearly $800 billion in 2013. The tax code would be changed to reduce the six current tax brackets to just two, with a top rate of 25 percent for high earners and 10 percent for those with lower incomes. The plan would also reduce the corporate tax rate—currently one of the highest in the industrialized world—to 25 percent and eliminate some tax credits and loopholes.

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Mega Millions jackpot hits $540 million

The Mega Millions lottery jackpot just got bigger: $540 million.

The Georgia Lottery updated the jackpot Thursday for Friday night’s drawing. The jackpot rose to $500 million earlier in the week after there was no winner in Tuesday’s drawing.

If there is a winner Friday, that person will win the largest jackpot in North American history, lottery officials said.

Two payment options are available to the lucky winner: about $20 million a year for 26 years with the annuity option; or a single payment worth approximately $389 million with the cash option.

But if you think you can win the $540 million and claim the prize anonymously, you’re out of luck. A winner’s identity is part of the public record and subject to Georgia’s Open Records Act, according to lottery spokeswoman Tandi Reddick. The lottery is required to disclose the winner’s name, city of residence, game won and the prize amount, Reddick said.

'Walmart of weed' opening store in Washington, D.C.

A company dubbed the "Walmart of Weed" is putting down roots in America's capital city, sprouting further debate on marijuana — medical or otherwise.

Just blocks from the White House and federal buildings, a company that candidly caters to medical marijuana growers is opening up its first outlet on the East Coast. The opening of the weGrow store on March 30 in Washington coincides with the first concrete step in implementing a city law allowing residents with certain medical conditions to purchase pot.

Like suppliers of picks and axes during the gold rush, weGrow sees itself providing the necessary tools to pioneers of a "green rush," which some project could reach nearly $9 billion within the next five years. Admittedly smaller than a big box store, weGrow is not unlike a typical retailer in mainstream America, with towering shelves of plant food and vitamins, ventilation and lighting systems. Along with garden products, it offers how-to classes, books and magazines on growing medical marijuana.

Dodgers home opener sold out after team sale to Magic Johnson group

The Los Angeles Dodgers' home opener April 10 is sold out, following this week's news that the team will be bought by a group led by former Lakers star Magic Johnson.

The Dodgers announced late Wednesday that there are no more regular tickets available for the home opener. Fans can still buy seats if they purchase a season package.

The $2.15-billion sale of the team has re-energized fans, who are lining up to buy tickets and said they were once again hopeful for and committed to the Dodgers.

What to do if you win the Mega Millions lottery jackpot

As average Joes across the nation fantasize about winning the largest-ever Mega Millions jackpot on Friday, experts are offering advice on what to do if, by some miracle, you win the big prize.
Don McNay, author of the book "Son of a Son of a Gambler: Winners, Losers and What to Do When You Win the Lottery," has consulted with multiple lottery winners and offers four primary pieces of advice.
1. Never tell anybody you won

In California, a lottery winner’s basic information is a matter of public record, but only the very basics like your name, the place you bought the ticket, the date you won and the amount you won must be disclosed.
McNay said that once you turn your ticket in and deal with the inevitable media circus, the best thing to do is hide under a rock.

If you put your good news up on Facebook or advertise it in any other way, “You’re asking for all kinds of trouble,” he said. “I had somebody tell me he got 800 phone calls the first day.”

2. Think for a minute

McNay also has stories of people running to buy cars even before they turn in their ticket, which may seem like a good spontaneous move, but likely isn’t the most rational.

“You don’t have to run and cash it in the first five minutes,” he said. “Think about setting it up properly, think about what you want the rest of you life to look like.”

3. Work with a financial adviser who works with more money than you have

Robo-readers: the new teachers' helper in the U.S

American high school students are terrible writers, and one education reform group thinks it has an answer: robots.

Or, more accurately, robo-readers - computers programmed to scan student essays and spit out a grade.

The theory is that teachers would assign more writing if they didn't have to read it. And the more writing students do, the better at it they'll become - even if the primary audience for their prose is a string of algorithms.

911 caller arrested in deadly police shooting

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — A California 911 caller told emergency dispatchers he'd just been robbed at gunpoint by two men who fled with his computer and backpack.

Video

Pasadena Police Chief Philip Sanchez said that call set off a deadly chain of events that led officers to shoot and kill a 19-year-old college student, later identified as Kendrec McDade, late on Saturday night.

McDade was spotted in an alley about two blocks from the spot where Oscar Carrillo told police he'd been robbed, Sanchez said Wednesday.

"The actions of the 911 caller set the minds of the officers," Sanchez said.

McDade ran from officers until an officer used the police cruiser to block McDade's path in an alley and rolled down his window, Lt. Phlunte Riddle said.

McDade allegedly made a motion at his waistband and the officer opened fire. A second officer who was chasing McDade on foot also opened fire, Riddle said.

911 caller arrested after California cops shoot dead alleged armed robber

Pasadena, Calif., police arrested a 911 caller Wednesday accused of fabricating an armed robbery story that led to the death of a black college student.

Kendrec McDade, 19, was shot dead by police in the city's northwest district at around 11:00pm last Saturday, the Pasadena Star-News reported.

Police were dispatched to the scene after a man, identified as Oscar Carillo, called 911 and said he had been robbed by two armed men who stole his laptop and backpack as he was buying tacos.

The 26-year-old claimed one of the men pointed a gun at him during the robbery, but police said Wednesday he lied to officers and that detectives now believe the two men -- who included McDade -- were unarmed.

Carillo was arrested on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter.

Pasadena Police Chief Phillip Sanchez told the newspaper, "Mr. Carillo emphatically indicated a gun was involved... that is very important. It sets the platform for the mindset of the responding officers."

McDade was shot dead after he allegedly made a motion towards his waistband, Pasadena police Lt. Phlunte Riddle said. A second officer also opened fire in fear for his colleague's safety. Sanchez also confirmed the initial shots were fired from inside the patrol car.

The teenager, a football standout at Azusa High School, died of his injuries at Huntington Memorial Hospital. No gun or stolen laptop was found.

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Office of Independent Review will investigate the shooting.

Bill that would change teacher bonuses rejected by House panel

OKLAHOMA CITY - A bill that would have phased out bonuses for National Board Certified teachers in favor of an undefined performance pay system ran aground in the House on Monday.

The House appropriations and budget subcommittee on education rejected Senate Bill 1879 by a vote of 9-2, with seven Republicans joining the two Democrats on the panel in opposition.

"The ultimate goal is to implement a performance-based system, the data on which we haven't seen yet," said Rep. Todd Thomsen, R-Ada.

The bill's House sponsor, Rep. Ann Coody, R-Lawton, said it would guarantee payment of the bonuses for those already in the program but would cut off new additions.

Coody said she hopes to get another vote next week, perhaps on just the bonus guarantee.

GOP budget would mean five-year pay freeze for federal workers

Federal employees might consider this old country tune as their anthem if the spending plan proposed Tuesday by House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) becomes law.

The House Republican budget he presented would extend the current federal pay freeze by three additional years, for a total of five years with no boost in basic pay rates. His budget also would shrink the federal workforce by more than 200,000 positions and require employees to pay an undefined “more equitable contribution to their retirement plans.”

Funeral Director: No Signs of Fight or Struggle Present on Trayvon’s Hands

According to funeral director Richard Kurtz of Roy Mizell and Kurtz Funeral Home in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin did not have any cuts or bruises on his hands to indicate that he was in a fight with George Zimmerman on the night that the neighborhood watch captain murdered him.
Speaking exclusively to HLN’s Nancy Grace, Kurtz said that when he prepared Martin’s body the only injury that was discernible was a gunshot wound to Martin’s upper-chest area.

Plan Now for Climate-related Disasters Warns U.N. Report

A future on Earth of more extreme weather and rising seas will require better planning for natural disasters to save lives and limit deepening economic losses, the United Nations said on Wednesday in a major report on the effects of climate change.

The U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) said all nations will be vulnerable to the expected increase in heat waves, more intense rains and floods and a probable rise in the intensity of droughts.

Aimed largely at policymakers, the report, and an additional summary of its contents, makes clear nations need to act now, because increasingly extreme weather is already a trend.
The need for action has become more acute as a growing human population puts more people and more assets in the path of disaster, raising economic risk, the report said. The report’s title made the point: “Managing the risks of extreme events and disasters to advance climate change adaptation.”

Sanford police threaten to arrest reporters

Sanford Police threatened to arrest members of the media who approach or ask questions off the clock.
A press release sent out Wednesday said police would arrest journalists who attempt to make contact with city employees during non-working hours. They asked to not approach, call or email the city employees at home.
Some city staffers have been "followed or approached at their home or in settings outside of working hours," the release said.
"Law enforcement officials will not hesitate to make an arrest for stalking."
However, the Florida statute on stalking does not include language that would provide special protection to city officials or prevent media from asking questions.
Sanford police did not immediately return any calls Wednesday and Thursday morning.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/29/2720590/sanford-police-threaten-to-arrest.html#storylink=cpy

Pope Benedict criticises US trade embargo on Cuba

Pope Benedict XVI has criticised the 50-year-old US trade embargo imposed on Cuba, as he ends a visit to the island.

The Pope called for greater rights in Cuba, saying he wanted a society in which no-one was denied basic freedoms.

This aim was not helped by economic measures which "unfairly burden" Cuba's people, he said.
Earlier, Pope Benedict met Cuba's revolutionary leader and former president, Fidel Castro, and celebrated Mass in front of vast crowds in Havana.

The Pontiff made his parting comments in the airport in Havana, in the presence of the current president, Raul Castro.

He said all Cubans should be able to share in "forging a society of wide horizons, renewed and reconciled".

Shooter of Florida teen appears uninjured in video

SANFORD, Florida (Reuters) - The neighborhood watch volunteer who shot dead an unarmed black teenager in Florida appeared uninjured when he was brought into the police station on the night of the shooting, according to a video released by ABC News on Wednesday.

George Zimmerman told police he shot Trayvon Martin inside a gated community on February 26 in self-defense after Martin attacked him and repeatedly bashed his head into a concrete walkway.

What to do after you hit the Mega Millions jackpot

With a half-billion-dollar multistate lottery jackpot up for grabs, plenty of folks are fantasizing about how to spend the money. But doing it the right way -- protecting your riches, your identity and your sanity -- takes some thought and planning.

Making sure you don't blow the nation's largest-ever lottery jackpot within a few years means some advice is in order before the Mega Millions drawing Friday, especially if you're really, really, really lucky.

More States Retaining Struggling 3rd Graders

Some families in Tulsa, Okla., recently received a brochure that surely grabbed their attention. The title? "Will your child pass third grade?"
Produced by the 15,000-student Union district, the handout explains the state's pending reading requirements for students to advance to the 4th grade. It also outlines what the district is doing to help students read and offers tips for what parents can do at home.
Oklahoma is one of several states that recently adopted new reading policies that—with limited exceptions—call for 3rd graders to be held back if they flunk a state standardized test.

79,000 jobless workers in SC to stop receiving benefits

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - Nearly 79,000 unemployed South Carolinians will stop receiving weekly jobless benefits by year's end.
The drop-off is because of 2 things: South Carolina's jobless rate is improving and a new federal law that phases out the federally paid emergency benefits.
State unemployment officials told senators Wednesday their agency is offering job coaching services to the 6,500 residents affected by the jobless rate's improvement to 9.3%. The move made the state's unemployed ineligible for 16 weeks of federally paid extensions - those without a job for between 62 and 78 weeks.

Russell Simmons rips Geraldo’s hoodie apology to Trayvon Martin supporters

Russell Simmons, who called Rivera his longtime friend, promptly ripped the apology.

"Geraldo, your apology is bull----!" Simmons wrote on GlobalGrind.com. "Your apology is nothing but a defense of a racist, backward thing you already said. And I am a yogi, and I generally don't speak like this, but I have to say it like it is. It is a non-apology apology that continues to blame the victim for their appearance."

Venice Sinking More Than Previously Thought

Venice has begun sinking again and is even tilting slightly eastward, new satellite measurements have revealed.

Despite previous studies suggesting the subsidence had levelled off, new research indicates that the lagoon city continues to sink an average of one to two millimeters (0.04 to 0.08 inches) a year. That's more than researchers previously thought.

"It’s a small effect, but it’s important," Yehuda Bock, a research geodesist with Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, in La Jolla, Calif., said.

With the Adriatic rising in the Venetian lagoon at the same rate, the combined effect is a 4mm (0.16 inches) a year increase in sea level. This means that Venice could sink up to 80 mm (3.2 inches) by 2032.

The study, which will be published March 28 in Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, a journal of the American Geophysical Union, also found that the City of Water in northeast Italy is listing one millimeter or two (0.04 to 0.08 inches) eastward per year, meaning that the western part is higher than the rest.

Prior satellite analyses didn’t pick up on the tilt, Bock said.

Wednesday, March 28, 2012

Fla. family sues hospital for cutting off baby's pinky finger

By HAINES CITY, Fla. -- The family of an 8-month-old girl is suing a Haines City, Fla., hospital and a nurse after the baby's finger was cut off.

Justices weigh health law's fate if no insurance mandate

The Supreme Court's justices appeared torn on Wednesday over how much of President Obama's health care overhaul they will have to kill off if they decide that the requirement that Americans purchase health insurance is unconstitutional.

Rep. Rush escorted from House for wearing hoodie

Rep. Bobby Rush, D-Ill., was escorted off the U.S. House floor today for wearing a hoodie as he protested the shooting of Trayvon Martin.

CAPTION

By AP

The lawmaker called for a full investigation into the death of Trayvon, a Florida teenager shot last month by a neighborhood watch volunteer. The 17-year-old's death has become a cause celebre, sparking a national conversation about racial profiling and "Stand Your Ground" self-defense laws.

Mega Millions jackpot now a half-billion dollars

MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WIS) After no one picked the winning Mega Millions lottery numbers, the estimated jackpot for Friday night's drawing has hit a record high of $500 million. That is up from $476 million earlier Wednesday.

Tuesday's drawing of the numbers 9, 19, 34, 44, 51 and Mega Ball 24 offered the third largest jackpot in the game's history, but still produced no winner.

According to the Mega Millions website, 47 ticket holders matched the five regular lottery numbers walking away with a cool $250,000. Two of those winners purchased their ticket in North Carolina and South Carolina produced one six-digit winner.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Mega Millions Fever: Tips for Buying Your Lucky Lottery Ticket

The jackpot for the lottery game that's played in 42 states as well as the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Island is an estimated $363 million. Lives will change if a winning number is drawn Tuesday night - or excitement will be stoked to fever-pitch if no winner is drawn and the jackpot increases.

The prize is the third-largest in the game's history. The largest Mega Millions jackpot ever won was $390 million in March 2007, according to Mega Millions.

Monday, March 26, 2012

Killer of Florida teen told police he was attacked first

America’s Most Corrupt States

Earlier this week, the Center for Public Integrity released a report detailing the risk of corruption and lack of accountability in all 50 states. The findings of the report should worry anyone who believes state governments are transparent and free of corruption. Of course, no state is without flaws. Unfortunately, nearly every state received a grade that would give residents cause for concern.

Multiple suspensions paint complicated portrait of Trayvon Martin

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/03/26/2714778/thousands-expected-at-trayvon.html#storylink=cpy

Sunday, March 25, 2012

Transcript Call Regarding Trayvon Martin Killing

The Trayvon Martin Killing, Explained

How did a kid armed with Skittles and iced tea get gunned down by an overeager neighborhood watch captain? And will justice be served? (FREQUENT UPDATES.)

This is being continuously updated; click here for the latest. Or read on for a primer.
On the evening of February 26, Trayvon Martin—an unarmed 17-year-old African American student—was confronted, shot, and killed near his home by George Zimmerman, a neighborhood watch captain in Sanford, Florida. Zimmerman has not been charged with a crime. Since Martin's death and the revelation of more details, the case has drawn national outcry and sparked hot debate over racial tensions, vigilantism, police practices, and gun laws.

Brazil bars Chevron executives from leaving over spill

A federal court in Brazil has issued an order barring 17 executives from U.S. oil giant Chevron and Transocean Ltd. from leaving the country while it mulls criminal charges against them for an oil spill last year.
Among the 17 who were ordered Saturday by a federal judge in Rio de Janeiro to give up their passports is an American: George Buck, the chief operating officer of Chevron's Brazil division.

Who killed Trayvon Martin?

George Zimmerman may have pulled the trigger, but he didn't act alone - he was aided and abetted by Florida's lawmakers.

George Zimmerman was obviously responsible, of course. Nothing hidden there at all, except from the willfully blind police. Zimmerman didn't just murder Trayvon in cold blood, he had tracked him down like dog. The 911 tapes released so far include Zimmerman talking of "suspicious" black men: "These a**holes always get away."

Because the police dispatcher expressly told Zimmerman not to follow Martin, because Neighbourhood Watch guidelines forbid the carrying of guns, as well as the pursuit of suspects - requiring Watchers to call the police to the scene - not to mention the fact that Zimmerman wasn't actually part of a registered Neighborhood Watch group, and was a failed, wannabe cop who'd actually been arrested for attacking a real police officer - because of all that, it is perfectly obvious that Zimmerman's "Neighborhood Watch" activities were nothing but a ruse and a fantasy. Murdering a black teenager had arguably been Zimmerman's underlying (if perhaps unconscious) motive for everything he'd done for at least the past year, if not for wanting to be a cop in the first place.

US could bring hate charge in Fla. teen shooting

MIAMI—The U.S. Justice Department could bring a hate crime charge against the shooter in the killing of black Florida teenager Trayvon Martin if there is sufficient evidence the slaying was motivated by racial bias and not simply a fight that spiraled out of control, legal experts and former prosecutors say.

So far, only one such clue has surfaced publicly against 28-year-old George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch captain who fatally shot the 17-year-old Martin on Feb. 26 in the central Florida town of Sanford. On one of his 911 calls to police that night, Zimmerman muttered something under his breath that some listeners say sounds like a racial slur. Zimmerman's father is white, and his mother is Hispanic.

"It sounds pretty obvious to me," said Donald Tibbs, a Drexel University law professor who has closely studied race, civil rights and criminal procedure. "If that was a racial epithet that preceded the attack on Trayvon Martin, we definitely have a hate crime."

Student shot to death on Mississippi State campus

A student was shot to death at a Mississippi State University residence hall late Saturday night, prompting campus-wide alerts as authorities searched for suspects who fled the scene.

University spokeswoman Maridith Geuder said police received a call about the shooting at Evans Hall around 10 p.m. Saturday. The victim was taken to a hospital where he subsequently died.

Three male suspects fled the building in a blue Crown Victoria. As of early Sunday, no arrests had been made and the campus remained under emergency conditions.

Shortly after the shooting, the university began sending a series of text message alerts to students. Geuder said a team of university officials and police was meeting early Sunday. The team is automatically convened in emergencies under a school policy.

State laws crimp booming growth in home beer brewing

About the only thing Kevin Flynn enjoys more than drinking his home-brewed beer is sharing it with fellow beer club members at festivals and tasting competitions. So Flynn and his buddies were shocked to discover that Wisconsin law prohibits sharing homemade suds anywhere outside the brewer's home.

he law could "pretty much be the end of competitions in Wisconsin," he lamented. "At least legal ones."

An explosion of interest in home brewing is forcing lawmakers across the country to review long-forgotten alcohol laws, some of which date back to Prohibition (1920-1933). Although the old rules have rarely been enforced, beer enthusiasts fear they could criminalize a rapidly growing hobby and kill scores of annual tasting events that bring tourists to small towns and cities.

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At least 17 states have ambiguous laws on whether home brewers can transport beer or wine outside the home, according to the American Homebrewers Association in Boulder, Colo.

The patchwork of rules can be frustrating for hobbyists who would prefer to spend their time exchanging recipes for pale ale or rhapsodizing about varieties of hops, barley and yeast.

Some states — including Georgia and South Carolina— have restrictions similar to Wisconsin's. In Kansas and Minnesota, home brewers can only make beverages for themselves or family members. Other states permit homemade beer and wine to be consumed by guests,

Aretha Franklin celebrates 70th, talks new music

NEW YORK (AP) — Aretha Franklin has a lot more than her 70th birthday to celebrate: She's reuniting with one of her musical mentors, Clive Davis, for a new album.

In an interview at her swanky birthday party on Saturday, Franklin said she and Davis, who helped engineer her comeback in the 1980s, would be working on new music.

"I have re-signed with Clive Davis, so I'm recording with Clive again," said Franklin of the music mogul, who is associated with Sony Music Entertainment.

Franklin said that after Davis' birthday next month, "we're going to sit together and decide what it is we're going to record."

Miami Heat Players Don Hoodies For Trayvon Martin

MIAMI — Dwyane Wade and LeBron James were only a few miles away from Trayvon Martin on Feb. 26, participating in the NBA All-Star game on the night the unarmed black teenager wearing a hooded sweatshirt was shot to death by a neighborhood crime-watch volunteer.

SEE ALSO: Geraldo Rivera Implies Trayvon Martin Responsible For His Death

They never knew the teenager, but on Friday they decided it was time to speak out – as did many others around the NBA.

Wade posted a photo of himself from a previous photo shoot wearing a hooded shirt, otherwise known as a hoodie, to his Twitter and Facebook pages on Friday morning.

A couple hours later, James posted another photo – this one of 13 Heat players, all wearing team-logo hoodies, their heads bowed, their hands stuffed into their pockets. The photo was taken at the team hotel, and Heat coach Erik Spoelstra called it “a powerful statement.”

“As a father, this hits home,” said Wade, who has 10- and 4-year-old sons.

Saturday, March 24, 2012

Oprah in Orangeburg to interview Duley

Oprah visits Orangeburg mother who killed her kids

Small earthquake reported near S.C. coast

Police: 5 people found dead in San Francisco house

APNewsBreak: Tourism spending up $1 billion in SC

Gingrich Calls Obama’s Trayvon Remarks “Disgraceful”

Urban League: DC Is Best City for Black Firms

With the national black unemployment rate hovering at 16 percent, it has been tempting for some job seekers to consider hanging up their own shingle. Believe it or not, some small black business owners are thriving in this precarious economy, and it's all about location, location, location.

This week the National Urban League Policy Institute released a study ranking the top metro areas that are conducive to black-owned businesses and recommends ways to replicate successes. The top ranking goes to the D.C. metropolitan area, second to Los Angeles and its surrounding areas, while the Chicago metropolitan area tied for third place with the Detroit metropolitan area (go here for complete list).

"We found that cities with strong diversity supplier policies and which allow easy access to business-to-business and government contracts were the best environments for black-owned businesses," Marc H. Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, said in a prepared statement. "Not surprisingly, we also found that of the top areas for black-owned businesses, five included cities where the National Urban League operates Entrepreneurship Centers.

Friday, March 23, 2012

Opinion

Simply My Take On Things

It never cease to amaze me how ignorant and downright simple-minded some folks get when an opportunity to be in the [media] spotlight come along to shine upon them, such as in the case of Geraldo Rivera, who've obviously forgotten his roots.

Although I believe Rivera was trying to be sincere in explaining why Trayvon was killed by Zimmerman, his wordings were detrimental and very careless.

In fact, I cannot help to think that perhaps he is trying to defend the shooter since he has Hispanic roots, but somehow, Geraldo realized quickly that an attempt to make 'distinctions' between Blacks and Hispanics will be a career suicide because he knows deep down that both Blacks and Hispanics are actually each others brothers and sisters, and as a native Bronxite myself, I'm not falling for the hokey doke, and neither of my black and hispanic brothers and sisters will not fall for it!

So, as an end result, he tried to skirt it, use the 'hoodie' as an excuse, and ultimately his reasoning became thwarted and hateful.

So, I sincerely hope that Rivera was not going in that direction

I just watched "Drive" the movie starring Ryan Gossling (a fantastic movie I might add) yesterday, and he wore a hoodie in the film.

During the Winter months, millions of people wear a hoodie to help keep their head warm, and from becoming blistered from the sharp blows of wind.

Hell, the Ku Klux Klan have been wearing hoodies for decades killing Black folks, and somehow no one had the guts to gun any one of them down because of them wearing hoodies.

In fact, there are numerous online stores that sell 'hoodies' for racists, non-racists, and so forth, such as "Redneck" Sweatshirts & Hoodies, for example, yet no brow raising is being done in this case.

It's not the nutty neighborhood who killed Trayvon. It was George Zimmerman. It was not the hoodie who killed Trayvon. It was George Zimmerman. It wasn't because Trayvon had some Skittles on his person. Young Trayvon was followed and murdered because George wanted to follow and murder Trayvon. Plain and simple!

Trayvon was murdered by a "Wanna Be" because he 'Couldn't Be,' and now he's 'Totally Free' to repeat the same with a gun that hasn't been taken away him! What's up with that?

Young Mr. Martin was tested for drug use, but not George Zimmerman. Young Trayvon did not have a gun, yet George is somewhere in the world with a gun by his side.

I say to everyone "Stand Your Ground" and hunt to find George Zimmerman, and bring him back to the public forefront, so that he can get locked-up to face murder charges against young Trayvon Martin.

And for the record, there are many more instances such as this tragic event that happens daily. To date, there is still no justice for a man who was 'murdered' in the town of Eutawville, S.C. last year by an local police officer, whose whereabouts is also questioned.

Every day there are injustices being made based on, and against, the hue of a person's skin, their religious affiliation, age, gender, life style, education, class, and/or origin of birth.

Geraldo Rivera: Hoodie Is As Responsible For Trayvon’s Death As Zimmerman

“When you see a Black or Latino, particularly on the street, you walk to the other side of the street to avoid that confrontation. Trayvon Martin, God bless him, an innocent kid, a wonderful kid, a box of Skittles in his hand, he didn’t deserve to die, but I’ll bet you money that if he didn’t have that hoodie on that nutty neighborhood watch guy wouldn’t have responded in that violent and aggressive way.”

5 Deadly Threats to Our Precious Drinking Water Supply

Photo Credit: Shutterstock/Dragana Gerasimoski

If you brushed your teeth this morning or flushed the toilet or had a cup of coffee, consider yourself lucky. Actually, if you turned on your tap and potable water freely came out, consider yourself truly blessed.

Because so many of us in the United States are in this situation it can be easy to forget that nearly 900 million other people aren't so lucky. It can be easy to forget that globally we face a frightening water crisis. And it can be hard to notice that even here in the US there are dire threats to our water supply right now.

The people hardest hit by the water crisis are in developing countries -- places it is easy for many world leaders (and the rest of us) to overlook. And even the number of those without clean water -- last tallied at 884 million -- can be hard to grasp. Here's another way of looking at it: if you take that number and translate it into the population of developed countries, the people living in the world today without access to clean drinking water would equal all the people living in the US, Canada, Argentina, Chile, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, France, Germany, England, Italy, Spain, Japan, Australia and Norway.

Like our economic, food, health and climate crises, if you're a person of color and/or poor, you'll be hardest hit. According to the United Nations, if you are a poor person living in a slum you're likely to pay five to 10 times more for water than wealthy people living in the same city. And so too, are women disproportionately affected because they are the ones responsible for getting water each day in most developing countries -- work that often means hours of difficult labor under dangerous conditions.

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The World Water Forum and the Resistance Against the Corporate Takeover of Water

Activists held an alternative to the corporate World Water Forum in France.

While boasting several UN agencies as partners, the World Water Forum is criticized for posing as a multi-stakeholder body. The overarching message of activists protesting the World Water Forum is that there is a need for international policy and multilateral cooperation when it comes to water resources, but a trade show run by water multinationals cannot be the space for these discussions.

You don't have to know anything about the World Water Forum to know something is wonky when a forum that claims to provide solutions for the world's water crisis shuts out vast segments of the public. With a heavy police presence surrounding the Forum, activists attempting to register on the first day were detained before even entering the Forum. There was no apparent reason other than the fact that many were young and not garbed in business attire. Some had slogans like "water is a human right" on their clothes.

5 Freedom-Killing Tactics Police Will Use to Crack Down on Protests in 2012

Across America many cities and police forces are eyeing new ways to crack down on protesters.

The First Amendment right to assemble and protest is going to get a black eye in 2012—as it has every time there has been an upsurge in America’s social justice movements.

Already in city after city, protesters and civil rights lawyers are troubled by proposed and newly enacted anti-protest rules, many of which are likely to be found unconstitutional if they have their day in court. In the meantime mayors, police and in some cases federal agencies are making detailed plans to thwart protests at local and national events.

Thousands rally for US teen Trayvon Martin

Activists are calling for justice in the 17-year-old’s death.

Thousands participated in the "Million Hoodie March" in New York for Trayvon Martin, the US teenager whose death sparked a national uproar.

On Feb. 26, Martin was shot and killed by George Zimmerman, a self-appointed neighborhood watch captain who alleges that Martin was acting suspiciously.

Florida police say there’s no evidence that disproves Zimmerman’s self-defense claim. However, the Justice Department has now opened an investigation into the killing.

Martin was unarmed and wearing a hoodie while walking in his father's gated community, where Zimmerman was on duty.

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23 Other States Have 'Stand Your Ground' Laws, Too

"Stand Your Ground," "Shoot First," "Make My Day" state laws—asserting an expansive right to self-defense—have come into focus after last month's killing of 17-year-old Trayvon Martin.
While local prosecutors have not arrested the shooter, George Zimmerman, the case is now being investigated by the Department of Justice and a Florida state attorney. It's not clear whether Florida's self-defense law will be applied in the case. (The police report on the shooting refers to it as an "unnecessary killing to prevent unlawful act.")

Still, in not arresting Zimmerman, local officials have pointed to Florida's wide definition of self-defense. In 2005, Florida became the first state to explicitly expand a person's right to use deadly force for self-defense.

Deadly force is justified if a person is gravely threatened in the home or "any other place where he or she has a right to be."

In Florida, once self-defense is invoked, the burden is on the prosecution to disprove the claim.

Here's a rundown of the states with laws mirroring the one in Florida, where there's no duty to retreat in public places and where, in most cases, self-defense claims have some degree of immunity in court. (The specifics of what kind of immunity, and when the burden of proof lies on the prosecution, vary from state to state.)

Many of the laws were originally advocated as a way to address domestic abuse cases 2014 how could a battered wife retreat if she was attacked in her own home? Such legislation also has been recently pushed by the National Rifle Association and other gun-rights groups.
Click on the state to see its law.
Alabama
Arizona
Georgia
Idaho
Illinois (The law does not include a duty to retreat, which courts have interpreted as a right to expansive self-defense.)
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
Louisiana
Michigan
Mississippi
Montana
Nevada
North Carolina
Oklahoma
Oregon (Also does not include a duty to retreat.)
South Carolina
South Dakota
Tennessee
Texas
Utah
Washington (Also does not include a duty to retreat.)
West Virginia

Obama: "If I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon"

President Obama spoke out for the first time on Friday about the fatal shooting of an unarmed 17-year-old African-American boy in Florida named Trayvon Martin, calling it a "tragedy."

"I can only imagine what these parents are going through," Mr. Obama said from the White House Rose Garden, "and when I think about this boy, I think about my own kids, and I think every parent in America should be able to understand why it is absolutely imperative that we investigate every aspect of this and that everybody pulls together, federal, state and local, to figure out how this tragedy happened."

Mr. Obama said he is glad the Justice Department is investigating the shooting and that Florida Gov. Rick Scott formed a task force in response to the incident as well. The president suggested he was sympathetic to suspicion that the shooting may have been racially motivated.

"You know, if I had a son, he'd look like Trayvon," Mr. Obama said.

"All of us have to do some soul-searching to figure out how does something like this happen," he continued.

"And that means that we examine the laws and the context for what happened as well as the specifics of the incident."