Boring after school activities

Why does Lisa grumble when it is time for her to go for her piano lessons?

How come Johnny abhors the sight of his skates now? After all, these

children were very enthusiastic about the programs when they started off.

What happened? Parents are often confused by the disturbing and often

incongruous signals they receive from their children. One day the kids are

excited about the new theatre class and in just a few short weeks they

wail and moan when it's time to go.

The first thing a family should do when a child begins resisting a

previously loved activity is to listen and investigate. Do not jump into

conclusions. A little bit of intelligent sleuthing is required. Ask your

child what he or she does in the class. Find out what exactly is the cause

of the problem. Then ask the teachers the same questions. Compare notes.

You may stumble on some important clues. Usually, children start out on an

activity thinking it's all fun. But when they realize that they cannot

just hang out and that they need to follow rules etc, they begin to

resist. Your child may feel stifled if the program is too structured. If

the discipline is too rigorous or the activity too painful (like a karate

class) some children balk. Use your own instincts. Does the program feel

like fun? Would you want to attend it yourself? Are they offering enough

motivation to keep the child interested?

The teacher-to-child ratio is also an important factor. Children need

attention. If the number of teachers is just enough to handle a class, it

is possible that your child is not receiving enough attention. State

recommendations usually specify that there must be 1 teacher for 15

children.

Children try to avoid problems they cannot solve. If there are no

perceivable problems with the class and the teachers, perhaps you need to

have a chat with your child. If your judgment says that the place is good

and the activity engaging enough, then it's time to work with your child.

More often than not, social pressures may be at work here. Does your child

have friends there? If she is lonely or miserable because of the lack of

friends, help her find a friend. If she finds a friend, she will get more

involved in the activities

If your best efforts do not pay off, and your child still resists that

fantastic guitar classes, then it's time to let go. Shift your child to

some other program. If he or she still retains interest in guitars, you

can take it up after a few months. Never force the child, especially when

it comes to extra-curricular activities. Since they are 'extra', they must

bring in extra happiness and extra enthusiasm too.

Read More

Benefits of a good after school program

Children grow up in a society that demands expertise in everything. You

really cannot sit back and decide that learning from textbooks is enough

for the overall development of your child. It's the age of specialization

and your child cannot afford to miss out on this window of opportunity.

So, scour your locality for the most advantageous programs and enroll them

for the ones you think are the best.

After school programs are basically designed to develop a talent or a

skill that is ignored by regular schools. These programs could be

educational or recreational in nature. Whatever type they are, they

basically aim to keep the child active and interested.

The most important advantage of a good after school program is that it

widens your child's area of interests. He or she is introduced to new

things, sometimes interesting, sometimes challenging. Mastering a new art

form or a new skill increases the child's self-esteem. It also allows you

to introduce your child to new career options. A child attending a music

class may decide that she likes it so much that she wants to make a career

out of it in the long run.

Socialization is another great advantage of after school programs.

Children get to meet others who share their interests and make new

friendships. An acting class or a soccer class can be lots of fun. Many of

these programs coach children for performances or matches. Performing on

stage or playing a match can be a great experience for a young child.

After school programs keep your teenager busy. He or she thus has some

amount of protection from destructive habits like drugs and alcohol.

Surveys indicate that children who are kept busy through diverse absorbing

activities are less prone to abuse, depression and burnout. Significant

increase in achievement and attendance and a reduction in drop out rates

are other advantages of a good after school programs.

Most after school programs have children interacting with one or more

adult. This allows them to benefit from positive relationships with

adults. Children often find it difficult to confide in parents and

teachers, but may open up with other adults.

Many children are put into recreational after school programs so that they

reduce weight and remain healthy. A newly emerging trend shows that about

15% children below the age of 16 are obese. Parents who cannot put their

children on a strict diet resort to sports and games to burn fat. With

cases of child diabetes on the increase, this has become a prime focus of

many after school programs.

A good after school program has many benefits. It keeps the child

entertained as well as busy, and thus prevents children from becoming

addicted to TVs and PCs. By giving them ways to burn up their excess energy

and explore their creativity, after school programs help to shape the

overall personality of the child.

Read More

Art-based activities

A recent report by several independent researchers concludes that

participating in the arts nurtures the development of social, personal and

cognitive skills. Programs based on Arts can improve academic achievement

and decrease the tendency towards delinquency. It helps youth form

positive attitudes about themselves and build self-esteem.

Arts programs involve communication, interpretation and understanding of

complex symbols, much like mathematics and languages. Thus it fosters

higher-order analytical skills and skills of evaluation and synthesis.

Many of the programs make the child regularly use multiple skills thus

making him dynamic and versatile.

Development of imagination, judgment and philosophy are fringe benefits of

an arts-based activity. As opposed to the short 45-minute duration of the

art classes at school, the extra time allowed in after school activities

allows the child to get more involved. This results in more satisfactory

opportunities for development of latent capabilities in the child. In

turn, the child learns to set high standards of achievement. He

understands what sustained focus is and learns that regular practice is

the way to excellence.

In the shy or the withdrawn child, theatre, speech or drama lessons may be

an outlet for pent up emotions. As drama entails getting into the 'skin'

of another person, the child learns to verbalize emotions and express

thoughts. These reasons account for the popularity of arts-based

Read More

Over-scheduling kids

Several studies are expressing a growing concern that after school

programs are pressurizing kids to do too much too soon. They point out

that when a child's afternoon is filled with classes, trips, sports and

other forms of organized activities, kids do not really get the time to be

just kids. They are even being deprived of the cherished family time.

Undoubtedly, there are children who are being burdened with a schedule

that places too much demand on their time. This leads to increased levels

of stress on the child and the family. As regular studies cannot be

ignored, children are almost always on the run to achieve more. Such

children are really bearing a burden that is too heavy for their frail

little shoulders.

In an ideal world, all children would go home directly after school to

loving and caring parents who are waiting for the children to come home.

But the social and economic realities show that many children have to

attend after school courses because there is no one available at home. For

such children, these classes are a boon.

Parents should however restrain themselves from reading too much into

these activities. After school programs are complimentary in nature. They

give additional support. Therefore, their importance should also be

Read More

Keeping children motivated

Initial enthusiasm in after school activities tends to wane after the

first excitement is over. This is but natural. The trick is to keep up the

hard work even after this. How do you keep your child motivated? This is

of particular importance when the child goes in for educational after

school programs.

Make the career-academics connection early on:

Let your child understand how important studies are. Let him know that

an excellent career is wholly dependent on wholesome learning. To develop

his interest in studies, plan family activities that are connected with

his studies. Emphasize the real-world connection to academics whenever

possible.

Set goals:

Let your child know, through example, that hard work will be rewarded. If

your child believes that achievement is a natural by-product of effort, he

is more likely to put in hard work. Such children are also less likely to

drop out of programs and college at a later stage.

Reward success:

When a child achieves something, it is necessary to praise his hard work.

Positive reinforcements enhance confidence and increase self-esteem.

Conversely, beware of criticism. It can ruin the frail ego of children and

play havoc with their minds.

Read More

Need for after school activities

When children are literally up to their gills with the learning and sport

activities in school, it may seem superfluous to enroll them for after

school activities. In spite of this, after school programs are sprouting

up in large numbers and most of these are booked full. This shows that

there is a real need for after school activities.

The unavailability of parental supervision is the leading cause for the

surge in after school programs. It is seen that many children spend about

20-25 hours a week unsupervised and alone at home. And as the saying

goes, "An idle mind is a devil's workshop". Children who are left alone

to contend with too much free time invariably fall into the wrong

company. Drug abuse, alcohol, tobacco and crime come knocking at their

doors sooner rather than later. Parents enroll children to various after

school programs to keep them occupied in a productive manner. This way,

the kids are free to enjoy themselves in a supervised activity.

Crime is considered to be at its peak during the after school hours,

between 3- 4 p.m. During such a time, children need protection. Getting

the children together under one roof and encouraging them to participate

in a group activity is protection enough. It diverts the children from

ennui too.

Obesity is a matter of growing concern in this country. It is noticed

that more and more children are becoming couch potatoes. After school,

many of them relax on the sofa with packets of chips, cool drinks or

chocolates while they watch T.V. 30 % of the kids below the age of 19 are

considered overweight, and about 15% of these are obese. An after school

program ensures that the child shakes off his lethargy and keeps himself

busy. This also helps to reduce the child's fascination for T.V and

computer games.

After school activities that promote social awareness develop the

individual's sense of social responsibility. It is seen that these sorts

of programs not only keep kids out of trouble, but also help to produce

responsible citizens. To that extent, they are valuable building blocks

in a child's personality.

Times are changing and parents want their children to excel in academics

as well as in other activities. This may be a reflection of the parent's

unfulfilled desire to excel - a remnant from his own childhood. Whatever

the reason, parents today encourage their children to enroll themselves

in various programs and develop the various facets of their

individuality. Children too seem to be comfortable learning many things

at the same time, and gain satisfaction from this.

Read More

Sunday Comics: Might as Well Jump

Feb 24, 2013 10:00 AM   Welcome to your Sunday read of the week's best in web comics. Make sure to click on the expand button in the bottom right to enlarge each comic.

View the original article here

Read More

This Japanese Popstar Has Truly Insane Gaming Hours

This story will display in ...Feb 25, 2013 4:30 AM  

If someone played a video game, any video game, for a couple hundred hours, you'd say, wow, that person must really like that game. If someone played a video game, any video game, for a couple thousand hours, you'd say, woah, that person is hardcore.

How about seven thousand hours?

Popstar Maki Goto is taking time off from music, but certainly has enough time to appear in an online Capcom show that centered around Monster Hunter 3G HD Version. What's amazing isn't that Goto emerged from her hiatus just for this. No, what's amazing is that she had time to squeeze in an appearance from one of her gaming marathons.

Goto is taking off time from showbiz to recoup and, seemingly, play video games—apparently, even pulling off 30-hour marathon sessions. You're going to need marathons like that to rack up gaming hours like she has.

According to Mantan Web, while on the online program, Goto talked about her Monster Hunter 3 playtime, revealing that it was 7,000 hours. That's 291 days. Of Goto's life. Playing Monster Hunter 3.

When asked what she spent more time doing, living her daily life or playing Monster Hunter, Goto replied, "Huh? Oh, I don't know."

When asked what she's been doing on her time off, Goto said she was going to see her friends' concerts as well as checking out the Monster Hunter exhibit at Universal Studios Japan. No doubt, she's also been gaming. An effing lot.

?????????? ???????????? [Mantan Web]

Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.

View the original article here

Read More

The Infamy Shows Assassin's Creed III Still Has A Little Room For Experimentation

View the original article here

Read More

The Week in Games: Brütal Retürn

This story will display in ...Feb 24, 2013 1:00 PM  

You know it's a slow cycle when Brutal Legend—remember that?—makes its PC debut, nearly five years after it came out on console. Star Wars Pinball, DLC for Borderlands 2 and Skyrim (on PS3) round out the week's highlights.

• Dungeonland Dungeon Maestro Grimoire Pack (PC)

• Star Wars Pinball (PS3, Vita)
• Driftmoon (PC)
• Brutal Legend (PC)
• Skyrim: Dawnguard (PSN)
• Borderlands 2: Add-on Content Pack (XBL, PSN, PC DLC)
• MUD - FIM Motocross World Championship (360, PS3)
• Dynasty Warriors 7: Empires (PS3)
• Top Hand Rodeo Tour for Kinect (360)
• Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2 Plus (Vita)
• Etrian Odyssey IV: Legends of the Titan (3DS)

• Star Wars Pinball (Xbox 360, iOS, Android)

• Sniper Elite Nazi Zombie Army (PC)

View the original article here

Read More

This Is Not A Borderlands 2 Screenshot. It Is, Somehow, Cosplay.

This story will display in ...

And not even that heavily-photoshoped kind, either. I mean, outside of the obvious effects, that is just one absolutely incredible costume, right down to the smallest detail. It's a great photo by Jesús Clares, too.

It shares the spotlight this week with a bunch of other cosplayers who, whether it be Zelda, Skyrim, Star Wars or Mass Effect, are all looking like the just stepped straight of a screen.

As an added bonus: first thumb below is actually a video, and an awesome one at that, shot by beatdownboogie at Katsucon 2013, which incidentally is where many of this week's images were taken.

To see the larger pics in all their glory (or, if they're big enough, so you can save them as wallpaper), right-click on them below and select "open in new tab".Fancy Pants is a weekly look at the very best in the world of cosplay (costume play), where people dress up as their favorite video game characters. As seen on beatdownboogie.
As seen on ZOMBIEBITME.
As seen on StarDustShadow.
As seen on falketta.
As seen on jaytablante.
As seen on yayacosplay.
As seen on Malindachan.
As seen on Malindachan.
As seen on Adnarimification.
As seen on IkariyaManga.
As seen on Nebulaluben.

View the original article here

Read More

Voice Actress Invents a Thong That Turns into a Wristband. (No, Really.)

This story will display in ...Feb 25, 2013 7:20 AM  

Dubbed the "Wristunder" (geddit? GEDDIT?), the special panties were invented by Chiaki Takahashi, the voice actress who brings life to video characters in The Idolmaster, BlazBlue and many more.

Takahashi is dubbed a "sexy voice actress", and it often seems like she tries really hard. Probably too hard. But, hey, she tries. There's always trying.

For the launch of her new photobook, she showed up dressed as Marilyn Monroe, and presented her invention, which was the result of the desire to create a "sexy item" which helps promote her new pin-up book, while not leaving her male fans out. And voilà, panties men can wrap around their wrists, while they attend Takahashi's events.

While this seems like a publicity stunt (it is!), My Navi reports that Takahashi is currently applying for a patent, should anyone decide to ever try to steal her idea. You know, the one in which people wear underwear on their arms in public.

?????????·????????? [Dime]
?????? ?????????T??????????? [My Navi]

Kotaku East is your slice of Asian internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.

View the original article here

Read More

What If Sony Hired Leonard Nimoy to Pitch the PlayStation 4—in 1981?

This story will display in ...Feb 24, 2013 2:30 PM  

Hats off to IGN for making the past into a prologue with this PlayStation 4 hype video demake starring a pornstached Leonard Nimoy from 30 years ago. My God, I think the last time I heard that opening synthesizer anthem was in a Raycom highlight show before Maryland and Duke played in the 1984 ACC Tournament final.

The source of all this hilarity is this promotional video Spock did, in 1981, for something either called MagnaVision or DiscoVision. It had nothing to do with Sony, preoccupied at the time with Betamax; Magnavision was the video disc player produced by Magnavox (makers of the Odyssey console gaming series).

Take a bow, IGN. Very well done.

PLAYSTATION 4: LEONARD NIMOY INTRODUCES THE NEXT GENERATION [IGN]<

View the original article here

Read More

Trial set to open for Gulf oil spill litigation

A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

A tweet has been posted to your Twitter account.

A link has been sent to your friend's email address.

An oil slick is seen as the Deepwater Horizon oil rig burns in April 2010. (Photo: Gerald Herbert, AP)

Trail will determine BP's liability in the oil spillBillions of dollars are on the lineSeveral hours of opening statements by lawyers expected Monday

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Nearly three years after a deadly rig explosion in the Gulf of Mexico triggered the nation's worst offshore oil spill, a federal judge in New Orleans is set to preside over a high-stakes trial for the raft of litigation spawned by the disaster.

Barring an 11th-hour settlement, U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier will hear several hours of opening statements Monday by lawyers for the companies involved in the 2010 spill and the plaintiffs who sued them. And the judge, not a jury, ultimately could decide how much more money BP PLC and its partners on the ill-fated drilling project owe for their roles in the environmental catastrophe.

BP has said it already has racked up more than $24 billion in spill-related expenses and has estimated it will pay a total of $42 billion to fully resolve its liability for the disaster that killed 11 workers and spewed millions of gallons of oil.

But the trial attorneys for the federal government and Gulf states and private plaintiffs hope to convince the judge that the company is liable for much more.

With billions of dollars on the line, the companies and their courtroom adversaries have spared no expense in preparing for a trial that could last several months. Hundreds of attorneys have worked on the case, generating roughly 90 million pages of documents, logging nearly 9,000 docket entries and taking more than 300 depositions of witnesses who could testify at trial.

"In terms of sheer dollar amounts and public attention, this is one of the most complex and massive disputes ever faced by the courts," said Fordham University law professor Howard Erichson, an expert in complex litigation.

Barbier has promised he won't let the case drag on for years as has the litigation over the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill, which still hasn't been completely resolved. He encouraged settlement talks that already have resolved billions of dollars in spill-related claims.

"Judge Barbier has managed the case actively and moved it along toward trial pretty quickly," Erichson said.

In December, Barbier gave final approval to a settlement between BP and Plaintiffs' Steering Committee lawyers representing Gulf Coast businesses and residents who claim the spill cost them money. BP estimates it will pay roughly $7.8 billion to resolve tens of thousands of these claims, but the deal doesn't have a cap.

BP resolved a Justice Department criminal probe by agreeing to plead guilty to manslaughter and other charges and pay $4 billion in criminal penalties. Deepwater Horizon rig owner Transocean Ltd. reached a separate settlement with the federal government, pleading guilty to a misdemeanor charge and agreeing to pay $1.4 billion in criminal and civil penalties.

But there's plenty left for the lawyers to argue about at trial, given that the federal government and Gulf states haven't resolved civil claims against the company that could be worth more than $20 billion.

The Justice Department and private plaintiffs' attorneys have said they would prove BP acted with gross negligence before the blowout of its Macondo well on April 20, 2010.

BP's civil penalties would soar if Barbier agrees with that claim.

BP, meanwhile, argues the federal government's estimate of how much oil spewed from the well — more than 200 million gallons — is inflated by at least 20 percent. Clean Water Act penalties are based on how many barrels of oil spilled.

Barbier plans to hold the trial in at least two phases and may issue partial rulings at the end of each. The first phase, which could last three months, is designed to determine what caused the blowout and assign percentages of blame to the companies involved. The second phase will address efforts to stop the flow of oil from the well and aims to determine how much crude spilled into the Gulf.

The trial originally was scheduled to start a year ago, but Barbier postponed it to allow BP to wrap up its settlement with the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee.

Barbier, 68, was nominated by President Bill Clinton and has served on the court since 1998. He had a private law practice, primarily representing small businesses and other plaintiffs in civil cases, and served as president of the New Orleans Bar Association before he joined the bench.

Dane Ciolino, a Loyola University law professor who has represented criminal defendants in Barbier's court, described him as a "no-nonsense" but even-tempered judge.

"He's very good at getting down to the pertinent issues," Ciolino said. "Some judges could be described as impatient, short or gruff. He is none of that."

Despite the bitter disputes at the root of the case, Barbier has maintained a collegial atmosphere at his monthly status conferences with the lawyers, cracking an occasional joke or good-naturedly ribbing attorneys over their college football allegiances.

Cordial with each other in the courtroom, the competing attorneys have saved their harshest rhetoric for court filings or news releases. Despite its settlement with BP last year, the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee attorneys won't be allies at trial with the London-based oil giant. And they still haven't resolved civil claims against Transocean or cement contractor Halliburton.

"These three companies' reckless, greed-driven conduct killed 11 good men, polluted the Gulf for years and left the region's economy in shambles. Any statement to the contrary is self-serving nonsense," Steve Herman, a lead plaintiffs' attorney, said in a recent statement.

A series of government investigations has exhaustively documented the mistakes that led to the blowout, spreading the blame among the companies. Alabama Attorney General Luther Strange said witnesses scheduled to testify at trial will reveal new information about the cause of the disaster.

"I think you're going to learn a lot, particularly about the culture that existed at BP and their priorities," Strange said.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

View the original article here

Read More

Will Berlusconi make a comeback? EU quakes at thought

A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

A tweet has been posted to your Twitter account.

A link has been sent to your friend's email address.

Media mogul and former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi gestures during a political rally in Rome on Wednesday. (Photo: Mauro Scrobogna, AP)

Berlusconi was forced to step down in 2011Monti is credited with stabilizing country's economyBersani likely to get plurality of the vote Sunday

ROME — A scandal-ridden former leader who resigned in disgrace, a professorial technocrat who pulled Italy from the brink, plus a comedian and an anti-Mafia judge are among the choices for prime minister when Italians started two days of voting Sunday.

And all of Europe is holding its breath.

"I've been voting for more than 20 years, but this is the first election where friends from all over Europe are sending me messages to know how I will vote and what I think will happen," said Michele Cossu, 44, a coffee bar owner in Rome.

It was barely 15 months ago that Italy's economy was in a shambles. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was immersed in scandal over bribery and soliciting prostitutes at sex parties. A financial crisis was spiking Italy's borrowing rates to the levels that sent Greece, Portugal and Ireland to the EU for budget bailouts.

With an economy twice the size of the others combined, Italy appeared too big to bail out. A default on its loans threatened to wreck the eurozone, the group of 17 nations that use the euro as currency.

EU ministers demanded change in 2011 in return for their help, and Berlusconi was forced to step down, ushering in a new government run by "technocrat" Mario Monti, who slashed spending and is credited with stabilizing the situation.

Mario Monti (Photo: AP)

But that was then. The vote will determine whether Italians approve of the harsh measures taken by Monti, and media polls indicate many may vote in a way that could open the door for Berlusconi's return.

Adele Calabrese, a 76-year-old retired music teacher, said the election is critical to the country's future.

"My two daughters study in Paris, and my son works in Brussels, and they're all flying back to vote because they say this election is too important to miss," she said.

The field includes popular comedian-turned-activist Beppe Grillo and Antonio Ingroia, a hard-hitting anti-Mafia judge. But Berlusconi, the consummate Italian politician, has a history of persuading the masses to give him another try.

Berlusconi, 76, is running a campaign that calls for undoing many of Monti's austerity measures. He says he will push to reimburse taxpayers for a controversial property tax imposed last year to stabilize the budget.

But the son of a gas station attendant and a former government minister from the rolling hills between Bologna and Milan appears to be a favorite, media polls indicate.

Pier Luigi Bersani, known for wandering speeches, is likely to get a plurality of the vote and if so will probably be able to cobble together a ruling majority in Parliament.

Pierluigi Bersani (Photo: AP)

"The chances are very slim that Bersani will earn a majority on his own, and so he's going to have to strike a deal with someone who he already said 'no' to when he thought he could win on his own," said Marco Travaglio, an author and frequent political commentator.

Berlusconi's surge in the polls over the past six weeks is the main reason Bersani finds himself in this position.

A billionaire media tycoon, Berlusconi has been a fixture of Italian politics despite sex scandals, convictions for tax evasion and trials for abuse of power. He spent more than all his rivals on television advertising in January promising to cut taxes and restore government services Monti slashed. In December, he was down 17 percentage points to Bersani, a gap he had shrunk to a mere 5 points in early February when a ban on polling went into effect.

But providence may have intervened against him. The unexpected resignation of Pope Benedict XVI on Feb. 11 pushed coverage of Berlusconi off the airwaves and onto the back pages of most Italian newspapers.

"Bersani, Monti and the other candidates weren't on television nearly as much as Berlusconi, so when people turned on the TV it was Berlusconi they saw," said Maria Rossi, co-director of the polling firm Opinioni. "Now that's no longer true and it has to be giving some voters time to think twice about whether they'll support him."

Franco Pavoncello, a political scientist and president of John Cabot University in Rome, said that Italians who complain Monti's austerity policies are too tough are forgetting how bad things were in 2011. They may remember as the election approaches.

"Complaining about the austerity policies given how bad the situation was is like a family that calls the fire department when their house is burning down: The fire department comes, puts out the flames, and then the family complains that they got everything wet," Pavoncello said.

Supporters wave flags in front of a giant monitor broadcasting a message by Silvio Berlusconi on Friday during a center-right coalition rally in Naples, Italy. Berlusconi skipped his last campaign rally before Italian elections because of an eye problem. (Photo: Salvatore Laporta, AP)

View the original article here

Read More

High court's DNA case pits crime solving vs. privacy

A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

A tweet has been posted to your Twitter account.

A link has been sent to your friend's email address.

Jayann Sepich stands in front of the Supreme Court holding a photograph of her daughter Katie. (Photo: H. Darr Beiser, USA TODAY)

States, feds fight crime by taking DNA upon arrestsMaryland case presents unique Fourth Amendment testNew Mexico couple fights for memory of murdered daughter

WASHINGTON — Katie Sepich was a radiant beauty of 22, a graduate student at New Mexico State University, when she was brutally raped and strangled and her body set on fire in 2003. Despite DNA evidence, it took three years to identify Gabriel Avila as her killer. By then, he had committed other crimes.

Dwayne Jackson was 18 when he was convicted for a violent robbery in Las Vegas in 2001. Thanks to DNA evidence, he was imprisoned for nearly four years — until a laboratory error was discovered that revealed his innocence. In 2011, he won a $1.5 million settlement.

On Tuesday, those stories and others will resonate inside the Supreme Court, where the justices will be asked to rule on the use of DNA in law enforcement. At stake is the widespread police practice of taking DNA samples from people arrested but not yet convicted of serious crimes — a practice fueled in part by the persistent advocacy of Katie Sepich's parents.

If the justices rule later this year that it's constitutional, says Jayann Sepich, "I think the impact will be monumental, and I believe there will be a tremendous number of lives saved."

But civil liberties advocates worry that allowing police to take DNA samples before conviction increases the possibility of errors such as the one that stole four years of Jackson's young life. While DNA is effective in law enforcement, they say, it's also subject to contamination, misinterpretation, sample switches and outright fraud.

The justices should uphold the Fourth Amendment's protection against unreasonable searches and seizures, says New York University law professor Erin Murphy, and "not be so dazzled by the technology in question."

They weren't so dazzled by a GPS tracking device last year, holding that police could not attach it to a car in order to monitor a suspect's movements. Last week, the court split on two more Fourth Amendment cases, ruling that using a drug-sniffing dog with reasonable suspicion was OK, but executing a search warrant after a suspect has left his home was not.

Modern technology presents a problem, however, particularly for justices who try to adhere to the Constitution. The framers didn't have GPS or DNA to contend with in the late 18th century.

Last week, the court grappled with the patent rights of self-replicating soybeans. In April, justices will debate a breast cancer detection technology that comes from human genes.

In Maryland v. King, the justices will decide whether a law enforcement tool used since the 1990s to help states and the federal government solve crimes is constitutional. It was then that Louisiana became the first state to take DNA from those simply arrested on felony charges, but not convicted. A few more states followed, but the trickle became a flood after 2005, when a federal law allowed the states' cases to be uploaded to a national database.

New Mexico became the sixth state to pass the law in 2006, the same year that Katie Sepich's killer finally was charged with her murder. "It took three years, which were very agonizing years for the family," says New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, who prosecuted the case as district attorney at the time.

The statute was dubbed "Katie's Law." In the years since, Jayann and Dave Sepich have taken their cause nationwide, creating the organization DNA Saves to advocate for collection upon arrest. Today, more than half the states have passed their own laws, greatly expanding the number of DNA profiles available to law enforcement agencies in the national database.

"It's amazing that they have the strength and conviction to do this in the name of their daughter," Martinez says.

Last year, Congress passed the Katie Sepich Enhanced DNA Collection Act, which President Obama signed last month. It creates a grants program to help states pay for the expanded system.

"It's the right thing to do," Obama said of taking DNA from arrestees in a 2010 appearance on America's Most Wanted. "This is where the national registry becomes so important."

The bolstered federal database has helped solve thousands of crimes by linking DNA evidence at old crime scenes to newly arrested people.

"Behind every number is a human story, a case in which a buccal swab sample collected from a felony arrestee played a crucial role in solving a violent crime," says a brief submitted by all 49 other states backing Maryland's law.

On the other side is Alonzo Jay King, who was arrested on assault charges in 2009. Police collected DNA from a simple cheek swab and matched it to a 2003 rape case, for which King then was convicted. The Maryland Court of Appeals reversed that decision, ruling that the cheek swab constituted a search without either a warrant or suspicion of another crime. Now the state, backed by the federal government, is challenging that ruling.

Kannon Shanmugam, the lawyer who will argue King's case in court Tuesday, contends the cheek swab was a bodily intrusion requiring a search warrant. Because there is no Supreme Court precedent on DNA, he says, the decision will be one of the court's most significant Fourth Amendment rulings in years.

"There are over 12 million arrests in the United States every year," Shanmugam's brief says. "Virtually all of the arguments advanced by petitioner and the United States would justify the blanket collection and retention of DNA from ordinary citizens."

Maryland argues that DNA is just an extension of fingerprinting and other tools for identifying suspects, "the Fourth Amendment legitimacy of which has never been seriously doubted."

But opponents note that taking DNA from people upon arrest is to help in other investigations, not to identify the person already under arrest. They fear the DNA swabs will lead to more false hits and wrongful convictions.

Advocates of the federal-state database say plenty of privacy safeguards exist. If the system works as it is supposed to, 13 DNA markers are uploaded, incapable on their own of providing sensitive genetic information. Only upon conviction is a second swab taken for further testing. If the arrested person is acquitted or the case thrown out, the DNA information is destroyed and the records expunged.

Jayann Sepich is so convinced the information is harmless that she includes hers on the back of her business card. "There's nothing on those 13 markers that discloses anything private," she says.

As for the merits of collecting DNA at felony arrests, Sepich says she became more convinced after reviewing the case of a California man arrested 21 times over 15 years without being convicted of a crime requiring a DNA swab. When he finally was convicted of rape, his DNA was matched to 12 other rapes and murders of women, dating to his first felony arrest.

"When I look at that list of names, I don't see names," Sepich says. "I see daughters, and I feel the heartbreak of their mothers who had to bury them."

View the original article here

Read More

Dramatic helicopter escape from Greek prison foiled

A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

A tweet has been posted to your Twitter account.

A link has been sent to your friend's email address.

A Greek flag flies. (Photo: Louisa Gouliamaki, AFP/Getty Images)

Helicopter passengers fired AK-47s at guards as they tried to whisk away Panagiotis VlastosOfficials say more than 500 rounds were fired from the helicopterVlastos planned the kidnapping of shipping tycoon Pericles Panagopoulos from behind bars

ATHENS, Greece (AP) — A helicopter swooped down on a prison courtyard Sunday as armed men on board fired on guards and lowered a rope to help a convicted killer make his fourth attempt to escape from a Greek prison.

But the plot was foiled after the prisoner was shot and the chopper forced to land in the prison's parking lot.

The dramatic escape attempt was one of a handful involving helicopters in Greece, and the first time such plans have failed.

Authorities said the chartered helicopter — carrying two armed passengers, a pilot and a technician — first tried to rip off the chicken-wire fence surrounding Trikala prison with a hook dangling from a rope. But that didn't work, so a rope was lowered down to whisk away Panagiotis Vlastos. Another prisoner, an unnamed Albanian national also in the courtyard at the time, may also have been part of the escape plan.

At the same time, the armed passengers used AK-47 assault rifles to fire on the prison guards. One guard, who was inside a post, was slightly injured by shards of flying glass. He and others returned fire, injuring Vlastos, who had managed to climb into the helicopter, as well as the helicopter's technician. Vlastos fell from a height of about 10 feet into the courtyard, and the helicopter was eventually grounded in the parking lot.

Vlastos, 43, is a convicted murderer and racketeer serving a life term who had tried and failed three times before to escape from prison.

Prison officials told TV stations Mega and NET that they recovered well over 500 bullets fired from the helicopter. The Ministry of Justice, in statements describing the escape attempt, added that the helicopter passengers also carried, but did not use, "improvised explosive devices."

Authorities said Vlastos was wounded in the legs but is being treated in the prison hospital because his injuries were not deemed serious enough for a transfer elsewhere. The technician's hand was slightly wounded.

It was not immediately clear if the pilot and flight technician had willingly participated in the escape attempt or had been forced to fly to the prison, which is located 205 miles northwest of Athens. Also unclear was whether the second would-be escapee was in on the scheme or just happened to be in the courtyard and tried to take advantage of the situation.

The helicopter was hired from a western Athens suburb and was supposed to fly to Thessaloniki, in northern Greece. But it deviated from is flight path to head to the prison.

This is the third time a helicopter has been used in an attempted prison escape in Greece. Convicted criminals Vassilis Paleokostas and Alket Rizaj were whisked by helicopter from the high-security Korydallos prison in Athens in June 2006. They were caught, but escaped for a second time — again using a helicopter — in February 2009. Paleokostas is still at large.

Vlastos was first arrested in 1994 in the murder of two members of a rival criminal gang. He was convicted last year as the behind-the-bars mastermind of the kidnapping of shipping tycoon Pericles Panagopoulos. Panagopoulos was kidnapped in January 2009 and released after eight days, when a ransom of 30 million euros was paid.

While awaiting trial for the kidnapping, Vlastos tried to escape in December 2011 from Korydallos prison along with three members of the armed anarchist group Conspiracy Nuclei of Fire. The four used a pistol and knives to take hostage three prison guards and 25 visiting relatives of other prisoners. The four surrendered to authorities after a five-hour standoff.

Vlastos had also tried to escape, unsuccessfully, in 1994 and 1998.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

View the original article here

Read More

Allied troops in Afghanistan see fewer insider attacks

A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

A tweet has been posted to your Twitter account.

A link has been sent to your friend's email address.

Afghan police stand guard Dec. 24 outside of Kabul police headquarters, where an American contractor was killed by a female officer. (Photo: Musadeq Sadeq, AP)

Five dozen coalition troops were killed last year by their Afghan counterpartsTaliban claimed credit although U.S. commanders doubt their role in the attacksDrop in attacks comes as Afghan troops play a greater role in combat

Attacks on coalition troops by allied Afghanistan security forces, which reached record levels last year, have declined dramatically so far this year, as coalition and Afghan commanders bolster security and improve screening of troops who might be a threat.

Last year, 47 attacks by rogue Afghan security forces on coalition troops killed 62 people. This year, one coalition death has been reported as a result of one "insider attack."

"I don't think that threat ever goes away," said Marine Maj. Gen. Charles "Mark" Gurganus, who commands coalition forces in southwest Afghanistan. Still, Gurganus said, changes made by both coalition and Afghan forces in his region have helped reduce the threat.

The decline in insider attacks comes as overall fatalities U.S. forces has decreased sharply. This year, three U.S. troops were killed in Afghanistan, down from 39 during the same period last year. The number of U.S. forces has been declining as Afghan forces take a lead role in security operations.

The insider attacks have dropped largely as a result of "substantial" changes in tactics by Afghan and U.S. forces, Gurganus said in an interview from Afghanistan.

Among the changes he cited:

Coalition forces improved security tactics to enhance troop protection.Afghan commanders increased supervision and oversight of their troops.Afghans enhanced screening of recruits and took counterintelligence steps to screen for potential attackers.

The nationwide spike in these attacks last year raised worries that the trend would undermine trust between Afghan and coalition forces, just as the mission of coalition forces was changing from combat to training and assisting Afghan security forces.

Total deaths by year (Note: Includes all International Security Assistance Force, and civilians and contractors working for ISAF. 2013 figure is as of Feb. 23.)

"The Taliban realized the strategic significance of these attacks even though I'm not sure how many of them they were actually responsible for," Gurganus said. "The Taliban was very quick to claim credit for them."

The military has said it was hard to determine the precise cause for many of the attacks, though only a small number were direct infiltration by Taliban insurgents.

Many of the attacks appeared to have been the result of cultural misunderstandings or personal grievances. Some Afghan soldiers were also influenced when they went on leave or if their family was threatened by insurgents.

Key to the recent improvement was getting Afghan leaders to recognize the problem and take action. "We really saw the Afghans reach out and grip these problems," Gurganus said.

"I think it took a little coaxing on the part of Gen. Allen," he said, referring to Marine Gen. John Allen, who recently stepped down as commander of coalition forces in Afghanistan.

Afghan leaders talked directly to their troops about the issue and pushed small unit leaders, such as platoon leaders, to keep a closer eye on their troops.

American junior officers and noncommissioned officers are expected to know their troops well and exercise close supervision. That was not generally the case in the Afghan military.

The increased awareness of the junior Afghan leaders helped head off potential problems.

The Afghans also provided counter-intelligence assistance, helping to screen soldiers who might pose a threat, said Marc Chretien, Allen's chief political adviser.

"Gen. Allen immediately gripped the problem, but more importantly made it a problem for the Afghans and enlisted their support," Chretien said.

The military also noted that soldiers who came from some regions were more likely to be involved in an attack.

Contributing: Paul Overberg

View the original article here

Read More

Hagel likely to be confirmed this week for Defense

A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

A tweet has been posted to your Twitter account.

A link has been sent to your friend's email address.

Chuck Hagel (Photo: J. Scott Applewhite, AP)

Barring an unforeseen development, Chuck Hagel will be confirmed as Defense secretary this week.

So says one of his biggest critics, Republican senator John McCain.

"I think it will happen, barring some additional revelation concerning his comments about Israel and all those other unfortunate things he said in the past," the Arizona Republican told CNN's State of the Union on Sunday.

McCain and other Republicans voted earlier this month to delay a final Senate vote on Hagel, seeking additional information from the administration on the deadly attack on the U.S. mission in Libya. But McCain and a sufficient number of Republican also said they would back a final vote when the Senate returns to work this week.

Given his support from the Senate Democratic majority -- 55 votes out of 100 -- Hagel is a virtual lock for confirmation. Only the prospect of a filibuster -- which would required 60 votes to break -- could stop Hagel, and McCain said he would not support such a move.

President Obama and Hagel, a former Republican senator from Nebraska, deserve "an up-or-down vote," McCain said.

He also said: "I do believe that elections have consequences, unfortunately, and the president of the United States was re-elected."

On Fox News Sunday, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., said Hagel deserves the job, despite a less-than-stellar performance at his confirmation hearings.

"He's qualified (and) I think it's despicable the way his character has been impugned by other people," McCaskill said. "I think it's time for us to come together and unite behind him so he can do the best job possible."

View the original article here

Read More

Gun-friendly states woo firearms makers

A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

A tweet has been posted to your Twitter account.

A link has been sent to your friend's email address.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, R, has written to at least 13 arms-related manufacturers extolling the virtues of his state as a lace to do business. (Photo: Eric Gay, AP)

Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., has been aggressive in trying to lure firmsA Colorado ammunition manufacturer has been targeted by statesTexas Gov. Rick Perry has written to at least 13 companies

States claiming to be friendly to the Second Amendment are trying to poach gun and ammunition makers and related manufacturers from other states, especially those that have passed or are contemplating tougher gun laws.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican, this month has written at least 13 manufacturers in states from Oregon to New York saying his state would not impose "unwarranted government intrusion into your business."

Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., has written manufacturers in New York and Colorado inviting them to relocate. Idaho economic development officials and Mississippi's Republican speaker of the House also have written similar letters.

"The enemies of freedom are waging an all-out assault on the Second Amendment to the Constitution, which we have sworn to protect and defend," said Duncan's letter to George Kollitides, chief executive officer of Freedom Group Inc., whose Remington Arms division has a manufacturing plant in Ilion, N.Y. "At a time when our government is consistently thwarting the ability of individuals to own businesses, voluntarily trade goods and services, and grow our economy, South Carolina is committed to a different story. In South Carolina, we believe in the right to keep and bear arms."

Duncan also wrote the chief operating officer of Magpul, a Colorado company that makes ammunition magazines, gun stocks and other custom add-ons for semi-automatic rifles that President Obama and some members of Congress, led by Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., want to ban. Colorado's legislature is contemplating several gun-control measures, including limiting ammunition magazines to 15 rounds.

When the legislation first came to light, Magpul officials told the Denver Post they would consider leaving the state if the measure to limit rounds in magazines became law, saying it would be difficult doing business in a state that banned its products. Other companies that supply Magpul have since said they would follow if Magpul left.

Repeated attempts to reach Magpul officials were unsuccessful. So were attempts to reach a spokesperson for Remington Arms, which was founded in upstate New York but is now headquartered in North Carolina.

New York last month passed one of the most restrictive gun laws in the nation, which among other things banned assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. When he signed it, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, stressed that the new restrictions would not affect rifles and shotguns used by hunters.

Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., has been active in seeking to lure arms-related companies to his state. (Photo: Mary Ann Chastain, AP)

In an interview, Duncan said that was not the point.

"This isn't about deer hunting," he said. "The Second Amendment is about our right to keep and bear arms to defend ourselves."

Rob Godfrey, a spokesman for South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, a Republican, said that "while we appreciate Congressman Duncan's leadership and economic development efforts, we don't discuss details of ongoing talks with any company that may be interested in moving to South Carolina."

The Colorado House has passed several gun-related measures, including limiting ammunition magazines to 15 rounds. Gov. John Hickenlooper, a Democrat, has said he would sign such legislation if it passes the state Senate.

Eric Brown, a spokesman for Hickenlooper, said that if a company left the state because of gun restrictions, "that would be unfortunate.

"But Colorado is growing," he said. "We are adding a lot of jobs."

Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper's state of Colorado, which is actively considering gun-control measures, has said been targeted by other states interested in attracting firearms manufacturers. (Photo: Jack Gruber, USA TODAY)

One company approached by Perry, the Texas governor, already has said no.

Crimson Trace Corp. of Wilsonville, Ore., which makes laser-sighting systems for handguns, will stay put. Kent Thomas, director of marketing for the company, said the firm is happy with the "entrepreneurial spirit of Oregon" and that "there is no reason for us to move."

Bills to ban the sale of high-capacity magazines and assault rifles were introduced in the Oregon legislature but they have stalled. State Sen. Floyd Prozanski, a Democrat and chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said last week he would not take up either bill because they were issues that Congress should deal with.

Some states that have robust outdoors industries have been trying to attract gun and ammunition manufacturers for years.

Even before the most recent escalation in the gun-violence debate following the murder of 20 children and six adults in December in Newtown, Conn., Idaho was trying to attract companies "not only within the arms and ammunition sector, but broader — companies that fall within what we call recreational technology," said Megan Ronk, spokeswoman for the Idaho Department of Commerce. The best way to explain the state's business targets, she said: makers of any products sold at Cabela's, a leading outdoors, hunting and fishing retailer.

Ronk said that as other states consider gun restrictions, "that creates some advantages for us. We in this state have traditionally been very friendly to companies within this industry, and will continue to be so. Certainly looking at other states that are imposing more restrictive laws" is part of a business-recruitment strategy.

Contributing: Associated Press

View the original article here

Read More

N.J. may use private inspectors for Sandy money oversight

A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

A tweet has been posted to your Twitter account.

A link has been sent to your friend's email address.

In Mississippi, state fraud officials uncovered misuse of one of the modular Katrina cottages. A women subleased her cottage to a daughter, who subleased it to a boyfriend operating a meth lab. (Photo: Mario Tama, Getty Images)

First $1.8 million in federal grants is expected to arrive in MarchBalance between accelerating recovery and preventing waste is trickyN.J. plans 'transparency' website to help residents monitor Sandy spending

TRENTON, N.J. — New Jersey's plan to rely on private inspectors to provide much of the oversight on how federal money is spent to rebuild after superstorm Sandy differs significantly from the approach states chose after Hurricane Katrina.

Each of the Gulf Coast states created semi-permanent offices that are still keeping tabs on spending related to four of the major hurricanes that struck more than seven years ago, the most active Atlantic hurricane season in modern history.

STORY: Poll shows satisfaction with recovery

Mississippi's state auditor used some of the state's federal recovery money to create a fraud unit still wrapping up cases sprung by Hurricane Katrina, which struck in late August 2005. Among the frauds detected was a women who subleased her modular "Katrina cottage" to a daughter, who subleased it to a boyfriend who was operating a meth lab, State Auditor Stacey Pickering said.

"You're going to be amazed at the effort and energy people put into defrauding the public, their neighbors and friends," Pickering said. "You're going to see those kinds of issues. And then you're going to see people who get held up in the process who aren't getting the aid and the assistance that they truly deserve and need."

Seven years ago:

Category 4 Hurricane Dennis struck the Florida Panhandle on July 10, 2005.Category 5 Katrina first struck Florida then strengthened over the Gulf of Mexico, causing great damage Aug. 29 in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi.Category 5 Rita made landfall roughly at the Louisiana-Texas border on Sept. 24.Category 5 Wilma flooded parts of the Florida Keys twice, tracking through southwest Florida in late October.

In New Jersey, time is of the essence. With the first $1.8 billion in federal grants likely to start arriving in March, the state's transparency website is still in development, and private-sector "integrity monitors" likely to be used to expand oversight capacity haven't been approved, let alone lined up.

The prospect for controversy abounds, as evidenced by a focus on whether the state's debris-removal contract with AshBritt Inc. — perhaps the first major Sandy-recovery project — was cost effective. That, in turn, can hurt the recovery.

"They lose their faith in the government and the local community if money is wasted, and so it's imperative from an economic development standpoint that people know that they can trust their local government, their state government," Pickering said.

In announcing measures two weeks ago such a comptroller review of contracts, a transparency website and "accountability officers" to help oversee Sandy contracts, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said that oversight is important but that he doesn't want to slow the flow of recovery money.

"It's essential that we have the confidence of the people of New Jersey and the people of the United States in this process," he said.

Three days earlier, Christie emphasized he doesn't want oversight to overshadow recovery.

"I am results oriented as to Sandy relief," he said. "I want to put all the bodies on trying to get the money to folks on the ground so they can rebuild their homes and rebuild their businesses."

Tricky balance

The balance between accelerating recovery and preventing waste is tricky, yet important.

"This is one of those double-edged swords here," said Bryan Koon, director of Florida's Division of Emergency Management. "You want the money to go out quickly so that you can return to normalcy, restore the economic vitality of the impacted communities, get people back in their homes, businesses, restore the infrastructure, etc.

"On the other hand, if you do it too quickly without proper consideration, you can sometimes rebuild exactly the way things were and put yourself in the exact same situation for the next storm," Koon said.

“Some of the funds, you get it out the door, get it to the people. We're going to come back and hold them accountable if they defraud us. Some of it has to happen after the fact.”

— Stacey Pickering, Mississippi state auditor

New Jersey will receive billions of dollars in recovery money though the precise amount is unknown.

From the $50 billion Congress approved in late January, federal Department of Housing and Urban Development has allocated only the first $5.4 billion in Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery money. New Jersey will receive just less than $1.83 billion of that and hopes to use it for grants to homeowners to help them raise their homes, grants to small businesses and a marketing campaign.

Pete McAleer, a spokesman for New Jersey state Comptroller Matthew Boxer, said work is being done to get the transparency website ready to launch.

Boxer said his office is focusing its audit work on reconstruction projects and following up on past audit findings for agencies and towns receiving Sandy money to make sure problems are fixed. Integrity monitors would refer problems they detect to the comptroller, Christie said.

"We're not aware of any plans to increase employees or costs," McAleer said. "We plan to accomplish the task outlined in the executive order with our existing infrastructure. It builds on things we're already doing."

Mississippi fraud unit

Pickering said Mississippi used a portion of its Community Development Block Grant money after Katrina to create a fraud unit that, at its peak, had 18 investigators and a lawyer. It coordinated with federal investigators and worked with the U.S. Attorney to prosecute cases.

"That was probably one of the biggest things that we did," Pickering said.

To oversee Mississippi's Homeowners Assistance Program, the state contracted with a series of accounting firms to cross-reference applications to flag duplicates, attempted fraud or applicants with convictions or felonies, Pickering said.

"We actually had some individuals from Texas, Louisiana, some other states, who were applying and getting through the system," Pickering said. "By the same token, we did not want to err on holding up the funds and not helping our citizens.

"So some of the funds, you get it out the door, get it to the people," she said. "We're going to come back and hold them accountable if they defraud us. Some of it has to happen after the fact."

Florida model

Florida has a Bureau of Recovery in its state Division of Emergency Management, which at its 2007 peak had 75 staffers monitoring $4.5 billion in recovery grants. It focuses in part on advocating for Florida to secure as much federal aid as possible — and then spend it right, so it doesn't have to be returned later.

"It's a fine line between ensuring that the state gets everything coming to it but not getting too much," Koon said.

Koon and Florida recovery bureau chief Evan Rosenberg said they have had instances when a mid-level official at FEMA approved a project, only to have a supervisor or audit determine, even years later, that the item was ineligible and the money must be returned.

Document everything, Koon said.

"This is really a political decision to be made by the policy makers within the state," Rosenberg said.

View the original article here

Read More

White House details sequestration cuts by state

A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

A tweet has been posted to your Twitter account.

A link has been sent to your friend's email address.

President Obama (Photo: Charles Dharapak, AP)

White House lists how looming sequestration cuts would affect all 50 statesThe sequester -- $85 billion in automatic budget cuts -- takes effect FridayObama to discuss budget with the nation's governors on Monday

The White House kicked off a week of warnings about the sequestration by issuing reports Sunday on how the looming $85 billion in automatic budget cuts will affect each of the 50 states.

Among the examples: A slowdown of Superstorm Sandy cleanup in New Jersey, teacher layoffs in Ohio, reduced ship maintenance in Virginia, fewer vaccinations in Georgia, military base cutbacks in Texas and California, and similar reductions in states across the country, said the reports.

With the automatic cuts set to begin Friday, President Obama is expected to cite the state reports as part of his effort to pressure congressional Republicans over the sequestration. Obama's schedule this week includes remarks Monday to the National Governors Association and a Tuesday visit to shipyards in Newport News, Va.

The sequestration threatens "hundreds of thousands of middle class jobs," as well as "vital services for children, seniors, people with mental illness, and our men and women in uniform," said an introduction to the White House's state-by-state breakdowns.

By releasing sequestration reports on 50 states, plus the District of Columbia, the Obama administration is hoping that local media outlets will spotlight the jobs and services that are threatened in their areas.

The reports list numerous cutbacks in federal programs that have big constituencies or political popularity, including Head Start, military readiness, the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation, and Clean Air and Clean Water programs.

For weeks, Obama has proposed replacing the sequestration with a new debt reduction agreement that would include both targeted spending cuts and new taxes through the elimination of loopholes and deductions that benefit the wealthy.

Republicans said Obama got higher tax rates in the agreement that ended their last budget standoff – "the fiscal cliff" – and this deal should be spending cuts only.

In a statement, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said "surely" Obama can find a way to cut 2%-3% from a $3.5 trillion budget. "Rather than issuing last-minute press releases on cuts to first responders or troop training or airport security, he should propose smarter ways to cut Washington spending," McConnell said.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said on CNN's State of the Union that Obama needs to speak directly to congressional Republicans about avoiding the sequestration. "The president should be calling us over somewhere -- Camp David, the White House, somewhere -- and sitting down and trying to avert these cuts," McCain said.

Obama and aides said debt reduction should be "balanced" between program cuts and tax revenues because middle-class Americans should not bear all the burden of reducing a national debt that exceeds $16 trillion. White House officials said Obama is willing to work with Republicans, but Republicans have shown no desire to give up tax breaks benefiting the wealthy.

"The Republicans are making a policy choice," said White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer.

In his weekly Saturday radio address, Obama said the cuts will slow the economy, eliminate jobs and "leave many families who are already stretched to the limit scrambling to figure out what to do."

Obama also pledged to work with Republicans on an alternative, and aides said he would do that right up until Friday's deadline.

"The president is an eternal optimist," Pfeiffer said.

View the original article here

Read More

Pistorius' brother facing culpable homicide charge

A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

A tweet has been posted to your Twitter account.

A link has been sent to your friend's email address.

Carl Pistorius watches as his brother, Olympian Oscar Pistorius, appears in South Africa court on Feb. 22. Oscar faces a premeditated murder charge in the death of his girlfriend. (Photo: Alexander Joe, AFP/Getty Images)

Oscar Pistorius is charged with fatally shooting his model-girlfriendCarl Pistorius faces charges related to a 2008 car-motorcycle crashFamily lawyer says Carl Pistorius will fight the charges

The family of South African Paralympic hero Oscar Pistorius said Sunday that his older brother, Carl, is facing a charge of culpable homicide related to a 2008 road crash, and that the charge will be vigorously contested.

The legal problems of Carl Pistorius came to light days after a judge granted bail to Oscar Pistorius, a double-amputee dubbed the "blade runner" for the carbon-fiber legs on which he runs.

Lawyer Kenny Oldwage said in a statement issued by public relations firm Vuma Reputation Management that Carl had been involved in a crash "in which a woman motorcyclist sadly lost her life." He said "there is no doubt that Carl is innocent and the charge will be challenged in court."

"Following the accident culpable homicide charges were brought against Carl Pistorius, but the charges were later withdrawn by the state," he said. The National Prosecuting Authority's deputy public prosecutor later reinstated the charges.

E-News Channel Africa reported that the case was provisionally withdrawn but was reinstated "under pressure from the woman's family" who claimed there was evidence of negligence on the part of Carl Pistorius.

"Carl deeply regrets the accident," Oldwage said, adding that the motorcyclist collided with Carl's car. The crash took place in Vanderbijlpark, an hour's drive south of Johannesburg.

Blood tests conducted by the police at the time proved that Carl Pistorius had not been under the influence of alcohol, South Africa's Mail and Guardian Online reported. The website said Carl Pistorius appeared in court Thursday, the day before bail was granted to his brother, but that Carl's trial was postponed until March.

Oscar Pistorius, 26, is charged with murder after shooting his model-girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, 29, through the bathroom door of his Pretoria home on Valentine's Day. He admits shooting Steenkamp but denies murder, saying he mistook her for an intruder. His next court date is scheduled for June 4.

On Monday, Oscar Pistorius must sign in at a suburban Pretoria police station, a twice-weekly ritual to fulfill part of his bail conditions. Pistorius is staying at his uncle's villa in the Waterkloof, also in suburban Pretoria.

On Sunday, a representative of the Pistorius family said two bouquets had been sent to Steenkamp's family the day before her funeral. One was from Oscar, the other from the Pistorius family. Both had handwritten notes, the BBC reported.

Steenkamp's mother, June, said she had received the flowers.

"But what does it mean?" she told BBC. "Nothing."

The Pritorius family has also struggled with social media. Family spokeswoman Janine Hills told the Mail and Guardian that Oscar's Twitter account was hacked.

"It is most unfortunate that during this sensitive time, someone would choose to hack into Oscar Pistorius' older brother Carl Pistorius' Twitter handle," Hills said.

The tweet, which read "Thank-you to every person that has prayed for both families, Osca" and had been posted under Carl's handle, has since been removed.

"Carl did not tweet this afternoon, out of respect to Oscar and Reeva (Steenkamp)," Hill said. She said the family has dropped all its Twitter accounts.

Oscar Pistorius was born without fibula bones due to a congenital defect. His legs were amputated when he was 11 months old. He has run on carbon-fiber blades and was initially banned from competing against able-bodied peers because many argued that his blades gave him an unfair advantage. He was later cleared to compete.

He is a multiple Paralympic medalist, and won a silver medal at the 2011 Daegu world championships with South Africa's 4x400 relay team. He failed to medal at the London Olympics but ran in the 400-meter race and the 4x400 relay.

Contributing: Associated Press

View the original article here

Read More

Prisoner death stokes fear of 3rd Palestinian uprising

A link has been posted to your Facebook feed.

A tweet has been posted to your Twitter account.

A link has been sent to your friend's email address.

An Israeli soldier takes aim during clashes in the West Bank city of Hebron, Sunday. (Photo: Nasser Shiyoukhi, AP)

The Palestinian gas station attendant died in Israeli custodyAn autopsy showed bruising and broken ribsThe first uprising came in the late 1980s, the second in 2000

RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) — The mysterious death of a 30-year-old Palestinian gas station attendant in Israeli custody stoked new West Bank clashes Sunday, along with Israeli fears of a third Palestinian uprising.

A senior Palestinian official alleged that Arafat Jaradat was tortured by Israel's Shin Bet security service, citing an autopsy he said revealed bruising and two broken ribs.

Israel's Health Ministry said the autopsy did not conclusively determine the cause of death, but that the bruising and broken ribs were likely the result of attempts to revive the detainee.

Jaradat's death came at a time of rising West Bank tensions, including several days of Palestinian marches in support of four hunger-striking prisoners in Israeli lockups. In all, Israel holds nearly 4,600 Palestinians, including dozens who have never been formally charged.

Frozen Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, the recent re-election of Israeli hard-line Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a Palestinian cash crisis and the Palestinians' sense of being abandoned by the Arab world seem to have created fertile ground for a third Palestinian revolt.

Over the weekend, Israel's army chief convened senior commanders to discuss the growing unrest.

Jaradat's death "is liable to become the opening shot" in a third uprising, Israeli military commentator Alex Fishman wrote in the Yediot Ahronot daily Sunday, arguing that the "Palestinian street has been boiling with anger for a number of weeks now."

However, Israeli officials have previously expressed concern about a new uprising, only to see bursts of Palestinian protests fizzle.

The first uprising, marked by stone-throwing protests and commercial strikes, erupted in the late 1980s and led to Israeli-Palestinian negotiations. The second uprising broke out in 2000, after failed talks on a final peace deal, and it was far deadlier, with Israel reoccupying the West Bank after bombings and shootings.

In recent years, the West Bank has been relatively calm. Despite recent tensions, the Palestinian self-rule government has not broken off security coordination with Israel in their joint campaign against Islamic militants.

Palestinian activists also say they learned from the mistakes of the armed revolt a decade ago and are turning to more creative protests against Israel's 45-year rule over lands they want for a future state.

Former Palestinian security chief Jibril Rajoub, speaking in Hebrew on Israel Radio, tried to reassure Israelis, declaring Sunday "on behalf of the entire Palestinian leadership that there is no plan to lead to bloodshed."

Palestinians take cover during clashes with Israeli troops in the West Bank city of Hebron, Sunday. (Photo: Nasser Shiyoukhi, AP)

Jaradat, a father of two from the West Bank village of Saeer, died in Megiddo Prison in northern Israel on Saturday, six days after his arrest on suspicion of stone throwing.

Jaradat's attorney, Kamil Sabbagh, said his client told an Israeli military judge Thursday during a hearing that he was being forced to sit for long periods during interrogation. The detainee also complained of back pain and seemed terrified to return to the Shin Bet lockup, although he did not have any apparent signs of physical abuse, Sabbagh said.

After the court hearing, the judge ordered Jaradat to be examined by a prison doctor.

The Shin Bet said that during interrogation, Jaradat was examined several times by a doctor who detected no health problems. On Saturday, he was in his cell and felt unwell after lunch, the agency said.

"Rescue services and a doctor were alerted and treated him," the statement said. But "they didn't succeed in saving his life."

On Sunday, Israel's forensics institute performed an autopsy attended by a physician from the Palestinian Authority.

After being briefed by the Palestinian physician, Issa Karake, the Palestinian minister of prisoner affairs, told a news conference late Sunday that Jaradat had suffered two broken ribs on the right side of his chest. The autopsy also showed bruises on Jaradat's back and chest.

Israeli officials initially said Jaradat apparently died of a heart attack, but Karake said the Palestinian physician told him there was no evidence of that.

Jaradat "faced harsh torture, leading to his immediate, direct death. Israel is fully responsible for his killing," Karake said.

Israel's Health Ministry said Jaradat did not suffer from disease and that it was not possible yet to determine his cause of death conclusively.

The Israeli human rights group B'Tselem said the Shin Bet routinely holds detainees in isolation for extended periods during interrogation, keeping them in cells where the lights are never turned off.

Citing prisoner affidavits, B'Tselem spokeswoman Sarit Michaeli said physical mistreatment has dropped sharply in recent years but has not disappeared.

Detainees have filed some 700 complaints about mistreatment by Shin Bet agents in the past decade, but none has led to a criminal investigation, she said.

In the West Bank, meanwhile, Palestinians protesting Jaradat's death threw stones at Israeli troops in several locations Sunday, including the city of Hebron and at a checkpoint near the military's Ofer prison.

In the clash near the checkpoint, troops fired live rounds, shooting the 15-year-old son of the commander of the Palestinian Preventive Security Service in the chest and stomach, said Palestinian health official Dr. Ahmed Bitawi. The teen, Walid Hab al-Reeh, was in stable condition, while another man was wounded in the arm, Bitawi said.

The Preventive Security Service is key to security coordination with Israel. The Israeli military said it was aware of a report that a Palestinian youth was seriously hurt by gunfire, but could not confirm that soldiers used live rounds to disperse the protest.

Kadoura Fares, who heads a Palestinian group advocating for prisoners, urged Palestinians on Sunday to keep demonstrating. He also said that one of the four hunger-striking prisoners, Jafar Izzeldeen, was moved to a hospital Sunday because his condition was deteriorating.

Recent West Bank protests have focused on the fate of prisoners, an emotional Palestinian consensus issue.

Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been imprisoned since Israel captured the West Bank, Gaza and east Jerusalem in 1967, meaning virtually every Palestinian family has had someone locked up.

The detainees are held on a range of charges, from stone-throwing to deadly attacks. Most Palestinians embrace them as heroes resisting occupation, while Israelis tend to view them as terrorists.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

View the original article here

Read More