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Analysis: 10 percent jobless is Obama's new world

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:48:32 PST

By JIM KUHNHENN, Associated Press Writer Jim Kuhnhenn, Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 42 mins ago

WASHINGTON – For months he had warned it was coming but that didn't ease the political shockwaves for President Barack Obama when unemployment topped 10 percent.

A year after his election Obama finds it increasingly difficult to blame the sour economy on George W. Bush or offer reassurances that jobless Americans will soon find work.

Never mind that the economy itself grew in the last quarter, that the recession by most accounts is over and that the number of jobs lost in October was less than one-third the number of job losses at the start of his presidency.

At 10.2 percent, the October unemployment climbed to chart-topping heights unseen in more than a quarter century. The bottom line is that more than 15 million Americans are out of work and 3.5 million lost their jobs while Obama was president. Expected or not, this is Obama's new reality.

"I won't let up until the Americans who want to find work can find work, and until all Americans can earn enough to raise their families and keep their businesses open," the president declared Friday.

That's a hopeful promise but not very realistic.

And it shows that, for the time being, action to tackle record budget deficits will simply have to wait.

Obama, appearing at the White House Rose Garden on Friday three hours after the jobless numbers were made public, said his administration was looking at additional spending for roads and bridges and energy efficient buildings. Additional tax cuts for businesses and steps to increase credit for small businesses were also on the bill.

The new unemployment rate also came on the same day Obama signed a $24 billion bill to extend jobless benefits and spur homebuying

In a sign of Democratic thinking, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, who heads Congress's Joint Economic committee, said Democrats would consider new aid to states, an "infrastructure bank" to increase construction jobs and small business tax credits.

"I think we're witnessing a political renaissance about concerns about jobs," Lawrence Mishel, president of the labor-leaning Economic Policy Institute, said approvingly. "It will put the deficit concerns into their appropriate context."

What all this amounts to is another stimulus for the economy. Though don't look for Democrats to call it that; Democrats have a tough enough time debating the merits of the $787 billion stimulus Congress passed earlier this year.

Republicans were quick to pounce on the proposals. Internal polling by the Republican National Committee after Republican gubernatorial victories in New Jersey and Virginia showed that Republican candidates could do well by arguing against additional spending while promoting job growth through tax cutting alone.

But in rhetoric and in deed, Obama is being forced to address an unemployment picture his economic team had long ago expected to avoid.

Many economists predict the jobless rate will rise again, peaking at 10.5 percent sometime next year before employment makes a turnaround in the spring. That still means unemployment will remain high for some time. The administration's own projections still see unemployment at 8 percent by the end of 2011.

Such lingering discomfort can have economic and political consequences.

Consumer spending likely won't increase rapidly. Foreclosures will continue to rise, hitting not just subprime borrowers, but prime mortgage holders as well. Commercial real estate lending, already teetering, could plunge in the face of rising vacancy and loan delinquency rates.

Politically, Democrats are staring at some damage — and the fear of unemployment — themselves. Exit polls Tuesday in the New Jersey and Virginia GOP victories showed that the economy was the top issue in the minds of voters. And national public opinion surveys show that a majority of the public doesn't believe Obama's economic policies are working.

Couple that with traditional losses by the president's party during midterm elections and Democrats have cause to worry about their own fate.

The unemployment number masks the fact that job losses slowed compared to past months — the work force went down by 190,000 in October compared to 219,000 in September. What's more, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said job losses in August and September had been overstated by 91,000.

In addition, the economy grew by 3.5 percent in the third quarter. And Christina Romer, a top Obama economic adviser, noted an increase in temporary service jobs. "That's often the first sign of firms kind of dipping their toe back into hiring people," she said in an interview with The Associated Press.

But since the start of the recession in December 2007, 7.3 million Americans have lost their jobs and key sectors — construction, manufacturing and retail trade — are still seeing significant declines.

The president has not been helped by reports of flaws in the administration's count of jobs created by the $787 billion stimulus.

Ten months into the job, Obama did not even try to lay the blame for the economy at Bush's feet, as he has in the past. His only criticism was implied.

"When we first came into office, our immediate goal was to stop the free fall that caused our economy to shrink at an alarming rate," he said. "We've succeeded in achieving that goal, as our economy grew last quarter for the first time in a year."

But Obama has already taken ownership of the economy.

Republicans, he noted wryly during a July speech in Michigan, were eager to blame him for the economy.

"That's fine," he added, "Give it to me!"

Four months later, it would be hard to give it back.

___

EDITOR'S NOTE — Jim Kuhnhenn covers economics and politics for The Associated Press

UPDATE: Suspect identified in Orlando office building shooting

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:47:38 PST

ORLANDO, FL -- Officials searched Friday for a gunman who opened fire in a downtown office building. At least eight people were hurt.

People streamed out of the high-rise building around lunchtime and some told local television stations they had barricaded themselves inside their offices.

Orlando Fire Department District Chief Michael Droege said an unknown number of people were still in the building and could be injured. He said the SWAT team was still trying to pull people out.

"The building is not secure now," he said. "It's still unfolding."

Orlando police spokeswoman Barbara Jones identified the gunman as Jason Rodriguez, 40, and said he might be in a 2002 silver Nissan SUV with license plate D119UX. She said he used to work at the building.

"I would consider him armed and dangerous," Jones said. She said multiple people were hurt but she could not say how many. She said five people were taken to the hospital and another had chest pains but did not go to the hospital.

Gerry Gilgo, who works on the floor where the shooting occurred, told The Associated Press she was meeting a co-worker at the elevators for lunch.

"She yelled there are gun shots! There are gun shots! Get back in your office," Gilgo said.

Will Halpern, an attorney works on the building's 17th floor, was among the last group to be evacuated. He said the lobby was filled with about 20 officers in SWAT gear, carrying assault weapons, ready to search the building.

The Orlando Fire Department told WESH-TV that at least eight people were injured. Interstate 4 was closed in both directions through downtown and nearby schools were locked down.

Rows of ambulances lined up outside the building as police snipers took up positions around the building and officers on foot and horseback searched the area.

Orlando office building gunman on the loose..NEW 911?

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:23:41 PST

1 min ago

ORLANDO, Fla. – Officials said at least eight people were hurt in a shooting at a downtown office building Friday and a gunman was on the loose.

People streamed out of the high-rise building around lunchtime and some told local television stations they had barricaded themselves inside their offices.

Orlando Fire Department District Chief Michael Droege said an unknown number of people were still in the building and could be injured. He said the SWAT team was still trying to pull people out.

"The building is not secure now," he said. "It's still unfolding."

Orlando police were searching for an armed man wearing a light blue polo shirt and jeans, said Orange County Sheriff's Spokesman Jim Solomons, whose department was called in for backup.

Gerry Gilgo, who works on the floor where the shooting occurred, told The Associated Press she was meeting a co-worker at the elevators for lunch.

"She yelled there are gun shots! There are gun shots! Get back in your office," Gilgo said.

Orlando Police Sgt. Barbara Jones confirmed there had been a shooting and multiple people were hurt but she couldn't say how many. She said there is believed to be only one shooter.

The Orlando Fire Department told WESH-TV that at least eight people were injured. Interstate 4 was closed in both directions through downtown and a nearby school was locked down.

Rows of ambulances lined up outside the building as police snipers took up positions around the building and officers on foot and horseback searched the area.

Owes back patting from vanitys blog

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:06:16 PST

I wanted to make sure that Vanitys blog got the attention it deserved..and those who tend to blow Pax off..who found this video for all of us will have the opportunity to see it with less effort than clicking his link..

this mans actions were unconscionable ...to have taken the time to congratulate himself and his staff on a job well done prior to discussing this tragedy is unforgiveable and shows where his true loyaltys lie .*HIMSELF*

just one more *FAT* straw on the old camels back..

Troubling portrait emerges of Fort Hood suspect

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 06:33:48 PST

By BRETT J. BLACKLEDGE, Associated Press Writer Brett J. Blackledge, Associated Press Writer – 46 mins ago

WASHINGTON – His name appears on radical Internet postings. A fellow officer says he fought his deployment to Iraq and argued with soldiers who supported U.S. wars. He required counseling as a medical student because of problems with patients.

There are many unknowns about Nidal Malik Hasan, the man authorities say is responsible for the worst mass killing on a U.S. military base. Most of all, his motive.

For six years before reporting for duty at Fort Hood, Texas, in July, the 39-year-old Army major worked at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center pursuing his career in psychiatry, as an intern, a resident and, last year, a fellow in disaster and preventive psychiatry. He received his medical degree from the military's Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., in 2001.

While an intern at Walter Reed, Hasan had some "difficulties" that required counseling and extra supervision, said Dr. Thomas Grieger, who was the training director at the time.

Grieger said privacy laws prevented him from going into details but noted that the problems had to do with Hasan's interactions with patients. He recalled Hasan as a "mostly very quiet" person who never spoke ill of the military or his country.

"He swore an oath of loyalty to the military," Grieger said. "I didn't hear anything contrary to those oaths."

But, more recently, federal agents grew suspicious.

At least six months ago, Hasan came to the attention of law enforcement officials because of Internet postings about suicide bombings and other threats, including posts that equated suicide bombers to soldiers who throw themselves on a grenade to save the lives of their comrades.

They had not determined for certain whether Hasan is the author of the posting, and a formal investigation had not been opened before the shooting, said law enforcement officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the case.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Hasan's aunt, Noel Hasan of Falls Church, Va., said he had been harassed about being a Muslim in the years after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and he wanted out of the Army.

"Some people can take it and some people cannot," she said. "He had listened to all of that and he wanted out of the military."

She said he had sought a discharge from the military for several years, and even offered to repay the cost of his medical training.

A military official told The Associated Press that Hasan was in the preparation stage of deployment, which can take months. The official said Hasan had indicated he didn't want to go to Iraq but was willing to serve in Afghanistan. The official did not have authorization to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

A second military official said Hasan's family has Palestinian roots. There have been reports that he was harassed for his Muslim religion, but the official says there is no indication Hasan filed a complaint within the military about that.

Terrorism task force agents plan to interview several of Hasan's relatives Friday, according to a law enforcement official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the case.

Noel Hasan said her nephew "did not make many friends" and would say "they military was his life."

A cousin, Nader Hasan, told The New York Times that after counseling soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with post-traumatic stress disorder, Hasan knew war firsthand.

"He was mortified by the idea of having to deploy," Nader Hasan said. "He had people telling him on a daily basis the horrors they saw over there."

Federal law-enforcement agents ordered an evacuation of the apartment complex where Hasan lived in Killeen, Texas, Thursday night and conducted a search of his home, said Hilary Shine, director of public information for the city. She didn't say what was found during the search.

Officials said earlier that federal search warrants were being drawn up to authorize the seizure of his computer.

Retired Army Col. Terry Lee, who said he worked with Hasan, told Fox News that Hasan had hoped President Barack Obama would pull troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq. Lee said Hasan got into frequent arguments with others in the military who supported the wars, and had tried hard to prevent his pending deployment.

Hasan attended prayers regularly when he lived outside Washington, often in his Army uniform, said Faizul Khan, a former imam at a mosque Hasan attended in Silver Spring, Md. He said Hasan was a lifelong Muslim.

"I got the impression that he was a committed soldier," Khan said. He spoke often with Hasan about Hasan's desire for a wife.

On a form filled out by those seeking spouses through a program at the mosque, Hasan listed his birthplace as Arlington, Va., but his nationality as Palestinian, Khan said.

"I don't know why he listed Palestinian," Khan said, "He was not born in Palestine."

Nothing stood out about Hasan as radical or extremist, Khan said.

"We hardly ever got to discussing politics," Khan said. "Mostly we were discussing religious matters, nothing too controversial, nothing like an extremist."

Hasan earned his rank of major in April 2008, according to a July 2008 Army Times article.

He served eight years as an enlisted soldier. He also served in the ROTC as an undergraduate at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg. He received a bachelor's degree in biochemistry there in 1997.

___

Associated Press writers Lara Jakes, Pam Hess, Lolita C. Baldor and Brett Zongker in Washington and Alicia Chang in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

Army: 12 dead, 31 hurt in attack at Fort Hood

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:24:27 PST

By APRIL CASTRO and DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writers April Castro And Devlin Barrett, Associated Press Writers – 17 mins ago

FORT HOOD, Texas – An Army psychiatrist set to be shipped overseas opened fire at the Fort Hood Army post Thursday, authorities said, a rampage that killed 12 people and left 31 wounded in the worst mass shooting ever at a military base in the United States.

The gunman, first said to have been killed, was wounded but alive and in stable condition under military guard, said Lt. Gen. Bob Cone at Fort Hood. "I would say his death is not imminent," Cone said. Col. Ben Danner said the suspect was shot at least four times.

The man was identified as Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, a 39-year-old, eight-year veteran from Virginia.

President Barack Obama called the shooting at the Soldier Readiness Center, where soldiers who are about to be deployed or who are returning undergo medical screening, "a horrific outburst of violence."

"It's difficult enough when we lose these brave Americans in battles overseas," the commander in chief said. "It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an Army base on American soil."

There was no official word on motive. Hasan had transferred to Fort Hood in July from Walter Reed Medical Center, where he received a poor performance evaluation, according to an official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the case publicly.

Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, said generals at Fort Hood told her that Hasan was about to deploy overseas. Retired Col. Terry Lee, who said he had worked with Hasan, told Fox News he was being sent to Afghanistan.

Lee said Hasan had hoped Obama would pull troops out of Afghanistan and Iraq and got into frequent arguments with others in the military who supported the wars.

Officials were investigating whether Hasan was his birth name or if he may have changed his name, possibly as part of a conversion to Islam. However, they were not certain of his religion.

Video from the scene showed police patrolling the area with handguns and rifles, ducking behind buildings for cover. Sirens could be heard wailing while a woman's voice on a public-address system urged people to take cover.

"I was confused and just shocked," said Spc. Jerry Richard, 27, who works at the center but was not on duty during the shooting. "Overseas you are ready for it. But here you can't even defend yourself."

Soldiers at Fort Hood don't carry weapons unless they are doing training exercises.

The Rev. Greg Schannep was about to head into a graduation ceremony when a man in uniform approached him, warning him that someone had opened fire. Schannep heard three volleys of gunfire and saw people running.

"There was a burst of shots and more bursts of shots and people running everywhere," said Schannep, who works for local Congressman John Carter.

The uniformed man who had warned him ran to the theater. Schannep said he could see the man's back was bloodied from a wound. The man survived, was treated and will be fine, Schannep said.

Cone said initially three people were held, and all have been interviewed. Authorities believe, however, that there was a single shooter.

The Soldier Readiness Center holds hundreds of people and is one of the most populated parts of the base, said Steve Moore, a spokesman for III Corps at Fort Hood. Nearby there are barracks and a food center where there are fast food chains.

The wounded were dispersed among hospitals in central Texas, Cone said. Their identities, and the identities of the dead, were not immediately released.

Amber Bahr, 19, was shot in the stomach but was in stable condition, said her mother, Lisa Pfund of Random Lake, Wis.

"We know nothing, just that she was shot in the belly," Pfund told The Associated Press. She couldn't provide more details and only spoke with emergency personnel.

Hasan was single with no children. He graduated from Virginia Tech, where he was a member of the ROTC and earned a bachelor's degree in biochemistry in 1997. He received his medical degree from the military's Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Md., in 2001 and was at Walter Reed for six years for his internship, residency and a fellowship.

The attack happened just down the road from one of the worst mass shootings in U.S. history. On Oct. 16, 1991, George Hennard smashed his pickup truck through a Luby's Cafeteria window in Killeen, Texas, and fired on the lunchtime crowd with a high-powered pistol, killing 22 people and wounding at least 20 others.

No other shooting at a military base in the U.S. has been anywhere near as deadly as Thursday's. In 1993, a gunman at Fort Knox shot five civilian co-workers, killing three, and then fatally shot himself.

Around the country, some bases stepped up security precautions, but no others were locked down.

Covering 339 square miles, Fort Hood is the largest active duty armored post in the United States. Home to about 52,000 troops as of earlier this year, it is located halfway between Austin and Waco.

___

Barrett reported from Washington, D.C. Associated Press Writers Pam Hess, Anne Gearan, Lara Jakes, Suzanne Gamboa and Lolita C. Baldor in Washington, D.C., Jay Root in Temple, Linda Stewart Ball, Anabelle Garay and Andre Coe in Dallas and Colin Fly in Milwaukee and the Associated Press News Research Center contributed to this report.

Obama launches yearly American Indian summits

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:47:39 PST

By KEN THOMAS, Associated Press Writer Ken Thomas, Associated Press Writer – 28 mins ago

WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama is making good on a campaign promise to have a yearly summit with American Indians to hear their concerns.

Obama is to deliver opening and closing remarks Thursday for the meeting of members of his Cabinet and tribal leaders, the first such event since 1994. Officials planned to discuss problems facing American Indians, including economic development, education, health care, public safety and housing.

"This is an opportunity for tribal leaders to interact directly with the president, and we all know working in this area that there are so many difficult and monumental issues which face Indian nations throughout our country. And frankly, the last administration did not pay any attention to these issues," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said.

During the Democratic primary, Obama traveled to Indian reservations and promised health care improvements.

"I'll appoint an American Indian policy adviser to my senior White House staff to work with tribes and host an annual summit at the White House with tribal leaders to come up with an agenda that works for tribal communities," Obama said in a video address to the National Congress of American Indians' convention in Phoenix during the final days of last year's campaign. "That's how we'll make sure you have a seat at the table when important decisions are being made about your lives, about your nations and about your people."

He made good on that pledge, creating a new post within the White House. He appointed Kimberly Teehee to serve as senior policy adviser for Native American affairs within the Domestic Policy Council. Teehee, a member of the Cherokee Nation, previously served as an aide to Rep. Dale Kildee, D-Mich., and worked for the Democratic National Committee.

He also tapped Dr. Yevette Roubideaux to serve as director of the Indian Health Service within the Department of Health and Human Services, making her the first American Indian to head the federal agency since its founding in 1955. Roubideaux, a member of the Rosebud Sioux tribe, worked for IHS on the San Carlos Indian Reservation and in the Gila River Indian community.

Thursday's event is an opportunity for the administration to tout its $787 billion economic stimulus bill. Some $3 billion of the economic stimulus funding was directed to tribal communities and Obama has sought budget increases for Indian health care and programs run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, officials said. They hope to develop a list of steps the administration and tribes can take to improve the quality of life on reservations.

"We won't be able to wave a magic wand and resolve all of the issues," Salazar said, "but it is a great foundation for the work that lies ahead."

Fla. baby missing for 5 days found alive under bed

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 06:43:17 PST

By MELISSA NELSON and ERIN GARTNER, Associated Press Writers Melissa Nelson And Erin Gartner, Associated Press Writers – 1 hr 8 mins ago

CHIPLEY, Fla. – A baby missing for five days was found alive and well under her baby sitter's bed, and Florida authorities said Thursday they plan to charge the sitter, her husband and the child's mother.

Investigators found 7-month-old Shannon Dedrick in a box tucked under a bed surrounded by items intended to hide the child at Susan Elizabeth Baker's home near Chipley, a rural Panhandle town, Washington County Sheriff Bobby Haddock said in an interview early Thursday. The baby was placed in protective custody.

"Statistically speaking this should not have ever happened, that we found this child alive, especially after so many days. Time was against us," Haddock said.

Shannon was taken to a hospital but appeared healthy, Haddock said.

"It was very emotional for us, because once we got her to the hospital, we called our wives and every one of us was crying. Grown men crying. It's just such a relief," he said. "We've had missing children cases in the past, but nothing like this."

Haddock said deputies were working to charge Baker, her husband James Arthur Baker and the child's mother, Chrystina Lynn Mercer. He wouldn't provide details about the possible charges or say how they believe the mother was involved, but said more information would be released later Thursday. Authorities don't believe the child's father, James Russell Dedrick Jr., was involved but the case is still under investigation, Haddock said. He said Susan Baker and the father are related.

Haddock confirmed that Baker was the Susan Elizabeth Baker cited in court records as being convicted of assault in South Carolina in 1987, and questioned but not indicted in 2000 for a 3-year-old child's disappearance, also in 1987. He confirmed that Baker wrote an e-mail to Florida Gov. Charlie Crist's office in August, pleading for the governor to help Shannon Dedrick.

"And my response is, 'We saved the child, Ms. Baker," Haddock said.

Court documents released Wednesday showed that child welfare workers in Florida began looking into allegations Shannon was being abused less than two weeks after she was born.

Her parents reported her missing around 11 a.m. Saturday. They told authorities that they had not seen her since about 3 a.m.

About 100 law enforcement agents and others scoured the woods around the couple's home, Haddock said. Investigators contacted the Bakers again on Wednesday and they allowed them into their home, Haddock said.

"They gave us consent to search the home and found the baby in a box under a bed, with stuff pushed around the box to hide the baby," he said.

Court records released Wednesday said investigators frequently went to the infant's home from August to late September and reported that both parents used marijuana and kept a messy home.

But investigators reported that Shannon seemed to be cared for and repeatedly noted that the risk to the baby was "intermediate." In September, an investigator said a physician determined that the child was healthy and expressed "no concerns regarding the baby."

Court records show that Susan Elizabeth Baker had been suspected in another child's 1987 disappearance in South Carolina and convicted of assaulting her daughter.

In 2000, Susan and James Baker were extradited to South Carolina and charged in the disappearance of their 3-year-old son more than a decade earlier.

Susan Baker had told authorities Paul Leonard Baker disappeared from the family's Beaufort, S.C., home on March 5, 1987, while she was napping. But a massive manhunt in the swampy area around the Bakers' home turned up nothing, and Susan Baker was never indicted. Authorities could not immediately say Thursday what became of the charge against James Baker.

The child was never found, according to the Beaufort County, S.C., sheriff's office.

When the couple reported their son's disappearance, the Bakers' 6-year-old daughter was taken into state custody, where officials discovered she had been severely beaten.

Susan Baker was charged with causing the girl's injuries, including sores on her back and broken hands, and charged with assault and battery with intent to kill. After being convicted, she was sentenced to 10 years in prison. The sentence was suspended to 80 days.

A sheriff's investigator from Beaufort County was sent to Florida to assist in the missing child case, sheriff's spokeswoman Robin McIntosh said Wednesday.

Gartner reported from Chicago. Associated Press Writer Katrina A. Goggins in Columbia, S.C., contributed to this report.

Young voters who helped elect Obama stayed home

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:54:15 PST

RICHMOND, Va. – Last year, 23-year-old Rashida Hill watched the presidential debates, visited the college political party meetings and put a Barack Obama bumper sticker on her townhouse door. She voted for Obama because she felt like the election was about "being a part of something."

But on Tuesday, the Virginia Commonwealth University student didn't bother voting in the governor's race because, she said, the candidates didn't give her anything to get excited about.

"The simple fact is, unless you put it in front of somebody, they're really not going to seek it out," Hill said.

Many of the young, first-time voters who propelled Obama to the presidency stayed home this year, a glaring absence that helped Republicans win governor's races in Virginia and New Jersey. More than 3 million voters who cast ballots in the 2008 presidential election — many of them minorities — failed to show up at the polls in either state.

Obama carried Virginia with 52 percent of the vote last year, but only 43 percent of voters surveyed in Associated Press exit polls Tuesday said they had voted for him.

Another group that solidified Obama's victory — independents — turned their backs on Democrats this year.

a video report on the subject

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=3906861&cl=16471601&ch=4226716&src=news

Marilyn Monroe crypt auction fails again

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 19:31:06 PST

Mon Nov 2, 4:34 pm ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – A second attempt to sell a crypt on top of Marilyn Monroe's final resting place has failed, with not a single bid received for the burial spot in a celebrity-filled Los Angeles cemetery.

Widow Elsie Poncher is trying to sell her husband's crypt to pay off the mortgage on her Beverly Hills home. On selling the crypt, Poncher had planned to move her husband, who died in 1986, to an adjacent crypt intended for her.

But a $4.6 million bid submitted through online auctioneer eBay Inc in August fell through when the unidentified bidder pulled out.

A second auction on eBay with a reserve price of $500,000 also failed, with a notice on the online trading website saying it had closed with no bids on the marble mausoleum where Monroe was laid to rest in 1962.

The crypt is located at the Westwood Village Memorial Park cemetery, home to celebrities including Dean Martin, James Coburn, Roy Orbison, Truman Capote, Natalie Wood, Carl Wilson, Minnie Riperton and recent arrival Farrah Fawcett.

The space next to Monroe's vault was sold in 1992 to the publisher of Playboy magazine, Hugh Hefner, for $75,000.

UPDATE: Alex was drowned, then placed in closet dryer by creepy neighbor boy.

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:37:47 PST

Police say the 4-year-old was playing outside his home when a 14-year-old neighbor boy brought Alex into his house and killed him. They won't say what the teen's motives were,but that's expected to be revealed when they officially charge him.

But according to those who knew him, the 14-year-old was the kind who creeped people out. "I used to sit next to him in class and he was the kind of kid that would creep me out," 13-year-old Miguel Amador told the Fresno Bee. "He was always looking at you, just staring at you."

Mendota City Councilman Joseph Riofrio says the same thing about the boy who would come into his video store with his mother. The teen would do weird things like wear a parka in the middle of the summer. More on this story as it develops...

Vicious Pit Bull attack caught on camera

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:17:21 PST

A pit bull tore through a man's arm and abdomen in East Bakersfield Tuesday after he reportedly entered his brother's front yard when the brother wasn't home.

One neighbor snapped pictures as the attack unfolded while another used a cane to force the dogs off their victim, 35-year-old Steven Herrera.

It happened shortly after noon at a home near Robinson and East 18th Streets.

"It was a pretty gory sight to see," said Damon Hill who snapped pictures of the attack. "He was screaming for help and we were getting a stick and weapons to help him. A neighbor came in like a superhero with a cane and gave the dogs a whack and they let go."

The superhero was Andy Castaneda.

"I saw the pit bull and I hit him with the cane, my trusty cane," Castaneda explained. The dogs ''never attacked anybody before as far as I know. It's horrible, not a nice sight to see three pit bulls on one man."

The first picture Hill snapped shows Herrera in blue jeans and a yellow, plaid shirt with one dog biting his abdomen and another dog clamped onto his left forearm.

The second image shows the aftermath of the attack: a bloody, open wound on the Herrera's arm and his blood-soaked shirt.

Herrera was taken to Kern Medical Center for treatment. He was listed in fair condition Tuesday evening.

Herrera's brother, Salvador Romero, 38, lives in the home where the attack took place. Romero told animal control officer Tammy Davis he had told his brother to stay out of the yard after the dogs were aggressive when Herrera visited earlier in the day.

The male dog was not neutered and the two female pit bulls were pregnant, Davis said.

Romero declined to talk with 17 News photojournalist Reid Johnson.

Romero surrendered the dogs to Davis who confirmed the dogs would be quarantined for 10 days.

After 10 days, Romero could have his dogs back without a hearing but Romero indicated that was not his wish, Davis said.

"Quarantine fees run between $250 and $300 per dog," Davis explained. "He has a right to redeem the dogs at the shelter because he is the owner and the dogs weren't off property."

"It's something that wouldn't necessarily qualify for a hearing," she added.

If the dogs are not claimed following quarantine they will be euthanized.

"When you have three dogs together, it's different than just one," Davis said. "I think the male was the more aggressive one and the females just joined in."

Saving Cinnamon

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:15:05 PST

Video of a soldier and his family and their efforts at bringing this pup home he befriended during his deployment in afghanistan

http://gmy.news.yahoo.com/vid/16429851

is this the wave of the future?

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:07:47 PST

well if anybodys looking for a kidney on craigslist this morning..i wonder what the dr's charge for one..hmmmm

kidney

Date: 2009-10-29, 12:48AM

i am a 24 year old male, clean life style, in need of money, 80k plus you pay for all med. bills 6613457999 call anytime of the day or night thank you or you can email me movementrideshop@hotmail.com this is not a joke.

Location: Bakersfield
it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

Original URL: http://bakersfield.craigslist.org/hab/1442467525.html

Brian and Hollie Beston Charged With Filming Themselves Raping 4-Year-Old Girl

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:26:14 PST

Richard Hockaday, a 38-year-old sex offender from San Diego, is facing 42 years in prison after he was caught molesting a boy he'd mentored for years. So as part of his therapy, he began confessing to his sins. And those sins led police to the Burien, Washington home of Brian and Hollie Beston.

According to Hockaday, he placed an ad on Craigslist pretending to be a single mother looking for parents in Seattle and San Diego with whom he could share his fantasies. The Bestons responded, and they began swapping porn over the internet. In one incident, Hockaday said he watched Brian Beston, a hulking 360 pounds, have sex with a young girl. The lovely Mrs. Beston apparently operated the camera while her husband, since estranged, went perv...

They'd talked of Hockaday visiting Washington, but before he could, he was arrested in San Diego for abusing a boy he'd been mentoring over a four-year period. His tip led Seattle police to raid the Bestons' home, where they grabbed computers, cameras, flash drives and cell phones.

Investigators believe the Bestons abused the girl once or twice a week between June and October. Though it doesn't appear Hollie actually took part in the rapes, she is accused of operating the camera and sending out the images to other people.

Police aren't saying who the little girl is or how the couple came in contact with her. She's now in the hands of child welfare authorities. But Hollie's MySpace page shows a number of pictures of young children, and she describes herself and "a mommy" and a "proud parent."

The Bestons face charges of rape, molestation, exploitation of a minor and child porn.

Alex Christopher Mercado Found Dead in Dryer; 14-Year-Old Neighbor Boy Arrested

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 06:23:38 PST

When 4-year-old Alex Christopher Mercado went missing Friday in Mendota, California, the Fresno County Sheriff's Department began an immediate search. But it didn't bring a happy ending the next day.

He was found stuffed in the dryer at a home where his babysitter lives next door. Alex had been killed and then hid in the dryer, police say. A 14-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion on murder.

Police haven't released many details on the case yet. There's been no mention of motive or how or why Alex was killed,

NKorea threatens to expand nuclear arsenal

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:11:06 PST

By JAE-SOON CHANG, Associated Press Writer Jae-soon Chang, Associated Press Writer – Mon Nov 2, 12:18 pm ET

SEOUL, South Korea – North Korea issued a veiled threat Monday to increase its nuclear arsenal if U.S. officials do not quickly agree to the one-on-one talks that the communist regime is demanding.

The regime's impatience came days after No. 2 nuclear negotiator Ri Gun came away from meetings with Washington envoy Sung Kim without an agreement to hold bilateral talks.

"If the U.S. is not ready to sit at a negotiating table with the (North), it will go its own way," the North's Foreign Ministry said in a statement carried by Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency.

The statement did not elaborate, but it was widely seen as a warning that the North will bolster its nuclear stockpile — a brinksmanship tactic that the communist nation has often employed.

In September, the North said it was "weaponizing" plutonium, a key ingredient for nuclear bombs, and succeeded in uranium enrichment, which would give the regime a second way to make atomic bombs. That was also seen as a pressure tactic aimed at getting Washington to agree to one-on-one negotiations.

North Korea has mixed such threats with a series of conciliatory moves, such as releasing two detained American journalists, after months of raising tensions with nuclear and missile tests. The North has also quit the six-nation nuclear disarmament talks — which involve China, Japan, Russia, the U.S. and the two Koreas.

North Korea and the U.S. fought on opposite sides of the Korean War of the 1950s and do not have diplomatic relations. Both nations have tanks and troops on guard at the heavily fortified border dividing the two Koreas.

Pyongyang claims it must develop atomic weapons to defend itself against nuclear threats from the U.S. The regime has long sought direct negotiations with Washington saying it was because of U.S. nuclear threats that the country develop nuclear bombs.

Washington has denied it has any intention of attacking the North. But Defense Secretary Robert Gates assured Seoul last month that Washington was prepared to unleash all military capabilities — including its nuclear might — to defend the longtime ally.

Pyongyang's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper blasted Gates' remarks, saying the U.S. is trying to provoke a nuclear war on the Korean peninsula.

The paper said in a commentary carried by KCNA that the North's "nuclear deterrent will be bolstered" if the U.S. refuses to switch its "policy of aggression" toward the North.

On Monday, the North's ministry also said that "meaningful progress" on a nuclear-free Korean peninsula is possible — "if the hostile relations between the (North) and the U.S. are settled and confidence is built between them."

Washington has maintained that it is willing to engage North Korea in bilateral talks — if they lead to the resumption of the stalled six-nation disarmament talks.

North Korea's Ri, who was in the U.S. at the invitation of private organizations, said discussions with the U.S. envoy were "useful," South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported. Still, both KCNA and State Department officials in Washington said no decision had been made on holding bilateral talks.

The North agreed in 2007 to disable its nuclear facilities — as a step toward its ultimate dismantlement — in exchange for energy aid and political concessions. Pyongyang halted the process and later abandoned the pact after receiving most of the promised energy aid and concessions.

The standoff led to Pyongyang conducting its second nuclear test and banned missile tests earlier this year.

Hand Walkers

Sun, 01 Nov 2009 17:59:03 PST

Bipedalism is a quintessentially human trait that distinguishes us from other primates. But in some members of one Turkish family, that trait is strangely missing: Five mentally retarded siblings, aged 19 to 35, walk almost exclusively on all fours. Neurophysiologist Uner Tan of Cukurova University in Turkey documented their primitive language, limited intelligence, and quadrupedal gait. Even more bizarre than the family itself is Tan's interpretation. He argues that a freak reverse mutation "de-evolved" the siblings into a more primitive human state.

Tan invited Nicholas Humphrey, a London School of Economics psychologist, to conduct his own study. Humphrey derided Tan's claims as "just plain wrong," but then introduced a controversial idea of his own. The true importance of the Turkish family, he says, is that the siblings move relatively well on their feet and their palms, which suggests that early humans also walked that way. That conclusion clashes with the prevailing view that our ancestors leaned on their knuckles, like modern-day apes.

Much of the newspaper coverage about the hand walkers focused on the sensational side. "Their affliction is grotesque, disturbing, and like something out of a Victorian freak show," wrote the Daily Mail, a British tabloid. Even less dramatic reports generally accepted Tan's and Humphrey's explanations at face value. "All [the scientists] agree that the family's walk, described as a 'bear crawl,' may offer invaluable information on how our apelike ancestors moved," wrote The Times of London.

Fla. man says Home Depot fired him over God and flag button

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:11:40 PDT

By BRIAN SKOLOFF, Associated Press Writer Brian Skoloff, Associated Press Writer – Wed Oct 28, 8:35 am ET

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. – A former cashier for The Home Depot who has been wearing a "One nation under God" button on his work apron for more than a year has been fired, he says because of the religious reference. The company claims that expressing such personal beliefs is simply not allowed.

"I've worn it for well over a year and I support my country and God," Trevor Keezor said Tuesday. "I was just doing what I think every American should do, just love my country."

The American flag button Keezer wore in the Florida store since March 2008 says "One nation under God, indivisible."

Earlier this month, he began bringing a Bible to read during his lunch break at the store in the rural town of Okeechobee, about 140 miles north of Miami. That's when he says The Home Depot management told him he would have to remove the button.

Keezer refused, and he was fired on Oct. 23, he said.

"It feels kind of like a punishment, like I was punished for just loving my country," Keezer said.

A Home Depot spokesman said Keezer was fired because he violated the company's dress code.

"This associate chose to wear a button that expressed his religious beliefs. The issue is not whether or not we agree with the message on the button," Craig Fishel said. "That's not our place to say, which is exactly why we have a blanket policy, which is long-standing and well-communicated to our associates, that only company-provided pins and badges can be worn on our aprons."

Fishel said Keezer was offered a company-approved pin that said, "United We Stand," but he declined.

Keezer's lawyer, Kara Skorupa, said she planned to sue the Atlanta-based company.

"There are federal and state laws that protect against religious discrimination," Skorupa said. "It's not like he was out in the aisles preaching to people."

Keezer said he was working at the store to earn money for college, and wore the button to support his country and his 27-year-old brother, who is in the National Guard and is set to report in December for a second tour of duty in Iraq.

Skorupa noted the slogan on Keezer's pin is straight from the Pledge of Allegiance.

"These mottos and sayings that involve God, that's part of our country and historical fabric," Skorupa said. "In God we trust is on our money."

Michael Masinter, a civil rights and employment law professor at NOVA Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, said any lawsuit over religious discrimination might be a tough one to win.

"Because it's a private business, not one that's owned and operated by the government, it doesn't have to operate under the free speech provisions of the First Amendment," Masinter said.

"But we're not talking about religious displays here," he said. "This sounds more like a political message ... Wearing a button of that sort would not easily be described as a traditional form of religious expression like wearing a cross or wearing a yarmulke."

THIS IS VERY SERIOUS. Obama about to sign our sovereignty away

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 07:57:53 PDT

Nothing could be more threatening to our liberty than this meeting in Copenhagen and this treaty Obama will sign. You can no longer afford to sit on the sidelines and let a few of us try to awaken the masses. This is your duty as an American and if you fail you will have basically allowed everything you claim to love and respect to vanish. Once we are under this treaty, everything as you know it today will be gone. Free enterprise and the right of freedom will be extinct!

This is the high definition of Lord Monckton’s 1 hour 30 minute speech. The last five minutes is when he divulges the One World Government which will occur in December 2009. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=stij8sUybx0 I suggest you watch the entire video if you can and if you cannot..the last five minutes I posted with this article