Miami - Prosecutors in Polk County Florida have charge all seven Polk County teenagers - accused of beating a 16-year-old girl and videotaping it for YouTube and MySpace - as adults.
The prosecutors say that the savage way that the teens beat the the young girl and the fact that all of those arrested acted cohesively in concert in the crimes justifiys such action.
The other consideration was the fact the 16 year old victim was forced into a vehicle and taken to another location during her ordeal which prompted deputies to charge several of the teens with more offenses including kidnapping.
The eighth teen involved is 18 years old and is already considered an adult under the law. (more…)
Waukegan - A large explosion has blown the top off a shopping plaza in Waukegan, Illinois.
Police say at least six people have been taken to a hospital after the explosion struck around lunchtime today.
It blew the windows out of storefronts and collapsed the ceilings above stores.
Witness Candi Rixie was taking orders at a sandwich shop a block away.
She says she felt a rumble, almost like somebody hit the building with a car.
It’s not immediately clear what caused the blast, but crews from the gas company are on the scene to investigate.
Fire crews from several towns have come to help in rescue efforts, and are searching to see if people are trapped inside.
Cambridge, Massachusetts - The Internet service provider, Comcast found itself the point of intense questioning during a summit that was held at Harvard Law School on Tuesday. The Internet provider is being scrutinized for its practice of delaying customer point to point, or PSP traffic.
Comcast says that the practice is common, and necessary to regulate the way that bandwidth is applied and distributed. It claims that it provides a disclaimer, which every customer is required to sign. In its testimony before the FCC panel of commissioners on Tuesday, Comcast says that they ask customers to sign a statement that says: “Comcast may on occasion delay or temporarily slow P2P traffic if such traffic will have an adverse affect.” (more…)
Orlando - A tourist from Austria has died after being attacked by a shark near Florida.
He was diving near the Bahamas in water at the time of the attack.
49-year-old Markus Groh was on a commercial diving trip last Sunday, when he was bitten 50 miles off of the coast of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
What this particular company does is offers a “face to face” meeting with sharks. They bait the waters with bloody fish parts to attract them. They run trips for shark enthusiasts and photographers.
They stated there will be blood in the same water as the divers when this happens.
It proved fatal for this tourist who took part in the adventure.
He was airlifted to a hospital after being attacked, where he later died.
Groh was bitton on the leg, CNN reported.
The shark was seen but managed to get away.
EDITED: Feb 27
Washington - The accompanying picture of U.S. Senator Barack Obama wearing some traditional Somali dress, has the Senator angry at his rival, Hilary Clinton and her campaign staff.
The picture started circulating over the weekend and has caused a stir in many political circulates.
According to the Drudge Report, the photo was taken in 2006 and shows Obama who is dressed as a Somali Elder, during his visit to Wajir, a rural area in northeastern Kenya.
In a statement, Obama’s campaign manager, David Plouffe, accused the Clinton campaign Monday of ’shameful offensive fear-mongering’ for circulating the photo. (more…)
New York - In the most massive action to date the USDA announced a voluntary recall involving nearly 143 million pounds of ground beef. The Westland Hallmark Company issued the recall after USDA inspectors found “Clear Violations,” at the company slaughterhouse in California.
The recall on Sunday was a Class II USDA voluntary recall, and there has not been any direct link found between this batch of recalled meat and illness. USDA authorities state that the possibility of illness is “remote” but the company is not taking any chances.
The recall involved 143 million pounds of beef. This is an amount that is roughly equal to two hamburgers for every person in the United States. This type of meat product has a typical short shelf life, and may have been already consumed for the most part. (more…)
Washington - Police in Alabama have stated that Lam Luong has confessed to taking his four kids and hrowing them off of the Dauphin Island bridge near the Gulf of Mexico.
Initially the man stated that his girlfriend had all four of his young children and had not returned them to him. His family did not believe the story though as it was believed he traded the kids for drugs.
The four kids were aged 4 months, 1, 2, and 3. They were thrown off of the highest point of the bridge by Lam Luong. Police stated that Luong broke down under questioning and confessed to the crime.
Reports are that a police witness saw part of the terrible act as they saw a man throw what looked like a bundle off of the bridge on Monday, while three kids sat and watched.
The bridge is 80 feet tall and the water is up to 55 feet deep. Rescuers searched for the bodies on Wednesday but it was called off late Wednesda afternoon due to fog.
The four kids are all presumed dead. 37-year-old Luong is charged with four counts of capital murder.
Washington - Senator John McCain has won the New Hampshire Primary for the Republicans in the 2008 Presidential race, according to media reports Tuesday.
“I hate to use to the word kid, but I think we showed the people of this country what a real comeback looks like. I’m grateful to the people of New Hampshire. I’m committed to keeping this country safe, and we’re going to move on to Michigan and South Carolina and win the nomination,” said McCain.
New York Senator Hillary Clinton has won the New Hampshire Primary in the 2008 United States Presidential race.
“I come tonight with a very, very full heart,” said an emotional Clinton .
“In the last week, I listened to you,” she said, “and in the process, I found my own voice.”
MSNBC reports that Clinton beat Barack Obama by a “very narrow margin.”
Washington - The mystery surrounding Trent Lott’s resignation from the U.S. Senate intensifies.
Hustler publisher and free speech crusader Larry Flint has posted the following cryptic message on his official website:
“Hustler magazine has received numerous inquiries regarding the involvement of Larry Flynt and Hustler in the resignation of Trent Lott.
Senator Lott has been the target of an ongoing Hustler investigation for some time now, due to confidential information that we have received.”
Back in June, Flynt offered cash rewards for substantiated accounts of sexual liaisons with elected officials.
Boston (EON) - A congressional resolution which would declare the Ottoman-era killings of Armenians as genocide was postponed before a vote could ever take place Thursday.
Supporters of the new Armenian genocide bill dropped their call for a vote on Thursday.
Many have been against this measure including a key NATO ally, Turkey. Many around the world agree that the killings of Armenians in World War I did take place but that the designation of genocide was not needed.
Turkish leaders stated that if the vote went through they would cut off U.S. access to key bases needed in Iraq.
The Bush administration, in hopes of getting on the good side of Turkey to stop them from invading Iraq and attacking Kurdish rebels, also opposed the bill.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice told the House committee Thursday that if this bill were passed it would put forth a huge set of consequences in Iraq. The House Foreign Affairs Committee approved the resolution earlier in the month.
The sponsors of the bill though have agreed not to push a vote. This does not mean that it could not come back as it is not yet off the table indefinitely.