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How Occupy Wall Street compares to the tea party
Neither movement wants to be identified with the other, but commonalities between Occupy Wall Street and the tea party - including being born out of anger and frustration - are hard to ignore.
"I think the target is different, but the frustration (among Wall Street protesters) is the same, and the frustration is a sense that these institutions are no longer working for average Americans," said Kate Zernike, a New York Times reporter and author of the book "Boiling Mad: Inside Tea Party America."
Some of the criticisms being levied against the Occupy Wall Street movement are the same as those made against the tea party in its infancy, according to Zernike.
"The portrayal of the Occupy Wall Street forces, fairly or not, has been people who don't really know what they are there protesting," Zernike said. "You can launch the same criticism about the tea party. Many people who showed up to tea party meetings or rallies didn’t really know what they were there protesting."
Click the audio player to hear the story from CNN Radio's Steve Kastenbaum:
Second defendant convicted in Connecticut home invasion trial
JJoshua Komisarjevsky, the second man to be tried in connection with a deadly 2007 Connecticut home invasion, was found guilty on all counts during the second day of deliberations Thursday in a case that drew worldwide attention and sparked broader discussions about safety in the home.
Komisarjevsky (pictured) was convicted of 17 charges, including three counts of murder, four counts of kidnapping, and charges of burglary, arson and assault.
He could receive the death penalty.
The trial has gone on for a little over three weeks, during which time jurors heard emotional testimony detailing the deaths of Jennifer Hawke-Petit and her daughters - 17-year-old Hayley Petit and 11-year-old Michaela Petit.
FULL STORY
Overheard on CNN.com: Romney will not win nomination
Comments of the Day:
"Romney vs. Obama is the Republican socialist vs. the Democrat socialist." - MosinNagant1
"It's weird for the same news source to publish one article that says 'Romney is the likely presidential candidate' and another below it saying, 'Cain is the Republican front-runner.' " - Khyth
Will tea party purists back imperfect Romney?
The GOP field is narrowing to one reasonable nominee, Mitt Romney, writes CNN political analyst Gloria Borger, and tea party members are not happy. Will they bow to the inevitable and support him anyway? CNN.com readers were divided over whether Romney was really the only choice.
BenHur76008 said, "So long as those wacky Christian evangelists breathe, Mitt Romney will be the death knell for the GOP's attempts at taking back the White House."
Redclay said, "I couldn't care less whether the Tea Party endorses him or not. In my opinion, they have ruined the party to which I aligned myself for most of my 50+ years. I'm all about fiscal conservatism and a strong military. However, when a minority group of individuals tells me what religion to practice, what women may do with their bodies and that science should be replaced with creationsim, then they are violating the very essence of our Constitution."
chipk77 said, "Can the media get nothing right? Seriously. First off, Romney is not the current front runner, nor has he been for any serious length of time, except in the media's imagination. Secondly, do you even have to ask the question about the Tea Party? Of course they're not going to support him if they can help it, but if it came down to Romney vs. Obama, I'm sure most of them would."
Andacar said, "Actually the Tea Party folks I've spoken with say they'd rather lose the election than vote for somebody who is not ideologically pure. This is the 'no compromises' party, remember? Besides, Obama makes an excellent hate object for them. They could only despise Romney."
jrabbit68 said, "I support the Tea Party. I'm not in favor of, and I will not support a moderate GOP nominee. Screw it. I'd rather have Obama re-elected than another blue-blood conservative in office."
FULL POST
Mexican authorities: 7 killed in state prison riot, fire
[Updated at 4:54 p.m. ET] At least seven inmates were killed and 20 were injured Thursday in a prison riot in the Mexican border state of Nuevo Leon, authorities said.
Four of the inmates burned to death after inmates set mattresses on fire during the riot, which began around 8 a.m., firefighter Guillermo de Leon Delgado said.
It took firefighters nearly an hour to control the blaze, he said.
Three inmates died of stab wounds, state spokesman Jorge Domene told reporters.
The riot occurred in the Cadereyta prison, located in the Monterrey metropolitan area.
FULL STORYUsing inmate firefighters, repealing abuse laws: How some areas battle budget woes
A spat over the cost of prosecuting domestic abuse cases has led to Topeka, Kansas, repealing its domestic abuse ordinance.
The Shawnee County district attorney said he wouldn't be able to prosecute the cases anymore because of budget cuts. That meant the responsibility fell on the city of Topeka - money officials there said they didn't have either. The Topeka City Council then repealed the domestic abuse ordinance.
That sent people in the Kansas capital, and others elsewhere across the nation, into a frenzied debate about whether these cases should be allowed to fall by the wayside.
The outrage grew after news came out that 30 suspects accused of domestic abuse had not been prosecuted because of the budget standoff that began a month ago.
District Attorney Chad Taylor told CNN his office is now forced to handle the domestic battery cases, as a measure of public safety, despite not having the funds to do so.
Of course, it isn't the first time cities and states have had to grapple with tough decisions on what kind of programs and services are cut because of a lack of money. But this case, and the fierce reaction to it, made us think about the current state of budget issues across the country and exactly what other creative measures governments were taking to make up for slashed budgets.
Here’s a glance at how some are dealing with the problems:
Having low-level inmates help fight fires?
One Georgia county’s proposed solution to its budget woes is an inmate firefighter program, according to The Florida-Times Union.
In Camden County, the program, which would be available only to a specific, select group of prisoners, would save an estimated $500,000, officials told the paper. The inmates would fight fires alongside regular firefighters, according to the newspaper. That’s been an issue of contention, though some officials said the state and other counties already had a successful similar program in place, the paper said.
Overheard on CNN.com: More will be revealed about plot against Saudi
Comment of the morning:
"If we can fabricate an assassination/bombing plot by Iran in the U.S., why wouldn't they say the target was Americans? 'Save the Saudi Diplomats' is a terrible war cry."–TXAK
Some analysts skeptical of alleged Iranian plot
The bizarre plot against Saudi Arabian ambassador Adel Jubeir was real, according to U.S. officials, but analysts say there are many reasons to disbelieve. For one, "it would be completely uncharacteristic for Iran to be caught red-handed," former CIA operative Bob Baer told CNN. "There are very few groups operationally better than Iran's Quds Force."
Most CNN.com readers were also skeptical but suggested a "wait and see" attitude. TrueLight5 said, "Being skeptical is wise but does not make the incident false. It will just make us do our homework thoroughly. There seems to be more unknown to this story, and I am more doubtful of the purpose or reason for releasing it to the press so early. "
oneJudge said, "Some type of a crime has been committed. Whether or not it was organized by the Iranian government or legitimate factions within is the million-dollar question. The truth will come out from the investigation by law enforcement and not skeptical analysts."
Other readers pointed out what they saw as holes in the story and offered their own interpretations. sdred said, "Since this story came out, I have wondered why the Iranian government would want to hire the cartel; I am sure they are just as capable of assasinations as the cartel. It just doesn't make sense. We have enemies living in America who plan attacks, why go to Mexico?"
mssilvestro said, "Nobody seems to mention one of the biggest reasons the plot description is ridiculous: The Mexican drug cartels are not idiots and they are not cheap. There is no way they would stage a bombing in the U.S. for only 1.5 million dollars. They know it would invite fierce retaliation by the US. That's nightclub change for them."
FULL POST
Security forces storm Syrian city, activists say
Security forces raided a northern Syrian city amid explosions and gunfire early Thursday and casualties have been reported, activists said.
The forces clashed with gunmen believed to be dissidents in the city of Binnish in Idlib province, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
The Local Coordination Committees of Syria, another activist group, said 14 people had been killed, including 12 in Binnish and one each in Homs and Daraa. Among those dead are at least two young children, the group said.
"Syrian military forces supported by tanks and armored personnel carriers stormed the city early this morning," Syrian Observatory said. "Heavy machine guns and shelling have been heard around the city."
FULL STORYAccused celebrity hacker: 'I deeply apologize... it eats at me'
The man accused of hacking celebrities' online accounts - from which private images were ultimately posted on the Internet - says he became "addicted" to the intrusion and "didn't know how to stop."
"I deeply apologize. I know what I did was probably one of the worst invasions of privacy someone could experience," Christopher Chaney told CNN affiliate WAWS in Jacksonville, Florida, Wednesday.
"And these people don't have privacy to begin with. And I was in that little sliver of privacy they do have."
Federal authorities accuse the 35-year-old of hacking into accounts on computers and other devices belonging to more than 50 people, including movie stars Scarlett Johansson and Mila Kunis and singer Christina Aguilera.
FULL STORYAgents conduct sweep for Puerto Rican gang
More than 600 officers from the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and local police departments conducted a raid on the largest public housing complex in Puerto Rico Thursday in an operation against its biggest drug gang.
Arrest warrants were issued for 82 members of the Calle Cuatro, or Fourth Street, gang, who are blamed for 25 murders on the island.
According to officials, 43 alleged gang members had been arrested by Thursday afternoon.
A federal indictment says the 82 suspects are wanted on drug charges, weapon charges, or both.
FULL STORY
Cartel leader accused in deadly casino attack arrested
A top Zetas drug cartel leader - who allegedly ordered the attack and arson at a casino that killed 52 - has been captured, Mexican defense officials said Thursday.
Carlos Oliva Castillo, alias "La rana," or frog, was arrested Wednesday at a safehouse without a single shot being fired, the country's Ministry of Defense said.
Possibly the No. 3 man in the criminal organization, Oliva Castillo allegedly oversaw criminal operations for the cartel in three Mexican states. He was captured in Saltillo, Mexico.
Though he was arrested without incident, the cartel tried to distract troops by attacking security forces in different parts of the city, the defense ministry said.
The Zetas' rescue ploy failed.
FULL STORYWall Street Journal Europe executive out in scandal
A top executive at the company that publishes the Wall Street Journal left Dow Jones this week amid allegations that the paper's European edition used underhanded methods to boost circulation figures, the newspaper itself reported Thursday.
Andrew Langhoff, the executive, left on Tuesday, following an internal probe which found he had pushed for two articles favorable to a company involved in the alleged circulation subterfuge, the paper said.
The Guardian, a rival newspaper, alleged that the Journal's publisher secretly directed funds to the company that was buying copies of the paper in bulk.
FULL STORY
No confirmation yet of Gadhafi son's arrest; new report details detainee abuse
Libya's National Transitional Council offered no official confirmation Thursday of the arrest of Moatassim Gadhafi, one of the deposed leader's sons believed to have been captured after a four-hour firefight in Sirte.
Abdallah Naker, the head of the Tripoli Revolutionary Council, said Mutassim Gadhafi was arrested, but the National Transitional Council was not announcing it for security reasons.
Ali Tarhouni, Libya's interim deputy prime minister and oil minister, dismissed the importance of the arrest.
"I do not have any knowledge whether he is arrested or not, and honestly I am not really concerned about this boy, the murderer, they have no where to go, him or his father, so it is not a case that concerns me," Tarhouni said. "I care about my people and liberating the rest of the country and the oil sector and electricity sector."
In Sirte, anti-Gadhafi fighters used heavy weapons - rockets and artillery - to push back their foes Thursday.
The National Transitional Council has said it will declare liberation complete when Sirte falls. That has not happened yet, though Gadhafi's men, with their backs against the Mediterranean, appear to have few options left.
Meanwhile Thursday, Amnesty International issued a new report documenting a pattern of beatings and ill-treatment of suspected Gadhafi supporters in western Libya.
The international rights group urged Libya's new leaders to make the rule of law a priority as they forge ahead to build a new nation.
FULL STORYAid workers abducted in Kenyan refugee camp
Gunmen abducted two workers from the medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres from the Dadaab refugee complex in Kenya Thursday, agency staff told CNN.
The two women from Spain were part of the international staff working for MSF, also known by its English name, Doctors Without Borders, an MSF staff member said.
The attack took place in a new camp known as Ifo 3, the staffer said. He said the two women as well as their pickup were missing. The driver was shot in the neck.
A Spanish Foreign Ministry spokesman in Madrid confirmed the kidnapping. He said the women worked in logistics for the agency, but would not provide their identities or further details about the incident. He said their families have been informed.
FULL STORY
Gotta Watch: They were rescued, we watched
Today marks the one-year anniversary of a rescue that captivated the world's attention. On October 13, 2010, the world watched as 33 miners were brought to the surface in Chile after spending 69 days trapped more than 2,000 feet below ground. In honor of this momentous and incredible rescue, we at Gotta Watch put together videos from other big news making rescues that we couldn't help but watch every step of the way.
Miners finally see daylight - They spent 69 days in the bowels of the earth, trapped deep below the surface. For 17 days, nobody knew that the 33 men were alive after the San Jose Mine caved in. The miraculous rescue of these miners made headlines around the world. People around the globe celebrated as each and every miner was brought to safety and waited anxiously in hopes that the next miner would make it up alive. Here's your chance to relive the powerful moments from that rescue, starting from the first miner all the way to the last.
Prosecutors drop attempted rape complaint against former IMF head
(Correction: An initial version of this post incorrectly reported that charges in this case were dropped, when in fact they were never filed.)
[Updated at 11:15 a.m. ET] After investigating a complaint filed against former IMF head Dominique Strauss-Kahn, in which a journalist accused him of attempting to rape her in 2003, French prosecutors said there was a lack of sufficient evidence to file charges.
Strauss-Kahn admitted to "sexual aggression" against Tristane Banon at the time, but a three-year statue of limitations applies in the case, the Paris prosecutor's office said in a statement.
Strauss-Kahn, who recently returned to France after sexual assault charges against him in New York were dropped by prosecutors, was questioned by Paris police last month, along with Banon.
Banon filed a complaint against Strauss-Kahn in France, alleging he attempted to sexually assault her in 2003; he has filed a counter-suit alleging slander.
Banon's mother, Socialist politician Anne Mansouret, has said she discouraged Banon from filing charges against Strauss-Kahn at the time of the alleged assault for fear it would hurt her journalism career.
In an interview with French TV station TF1 earlier this month, Strauss-Kahn said he met with Banon recently and "I said the truth to her in this meeting. There was no act of aggression, there was no violence. ... The version that was presented was imaginary."
On Monday, lawyers for Strauss-Kahn asked a judge in New York to dismiss a civil suit filed there by his accuser in a now-dismissed sexual assault case.
FULL STORY
BlackBerry users irate about outage
[Updated at 10:41 a.m. ET] Research in Motion says BlackBerry service is fully restored globally after its worst-ever outage, CNNMoney.com reports.
The president of BlackBerry's parent company apologized Thursday for the device's worldwide service outage, and said service levels are improving in many areas.
"I apologize for the service outages this week," said Mike Lazaridis, who is also the founder and co-CEO of Research in Motion, in a videotaped message on the company's website . "We've let many of you down. But let me assure you that we're working around the clock to fix this."
It's a problem RIM can't win, Fortune reported.
But that hasn't satisfied many irritated users.
And naturally, when you take away the ability for tapped in people to communicate, they will find a way to communicate their anger about it - loudly. So many BlackBerry users have taken to one of the technological democratic forums, Twitter, to share their grievances.
Here's a quick glance at what some BlackBerry users have been saying:
A lot of the chatter has focused on users threatening to ditch their BlackBerry phones for other competitors.
Some joked that their long relationship with the company, was turning into such a bad experience it was like having a fight with their significant other that appeared to be leaning towards a break-up.
Some focused on how their device was completely unusable without data capabilities.
Thursday's live events
CNN.com Live is your home for gavel-to-gavel coverage of Dr. Conrad Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial.
Today's programming highlights...
9:00 am ET - South Korean president arrives at White House - South Korean President Lee Myung-bak is spending the day in Washington, and he begins his day by being welcomed to the White House by President Obama.
NBA standoff threatens livelihoods of workers at stadiums, nearby shops
At the Farm of Beverly Hills restaurant just down the street from the Staples Center, workers are bracing for smaller paychecks now that the first two weeks of the NBA’s regular season have been canceled.
During basketball season, the restaurant depends on Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers fans for about a third of its revenue.
No games means fewer customers and fewer hours for restaurant workers, CEO Fran Berger says. Her Staples Center location is one of three restaurants her company owns in the Los Angeles area, so she doesn’t plan to lay off any of her 200 employees. But she says their hours will be cut.
Although convention and concert business will help soften the blow for the 17 restaurants operating in the L.A. Live complex next to the Staples Center, Berger says, “there are not many things that can fill up a 20,000-seat arena for 82 nights a year."
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