- @
- Followers:
No Tweets Found
CNN POLITICS ON FACEBOOK » | CNN POLITICS ON TWITTER »
Slain UK soldier was dad, drummer
The British soldier slain in a gruesome cleaver attack in London was a well-liked infantryman and machine gunner who served in Afghanistan and Cyprus, and then became a military recruiter and ceremonial drummer outside the Royal Palaces, the military said Thursday.
Drummer Lee Rigby, 25, was part of the Regimental Recruiting Team in London, and as a machine gunner, he was part of the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers.
The Fusiliers, an infantry group, are known for the hackle, or feather plume, in their military headdress.
FULL STORY
Ware thinking of team, not leg
Kevin Ware's leg may be broken but not his spirit.
Not in the least bit.
Millions of television viewers cringed, when a bone punched through Ware's skin, protruding out of his leg after the University of Louisville guard landed hard from a jump to block a shot Sunday night.
It brought the Elite Eight game against the Duke Blue Devils to a screeching halt in the first quarter.
FULL STORY
2 killed in Pennsylvania bus crash
A bus carrying 23 people, who were members of or associated with the Seton Hill University women's lacrosse team, crashed Saturday morning in southern Pennsylvania, killing at least two people, authorities said.
One person died at the scene and the other at a hospital, said Megan Silverstrim, spokeswoman for Cumberland County public safety.
The dead include the team's head coach Kristina Quigley, the county agency said. She was pregnant at the time, and her unborn child did not survive.
FULL STORYL.A. archdiocese settles with 4 abuse victims
Four California men allegedly molested as boys by a priest have settled their lawsuit against the Los Angeles Archdiocese and Cardinal Roger Mahony for almost $10 million, their attorneys said Tuesday.
The priest, no longer in the clergy, abused the boys on several occasions dating back to the 1970s, including during overnight trips to San Diego and Riverside counties, the attorneys said.
The archdiocese's attorney, J. Michael Hennigan, confirmed the $9.9 million settlement with the four men.
FULL STORYArrest in death of Usher's former stepson
A 39-year-old man was arrested Friday in connection with the watercraft accident death last year of the former stepson of singer Usher Raymond, said District Attorney Lee Darragh of Hall County, Georgia.
FULL STORY
NFL checking 'do you like girls' allegation
The National Football League is investigating whether draft prospect Nick Kasa was questioned about his sexual orientation during a recent skills audition for NFL scouts and coaches, a spokesman said Wednesday.
Kasa, who played tight end at the University of Colorado, told CNN earlier Wednesday that during the audition, he was asked: "Do you have a girlfriend? Are you married? Do you like girls?"
"Any team or employee that inquires about impermissible subjects or makes an employment decision based on such factors is subject to league discipline," said Greg Aiello of the NFL.
League policy states that teams "neither consider nor inquire about sexual orientation in the hiring process," Aiello said. "In addition, there are specific protections in our collective bargaining agreement with the players that prohibit discrimination against any player, including on the basis of sexual orientation."
FULL STORYCoast Guard: Missing boat 'possibly a hoax'
The U.S. Coast Guard is suspending its search off the California coast for a distressed 29-foot sailboat that was carrying a couple and two children, and explained the incident is "possibly a hoax," Cmdr. Don Montoro said Tuesday.
The mission's cost has reached hundreds of thousands of dollars since Sunday, he said.
FULL STORYMississippi leader urges Connecticut gunmakers to relocate
Mississippi House Speaker Philip Gunn has invited gunmakers such as Colt to relocate to his state from Connecticut, where firearms have been a controversial issue since last December's elementary school shooting left 20 students and six adults dead there.
The gun industry in Connecticut is being attacked and "demonized" because of national politics, Gunn said in a letter this week to Colt's Manufacturing Company CEO Dennis Veilleux.
He also invited gunmaker Magpul Industries Corp. of Colorado to relocate to Mississippi.
Gunn, a Republican, said firearm manufacturers are "under attack in anti-Second Amendment states."
FULL STORY
Justice Department joins Armstrong suit
The U.S. Department of Justice has joined a whistle-blower lawsuit against cyclist Lance Armstrong that was originally filed by a former teammate, an attorney for Armstrong said Friday.
Former Armstrong teammate Floyd Landis, who was stripped of his 2006 Tour de France title after failing a drug test, filed a suit in 2010 against their former team, which was sponsored the U.S. Postal Service.
The lawsuit accused the team's former management of defrauding the government of millions of dollars because the team management knew about team members' drug use and didn't do anything.
FULL STORYClass-action suit filed against Carnival
A class action lawsuit has been filed against Carnival Corp. surrounding the events that crippled the cruise ship Triumph in the Gulf of Mexico.
Filing on behalf of other tourists, passengers Matt Crusan and Melissa Crusan alleged in their lawsuit that "Carnival knew or should have known that the vessel Triumph was likely to experience mechanical and/or engine issues because of prior similar issues," the court filing said.
The suit, filed Monday, follows a lawsuit that an individual passenger filed against the company last week.
FULL STORY
Ex-San Diego mayor: I took $2M from charity to fund $1B gambling habit
Former San Diego Mayor Maureen O'Connor allegedly told the IRS that she won $1 billion by gambling but lost even more over nine years. And when the losses piled up, she took a couple million dollars from her late husband's charity, prosecutors say.
O'Connor, the first woman mayor of San Diego, has acknowledged in court that she misappropriated more than $2 million from the foundation to fund her casino gambling habit. Her attorney said a brain tumor affected O'Connor's judgment at the time.
FULL STORYIllinois Senate to vote on same-sex marriage bill on Valentine's Day
The Illinois Senate will vote Thursday - Valentine's Day - on whether to legalize same-sex marriage.
Because Democrats have supermajority control of the General Assembly, the measure is expected to be approved. After the Senate vote, the measure would be considered by the House.
Gov. Pat Quinn, a Democrat, has indicated he would sign the bill.
FULL STORY'Star Wars' makeup master Stuart Freeborn dead at 98
Stuart Freeborn, the "Star Wars" makeup artist who helped create Chewbacca, Yoda, Jabba the Hutt and the otherworldly creatures in the trilogy's famous barroom scene, has died, Lucasfilm said Wednesday.
He was 98.
A creature effects artist, Freeborn also worked on other film classics and was responsible for creating the apelike human ancestors in the "Dawn of Man" sequence in "2001: A Space Odyssey."
Rare photo of teenage Diana sells for $18,369
An intimate black-and-white photograph of Princess Diana as a teenager sold today for $18,396, a New Hampshire auction company said.
The photograph - which may never before have been seen by the public, RR Auction says - offers a glimpse of the future wife of Prince Charles lying down, perhaps on a bed, wearing a light sweater or top. Only her head and arms can be seen. Behind her a young man leans against the wall, reading, his book resting on her shoulder.
The only indication of date is a stamp on the back of the print saying "26 February 1981," which would be two days after the engagement of Diana, then 19, and Prince Charles was announced by Buckingham Palace. They married in July of that year.
FULL STORY
Former New Orleans mayor Nagin charged with bribery, fraud
Former New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin, who captured the drama of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 with an "SOS" call to the nation, was indicted Friday on 21 federal corruption charges, including bribery, money laundering, fraud and filing false tax returns.
Nagin (pictured) allegedly defrauded the city through "a bribery and kickback scheme" in which he received checks, cash, wire transfers, personal services and free travel from businessmen seeking contracts and favorable treatment from the city, the 25-page federal indictment says.
FULL STORY
Police: Teen shot 1 classmate, missed another in California high school
- Student, 16, walked into class late and fired at two classmates with 12-gauge shotgun, critically wounding one and missing the other at Taft (California) Union High School on Thursday morning, police say
- Teacher was struck in head with pellet, but is OK, sheriff says
- Police: Suspect put gun down after teacher and "campus supervisor" talked to him; wounded student airlifted to hospital
- Below are the latest updates as they come to us. Also, you can read our full story.
[Updated at 7:09 p.m. ET] An armed police officer is assigned to the school but he wasn't at the school at the time of the shooting because snowfall in the area prevented his arrival, authorities said.
[Updated at 7:03 p.m. ET] A mother of a student witness recalls the moment that her daughter called her after the shooting: "She was telling me, 'Mom, get here, there’s blood everywhere," the woman CNN affiliate KERO.
[Updated at 5:55 p.m. ET] Here's more quotes from Kern County Sheriff Don Youngblood, from the news conference earlier this afternoon, about the teacher and the campus supervisor who apparently talked the suspect into dropping his weapon:
“When (the teacher) started a dialogue, the shotgun, he said, was pointed in several different directions. He is unsure how many rounds were fired … . He said as the dialogue started with him and the campus supervisor, who was just outside the room, the student was still armed with the shotgun. They, I think, probably distracted him in a conversation, allowing students to get out of the classroom and ultimately talking the student down.”
Youngblood added: "To stand there and face someone that has a shotgun - who has already discharged it and shot a student - speaks volumes for these two young men, and what they may have prevented. They could have just as easily tried to get out of the classroom and left students, and they didn't. They knew not to let him leave that classroom with that shotgun, and they took that responsibility on very serious, and we're very proud of the job they did."
The school district's superintendent told reporters that the school's staff had just reviewed lockdown procedures earlier Thursday morning.
[Updated at 5:42 p.m. ET] The news conference ended more than an hour ago, but we wanted to give you some longer quotes from officials about how a teacher and a "campus supervisor" - a campus monitor on the school's staff - talked to the suspect until, authorities say, the suspect put down the weapon.
After the suspect shot one student and missed another, "the teacher at that point was trying to get the students out of the classroom and engaged the shooter - who had numerous rounds of shotgun shells … in his pockets - engaged the suspect in conversation," Kern County Sheriff Don Youngblood said.
“A campus supervisor showed up, was outside the classroom, and together they engaged in conversation with this young man, and at one point he put the shotgun down, and police officers were able to take him into custody,” Youngblood said.
Here's what Taft Police Chief Ed Whiting said about the teacher and the campus supervisor:
"We want to really commend the teacher and a campus supervisor for all they did to bring this to a very quick resolution before anybody else was harmed. ... They did a great job in protecting the kids, and we can't thank them enough for what they did today."
U.S. Rep. Kevin McCarthy, whose district includes Taft, also praised the teacher.
"I first want to commend the teacher. I think he saved many lives today. His actions, his time, his ability of what he did (to) protect the students there," McCarthy said.
McCarthy also praised law enforcement for responding quickly. Youngblood said Taft police officers were at the school within 60 seconds of a 911 call.
Pennsylvania suing to stop NCAA's Penn State sanctions
[Updated at 11:32 a.m. ET] The state of Pennsylvania will file a federal antitrust lawsuit against the NCAA, seeking to have a judge throw out all sanctions the association levied against Penn State University in the wake of the child sex abuse scandal involving former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky, Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett said Wednesday.
Corbett (pictured) said the penalties - a $60 million fine, a four-year ban on bowl games, football scholarship reductions, and the stripping of 14 seasons of football victories under late head coach Joe Paterno - were unfair to the university, its students, and Pennsylvania citizens because the Sandusky criminal matter already is being handled in courts.
The NCAA "piled on ... (punishing) the citizens of Pennsylvania, who had nothing to do with these crimes," Corbett said.
"These sanctions are an attack on the past, present and future students of Penn State, the citizens of our commonwealth and our economy. As governor of this commonwealth, I cannot and will not stand by and let it happen without a fight," Corbett said.
He said the NCAA's actions were unlawful and overreaching, and that it essentially forced Penn State to accept the sanctions under the threat that if the school didn't accept them, the NCAA would impose on the football program a "death penalty" - a suspension from play of a year or more.
The NCAA levied the penalties last July.
FULL STORYInternet pioneer John McAfee moves to Guatemala, hires attorney
John McAfee, the Internet security pioneer wanted for questioning in the killing of a neighbor in Belize, is now in Guatemala City, said Telesforo Guerra, the former attorney general of Guatemala.
McAfee has hired Guerra as his attorney, Guerra told CNN en Espanol on Tuesday.
Belize authorities want to talk to McAfee about the November 11 shooting death of American businessman Gregory Faull, 52, who was found dead in his home near San Pedro, on the Caribbean island of Ambergris Caye.
On his website, McAfee commented about his relocation: "I apologize for all of the misdirections over the past few days. It was not easy to exit Belize and required many supporters in many countries.
FULL STORY
Police: NFL Chiefs player commits suicide after killing girlfriend
In an apparent murder-suicide, a Kansas City Chiefs player shot himself in the head in front of his coaches at a team training facility after earlier shooting to death his girlfriend at her residence, police said.
Kansas City, Missouri, police spokesman Darin Snapp identified the player as linebacker Jovan Belcher, 25, according to NFL.com.
FULL STORY4 injured in fire at U.S. State Department
Four people were injured Saturday after a flash fire broke out in the ductwork of the State Department building in Washington, fire officials said.
One person was in a "life-threatening condition" and two others were in serious but non-life threatening condition at Washington Hospital Center, authorities said. The fourth person fell from a ladder and hurt his knee.
The fire broke out after 11 a.m., as construction crews were working on the premises, and was extinguished on short order, said Lon Walls, a spokesman for Washington's fire department.
FULL STORY
Recent Comments