Joining Morning Joe this Friday is Richard Haass, Wes Moore, Clint Van Zandt, Steve Rattner, Eugene Robinson, Richard Engel, Patrick Murphy, Jeffrey Sachs, Mike Allen, Sal Lifrieri, Sara Eisen, Ana Marie Cox, Jamie Weinstein, Bear Grylls and more
America aks: Can Mika Speak Today (unlike Cindy Brady did when she lisped) but the police captured the suspect in that Washington DC Mansion murder we spoke spoke about this week. An ex-convict accused in the slayings of a wealthy Washington family and their housekeeper was arrested Thursday, a week after authorities said the family was killed and their mansion was set on fire.
Daron Dylon Wint, 34, was arrested in northeast Washington around 11 p.m. Thursday by members of a fugitive task force and charged with first-degree murder while armed, D.C. police and the U.S. Marshals Service said. Investigators had previously been seeking him in New York City.
Police have not detailed why Wint would want to kill 46-year-old Savvas Savopoulos; his 47-year-old wife, Amy; their son, Philip; and housekeeper Veralicia Figueroa. Three of the four victims had been stabbed or bludgeoned before the fire.
Police said Thursday that Wint, a certified welder, worked for Savopoulos' company, American Iron Works, in the past. Savopoulos was the CEO of American Iron Works, a construction-materials supplier based in Hyattsville, Maryland, that has been involved in major projects in downtown Washington.
Police said Thursday that they haven't ruled out the possibility that other people were involved in the slayings, but no other suspects have been identified.
Wint was born and raised in Guyana and moved to the United States in 2000, when he was almost 20 years old, according to court records filed in Maryland. He joined the Marine Corps that same year and was discharged for medical reasons, the records show. Following his discharge, he worked as a certified welder, the records show.
The Savopouloses lived in a $4.5 million home in Woodley Park, a neighborhood where mansions are protected by fences and elaborate security systems and local and federal law enforcement officers are a constant presence, in part because Vice President Joe Biden's official residence is nearby.
Text messages and voicemails from the Savopouloses to their confused and frightened household staff suggest something was amiss in the house many hours before the bodies were found. Their blue Porsche turned up in suburban Maryland hours after the slayings. It too had been set on fire.
DNA analysis at a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms lab linked Wint to the crime, a law enforcement official involved in the investigation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for lack of authorization to discuss the investigation publicly.
This combination of undated photos provided by the Washington, D.C., police shows Daron Dylon Wint. …
During the family's final hours, someone called Domino's from their house and ordered pizza. The Washington Post reported that the DNA was found on a pizza crust. At a Domino's about 2 miles away, a worker told the AP that a pizza was delivered from there to the mansion that day.
Wint was convicted of assaulting one girlfriend in Maryland in 2009, and he pleaded guilty the next year to malicious destruction of property after he allegedly threatened to kill a woman and her infant daughter, breaking into her apartment, stealing a television and vandalizing her car.
"I'm going to come over there and kill you, your daughter and friends," Wint told that woman, according to the records. "The defendant advised he was good with a knife and could kill them easily and was not afraid of the police," a detective wrote.
Also in 2010, Wint was arrested carrying a 2-foot-long machete and a BB pistol outside the American Iron Works headquarters, but weapons charges were dropped after he pleaded guilty to possessing an open container of alcohol.
Attorney Robin Ficker said Wint didn't seem violent when he defended him in earlier cases. "My impression of him — I remember him rather well — is that he wouldn't hurt a fly. He's a very nice person," Ficker said.
A housekeeper who worked for the Savopoulos family for 20 years, Nelitza Gutierrez, told the AP that she believes the family and Figureroa were held captive for nearly a day before they were killed, citing an unusual voice mail she got from Savopoulos and a text message sent from the phone of his wife, telling her not to come to the house.
Gutierrez said she and Savopoulos spent May 13 cleaning up a martial arts studio he was opening in northern Virginia before his wife called around 5:30 p.m. She could hear his half of the conversation. He later said his wife told him to come home to watch their son because she was going out, Gutierrez said.
Later that night, sounding flustered, he left Gutierrez a voice mail saying Figueroa would stay with his sick wife overnight, that she shouldn't come the next day, and that Figueroa's phone was dead.
"It doesn't make any sense. How come you don't have another phone — iPhones are all over," Gutierrez said. "He was kind of building stories."
The next morning, Gutierrez received a text message from Amy Savopoulos that read, in part, "I am making sure you are not coming today." She called and texted back and got no response.
The Savopouloses had two teenage daughters who were away at boarding school at the time of the slayings. Relatives of the victims have made few public statements and have not returned calls from the AP. Representatives of American Iron Works have repeatedly declined to comment. Associated Press photographer Alex Brandon in Washington and AP freelancer Meredith Somers in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, contributed to this report.
Police have not detailed why Wint would want to kill 46-year-old Savvas Savopoulos; his 47-year-old wife, Amy; their son, Philip; and housekeeper Veralicia Figueroa. Three of the four victims had been stabbed or bludgeoned before the fire.
Police said Thursday that Wint, a certified welder, worked for Savopoulos' company, American Iron Works, in the past. Savopoulos was the CEO of American Iron Works, a construction-materials supplier based in Hyattsville, Maryland, that has been involved in major projects in downtown Washington.
Police said Thursday that they haven't ruled out the possibility that other people were involved in the slayings, but no other suspects have been identified.
Wint was born and raised in Guyana and moved to the United States in 2000, when he was almost 20 years old, according to court records filed in Maryland. He joined the Marine Corps that same year and was discharged for medical reasons, the records show. Following his discharge, he worked as a certified welder, the records show.
The Savopouloses lived in a $4.5 million home in Woodley Park, a neighborhood where mansions are protected by fences and elaborate security systems and local and federal law enforcement officers are a constant presence, in part because Vice President Joe Biden's official residence is nearby.
Text messages and voicemails from the Savopouloses to their confused and frightened household staff suggest something was amiss in the house many hours before the bodies were found. Their blue Porsche turned up in suburban Maryland hours after the slayings. It too had been set on fire.
DNA analysis at a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms lab linked Wint to the crime, a law enforcement official involved in the investigation told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity for lack of authorization to discuss the investigation publicly.
This combination of undated photos provided by the Washington, D.C., police shows Daron Dylon Wint. …
During the family's final hours, someone called Domino's from their house and ordered pizza. The Washington Post reported that the DNA was found on a pizza crust. At a Domino's about 2 miles away, a worker told the AP that a pizza was delivered from there to the mansion that day.
Wint was convicted of assaulting one girlfriend in Maryland in 2009, and he pleaded guilty the next year to malicious destruction of property after he allegedly threatened to kill a woman and her infant daughter, breaking into her apartment, stealing a television and vandalizing her car.
"I'm going to come over there and kill you, your daughter and friends," Wint told that woman, according to the records. "The defendant advised he was good with a knife and could kill them easily and was not afraid of the police," a detective wrote.
Also in 2010, Wint was arrested carrying a 2-foot-long machete and a BB pistol outside the American Iron Works headquarters, but weapons charges were dropped after he pleaded guilty to possessing an open container of alcohol.
Attorney Robin Ficker said Wint didn't seem violent when he defended him in earlier cases. "My impression of him — I remember him rather well — is that he wouldn't hurt a fly. He's a very nice person," Ficker said.
A housekeeper who worked for the Savopoulos family for 20 years, Nelitza Gutierrez, told the AP that she believes the family and Figureroa were held captive for nearly a day before they were killed, citing an unusual voice mail she got from Savopoulos and a text message sent from the phone of his wife, telling her not to come to the house.
Gutierrez said she and Savopoulos spent May 13 cleaning up a martial arts studio he was opening in northern Virginia before his wife called around 5:30 p.m. She could hear his half of the conversation. He later said his wife told him to come home to watch their son because she was going out, Gutierrez said.
Later that night, sounding flustered, he left Gutierrez a voice mail saying Figueroa would stay with his sick wife overnight, that she shouldn't come the next day, and that Figueroa's phone was dead.
"It doesn't make any sense. How come you don't have another phone — iPhones are all over," Gutierrez said. "He was kind of building stories."
The next morning, Gutierrez received a text message from Amy Savopoulos that read, in part, "I am making sure you are not coming today." She called and texted back and got no response.
The Savopouloses had two teenage daughters who were away at boarding school at the time of the slayings. Relatives of the victims have made few public statements and have not returned calls from the AP. Representatives of American Iron Works have repeatedly declined to comment. Associated Press photographer Alex Brandon in Washington and AP freelancer Meredith Somers in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, contributed to this report.
But like Joe just stated which is going through my head is what a way to find the guy. Through that pizza crust and the DNA found on it. I think I thought about how arrogant it was for them to order pizza to that house. It was a wild murder situation.
And, we must reiterate how grim of a picture is it in the Middle East. During the Iraq war more than 4,000 U.S. soldiers died, countless others were severely injured, and the total cost to U.S. taxpayers was more than 2 trillion dollars. But now whatever the U.S. military accomplished during that war is being completely undone by ISIS. On Monday, we learned that ISIS had fully taken control of the strategically important city of Ramadi. Despite nine months of airstrikes by the U.S. military, ISIS continues to move forward and take new territory.
Just a few years ago, American soldiers fought some incredibly bloody battles on the streets of Ramadi, but now that city is in the hands of the most ruthless terror organization on the entire planet. And since it is only about 70 miles from Baghdad, Ramadi is going to make a fine staging area for an all-out assault on the capital. No matter how you cut it, the cold, hard reality of the matter is that the United States is losing in Iraq and ISIS is winning. So what will the U.S. do if ISIS actually takes control of the entire country?
Ramadi is traditionally known as the ‘Gateway of Baghdad’, but in recent days it has experienced utter carnage. According to the Daily Mail, “mutilated bodies” now lie everywhere along the streets of that once proud city….
ISIS militants have held a twisted victory parade after taking the key city of Ramadi in an orgy of violence and beheadings – and the extremists could march on the Iraqi capital Baghdad within the next month.Mutilated bodies scatter the streets of the ‘Gateway of Baghdad’, where Islamic State slaughtered around 500 and forced nearly 25,000 to flee their homes over the last few days.Now ISIS has released images of militants celebrating, children wielding automatic weapons and a fleet of pick-up trucks carrying its jubilant fighters through the blood-stained streets of Ramadi.
U.S. military officials insist that it really isn’t that big of a deal that Ramadi has fallen, but they made similar pronouncements back during the days of the Vietnam War. Just consider the following passage from a recent Wall Street Journal article…
In the closing years of the Vietnam War it was often noted sardonically that the “victories” against the Viet Cong were moving steadily closer to Saigon. The same could be said of Baghdad and the victories claimed against Islamic State, or ISIS, in Iraq in the past year. The ISIS takeover of Ramadi in the Anbar province over the weekend exposed the hollowness of the reported progress against ISIS. The U.S.-led bombing campaign in support of Iraqi forces isn’t working.
And guess what? As the “Iraqi Security forces” folded, they left behind large amounts of military equipment and large numbers of armored vehicles for ISIS to capture. In the end, this will make ISIS even more formidable. The following comes from Fox News…
Although there were a large number of Iraqi security forces occupying Ramadi, most troops fled after ISIS fighters began their assault on the city center Sunday, leaving behind Humvees and armored vehicles supplied by the U.S. military, a separate senior U.S. military official told Fox News.“The Iraqi security forces were pushed out by a much smaller [ISIS] force,” the official said.
This is a theme that we have seen time after time. ISIS is taking over both Iraq and Syria largely using captured American weapons. Vehicles, equipment and weapons that our tax dollars paid for are being used to establish and expand a terrorist state in the heart of the Middle East, and Barack Obama seems almost ambivalent to the whole thing.
Even those that are on Obama’s side can’t quite understand what Obama is doing. For example, just consider the words of Piers Morgan…
But Obama’s had plenty of time to devise a successful strategy for dealing with the emerging threat of ISIS, and so far he has spectacularly failed.As they beheaded Americans, he made somber speeches, then played golf minutes literally seven minutes later.As they burned Jordanian pilots in cages, Obama assured us with almost casual confidence that he was on top of things.As they threw gays to their death off rooftops and slaughtered Christians on beaches, still the leader of the free world exuded calm.The clear message? ‘Don’t worry, I’ve got this all under control..’Only he hasn’t.
For years and years, we heard about what a “threat” al-Qaeda was. But the truth is that al-Qaeda never was much of a threat at all. Most of the time their leaders seemed to be hiding out in caves or bunkers, and they never actually controlled any real territory.
But now we have a very real Islamic caliphate which has become so powerful that it can successfully fight a multi-front war against the Syrian government, the Kurds and the Iraqi government. Since it was first established, the amount of territory that it has captured is larger than the British Isles, and smaller terror groups all over the planet are rapidly swearing allegiance to it.
Unlike al-Qaeda, ISIS appears to be the real deal, and nobody in the western world can seem to muster up the will to do anything about it. The following is how this new Islamic State was described in a recent article in the Telegraph…
It is one of the strangest states ever created. The Islamic State wants to force all humanity to believe in its vision of a religious and social utopia existing in the first days of Islam. Women are to be treated as chattels, forbidden to leave the house unless they are accompanied by a male relative. People deemed to be pagans, like the Yazidis, can be bought and sold as slaves. Punishments such as beheadings, amputations and flogging become the norm. All those not pledging allegiance to the caliphate declared by its leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, on 29 June last year are considered enemies.
Almost every day now, there are global headlines about the latest ISIS atrocities. You can find a couple of particularly disturbing examples right hereand right here.
There is no negotiating with these guys, and they will not stop until the entire Middle East is under their control.
I want to share with you two maps. This first map is the territory that ISIS controls today…
This second map is what ISIS claims belongs to them…
So what should be done about ISIS? What we said while hearing the Richard Clarke interview on yesterday's Morning Joe show is actually the answers. Which is the following:
Richard Clarke is on Morning Joe making great points about the inaction of the US over in that region and with regard to ISIS. We have training the Iraqi army now for over ten years. that is not working. The Iraqi army is bad at it. We need special forces units like what we did over the weekend in that last raid in Syria. We could arm the Kurds but the Baghdad Government does not us to do it. We could arm the Suni Militia but we have NOT done that either because the Baghdad Government does not want us to do it. We could provide air support for the Iranian backed Shiat militia group. We have not done it because of the POTUS is scared about the backlash from our congress that he would get for making the decision. We are faced with a huge threat and we have zero ways of liberating Mosul this year. We were planning to liberate Fallujah at the beginning of the year and that will not happen anytime soon, let alone this year.
We do NOT have any partners out there and I knew the GOP and the hawks in the Government were going to go on Josh Ernest for his comments he said about ISIS this week. I was cringing as I heard em.
But, when Rick Santorum and when people say it is Obama's fault that ISIS has grown like its done, is point blank wrong. Bush Jr. and Dick Cheney got us into that initial war which manifested the ISIS group. They were Al Quieda before they were ISIS and it was George Bush's policy that was agreed upon when he was in office to bring home the troops in that area. Obama carried out Bush Jr.s laws.
Yesterday, Jeb Bush knocks brother George on spending. Jeb Bush went beyond his normal hesitation to criticize his brother and argued that the 43rd president could have done more to bring "budget discipline" to Washington.
The former Florida governor was asked by a voter Thursday morning at an event in Concord, New Hampshire, if there was an issue where there's big space between he and his brother.
"Sure, I think that in Washington during my brother's time Republicans spent too much money," Bush said. "He could have used the veto power. He didn't have line item veto power, but he could have brought budget discipline to Washington, D.C."
Bush added that his comments seem "kind of quaint" now, considering that "budget deficits and spending went up astronomically" under President Barack Obama's administration. But he maintained that "having constraints on spending across the board would have been a good thing" during his brother's tenure as president, when the debt grew by $4.9 trillion.
As he's been pursuing a likely presidential bid, Bush has attempted to straddle the difficult line of distancing himself from his family and prove that he's his own man without coming across as disloyal. That challenge was amplified last week when Bush struggled to answer questions about the Iraq War that was started under his brother's leadership.
In his stump speech, Bush frequently highlights his record as governor, where he notes his administration cut taxes by $19 billion and reduced the state workforce by 13,000. He never fails to mention that he was given the nickname "Veto Corleone" by his critics because he vetoed 2,500 line items.
His naming of a specific policy difference was a departure from his normal reluctance to criticize his brother and father, both former presidents."I don't feel compelled though to go out of my way to criticize Republican presidents. I don't know, just call me a team player here. It just so happens the last two Republican presidents happen to be my dad and my brother," he said, as the audience laughed. "But you'll never hear me complaining about Ronald Reagan either. Every president makes mistakes."
Steve Duprey, a Republican National Committeeman from New Hampshire, said it was a smart move for Bush to highlight the contrast over spending.
"I think New Hampshire is probably the most fiscally conservative state in the country. I think the debt counts here," he said. "Even those of us who admired Bush 43 felt that the debt explosion and doubling of the debt was not good for the country, and I think it's smart to say he disagreed with that approach."
Bush was also sure to include actions taken by his brother that he supported, such as the efforts he made to address malaria and HIV/AIDS in Africa: "It was perhaps one of the most successful initiatives the United States has ever pursued on the continent of Africa."
When George Bush Jr. came into that office, we had surplus in America and when he left it, well you know that deal. America's economy plummeted and imploded let alone there were huge deficits.
Flooding in the Southern Plains: Mandatory Evacuations Ordered, Power to Be Shut Off In Some Wichita Falls, Texas Neighborhoods. Severe flooding continued to worsen Thursday night as another storm system impacted the Southern Plains, forcing hundreds from their homes in a northern Texas town.
Several neighborhoods and areas of Wichita Falls, Texas, were evacuated Thursday due to rising water, KAUZ-TV. The Red Cross, Antioch Baptist Church and Mount Pleasent Baptist Church established shelters to assist those who had been evacuated.
Power to the lower portion of the Tanglewood neighborhood will be shut off to prevent fires, according to Wichita Falls'Facebook page.
The heavy rainfall was sorely needed to break a years-long extreme drought that has gripped the region, but in many areas, the persistent downpours have proven to be too much to handle. This has kept authorities busy, as constant water rescues have been performed in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas.
Here are the latest impacts from the states hardest hit by this long-lasting flood event.
Arkansas
Downtown Little Rock experienced flooded streets Wednesday morning as rainfall became too much for some roads to handle. THV11.com reported one driver had to be rescued from a car stranded in floodwaters Wednesday morning, and authorities said accidents were being reported on several highways around Little Rock.
With 11 days to go in the month, the National Weather Service's Tulsa office reported Fort Smith has already achieved its wettest May on record, with nearly 14 inches already recorded. The previous record was 13.67 inches in 1943, NWS added.
Kansas
Flooding was reported yet again in the Wichita area on Wednesday, and some homes had to be evacuated, according to local reports.
Louisiana
Standing water caused travel issues in Livingston Parish, Louisiana, during the Thursday afternoon commute, WAFB-TV reported. Water inundated portions of the middle and inside lanes of westbound Interstate 12, prompting authorities to urge caution when driving. An accident closed Interstate 110 at Chippewa Street in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Oklahoma
Authorities discovered a vehicle submerged in the Canadian River near the Wanette-Byars Bridge between McClain and Pottawatomie counties Wednesday, Oklahoma's News 9 reported. It is unclear if there was anyone in the car or how it ended up in the waters.
One person died early Wednesday morning near Cole when a car was swept away by floodwaters after the driver went around a barrier. A spokesman with the McClain County Sheriff's Office confirmed to The Weather Channel that three people were inside the car, and two were able to swim to safety before being rescued from a tributary. The third person, an unidentified male, did not make it out of the truck.
As residents continue to dodge floodwaters and hope their homes will be spared by the rising rivers and creeks, one councilman is wondering if the state can do more to lessen the blow from future flooding events.
“We’ve spent a lot of money and haven’t solved the problem. We ought to look if we’re doing it right and maybe the standard we’re building to is not adequate,” said Oklahoma City councilman Pete White, according to KFOR.com.
The report also mentioned that the city's drainage codes are supposed to cover 100-year floods. But in the last five years, there have been three 500-year floods, which is even more severe than the 100-year variety.
Flooding caused more problems on Oklahoma roadways Wednesday morning; NewsOK.com has an updated list of all street closures.
There's another problem that could arise from all this standing water – mosquitoes. Experts told the Times Record that the flooding will be a favorable breeding ground for the pests this spring and early summer.
Texas
Rescue and aid teams were assembled in Wichita Falls, Texas, including those of the Texas Task Force 1 Boat Squad and The Texas Military Forces SAR-G Element, KAUZ said. Two Public Safety Command Posts were opened, as well.
Cars were stalled in Nueces County, Texas, Thursday afternoon, as flood waters inundated North Padre Island Drive, according to local storm reports. Additional vehicles were stalled in San Patricio County after a service road on Highway 35 flooded.
A disaster declaration was issued for Wichita County, Texas, on Wednesday due to extreme flooding and the potential for more rainfall, KAUZ-TV reported.
Rainfall has been relentless in the Lone Star State. As of Wednesday morning, at least one Texas town has reported 4 inches of rain of more in every day since May 5. In more than a dozen places around the state, more than a foot of rain has been reported this month.
Water rescues have been frequent as floodwaters rise. Before dawn Wednesday, a 19-year-old man was swept some 3 miles down the Brazos River before being rescued by Waco authorities, according to the Associated Press. After he was pulled to safety, he was treated for a minor head injury.
West of Fort Worth, about 20 water rescues occurred in Bridgeport, the AP also reported. Some of those rescues had to be performed using humvees.
Torrential rain triggered major flash flooding in San Angelo late Monday night into early Tuesday, trapping cars and forcing a shutdown of the city's airport.
One person was killed in the flooding, a San Angelo Police Department spokesperson confirmed to The Weather Channel. An unidentified male died when a truck hydroplaned and collided with a tree.
In just 45 minutes, 2.99 inches of rain drenched San Angelo Regional Airport, located southwest of the city. This was more than the average rainfall for the entire month of May - 2.82 inches - their wettest month on average.
At least one car was swept away in floodwaters. One woman was rescued from her flooded car in a McDonalds parking lot. Numerous low-water crossings were flooded and water was reported to be 10-12 feet deep at Monroe Street and Avenue H, according to an amateur radio operator.
One home in Carlsbad, about 15 miles northwest of San Angelo, was inundated with four feet of water early Tuesday morning, according to local law enforcement.
The North Concho River at Carlsbad crested Tuesday morning just over 8 feet above flood stage, its highest crest since September 20, 1974, according to the National Weather Service. The river rose just over 17 feet in 3.5 hours early Tuesday morning.
Floodwaters crept inside the terminal building at San Angelo Regional Airport, prompting closure of the airport Tuesday. All flights are being diverted to Abilene Regional Airport, roughly 90 miles northeast of San Angelo, according to the City of San Angelo.
Monday was the wettest May day on record in the city, dating to 1908, as 4.01 inches of rain was measured at San Angelo Regional Airport.
Overall, it was the ninth wettest calendar day, and the single wettest day since September 9, 1980, when the remnants of Tropical Storm Danielle wrung out 6.24 inches of rain in the city.
This was the city's heaviest rain event since a Memorial Day weekend deluge of 7.42 inches May 23-26 last year.
Incredibly, last year at this time, San Angelo had chalked up their driest year-to-date on record, with only 0.85 inches of precipitation from January 1 - May 18, 2014.
This year, however, the city has picked up almost 12 inches of precipitation, just over two-thirds of an inch shy of their record wettest year-to-date - 12.67 inches in 2007.
Elsewhere, several cars were swept off the road near Coyanosa due to flooding. 
Grand Jury Indicts 6 Baltimore Officers In Freddie Gray's Death. A grand jury has returned indictments against all six Baltimore Police Department officers charged in connection with the death last month of Freddie Gray, the state's attorney in Baltimore says.
Prosecutor Marilyn J. Mosby said at a news conference that the officers will be arraigned July 2. The charges against them are similar to those announced May 1 that range from one count of second-degree murder and four counts of involuntary manslaughter to assault and misconduct in office. As Bill noted at the time:
"The most severe charges are leveled against Officer Caesar R. Goodson Jr., identified as the driver of the van that transported Gray to a police station. The charges against Goodson include second-degree depraved heart murder, which carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.
"The investigation by the prosecutor's office found there had been no reason to detain Gray — and that his arrest was in itself illegal, Mosby said. She said the knife that police officers found on Gray turned out to be legal."
NPR's Jennifer Ludden, who is reporting on this story for our Newscast unit, says that while the most serious charges against the officers still stand, there is "one change — charges of false imprisonment have been dropped." She adds:
"Mosby had originally based them on her contention that the knife Gray was carrying was legal, but lawyers for the officers dispute that. The grand jury added charges of reckless endangerment, bolstering Mosby's allegation that officers repeatedly failed to render aid to Gray after he asked for it."
Gray, 25, was arrested April 12 and suffered a serious spine injury while in police custody. He died April 19. Mosby said Gray "suffered a severe and critical neck injury as a result of being handcuffed, shackled by his feet, and unrestrained inside of the BPD wagon."
Prosecutor Marilyn J. Mosby said at a news conference that the officers will be arraigned July 2. The charges against them are similar to those announced May 1 that range from one count of second-degree murder and four counts of involuntary manslaughter to assault and misconduct in office. As Bill noted at the time:
"The most severe charges are leveled against Officer Caesar R. Goodson Jr., identified as the driver of the van that transported Gray to a police station. The charges against Goodson include second-degree depraved heart murder, which carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.
"The investigation by the prosecutor's office found there had been no reason to detain Gray — and that his arrest was in itself illegal, Mosby said. She said the knife that police officers found on Gray turned out to be legal."
NPR's Jennifer Ludden, who is reporting on this story for our Newscast unit, says that while the most serious charges against the officers still stand, there is "one change — charges of false imprisonment have been dropped." She adds:
"Mosby had originally based them on her contention that the knife Gray was carrying was legal, but lawyers for the officers dispute that. The grand jury added charges of reckless endangerment, bolstering Mosby's allegation that officers repeatedly failed to render aid to Gray after he asked for it."
Gray, 25, was arrested April 12 and suffered a serious spine injury while in police custody. He died April 19. Mosby said Gray "suffered a severe and critical neck injury as a result of being handcuffed, shackled by his feet, and unrestrained inside of the BPD wagon."
Omaha officer killed in shooting near 30th & Martin. Shots fired as officers served felony arrest warrant. Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer provided a detailed timeline of the events that led to a fatal shooting that involved an officer Wednesday.
Police chief details events that led to fatal shooting. Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer provides a detailed timeline of events in Wednesday's officer-involved shooting. Nebraska's governor comments on fallen Officer Kerrie Orozco, who was killed in the line of duty Wednesday. Omaha police chief Todd Schmaderer announced that Kerrie Orozco died Wednesday afternoon after a shooting near 30th and Martin. Witnesses describe police activity in neighborhood. An Omaha neighborhood becomes a crime scene as an officer and a suspect are critically hurt in a shooting Wednesday afternoon. Officer Kerrie Orozco, 29, who was killed in the line of duty, was helping serve a felony arrest warrant with the Metro Area Fugitive Task Force on a man wanted for first-degree assault in connection with a 2014 shooting.
Schmaderer said Sgt. Jeff Kopietz and Officer Robert Laney, who are assigned to the Metro Area Fugitive Task Force, were attempting to locate and arrest Marcus D. Wheeler, 26. While Kopietz and Laney were watching the residence near 30th Street and Martin Avenue, additional officers arrived to assist in locating Wheeler. Among those officers were Jeff Shada and Kerrie Orozco.
Authorities said Laney first spotted a suspect matching Wheeler's description on foot near Vane Street and Martin Avenue. Wheeler was walking in a grassy area, and Laney radioed that he had the suspect in sight. Schmaderer said Laney parked his vehicle, which was unmarked but equipped with red and blue lights that were active at the time.
Schmaderer said Laney got out of his vehicle and called Wheeler by name, ordering him to stop. Wheeler responded by firing at least three gunshots at the officer. Laney did not have a chance to return fire, Schmaderer said. The police chief said Wheeler then fled north, and Laney radioed that shots had been fired. Kopietz drove to the area and found Erica Coppage-Williams and a small child at a nearby home, yelling at her and motioning for her to come toward him and away from the home.
Police said Coppage-Williams appeared agitated and stressed as she yelled back at him. Kopietz then observed Wheeler appear from the back of the home and walk across the driveway. Police gave loud, verbal commands for Wheeler to stop and get on the ground. Schmaderer said Wheeler instantly turned toward Kopietz and took a crouched position and began firing at the officer.
Schmaderer said Kopietz returned fire, and other officers arrived to assist. After a second round of gunfire, Officer Orozco yelled out that she had been hit. Schmaderer said only the only officer to fire his weapon was Kopietz, and that all the officers were equipped with Glock 45 handguns.
Orozco suffered a lethal gunshot wound to her upper chest area, just above her ballistic vest line, which went through her body. A bullet recovered from the rear of her vest matched the semi-automatic weapon Wheeler was using, police said.
Schmaderer said Sgt. Jeff Kopietz and Officer Robert Laney, who are assigned to the Metro Area Fugitive Task Force, were attempting to locate and arrest Marcus D. Wheeler, 26. While Kopietz and Laney were watching the residence near 30th Street and Martin Avenue, additional officers arrived to assist in locating Wheeler. Among those officers were Jeff Shada and Kerrie Orozco.
Authorities said Laney first spotted a suspect matching Wheeler's description on foot near Vane Street and Martin Avenue. Wheeler was walking in a grassy area, and Laney radioed that he had the suspect in sight. Schmaderer said Laney parked his vehicle, which was unmarked but equipped with red and blue lights that were active at the time.
Schmaderer said Laney got out of his vehicle and called Wheeler by name, ordering him to stop. Wheeler responded by firing at least three gunshots at the officer. Laney did not have a chance to return fire, Schmaderer said. The police chief said Wheeler then fled north, and Laney radioed that shots had been fired. Kopietz drove to the area and found Erica Coppage-Williams and a small child at a nearby home, yelling at her and motioning for her to come toward him and away from the home.
Police said Coppage-Williams appeared agitated and stressed as she yelled back at him. Kopietz then observed Wheeler appear from the back of the home and walk across the driveway. Police gave loud, verbal commands for Wheeler to stop and get on the ground. Schmaderer said Wheeler instantly turned toward Kopietz and took a crouched position and began firing at the officer.
Schmaderer said Kopietz returned fire, and other officers arrived to assist. After a second round of gunfire, Officer Orozco yelled out that she had been hit. Schmaderer said only the only officer to fire his weapon was Kopietz, and that all the officers were equipped with Glock 45 handguns.
Orozco suffered a lethal gunshot wound to her upper chest area, just above her ballistic vest line, which went through her body. A bullet recovered from the rear of her vest matched the semi-automatic weapon Wheeler was using, police said.
Charting The Economy:
The SEC is currently considering a rule that would require companies to disclose their CEO-to-worker pay ratio, and is accepting comments from people like you until Dec. 2nd 2013. Please take a few moments to comment to help the SEC decide the best way to implement this law: Ask for CEO-to-Worker Pay Ratio Disclosure. Average CEO pay amounts are calculated in U.S. dollars based on 2012 or 2011 CEO pay levels for companies from the available in the S&P Capital IQ database. CEO-to-worker pay ratios for are calculated using 2011 average annual wages in U.S. dollars as reported by the OECD.Stat database.
[1]2012 U.S. CEO-to-worker pay ratio calculated based on AFL-CIO analysis of average CEO pay at 327 companies in the S&P 500 Index, which disclosed 2012 CEO pay data as of April 1, 2013, as provided by Salary.com. 2012 U.S. rank-and-file worker pay calculated from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' Current Employment Statistics Survey—Table B-2: Average hours and earnings of production and non-supervisory employees on private non-farm payrolls.
Putting out a fire with gasoline. Isn't that a line from a David Bowie song? Does America have to change its strategy in that fight vs. ISIS? Whats the strategy with America's fight vs. ISIS? Seizure of Palmyra and Ramadi by Isis reveal gaping holes in US jihadi strategy. Far from being on the defensive, Islamic State has shown that the arms-length approach of the US to Iraq is failing and Washington is operating ‘day by day’. Islamic State’s victories in Palmyra and Ramadi have been painful blows for the US-led coalition in both Syria and Iraq respectively, underlining the flaws in a strategy that has been widely criticised as both wrong-headed and half-hearted.
Until the last few weeks the conventional wisdom in Washington, London and Arab capitals was that Isis had been forced on to the back foot, suffering from shortages of cash, weapons and problems of resupply, even if its morale was sustained by a slick propaganda machine that kept attracting recruits.
Now events may be forcing a rethink. The Obama administration is taking “an extremely hard look” at its approach, in the words of an unnamed official who declared in the wake of the fall of Ramadi: “You’d have to be delusional not to take something like this and say ‘what went wrong, how do you fix it and how do we correct course to go from here?’”
Robert Gates, the former US defence secretary, put it even more bluntly: “We don’t really have a strategy at all. We’re basically playing this day by day.” The urgent delivery of new anti-tank missiles for the Iraqi army has been one short-term response. But larger military and political questions are still unanswered.
Iraq remains the priority. Air attacks launched last September have been carried out by the US, Britain and half a dozen other countries, while operations in Syria are limited to the US and the largely symbolic presence of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Coalition aircraft have carried out 2,200 air strikes in Iraq and 1,400 in Syria.
The recapture of Kobani on the Syrian-Turkish border has been the headline achievement for the air campaign. Last week the US highlighted a special forces raid that killed a Isis financier. Britain made great play of the imposition of EU sanctions on the Syrian purchasing oil from the group on behalf of Bashar al-Assad. Squeezing Isis cash is an important element of the overall strategy, officials say. So is domestic counter-terrorism work. In recent weeks a significant novelty in the regional mix has been the greater effectiveness of Saudi Arabia, which is now working with its old rivals Qatar and Turkey to build a more potent coalition of non-Isis Syrian rebel groups fighting Assad on the ground, not just from 30,000ft.
By contrast, the US programme to “train and equip” a Syrian force to fight Isis – though not Assad – is moving agonisingly slowly after its launch in Jordan a few weeks ago. Britain backs that effort as well as maintaining financial and political support for the opposition Syrian National Coalition. But the SNC’s unceasing demands for a no-fly zone or a safety zone to protect civilians from the regime’s barrel bombs and chlorine gas are getting nowhere slowly.
On the Iraqi front, analysts say the US has to decide how many more victories by Isis it can sustain before increasing support to the underperforming Baghdad government forces on the ground. It and its allies must also do more to back “acceptable” insurgent groups in Syria, argues Charles Lister of the Brookings Institution.
But Obama’s credibility is extremely low. “Next time you read some grand statement by US officials on [the] campaign against Isis or see a Centcom [US Central Command] map about Isis reversals, just bin it,” commented Emile Hokayem, a respected Middle East expert with the International Institute of Strategic Studies.
The fundamental problem is that Isis is waging war across two countries in a single interconnected crisis that is sustained by Sunni anger and the perception that the US and the west are content to look on as a confident Iran backs Shia groups in Iraq and beyond for its own strategic and sectarian reasons.
In the Middle East the conventional wisdom remains that Islamic State will not be defeated until Assad is. But while there is no doubt that the Syrian president’s position has weakened in recent weeks, his regime’s demise is not in sight.
I have said it so many times but why are we even there fighting for them anyway? The military in that region should be doing the fight vs. ISIS and we just need to keep them from hurting Americans here and anywhere around the world.
The panel is discussing the IOWA focus group about how they assess the GOP field that is set to run in 2016. I won't touch into what they said about Jeb Bush again (we did already this week) but As for other Republicans:
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker’s history of fighting labor unions was seen as a potential strength in the caucuses and a potential weakness in a general election. “It’s appealing to me, yes,” said Randy, 44, an underwriter. “Will it be appealing to the middle part of the electorate on whether, you know, he’s getting the union vote?” he said. “Let’s just say what it is: It’s not happening.” Only one member of the group expressed concern that Walker is not a college graduate.
Senators Rand Paul and Ted Cruz appealed to some participants for their libertarian and conservative stances, while others questioned whether either could win the general election.
Florida Senator Marco Rubio’s background as a child of Cuban immigrants appealed to participants, as did their impression of him as a family man. Craig said Rubio embodies “the American dream.” But Michelle, 32, a CPR instructor, said she had been turned off by Rubio's previous openness to a bipartisan immigration compromise that she regarded as amnesty for undocumented workers.
Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum, who narrowly won the Iowa caucuses in 2012, didn’t hold much interest for the group. “He didn’t win,” Crystal said. “So why would I put all of our energy behind him again?”
Historic handshake but still no apology: Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams refuses to say sorry for death of Prince Charles' great uncle Lord Mountbatten who he once described as a 'war' casualty.
Morning Papers: Santa Barbara Oil Spill. The onshore pipeline behind this week's Santa Barbara oil spill was operating "well below its maximum operating capacity" when it ruptured and leaked more than 100,000 gallons of crude on coastal lands and into the ocean, the oil company said Thursday. What caused the oil spill, however, remained under investigation. The underground oil pipeline was carrying 1,300 barrels an hour, below its maximum capacity of 2,000 barrels an hour, said Rick McMichael of Plains All American Pipeline. "Line 901 was not operating at capacity before or during the release," McMichael told reporters. Meanwhile, Plains All American Pipeline is among the worst violators listed by the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration and surpassed all but four of more than 1,700 operators in reporting safety and maintenance infractions, the federal agency said. The company has 175 federal safety and maintenance violations since 2006, responsible for more than 16,000 barrels in spills that have caused more than $23 million worth of property damage. When asked about the firm's regulatory record, McMichael said the company reports every incident -- even those it's not required to document-- and two-thirds of them involved five or fewer gallons. Pat Hutchins, the company's senior director of safety, said Plains has been committing money to safety improvements for the past seven years.
Crews continued to clean beaches and coastal waters, and officials reported that the leak killed an undisclosed number of lobsters, kelp bass and marine invertebrates. Six oil-soaked pelicans and one young sea lion were being rehabilitated, officials said.
As of Thursday night, vessels had skimmed 9,500 gallons of oily water from the ocean, McMichael said.
Seventeen vessels scoured the ocean surface, he said.
The cleanup could last months, officials said. For now, currents, tides and winds make the oil plume "a moving target" as it drifts offshore, said U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Jennifer Williams.
"It's a continual effort," added U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer David Mosley. "It's not something that we can say, 'Yeah, we are hitting it out of the park,' but it's something our guys are dedicated to."
The size of the spill, which began contaminating California's beaches on Tuesday, is equivalent to the volume of water the average American residence uses in a year.
No stranger to oil spills
This isn't the first oil spill suffered by scenic Santa Barbara.
A spill in January 1969 became what was, at the time, the nation's worst offshore oil disaster. Though this week's spill is smaller, it still prompted California's governor to declare a state of emergency in Santa Barbara County.
The 1969 disaster was so catastrophic and the media coverage so extensive that it gave birth to an environmental movement, a host of regulations against the oil and gas industry, and a new commission to protect California's coast, experts said.
Santa Barbara Harbor after what was then the worst oil spill in U.S. history, in February 1969.
In all, about 3 million gallons of oil spewed from a Union Oil drilling rig 5 miles off the coast of nearby Summerland, California. The pipe blowout cracked the seafloor, and the oil plume killed thousands of seabirds and "innumerable fish," according to an analysis by the University of California, Santa Barbara.
About 35 miles of coastline was coated with oil up to 6 inches thick, and about 800 square miles of ocean was affected, according to a paper by university geographers. Oil platforms are a common sight off the Santa Barbara coast and elsewhere in California, and activists have unsuccessfully sought to phase out oil development in the state.
A backlash and consequences
Subsequent U.S. oil spills were much larger, including the Exxon Valdez accident, which dumped 11 million gallons off Alaska's shores in 1989, and the Deepwater Horizon spill of 210 million gallons in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.
But the 1969 Santa Barbara spill energized a grass-roots movement that led to new federal and state environmental laws and helped establish the first Earth Day the next year.
"While the popular backlash against the oil companies involved grew, the public discussion that was to have long-term consequences for the nation started in earnest," wrote geography department chairman Keith C. Clarke and graduate student Jeffrey J. Hemphill.
This week's oil spill began with a broken pipe on land but has spilled into the ocean and onto beaches, dumping more than 100,000 gallons of crude in Southern California.
A county emergency
It was enough to prompt Gov. Jerry Brown to declare a state of emergency for Santa Barbara County.
"This emergency proclamation cuts red tape and helps the state quickly mobilize all available resources," Brown said Wednesday evening. "We will do everything necessary to protect California's coastline."
Houston-based Plains All American Pipeline estimated up to 105,000 gallons may have spilled, based on the typical flow rate of oil and the elevation of the pipeline.
The pipeline is underground, so it will take a few days to determine how much crude oil was actually spilled, said McMichael.
McMichael said an estimated 21,000 gallons of crude had gone into the Pacific Ocean. The rest was spilled on land.
Fined for prior oil spills
Plains All American Pipeline violated federal environmental violations 10 times between 2004 and 2007, when about 273,420 gallons of crude oil were discharged into waters or shorelines in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Kansas, the EPA said.
Most of the spills were caused by corrosion on pipe, the EPA said.
The oil company agreed to pay a $3.25 million civil penalty and spend $41 million to upgrade 10,420 miles of crude oil pipeline operated in the United States, the EPA said in 2010.
The apology
Plains All American Pipeline Chairman Greg Armstrong said he was deeply sorry for the spill.
"We apologize for the damage that has been done to the wildlife and to the environment, and we're very sorry for the disruption and inconvenience that it has caused the citizens and visitors of this area," he said.
Armstrong said Plains was given permission to work through the night on the cleanup.
The spill took place on its Las Flores-to-Gaviota pipeline, which was built in 1987. The company said the leaked oil reached a culvert, and it spilled into the Pacific Ocean from there. The culvert was later blocked to stop the flow.
Armstrong said the pipeline had been recently inspected.
The cleanup
California mobilized crews from multiple state agencies to tackle the mess.
"I can tell you we have more than 100 people responding in the EOC (Emergency Operations Center) right now," said Brad Alexander, a spokesman for the California Office of Emergency Services. "They have several ships, scooping up oil and assessing the boundaries on the water," he said.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife also was on the scene with nine vessels collecting oil and containing the spill, according to its Twitter feed. More than 70 of its people were in the field collecting oil and protecting shorebirds.
It is painstaking work.
Workers dressed in white protective suits raked up balls of tar from the shore, sand and rocks and put them into plastic bags.
The Coast Guard has seven ships in the area, laying down protective booms, skimming the water and collecting the oil to prevent it from spreading.
The threat
The cleanup was little consolation to environmental groups.
"We continue to see it's not a question of if there is going to be an oil spill but when?" said Maggie Hall from the scene of the spill. She is an attorney with the Environmental Defense Center.
"It's a constant threat. And as you can see, the cleanup is not easy."
The Environmental Defense Center's executive director, Owen Bailey, said there were still a number of unanswered questions, such as why there was no automatic shutoff on the pipeline and why the early response was not more successful in halting the spill.
"The fact is that oil development is innately risky," Bradley said. "We need to realize that allowing these dangerous industrial operations in our most sensitive environments will inevitably lead to oil spills -- the most predictable of accidents."
A big concern is the environment around Refugio State Beach.
There are shorebirds that live in the area -- the snowy plover and least tern nest on sandy beaches, and the cormorant can dive deep to find food. Officials want to make sure that none of the birds or other wildlife suffers damage from the spill.
"An aggressive and effective cleanup response to the spill is underway," said Mark Crossland with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. "It will go on as long as necessary.
"Every effort will be made to minimize the damage to the environment, including taking care of oiled wildlife," said Crossland.
Fishing and shellfish harvesting have been closed in Santa Barbara County until further notice.
There's also concern about the next park down the road, El Capitan State Beach, with sandy shores and rocky tide pools.
Thousands of people are expected to flock to El Capitan over the Memorial Day weekend. It's on another unspoiled stretch of coast. Visitors go there to kayak, hike and picnic.
China said Thursday it is entitled to keep watch over airspace and seas surrounding artificial islands it created in the disputed waters of the South China Sea, following an exchange in which its navy warned off a U.S. surveillance plane. The United States said its aerial patrolling was in accordance with international law and "no one in their right mind" would try to stop it.
Neither side says it wants confrontation with the other, but as China seeks to assert its expansive claims to the South China Sea, the U.S. is pushing back and trying to demonstrate that China's massive land reclamation does not give it territorial rights.
A news crew from CNN reported it witnessed an incident Wednesday in which a Chinese navy dispatcher demanded eight times that a U.S. Navy P8-A Poseidon surveillance aircraft leave the area as it flew over Fiery Cross Reef, where China has conducted extensive reclamation work. It said the U.S. crew responded that they were flying through international airspace, to which the Chinese dispatcher answered: "This is the Chinesenavy ... You go!"
The Center for Strategic and International Studies think tank posted more video Thursday of the aerial patrol above the Spratly island chain which it said had been released by the U.S. Navy.
Speaking at a regular daily briefing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei reiterated Beijing's insistence on its indisputable sovereignty over the islands it has created by piling sand on top of atolls and reefs.
While saying he had no information about the reported exchange, Hong said China was "entitled to the surveillance over related airspace and sea areas so as to maintain national security and avoid any maritime accidents.
"We hope relevant countries respect China's sovereignty over the South China Sea, abandon actions that may intensify controversies and play a constructive role for regional peace and stability," Hong told reporters.
In Washington, Daniel Russel, the top U.S. diplomat for East Asia, said the flight of a U.S. reconnaissance plane in international airspace over the South China Sea was a regular and appropriate occurrence. He said the U.S. will seek to preserve the ability of not just the United States but all countries to exercise their rights to freedom of navigation and overflight.
"Nobody in their right mind is going to try to stop the U.S. Navy from operating. That would not be a good step. But it's not enough that a U.S. military plane can overfly international waters, even if there is a challenge or a hail and query" from the Chinese military, he said.
"We believe that every country and all civilian actors also should have unfettered access to international waters and international airspace," he said.
China's construction has intensified frictions among competing parties in the South China Sea, which Beijing claims virtually in its entirety along with its scattered island groups. The area that is home to some of the world's busiest commercial shipping routes is also claimed in part or in whole by the Philippines, Taiwan, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam.
The U.S. and most of the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations want a halt to the projects, which they suspect are aimed at building islands and other land features over which China can claim sovereignty and base military assets.
The U.S. says it takes no position on the sovereignty claims but insists they must be negotiated. Washington also says ensuring maritime safety and access is a U.S. national security priority.
China is also at odds with Japan over ownership of a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea that are controlled by Tokyo but also claimed by Beijing, leading to increased activity by Chinese planes and ships in the area, which lies between Taiwan and Okinawa.
Both sides have accused the other of operating dangerously, prompting fears of an incident such as the 2001 collision between a Chinese fighter jet and a U.S. surveillance plane in which the Chinese pilot was killed and the American crew detained on China's Hainan island.
Also Thursday, the Chinese air force announced its latest offshore training exercises in the western Pacific as part of efforts to boost its combat preparedness.
People's Liberation Army Air Force spokesman Shen Jinke said the exercises were held in international airspace but gave no specifics. In its report on the drills, state broadcaster CCTV showed a video of Xian H-6 twin-engine bombers, a Chinese version of Russia's Tupelov Tu-16, in flight and landing at an air base, although it wasn't clear when the video was shot. Associated Press writer Matthew Pennington in Washington contributed to this report.
Boy Scouts president says ban on gay leaders needs to end. Boy Scouts of America President Robert Gates said on Thursday the group's ban on adult gay leaders needs to end, taking a step toward dismantling a policy that has caused deep rifts in the 105-year-old organization.
Gates said at the group's national meeting in Atlanta he does not plan to revoke the charters of Boy Scout councils that allow gay leaders, according to a text of the speech, which could significantly weaken enforcement of the ban.
"We must deal with the world as it is, not as we might wish it to be. The status quo in our movement’s membership
standards cannot be sustained," said Gates, who as U.S. secretary of defense helped end the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy that barred openly gay individuals from serving in the military.
He said he was not asking the Boy Scouts' national board to make any policy change at the current meeting.
The statue of a scout stands in the entrance to Boy Scouts of America headquarters in Irving, Texas, …
"Dozens of states - from New York to Utah - are passing laws that protect employment rights on the basis of sexual orientation," he said. "Thus, between internal challenges and potential legal conflicts, the Boy Scouts of America finds itself in an unsustainable position."
Those pushing for change, applauded Gates' stand.
"We are 180 degrees from where we were a year ago," said Zach Wahls, executive director of Scouts for Equality. "This is a very, very positive development."
The Irving, Texas-based organization lifted its ban on gay youth in 2013 but continues to prohibit the participation of openly gay adults. The selection last year of Gates as president of the Boy Scouts was seen as an opportunity to revisit the policy.
Gates said he personally would have supported going further toward lifting the Scouts' ban on gays but would not reopen debate during his two-year term.
The policy received its first major challenge in April when the first openly gay adult was hired as a summer camp leader by the Greater New York Council of Boy Scouts.
In Ohio, an assistant scoutmaster was expelled in March for being openly gay, according to local media reports.
Some major sponsors have pulled funding from the group to protest policies they consider discriminatory, including Lockheed Martin Corp and Intel Corp. Meanwhile, some social conservatives have enrolled their children in alternative scouting groups that ban gay members.
Membership in the Boy Scouts of America is in the grips of a decade-long decline, but it took a steeper tumble during 2014, the first year openly gay youth were allowed to belong.
About 2.4 million youth participated in the scouting program in 2014, a 7.4 percent drop from 2013 enrollment. In 2013, membership dropped 6 percent, the group said.
"The one thing we cannot do is put our heads in the sand and pretend this challenge will go away or abate. Quite the opposite is happening," Gates also said. (Reporting by Marice Richter; Writing by Jon Herskovitz; Editing by Bill Trott and Lisa Lambert)
Capitol Hill Police receive new weapons safety training. Cops Who Lost Guns Still Protecting GOP Leaders.
As part of their biannual weapons qualification, Capitol Police will receive new weapons safety training to reinforce proper handling, i.e., what to do with your gun when you go to the potty, Chief Kim C. Dine told lawmakers Wednesday.
Leaving a gun unattended around the Capitol currently warrants five days of suspension without pay, but Dine and newly appointed Assistant Chief Matthew R. Verderosa, are considering increasing the punishment to a 30-day suspension — or even termination — following the May 1 report of three such incidents.
“I would venture common sense will prevail and no officer will ever leave a firearm in a toilet-cover dispenser again in the Capitol complex,” Rep. Rodney Davis, R-Ill., told Dine during the nearly 90-minute House Administration Committee hearing. The chief was the lone witness.
“Hopefully, you didn’t have to put a specific provision into your training manual about not leaving firearms in toilet-paper, or toilet-cover dispensers,” Davis continued. “But that’s a reaction. What is the Capitol Police doing to be more proactive?”
Questions from the seven members of the committee who attended the hearing — six Republicans and three Democrats are on the panel — focused on the April 15 landing of a gyrocopter on the West Front by Douglas Hughes (who was coincidentally indicted Wednesday on six charges related to the incident), and the Roll Call report of three instances in which officers left guns unattended around the Capitol. One was allegedly found by a child as young as 7, who was visiting Speaker John A. Boehner with his parents.
Pressed on whether that officer, and a member of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s detail who allegedly left a gun unattended, had been removed from their positions, Dine answered, “They haven’t been yet.” He said reassigning the officers is “certainly something we are looking at.”
Neither of the GOP leaders was briefed on the incidents after they occurred — another fact Dine was pressed about.
“He danced around a lot of questions, you know, till you pressed him on it,” Rep. Rich Nugent, R-Fla., said in an interview after the hearing. Nugent, a former sheriff, believes the officers should have immediately been removed from those sensitive positions. “I think that’s the first thing that should have happened,” he said.
“My whole point to them is, that length of time to do discipline and then failing to remove them, it just causes problems for your rank and file because they don’t know what’s appropriate and what isn’t appropriate,” Nugent said. “They all know that leaving your [gun] unattended is a giant no-no.”
The committee wants to see more of Dine. Many members lamented having never before met the chief, who has been on the job since December 2012. Wednesday marked his first time being called to testify.
“We need to be sure that we are not an afterthought in the process of managing the department,” said Rep. Robert A. Brady, D-Pa., the top Democrat on the committee. When something happens affecting public security, “run — don’t walk — to this committee,” Brady instructed.
Dine apologized, and told lawmakers at least a half-dozen times that he, too, wanted a better relationship. Dine also said he had “no excuses” for the three incidents when officers left their guns unattended.
“As far as any kind of discipline … that is totally up to the chief of police,” Chairwoman Candice S. Miller, R-Mich., said after the hearing. She also pressed the chief on whether the officers had been removed from the protective details.
“That’s unacceptable. You cannot be leaving your weapon in the bathroom, or any kind of public place,” she continued. “Obviously everybody agrees with that, but it’s happened more than once — that we’ve heard about, so there is a lot of concern. It’s one of the reasons, really, that we had this hearing.”
13.8 Million viewers watch late Night with David Letterman finale. David Letterman's Finale Was Watched by 13.8 Million, His Largest Audience Since 1994 Here's how it compared to other late-night farewells By Chris Ariens.
David Letterman's final Late Show was watched by 13.76 million viewers, making it the Late Show's largest audience since Feb. 25, 1994, on a night that saw CBS' coverage of the Lillehammer Olympics.
The finale had his best delivery in the adults 25-54 and adults 18-49 demos since Dec. 1, 2005—the night of Oprah Winfrey's much-anticipated appearance. The final Letterman Late Show, which ran 80 minutes, also gave a boost to The Late Late Show with James Corden—it had its largest audience ever, despite starting 20 minutes late. As for how Letterman's final bow compares to previous late-night farewells:
- Johnny Carson's Tonight Show finale | May 22, 1992: 41.36 million
- Jay Leno's second Tonight Show finale | Feb. 26, 2014: 14.63 million
- Jay Leno's first Tonight Show finale | May 29, 2009: 11.9 million
- Conan O'Brien's Tonight Show finale | Jan. 22, 2010: 10.34 million
The Letterman finale also gave a boost to several brands, according to Amobee Brand Intelligence analysis. Taco Bell saw digital consumption increase 103 percent in a day, while The Church of Scientology saw a consumption increase of 444 percent.
On the finale, Letterman re-aired a 1996 sketch in which he pranked people working at a Taco Bell drive-thru. Also, Letterman joked during his final monologue that his new job was going to be as the new face of Scientology. As it turned out, the church advertised later in the show.
Hillary Clinton to discuss Benghazi on the Hill and FYI, the First Batch of Hillary Clinton's Emails on Libya Made Public. atch of Hillary Clinton's personal emails made public on Thursday morning offers a glimpse into her team's initial exchange of information in the wake of the Benghazi attacks as well as her relationship with longtime confidante Sidney Blumenthal, who sent her at least two dozen memos regarding Libya during her tenure as Secretary of State.
The State Department plans to release about 850 pages of the emails, which had been handed over to the congressional panel investigating the Benghazi attacks. But on Thursday, the New York Times released about a third of that batch of correspondence, which Clinton exchanged using a private server rather than a government email account.
The documents show that, while Clinton used her personal email account to receive information the government calls "sensitive," she did not appear to use her private server to exchange classified information.
The "sensitive" information included details like the location of State Department officials in Libya during a time of instability in the country in 2011.
The documents released by the New York Times also show that Clinton received numerous briefing memos about Libya from Blumenthal, a longtime friend of the Clintons who was not employed by the State Department. The New York Times reported earlier this week that Blumenthal was also involved with a possible business venture in the country at the time.
Two of those memos from Blumenthal came in the days immediately following the September 11, 2012 Benghazi attacks.
In one, sent on September 12, Blumenthal suggested that top security officers in the country believed that the attacks "were inspired by what many devout Libyan viewed as a sacrilegious internet video on the prophet Mohammed originating in America." Clinton forwarded that information to top adviser Jake Sullivan with the message "more info."
But another memo sent the following day indicated that the attacks may have actually been carried out by a militia group. Blumenthal wrote that officials in the country "believe that the attackers having prepared to launch their assault took advantage of the cover provided by the demonstrations in Benghazi protesting an internet production seen as disrespectful to the prophet Mohammed."
The release of the emails comes after a prolonged political fight for Clinton over her use of a private email server while serving as Secretary of State.
On Tuesday, Clinton urged the State Department to expedite the vetting of the emails after initial reports suggested that the data trove would not be ready for public release until January of next year..
Holy Cow. A Lot going on this week and today but regardless of it all on this Friday Morning (Joe), Please stay in touch!
