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Couple Arrested In Death Of Adopted Girl Who Died In Rain

NewsOne Staff — Sat, 01 Oct 2011 18:58:04 +0000

Police arrested a Washington couple this week on homicide by abuse and assault charges months after their 13-year-old adopted daughter was found dead at their residence.

Larry P. Williams and Carri D. Williams’ adopted daughter Hana, who was adopted from Ethiopia in 2008 and came to America in search for a better life, was found in the family’s backyard in Sedro Woolley, Wash. naked and face down in mud in May.

According to court documents, the teen was systematically beaten, starved, forced to shower outside, sleep in a barn and use an outdoor toilet as punishment for being “rebellious”.

Senate Takes Up Debt Limit Bill Tuesday, Passage Likely

Associated Press — Tue, 02 Aug 2011 11:21:56 +0000

WASHINGTON — With just hours left before the national debt bumps against its ceiling, emergency bipartisan legislation to allow the government to borrow more faces one final test in the Senate. Expected passage there sends the bill to President Barack Obama, averting a potentially disastrous, first-ever government default and making a down payment toward taming out-of-control budget deficits.

The legislation, which easily passed the House on Monday, is virtually assured to clear the Senate shortly after noon Tuesday by a bipartisan tally. The White House promises Obama will sign the measure into law.

The legislation pairs an increase in the government’s borrowing cap with promises of more than $2 trillion of budget cuts over the upcoming decade. Its passage caps a long, difficult battle between tea party-powered House Republicans and Obama – with House Speaker John Boehner caught in the middle more than once.

After months of fiercely partisan struggle, the House’s top Republican and Democratic leaders swung behind the bill, ratifying a deal sealed Sunday night with a phone call from Boehner to Obama.

“I’m not happy with it,” Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., said. “But I’m proud of some of the accomplishments in it. That’s why I’m voting for it.”

Much of the measure was negotiated on terms set by Boehner, which included a demand that any increase in the nation’s borrowing cap be matched by spending cuts at least as large. But it also meets demands made by Obama, including debt increases large enough to keep the government funded into 2013 and curbs on growth of the Pentagon budget.

Even though Obama strongly supported the measure, half of the chamber’s Democrats opposed it. Sixty-six conservative Republicans opposed the measure as well.

Still, after storming the Capital in January – only to see bill after bill die in the Democratic Senate – many junior House lawmakers opted to view the legislation through the prism of optimism.

“It’s about time that Congress come together and figure out a way to live within our means,” said Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis. “This bill is going to start that process, although it doesn’t go far enough.”

The measure would provide an immediate $400 billion increase in the $14.3 trillion U.S. borrowing cap, with $500 billion more assured this fall. That $900 billion would be matched by cuts to agency budgets over the next 10 years.

What follows next is more complicated. The measure establishes a special bipartisan committee to draft legislation to find up to $1.5 trillion more in deficit cuts for a vote later this year. They’re likely to come from so-called mandatory programs like federal retirement benefits, farm subsidies, Medicare and Medicaid. The savings would be matched by a further increase in the borrowing cap.

There’s no guarantee the committee, to be evenly split between the warring parties, will agree on such legislation. But there are powerful incentives to do so because more budget gridlock would trigger a crippling round of automatic cuts across much of the budget, including Pentagon coffers.

On Monday, the White House dispatched Vice President Joe Biden to the Capitol to lobby recalcitrant Democrats in both House and Senate. He heard an earful, especially from liberal and black lawmakers upset that Obama surrendered on taxes and agreed to cuts from a budget ledger built up over the first two years of his term, when Democrats dominated Congress.

“They expressed all their frustration,” he conceded after a session with House Democrats.

Biden said the deal “has one overwhelming redeeming feature” – postponing the next debt limit battle until 2013 and leaving the current fight behind. “We have to get this out of the way to get to the issue of growing the economy,” he said.

Rep. Jan Schakowsky, D-Ill., said the Republicans got the better of the deal.

“Republicans intentionally created a crisis in order to get their way,” Schakowsky said. “This is the wrong medicine for a sick economy. This bill could increase unemployment, slow economic growth and deepen already historic income inequality.”

GOP leaders lobbied their members as well, but with Democratic leaders and Obama behind the legislation, there was far less pressure on them than last week, when they were forced to delay a vote and rewrite an earlier version of the measure to assuage tea party lawmakers.

“This measure is not perfect or the way we would have done it if we were in charge, but it will finally begin to change the way Washington spends taxpayer dollars,” House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said. “As is the case with any major change, these things will take time and this is the first significant move – of many to come – to turn Washington around.”

In the Senate, support from Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and GOP leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky virtually guarantees the measure will receive the 60 votes required to pass on Tuesday. The vote is set for noon, plenty of time to ship the measure up Pennsylvania Avenue to Obama. The administration has said that without the new borrowing authority, the government won’t be able to pay all its bills after Tuesday.

Enactment of the measure would provide welcome closure for Obama, who has seen his poll numbers sag during the debt limit battle – especially as Tuesday’s deadline neared and the stock market sank.

GOP presidential candidates such as Mitt Romney and Michele Bachmann issued statements opposing the legislation.

“As with any compromise, the outcome is far from satisfying,” Obama conceded in a video his re-election campaign sent to millions of Democrats.

In a tweet, the president was more positive: “The debt agreement makes a significant down payment to reduce the deficit – finding savings in both defense and domestic spending.”

Divided Government Means Compromise Is A Must

The Boehner Debt Limit Plan: How It Will Affect African-Americans

Gerren Keith Gaynor — Fri, 29 Jul 2011 15:32:46 +0000

As congress still works to agree on a debt limit plan that can satisfy both Democrats and Republicans, many Americans are wondering just how all these plans will affect their everyday lives.

House Speaker John Boehner’s Budget Control Act of 2011 is the current plan that congress will soon vote on. It is estimated to raise the debt limit by $2.5 trillion, and will reduce the deficit by about $915 billion, according to its revised version.

Here’s a little break down of what cuts will be made to some social services:

Social Security Administration

Benefits for SSI, Medicare and Medicaid would fall by $2.5 billion over the 2012-2016 period and by nearly $12 billion over the 2012-2021 period.

Health Care

Benefit outlays for Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP would fall by $1.4 billion over the 2012-2016 period and by about $3.7 billion over the 2012-2021 period.

Student Loans

Eliminate the subsidized loan program for graduate students. Beginning July 1, 2012, the bill would eliminate the interest subsidy on subsidized student loans for almost all graduate students while a borrower is in school, in the post-school grace period, and during any authorized deferment period.
Eliminate loan repayment incentives. Beginning July 1, 2012, the bill would terminate, with one exception, the Secretary of Education’s authority to make incentive payments to borrowers to encourage the on-time repayment of their federal loans.
Cuts To Pell Grants. Significant cuts to student Pell Grants are also expected. Many college students rely heavily on Pell Grants to fund their higher education.

White House Threatens To Veto Boehner’s Plan

Victory For Obama! Judge Rejects Suit Against Stem-Cell Research

Associated Press — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 16:08:25 +0000

WASHINGTON — A lawsuit that had threatened to end the Obama Administration’s funding of embryonic stem cell research was dismissed Wednesday, allowing the U.S. to continue supporting a search for cures to deadly diseases over protests that the work relies on destroyed human embryos.

The lawsuit claimed that research funded by the National Institute of Health violated the 1996 Dickey-Wicker law that prohibits taxpayer financing for work that harms an embryo. But the administration policy allows research on embryos that were culled long ago through private funding.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth, chief of the federal court in Washington, last year said the lawsuit was likely to succeed and ordered a stop to the research while the case continued. But under swift protest from the Obama administration, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals here quickly overturned Lamberth’s injunction and said the case was likely to fail.

Lamberth said in his opinion Wednesday that he is bound by the higher court’s analysis and ruled in favor of the administration’s motion to dismiss the case.

“This Court, following the D.C. Circuit’s reasoning and conclusions, must find that defendants reasonably interpreted the Dickey-Wicker Amendment to permit funding for human embryonic stem cell research because such research is not `research in which a human embryo or embryos are destroyed,’ ” Lamberth wrote.

Researchers hope one day to use embryonic stem cells in ways that cure spinal cord injuries, Parkinson’s disease and other ailments. Opponents of the research object because the cells were obtained from destroyed human embryos. Though current research is using cells culled long ago, opponents also fear research success would spur destruction of new embryos. Proponents say the research cells come mostly from extra embryos discarded anyway by fertility clinics.

President George W. Bush also permitted stem cell research, but limited the availability of taxpayer funds to embryonic stem cell lines that were already in existence and “where the life and death decision has already been made.” Obama’s order removed that limitation, allowing projects that involve stem cells from already-destroyed embryos or embryos to be destroyed in the future. To qualify, parents who donate the original embryo must be told of other options, such as donating to another infertile woman.

The Obama administration’s rules expanded the number of stem cell lines created with private money that federally funded scientists could research, up from the 21 that Bush had allowed, to around 100 so far.

The lawsuit was filed in 2009 by two scientists who argued that Obama’s expansion jeopardized their ability to win government funding for research using adult stem cells – ones that have already matured to create specific types of tissues – because it will mean extra competition.

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Boehner To House GOP On Debt Talks: “Get Your A– In Line”

Gerren Keith Gaynor — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 14:57:16 +0000

WASHINGTON — During a closed-door meeting, House Speaker John Beohner spoke to GOP leaders in an attempt to gain support of his debt limit plan, which some Republicans deem skeptical.

“Get your a– in line,” he demanded to the caucus.

The GOP has been quite divided between those who back Boehner’s plan and those — mostly Tea Party members — who argue his plan’s spending reductions are “puny.”

Others have accused Boehner of being a traitor for negotiating with President Obama in possibly increasing government revenues.

Read More At HuffingtonPost.com

Sharpton Urges African-Americans To Take More Action

Gerren Keith Gaynor — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 20:06:10 +0000

In light of the surging wealth disparity and unemployment rate, among other socio-economic issues plaguing the country, Rev. Al Sharpton wrote a column in the Huffington Post, urging Americans —African-Americans in particular — to take more action in challenging the government.

In the column, Sharpton encourages African-Americans to address their issues at the National Action Network’s annual march in Washington on August 27, where Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. will be commemorated, and the unveiling of his national monument will take place.

An Excerpt Reads:

Consistently on the forefront of social justice and civil rights issues, we at National Action Network can think of no greater time than the present to convene and address many of these challenges at our annual march in Washington, D.C. on August 27th. Paying homage to the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., we will gather, rally and march for jobs, education, non-violence, equality across the board and our collective future. From the emancipator (Abraham Lincoln) to the liberator (Dr. King), we recognize our advancement, but as this Pew study so distinctly highlights, we have much work that remains before us.

Despite what many economists may have us believe, the poor and working-class are still struggling to gain employment, provide food and clothing for their children, maintain a roof over their heads and afford health care. And now there is no question that Blacks and Latinos are lagging generations behind Whites when it comes to wealth. When Whites are more likely to invest in stocks, they are more likely to sustain themselves as the market improves. But when people of color had invested in homes, they were the first ones to lose that equity — hence unable to pass on wealth to their children as well.

Read More At HuffingtonPost.com

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Obama Threatens To Veto GOP’s “Cut, Cap and Balance” Plan

Gerren Keith Gaynor — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 19:47:47 +0000

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama said he will veto conservative Republicans’ “Cut, Cap and Balance” fiscal plan if it makes it to his desk.

A statement from the White House rejected the plan, which conditions a debt limit hike on a constitutional amendment that would require the government to balance its books each year. The proposal also requires substantial spending cuts and a statutory spending cap as a precondition for raising the debt ceiling.

The White House’s statement classified the plan as “unrealistic policy goals.”

The Huffington Post Reports:

Republicans have been pushing the Cut, Cap and Balance plan largely as a reaffirmation of their conservative principles. But such a proposal has little chance of becoming law; constitutional amendments require a two-thirds vote in both chambers of Congress, which is unlikely in a Democratic-controlled Senate and maybe even a stretch in the House. And even if it were to pass Congress, an amendment wouldn’t take effect until it was ratified by at least 38 state legislatures.

Still, with an eye on 2012 elections, Republicans want votes on the proposal on the record. The House is scheduled to take up the bill on Tuesday, and the Senate is expected to follow later this week.

Read More At HuffingtonPost.com

Newt Gingrich Calls Economy “The Obama Depression”

Social Security Cuts To Drive Black Women Into Extreme Poverty

Gerren Keith Gaynor — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 16:36:24 +0000

With Social Security possibly on the chopping block in debt talks in Washington, a report reveals that single, elderly, African-American women will be further driven into poverty.

According to the National Women’s Law Center’s analysis of Current Population Survey data shows that if chained CPI, a Social Security COLA is cut, the median benefit for African-American single women seniors will dip below the poverty line.

Currently, the median Social Security benefit for a 65-year-old single Black woman is $10, 680, while the median for all single women is $13, 200.

The poverty line for individual seniors is $ 10, 458.

The Huffington Post Reports:

This in itself does not mean that the chained CPI would push many senior African American women into poverty. But according to SSA (Social Security Administration) data nearly half–45.6 percent–of non-married African Americans aged 65 older rely on Social Security for all of their income; 54.1 percent rely on it for 90 percent of their income or more.

Taken together, these two pieces of information–that the median benefit would go below the poverty level for non-married African American women, and that a near-majority of non-married elderly African Americans rely on Social Security for all of their income–lead to the conclusion that the chained CPI would lead to an increase in poverty among elderly African Americans.

Read More At HuffingtonPost.com

Mr. President: Cutting Social Security Will Hurt Our Community

Book Calls Obama Liar Over Mom’s Lack Of Health Care Claim

Gerren Keith Gaynor — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 21:21:32 +0000

A new book about the life of Barack Obama’s mother is casting doubt on statements shared by the president during his 2008 election campaign and push for health care reform, The New York Times reports.

According to A Singular Woman: The Untold Story of Barack Obama’s Mother, a biography written by Times reporter Janny Scott, Obama’s mother, Ann Dunham, had health insurance during her 1995 battle with cancer. Such a claim disputes the narrative told by Mr. Obama.

The significant line that questions Obama’s account reads:

“Ann’s compensation for her job in Jakarta had included health insurance, which covered most of the costs of her medical treatment. Once she was back in Hawaii, the hospital billed her insurance company directly, leaving Ann to pay only the deductible and any uncovered expenses, which, she said, came to several hundred dollars a month.”

However, the president referenced a rather different story:

“For my mother to die of cancer at the age of 53 and have to spend the last months of her life in the hospital room arguing with insurance companies because they’re saying that this may be a pre-existing condition and they don’t have to pay her treatment, there’s something fundamentally wrong about that.”

The White House did not dispute Scott’s claim, however, spokesman Nicholas Papas told the Times, “The president has told this story based on his recollection of events that took place more than 15 years ago.”

Read More At HuffingtonPost.com

Obama Furiously Walks Out Of Debt Talks: “I Will Not Yield”

Gerren Keith Gaynor — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 11:33:40 +0000

WASHINGTON — After tension escalated in Wednesday’s debt limit negotiations, President Obama told Republican lawmakers that he will not yield on reaching a deal that includes a long-term deficit cut.

Republicans said that after a heated disagreement with House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), the president “abruptly” walked out of the meeting.

Democratic lawmakers, however, said that Obama gave a lecture to Cantor and Republicans and left the meeting because it had ended, not because of anger.

Mr. Obama did have ardent words for Republican lawmakers, however.

“Would Ronald Reagan be sitting here? I’ve reached my limit. This may bring my presidency down, but I will not yield on this,” the president said just shortly before concluding the two-hour meeting.

The Federal Reserve chairman, Ben S. Bernanke, warned on Wednesday of a “huge financial calamity” if President Obama and the Republicans cannot agree on a budget deal that allows the federal debt ceiling to be increased.

The NYTimes Reports:

Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia, the House majority leader, said he raised the idea of taking what savings could be achieved now — roughly $1.4 trillion — and then having additional votes to raise the debt limit again before the elections in November 2012, with Republicans ultimately seeking a total of at least $2.4 trillion in cuts with no tax increases.

At this, Mr. Cantor said, the president “got very agitated, seemingly.” Mr. Cantor quoted the president as saying: “Eric, don’t call my bluff. I’m going to the American people with this.”

Then, Mr. Cantor said, “He shoved back and said, ‘I’ll see you tomorrow’ and walked out.”

Say What?! Senator Says The Poor Should Pay Taxes, Not Rich

Gerren Keith Gaynor — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 16:17:18 +0000

WASHINGTON — After Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) said that millionaires paying more taxes to save the economy was “rather pathetic,” another Republican senator spoke against the proposal, suggesting that the poor take the burden instead of the rich.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) voted against the measure Thursday, demanding that poor middle-class Americans need to do more.

“I hear how they’re so caring for the poor and so forth,” Hatch said in remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday, in reference to Democrats. “The poor need jobs! And they also need to share some of the responsibility.”

Video Below:

Read More At HuffingtonPost.com

Profiling? TSA Demanded To Search Black Woman’s “Poofy” Hair

NewsOne Staff — Thu, 07 Jul 2011 20:20:58 +0000

An African-American woman who was subjected to a security pat-down at a Seattle Airport because of her “poofy” hairstyle is claiming that she was discriminated against.

Laura Adiele was pulled out of the security line after having gone through the Advance Imaging System and was told she needed a pat-down.

“When I first heard her say, ‘We’re going to have to pat you down,’ I thought she was talking about my body. I was turning around and putting my arms out and she said, ‘no, we’re going to have to examine your hair,’ and I said, ‘no, we’re not going to do that today and you’re going to have to get security or your supervisor,’” said Adiele.

VIDEO:

“The supervisor shows up and she says, ‘It’s our policy that we examine anything that poofs from the body,’ and I’m looking around me at all these women with bigger hair if you will and I’m thinking ‘why am I the only one being singled out here for poofy hair?” Adiele said.

Adiele filed a complaint about the incident, but has not received a response.

University of Delaware Grad Blames Police For Loss Of Eye

Gerren Keith Gaynor — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 17:36:25 +0000

WASHINGTON–A University of Delaware graduate blamed three off-duty cops for the loss of his eye, which came as a result of a nightclub beating.

Walter Blair, 24, celebrated his birthday in Washington and was involved in a brawl with the cops, who were working as bouncers. Blair was never accused or charged with any crime, however, the beating resulted in the major injury.

CBC Embarks On Tour To Reduce Black Unemployment Rate

Gerren Keith Gaynor — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 17:00:25 +0000

WASHINGTON — After much setback in passing legislative measures to mitigate the unemployment rate among African-Americans, the Congressional Black Caucus will embark on a tour through distressed cities to lead a host of job fairs and town hall meetings.

The tour is scheduled to commence this summer in Chicago, and will visit cities including Detroit, Cleveland and Los Angeles. The national unemployment rate is currently at 9.1 percent, however for African-Americans, the unemployment rate sits at 16.2 percent.

The Root Reports:

The CBC plans to continue introducing legislation based on this community response. At the tour’s end, the organization will commission a newly created CBC jobs advisory council of top black economic and business experts, to draft a report tying together each component of the initiative. The report will detail the outcomes of each event and propose a long-term solution for job creation and economic growth.

He Won’t Quit! Weiner Requests Leave Of Absence For Treatment

Charles Dixon — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 00:11:37 +0000

WASHINGTON — Ignoring calls from several top Democrats for his resignation, Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) seems determined to keep his place in Congress. Recent reports indicate that Weiner would soon be checking into a treatment center.

Huffington Post reports:

Weiner’s office put out a statement confirming those reports and announcing that he had requested a “short leave of absence from the House of Representatives so that he can get evaluated and map out a course of treatment to make himself well.”

Earlier reports suggested that Weiner had no immediate intention of resigning. “Congressman Weiner takes the views of his colleagues very seriously and has determined that he needs this time to get healthy and make the best decision possible for himself, his family and his constituents,” the statement from his office continued.

Despite his apparent refusal to officially step down, Weiner may no longer have an option as enough Congressional votes could see him removed.

What?! Delta Charges Returning US Soldiers $2,800 In Baggage Fees

Charles Dixon — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 18:38:55 +0000

Delta Air Lines is facing intense criticism after it charged nearly $3000 in extra baggage fees to a group of 34 U.S. soldiers returning home from Afghanistan.

In a video released Tuesday, Army Staff Sgt. Robert O’Hair is recorded talking about the incident in which each soldier was charged $200 for having a fourth bag, in spite of an agreement between the United States government and Delta that authorized them to do so.

The total bill for the excess luggage came out to a whopping $2,800, which the soldiers were required to pay out of their own pockets.

The military has said they will reimburse the soldiers for the fees, and Delta changed its baggage policy for the armed forces, allowing soldiers to have up to five bags at no additional cost.

READ MORE AT HUFFINGTONPOST.COM

Michelle Obama Gardens With Native American Children

Associated Press — Mon, 06 Jun 2011 16:52:03 +0000

WASHINGTON – Guests at next week’s White House state dinner will dine on lettuce and other veggies from the first lady’s garden.

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Michelle Obama invited a group of Native American children to her plot on Friday to help plant what are called the “three sisters” — corn, beans and squash. They also harvested vegetables that were planted two months ago, and some of that will be used on Tuesday.

Planting corn, beans and squash together apparently is good all around: the corn gives the beans something to grow on, the beans provide nitrogen for the soil and the squash blocks sunlight and prevents weeds.

Last week, Mrs. Obama focused her anti-obesity campaign on Native Americans. The White House says 1 in 3 Native American children are overweight or obese by age 5.

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Barack Obama, John Boehner To Play Golf Together

Charles Dixon — Sat, 04 Jun 2011 19:02:12 +0000

WASHINGTON — A White House official says President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner will play a round of golf together later this month.

Obama and Boehner – both avid golfers – will hit the links June 18. No word on where the round will take place, or whether they’ll be joined by any colleagues.

The president’s invitation comes as Boehner has urged Obama to take a more active role in the ongoing negotiations over how to reduce the nation’s deficit. Vice President Joe Biden has been leading bipartisan negotiations, but those talks appear stalled.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity in order to disclose the president’s private invitation.

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Pathetic! Employers Add Fewest Jobs In Eight Months

Associated Press — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 15:31:43 +0000

WASHINGTON — Employers in May added the fewest jobs in eight months, and the unemployment rate inched up to 9.1 percent. The weakening job market raised concerns about an economy hampered by gas prices and the Japanese nuclear disaster.

The key question is whether the meager 54,000 jobs added last month mark a temporary setback or are evidence of a more chronic problem. That total is far lower than the previous three months’ average of 220,000 new jobs per month.

Private companies hired only 83,000 new workers in May – the fewest in nearly a year.

Stocks on Wall Street fell for the third straight day. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 94 points in the first hour of trading. Broader indexes also opened lower.

Local governments cut 28,000 jobs last month, the most since November. Nearly 18,000 of those jobs were in education.

Cities and counties have cut jobs for 22 straight months and have shed 446,000 positions since September 2008.

The anemic pace of job creation presents a huge challenge to President Barack Obama’s re-election prospects next year. And it followed a string of disappointing economic data in the past month that suggest the economy is hitting a soft patch.

The manufacturing sector, a key driver of the economic recovery, grew at its slowest pace in 20 months in May. Home prices are still falling and reached their lowest level since 2002 in March.

Higher gas prices have left less money for consumers to spend on other purchases. And average wages aren’t even keeping up with inflation. As a result, consumer spending, which fuels about 70 percent of the economy, is growing sluggishly.

Economists have said that most of the factors slowing the economy are temporary. But some are now concerned that the impact is greater than they first envisioned.

“Economic activity has clearly hit a soft patch,” said Steven Wood, chief economist for Insight Economics. “The open question is whether this is temporary and will quickly reverse itself over the next couple of months or whether this is an adjustment to a slower permanent growth rate.”

Nariman Behravesh, chief economist at HIS, called it a “pretty bad report. It’s tempting to say it’s an outlier, but I’m a little worried.”

More people entered the work force in May. But most of the new entrants couldn’t find work. That pushed the unemployment rate up from 9.0 percent in April. The number of unemployed rose to 13.9 million.

And the government revised the previous months’ job totals to show 39,000 fewer jobs were created in March and April than first thought.

The weakness in hiring was widespread. Manufacturers cut 5,000 jobs, the first job loss in that sector in seven months. That included a drop of 3,400 jobs in the auto sector.

Car makers are cutting back on production because they are having a difficult time purchasing parts. Many auto parts, including some key electronic components, are manufactured in Japan and the March 11 earthquake in that country has disrupted supply chains.

Parts of the economy most dependent on consumer spending saw some of the steepest job losses. Retailers cut 8,500 positions, after adding 64,000 in April. And leisure and hospitality, which includes restaurants and hotels, cut 6,000 jobs. That came after they added an average of 43,000 in the previous three months.

There were some bright spots in May. Professional and business services added 44,000 new positions, most of them in accounting, information technology services, and management.

Still, the economy needs to generate at least 100,000 jobs each month just to keep up with population growth and prevent the unemployment rate from rising. And economists say the gains need to be at least double that total to drive down the rate.

About 8.5 million Americans worked part time, even though they would have preferred full-time jobs. Another 2.2 million have stopped looking in the past year. All told, the “under-employment” rate was 15.8 percent, down from 15.9 percent the previous month.

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Obama Declares June African-American Music Month 2011

Charles Dixon — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 15:34:05 +0000

WASHINGTON — President Obama announced yesterday that June will be African-American Music Appreciation Month .

Read the full proclamation from the President below:

The music of our Nation has always spoken to the condition of our people and reflected the diversity of our Union. African-American musicians, composers, singers, and songwriters have made enormous contributions to our culture by capturing the hardships and aspirations of a community and reminding us of our shared values. During African-American Music Appreciation Month, we honor the rich musical traditions of African-American musicians and their gifts to our country and our world.

From the cadenced hums of spirituals to the melodies of rhythm and blues, African-American music has been used to communicate, to challenge, to praise, and to uplift in times of both despair and triumph. The rhythmic chords embedded in spirituals have long expressed a deep faith in the power of prayer, and brought hope to slaves toiling in fields. The soulfulness of jazz and storytelling in the blues inspired a cultural renaissance, while the potent words of gospel gave strength to a generation that rose above the din of hatred to move our country toward justice and equality for all.

Today, African-American musicians continue to create new musical genres and transform the scope of traditional musical formats. The artistic depth of soul, rock and roll, and hip-hop not only bring together people across our Nation, but also energize and shape the creativity of artists around the world. The contributions of African-American composers and musicians to symphony, opera, choral music, and musical theater continue to reach new audiences and encourage listeners to celebrate fresh interpretations of these and other genres.

In cherished songs passed down through generations and innovative musical fusions crafted today, African-American music continues to transcend time, place, and circumstance to provide a source of pride and inspiration for all who hear its harmonies. This month, we celebrate the legacy of African-American music and its enduring power to bring life to the narrative of our Nation.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim June 2011 as African-American Music Appreciation Month. I call upon public officials, educators, and all the people of the United States to observe this month with appropriate activities and programs that raise awareness and foster appreciation of music which is composed, arranged, or performed by African Americans.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of May, in the year of our Lord two thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-fifth.

________________

Radio One has also launched a national campaign in celebration of African-American Music Month.

Click here to see a breakdown of the many exclusives that will be getting under way this month including The Urban Daily’s very own FourSquare check-in sweepstakes, Black Music Trivia Text contest and the “It’s All Black Music Meter,” just to name a few.

House Republicans To Reject Debt Limit Increase Without Budget Cuts

Associated Press — Tue, 31 May 2011 23:22:41 +0000

WASHINGTON — House Republicans lined up to reject their own proposed $2.4 trillion increase in the nation’s debt limit Tuesday, a political gambit designed to reinforce a demand for spending cuts to accompany any increase in government borrowing.

House Democrats accused the GOP of political demagoguery, while the Obama administration maneuvered to avoid taking sides – or giving offense to majority Republicans.

The debate was brief, occasionally impassioned, and set a standard of sorts for public theater, particularly at a time when private negotiations continue among the administration and key lawmakers on the deficit cuts Republicans have demanded.

The bill “will and must fail,” said Rep. Dave Camp, R-Mich., the House Ways and Means Committee chairman who noted he had helped write the very measure he was criticizing.

“I consider defeating an unconditional increase to be a success, because it sends a clear and critical message that the Congress has finally recognized we must immediately begin to rein in America’s affection for deficit spending,” he said.

But Rep. Sander Levin, D-Mich., accused Republicans of a “ploy so egregious that (they) have had to spend the last week pleading with Wall Street not to take it seriously and risk our economic recovery.”

He and other Democrats added that Republicans were attempting to draw attention away from their controversial plan to turn Medicare into a program in which seniors purchase private insurance coverage.

The proceedings occurred roughly two months before the date Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has said the debt limit must be raised. If no action is taken by Aug. 2, he has warned, the government could default on its obligations and risk turmoil that might plunge the nation into another recession or even an economic depression.

Republicans, who are scheduled to meet with Obama at the White House on Wednesday, signaled in advance that the debt limit vote did not portend a final refusal to grant an increase. And in fact, the White House is negotiating with top lawmakers in both houses on a package of deficit cuts to accompany a debt limit increase in the coming weeks.

The roll call vote was to be held late in the day, when it would be least likely to rattle the U.S. financial markets while still allowing rank-and-file lawmakers to vote against unpopular legislation the leadership has said eventually must pass.

For its part, the administration appeared eager to avoid criticizing Republicans.

“It’s fine, it’s fine,” presidential press secretary Jay Carney said when asked about the Republican decision to tie spending cuts with more borrowing.

“We believe they should not be linked because there is no alternative that’s acceptable to raising the debt ceiling. But we’re committed to reducing the deficit,” Carney said.

The government has already reached the limit of its borrowing authority, $14.3 trillion, and the Treasury is using a series of extraordinary maneuvers to meet financial obligations.

By no longer would making investments in two big pension funds for federal workers and beginning to withdraw current investments, for example, the Treasury created $214 billion in additional borrowing headroom.

At the same time, the Obama administration and congressional leaders are at work trying to produce a deficit-reduction agreement in excess of $1 trillion to meet Republican demands for spending cuts.

Political maneuvering on legislation to raise the debt limit has become common in recent years, as federal deficits have soared and presidents of both political parties have been forced to seek authority to borrow additional trillions of dollars.

Because such legislation is unpopular with voters, presidents generally look to lawmakers from their own political party to provide the votes needed for passage. In the current case, though, Republicans control the House, and without at least some support from them, Obama’s request for a debt-limit increase would fail.

However, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, announced months ago that he would demand spending cuts as a condition for passage.

“It’s true that allowing America to default would be irresponsible,” he said on May 9 in a speech to the Economic Club of New York. “But it would be more irresponsible to raise the debt limit without simultaneously taking dramatic steps to reduce spending and to reform the budget process.”

He added that any spending cuts should be larger than the increase in borrowing authority, a statement meant to lay down a marker for the deficit-reduction talks led by Vice President Joe Biden.

Few details have emerged from those negotiations, although Biden said recently the negotiators had made progress. He expressed confidence they would be able to agree on specific cuts in excess of $1 trillion over the next decade, and then look to procedural mechanisms known as “triggers” to force further automatic deficit cuts adding up to another $3 trillion or so.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, a participant in the talks, said afterward, “I am confident that we can achieve over a trillion dollars in savings at this point, and hopefully more.”

Earlier, Sen. Jon Kyl, R-Ariz., had said the discussions centered on deficit cuts totaling in the range of $150 billion to $200 billion over a decade, but that was from a relatively small category of programs.

Among the areas eyed for spending cuts is the federal pension program, where the White House has signaled it is receptive to a Republican proposal for employees to make greater contributions.

Warsaw Visit Concludes Obama’s Four-Nation European Trip

Charles Dixon — Sun, 29 May 2011 10:15:52 +0000

President Obama concludes his European trip today after visiting four nations over the course of six days: Ireland, Britain, France, and Poland.

In Ireland, he drank a beer at the birthplace of his maternal great-great-great-grandfather and in England he became the first United States President to speak in front of British Parliament.

The Washington Post reporters:

His achievement, though, is difficult to measure. How his public diplomacy will translate into policy that strengthens his hand in Afghanistan, Libya and the broader Middle East remains unclear.

But at the G-8 summit in Deauville, France, Obama did reap the benefits of his effort to “reset” relations with Russia, securing from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev a pledge to help push Libyan leader Moammar Gaddafi from office.

The final stop on the European trip, Poland, was where Obama discussed the nation’s security and relations with Russia.

“One of the important roles that Poland can play is not just as a promoter of ideas but as a living example of what is possible when countries take reform seriously,” he said at the news conference.

From Marijuana To Alligator Hides, Obama Pardons Eight

Associated Press — Sat, 21 May 2011 23:26:30 +0000

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama on Friday pardoned eight people convicted of crimes ranging from conspiring to import marijuana to selling alligator hides.

The action marked the second set of pardons Obama has granted since becoming president. The first pardons, last December, went to nine people whose crimes included possessing drugs, counterfeiting and mutilating coins.

Like the earlier pardons, the latest did not involve anyone well-known. The cases date back as far as 1975, when Randy Eugene Dyer of Burien, Wash., was sentenced to serve five years in prison in the conspiracy to import marijuana and two related crimes.

Another pardon recipient was Bobby Gerald Wilson of Summerton, S.C., sentenced in 1985 to 3 ½ months in prison for aiding and abetting the possession and sale of illegal American alligator hides.

Others who received pardons:

– Allen Edward Peratt Sr. of Sioux Falls, S.D., sentenced in 1990 to 2 ½ years in prison for conspiring to distribute methamphetamine.

–Christine Marie Rossiter of Lincoln, Neb., sentenced in 1992 to three years of probation for conspiring to distribute less than 110 pounds of marijuana.

– Patricia Ann Weinzatl of Prentice, Wis., sentenced in 2001 to three years of probation for structuring financial transactions to evade bank reporting requirements.

– Michael Ray Neal of Palm Coast, Fla., sentenced in 1991 to six months in prison for unauthorized decryption of satellite cable programming.

– Edwin Alan North of Wolcottville, Ind., sentenced to six months of probation for transferring a firearm without payment of tax.

– Danny Alonzo Levitz of Angola, Ind., sentenced in 1980 to two years of probation for conspiracy.

The White House, as is typically the case with every administration, offered no elaboration for the president’s pardons.

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US Says No Evidence Pakistan Gov’t Knew Osama Was There

Charles Dixon — Thu, 19 May 2011 18:30:20 +0000

WASHINGTON — United States Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates stated that there was no evidence that anyone in the upper echelons of Pakistan’s leadership knew that Osama Bin Laden was hiding in their country.

The New York Times reports:

“I have seen no evidence at all that the senior leadership knew,” Mr. Gates said. “In fact, I’ve seen some evidence to the contrary.”

Asked if the Pakistani senior leadership should pay a price for apparently not knowing that Bin Laden was there, Mr. Gates replied swiftly. “If I were in Pakistani shoes, I would say I’ve already paid a price — I’ve been humiliated, I’ve been shown that the Americans can come in here and do this with impunity,” he said.

At the same news conference, Mr. Gates said that there had been too much public discussion about the details of the raid and that there were concerns about security for the families of the Navy Seal members who had carried it out.

READ THE FULL STORY HERE

Republicans Say Aid Efforts In Haiti Are A Failure

Associated Press — Thu, 12 May 2011 15:49:01 +0000

WASHINGTON — House Republicans have told the top U.S. foreign aid official that the country’s earthquake relief efforts in Haiti have been pathetic.

Utah Republican Jason Chaffetz says only 5 percent of the rubble has been removed and 22 percent of the needed transitional shelters have been built. Those figures came from inspector general reports.

Obama administration aid official Rajiv Shah told Chaffetz at a hearing Wednesday that major progress has been made in providing safe drinking water and medical care. He says a new industrial park will create 5,000 jobs.

Republican Darrell Issa of California told Shah that if a recovery effort was that slow in the United States, the administrator would be fired.

Sharpton To Obama: “Immigration Reform Must Become A Priority”

NewsOne Staff — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 14:40:08 +0000

Washington — Immigration is an issue that many Latinos across the country have criticized President Obama on for his substantial deportations in comparison to President Bush.

Obama, who held a closed door meeting with numerous politicians and civil rights leaders across the country yesterday, has tapped Rev. Al Sharpton to join him in the immigration debate.

Sharpton called the session a “very healthy beginning” and said that immigration reform is something we must do together as a country.

“Immigration reform must be a priority,” he said.

Seattle Girl Apologizes To The Cop Who Punched Her In The Face

Associated Press — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 16:07:28 +0000

SEATTLE — A Seattle teen shown on video shoving a police officer who then punched her in the face has apologized to the officer in a private meeting.

Seattle police say Officer Ian Walsh accepted the apology Friday.

Separately, the King County prosecutor charged the 17-year-old girl as a juvenile with third-degree assault, which is punishable by a maximum 30 days in detention.

The incident happened Monday as the teen was intervening in a friend’s arrest for jaywalking. James Kelly of the Urban League of Seattle says he requested Friday’s meeting between the teen and the officer at a community center to help calm the situation.

Police have said the department’s civilian-led Office of Professional Accountability is investigating the 39-year-old officer’s actions.

Report: Seattle Police OK To Stun Pregnant Women

Students Suspended For Racist Banana Prank At High School

NewsOne Staff — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 14:44:19 +0000

From King5.com

AUBURN, Wash. – A prank at an Auburn high school leads to two seniors banned from Saturday’s graduation ceremony, as well as another student arrested, accused of assaulting a school security guard.

“We bought the bananas,” Andrew Carel said, “got about 3 feet of fishing line, and the tied them up on the balcony.”

And why string up bananas in that particular location? Carel said students it’s because of the nickname that stairwell has received for the black students who gather there.

“They all hang out under the stairs,” he said, “and we just call it “The Jungle” because… that’s what even the black people call it too.”

Click Here For More

UPDATE: Two Students Arrested For UMissouri Cotton Ball Hate Crime

Gilbert Arenas’s Mother Dies

Casey Gane-McCalla, Lead Blogger — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 21:14:40 +0000

From The Washington Post

Gilbert Arenas already faces a difficult week ahead, with his sentencing for felony gun possession set for Friday. But Arenas’s troubles were magnified recently, when he discovered that his estranged mother, Mary Francis Robinson, died in Miami.

Robinson passed away on March 13, but Arenas didn’t find out until a few days later, according to multiple sources. The cause of her death is not known.

Arenas had been estranged from his mother who abandoned him when he was three.

Click Here For More

Source: Gilbert Arenas Suspended For Rest Of Season

Thousands Attend Memorial For Slain Wash. Police Officers

News One — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 21:37:31 +0000

From MSNBC:

TACOMA, Wash. – Thousands of people are taking part in a memorial service Tuesday to pay their respects to four officers who were shot to death last month as they sat in a coffee shop in a Tacoma suburb about 35 miles south of Seattle.

Among the 20,000 officers and civilians expected to turn out for the event at the Tacoma Dome was FBI Director Robert Mueller, as well as law enforcement officers from around the country, including officers from Minneapolis, Oakland, Bozeman, Mont., Langley, B.C., and municipalities across Washington state.

The caskets of Sgt. Mark Renninger, 39, and Officers Ronald Owens, 37, Tina Griswold, 40, and Greg Richards, 42, were to be taken from McChord Air Force Base to the Tacoma Dome in a procession of red-and-blue police lights that was expected to stretch for up to 10 miles in the largest memorial in state history.

Click here to read more.

No Bail For Man Who Allegedly Aided Wash. Cop Killer

No Bail For Man Who Allegedly Aided Wash. Cop Killer

Associated Press — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 14:13:51 +0000

TACOMA, Wash. – The convicted murderer who drove Maurice Clemmons from the coffee shop where he massacred four suburban police officers waited for him in the getaway truck with a newly purchased cigar while Clemmons committed the crimes, according to court documents filed Wednesday.

Darcus Allen, 38, who did time with Clemmons in an Arkansas prison, pleaded not guilty and was ordered held without bail after he was charged with being a fugitive. The prosecutor is reviewing evidence to determine what charges will be filed, including criminal assistance charges.

Prosecutors warned they might charge him with the more serious offense of being an accomplice to first-degree murder — a crime that could bring the same penalties as if he had shot the police himself: life without release, or execution.

“We will prosecute everyone involved in this murder to the greatest extent possible,” said Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist.

Investigators said Allen was the first among a network of friends and relatives who helped Clemmons avoid police during a frantic two-day manhunt that began when Clemmons walked into the Forza coffee house Sunday morning and shot to death four Lakewood police officers.

Charging papers filed Wednesday state that Allen initially told police he had nothing to do with the crime and hadn’t seen Clemmons in a long time. But he eventually acknowledged driving Clemmons to the scene, buying a cigar as he waited for him to return and then speeding away when Clemmons climbed in the passenger side with a bullet in his abdomen, the papers state.

Allen told investigators that he quickly decided he wanted no part of what Clemmons had done and bailed out of the truck at the first intersection — but investigators said that was a lie, contradicted by other evidence.

One of the officers managed to shoot Clemmons in the gut before dying, but with first aid, rides and money from his associates, Clemmons was able to survive two days on the run. He was shot and killed early Tuesday morning by a lone patrolman who encountered him on a South Seattle street.

Along with Allen, two women appeared in Pierce County Superior Court on Wednesday and were ordered held for 72 hours on $500,000 bail, bringing to six the number of people to make court appearances after being arrested for investigation of helping the killer.

“For some reason, this guy has a pretty big support system,” Pierce County sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said Wednesday. “That’s not right. You’re putting yourself up against society, the justice system and the cops.”

The two women who appeared in court Wednesday were Clemmons’ friend, Quiana Maylea Williams, and his aunt, Letricia Nelson. They gave first aid to Clemmons, helped him change clothes and made arrangements to get him to other locations, police said.

Charging papers filed in their case indicate that on Thanksgiving, Clemmons talked of killing police, schoolchildren and people at an intersection.

Lindquist declined to discuss what will factor into his decision on whether to charge Allen as an accomplice to murder.

Janet Ainsworth, a criminal law professor at Seattle University School of Law, said such decisions typically hinge on the helper’s state of mind and how much they do to assist or encourage the crime.

“It’s whether he knew he was there to facilitate a crime,” she said. “It’s not just guessing participation; it’s knowing participation.”

5 Officers Shot, 2 Suspects Dead In Jersey City Shootout

UPDATE: Seattle Police Kill Cop-Shooting Suspect

Associated Press — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:35:43 +0000

From the Associated Press:

SEATTLE — The man suspected of gunning down four police officers in a suburban coffee shop was shot and killed by Seattle police early Tuesday, a sheriff’s spokesman said. Three other people were arrested for allegedly helping him elude authorities during a massive two-day manhunt.

Maurice Clemmons was shot to death in a working-class south Seattle neighborhood after police tracked him down using possible hiding spots supplied by Pierce County investigators, said Ed Troyer, a spokesman for the county sheriff. Troyer told Fox News a single officer found Clemmons and shot and killed him. A couple dozen police officers milled around at the scene where Clemmons was apparently shot, shaking hands and patting each other on the back.

Authorities say Clemmons, 37, singled out the Lakewood officers and spared employees and other customers at a coffee shop Sunday morning in Parkland, a Tacoma suburb about 35 miles south of Seattle. He then fled, but not before he was apparently shot in the torso by one of the dying officers.

On Monday, officers detained a sister of Clemmons who they think treated the suspect’s gunshot wound.

“We believe she drove him up to Seattle and bandaged him up,” Troyer said.

Troyer didn’t immediately give the names of the three people arrested on suspicion of rendering criminal assistance. Police said a network of friends and family gave Clemmons place to stay, medical aid, rides and money while he was on the run.

Police said they aren’t sure what prompted Clemmons to shoot the officers. Clemmons was described as increasingly erratic in the past few months and had been arrested earlier this year on charges that he punched a sheriff’s deputy in the face.

Troyer told the Tacoma News-Tribune that Clemmons indicated the night before the shooting “that he was going to shoot police and watch the news.”

Killed were Sgt. Mark Renninger, 39, and Officers Ronald Owens, 37, Tina Griswold, 40, and Greg Richards, 42.

Police surrounded a house in a Seattle neighborhood late Sunday following a tip Clemmons had been dropped off there. After an all-night siege, a SWAT team entered the home and found it empty. But police said Clemmons had been there.

Police frantically chased leads on Monday, searching multiple spots in the Seattle and Tacoma area and at one point cordoning off a park where people thought they saw Clemmons.

Authorities found a handgun carried by the killer, along with a pickup truck belonging to the suspect with blood stains inside. They posted a $125,000 reward for information leading to Clemmons’ arrest and alerted hospitals to be on the lookout for a man seeking treatment for gunshot wounds.

“We need to get him into custody and we need to end this,” Troyer said Monday night.

Authorities in two states were criticized amid revelations that Clemmons was allowed to walk the streets despite a teenage crime spree in Arkansas that landed him an 108-year prison sentence. He was released early after then-Gov. Mike Huckabee commuted his sentence.

Huckabee cited Clemmons’ youth in granting the request. But Clemmons quickly reverted to his criminal past, violated his parole and was returned to prison. He was released again in 2004.

“This guy should have never been on the street,” said Brian D. Wurts, president of the police union in Lakewood. “Our elected officials need to find out why these people are out.”

Huckabee said on Fox News Channel’s “The O’Reilly Factor” Monday night that Clemmons was allowed back on the street because prosecutors failed to file paperwork in time.

Pulaski County Prosecutor Larry Jegley, whose office opposed Clemmons’ parole in 2000 and 2004, said Huckabee’s comments were “red herrings.”

“My word to Mr. Huckabee is man up and own what you did,” Jegley said.

Clemmons was charged in Washington state earlier this year with assaulting a police officer and raping a child, and investigators in the sex case said he was motivated by visions that he was Jesus Christ and that the world was on the verge of the apocalypse.

But he was released from jail after posting bail with the assistance of Jail Sucks Bail Bonds.

Documents related to those charges indicate a volatile personality. In one instance, he is accused of gathering his wife and young relatives and forcing them to undress.

“The whole time Clemmons kept saying things like trust him, the world is going to end soon, and that he was Jesus,” a Pierce County sheriff’s report said.

Vigil Planned As Oakland Police Killings Sink In

—–
[3:05 p.m. - 11/30/2009] – Suspect In Wa. Police Killings Remains At Large In Seattle

From the Associated Press:

SEATTLE — A heavily armed SWAT team stormed a Seattle home Monday where they thought they had cornered the suspect in the slaying of four police officers at a coffee shop, only to find out that he was not in the house and still on the loose.

The discovery added new urgency to the manhunt for Maurice Clemmons as police canvassed the neighborhood with search dogs and hundreds of officers were deployed around Seattle for any sign of the suspect. Authorities put up a $125,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.

Police had been positioned overnight at a Seattle home where they thought Clemmons was holed up and spent hours trying to communicate with him, using loudspeakers, explosions and even a robot sent into the house. But when the SWAT team went inside, he was nowhere to be found.

Pierce County sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said the location of Clemmons was not known, and it’s possible he still could be in the neighborhood. Troyer also said people who know Clemmons told investigators he had been shot in the torso in his bloody struggle with the officers.

“If he didn’t get a ride out of there, he could still be in the area,” Troyer said.

Seattle police spokesman Jeff Kappel said there was evidence Clemmons at one point was on the property, but officers could not determine whether he was in the house itself. Kappel would not describe what the evidence was, but said it was a “good tip” that led them to the home.

Meanwhile, University of Washington officials alerted students by e-mail and text messages to an unconfirmed report that Clemmons might have gotten off a bus on or near the campus about 3 miles north of the residence, university police Cmdr. Jerome Solomon said. Police were checking the area, he said.

At one point, what sounded like gunshots rang through the neighborhood, but Kappel said no shots were fired.

Troyer said warrants for first-degree murder have been issued against Clemmons in the killings of the officers from the Tacoma suburb of Lakewood who were gunned down in a coffee shop on Sunday morning at the start of their shifts.

Clemmons has a long criminal history, including a long prison sentence commuted by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee nearly a decade ago, and a recent arrest for allegedly assaulting a police officer in Washington.

Authorities allege he killed Sgt. Mark Renninger, 39, and officers Ronald Owens, 37, Tina Griswold, 40, and Greg Richards, 42, as they worked on their laptop computers at the beginning of their shifts.

Clemmons is believed to have been in the area of the coffee shop around the time of the shooting, but Troyer declined to say what evidence might link him to the shooting.

Investigators say they know of no reason for gunning down the officers, but court documents indicate Clemmons is delusional and mentally unstable.

“We’re going to be surprised if there is a motive worth mentioning,” said Troyer, who sketched out a scene of controlled and deliberate carnage that spared the employees and other customers at the coffee shop in suburban Parkland, about 35 miles south of Seattle.

“He was very versed with the weapon,” Troyer said. “This wasn’t something where the windows were shot up and there bullets sprayed around the place. The bullets hit their targets.”

Officer Richards’ sister-in-law, Melanie Burwell, called the shooting “senseless.”

“He didn’t have a mean bone in his body,” she said. “If there were more people in the world like Greg, things like this wouldn’t happen.

Clemmons has an extensive violent criminal history from Arkansas. He was also recently charged in Washington state with assaulting a police officer, and second-degree rape of a child. Using a bail bondsman, he posted $150,000 — only $15,000 of his own money — and was released from jail last week.

Documents related to the pending charges in Washington state indicate a volatile personality. In one instance, he is accused of punching a sheriff’s deputy in the face, The Seattle Times reported. In another, he is accused of gathering his wife and young relatives and forcing them to undress, according to a Pierce County sheriff’s report.

“The whole time Clemmons kept saying things like trust him, the world is going to end soon, and that he was Jesus,” the report said.

Troyer said investigators believe two of the officers were killed while sitting in the shop, and a third was shot dead after standing up. The fourth apparently “gave up a good fight.”

“We believe there was a struggle, a commotion, a fight … that he fought the guy all the way out the door,” Troyer said.

In 1989, Clemmons, then 17, was convicted in Little Rock for aggravated robbery. He was paroled in 2000 after Huckabee commuted a 95-year prison sentence.

Huckabee, who was criticized during his run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008 for granting many clemencies and commutations, cited Clemmons’ youth. Clemmons later violated his parole, was returned to prison and released in 2004.

On Sunday, Huckabee issued this statement on his Web site: “Should he be found to be responsible for this horrible tragedy, it will be the result of a series of failures in the criminal justice system in both Arkansas and Washington state.”

It was the second deadly ambush of police in the Seattle area in recent weeks, but the two cases aren’t related.

Authorities say a man killed a Seattle police officer on Halloween night and also firebombed four police vehicles in October as part of a “one-man war” against law enforcement. Christopher Monfort, 41, was arrested after being wounded in a firefight with police days after the Seattle shooting.

The officers killed Sunday had received no threats, Troyer said.

“We won’t know if it’s a copycat effect or what it was until we get the case solved,” he said.

——-

[8:00 a.m. - 11/30/2009] – Suspect In Wa. Police Killings Wounded, Possibly Dead

From the Associated Press:

SEATTLE — A suspect in the slaying of four police officers who were gunned down in a suburban coffee shop was surrounded by police at a Seattle house early Monday, wounded and possibly dead, police said.

Negotiators were trying to communicate with Maurice Clemmons, 37, using loudspeakers, explosions and even a robot to try to prod him from hiding. At one point, gunshots rang through the neighborhood, about 30 miles from the original crime scene.

“We have determined that in fact he has been shot,” said Ed Troyer, a spokesman for the Pierce County Sheriff. “He may be deceased from his gunshot wound.”

Clemmons, who has a long criminal history — including a long prison sentence commuted by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee nearly a decade ago — became the prime target Sunday in the search for the killer of Lakewood police Sgt. Mark Renninger, 39, and Officers Ronald Owens, 37, Tina Griswold, 40, and Greg Richards, 42.

Authorities had speculated early Sunday that the gunman might have been wounded at the coffee shop by one of his victims. Troyer said interviews with others detained in the investigation confirmed that theory.

Police surrounded the house late Sunday, and a negotiator used a loudspeaker early Monday to call him out by name, saying: “Mr. Clemmons, I’d like to get you out of there safely. I can tell you this, we are not going away.”

Any response from inside the house was inaudible from the vantage of a photographer for The Associated Press. But shortly thereafter, police began using sirens outside the house, and there were several loud bangs before the negotiator resumed speaking, saying: “This is one of the toughest decisions you’ll make in your life, but you need to man up.”

By 3 a.m. Pacific time, the loudspeakers and explosions had fallen silent. Seattle Police spokesman Jeff Kappel said Clemmons has never responded.

Clemmons is believed to have been in the area of the coffee shop around the time of the shooting, but Troyer declined to say what evidence might link him to the shooting.

Investigators say they know of no reason that Clemmons or anyone else might have had to open fire on the four as they sat working on their laptops early Sunday morning, catching up on paperwork at the beginning of their shifts.

“He was very versed with the weapon,” Troyer said. “This wasn’t something where the windows were shot up and there bullets sprayed around the place. The bullets hit their targets.”

Officer Richards’ sister-in-law, Melanie Burwell, called the shooting “senseless.”

“He didn’t have a mean bone in his body,” she said. “If there were more people in the world like Greg, things like this wouldn’t happen.

Documents related to the pending charges in Washington state indicate an unstable and volatile personality. In one instance, he is accused of punching a sheriff’s deputy in the face, The Seattle Times reported. In another, he is accused of gathering his wife and young relatives and forcing them to undress, according to a Pierce County sheriff’s report.

“The whole time Clemmons kept saying things like trust him, the world is going to end soon, and that he was Jesus,” the report said.

Troyer said investigators believe two of the officers were killed while sitting in the shop, and a third was shot dead after standing up. The fourth apparently “gave up a good fight.”

“We believe there was a struggle, a commotion, a fight … that he fought the guy all the way out the door,” Troyer said.

In 1989, Clemmons, then 17, was convicted in Little Rock for aggravated robbery. He was paroled in 2000 after Huckabee commuted a 95-year prison sentence.

There was no indication of any connection between Sunday’s killings and the Halloween night shooting of a Seattle police officer.

Authorities say the man charged with that shooting also firebombed four police vehicles in October as part of a “one-man war” against law enforcement. Christopher Monfort, 41, was arrested after being wounded in a firefight with police days after the Seattle shooting.

The officers killed Sunday had received no threats, sheriff’s officials said.

“We won’t know if it’s a copycat effect or what it was until we get the case solved,” Troyer said.

——–

[2:52 p.m. - 11/29/2009] – Gunman Fatally Shoots 4 Police Officers In Washington

From MSNBC:

PARKLAND, Wash. – A gunman walked into a coffee shop and shot and killed four police officers Sunday morning in what sheriff’s officials described as an “execution.”

The officers were sitting in the cafe at a strip mall near the Tacoma suburb of Parkland with their laptop computers, preparing for their day shifts, when a man came in and opened fire, Pierce County Sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said.

The officers were obviously targeted because they were in full uniform and no one else was shot at, Troyer said.

“This was more of an execution. He walked in with the mind of shooting police officers,” Troyer said.

It wasn’t immediately known if any of the officers were able to return fire. They were declared dead at the scene.

Troyer said two employees and a few customers were in the Forza Coffee shop at the time but no one else was hurt. “As you can imagine they are all traumatized,” Troyer said.

Authorities scoured the area for the gunman, who is believed to have fled on foot or by car. The suspect was described as a “scruffy”-looking black man in his 20s or 30s, 5 feet 7 to 5 feet 10, wearing a black coat ands blue jeans.

“We are in the process of searching multiple locations,” Troyer said.

Nearby McChord Air Force Base was put on alert.

Click here to read more.

Ethiopian Stowaway Found In Luggage At Dulles Airport

News One — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 12:18:56 +0000

Federal authorities say they’ve discovered a stowaway who arrived at a Washington-area airport in the cargo hold of a flight from Ethiopia.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman Steve Sapp says ground personnel at Dulles International Airport were pulling baggage from Ethiopian Airlines Flight 500 when they noticed an arm sticking out.

Sapp says the stowaway was an Ethiopian man who was exhausted and dehydrated. He was taken to Reston Hospital Center and is now being held at a federal detention center.

Sapp says the man has been charged with being a stowaway and will be deported, but is not a security threat.

He says the flight departed from Addis Ababa and stopped in Rome before landing at Dulles shortly after 9 a.m. Saturday.

4 Arrested In “Cold-Blooded” Murder Of Armored Car Guard

News One — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 12:46:54 +0000

Four people have been arrested in the “cold-blooded” slaying of an armored car guard as he carried a money bag out of a Wal-Mart, police said Wednesday. One suspect was a Wal-Mart employee on duty during the robbery.

A man believed to be the gunman and another man were arrested Wednesday, Lakewood police Lt. Heidi Hoffman said. Two earlier arrests include the suspected getaway driver and a woman who was working at the Wal-Mart during the robbery Tuesday afternoon, she said at a news conference.

All four were arrested for investigation of homicide, robbery and assault. Police did not identify them but said more arrests were possible.

Loomis security guard Kurt Husted was shot in the head while leaving an Anchor Bank branch inside the Wal-Mart in this south Tacoma suburb. The same bullet also wounded a customer.

Hoffman said surveillance video of the robbery makes it clear the shooter made no attempt to take the money without violence.

“They just walked up and executed him,” she said. “It was very violent, very cold-blooded.”

Police recovered about two-thirds of the money, as well as a gun that was being tested. Hoffman wouldn’t specify the amount taken but confirmed it was in five figures.

The male customer wounded in the shooting told KIRO-TV he was with his 15-month-old son when he heard the shot and felt a bullet strike him.

“It was just straight cold,” Wilbert Pina said of the killing. “They didn’t give the guy a chance. They shot him, the bullet went through him, smacked me in the shoulder.”

A Wal-Mart spokesman declined to comment on an employee’s alleged involvement.

“Obviously, it’s a senseless act of violence,” spokesman Greg Rossiter said in a phone interview from Bentonville, Ark. “Our condolences go out to the guard’s family.”

The 39-year-old Husted had worked 16 years for Houston-based Loomis, and was wearing a bulletproof vest, company spokesman Pat Flaherty said.

“We mourn deeply the loss of Kurt Husted,” his family said in a statement released to KING5-TV. “He was a wonderful, caring person whom we loved deeply and will miss forever.”

IRONY: Man Gets 30 Days For Sex With Dogs, While Vick Serves Time For Dog-Fighting

News One — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 16:12:44 +0000

A Washington state man has been sentenced to 30 days in jail for having sex with his two dogs.

Troy Whitson entered an Alford plea Monday in Lewis County Superior Court, meaning he admitted no wrongdoing but acknowledged he’d likely be convicted.

The 21-year-old from the town of Cinebar (SI’-ne-bahr) is restricted from owning animals for two years.

His malamutes have been placed with new owners.

Prosecutor Michael Golden said Whitson is a member of a group known as Furries who identify with animals and dress the part in makeup, ears and tail.

Golden says Furries gather for social events but having sex with animals is not part of their normal behavior. He says two of Whitson’s Furry friends witnessed the animal sex and turned him in.

OPINION: Reality Show? Mike Vick Will Do Anything For A Dollar

Company Sued For Michael Vick Dog Toy

OPINION: How Obama Changed Washington In The First 100 Days

News One — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 18:05:27 +0000

From Politico:

The public got only one glimpse of Barack Obama on Thursday, March 26 — the 66th day of his presidency, and the most intense so far in an administration that has been defined by its intensity.

The event was an online town hall designed to show the president as accessible, informed, in control.

The cable networks and other media — whose daily scorekeeping mentality and 24/7 obsessiveness is the subject of both scorn and fascination among President Obama’s equally obsessive political team members — covered it live. And both sides scored it a success.

Away from the cameras, a lot more was going on…

Click here to read more.

Obama To Meet Congress Leaders On Economic Plan

News One — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 12:10:11 +0000

Barack Obama is heading to Capitol Hill to push for quick action on a broad economic stimulus package that congressional leaders are saying won’t be ready until mid-February at the earliest — almost a month later than the president-elect wanted.

Obama planned to meet Monday with House and Senate Democratic leaders and with a bipartisan group of key lawmakers. He had hoped to have Congress enact the recovery plan in time for him to sign his when he takes office Jan. 20. But even his spokesman, Robert Gibbs, conceded Sunday night that was “very, very unlikely.”

“We don’t anticipate that Congress will have passed, both houses, an economic recovery agreement by the time the inauguration takes place,” Gibbs said.

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer of Maryland said Sunday he wants the House to approve the plan by the end of the month, sending it to the Senate in time for action before Congress leaves on its mid-February break.

Obama has insisted bold and quick action is necessary if the nation is to rebound from the greatest economic crisis since the Great Depression. He has said repeatedly he wants a plan that will create 3 million new jobs.

“Economists from across the political spectrum agree that if we don’t act swiftly and boldly, we could see a much deeper economic downturn that could lead to double-digit unemployment and the American dream slipping further and further out of reach,” he said in his Saturday radio and YouTube address.

Obama arrived Sunday night in Washington — a place he largely has shunned since winning election — just hours after New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson withdrew from consideration as commerce secretary amid a grand jury investigation into how some of his political donors won a lucrative state contract.

The Richardson withdrawal marked the first major hiccup in a transition that saw Obama select his Cabinet in record time, largely because of the magnitude of the economic and national security challenges facing the new administration.

Obama aides have said the package Obama has dubbed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Plan could cost as much as $775 billion. The president-elect has refused to put a price tag to the plan.

Congressional aides briefed on the measure say it likely will include tax cuts of $500 to $1,000 for middle-class individuals and couples, as well as some $200 billion to help revenue-starved states pay for health care programs for the poor and other operating costs. A large part of the new spending would go for infrastructure projects, blending old-fashioned road and bridge repairs with new programs to advance energy efficiency and rebuild health care information technology systems.

Obama advisers told The New York Times on Sunday that tax cuts for workers and businesses could total $300 billion.

Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said Sunday he understands what Obama wants but doesn’t want to provide a blank check.

“We want to make sure it’s not just a trillion-dollar spending bill, but something that actually can reach the goal that he has suggested,” McConnell told ABC’s “This Week.”

Obama and his allies have said they want bipartisan support for the plan.

“Mitch McConnell and (Senate Majority Leader) Harry Reid both know that we can’t pass the economic recovery plan that this nation desperately needs without bipartisan cooperation,” said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill. “We’ve got to put aside a lot of the squabbling that in the past and come together under this new administration and new leadership, to get the American economy back on line.”

OPINION: Behold The Power Of Michelle

News One — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 22:18:05 +0000

From Abby Collard at slate.com:

When Michelle Obama moves into the White House next year, she will immediately become the most famous member of one of Washington’s most powerful and exclusive clubs: the Michelles. Here’s a short list:

Michele Bachmann represents Minnesota’s 6^th Congressional District in Congress.
Michelle Bernard is the president and CEO of the Independent Women’s Forum and an MSNBC political analyst.
Michelle Fenty is a lawyer married to D.C. Mayor Adrian Fenty.
Michelle Malkin is a conservative commentator.
Michel Martin is a correspondent for ABC News and NPR.
Michele Norris hosts NPR’s All Things Considered.
Michelle Rhee is chancellor of the D.C. public school system.
Michele Woodward is a well-known life coach and former White House Advance Office staffer under Reagan.

Why so many Michelles?

Click here to find out!

Check out the Michelles gallery here on NewsOne!