Jobe Kilbride, 13, was the youngest of a gang of five, who went on a terrifying 10-day robbery spree across Liverpool in April and May this year.
Jobe Kilbride poses brazenly with a deadly sawn-off shotgun during a 10-day robbery spree which brought terror to Liverpool. Police found his pictures that his friends had taken on his mobile phone.
The gang, whose members’ ages ranged from 13 to 18, targeted taxi drivers and shopkeepers and shot one man during their rampage.
The gang leader was Bradley Beveridge, 18, who had been on the police radar since his early teens and has already racked up a host of convictions.
Bradley Beveridge was locked up indefinitely.
Jobe Kilbride, 13, was the youngest of a gang of five, who went on a terrifying 10-day robbery spree across Liverpool
Jobe Kilbride was given 4 years while his older brother Declan, 16, was locked up for 9 years.
Other gang member, Declan Culshaw, 15, who acted as look-out in the gang’s final robbery, was given 5 years while Dylan Currie, 14, was jailed for 6 years.
The gang’ spree was opportunistic, they had their faces covered by hoods or simply by pulling their jumpers up as they prowled the streets with a loaded shotgun.
The first robber was on April 30, around 1:00 a.m., when a private hire taxi driver, went to pick up a fare on Daneville Road, Norris Green.
When the taxi driver pulled up he was faced with three figures with a shotgun who stole his takings and his cab, a silver Ford Mondeo, dumping it less than half-a-mile away.
Next day, on May 1, at the same morning hour, another private hire driver – this time in a silver Ford Focus – became the gang’s next victim.
He picked up three youths on Scargreen Avenue, Norris Green, and was told to take them to Delamore Street, in Anfield.
As they neared their destination, one of them grabbed the handbrake while the driver had a shotgun shoved in his face.
They took the cash and the car, abandoning it on Scarisbrick Road, Norris Green, 45 minutes later.
In the same day, at 11:10 p.m., two of them, having a shotgun, burst into the Quickhomesave store, on Selwyn Street, Walton, threatened staff and fled with cash.
On May 4, the gang burst again at the All in One convenience store on Tarbock Road, Huyton, threatening staff with a shotgun and taking cash and cigarettes.
The last two crimes happened within minutes of each other at around 10:15 p.m. on May 10.
The gang stood huddled in a bus stop on Muirhead Avenue East, Norris Green, for 20 or so minutes, one by one going to peer inside the nearby All in One shop until they were sure the coast was clear.
As seen on CCTV, they filed into the shop and robbed it, leaving the lone staff member cowering in a corner.
As they fled across the main road into a nearby estate, they were confronted by the shop’s owner who was on his way to his business after hearing what was going on.
In Winskill Road, the teenager gang shot at Rajeethan Pulendran and a friend when they tried to stop them, hitting the friend in the body. The man escaped the attack with only minor injuries.
175 of Occupy Chicago protesters have been arrested last night in a downtown plaza where some had set up tents and sleeping bags in a protest inspired by the New York Occupy Wall Street movement.
More than 2,000 people protested in a march from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago to Grant Park, which had been the site of anti-war protests during the 1968 Democratic convention.
According to the police, 175 Occupy Chicago protesters were arrested last night for allegedly violating a city ordinance by being in the park after it closed and ignoring repeated warnings from police to leave.
175 of Occupy Chicago protesters have been arrested last night in a downtown plaza where they had set up tents and sleeping bags
Occupy Chicago protest was part of a global day of demonstrations, which started Saturday in Asia and Europe and rippled around to the United States and Canada.
In US, protests were held in dozens of cities including Washington, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Miami.
The Occupy movement demonstrations worldwide were mostly peaceful apart from Rome, where the demonstration sparked riots.
It is not clear for the moment whether Occupy movement, which has been driven using social media, would sustain momentum beyond Saturday.
According to critics, Occupy movement has not a clear message.
It was reported that the Occupy Wall Street organizers have amassed a $230,000 war chest and a warehouse full of supplies to take their campaign through the winter.
According to New York Post, the Occupy Wall Street chief finance officer, Victoria Sobel, a 21-year-old arts student, has been calling meetings of the movement to decide how to spend the vast sums of cash.
It was also reported that expenditure above $100 requires a vote by the daily “general assembly” of protesters.
New York Observer reported that about $75,000 of the funds has come from buckets left in Zuccotti Park since the occupation began on September 17.
Donated goods have filled the local UPS store on Fulton Street, where people have been sending boxes containing jars of peanut butter, boxes of cereal, tampons, soap, batteries, energy bars and supplies for the winter, including sweatshirts and blankets.
Occupy Wall Street demonstrators say they are upset that the billions of dollars in bank bailouts doled out during the recession allowed banks to resume earning huge profits while average Americans have had no relief from high unemployment and job insecurity.
The Occupy protesters also believe the richest 1% of Americans do not pay their fair share in taxes and want a more equitable economic system.
Occupy Chicago group had protested outside the Fed building for 23 days prior to relocating on Saturday.
The annual West River Heritage Day Oyster Festival will be host by Captain Salem Avery Museum on Sunday, October 16, in Shady Side, Maryland.
Oyster Festival will feature food from top caterers, music by talented artists and vendors with items for sale.
Oyster Festival will run from 12:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. at which time the Shady Side Rural Heritage Society will draw the winner of the $5,000 raffle. Tickets for the raffle have been for sale for several weeks at locations around South County.
The annual West River Heritage Day Oyster Festival will be host by Captain Salem Avery Museum on Sunday, October 16, in Shady Side, Maryland
Traditional foods of Oyster Festival include fried oysters, grilled oysters, oysters on the half-shell, plus hot dogs, funnel cakes, beer, wine, and sodas. Homemade desserts will be for sale on the porch where guests are invited to “sit a spell” and enjoy the view of the West River and festivities on the grounds.
Mrs. Avery’s Tea tours will bring visitors to the kitchen where samples of the cakes and cookies typical of the 1870s will be served.
Popular musicians will play throughout the day at Oyster Festival in Shady Side. Tim and Savannah Finch and The Eastman String Band will entertain with high energy instrumentals and soaring harmonies. The duo of Janie Meneely and Paul Di Blasi who make up the group “Calico Jack” will play songs about Bay traditions, and nautical lore. The Shady Side Sour Notes will also be playing toe tapping music.
Coastal Flats will be performing Jimmy Buffett songs, music of the Caribbean and cool jazz.
Community merriment will continue with artists, authors and craftsman.
In 2011, “Choose It and Use It” ticket purchases begin at the Oyster Festival. Individuals can pick a party, a service, or other items from the wide variety being offered. It is an easy way to host an event without any work.
For children, games and fun activities will take place in the children’s corner including face painting and harvest crafts.
Topping off the afternoon will be the drawing of the winner of the $5,000 raffle sponsored by the Society. Tickets, still $5, will be for sale at the festival or from local merchants before Sunday. Purchasers do not need to be present to win. All proceeds will benefit the Museum.
Admission to the West River Heritage Day Oyster Festival is $6. Children 12 and under are admitted free. Parking will be available at the nearby Shady Side ball fields with free shuttle service. There will be handicapped parking at the Museum. The museum is located at 1418 EW Shady Side Road in Shady Side.
In Somerville, Massachusetts, the Kennedy Elementary School principal has caused outrage by banning Halloween, Thanksgiving and Columbus Day, saying they are insensitive.
Anne Foley, the principal of an elementary school in Somerville, sent an email to teachers warning them about celebrating Thanksgiving.
The Kennedy School principal wrote: “When we were young we might have been able to claim ignorance of the atrocities that Christopher Columbus committed against the indigenous peoples.
“We can no longer do so. For many of us and our students celebrating this particular person is an insult and a slight to the people he annihilated.
“On the same lines, we need to be careful around the Thanksgiving Day time as well.”
Kennedy Elementary School principal has caused outrage by banning Halloween, Thanksgiving and Columbus Day, saying they are insensitive
Boston Herald reported that Anne Foley had already told staff not to let the kids dress up for Halloween.
Speaking to Boston Herald, superintendant Tony Pierantozzi said that Halloween is “problematic” because of connections to witchcraft.
Several parents of Kennedy School students thought that Anne Foley was over reacting in her decision.
One of the parents told MyFoxBoston: “I don’t think they should not be able to celebrate these holidays I mean this country was formed with the idea that everything is a free country, and they should be able to celebrate these holidays.”
Joe Curtatone , Somerville Mayor, who has three kids at Kennedy School, also had an opinion about the principal’s decision.
“I’m the son of Italian immigrations, so I take Columbus Day very near and dear, and I’m proud that he discovered America and that America’s named after another Italian.
“If we ignore and we don’t want to talk about it, if we want to stifle debate, then we’re ignoring history.”
Kennedy School is not the only school banning holidays this year. Some schools in Ithaca, N.Y. have nixed traditions of celebrating Halloween. South Hill Elementary and Northeast Elementary Schools will not be hosting their annual Halloween parade and classroom parties, according to Ithaca Journal.
New York police has arrested more than 70 people yesterday in Times Square during a march of 20,000 of Occupy Wall Street protesters from the city’s Financial District to midtown Manhattan.
The demonstrators swamped Times Square, stopping traffic, in what was thought to be the largest Occupy demonstration in the U.S. so far.
The arrests come one day after the Zuccotti Park’s owner backed down from an attempt to move the demonstration.
Many of the Occupy demonstrators in the iconic square of New York City came from around US and did not come up from the encampment.
20,000 demonstrators swamped Times Square, stopping traffic, in what was thought to be the largest Occupy demonstration in the US so far
Meanwhile, other demonstrators held marches across the world. Hundreds of thousands of people gathered at more than 950 demonstrations in more than 80 countries as Occupy protesters marked four weeks since the rallies against the global financial system began.
In New York, the place where the protests first started, 20,000 of people are preparing to occupy Times Square in what is being called “The Occupation Party”.
In Rome, shop and car windows were smashed, reporters attacked and at least two cars were torched as the global “day of rage” erupted into violence. Others burned Italian and European Union flags.
Italian police fired tear gas and water cannons as protesters who had smashed shop and bank windows, torched cars and hurled bottles.
During the Occupy demonstration in Rome shop and car windows were smashed, reporters attacked and at least two cars were torched
The Rome demonstration came a day after Premier Silvio Berlusconi barely survived a confidence vote as Italy, with a national debt ratio second only to Greece in the 17-nation eurozone, is rapidly becoming a focus of concern in Europe’s debt crisis. Italian government has passed a 60 billion-euro austerity package that has raised taxes and will make public health care more expensive.
Demonstrators worldwide shouted their rage against bankers and politicians they accuse of ruining economies and condemning millions to hardship through greed and bad government but most other protests were carried off peacefully.
The Occupy movement protests began in New Zealand, rippled round the world to Europe, before returning to the starting point in New York.
One of the biggest gatherings was seen in Spain where 60,000 people joined demonstrations in Madrid’s Puerta del Sol and 20,000 marched through Seville.
One of the biggest gatherings was seen in Spain where 60,000 people joined demonstrations in Madrid's Puerta del Sol
Several hundred people marched up the main street in Auckland, New Zealand’s biggest city, joining a rally at which 3,000 chanted and banged drums, denouncing corporate greed.
Other 200 gathered in the capital Wellington and 50 in a park in the earthquake-hit southern city of Christchurch.
In Sydney, Australia, about 2,000 people, including representatives of Aboriginal groups, communists and trade unionists, protested outside the central Reserve Bank of Australia. About 1,000 gathered in Melbourne.
In Tokyo, hundreds marched on the streets of Japanese capital, including anti-nuclear protesters.
Participants marched outside the Tokyo Electric Power Co., which operates the tsunami-hit Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, chanting anti-nuclear slogans, while opposing the U.S.-led Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade bloc that Japan is considering joining.
In Philippines, about one hundred people marched on Manila’ streets in front of the U.S. embassy under the Philippine left-wing alliance, Bayan, waving banners reading: “Down with U.S. imperialism” and “Philippines not for sale”.
In Taiwan, more than 100 people gathered at the Taipei stock exchange, chanting “we are Taiwan’s 99 percent”, and saying economic growth had only benefited companies while middle-class salaries barely covered soaring housing, education and healthcare costs.
In UK, protesters also converged on the City of London under the banner “Occupy the Stock Exchange”.
In Greece, protesters called an anti-austerity rally for Saturday in Athens’ Syntagma Square.
In France, protests were expected in Paris to coincide with the G20 finance chiefs’ meeting there.
In Germany, where sympathy for southern Europe’s debt troubles is patchy, the financial centre of Frankfurt and the European Central Bank in particular are expected to be a focus of marches called by the Real Democracy Now movement.
In South Korea, activists began gathering on the streets of Seoul with the country’s paper, the Korea Herald reporting that a coalition of 30 local civic groups planned to hold a two-day protest in the main financial district of Yeouido and other parts of the capital.
Seoul police warned that damaging public facilities, occupying roads and assaulting police officers would not be tolerated, the Korea Herald reported.
In Canada, protests were planned for Saturday in cities including Montreal and Vancouver. In Toronto, demonstrators plan to gather at Canada’s main stock exchange.
Private investigator Bill Stanton announced in a press conference that undisclosed donors have hired him and offered $100,000 reward for Lisa Irwin’s “safe return and/or conviction of a person or persons involved in this horrible crime.”
Lisa Irwin's undated photo showed at a press conference on October 5.
The mysterious benefactors have a relationship with Lisa Irwin’s family and want the attention to be focused on the baby not on their identities, said Stanton on October 14.
The investigator will collaborate with Dr. Marisa Randazzo, a psychologist who worked for the U.S. Secret Service and specializes in threat assessment.
“I hope this opens up someone’s heart or someone’s eyes and they realize this is serious and we can get Lisa home safe and sound,” he said.
However, he did not add who to contact with information, or how the reward would be managed.
Lisa’s parents, Deborah Bradley and Jeremy Irwin, were not present at the news conference.
Lisa Irwin's parents, Jeremy Irwin and Deborah Bradley, at news conference on October 5. They begged Lisa's abductor to leave her in a safe place.(AP Photo/The Kansas City Star, Mike Ransdell)
The 11-month-old baby, Lisa Irwin, is missing from her parents’ home in the 3600 block of North Lister Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri, for almost two weeks since October 4.
Kansas City Police started an Amber Alert for Lisa Irwin on October 4 early in the morning. Deborah Bradley said she had seen her daughter, sleeping in her crib, last time at 10:30 p.m. on October 3 . When Jeremy Irwin arrived at home, on October 4, he found the door unlocked, the lights on, a window opened and saw Lisa was missing. Lisa’s father is an electrician and was working overnight shift. They immediately called 911 at 4:00 a.m.
Police canceled the alert eight hours and a half later. “Although the investigation and search for Lisa Irwin continues, an active Amber Alert is no longer necessary in this case. Lisa Irwin is still considered a missing/endangered juvenile,” said police Sgt. Stacey Graves.
Police and FBI investigators have been searching the woods near the Lisa Irwin‘s home, the fields, a well at an abandoned house, drainage areas and a landfill with no results.
“We haven’t really thought about shutting down. I think that will come sometime, but we hope to solve this case before then,” Capt. Steve Young of Kansas City Police told ABC News on October 14.
Lisa Irwin in a family photo provided by KCPD on OCtober 4.
Bill Stanton worked as a police officer and now is private investigator in New York. He came to joined the search for Lisa Irwin this week.
“I am seeing a family’s heart literally torn out of its chest,” he told Good Morning America.
“Let me try not to give a politician’s answer. Let me just say this, she doesn’t want to be discounted. She wants to be looked at, vetted and then once everyone feels she’s not a suspect, let’s move on,” he said when ABC News asked him if he was suspicious about mother’s involvement.
“Anything that I get goes directly to the Kansas City Police Department. I’m not here to compete with KCPD. I’m here to compliment them. They’ve given me my boundaries and I will respect those boundaries,” he said.
Stanton is not an official part of the investigation, but the Police accept any help they can get, said Young.
“Clearly, if anybody has all day long to help out, then that’s fantastic. If he should develop information and he could pass it on to us, why wouldn’t we accept it?“
Earlier on October 15, family members expressed their gratitude for the Kansas City community, authorities and media for their help in searching Lisa Irwin. They placed pictures in the baby’s grandparents’ yard in the 5200 block of North Walrond in the Northland.
Michael Lerette said he was Bradleys’ cousin from Texas and Marine who has served overseas. He asked on family behalf that anyone with information call a tip line or 911.
A firefighter searches the area for Lisa Irwin on October 4.(AP Photo/The Kansas City Star, Todd Feeback)
“I’d gladly give my life to bring Lisa home safely. We’re hanging in there. Please, please, please keep praying,” he said.
Wanting to keep Lisa’s image in the media, the family posted home made videos with baby on YouTube.
Lisa Irwin was born on November 11 2010, she has blue eyes and blond hair. She is 30 inches (76 cm) tall and weighs 30 pounds (14 kg). She has two bottom teeth, a small bug bite under her left ear, a beauty mark on her right outer thigh and currently has a cold with a cough.
Lisa Irwin was wearing purple shorts and a purple shirt with white kittens on it.
Anyone who has information on Lisa Irwin was urged to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-8477.
Lisa Irwin in a family video
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Bill Stanton talks to ABC News reporter on Lisa Irwin case (video)
A new stem cell technique for growing working liver cells which could eventually avoid the need for liver transplant has been developed by British scientists from Sanger Institute and Cambridge University.
The British researchers used cutting-edge methods to correct a genetic mutation in stem cells derived from a patient’s skin biopsy, and then grew them into fresh liver cells. The scientists team put the new liver cells into and found they were fully functioning.
Dr. Allan Bradley, director of the Sanger Institute said:
“We have developed new systems to target genes and … correct … defects in patient cells.”
According to Dr. Allan Bradley, the Sanger Institute technique leaves behind no trace of the genetic manipulation, except for the gene correction.
“These are early steps, but if this technology can be taken into treatment, it will offer great possible benefits for patients,” Dr. Bradley added.
The British researchers from Sanger Institute used cutting-edge methods to correct a genetic mutation in stem cells derived from a patient's skin biopsy, and then grew them into fresh liver cells
Stem cells are the body’s master cells, the source for all other cells, and specialists say they could transform medicine, providing treatments for blindness, spinal cord and other severe injuries, and new cells for damaged organs.
The Sanger Institute research is focused on two main forms:
1. embryonic stem cells, which are harvested from embryos,
2. reprogrammed cells, also known as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells), which are reprogrammed from ordinary skin or blood cells.
iPS cells were first discovered in 2006. The iPS cells seemed to be the perfect solution for the ethical debate over the use of embryonic stem cells, because they are made in a laboratory from ordinary skin or blood cells.
Embryonic stem cells are usually harvested from leftover embryos at fertility clinics and their use is opposed by many religious groups.
In recent years, some concerns have been raised that iPS cells may not be as “clean” or as capable as embryonic cells.
In 2010, a group led by Robert Lanza, of the U.S. firm Advanced Cell Technology, compared batches of iPS cells with embryonic stem cells and noticed the iPS cells died more quickly and were much less able to grow and expand.
The British study has been published in the journal Nature.
The research team took skin cells from a patient with a mutation in a gene called alpha1-antitrypsin, which is responsible for making a protein that protects against inflammation.
Patient with mutant alpha1-antitrypsin are not able to release the protein properly from the liver, so it becomes trapped there and eventually leads to liver cirrhosis and lung emphysema.
This is one of the most common inherited liver and lung disorders and affects about one in 2,000 people of North European origin, the researchers said.
The scientists reprogrammed the skin cells back into stem cells before inserting a correct version of the gene using a DNA transporter called piggyBac.
The leftover piggyBac sequences were then removed from the cells, cleaning them up and allowing them to be converted into liver cells without any trace of residual DNA damage at the site of the genetic correction.
Professor David Lomas, from Cambridge University respiratory biology department said: “We then turned those cells into human liver cells and put them in a mouse and showed that they were viable.”
Dr. Ludovic Vallier, also from Cambridge University, said the results were a first step toward personalized cell therapy for genetic liver disorders.
“We still have major challenges to overcome…but we now have the tools necessary.”
The British researchers said it could be another 5 to 10 years before full clinical trials of the technique could be run using patients with liver disease.
If the new technique will succeed, liver transplants, which is a costly and complicated procedure, where patients need a lifetime of drugs to ensure the new organ is not rejected, could become a thing of the past.
Professor David Lomas said: “If we can use a patient’s own skins cells to produce liver cells that we can put back into the patient, we may prevent the future need for transplantation.”
The Texas Department of Public Safety issued a warning on Friday about drug cartels from Mexico seeking younger and younger recruits in Texas high school to “support their drug, human, currency and weapon smuggling operations on both sides of the Texas/Mexico border.”
A number of incidents in the past thirty day period caused DPS to issue the notice, however officials say the threat started in 2009.
“In ’09 we started seeing that happening with the bridge cases, when the cartels started getting our teenage students to move drugs across the bridge,” McCraw said. “Texas teenagers provide unique compatibility to the cartels. They’re U.S. citizens, they speak Spanish, they’re able to operate on both sides of the border and they’re expendable labor.”
Drug Cartel from Mexico
Because they’re juveniles, it’s not likely that they’ll be charged by the federal prosecutors, he said.
“Parents should talk to their children and explain how the cartels seek to exploit Texas teenagers and the risks in dealing with these ruthless organizations, especially those parents who live along the Texas/Mexico border,” the news release said.
Elisabeth Mandala left a Texas public high school for Mexico last May where she wound up beaten to death in a pick up truck along with two men carrying fake identification. It’s believed the violent drug cartels recruited Mandala to smuggle illegal immigrants across the border.
“Sometimes this may be delivering drugs. It may be crossing drugs over from Mexico or involvement in some of the other violent activities,” Steen said.
Just past week in a border county officers caught a 12-year-old boy driving a stolen pick up truck with more than 800 pounds of marijuana.
Last month a pair of Texas teenagers were lured to Mexico where they were kidnapped, beaten, redeemed and released in a distant region on the Rio Grande River.
“There’s some indication that they were subjected to the temptations to working with the gangs and cartels,” McCraw said.
The former gang task force director for the city of Houston, Kim Ogg, said:
“Recruiting is easy for such a vulnerable population”
He suspects the cartels are recruiting through gangs.
“Some see it (the gang) as their family. Some are attracted to the money, drugs, guns, women, and others are attracted because they have family members in gangs and it seems normal,” said Ogg.
McCraw explained:
“Teens are sometimes offered as little as $50 to act as drivers for the cartels or the local gangs who support them”
“We want to warn parents for the things to look out for so their child doesn’t get involved in this,” he said. “It’s subtle; it’s not always obvious. It’s not like a narco will show up at your doorstep with a wad of cash. It could be friends of friends at school influencing their child.”
The Texas border region represents 9.7% of the state’s population, yet has 19.2% of the state’s juvenile felony drug referrals and 21.8% of the state’s juvenile felony gang referrals, according to the release.
“We’re going to continue to warn parents. We have an obligation to be honest with the public, regardless of how it looks,” McCraw said.
“We’re not going to overinflate the threat, but we’re going to be honest. Al Qaeda has nothing on the savagery of these cartels,” he said.
“They don’t care what happens to the kids, we do. They’re our most precious asset in Texas.”
According to authorities more than 25 juveniles have been arrested for drug trafficking in one Texas border county alone within the past year.
Rayon McIntosh, a New York McDonald’s cashier used a metal rod to viciously beat two women, who were restaurant customers, during an argument on Thursday morning.
Rayon McIntosh is said that was freed from prison after being jailed for killing a school classmate.
The terrifying attack, which took place at McDonald’s restaurant in Greenwich Village, New York, on Thursday morning, was recorded on a camera by one of the customers.
The video clip shows Rayon McIntosh, a Greenwich Village McDonald’s cashier, viciously beating two women with a metal rod
The video clip shows McDonald’s cashier Rayon McIntosh beating the two women with a metal rod, which he had fetched moments earlier from the back of the restaurant.
Minutes before the attack, the two women appear to provoke the cashier, swearing at him and getting behind the counter, after Rayon McIntosh questions a $50 note they have given him. After beginning the assault, the cashier’ stunned colleagues try in vain to restrain him.
One of Rayon McIntosh victims required surgery after suffering a fractured skull and a broken arm and the other required hospital treatment for a gash.
Rayon McIntosh, who is said to have spent a decade in jail after shooting dead a high school classmate in 2000, was arrested and charged with two counts of assault and criminal possession of a weapon.
Rayon McIntosh is now being held in police custody on $40,000 bail.
Police say that the two women have been arrested too, on charges, including menacing.
McDonald’s representatives were available to comment.
Warning: this video contains explicit language and violence.
Scott Dekraai may face the death penalty for killing eight people at Salon Meritage in Seal Beach, California, this week.
Yesterday,the former marine, Scott Dekraai, 41, was hauled to court where he faced screaming abuse from family members of those killed in the Seal Beach massacre on Wednesday afternoon.
Scott Dekraai sat quietly behind a cage in court, while prosecutors announced they would seek the death penalty against him.
The gunman, the ex-husband of Michelle Fournier – an employee of the beauty salon and one of his victims – allegedly went on the shooting spree at Salon Meritage, in Seal Beach, California, after losing custody of his child.
Scott Dekraai will face death penalty for killing 8 people at Salon Meritage
Eight people were killed in the massacre at Salon Meritage, including young mothers, a newlywed woman doing her elderly mother’s hair and a hard-working business owner.
Scott Dekraai faces eight counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. He is expected to plead insanity.
The attacker went to Salon Meritage on Wednesday afternoon, the day after he is said to have been served a restraining order by his ex-wife Michelle Fournier after she won custody of their 8-year-old son, Dominic.
Scott Dekraai have been served a restraining order by his ex-wife after she won custody of their 8-year-old son, Dominic
Tony Rackauckas, Orange County District Attorney, broke down as he described how Dominic was at school in his principal’s office waiting for one of his parents to collect him when the shooting happened.
“That little boy is a victim,” District Attorney Rackauckas said in an emotional speech.
“Now his mother has been murdered, and he has to grow up knowing that his dad is a mass murderer. What kind of sick, twisted fatherly love might that be?”
The Wednesday’s terrifying attack was the deadliest mass killing in Orange County history.
Authorities seized Scott Dekraai in a traffic stop half a mile away from beauty salon, where the mass shooting happen. He was wearing body armor and was armed with three guns.
Six of his attack victims died at scene, one was killed as he sat in his car outside and two passed away in hospital. A ninth woman was shot but is recovering in hospital.
Michelle Fournier, the attacker’s ex-wife, was one of the victims. She had claimed in court filings that Scott Dekraai was unstable and physically abusive to her during their marriage.
Michelle and Scott Dekraai filed for divorce in 2007. In court papers it was claimed that Scott Dekraai was mentally unstable, suffered from bi-polar disorder and had threatened to kill himself or someone else.
Michelle Fournier wrote he was “almost manic when it comes to demanding absolute right to control our son and make unilateral decisions”.
Scott Dekraai also accused Michelle Fournier of being an “uncaring selfish drunk” who abused their son – claims she dismissed as lies.
Michelle Fournier and Scott Dekraai had been in court on Tuesday, the day before the massacre, and papers relating to the custody battle can still be seen in her car parked outside the salon.
Michelle Fournier, the attacker’s ex-wife, was one of the mass shooting victims killed at Salon Meritage
Michelle Fournier died on Wednesday along with Salon Meritage owner, Randy Fannin, newlywed Laura Elody and Michele Fast, a young mother of two teenage daughters.
Another victim, David Caouette was killed by a shot to the head as he sat in his Land Rover outside the salon.
Victoria Buzzo and Christy Wilson were also murdered, while Hattie Stretz, 73, Laura Elody’s mother, is in a serious condition in hospital.
The oldest person killed at Salon Meritage was Lucia Kondas, 65.
At his first appearance in Orange County Superior Court on Friday, Scott Dekraai’s attorney told a judge his client needs anti-psychotic medications and is not getting them in jail.
Defense attorney Robert Curtis told the court that Scott Dekraai relies on Topamax, a medication to control seziures.
Judge Erick L. Larsh ordered a medical review to determine exactly what medications Scott Dekraai needs.
Attorney Robert Curtis also said he anticipates there will be a motion for a change of venue.
Scott Dekraai’s arraignment on eight counts of murder and one count of attempted murder was continued to November 29.
The team that discovered the first drug in the world for cataracts prevention won $100,000 at the Enterprize competition of the University of Queensland Business School’s in Australia.
The University of Queensland Business School MBA program was ranked 46th in the world by The Economist. Enterprize competition started in 2000 and it has assisted businesses like Fusion Sport, Southern Innovation and Vaxxas (which is pioneering the Nanopatch needle-free vaccine delivery system).
Dr Tim Lovell and Professor Andrew Abell and Dr Victoria Kopetz accepted the prize on October 13 after a final business pitch to the Enterprize judges at Pitch Day, held at the Brisbane Powerhouse.
Professor Abell, Professor of Chemistry at Adelaide University, is the lead inventor and he has been working in the last ten years on the class of drug compounds involved.
He and Dr Lovell are the co-founders of Calpain Therapeutics (Adelaide-based), which will commercialize the drug. The medicine, that slows cataracts formation and progression, targets a protein called calpain in the eye’s tissue. Calpain protein, a protease (proteolytic enzyme), can cause the cataracts clouding when it is activated by different triggers.
Calpain is a protein in the eyes that can cause cataracts. The new drug investigated by Australian researchers triggers calpain and could prevent cataracts blindness.
Dr Lovell has worked on drug design and development with pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and was a business development manager at Bio Innovation SA in Adelaide.
“Calpain Therapeutics is pioneering a novel drug with application to the eye health of people around the world.The proposition of the drug is to significantly slow down cataracts on their path to causing blindness. With severe cataracts the leading cause of blindness around the world, the Business School is proud to support such a visionary innovation,” said Professor Iain Watson, the University of Queensland Business School’s Academic Dean and Head.
Calpain Therapeutics team was “thrilled to have won such a prestigious competition as Enterprize. The $100,000 Enterprize prize money will enable us to complete key human lens experiments, the next step before clinical trials. We will be able to start those very soon, and complete them in three to six months. Going through the Enterprize competition judging process has also been invaluable for us. It forced us to focus on and refine our business plan, to hone an engaging, informative business pitch to put to investors,” said Dr Lovell.
They won the prize on World Sight Day, an annual day of awareness to focus global attention on blindness, visual impairment and rehabilitation of the visually impaired. World Sight Day is held on the second Thursday of October. It is the main advocacy event for the prevention of blindness and for Vision 2020: The Right to Sight, a global effort to prevent blindness created by WHO and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness.
The world-first drug that could prevent vision loss from cataracts has been effective in preliminary trials but is yet to be tested on humans.
This medicine could delay cataracts progression in such a manner that surgery might never be needed, said Abell.
“Optometrists can tell very early on whether you have signs of cataracts, well before they affect vision. By using the drug early, you could slow their development so much it would not actually develop,” Professor Abell told The Advertiser.
The medication could be either drops or a cream “that you put in your eyes each night before you go to sleep”, said Dr Lovell. “We see it as akin to brushing your teeth each day. You do that to prevent cavities. This would be a drop each day to prevent cataracts.”
“Through a routine eye examination, optometrists and ophthalmologists can see the early stages of a cataract forming. Once it’s detected, then you could start to use the drug to slow its progress. And because we know that if you have a cataract in one eye you will most likely get one in the other eye, you could start to apply the drug to both eyes, delaying the onset of a cataract in one while slowing the growth of the cataract that has been diagnosed,” he said.
Cataracts are opacities in the eyes lens, that lead to blurred vision or cloudiness.
The lens is the most important transparent structure in the eye that helps vision clarity. If the lens loses its elasticity and transparency, visual impairment appears, or even vision loss. The cataract can develop in one or in both eyes.
Lens transparency is affected by cataracts and can lead to vision loss.
Cataract derives from the Latin cataracta meaning waterfall and from the Greek καταράκτης (kataraktēs), down-rushing (rapidly running water turns white, mature cataracts are white too). Romans performed cataracts interventions using the sharp end of a needle for surgery and the blunt end heated to cauterize the wound.
The most cataracts are age-related, senile, and usually appear after the age of 65. The cataracts can be congenital (appears in new-born) or caused by heavy smoking, heavy drinking, long-term use of steroid medication (drug-induced cataract), diabetes, eye injury (traumatic cataract), exposure to ultraviolet light.
Around 18 million people are blind from cataracts (48% of world blindness), lots of them in the world’s poorer regions, the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness estimates. Childhood cataracts are very rare, affecting about 3 in 10,000 children in the UK.
Cataract has no scientifically proven prevention. Yet wearing ultraviolet-protecting sunglasses may slow the development of cataracts. An antioxidant N-acetylcarnosine has been shown in randomized controlled clinical trials to treat cataracts an it is a proposed treatment for ocular related to oxidative stress (glaucoma, retinal degeneration, corneal disorders, ocular inflammation).
Lutein and zeaxanthin, Bilberry extract, showed potential benefits in rat laboratory and in clinical studies.
Acetyl-carnosine eye drops are believed to reduce oxidation damage in the lens, crystallin crosslinking. Trials indicated the drops may be appropriate when the surgery cannot be performed.
The statins seem to have antioxidants properties besides lowering lipids, cholesterol. A study suggested statin use in an at-risk population may be associated with a lower risk of developing nuclear cataract disease. Systematic application of azapentacene sodium polysulfonate (Quinax) slows cataracts progression showed an observation of an average five years.
More than 200,000 cataracts surgeries are performed every year. The cloudy lens is replaced with a synthetic lens (an intraocular lens implant). Intraocular lenses are usually monofocal and the patient is dependent on glasses after surgery. New multifocal lenses are flexible and can be controlled using the same eye muscles used to control the natural lens, leading to a less need for glasses.
Cataracts surgery lasts 30-45 minutes. The vision is improved very soon after the procedure and normal vision (with glasses) is reported in around 95% of cases. Complications after surgery are relatively uncommon.
United Nations announced that the world’s population will reach 7 billion in the next few days.
The 7 billion stage comes just 12 years since the total world population reached 6 billion and the official estimates show the figure will top 8 billion in 2025 and 10 billion before the end of the 21st century.
United Nations also said that it is most likely the baby will be born in the Asia-Pacific region, where the population growth rate is higher than anywhere else in the world.
According to experts, the pace of growth – which has seen the number of people on the planet triple since 1940 – poses an increasing danger to citizens.
Experts said that will be more people to feed, an increasing need for houses and for medical services, while world’s resources look set to come under more strain than ever before.
Evolution of the world's population
As populations stabilize in the industrial world, almost all growth in the near future is expected to take place in developing countries.
United Nations believes that of the 2.3 billion people will be added by 2050, more than 1 billion will live in sub-Saharan Africa and that the Indian subcontinent will add some 630 million people.
Less land and water will be available for each person and poorer people, who tend to depend more on natural resources, will bear the brunt as they will not be able to compete with the rich.
The biggest world problem will be how to feed the new people.
Ageing populations are also a big issue for some industrial countries, such as Japan, nearly doubling its share of the population aged 65 and over in the past 20 years.
This will be reflected in increased pressure on pension and healthcare systems.
World population in 2010
The United Nations report states: “Another two billion people may be added to the world population by mid-century, many of them in places where hunger, poverty, and environmental degradation are already taking a high toll.
“Supporting the world’s human population will mean eliminating poverty, transitioning to an economy that is in sync with the earth, and securing every person’s health, education, and reproductive choice.
“If we do not voluntarily stabilize population, we risk a much less humane end to growth as the ongoing destruction of the earth’s natural systems catches up with us.”
According to Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Dr. Noeleen Heyzer, the 7th billion child of the world has a better chance of surviving past the age of 5 than 10 years ago.
The life expectancy for both women and men has also increased in every Asian and Pacific country during the last 10 years, Dr. Noeleen Heyzer added
In 2011, the pace of development is 1.1%, meaning an extra 78 million people will live on the planet by the end of this year, but it has slowed down slightly from its peak of 2% in 1968.
One day after DSK escaped from sexual assault charges in France, the former IMF chief has been involved in another investigation into underage prostitution.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn, 62, is among politicians and business leaders allegedly named in a “black book” of guests at Carlton Hotel, in Lille, which was said to double as a brothel.
The judicial inquiry into prostitution at Carlton Hotel was opened in March 2011 amid claims underage girls were involved.
According to French laws, prostitution is legal, but women must be over 18.
As part of the inquiry, Carlton Hotel’s members of senior staff, including the manager and a public relations executive, were arrested at the beginning of this month.
Just 24 hours after he escaped from sexual assault charges in France, DSK has been involved in another scandal of underage prostitution
It was reported that members of Carlton Hotel’s staff have acted as “pimps” to their clients, and will face charges of procuring prostitutes, organized conspiracy in criminal acts and money laundering.
According to French Closer magazine, which has published the claims yesterday, the prosecution documents said DSK used prostitutes at the Lille hotel.
“The prostitutes and the go-betweens charging for sex indeed put forward the name of the husband of Anne Sinclair.
“According to one of the girls in the ring, Dominique Strauss-Kahn would have benefitted from her services.”
The magazine, which has a good record for investigative journalism, claimed it has 100% confirmation from Lille examining judges Ausbart and Vignau that DSK was a client of those accused.
DSK would face criminal proceedings if he was found to have paid or slept with an underage girl.
Lille city is just one hour from France capital Paris by high-speed train, and an obvious place for high-profile men to travel to meet prostitutes.
Just one day before the new allegations, on Thursday, judges cleared DSK for attacking French journalist and writer Tristane Banon in 2003, because of the statute of limitations in France, which is three years for sexual assault.
It was the second time in three months DSK has been cleared of sex charges. In August, U.S. prosecutors dropped charges that former IFM chief had raped 32-year-old maid, Nafissatou Diallo, in a Sofitel New York hotel room in May.
DSK still faces civil cases in both Paris and New York over the alleged rape incidents.
San Diego police has arrested at least two people and used pepper spray yesterday to break up a human chain formed by Occupy movement protesters at a downtown plaza where they’ve camped for a week.
The action started Friday early in the morning, when police began removing about a half-dozen tents after warning protesters their personal belongings couldn’t stay in the Occupy San Diego camp. However, Occupy demonstrators can continue protesting without the tents, tarps and tables, according to authorities.
According to police Lt. Andra Brown, one man was arrested before 8 a.m. for interfering with a police officer after he sat down and refused to take away his tent. After the man and his tent were removed, other protesters erected another tent and formed a human chain around it.
By noon, police officers pulled apart Occupy demonstrators and used pepper spray to disperse them.
According to demonstrators, several protesters were suffering burning eyes from the pepper spray.
Police used pepper spray to disperse Occupy San Diego protesters
One of the protesters, Michael Basillas, a 26-year-old college student, said they were regrouping to make a new plan and many of them had moved to Balboa Park.
Michael Basillas said San Diego Police refused to negotiate with the Occupy protests organizers about the removal orders.
Police said they met with the Occupy protests organizers on Thursday night to tell them they would need to remove their tents to allow the city to prepare for a weekend event at the civic center plaza.
“They chose just to force their way in,” student Michael Basillas said.
On Friday night, Officer David Stafford said that Occupy San Diego protesters remain on the scene, and police officers are there to monitor the situation.
Occupy San Diego protest is in sympathy with Occupy Wall Street demonstrations in New York and other cities to protest corporate influence on politics.
Gap Incorporation has announced its plans to close more than 20% of all Gap stores in US.
The retailer, which runs the Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic chains, plans to close 189 of its locations, which means 21% of Gap stores in the U.S., by the end of 2013.
The announcement comes as President Barack Obama’s push for the Made in America brand saw him visit a GM plant in Orion, Michigan, hailing a new trade agreement with South Korea that will see the manufacture of subcompact cars in the U.S.
However, while the Made in America stamp of approval is creating thousands of jobs in the motor industry, Gap‘s losing streak will see the loss of thousands more in the retail sector.
Gap plans to close 189 of its locations, which means 21 per cent of Gap stores in the US, by the end of 2013
Like many U.S. companies, Gap has been looking overseas for growth as Americans continue to cut back on spending during the down economy in the U.S.
Gap, which is the largest U.S. clothing chain, said it plans to triple the number of its stores in China from about 15 by the end of 2011 to roughly 45 by the end of 2012.
Gap sales in the U.S. have eroded considerably since it drove America’s love of khakis and all things business casual in the 1990s because of growing competition from specialty retailers like Abercrombie & Fitch and cheap chic merchants such as H&M.
In May 2011, Gap design director Patrick Robinson, was dramatically fired, with immediate effect, and the store was knocked from the top position as the world’s biggest fashion chain by Spanish behemoth Zara.
Gap’s overall revenue has fallen 3% over the last quarter, as has Banana Republic’s, while the revenue at Old Navy, which sells low-priced clothing, remained flat.
The changes are related to a Gap’s previously stated goal of reducing its overall square footage in the U.S. by 10% from 2007 to the end of 2013, while roughly doubling revenue from outside of the U.S. to 30% by the end of the same year.
Glenn Murphy, Gap’s CEO, said in a statement:
“The combination of our global strategy and formidable growth platform puts us in a strong position to expand our reach into the top 10 apparel markets worldwide.”
“In North America, we’re taking a number of steps to improve sales in the near-term, and I’m confident that with a strong management team in place, we’re well positioned for sustained growth across the business.”
In order to improve its profitability, Gap has closed or reduced the size of stores over the past few years. In 2008, the company announced plans to reduce overall square footage in the U.S by primarily focusing on cutting the number of stores. But Gap never gave details on how many stores that it planned to close.
On October 13, Gap officials offered more details to analysts gathered in New York for its annual meeting. It plans to have closed 34% of its namesake stores between 2007 and the end of 2013, not including Gap Outlet locations. After the reduction, Gap will have 700 stores left by the end of 2013, down from 1056 in 2007.
“Over the next 26 months, we’ll look store by store at our specialty fleet and determine which stores meet the standards we’ve set for our brand,” said Art Peck, president of Gap North America, who took over the helm of the brand in February.
Gap also said it plans to keep the same number of Old Navy stores in North America, but is cutting down the size of each store. Old Navy had decreased its square footage by 8% to 18.5 million since 2007. It plans to add 50 new Gap Outlet stores by the same period, which will leave 250 stores by the end of 2013.
The company said that it is testing new merchandising ideas and marketing to get shoppers excited. Gap Kids has collaborated with designer Diane von Furstenberg to design a children’s line to be shipped to stores next spring.
Meanwhile, the first Gap store in Hong Kong will be opening in a few weeks, as is the first Banana Republic store in Paris later this year. Gap also plans to expand Old Navy outside of North America to Japan within the next 18 months.
Gap’s shares rose 11 cents, to $17.96 per share after the information was released in New York.
Rapper Rick Ross is now hospitalized in Alabama after suffering a second seizure in a private jet in the same day.
Rick Ross is currently in a Birmingham, Alabama, hospital after losing consciousness for the second time in the day mid flight, but his condition is not yet known, according to TMZ.
Rick Ross is currently in a Birmingham, Alabama, hospital after losing consciousness for the second time in the day mid flight
Yesterday, at 10:36 a.m. PST, Rick Ross had his first episode on a Delta flight from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to Memphis, where the rapper was supposed to perform in concert at 7:30 ET at FedEx Forum, TMZ reported.
Rick Ross’ entourage jumped out of their seats to alert aircraft personnel and a doctor on board administered CPR on the rapper.
The plane made an emergency landing right away and Rick Ross was being wheeled off the aircraft and rushed to a nearby hospital.
Few minutes later, one of Rick Ross’ closest friends, rapper Wale tweeted: “I just talked to Ross…he’s 100 pct ok..”
One of Rick Ross’ family member told TMZ that the artist is currently under close supervision and is doing fine and that drugs and alcohol were not involved.
After being rushed to hospital, Rick Ross was later released and reported to be “100% okay” and even tweeted from Fort Lauderdale airport before take off at 5:07 p.m. ET, writing: “Memphis here I come.”
After first seizure episode, Rick Ross has been shortly released from hospital and tweeted from Fort Lauderdale airport before the take off, writing: “Memphis here I come."
Rick Ross then posted a video of himself boarding the private jet and a message to fans promoting his forthcoming album.
Shortly after the take off, at 5:44 p.m. CDT, the private jet was diverted and made an emergency landing in Birmingham, Alabama, after Rick Ross had another seizure on board.
Rick Ross was immediately rushed to Birmingham hospital emergency room.
A representative for Birmingham Shuttlesworth Airport told E! Online:
“There was a private plane that was routed here for medical purposes. This plane didn’t go through our main terminal. We have a fixed based operator called Atlantic Aviation that handles our general aviation (private planes).”
Sources told TMZ that rapper Yo Gotti may replace Rick Ross at the Memphis concert.
Dr. Ramzi Amri, a researcher at Harvard Medical School, claims that Steve Jobs would probably be alive today if he had not put off conventional medical treatment in favor of alternative remedies.
According to Dr. Ramzi Amri, Steve Jobs had a mild form of pancreatic cancer that is rarely fatal and that his choice of treatment “eventually led to an unnecessarily early death”.
Dr. Ramzi Amri wrote on Quora, a forum frequented by Silicon Valley executives:
“Let me cut to the chase – Mr Jobs allegedly chose to undergo all sorts of alternative treatment options before opting for conventional medicine.
“Given the circumstances, it seems sound to assume that Mr Jobs’ choice for alternative medicine has eventually led to an unnecessarily early death.”
Steve Jobs died on October 5 at 56 due to respiratory arrest caused by pancreatic cancer.
Dr Ramzi Amri claimed that Steve Jobs died from pancreatic cancer more quickly because of his apparent refusal to embrace “conventional treatment” especially over the last year
According to his death certificate, released by the Santa Clara County Public Health Department, Steve Jobs had a “metastatic pancreas neuroendocrine tumor” and there would not be an autopsy.
The document also stated that Steve Jobs had suffered from the disease since October 2003, when he was first diagnosed.
Dr. Ramzi Amri claimed that Steve Jobs died from the disease more quickly because of his apparent refusal to embrace “conventional treatment” especially over the last year.
“It seems that even during this recurrent phase, Mr Jobs opted to dedicate his time to Apple as the disease progressed, instead of opting for chemotherapy or any other conventional treatment.”
From 2003, when he was first diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, to at least July 2004, Steve Jobs “decided to employ alternative methods to treat his pancreatic cancer, hoping to avoid the operation through a special diet “, according to a 2008 CNN Money article.
The rapid advance of the cancer caused Steve Jobs to undergo an operation known as a “Whipple procedure” in which he had his pancreas and duodenum removed.
The pancreatic cancer expert suggests that Whipple procedure, which is only undertaken if the cancer is quickly spreading, might not have been necessary if Steve Jobs had pursued conventional medicine sooner.
“The only reason he’d have a transplant would be that the tumor invaded all major parts of the liver, which takes a considerable amount of time.”
According to Dr. Ramzi Amri, if Steve Jobs had the cancer surgically removed immediately after the disease was diagnosed then he may well have survived with “no residual side-effects”.
Steve Jobs had comparatively mild neuroendocrine tumors, compared to the far more aggressive pancreatic adenocarcinoma tumors that 95% of pancreatic cancer sufferers have.
“In my series of patients, for many subtypes, the survival rate was as high as 100% over a decade.”
In the end, the expert said he had the “profoundest respect for Mr Jobs and his legacy” and did not wish to offend anyone with his comments.
“I have done 1.5 years of research on the type of tumor that affected Steve Jobs and have some strong opinions on his case, not only as an admirer of his work, but also as a cancer researcher who has the impression that his disease course has been far from optimal.”
It is not clear what was the “special diet” Steve Jobs may have adhered to after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, but he was known to be a pescetarian, eating fish alongside a vegetarian diet.
Restaurant workers of San Francisco, California, want to implement a standard tip of 25% onto the bill.
According to Contra Costa Times , the restaurant workers proposals for standard 25% tipping in San Francisco already have support from some high-class restaurants.
The main issue with their proposal is that diners should pay the 25% tip whether the service is good or bad.
Regularly, people are tipping on average somewhere between 15 and 20%.
Restaurant workers of San Francisco want to implement a standard tip of 25 per cent onto the bill
The San Francisco restaurant workers proposal comes after a recent incident, when a diner declined to tip a waitress in Washington and allegedly insulted her on the receipt.
Victoria Liss was so incensed by the diner’s comment and his lack of gratuity, that she has made it her mission to find the “jerk” responsible.
The waitress posted a picture of the offending receipt on her Facebook page and named the customer as Andrew Meyer, after she found the name of the credit card user.
The picture of the offending receipt was re-posted on Facebook, blogged, tweeted and reported on by several media outlets.
The proposal of standard tipping in San Francisco, however, has not gone down well with those living nearby.
Speaking to Contra Costa Times, Mike Alexander, from Antioch, said:
“They have to be kidding.
“The whole purpose of a tip is to reward service. If the price is dictated it’s not a tip.
“If they’re serious they’ll meet a lot of resistance. It seems like everyone is trying to squeeze another buck out of us.”
Another potential diner, Martha Haider, from Brentwood, also told Contra Costa Times: “I don’t mind tipping for good service, but 25% is going too far.”
“There might be some well-heeled people who will do it, but not me.”
Around the world there are wide variations for a standard tip, often leaving even the most experienced of travelers confused.
The tipping rules sometime can be extremely complicated and vary not only by country but also by scenario.
According to travel magazine Conde Nast Traveler, tipping in the Middle East is “complex and subtle”. While you may pay out often, it is usually in smaller amounts.
In some of the world’s poorer countries – including those in Africa – travelers are advised to not just be generous but also thoughtful.
Travelers are advised to always tip in India as it has been known for restaurant workers to run after people and scream for money.
In Europe, one rule is too always tip in cash and not on credit card. That way, the waiter or waitress will receive the money.
In the U.S you would be expected to leave between 15 and 20% on a meal. But in Latin America it is more like 8 to 12%.
The cleanup action of Zuccotti Park from Lower Manhattan, that has been occupied by Wall Street protesters for nearly a month, was canceled Friday minutes before it was supposed to begin.
Bloomberg administration made the announcement around 6:20 a.m., about 40 minutes before workers were scheduled to enter Zuccotti Park, which has been the encampment for the Occupy Wall Street protesters.
Deputy Mayor Caswell F. Holloway said in a Friday morning statement:
“Late last night, we received notice from the owners of Zuccotti Park – Brookfield Properties – that they are postponing their scheduled cleaning of the park, and for the time being withdrawing their request from earlier in the week for police assistance during their cleaning operation.
Our position has been consistent throughout: The City’s role is to protect public health and safety, to enforce the law, and guarantee the rights of all New Yorkers. Brookfield believes they can work out an arrangement with the protesters that will ensure the park remains clean, safe, available for public use and that the situation is respectful of residents and businesses downtown, and we will continue to monitor the situation.”
As news that the cleanup of Zuccotti Park has been canceled, cheers erupted among demonstrators who had been preparing for a possible confrontation.
Hundreds of Occupy demonstrators had gathered overnight in anticipation of what might happen on Friday morning, while others continued cleaning the park, which Brookfield Properties complained had become filthy and a potential health threat.
Early in the morning on Friday, at around 5 o’clock, a collection of mops and brooms had stood in a plastic bin on Liberty Street along with 27 buckets of soapy water.
A woman handed out white rubber gloves to more than a dozen people. They walked to the west end of the park, at Trinity Place, and announced they were going to begin a sweep, picking up and discarding objects that did not belong to anyone.
As news that the cleanup of Zuccotti Park has been canceled, cheers erupted among Occupy protesters who had been preparing for a possible confrontation
According to Patrick Bruner, a spokesman for Occupy Wall Street, on Thursday night protesters tried to deliver a petition with more than 100,000 signatures to City Hall,calling upon Mayor Michael Bloomberg to allow the Zuccotti Park occupation to continue.
Bruner also sent a message to supporters asking them to show up at Zuccotti Park early Friday morning to “to defend the occupation from eviction.”
On Friday morning, at 6 o’clock, the crowd had swelled to more than a thousand. NYPD officers stood behind metal barricades that lined Zuccotti Park.
Two days ago, Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that Zuccotti Park would be cleaned.
On Tuesday, Richard B. Clark, Brookfield’s chief executive officer, sent a letter to the police commissioner, Raymond W. Kelly, in which he wrote that conditions in Zuccotti Park had reached “unsafe” levels, and he reiterated his complaint that the encampment violated the law.
“Overflowing garbage cans attracted rodents, gas-fired generators posed a fire hazard, bad smells abounded, the lack of toilets made things worse and complaints were mounting from disgruntled people who live and work nearby.”
“In light of this and the ongoing trespassing of the protesters, we are again requesting the assistance of the New York City Police Department to help clear the park.”
Occupy Wall Street protesters feared that Mayor Bloomberg’s announcement that the park would be cleaned was a prelude to their being permanently banned from Zuccotti Park. An appeal quickly went out on Facebook and other sites calling for brooms, mops and various cleaning supplies as well as volunteers willing to donate elbow grease. After cleaning the place themselves, the demonstrators planned to form a human chain around the park to try to keep police officers from entering.
Hundreds of Occupy movement protesters stormed Cipriani restaurant last night to confront NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg ahead of this morning’s planned “eviction” of their Manhattan camp.
They went to Cipriani restaurant, where Michael Bloomberg attended a dinner, in an attempt to hand him a petition with 310,000 signatures supporting their right to remain in nearby Zuccotti Park.
The Occupy Wall Street demonstrators’ anger was triggered by the Bloomberg’s endorsement of Friday’s clean-up of the “unsanitary” encampment nearby Zuccotti Park.
Michael Bloomberg refused to come out of the restaurant, instead making his exit out of a back door.
Hundreds of Occupy movement protesters stormed Cipriani restaurant last night to confront NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg ahead of this morning's planned “eviction” of their Manhattan camp
NYC officials have ordered demonstrators to clear their sleeping bags and tarps from the park where they started the Occupy movement that has spread around the globe and forced CEOs and presidential candidates to take notice.
The activists said they wouldn’t be going anywhere on Friday morning, setting the stage for a dawn showdown with police.
Brookfield Office Properties, the owner of the private Zuccotti Park, where the demonstrators have camped out for nearly a month, said it has become trashed and “unsanitary”.
Brookfield Office Properties planned to begin a section-by-section power-washing of Zuccotti Park on Friday, at 7:00 a.m.
Patrick Bruner, the Occupy Wall Street spokesman, sent an email to supporters on Thursday asking them to join the demonstrators at 6:00 a.m. on Friday to “defend the occupation from eviction”.
Patrick Bruner also said that the clean-up effort of the authorities is a dirty trick to end their demonstrations.
The spokesman said Brookfield Properties asked for police assistance to clear it of protesters so that it could be cleaned on Friday.
According to Deputy Mayor Cas Holloway, the protest has “created unsanitary conditions and considerable wear and tear on” Zuccotti Park.
The cleaning was to be done in stages, and protesters were permitted to return to the park after cleaners were finished.
On Thursday, NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly told the New York Post that returning protesters will be prohibited from bringing tents, sleeping bags with them.
According to Ray Kelly, the protesters were notified of the new policy through pamphlets that were passed out to them by police officers.
The NYPD notice lists regulations including no tents, no tarps or sleeping bags on the ground, no lying on benches and no storage of personal property on the ground. All those practices have been common at the park, where protesters have lived, slept and eaten for nearly a month.
French prosecutors have dropped the investigation into Tristane Banon’s claim that former IFM chief, Dominique Strauss-Kahn attempted to rape her through a lack of proof.
According to prosecution, DSK admitted to sexual aggression against journalist and writer Tristane Banon, but that it was too late to prosecute for that charge because the incident happened in 2003.
Tristane Banon, 32, claims DSK attempted to rape her during an interview for a book, but he called the claim imaginary.
According to prosecution, DSK admitted to sexual aggression against journalist and writer Tristane Banon, but that it was too late to prosecute for that charge because the incident happened in 2003
The prosecution decision comes after journalist Tristane Banon finished a fictional account of her ordeal, in which she referred to her alleged attacker as “the pig”.
“Eight years ago, the pig stole my life,” she wrote at the beginning of “Le Bal des Hypocrites” (“The Hypocrites’ Ball”).
The 62-year-old former IMF chief quit his job earlier this year after a New York hotel maid accused him of attempted rape. Prosecutors later dropped that case.
According to France law, the statute of limitations for attempted rape is 10 years and only three years for sexual assault.
French judges confirmed that the “sex acts” exchanged between DSK and Tristane Banon had taken place, and that Dominique Strauss-Kahn had been unnecessarily violent.
“There is not enough evidence to pursue the attempted rape case after 10 years, but sexual aggression was recognized,” said a spokesman for the Paris prosecutors’ office.
Tristane Banon now intends to pursue her case against DSK through the civil courts, rather than the criminal courts.
She refers continually to the alleged crime in her 126-page book, but leaves out the name of DSK.
Tristane Banon, 32, claims DSK attempted to rape her during an interview for a book
The tactic she used is a common one among French authors as they try to avoid libel charges relating to what they have written.
Despite this, publicity for the book makes it perfectly clear that the book is auto-biographical.
“With a dignity and sincerity that earns our full admiration, Tristane Banon tells the story of the six weeks that changed her life,” said a spokesman for publishers Diable Vauvert.
Tristane Banon first spoke out after DSK was arrested on charges of attempting to rape a maid at Sofitel Hotel in New York.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn has always denied Tristane Banon’s allegations and is suing her for defamation, although he does admit kissing her and making a pass at her.
Referring to her lawyer, David Koubbi, in her book, Tristane Banon writes:
“I was offered lots of money to go on American TV to say I was making a complaint. I told David to tell them to get lost.”
The journalist claimed she was attacked while interviewing DSK in 2003, describing him as a “rutting chimpanzee”.
After four years, Tristane Banon said during a Paris TV talk show:
“We ended up fighting. It finished really violently. We fought on the floor.”
Dominique Strauss-Kahn could have received a prison sentence of up to 15 years if found guilty of attempted rape in France.
A shocking video showing two students-girls from Roger C. Sullivan High School, a Chicago public school, who were viciously beating a 14-year-old classmate, has been released on internet.
The footage shows the victim, Jillian Salgado, 14, battling to defend herself as she is pummelled and thrown around the classroom by two sisters, who are her classmates. The fight took place in front of one of their teacher, who watched them powerless.
The teacher can be seen trying to break up the fight at one point, but she was unable to help and had to rely on security guards to end it.
The shocking video shows two students-girls from Roger C. Sullivan High School, a Chicago public school, who were severely beating a 14-year-old classmate
Jillian Salgado’s best friend told NBC:
“They got angry and went ghetto on her.
“Every day there’s a fight. Today there was a fight in algebra.”
The two sisters attacked Jillian Salgado during a biology class at Roger C. Sullivan High School last Thursday and the fight has been recorded by another student on the mobile phone.
The student’s mother, Maria Salgado, says she didn’t realize how brutal the beating was until she saw the video.
“I am grateful for whoever recorded it because it did show the severity that no one realized.”
Roger C. Sullivan High School spokesman, Marielle Sainvilus said the two sisters who attacked Jillian Salgado, aged 17 and 18, have both been suspended.
Marielle Sainvilus told NBC: “Chicago Public Schools does not tolerate violence among students in any way.
“The safety and security of our students is a top priority and we will take whatever actions are necessary to ensure that schools remain a safe environment for learning.”
Last night, Orange County Police named the eight people who were the innocent victims killed during the Seal Beach massacre.
The eight people killed by Scott Dekraai in the crazed shooting at Salon Meritage were: Randy Fannin, the beauty salon owner, Victoria Buzzo, Lucia Kondas, Laura Elody, Christy Wilson, Michelle Fast, David Caouette and Michelle Fournier, the gunman ex-wife.
Scott Dekraai, ex-husband of one of the victims, Michelle Fournier, allegedly went on the shooting spree at Salon Meritage, after losing custody of his 7-year-old child.
Eight people were the innocent victims killed, during the Seal Beach massacre, by the crazed gunman Scott Dekraai
The gunfire happened Wednesday afternoon, the day after Scott Dekraai is said to have been served a restraining order by former wife Michelle Fournier after she won custody of their son Dominic.
Michelle Fournier, who claimed in court filings that Scott Dekraai was unstable and physically abusive to her when they were married, was murdered, along with salon owner Randy Fannin, newlywed Laura Elody and Michele Fast, a young mother to two teenage daughters.
Another man, David Caouette, was killed outside Salon Meritage by a shot to the head as he sat in his Land Rover.
Other two women, Victoria Buzzo and Christy Wilson, were murdered and another 73-year-old woman, Hattie Stretz, is in a serious condition in hospital. Hattie Stretz is the mother of Laura Elody.
His last victim was 65-year-old Lucia Kondas, who was the oldest person killed at the salon.
Wednesday event at Salon Meritage in Seal Beach was the deadliest mass killing in Orange County history.
After the terrifying shooting at Salon Meritage, Orange County authorities rushed to the scene and seized Scott Dekraai in a traffic stop half a mile away.
Scott Dekraai is said to have moved to Seal Beach in 2009, after he was honourably discharged from the military because of a work-related leg injury.
The gunman worked on tugboats after being discharged by the military and walked with a limp after a boat accident.
Scott Dekraai allegedly remarried Mindy Miguel, his rehab nurse, who is currently assisting detectives with their investigations.
Salon Meritage owner, Randy Fannin died in the shooting after he is said to have confronted Scott Dekraai.
One of Michelle Fournier’s best friends, Christy Wilson, who is married, also died in the shooting.
Christy Wilson was reportedly in court with Michelle Fournier on Tuesday to testify on her friend’s behalf during her custody case.
Mother-of-two, Victoria Buzzo, 54, was killed just a few months after the death of her father.
Seal Beach youth soccer team, Beach Futbol Club, sent out a message to its members announcing that Michelle Fast, who is a mother of one of the players, had died in the shooting at Salon Meritage. Michelle Fast has two teenage daughters.
“It is with great sadness that we write to let you know that one of the victims in the senseless Seal Beach tragedy was Michelle Fast, wife of Patrick Fast who manages our Girls U16 White team, and mother of Lisa Fast a player on that team. Please keep the Fast family in your prayers.”
The newlywed Laura Elody, 46, was also killed during massacre. Laura’s mother, Hattie Stretz, 73, was also shot in the salon and she is still in a critical condition at hospital.
Laura Elody is said to have been styling her elderly mother’s hair when she was killed.
Seal Beach, a quiet beachfront city of approximately 25,000 residents, identifies itself as the Gateway to Southern California’s Orange County and is located about 30 miles southeast of Los Angeles. Sandra Bullock is among its famous residents.
A computer error at the Tesco’s tills enabled surprised customers to pick up Terry’s Chocolate Orange for just 29p each – a tenth of their value.
Shoppers, who have taken advantage of the glitch at Tesco, filled their trolleys with boxes of Terry’s Chocolate Orange – advertised on TV by comedian Dawn French – and cleared entire stocks.
One shopper bought 192 packs of Terry’s Chocolate Orange, which normally has a retail price of £2.75, for just £57 – saving a staggering £471.
A shopper, who have took advantage of the glitch at Tesco, bought 176 boxes of Terry’s Chocolate Orange and posted the photo on internet
The rush started because two independent Tesco discounts were applied at the same time rather than consecutively:
1. Buy-one-get-one-free (BOGOF) offer is equal to £1.375 pounds per orange, half the £2.75 retail price.
2. £3.25 for every three you purchase (three for £5 when that many would normally cost £8.25).
So, if you buy six Terry’s Chocolate Orange, it would cost £16.50, less £6.50 (the three for £5 discount) and also less £8.25 for the BOGOF deal.
The total cost is therefore £1.75 for six packs of Terry’s Chocolate Orange – or just over 29p each.
The discount error is believed to have affected all main UK Tesco “Extra” supermarkets as well as their Metro stores – around 1,250 in all – but not the smaller Express outlets.
A spokesman for Tesco would not say how many Terry’s Chocolate Orange products were sold or how much it had cost the company.
Within hours, a Facebook page called “Terrys Chocolate orange glitch, I was there” has been created and flooded with people posting photos of their chocolate hordes as well as their receipts.
A Facebook page called “Terrys Chocolate orange glitch, I was there” has been created and flooded with people posting photos of their chocolate hordes as well as their receipts
In the same time, the glitch had been posted on a money-saving website and 57 pages of comments had been posted from excited shoppers.
It was reported that people visited five different stores after clearing each shops’ shelves to make the most of the deal.
They were able to combine a three-for-£5 deal on another Terry’s Chocolate Orange with BOGOF offer.
A Tesco receipt was posted on Facebook showing how the two offers were combined at the till and resulted in a massive discount
However, the tills applied a further discount only when Terry’s Chocolate Orange was bought in multiples of six.
That meant Terry’s Chocolate Orange, which usually sells for £2.75, was being sold for 10% of the original price.
The Terry’s Chocolate Orange’s deal was first posted on money saving website www.hotukdeals.com at about noon on Tuesday.
After few minutes, the shoppers posted photos of their receipts – the first showed £8.95 being spent just on Terry’s Chocolate Orange, with £73.15 being saved.
According to a spokeswoman for Tesco, the error only lasted only “a couple of hours”.
She added: “We deal with 35,000-40,000 products, so sometimes these things happen. We have made lots of people very happy.”
“We are putting steps in place to make sure that it does not happen again.”
Kraft Foods, the producer of Terry’s Chocolate Oranges, were unavailable for comment.
Mike Lazaridis, the founder and co-CEO of Research in Motion announced on Thursday that the BlackBerry service has been fully restored.
“All of the services are back up globally,” he said.
The announcement was made during a conference call on Thursday and came just hours after a downbeat video message – itself a rare appearance from Mike Lazaridis – appeared to say the exact opposite.
“I’d like to give you an estimated time of full recovery around the world, but I cannot do this with certainty at this time,” Mike Lazaridis said.
“For those of you affected I know this is very frustrating. We’re doing everything in our power to restore regular service levels and we’re working tirelessly to restore your trust in us.”
“I apologize for the outages this week. We’ve let many of you down.”
Research in Motion announced that the BlackBerry service has been fully restored today
Mike Lazaridis went on to say that service levels had been restored in many territories. His comments were mirrored by users around the world, as many reported today that emails were now working, and that BlackBerry Messenger was back online.
It was reported that users are now demanding compensation for three days cut off from BlackBerry services.
But, Research in Motion (RIM) – the company behind BlackBerry- has made no comment as to whether it might offer compensation to users.
RIM has faced widespread criticism for its handling of the crisis, in particular its infrequent communications with customers.
BlackBerry shares are still down on today’s trading.
RIM’s revenues have been in rapid decline from their $5.6 billion peak since February, when its shares were worth $70 a piece. They are now trading at just under $25. The company has lost nearly two thirds of its value in eight months.
Profits collapsed over the summer as RIM failed to produce new models, saw its tablet computer flop and generally lost out to the iPhone and Android mobiles.
Apologizing for interruptions and delays, RIM’s chief information officer Robin Bienfait said on the company’s website:
“You’ve depended on us for reliable, real-time communications, and right now we’re letting you down.
“We believe we understand why this happened and we are working to restore normal service levels in all markets as quickly as we can.”
In a later posting, RIM insisted there was “a significant increase in service levels” in Europe, the Middle East, India and Africa, and that service was “progressing well” in the US, Canada and Latin America, despite some continued delays.
It remains unclear how many of the 70 million BlackBerry subscribers have been affected by the outage, but many have vented their frustrations on Twitter.
BlackBerry outage started at around 11:00 a.m. on Monday.
