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Doug Bombard, the man who found Natalie Wood’s body said reopening the case has brought back painful memories as he recalled the moment he told Robert Wagner of the tragic discovery.
Former harbour director Doug Bombard, 85, took part in the 1981 search off Catalina Island and revisited the area in a helicopter.
Recalling the moment he told Robert Wagner, Doug Bombard said: “I told him I recovered the body. He looked right at me as I said it and he just looked down.”
Doug Bombard found Natalie Wood’s body after spotting a red bubble in the water which turned out to be her jacket.
Former harbour director, who still believes Natalie Wood’s death was a horrible and unfortunate accident, told NBC: “She was hanging in her down jacket under that bubble. If it wasn’t for that, I don’t think we’d ever have found her body.”
Doug Bombard said he believes she went out on the boat’s deck to fix something that was banging and slipped and fell into the water.
Reopening the investigation, he said, will bring pain to many people.
“I think it’s a bad idea that Robert’s family has to deal with it again.”
According to a witness whose account has never been disclosed, Natalie Wood was screaming for help as she drowned.
Retired stockbroker Marilyn Wayne said she tried to report the Natalie Wood’s “last desperate cries for help” but was ignored.
Los Angeles police last week said “substantial new evidence” has led them to reopen their investigation into the death 30 years ago this week.
Natalie Wood’s drowning off the coast of California was ruled accidental at the time. Now a police source has described her husband, Hart-To-Hart star Robert Wagner, now 81, as “a person of interest” in the case.
Robert Wagner – who was on his yacht Splendour with his wife and her alleged lover, Oscar-winner Christopher Walken, on the fateful night – has always maintained Natalie Wood, 43, accidentally slipped and drowned as she drunkenly tried to tie up a dinghy against the boat.
According to a witness whose account has never been disclosed, Natalie Wood was screaming for help as she drowned
Marilyn Wayne, 68, believes new statements from her and Dennis Davern, skipper of the Splendour, had triggered the latest police probe.
She said: “I have been waiting for years for them to take my account seriously but they would never listen.”
Marilyn Wayne was on a nearby boat with a boyfriend called John on the night of November 28, 1981.
In a sworn statement submitted to the LA Sheriff’s department, Marilyn Wayne said: “My cabin window was open. A woman’s voice, crying for help, awakened John and awakened me, <<Help me, someone please help me, I’m drowning>>, we heard repeatedly.”
She said John turned on their yacht’s beam light but they couldn’t see anything.
Marilyn Wayne claims she called the harbour patrol officer “but no one answered” and the local sheriff’s office, who told her a helicopter would be sent. But it did not come.
The woman also claims to have heard a man’s slurred voice from the direction of the Splendour saying: “Oh, hold on, we’re coming to get you.”
“Not long after that the cries for help subsided,” Marilyn Wayne recalled.
It was only when Marilyn Wayne gave an account of her story to a U.S. TV crew for a programme scheduled to air next week, that she was asked to give a statement to police.
Marilyn Wayne’s account matches that of Dennis Davern who says he was “coerced” by Robert Wagner’s lawyer into backing his client story of an accidental drowning after the death.
Dennis Davern’s police statement describes a night of heavy drinking that ended in a furious row between Robert Wagner and Natalie Wood after Christopher Walken had retired to bed.
Lana, Natalie Wood’s sister has claimed the actress was so scared of water that she would never have tried to get into a dinghy voluntarily before she drowned.
The coroner’s ruling, based on accounts from Robert Wagner, outlined how she had fallen into the sea after attempting to secure the small boat, but that finding should not be believed, Lana Wood said.
Natalie Wood had developed a deep-rooted fear of water ever since her mother warned her as a child that she would meet her death by drowning in “dark water”, Lana Wood told TMZ.
Lana Wood said: “It gave Natalie a great fear. She hated the water, she wouldn’t even go into her own pool at home.”
Coroner’s officials at the time wrote that Natalie Wood was “possibly attempting to board the dinghy and had fallen into the water, striking her face.”
Lana Wood, 65, also an actress best known for her part in Diamonds Are Forever, had never believed that her sister would have tried to sail herself at night, even after drinking for several hours.
She also claimed that the actress’s husband left her to drown on the night of her tragic death.
In an emotional interview Lana Wood said that when Natalie was in the water, Robert Wagner, who she calls RJ, had forbidden the captain from helping her and said: “Leave her there, teach her a lesson.”
Speaking to TMZ, Lana Wood claimed Dennis Davern, captain of the Splendour yacht from which Natalie Wood fell and drowned in 1981, told her what Robert Wagner had said.
Dennis Davern’s interviews followed his detailed account of the evening in a book co-authored by Marti Rulli entitled, Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour, which was published in September, 2009.
In the book they say before Natalie Wood disappeared from the boat, she was drinking and taking Quaaludes, a sedative, with her husband, Robert Wagner and actor Christopher Walken.
According to the book, Robert Wagner became enraged when he saw Natalie Wood and Christopher Walken speaking, and smashed a wine bottle, yelling at Walken: “What do you want to do, f**k my wife? Is that what you want?”
At that point, Christopher Walken returned to his cabin and Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner went to their state room. According to the captain, he heard a loud argument between the couple and thumping sounds, and eventually silence.
A short time later, the Captain went to the deck and was told by Robert Wagner: “Natalie is missing.”
The book claims Robert Wagner refused to let him call the Coast Guard.
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Lana Wood, Natalie Wood’ sister, has claimed during an interview with TMZ that Robert Wagner left the actress to drown on the night of her tragic death.
Lana Wood said that when her sister was in the water, Robert Wagner, who she calls RJ, had forbidden the captain from helping her and said: “Leave her there, teach her a lesson.”
During an interview with TMZ, Natalie Wood’ sister claims Dennis Davern, captain of the Splendour yacht from which the actress fell and drowned in 1981, told her what Robert Wagner had said.
Lana Wood told TMZ: “He (Dennis) said that everyone was quite drunk and that a fight broke out and that Natalie was in the water and he and RJ did nothing to pull her out.
“He said, and this is a direct quote from what Dennis told me, <<leave her there, teach her a lesson>>.”
Lana Wood also claimed that the captain told her Robert Wagner called his attorney before he alerted the Coastguard to the incident.
Lana Wood, Natalie Wood' sister, has claimed during an interview with TMZ that Robert Wagner left the actress to drown on the night of her tragic death
The revelations come as the police confirmed yesterday that they will reopen the investigation into the death of Natalie Wood and said they may use new DNA technology after receiving “credible and substantial information”.
Investigators said, until they find evidence to say otherwise, Natalie Wood’s death will still be ruled as an accidental drowning.
The sheriff said at this point Natalie Wood’s husband actor Robert Wagner is not a suspect and would only say they planned to re-evaluate the evidence.
One of the key witnesses in the reopening of the investigation is Dennis Davern, who police confirmed they would interview.
Dennis Davern has blamed Robert Wagner for the death, claiming that – at the behest of Wagner – they did not do enough to find Natalie Wood, after he advised against calling coastguards for four hours.
When asked if he thought Robert Wagner was responsible for Natalie Wood’s death, he said: “Yes, I would say so.”
Dennis Davern, Natalie Wood, Robert Wagner and her Brainstorm co-star Christopher Walken – who police say is not a suspect – had been boating near Santa Catalina Island just off the coast of California.
The three friends had been drinking heavily and investigators ruled, after interviewing all parties on board, that Natalie Wood’s death was an accident.
But now Dennis Davern has admitted he lied in the initial police report and that he believes it was her husband who was responsible for her death.
Dennis Davern told NBC today: “I made some terrible decisions and mistakes. I did lie on a report several years ago.
“I made mistakes by not telling the honest truth in a police report.
“We didn’t take any steps to see if we could locate her. I think it was a matter of, <<We’re not going to look too hard, we’re not going to turn on the searchlight, we’re not going to notify anybody right now>>.”
Robert Wagner has yet to speak out about the new claims and has remained out of the public eye, holed up in his Hollywood mansion.
The actor’s publicist released a statement saying they were leaving the matter in the hands of the LA County Sheriff’s department but appeared to blame Dennis Davern for trying to profiteer from her death.
The statement said: “We trust they will evaluate whether any new information relating to the death of Natalie Wood Wagner is valid, and that it comes from a credible source or sources other than those simply trying to profit from the 30-year anniversary of her tragic death.”
At a press conference in California yesterday, police said in their eyes it is still an accidental drowning and will remain so until they follow up on the new information.
Meanwhile Natalie Wood’s sister Lana said she never believed the account Robert Wagner gave police about her sister’s death.
Lana Wood also says she’s not buying the story that her sister was trying to secure a dinghy and fell overboard because she was deathly afraid of water, according to TMZ.
She claims Natalie Wood’s fear stems from her mother warning her as a child that she would meet her death by drowning in “dark water”.
Lana Wood said: “It gave Natalie a great fear. She hated the water, she wouldn’t even go into her own pool at home.”
Natalie Wood’ sister said she was not interested in seeing anyone punished but just wanted the “truth”.
“Natalie was a wonderful person. She deserves the truth and she deserves to rest,” Lana Wood told TMZ.
Detectives are said to be interviewing Lana Wood to find out if her sister’s relationship with her husband was volatile.
Dennis Davern spoke extensively to Marti Rulli, author of the book Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour, published in 2009 while she was writing it.
He denies trying to do anything other than see justice done by coming forward after 30 years.
Dennis Davern told NBC: “I’m not really the investigator here, and I’m far away from even thinking about profiting over a 30-year anniversary. I’ve known this information for many, many years and my book has been out for two years. I’m not in it for any kind of profit, I’m in it for the justice of the whole situation.”
Speaking to CNN, Dennis Davern told them that though he never saw Robert Wagner push Natalie Wood or be in any way violent towards her, he still holds him responsible for her death.
Witnesses said they heard a woman scream around the time Natalie Wood disappeared but he said he did not hear any scream but only “a lot of yelling, a lot of moving about”.
Dennis Davern spoke extensively to Marti Rulli, author of the book Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour, published in 2009 while she was writing it
Dennis Davern did say that he was on the bridge of the boat and had music on loud so he could drown out the noise of their arguments.
Co-author of the book Marti Rulli said she believes Natalie Wood’s death was inadequately investigated at the time, saying: “The case was never really investigated in 1981, and yes, I am relieved they are going to give the case the attention it has always deserved.
“I am confident it is in good hands at this time. This has been a long process, and I have worked my way through the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department, and with a new generation of detectives in the department they are taking it seriously.”
Speaking on CNN, Marti Rulli said: “There are many, many things that should be examined, but mainly the four-hour wait to call for the Coast Guard.“
Marti Rulli said Natalie Wood was missing from 11:05 p.m., but a ship-to-shore call wasn’t placed until 1:30 a.m. and the Coast Guard wasn’t called until 3:30 a.m.
“This unacceptable delay in reporting a person missing from a yacht was never officially examined,” she wrote in the dossier.
Natalie Wood was wearing a red down jacket when authorities discovered her body 30 years ago … and her wardrobe could prove she floated alive in dark water for hours while Robert Wagner allegedly stalled rescue efforts.
While writing the book, Marti Rulli performed a forensic test on down coats similar to the one Natalie Wood was wearing when she drowned which prove they act like a life jacket in the water.
Marti Rulli said: “It will not sink but instead remains floating.”
This finding completely contradicts the opinion of the coroner at the time – who insisted the jacket would have been too much for her to cope with and weighed her down in the ocean.
This additional information has prompted homicide detectives to re-open their investigation into her death.
According to police reports at the time, the body of Natalie Wood – one of the most glamorous actresses of her generation – was found wearing a long nightgown, socks, and a down jacket and was pulled from the water in a cove on Catalina Island about a mile away from the yacht.
An autopsy report revealed two dozen bruises on Natalie Wood’s body, including a facial abrasion on her left cheek, and bruises on her arms.
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Natalie Wood’s death case will be re-opened as a homicide, as investigators received “additional information” on her drowning 30 years ago.
Thirty years ago Natalie Wood was found drowned in the waters off Southern California after a night of partying on the yacht she owned with actor husband Robert Wagner.
“Additional information” is now said to have come to light prompting homicide detectives yesterday to re-open their investigation into the 43-year-old actress’s death on November 29, 1981.
Up to now Natalie Wood is believed to have fallen off the yacht “Splendor” after drinking and dining with her husband and “Brainstorm” co-star Christopher Walken.
Police reports said Natalie wood’s body was found floating in a cove on Catalina Island about a mile away from the yacht. The actress was wearing a long nightgown, socks, and a down jacket.
According to an autopsy report, Natalie Wood had two dozen bruises on her body, including a facial abrasion on her left cheek, and bruises on her arms, according to CNN.
Natalie Wood's death case will be re-opened as a homicide, as investigators received "additional information" on her drowning 30 years ago
Natalie Wood’s drowning at the age of 43 sparked tabloid speculation that foul play was involved, but Robert Wagner and her sister Lana have dismissed such a suggestion.
Los Angeles Times has reported that detectives were prompted to look at the case again after comments by the ship’s captain, Dennis Davern.
Dennis Davern has said he believes Natalie Wood’s death is directly connected to an argument she had earlier in the evening with Robert Wagner.
It comes after Natalie Wood’s sister told CNN in 2010 she believes an argument between her sister and Robert Wagner preceded the drowning. But she ruled out foul play.
She wrote in a biography on her sister: “What happened is that Natalie drank too much that night.”
Robert Wagner wrote in a 2009 autobiography, Pieces Of My Heart, that he blamed himself for his wife’s death.
At the time, Natalie Wood’s death was ruled an accident and it was determined she had been drinking that night.
The Los Angeles County Coroner’s office wrote that Natalie Wood was “possibly attempting to board the dinghy and had fallen into the water, striking her face”.
A dinghy that had been attached to the couple’s yacht “Splendor” was found in a Catalina cove.
Detectives plan to hold a news conference today and anyone with information about the case is being asked to contact sheriff’s officials or an anonymous tip line.
Natalie Wood, a three-time Oscar nominee famous for roles in classics such as West Side Story and Rebel Without A Cause, was twice married to Robert Wagner.
Natalie Wood and Robert Wagner first wed in 1957 before divorcing six years later. They remarried in 1972.
Questions over the circumstances surrounding Natalie Wood’s untimely death have lingered for 30 years, and family members have previously asked for authorities to re-examine the original findings.
A spokesman for Robert Wagner, said the family trusts the sheriff’s department will take appropriate action but has not been contacted about the case being re-opened.
Natalie Wood was twice married to Robert Wagner
Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said in a written statement: “Recently sheriff’s homicide investigators were contacted by persons who stated they had additional information about the Natalie Wood Wagner drowning.”
“Due to the additional information, sheriff’s homicide bureau has decided to take another look at the case,” the statement said.
A sheriff’s spokesman declined to elaborate on the additional information pending a news conference scheduled for today at 2:00 p.m. EST.
The Los Angeles Times, citing anonymous sources, said detectives have decided to reopen the case after hearing Dennis Davern’s claim.
Last year, Dennis Davern asked investigators, along with Natalie Wood’s sister, to re-open the case.
The issue was revisited when Dennis Davern was recently interviewed for a collaboration between the magazine Vanity Fair and the television series “48 Hours Mystery” that focuses on Natalie Wood’s death.
The interviews followed his detailed account of the evening in a book co-authored by Marti Rulli entitled, “Goodbye Natalie, Goodbye Splendour”, which was published in September, 2009.
Dennis Davern has said he believes Natalie Wood’s death is directly connected to an argument she had earlier in the evening with Robert Wagner.
Reports also suggest Marti Rulli has been in direct contact recently with the LA County sheriff’s office.
Robert Wagner’s spokesman Alan Nierob wrote in a statement: “Although no one in the Wagner family has heard from the LA County Sheriff’s department about this matter, they fully support the efforts of the LA County Sheriff’s Department and trust they will evaluate whether any new information relating to the death of Natalie Wood Wagner is valid, and that it comes from a credible source or sources other than those simply trying to profit from the 30 year anniversary of her tragic death.”
Natalie Wood, who was born Natalia Nikolaevna Zakharenko to Russian immigrant parents in San Francisco, appeared as a child in such films as the Christmas classic “Miracle on 34th Street” and “The Ghost and Mrs. Muir”.
Mariah Yeater has allegedly begged a friend to delete texts implying Justin Bieber is not the father of her four-month-old son, Trystan.
Mariah Yeater, 20, claims she had a sexual liaison with Justin Bieber in October 2010, resulting in the birth of Tristyn.
Now it emerged that Mariah Yeater sent a text from her phone yesterday to a friend, demanding he erase a message from her mother saying someone other than Justin Bieber is the father.
Mariah Yeater allegedly offered the unnamed friend a cut of the money when and if she is rewarded a fee following the lawsuit, reports TMZ.
In the text, Mariah Yeater pleaded: “ERASE ALL MESSAGES from my mom.”
Mariah Yeater has allegedly begged a friend to delete texts implying Justin Bieber is NOT the father of her four-month-old son, Trystan
It has also been reported that Mariah Yeater’s mother sent previous messages stating Tristyn was fathered by her daughter’s ex-boyfriend Robbie.
All of the texts are allegedly signed off “Mariah Laci”, with Laci being her middle name.
In one text, it is claimed Mariah Yeater wrote: “Would you please stress to Robbie how important it is for him to be in his son’s life?” – insinuating again that Justin Bieber is not the father.
Justin Bieber’s lawyer, Howard Weitzman, told the US site: “This information proves Mariah Yeater fabricated the story.
“Our independent investigation indicates Ms. Yeater never meet Justin, she has consistently identified another man as the child’s father, and Ms. Yeater and her co-conspirators hatched this scheme in order to extort money from him and to sell her story to the media.
“There have been no settlement discussions and there never will be.”
Earlier this week it was believed Mariah Yeater had quietly dismissed her paternity suit against Justin Bieber, withdrawing the lawsuit.
The withdrawal reportedly came about after two of her lawyers resigned following Justin Bieber’s cooperation to submit to a DNA test, as well as his intentions to sue Mariah Yeater for making a bogus claim.
However, Chicago based paternity lawyer Jeffrey Leving dispelled this, confirming he is still very much on board and negotiations with Justin Bieber’s legal team are still active.
Jeffrey Leving said: “She [Mariah Yeater] believes Justin Bieber is the father. Right now there’s no more interviews for Mariah Yeater, I’m not going to allow that.
“Secondly, negotiations are going on right now with Bieber’s counsel and we’re trying to negotiate a private, secure DNA test with the same safe guards that would exist if there were a court order, but without a court order.”
Jorge Garzon, 42-year-old man, has been arrested for harboring Allie Loftis, a runaway 13-year-old girl from Massachusetts, at his New Jersey home Wednesday.
Alexandra “Allie” Loftis vanished from her Boston home for nearly two weeks after boarding a bus headed to New York City on November 4th, sending her parents on a relentless hunt to get their daughter back.
Allie Loftis was located at Jorge Garzon’s Jersey City residence and taken into police custody around 9:00 a.m. Wednesday, after police say they received a tip off.
Jorge Garzon, who also goes by the name George Gonzalez, was arrested just over an hour after her recovery at the New Jersey address.
Allie Loftis was located at Jorge Garzon's Jersey City residence and taken into police custody around 9:00 a.m. Wednesday, after police say they received a tip off
Affirming Allie Loftis father’s fear, the two are believed to have met online, a sources close to the investigation told NJ.com.
Allie Loftis’ family had searched long and hard for their daughter, never giving up hope, with their efforts rippling throughout the New York area to local police stations, city streets and across social media sites showing a number of various fliers.
Believing she had run away independently, her parents posted numerous messages to her on Facebook, as well as pictures of them together, imploring her to come home.
Allie Loftis’ father admitted that before her disappearance she seemed unhappy in school, but thought it was just a rough patch.
“I live in semi-rural community where it’s peaceful and quiet, and she wanted big city, bright lights,” Tony Loftis said.
“She wanted to go to school in a different area. As she said, where we live is boring.”
Pleading, in hope that she may see their efforts and pain online, the family devoted a Facebook site to their missing daughter, posting a flood of photos of them together.
“One of many trips to get ice cream w dad,” her father wrote above one picture of the two of them together.
“I luv u honey, pls let us know u r ok,” Tony Loftis wrote.
Following their daughter’s trail the family traveled to New York City, chasing any and all leads of their daughter.
Allie Loftis' family had searched long and hard for their daughter, never giving up hope, with their efforts rippling throughout the New York area to local police stations, city streets and across social media sites showing a number of various fliers
Every location they thought she might go – from the Barnes and Noble in Park Slope Brooklyn to Prospect Park, both locations her father said he knew Allie Loftis loved – they handed out fliers and recruited volunteers.
And with him having family in Brooklyn, Tony Loftis hoped it’s where she would be.
“Whenever I’m focused on trying to find her, I’m okay. But, whenever that stops, and I’m home at night, and I wake up in the morning, and I think, you know, I … I … I … it’s hard,” Tony Loftis told CBS Boston.
“You know this is completely devas… you can’t … it’s my only daughter,” the father said.
Asking volunteers to take two Saturdays out of the next six to stand on street corners in matching T-shirts and fliers, the family’s plan was to “create a media event to help bring Allie home for the holidays”, her parents wrote in an email to volunteers, according to the Wayland Patch.
“We think the only way to put pressure on the person holding her, and to keep the leads coming, is to sustain media coverage,” the family wrote.
After their daughter disappeared, Tony Loftis says she never turned on her cell phone or went on Facebook, despite him describing her as tech savvy.
“We have left voice mail messages on her cell phone until it got filled up. We’ve tried every method we think possible but haven’t heard from her,” Tony Loftis told CBS after her disappearance.
That made it even more concerning for him, with his fear that Allie Loftis could have been held against her will.
Allie Loftis’ father did confess his believe that she may have met someone online.
Jorge Garzon, who Allie Loftis was found with, is currently being held in custody in the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office pending charges which have yet to be filed.
The circumstances surrounding both Allie Loftis’ disappearance and the activities since she ran away are still under investigation, according to police.
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In an interview with NBC news in 1987, Jerry Sandusky showed a disturbing look into the earlier mind of the man now charged with 40 counts of sexual assault after sexually abusing at least eight young boys.
Jerry Sandusky was at the height of his career when he was interviewed by NBC news, talking about The Second Mile charity he formed to help underprivileged youth.
In light of the scandal that broke last Saturday, it is confirmed that Jerry Sandusky used that same charity as a way to pick his victims.
“I enjoy being around children,” Jerry Sandusky said, smiling.
“I enjoy their enthusiasm. I just have a good time with them.”
Jerry Sandusky created The Second Mile as a charity to help underprivileged Pennsylvania youth, often in need of foster homes.
The court report filed against Jerry Sandusky says the self-described mission of the charity was to “help children who need additional support and would benefit from positive human interaction”.
Jerry Sandusky during NBC news interview in 1987
Jerry Sandusky was very much the head of the program until he retired last year, and was the emotional leader of the organization, respected and admired by the children as a fatherly figure both because of his charity and because of his position in the Penn State football program.
“One of the biggest things would be the trust that would developed,” Jerry Sandusky said of his goals for the program.
“What we’re trying to be is, what we think to be of, is a true friend.
“Everybody needs people to care for them.”
Jerry Sandusky alludes to his role as a disciplinarian as well, which has an underlying message after having read the court reports which describe his sexual interactions with unwilling young boys.
“Sometimes they don’t want it, sometimes they don’t understand what you’re trying to do but they want to be disciplined,” he said.
“Kids are growing up awfully fast today.”
The damage of the allegations continues to spread as the charity announced Sunday that Dr. Jack Raykovitz, who has served as the CEO of The Second Mile for the past 28 years, resigned, saying that he and the board of directors felt it was in “the best interest” of the organization.
This old interview and the removal of Dr. Jack Raykovitz from The Second Mile comes just as one of Jerry Sandusky’s victims hired an attorney to pursue a civil suit against anyone who potentially knew about the abuse and did nothing.
The lawyer, Ben Andreozzi, represents one of the unnamed victims and would not give any clues as to which one, but said that his client is “torn up” about the entire situation.
“It’s important to understand that these folks were involved in the Penn State football community,” Ben Andreozzi said in an interview with the Today Show.
“They were on the sidelines of football games, they were spending significant amounts of time travelling with the team and or in the locker room with the team and getting to know members of that football team. to say that he’s torn apart would be an emotion would really explain where he’s at right now,” he continued.
Because of the victims close ties to Penn State, and really the town of State College as a whole, the ripple effects of the scandal are hard for Ben Andreozzi’s client to handle.
“The general public may think that an abuse victim in his position would automatically have feelings of negativity towards the university and while I think he’s very disappointed in the way that members of the University community handled his situation or the situation involving the cove rup, it’s a complex issue and we need to understand that he has a variety of thoughts going through his head right now,” Ben Andreozzi said.
The civil suit is the first of its kind in this scandal, as so far Jerry Sandusky and two other university administrators have only been criminally charged.
Judge William Adams of Aransas County Court-at-Law, who was seen beating his older daughter in a video she posted on YouTube, has been placed under a temporary restraining order, which prevents him from visiting his younger daughter.
Under the order issued Thursday by another judge, Judge William Adams is forbidden from visiting his 10-year-old daughter without getting permission from the girl’s mother, his ex-wife.
The order also says William Adams can’t disparage the woman or drink alcohol within 24 hours of seeing his child.
Brett Pritchard, the attorney for judge’s ex-wife Hallie Adams, said in a prepared statement that the ruling “temporarily terminates the visitation between Judge Adams and his younger child”.
William Adams’ attorney did not respond to a request for comment Friday from The Associated Press.
Judge William Adams of Aransas County Court-at-Law, who was seen beating his older daughter in a video she posted on YouTube, has been placed under a temporary restraining order, which prevents him from visiting his younger daughter
State District Judge Kemper Stephen Williams scheduled a hearing for November 21 to decide on Hallie Adams’ request to have William Adams’ visitation denied or require that it be supervised.
Judge William Adams has not held court since his 23-year-old daughter Hillary Adams released a secretly-recorded 2004 video of him beating her with a belt.
He faced public calls for his resignation and threats after Hillary Adams posted the 8-minute clip on YouTube that shows her father viciously lashing her with a belt and trying to force her to bend over her bed to be beaten despite her pleas to stop.
Hallie Adams filed an affidavit Thursday claiming a dysfunctional 22-year marriage and conflict that continued since their 2007 divorce. Brett Pritchard said the furious reaction to the video triggered the legal move.
“The impetus is she (Hallie Adams) doesn’t feel at first that her daughter is safe going down there to be with the judge right now,” Brett Pritchard said.
“The impetus now is the result of the video, not necessarily the video itself.”
The district attorney and federal prosecutors both declined to bring charges against William Adams, but the State Commission on Judicial Conduct continues its investigation.
Last week, Rockport Police Chief Tim Jayroe said that police did not interview the younger daughter, but asked both Hallie and Hillary Adams about it and there was no indication of abuse of the younger daughter.
It comes after police revealed the judge would not face criminal charges because too much time has passed.
William Adams likely would have faced charges of causing injury to a child or other assault-related offences for the savage 2004 beating.
But the five-year statutes of limitations expired so the Aransas County Court-at-Law Judge probably won’t be charged for beating the cerebral palsy sufferer, Rockport Police Chief Tim Jayroe said.
It came shortly after Hallie and Hillary Adams appeared in a televised interview to reveal that she had been hiding her husband’s “secret of addiction for a long time”.
Hallie Adams appeared with her daughter Hillary to describe years of abuse in their “dysfunctional” family and Hillary revealed her father dared her to post the video online.
Hillary Adams also told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that she uploaded the video to make it clear her father was in "some denial about the way you are treating me and my mother"
Hillary Adams also told CNN’s Anderson Cooper that she uploaded the video to make it clear her father was in “some denial about the way you are treating me and my mother”.
“I thought he was a monster,” Hillary Adams added.
“I thought that I was a witch. I really don’t know what the solution for him is. Except that I really want him to seek some kind of help.”
William Adams was granted joint custody of his 10-year-old daughter in his 2007 divorce.
Hallie Adams, who also appeared in the video, tried to explain why she too had hit her daughter and stood aside to let her husband attack.
“My answer to you and to the world is something that I’ve been hiding for a very long time is a family secret and that’s addiction.”
When asked if she has an addiction, Hallie Adams said no but when asked if her ex-husband did, she told the interviewer: “Yes sir.”
Hallie Adams offered no further explanation as to what the addiction might be.
She added: “I lived in an environment of dysfunction and it steadily got worse. I did leave him… but he shamed me into going back.”
Hillary Adams, now 23, said she had forgiven her mother and did not regret making the video public. It has been viewed more than a million times.
“We’re very close now,” Hillary Adams said.
Speaking to the Today show, Hillary Adams said: “I told him I had the video… and he dared me to post it.”
Judge William Adams, who presides mainly over cases involving children, remained unrepentant.
The judge released a three-page statement earlier this month, saying his daughter posted the clip to get back at him for telling her he would be reducing the amount of financial support he gives her and taking away her Mercedes.
William Adams’ statement did not include an apology for the beating, but he told Corpus Christi television station KZTV that the video “looks worse than it is”, that he had already apologized to his daughter and that he was just disciplining his child for stealing.
Hillary Adams, who has suffered from ataxic cerebral palsy from birth, said her condition causes problems including difficulty with balance, shaky movements of hands or feet, and difficulty with speech.
She was asked by the Today Show how she felt about the ordeal she had suffered now.
Hillary Adams said: “I’ve experienced everything from crying about it to laughing.”
“It did happen regularly for a period of time, and I could tell because of the pattern that things were escalating again, so I set up my video camera on the dresser and covered the little red light with a scarf.
“About half an hour after I set the camera up this happened and it was amazing that I was able to capture such a thing.”
Hillary Adams explained that she waited seven years to release the video because she feared.
Hallie Adams said: “I was completely brainwashed and controlled. I did every single thing that he did. When I leave the room he is telling me what to say, what to do.”
The video, entitled “Family law judge beats own daughter for using the internet, please spread”, shows the motive for the attack was because Hillary Adams, who suffers from cerebral palsy, had been caught downloading music to the computer in her bedroom.
In the footage, Judge William Adams can be seen delivering around ten powerful strikes across his daughter’s legs and backside. His wife then grabs the belt from him to take over, at which point he walks out only to return moments later with another belt so he can continue beating her.
On the seven-minute long clip, as his daughter begs him to stop he can be heard snarling:
“Bend over the f***ing bed.
“Lay down or I’ll spank you in the f***ing face.”
In total Hillary Adams received 20 hard lashes from her father and one from her mother.
The mother screams: “You turn over like a 16-year-old and take it like a grown woman.”
As the child lies crying on her bed, her father shouts: “Do you want to put some more computer games on? Are you happy disobeying your parents?
“You don’t deserve to be in this f***ing house. What happened to you Hillary?”
The video appeared to have been captured on a webcam set up in the bedroom and dates from 2004 but only became public on October 27, 2011.
Judge William Adams said that he informed the Judicial Review board himself after seeing the video had been posted online by his daughter.
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Five people, a pilot and four tourists, died after a tour helicopter crashed into a mountain ridge on Molokai island, Hawaii.
According to authorities, the helicopter carrying the five people was on a tourist excursion of West Maui and Molokai when it went down near an elementary school Thursday.
Newlyweds Mike and Nicole Abel from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, were among those killed, WTAE.com reports.
The father of Nicole Abel, formerly Nicole Bevilacqua, reportedly told Hawaii News that his daughter was killed in the crash.
Hawaii News added that her husband, Mike Abel, was also killed.
On his Facebook page, design engineer Mike Abel had just updated his status to Married to Nicole Bevilacqua.
Mike and Nicole Abel, from Westmoreland County, got married on Saturday and both worked for electronics company Westinghouse.
The couple worked at the company’s headquarters in Cranberry.
Five people, a pilot and four tourists, died after a tour helicopter crashed into a mountain ridge on Molokai island, Hawaii
Westinghouse spokesman Vaughn Gilbert said:
“It’s a tragedy. Everyone within the Westinghouse community is heartbroken, and our hearts go out to their family.
“These were two very fine young people who just started their lives.”
Cranberry.patch.com reports that Nicole Abel’s father, Bruce Bevilacqua, of Murrysville, is a long-time Westinghouse executive.
Bruce Bevilacqua was named vice president of the company’s Americas region in April.
Company officials and employees learned of the newlyweds’ deaths earlier Friday.
Newlyweds Mike and Nicole Abel from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, were among those killed
Maui County spokesman Rod Antone said that firefighters recovered four bodies and the fifth was located under the wreckage.
Maui County identified the pilot as Nathan Cline, 30.
The other two tourists are a man and a woman from Ontario; their relationship is unknown.
The helicopter crash occurred about a quarter mile from Kilohana Elementary School, prompting teachers to keep the 71 students inside, Principal Richard Stevens said.
“We didn’t go on lockdown,” Richard Stevens said.
“The kids were never in any immediate danger.”
Maui police official Wayne K. Ibarra also confirmed the five deaths, the Associated Press reports.
There was no word on the cause of the crash but Wayne K. Ibarra said the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board were investigating.
Blue Hawaiian Helicopters owner David Chevalier said the passengers were two men and two women taking a 45-minute tour that departed from Kahului, on Maui.
He declined to release the pilot’s name because his wife had not yet been notified.
“We’re extremely grieved for our pilot as well as the passengers,” David Chevalier said.
“Something like this can’t be more devastating to us.”
The EC-130 chopper that crashed was less than a year old and was being leased from Nevada Helicopter Leasing LLC, David Chevalier said.
Molokai is a mostly rural island of about 7,000 people between Maui and Oahu, where world leaders have gathered this week for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Honolulu.
Helicopter tour companies advertise trips to Molokai to see the island’s sea cliffs and Hawaii’s tallest waterfall.
The remote Kalaupapa peninsula on Molokai is where Hawaii exiled leprosy patients between 1866 and 1969.
Tour helicopters have come under heavy scrutiny over their safety in recent years around the country, most recently after a deadly chopper crash in Manhattan last month.
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Passengers of a Flybe Dash 8 aircraft saw a wheel fall off just seconds after it took off from Exeter airport in UK.
The wheel plummeted to the ground just moments into the journey from Exeter to Newcastle.
The air traffic control alerted the pilot to what had occurred rather than those sitting in the window seats who saw it happen.
On taking the call the pilot immediately dispatched a senior air stewardess to investigate and it was at this point that the passengers told her what they had seen, the Air Accidents Investigation Branch report found.
Passengers of a Flybe Dash 8 aircraft saw a wheel fall off just seconds after it took off from Exeter airport in UK
The pilots of the Dash 8 aircraft then decided to seat the passengers more evenly around the plane and head back to Exeter using the “alternate landing gear extension” procedure.
The 58-year-old captain issued a Mayday to air traffic controllers and as the plane came into the airport the 39 passengers were told to adopt the brace position.
Before they headed back the co-pilot contacted the airline’s chief pilot by radio and it was agreed that the crew would use a left-wingdown technique ensuring the left mainwheels touched down on the runway first, with the remaining right mainwheel then being lowered onto the runway as gently as possible.
As it touched down, it veered to the left and the captain had to apply “significant amounts of right rudder” to hold the aircraft steady. He then used the emergency brake to bring the aircraft to a halt.
The passengers were then able to disembark through the front left door.
The AAIB report said the reason why the wheel came off was because its outer bearing had seized and “consequential damage had allowed the wheel to detach”.
The report added that the captain had inspected the right main landing gear before the flight and had not noticed any abnormalities and “given the nature of the bearing failure, it is unlikely that any (abnormalities) would have been visible”.
The report stated: “Having an engineer on board, licensed on the aircraft type, was beneficial and his knowledge was used to good advantage.”
The AAIB said several safety actions had been initiated following the incident.
In 2009, a Cardiff-bound Dash 8 aircraft, also operated by Flybe, was forced to make an emergency landing at Gatwick Airport in West Sussex.
The aircraft, which was flying in from Charles de Gaulle Airport in Paris, with 46 passengers on board, had to put down early following a suspected smoke problem.
Thousands of Penn State football fans took the streets last night at the announcement their long-term head coach Joe Paterno would be sacked with “immediate effect” for his role in the sex scandal which has rocked the university.
Penn State’s Board of Trustees also forced the resignation of president Graham Spanier after allegations that for years the school’s former football defence coordinator Jerry Sandusky sexually abused young boys.
Joe Paterno, 84, had said he would retire at the end of the 2011 season but the trustees stepped in to tell the legendary coach he will never take charge of another game following the allegations of a cover up.
Assistant coach Tom Bradley has been named interim football coach while Penn State provost and Rodney Erickson will become interim president.
The announcement came as it emerged that federal officials will investigate whether Penn State officials violated federal law by failing to report alleged sexual abuse by the school’s former football defense coordinator Jerry Sandusky.
Thousands of Penn State football fans took the streets last night at the announcement their long-term head coach Joe Paterno would be sacked with "immediate effect" for his role in the sex scandal which has rocked the university
Speaking at his house to a large gathering of students, Joe Paterno said: “Right now, I’m not the football coach, and that’s something I have to get used to.“
Joe Paterno then urged the students, who chanted “We want Joe back!”, to “go study” and “pray a little bit for those victims”. His wife Sue picked up a bouquet of flowers and addressed the crowd in tears, saying: “Thank you all for your support. We love you.”
Joe Paterno later issued a statement, which read: “I am disappointed with the Board of Trustees’ decision, but I have to accept it.”
Thousands of students flocked to the university’s Old Main building, in University Park, State College, to voice their displeasure at the decision to oust Joe Paterno, who has been head coach for nearly half a century.
Others gathered at Beaver Avenue, with student newspaper the Daily Collegian tweeting: “Can’t see any road that isn’t filled with students.”
They chanted “We love JoePa” and were described by onlookers as “emotional”. Lampposts and street signs were torn down and fireworks were set off. A bottle was thrown and hit a police officer in the head, the Daily Collegian reported.
A WTAJ news van was overturned on College Avenue to loud cheers. It led to an oil spill which required firefighters to clean up but when the arrived their truck was pelted with rocks.
Joe Paterno, one of the biggest names in American sports, had said in a statement today that the situation was a tragedy and “one of the great sorrows of my life”.
Joe Paterno and his wife Sue speaking at his house to a large gathering of students
The case of Jerry Sandusky, a former defensive coordinator accused of years of abuse of boys that allegedly was covered up by school officials, has shaken the university and its football programme.
The education department confirmed it is launching a probe into whether there were violations of a federal law called the Clery Act.
It requires colleges and universities to publish and distribute information about criminal offences – including sex offences – that are reported to school authorities.
Education Secretary Arne Duncan said in a statement: “If it turns out that some people at the school knew of the abuse and did nothing or covered it up, that makes it even worse. Schools and school officials have a legal and moral responsibility to protect children and young people from violence and abuse.”
Joe Paterno said yesterday: “I am absolutely devastated by the developments in this case. I grieve for the children and their families, and I pray for their comfort and relief.”
Joe Paterno, in his 46th year as head coach of the Nittany Lions and winner of two national championships, has been criticized for not doing more to intervene when incidents of Sandusky’s abuse came to light in 2002.
“With the benefit of hindsight, I wish I had done more,” Joe Paterno added.
Two former university officials – athletic director Tim Curley and finance official Gary Schultz – were charged on Monday with failing to alert police after they were told that Jerry Sandusky had been seen sodomising a young boy in the football locker room shower in 2002.
Tim Curley and Gary Schultz have also been charged with perjury in their statements to a grand jury.
They have stepped down from their positions at the university following an emergency meeting of the university’s Board of Trustees.
Lawyers for all three men have said their clients deny the charges and maintain their innocence.
Joe Paterno held a short meeting with coaching staff and players at the team’s football building today, which participants described to reporters as tearful and highly emotional.
Many students have rallied around the coach, who with his thick, black-rimmed glasses and blue windbreaker has been the face of Penn State football for generations.
On Tuesday night, several thousand gathered in front of Joe Paterno’s home before racing through downtown streets, often chanting football slogans, to the white-columned administration building to support their coach and defend the university.
Joe Paterno’s sacking comes as anticipation builds for Saturday, when Penn State is due to take an 8-1 record into its final home game of the season against the University of Nebraska.
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The filmmaker Brett Ratner has resigned as producer of 2012 Academy Awards after he used a gay slur at a screening of his latest movie, Tower Heist.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences says Brett Ratner, 42, submitted his resignation yesterday, one day after he apologized for using a gay slur.
According to Academy President Tom Sherak, Brett Ratner “did the right thing for the academy and for himself”.
Tom Sherak said: “Brett is a good person, but his comments were unacceptable.”
Brett Ratner was named Oscar producer in August along with TV veteran Don Mischer.
The filmmaker issued an open letter explaining his resignation.
The letter read: “I called [the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president] Tom Sherak this morning and resigned as a producer of the 84th Academy Awards telecast.
“Being asked to help put on the Oscar show was the proudest moment of my career.
“But as painful as this may be for me, it would be worse if my association with the show were to be a distraction from the Academy and the high ideals it represents.”
Brett Ratner has resigned as producer of 2012 Academy Awards after he used a gay slur at a screening of his latest movie, Tower Heist
On Tuesday, Brett Ratner apologized for using a gay slur during a question-and-answer session at a screening for his new film Tower Heist.
Brett Ratner used a pejorative term to describe gay men in response to a question asked at a screening of his latest movie.
In his apology, Brett Ratner said sorry “for any offense my remarks caused”, adding that the slur was “a dumb and outdated way of expressing myself”.
Brett Ratner said that “as a storyteller I should have been much more thoughtful about the power of language and my choice of words”.
Initially Academy President Tom Sherak said Brett Ratner’s remarks were “inappropriate” – but said the academy had no plans to remove him from his Oscar-producing position.
Eddie Murphy, who worked with Brett Ratner on the new film, Tower Heist, was set to host the Oscars, but his role is now uncertain.
On Monday, Brett Ratner also recorded an expletive-laden interview with shock jock Howard Stern.
In the revealing interview, Brett Ratner discussed oral sex, masturbation and the size of his testicles.
The filmmaker admitted he was stunned he had never impregnated anyone because of his virility: “How lucky I am that I never got a girl pregnant. It’s crazy.”
Brett Ratner boasted a doctor had told him he had 10 times the sperm count of an average man his age.
He also claimed he asked Lindsay Lohan to get an STD test when they allegedly slept together when she was 19.
Brett Ratner praised her natural acting talent and claimed “everything f**ked up about her is because of her parents”.
Brett Ratner said: “I’m a hypochondriac. Before I go all the way, I send the girl to the doctor and check them for everything. My doctor has a test to tell if you’re going to catch something in the future even.”
It was not the first time Brett Ratner has shocked with his brash commentary.
He recently admitted to having had a fling with Olivia Munn – who had apparently referred to him in her book Suck It, Wonder Woman!: The Misadventures Of A Hollywood Geek.
In one visceral and nauseating paragraph, Olivia Munn, 31, recounts walking in on the movie big-wig – who she doesn’t name – while he was pleasuring himself.
She recalls: “A grown man in an oversized shirt holding his undersized manhood in hands glistening with shrimp fat.”
Speaking recently on G4’s Attack of the Show, Brett Ratner revealed the man in question was him, in an apparent shameless bid to drum up publicity for Tower Heist.
Brett Ratner said: “I used to date Olivia Munn, I’ll be honest with everyone here. But when she was <<Lisa>>.
“She wasn’t Asian back then, she was hanging out on my set of After the Sunset, I banged her a few times, but I forgot her.
“Because she changed her name I didn’t know it was the same person and so when she auditioned for me for a TV show.
“I forgot her, she got p***ed off, and so she made up all these stories about me eating shrimp and masturbating in my trailer.
“And she talked about my shortcomings.”
Brett Ratner’s bitter response is baffling, particularly his “before she was Asian” comment as Olivia Munn is Chinese on her mother’s side.
Matt Millen, the retired NFL linebacker who played for both legendary coach Joe Paterno and ex-defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky when he attended Penn State between 1976 and 1979, broke down in tears during his appearance at ESPN yesterday.
Jerry Sandusky was arrested over the weekend on charges that he sexually abused numerous boys he allegedly met through the Second Mile charity he founded.
The scandal is forcing now Joe Paterno into early retirement and he is expected to leave at the end of this season.
Penn State Athletic Director Tim Curley and vice president for finance and business Gary Schultz were charged on Saturday after a grand jury investigation of Jerry Sandusky, who was slapped with a 40-count indictment of child sex abuse charges.
The arrest brought shame to the Penn State football program, and left Joe Paterno clinging to his job, which he has held for 45 years, although last night thousands of students marched in support of their beloved coach.
During his appearance on ESPN yesterday, an emotional Matt Millen weighed in on the scandal, saying that the legendary Penn State coach would not go down without a fight
Both Matt Millen and Joe Paterno serve as honorary board members for the charity, which Jerry Sandusky founded in the late 1970s.
During his appearance on ESPN yesterday, an emotional Matt Millen weighed in on the scandal, saying that the legendary Penn State coach would not go down without a fight.
Matt Millen said: “The simple answer is that he needs to go, and last I checked this is the United States of America. We need to divorce ourselves from the emotion of the moment.”
“I get mad,” Matt Millen said as he broke down in tears.
“It’s pretty disturbing. It makes you sick to see that this could happen to this level.”
The scandal is forcing now Joe Paterno into early retirement and he is expected to leave at the end of this season
Describing Jery Sandusky, Matt Millen said: “He’s your next door neighbour. He’s the guy you know your whole life. He’s everything you want. I’ve known the guy since 1976. I’ve been to meetings with him. He’s been in my home.”
Meanwhile, the number of accusers in Penn State scandal has more than doubled as Pennsylvania opened up hotlines for potential victims to call.
Sources told Fox 29 News that as many as 17 people have said they were victimized by Jerry Sandusky, up from the 8 victims listed in a grand jury indictment Monday.
Tim Curley and Gary Schultz stepped down Monday night after an emergency meeting of the university’s Board of Trustees – and now Joe Paterno is facing calls to follow them out.
Tim Curley requested to be placed on administrative leave so he could devote the time needed to defend himself against perjury and other charges, university President Graham Spanier said.
Gary Schultz will step down and go back into retirement, Graham Spanier said. He declined to comment to reporters after the meeting.
Jerry Sandusky was arrested over the weekend on charges that he sexually abused numerous boys he allegedly met through the Second Mile charity he founded
Legendary head football coach Joe Paterno, who last week became the coach with the most wins in Division I football history, wasn’t charged, and the grand jury report didn’t appear to implicate him in wrongdoing.
However, at a press conference Monday, Pennsylvania’s top cop wasn’t ready to let him off the hook yet.
Joe Paterno told university officials when a graduate assistant reported to the 84-year-old coach seeing Jerry Sandusky in the shower, reportedly abusing a boy as young as 10.
Joe Paterno might have done what was legally required, “but somebody has to question about what I would consider the moral requirements for a human being that knows of sexual things that are taking place with a child,” state police Commissioner Frank Noonan said in a press conference Monday.
Frank Noonan added: “I think you have the moral responsibility, anyone. Not whether you’re a football coach or a university president or the guy sweeping the building. I think you have a moral responsibility to call us.”
Joe Paterno has long had an image as a leader who does things by the book and runs a program that has seen far fewer off-field troubles than other major college football teams. Doubts about his judgment in handling the Jerry Sandusky matter quickly began to emerge.
Jerry Sandusky, once considered Joe Paterno’s heir apparent, retired in 1999 but continued to use the school’s facilities for his work with The Second Mile, a foundation he established to help at-risk kids.
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Gunilla von Post, the Swedish socialite, who had an affair with John F. Kennedy, died at 79.
Gunilla von Post was just 21 when she began seeing JFK, when he was 36 and Massachusetts senator.
JFK and Gunilla von Post affair began just a few weeks before his marriage to Jacqueline Bouvier and continued two years after their wedding.
Gunilla von Post went on to tell all in her memoir Love, Jack, which came out in 1997.
Swedish socialite and JFK met by chance in the French Riviera in August 1953.
Gunilla von Post had been sent there by her aristocrat father to brush up on her French.
John F. Kennedy was immediately blown away by her natural blonde beauty.
JFK and Gunilla von Post affair began just a few weeks before his marriage to Jacqueline Bouvier and continued two years after their wedding
The lovers spent one evening together in which, she recalled: “He turned and kissed me tenderly and my breath was taken away.
“The brightness of the moon and stars made his eyes appear bluer than the ocean beneath us.”
JFK admitted he was about to get married and sure enough, three weeks, on September 1 1953, he married Jacqueline Bouvier.
The love letters and trans-Atlantic phone calls soon followed and JFK told her he wanted to see her again.
John F. Kennedy visited Sweden with a friend in 1955 and the relationship was consummated in August 1955.
Gunilla von Post wrote: “I was relatively inexperienced, and Jack’s tenderness was a revelation. He said, <<Gunilla, we’ve waited two years for this. It seems almost too good to be true, and I want to make you happy>>.”
A week later they said their tearful goodbyes and a few painful months ensued.
According to Gunilla von Post, JFK called his father Joe to tell him he wanted to divorce Jackie and marry her.
JFK’s father said that would destroy his chances of reaching the White House.
He tried to get Gunilla von Post to move to New York and take up modelling but she said she would only do that if they were married.
It was a catch 22 situation which JFK ended with one last handwritten note in which he admitted his emotions were “complicated”.
According to Gunilla von Post, JFK called his father Joe to tell him he wanted to divorce Jackie and marry her
Gunilla von Post wrote of her short, sweet romance: “I borrowed him for a week, a beautiful week that no one can take away from me.”
Born on July 10, 1932, in Stockholm, her full name was Karin Adele Gunilla von Post.
Gunilla von Post went on to marry wealthy Swedish landowner Anders Ekman and three years later she had one final meeting with JFK.
Gunilla von Post and her husband were guests at a charity ball at the Waldorf Astoria, New York, which was also attended by JFK and Jacqueline Kennedy.
She scribbled a note on a napkin at her table and asked a waiter to pass it to the senator.
Moments later JFK signalled to meet him in a corridor.
Gunilla von Post wrote: “He just gave me a huge hug. And then he said <<It’s wonderful to see you. I love you>>.” She said “it was lovely”.
Gunilla von Post trained in hotel management and cookery and attended a finishing school in Lausanne.
JFK’s affairs, from Marilyn Monroe to the reputed girlfriend of a Mafia boss, have been well documented.
Those who doubted Gunilla von Post’s accounts were forced to eat their words last year when she decided to sell 11 of JFK’s handwritten letters and three telegrams on a Chicago online auction site.
The letters were all written after his marriage. In the first, sent five months after his marriage in March 1954, JFK asked: “Do you remember our dinner and evening together this summer at Antibes and Cagnes?”
In another letter JFK wrote: “I thought I might get a boat and sail around the Mediterranean for two weeks with you as crew. What do you think?”
Unfortunately for the lovelorn couple, JFK then sent a telegram cancelling it after suffering a back injury that needed surgery.
Those who doubted Gunilla von Post's accounts were forced to eat their words last year when she decided to sell 11 of JFK’s handwritten letters and three telegrams on a Chicago online auction site
The sale of the letters raised $115,537.50, beating the original estimate of $50,000.
Anders Ekman died in an accident, and Gunilla von Post later married Weisner Miller, an American IBM executive, and moved to America.
The second marriage ended in divorce, but Gunilla von Post continued to enjoy life on the international social circuit, supporting charities and moving between homes in Palm Beach, Sweden, the south of France and Switzerland.
Gunilla von Post is survived by two daughters of her first marriage and a son of her second.
Star student Jeffrey Pyne from West Highland, Oakland, was charged with a first-degree murder in the death of his mother, Ruth Pyne, who was found bludgeoned and stabbed to death in her home.
Jeffrey Pyne, 21, now languishes in Oakland County Jail, the same prison his mother spent two weeks last year, charged with beating her son and trying to choke him.
It will be up to a jury to find out what happened on that May 27 afternoon before Ruth Pyne’s body was found by her 11-year-old daughter at their home in the rural community of Highland Township.
Jeffrey Pyne was charged with a first-degree murder in the death of his mother, Ruth Pyne, who was found bludgeoned and stabbed to death in her home
A biology student at the University of Michigan before his arrest, Jeffrey Pyne denies the charges, claiming he was at work at the time of his mother’s death.
Many in the close-knit community knew that theirs was a dysfunctional and volatile relationship.
According to the Detroit Free Press it was one which was marked by years of abuse claims and involuntary hospitalizations for Ruth Pyne – who was said to suffer from psychosis and paranoid schizophrenia.
Court documents stated Ruth Pyne needed medication to control her violent tendencies, most of which were targeted towards her son.
Finally, after years of abuse, did mild-mannered Jeffrey Pyne snap and kill his mother? Or do they have the wrong man?
Jeffrey Pyne’s father, Bernard, an automotive engineer, maintains his son is innocent and would never do anything to hurt his mother.
Bernard Pyne, 52, told the Detroit Free Press: “He was never violent toward his mother.”
Court records show that it was when Jeffrey Pyne was only nine-years-old his mother started threatening to kill him.
Ruth Pyne, 51, would often strike her son and sometimes his younger sister.
The woman would be hospitalized four times in the ensuing years and become violent when she refused to take her medication.
Bernard Pyne described his wife as a “kind and loving mother” when she had taken her medication.
Defense attorney James Champion of Grand Rapids said Jeffrey Pyne played no role in the death.
“This wasn’t a case of some kind of struggle or outburst,” James Champion said.
“Jeffrey Pyne did not do this. This is something Jeffrey Dahmer would do, not Jeffrey Pyne.”
For five months her murder was unsolved before the case was taken up by Oakland County grand jury, convened earlier this year to review dozens of unsolved homicides.
Prosecutors said testimony ties Jeffrey Pyne to his mother’s death.
“The grand jury compelled testimony from the defendant’s family, friends and coworkers, which produced evidence linking Jeffrey Pyne to the murder,” Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper said in announcing the indictment.
Family photos show Ruth Pyne, a dental hygienist, holding her children in front of birthday cakes, at Christmas celebrations and on vacations.
The Pynes – who were deeply religious – enrolled their son and daughter at West Highland Christian Academy where Jeffrey Pyne was described as a star student and athlete.
Donna Gundle-Krieg, Jeffrey Pyne’s former English teacher and senior adviser, wrote in an e-mail to Detroit Free Press:
“He was a leader in the school, as well as a straight-A student and a great athlete.
“He was a friend to everyone, caring and polite with a great future. An overall great kid. He loved his mother very much.
“When planning his career, he told me that he wanted to go to school to find a cure for an illness that he mentioned afflicted his mother. He never gave details of the illness.”
Family photos show Ruth Pyne, a dental hygienist, holding her children
From 1998 onwards, things in the seemingly-charmed family changed as Ruth Pyne’s mental health deteriorated, and she would threaten to kill herself and her son.
After this Ruth Pyne was diagnosed with being both bipolar and a paranoid schizophrenic.
Over the coming years, psychiatrists would describe the woman as “angry and violent”, “severely mentally ill”, “a danger to herself and others” and suffering from “acute mania”, court records show.
In 2009, in a petition to the probate court asking that his wife be committed to a mental hospital, Bernard Pyne wrote she was refusing medication, believed a computer chip had been implanted in her daughter and had been “striking our son for no reason”.
Bernard Pyne had sent their young daughter Julia to stay with relatives.
According to the Detroit Free Press, Bernard Payne wrote: “I must work, and can’t monitor her when I work. … She claims that her family could die, and it would not bother her at all.”
Ruth Pyne’s treating psychiatrist wrote on October 7, 2009: “She is likely to deteriorate severely and become a danger to herself and others due to her refusal to accept treatment for her very serious mental illness,” and recommended immediate transport to a mental health hospital for involuntary commitment.
The woman was in and out of hospital and spent time in jail in 2010 after trying to kill her son. The judge released her on $10,000 bond and said she could return home as long as she took her medication in front of her husband.
Nine months later Ruth Pyne was dead, her body found on the garage floor. She was stabbed 16 times and her head bashed repeatedly with a board.
To this day Jeffrey Pyne still claims he was at work as a handyman for a local woman at the time. It is unclear whether he has an alibi and if it holds up.
Jeffrey Pyne is back in court for a pretrial examination on December 20 and the trial is expected to start in late winter or early spring. If convicted, he faces life without parole.
According to a new book, wrote by Chuck Pfarrer, a former SEAL team commander – SEAL Target Geronimo. The Inside Story of the Mission to Kill Osama Bin Laden – President Barack Obama was actually playing golf until 20 minutes before the operation began in earnest.
Chuck Pfarrer’s book claims that Barack Obama Only played golf and only after he finished the course he return to the White House to watch what he later trumpeted as a great success of his presidency.
Strain etched on his face, Barack Obama watched as the raid to kill Osama Bin Laden played out on a television in front of him.
The book also claims the official account was riddled with errors and that Osama Bin Laden was referred to as “Bert” and not just “Geronimo”.
Also, none of the Navy SEALs said the now famous words: “For God and country”, and when they burst into Bin Laden’s room, his wife screamed: “No, no, don’t do this… it’s not him!”
Chuck Pfarrer has spoken to several of the men who carried out the operation at Osama Bin Laden’s mansion hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan, on May 2.
The author paints a very different picture to the official photo released at the time which shows Barack Obama and advisers huddled round a table in the White House situation room as footage was beamed from a drone 15,000 feet above the al-Qaeda leader’s mansion.
Strain etched on his face, Barack Obama watched as the raid to kill Osama Bin Laden played out on a television in front of him
Chuck Pfarrer says the President’s role was largely inflated and suggests he stayed out on the golf course for so long so he could distance himself in case it went wrong.
The author writes: “If this had completely gone south, he was in a position to disavow.”
Chuck Pfarrer says the White House photographs did not show the moment that Osama Bin Laden was killed, but the moment a helicopter went down, which happened after the shooting.
SEAL Target Geronimo claims that President Barack Obama was actually playing golf until 20 minutes before the killing Osama Bin Laden operation began
Barack Obama is known to be a keen golfer. Just today, as the White House was being encircled by 8,000 environmental protesters, he was on a course in Fort Belvoir, Virginia. The President also played golf four times during his week-long family holiday on Martha’s Vineyard.
Chuck Pfarrer’s book also claims that Osama Bin Laden would have been captured if he gave himself up. The author said a SEAL team would not have been sent in for a kill mission, adding: “If it was a kill mission you don’t need SEAL Team 6; you need a box of hand grenades.”
He also gives a dramatic new insight into what happened during the 1:00 a.m. raid, during which only 12 bullets were fired.
Within 90 seconds of their helicopter landing, the SEALs saw Osama Bin Laden slam his bedroom door shut. Two SEALs burst in and saw Osama Bin Laden and one of his four wives, Amal, who shouted: “It’s not him!”
Contrary to White House statements that he was unarmed, Osama Bin Laden had a gun next to him. As he shoved his wife at the SEALs, four shots were fired.
The first round whistled past Osama Bin Laden’s face. The second grazed his wife’s calf.
Contrary to White House statements that he was unarmed, Osama Bin Laden had a gun next to him
Chuck Pfarrer claims: ” Two 5.56mm Predator bullets slammed into him. One struck him next to his breastbone, blowing apart his aorta. The last went through his skull.”
The author also reveals that Osama Bin Laden was known as “Bert” to the Seals, and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri was Ernie – a reference to the Sesame Street puppets.
The SEALS have decided to speak out after being enraged by the image that was being painted of them as cold-blooded murderers on a “kill mission”.
Chuck Pfarrer said: “I’ve been a SEAL for 30 years and I never heard the words <<kill mission>>.”
The soldiers were also said to be disappointed that Barack Obama announced Osama Bin Laden’s death on TV a few hours later, making their intelligence-gathering futile.
Chuck Pfarrer also said the President’s announcement of the “intentional” killing was understandable but nonetheless disappointing.
The author told the Sunday Times: “There isn’t a politician in the world who could resist trying to take credit for getting Bin Laden but it devalued the <<intel>> and gave time for every other Al-Qaeda leader to scurry to another bolthole.
“The men who did this and their valorous act deserve better. It’s a pretty shabby way to treat these guys.”
The operation began to come together in January 2010 after it was discovered that a “high-value individual” was hiding out at a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
The commanding officer of the SEALS was brought to a top secret meeting with the CIA and his boss Admiral William McRaven to prepare a plan to present to the President.
Chuck Pfarrer asked: “So is this Bert or Ernie?”, according to the SEALs’ Sesame Street nicknames for Osama Bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahiri.
CIA intelligence confirmed they were “60 per cent or 70 per cent certain it’s our guy”.
Satellite images had measured the target’s shadow, making him “over 6 feet tall”. He was dubbed “the pacer” as he was constantly seen walking back and forth.
In the following months, the team of SEALS began to make detailed preparations including practising manoeuvres at a mock-up of the compound at a remote army camp.
It was planned that the team would use Ghost Hawk helicopters because they were so quiet on approach, the Seals described them as flying in “whisper mode”, according to Chuck Pfarrer.
Barack Obama gave the mission the green light and SEAL Team 6, known as the Jedi, kicked into action.
After being deployed to Afghanistan, the team were told to use older helicopters, Stealth Hawks, as sending in Ghost Hawks without the back up of jet fighters was considered too risky. Decoy targets were set up and the U.S. Navy scrambled Pakistan’s radar to protect the mission.
The operation, called Neptune’s Spear, was meant to take place on April 30 but was rescheduled for May 1 because of bad weather. In the dead of night, the SEALS flew on two Stealth Hawks, codenamed Razor 1 and 2, followed by two Chinooks five minutes behind.
Each SEAL was wearing body armour and night-vision goggles and equipped with laser targets, radios and sawn-off M4 rifles.
Also on board were a CIA agent, a Pakistani- American interpreter and a sniffer dog called Karo, wearing dog body armour and goggles.
It was estimated that around 30 people were in the high-walled compound in Abbottabad – Oasama Bin Laden and three of his wives, two sons, Khalid and Hamza, his courier, Abu Ahmed al- Kuwaiti, four bodyguards and a number of children.
At 56 minutes past midnight the compound came into sight and the code “Palm Beach” gave the signal they were three minutes to landing.
The first helicopter hovered over the main house, where Osama Bin Laden was known to live on the top floor. A team of 12 SEALS abseiled the 5 ft-6 ft down onto the roof, leapt onto a terrace and kicked in the windows.
The first person they saw was Osama Bin Laden’s third wife Khaira. She fell after being blinded by a strobe light and was caught by a SEAL who pinned her to the floor.
Osama Bin Laden suddenly appeared in the doorway of a bedroom along the hall and then slammed the door.
One SEAL radioed: “Geronimo, Geronimo, Geronimo“, signalling that they had spotted the target.
As people started moving in other parts of the house and lights were thrown on, Osama Bin Laden’s son Khalid came running up the stairs towards the SEALS and was shot dead.
Two commandos kicked in Bin Laden’s door to find the al-Qaeda leader cowering behind his youngest wife Amal.
As Osama Bin Laden tried to reach for his AK-47 rifle, the SEALS opened fire.
One round hit the mattress, another grazed Amal in the calf.
They each fired again: one shot hit Osama Bin Laden’s breastbone, the other his skull, blowing out the back of his head. His dead body slumped to the floor and he lay face up – just 90 seconds after the mission began.
Earlier reports had suggested that Osama Bin Laden was not killed until after a protracted gun fight.
The second helicopter had headed to a smaller guesthouse in the compound where Osama Bin Laden’s courier, Kuwaiti, and his brother lived.
As the helicopter closed in, a man appeared in the door with an assault rife and began to fire. Someone on board shouted: “Bust him!”. A sniper on board the chopper fired two shots and Kuwaiti was killed along with his wife standing behind him.
Within two minutes the SEALS had cleared the guesthouse and removed the women and children. They then ran to meet their colleagues at the main building, firing two bullets into one of Osama Bin Laden’s bodyguards who was brandishing a gun.
Five minutes later, a Chinook landed by the compound and more commandos flooded into the compound.
The commanding officer went to view Osama Bin Laden’s corpse before confirming via satellite phone to the White House “Geronimo Echo KIA” – that their number one enemy was dead.
Chuck Pfarrer is a former commander who worked 30 years as SEAL
Chuck Pfarrer added: “This was the first time the White House knew he was dead and it was probably 20 minutes into the raid.”
A sample of Osama Bin Laden’s DNA was taken, the body was bagged and put on the helicopter. His rifle is now mounted on the wall of their team room at their headquarters in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
On leaving the compound the first helicopter had an electrical failure and crashed tail-first into the compound.
SEALS initially thought it had been shot down as they rushed to help the crew who escaped unharmed.
Tinglan Hong, the Chinese woman who gave birth to the first child of Hugh Grant, was portrayed by her her former boyfriend Robert Hodge.
Robert Hodge said that when Tinglan Hong, 31, arrived at his home at the end of October, the first thing he noticed was that her normally petite frame appeared to have gained weight.
It had been several months since they had last met but now Tinglan Hong was visiting Robert Hodge to discuss changing her silver Mercedes CLK car – a two-door coupe – for a bigger vehicle.
Imediately, her former boyfriend understood.
“I said to her, <<You’ve done it, haven’t you? You’ve had the baby>>.”
Tinglan Hong, known to all as Ting Ting, then confirmed what Robert Hodge had suspected for several months – that she had given birth to a child fathered by actor Hugh Grant.
The news last week that famously dedicated bachelor Hugh Grant, 51, had become a father for the first time came with a backhanded dismissal when his publicists described his time with Tinglan Hong as “a fleeting affair”.
For Robert Hodge, 55, a buyer for a specialist car company who spent 18 months dating Ting Ting before she met Hugh Grant, it brought mixed emotions.
It brought to mind the day in April 2010 when Ting Ting had told him, with barely concealed excitement, that she had begun playing golf with Hugh Grant after meeting him in an upmarket wine bar in Chelsea.
Far from their contact being “fleeting”, Robert Hodge says that over the months that followed, Tinglan Hong confessed that she and Hugh Grant had regularly been spending time together.
Although Ting Ting denied they were romantically involved, Robert Hodge suspected there was far more to their relationship.
As Tinglan Hong showed him pictures of their dark-haired daughter, he could be in no doubt. Robert Hodge listened as Ting Ting proudly told him that her little girl had been nicknamed Bamboo but that her Chinese name translated as “Happy Accident”.
Although reportedly “delighted” at becoming a father, Hugh Grant is said to have been absent during the child’s birth and spent just half an hour with his daughter before heading to Scotland to play golf.
Last week, Hugh Grant was pictured with a German burlesque dancer, said to be the latest object of his affections.
Tinglan Hong, the Chinese woman who gave birth to the first child of Hugh Grant, was portrayed by her her former boyfriend Robert Hodge
Robert Hodge, a divorced father-of-four from Wandsworth, South London, claims to have no hard feelings towards Hugh Grant. But the star’s behaviour towards Tinglan Hong, for whom he still cares deeply, has clearly irked him.
Robert Hodge says: “I don’t think he has been as considerate as he could have been, no. He has brought all this attention on her but doesn’t want to take responsibility for any of it.
“He has been able to turn up at her house in his Ferrari, bringing the paparazzi straight to her door, and then leave the country again.
“Meanwhile, it’s Ting Ting who has been left to deal with all of this. Now he’s apparently with this burlesque dancer.
“It’s all very well that his publicist has described his time with Ting Ting as a fleeting romance but it wasn’t fleeting.
“At one time, he told people she was a big part of his life – it’s not very fair that he has dismissed that. Even if he isn’t with her, he has had a hand in creating this situation.“
So far, little is known about the mother of Hugh Grant’s child other than that she was brought up in the town of Lishni in Zhejiang Province, Eastern China.
But Robert Hodge, who has been divorced for 11 years, is now able to offer an intriguing insight.
Robert Hodge first met Tinglan Hong in 2006 at the Dog and Fox pub in the centre of exclusive Wimbledon village in South-West London. Attracted by her vivacious and bubbly personality, he asked her to join his group and the pair became friends.
Tinglan Hong had just graduated from a hotel management degree at the University of Surrey in Guildford after arriving in the UK several years previously. Ting Ting told Robert Hodge she was running an internet-based import and export business from her tiny flat in New Malden, Surrey.
It took two years for their friendship to deepen into a romantic relationship.
Robert Hodge recalls: “It got to the stage we both wanted to be together. She was never moody, always a really nice person to be around. She doesn’t drink alcohol, but is always the life and soul of any gathering. She has huge character and likes spontaneity, to go with the flow.
“If you met her she’d be friendly and witty and would put people at ease. She picks up on a thread of conversation and will drop in a funny one-liner.
“She’s a little bit crazy and quite often does something weird – a funny facial expression or little mannerism.
“It was her innocence that made her a bit cheeky. We laughed a lot together.”
Robert Hodge first met Tinglan Hong in 2006 at the Dog and Fox pub in the centre of exclusive Wimbledon village in South-West London
A fan of the latest fashions, Tinglan Hong dressed in designer labels, favouring Louboutin heels and Gucci handbags.
Robert Hodge says it was not clear how she could afford such luxuries, but believes her family in China sent her a monthly allowance.
Although Tinglan Hong rarely talked about her family, she appeared to have a very close relationship with them and chatted to her mother regularly on the phone. Robert Hodge’s impression was that they were moderately well-off – describing them as “not wealthy, but not rice farmers”.
Tinglan Hong and Robert Hodge spent about five nights a week together enjoying London’s nightlife, going out to restaurants and bars and to adult puppet show Avenue Q.
One night in late 2008, Tinglan Hong went out with friends to Brinkley’s, a wine bar in Chelsea popular with well-heeled local celebrities including Elizabeth Hurley, Hugh Grant, cricketer Kevin Pietersen and Chelsea footballer Frank Lampard.
“The next day she showed me this photograph on her phone with Hugh Grant.
“We laughed about it and she’d bring it out to show people but I didn’t think any more about it.
“Generally, she wasn’t really interested in celebrity, she didn’t buy those magazines.”
Quieter evenings were spent in Robert Hodge’s flat with DVDs of Bond movies or the Bourne trilogy and Ting Ting was a fabulous cook.
“She would often spend two hours cooking really good, traditional Chinese food. Things you’d dip; noodles, meat and fish. We’d eat it together with chopsticks.
“She enjoyed looking after me, playing the housewife.”
Robert Hodge introduced Tinglan Hong to his friends and family. His four children, aged between 18 and 32, took to her immediately.
One Sunday Tinglan Hong met his elderly parents for lunch at their home in Fetcham, Surrey.
“She helped Mum in the kitchen, bringing plates and food through and helping clear up. She got on with everyone. She engaged in conversation and didn’t just sit quietly in the corner. My parents thought she was great. She treated them with enormous amounts of respect and was well-mannered.
“It was important to me that they liked her, and it helped me picture a future together.”
Tinglan Hong and Robert Hodge went to the Belgian Grand Prix together in September 2008 and, after spending Christmas with Robert’s mother and eldest daughter Candice, travelled to Chamonix in the French Alps for a skiing holiday over New Year.
They stayed in a chalet with five friends and Ting Ting, who had never skied before, had three mornings of lessons before also trying out a snowboard.
He said: “She would fall over and just giggle at herself.
“One night, while we were in a bar in the resort, she realized she was the only Chinese person. So she stood up on the bar itself and started waving her arms around and shouting, in a mock Chinese accent: <<Hawo everybody! I am Ting Ting from China!>>
“Everyone loved it and started applauding and shouting back. She’s certainly not shy about coming forward.”
Tinglan Hong and Robert Hodge relationship became more serious and Robert says Ting Ting talked about wanting to settle down. But he was not keen to move too fast after his marriage breakdown and says Ting Ting accepted that.
“She wanted a stable life with someone. But we didn’t talk about moving in together. I think she respected my situation, but she wanted children. We never spoke about it seriously, but it was clear.”
Oddly, Tinglan Hong never invited Robert Hodge into her flat, a rented, ground-floor bedsit on a busy road. It did not strike Robert Hodge as suspicious and he says he never asked to go inside.
But there was undoubtedly an element of secrecy in their relationship. Robert Hodge knew little of her family, and admits he has no idea what goods she was involved in importing. There is no record of Tinglan Hong business at Companies House and he does not know what her visa status is.
After graduating in 2006, Tinglan Hong was entitled to a two-year post-study work visa, which would have expired in 2008. Robert Hodge dismisses these things and says, again, that he simply did not ask the questions.
Tinglan Hong returned to China for a family visit in late 2009 and stayed for two months. During the trip, Ting Ting emailed Robert Hodge some racy modelling photographs she had taken at a studio as part of a “vanity shoot” – popular among young Chinese women.
He said: “It didn’t really fit in with her character. Yes, she’s gregarious but these were saucy.”
Once Tinglan Hong returned, in early 2010, things had changed.
“I’d try to make arrangements and she’d say, <<I can’t make it tonight>>. That was really strange. Something was wrong.”
After several weeks Tinglan Hong broke off the relationship, claiming she needed time to herself.
“I had very strong feelings for her but I had to respect what she wanted.”
Robert Hodge had no contact with Tinglan Hong until, one day, he bumped into one of her friends, a Taiwanese girl named Amy.
Robert Hodge said: “I asked her how Ting Ting was doing. She laughed, and said she had been hanging around with Hugh Grant.
“I was surprised. But I assumed she meant Ting Ting had seen him in Brinkley’s again.”
Robert Hodge got the chance to ask her directly when she agreed to meet him in April 2010 at the Thai Square bar on the banks of the Thames at Putney.
“I asked her how things were going and she said that she had started playing golf at the Wisley Club.
“That was strange. She’d never been into golf before.“
Robert Hodge knew that the Wisley Club, a private members golf club in Surrey, was hugely exclusive, with a reputed joining fee of £40,000 ($60,000) and an annual £4,000 ($6,000) membership charge.
“I asked her who she knew who had membership. She kept saying, <<Oh, just a friend>>.
“Eventually she told me it was Hugh Grant. She had been having lessons and would walk around the course with Hugh and watch him play.
“I asked her how on earth she knew him and she said – as I had suspected – they’d met in Brinkley’s again, a few weeks earlier. She didn’t give any indication they were romantically involved.“
Robert Hodge and Tinglan Hong spoke on the phone occasionally and she told him she was spending most weekends with Hugh Grant playing golf, but always denied a relationship.
During one telephone call in July 2010, Robert Hodge asked if she wanted to meet the following day.
“She said: <<Actually, I’m going round to Hugh’s to watch the World Cup Final>>. There was no doubt who she meant. I was pretty surprised. I left it at that.”
Robert Hodge and Tinglan Hong were not in regular contact again until April 2011 when he took a call from an excited friend who told him there were photographs in the newspapers of Ting Ting with Hugh Grant, amid speculation that she was pregnant.
“I looked up the pictures online and laughed. Of course it was Ting Ting. It was obvious to me that they were in a relationship.
“I called her up and asked her if she was pregnant.
“She just laughed and said, <<No, it’s just the papers making up stories>>. Again, she didn’t admit they were a couple.
“We arranged to meet in the bar of the May Fair Hotel soon afterwards. I was curious – I wanted to find out if she really was pregnant.
“She had definitely put on some weight, but she denied it. But when I asked if she was romantically involved with Hugh, she admitted it for the first time.
“She didn’t say they were a couple, I think she said they were seeing each other.”
Robert Hodge and Tinglan Hong were not in regular contact again until April 2011 when he took a call from an excited friend who told him there were photographs in the newspapers of Ting Ting with Hugh Grant, amid speculation that she was pregnant
In the middle of May, Tinglan Hong invited Robert Hodge to dinner.
“The really strange thing was that she asked me to come to Brinkley’s. We sat down at a table; her facing the door.
“She kept saying, <<Oh, I’ve put so much weight on>>. I teased her about being pregnant but she continued to deny it.
“During our second course, Hugh walked in. She said, <<Oh. It’s Hugh>>.
“I said, <<Well, this is a bit embarrassing, isn’t it?>>
“He came straight over but they didn’t embrace or even look like close friends. She introduced us and said, <<Hugh, this is Robert>>.
“She stood up and they chatted, very briefly, although I can’t remember what they said.
“He then turned and said something extremely strange to me. He nodded at my plate and said, <<What have you got there?>>
“I said, <<Oh, Dover sole>.. He made a face. He said: <<Fish. Very strange. A bit like smoking>>.
“It was so odd I didn’t know what to say. I joked, <<It’s not as dangerous is it?>>. He shrugged and said, <<I suppose not>.. Then he walked off.
“It was the strangest thing to say. Again, I said, <<That was a bit embarrassing>>.”
In retrospect, Robert Hodge wonders if he was set up in a bid to make Hugh Grant jealous. Tinglan Hong was by now five months pregnant and judging by their odd greeting it appears things between them had cooled.
What happened next makes it clear there was a rather bizarre game in play.
Robert Hodge recalls: “Hugh went off to another table to join some friends. One was a very good-looking young woman, with long dark hair, who was probably only 22 or 23. He seemed to flirt with her, putting a hand on her arm.
“Ting Ting was not happy. She said something like, <<Look at that. That’s his latest girlfriend>>.
“It was said jokingly, but now I’m sure she was bitter.”
The next time Robert Hodge heard from Tinglan Hong was last week, on October 27. She rang him and asked if he could help sell her car, and then brought it round that after-noon. Then, she confessed she had given birth to Hugh Grant’s child.
Robert Hodge says: “She said her parents had come over from China to look after the baby. She seemed happy, quite well, not at all tired or harassed. She also showed me some photos on her phone.
“Bamboo looked sweet, with dark hair. There were none of her with Hugh.
“I was happy for her. There were some mixed feelings, obviously, as I still care about her. Then she said, <<Pity we can’t get back together>>.
“I was surprised. I said, <<What about Hugh?>>
“She said he was <<very strange>>. She didn’t expand on that.
“She went on to say he was a good father. She said: <<Whenever he’s in the country, he comes to see Bamboo>>.
“I didn’t think that sounded like a good father. She also told me he wouldn’t put his name on the birth certificate until March.
“She didn’t say why, although I assume it’s to avoid anyone knowing he’s the father.
“She hasn’t mentioned paternity tests, so I don’t know if it’s something Hugh wanted.”
Tinglan Hong also said Liz Hurley had been to see Bamboo and that she was to be the child’s godmother.
Robert Hodge says Ting Ting will cope, though she might be feeling let down.
“I think she’ll be quite sad at the moment. She was looking for stability and children and in a way she’s got it. But it doesn’t look like she has someone standing by her.
“She’ll brush it off and laugh about it. That’s what’s in her nature.
“And she’ll be a brilliant mum. She’s very caring. The pictures of her with her Louboutin shoes and Gucci bags don’t do her justice.
“Underneath it all she’s a very traditional Chinese girl. She’s homely – not a princess.”
Hugh Grant is not the first celebrity Tinglan Hong has dated. One of her first loves was a foreign football star ten years older than her, whom she met when she was still a university student in China.
Tinglan Hong had a romance with Colombian World Cup hero Adolfo Valencia when she was studying at Zhejiang University in the eastern city of Hangzhou and he was playing for the local team.
Friends say Tinglan Hong fell head over heels in love with the footballer – but the romance also appears to have been short-lived.
Adolfo Valencia, who in his glory days played in the 1994 and 1998 World Cup Finals and was once top scorer in a season with German giants Bayern Munich, had two stints with the Zhejiang Lucheng team in Hangzhou between 2002 and 2004. Then aged 34, he was one of the first big-money international players to sign for a Chinese team.
Fellow students interviewed by local newspaper journalist Chen Yuhao recalled how Tinglan Hong was seen out with Adolfo Valencia after meeting him at a nightclub.
Chen Yuhao said: “Tinglan liked to meet foreign men. She met Valencia at a nightclub and was besotted with him. They went out together for a while. She was more in love with him than he was with her and it didn’t last.”
Tinglan Hong studied in Hangzhou for four years from 1999, before moving to Britain in 2003.
Tinglan Hong’s mother, Liu Minchun, was manager of a large factory producing fountain pens and stationery and later general manager of the city’s Lishui International Hotel.
She was also a delegate to China’s parliament, the National People’s Congress.
Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State University football coach was charged with multiple counts of sexual assault after allegedly abusing eight young boys that he worked with through a charity helping underprivileged children.
Two university administrators were also charged with perjury for failing to report information about Jerry Sandusky‘s sexually abuse.
Athletic director Tim Curley and the school’s vice president for finance and business Gary Schultz were charged Saturday with perjury and failure to report in an investigation into Jerry Sandusky‘s abuse of eight young men, state prosecutors said.
Jerry Sandusky, 67, was arrested Saturday and released on $100,000 bail, the attorney general’s office said.
Tim Curley, 57, and Gary Schultz, 62, both of Boalsburg, Pennsylvania, were expected to turn themselves in Monday in Harrisburg.
Gary Schultz’s position includes oversight of the university’s police department, hence his involvement with the case.
Jerry Sandusky, the former Penn State University football coach was charged with multiple counts of sexual assault after allegedly abusing eight young boy
Jerry Sandusky is a star in football circles as he is closely identified with the school’s reputation as a defensive powerhouse and a program that produced top-quality linebackers. He retired in 1999.
Longtime head coach Joe Paterno, who has more victories than any coach in the history of Division I football, was not charged, authorities said.
When Joe Paterno first learned of one report of abuse he immediately reported it to Tim Curley, prosecutors said.
Jerry Sandusky, who worked with at-risk children through his Second Mile organization,was charged with seven counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse; eight counts of corruption of minors, eight counts of endangering the welfare of a child, seven counts of indecent assault and other offences.
Second Mile organization, which was founded by Jerry Sandusky in 1977 to help underprivileged children released a statement distancing themselves from their disgraced leader:
“Jerry Sandusky has had no involvement in The Second Mile’s children’s programs and services since he made us aware of the allegations against him in November 2008. In August 2010, Jerry announced he was formally retiring from The Second Mile to attend to family and personal matters.
“This clearly is a very difficult time for Jerry and his family, for all other involved parties, and for The Second Mile.”
A preliminary hearing for Jerry Sandusky is scheduled for Wednesday.
Attorney General Linda Kelly called Jerry Sandusky “a sexual predator who used his position within the university and community to repeatedly prey on young boys”.
The grand jury identified eight young men who were targets of sexual advances or assaults by Jerry Sandusky from 1994 to 2009, prosecutors said.
Though the nature of the charges is shocking no matter what, the surprise is more loaded by the fact it comes from within the corridors of Penn State, a school where the football program is known for its consistancy as much as its success.
Attorney General Linda Kelly said:
“It is also a case about high-ranking university officials who allegedly failed to report the sexual assault of a young boy after the information was brought to their attention, and later made false statements to a grand jury.”
Prosecutors said all of the young men first encountered Jerry Sandusky through Second Mile and not through the university.
A grand jury report, which recommended charges, said the first to come to light was a boy who met Jerry Sandusky when he was 11 or 12. The boy received expensive gifts and trips to sports events from Jerry Sandusky, and physical contact began during his overnight stays at Sandusky’s home, jurors said.
Jerry Sandusky was banned from the child’s school district in Clinton County in 2009, after his mother reported alleged sexual assault to his high school. That triggered the state investigation that culminated in charges Saturday.
Linda Kelly said that seven years before that, in 2002, a graduate assistant saw Jerry Sandusky sexually assault a naked boy, estimated to be about 10 years old, in the locker room of the Lasch Football Building on campus.
The grad student and his father reported what he saw to Joe Paterno, who immediately told Tim Curley, prosecutors said.
Tim Curley and Gary Schultz met with the graduate assistant about a week and a half later, Linda Kelly said.
Attorney General Linda Kelly said:
“Despite a powerful eyewitness statement about the sexual assault of a child, this incident was not reported to any law enforcement or child protective agency, as required by Pennsylvania law.
“Additionally, there is no indication that anyone from the university ever attempted to learn the identity of the child … or made any follow-up effort to obtain more information from the person who witnessed the attack.”
The jury said Tim Curley lied when he testified repeatedly that he was never told Jerry Sandusky had engaged in sexual misconduct with a child, Linda Kelly said, adding that portions of Gary Schultz’s testimony also were not deemed credible by the jury.
Penn State president Graham Spanier called the allegations against Jerry Sandusky “troubling” but said Tim Curley and Gary Schultz had his unconditional support and he predicted they will be exonerated.
“I have known and worked daily with Tim [Curley] and Gary [Schultz] for more than 16 years,” Graham Spanier said.
“I have complete confidence in how they handled the allegations about a former university employee.”
Jerry Sandusky, once considered a potential successor to Joe Paterno, drew up the defenses for the Nittany Lions’ national-title teams in 1982 and 1986.
A filthy message dated 1902 and scrawled on a wooden pillar beside the front door has been uncovered during a £12 million ($18 million) restoration of Kensington Palace.
Staff at the Kensington Palace found the graffiti from 1902 in perfect condition several months ago.
Written neatly in pencil on a timber post supporting the ceiling beside the palace’s front door and boxed in by wooden panelling were the words: “Peter Jackson, The Champion f****r” dated 1/2/1902.
The timber which was rotten after 109 years has now been replaced with a steel joist – but the inscription has been preserved and kept in storage.
A filthy message dated 1902 and scrawled on a wooden pillar beside the front door has been uncovered during a £12 million ($18 million) restoration of Kensington Palace
Lee Prosser, Buildings Curator at the Historic Royal Palaces charity said a bottle of whisky was also found tucked in the panelling with a newspaper cutting pasted to the post that showed a group of old men sitting together.
Lee Prosser: “We found it a couple of months ago. It was covered with boarding and when we took it off, there it was.
“Unfortunately we know nothing about who he (Peter Jackson) was. My feeling is that he was a carpenter.
“There are many instances of graffiti at the palaces, including some similarly rude and rather graphic Tudor etchings at Hampton Court Palace, as well as numerous more poignant messages carved into the stone walls by prisoners at the Tower of London.
“You often get that with workmen – people like to write their names – we have often found other bits in the palace where people have written their name It’s not that unusual”.
Lee Prosser had at first assumed that the scrawl had been the handiwork of Peter Jackson himself but a further scrawl, which showed an arrow pointing to one of the men in the photograph in the newspaper with Peter Jackson’s name on it has led him to believe that it was penned by one of his workmates.
The curator said: “I was really surprised that people used words like that 100 years ago and then even went to write it down. We found it quite amusing.
“The prop had to be removed and replaced, but it has been put into storage – I was quite keen to save it.”
This is not the first time royalty has had to contend with a spot of bad language.
The late fashion designer Alexander McQueen was working as an apprentice in the Savile Row workshop of Gieves & Hawkes in London when bored one afternoon, he wrote “I am a c***” in the lining of a suit jacket destined for the Prince of Wales.
Other interesting finds during the palace refurbishment have included some pretty tin items which appear to come from Nottingham House – the first building on the site – and a swathe of late 18th century green verditer wallpaper with a decorated border, hidden behind an architrave.
Originally built in 1605 as a private country house, Kensington Palacewas purchased in 1689 by King William III and Queen Mary II, eager to escape Whitehall.
Kensington Palace has been home to some of the country’s most famous royals, including George II, Queen Victoria, Princess Margaret and Diana, Princess of Wales
The two-year restoration project that has been carried out by Historic Royal Palaces is now in its closing stages and will see the palace re-open in March to coincide with the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
Kensington Palace has been home to some of the country’s most famous royals, including George II, Queen Victoria, Princess Margaret and Diana, Princess of Wales.
Many intimate items will be on display for the first time including jewellery, paintings, books and a uniform that belonged to Queen Victoria’s husband, Albert.
Clothes to be shown include a pair of mourning stockings that are black on the legs and white at the feet, which Victoria wore after Albert died in 1861.
Visitors will walk across a new carpet in to which quotes from passionate love letters Albert wrote during the couple’s engagement have been woven.
A sound and light installation will re-create the atmosphere as it was in the Red Saloon on June 20 1837 when Victoria realised she was now Queen following the death of her uncle William IV.
Kensington Palace includes contributions from some of the most renowned architects of the past three centuries, including Sir Christopher Wren, Nicholas Hawksmoor, Sir John Vanbrugh, John Nash, Colin Campbell and William Kent.
During building work, the restoration team uncovered many traces of their predecessors attempts to maintain what started out as a Jacobean house.
The most alarming – perhaps aside from the graffiti discovered – was when the foundations for the new cafe, shop and sunken garden were dug up and a long buried spring bubbled up to the surface and turned the ground into quick sand.
A London-bound Qantas A380 with 258 on board was forced to divert to Dubai after an engine problem occurred on Friday.
The incident happen one year since a mid-air engine blowout prompted the Australian airline to ground its entire fleet of Airbus superjumbos for nearly a month.
British writer and comedian Stephen Fry was on board flight 31 which landed safely on three engines and immediately began tweeting, turning the event into a social media hit but capping a nightmare week for Qantas.
“Bugger. Forced to land in Dubai. An engine has decided not to play,” Stephen Fry told his 3.3 million followers on Twitter.
“Not a great week for Qantas,” he added.
Qantas has just emerged from the grounding of its entire fleet over the weekend following a long-running labour dispute.
The weekend shutdown stranded almost 70,000 passengers, forcing the government and the nation’s labour tribunal to intervene and ban all further strikes at Qantas.
A London-bound Qantas A380 with 258 on board was forced to divert to Dubai after an engine problem occurred on Friday
Friday’s flight, with 258 people on board, had an “oil quantity defect” in one engine which was switched off according to standard procedure, a Qantas spokeswoman in Sydney said, adding Qantas engineers would investigate the problem.
Qantas said in a letter distributed to passengers and posted on Twitter by Fry that engineers would take a number of hours to conduct “mandatory inspections.”
The airline added it was rebooking the passengers on alternative carriers.
“Qantas… have said they shut down the engine to check oil and that there was no explosion,” an aviation industry source familiar with events said.
A second source with knowledge of events said Qantas identified the glitch about 90 minutes after take off.
“If it had been really serious they would have turned back and not flown on to Dubai,” the source said.
“Engine systems are so sophisticated now they can flag any discrepancy so airlines can act.”
A Qantas Airbus A380 aircraft suffered an engine explosion on November 4 last year shortly after leaving Singapore for Sydney. It returned to Singapore and landed safely.
“The two issues are completely unrelated. This is a one-off and we will look to get the aircraft back in the skies as soon as possible,” Qantas spokeswoman Olivia Wirth said on Friday.
Each Qantas A380 is powered by four Rolls Royce engines. The carrier has 10 A380s in service and is due to take delivery of two more by the year-end. It also has two more on order and deferred the delivery schedule for six others.
Stephen Fry later tweeted that he was on a flight to London with Emirates, which operates the world’s biggest fleet of A380s but powered by engines supplied by a joint venture between General Electric and Pratt & Whitney.
An analyst who wished not to be named said Stephen Fry’s Twitter feeds inflated the incident.
“This doesn’t seem like a big deal,” said the analyst.
“It seems like a precautionary measure. But the fact that it is Qantas again and on the same date as last year with Stephen Fry tweeting about it has made it a big deal.”
A Rolls Royce spokesman said the company was aware of the incident and was working closely with Qantas to provide appropriate support and technical assistance.
In last year’s engine blowout, a turbine disc disintegrated and sent supersonic shrapnel through the aircraft’s wing, severing systems and narrowly missing the cabin.
Investigations pinpointed a manufacturing fault in an oil pipe which could lead to oil leaks and ordered safety checks.
Rolls-Royce replaced or upgraded dozens of engines.
Rolls Royce engines power the A380 fleet of Qantas, Singapore Airlines, and Lufthansa and China Southern.
Airbus has sold 236 A380s. By the end of September this year it had delivered 57. The four-engined double-decker airplanes sell for $375 million (234 million pounds) each at list prices.
Qantas shares closed up 2.5% at A$1.62, in line with the broader market.
Shares in Rolls-Royce fell 1 percent to 709 pence, also in line. In Paris, shares in Airbus parent EADS lagged the rest of the market, falling 1.6% to 21.31 euros.
Terri Weissinger from California was trapped eight days at San Francisco International Airport because she couldn’t pay the baggage fees.
Terri Weissinger had decided to move home and booked herself on a flight from California to Idaho.
Eight days after turning up at San Francisco International Airport, however, Terri Weissinger was still in the departure lounge – having not even boarded a plane.
Terri Weissinger from California was trapped eight days at San Francisco International Airport because she couldn't pay the baggage fees
The issue was having booked her flight just before a federal law went into effect requiring ticket brokers to disclose all hidden fees, Terri Weissinger didn’t know about her airline’s extra baggage fees.
Having packed too much, Terri Weissinger had just $30 to her name, while the baggage fee was $60.
U.S. Airways refused Terri Weissinger permission to board despite her offer to pay the fee when she landed or leave one of her bags behind.
U.S. Airways said their policy didn’t allow them to let her board without paying and airport security meant she couldn’t leave her luggage.
While attempting to resolve her situation, Terri Weissinger missed her plane – thereby racking up another $150 in fees.
Terri Weissinger remained stuck, with no option but to live in the terminal. The woman slept in a stairwell and was treated for anxiety at the airport medical clinic.
When she tried to plead with airport authorities for help, Terri Weissinger was threatened with arrest on vagrancy charges.
Speaking to ABC 7, Terri Weissinger said: “[It’s] ridiculous. I couldn’t believe it sometimes, you know, it’s just incredibly ridiculous situation to be in.”
Finally, Terri Weissinger saw a listing for the nearby Airport Church of Christ in a phone book and call them.
Moved by her situation, the church quickly raised the $210 Terri needed to pay her fees and get on her plane.
U.S. Airways said in a statement: “We have apologised to Ms Weissinger for her experience, but unfortunately are unable to offer a refund.
“When you purchase a non-refundable ticket, you accept the terms and conditions. If a passenger cannot travel with their bags, they need to make other arrangements.”
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A woman on a surfboard and two people aboard a kayak were almost swallowed by a humpback whale that charged out of the water near Santa Cruz, California.
The incident is one of several recent close calls in the area, where a small pod of humpback whales has been surface lunge-feeding on anchovies unusually close to shore.
They’ve become a major draw for kayakers and boaters and at least one kayaker has been capsized, and a sailboat was struck by a whale.
A woman on a surfboard and two people aboard a kayak were almost swallowed by a humpback whale that charged out of the water near Santa Cruz, California
This circus atmosphere has led to an enforcement presence in an attempt to keep people at a safe distance from the potentially dangerous leviathans.
“We had our enforcement guy out on the Harbor Patrol boat yesterday trying to clear people away from the whales,” Paul Michel, superintendent for the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, told the Santa Cruz Sentinel on Wednesday.
“We were out there again today on the water but of course the whales moved off. Once the bait fish went away the small pod dispersed. Wherever there is food they will be, so they could come back and we will keep enforcement going through the weekend.”
Officers with the California Department of Fish and Game and Santa Cruz Harbor Patrol also have been on the water cautioning boaters and kayakers, explaining that the whales are protected by federal law and harassing them in any way can draw fines of between $2,500 and $32,000.
People for the most part were being cooperative.
Humpback whales, which can measure to 50 feet and weigh 40 tons, are easy to locate because while feeding, they herd giant schools of anchovies to the surface, and birds diving on the bait fish give away the presence of whales. When the whales are lunge-feeding vertically, breaking the surface with open mouths spilling with anchovies, they’re nearly impossible to miss from any nearby vantage point.
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Occupy Oakland protesters shut down one of the nation’s busiest shipping ports, vandalizing businesses and smashing bank windows.
Occupy Oakland demonstrators blocked operations at the city’s port and blocked traffic on Wednesday in demonstrations against economic inequality and police brutality and marred by scattered vandalism.
There were reports saying that the group declared victory after managing to close down the city’s port, US’s fifth busiest , after an evening of mayhem on the streets.
Two protesters, a man and a woman, were injured as a Mercedes Benz struck them as they blocked the roadway.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the driver of the Mercedes was questioned by police and permitted to leave, much to the ire of protesters.
Occupy Oakland protesters shut down one of the nation's busiest shipping ports, vandalizing businesses and smashing bank windows
The protest by some 5,000 people fell short of paralyzing the northern California city that was catapulted to the forefront of national anti-Wall Street protests after an Iraq war veteran was badly wounded during a march and rally last week.
According to officials, only around 5% of city workers took the day off work.
Perhaps frustrated at their inability to disrupt city business, Occupy Oakland protesters on the second march of the day turned violent, smashing windows at a Chase bank branch a few blocks from the city’s downtown.
Graffiti was also painted on the bank. Employees tried in vain to close up the broken windows with boards and other materials, while one private security guard looked on helpless.
Several windows at a Wells Fargo branch were also smashed. The bank’s front sign and its ATM was smeared with graffiti.
A separate group of protesters attacked Wholefoods smashing windows and throwing paint on the storefront.
The word “strike” was painted in large letters across the Wholefood store’s front windows shortly before 03:00 p.m., an employee at a 7-Eleven across told NBC.
Helicopter video above the scene showed black-clad Occupy Oakland protesters attacking the store and forcing it to shut early.
Several windows at a Wells Fargo branch were also smashed by Occupy Oakland protesters
The Occupy Oakland movement’s leaders called the violent demonstrators “anarchists” and said they were not part of the movement.
Meanwhile, several buses filled up with protesters as they geared up to disrupt operations at the port.
The day’s events in Oakland had begun with a rally outside City Hall that drew more than 3,000 people who spilled into the streets and disrupted the downtown commute.
Occupy Oakland protesters hung a large black banner that read: “Occupy Everything, DEATH TO CAPITALISM.”
The crowd included students, families with young children and many people wearing labour union T-shirts. “Shut down the 1 percent. We are the 99 percent,” the protesters chanted.
Oakland let city workers use vacation or other paid time to take part, but only about 5% took the day off.
Earlier protesters broke off from the rally to picket at nearby banks. All three banks located within blocks of the plaza were closed, though that didn’t stop protesters from chanting and waving signs outside.
At a Citibank branch, more than a dozen protesters blocked the entrance, some with fake $100 bills taped across their faces. They held signs with messages such as “Share the Billions with the Millions.”
About 200 people chanted outside a Wells Fargo branch, where graffiti was scrawled on the wall. The messages read “The 1 percent won’t back down” and “Who’s robbing who?”
Further away from the rally, vandals shattered a Chase bank branch and splattered ink all over an ATM. Someone later taped a note to the shattered glass that read: “We are better than this. … Sorry, the 99 percent.”
In front of the Oakland Public Library, about three dozen parents brought toddlers and school-age children for a stroller march in a “children’s brigade.”
Occupy Oakland protesters handed out signs written as if in a children’s crayon that read “Generation 99% Occupying Our Future”. People attached the signs to their baby backpacks and their strollers.
Dawn Wilcox, a disabled army veteran was forced to wet herself and sit in her own urine for hours after airline staff ignored her pleas to use the bathroom.
Dawn Wilcox, a veteran soldier from Killeen,Texas, is wheelchair bound after an injury while serving in the forces.
The woman says American Airlines flight stewards delayed her from getting off the plane to use the restroom.
When she then missed her connecting flight, Dawn Wilcox was forced to sit in urine-soaked clothes for hours, KWTX News reported.
Dawn Wilcox was flying home from a friend’s funeral in New York, when the incident happened.
Dawn Wilcox, a disabled army veteran was forced to wet herself and sit in her own urine for hours after airline staff ignored her pleas to use the bathroom
Dawn Wilcox told MSNBC: “They landed and started letting people off.
“I said, <<Ma’am, I’m really about to go in my pants>>. I was almost in tears. They’d already let three quarters of the people off and it was too late, I’d already wet my pants.”
American Airlines says cabin crew offered her an on-board wheelchair with which she could have gone to the restroom. The airline also said Dawn Wilcox declined the offer as she wanted to use her own wheelchair which was stowed away in the hold.
But veteran Dawn Wilcox told MSNBC that she was not offered a wheelchair on board.
Dawn Wilcox said American Airlines did offer her a shower, but that she didn’t have any clean trousers to put on and was not given any.
American Airlines also offer her a food voucher and $100 credit towards another flight, she said.
American Airlines have now offered Dawn Wilcox a formal apology.
Almost everybody has a cell phone nowadays.
Even the people who vowed they would never ever discover the usefulness of a cell phone have given in to the convenience mobile phones and technology have to offer. What other way would you explain the trend of the pay as you go cell phone? Rising in popularity among cell phone models on the market is Google’s Android phone. Its smart phone technology is giving its competition a lot to contend with. With such a wide variety of Android Phones available, how do you figure out which phones are the best Android Phones? Some of the phones with the best reviews are listed below.
The Motorola Quench is a superior Android phone.
A later model Motorola that has been enhanced with the Android operation system is the Quench. This phone is among seven other Motorola models, using the Android system. With very high definition – 320 x 480 – the small screen of only a little more than three inches, won’t be an issue. It also uses the Motoblur technology, which was made to enhance the user’s social networking experience. It uses the Android 1.5 operating system and comes with Wi-Fi capability, GPS, a camera that is five megapixels and a bunch of apps that users will love. One of the Motorola phones that functions with the Android operating system is the Motorola Cliq. This phone can be purchased through T-Mobile. It contains a slide out keyboard. The ability to keep long logs of e-mails, text messages and social networking updates makes this phone a trendy item. Twitter and Facebook users can use this phone for managing their accounts. It is capable of allowing you to access the data on your phone from a remote location.
The Samsung Galaxy portal is an Android phone, which was designed for budget conscious users.
The camera is a mere three megapixel digital camera, however other than that it is an excellent phone – especially for the price. This phone is provides video, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi capabilities. The phone has an average of seven hours worth of talk time. The build is a little bulky but if you want a smart phone for a great price, this is the one for you. Some cellular providers offer it for free when customers are eligible for upgrades. Finding the right cell phone can be like pulling teeth. An important question to ask yourself is what you want your phone to be able to do for you. When deciding which top Android phone is worth your money – knowing what you want out of your phone will be a benefit to you.
A Boeing 767 flying from Newark operated by Polish LOT airlines made an emergency landing at Warsaw airport today.
The aircraft, which was flying from Newark, New Jersey, with around 230 people on board made a belly landing at Warsaw’s airport on Tuesday after reported trouble with landing gear.
Captain Tadeusz Wrona radioed ahead to let the control tower know there was a problem with deploying the landing gear. After several attempts, however, it was decided that the aircraft would have to come down without any wheels.
While the plane circled the Warsaw for an hour, dumping excess fuel and repeatedly trying to solve the problem, ground crews prepared for a crash landing, closing the airport to all other flights and clearing nearby streets. Fire crews also sprayed the runway with foam in a bid to prevent a fire from breaking out.
Captain Tadeusz Wrona lifted the nose of the aircraft slightly as it approached the tarmac. As it slid along the runway, smoke billowed from the undercarriage followed by bright flashes from under the engines.
When it came to a halt, fire engines that were waiting along the sides and at the end of the tarmac rush towards the plane, dowsing it with foam.
Meanwhile, passengers are quickly ushered off down the inflatable chutes on either side.
News channels and TV crews were on the scene soon after learning about the impending disaster and the incredible landing was beamed live around the world.
Nearby streets were cleared and a landing strip was especially prepared at the airport for the crash landing.
Staff worked hard to find a technical solution to the landing gear problems while in the air, but eventually had to try to land.
It was reported that nobody was injured, passengers or crew members.
Leszek Chorzewski, spokesman for the Polish national flag carrier LOT, the aircraft operator, said:
“All safety procedures worked perfectly fine and, thanks to this, nobody was injured.”
A Boeing 767 flying from New York operated by Polish LOT airlines made an emergency landing at Warsaw airport today
Polish television footage showed the plane landing on its belly, with a few sparks flying as the craft hit the runway which had been covered with flame retardant foam.
There was no blaze reported but firefighters hosed the plane with water and foam as a precautionary measure.
LOT aircraft passengers were evacuated from the plane, which had circled above Warsaw before the crash landing. Warsaw airport remained closed for all other flights.
Warsaw airport has been closed until 8:00 a.m. on tomorrow. Poland’s President Bronislaw Komorowski congratulated and thanked the pilot, Captain Tadeusz Wrona, and the rest of the crew for their successful landing.
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