News For Saturday Oct 11, 2008 News For Saturday Oct 11, 2008

U.S. U.S.

Mexican marijuana cartels sully US forests, parks - Added 5 weeks ago

National forests and parks _ long popular with Mexican marijuana-growing cartels _ have become home to some of the most polluted pockets of wilderness in America because of the toxic chemicals needed to eke lucrative...

Obituaries in the news - Added 5 weeks ago

Alton Ellis LONDON (AP) _ Reggae music pioneer Alton Ellis, who enjoyed a career revival in recent years after a string of hits in the 1960s, died Friday. He was 70. Ellis died peacefully, officials at Hammersmith...

Santas coming early to Indiana town to sign oath - Added 5 weeks ago

The grandsons of Santa Claus are coming to town. The descendants of two of the more famous men to don Santa Claus suits plan to meet Sunday in Santa Claus, Ind., to sign a new oath for other jolly gift-givers. Charles...

Balloon pilots somber at NM festival after death - Added 5 weeks ago

Pilots of hot air balloons on Saturday mourned the loss of one of their own in a fiery crash at Albuquerque's famous festival, even as they said another pilot fighting for his life after the accident would want them to...

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Bush to make appearance at global meeting on financial crisis ...

Murder case ends blocks from where it began in LA - Added 5 weeks ago

A strange cold case murder story that stretched halfway around the globe and back over a span of nearly 30 years ended this weekend a few blocks from where it began, with the shocking suicide of Japanese businessman...

Faulty eyewitnesses doomed Dallas County suspects - Added 5 weeks ago

Faulty eyewitness testimony that helped secure wrongful convictions in Dallas County, which leads the nation in DNA exonerations, sent the innocent to prison as police and prosecutors ignored safeguards and built cases...

Attorney: Jailed O.J. believes he was 'railroaded' - Added 5 weeks ago

O.J. Simpson, locked in jail and pondering his future, feels hopeful he will win a new trial on appeal because he believes jury interviews show "he was absolutely railroaded," his lawyer told The Associated Press. ...

5 killed in Manhattan blaze, including 3 children - Added 5 weeks ago

A family of five, including three children as young as 15 months, died in a blaze Saturday that filled an apartment with thick black smoke and kept the victims from escaping through the front door, fire officials said. ...

Man gets prison for killing fan after Bonds' 700th - Added 5 weeks ago

A California man has been sentenced to 16 years to life in prison for fatally stabbing a fellow baseball fan after a San Francisco Giants game four years ago. Rafael Cuevas was sentenced Friday after a jury convicted...

Counting cards: NY collection includes 6,356 decks - Added 5 weeks ago

The collection spans 50 countries and four centuries and touches on subjects ranging from beer marketing to 19th-century Portuguese politics. Columbia University has a collection of playing cards that is among the...

For Bush, last 100 days to feature 'no letting up' - Added 5 weeks ago

!!-- pobj:WX205-1007081509 -->So how will it end? President Bush is down to his final 100 days in office as of Sunday. Don't expect a quiet fade into the Texas night. The bleakest economic downturn in decades has...

Boat smashes into dock on Michigan river; 3 killed - Added 5 weeks ago

Authorities say a jet boat that was spotted zipping across a Michigan river smashed into a dock, killing three people and seriously injuring a fourth. The sheriff's department says two couples from Fair Haven were...

FBI searched long, hard for Jack Anderson sources - Added 5 weeks ago

In caustic comments on internal FBI memos, bureau director J. Edgar Hoover referred to prominent columnist Jack Anderson with undisguised contempt, calling him "a jackal" as agents combed his articles for errors and...

Washington weighs lethal meds for terminally ill - Added 5 weeks ago

The emotionally charged battle over end-of-life decisions has taken to the airwaves as Washington state voters decide whether to allow doctors to prescribe lethal medication to terminally ill patients. Recent TV and...

Lost manatee headed to Fla. after Mass. rescue - Added 5 weeks ago

!!-- pobj:MAHYC501-1008081347 -->!!-- pobj:MAHYC502-1008081003 -->A wayward manatee is headed home to Florida after being pulled from frigid Cape Cod waters in an early morning rescue. The juvenile male manatee...

Monument, Capitol could get company in DC skyline - Added 5 weeks ago

No skyscrapers jut from this low-lying federal city, allowing iconic buildings like the Washington Monument and U.S. Capitol to dominate the horizon. However, the historically sparse skyline might not stay that way. ...

Marriage ruling not the end of debate in Conn. - Added 5 weeks ago

Now that the Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled same-sex couples have the right to wed, opponents of gay marriage are pinning their hopes on an infrequent ballot question in a longshot bid to block the unions. Every...

Wildfire threatens homes, wineries in Napa Valley - Added 5 weeks ago

Hundreds of firefighters are battling a fast-growing wildfire that is threatening homes and wineries in California's Napa Valley. Fire officials say the blaze has burned 300 acres in the rugged hills just outside the...

Bush's statement on financial crisis - Added 5 weeks ago

President Bush's statement Saturday on the financial crisis, as released by the White House. He spoke in the Rose Garden after meeting with financial ministers from the G-7 nations: Thank you all very much. Good...

Obituaries in the news - Added 5 weeks ago

Alfred J. Gallodoro NEW YORK (AP) _ Alfred J. Gallodoro, a jazz musician who performed on the saxophone, clarinet and bass clarinet, has died. He was 95. Gallodoro died Saturday at his home in Oneonta in upstate New...

Ore. wine pioneer David Lett dies at 69 - Added 5 weeks ago

!!-- pobj:ORPOR501-1008030410 -->!!-- pobj:ORPOR502-1022030410 -->Pioneering Oregon winemaker David Lett, widely considered the father of Oregon's thriving pinot noir industry and a major force in winning worldwide...

Accused Japanese businessman found dead - Added 5 weeks ago

An attorney for a Japanese businessman accused of conspiring to have his wife murdered says his client has been found dead in an apparent suicide. Attorney Mark Geragos, who has been representing 61-year-old Kazuyoshi...

Wyo. town reflects 10 years after Shepard's murder - Added 5 weeks ago

A decade after a gay college student was beaten, tied to a fence and left for dead, many in this small college town are still struggling with the aftermath of a crime that triggered nationwide sympathy and brought a...

Latvia discussing new military exercises with US - Added 5 weeks ago

In the aftermath of Russia's invasion of Georgia, Latvia is talking with the United States about expanding joint military exercises and cooperation. The Latvian foreign minister, Maris Riekstins, discussed the issue...

FBI files show long hunt for Jack Anderson sources - Added 5 weeks ago

In caustic comments on internal FBI memos, legendary bureau director J. Edgar Hoover referred to prominent columnist Jack Anderson with undisguised contempt, calling him "a jackal" as agents combed his articles for...

OJ Simpson seeks new robbery trial in Las Vegas - Added 5 weeks ago

O.J. Simpson's lawyers cited judicial errors and insufficient evidence Friday in seeking a new trial for the former football star, who was convicted of kidnapping and robbing two sports memorabilia dealers at gunpoint...

Court makes Conn. 3rd state to allow gay marriage - Added 5 weeks ago

A sharply divided Connecticut Supreme Court ruled Friday that gay couples have the right to get married, saying legislators did not go far enough when they approved same-sex civil unions that were identical to marriages...

Today in History - Oct. 11 - Added 5 weeks ago

Today is Saturday, Oct. 11, the 285th day of 2008. There are 81 days left in the year. Today's Highlight in History: On Oct. 11, 1968, Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo mission, was launched with astronauts Wally...

Homeless man dies after being set ablaze in LA - Added 5 weeks ago

A homeless man died after being doused with gasoline and set on fire on a street where he had lived for many years and was a familiar face to residents of Koreatown, police and local merchants said Friday. Police were...

Tuskegee Airmen honored with historic site in Ala. - Added 5 weeks ago

Lt. Col. John Mulzac stood on the asphalt at Moton Field Friday _ the same grounds where he trained decades ago to become one of the country's first black military pilots _ and wept. Mulzac and hundreds of his fellow...

Death toll rises to 9 in Calif. charter bus crash - Added 5 weeks ago

The death toll has risen to nine in the crash of a charter bus that was on its way to a casino in Northern California. UC Davis Medical Center spokeswoman Phyllis Brown says E. Vang Saelee (SAY'-lee) died Friday at the...

Ohio death row inmate appeals to US Supreme Court - Added 5 weeks ago

Lawyers for an Ohio death row inmate who unsuccessfully argued that his obesity prevents humane lethal injection filed an appeal Friday with the U.S. Supreme Court to halt his execution, planned for next week. The Ohio...

Obituaries in the news - Added 5 weeks ago

Alfred J. Gallodoro NEW YORK (AP) _ Alfred J. Gallodoro, a jazz musician who performed on the saxophone, clarinet and bass clarinet, died Saturday. He was 95. He died at his home in Oneonta in upstate New York, said...

Fired professor in noose incident sues Columbia - Added 5 weeks ago

A black Columbia University teacher who reported finding a noose on her door is suing the New York City school for firing her after a plagiarism investigation. Clinical psychology professor Madonna G. Constantine...

Attorney describes binding incident as 'horseplay' - Added 5 weeks ago

The attorney for a man accused of binding the hands of a teenage girl on a Southwest Airlines flight and trying to do the same to her sister said it was merely "horseplay" and pointed out that the girls didn't scream. ...

3 BLM workers held at gunpoint at Nev. pot patch - Added 5 weeks ago

Three federal biologists were held at gunpoint for several minutes by suspected members of a Mexican drug cartel after happening upon a large marijuana patch in a remote stretch of public land in northern Nevada,...

Man dies after balloon crashes in flames in N.M. - Added 5 weeks ago

A hot air balloon crashed into power lines and burst into flames Friday during Albuquerque's annual balloon fiesta, throwing both men on board to the ground and killing one of them. Witnesses said that many of the...

US military deaths in Afghanistan region at 540 - Added 5 weeks ago

As of Friday, Oct. 10, 2008, at least 540 members of the U.S. military had died in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan as a result of the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan in late 2001, according to the Defense Department....

Recalls: Dried radishes, milk drinks, cookies - Added 5 weeks ago

The following recalls have been announced: _Packages of Kyosai Sengiri Daikon dried radishes due to the presence of undeclared sulfite. People who have an allergy or severe sensitivity to sulfite run the risk of a...

Dog dies after saving man in Trinidad from fire - Added 5 weeks ago

A man whose dog rescued him from a house fire in Trinidad said the animal died after running back into the burning building. Trinidad & Tobago Express newspaper quoted Anderson Marcano as saying that he woke up...

Japanese man held in LA in wife's 1981 slaying - Added 5 weeks ago

!!-- pobj:CARS206-1010080938 -->A Japanese businessman accused of conspiring to have his wife killed 27 years ago was returned to Southern California on Friday to face trial. Kazuyoshi Miura, 61, arrived at Los Angeles...

What happens after you flush? RI offers new tour - Added 5 weeks ago

Ever wonder what happens after you yank the chain on the old commode? Rhode Island is offering tours of several wastewater treatment facilities during what its dubbed the first annual "Rhode Island Water Infrastructure...

Lender drops eviction suit vs. Cook County sheriff - Added 5 weeks ago

A mortgage lender that tried to force the Cook County sheriff to evict a suburban Chicago woman from her home announced Friday that it has withdrawn its lawsuit. Accredited Home Lenders said in a brief statement it...

Woman accused of serving pot-laced cake to guest - Added 5 weeks ago

West Hartford police said they charged a 51-year-old woman with assault, reckless endangerment and tampering with evidence after she allegedly served a marijuana-tainted ginger cake to her real estate agent. ...

Woman, 72, moves after finding snakes in apartment - Added 5 weeks ago

When 72-year-old Gladys Dressner first saw two snakes last in her new apartment last month, she froze. Days later, when an eight-inch snake crawled across her bed, she screamed. Finally, after stepping on a baby black...

No Bush league: SC softball champs meet president - Added 5 weeks ago

Winning the Little League Softball World Series is great. But shaking the president's hand is not exactly Bush league. Just ask the youngsters on the Simpsonville Stars softball squad. The team, which won the series...

Lineup for Sunday news shows - Added 5 weeks ago

Guest lineup for the Sunday TV news shows: ABC's "This Week" _ Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.; Rep. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.; Former Treasury secretaries James Baker and Lawrence Summers. ___ CBS' "Face the Nation" _ Sen....

Atheist soldier to leave Army, drops religion suit - Added 5 weeks ago

An atheist soldier who accused U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and the Defense Department of violating his religious freedom dropped the lawsuit Friday, citing his plans to leave the Army next spring. But the...

Colin Powell calls Sen. Stevens' word 'sterling' - Added 5 weeks ago

Former Secretary of State Colin Powell on Friday praised Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens' sense of honor at his trial on corruption charges, calling his reputation for honesty and integrity "sterling" in the quarter-century...