The Inquisitr » News

Shell To Settle Toxic Waste Suit For $19.5 Million

AHN — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 15:56:37 +0000

San Francisco, CA (AHN) – Shell Oil Co. has agreed to pay California and the state’s local governments $19.5 million as settlement for violations of underground fuel storage and hazardous waste laws by the firm’s gasoline station across California.

Shell filed the settlement agreement at the Alameda County Superior Court to cover more than 1,000 gas stations. The settlement also requires Shell to improve its waste storage, leak monitoring and training of worker.

Inspectors pointed to defective leak-monitoring system, waste storage and disposal, company inspections, record -keeping and emergency plans.

Video: Markos Moulitas Gets Tom Tancredo To Walk Out Of MSNBC Interview

Duncan Riley — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 04:45:04 +0000

The Daily Kos’ Markos Moulitas can add another notch in his belt Friday after he managed to get former GOP Colorado congressman Tom Tancredo to walk out mid interview.

Markos Moulitas was appearing opposite Tancredo on MSNBC Friday night, when guest host David Shuster started talking about “hateful signs” at Thursday’s Capitol Hill “House call” against health care reform.

Markos Moulitas defended health care reform, noting that the military has Government health care. Tancredo claimed veterans would rather have a private choice, which is where the fun started. “Tom, I’m a veteran. Okay?” Markos Moulitas said. “I did not get a deferment because I was too depressed to fight a war I supported in Vietnam. I’m a veteran. They want a more effective V.A. …”

Tancredo, a supporter of the Vietnam War, managed to dodge being called up to that battle, a subject he apparently isn’t fond of talking about, because it caused him to leave the interview.

The Markos Moulitas vs Tom Tancredo video as follows:

Report: 1 In 10 Americans Out Of Work

AHN — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:15:36 +0000

Washington, D.C. (AHN) – More than 10 percent of Americans are out of work, the Labor Department reported Friday. It’s the highest rate of unemployment in 26 years.

Some 190,000 workers lost their jobs in October, driving the unemployment rate to 10.2 percent, the agency said in a monthly report. That’s a rise of 0.4 percent from September. Economists had expected the rate to rise to between 9.9 percent to 10 percent.

In a glimmer of good news, the department said job losses in September were 219,000, a decline from an earlier estimate of 263,000.

Construction, manufacturing and retailing got the brunt of the losses, with cuts of 62,000; 61,000 and 40,000 respectively. Health care companies added 29,000 jobs and education added 16,000; while the number of temporary workers grew by 34,000.

The underemployment rate rose to 17.5, the highest level since at least 1994. The figure includes part-time workers, the jobless, and people who have given up looking for work.

The manufacturing workweek was unchanged at 33 hours and average hourly earnings rose a nickel, or 0.3 percent, to $18.72. Average hourly wages have risen 2.4 percent in the past year. The report was produced by surveying 400,000 business establishments.

Former NY Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik Pleads Guilty To Corruption

AHN — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:07:13 +0000

White Plains, NY (AHN) – A little over two weeks after being jailed for having attempted to influence potential jurors, former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik admitted on Thursday to corruption and lying to the government when he was being screened for the post of secretary of Homeland Security.

The 54-year-old Kerik pleaded guilty to eight charges, including five counts of making false statements to the federal government. He confessed to failing to disclose $255,000 in renovations to his Riverdale, New York apartment by a contractor, Interstate, which had sought to do business with the city when he was police commissioner in 1999 and 2000.

Kerik was indicted in 2007 on the corruption charges, including his failure to report $236,000 in rent payments for a Manhattan apartment, and taking $80,000 in false charitable deductions in his tax filings. In May, he was indicted for lying to White House officials while he was being interviewed for a Cabinet post.

When he was being vetted for Homeland Security secretary in 2004, Kerik had told Bush administration officials that he had, as police commissioner, no financial dealings with the contractor that renovated his home. He also lied in an email he sent to the White House about the renovations.

Last month, Kerik’s $500,000 bail was revoked after he revealed confidential information for his trial to a legal defense fund, an attempt to influence jurors, according to prosecutors.

Kerik, who was police commissioner during 9/11 and had served as Interim Minister of Interior of Iraq after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, faces up to 61 years in prison for all the charges. He has agreed to pay $187,931 in restitution, but may be ordered to other fines when he is sentenced on Feb. 10.

Motty Borger, 24, dies in plunge after lavish wedding

Kim LaCapria — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:19:42 +0000

A newlywed Brooklyn man, (Mordechai) Motty Borger, 24, has died at Lutheran Medical Center after a puzzling jump from a hotel room balcony less than 48 hours after his wedding.

Bride Mali was unaware of her husband’s fatal fall until she was roused by the hotel concierge. Borger, 24, is believed to have leaped from the balcony of his room at The Avenue Plaza Hotel in Borough Park, Brooklyn. Family and friends are puzzled at the young man’s shocking apparent suicide, describing Borger as “super energetic” and “the happiest kid on the planet.” Sources speaking to the NY Post said the young man appeared content and unlikely to take his own life:

“The guy was so full of life,” a friend said. “He was so happy to marry her.”

Friends said they couldn’t believe Borger would want to kill himself or that there could have been any marital strife.

“She’s a nice, sweet girl,” a friend said of the bride. “They have money, so that wasn’t a problem.”

However, police sources cite elevator surveillance tapes that tell a different story. Those sources describe Motty Borger as “emotionally disturbed” and describe a clip in which a visibly agitated Borger shares an elevator with his new wife, possibly indicating issues unknown to the couple’s family and friends.

Orlando Mass Shooting Details Coming In

Paul Short — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 18:46:03 +0000

Orlando shooting: There has been a mass shooting in an Orlando, FL office building at 1000 Legion Place. It’s been confirmed by local authorities that there are 2 dead, 6people shot in total and 5 have been transported to ORMC Hospital in Orlando.

Police are currently searching for a Hipspanic male – 40 year old Jason Rodriguez born on 9/28/69. Rodriguez is driving a silver Nissan SUV, plate number D11 9UX.

Rodriguez was apparently laid off from his job at an engineering firm operating out of the 8th floor of the building. He then left but returned with a gun and opened fire.

Police are appealing to the public via live television news for more details on the whereabouts of the suspect.

More details as we have them…

Profits at Murdoch’s News Corp. Jump 11 Percent

AHN — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:23:43 +0000

New York, NY (AHN) – News Corp., the media giant with interests in newspapers, film and television, reported an 11 percent gain in first-quarter profit on Thursday.

The New York-based company said net income rose to $571 million, or 22 cents a share, from $515 million, or 20 cents, 12 months earlier. Analysts had expected 18 cents a share.

Revenue was $7.2 billon, a 4.1 percent decline.

The bulk of the earnings came from News Corp.’s film and video division. Profits for the Twentieth Century Fox film studios were up 56 percent to a record $391 million.

The Fox New cable channel increased operating income by 79 percent, the channel’s highest-every quarterly profit. The cable division as a whole saw operating income grow 41 percent to $495 million.

Profits at the Fox TV stations and broadcast network fell 54 percent to $38 million. Income from newspaper and information services plummeted from $134 million to $25 million. The company owns the Wall Street Journal and New York Post, as well as two papers in the United Kingdom and three in Australia.

News Corp. chief executive Rupert Murdoch said he planned to increase revenue by instituting fees on several of the company’s venues, including for news on Web sites and retransmission fees from television providers that carry the Fox broadcast network.

In October, the company announced it would charge for electronic access to the Wall Street Journal from mobile devices and hike prices for a professional version of the Journal Web site.

News Corp. (NWSA) shares were up 3.2 percent on the Nasdaq at 2:41 p.m.

Hurricane Ida Makes Landfall In Nicaragua, Could Affect U.S. Gulf Coast Next Week

AHN — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:56:44 +0000

Tasbapauni, Nicaragua (AHN) – Hurricane Ida made landfall near Tasbapauni, Nicaragua, about 60 miles north-northeast of Bluefields Thursday morning.

Ida came ashore as a Category 1 hurricane with a well-defined eye, according to satellite imagery, National Hurricane Center forecasters said.

Hurricane Ida is expected to weaken as it makes its way inland over the next few days. As AHN reported earlier, the slow-moving storm is expected to bring heavy rainfall and flash flooding to eastern Nicaragua and eastern Honduras.

Ida is expected to turn northward and emerge over the northwestern Caribbean Sea in a few days, forecasters say. It will pass Cancun, Mexico early next week and Ida, or its remnants, could make landfall along the United States Gulf Coast sometime next week, but it will probably be a weaker storm, forecasters say.

Search for Missing Florida Baby Ends Underneath Sitter’s Bed, Child Found Unharmed

AHN — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:45:14 +0000

Chipley, FL (AHN) – A five-day search for a missing 7-month-old baby girl from Florida ended Wednesday when police found her alive inside a box hidden underneath the bed of her babysitter in the town of Chipley.

Shannon Dedrick was found unharmed and was taken into protective custody by police. The babysitter, Susan Baker, her husband James, and Dedrick’s mother, Chrystina Lynn Mercer have been arrested.

It was Mercer who reported her child missing on Saturday. But Investigators learned she voluntarily gave the child to Baker before reporting to the police.

The babysitter was previously charged with abduction and child abuse in connection with the disappearance of his three-year-old son in 1987. The son named Paul was never found after Baker reported her missing.

12 dead, 31 injured in Ft. Hood shooting

Kim LaCapria — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 23:28:54 +0000

Twelve people have died and thirty-one injured in what President Obama is calling a “horrific outburst of violence.”

The shootings began around 1:30 pm at the Soldier Readiness Center on the 15 square mile complex of Ft. Hood. A suspect was shot and killed at the scene, a man in his late 30s who is identified as Army Maj. Malik Nadal Hasan. Two more suspects were apprehended at the complex in connection with the crime. More than 500 soldiers were deployed to stabilize the situation at the base, on which some 50,000 people may reside at any given time.

President Barack Obama made an impromptu statement about the tragedy:

I had planned to make some broader remarks about the challenges that lay ahead for Native Americans as well as collaboration with our administration.

But as some of you might have heard, there has been a tragic shooting at the Fort Hood Army base in Texas. We don’t yet know all the details at this moment. We will share them as we get them.

What we do know is that a number of American soldiers have been killed, and even more have been wounded in a horrific outburst of violence.

My immediate thoughts and prayers are with the wounded and with the families of the fallen and with those who live and serve at Fort Hood.

These are men and women who have made the selfless and courageous decision to risk and at times give their lives to protect the rest of us on a daily basis.

It’s difficult enough when we lose these brave Americans in battles overseas.

It is horrifying that they should come under fire at an Army base on American soil.

I’ve spoken to Secretary Gates and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen, and I will continue to receive a constant stream of updates as new information comes in.

We are working with the Pentagon, the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security, all to ensure that Fort Hood is secure and we will continue to support the community with the full resources of the federal government. In the meantime, I would ask all Americans to keep the men and women of Fort Hood in your thoughts and prayers. We will make sure that we get answers to every single question about this horrible incident, and I want all of you to know that as commander-in-chief, there’s no greater honor, but also no greater responsibility for me than to make sure that the extraordinary men and women in uniform are properly cared for an that their safety and security when they are at home is provided for.

So we are going to stay on this, but I hope in the meantime that all of you recognize the scope of this tragedy and keep everybody in their thoughts and prayers. Again, thank you for your participation here today. I am confident that this is going to be resulting in terrific work between this government and your governments in the weeks, the months and years to come.

God bless you and God bless the United States of America.

Thank you.

The coming world of the multimedia journalist

Steven Hodson — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 21:32:53 +0000

We hear the scare tactics everyday. The news industry is tanking and the only way to save it is by returning to putting everything behind the paywall or instituting some sort of micro-payment schemes. News can’t survive by being given away for free is the mantra of the old school media companies.

News organizations after news organizations are crying the blues and cutting back on staff in order to keep the industry profitable enough for the owners and well placed editors. You would think that the coming news Armageddon will see the end of news as we know it.

The problem is that this is a specious argument that is put forth in order to protect the status quo of the news delivery systems. News will never die. Seriously. News is something that happens around us every day, every minute and nothing we do will ever stop news from happening.

What will change is the way in which we get our news and this is what is scaring the shit out of the old guard of the news industry – because at its root news isn’t an industry, we have just been led to believe it is.

While the boardrooms of the old world media companies are struggling to maintain any control they can over their profits that feed their million dollar lifestyles there are journalists and reporters who are finding a whole new freedom that comes from being exactly that – reporters of the news as it is happening. They are finding new freedom in being able to create content that will outlast even the outmoded methods of our current news delivery systems.

Even as these dinosaurs of newsprint carry on about returning to behind the paywall long time journalists are say no to the idea. Case in point is Saul Friedman who has been writing a column for Newsday since 1996.

Then he found out that Newsday, owned by Cablevision, would be returning its content back behind a paywall. It was a paywall that saw anyone other than a Cablevision and Newsday print subscriber having to pay $5 a week to access the site. This for Friedman was the breaking point and decided the time to quit had come. The idea of losing readership because of this paywall wasn’t acceptable to him.

Just as some journalists and reporters are deciding that the time is coming where they have to consider doing their job outside of the normal confines of a newspaper there are also a growing number of them that are looking to expand the way that they can keep on reporting on the news.

It is people like long time crime and court reporter Ron Sylvester who have seen the future of the business and realized that it is no longer just about the written word as published under some newspaper’s masthead. For Sylvester the role for journalists is going to become one of being a multi-media journalist where things like the written word are included with podcasts and videocasting.

As well it will mean being a part of the social media movement both as a way to promote one’s work as well as a way to find out about new stories that might be of interest. Journalist and reporters are becoming their own editors and ad departments. They are becoming their own sound man and videographers.

In Sylvester’s case he is also lucky enough to be able to draw on the skills of like minded contemporaries for projects that exceed his abilities to properly cover a story. This is almost the beginnings of the independent mobile teams of experts who can react quickly and without having to deal with the bureaucracy of an established newsroom.

While there is plenty of room for the independent journalist maintaining their own blog or being a part of a larger one I think the real power of a new world of news delivery will come from people like Ron Sylvester and other like him who will utilize all the aspects of technology in order to bring the real news to their readers. It will be the news without the preconceived filters that established old media organizations dole out what they think we need to read.

Regardless of what the dinosaurs of news might have us believe with their scare tactics news will never stop being delivered – only the methods of delivery will change.

Genuine: Terminally ill 5-year-old Noah Biorkman seeking Christmas cards

Kim LaCapria — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 19:18:49 +0000

Many appeals land in inboxes the world over about seriously and terminally ill children seeking to collect written correspondence during their illnesses.

More often than not, information is outdated or outright false, with the drive to participate in a simple charitable act creating massive headaches for those who sort, process and deliver mail, as well as those on the receiving end of the deluge. One such notable case is Craig Shergold, a child who sought to collect greeting cards for a Guinness World Record twenty years ago and who remains the target of ill-informed well wishers.

Although Craig Shergold is alive and well at the age of 30, the current plea circulating via e-mail and on Facebook for Christmas cards on behalf of a child named Noah Biorkman is genuine and current. Noah Biorkman is a 5-year-old boy suffering from terminal stage four neuroblastoma. Sadly, Noah is unlikely to survive into the new year, and his mother has put out a request for Christmas cards for the family’s Christmas celebration this weekend. The following request was posted on WKSR.com:

Christmas will come early for a five year old Michigan boy this year. Noah Biorkman is battling cancer and is not expected to live much longer.

Noah’s mother and WKSR morning personality Ed Carter went to school together years ago. They keep in touch by email. She mentioned the early Christmas for her son in an email to Ed today.

Mrs. Biorkman is asking for Christmas cards for her son. If you would like to take time to send a card or letter, send it to:

Noah Biorkman
1141 Fountain View Circle
South Lyon Michigan, 48178

Snopes has verified the request, and Noah’s plea has been in the news across the country. Not surprisingly, Noah Biorkman’s family has also been dropped in on by well meaning strangers who wish to visit with the child. Although the correspondence is currently welcome, Noah’s family is understandably asking people to please not visit them at their home.

Arthur Cutillo, 13 Other Hedge Fund Employees Arrested For Insider Trading

James Allen Johnson — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 18:32:56 +0000

14 hedge fund employees, including lawyers and various investors were arrested today by Federal prosecutors this week stemming from various criminal complaints filed against billionaire hedge fund manager Raj Rajarathnam.

Included in those arrests was Arthur J. Cutillo, a lawyer for the firm Ropes & Gray who is expected of offering tips of upcoming takeovers that his firm had been working on. Those tips according to the NYT:

[W]ere then passed among a group of lawyers and traders who, in the hopes of avoiding detection, used prepaid cellphones, referred to stocks by fake names and met in cars. Some members of the ring were paid off in cash, according to the complaint.

Mr. Rajaratnam was arrested last month for insider trading and is in the process of returning investor money.

Seriously? Does the SEC ever really do their job or do they just smile all pretty for the cameras once they arrive years too late.

Study: Instances of Discrimination, Hate Crimes Targeted to Disabled on the Rise in UK

AHN — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:58:02 +0000

Miami, FL (AHN) – A new survey has released some startling statistics on how people treat their fellow humans, according to researchers poverty and discrimination experienced by disabled people is on the rise. Furthermore one in ten disabled people reports being the victim of a hate crime.

In its annual national survey of people with disabilities in the United Kingdom. The Disability Review 2009, the charity found that 42 percent of those surveyed were struggling to live on their present income, a rise of 9 percent since 2007.

More than half (55 percent) had no savings, a rise of 6 percent since 2007. This is compared to 12 percent of the general UK population. Researchers also found that three quarters of those surveyed with dependent children were living below the poverty line.

Adding to the dire straits of the disabled, survey respondents reported that almost two thirds, or 63 percent, of respondents were in full poverty. With fall and winter temperatures approaching, failure to heat homes properly can cause pain, raise stress levels, and increase the likelihood of someone developing anxiety and depression.

The report also found that disability discrimination continues to exist across a wide range of other areas. Some of those include crime, employment and education.

* Crime, 9 percent of respondents report they have been the victim of disability hate crime.
* Employment, 43 percent of respondents believe that they have been turned down for a job or jobs because of their impairment, a rise of 7 percent from 2008.
* Education, 35 percent of respondents believe that teaching staff had a negative attitude towards them because of their impairment.

John Knight, Director of Policy and Campaigns at Leonard Cheshire Disability says, “With disabled people entering the recession on a profoundly unequal footing to non-disabled people, the need for a government strategy to tackle disability poverty is now more urgent than ever.”

Shocked at the respondents instances of being a victim of a hate crime Knight says, “The fact that 9 percent of respondents report they have been the victim of hate crime is deeply worrying. There is a clear need for more robust identification and recording of disability hate crimes, better support for disabled people who are victims of crime and improved access to justice.”

Disney Gets Green Light For Park in China

AHN — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:44:37 +0000

Shanghai, China (AHN) – Walt Disney World has won preliminary approval to open its first theme park in mainland China, the company announced Wednesday.

Chinese officials have not confirmed Disney’s statement or details about the park. Local media report the park is scheduled to open in 2014 at an estimated cost of $3.6 billion.

China will own 57 percent of the park, with the rest held by Disney.

Disney officials have been meeting with Chinese officials for a decade about the possibility of opening a park here. The approval allows Disney to begin work on final agreements to build and operate the park.

The park here would be the fourth Disney attraction outside the United States, including one In Hong Kong.

The initial phase would include a Magic Kingdom-style park with “characteristics tailored to the Shanghai region,” Disney said in a statement.

The park will occupy about 1,700 acres along the east bank of the Huangpu River in the Pudong district of Shanghai. The first area to be built will be located about 10 minutes from the international airport.

Over the past two decades, the government has transformed the Pudong district from an area of farms into a commercial district that claims the country’s tallest skyscrapers. Residents of about 1,000 acres will be resettled to accommodate the park, according to local media.

Effects of the park were immediate. China Daily reported that 90 minutes after announcement of the park’s green lighting, a 14-acre site near the park was auctioned at 264 percent of its premium.

Disney (DIS) shares were up 2.7 percent at 11:55 a.m. in New York.

Microsoft in Cloud Computing Deal With Taiwan Gov’t. Firm

AHN — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:13:16 +0000

Taipei, Taiwan (AHN) – Microsoft Corp. has entered into a deal with the Taiwanese government and a Taiwanese firm for the construction of a center that will develop devices and services for cloud computing.

The pact with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Chunghwa Telecom Co., Taiwan’s largest telecommunications provider, allows the proposed Software and Services Excellence Centre to develop cloud computing products and services for small and medium-sized companies.

Microsoft also plans to establish cloud computing partnerships with financial institutions and hardware companies.

Ohio Voters OK Casinos in Major Cities

AHN — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 00:01:50 +0000

Columbus, OH (AHN) – The fifth time was a charm for gambling interests here after voters on Tuesday approved a measure to allow casinos in four cities.

The measure was passed with 53 percent of the votes on promises by backers that 34,000 temporary and permanent jobs would be created in this state that has an unemployment rate of 10.8 percent.

All four casinos will be built in about two years, predicted David Wilmott, president of Penn National Gaming Inc., which was a major backer of the measure.

Even before the first bet is placed, casinos have already put millions of dollars into the state’s economy. Penn spent about $35 million pushing what was called the Ohio Jobs and Growth Plan. TruthPac, which was supported by Jeffrey Jacobs, the chairman of a rival gaming corporation, spent $6 million opposing it.

Four previous attempts to introduce casinos dating back to 1990 were rejected by voters. The latest measure allows casinos to be built in Columbus, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Toledo. It was promoted as generating $643 million in annual tax revenue and $4 billion in economic impact.

Penn (PENN) shares were up 7.6 percent to $28.19 at closing on the Nasdaq.

Update: 3 missing ND softball players found dead in pond

Kim LaCapria — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:22:04 +0000

A sad but quick resolution has come in the case of the three softball players missing in North Dakota.

Kyrstin Gemar, 22, of Grossmont, CA, Afton Williamson, 20, of Lake Elsinore, CA, and Ashley Neufeld, 21, of Brandon, Manitoba in Canada disappeared Sunday night after a trip to go “stargazing” at Lake Patterson in North Dakota. A friend of the three women received an alarming phone call in which the girls were reported to be “hysterical” and had mentioned water. No trace of the girls was initially found and investigators launched air and water searches to locate the missing students.

Around 3pm yesterday, the search ended tragically at a local pond, described to press as being “on private property.” The bodies of all three girls and a pet dog were found submerged in a 1997 Jeep Cherokee Laredo. Cause of death is being investigated, but it is believed that the girls drove into the pond in error. No foul play is suspected. Investigators say that it is likely the girls did not see the pond, and that in the dark it would have been “easy to miss.”

Disorder Causing Dementia in Younger Patients Found To Be Hereditary

AHN — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 10:00:33 +0000

London, England (AHN) – A rare brain disorder that causes early dementia is highly hereditary, according to a new report from British researchers.

The disorder is called frontotemporal dementia. Formerly known as Pick’s disease, it destroys parts of the brain and leads to dementia, including language problems, and changes in behavior and personality, the researchers with the University College London said in a statement.

The disease often affects people under 65 years old.

Blood tests drawn from 225 people with the disease showed that 42 percent of the patients had some family history of dementia. The participants also had their DNA tested for five gene mutations thought to cause frontotemoral dementia. Mutations were found in two of the five genes, the researchers said.

The study appears in the Nov. 3 issue of the journal Neurology.

Over 700 Injured In Iran Quake

Duncan Riley — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 09:42:57 +0000

A 4.9-scale earthquake that struck the southern Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas early Wednesday local time has injured injuring at least 700, according to Iran State Media.

The quake struck at 2:56 am Iran Time and was also felt in the nearby Qeshm highland.

Reports from the scene are reliant on Iran media and are sketchy. It’s believe that the injuries may have been caused by building collapses, but at the same time such damage may have resulted in fatalities.

More when we have it.