August 19, 2014

Maine Man Takes Most Meta Mug Shot Ever

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Driving under the influence is no joke, but as we now know, mug shots related to driving under the influence can be. And we know this because a 19-year-old Maine man sentenced to two days in prison for drunk driving managed to put together one of the most creative mug shots of all time.

WMUR reported that Pittsfield resident Robert Edward Burt was arrested for OUI back in June and took a mug shot when he was processed. But Burt posted bail and wouldn’t have to report to Somerset County Jail to serve his 48-hour sentence until August 8.

So what did good ol’ Burt do while he was free for a little over a month? Well, he probably did lots of things, but the only one that we actually know of was that he made a t-shirt with his original mug shot on it.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/maine/2014/08/19/maine-man-takes-most-meta-mug-shot-ever/53hjEx3y4dX5CUhRnuZi8J/story.html?rss_id=Top+Stories

August 18, 2014

As (job) Shifts Vary, Family’s Only Constant Is Chaos

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2014/08/14/us/as-shifts-vary-familys-only-constant-is-chaos.html?referrer=

“You’re waiting on your job to control your life,” she said, with the scheduling software used by her employer dictating everything from “how much sleep Gavin will get to what groceries I’ll be able to buy this month.”SAN DIEGO — In a typical last-minute scramble, Jannette Navarro, a 22-year-old Starbucks barista and single mother, scraped together a plan for surviving the month of July without setting off family or financial disaster.

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In contrast to the joyless work she had done at a Dollar Tree store and a KFC franchise, the $9-an-hour Starbucks job gave Ms. Navarro, the daughter of a drug addict and an absentee father, the hope of forward motion. She had been hired because she showed up so many times, cheerful and persistent, asking for work, and she had a way of flicking away setbacks — such as a missed bus on her three-hour commute — with the phrase, “I’m over it.”

Newly off public assistance, she was just a few credits shy of an associate degree in business and talked of getting a master’s degree as some of her co-workers were. Her take-home pay rarely topped $400 to $500 every two weeks; since starting in November, she had set aside $900 toward a car — her next step toward stability and independence for herself and her 4-year-old son, Gavin.

But Ms. Navarro’s fluctuating hours, combined with her limited resources, had also turned their lives into a chronic crisis over the clock. She rarely learned her schedule more than three days before the start of a workweek, plunging her into urgent logistical puzzles over who would watch the boy.

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August 18, 2014

convicted felon Bernard Kerik -military tactics needed against ferguson "thugs"

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/nypd-commissioner-bernard-kerik-heavy-handed-approach-ferguson-mo-police-protests-absolutely-needed-article-1.1906620


Former New York top cop Bernard Kerik defended Sunday the military gear and tactics used by law enforcement in Ferguson, Mo., to help quell violence following the police shooting death of an unarmed teenager.

“It’s absolutely needed,” Kerik said on CNN’s “State of the Union” of the tank-like vehicles and automatic weapons used by police officers to curb rioting in the wake of 18-year-old Michael Brown’s death last week. “The police can’t be afraid to do their job, shouldn’t be afraid to do their job,” he said. “When the thugs try to take over the community, the police have to act and do whatever they have to do to keep the peace.”

“There was personal property that was damaged,” he added. “The police have to respond to that. You can't let the thugs take over the city. We saw that the other day. The police had to respond. Were they heavy-handed? I wasn't there.”

August 18, 2014

57 year old has 152k in student loans. will owe $699 per month until age 81

.Anderson's loans are driven from a decision late in life to earn two degrees and paying for them with loans totaling $65,000 from the government and various financial firms.

She earned her bachelor's degree at 37 and a master's degree at 44, both in human resources. While Anderson has never regretted the decision to get higher education, the costs have been severe.

After graduation, Anderson was paying six checks a month to Sallie Mae, Wells Fargo (WFC) and other financial firms. So she decided to consolidate all her loans into one big loan with the Department of Education at the prevailing 8.25% rate.


The catch was that she could not refinance. Since then, interest rates on student loans have fallen below 3% and today can be had for 4.66%.

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http://money.cnn.com/2014/08/13/news/economy/older-student-debt/

Next April, Anderson won't be able to do that anymore and will have to make payments of $699 a month until she is 81 years old. She worries about how she will make ends meet.

Anderson brings home $3,400 a month from her job in business operations at the University of California in Santa Cruz. She has a $2,200 mortgage payment and has to live on what's left, and earning some extra income by finding odd jobs on Craig's List.

August 18, 2014

anti-abortionists adopt a new tactic: tracking license plates

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/politics/texas/article/Anti-abortion-activists-adopt-a-new-tactic-5687420.php


Anti-abortion activists adopt a new tactic: tracking license plates
Advocates say tactic is legitimate; critics contend that it is intimidation

By Brian M. Rosenthal

August 13, 2014 | Updated: August 13, 2014 9:13pm

On nearly every weekday morning between late 2010 and this spring, Eileen Romano stood outside a Beaumont abortion clinic to do what she could to fight a procedure she saw as morally wrong.

Unlike traditional so-called sidewalk advocates, however, Romano did not simply try to talk the arriving women out of having their abortions. She also sought to get the clinic closed with a tactic that is becoming increasingly common in the Texas anti-abortion community: tracking license plates.


Romano wrote down the numbers on the cars that parked outside the facility, checking to ensure the plates showed up twice - for a pre-abortion consultation required by state law and the procedure itself. If a car only came once, she said, it was a sign the doctor had done the abortion without a consultation, and the 63-year-old activist made a note to potentially report to state regulators.



Before the clinic closed in March, Romano estimated that she documented nearly 7,000 license plates. She still has the records.

"We never used the license plate numbers to delve in someone's personal life. Never. That was not the purpose of it," Romano said. "The purpose was tracking and keeping tabs on the numbers and what was going on."On nearly every weekday morning between late 2010 and this spring, Eileen Romano stood outside a Beaumont abortion clinic to do what she could to fight a procedure she saw as morally wrong.

Unlike traditional so-called sidewalk advocates, however, Romano did not simply try to talk the arriving women out of having their abortions. She also sought to get the clinic closed with a tactic that is becoming increasingly common in the Texas anti-abortion community: tracking license plates.

August 18, 2014

woman climbs into giraffe enclosure at wisconson zoo. giraffe kicks her in the face

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2727255/Woman-cited-climbing-zoos-giraffe-pen.html

A 2-year-old giraffe named Wally gave Hall a lick, then before turning and kicking her in the face, police said.

'Zoo staff advised that giraffes are capable of killing lions, and that Hall was lucky not to have been more seriously injured,' the report said.

Police said they ticketed Hall for 'Harassment of Zoo Animals' and fined her for $686.

The police report says Hall revealed 'she climbed into the exhibit area because she loves giraffes.'

Dane County said in a release last year that 12-foot-tall Wally is a reticulated giraffe and earlier lived at Illinois' Niabi Zoo.

Wally lives alongside another reticulated giraffe, named Eddie.

August 17, 2014

Christie faces mounting lawsuits over public records, fights the most basic requests

NEWARK, N.J. — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie took into office promising “a new era of accountability and transparency.” Yet after he won a second term last year and as he explores a run for president, his administration stands accused of routinely stonewalling even the most basic requests for public records.


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The lawyers, along with media organizations and watchdog groups, also say they have received more arbitrary justifications for the denial of requests made under New Jersey’s open records law, as well as an increased willingness by the state attorney general’s office to fight such requests in court.

“The quality of the denials are getting dumber,” said lawyer Walter Luers, who specializes in such cases. “They’re just kind of making reasons to not give us stuff.”

Christie on Friday insisted that his administration was as transparent as he said it would be. “You guys want everything. You’re not entitled to everything. So we give you what you’re entitled to under the law. And I think that’s fair.”

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/christie-faces-mounting-lawsuits-public-records/

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Those asking for copies of Christie’s calendar – a record routinely disclosed by other governors – receive copies of his public event advisories instead of details about his travel and meetings.

Media outlets have sued over access to visitor logs at the governor’s mansion, out of state travel records and details about public contracts.

August 17, 2014

westboro baptist to protest at Robin's funeral because he played gay man in 'the birdcage'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2726702/Westboro-Baptist-Church-planning-anti-gay-protest-outside-Robin-Williams-funeral-late-actors-role-The-Birdcage.html

of the controversial Kansas-based Westboro Baptist Church are planning a protest at tragic actor Robin Williams' funeral over his portrayal of a gay man in the movie The Birdcage.

The Good Will Hunting star passed away on Monday and while details of his funeral have not been made public, members of the church have already announced plans to picket the memorial.

A message posted on the group's official Twitter.com page reads: 'Westboro Baptist Church Hopes To Preach In Lawful Proximity To Robin Williams' Funeral - To Warn The Living: Repent Or Likewise Perish.'

August 17, 2014

failing upwards - Gregory paid 4 million to exit 'meet the press' graciously, may go to 'crossfire'

The Post reports that Gregory isn't likely to be out of work long. CNN is eyeing him to became moderator of its political debate show 'Crossfire.'  

Gregory endured months of humiliating speculation that NBC executives were planning to fire him as moderator of 'Meet the Press.' When he finally got the boot last week, he left with nary a bad word to say about the network - telling his Twitter followers that he is leaving NBC 'humbled and grateful.'

The New York Post reports that Gregory's gracious exit from NBC was ensured thanks to a $4million payoff he received before he was kicked off the Sunday talk show and replaced with chief White House correspondent Chuck Todd. 

Gregory's contract dictated that he had to be paid into next year. The network also paid a severance package after he signed a non-disparagement contract, sources tell the newspaper.

Gregory wasn't even allowed to host one final episode of 'Meet the Press' after he was given the boot. NBC's chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell sat in the moderator's chair today. Todd will take over next month.

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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2727219/David-Gregory-s-4MILLION-payoff-NBC-shelled-buy-fired-Meet-Press-moderator-s-silence.html

August 17, 2014

Marine who urinated on corpses in Afghanistan dies at age 28

http://www.sfgate.com/news/us/article/Marine-who-urinated-on-corpses-in-Afghanistan-dies-5691196.php

who urinated on corpses in Afghanistan dies

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — A decorated retired Marine whose career as a sniper was derailed by a video that showed him urinating on the corpses of Taliban fighters has died, his attorney said Friday.

Cpl. Robert Richards, 28, was found dead Wednesday by his wife at their Jacksonville home, Attorney Guy Womack said. Neither foul play nor suicide is suspected.

The death was most likely from Richards changing medications he took because of injuries he suffered in a roadside bomb during one of his three tours in Afghanistan, Womack said.

Richards was demoted from sergeant after a video showed four Camp Lejeune Marines — in full body armor — urinating on three Afghans in 2011. One Marine looks down at the bodies and jokes, "Have a good day, buddy."

The video was posted on YouTube in early 2012. It was condemned internationally and caused outrage in the Middle East.