In The News Today...just interesting articles found in the news

[LendaL]

 

Prosecutors: U.S. sailors' marriages a scam
Story Highlights


From Deborah Feyerick
CNN
NEW YORK, New York (CNN) -- It was a scam involving green cards and greed, prosecutors said Thursday.

Dozens of young Eastern European women have been accused of marrying U.S. sailors not for love but for the right to stay in the United States. The sailors received marriage benefits they were not entitled to, court papers said.

In recent days, federal authorities have arrested 33 couples in eight states, including New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Georgia and California, and charged them with marriage fraud.

One woman taken into custody Wednesday by U.S. marshals in Queens, New York, was found in an apartment with her boyfriend. Handcuffed and put into a police car, she denied the charge, saying, "It's not an illegal marriage."

Agents with the Naval Criminal Investigation Service said the sailors were in on the scam, which ultimately cost the Navy about $500,000. Watch a report on the investigation »

"What we see are small pockets of friends forming this conspiracy," said Samuel Worth, special agent in charge of the Naval Criminal Investigation Service in Norfolk, Virginia.

The sailors, based at Naval Station Norfolk, are said to have met the women at bars and restaurants in nearby Virginia Beach or were set up by Navy buddies.

In some cases, documents show, the couples married within hours of meeting.

"I don't know if they targeted sailors, but they did meet them, befriended them, and a verbal contract was formed," said Deputy Chief Jim Cervera of the Virginia Beach Police Department.

According to the indictment, the sailors are accused of receiving thousands of dollars in housing allowances to which they were not entitled. The women, most of whom are from Russia or Ukraine and had arrived on work or student visas, got a fast track to citizenship.

Some of them received military identification cards from the Defense Department, exposing a security vulnerability, Worth said. "In these cases, we don't know where they come from or what their intentions are."

Five of the accused sailors served on the USS Iwo Jima, an amphibious assault ship. Two others served on the USS Wasp, also an amphibious assault ship. Those on active duty were taken from the ships to face charges in Virginia, which added another cost.

"There's an impact to mission readiness," Worth said. "Those sailors have to be replaced, and the replacements have to be trained."

Several attorneys representing the sailors and their brides did not return calls seeking comment.

A Navy spokeswoman said, "Our sailors are expected to act in an ethical and responsible manner."

She added, "Sailors who commit these crimes represent a very small percentage of sailors in the U.S. Navy."

Officials said they believe that similar schemes may be taking place at other naval bases.

tsk tsk tsk...smh
 

[jlb001]

Prosecutors: U.S. sailors' marriages a scam

thats nothing new.

back in the 80's i knew of three "couples" with sham marriages.... thats what we called it back then.

abusing the system has been around for as long as there was a system to abuse.

[fire_fighter_rick]

MAIL CARRIER SAVES FALLING BABY in ALBANY NY. 

[meadowsmay1130]

this wasnt in the news but in an email and thought i would share

I knew about the red light on cars, but not the *77.
 
It was about 1:00
p.m. in the afternoon, and Lauren was driving to visit a friend. An UNMARKED police car pulled up behind her and put his lights on. Lauren's parents have always told her never to pull over for an unmarked car on the side of the road, but rather to wait until they get to a gas station, etc.

Lauren had actually listened to her parents advice, and promptly called *77 on her cell phone to tell the police dispatcher that she would not pull over right away.

 
She proceeded to tell the dispatcher that there was an unmarked police car with a flashing red light on his rooftop behind her. The dispatcher checked to see if there were police cars where she was and there weren't, and he told her to keep driving, remain calm and that he had back up already on the way.

Ten minutes later 4 cop cars surrounded her and the
unmarked car behind her. One policeman went to her side and the others surrounded the car behind. They pulled the guy from the car and tackled him to the ground. The man was a convicted rapist and wanted for other crimes.
 
I never knew about the *77 Cell Phone
face="Gill Sans MT" size="6"> Feature, but especially for a woman alone in a car, you should not pull over for an unmarked car. Apparently police have to respect your right to keep going to a safe & quiet place.  You obviously need to make some signals that you acknowledg e them (i.e. put on
your hazard lights) or call *77 like Lauren did.
 
Too bad the cell phone companies don't generally give you this little bit of wonderful information.
 So, now it's your turn to let your friends know about *77.
 
Send this to every woman (and person) you know; it may save a life.
This applies to ALL 50 states.

[jlb001]

I never knew about the *77 Cell Phone...

This applies to ALL 50 states.

according to snopes, *77 doesnt work in all states.

but who doesnt know about 9-1-1?

by the way... they couldnt find any evidence to confirm or deny this story, although its been around since the internet began.

 

[LendaL]

A young lady named Candace Harms was murdered here some years back because an unmarked police car stopped her, when she was leaving her boyfriends home, she was found months later, they claimed they did it cus they wanted to know what it would feel like to harm someone like that.

All they did was take a kids life an break my towns heart, back then a crime of that sort was practically unheard of..police chief told us not to let anyone in an unmarked car pull us over.. ever...we had permission to keep driving.

at least one of the bastards died in prison, the other, i guess is still sitting in prison looking stupid...

I SAY KEEP DRIVING AN DIAL 911...

[meadowsmay1130]

i actually found out that its *55 for missouri

[wildangelc66]

CANTON Cheese off the king and you pay the price.

Local Papa John's shops are offering 23-cent pizzas Thursday as part of a promotion stemming from the Cleveland Cavaliers and Washington Wizards first-round series in the NBA playoffs.

It all started when a Washington, D.C., Papa John's operator wanted to have some fun and diss Cavaliers star LeBron James by giving out T-shirts mocking James, emblazoned with James' jersey number (23) and "CRYBABY," while sporting the national pizza chain's logo. 

A total of eight shirts were distributed, without corporate approval, said Chris Sternberg, senior vice president of corporate communications for Papa John's. But images of the shirts, including a Washington fan wearing one, were shown during the television broadcast of game 6 Friday.

"This was not a game-wide promotion," Sternberg said. "A picture is worth a thousand words."

"Cleveland fans were upset and rightfully so, and we felt it was the right thing to say Papa John's doesn't endorse this," he said.

CARRYOUT ONLY

As a goodwill gesture for Cleveland fans, Papa John's is offering the apology pizza. One large, one topping pizza for 23 cents. And for the skeptics out there who believe it may be too good to be true, yes, cheese does not count as the one topping. Pick pepperoni, sausage, onions, whatever your tastebuds desire.

There are restrictions: Carryout only. Orders can be made by phone or at a Papa John's shop. No on-line orders. And there's a limit of one pizza per person per visit.

All proceeds from the 23-cent pizzas are being donated to the Cavaliers Youth Fund. The company is donating $10,000 to the fund and $10,000 to the LeBron James Family Foundation.

The Canton, Massillon, Perry Township, North Canton, Louisville, New Philadelphia, Alliance, and Uniontown Papa John's locations are among 49 in Ohio participating in the promotion, Sternberg said. The list expanded from 40 to 49 stores when Toledo and Youngstown franchises wanted to join in.

The participating Stark County restaurants include:

• 3001 Cleveland Ave. NW, Canton

• 4527 Tuscarawas St. W, Perry Township

• 1206 Lincoln Way E., Massillon

• 13038 Cleveland Ave., Uniontown

• 1115 North Main St., North Canton

508 W. Main St., Louisville

1210 W. State St., Alliance

1315 Fourth St., New Philadelphia

FANS UPSET

The jab at James outraged some Cleveland fans. Papa John's corporate office received about 200 complaints Saturday and Sunday through phone calls or e-mail, Sternberg said.

The saga started when James, nicknamed "King James," commented about the hard fouls and physical style of play displayed by Washington players during the playoff series, which Cleveland won 4-2, advancing to the second round against the Boston Celtics.

A Washington player responded to James' comments by calling him a "crybaby."

Papa John's is bracing for an onslaught of hungry Cavaliers fans.

Sternberg expects the Cleveland area locations to do eight to nine times more business than on a typical Thursday. Papa John's is sending in employees and supervisors from other stores and extra food supplies.

"We think it's going to be probably the largest one-day sales event in the history of the Cleveland area Papa John's restaurants," Sternberg said.

In a press release, the pizza chain tries to make peace with King James.

"There is no question that LeBron James is an excellent role model and great for the NBA," said Bill Freitas, president of the Papa John's advertising cooperative in Washington, D.C. "We sincerely apologize to LeBron James and Cavaliers fans throughout the country and wish the Cavaliers luck during the rest of the playoffs."

[wildangelc66]

We actually received a call last week from the 809  area code.  The woman said "Hey, this is Karen. Sorry I missed you--get back to us quickly. I Have something important to tell you." Then she repeated a phone number beginning with 809 . "We didn't respond".

Then this week, we received the following e-mail:

Subject:  DON'T EVER DIAL AREA CODE 809 , 284  AND 876

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT INFOR MATION PROVIDED TO US BY AT&T. DON'T EVER DIAL AREA CODE 809

This one is being distributed all over the US . This is pretty scary, especially given the way they try to get
you to call.
Be sure you read this and pass it on.
They get you to call by telling you that it is information about a family member who has been ill or to tell you
someone has-been arrested, died, or to let you know you have won a wonderful prize, etc.
In each case, you are told to call the 809  number right away. Since there are so many new area codes these days, people unknowingly return  these calls.

If you call from the US , you will apparently be charged $2425.00 per-minute.

Or, you'll get a long recorded message.
The point is, they will try to keep you on the phone as long as possible to increase the charges. Unfortunately, when you get your phone bill, you'll often be charged more than $24,100.00.

WHY IT WORKS:

The 809 area code is located in the British Virgin Islands (The Bahamas).
The charges afterwards can become a real nightmare. That's because you did actually make the call. If you
complain, both your local phone company and your long distance carrier will not want to get involved and will most likely tell you that they are simply providing the billing for the foreign company. You'll end up dealing with a foreign company that argues they have done nothing wrong.

Please forward this entire message to your friends, family and colleagues to help them become aware of this  scam

Additional information on these area codes can be found from ATT at:

http://www.consumer.att.com/consumertips/areacode.html
<http://www.consumer.att.com/consumertips/areacode.html>

[LendaL]

Thats awful, most folks dont keep up with area codes from other countries, ..im so sick of folks always trying to run a damn scam on somebody...you cant go to the mailbox, to your email, pick up the telephone, or lately even sign up to a new GPT site without someone being out to "get you"..sewer dwellers i swear

[fire_fighter_rick]

So nobody has said anything about china yet....?

[wildangelc66]

CANTON

Lisa West wasn't drunk, on drugs, taking prescription medications or morbidly obese the night her 4-month-old son died.

She was asleep.

"I awoke to the screams of my mother-in-law," said West of Plain Township.

West awoke to find that her shoulder blade was pressed against her son's face. She and Dayton Lee West-Mullen had been lying together on a foldaway bed in the living room of the baby's paternal grandmother's home in October 2002.

The family was supposed to take Dayton and his older sister, Malayah, trick-or-treating that day. Instead, they took him to Mercy Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. The coroner's office said the boy accidentally suffocated.

West propped an enlarged picture of Dayton, dressed in a blue-and-white stripped onesie, with bare feet and a toothless grin, on a table at the Stark County Health Department on Monday. She wanted to show the members of the Stark County Safe Sleep Task Force the importance of making mothers aware of the possible dangers that exist when they share a bed with a newborn.

"Stories like mine are on the rise in the United States," said West, now 26.

PREVENT THE NIGHTMARE

She showed the task force — which includes hospitals, health department, emergency service and wellness agency officials — a DVD she made to remember Dayton. Played to "The Dance" by country singer Garth Brooks, the slideshow chronicled the bubbly, healthy boy from the day he was born to his time at home with his family.A few task force members dabbed their eyes watching the DVD. West concluded the slideshow with statistics of states such as Kentucky and North Carolina, where instances of infants dying while sleeping in bed with their parents have skyrocketed.In Stark County, 14 children died from sleep-related deaths in 2005 and 2006. Nine of those infants suffocated while sleeping with an adult or another child.

"I wish I would have heard about this happening to children (sooner)," West said.

Doctors and nurses told her about sudden infant death syndrome, but nothing about safe sleep.

"Everyone we knew slept with their babies," West said. "They said, 'Bond with the baby, sleep with the baby.' But when you are in state of sleep you are in a state of unconsciousness. You don't know what you are doing."

The task force, which began last year, has created a brochure and posters that explain the risk to infants who sleep on adult beds, couches or pillows.

"There are many good moms that made a bad decision to sleep with their baby," said Marsha Miller, a registered nurse at the Canton City Health Department and a task force member.

Soon, the task force will provide portable cribs to parents who don't have one. County Coroner P.S. Murthy has donated $1,000 to launch the "Cribs for Kids" program, and the group is seeking donations.

DIFFERING VIEWPOINTS

Not everyone agrees that parents who sleep with their babies pose a danger. The La Leche League, an international group that promotes mothering through breast-feeding, distributes a brochure with guidelines for safe sleeping with a baby.

"We don't say, 'To do the La Leche way, you have to do co-sleeping,' " said Jacqueline Kralovic, a leader for the Canton-based La Leche League group. " ... But to say it should never be done is an uninformed choice."

Guidelines say parents: Should not be obese, inebriated, under the influence of drugs or sedatives, should use a firm mattress, should keep loose pillows and blankets away from the child, lie between the baby and any other child in the bed and either push the bed against a wall or keep it far enough away from the wall so the baby wouldn't get trapped.

Kralovic said she often refers mothers to the research of James J. McKenna, a University of Notre Dame professor who has studied and published studies about infant sleep, breast-feeding and sudden infant death syndrome.

McKenna, on a Web site for the Mother-Baby Behavioral Sleep Laboratory that he chairs, said babies who share a bed with their parents tend to cry less and are comforted knowing their parents are nearby. Parents also can respond to emergencies more easily and can bond longer with babies who sleep in the same bed.

But West sees only one choice for her children. West has given birth to two sons, Jayden and Braylan, since Dayton died.

"They are in the crib," West said. "The crib is the safest place for them to sleep, end of story."

[wildangelc66]

China: 40,000 dead, 5 million homeless after quake

CHENGDU, China - Rescuers freed a 60-year-old woman Tuesday who was trapped for more than 195 hours after last week's earthquake and had survived by drinking rainwater, while the confirmed death toll rose to more than 40,000.

ADVERTISEMENT
 
The woman suffered a hip fracture and facial bruises during her eight-day ordeal, which began after a landslide swept away a temple in the city of Pengzhou, Hong Kong-based Phoenix Satellite Television reported.

The official Xinhua news agency identified her as *bleep* Youqun, a retiree, and said she had been unconscious for a day when a falling girder hit her head in the May 12 quake.

She was one of only two people believed to have been rescued Tuesday, Xinhua said. The other was a man pulled from a flattened power plant just after midnight.

The tales of survival came after the confirmed death toll from the disaster rose to 40,075, according to the State Council, China's Cabinet. Officials have said the final number killed by the quake was expected to surpass 50,000.

Five million people lost their homes in the quake, said Jiang Li, vice minister of civil affairs.

The government was setting up temporary housing for victims unable to find shelter with relatives, but there was a "desperate need for tents" to accommodate them, she said.

Nearly 280,000 tents have been shipped to the area and 700,000 more ordered, with factories working triple shifts to meet demand.

"Despite generous donations, the disaster is so great that victims still face a challenge in finding living accommodations," Jiang said.

In Washington, President Bush and his wife, Laura, visited the Chinese Embassy to sign a condolence book for quake victims and said the country was "ready to assist in any manner that China deems helpful."

"We stand with you during this tragic moment as you mourn the loss of so many of your loved ones and search for those still missing," Bush wrote, before pausing for a moment of silence.

China has said it will accept foreign medical teams, as the relief efforts shift from searching for survivors to caring for the homeless. A growing number of countries responded to the call, dispatching doctors to the quake area Tuesday.

A Russian medical team with a mobile hospital arrived Tuesday in the Sichuan provincial capital of Chengdu, Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said. A 37-member medical team sent by the Taiwan Red Cross organization also arrived in the disaster zone.

A 23-member medical team from Japan also departed Tuesday for China, replacing a rescue team in the disaster zone, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.

Crews of doctors were also en route from Germany and Italy, Qin said.

At the West China Hospital in Chengdu, staff were trying to find relatives of victims being treated. A relief tent in the courtyard doubled as a bulletin board displaying about 50 snapshots of people who had not been claimed by families, mostly elderly patients or children.

Liu Yuanzhong said his son lost both legs when his office building collapsed in the town of Hanwang. The 38-year-old man, Liu Rui, was a manager at a coal mining company and was attending a weekly meeting about safety issues when the tremor struck, his father said.

"It'll be up to the government to help him, but we don't know how much the government will do," the elder Liu said. "His wife doesn't work and we don't know what she will do."

Nearer the epicenter in the town of An Xian, a crew of volunteers arrived from Tangshan, the Chinese city that suffered the country's worst quake in 1976 that killed at least 240,000 people.

"Now it's time for us to help the others that are suffering," said Song Zhixian, a farmer among a group of 15 older men wearing red hard hats and vests. "It is part of the Chinese virtue and spirit: when one place suffers, then everyone else helps."

Flags in the country remained at half-staff and entertainment events canceled on the second day of a three-day national mourning period declared by the Chinese government, an unprecedented gesture normally reserved for dead state leaders. The Olympic torch relay also was suspended.

Thousands of quake survivors awoke Tuesday after spending a night sleeping in cars and in the open, frightened by government warnings of a potential strong aftershock. The alarm compounded uneasiness in the region, which has been rumbled by dozens of aftershocks since the quake.

Elsewhere, a panda from the Wolong Nature Preserve that disappeared during the quake returned safely, but two of the endangered animals were still missing, Xinhua reported. The others were "very likely to be alive," forestry official Xiong Beirong told the agency, because they were adults.

The quake killed five staff members at the reserve and destroyed or damaged all of its 32 panda houses. The local government has sent emergency supplies of bamboo, apples and veterinary medicine for the pandas, along with food and tents for staff.

Thirty-two radioactive sources also were buried under rubble, Xinhua reported, citing Minister of Environmental Protection Zhou Shengxian.

Only two have not been recovered, although authorities have located them and restricted access to nearby areas, Zhou was cited as saying. They were expected to be transported to safety soon. The rest have been disposed of.

The Chinese government has previously said all nuclear facilities affected by the earthquake were safe and under control, but did not give any details.

A French nuclear expert said the radioactive sources likely came from materials used in hospitals, factories or in research, not for weapons.

"It doesn't shock me that there would be radioactive items found," particularly hospital equipment, said Thierry Charles, director of plant safety at the French Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety, has seen reports from the Chinese nuclear safety agency.

An unknown number of hospitals were damaged or destroyed in the earthquake. The Sichuan province health department listed 489 major hospitals in areas that were hardest hit.

(This version CORRECTS Corrects woman's name to *bleep* Youqun sted *bleep* Liqun; ADDS detail on second survivor found early Tuesday, Bush comment.)

[fire_fighter_rick]

TORNADO HITS OK AND TX!!!!