Current News (Part 4)

[Littledragon]

Fight to save Terri Schiavo moves to Washington.

TALLAHASSEE, Florida (CNN) -- Supporters of Terri Schiavo's parents planned last-chance efforts in Florida and Washington on Monday aimed at winning the life-and-death fight to have the brain-damaged woman's feeding tube reinserted.

Schiavo, who hasn't had water or nutrients in 11 days, is likely to die by week's end, doctors have said.

Anti-abortion activist Randall Terry, who has acted as a spokesman for Schiavo's parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, said a group in Washington would reach out to top officials and urge "anybody that has guts up there" to intervene in the case.

The Rev. Patrick Mahoney, a conservative Christian activist leading demonstrations outside a Florida hospice where Schiavo lives, said he would take his fight to Washington on Monday.

Mahoney said he'll ask White House and congressional leaders to enforce a subpoena issued by a House committee. The subpoena orders Schiavo to appear before Congress.

That subpoena was issued March 18, the day Schiavo's feeding tube was removed by order of a Florida state judge. That same judge quashed the House subpoena, and the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal of that decision by Republican congressional leaders.

Numerous state court judges have sided with Schiavo's husband and legal guardian, Michael Schiavo, who says Terri Schiavo is in a persistent vegetative state and would not want to continue living under such conditions.

President Bush signed federal legislation on March 21 to move the case from state court to federal court. But the federal courts, including the Supreme Court, refused to overturn the state decisions.

Brother Paul O'Donnell, a Franciscan monk who has been acting as a spiritual adviser to and spokesman for the Schindlers, stepped up pressure on Bush's brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, calling on him Monday to "step in and take custody" of Terri Schiavo.

"We're begging, governor: Do something today, now," O'Donnell said. "Don't join the culture of death and be writing this woman's obituary."

Terri Schiavo "is alive and she is waiting and we're urgently asking for your assistance, and free her -- free her from her captivity."

Attorneys for Michael Schiavo have not responded publicly since Saturday, when George Felos -- after visiting her -- said she appeared "calm," "peaceful," and "beautiful."

The Florida governor sides with the Schindlers and made efforts to have the tube reinserted, adding his support to state legislation.

But by Sunday Gov. Bush said he had done all he could. Bush said he does not have the authority to take Schiavo into state custody.

"I'm sad that she's in the situation that she's in," Bush said. "I feel bad for her family. My heart goes out to the Schindlers and, for that matter, to Michael [Schiavo]. This has not been an easy thing for any, any member of the family, and most particularly for Terri Schiavo."

Speaking briefly to reporters Monday, Gov. Bush said, "My heart is broken about this." He said he is "respectful of the judiciary's decisions," but "from a personal perspective it just breaks my heart that we've not erred on the side of life."

Bush said if someone were to bring "some new chance of involvement" to his attorneys, they would look at it. "We've not seen any means by which the executive branch can get involved. My legal counsel has talked to the Schindler family and their lawyer over the weekend, and I think they've exhausted their remedies as well," he said.

Sunday on CBS' "Face the Nation," David Gibbs, the Schindlers' attorney, said Terri Schiavo "is declining rapidly. We believe she has, at this point, passed where physically she would be able to recover. ... Terri has past the point of no return."

Just a few hours later, Terry -- founder of anti-abortion group Operation Rescue -- angrily rejected that, telling reporters Terri Schiavo was "not at death's door." He said Gibbs represents the family "in matters of court" but did not represent them "when he gave that report about Terri."

And while Gibbs told CBS that Bush "has done everything he can" and has "been a real friend to the Schindler family," Terry harshly criticized the governor. "What kind of man sits in the governor's mansion that would let a woman starve like this, who is clinging to life and crying out to be saved?" Terry asked.

Schiavo collapsed in 1990 from cardiac arrest related to an eating disorder. Court-appointed doctors in Florida have found that she is in a persistent vegetative state, despite arguments from her parents that she is not.

Her brother, Bobby, has said she experienced pain in the days after the feeding tube was removed; Gibbs told CBS she was receiving a morphine drip. Michael Schiavo's attorneys had no immediate response.

On Easter Sunday, Terri Schiavo received Holy Communion -- a single drop of wine on her tongue.

Monsignor Thaddeus Malanowski, aided by the chaplain of the hospice where Schiavo lay, said he "gave her the drop of precious blood on the tongue, so we know she received Christ."

He said he was unable to give Schiavo the traditional host wafer "because her tongue is dry and parched."

 

[Littledragon]

Deadly attacks target Iraqi police.

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Insurgents struck Iraqi security forces Monday, killing the head of a Baghdad police station and four other officers in separate attacks, police said.

Col. Abdul Kahrim Fahad, head of the Balat al-Shouhada police station, and his driver were gunned down Monday morning in a drive-by shooting in southeastern Baghdad.

Fahad was on his way to his office about 8 a.m. (12 a.m. ET) in his private car when the attack took place.

About half an hour earlier, a roadside bomb exploded near an Iraqi police patrol in southwestern Baghdad, killing one Iraqi policeman and wounding five other people, including three Iraqi police.

In another attack Monday, south of Baghdad in Musayyab, a suicide bomber on a motorcycle killed himself and three police officers and wounded two civilians, said Hilla police chief Qais Al-Azzawi. The police were protecting pilgrims walking to the holy Muslim cities of Najaf and Karbala, he said.

Also south of Baghdad in Salman Pak, Iraqi security forces Monday came upon what the U.S. military said was "a large terrorist base." The forces encountered light resistance and captured more than 90 terrorist suspects, the military said.

Brig. Gen. Karl Horst said in a statement that Iraqi and U.S. forces conducted a series of raids in Salman Pak acting on tips from Iraqi civilians. "This operation represents the significant progress that Iraqi security forces are making," Horst said.

In the northern city of Mosul, U.S. forces captured 10 suspected insurgents Sunday, the military said, including eight suspected of ordering the assassination of Iraqi Gen. Waleed Kahmoula in western Mosul.

Also in Mosul, Iraqi forces killed four insurgents, detained another and seized a weapons cache that included 70 rockets and artillery fuses, the military said.

Other developments

Interim President Ghazi al-Yawar has declined an invitation to be nominated as president of the transitional National Assembly, an official in his office told CNN Monday. He said an explanation would be given "when the time is right." The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said members of the Kurdish Alliance and the United Iraqi Alliance had asked al-Yawar to accept the position. Both groups have expressed their desire to have a prominent Sunni in the post. The position is not the same as president of the country.


A group claiming to be al Qaeda in Iraq said it killed an Iraqi Interior Ministry official, according to an unauthenticated video posted Sunday on an Islamist Web site. The video shows a blindfolded man who identifies himself as Col. Ryadh Katie Olyway. He is shown holding an identity card with that name. A group of men with machine guns then point their weapons at him. In a portion of the tape unavailable to CNN, the men appear to kill the man, according to The Associated Press.


An Air Force unmanned reconnaissance plane -- an MQ-1 Predator -- crashed early Sunday near Balad, Iraq, the Combined Air Operations Center said. The military made no comment about the cause of the crash, but said that "a board of officers" would investigate.

 

[Amos Stevens]

Terry Schiavo dies but feud continues

Terri Schiavo Dies but Feud Continues




By MIKE SCHNEIDER, Associated Press Writer

PINELLAS PARK, Fla. - Terri Schiavo, the severely brain-damaged woman who spent 15 years connected to a feeding tube in an epic legal and medical battle that went all the way to the White House and Congress, died Thursday, 13 days after the tube was removed. She was 41.





Schiavo died about 9 a.m. at the Pinellas Park hospice where she lay for years while her husband and her parents fought over her in what was easily the longest, most bitter — and most heavily litigated — right-to-die dispute in U.S. history.


Michael Schiavo was at his wife's bedside, cradling her, when she died a "calm, peaceful and gentle" death, a stuffed animal under her arm, and flowers arranged around the room, said his attorney, George Felos. Her parents, Bob and Mary Schindler, were not at the hospice at the time, he said.


"Mr. Schiavo's overriding concern here was to provide for Terri a peaceful death with dignity," Felos said. "This death was not for the siblings, and not for the spouse and not for the parents. This was for Terri."


The feud between the parents and their son-in-law continued even after her death: The Schindlers' advisers complained that Schiavo's brother and sister had been at her bedside a few minutes before the end came, but were not there at the moment of her death because Michael Schiavo would not let them in the room.


"And so his heartless cruelty continues until this very last moment," said the Rev. Frank Pavone, a Roman Catholic priest. He added: "This is not only a death, with all the sadness that brings, but this is a killing, and for that we not only grieve that Terri has passed but we grieve that our nation has allowed such an atrocity as this and we pray that it will never happen again."


Felos disputed the Schindler family's account. He said that Terri Schiavo's siblings had been asked to leave the room so that the hospice staff could examine her, and the brother started arguing with a law enforcement official. Michael Schiavo feared a "potentially explosive" situation and would not allow the brother in the room, because he wanted his wife's death to take place in a calm and peaceful surroundings, Felos said.


"She's got all of her dignity back. She's now in heaven, she's now with God, and she's walking with grace," Michael Schiavo's brother, Scott Schiavo, said at his Levittown, Pa., home.


Outside the hospice, a small group of activists sang hymns, raising their hands to the sky and closing their eyes. After the tube that supplied a nutrient solution was disconnected, protesters had streamed into Pinellas Park to keep vigil outside her hospice, with many arrested as they tried to bring her food and water.


Dawn Kozsey, 47, a musician who was among those outside Schiavo's hospice, wept. "Words cannot express the rage I feel," she said. "Is my heart broken for this? Yes."


Schiavo suffered severe brain damage in 1990 after her heart stopped because of a chemical imbalance that was believed to have been brought on by an eating disorder. Court-appointed doctors ruled she was in a persistent vegetative state, with no real consciousness or chance of recovery.


She left no written instructions, but her husband argued that his wife told him long ago she would not want to be kept alive artificially. His in-laws disputed that, saying that would have gone against her Roman Catholic faith, and they contended she could get better with treatment. They said she laughed, cried, responded to them and tried to talk.


Over and over, Pinellas County Circuit Judge George W. Greer said that Michael Schiavo had convinced him that Terri Schiavo would not have wanted to be kept alive under such conditions. The feeding tube was removed with the judge's approval March 18 — the third time food and water were cut off during the seven-year legal battle.


Florida lawmakers, Congress, President Bush and his brother Gov. Jeb Bush tried to intervene on behalf of her parents, but state and federal courts at all levels repeatedly ruled in favor of her husband.


The case focused national attention on living wills, prompting perhaps thousands of Americans to discuss their end-of-life wishes with their loved ones and put their instructions in writing. The dispute also stirred a furious debate over the proper role of government in such life-and-death decisions. And it led to allegations that Republicans in Congress were pandering to the religious right and violating their own political principles of limited government and states' rights.


In Washington, the president said he was saddened by the death.


"The essence of civilization is that the strong have a duty to protect the weak," Bush said. "In cases where there are serious doubts and questions, the presumption should be in favor of life."





In Rome, Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, head of the Vatican's office for sainthood, called the removal of the feeding tube "an attack against God."

An autopsy is planned, with both sides hoping it will shed more light on the extent of her brain injuries and whether she was abused by her husband, as the Schindlers have argued. In what was the source of yet another dispute between the husband and his in-laws, Michael Schiavo will get custody of the body and plans to have her cremated and bury the ashes in the Schiavo family plot in Pennsylvania.

A funeral Mass, sought by the Schindlers, was tentatively scheduled for Tuesday or Wednesday.

Gov. Jeb Bush said that millions of people around the world will be "deeply grieved" by her death but that the debate over her fate could help others grapple with end-of-life issues.

"After an extraordinarily difficult and tragic journey, Terri Schiavo is at rest," he said. "I remain convinced, however, that Terri's death is a window through which we can see the many issues left unresolved in our families and in our society. For that, we can be thankful for all that the life of Terri Schiavo has taught us."

Although several right-to-die cases have been fought in the courts across the nation in recent years, none had been this public, drawn-out and bitter.

Six times, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to intervene. As Schiavo's life ebbed away earlier this month, Congress rushed through a bill to allow the federal courts to take up the case. President Bush signed it March 21. But the federal courts refused to intervene.

Described by her family as a shy woman who loved animals, music and basketball, Terri Schindler grew up in Pennsylvania and battled a weight problem in her youth.

"And then when she lost all the weight, she really became quite beautiful on the outside as well. What was inside she allowed to shine out at that point," a friend, Diane Meyer, said in 2003.

She met Michael Schiavo — pronounced SHY-voh — at Bucks County Community College near Philadelphia in 1982. They wed two years later. After they moved to Florida, she worked in an insurance agency.

But recurring battles with weight led to the eating disorder that was blamed for her collapse at 26. Doctors said she suffered severe brain damage when her heart stopped beating because of a potassium imbalance. Her brain was deprived of oxygen for 10 minutes before she was revived, doctors estimated.

Because Terri Schiavo did not leave written wishes on her care, Florida law gave preference to Michael Schiavo over her parents. But the law also recognizes parents as having crucial opinions in the care of an incapacitated person.

A court-appointed physician testified her brain damage was so severe that there was no hope she would ever have any cognitive abilities.

Still, her parents, who visited her nearly every day, reported their daughter responded to their voices. Video showing the dark-haired woman appearing to interact with her family was televised nationally. But the court-appointed doctor said the noises and facial expressions were reflexes.

Both sides accused each other of being motivated by greed over a $1 million medical malpractice award from doctors who failed to diagnose the chemical imbalance.

However, that money, which Michael Schiavo received in 1993, has all but evaporated, spent on his wife's care and the court fight. Just $40,000 to $50,000 remained as of mid-March.

Michael Schiavo's lawyers suggested the Schindlers wanted to get some of the money. And the Schindlers questioned their son-in-law's sincerity, saying he never mentioned his wife's wishes until winning the malpractice case.

The parents tried to have Michael Schiavo removed as his wife's guardian because he lives with another woman and has two children with her. Michael Schiavo refused to divorce his wife, saying he feared the Schindlers would ignore her desire to die.

Schiavo lived in her brain-damaged state longer than two other young women whose cases brought right-to-die issues to the forefront of public attention.

Karen Quinlan lived for more than a decade in a vegetative state — brought on by alcohol and drugs in 1975 when she was 21; New Jersey courts let her parents take her off a respirator a year after her injury. Nancy Cruzan, who was 25 when a 1983 car crash placed her in a vegetative state, lived nearly eight years before the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that her parents could withdraw her feeding tube.

Schiavo's feeding tube was briefly removed in 2001. It was reinserted after two days when a court intervened. In October 2003, the tube was removed again, but Gov. Jeb Bush rushed Terri's Law through the Legislature, allowing the state to have the feeding tube reinserted after six days. The Florida Supreme Court later struck down the law as unconstitutional interference in the judicial system by the executive branch.

Nearly two weeks ago, the tube was removed for a third and final time.

___

Associated Press reporters Allen Breed, Vickie Chachere, Mark Long, Mitch Stacy and Ron Word contributed to this story.

Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press.

 

[Amos Stevens]

Ms wheelchair stripped of title for standing up

Ms. Wheelchair stripped of title for standing up
Friday, April 1, 2005 Posted: 8:51 AM EST (1351 GMT)




APPLETON, Wisconsin (AP) -- Ms. Wheelchair Wisconsin
has been stripped of her title because pageant
officials say she can stand -- and point to a
newspaper picture as proof.

Janeal Lee, who has muscular dystrophy and uses a
scooter, was snapped by The Post-Crescent newspaper
standing among her high school math students.

"I've been made to feel as if I can't represent the
disabled citizens of Wisconsin because I'm not
disabled enough," Lee said Thursday.

Lee, 30, of Appleton, had planned to go to the
national pageant with her younger sister, who also has
muscular dystrophy and won the competition in
Minnesota.

Students at Kaukauna High School, where Lee teaches,
raised $1,000 for her trip to the national pageant.

The move by the state pageant officials, led by
coordinator Gina Hackel, is supported by the national
board.

Candidates for the crown have to "mostly be seen in
the public using their wheelchairs or scooters," said
Judy Hoit, Ms. Wheelchair America's treasurer.

"Otherwise you've got women who are in their
wheelchairs all the time and they get offended if they
see someone standing up. We can't have title holders
out there walking when they're seen in the public."

Hackel said Lee should have been aware of the rules.

The crown now goes to first runner-up Michelle Kearney
of Milwaukee, who will travel to New York in July for
the national pageant.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press.

 

[Lollipop]

Ms. Wheelchair stripped of title for standing up
Friday, April 1, 2005 Posted: 8:51 AM EST (1351 GMT)




APPLETON, Wisconsin (AP) -- Ms. Wheelchair Wisconsin
has been stripped of her title because pageant
officials say she can stand -- and point to a
newspaper picture as proof.

Janeal Lee, who has muscular dystrophy and uses a
scooter, was snapped by The Post-Crescent newspaper
standing among her high school math students.

"I've been made to feel as if I can't represent the
disabled citizens of Wisconsin because I'm not
disabled enough," Lee said Thursday.

Lee, 30, of Appleton, had planned to go to the
national pageant with her younger sister, who also has
muscular dystrophy and won the competition in
Minnesota.

Students at Kaukauna High School, where Lee teaches,
raised $1,000 for her trip to the national pageant.

The move by the state pageant officials, led by
coordinator Gina Hackel, is supported by the national
board.

Candidates for the crown have to "mostly be seen in
the public using their wheelchairs or scooters," said
Judy Hoit, Ms. Wheelchair America's treasurer.

"Otherwise you've got women who are in their
wheelchairs all the time and they get offended if they
see someone standing up. We can't have title holders
out there walking when they're seen in the public."

Hackel said Lee should have been aware of the rules.

The crown now goes to first runner-up Michelle Kearney
of Milwaukee, who will travel to New York in July for
the national pageant.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press.

How sad for her when it should have been her proudest moment to stand, they would insult her that way!

 

[Amos Stevens]

Man auctioning middle name on ebay

Man auctioning middle name on eBay
Monday, April 4, 2005 Posted: 8:41 AM EDT (1241 GMT)



UINTAH HIGHLANDS, Utah (AP) -- Matthew Jean Rouse
doesn't like his middle name and he's letting you pick
a new one.

The 31-year-old father of two is selling the naming
right on eBay. The "Buy It Now" price is $8,000. As of
early Monday, there had been a total of 30 bids, with
the high bid $2,175.

The winning bidder gets to choose a new middle name
for Rouse, a software engineer.

Rouse also agrees to use his middle name "whenever
plausible and not hide it."

"If he wants to walk around with 'Fool' as his middle
name, that's his problem," said Rouse's wife, Corinna
Rouse. "If someone changes his name to 'Poophead,' he
may decide it's a little more important than he
thought."

Rouse's middle name was taken from his late
grandfather, Jean Stelter, with whom he didn't get
along.

His older brother, Bill Rouse, 46, of Mesa, Arizona,
bid $1,500 for the name. "Basically, he's trying to
dump our grandfather's name, and I'm trying to buy it
and make it stay as it is," Bill Rouse said.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press.

 

[Amos Stevens]

Annan mourns death of Prince Rainier III

Annan mourns death of Prince Rainier III of Monaco
>
> www.chinaview.cn 2005-04-07 00:26:14
>
>
> 　 UNITED NATIONS, April 6 (Xinhuanet) -- UN
> Secretary-General Kofi Annan mourned on Wednesday
> the
> death of Prince Rainier III of Monaco.
>
> In a statement released by the UN spokesman,
> Annan
> said he was saddened to learn of the death of Prince
> Rainier III of Monaco, one of the world's
> longest-serving monarchs and Heads of State.
>
> He expressed his deepest condolences to Prince
> Albert, PrincessCaroline, Princess Stephanie and
> their
> families, as well as to allthe people of Monaco.
>
> "Throughout his 55-year reign, and all the
> changes
> the country underwent during that time, Prince
> Rainier
> remained dearly loved by his people, and deeply
> respected by his peers as well as the world
> community," Annan said.
>
> He wished Prince Albert every courage and
> fortitude as he succeeds his father at the helm of
> the
> principality.
>
> Prince Rainier III died at age 81 on Wednesday
> after a battle with heart, kidney and breathing
> problems. His son Prince Albert took over his
> father's
> royal duties last week after Rainier's condition
> suddenly turned worse nearly two weeks ago. Enditem
>
>
>
> Copyright ©2003 Xinhua News Agency

 

[Amos Stevens]

6th grader accused of counterfeiting

6th grader accused of counterfeiting
Saturday, April 9, 2005 Posted: 11:54 AM EDT (1554
GMT)


WEST SEATTLE, Washington (AP) -- A sixth grader and
two of his friends were suspended after being accused
of using phony dollar bills made on a home computer to
buy food in the school cafeteria.

On Monday, a cafeteria worker at James Madison Middle
School found a dollar bill that didn't look or feel
like the real thing. Seattle School District
spokeswoman Patti Spencer said people in the lunch
room were told to watch for more counterfeit bills.

An assistant principal called Seattle police the next
day after a sixth grader tried to use one of the fake
bills to buy beef jerky from the cafeteria.

Seattle Police spokesman Sean Whitcomb said the boy
made 20 fake dollar bills on his aunt's computer,
brought them to school and shared them with his
friends.

The King County Prosecutors' Office is reviewing the
case and deciding whether to file charges. School
officials suspended the three boys for several days.




Copyright 2005 The Associated Press.

 

[Amos Stevens]

Prince Charles & Camilla marry

By CATHERINE McALOON, Associated Press Writer

WINDSOR, England - Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles were married Saturday in a modest civil ceremony at the 17th century Guildhall, and the second marriage for each was blessed by the Church of England as the royals knelt before Archbishop of Canterbury in a majestic ceremony beneath the soaring arches of the Gothic St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.





The wedding capped a decades-long love affair that endured the prince's first marriage to Princess Diana and constant tabloid scrutiny.


Charles and Camilla confessed "manifold sins and wickedness" — words from the Book of Common Prayer, as Archbishop Rowan Williams blessed their union. They pledged to be faithful in their marriage, then walked from the cathedral to greet the huge crowd assembled behind police barriers on the manicured grounds of the ancient fortress, first associated with William the Conqueror, who invaded from France in 1066.


Charles and Camilla left in a black Rolls-Royce for a reception where they were greeted the 800 guests, including Prime Minister Tony Blair and the bride's ex-husband, Andrew Parker Bowles, in the castle's State Apartments.


The wedding cake was a single-layered organic fruit cake decorated with roses, thistles and daffodils — a nod to the groom's passion for organic farming. A sword that belonged to King George V, Charles' great-grandfather, was used as a cake knife.


The couple then set off for a honeymoon in a cozy Scottish hunting lodge that once belonged to the prince's grandmother. The car that sped them away had red and blue balloons attached and "Just Married" written on the back window.


Charles's mother and father, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, joined a Who's Who of Britain, representatives of governments and members of royal houses for the blessing ceremony, where women guests wore a dazzling array of hats, feathers much in favor.


After the town hall nuptials, not attended by the queen to honor the couple's desire to keep it "low key," Charles and Camilla emerged arm-in-arm to the cheers of onlookers and a jazz band playing, "Congratulations." They waved to the cheering crowd, but there was no public kiss or embrace.


Camilla now takes on Diana's previous status as Princess of Wales, although she plans to defer to public sentiment by avoiding the title and will instead be known as the Duchess of Cornwall.


When Charles takes the throne, Camilla legally will be queen, but she wishes to be known as Princess Consort — a bow to opinion polls that show 70 percent of the population opposed to Queen Camilla.


Fewer than 30 guests attended the civil ceremony, and they included Charles' sons, William and Harry. Many among the group were moved from site to site in rented buses.


For the wedding ceremony, the bride wore an oyster silk basket weave coat with a herringbone stitch and a matching chiffon dress. She also wore a matching straw and lace hat with feather details.


Charles, in contrast to the military uniform he wore for his first wedding to Diana, was dressed in formal morning wear.


The hall was lined with jasmine and lily of the valley — known to symbolize the return of happiness.


The couple initially planned to wed at Windsor Castle but changed their plans because under British licensing law, registering the castle as a wedding venue would mean opening it to the weddings of commoners.


The civil ceremony was in sharp contrast to the pageantry of Charles' 1981 storybook wedding to the 20-year-old Diana Spencer at St. Paul's Cathedral.


Waving Union Jack flags or raising banners honoring Diana, crowds lining the streets of the handsome riverside town of Windsor waited in chilly sunshine for the nuptials, which were postponed so Charles could attend Friday's funeral of Pope John Paul II at the Vatican.





"It's up to him who he marries," said Barbara Murray, 41, who camped overnight with her two daughters to stake out a vantage point to see the couple. "Whoever he chose wouldn't be the same as Diana."

Nearly eight years after Diana's death, some have bridled at accepting Camilla as a future queen, seeing her relationship with Charles as the reason his first marriage fell apart.

"She broke up their marriage," said Yvonne Williams, 67, who raised a banner that read: "Long live the Queen, Diana Forever: King Charles, Queen Camilla — Never."

Security was very tight. In addition to sharpshooters on rooftops, plainclothes officers moved around in the crowd, dogs sniffed for bombs, and normally unarmed police carried handguns in the streets around Windsor Castle.

Thames Valley Police, responsible for security outside the castle, had 550 officers on duty and Scotland Yard, which is in charge inside the castle, had dozens more.

On Friday, Prince Charles joined world leaders and hundreds of thousands of pilgrims at the John Paul's funeral.

In keeping with tradition, Camilla spent Friday night at Clarence House, the London residence of the Prince of Wales, while Prince Charles spent the night at his country mansion in Gloucestershire, with his sons.

Camilla wore a blue jacket and smiled and waved to the assembled Saturday morning as she set out for Windsor, 20 miles west of London.

Inside Windsor Castle's gates, tents were erected for the media, while every vantage point, from private balconies to the roof of a local liquor store, was converted into a temporary broadcast location.

Hotels were fully booked, and souvenir shops were doing a brisk trade in royal wedding mugs and tea towels.

Charles met Camilla Shand more than 30 years ago and discovered they shared a common love of rural life.

Her great-grandmother Alice Keppel had a love affair with King Edward VII, Charles' great-great-grandfather. The young Camilla is said to have brought that up after meeting the prince at a polo match in the early 1970s.

"My great-grandmother was your great-great-grandfather's mistress, so how about it?" she is reported to have told the prince.

But he sailed off with the Royal Navy without cementing their relationship. In his absence, she married Andrew Parker Bowles.

In 1981, the prince married Diana, who won the nation's heart but did not hold her husband's. Charles acknowledged years later that he had broken his marriage vows after the marriage deteriorated and despite his and Diana's efforts to save it.

"There were three of us in that marriage," Diana said later — but she admitted affairs of her own.

Many Britons took Diana's view, vilifying Camilla as a royal home-wrecker.

Charles and Diana were divorced in 1996, a year after the Parker Bowles' marriage dissolved.

After Diana's death in 1997, Charles and Camilla cautiously began making their relationship public. Their first public appearance together came in 1999; the first public kiss in 2001. In February, the prince and Camilla announced that they would wed.

The wedding faced a series of obstacles, including the debate over what title Camilla would take.

Speculation later surfaced about whether the wedding would be legal. But the registrar general dismissed a series of objections and the government's chief legal adviser said there were no legal obstacles.

___

Associated Press reporters Jill Lawless and Beth Gardiner contributed to this report.

 

[Serena]

Thanks for posting, Amos.

Well, this has got to give renewed hope to mistresses all around the world.
Never give up hope.

But no matter what anyone thinks of the situation (and I'm not a big fan of either of them), I believe this is really true love. And that I am a big fan of.


1) Britain's Prince Charles with his new wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, following a Service of Prayer and Dedication at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, Saturday, April 9, 2005, after their earlier civil service wedding at the Guildhall in Windsor.

2) Britain's Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles followed by Prince Harry (L) leave the Guildhall in Windsor after their civil wedding ceremony. Britain's Prince Charles married Camilla Parker Bowles, the true love of his life, in a private civil ceremony that inevitably paled against his storybook wedding to Princess Diana more than 20 years ago.

3) Britain's Prince of Wales (center-L) and Duchess of Cornwall (center-R) are seen after their wedding with their children Prince Harry, Prince William, Laura and Tom Parker Bowles (L-R), in the White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle in southern England, in this official photo from Clarence House released on April 10, 2005.

4) Britain's Prince of Wales (centre L) and Duchess of Cornwall (centre R) are seen after their wedding with their families (L-R back row) Prince Harry, Prince William, Tom and Laura Parker Bowles, (L-R front row) the Duke of Edinburgh, Queen Elizabeth and Camilla's father, Major Bruce Shand, in the White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle in southern England, in this official photo released by Clarence House on April 10, 2005.

5) Britain's Prince of Wales (L) and Duchess of Cornwall are seen after their wedding in the White Drawing Room at Windsor Castle in southern England in this official photograph from Clarence House released on April 10, 2005. Prince Charles has finally married the love of his life in a humble town hall ceremony that was a far cry from his fairytale cathedral wedding to the ill-fated Princess Diana.

 

[Serena]

6) Britain's Prince Charles (R) and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall (L) meet well-wishers at Crathie Parish Church in Aberdeenshire April 10, 2005, in their first public engagement since becoming husband and wife. Prince Charles, known as the Duke of Rothesay when in Scotland and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall were greeted with a round of applause by the hundred or so onlookers on their arrival at the church.

7) Elizabeth, the Queen of England (L), stands with Prince Harry (C), Prince William (R) and Prince Phillip (2nd R) following a Service of Prayer and Dedication for Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle. Britain's Prince Charles and his new bride Camilla began their honeymoon in the Scottish Highlands, a day after a regal wedding made official their decades-old love affair.

8) Britain's Prince Charles and his bride Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall greet wellwishers following their marriage blessing. Prince Charles and Camilla began their honeymoon in the Scottish Highlands, a day after a regal wedding made official their decades-old love affair.

9) The Prince of Wales and his new bride the Duchess of Cornwall with Britain's Queen Elizabeth and the Duke of Edinburgh during the Service of Prayer and Dedication in St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, England Saturday April 9, 2005.

10) The Prince Of Wales and his new bride the Duchess of Cornwall stand in front of Dr. Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury during the Service of Prayer and Dedication in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle April 9, 2005. Prince Charles finally married the love of his life on Saturday, in a simple townhall ceremony contrasting sharply with his spectacular cathedral wedding to the ill-fated Princess Diana.

 

[Amos Stevens]

Prince Charles treated Lady Diana badly in my opinion....and I'm still laughing over those HATS!

Thanks for the photos Serena

 

[Amos Stevens]

Women sold daughter for car

Police: Woman sold daughter for car
Second daughter allegedly forced into prostitution
Wednesday, April 13, 2005 Posted: 8:07 AM EDT (1207 GMT)



OKEECHOBEE, Florida (AP) -- A woman was arrested for allegedly forcing her 12-year-old daughter into prostitution and trading a 14-year-old daughter for a car.

The 39-year-old woman was charged with aggravated child abuse and sexual performance by a child. Both girls have been turned over to the Department of Children & Families.

The youngest girl and her mother were living out of their car, and would sell sex for food and an occasional shower at the men's homes, according to a report by Okeechobee County Sheriff's Detective K.J. Ammons.

The youngest daughter is three months pregnant, the report said; she was 11 when her mother first forced her to have sex with a man. The older daughter refused to be a prostitute and was allegedly sold for a car.

"She was sold to a man for a Mercury Cougar," Ammons said. "But he never gave the mother the vehicle." He was arrested in the case.

The youngest girl told detectives her mother took them out of school. "She said she was a good student and made A's and B's, and all she wants to do is go back to school," he said.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Copyright 2005 The Associated Press.

 

[Amos Stevens]

Maricopa County..yikes

Fastest growing U.S. counties

Florida has the more of the nation's fastest-growing counties than any other state.
April 14, 2005: 11:14 AM EDT

Fastest growing counties
The top 10 by percentage growth, from July 2003 to July 2004.

County, State Population Growth
Flagler County, FL 69,005 10.1%
Kendall County, IL 72,548 8.3%
Loudoun County, VA 239,156 8.1%
Hanson County, SD 3,786 7.9%
Lincoln County, SD 31,437 7.5%
Lampasas County, TX 20,718 7.3%
Lyon County, NV 43,230 7.2%
Camden County, NC 8,437 7.2%
St. Johns County, FL 152,473 6.7%
Dallas County, IA 49,591 6.6%


Source: U.S. Census Bureau




NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Florida has 14 of the 100 fastest-growing counties in the United States, more than any other state, according to a study released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Flagler County, in Northeast Florida between Daytona and Jacksonville, is No. 1, with population growth of more than 10 percent in the year ending June 30, 2004. Neighboring county to the north, St John's, was No. 9, with 6.7 percent growth. The oldest city in the United States, St. Augustine, is in St John's County.

Four midwestern counties made the list: Kendall in Illinois, Hanson and Lincoln in South Dakota, and Dallas in Iowa.

Los Angeles continues to be the nation's most populous county with nearly 10 million residents, but Maricopa County in Arizona had the largest gain, with an increase of 112,233, or 3.3 percent.

No. 2 in total population was Riverside County, west of Los Angeles, which is attracting Angelinos fleeing high real estate prices there. Riverside gained 5 percent, a total of 89,128 people.

Sixty of the fastest-growing counties were in the South, 23 in the West, and 17 in the Midwest. Georgia and Texas had 12 each and Virginia had 10. Twenty states did not have any counties among the 100 fastest growing.

 

[pat jack]

I agree

What bads news all around!!

I agree with Lollipop we have not had bad news like this in a long time apart from the pope death. Thanks for the info. from pat,jack

 

[Lollipop]

Feature Stories

Editor's Note: A team of University of Maryland School of Medicine researchers, led by Dr. Michael Miller, has recently shown for the first time that laughter is linked to healthy function of blood vessels. See news release
Laughter is the "Best Medicine" for Your Heart

By Michelle Weinstein
University of Maryland Medical System Web Site Writer

Can a laugh every day keep the heart attack away? Maybe so.
Laughter, along with an active sense of humor, may help protect you against a heart attack, according to a recent study by cardiologists at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. The study, which is the first to indicate that laughter may help prevent heart disease, found that people with heart disease were 40 percent less likely to laugh in a variety of situations compared to people of the same age without heart disease.

"The old saying that 'laughter is the best medicine,' definitely appears to be true when it comes to protecting your heart," says Michael Miller, M.D., director of the Center for Preventive Cardiology at the University of Maryland Medical Center and associate professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine. "We don't know yet why laughing protects the heart, but we know that mental stress is associated with impairment of the endothelium, the protective barrier lining our blood vessels. This can cause a series of inflammatory reactions that lead to fat and cholesterol build-up in the coronary arteries and ultimately to a heart attack."

In the study, researchers compared the humor responses of 300 people. Half of the participants had either suffered a heart attack or undergone coronary artery bypass surgery. The other 150 did not have heart disease. One questionnaire had a series of multiple-choice answers to find out how much or how little people laughed in certain situations, and the second one used true or false answers to measure anger and hostility.

Miller said that the most significant study finding was that "people with heart disease responded less humorously to everyday life situations." They generally laughed less, even in positive situations, and they displayed more anger and hostility.

"The ability to laugh -- either naturally or as learned behavior -- may have important implications in societies such as the U.S. where heart disease remains the number one killer," says Miller. "We know that exercising, not smoking and eating foods low in saturated fat will reduce the risk of heart disease. Perhaps regular, hearty laughter should be added to the list."

Miller says it may be possible to incorporate laughter into our daily activities, just as we do with other heart-healthy activities, such as taking the stairs instead of the elevator. "We could perhaps read something humorous or watch a funny video and try to find ways to take ourselves less seriously," Miller says. "The recommendation for a healthy heart may one day be exercise, eat right and laugh a few times a day."

In addition to helping your heart, laughter offers other important health benefits. "People become healthier from laughter," observes Judy Goldblum-Carlton, a humor therapist at the University of Maryland Hospital for Children's Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology. "It improves circulation. When you laugh heartily, every organ is being massaged including your heart, lungs and digestive system. Headaches can just go away. When you laugh the endorphins released make you feel this elation. It makes those big decisions seem so much less important."

Humor Yourself

 

[Amos Stevens]

93rd Anniversary of the Sinking of the Titanic

http://www.titanicshipofdreams.com/




Titanic was a British passenger ship that struck
> an
> > iceberg and sank
> > in the North Atlantic Ocean in 1912. The disaster
> > occurred on the
> > liner's first voyage, from Southampton, England,
> to
> > New York City.
> > The Titanic sideswiped the iceberg at about 11:40
> > p.m. on April 14.
> > The impact caused a number of small cracks and
> > failed riveted seams
> > in the ship's hull. Seawater flooded through the
> > bow of the ship.
> > About 2 1/2 hours later, the vessel broke in two
> > and sank.
> >
> >
> > The Titanic carried enough lifeboats for only
> about
> > half of its
> > approximately 2,200 passengers and crew. The
> first
> > rescue ship to
> > reach the site, the British liner Carpathia,
> arrived
> > about 4:00 a.m.
> > and picked up 705 survivors, most of whom were
> women
> > and children. A
> > total of 1,517 people died in the disaster. The
> > Titanic's captain,
> > Edward J. Smith, went down with his ship. Also
> among
> > the dead were
> > many wealthy and famous passengers, including
> > millionaire John Jacob
> > Astor and department store owner Isidor Straus.
> >
> > The Titanic was the largest and most luxurious
> > ocean liner of its
> > time. It displaced (moved out of place) more than
> > 52,000 long tons
> > (53,000 metric tons) of water and measured 882
> 1/2
> > feet (269 meters)
> > in length. Many people believed the ship was
> > unsinkable because its
> > hull was divided into 16 watertight compartments.
> > Even if 2 of those
> > compartments flooded, the ship could still float.
> As
> > a result of the
> > collision with the iceberg, 6 compartments
> initially
> > flooded.
> >
> > In 1985, a team of French and American scientists
> > led by Robert D.
> > Ballard of the United States and Jean-Louis Michel
> > of France found
> > the wreckage of the Titanic. The ship lay in two
> > sections about 400
> > miles (650 kilometers) southeast of Newfoundland
> at
> > a depth of about
> > 12,500 feet (3,800 meters).
> >
> > For years, people thought that the Titanic sank
> > because the iceberg
> > cut a huge gash in its hull. But the wreck showed
> > no sign of a gash.
> > A study of steel samples from the ship concluded
> > that the hull was
> > made of a steel that became brittle in the frigid
> > North Atlantic
> > waters and fractured easily during the collision.
> > Inquiries have also
> > shown that the Titanic was traveling too fast for
> an
> > area where there
> > was danger of icebergs. The ship was traveling at
> > about 21 knots
> > (nautical miles per hour), nearly its top speed,
> > when lookouts
> > sighted the iceberg.

 

[Lollipop]

http://www.titanicshipofdreams.com/




Titanic was a British passenger ship that struck
> an
> > iceberg and sank
> > in the North Atlantic Ocean in 1912. The disaster
> > occurred on the
> > liner's first voyage, from Southampton, England,
> to
> > New York City.
> > The Titanic sideswiped the iceberg at about 11:40
> > p.m. on April 14.
> > The impact caused a number of small cracks and
> > failed riveted seams
> > in the ship's hull. Seawater flooded through the
> > bow of the ship.
> > About 2 1/2 hours later, the vessel broke in two
> > and sank.
> >
> >
> > The Titanic carried enough lifeboats for only
> about
> > half of its
> > approximately 2,200 passengers and crew. The
> first
> > rescue ship to
> > reach the site, the British liner Carpathia,
> arrived
> > about 4:00 a.m.
> > and picked up 705 survivors, most of whom were
> women
> > and children. A
> > total of 1,517 people died in the disaster. The
> > Titanic's captain,
> > Edward J. Smith, went down with his ship. Also
> among
> > the dead were
> > many wealthy and famous passengers, including
> > millionaire John Jacob
> > Astor and department store owner Isidor Straus.
> >
> > The Titanic was the largest and most luxurious
> > ocean liner of its
> > time. It displaced (moved out of place) more than
> > 52,000 long tons
> > (53,000 metric tons) of water and measured 882
> 1/2
> > feet (269 meters)
> > in length. Many people believed the ship was
> > unsinkable because its
> > hull was divided into 16 watertight compartments.
> > Even if 2 of those
> > compartments flooded, the ship could still float.
> As
> > a result of the
> > collision with the iceberg, 6 compartments
> initially
> > flooded.
> >
> > In 1985, a team of French and American scientists
> > led by Robert D.
> > Ballard of the United States and Jean-Louis Michel
> > of France found
> > the wreckage of the Titanic. The ship lay in two
> > sections about 400
> > miles (650 kilometers) southeast of Newfoundland
> at
> > a depth of about
> > 12,500 feet (3,800 meters).
> >
> > For years, people thought that the Titanic sank
> > because the iceberg
> > cut a huge gash in its hull. But the wreck showed
> > no sign of a gash.
> > A study of steel samples from the ship concluded
> > that the hull was
> > made of a steel that became brittle in the frigid
> > North Atlantic
> > waters and fractured easily during the collision.
> > Inquiries have also
> > shown that the Titanic was traveling too fast for
> an
> > area where there
> > was danger of icebergs. The ship was traveling at
> > about 21 knots
> > (nautical miles per hour), nearly its top speed,
> > when lookouts
> > sighted the iceberg.

You know those ladies hated they past on the dessert tray that night!

 

[Amos Stevens]

5,000 flock to see Piestewa house

(lets see there was Jessica Lynch taken hostage & Piestewa killed...WHO ELSE was killed that day & since?????)


5,000 flock to see Piestewa house
Project still ahead of schedule

Mark Shaffer
Republic Flagstaff Bureau
Apr. 18, 2005 12:00 AM

FLAGSTAFF - The anxious women, Sharpies at the ready for autographs, had all come to see Ty Pennington, the star of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition.

But Eduardo Xol, the landscaper on the ABC program, would have to do on this Sunday afternoon, as Pennington had been flown away earlier.

An estimated 5,000 visitors throughout the day flocked to a corral next to where workers were putting the final external touches on the dream home to be given Tuesday to the family of Lori Piestewa, the Hopi icon killed in the Iraq war two years ago. advertisement




Most anyone from the cast of Extreme Makeover would do for 9-year-old Elizabeth Miller of Flagstaff, who knew them all by their first names. Elizabeth had brought a half-dozen crayon drawings of San Francisco Peaks landscapes, which she gave to Xol to give to the rest of the cast.

"That's really nice of you," Xol said, autographing one of the drawings and handing it back to Elizabeth.

Nearby, an electrician was telling an attentive group about how the Piestewa home will be a pioneer in alternative energy, with up to three-fourths of the 4,300-square-foot home's electricity being produced by a wind turbine and photovoltaic cells.

"It's things like this and all this land which make me think that this is more like a $1 million property rather than the $500,000 property they were talking about," said Tony Skrelunas of Flagstaff. "Man, this place is really grandiose. I had no idea from afar."

Meanwhile, officials of Shea Homes of Phoenix Inc., the primary builder, said they were on schedule to turn the home over to interior decorators by 4 p.m. today.

Eric Snider, vice president of sales and marketing for Shea, said the only problem thus far in the five-day building project was on Saturday when a gas line was breached, causing the evacuation of 300 workers for 45 minutes.

But the construction was again ahead of schedule Sunday, even with work stopping for six hours in the wee hours to give tired workers a break.

Pennington will make an appearance for the Extreme Makeover cameras, in Tuba City today, along with tribal, state and federal dignitaries to participate in the ribbon cutting of a new veterans center.

A parade will be held before the event, in which World War II Code Talkers from both tribes will participate.





Copyright © 2005, azcentral.com.

 

[Amos Stevens]

9 year old kills mother,self

Sheriff: 9-year-old kills mother, self
Tuesday, April 19, 2005 Posted: 11:07 AM EDT (1507 GMT)




(CNN) -- A 9-year-old Arcola, North Carolina, boy shot and killed his mother before taking his own life, according to the Warren County Sheriff's Department.

Tyler Jones apparently killed his mother, 38-year-old Glenda Pulley, shortly after midnight Saturday morning, the department said. He left a suicide note in which he apologized for her death.

Authorities have not been able to determine a motive.

"They were a very nice family. I never had any problem with none of them," said Warren County Sheriff John Williams, who said he knew the family personally.

Tyler is said to have had a good relationship with his family members and friends, Williams said. There was no obvious discord between him and his mother, he said, and it's unknown if he was on any type of medication or if he had any mental or emotional issues.

Williams said family members became worried during the weekend after not seeing Pulley or Tyler for more than a day. Pulley's brother and mother, who live nearby, kicked in the front door of the home Saturday and found the two bodies in one of the bedrooms.

"A family gun" was used in the shootings, Williams said, but it's unknown where and how the weapons was stored.

Autopsy results released to law enforcement by the North Carolina Medical Examiner's office confirm the shooting was a murder-suicide, Williams said.

The boy's father, Pulley's ex-husband, lives in Georgia.





© 2005 Cable News Network LP, LLLP.