Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Same-sex marriage measures passing in Maryland and Maine


CLEVELAND — Maryland and Maine appeared poised to become the first states in the nation to back same-sex marriage at the ballot box Tuesday night, and other gay-marriage measures were on the ballot in Minnesota and Washington.
The issue had been before voters 32 times and had been rejected every time. But activists say public opinion has shifted since 2008, when California passed a constitutional amendment reserving marriage for heterosexual couples. A 2010 poll showed that, for the first time, more Americans supported gay marriage than opposed it, and in May, President Obama endorsed same-sex marriage.
A win in any of the four states would suggest that momentum is on the side of gay marriage activists, said Fred Sainzo, a spokesman at the Human Rights Campaign, a gay rights group that has donated $5 million to gay marriage proponents in the four states.
Ads by Google
LIVE: Presidential election results
“If Obama is reelected and if we pass two or three of these state ballot initiatives, this is good, solid momentum on behalf of equality,” he said. “It shows that Americans are willing to support equality at the ballot box.”
But those who believe marriage should be between one man and one woman dispute that.
“These are really specific states,” said Frank Schuberto, a California consultant who is running the anti-gay-marriage campaigns in the four states. “The fact that an uber-liberal state like Maine or Washington might go for same-sex marriage, it doesn't mean that the country has changed.”
Even if Minnesota voters side with gay-rights advocates, same-sex marriage will remain illegal there because of an existing law. The current measure, Amendment 1, seeks to put a same-sex marriage ban into the state’s constitution. With 29% of precincts reporting, just over 50% of voters opposed the amendment.
Maine’s initiative had been thought to have the best chance to pass. Question 1 asks voters to allow Maine to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Just three years ago, the state defeated a same-sex marriage bill at the ballot box. But a lengthy campaign to change voters' minds has persuaded some Mainers, said David Farmer, spokesman for Mainers United for Marriage.
PHOTOS: America goes to the polls
“We're optimistic. We've had more than 250,000 one-on-one conversations with people; we are confident that those personal connections have worked to move folks,” he said earlier. Polls released in the days leading up to the election showed that 50.5% to 55% of Mainers planned to vote yes. With 37% of precincts reporting late Tuesday, Question 1 held a slim lead. The Associated Press predicted that it would pass.
Polls had indicated that Maryland and Washington were toss-ups. In both states, the Legislature passed and a Democratic governor signed a bill allowing same-sex marriage. And in both states, opponents collected enough signatures for a referendum on the law, putting it on hold in the meantime.
With about 80% of precincts reporting, Maryland’s referendum to uphold the law held a sizable lead -- putting Maryland on track to become the first state below the Mason-Dixon line to legalize gay marriage.
Washington voters — as well as those in Colorado and Oregon — also were weighing in on legalizing marijuana. Recent polls showed Washington’s Amendment 502 and Colorado’s Amendment 64 with a chance to win, but Oregon’s Measure 80 lagging. Early results from Colorado showed the measure with a slim margin.
Gay marriage is legal in the District of Columbia and six states — Vermont, Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New York. But 30 states have constitutional amendments prohibiting it and 11 more have laws banning it. A study released last month by Third Way, a moderate think tank, showed that support for gay marriage had risen 16 percentage points since 2004.
Still, for some voters, this election seems eerily similar to 2008, when Obama was running for president and an anti-gay marriage initiative was on the California ballot. Obama won, but so did Proposition 8, which overruled a state Supreme Court decision and added an amendment to the state constitution defining marriage as between one man and one woman.
In 2010, a federal judge rejected Proposition 8, but his ruling is on hold pending appeal.
Los Angeles TV writer Jen Braeden, 32, remembers the disappointment of 2008 and is wary about the referendum in her home state of Maryland. Braeden, who lives with her girlfriend of three years, says she would like to wed if same-sex marriage becomes legal in Maryland, but isn't ready to get her hopes up.
“I definitely think things are changing. In 30 years, this will be a non-issue, like interracial marriage,” she said. “But national opinion is changing slowly, and as of right now, I don't know if we're there yet.”
Braeden said she was concerned about the presidential election as well, fearful that a Mitt Romney-Paul Ryan administration would make things even harder for gay and lesbian couples.
Same-sex marriage advocates have outspent their opponents nearly 3 to 1, pouring $32.7 million into the campaigns, to foes’ $11.3 million.
The fight will continue after election day. Lawmakers are prepared to introduce bills protecting same-sex marriage in the legislatures of Illinois, Delaware, Rhode Island and Hawaii.
“People on both sides feel strongly about what marriage is,” said Schubert, the campaign consultant. “From our perspective, it doesn't matter what a state decides to call a relationship. We'll continue to have this argument regardless.”
Posted by at 27 comments:

Marijuana legalization passes in Colorado, Washington


NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Voters in Washington and Colorado passed ballot initiatives Tuesday to legalize marijuana for recreational use, the biggest victory ever for the legalization movement.
"The significance of these events cannot be understated," said NORML, a pro-legalization organization, in a news release. "Tonight, for the first time in history, two states have legalized and regulated the adult use and sale of cannabis."

But in many ways, it's just the beginning of the battle. Marijuana is still illegal in the eyes of the federal government, which overrules states' rights.
"The voters have spoken and we have to respect their will," said Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper, in a statement. "This is a complicated process, but we intend to follow through. That said, federal law still says marijuana is an illegal drug ,so don't break out the Cheetos or goldfish too quickly."

The voter approval of legal weed in Colorado and Washington could lead to a Supreme Court battle with the federal government, according to Jeffrey Miron, senior lecturer of economics at Harvard University and a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, where he has conducted economic studies on nationwide drug legalization.
"[The feds] will do whatever they can to interfere with marijuana legalization in any state," Miron said on Tuesday, before the initiatives passed.
Related: Marijuana legalization on the ballot
Analysts had projected the Washington voters would approve their legalization ballot, because it proposes a heavy tax for marijuana that made the proposal attractive to budget hawks. The Washington initiative calls for a 25% tax rate imposed on the product three times: when the grower sells it to the processor, when the processor sells it to the retailer, and when the retailer sells it to the customer.
The Colorado approval was more of a surprise, since the polls were split ahead of the vote.
Voters shot down a third legalization referendum, in Oregon, which was expected. Analysts had projected that it wouldn't go through and criticized various aspects of the initiative, especially the fact that it would have handed most of the regulating power in the marijuana industry to the growers rather than independent overseers.
There were half a dozen marijuana referendums in total, with three of them proposing legalization for recreational purposes, and the others dealing with medical marijuana. Massachusetts voters approved a referendum legalizing medical marijuana, while Arkansas voters shot down a similar proposal. Montana voters approved a referendum to place restrictions on its existing medical marijuana laws.

Posted by at 30 comments:

The troubled past of teen charged in fatal Highland Park crash


Carly Rousso said she was afraid to sleep. After the Highland Park teenager was attacked by a pit bull three years ago, she had frequent nightmares in which an animal — often a dog but always something with teeth — would attack her.
She switched schools; her grades fell. She reported hallucinations and suicidal thoughts, according to court records filed in a lawsuit against the pit bull's owner.

Last week, Rousso, 18, was charged with misdemeanor driving under the influence of an intoxicating compound after a crash that killed a 5-year-old girl in Highland Park and injured her mother and two brothers.
On Tuesday — the same day the funeral was held for the girl, Jaclyn Santos-Sacramento — Rousso was briefly jailed before she was released on bond with a curfew and an agreement not to drive or consume any intoxicants. During a court appearance, her lawyer also revealed that she is receiving outpatient treatment, though he did not specify for what.
But court records reveal that Rousso has had past struggles with substance use and emotional problems that stretch back years. Her family claimed in a lawsuit against the dog owner that the attack led to many of her troubles. She also was later cited for marijuana possession and as a result participated in a 12-step rehab program, court records show. The information gathered from court records reveals a more complex portrait of the woman charged in the Labor Day crash.
Through a family spokesman, Rousso's parents declined to comment about the pit bull attack or their daughter's past struggles.
On May 1, 2009, Rousso was visiting a friend's home in Highland Park when a pit bull her friend's brother was walking on a leash suddenly attacked her without provocation, according to the lawsuit.
"The next thing she knew there were jaws in her face and she was screaming," she told a therapist, according to paperwork filed in the suit. The dog bit her head and face and clawed her body, the suit said.
Police confirmed the attack at the time, saying that her friend's 17-year-old brother had just brought the dog home the night before and that the victim required hundreds of stitches. The city issued a citation for violating city ordinances regarding biting dogs.
As a result of the attack, then-Mayor Michael Belsky called for a citywide ban on the "unpredictable" and "lethal" pit bulls, though such a law was never enacted.
After the attack, Rousso said she began having nightmares, hearing barks and occasionally seeing a dog outside her window, the lawsuit said. She began seeing a psychologist and taking Prozac for depression and suicidal thoughts, according to the court paperwork.
A year after the incident, the scars on her face, head and arms had begun to fade, but she said in court records that they still turned bright red in the summer and were sensitive and painful and needed follow-up surgery.
Rousso's therapist said in a deposition that Rousso had post-traumatic stress disorder. She said Rousso made the gymnastics team but left it early because of a continuing fear of dogs, hallucinations and hypervigilance about covering and protecting her back. She had difficulty concentrating and "would readily become unglued," the report said.
Despite her problems, Rousso volunteered to work with children and helped her mother at her art gallery, her therapist said.
In November 2011, the case was settled for $200,000, according to court documents.
The Roussos' attorney in that suit, Kevin O'Connor, verified that Carly Rousso needed surgery for extensive scars.
"She had a horrific dog bite attack," he said. "It had a terrible impact on her. It was a sad, terrible situation."
Rousso transferred from Highland Park High School to Deerfield High School because she said there were "mean people" at Highland Park who taunted her over the scars on her face, according to an evaluation by David Hartman, a forensic neuropsychologist hired by the dog's owners. Her grades also deteriorated after the attack.
But Hartman was skeptical. He noted that Rousso went on a monthlong vacation to Europe with other teens the summer after the attack, and from her pictures seemed to be having a good time. He wrote that hallucinations are not typical of PTSD, and there was no mention of other common symptoms of the disorder. Without objective psychological testing, he said her claims of symptoms were not enough to merit the diagnosis.
Before the dog attack ever happened, Hartman noted, referring to Rousso's medical records, she had a pathological fear of clowns that precipitated a panic attack. He even questioned the extent of her scars, writing that her photos "do not show significant areas of facial deformity."
On Feb. 4, 2010, after the dog attack but before the settlement, Rousso was placed under court supervision after being cited with possession of cannabis, according to court records.
She started treatment at Resurrection Behavioral Health in Lake Bluff less than two weeks afterward and completed an intensive outpatient program two months later, attending 12-step meetings in that time, according to court records.
Dana Wagner, her adolescent program coordinator at Resurrection, described Rousso as a "model patient" who "maintained sobriety through some difficult times" and who was missed by others in the program.
Robert Baizer, a personal injury attorney representing Jaclyn's family, said Tuesday he felt the focus now should be on the victims in this case rather than Rousso.
"At this time, it's pretty hard for me to have sympathy for her," he said, "when you see the grief that Jaclyn's mother and father are having, when you see the father lean over to kiss his baby before they close the casket.
"Anything in her background doesn't excuse or explain what happened."
Posted by at 2 comments:

Pandora Media sues American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers over song fees


Oakland online radio business Pandora Media Inc. sued the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers over licensing fees for songs, which Pandora says are too high.
The suit, filed in U.S. district court in New York, seeks "the determination of reasonable license fees."
Pandora (NYSE: P) describes itself in court papers as "the leading internet radio service in the United States" and says despite discussions "spanning more than a year" it hasn't been able to strike a deal on final license fees with ASCAP, which is based in New York.
Because several music companies like EMI and Sony have withdrawn parts of their licensing authority from ASCAP, forcing Pandora to renegotiate license deals with them, the company says its blanket fees to ASCAP should be lowered.
Pandora claims, too, that ASCAP's rates with it violate terms given to "new media" companies under the Radio Music Licensing Committee settlement of January 2012.
Pandora's lawyers are Greenberg Traurig LLP in San Francisco.
Posted by at 24 comments:

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

The troubled past of teen charged in fatal Highland Park crash


Carly Rousso said she was afraid to sleep. After the Highland Park teenager was attacked by a pit bull three years ago, she had frequent nightmares in which an animal — often a dog but always something with teeth — would attack her.
She switched schools; her grades fell. She reported hallucinations and suicidal thoughts, according to court records filed in a lawsuit against the pit bull's owner.

Last week, Rousso, 18, was charged with misdemeanor driving under the influence of an intoxicating compound after a crash that killed a 5-year-old girl in Highland Park and injured her mother and two brothers.
On Tuesday — the same day the funeral was held for the girl, Jaclyn Santos-Sacramento — Rousso was briefly jailed before she was released on bond with a curfew and an agreement not to drive or consume any intoxicants. During a court appearance, her lawyer also revealed that she is receiving outpatient treatment, though he did not specify for what.
But court records reveal that Rousso has had past struggles with substance use and emotional problems that stretch back years. Her family claimed in a lawsuit against the dog owner that the attack led to many of her troubles. She also was later cited for marijuana possession and as a result participated in a 12-step rehab program, court records show. The information gathered from court records reveals a more complex portrait of the woman charged in the Labor Day crash.
Through a family spokesman, Rousso's parents declined to comment about the pit bull attack or their daughter's past struggles.
On May 1, 2009, Rousso was visiting a friend's home in Highland Park when a pit bull her friend's brother was walking on a leash suddenly attacked her without provocation, according to the lawsuit.
"The next thing she knew there were jaws in her face and she was screaming," she told a therapist, according to paperwork filed in the suit. The dog bit her head and face and clawed her body, the suit said.
Police confirmed the attack at the time, saying that her friend's 17-year-old brother had just brought the dog home the night before and that the victim required hundreds of stitches. The city issued a citation for violating city ordinances regarding biting dogs.
As a result of the attack, then-Mayor Michael Belsky called for a citywide ban on the "unpredictable" and "lethal" pit bulls, though such a law was never enacted.
After the attack, Rousso said she began having nightmares, hearing barks and occasionally seeing a dog outside her window, the lawsuit said. She began seeing a psychologist and taking Prozac for depression and suicidal thoughts, according to the court paperwork.
A year after the incident, the scars on her face, head and arms had begun to fade, but she said in court records that they still turned bright red in the summer and were sensitive and painful and needed follow-up surgery.
Rousso's therapist said in a deposition that Rousso had post-traumatic stress disorder. She said Rousso made the gymnastics team but left it early because of a continuing fear of dogs, hallucinations and hypervigilance about covering and protecting her back. She had difficulty concentrating and "would readily become unglued," the report said.
Despite her problems, Rousso volunteered to work with children and helped her mother at her art gallery, her therapist said.
In November 2011, the case was settled for $200,000, according to court documents.
The Roussos' attorney in that suit, Kevin O'Connor, verified that Carly Rousso needed surgery for extensive scars.
"She had a horrific dog bite attack," he said. "It had a terrible impact on her. It was a sad, terrible situation."
Rousso transferred from Highland Park High School to Deerfield High School because she said there were "mean people" at Highland Park who taunted her over the scars on her face, according to an evaluation by David Hartman, a forensic neuropsychologist hired by the dog's owners. Her grades also deteriorated after the attack.
But Hartman was skeptical. He noted that Rousso went on a monthlong vacation to Europe with other teens the summer after the attack, and from her pictures seemed to be having a good time. He wrote that hallucinations are not typical of PTSD, and there was no mention of other common symptoms of the disorder. Without objective psychological testing, he said her claims of symptoms were not enough to merit the diagnosis.
Before the dog attack ever happened, Hartman noted, referring to Rousso's medical records, she had a pathological fear of clowns that precipitated a panic attack. He even questioned the extent of her scars, writing that her photos "do not show significant areas of facial deformity."
On Feb. 4, 2010, after the dog attack but before the settlement, Rousso was placed under court supervision after being cited with possession of cannabis, according to court records.
She started treatment at Resurrection Behavioral Health in Lake Bluff less than two weeks afterward and completed an intensive outpatient program two months later, attending 12-step meetings in that time, according to court records.
Dana Wagner, her adolescent program coordinator at Resurrection, described Rousso as a "model patient" who "maintained sobriety through some difficult times" and who was missed by others in the program.
Robert Baizer, a personal injury attorney representing Jaclyn's family, said Tuesday he felt the focus now should be on the victims in this case rather than Rousso.
"At this time, it's pretty hard for me to have sympathy for her," he said, "when you see the grief that Jaclyn's mother and father are having, when you see the father lean over to kiss his baby before they close the casket.
"Anything in her background doesn't excuse or explain what happened."
Posted by at 30 comments:

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

John Donald Cody, Harvard Law Grad, Suspected Of Running $100 Million Cross-Country Scam


CLEVELAND -- A former fugitive suspected of running a $100 million cross-country scam collecting donations for Navy veterans has been identified as a Harvard-trained attorney wanted on unrelated fraud charges since 1987, authorities said Monday.
U.S. Marshal Pete Elliott said the man who identified himself as Bobby Thompson and signed legal papers as "Mr. X" is really John Donald Cody, 65, whose true identity was uncovered through 1969 military fingerprints in a database separate from the national crime system.
Earlier checks of the criminal fingerprint database turned up nothing on Thompson's true identity.
He is jailed awaiting trial on charges of defrauding donors in 41 states of up to $100 million through a bogus Florida-based charity.
A four-count indictment filed in 1987 in Alexandria, Va., charged Cody with looting the estates of two women by making off with $99,000 from traveler checks purchased in Sierra Vista and Fort Huachuca, Ariz.
Elliott said at a courthouse news conference in Cleveland that the fingerprint match developed from tips he found last week doing Google searches for information about the suspect, including possible military or fraud backgrounds involving a missing person.
Elliott said he found a wanted poster for a similar-looking pompadour-wearing man who had disappeared after being accused of defrauding a legal client. The FBI searched military fingerprint files and found Cody's prints matched those taken from the suspect when he was arrested this year.
The suspect had served as a captain in U.S. military intelligence, Elliott said.
Elliott said military fingerprint records were only checked last week after Google searches for a possible military-related suspect turned up the Cody wanted poster. The FBI chased his prints from military service more than 40 years ago and they matched Thompson's, Elliott said.
"John Donald Cody was never arrested; he was indicted. When somebody is arrested, they come into our custody and they are arraigned," Elliott said. "There was no fingerprint from that time. The only prints we found were from 1969 that the FBI sent us."
The FBI said it checked the military print records when Elliott requested that. "When he reached out to us last week with this possibility then, yes, we assisted in identifying him. But up until that point, there was no reason to reach out to us," FBI spokeswoman Vicki Anderson said.
"This is definitely John Donald Cody," Elliott said. "He's a guy that thought, No. 1, he could never get caught, and No. 2, he would never be identified. And we were able to do both."
Elliott also said the FBI wanted to question Cody about an espionage case but gave no details. There was no immediate comment from the FBI beyond congratulating authorities on his arrest.
According to the marshal, Cody graduated from the University of Virginia in 1969 and Harvard Law School in 1972 and practiced law at several locations around the country. UVA said a John Donald Cody received a bachelor of arts degree with high honors on June 8, 1969, and Harvard confirmed a John Cody graduated from its law school in 1972.
During an earlier appearance in court in Cleveland, the suspect had mentioned the possibility of representing himself. He told a judge on May 10 that he wasn't an attorney but wouldn't say if he has a law school background because that related to the issue of identity theft.
His attorney, Joseph Patituce, said he is preparing for a March 11 trial. "We believe that the state has a very weak case against our client, but we look forward to our day in court," he said.
Over the suspect's objections, a judge granted the state's request to take his palm prints and handwriting and DNA genetic samples as authorities tried to identify him.
Posted by at 24 comments:

Monday, September 24, 2012

11-year-old stabs dad to death for beating mom'


CEBU CITY, Philippines–An 11-year-old girl stabbed her father dead Sunday night after she saw him hitting her mother on the head and cutting her leg with a hacksaw inside their house in Argao town, 58 km south of this city, the authorities said.
The 38-year-old father was found dead on a vacant grassy lot a few minutes after he ran away from his daughter who stabbed him in the chest at about 11 p.m. inside their house in Barangay Canbanua, Argao.
The police took custody of the girl who was later turned over to the Department of Social Welfare and Development, said Insp. Alan Batobalunos, Argao police chief.
Batobalunos said the girl didn’t know that she killed her father. “Napatay nako si Papa ma? Mapriso ko (I killed papa, ma? Would I go to jail?” Batobalunos quoted the girl as asking her mother.
But he added the girl didn’t cry but instead told the police that they would not know what would happen to her and her two sisters if their mother was killed.
Their neighbor Miguel Tapales said they heard the couple arguing past 11 p.m. on Sunday. He said he just ignored it because they thought it was just one of the couple’s usual fights.
After several minutes, Tapales said the 11-year–old girl went to their house and asked for help.
“She asked for help because she feared that her father might come back and kill them. She said she stabbed her father after she saw that her father was cutting her mother’s leg with a hacksaw,” said Tapales in Cebuano.
Her mother was later brought to Isidro Kintanar Memorial Hospital in Argao and was released on Monday morning.
Perlita Buenaflor, another neighbor said they would always hear the couple quarreling. On Friday, the husband destroyed the wall of their house in the middle of the fight.
Buenaflor said the arguments were triggered by jealousy because the victim was allegedly a womanizer.
Batobalunos and the couple’s neighbors said the victim was fired from his job as a driver of a Department of Environment and Natural Resources personnel after he had an affair with a married officemate.
He then worked at the Office of the Mayor in Argao but lost his job again when he had a fling with another officemate.
Aside from the 11-year-old girl, the couple has two other daughters–a 13-year-old Grade 6 pupil and a two-month old infant.
Posted by at 29 comments:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)