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TCU football players among 17 students accused of drug dealing

Seventeen Texas Christian University students, including four members of its Top 25 football team, were arrested Wednesday morning on suspicion of selling drugs, the school and police said. The football players include two defensive starters for last season's squad, which was No. 14 in the final Associated Press poll, plus a junior linebacker who sat out most of 2011 with an injury but was the team's leading tackler in 2010. The 17 illegally sold marijuana or other drugs, including cocaine, Ecstasy, acid and prescription medicine, to undercover officers during a six-month investigation launched after authorities received complaints about drug activity, TCU Police Chief Steve McGee told reporters Wednesday. "There is no doubt that all of those arrested today are drug dealers," said McGee, who added that the selling happened on and off the Fort Worth campus. "These individuals engaged in hand-to-hand delivery for money with undercover agents." TCU Chancellor Victor Boschini said the school has for the time being "separated" the students from TCU, and that a vice chancellor will "determine what is going to happen to those students, following this." "What they did, to be honest, is simply unacceptable. This behavior, when reported, is never tolerated at our university," Boschini said at a news conference with McGee and other officials. An investigation by university and city police continues, and more arrests could come, Boschini said. The four football players -- junior linebacker Tanner Brock, 21; junior defensive tackle D.J. Yendrey, 20; junior safety Devin Johnson, 21; and sophomore offensive tackle Ty Horn, 21 -- were arrested on preliminary charges of delivery of marijuana. Johnson and Brock face felonies, according to arrest warrants released by the Fort Worth Police Department. Other arrestees face preliminary charges of felony or misdemeanor charges of delivery of marijuana or delivery of a controlled substance, according to Fort Worth police. The students operated in several groups, and it's not clear whether those groups were connected, a Fort Worth police officer said at the news conference. The university did not immediately respond to a question about whether the football players still were members of the team, though they were not on the team's online roster Wednesday afternoon. Head coach Gary Patterson said he was shocked, hurt and then mad after he heard of the arrests Wednesday morning. "Under my watch, drugs and drug use by TCU's student-athletes will not be tolerated by me or any member of my coaching staff. Period," Patterson said on the school's athletics website. "Our program is respected nationally for its strong ethics, and for that reason the players arrested today were separated from TCU by the University. I believe strongly that young people's lives are more important than wins or losses." TCU Athletic Director Chris Del Conte said he "will not tolerate behavior that reflects poorly on TCU, the athletics department, our teams or other student-athletes within the department." "We have an excellent athletics program at TCU, and an indicator of that excellence is the fact that we will not tolerate criminal conduct among our student-athletes," Del Conte said in his online statement. The arrests come months before the football team, coming off an 11-2 season, prepares to start its first year in the Big 12 conference. Brock, the linebacker, was an SI.com honorable-mention All-American after leading the Horned Frogs in tackles and fumble recoveries as a sophomore in 2010. But he was limited to one game as a junior, sitting out most of the season with an injured foot. Johnson, the safety, started eight games in 2011, recording 47 tackles and 2.5 sacks. Yendrey, the defensive tackle, played in every game this past season and was an honorable-mention All-Mountain West Conference selection, recording three sacks and 39 tackles.

Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 04:41:41 GMT

Houston seen drinking by pool before death

Pop superstar Whitney Houston was seen ordering and consuming considerable quantities of alcohol at The Beverly Hilton two mornings last week, said a source briefed on her behavior and activity in the days before her death Saturday. The source told CNN's Don Lemon that Houston ordered the drinks before 10 a.m. last Wednesday and Thursday from the bars in the lobby and pool area. Guests both days overheard Houston loudly complaining about her drinks, accusing bartenders of "watering down" or "putting too much ice" in them, the source said Wednesday. The source said other guests expressed concern about Houston's erratic behavior. Her disheveled appearance, including mismatched clothing, suggested to them that she was intoxicated, the source said. The source said Houston was seen jumping in and out of the pool and doing somersaults in the pool area. The source added that Houston was alone for some of the time, but was also seen at the pool drinking with her entourage and a male companion on both days. Saturday, the day she died, Houston was seen drinking at the pool in the morning, although the source noted witnesses said her behavior did not appear erratic. A singer who participated in an impromptu duet with Houston at a party Thursday night said Houston was not behaving erratically, but did have champagne. "I didn't see someone who was high," Kelly Price told CNN's "Starting Point" on Monday. During the party, Houston took the stage unexpectedly and sang a hoarse rendition of "Jesus Loves Me" with Price. Authorities are trying to determine the source of Houston's prescription medication found in the hotel room where she died, officials said Wednesday. The Los Angeles County Coroner's office has issued subpoenas seeking Houston's medical records and her prescriptions, Ed Winter, assistant chief coroner, said Wednesday. Investigators are also contacting pharmacies where the prescriptions were filled, he said. Houston, 48, was found dead in the bathtub of her suite at the Beverly Hilton on Saturday, hours before she was to attend a pre-Grammys bash at the Beverly Hills, California, hotel. Houston's death certificate, filed Wednesday, listed her cause of death as "deferred," meaning it was delayed pending more information. Speculation has grown while authorities await the outcome of toxicology tests that could take weeks. Winter has said that while medication was found in the room, the amount was less than that usually present in overdose deaths. "I know there are reports that she maybe was drowned or did she overdose, but we won't make a final determination until all the tests are in," Winter said earlier. He ruled out foul play and said there were no injuries to Houston's body. The prescriptions found in the room were in Houston's name, Winter told Lemon. By contacting the doctors, investigators are attempting to verify the prescriptions and find out if there were any more. Several doctors have been contacted in California and other states, along with pharmacies, he said. All were cooperating. "The doctors I've contacted so far have been helpful," he said, and nothing out of the ordinary was found as long as Houston was taking the medication as prescribed. Some additional information has been gained, he said, and investigators are waiting to see Houston's medical records. It does not appear that she was "doctor shopping," he said, but officials are attempting to contact as many doctors as possible to rule that out, along with determining whether Houston was filling multiple prescriptions. "Everything is above board," Winter said. "So far, nothing looks criminal." But it was too soon to say whether Houston had any prescriptions she should not have or used an alias, he said. Although subpoenas have been issued -- a fairly unusual step in a death investigation -- Winter said the federal Drug Enforcement Administration has not been asked to assist. As part of the investigation following the death of singer Michael Jackson in 2009, bags and bottles of prescription drugs were found at Jackson's home. Local and state authorities spent months tracking the pharmacies that filled the prescriptions. One of those pharmacies was the Mickey Fine Pharmacy and Grill in Beverly Hills. One of the prescriptions found in Houston's suite was also from the Mickey Fine pharmacy, Winter said, but "the prescription that came from Mickey Fine is not something that would kill her." Investigators want a history of all prescriptions Houston may have filled there and at other pharmacies, and wants to make sure all of the pharmacies that filled Houston's prescriptions are accounted for. Generally, "you go to a doctor and get a prescription, then you go to the dentist and get another prescription," he said. Houston visited a Beverly Hills ear, nose and throat specialist four days before she died, a source familiar with her visit said Wednesday. Dr. Shawn Nasseri has treated Houston for throat and vocal problems for several years, said the source, who asked not to be identified because they are not authorized to speak publicly about it. Nasseri treats many well-known singers who have vocal problems, and has served as the doctor for "American Idol" contestants for several years. Houston's battles with drug addiction had cast a shadow in recent years over her impressive singing voice and her talent. However, a close family friend told CNN on Tuesday that Houston had not used "hard drugs" for several years, although she was taking medication for a throat infection and Xanax or a similar drug for anxiety and to help her sleep. The friend said Houston was also known to have a drink if she went out. The coroner's office said toxicology tests could take six to eight weeks, though Beverly Hills police Lt. Mark Rosen said that the coroner's report is expected to be finished sooner -- in two to three weeks. Winter said Wednesday his office has asked that Houston's toxicology results be expedited, saying he's hoping for a tournaround of four to six weeks, possibly sooner. "With respect to Ms. Houston, we have an average of 50 cases a day," he said. "We've got 49 other cases and families looking for results too." A private, invitation-only funeral is planned for Houston on Saturday at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, New Jersey, where she honed her vocal skills as a child. The services are expected to be made available for television and web streaming, Houston's publicist said. Singer Aretha Franklin, Houston's godmother who is known as the "Queen of Soul," has been asked to perform at the funeral service, Franklin's spokeswoman said. And Houston's cousin, singer Dionne Warwick, was in New Jersey helping the family with funeral arrangements, Warwick's publicist said. Gospel singer and pastor Marvin L. Winans will give the eulogy at the funeral at the request of Houston's mother, said New Hope Pastor Joe Carter. Winans officiated Houston's 1992 marriage to R&B singer Bobby Brown, said Carter. The two divorced in 2007. Asked why no public memorial service was planned, Winans told CNN's Anderson Cooper on Wednesday night the family didn't "want to have a parade." "I don't think, knowing Cissy (Houston's mother) and the Houston family ... it was a matter of public or private as it was this is my daughter, this is my sister, this is my mother, this is my friend and we want to do this with dignity." Although the family is not commenting on Houston's burial location, her death certificate filed Wednesday in Los Angeles lists it as Fairview Cemetery in Westfield, New Jersey. A message left by CNN with the cemetery office was not immediately returned. Meanwhile, Bobby Brown said in a statement Wednesday his 18-year-old daughter with Houston, Bobbi Kristina, is "doing much better." The teenager was twice taken to Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to be treated for stress and anxiety in the day following her mother's death. A close family friend said Tuesday that Bobbi Kristina was in the care of her grandmother, Cissy Houston, and her father. "We continue to provide love and support to Bobbi Kristina," Bobby Brown's statement said Wednesday. "She is dealing with the tragedy of her mother's death and would prefer to do it outside of the public eye. I ask again that our privacy be respected."

Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 04:25:16 GMT

Syria constitution vote called 'window dressing'

The embattled Syrian president announced a constitutional referendum Wednesday as his forces pummeled Homs and other towns where people cried out for his regime to end. President Bashar al-Assad set February 26 for the vote on a draft constitution, hailed by his government as an important reform initiative. But analysts and demonstrators ridiculed the effort as "window dressing," the latest in a series of superficial measures undertaken to mollify his critics over the last 11 months. Members of a committee tasked with drafting the document "reiterated their keenness on a constitution that allows ... public freedoms and political plurality in a way to lay the foundation for a new stage that will enrich Syria's cultural history," the state-run Syrian Arab News Agency reported. Former Syrian lawmaker George Jabbour said "clause 8 of the new draft of the constitution is the essential point" of the document. It "allows a multi-party system as opposed to the Baath party being the leading party of the society and the state as stipulated in the current constitution." The Baath party rules Syria. Jabbour said "special committees will be formed to look into the licensing of new parties in line with the new constitution." As for presidential elections, they "will be competitive since there is no leading party anymore, and all the parties' candidates are eligible provided their candidacy is endorsed by at least 35 members of parliament," Jabbour said. Also, the draft forbids the creation of any political activity, or parties, or political gatherings based on religion, ethnicity, tribe or region. It forbids discrimination based on gender, race, ethnicity, or color. In Daraa, anti-government demonstrators held up signs indicating they were unimpressed: "If the new constitution doesn't include a decree that guarantees the execution of the murders, any draft will be meaningless," said one that was posted on YouTube. An electronic ticker in the square was even more blunt: "We want Bashar and his agents executed," it read. In Homs, an opposition activist called the announcement about the referendum "bullshit." In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland was more diplomatic. "From our perspective, it looks like he is putting forward a piece of paper that he controls, to a vote that he controls, in an effort to try and maintain control," she said. "And frankly, it is not working in any other capacity, so we don't think this is going to work, either. He knows what he needs to do, if he really cares about his people the violence just needs to come to an end and he needs to get out of the way so we can have a democratic transition." The calls for reform that predominated in the early months of the uprising have been demands for al-Assad's ouster. Shadi Hamid, director of research for the Brookings Doha Center, called al-Assad's latest moves toward reform "a little bit too late." "It's not so much the message, but the messenger," he said. Andrew Tabler, Syria expert at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, called the document "window dressing," citing the banning of many parties and the fact that government permission is needed to form a party. "It's not going to change the fact that it's a minority-dominated situation," he said. "It will remain a presidential system with powers vested in the hands of the president." Tabler said al-Assad is using this "tactic to get people to leave the streets." At least 32 people killed were killed across the country Wednesday, including three children, a woman and a defected soldier, according to the according to the Local Coordination Committees of Syria, an opposition group that tracks reports of violence and organizes anti-government protests. The deaths occurred in Homs, Idlib, Daraa, Hama, Latakiya, Aleppo, Hasaka, Damascus and the Damascus suburbs. In southwestern Syria, near the Jordanian border, al-Assad's forces stormed the village of Sahm al-Golan looking for military defectors, according to a member of the opposition in the town who asked to be identified only as Abu Issam out a fear of reprisal. Syrian forces shelled the town and used tanks, forcing many residents to flee toward the Jordanian border, Issam said. "Yesterday there were defections in the neighboring town of Tseel, and the Syrian forces attacked the town and could not find any defectors. So they came today to Sahm al-Golan," he said. In the same region of the country, the Syrian army reportedly took control of Zabadani, where soldiers and tanks made a show of force along the streets, according to Mohamed Ali, an opposition Syrian Revolution Coordination union member for the town. Artillery and automatic machinegun fire echoed through Homs Wednesday, a city of 1 million people, CNN's Arwa Damon reported from inside the city. Opposition activists say government forces are intent on flattening every neighborhood that might hold dissidents. The Syrian regime said an "armed terrorist group" sabotaged a diesel pipeline near the Homs neighborhoods of Baba Amr and Sultanieh, state-run media said. But the LCC told CNN that government warplanes flying over Baba Amr blew up an oil pipeline. Amateur video showed columns of smoke on the ground. There are "cases of suffocation in the neighborhood of Baba Amr from the smoke that is developing after the explosions that hit the oil pipelines, while the neighborhood is still being shelled," the LCC said. The LCC said government forces were firing mortars into the Khaldiya neighborhood in Homs, resulting in casualties. Outside Baba Amr and Khaldiya, shelling, shootings and nail bombings engulfed Homs' Old City, the most populous area of the metropolis with buildings dating back hundreds of years. "This is in conjunction with a cut of communications, electricity, and water, and heavy deployment of security checkpoints, which imposes a suffocating curfew on the city," the LCC said. The opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said military forces stormed the city of Hama, where explosions rattled two neighborhoods. The Observatory said landlines, cell phone communication and Internet access in Hama were cut off. CNN cannot independently confirm details of events across Syria because the government has severely limited the access of international journalists. But the vast majority of accounts from within the country say that al-Assad's forces are slaughtering civilians en masse, part of a brutal crackdown on protesters calling for democratic reforms. Meanwhile, after repeated U.N. failures to denounce the Syrian government, the latest U.N. draft resolution condemning Syria could be brought to a vote in the General Assembly Thursday. Though a General Assembly vote would not be binding, it would mark the strongest U.N. statement yet on the violence. Russia and China have vetoed attempts to condemn Syria for the crackdown by the U.N. Security Council, whose resolutions are binding. The draft resolution calls on Syria to end human rights violations and attacks against civilians immediately, and condemns "all violence, irrespective of where it comes from." The Arab League, which has been working with the United Nations on the matter, has urged its member states to provide political and financial support to the Syrian opposition. While no country will say it has provided weapons to the opposition, it is clear the member nations will support those fighting against the regime, an Arab League senior official said. "The league sort of gave the green light. Indeed, some countries have already supplied the opposition Free Syrian Army with weapons, like Turkey for example," the senior official said. But a Turkish Foreign Ministry official Wednesday denied any such military support or aid to the resistance force. Turkey is not an Arab nation and is not a member of the Arab League. Free Syrian Army Lt. Col. Mohamed Hamado said that the force's weapons were coming from inside Syria. "We are hoping a political decision soon will provide us with more weapons," he said. The Syrian National Council, the major opposition umbrella group, met Wednesday in Doha, Qatar, and agreed to extend the presidency of Burhan Ghalion by three months, according to Naji Tayara, a member in the Syrian National Council Foreign Relations Committee. The United Nations has said since December that more than 5,000 people have been killed, but has not been able to update the number due to the turmoil on the ground. The LCC has said more than 7,000 people have been killed. European Union diplomats said they expect new EU sanctions by February 27 that would target the Syrian Central Bank and impose a ban on exports of precious metals and phosphates.

Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 04:14:52 GMT

More than 300 killed in Honduras prison fire

More than 300 inmates were killed in a prison fire in central Honduras, officials said Wednesday, as families clamored to learn whether their loved ones were among the victims. The fire was one of the worst tragedies of its kind in decades in Latin America and focused renewed attention on the often poor conditions of prisons in the region. Authorities offered differing reports of how many prisoners died in the fire. Honduran government officials said more than 300 inmates were killed, while the National Human Rights Commission said as many as 356 inmates were unaccounted for and may have died. Forensic teams removed more than 150 bodies from the facility by Wednesday evening. "Everyone ran for their lives," said one survivor who spoke briefly to local television cameras. Prisoners awakened to the screams of fellow inmates and forced themselves out of the prison any way they could, he said. Authorities were investigating what caused the blaze, which broke out late Tuesday in a minimum-security prison in Comayagua, Honduras, about 40 miles northwest of the capital, Tegucigalpa. About 200 meters away from the prison, Carlos Alfredo Garcia Zepeda said he was inside his home when he heard a series of blasts, like a bomb. "I didn't pay much attention, because we have a lot of fireworks," he said. "Then I heard them screaming. ... I went outside and couldn't believe what I was seeing." As bright orange flames and thick plumes of smoke filled the night air, the 21-year-old recorded a video of what he saw, which he submitted to CNN's iReport. Gunshots rang out. The flames raged for about an hour, he said, but a few minutes after he started recording, the cries for help stopped. "It's an outrage. It happened so quickly. I guess they couldn't do anything anymore," he said. As word of the fire spread, Honduran officials pledged to take swift action to determine what caused it. "This is a day of deep pain for Honduras," Honduran President Porfirio Lobo said in an address to the nation Wednesday. He announced the suspension of the Comayagua prison administrators and the entire prison chain of command up to the national level. "We are going to review the conditions in all the penitentiary centers to see how we can improve the overcrowding conditions that exist in many of our prisons," Lobo said. The prison was built to house 250 inmates, but 852 inmates were behind bars there at the time of the fire, the Honduran National Human Rights Commission said in a statement. Five of the prison's units -- more than half of the facility -- were affected by the fire, said Jose Turcios, a spokesman for the Comayagua fire department. The country's prison commissioner said authorities were looking into whether a short circuit sparked the fire or if a prisoner set a mattress alight. Authorities have not determined what caused the fire, but the nation's electric utility will review wiring in all prison facilities as a "preventative measure," Lobo said, "because that can be one of the causes of these types of disasters." Before dawn Wednesday, families of the prisoners gathered in front of the prison gates and authorities' offices, demanding to know if their loved ones were among the survivors. Hundreds of relatives pressed against the gates as an official read aloud the survivors' names. "I understand the worry and demands of the people, but we have to abide by the law," said Pompeyo Bonilla, the country's minister of security. "We have the best intention to give answers to the families as soon as possible." The president said Chile was sending forensics experts to Honduras to help with identification. It was the third fatal prison fire in recent years. In 2003, 61 prisoners were killed in a fire at a prison in La Ceiba. In 2004, 107 died in a fire at a San Pedro Sula prison. The U.S. State Department published a report last April painting a damning portrait of conditions in Honduras' 24 prisons. Prisoners "suffered from severe overcrowding, malnutrition, and lack of adequate sanitation," the report said, citing human rights groups. "Authorities did not provide adequate food or other basic necessities. The ready access of prisoners to weapons and other contraband, impunity for inmate attacks on nonviolent prisoners, inmate escapes, and inmate threats against prison officials and their families contributed to an unstable and dangerous penitentiary system environment," the department said in its 2010 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Human rights groups also alleged that prison officials used excessive force against prisoners, the State Department said. As of December 2010, the total prison population in the country was just under 12,000, about 400 of whom were women, the report said. Honduran officials told CNN that overcrowding in the country's prisons is the result of an increase in transnational organized crime. Honduras, and the world, will have to decide how to respond to the security crisis in the poor nation, Foreign Minister Arturo Corrales said. "We do not produce drugs, nor are we the main place where they are consumed. But we suffer from the scourge of the extreme increase in violence in our country because of drug trafficking," he said. Danilo Orellana, the director of prisons in Honduras, added that the prisons in general were in crisis. "The situation is grave, and we have said on many occasions that the prisons in the country are failing and that investments are necessary from the state," he said.

Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 03:36:26 GMT

Texas primary tentatively set for May 29

A three-judge federal panel proposed Wednesday that the Republican and Democratic parties of Texas hold their primaries on May 29. The decision, although a tentative one, followed a two-day hearing on the state's controversial redistricting battle and aims to give the state more time to finalize its new map. Texas was originally slated to hold its contest in March but pushed the date back to April 3 as state lawmakers and minority groups tangled over redistricting lines. Now the court recommends the late-May date in case a final deal isn't reached by April. In a statement released after the decision, the state's GOP said it would prepare a "timeline of scenarios to accomplish" holding a primary on May 29. However, the party added it remained concerned that Texas would lose its influence in the presidential nominating process. "Texas has 155 delegates and party leaders hope the state will still be in play. They have an attractive block of delegates and look forward to the candidates coming to Texas to compete for them," said Chris Elam, communications director for the state party. Texas Democrats also responded to the decision, saying it would begin "working immediately" with the state GOP on an "election schedule to meet the request of the judges." "For the Texas Democratic Party, the most important thing continues to be that the people of Texas have fair maps that accurately represent them," the statement said.

Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 03:22:14 GMT

Whitney Houston's funeral Saturday will be broadcast

Saturday's funeral for legendary pop singer Whitney Houston is expected to be made available for television and web streaming from the New Jersey church where she grew up, Houston's publicist said Wednesday. The services, to be held at New Hope Baptist Church in Newark, will be in a much smaller, more intimate setting than the concert halls and arenas Houston packed during her heyday. In every sense, she will be going home. Publicists and entertainers by Wednesday had confirmed nearly a dozen celebrities and personalities will be in some of the 1,500 coveted, "invitation-only" seats. Gospel singer and pastor Marvin L. Winans, a longtime friend of the Houston family, will give the eulogy at New Hope Baptist Church. Winans officiated at Houston's 1992 marriage to R&B singer Bobby Brown. Asked why no public memorial service was planned, Winans told CNN's Anderson Cooper on Wednesday night the family didn't "want to have a parade." "I don't think knowing Cissy (Houston's mother) and the Houston family ... it was a matter of public or private as it was this is my daughter, this is my sister, this is my mother, this is my friend and we want to do this with dignity." The family's thinking, Winans told "AC360," is "we loved her when she was Nippy (a nickname) in New Jersey. The world loves her because of her voice. But if Nippy could not sing, the Houston family would love her." Although the family is not commenting on Houston's burial location, her death certificate filed Wednesday in Los Angeles lists it as Fairview Cemetery in Westfield, New Jersey. A message left by CNN with the cemetery office was not immediately returned. Aretha Franklin, Houston's godmother, has been asked to sing at the funeral, which begins at noon, Franklin's spokeswoman said. Others confirmed on the guest list are Chaka Khan, Bebe & CeCe Winans, songwriter Diane Warren, the Rev. Jesse Jackson, pop singer Darlene Love, Bishop T.D. Jakes, Antonio "L.A." Reid, Ray J and Brandy. Houston's cousin, singer Dionne Warwick, was in New Jersey helping the family with funeral arrangements, Warwick's publicist said Chaka Khan was a close friend of Houston. Reid produced many of Houston's songs and Jakes co-produced Houston's last film, "Sparkle," which is scheduled to be released this summer. Houston and Jakes are listed as producers. Ray J, a hip-hop artist, and Houston dated off and on after she was divorced from Brown. Jackson and the Winans music family have been very close friends of the Houstons. Composer-singer Valerie Simpson of the duo Ashford & Simpson told CNN's Susan Candiotti she will attend the funeral. "She was like family," Simpson said of Houston, "somebody who I watched from the time she was young." Simpson, who with her late partner Nick Ashford wrote "I'm Every Woman," said Houston "took it to such heights. I remember that on the video, she was pregnant and never looked more beautiful." Houston and Brown had a daughter, Bobbi Christina Brown, who is now 18. Houston, 48, was found dead in the bathtub of her suite at the Beverly Hilton on Saturday, hours before she was to attend a pre-Grammys bash at the Beverly Hills, California, hotel. Speculation has grown over the cause of her death, which has not been determined pending the outcome of toxicology tests that could take weeks. The entertainer's trials and tribulations should not be the focus now, Simpson said. "Those are not her records, those are not her music."

Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 02:11:01 GMT

Cain to stump for Gingrich in Georgia

Newt Gingrich will be joined by another Georgia political heavyweight when he travels to that state later this week. Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammond confirms that businessman and former Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain will campaign with the former Georgia congressman Saturday. There will be a rally in Cobb County Saturday afternoon. Earlier in the day, Gingrich holds two town halls in Forsyth and Gwinnett counties. He will kick off his visit with a rally in Peachtree City Friday evening. Cain endorsed Gingrich in late January and in addition to doing media interviews on the candidate's behalf, he made one campaign stop with Gingrich in Florida ahead of the Jan. 31 primary. Georgia is one of several states that holds its primary on March 6, Super Tuesday. The longtime Georgia resident is hoping to hit the jackpot by picking up most if not all of the state's 76 delegates. The Atlanta Journal Constitution first reported that Cain would join Gingrich in Georgia.

Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 01:20:06 GMT

Liam Hemsworth: Miley makes me 'really happy'

Miley Cyrus clearly knows the way to Liam Hemsworth's heart: The actor tells Details magazine that he's smitten. The couple got together on the set of their movie "The Last Song," and Hemsworth, 22, tells the magazine that they've been together for two-and-a-half years. "What happened happened," the "Hunger Games" star says. "She makes me really happy. When you start, you want to be professional, but when you're filming those scenes with someone and pretending to love them, you're not human if you don't feel something." Lately, Hemsworth has been feeling protective of Cyrus - her 19th birthday, he points out, turned into an excuse for someone to share an offhand comment via video that quickly went viral. In November, someone captured the former Disney star on tape referring to herself as a "stoner," and Hemsworth defends what her rep has explained was a sarcastic remark. "She's in a room full of her best friends, and you have one person who comes in there and videos it," Hemsworth says. "The poor girl can't have one night where she can feel safe in her own world. It's ridiculous."

Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 01:03:15 GMT

China's heir apparent calls for building mutual trust

Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping on Wednesday met with U.S. congressional leaders and then told business leaders that China and the United States must work toward building mutual trust. In a Washington speech sponsored by the U.S.-China Business Council, Xi said relations between the two world powers were "at a new historical starting point at this second decade of the 21st century." "We need to make important efforts toward mutual understanding and strategic trust," Xi said, defending Chinese economic policies that have been labeled unfair by the U.S. government. China has faced accusations of manipulating its currency by keeping the yuan low, which makes Chinese goods cheaper. "China has been taking measures to increase imports by the U.S.," Xi said, pointing out that China has allowed its currency to rise. He also offered some advice for the United States, saying it needs to address its economic situation by stimulating job creation and improving the balance of U.S. international payments. Xi, who is expected to become the next Community Party leader and president of China, emphasized the two nations' "interwoven interests" and said they "should reduce misunderstanding and suspicion." Earlier Wednesday, Xi huddled behind closed doors with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nevada, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, and other key members from both political parties. His Washington visit included White House meetings Tuesday with President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and other top officials, providing a chance for the American leaders to assess the presumptive next leader of China. In the Oval Office, Obama said China's meteoric rise as an economic powerhouse brought a responsibility to ensure balanced trade flows, referring to China's trade surpluses. The president also raised the delicate issue of human rights as a critical area of concern for the United States. "We've tried to emphasize that because of China's extraordinary development over the last two decades, that with expanding power and prosperity also comes increased responsibilities," Obama said while sitting next to Xi. "We want to work with China to make sure everyone is working by the same rules of the road when it comes to the world economic system," he added. For his part, Xi said Tuesday the main purpose of his visit was to work to strengthen U.S.-Chinese relations and build a "cooperative partnership based on mutual respect and mutual interests." In his speech Wednesday, Xi noted renewed U.S. political interest in the Asia-Pacific region following a decade of war in Afghanistan and Iraq. "China welcomes a constructive role by the United States in promoting peace, prosperity and stability in the Asia-Pacific," he said. "At the same time, we hope the United States will respect the interests and concerns of China and other countries in this region." In particular, Xi said he hoped the United States would oppose Taiwanese independence and support peaceful cross-strait relations, in addition to opposing Tibetan independence. Xi's five-day U.S. trip is an opportunity to burnish his leadership credentials. President Hu Jintao undertook a similar visit 10 years ago as he was being groomed for the top job. Beneath the carefully choreographed presentation of the high-profile Washington meetings were a range of contentious issues on which Xi has little incentive to give ground, including trade, human rights and China's growing military presence. In welcoming Xi on Tuesday, Vice President Joe Biden said the United States and China had one of the most important bilateral relationships in the world. But the two countries, he said, were not always going to see eye to eye. "We saw this in the recent U.N Security Council debate about Syria, where we strongly disagreed with China and Russia's veto of a resolution against the unconscionable violence being perpetrated by the Assad regime," Biden said. Chinese officials are aware of U.S. concerns, but Xi and other leaders face the challenge of keeping China's hundreds of millions of workers content as economic growth starts to ease from the torrid levels of recent years. Policy makers in Beijing are grappling with how to tackle rapidly rising prices and the widening gap between rich and poor. In addition to looking toward the future, Xi's itinerary gives a nod to his past. In Iowa later Wednesday, Xi revisted Muscatine, the town in which he stayed in April 1985 as part of a Chinese delegation looking into farming technology. Xi will also attend a dinner with Gov. Terry Branstad of Iowa, whom he originally met during his 1985 trip. After Iowa, Xi will fly Thursday to Los Angeles, where he is scheduled to attend an economic forum and meet with local leaders and students. His engagements in the United States began Monday with a dinner in Washington attended by former U.S. secretaries of state Henry Kissinger and Madeleine Albright. He has received a less cordial welcome from activists advocating Tibetan independence who demonstrated on Monday and Tuesday in Washington. More protesters turned up in Iowa on Wednesday, including six people carrying flags and signs as they approached a house Xi was visiting. The protesters were forced back by police, and it was unclear whether Xi saw them. Beijing has been struggling in recent weeks to contain unrest among ethnic Tibetans in the southwestern province of Sichuan. It has sent additional security forces to the region after Tibetan protesters set themselves on fire and clashed with police to express frustration with Chinese rule.

Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 00:36:18 GMT

Some Catholics challenge bishops on contraception rule

America's Catholic bishops have criticized the White House's mandate for insurers to provide free contraception coverage to employees, but plenty of other Catholic groups have endorsed the plan -- some taking swipes at the bishops in the process. "The Catholic bishops and their allies in the Republican Party are increasingly isolated," James Salt, executive director of a liberal group called Catholics United, said in a statement over the weekend supporting the White House's contraception rule. "The bishops' blanket opposition appears to the serve the interests of a political agenda, not the needs of the American people," Salt continued, e-mailing his group's support for the White House to tens of thousands of Catholics nationwide. Another Washington-based Catholic operative, John Gehring, e-mailed reporters over the weekend to knock the bishops for criticizing President Barack Obama, even after his administration revised its contraception rule Friday to mandate that insurers -- not Catholic institutions -- pay for birth control coverage. "You have to ask why the bishops can't take yes for an answer," wrote Gehring, who works with the progressive group Faith in Public Life. On Wednesday, Gehring helped organize a call with reporters to discuss a congressional hearing this week at which some bishops are expected to testify against the contraception rule. "I believe everything my church teaches," Nicholas Cafardi, a prominent Catholic lawyer, said on the call, voicing support for the birth control rule. " I don't consider this as a question of dogma, but of how we apply Catholic teaching in the real world." For the White House and Democratic Party, such expressions of Catholic support have been helpful, providing political ammunition against conservative allegations the administration and party are anti-religion and are at war with the Catholic Church. But the support has not come easy. It reflects a years-long campaign by liberal Catholic activists to push back against the leadership of their church on controversial political matters -- and years of White House bridge-building with a spectrum of Catholic groups. In an election year in which Catholics will constitute one of the nation's biggest swing voting blocs -- and in which the bishops are likely to continue slapping the White House -- the political heft of a new generation of progressive Catholic groups and the White House's Catholic outreach efforts are about to face a huge political test. Groups such as Catholics United and Faith in Public Life got off the ground during and just after the 2004 election when a Catholic Democratic presidential nominee -- Sen. John Kerry -- was hard-pressed to find Catholic support in the face of condemnations from some Catholic bishops over his support for abortion rights. Kerry, the first Catholic presidential nominee since John F. Kennedy, wound up losing the Catholic vote to George W. Bush, who made Catholic outreach a priority. "For too long, the far right owned the values debate and there were very few progressive and religious groups willing to speak out in specific and strategic moments to help shape that debate," Catholics United's Salt said. "But since 2004, there's been a turnaround." The emergence of progressive Catholic groups such as Catholics United helped Obama handily win the Catholic vote in 2008. And such groups provided Catholic support for the president in 2009, when he faced conservative Catholic criticism over his commencement address at the University of Notre Dame, and in 2010, when the bishops opposed Obama's health care law, alleging that it left the door open to taxpayer-funded abortion. Some activists from the new progressive Catholic establishment have been hired into the Obama administration, including Alexia Kelley, who started a group called Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good after the 2004 election, and John Kelly, a Catholic outreach liaison for Obama's 2008 campaign. "This will be a surprise to some, but this has been an extremely Catholic friendly White House," said Stephen Schneck, a Catholic University professor involved with a handful of progressive Catholic groups. "It probably has more Catholic members than just about any presidency I can remember. "That's partly been the way that the administration has been able to court Catholic progressives," he said. Since its early days, the Obama White House has heavily courted Catholic organizations like Catholic Charities, USA and the Catholic Health Association, which voiced support for the revised contraception rule, upsetting some bishops. That support was politically important for the White House because the administration doubted it could ever win support from the bishops, even after Friday's revision. "Unfortunately, the White House knew all along that there was no chance in reaching the bishops - Richard Doerflinger, John Carr and the Bishops Conference staff are far too cozy with right-wing politicians on the Hill to have any real negotiation," says a senior Democratic official, referring to influential bishops conference staffers. "Until a bishop shows some leadership over their own staff, it's going to be hard to negotiate," the official said, who would speak only on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss White House negotiations. A spokesperson for the bishops said the White House never consulted them on the contraception rule. "When the President called Cardinal Dolan... it was merely to tell him what the White House had already decided," the spokesperson said, referring to Timothy Dolan, president of the bishops' conference. The spokesperson also insisted on anonymity because the bishops don't typically speak on dealings with the White House. "Never was there an attempt to collaborate or learn what kind of accommodation might have been acceptable," the spokesperson said. A survey released Tuesday from the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life found that among Catholics who have heard about the issue, 55% support giving religious institutions that object to birth control an exemption from the federal contraceptive rule, while 39% oppose exempting those institutions.

Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 00:35:48 GMT

Poll: Obama approval rating back to 50% mark

President Barack Obama's approval rating is back to 50% for the first time in more than eight months, and he currently holds an edge against all the remaining Republican presidential candidates in hypothetical head-to-head match-ups, according to a new national survey. And a CNN/ORC International Poll released Wednesday also indicates that the GOP's advantage on enthusiasm has been erased, and that the number of Americans who think things are going well in the country is on the rise. Six out of ten say things are going poorly in the country, but four out of ten say things are going well, up 15 points since November. "Does that mean it's morning in America? It is for Democrats - a solid majority of them now say things are going well in the country. But overall, six in ten still have a gloomy outlook about the state of the country," says CNN Polling Director Keating Holland. "Optimism is on the rise among independent voters, with a notable increase among men as well, although a majority of both groups still think things are going poorly." The rise of Americans who say things are going well appears to be helping the president, whose approval rating now stands at 50%, with 48% saying they disapprove of the job Obama's doing in the White House. The president's approval rating has edged up three points from last month and is up six points from November. The last time Obama's approval rating was at 50% or above was last May, as a result of the killing of Osama bin Laden, and it stayed there for about a month before fading. "Independents now have a net-positive view of President Obama," says Holland. "His approval rating has also reached 50% in the suburbs." Looking ahead to November, the poll indicates that the president's re-election chances are on the rise. In hypothetical matchups among registered voters, Obama holds a 51%-46% margin over former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, leads both former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas by the same 52%-45% advantage, and beats former House Speaker Newt Gingrich 55%-42%. The president appears to have gained ground since January against Romney, Paul, and Gingrich. Only Santorum has held steady. The poll also indicates that Obama wins a majority of independent voters in all four general election match-ups. "More than six in ten Americans believe that the policies of Romney and Gingrich favor the rich; Santorum and Paul do better on that measure, but only a quarter feel that way about Obama," says Holland. The survey suggests that the contentious Republican primary season has decreased enthusiasm among Republican voters, virtually erasing the "enthusiasm gap" that promised to provide the ultimate GOP presidential nominee with a major advantage in the fall. In October, 64% of Republicans said that they were extremely or very enthusiastic about voting for president, compared to only 43% of Democratic voters. GOP enthusiasm since that time has tumbled 13 points, to 51%, virtually the same as the Democrats' level of enthusiasm. Other findings in the poll: 67% of the public says they are either very or somewhat angry about the way things are going in the country, down five points from September. And 31% approve of the job Democrats in Congress are doing, with 22% giving congressional Republicans a thumbs up. Both numbers are virtually unchanged from last autumn. The CNN poll was conducted by ORC International from February 10-13, with 1,026 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey's overall sampling error is plus or minus three percentage points.

Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 00:33:38 GMT

What celebrities got for Valentine's Day

As it turns out, celebrities celebrate Valentine's Day just like the rest of us do - with chocolate, lingerie, jewelry... and love, of course. Country stars Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert were just one famous couple who celebrated the day with bling on February 14. "The Voice" judge surprised his wife of nine months with a bejeweled pink bird ring. Lambert posted a picture of the ring using Yfrog, writing, "Y'all look at my V- day gift. I have been wanting this for a year and a half! I have the best husband in the world!" Justin Bieber also bought a ring for his Valentine, girlfriend Selena Gomez. The diamond ring, shown on Gomez's right ring finger in the photo she posted via Instagram, appears to take the shape of a cursive "J" - for Justin, perhaps? Newlyweds Nikki Reed and Paul McDonald, who exchanged rings in October of last year, celebrated their first Valentine's Day as husband and wife with dessert. On February 13, the "Twilight" actress posted a picture to WhoSay of a heart-shaped cake that read, "Happy 4 Months." "Valentines Day came a little early...and with a lot of calories..." Reed wrote. Hugh Hefner took his Valentines out for an Italian dinner before gifting them each with heart-shaped care packages containing candy and lingerie, Hef told People.com. "My favorite thing - and the most natural thing - to give on Valentine's Day is lingerie," he said. But for Prince William and Kate Middleton, who spent Valentine's Day apart, a card and flowers seemed like a more practical gift. According to People.com, that's what William, who is currently serving as a search and rescue helicopter pilot in the Falkland Islands, sent the Duchess of Cambridge for Valentine's Day.

Published: Thu, 16 Feb 2012 00:05:10 GMT

Citi fined $158 million for gaming federal housing program

Citigroup will pay $158 million to settle charges that its mortgage unit defrauded the Federal Housing Administration by inaccurately claiming that certain mortgages were eligible for government insurance, government officials announced Wednesday. Under the FHA's Direct Endorsement Lender program, lenders like Citi's CitiMortgage division can submit certain loans for government insurance in case a borrower defaults. Lenders are required to maintain their own quality-control programs to ensure that loans submitted for such insurance have been prepared properly and without any evidence of fraud. Citi, however, repeatedly obscured or downplayed problems with loans submitted for insurance over the past decade, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's Office said Wednesday. The firm ignored roughly 1,000 cases of potential fraud and failed to verify information on borrowers' ability to make payments, according to the complaint in the case. Of the 30,000 mortgages Citi has endorsed for FHA insurance since 2004, more than 30% have defaulted, including 47% of those originated in 2006 and 2007. The government has already paid out nearly $200 million in claims on these loans, a "substantial percentage" of which should never have been eligible for insurance, the complaint says. Federal officials brought similar cases in relation to the FHA insurance program last year against Deutsche Bank and Allied Home Mortgage Corporation. "This settlement demonstrates that lenders are held accountable to strict underwriting standards," David Montoya, inspector general for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, said in a statement. "We are committed to aggressively pursuing those whose misconduct contributed to the housing crisis and those who flagrantly continue to do so." The case is distinct from the nationwide settlement announced last week in which Citi and four other large lenders committed $26 billion to help underwater homeowners and compensate those who lost their homes due to improper foreclosure practices. Also involved in that settlement were Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Ally Financial. "We are pleased to resolve this matter in conjunction with the National Mortgage Settlement reached last week," Citi spokesman Mark Rodgers said in an email. "We take our quality assurance processes seriously and have pro-actively undertaken process improvements to ensure that they are as robust as possible." Citi admitted responsibility for failing to comply with the insurance program as part of the settlement, which was approved by U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero on Wednesday.

Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 23:39:20 GMT

Postal Service pleads for help as losses continue

The U.S. Postal Service renewed its pleas for congressional support Thursday as the floundering agency reported another massive quarterly loss. The Postal Service announced that it sustained a net loss of $3.3 billion in the last three months of 2011, as declining mail volumes and mounting benefit costs continue to weigh on its business. In the previous fiscal year, the Postal Service lost $5.1 billion and said its losses would have been roughly $10.6 billion if not for the passage of legislation postponing a $5.5 billion payment required to pre-fund retiree health benefits. In a statement, the Postal Service urged the government to do away with the requirement that such benefits be funded at their current rates, and also called for greater "delivery flexibility." The Postal Service has floated the idea of scaling back to five-day delivery from the current six-day system to save costs, though this is unpopular with Congress, which has the final authority. Also under consideration is a plan to slow down next-day service. "Passage of legislation is urgently needed that provides the Postal Service with the speed and flexibility needed to cut costs that are not under our control, including employee health care costs," Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said in the statement. Fredric Rolando, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers, noted that pre-funding of retiree health benefits was responsible for nearly all of the $3.3 billion loss. "The record productivity and the strong growth in the shipping business show that the Postal Service can be a successful organization if freed from the unwarranted and uniquely onerous pre-funding burden placed on it by Congress," Rolando said in a statement. The Postal Service warned that it could default on its health benefit pre-payments this year. It may also reach its $15 billion debt limit and run out of cash even if Congress changes or eliminates the pre-funding requirement. The Postal Service is chartered as a government enterprise but does not receive taxpayer support. In an effort to cut some $20 billion in costs, the agency plans to close post offices around the country. But it has delayed the closures until May 15, allowing Congress some time to devise a plan to support it. The Postal Service's struggles have come even as its private-sector competition is thriving. Both UPS and FedEx reported strong increases in earnings and revenue in their most recent quarterly reports.

Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 23:13:34 GMT

U.S. officials tell Jewish groups to be vigilant

With tensions between Iran and the West running high, law enforcement officials are concerned Iran or its surrogates could mount attacks against Jewish targets inside the United States -- but there is no specific information that any plots are in the works, according to an intelligence bulletin obtained by CNN. On February 8, the Department of Homeland Security and FBI sent state and local law enforcement partners a memo titled "No Specific Threat to American Jewish Community, Despite Recent World Events." "We have no specific information that Iran or its surrogates are targeting Jewish organizations, facilities, or personnel in the United States," the intelligence document says. "Economic sanctions and the threat of military action against the Iranian nuclear program suggest tensions with Iran are likely to continue, and we remain concerned Iran would consider attacks in the United States, given last year's foiled plot to allegedly assassinate the Saudi Ambassador to the United States." During a budget hearing, DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano was asked about the threat posed to the United States by Hezbollah, the terrorist group based in Lebanon that has close connections with Iran. "We are constantly monitoring their activities around the world," said Napolitano. "Right now we have no specific or credible threat against any organization or target in the United States, but this is certainly a situation that bears watching." Napolitano had a 45-minute conference call with Jewish groups on the same day the bulletin was issued, according to Paul Goldenberg with Secure Community Network, an organization that serves as a liaison between DHS and 200 Jewish organizations. Goldenberg said Napolitano told the Jewish leaders there is no threat information against Jewish targets in the United States, but she went over recent world events and urged the groups to be vigilant. Goldenberg said DHS recently rolled out a version of its See Something, Say Something campaign tailored specifically for the Jewish community. During her budget hearing, Napolitano confirmed the outreach to Jewish leaders and said DHS remains in constant touch with them. "There is no call for panic," said Malcolm Hoenlein, executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations. Hoenlein said there is heightened concern because of recent world events. "We are working with local communities and law enforcement at local and federal levels to boost security around Jewish institutions and educate the community." A homeland security official said there has been no change in security posture since the intelligence bulletin was issued. Other law enforcement officials said initial reporting by another news organization about the existence of the FBI bulletin mentioning a potential threat from Iran were overblown. The bulletin mentions heightened tensions with Iran, Israel and the United States and "press reporting of Israel's possible intent to attack Iran's nuclear facilities." It says there is a "perception of an increased threat to the Jewish community worldwide from Iran or its surrogates" including Hezbollah, and that an alleged Hezbollah plot was disrupted in Thailand last month involving Israeli or Jewish targets in Asia, though the targets and timing of planned attacks were not clear. The FBI and DHS routinely issue intelligence memos to update local law enforcement on world events and urge preparedness. The February 8 memo includes an extremely detailed list of suggested protective measures, and a warning for people to vary their daily routines and never post their daily schedules on publicly accessible websites or social media.

Published: Wed, 15 Feb 2012 23:10:57 GMT

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