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Search for crook still on despite suicide note
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- A hedge-fund swindler who was supposed to be driving himself to prison abandoned his car on a bridge with the phrase "Suicide is Painless" scrawled on its hood, but no body has been found in the river below -- and the victims of his fraud say they doubt he killed himself.
The FBI and state police are skeptical, saying they're still looking for Samuel Israel III.
Israel, 48, a co-founder and chief executive of the now-collapsed Bayou hedge funds, was sentenced in April to 20 years in federal prison for conspiracy and fraud, to begin Monday afternoon. He was also ordered to pay $300 million to his victims.
Prosecutors said he and two other men persuaded investors to put $450 million into the Stamford, Conn.-based company by announcing nonexistent profits and providing fake audits. Meanwhile, they made millions in commissions on trades that lost money for investors. The fund's collapse prompted calls for stricter oversight.
One climber dies on Mount Rainier, 2 more wait for rescue
LONGMIRE, Wash. -- A climber has died on Mount Rainier and the national park says two others are awaiting rescue at Camp Muir.
Ranger Sandi Kinzer said the three went on a day hike Monday when they were caught in a blizzard on the Muir snowfield.
Kinzer says one of the survivors has frostbite and can't walk out from a shelter. She says a helicopter is waiting for a snow storm to clear to land at Camp Muir, which is at about 10,000 feet elevation.
Pentagon chief says military needs to accept criticism
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- The entire military -- not just the newly reoriented Air Force -- must learn to accept criticism from outside its ranks, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Tuesday.
Speaking to about 500 airmen at this base just east of St. Louis, Gates said it is well known that the military services make good use of internal reviews of their performance in order to improve and to correct problems.
"However, I have noticed that none of the services easily accept honest criticism from outside their branch, or scrutiny that exposes institutional shortcomings," Gates said. "This is something that must change across the military."
Gates offered no specific examples of other branches of the military resisting outside criticism, but his remark followed his decision last week to fire Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne and the Air Force chief of staff, Gen. Michael Moseley. Gates told his subdued audience at Scott that the shakeup was a regrettable but necessary response to Air Force failures in the performance of its nuclear mission.
Ohio judge says state must change lethal injection procedure
ELYRIA, Ohio -- A judge in Ohio says the state's method of putting prisoners to death is unconstitutional because two of three drugs used in the lethal injection process can cause pain.
Lorain County Common Pleas Judge James Burge said Tuesday the state's lethal injection procedure doesn't provide the quick and painless death required by Ohio law.
Burge said Ohio must stop allowing a combination of drugs and focus instead on a single, anesthetic drug.
The ruling is likely be appealed to the Ohio Supreme Court.
Ohio has executed 26 inmates since it resumed putting prisoners to death in 1999.
NY AG: 3 Internet providers to block child porn sites
ALBANY, N.Y. -- Internet providers Verizon, Sprint and Time Warner Cable have agreed to block access to child pornography and eliminate the material from their servers, New York's attorney general said Tuesday.
The companies also will pay $1.1 million to help fund efforts to remove the online child porn created and disseminated by users through their services, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said. The changes will affect customers nationwide.
Investigators said they found 88 newsgroups devoted to child pornography in an investigation over six to eight months. More than 11,000 images were collected using software that identifies child pornography by tracking patterns in the pixels of the images, Cuomo's office said.
Cuomo said the companies acted immediately when told of the concern. He said it was essential to work with the Internet providers rather than trying to prosecute thousands of users.
Wis. checks dams for flood damage
LAKE DELTON, Wis. -- Engineers and National Guard teams examined dams across this storm-deluged state Tuesday looking for signs of damage from the high water that led to the major collapse that nearly emptied Lake Delton.
The huge breach in an embankment holding back Lake Delton released a torrent that washed away three houses and a stretch of highway. The weekend's storm also displaced thousands of Indiana residents and was blamed for 15 deaths in the Midwest and elsewhere.
Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle said the Federal Emergency Management Agency would have teams in the state Wednesday to help assess flood damage, and his office said he would seek a federal disaster declaration when that was done.
National Guard teams flew over flooded areas to look at other dams Tuesday, said Mike Goetzman, a spokesman for Wisconsin Emergency Management.
Astronauts ready to head home
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The astronauts aboard the orbiting shuttle and station complex shook hands and hugged goodbye Tuesday as the doors swung shut between their spacecraft on the eve of undocking.
Gregory Chamitoff, the international space station's newest resident, said he was sad to see his friends go, "but I'm looking forward to the adventure ahead."
As for Garrett Reisman, headed home after three months in orbit, it was a satisfying moment. He hugged Chamitoff twice, patted him on the back and shared a few final laughs before floating into shuttle Discovery for the ride back to Earth. He also had warm bear hugs for the two Russians he was leaving behind.
Reisman noted that his performance was by no means perfect, "but I managed not to break anything really expensive." |
