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UFOs Swarming Las Vegas?

  • Mar. 27, 2010: A view of the "Welcome To Fabulous Las Vegas" neon sign is seen before Earth Hour in Las Vegas, Nevada.REUTERS/Richard Brian

If there's one place where extraterrestrial spacecraft might not seem out of place, it's the Las Vegas Strip, and it just so happens that a new video shows a host of UFOs swarming over Sin City.

The video, picked up by a blogger at gather.com, shows what appear to be a triangular group of white lights flitting about the night sky above Las Vegas. As the seven-minute video rolls on, dozens more lights join the action. [Click for video]

The astounded and salty-tongued witness, who goes by the YouTube handle NuroNews, narrates the video: "Nobody's paying attention to this [s---] but me... this is absolutely incredible ... Look how they move around, they're attracted to the light." The video was apparently shot March 21.

So what is it? Does this video really defy explanation? Or, as is the case with many UFO videos, is the explanation much more mundane?

A clue to the identity of the UFOs is their flight formation; they appear in a more or less vertical column. The video is very shaky, making it difficult to accurately judge the movement of the lights, but it's clear that the unidentified flying objects are not hovering in a stationary position like many alleged UFOs. Instead, they're in constant motion, like an airplane or animal would be.

Another clue is the exact location of the UFOs: The mysterious lights appear in only one place in the Las Vegas skyline, directly above the Luxor Hotel.

Why is this important? Because mounted atop the 30-story pyramid is a 42.3 billion candlepower spotlight, the Luxor Sky Beam, which is the strongest beam of light in the world. The spotlight is a brilliant marketing tool that attracts millions of visitors each year - and also tons of moths and other flying insects. [Video of UFO Buzzing by Fighter Jets Bugs Believers]

The UFOs are not bugs, but the bats and birds that have come to feed on them. These animals are large enough to be seen as bright dots from far away - especially birds with light-colored feathers.

This hypothesis is backed by video from another witness, one who was much closer to the mysterious glowing objects and their source. In this video, posted on March 22, it's much clearer that the UFOs are medium-size flying animals that glow only when they dart through the Luxor spotlight.

This is not the first time that birds and bats over the Luxor Hotel have been mistaken for UFOs; for example, another YouTube video titled "UFO Orbs Luxor Beam Vegas April 2006," shows animals flying in and out of the spotlight.

In his video, NuroNews repeatedly expresses profanity-laced shock that no one else on the Strip seemed particularly interested about the dozens of extraterrestrial spacecraft apparently swarming the skies above. That's probably because many Las Vegas residents and regular visitors have seen that phenomenon before, and recognized the "UFOs" for what they were. The take-home lesson: just because you don't know what a light in the sky is doesn't mean it's unknown or mysterious.

Copyright 2012 Lifes Little Mysteries, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.



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New Kind of Baseball Eats

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Sinise Injured, Cancels Shows

  • Actor Gary Sinise, a recipient of the 2008 Presidential Citizens Medal, speaks with members of the press, Wednesday, Dec. 10, 2008, outside the White House in Washington. (AP Photo/Haraz N. Ghanbari)AP

Gary Sinise is canceling appearances with his Lt. Dan Band after suffering injuries in a car accident.

A spokeswoman for the actor says Sinise was a passenger in a car involved in an accident Friday. Staci Wolfe did not offer details about the extent of his injuries.

The 57-year-old Sinise was to perform with his band at a fundraising event last weekend in Martinsville, Virginia, and next week in Palm Desert, California.

The Martinsville concert will be rescheduled. The Palm Desert performance has been canceled.

Sinise stars on TV's "CSI: NY." The show has completed production for the season and won't be affected by the actor's injuries.



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Pop Country the Real Joke?

  • Ashton Kutcher at the 2012 ACM awards.CBS

Ashton Kutcher's apparent lampooning of country dress and singing at the American Country Music awards certainly ticked off some country fans.

But it also provoked a response from old-school devotees who say the genre left behind its real roots years ago and has become a mockery of itself as it moved closer to pop music, rather than the kind of songs written by pioneers like Hank Williams and Johnny Cash. 

“Ashton Kutcher is an entertainer and a comedian and he was there for entertainment. But he was dressed more country than anyone you see on the show, which is the ironic thing about it,” said country music writer and the editor of SavingCountryMusic.com Kyle Coroneos.  “It is a show about country music, but there is no country music on there. Ashton, with the way he was dressed, was one of the most country music things that happened on the show."

Corneos says what he really offensive about the telecast was Carrie Underwood's opening act and an appearance by the rock band KISS.

“As someone who appreciates the traditions of country music I found Carrie Underwood's strip tease act and KISS coming onstage with their bit more offensive than what Kutcher did,” Coroneos said.

Indeed the uproar that Kutcher created has raised questions about the state of country music itself.

George Jones released from hospital.

“You can't sing about your broken down pickup truck when you are living in a $5 million house,” Beville Darden, co-founder of country website TheBoot.com and former on-air personality for Nashville's WSM radio station, tells Fox411.com. “We have been getting a lot of backlash from fans that think country music is no longer authentic.”

Another longtime country music performer told us that the big names in country today make him nauseous.

"Got turned off of the country scene years ago due to people like Kukukukachoo Kutcher. I consider myself fortunate to have grown up on the farm/ranch to know what a week's worth of work feels like"

- Fox411.com commenter

“Country music is based on real folk with real problems, not these millionaires running around making commercials for cars they're never going to drive because they have a Bentley and a Porsche in their driveway,” he vented.

Kutcher took fire when he presented the female vocalist of the year award dressed in over-the-top classic country attire.

"Was Ashton Kutcher making fun of country or is it just me?” tweeted singer Miranda Lambert, to whom Kutcher presented the female vocalist award.

Country singer Justin Moore backed Lambert up, calling the “Two and a Half Men” star a “douche."

EXCLUSIVE: Justin Moore issues country challenge to Ashton Kutcher.

Kutcher responded via Twitter saying: "I Am One Of The biggest country Music fans you've ever met. Wasn't making fun at all.”

It is not the first time that popular culture and traditionalists clashed at a country awards ceremony. In the seventies, when John Denver won an accolade at the Country Music Awards, rockabilly singer Charlie Rich burned the envelope with John Denver's name in it.

Country fans who commented on our story about the Kutcher controversy were annoyed too, but not just at Kutcher. In the more than 300 responses the story genreated, many said it's today's country music, not Kutcher, that's a joke.

“Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson and Brooks & Dunn are Country. This new stuff ain't Country," one wrote.

"Blake Shelton, his wife, and the 'other country stars' seem to have joined the ranks of the political correctness and forgotten the roots of their music. They have put themselves on a snobbish pedestal. Beer and cowboy hats have been a signature of country music since the beginning. When I here a song by Patsy Cline, George Jones, or Charley Pride, I want to grab a beer. I am not a fan of Aston Kutcher, but he was invited, he is an actor, and actors entertain," added another.

“Got turned off of the country scene years ago due to people like Kukukukachoo Kutcher. I consider myself fortunate to have grown up on the farm/ranch to know what a week's worth of work feels like," another wrote.

Wendy Hermanson, Yahoo! Music's country music blogger, has seen similar comments on her music site, but she says today's popular country acts don't represent the entire body of country music currently out there.

“The ones who are in the spotlight are the ones who have crossed into pop like Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood. You can find a ton of very authentic artists if you get into the genre and get more than skin deep. I do think that Miranda Lambert is pretty genuine, and Justin Moore is pretty hardcore country,” Hermanson said.

Indeed it seems country music is in the midst of its own culture war. There are the more pop oriented acts like Swift, Underwood and Lady Antebellum who appeal to the masses with their crossover hits. Then there is what country purists refer to as “checklist country” acts.

“Artists like Eric Church and Brantley Gilbert don't appeal to the traditionalists because they have a checklist that is inane, drawing out these artifacts of country life that don't appeal to people," Coroneos said. "They have a list that includes corn bales, pickup trucks, and back roads."

“Less than 1 percent of America owns a working farm. Those artists are appealing to suburbia with these country checklists and attempting to live a country lifestyle vicariously," he said. "So traditional country fans are appalled by anything on the radio.”

Leroy Virgil, the lead singer of the country band Hellbound Glory, whose upcoming album Merica is about to be released, said the problem with these "checklists" is that they address lifestyles and problems that are no longer relevant to the blue collar workers and small town people who enjoy the music.

"It might be authentic sounding to people who live in the suburbs and own a couple jet skis and nice trucks. But to the people who live in the rural parts of the country, or live in small towns or medium sized cities,  I don't think it reflects what is going on in their lives," Virgil told Fox411. "That country music has turned a  blind eye to some of the problems, with prescription pain killers devastating rural areas and small towns, and the harder side of what is going on."

But there is a light at the end of the tunnel for country music purists. There is a burgeoning independent music scene in the country world with festivals like Muddy Roots and the Juke Joint Festival showcasing "authentic country."

Jason Galaz, the CEO of the Muddy Roots festival, told Fox411 that he hadn't even been aware of Kutcher's antics at the awards show.

“Award shows like that don't celebrate the country music that I celebrate," Galaz said. "They celebrate pop music sales."



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Moore: Prove You\'re Country

At least two people with the last name "Moore" are not big fans of Ashton Kutcher.

Country singer Justin Moore shared his thoughts on Kutcher's Academy of Country Music Awards appearance shortly after Sunday's show when he tweeted: “Seen Ashton kutcher at the acms tonight. What a douche! I don't care for people making a mockery of the way country artists' dress.”

Fox 411 Country spoke exclusively with Moore from his tour bus in North Carolina on Wednesday as he headed to the Stars and Guitars charity show to benefit St Jude Children's Research Hospital.

“I found it distasteful as a country music artist and somebody who grew up the way that I did loving country music and trying to uphold the tradition of country music the way a lot of artists do," he said.

But, he adds, everyone is entitled to their opinion.

“That's the great thing about this country. I put my opinion out there and some people agree with it, some people don't, and that's fine," he said  

Miranda Lambert also tweeted about Kutcher's appearance. 

"I put my opinion out there and some people agree with it, some people don't"

- Justin Moore

“Was Ashton Kutcher making fun of country or is it just me? Watching it back now and I'm kinda wondering?” she wrote. Moore says he was glad to see he wasn't alone. “I haven't talked to Miranda about it, but I was happy to see I wasn't the only one," he said. "I thought for a minute, maybe I'm out of line here… but it was good to know that I wasn't the only one that kind of found it to be a little off color.”

As for Kutcher, the actor has defended himself tweeting "I Am One Of The biggest country Music fans you've ever met. Wasn't making fun at all.”

So Moore is giving him a chance to prove it. “He may be a country music fan. If he is I'd love to have him out at a show," he said. "He's more than welcome to come out, we can discuss it.  If he's as big a country music fan as he says he is, maybe he'll do that.”

Moore also offers this piece of advice for Hollywood stars who want to take part in a country music ceremony â€" watch LL Cool J and learn. 

“I think they should just dress like they always dress. I think LL Cool J was a prime example," he said. "He looked classy, what he said was classy, take the lead from him maybe.”

See more of our Q&A with Justin Moore and tell us if you think Ashton Kutcher should take him up on his offer to head to a show!

Q: Do you stand by your words on Twitter?

A: I do.  Everybody who knows me knows that I kind of say it like it is.  If it comes up it comes out, I get that from my Mom and my Grandma.  Like I said he might be a great guy, he might be a huge country fan, but I thought this particular situation, I found it to be distasteful.

Q: How did your Twitter followers react?

A: I along with a lot of my followers and a lot of my buddies in the industry found it to be a little distasteful… there's a few people who disagree with me and that's fine too, I respect their opinion.

Q: Thoughts on Miranda Lambert's tweet?

A: I haven't talked to Miranda about it, but I was happy to see I wasn't the only one. I thought for a minute, maybe I'm out of line here but it was good to know that I wasn't the only one that kind of found it to be a little off color and I've had people that I'm buddies with in the industry text me and things like that, that said they agree as well so like I said we're entitled to have our own opinion. I'm sure his fans have their opinion and that's great.

Q: (Kutcher) responded and said he is one of the biggest country music fans you've ever met and wasn't making fun at all. Do you believe him or do you think another apology is in order?

A: I don't expect him to apologize, he probably doesn't have a clue who I am. Like I said he may be a country music fan, if he is I'd love to have him out at a show, he's more than welcome to come out, we can discuss it.  If he's as big a country music fan as he says he is then maybe he'll do that.

Q: Was it the outfit or was it the song?

A: I think it was a combination of the two. I thought the outfit to me was a little more ridiculous than anything else, that was just my first impression. I've never been to an event where I've dressed like two of my buddies… I don't know that I've ever seen him dress like that.  I read an article that said maybe he was just trying to fit in. In my opinion the best way to fit in anywhere is just to be yourself and I felt like he was not doing that. But again, just my opinion.

Q: If a Hollywood star wants to show up at the next country awards show, what should they wear?

A “I think they should just dress like they always dress.   I think LL Cool J was a prime example. He looked classy, what he said was classy. Take the lead from him maybe.



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Could 2012 hinge on women voters?

The fight for female voters in 2012 is becoming more urgent as the general election comes into sharper view and President Obama's re-election campaign forges ahead with efforts to lock down the key voting bloc before November.

The battle is set to heat up once again this Friday when Obama delivers remarks at the White House before a special women's conference. The address comes on the heels of a poll suggesting the president enjoys an advantage among female voters when matched up against Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney. 

One panel on Friday is expected to focus on women's health, an issue Democrats have made central to their appeal to female voters. 

Romney, meanwhile, is battling for the same group as he tries to wrap up the nomination fight over the next few weeks. 

“I will win by having the support of men and women and in the battleground states and across country,” Romney said at a convention of newspaper editors in Washington when asked Wednesday about the possible gender gap between him and Obama. 

Romney also said Wednesday that Democrats have “done an effective job of trying to mischaracterize” his party's views, but said women as well as men are still largely concerned about the economy. 

He repeated recent comments that female voters are telling his wife Ann on the campaign trail that their biggest worries are jobs and the high price of gas, which effects them getting their children to school and after-school practice.

“That's what women care about in this country,” Romney said.

Obama, though, appears to be crafting his pitch to women around more than just economic matters. After igniting outcry on the right by initially forcing insurers for some faith-based employers to provide coverage for birth control, the president has used the controversy to ridicule Republican social positions. 

Over the past several months Obama supporters have repeatedly argued Republicans are alienating female voters by becoming too involved in reproductive issues, including an attack on Romney for saying he would consider an end to federal funding for Planned Parenthood, despite him saying that the idea was part of a larger plan that included several groups to help cut the U.S. deficit.

“The conversation about birth control has been a bit of distraction,” Republican strategist Juleanna Glover said. “The general election will focus on the colloquial pocketbook issues.”

Glover said she sees a “missed opportunity” by both parties in failing to point out the connection between birth control and the economy, considering in part that Medicaid pays for 40 percent of U.S. births.

“Arguably, contraception is a pocketbook issue,” said Glover, who was a top staffer for George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney and a supporter of former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman's presidential campaign.

Meanwhile, a new USA Today/Gallup poll of swing-state votes shows Obama with a 2-1 advantage over Romney among women under 50.

Just this week, Obama returned to the Planned Parenthood issue, recording a video for the group's website in which he says the group has over the past year had to “stand up to politicians who wanted to deny millions of women the care they rely on.”

"Let's be clear here, women are not an interest group” he said.

He also took a jab at Romney in the video, saying “when some professional politicians casually say they'll 'get rid of Planned Parenthood,' don't forget what they're really talking about - eliminating the funding for preventative care that millions of women rely on and leaving them to fend for themselves."



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Sheriff\'s captain accused of taking former pro-golfer inmate out for lesson

A Los Angeles County sheriff's captain may have bunkered his career for getting an inmate to shave a few shots off his golf game.

Capt. Jeff Donahue was accused of taking Frank Carrillo, a former pro golfer, out of Catalina Island's correction facility for a free clinic to reform his swing and lower his double-digit handicap, the Los Angeles Times reported Thursday.

Carrillo, who claims he was still in his yellow prison jumpsuit while correcting Donahue's play at the hilltop course, said he was in demand for golf advice after transferring to the tourist isle's jail.
The jewel thief said he suggested to Donahue he could improve his game with a lesson.

"I knew it was a crazy thing to say," he said. "But the first thing he said was, 'Maybe I need a few pointers.'"

Donahue, who is currently on medical leave, was being investigated for an inappropriate relationship with an inmate following a complaint from a deputy.



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Former DC mayor complains of Asian-owned \'dirty\' shops after winning primary

Former D.C. Mayor Marion Barry is once again attracting the wrong kind of attention, after he used his election-night victory speech to decry Asian-owned stores. 

"We've got to do something about these Asians coming in, opening up businesses -- those dirty shops," Barry said Tuesday night, after winning the Democratic primary for the city's Ward 8 seat and effectively securing a third council term. 

Barry went on to say: "They ought to go. I'll just say that right now, you know. But we need African-American businesspeople to be able to take their places, too." 

Barry, a mainstay of D.C. politics who has held positions of power in the District since the 1970s, has drifted in and out of controversy since returning to public office following his 1990 drug arrest. 

After returning to serve a fourth term as mayor, he was elected to the Ward 8 seat in 2004. He has repeatedly run into drug and tax problems during his latest tenure in office.



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Pitcher\'s widow outraged as killer walks free

The widow of an Atlanta Braves pitcher who was gunned down in a 1995 robbery is outraged that her husband's killer has been released from prison 10 years early, she told FoxNews.com.

Relief pitcher Dave Shotkoski, 30, was fatally shot as he returned to his hotel while in spring training with the Braves in 1995 in West Palm Beach, Fla. Two years later, Neal Evans was charged with second-degree murder, thanks in part to a teammate who was determined to track down his killer. On Tuesday, Evans, now 47, was released from Florida's South Bay Correctional Facility.

"He should be sitting in jail for the rest of his life," Shotkoski's widow, Felicia, told FoxNews.com on Wednesday. "And if not, he should at least serve out his entire sentence."

Florida Department of Corrections records indicate that Evans had been jailed at least five times prior to the 1995 shooting, including for convictions of burglary, grand theft auto and cocaine possession. He is now on conditional release until 2022.

Evans was sentenced to 27 years in prison for Shotkoski's murder, but earned 20 days of time for good behavior during every month served, said Shotkoski, who learned her husband's murderer who be released on Sunday via an automated phone message.

"I feel cheated, but so should the people on the streets with him today," she continued. "And so should the people of Chicago and New York with people just like him. I would like to take this felon and use him to open the eyes of the justice system."

Shotkoski said a criminal justice system that allows Evans to become a free man -- despite serving 17 years behind bars -- seems to "favor the criminal's rights over the victim's," she said.

"It makes me upset that he's out," she said. "The choice was his, he made those choices. And now he still has his life ahead of him."

Shotkoski said Florida Department of Corrections officials told her that anyone convicted of a crime in the state prior to October 1995 would be credited 20 days of time served with good behavior. Those convicted after that date must serve at least 85 percent of their sentence, she said.

"The laws have to change," Shotkoski said. "The government should not be letting convicted murderers back on the street."

Evans, who initially faced the death penalty, made a plea deal with prosecutors after his first trial concluded in a hung jury. Key prosecution witnesses then failed to testify during the subsequent trial, Felicia Shotkoski said.

Shotkoski, now living in Chicago, said the couple's 17-year-old daughter, Alexis, still "lives with [the murder] every day" while Evans is free and will be staying with a friend in Riviera Beach, Fla., under conditions of his probation that include no drug use, no contact with known felons and a monthly visit to his probation officer until 2022.

"We live with it every day," she said. "Her Dad's not here and things he has to follow, it's laughable."

Terry Blocker, a first-round draft pick in 1981 by the New York Mets, was reportedly chatting with Shotkoski just a day before he was killed and later gathered information he turned over to police that was used to arrest Evans. 

Blocker, a former Pentecostal deacon who could not be immediately reached for comment, declined to accept a portion of the $10,000 reward offered by the Braves and West Palm Beach police.

"That was not my motivation," Blocker told People in 1995. "I was looking for satisfaction of a different kind."



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US monitoring Iran efforts to fuel Afghan unrest- Taliban claims attack that killed 10 in Afghanistan

US intelligence agencies are increasing their attention on state-sponsored terrorism amid revelations that Iran is working behind the scenes to fuel unrest and anti-American sentiment in Afghanistan.

According to US officials cited by The New York Times on Wednesday, Tehran ordered its undercover agents in Afghanistan to exploit public anger that erupted in the wake of February's Koran burning incident -- which saw American soldiers accidentally burn copies of the Muslim holy book seized from an Afghan detention center.

The incident sparked demonstrations across the country -- with seven people killed and 65 injured in Herat province, near the Iranian border. It was believed that agents working for Tehran had played some part in provoking the unrest in Herat.

"Our sense is that Iran could do more if they chose to," senior allied commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John R. Allen, told Congress in a recent testimony about the overall threat from Iran.

"But they have not, and we watch the activity and the relationships very closely," Allen said.

The Iranian Embassy in Kabul had "a very active" agenda of triggering anti-American sentiment, a US government official told the Times, adding that it was uncertain if Tehran was deliberately limiting its activities or was incapable of conducting operations that could cause more harm.

Among its operations was an alleged attempt to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the US last October, and an alleged attempt to attack Israeli diplomats stationed in Georgia and India earlier this year.

"The attacks failed, so clearly there are kinks in Iran's planning and trade craft," a US official said.

Tehran has repeatedly denied that it backs efforts to fuel unrest in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the region, but US officials say Iran is boosting its influence by a series of measures -- including building schools in Afghanistan, training and arming Afghan insurgents, providing rebels and selected political figures in Yemen with weapons, and advising President Bashar al Assad's government in Syria.

US attention was now focused on if and when Iran decides to up the ante. Allen told Congress that NATO forces were on the lookout for the possibility that Tehran might begin to channel more advanced weapons into the region.

Of particular concern is the explosively formed projectile (E.F.P.) which can pierce US military armored vehicles.

"So we're going to keep a very close eye on those signature weapons," Allen said, "because we think that that will be an indicator of Iran's desire to up the ante, in which case we'll have to take other actions."



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Mega Millions \'winner\' surfaces, but not ticket

The Maryland Mega Millions mystery only got more confusing after a woman who claimed to be one of three winners of a record prize appeared with her lawyer -- and without the ticket.

"I have not seen the ticket, nor do I want to see the ticket," said attorney Edward Smith, as Marlinde Wilson, who was an hour late for the news conference, stood behind him. She did not speak.

"We believe it to be a legitimate claim," Smith continued. "When it is time to present the ticket or whatever it is that needs to be presented to the lottery commissioner, I am sure that we will be there."

Meanwhile, Maryland State Lottery Director Stephen Martino announced a 2 p.m. press conference on Thursday at which officials said he would discuss the "status of the winning ticket," among other things. Although scant information was given, that event will likely be more illuminating than the news conference Smith gave on Wednesday.

Smith lectured the media gathered in his cramped office and told them not to pester his client, who bought tickets for a pool of workers at a Baltimore-area McDonald's but claimed the winning ticket she holds was bought separately.

"God knows, by next week or next month, this will all be over and we will still be friends," Smith said.

Wilson, 37, earlier told the New York Post the winning ticket was stashed somewhere in the McDonald's restaurant where she works.

“I left my ticket there, and it's somewhere safe that only I know about,” she told the newspaper through a Creole-speaking translator.

"I don't think she wants her 15 minutes of fame," Smith said. "We just want y'all to go home."

A Maryland Lottery spokeswoman told FoxNews.com that no one has claimed the record-setting prize as of Wednesday afternoon. Three winning tickets were sold in Maryland, Kansas and Illinois. Of those states, only the winner in Illinois must be identified.



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Former presidential candidate McGovern hospitalized

Former South Dakota senator and Democratic presidential candidate George McGovern has been hospitalized in Florida, his daughter said Wednesday.

Ann McGovern told The Associated Press her 89-year-old father was admitted to Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine, Fla., on Tuesday evening for tests to figure out why he occasionally passes out and loses his ability to speak, she said.

"He's comfortable. The tests are continuing to see if they can determine what's causing this," Ann McGovern said.

Hospital officials said the elder McGovern is in stable condition. McGovern splits his time between Florida and South Dakota, where he was a South Dakota congressman from 1957 to 1961 and a U.S. senator from 1963 to 1981. He has been hospitalized several times in recent months, including for exhaustion.

South Dakota Democratic Party Chairman Ben Nesselhuf said McGovern looked great and was in good spirits when he attended the party's annual fundraiser, named in his honor, last weekend in Sioux Falls. Nesselhuf said the former senator, who gave a 20-minute speech at the affair, resists efforts to schedule rest periods during such events because "he wants to do everything."

"Toward the end of the weekend, I think he was getting a little tired," Nesselhuf told the AP.

McGovern's grandson, Matt McGovern of Sioux Falls, said he talked with his grandfather on the phone Wednesday but didn't know when he would be released from the hospital.

"I think he's going to be all right," said Matt McGovern, who recently announced plans to run for the Democratic nomination for the state Public Utilities Commission.

George McGovern was treated for exhaustion in Sioux Falls in October after he completed a lecture tour. Two months later, he fell and hit his head in Mitchell, S.D., just before he was to be interviewed live on C-SPAN for a program called "The Contenders" that focused on failed presidential candidates who had a lasting impact on American politics.

McGovern lost in a historic landslide his 1972 challenge against President Richard Nixon, who eventually resigned amid the Watergate scandal.

McGovern regularly spends time at a home he owns in Mitchell, across the street from a library bearing his name at Dakota Wesleyan University. He also has owned a home in St. Augustine since the 2008 death of his wife, Eleanor.

Much of McGovern's recent work has focused on world hunger.

He and former U.S. Sen. Bob Dole, a Republican, were honored in 2008 with the World Food Prize, a distinction some observers have called the Nobel Prize for hunger.

Their George McGovern-Robert Dole International Food for Education and Nutrition Program, which was established in 2000 and funded primarily through Congress, provides millions of meals to children in the U.S. and some three dozen countries across the world.

McGovern remains an energetic and well-liked figure in his home state, Nesselhuf said.

"We had 500 people at the dinner Saturday night. They were clearly all in love with him. He still has a magnetism to him that's incredible," he said. "I don't think there was anybody in the place who wouldn't have walked across hot coals for George if they needed to."



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Syrian troops attack cities ahead of cease-fire

Syrian troops launched a fierce assault on a Damascus suburb Thursday with activists describing it as one of the most violent attacks since the year-old uprising began.

The attack on the suburb of Douma and other offensives around the country bolster the opposition's claim that President Bashar Assad's is only intensifying violence in the days before a deadline to implement a cease-fire brokered by former U.N. chief Kofi Annan. Activists say Assad wants to make gains on the ground before the truce is supposed to take effect on April 10.

Douma-based activist Mohammed Saeed reported that troops shelled residential areas with tanks "in one of the most violent campaigns against the area since the uprising started." He said troops were using detainees as human shields as they marched into one of the suburb's main squares, a few miles northwest of Damascus.

"Soldiers in the Ghanam Square near the vegetable market were walking behind detainees," Saeed said via Skype. "They do that so that members of the Free Syrian Army do not open fire at the troops."

He said the shelling and clashes have been going on since 7 a.m.

"The regime has no limits in its crimes. They are ready to do anything," said Saeed. "They are hitting homes directly."

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also reported one of the biggest operations of the uprising in Douma, where army defectors are believed to be active.

Amateur videos posted by activists showed black smoke billowing from residential areas as heavy cracks of gunfire sounded.

Douma, which has witnessed anti-Assad activities since the uprising began, has been subjected to several campaigns by Assad's regime over the past year. The Observatory said troops were sending reinforcements into the suburb, where some residents are feared dead.

Rami-Abdul-Rahman, who heads the Observatory, said the regime appears to be "trying to put Douma under control once and for all." He added that hundreds of army defectors are believed to be in the suburb.

The Observatory for Human Rights said troops also clashed with army defectors in the northern towns of Hraytan and Anadan near Syria's largest city of Aleppo.

The opposition is deeply skeptical that Assad will live up to his commitment to a truce and accuses him of trying to manipulate it to buy more time to continue his military crackdown on the revolt.

The truce is the keystone of a plan put forward by Annan in his role as joint U.N.-Arab League envoy in an effort to end bloodshed that the U.N. says has claimed more than 9,000 lives since March 2011.

The plan requires regime forces to withdraw from towns and cities, followed by a withdrawal by rebel fighters. Then all sides are supposed to hold talks on a political solution.

A Syrian government official claimed Tuesday that troops had begun withdrawing from some calm cities while moving to the outskirts of tense areas. He gave no further details and spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

Anti-regime activists deny troops were withdrawing adding that the latest assaults is an evidence that Assad is trying to crush those seeking to overthrow his regime before the cease-fire goes into effect. Activist groups reported more than 50 dead nationwide on Wednesday.

Mohammed Abu Nasr, an activist in Hraytan, said the town of about 50,000 was subjected to intense shelling by tanks and helicopters since 5 a.m. local time. He added that a ground offensive began three hours later and hundreds of troops were pushing their way into the town.

"There are wounded people in the streets that we cannot reach because of the shelling," Abu Nasr said by telephone. "The situation is catastrophic in the city. Large numbers of people are fleeing."

Hraytan is just north of Aleppo, a city that has been relatively quiet since Syria's uprising began in March 2011. Although the city has been quiet, towns and villages in the province have witnessed in the past anti-government protests as well as defections among the army.

An amateur video posted online by activists showed smoke billowing from several areas in Anadan. A narrator said the shelling was taking place Thursday morning. Another video showed Anadan shortly before sunrise. Cracks of heavy gunfire echoed, while prayers could be heard blaring from mosque loudspeakers.

The Observatory later reported that troops were trying to push through Anadan adding that defectors have been so far able to damage three army vehicles and killed and wound soldiers.

As the fighting raged in the north, more Syrians fled to neighboring Turkey where the country's disaster management agency said more than 1,600 refugees arrived on Wednesday and Thursday. That pushes the total number of Syrians who fled to Turkey to nearly 22,000.



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UK coffee bar owner got naked to interview applicants

A coffee bar owner in northern England tried to conduct face-to-face interviews with female job hunters while he was naked.

David Richards was facing a jail sentence Thursday after he admitted inviting three female would-be baristas to Rioco's coffee bar in the city of York, then greeting them in the nude.

The 53-year-old sent text messages to two teenagers, aged 15 and 16, and a woman in her 30s, who were interested in a job, and arranged to "interview" them on separate days, The York Press reported.

When each applicant knocked on the door of his office, Richards was naked, Prosecutor Rob Galley told York Crown Court.

He told them he was in the middle of getting dressed but then attempted to proceed with the job interview without any clothes on.

All three of the shocked applicants fled the premises and complained to the police, who arrested the businessman.

Richards initially protested his innocence, but on the day of his trial, he changed his plea and pleaded guilty to three charges of indecent exposure.

Judge Stephen Ashurst ordered probation officers to assess the risk Richards poses to other women before sentencing takes place later this month.

He said of the three victims, "Each was effectively tricked into going to his work premises."



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SHATTERED DREAMS: Government regulations make selling homes not like it used to be, realtor says

Realtor Beverly Langley, who's been selling homes for nearly three decades, says the business isn't what it used to be. "You can't just wait for the phone to ring," she warns, adding, "It just doesn't work that way anymore." Langley estimates that 40 percent of realtors in the Washington, D.C., region have left the business since 2006.

Paul Bishop, vice president of research for the National Association of Realtors, says it's true there are fewer realtors in the business. For those who have hung on, Bishop says, "They are working just as hard as they did before and not earning as much." Statistics show employment numbers and wages for realtors peaked in 2007, and since then there's been a steady rate of attrition.

Along with instability in the mortgage markets, Langley says government regulation is making her job tougher as well. She points to the Dodd-Frank legislation aimed at reforming Wall Street. "The appraisal process changed drastically as a result of that bill," Langley laments. She says that -- and other provisions -- have made it difficult for prospective buyers to get the financing they need. In 2011, the National Association of Realtors spent more than $22 million lobbying the government for changes on issues ranging from mortgage industry regulation to foreclosures.

While kinks in the housing market are worked out, Langley isn't wasting time. She says she's found ways to succeed during the housing bust, and it's mostly pegged to good old-fashioned hard work. Langley says the workweek is at least 60 hours long, and successful realtors must be willing to take on any client. Langley cold calls homes listed as for sale by owner, works on foreclosure listings, and is trying to leverage social media as well. "We're doing everything we know to do."

Brian Summerfield, online editor for REALTOR magazine, also suggests capitalizing on technology. His online tips include getting away from the traditional office setting. Because so many buyers are using the Internet to search for a home, Summerfield suggests conducting meetings virtually -- or at a neighborhood coffee shop with Wi-Fi. He says realtors can operate anywhere as long as they've got "a good Web presence."

Bishop says profits are there for realtors who are willing to ride out the market's fluctuations.

"They really are small business people who face a lot of the difficulties that many small business people face, but at the same time they can gain the rewards a lot of small business people see."

Bishop adds it's that opportunity for self-made success that attracts so many to the business.



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TSA screener arrested for throwing hot coffee at pilot

She should switch to decaf.

A TSA screener was arrested at JFK Airport for hurling a cup of hot coffee at an American Airlines pilot who told her and some colleagues to tone down a profanity-laced conversation in a terminal, sources said yesterday.

The dust-up occurred at about 5 a.m. on March 28, when airman Steven Trivett, 54, who was off-duty, was exiting Terminal 8 and overheard the banter, according to Port Authority police sources.

Trivett, of Butler, Tenn., told them they should "conduct themselves more professionally in uniform and not use profanity or the N-word," a source explained.

Click for more on this story from the New York Post 



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Student sues university to keep her guinea pig in dorm

A student is reportedly suing a Michigan university for the right to keep her guinea pig in her dorm room, claiming she needs the animal for emotional support.

Kendra Velzen, a 28-year-old student at Grand Valley State University, says the school is violating federal housing rules by denying her request, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Velzen, who reportedly suffers from a heart problem and depression, claims her guinea pig, named "Blanca," helps her cope with her medical conditions.

Velzen presented a letter from her medical provider to the university in August, supporting her need for the animal. She also asked that the school make an exception to its housing policy, calling Blanca a service animal needed to help her with her disabilities.  

But the school denied Velzen's request, and said the guinea pig is not considered a trained service animal. 

Click for more on this story from the Detroit Free Press 



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URGENT: Jobless claims hit 4-year low of 357,000

The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits fell to a four-year low last week, as layoffs slow and the job market strengthens. 

The Labor Department says weekly unemployment benefit applications dropped 6,000 to a seasonally adjusted 357,000. That's the fewest since April 2008. 

The four-week average, a less volatile measure, fell to 361,750, also the lowest in four years. The average has fallen nearly 13 percent in the past six months. 

When unemployment benefit applications drop consistently below 375,000, it usually signals that hiring is strong enough to lower the unemployment rate. 

The decline coincides with the best three months of job growth in two years. On Friday, the government issues its March jobs report, which is expected to show the fourth straight month of strong hiring.



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Egyptian Christian student jailed for insulting Islam

A 17-year-old Christian student was sentenced to three years in jail after he posted cartoons on his Facebook page that mocked Islam, Reuters reports.

Gamal Abdou Massoud was also convicted of distributing the cartoons around an Egyptian village.

The cartoons set off a wave of violence in the town, with some Muslims attacking Christians. Several Christian houses were burned and many Christians were injured.

Massoud received the maximum penalty for his crime.

Click here for more on this story from Reuters.



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Gun dealer accused in \'Furious\' to change plea

A man accused of buying two rifles found at the scene of the fatal shooting of a federal agent near the Arizona-Mexico border is scheduled to change his plea Thursday in the federal government's botched gun smuggling investigation known as Operation Fast and Furious.

Jaime Avila Jr. faces charges of dealing guns without a license and making false statements in firearms purchases as an alleged member of a 20-person smuggling ring that's accused of buying guns and smuggling them into Mexico for use by the Sinaloa drug cartel. Avila had previously pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Authorities say two AK-47 variants bought by Avila from a suburban Phoenix gun store were found in the aftermath of a December 2010 shootout that mortally wounded Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry near Nogales, Ariz.

Federal authorities have faced harsh criticism since Terry's shooting for allowing suspected straw gun buyers to walk away from gun shops with weapons, rather than arrest the suspects and seize the guns there.

Terry was killed in a shootout with bandits in a canyon north of Nogales. The shooting broke out as Terry and three other agents tried to catch five suspected illegal immigrants believed to be bandits who rob illegal immigrants as they cross into the United States.

Manuel Osorio-Arellanes of El Fuerte, Mexico, was shot during the gunfight and is charged with second-degree murder in Terry's death. Osorio-Arellanes isn't charged with being a member of the alleged gun smuggling ring.

Avila, who hasn't been charged in Terry's death, is accused in the gun smuggling case of claiming to buy six AK-47 variants and one .50-caliber rifle for himself when he was actually making the purchases on behalf of the ring.

Mexico's drug cartels often seek out guns in America because gun laws in Mexico are more restrictive than in the United States.

The goal of the U.S. government's gun smuggling investigation was to catch weapons-trafficking kingpins, but firearms agents lost track of many weapons they were trying to trace to smuggling ringleaders, and some guns ended up at crime scenes in Mexico and the U.S.

The investigation is the focus of an inquiry by congressional Republicans.

Several agents of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives have said they were ordered by superiors to let suspected straw buyers walk away from Phoenix-area gun shops with AK-47s and other weapons believed headed for Mexican drug cartels, rather than arrest the buyers and seize the guns there.

The federal agency lost track of some 1,400 of the more than 2,000 weapons whose purchases attracted the suspicion of the Fast and Furious investigators.

Trial for the remaining alleged members of the gun smuggling ring is set for Sept. 25. They have pleaded not guilty to the charges against them.

So far, two members of the ring have pleaded guilty, and a total of three alleged ring members were expected to change their pleas



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URGENT: Tornado warnings issued for Mississippi- Texas residents sift through tornado rubble- HOW YOU CAN HELP: Help Texas tornado victims

DEVELOPING: Tornado warnings have been issued for central Mississippi after National Weather Service meteorologist detected a severe thunderstorm capable of producing a tornado 12 miles northwest of Gluckstadt.

The storm is moving southeast at 40 mph.The warnings will last until 8:15 a.m. local time. A tornado warning indicates that a tornado is occurring to imminent.

Though the possible tornado is the largest threat, heavy rain could also lead to flash floods in low-lying areas, Fox40.com reported. By late Thursday night, meteorologists say the storm should be out of the area and give way to a pleasant weekend.  



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Teen Escapes as Ex Kills Boyfriend, Mom with Axe

A Detroit teenager murdered his ex-girlfriend's new boyfriend and her mother before killing himself, myFOXdetroit reports.

Police say 19-year-old Brian Douglas White entered the home of his ex-girlfriend Wednesday and went on a killing rampage, murdering the girl's mother Angela Kim Staperfene and using an axe to kill the girl's current boyfriend, 19-year-old Jacob Lee Burns. He then shot himself to death.

His 17-year-old girlfriend, who has not been named by police, was injured in the attack but managed to escape and call 911.

The girl, a senior at a local high school, was hospitalized and released. Classmates and neighbors described her as a happy, outgoing and compassionate girl who was raised in a loving home.

"She's a good friend of mine," classmate Amanda Mellville told myFOXdetroit. "When I was watching the news, I was about to cry because I thought she was like in trouble. I mean, I still feel bad for her, but it's sad."

Click here for more on this story from myFOXdetroit.com.



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Google Eyes \'Smartphone\' You Wear on Your Face

  • Google is testing out its new Android-powered augmented-reality glasses.Google

Google on Wednesday unveiled Project Glass, a secret program designed to bring augmented-reality to the masses.

The team leading the initiative, including Babak Parviz, Steve Lee and Sebastian Thrun, are part of Google's clandestine Google X labs, a branch of the company that focuses on futuristic tech and big picture concepts, such as space elevators, robots and driverless cars.

Now with the project ready for public testing, the team has begun releasing fresh information, including a new video, on their Google + page with requests for feedback.

“We're sharing this information now because we want to start a conversation and learn from your valuable input,” the team wrote in a post. “Please follow along as we share some of our ideas and stories. We'd love to hear yours, too. What would you like to see from Project Glass?”

According to a February report from the NYTimes, Google's new Android-powered glasses will allow you to check your email, update your Facebook, or even check-in to your favorite restaurant. The device creates a direct link to your smartphone, providing real-time information in a heads-up display (HUD).

It is the company's first official venture into wearable computing.

With its 3G or 4G data connection, GPS, and numerous environmental sensors, the glasses could be a boon for augmented reality and wearable technology. Integration with Google services and your smartphone means walking to work may never be more productive.

One new feature is an integrated navigation system, as described by 9 to 5 Google blogger, Seth Weinthrub, who first discovered the project in December.

“The navigation system currently used is a head tilting to scroll and click,” Mr. Weintraub wrote on his blog. “We are told it is very quick to learn and once the user is adept at navigation, it becomes second nature and almost indistinguishable to outside users.”

Reports suggest the new smart goggles will feature a built-in camera, cost in the region of $250 to $600.

The new product looks to be part of a long term strategy to expand the Android platform to as many devices possible. Last year the company announced Android@Home, a push to connect "every appliance in your home."

“As an open platform,” said Google director of product management Hugo Barra, “Android was always meant to go well beyond the mobile phone.”



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School Removes \'God\' From \'God Bless the USA\'

By Todd Starnes

Parents at a Massachusetts elementary school are furious after educators first removed the word ‘God' from the popular Lee Greenwood song, “God Bless the U.S.A.” and then pulled the song all together from an upcoming concert.

Fox 25 in Boston is reporting that children at Stall Brook Elementary School in Bellingham were told to sing, “We love the U.S.A.” instead of “God Bless the U.S.A.”

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After parents started complaining, school officials removed the song from the school assembly concert. The school's principal released a statement to Fox 25 stating they hope to ”maintain the focus on the original objective of sharing students' knowledge of the U.S. States, and because of logistics, will not include any songs.”

Greenwood released a statement to Fox News condemning the school's actions.

“The most important word in the whole piece of music is the word God, which is also in the title ‘God Bless The USA,” Greenwood said. “Maybe the school should have asked the parents their thoughts before changing the lyrics to the song. They could have even asked the writer of the song, which I of course, would have said you can't change the lyrics at all or any part of the song.”

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Greenwood said the phrase “God Bless the USA” has a “very important meaning for those in the military and their families, as well as new citizens coming into our country.” He said it's also played at every naturalization ceremony behind the national anthem.

“If the song is good enough to be played and performed in its original setting under those circumstances, it surely should be good enough for our children,” Greenwood said.

An online poll taken by the television station indicated more than 80 percent of viewers were outraged by removing God from the song.

“I don't have a problem with the song if somebody else does I guess it's there business,” resident Patrick Grudier said. “I mean It's on our currency (God).”

But not everyone agreed â€" including parent Matthew Cote.

“I don't think there's anything wrong with changing the song,” he told the television. “It's a public school. If you want to have the word God in the song, go to a private school.”

Reaction on Facebook has been overwhelmingly in favor of the traditional patriotic song.

“Here we go again, more war on Christianity,” wrote one Facebook user. “You can remove God all you want, but the good news - there is still a loving God and He lives.”

Another Facebook user called it sad and disgusting. “I'd like to say unbelievable - but it is so totally believable.”

LEE GREENWOOD'S STATEMENT TO TODD STARNES

“Maybe the school should have asked the parents their thoughts before changing the lyrics to the song.   They could have even asked the writer of the song, which I of course would have said you can't change the lyrics at all or any part of the song.  The most important word in the whole piece of music is the word God, which is also in the title God Bless The USA.  We can't take God out of the song, we can't take God out of The Pledge of Allegiance, we can't take God off of the American currency.  Let us also remember, the phrase God Bless the USA has a very important meaning for those in the military and their families, as well as new citizens coming to our Country.  The song is played at every naturalization ceremony behind The National Anthem.   If the song is good enough to played and performed in its original setting under those circumstances, it surely should be good enough for our children.” â€" Lee Greenwood

School changes lyrics from ‘God Bless the USA' to ‘We love the USA' : MyFoxBOSTON.com

School changes lyrics from ‘God Bless the USA' to ‘We love the USA' : MyFoxBOSTON.com



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Conn. Set to End Death Penalty as Victims Object

Connecticut is poised to repeal the death penalty after a proposal to abolish capital punishment was approved by the state Senate early Thursday.

The 20-16 Senate vote is a major victory for the proposal, which would make life imprisonment the maximum penalty in the state. The proposal is expected to easily pass the state House of Representatives, and Democratic Gov. Dannel P. Malloy has said he would sign the legislation into law if it reaches his desk.

The Hartford Courant reports many one-time supporters of capital punishment  in the Senate had switched their views as the week went on, and some spoke on a personal level after the decision was announced.

"I cannot stand the thought of being responsible for someone being falsely accused and facing the death penalty,'' Sen. Edith Prague, a one-time death penalty supporter said according to The Hartford Courant. "For me this is a moral issue...I don't want to be part of a system that sends innocent people..to the death penalty."

The Hartford Courant reports the vote was mostly along party lines, with Republicans arguing that the death penalty is a necessary tool in society.

The proposal does not directly affect the sentences of the 11 inmates currently on Connecticut's death row. The bill also mandates prison conditions must mirror those on death row for inmates convicted under the new legislation.

However, some victims of the current death row inmates worry the proposal could affect the inmates on appeal. 

The Hartford Courant reports one victim, Dr. William Petit Jr., spoke at a press conference Wednesday where he called for the Senate not to pass the bill.

"We believe in the death penalty because we believe it is really the only true just punishment for certain heinous and depraved murders," Petit said.

Two of Connecticut's current death row inmates were sentenced to death after they were convicted of killing Petit's wife and two daughters in a brutal home invasion.

Click here for more on this story from Fox Connecticut/ The Hartford Courant. 

The Associated Press contributed to this report.



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Whitney Houston\'s final autopsy report released

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Newt Gingrich says he\'s in until Romney reaches 1,144

JERUSALEM (AP) - A young Arab woman who won a popular Israeli music competition has become an unlikely star, capturing hearts in a country where suspicion and hostility often mark relations between Arabs and the Jewish majority.

Nissren Kader recently won first place on "Eyal Golan is Calling You," a popular television show hosted by one of Israel's most successful entertainers. On the program, Golan as host chooses over the course of a 3-month-long competition the best performer of Mizrahi songs, the musical tradition of Middle Eastern Jews.

In winning the show, the 25-year-old Kader seems to have pulled off a difficult balancing act: She touched on the nostalgia that many first and second generation Mizrahis, or Jews of Middle Eastern origin, feel for their ancestral homelands, even though most proudly identify as Israeli. And by singing beautifully in Hebrew, she charmed her audience by showing that she too was moved by their cultural traditions.

"I am so proud: I'm the first Arab to win a Hebrew singing program," said Kader, who is from the northern Israeli city of Haifa.

"I never imagined that they (Jews) would like me to the degree that they did. I'm an Arab citizen in a state that has troubles and disagreements between Jews and Arabs, and they saw something else," she told The Associated Press. "They saw another side."

Kader, who before competing on the show worked as a wedding singer in the Arab community, shared her win in late March with Maor Ashwal, a Jewish Israeli. The finals, on a cable TV music channel, were the second most-watched show on television that night, according to an economic magazine that publishes Israeli television ratings.

During the final, her audiences sang along, cheered and clapped to songs in Hebrew - and Arabic.

Israel's Arab minority makes up about one-fifth of the population and occupies an uneasy place. They are citizens of a Jewish state who identify with their Palestinian brethren in the West Bank and Gaza. Arabs in Israel are generally poorer, less educated and complain of discrimination.

In recent years, Jewish and Arab politicians have used increasingly harsh rhetoric against each other, further polarizing relations.

Kader, for her part, has stirred up mixed feelings among Israelis. They marvel at the power of her voice, but are uncertain about how to deal with her Arab ethnicity.

"My friends criticized (host) Eyal Golan: 'Why did you pick an Arab? You chose an enemy and let her win the show,'" said Moshe Alfassi, an Israeli of Moroccan descent who works with troubled youth. Alfassi, 27, said he found it strange to see an Arab woman singing Mizrahi music, but like many other Israelis, was quickly won over by her voice.

Eliyahu Haviv, a 70-year-old Iranian-born Israeli, said Kader deserved her victory, and shouldn't be viewed through the prism of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He noted, as many Israelis did, that Kader sang in Hebrew to God to protect the people of Israel in a song that was originally written to commemorate slain Israeli soldiers.

"She sang our prayers, and I think it was very good because she sang them with emotion," Haviv said. "I say yes, there are Arab terrorists, but this is something else. We need to be as one heart."

"We are taught that in the house of Israel, there will be a prayer for all people," said Eliyahu Dahan, 50, a Jerusalem bar owner. "That was her song."

The popularity of Golan's show also highlights just how far Mizrahi culture has come in Israeli society.

When Middle Eastern Jews fled en masse to Israel in the years following the Jewish state's establishment in 1948, they encountered a European Jewish establishment that regarded them, and their cultures, as inferior and threatening because they resembled their Arab enemies.

That included Mizrahi music, which was seen as lowbrow - a stigma that still lingers. The music ranges from soaring liturgical chants to cheesy pop that is indistinguishable from top-40 tunes in the Arab world. In an echo of that Arabic heritage, many Mizrahi Jews enjoy classic Arabic songs - tunes that Kader belted out to the delight of the audience in the studio for the show's final.

Her victory is part of a small but growing trend of Arab artists and entertainers rising to prominence.

One of the country's most popular sitcoms is a comedic satire about an Israeli-Arab journalist trying to fit into Jewish society whose attempts frequently backfire. The program is written by Sayed Kashua, an award-winning Arab writer.

All but one of Israel's soccer league teams have Arab players, including the season's top scorer, Ahmed Saba.

Israeli entertainer Golan said he faced criticism for his choice, but said Kader's talent couldn't be ignored. He is currently producing an album for her.

It will likely have Mizrahi and Arabic music on it, and Golan believes Israeli Jews are ready to hear it.

"There will always be those who will jump up and say, how did you pick an Arab?" Golan told the AP.

But, he said, "I didn't do a political program. In the end, what wins is the songs, and not whether she's an Arab or a Jew."

___

Associated Press writer Amy Teibel contributed to this report.

___

Diaa Hadid can be reached on Twitter at www.twitter.com/diaahdid



Article from YAHOO NEWS


Complications in the case of murdered of Iraqi-American woman

DETROIT (AP) - Baking cookies never seemed as sweet for 101-year-old Texana Hollis as it did on Wednesday, when she tearfully was allowed back into the home her husband bought after World War II following her eviction seven months ago.

Foreclosure initially forced Hollis from the home where she'd spent six decades of her life, then federal officials wouldn't let her move back in because of its dilapidated condition. That's when Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom and his charity stepped in, and convinced volunteers and businesses to do the same.

"God bless everyone who had a hand in this," Hollis said, tears swelling in her eyes, after she re-entered the home.

One of her first tasks: Trying out the new stove to bake sugar and chocolate chip cookies, which she lifted off a tinfoil-covered baking sheet using a new spatula and carefully placed into a tin.

Albom and his charities helped renovate Hollis' house after buying it from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Albom spent $30,000 - much of it out of his own pocket - on the project, and more than 100 volunteers spent months putting in new flooring, drywall, appliances and even a portion of the roof.

"I promised Texana that all she has to do is just stay alive and give us another 101 years," he said after pushing Hollis up a newly constructed wheelchair ramp and into the gleaming home. "She will never lose this house again."

When asked about the changes inside the house, where rooms were painted in soft shades of blue, green and yellow and decorated with welcoming bouquets of flowers, he jokingly answered: "It would probably be easier to tell you what's old."

Hollis was evicted Sept. 12 and her belongings placed outside after her son failed to pay property taxes linked to a reverse mortgage. HUD foreclosed on the home. Two days later, the federal agency said she could return - but then blocked her from moving in after an assessment determined the house was unsanitary and unsafe.

Hollis' son took out the reverse mortgage for the $32,000 assessed value of the property, an option that HUD permits for the elderly. HUD took control of the mortgage after the amount paid to the family exceeded the value of the house in 2006.

Nedal Tamer, whose construction business did much of the work, said the structure was in "terrible" condition but underwent a successful remodeling thanks to many businesses and individuals who stepped up. Guardian Alarm, for example, installed security and medical monitoring systems for free that typically cost around $750.

The result was emotional for everyone who watched as the happy centenarian returned to her home.

"God is so good," said Hollis, who is now looking forward to her next big day: Her 102nd birthday next month.

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Man\'s public suicide in Greece becomes a election symbol

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Article from YAHOO NEWS


Texas residents sift through tornado rubble

FORNEY, Texas (AP) - As a twister bore down on her neighborhood, Sherry Enochs grabbed the three young children in her home and hid in her bathtub. The winds swirled and snatched away two of the children. Her home collapsed around her.

Miraculously, no one was seriously hurt.

Enochs, 53, stood Wednesday amid the wreckage of what was once her home in the North Texas city of Forney, among the hardest hit by a series of tornadoes that barreled through one of the nation's largest metropolitan areas a day earlier. No one was reported dead, and of the more than 20 injured, only a handful were seriously hurt.

"If you really think about it, the fact that everybody who woke up in Forney yesterday is alive today in Forney, that's a real blessing," Mayor Darren Rozell said.

The National Weather Service is investigating the damage caused by the tornadoes, which appeared to flatten some homes and graze others next door. The twisters jumped from place to place, passing many heavily populated areas overhead and perhaps limiting what could have been a more damaging, deadly storm. Most of Dallas was spared the full wrath of the storms.

While tornadoes can strike major cities, having two major systems strike a single metropolitan area is highly unusual, meteorologist Jesse Moore said. The Texas twisters would have done more damage had they stayed on the ground for more of the storms' path. But weather experts and officials credited the quick response to tornado warnings for preventing deaths or more injuries.

In the Diamond Creek subdivision where Enochs' home was destroyed, residents put on work gloves Wednesday and began cleaning up. Many noticed things in their yards that didn't belong to them.

Enochs doesn't have a clear memory of exactly how things happened Tuesday, but she was found holding her grandson in the bathtub, which had blown into the area where her garage once was. A 3-year-old she was watching was found wandering around the backyard. A neighbor pulled another child Enochs had been taking care of, 19-month-old Abigail Jones, from the rubble.

"I heard the rumbling from the tornado and I didn't even hear the house fall," Enochs said.

Abigail was taken to the hospital but released. The blonde, smiling child with bows in her hair was bruised all over her body, but not seriously hurt. Her mother, Misty Jones, brought her back Wednesday to see what had happened.

Seven people were injured in Forney, none seriously. An additional 10 people were hurt in Lancaster, south of Dallas, and three people in Arlington, west of Dallas.

National Weather Service crews in Forney, east of Dallas, spotted storm damage that suggested the twister there was an EF3, with wind speeds as high as 165 mph. Other tornadoes in Arlington and Lancaster appear to have been EF2 tornadoes, with wind speeds up to 135 mph. Tornadoes can range from EF0, the weakest, to EF5, the strongest. An EF2 or higher is considered a significant tornado.

A twister can hit one spot and continue for miles before touching down again, Moore said. It's difficult to explain why a tornado touches down when it does.

"It can destroy one house and the one across the street is fine. It can go back up for a mile or two and drop back down," Moore said. "That's all the crazy things that can happen with tornadoes."

Randy McKeever and his wife and several of their friends sorted through what was left of their house Wednesday. Their roof was completely gone. The front yard was littered with shingles and pieces of wood. Inside was a jumble of belongings. McKeever, 47, wore work gloves as he tried to find anything that could be salvaged.

"There's a bunch of stuff in there that's not even ours," he said.

Stunning video from Dallas showed big-rig trailers tossed into the air and spiraling like footballs. An entire wing of an Arlington nursing home crumbled. In Lancaster, dozens of young children cowered in the safe room of a day care near a local church. The storm pulled one of the walls back "like you were peeling an orange," day care director Danita Harris said.

The students were moved further indoors and rode out the rest of the storm safely, she said.

"Not one Band-Aid had to be applied," Harris said.

Hundreds of flights into and out of Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field were canceled or diverted elsewhere Tuesday. American Airlines, which operates most flights at the airport, said it canceled more than 400 flights Wednesday after stopping about 800 Tuesday. An airport spokesman said more than 110 planes were damaged by hail.

April is typically the worst month in a tornado season that stretches from March to June, but Tuesday's outburst suggests that "we're on pace to be above normal," said National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Bishop.

Gov. Rick Perry plans an aerial tour of the damage on Thursday.

___

Associated Press writers Schuyler Dixon in Arlington; Diana Heidgerd, Terry Wallace and David Koenig in Dallas; Betsy Blaney in Lubbock; and Paul Weber in San Antonio contributed to this report.

Santorum's home state: Poll shows Romney leading in Pennsylvania: http://t.co/gv8PPZYH
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Article from YAHOO NEWS


Nursing director thinks she was target of Oakland shooter

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Nursing student Ahmad Sayeed was sitting in his class at tiny Oikos University when a gunman burst through the back entrance of the lecture hall and held a terrified school receptionist hostage.

Within moments, the gunman identified by authorities as One Goh began randomly firing at students, killing seven and wounding three in Monday's violence.

"Everyone was scared, panicked," said Sayeed on Wednesday as he sat at home in Newark, Calif. nursing a shoulder wound. "He's shooting and we are all screaming. He just started shooting at everyone."

The 36-year-old, who immigrated from Afghanistan three years ago, said that he at first did not understand what the gunman was saying, but he saw the look of terror on the face of the school receptionist, Katleen Ping, 24. And he saw the gun pointed at her body.

"He brought her in there with the gun and she looks very scared," Sayeed said. "He had the gun pointed at her."

Ping, one of the seven people killed Monday, worked at the front desk in the university's administration department.

Meanwhile, an administrator at the university said Wednesday she believed she was the alleged gunman's primary target after she rejected his repeated requests for a refund of his tuition.

But Ellen Cervellon, director of the nursing program at Oikos University, said she wasn't on campus Monday when her former student, One Goh, came looking for her then went on his rampage.

Two days later, in an interview with The Associated Press, a shaken Cervellon said the slayings are haunting her.

"I have that weight on my shoulders and I don't know what to do with it," she said, her voice quavering. "Every single one of those students were going to be an excellent, excellent nurse. They're in my heart, and they always will be."

Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan first confirmed Wednesday that Cervellon was the apparent target, but late in the day he said investigators believe another female administrator instead was targeted. But he declined to say why police believe the other school official was targeted and would not identify her. "She is terrified," he said.

Goh, 43, was charged Wednesday with seven counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder, plus a special circumstance allegation of committing multiple murders that could make him eligible for the death penalty.

Shackled and showing little emotion, Goh said nothing during a brief court appearance other than a soft "yes" when the judge asked if he understood the charges. He did not enter a plea.

In a police affidavit, Officer Robert Trevino said Goh acknowledged going to Oikos on Monday with a .45-caliber handgun and four magazines of ammunition.

"He admitted to kidnapping a woman and forcing her from her office into a classroom at gunpoint," Trevino said in the statement. "He admitted to shooting and killing several people inside the classroom, before taking one of the victim's car keys and fleeing the scene in the victim's car."

Police arrested Goh about an hour after the shooting spree at a supermarket a few miles from campus.

Cervellon said Goh dropped out of the nursing program at the tiny private school around November but returned numerous times to ask her for a full tuition refund.

Goh got angry when she told him the school could not refund all his money because he had been enrolled for nearly half of the program, she said. Cervellon said she did not know how much Goh had paid in tuition.

Police have said Goh was seeking a female administrator when he went to the campus Monday. When he was told she wasn't there, they said, he began shooting in classrooms, killing six students and a receptionist and wounding three others.

Police said they made contact with Cervellon after seeing the AP story and that many details about events leading up to the shooting remain unclear.

Police initially said Goh was expelled although Cervellon said that he was not..

"We were told by witnesses that he was kicked out, but there could be some facts that he wasn't," Jordan said. "I do know that he was trying to get his down payment or tuition reimbursed."

Cervellon said Goh had previously said that classmates were picking on him at the school, which was founded to help Korean immigrants adjust to life in America and launch new careers, she said. Goh is a native of South Korean who became a U.S. citizen.

Jordan has said Goh also was upset because other students had teased him about his poor English skills.

However, Cervellon and nursing professor Romie John Delariman said they never heard about or witnessed Goh being ridiculed for problems with English. Delariman said Goh was a good student who didn't seem to struggle with his second language.

"He was a full-time student and was really motivated. If I taught something he would be the first person in line to do it," Delariman said.

Still, Goh appeared to be the aggressor in exchanges with others at the school, according to Efanye Chibuko, whose wife Doris Chibuko was among those killed in Monday's attack.

Chibuko said his wife, a native of Nigeria who was elected president of her nursing class, felt Goh was unstable.

"My wife was afraid of him," he told the AP. "She was afraid he would do something like he did. She knew the other victims, and they talked about it. They were afraid that he was going to come back and do what he did."

Chibuko said he's angry with school officials for not doing more to protect the students.

"They were all living in fear. My wife told me the guy had been violent toward the school staff and had kicked the walls and stuff like that," he said. "So they knew. They should have had security in place."

Delariman said he noticed that Goh had problems, in particular, dealing with women in his predominantly female nursing classes.

"He can't stand women," Delariman said. "He said he never used to work with women, or deal with women in a work setting or a school setting."

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Article from YAHOO NEWS