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Actress Amanda Bynes was arrested for driving under the influence in West Hollywood early this morning, TMZ reports.
Law enforcement sources say Bynes was attempting to pass a cop car when she sideswiped the vehicle. She was pulled over and cops determined she was not fit to be behind the wheel.Â
The 26-year-old actress was busted at 3 a.m. local time.
According to her booking sheet, Bynes is 5'7" and 125 lbs. Her bail was set at $5,000.
Bynes has been frequenting the Hollywood party scene recently, going to several clubs over the last few weeks.
Just last month, on St. Patrick's Day, TMZ cameras saw Bynes leaving Greystone Manor, and reported that she appeared to be extremely intoxicated. A cameraman warned the valet not to let Amanda drive, but she got into the driver's seat anyway and drove off, TMZ reported.
A week before that, Amanda allegedly bolted from a cop while he was writing her a ticket, TMZ reported. She was pulled over for talking on a cell phone, and while the cop was writing her up, she allegedly drove away. Amanda later swung by the police station and signed the ticket, TMZ reported. She has yet to face additional charges.
Google's augmented-reality smart glasses made their public debut Thursday night, taking center stage at a charity event to raise money for research into blindness in San Francisco.
The technology powerhouse acknowledged this week that the glasses -- which connect to the Internet to display maps, video chats, photos and more -- were more than just a rumor. The concept captured the nation's attention, and drew accusations that it was merely a slick video, never to become real.
"The Google Glasses are real!" tweeted tech pundit Robert Scoble Thursday night. Scoble attended the California charity event, where he encountered the gizmos in the real world.
"The glasses look self contained but I am not sure," he wrote later, adding "hope to learn more after dinner."
SUMMARYGOOGLE GOGGLES: Google's "augmented reality" glasses stream information from the Internet to the wearer's eyes in real time.
Information is displayed on a thin device, presumably a small computer, and translucent screen just above and to the right of the right eye.
Glasses appear to be controlled by movements of the viewer's eyes or head.
The glasses found themselves in a unique spot: on the face of Google co-founder Sergey Brin.
But enough about Brin. What about his eyewear?
Google gave a first glimpse of "Project Glass" and the amazing smart glasses in a video and blog post this week. Still in an early prototype stage, the glasses open up endless possibilities -- as well as challenges to safety, privacy and fashion sensibility.
The prototypes Google displayed have a sleek wrap-around look and appear nothing like clunky 3-D glasses. But if Google isn't careful, they could be dismissed as a kind of Bluetooth earpiece of the future, a fashion faux-pas where bulky looks outweigh marginal utility.
In development for a couple of years, the project is the brainchild of Google X, the online search-leader's secret facility that spawned the self-driving car and could one day send elevators into space.
If it takes off, it could bring reality another step closer to science fiction, where the line between human and machine blurs.
"My son is 4 years old and this is going to be his generation's reality," said Guy Bailey, who works as a social media supervisor for a university outside Atlanta, Ga. He expects it might even be followed by body implants, so that in 10 years or so you'll be able to get such a "heads-up display" inside your head.
But is that what people want?
"There is a lot of data about the world that would be great if more people had access to as they are walking down the street," said Jason Tester, research director at the nonprofit Institute For the Future in Palo Alto, California.
'The Google Glasses are real!'
- Robert Scoble, technologist
That said, "once that information is not only at our fingertips but literally in our field of view, it may become too much."
Always-on smartphones with their constant Twitter feeds, real-time weather updates and "Angry Birds" games are already leaving people with a sense of information overload. But at least you can put your smartphone away. Having all that in front of your eyes could become too much.
"Sometimes you want to stop and smell the roses," said Scott Steinberg, CEO of technology consulting company TechSavvy Global. "It doesn't mean you want to call up every single fact about them on the Internet."
Still, it doesn't take much to imagine the possibilities. What if you could instantly see the Facebook profile of the person sitting next to you on the bus? Read the ingredient list and calorie count of a sandwich by looking at it? Snap a photo with a blink? Look through your wall to find out where electrical leads are, so you know where to drill?
"Not paint your house, because the people who looked at your house could see whatever color they wanted it in?" pondered veteran technology analyst Rob Enderle.
Wearing the glasses could turn the Internet into a tool in the same way that our memory is a tool now, mused science fiction writer and computer scientist Vernor Vinge. His 2007 book, "Rainbow's End," set in the not-so-distant future, has people interacting with the world through their contact lenses, as if they had a smart phone embedded in their eyes.
Unlike Google's glasses, at least in their current state, Vinge's lenses know what you are looking at and can augment your reality based on that. That could come next, though.
"Things we used to think were magic, we now take for granted: the ability to get a map instantly, to find information quickly and easily, to choose any video from millions on YouTube rather than just a few TV channels," wrote Google CEO Larry Page in a letter posted on the company's website Thursday.
In Google's video, a guy wearing the spectacles is shown getting subway information, arranging to meet a friend for coffee and navigating the inside of a bookstore, all with the help of the glasses. It ends with him playing the ukulele for a woman and showing her the sunset through a video chat.
Google posted the video and short blog post about Project Glass on Wednesday, asking people to offer feedback through its Google Plus social network.
By Thursday, about 500 people did, voicing a mix of amazement and concern about the new technology. What if people used it in cars and got distracted? What about the effect on your vision of having a screen so close to your eye?
Some asked for prototypes, but Google isn't giving those out just yet. The company didn't say when regular people can expect to get their hands on a piece of Project Glass, but going by how quickly Google tends to come out with new products, it may not be long. Enderle estimates it could be about six months to a year before broader tests are coming, and a year or more for the first version of the product.
With such an immersive device as this, that sort of speed could be dangerous, he cautions.
"It's coming. Whether Google is going to do it or someone else is going to do it, it's going to happen," Enderle said. "The question is whether we'll be ready, and given history we probably won't be. As a race we tend to be somewhat suicidal with regard to how we implement this stuff."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Tim Tebow is currently the hottest property in the sports world, but he is fast becoming Hollywood's hottest property as well. The New York Jet is signed to the sports division of leading Hollywood agency CAA, following an alleged battle between the top agencies, who all wanted a piece of Tebow. Â
But could all the Tinseltown-type attention jeopardize his game and wholesome Christian image?
The NFL sensation â€" who works with brands like Nike, Jockey International and EA Sports, was even turned into a superhero “Super Tim†by Marvel Comics last year, and has been romantically linked to the likes of Taylor Swift and Diana Argon. Tebow's also in-demand when it comes to A-list Hollywood parties.
All-in-all, Tebow is now considered a “number one get†for Manhattan and L.A party planners. With that, he has also become top prey for the paparazzi â€" and was even snapped getting a pedicure/manicure in Los Angeles this week. His fashion choices and sex symbol status are also routinely a subject of debate in the weeklies and online gossip sites.
But the Jets are reportedly trying to curb just how much Tebow can lend his name to.
“The Jets are trying to limit his endorsements and off the field commitments to ensure his focus remains on the field. If it becomes distracting, it could affect the team,†an insider told us. “There is definitely jealously among players if one starts earning too much money off-the-field, and after Tiger Woods, all sponsors and endorsers are increasingly skeptical.â€
Still, another source close to the athlete shot down the rumors as being“not true,†and said the team wasn't trying to limit Tebow's endorsements or social presence.
Regardless, according to California-based publicist and sportswriter Angie Meyer, Tebow's image could be tainted by Tinseltown if he doesn't keep a relatively low profile.
"Athletes who mingle in Hollywood tend to lose both reliability and credibility from teammates, coaches and often times, fans,†explained publicist and founder of *, Angie Meyer. “If Tim Tebow wishes to remain a Christian role model, he must keep a far distance from Hollywood and celebrity. In order for him to improve his football career, and maintain his integrity within both the NFL and the religious communities, he should stay out of the tabloids completely.â€
Lindsay McCormick, Comcast SportsNet Reporter, pointed out that the New York market is a completely different animal to Denver or even Florida, where Tebow started his career. Another sports insider said that there has been similar talk among trainers and athletes that Tebow may not be ready to deal with the brutal and incessant New York media.
“It does come with a new set of temptations and challenges, but as long as Tebow keeps his priorities in the right order and focuses on bettering himself at the game of football he will keep the public's interest,†McCormick said. “Quarterback is a full-time commitment, which forces you to be ‘on' at all times.â€
On the flipside, branding expert Mark DiMassimo of DIGO Brands said that Tebow's move to New York and frequent Hollywood presence are actually prime opportunities to build his brand â€" if he plays his cards right.
“Tim Tebow is a man, a Christian, and a pretty good player. And now he's an icon and a star. Everything he does from now on is a brand choice too. He can make his choices, but he shouldn't let them get made for him,†he said.
And so far, Tebow has been wise in ensuring his social life is mixed with a little philanthropy. For one, he recently attended the Cartoon Network's Hall of Game Awards, and brought a 10-year-old girl with neurofibromatosis, a neurological disorder, as his date.
“There will be strict scrutiny on him like no other athlete in recent memory, he will really have to focus on the type of events he is attending,†Mike Grippo, Marketing Specialist, noted. “He is a smart guy, so I doubt he is going to do something that will hurt his Christian image. He lives that lifestyle; it is not just a show.â€
But when it comes to his personal life, image experts are warning Tebow not to fall into the same trap as other footballers like Reggie Bush or Tony Romo, who fell for Hollywood girls (Kim Kardashian and Jessica Simpson, respectively) and according to some critics, their on-field performances arguably suffered.
“My advice for Tim Tebow,†Meyer added. “Marry a teacher, not an actress.â€
A rep for Tebow and the Jets did not respond to a request for comment.
A hoax or a miracle? The Shroud of Turin has inspired this question for centuries. Now, an art historian says this piece of cloth, said to bear the imprint of the crucified body of Jesus Christ, may be something in between.
According to Thomas de Wesselow, formerly of Cambridge University, the controversial shroud is no medieval forgery, as a 1989 attempt at radiocarbon dating suggests. Nor is the strange outline of the body on the fabric a miracle, de Wesselow writes in his new book, "The Sign: The Shroud of Turin and the Secret of the Resurrection" (Dutton Adult, 2012). Instead, de Wesselow suggests, the shroud was created by natural chemical processes - and then interpreted by Jesus' followers as a sign of his resurrection.
"People in the past did not view images as just the mundane things that we see them as today. They were potentially alive. They were seen as sources of power," de Wesselow told LiveScience. The image of Jesus found on the shroud would have been seen as a "living double," he said. "It seemed like they had a living double after his death and therefore it was seen as Jesus resurrected."
'It seemed like they had a living double after his death.'
- Thomas de Wesselow, book author
Believing the shroud
As de Wesselow is quick to admit, this idea is only a hypothesis. No one has tested whether a decomposing body could leave an imprint on shroud-style cloth like the one seen on the shroud. A 2003 paper published in the journal Melanoidins in Food and Health, however, posited that chemicals from the body could react with carbohydrates on the cloth, resulting in a browning reaction similar to the one seen on baked bread. (De Wesselow said he knows of no plans to conduct an experiment to discover if this idea really works.)
Perhaps more problematic is the authenticity of the shroud itself. Radiocarbon dating conducted in 1988 estimated the shroud to medieval times, between approximately A.D. 1260 and 1390. This is also the same time period when records of the shroud begin to appear, suggesting a forgery.
Critics have charged that the researchers who dated the shroud accidentally chose a sample of fabric added to the shroud during repairs in the medieval era, skewing the results. That controversy still rages, but de Wesselow is convinced of the shroud's authenticity from an art history approach.
"It's nothing like any other medieval work of art," de Wesselow said. "There's just nothing like it." [Religious Mysteries: 8 Alleged Relics of Jesus]
Among the anachronisms, de Wesselow said, is the realistic nature of the body outline. No one was painting that realistically in the 14th century, he said. Similarly, the body image is in negative (light areas are dark and vice versa), a style not seen until the advent of photography centuries later, he said.
"From an art historian's point of view, it's completely inexplicable as a work of art of this period," de Wesselow said.
Resurrection: spiritual or physical?
If de Wesselow's belief in the shroud's legitimacy is likely to rub skeptics the wrong way, his mundane explanation of how the image of Jesus came to be is likely to ruffle religious feathers. According to de Wesselow, there's no need to invoke a miracle when simple chemistry could explain the imprint. It's likely, he says, that Jesus' female followers returned to his tomb to finish anointing his body for burial three days after his death. When they lifted the shroud to complete their work, they would have seen the outline of the body and interpreted it as a sign of Jesus' spiritual revival.
From there, de Wesselow suspects, the shroud went on tour around the Holy Land, providing physical proof of the resurrection to Jesus' followers. When the Bible talks about people meeting Jesus post-resurrection, de Wesselow said, what it really means is that they saw the shroud. He cites the early writings of Saint Paul, which focus on a spiritual resurrection, over the gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John, which were written later and invoke physical resurrection.
"The original conception of the resurrection was that Jesus was resurrected in a spiritual body, not in his physical body," de Wesselow said.
These ideas are already receiving pushback, though de Wesselow says he's yet to get responses from people who have read his entire book. Noted skeptic Joe Nickell told MSNBC's Alan Boyle that de Wesselow's ideas were "breathtakingly astonishing," and not in a good way; Nickell has argued on multiple occasions that the shroud's spotty historical record and too-perfect image strongly suggest a counterfeit.
On the other end of the religious spectrum, former high-school teacher and Catholic religious speaker David Roemer believes in Jesus' resurrection, but not the shroud's authenticity. The image is too clear and the markings said to be blood aren't smeared as they would be if the cloth had covered a corpse, Roemer told LiveScience.
"When you get an image this detailed, it means it was done by some kind of a human being," Roemer said.
Unlike many "shroudies," as believers are deprecatingly called, Roemer suspects the shroud was deliberately created by Gnostic sects in the first or second century. A common religious explanation for the markings is that a flash of energy or radiation accompanied Christ's resurrection, "burning" his image onto the cloth. [Top 10 Unexplained Phenomena]
If anything is certain about de Wesselow's hypothesis, it's that it is not likely to settle the shroud controversy. Scientific examinations of the delicate cloth are few and far between - and so are disinterested parties. Roemer, for example, recently arrived at a scheduled talk at a Catholic church in New York only to find the talk had been canceled when the priest learned of Roemer's shroud skepticism. (The Catholic Church has no official position on the shroud's authenticity.)
Meanwhile, de Wesselow said, people who aren't driven by faith to accept the cloth as real generally don't care about the shroud at all.
"The intellectual establishment, if you like, is not interested in shroud science," he said. "It regards it as fringe and it's not interested."
You can follow LiveScience senior writer Stephanie Pappas on Twitter @sipappas. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.
Copyright 2012 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
TOKYO -- Japan announced new guidelines Friday for how its nuclear power plants try to prevent disasters like last year's meltdowns, as the government aims to ease public concern about restarting idled reactors.
Facing a national power crunch, the government is anxious to restart two reactors in Fukui, western Japan, before the last operating reactor of the 54 in the country goes offline in May.
But the public strongly opposes nuclear energy since the meltdowns at the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant, and local leaders are reluctant to approve restarting any of the reactors.
The guidelines announced Friday are more extensive than computer-simulated "stress tests" designed to estimate how reactors would cope in the event of a major earthquake and tsunami like what overwhelmed Fukushima Dai-ichi last year. Unlike in France and other countries where stress tests are meant to find weaknesses or suspend a facility, Japan tried to use them as a safety guarantee. Many people questioned the objectivity of the tests, though two reactors passed them.
If utilities meet the new guidelines, authorities hope the public will be convinced the reactors are safe, including the two in Ohi, Fukui prefecture, that have finished regular safety checks and the stress tests and are ready to restart.
Economy and Trade Minister Yukio Edano called the guidelines "easy to understand" criteria that aim to set higher standards for natural disasters, but do not factor in terrorist attacks, airplane accidents and other emergencies.
The guidelines, based on 30 recommendations adopted last month by the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency, require nuclear power plants to install filtered vents that could reduce radiation leaks in case of an accident, as well as a device to prevent hydrogen explosions. About 13 of the recommendations -- the most crucial measures needed to secure cooling functions and prevent meltdowns as in Fukushima -- were implemented, but the rest were not. The guidelines did not set deadlines for the steps to be finished.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said the government can order utilities to restart reactors regardless of local opposition, because obtaining residents' consent is not legally required.
The officials will make a final decision based on NISA's evaluation and the reactors' operator Kansai Electric Power Co.'s safety implementation plans.
Critics and officials in cities and towns near Fukui are requesting explanations for the hastily-published guidelines.
"Why rush? It's too soon to decide. I think they should gain understanding from the public first," said Yukiko Kada, governor of Shiga prefecture bordering Fukui.
Toru Hashimoto, the outspoken mayor of Osaka -- a top shareholder of Kansai Electric -- criticized the government for compiling the new guideline just in two days.
All but one of Japan's 54 reactors have been shut down for inspections, required every 13 months. None have been restarted since the March 11, 2011, tsunami set off meltdowns in three reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi plant.
The nation's last operational reactor, on the northern island of Hokkaido, goes off line in early May. If none of the reactors are restarted, Japan could face power shortages this summer. Before the crisis, Japan depended on nuclear power for one-third of its electricity.
To make up for the shortfall, Japan has expanded production at conventional gas- and oil-fired plants. Noda has promised to reduce Japan's reliance on nuclear power over time and plans to lay out a new energy policy by the summer, but his government faces pressure from big businesses to quickly get reactors back on line and maintain nuclear power to keep the economy afloat.
Fukui, home to 13 reactors clustered in four complexes along the Sea of Japan coast, is called Japan's nuclear alley.
CAMP PENDLETON, California â€"  A Marine who criticized President Barack Obama on his Facebook page has committed misconduct and should be dismissed, a military board recommended late Thursday.
The Marine Corps administrative board made the decision after a daylong hearing at Camp Pendleton for Sgt. Gary Stein.
The board also recommended that Stein be given an other-then-honorable discharge. That would mean Stein would lose his benefits and would not be allowed on any military base.
The board's recommendations go to a general who will either accept or deny them. If the general disagrees with the board, the case could go to the secretary of the Navy.
Stein's lawyers argued that the 9-year Marine, whose service was to end in four months, was expressing his personal views and exercising his First Amendment rights.
"We're truly surprised and disappointed but it was an honor to fight for a hero like Sgt. Stein and every other Marine's right to speak freely," Stein's defense attorney Marine Capt. Jame Baehr said."
Stein addressed board members during Thursday's hearing, tell them he loved the Marine Corps and wanted to re-enlist, Baehr said.
During the hearing, the prosecutor, Capt. John Torresala, said Stein went as far as superimposing images of Obama's face on a poster for the movie "Jackass."
Torresala argued that Stein's behavior repeatedly violated Pentagon policy that limits the free speech rights of service members, and said he should be dismissed after ignoring warnings from his superiors about his postings.
The government submitted screen grabs of Stein's postings on one Facebook page he created called Armed Forces Tea Party, which the prosecutor said included the image of Obama on the "Jackass" movie poster. Stein also superimposed Obama's image on a poster for "The Incredibles" movie that he changed to "The Horribles," the prosecutor said.
Torresala also said anti-Obama comments by Stein that were posted on a Facebook page used by Marine meteorologists were prejudicial to good order and discipline, and could have influenced junior Marines.
Stein's security clearance was taken away and he has no future in the Marine Corps because he can't do his job without that clearance, Torresala said.
"The Marine Corps community views the command's lack of action as some kind of knock on good order and discipline," Torresala said. "Our own people are questioning why this Marine is not being held accountable."
Baehr said during the hearing that prosecutors were trying to dredge up any damaging information they could against Stein.
"There is no basis in this case," Baehr said. "Sgt. Stein has broken no law."
The military has had a policy since the Civil War limiting the free speech of service members, including criticism of the commander in chief.
Pentagon directives say military personnel in uniform cannot sponsor a political club; participate in any TV or radio program or group discussion that advocates for or against a political party, candidate or cause; or speak at any event promoting a political movement.
Commissioned officers also may not use contemptuous words against senior officials.
Backed by a team of lawyers and congressmen, Stein has said he is fighting for his constitutional rights and should be allowed to stay in the military. His lawyers and the American Civil Liberties Union contend his views are protected by the First Amendment.
"Think about how dangerous this could be if the U.S. government can prosecute you for something you say on your private Facebook page," Baehr said.
Stein has said his opinions are his own and has put a disclaimer on his Facebook page saying so. His attorneys argued service members have a right to voice their opinions as long as they do not appear to be presenting their views as being endorsed by the military. They say the Pentagon policy is vague and military officials do not understand it.
The Marine Corps has said it decided to take administrative action after Stein declared on Facebook that he would not follow orders from Obama and later clarified that statement saying he would not follow unlawful orders.
Stein could face other-than-honorable discharge while seeing his rank reduced to lance corporal and losing his benefits. The nine-year veteran was set to finish his service in four months.
He said he was removed from his job at the Marine Corps Recruiting Depot in San Diego last month and given a desk job with no access to computers.
Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., a former Marine, wrote a letter to Stein's commanding officer stating the sergeant should not face dismissal for an opinion shared by a majority of Marines. Hunter said he was referring to Stein's statement that he would not obey unlawful orders. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., also expressed support for Stein.
Stein said his statement about Obama was part of an online debate about NATO allowing U.S. troops to be tried for the Quran burnings in Afghanistan.
In that context, he said, he was stating that he would not follow orders from the president if it involved detaining U.S. citizens, disarming them or doing anything else that he believes would violate their constitutional rights.
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. â€"  Bobby Petrino has improved every step of the way at Arkansas - not just his team's performance but his image.
The coach's revelation Thursday of an inappropriate relationship and his attempt to cover it up now threatens to derail all the progress Petrino has made in four seasons.
Arkansas is expected to return to spring practice Friday afternoon, led by a pair of Heisman Trophy hopefuls in quarterback Tyler Wilson and running back Knile Davis.
The team will do so without Petrino, who was put on administrative leave Thursday night after athletic director Jeff Long learned Petrino had failed to disclose he had been riding with a female employee half his age when his motorcycle skidded off the road over the weekend.
Petrino said he had been concerned about protecting his family and keeping an "inappropriate relationship from becoming public."
It was as stunning admission for a highly successful coach who prides himself on complete control and intense privacy in his personal life. Petrino will now await his fate while Long conducts a review.
Whether his uncertain status affects the Razorbacks remains to be seen.
"I will fully cooperate with the university throughout this process and my hope is to repair my relationships with my family, my athletic director, the Razorback Nation and remain the head coach of the Razorbacks," he said in a statement issued by the university.
Long announced the decision to put Petrino on leave at a late-night news conference, one that was reminiscent of when the former Atlanta Falcons coach was hired by the Razorbacks on Dec. 11, 2007. Long said he had no timeline in determining Petrino's future with the Razorbacks.
"I'm at the beginning of the review. I don't know what I'm going to find," Long said. "I am disappointed that coach Petrino did not share with me, when he had the opportunity to, the full extent of the accident and who was involved."
Petrino just completed his fourth season with the Razorbacks, who have developed into a national contender under his watch - improving their win total each season. He's 34-17 in four seasons at the school, 21-5 over the last two, and the Hogs finished last season ranked No. 5 after losing only to national champion Alabama and runner-up LSU.
He came to Fayetteville after a 13-game stint with the Atlanta Falcons in 2007 season. He endured plenty of criticism on his way out of Atlanta, from fans and former players alike, for leaving at midseason.
Before that he was at Louisville, guiding the Cardinals to a 41-9 record from 2003-07. When he left to take the NFL job, there were plenty of people who felt he departed in a less than admirable way and had been constantly eyeing other jobs while he was there.
He infamously met with Auburn officials in 2003 to talk about taking the Tigers' head coaching job while Tommy Tuberville still had it.
But Petrino was greeted as a savior by Arkansas fans and has given them no reason not to admire and trust him since.
Until now.
Long said he didn't hear about the passenger - 25-year-old Jessica Dorrell, a former Arkansas volleyball player and current football program employee - until Petrino called him Thursday afternoon, minutes before a police report was released disclosing her presence at the accident.
Assistant head coach and linebackers coach Taver Johnson has been put in charge of the program in Petrino's absence. The former Ohio State assistant coach was hired in January.
Long's investigation could lead, based on conduct clauses in Petrino's contract, to a suspension or firing. While this case does not appear to involve any possible NCAA violations, Jim Tressel's firing at Ohio State last year showed that even a coach who won a national championship can lose his job for lying to his boss.
"I hope to have a resolution soon," Long said. "I certainly don't have all the answers here tonight, as we meet. But again, I have an obligation and responsibility to obtain the information and then act appropriately on that information."
The 51-year-old Petrino, who is married with four children, didn't mention he had a passenger during a news conference on Tuesday, two days after Sunday's accident, and a school statement that day quoted Petrino's family as saying "no other individuals" were involved. Petrino said then that he had spent Sunday with his wife, Becky, at a lake and was going for an evening ride. His only mention of Dorrell was vague, and without identification.
"When I came out of the ditch, there was a lady there that had flagged down a car," Petrino said Tuesday, nursing four broken ribs and wearing a neck brace to support a cracked neck vertebra. "The guy that was in the passenger's seat said, 'Get in, we'll just take you right to the hospital instead of waiting,' and so I got in the car and they headed toward Fayetteville."
In Thursday's statement, Petrino apologized and acknowledged that he had kept quiet about Dorrell.
"I have been in constant pain, medicated and the circumstances involving the wreck have come out in bits and pieces. That said, I certainly had a concern about Jessica Dorrell's name being revealed," he said. "In hindsight, I showed a serious mistake in judgment when I chose not to be more specific about those details. Today, I've acknowledged this previous inappropriate relationship with my family and those within the athletic department administration."
Dorrell, who did not return a call seeking comment, was hired March 28 by Petrino as the student-athlete development coordinator after serving as a fundraiser with the Razorback Foundation. She is in charge of organizing the recruiting process for the football team, including initial eligibility for each incoming player.
Long said he had not decided whether to suspend Dorrell.
Petrino signed a new seven-year contract in December 2010 after completing his third regular season at Arkansas. The contract, which was for an average of $3.53 million annually.
The police report said Petrino was riding with Dorrell when he lost control of his motorcycle. Dorrell said in the report that she wasn't sure what caused the accident, during which Petrino was unable to maneuver a turn and laid the motorcycle down on its left side while sliding off a rural, two-lane road about 20 miles southeast of Fayetteville.
Petrino said in the report that wind and sun caused the accident. The police report said Petrino and Dorrell were taken by a passer-by to an intersection in southeast Fayetteville, where a state police officer took Petrino to the hospital.
The police report said Dorrell wasn't taken to a hospital, and that she was dropped off at her vehicle, which was parked at the intersection. State police spokesman Bill Sadler said Petrino didn't try to hide Dorrell's part in the accident when questioned on Tuesday.
"Coach Petrino was as cooperative as anybody that we could ever hope to encounter following the traffic crash," Sadler said.
Petrino, who wasn't wearing a helmet, was hospitalized but had since returned to practice.
Arkansas has high expectations for next season, led by first-team All-Southeastern Conference quarterback Wilson. Also, Davis' return after missing all of last season with an ankle injury has only added to the high hopes.
How Petrino's misstep affects those hopes has yet to be seen. The next move is Long's.
BUFORD, Wyo. â€"  Buford is a small place for sure, but so is the world.
A remote, unincorporated area along busy Interstate 80 that advertised itself as the smallest town in the United States, Buford was sold at auction for $900,000 on Thursday to an unidentified man from Vietnam.
It's owner for the last 20 years, Don Sammons, served with the U.S. Army as a radio operator in 1968-69.
After meeting the buyer, an emotional Sammons said it was hard for him to grasp the irony of the situation.
"I think it's funny how things come full circle," he said.
The buyer attended the auction in person but declined to meet with the media or to be identified. Sammons and others involved in the auction would not discuss the buyer's plans for Buford.
It will take about 30 days for all the paperwork to be completed before ownership of the place located almost equidistant between Cheyenne and Laramie in southeast Wyoming changes hands, Sammons said.
The new owner will get a gas station and convenience store, a schoolhouse from 1905, a cabin, a garage, 10 acres, and a three-bedroom home at 8,000 feet altitude - overlooking the trucks and cars on the nearby interstate on one side and the distant snowcapped mountains in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado on the other.
The town traces its origins to the 1860s and the construction of the Transcontinental Railroad. Buford had as many as 2,000 residents before the railroad was rerouted.
Sammons, who moved to the Buford area about 30 years ago from Los Angeles to get away from the busy city life, bought the trading post on Jan. 31, 1992. He plans to retire from his unofficial title as "mayor" and write a book about his experiences in Buford, he said.
"I felt my time here has been very happy for me, and hopefully the new owner will be able to enjoy what I've enjoyed over the years - conversations with people, the uniqueness of the area and so on - and keep the history alive," Sammons said.
As workers boarded up the windows of the convenience store behind her, Rozetta Weston, a broker with a Cheyenne real estate auction company that represented the buyer, said the buyer was excited to own a "piece of the United States." But she declined to discuss the buyer's future plans for Buford.
Weston said the buyer and a companion arrived in Wyoming - their first trip to the United States - on Monday, touring Cheyenne and the University of Wyoming at Laramie before the auction.
Williams & Williams Co. of Tulsa, Okla., conducted the auction on a sunny, windy day outside the trading post, which has been closed since Dec. 31. The number of bidders was not released.
Dozens of people, including some of the 125 residents who live in remote areas and get their mail at the outdoor post office boxes on the property, showed up for the event. Officials with Williams & Williams stood out in their business suits among the locals dressed in jeans and western attire.
Inside the convenience store, most of the candy, snacks, pop, beer and all the Marlboro cigarettes had been sold off already. Bags of charcoal, whistles made from animal antlers and dozens of T-shirts proclaiming Buford as the smallest town in the United States remained unsold.
Wearing a weather beaten cowboy hat, Gary Crawford, who lives about 4.5 miles northeast of the trading post - "Post Office Box 7" - said the trading post is important to the surrounding residents who mostly live on widely scattered ranches.
"At different times, this has been a community gathering place where you caught up with your neighbors and shoot the breeze, learn what's going on, who is around," Crawford said.
He looked forward to meeting the new owner.
"I think we may have very nice, new neighbors," he said.
A Detroit teenager who forced his ex-girlfriend to watch as he hacked her mother and new boyfriend to death was reportedly obsessed with the movie "American Psycho" and left a series of disturbing messages on his Facebook account in the weeks before the attack.
Police say 19-year-old Brian Douglas White entered the home of his ex-girlfriend early Wednesday and went on a killing rampage, using an ax to kill the girl's mother, Angela Kim Staperfene, and her current boyfriend, 19-year-old Jacob Lee Burns, while they slept. White then shot himself to death.
The 17-year-old girl, a senior at Stevenson High School whose name hasn't been released, was injured in the attack inside her Livonia, Mich., home but managed to escape and call 911. Livonia, a city of 100,000, is about 15 miles west of Detroit.
A string of messages reportedly posted by White on his Facebook page in the weeks before the rampage reveal a deeply troubled teenager.Â
"You can get addicted to a certain kind of sadness," White wrote on his Facebook page, which has since been taken down, the Detroit News reported.Â
"What a polite murderer," he wrote on March 27, according to the newspaper.Â
Another posting from March 29 reportedly read: "And with a sad heart I say bye to you and wave, kicking shadows on the street for every mistake that I had made."
The family of 19-year-old Burns expressed their grief over his death, telling Fox affiliate WJBK-TV that he was a standout athlete who "put a smile on everybody's face."
"Everybody he met was a friend," his father, Robert Burns, told the station.
"I don't think we'll ever know what was going on inside that young man's head," he said of his son's killer. "For whatever purpose that this happened, I have no clue. I don't think we'll ever know."
Friends of the 17-year-old girl described her as an aspiring model who was outgoing and compassionate. A neighbor told the Detroit News that the girl had rejected White earlier this week when he confronted her at school.
"He was very controlling," neighbor Lisa Collins told the newspaper. "That's why she broke it off with him."
Click for more on this story from MyFoxDetroit.com
A young New Jersey woman whose remains were recently discovered inside her family's home was never reported missing, baffling authorities who say her father concealed the body for more than three years.Â
Police said 57-year-old Dennis Adler hid his 23-year-old daughter's remains in his former house in Keansburg, N.J., at one point moving the body into a crawl space, where it was discovered this week by a cleaning crew, authorities said Thursday.
Adler made an initial appearance in state Superior Court in Monmouth County to face a charge of disturbing human remains. He didn't enter a plea and was held on $100,000 bail.
Police were called to Adler's former home in Keansburg on Tuesday after a cleaning service discovered the remains. Dental records confirmed the remains were those of Kimberly Adler. It could take a few weeks to receive the results of an autopsy to determine the cause her death.
The county prosecutor's office said Kimberly Adler was likely 23 when she died. She was never reported missing.
According to the arrest warrant, Adler is accused of "repeatedly moving, disturbing and concealing the remains of K.A. on diverse dates beginning on 8/10/2008."
Prosecutors would not provide further details on the investigation.
County property records describe Adler as an "unremarried widower" at the time that the property was sold in June 2008 and said his wife died in April 2007. The couple had bought the property, which includes several buildings, in 1989.
The Asbury Park Press reported that court records show Kimberly Adler pleaded guilty to an oxycodone possession charge in May 2008. On Sept. 26, 2008, she failed to appear in a New Jersey court for sentencing and a bench warrant was issued for her arrest, according to the newspaper.Â
John Sheehan, who is listed as the buyer of the property, did not immediately return a telephone message left on Thursday.
Some residents of a rooming house in Keansburg listed on the warrant as Adler's last known address said they hadn't seen him in about a year. Neighbors on the street of modest one-story homes where Kimberly Adler's body was found didn't want to comment on the discovery or said they didn't know the house's former owner.
A pile of debris lay in back of the house on Thursday, while out front, television news trucks were gathered.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.Â
The U.S. economy grew in March but at a slower rate than in the previous three months, with employers making fewer hires, a sign that recovery remains uneven and sluggish.
The Labor Department reported Friday the economy added 120,000 jobs last month, compared to more than 200,000 in each of the previous three months.
The unemployment rate dropped to 8.2 percent, the lowest since January 2009, but the decrease was attributed to fewer people searching for jobs.
The mixed report followed a string of solid job growth. The slowdown in job creation could threaten a recent rise in consumer confidence and dent investors' enthusiasm for stocks.
It also could prove a setback for President Obama's re-election hopes.
Still the president praised the report while speaking at a White House conference on women and the economy, even as GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney and other Republican leaders responded negatively.
“We welcome today's news,†the president said. “But there will still be ups and downs along the way.â€
Romney, the front-runner in the GOP race, called the jobs data “weak and very troubling.â€
“More and more people are growing so discouraged that they are dropping out of the labor force altogether. … The president's excuses have run out.â€
House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said the report shows small businesses and families are still struggling “because of President Obama's failed economic policies.â€
Stock markets are closed and bond markets will close early for Good Friday, so most investors won't get to render a verdict on the report until Monday.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has cautioned that the current hiring pace is unlikely to continue without more consumer spending.
Retailers shed nearly 34,000 jobs in March, and temporary help firms dropped almost 8,000 -- a potentially bad sign for the job market because companies often hire temp workers before adding full timers.
Manufacturers continued to add jobs, hiring 37,000 workers in March.
A broader measure of the labor market -- one that adds to the officially unemployed those who have given up looking for work and those forced to settle for part-time jobs -- improved last month to 14.5 percent from 14.9 percent in February.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the economy added 4,000 more jobs in January and February than it previously reported.
This year's election is expected to hinge on the state of the economy; Obama's re-election hopes may depend on continued improvement in the unemployment rate and job creation.
Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, the likely Republican challenger, this week blamed the president's policies for slow growth and high unemployment.
The Obama campaign has said that Romney would reinstate policies that led to the recession -- lower taxes for the wealthy and less regulation for business.
For many, what matters most is the unemployment rate. It was 7.8 percent when Obama entered office in January 2009 and peaked at 10 percent nine months later. Since August, it has dropped from 9.1 percent to March's 8.2 percent.
No incumbent since World War II has faced voters with unemployment higher than 7.8 percent.
Other data suggest the economic recovery is gaining strength. The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell last week to a four-year low, the government said Thursday. Consumers are more confident and spending more.
The service sector expanded at a healthy clip in March and increased hiring, according to a private survey released Wednesday by the Institute for Supply Management. Factories are busier. Companies are investing more, ordering more machinery and other equipment.
Economists have worried all along that job growth couldn't sustain the strong December-to-February pace.
They also worry that a 66-cent run-up in gasoline prices (to a national average $3.94 a gallon) so far this year will discourage consumer spending -- though American households are more resilient financially after cutting their debts.
Most economists expect annual growth this year of just 2.5 percent. Normally, it takes annual growth of 4 percent to lower the unemployment rate 1 percentage point over a year.
The job market is improving largely because the pace of layoffs has fallen sharply. The staffing firm Challenger, Gray Christmas reported Thursday that planned layoffs fell 27 percent from February to March. Hiring, meanwhile, is still running nearly 20 percent below pre-recession levels.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
BEIRUT â€"  Syrian forces broadened an offensive against opposition fighters in three Damascus suburbs Friday in an apparent attempt to crush pockets of rebellion near the capital less than a week before an internationally sponsored cease-fire is to go into effect, activists said.
Troops conducted raids in the suburbs of Saqba and Douma following overnight clashes with army defectors in Saqba and the nearby suburb of Arbeen, said the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The group said three members of the military were killed.
Plumes of smoke rose above Saqba, and activists said regime forces torched at least one house.
Tanks patrolled deserted streets in the sprawling Douma district, about 8 miles outside Damascus, said activist Mohammed Saeed. Snipers set up positions atop a 12-story medical building.
Troops had entered Douma on Thursday in what activists described as one of the most violent raids near the capital since the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad began more than a year ago.
In other fighting, regime forces struck the rebel-held town of Rastan, just north of the central city of Homs, with heavy machine-guns and mortars, the Observatory said. Ground troops later tried to push their way into the city, clashing with opposition fighters, the group said. Troops have been laying a siege to Rastan since rebels took control of it in late January.
Government troops also shelled three neighborhoods in Homs, according to the Observatory.
A cease-fire is to take hold by 6 a.m. on Thursday, according to a plan brokered by Kofi Annan, the special U.N. and Arab League envoy to Syria. However, escalating fighting has dimmed hopes that violence will end soon. The U.N. says the fighting has claimed more than 9,000 lives.
Assad last week accepted the truce deal, which calls for his forces to pull out of towns and cities by Tuesday. However, Western leaders have cast doubt on his intentions, suggesting he is playing for time and is not serious about the Annan plan which is to pave the way for talks between the regime and the opposition on a political solution.
Plans for the cease-fire are in jeopardy, the U.N.-Arab League joint envoy to Syria Kofi Annan told the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, shortly after the U.N. Security Council formally endorsed Mr. Annan's peace plan.
"Clearly the violence is still continuing at alarming levels daily," Mr. Annan, said via video-link from Geneva. "Military operations have not stopped."
Mr. Annan said Syria's government had written him to say that armed groups were still attacking the state, but that the government had begun withdrawing troops from Idlib, Deraa and Zabadan ahead of the deadline.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned Thursday that the crisis is getting worse
"Cities, towns and villages have been turned into war zones. The sources of violence are proliferating," Ban told the U.N. General Assembly. "The human rights of the Syrian people continue to be violated. ... Humanitarian needs are growing dramatically."
Opposition activists say they believe Assad's regime is stepping up attacks to gain ground ahead of a truce.
The Associated Press and The Wall Street Journal contributed to this report.
MOSCOW â€"  School notebooks with a portrait of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin on the cover have been causing a controversy in Russia since they went on sale this week.
While human rights activists and historians have warned that the notebooks wrongly instill a positive image of Stalin in children's minds, eager customers have been snapping them up in Moscow bookstores.
In response to numerous pleas to take action, Education Minister Andrei Fursenko said that he disapproves of the notebooks, but has no legal way to stop their publication or sale.
Stalin, who ruled the Soviet Union from 1922 to 1953, is a controversial figure in Russia today. Although he was responsible for the deaths of millions of his own citizens, Stalin is still highly regarded for having led the Soviet Union to victory in World War II and overseeing its rise as an industrial and military superpower.
The notebooks are part of a series called "Great Russians," which places Stalin among famous composers and czars. He is featured on the cover wearing an army uniform studded with medals.
"When children see this magnificent cover with handsome mustachioed Stalin, they perceive him as a hero," Nikolai Svanidze, a television journalist and historian, said in a statement posted on the website of the government's Public Chamber.
Artyom Belan, art director of the Alt publishing house that produced the notebooks, described the series as an "educational endeavor" and said Stalin deserved to be included as a major figure of the 20th century.
"If we do a series of great Russians, should we strike the 20th century from the list altogether?" Belan asked.
An information page at the back of the Stalin notebook mentions the hundreds of thousands of people who were executed during his purges and the millions who were sent to labor camps, but it also praises the Soviet Union's achievements under Stalin's leadership.
Russian textbooks also have taken a more positive view of Stalin since Vladimir Putin came to power in 2000. Putin, who has been prime minister for four years and returns to the presidency in May, has worked to restore Russians' pride in their country and its history as a great power.
A large Moscow bookstore that specializes in textbooks ran out of the Stalin notebooks by Wednesday afternoon and was awaiting a new shipment.
The Stalin notebooks "sell extremely well," said Yelena Shurukova, an employee at Pedagogical Books. Most are bought by adults, she said.
Maryland's highest court is hearing arguments Friday in a precedent-setting case involving two women who married in California but were denied a divorce in Maryland, which does not allow same-sex weddings.
The Court of Appeals of Maryland is hearing from lawyers for the lesbian couple. A Maryland judge declined to grant their divorce in 2010, basing his decision on the conclusion that their marriage is not valid under Maryland law.
But lawyers for the women disagree, saying the state should recognize gay marriages performed elsewhere. They married in California.
The high court's decision may have limited effect since same-sex weddings -- and, by extension, divorces -- are set to start in the state in January 2013 under a law passed this year. But opponents of the new law are seeking to overturn it in a potential voter referendum.
Judges in Maryland are inconsistent about granting divorces for gay couples who married in another state. Lawyers in Friday's case say they believe judges have granted about a half a dozen divorces for gay couples, but their clients, Jessica Port and Virginia Anne Cowan, and at least one other couple were recently denied.
Divorces "shouldn't depend on what judge you get," said Shannon Minter, legal director for the National Center for Lesbian Rights in San Francisco and one of the attorneys representing Port.
Port and Cowan were married in California in 2008 during a window in which gay marriage was legal there. Almost two years later, the couple filed for divorce in Maryland, where Port lives.
Maryland has no express prohibition banning the recognition of same-sex marriages from other states, their lawyers wrote.
In recent years, judges in states including Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Texas and Rhode Island have refused to grant gay couples divorces.
Responding to those cases, California and the District of Columbia recently passed laws allowing gay couples married in their jurisdictions to divorce there if their home state will not dissolve the marriage.
Six states and the District of Columbia currently permit gay couples to marry. Those states are Connecticut, Iowa, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Vermont.Â
Lawmakers in Washington state have also passed a law permitting gay couples to marry, but it doesn't take effect until June and could be put on hold by a proposed voter referendum seeking to overturn the law.
The online video-gaming accounts of more than 3,500 convicted New York sex offenders have been abruptly yanked, state Attorney General Eric Schneiderman announced yesterday.
Under Operation: Game Over, the manufacturers of online video-game networks are cross-checking their customer lists with the state Sex Offender Registry to keep pervs from trolling sites in hopes of luring kids into personal encounters.
Participating companies include Apple;Blizzard Entertainment; Disney; Electronic Arts; Microsoft; Sony and Warner Bros.
“We must ensure that on-line video-game systems do not become a digital playground for predators,†said Schneiderman, noting that some manufacturers have yet to comply.
Video-game players compete online and can exchange text messages and e-mails and chat on speaker or via video. The rapid and frequent interaction is fertile ground for pedophiles, Schneiderman and child advocates agree.
Under New York state law, convicted sex offenders must register all of their e-mail addresses, screen names and other Internet IDs with authorities.
That information is then made available to video-game makers and Web-site operators, who can then choose to purge any potential predators.
BALTIMORE, Md. â€"  The Maryland Mega-nut who insists she won a record Mega Millions jackpot now says she lost the winning ticket -- but is not breaking a sweat looking for it.
"I have no idea where it is. I'm not sure I have it," Mirlande Wilson said in her latest tortured explanation of the mystery ticket's fate.
The world's most famous McDonald's employee incredibly claimed she had not even checked the uniform she was wearing the night she bought it.
"I'm still looking for it. I haven't even looked in my uniform pants yet," the flaky single mom of seven admitted. "I'm still looking everywhere to find it, in my purse, everywhere."
And she did not put her kids to work on the treasure hunt even though they have the week off for spring break.
"I wanted to look for it. I was crying. She wouldn't let us. It's a lot of money," lamented her disappointed daughter Stephanie, 15.
To read more on this story, see the New York Post article here.
Officials with the federal agency now under congressional investigation over a lavish conference were captured on camera joking about the expense at the summit's "capstone" event in October 2010.
One official joked about how much was spent at a party hosted by the agency's commissioner. Another employee, in a mock music video, even sang about how he'd "never be under OIG investigation."
OIG stands for Office of Inspector General -- the office that earlier this week released a bombshell report that triggered firings at the agency that held the conference. The report found the Public Buildings Service, part of the General Services Administration, spent more than $820,000 on the meeting near Las Vegas in 2010.
Two House committees now are probing the agency. One of those, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, posted video of the GSA employees online.
Committee Chairman Darrell Issa said a briefing Thursday by the Office of the Inspector General shows former General Services Administrator Martha Johnson and Steven Leeds, former senior counselor to the administrator, were told in May 2011 about the investigation of the conference.
“This administration knew about the spending scandal 11 months ago and they didn't act until this week,†Mr. Issa said.
Issa, R-Calif., summarized the highlights of the briefing in a letter to Brian D. Miller, inspector general for the General Services Administration.
The video shows one employee performing in the fake music video, which is laced with jokes and references that only federal employees are likely to get.
In the lyrics, the employee sings: "Donate my vacation, love to the nation, I'll never be under OIG investigation."
The creator was given an award at the conference, and named "commissioner for a day."
In the award speech, an official identified as Public Buildings Service Deputy Commissioner David Foley joked that "there's just a couple of small matters."
"The hotel would like to talk to you about paying for the party that was held in the commissioner's suite last night," he said, to uproarious laughter from the crowd.Â
The inspector general's office detailed in its report that a party was hosted by the actual commissioner in his "loft suite" for senior officials -- at a cost of nearly $2,000.Â
This and other parties, the report said, did not "fit any legal authority for GSA to spend funds on food."Â
The Public Buildings Service commissioner, Robert Peck, was fired in the wake of the report, as was another GSA official. The chief at GSA also resigned.
In a statement Thursday, the GSA condemned the contents of the conference video.Â
"This video is another example of the complete lack of judgment exhibited during the 2010 Western Regions Conference. Our agency continues to be appalled by this indefensible behavior, and we are taking every step possible to ensure that nothing like this ever happens again," a spokesman with the agency said.
The spending habits of the GSA and its subsidiary buildings service have attracted widespread attention in Washington.Â
Republicans on the House transportation committee on Thursday wrote a letter to the GSA inspector general asking for information about an incentive program they claim handed out "$200,000 worth of taxpayer funded iPods, electronics and gift cards for questionable reasons at best."Â
Rep. Jeff Denham, R-Calif., accused the administration of treating "hardworking taxpayer dollars like their own private slush fund."Â
Separately, the nonprofit advocacy group Cause of Action wrote to other federal departments asking them to disclose spending on "commemorative" items -- after the GSA was accused of spending more than $6,000 on commemorative coins at the conference.Â
Iowa Republicans are taking aim at the state's top law school for denying a faculty position to a conservative law professor, who an assistant dean once said embraces politics the rest of the faculty "despises." Â Â
Teresa Wagner, who works as an associate director of writing at the University of Iowa College of Law, is suing former dean Carolyn Jones for employment discrimination, claiming she was not hired for a professor position because Jones and other law faculty disapproved of her conservative views and activism.
To hold a law faculty position at the publicly funded university is viewed as a "sacred cow," Wagner said in an interview, and "Republicans need not apply."Â
The case, which goes to trial this October, has become a chief concern for Republicans in Johnson County, who on Monday passed a resolution calling on the Iowa House of Representatives' oversight committee to investigate hiring practices involved in Wagner's case and others like it.Â
"We think the hiring policies need to be such where there are certainly non-discriminatory practices which relate to political philosophy, as well as to race and gender and other issues," said Bob Anderson, chairman of the Johnson County Republican Party. He claims students are deprived of "diversity of political thought" when conservative thinkers, like Wagner, are rejected based on their politics.
"We have a very active, conservative Republican community within the University of Iowa, which has not been met with an appropriate sense of respect for their ideas," he told FoxNews.com. "We see generally the climate as unfavorable." Â
Wagner, who graduated with honors from the law school in 1993, has taught at the George Mason University School of Law. She has also worked for the National Right to Life Committee, which opposes abortion, and the conservative Family Research Council.Â
In 2006, Wagner applied for a full-time instructor position with the law school and was denied. She was also rejected for an adjunct or full-time position in four subsequent attempts, according to her attorney, Stephen T. Fieweger.
"For the first time in years, there are more registered Republicans in the state of Iowa than there are Democrats, which is obviously not reflected at the University of Iowa," Fieweger told FoxNews.com.
Fieweger said Wagner's candidacy was dismissed because of her conservative views, and he cited a 2007 email from Associate Dean Jonathan C. Carlson to Jones in which Carlson wrote: "Frankly, one thing that worries me is that some people may be opposed to Teresa serving in any role, in part at least because they so despise her politics (and especially her activism about it)."Â
Associate Dean Eric Andersen was not immediately available for comment when contacted Thursday. Tom Moore, a spokesman for the university, told the Iowa City Press Citizen last week that the school is "committed to equal opportunity, diversity and to following fair hiring practices."
Wagner's case was initially dismissed in a lower court that ruled the dean could hire whomever she wishes. But the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, in St. Louis, reinstated it in December. A trial is set for Oct. 15.Â
Fieweger said the law school and academic institutions in general have been so "entrenched" in discriminating against conservative-minded faculty over the years that "they don't recognize they're doing it."
At the time Wagner filed her complaint, Fieweger said, the number of registered Republicans on the law faculty stood at one.
Fieweger said the school argues Wagner was rejected because she "stunningly flunked the interview" in refusing to teach analysis -- a claim he said "just doesn't make sense and the jury is going to see that."
AUSTIN, Texas â€"  A police officer was shot and killed early Friday at a Walmart in Central Texas, and a suspect is in custody, police said.
Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo said the officer was shot in the neck and died at the scene. The department identified him as Senior Police Officer Jaime Padron and said he had two daughters, ages 10 and six.
Padron was responding to a call about a drunk man inside the store around 2:30 a.m., Acevedo said. The suspect attacked the officer as soon as he arrived at the store and Padron didn't have a chance to even pull out his own weapon.
"The suspect produced a semi-automatic pistol and shot the officer at point blank range," Acevedo said. The wounded officer was able to call for help using his police radio, he added.
The police chief declined to identify the suspect, who was being held at the Travis County jail.
"This was a routine call," Acevedo said. "What makes our job deadly is that there is no routine call."
Two Walmart employees tackled and held the suspect and locked down the store until another police officer arrived to arrest him. Acevedo praised their actions, saying they did all they were supposed to do. He said store video captured the entire incident.
"I am heartened that two brave souls took action. They tackled the suspect when they saw the officer was shot unprovoked," Acevedo said. Once the suspect was handcuffed, another officer gave Padron CPR and medics tried to revive him, but they pronounced the officer dead at 2:44 a.m.
Acevedo said Padron worked at the department for more than three years and had previously worked for the Austin airport police and the San Angelo police department.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. spokeswoman Dianna Gee expressed sympathy for the officer's family and colleagues, and said the Bentonville, Ark.-based retailer is proud of staff at the store.
"The associates displayed courage under these extreme circumstances," Gee said. She declined to provide more details about the shooting, referring questions to the police.
Austin city manager Chris Ott lamented the officer's death.
"It is a sad day for the city of Austin to lose a member of our family," Ott said.
Pedro Garcia and his roommate, Sapna Sharma, who live in the suburb of Pflugerville, told the Austin American-Statesman they were grocery shopping at the back of the store when they heard gunfire.
"I felt like something fell really hard," Sharma said.
They said an employee told them there had been a shooting and that more than a dozen officers swarmed into the store.
At 18 months old, Billy Pagoni was diagnosed with severe autism. The disorder was so disabling, he had trouble speaking.
Today, he's 20 years old, about to graduate from high school in Naples, Fla., and wants more than anything to go to college. But, so far, every school he and his mother have contacted have told them there is no program available for his specialized needs.
With seemingly no opportunities available for him, Billy has made a public plea to President Obama to help him enroll into a college or university and continue his education.
“Dear President Obama, my name is Billy Pagoni,†Billy implored on a video posted on Facebook. “I want to be a baker. I am a great student. I never miss a day of school. I get A's on my report card. Please, can you help me go to college? I am an American. I am autistic.â€
According to the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in 88 children in the U.S. have been identified with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). When Billy was first diagnosed, nearly 18 years ago, the rate was two in 10,000.
Now, with the disorder so widely recognized, doctors, parents and other autism experts are pushing for early intervention programs more than ever before. Last week, applied behavioral analysis was officially recognized by a federal judge as a proven method, rather than an experimental one, to help autistic children with learning and development.
ABA uses techniques such as positive reinforcement to increase useful learning behaviors and decrease behaviors that may harm or interfere with learning. In Florida, Medicaid must now cover the treatment for children with autism, following the federal judge's ruling.
An uphill battle
“Billy really didn't speak [when he was first diagnosed],†explained his mother Edith Pagoni, the director of KNEADS, a non-profit social and vocational program for adolescents and young adults with autism in Naples. Pagoni took action, enrolling her son in an applied behavioral analysis program at Rutgers University soon after he was diagnosed.
“Through that program, he's learned how to learn,†said Pagoni. “He's learned how to read, write and speak.â€
The next step, she said, was to convince local school systems in Connecticut, where the Pagoni family lived at the time, to incorporate the program into their curriculum for autistic children. They had to repeat the process again in Florida when they moved seven years later.
“I had to say, there's scientific proof here, there's research,†Pagoni said. “Finally we got that program accepted into [Connecticut and Florida] schools and started an early intervention program in Connecticut. We helped 80-plus students with that model.â€
Billy is known around his community as the ‘puzzle-boy' because he likes gluing puzzles together and giving them to people around town. As a skilled artist, he sells his work at Florida's yearly Bonita Springs Art Festival.
He picked up baking after his mother took him to visit a German bread baker in Florida. Pagoni enrolled him in baking classes, which she said were open to working with her son and another student with autism. Now, Billy is in charge of cooking most of his own meals.
“He really wants something a little more than that, where he can take a vocational skill as a prep chef or a sous chef,†Pagoni said.
But now, with Billy one year away from graduating high school â€" public high schools typically require students to graduate at age 21, at the latest â€" his family has hit a final roadblock: finding a college that will accept him.
Pagoni has inquired into multiple universities in the surrounding Naples area, including Lorenzo Walker Institute of Technology, which markets programs for special needs children. She said Billy has been denied from every one.
“They tell me there's no place for him,†Pagoni said. “He goes to school every day, he gets A's in a specialized curriculum, but he's being denied a post-secondary experience.â€
“We evaluate students with disabilities on an individualized basis,†the Collier County school district, which includes Lorenzo Walker Institute of Technology, responded in a statement. “Given the range of autism spectrum disorders, which extends from mild to severe forms, we have the IEP team involved do an extensive analysis in order to design an appropriate educational program to fit the student's needs, abilities and growth patterns. If the autism is severe, for example, and we are dealing with an older student, and that student requires close monitoring, it may not be possible to enroll the student in a vocational program because of the safety risks involved.
“Should that be the case, the team explores alternative means to help the student vocationally prepare for the future.â€
‘There's nothing else for him'
While universities currently offer specialized programs for blind, deaf, ESL and high-functioning Asperger's students, there are little to no options for more severely autistic children, according to Pagoni.
“When you look online,†she explained, “it looks like, yes, there are programs for these students. But what universities actually have are programs for extremely rare, high-functioning, savant-like autistic children. There's nothing for kids who have splintered skills â€" for those who are excellent with computers, but may need a subject like geography broken down for them.â€
Michael Stuart, a retired high school teacher whose son has autism, said he and his family have faced the same uphill battle as the Pagonis. His 20-year-old son, Aaron, is also about to age out of high school with no future options.
“That's it, there's nothing else for him,†said Stuart, who described his son as moderately to severely autistic. “We've been looking at this for quite some time now.â€
While Aaron cannot communicate, he has been trained in other skills â€" specifically the culinary arts. “We've been training him the best we can for life after school,†said Stuart, who also lives in Naples, Fla.
“As a teacher, I've worked with thousands of kids over the years, many of which have been mentally and physically disabled,†he continued. “I do believe in investing in these kids; I do believe they can become productive members of society if they are given proper educational support…As impaired as they are, they love to work, they love to be functional they love to have a purpose in life. They can all be trained.â€
With proper vocational training, Stuart believes Aaron, Billy and other autistic children can be kept out of adult daycare programs and off government support.
“Adults with autism need a safe environment where they can be productive and work and get a paycheck,†Stuart said. “We're looking for opportunities, not handouts. We don't want handouts from the government. We want our kids to work and be safe.â€
Running out of options
Billy has asked his mother every day if he can go to college like his sister, a student at Florida State University â€" though he wants to stay closer to home. Currently, he is enrolled in a work program through his school at an NCH regional hospital in Naples, where he files and cleans tables.
“The problem is, once that program ends and he graduates out, it's no longer available as an option for employment,†Pagoni said. Her son can follow instructions very well and works hard, she added, but his autism can derail him when distractions are present â€" such as people asking him questions unrelated to his current task.
“I don't want to set him up in an environment where he'd fail,†Pagoni said, adding that at this point, adult daycare is the only alternative if no colleges accept him, but “he's too smart, he's worked too hard to get just this far. He's quite an artist and quite a baker.â€
Both Pagoni and Stuart plan to start alternative programs to support their children, if no other options become available. However, it would once again be starting from scratch for both families.
“There's a complete generation of these kids who are aging out of school, who will have nothing to do,†Pagoni said. “If colleges had a program for autism that addresses specific skills for these kids, there would be people at the door waiting.â€
Click here to visit www.kneads.org.
Click here to visit Edith Pagoni's Facebook page.
The photographs of a single camera enthusiast who traveled aboard the Titanic before its fatal voyage have resurfaced for the 100th anniversary of the sinking, revealing a remarkable glimpse at what life was like for passengers of the ill-fated ship.
The Rev. Francis Browne, a Jesuit priest, sailed the first leg of the Titanic's maiden voyage, between Southampton, England, and Cobh, Ireland -- taking a series of black-and-white photos of life onboard the luxury liner. He planned to stay on the ship to New York but was ordered by his superior to return home instead.
Browne was lucky. After striking an iceberg on April 15, 1912, the Titanic took 1,500 people with it to its watery grave miles below the surface of the Atlantic.
Browne survived, thanks to the demands of his ministry, and so did his photographs, which were rediscovered in 1985 by a fellow priest.
His fantastic tale is documented in the book “Father Browne's Titanic Album: Centenary Edition,†a unique memoir and photographic record of HMS Titanic on her maiden voyage that publisher Messenger Publications in Ireland is rereleasing to coincide with the anniversary.Â
Book available from Messenger Publications.
The photographs Browne took were used as references during the set design process for the film "Titanic," a spokeswoman for The Sacred Heart Messenger told FoxNews.com, because of the remarkable documentation they provide of life on the ocean liner. Pictures reveal an exercise room being put to use, passengers boarding by gangplank and luggage being loaded, as well as the grand scale of the ship itself.
Browne's story is as amazing as his unique photos: He was offered a ticket to ride to New York on the next leg of the Titanic and likely would have drowned had he not been called back to his parish, the spokeswoman said.
His passion for the emerging practice of photography became well known; 24 books of his photographs have been published, according to the Messenger. And his dual roles -- as priest and cameraman -- are no coincidence, according to the Rev. John Looby, editor of the Messenger.
“I do not believe that there is merely some coincidence here between Father Browne being a priest and a photographer,†Looby recently wrote. “The priest tries to see God in each person he meets and ministers to, and the photographer tries to capture what is revealed in his photos.â€
The wreckage of the Titanic has been a source of fascination for millions. New images of the wreck recently were revealed showing for the first time the full stretch of the “unsinkable†boat -- sprawled silently 12,500 feet beneath the Atlantic Ocean's surface.
That set of new photographs, released in the April 2012 edition of National Geographic magazine to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the shipwreck, reveal the full expanse of the ship, rather than the dim images of bits of the hull or pieces of wreckage seen to date.
The meticulously stitched-together mosaic took experts at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution months to construct, the magazine said.
“Now we know where everything is,†Bill Lange, head of the organization's Advanced Imaging and Visualization Laboratory, told National Geographic. “After a hundred years, the lights are finally on.â€