Former Detroit mayor spends first night in prison after plea for leniency fails

Ex-Detroit mayor spends first night in prison

DETROIT – Kwame Kilpatrick spent his first night in prison after the former Detroit mayor known for his exceptional speaking skills failed to persuade a judge to show him compassion and send him home to his family.
All Kilpatrick’s swagger and professions of love for family, God and the city …. Source article  : Former Detroit mayor spends first night in prison after plea for leniency fails.

Judge to consider guilty plea from Jordanian man accused of plotting to bomb Dallas skyscraper

Judge to consider man’s plea in Texas bomb plot

DALLAS – A federal judge is set to consider a plea agreement from a Jordanian man accused of plotting to blow up a skyscraper in downtown Dallas.
Court documents say 19-year-old Hosam Smadi (hoh-SAHM’ SMAH’-dee) has agreed to plead guilty to attempted use of a weapon of mass …. Source article  : Judge to consider guilty plea from Jordanian man accused of plotting to bomb Dallas skyscraper.

Community board votes to support plans for mosque, cultural center near NYC’s ground zero

NYC community board OKs ground zero mosque plans

NEW YORK – After hours of contentious public comment, a New York City community board voted late Tuesday to support a plan to build a mosque and cultural center near ground zero.
“It’s a seed of peace,” board member Rob Townley said. “We believe that this is significant step …. Source article  : Community board votes to support plans for mosque, cultural center near NYC’s ground zero.

Judge lifts federal pumping limits in Calif for 3 weeks to free up more water for farms

Judge orders Calif water pumping limits lifted

FRESNO, Calif. – Central California farmers won more water for their parched fields Tuesday when a federal judge temporarily loosened pumping limits meant to protect native salmon.
Attorneys for some of the nation’s largest farms and Southern California cities had asked for a preliminary injunction that would lift a set …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Judge lifts federal pumping limits in Calif for 3 weeks to free up more water for farms.

NY teen convicted in hate crime stabbing death faces up to 25 years in prison at sentencing

NY teen faces sentencing in hate crime stabbing

RIVERHEAD, N.Y. – A New York teenager is facing up to 25 years in prison when he is sentenced in the hate crime killing of an Ecuadorean immigrant.
Nineteen-year-old Jeffrey Conroy was convicted last month of manslaughter and other crimes in the November 2008 stabbing death of Marcelo Lucero … Original article on : NY teen convicted in hate crime stabbing death faces up to 25 years in prison at sentencing.

Mexican senator visiting Ariz. says Mexico preparing for influx once immigration law in effect

Mexican senator says gov’t preparing for Ariz. law

PHOENIX – A Mexican senator in Phoenix to learn more about Arizona’s new immigration law says Mexican government officials are preparing in case the law drives large numbers of people back to Mexico.
Sen. Silvano Aureoles of the central state of Michoacan said Tuesday that the Arizona law is …. Source article  : Mexican senator visiting Ariz. says Mexico preparing for influx once immigration law in effect.

Judge scolds former NY state senator for cheating public, sentences him to 7 years in prison

Ex-NY state senator chided, gets 7 years in prison

NEW YORK – A federal judge has sentenced former New York state Sen. Efrain Gonzalez Jr. to seven years in prison, saying his scheme to steal from charities was an “American tragedy.”
Federal Judge William Pauley sentenced Gonzalez on Tuesday.
Gonzalez pleaded guilty last year to charges he used … Read : Judge scolds former NY state senator for cheating public, sentences him to 7 years in prison.

TiVo 1Q net loss widens as higher costs wipe out 11 percent revenue increase

TiVo loss widens on legal costs, other expenses

PHILADELPHIA – Digital video recorder pioneer TiVo Inc. on Tuesday reported a net loss in the first quarter – its sixth straight money-losing quarter as the company struggled with higher legal expenses and other costs that wiped out an increase in revenue.
While TiVo has a loyal following among …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : TiVo 1Q net loss widens as higher costs wipe out 11 percent revenue increase.

Malaysia parents seek return of son exiled for allegedly possessing stolen motorcycle

Malaysia parents challenge gov’t exile of teen son

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – A Malaysian teenager banished by the government for allegedly possessing a stolen motorcycle sought a court order Wednesday for him to be returned to his parents.
Authorities arrested Jagendran Panir Selvam and two of his 16-year-old friends in central Selangor state last December under a …. Read the original article  : Malaysia parents seek return of son exiled for allegedly possessing stolen motorcycle.

Thousdns pray for peace in Bangkok in wake of protest violence, killings

Thousands pray for peace in Bangkok
BANGKOK – Thousands of residents gathered at dawn Wednesday to pray for peace at sites across Bangkok where people were killed and high-rise buildings torched in two months of the worst political violence in the country’s modern history.

The chants of 1,000 Buddhist monks mingled with the prayers of Muslim imams, … Read more : Thousdns pray for peace in Bangkok in wake of protest violence, killings.

Hezbollah threatens to strike Israeli ships

Damascus (Syria), May 26 (IANS/RIA Novosti) Shiite armed group Hezbollah has threatened to hit all Israeli ships in the Mediterranean Sea if a new armed conflict breaks out between Israel and Lebanon, the group’s leader said.

“In any future war, if Israel blocks our coast and ports, all military, civil and commercial ships heading to Palestinian …. Source  : Gaea News Network.

Baghdad gold heist ends with 15 dead amid crime wave in the Iraqi capital

Brazen Baghdad gold heist ends in 15 dead
BAGHDAD – Gunmen wearing Arab headscarves and wielding assault rifles, rocket-propelled grenade launchers and pistols robbed a gold jewelry market in broad daylight Tuesday, killing 15 people in the most brazen example of Baghdad street crime that has soared as sectarian fighting ebbed.

Authorities blamed al-Qaida in Iraq, as … Read more »»».

Jordanian man to plead guilty in Texas skyscraper bomb plot if prison time capped at 30 years

Jordanian man to plead guilty to Texas bomb plot

DALLAS – A Jordanian man accused of trying to blow up a downtown Dallas skyscraper has agreed to enter a guilty plea in return for no more than 30 years in prison, according to federal court documents filed Tuesday.
Hosam Smadi, 19, agreed to plead guilty in a … Read more »»».

Lori Berenson Conditionally Released

LIMA, PERU (GaeaTimes.com)- Lori Berenson, the woman who had been accused of having attempted to kidnap certain leaders of the Peruvian Congress, allegedly with the help of the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary group, has been granted parole by a Peruvian judge. She has been granted conditional release after having completed fifteen years of her twenty … Read more : Lori Berenson Conditionally Released.

5 Somalis on trial in Dutch court for piracy in Gulf under a 17th century law

5 Somalis on trial in Dutch court for Gulf piracy

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands – The trial of five Somali men for robbery on the high seas is beginning in the first modern piracy trial in a Dutch court.
The men were captured in January 2009 after attacking a cargo ship registered in the Dutch Antilles. The ship’s crew … Read more »».

Army foils infiltration bid, two intruders killed

SRINAGAR – Two guerrillas were killed in Jammu and Kashmir’s Kupwara district Wednesday when the army foiled another infiltration bid, an Indian Army spokesperson said.

The two infiltrators were killed near the Line of Control (LOC), which divides Jammu and Kashmir between India and Pakistan, in Tangdhar sector.
“Alert troops of the army challenged a …. Source article on Gaea Times at  : Army foils infiltration bid, two intruders killed.

Judge denies request to release details of murder of Calif. girl found in suitcase

Judge won’t release details of Calif girl’s murder

STOCKTON, Calif. – A judge on Monday denied a media request to release details of the murder of an 8-year-old girl whose body was found in a suitcase pulled from an irrigation pond in Northern California.
San Joaquin County Judge Linda Lofthus ruled against several news organizations, noting the … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Judge denies request to release details of murder of Calif. girl found in suitcase.

Over 1,000 landmines found in Colombia

Bogota, May 26 (IANS/EFE) At least 1,053 landmines, which rebel guerrillas were planning to use in attacks ahead of the May 30 presidential elections in Colombia, have been found buried in a rural area in the northwestern region, police said.

The mines found in Antioquia province belonged to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), “which …. Original article on Gaea Times at  : Over 1,000 landmines found in Colombia.

APNewsBreak: Attorney says probe of Roethlisberger’s police friend to take months, not weeks

AP: Probe of Roethlisberger friend to take months

PITTSBURGH – The attorney for a Pittsburgh suburb says it will be “months as opposed to weeks” before he recommends whether a police officer should be disciplined for being with Ben Roethlisberger the night he was accused of sexual assault at a Georgia nightclub.
Coraopolis (kor-ee-AH’-poh-lis) solicitor Richard Start … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : APNewsBreak: Attorney says probe of Roethlisberger’s police friend to take months, not weeks.

Jailed for 15 years, US woman wants to be pastry chef

Lima, May 26 (IANS/EFE) An American woman, who spent 15 years in a Peruvian prison for helping rebels plan an attack on the parliament, has been granted parole and wants to work as a translator and a pastry chef.

Lori Berenson, 39, a native of New York, was released Tuesday. However, judge Jessica Leon Yarango barred … Read this article on Gaea Times at : Jailed for 15 years, US woman wants to be pastry chef.