March From Philadelphia To Harrisburg Set To Protest Prison Expansion Projects

March From Philadelphia To Harrisburg Set To Protest Prison Expansion Projects PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – A coalition of groups opposed to mass incarceration has announced plans to hike from Philadelphia to Harrisburg and call on the legislature to stop building new prisons. Decarcerate PA’s Joshua Glenn says the protestors will turn into lobbyists after the ten-day march that kicks off May 25th in Love Park. “We’re going to get there by June third, that’s when the legislature begins discussing the budget. And we want to meet them there and tell them we want a people’s budget, not a prison budget,” said Glenn. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Convicted Murderer Dr. Kermit Gosnell Gets Life in Prison

Convicted Murderer Dr. Kermit Gosnell Gets Life in Prison PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — West Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell, convicted yesterday of murdering babies born alive, today agreed to give up his right to all future appeals in his case. In exchange, Philadelphia prosecutors have agreed not to pursue the death penalty against the 72-year-old physician. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Co-counsel: Simpson was dependent on main attorney

Co-counsel: Simpson was dependent on main attorney LAS VEGAS (AP) -- O.J. Simpson became so dependent on his lawyer during his Las Vegas armed robbery trial that the former football star would have done anything Yale Galanter advised - including passing up the chance to testify, his co-counsel testified Tuesday. "I could advise O.J. all day long, and he was very respectful of me," Gabriel Grasso told the court. "But if I advised him of something different from what Yale said, he would do what Yale said." It was Galanter's decision not to have Simpson testify, Grasso said. Under questioning from prosecutor H. Leon Simon, Grasso acknowledged the trial judge, Jackie Glass, specifically asked Simpson if he wanted to testify. "O.J. did say he did not want to testify," said Simon, a chief deputy Clark County district attorney. "Mr. Galanter told him, `This is the way it's going to be,'" Grasso said. He said Simpson's confidence in Galanter was born of the acquittal he gained for the former Hall of Fame football player in a road rage case after Simpson moved to Florida following his 1995 acquittal on murder charges in the deaths of his ex-wife and her friend. Galanter, the Florida lawyer who is the focus of Simpson's motion claiming ineffective assistance of counsel has declined to comment until he takes the stand Friday. Grasso, a prominent Las Vegas criminal lawyer who signed on to help his old friend, Galanter, with Simpson's defense on robbery and kidnap charges, ended two days of sometimes searing attacks on Galanter's promises and performance by softening his assessment of Galanter's skills. ""I feel he's a capable attorney," he said. "Now that I know how things turned out, this wasn't his best case." "Was Mr. Galanter trying to sell O.J. down the river?" asked Simon. "No," said Grasso. Simpson lawyer Ozzie Fumo asked retired Clark County District Attorney David Roger, who prosecuted Simpson, whether investigators ever determined if Galanter helped Simpson plan the 2007 hotel room confrontation with two memorabilia dealers and was in Las Vegas the night before the heist. "He said he did not advise Mr. Simpson to commit armed robbery," Roger said. "And he said he wasn't there?" Fumo asked. "Yes," Roger replied. Fumo asked Roger to read the transcript where Galanter told Judge Jackie Glass that he "wasn't there," "had nothing to do with it," and learned about it from a cell phone call afterward. Others have testified that Galanter was in Las Vegas and had dinner with Simpson the night before. Twice, Roger said, he talked with Galanter about a plea deal for Simpson: once in his office before a preliminary hearing and once during trial. The first time, "He said, `Unless you're prepared to stipulate to probation for my client, there's nothing to talk about,'" Roger said. "I said, `You're right, there's nothing to talk about.'" The second time, Roger testified, Galanter said that if prosecutors would offer a 24-month sentence, he'd talk with Simpson about it. Galanter returned, saying Simpson would take no more than 12 months, and Roger said he felt Simpson didn't want a deal. "There were no further negotiations" he told Fumo. Galanter's tactics also drew criticism Tuesday from the lawyer who represented Simpson in a Santa Monica, Calif., case that resulted in the celebrity defendant getting back some items he had set out to retrieve in Las Vegas. Attorney Ronald P. Slates testified by telephone from Los Angeles about his victory in gaining custody of Simpson's neckties and footballs. "Did you know Yale Galanter?" asked Simpson attorney Patricia Palm. "Yes," he said. "He would show up in court to take credit for what he didn't do." Simpson won a small victory Tuesday when District Court Judge Linda Marie Bell granted a defense request to have one of Simpson's hands unshackled to drink water and take notes. Simpson's left hand was still cuffed to his chair. Simpson managed a smile and a waist-high wave with his shackled hand as he entered the courtroom and found friends and family members in the audience. Among them was Tom Scotto, whose wedding was the reason for Simpson's ill- fated trip to Las Vegas. "He looks like a beaten man," Scotto said outside court after seeing his old friend clad in a dingy blue prison uniform and orange prison issue slippers, chains clanking around his feet and waist. The 65-year-old Simpson is serving nine to 33 years in prison for leading five men in the armed robbery-kidnapping of the two sports memorabilia dealers. Simpson, who will be 70 before he is eligible for parole, has filed a writ of habeas corpus, his last chance under state law to prove that he was wrongly convicted and win a new trial. A federal court appeal is still possible. After his acquittal on the murder charges, Simpson was found liable for damages in a civil wrongful death lawsuit and ordered to pay $33.5 million to the families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman. Palm suggested in questioning Grasso that Glass erred at trial when she allowed prosecutors to mention Goldman in court several times even after she ruled that there would be no mention of the Los Angeles case, which was deemed irrelevant. Nineteen separate reasons for reversal are being considered in the anticipated weeklong hearing, which was taking place absent the fanfare that surrounded Simpson's "trial of the century" in Los Angeles and his 2008 trial in Las Vegas. Seats went unfilled in the courtroom gallery.

Philadelphia Gives Women’s Group $2.5M To Build Another Domestic Violence Shelter

Philadelphia Gives Women’s Group $2.5M To Build Another Domestic Violence Shelter PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — The group “Women Against Abuse” has announced plans to open its second emergency shelter for women who flee from abusive spouses. A $2.5-million grant from the City of Philadelphia will allow “Women Against Abuse” to open a second 100-bed shelter by year’s end. “While this new safe haven is a huge step toward addressing the safety needs of survivors, our work as a community is far from over,” said Jeannine Litiski, executive director of the group (at lectern in photo). For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

US government files morning-after pill appeal

US government files morning-after pill appeal NEW YORK (AP) -- The Obama administration on Monday filed a last-minute appeal to delay the sale of the morning-after contraceptive pill to girls of any age without a prescription. The legal paperwork asked the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan to postpone a federal judge's ruling that eliminated age limits on the pill while the government appeals that overall decision. U.S. District Court Judge Edward Korman has said politics was behind efforts by Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius to block the unrestricted sale of the Plan B One-Step morning-after pill and its generic competitors. Last month, he ordered that the levonorgestrel-based emergency contraceptives be made available without prescription and without age restrictions. He then denied a request to postpone his ruling while the government appealed but gave it until Monday to appeal again. Government attorneys warned that "substantial market confusion" could result if Korman's ruling was enforced while appeals are pending. On Monday, lawyers argued that the district court "plainly overstepped its authority," and that they believe they will win the overall appeal. Attorneys for the Center for Reproductive Rights have said in court papers that every day the ruling is not enforced is "life-altering" to some women. They have 10 days to respond to the most recent government filings, after which the appeals court will issue a decision. The appeals court will take up the issue on May 28 and said the judge's ruling remains postponed. If the government fails, it would clear the way for over-the-counter sales of the morning-after pill to younger girls. The FDA announced earlier this month that the contraception could be sold without a prescription to those 15 and older, a decision Korman said merely sugarcoated the appeal of his order lifting the age restriction. Sales had previously been limited to those who were at least 17. The judge said he ruled against the government "because the secretary's action was politically motivated, scientifically unjustified and contrary to agency precedent" and because there was no basis to deny the request to make the drugs widely available.

Police: Progress in Mother's Day shooting probe

Police: Progress in Mother's Day shooting probe NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- New Orleans police hope a $10,000 reward and blurry surveillance camera images will lead to arrests in a Mother's Day shooting that wounded 19 people and showed again how far the city has to go to shake a persistent culture of violence that belies the city's festive image. Angry residents said gun violence - which has flared at two other city celebrations this year - goes hand-in-hand with the city's other deeply rooted problems such as poverty and urban blight. The investigators tasked with solving Sunday's shooting work within an agency that's had its own troubles rebounding from years of corruption while trying to halt violent crime. "The old people are scared to walk the streets. The children can't even play outside," Ronald Lewis, 61, said Monday as he sat on the front stoop of his house, about a half a block from the shooting site. His window sill has a hole from a bullet that hit it last year. Across the street sits a house marked by bullets he said were fired two weeks ago. "The youngsters are doing all this," said Jones, who was away from home when the latest shooting broke out. Video released early Monday shows a crowd gathered for a boisterous second-line parade suddenly scattering in all directions, with some falling to the ground. They appear to be running from a man in a white T-shirt and dark pants who turns and runs out of the picture. The image isn't clear, but police say they hope someone will recognize him and notify investigators. Police were working to determine whether there was more than one gunman, though they initially said three people were spotted fleeing from the scene. Whoever was responsible escaped despite the presence of officers who were interspersed through the crowd as part of routine precautions for such an event. No arrests had been made as of Monday afternoon, but Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas said investigators were making significant progress. Ballistic evidence gathered at the scene was giving them "very good leads to work on," he said. "I can assure whoever did this we know a lot more about you than you think we do. And my reccomendation to you is to collect yourself and turn yourself in," he said. Witness Jarrat Pytell said he was walking with friends near the parade route when the crowd suddenly began to break up. "I saw the guy on the corner, his arm extended, firing into the crowd," said Pytell, a medical student. "He was obviously pointing in a specific direction; he wasn't swinging the gun wildly," Pytell said. Pytell said he tended to one woman with a severe arm fracture - he wasn't sure if it was from a bullet or a fall - and to others including an apparent shooting victim who was bleeding badly. Three gunshot victims remained in critical condition Monday, though their wounds didn't appear to be life-threatening. Most of the wounded had been discharged from the hospital. It's not the first time gunfire has shattered a festive mood in the city this year. Five people were wounded in a drive-by shooting in January after a Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade, and four were wounded in a shooting after an argument in the French Quarter in the days leading up to Mardi Gras. Two teens were arrested in connection with the MLK shootings; three men were arrested and charged in the Mardi Gras shootings. The shootings are bloody reminders of the persistence of violence in the city, despite some recent progress. Last week, law enforcement officials touted the indictment of 15 people in gang-related crimes, including the death of a 5-year-old girl killed by stray gunfire at a birthday party a year ago. The city's 193 homicides in 2012 are seven fewer than the previous year, while the first three months of 2013 represented an even slower pace of killing. Leading efforts to lower the homicide rate is a police force that's faced its own internal problems and staffing issues. At about 1,200 members, the department is 300 short of its peak level. Serpas, chief since 2010, has been working to overcome the effects of decades of scandal and community mistrust arising from what the U.S. Justice Department says has been questionable use of force and biased policing. Mayor Mitch Landrieu and Serpas have instituted numerous reforms, but the city is at odds with the Justice Department over the cost and scope of more extensive changes. Landrieu's administration initially agreed to a reform plan expected to cost tens of millions over the next several years. But Landrieu says he wants out now because Justice lawyers entered a separate agreement with Orleans Parish Sheriff Marlin Gusman over the violent and unsanitary New Orleans jail - funded by the city but operated by Gusman. The site of the Sunday shooting - about 1.5 miles from the heart of the French Quarter - showcases other problems facing the city. Stubborn poverty and blight are evident in the area of middle-class and low-income homes. Like other areas hit hard by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the area has been slower to repopulate than wealthier areas. And Landrieu's stepped up efforts to demolish or renovate blighted properties - a pre-Katrina problem made worse by the storm - remain too slow for some. Frank Jones, 71, whose house is a few doors down from the shooting site, said the house across from him has been abandoned since Katrina. Squatters and drug dealers sometimes take shelter there, he said. A city code inspector, who declined to be interviewed, was there Monday "It's too late," Jones said. "Should have fixed it from the very beginning. A lot of people are getting fed up with the system."

AP IMPACT: Honduran police accused as death squads

AP IMPACT: Honduran police accused as death squads TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras (AP) -- At least five times in the last few months, members of a Honduras street gang were killed or went missing just after run-ins with the U.S.-supported national police, The Associated Press has determined, feeding accusations that they were victims of federal death squads. In a country with the highest homicide rate in the world and where only a fraction of crimes are prosecuted, the victims' families say the police are literally getting away with murder. In March, two mothers discovered the bodies of their sons after the men had called in a panic to say they were surrounded by armed, masked police. The young men, both members of the 18th Street gang, had been shot in the head, their hands bound so tightly the cords cut to the bone. That was shortly after three members of 18th Street were detained by armed, masked men and taken to a police station. Two men with no criminal history were released, but their friend disappeared without any record of his detention. A month after the AP reported that an 18th Street gang leader and his girlfriend vanished from police custody, they are still missing. The 18th Street gang and another known as Mara Salvatrucha are the country's biggest gangs, formed by Central American immigrants in U.S. prisons who later overran this small Central American country as their members were deported back home. Both engage in dealing drugs and charging extortion fees under threat of death. Now the 18th Street gang says its members are being targeted by police death squads, described by witnesses as heavily armed masked men in civilian dress and bullet-proof vests who kill or "disappear" gang members instead of bringing them to justice. In the last two years, the United States has given an estimated $30 million in aid to Honduran law enforcement. The U.S. State Department says it faces a dilemma: The police are essential to fighting crime in a country that has become a haven for drug-runners. It estimates that 40 percent of the cocaine headed to the U.S. - and 87 percent of cocaine smuggling flights from South America - pass through Honduras. "The option is that if we don't work with the police, we have to work with the armed forces, which almost everyone accepts to be worse than the police in terms of ... taking matters in their own hands," U.S. Assistant Secretary of State William Brownfield told the AP via live chat on March 28. "Although the national police may have its defects at the moment, it is the lesser evil." Alba Mejia, Deputy Director of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture, said her group has documented hundreds of death squad cases in the country since 2000. The squads burst into homes with no warrants and take away young men, she said. "We are convinced that there is a government policy of killing gang members and that there is a team dedicated to this activity," Mejia said. Federal prosecutors say they have received about 150 complaints about similar raids in the capital of Tegucigalpa over the last three years. The 18th Street gang originated in Los Angeles and spread through Central America after many of its members were deported in the 1980s and early 1990s. In Honduras, the gang controls entire neighborhoods, with entrance impossible for outsiders, while gangsters extort what is called a "war tax" on small business owners and taxi drivers, even schools and corporations. Drug cartels, which are much larger than the gangs, oversee the movement of cocaine from South America northward to the United States. It is widely believed that the cartels pay the gangs in drugs for protection and assistance in moving the narcotics, and as a result the gangs fight each other over the territory. Honduran National Police spokesman Julian Hernandez Reyes denied the existence of police units operating outside the law. He asserted that the two gangs are murdering each other while disguised as law enforcement. "There are no police death squads in Honduras," Hernandez said in an interview. "The only squads in place are made of police officers who give their lives for public safety." But there is mounting evidence of the existence of squads of police in civilian dress, apparently engaged in illegal executions. An AP reporter covering the aftermath of an April 7 shootout between police and gang members saw one such squad, whose masked members were directing more than 100 uniformed policemen in an offensive against gang members. The officers had surrounded a house where two gangsters had holed up after a chase with police. Witnesses said that when one walked out with his hands up, masked police shot him dead. "Killers! Killers!" a crowd of women shouted. Last year, the U.S. Congress withheld direct aid to Honduran police chief Juan Carlos Bonilla after he was appointed to the top law enforcement post despite alleged links to death squads a decade earlier. Bonilla, nicknamed "the Tiger," was accused in a 2002 internal affairs report of involvement in three homicides and linked to 11 other deaths and disappearances. He was tried in one killing and acquitted. The rest of the cases were never fully investigated. The U.S. State Department has resumed funding to the Honduran police, but said the money only supports units vetted by the U.S. So far this year, the U.S. has provided $16 million to the police force, and argued last month that the money isn't sent directly to Bonilla or any of his top 20 officers. U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, chairman of a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on the State Department and foreign operations, has led a group in Congress concerned about the alleged human rights abuses, and has held up $10 million, despite State Department pressure. "A key question is whether we should provide aid, and if so under what conditions, to a police force that is frequently accused of corruption and involvement in violent crimes," Leahy said. "If there is to be any hope of making real progress against lawlessness in Honduras, we need people there we can trust, who will do what is necessary to make the justice system work. That is the least Congress should expect." Two weeks before a visit to Central America by President Barack Obama, U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey toured Honduras amid questions over how U.S. aid is spent. "I understand that there are concerns among my colleagues in both the Senate and House about certain U.S. assistance to Honduras," said Menendez, chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "The U.S. has a moral and legal authority to ensure U.S. assistance is not tainted by human rights concerns." The latest string of attacks began with gang leader Kevin Carranza Padilla, who disappeared with his girlfriend, Cindy Yadira Garcia, on Jan. 10. Witnesses said he was arrested, and a police photo leaked to the local press showed Carranza with his hands tied and face duct-taped. The couple has not been seen since, and police say they were never arrested. In March, Carranza's close friend, Billy "Babyface" Jovel Mejia, 23, and another gang member, Wilder Javier "Sadboy" Alvarado, 20, were on the run, changing houses every couple of days, when they called a friend to say they had been surrounded by police. A woman named Kelsa, who asked that her last name not be used for fear of reprisals, had helped the two hide out. She told the AP of a call one night from a panicked Jovel, whom she quoted as saying: "The police are coming for us. They are going to enter the house. Tell our families that they are coming to kill us." "I could hear pounding." she said. "Billy told me he couldn't explain what house they were at. ... I could hear screams. Billy left the phone and then the call dropped." As often happens in such cases, his mother, Maria Elena Garcia, went from station to station in search of information from police. "I went to the 4th district, from there they sent me to the 7th, then to the metropolitan police headquarters," Garcia said. "At 5 a.m. they called me to tell me that they had found two bodies." Garcia and Alvarado's mother identified their sons, whose bodies were found dumped at the edge of the capital. Each had a single 9 millimeter gunshot to the head, and their hands were tightly bound. Jovel was missing his right eye, Alvarado his left. "The blood was still fresh and the bullets were still there," Garcia said. Alvarado's mother, Norma, said police had raided her home at least six times in search of her son in a neighborhood called the United States, one of many named for a country. She described the same routine each time: They would come in civilian clothes with bullet-proof vests and ski masks and identify themselves as police. They were teams of six to eight men in large, expensive SUVs without license plates. "There were times when I would close the door to give him time to escape," she said. "They even came on New Year's Eve." In the middle of the night on Feb. 14, six masked men who identified themselves as police took Alvarado's 13-year-old grandson. She told them he was studying, that he was a good boy. "I begged them not to take him, not to kill him," Alvarado told the AP, crying. "There was only one car outside our door, but at each end of the street there were more cars. It was a big operation." The boy, whose name is being withheld because he is a minor, said in an interview that they covered his face with his own shirt and pushed him to the floor of the SUV. Two agents kept him down with their feet while another drove the car around for half an hour, asking about Wilder, the boy's cousin. "They wanted to know where my brother was. They thought Wilder was my brother. They wanted to know where the weapons were," the boy said. "They kept punching me, and because I wasn't telling them anything, they would punch me more." The boy was taken to an office. "They were six men. I could only see them when they took the shirt off of my face to put a black, plastic bag over my head. They always wore the ski masks. I was sitting down and they were asphyxiating me with the bag. When I would faint they would beat me up to wake me up and they would do it again," he recalled. The boy said he could see photos of 18th Street gang members pinned to the walls. He doesn't know why, but suddenly they let him go, and the following day his family filed a complaint with the prosecutors' office. They have heard nothing about the investigation. The 18th Street gang leaders told the AP that the attacks against its members are not the work of rival gangs. Members say police have declared war on them, especially in the southeast Tegucigalpa neighborhood once led by Carranza. Carranza's partner, Elvin Escoto Sandoval, known as "Splinter," was detained by police on March 13, according to his wife, Doris Ramirez, now seven months pregnant with their first child. Nilson Alejandro "The Squirrel" Padilla, 21, said he was taken into custody along with Splinter and another member identified only as "Chifaro." "There were seven in civilian clothes, bulletproof vests, ski masks, automatic rifles, and a police badge hanging with a string from their neck. They pushed me against the ground and told me not to lift my head. They were traveling in two cars," Padilla recalled. "They took us to the National Criminal Investigations offices," he added. "They told me and Chifaro that we didn't have a record and we were released that afternoon. They didn't even question us." By then, Ramirez was at the station, asking police about the fate of her husband, "Splinter." Police told her they had only detained two men, not three, she said. "We then went to all the police stations in the area and finally filed a complaint on his disappearance at the police headquarters," she said. Ramirez still goes to the morgue every time she hears of an unidentified body. She has also been to the "little mountain," a known dumping ground outside Tegucigalpa for bodies of murdered young men. Her husband has disappeared. Chifaro is missing now, too.

Gov't obtains wide AP phone records in probe

Gov't obtains wide AP phone records in probe WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Justice Department secretly obtained two months of telephone records of reporters and editors for The Associated Press in what the news cooperative's top executive called a "massive and unprecedented intrusion" into how news organizations gather the news. The records obtained by the Justice Department listed outgoing calls for the work and personal phone numbers of individual reporters, for general AP office numbers in New York, Washington and Hartford, Conn., and for the main number for the AP in the House of Representatives press gallery, according to attorneys for the AP. It was not clear if the records also included incoming calls or the duration of the calls. In all, the government seized the records for more than 20 separate telephone lines assigned to AP and its journalists in April and May of 2012. The exact number of journalists who used the phone lines during that period is unknown, but more than 100 journalists work in the offices where phone records were targeted, on a wide array of stories about government and other matters. In a letter of protest sent to Attorney General Eric Holder on Monday, AP President and Chief Executive Officer Gary Pruitt said the government sought and obtained information far beyond anything that could be justified by any specific investigation. He demanded the return of the phone records and destruction of all copies. "There can be no possible justification for such an overbroad collection of the telephone communications of The Associated Press and its reporters. These records potentially reveal communications with confidential sources across all of the newsgathering activities undertaken by the AP during a two-month period, provide a road map to AP's newsgathering operations and disclose information about AP's activities and operations that the government has no conceivable right to know," Pruitt said. The government would not say why it sought the records. Officials have previously said in public testimony that the U.S. attorney in Washington is conducting a criminal investigation into who may have provided information contained in a May 7, 2012, AP story about a foiled terror plot. The story disclosed details of a CIA operation in Yemen that stopped an al-Qaida plot in the spring of 2012 to detonate a bomb on an airplane bound for the United States. In testimony in February, CIA Director John Brennan noted that the FBI had questioned him about whether he was AP's source, which he denied. He called the release of the information to the media about the terror plot an "unauthorized and dangerous disclosure of classified information." Prosecutors have sought phone records from reporters before, but the seizure of records from such a wide array of AP offices, including general AP switchboards numbers and an office-wide shared fax line, is unusual. In the letter notifying the AP, which was received Friday, the Justice Department offered no explanation for the seizure, according to Pruitt's letter and attorneys for the AP. The records were presumably obtained from phone companies earlier this year although the government letter did not explain that. None of the information provided by the government to the AP suggested the actual phone conversations were monitored. Among those whose phone numbers were obtained were five reporters and an editor who were involved in the May 7, 2012, story. The Obama administration has aggressively investigated disclosures of classified information to the media and has brought six cases against people suspected of providing classified information, more than under all previous presidents combined. The White House on Monday said that other than press reports it had no knowledge of Justice Department attempts to seek AP phone records. "We are not involved in decisions made in connection with criminal investigations, as those matters are handled independently by the Justice Department," spokesman Jay Carney said. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the investigative House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said on CNN, "They had an obligation to look for every other way to get it before they intruded on the freedom of the press." Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said in an emailed statement: "The burden is always on the government when they go after private information, especially information regarding the press or its confidential sources. ... On the face of it, I am concerned that the government may not have met that burden. I am very troubled by these allegations and want to hear the government's explanation." The American Civil Liberties Union said the use of subpoenas for a broad swath of records has a chilling effect both on journalists and whistleblowers who want to reveal government wrongdoing. "The attorney general must explain the Justice Department's actions to the public so that we can make sure this kind of press intimidation does not happen again," said Laura Murphy, the director of ACLU's Washington legislative office. Rules published by the Justice Department require that subpoenas of records of news organizations must be personally approved by the attorney general, but it was not known if that happened in this case. The letter notifying AP that its phone records had been obtained through subpoenas was sent Friday by Ronald Machen, the U.S. attorney in Washington. William Miller, a spokesman for Machen, said Monday that in general the U.S. attorney follows "all applicable laws, federal regulations and Department of Justice policies when issuing subpoenas for phone records of media organizations." But he would not address questions about the specifics of the AP records. "We do not comment on ongoing criminal investigations," Miller said in an email. The Justice Department lays out strict rules for efforts to get phone records from news organizations. A subpoena can be considered only after "all reasonable attempts" have been made to get the same information from other sources, the rules say. It was unclear what other steps, in total, the Justice Department might have taken to get information in the case. A subpoena to the media must be "as narrowly drawn as possible" and "should be directed at relevant information regarding a limited subject matter and should cover a reasonably limited time period," according to the rules. The reason for these constraints, the department says, is to avoid actions that "might impair the news gathering function" because the government recognizes that "freedom of the press can be no broader than the freedom of reporters to investigate and report the news." News organizations normally are notified in advance that the government wants phone records and then they enter into negotiations over the desired information. In this case, however, the government, in its letter to the AP, cited an exemption to those rules that holds that prior notification can be waived if such notice, in the exemption's wording, might "pose a substantial threat to the integrity of the investigation." It is unknown whether a judge or a grand jury signed off on the subpoenas. The May 7, 2012, AP story that disclosed details of the CIA operation in Yemen to stop an airliner bomb plot occurred around the one-year anniversary of the May 2, 2011, killing of Osama bin Laden. The plot was significant both because of its seriousness and also because the White House previously had told the public it had "no credible information that terrorist organizations, including al-Qaida, are plotting attacks in the U.S. to coincide with the (May 2) anniversary of bin Laden's death." The AP delayed reporting the story at the request of government officials who said it would jeopardize national security. Once officials said those concerns were allayed, the AP disclosed the plot, though the Obama administration continued to request that the story be held until the administration could make an official announcement. The May 7 story was written by reporters Matt Apuzzo and Adam Goldman with contributions from reporters Kimberly Dozier, Eileen Sullivan and Alan Fram. They and their editor, Ted Bridis, were among the journalists whose April-May 2012 phone records were seized by the government. Brennan talked about the AP story and investigation in written testimony to the Senate. "The irresponsible and damaging leak of classified information was made ... when someone informed The Associated Press that the U.S. government had intercepted an IED (improvised explosive device) that was supposed to be used in an attack and that the U.S. government currently had that IED in its possession and was analyzing it," he wrote. He also defended the White House decision to discuss the plot afterward. "Once someone leaked information about interdiction of the IED and that the IED was actually in our possession, it was imperative to inform the American people consistent with government policy that there was never any danger to the American people associated with this al-Qaida plot," Brennan told senators.

Woods keeps it dry and wins Players Championship

Woods keeps it dry and wins Players Championship PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- A weekend filled with sharp words between Tiger Woods and Sergio Garcia came down to one last showdown Sunday in The Players Championship, this one staged across the water in a tiny, terrifying section of the TPC Sawgrass. Tied for the lead with two holes to play, Woods kept his shots on land and made two pars. Garcia hit three balls into the water for a quadruple bogey-double bogey finish. If there was special satisfaction in beating Garcia again, Woods kept that to himself. What mattered was having a chance to win, closing it out like he does so often, and capturing the richest prize on the PGA Tour for the first time in a dozen years. "We just go out there and play," Woods said. "I had an opportunity to win the golf tournament when I was tied for the lead today, and I thought I handled the situation well and really played well today when I really needed to. And that's something I'm excited about it." Woods allowed the final hour to turn into a tense duel by hooking his tee shot into the water on the 14th hole for double bogey. But his short game bailed him out to save par on the 15th and make a critical birdie on the 16th, and he was solid on the final two holes for a 2-under 70. If only it were that simple for the Spaniard. Garcia was standing on the 17th tee shot, staring across to the island green to watch Woods make his par. He took aim at the flag with his wedge and hung his head when he saw the ball splashed down short of the green. Then, Garcia hit another one in the water on his way to a quadruple-bogey 7. The meltdown was complete when Garcia hit his tee shot into the water on the 18th. "It's always nice to have a chance at beating the No. 1 player in the world, but unfortunately for me, I wasn't able to this week," Garcia said. Woods was in the scoring trailer when he watched on TV as Swedish rookie David Lingmerth missed a long birdie putt that would have forced a playoff. It raced by the cup, and Lingmerth three-putted for bogey. "How about that?" Woods said to his caddie, Joe LaCava as he gave him a hug. Woods finished on 13-under 275. He won The Players for the first time since 2001 and became the fifth multiple winner at Sawgrass since The Players moved to this former swamp in 1982. It was his 78th career win on the PGA Tour, four short of the record held by Sam Snead. And it was his first time winning with his girlfriend, Olympic ski champion Lindsey Vonn, at the tournament. Lingmerth closed with a 72 and finished two shots behind along with Kevin Streelman (67) and Jeff Maggert, who also was tied for the lead until finding the water on the 17th to make double bogey. The 49-year-old Maggert birdied the 18th for a 70. Garcia took 13 shots to cover the final two holes - 6-over par - and tumbled into a tie for eighth. There was a four-way tie for the lead after Woods made his double bogey, and the infamous 17th green took out Maggert and Garcia. After Garcia went into the water twice, Lingmerth missed an 8-foot birdie putt that would have tied him for the lead. Given their public sniping at each other over the weekend, it was only fitting that Garcia had the best chance to beat Woods. Their dispute started Saturday when Garcia complained in a TV interview that his shot from the par-5 second fairway was disrupted by cheers from the crowd around Woods, who was some 50 yards away in the trees and fired them up by taking a fairway metal out of his bag. He said Woods should have been paying attention, and it became a war of the words the next two days. "Not real surprising that he's complaining about something," Woods said. "At least I'm true to myself," Garcia retorted. "I know what I'm doing, and he can do whatever he wants." When they finished the storm-delayed third round Sunday morning, Garcia kept at it, saying that Woods is "not the nicest guy on tour." Woods had the last laugh. He had the trophy. Garcia, when asked if he would have changed anything about the flap with Woods, replied, "It sounds like I was the bad guy here. I was the victim. I don't have any regrets of anything." The real villain was the infamous 17th hole. "When you've got water in front of the green, that's not a good time to be short of the green. You know, it was close," Maggert said. "What can I say? A wrong shot at the wrong time and you get penalized on this golf course." It was at the 17th hole five years ago where Garcia won The Players Championship, when Paul Goydos hit into the water in a sudden-death playoff. This time, the island green got its revenge on him. Garcia hit a wedge and felt he caught it just a little bit thin, which is usually all it takes. "That hole has been good to me for the most part," Garcia said. "Today, it wasn't. That's the way it is. That's the kind of hole it is. You've got to love it for what it is." Woods earned $1.71 million, pushing his season total to over $5.8 million in just seven tournaments. This is the 12th season he has won at least four times - that used to be the standard of a great year before he joined the PGA Tour in 1996 - and this was the quickest he has reached four wins in a year. It was the second time has won on Mother's Day. "Sorry, Mom," he said into the camera. "I think she might have had a heart attack. I was in control of the tournament, and I just hit the worst shot I could possibly hit." Typical of Woods these days, there were questions about where he took the drop - some 255 yards from the hole. NBC Sports analyst Johnny Miller suggested it was a "borderline" where he took the drop. But Mark Russell, vice president of competition for the PGA Tour, said there was nothing wrong with the drop. Woods conferred with Casey Wittenberg, who said there was "no doubt" that Woods took the drop in the right spot. "He asked me exactly where it crossed," Wittenberg said. "I told him I thought it crossed on the corner of the bunker, right where he took his drop. And it's all good." Woods wound up with a double bogey, and he nearly fell out of the lead on the 15th until he saved par with an 8-foot putt. "The shot that turned the tide was the putt on 15," Woods said. "To go double bogey-bogey would have been huge. But to save a putt there and get some momentum going to the next three holes was big." Woods and Garcia played four tension-free holes Sunday morning to complete the third round, and they shook hands without words when they finished - Woods with a 71, Garcia with a 72 to share the 54-hole lead with Lingmerth. With a three-way tie, Garcia wound up in the final group because he was first to play at the start of the third round. Garcia, however, continued to fuel the bad feelings between them. He told Sky Sports, "I'm not going to lie, he's not my favorite guy to play with. He's not the nicest guy on tour." And then he told Golf Channel, "We don't enjoy each other's company. You don't need to be a rocket engineer to figure that out." Woods downplayed the episode and said it didn't matter who joined him on the tee. "I'm tied for the lead, so I'm right there." And that's where he usually wins. Woods now is 53-4 in his PGA Tour career when he has at least a share of the lead going into the final round.

2 bodies found after NJ standoff; suspect killed

2 bodies found after NJ standoff; suspect killed TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Police stormed a New Jersey home early Sunday and fatally shot a registered sex offender who had held his girlfriend's three children hostage, ending their 37-hour ordeal and recovering the bodies of the captives' mother and another sibling, authorities said. Officers initially went to the home in South Trenton Friday afternoon after a relative of 44-year-old Carmelita Stevens said she hadn't spoken to her in weeks and was worried, authorities said at a news conference Sunday. Upon further investigation, authorities then discovered her children hadn't been to school in 12 days. Police entered the home through a rear door and smelled an odor consistent with that of a decomposing body, Trenton Police Director Ralph Rivera Jr. said. The officers also noticed maggots throughout the residence. They found 38-year-old Gerald "Skip" Tyrone Murphy in an upstairs bedroom and he told them he was armed with a gun and explosives and had three children with him, Mercer County Prosecutor Joseph L. Bocchini Jr. said. Officers noticed one of the dead victims before they retreated from the second floor and rescued Stevens' 19-year-old son from the basement, who said he hadn't seen her or his siblings since about April 24. Homes on the surrounding block were evacuated as a precaution, and police tape cordoned off the street in front of the house. A SWAT team was called, and an arson bomb unit was also on the scene. Police said Murphy could be seen from a window holding a black handgun. Police remained in contact with Murphy throughout the standoff and passed food into the home through an upstairs window, state police Col. Rick Fuentes said. Murphy kept the captives with him inside the roughly 10-foot-by-11-foot bedroom throughout the standoff, authorities said. As the standoff stretched into a third day, officers entered the home around 3:45 a.m. Sunday after noting Murphy's "deteriorating state of mind" and deciding it was necessary to enter to help ensure the captives survived, Fuentes said. An officer shot Murphy because he was threatening one of the children, he said. Murphy was taken to a hospital and later died of his injuries. No law enforcement personnel were injured during the standoff or the confrontation with Murphy. "This was a very complex matter, considering the space (where the hostages were) and that three children were involved," Fuentes said. "Our mission over those 37 hours was to save innocent lives." Authorities found the bodies of Stevens and her 13-year-old son in separate bedrooms. Stevens' body was in an advanced state of decomposition, and police said she and her son may have been killed two weeks ago. Police didn't say which of the bodies they had seen inside the home Friday afternoon. Three of Stevens' children - an 18-year-old woman, a 16-year-old girl and a 4-year-old boy - were rescued and taken to a medical center for evaluation and treatment. Murphy had abused and assaulted the captives, Bocchini said. Murphy and Stevens had been dating for a few months, and both lived in the house, police said. He was not the father of any of her children. Authorities wouldn't comment on a possible motive or say how the victims died, citing the ongoing investigation. They also would not say whether any bombs or other explosives were recovered at the residence. Attempts to contact the victims' relatives and neighbors were unsuccessful on Sunday. Murphy had a long criminal history including convictions for aggravated assault and criminal conspiracy, Bocchini said. He had previously been arrested for robbery and weapons offenses and child endangerment. He also had an arrest warrant in Pennsylvania for failing to register as a sex offender.

NJ Nonprofit Group Official Accused Of Embezzling Over $100K

NJ Nonprofit Group Official Accused Of Embezzling Over $100K TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — Prosecutors say a high-ranking official at a central New Jersey facility for developmentally disabled persons has been accused of stealing more than $100,000 from the nonprofit organization. Christopher English is charged with theft by deception and faces up to 10 years in prison if convicted. The 32-year-old Delran resident was director of human resources and training for The Arc Mercer. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Family And Friends Gather To Remember Radio Host April Kauffman, Murdered One Year Ago

Family And Friends Gather To Remember Radio Host April Kauffman, Murdered One Year Ago LINWOOD, N.J. (CBS) – One year ago, the popular shore radio host and veteran advocate was murdered in side her home. Just down the block from her home a public bench has been dedicated in her honor and to remind everyone her killer is still on the loose. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

2 Dead; Hostage Situation Continues In Trenton

2 Dead; Hostage Situation Continues In Trenton TRENTON, N.J., (CBS) – Sources tell Eyewitness News two people are dead, a woman and a child, inside of a home where a hostage situation is ongoing in Trenton Friday night. The Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office says negotiations are being conducted. The incident happened at about 4 p.m. at the 200 block of Grand Street. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Wilmington Police Investigating Attempted Kidnapping

Wilmington Police Investigating Attempted Kidnapping WILMINGTON, Del. (CBS) – Police in Delaware are investigating an attempted kidnapping that happened on Wednesday. On May 8th around 6 p.m., officers responded to the 100 block of Delamore Place for reports of the kidnapping. An investigation showed that around 5 p.m., the 7-year-old girl was playing outside when a man armed with a knife tried to grab her. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Medical Examiner: Missing NJ Student Ruled Suicide By Drowning

Medical Examiner: Missing NJ Student Ruled Suicide By Drowning NEW YORK (AP) — A decomposed body found under the George Washington Bridge has been identified as that of missing New Jersey college student Page Aiello. The New York City medical examiner said Thursday the cause of Aiello’s death was drowning by suicide. Aiello’s decomposed body was found under the George Washington Bridge by the NYPD harbor police Wednesday on rocks near 158th Street. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Jurors In Gosnell Trial Review Testimony Of Former Clinic Worker

Jurors In Gosnell Trial Review Testimony Of Former Clinic Worker PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The deliberating jury in the murder trial of abortion Doctor Kermit Gosnell has spent the day reviewing the testimony of a key witness and participant in the horrors inside the West Philadelphia clinic. KYW’s Tony Hanson reports the jury asked to re-hear the testimony of former clinic worker Lynda Williams. Lynda Williams pleaded guilty to two murders and Doctor Kermit Gosnell is charged in these same two cases. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Gov. Markell Signs Expanded Gun Background Checks Into Law In Del.

Gov. Markell Signs Expanded Gun Background Checks Into Law In Del. WILMINGTON, Del. (CBS) – With a signature, Delaware Governor Jack Markell strengthened gun safety laws in Delaware while family members of the Sandy Hook Elementary School victims stood behind him. Wednesday’s bill expands background checks on private party gun sales, and at gun shows, effectively closing the “gun show loophole.” It’s the cornerstone bill of a gun violence package that state leaders spearheaded in the wake of the Connecticut school shooting. Wednesday’s step is an emotional triumph for these Connecticut parents, who say Delaware is doing the right thing. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Charles Ramsey's turbulent 15 minutes of fame

Charles Ramsey's turbulent 15 minutes of fame NEW YORK (AP) -- Helping to free three women from nearly a decade in captivity would seem to be enough. Hero neighbor Charles Ramsey has also become a star, offering moments of levity in an unspeakably horrible story, free publicity for a restaurant chain and unexpected lessons in race relations. Ramsey lived next door to where Ariel Castro is alleged to have kept the women in his makeshift prison until Monday afternoon, when Ramsey happened to be home and heard Amanda Berry's scream. Or let him tell it: "I got the day off from work, so naturally you're doing nothing." Actually, he was "eating my McDonald's," a fact he trumpeted so frequently that the grateful food giant is trying to get in touch with him. A website that compiled some of Ramsey's television interviews kept count of how many times he mentioned McDonald's in each. Ramsey, 43, gave a series of interviews to Cleveland television stations as the story broke Monday night that were replayed on national news. CNN's Anderson Cooper tracked him down for a lengthy conversation the next night. The interviews are performance art masterpieces, so filled with colorful language and astute reporting that he trended on Twitter and was the subject of Internet memes and an Auto-tuned song. Similarly, a tape of a much more profane Ramsey talking to a 911 operator (whom he later called an imbecile) is circulating on the Web. During his initial interviews, Ramsey said he was shocked to learn of Castro's double life. Ramsey said he "used to barbecue with this dude. We eat ribs and what-not, listen to salsa music." There was nothing exciting about Castro, he said. "Until today," he added. "You've got some big testicles to pull this off, bro," he said. During his Tuesday interview with Cooper, Ramsey, who works at Hodge's Restaurant in Cleveland, noted that he had trouble sleeping with the knowledge of what had been happening in the house next door. "Up until yesterday, the only thing that had me losing sleep was the lack of money," he said. If he had known what was going on, he said he'd be facing a homicide charge for taking matters into his own hands. "I'm glad it turned out this way," Cooper replied. Ramsey's realization of what was happening on Monday was itself a revealing observation on race. Seeing a white girl in that situation was "a dead giveaway" that she was either homeless or had other problems, he said. "When a little pretty white girl ran into a black man's arms, something was wrong," he said. That sentence itself made Ramsey's interviewer uncomfortable; their conversation quickly ended. But the sound bite was also highlighted in a parody song that was quickly doctored with Auto-tune and posted online. The phrases picked out for the song - like "we eat ribs with this dude" - also seemed to emphasize Ramsey's blackness. Past examples of television interviews that seem to play to exaggerated ethnic stereotypes have been the subject of online mockery that struck some observers as racist. An Alabama man, Antoine Dodson, had his comments about a relative's attempted rape go viral. Ramsey is the latest "hilarious black neighbor" to become an Internet celebrity, wrote Aisha Harris on the website Slate. "It's difficult to watch these videos and not sense their popularity has something to do with a persistent, if unconscious, desire to see black people perform," she wrote. "There's always this sense of `otherness' when something like this happens, when you see people who don't look like you or talk like you," said Tracy Clayton, a writer and editor for the Root website. "I like to laugh and make jokes as much as the other person, but I hope that we remember the women in this story, too." Eric Deggans, media critic for the Tampa Bay Times and author of "Race Baiter: How the Media Wields Dangerous Words to Divide a Nation," said he was most struck with how comfortable Ramsey appeared in front of camera. It's not a shot of national attention he could have prepared for. "It almost seems weird when you see somebody who is nervous in front of a camera anymore," he said. McDonald's seemed particularly delighted by the unexpected association with a hero. The corporation tweeted on Tuesday: "Way to go Charles Ramsey - we'll be in touch." A company spokeswoman said Wednesday that it was trying to reach out to Ramsey through its local franchise. Clayton said she hoped Ramsey's legacy will be in his actions, not his words. "I would like for him to be remembered, as he said, as a good man who did what anyone else would have done in that situation," she said. "Unfortunately, I fear that he'll be remembered as the guy they made a funny Auto-tune song about." It was a far more subdued Ramsey who appeared on "Good Morning America" on Wednesday. He did flash signs of his personality, holding up a can of Red Bull when he was asked how he was dealing with the attention and joking about being rivals with George Stephanopoulos' high school alma mater. He did a brief dance upon recalling how he used to listen to salsa music with Castro. But he turned serious when Stephanopoulos asked if he had noticed any signs that his neighbor could be capable of the crimes he is accused of. "No," he said. "Isn't that scary? Either I'm that stupid or his kind are that good." Ramsey has said he doesn't feel like a hero and was quiet at Stephanopoulos' question about what all the attention means to him. "There is no feeling," he said. "You do what you've got to do."

NE Phila. Man, 75, Now Charged With Murdering Wife and Faking Home Invasion

NE Phila. Man, 75, Now Charged With Murdering Wife and Faking Home Invasion PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — It was originally reported to police as a home invasion, but now Philadelphia police say it’s a case of domestic abuse that led to homicide. Judith Hartdegen, 74, was killed, and now her 75-year-old husband Louis is charged with murder (See Related Story). Capt. James Clark, head of the police department’s homicide unit, said this morning that Hartdegen made up the story about the home invasion in an attempt to cover up the fact that he had just suffocated his wife during a domestic dispute. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Delaware Becomes 11th State To Allow Same-Sex Marriages

Delaware Becomes 11th State To Allow Same-Sex Marriages DOVER, Del. (AP) — Governor Jack Markell signed legislation to allow same-sex couples to marry, making Delaware the 11th state in the country to legalize same-sex marriage. A divided state Senate voted 12-9 on Tuesday after hearing about three hours of debate. The House has already approved the bill, so it headed directly to Democratic Gov. Jack Markell. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Bacharach, Costello aiming for Broadway

Bacharach, Costello aiming for Broadway NEW YORK (AP) -- One of television's most successful sitcom writers is joining with Burt Bacharach and Elvis Costello to create a musical based on the artists' 1998 album "Painted From Memory." Bacharach said Tuesday that Chuck Lorre, creator of "Two and a Half Men" and "The Big Bang Theory," contacted him and said he wanted to write a story to go with the music. The dark and lush album was an unusual collaboration between a pop classicist and an Englishman who usually traffics in rock `n' roll. They earned a Grammy for one of its songs, "I Still Have That Other Girl." Other songs on the disc include "God Give Me Strength" and "This House is Empty Now." Given the songs' subject matter, Bacharach said the show "won't be a comedy." He declined to give details of the story Lorre was writing for the musical. They're hoping the show makes it to Broadway. Costello said he and Bacharach are writing additional music for the show.

Terrell Owens Wants To Play For The Patriots

Terrell Owens Wants To Play For The Patriots PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Terrell Owens still thinks he can play in the NFL. And if he’s going to play in the NFL, he might as well play for the best. “I think [playing for the Patriots is] a no-brainer. You look at what they’ve done over the years,” Owens told BlindSideFootball.com in an exclusive interview. “Under the tutelage of Tom and Coach Bellichick, I think the sky would be the limit in terms of what I’d be able to do. Considering my body of work and my history of playing the game.” For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Pa. Officers Who Died In Line of Duty Are Honored in Harrisburg Ceremony

Pa. Officers Who Died In Line of Duty Are Honored in Harrisburg Ceremony HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) — Four police officers from the Philadelphia region who died in the line of duty were among those remembered today at the annual fallen officers’ ceremony in the state capital. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Thousands Take Part In 34th Annual Broad Street Run

Thousands Take Part In 34th Annual Broad Street Run PHILADELPHIA (CBS) — The 34th annual Broad Street Run took place on Sunday. Tens of thousands turned out for the 10-mile race, the biggest of its kind in the country, and it went as well as organizers had hoped. (View Photos) The city of Boston was on the mind of everyone at the event. Many people wore red socks to honor “Beantown” and “Sweet Caroline” played throughout the start of the race. Just before the horn sounded to start the race, Mayor Michael Nutter addressed the crowd and he talked about a conversation he had with Boston Mayor Thomas Menino. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

James wins MVP, 1 vote shy of unanimously

James wins MVP, 1 vote shy of unanimously MIAMI (AP) -- LeBron James was at his best this season, and the voters tasked with selecting the NBA's Most Valuable Player took notice. Every voter except one, that is. The NBA still does not have a unanimous MVP, though no one has come closer than James did this season. The Miami Heat star was presented with the Maurice Podoloff Trophy for the fourth time in his career on Sunday after collecting 120 of the 121 first-place votes, with Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks picking up the lone remaining top choice. "It was probably a writer out of New York that didn't give me that vote," James said. "And we know the history between the Heat and the Knicks, so I get it." A panel of 120 sports writers and broadcasters cast ballots in the NBA MVP voting, with a combined online fan vote also being taken into account. Shaquille O'Neal got every first-place vote but one in the 1999-2000 season, when one person cast his ballot for Allen Iverson - who finished seventh that year. This season, Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder finished second, well ahead of Anthony, who was third and didn't even appear on nine of the ballots cast. James was the only player listed on all 121 ballots; Durant was omitted from two, according to the results released by the NBA. "Congrats to the king," O'Neal wrote on his Twitter account. For months, there really had only been two questions about this season's MVP race: When will James get the award, and would the results be unanimous? The first of those answers became known Friday, the other on Sunday, and even as he was on the dais to pick up the award the now-four-time MVP quickly started steering all of his attention back to the goal of helping the Heat win a second straight title. Miami hosts Chicago in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Monday night, when NBA Commissioner David Stern will present James with the trophy, largely just for the benefit of giving Heat fans a pregame reason to cheer. "My ultimate goal is to win an NBA championship," James said. "That's what I was brought here for. That's why I signed here as a free agent in 2010. It wasn't to win MVP trophies. It was to win a championship - and win multiple championships - and that's still my No. 1 priority." James averaged 26.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 7.3 assists this season, leading Miami to a league-best 66-16 record while shooting a career-high 56 percent. Only Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (six), Michael Jordan (five), Bill Russell (five) and Wilt Chamberlain (four) have as many MVP awards, only Russell won four in a five-year span, and only Abdul-Jabbar went back-to-back twice, like James did with trophies in 2009 and 2010 and now again in 2012 and 2013. Sunday's ceremony was filled with tributes and even some laughs, like when James' younger son Bryce posed for photographers on stage while his father was speaking and older brother LeBron Jr. looked on - and when James' fiancee, Savannah Brinson, appeared on a congratulatory video and called him "Honeybunny." "I know you're embarrassed when I call you that," Brinson said. "But whatever." Over on the far side of the dais, set up on the floor of the Heat home court, James' teammates roared in hysterics - and Udonis Haslem made sure James knew that they were talking about Brinson's pet name for her future husband. The 14 other Heat players were dressed casually in team garb, while James donned a dapper suit for the festivities. As he did on Saturday, a day after it became widely known that the award would be his again, James thanked his teammates. "I'd rather be sitting over there in shorts and a T-shirt, wondering what the hell they're joking about, because I want to be a part of that joke," James said. "And I hate being out of all the jokes. I want to know what was happening, OK, guys? I would much rather be with my guys over there because that's what it's all about. Without those guys, this trophy is not possible." Much of the ceremony was tinged with emotion. Brinson's mother dabbed tears away from her eyes when James thanked his soon-to-be in-laws for what they do for his family. Dwyane Wade (who was 10th in the voting) spoke in a hushed tone on the video, with soft music playing in the background as he told James to "continue to lead this team because we believe in you, so congratulations, Mr. MVP." James seemed genuinely touched when dozens of students who are part of his "I Promise" educational program chanted for him when the proceedings were complete. "And all the ones that I've observed and I've watched and I've seen, somewhere they've always gotten better," said Heat President Pat Riley, talking about all the game's stars that he's witnessed in his 46 NBA years. "They always got better as their career advanced. And most importantly, they've always made their teammates and their team better. In my humble opinion ... I think the man that we're looking at right here is the best of all of them." James was the only player in the NBA to lead his team in scoring, rebounding and assists per game this season, had a record six straight games of scoring at least 30 points while shooting at least 60 percent, became the youngest player in league history to break the 20,000-career-point plateau and won five of the six Eastern Conference player of the month awards. James is now the second player in NBA history to post at least 2,000 points, 600 rebounds, 500 assists and 100 steals in a season twice, joining Larry Bird, who did it three times. The only other player to do it once was Jordan. "Four now," Heat managing general partner Micky Arison said. "And more to come."

Local Professor Weighs In On How Young Gay Athletes Set Tone For NBA Coming Out

Local Professor Weighs In On How Young Gay Athletes Set Tone For NBA Coming Out CHICAGO (AP) — You’ve probably never heard of Holly Peterson or Jonathan Jean-Pierre. One came out as a lesbian at age 15, when she was playing high school basketball. The other, a college rower, told his teammates last year that he’s gay. There was little fanfare for either. There were no headlines as there were this past week when NBA player Jason Collins declared that he is gay, making him the first in a major U.S. men’s professional sport to come out. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Philly abortion murder trial has national impact

Philly abortion murder trial has national impact For weeks, jurors in Philadelphia heard grim testimony about deaths and squalor at Dr. Kermit Gosnell's inner-city abortion clinic. While they listened, the murder case reverberated far beyond the courtroom, changing - at least for the moment - the tone of the national debate on abortion. Groups supporting legal access to abortion, after major successes in the 2012 national elections, find themselves on the defensive as they distance themselves from Gosnell. "All of us are appalled by the substandard illegal practices," said Vicki Saporta, who as CEO of the National Abortion Federation represents hundreds of U.S. abortion clinics. "But to make the leap to say that's indicative of the state of abortion care throughout the U.S. is absolutely false." Anti-abortion activists, in contrast, are energized by the case, citing it in fundraising appeals and renewed efforts to expand state restrictions on abortion. "It's very seldom we get such an opportunity to look at the realities of what's happening in abortion," said Dr. Donna Harrison, president of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Gosnell, 72, is charged with killing five people - a patient and four viable babies that prosecutors say were born alive. Among scores of other counts, he also is accused of performing abortions after Pennsylvania's 24-week limit. Jury deliberations began April 30 and are scheduled to resume Monday. Anti-abortion groups have seized on the case as a chance to reach an audience beyond their regular followers. Those efforts were enhanced midway through the trial when abortion opponents used social media to accuse some national news outlets of a "blackout" of the case, resulting in increased news coverage. Certainly, there's been national attention. Beth Burkstrand-Reid, a University of Nebraska law professor who teaches courses about abortion and gender issues, says her students have been coming up to her before and after class to talk about the case. The horrific allegations against Gosnell - whose clinic was licensed but hadn't been inspected since 1993 - have prompted the abortion-rights lobby to repudiate him as a "rogue operator" employing practices far outside the norm. "This was an incredibly horrible situation and when it came to light, he was somehow associated with the abortion community, which he's not," said Elizabeth Nash of the Guttmacher Institute, a research group which supports abortion rights. "It's taking a long time for that message to get out. He does not represent abortion care in this country." Anti-abortion groups are trying to make the case that he does, arguing that lax regulation and callous attitudes have allowed dangerous conditions to persist in many clinics. They also contend there's little practical difference between what Gosnell is charged with - killing four babies who were born alive - and a late-term abortion. The trial "shows people that abortion is about killing human beings that have arms and legs and in this case, a lot of attention has been focused on necks and spines that can be cut. They're alive and something has to be done to them to cause them to die," said David O'Steen, executive director of the National Right to Life Committee. One anti-abortion group, Live Action, has used the case to publicize the latest in a series of undercover videos it has made at abortion clinics. "Gosnell Not Alone in Late-term Abortion Brutality," declares a news release about videos which, according to Live Action president Lila Rose, show abortion providers discussing possible outcomes of late-term abortions that she depicts as infanticide. Another group, Americans United for Life, is using the case to bolster its promotion of state laws requiring abortion clinics to meet the same safety standards as outpatient surgical facilities. "You are going to see legislators taking a look at this horrific situation in Philadelphia and say, `We do not want this in our state,'" said spokeswoman Kristi Hamrick. Anti-abortion activists were already feeling emboldened by the Republican electoral gains of 2010. Since then, GOP-dominated state legislatures have passed more than 160 restrictive abortion measures - more than in the seven previous years combined, according to a tally by the Guttmacher Institute. In the 2012 election, abortion-rights supporters countered by accusing the GOP of waging a "war on women," and some anti-abortion Republicans lost high-profile Senate races. Now the Gosnell case is providing abortion opponents with fresh ammunition as they seek tighter clinic regulations and additional restrictions on late-term abortions. For example, they are citing the case in urging Congress to ban abortions in Washington, D.C., beyond the 20th week of pregnancy, based on the disputed premise that a fetus can feel pain at that age. Eleven states already have so-called fetal pain laws, though only six are in force. Courts have blocked enforcement in three states, while in two states the measures have yet to take effect. Late-term abortions are relatively rare. According to federal data, about 92 percent of abortions are performed at 13 weeks of pregnancy or earlier. Some states are now targeting those early-stage abortions. New laws would ban most abortions after 12 weeks in Arkansas and after six weeks in North Dakota. In Pennsylvania, the Gosnell case has already had a direct impact on policy. A law that took effect last year raised safety standards for abortion clinics, including requirements for wider hallways and doorways, bigger operating rooms, and full-time nurses. The law also mandates unannounced inspections. Since the law's enactment, five of the state's 22 abortion clinics have closed, according to the Health Department, though reasons for the closures vary. Abortion-rights supporters say the Gosnell case illustrates the need for increased access to abortion services, not less. They argue that restrictions drive down the number of reputable providers and force desperate, low-income women to turn to unsafe options, as was often the case before the Supreme Court's 1973 Roe v. Wade decision established a nationwide right to abortion. "The kinds of restrictions that the anti-choice lobby has been trying to put in place for years and years are the exact kinds of restrictions that keep people like Kermit Gosnell in business," said Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. "Peeking at Gosnell's clinic is like peeking into U.S. history pre-Roe v. Wade." Dr. Anne Davis, who is medical director for Physicians for Reproductive Health and provides abortions as part of her practice in New York City, says abortion is among the safest medical procedures. "There are always going to be bad actors in any profession," she said. "The harder it gets to access abortion, the wider the door for bad actors." It's too soon to gauge whether the Gosnell case will sway public opinion and alter abortion politics over the long term. Eric Ferrero of Planned Parenthood, the leading provider of abortions in the U.S., said he took heart in national polls that consistently show most American support legal access to abortion. "I don't doubt that extremist politicians and activists will try to use the case to fan the flames," he said. "When two-thirds of the public is against you, you look for a game-changer at every bend." President Barack Obama, who supports abortion rights, waded into the debate on April 26, becoming the first sitting president to make an in-person address to Planned Parenthood. Obama vowed to help fight against state abortion restrictions that he said are designed to "turn back the clock to policies more suited to the 1950s than the 21st century." The president did not mention the Gosnell case, but he attacked legislators in North Dakota, Mississippi and elsewhere who want to "ban or severely limit access to a woman's right to choose." Pennsylvania lawmakers were among the first anywhere to approve restrictions on abortion. The state's 1980s-era abortion laws required women to wait at least 24 hours for an abortion and to receive information from a doctor about abortion risks and alternatives. Yet in the case of Gosnell's clinic, enforcement was lacking. Prosecutors said Gosnell employed untrained, unlicensed workers in a deplorable facility with broken or unsterile equipment. A Philadelphia grand jury report in 2011 said Gosnell routinely performed illegal, third-trimester abortions and cut the spinal cords of hundreds of infants born alive. According to the report, Gosnell's clinic had not been inspected since 1993. It said the state Health Department stopped inspecting abortion clinics in the 1990s out of a desire to avoid "putting up a barrier" to women seeking abortions. Claremont McKenna College professor Jon Shields, an expert in abortion policy, described the U.S. abortion system overall as "unusually permissive" compared to most Western countries. "Most of the industry is self-regulated and generally that works pretty well," he said, crediting such groups as Planned Parenthood and the National Abortion Federation with high standards. "But then you get a lot of clinics that ... are interested in cutting costs," Shields added. "We know a lot less about these clinics."

Can Floyd Mayweather Still Carry The Rage For Robert Guerrero?

Can Floyd Mayweather Still Carry The Rage For Robert Guerrero? Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. speaks to the media during the final news conference for his bout against Robert Guerrero at the MGM Grand Hotel/Casino on May 1, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (credit: Jeff Bottari/Getty Images) Boxer Floyd Mayweather Jr. speaks to the media during the final news conference for his bout against Robert Guerrero at the MGM Grand Hotel/Casino on May 1, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

TV Exclusive: Identity Theft Victim Of Pa. Runaway Mom Speaks Out

TV Exclusive: Identity Theft Victim Of Pa. Runaway Mom Speaks Out PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – We are continuing to learn more details about Brenda Heist’s life in Florida. Heike Farmer didn’t hesitate to use a woman known as “Lovie Smith” to clean her home back in July of 2011. The recommendation came from her own mother, who used “Lovie” every week. She was recovering from shoulder surgery, when Heist came to clean. Farmer remembers taking out cash for Heist. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Bullied Student Speaks Out After Being Suspended For Bringing Weapon To School For ‘Protection’

Bullied Student Speaks Out After Being Suspended For Bringing Weapon To School For ‘Protection’ PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Lisselox Veloz has a 3.0 grade point average and school officials say she has never been in trouble before, but last week the 16-year-old was arrested and suspended from Swenson Arts and Technology High School. “Everyone knows about,” said Veloz. “It’s not like anything new to nobody.” Veloz said after months of being bullied, she took matters into her own hands. The sophomore, who aspires to be a detective one day, brought a paring knife to school. A metal detector caught it and Lisselox was arrested by Philadelphia police and suspended for five days. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Michael Vick Beat LeSean McCoy In A 40 Yard Dash

Michael Vick Beat LeSean McCoy In A 40 Yard Dash PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – If Michael Vick has lost a step, he’s still got one on LeSean McCoy. The Eagles quarterback beat McCoy in a 40 yard-dash today, according to Eagles safety Colt Anderson, who reported the news on Twitter. Eagles tight end Clay Harbor said on Twitter that Vick did in fact win the race, and “dusted” McCoy. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Victim Of Connecticut School Shooting Honored In Gloucester County During Remembrance Ceremony

Victim Of Connecticut School Shooting Honored In Gloucester County During Remembrance Ceremony WOODBURY, N.J. (CBS) – Thursday afternoon Gloucester County officials held a ceremony, in honor of National Victim’s Rights Week, to remember residents who’ve died because of violent crimes. Mary Sherlach was honored at the event. She was killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Her daughter, who lives in Gloucester County, spoke about the issue of violent crime and her efforts to keep the gun debate alive. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Exclusive: Daughter, Ex-Husband Of Woman Found In Florida Speak Out

Exclusive: Daughter, Ex-Husband Of Woman Found In Florida Speak Out LITITZ, Pa. (CBS/AP) — Police in central Pennsylvania say a woman who disappeared after dropping off her children for school 11 years ago has been located in Florida after traveling there with homeless hitchhikers and sleeping beneath bridges. In 2002, Heist left behind an 8-year-old daughter who’s now a college sophomore and a 12-year-old son who recently graduated from college. Her disappearance touched off a frantic search to find her in Lititz; there was even a web sites dedicated to figuring out what happened. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Camden Police Force Transitions From City To County Control CAMDEN, N.J., (CBS) – After two years of battles, some of them ugly, Camden has seen its police force transition from city to county control. And there’s a pledge to take its ranks to 400 by the end of the year. KYW’s David Madden has the story from Camden. Camden’s police force has come under control of the county, with more than half of those now patrolling the streets coming from the old department, and plans to grow their numbers by year’s end. Their numbers will grow to 400 by Christmas. The goal is to take Camden off the list of America’s most dangerous cities. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Joe Frazier’s Gym Gets Historic Status

Joe Frazier’s Gym Gets Historic Status PHILADELPHIA (AP) — The Philadelphia gym where former heavyweight champ Joe Frazier lived and trained has been named to the National Register of Historic Places. Preservation officials say they were notified Tuesday of the designation by the National Park Service. They say it will help protect the building and commemorate Frazier’s legacy. Frazier converted the three-story north Philadelphia building into a gym in 1968. He lived upstairs and trained downstairs. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

12th Annual Free Comic Book Day This Weekend

12th Annual Free Comic Book Day This Weekend PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – From zombies to a sponge that lives in a pineapple under the sea. There’s something for everyone at Free Comic Book Saturday on May 4th. KYW’s John McDevitt reports. Sponge Bob Square Pants, Superman, and The Walking Dead are just some of the free comics that will be available at more than 2,000 stores participating in the 12th Annual Free Comic Book Day. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

New Jersey Couple Indicted On Charges Of ‘Unimaginable Cruelty’ Toward Adopted Children

New Jersey Couple Indicted On Charges Of ‘Unimaginable Cruelty’ Toward Adopted Children MOUNT HOLLY, NJ (CBS) – A United States Army major and his wife are facing charges for the alleged abuse of their three adopted children, including one who died in May 2008. A 17-count indictment released Tuesday charges Army Maj. John Jackson, and his wife, Carolyn, with neglect, abuse, cruelty, and torture. The couple, who live in Mount Holly, are behind bars. From about August 2005 until April 23, 2010, Carolyn Jackson, 35, and John E. Jackson, 37, formerly of the Picatinny Arsenal Installation in Morris County, NJ reportedly abused the three juveniles by breaking their bones, denying them medical attention and withholding water and force-feeding them hot sauce. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

George Zimmerman won't seek immunity hearing

George Zimmerman won't seek immunity hearing SANFORD, Florida (AP) -- The former neighborhood watch leader charged with fatally shooting a Florida teenager told a judge Tuesday that he agrees with his defense attorneys' decision not to seek an immunity hearing under the state's "Stand Your Ground" self-defense law. Under questioning from Circuit Judge Debra Nelson, George Zimmerman repeatedly said "yes" to a series of questions asking if he was aware he was giving up the right to a hearing before his second-degree murder trial in June. A judge would have sole discretion in an immunity hearing to decide if Zimmerman is exempt from culpability in the shooting. A jury would make the determination in the murder trial. "After consultation with my counsel, yes, your honor," Zimmerman said. The judge had set aside two weeks at the end of April for an immunity hearing should Zimmerman want one. Zimmerman's defense attorney, Mark O'Mara, told Nelson during a hearing in March that he wouldn't need those days. Prosecutor Bernie de la Rionda filed a motion last week asking that Zimmerman make clear his intentions on whether he wanted the hearing. O'Mara, told the judge Tuesday there was nothing in the law that required the immunity hearing to take place before Zimmerman's trial and could be requested after prosecutors have presented their case. "We'd much rather have the jury address the issue of criminal liability or lack thereof," O'Mara said. Zimmerman has pleaded not guilty, claiming self-defense. Martin was fatally shot in February 2012 during a fight with Zimmerman in a Sanford gated community. O'Mara also wanted the court to unseal details on a civil settlement Martin's parents received from Zimmerman's homeowner's association. O'Mara contended the settlement could influence the testimony of Martin's parents, if they are called as witnesses. The judge said defense attorneys and prosecutors could see full copies of the settlement but the public would only be able to see a version from which some information has been removed. Daryl Parks, one of the Martin family's attorneys, said afterward that any attempt by the defense to use information from the recent civil settlement was "smoke and mirrors." "It is just wrong to suggest that Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton wanted their son to be killed so they could get a confidential financial settlement," he said. "It is just so unfair to this family." O'Mara denied he was making that suggestion but said anything that goes toward witness bias should be available for a jury to explore during trial to decide whether those testifying are credible. Nelson rejected a request by O'Mara to find fault with prosecutors for what the defense attorney described as violations in providing discovery evidence to them. O'Mara said that prosecutors' failure to disclose evidence in a timely manner had caused his team "hours and hours of work." The judge said she would hold a hearing after the trial to determine if prosecutors should have to pay for some costs that O'Mara said he incurred because of the alleged discovery problems.

2 Charged In Murder Of Overbrook High School Student

2 Charged In Murder Of Overbrook High School Student PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Two men have been charged in the murder of Bernard Scott, a 17-year-old Overbrook High School student who was shot and killed in a playground right across the street from the school. The shooting happened April 11th at about 3:45 p.m. at Tustin Playground located near 59th Street and Lancaster Avenue (see related story). On April 11, 20-year-old Jaquan Jordan of Philadelphia was arrested and charged with Weapons Violations in connection with the shooting. On Monday, charges were upgraded and Jordan was charged in connection with the murder of Scott. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

NJ Sex Assault Conviction Tossed Over Law Wording

NJ Sex Assault Conviction Tossed Over Law Wording TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — A New Jersey man serving prison time for aggravated sexual assault will get a new sentence after the state Supreme Court tossed his conviction over the wording of the law. Eric Rangel was convicted of the first-degree crime and other offenses stemming from a 2007 attack on an 18-year-old woman in Lake Hiawatha in which the victim suffered fractures and bruises to her face. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Lawyer details Jackson's struggle with drugs

Lawyer details Jackson's struggle with drugs LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Michael Jackson's struggle against drug addiction was put on display Monday during opening statements at his mother's wrongful death case against concert promoter AEG Live. Competing portraits of Jackson emerged during the first hours of the trial, with Katherine Jackson's attorney acknowledging the pop star's drug problems while also trying to show he was a caring son and father. AEG's attorney Marvin S. Putnam said, however, that the singer's guarded private life meant the company was unaware that he was using the powerful anesthetic propofol. "The truth is, Michael Jackson fooled everyone," Putnam said. "He made sure that no one, nobody, knew his deepest darkest secrets." A jury of six men and six women will determine whether AEG should pay Jackson's mother and three children after his 2009 death from an overdose of propofol. Millions and possibly billions of dollars in damages are at stake in the case that opened with private photos and video clips of Jackson dancing. "This case is about personal choices," Putnam said about Jackson's decision to be treated by physician Conrad Murray. "Also, it was about his personal responsibility. There's no question that Michael Jackson's death was a terrible tragedy. "I believe the evidence will show it was not a tragedy of AEG Live's making," Putnam said as he ended his opening statement. Testimony will begin Tuesday. Katherine Jackson's attorney, Brian Panish, said AEG created a conflict of interest for Murray and forced him to choose between a large payday and Jackson's care. He told the jury AEG was feeling competitive pressures and wanted the Jackson tour to work at all costs. "They didn't care who got lost in the wash," Panish told the jury. Panish played a song that Jackson wrote for his three children, and a note the singer had written for his mother that brought tears to her eyes as she sat in court. Katherine Jackson sued AEG Live in September 2010, claiming it failed to properly investigate Murray before allowing him to serve as Jackson's doctor as he prepared for his "This Is It" shows. She is also suing on behalf of her son's three children - Prince, Paris and Blanket. AEG denies it hired Murray, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in Jackson's death. AEG's attorneys have said the company could not have foreseen the circumstances that led to the singer's death at age 50. Panish told jurors that AEG executives ignored warning signs about Jackson's health and were motivated to push the singer and his doctor to improve their own financial fortunes. "We're not looking for any sympathy," Panish said. "We're looking for truth and justice." With Jackson's mother, brother Randy and sister Rebbie seated in the front row of the courtroom, jurors were shown numerous slides and several scribbled notes. A couple of jurors nodded when the lawyer referenced Jackson's achievements, including successful concert tours and a Super Bowl performance. Katherine Jackson dabbed her eyes after Panish read a note that her son wrote to her, detailing his feelings about her. "All my success has been based on the fact that I wanted to make my mother proud," the singer's note said, "to win her smile of approval." The personal touches came after Panish spent the first half of his presentation detailing Jackson's struggles with prescription drug abuse throughout the last half of his life. He also showed jurors numerous emails sent between AEG executives concerning Jackson's health and their concerns that he wouldn't be able to perform 50 planned concerts in London. Putnam recounted the chaotic days following Jackson's death as investigators and the public tried to figure out how the singer died unexpectedly. He urged jurors to remember that propofol killed Jackson. "One thing became very, very clear," Putnam said. "While the world may not have heard of propofol, Mr. Jackson certainly had. The evidence is going to show you that he had been using that drug for years and years." Putnam told jurors that AEG executives were in the dark about Jackson's propofol use. "How could they have known?" the lawyer asked. He said jurors will hear from Jackson's ex-wife, Debbie Rowe, who would tell them that Jackson used the anesthetic in the 1990s. "Mr. Jackson got very, very, good at hiding his addiction," Putnam said. "He didn't let anyone see it. Not his staff, not his children. This was the private Michael Jackson." He said physician-patient confidentiality kept Jackson's reliance on propofol from becoming publicly known. That extended to Murray as well. "He couldn't tell anyone about the propofol use," Putnam said of the former cardiologist. Panish, however, said AEG saw the Jackson shows as a way to make a lot of money and better compete with Live Nation Entertainment Inc. He displayed a March 2009 email sent before a news conference featuring Jackson, in which AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips wrote to Tim Leiweke, the former CEO of AEG'S parent company, that Jackson was drunk and refusing to address fans. "This is the scariest thing I have ever seen," Phillips wrote Leiweke. "He is an emotionally paralyzed mess riddled with self-loathing and doubt now that it's show time. He's scared to death." Panish said Jackson's behavior was just one of several warning signs the company ignored before the death. He told the panel that they would be the ones to assign liability for Jackson's death, but they should look at AEG's actions and not focus on Jackson's issues. "Michael paid the ultimate price. He died," Panish said. "Michael has taken responsibility."

Howard’s Big Hit Leads Hamels, Phillies Over Mets

Howard’s Big Hit Leads Hamels, Phillies Over Mets NEW YORK (AP) — Ryan Howard snapped a seventh-inning tie with a pinch-hit double, Cole Hamels earned his first win of the season and the Philadelphia Phillies took advantage of a crucial Mets error to beat New York 5-1 on Sunday and finish a three-game sweep. Freddy Galvis homered, Chase Utley had an RBI single and Hamels (1-3) overcame six walks, which matched his career high. The left-hander held the Mets to two hits and struck out eight over six innings in his fourth consecutive solid outing. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Local Singer Takes Stance Against Bullying During Concert At High School In South Philadelphia

Local Singer Takes Stance Against Bullying During Concert At High School In South Philadelphia PHILADLEPHIA (CBS) - A group of local performers will get together to take a stance against bullying during a family friendly concert at a South Philadelphia high school Saturday night. The concert is called “Philly Pop Invasion.” One of the singers is South Philly’s own Felicia Punzo who will perform her song “I’m Just A Kid” which is about her own experiences with being bullied. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Student Leadership Project Works With Kids To Create Culture Of Learning

Student Leadership Project Works With Kids To Create Culture Of Learning PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Two teachers are taking a new approach to changing school culture and it appears to be working. The method teaches students, not teachers to take the lead. Paul Dean and Bobby Erzen started the Student Leadership Project after completing their commitment to Teach for America. After graduating college in 2008, the duo spent time teaching in inner city schools in New Orleans, and while there, learned there was a major problem with school culture. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Program Takes Middle School Students Through Consequences Of Gun Violence

Program Takes Middle School Students Through Consequences Of Gun Violence PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Dr. Amy Goldberg, Temple Hospital’s chief of trauma and surgical critical care, stood in the hospital’s emergency room and held up a blunt-looking metal tool so 20 boys, 8th graders from Finletter, could see it. “We take an instrument like this, lift up on the breast bone and actually cut straight across it,” she explained. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

12-Year-Old Struck By Car In Kingsessing

12-Year-Old Struck By Car In Kingsessing PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – A 12-year-old child was hospitalized after they were struck by a car in Kingsessing on Friday night. The incident happened at about 7:45 p.m. on the 5100 block of Kingsessing Avenue. Officials say the child was struck by a car while riding their bike. The child suffered leg and arm injuries and was transported to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. There is no word on the victim’s condition. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Fire Crews Battle Blaze In North Philadelphia

Fire Crews Battle Blaze In North Philadelphia PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Fire crews battled a home fire in North Philadelphia Thursday afternoon. The fire broke out around 5 p.m. on the 1700 block of North Bailey Street in North Philadelphia. According to fire officials, crews arrived to a home with heavy smoke coming from the second floor. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Pa. Police Chief Accused Of Having Sex With Crime Victim

Pa. Police Chief Accused Of Having Sex With Crime Victim SCRANTON, Pa. (AP) — A northeastern Pennsylvania police chief was arrested Wednesday on witness intimidation and obstruction charges after authorities say he had sex with an alleged victim in a criminal case and told her not to tell anyone. Scott Township Police Chief James Romano, 42, was arrested by agents of the Pennsylvania attorney general’s office. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Daughter Of Philadelphia Mayor Assaulted During Track Meet

Daughter Of Philadelphia Mayor Assaulted During Track Meet PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Eyewitness News has learned Olivia Nutter, the daughter of Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter, was assaulted during a track meet. Sources say it happened in the 1100 block of East Sedgewick in Germantown on Thursday. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Delaware House Approves Gay Marriage Bill

Delaware House Approves Gay Marriage Bill DOVER, Del. (AP) — The state House on Tuesday narrowly approved a bill legalizing gay marriage in Delaware, barely a year after the state began recognizing same-sex civil unions. The measure cleared the House on a 23-to-18 vote and now goes to the Senate, where supporters and opponents expect another close vote. Democratic Gov. Jack Markell has promised to sign the bill if it passes the Democrat-led legislature. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Police: Couple And 8-Month-Old Son Carjacked In Radnor Township

Police: Couple And 8-Month-Old Son Carjacked In Radnor Township RADNOR Twp., Pa., (CBS) – Police are searching for two men they say carjacked a family in Radnor Township on Monday night. Radnor Township Police say the armed men stole a vehicle with three people inside, including an 8-month-old boy. The incident happened at about 9:50 p.m. in the parking lot outside of the Micro Center computer store, located on the 500 block of E. Lancaster Avenue in the St. David’s section. Police say the family had just left the computer store. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Charged In Boston Marathon Bombings

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev Charged In Boston Marathon Bombings BOSTON (AP/CBS) - Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was formally charged Monday in the Boston Marathon bombings. A magistrate judge went to Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center to conduct the initial court appearance in front of Tsarnaev, 19, who is under heavy guard in serious condition with gunshot wounds to his throat and leg. The throat wound has left him unable to speak, so he’s responding to questions in writing. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Security Tightened At Penn Relays

Security Tightened At Penn Relays PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The Penn Relays are only days away, but Boston is still on everyone’s mind. “The events of that day have shaken all of us to some degree,” said Dave Johnson, Director of the Penn Relays, in a press conference leading up to the three day track and field meet. More than 20,000 athletes and 100,000 fans will pack Franklin Field to watch the historic meet. In light of Boston, crowds should be ready for extra security. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Man In Custody After Reports Of Suspicious Person Inside Visitor Center Garage

Man In Custody After Reports Of Suspicious Person Inside Visitor Center Garage PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – The Visitor’s Center on Independence Mall closed for a short period of time this afternoon while police investigated a suspicious man. Authorities say a man wearing a full camouflage suit inside the Visitor’s Center quickly drew the attention of police. Philadelphia police lieutenant Joe McGarrey says they caught up with him inside a vehicle in the underground parking garage. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

Thousands Turn Out For 3rd Annual Science Carnival On Ben Franklin Parkway

Thousands Turn Out For 3rd Annual Science Carnival On Ben Franklin Parkway PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Thousands of people turned out Saturday for the 3rd annual Science Carnival on the Ben Franklin Parkway. KYW’s Molly Daly was there. Under a blue sky dotted with cumulus clouds — well, it is a science festival after all — families could visit more than 150 interactive exhibits, ranging from a look at a robot’s innards, to meeting live animals, to testing a crime scene for forensic evidence. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/

‘Massive Layoffs’ Loom As Philadelphia School District Attempts To Fill $300M Budget Hole

‘Massive Layoffs’ Loom As Philadelphia School District Attempts To Fill $300M Budget Hole PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - The school district says “massive layoffs” and program cuts loom if it doesn’t fill its $300 million budget hole. No art. No extracurricular activities. No interscholastic sports. Schools superintendent William Hite says if the district doesn’t get $304 million in extra revenue from the city and state and concessions from unions, deep cuts will be made. For full story go to: http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/