US woman to face trial for dumping newborn
An eastern Pennsylvania woman has been ordered to stand trial on charges accusing her of giving birth in a sports bar bathroom, wrapping the newborn in a plastic bag and hiding him in a toilet tank.
Twenty-six-year-old Amanda Hein, of Allentown, was ordered to stand trial on a criminal homicide count after a preliminary hearing Monday
A cleaning crew found the baby's body in the toilet on August 19 at Starters Pub in Bethlehem, about 30 miles north of Philadelphia. A coroner concluded the boy was born alive.
Police say they traced blood found in a bar booth to Hein. Investigators say she couldn't give them a reason she allegedly killed the baby except that she was "scared".
A message left for Hein's public defender, Michael Corriere, wasn't immediately returned.
EU Confronting US Over Surveillance
European Union lawmakers have begun a series of meetings aimed at confronting U.S. officials about allegations of widespread American spying on their allies.
The 23-member European Parliament delegation met Monday with U.S. lawmakers and officials in several government agencies, including the National Security Council at the White House. The talks are scheduled to extend through Wednesday.
U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee chairwoman Dianne Feinstein on Monday called for a `"total review'' of all U.S. intelligence programs in response to the allegations, which the California Democrat said she was not told about.
But even with diplomatic efforts under way, European officials continue to look for a way to pressure the U.S. to provide details of past surveillance. They also want assurances that the practice will be curbed.
German Justice Minister Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger suggested severing U.S. access to an important law enforcement tool used to track terrorist money flows. The SWIFT agreement, signed after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, allows the U.S. access to funds transferred through the private, Belgium-based Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, which handles the movement of money between banks worldwide.
In recent days, European leaders have denounced reports of National Security Agency spying on allies, including monitoring of the cellphone of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. In the latest outcry, Spain denounced the snooping as "inappropriate and unacceptable."
The Spanish foreign ministry summoned U.S. Ambassador James Costos for a 45-minute meeting in Madrid within hours of reports in two Spanish newspapers that the U.S. tracked more than 60 million Spanish phone calls in a single month.
El Mundo and El Pais reported that the NSA monitored the calls last December 10 through January 8 of this year. The reports said the U.S. collected the numbers of the calls and their duration, but not their content.
Red Sox Take 3-2 World Series Lead
The Boston Red Sox are returning home with a chance to win the Major League Baseball World Series, after defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 in game five Monday night.
The victory puts the Red Sox ahead three games to two in the best-of-seven championship series.
The game was tied 1-1 through six innings, continuing a trend of tight early battles between the two teams. The Red Sox broke the game open in the seventh inning, scoring a run on a double by catcher David Ross and another on a single by outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury.
That was all the offense they would need, as Boston pitchers Jon Lester and Koji Uehara combined to give up just one St. Louis hit the rest of the game to seal the win.
The Cardinals are sending rookie star pitcher Michael Wacha to the mound for Wednesday's game six, hoping to beat Red Sox veteran John Lackey and force a game seven in Boston on Thursday.
The two pitchers matched up in the second game of the series, which the Cardinals won 4-2.
Putin insists gay and lesbian athletes have nothing to fear at next year's Winter Olympics
Russian President Vladimir Putin has insisted gay and lesbian athletes have nothing to fear at next year's Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.
Mr Putin told Thomas Bach, the head of the International Olympic Committee, that gay athletes - and supporters - would feel at ease.
Russia has been criticised over a new law banning "homosexual propaganda" towards people under 18.
But a proposed boycott of the Games has gained little momentum.
There was some suggestion that gay visitors might face prosecution in Russia, but Moscow says this will not happen.
"We will do everything to make sure that athletes, fans and guests feel comfortable at the Olympic Games regardless of their ethnicity, race or sexual orientation. I would like to underline that," Mr Putin told Mr Bach.
But gay rights groups have accused the IOC of not putting enough pressure on Russia, which has invested more in its Games than any previous Olympic host.
During his visit, Mr Bach made no public mention of the new law, focusing instead on Russia's preparations for the Olympics.
Penn St. agrees to pay $59.7 million
Penn State said Monday it is paying $59.7 million to 26 young men over claims of child sexual abuse at the hands of former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky.
The school said 23 deals are fully signed and three are agreements in principle, but it did not disclose the names of the recipients.
The school faces six other claims, some of which it says may still produce future settlements.
University president Rodney Erickson issued a statement calling the announcement a step forward for victims and the school.
"We cannot undo what has been done, but we can and must do everything possible to learn from this and ensure it never happens again at Penn State," said Erickson, who announced the day Sandusky was convicted in June 2012 that Penn State was determined to compensate his victims.
The settlements have been unfolding since mid-August.
Expert Hired to Fix Obamacare Website says It Will Be Ready Next Month
The expert the White House hired to fix the massive problems with the Obamacare website says he expects it to be running smoothly by November.
Jeffrey Zients told reporters Friday the problems with Helathcare.gov are fixable.
Thousands of people trying to buy government mandated health insurance using the website have run into numerous problems. Some users complain of extremely long wait times while others have had their passwords rejected. Other users say they were given conflicting prices for the same health plan.
Executives of the companies who built the website told Congress Wednesday the system was not fully tested and that last-minute changes to the website contributed to the problems.
Republicans opposed to Obamacare say the computer problems illustrate their argument the health care law is not ready.
Under the Affordable Care Act, people without private health insurance can sign up for government subsidized plans through the website. Those who fail to carry any health insurance would pay a penalty.
Small Tsunami After Earthquake Strikes off Japan's Coast
Japanese authorities have canceled all tsunami warnings after a strong 7.1 magnitude earthquake shook the ocean floor east of Japan.
The U.S. Geological Survey says the quake struck 326 kilometers off the coast, about 3 a.m. local time Saturday It was centered 10 kilometers below the ocean's surface.
The quake triggered a small tsunami along the east coast, but no damage is reported.
The quake hit about 400 kilometers from Japan's Fukushima Province, site of the ruined Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station, which devastated by an earthquake and tsunami in March 2011.
More Than 700 Migrants Rescued Near Italy
Italian and Maltese patrol teams have rescued more than 700 migrants in a series of operations in the Mediterranean Sea.
Italian officials say the rescues took place late Thursday and Friday after patrols intercepted at least five boats packed with migrants near the Italian island of Lampedusa.
The rescues occurred as European Union leaders at a summit in Brussels grappled with the issue of illegal immigration.
Leaders from the southern European nations that have been most affected by the influx of refugees pressed the EU for emergency action and to share more of the burden of dealing with refugees.
EU leaders, however, failed to take any immediate action. Instead, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy said the leaders expected to discuss the findings of an EU migration task force at their next summit.
LOBSTER HABITAT STUDY SECURES FCO FUNDING
The Department for the Environment and Maritime Affairs (DEMA) has been successful in its application to the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office for $65,000 of funding to carry out a project to improve the habitat for spiny lobsters in TCI waters it was confirmed on Thursday October 24.
Catch numbers for the Caribbean spiny lobster (Pan-u-lirus argus) have been in decline in the TCI over the past 5 years, and it is believed locally that one cause of this is the reduction in the quality and quantity of lobster habitat. This has primarily been caused by damage inflicted by hurricanes Hannah and Ike in 2008. To try and address this, DEMA will host a number of workshops with the local fisher folk community that will teach them how to construct and deploy artificial lobster habitats (‘casitas.’) In addition, a full biological assessment of traditional fishing areas to determine the health and number of existing habitats will be carried out. The project will last for up to a year, with monitoring of the habitat’s progress undertaken for a further three years.
“This project represents an excellent opportunity for us to try and improve spiny lobster habitat in TCI waters,” said Director of DEMA, Kathleen Wood. “Numerous studies have indicated that artificial habitats increase the abundance and biomass of lobsters in areas where habitat is limited, and we are hopeful that we will see such results here. We are grateful to the FCO for funding the work.”
Commenting on the grant of the funding, Governor Peter Beckingham said: “The lobster fishing industry is important to TCI, and I am delighted that the FCO has been able to fund this project. The grant highlights both the commitment of the UK to assisting TCI’s local communities and the excellent work of DEMA in their continuing efforts to protect and enhance TCI’s natural environment.”
DEMA FIRST RESULTS FROM FISHING STUDY
The Department of Environment and Maritime Affairs has released the first results from the off-shore fishing study now going on in the waters off the Turks and Caicos Islands.
On Tuesday, October 22ND, Dayboat I returned to port at South Caicos following the maiden voyage of the pelagic fisheries study.
Results from the first voyage reveal that 135 fish were caught in four hauls, totalling more than 5,000 pounds of tuna, swordfish, wahoo and mahi mahi. Of this amount 26 individual fish, including swordfish, tuna, marlin and shark species, were released live, while 9 individual fish, including shark, swordfish and marlin species were released dead. The above figures represent a total unintended by-catch rate of 19% (live) and 6.7% (dead).
While the figures for dead by-catch are higher than anticipated, the proponents are confident that once the crew has been fully trained, these numbers will decline and approach zero, DEMA Director Kathleen Wood noted. DEMA will continue to monitor the activities and will take remedial steps if necessary.
DEMA is also satisfied that no sea turtles or marine mammals have been adversely affected by activities thus far.
The pelagic fishing study is governed by rules established by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). As such, the study is subject to international quotas, and no undersized swordfish may be retained. The ICCAT rules are devised to ensure the sustainable harvest of pelagic fisheries stocks.