BREAKING NEWS: Jury Convicts 5 Police Officers In Post-Katrina Shootings

NEW ORLEANS — A federal jury convicted five current or former police officers Friday of civil rights violations in the deadly shootings on a New Orleans bridge after Hurricane Katrina, but decided they were not guilty of murder.

All five officers were convicted Friday of charges stemming from the cover-up of the shootings. The four who had been charged with civil rights violations in the shootings were convicted on all counts.

However, the jury decided that neither fatal shooting was a murder.

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Pentagon Chief Warns Won't Accept Extra Spending Cuts

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta warned Thursday he would not accept large military cutbacks under a debt deal, charging the move would weaken the United States faced with rising powers. ... Such cuts "I believe would do real damage to our security, our troops and their families and our military's ability to protect the nation," Panetta said. "It is an outcome that would be completely unacceptable to me as secretary of defense, to the president and, I believe, to our nation's leaders," he said. – AFP Source

BREAKING NEWS: Dow Climbs Out of 200-Point Hole As Volatility Continues

Stocks continue to experience heavy turbulence in early afternoon trading, with the Dow turning its 200-point loss into a triple-digit gain.

From Fox News

Man Stopped At BWI With Loaded Gun In Carry-On Bag

A Carroll County man was arrested at BWI Thurgood Marshal Airport early Tuesday morning after airport screeners spotted a loaded .45-caliber gun in his carry-on luggage, authorities said.

A Transportation Security Administration X-ray operator saw what was believed to be a gun in the man's luggage.

A Maryland Transportation Authority Police officer was called to Pier C at 6:22 a.m. and found the handgun in the man's bag.

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Ground Turkey Recall: Why Did It Take So Long?

Tracking down the source of an illness is a difficult, complicated business, and federal officials defended the months-long process Thursday by saying they wanted to be absolutely sure before they asked Cargill to initiate the third-largest meat recall in history. ... Caroline Smith DeWaal, food safety director for the Center for Science in the Public Interest believes the government should have told the company – and the public – about the possible outbreak much sooner. ... "Clearly this kind of delay in an outbreak situation is one that puts the public health at risk," DeWaal said. – AP

Dominant Social Theme: Unregulated food providers will make you sick.

Free-Market Analysis: This theme is an oldie; it's been running since Upton Sinclair published The Jungle in 1906. Tales of profit-hungry food companies feeding tainted food to the public have rhetorical power because everyone eats, everyone can feel disgust and everyone has had at least a brush with food poisoning. But it's not government inspectors and government punishers that keep your food safe. It's the desire of food companies to protect their reputations and to keep their customers. Sometimes that means defending a brand name (e.g. Kraft) from any taint. In Cargill's case, it means protecting its relationships with food distributors and retailers. In every case it means that a food provider either is vigilant about quality or it goes out of business.

Source

Sussex Bets On State’s First Gambling District

If the state legislature expands gambling in Delaware, Sussex County could be in line for a new casino, and Sussex officials want to be ready.

If a proposed zoning ordinance is approved, Sussex could become the first county in the state to have a commercial gambling district.

The new district would limit where casinos and gambling venues could locate in unincorporated areas of the county. Under the proposed regulations, venues would be restricted to areas along the major roadways, including routes 1, 13 and 113.

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Got Bank Of America CDS? New York AG Says BAC's $8.5 Billion Settlement Is "Unfair and Misleading"; BAC Equity Offering Imminent

When we last looked [15]at the Bank of America joke of a "non-settlement" settlement for a paltry $8.5 billion when $424 billion in total misrepresented (530 in total) Countrywide mortgage trusts were at stake, we said, "we are confident that the legal process will prevail and that the presiding judge on this case, and if not him then certainly the New York District Attorney, will step up and demand a thorough reevaluation of the settlement process." We were, oddly enough, correct. According to a just released filing from the New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, Bank of America (and Bank of New York Mellon, one of the tri-party repo banks mind you), violated New York state law and "misled investors." In a knock out punch to Bank of America (and Brian Lin who was profiled here previously [15]), the  bank allegedly violated the New York’s Martin Act and misled investors about its conduct tied to mortgage securitization as Bloomberg summarizes. Schneiderman said he has "potential claims" against Bank of America Corp. and its Countrywide Financial unit. As Zero Hedge alleged all along, "The proposed cash payment is far less than the massive losses investors have faced and will continue to face." What does that mean? Well, as the countersuit [15]by the FHLB indicated (which we are certain will be the basis for the NY AG claims), the likely final settlement is probably going to be about $22 to $27.5 billion. Which also means that the bank's Tier 1  capital is about to be discounted by about 25% lower. Which, lastly, means that the stock is about to plunge due to a massive litigation reserve shortfall which will have to be plugged with, surprise, a new equity capital raise. Which brings us to our original question: got CDS (which closed around 200 bps today, roughly 25 bps wider - it is going much wider tomorrow, especially if the expected Sarkozy-Merkel-Zapatero meeting achieves absolutely nothing)? Cause this baby is going down... and it is probably about to be broken up into good BAC and bad bank, consisting almost entirely of all legacy Countrywide operations. Said otherwise, it could well be time for a CFC-BAC CDS pair trade.

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FAA Furloughed Workers Going Back To Work

The Senate is scheduled to approve legislation to end the two-week partial shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration. That means 4,000 furloughed workers could return to work by Monday, presuming President Barack Obama signs the legislation over the weekend. The bill, which includes cuts in rural airport subsidies sought by House Republicans, would extend FAA's operating authority only through mid-September.

White House Plans New Veteran-Hiring Incentives

President Barack Obama plans to head to Washington, D.C.'s Navy Yard today to unveil a $120 million package of new tax incentives for businesses that hire U.S. veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

 

The "Returning Heroes Tax Credit" will award $2,400 to firms for each veteran they hire that has been unemployed for less than six months. It gives $4,800 dollars if the veterans were unemployed for more than six months, administration officials said.

 

The package of measures also includes improved retraining and education for vets to help smooth their transition back into the civilian workforce.

 

This story is part of Federal News Radio's daily DoD Report. For more defense news, click here.

Builders Cite Rise In `Mother-In-Law Suites'

(AP) - Betsy McCann and her husband, Jim Forbes, often worried that his mother was growing isolated in her Los Angeles-area home. At 90, Lois Brokus had stopped driving and was sometimes afraid to be alone in her house.

Jane and William Merrill also decided that they didn't want his mother living on her own any more. Then 81, Jane Merrill, who shares her daughter-in-law's name, was still active but in need of companionship.

Both families considered nursing homes, assisted living and retirement communities. In the end, they came to the same conclusion: Their homes were the best place for their mothers. But they needed more home.

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10.5% Of Spirit's Revenue Comes From Baggage Fees

Recently Delta caught attention because in 2010 it earned the most revenue from baggage fees, $952 million, of all the airlines. But when you compare it to their total revenue, they're in the low-middle of the pack, with Spirit coming out on top. Let's look at a chart!

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Virginia Beach Considers 'Tent City' For Homeless

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (AP) - Homeless people in Virginia Beach could find shelter in an encampment authorized by the city under a proposal being studied by the city's staff.

Staff members tell The Virginian-Pilot that an authorized "tent city" would make it easier to provide services to the homeless and keep tabs on them.

If the City Council approves the proposal, it would be the first authorized homeless encampment in Virginia.

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Auto Warranty Company Bilks Up To 17,000 Marylanders

WASHINGTON --Thousands of people across the country have been bilked by an extended auto warranty company that claims to cover repairs on many makes of cars.
 
Only a few may get some money back.
 
Maryland obtained a court order against U.S. Fidelis to cease operations in the state and pay $25 million in restitution and penalties to as many as 17,000 residents.

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Leaving State To Avoid Taxes Is ‘A Myth,’ Study Says

Higher state taxes don’t lead many residents to leave a state, including affluent taxpayers, a new study says. The report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities released Thursday uses several economic studies from academics and think-tanks to debunk the arguments that taxes drive people from states like Maryland, particularly the wealthy.

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BREAKING NEWS: Stocks Sinking Further Into The Red, Dow Down 200

The selloff in stocks is gathering steam with the Dow Jones Industrial Average off 200 points and the Nasdaq Composite index down another 3.4%.
From Fox News

Political Quote Of The Day

An old West Virginia Hillbilly saying: "You cannot get the water to clear up until you get the pigs out of the creek".

BREAKING NEWS: Selling Gains Steam On Wall Street

After rallying in early trade, the Dow was off about 100 points midday as July's jobs report fails to quell Wall Street's economic fears.

From Fox News

FCC Promises 100,000 New Jobs... At Call Centers

Need a job? Come join the glamorous world of call centers! The FCC says that call centers are poised to add 100,000 new jobs to the economy. You'll get your very own cubicle! Or, at least, your very own partitions!

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Vegas Cop Beats Videographer

(CBS News) A Las Vegas police officer is in hot water after being caught on tape beating a videographer outside of his home in March.

A police department review found that Officer Derek Colling violated police policies when he used "excessive force" on Mitchell Crooks, reports the Las Vegas Review Journal.

According to the newspaper, the incident occurred on the night of March 20, when the 36-year-old Crooks was in his driveway videotaping police as they investigated a burglary report across the street. Crooks said that when he refused to stop filming, Colling arrested and beat him, with much of the altercation recorded by the camera.



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YARD SALE

St. Thomas Church Shepherd's Shop Indoor Yard Sale
Corner of Old Ocean City Road &
Moss Hill Lane
Salisbury, MD 21804
Fridays - 9:00am to 1:00pm
Saturadys - 8:00 to 12:00pm

Come visit and see our, large selection of

gently use and new cloths, womens, mens & children. Shoes, pocketbooks, jewelry toys, furniture, kitchen cabinet (new), bedding, nick-nacks, brass & crystal candle stick holder, kitchen items and large selection of books, and electronics.