U.S.

Official: Cops had gun in Pentagon spree

By CNN on March 16, 2010

Washington (CNN) — A gun recovered from this months shooting at the Pentagon was once in the possession of the Memphis Police Department, a law enforcement official told CNN.

Memphis, Tennessee, police seized the Ruger 9 mm handgun during a traffic stop in 2005 and in 2008 traded it to a distributor in Georgia. It passed through a distributor in Pennsylvania and a dealer in Las Vegas, Nevada, before being sold at a gun show, after which the trail goes cold.

Memphis Mayor A.C. Wharton, a Democrat, said he would review the Police Departments practice of selling or trading guns in police possession, in spite of the revenue it brings.

"I just dont want our city having any role in getting a confiscated gun back on the streets," he told CNN affiliate WREG on Sunday.

Authorities say John Patrick Bedell, 36, of California, armed with two 9 mm handguns, shot and wounded two security guards outside the Pentagon on March 4 before he was fatally shot. Bedell had repeatedly tangled with police and had been institutionalized at least three times for mental problems, according to California authorities.

Some cities destroy weapons that come into their possession. A former New York Police Department official said the city sends as many as 20,000 guns a year to be smelted for scrap metal.

But a bill signed on the same day as the Pentagon shooting bars Tennessee police from destroying contraband guns. It says they must either sell such weapons or use them unless a police official "certifies to the court the weapon is inoperable or unsafe."

Police in Memphis also once possessed the gun used in January shootings at a Las Vegas, Nevada, courthouse, according to the law enforcement official.

As reported first by the Associated Press, the shotgun used in that attack, which killed an officer Stanley Cooper, was confiscated in 1998 in Memphis and handed over to county officials. The Shelby County Sheriffs Office traded it to a gun store in Massachusetts several years ago, and it was shipped to a store in Arizona and eventually sold to someone at a gun show.

Shelby County sheriffs spokesman Steve Shular said trading confiscated guns for upgraded weapons is an efficient way to get adequate equipment for officers protecting the public at a time when law enforcement is asked to make cutbacks in personnel and operating expenses. He added that now, Shelby County trades only used law enforcement weapons, not confiscated weapons.

Wharton said the revenue from trade-ins is not worth it.

"You ask the people in Vegas, and ask those officers at the Pentagon: Was it worth $100,000 for those guns to be used against them?"

Gun rights advocate Larry Pratt of Gun Owners of America said it doesnt matter whether a gun has passed through the hands of a police department if it is sold legally.

"Its no different for a law enforcement agency to sell its guns than it is for a private dealer to sell its guns," Pratt said. "Theyre both going to be going into the private market."

Memphis police spokeswoman Karen Rudolph said her department would have a hard time controlling what happens to weapons after they are traded.

"It is an unfortunate coincidence, and not within the control of the Memphis Police Department, that the firearms used in both of these high-profile incidents were not properly and legally distributed after being legally obtained by federally licensed law enforcement weapons dealers," Rudolph said.

The suspects in neither the Las Vegas attack nor the Pentagon case were eligible to buy a gun at a store. In the Las Vegas case, suspect Johnny Wicks would have been ineligible because of a prior felony conviction.

Bedell, who had a history of mental illness, failed a background check when he tried to buy a gun in Sacramento, California, his family said. He received a letter from the California attorney generals office in January saying he could not buy a gun because of his history.

Because both guns were sold at gun shows, where records and background checks are not required, authorities are uncertain how either weapon ultimately got into the hands of the suspects.

While some cities are selling guns, cities including Miami, Florida; Boston, Massachusetts; and Oakland, California, have mounted efforts to buy guns from the public. A federal gun buyback initiative, begun under President Clinton, ended under President George W. Bush amid debate over its effectiveness.

CNNs Carol Cratty and Brian Todd contributed to this report.

Erin Andrews\’ video voyeur gets 2½ years

By CNN on March 16, 2010

Los Angeles, California (CNN) — A federal judge sentenced an Illinois man to two and a half years in prison Monday for taping ESPN sports reporter Erin Andrews in the nude.

The taping took place through a hotel-room peephole, and the video was posted on the Internet.

Michael David Barrett, 49, pleaded guilty to a federal stalking charge in December after prosecutors accused him of altering hotel peepholes so he could shoot video of Andrews while she was nude.

"I would have liked longer time, but I know that the judge obviously did the best he could with the parameters that are set," Andrews told reporters outside the courthouse after the sentencing. "But Im glad hell be away from anyone that he could harm for the next 30 months."

In court papers, prosecutors stated that Barrett — an insurance company employee from Westmont, Illinois — posted as many as 10 videos of Andrews to the Internet.

Also in court papers, prosecutors said Barrett had posted videos of another 16 as-yet-unidentified victims to the Internet.

Barrett has been free on bail and has been ordered to report to prison May 3, said Tom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. attorneys office in Los Angeles.

In a statement issued through his attorney when the plea agreement was announced, Barrett expressed "deep regret" to Andrews "for his conduct that caused her so much pain."

Authorities believe that most of the videos were made at a hotel in Nashville, Tennessee, in September 2008. The peephole into Andrews room was altered with a hacksaw, and the images appeared to have been taken with a cell phone camera, according to the charges against Barrett.

Andrews travels across the country covering college football games for ESPN. According to charges prosecutors filed against Barrett in October, she said that she became aware of the videos in July and that their posting caused her distress, anxiety and trouble sleeping.

Barrett came under scrutiny after attempting to sell the videos to the celebrity gossip site TMZ in January 2009. TMZ did not purchase the images, but employees of the Web site assisted in the investigation by providing information to Andrews attorneys, authorities said.

TMZ, like CNN, is a subsidiary of Time Warner Inc.

CNNs Lynn Lamanivong contributed to this report.

Health care puts House Democrats on the line

By CNN on March 15, 2010

(CNN) — House Democrats wary of the Senate health care bill find themselves in a quandary.

Now that the Senate parliamentarian has made clear to Democrats that they wont be able to take the path they had considered to get a health care bill passed, they must ask themselves: If we vote for the Senates bill, do we trust the senators to make the changes they say they will?

"If the House is going to do this, they are going to have to vote for the Senate bill, holding their nose and trusting that in fact they are going to go through this reconciliation process, and they are going to get the fixes that they are looking for to the legislation," said Cheryl Block, a professor of law and a budget policy expert at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Those "fixes" are a part of a package of changes to the Senate bill that President Obama proposed last month. The idea is for the House to pass the Senate bill, wait for Obama to sign it into law, and then vote separately on Obamas proposal.

The Senate no longer has the 60-seat supermajority it did when it passed its health care bill in December, so it would need to pass Obamas plan using the parliamentary shortcut known as reconciliation.

Reconciliation allows a measure to pass on a simple majority vote of 51, rather than the 60 needed to break a filibuster. The tactic is limited to budget-related bills.

Official: Gun in Pentagon shooting once in police possession

By CNN on March 15, 2010

Washington (CNN) — A gun recovered from this months shooting at the Pentagon was once in the possession of the Memphis Police Department, a law enforcement official told CNN.

Memphis, Tennessee, police seized the Ruger 9 mm handgun during a traffic stop in 2005 and in 2008 traded it to a distributor in Georgia. It passed through a distributor in Pennsylvania and a dealer in Las Vegas, Nevada, before being sold at a gun show, after which the trail goes cold.

Memphis Mayor A.C. Wharton, a Democrat, said he would review the Police Departments practice of selling or trading guns in police possession, in spite of the revenue it brings.

"I just dont want our city having any role in getting a confiscated gun back on the streets," he told CNN affiliate WREG on Sunday.

Authorities say John Patrick Bedell, 36, of California, armed with two 9 mm handguns, shot and wounded two security guards outside the Pentagon on March 4 before he was fatally shot. Bedell had repeatedly tangled with police and had been institutionalized at least three times for mental problems, according to California authorities.

Some cities destroy weapons that come into their possession. A former New York Police Department official said the city sends as many as 20,000 guns a year to be smelted for scrap metal.

But a bill signed on the same day as the Pentagon shooting bars Tennessee police from destroying contraband guns. It says they must either sell such weapons or use them unless a police official "certifies to the court the weapon is inoperable or unsafe."

Police in Memphis also once possessed the gun used in January shootings at a Las Vegas, Nevada, courthouse, according to the law enforcement official.

As reported first by the Associated Press, the shotgun used in that attack, which killed an officer Stanley Cooper, was confiscated in 1998 in Memphis and handed over to county officials. The Shelby County Sheriffs Office traded it to a gun store in Massachusetts several years ago, and it was shipped to a store in Arizona and eventually sold to someone at a gun show.

Shelby County sheriffs spokesman Steve Shular said trading confiscated guns for upgraded weapons is an efficient way to get adequate equipment for officers protecting the public at a time when law enforcement is asked to make cutbacks in personnel and operating expenses. He added that now, Shelby County trades only used law enforcement weapons, not confiscated weapons.

Wharton said the revenue from trade-ins is not worth it.

"You ask the people in Vegas, and ask those officers at the Pentagon: Was it worth $100,000 for those guns to be used against them?"

Gun rights advocate Larry Pratt of Gun Owners of America said it doesnt matter whether a gun has passed through the hands of a police department if it is sold legally.

"Its no different for a law enforcement agency to sell its guns than it is for a private dealer to sell its guns," Pratt said. "Theyre both going to be going into the private market."

The suspects in neither the Las Vegas attack nor the Pentagon case were eligible to buy a gun at a store. In the Las Vegas case, suspect Johnny Wicks would have been ineligible because of a prior felony conviction.

Bedell, who had a history of mental illness, failed a background check when he tried to buy a gun in Sacramento, California, his family said. He received a letter from the California attorney generals office in January saying he could not buy a gun because of his history.

Because both guns were sold at gun shows, where records and background checks are not required, authorities are uncertain how either weapon ultimately got into the hands of the suspects.

While some cities are selling guns, cities including Miami, Florida; Boston, Massachusetts; and Oakland, California, have mounted efforts to buy guns from the public. A federal gun buyback initiative, begun under President Clinton, ended under President George W. Bush amid debate over its effectiveness.

CNNs Carol Cratty and Brian Todd contributed to this report.

Trendy restaurant apologizes for serving whale meat

By CNN on March 15, 2010

Los Angeles, California (CNN) — A trendy California sushi restaurant charged by federal authorities with serving whale meat offered an apology Monday, saying it "ignored its responsibilities" to endangered species.

Prosecutors charged Typhoon Restaurant Inc., the parent company of Santa Monicas The Hump, and chef Kiyoshiro Yamamoto, 45, with the illegal sale of a marine mammal product for an unauthorized purpose.

Although it is considered a delicacy in Japan and some other countries, meat from whales — an endangered species — is illegal to consume in the United States.

"We write to address the misdemeanor charge recently filed by the U.S. attorney," the restaurant said in a statement posted on its Web site.

"The charge against the restaurant is true: The Hump served whale meat to customers looking to eat what in Japan is widely served as a delicacy," the statement continued. "In serving this meat, The Hump ignored its responsibilities to help save endangered whales from extinction and failed to support the world community in its uphill fight to protect all endangered species."

The restaurant pledged to set up procedures to ensure that it complies with laws and "becomes a good corporate citizen."

"We sincerely apologize. We pledge to work hard to re-earn the trust of the public and respect of our customers."

CDC makes no-sail recommendation for cruise ship

By CNN on March 15, 2010

(CNN) — The Centers for Disease Control is making a no-sail recommendation for at least four full days for the Celebrity Mercury cruise ship to investigate recurring outbreaks of gastrointestinal illness, a CDC spokesman said Monday.

"The CDC and the cruise line corporate staff have not yet determined why the controls that they were following have not been effective," said CDC spokesman Ricardo Beato.

Celebrity Cruises has been notified of the no-sail recommendation, Beato said.

Members of the CDCs Vessel Sanitation Program, which works with the cruise industry to prevent and control gastrointestinal illnesses, were on the ship Monday looking for causes of the latest wave of illness, which is the third outbreak on the ship since mid-February. Norovirus, which causes vomiting and diarrhea, was identified as the source of the first two outbreaks, according to Beato.

VSP personnel inspected the ship after the first outbreak in February, which sickened more than 20 percent of passengers, and made recommendations to prevent further outbreaks. The ships next sailing was delayed by a day for a full cleaning.

Despite those measures, about 10 percent of passengers on the next sailing became ill with norovirus. About 19 percent of passengers have become ill on the latest sailing, which has prompted Celebrity to cut the cruise short by a day, skipping a stop Monday in Tortola, British Virgin Islands, Celebrity Cruises said in a statement.

The Mercury will return to Charleston, South Carolina, on Thursday morning. Passengers have been compensated for the interrupted itinerary, said Celebrity Cruises spokeswoman Cynthia Martinez.

"Guests currently onboard Celebrity Mercury received an onboard credit in the amount of one day of the cruise fare paid for their sailing, as well as a future cruise certificate for 25 percent of the cruise fare paid," she said in an e-mail.

The latest outbreak is the ninth incidence of gastrointestinal illness reported to the VSP this year affecting more than 2 percent of passengers on a cruise ship.

A high incidence of norovirus in many parts of the world this year is likely to translate to cruise ships, according to Capt. Jaret Ames, branch chief of the VSP.

Health care puts House Dems on the line

By CNN on March 15, 2010

(CNN) — House Democrats wary of the Senate health care bill find themselves in a quandary.

Now that the Senate parliamentarian has made clear to Democrats that they wont be able to take the path they had considered to get a health care bill passed, they must ask themselves: If we vote for the Senates bill, do we trust the senators to make the changes they say they will?

"If the House is going to do this, they are going to have to vote for the Senate bill, holding their nose and trusting that in fact they are going to go through this reconciliation process and they are going to get the fixes that they are looking for to the legislation," said Cheryl Block, a professor of law and a budget policy expert at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri.

Those "fixes" are a part of a package of changes to the Senate bill that President Obama proposed last month. The idea is for the House to pass the Senate bill, wait for Obama to sign it into law, and then vote separately on Obamas proposal.

The Senate no longer has the 60-seat supermajority it did when it passed its health care bill in December, so it would need to pass Obamas plan using the parliamentary shortcut known as reconciliation.

Reconciliation allows a measure to pass on a simple majority vote of 51, rather than the 60 needed to break a filibuster. The tactic is limited to budget-related bills.

Obama taking health care push to Ohio

By CNN on March 15, 2010

Strongsville, Ohio (CNN) — The yearlong fight over health care reached a fever pitch Monday as President Obama took his call for change to the political swing state of Ohio, slamming insurance companies and repeating his call for a final congressional vote on his sweeping reform plan.

The presidents push came as the House of Representatives prepared for an expected vote this week on the roughly $875 billion bill passed by the Senate in December. Under the strategy adopted by congressional leaders, both chambers of Congress then would pass a series of changes designed in part to make the legislation more acceptable to House Democrats.

If enacted, the reform proposal would be the biggest expansion of federal health care guarantees since the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid more than four decades ago. The plan is expected to extend insurance coverage to 30 million-plus Americans.

The Senate bill would reduce federal deficits by about $118 billion over 10 years, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Obama slams health insurers, demands reform

By CNN on March 15, 2010

Strongsville, Ohio (CNN) — The yearlong fight over health care reached a fever pitch Monday as President Obama took his call for change to the political swing state of Ohio, slamming insurance companies and repeating his call for a final congressional vote on his sweeping reform plan.

The presidents push came as the House of Representatives prepared for an expected vote this week on the roughly $875 billion bill passed by the Senate in December. Under the strategy adopted by congressional leaders, both chambers of Congress then would pass a series of changes designed in part to make the legislation more acceptable to House Democrats.

If enacted, the reform proposal would be the biggest expansion of federal health care guarantees since the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid more than four decades ago. The plan is expected to extend insurance coverage to 30 million-plus Americans.

The Senate bill would reduce federal deficits by about $118 billion over 10 years, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

Pilots who overflew airport drop attempt to keep licenses

By CNN on March 15, 2010

Washington (CNN) — The Northwest Airlines pilots who lost their licenses after overflying their Minneapolis destination last year have dropped their appeal, the Federal Aviation Administration said Monday.

Under a settlement with the FAA, the pilots will not contest their license revocation but can reapply for their licenses in 10 months instead of 12, the agency said.

The FAA declined to say why it settled, but the settlement pre-empts the need for an appeals hearing next month before the National Transportation Safety Board that could have resulted in protracted litigation.

The FAA said it reached the settlement Monday.

If the pilots reapply for their licenses, they would need to take tests required of new pilots and would need simulator training to get certificates allowing them to pilot commercial planes, FAA spokeswoman Laura Brown said.

Although acquaintances of the pilots have launched defenses on the Internet, Capt. Timothy Cheney and First Officer Richard Cole were at least initially apologetic for their actions in the days following the mistake.

"Theres no good excuse," Cheney told NTSB investigators four days after the event. "I let my guard down. I wish I could explain why."

Cheney and Cole told investigators that they had not fallen asleep, as originally had been suspected, but had become distracted by an airline scheduling system on their laptop computers and "got deeper and deeper into it."

When a flight attendant called the cockpit to ask when they would land, the pilots realized that not only were they a half-hour late for the scheduled prelanding deceleration, they were about 150 miles beyond the Minneapolis, Minnesota, airport where they were supposed to land.

Cheney, who has about 20,000 hours of flying time, told investigators he was "blown away" that he had been distracted for so long, saying that in 24 years of flying, "Ive never, ever, been in this situation."

He acknowledged putting his 144 passengers "at risk" and said he was embarrassed, the safety board report said. "Youll never know how sorry I am," it quoted him as saying.

The crew of Northwest Flight 188 was out of radio contact with radio controllers for 77 minutes during the October 21 flight from San Diego, California, according to the FAA.

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