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(12/04/07 4:31am)
CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – Prosecutors claim Lance Cpl. Delano Holmes of Indianapolis murdered an Iraqi soldier while the two men stood guard together in Fallujah. But the 21-year-old Marine reservist says he acted in self-defense.\nNow, jurors will determine whether he is innocent or guilty during a court-martial, which began Monday with attorneys for both sides arguing motions over the use of photographs of the soldier’s body as evidence and the use of statements taken from Iraqis as part of the investigation.\nHolmes is accused of stabbing Munther Jasem Muhammed Hassin to death as they stood watch at a security post on Dec. 31, 2006. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of unpremeditated murder and making a false statement. If convicted on all counts, Holmes faces life imprisonment with the possibility of parole.\nThe motions offered a hint of Holmes’ defense as attorneys argued against the prosecution use of video and pictures of the dead soldier, saying there was a break in the chain of custody of the body.\nOne of Holmes’ civilian attorneys, Stephanie Byerly, told the judge, Lt. Col. Jeffrey Meeks, it was not clear when the photos were taken and whether they were taken before or after the body was removed by Iraqis and later turned over to Americans. Prosecutors told Meeks the pictures were taken within an hour of the fight.\nMeeks allowed some of the photographs but temporarily excluded use of a video, which showed the body on the ground and onlookers.\nThe killing occurred in the pre-dawn darkness after Hassin allegedly opened his cell phone then lit a cigarette at the post, said Holmes’ attorney Steve Cook.\nThe men were not supposed to display any illuminated objects because of the threat of sniper fire, and Holmes made repeated attempts to make Hassin extinguish the cigarette, Cook said.\nHolmes maintains he knocked the cigarette out of the soldier’s hand and the two got into a fight, falling to the ground. During the struggle, Holmes felt Hassin reaching for his loaded AK-47, so he killed him with a knife and then radioed for help, Cook told The Associated Press.\n“He’s maintained it was self-defense right from the beginning,” Cook said.\nCook said Holmes was charged with murder because of the political climate at the time, citing incidents at Haditha and Hamandia, Iraq, where Marines were accused of murdering civilians.\n“The military was attempting to show ... they were going to treat seriously or crack down on any allegations against Marines,” Cook said.\nCook, a former federal prosecutor in San Diego, said he expects to call 20 to 30 defense witnesses, many of whom will testify the allegations that Holmes murdered the soldier is out of character.\nThe court-martial was expected to last about two weeks, said Marine spokesman Miquel Alvarez.\nHolmes, who is being held in the brig at Camp Pendleton, enlisted in the Marine reserves in May 2004 and was on his first deployment in Iraq, Cook said. He is from the 1st Battalion, 24th Marine Regiment, based out of Lansing, Mich.
(01/11/07 5:50am)
BELLINGHAM, Wash. -- Lori Richardson perused the book shelves, picking up one book for consideration and then another.\nAt first glance, there was little that appeared to tie the widely varying authors and genres together. But a closer inspection revealed shelf tags and signs promoting local book club selections.\nRichardson, a book club member herself, was looking over some of the selections of the more than 60 reading groups registered at Village Books, a 27-year-old landmark in northern Washington.\nHer book club, like so many, began with a simple formula: Gather a few friends, colleagues or neighbors, pick a book, read it and then get together over wine and cheese or popcorn and soda to discuss it.\nOnce a hot trend that saw everyone from celebrities and politicians to housewives and neighbors getting together to read and dish, the book clubs of today are evolving, forgoing the Oprah Winfrey model of read-and-discuss and getting creative about how they meet, read and socialize over books.\n"I used to think if Oprah decided not to do her show, there would be a decline in book clubs," said Diana Loevy, author of "The Book Club Companion: A Comprehensive Guide to the Reading Group Experience."\n"But now I don't think so. Book clubs are evolving. They are creating social units that really work. They serve a social function."\nWhile there are no statistics available for the number of book clubs nationwide, there is more than passing anecdotal evidence about the evolution of the book club.\nTake the reading groups registered at Village Books.\nThere's "Pages, Pictures and Pints," an all-comers monthly book club where participants read a book, go see the movie adapted from the book and then get together for drinks at a bar to discuss it. Among the books-turned-movies up for discussion in the new year is John le Carre's "The Constant Gardner" and Joe Simpson's "Touching the Void."\nThere's also a mother-daughter book group, which targets girls between nine and 12. And for those who like to cook, a group known as Armchair Chefs focuses on reading cookbooks.\nAround the country, book clubs have also become networking tools for young professionals. In Hollywood, a group of production assistants formed a reading group to discuss books about the movies or television shows they work on. In New York, a group of would-be playwrights get together to read published plays and make suggestions about their own works.\nNorman Hicks founded Reader's Circle, a Web site aimed at promoting an alternative to the traditional book club, as a way to meet people after graduating college.\nRather than have a group read one book following a structured format, Reader's Circle promotes bringing people together in public settings, such as coffee houses, to discuss a variety of books at once.\n"I think a lot of people were drawn to it because they could read what they want, talk about it and get suggestions for other books," said Hicks, 29.\nThe same idea is behind PaperBackSwap.com, an online book club that allows members to trade their books with others. The site also makes a book-of-the-month selection and offers live online chats for its members to discuss books, said founder Richard Pickering of Atlanta.\nPickering said it also was also cost-effective for participants who can't afford to buy new books on a routine basis. Since its inception, PaperBackSwap.com has amassed a library of 900,000 books and sees its users trade about 30,000 books a month, Pickering said.\nWith the decrease in book sales, book stores large and small have begun using the Internet and technology, such as the iPod, to sell books for download. They have also begun creating online book clubs to link readers together.\nBut it is still the face-to-face meetings, the social aspects, that appear to drive the book club culture -- and its success or failure.\nFor Barbara Randall, a book club was a way to meet neighbors after moving into her Brooklyn, N.Y., neighborhood. For nearly seven years, the women on her block met monthly to discuss books -- and their families.\n"A lot of us in the group were mothers with children and we were desperate to get out of the house. The husbands knew that was our one night and that they better be home on time to watch the kids," she joked.\nBut as their children grew up, the club began to fall apart.\n"We had established strong friendships. That once-a-month thing wasn't that necessary any more," she said. "Now, we just pick up the phone or go over and knock on the door"
(10/27/03 5:12am)
SAN BERNADINO, Calif. -- Flames stoked by powerful winds raced through Southern California on Sunday, growing to more than 208,000 acres, destroying 500 homes in densely populated suburbs and causing at least 11 deaths.\nAt least eight people were killed in the state's largest fire in eastern San Diego, including two who died inside their car as they apparently tried to escape the flames, said San Diego Sheriff Bill Kolender said.\nThe 100,000-acre fire started Saturday near the mountain town of Julian when a lost hunter set off a signal fire, authorities said. The hunter was detained and may face charges.\nOne man was killed and 20 homes were destroyed by another fire near San Diego that broke out Sunday and burned about 1,000 acres, Lora Lowes of the California Department of Forestry said.\nNew fires were sparked when embers were blown by fierce Santa Ana winds, with gusts up to 70 mph.\nIn the congested suburbs of San Bernardino, about 50 miles east of Los Angeles, one flank of a 50,000-acre fire burned through four towns while the other flank destroyed more than 300 homes.\nTwo men collapsed and died, one as he was evacuating his canyon home and the other as he watched his house burn, the county coroner said.\nThe 30-mile fire in the San Bernardino area was formed when two smaller fires merged, covering the region with thick, gagging smoke and ash.\nOther fires on the outskirts of Los Angeles County merged to create a 47,150-acre fire that threatened 2,000 homes in four communities and closed four highways, sealing off access to two mountain towns, fire spokeswoman Michele Alcorn said.\nFirefighters, including 25 strike teams and 125 engines, were making a stand at Crestline, U.S. Forest Service fire information officer Stanton Florea said.\n"If the fire starts to crown, racing from one tree to the next, it will be an extreme situation," Florea added.\nThe area is packed with millions of dead trees, left to rot by drought and an infestation of bark beetles.\nBrandy DeBatte, 21, stayed at her Crestline home until the electricity went out and the smoke started to thicken.\n"I got our animals. I got insurance papers. I didn't want to be up there if the town was going to burn down," she said.\nHours later, she was having second thoughts as she realized how much she had left behind. "I should have gotten more out, and I didn't," she said.\nGov. Gray Davis, who visited the San Bernardino fire on Friday, planned a second trip Sunday to announce that he was extending the state of emergency to Los Angeles and San Diego counties, said his spokesman, Steve Maviglio.\nSome of the evacuations ordered included Indian reservation casinos, California State University, San Bernardino, where fire burned two temporary classrooms and a temporary fitness center, and Patton State Hospital, home to 1,300 mental patients.\nAbout 1,100 prison inmates also were evacuated, and at least 200 juvenile wards were evacuated Sunday from two probation camps in La Verne, said Ken Kondo, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Probation Department spokesman.\nAbout 1,000 people packed the San Bernardino International Airport center. Fifty of those evacuees were elderly people in wheelchairs who were taken from a convalescent home.\nThree looters were arrested in San Bernardino, police said.
(09/02/03 5:19am)
LOS ANGELES -- For years, Arnold Schwarzenegger's movies have created more buzz in Hollywood than almost anybody else's, yet there has been a resounding silence as this industry town considers whether he can also produce a hit at the ballot box office.\nCelebrities, even those who normally aren't shy about speaking out when it comes to politics, have so far kept quiet about the highest-profile movie star to enter a California governor's race since Ronald Reagan.\n"That's the question everybody is asking. Where is Hollywood?" said Bob Dowling, publisher and editor in chief of the Hollywood Reporter, one of the industry's leading trade publications.\nDowling and other industry observers speculate that there could be a good reason for that: Many of Hollywood's most outspoken celebrities are liberal Democrats but at the same time are friends and colleagues of the moderate Republican Schwarzenegger.\n"Let's look at the facts. Arnold is a stock Republican married to a lifelong Democrat. There's built in ambivalence in his own household. How could there not be in the community where he lives and works?" said Leonard Maltin, film critic and host of the syndicated television show "Hot Ticket."\n"Add to that he's very prominent in the industry and the community, and I guess you have all the ingredients for some confusion, some hesitation, some reluctance to go public," Maltin added.\nAlthough a handful of celebrities have gone public, even their comments have been muted. Actor Rob Lowe, who had been involved in Democratic causes in the past, announced early on that he had signed on to Schwarzenegger's bid to replace Gov. Gray Davis if he is recalled Oct. 7. He has said little since then, however, and declined to be interviewed for this story.\nRequests for comment from such usually talkative celebrities as liberal Martin Sheen and conservative Tom Selleck were also declined, as were requests to Warren Beatty, Ben Affleck and Whoopi Goldberg.\nOne of Hollywood's most politically active celebrities, Barbra Streisand, has given $1,000 to an effort to defeat the recall and another $1,000 to Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante's "No on Recall, Yes on Bustamante" campaign.\n"Arnold is a social friend whose company and whose wife's company I enjoy. I'm a Democrat and he's a Republican," Streisand said in a statement she first sent to Newsweek and rereleased in response to an Associated Press request for comment.\nThere is a chance more celebrities could begin talking where it really counts -- with their wallets.\nAs of Saturday, independent candidate Arianna Huffington had received the most celebrity and industry donations, including $21,200 from producer Lawrence Bender ("Pulp Fiction" and "Good Will Hunting"), $21,000 from "Seinfeld" co-creator Larry David and $5,000 each from actor Noah Wyle (NBC's "ER") and writer Aaron Sorkin (NBC's "The West Wing").\nProducer Stephen Bing and media moguls Haim Saban and Norman Pattiz also gave $100,000 apiece to Davis' Taxpayers Against The Recall campaign, and billionaire broadcasting mogul A. Jerrold Perenchio has given $21,200 to both the Schwarzenegger and Bustamante campaigns.\nDavis' anti-recall campaign recently announced it has scheduled a Sept. 18 fund-raiser at the Century Plaza Hotel that it expects will draw celebrities, although it has not said who will be attending.\nSchwarzenegger's campaign is also said to be lining up celebrities for public appearances later this month, but campaign spokesman Sean Walsh has declined to say who they might be.\n"I think you'll see some dribs and drabs. But I don't think you're going to see a big movement coming out of Hollywood either way," the Hollywood Reporter's Dowling said.\nPart of the reason, Dowling speculated, is that many celebrities may be burned out after pouring so much effort into former Vice President Al Gore's failed 2000 presidential bid. Others, who opposed going to war with Iraq, may still be feeling chastised by the strong tide of public opinion that went against them on that issue.\nBill Maher, the comedian and political commentator, said it could also be a matter of politics hitting too close to home, particularly for people who often share the same agents, publicists and managers.\n"There are always six degrees of separation between any two big stars out here. It's very incestuous out here," Maher said.\nMaltin agreed.\n"There are a lot of business ties and social ties that have to be considered before someone in this highly visible industry is willing to make a statement," he said.
(07/25/02 8:23pm)
STANTON, Calif. -- DNA evidence found on the body of 5-year-old Samantha Runnion matches that of the man arrested in her killing, The Associated Press learned Saturday.\nA source close to the investigation, who declined to be identified, confirmed a report in the Los Angeles Times Saturday that DNA discovered on the girl's body matched that of Alejandro Avila. The source would not elaborate on the type of genetic material used for the match.\nSpokesman Jim Amormino, of the Orange County Sheriff's Department, would not confirm or deny the report, but said authorities were "100 percent sure we have the right man."\nAvila, 27, was arrested Friday for investigation of kidnapping and killing the girl. He has denied the charges and says he was at a shopping mall Monday when the girl was abducted. His sister, 22-year-old Elvira Avila, told the Orange County Register that he unexpectedly missed a family dinner Monday night, when Samantha was kidnapped.\nThe district attorney was expected to file formal charges by Tuesday.\nSamantha was playing with a 5-year-old friend just yards from her home when a man, using the ruse of looking for a lost puppy, lured her close enough to grab her and carry her away kicking and screaming.\nHer body was found Tuesday about 10 miles from Avila's home. The suspect was put under surveillance Wednesday after police got a tip.\nHushed mourners gathered Saturday at an impromptu memorial in the courtyard of the townhome complex where Samantha lived. Tables overflowed with flowers, balloons, cards and stuffed animals.\nSamantha's mother ended nearly four days of seclusion to thank the mourners.\n"We will have a service as soon as we can. It has to be perfect. I'm sure you can understand," she said between tears. "So thank you. It really has been helpful."\nSome of the visitors to the memorial expressed fear. "If there's one, there will be another," said Kathleen Siliuta, 30, who brought her 6-year-old daughter, Alexis, to see the memorial.\nJuan Rivera, 36, also brought his daughter, Arias, 7. "I wanted to bring her to see you've got to be careful," he said.\n"I have to scream and run" if attacked, the girl said.
(07/18/02 3:05am)
STANTON, Calif. -- The nude body of a girl found in a rugged area southeast of Los Angeles was identified Wednesday as that of 5-year-old Samantha Runnion, who was kidnapped outside her home by a man who drove up and asked for help finding his dog.\nOrange County Sheriff Mike Carona said the cause and place of Samantha's death were not immediately known but authorities believe she was sexually assaulted by her killer.\n"We believe that he is a serial rapist and perhaps a serial killer and would strike again," Carona said.\nAuthorities said there was no prime suspect, and Carona warned parents in the area to talk to their children about staying away from strangers. Samantha's abductor has been described by police as a Hispanic man with slicked-back black hair and a thin black mustache.\nThe fact Samantha's unburied body was so easy to find suggests the killer was leaving a "calling card for future activity," Carona said.\nFBI agent Richard Garcia addressed the killer directly during the nationally televised news conference held near the girl's home: "We will find you, and we will bring you to justice," he said.\nThe body was discovered Tuesday afternoon on the edge of the Cleveland National Forest, about 50 miles from where Samantha was abducted Monday evening.\nSamantha was playing a board game with a friend when the man drove up in a car after making a U-turn, police said. She was taken away kicking and screaming after he lured her toward him with the story about his lost dog.\nAuthorities began a massive manhunt minutes later.\nSamantha's mother and stepfather, Ken Donnelly, were at work and her grandmother was inside their home when the kidnapping occurred. Erin Runnion wept as she begged for the return of her daughter.\n"We don't want vengeance, we just want our baby back," she said Tuesday.\nAuthorities limited access to the Runnion home Tuesday night. A police chaplain was seen entering the home at one point.\nCarona said investigators have received hundreds of tips from the public.\nSamantha's biological father, Derek Jackson of Sunderland, Mass., was contacted by authorities and ruled out as a suspect, Runnion said.\nThe abduction follows the high-profile kidnap cases of Elizabeth Smart in Salt Lake City and Danielle van Dam in San Diego. Van Dam was killed; Smart is still missing.\nSamantha's family said they moved from nearby Garden Grove to Stanton a year ago because they wanted a safer environment for their three children, one where they could play outside without fear.\nAt the Stanton townhome complex, Alex Quintanar, 34, held his 3-year-old daughter, Alexa, who used to play with Samantha.\nHe said he did not know how he would answer her questions when she asked for her Samantha.\n"When she can understand, I'll tell her she went to heaven," Quintanar said.
(04/16/02 4:49am)
LOS ANGELES -- Sure, there are Grammys and a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. There are MTV's Video Music Awards and platinum albums, too. \nBut Aerosmith's Steven Tyler said the ultimate accolade comes when well-known artists cover the songs that made his band a household name. \n"We've had people cover our stuff for years. You can go into a lot of bars and hear it. That's an honor in itself. But then when you hear Kid Rock or Run-DMC or somebody else perform your songs, it brings it to a whole new level," Tyler told The Associated Press. \nNow Tyler and his bandmates get to see it firsthand when they are honored on "mtvICON," a star-studded cover-song salute. It airs Wednesday at 9 p.m. on MTV. \nAmong those taking the stage to perform versions of Aerosmith's music: Kid Rock, Pink, Train, Papa Roach, Shakira and Nas. Aerosmith will also perform. \nThe show includes testimonials from Mila Kunis of "That '70s Show" and Alicia Silverstone, who have appeared in Aerosmith videos, as well as Janet Jackson, who was the subject of the first "mtvICON" special a year ago. \nAerosmith, with its 32 music videos, was a natural choice for the honor, said Brian Graden, MTV's president for programming. \n"They were one of the first to play in other genres. They embraced the infusion of rap and rock and they have continued to work with other artists," he said. "They really have become generational icons." \nGuitarist Joe Perry shrugged off the icon status. \n"You stick around long enough and you get noticed," he joked. "It's fun. It's another adventure for us. That's why we're doing it." \nHe and Tyler formed Aerosmith in 1970. They became the U.S. answer to British invasion bands like the Rolling Stones and The Who, with hits like "Dream On." \nBut along with success came alcohol, drugs and infighting that caused the band to split. \nA sobered-up band reunited in the mid-1980s. They teamed with rappers Run-DMC for a remix of Aerosmith's signature song "Walk This Way." The success continued in the '90s. They won Grammys and hit the top of the singles charts for the first time with "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" (the love theme for the movie "Armageddon"). \nIn preparation for "mtvICON," which includes Aerosmith interviews, the band members admitted to reflecting on their careers. \nTyler said one night recently before he went to bed he compiled a list of the band's ups and downs. \n"Aerosmith has been eaten, beaten, cheated, ignored. We've been loved, hated, censored, quoted, banned, scanned, honored, offered, rewarded and reported. We've been seen, heard, read, near dead. So where do we see Aerosmith going?" he read from the list. \nThe answer, he said: "Wherever the road doesn't take us, that's where we'll be." \nAfter three decades, Perry said he has come to recognize that his association with the band is "about the journey and getting the most out of it.\n"As long as I still get goose bumps playing and watching Steven hit those high notes, I know I'm doing OK," he said. \nFor bassist Tom Hamilton, the show has brought the band full circle from its beginnings. \n"All these things that were supposed to replace us have come and gone -- disco, punk, new wave. It's all gone and we're still lingering," he said. \nIt's that staying power that has the attention of many performing in the show. \n"If there's anybody to look up to for that, it's them. They are one of the only rock bands left from the 70s," said Papa Roach guitarist Jerry Horton. "They are still doing it and doing it well…We definitely are going for that kind of longevity in our careers." \nShakira said she admired not only the band's longevity but its generational fan base. \n"So many people -- children, older people -- know who they are," she said. \nHorton, whose band performs "Sweet Emotion" during the tribute, admitted to a few nerves prior to taking the stage before Aerosmith. \n"I don't normally get nervous. But it's one thing to cover a song from a band, it's another to cover it while they are listening to it," he said.