Muslim woman victim of racism by the United Airline, Islamophobia is real in the US

United Airlines has come under fire after a Muslim passenger was allegedly refused an unopened can of soda because she might "use it as a weapon."

Initially as a regular flight for Tahera Ahmad, representatives of the Muslim community at Northwestern University, Chicago, USA. The veiled woman sitting calm in United Airlines flight at an altitude of 30,000 feet above the ground. However, Tahera tranquility disturbed by the incident that offending her convictions, she has accused United of "Islamophobia" after an encounter with a flight attendant Friday that left her in tears.

Ahmad wrote in a Facebook post that she asked for an unopened can of Diet Coke during beverage service on her flight. When she was brought an open can, she requested a new beverage for sanitary reasons but was told, "I'm sorry I just can't give you an unopened can so no diet coke for you."

A man sitting near her was later brought an unopened beer, and Ahmad, who wears a hijab in her Facebook profile photo, asked the flight attendant again why she wasn't able to have a similar can.

"She said, 'We are unauthorized to give unopened cans to people because they may use it as a WEAPON on the plane,'" Ahmad wrote.

Ahmed also wrote that after the encounter, she asked her fellow passengers if the experience was discriminatory, but no one responded aside from one man who said, "You Moslem, you need to shut the f** up ... yes you know you would use it as a WEAPON so shut the f**k up."

Ahmad's story has quickly spread on social media, with some people adopting the hashtag #UnitedForTahera, calling for a boycott of the airline. Despite the statement from the airline, Ahmed wrote on Twitter that she has yet to receive a "sincere apology" from United and is "disappointed at [the] dismissal."

Ahmad told the Chicago Sun-Times she's been targeted because of her hijab before. She said she's been spat on and had the covering ripped off, but the airplane incident was particularly troubling because she was “publicly targeted as a threat to people.”

Ms Ahmad's account last night of her experience has been shared by thousands of people on Facebook and Twitter.

They've used the hashtag #UnitedForTahera, accused the airline of Islamophobia and racism at 30,000ft and told others to boycott it.

Mohammad Alauddin ‏wrote: "This is disrespectful. We are Muslims, We aren't terrorists. Everybody should be #unitedfortahera".

Zohal Alizai ‏wrote: "Never going to book a flight from united airlines again #unitedfortahera".

Sagal Ashour added: "Glad I'm using British airways to travel to New York otherwise I would change my ticket. Unacceptable treatment of Muslims #unitedfortahera".

A Beautiful Mind Mathematician Nobel laureate John Nash killed in car crash

The Princeton math genius whose life story was the subject of the film “A Beautiful Mind” died Saturday in a crash on the New Jersey Turnpike.

John Forbes Nash Jr. was killed in the 4:30 p.m. crash, along with his wife of nearly 60 years, state police said Sunday.

The crash happened in the southbound inner lanes of the highway.

Nash was 86. Alicia Nash was 82.

The couple were in a taxi that crashed with another vehicle.

Actor Russell Crowe, who played Nash in the film, sent his condolences via a tweet Sunday.

The paper said the driver of the taxi, a Ford Crown Victoria, lost control as he tried to pass a Chrysler in the center lane and crashed into a guard rail.

The Nashes were ejected from the car, a state police spokesman told the Newark Star-Ledger.

The person in the Chrysler was transported to a hospital and was expected to survive.

Known as brilliant and eccentric, Nash was associated with Princeton University for many years, most recently serving as a senior research mathematician. He won the Nobel Prize in economics in 1994 for his work in game theory, which offered insight into the dynamics of human rivalry. It is considered one of the most influential ideas of the 20th century.

On May 19, Nash was in Oslo where he received the Abel Prize, a prestigious international math award. The King of Norway presented the award to Nash and a co-recipient, fellow math whiz, Louis Nirenberg.

The Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters called the two "mathematical giants of the 20th century" who made breakthroughs that have become "essential tools for the study of nonlinear partial differential equations.

Nirenberg said he'd chatted with the couple for an hour at the airport in Newark before they'd gotten a cab. Nirenberg said Nash was a truly great mathematician and "a kind of genius."

"We were all so happy together," Nirenberg said. "It seemed like a dream."

"We are stunned and saddened by news of the untimely passing of John Nash and his wife and great champion, Alicia," Princeton University President Christopher Eisgruber said in a statement Sunday. "Both of them were very special members of the Princeton University community. John's remarkable achievements inspired generations of mathematicians, economists and scientists who were influenced by his brilliant, groundbreaking work in game theory, and the story of his life with Alicia moved millions of readers and moviegoers who marveled at their courage in the face of daunting challenges."

John David Stier, Nash's son with his first wife, said he learned of the death Sunday morning. "It's very upsetting," he said.

In an autobiography written for The Nobel Foundation Web site, Nash said delusions caused him to resign as a faculty member at M.I.T. He also spent several months in New Jersey hospitals on an involuntary basis.

However, Nash's schizophrenia diminished through the 1970s and 1980s as he "gradually began to intellectually reject some of the delusionally influenced lines of thinking," he wrote.

The 2001 film "A Beautiful Mind" won four Oscars, including best picture and best director, and generated interest in John Nash's life story. The movie was based on an unauthorized biography by Sylvia Nasar, who wrote that Nash's contemporaries found him "immensely strange" and "slightly cold, a bit superior, somewhat secretive."

Much of his demeanor likely stemmed from mental illness, which began emerging in 1959 when Alicia was pregnant with a son. The film, though, did not mention Nash older son or to the years that he and Alicia spent living together after divorcing. The couple split in 1963, then resumed living together several years later and finally remarried in 2001.

Born in Bluefield, W. Va., to an electrical engineer and a housewife, Nash had read the classic "Men of Mathematics" by E.T. Bell by the time he was in high school. He planned to follow in his father's footsteps and studied for three years at the Carnegie Institute of Technology in Pittsburgh (now Carnegie Mellon University), but instead developed a passion for mathematics.

He then went to Princeton, where he worked on his equilibrium theory and, in 1950, received his doctorate with a dissertation on non-cooperative games. The thesis contained the definition and properties of what would later be called the Nash equilibrium.

Nash then taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for several years and held a research post at Brandeis University before eventually returning to Princeton.

The Associated Press 

Charges filed against 170 Bikers gang members in Waco TX

About 170 members of rival motorcycle gangs were charged with engaging in organized crime Monday, a day after a shootout at a Texas restaurant that killed nine people and wounded 18.

The crowd of suspects was so large that authorities opened a convention center to hold them all before they were arrested, police said.

Sunday's melee at the Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco drew a broad police response that included placing officers atop buildings and highway overpasses to watch for other bikers rushing to the scene to retaliate.

Waco police Sgt. W. Patrick Swanton said that authorities had received threats from biker groups against law enforcement "throughout the night" after the shooting and that authorities stood ready to confront any more violence. He told The Dallas Morning News a retaliatory threat remained high on Monday.

McLennan County Justice of the Peace W.H. Peterson set bond at $1 million for each suspect. He defended the high amount, citing the violence that quickly unfolded in a shopping market busy with a lunchtime crowd.

"We have nine people dead, because these people wanted to come down and what? Drink? Party?" Peterson said. "I thought it was appropriate."

Peterson also performed inquests on the nine dead bikers but declined to identify them pending notification of family. Peterson says all nine were from Texas.

Police acknowledged firing on armed bikers, but it was unclear how many of the dead were shot by gang members and how many were shot by officers.

Swanton said the Waco Convention Center was used to hold the suspects temporarily as police rushed to secure many parts of the city amid reports of rival bikers going elsewhere to continue the fight. Those at the convention center were later taken to jail.

It's too early to determine how many motorcycle gang members will face murder charges, Swanton said.

Five gangs had gathered at the restaurant as part of a meeting to settle differences over turf and recruitment. Prior meetings had been held at the restaurant, and managers there had dismissed police concerns over the gatherings, he said.

"They were not here to drink and eat barbecue," Swanton said. "They came here with violence in mind."

Twin Peaks — a national chain that features waitresses in revealing uniforms — on Monday revoked the franchise rights to the restaurant, which opened in August.

Company spokesman Rick Van Warner said in a statement that the management team chose to ignore warnings and advice from the company, and did not establish the "high security standards" that the company requires.

The Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission on Monday issued a seven-day suspension of the restaurant's liquor license, but owners had the option of reopening to serve meals.

Police and the restaurant operators were aware of Sunday's meeting in advance, and 18 Waco officers in addition to state troopers were outside the restaurant when the fight began, Swanton said.

McLennan County Sheriff Parnell McNamara, whose office is involved in the investigation, said the nine dead were members of the Bandidos and Cossacks. However, Swanton has repeatedly declined to identify which gangs were involved in a fight that began with punches then grew to include chains, knives and then guns.

"I am not about to give them the respect of mentioning their names," Swanton said.

Many men detained in the hours after the shooting were seen wearing leather vests that read Bandidos or Cossacks.

More than 100 motorcycles were in the parking lots around the restaurant Monday, along with an additional 50 to 75 vehicles that probably belong to gang members, Swanton said. Authorities were having them towed from the scene, 95 miles south of Dallas.

Officials stopped and questioned motorcycle riders. Agents from the FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were assisting local and state authorities.

In a 2014 gang-threat assessment, the Texas Department of Public Safety classified the Bandidos as a "Tier 2" threat, the second highest. Other groups in that tier included the Bloods, Crips and Aryan Brotherhood of Texas.

The Bandidos, formed in the 1960s, are involved in trafficking cocaine, marijuana and methamphetamine, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

The Bandidos conduct their activities as covertly as possible to avoid publicity, according to the DPS assessment. Members aren't covert, however, about making their presence known by wearing their colors and insignia, and riding in large groups.

The Texas assessment does not mention the Cossacks.

In a bulletin issued May 1, the Texas Joint Information Center run by the DPS warned of increasing violence between the Bandidos and Cossacks. Dallas TV station WFAA obtained the bulletin and reported that it said the conflict could stem from Cossacks refusing to pay Bandidos dues for operating in Texas and for wearing a Texas patch on their vests without the Bandidos' approval.

DPS spokesman Tom Vinger declined to comment on the authenticity of the bulletin, citing agency policy.

The bulletin also outlined several recent incidents between the two groups, including about 10 Cossacks forcing a Bandido to pull over along Interstate 35 near Waco in March and attacking him with "chains, batons and metal pipes before stealing his motorcycle," WFAA reported.

That same day, a group of Bandidos confronted a Cossack member fueling up at a truck stop in Palo Pinto County, west of Fort Worth, the bulletin said. When the Cossack member refused to remove the Texas patch from his vest, the Bandidos hit him in the head with a hammer and stole the vest.

Associated Press

Biker Gangs threatened revenge against Texas Police after Waco shootout

Texas police asked rival motorcycle gangs on Tuesday to put aside their differences after a weekend brawl at a Waco restaurant that left nine people dead and 18 injured, calling for a halt to the carnage and threats of revenge attacks.

“There has been enough tragedy and there has been enough bloodshed in Waco, Texas. We would appreciate there not being any more," Police Sergeant Patrick Swanton told a news briefing.

He added that threats for reprisal against police from motorcycle gangs have "toned down" but are still a worry for law enforcement officials, who arrested 170 people following Sunday's brawl at the Twin Peaks Sports Bar and Grill in the central Texas city.

Of the 18 injured, seven remain in the hospital and all are in stable condition. Almost all of those involved in the deadly brawl are not from the Waco area, Swanton said.

Those arrested were being held on bail of $1 million each in separate parts of a county jail to prevent an outbreak of violence, county officials said.

They face organized crime charges relating to capital murder. Charges directly relating to the violence will likely come after an investigation of the bullet-riddled crime scene where gang member attacked each other with guns, knives, clubs, brass knuckles and chains.

Three of those arrested were released from jail when their bond was mistakenly reduced to $50,000, a county judge said.

McLennan County Judge Ralph Strother told Reuters a warrant for their arrest has been issued that also sought to have their bonds restored to $1 million.

A coalition of bikers rented out a patio of Twin Peaks, known for scantily clad waitresses serving mugs of beer, for a Sunday meeting that turned sour when a rival gang showed up, police said.

A dispute over a parking space or a gang member's foot being run over may have sparked the brawl that ended with a gunfight between bikers and nearly two dozen police who had taken positions outside the restaurant in anticipation of violence.

The names of the dead have not been released and many of those being held are not cooperating with investigators.

"Some of the players in this are not being honest," Swanton said.

Among the gangs involved in the shooting were the Bandidos, which the U.S. Justice Department says has between 2,000 to 2,500 members in the United States and 13 other countries. It is one of the biggest motorcycle gangs and a rival to the better-known Hells Angels.

The Bandidos have been battling with a rival gang, the Cossacks, for control in the state, which has been seen as Bandidos territory, an expert on outlaw motorcycle gangs said.

"The Bandidos... think they own Texas," said police officer Steve Cook, who heads the Midwest Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Investigators Association.

"They say 'This is our territory and this is it' and that's the way they leave it," he said.

Shootout Between Rival Biker Gangs At Texas Marketplace, 9 dead, 18 injured

Nine people were killed when a dispute broke out among motorcycle gangs at a bar in Waco, Texas, on Sunday (17/5). Clashes and shootout to ravage the parking lot outside the bar.

This feud lasted at Twin Peaks Sports Bar and Grill in the shopping center in central Texas, nine killed, several others injured.

Waco area police, revealed clashes involving at least three motorcycle gangs, and began to occur in the afternoon. The clashes quickly turned into a fight which uses a number of sharp weapons such as knives and chains, as well as firearms.

In a press conference aired a television station, police explained that when a motorcycle gang shootout begins, the officer began to rush into the location to try to secure the situation. Some members of the gang then tried to dispose of their weapons.

When the shootout ended, seen a number of dead lay down in the parking area. Police said the death toll could possibly be increased.

"The clashes among motorcycle gangs is very dangerous. Many innocent people could get hurt today," police said, quoted by Reuters on Monday (18/5).

After eight people were confirmed dead at the scene, the victim later died at a local hospital. All the victims were motorcyclists, and no police officers were injured.

Nevertheless, the police can not confirm whether there victims who died from been shot by the police.

Waco police stated that the Twin Peaks is one bar that could potentially lead to fighting between motorcycle gangs. The bar manager until now could not be reached for comment.

Boston Marathon Bombers Sentenced to death by lethal injection

Boston Marathon bomber defendant, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was sentenced to death for involvement in an attack in April 2013 that killed three people and injured 264 others, US federal jury decided the death penalty against Tsarnaev with lethal injections.

The verdict was decided by a jury in US federal court on Friday (15/05) local time. Tsarnaev no emotion during the trial. When the verdict was read, he bowed his head.

The outcome was a victory for prosecutors, who said the former college student worked in tandem with his older brother and carried out the attack in a “heinous, cruel and depraved manner.” Jurors rejected arguments that Tsarnaev had fallen under the sway of his brother, Tamerlan, and was remorseful over the suffering he caused.

Tsarnaev will be transferred to a federal prison, where he will remain until he is put to death by lethal injection. His attorneys did not comment after the verdict, but they are expected to appeal the sentence.

After the verdict, Karen Brassard, who was wounded in the attack, said there was “nothing happy about having to take someone’s life.” But she called the outcome “a just conclusion.”

“Right now, it feels like we can take a breath and breathe again,” she said.

Tsarnaev will become the 62nd federal inmate on death row, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. But it has been more than a decade since the federal government executed an inmate, and the Obama administration is reviewing its protocol for carrying out the death penalty after a botched Oklahoma state execution last year.

But the Justice Department, under Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., decided last year to seek the death penalty in Tsarnaev’s case. After Friday’s verdict was read, Holder’s successor, ­Loretta E. Lynch, issued a statement calling the sentence “the ultimate penalty” and “a fitting punishment for this horrific crime.”

For 10 weeks, the jury heard testimony from 150 people, including people whose legs were amputated because of the bomb. The public prosecutor called the Tsarnaev as one of the followers of Al Qaeda to fight against the US.

Tsarnaev legal counsel said his clients admit the allegations associated bomb Boston. However, he stressed that what was done Tsarnaev because follow what was done by his brother, Tamerlan, who was shot dead by police.

Harriet Tubman officialy will replace Andrew Jackson on $20 bill after vote

Female activist Harriet Tubman gained more than 118,000 votes to become the face of 20-dollar banknotes, defeating former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt.

Harriet Tubman, a black woman and a runaway slave who led thousands of other slaves reach freedom before the Civil War, is likely to be a new face on the banknotes of  $20.

More than 600 thousand people participated in an online selection to find female performers featured in a 20-dollar banknotes, replacing the 7th president of the United States, Andrew Jackson.

The election marks the 100th anniversary of the formal ratification of the constitutional amendment that gave women right to vote. Although only the US Treasury Secretary who can authorize the redesign of currency, a number of the bill also proposed to Congress to put a picture of a woman on the banknote.

Tubman helping blacks escape from the places of their detention in the southern US plantations by means of what is called the Underground Railroad - not a subway line actually, but a secret network that created a group of people who tried to remove the practice of slavery.

Tubman gained more than 118,000 votes to become the face of 20-dollar banknotes, defeating former first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, and the hero of civil rights in the 1950s Rosa Parks, and Wilma Mankiller, a citizen of Native American ancestry and the first female leader of the Cherokee tribe.

Amtrak Train Rolled in Philadelphia, 6 killed, 200 injured

6 people were killed and at least 200 other people were injured when a commuter passenger train derailed in the city of Philadelphia, United States, Tuesday (05/12/2015) night local time.

In that incident, 10 train carriages used in the Amtrak trip from Washington to New York out of the track. NBC10.com news website reported, more than 240 passengers were on the train Train 188 was numbered. Cause of the accident is not yet known.

The emergency unit officers and firefighters were at the scene looking for passengers who might be trapped in the rubble. Mayor of Philadelphia, Michael Nutter, confirmed at least five people were killed.

"The view is really terrible. I had never seen anything like this in my life," said Nutter told reporters.

Nutter added, as a result of the accident, railway locomotives completely separated from the other carriages.

Nutter added, from the data it receives, 243 passengers were on the train when the accident.

A firefighter is quoted as saying, at least 50 passengers were taken to hospital for injuries, six of them seriously.

Some pictures on the television show, the injured passengers were transported on a stretcher, and firefighters were still searching for passengers trapped in the wreckage.

Patrick Murphy, a former member of the US Congress, said via his Twitter account that he was in the train when the accident occurred. "I was in Amtrak during a collision. I was fine, and is helping others. Pray for those who hurt," he wrote.

Police sealed off the crash site and asked residents to stay away from the accident site that rescue teams can freely while taking care of the passengers were injured. The Amtrak is a national train service which transports tens of millions of people each year.

White House denies Seymour Hersh's report regarding Osama bin Laden conspiracy theory

 White House Situation room 2011

The White House denied Seymour Hersh's controversial report accusing lies about a military operation that killed Osama bin Laden in 2011. The United States has called the report totally unfounded and highly inaccurate.

"There are a lot of inaccuracies and unsubstantiated statements in this article for each checked one another," said a spokesman for the National Security Council at the White House, Ned Price in a statement to reporters.

Specifically, Price called the statement investigative journalist Seymour Hersh about the cooperation between the US and Pakistani intelligence in the operation that killed al-Qaeda leader, is very inaccurate.

"The idea that the operation that killed Osama bin Laden is not a party of the US mission is a big one," said Price.

"As we said before, information about this operation is only limited to a very small circle between senior US officials. President (Obama-red) decided not to tell the other governments, including the government of Pakistan, which was not notified until after the raid happened," he explained.

"We really were and continue to partner with Pakistan in a joint effort to combat Al-Qaeda, but this is purely US operations," added Price.

This is not the only US response to the Hersh report, reaping a lot of public attention. In his article published in the London Review of Books this week, Hersh claims the actual situation in a military operation that killed Osama is not as long as this is delivered by the US.

Denials also delivered by White House spokesman Josh Earnest said, citing national security issues CNN analyst Peter Bergen who said: "What is right in this story is not new, and new things in this story is not true."

"I think it is the right way to describe why none of the parties who are concerned about the report," said Earnest told local reporters.

Separately, a US official who understand the military operation that killed bin Laden in Pakistan, also commented. The officials told CNN, based on the existing reaction, it is clear that the Pakistani authorities did not know of the existence of US military operations in Pakistan territory.

Devastating Tornadoes hit Oklahoma and Texas, Flooding Concerns in Oklahoma

The fire chief in the North Texas town of Cisco says one person has been killed after a tornado swept through the area.

Chief Walter Fairbanks had no other details early Saturday evening. Damage was reported after the tornado hit Saturday afternoon in Eastland County, about 100 miles west of Fort Worth.

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7 p.m.

An official in North Texas says homes have been destroyed and some people are unaccounted for after a tornado struck a rural farming and ranching area.

Eastland County Judge Rex Fields says there was a "considerable amount of damage" in the county, about 100 miles west of Fort Worth. He says damage assessment was difficult Saturday because of heavy rains.

He can't immediately confirm if there are any injuries or fatalities.

Fields describes the storm-damaged area as rural farms and ranches, with homes on small acreage. He says the tornado did not strike any heavily populated area.

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6:25 p.m.

A second tornado has touched down in North Texas, this one north of Wichita Falls.

A police dispatcher in Burkburnett, who decline to give her name due to department policy, says that the tornado touched down north of town. Burkburnett is about 15 miles north of Wichita Falls.

It was too early to determine the extent of damage or whether there were any injuries.

She says the town of Burkburnett set off its tornado siren at 5:55 p.m.

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6:15 p.m.

The National Weather Service says a tornado has touched down in North Texas.

Weather Service spotters reported the twister on the ground late Saturday afternoon near Cisco, about 100 miles west of Fort Worth. The storm containing the tornado was accompanied by hail as large as oranges.

Josh Wasson, with the Cisco Fire Department, says at least one home has been damaged but isn't immediately certain of the extent of the damage.

Forecasters have boosted the possibility of tornadoes for North Texas as a tornado watch was issued into Saturday evening for nearly 50 counties, including the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

The watch remained in effect until 9 p.m.

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4:30 p.m.

The National Weather Service has upgraded the risk of tornadoes for parts of North Texas, including the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

According to the Storm Prediction Center, the area is now considered to be at moderate risk of tornadoes Saturday evening. Overall, nearly 50 Texas counties are under a tornado watch, and at least one tornado warning had been reported by late afternoon.

A large swath of the nation's midsection was facing severe weather Saturday, with tornado watches issued for much of Oklahoma, eastern Colorado and western Kansas.

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4 p.m.

A tornado watch has been issued for nearly 50 Texas counties as severe weather threatens some of the state's largest cities.

The National Weather Service issued a tornado watch until 9 p.m. CDT Saturday. The coverage area includes Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, Wichita Falls, Abilene, Sherman and Denison.

North Texas has had several days of bad weather. Tornadoes touched down in Wise, Denton and Cooke counties late Thursday. Those areas are also part of Saturday's tornado watch grid.

Crews worked to reopen a North Texas train line after flooding early Friday washed away the tracks and 17 cars of a freight train derailed.

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2 p.m.

The National Weather Service has issued a tornado watch for much of Oklahoma as storms dump hail and heavy rain on the state.

National Weather Service forecaster Daryl Williams says nickel- to quarter-sized hail was reported Saturday near Lawton and Anadarko in southwestern Oklahoma.

One to two inches of rain has fallen across southeastern Oklahoma since midnight, while rainfall totals are up to an inch in northwestern Oklahoma.

Williams says the storms will continue into Saturday night, but that the tornado threat will likely end about 9 p.m. or 10 p.m.

The weather service has issued a flash flood warning until 4:30 p.m. for central Oklahoma and until 4:15 p.m. in southeastern Oklahoma.

Tornado watches were also issued in eastern Colorado, western Kansas and nearly 50 counties in Texas.

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12:50 p.m.

As the threat of more storms in North Texas loomed, crews are working to reopen a rail line after flooding washed away the tracks.

The washout caused four engines and 13 cars to derail on Friday near Valley View, about 50 miles northwest of Dallas; four crew members had minor injuries.

BNSF Railway spokesman Joe Faust said Saturday that bad weather could hamper efforts to replace the tracks, but that they could reopen by Saturday night. Amtrak passenger trains were being rerouted.

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11:30 a.m.

Emergency officials in Shawnee are closely watching a lake that's at risk of breaching its dam and flooding dozens of homes.

Emergency Management Director Donald Lynch said Saturday that water is being pumped from the lake in the Granada Estates neighborhood, but that more rain is forecast and could breach the dam.

The Oklahoma Climatological Survey recorded 2.95 inches of rain in Shawnee since Friday morning.

"We're definitely still at risk and continuing to monitor the situation for degradation of the dam," Lynch said.

Lynch says about 25 homes would be in direct danger if the dam is breached.

A Red Cross shelter is open at First Baptist Church in Shawnee, but most residents have remained in their homes.

By The Associated Press

2 Gunmen Killed Outside Anti Islam Art Event 'Prophet Muhammad PBUH' in Garland Texas

GARLAND, Texas-Two gunmen, who opened fire on a security guard outside the venue for the contest provocative cartoon depictions of the Prophet Muhammad, have been killed, according to authorities in Garland, a suburb of Dallas, Sunday night (3/5).

Garland city government said in a statement posted on his Facebook page Sunday night that the two men drove to the Curtis Culwell Center and began shooting a security guard.

The policemen from the Garland Police Department dealing with both the gunman, who then shot and died, according to the statement.

The statement did not explain whether the shooting was related to the event. The wounds suffered by security officers reportedly did not resulted in the deaths, according to the city government.

Vehicle gunmen it may contain "incendiary devices," according to the statement. Bomb squad is on site, and places of business in the vicinity were evacuated.

Police block a wide area around the town Sunday night contest. Police presence is felt, and at least three helicopters patrolled the air.

American Freedom Defense Initiative (AFDI) based in New York has held a contest in Curtis Culwell Center with a grant of US $ 10,000 for the best cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad.

According to mainstream Islamic tradition, any physical depiction of the Prophet Muhammad — even a respectful one — is considered blasphemous. Drawings similar to those featured at the Texas event have sparked violence around the world.

Harn said Sunday that a bomb squad was searching the gunmen’s vehicle for explosives. The vehicle was heavily damaged Monday morning, indicating that authorities detonated the car overnight as a precaution.

A resident of the apartment complex, Douglas Hayes, said he saw police cars flood the complex Sunday night and saw SWAT team members walking throughout the complex. Hayes said early Monday morning he heard a loud noise that turned out to be law enforcement personnel breaking into a parked white minivan. Hayes says all the windows were broken, leaving glass scattered about the vehicle.

The bodies of the men could still be seen on the ground near the car Monday before they were later covered with a tarp. Investigators are still processing the crime scene, Harn said.

The wounded security officer, who was unarmed, worked for the Garland Independent School District which owns the center, Harn said. He was treated and released from a hospital.

Harn said the district hires security for events at its facilities, but noted that additional security was hired for Sunday’s event. The sponsoring group has said it paid $10,000 for off-duty police officers and other private security.

Harn said the city had not received any credible threats before the shooting.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said state officials are investigating, and Dallas FBI spokeswoman Katherine Chaumont said that agency is providing investigative and bomb technician assistance.

The event featured speeches by American Freedom Defense Initiative president Pamela Geller and Geert Wilders, a Dutch lawmaker known for his outspoken criticism of Islam. Wilders received several standing ovations from the crowd and left immediately after his speech.

Wilders, who has advocated closing Dutch doors to migrants from the Islamic world for a decade, has lived under round-the-clock police protection since 2004.

After the shooting, authorities escorted about 75 contest attendees to another room in the conference center, where a woman held up an American flag, and the crowd sang “God Bless America.”

The group was then taken to a separate location, where they were held for about two hours where they were questioned by FBI agents then released.

Johnny Roby of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, told the Associated Press he was outside the building when he heard about 20 shots that appeared to come from a passing car.

Roby said he then heard two single shots. He said he heard officers yell that they had the car before he was sent inside the building.

Geller told the AP before Sunday’s event that she planned the contest to make a stand for free speech in response to outcries and violence over drawings of Muhammad. She said in a statement after the shooting that it showed how “needed our event really was.”

In January, 12 people were killed by gunmen in an attack against the Paris office of the satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo, which had lampooned Islam and other religions and used depictions of Muhammad. Another deadly shooting occurred the following month at a free speech event in Copenhagen featuring an artist who had caricatured the prophet.

Tens of thousands of people rallied around the world to honor the victims and defend the freedom of expression following those shootings.

Geller’s group is known for mounting a campaign against the building of an Islamic center blocks from the World Trade Center site and for buying advertising space in cities across the U.S. criticizing Islam.

6 Baltimore Police Officers Charged over Freddie Gray's Death

As a follow-up to the death of detainees blacks Freddie Gray, Baltimore district attorney decided to prosecute the policemen involved in violence against him. There are at least six policemen were charged under charges of murder and violence against Gray.

The head of the Baltimore district attorney, Marilyn Mosby who served since January, announced charges against six police officers for the death of Gray in custody early April. Gray died after suffering serious injuries in the spine. Gray's death sparked massive protests, even beyond the region Baltimore, who protested police brutality in the United States.

"The findings of our comprehensive, thorough and independent investigation, coupled with the medical examiner's determination that Mr. Gray's death was a homicide ... have led us to believe that we have probable cause to file criminal charges," Mosby said.
Mosby said Gray "suffered a severe and critical neck injury as a result of being handcuffed, shackled by his feet and unrestrained" inside a moving police van.

En route to the Western District police station, the police van stopped at least three times, including once to pick up a suspect in an unrelated case.

Cheers broke out when Mosby unveiled the charges on the steps of Baltimore's war memorial, across the street from city hall, a focal point of protests demanding justice over Gray's death.

Baltimore's police union condemned what it called "an egregious rush to judgement" as it defended the officers and expressed confidence they would be vindicated.

"We believe that these officers will be vindicated as they have done nothing wrong," said Michael Davey, a lawyer for the city's Fraternal Order of Police.

"I have never seen such a hurried rush to file criminal charges," he added, suggesting that prosecutors had rushed their investigation because of the pressure from demonstrations.

Many in this East Coast port city of 620,000, about an hour's drive north of Washington, had expected Mosby to say that the case was still under investigation.

- 'A good shock' -

"We were in shock -- and it was a good shock, do you know what I mean?" said William Murphy, a lawyer for the Gray family, who told reporters they had no advance word of the charges.

"These charges are an important step for getting justice for Freddie," added Gray's step-father Richard Shipley, who appealed for peace to prevail in the city.

Baltimore remains under a state of emergency, with the National Guard deployed alongside police in riot gear on the streets, and an overnight curfew in place.

There have been smaller demonstrations in other US cities as well, the latest in New York on Friday, when several hundred protesters took over downtown Union Square.

Gray, who had a record of non-violent drug offenses, died April 19 from spinal injuries sustained when he was arrested a week earlier in a west Baltimore public housing project.

Facing the most serious charge, one of second-degree murder, is Officer Caesar Goodson, the driver of the van that transported Gray to a police station.

Goodson, 45, was also charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, vehicular manslaughter and misconduct.

Goodson got out of the van to check on Gray's condition, Mosby said, but "at no point did he seek nor did he render any medical assistance."

Three other officers were charged with involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault and misconduct, and two more charged with second-degree assault and misconduct.

One officer was also charged with false imprisonment.

All six officers have been suspended with pay since Gray's death.

Mosby -- an African-American woman who is the daughter, granddaughter and niece of police officers -- said Gray had been "illegally arrested" as "no crime had been committed."

In an open letter, Baltimore's police union called for a "special independent prosecutor" to take over the case from Mosby, who at 34 is America's youngest big-city chief prosecutor.

- Conflicts of interest? -

It cited Mosby's relationships with Murphy, who contributed $5,000 to her election campaign, and her husband, a city council member who represents the poverty-stricken section of Baltimore where Gray lived and died.

"We believe the actions taken today by the state's attorney are an egregious rush to judgment and grave concerns about the fairness in prosecution of our officers," said Davey.

Baltimore police lieutenant Kenneth Butler added: "We are extremely frustrated and shocked by the circumstances that have transpired today."

Gray has become the latest face of an intense national debate over whether American police are too quick to use violence against unarmed black males.

In the best-known case, a white police officer fatally shot unarmed teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri -- prompting riots in the St. Louis suburb -- but was not indicted by a grand jury.

In December, a grand jury similarly did not indict a New York police officer over the chokehold death of Eric Garner.

In North Charleston, South Carolina, a police officer stands accused of murder after he was captured on video fatally shooting Walter Scott during a traffic stop on April 4.

And in Oklahoma, a reserve deputy sheriff has pleaded not guilty of manslaughter after he fatally shot Eric Harris during a sting operation.

At the White House in Washington, President Barack Obama said it was "absolutely vital" for the truth in Baltimore to come out.

"What I think the people of Baltimore want more than anything else is the truth. That's what people around the country expect," he said.

Racial conflict explodes, Baltimore State of Emergency National Guard deployed

BALTIMORE, Maryland– Fifteen police officers were injured during riots on Monday, Col. Darryl D. DeSousa, Baltimore Police chief of patrol, said at a news conference. Two remain hospitalized, and the others have been released, he said. Most were injured by flying debris, according to DeSousa.

Baltimore City Public Schools will be closed Tuesday, according to schools spokeswoman Edie House-Foster.

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake announced that the city will impose a mandatory curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. daily, effective for one week starting on Tuesday. She noted that the city already has a mandatory curfew for juveniles. “What we see tonight that is going on in our city is very disturbing,” said Rawlings-Blake. “Too many people have spent generations building up this city for it to be destroyed by thugs who in a very senseless way are trying to tear down what so many have fought for.”

The mayor said it’s not clear whether an enormous fire at a senior center under construction was related to riots Monday night. She said the cause of the fire is under investigation.

Chaos and violence erupted on the streets of Baltimore late Monday as protesters clashed with police. More than two dozen people have been arrested.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard.

“This afternoon, a group of outrageous criminals attacked our officers. Right now, we have seven officers that have serious injuries, including broken bones, and one officer who is unconscious,” Capt. Eric Kowalczyk told reporters.

He vowed to find the attackers and put them in jail.


Video showed police in riot gear taking cover behind an armored vehicle, as protesters pelted them with rocks.

At one point, it looked like officers used tear gas. The Baltimore Police Department said it had heard reports of protesters setting small items on fire, and footage showed a cruiser in flames.

Video also showed people looting local stores, and an area CVS Pharmacy was set on fire after it was ransacked. Thick dark smoke filled the streets.

“This is not OK,” Kowalczyk said. “You’re going to see tear gas. You’re going to see pepper balls. We’re going to use appropriate methods to ensure that we’re able to preserve the safety of that community.”

There were no immediate reports of injuries among the protesters. There were also no immediate reports of arrests.

‘Credible threat’ to officers

Earlier in the day, the Baltimore Police Department said it had received a “credible threat” that gangs were teaming up to “take out” officers.

It did not say where the information came from, nor did it say whether the threat was tied to the recent death of Freddie Gray. Gray died in police custody under circumstances that remain unclear.

The family of Freddie Gray condemned the violence that spread across Baltimore after his funeral on Monday.

“I want y’all to get justice for my son, but don’t do it like this here,” his mother told journalists.

Gray’s twin sister, Fredericka, also denounced the riots.

“I don’t think that’s for Freddie,” she said. “I think the violence is wrong.”

His death has sparked ongoing protests in Baltimore and raised long-simmering tensions between police and residents.

“The Baltimore Police Department/Criminal Intelligence Unit has received credible information that members of various gangs including the Black Guerilla Family, Bloods, and Crips have entered into a partnership to ‘take out’ law enforcement officers,” police said. “This is a credible threat.”

Maryland State Police have ordered an additional 40 troopers to Baltimore to join the 42 troopers already sent there Monday afternoon to assist city police. Since last Thursday, more than 280 state troopers have provided assistance in Baltimore.

“Today’s looting and acts of violence in Baltimore will not be tolerated,” said Gov. Hogan. “There is a significant difference between protesting and violence, and those committing these acts will be prosecuted under the fullest extent of the law.”

Separately, President Barack Obama met with Attorney General Loretta Lynch at the White House, just hours after she was sworn in.

“Attorney General Lynch assured the President that she would continue to monitor events in Baltimore and that the Department of Justice stands ready to provide any assistance that might be helpful there,” said a statement from the White House.

‘They don’t deserve this’

Monday’s violence came the same day as Gray’s funeral. The 25-year-old was arrested on April 12 and died one week later from a fatal spinal cord injury.

“I am sure that the family is concerned, and I am positive that they are against what is beginning to develop here in town,” said Billy Murphy, an attorney for the Gray family.

“They don’t deserve this any more than Freddie Gray deserved it,” he said about the injured officers.

Because of the violence, the Baltimore Orioles have postponed their home game against the Chicago White Sox on Monday, the team announced via Twitter. At first, the team planned to go ahead with the game, but delayed it after further talks with the Police Department. A new date for the game will be announced later.

Over the weekend, a few protesters vandalized police cars, threw objects at officers, cursed at them and scuffled with them.

About a dozen young men smashed squad cars with garbage cans, climbed on top of them and stomped on them, CNN video showed.

“This has got to the point, this is not about Gray right now. It’s reactionary,” a Baltimore resident and protester said on Monday. “You can only put so much into a pressure cooker before it pop.”

Source:foxnews

Violent and chaotic protests in Baltimore over Freddie Gray's death

Hundreds protesters shouted "shut it down" marched through the city of Baltimore, in the eastern United, Saturday to protest the death of a young black man in police custody.

The demonstrators marched after gathering at locations in Baltimore, where Freddie Gray was arrested April 12. He suffered spinal injuries while in custody and died a week after being arrested.

According to the organizers of the demonstration, their goal is to disrupt traffic by marching through the streets towards the city hall.

People have been demonstrating in Baltimore since the death of Freddie Gray last Sunday. But Saturday's march is expected to be the biggest protest. The protesters demanded justice for Gray's. Gray's funeral is scheduled to take place Monday.

Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake has joined protesters who demanded an explanation. He said on Friday that he wanted to know why the police did not seem to follow a policy that requires all inmates wear seat belts when transported by vehicle, and why they did not call medical assistance when Gray asked.

"If necessary, we will prosecute those who are responsible," said Rawlings-Blake.

Baltimore police said it would provide information on investigations related to the incident next weekend.

Family lawyer said that the Gray's spinal cord almost broken after police took him into custody on April 12 .

Baltimore police admitted on Thursday that Gray was not wearing a seat belt when transported in the back of the van that took him to the police station. Baltimore Police Commissioner Anthony Batts said officers did not immediately know that Gray, who suffers from asthma, requiring medical attention.

Former CIA director, Retired Gen David H. Petraeus sentenced 2 years probation and fine for high-level military leaks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former U.S. military commander and CIA director David Petraeus will appear in federal court in North Carolina on Thursday to face sentencing for allegedly leaking secrets to a mistress who was writing his biography.

Petraeus, a now-retired U.S. Army General, has already agreed to plead guilty to a criminal misdemeanor charge of unauthorized removal and retention of classified material.

As part of the agreement with prosecutors filed in March, the government will not seek any prison time. Instead, Petraeus will agree to pay a $40,000 fine and receive two years of probation, according to court documents.

The recommendations are not binding on the federal judge who will preside at the hearing Thursday afternoon in Charlotte.

Petraeus, who served stints as the top U.S. commander in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, resigned from the CIA in 2012 after it was revealed that he was having an affair with the biographer, Army Reserve officer Paula Broadwell.

A court document signed by Petraeus and prosecutors says that in 2011, before he became the CIA director, the four-star general illegally gave Broadwell access to binders, known as "black books," that included classified information.

He also is accused of improperly storing classified materials at his residence and falsely telling the FBI in October 2012 that he had not shared any classified information with Broadwell.

Petraeus' lawyer, David Kendall, had no comment ahead of the plea and sentencing hearing.

Civil liberties and government transparency advocates say the government's lenient treatment of Petraeus suggests prosecutors maintain double standards. Other leak case defendants have received harsher punishments, such as former CIA officer John Kiriakou, who was sent to prison.

Ben Wizner, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer who represents former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden, said he was not against lighter sentences for people involved in leaking, so long as such treatment is handed out equally.

"The problem is not that David Petraeus is getting lenient treatment," Wizner said. "The problem is that lenient treatment is only available to people in high places."

Obama apologizes and responsible for the deaths of US and Italian hostages due to Drone strike

U.S. drone strike in January targeting an al Qaeda compound in Pakistan near the Afghan border inadvertently killed an American and an Italian who had been held hostage for years by the group, U.S. officials said on Thursday.

President Barack Obama apologized and took "full responsibility" for all counterterrorism operations, including this one.

The deaths were a setback for the long-running U.S. drone strike program that has targeted Islamist militants in Pakistan, Afghanistan and elsewhere, and has often drawn criticism in those countries and from civil liberties groups in the United States.

Killed in the January drone strike were aid workers Warren Weinstein, an American held by al Qaeda since 2011, and Giovanni Lo Porto, an Italian who went missing in Pakistan in 2012, as well as Ahmed Farouq, an American who was an al Qaeda leader, U.S. officials said.

Adam Gadahn, an American al Qaeda member who was charged with treason in the United States, was also killed in a separate strike on another al Qaeda camp five days later, the officials said.

Obama said he had ordered a full review of the matter to ensure such mistakes are not repeated.

"I profoundly regret what happened. On behalf of the United States government, I offer our deepest apologies to the families," Obama told reporters at the White House.

Republican House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner and other lawmakers called such a review appropriate but steered clear of criticizing the drone program. Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, a Republican who is often a fierce critic of the Democratic president, said Gadahn and Farouq "got what they deserved."

U.S. officials said the drone strikes occurred inside Pakistan in the conflict-torn border region near Afghanistan. One official said the CIA had observed the compounds over some time but had no idea hostages were present.

Use of unmanned drones, which enable the United States to carry out counterterrorism operations without putting U.S. personnel directly in harm's way, has prompted criticism because of the deaths of civilians and because on occasion they have involved killing Americans abroad without judicial process.

The American Civil Liberties Union said the government should better follow its own standards before launching drone strikes. "In each of the operations acknowledged today, the U.S. quite literally didn’t know who it was killing," said Jameel Jaffer, the ACLU's deputy legal director.

Lo Porto's mother told reporters in Palermo, Sicily: "I don't want to talk, leave me alone in my grief."

Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, speaking in Brussels, said, "I have much appreciated the transparency of the United States in taking their responsibilities for what happened and the way Obama communicated what happened."

U.S federal judge orders controversial ads Muslims killing Jews run on NYC's Metropolitan Transportation

US federal judge issued a decision to display a number of controversial advertisement that refers the Muslim killing Jews on New York city buses and subways.

New York Transportation Authority (MTA) rejected the ads, saying it could lead to terrorism and violence. But Judge John Koeltl rejected that argument and said the ad is protected by the US Constitution, which exalts the principle of freedom of speech.

Advertising was financed on behalf of the American Freedom Defense Initiative and has been posted on a number of public transportation in Chicago and San Francisco.

In the ad shows a man with his head and face were covered with scarves threatening, there is next to relevant excerpts from the music video Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The quote reads "Killing Jews is Worship that draws us close to Allah" and then states, "That's His Jihad. What's yours?"

Koeltl said he was "sensitive" to the security concerns, but noted that the MTA and Chairman Thomas Prendergast "underestimate the tolerant quality of New Yorkers and overestimate the potential impact of these fleeting advertisements. It strains credulity to believe that New Yorkers would be incited to violence by ads that did not incite residents of Chicago and San Francisco."

MTA buses and subways are often forums for policy debates. The agency has accepted other ads from the American Freedom Defense Initiative, which is characterized as an anti-Muslim group by the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Koeltl delayed enforcing his preliminary injunction by 30 days so the MTA could decide whether to appeal.

Adam Lisberg, an MTA spokesman, said: "We are disappointed in the ruling and are reviewing our options." The ad includes a disclaimer that its display does not imply an MTA endorsement.

The MTA said the ad did not meet standards it adopted in 2012 after a judge, in another lawsuit by the American Freedom Defense Initiative, said its earlier ban on ads that demeaned people based on race or religion violated the First Amendment.

Koeltl, however, said the MTA did not show that the latest ad could prompt imminent violence, noting that none occurred in Chicago and San Francisco, or that New York City should be treated differently because it is a more prominent terrorism target.

The American Freedom Defense Initiative, led by the controversial activist and blogger Pamela Geller. The organization was registered as an anti-Muslim group by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a group of civil rights activists.

Another Police brutality, Freddie Gray Baltimore young black man died in custody

Six Baltimore police dismissed for a while and authorities investigate why Freddie Gray was arrested and what caused the injury in custody.

US Justice Department said it would investigate the death of a black man who died after suffering a spinal cord injury while in Baltimore police custody.

The federal investigation will look for violations of civil rights in the case of Freddie Gray, who was arrested on 12 April.

On Tuesday, hundreds gathered at the protest arrest of Gray, a protest march to the police station two blocks away, singing and holding a banner that reads "Black Lives Matter " and "No Justice, No Peace" - slogans that have demonstrated what is believed demonstrators cruel treatment against blacks by police throughout the United States.

Among the demonstrators looks Gray family members, including his mother Gloria Darden, which is very sad, sobbing and thrashing uncontrollably, her face is less apparent for wearing headgear and sunglasses.

Earlier that day, six Baltimore police dismissed for a while and authorities investigate why Gray stopped and what caused the injury. Baltimore Police Department has released the names of the police. Police had been dismissed without receiving a salary while authorities investigate the death of Gray.

Further details almost nothing about what exactly happened to Gray. Authorities Baltimore said he "was arrested without force or incident" with another man in a region known with drugs activity.

Michele M. Leonhart US DEA Chief step down, following allegations that agents attended sex parties paid by cartels.

Michele. M Leonhart, the woman who holds top position in the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) - on Tuesday (21/4) reportedly will soon resign from her post, after the issue of the DEA agents who attended sex party funded by drug dealers in Colombia.

Until today, a spokesman for the DEA has not made a formal statement regarding Leonhart's resignation, who has served in the DEA since 2007.

Leonhart resigned after the peak of chaotic sex scandal DEA agent.

Since many reported, Leonhart has come under fire from many parties because it has not dismiss or punish members of the DEA is involved.

The incident in Colombia was first noticed by the Department of Justice in March 2015, who was conducting an investigation.

The initial investigation, several DEA agents hire female prostitution and do some sexual violence.

Leonhart drug policy in the DEA  is often at odds with the policy of the Obama administration. For example when Leonhart reject the use of marijuana for medicine.

She even says that marijuana is more harmful than alcohol.

Therefore, many people who do not understand why Leonhart remains in office.

FBI forensic unit admits gave flawed evidence for years in almost all trials

The FBI admitted that "some mistakes" forensic laboratory evidence given to some US courts to ensure punishment, including death penalty cases in a period of more than 20 years.

A report by the Office of the Inspector General (Office of the Inspector General / OIG) noted "irregularities" hair analysis unit.  Details of related cases are expected to be obtained from groups of activists. The data used in forensic disability least 60 death penalty cases, the OIG report.

Assessment of a number of cases on news media in 2012, in which three men declared guilty at the scene of violent crime by hair analysis unit, which raises the possibility of hundreds of decisions that are not appropriate.

Through a statement, the FBI admitted "some mistakes FBI examiner issued a statement in connection with microscopic hair analysis in the context of the testimony or lab report".

According to the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Innocence Project, 26 of the 28 inspectors in microscopic hair comparison unit of the FBI Laboratory "exaggerate similarities forensics" to support prosecutors in over 95% of the 268 court cases that have been reviewed.
NACDL and the Innocence Project in cooperation with the government in what the newspaper described as "the largest study that questioned the verdict after the imposition of forensic evidence".

The cases were re-examined include 32 defendants who were sentenced to death. Fourteen of them were executed or died in prison,