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Friday, June 20, 2008
Man arrested in Bellmead woman’s Feb. 10 beating death
A Waco man indicted last month in the theft of a car owned by a woman whose charred body was found after her mobile home was torched in February was arrested this week in her death.
Roy Don Washburn, 47, remains in the McLennan County Jail in lieu of $1 million bond after his arrest Thursday on a capital murder warrant in the Feb. 10 beating death of Delores Dwanda Clark.
Clark’s body was found by Bellmead firefighters, who responded to a fire at her mobile home at 512 Campground Road about 3:30 a.m. Feb. 10. An autopsy report shows that Clark died as a result of “homicidal violence,” including blunt force trauma, multiple rib fractures, a broken sternum and extensive bleeding on the left side of her neck.
An affidavit by Texas Ranger Jason Taylor to support an warrant for Washburn’s arrest said that Clark’s blood was found on Taylor’s shoes that were seized by investigators.
For more on this story, pick up a copy of Saturday’s Tribune-Herald.
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LT, Wariner make Wall Street Journal athletes list
You don’t first think Wall Street Journal when it comes to sports coverage. In fact, this story falls under its “Lifestyle” category. But two athletes with Waco ties, University High product LaDainian Tomlinson and former Baylor sprinter Jeremy Wariner, were ranked in the top 10 of a “world’s greatest athlete” ranking by the Journal.
Tomlinson comes in at No. 4 and Wariner is at No. 8 in this study, which probably should spur some comments among sports fans. Czech decathlete Roman Sebrle is No. 1, by the way.
What are your thoughts about it?
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Foster dad of alleged sex club victims arrested
A foster parent awarded custody of three young siblings allegedly forced into sex at swinger parties has been accused of sexually abusing a child in California in the 1990s.
John Orville Cantrell, 64, has been charged with sexual penetration of a person under 14 and lewd act upon a child, Marsha Johnson of the Solano County District Attorney’s Office in California said Friday.
The complaint against Cantrell was filed May 9 and stems from an alleged assault that occurred in 1991, she said. Cantrell was taken into custody Wednesday by Wood County authorities, and Johnson said she was waiting for extradition papers to be signed.
— The Associated Press
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Man freed by DNA testing seeks to clear record
The Innocence Project is asking a Texas court to toss out the convictions that sent an innocent man to prison for 25 years.
DNA testing last year exonerated Steven Phillips of a 1982 sexual assault and burglary that put him in prison for 25 years. In January, additional testing found that the DNA evidence from the rape matched another man, Sidney Alvin Goodyear, who died in prison 10 years ago.
Phillips, who is on parole and lives in a halfway house as part of his probation, still has an extensive criminal record because he pleaded guilty to nine related sex crimes over fear that he would receive a life sentence if convicted. Prosecutors now believe those sex crimes were also committed by Goodyear.
The Innocence Project said today there is a wide range of clear evidence showing that Phillips is innocent.
— The Associated Press
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U.S. says Israel exercise seemed directed at Iran
Israel carried out a major military exercise earlier this month that American officials say appeared to be a rehearsal for a potential bombing attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, the New York Times reported today.
Several American officials said the Israeli exercise appeared to be an effort to develop the military’s capacity to carry out long-range strikes and to demonstrate the seriousness with which Israel views Iran’s nuclear program.
More than 100 Israeli F-16 and F-15 fighters participated in the maneuvers, which were carried out over the eastern Mediterranean and over Greece during the first week of June, American officials said.
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Floodwaters ruin Iowa grocer’s retirement plans
Touching story out of Iowa about a 60-year-old grocer who planned to retire from his store, but now feels the need to reopen after the flood to serve his friends and customers.
Read it here.
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South Korean president adjusts staff
South Korea’s embattled president replaced his top advisers today in a bid to soothe public outrage over plans to resume U.S. beef imports, while Seoul and Washington officials said they were near a resolution to the dispute.
In a nationally televised news conference, Lee Myung-bak introduced his new chief of staff and seven other senior presidential secretaries, seeking to make a fresh start for his administration, which took office less than four months ago.
“We promise again that we’ll open our ears … and do our best in serving the people,” he said.
Lee’s entire Cabinet has also offered to resign over the beef issue — which has sparked weeks of anti-government demonstrations over fears of mad cow disease — but the president has not yet said which ministers will leave the government.
— The Associated Press
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U.N. issues urgent plea for Myanmar
The United Nations today warned that it will be forced to ground helicopters that have been ferrying critical aid to Myanmar’s cyclone survivors unless the international community urgently provides more funding.
The U.N.’s World Food Program said it was facing a critical shortage of funds for its logistical operation in the country, including 10 helicopters that have so far delivered lifesaving materials to 60 locations in the devastated Irrawaddy delta.
The use of helicopters, trucks and boats will “grind to a halt by the end of this month unless we get additional funding now,” Chris Kaye, WFP’s country director in Myanmar, said in a statement.
The U.N. estimates that 2.4 million people were affected by Cyclone Nargis and has warned that more than 1 million still need help.
— The Associated Press
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McClellan speaking to House Judiciary Committee
A former White House spokesman told Congress today that President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney wanted him to say that Cheney’s chief of staff wasn’t involved in the leak of a CIA operative’s identity, an assertion that turned out to be false.
Scott McClellan, Bush’s spokesman from 2003-2006, said he had reservations about publicly clearing the name of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby, Cheney’s chief of staff at the time. Later, Libby was convicted of obstructing the investigation of the leak of Valerie Plame’s CIA identity.
McClellan told the House Judiciary Committee that he doesn’t know if a crime was committed in efforts to cover up the leak.
But he had harsh words for the White House, suggesting that the administration is continuing a cover-up in the Plame case.
— The Associated Press
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Texas jobless rate hops up to 4.5 percent
The Texas unemployment rate is up to 4.5 percent, mirroring the recent nationwide weakening in the job market.
The Texas Workforce Commission says nonfarm employment grew by 8,700 jobs in May, but that wasn’t enough to offset an increase in people looking for work.
The commission said today that the May unemployment rate was an increase from 4.1 percent in April. The April figure was a record low since the state began keeping track.
Texas unemployment is still lower than the national average, which jumped from 5 percent in April to 5.5 percent in June.
— The Associated Press
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Naomi Campbell pleads guilty in ‘air rage’ case
Naomi Campbell pleaded guilty today to assaulting two police officers during an “air rage” incident at Heathrow Airport. She has not been sentenced yet.
The model, known for her tempestuous behavior and frequent confrontations with her staff, faces substantial fines and up to six months in jail if the harshest sentence is imposed at Uxbridge Magistrates Court.
She was charged with six different offenses, including attacking police officers and using abusive language to cabin crew. Disorderly conduct was among the charges. She is accused of trying to kick the police officers who removed her from the plane.
Her spokesman, Alan Edwards, said outside the court that Campbell regretted the incident and looked forward to telling her side of the story.
— The Associated Press
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Airport to celebrate expansion project
We received this announcement from the city of Waco that a ribbon-cutting ceremony will be held at 5:30 p.m. Thursday to celebrate the completion of the $3.48 million expansion project for the Waco Regional Airport Terminal.
According to the release:
The project included 4,500 square feet of additional office space and lease space to the north end of the building for Airport staff and the Transportation Security Administration, as well as 6,000 square feet of new passenger waiting room space past an enlarged security checkpoint.
Grants from the Federal Aviation Administration covered 95 percent of the costs for the new passenger waiting room and 55 percent of the funding for the additional office space. One of the most notable improvements in the terminal design is restrooms are now available in the secured passenger waiting room area.
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Reports: Girls made pact to get pregnant
Here’s a bizarre story out of Massachusetts: A group of teens at Gloucester High School made a pact to get pregnant and raise their babies together, school officials said.
Principal Joseph Sullivan told Time magazine in a story published Wednesday that the girls confessed to making the pact after the school began investigating a rise in pregnancies that has left 17 girls at the school carrying a child. Normally, there are about four pregnancies a year at the school.
Sullivan told Time that nearly half of the expecting students, none over 16, were involved. Sullivan said students were coming to the school clinic multiple times to get pregnancy tests, and “seemed more upset when they weren’t pregnant than when they were.”
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Scientists believe ice found on Mars
Scientists working with the Phoenix lander on Mars say they believe the craft may have found ice just under the planet’s surface.
This BBC News story says that chunks of a bright material found in a trench dug by the craft have disappeared over four Martian days, suggesting they have vaporized.
Digging in another trench has been stopped because the lander’s arm hit a hard surface - also thought to be ice.
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Obama announcement on public money draws heat
U.S. News and World Report has a good compilation of the media response to U.S. Sen. Barack Obama’s announcement Thursday to forgo the public financing system — most of it is negative.
Check it out here.
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Hooray, gas prices in Texas hold steady
OK, pumping gas is still expensive, but for the first time in a while the average price of gasoline in Texas held steady for a week.
AAA Texas today reported the statewide average for self-serve regular was $3.93 per gallon. The nationwide gasoline price average rose one penny, to reach $4.07 per gallon.
However, we might see prices creep up again.
Oil rose more than $1 to above $133 a barrel today after plunging nearly $5 in the previous session on China’s unexpected fuel price rise, according to this Forbes story.
China, the world’s second-largest oil consumer, raised pump gasoline and diesel prices by up to 18 percent on Thursday, its first hike in eight months, as the government bowed to a nearly $40 increase in crude prices since the last hike in November.
Remember to check out local prices at our GasBuddy.com link.
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Rain has been a tease so far
When I saw the weather report last night I was hoping we’d get a decent soaking of rain. That has yet to happen.
Though I heard the thunder rumbling early this morning and stepped outside to at least a damp surface when I got the morning paper, my rain gauge didn’t have anything but some moist-looking dirt in the bottom of it.
Each of our two rain events in the past 24 hours, yesterday’s brief storm and this morning’s shower, tallied 0.03 inches in the official Waco Regional Airport gauge. We need more than 0.06 inches to make a difference, although the cloud cover and cooling temps are welcome.
We’ve got a 30 percent chance of showers and thunderstorms before noon today. It should stay mostly cloudy with a high getting up to 94 degrees. We’ve have a south-southeast between 5 and 10 mph.
Did you get any more rain at your place?
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