LEE COUNTY — Elvis Rodriguez, 30, flashed Latin Kings hand signals on his MySpace.com page and called himself “King Kamel,” according to his arrest report.

Richard Figueroa-Santiago, 22, used his MySpace page to post pictures of friends making “Eastside” hand gestures, detectives said.

Now, in the first cases of their kind in Florida and in the nation, both Lee County men face five years in state prison for the gang-related content of their Web pages.

Their prosecutions are the first under a state law passed last year that criminalizes the use of electronic media to “promote” gangs.

Attorneys for both are challenging the law as unconstitutional.

“It violates his right to free speech, to associate,” said Joseph Cerino, Rodriguez’s lawyer.

The bill’s sponsor, a retired police officer, calls the law a modern response to increasing gang violence in some Florida cities.

“We have seen from day one until now that none of our freedoms are absolute, and the freedom of expression is not absolute,” said Rep. William D. Snyder, R-Stuart.

The Lee County prosecutions appear to be the first in the state, according to officials with the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. The law itself is unique across the nation, according to the National Gang Center, a federal program that tracks anti-gang legislation and methods.


“The statute is so broad that you could be arrested for something you’re not aware has anything to do with gang activity,” Steele said.

Derek Byrd, a director of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers said the law was a “ridiculous” effort that cast too wide a net.

“I’m a member of a gang,” he said. “I coach my Little League baseball team. We all wear uniforms, we flash signs, we all wear the same colors.”

“Authorities have to be judicious in the way they use these laws,” he said. “Otherwise, public resentment will build up.”

In motions filed before Lee Circuit Judge Ramiro Manalich, attorneys for Rodriguez and Figueroa-Santiago argue that their clients’ postings are protected expressions under the state constitution.

“We looked at the statute and talked with some other defense attorneys about it,” said Robert Gary Hines, who represents Figueroa-Santiago. “It clearly looks to me like it’s unconstitutional.”

Their motions will be heard together in early August. Regardless of the result, higher courts will likely be asked to decide for themselves.

The challenge comes as no surprise to Snyder.

“I fully anticipated that it would be appealed,” he said. “And it should be completely vetted and thought through at the trial level.”

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Authorities said a West Palm Beach man trying to get money from his roommate hit him with a coconut, a porcelain bowl and a wooden carving. The Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office reported that the 44-year-old man was charged with robbery with a weapon and false imprisonment after Saturday's attack. The roommate eventually got away and called for help.

Deputies reported finding the man riding a bicycle near the home. They say he smelled like alcohol and appeared to be drunk.

He was being held on $4,000 bail.

FORT WORTH, Texas - At first, fire officials suspected that carbon monoxide or some other toxic fumes had sickened almost 150 people at a Texas bank call center.

It turned out that perfume was to blame.

MedStar ambulance spokeswoman Lara Kohl says 34 people were taken to hospitals, 12 by ambulance, after reporting dizziness and shortness of breath Wednesday at a Bank of America call center in Fort Worth. An additional 110 were treated at the scene.


Fort Worth fire Lt. Kent Worley says the incident started with two people complaining about dizziness after a co-worker sprayed perfume. Others reported being sick when an announcement was made that anyone with similar symptoms should exit the building.

Investigators do not know what type of perfume was sprayed.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Authorities said a man, who had been sleeping in a Dumpster, sustained minor injuries after he was picked up by a garbage truck along with the trash. Authorities said that when firefighters and paramedics arrived, they heard Kevin Hallaran, 52, banging on the metal sides of the sanitation truck asking for help.

Hallaran had been sleeping inside a Dumpster behind a restaurant Sunday night and had been unknowingly dumped along with the garbage from restaurants and other businesses into the truck early Monday.

A sanitation department employee had not yet activated the truck's compactor after he mistakenly dumped Hallaran inside.

Authorities said the compactor would most likely have killed Hallaran.

Quoted:

Michigan: Wearing pants wrong is a bad thing



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I actually support this but would encourage vigilante enforcement.

Today [Aug 6, 2009], The Calguns Foundation and SAF filed a motion for summary judgment in Sykes et. al. v. McGinness et. al. We've asked for a hearing Thursday, September 24, 2009, at 2:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as the matter may be heard, in Courtroom 7 of the United State District Court for the Eastern California, 501 I Street, Sacramento, California 95814.

Defendants’ policies with respect to the issuance of gun carry permits are clearly
established. The only question is whether these policies are constitutional. They are not.
Defendant Sheriffs and their respective counties maintain near-complete bans on the
carrying of handguns for self-defense by ordinary, law-abiding individuals. These bans are not
compelled by California law, which provides Defendants authority to license the carrying of
handguns. Nor are these bans consistent with Plaintiffs’ rights under the Second and Fourteenth
Amendments. The law is clear: law-abiding individuals in our country are generally entitled to
carry handguns for self-defense.

Plaintiffs do not challenge the concept that Defendants have an interest in regulating
firearms in the interest of public safety, just as Defendants have an interest in regulating the time,
place, or manner of speech or public assemblies. Nor do Plaintiffs challenge the idea that the state
may maintain a system of licensing the carrying of firearms, just as the state might license parades
or demonstrations. But the regulatory interest here is not absolute. It is curtailed by the right to
keep and bear arms, rooted in the inherent and natural human right of self-defense.

To be sure – Plaintiffs do not claim that there is a constitutional right to carry concealed
weapons any more than there is a constitutional right to carry weapons openly. Whatever an
individual’s preference, precedent confirms that the right is simply to carry weapons, and that
legislatures may choose to specify the manner of doing so. California chooses to ban the open
carrying of functional handguns and permit their concealed carry. Accordingly, permits to carry
arms may not be denied to ordinary, law-abiding citizens such as Plaintiffs who can demonstrate
basic competence with a firearm and who wish to carry a handgun for self-defense.

NEWARK (CN) - A class action claims that major hot dog manufacturers "unlawfully conceal from their customers that consumption of their hot dogs ... is a major contributor to the risk of colorectal cancer." The class demands "mandatory warning signs" on packages of hot dogs and ads for Kraft Foods, Sara Lee, Conagra, Nathan's Famous, and Marathon hot dogs.

MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (CN) - A South Carolina man is scheduled to appear in a Horry County courtroom on Monday on a buggery charge: having sex with a horse - again.

Rodell Vereen allegedly was caught by Barbara Kenley, owner of the Lazy B. Stables near Conway, when she went to check on her horses, which she keeps at stables a few miles from her home. Kenley told police she saw an unknown vehicle parked near her property, and cornered Vereen at gunpoint in a holding pen behind her barn.

A week earlier, a surveillance video taken inside the barn allegedly captured the 50-year-old man having sex with the horse, but the image wasn't clear enough for police to make a definitive identification.

"I wanted to catch him firsthand," Kendley told reporters who gathered at her barn after the arrest. "I knew it was only a matter of time."

A police spokesman said Vereen admitted having "relations" with the horse on July 19. He previously pleaded guilty to having sex with the same horse, named Sugar, at the Lazy B. Stables on Thanksgiving Day 2007.

He was sentenced to 3 years probation, ordered to undergo mental health counseling, and told to stay away from the stable. He also was registered as a sex offender. A family member told The Sun News of Myrtle Beach that Vereen was diagnosed with mental illness more than 10 years ago and may not have been taking his medication.

MARTIN COUNTY — Martin County Sheriff’s detectives didn’t buy a 48-year-old Jensen Beach man claim that his cat was downloading child pornography on his computer.

Keith R. Griffin, of the 3600 block of Northeast Jeannette Drive, was charged Wednesday with 10 counts of possession of child pornography after detective found more than 1,000 child pornographic images on his computer, according to a news release issued Thursday.

Griffin told detectives he would leave his computer on and his cat would jump on the keyboard. And when he returned there will be strange material downloaded, the release states.

As of Thursday, Griffin was in Martin County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed three safety-related bills by three area legislators on the same day last week.

Each of the three bills signed Thursday was a common-sense measure and sailed through both houses of the Legislature, showing that Sacramento can occasionally accomplish something - so long as no partisanship and no big-money special interests are involved.

In fact, none of the three bills received any "no" votes as they moved through committee and floor votes in the Assembly and Senate.

––-snip––-

SB 39, by Sen. John Benoit, R-Riverside, restores protection for good Samaritans that was lost via judicial decision in December. Benoit's Good Samaritan Protection Act, which takes effect immediately, gives legal immunity to civilians who try to rescue people from emergency situations.

It was a response to a state Supreme Court ruling in a civil suit against a woman who, fearing that a crashed car would explode, pulled her co-worker from the vehicle. The co-worker's suit claimed that the good Samaritan had caused her paralysis, and the Supreme Court found that a 1980 law shielded good Samaritans from liability in giving medical care in an emergency, but not from liability in good-faith rescue efforts.

Benoit's law provides that protection from liability, enabling good Samaritans to attempt rescues without fear of legal liability.

All three of these new laws promote good behavior that will help keep people safe.

Public services in the US city of Chicago have been shut down for a day in an attempt to deal with a $300m budget deficit.

Non-essential services such as rubbish collections, libraries and health centers were closed, in the first of three planned Reduced Service days.

City authorities hope the move, with workers taking an enforced unpaid holiday, will save an estimated $8.3m.

Other cities in the US have already introduced similar measures.

In a statement last week, Chicago's Mayor Richard M Daley thanked state employees for their "sacrifice".

"Every dollar we save from these measures helps to save jobs, and in the long-term, maintain service for Chicagoans," he said.

"This plan engages most civilian employees to accept cuts and to be part of the solution to our budget crisis."

Two more Reduced Service days have been scheduled - one for 27 November, the day after Thanksgiving and another for Christmas Eve, 24 December.

Workers have also been asked to take a series of unpaid days off and holidays without salary.

The total savings are expected to be $34m, but the mayor's office said that despite "efforts to reduce costs and better manage government", the city's shortfall in 2009 will still be about $300m.

Chicago is one of a number of US cities and states to introduce closures and furlough days to address deficits.

Michigan has said it will not pay its state employees on six days up to the end of September, to save nearly $22m.

GOLDEN, Colo., Aug. 16 (UPI) –– A Colorado car dealer got a shock when a man drove in with a trade in the cash-for- clunkers program, a 1985 Maserati BiTurbo.

The car is in almost pristine condition, KUSA-TV, Denver, reported. There are only 18,480 miles on the odometer.

While the Italian sports car stands out among the battered trucks and SUVs other people have brought to Go Subaru in Golden, it qualified under the program. The owner got a $3,500 rebate on a new Subaru Impreza.

Wes Guthrie said the owner complained the Maserati would need work after being driven for 10 minutes. He had been trying to sell it for months and finding no takers.

However impressive it looks, the Maserati is destined for the same place as the other clunkers traded in to Go Subaru. Since the goal of the federal program is to remove gas-guzzling older cars from the roads, the engine will be disabled and the car crushed.

"Its one of those cars where you go, 'Wow, I wish it didn't have to be crushed, but unfortunately it does,'" Guthrie said.

Candle-lit dinners may be romantic, but researchers are warning they could be harmful to health.

South Carolina State University experts analysed the fumes released by burning candles in lab tests.

They found paraffin wax candles gave off harmful fumes linked to lung cancer and asthma - but admitted it would take many years' use to risk health.

UK experts said smoking, obesity and alcohol were much more important in terms of cancer development.

And even the researchers admitted occasional candle use was not something people should worry about too much.
Lead researcher Amid Hamidi said people who frequently used candles, for instance to help them relax in the bath or provide the right ambience for dinner, were most at risk.

He told the American Chemical Society in Washington: "An occasional paraffin candle and its emissions will not likely affect you.

"But lighting many paraffin candles every day for years or lighting them frequently in an un-ventilated bathroom around a tub, for example, may cause problems."

To investigate candle emissions, the researchers burned a range of candles in the laboratory and collected the mixture of substances they gave off.

Paraffin-based candles produced "clear sharp peaks" for many chemicals, mainly because burning candles does not produce high enough temperatures to combust hazardous molecules such as toluene and benzene.

The scientists suggested switching to candles made from beeswax or soy, which did not release significant levels of the chemicals.

Evidence

But Dr Joanna Owens, from Cancer Research UK, said: "There is no direct evidence that everyday use of candles can affect our risk of developing cancer.

"In terms of cancer, a far more significant type of indoor air pollution is second-hand cigarette smoke.

"When talking about cancer risk, it's important to focus on things we have hard evidence for.

"Lifestyle factors such as smoking, alcohol, obesity, unhealthy diets, inactivity and heavy sun exposure account for a much larger proportion of cancers."

Dr Noemi Eiser, medical director at the British Lung Foundation, added: "We would like to reassure people that occasional use of paraffin candles should not pose any risk to their lung health."

But she added people should still take "sensible precautions" such as ventilating rooms when burning candles.

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - A Florida man born without arms says a Tampa bank would not let him cash a check because he couldn't provide a thumbprint.

Steve Valdez didn't have an account at a Bank of America location in downtown Tampa, where he tried to cash a check from his wife last week. However, Valdez has prosthetic arms and is unable to provide a thumbprint. He says he presented two forms of identification but was still denied.

He says a bank manager told him he could either come back to the bank with his wife or open an account himself.

Bank of America spokeswoman Nicole Nastacie says the bank has apologized to Valdez. Nastacie says the bank should have "offered alternative requirements if an individual is not able to give a thumbprint."

DELRAY BEACH, Fla. (AP) - Authorities said a man was arrested after calling 911 twice for a ride and saying he was hungry. Police reports said Benjamin Dewer, 26, was charged early Wednesday with making false calls to 911. The report said Dewer was apparently drunk when police found him sitting on a sidewalk. He asked police for a ride to a park and told them he was hungry.

When police refused, Dewer walked away and called 911 a second time for a ride.

Dewer was being held behind bars at the Palm Beach County Jail on a $1,000 bond.

FINLEY, Wash. (AP) - A man who apparently wasn't wearing pants has been accused of harassing a neighbor's horse. The Tri-City Herald reported the horse's owner spotted a bald man without any pants chasing the horse about 3:30 a.m. Friday in a corral. Benton County sheriff's deputies identified a 26-year-old man, who lives next door, as the suspect and he was jailed for investigation of trespassing.

Deputies also were called to the home Thursday evening when the owner saw the same bald man scaring the horse enough to break through an electrical and barb-wire fence. He was wearing a black T-shirt and blue shorts at the time.

UNIONTOWN, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania history buff who recreates firearms from old wars accidentally fired a 2-pound cannonball through the wall of his neighbor's home. William Maser, 54, fired a cannonball Wednesday evening outside his home in Georges Township that ricocheted and hit a house 400 yards away. The cannonball, about two inches in diameter, smashed through a window and a wall before landing in a closet. Authorities said nobody was hurt.

State police charged Maser with reckless endangerment, criminal mischief and disorderly conduct.

No one answered the phone Friday at Maser's home. He told WPXI-TV recreating 19th century cannons is a longtime hobby. He said he is sorry and he will stop shooting them on his property, about 35 miles southeast of Pittsburgh.

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla., Aug. 27 (UPI) –– Police in Florida said a man arrested for misuse of 911 called the emergency line several times to report losing his house key.

Investigators said Lin Xu, 27, called 911 several times early Saturday from a pay phone outside of a Walgreens store in Boynton Beach, the Palm Beach (Fla.) Post reported Thursday.

Xu told responding officers he called the emergency line because he lost his house key. Police said he gave a Texas address and it was not clear whether he recently moved to Florida or was visiting at the time of the incident.

Xu was arrested and charged with misusing 911. He was taken to the Palm Beach County Jail and released after posting $500 bond.

NICEVILLE, Fla., Aug. 27 (UPI) –– Police in Florida said they arrested a woman for attacking a smoker with air freshener sprayed from a can.

Niceville police allege the woman was waving the can of Glade Potpourri Air Freshener around the other woman's head while dispensing its contents at a Niceville apartment complex Friday, the Northwest Florida Daily News of Fort Walton Beach reported Thursday.

The woman then allegedly pointed the can at the back of the other woman's head and sprayed it for nearly a full minute. Police said she told the victim she would keep using the spray can as long as the victim kept smoking in front of the attacker's apartment.

"I will do it again, and take it to the Supreme Court because I have the right to breathe fresh air," the police report quoted the suspect as saying.

The woman was arrested and charged with battery.

WILTON MANORS, Fla. (AP) - A man with a tattoo of Britney Spears' name on his arm or neck allegedly stole a Chihuahua with pink earrings from a South Florida gay bar. Brian Dortort, 48, said Thursday he has spent weeks searching for his 4-month-old pooch, named Hudson Hayward Hemingway. The dog, about the size of a softball, was in a specialty pet bag.

Dortort said he let a man hold the Chihuahua for a moment during a friend's birthday party, then both of them disappeared.

Police said a suspect has been identified, but it's up to the Broward State Attorney's Office to decide whether to an issue an arrest warrant.

CINCINNATI (AP) - Authorities said Bennie Crabtree is the most-arrested man in the county. Records show he has been arrested 146 times since 1998, when Hamilton County's record-keeping system was updated. Veteran police officers said he was arrested many more times in the decades before that.

Crabtree's record includes criminal trespassing, disorderly conduct and theft. Police say he steals food and intrudes in places such as the University of Cincinnati, hospitals and businesses. He's never done anything serious enough to be sent to prison.

Because of jail overcrowding, he's now often released hours after arrest.

Police say the 61-year-old man has lived mostly on the streets and has some mental problems.

A social worker says Crabtree is lonely.

A social worker says Crabtree is lonely.

MELBOURNE, Fla. (AP) - A Florida woman was duped into changing diapers and providing care for a man she met through Craigslist who feigned disabilities. Turns out the man who hired Janet Schulte to look after an adult brother with diminished mental capacity was the same guy she bottle-fed and treated like a child for 3 months.

Schulte said the worst thing is that authorities can't go after the man because he appears not to have committed any crime. Though the man lied, he typically paid the agreed $600 weekly for her services.

Schulte said he never broke character, and on the phone always gave an excuse when she tried to meet his "brother."

She and her husband got suspicious and found the man out after subtle behavior changes and a few late payments.

FORT PIERCE, Fla. (AP) - A 19-year-old woman was accused of taking $7 in change from a car parked at a police station. An arrest affidavit released Thursday shows that Sophia Paulinyce was arrested on a felony burglary charge and a misdemeanor larceny charge. She's accused of taking change from a police employee's vehicle that was parked in a secure lot at the police station last month.

The report said Paulinyce told a detective she was thirsty, noticed an unlocked car and grabbed some change for the soda machine.

She asked to write a statement to apologize before being taken to jail. There was no phone number listed for a Sophia Paulinyce of Fort Pierce.

The steep tumble in some Inland parcels' market value contributed to the region's latest decline in property assessments, government data shows.

Statewide, the value of all assessed property fell 2.4 percent for 2009-10, the first year-to-year drop since records started being kept in 1933.

In the Inland area, Riverside County had a 10.5 percent drop and San Bernardino County had a 6 percent decline.

The plunge in assessed value highlights the effects of the recession and the stagnation in the Inland housing and construction economies. The decline has caused budget problems for local governments, the main beneficiaries of property-tax revenue, as well as the state.

Behind the Inland percentages are some really big numbers.

In Riverside County, almost 18,000 of the roughly 200,000 properties reassessed for the 2009-10 tax year dropped in assessed value by 50 percent or more. That translates into more than $580 million in lost assessed value.

For example, a parcel between Hemet and Perris went from $1.1 million assessed value to $9,770 assessed value, according to assessor's data.

In the case of the parcel off Juniper Flats Road, the land originally had been eyed for development. Then its owners dedicated the land to the county for flood control, officials said.

"Basically, they changed the use," said Peter Aldana, Riverside County's chief deputy over valuation.

A nearby parcel had originally been eyed for a home. But its assessed value is now $500, down from $58,261.

Today, the parcel is a baseball field, Aldana said.

In northern San Bernardino, a parcel with an earlier assessed value of $626,338 dropped to $13,952.

Overall in San Bernardino County, about 1,500 of the 100,000 properties reassessed for the 2009-10 tax year dropped in assessed value by 50 percent or more. The hit was significant –– $2.4 billion in lost value.

Daniel A. Harp, the county's chief appraiser, said the value of the San Bernardino parcel dropped by so much because the city canceled its plans to run water to the project.

What goes down could come back up –– someday.

The downward reassessments stem from a law that lets assessors temporarily reduce the assessed value of properties to reflect market value. The assessed value would return to the base value when market conditions warrant.

Some properties have had several reassessments over the years under the measure, known as Prop. 8.

NEW YORK (Associated Press) ––

A New York couple face criminal charges after they allegedly photographed their 11-month-old and 5-year-old boys posing with guns.

Police say the 24-year-old mother told investigators she thought the photos would be funny.

Authorities found out about the pictures after the woman e-mailed them to friends and relatives, and one of them called the city's child protection agency.

The woman and her boyfriend face child endangerment, weapons and marijuana charges.

When New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino––both virulently anti-gun mayors––formed a new anti-gun group a few years ago, they envisioned the creation of a powerful force to lobby for new gun control laws. But in assembling their coalition, they failed to take two important things into account: first, the response of gun owners to this new threat, and second, that many mayors would not take kindly to being misled regarding the real purpose of Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG.)

Over the past few years, even as they continue to claim they are only concerned with "illegal" guns, MAIG has worked to impose new restrictions on law-abiding gun owners by regulating guns shows, supporting reckless lawsuits against the firearm industry, and opposing the right of self-defense for law-abiding Americans with carry permits. Mayor Bloomberg, who sets the agenda for this radical group, is dedicated to the passage of highly restrictive gun laws. In an appearance on "Meet the Press," Bloomberg announced that he would raise money to counter the influence of the NRA.

Thursday, September 10, 2009 9:55 AM CDT
Two 20-year-old men were arrested Wednesday in connection with playing a pornographic DVD at a local Walmart on store display televisions, police said. Cody Allen Sexton, 20, and Kenny Dean Andrews, 20, of Muldrow were booked into the Sebastian County Adult Detention Center on a felony obscenity complaint, according to jail records.

Sexton and Andrews — an employee of the store — allegedly removed a promotional DVD from a DVD player built into a display in the furniture aisle at Walmart, 8301 Rogers Ave., at about 10:45 p.m. Sept. 3, according to police reports.

The DVD player was connected to six televisions in the store.

“The pornographic DVD was visible to the general public as they were shopping,” according to a police report.

Eventually, a customer notified a manager and the DVD was removed from the player, according to the police report.

Authorities released the store surveillance video to KFSM Channel 5 to air on the Crime Stoppers segment on the 10 p.m. newscast Tuesday and within six minutes of the broadcast, someone called Crime Stoppers with the identity of the two suspects, said Risley.

BOYNTON BEACH, Fla. – A Boynton Beach man was trying to teach his cat a lesson when he fired his gun, but the efforts landed him in jail.

Police said a 43-year-old man was upset that his cat used his bed instead of a litter box. So he took the cat to the garage and fired a handgun into a flotation device to "scare it."

The cat was not injured, but the man was charged with shooting in an occupied dwelling and using a firearm while under the influence.

He's being held on a $5,000 bond.

TRENTON, N.J. - Three teenagers who say they were tossed from a New Jersey ballpark over their refusal to stand during the song “God Bless America” are suing the minor league Newark Bears.

The boys argue that their constitutional rights were violated when they were asked to leave Newark's Bears and Eagles Riverfront Stadium on June 29 by Bears' president and co-owner Thomas Cetnar.

Cetnar acknowledged the boys were asked to leave but declined to say why. He also has denied making some statements attributed to him in the lawsuit.

The boys — Millburn High seniors Bryce Gadye and Nilkumar Patel, both 17, and junior Shaan Mohammad Khan, 16 — sued in federal court on Friday seeking unspecified damages.

According to the lawsuit, the boys were seated behind home plate when the song began playing. Once it ended, they say Cetnar approached them yelling.

“Nobody sits during the singing of God Bless America' in my stadium,” the lawsuit quotes Cetnar as saying. “Now the get the (expletive) out of here.”

Cetnar denied saying that: “Never, never did that ever happen.” Cetnar said he hasn't seen the lawsuit, but called the boys' account “a huge fabrication.”

The boys are being represented by Bryce Gadye's father, Ross, who said the boys weren't protesting the song and no one asked them to stand.

“The boys weren't trying to make any political statements, they just didn't get up,” he said. “No one gave them an ultimatum. The song was sung, it was finished, then they were thrown out.”

“God Bless America,” written by Irving Berlin in 1918, was played at big league ballparks throughout the country when baseball resumed after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and has remained a fixture at New York Yankees games.

In July, the Yankees and New York City settled a lawsuit with a fan who said he was ejected from Yankee Stadium by police after he left his seat to use the bathroom during the playing of “God Bless America.” The city did not admit liability in the settlement, but agreed to give the fan $10,001 and pay $12,000 in legal fees. The Yankees changed their policy, and fans at the team's new stadium are allowed to move freely during the song.

Gadye declined to let his son be interviewed, saying he was concerned about his safety over reaction to the lawsuit, which was first reported in The Star-Ledger of Newark.

“They've been getting all kinds of mixed reaction,” he said. “Both gung-ho and We want to kill you.'”

“I think what makes it so horrible is that they were publicly humiliated for exercising a right that was guaranteed to them by the United States Constitution,” Gadye said.

The sides differ on talks they had after the incident.

Ross Gadye said he met with general manager Mark Skeels and James Wankmiller, a co-owner, following the incident. He said they apologized and offered and free tickets, but Gadye said the boys wanted an apology from Cetnar, who was not at the meeting, and sued when there was no resolution.

Wankmiller, who declined to talk about whether the boys were asked to leave the ballpark and why, said they offered to meet with Gadye's son and the other boys and never heard back from them. He said it boiled down to money.

“We offered to sit with him and find out what his beef was and he asked for money,” Wankmiller said. “That was about it.”

Neither side would respond to the other's version of how the talks played out.

Even if the boys win their lawsuit, it's unclear if they'll get much money from the minor league team. Developer Marc Berson sold the team to California-based Bases Loaded group last year after the team filed for bankruptcy.

Authorities say the man who held two newlyweds hostage in their Kansas home fell asleep and the couple escaped unharmed.

Topeka Police Capt. Jerry Stanley said Saturday that authorities then stormed the house, where they confronted the man. The suspect was shot, but his injuries were not life-threatening.

Authorities say Jesse Dennis Dimmick led them on a car chase Saturday morning that ended in Dover where he fled from his car, went into the couple's home and held them captive for hours.

Authorities have been looking for Dimmick because he's wanted in connection with a homicide in Aurora, Colo.

On Friday, Geary County deputies chased Dimmick in another stolen vehicle. During that pursuit, Dimmick wrecked the vehicle and fled.

MADEIRA BEACH, Fla. (AP) - A 41-year-old man was arrested on Monday at at Madeira Beach after witnesses said he repeatedly pretended to drown, then allegedly began tossing jellyfish at nearby teenagers. According to a sheriff's office report, Keith Edward Marriott caused "concern for his safety" when he repeatedly submerged himself and floated back to the top of the water. He was also "loud and disruptive."

He then started throwing the sea creatures.

Marriott was arrested and charged with disorderly intoxication and carrying a concealed weapon. According to the St. Petersburg Times, Marriott was carrying a pocketknife in his shorts.

Jail records indicate that Marriott was being held on $250 bond. A message left after-hours at the public defender's office was not immediately returned late Tuesday night.

A St. John's student is accused of threatening to carry out a gruesome 'Virginia Tech-style' attack on his New York campus, according to FOX's New York affiliate.

Radames Santiago, 18, of New York City, is accused of posting terrorist threats on his Facebook page, citing the 2007 campus shooting in Virginia that claimed the lives of 32 people.

Santiago was arraigned Wednesday night and is charged with one count of making a terroristic threat. If convicted, Santiago faces up to seven years in prison.

The man accused of possibly plotting to blow up the New York City subways will face more FBI questioning on Friday. Najibullah Zazi, 24, identified by law enforcement officials as possibly having ties to Al Qaeda, arrived at the FBI's Denver offices for eight hours of questioning late Thursday. He's due back Friday.

The FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force went through the home of Zazi, as well as the nearby residence of his aunt, Rabia Zazi. Zazi denies that he's a central figure in a terrorism investigation that fed fears of a possible bomb plot and led to several police raids in New York City on Monday.

Zazi, who authorities have said trained at a Pakistani terror camp, reportedly had bomb-making diagrams on a computer that he carried with him on a visit to New York. Zazi's attorney denies these allegations.

Folsom said Zazi was born in a small town in Afghanistan, moved to Pakistan at age 7 and moved to the United States in 1999. Zazi's aunt said he then lived in Queens until he moved to Colorado several months ago.

Mayor Greg Nickels directed City of Seattle departments to study the adoption and enforcement of policies, rules and contractual agreements which would prohibit the possession firearms on city property.

The proposed Seattle Parks and Recreation administrative rule/policy would prohibit the possession of firearms at Parks Department facilities where children and youth are likely to be present.  The proposed rule/policy would apply to:

   * Playgrounds and Children’s play areas
   * Sports Fields & Sports Courts
   * Swimming and Wading Pools
   * Spray Parks (Water Play Areas)
   * Teen Life Centers;
   * Community Centers
   * Environmental Learning Centers
   * Small Craft Centers
   * Performing Arts Centers
   * Tennis Centers

[Denver gun laws are among the most restrictive in the nation and even in the state of Colorado. The Supreme Court allowed Denver to pass laws more restrictive than the rest of the state. Here are some:

Denver gun laws that remain in effect

• Assault weapons: A ban on assault weapons and cheap Saturday-night specials.

• In public: A ban on openly carrying firearms in public.

• Storage: Safe storage of all firearms required.

CLEARWATER — If the bartender won't serve you anymore, it may be time to call a friend for a ride, or maybe a taxi.

Calling 911 is probably not the best idea.

But that's what a Clearwater man did Tuesday night, police said.

Vincent Smith, 54, who is homeless, was arrested by Clearwater police on a misdemeanor charge of misusing the 911 system around 9 p.m. in the 1300 block of Cleveland Street.

Smith called "numerous times" and was still on the phone with 911 when police arrived, an arrest report said. He also complained that a local soup kitchen wouldn't feed him, the report said.

Clark Hubbard, who owns the Idle Spur Saloon, said his bartender cut Smith off because he was intoxicated.

"We called him a cab," said Hubbard. "Then he got out front and got in an argument with the cab driver and it kind of escalated from there."

Smith had two "Jack (Daniels) and Cokes," at the bar, said Hubbard, "But you don't know what they've been drinking before they get here."

Hubbard said his bartender asked police to issue a trespass warning to Smith, who on Wednesday afternoon remained in the Pinellas County Jail in lieu of $150 bail.

WICHITA — A man and woman decided to give the phrase "Dumpster diving" a new twist over the weekend, crawling inside one on North Waco so they could be alone.

But while they were engaged in what Wichita police described as "an intimate moment," they were robbed by a man armed with a pocket knife.

It all unfolded shortly after 6 p.m. Saturday in the 700 block of North Waco, police said, when the man and woman, both 44, crawled into the trash container for privacy.

A short time later, a 59-year-old man and his 64-year-old companion interrupted the couple inside the trash container.

With the older man encouraging him, the 59-year-old man pulled out a pocket knife and took shoes, jewelry and the 44-year-old man's wallet.

Police were notified, and officers found the two suspects a short time later. The stolen property was recovered.

The principal of a New Jersey elementary school where young students were videotaped singing the praises of President Obama is making no apologies for the videotape and says she would allow the performance again if she could, according to parents who spoke with her Thursday night.

Three parents told FOXNews.com that Dr. Denise King, principal of B. Bernice Young Elementary School in Burlington, N.J., defended the controversial performance, which was videotaped and posted on YouTube, when they approached her during a "Back to School" event.

Parent Jim Angelillo said King told him the lesson was merely part of Black History month, and not an attempt to indoctrinate students, as critics have charged. He said he believes teachers have the freedom to express their political views, but not in the classroom.

"Freedom of speech, not freedom to teach," Angelillo told FOXNews.com.

King has long been a fan of Obama, hanging pictures of the president in her school's hallways and touting her trip to his inauguration in the school yearbook.

Included in the full-page yearbook spread were Obama campaign slogans ("Yes we can! Yes we did!") and photos King took in Washington on Jan. 20, when she attended the inauguration.

There also were photos taken at the school depicting students doing Obama-themed activities about their "hopes for the future," featuring posters of Obama. According to the yearbook, students watched the inauguration in class.

Parents said Elvira James, the teacher of the class that was videotaped, also seemed to be promoting Obama.

"She praised him, she put pictures on the walls," said Jim Pronchick, whose 8-year-old son, Jimmy, was in James' class last year. "When he won (the election) they really went off."

Leslie Gibson, who has two children at the school, said she was "shocked" at the videotape, adding that political beliefs, like religious views, should be kept at home. She also said King made a "big deal" about her attendance at the inauguration.

"Throughout the school, there were signs posted supporting Barack Obama quite a bit," Gibson told FOXNews.com. "I understand it's a historical event, but on the same token, I like politics to be left at home and I think she should follow that as well."

In November, the 9,700-plus residents of Burlington, N.J., a Philadelphia suburb, voted overwhelming for Obama, who received 3,285 votes to Sen. John McCain's 1,308.

The controversy over the YouTube video extended into northwest Arkansas on Friday, as officials at the Bernice Young Elementary School in Springdale said they had been received calls from across the country and Canada from irate parents and other individuals.

Principal Debbie Flora told the Associated Press that the callers claimed the school was teaching political opinion and that some "did not use very kind language."

The United States of America is devolving into medical fascism and Massachusetts is leading the way with the passage of a new bill, the "Pandemic Response Bill" 2028, reportedly just passed by the MA state Senate and now awaiting approval in the House. This bill suspends virtually all Constitutional rights of Massachusetts citizens and forces anyone "suspected" of being infected to submit to interrogations, "decontaminations" and vaccines.

It's also sets fines up to $1,000 per day for anyone who refuses to submit to quarantines, vaccinations, decontamination efforts or to follow any other verbal order by virtually any state-licensed law enforcement or medical personnel.

SAN ANTONIO –– A star-spangled banner proudly displayed in Texas lacked a little something: seven stars.

A San Antonio company has replaced a U.S. flag it produced that had just 43 stars.

KSAT-TV reports that the banner was hanging at the Northside Independent School District Aquatics Center when somebody noticed the error.

Aquatics director Scott Zolinski says the center assumed the flag had 50 stars when it ordered the flag.

The last time the 43-star flag was official was in 1890.

Zolinski says the district "went on good faith that when you purchase the item that it was the real thing."

Allied Advertising spokesman Jesse Castoreno says it was a "simple mistake" and the flag was designed by someone who is no longer employed at the company.

The company replaced the flag for free.

A commission charged with rewriting California’s tax structure on Tuesday recommended repealing the state corporate tax, reducing personal income tax and taxing businesses in a new way.

The recommendations would dramatically overhaul the state’s tax structure, said Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, in hopes that it would end the state’s boom-and-bust cycles.

The 14-member Commission on the 21st Century Economy recommends a five-year phase-in for the changes to the tax structure, beginning in 2012.

Schwarzenegger and state lawmakers pulled together the commission earlier this year to simplify California’s tax code. The state derives about 53 percent of its revenue from personal income tax. That is a highly volatile source because it is dependent on high employment and the wealthy.

The Republican governor has called for a special legislative session to consider the recommendations. But Democrats, who control the state legislature, could decide to start over.

Highlights of the proposed changes include:

   * Reducing personal income tax and cutting the number of tax brackets from six to two. The new tax rate would be 2.75 percent for taxable income up to $56,000 for joint filers ($28,000 for single) and 6.5 percent for taxable income above that amount.

   * Eliminate the corporation tax, which is currently at 8.84 percent.

   * Eliminate the current 5 percent state sales tax, with the exception of the sales tax on gas and diesel fuels which would continue to be dedicated to transportation. Elimination of the sales tax would phase in over five years.

   * Establish a new business net receipts tax. The new tax, which would not exceed 4 percent, would be applied to the net receipts of businesses. Small businesses with less than $500,000 in gross annual receipts would be exempt from this tax.

Milwaukee mayor Tom Barrett introduced a series of proposals Wednesday intended to deter felons from getting guns. The proposals include:

• Prohibiting felons from being within 1,000 feet of a gun store. Police have discovered that felons routinely go into Badger and some use the store's range for practice. The store doesn't check backgrounds of shooters who use its range. Also, probation agents don't routinely require felons to stay out of gun stores.

• Making it a felony in Wisconsin for someone to "straw buy" a gun - in other words, purchase it for a felon or someone prohibited from having a gun. In the other officer shootings before Wednesday, a straw buyer gave the gun to a felon or underage person. The source of the gun in Wednesday's shooting remains under investigation.

• Making the second offense of carrying a concealed weapon a felony. Carrying a concealed weapon now is a misdemeanor, no matter how many convictions.

• Making it a crime not to report a stolen gun. Flynn said it is common for people to claim that a gun used in a crime had been stolen - even though they never reported it.

Absent from Barrett's proposed package was requiring background checks on gun sales by people who aren't federal dealers. Barrett said he still supports such checks, but is leaving it out of this proposal.

"What we want to do is focus on a package we think can be effective," he said, adding he would meet with Milwaukee-area state legislators to push the plan.

A bill to make straw-buying a felony already has been introduced by state Rep. Scott Gunderson (R-Waterford), one of the Legislature's strongest gun supporters and the former owner of a gun shop that sold firearms.

The FBI is investigating the case of a car packed with explosives after police in Connecticut pulled over the driver on Tuesday night and arrested him.

FBI New Haven spokesman William Reiner told FOXNews.com that the bureau is now helping local police in the probe, but declined to elaborate.

Cops pulled over a motorist allegedly driving a car full of pipe bombs, rifles and a propane tank in New Haven around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to FOX 61.

FOX 61 and The Associated Press are reporting that the male driver was arrested, but New Haven Police spokesman Joe Avery wouldn't confirm that to FOXNews.com.

A bomb squad was called in and a silver Mercedes was towed away, according to FOX 61. There have been no reports of injuries.

Authorities closed off a four-block area because of the danger posed by the explosives, but did not evacuate.

ALBERTVILLE, Ala. (AP) - An Alabama woman has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child after police say she let her daughter ride in a cardboard box on top of their van. Albertville Police spokesman Sgt. Jamie Smith said the 37-year-old woman was arrested Sunday after police received a call about a minivan on a state highway with a child riding on top.

Smith said the woman told police the box was too big to go inside the van, and that her daughter was inside the box to hold it down.

Smith said the mother told officers it was safe because she had the box secured to the van with a clothes hanger.

The 13-year-old daughter wasn't harmed and was turned over to a relative. A jail worker said the mother was out on bond Monday.

A funeral director at Earthman Funeral Home has been charged with abuse of a corpse after investigators found digital photos dating back five years of the director posing with his penis touching the feet of a nude female cadaver.

According to court documents, James Howard Patton, 38, is free on a $1,500 bond after being charged with a class A misdemeanor.

An investigator with the Houston Police Department was looking into allegations of Internet harassment lodged against Patton by his ex-girlfriend when an April 2 search warrant turned up several photos on Patton's computer.

It was unclear from court documents whether there was more than one corpse and one incident.

Lisa Marshall, a spokeswoman for Earthman's parent company, Service Corporation International, said the photos recovered from Patton's computer were taken in 2004, before he was employed by Earthman at 8303 Katy Freeway.

She said Patton was taken out of service when the allegations surfaced and no longer works for the funeral home.

“These are very disturbing allegations,” Marshall said. “I hope people understand that this incident is unusual and is not indicative of what we're like as an industry.”

Patton could not immediately be reached for comment.