I watched this on the news last night. How sad something like this could happen to such a young girl. It seems that the driver has been involved in another incident involving hitting someone with a school bus. The investigation continues.
By Allison Triarsi and Michelle Ponto / 11 News
HOUSTON -- A school bus has hit and killed a teenage girl in Northeast Houston.
Witnesses told the Harris County Sheriff’s Office that 15-year-old Alma Meza and a friend had gotten off the bus. Meza was walking across the street in front of the bus when she was struck.
“We didn't know what happened. We thought it was a dog or something. We looked back and she was lying on the ground," said Eddie Longoria, who saw the accident.
Students say the bus driver didn't realize the girl had been hit until they yelled out at her to stop. But it was too late. The girl was dead.
“That little girl was hanging on, but then she let go and she just tumbled under there. It was awful,” said Alma Uribe who witnessed the accident from her car.
Meza attended Aldine MacArthur High School.
The Harris County Sherriff’s Office is investigating the accident.
No charges have been filed at this time, but the school district has confirmed that two years ago the same driver hit another student who was walking in front of her bus. In that case, the child hurt their leg, but survived the accident.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Teenage girl killed in school bus accident
Police: 12-year-old Katy girl allegedly shoots, kills father
I wonder what was behind this tragedy. It must have been someting pretty bad. We will just have to wait and see.
KATY, Texas -- A 12-year-old girl is in custody after allegedly shooting her father inside their Katy home.
Video
Police: 12-year-old Katy girl allegedly shoots, kills father
April 29, 2009 View larger E-mail Clip More Video Police found the man in a bedroom of the home in the 3300 block of Jan Court. He had a gunshot wound to the head and later died in the hospital.
The girl was apparently waiting for police in a front room.
“The father works night shift, so I guess he was going to try to get some rest. At which time, it looks like the suspect may have went up behind him and fired one gunshot into the back of his head," said Katy Asst. Police Chief Tim Tyler.
According to police, the girl used a .38 caliber pistol.
She's in custody and could face murder charges.
Officers say she's given no explanation for why she shot her father.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Wednesday Hero
This Week's Post Was Suggested & Written By Mary Ann
24 years old from Tucson, Arizona
7th Battalion, 159th Aviation Regiment
September 25, 2005
"He believed in serving his country," said Ross' father, David C. Ross. Gary Anderson, Ross' best friend and an Army infantry veteran who served nine months in Afghanistan and 11 months in Iraq during his active duty stint, was a classmate of Ross at Marana's Mountain View High School. "You know, I heard this news of Ken and I broke down and cried hysterically," said Anderson, now a firefighter for the Ak-Chin Indian Community in Maricopa. "He loved everyone; everyone who came in contact with him loved him. He'd always help everyone out that he could."
A 1999 graduate of Mountain View, Ross played drums in the marching band and orchestra, his father said. Ross enlisted in the Army right after graduation. "He just wanted to take part in history," Anderson said.
At the time of his death, he was a helicopter mechanic — acting as a door gunner on his last mission, his father said. SSgt. Ross was killed when his helicopter went down southwest of Deh Chopan, Afghanistan. Also killed in the crash were Sgt. Shawn A. Graham, Warrent Officer Adrian B. Stump, Sgt. Tane T. Baum, Chief Warrent Officer 2 John M. Flynn and Sgt. Patrick D. Stewart.
Along with his father, SSgt. Ross is survived by his mother, Mary Ross, 57, and his sister, Stephanie Ross, 30. "I know his last thoughts were for everybody else and not for himself," Anderson said. "I know he wanted to make sure everybody was safe and would go home."
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived
This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.
CDC says Texas swine flu death is first in U.S.
The first reported death in the United States from the swine flu outbreak was that of a 23-month-old Mexican toddler who fell ill in Brownsville and was transported for treatment in Houston, where the child died Monday, city officials said.
Kathy Barton, spokeswoman for the Houston Department of Health and Human Services, did not say which hospital treated the child or give any other details about the toddler.
There still have been no reported Houston-area cases of the disease, which is thought to have begun in Mexico but is being detected around the world. However, Barton said Houston should expect to see cases originate here.
She added that hospitals that handle any flu cases, swine or otherwise, take precautions to prevent its spread, such as masks, frequent handwashing and other sanitation measures.
"Even though we've been expecting this, it is very, very sad," said Dr. Richard Besser, acting chief of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, who made the initial announcement of a Texas death on several nationally televised morning shows today. "As a pediatrician and a parent, my heart goes out to the family."
Germany today reported its first three cases of swine flu. The number of confirmed swine flu cases in the United States before today rose to 66 in six states, with 45 in New York, 11 in California, six in Texas, two in Kansas and one each in Indiana and Ohio, but cities and states suspected more. In New York, the city's health commissioner said "many hundreds" of schoolchildren were ill at a school where some students had confirmed cases.
The world has no vaccine to prevent infection but U.S. health officials aim to have a key ingredient for one ready in early May, the big step that vaccine manufacturers are awaiting. But even if the World Health Organization ordered up emergency vaccine supplies — and that decision hasn't been made yet — it would take at least two more months to produce the initial shots needed for human safety testing.
"We're working together at 100 miles an hour to get material that will be useful," Dr. Jesse Goodman, who oversees the Food and Drug Administration's swine flu work, told The Associated Press.
The U.S. is shipping to states not only enough anti-flu medication for 11 million people, but also masks, hospital supplies and flu test kits. President Barack Obama asked Congress for $1.5 billion in emergency funds to help build more drug stockpiles and monitor future cases, as well as help international efforts to avoid a full-fledged pandemic.
"It's a very serious possibility, but it is still too early to say that this is inevitable," the WHO's flu chief, Dr. Keiji Fukuda, told a telephone news conference.
Cuba and Argentina banned flights to Mexico, where swine flu is suspected of killing more than 150 people and sickening well over 2,000. In a bit of good news, Mexico's health secretary, Jose Cordova, late Tuesday called the death toll there "more or less stable."
Mexico City, one of the world's largest cities, has taken drastic steps to curb the virus' spread, starting with shutting down schools and on Tuesday expanding closures to gyms and swimming pools and even telling restaurants to limit service to takeout. People who venture out tend to wear masks in hopes of protection.
New Zealand, Australia, Israel, Britain, Canada and now Germany have also reported cases. But the only deaths so far have been Mexican citizens, baffling experts.
The WHO argues against closing borders to stem the spread, and the U.S. — although checking arriving travelers for the ill who may need care — agrees it's too late for that tactic.
"Sealing a border as an approach to containment is something that has been discussed and it was our planning assumption should an outbreak of a new strain of influenza occur overseas. We had plans for trying to swoop in and knockout or quench an outbreak if it were occurring far from our borders. That's not the case here," Besser told a telephone briefing of Nevada-based health providers and reporters. "The idea of trying to limit the spread to Mexico is not realistic or at all possible."
"Border controls do not work. Travel restrictions do not work," WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said in Geneva, recalling the SARS epidemic earlier in the decade that killed 774 people, mostly in Asia, and slowed the global economy.
Authorities sought to keep the crisis in context: Flu deaths are common around the world. In the U.S. alone, the CDC says about 36,000 people a year die of flu-related causes. Still, the CDC calls the new strain a combination of pig, bird and human viruses for which people may have limited natural immunity.
Hence the need for a vaccine. Using samples of the flu taken from people who fell ill in Mexico and the U.S., scientists are engineering a strain that could trigger the immune system without causing illness. The hope is to get that ingredient — called a "reference strain" in vaccine jargon — to manufacturers around the second week of May, so they can begin their own laborious production work, said CDC's Dr. Ruben Donis, who is leading that effort.
Vaccine manufacturers are just beginning production for next winter's regular influenza vaccine, which protects against three human flu strains. The WHO wants them to stay with that course for now — it won't call for mass production of a swine flu vaccine unless the outbreak worsens globally. But sometimes new flu strains pop up briefly at the end of one flu season and go away only to re-emerge the next fall, and at the very least there should be a vaccine in time for next winter's flu season, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the National Institutes of Health's infectious diseases chief, said Tuesday.
"Right now it's moving very rapidly," he said of the vaccine development.
The Associated Press
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Fox sticking with schedule instead of Obama
Just another reaseon that Fox is the Number one news network in America. I refuse to watch any other. Who really gives a damn what he has done in his first 100 days. I don't see anything positive at all. Sent us into the toilet, says us old vets are potietial terrorist, caused a panic over NYC and on and on. Not very impressive at all.
NEW YORK – The Fox network is sticking with its regular schedule over President Barack Obama this week.
The network is turning down the president's request to show his prime-time news conference on Wednesday. The news conference marks Obama's 100th day in office. Instead of the president, Fox viewers will see an episode of the Tim Roth drama "Lie to Me."
It's the first time a broadcast network has refused Obama's request. This will be the third prime-time news conference in Obama's presidency. ABC, CBS and NBC are airing it.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Police fatally shoot man they say fired at them
Now this is plane stupid. If you want to die point a gun at a Polceman and fire it. Well he got his due.
Houston police fatally shot an armed man Friday during an exchange of gunfire at a southeast side public housing complex, officials said.
Officers confronted the man, identified by relatives as Jose Vides, while they were investigating a disturbance with a weapon call shortly after 3 p.m. at the Southlawn Palms apartments at Southlawn and Scott.
“When they arrived, the suspect was holding a gun. They gave repeated commands for the suspect to drop the weapon,” said Jodi Silva, a police spokeswoman.
Ryland Thompson, who lives at the apartments, saw the officers ordering Vides to put the pistol on the ground.
“He turned and fired at them and they returned fire,” Thompson said.
HPD officials said Vides moved toward the officers, continuing to shoot as they sought cover.
“He (Vides) walked out there like he was Billy the Kid,” Thompson said.
The three HPD officers fired back at Vides. He fell to the ground but continued reaching for his pistol, police said. Vides, 25, was shot at least once more and died at the scene, police said.
Thompson said he saw Vides arguing with a wrecker driver in the parking lot just prior to the officers arrival.
“The guy was mad about his car being towed,” Thompson said.
Police would not confirm whether a dispute over a towed vehicle may have led to the shooting.
“We’re trying to finish the investigation,” Silva said. “There are a number of witnesses that need to be interviewed.”
Family members said Jose Vides, who worked for a welding company, didn’t live at the apartments but sometimes visited a friend who did.
The three officers were not injured. Police declined to identify them.
The shooting remains under investigation by detectives with HPD’s homicide and internal affairs divisions and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
Mexico calls for calm amid swine flu deaths
This is a very scary strain of flu. Where did it come from? A strange mixture of swine, avian and human. Kind of makes you think of a lot of things. Could it be man made? Could it be terrorism? These are some of the things that were being talked about today on several talk radio stations.
MEXICO CITY — Panicked residents of the Mexican capital on Friday rushed to hospitals looking for vaccines, bought out supplies of face masks and frantically pulled their children out of nurseries amid news that a lethal strain of swine flu may have killed up to 68 people.
The Mexican government called for calm while ordering a series of emergency measures to stop the spread of the virus and treat those suffering.
“This is highly contagious, it can be fatal and it has pandemic properties,” Health Secretary Jose Angel Cordova said at a news conference. “That is why we are taking these measures.”
Cordova said Mexican health officials had recorded 68 cases of people who had died of respiratory problems in the last few weeks. Of those, 20 have been confirmed to have been from the influenza. The other 48 deaths are being investigated.
All schools and colleges in the urban sprawl of 20 million were shut down until further notice for the first time since the catastrophic earthquake of 1985.
People were advised to stay in their homes as much as possible; to avoid shaking hands and giving greeting kisses; and to stay away from restaurants, cinemas and shopping centers.
The majority of fatal cases was in Mexico City, but there have also been deaths in the states of Hidalgo, Mexico, Oaxaca and San Luis Potosi.
While known as the swine flu, the virus is actually a new mutated strain of influenza that combines features of pig, avian and human viruses, health officials said. It has been designated H1N1.
“This started with pigs and has mutated to pass between humans,” Cordova said. “Now, we understand well what the problem is and how to treat it.”
Symptoms are reported to start as those of normal flu viruses but then lead to soaring temperatures of 102 degrees and head and muscle aches that leave victims virtually paralyzed.
The Mexico City government had started a campaign of immunization, but that was abandoned Friday afternoon after it was acknowledged the vaccines would not help resist against the new strain.
Instead, city hospitals were using the anti-viral drugs oseltamivir and zanamivir to treat patients who had been confirmed to have the virus.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Texas mom pleads guilty of selling 5-year-old child into porn
I am not even going to say anything about this. The stroy speeks for itself.
SAN ANTONIO -- A San Antonio mother has pleaded guilty to trying to sell her 5-year-old daughter to child pornographers in exchange for a used car and an apartment.
Video Slideshows Blogs Jennifer Louis Richards faces a minimum of 20 years in prison after making the plea in a San Antonio federal court this week. The 25-year-old waitress was arrested in August along with her 40-year-old boyfriend, Sean Michael Block.
At a hearing last year, an FBI agent testified that Richards planned to expose the 5-year-old to sex acts to “see it’s an enjoyable thing.”
Investigators say the couple had been in contact with a purported buyer who turned out to be an FBI informant.
Block is accused of offering to sell a child and distributing child pornography. He is set to stand trial in May. His attorney has said that Block took no part in what’s alleged.
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Mutombo suffers career-ending knee injury in Portland
It is a sad day for Houston. I watched this game, and he was in extreme pain.
PORTLAND, Ore. – Perhaps the biggest highlight of Dikembe Mutombo’s career came during the 1994 playoffs when he was lying on the floor holding a ball in the air in joy after leading the Denver Nuggets to a titanic playoff upset of top-seeded Seattle.
Mutombo found himself lying on the floor again Tuesday night, this time pondering the end of his career.
Mutombo, 42, was carried away on a stretcher in the first quarter of the Rockets’ 107-103 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers in Game 2 with what he said was a career-ending left knee injury.
“It’s over for me for my career,” said Mutombo, who will be examined by team doctors when the Rockets return to Houston today.
An eight-time NBA All-Star and four-time Defensive Player of the Year, Mutombo is one of the game’s great humanitarians and had a distinguished 18-year career with Denver, Atlanta, Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York and Houston.
“It’s not something that I planned,” he said. “All I can say right now is I had a wonderful run of 18 years and stayed injury-free. I thank God a lot for all this blessing and putting such great people around me for all of my career in the NBA. I’m just happy.
“I have to go out with my head high and not be disappointed and have no regrets. I have so many things I can be so thankful for over my 18 years.”
Mutombo is in his fifth season with the Rockets after signing with them on Dec. 31. He played in only nine games, but showed his value by grabbing nine rebounds in 18 minutes in Game 1 against Portland.
Mutombo, who had been in the game for less than two minutes, was battling for position under the basket with Greg Oden – who is half the age of Mutombo -- when he fell to the ground in pain and clutched his left knee.
“I cried so much about it when I was laying on the floor, but when I got in the locker room (athletic trainer) Keith Jones and I talked that I needed to be positive and thank God for the wonderful 18 years I have,” he said. “There’s nothing I could want more than playing a wonderful career and doing all these great things I was able to do on the basketball court and being an influence on so many young guys who could look up to me as a role model.”
Mutombo remained under the basket for several minutes while being tended to by team medical officials. A stretcher was finally brought onto the court to carry him off to a nice ovation from the crowd, while his teammates came to his side.
“I have so many great memories,” Mutombo said. “Making it to the NBA Finals, winning the Defensive Player of the Year, winning a blocked shot title. There are so many things I can smile and be happy about all of my accomplishments.
“Nobody ever thought the big fellow would be the person they’re carrying out of the arena. I was going out like a wounded soldier. I think that was one of the best memories, giving myself up for this league and my team and my teammates.”
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Wednesday Hero
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Operations Specialist 3rd Class Leonel Yanez (Right), from Huntington Park, Calif., monitors a radar screen in the Combat Direction Center aboard the aircraft carrier USS John C. Stennis (CVN 74). John C. Stennis is on a scheduled six-month deployment to the western Pacific Ocean.
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived
This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.
Man Killed For Rims
This is a hell of a thing to kill a man for. This asshole admitted he killed him because he wanted his rims.
HOUSTON -- A man has admitted to robbing and killing another man for his rims, deputies told KPRC Local 2.
Harris County sheriff's deputies said two deputies at a storefront on Aldine Mail Route heard gunshots at about 3 a.m. Sunday.
One of the deputies went to the Exxon station on the corner of Aldine Mail Route and the Eastex Freeway, where he found a man's body in the parking lot.
The second deputy spotted a Cadillac with chrome rims leaving the scene at a high rate of speed. The deputy chased the car on the Eastex Freeway.
Investigators said someone in the car threw a weapon and a ski mask out the window. The chase ended shortly after the driver ran over spike strips, officials said.
The driver, Tedderick Batiste, was arrested and admitted to killing the man found dead at the Exxon station, deputies said. Batiste told deputies that he wanted to steal the man's rims.
The vehicle Batiste drove in the chase belonged to the shooting victim, investigators said.
Batiste has been charged with capital murder.
The victim's name has not been released.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Update on the Hole In The Road
I just happen to drive down to the river during my lunch break in order to find out when I could get my daughters car. There was a Houston Police Officer and several civilian personnel blocking the road. I asked when could I get her car and was told I could get now or within the next couple of hours. After that the vehicles would be towed away. No that kinda sucks. How are people going to be notified that their car is being towed, where is it being towed to etc. So to avoid all the crap, I drove back to my house, got my son and we went back to the scene. We had to park my truck and walk about 1.6 miles to her car. My old ass was tired when we got there. We got her car and the rest is history. The hole was covered with dirt for the moment, however the road and permanent fix won't take place for a while.
Sphere: Related ContentSunday, April 19, 2009
Big Ole Hole In The Road
My daughter was here, and interviewed by Channel 39, but she didn't make the 9 oclock cut for the news. She is pissed, because her car along with 50 + others can't be moved for at least 2-3 days. There are a lot of folks who don't know how they are going to get to work. I am just glad no one was hurt. I guess it was caused by all the rain we got yesterday.
KINGWOOD, TX (KTRK) -- Authorities say that at least 200 people visiting a park in the Kingwood area got stranded by a big sink hole.
The sink hole developed on the two lane road into River Grove Park Sunday. A Houston Fire Department official says the sink hole is about 50 feet long, 40 feet wide and about 5 feet deep.
The people visiting the park
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Rain, Rain And More Rain on My 30th Wedding Anniversary
Well we got good and wet in Houston. It started raining yesterday, and got worse through the night and into today. It was pitch black at 4:00 pm yesterday. Then the rains came. I love storms. I sat in my garage all day and watched the lightening and listened to the thunder and watched my road flood. I began to get a little concerned when the water got half way up my driveway, but then I thought, the drains will handle it. Big surprise the drains didn't. Water got up to within about three feet of going into my garage. Well it stopped late in the day, the sun came out and everyting is clean and fresh. We got 5" in my area of Houston, which is called Kingwood a small residential area of 75,000. Hell of a thing though, today is my 30th wedding anniversary and the wife and I had planned to go out for dinner, but didn't get to. I have a big Dodge Ram, and it sits pretty high off of the ground, so I asked if she wanted some catfish, which she did, so I went up to the catfish house and got us a dinner of catfish, ocra, hush puppies and cole slaw. Man it was good. Anyhow that was my day.
Sphere: Related ContentFriday, April 17, 2009
Never Judge Someone Based on Their Looks
I love country music, and a mix of many other types except rap crap, but when I heard about this lady I had to learn more. I had heard people talking about this old women of 47 and never been kissed, I said what. My wife was talking about her from seeing her on Fox News. Well today while home for lunch I went to youtube and after watching her, I am neer going to judge anyone again. If you haven't seen this, please do yourself a favor and watch it. I promise you it will make your day.
Sphere: Related ContentThursday, April 16, 2009
FRIENDS VS TEXAS FRIENDS
I am sure many of you good Texas folks can add to this.
FRIENDS: Never ask for food.
TEXAS FRIENDS: Always bring the food.
FRIENDS: Will say 'hello'.
TEXAS FRIENDS: Will give you a big hug and a kiss.
FRIENDS: Call your parents Mr. and Mrs.
TEXAS FRIENDS: Call your parents Mom and Dad.
FRIENDS: Have never seen you cry.
TEXAS FRIENDS: Cry with you.
FRIENDS: Will eat at your dinner table and leave..
TEXAS FRIENDS: Will spend hours there, talking, laughing, playing dominoes or cards and just being together.
FRIENDS: Know a few things about you..
TEXAS FRIENDS: Could write a book with direct quotes from you.
FRIENDS: Will leave you behind if that's what the crowd is doing..
TEXAS FRIENDS: Will kick the whole crowds' back-ends that left you.
FRIENDS: Would knock on your door.
TEXAS FRIENDS: Walk right in and say, 'I'm home!'.
FRIENDS: will visit you in the hospital when you're sick
TEXAS FRIENDS: will cut your grass and clean your house then come spend the night with you in the hospital and cook for you when you come home.
FRIENDS: have you on speed dial
TEXAS FRIENDS: have your number memorized.
FRIENDS: Are for a while.
TEXAS FRIENDS: Are for life.
FRIENDS: Might ignore this.
TEXAS FRIENDS: Will forward this to all their Texas Friends and those who once lived in Texas
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Lubbock killer's execution set for today
I would like to see public hanging brought back, of course I am a bit morbid. This one gets his just due.
HUNTSVILLE — At a tight-knit apartment complex community in Lubbock, 67-year-old Mary Felder — “Miss Mary” to the residents — was everybody’s grandmother, known for candy and cookies and other goodies available to the neighborhood kids.
“She was such a wonderful woman,” said Ken Hawk, a former Lubbock district attorney.
That made it all the more shocking nearly a dozen years ago when her grandson, who routinely would check on Felder at her place at the Four Seasons Apartments, found her viciously beaten and stabbed to death.
Michael Rosales, who had been staying with friends in an apartment next door, was convicted of her death and was set for lethal injection this evening.
Rosales, 35, would be the 13th inmate executed this year in the nation’s busiest capital punishment state.
Attorneys from the Texas Defender Service, a legal group involved in death penalty issues, lost a bid Tuesday in the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to halt the punishment. Their appeal argued Rosales was entitled to a qualified lawyer who should have at least six months to draw up a state clemency petition and further pursue claims Rosales may be mentally retarded and ineligible for execution.
This month, the U.S. Supreme Court, ruling in a Tennessee case, said the government should pay for federally appointed lawyers to work on state clemency requests for condemned inmates.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office had opposed Rosales’ appeal, arguing he’d already missed a state deadline for filing a clemency petition and allowing him to do so now would circumvent state procedures and open the door for every condemned inmate to file a last-minute clemency request after the deadline had passed. They also pointed out Rosales’ mental retardation claims previously were rejected by the courts.
The New Orleans-based 5th Circuit, acting on claims Rosales was mentally retarded, stopped Rosales’ scheduled execution in 2004.
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Wednesday Hero
21 years old from Kenai, Alaska
425th Brigade Special Troops Battalion, 4th Airborne Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division
December 31, 2006
Alan R. Blohm enlisted in the Army in 2004 because "He wanted to serve the country," his brother Jeremy said. "His grandfather had been in the Army, and it's just something he wanted to do."
Blohm graduated in 2004 from Bay City Western High School, where he was a 250-pound defensive player for the football team. Blohm's size prompted coach Jim Eurick to nickname him "Biggins Blohm," his brother recalled. "I know he paid the ultimate sacrifice with his life," Mark Boileau, Blohm's former school Principal, said. "We know Alan will be in a better place because of the sacrifice he made, because of his love for our country."
PFC. Blohm died of wounds suffered when an IED detonated near his unit while on combat patrol in Baghdad Besides his brother, he leaves behind his parents and a younger sister.
Information Was Found On And Copied From MilitaryCity.com & The Iraq Page
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived
This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.
Monday, April 13, 2009
Dual funeral service to be held Thursday for HFD veteran, rookie
We have lost two of Houstons finest, and they will be missed. I guess we don't often think of the danger these brave men and women face every time they go out on a fire call, most just see their smiling faces standing on corners on weekends with their boot out collecting donations to help others. My hat is off to the men and women of the Houston Fire Department and the firemen around the U.S.
10:31 AM CDT on Monday, April 13, 2009
By Rosa Flores & Kevin Peters / 11 News
Two Houston firefighters killed in house fire
April 12, 2009 View larger E-mail Clip More Video HOUSTON—Investigators were working Monday to determine what went wrong in a southeast Houston house fire that killed two Houston firefighters early Easter morning.
They will look at everything from equipment and wind speed to the location of the victims' bodies to determine what went wrong, according to HFD Assistant Chief Rick Flanagan.
Captain James Harlow and Probationary Firefighter Damion Hobbs died at the scene of the blaze, which destroyed a one-story home on Oak Vista near Reveille.
Both Harlow and Hobbs worked at Fire Station 26.
A dual funeral service will be held for the pair Thursday at 10 a.m. at Grace Community Church.
Harlow, 50, was hired by the HFD in August 1979 and had been a Captain at Fire Station 26 since 2004. Hobbs, a 29-year-old Iraq war veteran, graduated from the HFD Val Jahnke Training Facility on March 3, 2009, and began his first assignment on March 7.
Capt. James Harlow and Probationary Firefighter Damion Hobbs
“It was sad night and it’s a sad day for the Houston Fire Department,” Flanagan said. “The lives of both the family in the home and firefighters have been touched, and the lives of the citizens of Houston as well.”
Witnesses said the crews arrived at the burning home just before midnight.
The elderly couple who lived there managed to escape unharmed, but fire crews rushed inside the home to make sure no one else was in need of assistance.
Neighbors said the fire appeared to be dying down when the firefighters were inside, but then flames suddenly shot through the roof and erupted sideways through the house.
The firefighters retreated from the home, but Harlow and Hobbs failed to answer roll call.
Their bodies were found between 1 a.m. and 1:30 a.m. Rescue workers attempted CPR, but they were unable to revive the men.
Mourners left flowers in front of the charred home Monday morning.
“I greatly appreciate what they do,” neighbor Rosio Hernandez said. “They sacrifice without thinking about themselves.”
Outside Fire Station 26, a black band – the universal symbol for first responders in mourning – was draped across the main sign, and the flags were lowered.
Mayor Bill White said firefighters understand the inherent risks of helping others.
“There’s no such thing as a routine fire. The forces of nature are overwhelming, and it’s just a tragic loss for all of us,” White said.
The families of Harlow and Hobbs are getting support from members of two firefighters unions.
“Please keep the Harlow and Hobbs families, as well as the men and women of Station 26 and the city’s fire department, in your thoughts and prayers," said Jeffrey Caynon, President of the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association.
Donations are being taken by the Last Alarm Club of Houston and the 100 Club of Houston.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Ship Captain Rescued From Somali Pirates
Sounds like our Navy Seals went to work. Not sure yet, but I think it is a safe bet. Hats off.
American sea Captain Richard Phillips was rescued from four Somali pirates Sunday, a U.S. intelligence official said.
Three pirates were killed and one was in custody after what appeared to be a swift firefight off the Somali coast, the official said.
Phillips, who was not hurt, was safely transported to a Navy warship nearby.
The official was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Talks began Thursday with the captain of the USS Bainbridge talking to the pirates under instruction from FBI hostage negotiators on board the U.S. destroyer.
U.S. warships and helicopters stalked the lifeboat holding Phillips and his four Somali captors Sunday, while his crew briefed FBI agents about how they fought off the pirates who boarded their ship, the Maersk Alabama.
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Saudi Arabia Executes Rapist in 22nd Beheading This Year
Guess the bad guys need the ACLU to open a wing in Saudi Arabia
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — A Saudi man convicted of rape and robbery has been beheaded, becoming the 22nd prisoner to be executed by sword this year in the kingdom.
An Interior Ministry statement says the man committed the crimes after drinking alcohol.
Saudi Arabia follows a strict interpretation of Islam under which people convicted of murder, drug trafficking, rape and armed robbery can be executed — usually with a sword.
According to an Associated Press count, Saturday's execution was the 22nd beheading this year in Saudi Arabia. In 2008, 102 people were beheaded.
Sunday School Teacher Arrested in Murder of 8-Year-Old Sandra Cantu
This one did surprise me a lot. Who whould have thought that she was killed by a women. I made the assumption that it was some pervert who did it, but looks like I was wrong. Of course she is innocent till proven guilty.
A Sunday school teacher who was one of the last people to see 8-year-old Sandra Cantu alive was arrested late Friday on suspicion of kidnapping and killing the young girl.
Melissa Huckaby, 28, was taken into custody at 11:55 p.m., about five hours after she drove herself to the police station in Tracy, Calif., at the request of officers, said Sgt. Tony Sheneman.
"She gave enough information to us during the course of the interview that probable cause was there to arrest her," Sheneman said.
Huckaby was being held without bail at the San Joaquin County Jail in California with arraignment set for Tuesday, according to the county sheriff's Web site. No other arrests were made.
Police did not say how Sandra died or give a possible motive. Sheneman wouldn't go into specifics, but told The Associated Press that interviews with Huckaby in the Tracy Press had revealed inconsistencies that prompted further inquiries from investigators.
During an early morning news conference Saturday, Tracy Police Chief Janet Thiessen said investigators worked the case tirelessly in the hopes of finding Sandra.
"We have information that Sandra, by the time she was reported missing to us, that she probably had already been murdered," said Thiessen.
"It has helped us to bring Sandra home, again not in the way that we would've hoped, but that was out of our hands shortly after she went missing."
The slain girl's aunt, Angie Chavez, said in a phone interview with The Associated Press that she was happy to learn of the arrest.
"I want to know why she did it, if she did it," Chavez said.
Huckaby previously told the Tracy Press that Sandra visited her home on March 27, the day of her disappearance, to play with her 5-year-old daughter. But Huckaby said she'd turned Sandra away because her daughter needed to pick up her toys, so Sandra went to another friend's home instead.
Huckaby also said she had left her suitcase in the driveway that day, and it was missing.
That large, dark-colored suitcase was the one in which Sandra's body was found April 6, submerged in an irrigation pond in Tracy, police said.
Huckaby is a granddaughter of Pastor Clifford Lane Lawless, whose Clover Road Baptist Church was the subject of a police search earlier this week.
"It’s not my grandfather’s," Huckaby told the Tracy Press of the missing suitcase. “It’s mine and someone took it.”
Huckaby taught Sunday school at the church and lived with Lawless in the Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park that also was Sandra's home.
Lawless did not immediately respond to a call seeking comment Saturday.
Huckaby's family had been questioned at length during the investigation, and their home and vehicles had been searched, Sheneman said.
Huckaby was released Thursday from Sutter Tracy Community Hospital, where she spent several days in intensive care for what she described as "internal bleeding," according to the Tracy Press.
Huckaby was scheduled to appear in court on April 17 to check in with a county mental health program as part of a three-year probation sentence for a petty theft she pleaded no contest to.
In an interview with the newspaper on Friday, Huckaby said someone else by the same name was facing charges for the attempted November theft from Target.
On Friday, police announced a $32,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the killer of Sandra, last seen on surveillance camera skipping down the street away from the Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park, where she lived.
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Ex-SEAL Helps Hunt Dog's Killers
I read this Hero's book, and believe me this is not a person you would want after you. To bad he didn't get his revenge on these asshats.
April 09, 2009
All it took was the gunshot fired outside his Walker County, Texas, home to trigger training ingrained in former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell, the lone survivor of a dramatic battle in Afghanistan in 2005.
He did a sweep through the house. Checked on his mother. And bolted out the door, where he found dead his beloved Labrador retriever, Dasy, a dog given to him to help him recover from his own wounds and the loss of his fellow Navy comrades.
"I could tell she tried to get away because there was a blood trail," Luttrell recalled in a phone interview Wednesday. "When I saw she was dead, the only thing that popped into my head was, 'I've got to take these guys out.' "
Shrouded in darkness, Luttrell, who'd just been released from the hospital after another round of surgery, crawled under a fence, skirted a ditch and sneaked up on four strangers in a sedan who apparently killed the dog on a whim. Luttrell said they were oblivious as he raised a 9 mm pistol from about 25 yards away and had one of them dead to rights.
But as the car pulled away, he didn't fire.
Instead, he scrambled back to his pickup and launched what became a wild 40-mile chase that reached speeds of over 100 mph and crossed three counties.
"I did everything right; I didn't do anything wrong," he told the Houston Chronicle of the April 1 incident. "Make sure everyone knows they cold-bloodily murdered."
Luttrell stayed on the line with a 911 emergency operator as he tried to catch the car, which was just a bit too fast for his four-door truck to overtake.
"I told them, 'You need to get somebody out here because if I catch them I'm going to kill them,' " Luttrell recalled telling the operator.
Wounds still deep
The nighttime killing of a such a special dog played right into Luttrell's deep wounds.
The 4-year-old yellow Lab was given to him upon his return from the war to help him heal. He named it Dasy as an acronym for his SEAL team members lost in a mighty fight in which they were isolated and far outnumbered by Taliban fighters.
He wrote a book, The Lone Survivor, about the experience.
Luttrell said he still wrestles with what he went through. He doesn't sleep at night, usually keeping his guard up until sunrise, just in case.
"I don't talk about it much. I just don't sleep at night," he said. "I am in and out of the house all night, going, moving around."
Luttrell and the men he was chasing were finally stopped by Onalaska Police Department.
Luttrell said he confronted the men. "I was like, 'Which one of you guys killed my dog?' " he said. "They started talking smack."
The police sent Luttrell home, and the Texas Rangers have been working with the Walker County Sheriff's Department.
So far, two men have been charged with felonies that could land them in state jail for at least six months.
Michael John Edmonds II, 21, and Alfonzo Hernandez, 24, both of New Waverly, are charged with cruelty to nonlivestock animals. The driver of the vehicle was arrested on suspicion of not having a license.
Other dog killings linked
There are at least five area dog killings in recent months that could be linked to the case, said Texas Ranger Steven Jeter.
"It could have been worse for both parties involved," he said. "I wouldn't advocate to the general public to do what he has done -- to follow them at that rate of speed."
"Marcus is trained to do certain things; he fell back on his training," Jeter said.
Luttrell said he's left town for now and wants to stay as far away as he can. Talking from a place he described as "the middle of nowhere," Luttrell said he knows the attack on Dasy pushed him to a place where he doesn't want to be.
"I was trying to talk myself out of being who I am," he said. "Talking to myself about not doing the one thing I am good at."
Cyber Spies Infiltrate US Power Grid
Now this is some scary stuff. I would hate to think of the damage that could be done to us if our power grids and water supply were hacked. We have gotten so dependent on computers that you couldn't even go to wally world and buy anything if the computers were down.
April 09, 2009
Deutsche Presse-Agentur
NEW YORK -- Cyber spies from China, Russia and elsewhere have infiltrated the U.S. electrical grid and other key infrastructures and have the ability to disrupt them during a crisis or war.
Quoting current and former national-security officials, a Wall Street Journal report Wednesday said that the intruders haven't sought to damage the power grid or other key infrastructure yet, but had laid the groundwork to do so in the future.
The cyber-invasion appeared pervasive across the U.S. and doesn't target a particular company or region, the report said. Apart from the country's massive electrical grid, the intrusions target other key infrastructures like water, sewage and financial networks.
The report highlighted the vulnerabilities facing technologically advanced countries that are increasingly networking their most basic service industries. While this offers massive advantages in efficiency and flexibility, it also makes them more vulnerable to catastrophic failure when attackers are able to overcome security measures and gain control of crucial parts of the system.
The report came out just prior to the completion of a far-reaching cyber-security review ordered by President Barack Obama. His administration is weighing whether to expand the pre-existing $17 billion program to protect government networks to also address vulnerabilities in key private computer networks.
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Four killed overnight in separate shootings
What the hell is going on in Houston. People are going crazy, shootings all over the place. The wild west is alive and well around here.
Four people were shot dead at four separate and seemingly unrelated scenes around Houston this morning. A total of four others were wounded.
At about 4:20 a.m., a woman's 19th birthday party at B&D Sports Bar at the 12800 block of Bellaire Boulevard, just west of Dairy Ashford, ended whem a guest went outside to take a phone call and was gunned down in the strip center's parking lot, police said.
Houston police Sgt. Brian Harris said people at the private party heard gunfire and found the 22-year-old man with multiple wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
There was no apparent motive, although Harris said it's possible the victim was mistaken for a gang member and might have been targeted.
The partygoers scattered after the shooting, and police are asking anyone who might have more information to call the police department's homicide division at 713-308-3600 or Crime Stoppers at 713-222-TIPS (8477).
Shortly before midnight, police said three people were shot in southwest Houston in the 8400 block of South Breeze, near the intersection of South Gessner and West Bellfort.
Police said the shootings happened after two men in a white Ford Explorer with large rims chased down two men who were on foot. The men in the car got out and fired, hitting the two pedestrians and a third man who might have been a bystander.
One victim died at the scene, the other two were taken to Ben Taub General Hospital with injuries that weren't considered life-threatening. It wasn't clear whether the dead man was one of the men being chased or the bystander.
Police said they didn't get good descriptions of the shooters.
Shortly before 1 a.m., police said three men entered The Black Widow tattoo parlor in the 2000 block of Mangum near Dacoma on the northwest side of Houston. The store's owner intervened and was shot dead. The customers were not injured.
Also around 1 a.m., a traffic altercation near West Little York and Shepherd on the north side left three people shot, one of whom died at the hospital. There was no immediate word on the conditions of the other two victims.
Wednesday Hero
23 years old from Elkhart, Indiana
6th Engineer Support Battalion, 4th Marine Logistics Group, Marine Forces Reserve
October 1, 2006
With sleet gushing from gunmetal gray clouds, some 30 Marines standing in three trim lines saluted the U.S. flag that four of their brethren used to christen a new pole.
A large engraved stone set at the base of the 38-foot pole explained the occasion: "In memory of Corporal Aaron L. Seal. Who gave his life for our country. 1982-2006."
The Marines from Engineer Company B joined several dozen community residents and well-wishers at a ceremony Wednesday honoring Seal, the 23-year-old Elkhart reservist who died last fall in Iraq. Seal's family also attended the 20-minute tribute at Elkhart Community Schools' administration building adjacent to Memorial High School -- the fallen Marine's alma mater.
Read the rest of the story here.
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived
This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.
Tuesday, April 7, 2009
Missing girl Sandra Cantu found dead
This is such a hard thing to deal with. It is hard to wrap my head around how some animal could do such a thing to a baby. I hope when he is cought he will not be brought in alive.
An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday on 8-year-old Sandra Cantu, whose body was found in a suitcase in a dairy-farm pond near her California home.
Sandra Cantu, 8, disappeared on March 27. Her body was found at a dairy-farm pond near her Calilfornia home.
Police found the girl's body Monday, after she went missing March 27 in Tracy, California. Police did not identify a suspect in her disappearance and did not know the cause of death.
News of the girl's death devastated her family, Tracy police spokesman Tony Sheneman said.
"They have just experienced the unimaginable," Sheneman said.
The day Sandra was last seen, she came home from school, kissed her mother and left to play with a friend who lives a couple of homes away. A short time later, she left that home to go to another friend's home, according to a spokeswoman for her family.
The child was last seen by her family wearing a pink Hello Kitty T-shirt and black leggings.
Authorities identified her body by the clothes she was wearing, Sheneman said.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Ed Freeman A True Hero
Anyone see the movie We Were Soldiers Once And Young? Ed Freeman was one of the Chopper Pilots there. May he rest in Peace.
Date: Wednesday, March 18, 2009, 3:43 PM
> You're an 19 year old kid. You're critically wounded, and dying in the
> jungle in the Ia Drang Valley , 11-14-1965, LZ X-ray, Vietnam . Your
> infantry unit is outnumbered 8 - 1, and the enemy fire is so intense, from
> 100 or 200 yards away, that your own Infantry Commander has ordered the
> MediVac helicopters to stop coming in.
>
> You're lying there, listening to the enemy machine guns, and you know you're
> not getting out. Your family is half-way around the world, 12,000 miles
> away, and you'll never see them again. As the world starts to fade in and
> out, you know this is the day. Then, over the machine gun noise, you
> faintly hear that sound of a helicopter, and you look up to see an un-armed
> Huey, but it doesn't seem real, because no Medi-Vac markings are on it.
>
> Ed Freeman is coming for you. He's not Medi-Vac, so it's not his job, but
> he's flying his Huey down into the machine gun fire, after the Medi-Vacs
> were ordered not to come.
>
> He's coming anyway.
>
> And he drops it in, and sits there in the machine gun fire, as they load 2
> or 3 of you on board.
>
> Then he flies you up and out through the gunfire, to the Doctors and Nurses.
>
> And, he kept coming back.... 13 more times..... And took about 30 of you and
> your buddies out, who would never have gotten out.
>
> Medal of Honor Recipient, Ed Freeman,died last Wednesday at the age of 80,
> in Boise , ID ......May God rest his soul.....
>
> I bet you didn't hear about this hero's passing, but we sure were told a
> whole bunch about some Hip-Hop Coward beating the crap out of his
> "girlfriend."
>
> Medal of Honor Winner Ed Freeman!
>
> Shame on the American Media.
Sunday, April 5, 2009
Houston man allegedly tried to beat 'demon' out of son
This is one of our fine upstanding citizens who believes he can set his child right by attempting to kill him. This son of a bitch needs to be castrated, but that would be to easy. Once he is in prison (if the ACLU dosen't get involved.
A Houston man is in jail on felony charges of critically injuring his 3-year-old son while trying to beat a “demon” out of the boy.
Jacky Tran, 35, is being held on $100,000 bond after his son was flown to Children’s Memorial Hermann Hospital Saturday night with multiple skull fractures. The boy is expected to survive.
Sheriff’s deputies pulled up to the house on Lone Dove Court in western Harris County just after 7 p.m. to find all the windows open and loud music blaring from within, according to a court document. Through an open upstairs window, they saw Tran yelling and swinging something — possibly the child — up and down. They heard a child screaming, and forced their way into the house.
They ran upstairs and found the 3-year-old’s head severely swollen and maroon with bruising. The boy was unable to speak, and his eyes were swollen shut.
Tran told them he was trying to beat the demon out of the boy, according to the police report.
Tran faces a possible 5- to 99-year prison sentence if convicted of the felony assault charge, which could become a murder charge if the boy dies. The boy’s condition was not immediately available this afternoon.
Child Protective Services officials were interviewing Tran’s wife and the couple’s other child, a 4-year-old girl, this afternoon to find out more about what happened. The family has had no previous CPS involvement, and Tran appears to have no criminal record in the Houston area.
Thursday, April 2, 2009
My Home Computer Is On Vacation
Well it has been working for several years and is only rebooted a couple times a month. Well it decided last week that it didn't want to work anymore, so it gave up it's power supply. Damn. I haven't been able to get on the blogs much due to this problem. I am posting this from work, which I don't even get to do much from here anymore as we are so busy. Now being busy is a good thing, but I don't even get to visit many of my blog friends. I have ordered a new hard drive from Dell and it should be in by next week. Till then I'll sneek on from work when I can. Of course I could call The One and I am sure he could send me a new one.
Sphere: Related ContentWednesday, April 1, 2009
Tax on tobacco goes up Smokers stock up in anticipation of paying more for cigarettes
I don't smoke, but if I did, I guess it would be time to think about quiting. $70.00 for a carton is scary to think about.
Each day Mark Baylor sits downtown rolling cigarettes from tobacco, then takes some deep puffs from his self-made smokes.
But a massive federal tobacco tax slated to take effect today may finally force Baylor to kick his 20-year habit.
“I’ve stocked up in advance though,” Baylor, 45, said Tuesday. “I like smoking.”
Baylor, like many smokers, has been stockpiling tobacco — he’s bought several pounds of rolling tobacco in anticipation of the tax that will make his habit much more expensive.
The new taxes, meant to increase funding for the federal State Children’s Health Insurance Program, are rising dramatically. Now, federal taxes on a packet of rolling tobacco will be about $1 instead of 4.5 cents.
Taxes on cigarettes also will go to a little over $1 from the current tax of 39 cents. Chewing tobacco will be taxed at 11.3 cents per can instead of the previous 4.4 cents.
That’s all on top of existing state taxes — in Texas, $1.41 per cigarette pack for the last two years.
$7 a pack
A typical pack of cigarettes will cost about $7 in Texas after the tax takes effect. As of today a pound of rolling tobacco will cost $60 instead of the current $15.99 at Tobacco Outlet in West Houston.
Houston tobacco shop owners say they are worried the tax increases could drive them out of business.
Previous taxes and restrictions on smoking have eaten into profits at Richmond Avenue Cigar on Fondren Road in West Houston.
Owner Lynn Goodwin said sales fell 30 percent after a local 2007 ordinance banned smoking in many public places. She’s expecting a bigger hit in the coming months.
In the past few days, however, sales have spiked slightly as customers stock up before the tax is implemented.
“I’ve had five people ask me this morning alone whether we were taxing yet,” Goodwin said Tuesday. “Everyone’s trying to beat it.”
Cigar Emporium on South Shepherd has also seen a small increase in sales recently. But manager Van Thai said he’s worried that many of his customers aren’t aware of the tax.
“We’ve put up signs, but a lot of people just don’t know,” Thai said.
Paradoxically, some tobacco dealers think the tax increase could help business.
Maybe a new brand?
Andy Norris, who markets a line of lower-priced cigarettes to retailers, said increased prices could drive consumers to his Seneca brand — but will likely drive the sellers of rolling tobacco out of business.
In the past many smokers have been drawn to rolling tobacco because it has been cheaper than regular cigarettes.
Anti-smoking activists hope the new taxes will encourage people to quit smoking.
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids estimates that more than 150,000 children will not start smoking and nearly 75,000 adults will stop smoking in Texas because of the rising prices.
“This is probably the most effective way to reduce consumption and more importantly stop kids from ever starting to smoke,” said James Gray of the American Cancer Society in Texas. “We know what will happen based on similar tax increases before. And it will be positive.”
Wednesday Hero
2nd Platoon, Chosen Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment
In the early morning hours of July 13, 2008, Soldiers from Chosen Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment were not thinking about medals as they fought off roughly 200 insurgents attacking their vehicle patrol base in Afghanistan.
No Soldier in combat does.
The Army, however, takes pause afterward to honor those who distinguish themselves in battle and recognizes them before their peers.
Read the rest of the story.
These brave men and women sacrifice so much in their lives so that others may enjoy the freedoms we get to enjoy everyday. For that, I am proud to call them Hero.
We Should Not Only Mourn These Men And Women Who Died, We Should Also Thank God That Such People Lived
This post is part of the Wednesday Hero Blogroll. For more information about Wednesday Hero, or if you would like to post it on your site, you can go here.
