Poll: Obama has double digit lead nationally

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama extended his lead nationally over Sen. Hillary Clinton Monday according to the latest national polls.

The Gallup Poll conducted March 27-29 with a margin of error of 3 percentage points shows the Illinois Senator has a 10 percent lead over the New York Senator among Democrats, marking the first time since early February Gallup polls have shown either candidate with a double digit lead. In February, Gallup showed Clinton held an 11 percent advantage over Obama.

Last week’s Pew Poll also confirmed Obama had weathered the media storm surrounding the Reverend Wright controversy and maintained his lead.

Despite pressure from some powerful Obama supporters and being behind nationally in the polls, Clinton said the race should not end before all votes had been cast. "I didn't think we believed that in America. I thought we of all people knew how important it was to give everyone a chance to have their voices heard and their votes counted," she said.

Looking to the critical state of Pennsylvania, Clinton holds a 12 percent lead ahead of the state’s April 22 primary, according to the latest CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released earlier this month.

Both candidates continue to campaign heavily in the state of Pennsylvania Monday, where there are 158 pledged delegates up for grabs.

Update: CNN poll of polls released Monday, which includes the results of several recent major surveys, shows Hillary Clinton with a 14 percent lead in Pennsylvania over Barack Obama.

Steady stream of party leaders moving to Obama

Slowly but steadily, a string of Democratic Party figures is taking Barack Obama's side in the presidential nominating race and raising the pressure on Hillary Clinton to give up.
Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota is expected to endorse Sen. Obama Monday, according to a Democrat familiar with her plans. Meanwhile, North Carolina's seven Democratic House members are poised to endorse Sen. Obama as a group -- just one has so far -- before that state's May 6 primary, several Democrats say.
Helping to drive the endorsements is a fear that the Obama-Clinton contest has grown toxic and threatens the Democratic Party's chances against Republican John McCain in the fall.

Sen. Clinton rejects that view. Over the weekend, she reiterated her intent to stay in the race beyond the last contest in early June -- and all the way to the party's convention in Denver, if necessary.
"There are some folks saying we ought to stop these elections," she said Saturday in Indiana, which also has a May 6 primary. "I didn't think we believed that in America. I thought we of all people knew how important it was to give everyone a chance to have their voices heard and their votes counted."
Sen. Obama told reporters, "My attitude is that Sen. Clinton can run as long as she wants."
In earlier eras, the standoff between the two candidates might have been resolved by party elders acting behind the scenes. But no Democrat today has the power to knock heads and resolve the mess. Party Chairman Howard Dean says he was "dumbfounded" at the suggestion by Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy Friday that Sen. Clinton should pull out.
"Having run for president myself, nobody tells you when to get in, and nobody tells you when to get out," Mr. Dean said. "That's about the most personal decision you can make after all the time and effort you put into it."
New York Sen. Clinton still hopes that by turning in strong performances in the final primaries, she can blunt the momentum of her rival from Illinois and make the case that she is best-positioned to take on Sen. McCain. With Mr. Dean, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former Vice President Al Gore and other party leaders remaining neutral, the question is whether the trend of party figures endorsing Sen. Obama will build enough momentum to tip the race.
The expected move by Minnesota's Sen. Klobuchar follows Friday's endorsement of Sen. Obama by Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, which holds its primary April 22.
Both senators had planned to remain neutral, according to party officials, but decided to weigh in as the Democrats' campaign became more negative and Sen. McCain was free to exploit the confusion looking to the November election.
One North Carolinian confirmed that at least several of the state's House members would go public in favor of Sen. Obama before long. Meanwhile, elected officials in other states with upcoming contests, including Indiana, Montana and Oregon, are weighing whether to endorse Sen. Obama.
What makes such endorsements significant is that they're from superdelegates. These delegates -- members of Congress, governors and other party officials -- can vote for whomever they want at the Democratic convention in August. Sen. Obama has a slight lead over Sen. Clinton in the pledged-delegate count -- the delegates won during primaries and caucuses -- but neither can amass enough pledged delegates for a majority. That makes the vote of the superdelegates decisive.
Since the "Super Tuesday" primaries on Feb. 5, Sen. Obama has won commitments from 64 superdelegates and Sen. Clinton has gotten nine. Sen. Obama has a total of 217 superdelegates in his camp while Sen. Clinton has 250, and her margin has been shrinking with each week. Sen. Clinton would have several more in her tally, but they're from Michigan, and delegates from Michigan and Florida won't be seated -- at least for now -- because both states defied party rules and held their primaries earlier than permitted.
"I think that says a lot about just where people are and what they're thinking," says former Senate Majority Leader Thomas Daschle, an Obama supporter. "And I think the numbers are just going to keep getting better" for Sen. Obama. Counting Sen. Klobuchar, Sen. Obama leads 13-11 among their Democratic colleagues in the Senate.

Even raising the prospect of a convention fight could backfire for Sen. Clinton by antagonizing the superdelegates she needs. Many superdelegates are on the ballot themselves this year, and the last thing they want is a chaotic convention that plays into the hands of Republicans.
In interviews, some House Democrats said Sen. Obama has the edge in the chamber. They noted that he has proved himself the stronger fund-raiser and has attracted more new voters to the party than anyone in recent memory -- both advantages that could benefit other Democrats. They worry that Sen. Clinton's high negative ratings in polls would incite more Republicans to mobilize against her and the Democratic ticket.
Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut, a former presidential candidate and a past party chairman, told National Journal Friday that Sen. Obama's nomination is "a foregone conclusion" and "enough is enough." Sen. Dodd has endorsed Sen. Obama.
Mr. Dean, the party chairman, is urging uncommitted superdelegates to take sides no later than July 1, and effectively name the nominee. "If we go into the convention divided, it's pretty likely we'll come out of the convention divided," he said.
Democrats across the board, he said, "are haranguing me to show leadership." But they're often partisans for one candidate or the other, he added. Meanwhile, he said he is conferring with other party leaders, including Mrs. Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada; former Vice President Al Gore; civil-rights veteran and Clinton confidante Vernon Jordan; former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo; and Jesse Jackson and his son, Chicago Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr.
"Most of their advice is, 'Let this play out, let's get through the primaries,' " Mr. Dean said. "And I think that's right....Voters have to have their say. It's painful, because that means we've got another two months of this."

Private aircraft crashes into a residential area in Farnborough, south-east of London, setting homes on fire

UK police have confirmed to CNN that a private aircraft has crashed into a residential area in the town of Farnborough in Kent, south-east of London.

The crash happened at 1437 local time (0937ET), police told CNN. Emergency services are said to be on the scene at Broadwater Gardens, the UK's Press Association has reported.

Pictures from local media show large plumes of smoke billowing from homes in the area, with houses extensively damaged.

Television pictures show that the scene of the crash is close to woods and open land.

There are no reports yet of casualties on the aircraft or on the ground. The nearby Princess Royal Hospital has been put on major incident standby.

London Fire Brigade has told CNN that at the moment it has six fire engines and an urban search and rescue team at the scene.

It has no word on casualties.

Witnesses, speaking to local media, have spoken of a very loud engine sound and then an explosion just before the crash.

Resident John Crane, one of those on the scene, told Sky News: "When I got there there was just as massive red fireball and two or three explosions."

"It was so fierce you couldn't get near it."

His wife Jackie told the station that she saw the plane coming in erratically over the area, with its tail lower than its nose.

Sky News also reported that a man known only as John, who was flying at the same time, said he heard a distress call from a Cessna to the control tower at nearby Biggin Hill airfield that indicated the pilot was having "severe engine vibrations.

Clinton, Obama supporters wrangle over delegates

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Less than a month ago, Texas Democrats turned out in huge numbers for the presidential nominating contest between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama, confident that, no matter who won, the party would have a popular, well-financed candidate.

But that exuberance is gone now.


Across the state this weekend, tense confrontations -- even shoving matches -- erupted as partisans for Clinton and Obama battled over how to interpret the March 4 election results and how to choose delegates to the Texas Democratic convention.

At one particularly raucous session Saturday at Texas Southern University, a leading Clinton backer, U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, was booed by hundreds of Obama supporters, and police were called later to break up heated exchanges that left some in tears.

"It's bedlam," said Houston lawyer Daniel J. Shea, a Clinton backer.

Democrat-on-Democrat clashes over delegates have been playing out in Iowa, Colorado, Florida and other states -- the latest indication that the feel-good nomination race of the era has veered into a political ditch.

The contentious battle in Texas shows the high cost of this unending campaign. To hold his delegate lead, Obama has kept a team of 65 paid organizers and lawyers in the state this month, while Clinton has 45.

As the feud rages -- even in states that voted weeks or months ago -- each side has its own game plan for victory. For Obama, it means highlighting his lead in delegates to the party's national convention in Denver. For Clinton, it means lengthening the campaign so that she can use every tactic to narrow her delegate deficit and to win upcoming primaries in her bid to raise doubts about Obama's electability in the fall.

The candidates have also become far more combative, and that hostility has party leaders worried. In a year that looked to be a Democratic romp, Obama and Clinton are burning money, erasing goodwill and eviscerating each other's reputation while the presumptive Republican nominee, John McCain, prepares to kick off his general-election campaign with a nationwide tour designed to highlight of military and congressional experience. On Saturday, Clinton told the Washington Post that she was prepared to take her campaign all the way to the party convention in August.

"This thing has turned from being an adventure to being a grind," said Robert M. Shrum, a Democratic strategist who managed John F. Kerry's 2004 presidential campaign.

Polls published last week showed some of the dangers: McCain has gained ground against both Democrats, and at least 20% of each Democratic candidate's supporters now say they would consider abandoning the party in November if their candidate is not the nominee.

The potential for anger is more pronounced -- and the consequences more dire -- than in most campaigns because this contest is being waged along the fault lines of gender and race, with the would-be first female president versus the would-be first black president.

That was starkly evident Saturday at one convention in Houston, where mostly white Clinton supporters repeatedly challenged the credentials of black Obama backers in a heavily black district that had voted overwhelmingly for Obama. Democratic leaders, who had been thrilled by the massive turnout in early-voting states, now fear the consequences not only in the presidential race but also in state and local ones.

"When you have a divided party, I think it hurts you up and down the ticket," said Tennessee Gov. Phil Bredesen, a Democrat, who said his party cannot afford to lose seats in an evenly divided state Senate and a state House controlled by a narrow Democratic majority. "Somebody who's mad enough at one of the candidates to want to vote for John McCain is more likely to [vote] down that side of the ballot."

Bredesen has circulated a plan to stave off a potentially divisive national nominating convention in August by holding a "primary" earlier this summer among the nearly 800 superdelegates -- the party's elected officials, leaders and activists -- whose votes could decide the race and forestall the type of delegate fights now unfolding in Texas.

Another party elder, former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, proposed Saturday that Clinton and Obama avert a "disaster" by agreeing to share the ticket, with the delegate winner running for president and the loser for vice president.

"If, on the other hand, the candidates refuse to work out a way to keep both constituencies firmly in the Democratic camp for the general election," Cuomo wrote in the Boston Globe, "the 2008 primary may be the story of a painfully botched grand opportunity to return our nation to the upward path and [instead] leave us mired in Iraq and government mediocrity."

Such concern prompted one prominent U.S. senator, Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, an Obama supporter, to call Friday for Clinton to step aside, while Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean urged the candidates to find a resolution by July.

The acrimony was on sharp display Saturday in Texas as Democrats met in 280 district conventions, part of the complicated system the state uses to determine the makeup of its delegation to the national convention.

Clinton won the primary in Texas, but Obama won the caucuses that followed after the polls closed. It was those caucus results that were being challenged Saturday at conventions that drew thousands of boisterous participants.

HILLARY EXPOSED

Hillary Clinton has a solu tion to her Tuzla problem - let's talk about Rev. Je remiah Wright some more.
On the day after the CBS News aired video making a hash of Sen. Clinton's claim to have landed "under sniper fire" in Tuzla, Bosnia in 1996, she raised for the first time the issue of Barack Obama's relationship to Rev. Wright.
In this, she followed a Clinton family pattern so well-established it's almost boring: Misrepresent the truth as convenient - then, when caught, go on the offensive.
This method served the Clintons well during eight years in the White House, when Democrats exalted them for winning by any means fair or foul. But now that the Clintons' dark arts of spin and remorseless ambition are being turned on their fellow partisans, Democrats seem stunned - like the tiger handler who can't believe his big cat turned on him.
Dante couldn't have devised a more appropriate ring of hell as punishment for the party than spending a few more months with the Clintons in a dispiriting slog of a nomination battle.
Even though Tuzla has been plastered on TV news the last few days, it's unclear how much the fracas will damage Hillary. Those voters who don't already think she's untrustworthy are either blinkered partisans or haven't been paying attention (since roughly 1992). In a Gallup poll this month, 53 percent thought Hillary wasn't honest and trustworthy, while Obama and John McCain were rated trustworthy by more than 2-1 margins.
Since Hillary isn't running a character campaign, yet another nick on her credibility isn't very telling.
But Tuzla does hurt - by exposing her Walter Mitty life as a first lady who, in largely ceremonial trips abroad, apparently imagined herself engaged in high-stakes diplomacy.
On her trips, everyone else saw a feminist icon and international celebrity cheering the troops, greeting children, and meeting with local women - while she thought she was the Clinton administration's secret Kissinger.
Or that's how she's portrays herself now - out of sheer necessity: Clinton needs something to back up her famous "3 a.m." ad hitting Obama for his lack of national security credentials.
What she could legitimately argue is that she was at the center of power for two terms and knows what the pressure is like in a way Obama can't. Anyone reading between the lines would know her proverbial 3 a.m. calls had to do with the fallout from her husband's perjurous denials of his dalliance with a White House intern.
She needed something more - hence her laughable exaggerations about helping bring peace to North Ireland, negotiating a way way out of Kosovo for refugees and running under sniper fire in Tuzla.
Those claims could all be rebutted in print, and had been. But it took video of her - with no helmet or flak jacket - smiling and greeting a 8-year-old girl on the tarmac to destroy her story in an instant.
The CBS footage is the blue dress of the Hillary campaign, the lock-down evidence that can't be spun away.
Hillary's camp claims she misspoke. This abuses the term. Misspeaking is mixing something up - not manufacturing a new memory.
Of course, memory plays tricks on everyone. (Not for nothing do the Russians say, "No one lies like an eyewitness.") But being anywhere near hostile fire as a civilian is a terrifying (and sometimes perversely exhilarating) experience that gets etched into memory. There's no forgetting it or making it up.

NICHOLAS KRISTOF: Hillary could be the Nader of 2008

Yes, Hillary Rodham Clinton may still have a chance of winning the Democratic nomination. But it’s probably smaller than the chance that a continued slugfest will hand the White House to John McCain.

Consider what it would take for Senator Clinton to win.
For starters, she would have to pull ahead in the popular vote, to balance her second-place spot in number of states won and in pledged delegates. As Bill Clinton put it on March 17: “If Senator Obama wins the popular vote then the choice will be easier. But if Hillary wins the popular vote but can’t quite catch up with the delegate votes, then you have to just ask yourself which is more important and who is more likely to win in November.”
Even Mr. Clinton seemed to concede the nomination to Mr. Obama unless Mrs. Clinton wins the popular vote; without that, she doesn’t even have an argument. Unfortunately for the Clintons, almost nobody who has done the math thinks that she can win the popular vote without re-votes in Florida and Michigan.
Mrs. Clinton is more than 700,000 votes behind in the popular vote. With 10 states and territories still to vote, perhaps another six million votes could be cast if turnout is very high, by the count of Ben Smith at Politico.com.
To get the lead, she would need to win at least 56 percent of all the remaining votes — or well more than 60 percent of the votes outside of North Carolina and other states she is expected to lose. So far, though, Mrs. Clinton hasn’t won 60 percent in any state except Arkansas, where she had been the state’s first lady.
All this means that Mrs. Clinton’s chances of winning are negligible, barring some major development.
Meanwhile, the big winner of the Democratic fist-fighting is Senator McCain. A Gallup poll released Wednesday found that 19 percent of Mr. Obama’s supporters said they would vote for Mr. McCain in the general election if Mrs. Clinton were the nominee. More startling, 28 percent of Mrs. Clinton’s supporters said they would defect to Mr. McCain if Mr. Obama were the nominee.
Exit polls show the same trend. In South Carolina in January, about 70 percent of each candidate’s supporters said they would be happy if the other person ended up winning the nomination. By the Ohio and Texas primaries in March, fewer than half of each candidate’s supporters said they would be content with the other person as nominee.
Granted, tempers may cool by November. But dragging out the contest only deepens wounds and reduces time for healing: In 9 of the last 10 presidential elections, the nominee chosen first ended up winning in November. And if the Democratic nominee has been crippled, that would hurt Democrats running for other offices as well.
“It’s amazing how bitter it’s getting, and it can only get worse in the months ahead,” said Gov. Philip Bredesen, a Democrat of Tennessee, who has not taken sides. “I’d love to have a Democratic president, but I’d also love to have a Democratic Congress. If you’ve got people mad and staying home, that can’t possibly help candidates running for the Senate, candidates running for House seats, and for the State Legislature.”
Mr. Bredesen is urging superdelegates (he’s one) to hold a primary in June, so that a winner would be chosen in time to begin a healing process before the convention.
Instead, the battle is getting bloodier. Mrs. Clinton spoke this week about the contest continuing for “the next three months” — and those would surely be a toxic three months. There’s already grumbling that Mrs. Clinton’s real strategy is to destroy Mr. Obama’s chances of winning the general election so that she can compete in 2012.
Senator Clinton, who has done so much fine work on health and children’s issues for so many years and who more recently has been an outstanding senator, deserves better. Likewise, Mr. Clinton, who tackled AIDS and poverty so passionately since leaving the White House, risks tarnishing his own legacy. His poll approval ratings have dropped steadily, and he now has higher unfavorable ratings than favorable.
If Mrs. Clinton can run a high-minded, civil campaign and rein in her proxies, then she has every right to continue through the next few primaries, and the Democrats might even benefit from the bolstered attention and turnout. But if the brawl continues, then she and her husband may be remembered by many people who long admired them as having the same effect on Mr. Obama this November that Ralph Nader had on Al Gore in 2000.
Do the Clintons really want to risk becoming the Naders of 2008?

Report: Superdelegates concerned over Bosnia sniper story : CLINTON TACTICS TURN OFF SOME SUPERDELEGATES

At a time when Sen. Hillary Clinton is increasingly relying on superdelegates to vault her to the Democratic Party's nomination, a handful of undecided and pledged superdelegates are coming forward to say her campaign's tactics in recent weeks are doing more harm than good. The Democratic Party insiders say they believe Clinton's direct attacks against Sen. Barack Obama in recent days are hurting the party and its chances in November, and also say it is showing a calculated, desperate-to-win side of Clinton that they dislike. "In looking at the manner in which the candidates are campaigning, I think it would be best they focused their attention on the presumptive nominee and showed our party which one is better in campaigning against McCain," said Garry Shay, a California superdelegate, who announced his support for Clinton. Unlike some in the party, these superdelegates said they do not believe Clinton should drop out of the race. They said they are committed to the democratic process, and want to allow the states still remaining to cast their ballots. But they acknowledged Obama is the likely nominee and suggested the personal attacks were only hurting the party and its viability. The Clinton campaign has been actively wooing these delegates, believing a plurality represents the strongest, and increasingly the only, way for her to win the nomination. But one undeclared delegate, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said the recent tactics are turning her and other superdelegates off. "I don't think anybody's saying 'step aside,' but 'stop with the garbage' is what people want to say," the delegate said. "Just chill a little bit." As activists committed to the party, they said, they have been impressed by Obama's ability to bring new Democrats into the fold, and they worry that Clinton is threatening that. "We like the fact that there is a candidate that has won so many states overwhelmingly," the delegate said. "We're feeling her advisors are leading her in a path that diminishes her as well as him." Several said they were angered by comments from James Carville, who called Bill Richardson "Judas" for backing Obama after serving in the Clinton White House. One delegate said Richardson's rationale for supporting Obama, and his implicit frustration at the Clintons' heavy-handed approach to garnering his support, was echoed among superdelegates. Others said they were frustrated by recent reports that Clinton embellished her description of landing in Bosnia as First Lady, and said it suggested she would do anything to win. "I don't remember what movie I saw two weeks ago; I don't necessarily remember what I had for dinner last night," one superdelegate said. "But I would remember having to duck and run from sniper fire." The final straw, though, were Clinton's comments Tuesday, when she said the Rev. Jeremiah Wright "would not have been my pastor." Several superdelegates saw it as a direct, personal attack on Obama. "I think it's very dangerous for any candidate to constantly thrum on what they perceive as sensational criticisms of their opponent," said Debra Kozikowski, an uncommitted superdelegate from Massachusetts. "I would be more likely to respond positively to discussions of issues that effect Americans versus what might be perceived as character flaws." Clinton campaign officials said Clinton's comments were a direct response to a question she received at an editorial board meeting and suggested personal attacks have gone in both directions in the primary race. The party activists said they have been receiving calls from members, a majority of whom want them to support whoever has won the popular vote. Many superdelegates are themselves elected by the Democratic Party and believe most will follow the will of party members for the party's future, and their own viability. And they say they are not buying some of the Clinton campaign's explanations as to why they should support her, whether it is her victories in large states, primary states or those likely to go Democratic in the November election. "Periodically, over the last couple of weeks, you will see a news story or get something from the campaign, and you'll go, 'How stupid do you think I am?" one uncommitted superdelegate said. "All of us watch television all the time, read the newspapers. We all play with the little charts online too. We know it is virtually impossible." One delegate said the Clinton campaign is "using Jeremiah Wright to scare white people." "A full and fair debate about issues and differences and even fights is good," the delegate said. "Mud slinging, personal attacks and lying is never good for any political fight or party. And I see a lot of that coming from one side more than the other." The delegates said there is little the party or its leaders can do to prevent the current back and forth. But some said they were increasingly in touch with Clinton campaign officials to say their support is in jeopardy. "Uncommitted delegates can come out and say, 'If you don't stop this now, we won't vote for you,'" one uncommitted superdelegate said.

New poll finds Hillary sinks to lowest approval rating in years...

U.S. Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton's positive rating has dropped to a new low of 37 percent in an NBC/Wall Street Journal poll released on Wednesday.According to the poll, the New York senator's positive rating slid 8 percentage points in two weeks and she had a negative rating of 48 percent in a week where she admitted making a mistake in claiming she had come under sniper fire during a 1996 trip to Bosnia.Clinton's Democratic rival, Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, also saw a slight dip in his positive rating, to 49 percent from 51 percent, the poll found.Clinton, who would be the first female U.S. president, and Obama, who would be the first black president, are in a heated battle for the Democratic nomination to face presumptive Republican nominee John McCain in November's election.The survey was taken after Obama gave a speech last week on race in America and rejected racially charged remarks by his pastor in Chicago of two decades, Rev. Jeremiah Wright.NBC said 32 percent of respondents said Obama "sufficiently addressed the issue" and 26 percent said he needed to say more about the Wright controversy.More than half of those surveyed -- 55 percent -- said they were "disturbed" by the videos of Wright that were widely circulated on television and the Internet, the poll found.In head-to-head matchups, Obama and Clinton were even at 45 percent. In general election matchups, Obama led McCain by 44 percent to 42 percent and McCain led Clinton by 46 percent to 44 percent.When asked which candidate could unite the country if elected, 60 percent said Obama, 58 percent said McCain and 46 percent said Clinton.The poll of 700 registered voters was conducted on Monday and Tuesday and had a margin of error of 3.7 percentage points.NBC said its pollsters oversampled African-Americans to get a more reliable cross tabulation on questions regarding Obama's speech on race.

CBS Exposes Hillary Clinton Bosnia Trip. - Hillary Clinton Lies About Her Bosnia Trip

Obama's Speech on Race and Politics - Google video link

Barack Obama on Race and Politics Video - Watch the 38 minute video of Obama on race and politics

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and an ex-aide have been charged with perjury and obstruction of justice

Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and an ex-aide have been charged with perjury and obstruction of justice after prosecutors said sexually explicit text messages between the two contradicted their sworn court testimony.

Kilpatrick, who is married, has been snarled in a well-publicized sex scandal since January after The Detroit Free Press reported he exchanged romantic text messages with his then-chief of staff, Christine Beatty.
The paper reported in January that in an analysis of nearly 14,000 text messages on Beatty's city-issued pager, it found some from 2002 and 2003 that indicated the two were having a romantic affair.
The newspaper report contradicted testimony Kilpatrick gave last August in a court case brought by police officers against the mayor and the city of Detroit alleging the mayor retaliated against the officers for their role in investigating his office. Critics alleged that Kilpatrick committed perjury in the case and called for his resignation.
In testimony during that case, Kilpatrick and Beatty both denied having a romantic relationship. Beatty resigned as Kilpatrick's chief of staff on January 28.

Prosecutor Kym Worthy said she charged Kilpatrick and Beatty with multiple counts of perjury, obstruction of justice and misconduct in office in a 12-count indictment. The most serious charges carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison.
Worthy also said others may be charged in the case. She asked Kilpatrick and Beatty to turn themselves in by Tuesday morning.

Prosecutor Kym Worthy has announced that she will in fact bring criminal charges against Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick

Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy announced this morning that she is charging Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and former chief of staff Christine Beatty in connection with 12 felonies including perjury, obstruction of justice and misconduct in office in a text-messaging scandal.Kilpatrick was to be arraigned today at 5 p.m.
“President Theodore Roosevelt once said ‘no man is above the law and no man is below it,’ she said. “In this case we asked ‘can we charge perjury? Yes. Are there other crimes and offence we can charge other than perjury? Yes. Should we charge?’ Yes. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy says the mayor has been charged with perjury, obstruction of justice and misconduct in office. His former chief of staff, Christine Beatty, is also facing perjury and obstruction of justice charges.
The indictment follows the publication of sexually explicit text messages between Kilpatrick and Beatty. The pair had denied they had a romantic relationship under oath during a whistleblowers’ trial last summer.
Worthy says the case is about “honesty and integrity in the justice system” and “about as far from being a private matter as one can get.”
Kilpatrick could face up to 15 years in prison and be expelled from office if convicted.
Kilpatrick has said he will not resign, and that he expects to be vindicated.

Detroit mayor will face charges for sex scandal

According to report coming out of Detroit today, Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy has announced that she will in fact bring criminal charges against Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick and his former Chief of Staff Christine Beatty. According to the Prosecutor, an independent investigation has found that the Mayor and his former aide did in fact lie under oath in January regarding a sexual affair between the two. Do you think that the Mayor will survive this scandal? Do you think that he should resign now? Speak Out!!

Fishing vessel Alaska Ranger sinking near Dutch Harbor

The Coast Guard just told AlaskaReport that the Cutter with the rescued crewman will be arriving shortly in Dutch Harbor.

The AP reports that four crewmembers are dead.

The Coast Guard has told AlaskaReport that 43 of 47 crewmembers have been rescued as of 12:58 pm.

When a mayday was first reported, the 180-foot ship was in 6-to-8 foot seas with about 25 knot winds.

From a Coast Guard press release: The Coast Guard is responding to a sinking vessel with 47 people onboard 120 miles west of Dutch Harbor.

The fishing vessel Alaska Ranger, based out of Seattle, began sinking at approximately 2:50 a.m. this morning when it notified the Coast Guard that it had lost control of its rudder and was taking on water.

A Coast Guard rescue helicopter from St. Paul, a Coast Guard C-130 from Kodiak and the Coast Guard Cutter Munro are all en route to recover the crew members of the Alaska Ranger.

All 47 crew members have abandoned ship and are currently in life rafts.

The Coast Guard said that two helicopters, a C-130 transport aircraft, the cutter Munro based out of Kodiak and the Alaska Ranger's sister ship, the Alaska Warrior, are taking part in the rescue operation.

Sean John Clothing Pussy Cat Dolls Lingerie Collection

Ater two reality shows and a proposed line of dolls, founder of the Pussy Cat Dolls, Robin Antin has found a new way to capitalize on the stardom of the burlesque group. She launched a clothing line for the group which she debuted at LA Fashion Week.

Fittingly, she chose to focus on the area of barely there lingerie.

Here’s a few of the more covered-up looks:



Of course, the show featured performances by the Pussy Cat Dolls.


Diddy and Quincy Jones were in attendance.


No word yet on where the undies will be sold, or the price range, but I’m sure there’s a lot of people excited about it.

Sean John Clothing - Sean John Summer Collections SeanJohn.com

The new ads for the Sean John women’s collection are in featuring spokesmodels Lauren London and Cassie:

Here’s an interesting take on the jumper:

Love the sequins on this look…

But this hat is not too hot:

Overall, the looks are cute but the best part of the outfits are the shoes for me, which I’m not even sure Sean John sells.

Tornado trashes Atlanta

Waves of severe thunderstorms streaked through downtown Atlanta on Saturday, hours after a tornado left a trail of destruction through the heart of the city.

A swath of uprooted and broken trees, downed utility lines, peeled-off roofs and collapsed brick walls marked the path of the tornado that struck around 9:40 p.m. Friday.

"This was clearly a tornado," Lans Rothfusz of the National Weather Service's Peachtree City, Georgia, office said. He rated the storm an EF-2 on the Enhanced Fujita scale, meaning it packed top winds of 130 miles per hour.

Utility and cleanup crews worked Saturday to restore traffic lights, clear streets and remove tons of debris in the city's business district after Friday night's unusual urban storm.

Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin and Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue declared states of emergency.

Police in Atlanta were urging people to stay away from downtown, fearing shattered glass and hanging metal would continue to fall from buildings as new storms rolled through.

A heavy thunderstorm prompted another tornado warning as it plowed across Atlanta just south of downtown Saturday afternoon. More storms were seen forming in Alabama and heading toward Atlanta.

At least two people were killed Saturday afternoon as the same line of storms destroyed structures elsewhere in northern Georgia.

Trees blown down in Friday night's storm crushed a row of houses in the city's historic Cabbagetown district just east of downtown.

Initial estimates from the mayor's office said at least 20 of the historic homes were damaged or destroyed by the tornado.

Atlanta police Maj. Renee Propes urged people to stay away from Cabbagetown.

About 10,000 customers were without power Saturday morning, according to Georgia Power, but by about 5:35 p.m. Saturday that number had mushroomed to 41,000 customers statewide. Crews were working to restore power but were pulled back when waves of bad weather threatened.

Earlier, Georgia Power spokesman John Sell said more than 40 power poles were broken by Friday night's tornado.

Some customers will not have power restored until Sunday, Sell said -- and it could be even longer if weather hinders crews' efforts.

Part of Atlanta's MARTA mass-transit rail system was shut down because of damage east of downtown.

The twister is the first to strike downtown Atlanta since record-keeping began in the late 1800s, said Laura Griffith, a National Weather Service forecaster.

On March 24, 1975, a tornado hit the city's Buckhead area, including the governor's mansion, she said. Three people died and more than 150 were injured.

The weather service said Friday's tornado plowed a path about 6 miles long and 200 yards wide.

The twister appears to have first struck several houses and churches in the Vine City neighborhood west of the business district, then moved on to the Georgia Dome, CNN Center, Centennial Olympic Park and Cabbagetown.

A brick apartment building in Vine City was roofless Saturday morning.

Curtains waved through broken windows high up the cylindrical 73-story Westin Peachtree Plaza hotel downtown. Gaping holes were torn in the roof of the Georgia World Congress Center, and an auto parts warehouse just east of downtown partially collapsed.

Obama backer takes aim at Clinton's experience

Craig had some sharp words for Hillary Clinton Friday.

(CNN) – Former Clinton State Department official Greg Craig continued to take aim at Hillary Clinton's foreign policy claims Friday, telling the National Journal that the former first lady has "grossly exaggerated the nature of her experience."

"If you're running for president on the basis of your claims of experience, when you then cite examples, you should be careful to be accurate," Craig said. "The evidence should be accurate. And my point is that Senator Clinton and her supporters have in serious ways overstated, if not grossly exaggerated, the nature of her experience."

"I think she is misleading the American public on the nature of her experience," he also said.Craig, a supporter of Barack Obama, was the director of policy planning at the State Department under former President Clinton.

He was a top adviser to former Secretary of State Madeline Albright and served as counsel to former President Clinton during the impeachment hearings.

His comments come days after he penned a strongly worded memo on behalf of the Obama campaign that appeared to suggest the New York senator was not ready to be commander in chief."Hillary Clinton's argument that she has passed 'the commander-in-chief test' is simply not supported by her record," he wrote in that memo.

The Clinton campaign called the memo a "false and misleading attack."Pressed about those comments Friday, Craig appeared to dial back, saying, "I think she would be a capable commander in chief.

I think Barack Obama, who is my candidate, would also be a capable commander in chief. I'm not denigrating that."But Craig specifically took issue with Clinton's claim of having a role in the Northern Ireland peace process."

It's a little bit presumptuous for the first lady, who would meet people and support people to take credit away from the Irish themselves who did it," he said.Pressed about her role in the process, Clinton told NPR earlier this week, "I wasn't sitting at the negotiating table, but the role I played was instrumental."

Atlanta Tornado - Atlanta is in the path of an even larger storm

A suspected tornado damaged 20 homes and knocked down trees south of Atlanta on Sunday, but no one was hurt by the storm, local officials said.

It was the second wave of severe thunderstorms to hit Coweta County, about 30 miles south of Atlanta, since Friday.

Jay Jones, the county's deputy fire chief, said some houses were reported to be flattened. Many people reported being trapped in damaged structures by fallen trees or electric lines, "but everyone is accounted for," according to Jones.

"The primary thing with this, is a lot of downed trees," he said.

The National Weather Service issued a tornado warning for Coweta County shortly after 7 p.m. when radar indicated a possible twister near the town of Turin. Tornado warnings were issued about the same time for neighboring Spalding and Fayette counties, but authorities there said they had no reports of damage or injuries.

Sheriff's deputies and firefighters had a difficult time responding to emergency calls because downed trees and power lines had fallen across roads, Jones told CNN. He said those calling to report being trapped included a 14-year-old and more than 30 children and adults attending a child's birthday party. All were safe, he said.

Randy Brown, a supervisor for Coweta County's emergency management agency, said authorities were unlikely to know until Monday morning whether a tornado or just an intense thunderstorm caused the damage.

"We don't have any confirmations on what it was except that it was a storm," he said.

The Forbidden Kingdom move review

An American teenager who is obsessed with Hong Kong cinema and kung-fu classics makes an extraordinary discovery in a Chinatown pawnshop: the legendary stick weapon of the Chinese sage and warrior, the Monkey King. With the lost relic in hand, the teenager unexpectedly finds himself traveling back to ancient China to join a crew of warriors from martial arts lore on a dangerous quest to free the imprisoned Monkey King.

Directed by Rob Minkoff (Stuart Little, Lion King), the film marks the first-ever onscreen pairing of martial arts superstars Jackie Chan (Rush Hour, Drunken Master) and Jet Li (Fearless, Once Upon a Time in China). The original screenplay by John Fusco (Young Guns, Hidalgo) is based on the traditional Chinese legend of the Monkey King. The film is produced by Casey Silver (Ladder 49, Hidalgo, the upcoming Leatherheads) of Casey Silver Productions. Renowned action choreographer Wo Ping (The Matrix, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon) is creating the fight sequences, and the director of photography is Peter Pau (Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon). --© Lions Gate

Chris Gardner - Christopher Paul Gardner

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Christopher Paul Gardner
Born	February 9, 1954 (1954-02-09) (age 54) Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Occupation	CEO of Gardner Rich & Co
Net worth	$65 million USD (2006)

Christopher Paul Gardner (born February 9, 1954 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is a self-made millionaire, entrepreneur, motivational speaker and philanthropist who, during the early 1980s, struggled with homelessness while raising his toddler son, Christopher, Jr.^[1] Gardner's book of memoirs was published in May 2006 by Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.^[2]

As of 2006, he is CEO of his own stockbrokerage firm, Gardner Rich & Co, based in Chicago, Illinois where he resides when he is not living in New York City. Gardner credits his tenacity and success to his "spiritual genetics" handed down to him by his mother, Bettye Jean Triplett, née Gardner,^[3][2][4] and to the high expectations placed on him by his children, Chris Jr. (born 1981) and his daughter, Jacintha (born 1985).^[1] Gardner's personal struggle of establishing himself as a stockbroker while managing fatherhood and homelessness is portrayed in the 2006 motion picture The Pursuit of Happyness, starring actor Will Smith.^[5][4]

Early Years

Chris Gardner was born on February 9, 1954 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He did not have any positive male role models, since his absentee father, Thomas Turner, was living in Louisiana and his stepfather, Freddie Triplett, was a violent man. Despite her unhappy marriage, Gardner's mother, Bettye Jean Triplett, was a source of inspiration and strength. She encouraged Gardner to believe in himself and sowed the seeds of self-reliance in him. Gardner quotes her as saying, "You can only depend on yourself. The cavalry ain't coming."^[6] Gardner was Bettye Jean's second child. He had three sisters: Ophelia (the eldest half-sister from a previous union), Sharon, and Kim (his younger half-sisters from Bettye Jean's marriage to Freddie Triplett).

Freddie Triplett's violent outbursts often left Bettye Jean beaten and nearly fatally injured. Those rages left Gardner and his three sisters constantly afraid.^[3] Bettye Jean was imprisoned when Triplett reported her to the authorities for working while collecting welfare. As a result, her children were raised in foster care during her incarceration. They were put into foster homes once again when Gardner's mother re-entered incarceration for attempting to burn down the house with Triplett inside.^[3] From those experiences, Gardner determined that alcoholism, domestic abuse, child abuse, illiteracy, fear, and powerlessness were all things he wanted to avoid in the future.^[3]

Rare white killer whale is spotted in Aleutian Islands

Photo by H. Fearnbach, NOAA National Marine Mammal Laboratory.

Scientists aboard the NOAA research ship Oscar Dyson experienced a rare sighting Feb. 23, when they came upon a white killer whale swimming with its normal black and white brethren in the Bering Sea.

At the time, the ship's crew was about two miles off Kanaga Volcano, part of Alaska’s Aleutian Islands, taking stock of populations of Pollock. The fish is a critical winter food for threatened Steller sea lions.

Holly Fearnbach, a research biologist at NOAA’s National Marine Mammal Laboratory in Seattle, captured photographs of the unusual animal. Few while killer whales have ever been seen, let alone photographed, she said.

To see her pictures in higher resolution, go to Picture 1, Picture 2 and Picture 3.

Doug DeMaster, director of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, said the scientific team has been collecting extensive information despite the stormy winter weather.

“Extraordinary sightings like this white whale are icing on the cake,” he said.

The whale is not a true albino because of darker pigmented areas on its body. A true albino would have a pink eye, but the NOAA vessel did not get close enough for confirmation.

Experts say the white coloration could be the result of Chediak-Higashi Syndrome, an inherited condition of the immune and nervous system.

In any case, the white whale will help other researchers track the group of orcas if it is seen again this year. Scientists will use the photos to decide whether this white whale might have been seen before. Sightings have been reported in the Aleutian Islands, as well as in the Bering Sea and off the Russian Coast.

10,000 B.C. Review - 10 000 BC Viewers Review

IT's a User Review : With the exception of Godzilla,I have enjoyed director Roland Emmerich's movies.But,now,Emmerich has a very big false move with 10,000 BC which is even worse than Godzilla,which had been a crap also.One of the worst mistakes this movie commits is that the characters do not provoke any interest in the spectator.Another mistake this crappy film has is that it lacks of blood.So,everything in this film is so light that the final result is very insipid.Come on,even the action scenes are pathetic.But,the worst mistake from this movie is that it's BORING and,in a movie like this,that mistake is a sin.The special effects are awesome but they do not have a good story or likable characters as an endorse.10,000 BC is a very crappy movie.I do not recommend this film.Instead of watching this film,I totally recommend you renting Apocalypto,an excellent film with a likable main character,spectacular action sequences and which is enormously entertaining.