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Monday, March 4, 2013

Biden leads re-enactment of voting rights march

Vice President Joe Biden and other lawmakers leads a group across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., Sunday, March 3, 2013. They were commemorating the 48th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when police officers beat marchers when they crossed the bridge on a march from Selma to Montgomery. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Vice President Joe Biden, center, leads a group across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., Sunday, March 3, 2013. They were commemorating the 48th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when police officers beat marchers when they crossed the bridge on a march from Selma to Montgomery. From left: Selma Mayor George Evans, U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., Rev. Jesse Jackson, Biden, Rev. Al Sharpton and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., lead a group across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Ala., Sunday, March 3, 2013. They were commemorating the 48th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when police officers beat marchers when they crossed the bridge on a march from Selma to Montgomery.(AP Photo/Dave Martin)

U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., points to where he and others were beaten 48 years ago when they tried to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge during a civil rights march in Selma, Ala., Sunday, March 3, 2013. At rear is Vice President Joe Biden. At left is U/S. Rep. Terri Sewell, D-Ala., Jesse Jackson is second from left. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder addresses those who gathered for the Bridge Crossing Jubilee in Selma, Ala., Sunday, March 3, 2013. They were commemorating the 48th anniversary of Bloody Sunday, when police officers beat marchers when they crossed the bridge on a march from Selma to Montgomery. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

SELMA, Ala. (AP) ? The vice president and black leaders commemorating a famous civil rights march on Sunday said efforts to diminish the impact of African-Americans' votes haven't stopped in the years since the 1965 Voting Rights Act added millions to Southern voter rolls.

More than 5,000 people followed Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma's annual Bridge Crossing Jubilee.

The event commemorates the "Bloody Sunday" beating of voting rights marchers ? including a young Lewis ? by state troopers as they began a march to Montgomery in March 1965. The 50-mile march prompted Congress to pass the Voting Rights Act that struck down impediments to voting by African-Americans and ended all-white rule in the South.

Biden, the first sitting vice president to participate in the annual re-enactment, said nothing shaped his consciousness more than watching TV footage of the beatings. "We saw in stark relief the rank hatred, discrimination and violence that still existed in large parts of the nation," he said.

Biden said marchers "broke the back of the forces of evil," but that challenges to voting rights continue today with restrictions on early voting and voter registration drives and enactment of voter ID laws where no voter fraud has been shown.

"We will never give up or give in," Lewis told marchers.

Jesse Jackson said Sunday's event had a sense of urgency because the U.S. Supreme Court heard a request Wednesday by a mostly white Alabama county to strike down a key portion of the Voting Rights Act.

"We've had the right to vote 48 years, but they've never stopping trying to diminish the impact of the votes," Jackson said.

Referring to the Voting Rights act, the Rev. Al Sharpton said: "We are not here for a commemoration. We are here for a continuation."

The Supreme Court is weighing Shelby County's challenge to a portion of the law that requires states with a history of racial discrimination, mostly in the Deep South, to get approval from the Justice Department before implementing any changes in election laws. That includes everything from new voting districts to voter ID laws.

Attorneys for Shelby County argued that the pre-clearance requirement is outdated in a state where one-fourth of the Legislature is black. But Jackson predicted the South will return to gerrymandering and more at-large elections if the Supreme Court voids part of the law.

Attorney General Eric Holder, the defendant in Shelby County's suit, told marchers that the South is far different than it was in 1965 but is not yet at the point where the most important part of the voting rights act can be dismissed as unnecessary.

Martin Luther King III, whose father led the march when it resumed after Bloody Sunday, said, "We come here not to just celebrate and observe but to recommit."

One of the NAACP attorneys who argued the case, Debo Adegbile, said when Congress renewed the Voting Rights Act in 2006, it understood that the act makes sure minority inclusion is considered up front.

"It reminds us to think consciously about how we can include all our citizens in democracy. That is as important today as it was in 1965," he said.

Adegbile said the continued need for the law was shown in 2011 when undercover recordings from a bribery investigation at the Alabama Legislature included one white legislator referring to blacks as "aborigines" and other white legislators laughing.

"This was 2011. This was not 1965," he said.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-03-Voting%20Rights%20March/id-9cb3907265f8407297e89517f76daa97

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Kellie Pickler drummer among injured in Ky. crash

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) ? The drummer for country music star Kellie Pickler was in serious condition Sunday as one of five people hospitalized in two crashes that happened within minutes at the same spot on Interstate 65 in central Kentucky and killed six.

Pickler's manager, Larry Fitzgerald, said 36-year-old Gregg Lohman of Goodlettsville, Tenn., suffered serious injuries in the wreck Saturday. He remained in serious condition Sunday at University of Louisville Hospital.

Kentucky State Police Master Trooper Norm Chaffins said Lohman, who also works as a music instructor at Tennessee State University, had head and neck injuries after a four-vehicle wreck in the southbound lanes. It happened about 15 minutes after a fiery crash involving a tractor-trailer and an SUV on the northbound side of the highway.

On her Facebook page, Pickler said Lohman wasn't just a drummer, "he is family."

"I believe in the miracles and the power of prayer, so it would mean the world to me, my band and Gregg's family if you would please keep him in your prayers," Pickler wrote. "Thank y'all so much."

Six people from rural Wisconsin were killed when the tractor-trailer rear-ended their Ford Expedition at about 11:13 a.m. EST Saturday in the northbound lanes near Glendale, Ky.

Killed were 62-year-old driver James Gollnow and his wife, 62-year-old Barbara Gollnow; 92-year-old friend Marion Champnise; 18-year-old Sarina Gollnow, relationship unknown; and foster children 10-year-old Gabriel Zumig and 8-year-old Soledad Smith.

Two other foster children survived and were taken to area hospitals. Police identified them as Hope Hoth, 15, who was transported to a hospital in Lexington with burns and a broken spine; and Aidian Ejnik, 12, who was taken to Kosair Children's Hospital in Louisville with cuts to the back of his head.

Barb Gollnow of Shawano, Wis., the sister-in-law of those killed, called the collision "a horrible tragedy," but said details about her family's trip that led them through the Bluegrass State would have to come from the surviving children in the family. The children did not immediately return a message from The Associated Press left through Gollnow.

State Police said the family was returning to Wisconsin from a vacation to Orlando, Fla.

Chaffins said the tractor-trailer was following too closely to the SUV to stop before the collision. The Expedition was "totally engulfed in flames. It was totally destroyed by the fire," he said, adding, "It's just a charred mess." Distracted driving is among the causes being investigated.

"That's one of the points we're looking into," Chaffins said. "We haven't pinpointed the exact cause."

Chaffins said despite snow flurries, weather was not a factor in Saturday's crashes. The driver was identified as 47-year-old Ibrahim Fetic of Troy, Mich. Police were looking at his driving logs and collected a blood sample.

The National Transportation Safety Board has consulted with law enforcement and doesn't currently plan to open an investigation, spokesman Peter Knudson said.

The two crashes shut down the busy stretch of highway for about five hours.

Chaffins said police were investigating whether rubbernecking was the cause of the wrecks in the southbound lanes.

In that wreck, the Freightliner driven by 58-year-old Mark Bowser from Lewisburg, Ohio, struck Lohman's vehicle, then hit a 2005 Saturn SUV driven by 53-year-old Victor Martinka of Glenview, Ill.

Chaffins said Martinka's vehicle then struck a 2012 Chevrolet SUV driven by Stephanie Yates, 55, of Louisville. Chaffins said none of the other drivers were hospitalized.

The wreck on Saturday happened just north of where a tractor-trailer crossed the median and struck a van carrying 11 people in 2010. In the wake of that crash, the NTSB called for a ban on talking on cellphones or texting by long-distance truckers.

___

Karnowski reported from Minneapolis, Minn.

___

Follow Associated Press reporter Brett Barrouquere on Twitter: http://twitter.com/BBarrouquereAP

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kellie-pickler-drummer-among-injured-ky-crash-211229064.html

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Filing tax returns? Six money-saving tips.

Tax-return tips: File soon, file free (if you qualify), and check out any tax preparer before you hire her to file your tax returns.?

By Susan Lyon,?Contributor / March 2, 2013

Valerie Lashley-Murray has her taxes prepared by Susan Ormant (right) at H&R Block last month in Boston. Before having someone file your tax returns, you should check them out.

Melanie Stetson Freeman/The Christian Science Monitor/File

Enlarge

The challenges of tax season are upon us, and if there?s one thing that novice and experienced taxpayers alike have to learn and relearn every year, it?s that lots of people want your money.? The federal government, state and local governments, certified public accountants (CPAs), and the tax preparer advertising on TV all want a piece of the pie.? By getting organized early and following these expert tips as April 15 approaches, you?ll avoid the rush and, in all likelihood, a lot of money.

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Weiner says increased penalties are '2014 issue'

SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) ? Baseball players' union head Michael Weiner says toughening penalties for drug violations will have to wait until the 2014 season.

"There are going to be talks. I don't what the result is going to be," he said Sunday after meeting with the Baltimore Orioles as part of his tour of the 30 spring training camps.

The current sanctions have been in place since the 2006 season: 50 games for a first offense, 100 for a second and a lifetime ban for a third. Selig held a news conference Saturday and said he wanted increased penalties as soon as possible.

"Starting this offseason, we had substantial discussion among player leadership about whether the penalty structure we have is right ? whether there should be increases ? whether there should be a differential penalty for intentional or unintentional users," Weiner said.

"That dialogue is continuing. We had some dialogue even with the commissioner's office in the offseason that didn't lead to any changes, and I suspect that we'll have those discussions over the course of the year," he said. "But it's going to be a 2014 issue. We're not going to change the rules of the game in the middle of the season. In a sense, the drug-testing season started with spring training."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/weiner-says-increased-penalties-2014-issue-183032075--mlb.html

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Stymied by a GOP House, Obama looks ahead to 2014 to cement his legacy (Washington Post)

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Sunday, March 3, 2013

Pistorius bought, collected guns in Olympic year

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? In his Olympic year, Oscar Pistorius steadily became an avid firearms collector, joining a gun-collecting club and purchasing a collection of firearms that included a .500 Magnum pistol dubbed by its manufacturer as "the most powerful production revolver in the world" and a civilian version of a military assault rifle.

At the end of 2012, in the first blush of his romance with Reeva Steenkamp, the model he later shot and killed, Pistorius got deeper into his hobby. It was known that Pistorius liked guns but only now, from Associated Press interviews with other collectors, is it becoming clear the extent to which he became a dedicated firearms aficionado in the 12 months before he shot Steenkamp.

The track star not only applied for licenses to own more guns, but actually bought them, too, according to John Beare, vice chairman of the Lowveld Firearm Collectors Association which accepted Pistorius as a paid-up member last April. He and Pistorius were introduced at a Johannesburg hotel in January 2012, and it was there that Beare first explained to the athlete and some of his friends how to become certified collectors.

Had he not become a collector, Pistorius would under South African law have been limited to a maximum of four firearms for self-defense, of which only two could have been handguns, according to Johannesburg attorney Martin Hood, who specializes in firearms law.

Carvel Webb, chairman of the National Arms and Ammunition Collectors Confederation of South Africa, an umbrella group for the country's 2,000 approved private collectors including Pistorius, said that in the wake of Steenkamp's killing his group will now verify that Pistorius fulfilled the necessary requirements to be accepted as a collector and a decision in January to let him start collecting semi-automatic rifles.

"We will review all of those just to see if we are happy with it," Webb said.

Pistorius made no secret of his passion for firearms. Reporters who visited him at home in Pretoria, the capital, saw the pistol he kept by his bed and was licensed to own. He practiced at firing ranges both in South Africa and in Europe where he trained for the London Games. But apparently less well-known was his involvement with gun collectors to start building a firearms collection.

Beare said he twice observed Pistorius shoot at firing ranges and also at a clay pigeon shoot, but saw nothing to suggest he could be a menace with a gun.

"His safety was good," Beare told the AP. "He wouldn't do anything irrational with a firearm, because then I would have nailed him immediately."

Pistorius says he mistook his girlfriend Steenkamp for a home intruder and shot her while she was in his bathroom toilet, firing through the closed door. Pistorius' license for the 9 mm pistol was issued on Sept. 10, 2010, according to the South African Police Service's National Firearms Center. It was registered for self-defense

Prosecutors have charged Pistorius with premeditated murder for killing Steenkamp with three of four shots fired in the early hours of Feb. 14.

"I had no reason to believe that there was anything wrong, that he could have a dark side, that there could be something wrong," said Beare.

However, Roberto Siriu, president of the Tolmezzo shooting range in northeast Italy, said Pistorius did not seem to him to be well-trained with firearms.

"No, I don't think so. He didn't give me that impression," Siriu told the AP.

Pistorius shot at Tolmezzo during breaks from athletic training in the nearby town of Gemona. In November 2011, Pistorius posted a photo of himself firing a rifle at Tolmezzo, with the words: "Had a 96% headshot over 300m from 50shots! Bam!"

Last June, seven weeks before he made history by running at the London Games, Pistorius tweeted that he was going back to Tolmezzo to shoot vintage rifles, adding: "Amped to the max! Yeaaah boi!!"

Gun collecting is regulated by South Africa's stringent Firearms Control Act. Pistorius had to explain to his collecting association, both in writing and in interviews, what types of firearms he wanted to collect and why.

Beare said he and two other association members interviewed Pistorius in June or July 2012, shortly before he became the first double-amputee Olympic runner.

"He was still budding (as a collector) at that stage. He had done his research on it and he was interested in American firearms," Beare said.

The association certified Pistorius as a beginner collector, Beare said. Pistorius bought two Smith & Wesson revolvers and three shotguns and sent photos of the firearms and their serial numbers to the association, as required, Beare said.

But Pistorius couldn't take actual physical possession of his firearms because he didn't have police-issued licenses for them. So the weapons were kept for safekeeping by a gun dealer, Beare said. At firing ranges, Pistorius used other people's guns, he added.

Pistorius eventually applied for the licenses in January, according to the National Firearms Center. It listed his weapons as:

?A Smith & Wesson model 500. With a caliber of .500 Magnum, it is called "the most powerful production revolver in the world" by its manufacturer in Springfield, Massachusetts. "A hunting handgun for any game animal walking," the company's website says. Pistorius was "quite fascinated" with that particular weapon, Beare said.

?A Smith & Wesson .38-caliber revolver.

?Three shotguns: A Mossberg, a Maverick and a Winchester, all American makes.

?A Vektor .223-caliber rifle.

The current status of those applications is unclear. Firearms Center officials said after Pistorius killed Steenkamp that the six license applications were sent back to a Johannesburg police station to be refilled, but the reason for that wasn't given.

For civilian collectors, the Vektor is the closest they can get to the R-series assault rifles used by South Africa's military. For civilian use, the rifle is modified to make it only semi-automatic. Because it is classed as a restricted weapon in South Africa, Pistorius had to upgrade his status from a beginner to a more serious collector.

As part of that upgrading process, Pistorius was interviewed again by his collectors' club this January, Beare said. It accepted the runner's explanation that he wanted to collect weapons linked to South African military history, Beare said. He said that entitled Pistorius to start collecting not just South African firearms but also Russian-made guns that guerrilla groups have used over the years to fight South African forces.

Pistorius bought the Vektor around December, and sent the serial number and a photo to the association, Beare added.

Collecting firearms can be expensive. Vektors sell for US$1,100 to US$1,500 on South African gun-resale websites. Pistorius' athletic success and sponsorships have made him wealthy. Beare said he understood that Pistorius was planning to build on his collection over time.

"You start small and then you start growing," he said.

Some have questioned why Pistorius felt he needed such a variety of weapons and whether the association should have certified him.

Andre Pretorius, president of the Professional Firearm Trainers Council, a regulatory body for South African firearms instructors, said he struggles to see how pistols, shotguns and a semi-automatic rifle could be regarded as a coherent collection.

"The makes differ, the models differ and generally a collection needs to have a theme," said Pretorius. "I don't see there's a theme here."

But Webb, of the collectors' confederation, disagreed.

"There was a logic," Webb told the AP. "He's got three approved areas of interest."

___

AP Sports Writer Andrew Dampf in Rome contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pistorius-bought-collected-guns-olympic-133811378--oly.html

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