Top Local News Stories for Converse, Texas.

Top San Antonio Area Local News Stories

Bud weakens to a tropical storm off Mexico's coast

Hurricane Bud weakened to a tropical storm as it approached Mexico's southwestern coast on Friday, the National Hurricane Center said. The storm, with maximum sustained winds of 70 mph, could drench the Mexican states of Jalisco, Colima, Michoacan, Guerrero and Guanajuanto, the Mexican state news agency Notimex reported. "Continued weakening is expected during the next 48 hours," the National Hurricane Center said in its 8 p.m. ET advisory. Earlier in the day, the storm weakened to a Category 1 hurricane. Bud, the second named tropical storm of the East Pacific hurricane season, was about 80 miles (about 130 km) west-northwest of Manzanillo and 65 miles (about 105 km) south-southeast of Cabo Corrientes, the hurricane center said in its 8 p.m. ET advisory. It was moving north at about 7 mph. A tropical storm warning has been issued for Manzanillo northwest to Cabo Corrientes, while a tropical storm watch is out for the coast north of Cabo Corrientes to San Blas, according to the hurricane center. A hurricane warning and watch, issued previously, have been discontinued. Bud is expected to bring between 6-10 inches of rain along Mexico's southwestern coast, with isolated amounts of 15 inches possible in spots, the center said. "These rainfall amounts could produce life-threatening flash floods and mudslides," according to the U.S. weather agency. Swells generated by Bud were already affecting areas on Mexico's southern and southwestern coasts. They "are likely to cause life-threatening surf and rip current conditions," the hurricane center said.

Published: Sat, 26 May 2012 11:30:45 GMT

Suspect in Etan Patz case arraigned on murder charge

Pedro Hernandez was arraigned early Friday evening on a second-degree murder charge tied to the case of Etan Patz, the New York boy whose disappearance 33 years to the day spurred nationwide attention about missing children. The suspect appeared about 6:25 p.m. Friday via video feed from Manhattan's Bellevue Hospital, where he is being held for evaluation and is on suicide watch, according to a law enforcement source. Judge Matthew Sciarrino presided over the proceedings from a New York courtroom, where people watched the arraignment. Sciarrino denied bail for Hernandez after defense attorney Harvey Fishbein said the suspect has a "long psychiatric history" including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and hallucinations. The lawyer asked that Hernandez undergo a full psychiatric evaluation, a request the judge granted. Dressed in an orange jumpsuit and sitting at a brown table, Hernandez did not speak and showed no evident emotion during the proceedings. The next major step in the legal process would be for a grand jury to hear prosecutors' evidence against Hernandez for a potential indictment, after the defense waived its right to an expedited indictment on Friday. It is not clear when this might happen. Earlier Friday, Hernandez was sent to the hospital "because he's on medications, and we prefer to administer those in a hospital setting," said police spokesman Paul Browne, who declined to elaborate on the medications. "When Hernandez arrived at the hospital, he began making statements that he wanted to die, and a psychiatric evaluation was ordered, " added the law enforcement source. The former Manhattan stock clerk who lived in Etan's neighborhood when the boy vanished was arrested the previous day by police following up on a tip. Hernandez, who was 19 in 1979, told police he lured Etan to a store with the promise of a soda, choked him and placed his body in the trash about a block and a half away, Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said. The boy was killed in the basement of a Manhattan building, according to the charging document filed late Friday afternoon by the Manhattan district attorney's office. "Detectives believe in the credibility of the statement," Kelly said, although investigators had not uncovered any forensic evidence linking Hernandez to the boy's disappearance. Kelly said it is unlikely that Etan's remains would be found. "He did the right thing, you know, to confess," Hernandez's brother-in-law Jose Lopez told CNN affiliate KYW. "Get this thing over with for the people out there and the family over here." But Lisa Cohen, whose 2009 book, "After Etan," is widely considered the definitive account of the case, said she's not convinced that Hernandez killed the boy. "No, I'm not, but that's not necessarily because he didn't do it," she said. "That's just because this has just happened. I'd never heard his name before." Hernandez has no criminal record and is the father of a teenage girl, Kelly said. Etan, 6, went missing on May 25, 1979, a block from his home in Manhattan. He was walking to school alone for the first time when he vanished. His disappearance helped spawn a national movement to raise awareness of missing children, including the then-novel approach of putting an image of the child's face on thousands of milk cartons. In the years after Etan's disappearance, Hernandez told a family member and others that he had "done a bad thing" and killed a child in New York, police said. While the motive remained unclear, Kelly described it as a crime of opportunity and said Hernandez was remorseful. "The detectives thought it was a feeling of relief on his part," he said. Other employees of the store were interviewed after Etan disappeared, but not Hernandez, police said. "I can't tell you why," Kelly said. The police investigation continues, as does the FBI's, the agency said in a statement Thursday night. "The FBI's investigation into the disappearance of Etan Patz remains active and ongoing. We remain determined to solve this case," FBI Assistant Director Janice K. Fedarcyk said in the statement. Thursday's arrest came nearly a month after investigators searched the former basement workshop of carpenter Othniel Miller, who had given Etan a dollar the day before the boy's disappearance for helping him around the shop. Etan had said before he disappeared that he planned to use the dollar to buy a soda. The search produced no apparent clues. "Mr. Miller is relieved by these developments, as he was not involved in any way with Etan Patz's disappearance," said Miller's attorney, Michael C. Farkas. "At the same time, Mr. Miller is very pleased that those responsible for this heinous crime may be brought to justice, and the Patz family may finally have the closure they deserve." A separate law enforcement source said Thursday that Hernandez's claims were being treated with "a healthy dose of skepticism." The tipster whose information led to Hernandez's arrest contacted authorities months ago after news coverage of their renewed search. That contact, at least in part, prompted investigators to question Hernandez. A spokeswoman for the Manhattan district attorney's office, which reopened the case in 2010, declined to comment on the recent development. Etan was officially declared dead in 2001 as part of a lawsuit filed by his family against Jose Antonio Ramos, a drifter and convicted child molester acquainted with Etan's baby sitter. A judge found Ramos responsible for the boy's death and ordered him to pay the family $2 million, money the Patz family has never received. Although Ramos was considered a key focus of the investigation for years, he has never been charged in the case. He is serving a 20-year prison sentence in Pennsylvania for molesting another boy and is set to be released this year. President Ronald Reagan named May 25, the day Etan went missing, as National Missing Children's Day.

Published: Sat, 26 May 2012 11:07:45 GMT

Man arrested in Vatican over papal documents leak

The Vatican has confirmed the arrest of a non-clerical staff member on suspicion of leaking confidential documents to an Italian journalist. "A man, not a priest, is under arrest following the investigations that led the Vatican police to identify a person holding illegally private documents," Vatican spokesman Federico Lombardi told CNN in a telephone interview Friday. Italy's ANSA news agency identified the man as 46-year-old Paolo Gabriele, the papal butler, who is one of only a handful of people with access to the pontiff's private desk. Gabriele has worked for Pope Benedict since 2006 and his job included handing out rosaries to dignitaries and riding in the front seat of the "Popemobile," a vehicle used for public papal appearances, according to ANSA and evidenced in many photographs showing Gabriele with the pope. Last month, the Vatican gave Cardinal Julian Herranz a "pontifical mandate" to uncover the source of hundreds of personal letters and confidential documents that have been released to Gianluigi Nuzzi, an Italian journalist and author of "Sua Santita" or "His Holiness" in which he published the documents. Nuzzi would not confirm the identity of his sources, but he told CNN that his primary source, who he referred to as "Maria" in his book, "risked life and limb" if ever found out. Nuzzi will not identify the gender or ages of his sources, but he told CNN that they worked inside the Vatican. He would not confirm if they were clergy or not. Nuzzi told CNN that he has not been questioned in connection with the arrest. The Vatican called the publication of his book "criminal" when it was released last Saturday in Italian. It has risen to number 1 in Italian book sales, according to Feltrenelli and Mondadori booksellers. Nuzzi's book highlights an internal power struggle within the Vatican through numerous documents including faxes, personal letters and inter-Vatican memos. Nuzzi told CNN that he received the documents during a year of private meetings in secret locations. The documents show that the allegations of corruption and money laundering were a concern for a number of high ranking prelates, including Carlo Maria Vigano, who is now the Papal Nuncio in Washington, DC. Vigano wrote in a series of letters to the pope that he was concerned about the spread of corruption and that his move to Washington would stir speculation. "Holy Father, my transfer at this time would provoke much disorientation and discouragement in those who have believed it was possible to clean up so many situations of corruption and abuse of power that have been rooted in the management of so many departments," according to his letter which was published in the book. The Vatican has not denied the authenticity of the documents, but instead says the breach of privacy is a criminal act. The Vatican has its own judicial system, separate from the Italian judicial system. The suspect is being held in a special cell within the Vatican City, a walled enclave within Rome, according to Lombardi. There is no information about whether his legal defense will be from one of the Vatican's house lawyers, or if he will use the services of a lawyer outside the Vatican system. Nicola Picardi, the Vatican's chief prosecutor, is leading the investigation, according to Lombardi. The pope is "saddened and shocked" at the arrest, he added.

Published: Sat, 26 May 2012 09:11:59 GMT

Hitting the road on Memorial Day? You're not alone

Drivers are expected to encounter jam-packed highways during the upcoming Memorial Day holiday weekend, according to a survey released Tuesday by AAA Approximately 30.7 million Americans plan to drive to their destination this year, an increase of more than 500,000 travelers on the road compared to 2011, according to the organization, which provides roadside and travel services. However, people won't be traveling as far as they have in previous years to see their family and friends, the survey found. High gas prices and tight budgets are forcing travelers to rethink their trips. The average distance of travel this year is expected to be 642 miles, 150 miles less than last year's Memorial Day holiday, according to AAA. "Steadily increasing gas prices throughout the spring significantly squeezed many household budgets," AAA President and CEO Robert Darbelnet said in a statement. While most survey respondents said increased fuel prices won't impact their decisions, 47 percent said they'll handle the high gas prices by cutting other costs so they can still make their trip. Those who intend to economize plan to reduce entertainment costs, stay at less expensive hotels or stay with friends. But even if plans include crashing on a cousin's couch to save cash, the average cost of the trip is estimated to be higher this year. The survey's median cost of the holiday weekend is $702, a slight increase over last year's $692. The dominant mode of transportation for people will be by automobile. Nine out of 10 travelers will go by car. Only 7 percent of survey respondents plan to fly to their destinations this year, a decrease of 5 percent from 2011. The rest of the holiday travelers will go by rail, bus and boat. The annual survey considers those traveling 50 miles or more between May 24 and May 28 as holiday travelers.

Published: Sat, 26 May 2012 05:36:13 GMT

Did Britney walk off 'X Factor' set?

Britney Spears is refuting reports that suggest she walked off "The X Factor" set after a contestant performed a pitchy version of her hit "Hold It Against Me." "#Britneywalksoff??? LOL was just taking a little break people. I am having the BEST time!!!" the singer tweeted on Thursday. Prior to her clarification, Spears wrote, "Texas has a lot of talent -- seriously! Loving @TheXFactorUSA auditions so far..." A source close to the show told People Magazine: "[Spears] was not upset. She just took a short break, which is not uncommon for judges to do in these taped shows." It seems Spears' fellow new judge Demi Lovato also appeared to have a good time at the Texas auditions. The actress poked fun at Simon Cowell, calling him "grandpa" at one point, according to E! Even fellow judge L.A. Reid wasn't safe. He tweeted: "Day 1 @TheXFactorUSA and I have already been cut to shreds by @ddlovato. Let the games begin!" Spears and Lovato replaced former judges Nicole Scherzinger and Paula Abdul.

Published: Sat, 26 May 2012 05:15:12 GMT

Golden Gate Bridge turns 75 with party

Seventy-five years later, the innovation and courage of those who designed and built the Golden Gate Bridge shine as brightly as the span's orange towers. The suspension bridge connecting San Francisco and Marin County opened to vehicles on May 28, 1937, a little more than four years after construction began. A daylong celebration Sunday will include music, vintage cars, a watercraft parade and technology demonstrations. The events will be capped by a spectacular fireworks display showcasing the bridge and surrounding parkland. A dedication Friday of new visitor facilities and services paid tribute to the audacity that created the bridge and the 11 men who died during its construction. "Built in the midst of the Great Depression, this bridge is a reminder, no matter what the daunting challenge and overwhelming obstacles, America always invests in big and bold endeavors." said Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-California. The bridge is named for the Golden Gate Strait, a symbol of hope for immigrants and safety for troops returning from war, Pelosi said. Sunday's activities will be centered at Crissy Field and Marina Green, along the northern waterfront of San Francisco. The bridge was made for superlatives and wow-inducing numbers, as provided by the Golden Gate Bridge Highway & Transportation District: -- Each tower has approximately 600,000 rivets. -- The 4,200-foot suspension span was the longest in the world until New York's Verrazano-Narrows Bridge opened in 1964. -- Painting is an ongoing task, because it protects the bridge from high salt content in the air, which corrodes steel components. -- The bridge has been closed three times because of weather. What's the chance of signature Golden Gate fog during Sunday's festival? National Weather Service meteorologist Steve Anderson said there will be low clouds in the morning, partly cloudy skies in the afternoon and a mostly clear outlook for the evening.

Published: Sat, 26 May 2012 04:14:45 GMT

Spurs on track for 5th NBA crown, but...yawn?

LeBron James is cocky. Kobe Bryant is a ball hog. Kevin Garnett is a thug. Dwight Howard got his coach fired. And Metta World Peace? Ugh, Metta World Peace. These are the constant groans of NBA fans filling message boards and Twitter. We'll leave it to you to debate their merits in the comments below, but the message is (supposedly) clear: We want better role models, less individualism and players who show respect for the game. So what about the San Antonio Spurs? They are, for the most part, none of those negative things. They're the winningest pro franchise in the country over the last 15 years, led by two men, David Robinson and Tim Duncan, who epitomize humility. They play as a team -- quiet, dignified. They've accrued four rings since 1999, and they've done it without a whole lot of chest thumping, hooting and hollering. This year, only the now-dispatched Chicago Bulls matched their regular season record at 50-16, and the Spurs are heading into Sunday's Western Conference finals with several days' rest after sweeping their first two opponents. So, why don't we love them? Nay, adore them? Well, it's because we're kind of jerks. No, San Antonio, we're not talking about you. Clearly, you're gaga over them. We're talking about the rest of the country. We're talking about you, casual sports fan. Where's the love? Why aren't you decked out in silver and black? "Because fans are hypocrites," Turner Sports reporter and NBA guru David Aldridge stated bluntly. "People say one thing ... but they won't watch guys who do it the right way." I'm as guilty as the next fan. I've been an Atlanta Hawks fan since I was old enough to make these kinds of decisions, so I viscerally despise the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat, yet I've watched almost every minute of their playoff games. I even stayed up late to take in the Los Angeles Lakers-Oklahoma City Thunder series. Yet when the Spurs are on, my attention is far from rapt. I might tidy up the living room during the game or run an errand. If anyone plays me in Scramble With Friends, they'll get an immediate reply. "I think we're all fallible that way," said Dan Lebowitz, executive director of Northeastern University's Sport in Society. "We are drawn to celebrity. We are drawn to grandeur in many respects. There's a push-pull in each of ourselves -- the lure of grandeur versus the beauty of hard work." It's not just sports, either, said Lebowitz, whose organization strives to tap sports for positive social change. You see it with movie stars and politics as well. "We award abhorrent behaviors and don't spend a lot of time celebrating behavior that ought to be celebrated," he said. "The way our culture is, we often say we want one thing, but we often bow down to negativity and the celebration of the egregious." Type "San Antonio Spurs" or "Tim Duncan" into Google alongside the word "boring," and you will see how many column inches writers have devoted to the topic. Never mind that the Spurs averaged 103.7 points per game during the season (second in the league) or that they've won 18 straight, including their first eight playoff games. ESPN'S Stuart Scott tweeted this week, "I'm NOT 1 of those ppl who thnk Spurs r boring 2 watch. I LUV the way they play" -- thereby affirming the nation's overriding sentiment on the matter. Author Frank Deford wrote a column for NPR this week, mockingly wondering why wildly successful head coach Gregg Popovich doesn't think he's a genius or why Duncan doesn't ever try to get Pop fired. "Tim Duncan is not only not known just as Tim, he is not even known as Duncan. In fact, he is always called 'Tim Duncan,' to make sure we remember who he is," he wrote. "So it's really not even going to seem like the NBA if Tim Duncan and Pop lead San Antonio back to the championship. Of course, outside of the Greater Alamo area, maybe nobody will even notice." Ouch, but true. Spurs games aren't exactly ratings grabbers. To be fair, the NBA appears to want to capitalize on this fan ambivalence rather than correct it. Go ahead and peruse the NBA Playoffs commercials on YouTube, and you'll notice a dearth of Duncan and the squad's other stars, Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili -- none of whose jerseys makes the list of the league's 15 best-sellers. In a 60-second playoff spot that aired last month, featuring one of those hyperkinetic highlight montages, 25 players are featured before you see the first clip of Duncan dunking 35 seconds into the commercial. By then, James, Bryant, the Jazz's Devin Harris, the Thunder's Kevin Durant, the Clippers' Blake Griffin and the Mavs' Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry had been featured numerous times. Even the Mavs' Ian Mahinmi and the Knicks' Iman Shumpert get face time before you see Duncan. Who, you ask? Exactly. Parker and Ginobili get even less love. The Spurs' point guard, who had one of his best seasons ever and came in fifth in MVP voting, isn't featured until the 55th second. You won't see Ginobili until a few seconds before the commercial ends. "People don't find Tim Duncan doing the drop step terribly exciting," Aldridge said of one of the big man's most potent moves in the paint. "Tim's just not a guy people get excited about seeing." It's a disappointing thing to hear about a guy who has averaged 20 points and 11 boards for a decade and half, switching from power forward to center with an ease in which the average man might change his underwear. As a power forward, Aldridge considers Duncan among the top two or three of the last 30 years. As a center, he's in the top five or six, somewhere behind luminaries Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Bill Russell, Aldridge said. Yet the four NBA Finals in which the Spurs snared their championships -- 1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007 -- are among the lowest-rated finals in recent history, Aldridge said, and it has a lot to do with Duncan's low-key nature. In a recent Sports Illustrated cover story (at least our pals at SI are giving Duncan his props), Chris Ballard reported that the 6-foot-11 star veteran out of Wake Forest was content to stay out of the spotlight. He largely eschews endorsements and long interviews for the most part and is content "100 times out of 100" to spend his off days with his wife and two kids. "With the media, I just keep it basic, surface, to the point," Duncan told the reporter. "You're here to talk about basketball. I'll give you what you want, and let's go home. I don't really care about anyone getting to know me, or getting into my life or anything else like that." Yet with almost no hype, no trash talking, no taunting opponents, no pompous show of powdering one's hands, Duncan has led the team to unprecedented success: The Spurs own a .702 winning percentage in Duncan's 15 years in the league -- better than any MLB, NFL, NHL or NBA team in the land, according to SI. Popovich has always surrounded Duncan with players who suit the star's personality and playing style, just as he did with David Robinson when the Naval Academy graduate anchored the team. Pop's mentality is just as important to the Spurs' culture as Duncan "quietly leading the team to excellence year in, year out," Lebowitz said. He knows the game's challenges and how to get the best out of his squad, and there is a "great human reciprocity between him and his players." He teaches his players how best to carry themselves as part of the Spurs' brand, and the players know how to wear it, even if the jerseys don't sell so well, Lebowitz said. "You can't base success on monetization," he said. Establishing the culture has been important to the team's success, Lebowitz said, pointing to Parker and forward Stephen Jackson as examples. Parker went through a divorce to actress Eva Longoria last year after facing allegations that he cheated on her with an ex-teammate's wife. Captain Jack, as he's known, rejoined the team midseason this year, his sixth team change since he left the Spurs in 2003. A key figure in 2004's "Malice in the Palace," Jackson until this year was better known for his big mouth and his penchant for nightclubs. This season, there has been little mention of Parker's or Jackson's pasts, as both have quietly made themselves invaluable to this year's championship campaign. While Parker has had an MVP-caliber season, Jackson has come off the bench, averaging an awfully helpful nine points, four rebounds and two dishes per game. "This is a team that has achieved through cooperative culture," Lebowitz said. "I don't try to match it up against another ballclub. I just say, 'There's a place that's doing it right.' " Heap all the credit you want on Popovich, the reigning and two-time NBA coach of the year, but Aldridge said the success wouldn't be possible without Duncan, who "allows Gregg Popovich to coach him." Unlike some of the big stars in the league, Duncan allows Pop to "yell at him, curse at him and treat him like a dog," and Duncan's teammates have to follow suit, Aldridge said. "Their whole team is predicated on all these people who can play with Tim and around Tim," he said. "(Popovich) has said he doesn't want to spend the rest of his years in the NBA coaching a bunch of jerks." It's a model Lebowitz wishes more teams would follow. Call the Spurs boring all you want, but true basketball fans appreciate the grace and efficiency with which Duncan & Co. knock down opponents. What's more, Lebowitz sees in Duncan -- and previously, in Robinson -- a quiet champion whom he wouldn't mind any of his five sons striving to emulate. And for fans such as Lebowitz, there are some things more important to society than selling jerseys.

Published: Sat, 26 May 2012 03:48:52 GMT

Police: Indiana gunman frees hostages, shoots self

A gunman looking for someone he believed owed him money took and released hostages in Valparaiso, Indiana, before fatally shooting himself, authorities said Friday. The unidentified suspect, who had two gunshot wounds to his head, died Friday evening, said Valparaiso Police Sgt. Michael Grennes. Mayor Jon Costas said a man from the area went to the Prudential office building, which included a real estate business, to find someone who allegedly owed him money. The person was not there, and the man pulled out a handgun. Arriving officers engaged in a brief exchange of gunfire with the suspect, police said, and the standoff began. Grennes declined to give the number of hostages, but said they were released over several hours. Earlier, Grennes said there were fewer than 10 people in the building. The gunman remained barricaded in the building after the last hostages were released. Police swarmed in about 4:30 p.m. after hearing the gunshots, Grennes said. One female employee was treated and released for a head injury received from the suspect, police said. The injury was not the result of a gunshot. CNN iReporter Scott Kleckner said he saw a SWAT team and helicopters in the area. Local law enforcement agencies and the FBI assisted, Grennes said.

Published: Sat, 26 May 2012 02:49:31 GMT

Florida brush fire temporarily closes Interstate 4 near Disney World

A brush fire near Disney World prompted authorities to bar traffic in both directions along a major central Florida highway for several hours at the beginning of the busy Memorial Day weekend, a police spokeswoman said. Large plumes of white and gray smoke hovered over and around Interstate 4 for much of Friday afternoon, footage from CNN affiliate WKMG showed. Flames about 6 feet high could be seen rising from one section off the highway, just off an exit ramp to Epcot/Downtown Disney and South International Drive. Firefighters aboard what looked like a red pickup drove up to it and shot water to subdue that part of the fire. Other overhead footage showed a tractor-like vehicle roving through lightly forested areas off a highway, where small patches of fire were evident. A small section of grass could be seen burning along one stretch of road, mere feet from where cars were buzzing by. By 3 p.m., eastbound lanes of that interstate highway had been shut down around Osceola Parkway because of the fire, according to Kim Montes, a spokeswoman for the Florida Highway Patrol. Soon afterward, state troopers shut westbound lanes of the same highway, shuttling that traffic onto U.S. 528. But the situation improved considerably over the course of the afternoon, with increasingly fewer flames and less smoke visible. By 5:30 p.m., Interstate 4 had reopened in both directions, according to Montes. "All you have to do is look in your own yard to see how dry it is right now. It takes nothing for a small fire to become a big fire," Orange County Fire Rescue Battalion Chief David Sullivan told reporters. "Luckily no one has been hurt, no one has been displaced, nothing has been damaged," he added. Joseph Sikon, a 21-year-old who attends medical school in Orlando, said he noticed the blaze after getting out of a movie theater Friday afternoon in Downtown Disney, part of the Walt Disney World Resort. "It was this large cloud of pluming smoke," said Sikon, a CNN iReporter. "Obviously, it was a very large fire." David Charlton, a Shelbyville, Kentucky, resident staying at the Gaylord Palms Resort and Convention Center in Kissimmee, said he noticed smoke about 1:30 p.m. Within 15 minutes, the situation had deteriorated significantly. "It was pretty smoky and irritating to breathe," said Charlton, who submitted photographs to CNN iReport from outside the hotel that showed Orange County fire vehicles directly across the street. He said activities at the resort were initially called off because of the fire. But later in the afternoon, there was an announcement that the fire was under control. The fire struck in and around a tourist haven at the onset of Memorial Day weekend, traditionally one of the busiest travel periods of the year. This month, AAA predicted that there would be a 1.2% increase in travel through Florida this weekend, compared with the same period last year. Overall, the organization expects 34.8 million people nationwide to travel 50 miles or more over this Memorial Day stretch, the vast majority of them -- 30.7 million -- doing so by car, truck or bus.

Published: Sat, 26 May 2012 02:04:04 GMT

President Obama tweets his pitch to the public

It was a mini Twitter town hall. After delivering remarks on his clean-energy policy in Newton, Iowa, President Barack Obama sat down at a laptop and answered a handful of questions on Twitter that had been submitted hours earlier by the tweeting public. "This is barack-let's get this started!" Obama typed. In 140 characters or fewer, questions focused on topics such energy independence, help for homeowners stuck with underwater mortgages, and assistance for small businesses. "What plans do u have to keep us & our fellow smlbiz afloat?" one person wrote. Obama responded by explaining what he had done to give small businesses tax credits for hiring new workers and tweeting that he was pushing for more assistance on his to-do list. "items on #CongressToDoList puts more $ in folks pockets, which means more customers for you," he wrote. On a question about student loans, the president blamed Republicans for "not moving fast enough." When one person asked about help for homeowners trapped by underwater or upside-down mortgages -- when someone owes more than his home is worth -- Obama took a swipe at his likely opponent, Mitt Romney, whom he didn't mention by name. "I refuse to let mkt hit bottom," Obama wrote, a reference to comments Romney once made about the housing market. Obama ended the Twitter Q&A by telling his cyber audience that he was off to Des Moines, where he was holding a grassroots campaign rally at the Iowa State Fairgrounds. "thx for questions - keep em coming. remember we're not D's or R's but americans first!"

Published: Sat, 26 May 2012 00:41:46 GMT

Postal Service offers buyouts to 45,000 mail handlers

The U.S. Postal Service is offering buyouts to 45,000 mail handlers, part of the struggling agency's efforts to shed staff and cut costs. The $15,000 buyouts, pro-rated for part-time staff, are available to nearly all of the Postal Service's mail handlers, excluding around 2,000 who aren't career employees. Mail handlers work at post offices and mail processing centers sorting mail, transporting it within their facility and loading and unloading trucks. "The Postal Service is adjusting the size of its network to adapt to America's changing mailing trends," USPS spokesman Mark Saunders said in an email Friday. The Postal Service wants to reduce its workforce by 150,000 by 2015, though Saunders said he had "nothing to announce" regarding potential buyouts for other USPS employees. The offer for mail handlers, finalized earlier this week, came as a result of talks between the Postal Service and the National Postal Mail Handlers Union. In a statement Thursday, the union said the deal "is intended to provide a financial cushion, and added peace of mind, for Mail Handlers who might be prepared to move on to the next chapter of their lives." The Postal Service reported a $3.2 billion loss for the first three months of this year. The recession, declining mail volumes and a congressional mandate to pre-fund retirement health care benefits drove the losses. The health care mandate is a major liability for the Postal Service, which doesn't have the cash to make a $5.5 billion payment that's due in August. The Postal Service supports itself on sales of postage and mail services, and gets no taxpayer funding. Earlier this month, the agency announced that it was averting previously-planned closures of rural post offices and delaying consolidations of postal plants. Some 48 plants are still set to be closed or consolidated in July and August, and others could follow in 2013 and 2014.

Published: Sat, 26 May 2012 00:14:28 GMT

'True Blood' actor, Lohan to star in movie

"True Blood's" Grant Bowler will play Richard Burton in the Lifetime biopic "Liz & Dick," according to Deadline. The report states that the actor, who played Cooter on HBO's vampire series, was cast a mere 10 days before filming is set to begin. He'll star alongside Lindsay Lohan's Elizabeth Taylor in the flick, which will chronicle the highly publicized relationship between Burton and Taylor. The pair engaged in an affair in the early '60s. They eventually married ... and then divorced ... twice. Taylor and Burton appeared in many films together, including "Cleopatra," "The Taming of the Shrew" and "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" We wonder what Rosie O'Donnell thinks of the decision to cast Bowler as Burton...

Published: Sat, 26 May 2012 00:13:48 GMT

Neighbors say suspect in Patz killing lived a quiet life with his family

The two-story tan house on East Linwood Avenue is unremarkable for suburban Maple Shade, just outside Camden, New Jersey. The man who lived there with his wife and teenage daughter blended in, too. He had friends and family over for barbecues on Memorial Day and other holidays. His neighbors described him as quiet and smiling. But Pedro Hernandez, 51, was apparently living with the knowledge of a terrible act for 33 years. Police believe the confession Hernandez made and signed: that he lured 6-year-old Etan Patz, who vanished near his Manhattan home on May 25, 1979, to a store with the promise of a soda, choked him and placed his body in the trash about a block and a half away. Hernandez was charged Friday, one day after his arrest, with second-degree murder in the boy's killing. And with that and everything else that happened to Hernandez this week, life on quiet East Linwood Avenue became the focus of an entire nation. The Patz case was never officially closed. No one had been criminally charged. The little boy from Prince Street in the Manhattan neighborhood of SoHo gripped the national psyche and launched a novel campaign for missing children that splashed their faces on milk cartons. "He did the right thing, you know, to confess," Hernandez's brother-in-law Jose Lopez told CNN affiliate KYW. "Get this thing over with for the people out there and the family over here." Hernandez's neighbors were shocked to learn the news. It took their breath away. Dan Wollick said he knew Hernandez to be quiet and God-fearing. He belonged to a Pentecostal church, according to The New York Times. "If this guy as they say, confessed to it, for 33 years he's been living in his own personal hell," Wollick said. He said Hernandez always made sure to say hello. The family never bothered anyone on the street. "They were pretty good people, but you never know," he said. Chuck Diehn, a retired Philadelphia police officer, told the New York Daily News that the most sinister thing about Hernandez was his incessant smoking. Living next door to him "was like living next to no one," Diehn said. "All he ever did was sit in that (lawn) chair and smoke cigarettes." Hernandez was only 19 in 1979. He had been working for a month as a stock clerk at a bodega at 448 West Broadway that is now an optical store. Hernandez left his New Jersey home voluntarily Wednesday and took detectives back to the scene of his alleged crime, New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly said. He described to them what he had done to Etan. In the years that followed, Hernandez told a family member and others that he had "done a bad thing" and killed a child in New York. Kelly said an individual tipped police off after the Patz case made headlines again last month, when authorities renewed their search for Etan's remains and excavated a SoHo basement. No "obvious" human remains were found. Kelly described Hernandez as remorseful. "The detectives thought it was a feeling of relief on his part," he said. Hernandez has no prior criminal record. He was arraigned Friday, via video feed, from Bellevue Hospital, where he had been taken for medical evaluation and later placed on suicide watch. His defense lawyer, Harvey Fishbein, told the judge during the arraignment that his client has a "long psychiatric history" -- including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and hallucinations. Judge Matthew Sciarrino ordered Hernandez be held without bail and granted the defense's request that the suspect undergo a psychiatric evaluation.

Published: Sat, 26 May 2012 00:08:42 GMT

Ad-skipping DVR prompts fight for the future of TV

It turns out that consumers like the idea of watching TV shows with no other ads. And, surprise, the television networks are less than thrilled. On Friday, news was continuing to emerge about a flurry of lawsuits between Dish Network, which last week released a tool to let its DVR customers do exactly that, and the major television networks. It's a battle over a new technology tool. But, in some ways, it's a microcosm of the fight for the future of television and how we watch it. "With Dish's aggressive move to please the end customer rather than advertisers, it's clear that in the fight for TV revenue the gloves have finally come off," James L. McQuivey, an analyst for Forrester Research, told The New York Times. "The fact that Dish would be willing to anger some of its most important content partners just goes to show how desperate these times we live in really are." Two weeks ago, Dish rolled out Auto Hop, a feature for its DISH DVR that lets users who subscribe automatically skip ads while watching recorded shows. It didn't take long for the lawsuits to start flying back and forth. Fox, NBC and CBS all filed suit in federal court on Thursday, and Dish fired back with a claim of its own against the networks. The scuffle is the latest in a series of fights between traditional entertainment providers and Web-based delivery systems that can be traced back to Napster vs. Metallica and beyond. Whether it's illegal downloads (the target of the failed Stop Online Piracy Act in Congress) or DVR systems that let users quickly and easily zoom past advertising, the new-media landscape offers a host of hurdles that have left some entertainers and, by extension, entertainment companies, struggling to adapt. It's an argument that will sound familiar to those who have followed those fights. The TV networks are saying that DISH has, in effect, violated their copyrights by stripping away the traditional way they make money. "How does Charlie Ergen expect me to produce 'CSI' without ads?" CBS chief executive Les Moonves said this week, referring to Dish's CEO. For their part, Dish argues that people have been skipping TV ads, in one way or another, since the invention of television. Viewers have muted ads for decades, and the DVR's fast-forward function only hastened the process. "We are giving them a feature they want and that gives them more control," said David Shull, Dish senior vice president of programming, in a statement. Janney Capital Markets analyst Tony Wible said the tool might not make that much difference for the typical TV watcher, though. Ad Hop's commercial-skipping powers only kick in at 1 a.m. the day after the original program airs. He says that means the overwhelming majority of DVR viewers will watch when ads are still intact. An AdWeek article that highlighted Wible's comments also noted that, according to Nielsen, 82% of broadcast TV viewing and 90% of cable viewing still takes place the day a show airs. As CNNMoney noted, this isn't the only front on which the entertainment vs. tech war is being waged. On Wednesday, several local New York stations, including the local Fox, PBS and Univision channels, filed suit against a new technology called Aereo. Aereo would allow consumers to watch and record broadcast TV online by hooking up a small antenna to an Internet connection. The broadcasters are seeking an injunction against Aereo, claiming the company is allowing consumers to bypass cable retransmission fees.

Published: Fri, 25 May 2012 23:53:55 GMT

Canadian man arrested after disruption on airliner in Miami

A 24-year-old Canadian man will probably face federal charges after allegedly rushing to the front of an American Airlines aircraft after it landed in Miami on Friday, the FBI said. Two passengers on Flight 320 from Montego Bay, Jamaica, helped subdue the man, identified by the FBI as Ryan Snider. No one was injured and there was no damage to the plane, the FBI said. Terrorism is not suspected, the agency said. American Airlines spokesman Ed Martelle said the man appeared to be disoriented. "He did not obey crewmember instructions to sit down and then moved toward the front of the aircraft where he was subdued," he said in a statement. Passenger Ronald Webb told CNN affiliate WSVN that the incident was disconcerting. "We were a little bit worried because we didn't know what it was all about," he said. Snider is expected to make an initial court appearance Tuesday in Miami, the FBI said. "Consular officials in the United States have been informed of the detention of a Canadian citizen and have extended an offer of consular assistance. Canadian consular officials will remain in contact with local authorities and are prepared to provide consular assistance as needed," Chris Plunkett, spokesman for the Canadian Embassy in Washington, said in a statement.

Published: Fri, 25 May 2012 22:07:08 GMT

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