The Seaton Post

Toronto Mayor Denies Cocaine Video Claims

aseaton — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:53:35 +0000

The mayor of Canada’s largest city denies claims he smoked crack cocaine, after purported video footage is offered for sale. Toronto’s mayor has denied allegations he has been caught on video smoking crack cocaine. Rob Ford called the claims “ridiculous” as he addressed a swarm of reporters outside his house in Canada’s biggest city. The denial came after gossip site Gawker and the Toronto Star published articles saying they had been offered a video of the alleged smoking session. Both outlets said they declined to pay the $100,000 (£65,930) price tag wanted by a person with the mobile phone footage. The Toronto Star claimed the Mayor smoked drugs with purported drug dealers and that the allegations related to events in the last six months. The newspaper said the video showed the politician “sitting in a chair, wearing a white shirt, top buttons open, inhaling from what appears to be a glass crack pipe”. It said two of its reporters watched the video three times – but admitted it cannot verify the authenticity of the clip. However it said it did appear to “clearly show the Mayor in a well-lit room”. Mr Ford said on Friday that the claims were “absolutely not true”. “These allegations are ridiculous, another story with respect to the Toronto Star going after me,” he said. “And that’s all I’ve got to say for now.” The Star said those trying to sell the video were involved in the Toronto drug trade. The Mayor has battled a series of negative articles in recent months but still has an approval rating of around 50%. However, that is down from 70% in the year after he took power, according to Forum Research. A Toronto Police spokesman said officers are “closely monitoring the situation”. Approached by the news service Reuters, Mr Ford’s lawyer did not respond to requests for comments. “We’re just trying to see whether or not such a video exists and whether or not any video has been doctored or altered,” Dennis Morris told the Toronto Sun newspaper. Meanwhile, US-based Gawker is asking for donations in what it has labelled a “Crackstarter” campaign to raise $200,000 (£130,000) to buy the video and post it online. It said it has already raised $28,000 (£18,000). Mr Ford, 43, was elected in 2010 on a promise to “stop the gravy train” at Toronto’s City Hall but he has frequently attracted unfavourable news coverage. Stories include a conflict of interest case that almost cost him his job, a photograph of him reading documents while driving on a motorway, and an altercation with a reporter on a patch of land outside his house. Earlier this week he was cleared of breaching a byelaw after sticking magnetic business cards with his home phone number on – as part of his tactic to be accessible to voters – on cars in the city.

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Magpul joins Colorado sheriffs in filing lawsuit against gun-control bills

aseaton — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:31:53 +0000

DENVER — Magpul Industries joined 54 Colorado county sheriffs Friday in filing a federal lawsuit against the state’s recently signed gun-control bills. But even if the lawsuit is successful, the Erie-based firearms company is still planning to leave Colorado. “Just to clarify, we are still moving, regardless of the outcome of this legal action,” said a Friday post on the company’s Facebook page. “That train has left the station, and we are well into the selection and negotiation process as well as arranging many elements to be prepared to launch and already moving some production out of state.” The lawsuit challenges two bills signed in March by Gov. John Hickenlooper: House Bill 1224, which restricts ammunition-magazine capacity to 15 rounds or fewer, and House Bill 1229, which requires background checks on all gun sales and transfers, including temporary transfers. “This isn’t good public policy. These are really awful bills,” said Weld County Sheriff John Cooke at a Friday press conference. “They are unenforceable and encourage disrespect for the law, which puts both law enforcement and the public in greater danger.” The Democrat state legislature approved the bills, along with a third bill requiring gun owners to pay for their own background checks, with no Republican votes. Democrat state Sen. Mary Hodge issued a statement Friday accusing the sheriffs of “playing politics.” “We can’t just sit by and do nothing while first-graders and moviegoers are being mowed down in one fell swoop with weapons equipped with large-capacity magazines,” said Ms. Hodge. “It’s time to stop playing politics and start protecting Coloradans from massacres and unnecessary gun violence.” Mr. Cooke denied the charge. “We’re not the ones playing politics with this,” said Cooke. “We believe the [legislators] are the ones playing politics. We’re standing up for our constituents and the Constitution,” he said. The bills were passed in reaction to two 2012 mass shootings: the Century 16 theater shooting in Aurora, Colo., which left 12 dead, and the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre in Newtown, Conn., which claimed the lives of 26 people, including 20 children. Attorney David Kopel, who serves as research director of the Independence Institute in Denver, said the bills violate the second and fourteenth amendments of the Constitution, as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act. The bills are scheduled to become law July 1. In reaction, several Colorado firearms companies, including Magpul, have said they will relocate. One manufacturer, HiViz Shooting Systems, announced earlier this month that it would move from Fort Collins to Laramie, Wyo. Magpul, which makes firearms accessories, signed onto the lawsuit despite its relocation plans because “we will not turn our back on our native state,” said Duane Liptak, director of product management and marketing. “Extreme gun-control interests have forced the passage of these unconstitutional laws in Colorado and, as a company, we are resolved to restore those rights to the people,” said Mr. Liptak in a statement. He added that he hoped the lawsuit would have a “ripple effect” on other states that may be considering more restrictive firearms laws. The company has move some of its production facilities outside Colorado, but has not yet announced where it plans to move. Officials in more than a dozen states have launched efforts to woo Magpul, which employs 200 workers and supports another 400 supply-chain jobs.

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Anti-gun Colorado Democrat faces recall

aseaton — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:22:45 +0000

DENVER — The drive to recall a top Colorado Democrat legislator over his gun-control support received a boost Thursday from a newly released poll showing a plurality of his constituents support removing him from office. A poll by Public Opinion Strategies showed that 34 percent of district voters surveyed support the recall of state Senate President John Morse, versus 29 percent who oppose it. Another 33 percent said they were undecided on the recall effort, which is still in the signature-gathering phase. When told that Mr. Morse sponsored an unsuccessful bill to make manufacturers and owners liable for crimes committed with their guns, however, undecided voters took sides. At that point 56 percent of those surveyed said they favor recalling the Colorado Springs Democrat. “The voters in Senate District 11 are clearly leaning toward recalling Senator Morse,” said Laura Carno, president of the Colorado Springs-based I Am Created Equal, the free-market women’s group that sponsored the poll. “They are paying attention to the gun bill debate, they don’t have high favorable image of Sen. Morse, and are more sharply in favor of the recall when they hear of proposed legislation,” said Ms. Carno in a statement. Organizers have until June 3 to submit 7,178 valid signatures to force a recall election, but Mr. Morse isn’t waiting around for the outcome. His counter-campaign, A Whole Lot of People for John Morse, has hired Chicago media outlet Adelstein Liston to place $15,000 in pro-Morse ads on a Colorado Springs television station, according to the conservative website Colorado Peak Politics. Adelstein Liston’s clients include President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, fueling charges that the Colorado gun-control movement is being orchestrated by national Democrats. The pro-Morse camp has raised $25,500, most of it from the national liberal group American Votes. Meanwhile, the El Paso County Freedom Defense Fund, which is organizing the recall, has raised about $16,400, according to the Denver Post. Petitions are being circulated to recall four Democrat state legislators because of their support for the legislature’s gun-control package, one of the most far-reaching in the country. Gov. John Hickenlooper signed in March three bills that would restrict ammunition-magazine capacity; require background checks for all firearms sales and transfers, and require gun buyers to pay for their background checks. Democrats said the bills were needed to prevent tragedies like the July 20 mass shooting at the Aurora theater, which left 12 dead. Republicans argued that the bills would do nothing to stop such shootings, but would hamper public safety by making it more difficult for law-abiding citizens to own guns. The poll, which surveyed 250 Colorado voters living in Mr. Morse’s legislative district from May 1-2, found that 69 percent said they are paying “close attention” to the state’s gun debate. The poll has a +/- 6.2 percent margin of error.

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Non-deportation rates for illegal immigrants at 99.2 percent

aseaton — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:05:42 +0000

The Homeland Security Department has granted legal status to 99.2 percent of all illegal immigrants who have applied under President Obama’s new non-deportation policy for young adults, according to the latest numbers released Friday. That’s a slight drop from the 99.5 percent approval rate reported last month. The policy, known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, grants legal status to most illegal immigrants under the age of 31 who came to the U.S. before age 16 — usually brought by their parents. They are allowed to remain in the U.S. without fear of deportation, and are given work permits. Most states have agreed to issue them driver’s licenses as well. DACA is seen as a test-run should Congress pass a broad legalization for the 11 million illegal immigrants estimated to be in the U.S. That’s one reason why the high approval rate is striking. Critics of the Obama policy say a rate that high means the administration isn’t doing much screening of those who are applying. But supporters say the high rate makes sense given the motivated pool of youngsters, known as “Dreamers” because of the Dream Act legislation that would give them full citizenship rights. Estimates ranged to more than 1 million Dreamers who could apply for the new policy, though as of the end of April about 500,000 applications had been submitted in the eight and a half months DACA has been available. Of those, 291,859 have been approved while only 2,352 had been denied. The rest are still in processing Officials say the denial rate should go higher as more applications make their way through the system. Because of potential appeals, it takes longer for a denial to be finalized than it takes to make an approval. For example, of applications finalized in February, the agency approved 99.4 percent. But in April that rate dropped to 96.7 percent.

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U.S. will reach debt ceiling after Labor Day

aseaton — Sat, 18 May 2013 23:34:28 +0000

President Obama’s team warns congressional Republicans about the debt ceiling If there’s a showdown between President Obama and congressional Republicans over the debt ceiling, it probably won’t happen until after Labor Day. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew notified House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, on Friday that the government can take “extraordinary measures” to continue paying the nation’s bills for more than three months. “It is now clear that the measures will not be exhausted until after Labor Day,” Lew wrote. He also told Boehner that Congress should act to raise the debt ceiling as soon as possible in order to “avoid the potentially catastrophic consequences of failing to act until it is too late.” A 2011 debt ceiling showdown led the nation to the brink of default; Standard & Poor’s responded by downgrading the nation’s long-term credit rating for the first time. Since that time, some Democrats have pushed legislation to grant the president unilateral authority to raise the debt ceiling. Some congressional Republicans have said only a restriction in the debt ceiling can restrain government spending; Lew and other officials said the ceiling permits legal borrowing for debts that have already been accrued. The nation’s debt now exceeds $16.7 trillion. In his letter to Boehner, Lew echoed Obama’s past threats that he would not negotiate with Congress over an increase in the debt ceiling. “The creditworthiness of the United States is non-negotiable,” Lew wrote. “The question of whether the country must pay obligations it has already incurred is not open to debate.” Boehner’s office did not comment on Lew’s letter.

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Ex-cop once hailed as hero faces rape charge

aseaton — Sat, 18 May 2013 23:20:51 +0000

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A former Philadelphia police officer once hailed as a hero and given a seat next to the first lady at a speech by President Obama has been arrested and charged with rape and other crimes. Authorities allege that former officer Richard DeCoatsworth left a party with two females early Thursday and took them to another location, where they allege that he produced a handgun and “forced the two females to engage in the use of narcotics and sexual acts.” A police spokeswoman said the two called police after he left, and 27-year-old DeCoatsworth was charged with rape, sexual assault, terroristic threats and related offenses. DeCoatsworth was hailed as a hero after he was shot in the face during a traffic stop in September 2007 but still managed to chase after his attacker, who was later sentenced to 36 to 72 years in prison. DeCoatsworth was invited by Vice President Joe Biden to attend the president’s televised February 2009 address to Congress and sat with first lady Michelle Obama. He said he didn’t know why he had been singled out, but being in the presence of the nation’s leaders was an honor “that I will keep with me for the rest of my life.” WCAU-TV, which first reported his arrest, said DeCoatsworth retired from the department on disability in December 2011. Police said no other information on the alleged attack would be released Saturday to protect the victims and the integrity of the ongoing investigation. Authorities declined to say give even general locations for the party and alleged crime scene and also wouldn’t say when DeCoatsworth was arrested. A listed number for DeCoatsworth has been disconnected and it was unclear whether he had an attorney. Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey told a Philadelphia Daily News columnist in February of last year that he believed he had made a mistake in granting the former officer’s request to go back to work too soon after he was shot. “God bless him for still wanting to get out there and do police work, but did I act in his best interest? In hindsight, I would say probably not,” Ramsey told columnist Sty Bykofsky.

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Up to 60 injured after car drives into Va. parade

aseaton — Sat, 18 May 2013 23:09:00 +0000

DAMASCUS, Va. (AP) — About 50 to 60 people were injured Saturday when a driver described by witnesses as an elderly man drove his car into a group of hikers marching in a parade in a small Virginia mountain town. Washington County director of emergency management Pokey Harris said no fatalities had been reported. The injuries ranged from critical to superficial, he said. Three of the victims were flown by helicopters to regional hospitals. Another 12 to 15 were taken by ambulance. The rest were treated at the scene. The status of the driver wasn’t released. Multiple witnesses described him as an elderly man. Authorities are still investigating, but Harris said they believe the man might have suffered a medical emergency before the accident. It happened around 2:30 p.m. during the Hikers Parade at the Trail Days festival, an annual celebration of the Appalachian Trail in Damascus, near the Tennessee state line about a half-hour drive east of Bristol. What caused the car to drive into the crowd wasn’t immediately known. It appeared to come from a side street, and a thud could be heard. People yelled stop, and at some point, the car finally stopped. Witnesses said the car had a handicapped parking sticker and it went more than 100 feet before coming to a stop. “He was hitting hikers,” said Vickie Harmon, a witness from Damascus. “I saw hikers just go everywhere.” Damascus resident Amanda Puckett, who was watching the parade with her children, ran to the car, where she and others lifted the car off those pinned underneath. “Everybody just threw our hands up on the car and we just lifted the car up,” she said. Keith Neumann, a hiker from South Carolina, said he was part of the group that scrambled around the car. They pushed the car backward to free a woman trapped underneath and lifted it off the ground to make sure no one else was trapped. Another person jumped inside to put it in park. “There’s no single heroes. We’re talking about a group effort of everybody jumping in,” he said. There were ambulances in the parade ahead of the hikers and paramedics on board immediately responded to the crash.

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Georgia town sued over law requiring gun ownership

aseaton — Sat, 18 May 2013 21:34:37 +0000

NELSON, Ga. – A group that supports gun control filed suit Thursday against a north Georgia town that recently passed a law requiring gun ownership that it said is mostly symbolic. The Washington-based Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence filed a federal lawsuit against the town of Nelson, about 50 miles north of Atlanta, claiming the law is unconstitutional. The suit contends the Second Amendment doesn’t require anyone to have a gun, and government cannot require citizens to arm themselves. “Forcing residents to buy guns they do not want or need won’t make the city of Nelson or its people any safer, and only serves to increase gun sales and gun industry profits,” Jonathan Lowy of the Brady Center said in a statement. City manager Brandy Edwards said town leaders had not seen the lawsuit and had no immediate comment. Council members passed the ordinance April 1 requiring every head of household in the town of 1,300 to have a gun and ammunition, but there are exceptions. The law exempts anyone who opposes gun ownership or has certain disabilities. City leaders said the law was mostly symbolic, isn’t being enforced and includes no penalty. Supporters of the law say light police patrols leave city residents virtually unprotected for most of the day. The lawsuit contends violators are subject to a fine of as much as $1,000, but Edwards said that is incorrect. Supporters of the law said they wanted to make a statement about gun rights at a time when President Barack Obama and Democrats were seeking restrictions after the shooting that killed 20 children and six adults at an elementary school in Connecticut in December. The proposed ordinance is similar to a law that passed in Kennesaw in 1982 and other towns in the U.S. have considered such measures.

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Democrat Senate campaigns struggle to recruit candidates

aseaton — Sat, 18 May 2013 20:19:18 +0000

ATLANTA (AP) — Republicans aren’t the only ones roiled by internal jostling and recruiting hiccups ahead of next year’s midterm elections. Two top-tier Democrat prospects recently bypassed running for Senate seats in Georgia and South Dakota, highlighting both divisions within the party and its challenge of finding candidates whose ideologies line up with voters in Republican-leaning states. Democrats say they’ll be fine even though Rep. John Barrow in Georgia and former Rep. Stephanie Herseth-Sandlin in South Dakota declined to seek seats left open by retirements. Both are moderate-to-conservative Democrats whose views would seemingly play well in their states, giving the party a chance to win on GOP turf as Democrats look to hang onto power in the Senate. But without them running, Democrats probably will be forced to back more liberal, less-tested nominees who would likely have tougher races. The circumstances underscore a particular challenge for Democrats: They have a six-seat cushion, counting Vice President Joe Biden’s ability to cast tie-breaking votes. That requires Republicans to nearly sweep the most competitive races to gain enough seats for control. But many of the contests are in states where President Barack Obama never won and remains unpopular. Another hurdle for Democrats: Midterm electorates are generally older, whiter and more Republican than in presidential years. Georgia Democrats are hoping to recruit Michelle Nunn, daughter of former Sen. Sam Nunn and a nonprofit executive in Atlanta. She’s expected to announce a decision soon in the race to succeed retiring Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss. In the contest for retiring Democrat Sen. Tim Johnson’s South Dakota seat, Democrats’ preferred candidate now appears to be Rick Weiland, once a top aide to former Sen. Tom Daschle and twice an unsuccessful candidate for Congress. Weiland launched his bid, with Daschle’s backing, amid clamoring about Herseth-Sandlin and Johnson’s son, Brendan, a U.S. attorney. State Democrats now say the younger Johnson likely won’t run. “It’s a recipe for a challenging campaign,” said Steve Dick, a former Daschle aide. “It’s a tough race, without a doubt. And it’s getting more difficult. We’re a red state. We just don’t have these opportunities that often.” South Dakota is one of three states where a Democrat senator is retiring in a state Obama lost last November; the others are Montana and West Virginia. There also are Democratic retirements in the swing-voting states of Iowa and Michigan, which Obama won. Republicans also are aiming at four Democrat incumbents in states Republican Mitt Romney won: Mark Begich of Alaska, Kay Hagan of North Carolina, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Mark Pryor of Arkansas. Georgia, which went for Romney by 8 percentage points over Obama, has one of two GOP seats opened by retirements; the other is in Nebraska, a virtual lock for Republicans. Democrats say they can challenge Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in Kentucky, but they haven’t yet recruited a top-tier candidate even though the Republican is unpopular at home. At the National Republican Senatorial Committee, spokesman Brad Dayspring mocked Democrats for failing at a strategy he says was clear: Get conservative Democrats in Republican-leaning states. But Justin Barasky, spokesman for the Democrat Senatorial Campaign Committee, dismissed the notion of an internal Democrat struggle or recruiting woes, and pointed to divisive primaries shaping up for Republicans in several states. Clearly, Democrats are left with a tricky balance as they look for candidates with this criteria: Satisfy core Democrat voters, ensure successful fundraising and reach independents who voted for Romney and, before him, John McCain and George W. Bush. Some Democrats thought Barrow and Herseth-Sandlin satisfied those standards. Barrow is the Deep South’s last white Democrat in the House, and he’s beaten well-financed GOP nominees in a House district drawn to ensure his defeat. He’s a gun owner who voted against the 2010 health care overhaul and voted to hold Obama’s attorney general, Eric Holder, in contempt of Congress. He supported the so-called fiscal cliff deal between Obama and congressional Republicans, and successfully wooed thousands of Romney supporters in his last campaign. But the way Barrow keeps his job could explain why he abandoned the possibility of a promotion. “His profile is more appropriate to his congressional district than to a statewide run, particularly for metro Atlanta, where most of the votes are in the progressive base,” said state Sen. Vincent Fort, a Democrat from the city. Some Democrats had feared that Barrow would have drawn a primary opponent, and both national and state Democrats concede that the party’s best chance for a Georgia upset is to avoid a divisive primary, while leaving a crowded GOP field to spend money and throw punches. Fort said Nunn would be a compelling candidate. And Democrats, eager to dispute the notion that losing Barrow is a disappointment, point to polling commissioned by Senate Democrats that suggests Nunn would be the better candidate in a general election. Former Rep. George “Buddy” Darden said Nunn’s lack of experience could be an asset. She doesn’t have a record to parse and can run as an outsider, he said, a particular upside if Republicans nominate one of the three sitting congressmen who are running. GOP Reps. Paul Broun, Phil Gingrey and Jack Kingston are joined by Karen Handel, a former executive with the Susan G. Komen Foundation, the breast cancer organization, in a race that could draw additional, well-financed candidates. Georgia is just one of several states where Republicans face the prospect of divisive [...]

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FBI searches apartment in ricin letter case

aseaton — Sat, 18 May 2013 19:57:11 +0000

SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) — Authorities in hazardous materials suits are searching an apartment in downtown Spokane, Wash., as they investigate the recent discovery of a pair of letters containing the deadly poison ricin. FBI agents, Spokane police officers and U.S. Postal Inspection Service officials descended on the apartment Saturday morning. No arrests have been made. An FBI spokesman has not said whether agents are questioning anyone in connection with the case. Authorities have not released a motive for why the letters were mailed this week. Despite the hazmat suits, officials say apartment residents are not at risk, and people were seen coming in and out of the building. Ricin is a highly toxic substance. Tiny amounts can be deadly if inhaled or ingested. There have been no reports of illness connected to the letters. The FBI and other law enforcement agencies are executing a search warrant Saturday in the case of two letters containing the deadly poison ricin that were intercepted this week at a post office in Washington state. Police say the investigation has focused on a neighborhood near downtown Spokane. The FBI, U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Spokane police are involved, but further details were not immediately available. Ricin is a highly toxic substance made from castor beans. As little as 500 micrograms, the size of the head of a pin, can kill an adult if inhaled or ingested. Two letters containing the substance were intercepted at the downtown Spokane post office Tuesday. There have been no reports of illness connected to the letters. “The crude form of the ricin suggests that it does not present a health risk to U.S. Postal Service personnel or to others who may have come in contact with the letter,” the agency said in a news release Thursday. The Postal Service said it has received no other reports of similar letters. However, the agency did investigate a suspicious package sent to a federal judge in Spokane this week and found there was no hazard. The Spokane investigation comes a month after letters containing ricin were addressed to President Barack Obama, a U.S. senator and a Mississippi judge. A Mississippi man has been arrested in that case.

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