Las Vegas News Blog

LeBron James to Play for U.S. Team

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 10:26:42 +0000

AKRON, Ohio (AP) -- LeBron James will wear the red, white and blue this summer after all. Cleveland's All-Star forward ended uncertainty about his status with the U.S. national team on Tuesday night by saying he will play in next month's FIBA America's Tournament, where the Americans will try to qualify for the 2008 Olympics.

"I'm going to play," James told The Associated Press. "I've had enough time off, and knowing my body more than anybody, I'm ready to play. I don't know how much I'm going to play or how extensively, but I'll be ready."

For several months, James had said he was "50-50" about playing for Team USA this summer. He and his girlfriend recently had their second son, and with the Cavaliers making it to the NBA finals, James may have wanted some extra time off after playing more than 100 games since last October.

Ohio murder suspect can't see daughter

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 10:26:42 +0000

COLUMBUS, Ohio - Months before an Ohio police officer was accused of killing his girlfriend and her fetus, a California court suspended contact between him and his 9-year-old daughter based on evidence that he was emotionally and physically abusive, court documents show.

Bobby Cutts Jr., 30, is accused of killing 26-year-old Jessie Davis and her unborn daughter at her northeast Ohio home on June 14. Davis was missing for about a week before her body was found in a Summit County park Saturday, still carrying the baby she was due to deliver July 3.

Cutts was arraigned on Monday in Canton Municipal Court on two murder charges and ordered held on $5 million bond.

Soccer Beat: More action for American men's team

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 10:26:42 +0000

No time to rest; there's more soccer to play and another continent to conquer.

After the United States men's national team swept through its title defense in the just-concluded CONCACAF Gold Cup, Team USA is in Venezuela for Copa America against the best teams of South America.

In its Copa America opener, the U.S. plays fifth-ranked Argentina at 5:45 p.m. PDT Thursday. GolTV and Telefutura will broadcast the match live. On the Web, the match can be seen at www.ussoccer.com. In group play, Team USA also plays Paraguay on Monday and Colombia on July 5.

Today in history - June 27

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 10:26:42 +0000

Today is Wednesday, June 27, the 178th day of 2007. There are 187 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

Fifty years ago, on June 27, 1957, more than 500 people were killed when Hurricane Audrey slammed through coastal Louisiana and Texas.

U.S. cities sit low without Earth's heat

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 10:26:42 +0000

Most U.S. cities would be sitting well below sea level if not for the planet's internal heat rocks on the surface afloat, according to a study by University of Utah researchers.

Just how low they would sink depends on their existing elevation and how thick and hot the Earth's crust is beneath them. Listed first is each city's current elevation followed by its theoretical elevation if that internal heat were removed from the equation:

Albuquerque _ current elevation, 5,312 feet; theoretical, 48 feet above sea level

Williamsburg named to holiday destination list

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 10:26:42 +0000

Internet travel service Priceline.com says Williamsburg ranks number 45 on its list of the 50 most-popular destinations for Independence Day week. It's the first time Williamsburg has been on the annual list, which is in its fourth year.

The survey is based on more than 30,000 hotel room booking requests made by priceline.com customers for check-in between June 29 and July 4, the company said.

"While we can't point to one factor in the increased interest, I think it's safe to assume that the press coverage resulting from Jamestown 2007 and the cooperation and tremendous marketing effort by all partners are moving us in the right direction - towards increased visitation and bookings," said Dick Schreiber, chairman and CEO of the Greater Williamsburg Chamber & Tourism Alliance, in a news release.

Calif. court bars murder suspect from seeing 9-year-old daughter

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 10:26:42 +0000

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Months before an Ohio police officer was accused of killing his girlfriend and her fetus, a California court suspended contact between him and his 9-year-old daughter based on evidence that he was emotionally and physically abusive, court documents show.

Cutts was arraigned on Monday in Canton Municipal Court on two murder charges and ordered held on $5 million bond.

Calif. court said Ohio murder suspect couldn't contact daughter

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 10:26:42 +0000

Months before an Ohio police officer was accused of killing his girlfriend and her fetus, a California court suspended contact between him and his 9-year-old daughter based on a child psychiatrist's report that alleged he was emotionally and physically abusive, court documents show.

Cutts was arraigned on Monday in Canton Municipal Court on two murder charges and ordered held on $5 million bond.

Caregivers cope with stress, mixed emotions about aging parents

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 10:26:42 +0000

It's the little things that keep Betty Seckinger going when her day-to-day responsibilities caring for her 84-year-old mother-in-law, overseeing her 86-year-old mother and babysitting grandkids get to be a bit much.

To Seckinger of Winter Haven, Fla., once- or twice-a-year gambling trips, travels with her husband, Ralph, and sometimes overindulging on food are stress relievers for a routine filled with taking care of family members.

"You deal with a lot of ups and downs. You get frustrated," she says. "You want to be able to help your parents, but you don't want your own health to go downhill."

CIA Details Spy Scandal in Old Documents

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 10:26:42 +0000

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The CIA released hundreds of heavily censored documents Tuesday about its spying on Americans, foreign assassination plots and other misdeeds that triggered a scandal in the mid-1970s.

Known inside the CIA as the "family jewels," the documents were released with vast sections blocked out by agency censors. As a result, they were far less revealing than the reports issued in the mid-1970s by the three investigations which obtained unedited versions of these internal CIA documents a generation ago.

The ensuing scandal sullied the reputation of the intelligence community and led to new rules for the CIA, FBI and other spy agencies and new permanent committees in Congress to oversee them.

CIA domestic spying detailed

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 10:26:42 +0000

WASHINGTON - Long-secret documents released Tuesday provide new details about how the CIA illegally spied on Americans decades ago, including trying to bug a Las Vegas hotel room for evidence of infidelity and tracking down an expert lock picker for a Watergate conspirator.

Known inside the agency as the "family jewels," the 702 pages of documents released Tuesday catalog domestic wiretapping operations, failed assassination plots, mind-control experiments and spying on journalists from the early years of the CIA.

The papers provide evidence of paranoia and occasional incompetence as the agency began a string of illegal spying operations in the 1960s and 1970s, often to hunt links between communist governments and the domestic protests that roiled the nation during that period.

Darius Washington Jr. still hoping for shot at NBA

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 10:26:42 +0000

After a year in Europe, the former Edgewater standout hasn't lost sight of his dream

Shannon J. Owens

Documents Show Decades Of CIA's Domestic Spying

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 10:26:42 +0000

Known inside the agency as the "family jewels," the 693 pages of documents released Tuesday catalog domestic wiretapping operations, failed assassination plots, mind-control experiments and spying on journalists from the early years of the CIA.

Internal memorandums detail CIA contacts with E. Howard Hunt, the Watergate conspirator, and James McCord, a retired operative who was one of the Watergate burglars. One has the heading "Hunt Requests a Lockpicker" and reveals that in spring 1972, a CIA official helped Hunt, the mastermind of the Watergate break-in, track someone "accomplished in picking locks."

Dodgers Beat D-Backs 6-5 in 10 Innings

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 10:26:42 +0000

Abreu hit a 1-1 pitch from Doug Slaten (3-1) into the left field seats with two outs in the 10th.

Jonathan Broxton (3-2) pitched two scoreless innings for the victory. Takashi Saito pitched the 10th for his 21st save in 22 chances.

In his first start as the Dodgers' regular first baseman, James Loney fell a triple shy of the cycle and drove in three runs. Loney hit a two-run homer in the second, an RBI double in the fourth and a single in the eighth.

Man Charged With Nev. Murder Testifies

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 06:44:41 +0000

Chaz Higgs testifies during his trial Monday, June 25, 2007, in Reno, Nev. «1»RENO, Nev.—The man accused of killing former Nevada Controller Kathy Augustine, his wife, testified Monday that he is innocent and that he loved her even though he had decided to leave her.

"We had our ups and downs, yes, we all do," Chaz Higgs said in a packed courtroom. "I loved her immensely."

Why, defense lawyer David Houston asked, should anyone believe he didn't kill her?

Goodell stresses conduct with NFL draft class

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 06:44:41 +0000

Roger Goodell briefed all 255 members of this year's draft class Monday on the NFL's stricter conduct rules. Hours later, the Chicago Bears released troubled defensive tackle Tank Johnson in a move that most likely underscored the commissioner's message.

"We're concerned about them as men," Goodell said at the league's rookie symposium in Palm Beach Gardens, Fla., shortly before Johnson's release was announced. "How do they become not only great NFL players, but how do they become great men? How do they conduct themselves appropriately for the remainder of their life, not just when they're in the National Football League?"

Goodell spent about 20 minutes with this season's draftees on that topic, mostly in a question-and-answer session.

Vegas Strip Club Bouncer Sues 'Pacman'

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 06:44:41 +0000

A bouncer who was shot and said his left ankle was bitten by Adam "Pacman" Jones in a strip club melee sued the suspended NFL player and other members of his entourage for damages Monday.

The suit for an unspecified amount was filed with the Clark County District Court on behalf of Aaron Cudworth three days after the Tennessee Titans' cornerback surrendered in Las Vegas on two felony charges of coercion and posted $20,000 in bail.

Facts about the Feb. 19 melee and shooting, which paralyzed another strip club bouncer and wounded one other person, were confirmed in charges that the district attorney filed against Jones on Wednesday, said Cudworth's lawyer, Richard Schonfeld.

Jackson memorabilia dispute continues

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 06:44:41 +0000

LAS VEGAS (AP) - A battle over ownership of Michael Jackson memorabilia is headed back to a Nevada courtroom.

The King of Pop is seeking the return of items that were withheld from an auction of family items.

Jackson's sister, Janet Jackson, also is seeking the return of items held back during a May memorabilia auction at the Hard Rock hotel-casino in Las Vegas.

Sports authority chief, Bidwills clashed before

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 06:44:41 +0000

Landrum gets 'Best Places' spot for 3rd year

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 06:44:41 +0000

June has been an extraordinary month for Landrum Human Resource Companies founder and CEO Britt Landrum Jr.

On Monday his Pensacola-based company was named one of the 25 "Best Small & Medium Companies to Work for in America" for the third consecutive year.

Earlier this month Landrum was honored by Florida's Gov. Charlie Crist with the Sterling Award, the state's most prestigious honor for performance excellence.

Report: Expanding nuclear power in California many years away

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 06:44:41 +0000

The failure of the federal government to open a storage site for radioactive waste means any chance to expand nuclear power in California is more than a decade away, according to a draft report prepared for the state Energy Commission.

The report by MRW & Associates, an Oakland-based consulting firm that specializes in power market issues, said the U.S. Department of Energy was supposed to open the Yucca Mountain storage facility in Nevada by 1998.

"However, nearly 10 years after the deadline, a repository at Yucca Mountain is still more than a decade away from being opened, and the opening date continues to slip," the report states.

40 days in a SUV

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 06:44:41 +0000

A middle-aged woman with a blonde ponytail approached the mustard-colored Toyota FJ Cruiser parked outside the food court of East Towne Mall Monday morning.

"How long have you guys been in there?" she asked, peering across a low barricade into the SUV at Jennifer Hewuse, 22, and Michael Krisher, 25, who have been living in the FJ Cruiser as part of radio station Z104's "Live in it to Win it" competition.

"Forty days," Hewuse answered matter-of-factly, her elbow resting on the window and leaning slightly out.

Adding to his confidence

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 06:44:41 +0000

Car upgrades and experience are helping Keith Zavrel improve in Super Late Model racing.

BROOKSVILLE - A new motor and tires. The additions have helped Keith Zavrel off to his best start at Citrus County Speedway.

But Zavrel's success is rooted in his consistency behind the wheel and his confidence, which has grown in his 14 years of racing. The Brooksville resident is third in points in the Super Late Model class, which races this weekend at Citrus County Speedway.

AirFest 2007: Were in air-show big leagues now

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 06:44:41 +0000

Third time is the charm, the old saying goes. And for AirFest 2007, its true.

This past weekends edition of Chicago/Rockford International Airports new series of air shows was the one that put Rockford on the must see map of aviation events. Its the one into which folks streamed from around the Midwest, despite the annual tap dance with Mother Natures airborne cloud-and-rain squadron.

This years fest brought out WMAQ-NBC 5 News, which sent a crew to do special feature on the Navys Blue Angels. This year they were chatting up AirFest on Chicago radio. That publicity, coupled with advertising in the Chicago area and the special lure of the Angels, who have just returned to performing after a crew member died in a crash during an air show in April, brought customers out in droves.

Almirola's empty victory

Tue, 26 Jun 2007 06:44:41 +0000

The Tampa driver took no joy from his part in a Busch Series win on Saturday.

You're Aric Almirola, and you just won your first race at NASCAR's second-highest level. You should be ecstatic.

Thing is, though you put Joe Gibbs Racing's No. 20 Chevrolet on the pole and led the first 43 laps of Saturday's Busch Series race at Milwaukee, you were called into the pits and told you were being replaced by Denny Hamlin, who was late because the helipad he was to use had cars parked on it. Yes, Hamlin is a Nextel Cup star, the recognized driver of the car, the intended starter that night and has a long relationship with hometown sponsor Rockwell Automation. Almirola knew all that. But 43 laps in, on the lead, this was his race, right? Right? No.