Boy held hostage in Alabama bunker for third day: officials

MIDLAND CITY, Alabama (Reuters) - A hostage-taking by a gunman accused of fatally shooting a school bus driver and then disappearing with a young boy into an underground bunker entered its third night on Thursday in a rural corner of southeast Alabama.

Law enforcement officials remained tight-lipped about the standoff near Midland City, a small town about 30 miles west of Alabama's border with Georgia, after cancelling a planned news conference.

Officials from local, state and federal agencies have been camped out by a dirt road near the bunker since Tuesday, when authorities say a gunman demanded that a student be let off a bus carrying more than 20 children home from school.

When 66-year-old driver Charles Albert Poland Jr. refused, the suspect shot him several times and fled the scene with a kindergarten student whom he appeared to have grabbed at random, officials said.

On Thursday, negotiators continued to communicate with the gunman as he remained holed up with the 5-year-old on his rural property. Area schools were closed for the remainder of the week, and residents held vigils to pray for a peaceful end to the standoff.

A scheduled evening press conference was canceled, with law enforcement officials saying they had nothing new to report.

Michael Senn, a pastor, said the suspect, identified by neighbors as 65-year-old Jimmy Lee Dykes, apparently had equipped the bunker with electricity, TV and two to three weeks' worth of supplies.

Authorities have not officially released the names of the suspected gunman or the child, who they believe is unharmed.

"We're just encouraging everybody in this country to come together and pray for the safety, protection and the quick release of this child," Senn said.

Senn, who lives near the private dirt road that runs onto Dykes' property, told the Dothan Eagle newspaper that authorities had been able to maintain contact with Dykes through some sort of pipe, possibly made of PVC, leading into the bunker.

"They've been talking to him pretty regularly," he said.

The shooting and hostage scenario happened while a national debate rages over gun violence, especially in schools, after a gunman shot dead 20 students and six staff members at a Connecticut elementary school in December.

An Alabama lawmaker who had talked with the hostage's family said on a TV interview that they were "holding on by a thread" but comforted that the boy appeared to be receiving needed medication while held captive.

The suspect and boy, who turns 6 next week, apparently did not know each other before the shooting, said state Representative Steve Clouse.

"I think it's just a random kidnapping here for this man," Clouse said.

GUNMAN MISSED TRIAL FOR MENACING CHARGE

Neighbors said they had seen Dykes digging the bunker in his yard in the past couple of years, and recalled he often carried a shotgun and acted aggressively toward people and animals.

Ronda Wilbur, who lives across the street from Dykes, referred to him as "Mean Man" and complained he had killed her family dog by beating it with a lead pipe and then bragged about it to her husband.

Dykes had been due to appear for a bench trial on Wednesday after his arrest last month on a menacing charge involving another neighbor, court records showed.

The neighbor, James Edward Davis, told CNN the arrest stemmed from an incident on December 10 when Dykes pulled a gun on him and his young daughter. Davis said Dykes was upset because he believed Davis had driven onto his property.

Dykes' decision to take a child hostage in an underground bunker made the tense situation confronting police even more complex, said Brad Garrett, a former hostage negotiator for the FBI.

"Usually they can utilize cameras to see into buildings, but with a bunker - with impenetrable walls and one way in and one way out - that's not possible," said Garrett, who now runs an investigative consulting firm based in Virginia.

"It reduces a tactical team's ability to use the element of surprise," he added.

The adult children of the slain school bus driver remembered their father, a military veteran, as a quiet man who avoided the limelight and would have shirked at being called a hero for trying to keep the students on his bus out of harm's way.

"My dad would be like, 'what's all this fuss about? I just did what I had to do,'" son Aaron Poland said on Thursday. "My dad died to protect the children."

(Additional reporting by Kaija Wilkinson; Writing by Colleen Jenkins; Editing by Tom Brown and Eric Walsh)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/boy-held-hostage-alabama-bunker-third-day-officials-011415201.html

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Daniel Craig Out Of 'Dragon Tattoo' Sequel? 'No Way', Says The Girl

Yesterday, The Hollywood Reporter claimed that it was Daniel Craig's salary demands that have held up production on a sequel to "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo." Since the first film didn't fare as well as hoped, corners would have to be cut for the characters of Steig Larsson's popular novels to appear on screen [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2013/02/01/daniel-craig-dragon-tattoo-sequel-rooney-mara/

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Jude Law, Channing Tatum share Super Bowl plans

Jude Law, from left, Rooney Mara, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Vinessa Shaw and Channing Tatum attend the premiere of "Side Effects" hosted by the Cinema Society and Open Road Films on Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Jude Law, from left, Rooney Mara, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Vinessa Shaw and Channing Tatum attend the premiere of "Side Effects" hosted by the Cinema Society and Open Road Films on Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Channing Tatum attends the premiere of "Side Effects" hosted by the Cinema Society and Open Road Films on Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Jude Law attends the premiere of "Side Effects" hosted by the Cinema Society and Open Road Films on Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Rooney Mara attends the premiere of "Side Effects" hosted by the Cinema Society and Open Road Films on Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

Catherine Zeta-Jones attends the premiere of "Side Effects" hosted by the Cinema Society and Open Road Films on Thursday, Jan. 31, 2013 in New York. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP)

NEW YORK (AP) ? British actor Jude Law says he'll be taking part in a time-honored American tradition this weekend: Super Bowl Sunday.

"I follow most sports, so of course I'm aware of it and I'll probably watch it, but I live in London and so I don't follow it that closely. It's more than just a game here, though, right? It's like have a party. Have a dip. Drink some beer," said Law.

When asked if he'll be participating in any tailgate parties when the Baltimore Ravens face off against the San Francisco 49ers, Law admitted he had no clue what "tailgating" meant.

"Really? OK. I believe you. I don't know what you're talking about. I'm not even gonna say," he said, laughing.

Luckily his "Side Effects" co-star, Channing Tatum, said he'd teach Law about Americans football traditions. He said he was heading to his New Orleans bar, Saints and Sinners for the weekend and was hoping for a good game.

"I really kind of want Baltimore to pull it out for Ray (Lewis) because it's a sweet story but I really like San Francisco's quarterback and whatnot so I think it's gonna be a really good game," said Tatum.

The actors joined their castmates, including Catherine Zeta-Jones and Rooney Mara, at the New York premiere of their psychological thriller "Side Effects" on Thursday. The film opens in U.S. theaters next Friday.

Turns out Law and Tatum have more in common than Steven Soderbergh's latest film: They've both been named People's Sexiest Man Alive.

"Yeah, there's a complete handshake and like a password and whatnot. I can't tell you any of those. I know what your next question is. It's not gonna happen. They come and kill you ? all of them. All of them together come and actually murder you. Yeah, everybody. They come and take you in the night and you disappear if you explain any of those secrets," joked Tatum, the current title holder.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-02-01-People-Jude%20Law/id-4250203fe18d433fba8fdc9c3419d41f

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Video: Leaders: Then & Now

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/50669602/

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Police arrest 153 people in 'Our Peaceful Addu ... - Minivan News

Police have arrested 153 people in an operation dubbed ?Our Peaceful Addu?, with the stated aim of reducing the crime rate in Addu City.

Speaking to the media yesterday at police headquarters, Head of Division Operation Command Chief Superintendent of Police Faruhaad Fikury told the media that the 153 persons were mainly arrested on alcohol and drug related charges.

Police said 120 people were released without any charges while 33 people were still in police custody, including two minors.

Faruhaad alleged police seized a large quantity of illegal drugs in Addu City during the operation, commenced on January 17.

According to Faruhaad, the cases included 71 related to alcohol, 43 traffic violations, and 39 other cases that were reported to police since the operation commenced.

Faruhaad told the press that police have so far searched 296 buildings across Addu City, and conducted 511 searches of individuals.

During the operation 702 vehicles were checked to see if they complied with traffic regulations. 14 vehicles were towed and 13 licenses were suspended, police said.

The division commander said police would conduct similar operations elsewhere in the Maldives.

In July 2010, a similar operation was conducted in Male? to reduce the crime rate in Male? City and make Male? peaceful. Police arrested 60 people, most of whom were released without charge.

On December 4, 2012,?during a press conference concerning the investigation into the murder of MP and scholar Dr Afrasheem Ali, Commissioner of Police Abdulla?Riyaz called on parliament members not to hesitate in giving more powers to police. Riyaz said at the time that such powers were required to curb growing criminal activity in Maldivian society.

?I know that members of the parliament are hesitant to grant more powers to the police because of the political views they hold. But we need stricter laws to stop such acts from happening. Hesitance to grant more powers isn?t a solution [to resolve] police discrepancies. Powers should be granted and at the same time they can establish a proper accountability mechanism,? he said at the time.

The commissioner said police would have ?zero tolerance? towards criminals and would utilise all powers and resources at hand to prevent crimes.

?That means, we will not allow a drunkard to freely wander around the street. Police officers will question suspicious people on the road and they have been given the order to stop and search anyone who they feel is suspected of?being a criminal or carrying out a crime,? he said.

Source: http://minivannews.com/society/police-arrest-153-people-in-our-peaceful-addu-operation-52019

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Giffords seeks "bold" action as Congress takes up gun control

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, grievously wounded in a 2011 mass shooting, made an emotional plea on Wednesday for Congress to take action to curb gun violence, but a National Rifle Association executive said new gun laws "have failed in the past and they'll fail again."

Speaking haltingly, Giffords urged lawmakers to be bold and courageous as she opened testimony at the first congressional hearing on gun violence since the December 14 massacre in which a gunman shot dead 20 children and six adults at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut.

Responding to outrage across the country following that incident, President Barack Obama and other Democrats have asked Congress to pass the largest package of gun restrictions in decades.

"Speaking is difficult. But I need to say something important," Giffords, who survived a head wound in an assassination attempt in Tucson, Arizona in which six people were killed and 13 others wounded, told the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"Violence is a big problem. Too many children are dying - too many children. We must do something. It will be hard, but the time is now," said Giffords, who was accompanied by her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly. "You must act. Be bold, be courageous. Americans are counting on you."

Obama's proposals to curb gun violence include reinstating the U.S. ban on military-style assault weapons, limiting the capacity of ammunition magazines, and more extensive background checks of prospective gun buyers, largely to verify whether they have a history of crime or mental illness.

Witnesses and lawmakers at the hearing agreed on the constitutional right to own guns but clashed over Obama's proposals, particularly the call for universal background checks for all gun buyers. That is seen as the most likely restriction to gain bipartisan support in a sharply divided Congress.

Wayne LaPierre, executive vice president and CEO of the powerful gun rights lobbying group the National Rifle Association, dismissed Obama's plan to close loopholes in the background check law.

"Let's be honest, background checks will never be universal because criminals will never submit to them," LaPierre said.

Federally licensed firearms dealers are required to run background checks for criminal records on gun buyers. But the government estimates that 40 percent of purchasers avoid screening by obtaining their guns from private sellers, including those at gun shows.

Kelly said tightening background checks for all gun buyers would be one of the most important ways to prevent guns from falling into the hands of criminals or the mentally ill.

"I mean, I can't think of something that would make our country safer than doing just that," Kelly testified, calling it the "common sense thing to do."

Obama's gun restrictions face a difficult challenge getting through the Democratic-led Senate and Republican-led House of Representatives, where many Republicans and some pro-gun Democrats have long opposed stronger gun-control laws.

'AWASH IN GUNS'

LaPierre said the proposals would not reduce gun violence and called for more active prosecution of current laws and improved protection for schools, including armed guards.

"Law-abiding gun owners will not accept blame for the acts of violent or deranged criminals," LaPierre said. "We need to be honest about what works and what does not work. Proposals that would only serve to burden the law-abiding have failed in the past and they'll fail again."

Senator Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, sharply challenged LaPierre, saying the city of Chicago in his home state is "awash in guns."

"We have guns everywhere, and some believe the solution to this is more guns," he said. "I disagree."

LaPierre and some Republicans on the panel said there has been a decline in prosecution of gun laws since Obama took office in 2009. "It's a disgrace," he said.

While background checks are seen as the most likely common ground in the renewed gun-control debate, Obama's plan to ban the sale of rapid-firing assault weapons like the one used in the Connecticut shootings faces much tougher opposition.

Senator Charles Grassley of Iowa, the top Republican on the committee, said the 1994 federal ban on assault weapons, which expired in 2004, did not stop mass shootings like the one at Columbine High School in Colorado.

"We should not rush to pass legislation that will not reduce mass killings. Banning guns based on their appearance does not make sense," Grassley said. "I also question limitations on magazine capacity. Those can be circumvented by carrying multiple guns, as many killers have done."

Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy, a Vermont Democrat, said the panel hoped to finish its work on gun-control legislation by late February and send it to the Senate floor.

That could ignite a fierce legislative battle in Congress at a time when lawmakers are also wrestling with ambitious immigration reform proposals and urgent deadlines to reach agreement on federal spending.

The hearing featured a few sharp exchanges, including one between Leahy and LaPierre over the NRA's position on background checks. "I do not believe, the way the law is working now unfortunately, that it does any good to extend the law," LaPierre said.

Kelly, who along with Giffords recently founded Americans for Responsible Solutions, a group intended to combat gun violence, said the couple was in favor of gun ownership but against gun violence. "When dangerous people get dangerous guns, we are all the more vulnerable," he said.

Leahy made clear whatever measures would be considered to rein in gun violence, there would be no move to erode the fundamental right of Americans to own a gun, which is protected under the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Republican Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama, a former federal prosecutor, agreed with the NRA that the government needs to better enforce existing gun laws.

"You have to prosecute," Sessions said.

(Editing by Will Dunham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/amid-questions-senate-begins-hearings-gun-control-115838971.html

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New Orleans' challenge: policing 2 huge parties

NEW ORLEANS (AP) ? New Orleans police are in the middle of an unprecedented security challenge with an estimated 150,000 Super Bowl fans packing the city during the raucous annual buildup to Mardi Gras, when thousands of revelers flock to the historic French Quarter and its restaurants, bars and strip clubs.

It all began in earnest Friday night with the first of the city's major float-filled Mardi Gras season parades. This week, the parade schedule is on hold while the Super Bowl takes center stage. Mardi Gras preparations resume once Sunday's game is over and the parades roll again starting Wednesday.

The city's police force of 1,200 officers is working more than three weeks' worth of 12-hour days, on the lookout for everything from petty crime and public drunkenness to random gunfire and the threat of terrorism. It will be an exhausting stretch that city officials say will cost the city several million dollars in police overtime.

"If we can, we'd like to give them some time down," said police chief Ronal Serpas. "But if we can't, they know it and they'll stand up for it."

It's also a unique chance for Serpas to show off one of the strengths of a department beset by scandals involving brutality and mismanagement. City officials have carried out numerous reforms aimed at cleaning up the department, which has seen five officers convicted of civil rights violations stemming from deadly shootings of unarmed residents after Hurricane Katrina.

For years, though, crowd control has been the department's bright spot, especially during Mardi Gras revelry on the narrow streets of the nearly 300-year-old French Quarter, home to fancy restaurants and art galleries as well as sleazy bars and strip joints.

"I think the NOPD does take a particular pride in its long-standing history and long-standing demonstration that managing large crowds is something we do very well," said Serpas, who is in his third year running the department.

Shoulder-to-shoulder, alcohol-fueled crowds often spill over into the neighboring Faubourg Marigny, an increasingly popular area of music clubs and restaurants. A 15-block-long stretch of Poydras Street, linking the Superdome to the Mississippi River and the massive Harrah's Casino, is seeing increased foot traffic during sports events with the opening of more bars and restaurants in recent years. And, outside the Quarter, lavish Carnival season parades draw tens of thousands to the miles-long routes. During the final weekend of Mardi Gras, streets of the metro area can be packed with more than a million people, and more than a few will be overdoing it.

"The thing about Mardi Gras crowds is, we get this impression that some of the people may have been drinking," Serpas deadpanned.

Police perched atop horses watch for problems on the horizon and keep people moving, while uniformed officers on foot mingle and build rapport with the partiers to keep the peace. Plainclothes officers will be on the lookout for weapons and other less visible problems. Arrest numbers vary from year to year, though police commonly arrest at least several hundred people each year during Mardi Gras-related celebrations ? most for relatively minor transgressions.

Joining the department's officers for Super Bowl week are more than 200 state troopers and about 100 officers from surrounding local jurisdictions. Also, with the Super Bowl considered a potential terrorist target, there is a beefed-up federal contingent. That includes close to 100 extra FBI personnel supplementing the regular New Orleans FBI staff of 200 agents and support staff, said Michael Anderson, the agent in charge of the New Orleans office.

That office will be home to a joint operations center where the goings-on will be constantly monitored by representatives from all involved state, local and federal law enforcement and security agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. Such a center is standard operating procedure for the Super Bowl each year, Anderson said.

New Orleans police will take the lead on local crime, traffic or public disturbances, Anderson said. "If there's any inkling of a terrorist attack or threat of terrorist attack in any way," he said, "then we kick in with our full apparatus."

At Louis Armstrong International Airport, the Transportation Safety Administration is adding personnel and equipment to handle security checks, said TSA spokesman Jon Allen. He said there will be 11 additional checkpoint lanes added to the 14 existing lanes for passenger screening.

Five additional explosives-detecting machines have been added to screen checked baggage, and more than 100 transportation security officers will be brought in from other airports starting Sunday to help local airport staff, Allen said. The officers will stay through the middle of next week, he said.

Beyond the city's police costs, exact security costs are difficult to determine. Federal officials declined to detail specifics, and an NFL representative would say only that the league will spend millions.

Mardi Gras season happens every year, and the city is no stranger to Super Bowls, having hosted nine ? including the 2002 game that followed the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Although security planning for the Super Bowl has grown increasingly complex since the attacks, no acts of terror or other serious problems have been reported at Super Bowls in recent years.

Most Super Bowl problems in recent years resulted from human gridlock. At last year's Super Bowl in Indianapolis, 11 people suffered minor injuries during a free outdoor concert. But officials said otherwise there were few problems.

This year, officers will be prepared to reroute or block vehicle traffic when streets are full of pedestrians. As for terrorism worries, Anderson said preparations include formation of SWAT teams and "hazardous incident teams" ? specialists in hazardous materials or explosives assembled from the various federal local and state agencies.

Serpas welcomes the help, but he said much of the cooperation comes from the partiers themselves ? a diverse crowd that can consist of locals and families picnicking on parade routes and a more adult, heavier-drinking crowd downtown and in the Quarter.

"You look at that parade route, and on any one block there could be 10,000 people and two cops," Serpas said. "How do those two cops stay safe, and how does that crowd stay safe? We're actually working together."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/orleans-challenge-policing-2-huge-parties-081329911--spt.html

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