Obama pick for Iraq envoy withdraws nomination

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Video: Clemens found not guilty of lying to Congress

>>> in washington, d.c. today a federal jury found baseball great roger clemens not guilty of all charges in a perjury and obstruction case brought after prosecutors said he lied to congress about using steroids. our justice correspondent pete williams joins us from the federal courthouse in washington. pete, good evening.

>> reporter: brian, after a trial that dragged on for nine weeks it took the jury just over a day to find roger clemens not guilty of lying about performance-enhancing drugs. this is a huge legal victory for clemens, one of the most successful baseball pitchers of all time. for more than four years these charges have threatened to over shadow his long career.

>> i put a lot of hard work into that career, and so, again, i appreciate my teammates that came in and all the e-mails and phone calls. thank you all very much.

>> reporter: this verdict comes after other high profile steroid cases have fizzled too. slugger barry bonds was sentenced only to home detention for giving evasive answers about steroids and after spending millions in a worldwide investigation prosecutors decided not to file criminal charges against cyclist lance armstrong . so another setback for the government tonight, brian.

>> pete williams at the courthouse in d.c. tonight. pete, thanks.

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AP PHOTOS: A look back at the life of Rodney King

AAA??Jun. 17, 2012?2:28 PM ET
AP PHOTOS: A look back at the life of Rodney King
By The Associated Press?THE ASSOCIATED PRESS STATEMENT OF NEWS VALUES AND PRINCIPLES?By The Associated Press

FILE - This March 31, 1991 image made from video shot by George Holliday shows police officers beating a man, later identified as Rodney King. King, the black motorist whose 1991 videotaped beating by Los Angeles police officers was the touchstone for one of the most destructive race riots in the nation's history, has died, his publicist said Sunday, June 17, 2012. He was 47. (AP Photo/Courtesy of KTLA Los Angeles, George Holliday)

FILE - This March 31, 1991 image made from video shot by George Holliday shows police officers beating a man, later identified as Rodney King. King, the black motorist whose 1991 videotaped beating by Los Angeles police officers was the touchstone for one of the most destructive race riots in the nation's history, has died, his publicist said Sunday, June 17, 2012. He was 47. (AP Photo/Courtesy of KTLA Los Angeles, George Holliday)

FILE - This file photo of Rodney King was taken three days after his videotaped beating in Los Angeles on March 6, 1991. King, the black motorist whose 1991 videotaped beating by Los Angeles police officers was the touchstone for one of the most destructive race riots in the nation's history, has died, his publicist said Sunday, June 17, 2012. He was 47. (AP Photo/Pool, File)

FILE - This July 16, 1992 file photo shows Rodney King being escorted from jail in Santa Ana, Calif. after he was arrested for investigation of drunken driving. King, whose videotaped beating by police in 1991 led to LA race riots, has died at 47. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, file)

FILE - This May 1, 1992 file photo shows Rodney King making a statement at a Los Angeles news conference. King, the black motorist whose 1991 videotaped beating by Los Angeles police officers was the touchstone for one of the most destructive race riots in the nation's history, has died, his publicist said Sunday, June 17, 2012. He was 47. (AP Photo/David Longstreath, file)

FILE - This July 20, 1993 file photo shows Rodney King speaking during an appearance on KFI-AM radio's "Bill Handel and Mark Whitlock" show in Los Angeles. King, the black motorist whose 1991 videotaped beating by Los Angeles police officers was the touchstone for one of the most destructive race riots in the nation's history, has died, his publicist said Sunday, June 17, 2012. He was 47. (AP Photo/Nick Ut, file)

Rodney King, the black motorist whose 1991 videotaped beating by Los Angeles police officers was the touchstone for one of the most destructive race riots in the nation's history, was found at the bottom of his swimming pool early Sunday and later pronounced dead. He was 47.

King's videotaped beating on the night of March 3, 1991, triggered the Los Angeles riots more than a year later, when three of the officers who beat him were acquitted of all charges. On the third day of the riots, he famously pleaded on national television, "Can we all get along?"

_____

Here's a gallery of images looking back at the L.A. race riots and the life of Rodney King.

Associated Press

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Britain, Argentina joust over Falklands 30 years on

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Thousands gather in downtown L.A. for parade honoring L.A. Kings

LOS ANGELES - The Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings took a victory cruise atop double-decker buses in downtown L.A. today, cheered on by thousands of Kings faithful who lined the Figueroa Street parade route and crowded the area near Staples Center, where a victory rally will be held.

The procession began a little after its planned noon start time, but that didn't dim the enthusiasm of fans who cheered, chanted and strained to get a glimpse of the players and the gleaming the Stanley Cup -- the first ever won by the Kings.

"Thanks a lot for all the support, we love you guys," Kings defenseman Matt Greene told the crowd from atop one of the buses near Staples Center. "We couldn't have done it without you. This is awesome. This

L.A. Kings parade route

is the best day of my life."

His teammate, Kings captain Dustin Brown, then grabbed the microphone, but quickly put it down and instead hoisted the Stanley Cup over his head -- drawing raucous cheers from the crowd.

The parade began at the corner of Figueroa and Fifth streets, then headed south on Figueroa to Staples Center, where an hour-long rally will be held in front of a capacity crowd.

"I never thought they would make it this far," said J.B. Myer, a Burbank resident who wore a Kings jersey with the name on the back "Fan Since" and the number "84."

Myer, who said he went to his first Kings game at the Forum in 1990, brought his 4-year-old son Braden to the parade -- noting that they took the subway from North Hollywood rather than fight traffic.

"I just want to see the Stanley Cup for the first time in my life," he said. "My son just wants to see (goaltender) Jonathan Quick."

Kings players and their families, coaches, staff, broadcasters, alumni, the Ice Crew and mascot Bailey rode on six double-decker buses and other decorated vehicles along with the Stanley Cup, the Conn Smythe Trophy, which was awarded to Quick as the most valuable player in the playoffs, and Clarence Campbell Bowl, emblematic of the team being champion of the Western Conference.

The Los Angeles Police Department reported no arrests and no trouble with the crowds. Fans packed in the area around Staples Center chanted, "Go, Kings, go!" before the parade began, while others sounded horns and volleyed beach balls. Mascot Bailey worked the crowd and posed for photos with some fans.

Among the fans gathering was self-professed "super fan" Kent Bentley, who lives in Toronto, Canada, but has been a Kings fan since the 1980s.

"This is the greatest moment of my life," Bentley said.

He said his long-time devotion to the team has led to friendships with Kings players and management, and he said the team allowed him onto the Staples Center ice after the team clinched the Stanley Cup in game 6.

"Being on the ice, you'll never know how much that meant to me," he said.

Street closures around Staples Center started at 4 a.m., according to Anschutz Entertainment Group, which owns the Kings.

The parade route on Figueroa between Fifth and 11th streets was closed to traffic, as was Figueroa between Third Street and Pico Boulevard, 11th Street between Figueroa and Cherry streets, and L.A. Live Way (formerly Cherry Street) between Olympic and Pico boulevards.

The parade will be followed by an hourlong Championship Rally that will begin at 2:30 p.m. in Staples Center and feature video highlights, special presentations and the the introduction of the team, the coaching staff and Kings executives.

All of the more than 18,000 tickets to the rally were distributed Tuesday.

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Off the Job Safety Tips: Recreation ? summittrainingsource

This?June?Summit wants to give you safety tips that will last all summer long for those off-the-job projects and activities you have planned for warmer weather. ?So make sure to stay tuned in June for?new off-the-job safety tips every week?to make safety a top priority so you can better enjoy your summer!

Our second week of June off-the-job safety tip is about Recreation. ?Recreation could mean anything from grilling to sports to fireworks.

GRILLING -?In 2005-2009, U.S. fire departments responded to an average of?8,200 home fires involving grills, hibachis or barbecues per year, including an average of 3,400 structure fires and 4,800 outside fires. These 8,200 fires caused an annual average of 15 civilian deaths, 120?civilian injuries and $75 million in direct property damage.

Safety Tips for Grilling from the NFPA:

  • Propane and charcoal BBQ grills should only be?used outdoors.
  • The grill should be placed well away from the?home, deck railings and out from under eaves and overhanging branches.
  • Keep children and pets at least three feet away?from the grill area.
  • Keep your grill clean by removing grease or fat?buildup from the grills and in trays below the grill.
  • Never leave your grill unattended.
  • Always make sure your gas grill lid is open before?lighting it.

SPORTS -?The Center for Disease Control reports that?318 people?die each year from heat-related illnesses, some or all of which could be prevented by adequate hydration and heat protection.

Stay safe playing sports with these safety tips:

  • ?Make sure you are properly hydrated before recreational play and after.
  • Lather up on sunscreen (and don?t forget to reapply!)
  • Learn the symptoms of and how to handle heat related illnesses.
  • If riding a bike or doing any other activity that may result with a head injury, wear a helmet
  • Wear protective, properly fitting equipment

BOATING -?The 2011 statistics gathered in the Boating Accident Report Database report that nearly 70% of all fatal recreational boating accident victims died from drowning.? Of those victims, 84% were not wearing a personal?flotation?device. ?In 2011, there were 4588 accidents, 758 deaths, 3081 injuries, and $52 million in damage reported from recreational boating accidents.

The?VDGIF offers these safety tips when you are boating:

  • Always wear your life jacket
  • Stay low in the boat and maintain three points of contact
  • Keep one person in the boat while loading supplies
  • Keep three points of contact if you reach outside the hull of the boat
  • Keep an even, balanced load
  • Do not attach the anchor line to the stern of the boat
  • Stay low in the boat when pulling up the anchor
  • Head the bow of the boat directly into the seas or up to a 45 degree angle in rough waters
  • Don?t exceed allowable weight, horsepower rating, or maximum number of people

FIREWORKS -??Approximately?9300 people?nationwide are seriously injured by fireworks every year, with?40% of all fireworks related injuries?due to illegal fireworks that have been banned by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.?Every year, fireworks?are the reason for?400 Americans to lose sight?in one or both eyes, for?more than?20,000 fires?every year, and for approximately?4 deaths.

The National Council on Fireworks Safety has some safety tips for you:

  • Use fireworks outdoors only.
  • Obey local laws. If fireworks are not legal where you live, do not use them.
  • Always have water handy. (A hose or bucket).
  • Only use fireworks as intended. Don?t try to alter them or combine them.
  • Never relight a ?dud? firework. Wait 20 minutes and then soak it in a bucket of water.
  • Use common sense. Spectators should keep a safe distance from the shooter and the shooter should wear safety glasses.
  • Alcohol and fireworks do not mix. Have a ?designated shooter.?
  • Only persons over the age of 12 should be allowed to handle sparklers of any type.
  • Do not ever use homemade fireworks of illegal explosives: They can kill you! Report illegal explosives to the fire or police department in your community.

Have fun with your off-the-job projects! And remember to stay safe!

~Get Social with Summit Training Source~

Twitter: Sara Wesche?@SafetyTraining1, Stephanie Zizzo?@SafetySteph

Facebook:?https://www.facebook.com/SummitTrainingSource

Visit Summit?s ?Under the Hard-Hat Blog: Confessionals of a Safety Professional?http://safeaholic.wordpress.com/

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Tags: Summit Training Source, sports safety, Summer safety, Recreation, Recreational Safety, Boating Safety, Fireworks, Grilling

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Crony Capitalism and President Obama: How the System Really Works

Crony Capitalism and President Obama: How the System Really Works

Posted on Jun. 14, 2012

Crony Capitalism and President Obama: How the System Really Works

President Obama?s attacks on Romney?s record while at Bain Capital have opened the window on what is being called ?Obama?s public equity record??with Romney?s surprise news conference in front of failed solar manufacturer Solyndra and new campaign ads bringing the Obama administration?s record into the spotlight. Suddenly the ?green jobs? record is being carefully examined and ?giving taxpayer money to big donors, and then watching them lose it? is back in the news.

In his book, Throw Them All Out, Peter Schweizer says: ?These programs might be the greatest?and most expensive?example of crony capitalism in American history. Tens of billions of dollars went to firms controlled or owned by fundraisers, bundlers, and political allies, many of whom?surprise!?are now raising money for Obama again.?

We understand that ?crony capitalism? involves helping those who have helped you; ?you scratch my back, I?ll scratch yours.? But the simple term crony capitalism belies the evil, corrupt nature associated with the actual process. Crony capitalism goes way beyond helping your friends, your cronies. It is a twisted, orchestrated plan that rewards the cronies and costs the taxpayer, while punishing the average citizen.

It may take years of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to uncover the depth of President Obama?s crony capitalism, but we can get a glimpse of how it is done and what it costs us through a new book, Governor Richardson and Crony Capitalism, which meticulously chronicles the crony capitalism of one of Obama?s cronies: former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson?President Obama?s original pick for the Secretary of Commerce post.

Governor Richardson and Crony Capitalism is a little book. It can be read in an hour. It addresses just one aspect of Governor Richardson?s crony capitalism?but it covers it thoroughly, with nearly as many pages of footnotes and documentation as story. I didn?t write the book, but I did have a bit part. I filed a couple of the FOIA requests and picked up some of the documentation. When I read the manuscript, I knew this was a story everyone needed to read?not so much because everyone needs to know about New Mexico, but because everyone needs to understand how the system really works.

New Mexico is a poor state, on the bottom of about every list?except for drunk driving (where we are on the top). Governor Richardson and Crony Capitalism, documents just one rule?not even a law?that Richardson appointees, heads of state agencies (think EPA), inflicted on the state?s most economically important industry: oil and gas. With color photos, charts and graphs, the author, Harvey E. Yates, through Governor Richardson and Crony Capitalism demonstrates how the ?pit-rule? has cost the state $6 billion in overall revenues, and the state and local governments, specifically, $1 billion. Remember New Mexico is a poor state, and the rule chronicled in the book, the pit-rule, is just one rule that favored one of Richardson?s friends. Similar actions likely played out over-and-over by a governor with higher aspirations. Similar actions likely continue to play out in the Obama White House with bigger numbers.

Johnny Cope was a long-time friend of Bill Richardson who the newly-elected Governor intended to appoint to an important position in his administration. (Note: the definition of cronyism is ?Favoritism shown to old friends without regard for their qualifications, as in political appointments to office.?) Cope owned a financially troubled business: Controlled Recovery Inc. (CRI) which serviced the oil industry through oil field remediation and waste management. At the time of Richardson?s election in 2002, CRI was near worthless and struggling, yet in 2006 CRI was sold for $10 million.

CRI grew to include a fleet of trucks and round-the-clock operations in just four years. Along the way, CRI got regulatory preference, uncooperative officials were removed, CRI?s business was increased, and its competitors were eliminated through agency orders. Official filings show that, on six specific occasions, Cope made substantial donations?or raised donations?totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars to Richardson, which coincided with critical regulatory events.

Pit-rule 17 was proposed in March 2006?the same month Cope's companies donated $70,000 to Richardson's re-election campaign. This statewide rule virtually required that all drilling waste from new drill sites be transported to an approved disposal facility. But in 2004, the Richardson administration had made the CRI facility exempt from tough new regulations on oil field waste landfills and oil sludge recovery facilities, such that CRI had a huge advantage over its few remaining competitors. Effectively, the oil and gas industry had to pay CRI for the privilege of drilling new wells in New Mexico.

(On a national level, we have what could be called ?crony environmentalism.? Laws and regulations, which should apply to everybody, are waived for the favored few. For example, the oil and gas industry is hauled into court if a migratory bird happens to die in an oil pit, but the thousands of birds?including protected eagles?killed by wind turbines are actually authorized.)

In the years prior to the pit-rule draft release, New Mexico?s drilling rig count closely paralleled the neighboring oil-and-gas states of Oklahoma, Texas, and Colorado. However, after March 2006, New Mexico?s rig count started trending downward and fell below Colorado?s for the first time in more than a decade?costing New Mexico lost jobs, and severance and royalty income.

Chapter 1, Overview, starts with ?Environmentalists eagerly claim fatherhood of the pit-rule. However, a close examination of the evidence leads to the conclusion that, while environmentalists indeed were useful midwives in the delivery of the pit-rule, cronies of former Governor Richardson sired the rule.? Chapter 6, The Price We Paid, ends with these words: ?Such is the legacy of a Crony Capitalist enterprise. The losers were the state?s public education system, state employees, the state infrastructure, and generally, the citizens of the state. If the environmental community wishes to assume part of the responsibility for the loss to the state because of its role of midwife of pit-rule 17, that is probably appropriate.?

Governor Richardson left the state with a budget deficit. Yet he was somehow able to have plenty of campaign cash to launch his presidential run. Governor Susana Martinez took on the deficit. She put different people in charge of the agencies and changed the policies. Instead of using regulations as a hammer, they are now used as a guideline. The industry with New Mexico?s single largest economic impact is coming back. Nationally the economy is still in crisis, yet in one year, the New Mexico state budget has gone from deficit to surplus.

There is an obvious parallel with the New Mexico story and the national one. Governor Richardson and President Obama seem to be cut from the same ideological cloth. They hurt the industry that has the ability to help?if not fix?economic woes while making policy decisions that help their friends at the expense of the tax-paying citizens, often under the cover of environmentalism. Yates? Governor Richardson and Crony Capitalism shows how it was done in New Mexico through the tight, single story of the pit-rule. The reader can easily extrapolate it out to the national stage.

Additionally, Governor Richardson and Crony Capitalism offers activists a lesson in the power of FOIA. There are surely similar stories being played out in other states where winners are picked and others are punished while the person in power laughs all the way to the bank.

In New Mexico, we elected a new governor who doesn?t share Governor Richardson?s ideology, and, in one year, the state budget went from a deficit to a surplus. On a national level, the problem is bigger than that of my poor state, but the results of a change at the top?and therefore, a change in the various agency heads?could well produce similar results for America.

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Observers chief in Syria warns of violence

BEIRUT (AP) ? The head of the U.N. observers in Syria said Friday a spike in violence is derailing the monitoring mission, which is the only functioning part of an international peace plan to calm the country's spiraling crisis.

Maj. Gen. Robert Mood blamed both sides of the conflict for the escalating bloodshed.

"Violence over the past 10 days has been intensifying willingly by the both parties, with losses on both sides and significant risks to our observers," Mood told reporters in Damascus.

He said the mission was established as the "factual voice" on the ground "but the escalating violence is now limiting our ability to observe, verify, report as well as assist in local dialogue and stability projects."

Mood's comments were the clearest sign yet that a peace plan brokered by international envoy Kofi Annan two months ago is disintegrating. The regime and the opposition both have ignored a truce that was supposed to go into effect April 12.

Mood said there appears to be a lack of willingness to seek a peaceful transition. "Instead there is a push towards advancing military positions," he said.

On Friday, the Syrian regime kept up a ferocious offensive on rebel areas around the country in one of the most serious escalations in violence since Annan brokered the truce.

An activist in the northern city of Aleppo said troops backed by helicopters and tanks were engaged in "raging battles" in the rebel-held town of Anadan and several other locations in the province.

Syrian troops have been sweeping through villages and towns in Syria's northern, central, southern and seaside provinces this week.

The military on Wednesday overran the town of Haffa in the coastal Latakia province, pushing out hundreds of rebels after intense battles that lasted eight days. U.N. observers entered the nearly deserted town Thursday and found smoldering buildings, looted shops, smashed cars and a strong stench of death, according to U.N. spokeswoman Sausan Ghosheh.

The siege of Haffa, a Sunni-populated village, had become a focus of international concern because of fears the uprising against President Bashar Assad is evolving into a sectarian civil war pitting his minority Alawite sect against the majority Sunnis and other groups. Recent mass killings in other Sunni-populated areas have fed those concerns.

The fighting, now mostly quelled in Haffa, was mirrored in other parts of Syria, where more than 40 civilians and opposition fighters were killed Thursday, according to activists, alongside more than a half-dozen Syrian forces.

The fighting included clashes in the town of Hamuriya, near Damascus, that killed at least nine men who were allegedly butchered with knives. A video circulated by activists showed a pile of lifeless men, including one who was clearly slashed through the neck.

Rami Abdul-Rahman, director of the Observatory, urged observers on Friday to "immediately investigate" the men's slaughter.

U.N. observers have reported a steep rise in violence and a dangerous shift in tactics by both sides in Syria in recent weeks. Car bombings and suicide bombings have become increasingly common as the 15-month uprising against Assad becomes militarized.

Most have targeted security buildings and police buses, symbols of Assad's regime.

Activists say some 14,000 people have been killed since the uprising against Assad began in March 2011.

State-run news agency SANA reported Friday that authorities had arrested an al-Qaida terrorist who planned to blow himself up in a Damascus mosque during Friday prayers. It identified the man as Mohammad Hussam al-Sudaqi.

Russia, which along with China, has shielded Assad's regime from international sanctions over its violent crackdown on protesters, denied Thursday's statement by State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland that Moscow and Washington were discussing a post-Assad transition strategy.

Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov denied that Friday.

"It's not true that we are discussing Syria's fate after Bashar Assad," Lavrov said.

An international rights watchdog, meanwhile, accused Syrian government forces of using sexual violence to torture men, women and boys detained during the uprising. In a report released Friday, The New York-based Human Rights Watch also quoted witnesses and victims as saying that soldiers and pro-government armed militias sexually abused women and girls as young as 12 during home raids and military sweeps of residential areas.

"Sexual violence in detention is one of many horrific weapons in the Syrian government's torture arsenal and Syrian security forces regularly use it to humiliate and degrade detainees with complete impunity," said Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch.

HRW said it does not have evidence that high-ranking officers commanded their troops to commit sexual violence but said it had information indicating that no action has been taken to investigate or punish government forces who did. It said detention facilities where male and female detainees have reported sexual torture include several departments of the intelligence agencies.

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