truesee's Blog

A Good Samaritan in Eugene, Ore., is arrested after putting coins in expired parking meters.

LINK TO VIDEO:

http://www.wbaltv.com/video/22266075/

MICHELLE DECLARES WAR ON OPRAH . . . AND HILLARY!!!

National Enquirer

01/18/2010

Furious Michelle Obama has declared war on Oprah Winfrey - saying she has proof the talk-show titan is plotting with Hillary Clinton to take the White House from her husband.

"Michelle claims Oprah is a political traitor who has switched her loyalties from President Obama to Hillary and is planning to support her in the next presidential election," divulged a source.

"The president refuses to believe Oprah would turn on him, but Michelle says her sources overheard conversations in which Oprah promised she would throw her money and influence behind Hillary if she decides to run."

Michelle is convinced Oprah believed her help getting Obama elected would be repaid by having very close ties to the White House and being an adviser to the first family, according to the source.

"Instead she has been invited only three times, and two of them were for interviews."

Oprah believes she played a major role in getting the president elected and expects the first family to be grateful, says the source.

"Although Michelle appreciates that Oprah endorsed her husband, she considers her role minor. And the first lady resents that Oprah flirted with Barack - trying to make people think she was way closer to him than she really was.

"Michelle knew they weren't having an affair, but it was as though Oprah wanted people to wonder."

During Oprah's initial White House interview with the first lady, the frostiness in the air was clearly visible - and the talk queen left "seething," says the source.

"Oprah has admitted to friends she feels betrayed and used. She has never supported a politician before and expected at least to be respected.

"Hillary immediately picked up on what was going on and made a move to win over Oprah. They quickly bonded and became good friends.

"Now Oprah wishes she had thrown her support to Hillary in the primaries."

Hillary, now serving as secretary of state, will challenge the president in upcoming primaries if his popularity continues to decline, according to the source.

 "But Barack subscribes to the idea you should keep your friends close and your enemies closer - and gave Hillary the job despite Michelle's angry protests. Now Michelle is doing a major 'told you so.'

"She is insisting Hillary be fired and Oprah banned permanently from the White House.

"Barack is very reluctant to start a war with the two women, especially with all the other problems he has on his plate. But Michelle is spoiling for a fight and says if he won't confront the two 'plotters,' as she calls them, she will!

"Hillary and Oprah are certainly not shy about taking on the first lady. If Michelle wants a fight, they will happily step into the ring with her."

LINK TO STORY:

http://www.nationalenquirer.com/michelle_obama_war_with_oprah_hillary_clinton/celebrity/67983

Police: Theft suspect drove by officer

Jan 17, 2010

12:10 am EST

KRQE CBS 13 Albuquerque

http://www.clipsyndicate.com/video/play/1261141

How to beat Blue Monday

Today is officially the most depressing day of the year – but thankfully help is at hand.

Paul Clements

Daily Telegraph

7:00AM GMT 18 Jan 2010

Today is Blue Monday, but there are ways to cheer yourself up Photo: Alamy

It’s freezing and dark outside, you’re statistically likely to have broken your last remaining New Year resolution at the weekend, Christmas is but a distant memory, and the largest credit card bill you’ll get all year has just landed on your doormat. So it’s no wonder that today has been designated the most depressing day of the year.

Psychologist Cliff Arnall, from the University’s Cardiff Centre for Lifelong Learning and an expert in seasonal disorders, has designated January 18 as "Blue Monday". But it needn’t get you down. Try these quick-fix tips to help beat the blues.

Eat chocolate for breakfast

Chocolate has long been held to be a mood-lifter. It boosts levels of serotonin, the brain’s antidepressant, as well as endorphins, the feel-good chemicals released after exercise. It’s also a known source of theobromine, a stimulant that has a lasting relaxing effect. But there’s evidence to suggest that chocolate is less fattening when eaten at the start of a dark, depressing day such as Blue Monday. According to endocrinologists in Venezuela, women who ate a 600-calorie breakfast, which included a piece of chocolate, lost more weight than those on a low-carb diet. Dr Daniela Jakubowicz attributed the success to kick-starting the body’s metabolism at the time of day it was most receptive to food. So will it be muesli or Maltesers?

Enjoy your garden

After breakfast, step outside and pick a flower. If you’re lucky enough to have something sweet-smelling in the garden, such as the lovely, pale yellow Chimonanthus praecox (Wintersweet), Viburnum x bodnantense 'Dawn’ or Sarcococca confusa, all the better. By the time you return from work, tired, cold and depressed, their honey scent will have filled a room. If you don’t own any of these irresistibly cheering species, order them now for next year.

Boost your alertness with bright morning light

Spending 15 minutes exposed to bright light before leaving for work in the morning is a great way to boost your alertness, says Vicki Ravell, a light therapy researcher at the University of Surrey. “Whether you turn on the light in your kitchen and have a cup of coffee or take the dog for a walk, getting a good dose of bright light will reset your body clock, lift your mood and help you feel more alert.”

Cancel a meeting

Bosses take note. The advantage of cancelling a meeting at short notice on the worst day of the year is multi-fold, says leading executive coach Tom Preston (www.thomaspreston.co.uk). “First, you get some time that you thought you didn’t have, as do the others in the meeting. Yet the preparation, for when the meeting is rescheduled, is all done. Everyone gets the benefit of a little “me” time or time to catch up on all the things that feel like a tsunami that we have yet to do so far in 2010.”

Force a smile with a pencil

In 1988, psychologist Fritz Stack asked a group of participants to clench a pencil between their teeth for 20 seconds so that their lips did not touch it, creating the impression of a smile. The pencil-biters then reported enjoying a comedy show more than another group who had been asked to forced a frown.

Book a holiday

When spending your way to happiness, do it wisely. Professor Richard Wiseman, author of 59 Seconds: Think a Little, Change a Lot (Macmillan, $12.99) says splashing out on a city break or summer holiday, rather than material things like a new handbag, are the best way to lift your mood. “Experiences promote one of the most effective happiness-inducing behaviours – spending time with others.”

Imagine the end

Sounds morbid but, says Richard O’Connor, author of Happiness: The Thinking Person’s Guide (Vermilion, $8.99), but picturing your own death is a great way to improve your state of mind. “In your final moments, you are at peace and your thoughts are clear. You can get in touch with a number of regrets. Fortunately it’s not yet the end of your life. You have the time to correct some of the problems.”

Eat certain fruits

Eating key foods can improve your mood. Blueberries are packed with vitamin C, which can alleviate stress. Pomegranate is one of the richest sources of flavanoids, an antioxidant with mood-enhancing properties. Though not a superfruit, cherries can also give you a lift. “They were renowned in the East for combating mental fatigue,” says Cherry Chappell, author of Grandma’s Remedies (Arrow, $7.99). “It was advised that 10 to 20 were to be taken daily along the Silk Route.”

Forage for borage

Raid your high-street health food stores for products loaded with this traditional English herb. Borage tea – which is available in bags – can “dispel sadness and boost courage,” according to Chappell. “We don’t use it much today, but it was widely used in medieval remedies to lift the mood. Roman thinker Pliny is reputed to have said borage 'maketh a man merry and joyful’.” Try a spoonful of borage honey – or 'happy honey’ as the Romans called it. Or apply a moisturiser with borage extract to tired skin.

Eat chilli

Capsaicin, the substance that gives chilli its kick, also raises the body’s natural endorphin levels, which improve one’s mood. Even better news, it’s an appetite-suppressant. According to a Japanese study, people who ate breakfast with red chilli ate less than normal at lunch. Reason to be cheerful, part three? Capsaicin is also a foot soldier in the fight against cancer because, according to research at Nottingham University, it can attack mitochondria, the engine rooms of cancer cells.

Go for dinner with fat friends

If you’ve already given up your resolution to eat healthier, arrange to dine out tonight with fat friends. “A thin friend who eats a lot may lead you to eat more than you normally would,” says said Gavan Fitzsimonds of Duke University. “If you eat with a heavy-set friend, you are likely to adjust your behaviour and eat less.”

Change your gym playlist

Propel yourself towards the gym by adding a thumping new mix compilation to your iPod. Dr Costas Karageorghis, a reader in sport psychology at Brunel University and supporter of 'Run to the Beat’, London’s music marathon, says: “Repetitive listening can lead to boredom and irritation, so vary the playlist.” Edging up the tempo of the music will also encourage you to train at a faster rate.

Exert a positive influence

According to Mark Twain, “the best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up.” Over the course of the day, slip your colleagues three compliments, and watch the positivity ripple out across the office.

Go to bed an hour earlier

If you’ve still had a bad day, hit the hay. A study from the University of Wisconsin and Stanford University found people who regularly slept less than seven hours, 42 minutes a night had a higher body mass index than those who slept for longer.

Globes win makes Mo'Nique an Oscar favorite

Woodlawn native earns best-supporting actress award for her role in 'Precious'

Chris Kaltenbach

Baltimore Sun reporter

9:24 p.m. EST, January 17, 2010

Edina doctor's shocking errors punished

The state disciplined Edina doctor who removed wrong kidney, made biopsy error.

Photo by Dulas Floyd

A veteran Edina doctor has been disciplined for removing the wrong kidney of a patient during cancer surgery, a medical mix-up that made headlines across the state in 2008, and for taking a biopsy from the wrong organ of another patient a few months later.

Dr. Erol T. Uke, a urologist, has been reprimanded and indefinitely barred from inpatient surgery by the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice, the board said Friday.

Uke, 59, could not immediately be reached for comment. His attorney, Paul C. Peterson, said in a statement: "Dr. Uke is very sorry for the medical errors that occurred here. The isolated conduct involved is not representative of the high quality of care he has provided to thousands of patients during his career.''

A state report issued in the summer of 2008, while not naming Uke, said he made the initial error while performing surgery on a patient with kidney cancer in March 2008 at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park. Uke told investigators he removed the wrong kidney because he was distracted by beeper calls and other patients and that he failed to read the radiologist's notes to ensure he was operating on the correct side, according to a report by the state's Office of Health Facility Complaints.

The case drew wide attention at the time, and Methodist admitted the error in a rare public apology on March 17, 2008, six days after the surgery.

Later, the hospital imposed new rules for "mistake proofing" the operating room, including extra steps to doublecheck radiology images and mark patients' surgery sites before procedures. State investigators concluded the hospital has taken corrective action and would not be cited for the incident.

In a statement at the time, the hospital's owner, Park Nicollet Health Services, said it took full responsibility for the "tragic medical error" and cooperated fully with the investigation. "We work continuously to eliminate errors and will not rest until we reduce them to zero," the statement said.

Hospital spokesman Jeremiah Whitten declined Friday to reveal anything about the identity or the fate of the patient, citing "patient and personnel privacy restrictions." But the state report revealed that the patient had subsequent surgery at another hospital to try to remove the tumor and save his remaining kidney.

Uke's erroneous biopsy followed about four months later, the Board of Medical Practice said. In that case, the doctor performed a biopsy on a patient's pancreas rather than a kidney. The board report did not say where that procedure occurred or what became of the patient.

The board lists no other disciplinary actions against Uke.

Uke has had his Minnesota doctor's license since 1982. He graduated from Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago and had post-graduate training at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center and at Northwestern.

A psychological evaluation determined that Uke "had experienced two incidents of isolated surgical errors" and recommended that he limit his practice to outpatient work and procedures.

He can regain his privileges after the board determines that he is "fit and competent to resume the performance of surgery," the board said. In other restrictions, the board said Uke: cannot practice more than 40 hours per week; is limited to outpatient surgery in clinic or office settings; is subject to quarterly reports to the board by a supervising doctor; and must meet quarterly with a board member.

In the period that includes Uke's surgical errors, October 2007-2008, 18 people died and nearly 100 were seriously injured as a result of medical mistakes, accidents or negligence in Minnesota hospitals, according to a state Health Department report on medical errors. Hospitals reported 77 cases of surgical errors, including 21 operations on the wrong body part, and two on the wrong patient.

LINK TO PHOTO OF DR:

http://www.scbh.org/outreach_services.htm

LINK TO:  Minnesota Board of Medical Practice's disciplinary order regarding Dr. Erol T. Uke

http://bring.mn/stack/3494-doc-read-the-minnesota-board-of-medical-practice-s-disciplinary-order-regarding-dr-erol-t-uke

'Pants On The Ground' Web Hit For Vet

Civil rights veteran Larry Platt, 63, performs "Pants On The Ground" on "American Idol." The performance quickly became a viral hit onYouTube and Twitter.

http://www.wbaltv.com/video/22246579/

$150,000 lottery winner escapes jail despite claiming $15,000 in benefits

Andy Dolan
Last updated at 7:33 PM on 17th January 2010

 A mother who fiddled the benefits system despite winning $154,000 on the National Lottery has walked free - to the frustration of a judge powerless to jail her.

Sandra Bellamy, 52, owned three houses and enjoyed a string of holidays after banking the windfall in 2006 but posed as a struggling single mother to claim income support, council tax and housing benefits.

The fraudster was paid $15,000 in benefits she was not entitled to, but avoided jail after being given a suspended sentence.

Suspended sentence: Sandra Bellamy, pictured arriving at court for an earlier hearing, was paid almost $15,000 in benefits she had no entitlement to

Judge Samuel Wiggs said Bellamy could previously have been sent to prison, but a recent overhaul of national sentencing guidelines had left his hands tied.

He said: 'A few years ago this would have resulted in a custodial sentence, but guidelines have changed.

'This may not have started dishonestly but it continued dishonestly. It was a blatant offence.'

The mother-of-one had already failed to declare her $30,000 divorce settlement and a house she owned in Southend, where she lived until the breakdown of her marriage, when she won $154,026 on the lottery in May 2006.

The houses (above and below) are owned by Bellamy. They are both worth around $250,000 and have been rented out by her for around $3,000-a-month

Bournemouth Crown Court heard she moved to the resort in 2004 following her divorce, and began claiming the benefits in September that year.

John Dyer, prosecuting, said Bellamy, whose daughter was at boarding school, used her divorce settlement as a deposit for a flat, and later bought a third house, also in Bournemouth, with another $30,000 deposit which came from her lottery win.

The Bournemouth properties were both worth around $250,000 and were rented out by Bellamy for $3,000 a month, the court heard.

Mr Dyer said Bellamy had savings of more than $16,000 which would have 'greatly affected' the level of benefits she was able to claim, had the cash been disclosed. 

'In May 2006 she won $154,026 on the National Lottery', he said.

'In July 2006, she withdrew her claim for income support without giving a reason, but in October she had gone back to income support.

'She didn't tell the authorities about the lottery win or about the flats she owned. In total, the overpay was $14,814.41.'

Mr Dyer added that Bellamy admitted her guilt when she was found out.

 
Bellamy said at the time: 'I just thought if I could get things sorted, I could work things out.'

There were withdrawals from her account in Croatia, Turkey, Barbados and New York, he said.

Bellamy had earlier admitted three charges of false representation in relation to housing benefit claims, failure to notify the authorities of changes to circumstances and dishonestly obtaining benefits from the Department of Work and Pensions.

She was sentenced to a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, and ordered her to do 200 hours' community service.

LINK TO PHOTOS:

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1243926/150-000-lottery-winner-escapes-jail-despite-claiming-15-000-benefits.html#ixzz0cu0DkWM2

San Jose says pot clubs popping up like weeds, starts crackdown

John Woolfolk
Mercury News

Posted: 01/16/2010 04:06:07 PM PST

Updated: 01/16/2010 09:54:26 PM PST

San Jose is yanking the welcome mat for medical marijuana dispensaries that have proliferated across the city in recent months — from just a handful last fall to as many as 30, according to one online directory.

With San Jose, which had no known dispensaries a year ago, now home to perhaps as many as San Francisco — and more than four times as many as Santa Cruz — code enforcement officials have begun telling owners their operations are illegal under city law.

"We've started to receive some complaints, and we're currently doing investigations on a number of these," said Mike Hannon, the city's code enforcement official. "If it looks as though they're operating as dispensaries, we're going to advise the owners to shut the dispensaries."

Pot clubs have proliferated in San Jose since City Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio, alarmed by their rapid spread in other places, last fall suggested legalizing and taxing a limited number of them.

Some fledgling clubs have filed business-tax paperwork with the city that makes no mention of marijuana — describing the operations vaguely as counseling, retail or health services.

Hannon is sending letters to the dispensaries he and his staff have confirmed are operating, notifying them they must close within 30 days. The dispensaries' landlords could face fines up to $2,500 a day if the outlets remain open after that deadline.

Andy Schwaderer, who operates the Pharmers 

Health Center dispensary off De Anza Boulevard, says he's optimistic the nonprofit cooperative can work things out with the city and avoid litigation.

Though Hannon told him during a recent inspection that the dispensary is illegal, Schwaderer believes state law is on his side.

"We're eager to work with the city and establish a good relationship," said Schwaderer, who opened his doors last month. "We will wait and respond accordingly to whatever the city has to say."

Voters in 1996 made California the first state in the nation to legalize medicinal use of marijuana for those with a doctor's recommendation, but the move has been mired in legal uncertainty ever since.

Superseding federal law continues to outlaw the drug as a dangerous narcotic, although the U.S. attorney general last year stated that federal drug agents won't bust those who comply with state medical marijuana laws.

Dispensaries have proliferated in California since then. That in turn has sparked a backlash among local officials seeking to limit their number or ban them outright.

Three dozen cities, including Santa Clara, have joined in support of Anaheim's court battle in a closely watched case over the right to ban medical marijuana dispensaries. A patients' group had challenged the Anaheim ban as a violation of state law, and an appellate court is expected to rule sometime in the spring.

Gilroy, Los Gatos, Saratoga and Los Altos also have recently passed dispensary moratoriums.

Oliverio in October proposed an ordinance that would allow a limited number of dispensaries in industrial areas with restrictions, and an additional tax to ease the city's chronic money shortages. A combination of winter holidays, open-government noticing rules and the need to analyze some legal issues has delayed efforts to get the proposal before the council.

The city's Rules and Open Government Committee, which sets agendas for the full council, is scheduled to consider the measure again Jan. 27.

Oliverio said the city's dithering is inviting chaos as medical marijuana providers rush to stake a claim on the local market.

"We've gone from a couple of places that have opened to several," Oliverio said. "The council needs to have a discussion."

Already there are signs of a budding backlash as more residents and businesses find themselves neighbors to new dispensaries.

Lisa Roberts, whose law firm on the Alameda is near a proposed new dispensary, told the rules committee this week that the city should enact a moratorium.

"I'm not personally against the concept" of medical marijuana, Roberts said. "It's just the location. Just the fact that a proposal has been made is viewed as a welcome mat."

San Jose approved zoning for medical marijuana providers in 1998, but the city dropped the provision while updating its zoning laws in 2001. City Attorney Rick Doyle said that makes any dispensaries operating in San Jose today illegal.

Even so, the city has collected the $150 business license tax from a third of the dispensaries said to be operating here. In some cases, those dispensaries were quite clear about their intentions: San Jose Dispensary on West Hedding Street described itself on its business tax forms as a "medical marijuana delivery srvc."

Others were less explicit on the city documents, though quite clear in their advertisements. Plant Providers Plus described its operation on the tax paperwork only as "plant materials." But online, it advertises as "San Jose Area Medical Marijuana Delivery," with products described as "green crack" and "big bang brownie."

The South Bay Cannabis Buyers Collective on Monroe Street listed its operation on city tax paperwork under "SJCBC Inc." as "retail/internet." But its Web site offers a "free joint for new members."

Deputy Finance Director Julia Cooper, whose department handles the business license taxes, noted that acceptance of payment doesn't mean the city confers any legal status to a business — a matter left to code enforcement.

"It means they've paid a tax," Cooper said. "It doesn't mean they've complied with all regulations."

January 16, 2010

Obama Rewards Losers, Punishes Winners

Larry Kudlow
Real Clear Politics

President Obama's misbegotten bank tax is precisely the wrong policy at precisely the wrong time. It will wind up backfiring across the board. Why? Because bank consumers and borrowers are the ones who will wind up paying this tax, creating an obstacle to economic recovery.

Obama is actually rewarding losers and punishing winners -- exactly the reverse of free-market capitalism.

Who's being rewarded? Obama's bank-tax penalty is being used to finance the failed government takeovers of GM, GMAC, and Fannie and Freddie. And let's not forget the $75 billion failure of the so-called foreclosure loan-modification program. To this day, no one knows where that money went. But the big banks are going to be forced to finance this through a tax that will damage lending, stockholders and consumers.

This is sheer political favoritism. Crony capitalism at its worst, with a sub-theme of bailing out Obama's Big Labor political allies. It's just like his bailout of the unions by exempting them from the so-called Cadillac insurance tax until 2018, all while the rest of us may have to suffer under that tax.

Speaking of political unfairness and favoritism, mortgage giants Fannie and Freddie will not pay a nickel of this tax. These government-sponsored enterprises were at the very center of the financial maelstrom, financing the government's quotas and targets for unaffordable mortgages.

Think about this for a second. President Obama is out there bashing away at excessive bonuses. And yet Fannie and Freddie's CEOs stand to make $6 million in the next year or two. Huh? These are big-government-owned bureaucrats. They ought to be paid like GS-18s.

Of course, the Federal Reserve, which is having its most profitable year ever, was probably the main culprit in all this, with its negative-real-interest-rate easy-money policy, which amounted to throwing red meat to a pack of sharks in the deepest waters. But this tax punishes and penalizes the biggest banks -- institutions that have already met their obligations by paying down TARP, with interest, and by providing taxpayers with a tidy profit on the stock warrants they held.

Now, this is not to condone the major mistakes made by the big banks. They were overleveraged, borrowed way too much and sold highly flawed mortgage bonds and other complex derivatives. And the banks should not be paying big bonuses for 2009 -- not for the period during which they were TARPed. That's their biggest mistake.

With the banks having paid down TARP, however, the U.S. government should not be waging war against them. Somebody ought to tell the White House that al-Qaida is the real enemy, not the banks.

At the same time, taxing the living hell out of the banks will not promote economic recovery and long-term prosperity.

President Obama says he wants to stop risky bets. Well, look, the way to accomplish that is through higher capital requirements, stricter limits on leveraged borrowing and an end to the policy of "too big to fail." Across-the-board FDIC insurance assessments are a much better way of maintaining a bank safety net.

Instead, Team Obama wants to place a 15-basis-point tax on the banks, essentially layering it on non-insured bank funding. It amounts to a tax on future lending, shareholder equity value and the consumers of bank services who will pay the tax costs passed on by the banks. It's just like the corporate tax: Businesses don't pay taxes, people do.

And consider this: One dollar of bank capital generally works out to around 10 dollars of potential bank loans. That means this $90 billion tax proposal could very well cut off a staggering $1 trillion of future bank lending when credit demand picks up.

That's how this works. This tax will slow down profits and capital. And the diminished capital will mean fewer loans when loan demand picks up. It's exactly the reverse of what we need to grow our economy.

And the unfairness continues. Insurer MetLife, a bank holding company, and the regional Hudson City Bank Corp., both of which never took a dime of TARP money, will be penalized by this tax. That just ain't fair.

President Obama's crony politics rewards losers and penalizes winners. He is engaging in sheer, raw, left-wing class-warfare politics. It's yet one more reason why the Democrats are going to get clobbered at the polls come November.

Voters know a smoked turkey when they see one. Remember, you can fool some of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all the people all the time.

Mark my words, all of this left-wing demagoguery, political favoritism and crony capitalism will not end well for the Obama Democrats.

Lawrence Kudlow is host of CNBC's The Kudlow Report and co-host of The Call. He is also a former Reagan economic advisor and a syndicated columnist.

LINK TO STORY:

http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2010/01/16/obama_rewards_losers_punishes_winners_99926.html?utm_source=rcpwidget&utm_medium=widget&utm_campaign=telegraph2009

Woman who stripped to avoid arrest gets six months jail

Sheboygan Press staff

January 15, 2010

Julia E. Laack

A 36-year-old Sheboygan woman will spend six months in prison for a bizarre series of offenses that began with stealing beef jerky and ended with stripping in front of her children and kicking a police officer in the groin.

Julia E. Laack, of 1603 S. 13th St., was sentenced Thursday by Judge Timothy Van Akkeren to the jail term and two years probation, said Assistant District Attorney Chris Stock.

She accepted a plea agreement two weeks ago under which she was convicted of felony battery to a law enforcement officer and misdemeanor counts of retail theft and resisting or obstructing an officer.

The charges carried a maximum penalty of more than four years in prison, and Stock had recommended nine months in jail as part of the agreement.

According to a criminal complaint, the Oct. 8 incident began after Laack was captured on surveillance video stealing beef jerky and a lighter from a convenience store. When police came to her home, Laack told officers they couldn't arrest her because she was going to be naked and then stripped to her underwear as her children stood by.

While being handcuffed, Laack tried kicked one officer in the groin, then manipulated a spit hood to spit into the mouth of a female officer who had re-dressed her. In the squad car, Laack exposed her buttocks against the rear window and told the female officer her children are going to die.

A breath test showed Laack had a blood-alcohol level of 0.11.

In an unrelated case, Laack is scheduled for sentencing Feb. 12 for allegedly working with her brother and another man to extort money from a 20-year-old gay man. The victim told police the three adults trapped him in a bedroom and forced him to pay them after they witnessed what they believed was inappropriate behavior toward a 15-year-old boy.

Laack accepted a plea agreement Jan. 12 under which she was convicted of felony false imprisonment and threats to injure or accuse of a crime. The crimes carry a maximum penalty of six years in prison.

In A Gender Shift, More Moms Become Breadwinners

Income Stats Show Gender Shift

HOPE YEN

Associated Press Writer

POSTED: 12:23 pm EST January 15, 2010
UPDATED: 1:36 pm EST January 15, 2010

WASHINGTON -- The number of working moms who are the sole breadwinners in their families rose last year to an all-time high, and the number of stay-at-home dads edged higher, in a shift of traditional gender roles caused partly by massive job losses.

The number of moms who were the only working spouse rose for the third straight year, according to Census Bureau figures released Friday. The number of dads who were the only working spouse dropped, and the number of stay-at-home dads ticked higher.

The figures are for married couples with kids under 18.

"Women are really stepping in and helping families stay afloat. The question is whether men are stepping up and picking up the slack around home," said Kristin Smith, a family demographer at the University of New Hampshire.

In most households with moms as breadwinners, both parents were working until the husband was laid off or retired, and the wife remained in her job. In other situations, a non-working wife may have rejoined the labor force, in a growing industry such as teaching or health care, to sustain the family income after the husband was let go.

By the numbers, about 4 percent or 963,000 moms were the only parent in the labor force. The share of fathers as the sole worker was much bigger -- 28.2 percent or 7.3 million -- but still the lowest since 2001. The share of couples who both work stayed the same at 66 percent or 17 million.

There were 158,000 stay-at-home dads, up from 140,000 in 2008. Still, the number is less than 1 percent of married couples.

The recession's toll has been harder on male-dominated industries such as construction and manufacturing. There are also longer-term cultural changes at work, too, as more women earn college degrees and the better job opportunities they bring.

"The economic crisis is heavily affecting families, and what the latest data show is that gender roles are flexible and are going in the direction of egalitarian roles," said Pamela J. Smock, a sociology professor at the University of Michigan.

She said the shifts could have lasting effects after the economy rebounds, as people become more accustomed to the roles of breadwinner moms and stay-at-home dads.

Smith sees a continued reliance on wives as breadwinners, "particularly if we see a jobless economic recovery like we did after the 2001 recession."

Her research on working moms found that employed wives last year contributed to 45 percent of total family earnings. That was up from 44 percent in the previous year, the large single-year increase in the last decade.

The latest trends coincide with overall increases in women in the work force. In fact, women are close to outnumbering men in the work force for the first time: Women held 49.9 percent of the nation's 131 million jobs last November, the most recent data available.

Analysts cautioned the latest numbers may be somewhat illusory, since women still hold fewer executive positions and their jobs, particularly among mothers, are often part-time.

Women's pay still lagged men's, though the gap has slowly been narrowing. Women with full-time jobs earned salaries equal to 77.9 percent of what men earned, up from 77.5 percent in 2007 and about 64 percent in 2000.

According to the Census data, the increase in the number of moms as the only worker was seen across all racial and ethnic groups. But it was biggest among black women, whose numbers rose from 9 percent in 2007 to 12 percent last year as black men suffered disproportionately higher rates of unemployment. The share of Hispanic moms rose from 5 percent to 8 percent, while the share of white non-Hispanic women rose from 4 percent to 7 percent and the share of Asian women grew from 5 percent to 7 percent.

Other findings include:

--There are an estimated 5.3 million "stay-at-home" parents in the U.S., based on a narrow definition in which one spouse is in the labor force for the entire year and the other spouse is not for the reason of "taking care of home and family."

--The number of stay-at-home moms declined from 5.3 million in 2008 to 5.1 million last year. That was the lowest since 2001, which was also during a recession.

--About 22.6 percent of married couples with children under 15 had a stay-at-home mom, down from 23.7 percent in 2008.

The 2009 data is based on the Census Bureau's Current Population Survey, which was conducted last March.

Police: Fight Over Spam Led To Attack

Police say a fight over Spam led to a sledgehammer attack.

Investigators said it happened at a southwest Oklahoma City home when Howard Jones thought his roommate ate his Spam.

Officers said the men argued and then Jones hit him in the head with a sledgehammer.

The other man suffered only minor injuries.

Police arrested Jones on suspicion of assault.

LINK TO VIDEO:

http://www.koco.com/news/22253481/detail.html

SJ Man Repossesses Car With Two-Year-Old Boy In Backseat

Posted: 10:47 pm PST January 13, 2010

Updated: 12:43 am PST January 14, 2010

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- A San Jose mother had the scare of her life Tuesday night when her car was repossessed with her two-year-old son inside.

Isabel Leuvano said it was about 7 p.m. when she parked her car in the driveway of her ex-husband's house and stepped out with the engine still running to pick up her daughter. A man suddenly jumped into the car and drove away.

"All we do is hear the car door shut and the car just take off over the curb and just hit the right corner and speed off," said Leuvano. "And I'm freaking out hysterical that this is my son and he's in the car. They just stole my car and the baby."

Police said the man who took the car was Alberto Luna, the owner of used car dealership Alberto Auto in San Jose. Luna told police he repossessed Leuvano's 2000 Honda Accord because she was late with her payment.

Police learned the car had been repossessed 30 minutes after they launched a full-scale search for the child.

Police found the two-year-old boy named Cyrus in the office of the car lot.

"The child was okay," said San Jose Police Sgt. Ronnie Lopez. "We were able to take the mom to the dealership and reunite the mother and the child."

Leuvano was back at the dealership on Wednesday trying to get her car back. She admitted to being 17 days late on her most recent payment because she had just moved into a new apartment and had to pay first and last month's rent. But she also said she talked to the dealership on the phone Monday.

The car dealer had no comment for KTVU, but Leuvano's boyfriend Joseph Rodriguez said they told him that she would have to pay the $285 late payment plus and additional $300 to cover the cost of the repossession.

"Today it seems like it's nothing to them," said Rodriguez. "They're like 'We made a mistake and that's it. Where's our money at and we'll give you your car back.' It's not like 'We're sorry. We can work this out.'"

Police said that while the district attorney will review the case, it doesn't appear any law was broken.

"What we would have liked to have seen is a little bit more professionalism; a little more courtesy," said Sgt. Lopez

Leuvano said she's seeing a lawyer.

"If they do take repossession of a car, they should go through the steps to check the car to see if a child was in there," said Leuvano. "They gave me the biggest scare of my life; I thought I would never see my son again."

Thursday is Cyrus' third birthday. His mother said the lesson she learned is never to let her son out of her sight.

LINK TO VIDEO:

http://www.ktvu.com/news/22232995/detail.html

Friday, 01.15.10

Report: Tiger Woods has checked into sex addiction rehab program

Biloxi Sun Herald