2nd suspect arrested in Texas college shooting

HOUSTON — A man suspected in an argument that exploded into gunfire at a Houston-area college was arrested Friday some 250 miles away in a Dallas suburb, authorities said.

Trey Foster, 22, was taken into custody in Plano and has been returned to Houston for questioning, Harris County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Christina Garza said. Foster arrived at daybreak, handcuffed and shackled at the ankles, and was led into the sheriff's office by deputies.

Officials have said at least 10 shots were fired in the incident Tuesday at the Lone Star College campus in north Houston. Three men were wounded, including a maintenance worker who was caught in the crossfire.

Getty Images

Harris County Sheriff Officers work the scene at Lone Star Campus after a shooting occurred on January 22.

According to court documents, an argument broke out after 25-year-old Jody Neal bumped into Foster on campus. About 30 minutes later, Foster and his friend, 22-year-old Carlton Berry, spotted Neal near the doorway to the Academic Building and Foster fired at Neal, who was wounded in the abdomen and leg, the documents said. Neal ran into the campus library and collapsed.

According to the affidavit, Neal told investigators that Foster shot him. Berry, who was shot in the leg, was arrested at the scene, and a manhunt for Foster ensued. Bobby Cliburn, a 55-year-old maintenance worker who was standing nearby, was shot in the leg.

The affidavit does not say who shot Berry and Cliburn.

Both Berry and Foster are charged with two felony counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Investigators were trying to determine whether Berry fired the handgun that was used. He is under police supervision at a Houston hospital and is being held on a $60,000 bond. Berry is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.

Court documents say Foster is being held on a $50,000 bond and will appear in court Monday.

Arriving at the sheriff's office Friday morning, Foster acknowledged to reporters that he knew Berry but ignored other questions.

Witnesses reported seeing one person flee on foot after the shooting, the affidavit said.

Berry had a Lone Star College ID but officials are still determining whether he or Foster were enrolled at the school. Neal was pursuing his GED. Authorities do not expect to file charges against Neal, the Harris County Sheriff's Office has said.

Read More..

Lennar design accommodates multigenerational families

In some cases, it may be Grandma moving in with the family. Other times, it may be a recent college graduate returning to the nest.

For all sorts of reasons — financial, medical, personal — a rising number of Americans are moving into extended family households.

Spotting a niche in the growing trend, Lennar Corp. has launched a new concept tailor-made for multigenerational family living.

It’s basically a house within a house: a smaller living unit next to the main home designed to provide independence but also access to the rest of the family household.

“People are really loving the whole concept,” said Carlos Gonzalez, president of the southeast Florida division of Lennar, a Miami-based home-building giant. “We adapted to the market from a design standpoint.”

In Miami-Dade County, Lennar is selling various versions of multigenerational homes in three new developments in Doral, Kendall and Homestead.

Louis Moreno of Kendall and his wife, Danilza Velez, signed a contract for a large NextGen home in The Vineyards development in Homestead last October — even before the models had been built.

“We loved it,” said Moreno, a 45-year-old engineer.

Moreno said his mother-in-law will be able to use the new suite when she visits, as will his family members who frequently come to town from Puerto Rico. “This will provide them with more comfortable space and more privacy,” he said. He also plans to use it as a game room and entertainment area.

The two-story Zinfandel home Moreno picked has three bedrooms and 2 1/2 bathrooms in the main home with a family room and two-car garage. In addition, it has an ample 789-square-foot suite with two bedrooms, a bathroom and a kitchenette. The suite has its own garage, a separate front entrance and an internal door connecting to the main home.

The Zinfandel, which has 2,249 square feet of air-conditioned space in the main house, starts at $283,990 in the Homestead community at 128 SE 28th Ter., but a similar home in Kendall would run about $100,000 more, primarily because of higher land costs, Fernandez said. (In Doral, there is a NextGen home priced at $677,990.)

Some multigenerational models have suites as small as 489 square feet, but all have a separate entrance, a bedroom, a bathroom and some sort of kitchen space.

The idea takes various shapes. One option at the Kendall Square development at 16950 SW 90th St. is a Granny unit above a detached garage.

“Independence is the key word,” said Frank Fernandez, director of sales and marketing for the southeast Florida division.

Depending on local zoning rules, some homes can have full kitchens, others are restricted to kitchenettes with a microwave but no stove. Similarly, some municipalities permit the space to be used as a rental, others prohibit it.

The choice is proving popular. Fernandez said in The Vineyards development in Homestead, 10 of the 14 homes sold to date are NextGen. At Kendall Square, 35 of 107 sales are multigenerational, and at the Isles at Grand Bay development at 11301 NW 74th Street in Doral, five of 48 houses are.

Adapting homes for special needs, such as wheelchairs and safety railings, is done at cost, Fernandez said: “That is company policy.”

As one of the nation’s largest home builders, Lennar has been rebounding strongly from the housing crash. Last week, the builder, whose shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange, posted better than expected earnings for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended Nov. 30, 2012.

Read More..

Jury deliberating fate of caretaker in Rilya Wilson murder case

Jurors on Thursday morning began deliberating in the Rilya Wilson murder case.

Twelve jurors will decide whether caretaker Geralyn Graham is guilty of killing the 4-year-old foster child, then telling a slew of lies to cover-up the child’s demise.

Graham, 67, is charged with aggravated child abuse, kidnapping and first degree murder. She faces life in prison. Jurors retired to begin deliberating at 10:45 a.m.

Defense lawyer Michael Matters, in his final argument Wednesday, ripped the state’s key witness, Robin Lunceford, a convicted armed robber who testified that Graham confessed in jail to smothering the girl with a pillow.

“Every bit of the story she concocted about my client is absolutely unbelievable,” Matters told jurors. “She graduated from prison life with a master in manipulation and a doctorate in deceit.”

Lunceford, an eccentric con who was doing life in prison, testified in exchange for a 10-year plea deal on armed robbery case.

The body of Rilya, whose disappearance sparked turmoil at the Florida Department of Children and Families, has never been found.

Miami-Dade prosecutor Sally Weintraub said Lunceford learned intimate details known only to a few people. That included an episode — backed up by other witness testimony — in which Graham grew angry because Rilya wanted to dress as Cleopatra, not an angel, for Halloween.

“Robin Lunceford is big, loud, aggressive, obscene, in-your-face, unpleasant. The kind of person you might just write off,” Weintraub told jurors. “How you feel about her is not what you have to consider … what the testimony is, the defendant’s words, that’s what you must consider.”

Read More..

TSX near 18-month high, buoyed by Agrium, RIM

TORONTO (Reuters) – Canada’s main stock index hit a near 18-month high on Thursday, as shares of Agrium Inc rose after the fertilizer maker raised its profit forecast and as U.S. manufacturing and labor data drove optimism on the economic outlook of Canada’s largest trade partner.

Shares of Research In Motion Ltd also boosted the market, rising more than 3 percent after a report that China’s Lenovo Group said a bid for the BlackBerry maker was among the options available to boost its mobile business.

Canadian stocks were also supported by data that showed Chinese manufacturing growth hit a two-year high this month. Gains were kept in check by falling gold stocks, which slipped with the price of the precious metal.

In the United States, a private survey showed that factory activity advanced at the fastest pace in nearly two years this month, while the government reported the number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits hit a five-year low last week.

“There’s a growing feeling that we’re heading in the right direction. The U.S. economy is showing a little bit of life, and that’s spilling over into Canada,” said Fred Ketchen, director of equity trading at ScotiaMcLeod.

The Toronto Stock Exchange‘s S&P/TSX composite index <.gsptse> was up 41.36 points, or 0.32 percent, at 12,835.41, after touching 12,863.47, its highest since August 2, 2011.</.gsptse>

Seven of the 10 main sectors on the index were trading higher.

The materials sector, which includes mining stocks, slipped 0.1 percent as declines in gold stocks offset a rise in shares of fertilizer giants Agrium and Potash Corp .

Agrium rose 3.5 percent to C$ 114.55 after it raised its fourth-quarter earnings forecast as strong grain and oilseed prices spurred demand for its fertilizer products over the fall season.

Ketchen, noting the activity in Agrium shares over the past few days, said, “People are taking another look at it, thinking maybe it’s time to get back in.”

Potash was up 2.1 percent at C$ 42.77.

The energy sector gained 0.6 percent and was the biggest contributor to the market’s gains as U.S. crude oil prices rose.

Canadian Natural Resources Ltd rose 1.5 percent to C$ 30.62.

Financials, the index’s weightiest sector, added 0.4 percent. Toronto Dominion Bank

was up 0.4 percent at C$ 83.51, and the Royal Bank of Canada rose 0.3 percent to C$ 61.62.

(Editing by Jeffrey Hodgson and Leslie Adler)

Wireless News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: TSX near 18-month high, buoyed by Agrium, RIM
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/tsx-near-18-month-high-buoyed-by-agrium-rim/
Link To Post : TSX near 18-month high, buoyed by Agrium, RIM
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Michael Buble & Wife Luisana Lopilato Are Having a Baby

Singer Michael Buble has revealed he's going to be a father!

The 37-year-old crooner and his wife, Argentine actress Luisana Lopilato, 25, announced the news Thursday in a YouTube video message.

PICS: Star Sightings

"Mike, Lu and… mini Bublé!!" text on the video screen reveals, followed by an ultrasound image of the baby. The video ends with the words, "We're having a baby Bublé!"

The couple married in March 2011.

VIDEO: Michael Buble's 'Skype Dates' with Wife 

Read More..

Crazed thief chomps staffer's hand while trying to make off with Jimmy Choos

They’re Jimmy Choos, not Jimmy chews!

A crazed shopper chomped down a store employee’s hand to maintain her grip on a pair of Jimmy Choo boots inside a East Village consignment shop and then bit a cop who tried to arrest her, records show.

Melissa Scott, 28, grabbed a pair of knee-high Jimmy Choos and two scarves and put them inside her red bag inside Cadillac’s Castle on Ninth Street around 12:45 p.m., Sunday, court papers state.

When a clerk spotted the $350 merchandise protruding from the bag and tried to Scott from leaving with the loot, the rabid shoe fanatic bit the employee, records show.

Scott, who has a lengthy rap sheet for theft and assault, bore down so hard that bystanders told cops they were unable to pry the pitbull off.

When cops responded and tried to arrest Scott, she ran until they caught her and then chomped on a cop’s hand, drawing blood, records state.

Scott was charged with possession of stolen property and assault. She also has pending cases in Brooklyn for theft and allegedly stabbing a woman during a dispute in 2009, records show.

kconley@nypost.com

Read More..

Miami Dolphins slam Norman Braman, Marlins Park deal

The Miami Dolphins ramped up their public campaign for a tax-funded stadium renovation this week, buying full-page ads against their top critic and trying to distance the plan from the unpopular Marlins deal.

The team bought an ad in Tuesday’s Miami Herald and El Nuevo Herald knocking auto magnate Norman Braman’s criticism of the Sun Life Stadium deal, which would have Florida and Miami-Dade split the costs with owner Stephen Ross for a $400 million renovation. The Dolphins would pay at least $201 million, with taxpayers using state funds and a higher Miami-Dade hotel tax to pay $199 million.

In a fact sheet sent to media Tuesday morning, the Dolphins listed ways their deal differs from the 2009 Marlins deal. First: Ross, a billionaire real estate developer, would use private dollars to fund at least 51 percent of the Sun Life effort, compared to less than 25 percent from Marlins owner Jeff Loria. Second, Sun Life helps the economy more than the Marlins park does.

“Just because the Marlins did a bad deal doesn’t mean we should oppose a good deal where at least a majority of the cost is paid from private sources and more than 4,000 local jobs are created during construction alone,” the fact sheet states. And while the Dolphins’ Miami Gardens stadium has hosted two Super Bowls since 2007 and is in the running for the 2016 game, “Marlins Stadium does not generate the ability to attract world-class sports events -- other than a World Series from time to time depending on the success of the team.”

NFL teams play eight home games a year if they don’t make the playoffs, while baseball teams have 81.

Miami and Miami-Dade built the Marlins a $640 million stadium at the site of the Dolphins’ old home at the Orange Bowl in Little Havana. The Marlins contributed about $120 million and agreed to pay between $2.5 million and $4.9 million a year for 35 years to pay back $35 million of debt the county borrowed for the stadium. As a publicly owned stadium, the Marlins ballpark pays no property taxes. Most of the public money came from Miami-Dade hotel taxes, along with $50 million of debt tied to the county’s general fund.

Sun Life is privately owned and pays $3 million a year in property taxes to Miami-Dade. It currently receives $2 million a year from Florida’ s stadium program, a subsidy tied to converting the football venue to baseball in the 1990s when the Marlins played there. The Dolphins also paid for a second full-page ad with quotes from leading hoteliers in Miami-Dade endorsing the stadium plan. Among them: Donald Trump, whose company recently purchased the Doral golf resort. “Steve Ross’ commitment to modernize Sun Life Stadium -- while covering most of the construction costs -- is the right thing for Miami-Dade,’’ the ad quotes Trump as saying.

Also on Tuesday, Ross and team CEO Mike Dee sent a letter to Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez and county commissioners requesting negotiations over the stadium deal. The letter said the deal Ross unveiled last week is a “baseline for debate” and asked for talks. The letter also urged the commission to adopt a resolution proposed by Commissioner Barbara Jordan endorsing the state bill that would allow taxes for Sun Life. The resolution is on the agenda for Wednesday’s commission meeting.

Read More..

Gov. Scott's teacher pay raises would cost $480 million

TALLAHASSEE --
Gov. Rick Scott says his proposed across-the-board pay raise for all full-time Florida teachers would cost nearly half a billion dollars next year. That would consume all of a tentative projected budget surplus of $437 million.

Scott said his plan would cost $480 million statewide. He declined to say what the percentage pay hike he’s recommending until he unveils the details at a Wednesday afternoon appearance at Ocoee Middle School near Orlando.

"I’ve traveled the state and I’ve talked to teachers," Scott told reporters. "They’re working tirelessly to make sure our students have achievement. I’m very appreciative of what our teachers do."

Scott said he remains supportive of a merit pay plan tied to student progress on standardized test scores. Merit pay became law two years ago but the state has provided no money for it and teachers are challenging it in court.

The governor’s call for an across-the-board pay increase for teachers will be a recommendation to the state Legislature, which writes the annual state budget.

Read More..

Three reasons to root for RIM

I have expressed skepticism that RIM (RIMM) will really be able to pull off an epic comeback and reestablish BlackBerry as a legitimate contender with the iPhone and the barrage of Android smartphones that get released every year. But that doesn’t mean I don’t want it to happen. Quite the contrary, I’m hoping that RIM proves all us nasty skeptics wrong, defies the odds and produces a big hit with the BlackBerry Z10 that’s set to be released over the next couple of months.

[More from BGR: As data gets cheaper for Verizon to transmit, customers are paying more]

So why am I rooting for RIM even if I’m dubious of its prospects for success? Three specific reasons come to mind.

[More from BGR: Success with BlackBerry ‘diehards’ isn’t the key to BlackBerry 10′s future]

First, I think the mobile market will benefit from having a third option besides iOS and Android, and it doesn’t look as though Microsoft (MSFT) is up to the task just yet. Sure, Windows Phone devices have started to make some progress in Europe, but in North America the platform’s market share has remained largely flat despite the large piles of money Microsoft is spending to promote it. This gives RIM an opportunity to elbow itself into the discussion in the United States and Canada as a legitimate contender for consumers who have moved on to iOS or Android but who still miss their BlackBerry phones of old.

Second, I think CEO Thorsten Heins has some interesting and ambitious ideas for where he’d like to take the company in the future. Sure, there are times when I can’t tell whether he really has a plan to boldly remake BlackBerry or is just insane, but when I hear him talk about integrating BlackBerry 10 into cars, I am intrigued. Heins is also easy to root for when you consider how well he’s played the thoroughly lousy hand he was dealt when he took over as RIM CEO last year — the fact that he’s generated significant support from both carriers and app developers at a time when it looked like the company could collapse at any moment has been impressive.

And finally, I’ve come to really love RIM’s crazy fans over the past year, even if they don’t like me all that much. Every time I’ve written a post critical of RIM or BlackBerry, they were there to immediately pounce on me, declare me a hopeless “iSheep” and tell me how stupid I’ll feel when RIM emerges triumphant and stomps all over the iPhone and Android. I’m not sure such dedication to a product is emotionally healthy, but it is something I have to respect and I hope that BlackBerry 10 will, at the very least, make RIM’s loyal and long-suffering fans happy.

So now’s the time, RIM. Next week will be your chance to make me look like a fool for ever doubting the power of BlackBerry 10. And for all the reasons I listed above, I hope you take it.

This article was originally published on BGR.com

Wireless News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Three reasons to root for RIM
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/three-reasons-to-root-for-rim/
Link To Post : Three reasons to root for RIM
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

White Collar 2013 Jeff Eastin Interview

The explosive (how cool was that fire thing Neal did with the kiln?!?) White Collar season premiere may have answered one big lingering mystery -- Sam Phelps a.k.a. James Bennett is Neal's father and is not a cop killer -- but set up countless new questions.

In an attempt to gain some season 4.5 clarity, I caught up with EP Jeff Eastin to find out who's coming back, who's leaving for good and what the finale holds for our White Collar crew!

ETonline: Neal ended the premiere by hugging his father. Where does that relationship go from here?

Jeff Eastin: Since season one, we've been working off this idea that Neal doesn't know who he is because he didn't know who his family was. There was a line early on where he said, "If I'm not my father's son, who am I?" Now, he's had the chance to meet his father and it's very much a case of be careful what you wish for. He finds a shadowy reflection of himself in James and that’s hard for him to deal with. This season is about Neal starting to fall back in love with his father.

RELATED - Matt Bomer Designs White Collar-Inspired Clothing Line

ETonline: We've also watched Peter realize that sometimes you have to do bad things to yield good results. Will he continue to struggle with straddling that line this season?

Eastin: That's very much Peter's journey in these episodes. He's been flirting with that, and I can say that this season, Hughes [Peter's F.B.I. boss played by James Rebhorn] is forced out of his job and that makes everyone realize they're dealing with forces that are stronger than anything they've faced in the past. But when Hughes leaves the office, he doesn't leave the show -- he becomes a clandestine mentor for Peter and he factors in heavily to Peter trying very hard to go back to the right and wrong morality he's used to. With Hughes being forced out, Peter realizes the bureau has kind of turned on him. As much as he's told to be careful or he'll turn into Caffrey, it's the realization that to restore law and order, Peter has to basically become Neal -- that's his big arc this season.

ETonline: The fans love when Elizabeth gets in on the caper, and in the exclusive season-long teaser we posted, Elizabeth was seen wielding a gun. Does she continue to get more involved with Peter's job this season?

Eastin: Yeah. There's a couple good episodes for her this season. On the emotional side, she factors heavily into Neal accepting his father and Peter accepting that he needs to do evil to do good. But we've also got a great episode where Peter and Elizabeth get kidnapped together. Elizabeth definitely has a much bigger part in this season than she ever has before.

EXCLUSIVE VIDEO - First Look at Jeff Eastin's New Show, Graceland

ETonline: With Neal re-evaluating everything about himself in light of meeting his dad, will we see Sara Ellis (played by Hilarie Burton) return?

Eastin: I always thought it was so funny that when I first introduced Sara, the fan reaction was decidedly negative. I think she brought a lot of baggage from her last show [One Tree Hill]. One time I straight up asked her, "What did you do over there? Geez!" [laughs] There seemed to be a lot of negativity, but when I moved away from that relationship, suddenly all the hate turned into love, so Hilarie will be back for several episodes this season. It all goes back to Neal wanting Peter's life. It's like Goldilocks in a way: Kate was too pure, Alex was too far on the criminal side, but Sarah is just right. She could enjoy Neal's dangerous side, but at the same time, she had a great moral compass of her own. This season, they've learned friends with benefits is a good place to be, which takes a lot of the pressure off since both were resistant to anything heavier. But Sterling Bosche will offer Sara the chance to head up their UK office and that suddenly puts the pressure back on because it's like, "Wow, this could be the end for us."

ETonline: You always seem to try and top your previous season finale, so what can you say about this year's ender?

Eastin: I'm really excited about our finale, it's big this year. We shot it in The Empire State Building, up on the 103rd floor, which is the secret top deck that only celebrities can see. It's pretty intense. We got to shoot Neal and Sara up there, for good reasons -- it starts out as part of the con they're running, but it ends with the two of them up there and it's really beautiful and emotional. We can always come back to those two if we want, but it's also a fantastic summation of their relationship. As for season five, it's very much a continuation of where season four ends. Once that carry over wraps up, Peter does help Neal answer the question of who he is. In Neal's mind, it's always been about meeting his father and learning who he is as a result of that. But Peter is able to convey to Neal that your father doesn't define you, you define you. That realization allows Neal to look forward in season five.

White Collar airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. on USA.

Read More..