Last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released the stark results of a survey that show the prevalence of domestic violence in the United States: One out of four women say they have been abused by an intimate partner, including a husband or a boyfriend.
The telephone survey of 16,507 adults -- 9,086 women and 7,421 men -- was conducted in 2010, underscoring the point that men also experienced the tragedy of partner violence, even though the bulk of the victims are women.
The October 2010 U.S. Census counted a population of 157.2 million women and 153.2 million men, which means that as many as 29 million women were beaten, choked, stabbed, shot, punched, slammed against something, or had their hair pulled by their lovers.
If being slapped, pushed, and shoved are included in the array of abuse, the number of female victims jumps to 36 million.
"What the report started to do was take a look at the prevalence of the violence," said Nancy Neylon, executive director of the Columbus-based Domestic Violence Network, a statewide coalition of service providers that address the issue.
The process of being able to pick up and start off on their own is getting harder,” she said. “People are choosing to stay longer because of the financial aspect of moving.”
However, budget constraints have forced some places to turn people away. Smith said private donations have fallen at least 50 percent.
Aimee Hall, the executive director of Safe Homes of Augusta, has encountered the same problem. She said Safe Homes is always at capacity and has to send people to another shelter, out of state, or even sometimes rent hotel rooms.
One woman, who asked to remain anonymous because she had recently left an abusive husband, said she spent eight days calling shelters all over Richmond County and was turned away because they cater to veterans or the disabled, or she had to have a police report or doctor’s note from the past 72 hours.
“I called every day, sometimes three to five times,” she said. “I called every outlet I could find. All I got was, ‘We will put you on a waiting list.’ ”
She said she heard about Safe Homes from a friend and when she called, she was offered the last spot. Through the shelter, she feels like she has found a community who understands her.
“It’s different to know there are people in your situation and to actually be surrounded by it,” she said.
She said she is on the mend and, through Safe Homes, has been able to secure housing for herself and her two children, ages 11 and 5.
“There aren’t many facilities that cater to women and children in this area,” she said. “They have a plan for me here.”
Not only are men and women staying in abusive relationships longer, but they are staying in the shelters longer, Hall said.
Because a lot of these women have never held a job, it makes it that much harder for them to find work in the sluggish economy.
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence (IPV), is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation. Domestic violence, so defined, has many forms, including physical aggression or assault (hitting, kicking, biting, shoving, restraining, slapping, throwing objects), or threats thereof; sexual abuse; emotional abuse; controlling or domineering; intimidation; stalking; passive/covert abuse (e.g., neglect); and economic deprivation. Alcohol consumption and mental illness can be co-morbid with abuse, and present additional challenges in eliminating domestic violence. Awareness, perception, definition and documentation of domestic violence differs widely from country to country, and from era to era.
Domestic violence and abuse isn't limited to obvious physical violence. Domestic violence can also mean endangerment, criminal coercion, kidnapping, unlawful imprisonment, trespassing, harassment, and stalking.
3.3 million children witness domestic violence each year in the US. There has been an increase in acknowledgment that a child who is exposed to domestic abuse during their upbringing will suffer in their developmental and psychological welfare. Because of the awareness of domestic violence that some children have to face, it also generally impacts how the child develops emotionally, socially, behaviorally as well as cognitively. Some emotional and behavioral problems that can result due to domestic violence include increased aggressiveness, anxiety, and changes in how a child socializes with friends, family, and authorities. Depression, as well as self-esteem issues, can follow due to traumatic experiences. Problems with attitude and cognition in schools can start developing, along with a lack of skills such as problem-solving. Correlation has been found between the experience of abuse and neglect in childhood and perpertrating domestic violence and sexual abuse in adulthood. Additionally, in some cases the abuser will purposely abuse the mother in front of the child to cause a ripple effect, hurting two victims simultaneously. It has been found that children who witness mother-assault are more likely to exhibit symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Consequences to these children are likely to be more severe if their assaulted mother develops posttruamatic stress disorder (PTSD) and does not seek treatment due to her difficulty in assisting her child with processing his or her own experience of witnessing the domestic violence.
Family Violence prevention in Australia and other countries has begun to focus on breaking intergenerational cycles, according to the National (Aust) Standards for Working with Children Exposed to Family Violence it is important to acknowledge that exposing children to Family Violence is child abuse. Some of the effects of Family Violence on children are highlighted in the Queensland Government and SunnyKids awareness raising campaign.
There are many different theories as to the causes of domestic violence. These include psychological theories that consider personality traits and mental characteristics of the perpetrator, as well as social theories which consider external factors in the perpetrator's environment, such as family structure, stress, social learning. As with many phenomena regarding human experience, no single approach appears to cover all cases.
Whilst there are many theories regarding what causes one individual to act violently towards an intimate partner or family member there is also growing concern around apparent intergenerational cycles of domestic violence. In Australia where it has been identified that as many as 75% of all victims of domestic violence are children[70] Domestic violence services such as Sunnykids are beginning to focus their attention on children who have been exposed to domestic violence.
Stress may be increased when a person is living in a family situation, with increased pressures. Social stresses, due to inadequate finances or other such problems in a family may further increase tensions. Violence is not always caused by stress, but may be one way that some people respond to stress. Families and couples in poverty may be more likely to experience domestic violence, due to increased stress and conflicts about finances and other aspects. Some speculate that poverty may hinder a man's ability to live up to his idea of "successful manhood", thus he fears losing honor and respect. Theory suggests that when he is unable to economically support his wife, and maintain control, he may turn to misogyny, substance abuse, and crime as ways to express masculinity.
Social learning theory suggests that people learn from observing and modeling after others' behavior. With positive reinforcement, the behavior continues. If one observes violent behavior, one is more likely to imitate it. If there are no negative consequences (e. g. victim accepts the violence, with submission), then the behavior will likely continue. Often, violence is transmitted from generation to generation in a cyclical manner.
Safety planning allows the victim to plan for dangerous situations they may encounter, and is effective regardless of their decision on whether remain with their perpetrator. Safety planning usually begins with determining a course of action if another acute incident occurs in the home. The victim should be given strategies for their own safety, such as avoiding confrontations in rooms where there is only one exit and avoiding certain rooms that contain many potential weapons (such as kitchens, bathrooms, etc.).
The main goal for treatment for offenders of domestic violence is to minimize the offender’s risk of future domestic violence, whether within the same relationship or a new one. Treatment for offenders should emphasize minimizing risk to the victim, and should be modified depending on the offender’s history, risk of reoffending, and criminogenic needs. The majority of offender treatment programs are 24–36 weeks in length and are conducted in a group setting with groups not exceeding 12 participants. Groups are also standardized to be gender specific (male offenders only or female offenders only). It has been demonstrated that domestic violence offenders maintain a socially acceptable façade to hide abusive behavior, and therefore accountability is the recommended focus of offender treatment programs. Successful completion of treatment is generally associated with old age, higher levels of education, lower reported drug use, non-violent criminal histories, and longer intimate relationships. Anger management alone has not been shown to be effective in treating domestic violence offenders, as domestic violence is based on power and control and not on problems with regulating anger responses. Anger management is recommended as a part of an offender treatment curriculum that is based on accountability, along with topics such as recognizing abusive patterns of behavior and re-framing communication skills. Treatment of offenders involves more than the cessation of abusive behaviour; it also requires a great deal of personal change and the construction of a self-image that is separate from former behaviour while still being held accountable for it. Any corresponding problems should also be addressed as part of domestic violence offender treatment, such as problems with substance abuse or other mental illness.
Orange County authorities announced Saturday that they believe the man arrested Friday night on suspicion of killing a homeless man is a serial killer who stabbed three other transients in North Orange County over the last few weeks.
"We are extremely confident that we have the man who is responsible for the murders of all four homeless men in Orange County," Anaheim Police Chief John Welter said.
Police identified the man as Itzcoatl Ocampo, 23, of Yorba Linda.
Ocampo was being held at the Anaheim jail without bail after a homeless man, whom people who live in the area identified only as John, was stabbed to death behind a busy fast-food restaurant late Friday.
Police have been looking for one man believed to be a serial killer and have conducted roadblocks in Placentia and in Yorba Linda.
Detectives released grainy footage from a security camera showing a man dressed in black and "lying in wait" at the time of the first attack, which occurred Dec. 20.
That image became the primary lead in the investigation. Detectives were also searching for a white, four-door late-model Toyota Corolla.
The first attack claimed the life of James Patrick McGillivray, 53. On Dec. 28, Lloyd Middaugh, 42, was found dead near a riverbed trail in Anaheim. Two days later, Paulus Smit, 57, was killed outside the Yorba Linda city library.
Several witnesses reported an assault in progress, and officers arrived to find the homeless man dead near a trash bin in the restaurant parking lot. Witnesses followed a man who ran from the lot and led police to him, Anaheim police Sgt. Bob Dunn said.
"We were having dinner in the area and saw about 40 police cars scream into the parking lot. I ran over and hugged my friend, screaming, 'Please tell me it's not John!' But it was," Holland said, fighting back tears.
Police set up a large containment area at the crime scene in a search for the killer and scoured nearby neighborhoods, including a mobile home park, Dunn said.
A police bloodhound traced the scent from Ocampo's belongings back to the scene where the attack occurred, about 10 miles northeast of the Disneyland Resort, authorities said.
Ocampo, of nearby Yorba Linda, was being held without bail for suspicion of murder, Dunn said.
A task force of law enforcement officers from Anaheim, Placentia, Brea, the Orange County Sheriff's Department and the FBI had been formed to investigate the killings of the three other homeless men.
James Patrick McGillivray, 53, was killed near a shopping center in Placentia on Dec. 20; Lloyd Middaugh, 42, was found near a riverbed trail in Anaheim on Dec. 28; and Paulus Smit, 57, was killed outside a Yorba Linda library on Dec. 30.
Police and advocates have been urging those living on the streets to head inside or buddy up in the wake of the killings.
ANAHEIM, Calif. — Investigators are “extremely confident” a man in custody is responsible for all four recent killings of homeless men in Orange County, Anaheim Police Chief John Welter said Saturday, easing a month of worry and fear among the homeless and their advocates.
Investigators have tied the killings to Itzcoatl Ocampo, 23, of Yorba Linda, who was detained Friday night after a fourth homeless man was stabbed to death in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant, Welter said.
Witnesses and bystanders at the crime scene chased Ocampo on foot, and he was captured by a police officer who was part of a perimeter set up in response to dozens of 911 calls and other reports.
Three other homeless men have been found stabbed to death in north Orange County since mid-December, and a task force had been looking for the single suspect they believed was responsible for all three.
Virtually everyone who spoke at the Saturday news conference thanked what Placentia police Chief R.A. Hicks called the "brave citizens" who chased the suspect and made sure he was arrested.
A task force is investigating the killings of the three other homeless men.
James Patrick McGillivray, 53, was killed near a shopping center in Placentia on Dec. 20; Lloyd Middaugh, 42, was found near a riverbed trail in Anaheim on Dec. 28; and Paulus Smit, 57, was killed outside a Yorba Linda library on Dec. 30.
It was Smit's killing and its similarities that led police to strongly believe they were seeking a serial killer of homeless men.
Haynes said he asked both workers and clients whether any of them had ever seen or heard of Ocampo, and no one that he talked to was familiar with him.
He said he couldn't begin to imagine why someone would target the people his organization seeks to help.
"It almost sounds like hunting," he said.
Also Saturday, mourners wept at the scene of death of the latest victim, who was described by friends as a Vietnam War veteran in his 60s named John. They left flowers and signs, one of which read "We love you, John."
The victim was found between 8 p.m. and 9 p.m. Friday in the parking lot of a Carl's Jr. near busy intersection of La Palma Avenue and Imperial Highway in Anaheim, police said.
A candlelight vigil for the man and the other victims was planned for Saturday evening.
Marilyn Holland, an Anaheim resident who befriended the victim and regularly brought him oatmeal raisin cookies, said he was uncharacteristically nervous since police warned him to stay vigilant in the days after the killings began.
"He told me he thought he was being followed," Holland said. "I told him after pay day I was going to get him a cellphone, so he could call 911 if anything happened. Normally he would refuse help but he was willing to accept the phone because he was scared." Holland was paid Friday but didn't get the chance to get the phone to her friend.
Several witnesses reported an assault in progress, and officers arrived to find the homeless man dead near a trash bin in the restaurant parking lot. Witnesses followed a man and led police to him, Anaheim police Sgt. Bob Dunn said.
"We were having dinner in the area and saw about 40 police cars scream into the parking lot. I ran over and hugged my friend, screaming, 'Please tell me it's not John!' But it was," Holland said, fighting back tears.
Police set up a large containment area at the crime scene in a search for the killer and scoured nearby neighborhoods, including a mobile home park, Dunn said.
A police bloodhound traced the scent from Ocampo's belongings back to the scene where the attack occurred, about 10 miles northeast of the Disneyland Resort, authorities said.
Virtually everyone who spoke at the Saturday news conference thanked what Placentia police Chief R.A. Hicks called the "brave citizens" who chased the suspect and made sure he was arrested.
Stephen Colbert -- host of "The Colbert Report" and unabashed right wing radical -- is now considering running for President of the United States of America.
Simply put: Colbert must be stopped! He is an existential threat to our way of life and to the exceptional nature of our nation.
I know some will dismiss the threat posed by Colbert -- these apologists will defend him as "harmless" or say he's no more than "a charismatic speaker" -- but that is exactly what they said about Hitler.
We need to wake up to the fact that Colbert's poll numbers in South Carolina -- the location of the next Republican primary -- are rising. He is now at 5%, placing him ahead of former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman.
Yes, some will scoff at Colbert running ahead of Huntsman -- a candidate running below the margin of error in some polls, meaning he may have zero support or may actually owe votes -- but keep in mind that in the recent Iowa caucus, Huntsman received 745 votes.
Translation: Colbert is for real.
Colbert has not been hiding his extreme views. Night after night (or four nights a week to be exact) Colbert has been spewing his venom. However, for some reason, the media have given him a free pass.
But that ends now. Here are Colbert's positions on the key issues -- I warn you, they are scary:
-- Unemployment: "Suck it up, unemployed. It is your own damn fault that you don't have a job ... So stop scapegoating Wall Street." Do we really want an American president who sides with Wall Street over workers?
That being the case, Colbert would want to find the earliest primary he could qualify for, says Sides. He’ll also want to find an open primary—one where independents and Democrats can vote. Finally, he’ll want to find one that distributes its delegates proportionally, rather than giving them all to whoever gets the most votes.
That leaves one state: Texas. Normally the state would hold its primary on March 6, Super Tuesday, and its filing deadline would have been Dec. 19. But last month a federal court approved a plan to push it back to April 3 so a legal battle over redistricting could get sorted out.
What’s bad news for Rick Perry is good news for Colbert. Texas’s filing period will reopen on a date yet to be determined, then close again on Feb. 1 at 6 p.m. Colbert couldn’t ask for a better state. Texas has an open primary, and in another break for him, this year it made its primary fully proportional. That means if enough of Colbert’s fans flock to the polls and ask for the Republican primary ballot, there’s a slim chance he could score a few delegates.
And with a GOP filing fee that’s $30,000 cheaper than South Carolina’s, Colbert doesn’t have the same excuse he used in 2007. Of course, the Texas Republican Party could always just bar him from the ballot, as the South Carolina Democrats did during his previous run.
Duke University's Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration, 3 p.m. in Duke Chapel, 401 Chapel Drive, Durham. Veteran political strategist and commentator Donna Brazile will give the keynote address.
Celebration of the Life and Legacy of Martin Luther King Jr., 4 p.m. at the Garner Performing Arts Center, 742 W. Garner Road, Garner. Keynote speaker will be Reuben Young, secretary of the N.C. Department of Public Safety.
UNC-Chapel Hill/Community Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Banquet, 6 p.m. at Friday Center, Chapel Hill. Keynote speaker is Ambassador James A. Joseph.
Shaw University tribute, 7 p.m. at Thomas Boyd Chapel, 118 E. South St., Raleigh.
Monday
32nd Annual Martin Luther King Triangle Interfaith Prayer Breakfast, 7 a.m. at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel, Research Triangle Park. Keynote speaker will be Cynthia Marshall, president of AT&T of North Carolina. U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan also will speak, and Raleigh radio icon Ray "Dr. Jocko" Henderson will be honored. For the first time, the breakfast will be televised live on WRAL-TV. Doors will open at 6 a.m.
Fuquay-Varina Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration, 8:30 a.m. march from Fuquay-Varina Middle on Ennis Street to St. Augusta Missionary Church, 605 Bridge St., Fuquay-Varina.
Triangle Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service. Durham, Johnston, Orange and Wake counties will host nearly 30 community service projects to honor the legacy of Martin Luther King. Durham's Signature Project is from 9 a.m. to noon at American Tobacco Campus, Bay 7, where volunteers will help with a variety of projects, including assembly of homeless hygiene kits, computer drop-off and cleaning, book drive sorting, and writing letters and creating valentines for veterans and active military. Johnston's Signature Project is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Pizazz Thrift Store, where volunteers will conduct diaper, new underwear, clothing and nonperishable food drives. Orange's Signature Project is from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Christ United Methodist Church, where volunteers will work on projects including assembly of health kits and clothes sorting. Wake's Signature Project is from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at White Plains Children's Center, where volunteers will assemble homeless hygiene kits, sort books for a book drive, and write letters for veterans and active military. See www .unitedwaytriangle .org /mlk/ .
Dozens of organizations, churches and other groups participated in remembrance of King's Dream. But, according to Andrews, this year's grand marshals had all been living examples of that dream.
"We selected activists and advocates to lead the parade," he said. "They were chosen for all the service that they give our community, above and beyond. Each one has made a positive impact in our neighborhoods."
Added to the list of honorees was a caravan of unique, commemorative cars honoring the victims of 9-11. The caravan was led by actor Kevyn Major Howard, best known for his role as "Rafter Man" in the movie Full Metal Jacket.
Parade attendee Vincent Scott said diversity is key to realizing King's dream.
"I think the diverse crowd brings the community together. As a matter of fact, I love seeing it," he said. "Here everybody mingles together. There's the Mexican community, the black community and the Asian community. This way the cultures are going to rub off on each other."
Despite difficult economic times, Andrews plans to continue bringing the community together whenever possible, he said.
"It means the world to me to be able to keep the teachings of Dr. King alive. As for the economy, it is the difficult economic times that makes this event so important because it gives people hope," Andrews said. "A lot of people do not realize the importance of parades and special events."
The social aspect of coming together should not be underestimated, he added.
"It is really important to be united," he said. "It empowers individuals, strengthen communities, bridges barriers, create solutions to social problems, and moves us toward Dr. King's vision of a beloved community.
White House just responded on the controversial Internet censorship bill SOPA and frankly, it doesn't look good for opponents.
The Administration calls on all sides to work together to pass sound legislation this year that provides prosecutors and rights holders new legal tools to combat online piracy originating beyond U.S. borders while staying true to the principles outlined above in this response.
Others are interpreting the White House blog post differently of course and let's hope they are right. In our experience, the minute this administration mentions keyword bi-partisan, we know we're about to be screwed frankly. Just look at the National Defense Authorization Act. That said, the fight against SOPA is heating up.
What is SOPA? It's a bill winding through Congress which is supposed to stop online piracy. The bill has broad powers through vague and ill-defined clauses for pretty much anyone to shut down any website by claiming they are hosting copyrighted material and such. Public Knowledge puts it more succinctly, This Bill Screws the Internet. The domain americancensorship.org has been at the forefront of fighting both SOPA and PIPA. The link above goes to their infographic and we reprint one slide with some of the more damning SOPA and PIPA consequences below.
White House's concerns with SOPA and PIPA did not end with the DNS provisions, however. "Any provision covering Internet intermediaries such as online advertising networks, payment processors, or search engines must be transparent," the statement says. The administration is also opposed to "overly broad private rights of action that could encourage unjustified litigation that could discourage startup businesses and innovative firms from growing."
The administration also wants legislation that is "narrowly targeted only at sites beyond the reach of current U.S. law, cover activity clearly prohibited under existing U.S. laws, and be effectively tailored, with strong due process and focused on criminal activity."
Combine all those concerns, and the statement is a fairly sweeping condemnation of SOPA and PIPA in their current form. Espinel and her colleagues appear to have left enough wiggle room in the statement to allow the president to sign a future version of the bill that addresses some, but not all, of the critics' concerns. But the bill's sponsors are now going to have to work hard to satisfy critics and build a consensus in favor of passage.
Meanwhile, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), a SOPA opponent, announced Saturday that he is postponing hearings on SOPA's DNS provisions that had been slated for Wednesday, January 18 before his House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
"While I remain concerned about Senate action on the Protect IP Act, I am confident that flawed legislation will not be taken up by this House," Issa said. "Majority Leader Cantor has assured me that we will continue to work to address outstanding concerns and work to build consensus prior to any anti-piracy legislation coming before the House for a vote.
Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), also known as H.R. 3261, is a bill that was introduced in the United States House of Representatives on October 26, 2011, by Representative Lamar Smith (R-TX) and a bipartisan group of 12 initial co-sponsors. The bill expands the ability of U.S. law enforcement and copyright holders to fight online trafficking in copyrighted intellectual property and counterfeit goods. Now before the House Judiciary Committee, it builds on the similar PRO-IP Act of 2008 and the corresponding Senate bill, the PROTECT IP Act.
The originally proposed bill would allow the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as copyright holders, to seek court orders against websites accused of enabling or facilitating copyright infringement. Depending on who requests the court orders, the actions could include barring online advertising networks and payment facilitators such as PayPal from doing business with the allegedly infringing website, barring search engines from linking to such sites, and requiring Internet service providers to block access to such sites. The bill would make unauthorized streaming of copyrighted content a crime, with a maximum penalty of five years in prison for 10 such infringements within six months. The bill also gives immunity to Internet services that voluntarily take action against websites dedicated to infringement, while making liable for damages any copyright holder who knowingly misrepresents that a website is dedicated to infringement.
Proponents of the bill say it protects the intellectual property market and corresponding industry, jobs and revenue, and is necessary to bolster enforcement of copyright laws especially against foreign websites. They cite examples such as Google's $500 million settlement with the Department of Justice for its role in a scheme to target U.S. consumers with ads to buy illegal prescription drugs from Canadian pharmacies. Opponents say that it violates the First Amendment, is Internet censorship, will cripple the Internet,and will threaten whistle-blowing and other free speech.
Opponents of the legislation have also initiated a number of protest actions, including petition drives, boycotts of companies that support the legislation, and even proposed service blackouts by major Internet companies scheduled to coincide with the next Congressional hearing on the matter.
The House Judiciary Committee held hearings on SOPA on November 16 and December 15, 2011. The Committee is scheduled to continue debate when Congress returns from its winter recess in January.
Rep. Smith is planning to remove the provision that requires Internet service providers to block access to certain foreign websites
On January 14, 2012, the White House is reported as stating: "Any effort to combat online piracy must guard against the risk of online censorship of lawful activity and must not inhibit innovation by our dynamic businesses large and small." Also stated by the White House: "We must avoid creating new cybersecurity risks or disrupting the underlying architecture of the Internet.
BILLINGS - The people of Sidney are mourning the loss of Sherry Arnold. The healing process begins, even though residents know very little about her disappearance.
Forty-three-year-old Sherry Arnold was a well-respected teacher, mother, and dear friend to many. "She was a go-getter, a great teacher, and just a very nice down-to-earth person," longtime Sidney resident; Joy Johnson said.
Johnson attended a press conference Friday afternoon to learn the facts about Sherry's disappearance. "It's nice to know that they have a couple of people detained, but that still leaves you with questions as to what happened and why," Johnson said.
A 47-year-old man and a 22-year-old man are being held in Williston, North Dakota, on aggravated kidnapping charges. Both are in connection with Sherry Arnold's disappearance. Officials with Williams County Jail said the two men were booked on Friday. "We didn't learn a lot. But, it's good to know that there are things going on, and I came because I wanted firsthand information. We're in a small town. There's a lot of stories that can get started, and I wanted to hear things firsthand," Chamber of Commerce Executive Director of Agriculture.
News of Arnold’s death comes on the heels of an emotional week for the family and for area residents who had maintained hope and offered many prayers. Arnold went missing last weekend about 6:30 a.m. when she went for her normal morning run and didn’t return. Within hours, 100 residents were searching streets and posting flyers. Word spread quickly, eventually drawing attention from national news organizations, especially after only a single running shoe was found.
On Sunday, more than 1,000 volunteers, traveling even from Williston,N.D., arrived at the high school to help search for the high school math teacher. Law enforcement sent more than half away in order to maintain control but said they appreciated their support. The search continued until nightfall.
On Monday, law enforcement handled the search efforts, only calling on the public for help when needed. A day later, news came the FBI had taken over and were working out of the Richland County Law & Justice Center with assistance from Sidney police. A tip line was set up.
The Herald spoke Thursday afternoon with Arnold’s family who said they were “hanging in there” as they struggled through numerous regional and national interviews. “It’s been a challenge,” Gary Arnold said of the media attention. “Not any of us have ever been speakers on that kind of a stage. It’s what you do to get her home.”
The Herald received condolences from across the nation when word came of Sherry Arnold’s death. Gov. Brian Schweitzer told the Herald Friday that “Sherry’s family, friends and the entire Sidney community are in Nancy’s and my thoughts and prayers. She will always be remembered as a wonderful daughter, mother, wife, teacher and a beloved member of the Sidney community.”
An email from U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., said, “Sharla and I are deeply saddened by today’s tragic news. Sherry was a beloved member of the Sidney community whose legacy as a mother and a teacher will not be forgotten. Sharla and I have Sherry’s family and the entire Sidney community in our thoughts and prayers.”
Arnold's family called Sherry a “go-getter” who was “never late” and many appointments she had she arrived ahead of time. A leader, planner, referee, a best friend, beloved daughter; she was a “wonderful wife” and “fantastic mother,” Gary said.
She was strong, he said. She defeated cancer six years ago. “She was a survivor. She came out of the cancer surgery 11 and a half hours, and she surprised the doctors. They expected her to have to walk with a brace, and when she said no, she meant no, and she learned how to walk without the brace – and not only walk but jog and run.” An “exemplary” illustration of the ideal patient.
Her stepdaughter, Catherine Arnold, said she’s reminded of Sherry’s attitude when she thinks of her battle with cancer. If one didn't already know, they wouldn't suspect she had cancer. “Because she was always focused on everybody else,” she said. “And that’s how she was, every single day…She never once strayed away from that.
A Montana teacher and mother of three who disappeared after she went out for a run is dead, and a man has been taken into custody in connection with the case, local school officials and the FBI said Friday.
Sidney public school officials released a statement saying they were told of Sherry Arnold's death at about 9:30am local time Friday morning after her family was notified.
According to The Bismarck Tribune, Sidney Police Chief Frank DiFonzo said at a press conference Friday afternoon that a 47-year-old man is in custody in Williams County in northwest North Dakota, and a 22-year-old man is being questioned in Rapid City in western South Dakota.
DiFonzo did not take any questions, did not confirm Arnold's death and did not mention whether her body had been found, the newspaper said.
Arnold, 43, of Sidney, Mont., was last seen Saturday morning at about 6:30am when she set out for a run.
According to a statement from the FBI, law enforcement officials were led to the two men by a tip from a member of the public.
The favorite teacher of the school’s students was remembered in the memorial service held by the school administration. She was very passionate about her work and her lessons are a lifetime gift from her for her students.
"No perpetrator on the face of this Earth can take those away from you," substitute teacher and mentor Greg Ledgerwood said to the students during a memorial service for the deceased teacher. "She was a gift, a gift in the way she talked, walked and cared for students," he added.
Ashley Cooley, one of her students, admires her favorite teacher for the extraordinary efforts she put into educating her students.
"I struggled with math as a freshman and sophomore but when I was a junior and took her class, she taught it so well and was an awesome teacher. She would come in early and stay in class through lunch to help you," Cooley said as she remembered her teacher.
The students are being supported by other teachers in the school to bear the loss of their favorite teacher. Everyone is missing her and praying for her soul to rest in peace. The students are also showing their anger for the culprits who took an asset of their life away from them.
Costa Concordia disaster took place as the Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia hit a reef and capsized on 13 January 2012, off the Italian coast. The vessel ran aground at Isola del Giglio, Italy, resulting in the evacuation of 4,232 people on board. At least six passengers and crew died, 42 others were injured, two seriously, two passengers trapped below deck have been rescued, and about 40 are still unaccounted for. The captain and first officer have been arrested on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter after sailing much closer to the shore than allowed, but loss of navigational power and steering control has not been ruled out. The Costa Concordia entered service in July 2006 and was the largest ship built in Italy at the time of her construction, at 114,500 tons and 290.2 meters, costing 450 million euros.
On 13 January 2012, Costa Concordia ran aground on a reef at around 21:00 local time (UTC+1) off Isola del Giglio, having left Civitavecchia earlier that evening at the beginning of a seven-day cruise starting in Savona and visiting Marseille, Barcelona, Palma, Tunis, and Palermo. According to the local coastguard, 3,206 passengers and 1,023 crew members were on board at the time.
At 17:48 UTC La Repubblica reported that the captain had stated that they were 300 metres (330 yd) from the rocks (i.e., about the length of the vessel) and that they hit a rock that was not marked on nautical charts. This reef was about 800 metres (870 yd) south of the entrance to the harbour of Giglio. The vessel continued for approximately another 1,000 metres (1,100 yd) until just north of the harbour entrance. The vessel then turned in an attempt to get close to the harbour. This turn shifted the centre of gravity to the starboard side of the ship, and it listed over to that side initially by about 20°, finally coming to rest at an angle of heel of about 80°.[11] According to the local coast guard, the ship has a 50-metre (160 ft) gash on its port side,[10] with a large rock embedded in the ship's hull.
Some passengers jumped into the water to swim to shore, while others, ready to evacuate the vessel, were delayed by crew members up to 45 minutes, as they resisted immediately lowering the lifeboats. Three people reportedly drowned after jumping overboard, and another seven were critically injured. Local fire chief Ennio Aquilino said his men, "plucked 100 people from the water and saved around 60 others who were trapped in the boat.
Of the passengers, 989 were Italians, 569 were Germans, 462 were French, 177 were Spanish, 126-129 were Americans, 127 were Croatians, 108 were Russians, 74 were Austrians, 69 were Swiss, 47 were Brazilian, at least 34 were Dutch, 26 were Hong Kongers, 25 were British, 21 were Australians, 17-18 were Argentines, 13 were ROC Taiwanese, 12 were Canadians, 12 were PRC Chinese, 11 were Portuguese, 10 were Colombians, 10 were Chileans, 9 were Turkish, and 1 was a New Zealander. Other passengers were of Mexican, and Irish nationalities. Of the crew members, 12 were British, 6 were Brazilian and at least one was Peruvian.
At least six people died (including two French tourists and a Peruvian crew member), 42 others were injured, two seriously, two passengers trapped below deck have been rescued, and about 40 are still unaccounted for. Costa has indicated the actual number may be considerably less, as the company is researching which passengers and crew members were definitively on board at the time of the grounding.
Passengers and crew were housed in all available buildings and makeshift shelters in Giglio Porto and elsewhere on Isola del Giglio.
The captain, 52-year-old Francesco Schettino, with a tenure of 11 years, and the ship's first officer have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter and abandoning ship. They were being questioned as of 14 January 2012.Officials are trying to determine why the ship did not issue a mayday and why it was navigating so close to the coast. "At the moment we can't exclude that the ship had some kind of technical problem, and for this reason moved towards the coast in order to save the passengers, the crew and the ship. But they didn't send a mayday," said officer Emilio Del Santo of the Coastal Authorities of Livorno, "The ship got in contact with us once the evacuation procedures were already ongoing.
Due to the appearance of the disaster and the size of the ship, news commentators and eye-witness accounts have compared the disaster to that of the sinking of the RMS Titanic a hundred years earlier.
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Costa Concordia is a Concordia-class cruise ship owned and operated by Costa Cruises. She was built at Fincantieri's Sestri Ponente yards in Italy. The name Concordia was intended to express the wish for "continuing harmony, unity, and peace between European nations".
She is the first ship in the Concordia class, with sisters Costa Serena, Costa Pacifica, Costa Favolosa, Costa Fascinosa and Carnival Splendor built for Carnival Cruise Lines. Costa Concordia entered service in July 2006 and is the largest ship to be built in Italy, at 114,500 tons.
The ship garnered international attention in January 2012 when she ran aground off Isola del Giglio, Italy, resulting in the evacuation of over 4,000 people on board. At least 3 passengers died, 42 others were injured, and 41 are still unaccounted for.
The then-unnamed ship was ordered on 19 January 2004 in Fincantieri and built in the Sestri Ponente yard in Genoa, as yard number 6122. She was launched at Sestri Ponente on 2 September 2005,and at the time of her construction was the largest Italian cruise ship ever built. She was delivered to Costa on 30 June 2006.
Costa Concordia is 290.20 metres (952 ft 1 in) long, with a beam of 35.50 metres (116 ft 6 in) and a draught of 8.20 metres (26 ft 11 in). She is propelled by six Wärtsilä diesel engines of 75,600 kilowatts (101,400 hp), which can propel her at 19.6 knots (36.3 km/h).
Costa Concordia has 1,500 staterooms; 505 have private balconies and 55 have direct access to Samsara Spa; 58 suites have private balconies and 12 have direct access to the spa. Costa Concordia has one of the world's largest wellness centers at sea, the Samsara Spa, a two-level, 6,000 m (20,000 ft) wellness area, with gym, a thalassotherapy pool, sauna, Turkish bath and a solarium. The ship has four swimming pools, two with retractable covers, five spas, and a poolside screen on the pool deck.
There are five onboard restaurants, with Club Concordia and Samsara taking reservations-only dining. There are thirteen bars, including a cigar and cognac bar and a coffee and chocolate bar.
Entertainment options include a three-level theater, casino, and a discotheque. There is a children's area equipped with PlayStation products. The ship has a Grand Prix motor racing simulator and an Internet café.
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Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, could all but quash his rivals' presidential aspirations with a victory in South Carolina on January 21 after winning the first state-by-state nominating contests in Iowa and New Hampshire.
Voters in South Carolina - who have favored Republicans in nine of the last 10 presidential elections - appear to have shrugged off attacks on Romney by rivals who accuse him of killing jobs as a private equity executive for Bain Capital in the 1990s.
The poll showed 37 percent of South Carolina Republican voters back Romney. Congressman Ron Paul and former Senator Rick Santorum tied for second place with 16 percent support.
Newt Gingrich and another Republican presidential hopeful, Texas Gov. Rick Perry, have been highlighting Bain deals that resulted in job losses in South Carolina, including some at a Georgetown steel plant on the Intracoastal Waterway.
“We’re going to go to Georgetown,” Gingrich said. “Georgetown has a steel mill which was closed. Capital wasn’t put at risk. Capital was drained out of that company. Gov. Romney ran saying he created 100,000 jobs in the private sector.”
Audience members groaned.
“Mr. Speaker,” moderator Mike Huckabee interrupted, “we’ve said we will not allow any comment on the other candidates.”
“I’m just trying to answer his question,” said Gingrich, one of five GOP presidential candidates who made separate appearances at the forum.
To raise questions about a company “is not the same as attacking capitalism,” Gingrich continued. If Republicans avoid challenging the former Massachusetts governor’s record at Bain, he said, President Obama’s reelection team will not be so kind in the fall. “Every single candidate has to be prepared to answer the questions before the nomination so that we know that whoever we nominate is capable of surviving the fall campaign.”
With South Carolina’s Jan. 21 primary a week away, Romney’s campaign has pushed back hard at Gingrich and Perry for casting his private equity career in a dark light. Since Friday, Romney has been running a TV ad in South Carolina saying, “We expected the Obama administration to put free markets on trial, but as the Wall Street Journal said, ‘Mr. Romney’s GOP opponents are embarrassing themselves by taking the Obama line.
GRAND BEND—It is the dead of winter in Canada, but a white-sided cottage on a sandy ridge overlooking Lake Huron will always be a summer place for U.S. presidential hopeful Mitt Romney. It is where he spent his summers at the beach, enjoyed fireworks on Independence Day and watched his handsome, silver-haired father George, then governor of Michigan, swim in the lake.
It all happened in a Canadian cocoon, a tiny, gated community called Beach o’ Pines which hugs the shore near Grand Bend.
The elder Mitt Romney, who died in 1995, jokingly called himself a “Summer Canadian.”
Youngest son Mitt still clings to those memories — and the Canadian property.
Six decades after his father paid $31,900 in 1950 for a 52-metre lakefront lot, Mitt and his siblings still own it, still use it and still keep their telephone number in the local directory under “G. Romney.”
It’s one of several vacation properties Mitt Romney owns. But this one has special significance.
“You can understand why they hold on to it,” says Bob Sharen, a long-time local realtor. “For many families, a cottage is where their happiest memories live.
But let me pose this question. What if the economy is in pretty decent shape by the fall? The creation of 200,000 private-sector jobs in December is nothing to scoff at. In fact, Gary Burtless, an economist at the Brookings Institution, emailed me Monday morning in response to my question about the unemployment rate in this election year to say: “Based on the growth in the adult population, employment levels in Dec. 2011, and a couple of alternative assumptions about how fast the labor force will grow over the next 10 months, it appears to me than employment growth will have to average 155,000 to 170,000 over the next 10 months to hit” a jobless rate by Election Day of 8 percent. He cautions that the labor force participation rate (LFPR, explained here) could affect that a bit, requiring a somewhat higher number. Fair enough. But Burtless also told me in an earlier conversation that the LFPR rose over the last quarter of 2011, meaning more people participated in the work force and looked for jobs—which in turn means that “yeah, but people are taking themselves out of the labor market” is slowly becoming a smaller and smaller asterisk.
So—170,000 jobs a month? Consider this: We averaged 133,000 jobs per month in 2011, and the year gone by was certainly pretty crappy, especially the first seven or eight months of it. Is it insane to think we’ll average considerably better than that in 2012?
Romney is already a uniquely bad messenger for this particular year for the reasons laid out above. But if by Election Day we’ve been adding that many jobs a month every month for basically a year, Romney’s message will be irrelevant. Oh, he’ll get 47, 48 percent of the vote, because we’re a divided country, and he’ll take back a couple of states Obama picked off because of the singular historical circumstances of 2008. But a majority will not want to change horses, especially when the other horse is carrying Romney’s kind of personal baggage and is promising policies that are warmed over versions of the policies that created the economic crisis in the first place. I have no great confidence in the brilliance of Obama’s political team, but this should not be too hard, even for them, and Mitt can find himself a nice quiet room in La Jolla to go ponder the what-if’s.
SUMTER, S.C. — Amid shaking hands and signing campaign posters, Mitt Romney did something he has never done before on the ropeline: He took out his wallet and handed a wad of cash to a woman waiting to shake his hand.
The woman, 55-year-old Ruth Williams, says she has been following the Romney campaign since he arrived in the state on Jan. 11, when she said she received a message from God to track him down.
“I was on the highway praying and said, ‘God just show me how to get [my] lights on,’ and I pulled up to a stop sign and his bus was there,” said Williams, who has been unemployed since last October. “And then God said, ‘Follow the bus,’ and I followed the bus to the airport.”
According to Williams, she followed the campaign bus to the Columbia airport on Wednesday, the same day Romney was arriving from New Hampshire. When Romney wasn’t on the bus, aides told her to go to the rally scheduled in Columbia later that day. When she showed up, Romney found her to say hello and pulled over South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley to say “hello” too.
“He was kind to me and he made Gov. Haley come see about me,” Williams said. “He stopped doing everything.
After days of controversy over commercials criticizing Romney’s company, Bain Capital, for slashing jobs in South Carolina, Romney did not mention Bain, but instead compared his experience creating jobs to Obama’s experience as a community organizer.
“He likes to say that he has had extensive experience working alongside hard working Americans.” Romney said. “I think it helps to have actually been a hard working American...To create jobs in the private sector, it helps to have had a job in the private sector.”
Jobs are a top issue for voters in South Carolina – the state’s current unemployment rate is 9.9%, and this summer the state had the third-highest unemployment rate in the country. South Carolina is a right-to-work state, which means unions cannot require employees to join or pay dues, and a strong anti-union bias has grown after the National Labor Relations Board tried to prohibit Boeing Co. from building a plant north of Charleston, accusing the company of moving jobs from Washington State to avoid hiring union employees.
Romney alluded to federal government interference in enterprise in his speech, saying that as a businessman, he knew how to create an environment that would make companies want to create jobs.
“I will make America again the best place for enterprise,” he said.
Romney also pledging to open up energy drilling, cut federal spending and get government out of voters’ lives.
Just weeks ago, Newt Gingrich told Occupy Wall Street protesters to "take a bath" and "get a job." But now that he's taking a bath, and not getting the job that he wants, he might as well buy a sleeping bag and a tarp.
By now you've heard Mr. Gingrich calling Republican front-runner and former venture capitalist Mitt Romney a looter.
A 28-minute film distributed by a Gingrich-loving superpac even calls Mr. Romney a "predatory corporate raider." (It does not call Mr. Gingrich, who bagged about $1.6 million in consulting fees at government-seized mortgage giants Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, a "predatory corporate historian.")
At Bain Capital, Mr. Romney acquired and merged companies, loaded them with debt, fired employees, slashed vendors, disappointed customers and sometimes collected enormous fees just for mismanaging enterprises into certain bankruptcy.
This is what private-equity investors do. They often have 10 losers for every big winner. Mr. Romney didn't wake up at Bain Capital each morning and say, "Hmm. How could I create a new job today?" It's not the role of venture capitalists to create jobs, as Mr. Romney now pretends. It is to create as few jobs as possible so they can bag envious profits.
He often talks about pop culture. His new campaign uniform is a pair of jeans -- usually Gap or Tommy Bahama -- paired with a button-down patterned shirt. He wears suits on the debate stage, but only an hour after a morning debate in New Hampshire he was already in new clothes for a campaign event. His wife, Ann, often testifies about Romney's easy-going, even fun, personal side.
At an event here Saturday, 55-year-old Ruth Williams approached Romney to tell him she was jobless. Romney opened his wallet and handed her a wad of cash, according to ABC News. A Romney spokesperson confirmed he gave her between $50 and $60.
But Romney still hasn't been able to fully shake the image of a dull, straight-laced Wall Street banker with an awkward side who lacks charisma.
And some of his rivals are stoking the notion that the wealthy former venture capitalist from Boston is out of touch with many Americans -- and far from the kind of president an average-Joe voter would want to down a beer with.
Gingrich's campaign has assembled a highlight reel of clips of Romney's verbal miscues, and openings he's created for rivals to attack, from this campaign and from 2008. One clip is from a Fox News interview in which Romney says the family's Irish Setter traveled in "a completely airtight kennel, mounted on the roof of our car.
With goals by 6-foot-7 Bryan Boyle, 6-foot-4 Mike Rupp and 6-footer Derek Stepan, the Rangers simply manhandled the Leafs on Saturday night, skating off with a 3-0 win.
The Leafs got in a few hits of their own — notably by Dion Phaneuf on Boyle in the third period. But they couldn’t beat Marty Biron in the Rangers net. The Leafs’ suddenly sputtering offence was left to talk about hitting posts and bouncing pucks.
“We were just, it seemed, a half a foot behind,” said coach Ron Wilson. “We needed our speed in order to compete with them.
“They didn’t allow us to use our speed in some situations. We just didn’t have the energy we needed to play.”
Wilson said the Leafs were tired after losing 3-2 to Buffalo on Friday night. The Leafs are now 2-5-1 in the second of back-to-back games.
“We didn’t have the energy to really push back the way we might have had we not played (Friday) night,” said Wilson. “Their focus was taking and eliminating the (Tim) Connolly line and they did a pretty good job of that.”
Rupp opened the scoring 3:35 into the second, completing a crisp passing play with Stepan and Wojtek Wolski on a 3-on-1 break that developed after a bad line change by Toronto defenseman Mike Komisarek.
Toronto had its share of chances in the second. Phil Kessel had a shot hit the crossbar, and Cody Franson's drive through traffic struck Biron's mask and landed in his glove.
Boyle gave the tight-checking Rangers a two-goal lead at 16:28 with a long wrist shot. He pointed skyward in relief after ending a 22-game scoring drought.
The Leafs appeared to break Biron's shutout bid in the third on a low shot by Tim Connolly, but video review was inconclusive and the score remained 2-0.
Stepan added an insurance goal with a nice deke at 6:01.
The Maple Leafs killed both minor penalties they were assessed. It was their sixth straight game without allowing a power-play goal.
NOTES: The Leafs took the warmup in camouflage sweaters on Canadian Forces Night. ... Brandon Dubinsky sat out for the Rangers because of a sore shoulder. ... Toronto scratched Jay Rosehill and Jake Gardiner. ... Gustavsson won two previous starts against the Rangers this season in New York. ... Biron earned his third assist of the season on Stepan's goal.
A honeymooning couple have been rescued from the submerged Italian cruise ship Costa Concordia more than 24 hours after it ran aground off the coast of Tuscany.
The South Korean newlyweds were found by rescuers in a cabin two decks above the water line of the Mediterranean. It is understood the pair, who are 29 years old, are in good condition.
Fire commander Vincenzo Bennardo said rescuers had been banging on doors of the ship cabins and finally heard a reply from one of the rooms early on Sunday. They had not stopped going door-to-door during the night in the non-submerged part of the ship, he said.
The Costa Concordia hit a reef during dinner on Friday and capsized off Tuscany, forcing the evacuation of about 4,200 people. Three bodies were found and about 40 more remained unaccounted for.
A massive coastguard evacuation and rescue operation was launched, but despite the panic among passengers the vast majority of people on board made it to safety.
Early on Sunday, firefighters found two people, both South Koreans, still alive in a cabin after making voice contact with them from several decks above, Italian media reported.
An official involved in the rescue operation said two French tourists and a Peruvian crew member were dead.
There were fears the death toll could rise in one of Italy's worst shipping disasters in years as specialist diving teams checked interior spaces of the vessel.
"We don't rule out the possibility that more people will be lost," said fire services spokesman Luca Cari. It was not clear how many of those unaccounted for could still be trapped in the ship or simply had not been counted among those rescued.
The ship's captain, Francesco Schettino, was arrested on Saturday night for questioning by magistrates, police said.
They said Schettino, whose ship was carrying 4,229 passengers and crew, abandoned the vessel before all the passengers were taken off.
The vessel's operator, Costa Crociere, a unit of Carnival Corp & Plc, the world's largest cruise company, said the Costa Concordia had been sailing on its regular course when it struck a submerged rock.
In a television interview, Schettino said the rock was not marked on any maritime charts of the area.
Costa Cruises president Gianni Ororato said the captain "performed a manoeuvre intended to protect both guests and crew" but it was "complicated by a sudden tilting of the ship".
It remained unclear how the 290-metre long ship had run aground in calm waters so close to the shore.
"We'll be able to say at the end of the investigation. It would be premature to speculate on this," said coastguard spokesman Filippo Marini.
The ship was involved in an accident on November 22, 2008 when it hit a port wall and was damaged while docking.
In the latest incident the Costa Concordia was left capsized on its side in water 15-20 metres deep, with decks partly submerged, not far from the shore. A large gash was visible on its side.
Local officials expressed concern that the fuel on the ship, at full load as it had just begun the cruise, could spill into the pristine waters.
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