jordanb1

Yesterday, two police officers went to the home of one Jason William Leary in response to an accusation that Leary was violently beating his wife. The two officers were met at the front door by Leary...and his pepper spray. Leary sprayed the first officer with the pepper spray, disorienting him, and then went after the two officers with a machete. The second officer fired several shots, at least one of which hit Leary. Leary was transported to St. Agnes Hospital, where he reportedly died a short time later. The two officers are fine. However, the officer who fired his weapon is now on administrative leave while a thorough, internal investigation is completed. I have to say it's a little odd that a man would come after two officers with a machete. I'm not sure what he was trying to accomplish while going up against two men with guns. It's unfortunate that this resulted in death, but as it sounds, the officers had no other choice. Here's a link to the article. Later!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,317022,00.html

Alright, so we all know the gang stereotype, right? It includes tattoos, baggy clothes, and tank tops. Well, more and more of the gangs in Central America are shying away from this look due to crackdowns by the government and local vigilante groups. A vigilante group is a group of people who take the law into their own hands. The Mara 18 and Mara Salvatrucha gangs have been known as very violent gangs in the past, beheaded rivals and painting their symbols all over the place. There are around 100,000 Maras in Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua, as well as around 30,00 in the U.S. Lately, this gang has decided to fight the recent crackdowns by recruiting high school and college students, and telling them not to "ink" their faces. According to Little Crazy, "These days we can't even go out on the street, where the police look at us and we're dead." The police can obviously tell gang members by their numerous tattoos. It looks like gangs will alway find a way, whether it be in baggy pants or blazers. That's all for now. Here's a link to the article. Later!!

http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/12/16/gang.makeovers.ap/index.html

The Dolphins finally received a blemish in their perfect season....of losing. The Miami Dolphins won their first game of the season against the Baltimore Ravens today, and it tasted ever so sweet. After going 0-13, I must say that I was doubting that Miami would get one this year. With the score tied at 16, the game went into overtime. With the Ravens about to kick a 44-yard field goal, the game appeared to be over. However, the Raven's kicker, Matt Stover, missed the field goal, and that gave the Dolphins the ball. What started out as a short pass on third down from Miami's Cleo Lemon to Greg Camarillo, turned into a 64-yard touchdown and a victory for Miami. It was their longest play of the season. The final score was 22-16 in favor of the Dolphins. Miami takes on undefeated New England next week. The Dolphins going to need some serious luck to beat New England, but who knows. Maybe this win will spark Miami to end the season strong. Here's a link to some game stats and highlights. Later!!!

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/football/nfl/scoreboards/2007/12/16/2623_viewcast_recap.html?cnn=yes

I always want to see a white Christmas, and this year I certainly get to. The mid-west has been getting a lot of snow lately, but not even close to as much as the East and Northeast. Huge storms of snow, sleet, and freezing rain have been hitting the Eastern U.S. for days now, and it just doesn't seem to stop. The storm is believed to be the cause of 3 deaths already, and most likely several more. Maine Police Sgt. Andrew Donovan said that the best thing anybody could do right now is stay home, and the Sergeant is right. Visibility in the snow was less than 200 yards, and if you were driving with a car in front of you, you couldn't even see it. Meteorologists have said that 18 inches of snow are possible in the New England area, and that 14 inches are a possibility in some parts of Michigan. The storm has canceled hundreds of flights as well. Even some churches had to cancel Sunday services due to terrible driving conditions. Although I love a good, white Christmas, I don't think that quite this much snow and ice was necessary. Hopefully, the weather will shape up in time for the holidays, and no more casualties will have to be suffered. Here's a link to an article about the storm. That's it for now! Later!!

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/weather/12/16/winter.storm.ap/index.html

Ok, so there have always been wanted posters around. Back in the Old West there were always those yellowish papers with sketches of people's faces on them. Well, just as everything else in the world has evolved, so have wanted signs. Today, "wanted" signs are being put on digital billboards more and more frequently. Just recently, one of these digital wanted signs helped to catch a bank robber. The police had been looking for this man for 10 days, and within 24 hours of posting the "wanted" billboard, he was caught. I personally think that this is a very creative idea. I look at billboards all the time. I don't usually look at the "wanted" posters on bulletin boards or buildings. I think that a lot more people will see these criminal's faces now, and that will give the police a lot better chance of getting a lead on the case. Hopefully, these billboards will come to even more use in the future. Here's a link to the article. Later!

http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/12/14/digital.wanted.posters.ap/index.html

Ok, so we all know J.K. Rowling, the author of the famous Harry Potter books, right? Well Rowling has recently written a new book called The Tales of Beetle the Bard. You'll never guess how much she sold one of the seven copies of this book for. A whopping four million dollars!!! As I said, only SEVEN copies of this book were published. The other six copies were given to people connected to the Harry Potter books. The book was originally said to be sold for around 100,000 dollars. Obviously, the price went up a little! The book was bought by an art agent, and the money spent is going to a charity called The Children's Voice, which is co-founded by J.K. Rowling and Baroness Nicholson. The previous Harry Potter books have sold over 400 million copies and been translated into 64 languages. Hopefully, one day this new book will be available to everyone. Here's a link to the article. That's all for now. Later!!!!

  http://www.cnn.com/2007/SHOWBIZ/books/12/13/rowling.book.ap/index.html

Here's a link to a story about how New Jersey is the first state in more than 40 years to abolish the death penalty. This new bill will make a life sentence the harshest punishment possible for convicted murderers in the state. This includes all prisoners who are currently on death row as well. This bill is thought to be signed into law within a few days. Some of the Republicans argued that terrorists and police killers should still be put to death. However, the Democrats, who control both houses, backed the bill. Do you think that the death penalty should be kept in some states or abolished completely? Leave me some comments with your answers! Later!!!

http://www.cnn.com/2007/POLITICS/12/13/nj.death.penalty/index.html

Alright, so the other night I saw the movie Dan in Real Life, and it was pretty good. It's about a writer named Dan(Steve Carell). Dan writes advice on parenting, and has three daughters of his own. Dan's wife passed away a few years before the time of the movie, and he really hasn't entered in the dating game since.  So, for the holidays, Dan goes back home to his parent's house to see his family. This includes his brother, sister, nephews, nieces, and even his brother's new girlfriend. When Dan first arrived he goes out and meets a wonderful lady, and they talk for a long while. They really click, and it seems that Dan is really into her. There's only one problem: she has a boyfriend. Later, Dan finds that this amazing woman is actually his bro's new girl, but he still has feelings for her. As the movie develops, Dan's love for this girl becomes deeper, and he realizes that even experts on parenting could always use some help when it comes to their own kids. So, as Dan falls for this woman, does she fall for him right back, even though she's dating his brother? Watch the movie to find out! For those of you who like comedy/romance, this movie is for you. There are some very warming scenes and some great performances by Steve Carell, Dane Cook, and Juliette Binoche. I give this film three and a half stars out of five! Later!!