Palin’s daughter gives birth to son named Tripp

The Associated Press

Monday, December 29, 2008

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The daughter of former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin has given birth to a son, a magazine reported Monday.

Bristol Palin, 18, gave birth to Tripp Easton Mitchell Johnston on Sunday, People magazine reported online. He weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces. Colleen Jones, the sister of Bristol’s grandmother, told the magazine that “the baby is fine and Bristol is doing well.”The governor’s office said it would not release information because it considers the baby’s birth a private, family matter. Palin family members, hospital employees and spokespeople for the governor’s former running mate, John McCain, either would not confirm the birth or did not return messages from The Associated Press.

The father is Levi Johnston, a former hockey player at Alaska’s Wasilla High School.

Palin announced on Sept. 1, the first day of the Republican National Convention, that her unwed daughter was pregnant. The campaign issued a statement saying Bristol “and the young man” would get married.

Levi Johnston’s mother eventually disclosed that her 18-year-old son was the father. The following week, the young man attended the convention in St. Paul, Minn., when Palin accepted the vice presidential nomination. Johnston, an avid hunter, hinted at the time that they were expecting a boy. He said he was already looking forward to taking the boy hunting and fishing.

Johnston’s mother was arrested on felony drug charges this month after state troopers served a search warrant at her Wasilla home. According to authorities, she sent text messages to two police informants in which she discusses making drug transactions involving OxyContin, a strong prescription painkiller.

NEWS - CELEBRITY -IN- CHIEF - PRESIDENT ELECT OBAMA GETTING POP STAR TREATMENT

Toussies' trail a doozie: Bush missed half-century of corruption

President Bush turned Brooklyn's Isaac Toussie into a poster boy for outrageous presidential pardons, granting, then rescinding, the order in 24 hours.

The mystery is how the administration ignored Toussie and his father's background - a tale of payoff and corruption allegations spanning more than 45 years - in pardoning the son for a massive housing scam.

White House officials did an about-face after they learned - by reading it in the Daily News - the father of scamster Isaac Toussie donated $28,500 to the Republican National Committee.

The rags-to-riches story began with Toussie's father, Robert, who clawed his way out of poverty to build empires in the clothing and real estate businesses.

Although the Toussie family record is filled with suits and scam allegations, as well as the fraud conviction that drew the pardon, it is also a story of triumph and contradiction.

'Frost/Nixon' tries to rewrite history

SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE

The original Frost/Nixon was a hoary spectacle (please pardon my typo), an exclusive checkbook interview that provided the American people with proof of just one thing: Crime does pay.

It starred two quite different men in search of makeovers. David Frost, a floundering British talk show host, was out to remake his reputation, at all costs. Richard Nixon, a resigned and disgraced ex-president and a never-convicted lawbreaker, was out to remake his rock-bottom reputation -- and one thing more. He was out to enrich himself by selling the answers he owed the American people. So Frost agreed to pay Nixon $600,000 plus 10 percent of the profits for answering questions about the crimes he committed while on our payroll. It had been almost three years since he had resigned to avoid certain conviction and exiled himself to San Clemente, Calif.

The interview was broadcast May 4, 1977 to 155 television stations that bought into Frost's pre- and post-interview media hype. What America learned from it was: Nothing had changed in three years. Not Nixon and not his story.

Comes now "Frost/Nixon" the movie. It is well crafted and wonderfully acted. The Great Mentioners of Glitterati are mentioning it for multiple Academy Awards. Still, what you see on the silver screen is to accuracy what a fun house mirror is to true reflection. It distorts history. Magnifying some things, minimizing others. Also, inventing and omitting with dramatic license.

Mainly, in the film's climactic moment, the cinematic Frost (Michael Sheen) is seen rising to the occasion and nailing Nixon (Frank Langella) by getting him to admit his own criminal obstruction role in a " 'cover-up,' as you call it."

Mayor's top staffers getting hefty salaries By CATHERINE LUCEY

When he announced his budget cuts, Mayor Nutter stressed that he and his top staffers would share the pain, taking pay cuts and furlough days to lessen the financial burden on taxpayers.

What Nutter didn't mention is that he is spending far more on his top staffers' salaries than his predecessor, John Street.

Thirty-five people in the mayor's and managing director's offices make six figures, not including the mayor. That's up from 22 under Street in 2007.

Even after the cuts, Nutter will be paying about $1.8 million more to top staffers than Street did.

Nutter defends the increased salaries.

"Philadelphia, unfortunately, has had, I think, traditionally lower salaries than other major cities across the country," Nutter said. "Even with the salaries a lot of these folks are making, they are significantly lower than what they were making before they came here."

The tab for Nutter's top staffers - including his chief of staff, managing director, deputy mayors and senior advisers - comes to about $4.7 million. That will be reduced by about $240,000 through salary reductions and furlough days next year, according to Finance Director Rob Dubow.

The total bill for Street in May 2007 for six-figure staffers in the mayor's and managing director's offices was about $2.7 million, according to personnel records.

Typically, not everyone in the managing director's office works directly for the managing director. In both administrations, some of the workers on the managing director's payroll were assigned to other departments, such as the Police Department or the Office of Supportive Housing.

Nutter said the people he has hired will prove to be a good investment.

"You have to invest in people and talent to get done the kinds of things that we want to get done," Nutter said. "Not only do we have many talented folks in the government, but they're also getting a lot done. They will 10 times over pay for themselves in the kinds of results that they'll get."

Nutter's chief of staff, Clay Armbrister, is taking a 10 percent pay cut, and 18 others on the list of six-figure employees are taking 5 percent pay cuts. All are taking five unpaid furlough days. *

Buzz up! Buzz this story.

Trooper Says Election Delayed Alaska Drug Case

WASILLA, Alaska -- The mother of Bristol Palin's boyfriend sent text messages discussing drug transactions less than a month after the young woman's mother, Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, was nominated as the Republican vice presidential candidate, according to court documents filed this week.

An affidavit from an Alaska state trooper, filed Monday, states that Sherry L. Johnston referred in her messages to two police informants to "coffee" as a code for the drug OxyContin.

Johnston, 42, was arrested on felony drug charges last week after state troopers served a search warrant at her Wasilla home. She allegedly sold OxyContin tablets to the informants on three occasions this fall, the affidavit states. Police said two of the meetings were recorded by a hidden camera and a microphone.
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Johnston is the mother of Levi Johnston, 18. Sarah Palin announced in September that her daughter Bristol, also 18, was pregnant and that Johnston was the father. Their child was due to be born Dec. 18, her grandfather Chuck Heath told the Anchorage Daily News recently.

Authorities say the case against Sherry Johnston began in the second week of September, when drug investigators intercepted a package containing 179 OxyContin pills. That led to the arrest of the suspects, who agreed to be informants.

According to the affidavit, Johnston sent a text message to one informant Oct. 1, writing: "Hey, my phones are tapped and reporters and god knows who else is always following me and the family so no privacy. I will let u no when I can go for cof."

The trooper's affidavit indicates that Sarah Palin's candidacy factored into the investigation, with state officials delaying execution of a search warrant until this month, when Johnston was "no longer under the protection or surveillance of the Secret Service."

Is there no one we can trust any more?

Greedy bankers, clueless police, lying politicians. Cardinal Cormac Murphy O'Connor, head of the Catholic Church in England and Wales, sometimes says the wrong thing at the wrong moment.

But when he spoke at Christmas Midnight Mass about the breakdown in trust which has resulted from the credit crunch, the nation as well as his congregation knew exactly what he meant.

Few of us understand money, and so we entrust whatever we have got to those who are supposed to do so - politicians and bankers. When, in consequence of their folly or greed, we find both the nation's affairs and our own in desperate straits, the sense of betrayal goes very deep.

Trust is fundamental, not just to money, but to all human affairs. We need to believe that those in charge of all the institutions in our society know what they are doing, and tell us at least part of the truth about what is going on.

When they do not, the consequences are painful for all the relationships on which we depend.

Former deputy Dwyer pleads for leniency By T.M. Schultz, Special to the BB/CC News

Tuesday, December 23, 2008

Testimony during a pre-sentencing hearing Dec. 16 for former Yavapai County Sheriff's Office deputy Justin Dwyer painted Dwyer as a latch-key kid growing up in California with a permissive, alcoholic, divorced father whose home on the weekends became party central for the father, son and their friends.

It was an inappropriate lifestyle full of booze and drugs that repeated itself when Dwyer grew up and his own teenage son - whom he had never known or bonded with - came to live with him.

"I was cool," Dwyer said. "I was the cool dad."
It all ended on May 20, 2007, when fellow deputies arrested Dwyer on several charges involving drugs, minors and sex.

This past Sept. 5, Dwyer, 41, pled guilty to three felony counts of transferring drugs to minors and one count of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
The sex and drug activities occurred in Dwyer's home between Jan. 19, 2007, and May 20, 2007. Dwyer gave cocaine, marijuana and alcohol to minors and watched pornographic videos - some homemade - with them. He and his 17-year-old son even shared a sex partner.

The only aspect of the original charges that Dwyer took issue with was whether he sent his son out to buy drugs for him. Dwyer insisted he never did that, although he admitted he did use drugs bought by his son.

Rep. Jeff Wood Arrested Drunken Driving, Marijuana

State Rep. Jeff Wood (I-Bloomer), 67th Assembly District, was arrested in Columbia last Friday for possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia and drunken driving.
Wood was arrested at 2:11 a.m. Friday on I-90/94 near the I-39 exit in Columbia County by the Wisconsin State Patrol. He taken to the Columbia County Jail, and he was released at 9 a.m. Friday after posting a $200 bond.
Formal charges are pending the release of the Wisconsin State Patrol’s report. The report was to be released on Monday. Wood is scheduled to be in court Jan. 26.
Wood has resigned as chairman of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee, which he was recently appointed to. Wood also released the following statement on the drunk driving and possession arrest:
“I am deeply sorry for my irresponsible behavior. I apologize to my family, friends and my constituents who expect more from me. On Thursday evening I was arrested in Columbia County by the Wisconsin State Patrol for drunk driving and possession of marijuana. I cooperated fully with law enforcement and will continue to do so throughout the entire process. There is no excuse for my actions and I accept full responsibility. This is not typical behavior for me, but unfortunately I drank too much and exercised very poor judgment. I want to let my family and friends know that I regret what I did and am very sorry for the embarrassment and pain I have caused.”

Police: Dallas shooting suspect is ex-Utah trooper

By JEFF CARLTON
,
AP
posted: 1 HOUR 1 MINUTE AGO
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DALLAS -A man suspected in a series of rush-hour shootings near Dallas is a former Utah state trooper wanted on burglary and robbery warrants who apparently shot himself after a standoff with police, authorities said Tuesday.
Brian Smith, 37, killed at least one of the victims of Monday's shootings, police Lt. Craig Miller said. Investigators linked Smith to a killing in Dallas by matching the bullets found at the standoff, he said.
"We feel safe in saying (Smith) ... was the shooter," Miller said.
Dallas police declined to comment on a second death in neighboring Garland, where the standoff took place, because it was out of their jurisdiction.
Garland police spokesman Joe Harn said his department has not been able to make a definitive connection between Smith and the killing there, but he acknowledged that Smith fit the description of the highway shooter: a balding, 40ish white man.
"We certainly hope it is him," Harn said. "But we are going to have to see more concrete evidence."
Two people were shot and killed and another was injured by broken glass in four shootings along or near a Dallas-area highway Monday evening. Police believe the victims were selected at random.
Smith was in critical condition Tuesday night at a Dallas hospital from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police said he shot himself in the head early Tuesday morning after a brief standoff more than six hours after the shooting spree ended.
Smith had been a Utah state trooper since 1996 but retired in May because of "personal issues," said Sgt. Jeff Nigbur, a spokesman for the Utah Department of Public Safety.
The crime spree appears to have begun in Garland, where a man police identified as Smith jumped over a pharmacy counter at a grocery store and stole OxyContin pills.
Minutes later, the first shooting happened in Garland when a driver pulled up alongside a small Nissan stopped at a red light and began shooting, Harn said. The Nissan's driver, 20-year-old Jorge "George" Lopez of Rowlett, was killed.
Minutes later on the same highway, a gunman shot and killed 42-year-old William Scott Miller, the driver of a United Van Lines rig, Miller said. Police said the driver, who was about to fly home to his wife and two young daughters in Frankfort, Ky., for the holidays, was able to bring his truck safely to a stop before he died.
"The act he did in and of itself I consider to be heroic," Miller said. "Despite being mortally wounded, he was able to control his rig to the point where other drivers weren't injured."

Obama, Aides Met With Investigators

posted: 1 HOUR 43 MINUTES AGO
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filed under: Political News, Scandals

WASHINGTON (Dec. 23) - President-elect Barack Obama and two of his top aides met last week with federal investigators building a corruption case against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, accused of trying to swap Obama's Senate seat for cash or a lucrative job.
The interviews with Obama, along with incoming chief of staff Rahm Emanuel and adviser Valerie Jarrett, were disclosed Tuesday in an internal report produced for Obama on contacts with Blagojevich. The report supported Obama's insistence last week that there had been no inappropriate contact with the governor's office by Obama or his staff.Obama delayed releasing his report until U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's staff had completed the interviews with Obama and his two top aides, incoming White House attorney Greg Craig said in the review he wrote for Obama.
Obama, who was accompanied by lawyer Robert Bauer in the interview, had no contact with the governor or his aides, the report states. Prosecutors have said Obama is not implicated in the case.
"We are satisfied there was nothing inappropriate that took place here, either in terms of conversations or communications or contacts, between transition officials and the governor's office," Craig said after releasing the report.
Emanuel was the only Obama transition team member who discussed the Senate appointment with Blagojevich, and those conversations were "totally appropriate and acceptable," Craig said Tuesday. No one on Obama's transition team discussed any deals or had any knowledge of deals, Craig's report said.