Meyer Minute

A Dallas resident was released from prison after more than 27 years, for a crime he didn't commit. James Lee Woodard was cleared of conviction after DNA evidence proved his innocence of a murder he was charged with, according to CNN.

Woodard, who was wrongfully convicted in 1980 for the murder of his girlfriend, is the 18th person in Dallas to be cleared of his crime through DNA evidence, and one of 31 total in Texas. That is a national high.

His original conviction was based on testimony from two eyewitnesses, who said they saw Woodard dump the body in a nearby river. Since then, one of those witnesses has recanted, and the other is believed to be inaccurate, according to Natalie Roetzel, the executive director of the Innocence Project of Texas.

Woodard was cleared primarily because the original charges claimed the victim was raped and murdered. That means the prosecutor had to prove Woodard committed both crimes. DNA now shows Woodard did not rape the victim.

Innocence Project, a non-profit organization, works with defendants who can clearly prove their innocence through DNA testing. "I thank God for the existence of the Innocence Project," Woodard, 55, told the court. "Without that, I wouldn't be here today. I would be wasting away in prison."

Posted by meyer980 at 11:58 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

A jury in Detroit found a teenager guilty of murdering a Michigan man and then beheading and burning the victim’s body, according to CNN. They rejected his claim of self-defense.

The jury deliberated for 10 hours over two days before they found Jean Pierre Orlewicz guilty of first-degree murder, felony murder and mutilation.

Prosecutors called Orlewicz's murder a "thrill killing," saying he was excited by the idea of killing someone and not being caught. Orlewicz, of Canton, Michigan, admitted that he killed Sorenson, 26, but insisted that it was in self-defense. He admitted stabbing Sorenson 13 times after an extortion plan went awry and Sorenson threatened his life. "There was not a murder," Orlewicz said.

Orlewicz claimed that Sorenson took out a gun and threatened him with it. Orlewicz said he then grabbed a knife and stabbed Sorenson first. During his testimony Orlewicz also admitted that after Sorenson died, he used a hacksaw to decapitate him. Orlewicz said he threw Sorenson's torso into a field and set it on fire. The defendant said he took a blowtorch to Sorenson's hands to cover up fingerprints.

Several witnesses told the jury that everything Orlewicz said was just a story, and that Orlewicz actually planned on killing Sorenson. Alex Mullins, 17, told police he was supposed to be the lookout when Orlewicz planned to kill Sorenson, but backed out. Mullins also said that Orlewicz had been talking about killing Sorenson for weeks. "He wanted to stab Dan (Sorenson)," Mullins said. "He wanted to bag him up in a tarp, hang him upside down from a tree, burning. He said he wanted to cut his head off."

Posted by meyer980 at 6:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

America Airlines canceled 850 flights Wednesday as it spent a second straight day inspecting wiring on some of its jets, according to CNN. Wire inspections were the same issue that caused America Airlines to cancel hundreds of flights two weeks ago.

On Tuesday, American canceled 500 flights which stranded thousands of passengers in airports around the nation. Federal inspectors had found problems with the wiring job done two weeks ago. An American Airlines spokesman said that cancellations could continue past Wednesday as inspectors continue their search.

The MD-80 jets are the ones under inspection and are used primarily for mid-range flights. American schedules about 2,300 flights daily with more than a third of those using MD-80 jets.

Because American said the issues within their control and not issues such as weather, they were offering free meals and ground transportation to some travelers. They offered juice and doughnuts to passengers waiting at the LaGuardia Airport, but there were few takers, according to an AP reporter.

Posted by meyer980 at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Police stormed a farm in central Virginia arresting a teenager and shooting a man with a gun after investigating random shootings on Interstate 64, according to CNN. Police said that the shootings injured two drivers were part of a whole night of gunfire on the Interstate, all believed to be connected.

Slade Allen Woodson, of Afton Virginia, was charged with both the Interstate 64 shootings, as well as firing at a local credit union. Police also charged a 16-year-old in the case, whose name was not released. Both were being held pending a bond hearing.

Police didn't comment on a possible motive of the shootings. According to authorities, police took a call shortly after midnight about a car that had been shot. They received similar calls from drivers of a car, van, tractor-trailer, and a dump truck. Around 2 a.m. shots were fired at the credit union.

Authorities were able to catch Woodson with help from security footage at the credit union which led to the raid on Friday morning. During the raid one police officer opened fire on a resident who confronted them with a hand gun. His name was not released. Woodson was arrested and the man was taken to the hospital.

In a phone interview with the Associated Press, Woodson's father, Glen Woodson, stated his family's hearts were with the man shot by police and they hoped their son had nothing to do with the shooting at the interstate.

Posted by meyer980 at 1:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

President Bush said that the tax rebates to be sent out from the recently enacted economic stimulus package will make the United States economy "stronger than ever before," according to the Star Tribune. Bush also said he understands that people are concerned about the situation but to give the act time to kick in.

The Bush administration has recognized the slowing economy, and the new economic stimulus act will be sending out checks to tax payers around the second week of May to try and boost spending. "A lot of folks are going to be getting a sizable check," the president said. "I'm looking forward to that day and I know they are as well."

The economy is the number one concern of voters this election, with the war in Iraq second. Bush said that the government had to take decisive action to address the problem.

Posted by meyer980 at 12:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Gov. Eliot Spitzer said Wednesday he that he will step down from office, and was "deeply sorry" he did not live up to what was expected of him, according to CNN. This is after allegations that Spitzer was involved with an international prostitution ring.

On Monday officials released a report detailing a rendezvous in a Washington hotel last month as part of a prostitution investigation. The report refers to "Clint 9" who was later identified as Spitzer. Sources said Spitzer spent more than $15,000 for several different sexual encounters. Authorities learned more about the prostitution ring by using wiretaps and accessing text messages.

Spitzer's lawyers were in discussions with the U.S. attorney's office to try and negotiate a plea deal, but officials say that the office's negotiations have nothing to do with Spitzer's stepping down.

Lt. Gov. David Paterson will now become the New York's first black governor. "My heart goes out to him and to his family at this difficult and painful time," Paterson said. "It is now time for Albany to get back to work as the people of this state expect from us."

Posted by meyer980 at 12:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After winning the GOP Presidential nomination with victories in Ohio, Texas, Vermont and Rhode Island, Tuesday, McCain was off to the White House to receive President Bush's endorsement, according to CNN. McCain needed 1,191 delegates to secure his nomination, and had 1,226 after Tuesday.

Now that he's won the primaries, McCain will be able to concentrate more on getting support from more conservative Republicans, a group that for the most part backed other candidates. Officials believe that the presidential endorsement will help with that. "He'll have the [Republican National Committee] behind him," said Alex Castellanos, a GOP strategist and CNN contributor.

Experts also say that the Democratic nominees, Senators Clinton and Obama, will have to take McCain into consideration when planning their strategies for winning. "They have to factor that in as they debate each other every time they put out an ad and make a position," said William Bennett, a CNN contributor who was in the administrations of Presidents George H.W. Bush.

Other Democratic Party members think that the close connection between Bush and McCain will actually help the Democrats. "He [McCain] has now become Bush's third term," said Paul Begala, a Democratic strategist.

Posted by meyer980 at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Authorities are looking into how a small fire caused a huge blackout affecting millions of people, according to CNN. It appears that when a nuclear power plant outside Miami detected the fire it automatically shut down, which in turn triggered the rolling blackouts. At the height of the dilemma over 2 million people were without power, but electricity was restored soon after.

Florida Power & Light said in a statement that a switch failed around 1:08 p.m. Tuesday, and a piece of equipment which controls voltage caught fire about the same time. Neither problem alone would have caused the blackouts, said the Florida Power & Light president, Armando Olivera.

That initial power plant failure affected around 475,000 people, but strain on other state power plants caused more troubles. "In a fraction of a second, the demand was far greater than the power plants that were online generating electricity could handle," said Olivera. "When you have that kind of imbalance, we have a system that kicks in and it starts turning people's lights off, essentially balancing the demand with what's available."

Authorities reported that there were no injuries related to the incident. Schools remained in session and the Miami International Airport was able to use generators for power. Delrish Moss, a county police spokesman said there were no major traffic problems reported as well. "Most of the calls that we're getting have to do with people being stuck in elevators and things of that nature, and people concerned about what is going on," Moss said.

Posted by meyer980 at 11:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The Supreme Court made it more difficult for consumers to sue federally approved medical devices Wednesday, according to the Star Tribune. Medtronic, a Minnesota based medical company, was sued by the estate of the late Charles Riegel, who claim that a faulty catheter caused Riegel's death during a medical procedure.

The Supreme Corut had to decide whether Riegel's estate could sue the company under state law for a device that was federally approved and regulated. In an 8-1 decision, the court ruled against the estate, saying that state lawsuits are barred when they would have different requirements for medical devices than federal regulations. In a dissenting opinion, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg said congress never intended "a radical curtailment of state common-law lawsuits seeking compensation for injuries caused by defectively designed or labeled medical devices."

Riegel's lawyers argued that a manufacturer could use federal approval as a legal defense and shouldn't be allowed to block state lawsuits. They also said that federal regulations are far less rigorous than Medtronic claims.

The Bush administration sided with the ruling, saying unfavorable state jury verdicts would force companies to alter product designs that have already been approved by the FDA.

Posted by meyer980 at 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Four sheriffs are being suspended after they purposely dumped a paralyzed man out of his wheelchair onto the floor, according to CNN. Brian Sterner, 32, was taken into custody for a warrant on traffic violation. Hillsborough County deputy Charlette Marshall-Jones was shown in surveillance footage tipping over Sterner's wheelchair forcing him onto the floor. Apparently, Jones had asked Sterner to stand up in the booking room and grew agitated when Sterner said he could not.

Sterner can drive a car but has been unable to stand for 14 years. Jones has been suspended without pay, and three other deputies have also been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation. Chief Deputy Jose Docobo said any punishment short of dismissal would be appropriate. "The actions are indefensible at every level," he said. None of officers being investigated could be reached for comment.

The warrent for Sterner's arrest was issued after police stopped him while driving a car fitted to drive with hand pedals. He was cited for blocking an intersection. Sterner's lawyer, John Trevena, said he was skeptical about the original charges and "mortified" at the video footage he watched of the incident.

Posted by meyer980 at 12:07 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Microsoft Corporation recently made a $41 billion takeover bid on Yahoo to give them a bigger stake in Internet advertising and search. Now Yahoo must consider its options, but analysts say that Yahoo is likely to accept according to CNN. Yahoo could also join teams with Google, allowing them to run their search engine, and getting a steady stream of Internet ad revenue from Google as well. That would be similar to a deal between Google and Yahoo in 2000. This alone wouldn't be enough to keep Yahoo alive very long. Yahoo could also take the company private in a leveraged buyout instead of combining with either of their competitors to try and stop Microsoft from taking over.

None of the options look very good for Yahoo, especially privatizing the company which would hurt the employees more than selling to Microsoft. If they did privatize they would likely have to fire 4,500 employees to cover the cost of a leveraged buyout. Working with Google would likely raise their annual income by $500 million.

Analyst George Askew said that Yahoo is likely to end up in Microsoft's grasp since they have the ability to merely raise their bid as needed by drawing on their $21 billion in cash or $285 billion market value. If that happens Microsoft says that it will use its new partner to try and form a better search engine to try and compete with Google's huge advantage in the Internet market. Google claims that Microsoft and Yahoo combining will limit consumer's choice on the Internet.

Posted by meyer980 at 12:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

John Edwards is expected to officially announce his exit from the presidential race during a speech in New Orleans Wednesday evening. After losing the 4 state preliminary votes so far Edwards chose that now was the right time, according to the Star Tribune.

"He just said it was time to get out," said Dave "Mudcat" Saunders, Edwards' rural affairs adviser. "I still don't like walking away, but it was John's decision." -Associated Press

Edwards hasn't yet decided to endorse either of the two remaining Democratic candidates but both Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama would like his endorsement, which could make a major difference in the polls.
An Associated Press-Yahoo! poll found that four out of 10 Edwards supporters would pick Clinton as a second choice, with Obama close behind. Edwards had the support of 56 delegates, most of which will now be able to support either candidate they choose. But according to party rules ten of those will automatically be split between Clinton and Obama. That would give Obama a total of 187 and Clinton 253 delegates. 2,025 total are needed to win the Democratric nomination.
Edwards cancelled a campaign event scheduled today to instead fly to New Orleans according to Yahoo! News where he is billed to make a poverty speech but is expected to announce his exit from the race. New Orleans is where Edwards launched his bid for presidency over a year ago.

Posted by meyer980 at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)