Onsgard's Blog

The murderer of 6-year-old Adam Walsh was confirmed as Otis E. Toole at a press conference on Tuesday, The Washington Post reported. ">The New York Times reported.

Adam Walsh, the son of John Walsh, the host of "America's Most Wanted," was abducted from a shopping mall on July 27, 1981. His decapitated head was found in Vero Beach two weeks later, but his body was never found.

Toole was the main suspect in the investigation that began 27 years ago, but they did not have enough DNA proof to connect him to the murder, The Washington Post reported.

Toole twice confessed to killing Walsh, but later retracted his statements. He also confessed to dozens of murders that turned out to be not done by him.

Toole died in prison while serving five life sentences of murders other than that of Adam Walsh.

Posted by onsga001 at 11:24 AM | Permalink

Workers at a window-making plant in Chicago made plans to spend the fourth night in their now closed factory on Monday, despite orders to leave by officials, The New York Times reported.

The sit-in began after250 workers at Republic Windows and Doors were told their company was being shut down without the proper 60 day notice and no promise of the pay they were owed.

Workers say they blame officials for giving them only three days notice that their factory was closing.

The company’s statement said it had been placed, “in the impossible position of not having the ability to further reduce fixed costs, coupled with severe constrictions in the capital debt markets and an unwillingness of the current debt holder to continue funding the operations.�

Workers were also angered by the fact that company officials did not show up to a meeting scheduled by Rep Luis V. Gutierrez (D-Ill.) on Friday, The Washington Post reported.

Workers taking part in the sit-in are cleaning and fixing things within the factory while they are there.

Posted by onsga001 at 11:43 AM | Permalink

All but one state failed an American higher education test of college affordability, The Star Tribune reported.

The biennial study, funded by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, evaluates how well higher education institutions are serving the publics. Grading on an A-F scale, the study handed out 49 Fs, passing only California, which received a C thanks to its relatively inexpensive community colleges.

The report published from the study shows that college tuition has increased 439 percent from 1982 to 2007, while median family income rose only 147 percent, The New York Times reported.

“The middle class has been financing [college] through debt,� said Patrick Callahan, president of the center. “The scenario has been that families that have a history of sending kids to college will do whatever if takes, even if that means a huge amount of debt.�

Even community colleges, long seen as the alternative to high-cost public and private 4-year universities have seen increase in tuition.

If college tuition increases continue the educational gap between generations will continue to grow.

"We’re really going to be in jeopardy, because the educational gap between our work force and the rest of the world will make it very hard to be competitive," Callahan said. "Already, we’re one of the few countries where 25- to 34-year-olds are less educated than older workers.

Posted by onsga001 at 9:18 AM | Permalink

A Missouri woman who posed as a 16-year-old boy and lead to the suicide of a teenage girl was found guilty of three misdemeanor charges on Wednesday, The Washington Post reported.

Lori Drew, 49, of O'Fallon, Mo., posed as the boy to try and woo Megan Meier, 13, who was once a friend of her daughter, The New York Times reported.

In 2006 Drew sent Meier romantic messages while posing as a 16-year-old boy and then abruptly rejected Meier, leading to her suicide one hour after the message was read.

Prosecutors were unable to charge Drew with any counts of leading to the death, only with charges of misinterpreting herself on the internet based on MySpace's terms of service.

The defense argued that nobody reads the terms of service and that anonymity and being able to create other identities on the internet can at times be useful.

Posted by onsga001 at 1:46 PM | Permalink

Attorney General Michael B. Mukasey collapsed during an address in Washington on Wednesday, The Washington Post reported.

Mukasey, 67, who was speaking at an annual Federalist Society gathering, was rushed to George Washington University Hospital and remained there overnight or observation.

People in attendance said that Mukasey's speech became slowed and it looked like he was getting choked up, the New York Times reported.

Mukasey is the third attorney general of the Bush administration, and was sworn in Nov. 9, 2007 after the resignation of Alberto R. Gonzales.

Posted by onsga001 at 8:27 PM | Permalink

Same-sex couples began marrying in Conn. after the marriage law went into effect on Wednesday, reported The New York Times.

The first couple to obtain a license was Barbara and Robin Levine-Ritterman, who decided not to file the paperwork and marry on Wednesday. "We're thinking about doing it in May," said Robin Levine-Ritterman. The couple is opting to wait for a bigger, more personalized ceremony. "We just wanted to be a part of this historic first," she continued.

The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled 4-3 on Oct. 10 to give same-sex couples the right to marry rather than accept civil unions, reported The Washington Post.

The right to wed in Conn. comes shortly after the recent ban on same-sex marriage in Calif.

Posted by onsga001 at 1:48 PM | Permalink

Top lawyers from the Bush administration presented arguments to the Supreme Court including the phrase "Big Bird dropping the F-bomb on Sesame Street" on Wednesday, reported The Washington Post.

The case referenced instances of profanity on prime time and live television such as Cher's breast showing at the Supebowl or Nicole Richie and Bono using profanity at award shows. These are issues because of the number of children watching who could be influenced by swearing on television.

In 2006 Congress raised the fine for profanity on television from $32,500 to $325,000.

The question before the court was whether networks should be fined for isolated or repeated swearing on television, reported The New York Times.

The justices made light of the situation. “Bawdy jokes are O.K. if they are really good," Justice Anton Scalia said.

Posted by onsga001 at 7:40 PM | Permalink

Nebraska Gov. Dave Heineman planned a special legislative session Wednesday to fix the loosely-worded safe-haven law that has left 23 children abandoned at hospitals, reported The Star Tribune.

The safe-haven law, which took effect in July, lets caregivers drop off children as old as 18 at Nebraska hospitals without prosecution, reported The Washington Post. This differs from laws in other states, which limit the age of children eligible for drop=off to between one day and three months old.

Since the law went into effect, 23 children have been abandoned at hopitals, the youngest being one year old. 12 of the 23 children were teenagers.

Parents from other states have taken advantage of Nebraska's lax law and children from Iowa and Georgia have been dropped off at Nebraska hospitals. These children have been returned to their home states.

Heineman will call a special session beginning Nov. 14, two months before the regular session, to try and amend the problem.

Until then, officials are urging parents to find alternative methods of dealing with their children, such as talking to friends or family or contacting social service instead of dropping them off at hospitals.

Posted by onsga001 at 2:18 PM | Permalink

The bodies of actress Jennifer Hudson's mother and brother were found in their home in Chicago on Friday afternoon, reported The Washington Post.Hudson's 7-year-old nephew Julian King was also reported missing.

Police confirmed that Darnell Donerson, 57 and Jason Hudson, 29 were found slain with gunshot wounds in their home.

Police arrested William Balfour as a suspect in the case, but he has not yet been charged. Balfour was previously married to Hudson's sister, Julia Hudson, for several years, but they are now divorced. Balfour was also traced to the home of Hudson and Donerson through records of his previous addresses.

The Cook County medical examiner's office ruled the gunshot deaths homicides.

According to The New York Times,there was no sign of forced entry at the house and the deaths were a result of a domestic dispute.

Posted by onsga001 at 12:21 PM | Permalink

As many as 50 teenagers at a suburban St. Louis high school are being tested for HIV after an infected source released information that the students may also be infected, reported The New York Times.

"The St. Louis County Health Department said last week that a positive HIV test raised concern that students at Normandy might have been exposed," reported The Washington Post. The department has not released whether the infected patient is a student or connected with the high school, only that they warned that 50 high school students may be connected to the HIV outbreak.

Students at Normandy High School have the option of free, confidential HIV testing during school hours through a mouth swab. No information on whether or not students are infected will be released to the Normandy High School district officials.

Students began feeling repercussions of the accusations before testing took place. Sophomore Jasmine Lane, 16, said her boyfriend from another school broke up with her upon hearing the news. Also, surrounding school's football teams refused to play against Normandy High School.

Posted by onsga001 at 12:19 PM | Permalink

A 6-year-old Nevada boy abducted from his home was found on Sunday, walking along the street a few miles away, reported The New York Times.

The boy, Cole Puffinburger, was kidnapped Wednesday night after three men claiming to be police officers ransacked the home of Cole's mother and her fiance. The men demanded money and when the couple said they did not have it, the men fled and took the boy.

The abduction is said to be linked with 51-year-old Clemens Tinnemeyer, Cole's maternal grandfather. Tinnemeyer is suspected to have stolen millions of dollars from drug dealers trafficking methamphetamine, reported The Star Tribune.

Cole was found when police got a call that a boy matching his description was walking down the street. He was found in "excellent condition."

Police are looking for Jesus Gatelum, a Mexican national in his mid 30s, who is thought of as a "person of interest," said officials in Riverside, Calif., who arrested Tinnemeyer.

Posted by onsga001 at 7:31 PM | Permalink

A 45-year-old man was found near the Rum River in St. Francis, reported The Pioneer Press.

Police responded to a call reporting a man beneath a bridge at 2:30 pm. The man's body was found near a bicycle. The Pioneer Press reported that it is unclear whether or not the bike belonged to the man.

The man has not yet been identified and the cause of death is still unclear. The St. Francis Police Department and Anoka County Sheriff's Office are investigating the incident.

Posted by onsga001 at 1:24 PM | Permalink

The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled gay marriage legal on Friday, overturning a state ban on same-sex marriage, reported The Washington Post. The ruling made Connecticut the third state to legalize gay marriage through the courts, joining California and Massachusetts.

The case began in 2004 after eight same-sex couples were denied marriage licenses, reported The New York Times. "The plaintiffs contended that the denial of marriage licenses deprived them of due process and equal protection under the law."

While the case was pending, the Connecticut legislature adopted a law establishing the rights of same sex-partners to enter into civil unions. About 1,800 couples have obtained civil unions in Connecticut since the law was passed in 2005.

Now, with the ban overturned, same-sex couples will be able to obtain marriage licenses within the coming month.

Posted by onsga001 at 6:37 PM | Permalink

Sarah Palin stressed the tie between Barack Obama and 1960s radical Bill Ayers on Saturday, reported The New York Times.

Obama, who lived near Ayers in Chicago and has known him since Obama kicked off his political career in the mid-1990s, reported The Washington Post.

Ayers is a founder of the Weather Underground, a violent group that formed during the Vietnam era. This connection is what prompted Palin's comment that Obama "pals around with terrorists."

Accusations of Obama being tied to terrorists are diluted by the fact that Obama was 8 years old when Ayers was active in the Weather Underground. Harry Sevugan, an Obama spokesman, had a different idea as to why Palin was attacking Obama. "What’s clear is that John McCain and Sarah Palin would rather spend their time tearing down Barack Obama than laying out a plan to build up our economy,� Sevugan said.

Posted by onsga001 at 6:14 PM | Permalink

Four people were killed early Sunday morning when a Maryland State Police medical helicopter crashed in Maryland, the Washington Post reported.

The helicopter, Trooper 2, crashed while transporting two women from a motor vehicle accident. The Trooper 2 encountered bad weather while en route to Prince George Hospital and crashed into Walker Mill Regional Park near paved bike paths and a series of softball fields.

The Trooper 2 passed the routine safety check required after every 100 hours in the air on Wednesday and was deemed fit to fly.

The accident killed four people aboard, including the pilot, an emergency medical service worker, a spokesperson for the Prince George County Fire/EMS service, and one of the vehicle accident victims, reported an Associated Press story that ran in the Star Tribune.

Posted by onsga001 at 9:59 PM | Permalink

The vice presidential debate on October 2 will follow a more structured approach than the Presidential candidate debate, The New York Times reported.

The debate between Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin and Democratic vice presidential candidate Joseph Biden will be more structured than the presidential debates and will leave less time for direct exchange between the candidates.

The Republican party fought for this change in order to make sure Palin, who is thought to be less experienced than Biden, will have more opportunities to answer questions and will not have to spend all of her time on the defensive end.

The Washington post also reported that the moderator, Gwen Ifill of PBS, will be given no guidelines on the subject matter of the debate.

In debates over vide presidential debate, Republicans won a more structured format and Democrats made sure the debates will be done from lecterns, not tables, as was done in past years.

Posted by onsga001 at 8:54 PM | Permalink

A Metrolink commuter train collided with a freight train in Los Angeles on Friday, the New York Times reported. The crash, the deadliest in nearly four decades, killed 25 people and injured 135, leaving 40 people in critical condition.

The cause of the crash is still being discussed.

One theory is that the engineer ran a red signal and crashed head first into the freight train.

Another theory, as reported by the Star Tribune, is that the engineer was text messaging at the time of the crash. A teenager showed officials text messages from the engineer dated right before the crash.

No theories have been confirmed, but rescue crews have recovered two cameras from the Metrolink train that record information on speed, braking patterns and whether the horn was used.

Posted by onsga001 at 8:20 PM | Permalink