USPS Delivery Gone Wrong

USPS Delivery Gone Wrong, Another package delivery goes wrong. A Postal Service worker is caught carelessly heaving a box over a fence, with disastrous results.

Spike Lee gives Obama special Air Jordans

Spike Lee gives Obama special Air Jordans, Spike Lee presents President Obama with a special pair of Air Jordans. The president is all smiles after receiving a pricey pair of shoes that aren't on the market yet. Deep in the middle of an NBA Thursday night doubleheader, some friend of a friend re-tweeted something Spike Lee tossed out on Twitter. Surprised though we were that Spike Lee has a Twitter account, we pressed on to find this rather remarkable picture of Lee with President Barack Obama, and a particularly fetching pair of Air Jordan sneakers that Lee (a Nike endorser) apparently gave to the commander in chief.

President Obama Sings Al Green's 'Let's Stay Together'

President Obama Sings Al Green's 'Let's Stay Together', President Obama sings at Apollo fundraiser - 'Let's Stay Together'. Bill Clinton blasted a mean sax, Harry Truman and Richard Nixon tickled the ivories, Andrew Jackson strummed the banjo, and John Quincy Adams tooted the flute – only not very well, according to his Harvard classmates.

Rick Perry drops out of presidential race

Rick Perry drops out of presidential race, Rick Perry ends presidential campaign, endorses Newt Gingrich. The Texas governor endorses former rival Newt Gingrich just days ahead of the S.C. primary. Rick Perry ended his presidential campaign Thursday and endorsed Newt Gingrich's candidacy for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination.

Rick Perry’s ad moves the Web

Rick Perry’s ad moves the Web, Rick Perry Strong, Web goes wild over controversial Perry ad. The candidate's message on gays and Christmas spawns a flurry of spoofs and pointed jokes. Rick Perry's latest ad has divided his campaign and gone viral on the Web. The TV spot shows Rick Perry wearing a jacket that could have been swiped from the "Brokeback Mountain" set (as former "Star Trek" star and gay activist George Takei has pointed out), as the candidate criticizes Obama for reversing the ban on gays in the military.

Hoover Dam Helicopter Crash Kills Five

Hoover Dam Helicopter Crash Kills Five - A luxury sunset tour by helicopter of the Las Vegas Strip and Hoover Dam ended tragically last night as the helicopter crashed into the side of a mountain. The pilot and all four passengers were killed in the crash. National Park Service spokesman Andrew Munoz said that the helicopter, operated by Sundance Helicopters, crashed into the side of the River Mountains surrounding Lake Mead. The crash occurred just before 5 p.m.

Hoover Dam Helicopter Crash Kills Five

Hoover Dam Helicopter Crash Kills Five - A luxury sunset tour by helicopter of the Las Vegas Strip and Hoover Dam ended tragically last night as the helicopter crashed into the side of a mountain. The pilot and all four passengers were killed in the crash. National Park Service spokesman Andrew Munoz said that the helicopter, operated by Sundance Helicopters, crashed into the side of the River Mountains surrounding Lake Mead. The crash occurred just before 5 p.m.

Hoover Dam Crash

Hoover Dam Crash - 5 Dead in Helicopter Crash Near Hoover Dam. A tourist helicopter based in Las Vegas crashed near the Hoover Dam on Wednesday, killing all five people aboard, the National Park Service said. The pilot of the helicopter and all four passengers are confirmed dead, the Lake Mead National Recreational Area said on its Twitter feed.

Girl posted on Facebook during standoff

Girl posted on Facebook during standoff - Girl Posted on Facebook During 7-Hour Welfare-Office Standoff. Twelve-year-old Ramie Marie Grimmer wrote "May die 2day" hours before being shot by her mother. A 12-year-old girl whose mother shot and critically wounded her before killing herself made several cryptic posts on Facebook during a nearly seven-hour hostage ordeal at the Texas Department of Health and Human Services office in Laredo.

Blagojevich gets 14 years in prison for corruption

Blagojevich gets 14 years in prison for corruption - Rod Blagojevich gets 14 years in prison. The former governor is sentenced in the corruption case that includes trying to sell or trade President Obama's Senate seat. Rod Blagojevich, the ousted Illinois governor whose three-year battle against criminal charges became a spectacle, was sentenced to 14 years in prison Wednesday, a stiff penalty for the man convicted of trying to sell President Barack Obama's vacated Senate seat to raise campaign cash or land a high-paying job.

Pearl Harbor aftermath scenes revealed

Pearl Harbor aftermath scenes revealed - Rare, Unseen Photos: Aftermath of Pearl Harbor. Previously unseen photos chronicle America's answer to an unprecedented act of war. President Franklin Roosevelt declared December 7, 1941 -- when Japan launched more than 350 fighters, bombers, and torpedo planes against the U.S. naval base in Hawaii -- a "date which will live in infamy." In fact, that Sunday morning 70 years ago is so seared into America's memory that the tumult of the weeks and months afterward, as the U.S. responded to the attack, is often overlooked. On the 70th anniversary of Pearl Harbor, LIFE.com presents rare and unpublished photos from Hawaii and the mainland, chronicling a nation's answer to an unprecedented act of war.

AIDS group seeks Los Angeles referendum on porn star condom use

AIDS group seeks Los Angeles referendum on porn star condom use - Voters in the city of Los Angeles, home to the nation's porn industry, could be asked next year whether condoms should be required in adult film shoots to cut down on sexually transmitted diseases. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation said on Monday it had submitted about 71,000 signatures, surpassing the required number of 41,000, for a ballot initiative that could go before voters in June 2012.

If the signatures are certified by city officials and a vote is held on the measure, residents would be asked whether to force Los Angeles officials to require the use of condoms on porn sets as a condition for film permits.

California officials say the porn industry is already covered by workplace rules that protect employees from blood-borne pathogens, and condoms are required in cases where adult film performers could be exposed to infection.

The California Division of Occupational Safety and Health has issued over $125,000 in fines against porn producers in the past five years for various violations, but some of those citations are on appeal, according to figures from the agency.

Despite facing fines, most major porn companies continue to shoot without condoms, and some in the industry have argued that using the latex would take away from the fantasy appeal of their product.

AIDS Healthcare Foundation said that Los Angeles city officials and the local county's public health agency have been slow to crack down on the porn industry.

"We're confident about our ability to win an initiative on an election," said Michael Weinstein, the foundation's president. "We say, why continue to frustrate ourselves trying to get the politicians to stand up and do something, when the people seem to be ahead of them."

The multibillion dollar U.S. porn industry is largely based in Los Angeles, and specifically in the city's sprawling San Fernando Valley suburb.

Porn producers have said they could move outside of California or even outside the country if increased regulation made condom use unavoidable.

A representative from adult industry group the Free Speech Coalition did not return a call or e-mail seeking comment, and a representative from the city's film permitting agency could not be reached for comment.

Former porn star Derrick Burts, 25, who said he was infected with HIV on a porn shoot in 2010, said some porn performers would like to wear condoms, but they will not go against the wishes of their producers.

"In this industry, you fight for every dollar you can make, because when you get into this industry, it's hard to get out and make a normal living because your face is everywhere as someone who's done porn," Burts said.

via: yahoo

Mom trades 4-bedroom house for minivan

Mom trades 4-bedroom house for minivan - Mother of six trades in $96k house for used minivan. A Michigan woman's unusual offer on Craigslist drew replies from around the country. A mother living in Detroit has traded in her four-bedroom home for a 2006 minivan. LaWanda Flake, a 36-year-old, disabled mother of six traded in her four-bedroom, three-bath house, located in one of the city's better neighborhoods and valued at $96,000 for a 2006 Chevrolet Uplander with 85,000 miles, valued at between $5000 and $8,500.

"I had a lot of good offers, some from out of state. It turned out I took one of the first offers I got because I felt like it helped us both," Flake told the Detroit News. "They needed the house more than anyone I spoke with. They kept telling me it was a blessing to them. I really feel like I made a good decision."

Flake said she posted the house offer on Craigslist because she needed a new car in order to get her children to school on time because the city's bus system was proving unreliable. Flake has an irregularly updated Twitter account, where you can see some of her complaints about the bus system.

Now, there are a couple of details that make this story far less crazy than it sounds at first. Number one, Flake and her six children are not living in the minivan. They've relocated to a three-bedroom home nearby that she was able to purchase on a $4,000 land contract.

And even though the house was once home to Diana Ross and the Supremes, Flake purchased it last year at a foreclosure sale for $3,600, not its near six-figure retail value. The house reportedly has several thousand dollars worth of necessary repairs waiting for the new owners, including a new furnace and water heater.

The family who purchased Flake's home has decided to stay anonymous for now. Flake agreed to not mention their names in the story, but she did note that she received several more lucrative offers for her home, including a Montana couple who offered Flake her choice of one of their four vehicles. And a man who recently moved back to Detroit from Las Vegas offered in trade his 1996 Bentley Brooklands luxury sedan, valued at about $20,000. A third trade offer was for a 1996 Corvette.

"I said, Oh wow! What am I going to do with a Corvette? I can't do anything practical with a Corvette," Flake said.

Of course, with the current state of property values in Detroit, it sounds like Flake could have traded in one of those cars for another two or three houses.

via: yahoo

Today could mark end of Cain campaign

Today could mark end of Cain campaign - In or out? Cain to say whether he'll stay in race. Herman Cain's presidential campaign has suffered amid claims of harassment and a long affair. Does he stay or does he go? Republican presidential candidate Herman Cain is keeping supporters in suspense ahead of his expected announcement Saturday about whether he will quit the race after a string of sexual harassment allegations and a claim of an extramarital affair.

The Georgia businessman planned to announce his decision at what was supposed to be a festive opening of a new headquarters in Atlanta. The space was rented when Cain sat surprisingly atop the GOP pack.

With the candidate's poll numbers plummeting and fundraising stalled, some campaign aides said privately they expected him to drop out. But Cain spokesman J.D. Gordon said late Friday that no decision had been made.

A meeting with top staff members was expected early Saturday and he was expected to take the stage at 1:30 p.m.

Even some top supporters who had spoken with Cain were arriving Saturday unsure what he would say.

Cain returned to his suburban Atlanta home Friday and met with his wife, Gloria. It was the first time they have seen each other face to face since 46-year-old Ginger White came forward on Monday, and said she and Herman Cain had carried on a 13-year relationship.

Cain has denied having an affair with White. He said the concern over the toll the allegations were having on his family as well as a candid assessment of whether his campaign could still attract the needed support would inform his decision on whether to press ahead.

Campaign volunteers were keeping busy Friday night, tacking up signs at his headquarters. A contingent of Secret Service agents inspected the site in advance of Cain's arrival.

"We are moving ahead," said Cain's Georgia director David McCleary, who said he had talked to the candidate earlier in the day and describe him as "upbeat."

Cain, the former Godfather's Pizza chief executive who has never held elected office, rose to become an unexpected front-runner in the volatile Republican race just weeks ago. A self-styled outsider, Cain enjoyed strong tea party support from conservatives who viewed him as an alternative to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney.

But once in the national spotlight, Cain fumbled policy questions, leaving some to wonder whether he was ready for the presidency. Then it was revealed at the end of October that the National Restaurant Association had paid settlements to two women who claimed Cain sexually harassed them while he was president of the organization.

A third woman told The Associated Press that Cain made inappropriate sexual advances but that she didn't file a complaint. A fourth woman also stepped forward to accuse Cain of groping her in a car in 1997.

Cain has denied wrongdoing in all cases.

Polls suggest his popularity has suffered. A Des Moines Register poll released Friday showed Cain's support plunging, with backing from 8 percent of Republican caucus-goers in Iowa, compared with 23 percent a month ago.

Fundraising has also fallen off. He issued an email appeal to supporters on Friday asking for donations, in an attempt to gauge whether his financial support has dried up.

"I need to know that you are behind me 100 percent," Cain told backers. "In today's political environment, the only way we can gauge true support is by the willingness of our supporters to invest in this effort."

On Friday, Cain urged backers in South Carolina to look past the allegations.

"There's a lot of garbage on the Internet. There's a lot of garbage out there on the TV. There's a lot of garbage out there about me, don't you know? There's a lot of misinformation out there. You have to stay informed and check out the facts for yourself," Cain said.

He added: "I'm on this journey for a reason. I don't look back."

via: yahoo

FDR warned of Pearl Harbor attack days in advance - Did U.S. miss clues to Pearl Harbor attack? A newly surfaced memo sent to FDR just two days before the strike hints at Japan's intentions. A new book reports that two days before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor that officially brought the United States into World War II, President Roosevelt was warned about such a possible attack in a memo from naval intelligence.

U.S. News' Paul Bedard writes more about the story:

The memo comes from Craig Shirley's new book, December 1941: 31 Days that Changed America and Saved the World, which also reports that the Japanese were building a network of spies through their U.S. embassies and consulates. However, Shirley doesn't blame FDR for failing to act on the memo; instead, he compares the Roosevelt administration's inaction to the executive branch's failure to act on pre-9/11 intelligence. In each instance, Shirley contends, the evidence suggests "that there were more pieces to the puzzle" that the White House missed in the days and weeks leading up to the attack. "So many mistakes through so many levels of Washington," said Shirley. "Some things never change."

And in a bit of unusually related news, 45,000 residents will evacuate a town in Germany after the discovery of one of the largest unexploded bombs in history. Stars and Stripes reports the 4,000 pound bomb, with more than 3,000 pounds of attached explosives, was dropped on the town of Koblenz by the British Royal Air Force during the war. The bomb was discovered in the Rhine River, where water levels have dropped due to lack of rain. A 275-pound American bomb was also discovered nearby.

via: yahoo

Actor's striking resemblance to Lincoln

Actor's striking resemblance to Lincoln - Daniel Day-Lewis looks dignified while taking a break from playing the 16th president. Daniel Day-Lewis Has a Great Honest Abe Beard Going for ‘Lincoln’. It was just over a year ago that it was announced that Daniel Day-Lewis would be the star of Steven Spielberg's Abraham Lincoln film. There's no question that the two-time Oscar-winner is an astonishingly gifted actor, but when you're playing a revered American president there will always be questions about whether you can do justice to a mythic figure in U.S. history -- especially when some people refuse to accept Day-Lewis in the role since he's English. 

But we think most folks will be willing to look past such minor issues after checking out this first photo of Day-Lewis sporting his beard for "Lincoln." You have to admit, the resemblance is pretty striking -- and rather presidential.

The photo (the first we've seen of the actor as Lincoln) was snapped by Michael Phillips (via Badass Digest), who took the picture presumably while Day-Lewis was enjoying a lunch break during the filming of "Lincoln" in Virginia. While a lot of unofficial on-set photos capture stars at their most unflattering, this casual shot actually gives Day-Lewis a regal, dignified air that's synonymous with most people's impressions of our 16th president. Even in repose, the guy just exudes rugged authenticity.

Steven Soderbergh Will Direct a Thriller Being Compared to 'Fatal Attraction' 

"Lincoln," which is based on Doris Kearns Goodwin's "Team of Rivals," is said to follow Lincoln during the final months of his life when the Civil War was coming to a close. The film won't open until December 2012, but it already has to be considered an Oscar front-runner simply because of the pedigree of the material, the director and the star -- and that it's not even mentioning the rest of the cast, which includes Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jackie Earle Haley, Michael Stuhlbarg, David Strathairn and Hal Holbrook. Spielberg has two movies coming next month -- "The Adventures of Tintin" and "War Horse" -- but after seeing this Day-Lewis photo it's hard not to focus on what the director has coming our way next year. We always knew Day-Lewis could play the part. Today, we learned he definitely looks the part, too.'

via: yahoo

Saddest Cities in U.S. Are St. Petersburg, Detroit and Memphis: Report

Saddest Cities in U.S. Are St. Petersburg, Detroit and Memphis: Report - St. Petersburg, Fl., is apparently the saddest city in America, with Detroit, Mi. not far behind, according to a study by Men's Health magazine, which used data such as unemployment and suicid rates, antidepressant usage and the number of people who actually admitted to depression.

The study ranked Memphis, Tn. third, with Tampa, Fl. and Louisville, Ky. in fourth and fifth, respectively. St. Louis, Mo., Birmingham, Al., Miami, Fl., Reno, Nv. and Las Vegas, Nv. are the other cities in the top ten.

Also according to the list, Honolulu, Hi., came in as the happiest city in the U.S., followed by Manchester U.S. Honolulu came in as the happiest city in the U.S closely followed by Manchester, N.H., Fargo, N.D., Omaho, Ne., and Boston, Ma.

Issues such as suicide, unemployment and rising depression rates are getting a lot of prominence right now, especially since the U.S. is facing concerns regarding its economy. Earlier studies have shown that most country's suicide rate rises and falls in relation to how well the economy is doing. For example, the biggest increase in suicides occurred in the period of the Great Depression, when the national rate jumped from 18 per 100,000 adults in 1928 to more than 22 per 100,000 people in 1932.

Depression is a chronic illness that exacts a significant toll on America's health and productivity. It affects more than 21 million American children and adults annually and is the leading cause of disability in the United States for individuals aged 15 to 44.

via: ibtimes

Ringling Bros. paying big fine over animal case

Ringling Bros. paying big fine over animal case - Ringling circus paying big fine over animal case. The parent company of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus said Monday that it had agreed to settle U.S. government claims that its handlers had mistreated animals. Feld Entertainment, which for years has been criticized by animal activists for its treatment of elephants, is not admitting any wrong doing but will pay a $270,000 civil penalty, the largest ever slapped against an exhibitor under the federal Animal Welfare Act.

"This settlement sends a direct message to the public and to those who exhibit animals that USDA will take all necessary steps to protect animals regulated under the Animal Welfare Act," Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a statement. "The civil penalty and other stipulations in the settlement agreement will promote a better understanding of the rights and responsibilities of all exhibitors in maintaining and caring for animals under their care."

Feld also "agreed to develop and implement annual AWA compliance training for all employees who work with and handle animals, including trainers, handlers, attendants and veterinarians," the USDA statement said.

The settlement follows federal inspections over several years that found what inspectors said were violations of the law, especially when it came to how Ringling's 54 elephants were treated.

The Associated Press noted that one inspection report said a 35-year-old Asian elephant was forced to perform despite a diagnosis of sand colic and apparent abdominal discomfort. Circus officials told the inspectors that separating her from the other performing elephants would have been even more distressing to her.

Other inspection reports cited:

Splintered floors and rusted cages used to contain big cats such as tigers;

Handlers using the same wheelbarrows to feed meat to tigers and haul away their waste;

A 2008 incident where two zebras briefly got loose from their enclosure at a Baltimore arena;

A 2010 incident where another zebra escaped its enclosure in Atlanta and had to be captured by area law enforcement.

Feld stated it stands behind its staff and that it "decided it was more important to focus on the future of its business by continuing to provide the best animal care possible instead of engaging in costly and protracted litigation."

The circus has seen more inspections not only by the USDA but also by state and local regulators, noted Feld spokesman Steve Payne. From June to September, one of the circus' traveling units was inspected 82 times by 18 different agencies, he said.

"We're highly regulated. We accept that regulation. We embrace it," Payne said.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, one of the groups that has battled Ringling, took some credit for the settlement.

"PETA's complaints against Ringling Bros. with regard to crippled elephants, the death of a baby elephant, the beating of other elephants, and the killing of a lion, going back several years, have resulted in the biggest fine in circus history," spokeswoman Colleen O'Brien told msnbc.com.

Payne countered that PETA was never involved in the settlement talks or other legal action. "It's a shameless attempt to grab publicity for itself," he told msnbc.com.

PETA added that the Obama administration should crack down even harder. "The government has taken a first step," O'Brien said, "and now it must confiscate the elephants."

The USDA made no indication that it planned to do so.

In October, a federal appeals court backed Feld against animal rights groups that had sued over Ringling's treatment of elephants. The allegations included that circus staff use hooks and shock treatment to get baby elephants to learn tricks.

Feld is now countersuing, Payne said, alleging that the plaintiffs and their lawyers were in a "conspiracy to pay a witness for his testimony."

via: msn

Facebook IPO seen coming in spring

Facebook IPO seen coming in spring - Wondering when the great Facebook initial public offering is coming? Try the second quarter of 2012 market conditions permitting, The Wall Street Journal said late Monday. The social-networking company is in talks with the Securities and Exchange Commission about the timing of the IPO. There is a chance the first filings will come this year, the Journal said.

The Journal said Facebook is thinking about an IPO that would raise $10 billion and theoretically value the company at more than $100 billion.

That would make the company among the 40 most valuable companies in the world -- on par with Toyota Motor (TM 0.00%), Verizon Communications (VZ 0.00%) and Merck (MRK 0.00%).

The Journal based its report on conversations with several sources, adding the caveat that final decisions have not yet been made.

The final value of the company -- the value used to price shares - and how much money it seeks in an IPO will largely be determined by the market and the European economy, the Journal said.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has in the past publicly expressed reluctance to do an IPO. And he has opted to keep Facebook private longer than many suspected he would. But he is warming to the idea, the Journal said.

The social network, which was started by Zuckerberg in 2004 out of his Harvard dorm room, has helped reshape how people share information and interact with others on the Web. It now counts 800 million users, with 500 million users logging into the site daily.

Facebook's IPO would come amid a spate of other hot Web IPOs this year, like daily-deal site Groupon (GRPN 0.00%), LinkedIn (LNKD 0.00%) and an expected IPO from social-game maker Zynga. But none of those will compare in size, scale and investor demand with Facebook, which is one of the most highly anticipated IPOs ever.

The disappointing showing of Groupon's stock, which has fallen below its $20 IPO price in recent trading, may make some investors cautious about a Facebook IPO.

Groupon has fallen nearly 42% in the past five trading days after initially surging in the first two weeks after the IPO earlier this month. It is now 23.8% below its $20 IPO price.

via: msn

SWAT shooting of Marine sparks outrage

SWAT shooting of Marine sparks outrage - The deadly raid of a veteran's Tucson home results in no arrests, but many unanswered questions.SWAT team's shooting of Marine causes outrage. Jose Guerena Ortiz was sleeping after an exhausting 12-hour night shift at a copper mine. His wife, Vanessa, had begun breakfast. Their 4-year-old son, Joel, asked to watch cartoons.

An ordinary morning was unfolding in the middle-class Tucson neighborhood — until an armored vehicle pulled into the family's driveway and men wearing heavy body armor and helmets climbed out, weapons ready.

They were a sheriff's department SWAT team who had come to execute a search warrant. But Vanessa Guerena insisted she had no idea, when she heard a "boom" and saw a dark-suited man pass by a window, that it was police outside her home. She shook her husband awake and told him someone was firing a gun outside.

A U.S. Marine veteran of the Iraq war, he was only trying to defend his family, she said, when he grabbed his own gun — an AR-15 assault rifle.

What happened next was captured on video after a member of the SWAT team activated a helmet-mounted camera.

The officers — four of whom carried .40-caliber handguns while another had an AR-15 — moved to the door, briefly sounding a siren, then shouting "Police!" in English and Spanish. With a thrust of a battering ram, they broke the door open. Eight seconds passed before they opened fire into the house.

And 10 seconds later, Guerena lay dying in a hallway 20-feet from the front door. The SWAT team fired 71 rounds, riddling his body 22 times, while his wife and child cowered in a closet.

"Hurry up, he's bleeding," Vanessa Guerena pleaded with a 911 operator. "I don't know why they shoot him. They open the door and shoot him. Please get me an ambulance."

When she emerged from the home minutes later, officers hustled her to a police van, even as she cried that her husband was unresponsive and bleeding, and that her young son was still inside. She begged them to get Joel out of the house before he saw his father in a puddle of blood on the floor.

But soon afterward, the boy appeared in the front doorway in Spider-Man pajamas, crying.

The Pima County Sheriff's Department said its SWAT team was at the home because Guerena was suspected of being involved in a drug-trafficking organization and that the shooting happened because he arrived at the door brandishing a gun. The county prosecutor's office says the shooting was justified.

But six months after the May 5 police gunfire shattered a peaceful morning and a family's life, investigators have made no arrests in the case that led to the raid. Outraged friends, co-workers and fellow Marines have called the shooting an injustice and demanded further investigation. A family lawyer has filed a multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the sheriff's office. And amid the outcry in online forums and social media outlets, the sheriff's 54-second video, which found its way to YouTube, has drawn more than 275,000 views.

The many questions swirling around the incident all boil down to one, repeated by Vanessa Guerena, as quoted in the 1,000-page police report on the case:

"Why, why, why was he killed?"

___

Outside the family's stucco home, a giant framed photo of Guerena in his Marine uniform sat placed in the front bay window, American flags waved in the yard and signs condemning his death were taped to the garage door.

The 27-year-old Guerena had completed two tours in Iraq, and a former superior there was among those who couldn't make sense of his death.

Leo Verdugo said Guerena stood out among other Marines for his maturity and sense of responsibility. Verdugo, who retired as a master sergeant last year after 25 years in the Marines, placed Guerena in charge of an important helicopter refueling mission in the remote west desert of Iraq.

"He had a lot of integrity and he was a man of his word," Verdugo said.

Verdugo, who also lives in Tucson, said Guerena came to him for advice in 2006 about whether to retire from the Marines and apply to the Border Patrol.

When Verdugo ran into Guerena and his wife at a Motor Vehicle Department office about a month before Guerena was killed, Verdugo said that Guerena told him that the Border Patrol had turned him down because of problems with his vision and that he had instead taken a mining job.

Those who worked with Guerena at ASARCO'S Mission Mine said the man they knew would never be a part of drug smuggling.

"I don't care what the cops say. I don't believe for one moment Jose was involved in anything illegal," said Sharon Hargrave, a co-worker, adding through tears: "They were judge, jury and executioner, and there was no excuse."

Guerena worked as a "helper" at two crushers in the mine, shoveling piles of rocks that fall from conveyor belts and wheel-barrowing heavy debris. "No one in their right mind" would choose this work, which paid about $41,000 a year, if they were bringing in drug smuggling money, Hargrave said.

"He was a hell of a worker," she said. "He's got good judgment and I could trust him."

She said Guerena talked constantly about his wife and two sons, Joel and Jose Jr., 5, who'd gone to school the morning of the shooting. "I know he was definitely in love with his wife and in love with his kids," she said.

Kevin Stephens, a chief steward at Mission mine and head of the miners' union there, said bluntly: "Personally, I think he was murdered, and that is the feeling that is out here."

But the sheriff's office said just because Guerena was a Marine and worked at a mine doesn't mean he couldn't be involved in drug trafficking.

"We know from our experiences that good people turn their lives around and do bad things, and this guy was bad irrespective of his honorable discharge as a Marine," said sheriff's chief of investigations Rick Kastigar.

He said Guerena was suspected of involvement in a drug operation that specialized in ripping off other smugglers. One tip held that Guerena was "the muscle" of the organization, or in Kastigar's words, "the individual that was directed to exact revenge."

An affidavit supporting the search warrant that precipitated the raid describes the department's suspicions about Guerena in a drug investigation that appeared more focused on his brother, and his brother's father-in-law. Guerena's brother does not have a listed number and other family members have ignored written requests from the AP for comment.

Sheriff's Capt. Chris Nanos, who heads the criminal investigations division and oversaw the Guerena case, said that high-powered rifles and bulletproof vests that were found in Guerena's home after the shooting back up investigators' belief that Guerena was involved in drug trafficking. A shotgun found in the home was reported stolen in Tucson in 2008.

In the affidavit, sheriff's Detective Alex Tisch laid out the case against Guerena's family. It details two instances of drug seizures, one in April 2009 in which Jose Guerena was found in a home with other people who had just dropped off 1,000 pounds of marijuana at a separate residence, and another in October 2009 in which a man who had met with Guerena's brother was found with drugs and weapons.

Neither Guerena nor his brother was charged.

The affidavit also cites two traffic stops of Jose Guerena.

The first was on Jan. 28, 2009, when an officer pulled Guerena and two other men over north of Tucson. The officer seized a gun from Guerena, a marijuana pipe from Guerena's cousin and marijuana hidden in canisters of lemonade and hot cocoa that were under the feet of Guerena's friend.

The officer arrested Guerena on charges of weapons misconduct, marijuana possession and possession of drug paraphernalia. But prosecutors filed no charges against him.

The other stop came Sept. 15, 2009, when the sheriff's office pulled over a truck leaving the home of Guerena's brother. Jose Guerena was in the passenger seat and another man was driving. Officers searched the truck and found commercial-sized rolls of plastic wrap that they say are commonly used to package marijuana. No arrests were made.

Tisch wrote in the affidavit that the past arrests of Guerena and members of his family, combined with observations during months of surveillance led detectives to believe that the family was operating a mid-level drug-trafficking organization in the Tucson area.

The investigation is ongoing, the sheriff's office says.

___

After the SWAT video circulated, people who didn't know Guerena traveled from as far as California to march in protest of his shooting, and an Alaska woman began an online petition calling for a federal investigation of the SWAT team. Hundreds of people across the country have written on several Facebook pages dedicated to Guerena with messages that include, "He fought for our country, now we must fight for him."

The Guereno family's lawyer, Christopher Scileppi, filed a lawsuit on their behalf seeking damages from the sheriff's office, the officers involved in the shooting and other officials. The lawsuit didn't specify how much money the family was seeking, but a notice of claim filed Aug. 9 put the amount at $20 million.

"During this investigation, extremely little evidence, if any, was found to raise even a suspicion that Jose Guerena was involved in any possible drug trafficking ring," the notice says.

Scileppi said the fact that Guerena had been fired at 71 times and hit 22 times was "grotesque," and "almost a caricature of an overly excited group of poorly trained law enforcement agents."

Kastigar sharply disputed that, calling the Pima County SWAT team one of the best of its kind in the nation. "We're not a bunch of country bumpkins in southern Arizona with big bellies and cowboy hats," he said.

The shooting was justified, he said, because Guerena pointed his AR-15 at the SWAT officers and said, "I've got something for you," before they opened fire.

The five SWAT team members who shot Guerena believed that he had fired his weapon first, he said. Subsequent investigation revealed that the gun's safety was on and hadn't been fired. Ultimately, that is not an issue, Kastigar said.

"What reasonable person comes to the front door and points a rifle at people?" he said. "It takes several milliseconds to flip the switch from safety to fire and take out a couple of SWAT officers. I'm firmly of the opinion that he was attempting to shoot at us."

The officers laid down "suppressive" fire because one had tripped and fallen and the others thought he'd been shot.

"You point a gun at police, you're going to get shot," Kastigar said.

The five officers who shot Guerena declined to speak to the AP through Mike Storie, a police union lawyer who represents them and defends their actions.

"Anytime that they are faced with a serious, imminent and deadly threat, they are entitled and justified to use deadly force," he said. "And when Guerena came around the corner and lifted an AR-15 and pointed it at them, that provided the justification."

An independent expert, Chuck Drago, a former longtime SWAT officer for Fort Lauderdale, Fla., police who now does consulting on use of force and other law enforcement issues, said that the shooting itself appeared justified.

"It's a horrible, horrible tragedy, but if they walked in the door and somebody came at them with an assault rifle, that would be a justifiable response," said Drago. "It doesn't matter whether he's innocent or not."

But after examining elements of the search affidavit, Drago questioned whether the sheriff's office truly had probable cause.

"When you back up and look at why they're there in the first place and whether the search warrant was proper, my mind starts struggling," Drago said. "There are a lot of things that don't make a lot of sense."

via: yahoo