Scott Neuman

Why Oklahomans Don't Like Basements

Scott Neuman — Tue, 21 May 2013 23:10:00 +0000

When Randy Keller moved from Texas to the Oklahoma City area seven years ago, he couldn't find the house he was looking for.

"I was moving from Texas, where there are also a lot of tornadoes," says the professor of geology and geophysics at the University of Oklahoma who experienced the 1970 tornado in Lubbock, Texas.

Gandhi Artifacts Could Fetch Steep Prices At Auction

Scott Neuman — Tue, 21 May 2013 19:47:00 +0000

Artifacts that once belonged to Mohandas K. Gandhi, the Indian independence leader who took a vow of poverty, could fetch hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction.

A pair of sandals, a shawl, a drinking cup, Gandhi's will and various other documents associated with the leader are all up for auction. Guide prices range from £200 for "a rare British Parliament paper declaring Gandhi a terrorist" dating from 1932, to £40,000 for his will.

Court Backs Withholding Of 'Potent' Images Of Bin Laden's Body

Scott Neuman — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:19:00 +0000

A federal appeals court ruled Tuesday in favor of the government's decision to keep photos and video of the May 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden a secret, rebuffing a conservative watchdog group that had sought their release.

A three-judge panel of the U.S.

Tweets Capture 'Shock And Awe' At Tornado's Deadly Power

Scott Neuman — Mon, 20 May 2013 23:49:00 +0000

Our colleague Andy Carvin has scanned Twitter in search of reaction, including photos and video, from the massive tornado that swept through central Oklahoma on Monday.

Among the tweets:

Sidney Montoya of Oklahoma City says he is "Praying for my little cousins in Moore, their elementary school just got hit by the tornado."

And Dennis Varghese, who also lives in Oklahoma City, says: "Just overheard a lady break down and say, 'my house is gone!' and now worry

A Brief History Of Oklahoma Tornadoes

Scott Neuman — Mon, 20 May 2013 23:14:00 +0000

Although Oklahoma is a state where tornadoes are a fact of life, few days stand out like May 3, 1999.

That was when some 70 tornadoes touched down over a 21-hour period, cutting paths of destruction like deep cuts of a knife blade in and around Oklahoma City.

British Aircraft Carrier HMS Ark Royal Heads For Scrap Yard

Scott Neuman — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:46:00 +0000

The people of Portsmouth, England, on Monday turned out to bid farewell to the aircraft carrier HMS Ark Royal, destined for a Turkish scrap yard after its decommissioning two years ago.

The Invincible class carrier was a victim of a 2010 defense review that recommended scrapping the vessel and selling its Harrier jump jets (they were subsequently sold to the U.S.).

Beijing Angry Over North Korea's Seizure Of Chinese Fishermen

Scott Neuman — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:21:00 +0000

Beijing has long been about the closest thing to an ally that Pyongyang enjoys, but the seizure of a Chinese fishing boat by unidentified North Koreans has threatened to put an already tenuous relationship on even shakier ground.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei was quoted by The New York Times as making it fairly clear that his government was not happy about the development.

China, he said, is "demanding that it properly deal with the matter as quickly as possib

Injuries Reported In 'Major' Train Derailment In Connecticut

Scott Neuman — Fri, 17 May 2013 23:43:00 +0000

Two Metro-North Railroad trains have collided on a stretch of track near Fairfield, Conn., causing a "major derailment" and "preliminary reports of injuries," according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

[Update at 8:55 p.m.

Need A Tattoo Translated? Forget The British Foreign Office

Scott Neuman — Fri, 17 May 2013 22:54:00 +0000
The British Foreign Office is happy to assist its citizens, but officials want to make clear that there are some requests they won't fulfill.
Such as supplying Olympic tickets or doing a background check on that Swedish woman you met online.
Those are just a few of the "often good natured" but distracting requests that the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) says it received over the past year, according to a press release issued Thursday.
Some others that no doubt provided stodgy Briti

America's Cup Death Raises Concerns Over High-Tech Race Boats

Scott Neuman — Fri, 17 May 2013 21:35:00 +0000
America's Cup, the oldest and most prestigious sailing competition, has hit some choppy water.
The death last week of British sailor and gold medal Olympian Andrew "Bart" Simpson when the boat he was crewing capsized and broke up during a practice run off San Francisco, has prompted tough questions about safety.
Simpson reportedly drowned after being trapped for 10 minutes underneath the stricken boat belonging to Sweden'

Illinois Lawmakers Send Medical Marijuana Bill To Governor

Scott Neuman — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:35:00 +0000
The Illinois Senate has approved a measure to legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes, sending the bill to the governor for his signature.
The bill would be the strictest in the nation. According to The Chicago Tribune:
"The proposal would create a four-year trial program in which doctors could prescribe patients no more than 2.5 ounces of marijuana every two weeks.

Former Argentine Dictator Who Oversaw Death Squads Dies At 87

Scott Neuman — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:24:00 +0000
Jorge Rafael Videla, an ambitious Army chief who seized power in Argentina in 1976 and orchestrated a campaign of terror against his opponents, has died in prison at age 87.
Videla, whose "Dirty War" killed at least 15,000 people, perhaps twice as many, died of natural causes in Argentina's Marcos Paz prison, where he was serving multiple life sentences for crimes against humanity, officials said.
After leading a bloodless coup that toppled President Isabel Martinez de Peron on March 24, 1976, Videla became the head of a junta.
Justice Department announced Thursday evening.
Fazliddin Kurbanov, 30, was arrested in Boise on Wednesday, prosecutors say.

There's No Ignoring This 800-Pound Gator

Scott Neuman — Thu, 16 May 2013 22:05:00 +0000
You've heard of the 800-pound gorilla in the room that everyone ignores? Well, here's an 800-pound alligator that's getting some attention.
The 14-foot beast, the heaviest ever recorded in Texas, was bagged by a Houston-area high school student last week at a wildlife management area near Choke Canyon State Park, about 90 miles south of San Antonio.
Braxton Bielski, 18, is credited with the kill.

Report: Problems At Justice Allowed Terrorist Suspects To Fly

Scott Neuman — Thu, 16 May 2013 20:48:00 +0000
Officials at the Department of Justice didn't share crucial information on some terrorist suspects in the federal witness protection program with the agency that maintains the "no fly" list, allowing an unknown number of them to board commercial flights, a new report says.
"We found that the department was not authorizing the disclosure to the Terrorist Screening Center of the new identities provided to known or suspected terrorists" in the federal Witness Security Program, known officially as WitSec, the report by the Justice Department's inspector general, Michael Horowitz, says.
Until t

Pope Francis Denounces 'Cult Of Money'

Scott Neuman — Thu, 16 May 2013 19:40:00 +0000
Pope Francis has demanded that financial and political leaders reform the global money system to make it more equitable.
"Money has to serve, not to rule!" the pontiff declared.
As The Associated Press writes:
"It's a message Francis delivered on many occasions when he was archbishop of Buenos Aires, and it's one that was frequently stressed by retired Pope Benedict XVI.
"Francis, who has made clear the poor are his priority, made the comments as he greeted his first group of new ambassadors accredited to the Holy See."
It also occurs amid the Vatican's

Obama Announces Resignation Of Acting IRS Commissioner

Scott Neuman — Wed, 15 May 2013 22:56:00 +0000
President Obama announced late Wednesday that the acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, Steve Miller, has resigned in the wake of a report that employees at the agency engaged in partisan scrutiny of conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status.
The president, appearing for a brief statement at the White House, said he had directed Treasury Secretary Jack Lew "to accept the resignation of the acting commissioner of the IRS."
He said it was part of a larger effort to "make sure noth

NASA Says Kepler's Planet-Searching Days May Be Numbered

Scott Neuman — Wed, 15 May 2013 22:16:00 +0000
The planet-hunting career of NASA's Kepler spacecraft might be near its end.
Astronomers said Wednesday that a reaction wheel that keeps the orbiting telescope pointed at tiny, distant patches of sky to look for Earth-like planets has failed.

Leaks, Bombs And Double-Agents: More On That AP Story

Scott Neuman — Wed, 15 May 2013 21:26:00 +0000
The Justice Department's subpoena of Associated Press phone records as part of an investigation into what Attorney General Eric Holder has called "a very grave leak" to the news agency has set off a political firestorm on Capitol Hill, but there's a lot to the AP story published a year ago that started it all.
You can read it yourself here. The May 7, 2012, story cites unnamed sources who told the news agency that the CIA had thwarted a plan by a Yemeni affiliate of al-Qaida to destroy a U.S.-bound airliner.

Walmart Has Its Own Plan To Help Bangladesh Garment Workers

Scott Neuman — Wed, 15 May 2013 18:49:00 +0000
Wal-Mart says it has drafted its own plan for improving safety at garment factories in Bangladesh rather than join other Western retailers in a legally binding agreement to pay for improved conditions for workers in the South Asian country.
The announcement by the world's largest retailer comes nearly three weeks after the collapse of the eight-story Rana Plaza garment factory on the outskirts of Dhaka that killed more than 1,100 people.

Road Crew In Belize Destroys Ancient Pyramid

Scott Neuman — Tue, 14 May 2013 22:17:00 +0000
A construction crew in search of gravel to use as road filler used its backhoes to level one of Belize's largest Mayan pyramids.
"It's a feeling of incredible disbelief because of the ignorance and the insensitivity ... they were using this for road fill," Jaime Awe, the head of the Belize Institute of Archaeology, said of the destruction at the 2,300-year-old Nohmul pyramid, located in the Orange Walk/Corozal area.
"It's like being punched in the stomach.

Huge Boost In U.S. Oil Output Set To Transform Global Market

Scott Neuman — Tue, 14 May 2013 20:47:00 +0000
U.S. oil production is rising sharply and increased output from shale will be a "game changer" in global energy markets in the coming years, according to a new report out Tuesday by the International Energy Agency.
"U.S.

Holder Defends Subpoena Of Journalists' Phone Logs

Scott Neuman — Tue, 14 May 2013 19:43:00 +0000
Attorney General Eric Holder has defended the Justice Department's actions in secretly obtaining journalists' phone records as part of a probe into leaks of classified material, but said he himself had nothing to do with the subpoena.
Speaking at a news conference on Tuesday, Holder said he'd recused himself from the investigation at the time the records were sought, and that Deputy Attorney General Jim Cole was in charge of the case in which phone records of Ass

O.J. Simpson Seeks Retrial On Robbery-Kidnapping Conviction

Scott Neuman — Mon, 13 May 2013 23:40:00 +0000
O.J. Simpson, shackled and wearing a blue prison uniform, was back in court on Monday asking for a new trial in the 2008 robbery-kidnapping case that landed him in prison.
The Associated Press described 65-year-old football star and TV pitchman as "Looking grayer and heavier ...

TV Psychologist Dr. Joyce Brothers Dies At 85

Scott Neuman — Mon, 13 May 2013 22:55:00 +0000
Dr. Joyce Brothers, whose long-running television show dispensed advice on life and relationships to her viewers, has died in New York at age 85, according to her publicist.
She died on Monday of natural causes, Sanford Brokaw said.
Brothers, who was a pioneer of the television advice show, first gained fame as a winning contestant on the television game show "The $64,000 Question" in 1955, becoming the only woman ever to win the top prize.

Associated Press: Feds Secretly Obtained Reporter Phone Logs

Scott Neuman — Mon, 13 May 2013 22:35:00 +0000
The Associated Press news agency says that the Department of Justice secretly obtained two months of telephone records on 20 lines used by its reporters and editors.
The records covered April and May 2012, and according to the AP:
" ... listed outgoing calls for the work and personal phone numbers of individual reporters, general AP office numbers in New York, Washington and Hartford, Conn., and the main number for AP reporters in the House of Representatives press gallery, according to attorneys for the AP.

Poll: Americans Split Over Benghazi Issue

Scott Neuman — Mon, 13 May 2013 21:48:00 +0000
Americans appear to be split over the Obama administration's handling of the aftermath from the Sept. 11, 2012, attack on the U.S.

Western Retailers To Fund Upgrades At Bangladesh Factories

Scott Neuman — Mon, 13 May 2013 20:33:00 +0000
Four retailers who represent the largest purchasers of clothes produced in Bangladesh announced Monday that they have will help finance safety upgrades at apparel factories in the South Asia country after the collapse of a garment complex killed more than 1,000 workers.
The news comes as the death toll in the April 24 collapse of the eight-story Rana Plaza near Dhaka rose to at least 1,127, according to officials.
In a statement from Sweden-based H&M and Inditex, the parent company of Zara, the retail giants urged others to join them.

Doctor Found Guilty Of Murder In Late-Term Abortions

Scott Neuman — Mon, 13 May 2013 19:35:00 +0000
A jury in Philadelphia has found Dr. Kermit Gosnell guilty of first-degree murder in three illegally performed late-term abortions.
The jury also found Gosnell, 72, guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the death of a woman who was overdosed on anesthesia while undergoing a second-trimester abortion. He was found not guilty of one other murder charge in the death of an infant.

North Korea Replaces Hard-Line Defense Chief

Scott Neuman — Mon, 13 May 2013 18:45:00 +0000
North Korea's hard-line army general, who is believed to have been responsible for attacks on South Korea in 2010 that killed 50 people, has been replaced by a relative unknown.
The move has analysts reading the tea leaves. The consensus is that the reshuffle at the top of the People's Armed Forces is part of a larger effort by leader Kim Jong Un to consolidate power over the military.
The promotion of Gen. Jang Jong Nam at the expense of now ex-Chief Gen.