"Monsignor Meth" admits to drug possession charge

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) ? A suspended Roman Catholic priest accused of making more than $300,000 in methamphetamine sales out of his Connecticut apartment while running an adult video and sex toy shop pleaded guilty Tuesday to a federal drug charge.

Kevin Wallin, 61, of Waterbury, admitted to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute methamphetamine and was scheduled to be sentenced June 25. The prosecution and defense agreed on a sentence of 11 to 14 years in prison.

Prosecutors said the 61-year-old Wallin had meth mailed to him from co-conspirators in California and sold the drugs out of his Waterbury apartment last year. He also bought an adult video and sex toy shop in North Haven named Land of Oz & Dorothy's Place, apparently to launder the drug money, authorities said.

Wearing a beige prison jumpsuit and sporting a goatee and close-cropped hair, Wallin acknowledged in court that the drug operation involved nearly four pounds of methamphetamine. He said "yes" several times as the judge asked whether he understood the consequences of his plea.

Wallin, former pastor at St. Augustine Parish in Bridgeport, appeared to have no supporters in the courtroom. He was led out of the room in handcuffs and remains detained.

Charges against four other people arrested in the case are pending.

"We're glad to have resolved this part of the case," Connecticut U.S. Attorney David B. Fein said outside the courtroom. "It's a serious conspiracy charge involving a very dangerous drug."

Wallin's public defender, Kelly Barrett, declined to comment.

Dubbed in some media as "Monsignor Meth," Wallin was pastor of St. Augustine Parish for nine years until he resigned in June 2011, citing health and personal reasons. He previously served six years as pastor of St. Peter's Church in Danbury until 2002.

"Msgr. Wallin's guilty plea represents an important step in his coming to terms with his own actions and their impact on others," the Diocese of Bridgeport said in a statement. "It is a difficult moment for all of us but we hope it is also the first step in rebuilding his life. We pray that he moves toward healing and wholeness."

The diocese had suspended him from public ministry last May amid concerns by church officials about a number of problems with Wallin, including sexually inappropriate behavior with other men in the church rectory, Wallace said. Church leaders weren't aware of Wallin's involvement with drugs at the time of the suspension, diocese spokesman Brian D. Wallace said.

Wallace said Wallin now faces the prospect of removal from the priesthood by the Vatican, a process called laicization.

Wallin was arrested in January, and a grand jury indicted him and four other people on drug charges.

An undercover officer bought meth from Wallin six times from Sept. 20 to Jan. 2, paying more than $3,400 in total for 23 grams of the drug, authorities said.

Federal agents said they learned through wiretaps and informants about other sales Wallin was making.

On social media, people couldn't help but compare Wallin with Walter White, the main character on the TV show "Breaking Bad," who was making so much cash that he and his wife bought a car wash to launder their profits.

Also charged in the case were Kenneth Devries of Waterbury; Michael Nelson of Manchester; Chad McCluskey of San Clemente, Calif.; and Kristen Laschober of Laguna Niguel, Calif. Authorities say McCluskey and Laschober were involved in the shipping of methamphetamine to Wallin.

All four of those defendants have pleaded not guilty.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/suspended-conn-priest-admits-meth-charge-151427977.html

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Board: Risk of tank explosion at Hanford

Underground tanks that hold a stew of toxic, radioactive waste at the nation's most contaminated nuclear site pose a possible risk of explosion, a nuclear safety board said in advance of confirmation hearings for the next leader of the Energy Department.

State and federal officials have long known that hydrogen gas could build up inside the tanks at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation, leading to an explosion that would release radioactive material. The Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board recommended additional monitoring and ventilation of the tanks last fall, and federal officials were working to develop a plan to implement the recommendation.

The board expressed those concerns again Monday to U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., who is chairman of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and had sought the board's perspective about cleanup at Hanford.

The federal government created Hanford in the 1940s as part of the secret Manhattan Project to build the atomic bomb. It spends billions of dollars to clean up the 586-square-mile site neighboring the Columbia River, the southern border between Washington and Oregon and the Pacific Northwest's largest waterway.

Federal officials have said six underground tanks at the site are leaking into the soil, threatening the groundwater, and technical problems have delayed construction of a plant to treat the waste for long-term safe disposal.

Those issues are likely to come up during confirmation hearings next week for Energy Secretary-nominee Ernest J. Moniz. The fears of explosion and contamination could give Washington and Oregon officials more clout as they push for cleanup of the World War II-era site.

Central to the cleanup is the removal of 56 million gallons of highly radioactive, toxic waste left from plutonium production from underground tanks. Many of the site's single-shell tanks, which have just one wall, have leaked in the past, and state and federal officials announced in February that six such tanks are leaking anew.

"The next Secretary of Energy - Dr. Moniz - needs to understand that a major part of his job is going to be to get the Hanford cleanup back on track, and I plan to stress that at his confirmation hearing next week," Wyden said in a statement Tuesday.

The nuclear safety board warned about the risk of explosion to Wyden, who wanted comment on the safety and operation of Hanford's tanks, technical issues that have been raised about the design of a plant to treat the waste in those tanks, and Hanford's overall safety culture.

In addition to the leaks, the board noted concerns about the potential for hydrogen gas buildup within a tank, in particular those with a double wall, which contain deadly waste that was previously pumped out of the leaking single-shell tanks.

"All the double-shell tanks contain waste that continuously generates some flammable gas," the board said. "This gas will eventually reach flammable conditions if adequate ventilation is not provided."

All of the tanks are actively ventilated, which means they have blowers and fans to prevent a buildup of hydrogen gas, and those systems are monitored to ensure they are operating as intended, Energy Department spokeswoman Carrie Meyer said.

For even greater safety, she said, the agency implemented an improved monitoring system in February.

"DOE is absolutely committed to ensuring the safety of Hanford's underground tanks," Meyer said.

The board also noted technical challenges with the waste treatment plant, which is being built to encase the waste in glasslike logs for long-term disposal. Those challenges must be resolved before parts of the plant can be completed, the board said.

The federal government spends about $2 billion annually on Hanford cleanup ? roughly one-third of its entire budget for nuclear cleanup nationally. About $690 million of that goes toward design and construction of the plant. Design of the plant, last estimated at more than $12.3 billion, is 85 percent complete, while construction is more than 50 percent complete.

The problems identified by the board show that the plant schedule will be delayed further and the cost will keep rising, Wyden said, adding: "There is a real question as to whether the plant, as currently designed, will work at all."

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nuclear-board-warns-hanford-tank-003212420.html

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'Percy Jackson' Will Go 'Bigger' Than Ever, Logan Lerman Says

The 'Sea of Monsters' star teases what's new for the Olympians.
By Kevin P. Sullivan, with reporting by Josh Horowitz

Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1704757/logan-lerman-percy-jackson-sea-of-monsters-bigger.jhtml

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Evolutionary consequences of infidelity: Can extra-pair relationships give rise to sexual dimorphism?

Apr. 2, 2013 ? Male and female blue tits are hard to distinguish for the human observer. However, in the UV-range, visible to birds, the male is much more colourful. A closer look at the monogamous mating system of these birds again reveals that all is not what it seems: in every second nest there are chicks that are not related to the care-giving father. An already mated male can increase the number of his offspring by siring extra-pair offspring in other nests than the one he cares for with his mate. Emmi Schlicht and Bart Kempenaers of the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen investigated whether this could be the driving force behind the evolution of sexual dimorphism. However, effects of extra-pair paternity are limited, cuckoldry can even reduce the intensity of sexual selection.

In many species males and females look very different. Male deer wear impressive antlers and the magnificent plumage of a male peacock is impressive not only to the hen. In our backyard we can identify the male in chaffinches or house sparrows easily from the distinctive colouration of breast and crown. Why do these differences exist? For deer and peacock the answer is straightforward, at least in principle: a well-endowed male can better defend the females on his territory, or attract more females in the first place. For these animals sexual dimorphism has evolved, because such traits help males to obtain additional offspring. For females sexual selection is weaker as they cannot increase their number of offspring by outcompeting other females.

However, many bird species pose a challenge for this explanation by evolutionary biologists. Most bird species are socially monogamous, in permanent relationships with a partner of the other sex. Both parents have to work hard to raise their offspring. So why do males in monogamous species have more colourful plumage than females, if the number of offspring for both parents is decided by the clutch size of the female?

Paternity analyses have long revealed that not all offspring are related to the male that feeds them. Therefore, a monogamous male can have additional offspring if he succeeds in siring additional eggs in the nest of other females. Is extra-pair mating the key to sexual dimorphism?

A study on blue tits has tackled this question at its basis. Emmi Schlicht and Bart Kempenaers of the Max Planck Institute for Ornithology in Seewiesen have used data from six years of field research to examine the mating system of blue tits. The result: social relationships are the ones that count, whereas extra-pair liaisons are of advantage but do not strongly enhance sexual selection.

?Male blue tits have most of their descendants with their social partner, some of them can even form pair bonds with two females? says Bart Kempenaers, the senior author. ?A few additional eggs due to an extra-pair mating cannot compete with that?. Selection will thus optimize the traits of these males to secure social success and only to a lesser extent to win additional offspring with extra-pair matings.

Interestingly, the scientists found an unexpected effect of extra-pair activity. In a sibship- analysis they estimated that there are up to 24 additional males per year that sire offspring, but do not breed in the nestboxes on the study site. If these unknown males really did not have an own nest, the offspring in other broods were their only descendants. That means that for these unpaired males, the offspring produced by extra-pair matings are essential. ?In this case extra-pair matings actually reduce the differences between males in their reproductive success?, says Emmi Schlicht, first author of the study. ?That makes a selection of ?the best? less effective and hinders a fast evolution of traits in males that increase their mating success?. Infidelity can even slow evolution of sexual dimorphism. (ES/ SSP)

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, via AlphaGalileo.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Emmi Schlicht, Bart Kempenaers. Effects of social and extra-pair mating on sexual selection in blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus). Evolution, 2013; DOI: 10.1111/evo.12073

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/gKuQZ5vCT_o/130402091300.htm

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Affiliate Marketers, here's 25 Popular Tools to build your traffic and ...

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://blog.worldprofit.com/silver-package/affiliate-marketers-heres-25-popular-tools-to-build-your-traffic-and-your-sales/

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12 Pre-Publish Tips to Help E-Book Authoring ... - Internet Billboards

I love quick and easy tips to helps out with a project. One of the reasons I love 12most.com for their 12 tips for almost everything you can think of!

Today I found a great article on there from Jamie Soulati, where she discusses 12 Tips to think about to help your E-Book Authoring Run Smoother. I have thought about writing an E-Book for this year, but never quite know where to start. Here are 12 great places to start, or to think about when debating if you want to write an E-Book or not.

I love these three topics:

• Know basic rules of punctuation and grammar
• Hire a good proofreader
• Plan a budget

I believe we all have the best of intentions when thinking about writing an ebook because everyone makes it look so simple! Take your time and research how to write a good ebook, and make it worth your time and energy so you see some return on investment!

via?12 Most Pre-Publish Tips to Make E-Book Authoring Smoother.

Content Curator Laurie Thompson

Laurie Thompson is the ship?s captain at SiteMast, where WordPress and Social Media meet. She obtained SiteMast over a year ago, and is thrilled to keep SiteMast?s legacy going for the coming years. Originally, SiteMast dealt with WordPress only, but slowly and surely the boat is sailing into the busy waters of Social Media. Laurie?s goal is to help smaller companies dive into the WordPress and Social Media waters, and have a smooth sailing experience.

Source: http://www.internetbillboards.net/2013/04/12-pre-publish-tips-to-help-e-book-authoring-run-smoother/

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Prosecutor asks for death in Colo. theater shooting

James Holmes sits with defense attorney Tamara Brady during his arraignment on March 12. (AP)

[Updated at 1:55 p.m. MT]

CENTENNIAL, Colo.?Arapahoe County District Attorney George Brauchler wasted little time Monday morning in announcing he will seek the death penalty against the man accused of shooting 70 people, killing 12, during a midnight attack at an Aurora, Colo., movie theater last summer.

"For James Eagan Holmes, justice is death," Brauchler told the court, minutes after the hearing started.

Brauchler said his office surveyed victims and hundreds of people connected to the massacre to help make the decision.

"I hope I can be in the room when he dies," Bryan Beard, whose friend Alex Sullivan was killed in the theater, told Yahoo News. "If you cause death upon somebody, I believe the only justice is death."

Reporters in the courtroom said Holmes appeared to have no reaction to Brauchler's announcement. His parents, Robert and Arlene Holmes, reportedly clasped hands and then embraced when the DA disclosed his plan. A few people on the victims' side of the courtroom cried.

Holmes, who sat about 15 feet from his parents, made strong eye contact with them when he entered the courtroom.

Marcus Weaver, who was shot in the arm during the July 2012 attack, said he wished Holmes would admit to the killings: "Holmes has an exceptional opportunity to [tell] the world, 'Hey, I made a mistake, and I'm owning up to it.' Man up. Save us all the difficulty. Accept what you did. Accept your fate."

Weaver said he would rather see Holmes admit guilt than watch him die.

"You have an obligation ... if you're guilty to plead guilty," Weaver said.

In another development, 18th Judicial District Chief Judge William Sylvester told the court he has reassigned the Holmes case to Judge Carlos A. Samour.

Sylvester, the administrative judge for four counties, wrote that "logistical demands" and the "enormous consumption of resources" of a death penalty case necessitated the switch.

Samour took the bench after a short recess Monday morning. His first decision was to delay the start of the trial from Aug. 5, 2013, to Feb. 3, 2014. He projected the trial to last four months, despite Holmes' defense team arguing that they'll need longer.

"We will do what we need to do to defend his life," defense attorney Tamara Brady said in court. "This is not an ordinary case."

The decision to seek the death penalty follows last week?s legal theatrics in which Holmes? defense team said it would enter a guilty plea if the district attorney settled on a life-in-prison sentence.

?It is Mr. Holmes? position that this case could be resolved on April 1,? his public defenders announced last Wednesday in court filings posted online by the Denver Post. ?Mr. Holmes made an offer to the prosecution to resolve this case by pleading guilty and spending the rest of his life in prison, without any opportunity for parole.?

Not only did prosecutors decline the guilty offer?first made prior to Holmes? March 12 arraignment?but they also lambasted the defense for making it public.

In a 13-page rebuttal to the defense, the prosecution dubbed the public announcement ?grossly improper? and ?a calculated attempt to improperly inject? the plea in front of the Aurora community and the world. The prosecution also accused the Colorado public defenders office of violating the court?s order on pretrial publicity.

Because of the defense?s public plea, the "only conclusion that [people] would reach ... is that the defendant knows that he is guilty, the defense attorneys know that he is guilty, and that both of them know that he was not criminally insane,? the prosecution?s filing said.

A mental health defense would be central to Holmes? case, his attorneys have implied repeatedly. Nearly all courtroom argument so far has revolved around his mental state, with the prosecution alleging that Holmes carefully crafted a ?detailed and complex? scheme to commit mass murder?with his sanity fully intact.

At the arraignment, King told Sylvester that Holmes wasn?t ready to enter a plea because the defense didn?t know whether the prosecution wanted to pursue the death penalty. The judge then entered a not-guilty plea on Holmes? behalf, as allowed by law.

Also at Monday?s hearing, the defense and attorneys for Jana Winter, a FoxNews.com reporter, argued whether Winter must divulge the names of two law enforcement sources who gave her information for a July 25 story about an unopened package that Holmes mailed to the University of Colorado at Denver. Winter, quoting the unnamed officials, reported that Holmes sent his former school psychiatrist a notebook containing drawings that foreshadowed the attack. Because of a court gag order, those law enforcement sources were prevented from talking to the media.

Holmes? attorneys have argued that by talking with Winter, the two anonymous sources damaged the defendant?s right to a fair trial. Winter was in court Monday morning, but Samour hasn't ruled whether she should testify.

Holmes, 25, was a former neuroscience student at CU-Denver before the massacre at the premiere of ?The Dark Knight Rises,? the latest Batman movie. Police arrested Holmes, who was wearing body armor and had weapons close by, behind the theater shortly after the shootings. Police say he also booby-trapped his nearby Aurora apartment with explosives to injure or kill anyone who entered. He faces multiple counts of murder and attempted murder.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/lookout/death-penalty-decision-expected-james-holmes-case-113742034.html

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