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U.S. house majority leader DeLay indicted, steps down temporarily U.S House of Representatives majority leader Tom DeLay was indicted today by a Travis County Texas grand jury on conspiracy charges. He annouced that he will step down temporarily. French ferry raided by military forces Marine Nationale intercepts and boards ferry ship captured by strikers.

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Einstein's equation turns 100 Albert Einstein's best known equation, and probably the best known aspect of all physics, E=mc2, turned one hundred on Tuesday.

Wikipedia Current Events
Ian Huntley, convicted of murdering two young girls, the Soham Murders, is sentenced to a minimum forty years in prison by a British court. The UK Prime Minister Tony Blair has apologised to Walter Wolfgang, an 82-year old Labour Party activist thrown out of the party's annual conference by stewards for heckling Jack Straw.

Wikipedia Current Events
Algerians vote in a referendum to grant partial amnesty to militants to end the Algerian Civil War. The family of Jean Charles de Menezes arrive in London looking for justice. The innocent Brazilian was shot six times by police exercising a shoot-to-kill policy. Metropolitan Police Commissioner Ian Blair has offered his personal apology for the killing, but this has been rejected by the family. By a vote of 78-22, the United States Senate confirms John G. Roberts, Jr. as Chief Justice, presiding over the Supreme Court. Roberts is sworn in later that afternoon, and will begin presiding when the Court's term begins October 3. The High Court of Australia has found that it is inappropriate for the court to judge whether the Howard Government's unapproved spending on an advertising blitz promoting the controversial industrial relations reform is unlawful. The case was brought by the Australian Labor Party and trade unions. The government of Macau takes over the management of Banco Delta Asia bank, after a US report on its North Korea ties caused a panic run on deposits. California Fire Burns 17,000 Acres, Spurs Evacuations near fwy 118 and 101.

Nashville Police accused in Taser death of Patrick Aaron Lee

Shortly before midnight on the evening of Thursday, September 22, Metro Nashville police officers beat and tased Patrick Aaron Lee, age 21. Lee had been attending a concert at the Mercy Lounge. According to Mercy Lounge employees, Lee was acting strangely inside the club and kept trying to get onto the stage before he was kicked out. After Lee tried to get back into the club, employees called Metro police. Officer Christopher Brooks said when he arrived, Lee approached him and acted aggressively. Lee was then beaten and pepper sprayed by the police in the parking lot outside of Mercy Lounge. Lee then took his clothes off and ran naked through the parking lot. Police then tased Lee in order to subdue him. According to police, he was tased a total of eight times. Witnesses, however, contend that he was tased between twelve and nineteen times. Lee died the next day at Vanderbilt University medical center in front of his family and friends. Nashville police have launched two investigations into the circumstances surrounding Lee's death.

Lee was described by his family and friends as a gentle person who had been planning to go to sound engineering school and who never raised his voice against anyone and was willing to drop whatever he was doing to help his friends. His family was devastated by the news of his tragic and untimely death.

Felicia Zhuang, Patrick's girlfriend

Felicia Zhuang, Patrick's girlfriend, said he and Patrick were planning to be married, "We were going to get married and we were going to travel to Florida and San Francisco. He was going to go to China with me for the Olympics. The police robbed his family, me, his friends—our hurt can never be described in words. I think there is a lawsuit in the process."

Zhuang said she was in Philadelphia when she received the news, "I was at school in Philadelphia. Patrick hadn't called me in a while and his phone was off. I knew something was up. So I called his dad and he told me immediately. His dad had only found out just before I called him. When he told me what happened I passed out on the street. I had to go to the Philadelphia hospital myself. I had a panic attack and wasn't breathing according to what I heard from my friends who were there and the medics. I had to go to the emergency psychiatric ward. So it was unbelievable. It was the worst news of my life.."

She said Patrick was a gentle soul who loved music and was loved by his friends, "Patrick was funny and he loved life. He was in love with everything. He was the greatest boyfriend I have ever had and I would gladly trade places with him if I could. We are still soulmates and we will see each other in another life. He was on his way to Sound Audio Engineering. He was planning on going to school. He was very talented. He passed the GED with flying colors and he was one of the most intelligent people I have known. This is just a horrible waste. He was in love with music and he wanted to go to shows. He died for music. He was going to be a DJ and he was going to be a producer. He inspired a lot of people and he definitely broadened my world in terms of music, melody, love, everything. I grew tremendously because of Patrick. I met Patrick at a mutual friends house. He never raised his voice to me. He never hit me. He never showed any kind of violence toward anyone. Everyone loved him. He always hugged people when he saw them. He was a perfect human being."

Friends and relatives of Patrick protesting in front of the State Capitol

On Monday, September 26, about thirty of Patrick's friends and family demonstrated on the steps of the State Capitol regarding Lee's death. Zhoung said she wanted to make sure this never happens again, "We are here to demonstrate and to prevent this from ever happening again. Pat was a brother, he was a son, a friend, a lover, an angel. This didn't have to happen to him. We are here to show that he was a kind person and that everbody loved him. I saw the body. He was still alive, just barely, when I saw him at the hospital. There were multiple bruises on his body and taser wounds. He was obviously beaten with unnecessary force. I was barely able to recognize him. Everything on his body was covered with bruises and dried blood. It was really hard to see. Patrick was unarmed. The reason he took off his clothes is because he was maced and mace burns. He took off his clothes because he was trying to get away from the burning and he was trying to show that he was unarmed. They didn't have to use that kind of force on him. He is a gentle soul and he was unarmed. He never raised a hand and he was the best thing to ever happen to me. This is going to be a long fight. We are all going to be strong for Pat because that is what he would have wanted."

Earl Lee, Patrick's father, was also present at the press conference and demonstration. He said he wasn't contacted until thirteen hours after the incident, "They didn't contact me until about thirteen hours after he had been attacked and I got the report then that he was brain dead. So the actual time of death when his heart stopped was around 2:30pm the next day. Patrick was my baby. My family is devastated but they are strong. They are very caring people. They are very upset about the way it happened and they are very concerned for me. I was Patrick's father. It would take years to tell you all about Patrick. He was a kind-hearted gentle person with no history of violence. He was a very loving and caring person with animals and children. He had a big heart... He would basically drop everything he was doing to help someone else. Now it is ending. He was only twenty-one. He was still a kid... Right now we are just trying to figure out what happened."

L.A. hospital ignores liver transplant waiting list; falsifies records

St. Vincent Medical Center, a large organ transplantation center in California, says that a Saudi patient, who was 52nd on the state liver transplant list, got priority improperly and the action was covered up.

Hospital President Gus Valdespino confirmed that hospital staff members then falsified documents several times to cover up the maneuver, pretending that the transplant was for a patient who was near the top of the regional waiting list.

MPAA Tries "stealth" legislation with Broadcast Flag

The Motion Picture Association of America has renewed its efforts to get the controversial broadcast flag implemented in future technology. After an earlier attempt to have the FCC create regulations without the benefit of law to impose the flag on manufacturers, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled that the FCC has no such authority.

The MPAA is now attempting to insert an amendment to a budget reconciliation bill. These are special bills in Congress that are subject to no discussion or debate, meant only for budgetary housekeeping. Opponents believe this may represent the last chance for citizens to appeal to their representatives to stop the controversial broadcast flag proposal.

The MPAA, and the media companies it represents, believe that modern digital technology represents a profound threat to their business model. The MPAA is opposed by a varied coalition of consumer rights advocates, who believe that the broadcast flag will be abused to stifle fair use and competition; libertarians, who believe that business models should not be protected by the government; technology advocates, who believe it will stifle technological innovation in hardware; and the open source community, who believe it will aid Microsoft while harming Linux's ability to take advantage of new hardware. Many oppose the MPAA because of the "sneaky tactics" its lobbyists have repeatedly employed.

Arctic ice cap shrank sharply this summer

The Arctic Ice Cap, which floats on the Arctic Ocean, shrank this summer to what experts believe to be its smallest size in a century. Experts in climate modeling feel this is most likely a consequence of greenhouse gas emissions and will profoundly transform the Arctic later this century.

Dr. Ted Scambos and Dr. Mark Serreze, of the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado said the change is becoming self-sustaining due to positive feedback effects. Dr. Serreze, said "With all that dark open water, you start to see an increase in Arctic Ocean heat storage. Come autumn and winter that makes it a lot harder to grow ice, and the next spring you're left with less and thinner ice. And it's easier to lose even more the next year."

Dr. Scambos said "The consecutive record-low extents make it pretty certain a long-term decline is underway."

HD-DVD still far off

The long awaited next generation of DVD formats has been delayed.

Toshiba has just delayed the US release of the HD-DVD-format until February or March. They had originally planned to release the DVD player in both Japan and US, during the foruth quarter. They still however plan to release it in Japan the same time.

John Roberts sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States

John G. Roberts was sworn in as the 17th Chief Justice of the United States on Thursday, September 29, 2005, hours after being confirmed by the United States Senate by a 78-22 vote. The oath of office was administered by Justice John Paul Stevens, who has served as acting chief justice since the death of William Rehnquist.

President George Bush commented "The Senate has confirmed a man with an astute mind and kind heart. All Americans can be confident that the 17th chief justice of the United States will be prudent in exercising judicial power, firm in defending judicial independence and above all a faithful guardian of the Constitution."

New ten dollar bill for the US

A new redesigned $10 bill was introduced at a ceremony yesterday on Ellis Island. The new bill adds three new background colours; red, yellow and orange. It continues to feature Alexander Hamilton, the first Treasury Secretary. The $10 bill is the third US bill to switch from the traditional green. The $20 and $50 bills were redesigned to feature colour within the past two years.

The improvements in digital technology have made it much easier for counterfeiters. "Ten years ago, 1 percent of (counterfeit) bills were produced on digital equipment. These days, 56 percent are produced on digital equipment, and the technology is more accessible to the general population." said Eric Zahren, spokesman for the Secret Service.

According to The Treasury Department, to be able to keep ahead of counterfeiters currency will need to continue to be updated every seven to 10 years. The $10 bill was last redesigned in 2000. "The intention was not to create a counterfeit-proof note -- which is basically impossible -- but one that's harder to duplicate and easier to authenticate," said Zahren. This new bill includes many new and enhanced security features such as color-Shifting ink, a watermark , microprinting and a security thread

Dawn Haley of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing said in a statement "The new $10 note design continues the U.S. Government's efforts to make our currency safer, smarter, and more secure." The new $10 bill is expected to go into circulation in early 2006.

Soham murderer Huntley to serve 40 years

A judge in the High Court in England has ruled that Ian Huntley should serve at least 40 years in prison.

Huntley was convicted in 2003 of the murders of Holly Wells and Jessica Chapman, both 10, and was given a life sentence. However, the decision on the minimum length of his prison term — the life tarriff — was delayed until new sentencing laws came into effect this year. Previously, the Home Secretary reserved the right to set life tarriffs, but this can now only be done by the courts.

Although the sentence means that Huntley could be up for parole before he is 70, the severity of the crimes makes it likely that he will never be released.

Colorado parents burn books

Norwood, Colorado parents recently burned copies of Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima after having them pulled from the area high school's curriculum. Millie Davis, of the National Council of Teachers of English, said "I'm flabbergasted that something like this would be happening in this day and age". The Hispanic coming-of-age story is commonly included as part of high school curriculums, and won the Premio Quinto Sol national Chicano literary award. The novel explores some minority religious views such as paganism.

The Colorado parents who burned the copies claim they "mainly" object to some profanity in the novel. Rudolfo Anaya, a professor emeritus of English at the University of New Mexico, said "The book should be judged in its entirety. There is some strong language in strong situations, but there is no flippant use of profanity."

"Bless Me, Ultima" has survived a challenge in New York without being banned or, indeed, burned. It came in 75th on the American Library Associations's list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990–2000. By comparison, the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh positions are occupied by Robert Cormier's The Chocolate War, Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, and J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, respectively.

MTV, Warner Music agree on licensing deal

Warner Music agreed on Tuesday to license its music videos to MTV for use on devices such as cell phones and other devices. This deal is said to help the recording industry to gain more revenue, despite declining CD sales. The cost of the deal was not disclosed.

MTV plans to distribute these music videos as short segments and, in the future, offer full-length videos as part of a subscription. In addition, MTV wishes to use these videos in programs similar to VH1's Driven. Pricing is not available yet.

Warner Music is the first label to license music to MTV for the purpose of offering them on wireless devices. MTV plans to get licenses from other music labels.

Today in History
1399: The Duke of Lancaster deposed Richard II to become Henry IV of England, merging the Duchy of Lancaster with the crown.

1966: Seretse Khama became the first President of Botswana when the Bechuanaland Protectorate gained independence from the United Kingdom.

1980: Ethernet specifications were first published by Xerox, Intel and Digital Equipment Corporation.

1982: The sitcom Cheers was first broadcast on U.S. television.

1991: Haitian President Jean-Bertrand Aristide was overthrown in a coup d'état and replaced by General Raoul Cédras. A large-scale exodus of boat people ensued.

September 30 is Independence Day in Botswana (1966)

Quote of the Day

"Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it." ~ Jalal al-Din Muhammad Rumi

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