Rob Ford Taking Leave Of Absence Amid Reports Of New crack cocaine. Drug Video: Toronto Mayor Rob Ford To Seek Help For Substance Abuse, Lawyer Says...."He acknowledges he has a substance abuse problem and he wants to do something about it,"

AP/ The Huffington Post Posted: 04/30/2014 8:55 pm EDT Updated: 04/30/2014 11:36 pm EDT

TORONTO (AP) — Toronto Mayor Rob Ford will take a leave of absence to seek help for substance abuse, his lawyer said Wednesday, as a report surfaced about a second video of the mayor smoking what appears to be crack cocaine.

The Globe and Mail newspaper reported it has viewed a second video of Ford smoking what appears to be crack cocaine in his sister's basement. The national newspaper reported two Globe reporters viewed the video from a self-professed drug dealer showing Ford taking a drag from a pipe early Saturday morning.

The video is part "of a package of three videos the dealer said was surreptitiously filmed around 1:15 a.m., and which he says he is now selling for 'at least six figures,'" the paper reported.

News reports of the existence of an earlier video of Ford apparently smoking crack first surfaced last May, igniting a media firestorm around Ford.

The latest crack tape report comes as Ford's lawyer, Dennis Morris, said the mayor will take a leave of absence for substance abuse. Ford is seeking re-election in the Oct. 27 vote. Morris said he spoke to Ford earlier Wednesday and said Ford has accepted that he has a problem. "He acknowledges he has a substance abuse problem and he wants to do something about it," Morris told The Associated Press.

Ford, who launched his campaign for re-election earlier this year, acknowledged last year after months of denials that he smoked crack in a "drunken stupor" after police said they obtained a video that appears to show him smoking crack. The video has never been released to the public. more

KINGSTON, Jamaica - Minister of Finance and Planning Dr Peter Phillips a short while ago announced a withdrawal of the bank taxes

Wednesday, April 30, 2014 | 4:08 PM    

KINGSTON, Jamaica - Minister of Finance and Planning Dr Peter Phillips a short while ago announced a withdrawal of the bank taxes earlier put forward as a part of the revenue package for the 2014/2015 Budget.

"We propose to replace the levy on banks and financial institutions with two measures," Dr Phillips told Parliament Wednesday.

The government proposes to introduce a 15 per cent withholding tax on insurance premiums paid to non-residents by Jamaican residents and more GCT on imported services.

Phillips stressed that his administration listened and wishes to maintain the consensus they have built in relation to the national agenda.

More information later.

JAMAICA CRICKET CHAMPION AGAIN: Rookie leg-spinner Damion Jacobs relishes amazing eight-wicket haul.....turned the Headley/Weekes Trophy Final in Jamaica's favour.

Wednesday, April 30, 2014    

GROS ISLET, St Lucia (CMC) — Rookie leg-spinner Damion Jacobs has hailed a "perfect" day in the field, after his astonishing eight-wicket haul turned the Headley/Weekes Trophy Final in Jamaica's favour here on Monday.

Jamaica’s Captain Tamar Lambert (right)
 receives the Headley/Weekes Trophy from
 WICB Vice-President Emmanuel Nanthan
after his team won the Regional Four-Day
 Touurnament in St Lucia in a draw against
 Windward Islands, yesterday.

The 29-year-old, in only his fourth first-class game, finished with eight for 47 as the Windward Islands crashed from 155 without loss, to 217 all out in their first innings on the third day at the Beausejour Cricket Stadium.

It was the fifth-best figures by a Jamaican in the history of the modern West Indies first-class championship.

"Everything came off perfect today. As a leg-spinner, not every ball is going to come out perfectly. Leg-spinners have a lot of bad balls. But today all the variations came out perfectly — the slider, the googly, the leg-spinner came out well," Jacobs said following the day's play.

Jermaine Blackwood on-drives on his
 way to making a century against Windward
 Islands during yesterday’s final day of
 the Regional Four-Day final in Gros Islet,
 St Lucia. (PHOTOS: WICB MEDIA/RANDY BROOKS)

"So I decided if everything was coming out well I should just take it and get a five or sixer and the team was cheering me on."

"It's a dream come true. Back home you normally get those wickets, you don't expect it at the first-class level, but I thank God for it," he said.

Jacobs only made his first-class debut earlier this month against Trinidad and Tobago in Port of Spain, finishing with unflattering match figures of two for 90 from 28 overs. more

Mississippi Daycare Worker, Ruth Bennett Dies In Tornado, Found Clutching Toddler She Saved.... “It makes you just take a breath now,” said next-door neighbor Kenneth Billingsley,. “It makes you pay attention to life.”

Apr 30, 2014 By Associated Press

LOUISVILLE, Mississippi — Ruth Bennett died clutching the last child left at her day care center as a tornado wiped the building off its foundation. A firefighter who came upon the body gently pulled the toddler from her arms.

RELATED:  UPDATED: Tornadoes Kill 9 In South; Warnings Active In Ala

“It makes you just take a breath now,” said next-door neighbor Kenneth Billingsley, who witnessed the scene at what was left of Ruth’s Child Care Center in this logging town of 6,600. “It makes you pay attention to life.”

Bennett, 53, was among more than 33 people killed in a two-day outbreak of twisters and other violent weather that pulverized homes in half a dozen states from Iowa to Tennessee. The child’s fate was not immediately known.

MEMA officials just upgraded the death toll to 12 broken down in the following areas:

• Nine in Winston County

• One in Rankin County

• One in Issaquena County

• One in Lee County

As crews in Mississippi and Alabama turned from search-and-rescue efforts to cleanup, the South braced for a third round of potentially deadly weather Tuesday. Tornadoes usually strike in the late afternoon and evening.

One of the hardest-hit areas in Monday evening’s barrage of twisters was Tupelo, Miss., where a gas station looked as if it had been stepped on by a giant.

more

Children of Jamaica Outreach (COJO) continues to honour outstanding Jamaicans overseas.......the awardees often do some philanthropic work on their own or as part of the professional organisations to which they belong.

Wednesday, April 30, 2014    

THERE is no denying that Jamaica has a generally poor reputation abroad, thanks to the criminal actions of a few. Juxtaposed against that reality, however, are thousands of others, both at home and abroad, who continue to contribute positively to society. But balancing the perception of those looking on is nothing if not an uphill battle.

CHINQUEE… received Community Service
Award (right) LAROCHE… presented with
 Distinguished Service Award

That, perhaps, is part of the rationale behind the effort groups like Children of Jamaica Outreach (COJO) make each year to publicly award Jamaicans in the Diaspora who are contributing to community building.

For more than a decade, COJO has supported a number of institutions in Jamaica and the United States, including Alpha Boys' Home, Glenhope Place of Safety, Marigold Child Care Centre, Musgrave Girls' Home, Summerfield Boys' Home, Muirton Boys' Home and Windsor Girls' Home in Jamaica, and in New York, the Jamaica Queens YMCA and Leaf of Life.

During that time, it has awarded its partners, donors, sponsors, and volunteers who, by virtue of their donations of cash, kind and time, have furthered COJO’s work to assist less fortunate children. But more than their partnership with COJO, the awardees often do some philanthropic work on their own or as part of the professional organisations to which they belong.

That list has included the likes of former director of tourism Carrole Guntley, Eric Miller of the Brooklyn Bottling Group, D&G's brand manager and the Caribbean Market Manager of Iberia Foods Colin Barrett; father-daughter team from Caribbean Food Delights Vincent and Sabrina Hosang; and a string of others including Victoria Mitchell, Rev Canon Calvin McIntyre, Winston Wellington and Basil E Higgins. Companies like Western Union, JetBLUE and Finn Partners, public relations agency of record for the Jamaica Tourist Board, are also counted among those COJO has honoured. more

PRIME Minister Portia Simpson Miller promises over 21,000 jobs in 2014/15...... Simpson Miller explained the job numbers as follows: JEEP to employ 12,000; over 5,000 to be employed on the Agro Parks projects; 2,000 direct and indirect jobs.....

BY BALFORD HENRY Senior staff reporter balfordh@jamaicaobserver.com  Wednesday, April 30, 2014   

PRIME Minister Portia Simpson Miller said yesterday that her Government will create some 21,000 jobs during 2014/15.

Portia Simpson-Miller

The prime minister, who was speaking in the Budget Debate in the House of Representatives, explained that close to 80 per cent of the jobs will be created under the Government's minimum wage emergency works scheme, the Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme (JEEP), and its rural food production-boosting agro parks development programme.

Simpson Miller explained the job numbers as follows: JEEP to employ 12,000; over 5,000 to be employed on the Agro Parks projects; 2,000 direct and indirect jobs generated by the scrap metal trade; and 2,000 more spaces for Jamaicans on the overseas employment programmes in the United States and Canada.

However, the employment figures given by the prime minister are likely to raise some questions, as they did not add up to new jobs.

The Government had originally stated that some US$5 million (J$5 billion) of the US$353 million (J$35.3 billion) which will be spent on the three-year Major Investment Development Programme would be allocated to JEEP this financial year. Minister of transport, works and housing Dr Omar Davies told the contract-signing ceremony at the Jamaica Conference Centre in Kingston on March 18 that the first round of the new phase of JEEP, under a project involving the 63 members of parliament (MPs) each being allocated $10 million, or a total of $630 million, which began in March, would employ a total of 12,000 people. more

IN JAMAICA: Mother, two sons stabbed to death near Porus. Residents gather at the murder scene, yesterday.Police said the three — Nadine Carridice, 42, and her sons Jevaughn Thomas,16, and Roshane Ellis,11, were found killed....The killer, they claimed, may have killed the two children because they witnessed the murder of their mother."It's a sad day. It's a wicked act," said Damion Carridice

Wednesday, April 30, 2014    

MANDEVILLE, Manchester — THE police were up to late last night carrying out investigations into yesterday's brutal murder of a woman and her two sons in Ramble District, near Porus in this parish.

Residents gather at the murder scene, yesterday.
 (PHOTOS: GREGORY BENNETT)

Police said the three — Nadine Carridice, 42, and her sons Jevaughn Thomas,16, and Roshane Ellis,11, — were found about 7:20 am outside of their home with stab wounds all over their bodies. The mother's body was found at the doorway to the house while her children were reportedly found at different places in the open space outside the yard.

"It's a sad day. It's a wicked act," said Damion Carridice, a relative of the deceased.

Several residents from Ramble and adjoining communities who visited the death scene were in shock as they quietly discussed the loss of three community members.

Aboutho Carridice, who said that Nadine was his only child, struggled for words as he questioned the motive for the murder of his daughter and two of his grandchildren.

A man, who was taken in by the police for questioning in connection with the three deaths, was said to be the father of three of the woman's children, including 11-year- old Ellis. However, residents said they did not believe that he was the "real perpetrator of the crime" and wanted the "true criminal" to be found as soon as possible so that justice could be served.

They claimed that the death of the three could be linked to disagreements which the deceased woman had with another man with whom she had a relationship. The killer, they claimed, may have killed the two children because they witnessed the murder of

their mother.

Undertakers remove one of the three
bodies from the crime scene.

"The community well shake up. Whether or not is the man (in custody) justice fi done," said Marie Carridice, another relative of the deceased. She said that

she had a close relationship with Nadine and saw her for the last time Saturday afternoon. "She was very nice. No matter what she always a try fi her kids," said Marie Carridice.

Yesterday, councillor for the Porus Division Muriel Swaby said plans were in place to assist persons having domestic problems. more

BREAKING NEWS: A defiant Donald Sterling....Screw You NBA I'm NOT Selling the Clippers (VIDEO)

Donald Sterling -- Screw You NBA ... I'm NOT Selling the Clippers - Watch More Celebrity Videos or Subscribe

4/29/2014 2:17 PM PDT BY TMZ STAFF
A defiant Donald Sterling just said he would NOT sell the Los Angeles Clippers.

Sterling told Fox News' Jim Gray the team was NOT for sale. Gray said on Fox News he spoke with Sterling just before NBA Commish Adam Silver banned Sterling for life.

Silver said in his news conference ... if 3/4 of the NBA owners get on board they can force Sterling to sell the team.  If that happens it looks like Sterling may well go to legal war.

It sounds like it may come to that. more 

MANCHESTER, JAMAICA: TRIPLE MURDER as Police hold two suspects in murder of mother, two sons, ages 12 and 16,

Tuesday, April 29, 2014 | 8:10 PM  Donna Hussey-Whyte  

MANCHESTER, Jamaica – An angry crowd is now gathered at the Porus Police Station in Manchester after police held two suspects for questioning following a gruesome triple murder in the parish Tuesday morning.

An inspector at the station said that while the two suspects have been held, no further information has been forthcoming regarding the motive for the brutal killing of the mother and her two sons, ages 12 and 16, early Tuesday.

The inspector added that the situation at the police station was under control as the crowd had been addressed and steps are in place should the onlookers get out of control.

The three victims were discovered with multiple stab wounds at their home in the district of Ramble near Porus in Manchester about 7:00 am Tuesday.

BANNED FOR LIFE handed down by NBA Commissioner Adam Silver: NBA Press Conference On Donald Sterling Investigation.....May be asked to sell team (LIVE VIDEO, UPDATES)

BY HASANI GITTENS

Donald Sterling, Banned 4 Life

Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling will be banned for life and fined $2.5 million for racist comments, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver announced Tuesday.

The move comes after days of outrage at ugly words attributed to Sterling from a taped conversation with an ex-girlfriend.

NBC Sports' Donald Sterling Coverage

The comments, where the owner seemed to say he didn't want his much-younger girlfriend hanging out with Black people on Instagram or bringing them to games, were first by TMZ and then in another recording posted on the website Deadspin.

Adam Silver, Commissioner

It is now NBA Commissioner Adam Silver's turn to speak.

After racist remarks attributed to Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling sparked a controversy that spread far beyond the world of sports, the NBA's response is highly anticipated. Silver is set to address the league's investigation into those alleged comments on Tuesday during a press conference at 2 p.m. ET in New York.

“The views expressed by Mr. Sterling are deeply offensive and harmful,” Silver said. “That they came from an NBA owner only heightens the damage and my personal outrage.”

The commissioner said that Sterling had not been fined by the league in the past for other alleged incidents of racism because the investigations that were actually brought to the NBA never bore fruit.

A senior NBA official told NBC News that the league's Board of Governors, the 30 owners of NBA teams, were not consulted on sanctions against Sterling and wasn't even told of the specifics until close to 2 p.m. ET, when the news conference started.

The official said that the commissioner wanted to fine Sterling $5 million, or more, but the league rules allow for only $2.5 million.

"I'm hoping that the actions that we took today will satisfy our players," said Silver.

When asked if the Clippers owner expressed remorse, Silver said, "Mr. Sterling has not expressed those views directly to me."

— with Robert Windrem

First published April 29th 2014, 2:02 pm

WATCH LIVE PRESS CONFERENCE VIDEO ABOVE

Silver initially announced on Saturday that the NBA would be investigating therecording obtained by TMZ of a conversation in which Sterling allegedly told his girlfriend, V. Stiviano, not to bring African-Americans to Clippers games or post photos of herself and African-Americans to her Instagram account. At that time, Silver spoke of "broad powers" for punishment allowed him under NBA bylaws but stressed the need for due process.

SCROLL DOWN FOR LIVE UPDATES

“All members of the NBA family should be afforded due process and a fair opportunity to present their side of any controversy, which is why I’m not yet prepared to discuss any potential sanctions against Donald Sterling,” Silver said in Memphis. “We will, however, move extraordinarily quickly in our investigation.”

After a silent pre-game protest by the Los Angeles Clippers before their game on Sunday, an event Sterling agreed not to attend, the NBA announced on Monday that there would be a press conference on Tuesday to address the findings of that investigation. more 

Ziggy Marley On Pot: 'Let's Talk About The Big Picture Of The Plant'....Society's View Of Pot Is Based On Lies...Talks about Bob Marley's legacy.

66 y-o Illinois State Rep Keith Farnham, a Democrat Who Abruptly Resigned Last Month Charged With Child Porn....Also bragged that he sexually abused a 6-year-old girl in a web chat.... He also allegedly said in a separate web chat that "12 is about as old as i can handle … i love them at 6 7 8," the Chicago Tribune reports.

The Huffington Post  | by  Joseph Erbentraut Email RSS   Posted: 04/29/2014 11:36 am EDT

Former Illinois Rep. Keith Farnham,
D-Elgin, on the House floor during
session at the Illinois State Capitol
in Springfield, Ill., Thursday,
May 6, 2010. (AP Photo/Seth Perlman)

A former Illinois state representative who resigned from office last month is now facing federal child pornography charges.

Keith Farnham, a Democrat who represented suburban Elgin, used a phony email account to send and receive videos and images of children as young as six months old being sexually abused, a criminal complaint filed Monday claims, according to the Chicago Sun-Times.

The 66-year-old also bragged that he sexually abused a 6-year-old girl in a web chat, according to the complaint. He also allegedly said in a separate web chat that "12 is about as old as i can handle … i love them at 6 7 8," the Chicago Tribune reports.

He wanted "all the vids and pics ever made" of kids, he allegedly said in another message.

Farnham resigned on March 19 due to what he claimed to be serious health issues, according to the Daily Herald. He has had His resignation came less than a week after federal agents executed a search warrant of Farnham's office and home, removing several computers and electronic storage devices.

One of the computers was state-owned and contained two pornographic videos linked to an email address he allegedly used. The FBI says other devices contained "hundreds of [pornographic] images" as well. more

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CRICKET LOVELY CRICKET: JAMAICA Take Charge - Jacobs, Blackwood Seize Initiative In Four-Day Final....Jamaica reached 147 for seven in their second innings at the close on the third day of the finale to the Regional Four-Day Championship for an overall lead of 322. #WestIndiesCricket #RBN

Published: Tuesday | April 29, 2014 Gleaner

A slew of brilliant indivi-dual performances shook the Headley/Weekes Trophy final to life yesterday, but a career-best spell from leg-spinner Damion Jacobs and Jermaine Blackwood's second half-century of the match put Jamaica firmly in charge against the Windward Islands.

Blackwood followed up his 94 in the first innings with an unbeaten 88 and defied a hat-trick from Kenroy Peters, as Jamaica reached 147 for seven in their second innings at the close on the third day of the finale to the Regional Four-Day Championship for an overall lead of 322.

Peters spiced up the contest when he removed John Campbell (14), Andre McCarthy and Dave Bernard Jr with the third, fourth and fifth balls of his first over to etch his name in tournament history.

He became the 16th bowler and the second from the Windwards, following compatriot and current coach Ian Allen, to take a hat-trick. He ended the day with four for 44 from 10 overs, adding the scalp of Jamaica captain Tamar Lambert for 20 in a second spell later in the day.

COMPELLING MATCH

Jacobs had held centre stage in the first half of another compelling day at the Beausejour Cricket Ground, when he triggered a dramatic Windwards batting collapse and upstaged Devon Smith's 23rd first-class hundred, as the home team crumbled for 217 to concede a first-innings lead of 175. more

IN JAMAICA: TeenAGE Observer Expressions tour: Took us to the Dinthill Technical High School where school support and team spirit was high , alongside a vibrant display of talent .

Tuesday, April 29, 2014 Jamaiaca Observer   

THE second to last leg of the TeenAGE Observer Expressions tour took us to the Dinthill Technical High School where school support and team spirit was high , alongside a vibrant display of talent .

Swinging Easy

The concert was off to a smooth start with Zavier Cheverrin's beautiful and calming original composition on the keyboard. A folk song written by Gleneice Smith who was also the lead singer, was performed by the Dinthill Technical High School Choir, backed by the school band and was well received. Vanessa Williams’ dramatic Good Over Evil was a thorough and entertaining piece.

Vanessa’s performnace was followed by Shawna-Lee Shedden, who had schoolmates cheering wildly before she launched into her comical dub Nah Bathe Tonight. Extremely engaging and well-executed, she gained full support from everyone present. Trivia question #1 earned Vanessa Williams a gift courtesy of Seprod. Asheka Muschett also won a gift for the second trivia question.

Jahmaine Jackson and company

Next to appear on stage was Jahmaine Jackson — with his bevy of female backup singers — ably delivering his original reggae song, evoking a 'feel good' vibe from the listening audience. Resounding cheers reverberated throughout the auditorium when Military Warfare followed with their well co-ordinated dance piece to a slew of local hits. Raymond McPherson, a teacher at Dinthill, correctly answered the next trivia question. Can't Speak was the title of Javonie Samuels’ dance, as he gracefully commanded the stage with a smooth exhibition of his evidently well-rehearsed piece. more

Man Shot 3 Times Up-Close in Manhattan, Then Walks Away to Hail For Taxi (Video)

DEATH TOLL stands at 26 and counting as Tornadoes In Mississippi, Alabama Flatten Homes As Massive Storm Sweeps South.....Tornado carved an 80-mile path of destruction through the suburbs

AP  | by  ADRIAN SAINZ and JEFF AMY Posted: 04/28/2014 9:05 pm EDT Updated: 04/29/2014 4:59 am EDT

TUPELO, Miss. (AP) — Tornadoes flattened homes and businesses, flipped trucks over on highways and bent telephone poles into 45-degree angles as they barreled through Alabama and Mississippi on Monday, part of a storm system that killed at least nine people in the South and brought the overall death toll from two days of severe weather in the country to at least 26.

VILONIA, ARKANSAS - APRIL 28: Victor Umbright of Vilonia Direct TV,
 sits in what is left of his office after a tornado yesterday tore through
 the area for the second time in three years, on April 28, 2014 in
Vilonia, Arkansas. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images) |
 Wesley Hitt via Getty Images

Tens of thousands of customers were without power in Alabama, Mississippi, and in the state of Kentucky, which did not report tornadoes but was slammed with severe storms.

Thousands more hunkered down in basements and shelters as The National Weather Service issued watches and warnings for more tornadoes throughout the night in Alabama.

Weather satellites from space showed tumultuous clouds arcing across much of the South over the course of the day Monday.

The system is the latest onslaught of severe weather a day after a half-mile-wide tornado carved an 80-mile path of destruction through the suburbs of Little Rock, Ark., killing at least 15. Tornadoes or severe storms also killed one person each in Oklahoma and Iowa on Sunday.

Six people died in Winston County, Miss., on Monday, including a woman who perished in the day care center she owned in Louisville, county Coroner Scott Gregory told The Associated Press late Monday. Louisville is the county seat and home to about 6,600 people.

It was unclear if any children were in the day care center at the time, said William McCully, acting spokesman for the Winston County Emergency Management Agency. more

STUDY: 1 IN 25 DEATH ROW INMATES LIKELY INNOCENT, Shocking Number Of Innocent People Sentenced To Death, Study Finds....The authors reviewed the outcomes of the 7,482 death sentences handed down from 1973 to 2004.“This impressive study points to a serious flaw in our use of the death penalty,” said Richard Dieter.

More than 4 percent of inmates sentenced to death in the United States are probably innocent, according to a study published Monday that sent shock waves across the anti-death penalty community.

What the researchers call a "conservative estimate" about the number of wrongfully convicted death row inmates is more than double the percentage of capital defendants who were exonerated during more than three decades that were studied. That means innocent people are languishing behind bars, according to the study.

“The great majority of innocent people who are sentenced to death are never identified and freed," said Samuel Gross, lead author of the study and a University of Michigan Law School professor, in a statement. "The purpose of our study is to account for the innocent defendants who are not exonerated."

The four authors reviewed the outcomes of the 7,482 death sentences handed down from 1973 to 2004. Of that group, 117, or 1.6 percent, were exonerated.

But with enough time and resources, the authors concluded that at least 4.1 percent of death row inmates would have been exonerated. In other words, more than 200 other prisoners would have been cleared during those three decades.

They arrived at that number using survival analysis, a statistics tool commonly used in medicine to evaluate the effectiveness of new treatments.

“This impressive study points to a serious flaw in our use of the death penalty,” said Richard Dieter, Death Penalty Information Center executive director, after seeing the report. “The ‘problem of innocence’ is much worse than was thought." more

31 y-o Christopher Kaelin Luckiest Man On The Planet Wins Lottery 3 Times In 3 Weeks

Some people really do have all the luck. One such Chicago man beat the odds at winning the lottery not once or even twice, but three times -- and all in less than a month.

Christopher Kaelin, a 31-year-old "occasional lottery player," won a total of $276,000 from the same lotto game over a three-week span, according to the Illinois Lottery.

Christopher Kaelin holds his
$250,000 winning Crossword
 instant ticket. (Illinois Lottery)

"At first we were just 'oh my God.' It was a feel-good moment, we just couldn't believe it," Kaelin told HuffPost describing the reaction to his lotto score earlier in April when he instantly won $25,000 on a scratch-off ticket.

"My fiancé and I were so thrilled that I won $25,000, we went out for dinner to celebrate. When we stopped at a gas station afterward, I decided to buy another crossword instant ticket and won $1,000," Kaelin previously told the Illinois Lottery.

Kaelin returned a week later to the same newsstand in downtown Chicago where he had purchased the first winning ticket, bought another, and went back to his office. That ticket revealed another $25,000 win. On his way to claim his prize, however, Kaelin realized he read his latest winning ticket incorrectly.

“I was in the elevator looking at my ticket and noticed I had missed the tenth word," Kaelin said. As it turns out, Kaelin's price wasn't worth $25,000 -- it was worth $250,000. more

Chicago community leader, 32 y-o Leonore Draper, killed by gunfire after leaving an anti-violence fundraiser......She was a senior grants analyst for the Chicago Public Schools, a Girl Scout leader, and a volunteer for Multiple Sclerosis Walk Chicago

by Michele Richinick, MSNBC | April 28, 2014 at 5:19 PM

A Chicago woman who was shot to death on Friday night after returning home from an anti-violence fundraiser had dedicated her life to the local community, her family said in a statement.

Leonore Draper. (Photo courtesy of Facebook)

Leonore Draper, 32, had attended A Charitable Confection prior to her violent death from an apparent drive-by shooting while exiting her car outside her home. Chicago teenagers organized the anti-violence group Project Orange Tree to initiate efforts and to combat all forms of violence in their communities.

“We believe it quite ironic that Leonore’s life ended violently when she was so committed to the betterment of our community,” her family said in a statement on Sunday.

Draper, originally from Houston, Texas, lived in Chicago with her husband, Jason. She was a senior grants analyst for the Chicago Public Schools, a Girl Scout leader, and a volunteer for Multiple Sclerosis Walk Chicago, her family said.

She was active in her church and honed her skills as a make-up artist and she recently earned her master’s degree from nearby DePaul University.

Draper’s family encouraged local leaders to create and support new programs aimed at curbing gun violence. more

IN JAMAICA: 77-y-o Lloyd Noicley's worries about survival now that welfare benefit ceased by the Government... the $2,800 he receives as pension from the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) each fortnight and the $3,000 from PATH every two months. He is now at a loss as to how he will manage without the latter.

BY INGRID BROWN Associate editor - special assignment browni@jamaicaobserver.com  Monday, April 28, 2014 

THE loss of both his legs close to 20 years ago did not kill Lloyd Noicley's spirit.

But the 77-year-old, who was recently struck from the list of beneficiaries under Government's social welfare system, the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education (PATH), now fears that the quality of life he has enjoyed and the independence he has cultivated over the years will soon be eroded.

Lloyd Noicley demonstrates how he
weeds his yard despite being confined
 to a wheelchair.
(PHOTO: KARL MCLARTY)

Noicley, who has done everything for himself since his legs were amputated said he has been making ends meet with the $2,800 he receives as pension from the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) each fortnight and the $3,000 from PATH every two months. He is now at a loss as to how he will manage without the latter.

"Is the first from mi foot cut off that mi fret so from me hear 'bout the PATH money because mi nuh know how mi going to manage," Noicley said as his eyes welled up with tears.

"Mi still weed mi yaad and all the roadside, wash mi clothes and throw them over the line and pin them and mi clean up mi banana walk miself, fork mi place, burn it, and plant mi banana," said the St Thomas resident, as he demonstrated his ability to undertake the chores.

"Ah just mek up me mind and ask God to help me because mi nuh have nutten more to live off," he said.

According to Noicley, he was looking forward to collecting the PATH benefit to purchase groceries this month and was devastated when the postmistress in his Rowlandsfield community informed him that no cheque had arrived for him.

"Right now if ah want ah drink mi haffi trust it from the shop because mi caan buy it," said the former cane cutter.

The senior citizen said he sometimes receives food from a neighbour, Canaan Jones, and from his church, but Noicley said he does not like to beg and had relished the independence which his own money gave him. To make matters worse, Noicley said he recently had to give up his plot of small cultivation as a relative needed the space to build a chicken coop.

And if that were not worrying enough, the senior said his wheelchair is falling apart.

"A lady mother died and she give me this chair and it is me who buy the paint and spray it miself, but mi need one with a soft seat because this one burn me bottom and it is hard to manoeuvre on the road when me going to church and so on," he said. more

REAL TALK FROM DI MAN PON DI STREET IN JAMAICA. WHAT YU THINK? These men explain what poor llife is like in Jamaica.

Post by Crazy Jamaican Videos.

Driver Sues Teen She Killed In Accident : Sharlene Simon, Driver Who Struck And Killed Teen Cyclist Brandon Majewski, Sues Him For More Than $1 Million

Who's the real victim: the teen cyclist who was struck and killed in a crash or the motorist who accidentally took his life? That's a question the courts will now have to answer.

Driver who killed Brandon Majewski now suing dead boy's parents.

In the early hours of Oct. 28, 2012, Brandon Majewski, 17, and his 16-year-old friends Richard McLean and Jake Roberts were riding their bikes home after grabbing a bite to eat. Riding abreast on a two-lane rural road in Innisfil, Ontario, the trio werestruck from behind by a black Kia Sorrento driven by Sharlene Simon, News.com.aureported.

Majewski was pronounced dead two hours later at a local hospital. McLean spent weeks in the hospital recovering from broken bones, including a broken pelvis. Roberts was not seriously hurt.

Simon, 42, who was driving about 55 mph in a 50 mph zone, was not charged with fault in the accident. Police said intoxication was not suspected as a contributing factor either.

According to the National Post, investigators concluded that the “lack of visibility” of the cyclists “was the largest contributing factor,” and that on a dark overcast night, Simon "did not see the cyclists on the roadway and was unable to make an evasive reaction."

A terrible event for all involved, no doubt.Then last December, Simon filed a $1.35-million lawsuit against Majewski's estate, and against the other two bicyclists, for "great pain and suffering." Simon claims she has suffered from depression, anxiety, irritability and post-traumatic stress, and that the "enjoyment of life has been irretrievably lessened" since the accident. more