Schools close, flights canceled as storm nears NW

Randy Earheart shovels snow at the Rimrock Lake Resort near White Pass, Wash. Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012. It took him all day to clear the parking lot and adjacent areas. (AP Photo/Yakima Herald-Republic, Gordon King)

Randy Earheart shovels snow at the Rimrock Lake Resort near White Pass, Wash. Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012. It took him all day to clear the parking lot and adjacent areas. (AP Photo/Yakima Herald-Republic, Gordon King)

Greg Lane a senior at South Kitsap High School pushes a giant snowball at Mullinex Ridge Elementary School in Port Orchard, Wash., on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012. (AP Photo/Kitsap Sun, Larry Steagall)

Kalyana Neville, 9, back and her best friend Alannah McGinnis, 7, front, enjoy a sled ride down the hill at Vanzee Park in Port Orchard, Wash., on Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012. (AP Photo/Kitsap Sun, Larry Steagall)

Clerk Joel Bartlett stacks bags of a deicing product onto the loading dock of a hardware store Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, in Seattle, after making a quick run to the warehouse when supplies ran out. Seattle, a city more accustomed to rain than snow, prepared for a potentially major snow storm to hit Wednesday as the city's mayor urged residents to stay off roads and school officials prepared for the worst. Snow has been falling steadily in various parts of western Washington and Oregon since the weekend, but meteorologists with the National Weather Service in Seattle said the biggest amounts could come on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Washington State Patrol cars block further passage on Interstate 90 where the pass ahead was closed Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, near North Bend, Wash. Snow has been falling steadily in various parts of western Washington since the weekend, but meteorologists with the National Weather Service in Seattle said that the biggest snowfall could come on Wednesday.?Forecasts issued Tuesday morning called for about 5 to 10 inches of snow for the Seattle metropolitan area with communities along the Interstate corridor south of Seattle expected to get heavier amounts. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

SEATTLE (AP) ? Schools preemptively closed, crews salted down streets and more than two dozen flights into two Pacific Northwest cities were canceled as the region prepared for a potentially major snowstorm on Wednesday.

Forecasts called for about 3 to 5 inches of snow in the Seattle metropolitan area, with heavier amounts expected in communities along the Interstate 5 corridor south of the city. The city's schools canceled classes, as did their counterparts in other western Washington cities such as Tacoma, Olympia and Bellingham.

Alaska Airlines announced late Tuesday that it canceled 38 flights into and out of Seattle and Portland, Ore. The airline was waiving rebooking fees for passengers traveling Tuesday through Thursday in those cities.

Conditions on the roads were expected to be dangerous as the storm was forecast to begin dumping snow on the area just before the morning rush hour.

"Wednesday is going to be a good day to stay at home," said Brad Colman, a National Weather Service meteorologist in Seattle. "The road is going to be treacherous."

Several inches of snow have the potential to paralyze the city of Seattle, which owns relatively few snowplows. Its drivers are mostly inexperienced with driving in snow or ice.

Several downtown hotels reported all their rooms were booked. Elsewhere, shoppers stocked up on groceries.

In Everett, north of Seattle, police reported a thief broke into an Everett School District parking lot early Tuesday and drove off in an old pickup equipped with a snow plow. The faded yellow truck had the snow plow in front and a full hopper of sand in the back, Sgt. Robert Goetz said.

Snow has been falling steadily in parts of western Washington and Oregon since the weekend, but Weather Service meteorologists said the biggest amounts could be on the way.

Bec Thomas, who lives on Camano Island north of Seattle, stocked up on bottled water and food. As her children built snowmen, made snow angels and sledded in nearly a foot of fresh snow on Tuesday, she made food that could be reheated on her wood stove.

The last snowstorm knocked out her power for a week.

"We take it very seriously," said Thomas, a fine arts photographer. "We'll probably be snowed in until Thursday."

Forecasters said 3 to 6 inches of new snow could fall in the Olympia area and 1 to 2 inches north of Seattle. The Cascade Mountains could see 1 to 3 feet of new snow through late Wednesday, and officials warned of high avalanche danger there.

In eastern Washington, forecasters predicted that about 6 inches of snow could fall on Spokane by late Wednesday with several more inches falling Thursday. The Pullman area could see as much as 12 inches of new snow by Wednesday night.

State troopers advised motorists to be prepared.

"The No. 1 thing is to drive for the road conditions," Trooper Keith Leary said. "People need to slow down, take their time. If they're not prepared, don't get out on the roadways."

John Lee, a Mill Creek graphic designer decided to work from home Tuesday rather than face a snowy commute into Seattle, said it was "a bit exciting" because it was the first snow of the season.

But he added: "I hope it doesn't escalate to something bigger."

___

AP Writer Rachel La Corte in Olympia and Donna Blankinship in Seattle contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-18-Washington%20Snow/id-030abdfa88e64fe48ff8487ff9d328d2

auburn football auburn football costumes seth macfarlane bobby flay clemson football the new girl

Bangkok Is on Edge After U.S. Terrorism Alert and Arrests (Time.com)

Last Friday, just hours after the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok warned on its website of a "possible terrorist threat" in tourist areas of the Thai capital, Thai security officials arrested a Lebanese man suspected of being a member of Hizballah, the Iranian-backed militant group. After three days of interrogations, police seized more than 4,000 kg of bombmaking materials from the townhouse he rented in a Bangkok suburb. But instead of receiving praise their police work, Thailand's government and security officials are being roundly criticized.

The scorn-filled and suspicious responses are the result of mistrust of the U.S., concern over lost tourism earnings, and the conflicting statements and shifting narrative of events by various government officials, all of whom are insisting tourists and locals have nothing to fear because they have the situation "under control." As an editorial in the English-language Nation newspaper opined, "In Thailand we have a long history of politicians telling us half-truths and lies, especially when it comes to security matters. And so when they tell us to be calm because everything is under control, we have good reason not to trust them." Ten nations aside from the U.S. have now issued terrorism alerts about Thailand to their citizens. (See photos of the Lebanese group's flourishing youth movement.)

Thailand is no stranger to bombings and other forms of violence, but it has rarely been a target of international terrorism. Palestinian gunmen seized the Israeli embassy in 1972, and in 1992 an Iranian national and reputed member of Hizballah attempted to drive a truck bomb into the Israeli embassy only to be foiled when he got into a minor traffic accident. Thailand is, however, notorious as a smugglers' paradise -- a transshipment point for guns, people, drugs and other contraband. It has also served as a haven for criminals, con men and occasionally terrorists: Hambali, the leader of Jemaah Islamiah, the Southeast Asia group allied with al-Qaeda, was apprehended in Thailand in 2003.

What is known for certain about the current episode is that Israeli intelligence notified Thai security officials about the presence of suspected Hizballah members in Thailand in late 2011. The government alerted the public to possible bomb threats in Bangkok on New Year's Eve, without naming who was behind them. Most people assumed the threat came from domestic political extremists or militant Muslims from Thailand's violence-plagued deep south. (Read about the secrets of a Hizballah arms smuggler.")

On Jan.13, the same day the U.S. embassy issued its warning, Thai police arrested Atris Hussein, a Lebanese citizen who also holds a Swedish passport, as he tried to depart Thailand at Bangkok's international airport. Police said another suspect remained at large, but it was not clear if that person was still in Thailand, and some unconfirmed local newspaper reports said he had been detained along with Hussein but had escaped. Thailand's national police chief, General Priewpan Damapong, told reporters that Hussein confessed that he and his alleged accomplices had intended to bomb locations in Bangkok popular with Israeli tourists, but that the attack had been "canceled" when they realized police were watching them. A few days later that story changed: Hussein only confessing that he bought massive amounts of urea fertilizer and ammonia nitrate, common bomb materials, to ship overseas, the police chief said.

Panitan Wattanayagorn, an expert in security affairs at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University, said police may have a difficult time making any terrorism charge against Hussein, whom he described as a low-level operative at best, hold up in court as he may change his confession again. And simply purchasing large amounts of fertilizer and chemicals is not illegal -- or unusual -- in an agricultural country such as Thailand. Security officials may have hurt their ability to build the case by releasing so many details, he added. But he said it was unwise to assume that Thailand was not a target. "Traditionally, we are not a first-tier target of terrorists. But we are a soft target, and we may have weak defenses against those who intend to do harm. Furthermore, we've had a sharp increase in Israeli tourists during the past few years,'' he said. (Read ''The Trouble with Thailand.'')

Concern over lost tourism earnings -- about 14 million foreigners visit Thailand each year, and tourism accounts for somewhere between 6% and 7% of gross domestic product -- has prompted frustrated and angry outbursts, chiefly at the U.S. Foreign Minister Surapong Tovichakchaikul complained bitterly that foreign countries did not consult with him before issuing alerts. Suchart Bamrungsuk, a political scientist at Chulalongkorn University, warned Thailand could be drawn into conflict with Hizballah. The U.S. Embassy's Facebook page was also peppered with criticism: "Thank you. You made the stock exchange go down now!" wrote Dusit Ratchawong. "I wonder who are the foreign terrorists. The CIA?" posted Veerasak Boriboonsook.

The English-language Bangkok Post, however, defended embassies issuing warnings in its editorial Tuesday, saying each had a right and responsibility to warn their citizens. "A successful terrorism attack harms tourism, as it did in Bali after the 2002 blasts. But travel alerts and warnings have had no discernible effect on the Thai tourist trade.'' But as government officials and others fret over the incident's impact on tourism, the question as to whether Thailand is now a target remains open.

Watch "Thai Election Primer: Red Shirts vs. Yellow Shirts."

Read "Is Thailand Losing the Battle Against Human Traffickers?"

View this article on Time.com

Most Popular on Time.com:

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/time/20120118/wl_time/08599210462000

new ipad 3 baylor jodie fisher zooey deschanel michael jordan ryan braun yvette prieto

Police: Nigeria bomb suspect arrested, escapes (AP)

ABUJA, Nigeria ? The suspected mastermind of the Christmas Day bombing of a Catholic church in Nigeria escaped custody after being arrested in the country's capital, police acknowledged Tuesday ? an embarrassment for a nation struggling to contain increasingly bloody sectarian attacks by a radical Islamist sect.

Authorities said Kabiru Sokoto planned the bombing that killed 38 people at St. Theresa Catholic Church in Madalla, just outside Nigeria's capital Abuja. But his arrest at the mansion of a state governor in Abuja, and subsequent escape, raised more questions about the government's ability to stop the radical sect, known as Boko Haram, which claimed responsibility for the church attack.

Federal police spokesman Olusola Amore said in statement that a local commissioner ordered Sokoto transferred to another police station in Abaji, just outside of Abuja and that the policemen escorting him were attacked by suspected sect gang members who freed him.

Commanders have suspended the local police commissioner and are investigating his actions, as well as those of the officers guarding Sokoto, Amore said.

Amore did not say whether there were injuries suffered in the attack. He could not be immediately reached for comment.

The statement did not address Sokoto's arrest occurring at the official compound of the Borno state governor in Abuja as widely reported in the media. Borno state, in Nigeria's arid and dusty northeast, is Boko Haram's spiritual home.

The Christmas Day bombing targeted target worshippers at a Catholic church as they were leaving Mass, witnesses said. It was one of several attacks that day that killed at least 42 people, drawing worldwide criticism and new attention to Boko Haram.

The sect has carried out increasingly sophisticated and bloody attacks in its campaign to implement strict Shariah law across Nigeria, a multiethnic nation of more than 160 million people. Boko Haram, whose name means "Western education is sacrilege" in the local Hausa language, is responsible for at least 510 killings last year alone, according to an Associated Press count.

So far this year, the group, that has warned it will kill Christians living in Nigeria's predominantly Muslim north, has been blamed for at least 74 killings. That has further inflamed religious and ethnic tensions in Nigeria, which has seen ethnic violence kill thousands in recent years.

Boko Haram also claimed responsibility an August suicide car bombing that targeted the U.N. headquarters in the capital, killing 25 people and wounding more than 100.

In a video released last week, Imam Abubakar Shekau a Boko Haram leader, said the government could not handle attacks by the group.

Though President Goodluck Jonathan, a Christian from southern Nigeria, has declared emergency rule in some regions, the sect is blamed for almost daily attacks.

Jonathan has said he believes the sect has infiltrated security agencies and government offices in the country, though he has offered no evidence to back up the claim.

On Tuesday, authorities blamed Boko Haram gunmen for killing seven people in three separate attacks. Gunmen shot dead two soldiers distributing food to other service members, Borno state police commissioner Simeone Midenda said.

Two others were killed Monday when gunmen invaded their homes, military field operation officer Col. Victor Ebhaleme said. In Damaturu in nearby Yobe state, gunmen from the sect shot and killed three more people from Chad on Monday, Yobe state police chief Tanko Lawan said.

___

Associated Press writer Njadvara Musa in Maiduguri, Nigeria contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120118/ap_on_re_af/af_nigeria_violence

natalie wood van halen annalynne mccord billy the kid neville neville george lucas

Video: Disaster Du Jour & Sunshine Stock

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

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/45755412/

election results gop debate live gop debate live nome alaska nome alaska alaska map bil keane

States unlikely to heed NTSB call for cell ban (AP)

ST. LOUIS ? Lawmakers in Missouri had the chance, after two buses packed with high school band members slammed into a freeway wreck caused by a teenager who was sending a flurry of text messages, to impose tougher limits on driver cellphone use. It got filibustered.

Federal transportation officials are citing that accident in pushing for states to enact an all-out ban on cellphone use by drivers, restricting the use even of hands-free devices. But spurring lawmakers to take up the cause may be difficult. Skeptical lawmakers give the proposal little chance at succeeding in state capitols around the country, and many aren't planning on introducing ban bills.

The reason? While acknowledging growing safety concerns, lawmakers are wary of inconveniencing commuters and say a complete ban would be one of the deepest government intrusions yet into the daily lives of motorists who have woven their phones tightly into their daily routines. Others are worried a ban would be unenforceable. And the cellphone legislation in most states already took years to get approved.

"It's a popular thing to pass another law," said Bill Stouffer, a Missouri Republican and chairman of the state's Senate Transportation Committee. "But anything that takes your eyes off the road is just as deadly as texting or talking on the cellphone. Where does it end? Why not ban map reading or eating while driving?"

The centerpiece of the NTSB's proposal was an August 2010 wreck southwest of St. Louis in which a pickup truck slammed into the back of a semi cab that had slowed for road construction, and the buses then crashed into the wreckage. The pickup driver, Daniel Schatz, 19, and a bus passenger, Jessica Brinker, 15, died. Thirty-eight people, mostly students, were hurt.

Investigators said Schatz had sent and received 11 texts in 11 minutes just before the accident.

The NTSB's recommendation far exceeds the patchwork, and largely unenforced, prohibitions many states now have. Thirty-five states and the District of Columbia ban texting while driving, while nine states and Washington, D.C., bar handheld cellphone use. Thirty states ban all cellphone use for beginning drivers. No state bans the use of hands-free devices for all drivers.

In Idaho ? which has historically resisted federal mandates and is one of seven states without any sort of regulation on the use of cellphones by drivers ? proposed bans have been rejected the last two legislative sessions after lawmakers questioned their enforceability and the need for new government dictates. South Dakota has a broader law discouraging "distracted driving" but lawmakers have steadily opposed specific bans on electronic devices.

"I was listening to all this heart-wrenching testimony against texting behind the wheel, and I got to thinking about all the calls I'd gone off to where someone was hurt in a car accident," said South Dakota Republican Rep. Betty Olson, an emergency medical technician from Prairie City. "In just about all of them, they were distracted, so what they were doing was already against the law," Olson said. "They wouldn't be paying any more attention to a law banning texting."

Driver inconvenience is also among the factors state lawmakers cite in their opposition. Others note that cellphones have benefits. In some parts of rural South Dakota, Olson said, a driver's cellphone can be "a life saver."

With enforcement of cellphone and texting laws already difficult, Stouffer said police will have an even harder time if hands-free devices are banned.

"How's an officer going to know if I'm singing my favorite song with the radio or talking on the phone?" he asked.

Even in Missouri, where the bus crash occurred, the lawmaker who tried to broaden the texting ban afterward believes a full-blown cellphone prohibition goes too far.

The state has barred drivers 21 and younger from texting while driving since 2009. Several lawmakers proposed legislation the next year to extend that to all drivers but failed, partly because of concerns over whether it could be enforced. After the bus accident, a similar attempt to broaden the ban was defeated by a filibuster. Democratic Sen. Ryan McKenna said he'll likely try again for the texting ban, but not for the overall ban.

In California, which bars drivers from talking on handheld phones but permits hands-free devices, state Sen. Joe Simitian doubts states would oblige the NTSB with an absolute ban.

"I think the NTSB recommendations are dramatic and I think they are helpful in highlighting the risks associated with distracted driving," Simitian said. "As a practical matter, an outright ban is a nonstarter" he said, noting it took five years to pass the state's existing law, and citing expected opposition to an all-out prohibition.

In recent years, phone features have multiplied and so have the distractions. For commuters, texts, pop-song ringtones, emails and even video calls are but a few of the potential distractions competing for their attention behind the wheel.

As phone features multiply, so have accidents blamed on texting and wireless calling. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said there were 3,092 fatalities blamed on distracted driving last year, 408 of which involved cellphone use. It was the first year the administration broke out cellphones as a separate cause of distraction.

The wireless industry initially fought state legislation against cellphone use while driving, but has in recent years mainly emphasized personal responsibility and driver education over legislation. After the NTSB's recommendation Tuesday, industry trade group CITA-The Wireless Association repeated its support for bans on texting while driving but added that larger prohibitions should be left to the states.

Even lawmakers who are willing to push for a complete ban concede that passage won't come easy.

Alaska is considering such a move, said Anne Teigen, senior policy specialist for the National Conference of State Legislatures. That ban has supporters among some police agencies. In Minnesota, which passed a texting ban three years ago, Democratic state Rep. Frank Hornstein said that based on the NTSB recommendation, he will introduce legislation aimed at banning cellphone use by drivers.

Hornstein and Alaska state Rep. Max Gruenberg, a Democrat from Anchorage, noted that battles over road safety laws ? such as tougher seat belt requirements or lower blood-alcohol content limits in drunk driving cases ? often take years to pass. Hornstein also acknowledged that some residents would oppose a cellphone ban, believing they can police themselves.

"A lot of people will say, `I can do this fine, I'm a good driver. It's other people,'" Hornstein said.

___

Associated Press writers Chris Blank in Jefferson City, Mo.; Bill Draper in Kansas City, Mo.; Peter Svensson in New York; Becky Bohrer in Juneau, Alaska; Doug Glass in Minneapolis; Judy Lin in Sacramento, Calif.; Todd Dvorak in Boise, Idaho; and Amber Hunt in Sioux Falls, S.D., contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_on_re_us/us_cell_phone_drivers_states

iowa state faroe islands faroe islands corso james arthur ray james arthur ray elisabeth shue

Judge orders trial for 2 Penn St. officials

Penn State assistant football coach Mike McQueary, right, arrives at Dauphin County Court surrounded by heavy security Friday, Dec 16, 2011, in Harrisburg, Pa. McQueary declined to speak to reporters Friday as he entered the courthouse in Harrisburg for the hearing for Gary Schultz and Tim Curley, who are set to appear for a preliminary hearing related to the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse case. (AP Photo/Bradley C Bower)

Penn State assistant football coach Mike McQueary, right, arrives at Dauphin County Court surrounded by heavy security Friday, Dec 16, 2011, in Harrisburg, Pa. McQueary declined to speak to reporters Friday as he entered the courthouse in Harrisburg for the hearing for Gary Schultz and Tim Curley, who are set to appear for a preliminary hearing related to the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse case. (AP Photo/Bradley C Bower)

Former Penn State Vice President Gary Schultz, right, arrives for a preliminary hearing at Dauphin County Court, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011, in Harrisburg, Pa. A judge is to determine after the hearing if there's enough evidence to send Schultz and former Penn State athletic director Tim Curley to trial on charges of failure to report abuse to authorities and lying to a grand jury related to the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse case. (AP Photo/Bradley C Bower)

Former Penn State athletic director Tim Curley, right, arrives for a hearing at Dauphin County Court, Friday, Dec. 16, 2011, in Harrisburg, Pa. A judge is to determine after the hearing if there's enough evidence to send Curley and former university Vice President Gary Schultz to trial on charges of failure to report abuse to authorities and lying to a grand jury related to the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse case. (AP Photo/Bradley C Bower)

FILE -- In a Nov. 7, 2011 file photo former Penn State athletic director Tim Curley, left, and former Penn State Vice President Gary Schultz, right, enter a district judge's office for an arraignment in Harrisburg, Pa. Curley and Schultz have been charged with perjury and failure to report under Pennsylvania?s child protective services law in connection with the investigation into allegations involving former football defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky, the state attorney general?s office. (AP Photo/Bradley C. Bower/file)

Penn State Assistant Football Coach Mike McQueary, left, departs the Dauphin County Court Friday, Dec 16, 2011 in Harrisburg, PA. McQueary, speaking for the first time in public about the 2002 encounter in a Penn State locker room, said he believes that Jerry Sandusky was attacking a child with his hands around the boy's waist but said he wasn't 100 percent sure it was intercourse. (AP Photo/Bradley C Bower)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) ? A Penn State assistant football coach testified Friday that he believes he saw former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky molesting a boy on campus and that he fully conveyed what he had seen to two Penn State administrators.

Mike McQueary, speaking for the first time in public about the 2002 encounter in a Penn State locker room, said he believes that Sandusky was attacking the child with his hands around the boy's waist but said he wasn't 100 percent sure it was intercourse.

McQueary took the stand Friday morning in a Pennsylvania courtroom during a preliminary hearing for university officials Tim Curley and Gary Schultz, who are accused of lying to a grand jury about what McQueary told them.

At the conclusion of the hearing, District Judge William C. Wenner ruled that prosecutors have enough evidence to send their cases to trial.

McQueary's story is central to the case against Curley and Schultz. They testified to the grand jury that McQueary never relayed the seriousness of what he saw. The officials, and Penn State coach Joe Paterno, have been criticized for never telling police about the 2002 allegation. Prosecutors say Sandusky continued to abuse boys for six more years.

The lawyers for Curley and Schultz say the men are innocent and that uncorroborated testimony from McQueary is not enough on which to hang the case. Curley and Schultz told the grand jury that they remembered McQueary reporting only something inappropriate, like wrestling, but nothing as serious as rape.

McQueary, who was on the stand for about two hours Friday, said he had stopped by a campus football locker room to drop off a pair of sneakers in the spring of 2002 when he heard slapping sounds in a shower and happened upon Sandusky and the boy.

He said Sandusky was behind the boy he estimated to be 10 or 12 years old, with his hands wrapped around the boy's waist. He said the boy was facing a wall, with his hands on it.

McQueary, 37, said he has never described what he saw as anal rape or anal intercourse and couldn't see Sandusky's genitals, but that "it was very clear that it looked like there was intercourse going on."

In its report last month, the grand jury summarized McQueary's testimony as saying he "saw a naked boy ... with his hands up against the wall, being subjected to anal intercourse by a naked Sandusky."

Under cross examination by an attorney for Curley, McQueary reiterated that he had not seen Sandusky penetrating or fondling the boy but was nearly certain they were having intercourse because the two were standing so close and Sandusky's arms were wrapped around the youth.

He said he peeked into the shower three times ? the first via a mirror, the other two times directly. The last time he looked in, Sandusky and the boy had separated, he said. He said he didn't say anything, but "I know they saw me. They looked directly in my eye, both of them."

McQueary said the entire encounter ? from when he first entered the locker room to when he retreated to his office ? lasted about 45 seconds.

McQueary said he reported what he saw to Paterno but never went to police.

He said he did not give Paterno explicit details of what he believed he'd seen, saying he wouldn't have used terms like sodomy or anal intercourse out of respect for the longtime coach.

Paterno told the grand jury that McQueary reported seeing Sandusky doing something of a "sexual nature" with the youngster but that he didn't press for details.

"I didn't push Mike ... because he was very upset," Paterno said. "I knew Mike was upset, and I knew some kind of inappropriate action was being taken by Jerry Sandusky with a youngster."

McQueary said Paterno told him he'd "done the right thing" by reporting the encounter. The head coach appeared shocked and saddened and slumped back in his chair, McQueary said.

Paterno told McQueary he would talk to others about what he'd reported.

Nine or 10 days later, McQueary said he met with Curley and Schultz and told them he'd seen Sandusky and a boy, both naked, in the shower after hearing skin-on-skin slapping sounds.

"I told them that I saw Jerry in the showers with a young boy and that what I had seen was extremely sexual and over the lines and it was wrong," McQueary said. "I would have described that it was extremely sexual and I thought that some kind of intercourse was going on."

McQueary said he was left with the impression both men took his report seriously. When asked why he didn't go to police, he referenced Schultz's position as a vice president at the university who had overseen the campus police

"I thought I was talking to the head of the police, to be frank with you," he said. "In my mind it was like speaking to a (district attorney). It was someone who police reported to and would know what to do with it."

Curley told the grand jury that he couldn't recall his specific conversation with McQueary, but that McQueary never reported seeing anal intercourse or other sexual conduct. He said he recalled McQueary reporting wrestling or "horsing around."

Schultz said he remembered McQueary and Paterno describing what the younger coach saw only in a very general way.

"I had the impression it was inappropriate," Schultz told the grand jury. "I had the feeling it was some king of wrestling activity and maybe Jerry might have grabbed a young boys genitals."

Under cross-examination, McQueary said he considered what he saw a crime but didn't call police because "it was delicate in nature."

"I tried to use my best judgment," he said. "I was sure the act was over." He said he never tried to find the boy.

Paterno, Schultz and Curley didn't testify, but Judge Wenner read their grand jury testimony from January in weighing the case.

Sandusky says he is innocent of more than 50 charges stemming from what authorities say were sexual assaults over 12 years on 10 boys in his home, on Penn State property and elsewhere. The scandal has provoked strong criticism that Penn State officials didn't do enough to stop Sandusky, and prompted the departures of Paterno and the school's longtime president, Graham Spanier.

Curley, 57, Penn State's athletic director, was placed on leave by the university after his arrest. Schultz, 62, returned to retirement after spending about four decades at the school, most recently as senior vice president for business and finance, and treasurer.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-12-16-Penn%20State-Abuse/id-0e1d993ab11749828645b376b12bf58f

dwight howard louis ck michelle duggar heisman cp3 jeff probst jeff probst

A little Strikeforce video to get you excited for Saturday?s fights

It's been months since Strikeforce's last main card event, but they are coming back with a doozy. Take a minute to watch this video and be reminded of how fun their cards can be.

Gilbert Melendez is on a five-fight win streak, and Cristiane "Cyborg" Santos is returning to the cage for the first time since June of 2010. Will they retain their belts, or lose them to Jorge Masvidal and Hiroko Yamanaka? Give us your predictions in the comments or on Facebook.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/mma/blog/cagewriter/post/A-little-Strikeforce-video-to-get-you-excited-fo?urn=mma-wp10806

game 7 anya ayoung chee peru earthquake peru earthquake big 12 last minute halloween costumes rum diary