effect

.The US ambassador in Baghdad said on Saturday that the State Department has asked for a $6.2 billion budget for Iraq in 2012, underscoring that its oil and gas reserves were critical for the world's future energy needs.monster beats kobe "This country is on a glide path to increase its oil exports," James Jeffrey told reporters at the sprawling US embassy in Baghdad, the world's largest. The embassy plans to double in size next year to 16,000 personnel, when it takes over many military tasks after US troops pull out of Iraq at the end of this year, including military sales and training of Iraqi security forces. Nearly 50,000 American troops still remain, down from a high of 170,000 after the 2003 US-led invasion. "Right now they are at about 2.2 million barrels (of oil) per day. They could go as high as four to six million within four or five years," he said, noting that energy-related facilities remained vulnerable to insurgent attacks. "There's no other source of millions of new barrels in the pipeline anywhere in the world," Jeffrey said. "The implications on the price per barrel are dramatic." Saudi Arabia, the only producer inside the Organisation of Petroleum Exporting Countries with an extra production capacity of about 1 million barrels per day (bpd), is able to control global prices, Jeffrey noted. He said that Iraq was also critical to Europe's future gas needs. "The only source of enough gas for Europe to become somewhat more diversified in energy sources -- or gas sources -- is Ibeats dre special headphonesraq," he said. "Azeri gas is not sufficient, Turkmen gas is many years off." Iraq sits on one of the world's largest oil reserves -- 143 billion barrels by Baghdad's own estimates. It also has the world's 11th largest gas reserves, but decades of sanctions and wars have prevented effective production. Current gas production -- all of it associated gas from oil wells -- is 42.5 million cubic metres per day, but half is burned off in flares from oil wells, according to Baghdad-based analyst Ruba Husari. "Given the criticality of Iraq, given the investment we've made in it... the effort that we need to make and the amount of money required to make it is absolutely -- absolutely -- justified," Jeffrey said. He added that his top concern for Iraq's future stability was insurgent Shiite groups that were beholden to neighbouring Iran. "Not getting some of these militias under control can undercut rule of law and governance in those areas where they are allowed to roll around free," Jeffrey said. He said two of the groups, Ketaeb Hezbollah and Asaib Ahel al-Haq, "are nothing more than thuggish clones" of Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Last week Major General Jeffrey Buchanan, the US military spokesman in Iraq, told AFP that the two groups, plus the Promised Day Brigade, were responsible for attacks against US forces, which last month suffered their worst casualties in three years with 14 soldiers killed, most in rocket attacks. Buchanan accused Iran of supplying more lethal weapons to those groups. Iranian Defence Minister beats lady gagaAhmad Vahidi dismissed as "ridiculous lies" US claims that Tehran smuggled weapons to Iraq and Afghanistan, the semi-official Fars news agency reported on Saturday. .Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Saturday called on European leaders to make a powerful response to economic crises rippling across Europe. During a visit to Madrid she also praised reforms by Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to revive the economy and rein in debt aimed at calming market fears that Spain will follow in the footsteps of Greece, Ireland and Portugal in seeking a financial bailout. "It is our hope that European leaders continue to make sure that Europe's response to the crisis is strong, flexible and effective," Clinton told a joint news conference with Spanish Foreign Minister Trinidad Jiminez. "Under Zapatero's leadership the Spanish government has taken important steps to strengthen its finances, restore the banking sector and improve its competitiveness. We understand how difficult these steps are. "And we know that Spain still faces significant challenges as it works to consolidate its finances, bring down monster beats lady gagaunemployment and overcome the legacy of the global economic crisis," Clinton added. Zapatero's government has raised taxes and slashed spending to bring down the public deficit and has reformed the labour law to make it easer to fire workers to encourage hiring and bring down a jobless rate of just over 21 percent, the highest in the developed world. The reforms have fueled demonstrations and hurt the government's popularity but Clinton said she was confident that Madrid "will continue the process of reform. "I want to say publicly how much we understand it takes time and patience to make these changes and see them through," she added. Her comments echoed those of US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, who earlier this month warned that ambitious fiscal reform plans put in place in several European nations will take years, not months, to bear fruit. Last week US Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke warned that failure to resolve the European sovereign debt crisis could threaten the stability of the global financial system if a solution is not found. "We are mostly just following the situation closely and making sure as best as we can that our own institutions are well-positioned relative to sovereign debt in the so-called peripheral countries," he said, beats in earreferring to the smaller, ailing eurozone economies such as Greece, Ireland and Portugal. "A disorderly default in one of those countries would no doubt roil financial markets globally. It would have a big impact on credit spreads, on stock prices, and so on. And so in that respect, I think the effects in the United States would be quite significant," he added.

.ATLANTA (AP) — Thousands of marchers stormed the Georgia Capitol on Saturday to protest the state's new immigration law, which they say creates an unwelcome environment for people of color and those in search of a better life. Men, women and children of all ages converged on downtown Atlanta for the march and rally, cheering speakers while shading themselves with umbrellas and posters. Capitol police and organizers estimated the crowd at between 8,000 and 14,000. They filled the blocks around the Capitol, holding signs beats by dre ferraridecrying House Bill 87 and reading "Immigration Reform Now!" Friends Jessica Bamaca and Melany Cordero held a poster that read: "How would you feel if your family got broken apart?" Bamaca was born in the U.S., but her mother and sister are from Guatemala. She said she fears they will be deported. "I would be here by myself," said Bamaca, 13. "I have a feeling (the governor) doesn't know the pain affecting families. If he were to be in our position, how would he react?" Adelina Nicholls, executive director of the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights, said the crowd was sending a message. "They are ready to fight," Nicholls said. "We need immigration reform, and no HB87 is going to stop us. We have earned the right to be here." Azadeh Shahshahani of the American Civil Liberties Union of Georgia called the rally inspiring and said she hoped lawmakers would recognize the law's potential to damage the state. "I think it's going to have an impact," she said. "Unfortunately, the damage has already been done as far as people of color having second thoughts about moving to Georgia." Several different groups stood with the largely Latino crowd, including representatives from the civil rights movement. The Rev. Timothy McDonald, an activist who has been supportive of immigration protesters, was among the speakers showing his solidarity. "You are my brothers and my sisters," McDonald told the crowd. "Some years ago, they told people like me we couldn't vote. We did what you are doing today. We are going to send a message to the powers that be ... that when the people get united, there is no government that can stop them. Don't let them turn you around." MiLi Lai, a student at Emory who is Chinese, also attended the rally because the immigration law doesn't just apply to Latinos, but "all non-American people." "We are the same community," Lai said. "We have to fight for our rights." Bellanira Avoytes came to the rally with her husband and three children. Although she is a legal resident and her childrenmonster beats lamboghin were born in Georgia, she does not see herself as separate from undocumented Latinos. "I have family who are not residents," she said. "I am together with the Latin people. I love Georgia. I have stayed here for 18 years. I want to buy a house here." Saturday's rally follows a "day without immigrants" organized Friday, when some parts of the law took effect. It was organized by the Georgia Latino Alliance for Human Rights. The organization asked businesses to close and community members not to work or shop to protest the law. On Monday, a judge temporarily blocked key parts of the law until a legal challenge is resolved. One provision that was blocked authorizes police to check the immigration status of suspects without proper identification. It also authorizes them to detain illegal immigrants. Another penalizes people who knowingly and willingly transport or harbor illegal immigrants while committing another crime. Parts of similar measures in Arizona, Utah and Indiana also have been blocked by the courts. Provisions that took effect Friday include one that makes it a felony to use false information or documentation when applying for a job. Another provision creates an immigration review board to investigate complaints about government officials not complying with state laws related to illegal immigration. .LSBEE, Texas (AP) — As one of her school's basketball stars approached the free-throw line to hit a shot during a kobe bryant limited headphones2009 playoff game, a cheerleader stepped away from her squad, folded her arms and stood in silence, refusing to root for the athlete she says raped her at a party in this Texas town. Now, two years later, her silent protest is drawing new attention nationwide as the result of an unusual series of events: Suspended as a cheerleader but later reinstated, the 16-year-old and her family sued over her punishment, lost and ended up with $40,000 in penalties from the legal proceedings. Meanwhile, the basketball player settled the criminal case against him by pleading guilty to reduced charges. An online campaign to help the former cheerleader's family with the legal costs has gained momentum on Facebook and Twitter and collected more than $23,000. The family also has appealed in federal court the judge'sbeats by dre pro order for them to pay the school district's legal costs after their lawsuit was dismissed. "It's really an awful statement to send on how you treat a teenage sexual assault victim," said Alex DiBranco, whose petition beats dre special headphoneson Change.org has gathered more than 94,000 signatures asking the school district to not to make the family pay the fees. DiBranco, a New York-based women's rights advocate, got involved after reading about the case. The controversy is renewing debate about how the school and courts handled a sensitive matter involving teenagers, sexual assault and allegations made but not yet proven. Silsbee Mayor Herbert Muckleroy, a former school superintendent in the town of 7,000, said he thinks the criminal case was handled appropriately but has doubts about making the girl's family pay the school district $40,000. "I just wish it could have been settled and over with and let the community settle back in," he said. The father of the girl, who is now 19, said he cannot accept that a rape victim and her family are being punished. "I will never give up hope that in some form or fashion there will be justice, (and) hope that our story will help another family, another girl that's been through this," said Craig S., 44, whose last name is being withheld to protect his daughter's identity. The Associated Press does not identify sexual assault victims. The girl claimed she was pulled into a darkened room with basketball player Rakheem Bolton and several others during an October 2008 party and raped under a pool table while she was drunk. Bolton and two others were arrested after the party. A grand jury declined to indict him in January 2009. A second grand jury indicted him 10 months later. Bolton eventually pleaded guilty to a lesser assault charge in a plea deal and received a suspended one-year sentence. Charges were dropped against the two others indicted in the incident. The girl, who was suspended from the cheerleading squad but reinstated two weeks later, filed a federal lawsuit in May 2009, claiming the school district violated her First Amendment rights as well dr dre beats special editionas her rights to liberty, property and equal protection under the Fourteenth Amendment. In court documents, school officials said they were justified in punishing her because Bolton was not facing any charges during the playoff game. Her conduct violated school rules and her allegations appeared to be "the story of a girl who became angry with a boy about something that may or may not have happened at a private party," the schools' attorneys said. Silsbee school district officials and their attorney have declined further comment on the case. U.S. District Judge Thad Heartfield in Beaumont ruled the girl's lawsuit was "without foundation." "There are no facts to support a finding that the school, or its officials, owed her any additional process," Heartfield wrote, and ordered the family to pay the district's legal costs. The case was appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which in May declined to review it, leaving the legal fees the only issue pending. The girl's father acknowledged that his daughter did not object to Bolton's plea deal. He said she wanted some admission of guilt from him. David Barlow, the special prosecutor who handled the case, said, "This was the best outcome that could have resulted, given the law and the facts." Bolton's grandmother, who declined to give her name, said her grandson is now in college and just wants to be left alone. The former cheerleader, who graduated from high school last year, also declined to be interviewed, her father said. The school district remains unwilling to give the girl's family a break on the payment. "I think the district has a fiduciary responsibility and obligation to the taxpayers to try to collect on any money that is due them," school board President John Griffin said. But news on the case reached sympathetic ears in others parts of the country. After reading about it, Jessica Mills, an actress and writer in Los Angeles, started an online fundraising campaign to help pay the costs. "I just thought this girl, she's been through so much already, regardless of the right and wrongs and legalities of it," said Mills, who with her friend set up the "Help the Cheerleader" web site, which lets people donate money to a bank account set up by the cheerleader's attorney. The girl's father said he is humbled by the rising balance, mostly from donations of less than $20. He runs a landscaping business and said paying the money would be a financial hardship. He said his daughter has had her ups and downs. After graduating in 2010, she took a year off and plans to attend Lamar University in Beaumont in the fall. Around Silsbee, the incident continues to produce mixed feelings. Resident Terrell McArthur said he agrees with the girl's decision not to cheer for the person she believed raped her. However, the costs are a separate matter.monster beats kobe "It went through the judicial process," McArthur said. "I don't feel like anybody here in Silsbee needs to start taking up donations."

LAUREL, Mont. (AP) — Teams of federal and state workers fanned out Sunday along Montana's Yellowstone River to gauge the environmental damage from a ruptured ExxonMobil pipeline that spewed tens of thousands of gallons of crude into the famous waterway. An Environmental Protection beats solo michael jackson limitedAgency representative said that only a small fraction of the spilled oil is likely to be recovered. Agency on-scene coordinator Steve Way said fast flows along the flooding river are spreading the oil over a large area, making it harder to capture. But Way said that also could reduce damage to wildlife and cropland along the river. A 25-mile long slick of oil had reached as far west as Hysham Saturday night. An estimated 1,000 barrels, or 42,000 gallons, spilled Saturday before the flow of oil from the damaged pipeline was stopped. Duane Winslow with Yellowstone County disaster coordinator Duane Winslow says dozens more ExxonMobil cleanup workers began to arrive in Montana on Sunday morning. The break near Billings in south-centralmichael jackson limited Montana fouled the riverbank and forced municipalities and irrigation districts Saturday to close intakes. The river has no dams on its way to its confluence with the Missouri River just across the Montana border in North Dakota. It was unclear how far the plume might travel. "The parties responsible will restore the Yellowstone River," Mont. Gov. Brian Schweitzer said. A 600-foot-long black smear of oil coated Jim Swanson's riverfront property just downstream from where the pipe broke. "Whosever pipeline it is better be knocking on my door soon and explaining how they're going to clean it up," Swanson said as globules of oil bubbled to the surface. "They say they've got it capped off. I'm not so sure." Duane Winslow, Yellowstone County director of disaster and emergency services, said the plume was dissipating as it moved downstream. "We're just kind of waiting for it to move on down while Exxon is trying to figure out how to corral this monster," Winslow said. "The timing couldn't be worse," said Steve Knecht, chief of operations for Montana Disaster and Emergency Services, who added that the plume was measured at 25 miles near Pompeys Pillar National Monument. "With the Yellowstone running at flood stage and all the debris, it makes it dang tough to get out there to do anything." Brent Peters, the fire chief for the city of Laurel about 12 miles west of Billings, said the rupture in the 12-inch diameter pipe occurred late Friday about a mile south of Laurel. He said about 140 people in the Laurel area were evacuated early Saturday due to concerns about possible explosions and the overpowering fumes. He said they were allowed to return at about 4 a.m. after fumes had decreased. Winslow said hundreds of residents downstream were told to evacuate in the early morning hours as authorities knocked on doors,beats solo purple but it's unclear how many did. In a statement, ExxonMobil said it was sending a team to help with cleanup, and that state and federal authorities had been alerted to the spill. The ExxonMobil Pipeline Company "deeply regrets this release," it said. Crews were putting out absorbent material along stretches of the river in Billings and near Laurel, but there were no attempts at capturing oil farther out in the river. In some areas oil flowed underneath booms and continued downstream. The smell of oil permeated the air for miles downstream and through the city of Billings. "Nobody's been able to lay their eyes on the pipe," Peters said. "Right now, the Yellowstone River is at flood stage. The bank isn't stable enough for anybody to get close." The cause of the rupture in the pipe carrying crude oil from Belfry, Mont., to the company's refinery in Billings wasn't known. Peters and Malek said speculation involves high water that might have gouged out the river bed and exposed the pipe, which was possibly hit by debris. "I haven't seen it this high for at least 15 years," Peters said. Jeb Montgomery of ExxonMobil said the monster beats solopipe was buried six feet below the riverbed. The state has received record rainfall in the last month and also has a huge snowpack in the mountains that is melting, which has resulted in widespread flooding in recent weeks. Three oil refineries are in the Billings area, and Peters said he asked all three to turn off the flow of oil in their pipelines under the river once the leak was reported. He said ExxonMobil and Cenex Harvest Refinery did so, and that Conoco Phillips said its pipe was already shut down. He said the river where the leak occurred is about 250 yards wide, and that an oil slick appeared to be about 20 feet wide. "That was the farthest my flashlight would reach," he said. Laurel, which has about 6,500 residents, is known for a huge Fourth of July fireworks display put on by the fire department. Peters said the town can swell to as many as 50,000 people for the event. He said the fire department plans to hold the event on Monday..PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — A nationwide crackdown is coming for people fraudulently drawing unemployment payments — those who were never eligible and workers who keep getting checks after they return to work — a $17 billion benefits swindle last year monster beats lamboghinalone, say federal officials. With the poor economy lingering and the jobless rate remaining high, Rhode Island and other states are stepping up efforts to stop the fraud and improper payments. As much as 30 percent of the wrong payments in 2010 went to people who had returned to the workforce but continued to claim benefits, according to Dale Ziegler, deputy administrator for the Office of Unemployment Insurance at the U.S. Department of Labor. Those payments came even after a 2009 executive order by President Barack Obama seeking new policies to cut payment errors, waste, fraud and abuse. Ziegler said states will be required to submit plans by Sept. 30 to the federal government on how they plan to curb such payments, Ziegler said. "This is a national concern," said Raymond Filippone, assistant director of income support at the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training. "States across the country are stepping up and looking at overpayments beats by dre ferrariand detection." Since last year, Rhode Island now has four investigators assigned to ferret out double-dippers scamming the system, Filippone said and will add a fifth this year. The state has also for the first time retained a collection agency to recoup incorrectly paid payments. Filippone said the state has paid out $33 million in overpayments since 2008. The May unemployment rate in Rhode Island is the third highest in the country at 10.9 percent. Providence resident Jose L. Roque, 43, is among 15 people charged last month with bilking the state's unemployment benefits system. He faces one count in state court of obtaining money under false pretenses for allegedly accepting more than $20,000 in benefits over nearly four years while working for a Warwick landscaping company, court records show. He was released pending a pre-arraignment conference next month. Roque has yet to enter a plea. Officials say people convicted of this crime are usually ordered to pay restitution as punishment. "I kept working and collected at the same time. I know that's my big mistake," Roque said in a telephone interview. "I feel real bad. I'm sorry for that. ... Before I had problems. You know, now I got more problems." Since the economic dive began in 2008, 126 Ocean State residents have been criminally charged with defrauding the unemployment benefits system, said state police Capt. James O. Demers. Since 2008, $8 million in overpayment shelled out by Rhode Island have been classified as fraud, officials said. Filippone said of the $33 million in overpayments paid out over that period, $16.5 million has been recovered. Those losses are why the federal government is pressing states to keep a closer watch on the $155 billion in jobless benefits paid annually to the nation's unemployed workers. Five states are collaborating to address a problem known as separation errors, including payments to people who file for unemployment benefits after they've voluntarily resigned from their jobs. Those individuals are not eligible to collect, but some slip through the cracks because their former employers do not beats pro High Performance respond to states' requests to verify the ex-worker's claim, Ziegler said. Ohio, Colorado, New Jersey, Utah and Georgia have developed a web-based system to share unemployment insurance information with states, multistate employers and others, Ziegler said. In New Jersey, officials have also come up with a system to kick the newly employed off the jobless benefits rolls faster, Ziegler said. Whenever people show up in the national directory of new hires, they are assigned a code in the unemployment benefits system that flags them if they file for weekly benefits. Ziegler said these efforts have reduced the average overpayment from $1,200 to $472. He added the average weekly benefit is $305, indicating most abuses are identified within a week and a half. Still, Ziegler said officials have been working for years to come up with solutions. "This is not a simple problem," he said. "If someone who's unemployed and not looking for work, how is someone going to find that out? If you're someone who is claiming benefits and gone back to work, how quickly are they going to find that out? The idea here is prevention." Cranston resident Patricia A. Proulx said she's been wrongfully caught up in the confusion. Proulx was also charged last month in state court with defrauding the unemployment system of $18,992 from 2007 to 2010, court records show. She said she applied for partial unemployment benefits after her hours at an area hotel were cut back. Proulx has yet to enter a plea. "If I was doing something wrong, I wasn't told I was," said Proulx, adding her superiors told her she was eligible to collect unemployment. "I have no idea what's going on. When I called unemployment they didn't want to discuss anything with me. Nobody's letting me know what's going on and what I owe." Filippone said investigators use multiple methods to identify fraud. They check wage records submitted to the state tax division, the national directory of new hires, and they compare records with state child support enforcement officials. The state also runs an anonymous fraud hotline, subpoenas employer payroll records and sometimes conducts surveillance operations. Filippone warned scammers are going to get caught and anyone who gets more than what they're owed must pay up. "My message is to be honest with us," he said. "At a later date, it could be years later ... when you need the funds again, you're not going to be able to receive them. ... We never take an overpayment off the books." .

YLON, New York (Reuters) - At Gilgo Beach on a breezy summer day, Cheryl Mozetti kicks back on a beach chair as she watches her two children shovel piles of sand onto their makeshift castle. Less than Beats Graffiti Headphonesa 100 feet away sits a small memorial reminding people that the area was also a dumping ground for a probable serial killer, still at large, who preyed on prostitutes. "We come here from Brooklyn every summer," Mozetti, 38, said. "It's a family tradition. Sure everyone is talking about this serial killer, but I think people are making a much bigger deal than what it actually is. I don't feel any different coming here, and I don't think anybody else should." Up and down the dune-lined Ocean Parkway along a stretch of Long Island beaches, police have found 10 sets of human remains since December. They suspect some are victims of at least one serial killer preying on prostitutes who advertised on the Craigslist website. But beachgoers, residentsbeats graffiti limited and officials say the ongoing case has had little impact on their summer plans. "I come here all the time to surf and I actually didn't even know about this serial killer until someone told me today," said Jake Oberlin, 23, of Armonk, New York, adding, "It doesn't seem like someone is running around hacking up people on the beach like in some kind of horror movie." A memorial tucked into the mosquito-riddled brush on Gilgo Beach marks where police found some bodies. A cross bears the name of Megan Waterman, 22, of Maine. Suffolk County Police said she had advertised her services on Craigslist before her body and others were found in December. Waterman's mother, Lorraine Ela, came down from Maine in June to visit the spot, yards from the crashing Atlantic Ocean. "When they (police) pointed it out to me, it was very dramatic," she said. "I lost it. It was so heartbreaking." Waterman and several of the other victims' kin got together in June for a vigil at the site, which she found comforting.justbeats solo "We talk almost every day," said Waterman. "We're all one family now." Local, state and federal authorities have conducted several searches of the area, and Suffolk County Prosecutor Thomas Spota said recently there was likely more than one killer. Spota said that it was clear that the area had been used to discard human remains "for some period of time," but "as distasteful and disturbing as that is, there is no evidence that all of these remains are the work of a single killer." Four bodies were found in December as police searched for another Craigslist prostitute, Shannan Gilbert, 23, of New Jersey, who was reported missing in May 2010. But her body has not been found. Police linked her to a client's house at the nearby seaside neighborhood of Oak Beach a few miles away. Oak Beach resident Gus Colleti told Reuters that Gilbert had banged on his door pleading for help shortly before police believe she disappeared into the night. "She kept screaming 'Help me, help me, help me,'" he said. "Then she ran off." The four bodies police found initially were all wrapped in burlap and identified as Craigslist escorts. But since then they have found other victims that do not fit the pattern, including a young Asian man who died a violent death and a child about 18-to-24-months old wrapped in a blanket. But the grim nature of the case has not altered the mood of the upscale enclave. "The talk of this has quieted down considerably," Colleti said. "I don't think anyone is really talking about this right now." The beaches along Ocean Parkway, including famous Jones Beach, serve as a major day trip destination, attracting hundreds of thousands of visitors each summer. Parks and tourism officials expect the case to have little or no impact. "We haven't really discussed it, and there doesn't seem a reason to," said George Gorman, the deputy regional director for Long Island's state parks. Moke McGowan, president of the Long Island Conventions and Visitors Bureau, said the area saw roughly 6.4 percent more tourists in May compared to last year, and expects that attendance rise to continue throughout the justbeats solosummer. Noting that New York passed legislation legalizing gay marriage, McGowan said, "We do plan on seeing a nice increase in wedding activity in Long Island, which we're known for. I think it's really shaping up to be a very positive summer vacation season."............Lawyer for alleged victim in DSK case lashes out at DA, says victim will come forward . .By Laura Rozen Senior Foreign Affairs Reporter .PostsEmailRSS .By Laura Rozen | The Envoy – Fri, Jul 1, 2011 ........ Dominique Strauss-Kahn with his wife Anne Sinclair on Friday, July 1, 2011. (David Ka … "Law & Order" could not have produced a script with more dramatic turnarounds. As former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was released from house arrest Friday, the woman who accused him of sexually assaulting her in a New York hotel room in May became the main focus of public scrutiny. To counter the wave of allegations now circulating around the 32-year-old immigrant maid from Guinea, her attorney has accused Manhattan prosecutors of sullying her reputation to distance themselves from the damaged case against Strauss-Kahn. "We believe that the district attorney [Cyrus Vance] is laying the foundation to dismiss this case," charged the accuser's attorney, Kenneth Thompson, in a talk with journalists after Strauss-Kahn's bail hearing in a New York courtroom today. "Anyone can see that." In a brief nine minute hearing today, Strauss-Kahn was granted release from house arrest without bail. But the court is retaining his passport, and the criminal case against him still stands, at least for now. Weaknesses in the case were exposed injustbeats solo a stunning New York Times report Thursday night describing prosecutors' doubts about the credibility of the accuser. Thompson acknowledged that his client had "made mistakes," but insisted that she is telling the truth about the alleged assault. In her account, she was the victim of a sexual assault in Strauss-Kahn's hotel room May 14--and Thompson insisted that prosecutors have physical evidence to support her version of events. He also accused Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance of leaking information to the New York Times to discredit his client in a bid to get the case dismissed. Still, prosecutors had uncovered major discrepancies in several aspects of the accuser's accounts of her background and circumstances, the New York Times reported Thursday. Among them, discrepancies in her accounts of what information she had put on her U.S. asylum application, and her apparent later admission that some of the information on the application was not true. Prosecutors also obtained a recording of a phone conversation the woman had with a man imprisoned for possession of 400 pounds of marijuana that took place within a day of the alleged assault. In the conversation, she and the man reportedly discussed the possible benefit of pursuing charges in the case against Strauss-Kahn. Prosecutors had also reportedly found that over the past two years, as much as $100,000 had been deposited into the woman's bank accounts, deposited by several individuals including the imprisoned man. The woman also apparently had several telephones, but insisted to prosecutors she had only one. Some of their findings were contained in a letter from Vance's office to defense attorneys for Strauss-Kahn, which you can read here. Thompson said he had not yet heard the recording of the phone call between his client and the imprisoned man. But he said prosecutors had told him the woman's account of the alleged attack in the call was consistent with what she had earlier told prosecutors and a grand jury. "The victim here made some mistakes, that doesn't mean she's not a rape victim," Thompson told journalists. "All this stuff leaked to the New York Times was designed to discredit her. ... She is determined. She is not going to remain in hiding any more. She is going to tell you what Dominique Strauss-Kahn did to her, and what prosecutors in this office did to her." Thompson also asked why, in the aftermath of the accusation, the police and DA's office failed to even try to question Strauss-Kahn about what had happened in the hotel room during the five hours they held him in custody before he asked for an attorney. New York police authorities had arrested the former IMF headpowerbeats as he was sitting on an Air France flight awaiting takeoff at JFK Airport on May 14. "Why wasn't DSK questioned before he asked to speak to his lawyer?" Thompson said he asked Vance. "Cy Vance had no answer. That does not make sense." Separately, reports this week noted that Lisa Friel, the head of the Manhattan DA office sex crimes division had resigned. Vance, speaking to reporters after Friday's court hearing, said his office was not yet dropping the case. "Our prosecutors from the Manhattan D.A.'s office will continue their investigation into these alleged crimes and will do so until we have uncovered all relevant facts," Vance said outside New York State Supreme Court. The next hearing in the case is scheduled for July 18th.

SAN JUAN (Reuters) - Puerto Rico's top police official resigned Saturday as the U.S. Caribbeanjustbeats headphones territory battles a crime wave with killings on pace to set a record this year. Police Superintendent Jose Figueroa Sancha, a 25-year FBI veteran who took over the police department in January 2009, said he stepped down because of health reasons but acknowledged criticism over spiraling crime. "Regardless of the criticism that may come from politically motivated sectors, the development and future of the people of Puerto Rico will be closely related to the work being done by our police," he said in statement. Figueroa Sancha's resignation comes as Puerto Rico saw its deadliest month on record in June with 101 killings compared to 84 in June 1994, the second most violent on record, according to police statistics. Twenty-nine people were killed in one weekend alone. Last year, 955 killings were reported, just short of the island's record of 995 in 1994. So far this year, 568 killings have been recorded. Much of the island's violent crime is tied to the illegal drug trade. Law enforcement authorities say Puerto Rico is a favored trafficking route because of its status as a U.S. commonwealth. Once drugs reach the island, they can be smuggled to the U.S. mainland aboard airplanes or ships withoutbeats studio having to pass through a U.S. customs checkpoint. Authorities say they are bracing for an increase in trafficking through the Caribbean after a crackdown on drug routes through Mexico. Puerto Rico Governor Luis Fortuno named retired Colonel Jose Luis Rivera as interim police superintendent. FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) — A 9-year-old boy told two lifeguards that a woman had not resurfaced after entering the murky waters of a public swimming pool and appearing to struggle, his mother said. The body of 36-year-old Marie Joseph was found in the Veterans Memorial Pool two days later, on Tuesday night. Officials have been investigating how she could have been in the pool for so long without being noticed. The boy's mother told the Boston Herald for its Sunday edition that the woman had bumped into her son on a pool slide before she disappeared underwater. "He did tell two lifeguards — one said she was on break, and had to leave and the other told him they were going to do a pool check," the woman told the newspaper. "But he told me they never did." The Associated Press, which does not report the names of children who may be witnesses to a crime, is not identifying the woman to protect the privacy of her son. The state Department of Conservation and Recreation is investigating issues related to Joseph's death, including the clarity of the pool water and whether quality protocols were followed. No one has been charged in the drowning. His mother said her son is undergoing counseling. The Fall River pool is 12 feet deep and employs 12 staffers, six of whom are lifeguards and are certified by the Red Cross. All six were on duty last Sunday, the Herald reported. "Those lifeguards need to be fired," the boy's mother told the Herald. "He's stressed out. He keeps crying, and he thinks he could have saved this lady." The medical examiner's monster beats solo hdoffice has labeled the death an accidental drowning. Commissioner Edward M. Lambert Jr. with the state Department of Conservation and Recreation said they monster beats solodon't know whether any of the lifeguards looked for Lambert. "We hope to learn that from the investigation," Lambert said. "We are as anxious as anybody to get answers to this." An initial investigation showed the water in the pool was murky from the time the pool opened for the season last Saturday. Visibility tests conducted Wednesday revealed a diver couldn't be seen at a depth of 3 1/2 to 4 feet below the beats solo headphonessurface of the water. Joseph was a hotel housekeeper in Newport, R.I. She was from Haiti and had five children. Her body was discovered after it floated to the surface shortly before some youngsters sneaked into the pool for a clandestine swim Tuesday night.

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Casey Anthony briefly wept Sunday as prosecutors told jurors during closing arguments that she murdered her 2-year-old daughter Caylee to reclaim the carefree life she had before the girl was born. Prosecutors portrayed Anthony as a young mother who killed her daughter because she got in the way of her love life. "Something needed to be sacrificed, that something was either the life she wanted or the life thrust upon her.monster beats lamborghini She chose to sacrifice her child," prosecutor Jeff Ashton said during his 90-minute argument. Defense attorney Jose Baez said the prosecutors' case was so weak they tried to portray Anthony as "a lying, no-good slut" and that their forensic evidence was based on a "fantasy." He said Caylee's death was "an accident that snowballed out of control." Prosecutors contend Caylee was suffocated with duct tape by her mother, who then crafted elaborate lies to mislead investigators and her parents. Defense attorneys countered that the toddler accidentally drowned in the family swimming pool, and that Casey in fact was hiding emotional distress caused by alleged sexual abuse from her father. Her father has denied that claim. Judge Belvin Perry ruled Sunday morning that there was no evidence of such abuse and that the defense could not allude tmonster beats red soxo it in closing arguments. Jury deliberations are now expected to begin Monday after the prosecution gives its rebuttal arguments. Baez began his closing argument by telling jurors they have more questions than answers, including the biggest: How did Caylee die? Neither prosecutors nor the defense have offered firm proof of how Caylee died. "It can never be proven," he said. Baez spent most of his four-hour argument attacking the prosecution's forensic evidence. He said the prosecution's air analysis of the trunk of Anthony's car, which allegedly showed air molecules consistent with decomposition, could not be duplicated. He said no one could prove a stain found in the trunk was caused by Caylee's body decomposing there. And witnesses showed maggots found in the trunk came from a bag of trash that was found there, he said. "They throw enough against the wall and see what sticks. That is what they're doing ... right down to the cause of death," Baez said. He later conceded his client had told elaborate lies and monster beats kobe bryantinvented imaginary friends and even a fake father for Caylee, but he said that doesn't mean she killed her daughter. He also attacked Anthony's father, George Anthony, as unreliable. He said that a suicide note that George Anthony wrote in January 2009 that claimed no knowledge of what happened to Caylee was self-serving and that the attempt was a fraud. He said George Anthony claimed he was going to kill himself with a six-pack of beer and some high-blood pressure medicine. Earlier during prosecution's closing argument, Casey Anthony appeared mostly stone-faced for about the first 45 minutes, but she began to cry when Ashton said the story that Caylee drowned was also false. Ashton, the prosecutor, said Caylee's death wasn't an accident because three pieces of duct tape were placed on her face — one on the mouth, one on the nose and one over those to be "thorough." The case has played out on national TV since Caylee's disappearance in the summer of 2008 and continued through her mother's trial, with spectators traveling from all over the U.S. to jockey for coveted seats in the courtroom gallery. Anthony, a single mother, was 22 when her daughter died. No one has come forward as the father of Caylee. Ashton began his closing argument by showing a video of Anthony playing with Caylee, causing Anthony to apparently choke back tears. But she quickly regained her composure. He then told the jury that Anthony worried Caylee was getting to the age where she would have told Anthony's parents that the woman was spending her days and nights with her boyfriend — not going to work and leaving Caylee with a nanny. "Casey is very bright," Ashton said. "Her lies are very detailed. ... But when Casey wants to do what Casey wants to do, she finds a way." The prosecutor then described the lies Anthony told her parents, George and Cindy Anthony, about why she couldn't come home and why she couldn't produce Caylee after the toddler was last seen June 16,beats studio lamborghini2008: that she was with a nanny named Zanny, a woman who doesn't exist; that Anthony and her daughter were spending time in Jacksonville with a rich boyfriend who doesn't exist; and that Zanny had been hospitalized after an out-of-town traffic accident and that they were spending time with her. It only fell apart, Ashton said, a month later when a junk yard told George and Cindy Anthony their daughter's car had been towed. When they picked it up, they discovered a foul odor — George Anthony, a former police officer, and the tow yard operator said it smelled like human decomposition. Cindy Anthony then tracked down her daughter. When she couldn't produce Caylee, her parents called police. Casey Anthony then told investigators she worked at Universal Studios theme park as an event planner. She went so far as to take them there, talk her way past security, take them to an office building. She gave up the lie as she was walking down the hall. Ashton then attacked the defense contention that Caylee drowned and that George Anthony helped Casey Anthony cover it up. No one faced with an accidental drowning would do that instead of calling 911, Ashton said. "It is a trip down a rabbit hole into a bizarre world where men who love their granddaughters find them drowned and do nothing," Ashton said. "Where men who love their granddaughters take an accident, a completely innocent act, and make it look like a murder for no reason. A world where a man who buries his pets will take the granddaughter who was the love of his life and throw her in a swamp." Baez conceded that Anthony told elaborate lies, but he said those inventions should have signaled to investigators that "there's something wrong with this girl." "Instead, they had a murder case, and that was it. That was all they were interested in was evidence of murder. There's nothing sexy about a drowning," Baez said. Judge Perry angrily stopped Baez's closing arguments after he referred to Ashton as "this laughing guy." Television showed Ashton smiling behind his hand at Baez's contention that the prosecution's forensic evidence was based on fantasy. One of Perry's written orders is that the attorneys not show emotion to the other side's statements. Ashton apologized and said he tried to hide his expressions. Baez also apologized. Perry warned all of the attorneys that any other incidents would result in that attorney's removal from the trial. Casey Anthony has monster beats jamespleaded not guilty to first-degree murder. She could face a possible death sentence or life in prison if convicted of that charge. Anthony also is charged with aggravated child abuse, aggravated manslaughter of a child and four counts of providing false information to law enforcement. The child abuse and manslaughter charges each carry a 30-year prison term if convicted.