Society's ChildS

Cult

Staten Island couple says Allstate short-changed them, put home in ad

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© Seth Wenig/AP PhotoSheila and Dominic Traina hug in front of their home which was demolished during Superstorm Sandy in Staten Island, N.Y., Nov. 2, 2012.
A Staten Island couple said their insurance company short-changed them after superstorm Sandy destroyed their home, and then used their house in a commercial.

In October, Sheila Traina, 64, and her husband, Dominic, 66, had evacuated their home in New Dorp Beach in response to warnings from local authorities about the storm.

Traina said a neighbor who had stayed behind called and told them the wind had knocked the roof off their two-story home but their insurer, Allstate, said the damage to their home was due to flooding.

"He said the house came down before the storm, came down and water finished it off," Traina said of her neighbor.

Allstate told her it was storm surge that caused the damage, she said.

Eye 1

Savage killing, sex at heart of Arizona murder trial

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© AP Photo/The Arizona Republic, David WallaceDefendant, Jodi Arias, right, talks with her defense team during the prosecution's opening statements in the trial of Arias in Maricopa County court in Phoenix on Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013. Arias is charged in the murder of her boyfriend, Travis Alexander.
The photographs present a chilling portrait of sex and death.

A nude Jodi Arias on Travis Alexander's bed. A naked Alexander in the shower. Then minutes later, an image of Alexander stabbed and slashed nearly 30 times in the heart, back, hands and torso, shot in the head, his throat slit from ear to ear.

Other evidence has stacked up since the June 2008 attack in Mesa, a suburb of Phoenix. A bloody palm print; wildly conflicting stories; and, finally, a confession.

The evidence - including time-stamped photos from the day police say Alexander died - is being presented at a trial in Phoenix that's been dominated by the torrid affair, sex, jealousy and a defendant whose only chance at acquittal is to convince a jury she's the victim.

There's no question who killed the 30-year-old businessman and motivational speaker. Arias admits she stabbed and shot him, but claims she was defending herself against an abusive lover.

Alexander "lunged at Jodi in anger," her attorney, Jennifer Willmott, told jurors.

"Jodi's life was in danger. He knocked her to the ground in the bathroom where there was a struggle," Willmott said. "If she did not have to defend herself, she would not be here."

Evil Rays

Jason Zwick pleads no contest to child rape

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© AP PhotoJason Zwick, 30, has pleaded no contest to one count of child rape.
A western Ohio man pleaded no contest Tuesday to one count of child rape just before his trial was scheduled to begin.

Jason Zwick, 30, made the plea in in Miami County. Common Pleas Judge Christopher Gee pronounced him guilty and sentenced him to 10 years to life in prison.

Prosecutors dropped two other charges that Zwick had raped the 10-year-old adopted son of a Troy man who has pleaded guilty to raping three boys in his care. The boy's adoptive father, who will serve 60 years to life in prison as part of his plea agreement, was expected to testify against Zwick, as was the boy, now 11.

Zwick's attorney had unsuccessfully sought to delay the trial. He wasn't available immediately for comment.

Zwick's plea means he doesn't contest the charge against him, without admitting guilt. Anthony Kendall, an assistant county prosecutor, said prosecutors expect him to appeal, but believe they are on solid ground.

Gee also sentenced Zwick to pay a $20,000 fine, and regularly report his whereabouts as a sex offender to law enforcement if he becomes free.

USA

Man arrested for attempting to place American flag atop storm-ravaged roller coaster

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© STEVE NESIUS/REUTERSThe remnants of the Seaside Heights roller coaster have been off-limits since Hurricane Sandy drove it out to sea.
The amusement park ride has been partially submerged since Hurricane Sandy and is still awaiting demolition.

Police have apprehended a man who apparently climbed the New Jersey roller coaster that was swept into the ocean during Superstorm Sandy and unfurled an American flag.

The man walked from the top of the coaster and hopped into a police boat Tuesday. He was handcuffed, walked through the surf and escorted to a police car on the beach in Seaside Heights.

News 12-New Jersey says Christopher Angelo told the channel he wanted to raise awareness for shore recovery.

Health

Seven die in Peru copter crash

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© AFPA helicopter used by an oil and mining company crashed into a commercial building in a village in northern Peru, killing at least seven people, including five Americans
A helicopter used by an oil and mining company crashed into a commercial building in a village in northern Peru on Monday, killing at least seven people, including five Americans, an official said.

The accident occurred at 2:57 pm (1957 GMT) in the village of San Juan, in the northern jungle region of Ucayali, and police and specialists investigators were looking ino the cause, local prosecutor Marcos Ochoa told Peru's RPP radio.

"There are seven dead, including five Americans and two Peruvians," Ochoa said after villagers reported seeing the helicopter exploding and splitting in two as it hit the ground.

Sheriff

Kenya: Man arrested for impersonating a senior police officer for over ten years

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© Photo:Boniface Thuku/StandardRift Valley PPO John M'Mbijiwe
Rift Valley PPO John M'Mbijiwe, the commandant of Anti-Stock Theft Unit Michael Rimi Ngugi and Njoro OCPD Peter Njeru Nthiga have been interdicted over the saga surrounding a man who was arrested and charged with impersonating as a senior police officer.

The National Police Service Commission also named new commanders to replace the interdicted officers.

Mr Levin Mwandi will replace Mr M'Mbijiwe in Rift Valley, Ngugi's deputy Solomon Makau takes over at ASTU while Nthiga's deputy Esau Ochokorodi will take over in Njoro.

Commission chairman Johnston Kavuludi said they have established a committee to investigate the matter and report within 21 days.

The team will comprise three officers from the Police Service Commission- Major Muiu Mutia, Mary Owuor and Inspector General of Police David Kimaiyo who will nominate a representative.

Handcuffs

Police: Suspect chokes girlfriend with his dreadlocks

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© Multnomah County Detention CenterA man is facing assault charges, accused of choking his girlfriend using his dreadlocks in Southeast Portland. Portland police report that 32-year-old Caleb Grotberg is facing counts of second-degree kidnapping, second-degree attempted assault, fourth-degree assault, menacing and domestic violence. Jan. 7, 2012.
A man is accused of using his dreadlocks to choke his girlfriend early Monday morning.

Caleb Grotberg, 32, faces counts of second-degree kidnapping, second-degree attempted assault, fourth-degree assault, menacing and domestic violence.

Nuke

Lottery winner poisoned with cyanide in Chicago

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Not long after winning a $1 million jackpot with a scratch-off lottery ticket, a Chicago man was poisoned with cyanide, officials said Monday.

Urooj Khan, 46, had planned to use the money to pay off bills and invest in his dry cleaning business. Instead, he was poisoned, the Cook County Medical Examiner's office said, adding that it had classed his death as a homicide.

Khan was accompanied by his wife, their daughter and several friends when he accepted an oversized check from Illinois lottery officials on June 26.

He described his initial reaction in a press statement.

Syringe

Booty model Pebblez allegedly arrested in association with 'butt-injection murder'

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Famous booty model Pebbelz
Here's three words you probably thought you'd never hear: "Butt-injection homicide."

Hip-hop booty-video babe Pebbelz Da Model (aka Natasha Stewart) has gained some fame in certain circles for her tremendously exaggerated 48-inch rear end, and now Bossip reports that she has been arrested in connection with a homicide.

Red Flag

California school slaying suspect found unfit for trial

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© Paul Sakuma In this April 30, 2012, file photo, One Goh appears in an Alameda County Superior courtroom in Oakland, Calif. A judge ruled on Monday, Jan. 7, 2013, that Goh, accused of killing seven people at a small Northern California Christian college, is not mentally fit for trial. A public defender representing Goh said a psychiatrist has determined that he suffers from paranoid schizophrenia that dates back several years.
A man accused of killing seven people at a small Northern California Christian college is not mentally fit for trial, a judge ruled before temporarily suspending criminal proceedings until the defendant is deemed competent.

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Carrie Panetta on Monday put on hold the criminal case against One Goh. Two psychiatric evaluations concluded that Goh suffers from paranoid schizophrenia.

Goh is charged with seven counts of murder and three counts of attempted murder in the April 2 attack at Oikos University in Oakland. He has pleaded not guilty and remains jailed.

Alameda County Assistant Public Defender David Klaus said after Monday's brief hearing that both doctors who examined Goh found that he suffers from hallucinations and delusions and harbors a deep mistrust of people, including those trying to help him.

"He's certainly a deeply troubled man," Klaus said. "He's locked up in shame, remorse and sadness. He's not eating, he's not taking care of himself."