Justice Department To Meet With Arizona Sheriff In Civil Rights Probe
Officials with the Justice Department are scheduled to meet Tuesday with Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, as they look into alleged civil rights violations.
Last week, the department gave the sheriff's lawyers until Tuesday to turn over documents and cooperate with their inquiry.
Authorities are investigating whether Arpaio's policies and law enforcement sweeps discriminate against Hispanics.
Arpaio, who has called himself "America's toughest sheriff," is known for his hard-nosed opposition to illegal immigration.
Detractors accuse him of discriminating against Hispanics, while supporters say the Justice Department's civil rights probe and its separate criminal investigation are politically motivated.
If the sheriff's lawyers don't turn over the documents, the government has threatened to sue the sheriff's office "to compel access to the requested documents, facilities and personnel," Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Thomas Perez has said.
For their part, Arpaio's lawyers reject claims that he is uncooperative. The attorneys contend the Justice Department may not require documents simply to see if they can find something to support their suspicions of discrimination. –CNN U.S.
Officials with the Justice Department are scheduled to meet Tuesday with Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, Arizona, as they look into alleged civil rights violations.
Last week, the department gave the sheriff's lawyers until Tuesday to turn over documents and cooperate with their inquiry.
Authorities are investigating whether Arpaio's policies and law enforcement sweeps discriminate against Hispanics.
Arpaio, who has called himself "America's toughest sheriff," is known for his hard-nosed opposition to illegal immigration.
Detractors accuse him of discriminating against Hispanics, while supporters say the Justice Department's civil rights probe and its separate criminal investigation are politically motivated.
If the sheriff's lawyers don't turn over the documents, the government has threatened to sue the sheriff's office "to compel access to the requested documents, facilities and personnel," Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Thomas Perez has said.
For their part, Arpaio's lawyers reject claims that he is uncooperative. The attorneys contend the Justice Department may not require documents simply to see if they can find something to support their suspicions of discrimination. –CNN U.S.
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Some Family Members Of 9/11 Victims To Support Mosque Construction
Some family members of 9/11 victims will rally Wednesday in support of a controversial mosque and Islamic center that is scheduled to be built near New York City's ground zero.
Their group, called September Eleventh Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, will also be joined by at least 40 religious and civic organizations, and is expected to announce the creation of a coalition called New York Neighbors for American Values. The coalition's goals include support of "religious freedom and diversity" and the rejection of "crude stereotypes meant to frighten and divide us."
The rally is scheduled to be outside a municipal building in Manhattan.
On Tuesday, New York Gov. David Paterson met with Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan, who had offered to mediate in the situation.
After the meeting, Dolan urged advocates on both sides of the issue to ratchet down their rhetoric.
"What we do not need are protests but promoters. Promoters of dialogue, civility," Dolan said.
Also at an Iftar dinner marking the breaking of the Ramadan fast Tuesday evening, Mayor Michael Bloomberg forcefully affirmed his support for the project.
"We are Americans, each with an equal right to worship and pray where we choose. There is nowhere in the five boroughs of New York City that is off-limit to any religion," he told an audience at Gracie Mansion that included the center's developer, Sharif el-Gamal.
Some New Yorkers say an Islamic center near the site is a painful affront.
A CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll released earlier this month marked nationwide opposition to the proposed facility at 68 percent. –CNN U.S.
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3 Colombian Teens On Facebook Hit List Killed In Past 10 Days
Three teens who were on a 69-name hit list posted on Facebook have been killed in the past 10 days in a southwestern Colombian town, officials say.
Police say they do not know who posted the list or why the names are on it.
"It is still not clear," Colombian national police spokesman Wilson Baquero told CNN. "This is part of the investigation."
But officials note that a criminal gang known as Los Rastrojos and a Marxist guerrilla group called the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia operate in the area.
The hit list on Facebook, which was posted August 17, gave the people named three days to leave the town of Puerto Asis or be executed, said Volmar Perez Ortiz, a federal official whose title is defender of the public.
Police at first thought the posting was a joke, Perez said in a statement issued Saturday. But the publication of a second list with 31 additional names led authorities to convene a special security meeting Friday, Perez said.
The posting of the lists and the meetings occurred after the first two killings, which took place August 15, Perez said.
On that day, officials say, 16-year-old student Diego Ferney Jaramillo and 17-year-old CD retailer Eibart Alejandro Ruiz Munoz were shot and killed while riding a motorcycle on the road between Puerto Asis and the town of Puerto Caicedo.
Both their names were later found on the first published hit list.
Also on the list was Norbey Alexander Vargas, 19, who was killed August 20, Perez said. Another young man, 16-year-old student Juan Pablo Zambrano Anacona, was wounded in the same incident when he gave chase to the assassins, Perez said.
Colombian media said Monday the number of those threatened has grown and panic has overtaken Puerto Asis, with some parents sending their children out of town because their names are on the Facebook notice.
The names of 31 women were posted on the other list, said Radio RCN, semana.com and other news outlets.
Residents have been overcome with "panic and anxiety," several news outlets quoted Putumayo state official Andres Gerardo Verdugo as saying.
Several of those residents posted their concerns on Twitter, an online messaging site.
"Panic in Puerto Asis, Putumayo, because of threats against young people," wrote a user who goes by JuanSepulvedah. "Our youth must be protected."
Someone who posted under the name JulianEco brought up the Facebook connection.
"The situation in Puerto Asis is tenacious, that a social site be used to add fire to the Colombian conflict," the post said.
Twitter user hugoparragomez likened the situation to the drug-fueled crime waves in other Colombian cities.
"What is happening in Puerto Asis, Putumayo, is grave, the same as in Medellin," the tweet said. "Authorities should take control of the situation. Who is investigating?"
Still others inflated the death count.
"In Puerto Asis they have killed 20 young people threatened on Facebook and the authorities have not said anything," wrote jesusmhenriquez "That is Colombia."
Federal officials say they are taking the threats seriously and have sent investigators from Bogota, the nation's capital, to Puerto Asis. Internet experts are among the investigators assigned to the case.
Authorities also are offering a reward of 5 million pesos (around $2,750) for information on the killings.
Perez, the federal defender of the public, noted that the Los Rastrojos criminal gang is active in Puerto Asis, "executing violent actions, resolving community conflicts, imposing living and conduct norms, intimidating and meting punishment against ... drug sellers and consumers, sex workers, people with criminal and unlawful histories and threatening social leaders, business people, taxi drivers and motorcycle taxi drivers."
Perez said the Marxist guerrillas, commonly known as the FARC, also are active in the remote area, which borders Ecuador.
Two Facebook representatives did not return a message Tuesday asking for comment. –CNN World
Still others inflated the death count.
"In Puerto Asis they have killed 20 young people threatened on Facebook and the authorities have not said anything," wrote jesusmhenriquez "That is Colombia."
Federal officials say they are taking the threats seriously and have sent investigators from Bogota, the nation's capital, to Puerto Asis. Internet experts are among the investigators assigned to the case.
Authorities also are offering a reward of 5 million pesos (around $2,750) for information on the killings.
Perez, the federal defender of the public, noted that the Los Rastrojos criminal gang is active in Puerto Asis, "executing violent actions, resolving community conflicts, imposing living and conduct norms, intimidating and meting punishment against ... drug sellers and consumers, sex workers, people with criminal and unlawful histories and threatening social leaders, business people, taxi drivers and motorcycle taxi drivers."
Perez said the Marxist guerrillas, commonly known as the FARC, also are active in the remote area, which borders Ecuador.
Two Facebook representatives did not return a message Tuesday asking for comment. –CNN World
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5-year Anniversary Of Katrina's Wrath Somber, Reflective
By the CNN Wire Staff
Five years ago Sunday [August 29th], the water rushed in, the lights went out and for thousands of Gulf Coast residents nothing was ever the same.
The milestone was marked by vigils, tears and reflection on what was, what came after, what still remains to be done and what, if anything, we have learned from Hurricane Katrina.
President Barack Obama visited New Orleans on Sunday and spoke at Xavier University of Louisiana, where he said that the construction of a fortified levee system to protect the city is under way.
"We should not be playing Russian roulette every hurricane season," he said.
Obama also vowed that reforms are being put into place "so that never again in America is somebody left behind in a disaster because they're living with a disability or because they're elderly or because they're infirm. That will not happen again."
The hard-hit parishes of Plaquemines and St. Bernard were holding commemorative community events, and a third commemoration was planned in New Orleans' Jackson Square.
Katrina left more than 1,800 dead in its wake. It slammed into the Gulf Coast near the Louisiana-Mississippi state line early on August 29, 2005. Most of the dead were in and around New Orleans, where more than three-quarters of the city flooded after its protective levees failed. Nearly 300,000 people were displaced.
After the storm, "We were a city that had no people in it," Ray Nagin, who was mayor of New Orleans when Katrina struck.
"Now, we're a city that has over 80 percent of its population back. Lowest unemployment in the country. Construction everywhere. I think we're on our way to success," Nagin told CNN's Don Lemon as the storm's anniversary approached.
Still, it is widely agreed that more work remains to bring New Orleans and the Gulf Coast back from Katrina's devastating blow. Some say that little has improved, and entire neighborhoods in Louisiana and beyond have not rebounded.
About 6,000 families own homes that cannot be rebuilt. One-third of New Orleanians say their lives are still disrupted by the storm, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation Poll. In New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood -- seen as ground zero for Katrina's wrath -- only 4,000 of 18,000 residents have returned.
"I don't have to tell you that there are still too many vacant and overgrown lots," Obama said Sunday. "There are still too many students attending classes in trailers. There are still too many people unable to find work. And there's still too many New Orleans folks who haven't been able to come home."
"So while an incredible amount of progress has been made, on this fifth anniversary, I wanted to come here and tell the people of this city directly: My administration is going to stand with you -- and fight alongside you -- until the job is done, until New Orleans is all the way back."
"This is the place ... where I think the American people witnessed a real loss of faith in their federal government," Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday. "I have really been moved by the spirit of the people in New Orleans in the Gulf, and their rebuilding, and the optimism in progress that I have seen. More than 90 percent of the population is back in the New Orleans area, and there is still much ahead of us."
When Obama took office, 40,000 families remained in Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers or were using emergency housing vouchers, "and literally tens of thousands of them were at risk of losing their homes within weeks of us coming in," Donovan said. "Today, 98 percent of the families are in permanent housing."
The storm cut a wide swath of destruction, wiping out whole sections of Mississippi's Gulf Coast and swamping downtown Mobile, Alabama, with a 20-foot storm surge.
Despite the attention focused on New Orleans, it was Waveland, Mississippi that was the hardest hit. Ninety-five percent of the town's homes were destroyed, along with 100 percent of its businesses. Nearly every road was broken up or left under piles of debris.
Waveland began rebuilding almost immediately. Bolstered by $100 million in federal aid, it has repaired utilities, roads, schools, community centers and parks, and has recovered 65 percent of its businesses. About two-thirds of residents have returned.
Ironically, the city of New Orleans initially breathed a sigh of relief in those early hours, as it was spared a direct hit from the hurricane and at first seemed to have weathered the wind and rain. But Katrina's worst havoc was yet to come, as reports of levee breaches began to surface and entire neighborhoods flooded.
Katrina also dealt a black eye to the government, which scrambled to launch a delayed relief effort after the storm as New Orleans residents suffered and reports of crime and looting were widespread. Nagin in a famous expletive-laced interview lashed out, telling federal authorities to "get off your asses."
Then-President George W. Bush traveled to New Orleans, delivering a speech from Jackson Square as he promised, "We will do what it takes. We will stay as long as it takes to help citizens rebuild their communities and their lives."
But that "turned out to be a hollow promise," Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-Louisiana, told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday. "... Because the federal government didn't stay and do everything it could. The federal government didn't make it easy. They made it very, very difficult."
Asked how FEMA can combat its still-suffering reputation in the region, agency chief Craig Fugate told CNN Saturday he believes responding quickly is the key.
"Speed is going to be critical," said Fugate, who distinguished himself as the head of the Florida Emergency Management Agency before being appointed to the federal post. "We cannot wait for a full assessment. We have to respond as if it's bad, bring the things together, and focus on the most immediate [goal] of keeping it safe, getting to the injured, trapped, and recovering the lost lives, getting supplies in here."
"The big lesson from Katrina is, you can't wait to find out how bad it is," he said. "You've got to respond, as a team, as [if] it is bad." -CNN U.S.
The hard-hit parishes of Plaquemines and St. Bernard were holding commemorative community events, and a third commemoration was planned in New Orleans' Jackson Square.
Katrina left more than 1,800 dead in its wake. It slammed into the Gulf Coast near the Louisiana-Mississippi state line early on August 29, 2005. Most of the dead were in and around New Orleans, where more than three-quarters of the city flooded after its protective levees failed. Nearly 300,000 people were displaced.
After the storm, "We were a city that had no people in it," Ray Nagin, who was mayor of New Orleans when Katrina struck.
"Now, we're a city that has over 80 percent of its population back. Lowest unemployment in the country. Construction everywhere. I think we're on our way to success," Nagin told CNN's Don Lemon as the storm's anniversary approached.
Still, it is widely agreed that more work remains to bring New Orleans and the Gulf Coast back from Katrina's devastating blow. Some say that little has improved, and entire neighborhoods in Louisiana and beyond have not rebounded.
About 6,000 families own homes that cannot be rebuilt. One-third of New Orleanians say their lives are still disrupted by the storm, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation Poll. In New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward neighborhood -- seen as ground zero for Katrina's wrath -- only 4,000 of 18,000 residents have returned.
"I don't have to tell you that there are still too many vacant and overgrown lots," Obama said Sunday. "There are still too many students attending classes in trailers. There are still too many people unable to find work. And there's still too many New Orleans folks who haven't been able to come home."
"So while an incredible amount of progress has been made, on this fifth anniversary, I wanted to come here and tell the people of this city directly: My administration is going to stand with you -- and fight alongside you -- until the job is done, until New Orleans is all the way back."
"This is the place ... where I think the American people witnessed a real loss of faith in their federal government," Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan told CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday. "I have really been moved by the spirit of the people in New Orleans in the Gulf, and their rebuilding, and the optimism in progress that I have seen. More than 90 percent of the population is back in the New Orleans area, and there is still much ahead of us."
When Obama took office, 40,000 families remained in Federal Emergency Management Agency trailers or were using emergency housing vouchers, "and literally tens of thousands of them were at risk of losing their homes within weeks of us coming in," Donovan said. "Today, 98 percent of the families are in permanent housing."
The storm cut a wide swath of destruction, wiping out whole sections of Mississippi's Gulf Coast and swamping downtown Mobile, Alabama, with a 20-foot storm surge.
Despite the attention focused on New Orleans, it was Waveland, Mississippi that was the hardest hit. Ninety-five percent of the town's homes were destroyed, along with 100 percent of its businesses. Nearly every road was broken up or left under piles of debris.
Waveland began rebuilding almost immediately. Bolstered by $100 million in federal aid, it has repaired utilities, roads, schools, community centers and parks, and has recovered 65 percent of its businesses. About two-thirds of residents have returned.
Ironically, the city of New Orleans initially breathed a sigh of relief in those early hours, as it was spared a direct hit from the hurricane and at first seemed to have weathered the wind and rain. But Katrina's worst havoc was yet to come, as reports of levee breaches began to surface and entire neighborhoods flooded.
Katrina also dealt a black eye to the government, which scrambled to launch a delayed relief effort after the storm as New Orleans residents suffered and reports of crime and looting were widespread. Nagin in a famous expletive-laced interview lashed out, telling federal authorities to "get off your asses."
Then-President George W. Bush traveled to New Orleans, delivering a speech from Jackson Square as he promised, "We will do what it takes. We will stay as long as it takes to help citizens rebuild their communities and their lives."
But that "turned out to be a hollow promise," Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-Louisiana, told NBC's "Meet the Press" on Sunday. "... Because the federal government didn't stay and do everything it could. The federal government didn't make it easy. They made it very, very difficult."
Asked how FEMA can combat its still-suffering reputation in the region, agency chief Craig Fugate told CNN Saturday he believes responding quickly is the key.
"Speed is going to be critical," said Fugate, who distinguished himself as the head of the Florida Emergency Management Agency before being appointed to the federal post. "We cannot wait for a full assessment. We have to respond as if it's bad, bring the things together, and focus on the most immediate [goal] of keeping it safe, getting to the injured, trapped, and recovering the lost lives, getting supplies in here."
"The big lesson from Katrina is, you can't wait to find out how bad it is," he said. "You've got to respond, as a team, as [if] it is bad." -CNN U.S.
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