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LA HABRA, Calif. — An Orange County man cut off his mother's head with a circular saw and then died after trying to decapitate himself, authorities said. Police answered a 911 report of a family dispute at a Pinehurst Avenue home just after 5:30 a.m. Tuesday, entered a locked bedroom and found the body of 60-year-old Guadalupe Ruiz on a bed, police spokeswoman Cindy Knapp said. Arthur Ruiz Jr., 32, was on another bed with the saw nearby. He had died of neck injuries, police said. It was unclear why Ruiz attacked his mother, police said. A child and three...

(CBS) POMONA, Calif. A man with a prosthetic leg that fell off while he tried to flee from police was arrested Tuesday a short time after he allegedly burglarized a market in Pomona, Calif. with an accomplice, who escaped, police said. Gregory Daniels, 48, was booked for burglary following the crime, which occurred about 3:10 a.m. PDT at the Pomona Ranch Market, Pomona police Sgt. E. Vazquez said.

Total Recall A French oil giant's deals with a rogue regime--this time in Iran. Don't stop us if you've heard this one: French oil giant Total SA is being investigated for illicit dealings with a rogue regime in the Middle East. This time it's Iran, but maybe you recall its experience with another dictator and something called Oil for Food. A French judge is investigating bribes that Total executives allegedly paid Iranian officials to secure business in the Islamic Republic. Last week, the judge issued preliminary charges of abuse of company funds and corruption of foreign agents against Chief Executive...

Total's CEO Charged in Iran Probe By PIERRE-ANTOINE SOUCHARD The Associated Press Thursday, March 22, 2007; 6:26 PM PARIS -- An investigating judge filed preliminary charges Thursday against the chief executive of Total SA in a corruption case linked to a 1997 contract with Iran, the company and judicial officials said. Preliminary charges were filed against Total Chief Executive Christophe de Margerie for alleged abuse of company assets and corruption of foreign agents, the judicial officials said. They were not authorized to speak publicly about the case and provided information only on condition of anonymity. De Margerie, who replaced Thierry...

Stocks tumbled Tuesday as investors fretted about the resiliency of the consumer, amid further concerns about the subprime lending industry, disappointing retail-sales data and weakness in the tech sector. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 242.66, or 2%, to 12075.96. Year-to-date, it is now down 3.1%. The S&P 500 lost 28.65, also a 2% drop, to 1377.95, off 2.8% year to date. The Nasdaq Composite Index was off 51.72, or 2.2%, to 2350.57. It is 2.7% lower on the year. Each of the three indexes suffered its second-biggest decline of the year. The indexes started off moderately lower as a...

Any equity selloff as large as yesterday's will produce a multitude of explanations. Among other culprits, we heard about "overbought" Chinese stocks that were due for a correction, a weak durable goods report, the Kabul explosion aimed at Vice President Dick Cheney (see below), and former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan for declaring Monday that a "recession" was possible later this year. Our own "whodunit" contribution would point to the mortgage-related markets, which sold off nearly as much as stocks. This reflects the cracks appearing in the housing credit markets, especially in subprime loans but with some damage up the...

Body reveals its inflammation 'off switch' 18:00 01 October 2006 NewScientist.com news service Deb MacKenzie Researchers have shed light on how the body switches off its immune response, a key step towards understanding autoimmune diseases and controlling inflammation. When immune cells die, they transform into “sponges” that soak up the molecules responsible for causing inflammation, researchers have discovered. The new information may lead to better drugs to treat inflammatory disorders, such as eczema. Inflammation is characterised by a red, painful swelling around a wound caused by blood fluids, proteins and immune cells flooding into an area of the body in...

WASHINGTON, Sept. 6, 2006 – As the Iraqi army gains in numbers and capability, so too does the country’s air force, which aims to grow to 2,500 airmen by the year’s end, the commander of the Coalition Air Force Transition Team said. Air Force Brig. Gen. Stephen L. Hoog cited impressive improvement over the past six months, noting that the Iraqi air force continues to grow and improve its ability support the counterinsurgency mission. The Iraqi air force’s counterinsurgency mission consists primarily of aerial observation and surveillance and air transportation. Officials believe it is critical for Iraq’s long-term ability to...

Defense Department to Kick Off ‘Why We Serve’ TourBy Steven Donald SmithAmerican Forces Press Service WASHINGTON, Aug. 25, 2006 -- Beginning next week, 13 servicemembers from across the force will fan out across the country to speak about their military experience. Thirteen servicemembers who served in Iraq or Afghanistan meet with Deputy Defense Secretary Gordon England before they begin their speaking tour across the country. The Why We Serve speaking tour is a program created to respond to the requests of the American people who invite returning veterans to participate in community events and a variety of public affairs...

US brushes off 'crap' accusation Mr Prescott made "an honest and good point", Mr Cohen said The White House has made light of reports alleging that John Prescott said George Bush had been "crap" on the Middle East peace process. Tony Snow, a White House spokesman, said: "The president has been called a lot worse and I suspect will be." Mr Snow added that President Bush would have to face "piquant names" being hurled at him from time to time. The deputy prime minister said the reports of his comments in a private meeting with MPs were inaccurate. However, Mr...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 8, 2006 – Iraqi security forces and U.S. soldiers of Multinational Division Baghdad yesterday launched the second phase of Operation Together Forward to increase security and reduce violence in Baghdad. The operation is a combined effort between Iraqi police, the Iraqi army, and Multinational Division Baghdad to reduce murders, kidnappings, assassinations, terrorism and sectarian violence in the city and to reinforce the Iraqi government’s control of Baghdad, U.S. officials said. Phase 2, which is supported by the government of Iraq, began with the combined forces of the Iraqi National Police and the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry...

IN THE WEST, Qana, a small Lebanese village southeast of Tyre, is believed by some to be the place where Jesus performed his first miracle, turning water into wine. In Lebanon and throughout the wider Arab and Muslim world, however, the village's name has for the last decade been synonymous with something else: the killing in April 1996 of more than 100 men, women and children who had taken refuge in a U.N. compound, hiding from Israeli shelling directed at Hezbollah. Over time, Qana has been sculpted by Hezbollah into a symbol of martyrdom, a Shiite version of Sabra and...

7/26/2006 - TARIN KOWT, Afghanistan (AFPN) -- When people deployed to Afghanistan say a location is "hot," it could mean one of two things. Either it feels like the sun is closer than the moon, or the enemy is lurking about. Here, both meanings apply. For pilots, that equates to making quick pit stops here so they can get in and out of this danger zone as quickly as possible. For Tech. Sgt. Philip Lester, deployed from Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., that means enduring a 140-degree heat blast from behind C-130 Hercules engines as he unloads cargo and passengers...

While the United Nations frames its next response to crisis in the Middle East, its last grand venture in that region--Oil for Food--has finally resulted in a guilty verdict in open court. Last Thursday, a high-rolling, globe-trotting South Korean businessman named Tongsun Park was convicted in the Southern District of New York of conspiracy to launder money and act as an unregistered agent of Saddam Hussein's Iraq. Mr. Park's case is much entwined with the executive floor of the U.N. For years, he enjoyed extraordinary access to its top officials, complete (at least at one stage) with a U.N. grounds...

The story had everything: secret agents, political intrigue, personal betrayal and cash. Lots and lots of cash. Yet, for all that, a remarkable trial that ended last week in a Manhattan courtroom—a proceeding that implicated figures in the highest echelons of international politics—was barely mentioned in the major American press. If it weren’t for the journalistic wing of the conservative movement, outlets like the National Review Online and The New York Sun, it might not have been covered at all. Take the events of last Thursday, for example. After two weeks of testimony, a jury took only a few hours...

San Juan, Jul 4 (EFE).- Four men who fired off guns on a beach in southern Puerto Rico were killed by an angry father who mistakenly thought his daughter had been struck by one of their shots, police said Tuesday. Ernesto Albarran, 19; Cristian Flores, 21; Armando Castro, 25, and his brother Angel, 20, fired shots Monday night on La Jungla beach in the town of Guanica, according to the preliminary investigation. Adan Torres Quiñones noticed the gunplay and thought his daughter had been hit when he saw her throw herself on the sand to dodge the bullets. Enraged, he...

Jim Marshall vote’s for it after he votes against itTakes the lesson out of John Kerry’s Election Playbook(Warner Robins, GA)- Jim Marshall was recently ranked the 407th least effective member of Congress by Knowlegis, a government relations information management company, which surveyed all U.S. Senators and Congressman and ranked them in accordance with how effective they are in advancing a particular agenda. Yesterday, Jim Marshall demonstrated why he deserves one of the lowest rankings in the House of Representatives. The Timeline:May 18th 2006 – Jim Marshall votes against the Poe of Texas Amendments which would have allowed for environmentally friendly...

AN AGENT from South Korea who established a “secret backchannel” between a former UN Secretary-General and Saddam Hussein’s regime asked Iraq for $10 million “to take care of some people”, a New York court was told. Iraq set aside $15 million for the bribery scheme and sent $3 million in cash to New York in the year the UN’s Oil-for-Food programme was set up, it was alleged. It also heard that Iraq’s UN ambassador at the time believed that some of the money was destined for Boutros Boutros Ghali, then Secretary-General, although the prosecutors did not suggest that any of...

U.S. Troops Fight Off Taliban Attack Tuesday June 20, 2006 10:31 PM By JASON STRAZIUSO Associated Press Writer BAGHRAN VALLEY, Afghanistan (AP) - U.S. troops carrying out an anti-militant offensive fought off a Taliban attack on their mountaintop camp Tuesday, while a roadside blast in the same part of southern Afghanistan left a Romanian soldier dead. The Americans used machine guns and mortars to repel the attackers in Helmand province's remote Baghran Valley. U.S. warplanes were called in to bomb a militant hideout and the American military said a few of the fighters were probably killed. Local residents said an...

SOUTH TOLEDO -- A south Toledo man is using a replica of the Statue of Liberty to let the world know his thoughts on illegal immigration. Art Bollinger says he got this idea from an e-mail he received, and decided to duplicate the picture. From the front, you can see the Statue of Liberty. From behind, it shows Lady Liberty's behind, in a thong bikini. The nearby sign says "Kiss my American Ass." Bollinger tells News 11 he will accept anyone into this country as long as they come here legally, but he has no patience for those who sneak...