Federal officials on Thursday suspended two air traffic employees at Teterboro Airport who had been overseeing the Piper plane that collided with a helicopter over the Hudson River on Saturday, killing nine people.
One of the employees was the air traffic controller who handled the flight but was on the phone “involved in apparently inappropriate conversations” at the time of the accident, the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.
The second was the traffic controller’s supervisor, who was supposed to be present but was out of the building at the time, the agency said.
The agency said, however, that it did not believe the employees’ behavior had any role in the collision.
“While we have no reason to believe at this time that these actions contributed to the accident,” the F.A.A. said, “this kind of conduct is unacceptable, and we have placed the employees on administrative leave and have begun disciplinary proceedings.”
Federal officials did not identify the employees, but a report in The Daily News said that the traffic controller had been on the phone with his companion. Citing an unnamed senior agency official, the newspaper said that the controller had been in radio contact with the Piper — while speaking to his companion on a separate line — and that he had given the pilot the correct radio frequency for Newark Liberty International Airport and handed him off to controllers at that tower, as required.
But according to investigators, the pilot never contacted Newark. It was unclear why the controllers did not hear from him.
Moments later, just before noon, the small plane collided in midair with a New York tourist helicopter and plunged into the Hudson River off Hoboken, N.J. All on board the two aircraft — three in the plane and six in the helicopter — were killed.
In its statement on Thursday, the F.A.A. said that it was still trying to determine the cause of the accident.
Student journalist Damon Weaver asked Obama about improving school lunches and others. Damon Weaver, 10, worked with '20/20' to report from his hometown, Pahokee, Fla
Damon Weaver has a new homeboy — President Barack Obama.
The South Florida boy finally landed his coveted interview with Obama, who fielded questions about his basketball skills, education funding, and whether students could have mangos for lunch everyday.
In the interview, which was filmed at the White House and posted on YouTube.com on Thursday night, the 11-year-old asks Obama about bullying, how parents can improve their children's education, and if the president could make school lunches better.
"I remember when I used to get school lunches, sometimes they didn't taste so good, I've got to admit," Obama said. "We are actually seeing if we can work to at least make school lunches healthier. Because a lot of school lunches, there's a lot of french fries, pizzas, tater tots. All kinds of stuff that isn't a well-balanced meal."
Weaver told Obama he noticed that he gets "bullied a lot," and asked how the president handled negative comments.
"I think that when you're president, you're responsible for a lot of things," Obama said. "A lot of people are having a tough time and they're hurting out there. And the main thing I just try to do is stay focused on trying to do a good job, and try to be understanding that sometimes people are going to be mad about things."
"Unfortunately, a lot of times if you've got a community that is lower income, they don't have as much money in their schools," Obama told Weaver. "A lot of that is state funding. And I want to see states be more fair in terms of how they give money to various schools around their communities. But, I do think that it's important to make sure that we can find help from the federal government from here in Washington, D.C., for those schools that need the most help."
Weaver, who has also interviewed Dwyane Wade, told Obama the star Miami Heat guard had promised to play a one-on-one game with the commander in chief if Obama sat for his questions.
"Would you be willing to play him on a one-on-one basketball game?" Weaver asked.
"I would play Dwyane Wade ... I've got to admit, though, Dwyane Wade's a little bit better at basketball than I am," Obama said.
Obama also told Weaver he used to be able to dunk, but no longer can.
"Well, I got an interview with President Obama," Weaver said at the end of the online video. "He's very tall and nice."
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Full Transcript below..
DAMON WEAVER: I've heard that you would like to make an announcement about education. Can you tell me about the announcement?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well on Sept. 8 when young people around the country have just started or are about to go back to school I'm going to be making a big speech to you people all across the country about the importance of education and the importance of staying in school, how we want to improve the education system and why it's so important for the country, so I hope everybody tunes in.
WEAVER: All across America, money is being cut from education. How can education be improved with all these cuts?
OBAMA:Well, we actually, here in the administration, trying to put more money into schools, and there are a lot of schools all across the country that are getting new buildings and new facilities. We're now putting more money into training good teachers and giving them more support, and so we think it's important to put more money into the schools. But money alone is not going to make the difference. We've also got to improve how the schools are operating, and we have really been trying to focus on how do you find the best schools and figure out what it is that they're doing well. And they're trying to get other schools that aren't doing so well to do the same kinds of things that the schools who are doing well are doing. So I hope that we can really see some improvement, not just with money, but also with reforming how the schools work.
WEAVER: I live in Pahokee, Fla., which is a kind of poor town. What can be done to improve education for students that live in towns like mine?
OBAMA: Well, unfortunately a lot of times if you've got a community that is lower income, they don't have as much money in their schools. A lot of that is state funding, and I want to see states be more fair in terms of how they give money to various schools around their communities, but I do think it's important to make sure that we can find help from the federal government from here in Washington D.C. for those schools that need the most help. There are certain programs, like dropout prevention programs, for example, that local school districts might not be able to afford, but maybe we can make sure that the federal government is giving help to those local districts so they can improve their educational system.
WEAVER: I've learned that your mom always made sure that you were doing well at school. What should parents do to make sure their child's education is better?
OBAMA: Parents are the most important thing to any child's ability to do well in school, so making sure you're reading to your child, especially when they're young, even before they get to school so they start being used to reading, they know their alphabet, they know the basics, so even when they get to kindergarten they're already a leg up. I think it's important to make sure that kids are doing their homework and that they're not just turning on the TV all day or playing video games. I think talking to teachers and finding out from teachers directly what can be done to improve their child's performance, I think that's important, and setting a high standard, that's important. Saying if you get a B, you can do better, you can get an A. Making sure we have high expectations for all children because I think all children can do well as long as they have the support that they need.
WEAVER: Do you have the power to make the school lunches better?
OBAMA: Well, I remember that when I used to get school lunches they didn't taste so good, I got to admit. We are seeing if we can work to at least make school lunches healthier, cause a lot of school lunches, there's a lot of french fries, pizza, tater tots, all kinds of stuff that isn't a well balanced meal, so we want to make sure there are more fruits and vegetables in the schools, now, kids may not end up liking that, but it's better for them, it'll be healthier for them, and those are some of the changes we're trying to make.
WEAVER: I suggest that we have french fries and mangoes every day for lunch.
OBAMA: See, and if you were planning the lunch program it'd probably taste good to you but it might not make you big and strong like you need to be and so we want to make sure that food tastes good in school lunches but that they're also healthy for you too.
WEAVER: I looooove mangoes.
OBAMA: I love mangoes too, but I'm not sure we can get mangoes in every school. They only grow in hot temperatures and there are a lot of schools up north where they don't have mango trees.
WEAVER: I notice as president you get bullied a lot. How do you handle it?
OBAMA: You mean people say mean things about me? I think that when you're president you're responsible for a lot of things and people are having a tough time, they're hurting out there, and the main thing I try to do is just stay focused on trying to do a good job and try to be understanding that sometimes people are going to be mad about things, but if I'm doing a good job, I'm doing my best, I'm helping people, that keeps me going.
WEAVER: Were you ever bullied in school?
OBAMA: You know, I wasn't bullied too much in school, I was pretty big for my age, but obviously it's a terrible thing and I hope all young people out there understand that they should treat each other with respect.
WEAVER: What can kids to do make our country better?
OBAMA: I think the things that kids can do best is just work really hard in school and succeed. If young people like yourself are reading at high levels, doing their homework, doing math and science and ending up going to college, that makes everyone better off, so the most important thing young people can do is just do well at school, but also when they have some spare time, try to help out people, your church or your religious community, or out in the neighborhood, or helping an elderly person carry their grocery bags or being helping out a younger person with their schoolwork, those kind of things that's also really helpful to the country.
WEAVER: Everybody knows that you love basketball. I think it would be cool to have a president who could dunk. Can you dunk?
OBAMA: Not anymore. I used to when I was young, but I'm almost 50 now so, your legs are the first thing to go.
WEAVER: My buddy Dwayne Wade promised me if you gave me the interview he would play you in a one on one basketball game, but he's not sure if he would let you score. Would you be willing to play him in a one-on-one basketball game?
OBAMA: I would play Dwayne Wade, and if Dwayne was here, I'm sorry to hear that he was trash talking about his game. I've got to admit though Dwayne Wade is a little bit better at basketball than I am, so I might rather have him on my team playing against someone else than playing against him.
WEAVER: What is it like to be President of the United States?
OBAMA: Well, it's very exciting, it's a lot of work, and there are times where you get a little worn down, but every day you have the possibility, the ability of helping other people, and if you can do that, it's a great, great thing.
WEAVER: In my town, Pahokee, I've seen a lot of shootings and fights. What are you going to do about violence and to keep me safe?
OBAMA: Well, I think that we have to make sure that all schools have resources to keep kids safe, but also that parents and community members participate in training their young people to resolve arguments and disagreements without resorting to violence. Too many of our young people, they get frustrated or angry with each other, they start acting out in violence, and we need to make sure that we're teaching young people to deal with the issues that they may have in a better way, in a more constructive way.
WEAVER: I know that you're busy being the president, but I would like to invite you to my school, Canal Point Elementary School because there's a lot of good things going on there that I would like you to see.
OBAMA: Well I hope that at some point I get a chance to visit your school because you did just a great job on this interview, so somebody must be doing something right down at that school.
WEAVER: When I interviewed Vice President Joe Biden, he became my homeboy. Would you like to become my homeboy?
OBAMA: Absolutely, thank you man. Great job.
WEAVER: Thanks for making my dream come true, Mr. President.
OBAMA: Well I appreciate it. You did an outstanding job. I look forward to seeing you in the future.
--Daniel Schuler, right, holds hands with sisters-in-law Jay Schuler, center, and Joyce Schuler, left, while surrounded by reporters during a press conference in Garden City, N.Y., Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009. Schuler's wife Diane was drunk and high on marijuana when she drove the wrong way for almost two miles on a highway before smashing head-on into an SUV, killing herself and seven others, a prosecutor said. Schuler family attorney Dominic Barbara says 36-year-old Diane Schuler wasn't an alcoholic but was diabetic and may have suffered a stroke before the July 26 crash north of New York City.--
--Daniel Schuler cries while his sister-in-law Jay Schuler speaks at a press conference in Garden City, N.Y., Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009. Schuler's wife Diane was drunk and high on marijuana when she drove the wrong way for almost two miles on a highway before smashing head-on into an SUV, killing herself and seven others, a prosecutor said. Schuler family attorney Dominic Barbara says 36-year-old Diane Schuler wasn't an alcoholic but was diabetic and may have suffered a stroke before the July 26 crash north of New York City--
--Daniel Schuler's eyes fill with tears during a press conference in Garden City, N.Y., Thursday, Aug. 6, 2009. Schuler's wife Diane was drunk and high on marijuana when she drove the wrong way for almost two miles on a highway before smashing head-on into an SUV, killing herself and seven others, a prosecutor said. Attorney Dominic Barbara says 36-year-old Diane Schuler wasn't an alcoholic but was diabetic and may have suffered a stroke before the July 26 crash north of New York City. --
She couldn't have been drunk and stoned. Her husband had never seen her intoxicated before. And there were absolutely no marital problems that could have sent her over the edge.
In an anguished, sometimes angry news conference, Daniel Schuler refused to accept an autopsy report that showed his wife had the equivalent of 10 drinks and smoked marijuana within an hour of the wrong-way highway crash that killed her and seven other people.
"I never saw her drunk since the day I met her," Daniel Schuler told reporters at a press conference outside his attorney's office. "She was not a drinker. She was not an alcoholic."
He suggested anything from a stroke to gestational diabetes to even an abscessed tooth could have caused his wife to act irrationally in the hours before her death.
A broken 1.75-liter bottle of Absolut vodka was found in her wrecked minivan, police said.
Family of the men in the SUV had questioned how Schuler's family could have been oblivious to an alcohol abuse problem and suggested criminal charges were possible. An attorney for the victims' family didn't return calls Thursday.
A preliminary autopsy of Diane Schuler ruled out a stroke, heart attack, or aneurysm, Westchester County officials said. The medical examiner said Thursday that he stood by his report that found her blood-alcohol level was more than twice the state's legal limit, she still had undigested alcohol in her stomach, and she had high levels of the key ingredient in marijuana in her system.
Diane Schuler was once diagnosed with gestational diabetes — which usually goes away after childbirth — had an undiagnosed lump on her leg and was suffering from an abscessed tooth for nearly two months. It was not clear how any of those maladies would prompt someone to become intoxicated.
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Fatal crash on the Taconic State Parkway - Leave 8 people die.Authorities are trying to determine how a woman driving a minivan carrying two of her children and three young nieces got onto a suburban parkway heading in the wrong direction, leading to a fiery crash that killed eight people and left a 5-year-old boy severely injured. The afternoon crash in which the 36-year-old mother, her daughter and nieces died was the second wrong-way crash on the Taconic State Parkway on Sunday. Police also are investigating how a driver in an earlier accident also ended up on the road going against traffic. The crashes on the parkway north of New York City happened 20 miles apart. The minivan involved in the fatal crash was traveling south in the northbound lanes when it hit an SUV and then careened into a third vehicle, said state police Investigator Joseph Becerra. The minivan rolled down an embankment and burst into flames. The minivan's front end appeared to have been almost entirely smashed in, and its shell was scorched and bent. Its driver and four of the five children inside it were killed, Becerra said. They were part of a family from Floral Park and West Babylon, on Long Island. ----------
The jet carrying Euna Lee and Laura Ling, reporters for Al Gore's San Francisco-based Current TV, and Clinton arrived at Burbank's Bob Hope Airport at dawn. Clinton met with communist leader Kim Jong Il on Tuesday to secure the women's release.
Lee emerged from the jetliner first and was greeted by husband Michael Saldate and 4-year-old daughter Hana. She hugged the girl and picked her up before all three embraced in a crushing hug as TV networks beamed the poignant moment live.
Ling embraced her husband, Iain Clayton, as teary family members crowded around.
"The past 140 days have been the most difficult, heart-wrenching days of our lives," Ling said, her voice cracking.
Thirty hours ago, Ling said, "We feared that any moment we could be sent to a hard labor camp."
Then, she said, they were taken to another location.
"When we walked through the doors, we saw standing before us President Bill Clinton," she said to applause. "We were shocked but we knew instantly in our hearts that the nightmare of our lives was finally coming to an end, and now we stand here, home and free."
Mr. Clinton came down the stairs to applause. He hugged former Vice President Al Gore at the foot of the stairs, then chatted with family members. Mr. Gore described the families of the two women as "unbelievable, passionate, involved, committed, innovative."
Mr. Clinton won their release in a diplomatic stroke fraught with promise and potential pitfalls for the Obama administration's drive to halt the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
The announcement followed a face-to-face meeting between Mr. Clinton and North Korea's often irascible dictator Kim Jong Il -- the first such high-profile U.S. mission to the so-called "hermit kingdom" since Mr. Clinton's secretary of state, Madeleine Albright, visited the country in 2000. The former president and a small entourage arrived in Pyongyang unexpectedly on Tuesday morning local time.
The mission took root in early July after one of the reporters told relatives in a phone call that North Korea would grant them amnesty in exchange for a visit from Mr. Clinton, according to a senior Obama administration official. A North Korean court convicted the pair in June of illegally entering the country when they filmed a report on the border region with China on March 17.
The trip and its diplomatic theatrics represent a sudden moment of goodwill and compromise between two countries with nearly 60 years of fractious relations that grew even more antagonistic over the past year.
President Barack Obama said Wednesday that he was "extraordinarily relieved" that the journalists returned home safely.
Mr. Clinton's discussions in North Korea could place the Obama administration in a difficult position as it seeks to keep humanitarian and strategic issues separate. Former U.S. officials note that no matter what parameters the White House sought to set for Mr. Clinton's mission, the discussions appeared to have moved beyond the issue of the journalists.
"We are very pleased with the outcome, and I'm hopeful that the families are going to be able to get some good time together in the next few days," Mr. Obama said.
At the same time, the White House spokesman maintained that Clinton had not carried any message from Obama to Kim. "If there wasn't a message, there certainly couldn't have been an apology," Gibbs told reporters.
The White House, noting that Clinton's trip was "a private mission" using a private aircraft "not paid for by the government," also made it clear that the negotiations over the journalists held by North Korea are distinct from the ongoing dispute that the U.S. has with Pyonyang.
Clinton, in a statement released by his office, said, "I am very happy that after this long ordeal, Laura Ling and Euna Lee are now home and reunited with their loved ones. Ms. Lee came out of the jetliner first and was greeted by husband, Michael Saldage, and 4-year-old daughter, Hanna, according to the Associated Press. She hugged the girl and picked her up before all three embraced in a crushing hug. Ms. Ling embraced her husband, Iain Clayton, as teary family members crowded around, AP reported.
"When their families, Vice President Gore and the White House asked that I undertake this humanitarian mission, I agreed," Clinton said. "I share a deep sense of relief with Laura and Euna and their families that they are safely home."
"It speaks well of our country that, when two unarmed citizens are in harm's way," so many people will work for their release, Gore said by their side. "We say a word of thanks, deep thanks, as well."
In a statement, North Korea's Korean Central News Agency said the meeting "featured candid and in-depth discussions on the pending issues between the DPRK [Democratic People's Republic of Korea] and the U.S. in a sincere atmosphere."
"It's already clear they're discussing broader issues," said Selig Harrison, a Washington-based academic who's made numerous trips to North Korea to discuss the nuclear issue, including one this January.
"The best way to change our relationship with North Korea would be for the North Koreans to decide that it's time to live up to the responsibilities and the agreements that they themselves entered into," Gibbs added. "Our goal is a denuclearized the Korean Peninsula. And the North Koreans can and should live up to those agreements."
--After more than four months in captivity, a high-level visit from former US President Bill Clinton secured their release.
Euna Lee and Laura Ling are journalists with San Francisco-based Current TV, a media venture co-founded by former US Vice-President Al Gore.
Ms Ling, a 32-year-old California native, has experience covering the conflict in Sri Lanka, Brazilian slave labour and Iran's underground youth culture.
Ms Lee, a 36-year-old South Korean-born US citizen, is an editor with Current TV.
From the time they were captured, the two women's families urged the authorities in Pyongyang to release them, saying they were worried about the "mental state and wellbeing" of the pair.
In a joint statement, the families said Ms Ling suffered from an ulcer and that Ms Lee had a four-year-old daughter who was "displaying signs of anguish".
"We believe that the three months they have already spent under arrest with little communication with their families is long enough," the statement said.
Ms Ling's husband, Iain Clayton, appeared on US TV networks and read out a letter she had written from captivity: "While I am trying to remain hopeful, each day becomes harder and harder to bear. I am so lonely and scared."
Their hopes appeared dashed in early June when a quick trial saw them convicted and sentenced to 12 years of "reform through labour".
It seems, however, that the two were well-treated and kept in a Pyongyang guest house, with access to consular services provided by Sweden's embassy in North Korea and allowed to make several phone calls to their families in the US.
It was during these phone calls that the pair said Pyongyang had suggested that a visit by Mr Clinton could secure their freedom, US officials have said.
Analysts say they were probably being kept as bargaining chips to wrest concessions or direct talks with the United States.
But the US has said Mr Clinton did not discuss any other issues other than the women's freedom during his trip to Pyongyang.
The reporters' families, and officials in Washington, had urged that Pyongyang keep this case separate from the nuclear issue bedevilling relations between North Korea and the US.
The North Korean government, which in June sentenced the women to 12 years of hard labor for illegally entering North Korean territory, announced hours before the jet's departure from North Korea that it had pardoned the women after Mr. Clinton apologized to Mr. Kim for their actions.
Former President Al Gore, the founder of the media company that employs the journalists, hugged Ms. Lee. The two women who were stopped on March 17 by soldiers near North Korea's border with China while researching a report about women and human trafficking. They faced years of imprisonment in the gulag-like confines of a North Korean prison camp.
Ms. Lee embraced her husband, Michael Saldate, and 4-year-old daughter, Hana, as Ms. Ling hugged her husband, Ian Clayton. Administration officials said Mr. Clinton went to North Korea as a private citizen, did not carry a message from Mr. Obama for Mr. Kim and had the authority to negotiate only for the women's release.
Mr. Clinton embraced his former vice president, Mr. Gore. Given Mr. Clinton's stature and his long interest in the North Korean nuclear issue, experts said it was likely that his discussions in North Korea ranged well beyond obtaining the release of Ms. Ling and Ms. Lee.
Ms. Ling was kissed by her mother, Mary. The ordeal ended at a time when the United States' relationship with North Korea had become especially chilled, after North Korea's test of its second nuclear device in May and a series of missile launchings.
"Thirty hours ago, Euna Lee and I were prisoners in North Korea," Ms. Ling said in brief remarks to reporters, blinking back tears. "We feared that at any moment we could be prisoners in a hard labor camp. Then suddenly we were told that we were going to a meeting. We were taken to a location and when we walked through the doors, we saw standing before us President Bill Clinton."
Ms. Ling, left, and Ms. Lee stepped off the plane in jeans and sweaters, rushing down the stairs to be reunited with their families. The families issued a statement saying they were "overjoyed" by news of the pardon and thanked Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton.
A private plane carrying former President Bill Clinton and two journalists, Laura Ling, 32, and Euna Lee, 36, landed early Wednesday morning in Burbank, just outside Los Angeles. During Mr. Clinton's dramatic 20-hour visit to North Korea, he won the freedom of the American journalists, opened a diplomatic channel to North Korea's reclusive government and dined with the North's ailing leader, Kim Jong-il.
The negotiations catapulted Mr. Clinton back on to the global stage, on behalf of a president who defeated Mrs. Clinton in a bitter primary campaign last year, and who later asked her to be his secretary of state.
Freed US journalist Euna Lee (C) embraces her husband Michael Saldate and daughter Hannah upon her arrival with fellow journalist Laura Ling, after being released from North Korea, at the airport in Burbank, California on August 5, 2009.
Laura Ling, front right, thanked former President Bill Clinton for his assistance in the release of herself and fellow journalist Euna Lee, back right, while standing with Clinton and former Vice President Al Gore
Two American journalists jubilantly reunited with family and friends early Wednesday upon returning to the United States with former President Bill Clinton, whose diplomatic trip to North Korea secured their release nearly five months after their arrests.
Freed US journalists Euna Lee, left, and Laura Ling are greeted by Euna's husband Michael Saldate (2nd-R) and her daughter Hannah and Ling's husband Lain Clayton as they arrive from North Korea at Burbank, California Wednesday. Following talks in Pyongyang with former US president Bill Clinton, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il pardoned Ling, 32, and Lee, 36, who were arrested while reporting near North Korea's border with China. They were sentenced in June to 12 years of hard labour for illegal entry and "hostile acts."
Freed US journalist Euna Lee (L) embraces her husband Michael Saldate and daughter Hannah and fellow journalist Laura Ling (R) embraces her husband Lain Clayton after being released from North Korea, at the airport in Burbank, California on August 5, 2009.
Former President Bill Clinton alongside Al Gore talk with journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee at Hangar 25 on August 5, 2009 in Burbank, California after being released by North Korean authorities yesterday. Ling and Lee, of San Francisco based Current TV, were both arrested by North Korea in March for illegally entering the country on the Chinese border. Yesterday they were pardoned by President Kim Jong-Il after a meeting with former U.S. President Bill Clinton.
Journalist Lisa Ling, left, smiles as she talks with sister and journalist Laura Ling who along with Euna Lee arrived at Hangar 25 on August 5, 2009 in Burbank, California after being released by North Korean authorities yesterday. Ling and Lee, of San Francisco based Current TV, were both arrested by North Korea in March for illegally entering the country on the Chinese border.
Freed US journalists Laura Ling speaks after arriving from North Korea with colleague Euna Lee (R rear) at the airport in Burbank, California on August 5, 2009. Following talks in Pyongyang with former US President Bill Clinton, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il pardoned the women who were sentenced to hard labor for entering the country illegally.
Journalists Laura Ling hugs husband Iain Clayton after her arrival with Euna Lee at Hangar 25 Wednesday. Ling and Lee, of San Francisco based Current TV, were both arrested by North Korea in March for illegally entering the country on the Chinese border. Yesterday they were pardoned by President Kim Jong-Il after a meeting with former U.S. President Bill Clinton. Ling and Lee had been sentenced to 12 years in prison in June.
Former US President Bill Clinton (L) chats with his former Vice President Al Gore after freed US journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee arrive dfrom North Korea at the airport in Burbank, California, on August 5, 2009. Following talks in Pyongyang with Clinton, North Korean leader Kim Jong Il pardoned the women were sentenced to hard labor for entering the country illegally.
Michael Jackson’s family wants a judge to delay the appointment of two men as temporary administrators of the pop superstar’s estate, a person close to the Jacksons said.
The family is looking for the delay so they can look deeper into his affairs, to see if another will emerges, and to accommodate Jackson’s memorial service on Tuesday, said a person close to the family who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak publicly.
“It has been very insensitive, particularly to this family, that you would even schedule a court hearing on the status of the mother, the day before she has to go to the cemetery for her son,” the Rev. Al Sharpton, a friend of the Jacksons, said on ABC’s “Good Morning America” on Monday. “It’s almost insulting.”
Jackson’s mother, Katherine Jackson, was granted some limited powers over the singer’s estate days after his death. But because Branca and McClain are named as executors in the 2002 will, it’s expected that they would be granted more authority to oversee Jackson’s estate, estimated in court filings as being worth more than $500 million, in Monday’s scheduled hearing.
Entering into a business relationship with Michael Jackson rarely meant a long-lasting partnership. Over time, especially in the waning years of his life, Jackson hired — then fired — a litany of associates, from managers to attorneys to publicists.
Most were dispatched after the relationship soured, and the trust had evaporated.
Perhaps the one exception in his financial life was Jackson's mother, Katherine.
Jackson relied on his 79-year-old mother for more than emotional support: Documents show he put her in the position of trustee on contracts, including his lucrative Sony-ATV catalog, and associates say he also sought her input on other financial matters as he became more wary of those in his business circle.
"Any deal Michael did, he always called his mother up," said Steve Manning, a close friend of the Jackson family. "She was the backbone of his spirit."
"What he trusted was that she would make sure that his wishes were carried out," said Mrs. Jackson's attorney, L. Londell McMillan, who is representing her interests as the singer's estate is sorted out. "He understood that she was the most loyal person in his life. Her loyalty did not stop for Michael with merely personal matters."
But Jackson's last known will, drafted in 2002, left his mother, along with his three children, out of any decision-making role in his estate, leaving her only as a beneficiary.
Attorney John Branca and Jackson's former manager and close friend, John McClain, were named (along with a third party who has since removed himself) as the only people with the authority to guide his business matters after his death.
Mrs. Jackson is trying to change that, seeking to gain some kind of control over her late son's estate. The Jackson matriarch is adamant that she — or even another family member — have a role over Michael Jackson's business legacy, which may be worth more in death than when he was alive. Some estimates have valued his estate at $500 million.
Mrs. Jackson has filed a motion to determine whether contesting the two executors would lead to disinheritance — Jackson's will had a no-contest clause.
"She is concerned about how the trust is going to be managed. She wants to make sure that she has a seat at the table and the family has a seat at the table," said Dean Hansell, an attorney who spoke for Mrs. Jackson in court Monday. "She wants that and she has been coming up against resistance."
But in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday, Branca said he is amenable to having Mrs. Jackson, or someone in the family, in a trustee role.
"We are going to have a meaningful conversation with her about having one of her family members become a co-trustee," Branca said. "Our number one priority is to make sure this estate is run effectively."
Branca and McClain have control of Jackson's estate until at least Oct. 3. They have already made several deals on behalf of Jackson's estate, including a reissue of his memoir "Moonwalk" and a full-length motion picture filled with footage of his last rehearsals, which requires a judge's approval. In a sign that Katherine Jackson's input is already being considered critical, the judge has scheduled a hearing Monday to see, among other things, whether she has any objections.
Branca was Jackson's attorney for many years, working with him during the height of his fame and helping negotiate his deal to buy the Beatles catalog. But they split in 2005 until Branca was brought back shortly before Jackson's death as he prepared for his comeback concerts with the promoter AEG.
McClain has been very close with the family for decades, and was instrumental in building Janet Jackson's career. He also had played key roles in Michael Jackson's career in its later years.
Manning(Katherine Jackson lawyer) spoke highly of McClain, saying he has been "like a son" to the Jackson parents.
Legally, Mrs. Jackson may not be able to have an official role. Both Branca and Hansell said the addition of Katherine as an executor of the will or a trustee of the trust might raise tax questions because she is a beneficiary.
"She is a woman of great faith, and believes if you treat people right, (good) things will come back to you."
Jackson named his mother on at least two trusts — besides the Sony-ATV music catalog, she's a part of his Mijac publishing company — and McMillan said she was active in Jackson's business affairs, even attending depositions in legal cases.
Whether Mrs. Jackson has the business capacity to deal with Jackson's estate, which is complicated and tangled, is likely to be a key question. She and Joe filed for bankruptcy 10 years ago, listing nearly $24 million in debts that included court judgments, auto loans and credit cards. Court records show the only valuable asset listed was a house in Las Vegas then valued at $290,000.
McMillan said the role of a trustee does not require a person to be a business whiz.
"A trustee is one of trust as opposed to extraordinary skill," he said. "Trustees hire experts to administer business that requires experts."
Manning said Mrs. Jackson is confident that her legal team would do an excellent job with her guidance. He also raised the possibility that one of Jackson's five brothers could have a role in the estate: "That would be the right thing to do, the right thing to happen."
Legally, Mrs. Jackson may not be able to have an official role. Both Branca and Hansell said the addition of Katherine as an executor of the will or a trustee of the trust might raise tax questions because she is a beneficiary.
This July 5, 2009 file photo shows Katherine Jackson, left, and an unidentified driver entering the Jackson family home in the Encino section of Los Angeles. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff appointed Katherine Jackson as the permanent guardian of the late singer's three children during a court hearing in Los Angeles on Monday.
In this artist's drawing Katherine Jackson, right, and her attorney L. Londell McMillan are seen at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse on Monday Aug. 3, 2009 in Los Angeles.
FILE - This July 7, 2009 file photo shows Katherine Jackson, right, arriving with Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris, rear center, to the memorial service for the late pop star in Los Angeles. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Mitchell Beckloff appointed Katherine Jackson as the permanent guardian of the late singer's three children during a court hearing in Los Angeles on Monday
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-Writer Lorraine Ali discusses Michael Jackson's legal woes, and his fans, with CNN.-
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--Michael Jackson after dying is transported via helicopter from UCLA hospital too the Coroners Office for an autopsy..
Two nuclear-powered Russian attack submarines have been patrolling in international waters off the Eastern Seaboard of the United States in a rare mission tracked by Washington, U.S. officials said on Wednesday. Just 200 miles off of USA soils.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said the U.S. military was "mindful" of Russian military activities, but he declined to comment on any specific submarine maneuvers.
"Navies, including the United States, operate around the world. Vessels operating safely in international waters ought not to concern anybody," he said.
Another U.S. official familiar with the intelligence, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: "Alarm bells are not ringing."
The submarines have not taken any provocative action, the official said.
The New York Times, which first reported the presence of the vessels, described them as Akula-class submarines.Akula is the NATO codename for the Soviet-designed Nerpa, which has been in service since the mid-1980s. They are armed with torpedoes, cruise missiles and can carry underwater missiles.
One of the Russian submarines remained in international waters on Tuesday about 200 miles off the coast of the United States and the second sub made a port call in Cuba in recent days, the Times said, citing Defense Department officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
The U.S. officials declined to speculate on what weapons might be aboard the two submarines, and described the Russian exercise as rare.
"The Russian navy systematically pinpoints the location of NATO submarines, including US Navy submarines, in direct proximity to the territorial waters of the Russian Federation," Interfax news agency quoted the source as saying.
"This however has never been a reason to make a lot of noise in the press," the source said, adding: "Consequently, any hysteria in such a case is inappropriate."
The US military's response indicated the episode did not appear to pose any immediate threat to the United States.
The submarines are not among the larger class of Russian submarines that can launch nuclear missiles, The Times reported.
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-Fairly detailed presentation of the gigantic Russian "Akula" ("Typhoon") class submarine. In size this sub is comparable to a WWII battleship or aircraft carrier. The footage is from various documentaries with music added.-
American Idol” judges Simon Cowell, Kara DioGuardi, Paula Abdul, and Randy Jackson attend auditions on Tuesday in New York City.
- Paula Abdul -
After weeks of negotiations with the producers of “American Idol,” Paula Abdul said Tuesday evening that she was leaving the top-rated singing competition.
“With sadness in my heart, I’ve decided not to return to #IDOL,” Ms. Adbul wrote on Twitter.
“I’ll miss nurturing all the new talent,” she wrote, “but most of all being a part of a show that I helped from day 1 become an international phenomenon.”
Fox had no immediate comment.
Her apparent decision came one day after Fox said Kara DioGuardi would return as a judge next season. The show is preparing for the first appearance, later this month, of potential contestants for the show’s ninth season before the judging panel.
Ms. Abdul’s contract expired at the end of last season, and she had been negotiating for a substantial raise from the estimated $2 million that she earned last year.
Ms. Abdul had said that she wanted to return to the show, and Fox Broadcasting and the show’s producers had said they wanted her back. Last week on Twitter she wrote, “I hope you can understand I can only return to Idol if the deal is fair.”
This summer, Ryan Seacrest, the show’s host, signed a deal that promises him $45 million over the next three seasons. Simon Cowell, who earns an estimated $30 million a year as a judge and has the right to sign management contracts with “Idol” contestants, and another judge, Randy Jackson, are under contract through next season.
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-Show judge Paula Abdul hasn't been given a new contract for the 9th season of American Idol..
A madman with two guns opened fire in an all-female dance class at a Pennsylvania fitness center Tuesday night, killing three women and injuring as many as 10 others, police said.
Investigators said the gunman - described as a middle-aged white man - was among the dead, apparently a suicide.
The madman who fatally shot three women in a fitness center outside Pittsburgh planned the massacre for months and "chickened out" on at least one other attempt, his venom-spewing journal reveals.
George Sodini, 48, walked into a crowded 20-by-20 foot aerobics room at the LA Fitness gym in Collier, Pa., at about 8 p.m. Tuesday. He turned off the lights and fired as many as 50 rounds from at least two guns without saying a word, police said.
Stacey Falk, 26, of Bridgeville, told the Post Gazette newspaper she was in the aerobics room with 30 to 40 other women when a short, clean-shaven man in gym clothes, walked in with a bag.
He stood in a corner near a racquetball court for a moment, put down the bag, turned off the lights and pulled out a gun.
"Girls were just ducking behind each other. All I could hear were shots and screams," Falk said.
The aerobics class instructor, who announced she was pregnant, was shot in the shoulder.
"I saw these women running out of the aerobics room, hysterical," said Ron Michaels, a racketball instructor. "I think I saw three or four injured people being taken to ambulances after I was out in the parking lot," he said.
Many of the survivors credited the the staff of the fitness center staff, which opened just a year ago, with calmly steering people toward the exits.
When the massacre ended, Sodini lay dead on top of a gun near one of his victims. Sources told the Pittsburgh Gazette Soldini's girlfriend was among the dead.
Witnesses said he strode into the LA Fitness center in Bridgeville, a suburb of , through a back door about 8:15 p.m., carrying a duffel bag, and went straight to the Latin dance class on the first floor.
"He did not say anything," Allegheny County policeSuperintendent Charles Moffatt said. "He walked right into the room where the shootings occurred as if he knew exactly where he was going."
About 30 women were in the class when a witness identified only as Nicole said the killer turned off the lights, pulled two guns from the bag and started blasting.
"He got off a lot of shots," she said. "People everywhere were screaming. It was horrible."
Lauren Dooley, 26, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette she was on a treadmill listening to her iPod when the shooting started.
"I saw people flying off the treadmills, hitting the ground" for cover, Dooley said. "We crawled through the fire escape, and I sprinted out the back."
She said she heard 12 to 15 shots.
A man who was playing racquetball said the scene was total chaos.
"It was panic," said Perry Calabro, 53, "when we realized it was gunfire. Once the shooting started, everybody started running."
The shooting brought ambulances and police cars flooding into the crime scene area, which is part of the Great Southern Shopping Center strip mall.
For months before the killing spree, Sodini kept a log of his plans, filled with rage and hatred for women.
-Alleged George Sodine , the gunman responsible for the LA fitness gym massacre.Committed suicide after the rampage.-
"Why do this?? To young girls? Just read below," he wrote. "I kept a running log that includes my thoughts and actions, after I saw this project was going to drag on."
The log shows he entered the club with loaded guns on Jan. 6, but backed out.
"It is 8:45PM: I chickened out!" he wrote. "I brought the loaded guns, everything. Hell!"
The journal drips with rage and names relatives and acquaintances. It also shows his frustration at not being able to connect with women.
On Aug. 3 he wrote: "I took off today, Monday, and tomorrow to practice my routine and make sure it is well polished. I need to work out every detail, there is only one shot. Also I need to be completely immersed into something before I can be successful. I haven't had a drink since Friday about 2:30. Total effort needed. Tomorrow is the big day."
In a Web site posted under his name, Sodini wrote rambling messages about his hatred of women and how he was tired of being rejected by them. He ended by writing, "Death Lives!"
Sodini was a member of the gym and lived in Carnegie, just a few miles from the health club, authorities said.
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People outside the LA Fitness following a shooting inside the health club. Investigators said the gunman - described as a middle-aged white man - was among the dead, apparently a suicide.
Friends waiting to hear news about victims of a shooting at a health club outside of Pittsburgh keep a vigil outside the scene of the massacre Tuesday night.
Authorities are at the scene of a shooting at an LA Fitness gym near Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
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-From CNN: 5 Killed 15 Wounded In Gym [LA Fitness] Shooting In Pennsylvania-
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---Three bodies were removed early Wednesday from the L.A. Fitness Center in Bridgeville.
A woman with a chest wound died at St. Clair Hospital, where two other female victims were in stable condition.
Five victims arrived in critical condition at UPMC Mercy Hospital, and two women were listed in fair condition at Allegheny General Hospital, hospital officials said.
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Here is alleged George Sodini , online web diary entries.] In a Web site posted under his name, Sodini wrote rambling messages about his hatred of women and how he was tired of being rejected by them. He ended by writing, "Death Lives!"
Sodini was a member of the gym and lived in Carnegie, just a few miles from the health club, authorities said.
“Total effort needed. Tomorrow is the big day. Unfortunately I talked to my neighbor today, who is very positive and upbeat. I need to remain focused and absorbed COMPLETELY.
“Last time I tried this, in January, I chickened out.”
George Sodini says the reason for his diary is that “maybe all this will shed insight on why some people just cannot make things happen in their life, which can potentially benefit others.”
“Maybe soon, I will see God and Jesus. At least that is what I was told. Eternal life does NOT depend on works. If it did, we will all be in hell.
“I was reading the Bible and The Integrity of God beginning yesterday, because soon I will see them.”
He was even in Santa Monica, photographing Ocean Avenue at Wilshire Boulevard. George Sodini calls his mother “Central Boss”:
“Don’t piss her off or she will be mad and vindictive for years. “
On Monday Sodini finally writes the following:
“The biggest problem of all is not having relationships or friends, but not being able to achieve and acquire what I desire in those or many other areas.
“Everything stays the same regardless of the effert (sic) I put in. If I had control over my life then I would be happier. But for about the past 30 years, I have not.”
As broke earlier today on LALATE, George Sodini in the LA Fitness shooting shot his ex girlfriend, the aerobics instructor, who had just told her class she was pregnant, but she survived. George Sodini, 48, of Scott Township, Pa. was found dead along with four women. UPMC Mercy Hospital says five of the women injured are in critical condition, two are in fair condition. The conditions of the remaining injured women are still unknown. -Source-
