Nearly 20 years after he was convicted of shooting his own mother to death, Christian Oberender of Minnesota is back behind bars for illegally owning a small arsenal of firearms.

Authorities became reacquainted with Oberender, now 32, late last year when a complaint was filed by someone who came across his Facebook page. When authorities examined the social networking account, they found photos of just a sampling of the man’s extensive gun collection.

But upon first glance, the Carver County Sheriff’s Office didn’t see anything to spur intervention. An initial investigation found that there were no “disqualifiers” that would have prevented Oberender from owning any guns, Carver County Chief Deputy Jason Kamerud tells the Herald-Journal. When the leading law enforcement figure in the area came across the report shortly after, though, the agency started to become concerned.

Carver County Sheriff Jim Olson had reason to question the collection of guns — 17 years earlier he worked the case in which a teenage Oberender was convicted of killing his mother.

“The sheriff was one of the detectives on the case in 1995,” Kamerud tells the paper. “He had a lot more knowledge of the case than the deputies who took the call.”

According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, a 14-year-old Oberender killed his mother with five blasts from a shotgun in 1995. Still a minor, Oberender was sentenced to an extended stay at a mental institution and was determined by officials to be mentally ill and dangerous. Just last year, however, he applied for a gun permit, had his request approved and eventually amassed a collection of over one dozen guns in under a year. The paper says Oberender had 13 guns, including semi-automatic rifles, an AK-47, shotguns and a .50-caliber Desert Eagle when police picked him up earlier this month.

Authorities also found a letter from Oberender to his late mom, believed to be written only recently, in which he writes, “I am so homicide,” and “I think about killing all the time. The monster want out. He only been out one time and someone die.”

Oberender is currently being held by police and won’t be released unless he can post a $1 million bond or $100,000 cash. Keeping the killer locked up isn’t the only thing that has authorities worried, however. Of major concern is the question: how exactly did Oberender get cleared to collect so many weapons?

“We’re also trying to track back exactly what happened,” Olson tells the Herald-Journal,“and making sure there aren’t any others out there that are like this. It’s hard to track back exactly who, what, or why. It’s more why it was hanging out there for that long.”

Speaking to a local NBC affiliate, a spokesperson for Minnesota’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says they never had a record detailing Oberender’s sordid past.

“The BCA relies on entities in the criminal justice system to provide data on an individual which then populates the individual’s criminal history. There were no data submitted to the BCA about this individual – without it there can be no record,” the statement reads.

Kamerud adds to the Herald-Journal that “any purchasing of guns by him was never legal but it was possible because the disqualifiers weren’t in place.” The Star Tribune reports that the BCA couldn’t find a fingerprint card from the 1995 murder case and no case disposition was ever filed.

Oberender, who has been diagnosed with serious mental illness and “potential schizophrenia,” is being held on a charge of being a felon in possession of firearms. The Star-Tribune adds that at least 84 people in the state of Minnesota have been charged since 2000 with illegal gun possession or assault with a dangerous weapon even after being committed by a judge as mentally ill.

[easyembed field=”code1″]

Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud-Beitenu alliance and other right-wing parties are winning Israel’s parliamentary elections, exit polls suggest. However, the country’s right suffered a setback as support for center-left parties surged.

Shortly after the polls across the country, the prime minister claimed victory based on exit poll results. “I am proud to be your prime minister, and I thank you for giving me the opportunity, for the third time, to lead the state of Israel,” he told a cheering crowd at his campaign headquarters.

According to the exit polls, the right wing will get 61 seats in the Knesset, with the center-left holding 59.

Netanyahu’s party is already aligned in a single bloc with the ultranationalist Yisrael Beitenu group and is expected to seek an alliance with a new nationalist party, Habayit Hayehudi (Jewish Home).

The real surprise of the night is the center-left Yesh Atid (There is a Future) Party, which is believed to have come second, with some 18 or 19 seats in the Knesset. Strong voter turnout is thought to have boosted support for the center-left, energizing an army of undecided voters. The party, led by former television talk show host Yair Lapid, won among middle-class, secular voters by promising to resolve a range of social issues.

The once dominant Labour party led by Shelly Yachimovich was projected to take third place with 17 seats.

In a four per cent increase from the 2009 election, 66.6 per cent of eligible Israeli voters went to the polls this year (not including soldiers), +972 Magazine reports.

In many of Israel’s Arab towns, voter turnout is expected to have reached as high as 80 per cent, JPost reports.

Though the 4.3 million Palestinians living under Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza are barred from voting in the country’s elections, other non-Jews that make up about twenty per cent of the country’s population have been allowed to vote since 1966.

For this reason, the Arab League made a concerted effort to get out the vote among Israel’s non-Jewish citizens. Haneen Zoabi, of the Arab Balad party, sent an SMS to her party’s supporters telling them not to vote against having to live “as foreigners or in fear in their homeland.”

But despite left-of-center votes, exit poll projections show hawkish right-winger Netanyahu coming to his third term in office, which means that an Israeli-Palestinian peace will most likely be out of reach for another four years.

Israeli settlement policy, a central issue for nationalist forces in the country, has drawn criticism even from Washington, apparently causing a breach in relations between the previously close allies Israel and the US.

Iran is also certain to remain at the top of agenda, with Netanyahu saying that preventing a nuclear-armed Iran would be the primary challenge facing his country. “The first challenge was and remains preventing Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons,” he said in his speech at the campaign headquarters.

[easyembed field=”code1″]

All eyes were on Washington today as US President Barack Obama recited the oath of office in front of an estimated 800,000 people. As the leader prepares for the next four years, the world waits to see whether he’ll follow through with his previous pledge

Obama’s inaugural speech was filled with inspiration, as the leader promised to “support democracy from Asia to Africa; from the Americas to the Middle East,” while peacefully resolving conflicts with other nations.

However, if the leader’s first term is any indication, his promises may not be so easy to fulfill.

Economic issues

Five years since the beginning of the financial crisis, Americans are still waiting for a sign of fiscal improvement. Economic recovery has taken longer than most people ever imagined – including Obama.

“If we can’t get this done in three years, this is going to be a one-term proposition,” Obama said early in his presidency.

Fast forward to 2013, Obama is beginning his second term, despite the fact that the US unemployment rate is still hovering around 7.9 per cent.

It seems there is little indication of improvement anytime soon. “It will take more than a few years to solve challenges that have built up over decades,” Obama said during his 2012 campaign.

The freshest of Obama’s economic battles is the nation’s traditional Fiscal Cliff showdown. In February, congressional Republicans are expected to fight the president once again, demanding that funding for Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare be slashed.

As Congress gears up for the debate, the nation remains divided on the most effective way to handle the dispute.

Gun control

Last Wednesday, Obama called on Congress to pass a number of proposals that could allow for sweeping new gun laws across the country.

If approved, the measures would ban the buying and selling of certain assault weapons, close loopholes that circumvent background check requirements, impose limits on ammunition purchases and more.

“If there was even one thing we could do to reduce this violence, if there is even one life that can be saved, then we have an obligation to try it. And I’m going to do my part,” Obama said.

But “doing his part” may be easier said than done. In fact, many say the proposal has little or no chance of making it through Congress.

“In this country I don’t think [gun control] is going to happen anywhere in the near future, because we are a country that is very deeply in love with our guns,” constitutional lawyer Roger Pilon told RT.

Obama’s battles with Congress are nothing new. But while it may be difficult to pass laws within the US, it’s a bit easier for the leader to focus on foreign policy.

“Presidents who have trouble with Congress like to do international things because they have to worry about Congress much less,” political opinion writer Brent Budowsky told RT.

Foreign Policy

From Iran to Russia, critics are quick to speculate on how the Obama administration will handle foreign policy over the next four years.

In the past, Obama has stated that “all options remain on the table” to keep Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

However, some say the selection of Chuck Hagel – Obama’s pick for Defense Secretary – acts as an early sign that the administration will monger less war than in years past. Why? Because Hagel is against launching a pre-emptive strike on Iran.

But Middle East experts aren’t so easily swayed.

“I’d bet a certain amount of money we will hear the words ‘all options are on the table’ come out of his mouth,” Middle East expert Flynt Leverett told RT.

Hagel’s views on Iran are countered with those of John Brennan, the man nominated to lead the CIA.

“Brennan is someone who will continue many of the covert programs at the CIA, and who will be very much to Israel’s liking and serve to undermine any attempts or possibilities for a real rapprochement or coming to terms with the Islamic Republic of Iran,” Hillary Mann Leverett, CEO of political risk consultancy Strategic Energy and Global Analysis, told RT.

In his speech, Obama mentioned the upcoming departure of American troops from Afghanistan. However, it remains debatable whether a decade of war has left Afghanistan – or America – any better off.

“There are extensive drone attacks still going on that I think put Americans in international environments in great danger,” security analyst Patricia DeGennaro told RT.

The Obama administration’s movements surrounding Syria have been frowned upon too, with many criticizing the US for giving the country’s insurgency strategic information.

“It’s a violation of international law and aggression under the UN charter. Plus, we have the very worrisome deployment of American missiles in Turkey, as if it were Turkey who needs defense against Syrian aggression rather than the other way around,” US Senate foreign policy advisor James Jatras told RT.

And if talks of moves to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad come to fruition, Jatras says, the Obama administration isn’t prepared for a post-Assad Syria.

“One of the problems with the various American-led interventions over the years, whether we’re talking about Bosnia, Kosovo, Libya, and hopefully not in the future, Syria, is that the goal immediately defined comes first, and we worry about the consequences later. Look, for example, at the aftershocks of Libya in Mali and Algeria,” Jatras said.

Obama faces yet another obstacle when it comes to Mali, with African forces asking for Western allies to do more to save the country from Islamist militants. Thus far, however, the US has ruled out the deployment of ground troops.

Closer to home is the on-going controversy surrounding Guantanamo Bay. The prison camp has been in the limelight since 2009, when Obama gave orders for it to be closed by January 22, 2010.

However, it remains open and operational.

It’s yet another example of Congress overpowering the president, bundling it with the National Defense Authorization Act, which serves as the overall defense budget for the country.Obama has the power to veto the entire act, but not to individually challenge the administration of Guantanamo Bay.

Obama has threatened to do so several times, as Congress has imposed more and more stringent measures on Guantanamo – yet the president has backed down on every occasion.

While the future of Obama’s foreign policy remains largely unclear, the future of his domestic agenda seems easier to predict. That is, unless he develops a sweeter relationship with Congress, there’s a good chance that many of his ideas will never make it beyond inspiring speeches.

WHAT:  Tour the Olive Crest Campus featuring Academy and Safe Homes for at-risk children

WHEN:  Thursday, January 24 at 1:30 p.m.

WHERE:  Directions will be disclosed when you RSVP

COST:  None

CONTACT:  Angela Allen at 760-341-1160 for reservations

MISSION:   Transforming the lives of at-risk children through the healing power of family

INFORMATION:  1-800-550-CHILD or visit our web-site at www.olivecrest.org

On January 24^th at 1:30 in the afternoon Olive Crest is offering a tour of the Coachella Valley Children’s Center, including Olive Crest Academy, the Safe Family Homes and the Family Resource Center.

This is NOT a fundraising event; Olive Crest just want you to see for yourself what is being accomplished in the lives of these precious children under our care.

The tour begins at Olive Crest Academy, where the students themselves will tell you their stories. Your heart will be warmed by these young people who came to the school with failing grades and poor self esteem, and who are now preparing to graduate and go on to college with every expectation of success. They will proudly tell you how this transformation came about (state funding had very little to do with it!).

We will then continue on to the residence homes where you will see and hear how children, whose lives have been full of turmoil and uncertainty because their parents are in crisis are now experiencing, most for the first time in their lives, a stable, loving home and family. What a transformation!

Please RSVP by calling Angela Allen at 760 341 8507

Since 1973, Olive Crest has transformed the lives of over 50,000 abused, neglected and at-risk children and their families.

“We work tirelessly to meet the individual needs of kids in crises by providing safe homes, counseling, and education for both youth and parents,” said executive director Pam Lee.

Olive Crest offers innovative programs that reflect a conviction that one of the most powerful ways to help heal children is to strengthen the family.  With unwavering compassion, the Olive Crest family maintains a lifelong commitment to the youth and families served.

Services include:

1.      Coachella Valley Children’s Center

·         The Coachella Valley Children’s Center will serve as both a residential treatment and educational facility for at-risk youth, ensuring that local children can receive the specialized care they need right here in the Valley.

2.      Family Resource Center

·         The Family Resource Center in Coachella works directly with at-risk families in our community.  Through parenting classes and mental health counseling, the Center delivers early intervention and prevention assistance these families need.

3.      Olive Crest Academy

·         Olive Crest Academy is a tuition-free charter high school offering students an academically rigorous alternative to “Traditional classes.” Qualified students are concurrently enrolled at local community colleges and Olive Crest Academy earning both high school and college credits in an effort to secure a successful transition into higher education after high school.

4.      Safe Family Homes

·         Through this unique child abuse prevention program, parents experiencing a temporary crisis can arrange for their children (newborn through 16-years-old) to stay with volunteer parents while they address the issues that led to instability in their lives.

5.      Wraparound

·         This program serves children and families by providing a family-centered, strength-based planning approach to help children remain in a home environment rather than residential care.  Wraparound services are provided within the home and facilitate the family’s movement from dependence on mandated systems of care to natural supports.

6.      Foster Care

·         Olive Crest recruits, trains, and certifies foster family homes from the community to provide warm, secure, and therapeutically safe environments for foster children.  Foster children and parents are provided ongoing therapy, training and support services.

7.      Foster/Adoption

·         Our adoption program is dedicated to finding permanent families for children who are available for adoption, including many waiting in the foster care system.

Palm Springs, CA – Coyote StageWorks plans to set the Annenberg Theatre spinning this February with their all-new production of SUDS: The Rocking 60’s Musical Soap Opera. SUDS, a delightful (and squeaky-clean) musical comedy, tells the story of Cindy, a lovelorn girl who is down on her luck, and working her fingers to the bone in a 1960’s Laundromat. Cindy owes the IRS a ton of money, her cat’s just been run over by a Corvair, and, worst of all, her pen-pal fiancée has dumped her for someone with better penmanship! Depressed beyond belief, she’s about to end it all, when, suddenly, her two guardian angels (in training) magically appear to teach her all about boys, true love, and how to survive in this tough, “fluff-n-fold” kind of world.

SUDS is an American Favorite that’s loaded with good clean fun, bubbling energy, and more than 40 chart-stopping favorites from the 60’s, including: Where the Boys Are, These Boots Are Made for Walkin’, Respect, I Feel Good, Walk On By, and Don’t Make Me Over.” The show toured the country, receiving rave reviews wherever it appeared from California to New York. It broke many box office records including the prestigious Old Globe Theater, Actors Theater of Louisville and the San Diego Repertory Theater. The award-winning cast in the Coyote StageWorks production of SUDS includes Larry Raben (Original New York, Los Angeles and London cast of FOREVER PLAID), Gwen Stewart (Original Broadway Cast of RENT), Bets Malone (Original Off-Broadway Cast of MARVELOUS WONDERETTES) and Samantha Mills (Numerous LA theater credits including SUDS, BEEHIVE and BYE BYE BIRDIE). SUDS opens at the Annenberg Theatre on February 7th, and runs through February 17th. Get your tickets, then get ready to Rock and Roll!

Ticket Prices: $39-$55

Showtimes vary by day

Tickets available at the Annenberg Box office, 

Online at www.annenbergtheater.org

or by calling 760-325-4490

Annenberg Theater at the Palm Springs Art Museum  –  101 Museum Drive, Palm Springs, CA  92262