A floor flight will likely be avoided this week at the Republican National Convention due to a last-minute compromise with supporters of Rep. Ron Paul. But the GOP isn’t exactly giving in.
Republican National Committeeman James Bopp tells ABC News that the GOP has finally worked out a deal with the delegates descending on Tampa this week for the party’s pre-election convention. If a delegate is bound to represent Rep. Paul (R-Texas), says Bopp, they will be able to do so on the convention floor. Voting for another candidate, however, will come with some harsh penalties.
Supporters of Rep. Paul have been at war with the GOP establishment in recent weeks over, in part, fears that they would not be able to endorse the congressman in lieu of presumptive party nominee Mitt Romney. Organizers of the RNC had feared that the dispute would lead to a floor flight at the convention, but Bopp now says that that delegates in Tampa will be able to show their support for the candidate of their choice, as long as they have been bound to that candidate during their local nominating contests.
The Republican Party had planned to introduce a rule that would have effectively allowed presidential candidates to choose their own delegates. Bopp now confirms this week that a compromise has settled the dispute, and that delegates will be allowed to endorse the candidate of their choice.
French prosecutors have launched an official inquiry into the 2004 murder of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, after his family claimed he had been poisoned.
Arafat’s family initiated legal action in France last month over claims the Palestinian leader died of radioactive polonium poisoning.
His widow, Suha Arafat, has asked that her late husband’s body be exhumed for further testing. The Palestinian Authority has already consented to the procedure.
Earlier, a nine-month investigation conducted by Al-Jazeera concluded that Arafat’s personal belongings contained abnormally high levels of polonium, a rare and highly radioactive element. The items, including his clothing, his toothbrush, and even his iconic kaffiyeh, were supplied to Al-Jazeera by his widow. They were then analyzed at the Institut de Radiophysique in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Arafat, who led the struggle for Palestinian statehood for nearly four decades, died in a French military hospital after being airlifted there for treatment from his Ramallah headquarters.
At the time of his death, Palestinian officials alleged he had been poisoned by long-time foe Israel, but an inconclusive investigation in 2005 ruled out poisoning, as well as cancer and AIDS.
Israel has consistently denied the allegations.
Polonium is a highly toxic substance which is rarely found outside military and scientific circles, and was used to kill former Russian security officer Alexander Litvinenko in 2006.
San Bernadino, CA- On Monday, August 27, 2012, at approximately 3:07 a.m., Central Station deputies responded to the report of shots heard in the area of Tippecanoe – south of 4th Street in San Bernardino.
Upon arrival, deputies located a black male adult lying in the roadway suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. The victim was transported to a local area hospital where he was pronounced deceased at approximately 4:00 a.m.
Sheriff’s Homicide Detail responded to the location and is currently conducting the investigation.
Anyone with any information regarding this investigation is urged to call Detective Jerry Davenport or Sergeant John Gaffney at (909) 387-3589 at the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department’s Homicide Detail. Callers wishing to remain anonymous may contact the We-Tip Hotline at 1-800-78-CRIME (27463) or you may leave information on the We-Tip website at
DHS, CA.- A search warrant was executed in the 65000 block of Estrella Avenue by officers from the Desert Hot Springs Police Department, in connection with thousands of dollars worth of vandalism damage throughout the city, by a suspect spray painting “EKWOL”. During the search, evidence linking Hector Guzman to the aforementioned crimes was located in his residence. Guzman was subsequently arrested and booked into the Riverside County Jail-Indio with the above mentioned charges.
Any information regarding this press release should be directed to Desert Hot Springs Police Sergeant Phill Han at 760.329.6411 x312.
Theatre 29’s production of a new musical version of the classic L.M. Montgomery tale, “Anne of Green Gables” is now open, running through September 22nd.
Brought to the stage, in part through the support of US Bank, this family musical, with music by Nancy Ford and book and lyrics by Gretchen Cryer, is Helmed by the veteran production team of Director and Musical Director, Kathryn Ferguson and Assistant Director Marty Neider.
“Anne of Green Gables” follows the misadventures of a wildly independent orphan with fiery red hair and a temper to match. Anne Shirley is mistakenly sent to live with a plainspoken farmer and his spinster sister, who thought they were adopting a boy! She wins over the Cuthberts, and all of Prince Edward Island, with her irrepressible spirit and imagination–and wins over audiences with her warm, poignant story about love, home and family.
The cast of skilled veteran performers, as well as promising newcomers, promises a show full of heart, with tuneful melodies and a rustic, homey setting. Vanessa Walton is Anne, with Virginia Sulick as Marilla Cuthbert and Leonard Weber as Matthew Cuthbert. Emily Sheckler plays Diana Barry, with Scott Clinkscales as Gilbert Blythe supported by Analisa Pilecki as Rachel Lynde, Shelly Sheckler as Mrs. Barry, Marissa Thomas as Josie Pye, Amy Fangmeyer as Prissy Andrews and Nena Jimenez as Ruby Gillis, Jasmine Shaffer palys Mary Jo and the Neighbor lady and Ben Bees plays the Station Master, Post Master, Mr. Phillips and the Doctor.
“Anne of Green Gables” will run weekends through September 22nd, 2012, with performances beginning at 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. There also will be a Thursday performance, at 7 p.m. September 8th and a Sunday matinee, at 2:30 p.m. September 18th.
Tickets are $12 for regular admission, $10 for seniors and military and $8 for children under 12 and students with ID. All tickets sales are available now through the Theatre 29 Web site: www.theatre29.org , or by calling the box office at (760) 361-4151.
Theatre 29 is a tax-exempt, non-profit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to producing quality, family-oriented live arts for the residents of the Morongo Basin.
They are located at 73637 Sullivan Road (right around the corner from Barr Lumber) in the City of Twentynine Palms.
Four Orthodox Christian crosses have been chopped down in different parts of Russia. The incidents come after the Femen movement attacked a cross in Kiev to protest the sentence of the punk band Pussy Riot, who received two years in prison.
Three crosses have been taken down in the Urals’ Chelyabinsk Region, and one in the Archangelsk Region, northern Russia.
By the time police arrived at the scenes the vandals had already left. Authorities have launched an investigation into both cases.
The Arkhangelsk cross was erected in the memory of the victims of political repressions, said a local priest, Hegumen Feodosy.
He also said that in recent years the monastery, situated across the street from the cross, has seen two arson attacks and a number of other acts of vandalism.
“This comes in the context of all these incidents in recent months across the country, all this anti-church hysteria waged against our diocese, against the church authority, against everything sacred,”Hegumen Feodosy said.