WICHITA, Kan. — Hundreds of people gathered Saturday to honor slain abortion provider Dr. George Tiller, and a longtime friend eulogized him as a passionate and generous man who repeatedly overcame difficult challenges.
Tiller’s funeral at College Hill United Methodist Church also drew small groups of protesters.
During the service, Tiller was remembered for his generosity and sense of humor.
“Dear God, get heaven ready, because Mr. Enthusiasm is coming,” said Larry Borcherding, of Overland Park, who first met Tiller a half-century ago when both were students at the University of Kansas. “Heaven …

Hey, I guess it’s time to talk more about this, but remember, we can’t comment on current investigations.
As part of the craigslist customer service team, even I’ve worked with cops and DAs to send away a number of crooks.
Jim puts it better, in a new article:
Craigslist CEO: Crooks who use site will be caught:
The chief executive of Craigslist has a message for people who try
to use the popular Internet advertising site to commit crimes: You’re
going to get caught.
Violent crimes linked to Craigslist
ads in Boston and Minnesota have made headlines, but …

Remarks made by Obama senior adviser David Axelrod on Monday provide the clearest indication to date that the White House is not only uninterested in pursuing investigations of Bush officials involved in torture but views them as a distraction from a larger governing agenda.
Speaking before the Religious Action Center, a Reform Judaism advocacy organization, Axelrod warned against re-litigating the past, arguing that the current White House didn’t need such a distraction when it already had so much on its plate.
“The president believes strongly that we need to be looking forward,” …

All but two members of an advisory board involved in Chicago State University’s presidential search process abruptly resigned this afternoon and walked out of a closed-door meeting.

Read the whole story: Chi-Town Daily News

SACRAMENTO — California’s unemployment rate hit 11.2 percent in March, the highest rate on record, as the construction, manufacturing and banking industries continued to shed jobs, the state Employment Development Department reported Friday.
The state’s unemployment rate grew from 10.6 percent in February and is nearly 5 points higher than in March 2008.
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics figures show it is a historic high. The bureau said only three states _ Michigan, Oregon and South Carolina _ had higher rates in March.
Among the reasons California is hit harder than most other …

In one of his final interviews, former president George W. Bush told ABC News Martha Raddatz that the war in Iraq was justified because of al-Qaeda. But Raddatz said that wasn’t “until the U.S. invaded.” Then Bush responded with “So what? The point is that al-Qaeda said they’re going to take a stand… we have denied al-Qaeda a safe haven because a young democracy is beginning to grow, which will be an important sign for people in the Middle East.”
But how much of a presence does al-Qaeda …

The lawyer responsible for vetting Sarah Palin as vice president insisted on Friday that the Alaska Governor was more than qualified for the job.
“She would have been a great vice president,” said Washington power lawyer A.B. Culvahouse at an event at the National Press Club. “And as I told John [McCain] she would have been ready on January 20. I don’t think many people would…. She has lots of presence. She filled up a room. Me and two of my most cynical partners interviewed her and we came away impressed.”
Speaking …

QUINCY, Mass. — A pregnant Massachusetts woman is suspected of killing her 9-year-old daughter and stabbing herself in the abdomen, resulting in the death of her fetus.
The Norfolk District Attorney’s office said Friday that 38-year-old Fang Chi Xue (SHWAY) will undergo a mental health evaluation.
The woman is suspected of killing the 9-year-old, stabbing herself and trying to strangle her 14-year-old daughter at their Quincy home.
She is charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of assault with intent to murder.
Prosecutors say a medical examiner must determine whether the …

TVNZ

Obama in Mexico: No Hero’s Welcome
TIME
By Ioan Grillo / Mexico City Friday, Apr. 17, 2009 US President Barack Obama makes remarks as he attends a dinner in his honor at the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.
Video: Assault weapons ban: Would it curb Mexico’s drug problem? UPI
Mexican Press: Obama Made Good Impression, But Few Promises Washington Post
BBC News - Christian Science Monitor - The Associated Press - Xinhua
all 4,326 news articles

CHICAGO (AP) — A man who spent 26 years in prison for a murder he didn’t commit has been officially declared innocent.
Cook County Circuit Judge Paul Biebel Jr. issued a certificate of innocence Friday for Alton Logan.
Logan was convicted in 1983 of fatally shooting a security guard at a McDonald’s restaurant.
Last year, two attorneys revealed that their former client had admitted committing the crime. Attorney-client privilege had kept them from coming forward until the man died in 2007.
Logan was freed on bail last April, and the case was dismissed. The …