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(CNN) - Sen. Rand Paul ended his day-long filibuster at 12:38 a.m. Thursday, almost 13 hours after he began speaking. The Kentucky Republican tried to stall a confirmation vote on CIA Director nominee John Brennan.
He took to the Senate floor at 11:47 a.m. ET.
[twitter-follow screen_name='politicalticker']
And as a snow storm swirled outside Wednesday in the nation's capital, Paul started his own Twitter hash tag that encapsulated his hours-long stand-off on Capitol Hill: #filiblizzard.
The Kentucky senator, known for his libertarian leanings, has sharply questioned the Obama administration's use of drones against American citizens overseas and vowed to speak Wednesday until he received more answers from the government about its policies. Brennan is considered one of the main architects of the drone program.
Paul in particular wants to know whether the government believes it has the authority to carry out drone attacks against American citizens on U.S. soil. He took issue with Attorney General Eric Holder's recent admission, in which he said he could envision a scenario where a drone strike would, in fact, be ordered against Americans on U.S. soil.
While Holder said it's never been done before and he could only see it in an extraordinary circumstance, Paul said he's disturbed by the idea that an American citizen would lose his or her rights while within the country's borders.
"I rise today to begin to filibuster John Brennan's nomination for the CIA," Paul said. "I will speak until I can no longer speak. I will speak as long as it takes."
Wearing a dark grey suit and a red tie, Paul detailed his argument, staring intently at the Senate leaders presiding over the floor. The first-term senator stood with a thick binder full of notes in front of him–but he rarely looked at them.
Paul, who hasn't ruled out a 2016 presidential bid, said he doesn't consider President Barack Obama is a "bad person," but he said the president is also "not a judge."
"He's a politician," Paul said. "He was elected by a majority, but the majority doesn't get to decide who we execute. We have a process for deciding this. We have courts for deciding this, to allow one man to accuse you in secret, you never get notified you have been accused."
He continued: "Your notification is the buzz of the propellers on the drone as it flies overhead in the seconds before you're killed."
Holder narrowed the list of those possible extraordinary circumstances Wednesday. In testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, pressed Holder whether he believed it would be constitutional to target an American terror suspect "sitting at a cafe" if the suspect didn't pose an imminent threat.
After first saying it would be "inappropriate," Holder attempted to clarify his answer by giving a firm "no."
But he also said the government has no intention of carrying out drone strikes inside the United States. Echoing what he said in a letter to Paul, he called the possibility of domestic drone strikes "entirely hypothetical."
Paul, who was elected in 2010 with wide tea party support, said he understands that due process doesn't apply to combat zones overseas.
"But when people say, 'Oh, the battlefield's come to America' and 'the battlefield's everywhere,' 'the war is limitless in time and scope,' be worried, because your rights will not exist if you call America a battlefield for all time," the senator said.
The term filibuster–which originates from a Dutch word meaning "pirate"–caught fire in the 1850s when it became a popular method to hold up a bill or vote on the Senate floor.
Nearly seven hours in, Paul's filibuster is hardly a record. In the 1930s, Sen. Huey Long from Louisiana was known for reciting Shakespeare and reading recipes on the Senate floor when he filibustered. He once held the floor for 15 hours.
Former Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina holds the record. He famously filibustered for 24 hours and 18 minutes against the Civil Rights Act of 1957.
In recent history, independent Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont held the floor in 2010–though technically not through a filibuster–to protest a tax-cut deal for eight hours and 37 minutes.
Three hours in, Paul showed little signs of fatigue. He frequently shifted weight from one leg to the other and rested his hands on the desk from time to time. But a full glass of water sat untouched in front of him, and Paul rarely let go of his eye contact with his Senate colleagues.
After about six hours, however, Paul's level of fervor began to fade. The pace of his speech slowed down and he read more often from notes. Around 6:15 p.m. ET, he chowed down a snack in between sentences, talking with his mouth full.
For most of the time, Paul squarely placed blame on the president for what he perceived a dangerous precedent in federal law. The Kentucky senator was quick to make comparisons between President Obama and candidate Obama.
"I think it's also safe to say that Barack Obama of 2007 would be right down here with me arguing against this drone strike program if he were in the Senate," he said. "It amazes and disappoints me how much he has actually changed from what he once stood for."
Obama said there's something "contagious" about the office of presidency and cited the famous quote by John Dalberg-Acton.
"It's not just power corrupts, but that 'absolute power corrupts absolutely'," Paul said. "I think people can become intoxicated with power. I don't know if that's the explanation for President Obama's about-face. He was one, when he was in this body believed, in some restraint."
But Paul did not endure the filibuster by himself. At three hours and 10 minutes, he began sharing his time with other Republican senators, Mike Lee of Utah, Ted Cruz of Texas, Jerry Moran of Kansas, Marco Rubio of Florida, Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, John Cornyn of Texas, John Barrasso of Wyoming, John Thune of South Dakota, and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania, who each weighed in with questions and their own commentary.
"I would note that your standing here today like a modern Mr. Smith Goes to Washington must surely be making Jimmy Stewart smile," Cruz said to Paul. His appearance represented his first time to speak on the Senate floor. "And my only regret is that there are not 99 of your colleagues here today standing with you."
Cruz noted that Wednesday marked the anniversary of the fall of the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas. Comparing the fight to Paul's effort on the Senate floor, Cruz said "Texans are proud" to see Paul (a native Texan) standing up "for liberty."
He then read a famous letter–perhaps in a move to kill time–from William Barret Travis in 1836, asking for more back-up at the Alamo.
Cruz, talking to Paul, said he hopes the "glorious letter give(s) you encouragement and sustenance on this 177th anniversary on the Alamo."
At just over four hours, the filibuster took an interesting twist when a Democratic senator, Ron Wyden of Oregon, came to the floor to assist and make the stand-off a bipartisan effort.
It's important to note that the drone controversy is one of the few issues where the far right and the far left sync up. While Wyden said he wants to make his point about the targeted killing of Americans by drones, he said he will still vote for Brennan at the end of the day. He did so in the Senate Intelligence Committee.
"Senator Paul and I agree that this nomination also provides a very important opportunity for the United States Senate to consider the government's rules and policies on the targeted killings of Americans," he said.
At just around five hours into the filibuster, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid came to the floor to gauge whether or not the Senate could hold a vote on Brennan Wednesday night.
He tried to limit the remaining time for debate to 90 minutes, but Paul objected, saying he wants answers from Holder that clarify his remarks on drones Wednesday morning.
Reid said he can't speak for the administration and canceled his request, meaning there would be no full vote on Brennan Wednesday.
The filibuster had its light-hearted moments, as well. When Rubio stepped up to join the filibuster, he had some words of wisdom for Paul.
"I know you've been here awhile. Let me give you some advice - keep some water nearby. Trust me," Rubio joked, poking fun at his now-famous sip of water during the middle of his Republican response to the president's State of the Union address last month.
Around 7:30 p.m. ET, Cruz returned to the floor to read aloud tweets about Paul's filibuster.
"I think the technical term for what the Twitterverse is doing right now is called 'blowing up'," Cruz said, highlighting the slogan–"Stand with Rand"–that's spreading online.
In the ninth hour, Lee again took over the spotlight so Paul could have a break. While the senator from Utah was speaking, Paul chatted with House members and paced back and forth in between the Senate desks. Since beginning the talking filibuster shortly before noon, he has not sat down or taken a bathroom break.
Well into the 11th hour, Rubio returned and at one point started quoting the musical artist Jay-Z.
A short time later, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell came to the floor to express his support for the effort.
"At whatever point we get to a cloture vote to extend debate on the nomination of Brennan, it is my view that cloture should not be invoked. This is a controversial nominee. Should cloture be invoked, I intend to oppose the nomination and congratulate my colleague from Kentucky for this extraordinary effort," McConnell said.
And with midnight quickly approaching, Paul's support from his colleagues only seemed to be intensifying. Republican members of Congress began gathering in the Senate chamber in solidarity. And at 11:47 pm Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus tweeted an all-call to Republican senators who weren't already on the floor:
[tweet https://twitter.com/Reince/status/309524616265728002%5D
Paul continued to talk so he wouldn't have to relinquish the floor, but he did not have to stay on the floor to keep his filibuster going. Although he was drawing attention to his objections to the administration's drone policy, senators are not required to be on the floor to block a vote, unlike previous times.
So what would have happened if Paul had kept going?
At some point, Reid was expected to make a parliamentary move that would start the clock ticking for a vote to break the filibuster. Sixty votes would have been needed to break the filibuster, and as Paul himself has acknowledged, he didn't have the votes to succeed.
After that procedural vote to break the filibuster, Paul still could have dragged things out—-the rule allows an additional 30 hours of debate–into the weekend, before there would be a final vote to confirm Brennan.
But, Paul instead yielded the floor early Thursday morning, allowing Senator Dick Durbin to file cloture to end debate on Brennan's nomination.
- CNN's Terry Frieden, Dana Bash, Rachel Streitfeld and Alison Harding contributed to this report.
This is ridiculous ! Pr. Obama said that Mr.Brennan ( a 25-year CIA veteran) is hard working and very serious person… He already was a huge help to Pr. Obama…Other countries , like BRICS, will NOT wait for USA, should we move forward, or continue to play political games, like we did in Congress, during past 4 years. Gallup poll on 01.11.13. show that only 14 % Americans support Congress ???
Homeland security just bought 3000 tanks. Hmmmm
I don't understand people. The obama administration has not denied they would kill an American citizen! Courts people! If someone were committing treason, they go to court and are tried! Don't you understand?! An American on American soil! On a whim?! All this ties in! Now google says the FBI is constantly and more and more asking for info on it's users! This is on mainstream news and you ignore it?! These things are false and bologna?! Though mostly unlikely and not because somebody is protesting, but the fact that someone can be killed without due process is wrong! If it happens once, the door is open...
Now Obama supporters are knowingly and openly supporting Romney/Bush policies!! Extended patriot act, more deficits, more wars, more spending, more drones, more welfare...what's next?
Vote for policy instead of party!
He just proved what a bag of hot air he is.
Rand Paul makes most Republicans appear to be sane, resonable people. Instead of the screw the poor, don't help the needy, let the old die, jerks that most of them are. It's a wonder his father doesn't tell him to tone it down.
Most of you are missing the point, which is a question of constitutionality. Holder would not rule out the possibility (yes, the real possibility) of US drone strikes on US citizens on US soil. Does the POTUS have the ability to be judge, jury, and executioner of a US citizen? Do you remember why we have three branches of government?
This is not a question just for left or right wing extremists.
Rand Paul stood up for each and every one of you...regardless of party affiliation. He stood up for the constitution. I applaud him.
Why is it News Agencies talking heads are being such a Nervous Nelly about surveillance drones in the United States. And attacking U.S. citizens in the United States.
If you are on a government watch list "everything you do on the Internet", and "everything you say or text on your cell smart phones", it is looked at and the government watchdogs do not need drones to do this. ""People who are doing things have worries"", because they are being watched and listened to. "" Times have changed get used to it, nothing you can do about it, Drone Nervous Nelly's "".
Bleeding hearts and News Talking Heads keep calling this guy in Yemen an American born citizen and his son, they made it very clear they did not want anything to do with the United States, and the people with them say the same, "" made them non-US citizens "" coordinating attacks on the United States killing innocent people, ""that made them combat enemies"" that made it legal to take them out with a U.S. Weapon called a surveillance attack drone.
If Al Qaeda or the Muslim brotherhood had the same technology which they will have soon they will attacking innocent people like "" Non-sharia News Agencies and Internet that rub them the wrong way"". Think about it anti-drone bleeding hearts, you are on their drone list no doubt about it.
Why is it that the people who were screaming about Bush putting enemy combatants in Guantanamo are now cheering for Obama to kill Americans on American soil who are not an imminent threat? If Bush had responded the same way the Obama Administration has you liberals would be rioting in the streets in protest. But since it is Obama you are praising him for throwing out due process and changing "innocent until proven guilty" to "guilty and sentenced to death unless you can prove you are innocent before the drone kills you while you are sleeping."
so, the military has guns, rockets, missiles, destroyers, aircraft carriers, etc; should we also have a debate on the possibility; the hypothetical sense of american citizens being gunned down, attacked with missiles, etc, and demand for answers and explanations on this?
Rand Paul is another anti-government paranoid freak! The only way he can muster up any attention is to make a mockery of the senate chambers with his nonsense.
Drone all you southern confederate traitors.
Dr. Paul is running for President in 2016. He just hasn't announced it this early. But his "look at me" antics do give us a longer assessment period, so that we can absorb the fact that he's even more unrealistically revolutionary than his father. But his father isn't necessarily wrong about his views. He just wants to employ all of them immediately, which is highly impractical and implausible. Rand on the other hand, is just a jerk...
"Let the old die" ANON? Do you think that is a Republican thing? Can you imagine that "old people die" is a natural law? What do you really expect Democrats to do about old people dying???
what is it that you people do not get? ever heard of the NDAA? you guys make it seem like Rand Paul made up this whole idea that the president was given rights to kill americans on american soil without trial. he didnt. he is just fighting the battles that you ignorant tards are too blind to even realize need to be fought. youre rights are being pull out from under you and all you can do is attack one of the few men who is trying to protect them. this is not just a ploy to get recognition for an election. he has been fighting for you since hes been in senate. open your eyes. everything you hated about bush, obama supports. when republicans and democrats see the root issues the same, were down to a one party system. they fight and disagree in the medias sight over hotwheels and matchboxs but behind closed doors their eyes are right in line when it comes to bmw's and jaguars.


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HE Podcast Roundup
Strike up a conversation about podcasts with just about anyone and they'll have something to say. The passionate fans among us have long lists of shows that we subscribe to called podcast libraries, and we receive updates as soon as new episodes are released. We're happy to pull out our devices and share our libraries with others.
What's great about podcasts is that they are hands-free. Listeners tune in while exercising, gardening, cooking, or handcrafting. Lots of contractors listen in their vehicles, driving between clients. Just as typeface and lighting help determine the optimal reading environment, audio quality is king in the podcast. There is plenty of affordable high-fidelity technology, leaving no excuses for low-fi sound. The five podcasts surveyed here all pass the sound check for high-quality audio. Voices should sound as though they are a few feet away, not in an echo chamber. Ditto the interviewee. This is especially important when the interviewee is remote. There are easy ways to address the problem of sound quality when the interviewer and the interviewee are in different places. Bill Spohn, for example, when he books an interview, recommends a good-quality inexpensive microphone, if the interviewee doesn't already have one, and records directly from the interviewee's mic to his or her local hard drive. A few apps are available for this, that record directly from mic to hard drive, notably ZenCastr.
What should a good podcast do? Same thing as any other medium—delight, inform, and inspire. How should it do that? By being well researched, by sounding good, and by introducing the topic at hand and then delivering on that introduction, so the listeners get what they expect. This is important in an audio show, because you can't skim through and scan headings, as you can with the written word. All of the following podcasts come through on these standards, and then some.
Five Podcasts Worth Listening To
- Bill Spohn's podcast, Building HVAC Science, is part of the Blue Collar Roots Media Network, furthering education for plumbers, HVAC technicians, mechanics, and electricians. Bill got it right from the start, working with an engineer to edit and mix his episodes. He told me about his process in an interview we did together in Pittsburgh. "I got into it in 2017, when a semipro podcaster, Bryan Orr, approached me," he says. "He asked if I would do one on the intersection of HVAC and building science. He coached me with videos and resources." (Bryan Orr's podcast is HVAC School: For Techs by Techs). Geared toward the HVAC professional, The Building HVAC Science Podcast features interviews with experts, who somehow make the topic accessible to the interested amateur while remaining technically meaty to the passionate contractor. It's on point, well-organized, fun, but with limited goofing around. Bill's shows have a nice tidy flow to them. Show length: About 40 minutes. Frequency: Weekly, since 2017.
- Corbett and Grace Lunsford's Building Performance Podcast translates the concerns of the high-performance building industry to the mainstream, as well as to the professionals within it. They saw a disconnect between the pace of science and technology and lack of education about houses in the mainstream media. Both performing artists by training, they knew they could bridge that gap, and they launched a media crusade that includes, among other projects, a national road show called the "Proof is Possible Tour," where they demonstrated building science dynamics in a tiny house that they built and towed around the U.S.; and a TV show called "Home Diagnosis" (now on PBS). Their podcast is the audio tentacle of that crusade. Begun in 2009, it was one of the first home performance podcasts. After 10 years and 80 episodes, the Lunsfords moved from an expert interview format to a Q&A model, and the Lunsfords answer home performance questions from fans of the television series. Show length: 30 minutes. Frequency: Bimonthly.
- Brought to you by Positive Energy, and winning my award for best logo—a round flask with a house inside and a few bubbles—The Building Science Podcast begins with an artsy sound collage quote from RadioLab. Because the narrators, Kristof Irwin and Michael (Miguel) Walker, travel to conferences and interview live and on-site in various and unpredictable spaces, the sound quality is variable. They make up for that in thorough research, and in the presentation of accompanying text and images on their site for each episode. I asked Miguel what he and Kristof set out to accomplish with their podcast. "We began producing this show because we were constantly having meetings and giving talks wherein crowds of building professionals were expressing the desire for better-performing projects," Miguel told me, "but they didn't understand how to get the outcomes they wanted. Most people assumed it was because they didn't know what technologies to use, but the upside potential of homes and other buildings is not limited by technology. Our problems are systems based, and systems require new ways of thinking to change. The show was intended to be a resource for people to shift their perspective, learn about the physical reality of buildings, and expand the audience of high-performance building geeks." It gets rave reviews; most listeners seem to be building professionals, but this podcast would also appeal to the engaged homeowner. Show length: About an hour. Frequency: Bimonthly.
- The hosts of The Green Architects' Lounge, Chris Briley and Phil Kaplan, drink a featured cocktail each episode (recipe provided), and there is more joking and laughter than in other shows. This show features great Cuban big-band introductory music. According to one reviewer, you may have to listen to the whole show to get one or two practical gems of wisdom, but to some, it's worth the wait, and the good cheer is enjoyable. Other listeners might want to skip the drink for the meat. Show length: 40 minutes. Frequency: Weekly.
- Boasting 550 episodes since 2006, Iaqradio is hosted by Cliff Zlotnick and Joe Hughes. Their byline is "This is the place where the world discusses indoor air quality, the built environment, and disaster restoration issues." Cliff posts a blog after every episode. Intro music is ever changing and always features something uplifting, like blues and reggae. You can sometimes catch host Joe Hughes singing along in his bearlike gravel voice! Podcast production is often a low-paying labor of love, a break-even project that acts as a voice supporting a larger project—that is, not an end in itself. As Joe says, "I don't think we expected to be around 13 years, and it's more work than we expected for less money, but it's worth it. Because of our longevity and reputation for being fair, we can get most of the guests we want." Show length: About an hour. Frequency: Weekly. Airs live every Friday at noon, Eastern time: You can get continuing education credits for listening. Whether you take the credit or not, you will get smarter.
learn more
See the full text of Leslie Jackson's interview with Bill Spohn.
How to Listen and Subscribe to Podcasts
You can simply listen to any podcast from the show's website. It's also easy to subscribe and receive automatic updates of a given show right to your computer or your device, using your device's onboard Podcast app (like Podcasts for iPhone) or downloading one of the many podcast apps available, allowing you to listen on the go.
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subset: commoncrawl


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Tila Tequila's Manic Twitter Spree Crashes into a Deep Depression
After tweeting that she hadn't slept for four days straight following the death of fiancée Casey Johnson, the internet's favorite oversexed pocket-celebrity, Tila Tequila, went AWOL for two days, only to return by announcing "I HAVE NO FRIENDS!"
Mulholland Drive on Meth appears to be approaching the Lord of the Flies-like dénouement where everyone forms a circle around the most-reviled character and destroys her completely.* (Or allows her to self-destruct, depending on whether or not there is a difference.) **
Tila disappeared from Twitter for two days following a much-discussed trip to the doctor, prompting some (okay, just me) to wonder whether a medical professional had tossed her into rehab or some other institution. But then, the anti-heroine resurfaced Sunday with 68 tweets and new blog posts. The tweets told the sad story of why Tila is incapable of staying off Twitter in her time of grief:
Then, our tragic figure took to her official blog on Joe Francis-sponsored soft-core porn purveyor Tila's Hot Spot Dating and penned a missive entitled "TILA TEQUILA'S COMPELLING & SAD LIFE STORY!" Like Tila's Twitter, her blog is illegible and kind of frightening to experience firsthand, so here is an abbreviated guide and translation:
Tila: Well last night I was on Twitter and I was just tweeting about random things and somehow one Tweet into the next it lead me into writing a mini auto-biography through 7 hours of Tweeting!!!!!!! [...] Everyone who read it was moved to tears and today a lot of people kept asking me where they could find that story.
Translation: My compulsive oversharing has reached the tipping point where I am compelled to get off Twitter and get on my blog. My supernatural sense of self-importance has yet to diminish.
Tila: Imma Ninja! Im serious! That's why they sent me away to Juvenile Boarding school...cuz Some DUDE tried 2 fight me & I beat him up. I got sent 6 months to juvie. But once I got sent to Juvie it was scary. Everyone was segregated & I had 2 find a new "gang" 2 chill wit 2 back me up in there & ...And so I rolled with the Mexicans. [...] That's how I got the name "TILA TEQUILA" my Mexican family (gangsters) gamme dat name after I couldnt drink with them! [...] So u see? I went from gang-banger, juvenile criminal 2 changing my life around & now living the dream in HOLLYWOOD! If I can do it SO CAN U!
Translation: This lady had a rough life. That she clawed her way into Hollywood and onto MTV is actually pretty impressive, and accounts for my weird and deeply irrational soft spot for Tila, even as she proves time and again that she deserves very little sympathy. I guess she'll make for a fascinating profile subject some day (in that "fascination with the abomination" way) but not until she takes it down a notch or twenty-seven.
Tila: Now u guys kinda know why I try so hard 2 help others.
Translation: I have no sense whatsoever of my public image.
She goes on to tell terrifying stories about an ad hoc abortion, gangland murders, and other "fucked up" scenes from her teen years, some of which are more believable than others—one of which involves a corpse mummified in duct tape—and all of which she plans to include in a new memoir.
Tila had another cause to celebrate at the end of her two-day Twitter hiatus: Larry King booked her for Tuesday. But then her arch nemeses, Casey Johnson's loved ones, protested and Larry seems to have de-booked her, opting for interviews on the White House gatecrashers instead. Tila says it's a conspiracy:
* This is horrifying in many ways, not least of which being that there is apparently nobody to respond to Tila's cry for help, which reminds me of a certain other recent Hollywood flameout. Over Christmas, Tila says she made amends with her estranged sister, and there's that brother she's a surrogate for. What happened to them?
** Is it possible that Tila is perfectly sane, and this is just how her mind works, and there is no cause for alarm? Or is something very bad about to happen? At what point does rubbernecking veer into some sort of ethical obligation?


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Get ready for big-screen versions of BATMAN and THE X-FILES with today's DVD and Blu-ray releases, plus much more.
BATMAN -- GOTHAM KNIGHT On DVD And Blu-ray
DC Comics, Warner Premiere, Warner Home Video and Warner Bros. Animation have collaborated to create a unique BATMAN experience in BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT. The all-new, original movie arrives July 8, 2008 on DVD and Blu-ray. The original movie will also be available OnDemand and Pay-per-View as well as available for download on the same day as release date, July 8, 2008.
BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT is a fresh and exciting new entry into the Batman mythos, spinning out of a 40-year history in animation including the Emmy-winning BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES, widely considered a pivotal moment in American animation. A cross section of distinguished creators, award winning producers, and acclaimed writers weave six interlocking stories that reveal Bruce Wayne's journey to Dark Knight, each with stylish art from some of the world's most revered animation visionaries.
BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT was headed by an impressive list of directors who have brought their distinctly different anime styles to the classic Batman character. The production was divided among three renowned studios -- Studio 4 Degree C, Production I.G and Madhouse -- and included the truly inimitable visions of directors Shojiro Nishimi, Futoshi Higashide, Hiroshi Morioka, Yasuhiro Aoki and Toshiyuki Kubooka.
With stories written by several of the most talented writers of film, comic books, and animation, including Academy Award-nominated screenwriter Josh Olson (A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE), David S. Goyer (BATMAN BEGINS), Emmy-winner Alan Burnett (BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES), Jordan Goldberg (Associate Producer, THE DARK KNIGHT), and award-winning comics writers Greg Rucka and Brian Azzarello, BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT presents thrilling new adventures of BATMAN that spotlight several of Gotham City's most dangerous villains, including the fearsome Scarecrow, the freakish Killer Croc and the unnerving marksman known as Deadshot. BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT is produced by Emma Thomas (BATMAN BEGINS, THE DARK KNIGHT), Michael Uslan & Benjamin Melniker (BATMAN BEGINS, THE DARK KNIGHT), Toshi Hiruma and Bruce Timm (BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES).
Single-Disc DVD Special Features:
--"A Mirror for the Bat: The Evil Denizens of Gotham City" -- A stimulating documentary covering Gotham City's most nefarious of characters, combined with a look into the symbiotic relationship Batman shares with his enemies.--"Sneak Peek: WONDER WOMAN" -- DC Universe animated original movie--Audio Commentary -- Featuring the filmmakers of Gotham Knight.--Widescreen (1.78:1)--5.1 Dolby Digital
2-Disc Special Edition DVD Special Features:
--"Batman and Me a Devotion of Destiny: The Bob Kane Story" -- The comprehensive chronology of the remarkable life of the creator of Batman.--BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES Bonus Episodes -- Bruce Timm selects his favorite episodes from BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES.
Blu-ray Special Features:
--"Batman and Me a Devotion of Destiny: The Bob Kane Story" -- The comprehensive chronology of the remarkable life of the creator of Batman.--BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES Bonus Episodes -- Bruce Timm selects his favorite episodes from BATMAN: THE ANIMATED SERIES.--"A Mirror for the Bat: The Evil Denizens of Gotham City" -- A stimulating documentary covering Gotham City's most nefarious of characters, combined with a look into the symbiotic relationship Batman shares with his enemies.
"BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT explores an exciting moment between BATMAN BEGINS and THE DARK KNIGHT," said Paul Levitz, DC Comics President and Publisher, "and takes our fans on a very different visual trip through Gotham and Batman's life."
BATMAN BEGINS On Blu-ray And Limited Edition Gift Set DVD
BATMAN BEGINS, on Blu-ray and Limited Edition Gift Set DVD from Warner Home Video, explores the origins of the Batman legend and the Dark Knight's emergence as a force for good in Gotham. In the wake of his parents' murder disillusioned industrial heir Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) travels the world seeking the means to fight injustice and turn fear against those who prey on the fearful. He returns to Gotham and unveils his alter-ego: Batman a masked crusader who uses his strength intellect and an array of high tech deceptions to fight the sinister forces that threaten the city.
In theory, Batman is a regular guy who has trained himself to the peak of human perfection in body and mind. Batman comes and fights his own demons and ours (both inner and outer), and does it in the bigger-than-life manner we have come to expect of our costumed adventurer/superhero characters. And while he may not have super strength or a spider-sense, he has the most advanced technology that Wayne Industries can produce, and the most up-to-date vfx that the industry has to offer.
How this technology was used, though, is not the way you would expect it would be in a typical summer superhero blockbuster. Nolan said he wanted to present "a more realistic take on his [Batman's] story than we've seen in previous incarnations of the character. I wanted to treat it with a degree of gravity and with a sense of epic scope, but set in a world that is firmly grounded in reality."
With that as his priority, Nolan had to be dragged kicking and screaming into the modern vfx world, and eventually saw the light. The visual effects boutiques he would use to achieve his cinematic goals included Double Negative, Rising Sun Pictures (RSP) and The Moving Picture Co. (MPC).
Paul Franklin, Double Negative's visual effects supervisor, explained about his company's most ambitious project to date: "Chris Nolan really wanted this film to be very much grounded in some sort of believable reality rather than existing purely inside some sort of graphic world that could only be achieved through the use of computer animation or whatever. And he always wanted to make it feel like that you might actually go to Gotham, that Gotham might be a real place, and that somebody could really do the things that Batman was doing."
"It was really interesting that in BATMAN BEGINS you saw Chris basically progress through all the various stages that visual effects have been through in the last five or six years, and going from the position where he was very reluctant to use extensive digital effects work, to the point where was pretty happy for us to go away and generate something entirely digitally, because we were getting what he wanted."
"So we moved from a position where at the outset of the film, Chris was pretty adamant that he wasn't going to have digital cityscapes, certainly not entirely digital cityscapes, in the film, to a position where at the end of post-production, where Chris is approaching his final cut of the film, where he's coming up with new ideas for shots, and we're able to generate them entirely digitally, because obviously there is no opportunity to go out and shoot new material at this point," Franklin said.
Nolan's bottom line is the story of the man inside the suit. And at its core, that story is about fear. The director, whose previous films have been MEMENTO and INSOMNIA -- both about men pushed to the absolute edge of sanity by forces beyond their control -- is focused on what that emotion can do to a person and to a society. "It's fascinating to me," Nolan remarked, "the idea of a person who would confront his innermost fear and then attempt to become it."
The limited-edition gift set includes the two-disc special edition DVD version of BATMAN BEGINS plus an all-new disc with an exclusive two-minute sneak peek of THE DARK KNIGHT, Hollywood Movie Money to see THE DARK KNIGHT in theaters (a $7.50 value), a 128MB flash drive including 18 images from THE DARK KNIGHT, a BATMAN BEGINS lenticular, and five collectible BATMAN BEGINS post cards.
Blu-ray Special Features:
--THE DARK KNIGHT IMAX Prologue -- Seven minutes of opening footage from THE DARK KNIGHT replicated in 1080p HD.--In-Movie Experience -- Picture-in-picture interactive commentary with cast and crew with behind-the-scenes footage, stills and comic panels.--Additional Footage -- Series of short featurettes, one with screenwriter David S. Goyer, one with a CG/live action comparison of the shot where Batman lands on the floor of Arkham Asylum and one about the Tumbler and the stunt test work required to make it work.--"The Journey Begins" -- A look at the pre-production with footage of Goyer and Nolan working on the script and Christian Bale discussing preparing for the role.--"Gotham City Rises" -- Production design of Gotham, Wayne Manor and the Batcave.--"Cape and Cowl" -- Costuming Batman, including the famous Batman cowl and cape.--"The Tumbler" -- Discussion of the working Batmobile (called the Tumbler in the film).--"Path to Discovery" -- Discussion of the on-location shoot in Iceland.--"Saving Gotham City" -- Looking at the special effects of the film.--"Genesis of the Bat" -- Featurette of comic book influences.--"Takman Begins" -- Batman spoof by Jimmy Fallon for the MTV Movie Awards--Confidential Files -- Dockets about the world of Batman.--Stills Gallery--Trailer
THE MUMMY On 2-Disc Deluxe Edition DVD
Deep in the Egyptian desert, a handful of people searching for a long-lost treasure have just unearthed a 3,000 year old legacy of terror. Combining the thrills of a rousing adventure with the suspense of Universal's legendary 1932 horror classic THE MUMMY, Starring Brendan Fraser, is a true nonstop action epic, filled with dazzling visual effects, top-notch talent and superb storytelling, now on 2-Disc Deluxe Edition DVD from Universal Studios Home Ent.
The 1999 film's vfx were by ILM, The Visual Effects Company (as The Mill), Cinesite Hollywood, Pacific Title/Mirage and Vision Crew Unlimited.
New Special Features:
--"An Army To Rule The World Part 1" featurette--"Unraveling The Legacy Of The Mummy" featurette--Digital copy of the film--Sneak Peak of THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR
Special Features From THE MUMMY Ultimate Edition (Released 2001):
--Three audio commentaries: Director Stephen Sommers and editor Bob Ducsay, star Brendan Fraser and actors Oded Fehr, Kevin J. O'Connor, Arnold Vostoo--"Building A Better Mummy," documentary about the making of the film (49:45)--"Visual And Special Effects Formation," on how the special effects were done--"Egyptology 101," text about aspects of Egyptian history--"Pharaoh Lineage," text on the history of the Egyptian Pharaohs--Storyboard comparisons--Stills gallery--Theatrical trailer
THE MUMMY RETURNS On Deluxe Edition DVD and Blu-ray
Relive one of the most intense action-adventure movies ever with THE MUMMY RETURNS Deluxe Edition DVD from Universal Studios Home Ent. Now, experience the pulse-pounding action and spectacular special effects like never before from director Stephen Sommers. Digitally restored for optimum picture quality, this deluxe edition is loaded with thrilling bonus features including behind-the-scenes footage, commentaries and a sneak peek and a ticket offer for one of the summer's most anticipated movies THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR. THE MUMMY RETURNS 2-Disc Deluxe Edition DVD also features an exclusive downloadable digital copy of the film.
The 2001's film's vfx were by CFC/MVFX, The Computer Film Company, Digiscope, ILM, Matte World Digital, Snow Business International, Temptu and The Visual Effects Company (as The Mill).
DVD and Blu-ray Special Features:
--"Visual And Special Effects Formation" -- VFX Supervisor John Berton walks the audience through the step-by-step process of creating the visual effects for the film.--"An Army To Rule The World Part 2" -- A recap of the villainous armies and the special effects behind THE MUMMY and THE MUMMY RETURNS.--THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR Sneak Peek.--Feature Commentaries -- With director/writer Stephen Sommers and executive producer/editor Bob Ducsay.--"Unraveling The Legacy Of THE MUMMY" -- A look back at the evolution of one of the most enduring franchises of all time.--An exclusive conversation with Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson-- Spotlight on location and the making of the film.-- Storyboard to final film comparison.
Blu-ray Special Features:
-- U-Control -- This uniquely-immersive, in-movie experience from Universal allows you to customize your own high definition experience with spectacular interactive features -- all without stopping the movie.-- Picture In Picture -- Enjoy a behind the scenes look at the making of the film while watching the feature.
THE X-FILES: REVELATIONS On DVD
From 20th Century Fox Home Ent. comes eight episodes from the X-FILES series picked by creator Chris Carter that prepare fans and newcomers for the upcoming release X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE, out July 25.
The show (1993-2002) featured vfx by Area 51, Digital Muse, K.N.B. Effects Group, Northwest Imaging & FX, RK Industries and View Studios.
Season One, Episode One: "Pilot": A young FBI agent (Gillian Anderson) is assigned watchdog duty over a fellow agent (David Duchovny), but finds herself drawn into his investigation of paranormal and unexplained phenomena.Introduction to "Pilot" by creator Chris Carter and producer Frank SpotnitzOriginal airdate: 9/10/1993
Season One, Episode 12: "Beyond The Sea": Scully believes that the psychic predictions of a death row inmate are the only hope in apprehending a vicious murderer.Introduction to "Beyond the Sea" by Carter and SpotnitzOriginal airdate: 1/7/1994
Season Two, Episode Two: "The Host": Mulder pursues a humanoid, parasitic organism that uses sewage systems as its home.Introduction to "The Host" by Carter and SpotnitzOriginal airdate: 9/23/1994
Season Three, Episode Four: "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose": Mulder and Scully are asked to assist in a murder investigation wherein several "professional prognosticators" were gruesomely murdered and their entrails evidentially arranged in an attempt to divine the future.Introduction to "Clyde Bruckman's Final Repose" by Carter and SpotnitzOriginal airdate: 10/13/95
Season Four, Episode 15: "Memento Mori": When Scully is diagnosed with cancer, Mulder hunts for research files pertaining to a group of female abductees who also contracted the disease.Introduction to "Memento Mori" by Carter and SpotnitzOriginal airdate: 2/9/97
Season Five, Episode Six: "Post-Modern Prometheus": Townspeople in rural Indiana believe a Frankenstein-like creature roams the countryside.Introduction to "Post Modern Prometheus" by Chris Carter and Frank SpotnitzOriginal airdate: 11/30/97
Season Five, Episode 12: "Bad Blood": The agents recount their versions of events that led to the killing of a teenager suspected of being a vampire.Introduction to "Bad Blood" by Carter and SpotnitzOriginal airdate: 2/22/98
Season Six, Episode 18: "Milagro": A writer who lives next door to Mulder becomes the prime suspect in a series of killings.Introduction to "Milagro" by Carter and SpotnitzOriginal airdate: 4/18/99
Special Features:
--X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE teaser trailer--WonderCon Talent Panel from February 2008 with creator Chris Carter, producer Frank Spotnitz and stars David Duchovny (Mulder) and Gillian Anderson (Scully)--$8.50 ticket to see X-FILES: I WANT TO BELIEVE
VAN HELSING 2-Disc Collector's Edition
From Universal Studios Home Ent. comes legendary monster hunter VAN HELSING (Hugh Jackman) is summoned to mysterious Transylvania on a mission that will thrust him into a sweeping battle against the forces of darkness.
Special Features:
--"Track The Adventure: Van Helsing"s Map"--"Explore Frankenstein"s Lab"--"Dracula"s Lair Is Transformed"--"The Music Of Van Helsing"--"Dracula"--"Frankenstein"s Monster"--"The Werewolves"--"The Women Of Van Helsing: Anna & Dracula's Bride"--Includes a free movie ticket for THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR ($7.50 value)--Blooper Reel--Director Stephen Sommers Commentary--Producer Bob Ducsay Commentary--Trailers
(This edition only adds a free ticket to see THE MUMMY: TOMB OF THE DRAGON EMPEROR. The rest of the special features are ported from the previous DVD releases, without the classic Universal films found on disc three of the Ultimate Edition, according to MONSTERSANDCRITICS.com.)
THE BATMAN: The Complete Fifth Season And TEEN TITANS: The Complete Fifth Season On DVD
Batman and the Teen Titans find themselves in the fight of their lives as Warner Home Video and DC Comics bring the final installments of their heroic animated tales to DVD with the releases of THE BATMAN: The Complete Fifth Season and TEEN TITANS: The Complete Fifth Season on July 8, 2008.
The Emmy-winning animated series THE BATMAN is an action-packed animation adventure that currently airs on Saturdays on the Kids WB. In the fifth season, the Caped Crusader works side by side with the likes of Superman, The Flash, Robin, Batgirl and Green Arrow to protect the streets of Gotham City as they are infiltrated by cunning criminal masterminds. The Joker, Lex Luthor, and Firefly are just a few of the evil foes who give the heroes a run for their money with each one bringing their own brand of chaos to the city.
THE BATMAN: The Complete Fifth Season 2-disc collection contains 13 episodes and bonus features including:
--"Joining Forces: THE BATMAN's Legendary Team-Ups" -- The producers and writers from the show have taken a page from classic DC Comics titles to present a series of team-up tales. Throughout the season, the Dark Knight joins forces with individual heroes from the DC Universe to fend off a whole new batch of super villains.--"THE BATMAN: Justice League Profiles" – This featurette covers the design and level of authentic detail, stemming from the comics to the screen in an installment of THE BATMAN.
WHV will also release TEEN TITANS: The Complete Fifth Season which currently airs on the Cartoon Network. Robin, Starfire and Raven square off with Brain, and his ultimate team of villains in The Brotherhood of Evil. Some Titans will be lost along the way as the vendetta escalates into a global war, and the teen phenoms must rely on Beast Boy to bring them to victory as he performs his most amazing transformation yet. This 2-disc collection contains 13 episodes and with special features highlighting a motley crew of scoundrels and crooks including:
--TEEN TITANS: Friend and Foes – The fifth season of TEEN TITANS finds our heroes in a worldwide membership drive recruiting new allies to combat the growing Brotherhood of Evil. In order to prepare for the final battle, all new character files for the Titans database have been created. The vignettes include: "Control Freak," "Bob & The Source," "Billy Numerous," "Mother Mae-Eye" and "Trigon"
STARGATE ATLANTIS: The Complete Fourth Season On DVD
An acclaimed cast that includes Joe Flanigan, David Hewlett, Rachel Luttrell, Jason Momoa and Amanda Tapping returns for season four of STARGATE ATLANTIS series on the Sci Fi Channel. Colonel Samantha Carter (Tapping) takes charge as the city's new leader, facing new and daunting challenges, including joining forces with the dangerous Wraith in order to fight a common enemy -- the seemingly unstoppable Replicators.
The show's vfx are from Atmosphere Visual Effects, Rainmaker Digital Pictures, SPIN West VFX and Zoic Studios.
Raising the bar on both the creative and technical sides of things is a major part of the season-to-season transition for Rainmaker's work on STARGATE ATLANTIS.
"We try to update not just the efficiency in actually creating the content, but also the creative content so each year you're pushing the boundaries not just for the quality of the end product, but also for our own entertainment purposes," said Debora Dunphy, digital effects supervisor and lead artist on the series. "It keeps us wanting to keep producing something that is of higher quality for us as artists, so we can be proud of our work."
Off-season tasks include going through models that are likely to be re-used in the upcoming season and optimizing them so they are easier to work with and look better.
That can have a big impact on a show where a fictional location is a key story element, says Justin Gladden, visual effects producer. "That's something that we're constantly trying to improve both the quality and the efficiency of, so we can do quicker set ups and see the model in its new environment."
Software upgrades also have been made this season more efficient, particularly with the increasing number of shots that require 3D tracking, resulting in shots that are more interesting and complex.
"Because we're now using a variety of software packages, we need those packages to communicate among themselves," Dunphy said. "So we're getting 3D data from the plates as well as the render side of things and trying to meld them together."
Disc 1:"Adrift""Lifeline""Reunion""Doppelganger"
Disc 2:"Travelers""Tabula Rasa""Missing""The Seer"
Disc 3:"Miller's Crossing""This Mortal Coil""Be All My Sins Remember'd""Spoils of War"
Disc 4:"Quarantine""Harmony""Outcast""Trio"
Disc 5:"Midway""The Kindred""The Kindred Part 2""The Last Man"
Special Features:
--Commentaries on every episode but "Midway" with the actors, directors, producers and writers.--"Mission Directive: 'Doppelganger' with Robert C. Cooper" featurette--"A New Leader: Amanda Tapping Joins Atlantis"--"The Doctor is In: The Return of Paul McGillion"--"'This Mortal Coil' by Will Waring"--Making-of featurettes--"A Look Back at Season Four" featurette--Photo galleries--Deleted Scenes--Blooper Reel
THE RUINS Unrated On DVD And Blu-ray
Something deadly comes to life on July 8, 2008 when the terrifying thriller THE RUINS debuts as an unrated DVD and Blu-ray disc from Paramount Home Ent. Based on the gripping best-selling novel by Scott Smith, THE RUINS showcases a hot young cast including Jonathan Tucker, Jena Malone, Shawn Ashmore, Laura Ramsey and Joe Anderson.
Featuring never-before-seen footage that was too intense for theaters, the unrated DVD and Blu-ray discs include an all-new ending, commentary by director Carter Smith and editor Jeff Betancourt, "The Making of THE RUINS," "Creeping Death," "Building THE RUINS" and deleted scenes. THE RUINS also will be available on DVD in its original theatrical version.
When a group of tight-knit college friends visit the site of an undisturbed Mayan ruin, they stumble into an ancient trap where an unspoken evil is waiting to drag its victims into an endless nightmare. As fear and paranoia eat away at their sanity, their only chance at escape is to commit the unthinkable.
Obviously, the very nature of the film's creature constituted a major challenge for first-time director Carter Smith and Visual Effects Supervisor Greg McMurry. This was not your typical movie monster: no eyes, no teeth, no mouth...Just a bunch of regular looking leaves. Yet, the team had to find a way to make them look scary and deadly.
This task was awarded to Australia-based Rising Sun Pictures, which created 110 shots for the movie. The team included VFX Supervisor Ken McGaugh, VFX Producer Mel Jones and Production Manager Caroline Grubb. Using conceptual sketches provided by Rising Sun Pictures and Tatopoulos Studios, and onset props as a reference, RSP had to elaborate a look and feel for the vines, as well as developing an animation style that would evolve as the story progressed.
"Creatively, it is always a challenge to create an amorphous character that is structurally different in every shot of the film," said CG Supervisor Malcolm Humphreys. "We had to go through a long phase of performance development to try to understand the director's vision about how the vines needed to read on screen. Our animation had to continually be tone down, as the animators always wanted to deliver a big performance."
RSP used Maya for the hero vine animation and lighting, while Houdini was employed for vine mass and dynamics. Rendering was carried out with 3Delight through Maya, and Shake was the tool of choice for compositing.
Additional vfx was done by Frantic Films, Patrick Tatopoulos Design and Proof.
THE RUINS is presented on DVD in widescreen enhanced for 16:9 TVs with Dolby Digital English 5.1 Surround and English, French and Spanish subtitles. The unrated Blu-ray disc is presented in 1080p high definition with English 5.1 Dolby TrueHD and English, English SDH, French, Spanish and Portuguese subtitles.
The unrated DVD and unrated Blu-ray discs include the following special features:
--Never-before-seen alternate ending--Commentary with director Carter Smith and editor Jeff Betancourt--"The Making of THE RUINS" -- the cast and crew provide insight into the transformation of Scott Smith's novel to the screen.--"Creeping Death" -- reveals the process of bringing the deadly vines to life and the practical special effects that were used.--Building THE RUINS -- provides a detailed look at the set and location for the film.--Deleted Scenes with optional commentary by Carter Smith and editor Jeff Betancourt:--Theatrical Trailer
SHAGGY AND SCOOBY DOO GET A CLUE! Volume 2 On DVD
Expect more high-jinks, thrills and laughs on July 8, 2008 when Warner Home Video releases another entertaining volume of the hit animated series Shaggy and Scooby-Doo Get a Clue! on DVD. This title features everyone's favorite mystery-solving canine and his pal Shaggy who will entertain both kids and adults with a whole new set of adventures, mysteries, and fun. SHAGGY AND SCOOBY-DOO GET A CLUE! Volume 2 will feature four 22-minute episodes from the television series' first season.
Scooby-Doo and Shaggy are the superstars of this popular new show, as they hit the trail solving mysteries and fending off the bad guys. Their new adventures begin after Shaggy inherits a sizeable fortune from his incredibly rich uncle, Dr. Albert, which enables him and Scooby-Doo to upgrade the Mystery Machine so that it has the ability to transform itself into a number of other different vehicles. With the help of new Scooby Snacks, which have been mixed with a secret nanotech formula, Scooby-Doo finds he has special powers, one of which is the ability to fly. The duo along with their loyal robot servant Robi, embark on a mission to stop the evil plans of Phinius Phibes and save the world. On occasion, they run into their dear pals, Fred, Velma and Daphne.
SHAGGY AND SCOOBY-DOO GET A CLUE! Volume 2 episodes include: "Smart House," "Lightning Strikes Twice," "Don't Feel the Animals," and "Mystery of the Missing Mystery Solvers."
SHAGGY AND SCOOBY-DOO GET A CLUE! made its debut September 2006 on the CW and quickly established itself as a favorite among young viewers. The show's second season is now airing on Kids' WB! The program consistently ranks in the top 4 of Kids' WB! Saturday morning shows among children ages 2-11.
SUPERHERO MOVIE On DVD
Stripping the spandex trade down to its skivvies, SUPERHERO MOVIE exposes the hilarity of the comic book genre when an Extended Version of the film arrives on DVD on July 8 from Genius Products and The Weinstein Company. Following the uproarious misadventures of a high school student after he's been bitten by a mutated dragonfly, SUPERHERO MOVIE spoofs, satirizes and skewers the conventions of fanboy cinema, taking time along the way to poke fun at some of the juggernauts of the genre -- from THE X-MEN and BATMAN to SPIDER-MAN and the FANTASTIC FOUR.
Masters of comedy Craig Mazin, David Zucker and Robert K. Weiss -- whose collected credits include AIRPLANE!, THE NAKED GUN FILMS, SCARY MOVIE 3 and 4, TOMMY BOY and more -- marshal an all-star cast that includes Drake Bell, Tracy Morgan, Leslie Nielsen, Jeffrey Tambor, Christopher MacDonald, Keith David, Pamela Anderson, Brent Spiner and Marion Ross Available in an extended version or the original theatrical version, the SUPERHERO MOVIE DVD will feature an alternate ending, deleted scenes and more.
The comedy's vfx were by Animal Makers and Patrick Tatopoulos Design.
Special Features:
--Audio commentary by Writer/Director Craig Mazin and Producers David Zucker and Robert K. Weiss (Extended Version Only).--Deleted scenes--Alternate ending--"Meet the Cast" featurette--"The Art of Spoofing" featurette


text:
Matt Coughlan
(Australian Associated Press)
Holiday-makers splurged a whopping $113.4 billion in Australia last year, with international and domestic tourists increasingly making trips to regional destinations.
Overseas travellers dropped $43.2 billion in the year to September, an increase of five per cent.
Chinese tourists continued to lead the way, with 1.3 million visitors representing an increase of eight per cent on the previous year, and the biggest chunk of the 8.4 million travellers who came to Australia.
Of those overseas visitors, 2.84 million chose to travel beyond capital cities and spent time in the bush, coast or outback.
People coming from India jumped 20 per cent to 324,000, while the number of arrivals from Japan was up six per cent to 419,000.
But with the exception of China, international tourists aren't hanging around as long.
Americans spent 13 per cent less nights in the country, while New Zealand and British visitors' trip lengths fell by seven per cent.
Tourism Minister Simon Birmingham said it was encouraging to see more international visitors flock to regional destinations.
"This is great news for regional towns around Australia and it's also terrific to see travellers moving off the beaten track," Senator Birmingham said.
"This is exactly why 80 per cent of Tourism Australia's current campaigns, feature tourism experiences outside of our capital cities."
Spending by domestic tourists was up 10 per cent to $70.3 billion, with money spent in regional Australia increasing 10 per cent to $36.2 billion during the year.
"More and more Australians are turning to nature for their holidays, whether it be kayaking near Cradle Mountain in Tassie, cycling in the Blue Mountains in NSW or bushwalking in the Bungle Bungle Range in WA," Senator Birmingham said.


text:
This is a unique bread treat that is perfect for a dairy meal.
2 teaspoons yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1-1/2 cups warm water
3 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons salt
4 cups bread flour
1/3 cup pizza sauce
¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese
2/3 cup grated mozzarella cheese
¼ cup sliced black olives
½ teaspoon basil
¼ teaspoon oregano
In a large bowl, proof yeast and sugar in warm until foamy – about 10 minutes. Whisk in oil and salt. Stir in flour and knead until a smooth, elastic dough forms. (Add extra flour if necessary). Sprinkle 1 teaspoon oil around edges of bowl and roll dough in it to coat. Cover with damp cloth and let rise 1 hour. Grease a 9-inch tube pan. Roll dough into a 15 x 10-inch rectangle. Spread sauce over dough to within 1 inch of the edges. Sprinkles with cheeses, olives and spices. Roll up dough jelly-roll style and place in pan. Pinch ends to seal. Cover again and let rise until doubled – about 1-1/2 hours.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake loaf for 20 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees and bake an additional 35 minutes. Cool on wire rack for 10 minutes before removing pizza loaf from pan. Best eaten warm.


text:
Slayings not forgotten, Ray Lewis not forgiven
- Ray Lewis pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice after being charged with two counts of murder
- %22Everything is so fresh in our mind%2C it%27s just like it happened yesterday%2C%22 says Greg Wilson
- Family tries to shield Richard Lollar%27s 12-year-old daughter from details of the murder
Priscilla Lollar still doesn't believe her son is dead.
Any day now, she hopes he might finally return from Atlanta, walking through the door of her home in Akron, Ohio, as if nothing happened on the morning of Jan. 31, 2000.
"If I truly accept that he's not coming back ... " says Lollar, her voice trailing off. "I don't discuss him in the past. I don't really acknowledge anything."
Deep down, she knows he's gone. She knows it every time she turns on the television and sees Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis — a reminder that her son, Richard, has been dead for 13 years, stabbed to death outside a nightclub in Atlanta, along with his friend from Akron, Jacinth Baker.
Their murders remain unsolved. But as the anniversary of their deaths approaches — and as Lewis dances into the sunset of his NFL career — the victims' relatives are still seething at him. While Priscilla Lollar says she's "numb" to Lewis, others want answers. And justice.
"My nephew was brutally beaten and murdered and nobody is paying for it," Baker's uncle, Greg Wilson, told USA TODAY Sports. "Everything is so fresh in our mind, it's just like it happened yesterday. We'll never forget this."
Only Lewis pleaded guilty in relation to the case: for obstruction of justice, a misdemeanor. He originally was charged with two counts of murder but struck a deal with prosecutors in exchange for his testimony against two of his companions that night, Reginald Oakley and Joseph Sweeting.
Lewis never directly linked his two friends to the killings, and they were acquitted. Lewis had testified that Oakley, Sweeting and another man had gone to a sporting goods store the previous day to buy knives. Baker's blood later was found in Lewis' limo. Having fled the crime scene, Lewis told the limo's passengers to "keep their mouths shut." The white suit Lewis was wearing that night — on Super Bowl Sunday — never was found.
"I'm not trying to end my career like this," Lewis said in his hotel that night, according to the testimony of a female passenger in the limo.
He didn't. For his punishment, Lewis received one year of probation and a $250,000 fine by the NFL.
Lewis declined to comment when asked about the subject Thursday by USA TODAY Sports. Messages left for agents and attorneys representing him were not returned. Oakley, recently living in Atlanta, didn't return messages seeking comment. A relative of Sweeting, living in Miami, hung up when reached by USA TODAY Sports. And the prosecutor, Paul Howard, declined a request to be interviewed.
Said Lewis: "You want to talk to me about something that happened 13 years ago right now?"
Lewis was more circumspect about the incident in a 2010 interview with The Baltimore Sun. "I'm telling you, no day leaves this Earth without me asking God to ease the pain of anybody who was affected by that whole ordeal." he said. "He's a God who tests people — not that he put me in that situation, because he didn't make me go nowhere. I put myself in that situation."
In those 13 years, Lewis has not only rehabilitated his image but become an iconic figure for his dominating play and leadership. His 17-year career is likely to be immortalized in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, about 20 miles south of Akron, where Lollar and Baker are buried near their families.
Lewis, 37, will be eligible for induction five years after his retirement this season, which could come as soon as Saturday if the Ravens lose their playoff game at Denver. After announcing his retirement, Lewis has basked in the praise of adoring NFL fans. The crowd roared as he took a victory lap — and dance — around the stadium Sunday after beating the Indianapolis Colts. Commissioner Roger Goodell even said he wants to employ Lewis as a special adviser to himself because he's a "tremendous voice of reason."
Cindy Lollar-Owens, Richard Lollar's aunt, says Lewis' pending retirement prompted her Thursday to visit the funeral home, "because that's where my nephew retired."
Lollar-Owens says she doesn't know if Lewis did or didn't stab anybody — just that Lewis was there and that evidence suggests he was involved. For his part, Lewis denied guilt in the stabbing and said that he was unfairly targeted by Howard. Lewis said he didn't know who did the stabbings amid the push and pull of a crowded fight around 4 a.m.
It's not enough for some family members.
"Every time I see him, I think of my nephew," Lollar-Owens says.
The victims
Baker and Lollar were 21 and 24 at the times of their deaths, both having been stabbed several times in the heart and upper body.
Both had overcome personal struggles before that night. Lollar's mother had been in and out of prison, leaving Lollar-Owens and her mother to raise Richard. Both Lollar and Baker had criminal records with minor drug-related offenses.
But they moved from Akron to Atlanta in search of a better life. Lollar was trying to make it there as a barber, Baker as an artist. Lollar also was ready to have a family. His fiancé, Kellye Smith, was pregnant with his daughter, born about a month after his murder.
The daughter is now 12 and attends a private school near Atlanta. The family says it tries to shield her from the details of her father's death.
"She just knows her father is not here," says Katheryn Smith, mother of Kellye Smith. "She doesn't really know what happened. So far, we've kept most of it from her."
Katheryn Smith says she harbors no grudge against Lewis, though the circumstances are different from those of other relatives.
Smith's family sued Lewis for $13 million and reached an undisclosed settlement on behalf of Richard Lollar's daughter in 2004.
In the suit, Lewis answered questions under oath in a deposition.
"His attitude during the deposition and everything wasn't that great," Katheryn Smith says of Lewis. "He disappointed me in the things he said. But I decided I wasn't the one (to judge). You have to leave that up to God, you know? He was there when it happened. I think they all got off fairly easy, but I don't have any hard feelings. I think he had a bad choice of friends."
She declined to elaborate on Lewis' deposition testimony, which has not been disclosed. Kellye Smith didn't return a message seeking comment. The settlement includes a confidentiality clause.
In another suit, Gladys Robinson, Baker's grandmother, also reached an undisclosed settlement with Lewis in 2003 after suing him for $10 million. She is now deceased.
Time with family
The way Priscilla Lollar remembers it, her son was supposed to come back to Akron soon after Jan. 31, 2000. He was supposed to pick her up and bring her down to Atlanta, where he could help keep her out of trouble. She says she was at a friend's house when her phone rang that day. It was her stepfather, who told her to come home.
When she learned from him what happened, "I didn't believe it," she says. She still doesn't. "I'm numb to the fact, even after all this time."
Her sister, Lollar-Owens, still wants to believe that Lewis feels their loss. Explaining why he was retiring now, Lewis recently said he wanted to spend more time with his children.
"I've seen where he was speaking about family and stuff, and I'm quite sure that every time he sees his son, he thinks about the son, grandson and father that we lost," Lollar-Owens says. "It would be impossible not to. Never a day goes by that we don't think about him."
For "closure," she wants to talk to Lewis. If she gets the chance, Lollar-Owens says she would ask him for money, not for herself, but to build a beauty salon in the name of her nephew, the barber.
"That would be my kind of closure, because I would have his memory," she says.
She also wants the truth. "I would like for him to tell one day exactly what happened," Lollar-Owens says.
It might help relieve the pain and anger for her mother, Joyce Lollar, who fell sick with heart trouble last month.
Joyce Lollar has bristled at the sight of Lewis on TV, a feeling shared by Greg Wilson, the uncle who helped raise Baker.
"I cringe. I just cringe," Wilson says of seeing Lewis on television. He's upset at how the case was handled by Howard. He also blames the NFL and Ravens. Prior to the next Super Bowl in 2001, then-Ravens coach Brian Billick criticized the news media for continuing to ask questions about the murders.
"The problem to me is America was more interested in him playing football instead of him paying the price for what he was involved in," Wilson says. "That's how we feel. They wanted nothing to happen to him. (Team owner) Art Modell didn't want his golden boy to suffer, so he could make money for him. So they did all they could to get him out of trouble."
The other men moved on after their acquittals. Oakley published an unedited book on the murders titled Murder After Super Bowl XXXIV, copyrighted in 2010.
In the book's opening, Oakley describes a chaotic scene with several fights breaking out. He describes Lewis imploring his friends to get into his limo. He describes a man staggering in the street holding his side before "falling backward onto the street." He later describes three other men getting into the limo saying, "We kicked they ass."
The rest of the book is unavailable and out of print.
Wilson says there was supposed to be a meeting with Lewis and the families after the trial. It never happened.
"We wouldn't have went to the meeting anyway," Wilson says. "It would not have been a peaceful meeting. … I'll be very upset if they induct (Lewis) into the Hall of Fame. There's other people out there that committed a lesser crime and they're sitting in jail."
Baker, his nephew, "was raised in our home," Wilson says. "We have no compassion for Ray Lewis, for Art Modell, for any of them. We don't want to see him."
Contributing: Robert Klemko in Owings Mills, Md.


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3-Week Sandy Fatigue: How You Can Help Fight It
The people who work for tips in New York City's service industry were devastated by Hurricane Sandy. Here's what you can do to help them.
As Thanksgiving was beginning, I called up Danny Meyer, most of whose six New York City restaurants lost power during Hurricane Sandy but seemed to be thriving when I visited the city last weekend, to ask how they had fared during the storm and whether any of them were changing their Thanksgiving weekend plans because of it. His answers provided suggestions for everyone concerned with helping restaurants get back on their feet -- and good guidance for how anyone, in or out of the city, can use holiday shopping and holiday-season giving to benefit the many businesses that have just reopened or are still waiting to.
The point that most struck me was one that Billy Shore, co-founder of Share Our Strength, the national hunger-relief organization that took a leading role in helping New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, made: what might be called Three-Week Fatigue. That is, after initial wall-to-wall media coverage and public concern and donations, pretty much any global crisis -- Katrina, the earthquake near Fukushima, the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami -- fades from public consciousness. That's usually just when the long-lasting, intractable problems those crises caused start to become clear, and groups like Share Our Strength and Red Cross need stepped-up donations -- and just when donations start to level off and then plummet. (It's somewhat analogous to my own three-month rule, of when to check in with people who have lost a loved one or suffered a personal crisis.)
His own restaurants fared much better than others, Meyer was at pains to emphasize, and lost little more than the contents of their walk-ins. The New York locations of his ever-expanding Shake Shack chain were with one exception above the power-loss line, so could open the day after the storm. Because of the size and reserves of his Union Square Hospitality Group, he and his partners were able to keep paying managers during the restaurant closings, and were immediately able to make a one-time payment to the 800 of their 1000 employees on hourly wages who lost more than three shifts of work--many of whom walked long distances in order to clean up and help reopen.
Meyer himself went last weekend on a tour of three affected neighborhoods. He described scenes in Red Hook of oak casks that had floated out of the Red Hook Winery, and seeing beached, seawater-logged burlap bags of green coffee beans from the Brooklyn maritime area's longtime coffee roasters that survived the consolidation of the coffee business, and from and the new artisan roasters that have recently opened plants in Red Hook, including Stumptown.
Because USHG employees and managers recognized their relative good fortune, Meyer told me, they took on projects of their own: the staff of one restaurant raised $12,000 for the Red Cross; the staff of the North End Grill, the new Tribeca restaurant with Floyd Cardoz as chef, went to Staten Island to help cook for people displaced by the storm; the staffs of Gramercy Tavern and Union Square Café raised money for City Harvest, which among service organizations has taken the lead in helping food-service workers. Others organized brigades to help tear out sheetrock in the Rockaways.
And workers at several of the restaurants wanted to open, Meyer told me, when Union Square restaurants have never opened before: Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Eve. Like thousands of people in areas affected by Sandy, restaurant workers need as many hours as they can get, particularly as the holiday season begins, and have lost not just base pay but the real pay wait staff gets: tips.
If you're visiting New York City, then, try to take any meals out in downtown restaurants. Pete Wells, the estimable restaurant critic of the New York Times, was quick off the mark to assemble a list of restaurants that had reopened and needed business; many more have reopened since then. The best coverage I've seen of restaurants and the hurricane has been on Eater.com; just before Thanksgiving, it began this ongoing series of updates on restaurants that are closed and reopening, as well as keeping an updated list of benefits to help restaurants and food-service workers. Use the lost-tips excuse to eat out when you'd ordinarily be doing more holiday cooking than you intended or had time for, including on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.
If you live outside New York, you can donate to City Harvest, whose director, Jilly Stephens, posted a Thanksgiving letter on the site describing the week's continuing devastation, and her group's donation of 10,000 turkeys to affected families. You can do your online and telephone holiday shopping at the small companies that produce their wares, including a lot of food companies, at MadeInNYC.org, which has assembled a holiday shopping guide to local manufacturers, designers, and food makers here.
And you can make an advance New Year's resolution now: volunteer for any group you've been meaning to help out after the holidays, when the annual holiday-season influx of volunteers sees its own version of Three-Week Fatigue. As David Waters, CEO of Community Servings, told me when I picked up five pies at its annual Thanksgiving pie fundraiser (I wrote about it here), "January is a lonely month around here." Don't let it be around your own local hunger-relief organization.


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In 2010, Virginia gave a new history textbook to its fourth-graders: Our Virginia: Past and Present. Written by Joy Masoff—an author, but not a trained historian—she deals with the usual founding facts of commonwealth history: Jamestown, Colonial Williamsburg, Thomas Jefferson, and the Revolution.
But when Masoff gets to the Civil War, she goes off the rails. "Thousands of Southern blacks fought in Confederate ranks," she writes, "including two black battalions under the command of Stonewall Jackson." Historians in the state were appalled. Not only was there little evidence of mass voluntary participation among blacks in the Confederate war effort, but the Jackson line is pure fantasy. In fact, Masoff copied the claim from the Sons of Confederate Veterans, a group that insists on the reality of black Confederate soldiers, and whose in-house historian, Charles Kelly Barrow, argued the point in a book called Black Confederates.
Mainstream historians dismiss the claim, but it's easy to see how it persists. In a world where black soldiers willingly fought for the Confederacy, your beliefs are vindicated. Suddenly, the Confederate cause is noble—a fight for freedom against invaders, not a struggle in defense of slavery. Or, as Yale historian David Blight told the Washington Post, "This isn't just about the legitimacy of the Confederacy, it's about the legitimacy of the emancipation itself."
History education doesn't matter because of particular names and dates; it matters because history is one way we understand ourselves and our place in the world. If the Sons of Confederate Veterans believe in the myth of the black Confederate, it's because they also believe in the nobility of their predecessors, and the two are connected. Likewise, if historians want to strike Masoff's sentence from the record (which they eventually did), it's because they're committed to giving kids a fuller—and sometimes unflattering—story of Virginia's history.
But history has always been a clash for control of the narrative—a place where we fight to define our identity. Given the stakes, conflict is inevitable, even when the tweaks are minor. Take Advanced Placement United States history. A university-style course for ambitious high-schoolers, it's managed by the College Board, which prepares the year-end test and issues guidelines for teaching the course. Last month, the College Board released a new "curriculum framework" to help teachers shape material and prepare their students for the test. "In line with college and university U.S. history survey courses' increased focus on early and recent American history and decreased emphasis on other areas," explains the College Board, "the AP U.S. History course expands on the history of the Americas from 1491 to 1607 and from 1980 to the present."
The particular change is a greater focus on women and minorities, with thematic questions like "How have gender, class, ethnic, religious, regional, and other group identities changed in different eras?" and "How and why have moral, philosophical, and cultural values changed in what would become the United States?" At the end of the course, students are expected to do things like "Explain how conceptions of group identity and autonomy emerged out of cultural interactions between colonizing groups, Africans, and American Indians in the colonial era" and "Explain how the U.S. involvement in global conflicts in the 20th century set the stage for domestic social changes."
History teachers aside, most of the rest of the world shrugged. But conservatives noticed, and they were furious. The framework, resolved the Republican National Committee, is a "radically revisionist view of American history that emphasizes negative aspects of our nation's history while omitting or minimizing positive aspects."
"Instead of striving to build a 'City upon a Hill,' as generations of students have been taught, the colonists are portrayed as bigots who developed 'a rigid racial hierarchy' that was in turn derived from 'a strong belief in British racial and cultural superiority,' " wrote conservative groups American Principles in Action and Concerned Women for America in a joint open letter to the College Board. "The new Framework continues its theme of oppression and conflict by reinterpreting Manifest Destiny from a belief that America had a mission to spread democracy and new technologies across the continent to something that 'was built on a belief in white racial superiority and a sense of American cultural superiority.' "
National Review has been on a crusade against the new guidelines, with Stanley Kurtz warning, "This Framework will effectively force American high schools to teach U.S. history from a leftist perspective," and that the guidelines can "only be interpreted as an attempt to hijack the teaching of U.S. history on behalf of a leftist political and ideological perspective." He continues: "The College Board has drastically eroded the freedom of states, school districts, teachers, and parents to choose the history they teach their children."
In the latest shot against the test, Tennessee lawmakers have urged the state board of education to review the framework and materials. "There are many concerns with the new [AP U.S. history] framework, not the least of which is that it pushes a revisionist interpretation of historical facts," said Senate Education Committee Chairwoman Dolores Gresham in a statement on Tuesday. "The items listed as required knowledge have some inclusions which are agenda-driven, while leaving out basic facts that are very important to our nation's history."
Sixty years ago, an academic focus on women and minorities was radical. Then, for instance, students learned a "Lost Cause" history of events like the Civil War, where "states' rights" were the aim and Reconstruction was a corrupt, wrong-headed disaster. Today, after decades of revision and correction, it's banal. To say—as the College Board does—that the British system of slavery was "reinforced by a strong belief in British racial and cultural superiority" is to cover territory mined and accepted in the 1970s.
The same goes for the description of Manifest Destiny. In What Hath God Wrought, his contribution to the Oxford History of the United States, historian Daniel Walker Howe describes the 19th-century slogan as a justification for policies that were "permeated" with the "assumption of white supremacy." "It never occurred to U.S. policymakers," notes Howe, "to take seriously the claims of nonwhite or racially mixed societies to territorial integrity." Teaching this is an assault on historical standards if your goal is a pleasing hagiography of the United States, not a serious look at our national actions and collective beliefs.
With that said, the standards are still filled with traditional history. The claim that students are losing the core ideas of American history education is false. In the AP U.S history practice exam, students are asked to read quotes from Capt. John Smith, Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and Ronald Reagan. They discuss topics like the Great Awakening and American intervention in World War II, and have to grapple with rhetoric from Thomas Paine. The essay questions deal with democracy, the American frontier, national identity, and global American leadership. The guidelines are long, but I recommend you read the test, or even take it. I did, and I found a balanced look at the full scope of American history, not a left-wing tirade against the nation's sins.
Indeed, if you were going to go the Howard Zinn route, you'd have a course dedicated to the slave-owning hypocrisy of the Founders, the extermination of Native Americans, the gross oppression of women, the brutality of the Confederacy, the anti-black terror of Reconstruction, the anti-Chinese mobs in California, the labor suppression of the Gilded Age, the bloody occupation of the Philippines, the lynchings and white race riots of the early 20th century, the Japanese internment, and the general extent to which white supremacy was the ruling ideology of American elites for the better part of 200 years. Conservatives are angry with the College Board standards? They'd have rage strokes at what actual lefties would do to American history curriculums.
But then, so would I. For as much as those are important facts of history that deserve a full accounting in classrooms, a course devoted to our moral failures is as blinkered and unsatisfying as a course devoted to a morality tale of American goodness and American freedom.
What students need—and what the College Board has tried to give—is a history that tells a fair and complex story of America, a country born of lofty goals that it still struggles to fulfill. As adult citizens, we should want the same. The fairy tales of our youth may feel good, but a real grappling with our history is what we need to move forward.


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Good Morning America assembled a crew of 5 to 8 year old girls to ask them about weight stuff — what's fat, what's thin, what looks good and what looks bad. Their bluntly honest answers aligned, sadly, with a recent study that suggested almost half of 3-to-6 year old girls worry about being fat.
When questioned, one of the girls said she wants to eat healthy "so you don't get fat," while others worried that their tummy would get so big it would "pop." One of the girls offered a story about her Mom going to the gym "because she thinks she's overweight." Another volunteered how "our teacher is on a diet" — something the class figured out when she wouldn't eat a piece of cake with the rest of them. Then, they were shown a series of photographs of girls their age who were all different sizes. Obviously, there was a girl deemed "Chubby Wubby" who they all laughed about in unison — kids can be so cruel.
GMA also spoke with a 6-year-old Texan girl named Taylor Call. Over a year ago (at age 5!) she began worrying about her weight when a girl at school asked her why she was "so fat" and a little boy called her "fat girl." What's worse, is by her BMI and a pediatrician's standards, Taylor is not at all considered overweight. Not that matters one damn bit when it comes to body issues.


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Plain Bars Gate with Custom Knuckles
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Loot-Laden Reno Train Passenger Leads To Arcata-Area Grow, Coke, Hash, Cash, Gold – June 12, 2012
Humboldt County Sheriff's Office Press release
On Sunday, June 11 at about 9 a.m. a Humboldt County Drug Task Force Agent received a telephone call from a detective with the Reno Police Department in Nevada. The detective told the Drug Task Force Agent that they had contacted a subject named Joshua Waldrop, 38, in Reno, Nevada on a train.
The detective advised that Waldrop had approximately $100,000 in cash in his belongings. The detective relayed that Waldrop told them that he lived on Dutch Lane, located off West End Road just outside Arcata. Waldrip told the detective that he was growing marijuana on his property in Arcata. Waldrop was taken into custody by the Reno Police Department for money laundering charges.
Humboldt County Drug Task Force agents along with the Humboldt County Sheriff's Office deputies then responded to Waldrop's residence located off the 100 block of Dutch Lane. A search warrant was obtained for the property by a Superior Court Judge in Humboldt County. No one was located on the property.
Agents located a sophisticated commercial indoor marijuana growing operation in the garage and in a small trailer on the property. Agents seized 722 growing marijuana plants that ranged in size from four inches to 18 inches in height from the two structures. Agents seized approximately 40 pounds of processed marijuana from a drying shed.
When Agents searched Waldrop's residence they located a butane extraction hash lab. Agents located approximately 1/8 ounce of cocaine in the residence. Agents seized $6,200 in cash and 17 one-ounce gold coins from a safe in the residence for possible asset forfeiture.
Agents contacted the Humboldt County Building and Planning Department, because of a possible electrical fire hazard associated with the indoor marijuana growing operation. Humboldt County Building and Planning Department then responded to the scene and determined that there was a fire hazard. PG&E was then contacted and they disconnected the electrical service to the residence.
An arrest warrant will be submitted to the Humboldt County District Attorney's for Waldrop's arrest for the following charges: cultivation and possession for sales of marijuana, possession of cocaine and for manufacturing of a hash lab.
This case is still under investigation by the Humboldt County Drug Task Force and the Reno Police Department.
Mike Downey, Sheriff