LITTLE ROCK — QUOTE OF THE DAY
“This was, pure and simple, a problem of distance and time.”
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, on why the military couldn’t send armed drones, gunships and jet fighters to stop the September attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi Article, 1A
Northeast braces for snow onslaught
As a major winter storm made its way up the Atlantic Coast on Thursday, authorities from New York City to Maine began to make preparations for what forecasters said could be the heaviest snowfall for some cities in the Northeast in a century.
Airlines began announcing the suspension of all flights out of New York and Boston airports starting tonight, as thousands of workers readied their plows, checked their stocks of salt and braced for what will likely be a cold, wet weekend.
Boston, where forecasts called for more than 2 feet of snow by Saturday, announced that it would close all schools today, joining other localities in trying to get ahead of the storm and keep people off the roads.
Jerome Hauer, the New York state commissioner of the Homeland Security and Emergency Services Division, said the latest forecasts call for 12 to 20 inches of snow in the New York City region and wind gusts that could exceed 60 mph.
However, with the storm still some distance away, forecasters warned that predictions can change.
Suicidal mom kills 2 kids, hurts 3rd
DENVER - A mother shot and killed two of her young children and critically wounded another before taking her own life in a Denver home, police said Thursday.
The surviving child, Isabel Perez, was hospitalized in critical condition in a deep coma, said Dr. Claudia Kunrath of Denver Health. Police said the child is 2.
Police identified the mother as 23-year-old Mayra Perez and the dead children as Erick Perez, who was nearly 2, and Nevaeh Morales, whose age was not immediately available.
Police have not discussed a possible motive.
Relatives have said the woman quarreled Tuesday night with her husband, who left their home to cool off and found the bodies when he returned early Wednesday.
Illegals face 10-year wait in bill, 2 say
WASHINGTON - Two senators said Thursday that under legislation taking shape in the Senate, illegal aliens would face a 10-year wait to become legal permanent U.S.
residents.
Democratic Sens. Dick Durbin of Illinois and Robert Menendez of New Jersey discussed the timeline in a meeting with Hispanic-focused media. The senators and their aides emphasized that nothing has been agreed to and the timeline could change.
The timeline refers to how long someone would have to wait in a new provisional legal status before qualifying for permanent residency and a green card. The legislation is expected to immediately grant provisional legal status to many of the estimated 11 million illegal aliens now in the country, but they couldn’t get green cards until the border has been secured, and they would have to meet criteria including learning English and paying fines.
The process “is likely to be in the range of 10 years, I say in the range because we have not nailed this down,” Durbin said.
Menendez said a 10-year wait would not be inordinate considering that under current law many illegal aliens face a 10-year prohibition against returning to the country if they leave.
Coroner finds many shots in kidnapper
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - A man who held a 5-year-old boy hostage in an underground bunker for nearly a week before dying in a shootout with the FBI received multiple gunshot wounds, a county coroner said Thursday.
Dale County Coroner Woodrow Hilboldt said he was allowed into the bunker in the southeastern Alabama community of Midland City on Wednesday evening. He pronounced 65-year-old Jimmy Lee Dykes dead at 8:58 p.m.
“He had multiple gunshot wounds,” Hilboldt told The Associated Press. The coroner declined to say how many times Dykes had been shot or where the wounds were on his body. He said the body was taken to a state forensics laboratory in Montgomery for autopsy.
The body was removed from the bunker Wednesday night, FBI agent Jason Pack said Thursday, hours after the FBI announced that it had found no more explosives on the property besides those that were discovered in a PVC pipe leading into the bunker and inside the bunker itself.
Front Section, Pages 4 on 02/08/2013