Chicago gang violence shows no signs of stopping

(CBS News) CHICAGO - There is a war going on -- not overseas, but right here on the streets of America. A gang war has taken over parts of Chicago.

Over the weekend, 14 people were shot. Two were killed.

So far this year, there have been more than 2,364 shootings and 487 homicides.

CBS News National Correspondent Dean Reynolds rode along with Commander Leo Schmitz of Chicago Police Department's 7th district. The area is a gang-related swath of the city's South Side. They started to drive as children were leaving school for the day.

"When you have them coming out of school, and there's any kind of gang conflicts, you've got a mix like fire and gasoline," Schmitz said.

The gangs are fighting a war over turf, drugs and money.

"It's crazy," he said. "What used to be a fist fight now turns into, 'Let's go to the guns,'" Schmitz said.

Bullet tax eyed in bid to curb Chicago crime

Report: Chicago shootings leave 9 dead, 28 wounded over the weekend

Chicago police sergeant: "Tribal warfare" on the streets

Shooting deaths are up 20 percent in the city this year, though in the 7th district Schmitz and his team have managed to cut homicides by 30 percent.

He credits better intelligence from informants, increased patrols and a citywide crime-tracking database.

"We use the knowledge," Schmitz said. "So, if there's a shooting right here, we know that the retaliation will be a block down."

The police gave us a bulletproof vest for the trip, and within minutes it because crystal clear why.

A block away, a man walking was a target. The suspect was fleeing the scene.

"He done shot at me right here!" the man said.

Police apprehended a Chicago suspect who allegedly shot another man. The shooting supposedly has roots in gang violence.

/

CBS News

The commander and his men ran down the suspected shooter, 21-year-old Julian Gayles. Police think the shooting was probably gang-related.

The police also received the weapon. Schmitz described it as a 9mm Beretta.

"If you can see the hammer's already (up)," he said. "That means he just shot it."

Chicago has seized more guns this year than New York and Los Angeles combined. The violence is so bad that the heavily armed police now attend gang funerals to prevent revenge killings. Schmitz said he doesn't just want to maintain a level of clam.

"I want to win," Schmitz said. "So, we're going to always try to do better than we did before."

It didn't get much better this weekend. Among the victims was an off-duty cop.

Read More..

Woman Gets Life for Lottery Winner's Murder

DeeDee Moore, the Tampa woman accused of swindling and then killing lottery winner Abraham Shakespeare, was found guilty today of first degree murder and other charges, after she declined to take the stand and the defense rested without calling a single witness.

In addition to the murder charge, Moore was also found guilty of possessing and discharging a firearm resulting in death. Prosecutors did not pursue the death penalty in the case, and Moore was sentenced to life in prison without parole.

"After trial and listening to all of this over two weeks, words that were said cool, calculated, manipulated. Abraham Shakespeare was your prey and victim. Money was the route of evil you brought to Abraham. You are sentenced to life in prison you shall not be elegible for parole," Judge Emmet Battles said.

Jurors deliberated for more than three hours Monday before delivering their verdict.

Prosecutors argued that Moore, 40, befriended Shakespeare before he vanished in April 2009 after he'd won $30 million in the Florida lottery. After Shakespeare had given away most of his money to people who simply asked for it, Moore agreed to manage the little he had left, but instead, prosecutors said, stole his winnings and killed him.

During a dramatic trial Moore has broken down in tears several times, and at one point said that she went into anaphylactic shock while in custody after taking the drug Bactrim when she was having problems with cuts on her ankles from being cuffed every day.

Early today the defense announced it would rest its case without calling any witnesses. Moore did not testify during her trial.

Jay Conner/The Tampa Tribune/AP Photo

Florida Lotto Murder Trial: Bizarre Moments Watch Video

Florida Lottery Murder Trial: Letters to Victim's Family Watch Video

Dee Dee Moore Trial: Woman Accused of Murdering Lottery Winner Watch Video

"There is no witness that can say she ever admitted to doing the killing or participating as a principle in helping anyone else do the killing," Moore's defense attorney Byron Hileman said today.

In the courtroom this morning, Moore's friend, former inmate Rose Condora was accused of threatening witnesses by Tampa Judge Emmett Battles, and was thrown out of the courtroom.

Authorities say Shakespeare, 47, was shot twice in the chest by a .38-caliber pistol sometime in April 2009. He wasn't reported missing until November 2009. His body was found under a slab of cement in a backyard in January 2010.

Polk County authorities claim Moore offered someone a $200,000 house in exchange for reporting a false sighting of Shakespeare. She also allegedly sent the victim's son $5,000 in cash for his birthday, and used the victim's cellphone to send text messages purportedly from him.

Shakespeare's mother, Elizabeth Walker, also testified that Moore tried to hide that her son was missing, and said that he had AIDS.

Sentorria Butler, Shakespeare's ex-girlfriend and the mother of his child, also testified. Butler told the court last week that Moore is a divisive and manipulative woman who told her Shakespeare "ran off with the lady from the bank."

During the trial, jurors also watched a Walmart surveillance video that the prosecution said links Moore to Shakespeare's killing. The footage shows Moore making a $104 cash purchase of gloves, duct tape, plastic sheeting and other items detectives later found close to where Shakespeare's body was buried.

Jurors hearing the case also heard a rambling two-page letter that witness Greg Smith, a police informant who was a former friend of Shakespeare and supposed friend of Moore, says Moore allegedly forged while at a Comfort Inn & Suites in Lakeland, Fla.

The letter was meant to appear to be from Shakespeare, prosecutors said. They say the letter was a ruse to convince Shakespeare's mother that he was still alive. Moore attempted to cover her tracks while it was written, according to prosecutors.

During the trial, jurors had to be accompanied by a security escort into the courtroom after they told the judge Smith and Shakespeare's family and friends were making them feel uncomfortable outside the courthouse. None of the jurors had to be excused by the judge.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Read More..

Unknown attackers fire at Cairo protesters, nine hurt

CAIRO (Reuters) - Nine people were hurt when unknown attackers fired at protesters camping at Tahrir Square in central Cairo on Tuesday, according to witnesses and Egyptian media, as opponents and supporters of President Mohamed Mursi's plans to vote on a new constitution geared up for a day of street demonstrations.

Police cars surrounded the square, the first time they had appeared in the area since November 23, shortly after a decree by the Islamist president giving himself sweeping temporary powers touched off widespread protests.

The attackers also threw petrol bombs which started a small fire, witnesses said. Many of the protesters, awakened by the noise, chanted: "The people want the downfall of the regime." Recorded recitations of the Koran were played over speakers in the square.

Leftists, liberals and other opposition groups have called for marches to the presidential palace in the afternoon to protest against the hastily arranged referendum on a new constitution planned for Saturday, which they say is polarizing the country.

Islamists, who dominated the body that drew up the constitution, have urged their followers to turn out "in millions" the same day in a show of support for the president and for a referendum they feel sure of winning and that critics say could put Egypt in a religious straitjacket.

Seven people were killed and hundreds wounded last week in clashes between the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood and opponents besieging Mursi's graffiti-daubed presidential palace.

The elite Republican Guard has yet to use force to keep protesters away from the palace, now ringed with tanks, barbed wire and concrete barricades, but a decree issued by Mursi late on Sunday gives the armed forces the power to arrest civilians during the referendum and until the announcement of the results.

OPPOSITION SAYS MURSI DESTROYING CONSENSUS

Leftist politician Hamdeen Sabahy, one of the most prominent members of the National Salvation Front opposition coalition, said Mursi was driving a wedge between Egyptians and destroying prospects for consensus.

As well as pushing the early referendum, Mursi has angered opponents by taking sweeping temporary powers he said were necessary to secure the country's transition to stability after a popular uprising overthrew autocratic former president Hosni Mubarak 22 months ago.

"The road Mohamed Mursi is taking now does not create the possibility for national consensus," said Sabahy.

If the constitution was passed, he said: "Egypt will continue in this really charged state. It is certain that this constitution is driving us to more political polarization."

The National Salvation Front also includes Nobel Peace Prize laureate Mohamed ElBaradei and former Arab League chief Amr Moussa.

The opposition says the draft constitution fails to embrace the diversity of 83 million Egyptians, a tenth of whom are Christians, and invites Muslim clerics to influence lawmaking.

But debate over the details has largely given way to noisy street protests and megaphone politics, keeping Egypt off balance and ill equipped to deal with a looming economic crisis.

Lamia Kamel, a spokeswoman for Moussa, said the opposition factions were still discussing whether to boycott the referendum or call for a "no" vote.

"Both paths are unwelcome because they really don't want the referendum at all," she said, but predicted a clearer opposition line if the plebiscite went ahead as planned.

Mahmoud Ghozlan, the Muslim Brotherhood's spokesman, said the opposition could stage protests, but should keep the peace.

"They are free to boycott, participate or say no; they can do what they want. The important thing is that it remains in a peaceful context to preserve the country's safety and security."

The army stepped into the conflict on Saturday, telling all sides to resolve their disputes via dialogue and warning that it would not allow Egypt to enter a "dark tunnel".

The continuing disruption is also casting doubts on the government's ability to push through tough economic reforms that form part of a proposed $4.8 billion IMF loan agreement.

(Writing by Edmund Blair; Editing by Will Waterman, Mohammad Zargham and Jim Loney)

Read More..

HSBC shares rise in Hong Kong despite 'record fine'

HONG KONG: Shares in HSBC rose Tuesday despite a report the bank would pay a record $1.9 billion fine to settle money laundering charges, while Standard Chartered also climbed after paying a massive fine.

Hong Kong-listed HSBC climbed 0.38 per cent to HK$79.75 in early trade.

Standard Chartered, also listed on the Hong Kong exchange, was 0.70 per cent higher at HK$186.00 after it paid US authorities $327 million to settle charges it violated US sanctions on Iran and Myanmar.

The benchmark Hang Seng Index was flat.

Citing people familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the settlement between HSBC and US authorities could be announced as early as Tuesday in New York.

The Journal said the figure includes nearly $1.3 billion, a record amount for a bank, as part of a deferred prosecution agreement. The London-based bank would also pay a civil fine of more than $650 million.

US lawmakers have accused the Asia-focused bank of giving Iran, terrorists and drug dealers access to the US financial system. HSBC in July admitted to poor anti-laundering controls.

The US Treasury announced the fine for Standard Chartered Monday to settle charges it violated US sanctions on Iran as well as on Myanmar, Libya and Sudan.

The fines from the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and other US federal and local regulators took to $667 million the total the bank has been charged for sanctions violations.

The New York state banking watchdog fined the bank $340 million in August in the same investigation, saying it hid 60,000 transactions with proscribed Iranian clients worth $250 billion over 10 years.

US authorities have been pushing harder on the banking sector to fall in line with its sanctions especially on Iran in order to raise the economic pressure on Tehran to halt its alleged push to develop nuclear weapons.

- AFP/ck

Read More..

Google Maps lets users explore NASA's 'Black Marble'

Google Maps' interactive "Earth at Night" feature that lets users explore the planet once the sun sets.

(Credit:
Screenshot by Dara Kerr/CNET)

Google Maps is now letting users explore Earth's far-reaching lands filled with flickering lights using imagery from NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's "Black Marble."

The Web giant announced the launch of its own Earth at Night today, which is a global view and animation of the images taken from NASA and NOAA's jointly operated Suomi NPP satellite. These series of images show what the Earth looks like from space once the sun sets.

"It took 312 orbits to get a clear shot of every parcel of Earth's land surface and islands," Google wrote in its description of Earth at Night. "This new data was then mapped over existing Blue Marble imagery of Earth to provide a realistic view of the planet."

NASA and NOAA released the series of nighttime photos last week giving earthlings the clearest view yet of what our illuminated planet looks like after dark. Besides the 312 orbits, NASA and NOAA's project required an extremely powerful Visible Infrared Imaging Radiometer Suite sensor to capture 2.5 terabytes of pictures. The cloudless shots were then compiled and sewn onto the classic "Blue Marble" imagery.

In Google's new interactive map, users can search from continent to continent to see what different countries look like on the Black Marble -- from the Sahara's darkness to New York City's bright glow to the smattering of lights throughout all of India.

Read More..

Boehner and Obama meet on "fiscal cliff"

President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, met at the White House Sunday for their first face-to-face meeting on the "fiscal cliff" in weeks, indicating that negotiations are continuing despite a public stalemate over the requirements for a deal.

The two have spoken over the phone as recently as Wednesday but on Friday, Boehner held a news conference to announce that "no progress" had been made.

While details of today's discussion weren't disclosed both Mr. Obama's and Boehner's spokesmen released the same exact statement to reporters, revealing some coordination - even if it's just how to talk to the press.

"This afternoon, the President and Speaker Boehner met at the White House to discuss efforts to resolve the fiscal cliff. We're not reading out details of the conversation, but the lines of communication remain open," Boehner spokesma Brendan Buck and White House deputy press secretary Josh Earnest separately emailed.

The "fiscal cliff" is a series of automatic spending cuts and tax increases that are set to go into affect at the beginning of the year unless Congress passes an alternative proposal. Most economists say the jolt to the economy would harm any recovery, and could throw the country back into recession.

Both sides have laid out their demands. Republicans are adamant that spending be greatly reduced, especially for entitlements. Democrats, however, are demanding that tax rates increase for the wealthy, something that some Republicans, including Boehner, have indicated is up for discussion.

Read More..

Fiscal Cliff Talks: Boehner, Obama Meet Face-to-Face

For the first time in more than three weeks, President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner met face-to-face today at the White House to talk about avoiding the fiscal cliff.

White House Principal Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest would offer no details saying only, "The lines of communication remain open."

Erskine Bowles, the co-creator of a debt reducing plan, who was pessimistic a couple weeks ago, said he likes what he's hearing.

"Any time you have two guys in there tangoing, you have a chance to get it done," Bowles said on CBS's "Face the Nation."

The White House afternoon talks, conducted without cameras or any announcement until they were over, came as some Republicans were showing more flexibility about approving higher tax rates for the wealthy, one of the president's demands to keep the country from the so-called fiscal cliff -- a mixture of across-the-board tax increases and spending cuts that many economists say would send the country back into recession.

Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo; Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo

Fiscal Cliff Battle: President Obama vs. Speaker John Boehner Watch Video

"Let's face it. He does have the upper hand on taxes. You have to pass something to keep it from happening," Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee said on "FOX News Sunday."

This comes after the White House moderated one of its demands about tax rate increases for the wealthy.

The administration was demanding the rate return to its former level of 39.6 percent on income above $250,000. The so-called Bush tax cut set that rate at 35 percent. But Friday, Vice President Joe Biden signaled that rate could be negotiable, somewhere between the two.

"So will I accept a tax increase as a part of a deal to actually solve our problems? Yes," said Oklahoma Republican Tom Coburn on ABC's "This Week."

The problems the senator was referring to are the country's entitlement programs. And there was some progress on that front, too.

A leading Democrat said means testing for Medicare recipients could be a way to cut costs to the government health insurance program. Those who make more money would be required to pay more for Medicare.

"I do believe there should be means testing, and those of us with higher income and retirement should pay more. That could be part of the solution," Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

But Durbin said he would not favor raising the eligibility age from 65 years old to 67 years old, as many Republicans have suggested.

The White House and the speaker's office released the exact same statement about the negotiating session. Some will see that as a sign of progress, that neither side is talking about what was said behind closed doors.

Read More..

Egypt's opposition rejects constitutional referendum

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's main opposition coalition rejected on Sunday Islamist President Mohamed Mursi's plan for a constitutional referendum this week, saying it risked dragging the country into "violent confrontation".

Mursi's decision on Saturday to retract a decree awarding himself wide powers failed to placate opponents who accused him of plunging Egypt deeper into crisis by refusing to postpone the vote on a constitution shaped by Islamists.

"We are against this process from start to finish," Hussein Abdel Ghani, spokesman of the National Salvation Front, told a news conference, calling for more street protests on Tuesday.

The Front's main leaders - Nobel peace laureate Mohamed ElBaradei, former Foreign Minister Amr Moussa and leftist Hamdeen Sabahy - did not attend the event.

Hundreds of protesters milled around Mursi's palace, despite tanks, barbed wire and other barriers installed last week after clashes between Islamists and their rivals killed seven people.

"Holding a referendum now in the absence of security reflects haste and an absence of a sense of responsibility on the part of the regime, which risks pushing the country towards violent confrontation," a statement from the Front said.

The Muslim Brotherhood, which propelled Mursi from obscurity to power, urged the opposition to accept the referendum's verdict.

Islamists say the vote will seal a democratic transition that began when a popular uprising toppled Hosni Mubarak 22 months ago after three decades of military-backed one-man rule.

Their liberal, leftist and Christian adversaries say the document being fast-tracked through could threaten freedoms and fails to embrace the diversity of Egypt's 83 million people.

"ACT OF WAR"

Mursi had given some ground on Saturday when he annulled the fiercely contested decree issued on November 22 that gave him extra powers and shielded his decisions from judicial review.

But some measures taken under the decree remain in force and the president has insisted the referendum go ahead on December 15.

Liberal opposition leader Ahmed Said earlier described the race to a referendum as an "act of war" against Egyptians.

Egypt is torn between Islamists, who were suppressed for decades, and their rivals, who fear religious conservatives want to squeeze out other voices and restrict social freedoms. Many Egyptians just crave stability and economic recovery.

Brotherhood spokesman Mahmoud Ghozlan said the scrapping of Mursi's decree had removed any reason for controversy.

"We ask others to announce their acceptance of the referendum result," he said on the group's Facebook page, asking whether the opposition would accept "the basics of democracy".

The cancellation of Mursi's decree, announced after a "national dialogue" on Saturday boycotted by almost all the president's critics, has not bridged a deep political divide.

Prime Minister Hisham Kandil, a technocrat with Islamist leanings, said the referendum was the best test of opinion.

"The people are the makers of the future as long as they have the freedom to resort to the ballot box in a democratic, free and fair vote," he said in a cabinet statement.

But opposition factions, uncertain of their ability to vote down the constitution against the Islamists' organizational muscle, want the document redrafted before any vote.

"A constitution without consensus can't go to a referendum," said Hermes Fawzi, 28, a protester outside the palace. "It's not logical that just one part of society makes the constitution."

DIALOGUE

Egypt tipped into turmoil after Mursi grabbed powers to stop any court action aimed at hindering the transition. An assembly led by the Brotherhood and other Islamists then swiftly approved the constitution it had spent six months drafting.

Opponents, including minority Christians, had already quit the assembly in dismay, saying their voices were being ignored.

After the dialogue hosted by Mursi, a spokesman announced that the president had issued a new decree whose first article "cancels the constitutional declaration" of November 22. He said the referendum could not be delayed for legal reasons.

The decree ignited more than two weeks of sometimes violent protests and counter-rallies in Egypt. Mursi's foes have chanted for his downfall. Islamists fear a plot to oust the most populous Arab nation's first freely-elected leader.

Islamists reckon they can win the referendum and, once the new constitution is in place, a parliamentary election about two months later. The Islamist-led lower house elected this year was dissolved after a few months by a court order.

Investors appeared relieved after Mursi rescinded his decree, sending Egyptian stocks 4.4 percent higher on Sunday. Markets are awaiting approval of a $4.8 billion IMF loan later this month designed to support the budget and economic reforms.

The military, which led Egypt's transition for 16 turbulent months after Mubarak fell, told feuding factions on Saturday that only dialogue could avert "catastrophe". But a military source said these remarks did not herald an army takeover.

(Additional reporting by Edmund Blair and Yasmine Saleh; editing by David Stamp)

Read More..

Italy awaits market reaction after political drama

ROME: Italy waited to see how markets would react Monday after a weekend of political drama in which Prime Minister Mario Monti announced his resignation and Silvio Berlusconi launched a comeback bid.

The developments have put the Monti government's reform agenda on hold and brought forward the election, with a vote now expected as early as February -- well before the government's mandate runs out at the end of April.

"We should probably expect a sell-off in Italian assets," said Erik Nielsen, the London-based chief economist for Italian banking giant UniCredit.

He also forecast increased "pressure" on debt markets, leading up to a medium-term bond auction on Thursday and "volatile weeks" ahead.

But Nielsen said he was "not seriously worried" about Italy's prospects since the two most likely outcomes for elections were either a coalition led by the centre-left Democratic Party or a new Monti government.

Centre-left leader Pier Luigi Bersani has promised to keep the course set by Monti if he is elected, although he has said he would moderate some of the most controversial austerity measures and put more emphasis on growth and jobs.

Greater unease could come from Berlusconi's return to the fray and his announcement that he will wage a campaign against key aspects of Monti's agenda as well as "diktats" from leading European powers like Germany, analysts said.

Late Sunday Berlusconi stressed his dim view of the Monti government.

"There is not one single economic indicator which is positive. The experiment with a technocrat government is over -- with, alas, totally negative results," he said.

The Italian press spoke of a Berlusconi "coup".

A three-time prime minister, the 76-year-old Berlusconi is running for office for the sixth time in two decades in politics.

In the latest in a series of trials against him, he was convicted of tax fraud in October but his sentence to a year in prison and a five-year ban from holding public office have been suspended pending an appeal.

Berlusconi is also still a defendant in a trial for having sex with an underage 17-year-old prostitute while he was prime minister and for abusing the powers of his office by having her released from police custody.

Berlusconi's party trailing

Berlusconi's People of Freedom (PDL) party has withdrawn its support for Monti's government, which it had previously backed as part of a grand coalition to prevent Italy from being swept into the eurozone debt crisis whirlwind.

A former high-flying European commissioner and economics professor, Monti took over in November 2011 after Berlusconi was forced out by a parliamentary revolt, a wave of panic on the financial markets and a series of sex scandals.

Supporters say Monti has managed to pull Italy back from the brink of bankruptcy by putting public finances in order and launching a number of long-delayed reforms to free up the economy and boost its growth prospects.

International investors have generally hailed his reforms, as well as his efforts to boost Italy's credibility on the European and world stage.

The differential or "spread" between Italian and benchmark German 10-year-sovereign bonds -- a key measure of investor sentiment -- has narrowed by half since he took over after hitting nearly unsustainable levels.

But some of Monti's measures -- like the introduction of a new property tax, budget cuts and a reform of pensions -- have proved deeply unpopular among ordinary Italians.

All the most recent polls show the main centre-left Democratic Party as the favourite to win the general election, although without an outright majority which would mean a coalition government.

Some polls show the People of Freedom party trailing in third place after Five Star Movement led by populist blogger Beppe Grillo, who has attracted younger voters with an anti-establishment, pro-environment message.

- AFP/ck

Read More..

Yahoo, NBC Sports team up to share broadcast sports, news

Yahoo and the NBC Sports Group announced a content and promotion partnership this evening that combines the Web company's sports reporting with NBC's television presence and digital resources.

The alliance will include original video content that will appear on both Yahoo Sports and NBCSports.com, live streams of events such as "Sunday Night Football," and adoption of Yahoo Sports' fantasy platform as the exclusive game provider for NBC Sports' news and information site Rotoworld.

Financial details of the deal were not revealed. The two will maintain separate Web sites and newsrooms but will collaborate on big sports news, both on the Internet and TV.

The pair touted the partnership as expanding NBC Sports' digital footprint.

"Through our growing television and digital platforms, the Yahoo Sports partnership dramatically expands the digital reach of NBC Sports around the biggest sporting events," Mark Lazarus, chairman of NBC Sports Group, said in a statement. "We are committed to continually growing this alliance for the benefit of both parties, our sports-property partners, and, most importantly, sports fans."

The deal is part of Yahoo's ambitions to raise its profile in other media. Yahoo and CNBC announced a partnership to jointly distribute content and programming across their networks. Like the NBC Sports deal, Yahoo and the business news channel partnered on creating co-branded, original videos that will appear on Yahoo Finance and CNBC.com.

Read More..