Hernandez girlfriend said to throw out evidence

FALL RIVER, Mass. (AP) — The girlfriend of former New England Patriot Aaron Hernandez pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a perjury charge for allegedly lying to a Massachusetts grand jury, including about disposing of evidence in the murder case against him.

Shayanna Jenkins was released on personal recognizance during her arraignment in Fall River Superior Court on a single perjury count. Prosecutors had sought $5,000 cash bail.

In August, Jenkins lied to the grand jury hearing evidence in the case, including about where she threw out a box Hernandez asked her to "get rid of" in the aftermath of Odin Lloyd's killing, Bristol County Assistant District Attorney Patrick Bomberg said.

Jenkins initially invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination, but was later granted immunity for her testimony, Bomberg said.

Hernandez, 23, has pleaded not guilty to the June murder of Lloyd, a 27-year-old semi-pro football player from Boston who was dating Jenkins' sister. He is being held without bail.

In court Tuesday, Bomberg said that the day after Lloyd was killed, Jenkins retrieved the box from the basement of the home she shared with Hernandez in North Attleborough, Mass., put it in a trash bag, covered it with baby clothes and drove away with it. Jenkins repeatedly told grand jurors she threw the box in a Dumpster but couldn't recall where, according to Bomberg.

Bomberg did not say what is believed to have been in the box. Hernandez associate Carlos Ortiz, who is charged as an accessory in the case, has told investigators that Hernandez put firearms in a box in his basement after the killing, according to court records. Prosecutors have said the murder weapon has not been found.

Defense attorney Janice Bassil said Jenkins answered every question asked of her before the grand jury and that prosecutors were overreaching with the perjury charge. She said there is no evidence Jenkins lied and that prosecutors sought the indictment simply because they didn't believe her. She called lead prosecutor William McCauley's questioning of Jenkins "extremely aggressive" and heavy-handed.

Bassil described the relationship between Jenkins and Hernandez, who have a young child together, as one of "don't ask, don't tell." Bassil had no further comment outside court.

The perjury charge carries a maximum penalty of 20 years.

Prosecutors have asked the judge assigned to the Hernandez case, Susan Garsh, to recuse herself, saying she and the McCauley have a "well-known and publicly documented history of antagonism" stemming from a 2010 murder trial he argued before her.

McCauley won a conviction in that case but was quoted in the press as criticizing Garsh, saying she had unfairly limited or excluded evidence and exhibited antagonism. A hearing on the request is scheduled for Monday.

Three others face charges in the case. Ernest Wallace and Ortiz, who prosecutors say were with Hernandez and Lloyd in a car on the night Lloyd was killed, have been charged with being an accessory to murder after the fact.

Wallace has pleaded not guilty and is being held on $500,000 bail. Ortiz is scheduled to be arraigned Friday.

Hernandez's cousin, Tanya Singleton, has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit accessory after the fact and criminal contempt. Prosecutors say she refused to testify before the grand jury even though she was offered immunity.

Hernandez has also been linked to an investigation into a 2012 double homicide in Boston. While investigating Lloyd's death, police found a sport utility vehicle rented in Hernandez's name at the home of Hernandez's uncle in Bristol, Conn., that was wanted in connection with those killings.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hernandez-girlfriend-said-throw-evidence-214741730.html
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Amped Wireless announces APA-20 long-range access point

Ready for another Amped Wireless announcement? The company's 802.11ac revolution continues with the APA-20 long-range access point. The unit brings Amped's trademark high-power WiFi know-how to your existing setup, promising to configure itself as soon as it's plugged in. Available for pre-order ...

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/lCC8qSaKTak/
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You Can Now 3D Print With This Spooky Glow-In-The-Dark Filament

We've been 3D printing in metal, gold, and even sugar for years now—so it seems only natural that we'd also be able to print in glow-in-the-dark plastic. This week, MakerBot announced a limited-edition run of PLA filament that glows in the dark, just in time for Halloween.

Read more...

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/6HnbHNGnJuc/you-can-now-3d-print-with-this-spooky-glow-in-the-dark-1445523100
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'Walking Dead' Season Premiere: Five Burning Questions

So much for peace-time! 'Walking Dead' returned with an explosive season premiere, and MTV News is here to pick up the pieces.


By Josh Wigler

Source:
http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1715520/walking-dead-season-four-premiere-questions.jhtml

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Author tells of life as humanitarian aid worker

"Chasing Chaos: My Decade in and out of Humanitarian Aid" (Broadway Books,) by Jessica Alexander

A common refrain among humanitarian aid workers, once you get to know them and they let their guard down, is "We can't save everyone." Jessica Alexander starts out more hopeful than that, only to find herself getting sucked into the same cynical trap as so many others in the field. Her journey is chronicled in "Chasing Chaos: My Decade in and out of Humanitarian Aid," an enlightening but uneven memoir.

Alexander writes in an easy, conversational manner. The result is the type of book that can be read in an afternoon. In some ways, this is good — it's more likely to keep the interest of people who are otherwise unfamiliar with the world of humanitarian aid, and there is a great deal in it that will be eye-opening to such readers. In that sense, Alexander has made a helpful contribution. But for those who know about the aid sector, the book isn't particularly meaty, nor does it reveal much that isn't known.

Alexander is quite good at pointing out the many challenges faced by aid workers, such as the danger that their efforts can become a permanent fixture. (The idea that many people in a poor country pretend to be refugees because the camps have better infrastructure and offer more resources than their existing village is deeply disturbing.)

However, Alexander doesn't really propose much in the way of solutions to the many problems in the world of aid, chief among them an unfortunate dearth of accountability and ridiculous levels of redundancy. She even avoids mentioning the names of some of the organizations she worked for, which undercuts her stated concerns about accountability.

In all fairness, "Chasing Chaos" isn't being billed as an academic treatise about the world of aid, but rather as a memoir. So we learn a great deal about Alexander's personal life, especially how much the death of her mother affected her as she traveled to various hot spots, from post-massacre Rwanda to post-earthquake Haiti. (The 2004 South Asian tsunami also makes an appearance, as does the troubled Darfur region of Sudan.) Alexander performed various tasks, from effectively running a refugee camp to acting as an outside assessor of aid programs. Her tale about trying to save an infant girl with hydrocephalus only to run into uncaring bureaucracy is particularly affecting.

But Alexander's "decade in and out of humanitarian aid" has some significant outs. If anything, her experience points to one of the major weak points of aid work, which is that these servants of humanity don't stick around very long in one place. They get burned out, jump at better offers or are simply more interested in getting their next adrenaline rush at the newest world disaster. To her credit, Alexander acknowledges some of these weaknesses in the sector, but one wonders whether 10 years "in and out" of humanitarian work was really enough to write about.

It was nice to see Alexander discuss some of the personal shenanigans among aid workers — she didn't gloss over the sexual flings, the adultery and the partying that's part of that lifestyle. Yet, she could also be downright derisive. Her brief mentions of "humanitarian widows" — middle-aged women who were divorced or unmarried, without kids, who'd given their best years to the world of aid — came across as pure snobbery. Another troubling aspect of the book is that she didn't seem to do enough research on some fairly sensitive aspects. For instance, her description of Islamic law, or Sharia, as making it illegal for a woman to have sex outside of marriage even in the case of rape appears to give credence to one widely disputed interpretation of the rules of Islam.

Overall, "Chasing Chaos" is a solid contribution to what is hopefully a growing genre of writing about a sector that deserves more attention and oversight, not least because it is accessible, easy reading for people not engaged with the subject. Still, it could have been stronger with more research and more years of experience to write about. According to her publisher, Alexander is now pursuing a Ph.D., focusing her research on accountability in humanitarian action, so perhaps we will see more substantive work from her in the future.

___

Follow Nahal Toosi at http://www.twitter.com/nahaltoosi

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/author-tells-life-humanitarian-aid-worker-184616572.html
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'Rebecca' Publicist Can't Escape $300 Million Lawsuit

What are entertainment publicists good for?

The question isn't meant to be snarky. Rather, the answer informs an ongoing dispute over the ill-fated Broadway production of Rebecca, which was meant to open in September of 2012, but didn't because of a $4.5 million shortfall in its $12 million budget, the actions of former stockbroker Mark Hotton, and just maybe, e-mails sent by publicist Marc Thibodeau.

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Hotton has pled guilty to defrauding producers including Ben Sprecher by telling them that he had overseas investors waiting in the wings and collecting fees and commissions before the producers discovered those investors were phantoms.

Then, there's Thibodeau, who is facing a civil lawsuit for his own role. According to the allegations, he warned off an angel investor who had stepped up at the last moment to save Rebecca. Thibodeau allegedly pretended to be "Bethany Walsh" and "Sarah Finkelstein" in order to direct the investor to read unflattering news articles and advised the investor, "the walls are about to cave in on Mr Sprecher and the Rebecca Broadway production."

Thibodeau's attorney has called the publicist "an innocent whistle-blower" but the producers see things differently. He was charged with breaching a contract, committing defamation and violating his fiduciary duties.

Well, strike that last part.

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The defendant argued that to support a claim for breach of fiduciary duty, the producers needed to allege a legal duty separate and apart from any contractual duty, and that as an arms-length contractor, Thibodeau had none. The only way that the producers could overcome this, according to the defendant, was if Thibodeau had superior expertise about some subject and misled the producers by false representations concerning that subject.

Thibodeau wasn't a "doctor, lawyer, technical specialist, experienced tradesman or any other professional that might possess 'superior expertise' about any body of knowledge," said a motion to dismiss.

In a hearing earlier this week, New York Judge Jeffrey Oing agreed, throwing out the claim. He said that press agents in New York would "gasp" if he made the determination that publicists owe clients fiduciary duties.

On the other hand, the judge kept the breach of contract and defamation claims. Each carries claimed damages of at least $100 million. Judge Oing denied the motion to dismiss those claims over Thibodeau's argument that the plaintiff had failed to identify the provision that the publicist allegedly breached and over an argument that the e-mail warnings were non-actionable "opinion or hyperbole."

And while the fiduciary duty is out the window (barring an appeal), Thibodeau is now facing an additional $100 million charge. According to an amended complaint filed on Friday, Thibodeau allegedly committed tortious interference by getting in the way of the producers and the angel investor who is said to have signed documentation committing to an investment in Rebecca.

Still plenty of things for press agents to worry about.

E-mail: Eriq.Gardner@THR.com
Twitter: @eriqgardner

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/thr/business/~3/lZhQe-LT94I/story01.htm
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Spice launches Androidland retail stores in India - Tech2

Smartphone maker and mobile retailer Spice has launched Androidland stores in India. It now has two outlets – one in Koramangala, Bangalore and the other at The Great India Place Mall, Noida. These multi-location stores will showcase a comprehensive range of Android devices, services and accessories. The aim is to create an open plan design that inspires customers to discover the fun world of Android.

Both stores will put forth a wide variety of interactive live demo units. One can interact with the “Spice Android Experience Specialists” who have been trained specifically for Android smartphones. Customers can play with Android devices, and familiariase themselves with the new arrivals as well as accessories.

 

One of the highlights of the store is the Google Play Zone, an area that showcases the most popular apps and games from Google Play. Customers can choose to search and download multiple apps on the spot. The stores will offer free Wi-Fi for visitors to browse the Internet from the live units.

Androidland comes to India (Image: Saholic)

 

Dilip Modi, Co-Founder and Group CEO, Spice Global said, “We have created a destination for customers to experience Android technology and learn about what they can do with mobile Internet. We believe that this new concept will add value not only to our customers, but also to the entire Android Ecosystem including App Developers and Device manufacturers.”

Androidland is most likely a variation of the Android Nation stores that Spice was slated to launch in association with Google. The stores will showcase products from Indian manufacturers as well international brands.

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