US, French tourists kidnapped, 1 raped in Rio

US woman, French man kidnapped, 1 raped inside public transport van in Rio 

 

A night out on the town turned into a nightmare after an American woman was gang raped and beaten aboard a public transport van while her French boyfriend was handcuffed, hit with a crowbar and forced to watch the attacks, police said.

The incidents raise new questions about security in Rio, which has won kudos for its crackdown on once-endemic drug violence in preparation for hosting next year's football World Cup and the 2016 Summer Olympic games. The city also will be playing host to World Youth Day, a Roman Catholic pilgrimage that will be attended by Pope Francis and is expected to draw some 2 million people in late July.

Three men aged 20 to 22 have been taken into custody in connection to the crime, which took place over six hours starting shortly after midnight Saturday, police said. The suspects have been accused of at least one similar attack, with a young Brazilian woman having come forward to say that she too was raped by the same men in the van on March 23, police said.

"The victims described everything in great detail, mostly the sexual violence," police officer Rodrigo Brant told the Globo TV network. "Just how they described the facts was shocking — the violence and brutality. It surprised even us, who work in security and are used to hearing such things."

The attack drew comparisons with the fatal December beating and gang rape of a young woman on a New Delhi bus in which six men beset a 23-year-old university student and male friend after they boarded a private bus. That attack touched off a wave of protests across India demanding stronger protection for women. Officials there say tourism has dropped in the country following the attacks.
On Tuesday, Brazilian police were quick to emphasize to reporters the rarity of Saturday's attack.

"These type of crimes committed against foreign tourists are very uncommon," said Alexandre Braga, the police officer leading the investigation.

Officials from the local Olympic and World Cup organizing committees didn't immediately respond to requests for comment about how the attack might affect their security precautions.
Braga said the two foreigners, who were in Brazil as students, took a public transport van similar to those often used as a faster alternative to the city's bus fleet. The pair were heading from Rio's Copacabana beach neighborhood to the nightlife hot spot of Lapa in downtown Rio.
A few minutes into the ride, the suspects forced the other passengers to get out of the van and then raped the female tourist inside the moving vehicle, Braga said. The woman was also beaten across the face, and the man was handcuffed and beaten, at one point with a metal crowbar.
The three suspects took turns behind the wheel, driving the van to Rio's sister city of Niteroi where they went on a spending spree with the foreigners' credit cards.
Once they hit the limit on both cards, spending around $500 at gas stations and convenience stores, the suspects drove the pair back to Rio, where the foreigners were staying, and forced the woman to fetch another credit card, Braga said.
Although she was alone, she didn't call the police or alert anyone, Braga said, "because the young man was still under the suspects' control and she feared something even worse might happen to him."
The two were ultimately dumped by the side of a highway near the city of Itaborai, some 50 kilometers from Rio. After they managed to make it to an unidentified country's consulate, officials took the two to the special police delegation that specializes in crimes against foreigners. The young woman has returned to the U.S., while the man remains in Rio to help with the investigations, Braga said.
"The victims recognized the three without a shadow of a doubt," Braga said.
The Brazilian woman who said she had also been raped by the suspects last month recognized media images of the alleged attackers and contacted police. Another foreigner has said she'd been robbed by one of the three suspects, police said.
Investigators are reviewing police databases to determine whether the three might have been involved in other crimes.
Two of the suspects have confessed to Saturday's attack, while the third denies any responsibility, Braga said.
"They do not show any repentance," he said. "They are quite indifferent, cold."
The suspects rented the van, which seats about a dozen people and has dark tinted windows, from the vehicle's owner, who police say is not suspected of any involvement in the crime. Though they apparently had authorization to transport passengers in Niteroi and neighboring Sao Goncalo, the suspects were not allowed to operate the van in Rio, Braga said.
"It appears they worked in transportation and sometimes engaged in crimes," said Braga.
Many in Rio know of such van services for their precarious safety conditions and reckless driving, as well as their links to organized crime. Some vans are linked to militias largely composed of former police and firemen that control large swaths of the city's slums and run clandestine transportation and other services. In general, tourists avoid the vans and opt for regular buses or taxis.
Foreigners are more often the targets of muggings and petty crime in Rio, with assaults a particular problem on public transit. Last year, a woman was raped on a moving bus in broad daylight in a widely publicized case, and the Rio subway has special women-only cars to help prevent such attacks.
More than 5,300 cases of sexual assault were reported in Brazil between January and June 2012, according to the country's Health Ministry.

Louisville's Kevin Ware resting after surgery on broken leg

  Louisville guard Kevin Ware was up and walking on crutches Monday morning, and coach Rick Pitino said his player's spirits have been boosted by the outpouring of support from friends and fans.

Ware isn't in any pain after a 2-hour surgery Sunday night to repair a horrifying fracture in his right leg. Doctors reset the bone and inserted a rod, and are monitoring him to make sure there's no infection, Pitino said.
"He's doing terrific, in great spirits," Pitino, who visited Ware on Sunday night and again Monday morning, said on a conference call. "He'll be with us in Atlanta."
Ware broke his leg in the first half of Sunday's Midwest Regional final when he landed awkwardly after trying to contest a 3-point shot, breaking his leg in two places. He was taken off the court on a stretcher as his stunned teammates openly wept. Before he left, Ware urged his teammates to "just win the game," and all said afterward there was no way they could have let him down. The Cardinals beat Duke 85-63 to reach their second straight Final Four.
"That was the first time he just broke down and cried, when he heard the players talking about him," Pitino said. "Now he's in very good spirits and anxious to get out of the hospital and get back with the guys."
They're anxious to have him back, too. He has the regional championship trophy, which Pitino brought him Sunday night.
"I said, `All right, just make sure you don't lose it,"' Pitino said.
Ware's girlfriend stayed at the hospital overnight, and Pitino said Ware's mother arrived Monday morning.
As long as there are no complications, Pitino said Ware should return to Louisville on Tuesday. The Cardinals travel to Atlanta on Wednesday night, and Pitino said they expect to have Ware with them.
"As you know, Kevin is from Atlanta," Pitino said. "He gets to go home, be with his family and be with us on the bench."
Ware has played a key role in the Cardinals' second straight Final Four run, scoring 11 points on 5-for-7 shooting in 25 minutes in the regional semifinal win over Oregon, and on Sunday he was the primary motivator. Before leaving the court, he called his teammates over to prod them to win the game and not worry about him, a message he continued to express at halftime. And he was eager to return to Atlanta, where he played high school basketball.
For television viewers, it was a gruesome sight that prompted many to express their sentiments on social media sites. CBS even stopped showing the replay, which was not seen inside Lucas Oil Stadium.
For Louisville players and coaches, it was far worse. Guard Russ Smith said he didn't see the play but he heard the bone snap. And forward Chane Behanan, Ware's closest friend, said the sight was almost unimaginable.
Pitino, one of college basketball's top winners, thought he had seen just about everything in the sport until Ware's injury.
"I went over and I was going to help him up and then all of a sudden, I saw what it was and I almost literally threw up," Pitino said.
Ware's teammates were overcome with emotion, too.
Luke Hancock patted Ware on the chest after Ware rolled himself to the sideline and right in front of the Louisville bench. Behanan and several other players sat on the floor as Ware was treated and some, including Behanan, cried. Duke guard Tyler Thornton covered his eyes when he realized what had happened, and Blue Devils coach Mike Krzyzewski even told Pitino that he would agree to let the teams warm up again if they wanted
 
They didn't, though Pitino did summon Ware's teammates so he could speak to them. His message was simple: Win the game.
"I said, `We're going to dig in. We're going to play this game to the end. We're going to play this game to get him back home,"' Pitino said, explaining his halftime speech. "We'll get him back home, nurse him to good health and we're going to get him to Atlanta."
Louisville trainer Fred Hina told Pitino it was the same injury that derailed the Heisman Trophy hopes of running back Michael Bush, who also played at Louisville. Bush recovered from the injury and has had a productive NFL career with Oakland and Chicago.
As it turned out, he was watching.
"I just cried," he wrote on Twitter. "I feel so bad. Flashback of myself. Anyone if he needs anything please let me know."
The reaction was the same everywhere.
Louisville forward Wayne Blackshear fell to the floor, crying, and Behanan looked as if he was going to be sick on the court, kneeling on his hands and feet. Peyton Siva sat a few feet away, a hand covering his mouth.
Someone finally pulled Behanan to his feet, but he doubled over and needed a few seconds to gather himself.
Condolences poured in on social media, too. Former Washington Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann, who famously sustained a broken leg on Monday Night Football in a game against the New York Giants, tweeted that "Watching Duke/ Louisville my heart goes out to Kevin Ware." Pitino said Theismann had called Ware to wish him well.
Two doctors speculated Ware might have had stress fractures that predisposed him to such a break.
Dr. Reed Estes, assistant professor of orthopedic surgery at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and team physician for the UAB football team, said basketball players are prone to stress fractures in the tibia, the larger of the two bones in the lower leg, and that can weaken them.
"If these are not detected they can result in a full fracture, particularly if the landing mechanics are just right" after a jump, Estes said. Surgery to stabilize the bones is usually successful, and Ware should be fine to play next season, he said.
Dr. Frederick Azar, head of the Campbell Clinic in Memphis, Tenn., and a spokesman for the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, said Ware "jumped pretty far horizontally and vertically, and he landed with a twist," which puts so much torsion and stress on the bones they could have just snapped. He agreed with Estes' assessment that a stress fracture could have made Ware more prone to such an injury.
Louisville, the top overall seed in the tourney, missed four of its next five shots after the injury but regained its composure to take a 35-32 halftime lead and went on to an 85-63 victory.
"We won this for him," Pitino said. "We were all choked up with emotion for him. We'll get him back to normal. We've got great doctors, great trainers. We talked about it every timeout, `Get Kevin home."'

Man accused of smuggling more than 10 percent of an entire species 

 

 A man was arrested at Suvarnabhumi International Airport in Bangkok after authorities say they discovered he was attempting to claim a piece of luggage full of extremely rare tortoises.

Traffic.org, a self-described wildlife trade monitoring network, reports that the man is accused of trying to pick up 54 ploughshare tortoises. "The wild population of Ploughshare Tortoises, considered among the rarest species in the world, is estimated to be as few as 400 individuals, and is declining fast," according to the site. As Popular Science points out, the man is accused of attempting to smuggle more than 10 percent of the entire species.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources has classified the ploughshares tortoise as critically endangered.
The piece of luggage had been registered to a woman who was arrested as well, according to reports. In addition to the 54 ploughshare tortoises, 21 radiated tortoises, also endangered, were being smuggled, authorities say. They believe the tortoises were going to be sold as pets.

Ships Costing U.S. $37 Billion Lack Firepower, Navy Told 

 

The U.S. Navy’s troubled Littoral Combat Ship, a vessel intended to be small and speedy for use in shallow waters close to shore, lacks the firepower it needs, a top U.S. navy commander said in a classified memo.

Vice Admiral Tom Copeman, the commander of naval surface forces, called on the Navy to consider a ship with more offensive capability after the first 24 vessels are built, according to a Navy official who asked not to be identified discussing the confidential document.

Copeman’s memo, prepared late last year at the request of Admiral Jonathan Greenert, the chief of naval operations, indicates the Navy may be starting to re-examine the $37 billion program. The ship has been beset by troubles, including cracks and corrosion, its price has doubled since 2005 to $440 million per vessel and a decision to build two versions will add to longterm operating costs.

A review could lead to an eventual redesign of the ship or the development of an entirely new vessel.

“He’s raising issues which no one with active-duty stars on their shoulders has said before,” said Norman Polmar, an independent naval analyst and author who’s spoken to Navy officials about Copeman’s memo. “He’s not playing the total party line. I think it will have an impact on people expressing their views.”

Producing a ship that can accommodate larger guns or Harpoon anti-ship missiles “would be a major redesign,” Polmar said in an interview. “It will be real work to put major weapons on the ship.”

Two Versions

The two versions of the Littoral Combat Ship -- derided by critics inside the Navy as the “Little Crappy Ship”-- are being built simultaneously.

A steel-hulled vessel is being made in Marinette, Wisconsin, by a team led by Lockheed Martin Corp. (LMT), and an aluminum trimaran is being built in Mobile, Alabama, by a group led by Austal Ltd. Lockheed’s first ship developed a crack in the hull, and Austal’s vessel had corrosion problems.

Conceived in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, the ship was designed to replace aging frigates and other vessels. It’s intended to perform missions such as clearing mines, hunting submarines, interdicting drugs and providing humanitarian relief.

Nothing has haunted the LCS more than the perception that both variants are too lightly armed and may not survive an enemy attack. The Pentagon’s chief weapons tester has cited flaws with the ship’s guns and concluded that its helicopter isn’t powerful enough to tow mine-hunting equipment.

Not ‘Survivable’

The ship “is not expected to be survivable in that it is not expected to maintain mission capability after taking a significant hit in a hostile combat environment,” Michael Gilmore, the weapons tester, said in a January report.

Until now, Navy officials have maintained that the ship has sufficient defenses to perform its missions while working in tandem with the rest of a battle group.

“These ships are designed for speed,” Rear Admiral Tom Eccles, deputy commander for naval systems engineering at the Naval Sea Systems Command, said at a Surface Navy Association conference in January. “They’re designed to be in the fight and then get out of the fight when it’s required.”

Copeman’s assessment suggests that the Navy may rethink that strategy. In a speech at the same Navy association conference, Copeman spoke publicly about the possibility of creating a “Super LCS,” likening it to the evolution in fighter jets from the F/A-18 Hornet to the Super Hornet. The newer plane is a larger version of the aircraft built by Chicago-based Boeing Co. (BA), with longer range and more endurance than its predecessor.

‘We’re Out-Gunned’

The vice admiral’s memo calls for a vessel that can operate independently rather than traveling under the protection of better-armed ships, according to a government official familiar with the document who isn’t in the Navy and asked to not be identified.

“It’s born of this nagging fear in the surface warfare community and elsewhere that we’re out-gunned by the Chinese, who have a series of surface-to-surface missiles,” said Bryan McGrath, a retired naval officer who commanded a destroyer.

Outfitting the LCS with heavy-duty missiles or guns would add weight, and “additional weight means a loss in both speed and endurance,” said McGrath, a critic of the Littoral Combat Ship who is director of consulting at Delex Systems Inc. in Herndon, Virginia.

‘Thoughtful Look’

The Navy projects that the $37 billion program will buy 52 ships. Of those, four have been built and the Navy has agreed to buy 20 more through 2015.

“We’re committed to 52 LCS’s,” Captain Danny Hernandez, chief spokesman for Greenert, the chief of naval operations, said when asked about Copeman’s memo.

Lockheed, based in Bethesda, Maryland, is building its Littoral Combat Ships in partnership with Marinette Marine Corp., a subsidiary of Fincantieri SpA, based in Trieste, Italy. The other version is made by Austal, based in Henderson, Australia, in partnership with Falls Church, Virginia-based General Dynamics Corp. (GD).

Greenert requested the memo from Copeman, which was entitled “Vision for the 2025 Surface Fleet” and was previously reported by Defense News. The comments on the LCS are three paragraphs in a 10-page document on the future of the Navy’s surface fleet.

“He appreciated the thoughtful look he gave into the future,” Hernandez said of Greenert’s reaction to the memo. He said the Navy chief considered Copeman’s proposals to be “interesting and useful.”

‘Offensive Power’

Those who have read Copeman’s recommendation offered differing interpretations of the changes he envisions. While the Navy official who asked to not be identified said the current LCS designs could be revised, the other government official said the proposed changes would amount to developing a new type of ship.

“There’s inexpensive ways, less expensive ways, to dramatically increase the offensive power of our surface fleet, I think, without spending hundred, tens and tens of millions of dollars on research and development and come up with new classes of ships,” Copeman said in the January speech, according to a transcript. “I think we can look at what we’ve got, and what we’ve got on the drawing boards right now, and take great advantage of that.”

Two Versions

Copeman’s memo didn’t discuss whether one of the two current designs should be scrapped or whether just one version should be used as the base model for future improvements, the Navy official said.

Building both versions of the ship, which have different designs and parts, adds about $400 million in operating and maintenance costs over the lifetime of the vessels, according to Rear Admiral James Murdoch, who oversees the ship’s procurement.


The LCS program is “in a period of steady production and has demonstrated the maturity of most of its critical technologies,” according to an annual assessment of major weapons programs released today by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress.

The GAO raised questions about the effectiveness of the ship’s “mission modules,” portable containers of weapons systems that can be switched for different missions.

The modules the Navy has accepted so far “do not yet meet requirements,” and the first ones won’t be fully operational until 2018, when the Navy will have purchased 30 ships, the GAO said.

“The mission packages aren’t ready,” said Polmar, the naval analyst. “We’ve got the least capable 3,000-ton warship in the world.”

Shooting suspect James Holmes offers to plead guilty 

 

 The man jailed in the Aurora, Colo., movie theater massacre is willing to plead guilty to avoid being executed, according to a court motion filed on Wednesday.

The offer from James Holmes, who is charged with shooting 70 moviegoers last July, killing 12, means he would spend life in prison without parole.
News of the offer comes five days before prosecutors were scheduled to announce whether they will seek the death penalty in the case.
"The prosecution at this time has not accepted that offer because it may choose to pursue the death penalty. Consequently, it appears the only impediment to a resolution of this case would be if the prosecution chooses to seek the death penalty," defense attorneys wrote in the motion, which was published online by the Denver Post. "If the prosecution elects not to pursue the death penalty, it is Mr. Holmes' position that this case could be resolved April 1."
“Yes!” shooting victim Marcus Weaver shouted when Yahoo News told him of Holmes' offer.
Weaver's right shoulder was peppered with gunshot pellets when the heavily armed assailant burst in and opened fire during a midnight showing of the Batman movie, "The Dark Knight Rises." Rebecca Wingo, one of his best friends, died in the attack.
"Admitting to what he did is doing us all a favor," Weaver said on Wednesday. "Without a long, drawn-out trial, then we can move forward. As a community, it would bring about more healing."
According to the motion, defense attorneys made the plea offer prior to the suspect's arraignment earlier this month. If prosecutors reject the offer, "counsel will vigorously present and argue any and all appropriate defenses at a trial or sentencing proceeding, as necessary," Holmes' lawyers wrote.
During Holmes' arraignment on March 12, his lead attorney, Daniel King, told Judge William Sylvester that the suspect wasn't prepared to enter a plea because the defense wasn't sure if the prosecution planned to seek the death penalty. Knowing that could alter Holmes' plea and significantly alter how the defense moves forward, King explained.
The judge then entered a plea of not guilty on Holmes' behalf and noted that the defense would have the opportunity to change its plea at a later date.
The prosecution has repeatedly sought input from victims and victims' families on major decisions. Weaver said late on Wednesday that he had not yet heard from the district attorney's office, but he predicted they would be calling soon.

Disabled man gets $8,000 after being stuck on Disney's 'Small World' ride for hours

 

 An attorney says a disabled man was awarded $8,000 by Disneyland after the "It's A Small World" ride broke down, stranding him for a half hour while the theme song played continuously. Lawyer David Geffen says Jose Martinez didn't medically stabilize for three hours after the ride broke down in 2009.
Disneyland spokeswoman Suzi Brown said the Anaheim theme park believes it provided appropriate assistance during the incident, and is disappointed that the court did not fully agree.
Geffen says Martinez uses a wheelchair, suffers from panic attacks and high blood pressure, which was aggravated by a need to urinate.
Geffen says half the award ordered Friday is for pain and suffering, and the rest is for disability law violations. Brown says the violations have been addressed.

Teen Hits Police Car, Foils Alleged Kidnapping 

 

The quick thinking of a New Jersey teen may have saved her from a kidnapping: She steered a car she allegedly was forced to drive into a police vehicle to alert authorities she was being held against her will.

The teenager was forced into the car in her hometown of Wildwood, N.J., by Floribert Nava, 45, who had a history with the teen, according to Cape May County Prosecutor Robert Taylor.
"It was a dispute over the adoption of a recently born child," Taylor said.
The child had already been adopted by a family in Philadelphia, but Nava was intent on having the child for herself, so she forced the teen into the car using an "airsoft" pistol, Taylor said.
Airsoft pistols do not shoot standard bullets, instead discharging small plastic pellets that can pierce the skin at close range. Many airsoft pistols are indistinguishable from conventional firearms, officials said, something that apparently aided Nava during the alleged kidnapping.
After getting the teen into the car, Nava compelled her to drive and, according to Taylor, spent more than 90 minutes with her in the car as they made their way to Philadelphia.
Nava allegedly picked Philadelphia because it was the location of the baby's adoptive family, The Associated Press reported.
Things apparently took a turn, however, as the car neared the City of Brotherly Love.
Upon reaching the 9,500-foot span of the Ben Franklin Bridge, the teen turned the wheel of the vehicle into a Delaware River Port Authority police car that was parked on the bridge assisting a stranded motorist, according to the prosecutor's office.
After the car she was driving came to a stop, the teen leaped from the driver's side door and got the attention of Officer Mark Pawloski, who put Nava under arrest, the prosecutor's office said.
A search of the car revealed a bag containing duct tape, trash bags and latex gloves, in addition to the airsoft gun, officials added.
Nava has been charged with kidnapping in the first degree, a charge that can carry 10 to 20 years in prison, and three other crimes -- terroristic threats in the third degree, possession of a weapon in the third degree and possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose in the third degree.
Nava remained behind bars today and officials did not believe she had retained an attorney. She will be arraigned Wednesday via videoconference.
The Cape May County Prosecutor's Office was unable to comment on the current disposition of the teen.