MOSCOW ( News Anchor killed - 28 yr old Kazbek Gekkiyev )

MOSCOW: A television news presenter aged 28 was shot dead in a city centre in Russia's volatile North Caucasus, the latest deadly attack against a journalist in the region, officials said on Thursday.

Meanwhile a senior regional transportation official in the same region barely escaped an attempt on his life, authorities said.

The two incidents occurred within several hours of each other Wednesday in the city of Nalchik, the regional centre of the Kabardino-Balkaria region, although it was not clear whether they were linked.

The 28-year-old journalist Kazbek Gekkiyev was gunned down on Wednesday evening at about 9pm (1700 GMT) as he was returning from work, the regional interior ministry said.

Gekkiyev was a news presenter at the regional branch of state channel VGTRK, but shocked colleagues said he never covered any controversial subjects that could offend anyone.

Unknown assailants shot him three times, and the journalist died on the spot, said the Moscow-based Investigative Committee.

"The investigation considers ... this brazen crime was a warning to other journalists who are reporting on the results of the fight against the bandit underground groups operating in the region," the committee said.

Gekkiyev's employer said it was cancelling all of its entertainment and news programmes to mourn him.

"Today there will be no news on our channel," the head of the regional branch Lyudmila Kazancheva said in a special segment dedicated to Gekkiyev that broadcast his smiling photographs.

"He was young, talented, intelligent and beautiful. He is no longer with us," she said in a shaky voice.

VGTRK's federal news report shown in Moscow said Gekkiyev's assailants apparently made sure he worked for the news program before opening fire.

"Two men approached him and asked: 'Are you the television presenter?'" a woman introduced by the VGTRK channel as Gekkiyev's relative said, quoting a witness of the murder.

He answered affirmatively, and the men shot him with an automatic gun, the woman said.

Several hundred people gathered at the young man's funeral in his native village, it said, showing crowds of people mourning and praying in the countryside.

Two of Gekkiyev's former colleagues at the channel were threatened by militants in February, according to the Glasnost Defence Foundation.

On Thursday morning assailants also targeted the regional deputy transportation minister Vladislav Dyachenko, whose car exploded when he was getting into it to go to work at around 9am, regional police said.

The bomb that targeted his car contained about 200 grammes of TNT hidden in an empty beer can, police said in a statement.

Dyachenko was only lightly wounded, and his driver was unharmed.

The North Caucasus sees near daily attacks that officials blame on militants seeking to establish an Islamic state across the region.

In the past, Kabardino-Balkaria has been less affected by the violence than Chechnya and Dagestan, where a prominent opposition journalist, Khadzhimurad Kamalov, was murdered last December

ARIZONA ( Border patrol agent busted - loading his truck with weed ) See story

Border Patrol agent in Arizona allegedly smuggled drugs in patrol vehicle

BRIAN SKOLOFF,Associated PressAssociated Press

Posted: 12/05/2012 08:24:08 AM MST

PHOENIX (AP) - A U.S. Border Patrol agent has been arrested after authorities say he used his patrol vehicle to smuggle drugs while on duty in southwest Arizona, according to a federal complaint. Aaron Anaya was on patrol Sunday evening when he stopped along the international border, then loaded up several bundles of marijuana that had been dropped over the fence from Mexico, according to the complaint filed this week in federal court in Arizona. Agents assigned to the Southwest Border Corruption Task Force had been conducting aerial surveillance in the area between Yuma and Wellton, about 185 miles southwest of Phoenix, when they spotted Anaya stop along the fence and retrieve the bundles, the complaint states. It does not say whether Anaya was the target of the initial surveillance or merely observed during the overall operation. Authorities say the task force continued to track Anaya for several hours as he appeared to return to normal patrol duties. The complaint says the agent was later arrested with nearly 147 pounds of marijuana found in three black duffel bags in his Border Patrol vehicle. He is charged with possession with intent to distribute marijuana and carrying a firearm - his service weapons - while committing the crime. Asked if he was willing to speak to investigators, Anaya responded with an expletive, then said, "You guys got me on video," before asking for an attorney, according to the complaint. Anaya's federal public defender didn't

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immediately return a telephone message Tuesday. His telephone number wasn't listed. Union representatives for the Border Patrol's Yuma sector didn't respond to emails. The FBI, which was part of the task force, declined to discuss the case. Yuma Sector Chief Border Patrol Agent Stephen S. Martin said the agency will fully cooperate with investigators. "While I am sorely disappointed by the alleged conduct of one of our own, I appreciate the efforts by our law enforcement partners and our own agents to uncover those that violate their oath of office, and hold them accountable for their actions," Martin said in a statement Tuesday.

WASHINGTON ( Midnight Tokers - Legal to smoke Marijuana )

The crowd at the base of the Space Needle in Seattle began counting down as midnight approached. It wasn't New Year's Day they were anticipating, but the moment that marijuana would become legal in Washington state.

As midnight hit, smokers hit their pipes and joints to celebrate.

Technically, what they were doing -- smoking marijuana in public -- was still a crime, but police looked the other way.

"It's amazing. I'm not a criminal anymore," one pot smoker said. "I can't go to jail for small amounts of marijuana. I'm free to be free."

But a legal haze still engulfed pot smokers Thursday, when possession of up to an ounce of marijuana by adults become legal, though growing and selling it remains a crime.

Initiative 502, passed last month by Washington voters, legalized recreational marijuana use starting December 6, but it will take a year before there are rules for growing and selling it.

"It begs the question, if they can't buy it through a medical marijuana shop, which only people with a prescription and medical marijuana license can, how do they get it?" Washington State Liquor Control Board spokesman Brian Smith said Wednesday.

TACNA Az ( Man Blows OFF leg with his own BOMB ) Yuma County

Authorities: Arizona man loses leg in explosion

Posted: Dec 6, 2012 8:52 AM by Associated Press
Updated: Dec 6, 2012 8:54 AM

Rating:

Sample picture only (call police if you see anything like this )

 

TACNA, Ariz. (AP) - A southwestern Arizona man remained hospitalized Thursday with leg injuries in what authorities suspect was a pipe bomb explosion.

Yuma County sheriff's Capt. Eben Bratcher says 31-year-old Kobey Coulter was tinkering with explosives inside a shipping container Tuesday. Deputies arrived at his home to find him with severe leg injuries.

Bratcher says the Tacna man lost his left leg below the knee, and doctors were working to save his right leg.

Deputies serving a search warrant at Coulter's home Wednesday say they found items used to make pipe bombs.

It is illegal to manufacture improvised explosive devices. Bratcher says authorities will review the case to determine whether to file charges against Coulter.

TUCSON Az ( Robbery Suspect - Pyramid Federal Credit Union ) See photo

TUCSON, AZ (Tucson News Now) -

Tucson Police are asking for help identifying a man who robbed a Pyramid Federal Credit Union this afternoon.

 

 

It happened around 1:30 p.m. at the bank at 2850 North Country Club.

According to police, the suspect showed a handgun to the teller and demanded money. He fled before police arrived and no one was injured during the robbery.

The suspect is described as Hispanic, 25-28 years old, 5'06" to 5' 10", 160-180 pounds, with dark hair and dark eyes.

He was last seen wearing a red and white striped polo-style shirt, jeans, and dark colored shoes.

Anyone with information on who the suspect is or his location call 911 or 88-CRIME.

Copyright 2012 Tucson News Now. All rights reserved.

TEMPE Az ( Student VANISHED - ASU Jack Culolias )

TEMPE, Ariz. -- Family and friends of a missing Arizona State University student are pleading for help in finding the freshman, last seen Friday night at a fraternity event at Cadillac Ranch at Tempe Marketplace.

“It’s been three days, I don’t know what to do,” said Grace Culolias through tears. She and her other son, Jack’s twin brother, drove into Tempe from Orange County, Calif., in search of answers.

“I’m asking for help,” she said.

Friends of Jack Culolias said they began to worry on Saturday when he didn’t return home. They spent Monday passing out fliers around campus.

“We just want to find our friend,” Dakota Bennett said. “It’s so important to us. A lot of people care about him; we miss him a lot.”

“It makes you sick to your stomach that something like this could happen,” said another friend, Nick Marchetti.

Friends believe Culolias may have been escorted out of Cadillac Ranch, sometime between 9:30 p.m. and 11 p.m. Friday. They said his cellphone was later found at the bar, but his friends didn’t see him leave.

“No one saw him get carried out; we would have followed him,” Alec Katric said. “We don’t know where he went after he got taken out.”

Days later, and his friends are worried sick, but no one is more worried than Jack’s family.

“I just want him to come home safe,” said his twin, Alex.

His mother told 3TV Jack was just home for Thanksgiving. She said he’s a good kid, in his first semester at ASU. She said it’s extremely out of character for him to disappear.

“Something has happened,” Grace said. “Something is wrong. He’s out there and no one has seen him. We’re asking for anybody’s help.”

ASU police are investigating this case. Anyone with information is urged to call 480-965-3456.

ROCKER Dave Navarro ( GUEST Star - Sons Of Anarchy )

The rocker will guest star as a gang member in the last two episodes of the season.

Getty Images

Sons of Anarchy is adding another tattooed badass to its family.

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Rocker Dave Navarro will guest star on FX’s hit drama Sons of Anarchy, The Hollywood Reporter has confirmed.
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Navarro’s character will be a Biz Lats gang member who is tied to “companionator” Nero Padilla (Jimmy Smits), as Entertainment Weekly first reported.
Additionally, Navarro’s band, Jane’s Addiction, will do a cover of “Sympathy for the Devil” for the season-five finale.
It’s been a stellar season for guest stars on Sons of Anarchy. Ashley Tisdale appeared as a prostitute for two episodes this season, and Community’s Joel McHale will play a con man in an upcoming arc.
Additionally, as a fun surprise to fans of creator Kurt Sutter’s previous work, The Shield, Walton Goggins appeared as a transvestite escort in last week’s episode, participating in a little S&M and blackmail.