Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez died Tuesday from complications related to a near two-year battle with cancer. He was 58. Chávez, a populist firebrand who has defined a whole era of Latin American politics, was not known for holding his tongue. Here are some choice examples of the socialist’s oratory:

“Christopher Columbus was the spearhead of the biggest invasion and genocide ever seen in the history of humanity.” — Chávez, in 2003, on the discovery of the New World.

“I give you a replica of liberator Simon Bolivar’s sword. For you who, like Bolivar, took up arms to liberate your people. For you who, like Bolivar, are and will always be a true freedom fighter. [Mugabe] continues, alongside his people, to confront the pretensions of new imperialists.” — Chávez, speaking about Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe, in 2004.

“Don’t mess with me, sir, or you will get stung.” – Chávez, in 2005, when addressing former Mexican President Vicente Fox.

“Terrorism, putting fear into other nations, putting fear into their own people. Families go and begin to disguise their children as witches. This is contrary to our way.” — Chávez, in a weekly broadcast in 2005, inveighing against the American tradition of Halloween.

“Remember, little girl, I’m like the thorn tree that flowers on the plain. I waft my scent to passers-by and prick he who shakes me. Don’t mess with me, Condoleezza. Don’t mess with me, girl.” — Chávez, to then U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in 2006.

“Don’t be shameless, Mr Blair. Don’t be immoral, Mr. Blair. You are one of those who have no morals. You are not one who has the right to criticize anyone about the rules of the international community. You are an imperialist pawn who attempts to curry favor with Danger Bush-Hitler, the number one mass murderer and assassin there is on the planet. Go straight to hell, Mr. Blair.” — Chávez, in 2006, to former British Prime Minister Tony Blair.

“You are a coward, a killer, a [perpetrator of] genocide, an alcoholic, a drunk, a liar, an immoral person, Mr Danger. You are the worst, Mr. Danger. The worst of this planet… A psychologically sick man, I know it.” – Chávez, about U.S. President George W. Bush, in 2006.

“Capitalism is the way of the devil and exploitation. If you really want to look at things through the eyes of Jesus Christ — who I think was the first socialist — only socialism can really create a genuine society.” — Chávez, on Christ’s economic views, in 2006.

“Yesterday the devil came here. Right here. And it smells of sulfur still today.” — Chávez in 2006, on George W. Bush, who appeared before the U.N. General Assembly at the same podium a day earlier.

“I think it’s imprudent for a king to shout at a president to shut up. Mr. King, we are not going to shut up.” — Chávez, in 2007, regarding a spat with Spain’s King Juan Carlos.

“I chew coca leaves every morning, and look at me!” — Chávez, in 2008, on certain natural health benefits.

“Bombing the brave Libyan people to save them? What a brilliant strategy by the mad empire. Where are the international rights? This is like the caveman era.” — Chávez, in 2011, on the NATO bombing campaign in Libya.

“You are a fraud, Obama,” Chávez said in 2011. “Go and ask many people in Africa, who might have believed in you because of the color of your skin, because your father was from Africa. You are an Afro-descendant, but you are the shame of all those people.”

“I think that Barack Obama – aside from ‘the president’ – is a good guy” — Chávez, a year later.

“Ahmadinejad and I are going into the … basement now to set our sights on Washington and launch cannons and missiles.” — Chávez, referring to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in 2012.

Chavez's mother Elena wept over his wooden casket as a band played the national anthem outside his military hospital. Presidential guards with red berets then placed his remains on top of a black hearse, surrounded by flowers.

Chavez's hand-picked successor, Vice President Nicolas Maduro, walked alongside the car through dense crowds, wearing a somber expression and a striking outfit in the color of the national flag.

Chavez' death after a two-year struggle with cancer was a blow to his adoring supporters and the alliance of left-wing Latin American powers, and plunged his oil-rich country into uncertainty as an election is organised.

His body, surrounded by soldiers, was being taken to the military academy that the former paratrooper colonel once called a second home, where he will lie in state until an official ceremony with foreign dignitaries on Friday.

People watched from their apartment windows, others climbed fences to get a better view of the hearse, many held or wore iconic images of Chavez.

The 58-year-old leader succumbed to a respiratory infection on Tuesday. A new election is due to be called within what are sure to be 30 tense days.

Supporters accompany the hearse carrying the coffin of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez while leaving the Military Hospital to the Military Academy, in Caracas, where he will lie in state for three days. Picture: AFP

Mr Maduro, who tearfully broke the news to the nation that his mentor had lost his battle with cancer, was poised to take over as interim president and to campaign for election as Chavez's chosen successor.

The death brought thousands of Venezuelans to public squares across the nation, weeping and celebrating the life of a divisive figure whose oil-funded socialist revolution delighted the poor and infuriated the wealthy.

Hundreds of people spent the night in front of his hospital, waving Venezuelan flags and chanting "we are all Chavez!" A banner was hung on the hospital fence, reading "Chavez lives, the battle continues!"

"I love him," said Iris Dicuro, 62, who came from the northeastern city of Puerto La Cruz and wore a shirt with the words "Forward Comandante." "I want to bid farewell because he was a good man who gave everything to the poor."

But not everyone in a country divided by Chavez's populist style agreed, with opposition supporters in better off neighborhoods still angry.

"Hate and division was the only thing that he spread," 28-year-old computer programmer Jose Mendoza told AFP in an eastern Caracas opposition bastion.

Supporters of the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez cry in front of the Military Hospital where he died on March 6, 2013, in Caracas. Venezuela was plunged into uncertainty after the death of Chavez, who dominated the oil-rich country for 14 years. Picture: AFP

"He did a lot of social things, but he could have done much more. He also did a lot of harm because there are no institutions, there is no justice. He mistreated everyone who disagreed with his government."

The armed forces were to fire a 21-gun salute and "there will be a salvo every hour until his burial," Defence Minister Diego Molero said.

Some of Chavez's closest allies had already arrived Wednesday ahead of the state funeral, including Argentina's President Cristina Kirchner, Uruguay's Jose Mujica and Bolivia's Evo Morales.

Mr Maduro said the nation's security forces had been deployed but Foreign Minister Elias Jaua said calm reigned in Venezuela, which was rocked by a short-lived coup against Chavez in 2002.

Venezuela's closest ally, communist Cuba, declared its own mourning period for a leader who helped prop up the island's economy with cheap fuel and cash transfers, and dubbed Chavez a "true son" of revolutionary icon Fidel Castro.

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez is pictured with his daughters, Maria Gabriela, left, and Rosa Virginia at an unknown location in Havana, Cuba, in February, the last publicly released image of him.

But US President Barack Obama - often a target of Chavez's anti-American scorn - was circumspect, pledging the United States would support the "Venezuelan people" and describing Chavez's passing as a "challenging time."

Shortly before Chavez's death was announced, Maduro expelled two US military attaches and accused Venezuela's enemies of somehow afflicting the leftist with the cancer that eventually killed him.

Chavez was showered with tributes from Latin American leaders and Russia, China and Iran also paid tribute to a man who had cultivated close ties with the bugbears of the West as a way of thumbing his nose at Washington.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Chavez had fallen "martyr" to a "suspect illness," while hailing his close ally for "serving the people of Venezuela and defending human and revolutionary values."

And beleaguered Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad took time off from attempting to crush a revolt against his brutal rule to dub Chavez's death "a great loss for me personally and the Syrian people."

Chavez had checked into the hospital on February 18 for a course of chemotherapy after spending two months in Cuba, where in December he had undergone his fourth round of cancer surgery since June 2011.

Date/Time: 2013:03:06 12:36:30

A new election could offer another shot at the presidency to Henrique Capriles, the opposition leader who lost to Chavez in October but insisted Tuesday that the two men were "adversaries, but never enemies."

Luis Vicente Leon, director of the polling group Datanalisis, said the government will likely want to hold elections as early as possible "to take advantage electorally of the emotion generated by the president's death."

Chavez died five months after winning re-election, overcoming public frustration over a rising murder rate, regular blackouts and soaring inflation.

He missed his swearing-in for a new six-year term on January 10, but the Supreme Court approved an indefinite delay.
 

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, left, and his Vice President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela last year.

EARLIER

VENEZUELANS began to bid farewell to late President Hugo Chavez, whose body was to lie in state for three days to honour the firebrand leftist who ruled the oil-rich nation for 14 years.

The body of the 58-year-old former paratrooper was to be escorted by a four-horse cortege from the Caracas military hospital where he died from cancer to a military academy he considered his second home.

Venezuela, still deeply divided after an acrimonious election in October, declared a week of national mourning, and a senior minister said a new vote would be called within what are sure to be 30 tense days.

Vice President Nicolas Maduro, who tearfully broke the news to the nation on Tuesday that his mentor had lost his battle with cancer, was poised to take over as interim president and campaign as Chavez's chosen successor.

The death brought thousands of Venezuelans to public squares across the nation, weeping and celebrating the life of a divisive figure whose oil-funded socialist revolution delighted the poor and infuriated the wealthy.

Supporters of the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez mourn his death, as the country began to bid farewell to the firebrand leader. Picture: AFP

Hundreds of people spent the night in front of his hospital, waving Venezuelan flags and chanting "we are all Chavez!" A banner was hung the hospital fence, reading "Chavez lives, the battle continues!"

"I love him," said Iris Dicuro, 62, who came from the northeastern city of Puerto La Cruz and wore a shirt with the words "Forward Comandante."

"I want to bid farewell because he was a good man who gave everything to the poor."

Schools were closed and huge crowds were expected along the capital's streets to see his remains taken to the military academy.

The armed forces were to fire a 21-gun salute and "there will be a salvo every hour until his burial," Defence Minister Diego Molero said.

Some of Chavez's closest allies had already arrived ahead of a state funeral on Friday, including Argentine President Cristina Kirchner, Uruguay's Jose Mujica and Bolivia's Evo Morales.

A supporter of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez cries as she learns that Chavez has died. Picture: Ariana Cubillos/AP

The nation's security forces were deployed following Chavez's death and Foreign Minister Elias Jaua said calm reigned in the nation, which was once rocked by a short-lived coup against Chavez in 2002.

Venezuela's closest ally, communist Cuba, declared its own mourning period for a leader who helped prop up the island's economy with cheap fuel and cash transfers, and dubbed Chavez a "true son" of revolutionary icon Fidel Castro.

But US President Barack Obama - often a target of Chavez's anti-American scorn - was circumspect, pledging the United States would support the "Venezuelan people" and describing Chavez's passing as a "challenging time."

"As Venezuela begins a new chapter in its history, the United States remains committed to policies that promote democratic principles, the rule of law, and respect for human rights," Mr Obama said.

Shortly before Chavez's death was announced, Mr Maduro expelled two US military attaches and accused Venezuela's enemies of somehow afflicting the leftist with the cancer that eventually killed him.

Chavez was showered with tributes from Latin American leaders, not just his allies but also figures like Brazil's Dilma Rousseff, who hailed him as a "great Latin American" and a "friend of the Brazilian people."

Latin American leaders praised Chavez, while a cautious US expressed home of better relations with Venezuela.

Russia, China and Iran also paid tribute to Chavez, who had cultivated close ties with bugbears of the West as a way of thumbing his nose at Washington.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Chavez had fallen "martyr" to a "suspect illness," while hailing his close ally for "serving the people of Venezuela and defending human and revolutionary values."

Chavez had checked into the hospital on February 18 for a course of chemotherapy after spending two months in Cuba, where in December he had undergone his fourth round of cancer surgery since June 2011.

The once-ubiquitous presence on state television and radio disappeared from public view after he was flown to Cuba on December 10, an unprecedented absence that fueled wave after wave of rumours.

Senior officials had sent mixed signals about the president's health for weeks, while the opposition repeatedly accused the government of lying about his condition. The exact nature and location of his cancer was never revealed.

A new election could offer another shot at the presidency to Henrique Capriles, the opposition leader who lost to Chavez in October but insisted on Tuesday that the two men were "adversaries, but never enemies."

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez kisses a crucifix as he tells the nation on TV that his cancer has returned and that he will undergo more surgery. Picture: Miraflores Press Office, Marcelo Garcia/AP

"This is not the time for differences. This is the time for unity, the time for peace," Mr Capriles said.

Luis Vicente Leon, director of the polling group Datanalisis, said the government will likely want to hold elections as early as possible "to take advantage electorally of the emotion generated by the president's death."

Chavez will be mourned by many of the country's once-neglected poor, who revered the self-styled revolutionary for using the country's oil riches to fund popular housing, health, food and education programs.

And like-minded Latin American leaders like Cuba's Raul Castro, Ecuador's Rafael Correa and Bolivia's Mr Morales lost a close friend who used his diplomatic muscle and cheap oil to shore up their rule.

Chavez died five months after winning re-election, overcoming public frustration over a rising murder rate, regular blackouts and soaring inflation.

The opposition had accused Chavez of misusing public funds for his campaign and dominating the airwaves while forcing government workers to attend rallies through intimidation.

Supporters of Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez yell "Long Live Chavez!" and sing their nation's anthem after learning that Chavez has died. Picture: Ariana Cubillos/AP

He missed his swearing-in for a new six-year term on January 10, but the Supreme Court approved an indefinite delay.

Earlier, Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff hailed Chavez as a "great Latin American," describing his death as "an irreparable loss".

Bolivia's socialist President Evo Morales - whose political priorities and style of leadership have drawn deeply from his close ally Chavez - said he was "crushed" by his friend's death.

"We are in pain. We are crushed," Mr Morales said, before adding that the "liberation, not only of the Venezuelan people but also of Latin America's people broadly, must go on."

Ecuador's leftist President Rafael Correa, another close ally of Chavez, said his death was an "irreparable loss" for all of Latin America, saying Venezuelans would proudly carry on his legacy.

Communist Cuba, which depended economically on Chavez for years and was his main political ally in the region, broke into its regular television programming to announce his death.

Supporters of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez light candles while gathering in front of the Venezuelan embassy in Santiago, Chile after learning of his death. Picture: Claudio Santana/AFP

Just moments after it opened, a percussion festival was called off as Havana started mourning Chavez, who had helped keep Cuba's crippled economy afloat by supplying it with cut-rate oil.

In Argentina, Vice President Amado Boudou said on Twitter that "all of Latin America" was in mourning.

"One of the best has left us: you will always be with us, Comandante," Mr Boudou said.

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera, a conservative billionaire, called Chavez a leader who was "deeply committed to Latin America's integration".

However, Human Rights Watch questioned the "authoritarian legacy" of Chavez.

HRW denounced the "dramatic concentration of power and open disregard for basic human rights during his rule since 1999".

"By his second full term in office, the concentration of power and erosion of human rights protections had given the government free rein to intimidate, censor and prosecute Venezuelans who criticised the president or thwarted his political agenda," HRW said.

The NGO denounced Chavez's "assault" on judicial independence and press freedoms, his rejection of human rights scrutiny and his close relationships with "abusive governments" in Iran and Syria and the former Libyan regime.

Earlier, Washington rejected Venezuela's allegations that it was involved in a conspiracy over Chavez, saying claims in Caracas that the United States was somehow behind his cancer were "absurd".

The Pentagon confirmed the expulsion of two Air Force officers from the US embassy in Caracas while the State Department condemned allegations of a plot to undermine Venezuela.

The expulsions were announced after Mr Maduro had accused the country's "historic enemies" of causing Chavez's cancer.

Mr Maduro alleged the expelled US military officers had been seeking out active Venezuelan military officials to obtain information about the armed forces and propose "destabilisation projects".

The Venezuelan government had announced late on Monday (Venezuelan time) Chavez had a "new and severe infection" and a "worsening of respiratory function". Chavez underwent cancer surgery on December 11 in Cuba and suffered "complications" from the surgery.

Hours after the sombre medical bulletin, Mr Maduro held a meeting with the cabinet, military officers and state governors at the presidential palace to "define strategies regarding various projects for the development of our country," according to state-run television.

Dhillon, currrently chair of the San Francisco GOP, immigrated from India as a child and is a devout Sikh. She’s wrapping up a campaign to become the party’s vice chair, an election which will be held Sunday as the state GOP wraps up its three day convention in Sacramento.

Vera Eyzendooren, the president of the San Bernardino County Federation of Republican Women — an official party group — slammed Dhillon in a recent Facebook post, which included a photo of an Islamic terrorist who beheaded two people.

“I was told by one of Harmeet’s friends that because of her religion, her loyalty is to the Muslim religion,” Ms. Eyzendooren wrote on Facebook. “So she will defend a Muslim beheading two men without any hesitation……she is not a Republican.”

UPDATE: Eyzendooren’s comments were sharply denounced Thursday in a joint statement from California GOP chair Tom Del Beccaro, Senate Minority Leader Bob Huff and Assembly GOP leader Connie Conway: “Blatant racism has no place in the party of Lincoln. We strongly denounce this hateful speech in this and any other venue.”

At right is her shameful post, which has since been deleted:

The San Bernardino GOP women’s president is not the only one leveling nasty comments aimed at Dhillon’s race and religion.

San Francisco GOP activist Gail Neira, in a recent widely circulated letter, wrote: “This particular woman candidate for state v.p. appears to see herself as the dowager princess with the CAGOP as her Taj Mahal.”

We called to get the comments of Ms. Eyzendooren — who, at a minimum, doesn’t appear to know the difference between two major world religions, Sikhism and Islam.

She said she would not comment on her views about Dhillon.

“I will express my opinion by voting for her, or against her on Sunday,” she said. “I have no comment at all to reporters. They take things out of context.”

When we attempted to read her entire post, in context, for comment, the GOP women’s president at first said, “I never said that.”

When informed we had a copy of the page post, she said: “It doesn’t matter. My Facebook page is not public.”

Oh, but it is.

Question now: Will GOP leadership address such slurs at their upcoming state convention, Friday through Sunday in Sacramento?

UPDATE: We’ve just received an official response from Carol Hadley, the President of the California Federation of Republican Women:

Dov Hikind‘s apology for donning blackface at a party in his Brooklyn home is falling on deaf ears, as Black leaders intensify their criticism of the assemblyman, the Gothamist reports.

Led by Assemblywoman Inez Barron, a group of African American leaders and other public officials gathered in from of City Hall in New York City Tuesday to lambaste Hikind. Barron began her attack on Hikind by criticizing his vocal support of racial profiling.

“Dov Hikind’s latest antic is another reveal of who Dov Hikind really is,” Barron said. “His assertion that he did not know that appearing in blackface is offensive to black people is incredulous… Mr. Hikind, your egregious behavior is shameful, degrading, unacceptable and unworthy of a leadership position.“

Barron’s husband, City Councilman Charles Barron, went as far as saying that Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Speaker Sheldon Silver should remove Hikind from his position as Assistant Majority Leader. “His inability to repent, to generally repent and ‘get it,’ is another problem,” Barron said. “The governor needs to say something, and we need to go beyond condemnation verbally.”

Even Mayor Michael Bloomberg sided with Barron when the City Councilman asked him to comment on Hikind. “This time, we agree,” he responded.

Conrad Tillard, a minister at the Nazarene Congregational Church of Christ in Bedford-Stuyvesant, said that Hikind’s actions were inexcusable.

“The NAACP…fought against ‘blackface’ in the ’20s and ’30s,” he said. “For an elected public official to feel comfortable not only dressing in blackface but defending his actions is an outrage that says to me that the dignity of African-American people is under attack. As a clergyperson, I am here to say that we will defend our dignity. We will not allow public officials, corporations or anyone else to demean or deprive us of the dignity that we deserve.”

At first, Hikind was very dismissive of the outcry directed at him over his decision to wear blackface, a form of theatrical makeup that has a well-documented history of mocking African Americans during minstrel shows for more than 100 years. On Monday, he took to his blog to post his initial response to the outcry:

Hikind said he wore the makeup during a party in which he and other attendees celebrated the Jewish holiday Purim.

In an interview with the New York Times, Hikind said he was shocked that people would be so offended by the costume.

“My wife, you saw the picture, she was the devil,” Mr. Hikind said. “Believe me, she’s not the devil.”

“A lot of people just don’t realize, on Purim, in a sense, forgive me for saying this, you do crazy stuff,” he added. “It’s not done, God forbid, to laugh, to mock, to hurt, to pain anyone.”

Though, when you read the definition of Purim, it says nothing about offending people and doing “crazy stuff.” According to Judaism 101, “Purim is one of the most joyous and fun holidays on the Jewish calendar. It commemorates a time when the Jewish people living in Persia were saved from extermination.”

Moreover, the spirit of the holiday, as it is explained above, falls oddly out of step with comments he made to the AP regarding racial profiling–especially when looking for terrorist suspects. Watch the video below:

Despite his missteps, Hikind told The Times that he learned his lesson. But he still ended up putting his foot in his mouth when he elaborated.

“Next year I was thinking I’d be an Indian,” he said. “But you know, I’ve changed my mind about that. I don’t think that’s a good idea. Somebody will be offended.”

A country musician has pleaded guilty to trying to convince a woman online to allow her two daughters, aged 7 and 9, to have sex with him. 

Abraham Spear was arrested at a restaurant in Dallas on September 20, when he arranged to meet an undercover FBI agent, posing as the mother of two young girls.

The 30-year-old Banjo player has pleaded guilty to one count of attempted enticement of a minor.

Guilty: Abe Spear has pleaded guilty to trying to convince a mother let him have sex with her 2 young daughters

Authorities began investigating Spear when he logged onto a website, using the screen name MUSICMAN30, and began communicating with a woman who was actually an undercover FBI agent, according to the Dallas Morning News.

He reached out to the other user, he believed to be the mother of two young girls, and offered to be their 'teacher.'

He asked the woman to send photos of the girls. He sent a photo of himself wearing nothing but underwear.

Over the course of a few weeks he arranged to meet the woman and her daughters, so he could 'admire them and rub on their legs.'

He also included sexually explicit suggestions.

Jail: The 30-year-old Banjo player has admitted he has a problem and will be sentenced in June

Meeting: When he was arrested in September, Spear insisted he wasn't going to actually do anything with the young girls

On September 20, he arrived at a Jason's Deli in Dallas where he was arrested by federal agents.

He broke down sobbing, insisting that he wasn't going to actually do anything.

'Spear also admitted that he had engaged in sexually explicit communications with other mothers of minor girls, including one in which he offered to pay $200 to engage in sexual acts with the mother’s minor daughter,' according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

According to court documents, he has expressed remorse and said he 'feels he has a problem.'

He could be jailed for 10 to life, fined a $250,000 and receive lifetime supervision if he was released.

He will be sentenced on June 7.

The musician, who went by the name Abe Spear, had been based in Nashville.

He had previously toured with the country band, Twang Bangers.

According to his Facebook page, he had performed with Thompson Square, Joe Nichols, and Eric Church for a show in July.

He had traveled to Dallas in September for a show at Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar & Grill with a Nashville band.

Police in Kansas City say they’ve stopped a potential serial killer after a man was arrested and charged with the murder of two prostitutes whose bodies were found exposed on the side of rural Missouri roads nearly a year apart.

At a news conference Saturday night, authorities said Derek Richardson, 27, had confessed to the murders of Tamara Sparks and Nicoleone Reed.

Sparks, 40, was found dead Oct. 4, 2011 and Reed, 24, was found Aug. 21. Both bodies were in spots where they could easily be seen, with their pants pulled down and shirts pulled up. Bleach had been poured over their bodies as well.

Kansas City police say Derek Richardson, 27, has confessed to the murder of two prostitutes whose bodies were found exposed on the side of rural Missouri roads nearly a year apart

The bodies of the two victims were in spots where they could easily be seen, with their pants pulled down and shirts pulled up

Police say Richardson described in detail what he did to the women and that he strangled them to death while wearing white gloves.

'We absolutely stopped a person who was going to kill again,' said Kansas City police Sgt. Doug Niemeier, adding that authorities will search across the United States to ensure there weren't other victims.

'We do know that he had travels elsewhere,' Niemeier said, 'so we will be contacting those states just to make sure.'

Law enforcement officials say two tips led them to Richardson, after their plea to the public last week for help. One tipster told them Richardson had told the informant about the killings.

A crucial piece of evidence in the case was a size 11 crocs loafer which was left at the Sparks crime scene

Police also say one crucial piece of evidence stood out – a size 11 crocs loafer which was left at the Sparks crime scene.

Another tipster told police that the shoe belonged to Richardson. Police say the tipster’s DNA was on the shoe.

'That shoe made a huge difference.  It did seem to be a small item, but you never know in a homicide or any other case what price of evidence, no matter how big or how small may solve your case,' said Niemeier.

Police say they believe Richardson was targeting these women, because he felt they were lesser than him.

He has been charged with two counts of first-degree murder and two counts of abandonment of a corpse and his bail was set at $2 million.

Cops believe that Sparks was murdered at this duplex which Richardson had lived at with his wife and child until a month ago

Richardson’s neighbour Matt Elwonger told FOX 4 News that he was cordial, but was recently evicted about a month ago.  He says the suspect lived at the duplex for about two years with a wife and child.

“It’s so surprising to me that it was literally right next door like it was happening a wall away and we didn’t hear anything or know anything was going on,” Elwonger told FOX 4 News.

Clay County authorities say they’re still looking into whether a third women who was attacked and found alive in Caldwell County is connected to Richardson.

'We have a tremendous amount of follow-up to do now that we have answered some of our own questions,' Niemeier said, adding that it 'feels good when you can tell a victim's family that their case has been resolved.'

A man has been accused of racially abusing then physically assaulting a 19-month-old child on a flight to Atlanta last Friday.

Joe Rickey Hundley, 60, allegedly demanded that the mother of the crying toddler 'shut that n****r baby up' before slapping the infant in the face on the Delta flight on February 8.

According to The Smoking Gun, Hundley has been charged with simple assault after the incident with Jessica Bennett, 33, and her son Jonah.

Joe Rickey Hundley is accused of first racially abusing, then physically assaulting 19-month old Jonah Bennett

Jessica Bennett and her son Jonah were traveling to Atlanta for a family funeral

Bennett told authorities that her son 'started to cry due to the altitude change' as the service from Minneapolis to Atlanta prepared for landing.

Ms Bennett and her adopted child shared a seat on their way to a family funeral while Mr Hundley was in the neighboring seat.

Bennett said she was unable to stop the infant crying. A report compiled by FBI Agent Daron Cheney alleges that Hundley turned to the mother and used the racial slur in telling her to shut up the child.

As reported by The Smoking Gun, Hundley then 'turned around and slapped' the toddler in the face 'with an open hand, which caused the juvenile victim to scream even louder.' According to the mother, the slap 'caused a scratch below [the child’s] right eye.'

Hundley was charged with simple assault in federal court in Atlanta this week. If convicted the man faces a maximum of one year in prison.

The 60-year-old, who is the president of an aircraft parts manufacturer based in Idaho, denied slapping the child or using racial language. He claims that he did 'ask the mother to quiet the child.' 

A man has been accused of racially abusing then physically assaulting a 19-month-old baby on a Delta flight to Atlanta last Friday.

The aircraft was on its final descent into Atlanta airport, pictured, when the child started to cry. Joe Rickey Hundley allegedly told the infant's mother to 'shut that n****r baby up.'

Joe Rickey Hundley faces up to a year in prison if found guilty of simple assault

Hundley said he was traveling to Atlanta to visit a hospitalized relative, described his emotional state as 'distraught' and that he had one alcoholic drink on the aircraft.

However, Bennett told The Smoking Gun that she believed Hundley was intoxicated. The mother said that he 'reeked of alcohol', was 'stumbling around wasted' and he consumed several double vodkas during the flight.

Bennett says Hundley told her that Jonah was too big to be a 'lap baby.'

Agent Cheney added that Bennett received help from other passengers on the Delta flight. Todd Wooten, who was seated 12 rows ahead, told authorities that he 'heard derogatory language coming from the rear of the aircraft' and went to see what was going on.

'According to Mr. Wooten,' Cheney wrote, 'he saw Joe Rickey Hundley strike' the child.

Hundley pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor assault in a Virginia court in 2007 after he was arrested following a quarrel with his girlfriend.

He was first charged with simple assault, carrying a concealed weapon, and public intoxication. Hundley told The Smoking Gun that the weapon he was allegedly carrying was a corkscrew.

According to the report written by an FBI agent, another passenger heard 'derogatory language coming from the rear of the aircraft'

A 28-year-old man is accused of killing his grandmother and dismembering her body with a chainsaw before burying her in the backyard.

Police in Corpus Christi, Texas say David Christy fatally hit his 77-year-old grandmother over the head in her living room before disposing of her body out of fear she was trying to poison him.

The woman's body was discovered after Johanna Christy's grandson in San Antonio wasn't able to contact her and called police out of concern last week.

Own blood: David Christy, 28, is accused of fatally hitting his grandmother over the head before disposing of her body in the backyard with the help of a chainsaw

David Christy, said to have been living with the woman for about six years, had already disposed of her in the backyard by the time police arrived on February 4 according to the police report.

Inside the home a chainsaw was recovered in the garage after allegedly being used to cut up her body into four pieces.

'He placed part of her torso in a black trash bag, and then he buried the torso and the rest of her body in her backyard,' the police report obtained by KRIS-TV states.

Her remains were found buried in a shallow grave just feet from her back patio according to police.

At their arrival officers heard someone flee the residence out the backdoor before giving chase to a nearby apartment complex.

David Christy was arrested after assaulting an officer and resisting arrest, placing him in custody before the body was even found hours into the next morning.

'[He] stated the lady there was not his grandmother, that she was poisoning him,' according to the arrest report.

Worst fear: Police were sent to check up on 77-year-old Johanna Christy at this home where they later found her buried in the backyard

Defense: David Christy, whose grandmother's body is seen being moved here, told police that the woman they found is not his grandmother but someone who has been trying to poison him

He then admitted 'I did it and I buried her,' according to police who noted his confession given after they had stopped recording their interview.

David Christy's mother Nancy Neal told police her son gave her four different stories on where Johanna Christy was on the day before her tragic discovery.

Said she knew her son was lying to her.

Christy has been charged with murder and tampering with evidence.

He is being held on $300,000 bond: $200,000 for murder and $100,000 for tampering with evidence.

According to David Christy's Facebook profile he is a fan of Detroit performers Insane Clown Posse while also a former member of the online cause: 'REAL Juggalos don't kill people, and are a family not a gang.'

That group he linked to in 2010 appears no longer active through his page.

Survivalist Jimmy Lee Dykes set his plan to ambush a Midland City school bus in motion by telling the driver that he was 'going to give him a gift', it was revealed today.

The detail has emerged as the hostage situation in Alabama continues into its fifth day.

According tot he children on the bus, the day before Dykes, 65, acted, he told driver, Charles Poland, that he was going to give him some broccoli he had grown on his land.

His intention was to ensure that his approach caused no alarm when he boarded the vehicle on Tuesday afternoon armed with a gun.

Five days: Jimmy Lee Dykes, left, has been holding five-year-old Ethan in his underground bunker near his home just outside Midland City, right, for five days

Negotiations: Alabama State Troopers and FBI agents huddled around a warming tower today. Their talks are still ongoing with Jimmy Lee Dykes near Midland City, Alabama

School bus: Earlier this week law enforcement officials removed the bus that Charles Poland Jr was driving when he was fatally shot

He shot Poland dead before taking a five-year-old boy named 'Ethan' hostage. The child is still being held captive by Dykes in his underground bunker.

A brother and sister, who escaped the school bus revealed Dykes' plan to fool Poland when they told reporters what happened on the bus today.

Terrica Singletary, 14, and her brother 12-year-old Tristian were among the children who escaped the clutches of the retired Alabama trucker.

They said they saw Dykes hand the driver what looked like broccoli and a note.

'I look up and he's talking about threatening to kill us all or something,' Terrica told ABC's Good Morning America. 'He's like, 'I'll kill all y'all, I'll kill y'all, I just want two kids.'

Dykes demanded two children and when Poland refused Dykes pulled a gun and shot him dead.

'The bus driver kept saying, 'Just please get off the bus,' and [Dykes] said, 'Ah alright, I'll get off the bus,'' said Terrica Singletary, 'He just tried to back up and reverse and [Dykes] pulled out the gun and he just shot him, and he just took Ethan.'

Police today said they have an 'open line of communication' with Dykes and they were grateful he was taking care of the little boy at the bunker near his home in Midland City, Alabama.

Coloring books, medication and toys have been passed on Ethan according to Dale County Sheriff Wally Olson.

He also said Dykes had told them he has blankets and heating in his 6 by 8 feet survivalist lair where he is holding the child.

Stand-off: Police are communicating with Dykes through a pipe into his bunker

Gathered: The world's media have surrounded the scene of the shooting and hostage taking in Alabama and waited for news from state trooper Kevin Clark, center, today

Mission: Law enforcement officials continue to work the scene of the hostage crisis to try and encourage Dykes to release Ethan peacefully

Community hopes: A sign of support was put up and flags flew at half staff in Newton, near Midland City, Alabama this week. Vigils have also been held

Poland has been remembered as a hero for doing what he could to protect the 21 children on his bus.

Yesterday Olson refused to say whether Dykes has made any demands but did say he had allowed them to pass on items via a ventilation pipe which would make the child more comfortable.

'I want to thank him for taking care of our boy,' Olson said. 'That's very important.'

MailOnline exclusively revealed yesterday that the killer wants to exchange the child for a reporter so he can tell his story.

Dykes made the extraordinary offer on the first day of what has now turned into a siege situation.

A source with the local sheriff's office has revealed that a CID Lieutenant spoke with Dykes for the first four hours, communicating via a pipe sticking out from the ground – the only surface sign of the bunker’s location.

In those first crucial hours, Vietnam veteran Dykes attempted to strike his bargain – the boy in return for a reporter to tell his story of ‘how the government had screwed him.’

According to the source, the bunker lies beneath what appears to be landscaped garden. 

There is a coi carp pond and a winding path before the ground rises to conceal two old freight containers buried beneath.

The door is believed to be booby trapped.

He said: ‘You would think it was just landscaped yard. It’s not that unusual to have bunkers here – he told his neighbor he was making a tornado bunker.

‘A lot of folks around here have that. They can’t afford the pre-made plastic ones you sink into the ground so they buy old freight containers for $2000 and dig a hole.’

The FBI had considered sinking a wire into the pipe to give them ‘eyes and ears’ in the bunker where Dykes has access to TV and a monitor linked to a camera via which he can monitor activity in his yard.

He said: ‘They decided to X-Ray the site first and they found it was wired with explosives.

‘The neighbors think he has pipe bombs in there too.’

Hostage negotiators are now communicating with Dykes via a ‘throw phone.'

Residents of Midland City have been holding a nightly candlelight vigil in the hope the standoff ends without further bloodshed.

'We're doing any little thing that helps show support for him,' 15-year-old Taylor Edwards said at one such event last night.

State Rep. Mike Ball of Huntsville, who spent 15 years as a hostage negotiator with the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, said today that the key for authorities is to patiently build a relationship with Dykes.

'They want to build a relationship with him and calm down the feeling of hopelessness he has,' he said. 'Any day that goes by with the child alive is a victory. If you string enough of those days together, he will come out.'

State Rep. Steve Clouse, who represents the Midland City area, said he visited the boy's mother and she is 'hanging on by a thread.' Clouse said the mother told him that the boy has Asperger's syndrome as well as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD.

Dr. Nadine Kaslow, a family therapist and psychiatry professor at Emory University in Atlanta, said the boy's emotional troubles might make things even more difficult for him.

'They have less way to make sense of things,' she said of children with Asperger's and ADHD.

Neighbors said Dykes was easily angered and once beat a dog to death with a lead pipe, threatened to shoot children for setting foot on his property and patrolled his yard at night with a flashlight and a firearm.

Discussions: The bunker where Dykes is hiding out with his 5-year-old hostage lies beneath what appears to be landscaped garden. The FBI are leading negotiations

Hero: Bus driver Charles Poland Jr was allegedly shot while trying to prevent the gunman from hurting any children

Vigil: Mileah Lomaneck and Whitley Riley light candles during a candlelight vigil honoring Poland and praying for a peaceful end to the hostage sit

A 24-year-old Marine recruiter in North Carolina sexually assaulted two teen-aged recruits, according to police reports.

Sergeant Derek Craig Percival was charged with attempted second-degree rape, involuntary servitude, sexual battery and communicating threats and remains in prison, the local sheriff's office told reporters.

Police told local reporters that the alleged assaults took place at a Marine recruiting office in Salisbury, a suburb of Charlotte, as well as Percival’s apartment, where he lives with his wife and two children.

Alleged sexual assaulter: Sergeant Derek Craig Percival, 24, a Marine recruiter in North Carolina sexually assaulted two teen-aged recruits, according to police reports

Officers arrested him there on Saturday, according to NBC station WCNC in Charlotte.

One of the victims, a 17-year-old girl who was not named, told the station that she had met Percival four or five times to discuss joining the Marine Corps.

She said she had gone to his apartment for a party in September and that she also stayed overnight at his place last Saturday, while his family was there, since she and other recruits were unable to get a ride home.

She said that early Sunday morning Percival forced her to have oral sex with him and threatened to kill her if she told anyone.

‘He said, “If you don't let me, I'm going to rape you,”’ she told WCNC. ‘And I said, “No you're not, just go away, just stop.”’

She said that Percival approached her again later that morning and asked for sex.

Another recruit, a friend of the first alleged victim, said that Percival had asked her to show him her breasts and give him oral sex when she visited the recruiting office he worked at.

Looking into it: Marine spokesman Captain John Reney said the Marine Corps is cooperating with local authorities in their investigation and will conduct an internal investigation of its own

Marine spokesman Captain John Reney told NBC News on Sunday that the Marine Corps is cooperating with local authorities in their investigation and will conduct an internal investigation of its own.

Percival has an attorney, according to the Marines, though the attorney’s name was not provided.
Percival has not entered a plea on the charges.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta ordered a review of all military policies and procedures in an effort to curb sexual assaults reported in the military after a sharp rise in the number of reported cases last year.

Those reported cases included at least a dozen instructors accused of assaulting recruits at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas, in September of 2012.

Review: Defense Secretary Leon Panetta ordered a review of all military policies and procedures in an effort to curb sexual assaults reported in the military after a sharp rise in the number of reported cases last year

Smith, 36, an exterminator, has been charged with strangling 35-year-old Dr Melissa Ketunuti, who was found bound and burned in her city row home

The exterminator accused of murdering a pediatrician and setting her on fire has a history of sexual assault and once spent $1,000 on phone sex, it was claimed today.

The ex-wife of Jason Smith's half-brother is the first person to reveal any details about the accused murderer who hogtied, strangled and burned Dr Melissa Ketunuti in her Philadelphia home last week.

The brutal and grisly death of the young pediatrician shocked everyone in the neighborhood, Smith's family and even police - who are baffled as to why he would commit such a crime with no violent past.

Tracy Elliott, was married to Seneca Smith for four years and revealed that Jason once racked up $1,000 in telephone sex lines while he lived with his step-brother, who is an ex-marine.

She said they grew up in an impoverished single-parent household with their lesbian mother, 14 cats and eight dogs.

Though she wasn't 100 per cent sure, Elliott told the Daily News she believed he had a sexual-assault offense on his juvenile record.

She said her then-husband told her he had to be placed in a special school as a juvenile because he had committed a sexual assault.

But she said when she knew him he did not seem like that kind of guy.

'He was more rude and disrespectful than abusive and, you know, just because of his non-ambition it turned a lot of girls off,' she said.

'I never knew a real violent side to him. I could see him getting in someone's face, but not murdering someone. Obviously, things have escalated since I knew him.'

Smith went to Melissa's home last Monday to deal with a rodent problem and killed her after they got into an argument.

When he confessed to police, he allegedly told them Ketunuti belittled him and he got angry and struck her.

Tracy Elliott said she could envision Smith getting easily offended but said the news still shocked her.

Melissa Ketunuti had been a pediatrician for five years before her gruesome murder in Philadelphia

'My heart just sank. It was just so surreal,' she said. 'I had to read about everything at once. It just hit me like a ton of bricks.

'He was all about having a good time, that was pretty much what his life consisted of. So work wasn't important and making money wasn't important, because there was always going to be someone else to take care of him.'

Elliott also told the News that though he did not have an ideal upbringing in the impoverished, single-parent home and revealed that Seneca Smith told her that when he and Jason were children, his mom would make them go to the corner store and steal groceries because they didn't have any money.

If they didn't go, she'd hit them with a frying pan. Elliott said that when she confronted their mother about the accusation, she denied it.

Sharon Smith's former girlfriend disputes this and said she never saw her being violent towards her children.

Kathleen McGrath, 61, of Danboro, Bucks County, dated Jason Smith's mother, Sharon Smith, and lived with the family and her own two sons in Bucks County and Florida between 1984 and 1991.

CCTV: Melissa Ketunuti is seen just before 11am returning to her home after running some errands in the area

Stalker: Less than one minute later, Smith follows in her footsteps, wearing a Northface jacket and hat

After: Less than an hour later, after having allegedly murdered Melissa, he returns to his pickup truck, with his coat and hat removed

'I knew Sharon to be a very devoted mother,' she said. 'She made decisions and choices for the best interest of her children. She sacrificed as a single parent, but she was always there.

'She disciplined the children, but she wasn't abusive and she wasn't strict. It was just normal family dinners together. She tried to make the best decisions for the interest of what each child needed.'

McGrath told the Daily News that with four boys in one house, Jason Smith always seemed to be the one getting  in trouble, but it was never serious or 'stuff we couldn't handle as a family'.

'I watched Jason grow into a teenager, and it was like he was really getting his life together,' McGrath said.

It was also revealed today that Smith had anger issues and liked to set things on fire, a family friend  told ABC News.

Smith faces charges of murder, arson, abuse of a corpse and causing/risking a catastrophe.

After an intensive investigation, police were able to zero in on Smith after a local coffee shop owner and police officers pored over the CCTV footage from the day of the murder and saw the young doctor walk by with Smith following closely behind.

An hour later, he returns, this time with a clearer image of his face, gets into his pickup truck and drives away before circling Melissa's home twice.

Victim: Melissa Ketunuti, who worked at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, was only 35 when she was hog tied, strangled and set on fire

Getaway car: Jason Smith's silver pickup truck is seen driving away before circling the area a few times. The truck was seized for crucial evidence

Home: Police searched Smith's house on Wednesday night and took away his car for investigation

Remains: Police officers carry the charred body of Melissa Ketunuti from her home to the police van so it can be taken to the coroner's office for an autopsy

He then went on to another job in New Jersey. A police source said that Smith was working on behalf of a company called David Bilyk Exterminating.

Developer Ori Feibush, who owns the OCF Coffee House, at 18th and South streets, which is around the corner from Ketunuti's house, told Philly.com: 'We had crystal-clear video of him [Smith] walking right past the coffee shop and looking at the cameras. I was exceptionally uncomfortable until they caught the guy because it looked like anybody who walks by the shop.

'When he came back he had gloves on, his hat was off and his jacket was in his arms,' he said. 'Coming back he walks directly under the camera and that's when we realized, "Wow!" We had this guy on camera.'

He said he went outside to get homicide detectives who were still stationed to the area on Wednesday and told them what he found.

'They were in absolute shock as well,' he said. 'There was the guy, walking in broad daylight with no hat on, not hiding his appearance in front of a very powerful surveillance camera.'

Feibush said that 'a weird, eerie feeling' has settled over the 'exceptionally quiet' neighborhood since the slaying and that he's relieved that Ketunuti's alleged killer has been captured.

'I honestly believe this guy would still be on the loose for a long time, if not forever, without video surveillance,' Feibush said.

Captain James Clarke said in a press conference today: 'An argument ensued between them, he struck her, she fell to the ground and he started to strangle her with a rope and set her alight'

Chief Inspector Scott Small said: 'Fire department puts out the fire and pronounces her dead. At this time we don't know the cause of death'

Melissa Ketunuti, 35, lived alone with her dog in the quiet, residential area of Philadelphia. Firefighters responded to the call around 12.30pm and discovered the bound body in her basement.

Authorities say she was fully clothed and there were no signs of sexual assault.

There were no signs of forced entry and nothing was taken which led police to believe she knew her murderer.

Mellisa worked at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and was an avid blogger.

The hospital revealed today she was a second year infectious diseases fellow and researcher at CHOP.

'Melissa was a warm, caring, earnest, bright young woman with her whole future ahead of her,' said Paul Offit, MD, chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, in a written statement.

'But more than that, she was admired, respected and loved by those with whom she worked here at CHOP. Her death will have a profound impact on those who worked with her and we will all miss her deeply.'

Pet: Melissa's body was found by her dog walker and friends say she lived for the pit bull/lab mix named Pooch and would often be seen walking him around the area

Learned: Melissa earned a doctorate in medicine from Stanford University and had initially considered working as a surgeon internationally. She was a pediatrician in the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia

Her blog revealed she was an avid traveler - her mother is Belgian and her father Thai - and liked to go hiking and running in her free time.

According to the Philadelphia Inquirer, she earned a doctorate in medicine from Stanford University and had initially considered working as a surgeon internationally.

In the summer of 2005, she worked on an AIDS research fellowship in Botswana through the National Institutes of Health. She also completed internships at Johns Hopkins Hospital and New York University.

Neighbors were stunned at the grisly discovery and though most did not know her well, they said she seemed pleasant and had lived there about three years with her dog.

Colin Cahill Kennedy was arrested on Sunday after the victims, both 19 at the time, went to campus police to report the attacks

A college freshman has been arrested after two of his friends and fellow students accused him of raping them over two consecutive nights.

Colin Kennedy, 18, from California, was arrested yesterday at Loyola University, Chicago, after the students, both 19, reported the sexual assaults to police.

Cook County prosecutors said both victims let him into their dorm rooms because he told them he was locked out of his room.

When he was arrested and charged with two counts of criminal sexual assault, the 18-year-old was wearing a T-Shirt which said, 'Release the wizard inside of you'.

The international business student - who is said to be involved in the campus church - is being held on $300,000 bond.

Loyola University spokeswoman Maeve Kiley told ABC the alleged attacks occurred in Fordham Hall, a dorm that houses about 350 students.

Prosecutors said in the first attack on January 13, a 19-year-old woman who was a friend of Kennedy's returned to her room with him after a night out drinking.

She woke up in the middle of the night to find Kennedy sexually assaulting her but passed out again. When she woke up the next morning she was naked and Kennedy's clothes were on the floor.

The following night, the other victim let him sleep on her futon after she had a few people over. She alleged that after she fell asleep he climbed into her bed and started to grope her.

She tried to fight him off and told him no but he raped her.

The Loyola University freshman was charged with criminal sexual assault and is being held on $300,000 bond

Assistant State's Attorney Joell Zahr said the victim told her friends, including the first victim, and then reported the matter to police.

Kennedy’s attorney pointed to the lack of DNA evidence that ties his client to the crime and said he did not make any statements implicating himself.

As the French invade Mali under the guise of fighting "Islamic terrorism," the reawakening of long dormant French imperialism straddles the fine line between comedy and tragedy. A French air strike against a rebel-held town wound up killing over a hundred, including many civilians, but the triumphal mood in Paris soon dimmed when it was suddenly discovered that the mission – dubbed "Serval" by the French, after a North African wildcat – which was supposed to take a few weeks will instead require an extended campaign.

Wildcat? Tabby cat is more like it.

Before we can come to any appreciation of what is actually happening in Mali, the narrative we are being sold needs first to be debunked. News accounts refer to the rebels as "Islamists," an easy label to affix to groups very few know anything about. The reality, however, is quite different: the rebels are Tuaregs of Northwest Africa, a nomadic group whose historic homeland crosses the boundaries of Mali, Algeria, Libya, Niger, and Burkina Faso. They are herders and smugglers, whose caravans once provided the only source of commercial contact between the empires of central Africa and the Arab lands to the north. Their fight for independence precedes the existence of Al Qaeda by a hundred and fifty years.

In the Great Scramble for European colonies that began at the end of the 19^th century, French colonialists invaded, seized the land, and subjected the locals to a program of forced "assimilation" into "French civilization." The Tuaregs have been fighting to regain their independence ever since. Today, however, that struggle has been reinterpreted as yet another example of "Islamic terrorism."

This is outright false. The Tuareg independence movement is led by the National. Movement for the Liberation of Awazad (MNLA), a secular organization that only wants autonomy for the Tuareg areas of Mali. There are active Islamists in Mali, affiliated with Ansar Dine, which has no known affiliation with Al Qaeda in the Mahgreb other than the fact that Ansar Dine’s leader, Ag Ghaly, is a cousin of AQIM commander Hamada Ag Hamada. "It is true that Ansar Dine have the black flags, but they are not Al Qaeda," said MNLA spokesman Ag Assarid. "They want stability on the streets," which the "government" of Mali is unable to provide, and "they are against Al Qaeda too." North African specialist Salma Belaala concurs: “We can’t make a systematic link between the AQIM and Tuareg. It’s completely false."

In any case, the tactical alliance between the MNLA and Ansar Dine has been an on and off affair: days after the "merger" of their forces was announced, the MNLA began to back off – and, a week later, the lash up was back on again. This link to "terrorism," never mind Al Qaeda, is tenuous indeed – but how else will the revanchist dream of a revived French empire in Africa be realized except under the rubric of the "war on terrorism"?

If the French invasion – or, rather, re-invasion – of Mali is really aimed at expunging Al Qaeda, then perhaps they ought to be attacking the Algerians: Professor Jeremy Keenan, of the School of Oriental and African Studies in London, says the Algerians have longtime links not only to Ag Ghaly, but also to important Al Qaeda figures, including Abdelhamid abou Zaid. The Algerians, he says, have an interest in supporting the "specter" of Al Qaeda looming in the Sahel because it increases their value to the US – and promises to reap a bonanza in military and economic aid.

As for the "government" of Mali – after a series of Tuareg victories in the north, the military overthrew the elected government and declared martial law. The army complained that not enough attention was being paid to crushing the Tuareg insurgency, and last month they seized the presidential palace, the state television station, and arrested key members of the legitimate government, although the President, Amadou Toure, escaped. This is the "government" the French, with aid from the US and Britain, are fighting to preserve.

What in the name of all that’s holy is going on here? Why this war?

Economically depressed, riven by deep social, ethnic, and political divisions, France is suffering from a crisis of national self-esteem. The attempt by the Socialist government to impose a program of confiscatory taxation – up to 75 percent of income – while ushering in a regime of austerity on the populace is proving immensely unpopular. With forces on the far left and the far right fast gaining traction, the "centrist" Socialists of Francois Hollande are desperate to refurbish their image as soft and indecisive. After the assault on Mali, Hollande will no longer be known as "Flanby," after a gelatinous dessert.

The reassertion of French imperialism has nothing to do with "terrorism," Al Qaeda, or anything remotely connected to either of these phenomena. Instead, it has everything to do with French politics, and the long history of the French expansionist movement. Since the days of the Great Scramble, there has been a small but influential colonialist lobby which constantly agitated for the expansion and development of France’s overseas empire, especially in North Africa. Initially these ideologues rationalized their program of colonial conquest by pointing to the virtues of French civilization as a benign influence on the downtrodden races of the Dark Continent. Indeed, the first champions of extending the benefits of rich sauces and an inexplicable conceit to the benighted Africans were explicit racialists. As fervent anti-clericalist and Republican politician Jules Ferry (twice Prime Minister of France) put it to the National Assembly:

This superiority, Ferry averred, gave them not only the "right" but the "duty" to raise the French tricolor over darkest Africa. Societies for the propagation of colonialism, the Comité de l’Afrique Française and the Union coloniale française, grew up, and lobbied for government subsidies in order to "develop" the colonies and – coincidentally – enrich the merchants of Lyons, Marseilles, and other port cities. Chambers of commerce were a key link in this powerful lobby.

The "assimilationist" rhetoric of the colonialists – the idea that the Africans were going to be properly "civilized" and made into model French citizens – soon gave way to the "developmental" phase of French imperialism, during which the civilizing mission was subordinated to the alleged commercial advantages of empire. Except it turned out that these colonies were financially impractical, and turned a loss – although some well-placed merchants, with the right connections, turned enormous profits.

Mali is Africa’s third largest producer of gold, and the recent discovery of vast unexploited sources of oil on traditional Tuareg stomping grounds should give us some idea of the commercial motives behind the French incursion. Yet it isn’t just greed that motivates the new Napoleons: you’ll note the French have been increasingly self-assertive of late, always the first to call for intervention in this or that "crisis," from Libya to Syria and now taking the lead in Mali. This burst of nationalistic fervor is very convenient for the French political class, which presides over a near bankrupt museum of past glories and little else. What better way to divert attention away from such a sorry fate than to gin up a convenient war in which, once again, the mystic virtues of "French civilization" emerge victorious to universal applause?

The US was reportedly reluctant to get involved, but got dragged in when the French overrode Washington’s caution and went ahead anyway. Now we are stuck, once again, "leading from behind," i.e. cleaning up the mess our allies leave behind.

Here is a perfect lesson in how a local authority with no popular mandate – the Malian "government," in this instance – can gin up a "terrorist" scare in order to maintain its tenuous hold over its own people. Just as, during the cold war, local tyrants from Argentina to Vietnam ginned up Western intervention in the name of the "war on communism," so their 21^st century equivalents are following the same pattern. When will we ever learn?

Mali is no more a real country than Libya ever was – both are creations of European imperialism, which drew arbirary borders in the Great Scramble and then left, leaving local tribes and clans to fight it out among themselves. In order to justify their return, the new imperialists are claiming to be fighting "terrorism," and yet what they really seem to be battling is their own undeniable decline. The only "crisis" here is the crisis of French self-esteem – and the "multilateralism" that drags us into every conflict, no matter how obscure.

A Minnesota man has admitted to shooting his wife, sawing her body into pieces and hiding her remains in plastic bins in a friend's garage after she threatened to leave him and take their toddler.

Steven Roger Johnson, 34, of St. Paul, is charged with second-degree murder after prosecutors say he shot his wife, Manya Jewel Johnson, 32, in the head before trying to dispose of her body in the presence of their 18-month-old son.

Johnson told police he had been drinking when he shot his wife in the head on Sunday and 'used a saw to dismember her body in the shower and he placed her in several plastic bins,' the criminal complaint read.

Tragic end: Steven Roger Johnson, left, is charged with shooting his wife Manya Jewel Johnson, right, before dismembering her body with a saw and hiding it in a friend's garage

Deadly fight: Steven Johnson told police his 32-year-old wife, pictured with him here, threatened to leave him and take their 18-month-old son before he pulled a gun on her

Johnson said he then cleaned up his home to hide any evidence and took the bins to his unsuspecting friend's garage in the St. Paul suburb of White Bear Lake.

The friend didn't know what had happened until Johnson told him later, and the friend called authorities.

Johnson was in custody on Wednesday and unavailable for comment. It was unclear if he had an attorney.

According to the charges, St. Paul police went to the Johnson home on Monday to check on Manya Johnson when she failed to show up for work.

When officers arrived, they were told that White Bear Lake police had received a call from Johnson's friend, who reported that Johnson told him Manya Johnson was dead after slipping in the shower, a neighbour told the Post Bulletin.

Dark secret: Johnson told police he hid his wife's remains in his unsuspecting friend's garage, pictured here

Violent past: Johnson, seen at the age of 18, was previously convicted of felony criminal sexual conduct in 1996 that imprisoned him from December of 1996 until February of 2008

He then admitted to hiding her body in his garage but asked for help renting a storage unit for its holding, according to the source who asked not to be named.

While St. Paul police were at Johnson's home, he showed up with a woman who worked with Manya Johnson, and they both told police they were looking for Manya.

Johnson told police he had left his job to look for his wife after getting a text message saying she hadn't shown up for work.

Manya's co-worker and Johnson told police they found her car at a park-and-ride lot.

As an officer was talking with Johnson, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension called the officer and said authorities had found the dismembered body.

Johnson was then arrested, the complaint said.

'This horrific crime is an unfortunate example of how quickly domestic violence can turn into homicide,' Ramsey County Attorney John Choi said in a statement.

Johnson was convicted of first-degree criminal sexual conduct in 1996, after he and an accomplice allegedly handcuffed a stranger in a car and raped her.

Authorities alleged Johnson threatened to kill the woman and claimed he had a gun.

Broken home: The couple's St Paul home is seen centre, after they moved into the neighbourhood in 2010 and had a son

He was on supervised release until 2018.

When the couple moved into the neighbourhood in 2010, neighbour Cherste Eidman told the Bulletin that she did her best to look past Johnson’s criminal history, with him being a registered sex offender.

‘My husband and I, we put a card in their mailbox that said, “We know about your past, but we believe in second chances, and it sounds like you've done your time. We welcome you to the neighborhood,”’ Mrs Eidman said. ‘That night, Manya and Steve showed up at our doorstep, holding the card and almost in tears. They said, “Thank you, thank you for reaching out to us.”’

He is being held on $2,000,000 bail.

 Sunando Sen, a 46-year-old Indian immigrant, recently opened a small copying and printing business in New York City’s Upper West Side with his hard-earned savings. Described by friends as “very educated” and “so quiet, so gentle, so nice,” Sen’s American dream ended in tragedy last Thursday when Erika Menendez fatally pushed him in front of an oncoming subway train.

Menendez admitted the hate crime, explaining she “pushed a Muslim off the train tracks because I hate Hindus and Muslims ever since 2001 when they put down the twin towers I’ve been beating them up.”

Never mind that Sen was raised Hindu and the 9-11 terrorist attacks were coordinated by 19 foreign hijackers primarily from Saudi Arabia.

An unbalanced, paranoid mind marinated in our oversaturated Islamophobic environment is numb to such cultural specifics and susceptible to conflate anyone appearing “Muslimy” as the “enemy.”

Although Islamophobes did not cause the NYC murder, they contaminate civil society with their toxic ideological fuel and remain a beacon for bigots, hate-mongers, and the mentally unhinged, all of whom emerge from the same diseased infrastructure.

Citizens of this dangerous, fringe minority include Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik, who killed 77 individuals last summer to punish Europe’s alleged leniency towards Muslims and multiculturalism. Upon reviewing Breivik’s 1,500 page anti-Muslim manifesto, which frequently cites notable American Islamophobes, counter-terrorism expert Marc Sagemen concluded this Islamophobic  rhetoric is “not cost free.”

The cost of such hate is mostly borne by members of the AMEMSA (Arab Middle Eastern Muslim South Asian) communities, however the tainted profit is collected by bloggers Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer, co-founders of the “hate group” Stop Islamization of America (SIOA), part of the lucrative  “Islamophobia network” subsidized by inciting fear-mongering and misinformation against Muslims.

Britain has institutionalized pedophilia and child abuse, with senior institutions covering up heinous acts for each other

Violent biker gangs from Australia, Canada and the US have arrived in Europe prompting fears of a battle for organised crime markets throughout the continent.

Britain has been warned that turf wars could break out as 'Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs' fight for control over the drugs, weapons and human trafficking criminal markets.

The European Union's law enforcement agency has now warned of a repeat of the 1990s biker wars that left at least 11 dead.

Warning: Hells Angels are among the biker gangs that are expanding, according to Europol

The EUs law enforcement agency says tensions are increasing as gangs arrive from US and Australia (file picture)

Europol said the arrival of notorious gangs including Comancheros and Rebels from Australia, Rock Machine from Canada and Mongols and Vagos from the US has exacerbated tensions with established clubs.

It has informed police forces across the continent that established gangs are expandings and said there are already ongoing territorial battles with organised crime groups.

Football hooligans from Britain and the continent, as well as former military personnel, right-wing extremists and prison gangs are among those expected to be targeted for recruitment.

Europol said the four main groups - Outlaws, Hells Angels, Bandidos and Gremium MC - were all increasing their membership, particularly in north east and south east Europe.

Outlaws (left) and Bandidos (right) has also increased its membership in recent years

Gerry Tobin, a Hell's Angels member, was murdered by a rival gang

It has warned that gang members are known to use 'extreme forms of violence' including automatic rifles such as Kalashnikovs and grenades 'indiscriminately'.

Europol said the number of biker gang chapters in Europe has increased significantly since 2010 and there are now more than 700 chapters across the continent.

Experts fear the new wave could lead to a repeat of the Nordic Biker Wars in the 1990s.

Eleven people were killed and dozens more injured during a three year battle between the Hells Angels and Bandidos in Scandinavia that involved the use of car bombs and machine guns.

Biker gang violence has also been seen in Britain more recently.

In 2008 seven members of the South Warwickshire Outlaws were jailed for the murder of Hell's Angel Gerry Tobin, who was shot as he rode his Harley Davidson on the M40 after leaving a biker festival.

A Europol spokesperson said: 'The main threat to public safety associated with OMCGs stems from their propensity to use extreme forms of violence... and the indiscriminate nature with which this violence is often used in open conflicts between rival groups.'

The spokesperson added: 'Merely establishing a chapter on the ‘turf’ of another OMCG is interpreted as an act of provocation and is likely to result in violent confrontations and retaliation.

'Given the significant expansion of OMCGs and charters in Europe, Europol has informed its law enforcement partners that dedicated monitoring and analysis is needed because of the risk of clashes and the possible impact on the general organised crime situation.'

Derek Shrout was arrested Friday after a teacher at Russell County High School found what appears to be the teen's journal and contacted authorities. Police said the journal contained plans to kill six students and one teacher with homemade grenades. Six of the seven individuals were black.

In the journal, police say that Shrout thought the white male on his list was gay.

"That's the reason the white male was on the list. It screams hate crime," Russell County Sheriff Heath Taylor said.

Investigators say Shrout started writing in his journal just three days after a gunman killed 20 children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., on Dec. 14.

"The journal contained several plans that looked like potential terrorist attacks and attacks of violence and danger on the school," Taylor said.

Shrout told police that the journal was a work of fiction.

"I didn't think anything like that could happen in Russell County. I thought maybe that's just something that happens everywhere else," said student Qunitin Hobbs.

Shrout told police that he rarely interacted with the people he's accused of targeting. Police say Shrout learned how to make the devices on the Internet.

A search of Shrout's home turned up dozens of empty tobacco containers filled with shrapnel. The containers had holes in them ready for fuses to ignite. He hadn't obtained gunpowder, fuses or a substance to ignite the devices.

"He could have got the whole school, just got all of us at once," said student Javon Rogers.

Shrout is expected to plead not guilty in his court appearance later today. The teen is being charged as an adult with attempted assault.