Judge Declares Mistrial in Jodi Arias Penalty Phase … Jury Cannot Reach Unanomous Decision, Hung Jury on Life or Death for Arias

ARIAS VERIDICT ON PENALTY PHASE IS IN … NO VERDICT, HUNG JURY, UNBELIEVABLE!!!

Judge Sherry Stephens declared a mistrial in the Jodi Arias penalty phase. The jury could not reach a unanimous decision in whether Jodi Arias should receive live in prison or the death penalty. How is that possible? Every one of these jurors were asked the question whether they could, if necessary, give the death penalty to the defendant if it was warranted. What else would one have to do to get the death penalty? Maybe Arias needed to stab Travis another 30 times or actually behead him? Seriously folks, if this case did not reek of the death penalty, what does? As the verdict or non-verdict was read in this case, the family and friend of murdered  Travis Alexander cried and stared at the jury in disbelief. Individuals sobbed in the court house and even the judge struggled with her words reading the verdict and thanking the jury for their service to the community. Yes this jury gave a verdict of first degree murder, but how did this jury not have it in them to give this family justice and some how feeling the need to put this family through more pain?

However, this is not over.  In a written statement, Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery said prosecutors “will proceed with the intent to retry the penalty phase.”

An Arizona judge declared a mistrial in the penalty phase of the Jodi Arias trial Thursday after a deadlocked jury said it couldn’t decide whether to sentence her to death.

That means a new jury will be chosen, but the first-degree murder conviction still stands.

A retrial for the penalty phase will begin on July 18, Judge Sherry Stephens said. A status conference has been scheduled for June 20.

The hung jury brought to a close a dramatic chapter in a high-profile case that has lasted for months, drawing spectators who lined up for courtroom seats and waited anxiously outside the courthouse.

But the closely watched trial isn’t over yet.

Jodi Arias, make no mistake about it, there will be another day and you will get what is coming to you.

Daily Commentary – Thursday, May 23, 2013 – A Top IRS Official Will Invoke the 5th

• Lois Lerner will invoke the 5th when asked to testify in front of the House committee investigating the scandal

Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) Rips IRS Official Lois Lerner a News One … Claims She Waived Her 5th Amendment Rights … Audiance Applauds (Update: Darrell Issa Says Lerner lost her rights)

After top IRS official Lois Lerner made an opening statement, she then invoked her 5th Amendment rights, and then was then dismissed by Rep. Issa from the  House Oversight Committee. Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC) then added his two cents and blasted Lois Lerner for her actions. Goudy stated, “You don’t get to tell your side of the story and then not be subjected to cross examination.” But that is the way it is in “BIG GOVERNMENT” out of control where you have an all too powerful agency like the IRS run by career bureaucrats who thumb their nose at “We the People”. The arrogance of those from the IRS that have testified has been one of smugness and defiance. America, this is what big nanny state government looks like where individuals believe they should be responsible for everything in your life from pre-birth to death

“Mr. Issa, Mr. Cummings said we should run this like a courtroom and I agree with him. She just testified. She just waved her Fifth Amendment rights. You don’t get to tell your side of the story and then not be subjected to cross examination. That’s not the way it works. She waved her right to Fifth Amendment privilege by issuing an opening statement. She ought to stand here and answer our questions. (Applause)”

UPDATE I: From The Politico, Darrell Issa: Lois Lerner lost her rights. As reported at NRO, Lerner May Have Waived the Fifth, Possible She Could Be Recalled.

“When I asked her her questions from the very beginning, I did so so she could assert her rights prior to any statement,” Issa told POLITICO. “She chose not to do so — so she waived.”

Lerner shocked the committee room in the opening moments of Wednesday’s hearing by delivering an opening statement denying any wrongdoing and professing pride in her government service.

[...]

Issa said late Wednesday that he’s consulting the House parliamentarian and outside counsel to determine how to proceed.

Legal experts, however, say Issa’s argument that Lerner has waived her Fifth Amendment rights might not be as strong as he suggests.

IRS Official Lois Lerner “I Have Not Done Anything Wrong. I Have Not Broken Any Laws. I Have Not Violated any IRS Rules or Regulations.”

What a joke. Top IRS official Lois Lerner says to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in a prepared statement, “I have not done anything wrong. I have not broken any laws. I have not violated any IRS rules or regulations.” Then like any innocent person who has done nothing wrong, pleads the 5th on the grounds of what she would say might incriminate her. You just can’t make this stuff up. Lois Lerner is the woman who was in charge of the division that targeted conservative and tea party groups withholding their freedom of speech and then invoking her 5th Amendment rights. UNREAL. It is obvious that there will need to be a “Special” prosecutor appointed to investigate this scandal. If IRS officials are just going to make a joke of the hearings, lie, obfuscate, and plead the 5th.

Hmm, if she has done nothing wrong, why did she apologize weeks ago for the IRA targeting conservative groups? Her apology and admission that the IRS targeted conservative non-profits started all of this and forced the MSM into following the story.

British Soldier Beheaded In London By Terrorist Attackers Who Shouted “Allahu Akhbar” … “You people will never be safe.”

Terrorism comes to the streets of London …

An individual thought to be a British soldier was savagely killed in the streets of SE London. First, he was intentionally run down by two radial Islamists in their car. Then, two attackers hacked him to death with knives and meat cleavers, attempting to behead their victim in the name of Allah. After these two Islamic savages murdered the off-duty soldier, demanding that witnesses tape them as they spewed their fanatic Muslim rants … “We swear by almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you until you leave us alone.” As the two men stabbed their victim to death they yelled, “Allahu Akhbar”. The Islamist also went on to say, “You people will never be safe.”  I hope there is no questioning as to whether this was an act of terrorism.

They first hit the man, thought to be a British soldier, with a car in broad daylight. Then the two attackers hacked him to death and dumped his body in the middle of a southeastern London road.

As the victim — dressed in what appeared to be a T-shirt for Help for Heroes, a charity that helps military veterans — lay prone, one of the two attackers found a camera.

“We swear by almighty Allah we will never stop fighting you until you leave us alone,” said a meat-cleaver-wielding man with bloody hands, speaking in what seems to be a London accent.

“The only reasons we killed this man … is because Muslims are dying daily,” he added, in video aired by CNN affiliate ITN. “This British soldier is an eye for an eye, a tooth for tooth.”

 WARNING - Graphic Violence

From the UK Daily Mail - Blood on his hands, hatred in his eyes. Many, many pictures of the unspeakable attack.

• Two men repeatedly stab and try to behead off-duty soldier in SE London
• During attack they shouted ‘Allah Akbar’ and told witnesses to film them
• Charged at police officers with rusty revolver, knives and meat cleavers
• Killing took place 200 yards from barracks and close to primary school
• Both men placed under arrest after being treated for gunshot wounds
• PM: Killing is ‘sickening’ and Britain will ‘never buckle’ in face of terror

Another VIDEO from CNN that shows the British police taking down these terrorist savages

Warning: Graphic violence

UPDATE I: Woolwich machete attack leaves man dead.

The Met Police said a murder inquiry was being led by its Counter Terrorism Command. Prime Minister David Cameron said the UK would “never buckle” in the face of terror attacks.

Footage has emerged showing a man wielding a bloodied meat cleaver and making political statements.

Police confirmed two men had been arrested in connection with the murder.

One Child Dead, Two Injured and One Missing after Landslide at Lilydale Regional Park in St. Paul, MN (Update: 10 Year Old Mohamed Fofana’s Body ID’d)

TRAGEDY DURING 4TH GRADE FIELD TRIP …

A landslide at Lilydale Regional Park in St. Paul, MN has left one child dead, two children injured and one child missing. The incident occurred as a group of 4th grade children from the Peter Hobart Elementary School were on a field trip at the the Lilydale Regional Park. As reported at CBS-WCCO, the kids were exploring a hillside in the park when the ground gave way due to the recent rains. The slide created a sinkhole, which quickly filled with water. Police said the two injured children were taken to Regions Hospital. The search for the fourth child was suspended due to dangerous conditions as light rain fell throughout the afternoon. Sadly, the search effort for the missing child is now being described as a recovery effort.

VIDEO

A fourth-grade field trip to a Mississippi River park popular with fossil hunters turned deadly Wednesday when gravel saturated by persistent rain gave way, killing one child and injuring two others. A fourth child was missing.

The landslide at Lilydale Regional Park swept over a group of children from Peter Hobart Elementary School in St. Louis Park, burying one to the waist and completely burying another, Fire Marshal Steve Zaccard said.

Another child suffered minor injuries in the landslide, which happened about 1:15 p.m. The three children were taken to Regions Hospital, and one died, Zaccard said.

A search for the fourth child was suspended due to dangerous conditions as light rain fell throughout the afternoon. Zaccard described that search as a recovery effort.

UPDATE I: Body of missing student recovered from Minn. park.

Search crews recovered the body of a missing fourth grader Thursday, a day after a gravel slide at a St. Paul park.

The child, identified by family members as 10-year-old Mohamed Fofana, was among four youngsters from a St. Louis Park, Minn., elementary school who plunged off a 30-foot bluff at Lilydale Regional Park after the ground gave way during a school field trip Wednesday.

On Wednesday, officials found the body of 9-year-old Haysem Sani. Two other students from Peter Hobart Elementary School were injured in the slide. One boy is recovering at home, while the other is hospitalized in serious condition.

Charles Krauthammer on IRS Scandal: This is Why It Has Legs … “This Thing Will Go On and It Could Be Fatal”

IRS SCANDAL HAS LEGS … IT WILL NOT GO AWAY, COULD BE FATAL.

Syndicated columnists Charles Krauthammer commented on the IRS targeting scandal on Tuesday during ’Special Report’ after yet another day of hearings that has only fueled the fire for all individuals, Democrats and republicans alike. Krauthammer explained, this is why this scandal has legs. First, everybody is outraged as everybody knows what the ITS can do and everyone is afraid of it. Second, now you have some one who is going to pleads the 5th and that has the appearance that the IRS is hiding something. Last, Democrats are up in arms as well as Republicans.

“Yes, the Republicans are up in arms but the Democrats are too. This thing will go on and it could be fatal.”

Kirsten Powers: Obama Admin Treats Whistleblowers As Criminals, Leakers As Heroes … “If he’s so offended by this, who has been fired?”

“I actually haven’t seen the president express real outrage other than giving lip service to it.”

It would appear that Kirtsen Powers has lost that loving feeling for Barack Obama. It took the scandal against the media for Powers to finally come to the reality that Barack Obama is more “Nixionian” than Messiah. Powers, a liberal and served in the Clinton administration, has had it with Obama and is calling him on his bull$hit. Obama claims he is a protector of the First Amendment, all the while they are spying on reporters. Powers stated on Fox News ‘Special Report,’ “I just think it’s incredible that he can stand up there and say that, he’s a fierce defender of the First Amendment which he’s said before as the press secretary of an administration that’s spying on reporters. And if he’s so offended by this, who has been fired? Why are heads not rolling over this.” When you can get a liberal like Kirsten Powers to finally admit that “Everything is completely upside down here,” when it comes to Barack Obama and his administration … Obama has a huge problem. The MSM, the very people who have defended, deflected and provided a disservice to America is covering Obama, have now turned on him as they have learned, if it can be FOX News, it probably has been them as well. This is the second scandal when it has come to how the Obama administration has dealt with the media. What are the odds this is just the tip of the iceberg as well?

click on picture to listen

From Real Clear Politics:

Kirsten Powers: : I just think it’s incredible that he can stand up there and say that, he’s a fierce defender of the First Amendment which he’s said before as the press secretary of an administration that’s spying on reporters. And if he’s so offended by this, who has been fired? Why are heads not rolling over this?

I actually haven’t seen the president express real outrage other than giving lip service to it. And I also think that you have to remember we’re focused on the media because we’re media, but there are a lot of regular people who are whistle blowers who have had their lives turned upside down by this administration. The same administration who said they treat whistleblowers as criminal but then people who leak information like Stuxnet or the kill list or Osama bin Laden information are heroes because they make President Obama look like some super human protector of America. Everything is completely upside down here. (Special Report, May 21, 2013)

NorCal Tea Party Patriots First Tea Party Organization to Sue the IRS

Return of the Jedi …

California-based Tea Party group, the NorCal Tea Party Patriots, become the first to sue the IRS accusing the IRS of violating its constitutional rights due to the “intensive and intrusive scrutiny” it received while seeking tax-exempt status. Let the pigeons loose. Hopefully, this will be just the beginning of the law suits against the IRS that have admitted to targeting conservative and Tea Party groups.  As reported at the Politico, the group alleges it applied for tax-exempt status in March 2010 but didn’t receive approval until Aug. 2 of last year. The lawsuit accuses the IRS of violating the First and Fifth amendments and seeks monetary damages.

A California-based Tea Party group sued the U.S. Internal Revenue Service on Monday in what marked the first lawsuit to stem from an investigation finding the agency singled-out conservative organizations.

In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati, the NorCal Tea Party Patriots accused the IRS of violating its constitutional rights due to the “intensive and intrusive scrutiny” it received while seeking tax-exempt status.

The lawsuit sought class action status on behalf of all conservative and libertarian groups – such as those associated with the Tea Party movement – that were targeted by the IRS for extra scrutiny from March 2010 through the middle of this month. Tea Party groups call for reduced federal spending and taxation.

Citizens for Self-Governance:

We are sure you were as disgusted as we were upon hearing the news of the top down abuse of power the IRS has aimed at Conservative groups. Today, we are on the precipice of something monumental to correct the balance of power. We are taking the fight directly to the IRS.

Like many of you, we know folks who have been subjected to harassment and abuse by the IRS as they tried to obtain their non-profit status. I have first-hand knowledge because the first tea party group that I was involved with was unfairly targeted.

We are not sitting back and waiting for Congress to fix things. Citizens for Self-Governance (CSG) decided to take matters into our own hands. We found the best lawyers in the country for aggressive litigation versus the federal government and, with our assistance, the NorCal Tea Party filed a class action suit against the IRS Monday in Ohio Federal Court.

Many other small grassroots organizations dedicated to liberty have been damaged or intimidated to the point of giving up, so CSG will provide the guidance and support needed to vindicate their rights in a direct legal battle with the IRS.

If you or someone you know has been harassed by the IRS and are interested in participating in the class action suit, let us know. You can send an inquiry by going to the website SueTheIRS.com. There’s no cost to you…because we are here to help you fight. (more)

Man Shot Dead (Ibragim Todashev) by FBI agent Reportedly Knew Boston Bombing Suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev

Man shot and killed over night may have had connection to Boston bombing suspects …

FOX News is reporting that a man was shot dead by an FBI agent early Wednesday morning in Orlando, Florida who supposedly was connected with the Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev.  The Orlando Sentinel reports, FBI officials have confirmed that a man died while one of its agents was “conducting official duties.” WESH is reporting special agent was interviewing the suspect regarding his connections to bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev and other extremists. The shooting happened overnight in the Windhover apartment complex off Peregrine Avenue near Kirkman and Vineland roads.

Orange County Jail – Ibragim Todashev

A man who was shot dead by an FBI agent late Tuesday night in Orlando knew one of the suspects in the Boston Marathon bombings, a man identified as friend of the victim said Wednesday.

The agent encountered the man while conducting official duties, agent Dave Couvertier said in a statement.

A man at the scene on Peregrine Avenue near Kirkman and Vineland roads who identified himself as a friend of the victim said the man knew Tamerlan Tsarnaev, the older brother suspected in the April 15 bombings that killed three and injured more than 260.

Khusen Taramov said he and his friend had no connection with the Boston bombings, but the FBI had been questioning them since then.

“He used to talk on the phone with him [Tsarnaev],” Taramov said of his friend. “They talked last time a month ago. After the bombing, I couldn’t believe it,” he said.

VIDEO – The Washington Free Beacon

NICOLE PESECKY : I’m Nicole Pesecky live in Orlando following breaking news in an FBI related shooting that happened here at this apartment complex early this morning. We do just have new information from the FBI. Confirming that the suspect killed here was someone they were looking at in connection with Tamerlan Tsarnaev, based on contact that they, that he had. They say it is possible that when he tried to leave to go back home from Chechnya, which is where his friends say he is from. He possibly found himself on the no-fly list and had to return home, and he may have been angry because of that. His friends tell me that flight was booked for yesterday and he did cancel that flight and wasn’t able to return home to Chechnya to visit yesterday. (more)

Orlando Sentinel: Friend: Orlando man killed by FBI agent was questioned in Boston Marathon bombings.

That man, Khusn Taramiv, thinks it was his friend — Ibragim Todashev — who was shot this morning in the 6000 block of Peregrine Avenue in Orlando.

Todashev, 27, was arrested by the Orange County Sheriff’s Office on May 4 and charged with aggravated battery with great bodily harm

Taramiv told several television outlets his friend was being investigated as part of the Boston bombings and knew bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev because both were mixed martial-arts fighters.

WESH: Orlando man killed by FBI had ties to Boston Marathon bombing suspect, NBC News confirms: Man knew Boston bombing suspect, friend says.

A friend of the suspect, Khusn Taramiv, said his friend, 27-year-old Ibragim Todashev, was being investigated as part of the Boston bombings and knew Tsarnaev because both were MMA fighters.

Taramiv claims he and Todashev were interviewed by the FBI for nearly three hours on Tuesday.

“(The FBI) took me and my friend, the suspect that got killed. They were talking to us, both of us, right? And they said they need him for a little more, for a couple more hours, and I left, and they told me they’re going to bring him back. They never brought him back,” Taramiv said.

CBS News:

Miller reported that FBI agents went to Todashev’s apartment complex after midnight Wednesday morning to question him. Todashev had been on the bureau’s radar since Tsarnaev was identified as a suspect in the bombing.

“He had been interviewed along with a number of other people in the apartment complex, but the interest in him was higher because of a couple of factors: He was in contact with Tamerlan Tsarnaev. He had been to Boston to visit him, and he was planning a trip to Chechnya,” Miller said.

FBI agents went to question him overnight after there were indications that he canceled that trip, Miller said.

“In the encounter in the apartment, something went wrong,” Miller said.