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The mother of a 13-year-old boy fatally shot when police say he tried to rob a couple said she is in shock that her son is dead -- and even more so at the circumstances surrounding his death. "I don't want it put out like he was a bad person or a mean person, because he wasn't," Latonya Walker, 38, said Tuesday. "This is not him, not who he was. Anybody that knew Ja'Quares knows that." Birmingham police said Ja'Quares Cortez Walker was in a car that pulled into the parking lot of the gated Skyview Condominiums at 407 Skyview...

BIRMINGHAM - AL - Family and friends are in mourning, the funeral service was held at Living Stone Temple church, community members tell me they're not too happy that no arrests have been made. During the service, Walkers family was overcome with emotion during the ceremony and had to step outside. Many mourners wore red, black and white t-shirts with walker's picture saying "In loving memory of Tez". Dr. Al B. Sutton Jr. led a sermon preaching out the book of mark and had a direct message to young adults as well as the parents in the building. "Our son's,...

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- Shortly after holding a press conference this afternoon to say that authorities are not giving her the information she deserves about the shooting death of her 13-year-old son, Latonya Walker met with Jefferson County District Attorney Brandon Falls. Falls said Walker had not contacted him before she and community activist Frank Matthews held today's press conference. Falls said he met with her and Matthews today for 45 minutes. Normally, Falls said, the DA's office will not contact family members after a decision made not to file charges in a case. They never meet with family's of defendants...

Birmingham's Southern Museum of Flight gets Soviet helicopter (slideshow, video) BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- The hull of one of the most feared helicopters in history arrived at the Southern Museum of Flight Tuesday, riding on the back of a trailer 186 miles from the Fort Rucker U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence. It was a camouflage-painted, Mi-24 Hind. The Hind was a flying gunship that became the iconic image of the Soviet Union's war in Afghanistan in the 1980s. It was also a metaphor for the unequal struggle between an advanced technology super-power and a lightly armed guerrilla force on the...

MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- A Birmingham abortion clinic has agreed to relinquish its license by May 18 after an Alabama Department of Public Health investigation found violations of state rules. State health officials said Friday the New Woman All Women Health Care Clinic in Birmingham voluntarily agreed to close. The clinic was found in a more than 70-page report to have violated numerous rules, including making errors in delivering medication to patients and failing to ensure that staff was properly trained to provide safe patient care.

NOTE The following text is a quote: www.west-midlands.police.uk/latest-news/press-release.asp?id=2915 Birmingham man sentenced to three years for terrorism offences 12 December 2011 Updated: 13 December 2011 A bookshop owner from Birmingham has been sentenced to three years in prison for possessing and distributing terrorist publications, following a nine-week trial at Kingston Crown Court. A jury yesterday (Monday 12) found the 32-year-old Ahmed Faraz guilty of seven counts of dissemination of terrorist publications and four counts of possession of information likely to be of use to a person committing or preparing for an act of terrorism. Seven other similar charges will lie on...

Four men from Birmingham have been charged with terrorism offences and will appear in a London court. Khobaib Hussain, Ishaaq Hussain and Shahid Kasam Khan, all 19, and Naweed Mahmood Ali, 24, were last night charged with fundraising for terrorist purposes and of travelling to Pakistan for terrorist training. They were arrested at their homes in the Sparkhill area of Birmingham by officers from the West Midlands Counter Terrorism Unit on Tuesday.

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The Jefferson County Commission has just voted 4-1 to file an estimated $4.1 billion bankruptcy, the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history. The commission's action came after it spent approximately six hours over two days meeting with its lawyers to discuss legal options, including a Chapter 9 bankruptcy filing and a settlement with creditors on the county's $3.14 billion sewer debt. Commissioner Jimmie Stephens made the motion to file bankruptcy, which was seconded by Commissioner Sandra Little Brown. " "It is time to resolve this once and for all," Stephens said. Another factor in the decision appears...

SNIPPET: "A seventh man, aged 20, was arrested on Thursday and continues to be questioned." SNIPPET: "Irfan Nasser, 30, from Sparkhill, and Irfan Khalid, 26, from Sparkbrook, are accused of travelling to Pakistan for terrorism training, including bomb making, and weapons and poison making; as well making a martyrdom video and planning a bombing campaign. Ashik Ali, 26, from Balsall Heath, and Rahi Ahmed, 25, from Moseley, face charges related to planning a bombing campaign in the UK, including constructing a home-made explosive device for terrorist acts and stating an intention to be suicide bombers. Two other suspects - Bahader...

British police arrested a group of suspected Islamic extremists on Monday in one of the most significant counter-terror operations of the year.

The dog's owner said he has no idea why police officers thought it was necessary to gun down his Labrador mix. Terry Boyle, of Birmingham, said four police officers shot and killed his 5-year-old dog, Buddy, Saturday night. Boyle said he rushed home to hear the horrifying news from neighbors who said they witnessed police officers shoot his dog four times. "From what I have been told he was not aggressive at all and he tried to get away from officers when all four approached him at the same time," said Boyle. According to police reports, officers have responded to...

(And you wonder why Britain is in trouble ....) After just one day of classes at her summer school of choice, Emily Birkenshaw had already learned a crucial lesson: how to "go floppy" when facing arrest. "You're heavier then, so you can't be carried," she said, with the genuine delight of a new recruit. The 24-year-old been practising by linking arms with her classmates and singing loudly at a pretend policeman. "It just felt really empowering," she said. "If that happened [in real life] – and I hope it wouldn't – I'd know how to do it without getting hurt."...

16,000 police to retake London: PM recalls Parliament as the police lose control of Britain's streets --Prime Minister David Cameron recalls Parliament on Thursday as Government tries to quell uprising --'Unprecedented' 16,000 police on duty in London - compared with just 6,000 last night --Man, 26, shot in Croydon last night dies in hospital England game against Netherlands at Wembley tomorrow called OFF --400% surge in 999 calls on night of violence with 20,800 dialling the emergency services in London --Cost of clean-up expected to run into 'tens of millions' --Metropolitan Police use armoured vehicles to push back 150 rioters...

In her book "Rising Road: A True Tale of Love, Race and Religion in America," Ohio State University law professor Sharon Davies digs deep into the 1921 slaying of a Catholic priest in Birmingham. The Rev. James E. Coyle, who had been pastor of St. Paul's Cathedral since 1904, was shot to death on the porch of the wood-frame rectory, the priest's house next to the cathedral, on Aug. 11, 1921. "There are so many things about this story that are really compelling," Davies said. She said she stumbled across the case while doing research for a law journal article....

EWTN Live - hosted by Fr. Mitch Pacwa with Professor Sharon Davies, author of "Rising Road, A True Tale of Love, Race, and Religion in America," 7-20-2011

Birmingham Delays Bankruptcy MoveJefferson County Commissioners cancel afternoon meeting to consider filing for bankruptcy. by Associated Press Last Updated: Thu, July 28, 2011 - 1:21 pm CST BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Leaders of Alabama's largest county have cancelled a meeting on filing a record-breaking bankruptcy to allow more time to consider a settlement offer from lenders. Jefferson County commission officials said the commission's Thursday afternoon meeting was cancelled. The move came after Wall Street lenders responded to the county's latest offer to settle more than $3 billion in debts left by bad sewer bonds. Commissioner Jimmie Stephens said the creditors' response...

If it had been a scene in “Atlas Shrugged,” the guy would have disappeared into the secrecy of Colorado with a shadowy figure who we would later learn to be John Galt. In real life, the story will probably be more complex. But I wonder how long it’s going to be before businesspeople really do start walking away and deciding it’s not worth doing business in America today. Or it it already happening and we just don’t know it? The man you see in the picture at the right is named Ronnie Bryant. He operates coal mines in Alabama. I’d...

In the early 1900s, many Americans — from ordinary citizens to those in high office — were frightened by the perceived threat from the Roman Catholic Church. Their fear had tragic consequences.The mind-set is all too familiar: A radical religious group, lurking inside the country, owing loyalty to a foreign power, threatens America. No one denies that its members have a right to worship as they please, but good Americans, patriots, feel compelled to call for curbs against the menace they present. Because of the number of Americans sharing these fears, calls for restrictions on the religion are voiced openly...

The planned new grave for a Catholic priest killed 85 years ago in downtown Birmingham has been dug next to St. Paul's Cathedral. The Rev. James E. Coyle, who became pastor of St. Paul's Cathedral in 1904, was shot to death on the porch of the rectory, the priest's house, on Aug. 11, 1921. He is buried at Elmwood Cemetery. The Rev. Richard Donohoe, current pastor of the cathedral, plans to seek Vatican approval for moving Coyle's remains. "It would make his grave more visible and accessible to the people, for reflection on his cause for being declared a martyr...

A scruffy Alabama terrier mix named Mason was whisked away by fierce twisters last month, prompting his owners, who lost their home in the storm, to fear the worst. But the redoubtable mutt apparently crawled back to his home days later with two broken legs in a remarkable tale of survival. Local news outlet WBRC reports that Mason was blown away by the storm from the garage in Birmingham where he was hiding on April 27. His owners looked for him everywhere but couldn't find him. Two and a half weeks later, though, they found Mason waiting for them on...

The Damage reports suggest this is an EF5 Tornado! Extensive Damage has been reported in Western and Northern Birmingham, Alabama! Buildings have been leveled! This Tornado was over one mile wide! This same Tornado caused Extensive damage in Tuscaloosa, Alabama also!

<p>If you want to know what life in the Third World is like, just ask Lisa Pack, an administrative assistant who works in the roads and transportation department in Jefferson County, Alabama. Pack got rudely introduced to life in post-crisis America last August, when word came down that she and 1,000 of her fellow public employees would have to take a little unpaid vacation for a while. The county, it turned out, was more than $5 billion in debt — meaning that courthouses, jails and sheriff's precincts had to be closed so that Wall Street banks could be paid.</p>

White children are set to become a 'minority group' in Birmingham, a census is expected to show.A study by the University of Manchester has predicted that more than half of children in Birmingham will be from black and Asian communities when the census is carried out at the end of March.In 2006, 53 per cent of children under 16 were from white families and this figure is expected to drop substantially to 47 per cent when the census is carried out in two months' time. (edit) The study suggests one reason for the reduction of white families is movement out...

LONDON -- British police say at least two people have been hurt in an "incident" involving a plane at Birmingham Airport in central England.

BREAKING: 2 UPS Planes Isolated At Philadelphia International Airport October 29, 2010 9:56 AM From Jessica McWilliams PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Authorities have isolated two cargo planes are Philadelphia International Airport following a report of a suspicious package. Local and federal authorities are investigating a suspicious package aboard a cargo plane that landed at Philadelphia International Airport at about 9 a.m. Friday. A second UPS plane was isolated near the UPS terminal before take off. Authorities say a crew member aboard an inbound UPS plane from Paris, France notified authorities on approach about a suspicious package. The crew member described a...

Police will soon be allowed to return to the days when they could stop and search people on the basis of their ethnic background. Last night the news threatened to ignite a huge row between the Government and civil liberties groups. So-called ‘Sus laws’ were scrapped in the 1980s after the alleged targeting of black people by police led to race riots in London, Birmingham and Liverpool.

The Birmingham Oratory People often ask why John Henry Newman founded an Oratory. Why didn’t he become an ordinary parish priest or join a religious order like the Jesuits? Like many questions, it has more than one answer.Heart Speaks to Heart – A Vocation to Friendship Newman’s journey into the Catholic Church was not a solitary one. As an Anglican clergyman and as a University teacher at Oxford, he made many friends and influenced lots of people. Some of these wanted to remain close to him and to work with him. While they were still in the Church of England,...

St. Mary's College, Oscott Introduction St Mary’s College, Oscott is the seminary of the Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham, an area which covers the counties of the West Midlands, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire and Oxfordshire. The word ‘seminary’ comes from the Latin, ‘seminarium’ meaning a seedbed, and has been used since the sixteenth century to describe a college for the formation and training of Catholic priests. Historical Background As a result of the Reformation of the sixteenth century, Catholicism effectively went ‘underground’; if it was to survive, priests would be essential, and for two hundred years, English Catholic priests were trained in...

Cardinal Newman and Oscott College Newman and Oscott College John Henry Newman made his first visit to Oscott College within days of his reception into full communion with the Catholic Church in 1845. He, along with several companions from Littlemore, received the Sacrament of Confirmation from Bishop Nicholas Wiseman in the College chapel on the 1st of November that year. Wiseman, then Rector of Oscott, welcomed Newman and the other converts from the Church of England warmly, having been eagerly anticipating their reception into the Catholic Church. He offered the old Oscott College to Newman and his companions as a...

ABC reports: Two men taken off a Chicago-to-Amsterdam United Airlines flight in the Netherlands have been charged by Dutch police with “preparation of a terrorist attack,” U.S. law enforcement officials tell ABC News. A spokesman for the Dutch public prosecutor, Ernst Koelman, confirmed the two men were arrested this morning and said “the investigation is ongoing.” He said the arrests were made “at the request of American authorities.” The two were allowed to board the flight at O’Hare airport last night despite security concerns surrounding one of them, the officials said. The men were identified as Ahmed Mohamed Nasser al...

BULLETIN -- NEW YORK POLICE AND FBI RAID HOMES IN QUEENS IN TERRORISM INVESTIGATION.6 minutes ago from BNO Headquarters

Plastic Bags To Be Put Over Birmingham 'Terror Cameras' 17 June 2010: A surveillance operation in parts of Birmingham with large Muslim populations has been halted after it was revealed the move was linked to counter terrorism. Bags have now been placed over more than 200 cameras in the Washwood Heath and Sparkbrook districts. They were part of the Project Champion scheme, paid for from a Home Office counter terrorism fund. But officials behind the project said it would have deterred various crimes. Steve Jolly, one of those who first began campaigning about the cameras, said people had been "misled"....

Federal agents trying to build an extortion case against Joran van der Sloot secretly gave him the cash that wound up funding his trip to Peru, where he killed a young woman exactly five years after the disappearance of Natalee Holloway, The Post has learned. Van der Sloot tried to shake down Holloway's mother by offering information about her daughter's 2005 disappearance, and agents decided to set him up with a $25,000 payoff, a source told The Post yesterday. An intermediary acting under the direction of the FBI gave van der Sloot the dough in Aruba on May 10 --...

Larry Langford began serving a 15 year prison sentence near Ashland, Kentucky just before noon, today. Those who know Langford fear he may not survive the full term. "I have come to know him as an individual and its very sad for me to see him going off what may well proved to be a death sentence if he does not win on appeal," says Glennon Threat.

In 1996, the average monthly sewer bill for a family of four in Birmingham was only $14.71 — but that was before the county decided to build an elaborate new sewer system with the help of out-of-state financial wizards with names like Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan Chase. The result was a monstrous pile of borrowed money that the county used to build, in essence, the world's grandest toilet — "the Taj Mahal of sewer-treatment plants" is how one county worker put it. What happened here in Jefferson County would turn out to be the perfect...

Former Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford was sentenced Friday to 15 years in federal prison for taking some $235,000 in bribes in return for lucrative bond work. U.S. District Judge Scott Coogler imposed the sentence on Langford, 63, who told the court, "I am sorry all this has occurred."

TUSCALOOSA, Alabama (Reuters) – Larry Langford, the former mayor of Alabama's largest city, Birmingham, was sentenced on Friday for his role in a high-profile federal case for corruption. Judge Scott Coogler sentenced Langford, a 63-year-old Democrat, to 15 years in prison. Prosecutors had sought a term of at least 24 years after Langford's conviction on an array of fraud and bribery charges last year. "I'm not interested in who I make happy or don't make happy," said Coogler as he pronounced the sentence. In addition to his time behind bars, Langford was sentenced to three years probation, ordered to pay...

HEZBOLLAH says it has regrouped since the 2006 conflict with Israel and is in a stronger position for a new war between Israel and Lebanon. The group's international spokesman, Ibrahim Mousawi..."Hezbollah is stronger now than in 2006. Hezbollah has been training thousands and thousands and thousands of people to defend their country. Hezbollah is ready." The comments followed last weekend's speech by Hezbollah's Lebanon-based chief, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, in which he said the organisation would "change the face of the region" Dr Mousawi, who has a PhD in political science from Birmingham University

Birmingham lawyer Patrick Cooper and Jefferson County Commissioner William Bell will face off again next month in a runoff to decide who will be Birmingham’s next mayor. Voters on Jan. 19 will go to the polls to select one of the two candidates to serve the remaining two years of what was Larry Langford’s term. Langford was removed from office Oct. 28, the same day he was convicted by a federal jury of taking bribes while on the Jefferson County Commission. Cooper, after results Tuesday night showed him with 40.1 percent of the vote, said, “It looks like we’re headed...

SNIPPET: "TERROR mastermind Rashid Rauf has been linked to a fresh Al Qaida plot to launch attacks on the US. The Birmingham-born extremist has been named by witnesses due to testify against Najibullah Zazi, who was arrested for plotting suicide bombings in New York. MI6 officers have linked the plot to a complex terror network said to be directed from Pakistan by Rauf and fellow jihadists. Zazi, 24, was identified through an intercepted communication, and was further implicated by US national Bryant Neal Vinas, who was captured in Pakistan last November. Vinas, 26, allegedly admits meeting Rauf and receiving training...

Note: Notice how AP does not mention Larry Langford is a Democrat!TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (AP) - A federal jury convicted Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford on Wednesday on all charges of accepting bribes in exchange for funneling $7.1 million in bond business to a prominent investment banker. As a convicted felon, Langford was automatically removed from the office he won in a landslide in 2007. Jurors deliberated less than two hours before returning their sweeping verdict on all 60 counts. It came after six days of testimony in which they heard Langford accepted cash and luxury items worth some $236,000 while serving...

Carole Smitherman is now the city's mayor following the conviction of Larry Langford. Smitherman, who had served as the City Council president, will meet with city employees Thursday morning. She's already been in contact with Langford Chief of Staff Deborah Vance-Bowie and also plans to talk to Langford. "I have a very heavy heart right now for the city of Birmingham, our employees and the people of the city of Birmingham," Smitherman said. "My heart goes out to Mayor Langford. History will certainly be kind to him as a progressive mayor who loved this city and its people."

TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA--Larry Langford, Birmingham's mayor and a former Jefferson County commissioner, has been found guilty in his federal bribery trial. Langford was found guilty of taking about $236,000 in cash and gifts from Montgomery investment banker Bill Blount and lobbyist Al LaPierre. Both pleaded guilty in the case and testified they made cash payments to Langford while he was the president of the Jefferson County Commission to ensure business for Blount's investment bank, Blount Parrish & Co.

Since I have lived in Tuscaloosa my whole life, I figured I'd keep my fellow FReeper friends up to date with the Larry Langford bribery trial. Begin Article: TUSCALOOSA | Testimony in the corruption trial of Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford portrayed his personal finances as a disaster area Monday, with scant assets and liabilities of about $650,000, including nearly $240,000 in credit card debt. The testimony came as federal prosecutors neared the end of their case and tried to show Langford had a financial incentive to accept bribes while he was on the Jefferson County Commission, a charge that Langford...

Birmingham’s top Muslim leader urged his followers to “vent their feelings” against anti-Islamic protesters during a weekend rally that ended in violence and dozens of arrests, The Times can reveal. Muslims were encouraged by the Birmingham Central Mosque to counter-demonstrate during Saturday’s protest in the city, which was organised by the right-wing English Defence League (EDL). It is understood that Muslims were encouraged to confront the protest against the advice given by the West Midlands Police to community leaders to stop their followers from attending.

LONDON (AP) - Authorities arrested 90 people after racially charged violence erupted between a group protesting Islamic extremism and counter-demonstrators in the central English city of Birmingham, police said Sunday. The clashes erupted Saturday when a rally by the English Defense League ran into counter-demonstrators including anti-fascists and youths of South Asian descent, West Midlands Police said. About 200 people were involved in the clashes in downtown Birmingham, police said. Television footage showed masked or hooded youths throwing projectiles and running from riot police through the diverse city's downtown area.

THERE were angry clashes in a city centre today as right-wing protesters fought with anti-fascist campaigners in a busy shopping street. A planned demonstration by The English Defence League in central Birmingham descended into violence as the group charged along New Street, close to the city's main train station. One onlooker said: "There were about 250 people in total, fighting and throwing bottles at each other." The disorder spilled onto the adjoining Bennetts Hill, a street lined with a number of pubs, popular with shoppers. Dozens of riot police worked to contain the disturbance and a police helicopter hovered overhead....

There were angry clashes in a city centre today as right-wing protesters fought with anti-fascist campaigners in a busy shopping street. A planned demonstration by The English Defence League in central Birmingham descended into violence as the group charged along New Street, close to the city's main train station. More than twenty men have been arrested. 'There were about 250 people in total, fighting and Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1211414/Anti-fascists-clash-right-wing-protesters-Birmingham.html#ixzz0QFxinqVM

Link only - Health care reform protestors gather - loudly - in Birmingham

Christian pupils are now outnumbered by Muslims at Roman Catholic schools in some parts of England A survey has found 24 Catholic primary schools in the North West and the Midlands teach a minority of churchgoing children. Fewer than one in 10 children are Catholic at one school in Birmingham, while the Church is ending its involvement with a similar establishment in Blackburn. Overall, Catholics make up 73.34 per cent of pupils at the 2,300 schools linked to the denomination across England and Wales. But The Tablet, a weekly Catholic magazine, found that in Oldham, Blackburn, Wolverhampton and Birmingham there...