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We wrote about a recent burglary in Des Moines in which a Des Moines store owner arrived at his business, only to find Amund Benjamin Haarstad in the process of relieving him of some of his inventory. The store owner shot and killed Haarstad. Now, as happens so often these situations . . . Family members of a man slain in an apparent burglary attempt said he never should have been shot and killed, admitting wrongdoing by both parties involved. The fatal shooting happened just after 7:15 a.m. Wednesday at Kraft Imports and 5 Star Muffler in the 1400...

So Raging Bull is now raging around like some old sinewy chicken on a free range because he is set out to pasture and doesn't like it. What does he do? Does he say, "Strong like BULL!"? No. If anything he says, "Strong like CHICKEN!" And he raises his stringy arms like he is lifting air weights. I think Raging Bull lost his mind and manliness in that House of the Thespian Arts. He is called to lend support for a cowardly fairy tale. The world is not the stage where you can see unicorns and Messiahs fly around. He...

Tom Petty's Autopsy: Singer Died From Massive Accidental Drug Overdose Tom Petty's autopsy results are in, and they show the singer died from an accidental drug overdose as a result of taking a variety of medications. The L.A. County Coroner says a number of Tom's organs failed due to "mixed drug toxicity." Tom's autopsy report shows the singer was on several pain meds, including Fentanyl patches, oxycodone (Oxycontin), temazepam (Restoril), alprazolam (Xanax), citalopram (Celexa), acetyl fentanyl and despropionyl fentanyl. The reason doctors prescribed the meds was because of a number of medical problems, including emphysema, knee problems and a fractured...

When my mother struggled with cancer, her appetite dropped to nothing. In my state, medical marijuana is legal, so the doctor prescribed it to help her appetite. To say it worked would be an understatement. Within a couple of days she was eating normal amounts and felt hunger for the first time in a week. With the drug, she was able to maintain her weight and strength. She stayed with me during her treatment but went home to dad some as well. On one of her trips home to dad, she ran out of the medical marijuana and went to...

New York Police officers arrested four men Tuesday night on suspicion of having a connection to drugs. Police acted after receiving a tip that the four had sold heroin to actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, who was found dead from an overdose of the drug on February 2. Drug dealers are far from my favorite people, and the arrests are welcome, but no drug dealer killed Philip Hoffman. Only one person is, ultimately, responsible for his death: Philip Seymour Hoffman, himself. Mr. Hoffman was the one who procured the drug, injected the drug and kept injecting the drug. Mr. Hoffman was...

The son of Colorado Sen. Mark Udall was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of breaking into cars and possessing heroin, according to a local news report.According to authorities cited by the Boulder, Colo., newspaper The Daily Camera, 26-year-old Jed Udall allegedly broke into three cars. He was found with heroin in his pocket, a local sheriff told the paper. He was booked into jail and later released.Mark Udall, a Democrat, is up for reelection this year. Republicans hope to find a competitive challenger among the several entrants in the primary field, but, so far, Udall appears to be in a strong...

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — An Agoura Hills family is raising awareness about the dangers of heroin addiction among teens. The Isaac family is opening up about the drug that brought their 19-year-old son’s life to an end on Aug. 21, when he was found dead from a drug overdose. “The face of heroin has changed,” Rick Isaac told CBS2′s Serene Branson when recalling his late son, Josh. The Agoura Hills High School graduate grew up in a loving home, involved in baseball, basketball, soccer and skateboarding. Rick and Joyce Isaac now say they’ve learned a painful truth — heroin doesn’t...

Los Angeles (CNN) -- Conrad Murray was sentenced Tuesday to four years behind bars in the death of Michael Jackson. Murray was convicted three weeks ago after a trial in which prosecutors successfully argued that Murray's reckless use of the surgical anesthetic propofol to help Jackson sleep, without proper monitoring equipment, led to the singer's death.

The father of shot American congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords has said that her political stance made her many enemies. Miss Giffords, a Democrat congresswoman, was shot in the head during a public meeting in Tucson, Arizona. A lone gunman, described by witnesses as being a white man in his late teens or early twenties, fired into a crowd gathered for a "Congress in your Corner" event outside a supermarket. Her father Spencer Giffords, 75, wept when asked if his 40-year-old daughter had any enemies. "Yeah," he told The New York Post. "The whole tea party." Miss Giffords had been named in...

harlie Sheen has run into a spot of trouble during a recent family holiday to the Big Apple. Sheen has been accused of causing $7,000 in damages at the Plaza Hotel. His paid female companion says Sheen went into a rage after discovering his mobile-phone and wallet missing. There are also allegations of drug and alcohol abuse. Sheen's publicist, however, says Sheen had an allergic reaction to medicine.

Sheriff Larry Dever of Cochise County, Ariz., which sits on the U.S.-Mexico border, says if President Barack Obama were to come and visit that county he would like to take him to visit the grave of rancher Robert Krentz who was shot and killed on his own property in March by an attacker who fled south on foot into Mexico. The attacker shot both Krentz and his dog after Krentz had radioed his brother to tell him he saw an immigrant who appeared to be in trouble and that his brother should notify the Border Patrol.

The abject failure of the Obama administration is painfully obvious. Herman Cain described the situation: Millions of voters have come to realize that this presidency lacks leadership, direction, decisiveness, economic urgency and, most of all, solutions. This combination of deficiencies has produced a more than uninspired citizenry, except for the most loyal and misled supporters of the president. While many recognize the failure, few are aware of the potential dangers ahead

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama has reopened a long-running feud with Fox News Channel, branding the conservative U.S. cable network as "ultimately destructive for the long-term growth" of the United States. In an interview published Tuesday by Rolling Stone magazine, Obama took specific aim at Fox's Australian-born chairman and chief executive, accusing Rupert Murdoch of being more concerned about generating profits than promoting an agenda to improve America's well-being. The U.S. president likened Murdoch to William Randolph Hearst, the newspaper baron whose sensational publications produced the term 'yellow' journalism in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Those who read this space know I am not a fan of the Republicans’ vaunted “Pledge to America.” I’m for simple pledges, the kind that get back to basics. If the Republican party is interested in making a pledge like that — a pledge that will resonate with the vast majority of the American people — here’s a suggestion: Promise an unwavering commitment to the principle of equal protection of the law for every American citizen. Promise, therefore, that Congress will investigate weighty allegations that the Obama Justice Department is engaged in racist law-enforcement practices. Promise, moreover, that any executive-branch...

The Talk Shows Sunday, September 26th, 2010 Guests to be interviewed today on major television talk shows: FOX NEWS SUNDAY (Fox Network): Reps. Steny Hoyer, D-Md.; John Boehner, R-Ohio; and Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.MEET THE PRESS (NBC): Education Secretary Arne Duncan; Michelle Rhee, schools chancellor for the District of Columbia; Randi Weingarten, president, American Federation of Teachers; Robert Bobb, emergency financial manager, Detroit public schools.FACE THE NATION (CBS): Marco Rubio, Republican nominee for Senate in Florida; Ken Buck, Republican nominee for Senate in Colorado; Sal Russo, chief strategist, Tea Party Express.THIS WEEK (ABC): Presidential adviser David Axelrod; Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.;...

A senior administration official who read the book says "the President comes across in the review and throughout the decision-making process as a Commander in Chief who is analytical, strategic, and decisive, with a broad view of history, national security, and his role." The official says of the descriptions of the infighting in the book that "the debates in the book are well known because the policy review process was covered so exhaustively." White House officials are still matching New York Times excerpts with anecdotes in the book but one says not all the quoting is fair, especially Vice President...

Yesterday at the White House, Paul McCartney received the Library of Congress Gershwin Award for Popular Music and performed in the East Room. During his acceptance speech, Mr. McCartney managed to throw in a dig and slander former president George W. Bush. McCartney stated, "After the last eight years, it's great to have a president who knows what a library is." Who is this foreign reprobate to come to our country and slander one of our ex-presidents! This act is the height of arrogance and disrespect. It is quite remarkable that Mr. McCartney was surrounded by the Music Industry’s finest...

Some key dates in Patrick Kennedy's life July 14, 1967 – Born in Brighton. 1986 -- As a senior at Phillips Academy in Massachusetts, checks into the Spofford Hall drug and alcohol treatment facility in New Hampshire. 1988 – Elected to the Rhode Island House while still a college student. 1991 – Awarded B.A., Providence College. 1991 – Testifies in the Palm Beach, Fla., rape trial of his cousin, William Kennedy Smith. Smith was later acquitted. 1994 – Elected as US Representative for Rhode Island's First District. November 1998 -- Named chairman of the Democratic Congresssional Campaign Committee. March 2000...

Even on a gray day in Paris last week, there was one place you could find a crowd of tourists from places as varied as Rome, Tokyo and Orlando, Florida — gathered at the Pere Lachaise cemetery, around the graveside of Jim Morrison. Forget Chopin, Oscar Wilde, and the hundreds of other luminaries interred among its chestnut trees, the frontman of The Doors has long been the cemetery's headline draw. Part of the attraction is the almost mystical magnetism he exuded in life; part is the macabre mystery of his demise: How did one of the legends of the rock...

Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy said yesterday that he is entering treatment for an addiction to prescription medications, an announcement that comes as police continue their investigation into a car crash involving the congressman near the Capitol. Calling his addiction a "chronic disease," Kennedy said he does not even recall the accident, which occurred early Thursday and raised questions about his behavior and how U.S. Capitol Police deal with members of Congress. The congressman's office has said Kennedy (D-R.I.) was disoriented behind the wheel because he had taken prescription medication to calm stomach inflammation and to help him sleep. No one...