KTRS News
POLICE VOW TO SOLVE SHOOTINGS OF 19 IN NEW ORLEANS
Monday, 13 May 2013 11:21 Published in National NewsThe grainy surveillance video shows a crowd suddenly scattering in all directions, with some falling to the ground. They appear to be running from a man who turns and runs out of the picture. The person is wearing a white T-shirt and dark pants. The image isn't clear, but police say they hope someone will recognize him and notify investigators.
Police posted a series of still images from the video on YouTube.
Police believe more than one gun was fired in the burst of Sunday afternoon violence — the latest to flare up around a celebration this year — and they have vowed to swiftly track down those responsible. Detectives were conducting interviews, collecting any surveillance video they could find and gathering evidence from the scene. Cellphone video taken in the aftermath of the shooting shows victims lying on the ground, blood on the pavement and others bending over to comfort them.
Police also say the reward for information leading to arrests and indictments in the case is $10,000.
At least three of the victims were seriously wounded. Of the rest, many were grazed and authorities said that, overall, most wounds were not life threatening. No deaths were reported.
The victims included 10 men, seven women, a boy and a girl. The children, both 10 years old, were grazed and in good condition.
It's not the first time gunfire has shattered a festive mood in the city this year. Five people were wounded in January after a Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade, and four were wounded in a shooting in the French Quarter in the days leading up to Mardi Gras. Two teens were arrested in connection with the MLK shootings; three men were arrested and charged in the Mardi Gras shootings.
"The specialness of the day doesn't appear to interrupt the relentless drumbeat of violence," Mayor Mitch Landrieu said at a news conference outside a hospital where victims were being treated Sunday night.
Mary Beth Romig, a spokeswoman for the FBI in New Orleans, characterized the shooting as street violence.
As many as 400 people came out for the second-line procession — a boisterous New Orleans tradition — though only half that many were in the immediate vicinity of the shooting, Police Superintendent Ronal Serpas said. Officers were interspersed with the marchers, which is routine for such events.
Second-line parades are loose processions in which people dance down the street, often following behind a brass band. They can be planned events or impromptu offshoots of other celebrations. They trace their origins to the city's famous jazz funerals.
Police saw three suspects running from the scene. No arrests had been made as of late Sunday.
Outside the hospital Sunday night, Leonard Temple became teary as he talked about a friend who was in surgery after being shot three times during the parade. Temple was told the man was hit while trying to push his own daughter out of the way.
"People were just hanging out. We were just chilling. And this happened. Bad things always happen to good people," said Temple, who was at the parade but didn't see the shootings.
A social club called The Original Big 7 organized Sunday's event. The group was founded in 1996 at the Saint Bernard housing projects, according to its MySpace page.
The neighborhood where the shooting happened is a mix of low-income and middle-class row houses, some boarded up. As of last year, the 7th Ward's population was about 60 percent of its pre-Hurricane Katrina level.
The crime scene was about 1.5 miles from the heart of the French Quarter and near the Treme neighborhood, which has been the centerpiece for the HBO TV series "Treme."
Sunday's violence comes at a time when the city is struggling to pay for tens of millions of dollars required under federal consent decrees to reform the police department and the city jail. The mayor initially backed the police reform agreement and had sought a comprehensive civil rights investigation of the department when he took office in 2010. However, he is trying to put the brakes on the reform plans. In January, he said the city can't afford to spend millions required under the police reform agreement and the jail agreement reached separately between the Justice Department and Sheriff Marlin Gusman, who runs the city-funded jail.
The agreement to reform the police department came after a scathing Justice Department report in 2011 said the city's officers have often used deadly force without justification, made unconstitutional arrests and engaged in racial profiling. A series of criminal investigations focused on a string of police shootings in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
Shootings at parades and neighborhood celebrations have become more common in recent years as the city has struggled with street crime, sometimes gang-related.
But police vowed to solve Sunday's shooting. Serpas said it wasn't clear if particular people in the second line were targeted, or if the shots were fired at random.
"We'll get them. We have good resources in this neighborhood," Serpas said.
___ Contributing to this report were Associated Press writers Michael Kunzelman and Kevin McGill in New Orleans and AP Radio reporter Jackie Quinn in Washington.
"If our committee is truly interested in improving the security of American diplomatic personnel overseas, members of our committee and the American public should hear first-hand from the individuals who have done the most exhaustive review of these attacks," Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland wrote in a letter to Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., the panel's chairman.
In a Sunday talk show appearance, Issa said he would seek sworn testimony from veteran diplomat Thomas Pickering and retired Adm. Mike Mullen, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The two conducted an independent investigation of the Sept. 11 attack that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans.
Their report was highly critical of the State Department's handling of at the U.S. outpost. Pickering, who also appeared on the Sunday shows, defended his scathing assessment but absolved former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton.
"We knew where the responsibility rested," said Pickering, whose career working for Republican and Democratic administrations, spans four decades.
Issa said he wants to know with whom the pair spoke to reach their conclusions about Clinton. Cummings suggested that they testify in public before the committee on May 22.
"This is a failure, it needs to be investigated. Our committee can investigate. Now, Ambassador Pickering, his people and he refused to come before our committee," Issa said Sunday.
Pickering, sitting next to Issa during an appearance on one Sunday show, disputed the chairman's account and said that he was willing to testify before the committee.
"That is not true," said the former top diplomat, referring to Issa's claim that he refused to appear before the committee.
In a separate interview, Pickering said he asked, via the White House, to appear at last Wednesday's hearing by the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in which three State Department officials testified. He said he could have answered many of the questions lawmakers raised, such as whether U.S. military forces could have saved Americans had they dispatched F-16 jet fighters to the consulate, some 1,600 miles away from the nearest likely launching point.
"Mike Mullen, who was part of this report and indeed worked very closely with all of us and shared many of the responsibilities directly with me, made it very clear that his view as a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff that there were nothing within range that could have made a difference," Pickering said.
Republicans and Gregory Hicks, the former deputy chief of mission in Libya, have questioned why the military couldn't move faster to stop the two nighttime attacks over several hours. Hicks, who testified before the House Oversight panel, said a show of U.S. military force might have prevented the second attack on the CIA annex that killed security officers Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty.
Robert Gates, a former Defense secretary, defended the decisions made at the time, saying: "I think my decisions would have been just as theirs were," adding "getting somebody there in a timely way — would have been very difficult, if not impossible."
The Accountability Review Board, which Pickering headed with Mullen, did not question Clinton at length about the attacks but concluded last December that the decisions about the consulate were made well below the secretary's level.
In her last formal testimony as secretary of State, Clinton appeared before two congressional committees investigating the Benghazi attacks. She took responsibility for the department's missteps and failures leading up to the assault, but said that requests for more security at the diplomatic mission in Benghazi didn't reach her desk.
Pickering and Mullen's blistering report found that "systematic failures and leadership and management deficiencies at senior levels" of the State Department meant that security was "inadequate for Benghazi and grossly inadequate to deal with the attack that took place."
Issa spoke on NBC's "Meet the Press." Pickering spoke on CNN's "State of the Union," CBS' "Face the Nation" and NBC. Gates appeared on CBS.
HUGE DRUG COST DISPARITIES SEEN IN HEALTH OVERHAUL
Monday, 13 May 2013 11:14 Published in Health & FitnessWhere you live could make a huge difference in what you'll pay.
To try to keep premiums low, some states are allowing insurers to charge patients a hefty share of the cost for expensive medications used to treat cancer, multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis and other life-altering chronic diseases.
Such "specialty drugs" can cost thousands of dollars a month, and in California, patients would pay up to 30 percent of the cost. For one widely used cancer drug, Gleevec, the patient could pay more than $2,000 for a month's supply, says the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.
New York is taking a different approach, setting flat dollar copayments for medications. The highest is $70, and it would apply to specialty drugs as well.
Critics fear most states will follow California's lead, and that could defeat the purpose of Obama's overhaul, because some of the sickest patients may be unable to afford their prescriptions.
"It's important that the benefit design not discriminate against people with chronic illness, and high copays do that," said Dan Mendelson, president of Avalere Health, a data analysis firm catering to the health care industry and government.
Avalere's research shows that 1 in 4 cancer patients walks away from the pharmacy counter empty-handed when facing a copay of $500 or more for a newly prescribed drug.
"You have to worry about a world where if you happen to contract cancer or multiple sclerosis, you are stuck with a really big bill," Mendelson said. "It's going to be very important for states to take a long, hard look at their benefit design."
Although the money for covering uninsured Americans is coming from Washington, the heath care law gives states broad leeway to tailor benefits, and the local approach can also allow disparities to emerge.
A spokesman for Covered California said state officials are trying to balance between two conflicting priorities: comprehensive coverage and affordable premiums.
"We are trying to keep the insurance affordable across the board," said Dana Howard, the group's spokesman. "This is just part of trying to manage the overall risk of the pool." Covered California is one of the new state marketplaces where people who don't get coverage on the job will be able to shop for private insurance starting this fall. Coverage takes effect Jan. 1.
Insurers are forecasting double-digit premium increases for individual policies, as people with health problems flock to buy coverage previously denied them. The Obama administration says the industry warnings are overblown, and that for many consumers, premium increases will be offset by tax credits to help buy insurance. And officials say it's important to realize that the law sets overall limits on patients' liability, even if those seem high to some people. Still, a full picture of costs and benefits isn't likely to come into focus until the fall.
Howard said California officials are aware of the concerns about drug costs and are trying to make medications more affordable.
Meanwhile, he said consumers will be protected because the law limits total out-of-pocket costs - the deductibles and copayments that policy holders are responsible for, apart from monthly premiums. In California, the annual out-of-pocket limit for an individual is $6,400, although it can be as low as $2,250 for low-income people. Once that limit is reached, insurance pays 100 percent.
That's still a lot of money, and such reassurances haven't dispelled the concerns.
"The intent of the Affordable Care Act is to make sure that all Americans have access to quality, affordable health care," said Brian Rosen, a senior vice president of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society. He adds that there is a danger that the insurance marketplaces "will discriminate against the patients with the highest medical need. That would completely undermine the spirit of the ACA."
The group has been joined by Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Calif., in urging state officials to reconsider the policy. The high copays "could prevent many patients from receiving the lifesaving treatments they need because of prohibitively high cost," Matsui wrote to the state.
The problem with costly drugs is similar to another money issue with the health care law - a provision that could price millions of smokers out of coverage. Insurers are allowed to charge tobacco users buying an individual policy up to 50 percent higher premiums. For a 55-year-old smoker, the penalty could reach nearly $4,250 a year, on top of the standard premium. California is trying to override that problem by passing its own law. There's also pending state legislation to address some issues with prescription costs, but its prospects are unclear.
Meanwhile, leukemia patient Lisa Lusk worries about what will happen to her. A nursing assistant who lives near Fresno, Lusk is hoping to return to work in the next few months. When that happens, she expects to lose emergency coverage she's now getting through the state. And the medication Lusk takes to manage her chronic form of the disease costs more than $5,000 a month.
"I'm scared that when I get a job my copay may be more than $1,500 a month," said Lusk. "I'll just be working to pay for my medications."
© 2013 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED. Learn more about our PRIVACY POLICY and TERMS OF USE.
Latest News
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8

Illinois to create state-run health care exchange
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - The Illinois Senate has approved a measure that would create a state-governed "insurance exchange" so individuals and small businesses can shop for health ...

IL lawmakers approved ban on using cell phones while dr…
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP) - The Illinois Senate has approved a plan that would ban the use of cell phones while driving. Senators voted 34-20 Thursday, sending the bill to Gov. Pat Q...

Police release photo of gas station robbery suspect
Police are asking for help to find the suspects who robbed a Cahokia gas station overnight. The Midwest Petroleum convenience store was robbed around 2:30 AM. Three suspects smash...
Attorney says pot penalties being misapplied in Columbi…
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - A Columbia lawyer says a local ordinance that treats marijuana possession as a municipal violation isn't being followed by Boone County sheriff's deputies patr...

Police arrest man for shooting into South St. Louis hom…
A suspect is in custody after allegedly shooting into a South St. Louis home. Police were on the scene when they saw the suspect fire several shots into a home near the intersecti...

AP: Man driving van during fatal wreck had suspended li…
ST. LOUIS (AP) - Public records show a New Jersey man behind the wheel of a van that overturned on an Illinois freeway, killing five passengers, had his driving privileges suspende...

Two carnival workers involved in fight
TROY, Mo. (AP) - One carnival worker is badly injured and another in jail following an altercation in eastern Missouri. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that 25-year-old Clint ...

Air force jet clips power lines in western Missouri
WARRENSBURG, Mo. (AP) - A low-flying military jet from a western Missouri Air Force base clipped several power lines, but officials said no injuries were reported. The Springfield...