News of the Real World

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2002 Three-week sniper spree terrorizes the Washington D.C. area until police capture John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo,both later convicted of murder;Justice Department confirms an ongoing investigation of criminal activity in the collapse of energy giant Enron

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BERKELEY, California (AP) -- Winegrowers, ranchers and other members of Napa's farming community are showing their green thumbs and quite a bit more in hopes of raising money to protect the valley's rich agricultural resources.


Winegrowers, ranchers and others show their green thumbs and quite a bit more to raise money to protect Napa Valley's resources.

Members of the Napa County Farm Bureau, all men, have stripped for a 2008 "Napa Uncovered" calendar that shows them strategically photographed in bucolic settings.

The farmers, who are following in the nearly nude footsteps of a number of similar fundraising calendars -- including an effort by French winemakers a few years ago -- are hoping to draw attention to the issue of dwindling farmlands as well as show a lighter side of the Napa scene.

Al Wagner, the vineyard manager for Clos Du Val, appears as Mr. July in a cowboy hat, boots and an apron.

"A couple of the guys had a few little misgivings," Wagner said, "but after it was all done they kind of sat back and laughed about it."

Those in the calendar come from ranching, vineyard management, and wineries.

The calendars, $18 or $36 with autographs, go on sale next month. Bureau officials ordered 2,000 copies for the initial printing and proceeds will go to agricultural preservation, said Sandy Elles, bureau executive director.

Elles applauded the calendar guys' stand for the land.

"They were happy to bare it all and show their commitment to the future of agriculture here in Napa," Elles said.

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Beloved Brandeis University research parrot named Alex dies

Alex helped researchers better understand the avian brain

The parrot could count to six, identify colors and express frustration\






WALTHAM, Massachusetts (AP) -- Alex, a parrot that could count to six, identify colors and even express frustration with repetitive scientific trials, has died after 30 years of helping researchers better understand the avian brain.


Alex could count to six, identify colors and even express frustration with repetitive scientific trials.

The cause of Alex's death was unknown. The African grey parrot's average life span is 50 years, Brandeis University scientist Irene Pepperberg said. Alex was discovered dead in his cage Friday, she said, but she waited to release the news until this week so grieving researchers could get over the shock and talk about it.

"It's devastating to lose an individual you've worked with pretty much every day for 30 years," Pepperberg told The Boston Globe. "Someone was working with him eight to 12 hours every day of his life."

Alex's advanced language and recognition skills revolutionized the understanding of the avian brain. After Pepperberg bought Alex from an animal shop in 1973, the parrot learned enough English to identify 50 objects, seven colors and five shapes. He could count up to six, including zero, was able to express desires, including his frustration with the repetitive research.

He also occasionally instructed two other parrots at the lab to "talk better" if they mumbled, though it wasn't clear whether he was simply mimicking researchers.

Alex hadn't reached his full cognitive potential and was demonstrating the ability to take distinct sounds from words he knew and combine them to form new words, Pepperberg said. Just last month, he pronounced the word "seven" for the first time.

The last time Pepperberg saw Alex was Thursday, she said. They went through their back-and-forth goodnight routine, which always varied slightly and in which she told him it was time to go in the cage.

She recalls the bird said: "You be good. I love you." She responded, "I love you, too." The bird said, "You'll be in tomorrow," and she responded, "Yes, I'll be in tomorrow

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Police: Simpson cooperating in armed robbery probeStory Highlights
NEW: Alleged victim calls incident "a home invasion-type robbery"

Simpson: "I just wanted to get my stuff back"

Police official: "Investigation is very preliminary"

Former NFL star was not arrested



(CNN) -- The victim of an alleged armed robbery at a Las Vegas hotel says former NFL star O.J. Simpson was involved, but police are still investigating and no arrests have been made, a police spokesman said Friday.


Police say O.J. Simpson has been questioned as a possible suspect in a theft at a casino.

A man who said he saw the incident told a reporter Simpson was taking back memorabilia that he said had been stolen from him, and no gun was used.

Simpson, speaking by phone with CNN's Ted Rowlands, also said there were no guns involved, adding, "I just wanted to get my stuff back."

Capt. James Dillon said police received a call about 8 p.m. Thursday from someone who said various sports-related items had been taken from him, and identified one of the people involved as Simpson. Officers found the hall of fame running back at a hotel, and he was being questioned as a possible suspect, Dillon said.

"He is not in custody. He is cooperating with the investigation and is meeting with robbery detectives at this time," the officer told reporters.

"We have a report from the victim that there were weapons involved, but have not recovered any," Dillon added. He called the investigation "very preliminary."

Bruce Fromong, a sports memorabilia collector, was one of the alleged victims. He said "absolutely" two of the men with Simpson had guns and were pointing them at people in the room. Watch memorabilia collector discuss incident »

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Fromong said Simpson was screaming at the people inside the room and pointing at items saying "That's mine, that's mine, that's mine."

He described the incident as "a home invasion-type robbery."

Fromong testified for Simpson in the 1997 wrongful death trial stemming from a lawsuit filed by the family of Ron Goldman, who was killed in 1994 alongside Simpson's ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson. Simpson was acquitted of the slayings in 1995, but the jury in the 1997 trial found him liable and awarded the Goldmans $33.5 million.

Fromong testified that prices for Simpson memorabilia had dropped substantially since the 1995 verdict was announced, part of a defense contention that Simpson could not possibly afford to pay the Goldmans.

Simpson, 60, said he had been told some of his personal items were for sale, things he hadn't seen in years or that had been stolen. Among those, he said, were photographs of his family and himself as a child and photographs and negatives Nicole Simpson took.

Simpson said he came into the room with a group of friends, one of whom was posing as a potential buyer. The friends helped him carry items out.

But, he said, there were no guns, and it was not a robbery. "What would you have done?" he asked. "I'm O.J. Simpson. Who am I going to rob?"

Simpson said he did raise his voice at the sellers and harsh words were exchanged -- "possibly" threats, he said, but no one was hurt. He said he was in the room only a matter of minutes.

As he was leaving, he said, one of the sellers in the room asked him if they were "good" and if they could still do business together.

The ex-football star said he wanted his things back but it wasn't because of their monetary value. He said he has "never, ever, ever" sold any of his personal items, although he has sold his Heisman Trophy, autographs and participated in memorabilia shows.

The incident happened at the Palace Station Hotel and Casino, a police spokesman said.

Dillon said police had seized surveillance tapes and photographs, and had finished processing the scene.

"It is certainly too early to comment on what has been seen on the surveillance and photographs," Dillon said.

He said police are cataloging and identifying the sports items they retrieved, and are looking for additional items. He did not describe or elaborate on anything in police possession.

Once initial interviews with Simpson are completed, "we will have a better assessment of what was stolen, what actually occurred and other parties involved," Dillon said.

He said the department is committed to a "thorough, unbiased and competent investigation."

Earlier Friday, Thomas Riccio told Fox5 News (KVVU) television in Las Vegas he had told Simpson about the sale. He said he received a call about a month ago from someone who said he wanted to auction some of Simpson's personal possessions. Riccio said he called Simpson, with whom had he done business in the past, and the former football player told him the items had been stolen.

The Goldman family recently has published a book about the slayings. Simpson wrote the book under the title "If I Did It." However, an outcry led to the cancellation of a book deal for him, and a bankruptcy judge subsequently awarded the Goldmans the rights to the book in light of their inability to collect the wrongful death award. They renamed the book "If I Did It: Confessions of the Killer."

Simpson said "my family put this book thing behind us a long time ago. I have nothing against the Goldmans. More power to them."

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2003 Claiming threat of weapons of mass destruction,U.S. invades Iraq;the space shuttle Columbia disintergrates over east Texas and Louisiana as it recents Earths atmosphere.

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ST. GEORGE, Utah (AP) -- A young woman who said she was forced to enter an arranged marriage at age 14 testified Monday that she never complained to her mother or sisters that she was being raped.


FLDS leader Warren Jeffs consults with his legal team at his rape-accomplice trial.

1 of 2 "I never told anyone," the woman, now 21, said during cross-examination at the trial of polygamous-sect leader Warren Jeffs.

Jeffs, president of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, is charged with two counts of rape as an accomplice.

Prosecutors say he used his influence to push the girl into a ceremonial marriage with a 19-year-old cousin in 2001 and force her to have sex.

Last week the woman testified that she sobbed through the wedding and had to be coaxed by Jeffs and her mother when asked to say "I do." She hid in a bathroom after the ceremony at a Nevada motel.

Defense attorney Tara Isaacson challenged her earlier testimony and her statements to police in 2006.

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The woman said Jeffs never specifically spoke to her about having sex because the FLDS faithful didn't use that word. She acknowledged her mother had a "great deal of influence" on her to go ahead with the marriage ceremony.

The woman has been the only witness through nearly three days of trial. She recalled last week how she avoided sex for weeks but could no longer deny her husband when he said it was "time for you to be a wife and do your duty."

Wanting to die, she said she subsequently swallowed two bottles of over-the-counter pain reliever.

"He was my priesthood head and husband. He was my patriarch," she said of her cousin. "And I was risking my spiritual salvation by questioning my husband and not becoming one with him."

The woman said she sought an FLDS divorce, known as a release, from Jeffs but was denied.

She finally left her three-year marriage and the FLDS church in 2004 after becoming pregnant with another man's child. CNN and The Associated Press generally do not name people alleging sexual abuse.

Jeffs, 51, has been president of the FLDS church since 2002. Followers see him as a prophet who communicates with God and holds dominion over their salvation. Ex-church members say he reigns with an iron fist, demanding perfect obedience from followers. Follow the rise of the 'Prophet' »

If convicted of the charges, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.


Polygamy, a practice central to FLDS religious beliefs, is not an issue in the case because the three-year marriage between the cousins was monogamous. The faith believes plural marriage brings exaltation in heaven.

The sect split from the Mormon church, which disavowed polygamy in 1890 and excommunicates members found to be practicing plural marriage

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2003 Sars epidemic spreads from China,infecting more than 8,000,killing hundreds worldwide.

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2004 Tsunami devastates Indian Ocean basin--thousands in Indonesia,Sri Lanka,India and Thailand die.

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2005-Hurricane Katrina floods Gulf Coast,davastates New orleans

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Starting with Dr. James Naismith's adaptation of the Canadian Childrens's game duck-on-a-rock in 1891, basket-ball evolved in its first 58 years from a simple activity in a gym class to a sport played and watched by millions.

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Naismih's 13 rules proved remarkably durable, various changes helped streamline the game. perhaps the most significant, in 1938, was the elimination of the center jump after each basket.

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The layups and one-handed shot was perfected by Stanford's Hank Luisetti in the 30s.

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The dunk was popularized by Oklahoma A&M giant Bob Kurland in the 1940s.

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Ball handling was popularized by Marques Haynes in the 40s

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The Minnepolis Lakers and Philadelphia Warriors had won seven of the first ten championships before moving to California.

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1999 ...............July 10 The U.S. women's soccer team win the World Cup