Monday, March 1, 2010
Teen falls into open cesspool, dies
A teen working at a Long Island Dunkin' Donuts dies after he falls into an open cesspool.
The Suffolk County Police Homicide Squad is investigating the death of a Central Islip teen who was killed on Sunday, Feb. 28, in a work related accident.
Amiri Zeqiri, 17, of Milford Drive, Central Islip, an employee at Dunkin Donuts, 560 Nesconset Highway in Smithtown, was putting out the garbage behind the store at about 9:11 pm. He fell into an open cesspool which was normally covered with a manhole cover. His 14-year-old cousin who was inside the Dunkin Donuts realized that something was wrong and went to investigate. He found Zeqiri in the cesspool in about eight feet of water. He realized that he couldn't help Zeqiri by himself and ran to a nearby store for help. Upon his return, Zeqiri was no longer visible and the police were called.
Suffolk County Police Emergency Services officers extricated Zeqiri from the cesspool. He was taken to St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown where he was pronounced dead at 10:10 pm.
A postmortem examination will be performed to determine the cause of death. The investigation is continuing.
Obama Seeks US Ban of Assault Weapons For Benefit of Mexico
President Obama and Attorney General Eric Holder are seeking to reinstate the weapons ban on assault rifles which expired in 2004. This would ban 19 types of semi-automatic military style guns and ammunition clips containing more than 10 rounds.
According to Eric Holder, the ban is not so much focused on preventing crime in the USA as it is to help out Mexico:
“As President Obama indicated during the campaign, there are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make, and among them would be to reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons,” Holder told reporters.
Holder said that putting the ban back in place would not only be a positive move by the United States, it would help cut down on the flow of guns going across the border into Mexico, which is struggling with heavy violence among drug cartels along the border.
“I think that will have a positive impact in Mexico, at a minimum.”
What Mr. Holder is saying is that the need for lowering drug crime in Mexico supersedes the Constitutional protections of American citizens.
Perhaps Mr. Holder doesn’t understand how drug cartels operate or, more likely, does understand quite clearly and is using this as an excuse to further restrict second amendment freedoms.
If billion-dollar Mexican drug operations cannot source their weapons from the United States they would have no problems acquiring modern weapons through other means from countries like Venezuela, China and Russia.
Instead of focusing on restricting the freedoms of American citizens, Eric Holder and President Obama should focus on restricting the movement of guns, drugs and illegal aliens across our southern border. But that would be too easy, right?
If you’re a gun enthusiast, perhaps it’s time you stock up on some additional high-capacity magazines and pick up that assault rifle you’ve always wanted, just in case.
Hat tip Rick Blaine
Don't Call It a Comeback: Van Jones
On the eve of accepting top honors at the NAACP Image Awards, the former “green jobs czar” defends his record and talks comeback.
Van Jones Sets the Record Straight
by Sheryl Huggins Salomon
Tonight’s NAACP Image Awards telecast isn’t just about recognizing black Hollywood. The group is giving its President’s Award to Van Jones, the erstwhile national “green jobs czar” who was forced out of the Obama administration last year after he became a lightning rod for right-wing ire.
Jones, 41, may be “the most misunderstood man in America,” said NAACP president Benjamin Jealous in an op-ed released to media outlets earlier this week. In it, Jealous cited Jones’ instrumental role in passing the 2007 Green Jobs Act, and his help initiating the Oakland Green Jobs Corp. targeting low-income Californians.
“The real Van Jones story is about how a young leader became the father of the green jobs movement …. Far from the divisive caricature painted by some cable news outlets, Van has been one of America's most effective and inspiring bridge-builders.” Jealous also said.
For Jones, getting the award is the latest step that he has taken to kick off the next phase of his career. “I am looking forward to reintroducing myself to the American people and that’s exciting to have that opportunity,” he told The Root in an exclusive interview. Another step will be leading the Green Opportunity Initiative for the Center for American Progress. He’ll also be a distinguished visiting fellow at Princeton University's Center for African American Studies at its Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.
The world will find that although Van Jones is looking for a second chance at public service, he’ll vehemently defend his record to date against all comers. Here’s what he told The Root on the eve of accepting the NAACP President’s Award:
Read the Full Interview @ The Root
Thieves Take Jewelry, Leave 4-Year-Old Child Behind
PHILADELPHIA (CBS 3)―Philadelphia Police are looking for two people who were able to grab tens of thousands of dollars worth of jewelry and flee a South Street store.
According to police, a black male and female were looking at rings inside of the Platinum & Ice Jewelry Store on the 600 block of South Street at about 3:30 p.m. Saturday. Police say the two were able to grab an unattended jewelry tray and flee the store when the clerk behind the counter turned his back. The clerk attempted chase the suspects down the street, but was stopped when the male suspect produced a knife and slashed the clerk's face and neck.
"There was a diversionary tactic used and at that split second the male grabbed the entire tray of rings, turned and ran out the door," said South Detectives Captain Lawrence Nodiff.
The suspects then separated and ran in different directions leaving behind a 4-year-old boy. Investigators say the boy was picked up by the injured clerk, who was able to flag down a police officer for assistance.
Heeeee’s Back: Al Gore Pens Editorial Defending Global Warming Science
From the New York Times (Pics added by B.S. Report)
By Al Gore
It would be an enormous relief if the recent attacks on the science of global warming actually indicated that we do not face an unimaginable calamity requiring large-scale, preventive measures to protect human civilization as we know it.
Of course, we would still need to deal with the national security risks of our growing dependence on a global oil market dominated by dwindling reserves in the most unstable region of the world, and the economic risks of sending hundreds of billions of dollars a year overseas in return for that oil. And we would still trail China in the race to develop smart grids, fast trains, solar power, wind, geothermal and other renewable sources of energy — the most important sources of new jobs in the 21st century. (Read more.)
B.S. Report–It’s not like Al Gore could simply back away at this late date from the catastrophic predictions he’s been caterwauling about for over 20 years. He’s in this for the duration and he’s either going to be ultimately proved a prophet or a fraud.
And, of course, Al Gore has financial interests in the global warming battle as well. He’s either invested or is responsible for the investment of boatloads of money in the fight against global warming. Businesses selling carbon “credits” and “offsets” have sprung up and many industries have re-tooled and gone “green” to win over the likes of the burgeoning environmental gestapo.
However, Al Gore and his band of merry zealots cannot hit true pay-dirt until concrete regulations are enacted–and that is largely dependent upon the decisions made by the U.S. and other world governments. If anything, support from the American people has eroded, and to further cripple industries with new stifling regulations in the present economy would be very risky indeed. Don’t look for anything to happen before the November elections and possibly not in the near future if, as expected, those elections significantly weaken the Democratic majorities.
By Al Gore
It would be an enormous relief if the recent attacks on the science of global warming actually indicated that we do not face an unimaginable calamity requiring large-scale, preventive measures to protect human civilization as we know it.
Of course, we would still need to deal with the national security risks of our growing dependence on a global oil market dominated by dwindling reserves in the most unstable region of the world, and the economic risks of sending hundreds of billions of dollars a year overseas in return for that oil. And we would still trail China in the race to develop smart grids, fast trains, solar power, wind, geothermal and other renewable sources of energy — the most important sources of new jobs in the 21st century. (Read more.)
B.S. Report–It’s not like Al Gore could simply back away at this late date from the catastrophic predictions he’s been caterwauling about for over 20 years. He’s in this for the duration and he’s either going to be ultimately proved a prophet or a fraud.
And, of course, Al Gore has financial interests in the global warming battle as well. He’s either invested or is responsible for the investment of boatloads of money in the fight against global warming. Businesses selling carbon “credits” and “offsets” have sprung up and many industries have re-tooled and gone “green” to win over the likes of the burgeoning environmental gestapo.
However, Al Gore and his band of merry zealots cannot hit true pay-dirt until concrete regulations are enacted–and that is largely dependent upon the decisions made by the U.S. and other world governments. If anything, support from the American people has eroded, and to further cripple industries with new stifling regulations in the present economy would be very risky indeed. Don’t look for anything to happen before the November elections and possibly not in the near future if, as expected, those elections significantly weaken the Democratic majorities.
IPCC to face inquiry on climate report
The IPCC and its chairman R.K. Pachauri have come under attack over errors in their report on climate change. Photo: PTI
Indian scientist R.K. Pachauri-led U.N. panel on climate change will face an independent international review after a series of allegations of errors in its report on global warming hit its credibility.
Environment and Climate ministers, who held a closed door meeting in Bali Thursday night, have insisted that an independent review should be carried out following reports of mistakes in IPCC’s last report, and a row surrounding Mr. Pachauri’s robust response to his critics, reports said.
If Mr. Pachauri’s management is found to be at fault, his position could become untenable, The Daily Telegraph reported from Bali.
The report said participants in the unprecedented meeting — held at the annual assembly of Governing Council of the U.N. Environment Programme’s Governing Council in Bali — were sworn to secrecy over the decision and it is only expected to be announced after its detailed scope and composition have been worked out by UNEP and the World Meteorological Organisation, the two U.N. agencies that oversee the IPCC’s work.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and its chairman Mr. Pachauri have come under attack over errors in their report on climate change. The panel was awarded the Nobel Prize last year for its work highlighting the dangers of climate change.
The ministers, led by Hillary Benn, British Environment Secretary, and his counterparts from Germany, Norway, Algeria and Antigua — reportedly refused to allow Mr. Pachauri to decide who would carry out the review, insisting it must be completely and demonstrably independent of the IPCC.
The report quoted Achim Steiner, UNEP’s Executive Director, as saying that the IPCC faced a “crisis of confidence” with the public.
According to participants at the meeting, the report said Mr. Pachauri expressed regret for any mistakes that had been made, but stopped short of apologising. The participants said he admitted only one mistake, a discredited prediction that the glaciers of the Himalayas would entirely melt away by 2035, for which the IPCC has already apologised. They say he described other alleged errors as misunderstandings.
The Hindu
Ugly Truth: Most U.S. Kids Sentenced to Die In Prison Are Black
This is the second in a two-part series on juvenile life without parole. Read Part One here.
On Monday the U.S. Supreme Court heard two cases that could have major implications for the way juvenile offenders are treated in our criminal justice system. Sullivan v. Florida andGraham v. Florida both involve men who are serving life without the possibility of parole for crimes they were convicted of as teenagers -- crimes in which no one was killed.
Joe Sullivan was only 13 years old when he was accused of sexually assaulting a 72-year-old woman in her Pensacola, Fla., home, hours after he and a group of older teenagers robbed her house. Sullivan, who reportedly suffers from mental disabilities, insisted that, while he participated in the robbery, he did not commit the rape. But his co-defendants, 15-year-old Michael Gulley and 17-year-old Nathan McCants, 17 pinned the crime on him. Both were tried as juveniles; Sullivan was tried as an adult.
Sullivan is African American, a fact that was stressed repeatedly at trial. The victim, Lena Bruner, testified that her assailant was "a colored boy" with "kinky hair" -- "he was quite black, and he was small," she said. Bruner admitted that she "did not see him full in the face," but she remembered him saying, "If you can't identify me, I may not have to kill you."
According to the New York Times, "at his trial, Mr. Sullivan was made to say those words several times." ("'It's been six months,' the woman said on the witness stand. 'It's hard, but it does sound similar.' ")
Sullivan had shabby representation -- his lawyer didn't bother making an opening statement and later lost his license to practice in Florida -- and his one-day trial should have cast serious doubts about his guilt. "The only physical evidence was a fingerprint lifted from a plaque in the bedroom, which could have been made during the burglary," wrote Amy Bach in Slatelast week. "The clothing and other evidence have been destroyed and couldn't be tested for DNA." Nevertheless, he was found guilty, and at 14, Sullivan became the youngest person in the country to be sentenced to life without parole.
"I'm going to send him away for as long as I can," the judge said.
Today, Sullivan is one of some 109 prisoners in the country whose non-homicide crimes have condemned them to leave prison only in a coffin. No fewer than 76 of those prisoners are behind bars in Florida. (Until last month there were 77, but 29-year-old Travis Underhill, sentenced to life in 1999 for armed robbery, "collapsed while playing basketball at a Palm Beach County prison on Oct. 8 and died," according to the Miami Herald.) The vast majority -- 84 percent, in Florida -- are African American. On a national level, according to Human Rights Watch, African American youths are serving life without parole at a rate of about 10 times that of white youths.
Monday's oral arguments covered a lot of ground, including whether life-without-parole is comparable to the death penalty (which has been banned for juveniles); whether the purpose, ultimately, is about deterrence or retribution -- "What is the State's interest in keeping ... the defendant in custody for the rest of his life if he has been rehabilitated and is no longer a real danger?" -- whether, for sentencing purposes, there's any practical difference between a 13-year-old or a 10-year-old -- or, for that matter, an 18-year-old and a 17-and-11-month-old ("the line has to be drawn somewhere.") At points, it got downright philosophical ("Why does a juvenile have a constitutional right to hope, but an adult does not?" asked Justice Kennedy.) But at the center of the argument was the question of whether children -- and their potential for rehabilitation -- should be judged by the same standards as that of grown-ups. "To not recognize the difference between a child and an adult is cruel and unusual," defense attorney Bryan Stevenson told Justice Antonin Scalia.
Conspicuously absent from the oral arguments, however, was any discussion of race. The one time Stevenson attempted to mention it, as one of the "arbitrary features" of the distribution of life-without-parole sentences -- these prisoners are "disproportionately kids of color," Stevenson said -- he was interrupted by Justice Alito, who questioned the reliability of his statistics. ("What is your response to the State's argument that these statistics are not peer-reviewed?" he asked.)
It can be tricky to pin down exact numbers when it comes to specific prison populations from state to state, particularly given the differences between sentencing statutes across the country. And states have not traditionally kept track of how many juveniles are in their adult prisons. But when it comes to juvenile lifers, there are some figures that have been widely accepted (and not contested by the state of Florida.)
"There are 73 children 14 and younger who have been imprisoned for life without parole," Stevenson told the Court. "...For the age of 13 and younger, there are only nine kids, and that's including both kids convicted of homicide and non-homicide. For non-homicide, there are only two. They are both in Florida and Joe Sullivan is one of them."
What he did not get to say is that of the vast majority of kids who are sentenced to die in prison are black.
This is unfortunate. Racism has been central to the policies that led to the rise in life sentences for juveniles in the first place -- and not just in Florida. The Supreme Court may rely on legal precedents to make their decisions -- but that does not mean it necessarily considers history.
The Myth of the "Superpredator"
The crime that led Joe Sullivan to life in prison took place in 1989. It was the same year that would see notorious serial killer Ted Bundy executed at the Florida state prison in Starke -- an exceptional case that would capture the mood of the locals when it came to dealing with would-be-murderers. (The St. Petersburg Times reported that year, "Across Florida, radio stations bade 'Bye, Bye, Bundy,' while next door to the Chi Omega sorority, where Bundy killed two young women, a campus bar was offering 'Bundy fries' and 'Bundy fingers' -- actually, french fries and strips of alligator meat.")
Florida serial killers aside, 1989 was also the year that a young, blond investment banker from Manhattan brutally assaulted in New York's Central Park, a horrible crime that the cops, the press and even people who lived nowhere near New York City declared solved within days. The rapists, it was decided, were five young black and Latino teenagers from Harlem. All of then would turn out to be innocent (a fact that came out only after each lost years of their lives in prison.) But in the eyes of many commentators at the time, these teenagers were the worst kind of monsters:
"They were coming downtown from a world of crack, welfare, guns, knives, indifference and ignorance," New York Postcolumnist Pete Hamill wrote in the days after the crime. "They were coming from a land with no fathers. … They were coming from the anarchic province of the poor."
And driven by a collective fury, brimming with the rippling energies of youth, their minds teeming with the violent images of the streets and the movies, they had only one goal: to smash, hurt, rob, stomp, rape. The enemies were rich. The enemies were white.
So the country was introduced to the new urban "superpredator," as Princeton University Professor John DiIulio would brand this new prototype of youth crime. These twisted teenage thugs -- described in New York as traveling in "wolf packs" that hunted innocent people upon whom to inflict their mob violence ("wilding") -- were a whole new breed of criminal, he said, and existing laws were no match for their evolving standards of brutality.
DiIulio would spend the next few years spreading the gospel of the superpredator, warning that "Americans are sitting atop a demographic crime bomb."
"On the horizon ... are tens of thousands of morally impoverished juvenile superpredators," he wrote in The Weekly Standard in 1995. "They are perfectly capable of committing the most heinous acts of physical violence for the most trivial reasons."
The difference between teen criminals in decades past, he argued in his book, Body Count, amounted to "the difference between the Sharks and the Jets of West Side Story and the Bloods and the Crips."
"It is not inconceivable that the demographic surge of the next 10 years will bring with it young criminals who make the Bloods and the Crips look tame."
But how real was this so-called superpredator or the terrifying crime wave to come? Although the country saw a spike in juvenile crime in the early 1990s, it wasn't entirely clear what was behind it.
Some cited crack cocaine, others cited the country's changing demographics (with baby boomers' offspring entering adolescence), and others pointed to high unemployment. But in the years to come, one thing became clear: The teenage crime wave so ominously predicted by DiIulio and his political affiliates was pure fiction.
Owning up to this fact is none other than DiIulio himself, who pulled a fairly stunning 180 a few years ago, when he admitted that his influential theory of urban superpredators was wrong.
"If I knew then what I know now, I would have shouted for prevention of crimes," he told the New York Times in 2001. Indeed, crime among teenagers -- particularly violent crime, hit a historic low in recent years, with arrest rates of juveniles falling a whopping 49 percent between 1994 and 2004.
But the damage was already done: Throughout the 1990s, the country arrested teenagers -- many of them first-time offenders -- in record numbers, slapping them with long sentences previously reserved for hardened criminals.
Barry Krisberg, president of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, wrote in 2005 that in the years that followed the hysteria over superpredators, "More than 40 states made it easier to transfer children to adult criminal courts. Educators enacted 'zero-tolerance' policies to make it easier to expel youngsters from school, and numerous communities adopted youth curfews. Many jurisdictions turned to metal detectors in public schools, random locker searches, drug tests for athletes and mandatory school uniforms.
The panic was bipartisan. Every crime bill debated by Congress during the Clinton administration included new federal laws against juvenile crime. Paradoxically, as Attorney General Janet Reno advocated for wider and stronger social safety nets for vulnerable families, President Bill Clinton joined congressional leaders demanding tougher treatment of juvenile felons, including more incarceration in both the adult and youth correctional systems.
Paving the way was the Sunshine State. "Florida led the country in transferring juveniles into the adult courts," says Stephen K. Harper, a University of Miami professor who teaches juvenile law. At the same time, adult sentences were getting longer. In 1983, Florida abolished parole for most crimes, and in 1995, it got rid of parole altogether. "Adolescents were being transferred into the adult system, while simultaneously the adult system was becoming more punitive," Harper toldAlterNet.
Today, the results are a bit perverse. According to Florida State Law Professor Paolo Annino, "Florida takes the lead in placing the youngest children in the adult prison system."
"The most recent Florida data shows, there is 1 inmate who was 10, 4 inmates who were 11, 5 inmates who were 12, and 31 inmates who were 13 years old at the time of their offense."
Annino and Harper both point to what Harper calls the "unintended consequences" of Florida's rush to incarcerate juveniles. "In 1983 and 1995, the Florida Legislature did not contemplate that hundreds of children would be sent to adult prison in the last two decades," Annino wrote earlier this year. But before the Court, Florida Solicitor General Scott D. Makar defended Florida's large juvenile lifer population, suggesting that the state knew exactly what it was doing. "I believe Florida is very balanced," he told Scalia during oral arguments inGraham v. Florida.
Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum agrees. In his brief filed inGraham, McCollum argues that it was Florida's brand of tough-on-crime legislation that led to falling crime rates in the late 1990s -- a claim that law professors Jeffrey Fagan and Franklin E. Zimring call "as phony as last decade's crime scare."
"As a member of Congress in the 1990s," they wrote, "[McCollum] promised the United States a 'coming storm' of superpredators as a result of a population surge of kids from fatherless homes."
This, of course was the claim pushed by John DiIulio, the only difference being that, more than a decade later, McCollum still seems determined to believe it.
The "superpredator" myth -- and the racism that breathed life into it -- has been a driving force behind the rush to incarcerate youths of color across the country for years. That the human effects would go undiscussed by the Court may come as no surprise given the justices' routine upholding of other laws that disproportionately affect people and families of color. But in a country with 2.3 million prisoners, leaving race completely out of the decision would not just be willful ignorance; it would amount to what Bryan Stevenson has called an "appalling silence."
*The original version of this piece contained a statistical error in the headline, which stated that all 73 juveniles sentenced to life without parole are black. AlterNet regrets the error.
JOHNSON WINS SECOND IN A ROW
Jimmie Johnson took four tires. Jeff Gordon took two. Guess who made the right call. The guy with the golden horseshoe up his rear, that's who. Gordon dominated, but Johnson slipped past his teammate and owner with 17 laps to go for the win. Sprint Cup points leader Kevin Harvick passed Gordon to finish second.
RAPPER GURU IN A COMA
Rapper GURU (nee Keith Elam) founding member of legendary Rap group Gangstarr, has suffered a heart attack and is in a coma in New York tonight, several sources are reporting. Details are still unfolding, but friend and colleague Questlove of The Roots said via twitter, “So Primo confirmed on Sirius radio that Guru had heart attack and is in a coma and will undergo surgery tomorrow.” Our prayers go out.
Nancy Pelosi: “We Share Some Of The Same Views As The Tea Party”
Wife says suburban NYC mayor shut door on her hand
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. — A mayor in suburban New York City has been charged with assaulting his wife by shutting a door on her hand.
White Plains Mayor Adam Bradley turned himself in to police Sunday after his wife filed a domestic-violence complaint.
Bradley was arraigned on third-degree misdemeanor assault in City Court in White Plains, which is just north of Manhattan and is one of the nation's top suburban office and retail centers.
Fumiko Bradley accuses her husband of placing her left arm against a door frame and closing the door on her hand. She says her left middle finger was injured.
Adam Bradley acknowledges he and his wife have had marital problems. But he insists he "did not in any way mistreat" her.
His next court appearance is Friday.
The former Assemblyman was elected mayor in 2009.
Farrakhan predicts 'white right' trouble for Obama
CHICAGO — Nation of Islam Minister Louis Farrakhan, boasting his divine stature, on Sunday predicted trouble ahead for President Barack Obama and urged him to do more to improve the lives of blacks and the downtrodden.
The 76-year-old leader said the "white right" was conspiring to make Obama a one-term president, and pointed to his stalled efforts to introduce health care legislation as proof. He said those opponents and lobbyists were trapping him into a future war with Iran that could lead to mass destruction.
"The word 'prophet' is too cheap a word. I am a light in the midst of darkness," Farrakhan said at the annual convention of the movement that embraces black nationalism. "It ain't ego, it's my love for you."
An estimated 20,000 people attended the heavily guarded Saviours' Day event at the United Center in Chicago. Followers — men dressed in navy uniforms and women in white skirt suits with matching hijabs — cheered on Farrakhan with shouts of "Allahu Akbar," Arabic for "God is great."
Farrakhan spent most of the fiery nearly four-hour speech recounting a 1985 vision he had in Mexico. Farrakhan has often described how he believes he was invited aboard an unidentified flying object he calls "the wheel" where he said he heard the late Nation of Islam leader Elijah Muhammad speak to him.
He said that experience led him to inklings about future events, including the United States' 1986 bombing of Libya.
Farrakhan recounted how his divine knowledge has allowed him to recognize countless warning signs over the decades — such as natural disasters such as the earthquake in Chile — and said they indicate impending trouble, including for Obama.
Dressed in ornate creme robes, he addressed the president directly:
"Your people are suffering. You can't ease their plight, but you can use your bully pulpit. Speak for the poor. Speak for the weak."
He said helping the Nation of Islam, which has worked to reform black inmates for decades, would also be an answer.
"Put some money on back of us," he said. "We can reform our people."
Farrakhan has vigorously supported Obama for years and used his presidency as a call to action for blacks. That was even as Obama distanced himself from the group for Farrakhan's past comments that many considered anti-Semitic.
Supporters say Farrakhan's words are often taken out of context.
Farrakhan continued his praise of Obama Sunday, and said the nation's first black president was manipulated into disavowing Farrakhan.
He would not say if he and Obama had ever met on the issue.
"They all want to know did I ever meet with him and what did I say or what he say," Farrakhan said in the speech. "I ain't going there."
Tiger Woods gets call of support from Barack Obama
US president Barack Obama phoned Tiger Woods to offer his support as he tries to rebuild his life, it has been claimed.
Mr Obama – also a keen golfer who has welcomed Tiger to the White House in the past - is said to have made the call after Tiger offered his public apology last month in front of the world's media.
Former US president Bill Clinton, himself no stranger to rumours surrounding his personal life, is also thought to have called to offer his support.
The claims were made in Golf Digest magazine.
Pa. man dies during storm when 911 calls unheeded
PITTSBURGH – With her boyfriend in severe abdominal pain, Sharon Edge called 911 for an ambulance in the early morning hours of Feb. 6. Heavy snow was falling — so heavy it would all but bring the city to a standstill — and Curtis Mitchell needed to go to a hospital.
"Help is on the way," the operator said.
It never arrived.
Nearly 30 hours later — and 10 calls from the couple to 911, four 911 calls to them and at least a dozen calls between 911 and paramedics — Curtis Mitchell died at his home. His electricity knocked out, his heat long off, the 50-year-old former steelworker waited, huddled beneath blankets on his sofa.
"I'm very angry, because I feel they didn't do their job like they supposed to," said Edge, 51. "My man would still be living if they'da did they job like they was supposed to ... They took somebody that I love away."
Mitchell, on disability for depression, had a history of pancreatitis, an inflammation of the pancreas, Edge said, and had spent nine days in a hospital in late January. He had been home about a week when he was overcome with pain. Autopsy results are pending, awaiting toxicology test results, authorities said.
Now Pittsburgh officials have ordered an investigation and reforms of the city's emergency services system as Mitchell's case highlighted key shortcomings:
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