Who killed Bernard Jackson?

KCPD has named the man killed before 1 this morning in an apartment in the 8500 block of 108th Street. Bernard Jackson was 23 years old. He'd apparently been in an argument inside the residence. No suspects have been arrested, and police ask anyone with information to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (474-8477).

Some people hit rock bottom and keep going

I'm amazed that he survived all of this.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Tim P!

Guilty verdict in Palin email case

In Knoxville, a jury has found a 22-year-old guilty in the reported theft of Sarah Palin's email. David C. Kernell was found guilty of "felony destruction of records to hamper a federal investigation and misdemeanor unlawfully obtaining information from a protected computer," the News Sentinel reports. He was acquitted of felony wire fraud, and a mistrial was declared on the fourth charge because the jury deadlocked. From Palin's lawyer:

“I think the jury took its job very seriously and weighed the evidence closely and concluded that any effort to impact a national election through illegal means is not a college prank. It is a crime,” he said.

File Photo via AP

Man stole drugs from mom's bra, police say

In Memphis, a woman called police after she allegedly found her son reaching into her bra to get her Xanax pills, the Commercial Appeal reports. She thought she could hide the drugs there, police say.

Police searching KU hall for gunman

The University of Kansas says that police are searching a campus building, McCollum Hall, after receiving a report of an armed suspect, according to a text alert sent to campus personnel and students. Officials are warning those on campus to stay away from the building. Those inside are asked to find a safe place and stay there.

UPDATED: KU Alerts says that nobody has been shot, and nobody's been injured.

(McCollum Hall is a residential hall, a fairly large one.)

The rest of the campus is not locked down. The Journal-World reports that a large group of police were seen outside the hall, with who knows how many inside. On Twitter, the managing editor of The Daily Kansan's website says she's heard the building's fourth floor might be involved. Lawrence PD is helping out, and paramedics are standing by.

After the Virginia Tech shootings -- and here's hoping today isn't anything like that -- KU set up a system to improve its security. From an older Star article:

In January, KU created an emergency management planning position and hosted a national group to lead a three-day training course for campus public safety officers and officers from other area universities.

For student notification, Cohen said, KU has implemented a text-message alert system that also covers students and staff at the KU Edwards Campus in Overland Park and at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kan.; an e-mail system for students and staff; an indoor intercom system; and "cardlocks" at residence and scholarship halls, where students must swipe their identification cards to get inside.

What does 'person of interest' mean?

Well, according to the Justice Department, it doesn't mean anything, officially -- there's no legal definition of the term. But it's generally recognized as shorthand for someone that police want to interview. That person has NOT been charged, though, and thus, isn't a suspect. (Though a lot of times, they eventually are charged.) Police will publicize that person's name as a way to track them down.

Critics say it ruins the reputations of people who are innocent. A lot of media outlets use the term, including the Star and this blog. The American Journalism Review had a good take on the issue here.

Jim Kouri, a spokesman for the National Association of Chiefs of Police, says "person of interest" often is a euphemism for "suspect."

"If it's a suspect and you say 'person of interest,' you're using the euphemism to avoid problems down the line," says Kouri, a former New York housing police officer. What problems? Police sometimes "try to maintain that the person really isn't a suspect" in order to get him to agree to questioning without Miranda warnings, Kouri says. "You don't want the guy to lawyer up."

Dance Party Friday

A group of soldiers, stationed in Afghanistan, chose to shoot their own remake of a Lady Gaga song. And then unwisely posted it to the Internet.

Open Thread ... Sweet Merciful Friday

Welcome back to the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion. If you've seen an interesting story somewhere else, feel free to post a link below.

As always, please follow our standard rules: Please sign your comments, and please avoid profanity, as well as racially and sexually abusive language. And when you sign your comments, please use only one nickname. If you need to reach me, just send an email to jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Welcome back to the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion. If you've seen an interesting story somewhere else, feel free to post a link below.

As always, please follow our standard rules: Please sign your comments, and please avoid profanity, as well as racially and sexually abusive language. And when you sign your comments, please use only one nickname. If you need to reach me, just send an email to jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Welcome back to the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion. If you've seen an interesting story somewhere else, feel free to post a link below.

As always, please follow our standard rules: Please sign your comments, and please avoid profanity, as well as racially and sexually abusive language. And when you sign your comments, please use only one nickname. If you need to reach me, just send an email to jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Welcome back to the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion. If you've seen an interesting story somewhere else, feel free to post a link below.

As always, please follow our standard rules: Please sign your comments, and please avoid profanity, as well as racially and sexually abusive language. And when you sign your comments, please use only one nickname. If you need to reach me, just send an email to jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Welcome back to the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion. If you've seen an interesting story somewhere else, feel free to post a link below.

As always, please follow our standard rules: Please sign your comments, and please avoid profanity, as well as racially and sexually abusive language. And when you sign your comments, please use only one nickname. If you need to reach me, just send an email to jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Welcome back to the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion. If you've seen an interesting story somewhere else, feel free to post a link below.

As always, please follow our standard rules: Please sign your comments, and please avoid profanity, as well as racially and sexually abusive language. And when you sign your comments, please use only one nickname. If you need to reach me, just send an email to jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Welcome back to the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion. If you've seen an interesting story somewhere else, feel free to post a link below.

As always, please follow our standard rules: Please sign your comments, and please avoid profanity, as well as racially and sexually abusive language. And when you sign your comments, please use only one nickname. If you need to reach me, just send an email to jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Welcome back to the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion. If you've seen an interesting story somewhere else, feel free to post a link below.

As always, please follow our standard rules: Please sign your comments, and please avoid profanity, as well as racially and sexually abusive language. And when you sign your comments, please use only one nickname. If you need to reach me, just send an email to jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

Welcome back to the Open Thread, our blog's space for off-topic comments and discussion. If you've seen an interesting story somewhere else, feel free to post a link below.

As always, please follow our standard rules: Please sign your comments, and please avoid profanity, as well as racially and sexually abusive language. And when you sign your comments, please use only one nickname. If you need to reach me, just send an email to jhart@kcstar.com. Thanks again, and have a great day!

No money for man wrongly linked to BTK case

In 2004, a TV station incorrectly named Roger G. Valadez as a suspect in the BTK investigation. He sued -- and a jury awarded him $1.1 million, though it was capped by law at $250,000. Valadez died about a month after the verdict. The Kansas Supreme Court has just struck down the $250,000, too, saying that Valadez never showed that he suffered emotional distress severe enough to justify the award.

Bass tourney to raise reward money

There's going to be a bass fishing tournament next weekend to honor a KCK murder victim, Jeff Rogers, and raise money for a reward in his case. It's scheduled for May 8 at Truman Lake. More detailed information, including an entry form, is available at this site. Rogers was killed April 9, 2008, in the 8400 block of Tauromee after a group of men broke into his home. Anybody with information is asked to call the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (474-8477).

Motorcycle deaths drop in Missouri

From Brad Cooper: Missouri motorcycle deaths dropped for the first time in four years during 2009, officials announced this morning. Mirroring a national trend, Missouri motorcycle fatalities dropped about 21 percent last year, state officials announced.

In 2009, 85 people were killed in motorcycle crashes compared to 107 the year before. The last time motorcycle deaths dropped in Missouri was 2004 when the state recorded a 38 percent drop.

Canadian colonel accused of double life

In Ottawa, Canada, Col. David Russell Williams -- a high-ranking member of that country's military -- is accused of two murders, two sexual assaults and several other crimes, the New York Times reports. Yesterday, 82 additional charges were added to his case. He's accused of breaking into the homes of two women, then forcing them to strip and photographing them.

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Goshel!

Jason Bourne's evil twin is on the run

In Los Angeles, police are looking for a guy who might be the next best thing to Jason Bourne, KTLA reports. When authorities busted into his apartment over a gasoline smell, he fled out the fire escape and left behind high-quality counterfeit money, a stash of weapons and several fake IDs. He had rented a penthouse apartment -- with a stack of cash, in advance -- that overlooked L.A.'s federal reserve. They're not sure they know his real name.

Red-light cameras work, KC chief says

How effective are Kansas City's red-light cameras? At KCPD Chief Jim Corwin's blog, there's a graph listing all of the intersections with cameras, and it compares the number of tickets during the first three months to the most recent quarter. On average, there's a 58 percent drop in the number of tickets. The conclusion is that people are learning to drive more safely. (That, or everybody's taking the bus.)

There's one notable exception, though: 39th and Southwest Trafficway, which got a red-light camera before anybody else. There's only a 2 percent drop at that location.

Were mine inspectors bribed?

Citing unnamed sources, NPR is reporting that FBI agents are investigating whether officials at the Mine Safety and Health Administration were bribed. It's tied to the recent tragedy at West Virginia's Upper Big Branch mine, where 29 miners died.

File photo via AP

Alcohol might have been a factor

A homeless man was arrested for urinating on his wife's head while she helped up a sign asking for help, police tell the Boulder Camera. Officers say the couple had been drinking.

Officer, I can TOTALLY explain

A Colorado man reportedly crashed his plane into a Toyota Prius and then ran away from the scene, the Boulder Camera reports. The pilot's excuse: He was worried about his dogs, who were locked in his car at the airport, the Toyota driver tells the paper. The pilot turned himself in a few hours later, after police launched a multi-agency search. The local prosecutor is considering whether to file charges.

A break in Missouri bank robberies?

Yesterday, police arrested a man suspected of robbing First Community National Bank in Cuba, Mo. At this point, he hasn't been charged. The FBI is trying to see whether he's connected to a yearlong series of robberies in Moberly, Chillicothe, Sedalia, Rolla and El Dorado Springs. The photo above is from the Moberly holdup; I don't have any images from the Cuba one. To look at the other incidents, visit bandittrackerkansascity.com.

Mo. family wants to end school drug searches

In Springfield, a city councilman and his wife are upset because police are bringing drug dogs to the high schools and searching for illegal drugs, the News-Leader reports. The ACLU has written a letter to the school district asking them to stop, or the group will consider legal action. The superintendent didn't comment because he hadn't reviewed the ACLU's message yet.

How do police like new Arizona law?

Arizona's new immigration law has a big impact on police there, who'll be enforcing the rules. Some lawmen, like Sheriff Joe Arpaio of Maricopa County, are happy about the changes, though others say it's an unfunded mandate that will destroy their jail budgets. They're also worried about training -- they've got 90 days to teach all of their officers how to enforce the federal laws. One Tucson cop, a naturalized U.S. citizen, is suing to stop the law, CNN reports. 

Time magazine's report is illustrative of the divide. The group that represents Arizona's police chiefs is against the new law. But the group representing the rank-and-file officers is strongly supportive of enforcing immigration laws.

"What we've seen is inaction, a lot of discussion," he said. "We have officers getting killed, getting severely injured by illegal aliens." He told the story of Officer Marc Atkinson, a young Phoenix cop whom Livingston had personally recruited to the force. Atkinson was slain by an illegal alien, said Livingston, during a drug bust.

(Sorry, I know you're all probably sick of Arizona stories, but I can't help myself.)

Hat Tip: Many thanks, Tȟatȟaŋka Iyotȟaŋka

Probation for Mizzou cotton-ball incident

Two Mizzou students have pleaded guilty to leaving cotton balls outside a black culture center, and they've been sentenced to two years of probation and 80 hours of community service. Plus, their licenses were suspended. The incident infuriated a lot of people in Columbia, who said it was a race-based crime. The students denied that. Ultimately, prosecutors charged them with littering, which is a misdemeanor and, thus, can't be considered a bias crime.

Body found inside burning vehicle

KCK police are investigating a dead body found inside a burning vehicle about 1:30 this morning in the 2200 block of State Line Road. (Firefighters were the ones who made the discovery, so both agencies are working on the case.) The police release lists this as a homicide investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call the police at 913-573-6020 or the TIPS Hotline at 816-474-TIPS (8477).

That is a lovely parking job

From AP: A car is seen after going through the wall on the 6th floor of a parking garage in Tulsa, Okla. on Wednesday April 28, 2010. No injuries were reported. (AP Photo/Tulsa World, Tom Gilbert)

'Click It or Ticket' returns May 24 - June 6

Riverside is one of the Missouri agencies that will participate in the campaign, which looks for motorist who aren't wearing their seat belts.

40 years for killing Border Patrol agent

In San Diego, a 17-year-old from Mexico has been sentenced to 40 years in prison for slaying Robert Rosas, a Border Patrol agent who was killed during a botched robbery. Rosas was killed last summer. He was the first Border Patrol official to be shot and killed since 1998.