FTG OF COURT HEARING OF JOHN GOODMAN AND POST HEARING PRESSERS A Florida jury has convicted Palm Beach polo mogul John Goodman of killing a 23-year-old motorist while driving drunk two years ago, according to news reports out of West Palm Beach. Goodman, 48, gained notoriety outside Florida last month when it was revealed he had adopted his 42-year-old girlfriend as a legal ploy against a lawsuit filed by the parents of the victim, Scott Wilson. Goodman was taken into custody after the verdict and faces up to 30 years in prison for DUI manslaughter and vehicular homicide at his April 30 sentencing, the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel says. Driving his black Bentley drunk in February 2010, Goodman, founder of the International Polo Club Palm Beach, ran a stop sign in Wellington and smashed into Wilson's car, police said. Wilson's car landed in a canal, where he died. Goodman fled and waited nearly an hour to call 911. His blood-alcohol was more than double the legal limit, the equivalent of 16 drinks, police said.

A FLORIDA MAN WHO BURIED ALIVE NINE NEWBORN PUPPIES, ONLY TO HAVE THEIR MOTHER DIG THEM UP, HAS BEEN SENTENCED TO FOUR MONTHS IN PRISON. ROBERT HOMRIGHOUS HAD PLEADED NO CONTEST TO SEVERAL CHARGES OF ANIMAL ABUSE IN THE CASE.

Images of the Fort Lauderdale courthouse where closing arguments get underway in the sentencing trial of Nikolas Cruz, a young man who gunned down 17 people at his former high school in Parkland, Florida, with jurors set to hand down either the death penalty or a life sentence (Footage by AFPTV via Getty Images)

00:00:00:00 ----PRELIMINARY INFO----Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale, Florida Friday (0:00)/

TAPE_NUMBER: EF00/0663 IN_TIME: 03:11:24 - 09:13:35 LENGTH: 01:43 SOURCES: RTE RESTRICTIONS: RTE = No access Ireland FEED: VARIOUS (THE ABOVE TIME-CODE IS TIME-OF-DAY) SCRIPT: English/Nat XFA A United States jury has found three men guilty of buying and smuggling weapons for use by the I-R-A. (Irish Republican Army) However, the court sitting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, cleared them on more serious charges of conspiracy to aid terrorists and to commit murder. Conor Claxton, Martin Mullan and Anthony Smyth were acquitted on charges of shipping weapons to terrorists and conspiracy to maim or murder persons in a foreign country. Prosecutors said the three were opposed to the Northern Ireland peace process and had sent dozens of high-powered weapons hidden inside toys, video recorders and computers through the post. Police intercepted 23 packages containing 122 guns and other weapons allegedly posted by the group in New York, in England and in the Republic of Ireland. It was at this Gun Shop in Florida, in the U-S, that the defendants bought the firearms that led to their arrests. The owner of the shop, according to documents presented in court, sold them 26 handguns and six shotguns, after meeting them at a gun show. From their apartment in Fort Lauderdale the consignment of 122 guns was prepared and sent to addresses in Northern and the Republic of Ireland inside computers, toy fire trucks and other containers. But the package was intercepted by customs officers at an airport in Coventry, in the U-K, who got suspicious and informed authorities on both sides of the Atlantic. That in turn led the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (F-B-I) to investigate the Florida addresses of the senders of the guns. Prosecutors had contended that the guns were meant for the IRA, which has waged a long and bloody battle in Northern Ireland against the British government and its Protestant supporters. Northern Ireland, unlike the independent Irish Republic, is still part of the United Kingdom. During the six week trial the jury was told the operation was ordered by senior members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army (I-R-A) and was co-ordinated by Conor Claxton with help by Martin Mullan and Anthony Smyth. Between them the three faced 59 charges. After two days of deliberation over the course of a week the jury found them guilty of most of the charges - but crucially found them not guilty of the two most serious counts, including conspiracy to murder and maim in Northern Ireland. Two jurors, who would not give their names, said the evidence showing that the men smuggled guns was overwhelming, but said the jurors could not all agree that the guns were intended for terrorists. The trio, worried about the life sentence the conspiracy to murder or maim charge could bring, rejoiced after the innocent verdicts on that charge were announced. But Richard Scruggs, the prosecutor, said he thought the jurors may have been influenced by recent developments in Northern Ireland, where the I-R-A has agreed to abide by the 2-year-old peace accord and put aside its weapons. SOUNDBITE: (English) "I'm as pleased as can be. I've said based upon - when you consider that the judge cut out our defences and we had to go solely on the facts of what I had, all I was contesting was counts two and three. We contest count three, we contested count one somewhat - the judge cut out our instructions yesterday on that when the jury came back. I'm very pleased." SUPER CAPTION: Fred Haddad, Lawyer for Conor Claxton SOUNDBITE: (English) "My reaction is - it was a long trail and obviously we have a jury system here in the United States. We respect the jury's verdict and we're satisfied." Question: "How much do you think politics eventually intruded in this case?" Answer: "I think probably you can't totally ignore politics in a case like this." SUPER CAPTION: Richard Scruggs, Prosecutor Just how much jail time these men will serve is still uncertain. Some of the charges carry a recommended minimum sentence of five years, others ten years. That will all be decided in a special hearing to be held on August 18. SHOTLIST: Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA - 13 June 2000 and File 13 June 1. Exterior firearms store 3. Interior of store, zooms in on gun display 4. Various shots of close-up of document 5. Exterior of house, zooms in 6. Postal box 7. Aerial of small airport 8. Wide shot of exterior of house 9. Close-up of house's porch/door File 10. Various still photos of accused 11. Security camera still image 12. Various shots of guns being displayed 13. Close-up of cartridges 14. Still photo of pistol (hidden) in toy 13 June 15. SOUNDBITE: (English) Fred Haddad, Lawyer for Conor Claxton 16. SOUNDBITE: (English) Richard Scruggs, Prosecutor 17. Various shots exteriors of court house ?

00:00:00:00 ---Fort Lauderdale, Florida Fort Lauderdale, Florida Friday (0:00)/

Spiderman burglar setenced to 10 more years in jail.

Images of the Fort Lauderdale courthouse where Nikolas Cruz, a young man who gunned down 17 people at his former high school in Parkland, Florida, goes on trial, with jurors set to hand down either the death penalty or a life sentence (Footage by AFPTV via Getty Images)

00:00:00:00 -:00 Fort Lauderdale, Florida :03 **if want to use as SOT Judge Joel Lazarus Broward County Circuit Court (0:00)/

NAME: US UBS 20091028I TAPE: EF09/1014 IN_TIME: 11:26:35:00 DURATION: 00:01:10:03 SOURCES: AP TELEVISION DATELINE: Miami, 28 Oct 2009 RESTRICTIONS: SHOTLIST: 1. Prosecutors walk into court 2. Pull out to exterior of federal courthouse in Miami 3. Steven Michael Rubinstein arrives at court for sentencing, accompanied by his lawyer and his wife, Pamela ++video quality as incoming+++ 4. Medium tilt-down of federal courthouse 5. Setup of Rubinstein's attorney Robert Panoff at his desk 6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Robert Panoff, Attorney for Steven Michael Rubinstein: "We believe it was a fair and just sentence. We're very grateful for Judge Cooke's understanding of the situation. It shows the importance of cooperating early and providing substantial assistance to the government in a timely, complete and honest and truthful fashion." (Reporter: "And you were telling me about your client; he is relieved?") "He's greatly relieved, and his wife is greatly relieved." 7. Various of US flag outside federal courthouse STORYLINE: A wealthy accountant who provided extensive help in the investigation into tax evasion by the Swiss bank UBS AG was sentenced to a year of house arrest on Wednesday in Miami. Steven Michael Rubinstein was convicted after earlier admitting he concealed about six (m) million US dollars in assets from the IRS (Internal Revenue Service). The 55-year-old was the first US citizen charged in the investigation. US District Judge Marcia Cooke said his prosecution sent a message around the globe about the risks of hiding assets in offshore accounts. She added that he deserved credit for helping US investigators find more tax cheats and crooked bankers within UBS and other institutions in Switzerland and elsewhere. Rubinstein, who was accompanied to the sentencing by his wife, will be on probation for three years, including the year of house arrest, with electronic monitoring and travel restrictions. He was also ordered to pay a 40-thousand US dollar fine. Prosecutors had sought a year of prison time, although they acknowledged Rubinstein's ongoing importance to the broader UBS investigation. After the sentencing, Robert Panoff, Rubinstein's lawyer, said his client was relieved and called it a "fair sentence." "It shows the importance of cooperating early and providing substantial assistance to the government in a timely, complete and honest and truthful fashion," he added. Rubinstein, a Boca Raton resident who is also a citizen of South Africa, said he was "embarrassed and ashamed" by his actions. He pleaded guilty in June to filing a false tax return and has been providing evidence ever since. Rubinstein's prosecution was the first after UBS in February reached a deferred prosecution agreement with the US Justice Department in which the bank agreed to turn over names of more than 150 Americans suspected of dodging taxes. To date, six others have also been charged, including a New York businessman who faces sentencing on Friday in Fort Lauderdale federal court, Florida. In August, UBS reached a second settlement with the U.S. that requires disclosure of another 4,450 American clients suspected of hiding assets in secret accounts. That agreement sent shock waves through tax haven countries around the world, serving notice of a new U.S. aggressiveness towards illegal use of offshore accounts. The IRS recently reported that a voluntary disclosure programme created to offer tax evaders a chance to come clean and avoid criminal prosecution had resulted in 7,500 taxpayers coming forward.

A Florida neurologist was sentenced this morning in a Broward Courtroom for sexually assaulting patients under his care.Richard Phillips from the Cleveland Clinic was sentenced to serve 30 months in Florida State Prison.Florida law requires sex offenders to serve at least 85 percent of their sentence. John Turchin reports.End

NAME: STILLS SMITH 20060323I TAPE: EF06/0250 IN_TIME: 10:24:23:06 DURATION: 00:00:25:07 SOURCES: SEE SCRIPT DATELINE: Various - FILE RESTRICTIONS: See Script SHOTLIST: AP STILLS - NO ACCESS CANADA / INTERNET Fort Meade, Maryland - March 14, 2006 1. Sergeant Michael J. Smith, right, gets into a car after the second day of his trial, in which he was accused of using a dog to terrify Iraqi detainees at Abu Ghraib AP STILLS - NO ACCESS CANADA / INTERNET Fort Meade, Maryland - July 27 2005 2. Sergeant Michael J. Smith, right, walks toward the Magistrate Court building along with one of his defence lawyers, Capt. Mary G. McCarthy AP STILLS - NO ACCESS CANADA / INTERNET ++ MUST COURTESY WASHINGTON POST ++ Abu Ghraib prison, Baghdad, Iraq - date unknown 3. Photo made available by The Washington Post on Friday May 21, 2004, showing a US soldier, later identified in a military court-martial as Sergeant Michael J. Smith, holding a dog in front an Iraqi detainee at Abu Ghraib prison on the outskirts of Baghdad STORYLINE: A US Army dog handler has been sentenced to about six months in prison for tormenting Abu Ghraib prisoners with his snarling Belgian shepherd. Sergeant Michael J. Smith, 24, of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was ordered on Wednesday to serve 179 days in prison and reduced to the rank of private. He will also forfeit 750 US dollars (621 euros) a month of his pay for three months and receive a bad-conduct discharge after his release from prison. Smith had faced up to eight years in prison after his conviction on Tuesday on five of the 13 offences he was charged with. The jury convicted him of conspiring with another dog handler to try to frighten detainees into soiling themselves and directing his dog to lick peanut butter off other soldiers' bodies. In closing arguments, prosecutors urged the panel of four officers and three senior non-commissioned officers to send Smith to prison for at least three years, followed by a bad-conduct discharge. Major Matthew Miller, a prosecution lawyer, said such a sentence would send a message that such actions would not be tolerated. But the defence said Smith should serve no jail time and instead be returned to his family and his unit. Captain Scott Rolle told the jury that while Smith made mistakes at Abu Ghraib, he was also a hero, decorated for saving the lives of other US soldiers during a mortar attack. Smith appeared unrepentant about the abuse charges when he addressed the jury Tuesday, shortly after he was convicted reportedly saying that soldiers were not "supposed to be soft and cuddly''. The relatively light sentence surprised Eugene R. Fidell, president of the National Institute of Military Justice, who said he thought Smith would get years, not months, of confinement. Nine other soldiers have been convicted of abusing prisoners at Abu Ghraib, in many cases by forcing them to assume painful positions and humiliate themselves sexually while being photographed.

00:00:00:00 ----PRELIMINARY INFO----Fort Lauderdale, Florida Thursday 00:00:00 00:00:42 Tate walks into court room (0:00)/

Man convicted of killing Miami-Dade officer sentenced to life in prison

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A SOUTH FLORIDA TRANSVESTITE WAS SENTENCED TO FOUR YEARS PROBATION TODAY FOR THE DEATH OF A MIAMI WOMAN WHO DIED FROM A SILICON INJECTION.

NAME: US SIMPSON 20071108I TAPE: EF07/1346 IN_TIME: 10:59:39:12 DURATION: 00:02:49:21 SOURCES: AP TELEVISION/ABC DATELINE: Various, 7 Nov/FILE RESTRICTIONS: see script SHOTLIST: AP Television Las Vegas, Nevada - 7 November 2007 1. Exterior of courthouse 2. Various of sign reading in English "Regional Justice Center 3. Close-up of road sign reading (English road closed 4. Various of media trucks and press AP Television Los Angeles, California - 7 November 2007 5. Wide of University of Southern California, Law Professor, Jean Rosenbluth walking 6. SOUNDBITE: (English) Jean Rosenbluth, USC Law Professor: "You don't even have to say OJ Simpson, you just have to say OJ and really people all over the world know what that means, when you say that, its and indictment of the American justice system. The stakes here can be seen as quite large, in a sense the opportunity to correct a wrong, even though it really won't be what's taking place, you can't be tried again for the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson." FILE AP Television Las Vegas, Nevada - 16 September 2007 7. Pan of OJ Simpson in handcuffs, being led away by police AP Television Los Angeles, California - 7 November 2007 8.SOUNDBITE: (English) Jean Rosenbluth, USC Law Professor: "Co-defendant testimony is a double-edge sword, it's the best testimony in the sense that these people were eyewitnesses and they were there, but on the other hand the jury tends to be a little sceptical because they are, or at least can be perceived to be just seeking a better deal for themselves and some juries may think they are willing to say anything." FILE AP Television Las Vegas, Nevada - 18 September 2007 9. Wide of exterior of Palace Station Hotel AP Television Los Angeles, California - 7 November 2007 10. SOUNDBITE: (English) Jean Rosenbluth, USC Law Professor: "You know, there is no allegation here that anybody was actually injured, or the weapons were actually used, but the law even rightly or wrongly, whatever you might think doesn't really care about that, if you pull out a gun, you bring a gun to a crime that is going to seriously increase the penalties that you face." FILE ABC- No Access North America/Internet Las Vegas, Nevada - 18 September 2007 8. Memorabilia dealer, Tom Riccio walking out of building 9. Close-up of picture of Riccio with OJ Simpson on computer screen 10. Pan from computer screen to Riccio 11. SOUNDBITE (English) Tom Riccio, memorabilia dealer: "I wanted to audio tape before OJ got in there, them basically spinning their tale about how they received this embezzled collection from Oj's ex-agent." 12. Close-up of OJ memorabilia AP Television Fort Lauderdale, Florida - September 20, 2007 14. O.J. surrounded by police walking through airport terminal STORYLINE: After being acquitted more than a decade ago in one of the most sensational murder cases in US history, O.J. Simpson could be looking at hard time if convicted for taking part in a scheme to grab some sports memorabilia he claimed belonged to him. Simpson and two co-defendants face 12 charges, including kidnapping, armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy and coercion. A kidnapping conviction could result in a sentence of life in prison with the possibility parole. An armed robbery conviction could mean mandatory prison time. One charge alone, robbery with the use of a deadly weapon, carries a mandatory sentence of two to 15 years. The defence and the public will get a preview of the prosecution's case beginning on Thursday at a preliminary hearing where a judge will be asked to decide whether there is enough evidence to take the case to trial sometime next year. Simpson was arrested and accused along with five others of bursting into a Las Vegas hotel-casino room with guns September 13 and stealing a trove of sports items from two memorabilia dealers. No one disputes that Stewart, Ehrlich and former co-defendants Michael McClinton, Walter Alexander and Charles Cashmore went with Simpson and California collectibles broker Tom Riccio to meet memorabilia dealers Alfred Beardsley and Bruce Fromong in a Las Vegas casino hotel room. Prosecutors say at least one gun was drawn. Simpson, 60, of Miami, has maintained in interviews and through his lawyers that no guns were displayed, he never asked anyone to bring guns and he did not know anyone had guns. But Cashmore, a journeyman labourer said McClinton displayed a gun. Alexander told police after his September 15 arrest that he and McClinton carried guns, but that he kept one in his waistband while McClinton displayed his as Beardsley and Fromong were frisked. McClinton, who later turned the two handguns over to police and surrendered his concealed weapons permit, is expected to bolster that account. "There is no allegation here that anybody was actually injured, or the weapons were actually used," said Jean Rosenbluth, a University of South Carolina Law Professor. "But the law even rightly or wrongly, whatever you might think doesn't really care about that, if you pull out a gun, you bring a gun to a crime that is going to seriously increase the penalties that you face," she added. The case is likely to pivot on Simpson's contention that he didn't ask anyone to bring guns, that he didn't know anyone had guns, and that no guns were displayed. He has said that all he wanted was to retrieve items that had been stolen from him by a former agent, including the suit he wore the day he was acquitted of murder in Los Angeles. The man who claimed to have arranged the meeting of the former athlete and the collectors, Tom Riccio, a memorabilia dealer, recorded the incident and sold the audio to the celebrity gossip Web site TMZ.com. "I wanted to audio tape before OJ got in there, them basically spinning their tale about how they received this embezzled collection from Oj's ex-agent," Riccio said. Riccio claimed that Simpson hatched the idea himself. He added he made the tape not to use against OJ, but to help him prove the souvenirs in the hotel room were Simpson's. Three of Simpson's co-defendants have pleaded guilty or agreed to do so and are expected to testify against him. Nevertheless, the prosecution's case has certain weaknesses, including some unsavory witnesses. Of the eight men who were in the room with Simpson, six have run afoul of the law before, with convictions for arson, theft, cocaine trafficking and assault among them. Simpson has maintained that he wanted to retrieve items that he claimed had been stolen from him by a former agent, including the suit he wore the day he was acquitted in Los Angeles. Simpson, 60, of Miami, has maintained in interviews and through his lawyers that no guns were displayed, he never asked anyone to bring guns and he did not know anyone had guns. Moreover, Simpson's lawyers have argued that the men who turned against him lied to win generous plea bargains for themselves. Law Professor Rosenbluth said no one will be able to avoid an undercurrent of deja vu with Simpson sitting in court. "You don't even have to say OJ Simpson, you just have to say OJ and really people all over the world know what that means, when you say that, its and indictment of the American justice system. The stakes here can be seen as quite large, in a sense the opportunity to correct a wrong, even though it really won't be what's taking place, you can't be tried again for the murder of Nicole Brown Simpson," said Rosenbluth. Authorities have said many more items were taken from the room, including football game balls signed by Simpson, Joe Montana lithographs, baseballs autographed by Pete Rose and Duke Snider, photos of Simpson with the Heisman Trophy, and framed awards and plaques. Police estimated the combined value at up to 100,000 US dollars.

The National Urban League Candidate Forum in Fort Lauderdale FL 09:57:09 BERNIE SANDERS 09:29:25 JEB BUSH SANDERS SPEECH SANDERS: Thank you all very much for inviting me. I'm looking at the teleprompter. Unfortunately, there's nothing there. My speech is here. (LAUGHTER) I ain't a teleprompter guy. Let me congratulate the National Urban League and Marc and all of you for the enormous role you are playing in this country, fighting for social justice, and not only the ideas that you are bringing forth, but the day-to-day work that you are doing in terms of job training, in terms of helping small businesses secure financing and contracts and the help that you're providing families with counseling when they're trying to realize the American dream of home ownership. And that's just a few of the areas that you have excelled in. My views are a little bit different than others. I am the longest-serving independent in the history of the United States Congress, and I am running for president of the United States today within the Democratic primary and caucus process. It is my belief, from the bottom of my heart -- and I would not be running for president if I thought otherwise -- that given the enormous crises that this country faces is today, crises that may be more severe than at any time since the Great Depression of the 1930s, that frankly, it is too late for establishment policies. It is too late for establishment politics. It is too late for establishment economics. We need some new thinking, some bold thinking. (APPLAUSE) And most importantly -- and this may make some people nervous, and that's the way it is. I think when we have a nation today where a handful of billionaires have unbelievable influence over the economic and political life of this country, there is nothing significant that we will accomplish unless we have the courage to take them on, and that is what this campaign is about! (APPLAUSE) The themes that you have outlined for this conference are exactly right -- save our cities, education, jobs and justice. As I get into those themes, the first point that I'd like to make is perhaps the most important. And I do understand that for some people, this is uncomfortable, but I believe it has to be addressed. And that is that the United States of America today is the wealthiest country in the history of the world, but most people don't know that because much of that wealth is concentrated in the hands of a few. Today in America, we have more wealth an income inequality than any other major country on earth, and it is worse today than at any time since 1928. To me, it is not acceptable that the top 1 tenth of 1 percent owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent. It is not acceptable that one family, the family that owns Walmart, owns more wealth than the bottom 40 percent of the American people. It is not acceptable that in the last two years, the 14 wealthiest people saw their wealth increase by $157 billion, more wealth than is owned by the bottom 130 million Americans. The truth of the matter is that we cannot run away from that reality. Income and wealth inequality is the great moral issue of our time, it is the great economic issue of our time, it is the great social and political issue of our time, and together, we must address that issue. (APPLAUSE) Now, let me touch on another issue before I get to your theme of equal consequence. Some of you may have heard -- maybe you didn't. It didn't get a whole lot of press. A few days ago, former president Jimmy Carter described the American political system as corrupt. He described the United States as an oligarchy, with unlimited political bribery being the essence of getting the nomination for president or to elect the president. What he was talking about is the disastrous Supreme Court decision on citizens united, a decision which says to the wealthiest people in this country, You already own much of the economy, now we're going to give you the opportunity to buy the United States government. That decision is undermining the very foundations of American democracy, what men and women have fought and given their lives to defend. You tell me what it means when one family, the Koch brothers family, will spend more money on this election cycle than either the Democratic Party or the Republican Party, spend almost a billion dollars to buy candidates who will make the rich richer and everyone else poorer. That, to me, is not democracy, that is oligarchy. That's why we've got to overturn this disastrous Citizens United decision! (APPLAUSE) And I guarantee you that all of the issues that candidates have talked about that you believe in will not take place when a handful of wealthy people are able to control our political system. Now, when we talk about education, I trust that all of you know -- as you do -- that we live in a highly competitive global economy. To my mind, it is insane -- and I use that word advisedly -- that we have hundreds of thousands of bright young people, often minorities, who have the desire, who have the ability to get a higher education and go to college, but they can't go to college for the simple reason their families cannot afford the tuition. That is absurd. We need to have the best educated workforce in the world and not tell hundreds of thousands of bright young people that they cannot make it into the middle class or they cannot contribute as engineers, as doctors, as scientists. (APPLAUSE) And that is why I have introduced legislation and will fight for as president to make every public college and university in America tuition-free. (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) And what that means is that kids in the 4th grade and in the 6th grade will know that if they study hard, pay attention, do their schoolwork, even if their parents, like my parents, didn't go to college, even if kids in the neighborhood did not go to college, they will be able to go to college because the income of their families will not be a determining factor. This will revolutionize education, I think. (APPLAUSE) And when we talk about education, what we also have to understand and be frank is the world has changed since the 1940s and '50s. Mom is in the workplace. Dad is in the workplace. We need a first class child care pre-K system in this country. (APPLAUSE) In my state and all over this country, working class families struggling to find affordable, quality child care. Child care workers are paid minimum wage. That is not how we should treat the most vulnerable children in America -- universal pre-K, well paid teachers! (APPLAUSE) Now, let me say a word about jobs. You read every month that unemployment is 5.3 percent. The government comes out with this statistic. Please know that that statistic is only one of many statistics the government releases on jobs. That statistic does not include those people who have given up looking for work and those people who are working part-time, millions, when they want to work full-time. Real unemployment is not 5.3 percent, it is 10.5 percent. It is a crisis. And now let me tell you what very few people are talking about, which is an even greater crisis. And that is youth unemployment, which we don't talk about at all. I asked for last month a study from the Economic Policy Institute, and they came up with the results that nobody is questioning. Listen to this. If you are a white kid between 17 and 20 who graduates high school, you have a 33 percent unemployment rate. If you are an Hispanic kid, you have a 36 percent unemployment rate. If you are an African-American kid 17 to 20, high school graduate, you have a 51 percent unemployment rate. That is unacceptable. That is turning our backs on an entire generation, and we must not allow that to continue! (APPLAUSE) Now, when people talk about the tragedy of the United States having more people in jail than any other country, including China, one of the contributing factors is that we've got five-and-a-half million young people in America, in my state, in your states, without jobs, without education, hanging around on street corners doing bad things. It is my very strong opinion that it makes a lot more sense for us to be investing in jobs and education, rather than jails and incarceration. (APPLAUSE) That is why, along with Representative John Conyers of Michigan, I introduced legislation that would create one million jobs over the next several years for unemployed kids. And that is why I have introduced legislation that calls for a trillion-dollar investment in rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, creating 13 million decent-paying jobs. (APPLAUSE) And when we talk about jobs and income, let me be perfectly clear. The $7.25 minimum wage that exists nationally is, in my view, a starvation wage. (APPLAUSE) And that is why last week, alongside young people in the fast food industry who are standing up and fighting for dignity, I introduced the legislation that will move us to $15 an hour minimum wage over the next few years. (APPLAUSE) I strongly supported the Affordable Care Act. It has done a lot of good things. But we should understand that the United States today remains the only major country on earth that does not guarantee health care to all people as a right. And that is why I will continue fighting and introduce legislation for a Medicare-for-all single-payer program guaranteeing health care to every man, woman and child. (APPLAUSE) Now, when we talk about justice, when we talk about the need for all people in America to be treated equally and with dignity, we've got to deal with some hard realities. And those realities include the fact that today, if you can believe it -- and I know you can -- one in four black males born today can expect to spend time in prison during their lifetime unless we change that dynamic. This is an unspeakable tragedy, and this country can no longer ignore that. Blacks are in prison at six times the rate of whites. A report by the Department of Justice found that blacks were three times more likely to be searched during a traffic stop compared to white motorists. African-Americans are twice as likely to be arrested and almost four times as likely to experience the use of force during encounters with police. Thirteen percent -- and this is an extraordinary figure, and I think not an accident -- 13 percent of African-American men have lost the right to vote due to felony convictions -- can't vote, can't participate in the democratic political process. Now, in my view, we need some major changes in criminal justice in America. And as president of the United States, I promise you my Justice Department will be vigorous in fighting all forms of discrimination in every area of our life, not only in police matters, but in housing, in credit, in every area that impacts minority populations. Across our nation -- as all of you know and we see almost every day -- too many African-Americans and other minorities find themselves subjected to a system that treats citizens who have not committed crimes as if they were criminals. A growing number of communities throughout this country do not trust the police, and police have become disconnected from the communities they are sworn to protect. When I was mayor of Burlington, Vermont, the largest city in the state, one of the things that we did -- and I believe this very strongly -- is we moved toward community policing. Community policing means that police are part of the community, not seen as oppressors in the community. And that is the direction that we have got to move. Sandra Bland, Michael Brown, Rekia Boyd, Eric Garner, Walter Scott, Freddie Gray, Tamir Rice, Samuel Dubose -- we know their names. Each of them died unarmed at the hands of police officers or in police custody. Let us all be very clear, violence and brutality of any kind, particularly at the hands of law enforcement sworn to protect and serve their communities, is unacceptable and must not be tolerated. (APPLAUSE) We must reform our criminal justice system. Black lives do matter, and we must value black lives! (APPLAUSE) We must move away from the militarization of police forces. You've all seen on TV this heavy-duty equipment. It looks like they're invading the cities. True. You know, it's like they're going to war, and that is not the signal that police departments should be sending around this country. Police should be part of the community, not an oppressor force. We need a Justice Department which takes the lead in working with states and localities to train police officers. Force should be the last resort, not the first resort. For people who have committed crimes that have landed them in jail, there needs to be a path back from prison! The recidivism rate in this country is incredibly high. People go to jail, we send them out of jail, they have no jobs, they have no money, they have no housing, and then we are just shocked when they end up in jail. We must end the over-incarceration of non-violent young Americans who do not pose a serious threat to our society. It is an international embarrassment that we have more people in jail than any other country. It is an obscenity that we stigmatize so many young Americans with a criminal record for smoking marijuana, but oddly enough, not one major Wall Street executive has been prosecuted for causing the near collapse of our entire economy! (APPLAUSE) Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me! (APPLAUSE) We need to end prisons for profit. (APPLAUSE) I do not want corporations making money and more money based on how many people we lock up. (APPLAUSE) The measure of serious and effective law enforcement should not be how many people go to jail, but how many people we can keep out of jail. We need to invest in drug courts and medical and mental health interventions. Mental health -- what an issue. So many of our people in jail are dealing with mental health issues, and I can tell you as a senator, I get calls. I think others do, as well. Senator, my brother, I am worried what he is going to do to himself, to other people. We've searched desperately for affordable mental health care. We can't find it. That's a story going on all over America. That is a story that has to change. (APPLAUSE) Furthermore, we have to take a hard look -- and the tragedy last month in South Carolina reminds me of that so strongly -- that there are still those who seek to terrorize -- and they are terrorists -- the African-American community with violence and intimidation. Some of us thought that that had ended 50 years ago, but it hasn't. We need to make sure that federal resources are available to crack down on the illegal activities of hate groups. (APPLAUSE) There are hundreds of groups in this country whose sole reason for existence is hatred of African-Americans, hatred of immigrants, hatred of Jews, hatred of Catholics. That has got to end, and the federal government must be active in ending that. (APPLAUSE) So brothers and sisters, thank you very much for allowing me to be with you and to share some ideas. And let me conclude maybe in the tone that I began, and that is that these are very, very difficult days, no question about it. But I believe that if we stand together as a people, if we don't let people divide us by race, by gender, by sexual orientation, by what country we were born in -- if we stand together, if we have the courage to take on those people today whose greed is destroying America -- if we do that, there is nothing that we cannot accomplish. And I am confident that the Urban League will be in the forefront of that struggle. Thank you so much. (CHEERS AND APPLAUSE) MORIAL: Senator Bernie Sanders -- thank you very much, Senator. Three quick questions. And the National Urban League will promulgate a questionnaire which will seek your position on the specifics of our 21st Century Agenda. Can you commit to respond to that questionnaire? SANDERS: Absolutely. MORIAL: Number two, millennials, young people are a big part of this organization and an important part of the electorate today. Any word you'd like to say specifically about the role that they will play in your campaign, in your administration or in the future of the nation? SANDERS: Well, Marc, just the other day, on Wednesday night, some of you may know we did something that was unprecedented. We had 3,700 organizing meetings in every state in this country, bringing out more than 100,000 people. And you know what? Most of them were young people. And I believe very strongly not only in terms of my campaign, but in the future of this country, that we have got to mobilize the idealism and the energy of young people, and my campaign will do everything we can to make that happen. MORIAL: And an important part for the African-American community of the racial wealth gap, the income inequality gap has to do with the fact that our small entrepreneurs, African-American-owned businesses, are facing frozen credit markets and difficulty to grow. Talk about that in terms of how it fits into your thinking. SANDERS: Well, thank you for making that extremely important point. People can't succeed in small business unless they have accessible, affordable credit. On the broader level, one of the points that I'm making in this campaign is that Wall Street is an island unto itself, more concerned about their own profits than making affordable loans to small business and potential home owners. And that's why I have called for the breaking up of the major financial institutions in this country, which will, in fact, increase credit for small and medium-sized businesses. MORIAL: Senator Bernie Sanders -- let's thank him for being here with us... SANDERS: Thank you very much. MORIAL: ... at the National Urban League. END ****************** JEB BUSH SPEECH BUSH: Thank you all very much. I appreciate your hospitality and your excellent choice of the best date to hold your annual conference. (LAUGHTER) BUSH: I'm not biased or anything. The Urban League movement runs deep here with seven affiliates from Tallahassee to Broward County and Greater Miami. If you were all hoping to find the most diverse, dynamic, forward-looking site for your convention, you came to the right place and you all are always welcome in Florida. Marc, I especially thank you and the trustees for this really kind invitation. I'm honored to be your guest. I'm pleased to see other candidates here as well: Secretary Clinton, Governor O'Malley, Senator Sanders and a good man who's bringing a lot of wisdom to the Republican side, Dr. Ben Carson. By the way, I'm glad he'll make it into the top 10 for next week's debate. Before that thing's over, we might just need a doctor. (LAUGHTER) BUSH: Just saying. For my part, I'm working hard every day for the vote and in politics the best kind of support begins in friendship and fellowship. My Florida friends and partners in the Urban League include some of the most formidable people that any of us know. Among them, a national trustee, education leader and great woman, Julia Johnson. Give her a round of applause. (APPLAUSE) BUSH: And a man who basically built this movement from the ground up in South Florida, my dear friend, T. Willard Fair (ph). Tal Fair (ph) came to this state for a job interview with the Miami affiliate. As he tells the story -- and I quote -- "I didn't know if they intended to hire me, but I intended to be hired." That was 55 years ago and as we've all learned since, when Tal Fair (ph) intends for something to happen, don't be too surprised when it does. He's an unstoppable leader and I'm honored to call him my friend. After I lost my first election in 1994, I went through a period what some people might call self-reflection, but I referred to it as listening and learning. I converted to my wife's Catholic faith. I went to family courthouses, where there were cases of children abused and neglected, and parents trying, but unable, to meet their obligations because of barriers, language, skills or otherwise, that held them back. In my next campaign, I visited 250 schools across Florida, many of them in low income communities. I also partnered with the Urban League of Greater Miami and Tal Fair (ph) to do something that was totally new to me. Together we built the Liberty City Charter School and at that time there were no charters in Florida. So we said let's change the law, let's go build a charter school. Let's start something new and hopeful for people who shouldn't have to wait for a real opportunity. And together we got it done. That first year 90 black children in Liberty City began their journey toward success. And the day that school opened was one of the happiest, proudest moments of my life. Through that listening and learning, what I found were children who had the God-given ability to achieve, yet for reasons out of their hands -- structural, historical, economic -- they didn't have the same chance at success as their peers. I'm indebted to Tal (ph) and to many others around Florida for giving me that perspective. It made me a better person, a better candidate in 1998 and a better governor for eight years that followed. That experience still shapes the way I see the deep-seated challenges facing people in urban communities today. I know that there are unjust barriers to opportunity and upward mobility in this country. Some we can see, others are unseen but just as real. So many lives can come to nothing or come to grief when we ignore problems or fail to meet our own responsibilities. And so many people could do so much better in life if we could come together and get a few big things right in government. I acted on that belief as governor of Florida. It's a record I'll gladly compare with anybody else in the field. Just for starters, leaders know there are plenty of tough calls we have to make, so we should not be wasting time agonizing over the easy ones. So 14 years ago when the question was whether to keep the Confederate flag on the grounds of the Florida State capital, I said, no, and put it in a museum where it belongs. (APPLAUSE) BUSH: Another easy call was reaching out for talent wherever I found it for my cabinet and staff, state agencies and the courts. Look, you're not going to get good judgment in government when everybody comes from the same life experience. (APPLAUSE) BUSH: We increased the number of black Floridians serving in the judiciary by 43 percent. (APPLAUSE) BUSH: And I was particularly proud that during my governorship the state use of minority-owned businesses tripled. You can't serve all the people unless you represent all the people. And we did it. (APPLAUSE) BUSH: We did it with the most diverse appointments the state has ever seen. From my first day as governor until the last, respect was the rule and opportunity for all was the goal. In most lives, opportunity is a hollow word unless you've got the dignity of a job and a paycheck. It becomes real when people are hiring and the economy's growing and that's what we accomplished here in Florida. We got the state economy growing at 4.4 percent a year. Average family incomes went up in every income group. And we made Florida the number one job creating state in the whole nation. (APPLAUSE) BUSH: We applied conservative principles and applied them fairly without wavering. We found that when -- with fewer obstacles imposed by government, more people had the opportunity to achieve earned success. We gave more people the tools to move up in the world through adult education and workforce training. We expanded our community college system and made it more affordable for low income families. Florida, in those years, helped thousands more first-generation college students make it all the way to graduation. We didn't lose sight of the ones who had missed their chance at a better life or maybe even lost their way and landed in jail. In Florida, we didn't want to fill prisons with nonviolent offenders so we expanded drug courts. They started here in Florida and we expanded them all across the state and we created prevention programs. I took the view, as I would as president, that real justice in America has got to also include restorative justice. I opened the first state base prison in the United States and signed it into executive order to promote the hiring of ex-offenders. In this country, we shouldn't be writing people off, denying them a second chance of a life of meaning. Many only ask for a chance to start again, to get back in the game and to do it right. And as a country we should say yes whenever we can. (APPLAUSE) BUSH: We also went after the real enemy that afflicts our cities, the smugglers, the drug cartels and the violent criminals to profit from the undoing of so many lives. We passed tough sentencing laws for gun crimes and ensured that dangerous people were kept off our streets. As a result of all of this we brought violent crime in Florida down to a 27-year low and drug abuse way down as well. Social progress is always the story of widening the circle of opportunity. For that reason, I gave the challenge of school reform everything I had a governor because if we fail at that responsibility, it's a bitter loss. I believe in the right to rise in this country and a child is not rising if he's not reading. (APPLAUSE) BUSH: When I took office, Florida was down near the bottom in student achievement. Almost half of all 4th graders were functionally illiterate and half of all high school kids never even graduated. So we overhauled the whole system, set clear standards and brought out the best in our great teachers. We insisted on testing and accountability. We created the first statewide private school choice programs in America. We expanded high-performing charter schools and we ended the insidious policy of social promotion in 3rd grade, the practice of just passing unprepared kids along as if we didn't care because we did care and we should care. You don't show that by counting out anyone's child. You give them all a chance and that's what we did in Florida. (APPLAUSE) BUSH: A lot changed in those years. Graduation rates went up by 50 percent. The number of black and Hispanic students passing AP exams increased four times over. We also became the leader in early childhood education and we still are today. Among minority children, Florida saw the greatest gains anywhere in the United States. And what does that show? It shows that every child can learn, no matter their race, no matter their background, no matter where they live. I know this can be done. The debate is changing. Old orthodoxies are falling away, but we can never forget that long-term reform doesn't help a child right now. Years of learning are years that are lost forever. I think of the kids in Washington, D.C., who received opportunity scholarships. A couple thousand boys and girls, almost all of them black, have been given a chance to leave the worst schools and go to the best. Yet every year the unions and the politicians want to shut this program down because they don't like parental choice, period. Well, here's the deal. This is what I believe. I believe every parent should have choices. Every school should have high standards and high expectations and the federal government should have nothing to do with setting them. But Washington should support reform and provide resources especially where the need is greatest. But building knowledge and shaping character is the job of principals, teachers and most particularly parents. That's where -- that's where the power should belong. When President Obama says that, quote, "for too long we've been blind to the way past injustices continue to shape the present," he is speaking the truth. (APPLAUSE) BUSH: But we should be just as candid about our failures in addressing the injustices of a more recent origin. In our cities, we've got so many people who have never known anything but poverty, so many young adults with no vision of a life beyond the life they know. It's a tragedy for them and such a loss to our country because every one of them has a God-given purpose to live out and God-given talents that this world needs. Every one of them was also promised at least one big break in life in the form of a public school to help them learn who they are and what they can do. For millions it's a false promise. As technology advances, the first rung of the ladder is getting higher and higher and higher. If we don't create an education system that allows young people to reach it, we are setting them up for a lifetime of failure. So you and I have to call the situation what it is, the worst inequality in America today and the source of so many other inequalities. I want to work with the Urban League movement to end this injustice once and for all. (APPLAUSE) BUSH: For a half a century, this nation has pursued a war on poverty and massive government programs funded with trillions of taxpayer dollars. This decades-long effort, while well-intentioned, has been a losing one and the casualties can be counted in the millions who've never had a chance at work, whose families fellow victim to drugs and violence and the crushing of the spirit. One of the best antipoverty programs is a strong family, leaded by -- led by two committed parents. As the family breaks down, so does opportunity. Poverty among dual-parent families is about 7 percent. Among families with single mothers, it's about 35 percent. The reason is simple. It's a lot tougher to raise a family alone. Too many kids are growing up without their dad. Fathers who are absent in their child's life need to step up and take responsibility and it's incumbent on us -- (APPLAUSE) BUSH: -- it's incumbent on us to exert the positive societal pressures that can turn the tide in the breakdown of fatherhood in America. But for many that is not an option and there's no tougher job in the world than being a single mom. (APPLAUSE) BUSH: So as governor of Florida, I tried to do something about it. I doubled our efforts to collect child support payments and we increased collections by 90 percent and the children were better off because of that. (APPLAUSE) BUSH: Together with a quality education and a family support system ending the cycle of poverty requires access to jobs. I have set a goal that will define my economic agenda, should I become president. I do not for one moment accept the supposed new normal of anemic 2 percent growth. I believe we are ready in America to achieve annual economic growth of 4 percent and a lot rides on the difference and the difference is pretty simple to state. The new normal is more businesses going under rather than starting up; 4 percent growth is a true revival of the private sector and 19 million new jobs. The new normal is static -- is the static present for struggling cities; 4 percent growth is more enterprise in urban areas, more people moving in, a higher tax base and more revenues; in other words, a better chance to save our cities. We can do this as a country. We can grow at a pace that lifts up everybody and there's no excuse for not trying. Big, audacious goals are second nature to the men and women of the Urban League. That spirit is most needed when things break down as we know they do in anger and violence. We've seen that yet again this year when all these issues I've discussed make it harder and harder for people to imagine a hopeful future. Then it's easy to see why there's anger and disillusionment. Trust in our vital institutions is at historic lows. It's up to all of us to work diligently to rebuild that trust. That happens one person at a time, one politician at a time, one police officer at a time, one community leader at a time. It begins with respect, dialogue and the courage to reach out in peace. Those were the -- exactly the qualities we saw in two of your affiliate presidents, Michael McMillan (ph) of St. Louis and Jay Howard Henderson (ph) of Baltimore. (APPLAUSE) BUSH: These good men were tested and they showed us the way. Strength to love, as Martin Luther King called it, always shows the way. And sometimes, as is in Charleston last month, it shines as a true light in the darkness. In the community of that city, we found such grace, such purity of heart, such heroic goodness, such boundless mercy, all gathered up in one story. We like to think that Charleston's response to evil told the world something good and right about this nation and our people and it surely did. Yet even more that congregation of believers and that city gave witness to the character that built a movement and inspires it to this day. I will endeavor to live up to the goodness of Charleston and work with you to better our communities, whether as your neighbor or as your president. I know there are great and lasting things we can achieve together, maybe only together, to keep America faithful to its ideals of equality and justice for all. Your support in that effort is something I will work every day to earn. I welcome your friendship and I ask for your vote. God bless you all and thank you for the invitation. (APPLAUSE) BUSH: Oh, yes. MORIAL: Ladies and gentlemen, Governor Bush one more time. Governor, we at the National Urban League will promulgate -- Ladies and gentlemen, please keep your seats. I've got three questions and then an announcement about the schedule for today. We are going to promulgate a questionnaire. You're in. BUSH: I heard it from backstage. (LAUGHTER) MORIAL: And then the other two questions. One is about young people, the new generation and Millennials and then the next one is small business, African American-owned businesses, frozen credit markets, lack of opportunity and what you'd do about that. BUSH: Well, as it relates to the Millennials, if you think about it, people in their 20s have really not gotten a great deal in the last few years. College attainment rates are lower today than our generation -- well, you're younger than me -- my generation. MORIAL: Thank you. (LAUGHTER) BUSH: But it's remarkable. We basically flatlined the college attainment levels; we measure four-year degrees in the terms of attainment in six years. Student loans have grown exponentially but graduation rates haven't risen. And so young people are stuck with debt. The job market growing at 2 percent is not creating the first rung on the ladder for young people. We're -- our government is obsolete. And Millennials are frustrated with that because they -- they're much more tech savvy. And we're not growing at a rate, well, that lifts people up. In fact, ObamaCare is designed to be effective for young people to be mandated to be in the exchanges as healthy people to take care of people our age that may not be potentially as healthy. So they haven't gotten a great deal. You're a great fix (ph). But the point is we that we've got to create a high-growth strategy for people. You can't -- you can't have a society where the next generation has less opportunities than what we had. And one of the ways you do that -- (APPLAUSE) BUSH: -- one of the ways you do that as it relates to African American-owned businesses is to use the power of government. Look, I -- we had a -- we had a tough fight with a program called One Florida (ph), it was very controversial. But we ended up because we turned it into a leadership model instead of saying, you know, we're going to have a bunch of people counting -- certifying businesses, I mean, I pretty much know you're a black man. You pretty much know I'm a white guy, right? I don't need to spend a lot of quality time going through that. So we turn all of these bureaucrats and certifiers and compliance officers, we turned them into marketing arms for businesses. And the amount of increase in procurement for black-owned businesses and Hispanic-owned businesses and women-owned businesses grew exponentially, 400 percent. So government can play a really useful role in providing opportunities for people that otherwise it may -- it makes -- it maybe get possible than to sustain their business and then expand out. So I think that's a useful place for us to operate as well. The final thing I'd say is that the access to credit issue has been made worse by the most complicated financial regulatory system. And I will tell you, it's -- the too-big-to-fail challenge is read. And I think increasing capital requirements for banks that have accumulated more assets today post-crash than pre. But what's the problem is the same rules apply to small banks, community banks, banks that are embedded in the community, both urban and rural and the net result is they can't stay sustain their business because they have to hire the same compliance officers, lawyers and accountants as JPMorgan does and, trust me, JPMorgan -- (CROSSTALK) MORIAL: Has more money. BUSH: -- the scale. And so, if we're going to be serious about making sure that the next generation of entrepreneurs gets capital, we better protect our community banks from going out of business. Thank you, Governor. Ladies and gentlemen, Governor Jeb Bush. He is going to work the rope line. END

<p><pi><b>This package/segment contains third party material. Unless otherwise noted, this material may only be used within this package/segment.</b></pi></p>\n<p></p>\n<p><pi><b>Stations Please Note: This package is being delivered to you for use only in its entirety. This means that if you choose to run any of this package, you must run the entire package, including any standups or tags. You may not cut down, alter or pull clips from this package.</b></pi></p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>Supers/Fonts: </b> Pat Chestnut, victim's cousin & McKirchy's former friend / Rae Dowling, victim's mom / David Fry, McKirchy's public defender</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>Story Location: </b></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>State/Province: </b> Florida</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>Shot Date: </b> 08/21/2024</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>URL: </b> https://www.local10.com/news/2024/08/21/babysitter-pleads-guilty-to-manslaughter-for-2019-death-of-a-man-she-injured-as-a-baby-in-1984/</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>Notes and Restrictions: </b> This package includes 3rd party material that needs to be cleared ONLY if you want to run the items as standalones outside of the affiliate package. If your show or platform is interested please contact RACI directly.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>Newsource Notes: </b></p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>Story Description: </b></p>\n<p>Elements: sound from victim's mom in court / photo slideshow in court / VO of Terry McKirchy in court / 1984 police report / booking details</p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p>Wire/StoryDescription:</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. A former babysitter pleaded guilty to manslaughter Wednesday for the 2019 death of a man she was accused of disabling as an infant 40 years ago and was sentenced to three years in prison, finally admitting that she hit him numerous times.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>Terry McKirchy, 62, accepted a plea deal for the death of Benjamin Dowling, who died at 35 after a life of severe disabilities caused by a brain hemorrhage he suffered in 1984 when he was 5 months old while at McKirchys suburban Fort Lauderdale home.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>Investigators have long believed she caused the injury by shaking him, but she had always denied hurting him even after pleading guilty in 1985 to injuring him.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>Rae and Joe Dowling said after the hearing that they are glad McKirchy admitted to hurting their son, but nothing will bring him back or get him the life he would have had if she hadn't. He never walked, talked or ate on his own and spent his life in a wheelchair.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>She will have to live with this, Rae Dowling said.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>We just have to be strong and move forward, Joe Dowling said.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>In a letter of apology read to Dowling's parents by her attorney, assistant public defender David Fry, McKirchy said she was feeling overwhelmed and exhausted by taking care of numerous children and struck him, causing his injuries. But she provided no details.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>Before the plea deal, she had been charged with first-degree murder and faced a possible life sentence.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>It was in a state of impulse and anger that I struck Benjamin while he and other children were crying, she wrote. Your life and Benjamin's life were truly harmed by me and I am truly sorry.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>Shackled and dressed in an orange jail jumpsuit, McKirchy never showed any emotion during the 90-minute hearing while her letter was read, as Dowling's mother and sister talked about his life or during a photo montage showing him through the years with his family.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>Benjamin taught us all many valuable lessons, and everyone who knew Benjamin was better because they did know him, Rae Dowling told Circuit Judge George Odom Jr. during the hearing.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>Pam Chestnutt, her former best friend and Benjamin's cousin, told the court she knew McKirchy had a bad temper but would not have not believed her capable of hurting an infant like that, though eventually came to the realization she could. She said what especially hurt is that in the days after Benjamin was injured, McKirchy repeatedly told her she had not hurt him.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>You sat with me face to face and you denied doing anything to that baby. You told me Benjamin fell off the couch," she told McKirchy. You lied straight to my face."</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>A Broward County grand jury indicted McKirchy, who now lives in Sugar Land, Texas, with first-degree murder in 2021 after an autopsy concluded Dowling died from his decades-old injuries. She had voluntarily entered the Broward County Jail in May to begin her sentence after the deal was close to being finalized. Prosecutor Pascale Achille said the case took three years because McKirchy's attorneys had to do their own investigation and then a plea had to be negotiated.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>This isn't the first time McKirchy has taken a deal in connection with Dowling's injuries, receiving an exceptionally light sentence after pleading no contest to attempted murder in 1985. Then six months pregnant with her third child and facing 12 to 17 years in prison, she was sentenced to weekends in jail until giving birth. She was then freed and put on probation for three years.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>At the time, she insisted she was innocent, telling reporters that her conscience is clear." She said then that she took the deal because wanted to put the case behind her and be with her children.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>Prosecutors called the sentence therapeutic but didnt explain at the time. Ryal Gaudiosi, then McKirchys public defender, said the sentence was fair under the circumstances. He died in 2009.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>Achille said she can't explain why McKirchy was given such a light sentence 40 years ago except to say it was a different time.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>Rae and Joe Dowling had been married four years when Benjamin was born Jan. 13, 1984. Both Dowlings worked, so they hired McKirchy, then 22, to babysit him at her home.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>Rae Dowling told investigators that when she picked up Benjamin from McKirchy on July 3, 1984, his body was limp and his fists were clenched. She rushed him to the hospital, where doctors concluded he had suffered a brain hemorrhage from severe shaking. McKirchy was arrested within days.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>The Dowlings told reporters in 1985 they were stunned when prosecutors told them minutes before a court hearing of the plea deal McKirchy would receive. They said Wednesday that they are still stunned by that sentence.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>The Dowlings had two more children and would take Benjamin to their games and performances as they grew up. The photo montage during the hearing showed his family worked hard to make him part of school and family outings, weddings, vacations and other milestones.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>Growing up, Benjamin taught me and countless others invaluable lessons about compassion, empathy, patience and understanding, said his younger sister, Melissa Dowling. Benjamin's presence was a constant source of inspiration. He never walked or talked or got the chance to say, I love you.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p>The family moved to Floridas Gulf Coast in the late 1990s. Benjamin died at their home on Sept. 16, 2019.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>He was so strong. We thought he would live forever, his mother said.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--SUPERS</b>--</p>\n<p>Wednesday</p>\n<p>Fort Lauderdale, FL</p>\n<p></p>\n<p>:43-:48</p>\n<p>Rae Dowling</p>\n<p>Victim's Mother </p>\n<p></p>\n<p>:20-:25</p>\n<p>Pam Chestnut</p>\n<p>Victim's Cousin & McKirchy's Former Friend </p>\n<p></p>\n<p>1:11-1:21</p>\n<p>David Fry</p>\n<p>McKirchy's Public Defender </p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--LEAD IN</b>--</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--REPORTER PKG-AS FOLLOWS</b>--</p>\n<p>Mom "The actions of one person changed the entire trajectory of his life."</p>\n<p>A FAMILY'S PAIN LAID BARE IN COURT</p>\n<p>Mom "Rest in peace, Benjamin."</p>\n<p>40 YEARS AFTER A BABY-SITTER INJURED A HEALTHY BABY, AND CAUSED THE TRAUMA THAT LED TO HIS DEATH THAT CAREGIVER WAS SENTENCED TO TIME BEHIND BARS.</p>\n<p>Friend "Terry, I know what you did. You shook that baby not once but twice."</p>\n<p>TERRY MCKIRCHY - NOW 62 YEARS OLD - FACED A FIRST DEGREE MURDER CHARGE AND A LIFE SENTENCE. </p>\n<p>AS A RESULT OF A DEAL, SHE PLED GUILTY WEDNESDAY TO THE LESSER CHARGE OF MANSLAUGHTER AND WAS SENTENCED TO 3 YEARS IN PRISON AND TEN YEARS PROBATION.</p>\n<p>Mom "Is 3 years enough? 10 years? You don't know. But for right now yea were okay with that."</p>\n<p>MCKIRCHY WAS BABY-SITTING A NEARLY 6-MONTH OLD BENJAMIN DOWLING BACK IN JULY 1984. </p>\n<p>AT THE TIME, MCKIRCHY WAS 22 YEARS OLD AND LIVED IN HOLLYWOOD. </p>\n<p>DOCTORS RULED DOWLING SUFFERED ABUSIVE HEAD TRAUMA - WHAT USED TO BE CALLED SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME. </p>\n<p>IN COURT, HER ATTORNEY READ A STATEMENT WRITTEN BY MCKIRCHY WITH A SHORT EXPLANATION OF WHAT HAPPENED.</p>\n<p>Defense "I recall being overwhelmed and exhausted while watching the children in my home, and in a state of impulse and anger I struck Benjamin as the other children were crying."</p>\n<p>AT THE TIME, MCKIRCHY WAS ARRESTED AND LATER ACCEPTED A PLEA DEAL, WHICH ALLOWED HER TO SERVE JAIL TIME ON WEEKENDS. </p>\n<p>MEANWHILE, BENJAMIN LIVED MORE THAN THREE DECADES WITH SEVERE DISABILITIES UNTIL HIS DEATH IN SEPTEMBER OF 2019. </p>\n<p>THE MEDICAL EXAMINER RULED THE CAUSE OF HIS DEATH A RESULT OF HEAD TRAUMA AND THE MANNER OF DEATH A HOMICIDE WHICH LED TO NEW CHARGES FOR MCKIRCHY AND A NEW SENTENCE.</p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--TAG</b>--</p>\n<p></p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>-----END-----CNN.SCRIPT-----</b></p>\n<p></p>\n<p><b>--KEYWORD TAGS--</b></p>\n<p>FLORIDA SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME MANSLAUGHTER BRAIN HEMORRHAGE</p>\n<p></p>

APPEAL HEARING FOR RAP STAR BOBBY BROWN ACCUSED OF VIOLATING PAROLE.

Former Miami Dolphins kicker Pete Stoyanovich appeared in a Broward County courtroom today...facing drunk driving charges.

Supers/Fonts: \n\nStory Location: \n\nState/Province: Florida\n\nShot Date: 10/26/2021\n\nURL: https://www.local10.com/news/local/2021/10/26/parkland-school-shooter-to-appear-in-court-for-status-hearing/\n\nNotes and Restrictions: WSVN ROUTING LOCAL POOL\n\nStory Description: \nElements: raw, live\nWire/StoryDescription:\nFL: Status hearing set for Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz-9A\nDefense attorneys seek to suppress evidence in upcoming penalty phase\nA status hearing for Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz is scheduled for Tuesday morning.\nStation Notes/Scripts:\n\nFORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. – Nikolas Cruz appeared in court Tuesday for a status hearing, nearly a week after he pleaded guilty to murdering 17 people and attempting to kill 17 others in the Feb. 14, 2018, school shooting in Parkland.\n\nLawyers on both sides will reconvene with the judge next week to go over various motions.\n\nThe defense has filed a series of motions to suppress evidence in the case, including evidence related to a search warrant executed at a Lantana home Cruz once stayed in, as well as another home in Pompano Beach.\n\nJury selection for the penalty phase is expected to begin in January. Cruz will be sentenced either to life in prison or death.\n\nDuring last week’s hearing, Cruz delivered a statement to the families of the victims who were killed and injured in the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, apologizing for what he did and saying that he hopes “you give me a chance to try to help others.”\n\n\nFamilies of the victims were unmoved by his statement, calling it “irrelevant.”\n\n“Irrelevant, and we’re just one step closer to justice,” said Fred Guttenburg, whose daughter, Jaime, 14, was killed in the school shooting,\n\nFamilies who spoke to Local 10 News last week said they are hoping Cruz gets the death penalty, although even the death penalty wouldn’t be enough.\n\n“I think killing him death by injection is too peaceful,” said Andrew Pollack, whose daughter Meadow, 16, was killed in the shooting. “Get him out of the jail and put him in the prison where he gets prison justice.”\n\n“Not even the death penalty would in any way balance what happened to my son,” said Manuel Oliver, who lost his 17-year-old son, Joaquin “Guac” Oliver, in the shooting.\n\n--SUPERS--\n\n--VIDEO SHOWS--\n\n--VO SCRIPT--\n\n--LEAD IN--\n\n--SOT--\n\n--TAG--\n\n--REPORTER PKG-AS FOLLOWS--\n\n-----END-----CNN.SCRIPT-----\n\n--KEYWORD TAGS--\n\n

[SENATOR JOHN KERRY (D-MASS) DEPARTS MADISON, WI / ARRIVES FT. LAUDERDALE / EDWARDS ON IMUS / BUSH TOURS DAMAGED ORANGE GROVE, FLA] [VARIOUS] [Kerry departs Madison WI / Kerry arrives at Ft. Lauderdale, FLA / Sen John Edwards calls into Imus / President Bush Tours damaged Orange Grove in FLA] KERRY PARTING RALLY AT WISCONSIN AVIATION, SOUTH TERMINAL TACMAC 10:05:57 let me tell ya, couple of moments ago in this ropeline, something happened that happens to me. Two iraqi veterans, i'm not going to point them out, just told me what it was like and they're worried about how tough it is to get our troops out. They came here to support me, they believe, others that served our military, stronger commander and chief that solves the problem of iraq 10:06:58 i'm looking forward to tomorrow night, to share the truth, not the sound bites, ads but the truth. And once again today, once again a milestone in the presidency, we mark the loss of 1.7 million manufacturing jobs, loss of 1.6 million total jobs, 5 million people lost heatlh insuarnce, marked loss of millions of children left behind, marked the loss of tuitions gone up and students not gone to college because of cost of education. Today yesterday we mark a 50 dollar barrel of oil which breaks another promise. The oil in iraq will bring price of oil down, pres promised us oil will pay for war, those oil pipes are being blown up 50 dollars a barrel not as bad as it might get, analyists say 60 dollars, average americans feel pain, not halliburton, saudi arabia, bush has broken promise, doesn't have an energy promise 10:08:52 my friend the american people deserve better, i'm going to take resolve you've all make me harden and tighten and over next 30 plus days, we're going to change the direction of this country for the better, thank you and god bless you all, thank you wisconsin. 10:10:47 *** ALEXANDRA KERRY SHOOTING VIDEO OF HER FATHER FROM AIRPLANE 10:11:22 JOHN KERRY ASCENDS STAIRS OF AIRPLANE, ALMOST KNOCKS OVER ALEXANDRA KERRY JOHN KERRY ARRIVAL RALLY AT HOLLYWOOD AIRPORT IN FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA 10:13:27 KERRY DECENDS STAIRS 10:14:21 WOMEN FOR KERRY SIGN 10:14:47 CHILD HOLDING UP SIGN 10:14:53 AMERICAN FLAGS WAVING 10:15:19 KERRY ONTO STAGE 10:16:21 GREAT KERRY NATS / CHEERS 10:16:42 Thank you So much 10:17:03 *** No more bush Nats 10:17:17 you are beyond belief i'm so happy to be in florida, thank you. I'll tell ya. This... thank you 10:17:41 this is without any question the warmest welcome i've ever had to the state of florida. 10:18:01 I'm glad to be here, i can't tell you how happy i am, to catch up to my pal I haven't seen him in about a month you coudln't have a better person at your side than max cleland. 10:18:32 I'm proud down here in state, great leader, ever time i come down here, congressman Kendrick. 10:18:57 We have a great party chair thank you for what he's doing 10:19:06 I do want to begin tonight if i may extending my prayers to people of this state that have lost so much, been through the grill meat grinder, don't think any people deserve, what's lost, turmoil, know what's great about it? what you've proved to all americans, come togehter sherrif offices, police offices, you proved in florida how to do it and be american and thank you for what you have done. 10:20:14 You've shown that even in face of adversity face of what's to overcome, exactly what we're going to overcome. 10:20:33 i just had a chance to meet, i'm goign to do all in my power how much i love you back, is that fair? I'm counting on you. 10:20:53 **Kerry Nats** 10:21:01 I'm just taking this evnergy in and i'm going to use it tomorrow night. Let me just tell you, i want to tell you, there's a guy who walked on plane, fire lieutenant, and i just want to give you a sense of priorities, wrap around come back, hit you twice, but mike fitzpatrick has his priorities straight, at same time he's making sure phone calls up and hospitals working he was out there today, putting up kerry edwards signs everywhere he went, he just put them right back up and that's why we're going to win in florida. 10:22:17 let me tell you, i'm just going to share a few words with you tonight, this is most important election of our lifetime, that's something i keep reminding people you all are telling me, everyone in florida, why this is most important election of our lifetime. Every thing that makes a difference tto us as americans, as citizens of our communities, as human beings are on the line, jobs health care supreme court of the united states of america, rights of aemrican. 10:23:19 great thing for our democracy, for the world, people who care about all these issues, tomorrow we get an opportunity to debate with president about the direction of our country. I'm looking forward to that debate. 10:23:55 There are real differences that seperate this election we're going to get an opportunity to talk about, i want an america that exports products not jobs. And as president i'm going to close that tax loophole that rewards companies that takes jobs overseas and rewards companies in the US. 10:24:42 I want an american where health care is not a privledge but a right for every american. And my plan iws going to take on waste and greed and we're going to take care of those seniors who just got hit with a 17% increase so bush can feed drug companies,w hen i'm presdient we are going to lower those costs get a real medicare perscription benefit, import drugs from canada that cost less money. 10:25:48 Kerry nats 10:26:08 under my plan you get to choose your doctors not government plan, competition, every child covered with media insurance. I'll tell ya, edwards and i fighting for this for a while, bush and friends standing in way, doctors and patients make medical deicsions not burocrats, where no young american held hostage by oil in the middle east, we are going to declare energy independence. 10:27:16 finally let me make it claer, we're in a serious time, we'll talk about htat tomorrow night. face an enemy and americans may differ on weither gone to ireq, provide our troops with support and plan for success and provide america with way to get job done and get those troops home. 10:28:00 that's about 32 days from now right? I want to make clear to all americans, my highest priority will be to hunt down and kill terrorists, but i will do it in an way that brings the world to our side, that's what we'll do. 10:28:40 Kerry Nats. 10:28:49 tomorrow night opporutnity to issues to all americans, i'm asking you to go out and talk to friends, make next 30 plus days most important plus days of your life because they are, i'm asking you this tim i'm asking you taht florida is not just the place wehre every vote counts but every vote is counted, lets go out and get the job done. Thank you and god bless. 10:29:52 Kerry on stage raising hands 10:30:23 signing papers on stage CUTS 10:32:01 John kerry on stage speaking (no audio) 10:32:31 women in crowd cheering (no audio) 10:32:54 kerry speaking (no audio) 10:33:04 side angle shot (no audio) 10:33:13 crowd waving flags (no audio) 10:33:27 CU side angle of kerry speaking (no audio) 10:35:03 woman with daughters wearing hats (no audio) 10:37:15 Kerry on stage (no audio) 10:37:44 Good CU Kerry gladhanding (no audio) 10:39:57 I IMUS: Here's the Democratic nominee for vice president, Senator John Edwards. Good morning, Senator Edwards. EDWARDS: Good morning, Don. How are you doing? IMUS: I'm fine, sir. How are you? EDWARDS: I'm fine. You've been whining a lot this morning. IMUS: Well, you know, that's just -- came in in a bad mood. EDWARDS: Oh, yes. And the weather is not good either. IMUS: No. Where are you? EDWARDS: I'm in Newark. IMUS: You're pretty close here. EDWARDS: Yes, I am pretty close. IMUS: So, are you still running? EDWARDS: Jogging, you mean? Exercising? IMUS: Yes. I have a picture here of you -- a pretty attractive photograph of you on the cover of "Runner's World." EDWARDS: Yes. And somebody told me you said I hadn't run a real marathon. IMUS: Well, you haven't run New York or Boston, have you? EDWARDS: No. Are those the only marathons in the country? IMUS: Well, no, but the marathons you run are treadmill marathons. (LAUGHTER) I mean, Oprah Winfrey ran the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington. (LAUGHTER) EDWARDS: Listen, if it's 26 miles, it counts. IMUS: Well, I guess, yes. What's your best time in a marathon? EDWARDS: Three thirty-three, I think. IMUS: Well, that's pretty impressive. That's a little over an eight-minute mile, isn't it, Charles? My wife ran New York in 3:32, so... MCCORD: That is serious. EDWARDS: Yes. It hurt. It hurt bad. IMUS: Senator Kerry says he ran the Boston Marathon in the '70s, but he can't recall his time and there's no record of it. And my question is, a guy runs one marathon in his life and he can't remember the time, and I was talking to my sportswriter friend Mike Lupica and he said, "Are we looking at a Boston Marathon Veterans for Truth ad situation here?" (LAUGHTER) EDWARDS: Well, they've used everything else, they might as well use that too. IMUS: In the current issue of Rolling Stone, in which you're interviewed, they observe, as have many others, Senator Edwards, that the traditional role of the vice presidential candidate is to play -- and this is their phrase -- "the pitbull, allowing his boss, in this case Senator Kerry, to remain above the fray." And to this point, that's a role that you have not played or if you have, the perception is that you have not. 10:41:55 EDWARDS: I think, actually, I have. I wouldn't call -- I'm not sure I'd use the word "pitbull," but I've been out here every day making this case about how George Bush and Dick Cheney have messed up our country, and all damage that they've done not just here, but abroad. EDWARDS: And I think that's just a powerful case, it's a case that has to be made. It's one that I've been making and I think making very strongly. IMUS: Well, for example, Senator Kennedy said the other day that the Bush administration's obsession with Iraq has made this country more vulnerable to a nuclear attack by terrorists, which is pretty strong. Do you agree with that? EDWARDS: I do. IMUS: Oh, you do? EDWARDS: I do. IMUS: How so? EDWARDS: Well, because if you look -- did you say by terrorists? Is that the end of that sentence? IMUS: Yes, sir. EDWARDS: It certainly made us more vulnerable to the possibility of a nuclear attack. And the reason is because what happened -- if you look at this thing, sort of, big picture, after we were attacked on September 11th, they went into Afghanistan, which was the right thing to do, but very quickly became focused on Iraq. The result of that was they didn't finish Afghanistan, also made a huge mistake by not using our forces to get bin Laden at Tora Bora. And by focusing on Iraq and diverting resources from Afghanistan, not only -- not only did we move away from Afghanistan, but during this same period of time, Iran was moving forward with its nuclear weapons program, North Korea was moving forward with its nuclear weapons program. Because of our need for troops in Iraq, they've now taken troops off the Korean Peninsula, plan to take more off, which makes us very vulnerable there. So there's no question that Iran and North Korea have moved forward and become a bigger threat for America during the time this focus has been on Iraq. I mean, remember, Bush is the one who said, "axis of evil, North Korea, Iran, Iraq." Well, we invaded the country that didn't have nuclear weapons and the other two have gone forward with their nuclear weapons program during the same time. 10:44:45 10:43:55 IMUS: When did you all realize that they were not doing a proper job in Afghanistan? EDWARDS: Early. Early on. I don't remember the exact date. But it became pretty clear early on that they weren't -- what they had planned for was the military operation of getting rid of the Taliban. They had not done the work to make sure that you could secure the country. I mean, if you look at what's happening there, they've gone right back to their heroin and opium trade; they produce 75 percent of the world's opium. All that's ever been really secure is right around Kabul, which means the country -- big chunks of the country are going right back in the hands of the old drug lords and warlords, which means it can be a haven for terrorists, again, which is what we were trying to stop, aside from the fact that they were protecting bin Laden. IMUS: Based on your assessment, then, and Senator Kerry's and others, that they had screwed up Afghanistan, why'd you all vote to give them the authority to go into Iraq and screw that up? EDWARDS: I think it was the right thing to do, to have for the president -- and I would have wanted Kerry to have the same authority if he had been president -- for the president to have the authority to go to the U.N., to make sure that the weapons inspectors got back in, to not allow Saddam to just ignore the rest of the world in terms of allowing weapons inspections to take place. I think that was the right thing to do. But we didn't give Bush authority to screw this thing up the way he has. IMUS: No, I understand that. EDWARDS: I mean, he's made an incredible mess out of this. IMUS: But he had just demonstrated that he screwed up Afghanistan and I don't understand, and many other Americans don't understand, why you all then would -- by the way, I'm supporting you guys. It's becoming more difficult. EDWARDS: Are you actually going to vote for us? IMUS: Yes, I am, at this point. You know, I don't even want -- why are you looking at me like that? MCCORD: Well, why "at this point"? You keep filling in that caveat. IMUS: Yes, I am going to vote for Senator Kerry and Senator Edwards... MCCORD: That's more like it. IMUS: ... barring some, you know, meltdown at the debate or something. (LAUGHTER) I'm in the foxhole with you, Senator. EDWARDS: Good. We want you there. IMUS: So, I played the bugle... EDWARDS: But I want you there without all the whining. I want you to be with us if you're with us, you know? (LAUGHTER) 10:46:05 IMUS: Well, I understand that, sir. But my point is that -- and I think it's a good one, and you were even asked this in Rolling Stone -- if they've just demonstrated that they couldn't complete the mission in Afghanistan, and then we turn around and give them the authority to go into Iraq -- and I know we want them to go in the right way, and you certainly couldn't anticipate that they were going to, in your judgment, screw it up -- but my point is, based on what they had just done, why would you give them the authority to do it again after what they did? EDWARDS: Because the president had to have the authority to deal with what Saddam was doing. It was just that simple. And, remember, this was pretty early on in the Afghanistan thing. That doesn't mean that I didn't believe they were already making mistakes in Afghanistan. That is true. I did believe that. But I thought the president had to have that authority. And one of the things -- in fact, if you just give me a second to say another word about this... IMUS: You have all the time you need. EDWARDS: You know, this vice president, Cheney, said in 1992, 1992 when he was asked, he was being pushed then why they didn't finish the job in Iraq, why didn't they get Saddam at the time. And he talked about the enormous danger and risk of getting bogged down in Iraq, of having to govern the country, of the casualties that would be incurred. 10:47:25 EDWARDS: And to use language some of these people that have used against John, you know, he was against getting bogged down in Iraq before he was for it. He was against it then, now he's for it. And these guys clearly did not have any kind of plan for what they were going to do once we got through the military operation. And that's what all of us are seeing the consequences of right now. 10:48:02 IMUS: Well, my view, and that of a lot of Americans, is there was no reason, none, to go to war in Iraq. And I don't understand why you think there was. EDWARDS: My belief was -- and I believed this at the time, it's not just what I think now -- what my belief was is that Saddam Hussein was ignoring his responsibilities, he kicked out the weapons inspectors, there was no way to know what he was doing and it was important to confront that danger. And the president had to have the authority to do that. That did not mean that the president had to rush into this war. It did not mean that we shouldn't have had the weapons inspectors back there. It did not mean we shouldn't have had others with us when we did it. EDWARDS: All these things that he has made a mess out of are his responsibility. I mean, that's what he should have done. But he didn't do it. And the president has to do this stuff, Don. He's the one with the responsibility for doing it. IMUS: But there was... EDWARDS: And I'm not arguing -- by the way, I want to be clear with you. I'm not arguing that knowing everything we know today, that he didn't have weapons, that there's no connection to 9/11, that there's no serious connection to Al Qaida, that this invasion is what should have been done. I'm not saying that. I'm just saying whoever the president was at that time had to have the authority to deal with Saddam and that's what this was about. IMUS: Back to this inviting the terrorist nuclear attack, the vice president implied that were Senator Kerry and you elected that -- I'm paraphrasing the vice president -- well, you know what he said. That he thought... (CROSSTALK) EDWARDS: Yes, I know what he said. IMUS: Is that what you're saying now about them? EDWARDS: About who? IMUS: President Bush and Vice President Cheney, that electing them would invite a terrorist nuclear attack? EDWARDS: No, of course not. 10:49:32 IMUS: Well, that's what Senator Kennedy seemed to be saying. EDWARDS: That's certainly not what I was saying. That's why I asked you a minute ago, because I had not heard what Senator Kennedy said, the business about the terrorists being at the end. What I know is true is that Iran and North Korea have moved forward with their nuclear weapons program. This president has basically ceded the responsibility for dealing with Iran to the Europeans and with the North Koreans to the Chinese, which is a huge mistake because they create such a threat to America and it creates a much more serious nuclear threat to America. And I believe -- I do believe that's true. So, no, I wouldn't say -- was I saying what Cheney said, is that what you're asking? IMUS: Yes. EDWARDS: No, absolutely not. IMUS: OK. Because there's a front page story in the Washington Post this morning suggesting -- maybe they're talking more about Senator Kerry adopting the language of the Bush-Cheney axis, but maybe not. EDWARDS: No. I think what Cheney said was outrageous. IMUS: If on January 20th Senator Kerry is sworn in and, I don't know, changes his mind or whatever and you become president, what would you do in Iraq as President Edwards? 10:51:12 EDWARDS: I think the most important thing to do is to speed up the training of the Iraqis to provide their own security. It's going way too slow. We've also got to get this reconstruction speeded up, because what's happening is they don't see any benefits of what's happening -- the electricity, the water. A lot of money has been appropriated, it's not being used. This is whatr countries who can participate, who I think would participate if we had a new president with the credibility to get them involved. I think those are the things that need to be done. 10:52:00 IMUS: I had a bunch of people on my staff -- and who are all pretty incompetent, by the way -- and the MSNBC staff, go through everything that you said during the primary process to see if we could find something horrible that you had said about Senator Kerry. EDWARDS: Yes. I bet you did. IMUS: And we couldn't find anything. But at some point... EDWARDS: You couldn't find anything? IMUS: Not really, no. Other than you came from a working-class thing and the implication was that he didn't, which is fine. But at some point, there was a point where you thought you'd make a better president than he did. When did you decide that that was not the case, or have you? EDWARDS: I think that John Kerry will make a great president. IMUS: No, but that doesn't answer the question. EDWARDS: I know it doesn't answer the question. (LAUGHTER) IMUS: Why wouldn't you want to do that? (LAUGHTER) EDWARDS: What, are you like Russert now? Is that the... IMUS: Hardly. Boy, he looks angry, doesn't he? Man, I'm glad he is not one of the moderators. Who's moderating your debate? EDWARDS: Gwen Ifill. IMUS: She is no pushover, either, by the way. EDWARDS: No. She's tough. IMUS: You've just talked about getting our allies involved and Senator Kerry specified, and you did in Rolling Stone, France, Germany, Russia in this reconstruction effort. Why would these countries, for whatever reason -- I understand they have this civil war in their backyard, but it wouldn't be the first one they had -- why would they want to send their construction workers to Iraq to be beheaded? 10:53:21 EDWARDS: That is a good question. I think, first of all, to get them involved they're going to have to believe that they're not just involved in sending troops or not just involved in sending reconstruction workers; they're going to actually be involved in deciding what's going to happen. In other words, they're going to be in the decision making; they're not just going to be told by America what's going to happen. But I think it's -- I don't think it's an easy sell. I wouldn't say that. I think it's going to be hard and it's going to be difficult to get them involved, because of this hole Bush has put us in. But I do think, especially if we do the other things that I talked about, I think there is a real possibility of getting that accomplished. 10:54:04 IMUS: What's the ultimate goal there in a Kerry-Edwards administration for Iraq? To create this democracy that -- this idiotic plan that the Bush administration has and all these neocons and this big world view they have, or just as Senator Kerry seems to be suggesting with his four-year plan -- as I pointed out to him, it would be a four-year plan barring some scandal in his administration -- I just can't take all this that that seriously, I guess I should. I love my country and you guys. But I don't know, it's just -- anyway, my question... EDWARDS: What was that? (LAUGHTER) IMUS: I don't know. I'm not in a good mood today. My wife didn't pack my lunch and I'm just -- and you guys are behind and they're making fun of me and they're making fun of Senator Kerry's tan and I'm irritable. Everybody on the program supports President Bush except me. EDWARDS: So, was there a question in there somewhere? IMUS: Somewhere, yes. (LAUGHTER) And my question is, what is -- is the goal to create this democracy in Iraq in a Kerry-Edwards administration, or simply to get our troops out of there and leave it in not as big a mess as it is now? EDWARDS: Well, if I can use my words instead of yours, I think the goal is for it to be stable, for it to be relatively secure, and for the Iraqis to be governing themselves I would hope with at least a pluralistic government. And we would be hopeful that they would be moving toward democracy. But I think that's the basic goal. IMUS: But is it win at any cost or... EDWARDS: What does that mean? IMUS: Well, I mean, you know, to -- I'm not sure I understand the answer. 10:55:42 IMUS: My point is that their goal is to win at any cost, and that means, in the view of Rumsfeld and all these other people, to create this utopian democracy. And I don't know that I -- maybe I wasn't paying attention. EDWARDS: No. I think -- we're committed -- we're there. We're committed to success. We think to be successful you have to do things differently than what they're doing, and basically it's the things I just talked about. IMUS: Time magazine -- I actually asked Senator Kerry about this, about this horrible month you all had in August, the Swift boat ads, the Republican convention and Zell Miller. Boy, he went -- he just freaked out, didn't he? 10:56:23 EDWARDS: Really. Really. Tell me about it. IMUS: And we've known him for years and he's -- Charles and I, we actually broadcast from the governor's mansion down there, and he seemed like he was -- maybe he was on his medication, I'm not sure. But anyway. The vice president suggesting the stuff we already talked about, inviting another terrorist attack if they elect you guys. My question, for him and for you, Senator Kerry said, well, he was surprised that the president and the -- of his unwillingness to walk away from the various commentsple, the vice president, all that stuff. And my question for him and for you is you had to already know that these -- that they were willing to do and say anything. Look what they did to McCain. So why were you all so slow to respond to all this stuff, which made it enormously frustrating for people who support you? 10:57:06 EDWARDS: No, I understand that. You know, just to be direct about this, I think that if you watch what we've been doing in these recent attack ads, everything -- all the attacks they've lost on John Kerry, we have been responding strongly and forcefully. When they lie, we say it's a lie. And we're focused on the next 30-some-odd days. You know, maybe when this election is all over, we'll go back and start analyzing what happened in July or June or August, but that's not what I'm thinking about right now. I'm thinking about making sure we win on Election Day so that you quit whining on the show. (LAUGHTER) IMUS: How important is tomorrow night? EDWARDS: It's important. IMUS: Is it huge? EDWARDS: It's important. I don't know if it's huge. What is that? I think it's... IMUS: Well, that's what these loudmouths all say, Chris Matthews, and Russert and all these... 10:58:01 EDWARDS: I think it's important, but I would say also, I think -- and I know there's a lot of focus on John, and I understand that -- it's also important for George Bush, because people in this country are nearly as dumb and naive as George Bush thinks they are. You know, he keeps saying things are going well, that there are no mistakes in Iraq. All people have to do is turn their television on to know what's going on. You said it earlier. Americans are being kidnapped and beheaded, and parts of the country are under the control of insurgents and terrorists blowing into the country from all over the world; over 1,000 Americans have lost their lives there. People know all these things. And the question is, is the president finally going to come clean and tell the American people truth about what's happening in Iraq? It will be interesting to see whether he keeps trying to say everything is going well, because everybody know that's not true. 10:58:52 IMUS: President Bush, even I would admit, is a likable guy, whereas Vice President Cheney is an evil presence on the planet, in my view; even more evil than Al Gore was, if that's even possible. What are the -- and you debate him when? EDWARDS: Tuesday. IMUS: And what are the -- are there as many constraints on that debate as there are on this one? EDWARDS: Oh, yes, yes, yes. You know, he got what he wanted. They wanted, the Bush-Cheney campaign, wanted it to be 90 minutes, sitting at a table, as it was when he debated Lieberman back in 2000. They got all the things they wanted. So we're going to be sitting at a table, to answer your question. IMUS: Will you be able to ask each other questions? EDWARDS: No. IMUS: You can't? EDWARDS: No. No. It's the same -- it's basically the same format. It's a question and a two-minute answer, then a 90-second response, and then there's, like, another minute for back and forth. 10:59:54 IMUS: Are you up for this? EDWARDS: Am I up for it? IMUS: Yes. EDWARDS: Yes. IMUS: I want you to go in there and pretend that he's just run over -- that he was drunk in a car and killed an entire family and you're representing that family. EDWARDS: Oh, I'm ready for this. IMUS: I want you to get right in his face. EDWARDS: I hear you. IMUS: We're counting on you. EDWARDS: I know that. Not just you. IMUS: Don't go in there grinning and all that. EDWARDS: Yes, I know. This is serious business, I understand that. IMUS: You've got to win this thing, because I'm going to look like a moron. It's all about me, by the way; it's not about our country or about the troops or freedom or about the safety of... EDWARDS: That's the most important thing. Can I ask you -- are you getting ready to stop? IMUS: No. No. Why? You can ask whatever you want. EDWARDS: You sounds like you were winding down. You know, the funniest thing has happened. Since I was in your studio a few months ago, I've got this extra watch. (LAUGHTER) And I can't figure out how -- I don't know where it came from. I just, you know, when I left, I just -- it's a very nice watch. (LAUGHTER) IMUS: Good luck, Senator Edwards. EDWARDS: Thank you. IMUS: Thanks. PRESIDENT GEORGE W BUSH ARRIVES TO TOUR DAMAGED ORANGE GROVE FROM HURRICANE JEANNE IN FLORIDA 11:01:51 bush extis marine one, waves while walking on tarmac 11:02:30 Bush up stairs of Air Force One turns and waves 11:02:58 bush decends stairs shakes hand of brother Jeb Bush 11:03:29 hellicopter lands 11:03:42 people walking across field 11:03:58 Bush walking down orange grove with brother Jeb Bush 11:04:34 i want to thank my brother jeb for hospitality and leadership, 11:04:57 i understand a lot of people in this area were hit hard by jeanne and charley and francis, taken livfes, severe flooding, storms that caused power outages damaged farms homes hopitals and roads, devistating period for state of florida, first time in 120 years, that four hurricanes hit same state in single season, people of florida met historic challenges iwth streength and generosity, evacuating people before storm, repsonding swifltly after storm arrives, power cres putting in long hours, strength, faith based groups and salvation army setting up kitchens to feed hungry, red cross providing medical shelters, distributing supplies, conducting safety supplies. 11:06:36 make it through the storms. 11:06:51 working closely with governors like Jeb, reach people who need it. 12.2 billion dollars respond to hurricane francis and jeane, bridges and highways and hopsitals, funding for small business operations, 8 billion for fema, largest amount every provided in raponse to disaster, fema's response to all four storms, i want to thank homeland seucrity tom ridge, mike brown for tremendous work in past few weeks, they and those who work for fema have graitiude, i know florida agriculture hit hard, marty and pat almost lost half their orange crop, my budget request will provide assitance to citrus growers and those who suffer losses, global market, and no country takes advantage of citirus growers during time of disaster, citrus remain a strong part of this states economy. 11:08:46 fed gove committed to help people get back on feet, call on corngress pass budget quckly, 11:09:07 once again thank jeb for outstanding leadership, citizens of florida for courage and decency, pray for all who come to their aid, god bless you all. 11:09:40 bush gladhanding 11:10:00 damaged buildings from hurricane jeanne 11:10:40 damaged rooftops 11:10:55 damaged building 11:11:43 orange grove 11:12:17 oranges on ground 11:12:58 helicopter flying over trees

KIRK DOUGLAS BILLIE, THE NATIVE AMERICAN FORGIVEN BY HIS TRIBE AFTER KILLING HIS CHILDREN, IS SENTENCED TODAY (THURSDAY).