Secret Service chief apologizes for prostitution scandal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The head of the U.S. Secret Service, in his first public appearance since a Colombian prostitution scandal involving his employees surfaced last month, apologized for the misconduct on Wednesday as lawmakers expressed doubt it was an isolated incident.

Secret Service Director Mark Sullivan, gray-haired in a blue striped suit and tie, faced the Senate Homeland Security Committee and asserted that the behavior of a dozen employees in Cartagena in April did not reflect the culture of the agency that protects the president.

But Senator Joseph Lieberman, chairman of the committee, said a review of Secret Service records showed that over the past five years there were 64 instances of "allegations or complaints concerning sexual misconduct ... against employees."

In the biggest scandal to hit the agency, a dozen Secret Service employees were accused of misconduct for bringing women, some of them prostitutes, back to their hotel rooms in Colombia, ahead of a visit by President Barack Obama.

"I am deeply disappointed and I apologize for the misconduct of these employees and the distraction that it has caused," Sullivan said.

"Over the past several weeks, we have been under intense scrutiny as a result of this incident. To see the agency's integrity called into question has not been easy," he added.

Sullivan generally has been praised by lawmakers for acting swiftly and the White House has stood by him. None of the senators at the hearing called for him to step down.

But Senator Susan Collins, the senior Republican on the committee, and others said they found it difficult to believe the misconduct was an isolated incident, and she faulted Sullivan on that score.

"The only answer of his that disturbed me today was that he kept saying over and over again that he basically does think this is an isolated incident. I don't think he has any basis for that conclusion," Collins told reporters afterward.

Lieberman, an independent, said most of the 64 allegations or complaints of sexual misconduct in the past five years involved sexually explicit emails or sexually explicit material being sent on government computers. But three incidents, Lieberman said, "involved charges of an inappropriate relationship with a foreign national and one was a complaint of nonconsensual sexual intercourse."

Another incident involved a Secret Service employee soliciting a prostitute who turned out to be an undercover police officer in Washington, Lieberman said.

An older incident involved several Secret Service employees who were disciplined for "partying with alcohol with underage females in their hotel rooms while on assignment" at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Lieberman said.

Regarding the Colombia incident, Sullivan said the actions of a few should not taint the whole agency and its roughly 7,000 employees, and he pushed back on any suggestion that such behavior was considered acceptable when agents were on the road.

'JUST ABSURD'

"The thought or the notion that this type of behavior is condoned or authorized is just absurd, in my opinion," said Sullivan, who has worked nearly 30 years at the Secret Service.

"I never one time had any supervisor or any other agent tell me that this type of behavior is condoned. I know I've never told any of our employees that it's condoned," he said.

Obama has called the Secret Service employees involved in the scandal "knuckleheads" and maintained that the vast majority of agents perform their work admirably.

The Washington Post, citing unnamed sources, reported that four of the employees involved in the incident are challenging their dismissals, saying the Secret Service has made them scapegoats for behavior that previously had been tolerated.

Sullivan told the committee that the agency's numbers differed: "We have two employees who had originally said that they were going to resign, that have now come back and said that they are going to challenge that."

In addition to the two who rescinded their resignations, seven Secret Service employees retired, resigned, were fired or are in the process of having their security clearance permanently revoked because of the scandal.

Three others were cleared and a 13th employee is on administrative leave after reporting his own potential misconduct in a separate incident.

Collins said there was no excuse for "recklessness" and that the Secret Service employees had "willingly made themselves potential targets" who could easily have been drugged, kidnapped or blackmailed. Sullivan said no secret information had been compromised because of the incident.

Sullivan listened to senator after senator express concern. The agency's reputation was "badly stained" by the "sordid story," Lieberman said.

Lieberman and Collins, who were among lawmakers briefed on the incident, described the evening in mid-April when the men, in separate groups of two to four, went to different nightclubs and strip clubs, drinking alcohol heavily.

They returned to their hotel with women, some of whom were prostitutes, and registered them under their actual names as overnight guests as required by hotel rules.

"If one of the agents had not argued with one of the women about how much he owed her, the world would never have known this sordid story," Lieberman said.

Senator Scott Brown, a Republican, pressed Sullivan about some of the new rules announced by the agency since the scandal surfaced, such as sending a senior employee to supervise behavior on trips.

"I'm a little bit confused as to why we would be sending a $155,000 (annual salary) person, another person to basically babysit people that you say this hasn't happened before," Brown said.

A dozen U.S. military personnel also are under investigation in connection with the prostitution scandal in Colombia.

Charles Edwards, the acting inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security, which includes the Secret Service, told the hearing he would conduct an independent investigation into the events in Cartagena.

(Writing by Tabassum Zakaria; Editing by Will Dunham)

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Device May Let Humans Communicate With Dolphins

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Santorum endorses Ted Cruz in Texas Senate race

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Music Notes: Somers Point Beach Concerts, Jazz at Atlantic Club ...

Music fans will have more options than ever to catch a concert in Atlantic City this Memorial Day weekend, but that's not when the music stops. The entire southern Jersey shore region will popping with music of all kinds this summer ? including rockabilly, jazz, classcial, rock, blues, R&B and reggae.

This year, the Atlantic City region has a full slate of top-tier concerts, from Beyonc? and Metallica to Phish, Yes, J Lo, and James Taylor.

With the June 1-3 Atlantic City Multi-Cultural Festival, the Atlantic City concert series at Gardner's Basin, the International Series at Kennedy Plaza (presented by the Atlantic City Free Public Library) and the Somers Point Beach Concerts series (celebrating its 20th year) music lovers will have many opportunities to chill out and listen to free concerts this summer.

The five-show series, co-sponsored by the City of Atlantic City and Atlantic City Free Public Library, kicks off on Saturday, June 2. Opening acts begin at 1pm and headliners start at 4pm and play until dusk. The concerts are free and open to the public.

The schedule for the series at Gardner's Basin is as follows:

???? Saturday, June 2 ? Third World, Evelyn ?Champagne? King and Harold Melvin?s Blue Notes headline the show. Sensa Motion Band, Bob Sterling and Jackie Greggs open the show.

???? Saturday, June 23 ? Tavares, Con Funk Shun and Kool Moe Dee headline the show. Eddie Morgan Rek?d 4 Jazz, The Emperors and Essence Pittman open the show.

???? Saturday, July 21 ? War and the Chi-Lites headline the show. Rick Cason Express, Mark Big & Tasty Baxter, Jack and Judah Dorrington open the show.

???? Saturday, Aug. 4 ? 2012 Gospel Fest featuring Kurt Carr and The Kurt Carr Singers

???? Saturday, Aug. 18 ? Cameo and Enchantment headline the show. Coolist & Maceo Mobley, Special Occasion, and Angela Burton and Passion, open the show.

The Friday evening Somers Point Beach Concert (free, 7-9pm, Somers Point beach on Bay Avenue))?series 20th anniversary schedule includes:

? Friday, June 15 ? Lionel Young Band (Multi Blues Award Winning Violinist)
?

? June 22 ? Bonerama? (Rockin? Funky Trombone led Brass Band from New Orleans)
?

? June 29 ?? Commander Cody Band (Country Swing and Rockin? Boogie Woogie Recording Stars)

? July 4?? ? ? Bob Campanell Band featuring Danny Eyer (Jersey Shore Rock ?n Roll Icon with his favorite lead guitarist)
?

? July 6 ? Jeremiah Hunter Band (Favorites from The Soul Survivors & Fullhouse)
?

? July 13?? ? ?? Rick Estrin & The Nightcats (World Class Jump, Swing Blues Recording Artists)
?

? July 20 ? ?? ??? The Persuasions, plus The Shakes (Legendary Doo-Wop Vocal Stars PLUS Motown Party Dance Songs)
?

? July 27 ? Dr. Bobby Fingers, plus Hawkins Road (Popular Sing-a-long songs PLUS The Best Country Rock)
?

? Aug. 3?? ? Scott Kirby w/ Lew London ?? (One of Margaritaville Radio?s most requested Artists)
?

? Aug. 10 ?? Billy Walton Band with Arthur Migliaza? (Jersey Shore Rock ?n Roll Hero with New Orleans Piano)
?

? Aug. 17 ? Midori Brothers Band feat. Franny Smith (Swingin? Tribute to Benny Goodman & New Orleans Favorites)
?

? Aug. 24? ?? Walter Trout (International Rockin? Blues Guitar Headliner)
?

? Aug. 31 ? Jill West and Blues Attack (Western Pennsylvania?s No. 1 Party Dance Band)
?

? Sept. 7? ??? Reverend Raven & the Chain Smokin' Altra Boys (Rockabilly Swing & Roots Rock ?n Roll)

Also, the Atlantic Club (formerly the Hilton)?has announced it will be starting up a jazz series at the property's Ono restaurant. Kicking off the weekly series will be Michael Pedicin (June 10), who will be followed by John DiMartino (June 17), Elio Villifranca (June 24), John Collianni (July 1) and Alex Brown (July 8). The peformances are 6-9pm and there is no cover charge.

Finally, this holiday weekend, Peter Nero and the Philly POPS perform at the new Convention Hall in Cape May (Sat., May 26, 8pm, $150).

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'; commentSection.appendChild(commentDiv); } } } function validateCommentForm(form){ var fieldEmail = document.getElementById("field.email"); var fieldName = document.getElementById("field.name"); var nameValue = fieldName.value; var emailValue = fieldEmail.value; var filter = /^([a-zA-Z0-9_\.\-])+\@(([a-zA-Z0-9\-])+\.)+([a-zA-Z0-9]{2,4})+$/; if (filter.test(emailValue)) { var fieldBody = document.getElementById("field.body") var bodyValue = fieldBody.value; bodyValue = bodyValue.replace(/&/g,"&"); bodyValue = bodyValue.replace(/,"/g,">"); bodyValue = bodyValue.replace(/\r\n/g,"

"); fieldBody.value = bodyValue; if(navigator.appName == 'Microsoft Internet Explorer') { if(document.getElementById('submit').disabled) { document.getElementById('submit').disabled=false; } else { document.getElementById('submit').disabled=true; } } return insertComment(form,true,function(){return showEditorialComment(nameValue, bodyValue)}); } else { alert('Please enter a valid Email below.'); form.elements[field.email].focus(); return false; } }

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How to Use a Specialized Trust -- The Gun Trust Example | Purcell ...

May 23, 2012 ?/? By: Purcell and Amen, Your Estate Matters, L.L.C. Estate Planning Attorneys ?/? Category: Wills and Trusts

Your estate plan should be as complex or as simple as your estate is, but in all cases it should take advantage of the tools that are right for the job. All estates plans should start with a Last Will and Testament; however, after that the estate planning tools you use will depend on your goals and needs. Trusts are another popular estate planning tool. In case you are under the impression that trusts are only for people with vast estates, think again. Specialized trusts have developed over the last few decades and can be an excellent tool to use when you have a very specialized need or a specific asset that needs to be addressed such as a gun collection.

Unlike most estate assets, leaving your gun collection to someone in your Will may not work. The various local, state and federal laws concerning firearms could result in you essentially asking your intended beneficiary to violate one of those laws if you just bequeath your collection to him or her in your Will. A gun trust can solve that problem.

By creating a gun trust, you can transfer ownership of your collection to the trust and appoint a trustee while you are still alive. Upon your death, the trustee can ensure that all transfers of ownership are accomplished according to all applicable laws, thereby preventing any violations. Your gun trust may also make purchasing and selling firearms less complicated while you are still alive. Talk to your estate planning attorney if you think a gun trust might be a valuable addition to your estate plan.

Purcell and Amen, Attorneys at Law ? Your Estate Matters, LLC is a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys.

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Automotive Website Awards to Be Presented at AutoCon 2012 ...

Eatontown, NJ ? The fifth annual Automotive Website Awards, presented by PCG Consulting, will be presented September 11, 2012 after the opening ceremony for the AutoConnections Conference & Exposition (AutoCon 2012). ?The Automotive Website Awards (AWA) are the industry's highest honors for automotive vendors and suppliers.
Bringing the two events together makes it possible for dealers to take advantage of the newest and most exciting automotive conference and watch live to see which of their suppliers walked away with a 2012 AWA.

'We're honored to bring our annual awards ceremony to AutoCon 2012,' said Brian Pasch, CEO of PCG Consulting.? 'The vendor and dealer communities that will be united at this powerful event will energize the AWA awards ceremony; hundreds of automotive professionals will be in attendance. '

AutoCon 2012 attendees receive complimentary admission to the AWA awards ceremony to cheer on their colleagues.

The 2012 AWA Ceremony will be on September 11, 2012 at 6:00 PM. Attendees to AutoCon 2012 are advised to arrive into Las Vegas on September 11th by 1:00 PM so that they can check-in to the hotel and be ready for the opening General Session at 4:30 pm.

Vendors who have product for consideration for an AWA should contact Nicholas Casci 732.450.8200 ext. 47 or go online to http://www.automotivewebsiteawards.com for more information.

About the Automotive Website Awards
Since 2008, the Automotive Website Awards have provided car dealers with an independent review of automotive technology.?? The awards program recognizes the industry's best technology across seven different categories: best website platform, best mobile website, best mobile application, best marketing software, best website add-on software, best automotive classified sites and best social media marketing tools.

About AutoCon 2012
The AutoConnections 2012 Conference and Expo series (AutoCon 2012) will bring together the best in automotive retail thought leadership along with the best speakers and solution providers in the industry.

AutoConnections 2012 will connect dealers with the strategies, tools, people and inspiration for the greatest competitive advantage in the automotive retail marketplace.

http://www.autocon2012.com/
?
?
?

? WebWireID156860 ?

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Defendant: FAMU band drum major wanted to be hazed

FILE - In this Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011 file photo, Robert Champion, a drum major in Florida A&M University's Marching 100 band, performs during halftime of a football game in Orlando, Fla. Champion, who died after being hazed on a bus, asked to go through the ordeal because it was seen as an honor, said defendant Jonathan Boyce in a deposition released Wednesday, May 23, 2012. Champions' parents have said their son was a vocal opponent of the routine hazing in the band. (AP Photo/The Tampa Tribune, Joseph Brown III, File) SST. PETERSBURG OUT; LAKELAND OUT; BRADENTON OUT; MAGS OUT; LOCAL TV OUT; WTSP CH 10 OUT; WFTS CH 28 OUT; WTVT CH 13 OUT; BAYNEWS 9 OUT

FILE - In this Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011 file photo, Robert Champion, a drum major in Florida A&M University's Marching 100 band, performs during halftime of a football game in Orlando, Fla. Champion, who died after being hazed on a bus, asked to go through the ordeal because it was seen as an honor, said defendant Jonathan Boyce in a deposition released Wednesday, May 23, 2012. Champions' parents have said their son was a vocal opponent of the routine hazing in the band. (AP Photo/The Tampa Tribune, Joseph Brown III, File) SST. PETERSBURG OUT; LAKELAND OUT; BRADENTON OUT; MAGS OUT; LOCAL TV OUT; WTSP CH 10 OUT; WFTS CH 28 OUT; WTVT CH 13 OUT; BAYNEWS 9 OUT

(AP) ? A Florida A&M drum major who died after being hazed on a bus asked to go through the ordeal because it was seen as an honor, a defendant in the case said in a deposition released Wednesday

Robert Champion, 26, had asked all season to go through the hazing ritual, known as "crossing over," defendant Jonathan Boyce said.

"It's a respect thing, you know," Boyce told detectives. "Well, he was wanting to do it all ... all season."

Champion died last November after enduring a hazing ritual conducted by other band members on a bus outside a hotel in Orlando where FAMU had played its archrival in football. His death revealed a culture of hazing in the famed band, which has performed at Super Bowls and presidential inauguration parades. An autopsy concluded Champion suffered blunt trauma blows to his body and died from shock caused by severe bleeding.

Champion's parents have said their son was a vocal opponent of the routine hazing in the band.

In an interview earlier this year, Champion's father, Robert Sr., said the reason his son was hazed was because of his opposition to it.

Prosecutors in Orlando are releasing more than 1,500 pages of evidence against the 13 people charged in Champion's death last year. Eleven defendants are charged with a third-degree felony and two are charged with misdemeanors.

One hazing ritual called "the hot seat" involved getting kicked and beaten with drumsticks and bass drum mallets while covered with a blanket on a band bus called, "Bus C," band member Marc Baron told investigators. Baron isn't charged and wasn't on the bus the weekend Champion died.

Band members enduring the hazing also must run a gauntlet to the back of the bus while being hit and kicked in a ritual called "crossing over," he said.

"You start in the beginning and you go, you try to find your way to the back," Baron said.

Asked by investigator if it was how a member earns respect, Baron said: "In a certain way respect, but it's not really respect. It's just like band credentials."

Depositions offered clues to the defenses the defendants will use.

Defendant Aaron Golson denied getting on the bus where the hazing took place. He said he got a ride back from the game with a friend.

"I don't know anything that happened with Robert," Golson said.

Golson also told detectives that Champion wasn't into the hazing rituals.

"Man, I'm shock(ed) if that happens," Golson said when told that Champion chose to get on the bus to be hazed.

Another defendant, Caleb Jackson, at first told detectives that he wasn't on the bus when Champion was beaten but then changed his story when he was told that hotel video surveillance showed him getting off the bus. At the time of Champion's death, Jackson was on probation for a felony battery charge.

"I love Robert like a brother, more than ya'll, any, everybody in this band loves this man like a brother, you know what I'm saying," Jackson said.

FAMU's famed Marching 100 band was suspended shortly after the incident, and officials have said it will remain sidelined at least through the 2012-2013 school year.

The school also tried to fire band director Julian White. White's dismissal was placed on hold while the criminal investigation unfolded, but he insisted that he did nothing wrong and fought for months to get reinstated. He announced his retirement earlier this month.

___

Associated Press writers Kelli Kennedy and Jennifer Kay in Miami contributed to this report.

Associated Press

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Cancer Docs Often Deal With Own Grief, Doubts When Patients Die

WEDNESDAY, May 23 (HealthDay News) -- Some cancer doctors may build up emotional walls -- distancing themselves from the patients they can't save -- to avoid grief, sadness and even despair, new research shows.

In a profession where death and dying "are part and parcel of the work," study author Leeat Granek said grieving is mixed with "feelings of self-doubt, failure and powerlessness that come from the idea that doctors are responsible for their patients' lives and for making their treatment decisions."

Twenty oncologists at three adult cancer centers in Ontario described how they dealt -- or didn't deal -- with grief, and its effect on their professional practice and personal lives. The report was published online May 21 in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

"The issue with doing oncology is that you walk a very fine line," one doctor said. "If you get too involved with your patients you can't function because it's too much emotional load to bear, and if you get too distant from your patients then I don't think you're being a very good physician, because people pick up on that."

"Sometimes the grief comes home with the oncologist," said Granek, a postdoctoral fellow at the Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto. Although some doctors "compartmentalized" in order to function, others had difficulty sleeping or enjoying time with their family.

But there were positive reactions, too. Some physicians found they had a better perspective on life from frequent exposure to patient loss. And some felt motivated to give better care.

The study referred to the physician's burden of "holding hard knowledge."

"Sometimes I'll take a chart and I'll look at the imaging, and everything's worse and the numbers are worse," a doctor said, "and I have to drag myself into the patient's room and figure out what can I offer them that's hopeful and positive. It's tough."

Several oncologists said they cried on the way home in their cars. But feelings were kept private or submerged.

"Losing any patient is difficult," said Dr. Len Lichtenfeld, deputy chief medical officer at the American Cancer Society. "But there is no time to grieve. You have a moment or two to reflect and then you're on to the next patient who needs your help."

Granek said that "even just acknowledging that grief over patient loss exists and that it's part of the profession would be healthier than what is happening now. There is no acknowledgement at all, and there's denial."

Other patients might be affected in the aftermath of a loss, some respondents suggested.

"Maybe I got that case after someone had just died and I was in a more aggressive mode," one physician said. "Or, maybe I undertreated someone because I just saw a patient with terrible toxicity."

Doctors talked about being distracted, less focused. When patients were dying, some physically distanced themselves, avoiding the hospital and bedside.

Patients and family members can sense this distance. Lichtenfeld told of a bereaved husband who confided in him after his wife had died of breast cancer.

Caring professionals "would spend time with him, talk to him, look at him, hold his hand, ask how he was feeling," Lichtenfeld said. But others "would not engage in those behaviors -- they would look the other way, they would not look him in the eye, they would rely on 'the data, the data, the data,'" in conversations.

"If you're troubled about the way the physician or members of that team are relating to you," Lichtenfeld recommended "bringing it up as part of the conversation."

An accompanying journal commentary described how one institution is dealing with the situation. Since 2008, the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, N.Y. has held staff support meetings -- mandatory for oncology fellows -- where practitioners are encouraged to discuss their experiences with patient loss and grief.

"Feelings of frustration, anger, loss, isolation and insecurity often emerge in a setting that is nonjudgmental and supportive," wrote oncologists Dr. Michelle Shayne and Dr. Timothy Quill. "At the end of each one-hour session, a moment of silence is observed in remembrance of patients who have recently died, and the opportunity to remember and honor a patient who has died by saying his or her first name is offered."

Oncologists "are working very hard and doing this phenomenal job with very large numbers of patients," Granek said, "and they could use a little bit of support with this piece."

More information

Visit Healthguide.org to learn about anticipatory grieving.

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