2 Killed, 50 Injured in Earthquake in Serbia

KRALJEVO, Serbia-- A state of emergency was declared Wednesday in central Serbia after an earthquake rattled the region, killing at least two people and injuring 50 others.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the moderate quake with a 5.3 magnitude struck 75 miles south of the Serbian capital, Belgrade, at 01:56 a.m. Wednesday.

The hardest hit area was around the town of Kraljevo where the trembler destroyed or damaged buildings and left parts of the city without electricity, running water or telephone lines.

Serbia's Interior Minister Ivica Dacic said a couple, both 68, died in a Kraljevo suburb when the roof and the first floor of their house collapsed, while 50 people were injured elsewhere in and around the town.

Serbia's Prime Minister Mirko Cvetkovic toured the region, meeting the son and the daughter of the victims, promising financial help.

"As far as I understand, many people in the region don't have a place to sleep and they'll have to be placed in collective centers," Cvetkovic told the Associated Press.

Several mostly older buildings in Kraljevo, the town of some 70,000 people, were damaged, including local hospital and the town hall. Several cars were destroyed from falling concrete from the buildings.

"I had a house with a chimney which is now gone," said Milos Vukomanovic, a resident of the Vitanovac village near Kraljevo which was the epicenter of the quake, as he repaired the roof of the building with cracked walls and shattered windows.

The residents of Kraljevo cleared the rubble and assessed the damage from the quake.
"In shops, cafes and houses everything was on the floor this morning," said Marta Jakic, a shop owner.

Numerous aftershocks were felt Wednesday.

"The most important thing is that people calm down, that there is no panic and that the city authorities function," Dacic said in Kraljevo.

The earthquake -- the strongest in Serbia since 2000 -- was also felt in a wider area of the Balkan state including Belgrade where people were jolted from their beds, some fleeing their homes in panic. The trembler was also felt in neighboring Romania, Croatia and Macedonia.

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Killed Student's Arrested Teammates Seek Dismissal

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. -- Four college football players who were arrested after their teammate was fatally shot by police are seeking an immediate dismissal of the charges against them.

Defense attorney Bonita Zelman said the charges were a cover-up for police brutality and she is opposing a request from prosecutors to postpone the students' next court appearance, currently scheduled for Thursday.

"If they don't have enough evidence now to bring the case against them, they didn't have enough to charge them," Zelman said Tuesday night.

The office of District Attorney Janet DiFiore has asked Mount Pleasant Town Judge Robert Ponzini for a two-week adjournment, saying the four students' cases are part of an ongoing investigation into the Oct. 17 shooting death of Pace University student Danroy Henry. Henry, 20, of Easton, Mass., was shot to death in his car near the scene of a disturbance outside a bar in Thornwood, about 25 miles north of New York City.

Police say Henry sped away and hit two officers after another officer knocked on his car window. Michael Sussman, a lawyer for Henry's family, claims that witnesses, including passengers in the car, contradict the police account. The district attorney is coordinating an investigation.

The teammates were arrested in the chaotic aftermath of the shooting. Three allegedly interfered with getting medical aid to Henry and one was charged with breaking a store window.

Postponement requests rarely raise any opposition. But Zelman told the judge she "strenuously" objects, saying the prosecution's claim of an ongoing investigation "is simply insufficient excuse on which to deny our clients their right to a prompt arraignment."

Zelman said last month that her clients -- Daniel Parker, Joseph Garcia and Yves Delpeche, all 22, and Joseph Romanick, 21 -- were brutalized by officers at the scene. She has not publicly identified any officers.

Police say they have received no brutality complaint.

After the shooting, Henry was handcuffed and placed on the pavement by officers. Mount Pleasant police Chief Louis Alagno said last week that Henry received treatment from officers within three to five minutes of the first report of a shooting.

But some witnesses have alleged that Henry was neglected for up to 15 minutes after he was shot. Zelman said last month that Parker, of Lauderhill, Fla., knows CPR and begged police to let him try to save Henry, but instead "they put a gun to his ribs and they told him to back ... up or he would be next."

She claimed Garcia, of Floral Park, N.Y., and Delpeche, of Brooklyn, N.Y., were zapped with stun guns when they tried to intervene. Romanick, of Slidell, La., also was brutalized and was wrongfully charged with breaking a store window, she said.

Westchester County police said Parker, Garcia and Delpeche were charged with disorderly conduct and obstruction because they interfered with getting medical aid to Henry. Parker and Delpeche also were charged with resisting arrest. Police say only Delpeche had to be subdued by stun gun.

Romanick was arrested by Mount Pleasant police and charged with criminal mischief.

Zelman said she's fighting the postponement and seeking dismissal so "these false criminal charges won't be hanging over the heads of these innocent kids any longer." She also said some of the defendants' relatives have arranged to fly in from out of state.

Lucian Chalfen, a spokesman for the district attorney, said a request for an adjournment is common in the early stages of an investigation.

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NATO: 30 Fighters Killed in Afghan Outpost Attack

Published October 30, 2010

| Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Insurgents armed with rifles, rocket-propelled grenades and mortars tried to storm a combat outpost in eastern Afghanistan on Saturday, setting off a battle that killed 30 attackers and wounded five coalition soldiers, NATO said.

Assailants struck from all sides in the nighttime attack on the outpost in Paktika province's Bermal district, where nearly all NATO forces are from the U.S. military.

The military called in close air-support and aircraft dropped three bombs to help repel the insurgents. According to NATO, the five coalition service members who were wounded in the attack continued fighting.

"Insurgents attacked from all directions," NATO said in a statement. It provided no further details.

The attack took place in an area about 125 miles south of Kabul that borders the Pakistani region of North Waziristan. The area is controlled largely by the Haqqani network, a Pakistan-based Taliban faction closely tied to Al Qaeda.

The border region has long been a refuge for Islamist extremists from around the world and has been the target of numerous drone strikes against the Taliban, Al Qaeda and the forces of the Haqqani network. Jalaluddin and Sirajuddin Haqqani, a former anti-Soviet commander and his son, are now battling American forces in eastern Afghanistan.

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California Body Boarder Killed in Gruesome Shark Attack

LOS ANGELES –  Matthew Garcia was surfing two feet away from his friend who was bodyboarding when he heard a desperate cry for help. Within seconds, a shark flashed out of the water, bit into his friend's leg and pulled him under in a cloud of blood off the coast north of Santa Barbara.

"When the shark hit him, he just said, 'Help me, dude!' He knew what was going on," Garcia told the AP as he recounted his friend's death. "It was really fast. You just saw a red wave and this water is blue -- as blue as it could ever be -- and it was just red, the whole wave."

As huge waves broke over his head, Garcia tried to find Lucas Ransom in the surf but couldn't.

He decided to get help, but turned around again as he was swimming to shore and saw Ransom's red bodyboard pop up. Garcia swam to his friend and did chest compressions as he brought him to shore.

The 19-year-old already appeared dead and his leg was mauled, he said.

"He was just floating in the water. I flipped him over on his back and underhooked his arms. I was pressing on his chest and doing rescue breathing in the water," Garcia said. "He was just kind of lifeless, just dead weight."

The University of California, Santa Barbara, junior had a severe wound to his left leg and died a short time later at Surf Beach, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department said in a statement. The beach, 130 miles northwest of Los Angeles, is on the property of Vandenberg Air Force Base but is open to the public.

Sheriff's deputies patrolled the coastline to search for Ransom's missing leg but were only able to recover the bodyboard, which had a 1-foot segment on the side bitten off.

Federal and state Fish and Game officials were working to identify the type of shark that attacked Ransom.

The ocean was calm and beautiful before the attack, with large wave sets that the friends had been tracking all week as they moved down the West Coast from Alaska, Garcia said.

The shark, which breached the water on its side, appeared about 18 feet long, Garcia said.
"There was no sign, there was nothing. It was all very fast, very stealth," said Garcia, 20.

The pair, best friends since they were on the water polo and swim teams together at Perris High School in Riverside County, had joked the night before about the chances they would be attacked by a shark, Garcia said. It was the first time either had been to that particular beach and they planned to surf until about 11 a.m. and then go to class, he said.

"We were just in perfect water, the waves were perfect, great barrels. It was picture-perfect conditions," he said. "You hear a surfer say, 'Oh, perfect waves' -- well, the waves do not get any better than they were today."

Ransom, who was from Romoland in Riverside County, was a junior at UCSB majoring in chemical engineering, but was in the process of changing his major to chemistry because he wanted to be a pharmacist, said his mother, Candace Ransom.

He had been home last weekend but spent most of the time studying for midterm exams, she said.

She last spoke to her son Friday morning, when he told her he was going to surf sets of 8- to 10-foot waves at a beach that was new to him. His mother encouraged him not to go in the water, she told the AP.

Surf websites reported that the waves were 6 to 8 feet high at Surf Beach on Friday. The scientific standard is to measure the height from the back of the wave while some surfers like to measure the face of the wave.

"I said, 'Honey, if they're so pretty why don't you just sit and watch them. You're at a place you've never been to before,"' Candace Ransom said. "He said, Mom, don't worry, I'll be fine and I'll call you when I finish up."

Ransom's parents said their son was an avid swimmer and was on his high school's water polo and swim teams, where he won titles in the 50- and 100-meter freestyle and relays and he ran marathons with his mother. He also worked as a lifeguard at a community swimming pool in Murietta.

It was there, at age 16, that Ransom and two other lifeguards rescued a young boy in 2007 after spotting him floating on the water. He had been certified as a lifeguard just five months before and received an award from the local city council.

"He was a son that every mother would be proud to have as a son," his mother said. "He had no fear. He did what he loved the most and he couldn't have left the world in a better place than where he was at."

Authorities have issued several warnings this year after great white shark sightings up and down the California coast.

There have been nearly 100 shark attacks in California since the 1920s, including a dozen that were fatal, according to the California Department of Fish and Game. But attacks have remained relatively rare even as the population of swimmers, divers and surfers sharing the waters has soared.

The last shark attack on Surf Beach was in 2008, when what was believed to be a great white shark bit a surfer's board. The surfer was not harmed.

The last fatal attack in California was that same year, when triathlete David Martin, 66, bled to death after a great white shark bit his legs about 150 yards off of a San Diego County beach.
Randy Fry, 50, died from a great white attack in 2004 while diving off the coast of Mendocino, north of San Francisco Bay.

In 2003, a great white shark killed Deborah Franzman, 50, as she swam at Avila Beach, about 30 miles north of Vandenberg.

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Three Bystanders Killed During Gunbattle in Northern Mexico

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico -- Three bystanders died in the crossfire of a shootout between gunmen, police and soldiers in northern Mexico on Sunday.

The victims were a 14-year-old boy and two women aged 18 and 47, according to a statement by the prosecutors' office in northern Coahuila state.

The statement said gunmen traveling in two vehicles opened fire on a convoy of federal police and soldiers in the city of Saltillo, Coahuila. The officers and soldiers returned fire.

It was not clear who fired the shots that killed the bystanders, but the state attorney general's office said it was investigating and expressed condolences to the victims' families.

"They are civilians who unfortunately died in the exchange of gunfire," it said, describing a running series of confrontations between police and assailants who allegedly fired shots into the air to clear bystanders from their path at one point.

Three gunmen also died Sunday in a separate shootout in another Coahuila city, Torreon.

Coahuila has been the scene of bloody turf battles between the Sinaloa cartel and the Zetas drug gang.

Mexico's army, which has taken a leading role in combating drug gangs, has come under criticism for alleged indiscriminate use of force and firing on civilians.

In the border city of Ciudad Juarez, meanwhile, the death toll from a birthday party massacre late Friday rose to 14 after an 18-year-old male died of his wounds.

Nineteen people were wounded in the attack on two private homes where about four dozen partygoers had gathered for a teen's birthday.

The dead identified so far were 13 to 32 years old, and the majority of the victims were high school students, a survivor said.

While investigators said they have not yet identified the perpetrators or a motive, police found 70 bullet casings from assault weapons typically used by drug gangs at the scene of the shootings. Cartel violence has killed more than 2,000 people so far this year in the city across from El Paso, Texas.

Friday's attack recalled a similar massacre in Ciudad Juarez in January, when gunmen killed 15 people at a house party.

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Skipper of Dutch Passenger Ferry Killed in Crash

Published October 22, 2010

| Associated Press

AMSTERDAM -- Divers have recovered the body of the skipper of a Dutch passenger ferry who was killed when his vessel collided with a German freight ship on a busy waterway near Amsterdam, police say.

National police spokesman Frans Zuiderhoek says the skipper is believed to be the only victim of the collision, which capsized the small ferry. Dutch RTV television has identified the victim as 56-year-old Hendrik Plomp.

Zuiderhoek says two crew members of the German freighter Duisburg Ruhrort have been detained for questioning. He says breath tests show they had not consumed alcohol before the crash.

The incident took place Friday morning near the town of Nieuwer Ter Aa, roughly 6 miles south of Amsterdam.

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Intelligence officials: 4 suspected US missile strikes in NW Pakistan have killed 11 militants, AS

Published October 13, 2010

| Associated Press

DERA ISMAIL KHAN, Pakistan –  Intelligence officials: 4 suspected US missile strikes in NW Pakistan have killed 11 militants.

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5 killed, 4 injured in crash in southeast Michigan

GREEN OAK TOWNSHIP, Mich. –  Five people were killed and four others seriously injured Sunday when a car crossed the median of a busy southeastern Michigan expressway and struck an SUV, authorities say.

The crash happened about 3:30 p.m. on U.S. 23 in Livingston County's Green Oak Township, just south of Brighton and about 30 miles northwest of Detroit. Authorities closed the highway for about four hours.

Three people were dead at the scene and two others died at a hospital, the township police department said in a news release.

Police said the accident happened when a northbound Toyota Prius with four teenagers in it crossed the median and hit a southbound Chevrolet Blazer carrying five people.

Police said those killed were the driver of the Prius; a 19-year-old Okemos woman and an 18-year-old Williamston woman who were passengers in that car; a 62-year-old Fremont, Ohio, woman who was driving the Blazer; and a 56-year-old man who was a passenger in the SUV.

Three children in the sport utility vehicle — ages 10, 5 and 3 — were among those seriously injured, police said. An 18-year-old Okemos man who was in the Prius also was seriously injured, police said.

Police did not release the names of those involved in the accident. They also did not say if the occupants of the SUV were related.

Deputy fire Chief Kevin Gentry told the Livingston County Daily Press & Argus that heavy equipment had to be used to remove six of the people. Police said a portable fire extinguisher was used to put out a small fire in the SUV, which was smoking when authorities arrived.

The crash happened near several homes.

"I heard brakes squealing and I knew something was going to happen because it was so loud, and then 'Bang!'" neighbor Betty Max told WDIV-TV. "And then you saw the car just rolling through the air. It was just awful."

State police said the expressway reopened about 7:30 p.m.

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US troops killed in Iraq and Kuwait

Army Sgt. John F. Burner III

John Burner III would go jogging with a military recruiter in high school, and that's where he solidified his plan for life.

"It was a pretty good plan," his father, John Burner Jr., told the Catonsville (Md.) Times.

The younger Burner became a satellite communication specialist and was no stranger to overseas deployments. He had served in Germany, Bosnia and Iraq, Burner Jr. said. Germany, though, is where he fell in love.

Burner and his wife, Verena, had two daughters, 10-year-old Celina and 6-year-old Caitlyn.

Burner, 32, of Baltimore, Md., died Sept. 16 in Iskandariya, Iraq, of an illness. The Army is investigating his death. He was assigned to Fort Gordon and enlisted in the military in 1996 after graduating from Catonsville High School.

Adam Burner said his older brother always took care of his family, even as a youngster.

"He was the oldest brother and he always stood up and stood first to take care of his brothers and family," Adam Burner said.

The soldier also was fondly remembered by his fellow soldiers.

"I can hear him now asking me how I am doing and just checking in, offering his help in whatever mess I was getting into," Tina McKenney-Smith of Hephzibah, Ga., wrote in an online memorial.

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Army Spc. John Carrillo Jr.

John Carrillo's mother said he was a smart, avid reader who grew up fast as he entered fatherhood at 16.

As a student at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton, Calif., he met an Army recruiter who pushed the 20-year-old to fulfill a lifelong goal of serving in the military.

"He thought this was going to help his family a little faster. It was a way to support his wife and his child," his mother, Desiree Carrillo, told the Stockton Record. "I was very proud of him when he decided to go into the military."

John Carrillo, of Stockton, died Sept. 24 in Fallujah, Iraq, after being injured a day earlier in a non-combat related incident.

He is survived by his children and wife, Reylene; his mother and father, John Sr.; and three younger siblings.

"He was always there for his family. He was a good son, a good father, a good brother and a good husband. I will never get to see that again. He was a good friend to many people," his mother said.

___

Air Force Senior Airman James A. Hansen

James "Jimmy" Hansen was quiet, well-behaved and kind, the type of student who always gave his full effort and befriended other children who were ignored, according to a former teacher.

"You could tell he genuinely meant it when he said he was glad to see you," Judi Henckel told the Battle Creek Enquirer.

Hansen, 25, of Athens, Mich., died Sept. 15 of wounds suffered during a controlled detonation at Joint Base Balad, Iraq. He joined the Air Force in 2008 and was assigned to Eglin Air Force Base.

He graduated in 2003 from Athens High School, where he played golf, and had attended Kellogg Community College and Central Michigan University, where he was a member of the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity.

In online memorials, those who knew him referred to "Jimmy" as a "faithful friend" who loved to have fun and had "a heart of gold." A former co-worker, Crystal Thomas, wrote that Hansen was hardworking and that he could be shy at first but was honest with those he knew well.

He also liked to run and play the drums.

Survivors include his parents, Emily and Richard; brother, also named Richard; and fiancee, Megan Bottomlee.

___

Army Sgt. Ryan Hopkins

Some of Ryan Hopkins' favorite ways to pass the time were skateboarding, golfing and snowboarding.

Born in Livermore, Calif., Hopkins graduated from Livermore High School. He had an outgoing personality, lots of friends and a love for life, according to an obituary published in the Contra Costa Times.

Hopkins "was sure to be found in a crowd," his family said.

Hopkins, 21, died Jan. 8 after a routine surgery at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, his family said. He was being treated for injuries from an October 2008 motor pool accident in Baghdad. The Department of Defense did not include Hopkins in its count of Iraq war casualties until September.

He had been assigned to Fort Carson in 2008. At the time of his death, he was assigned to Fort Sam Houston.

His wife, Kitty Hopkins, whom he met in the military, said his injuries included second- and third-degree burns from the waist up. He had been expected to survive, she said.

___

Army Sgt. Philip C. Jenkins

The photos displayed at a memorial for Philip Jenkins showed the moments when he was all about the ladies in his life — his wife, Melissa, and two daughters, Lindly and Piper.

In one, he dipped his wife as they danced, according to the Journal-Gazette in Fort Wayne, Ind. In other pictures, he cradled an infant and held the hand of a child during a walk near the ocean.

The family lives in Hawaii, where Jenkins was assigned to Schofield Barracks.

The 26-year-old native of Decatur, Ind., and another soldier died Sept. 7 in Balad, Iraq, after being shot by a man wearing an Iraqi army uniform in Salah ad-Din province. The incident was under investigation.

Maj. Gen. Kurt Stein, who spoke at the memorial, called Jenkins "a soldier's soldier," the newspaper said.

Jenkins joined the Army after graduating from Bellmont High School in 2002 and was on his second tour of duty, having previously served in Afghanistan, according to the military.

He also had worked as a recruiter in Indianapolis from August 2006 to October 2008, the newspaper reported.

___

Army Pvt. James F. McClamrock

James McClamrock loved his wife, Shannah — so much so that he refused to show her picture to his Army buddies.

He didn't want other men thinking about his wife, his father, Mark McClamrock, said at the soldier's memorial service. And James McClamrock was looking forward to starting a family with the woman he married in 2008.

"He was so jealous about Shannah," Mark McClamrock said.

The 22-year-old soldier from Huntersville, N.C., was shot and killed by a man in an Iraqi army uniform Sept. 7 in Balad. Another soldier also died in the attack. He graduated from South Iredell High School.

He was such a dedicated soldier, his mother said, he made sure to maintain his physical edge even while on leave. He would awaken before dawn and go for a 10-mile run wearing a 60-pound backpack, said his mother, Susan McClamrock.

Before joining the military, McClamrock worked as a security screener in Charlotte, N.C., for the Transportation Security Administration.

"He's always had an interest in it as long as I've known him. But he'd been praying about it and he was like, 'I really feel like this is what God wants me to do,'" Shannah McClamrock told The Associated Press in September. "Who was I to stop that?"

___

Army Pfc. Gebrah P. Noonan

Gebrah Noonan loved to read, loved his country and loved to make people laugh.

He was such a comedian, his high school class voted him class clown. And it wasn't just silly humor, it was sophisticated, friends say.

"He had a quick wit. It all comes from his intelligence," said longtime friend Patrick Jacques Jr.

But Noonan was serious about his country — so much so that the Watertown, Conn., native joined the U.S. Army and was serving in Iraq.

He died Sept. 24 from a gunshot wound in Fallujah. An investigation is focused on a fellow soldier. He was assigned to Fort Stewart.

Noonan, 26, was a 2002 graduate of Watertown High School. He attended Manhattanville College and Fordham University before joining the Army.

He leaves behind his parents, Ling and William, two brothers and a sister.

Friends, such as Chris Lafferty, are trying to focus on his life rather than his death.

"He wasn't just funny, he wasn't just smart, he was very giving, and in his 26 years he gave a lot," Lafferty said. "And in the end, he gave everything."

___

Army Spc. Marc C. Whisenant

Marc Whisenant liked to drive. When he was in uniform, he drove tanks and Humvees. Back home, his father said, he cruised around in his 2007 Chevy Cobalt SS.

Jerry Whisenant told The Daytona Beach News-Journal that his son had just spent $800 to put top-of-the-line tires on the car.

Friends and family said Marc Whisenant was a dutiful soldier who had learned that sense of duty as a Boy Scout.

"He was quiet, but he was determined, and if we had his determination today, we'd all be closer to perfection," said Roger Tiffany, who had been Whisenant's Boy Scout leader.

Whisenant, 23, of Holly Hill, Fla., was killed Sept. 24 in a vehicle rollover. He was based out of Miami. Whisenant graduated in 2005 from Spruce Creek High School, where he had been a member of the school's junior ROTC program all four years.

Tiffany recalled the young man's patience as a young scout, including the time Whisenant broke his arm during an activity. He didn't gripe once, sitting quietly and calmly in the hospital waiting room.

"Marc will get along fine in eternity because he was (fine with waiting) in an emergency room," Tiffany said.

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US troops killed in Afghanistan and Africa, 2nd Add, US

Army Staff Sgt. Joshua D. Powell

Joshua Powell was the type of guy who'd talk to anybody, nearly anytime, but didn't need to be the star of the show, according to former classmates.

"He definitely wasn't the publicity type," high school friend Jamie Kleimenhagen told the State Journal-Register in Illinois. "Taking care of his own people — that was a huge priority to him."

Powell, 25, of Pleasant Plains, Ill., died in a helicopter crash Sept. 21 during combat operations in Zabul province, Afghanistan. He was assigned to Fort Campbell and previously served in Afghanistan and in Iraq, where he was a helicopter crew chief in a medical evacuation unit, the newspaper reported.

He joined the Illinois Army National Guard in 2003, the same year he graduated from Pleasant Plains High School, where he played varsity soccer for four years.

"You could go to him in a time of joy and he would be there for you," former teammate Bobby Johnson told the Journal-Register. "You could go to him in a time of sorrow and he would be there. He would talk to you in any situation."

Powell, an avid hunter, also liked to collect guns and was a motorcyclist.

___

Marine Lance Cpl. Cody A. Roberts

Cody Roberts' family remembers the 22-year-old Marine as a "true hero" who committed his life to serving his faith, family and country.

"Cody embodied the true spirit of the Marine Corps, believing entirely in his God, Family, and Country. The three values he lived for, he ultimately died for," his family said in a statement released through the Idaho National Guard.

Roberts died Aug. 31 while supporting combat operations in Helmand province, the military said. He was from Boise, Idaho, and assigned to Camp Lejeune.

He is survived by his wife and a child.

Roberts, who enlisted in the U.S. Marines four years ago, was on his first deployment to Afghanistan when he was killed, a military spokesman told the Idaho Statesman Journal.

"He made the ultimate sacrifice on the streets of a city in Afghanistan so his son would never have to be afraid for his life or ours," Roberts' family said.

___

Marine Lance Cpl. Anthony J. Rosa

Anthony Rosa, a lance corporal in the Marines, recently asked his mom to send care packages to him in Afghanistan. He wanted to give them to soldiers who had never received anything from their families.

Such kindness is what made Rosa, nicknamed Chuckie, so popular among friends and neighbors in Swanton, Vt., where he grew up.

"He was a perfectly mannered gentleman," said Bill Rowell, a close friend of Rosa's family. "He wasn't perfect," Rowell added, "but he came closer to it than most."

Rosa, 20, also was known as an excellent golfer, an avid fisherman and a good student.

He joined the Marines a few months after graduating from Missisquoi Valley Union High School in 2008. He was serving in Afghanistan's Helmand province when he was killed Sept. 23 while on patrol. He was assigned to Camp Lejeune.

"It's a real big loss for the community," said Chris Ste. Marie, owner of Ste. Marie's Deli & Quick Stop, where Rosa worked in high school. "Chuckie was the type of kid that ... would have done something with his life, he would have done well for himself."

___

Senior Airman Daniel R. Sanchez

Friends say Daniel Sanchez was a green-eyed, walking ball of energy who had a knack for persuasion, a passion for skateboarding and playing sports, and a creative streak that showed in his music and sketches.

His mother urged mourners at his memorial to live as Sanchez had, according to the El Paso Times in Texas.

"It's not easy because he took it one day at a time," Yvette Sierra Duchene said. "Get up, go to work, put a smile on your face and enjoy every second of your life."

Sanchez, 23, of El Paso, Texas, died Sept. 16 after a firefight in Oruzgan province, Afghanistan, during his first deployment. He had planned to become an instructor and make a career in the military.

Relatives wrote in his obituary that Sanchez was "always on the go, making things happen" and that one of his favorite quotes was a Theodore Roosevelt line about a man pursuing a worthy cause and being daring.

He graduated from Montwood High School in 2005 and fulfilled his dreams of flying and scuba diving as part of a Special Tactics Squadron at Hurlburt Field in Florida, where he was assigned.

___

Army Spc. Deangelo B. Snow

Before he deployed to Afghanistan, Deangelo Snow used his talents as an artist to design a special reminder of him for his mother, Deloris.

He drew two hands pushed together in prayer, with a dog tag necklace bearing his name dangling from the fingers, and she had it made into a tattoo on her leg, according to The Saginaw News in Michigan.

Snow, a 22-year-old native of Saginaw, Mich., died Sept. 17 Kandahar province after his vehicle was attacked with a rocket propelled grenade. He joined the military after graduating in 2008 from Buena Vista High School, and he was assigned to Fort Campbell.

"He was very well-known, very polite people person," an aunt, Charlene McCall, said. "He was loving, funny, loved to dance."

People writing remembrances in an online memorial described him as an outgoing and creative man who was loved like a brother by some of his closest friends.

Snow's death came nearly a year after his father died after a robbery gone awry in Saginaw.

The soldier's survivors include his mother and stepfather; seven brothers; seven sisters; and his fiancee, Shanlece Scarborough.

___

Army Pfc. Clinton E. Springer II

Clint Springer made friends easily — and he had hundreds. Perhaps it was the way he treated people that made him so popular.

"He could make anybody smile on the worst of days," one friend, Terean O'Reilly, told the Boston Globe. "If you were having a bad day, he would just walk in the room and you would instantly smile. He just had that presence."

Springer, of Sanford, Maine, graduated from Contoocook Valley Regional High School in Peterborough, N.H., in 2007. He joined the Army about two years later and was assigned to Fort Drum. He wanted his family and friends to be proud of him.

In January, he went on his first deployment, to Kabul, Afghanistan. He died there Sept. 24. The Army says his death was not combat-related, and an investigation is under way.

Springer was to return home later his year, and friends say he was looking forward to starting a life with his girlfriend, Kalie Masse.

"He was just an all-around great guy. I know everybody says that about someone after they die, but with him it was true," O'Reilly said.

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Navy Hospital Corpsman 3rd Class James M. Swink II

James Swink, a Navy hospital corpsman, knew early in life that he liked to help people.

At 13, he volunteered with Project R.I.D.E, a Northern California group that provides horseback lessons for children with autism and other special needs.

Too young at first to do more than cleans stalls, he continued to volunteer with the organization until he could begin working hands-on with the new riders, the Los Angeles Times reported.

"He was obviously drawn to help others, as he was one of very few volunteers who came here in their teens, as those years are a time when they are more into themselves than others around them," Tina Calanchini of Project R.I.D.E. told the Times.

Swink, of Yucca Valley, Calif., was killed Aug. 27 in a vehicle accident in Helmand province, Afghanistan. He was 20 and based at Camp Lejeune.

He enlisted after graduating from Yucca Valley High School in 2007.

He was the youngest in a family of veterans, with his father and grandfather having served in the Navy; his brothers Brian Mullins and John Swink serving in the Marine Corps; and his sister Melissa Strickland in the Air Force.

"Mike became a corpsman because he loves people and he loves to care for people," his father said.

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Marine Lance Cpl. Joshua T. Twigg

Josh Twigg was an athlete who liked hunting and fishing and tinkering with electronics. He especially enjoyed hanging out with family and friends, making sure they were having fun.

"He was a young man who enjoyed life," said Bill Packer, Twigg's high school football coach. "He always had a lot of friends around him."

Twigg, of Indiana, Pa., always put others first, said his longtime girlfriend, Christina Young.

"He was the most selfless person I know. He was just worried about everyone else," she said.

Twigg was a 2007 graduate of Penns Manor High School, where he played offensive and defensive tackle for the Comets football team. He was an honors student his senior year.

Twigg joined the Marines shortly after high school and served in Iraq from September 2008 to April 2009. He went to Afghanistan in July.

Twigg, 21, died in combat Sept. 2 in Helmand province. He was assigned to Camp Lejeune.

"Josh was proud to serve his country as a Marine, having served previously in Iraq two years ago, and volunteering to be deployed to Afghanistan," his family said in a statement.

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Army Pfc. Barbara Vieyra

Barbara Vieyra joined the Army because she wanted a job that would make her daughter proud, her sister said.

She had grown up in Mesa, Ariz., where her father worked at the C-Bar dairy farm. In 2008, two years after graduating high school, Vieyra enlisted in the Army and her parents cared for her young daughter, Evelyn.

"She always said, 'I'll be able to come back and it won't be like I've missed her whole life. I'll just have missed a part of her life but I'll be able to give her a better life,'" her sister, Guadalupe, told the Arizona Republic.

Barbara Vieyra, 22, died Sept. 18. She was mortally wounded in an attack in Kunar province, Afghanistan. She was assigned to Fort Hood.

"They're just a very close family," Barbara Feenstra, of C-Bar dairy, said of Vieyra, her parents and two siblings. "And now she's not here anymore."

Barbara Vieyra was born in 1988 to Raul and Elizabeth Vieyra, who emigrated from Mexico several years earlier. She has been described as someone who always looked for the best in people.

On her Facebook profile, she listed competitive swimming and dancing as two of her interests.

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Army Chief Warrant Officer Matthew G. Wagstaff

With a smile on his face, Matthew Wagstaff's college roommate remembers when the burly, future chief warrant officer once showed off his moves during Madonna's "Vogue."

Greg Butler said that after a couple of beers, the 6-foot-4 Wagstaff did his best impression of the pop star as the song played at a Utah State University dance.

Years later, the memory still draws laughter from Wagstaff's friends.

"Beneath a tough exterior, he had a gentle and kind heart," longtime friend Pat Hoggan said.

Wagstaff, 34, of Orem, Utah, died Sept. 21 in a helicopter crash that also killed four other members of the 101st Airborne Division, based at Fort Campbell.

He was a graduate of Orem High School and Utah State University, where he earned a degree in Aerospace Technologies.

His father said his passions included football and flying, according to the Salt Lake Tribune.

"He played football with everything he had," Ron Wagstaff said. "And he was one of those rare people who has a dream as a child and then makes it come true. He became a pilot."

Matthew Wagstaff leaves behind his wife, Tiffany, whom he married in January.

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Army 1st Lt. Todd W. Weaver

Todd Weaver's idea of a romantic gift wasn't jewelry. When his wife, Emma, celebrated her 21st birthday, he skipped the glittery stuff and took her skydiving.

"My husband was an amazing person who left this world too soon," Emma said while eulogizing her husband. The couple's daughter, Kiley, was born just nine months before Weaver left for his second deployment to Afghanistan.

He couldn't see his daughter every day, but the Internet made it possible: His family sent video of the little girl walking around more than he'd ever seen.

Weaver, 26, of Hampton, Va., was killed Sept. 9 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He was assigned to Fort Campbell. Weaver had attended the College of William and Mary, where he was a member of the ROTC. He had served in the National Guard, doing a tour in Iraq, before enrolling at the college.

Todd and Emma Weaver both attended Bruton High School in Virginia, but Emma told The Washington Post that she didn't fall for the baseball and football star — who was always "the most popular guy" — right away.

Right before he left for Iraq, though, they were at a party together. It was raining. He ran outside in his socks, despite the rain, and gave her a kiss. When he came back, they were together every day.

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Army 1st Lt. Eric Yates

Eric Yates was a quiet soldier who took a no-frills approach to his job and let his work do the talking.

"He looked at it as just doing his job," said Michael Leasor, who graduated from Kentucky's John Hardin High School with Yates in 2003.

Former school principal Brent Holsclaw said Yates didn't talk much but was a good student who did all that was expected of him.

Yates, 26, of Rineyville, Ky., died Sept. 18 in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He was assigned to Fort Campbell.

Yates graduated from Western Kentucky University in 2008 with a degree in social studies and history. He was in the school's ROTC program.

Jessica Forrest, a social studies teacher at Hardin High School, said Yates "was a real sensible and likable young man" who couldn't wait to one day begin a career as a teacher.

Lt. Col. Jason Caldwell, who leads the ROTC program at WKU, said he always heard only good things about Yates.

"He was kind of a quiet, soft-spoken young man, but always got the job done, was always true to his word," Caldwell said.

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8 years for Calif man who stole from family killed

Published October 08, 2010

| Associated Press

SONOMA, Calif. –  A 27-year-old Redwood City man who admitted to looting the home of four family members days after they were killed in a car crash has been sentenced to eight years in prison.

The Santa Rosa Press Democrat reports that Michael Gutierrez was sentenced Thursday for the burglary of the Sonoma home of John and Susan Maloney in November.

The burglary took place three days after the couple and their two young children were killed in the crash.

Though Gutierrez pleaded no contest in July to burglarizing the home, his attorney had argued that there was no evidence he knew the family members had been killed.

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Local television says at least 25 killed in train crash in central Indonesia, AS

Published October 01, 2010

| Associated Press

JAKARTA, Indonesia –  Local television says at least 25 killed in train crash in central Indonesia.

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