Apple iPhone Electrocution: Tech Company To Probe Death Of Woman Who Died Answering A Call

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Apple Inc is investigating an accident in which a Chinese woman was killed by an electric shock when answering a call on her iPhone 5 while it was charging, the U.S. technology company said on Monday.

Last Thursday, Ma Ailun, a 23-year-old woman from China's western Xinjiang region and a flight attendant with China Southern Airlines, was electrocuted when she took a call on the charging mobile telephone, the official Xinhua news agency quoted police as saying on Sunday.

"We are deeply saddened to learn of this tragic incident and offer our condolences to the Ma family. We will fully investigate and cooperate with authorities in this matter," Apple said in an e-mail.

Apple declined to comment on details, such as whether this was an isolated case.

Ma's sister tweeted on Sina's microblog saying that Ma collapsed and died after using her charging iPhone 5 and urged users to be careful, a message that went viral on the site.

In April, Apple apologised to Chinese consumers and altered iPhone warranty policies in its second-biggest market after its after-sales service suffered more more than two weeks of condemnation by the state-run media.

Detroit Arson A Persistent Problem As City Services Decline

July 13 (Reuters) - On the night of July 4, some Detroit residents watched fireworks, and others just watched fires, more than a dozen in a space of two hours.

The Independence Day blazes marked the latest flare up of a longtime scourge in Detroit - arson.

It is a problem that has festered in the city for decades and has persisted even as the population declined. With the city now teetering on the verge of bankruptcy, the futile struggle to contain arson is an insistent reminder of the depths of Detroit's decline.

"It's not safe here. It's a war zone," Terrence Coleman, a 52-year-old resident, said as embers from a blaze on Detroit's east side rained down on him. "This whole neighborhood is going to burn down one day, I'm afraid."

As firefighters attacked flames raging in two adjacent vacant houses, they called for backup equipment that never came. Five blazes had broken out in 25 minutes, all suspected arsons, and the Detroit Fire Department, where budget cuts have led to a crippling shortage of equipment and manpower, could provide no extra help.

In the next two hours, at least 10 more suspicious fires broke out, leaving skeleton crews to battle the blazes.

In Detroit, arsons are so frequent - about 5,000 estimated last year by the Detroit Fire Department - that authorities can only investigate about one of every five suspicious fire cases, Fire Commissioner Don Austin said.

Detroit has a legacy of troubles with arson. Hundreds of blazes were set during riots in late July 1967 that followed a police raid on an unlicensed, after-hours bar. For more than 30 years, "Devils Night" fires on the night before Halloween numbered in the hundreds, peaking at around 800 in the mid-1980s.

In recent years, arsons connected to Halloween have declined, in part due to the city's reduced population. Even so, the total number of arsons each year has changed little since the 5,100 fires set in 2000.

The city is fighting those fires with far fewer resources than in the past. Mayor Dave Bing reduced the fire department's $184 million budget by 20 percent last year. A third of the fire companies were shut, firefighter wages were cut by 10 percent, and rigs quickly went into disrepair.

In a city that averages about 14 arsons a day, there are only 11 arson investigators, down from more than 20 in 2009.

"A fire is not determined to be arson until an arson investigator makes that determination," Austin told Reuters. "Arson investigators are investigating the scene of only 20 percent of all fires."

Arsons are more prevalent in aging Rust Belt cities than in other parts of the country, but Detroit is in a class of its own. Last year, arson fires caused nearly $200 million in property damage in Detroit - more than the losses in the industrial cities of Buffalo, Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Cincinnati and Milwaukee combined.

With more than 80,000 abandoned buildings spread across 139 square miles, Detroit is fertile ground for arsonists. Homes that could never sell on the market are burned allegedly for insurance money, and people tired of abandoned buildings torch them, according to fire investigators. Thrill-seekers toss Molotov cocktails at vacant structures in drive-by arsons.

There is no quick fix in sight. But arson vexes the city so deeply that Kevyn Orr, the emergency manager appointed by the Michigan governor to fix Detroit's decrepit finances, has said he needs to act to address the rash of fires, too.

Orr said he plans to use some of the money saved by halting payments to creditors for improvements to fire technology and vehicle upgrades. He also said the city has a 50/50 chance of a bankruptcy filing, a decision he is expected to reach as soon as this month.

Just before taking office in March, Orr told Reuters that fire and other public safety issues would be his top priority. "We can't waste time finding solutions," he said. "Everyone deserves to feel safe in their homes."

Even so, fire union officials have complained that Orr has not held substantive, one-on-one discussions with them yet. And Orr's actions so far have not assuaged their concern that the fire department is understaffed and ill-equipped.

"We're in a crisis and one fire way from a disaster," warned Dan McNamara, president of the Detroit Fire Fighters Association, who represents 917 active members. "The city can't continue to operate like this."

Arson has a serious impact on the city's social fabric. Property values plummet, neighborhood cores burn out, and residents flee at alarming rates, urban affairs experts said. Detroit's population decline in the last decade was steeper than any other major American city.

"It's another reason people are getting out of the neighborhoods as fast as possible," said demographer Kurt Metzger, director of Data Driven Detroit, a data analysis organization. "People are having a difficult time hanging on to some sense of neighborhood. Kids are walking past dangerous, burned-out homes on their way to school."

The high arson rate does more than leave its scars on downtown neighborhoods. It also spells trouble for homeowners and businesses throughout the city and beyond, industry experts said.

"Insurance fraud, including arson, hikes up insurance premiums paid by consumers by 10 percent," said Peter Kuhnmuench, executive director of the Insurance Institute of Michigan. "When nearly 30 percent of all fires are arson or suspected arson in this state, there is a hit to policyholders' wallets."

Reuters studied online insurance quotes on five $100,000 homes in several Detroit neighborhoods and found the premiums were at least three times higher than the quotes for $100,000 homes in suburban neighborhoods.

The National Association of Insurance Commissioners on its website states that homeowner insurance rates vary by location and largely are determined by the prevalence of crime, the quality of the fire department and the availability of fire hydrants.

"Arson definitely has a big impact on insurance rates and everyone in the community," said Angie Rinock, spokeswoman for State Farm Fire and Casualty Co in Michigan.

Detroit homeowner Harold Davis lives on a block with four burned-out houses. But homeowner insurance has become so expensive - $3,000 a year in a neighborhood where houses recently have sold for around $5,000-he dropped his coverage.

"It's only a matter of time before someone burns down this whole block," Davis, 65, told Reuters. "I can't blame the insurance companies."

Detroit arsonists are rarely caught. Nationally, about 20 percent of intentionally set fires lead to arrests, according to FBI data. In Detroit, investigators solved only 100 of the 5,000 arson cases in 2011, the last year for which records are available, city records show.

Insurance companies have responded by devoting more resources to the city. State Farm is one of several companies that have assigned its own investigators and arson dogs to Detroit.

A documentary about Detroit's fire epidemic, "Burn," received critical acclaim last year for exploring the crisis through the eyes of firefighters.

"Arson is a form of self-expression in a place where you can't express yourself," Brenna Sanchez, co-producer/director of "Burn," told Reuters.

Sanchez said she sees little hope for solving the arson epidemic until Orr begins making progress on other Detroit problems. "Kevyn Orr cannot improve the situation until people stop feeling desperate," she said. "It's a question of improving the quality of life of residents."

Bill Warner Dead: Motorcycle Racer Dies After Reaching Speeds Of 285 MPH

LIMESTONE, Maine — A motorcycle racer trying to top 300 mph died Sunday after losing control and zooming off a runway at a former air base in northern Maine.

Bill Warner, 44, of Wimauma, Fla., was clocked at 285 mph before he lost control but it was unclear how fast the motorcycle was traveling when it veered off the paved runway and crashed, said Tim Kelly, race director the Loring Timing Association, which hosted "The Maine Event" at Loring Air Force Base.

Warner was conscious and talking after the crash just before 10 a.m., Kelly said, but he died about an hour and 15 minutes later at a hospital in Caribou.

"No one will touch Bill's achievements or be the type of racer he was. He was a personal friend and the land-racing community is less for his loss," Kelly said.

Riding his modified turbocharged Suzuki Hayabusa, Warner previously hit 311 mph on the same course in 2011, using 1.5 miles of pavement. That's considered to be the world land speed record for a conventional motorcycle, Kelly said.

This time he was trying to hit 300 mph using just a mile of pavement, and he'd made several passes before the one in which he crashed, Kelly said.

The Maine Event is an annual timed speed event that utilizes the 14,200-foot-long runway at the former Strategic Air Command base that closed in 1994. The Loring Timing Association uses 2.5 miles of the runway for its events, and there's an additional buffer of 2,000 feet, Kelly said.

On Sunday, about 400 spectators watched as Warner began veering right after passing the 1-mile mark, traveling upright for another 2,000 feet before exiting the runway and crashing, Kelly said.

The remainder of Sunday's event was canceled. The Limestone Police Department and Maine State Police were investigating the crash.

Paterson Police Brutality? Alexis Aponte And Miguel Rivera, New Jersey Men, Beaten By Cops (VIDEO)

Alexis Aponte and Miguel Rivera, two northern New Jersey men, allege that police in Paterson used excessive force during a 2011 arrest. As proof of the incident, a lawyer for the men pointed to a surveillance video, in which the pair appear to be beaten while handcuffed.

A police brutality suit filed Friday in Federal court in Newark, N.J., names the Paterson Police Department, as well as individual officers.

The video was obtained by the New Jersey Star-Ledger, released Sunday evening andsubsequently reposted to YouTube. The footage appears to show "Aponte being kicked repeatedly while handcuffed and then dragged down the street" during a weapons-related arrest that occurred in September 2011, according to the Star-Ledger.

Rivera also claims to have been beaten while handcuffed.

Darren Del Sardo, attorney for the plaintiffs, alleged to local news outlet The Record that police robbed both men of "money, jewelry and other personal belongings"during the incident. Del Sardo told the newspaper that he postponed filing the suit until now because he was concerned that it would affect criminal charges against Rivera and Aponte.

Aponte is currently serving a five-year sentence on a weapons charge resulting from an incident that occurred earlier in the night. Before the events documented in the video, the two suspects and off-duty Paterson police officer were involved in a dispute at a sports bar; Aponte was removed from the premises after a fight and reportedly pointed a gun at a bouncer.

The Passaic County Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation into the surveillance video, which the attorney for the plaintiffs said came from a camera posted outside the Rivera family's home.

Abandoned Homes Plague Florida, Even In Midst Of Housing Boom

As Kevin Clark figures it, the feral cats that stalk the thick bamboo jungle in the backyard of the abandoned home next door should at least keep the huge rats in check. That, unfortunately, hasn't proved to be the case.

The rats and the cats scurry in and out of the yard of the Tampa, Fla., property seemingly unconcerned by the others' presence. Other varmints, such as opossums and raccoons, also take advantage of the cover provided by the towering woody stalks, which grow more than 20 feet high. The worst might be the insects: Every evening, a veritable attack squadron of mosquitoes buzzes out of the growth, as if taking their cue from the jets that take off and land at the nearby Air Force base.

The infestation is so severe that Clark refuses to allow his 5-year-old grandson, who lives with him, to venture outside alone. "I'm afraid of what will come creeping out of there," he said.

After the housing market collapsed in spectacular fashion six years ago, Florida became known as much for its abandoned houses as its white sand beaches and palm trees. Many homes fell into disrepair and became the target of looters and vagrants.

In some respects, the situation in the state is much improved. Foreclosures are down and home prices are up, especially in the cities where values fell the most. In Florida's biggest cities, investors backed by Wall Street cash and local speculators are scooping up homes practically as soon as they hit the market. In Tampa, one of the hardest-hit cities, residential property prices increased 12 percent in April, according to a report released this week. Many housing experts even caution that prices are going up too fast.

Yet despite the intense demand for seemingly anything with four walls and a roof, abandoned properties like the one that is vexing Clark and his family still dot Florida's cities and suburbs. These are homes that are vacant, but have not yet been foreclosed on. In many instances, these "zombie" properties sit empty for years, as foreclosures wind slowly through Florida's courts.

As of May, there were 55,500 abandoned homes in the state, one-third of the national total, according to RealtyTrac, an online real estate company.

Until last month, McGhee said, the home across the street from where he lives was abandoned. The bank would send a contractor to mow the grass every month or two, but that wasn't nearly sufficient in Florida's hot, sunny climate."I see them everywhere, especially in the inner core of the city," said Marquaz McGhee, the housing programs manager at the Community Development Corp. of Tampa, a nonprofit group. "I even see them next to the golf course."

Neighbors would take turns mowing the grass themselves, he said.

When a home is abandoned, it becomes the responsibility of the bank or mortgage company that serviced the home mortgage to keep the property from falling into disrepair. This means fixing broken windows, ensuring pipes don't freeze and covering empty swimming pools.

A recent investigation by The Huffington Post uncovered widespread evidence of abuse and misconduct by the local contractors hired to do this dirty and sometimes dangerous work. Internal documents, government audits and many of the contractors themselves portrayed an industry that grew too fast, without proper oversight.

Though many contractors diligently do the work that's required, some have been accused of breaking into still-occupied homes and stealing possessions. Others take potentially harmful shortcuts in fixing up the interiors, such as painting over mold rather than properly removing it. These so-called property preservation companies too often don't oversee their contract workers, according to many of those interviewed. And the banks and mortgage companies are failing to oversee everyone involved, insiders claim.

For neighbors and the surrounding community, the most obvious evidence of neglect is an overgrown or trash-filled lawn. At best, this form of neglect creates an eyesore. At worst, towering weeds and grass provide safe haven for snakes, varmints and insects, and advertise to the world that the home on the property is neglected.

Clark lives in a neighborhood on the southernmost edge of Tampa near MacDill Air Force Base, a mile or so away. The decline of the home next door from well-tended owner-occupied residence to a veritable Wild Kingdom closely tracks the rise and fall of Florida's real estate market.

Up until the middle part of the last decade, the abandoned home was one of the most attractive on the block. Margaret Weekes bought it for $100,000 in 2000. In an interview, Weekes said she frequently received compliments from neighbors on the beauty of her flower garden. A back deck was used for entertaining and relaxing on warm evenings, she said.

In 2007, Weekes sold the property to Lorena Delvillar for $225,000. Delvillar could not be reached for this story, but public records show that she filed for bankruptcy protection the next year, and ran afoul of various credit card and auto loan creditors. She moved out not long after, neighbors say.

Today, a little-known mortgage-servicing arm of IBM called Seterus is responsible for the property. Seterus, in turn, contracted maintenance responsibilities to Safeguard Properties, based near Cleveland.

Clark said that he began placing calls to Safeguard soon after he bought his home 10 months ago. A lawn care company came and tended to the overgrown front yard, bagging up the clippings and tossing them to rot in a pile on the side of the house. Workers refused to enter the backyard, Clark said, even though the bamboo is threatening to push down the privacy fence that separates the two properties.

The bamboo is an invasive and particularly quick-growing variety that can grow two or three feet a day. After it rains, new shoots sprout up in Clark's yard. To stop its advance, Clark said, he hacks off new stalks and pours kerosene on the stumps. "It's like a war," he said.

Clark claims he has called Safeguard to complain more than 30 times, all told. Each time, he said, he spoke with a different representative. One recent call ended, he claims, with a Safeguard employee suggesting that he move somewhere else.

Seterus did not respond to requests for comment. Diane Fusco, a Safeguard spokeswoman, said customer service records indicated the company had received calls from neighbors, but that the volume was "not nearly as high" as what Clark alleges.

"We have no way to prove or disprove the alleged response from one of our customer service representatives," Fusco said in an email. "However, we would not tolerate such a statement. We routinely perform quality control on all of our customer service representatives to assure that they are responding professionally to callers."

Fusco said that the company would immediately send workers to clear the backyard.

Some calls are apparently more influential than others. Clark said he returned home from work Wednesday evening to find two trucks with huge trailers parked outside the abandoned property. Both were already filled to the top with cut bamboo. The workers left with the backyard half-cleared, but promised they would return Thursday to finish the job.

Clark said the team lead told him they would be back weekly to ensure the growth was kept in check.

Clark and his neighbors stood in the failing light and watched the trucks pull away. "We were giddy," he said. He said he hopes Safeguard lives up to its pledge.

Bamboo grows quickly and the forecast calls for rain.

James Cartwright, Retired General, Targeted In Leak Probe: Reports

WASHINGTON — A former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is under investigation for allegedly leaking classified information about a covert cyberattack on Iran's nuclear facilities, according to media reports.

Retired Marine Gen. James "Hoss" Cartwright has been told he is a target of the probe, NBC News and The Washington Post reported Thursday. A "target" is someone a prosecutor or grand jury has substantial evidence linking to a crime and who is likely to be charged.

The Justice Department referred questions to the U.S. attorney's office in Baltimore, where a spokeswoman, Marcia Murphy, declined to comment.

The investigation of the leak about the Iran cyberattack is one of a number of national security leak investigations that have been started by the Obama administration, including ones involving The Associated Press and Fox News.

In June 2012, the New York Times reported that Cartwright was a crucial player in the cyber operation called Olympic Games, started under President George W. Bush.

Bush reportedly advised President Barack Obama to preserve Olympic Games.

According to the Times, Obama ordered the cyberattacks sped up, and in 2010 an attack using a computer virus called Stuxnet temporarily disabled 1,000 centrifuges that the Iranians were using to enrich uranium.

Congressional leaders demanded a criminal probe into who leaked the information, and Obama said he had zero tolerance for such leaks. Republicans said senior administration officials had leaked the details to bolster the president's national security credentials during the 2012 campaign.

The Times said Cartwright was one of the crucial players who had to break the news to Obama and Vice President Joe Biden that Stuxnet at one point had escaped onto the Internet.

Obama asked if the program should continue, and after hearing the advice of top advisers, decided to proceed.An element of the program accidentally became public in the summer of 2010 because of a programming error that allowed it to escape Iran's Natanz plant and sent it out on the Internet, the Times reported. After the worm escaped onto the Internet, top administration officials met to consider whether the program had been fatally compromised.

Cartwright, a four-star general, was cleared in February 2011 of misconduct involving a young aide. An anonymous accuser had claimed Cartwright acted inappropriately during a 2009 overseas trip on which the aide traveled as a military assistant. Several sources confirmed that the former aide was a young woman.

The Pentagon inspector general quickly cleared Cartwright of the most serious allegations, which involved claims that he may have had an improper physical relationship with the woman. The report did find that Cartwright mishandled an incident in which the aide, drunk and visibly upset, visited his Tbilisi, Georgia, hotel room alone and either passed out or fell asleep on a bench at the foot of his bed. Cartwright denied any impropriety and was later cleared of all wrongdoing.

Cartwright, once considered the leading candidate to become Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, resigned from the military in August 2011.

NBC said Cartwright did not respond to request for comment and that his attorney, former Obama White House counsel Greg Craig, said he had no comment.

Aaron Hernandez Gun Photo: Former Patriots' Star Reportedly Took Selfie With Handgun In 2009

Shortly after Aaron Hernandez wascharged with murder in connection with the fatal shooting of Odin Lloyd, TMZshared an image on Twitter of the former New England Patriots tight end with a handgun that didn't do him any favors in the court of public opinion.

Citing an unnamed source, TMZ Sports reported that the photo seen below wastaken in 2009 in Gainesville while Hernandez was a student at the University of Florida. The Patriots drafted Hernandez out of Florida in the fourth round of the2010 NFL Draft.

Along with being charged with murder, Hernandez also faces five weapons count, according to The Associated Press. These charges were revealed during anarraignment on Wednesday, several hours after he was taken into police custody at his home in Attleborough, Mass.