Saturday, May 18, 2013

Mom in New Mexico chases down child abductor; man arrested

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) ? A mother whose 4-year-old was being abducted chased the suspect down and crashed her vehicle into his car, triggering a manhunt and the arrest of the suspect, Albuquerque police said Thursday.

The young girl was playing in her yard at St. Anthony's Plaza Apartments in Albuquerque's North Valley about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday when a group of teenagers saw the kidnapping and ran to alert the girl's mother, police said.

The family called 911 and the mother jumped into her vehicle and gave chase for about seven miles, unaware the man had pushed the girl out of the silver Buick before fleeing the apartment complex, authorities said. The girl was found wandering nearby, uninjured, police said.

According to police, the mother, who has not been identified, followed the suspect and finally rammed into his car near an intersection. The suspect fled on foot, police said.

The attempted kidnapping sparked a massive manhunt Wednesday as more than two dozen officers went door-to-door in the area looking for the suspect. A helicopter with heat-sensor cameras also was sent in for the search, authorities said.

Police arrested David Hernandez, 31, on Thursday afternoon in Rio Rancho after he saw his picture on television and called police. After being interviewed, he was charged with kidnapping, police spokeswoman Tasia Martinez said.

As he was being taken to jail, Hernandez told reporters that he was innocent. It was not known if Hernandez had an attorney.

Kevin Abar, assistant special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations, confirmed to The Associated Press that federal agents also helped Albuquerque police with the investigation.

In February, HSI and local enforcement agencies launched the Sexual Predator and Exploitation Enforcement Detail, or SPEED ? a task force aimed at finding missing and abducted children.

Police were also investigating a possible connection to the abduction and sexual assault of a 6-year-old from the same apartment complex last week. The suspect in that case was described as a male in a silver or gray vehicle.

Gilbert Hernandez, 25, a resident at the St. Anthony's, said he found the 6-year-old last week and was the one who contacted police. "This place isn't safe. People always let their kids run around here," Hernandez said. "We are all on the lookout now."

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Follow Russell Contreras on Twitter at http://twitter.com/russcontreras.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mom-nm-chases-down-child-abductor-man-arrested-211553701.html

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Wednesday, May 8, 2013

It?s Official: Microsoft?s Windows Blue Is Coming Later This Year

It’s Official: Microsoft’s Windows Blue Is Coming Later This Year
Microsoft just confirmed that the successor to Windows 8 will roll out later this year, that it’s sold a whole lot more Windows 8 licenses than when we last checked in, and that the largely empty Windows Stores are finally ...

Source: http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2013/05/its-official-microsoft-says-windows-blue-is-coming-later-this-year/

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Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Top 10 Michigan with kids- Family Travel Guide for Michigan

Top 10 things for Families to do in Michigan

While many know Michigan as the birthplace of the auto industry in the U.S., both locals and visitors appreciate its other claim to fame as a water wonderland. Michigan borders four of the five Great Lakes providing the longest freshwater coastline in the nation, and boasts over 11,000 inland lakes which means that anywhere you go in Michigan, you are never more than six miles away from a body of water. That makes it easy for families to get out and appreciate the natural beauty of the state as well as the friendly, welcoming personalities of Michiganders. From cozy towns like Marquette in the Upper Peninsula, nestled on the edge of Lake Superior, down to the bustling metropolitan area of Detroit, Michigan is packed with adventure and exploration for all ages. Come see our top 10 Michigan for?family travel and fun!

10. Get a bright idea?visit a lighthouse!

Top 10 Michigan Marquette Maritime Museum and Lighthouse(1)

The Great Lakes?are full of boating and shipping activity which means that you?ll be able to visit something you might only otherwise see at the ocean coasts: lighthouses! There are?115 lighthouses in Michigan, ranging from simple metal structures on a shore to historical museums with visitor centers, such as the Grand Traverse Lighthouse. Climb the tallest lighthouse on the Great Lakes open to the public at the?New Presque Isle Lighthouse!

?Is your family crazy about lighthouses? Check out these lighthouses around the U.S. our Trekaroo families enjoy!

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9. Visit a big city with heart!

Top 10 Michigan Detroit Zoo Comerica Park Michigan Science Center

While most Americans associate Detroit with the heart of the auto industry, we?re here to tell you that Detroit has a big heart of its own and stands ready to share its history and fun with your family! Set on 125 acres with tons of hands-on activities and interactive animal displays, the?Detroit Zoo is one of Michigan?s top visitor attractions. To get a glimpse of a different sort of Tiger, take your family to?Comerica Park where Sundays are ?Kids Days;? enjoy a this baseball park that?also boasts a?theme park and baseball museum! Not far away, the Michigan Science Center is a top attraction for hands-on science activities and fun.

Check out more Detroit attractions.

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8. Explore family-friendly towns with big personality

Top 10 Michigan Cities with personality Air Zoo Fairy Doors Meijer Gardens

Michigan?s diverse, fun atmosphere is best expressed in its mid-sized towns with BIG personality, such as Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, and Kalamazoo. Ann Arbor is noted worldwide for its art and ?foodie? culture. It hosts a variety of events throughout the year: the Summer Festival, Ann Arbor Art Fair, Film Festival, Restaurant Week, and more! It also boasts one of the state?s most popular children?s museums, and a beautiful, walkable downtown where you?ll find some fantastic art fairs and enchanting sights for kids of all ages, such as the two dozen fairy doors liberally sprinkled through town, the Dexter Cider Mill, and the Matthaei Botanical Gardens, to name a few. Grand Rapids exudes family togetherness with outdoor activities at the Frederik Meijer Gardens, the John Ball Zoo, and the Rosa Parks Circle Ice Rink. Kalamazoo?is the proud?hometown?of the Air Zoo aviation museum and indoor amusement park, voted ?best place to take out-of-towners? and ?best place to spend a day with your family? three years in a row! Towns like these cultivate family-friendly parks and host festivals year-round to celebrate seasons, local history, and unique interests.

If you?re planning to visit these towns, check out our Trekaroo families? favorite hotels: Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids, and Kalamazoo.

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7. Learn about the ?motors? of our country

Top 10 Michigan Henry Ford Michigan

No visit to the Detroit area is complete without taking in over nine acres of ?America?s Greatest History Destination? at The Henry Ford complex, consisting of?The Henry Ford Museum, Greenfield Village, Ford Rouge factory tour, and IMAX theater. The impressive museum and historical site highlight the achievements of not only Henry Ford, but also the hard work of ordinary Americans who built this country. The displays at these sites are widely varied and impressive, including Wilbur and Orville Wright?s bicycle shop, Thomas Edison?s laboratory, the Rosa Parks bus, a presidential limousine, and dozens of other amazing American historical artifacts, famous homes, and machinery.

?Has this piqued your curiosity???Explore our Top 10 Living History Museums.

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6. Traverse City

Top 10 Michigan Traverse City Cherry Fest

The ?Cherry Capital of the World,? has been voted a ?Top Ten Tourist Town? by Parents Magazine and one of ?America?s 10 Best Small Towns? by Fodor?s. In the northwest part of the lower peninsula, cozily nestled between the arms of Grand Traverse Bay, it has a unique character all its own with activities, ?foodie?-pleasing restaurants, and scenery sure to wow the entire family. The unique geography of the area leaves the waters protected,?offering long stretches of beaches for water play including?swimming, fishing, sailing, and paddling. Every year in early July, Traverse City pulls out all the stops to celebrate all things cherry at the National Cherry Festival in East Bay Park. Head north of Traverse City out on Mission Point to view sprawling orchards, visit roadside fruit stands, sample local juices, and find the state?s best wineries. Visit the village of Old Mission, founded in 1839, the eclectic Old Mission General Store, the village schoolhouse, Old Mission Inn, and Old Mission Lighthouse at the very end of Mission Point.

?Craving all things cherry? Check out the Cherry Republic in downtown Traverse City. Cherried out? Still plenty of food options for the family.

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5. Visit another country!

Top 10 Michigan Family Fun in Holland Michigan

Michigan has a rich history of immigrant settlements. As a result, it also has quite a few small towns steeped in culture from places such as Holland, Germany, and Finland, to name a few. The Old Dutch attractions found in Holland, Michigan are always fun and family-friendly. Explore Nelis? Dutch Village for hands-on learning and the Windmill Island Gardens to climb to the top of DeZwaan, the only authentic Dutch windmill operating in the U.S. The highlight of Holland?s Dutch celebration begins in early May at the Tulip Time Festival, where you?ll find parades, concerts, Dutch food, dancing, and tons of cultural displays through town. Frankenmuth is Michigan?s ?Little Bavaria? and is the most popular place to visit in the state, despite its small size. Celebrate Bavarian culture at one of the several festivals held in the town throughout the year or discover delicious German foods at one of their many restaurants.

?Getting hungry? Here are more restaurants in Frankenmuth.

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4. Just dune it!

Top 10 Michigan Family Fun Sleeping Bear Dunes Michigan

With all the water in Michigan, you?ll find a beautiful assortment of beaches and dunes in which to bury your toes and build sand castles while you admire your view of the lake. Voted the ?Most Beautiful Place in America? by Good Morning America, the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore includes a breathtaking 64-mile curve of beaches, coves, islands, and dunes worthy of exploration. Visit Michigan?s #1 state park, Grand Haven State Park, to take in the beach that was voted one of the ?best secret beaches on earth? by Travel & Leisure Magazine in 2012. While you?re there, be sure to visit the unique Musical Fountain. Near Sawyer, Michigan, Warren Dunes State Park provides another beautiful stretch of sand dunes that rise 260 feet above the lake for hiking or settling in to relax at the water?s edge.

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3. Go wild in the Upper Peninsula!

Top 10 Michigan Family canoeing on Craig Lake State Park in Marquette COunty

Many Americans don?t realize that the state of Michigan is divided into two parts where the Mackinac Bridge connects the Lower Peninsula to the Upper Peninsula (U.P.). Though the U.P. has nearly 1/3 of the land of Michigan, just 3% of the population lives here. What that means for locals and visitors is mile after mile of unspoiled natural beauty! Wilderness, secluded beaches, amazing rock formations, animal encounters, and over 324 waterfalls make the U.P. a natural playground for bikers, hikers, snowmobilers, geocachers, bird-watchers, and other lovers of the outdoors. The U.P. is also one of the few places in the lower 49 states where you have a good chance of viewing the Aurora Borealis (?Northern Lights?) if you don?t mind staying up late! The hub of the U.P. resides in the family-friendly town of Marquette, which is not only a beautiful port town on Lake Superior with numerous summer festivals, parks, restaurants, and the U.P.?s only children?s museum, it is the perfect launching point for exploration of the ?wild side? of Michigan!

Discover more family friendly activities in Marquette.

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2. Go back in time!

Top 10 Michigan MackinacIsland

Mackinac Island is one of those ?must see? unique locations that should be on every family?s bucket list for Michigan. Take a 30-minute ferry to the island from either Mackinac City on the south side of the Mackinac Bridge or St. Ignace in the U.P. and prepare to travel back in time as you explore the island by horse-drawn carriage, bicycle, or on foot, as there are no cars allowed on the island!? Historic Fort Mackinac allows visitors to experience the uniquely austere conditions the fort?s soldiers and families experienced in the 1800?s, all from an amazing hillside vista that peers out over Lakes Michigan and Huron. Of course, no trip to Mackinac Island is complete without enjoying their iconic, freshly-made fudge! Make it a day trip or, better yet, overnight at one of the island?s historic hotels or B&B?s to fully experience its rich history.

Convinced Mackinac Island?s for you? Read tips on how to have fun in Mackinac Island with kids.

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1. Jump in a lake!

Top 10 Michigan Jumping in Lake Michigan

There?s a good reason why Michigan is called the ?Great Lakes State? ? lakes are unavoidable with shoreline on four of the Great Lakes (Erie, Huron, Michigan and Superior) and thousands of other inland lakes scattered throughout the state. So, do as the locals and dive right in!

Take a glass-bottom boat tour to discover the shipwrecks in Lake Superior near Munising, and view the breathtaking rock formations at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore and Grand Island. Not too far away, you can learn more about lost vessels and other Great Lakes shipwrecks, such as the Edmund Fitzgerald, at the Great Lakes Shipwreck Museum on Whitefish Point. A bit further to the east, the Soo Locks are a fascinating mechanical wonder that can be explored from boat or from land in Sault Ste. Marie. How about a submarine? The U.S.S. Silversides, moored near Muskegon, is a place where kids and families can learn about World War II and submarine life through hands-on experience. Visit the Michigan Maritime Museum in South Haven and plan a pirate adventure on the sloop Friends Good Will, a replica of the only Tall Ship to sail the Great Lakes. It is a state-of-the-art, interactive, floating classroom! Similarly, the Appledore Tall Ships provide public sails and dinner cruises from Bay City, near Saginaw, and the Tall Ship Manitou does the same from Traverse City. As you can see, there is no limit to the adventure, learning, and family fun to be had on and around Michigan?s lakes!

We?re dying to know ? what?s your favorite way to spend time on the water? Share the scoop.

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Many thanks to the Marquette County CVB for sponsoring this Top Ten Article!

Top 10 Michigan Marquette County Boat

Located in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Marquette is the ideal stomping grounds for those looking for adventure or for those looking for a tamer experience. No matter what your idea of fun is, Marquette is the perfect year-round destination. From kid-friendly winter activities of tubing, downhill and cross-country skiing, to classic summer fun of pristine beach-going, biking, and hiking, Marquette is an ideal first stop and launching-point to the greater U.P!

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Need more inspiration? Watch this!

Now, what are you waiting for? Plan your next family-friendly adventure in Marquette!

Top 10 50 states seriesWhat state do you want to visit next?

From coast to coast, we?re determining the Top 10 Things to do with Kids in each state of our great nation.?? Head here to see what tops the list in your favorite state.

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Source: http://blog.trekaroo.com/top-10-michigan/

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Monday, May 6, 2013

Analysis: Mexico aims to overhaul tax system, raise revenue

By Krista Hughes

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Tax breaks for attending "civic values" courses, tax-free sales of second-hand furniture, special treatment for call centers and an informal economy employing six out of 10 workers are all in the line of fire as Mexico prepares a long-awaited tax overhaul.

An analysis of budget data shows Mexico's extensive network of tax breaks and stimulus programs generate costs equal to about half the taxes actually collected.

Mexico has the lowest tax revenue in the 34-nation Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, crimping its ability to spend on health, infrastructure and social programs vital to boost living standards and growth in what is Latin America's second-largest economy.

Finance Minister Luis Videgaray has given few details of the overhaul, due to be presented in the autumn session of Congress, but has promised it will be "large," reviewing both direct and indirect taxes and making those who earn more, pay more.

Currently, the world's richest man, Carlos Slim, is in the same tax bracket as a worker earning $2,700 a month, paying 30 percent income tax - low compared to top rates of 39.6 percent in the United States, 45 percent in Germany and 50 percent in Japan.

No data is available on revenue by tax bracket, but most of the poor live and work in a shadow economy that accounts for one-third of gross domestic product (GDP) and pay little tax.

That leaves a high burden on middle-income earners.

The narrow tax base, along with a complicated tax code and rampant evasion, capped gross tax revenues at just 9.7 percent of GDP in 2012.

The reform will aim to boost that and ease the country's reliance on oil revenues, which account for nearly 40 percent of government income and make it vulnerable to market swings.

OECD head Angel Gurria, a former Mexican finance minister, still shudders at the memory of the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and 1998, when benchmark oil prices fell as low as $8 per barrel, half the level the government had budgeted for.

"One day when I was finance minister I came into the office at 9 a.m. and the budget deficit was at 0.5 (percent of GDP) and by the time the day was over it was at 3 percent," he told Reuters in January.

Although Mexico has a balanced budget and optimism about the government's reform agenda is drawing a surge in foreign investment, ratings agencies say the skimpy tax base and oil dependence have been hurdles to a sought-after upgrade, especially as oil output has dropped by a quarter since 2004.

Standard & Poor's changed its outlook on Mexico's BBB-rating to positive in March, suggesting an upgrade is possible within 18 months, but S&P credit analyst Joydeep Mukherji said the scope of the fiscal reform would be key.

"If it's basically a relatively small impact and kind of gets washed out among other things, it won't have a big impact and we may not upgrade," he said. "You can't rely forever on that much money from the oil sector and such high oil prices."

LAPSES AND LOOPHOLES

Mexico's net tax income, taking the negative impact of fuel subsidies into account, was worth just 8.5 percent of GDP last year.

Total government revenue, including oil, averaged 18 percent of GDP in the last decade, compared to 26 percent in the United States, 32 percent in Brazil and more than 40 percent in some European countries, OECD data show.

Experts estimate Mexico must boost its tax intake by 6-8 percentage points of GDP, or about $100 billion a year to reduce its reliance on oil revenues and fund increased government spending, although the reform could start out netting half that amount and be ramped up progressively over coming years.

Measures to bridge the gap could include increased efforts to tackle tax evasion, worth 2.57 pct of GDP in 2007 according to the Monterrey Institute of Advanced Technological Studies.

Other options are raising top personal tax rates for the rich; making state governments levy more tax; imposing taxes on capital gains, inheritances and property transfers; and scrapping an entrenched zero rate of value-added tax (VAT) on basic food and medicine.

This last exemption is the biggest single contributor to tax breaks worth 4.8 percent of GDP in 2012, equivalent to about half of tax revenues. Mexico's ratio of tax breaks to revenue is similar to the United States but more than in Germany, Spain and South Korea, a sign of the complexity of its tax code.

One tax break the government has vowed to end is consolidated reporting for firms, which allows companies to set losses in one business against gains elsewhere - a practice critics say is easily abused.

Total discounts and deductions, listed in a 117-page budget document, include special tax regimes which mean many family firms and self-employed workers pay no income tax or VAT, and allow individual deductions for medical expenses, school fees, some share purchases and courses which promote "civic values," while VAT discounts and exemptions span items from gold ingots to lottery tickets, medical services and table water.

The governing Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI) has taken a step towards breaking the taboo of no VAT on food and medicines by removing a ban on such a move from its statutes, although insiders say staples such as tortillas and beans may remain exempt, or be charged at a low rate, such as 3 percent.

Many Mexicans shop for groceries at canvas-covered farmers' markets and buy anything from chewing gum to calendars from roving street vendors, none of whom pay or charge tax.

"You have to revise the zero rate," said Ernst & Young partner Herbert Bettinger, who has advised the PRI on past tax reforms. "You can leave it on food, but everything else should be removed."

However, extending VAT to products currently exempt is a sensitive political issue and the government may struggle to win support from opposition parties and even some lawmakers inside the PRI.

The Mexican Institute of Chartered Public Accountants (IMCP) says tackling the informal economy must be one of the priorities of the new regime, which the government hopes will be passed together with the 2014 federal budget and take effect next year.

The IMCP, which would also like to scrap a 'flat tax' option for firms and lower the corporate tax rate from the current 30 percent, estimates that taxing all informal workers would boost the tax take by 3 percentage points of GDP.

"The 10 percent (of GDP) tax that Mexico does raise, it raises from 40 percent of the economy because 60 percent of workers are informal and don't pay tax," said IMCP president Carlos Cardenas. "We can't do a fiscal reform just for that 40 percent."

($1 = 12.0933 Mexican pesos)

(Additional reporting by Thomson Reuters' service Dofiscal and Pablo Garibian; Editing by Kieran Murray and David Brunnstrom)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-mexico-aims-overhaul-tax-system-raise-revenue-110722774.html

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Report: Early humans dined on antelope brains

By Alasdair Fotheringham ISCHIA, Italy, May 5 (Reuters) - Team Sky took a morale-boosting victory in the Giro d'Italia team time trial as overall contender Bradley Wiggins moved up to second overall and gained time on his rivals on Sunday. Second in the short, hilly and very technical second stage were Spanish squad Movistar, nine seconds back, with Astana, led by Wiggins's key rival Vincenzo Nibali, third at 14 seconds. The first Team Sky rider to cross the line in Saturday's first stage, Italian Salvatore Puccio, took the overall leader's pink jersey. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/report-early-humans-dined-antelope-brains-182618370.html

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Experts: Feds pressure widow, pals in bomb case

This Friday, April 19, 2013 photo shows the home of Katherine Russell's parents in North Kingstown, R.I. Russell, widow of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, has been staying there. FBI agents visited the home Monday, April 29, 2013, and carried away several bags. (AP Photo/Joe Giblin)

This Friday, April 19, 2013 photo shows the home of Katherine Russell's parents in North Kingstown, R.I. Russell, widow of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, has been staying there. FBI agents visited the home Monday, April 29, 2013, and carried away several bags. (AP Photo/Joe Giblin)

Katherine Russell, right, wife of Boston Marathon bomber suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev, leaves the law office of DeLuca and Weizenbaum with Amato DeLuca, left, Monday, April 29, 2013, in Providence, R.I. (AP Photo/Stew Milne)

Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Boston Field Office Richard DesLauriers departs after the arraignment of three college friends of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev at the Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston, Mass., Wednesday, May 1, 2013. Dias Kadyrbayev, Azamat Tazhayakov and Robel Phillipos were arrested and charged with removing a backpack containing hollowed-out fireworks from Tsarnaev's dorm room. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

This courtroom sketch signed by artist Jane Flavell Collins shows defendants Dias Kadyrbayev, left, and Azamat Tazhayakov appearing in front of Federal Magistrate Marianne Bowler at the Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston, Mass., Wednesday, May 1, 2013. The two college friends of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and another man, were arrested and charged with removing a backpack containing hollowed-out fireworks from Tsarnaev's dorm room. (AP Photo/Jane Flavell Collins)

A van carrying three college friends of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev drives away from the Moakley Federal Courthouse in Boston, Mass., Wednesday, May 1, 2013. Dias Kadyrbayev, Azamat Tazhayakov and Robel Phillipos were arrested and charged with removing a backpack containing hollowed-out fireworks from Tsarnaev's dorm room. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

(AP) ? Every time the widow of suspected Boston Marathon bomber Tamerlan Tsarnaev leaves her parents' house, federal agents watching the residence follow her in unmarked vehicles.

Federal authorities are placing intense pressure on what they know to be the inner circle of the two bombing suspects, arresting three college buddies of surviving brother Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, and keeping Tamerlan's 24-year-old widow, Katherine Russell, in the public eye with their open surveillance and leaks to media about investigators' focus on her.

Legal experts say it's part of their quest not just to determine whether Russell and the friends are culpable but also to push for as much information as possible regarding whether the bombing suspects had ties to a terrorism network or accomplices working domestically or abroad. A primary goal is to push the widow and friends to give their full cooperation, according to the experts.

David Zlotnick, a professor of law at Roger Williams University and former federal prosecutor in the District of Columbia, said authorities may be tracking Russell closely because they feel she's not being completely honest about all she knows.

"It seems to me they don't believe her yet," he said.

Dzhokhar is in a prison hospital, facing a potential death sentence if convicted of the terrorism plot that authorities allege the 19-year-old and his late 26-year-old brother carried out April 15. Twin pressure cooker bombs detonated near the race's finish line, leaving three people dead and injuring more than 260 others. Tamerlan died in a gunfight with authorities April 19, a day after authorities released photos of the suspects.

Tamerlan's widow has been ensconced at her parents' North Kingstown, R.I., home since then. Much about her remains a mystery, including what she knew or witnessed in the weeks, months and years before the bombings, and what she saw and did in the days after.

It's unclear when Russell last communicated with her husband, but her lawyer, Amato DeLuca, told The Associated Press in an interview last month that the last time she saw him was before she went to work April 18. DeLuca said Tuesday that Russell had met with law enforcement "for many hours over the past week," and would continue to do so in the coming days. He previously told the AP that Russell didn't suspect her husband of anything before the bombings, and nothing seemed amiss in the days after.

Zlotnick said the fact that charges have been brought against the younger brother's three friends from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth over allegations they covered up for Dzhokhar indicates authorities are willing to go after the widow for similar actions. That puts pressure on Russell to cooperate.

Dias Kadyrbayev and Azamat Tazhayakov, students from Kazakhstan, were charged this week with conspiring to obstruct justice by taking a backpack with fireworks and a laptop from Dzhokhar's dorm room, while Robel Phillipos was charged with lying to investigators about the visit to the dorm room. All three are 19 years old and face the possibility of five or more years in federal prison.

The lawyers for the Kazakh students said their clients had nothing to do with the bombing and were shocked by the crime. Phillipos' attorney, Derege Demissie, said he was accused only of a "misrepresentation."

Nancy Gertner, a former federal judge in Massachusetts and a professor at Harvard Law School, said she believes authorities will try to use the conspiracy charges against the friends to turn them into cooperating witnesses against Dzhokhar. They will also see if the defendants can help them determine if there's a wider plot and a continuing danger for citizens.

"I think it's to find out ... are there other tentacles here?" Gertner said.

A grand jury is likely already hearing testimony against Dzhokhar, said Michael Sullivan, a former U.S. attorney for Massachusetts who also once headed the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. He said investigators will be looking into whether the brothers tested bombs before the attack and asking questions about whom Tamerlan had contact with when he traveled to Russia last year.

Those are some of the things they would also want to know from Russell.

One of investigators' goals right now is "to figure out if she has knowledge of how he became radicalized, who he spoke to, how he may have learned to make the bomb and whether there are others out there who share his views," said Ron Sullivan, a professor and director of Harvard's Criminal Justice Institute.

In addition to threatening her with criminal charges and a potential prison sentence to get what they want from her, Ron Sullivan said authorities can bring social pressure to bear, including leaking information that suggests she isn't being helpful.

"She's the mother of a young daughter. I imagine she does not want to be deemed as a pariah or ostracized by the whole country," he said.

One question that swirls around Russell is what she saw inside the cramped Cambridge apartment she shared with Tamerlan, whom she married in 2010, and their toddler. Two U.S. officials have told the AP that Dzhokhar told investigators the bombs were assembled in that apartment. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the details of the ongoing investigation.

Robert Clark Corrente, a former U.S. attorney for Rhode Island, said it is unlikely Russell could be prosecuted if she saw a pressure cooker in the home. But if she saw a dozen pressure cookers and several bags of fireworks, that could be a different story.

Her culpability for her actions after the bombings is also a matter of degrees. She could be in trouble if authorities determine she harbored someone or destroyed evidence. But even if Russell communicated with her husband after the release of his photo as the bombing suspect, Corrente said she may not be charged because of the public way it happened.

"I think anybody would be expected to call his or her spouse and say, 'You won't believe what I just saw on TV,'" Corrente said.

The arrests of Dzhokhar's friends and scrutiny of Russell may also have a deterrent effect by demonstrating what happens to people who don't alert authorities if someone close to them is involved in a terror plot, Zlotnick said.

Eugene O'Donnell, a John Jay College of Criminal Justice lecturer and former police officer and assistant district attorney in New York City, said the message from federal authorities is clear: "No stone will be unturned" in their probe.

"I think after 9/11 there's really a kitchen sink approach to national security," he said.

___

Smith reported from Providence, R.I. Associated Press writers Pete Yost and Eileen Sullivan contributed to this report from Washington.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-05-04-Boston%20Marathon-Investigation/id-43b779cdcdf448baab4b12745fec4d23

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