"To Whom it May Concern: If this letter has been opened and is being read, it is because I have been seriously injured or killed by my son, Sky Walker." [...snip...] "I do not want him to be punished for actions for which he is not responsible." [more inside]
posted by FunkyHelix on Dec 7, 2009 - 63 comments

Thirty New York city residents pooled their strength yesterday and hoisted a wrecked school bus into the air to rescue a pregnant traffic warden trapped beneath the five-ton vehicle. Donnette Sanz, the victim of yesterday's accident, could not be saved, but her son was delivered safely at a nearby hospital. [more inside]
posted by WCityMike on Aug 16, 2008 - 23 comments

The world's second largest forest and one of the oldest on Earth, was traded for bars of soap and bottles of beer: Logging companies negotiate with local chiefs, walk away rich
posted by growabrain on Apr 11, 2007 - 30 comments

Plainclothes police serving a drug warrant defend killing an elderly woman in the roughest neighborhood in Atlanta. Perhaps it’s a flaw in the exclusionary rule. Or perhaps “had she been without her precious gun, she’d no doubt be alive today”
posted by Smedleyman on Nov 28, 2006 - 152 comments

It was that inevitable stomach-churning phone call in the middle of the night. The one we all had been dreading for years. The caller was choked with emotion. His words fell like bricks:

" You heard about Jaco?"

Jaco Pastorius bass virtuoso rediscovered. Photos and sounds and perspectives.
posted by Smedleyman on Feb 8, 2006 - 28 comments