Obama Honors Nation’s Top Researches and Inventors

President Barack Obama presents the 2010 National Medals of Science, Technology and Innovation during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House, Oct. 21, 2011. National Medal of Science recipient Dr. Rudolf Jaenisch, Cambridge, Mass. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy) (WASHINGTON) -- President Obama lauded the 12 recipients of the nation’s highest honor for achievement in science, technology and innovation Friday, joking that they should all make us feel embarrassed about our old science projects.

“You know, the volcano with the stuff coming out with the baking soda inside. Apparently, that was not a cutting-edge achievement even though our parents told us it was really terrific,” Obama said at a White House ceremony honoring the seven researchers receiving the National Medal of Science and the five inventors receiving the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.

“Thanks to the men and women on the stage, we are one step closer to curing diseases like cancer and Parkinson’s. Because of their work, soldiers can see the enemy at night and grandparents can see the pictures of their grandchildren instantly and constantly. Planes are safer, satellites are cheaper, and our energy grid is more efficient, thanks to the breakthroughs that they have made,” he said on a more serious note.

The awards recognize a range of work including the discovery of a new property of the DNA helix, improvements in energy efficiency, and pioneering developments in cardiovascular physiology.

While three-quarters of the honorees were born in foreign countries, Obama said they came to the U.S. “because America is the best place in the world to do the work that they do.

“America has always been a place where good ideas can thrive and dreams can become real -- where innovation is encouraged and the greatest minds in the world are free to push the very limits of science and technology,” Obama said.

The president also noted it was “troubling” that only one in 10 of all U.S. undergraduate students are studying science, technology, engineering and mathematics “because no matter how many great minds we attract from around the world, it won’t be enough if we can’t grow some here at home."

“The key to our success has always been and always will be our unparalleled ability to think up new ideas, create new industries, and lead the way in discovery and innovation. And that’s how the future will be won,” he said.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Police Release Details of Baby Lisa Search Warrant

(Full-sized version below). Bev Chapman/KMBC(KANSAS CITY, Mo.) -- Authorities investigating the disappearance of 11-month-old Lisa Irwin searched in and around the Irwin home Wednesday for nearly 17 hours, according to court documents released Friday.

Investigators removed items -- including a comforter, purple shorts, a Disney character shirt, a Glo Worm toy, Cars-themed blanket, rolls of tape and a tape dispenser -- from the property, ABC affiliate KMBC-TV in Kansas City, Mo. reports. They also took carpets from the property as evidence.

Lisa Irwin was reported missing on Oct. 4. According to KMBC, authorities state in an affidavit supporting the search warrant that "investigative interviews with the people involved revealed conflicting information for clear direction in the investigation."  

In the weeks since Lisa was reported missing, police have said the infant's parents -- Jeremy Irwin and Deborah Bradley -- at times have not offered full cooperation in the search for Lisa.

The documents also reveal that an FBI cadaver dog "indicated a positive 'hit' for the scent of a deceased human" on the floor of Bradley's bedroom near the bed.

DETAILS OF WARRANT

CLICK FOR FULL-SIZE

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Jack the Cat Awareness Day at JFK Airport

Thinkstock/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Saturday is Jack the Cat Awareness day at New York City’s John F. Kennedy Airport.

The cat has been missing for more than seven weeks after getting lost in the American Airlines baggage check area. Even though time has passed, the online fury over the cat’s loss and the airline’s failure thus far to recover it has not.

The “Jack The Cat is Lost in AA Baggage at JFK” Facebook page has more than 15,000 followers and is updated often, sometimes several times a day. And every post elicits dozens, sometimes hundreds, of comments from outraged and sympathetic supporters.

The goal of Saturday's event at the airport is to spread awareness about Jack to the airport’s more than 37,000 employees.

“You would be surprised the amount of people at JFK that are not aware that Jack is missing,” said Bonnie Folz, one of the lead searchers, in a statement. “There are construction workers, shop workers, store workers, garage cleaners, garage security, terminal security and a whole lot more. Any one of them could be the one who sees Jack, but they need to know he is missing.”

Jack disappeared on Aug. 25 when his owner, Karen Pascoe, was traveling from New York to California. She dropped her two cats off in their kennels at baggage services and soon received a call from an American Airlines agent telling her that one of her cats was missing and they believed he was in the inbound baggage claim area.

A Department of Transportation Pet Incident Report released Oct. 13 revealed exactly how Jack was lost. Each of Pascoe’s cats was in its own kennel, which a clerk stacked one on top of the other. The top kennel fell and Jack escaped.

An extensive search came up empty and Jack has been missing ever since. Passionate supporters have vowed to renounce American Airlines unless the feline is found. The airline has stopped posting updates on its Facebook page.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

US Troops to Leave Iraq by End of the Year

ABC News(WASHINGTON) -- President Obama announced Friday that the United States will pull all of its troops from Iraq by the end of the year.

“The rest of our troops in Iraq will come home by the end of the year,” the president said. “After nine years, America’s war in Iraq will be over.”

According to a White House official, “this deal was cut by the Bush administration, the agreement was always that at end of the year we would leave, but the Iraqis wanted additional troops to stay. We said here are the conditions, including immunities. But the Iraqis because of a variety of reasons wanted the troops and didn’t want to give immunity.

“So that’s it. Now our troops go to zero,” the official added.

“We will have a very robust diplomatic presence. But it will be a normal diplomatic presence like we have in many countries," the official said.

At approximately 11:30 a.m. Friday, President Obama convened a secure video conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to talk with him about this news, a source told ABC News.

There are 39,000 U.S. troops in Iraq as of this week.

From the beginning of operations through July 31, 2011, the Defense Department has obligated $704.6 billion for Operation Iraqi Freedom/Operation New Dawn (OND). The monthly cost of the war right now is $3.8 billion.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Steve Jobs Warned Obama He'd Have 'One-Term Presidency'

Eric Slomanson/Bloomberg News(NEW YORK) -- Steve Jobs reportedly warned President Obama that he was “headed for a one-term presidency,” according to Walter Isaacson’s new biography of the Apple CEO.

The warning came at a meeting last year, where Jobs told Obama that the White House needed to be more business friendly, citing China’s competitive advantage and the lagging education system in the U.S., according to the Huffington Post, which obtained a copy of Isaacson’s new book.

“You’re headed for a one-term presidency,” Jobs told the president, explaining the ease of building factories in China as opposed to the U.S. where “regulations and unnecessary costs” make it more difficult.

As for education, Jobs said the U.S. system was “crippled” by the unions. “Until the teachers’ unions were broken, there was almost no hope for education reform,” Jobs reportedly said. Instead he argued that teacher be evaluated based on merit and that schools stay open 11 months a year to better compete.

Jobs almost missed the meeting with Obama last fall, insisting that he receive a personal invitation from the president. The standoff reportedly lasted for five days until Jobs finally gave in and the two decided to met at the Westin at the San Francisco airport.

The Apple co-founder had also suggested that Obama meet with additional CEO’s, but was miffed when the White House added more names to the list and Jobs insisted that the event was growing too big, later saying “he had no intention of coming.” Jobs apparently also took issue with the menu, saying the shrimp, cod and lentil salad was “far too fancy.” He also objected to a chocolate truffle but backed down when the White House stressed the president’s fondness for the dessert.

After the meeting, Jobs reportedly told Isaacson that the president’s focus on the reasons things could not get done “infuriates” him. Despite being unimpressed by Obama, Jobs offered to help create political ads for the 2012 campaign, an offer he had also made in 2008. Jobs stayed in touch with the president and the two talked by phone a few more times.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

FBI Finds Gangs Expanding, Even to U.S. Military

iStockphoto/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- A new FBI assessment has found there are now an estimated 1.4 million gang members in the United States with gangs even infiltrating the U.S. military.

The National Gang Threat Assessment has found there are 33,000 officially designated gangs in the United States. The gangs’ 1.4 million members represent a 40 percent increase in gang membership since 2009.  The threat assessment has found that gangs are expanding in the United States and are responsible for up to 48 percent of violent crime in many urban communities.

FBI officials also say the use of social media sites has assisted in recruitment with youth becoming interested in gang culture and displays of bravado on Facebook and YouTube. The threat assessment notes that local police in Missouri have seen a rise in gang “promotion teams” using internet chat rooms to promote clubs and parties. Displays of gang signs and walks are found abundantly on YouTube which FBI officials say may influence youths to seek out gangs.

While FBI and law enforcement officials do not have estimates on the number of gang members in the military, officials have seen gangs in 100 jurisdictions in the U.S. and overseas with 53 different gangs who are in every branch of the military.

“Gang recruitment of active duty military personnel constitutes a significant criminal threat to the U.S. military,” the threat assessment noted. “NGIC [National Gang Intelligence Center] reporting indicates that law enforcement officials in at least 100 jurisdictions have come into contact with, detained, or arrested an active duty or former military gang member within the past three years.”

“Some members are joining the military to get away from the gang life,” said Calvin Shivers, FBI assistant section chief of the Violent Criminal Threat Section, at a briefing.

“Many gangs are sophisticated criminal networks with members who are violent, distribute wholesale quantities of drugs, and develop and maintain close working relationships with members and associates of transnational criminal/drug trafficking organizations,” the assessment noted. 

The report notes that while most gang members are in the West, gangs have been growing in the Northeast and the Southwest. The expansion in the Southwest could be because of gangs reaching out to and linking with Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations (MDTOs).

FBI officials say the increased figures are likely due to better reporting and analysis of information reported to them by state and local law enforcement agencies. The National Gang Intelligence Center is made up of officials from the FBI, DEA, The ATF, The US Marshals Service, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Three Eyewitnesses Convinced They Saw Missing Baby Lisa

Kansas City Police(KANSAS CITY, Mo.) -- Three witnesses in two Kansas City locations are convinced they saw a man carrying a baby matching 11-month-old Lisa Irwin's description the night she disappeared from her Missouri bedroom.

Mike Thompson told ABC News that he was on his way home from work around 4 a.m. on Oct. 4 when he saw a man in a t-shirt carrying a baby at an intersection about three miles from the Irwin home.

It was shortly after 4 a.m. that Lisa's parents Deborah Bradley and Jeremy Irwin said they discovered Lisa was missing.

"[At] 4 a.m., 45 degrees, baby don't have a coat or nothing and this guy is walking down the street and I thought it was kind of weird," Thompson said.

He thought the sight was so unusual that he recalled considering offering the man and baby a ride home, but couldn't because he was on his motorcycle. He later reported what he saw to police and told ABC News he is convinced the baby was Lisa.

Thompson described the man as around 5-feet-7, between 140 and 150 pounds and in his late 30s or early 40s.

A few hours earlier, a couple living three houses down from the Irwin family said they saw a similar sight. A woman and her husband said they saw a man in a t-shirt carrying a baby. They thought the situation was so unusual that they reported it to police on the morning of Oct. 4.

"It was shocking because I couldn't imagine anyone outside walking with their baby in the cold like that with no clothes on," the woman told ABC News.

Lisa's mother, Deborah Bradley, has said that Lisa was wearing purple shorts and a purple t-shirt when she last saw her, but the neighboring couple said they baby they saw did not appear to be wearing any clothing.

"We seen the little arm, the leg, it didn't look like the baby had on any clothes, just a diaper," she said.

The woman said police have interviewed her four times and police say they are still looking into the possible sightings.

The focus of the investigation this week has been largely centered on Lisa's parents.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Animal Preserve Owner's Wife Wants Surviving Animals Back

Jay LaPrete/Getty Images(ZANESVILLE, Ohio) -- Terry Thompson, the Zanesville man who set his exotic animals loose before killing himself, owed almost $70,000 in unpaid taxes to the IRS and the county.

Dozens of animals, including Bengal tigers, lions, wolves, monkeys and bears were freed from the Zanesville, Ohio animal preserve and had to be killed by police. Police stalked the animals through the night Tuesday, and by Wednesday afternoon, 49 of the 50 animals were confirmed dead, ending a potentially catastrophic threat to people in the area.

Three leopards, a grizzly bear and two Macaques were the only animals that survived, and they are at the Columbus Zoo, receiving around the clock care. According to zoo officials, the animals are "stressed," but eating, drinking, and playing with ball toys.

Thompson's wife, Marian Thompson, visited the surviving animals, which she called "her children," on Thursday and desperately pleaded for their return.

"This is a person that's very bonded to the animals," said Tom Stalf, a zoo official who helped transport surviving animals to zoo. "She wanted to see them and make sure that they were doing OK, and she missed them."

Though she wants the surviving animals to be returned to her, zoo officials said they will continue to care for the animals, and leave it up to the sheriff's department to decide if the animals will go home, to another facility, or remain at the zoo.

Marian Thompson told a zoo official that she is especially bonded with the surviving pair of primates. She revealed to Stalf that when she was still living at the farm the surviving female Macaque would sleep with her.

According to police, just seconds after Thompson set his beloved animals free and shot himself with a handgun, an animal bit him in the head, and likely dragged him along the driveway where he was eventually found.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

President Obama Signs Free Trade Agreements

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza(WASHINGTON) -- President Obama has signed into law the long-awaited free trade agreements with South Korea, Panama and Colombia, as well as the latest trade adjustment assistance for workers.

The president originally planned to sign the bills in a White House ceremony, with members of both parties, but opted instead to sign them privately in the Oval Office. The three pacts were passed last Wednesday after years of debate and delay, marking one of the few moments of bipartisanship in recent months.

“These trade agreements will significantly boost American exports, support tens of thousands of American jobs and protect labor rights, the environment and intellectual property,” the White House said in a release previewing Friday’s signing, which lasted approximately 15 minutes according to the pool report.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Harold Camping Says World Will End Today... Again

Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images(SAN FRANCISCO) -- Plans for Friday’s Armageddon aren’t nearly as organized as the doomsday that never happened five months ago on May 21.

This time around, for Harold Camping’s renewed prediction of doom, there are few signs that the great rapture is near.

In an update on its end of the world website, the non-profit group posted: “On May 21 Christ did come spiritually to put all of the unsaved throughout the world into judgment. But that universal judgment will not be physically seen until the last day of the five month judgment period, on October 21, 2011."

The Website continued, “…we can be sure that the whole world, with the exception of those who are presently saved (the elect), are under the judgment of God, and will be annihilated together with the whole physical world on October 21, 2011, on the last day of the present five months period.”

Camping, who suffered a stroke about 20 days after his May 21 prediction, is out of the hospital and recuperating with his wife, according to an announcement posted on the Family Radio Website.

Family Radio did not return calls or emails seeking comment. Calls to numbers associated with Harold Camping went unanswered. Calls to lawyers associated with the group weren’t returned.

Using his platform, Camping has predicted the end of the world 12 times. His first prediction of the end of times dates back to 1978, according to a source familiar with Camping.

His May 21st End of the World website stated: “…the Bible has given us absolute proof that the year 2011 is the end of the world during the Day of Judgment… Amazingly, May 21, 2011 is the 17th day of the 2nd month of the Biblical calendar of our day…”

Camping, who stated he pinpointed the date for the end of the world, placed the time of the rapture at 5:59 p.m.  But the day came and went without a big bang. Later he said his math was off.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio