Florida Ice Cream Shop Mascot Mistaken for KKK Member

Photodisc/Thinkstock(OCALA, Flas.) -- A Florida ice cream shop was forced to rethink its marketing campaign when its ice cream-costumed mascot kept getting mistaken for a guy in KKK robes, reports the Ocala Star-Banner.

Apparently, drivers breezing by the costumed man couldn't see the sprinkles on the faux vanilla dollop crowning his head, and thought his headgear was a white hood, the newspaper says.

It took some time to figure out why business wasn't picking up, but the owners of Ice Cream Family Corner and Sandwiches now say they have retired the unintentionally controversial costume.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

New Secret Weapon?: Department of Defense Enlists Mobile Devices

Apple Inc.(WASHINGTON) -- Picture yourself as a young Marine who's just been sent to Haiti after an earthquake. There is horror everywhere. Fifty survivors crowd around you, asking for food and water, and you'd love to help them. But in the chaos you don't know where caches of supplies have been delivered.

So you do exactly what you've been trained to do: you whip out your smartphone.

Right there on the screen is an app that tells you exactly where you are, where your fellow troops are, and where relief supplies have now been delivered.

"He can tell the refugees, 'Head that way,' and send a text ahead to be ready for 50 refugees," said Greg d'Arbonne of Overwatch Systems, a Textron subsidiary developing apps for the Department of Defense.

The U.S. military, used to spending big bucks on specialized hardware for its troops, has found that it can sometimes get the same results from the smartphones many teenagers have in their pockets before they enlist.

Private companies have jumped on board, creating software that does what the military needs, and for a lot less money than battle-hardened equipment would cost.

"What we need is a compass, an accelerometer, and GPS," said d'Arbonne. "Most smartphones have that."

"There was concern that a soldier might drop his phone. In that case, you can deactivate it remotely and get him a new one," he said. "And you know what? You're out $400, a lot less than you would have paid for hardware a few years ago."

The story is told of a chopper pilot in Afghanistan who got frustrated fumbling with maps over unfamiliar terrain. He loaded them all onto an iPad instead. His commanders liked his initiative. Thirty other pilots are now flying with everything they need on a tablet instead of paper.

There are issues to be dealt with, of course. Security is a major one. The hackers who crashed Sony's PlayStation network may find the U.S. Air Force too tempting to resist. So encryption specialists are already hard at work, which inevitably means a money-saving effort will get more expensive and cumbersome.

But momentum is growing. The Army ran a major exercise over the summer at Fort Bliss on the Texas-New Mexico border, with troops using Androids and BlackBerrys instead of specialized equipment. And d'Arbonne says that while the software his firm is developing is intended primarily for the military, some of the greatest interest comes from homeland security managers and relief agencies.

His firm has called its smartphone app Insite for civilian uses, and SoldierEyes for the military, but d'Arbonne said they're trying to come up with something better.

"We got some pushback from the Navy -- 'You want us to use something called SoldierEyes?'" he said.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Massachusetts Alimony Law Limits Payments to Ex-Spouses

Stockbyte/Thinkstock(BOSTON) -- Divorcees, second husbands and second wives may find reason to rejoice in Massachusetts. On Monday, Gov. Deval Patrick signed into law the Alimony Reform Act of 2011, a law limiting alimony payments and abolishing most lifetime spousal entitlements.

The new law establishes a formula for alimony, based on the length of the marriage, and says payments will now end when the paying ex-spouse reaches retirement age or the receiving ex-spouse lives with a romantic partner.

However, courts still have flexibility, such as special circumstances and awarding indefinite alimony for longer marriages, according to the Boston Globe.

The 2nd Wives Club, under its parent group Mass Alimony Reform, has been fighting for more than two years to limit what they said were excessive payments to former spouses. The 2nd Wives Club consisted mostly of married women who said Massachusetts judges’ rulings forced them to contribute to alimony payments for their partners’ ex-wives.

Deborah Scanlan, the club’s chairwoman, told ABC News in 2009 that because a judge took into account her $58,000 income as an executive assistant, her husband Daniel Gingras’ alimony payments totaled $26,000 a year, about $16,000 more than they would have otherwise.

Steve Hitner, president of Mass Alimony Reform, sent a message to his email distribution list on Tuesday saying, “the event we have all been waiting for has finally happened.”

He said the law is a complicated piece of legislation, written to address many years of outdated case law and is a monumental change in social policy.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Church or Jail? Alabama Alternative to Incarceration Program on Hold

Stockbyte/Thinkstock(BAY MINETTE, Ala.) -- A Bay Minette, Ala., alternative to an incarceration program that asks first-time, nonviolent offenders to choose between church or jail was slated to start Tuesday but is being delayed for legal review by city officials, said Bay Minette Mayor Jamie Tillery.

"The city will ask the Alabama Attorney General to review the program as well. The city will reserve further comment until these reviews have been completed," Tillery wrote in an email to ABC News.

The Restore Our Community program, called Operation ROC, was developed for those convicted of first-time misdemeanors, offering them the opportunity to either attend church once a week for a year and answer questions about the services or go to jail and pay a fine. Right away, the program sparked controversy.

While Tillery said the first-time misdemeanor offenders would be offered a "menu of options," including community service, the American Civil Liberties Union stepped in to say church should not be among them.

"Even if the city offers other sentencing alternatives that are comparable to Operation ROC, which is far from clear, the First Amendment still prohibits the government from becoming entangled in core religious exercise, which includes attending church," ACLU attorney Heather Weaver told ABC News. "The government may not serve as a conduit for church recruitment."

The ACLU would continue to investigate ROC, Weaver said, "to determine what additional steps should be taken."

On Monday, the ACLU sent a letter to Tillery, Bay Minette city council members and the chief of police, asking that the city end the ROC program and consider nonreligious alternatives to incarceration.

Both federal and state courts have ruled that government officials "can't make going to church or participating in religious activities part of an offender's probation, parole or sentence," said Weaver.

In the ACLU's letter, which cited the First Amendment's anti-coercion clause that states "no person can be punished...for church attendance or nonattendance," it argued that the state of Alabama would be compelling people to go to church if it institututed the ROC program.

Bay Minette Police Chief Mike Rowland did not return calls or respond to emails from ABC News Tuesday, but he told local TV station WKRG, "We believe it is legal. We believe it is a great program. We're going to stick with this and we're going to move forward with it."

The ACLU, however, said that Bay Minette officials weren't offering offenders a constitutional choice.

Judges in Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Virginia have offered offenders the opportunity to go to church instead of jail, but state courts have ruled those decisions unconstitutional.

If Alabama does permit the ROC program to offer church as an alternative to fines and jail, Weaver said the ACLU might pursue litigation.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Neighbors Nix Man's Plan to Fly Helicopter over Home

iStockphoto/Thinkstock(BURLINGTON, Conn.) -- When Paul Blanchette, 56, moved into his new home in Burlington, Conn., last August, he thought he was moving into a friendly neighborhood. But instead of receiving warm cookies and welcoming hellos, Blanchette was met by a flurry of protests intent on disallowing his favorite hobby -- flying his beloved chopper.

Blanchette's hobby is not illegal -- he is within his rights to fly his chopper over his house. A state regulation says only that he can't take off from residential land more than 36 times a year, the equivalent of 18 roundtrips.

But a group of his neighbors, calling itself the Burlington Residential Airspace Safety Organization, wants to outlaw Blanchette's hobby and plans to file an ordinance to restrict aviation activity in residential areas at a board meeting Tuesday night.

Paul Stadler, one of Blanchette's neighbors and a pilot himself, said that safety is the crux of the issue.

"The town zoning board doesn't have any aviation ordinances. We don't want a helicopter creating risk," Stadler said.

All the protest has taken Blanchette by surprise. In his former Taine Mountain neighborhood in nearby Bristol, he flew his helicopter regularly and said his neighbors never complained.

"Taine Mountain is a nice neighborhood, and I assumed it would be the same kind of people here -- kind, considerate, neighborly," Blanchette told ABCNews.com. "I'm hurt, because no one ever approached me. No one." Blanchette said he first heard about his neighbors' objections from a letter Stadler had been stuffing into mailboxes. The letter, obtained by ABC News, read, "We will continually listen to the noise and be concerned about possible accidents, forest fires, possible loss of life and pollution of water tables."

Blanchette has had a commercial license to fly his chopper since 2004, and said he's used his whirlybird only for recreation and charitable purposes -- not to make money -- and keeps the helicopter parked at his registered helipad located at the Ultimate Companies in Bristol, where he works. He said he would never fly it over anyone's home.

Stadler, along with 180 other neighbors, said he just wants to get the town to evaluate any potential danger. Although Blanchette owns 4.5 acres, Stadler said the neighborhood is surrounded by a heavily wooded area that could easily catch fire in the event of an accident.

But Jeffrey Bond, spokesman for the Burlington Fire Department, said the risk of an accident is small.

"History has shown benefits of an aircraft, and if you look at examples, aircraft incidents are small and rarely occur with a helicopter," said Bond.

Blanchette said that if the ordinance is passed, he would of course comply with it. He just wants one of his neighbors to talk to him about it.

Blanchette said he and Stadler had exchanged emails in which each expressed his concern, with Stadler worrying mainly about the risk.

None of the neighbors ever took Blanchette up on his offer to meet with him -- or to take a ride on his helicopter.

"I do not feel the need to personally confront someone about activity if that activity endangers the neighborhood," said Stadler.

Select Woman Cathy Bergstrom, equivalent to the town's mayor, stepped in to work out a solution -- Blanchette said she was the first person to ever ask his opinion about the fracas. After an investigation, Bergstrom reiterated that Blanchette was within his legal rights to fly his aircraft over his new house, and that most of Stadler's worries over Blanchette's intentions were unfounded. She even consulted with a real estate company, which confirmed that a helicopter nearby would not affect property values -- one of Stadler's objections.

Bergstrom also learned there were two private planes in the town, and that no enforcement action had ever been taken against them.

She arranged for Stadler and his compatriots to attend Tuesday's meeting where they could address their grievances before the board decided whether to file an ordinance against Blanchette and his eggbeater.

Bergstrom only wished that Blanchette had had the opportunity to speak with his neighbors before it came to this.

But not all the neighbors oppose Blanchette. "What happened to innocent until proven guilty?" Philip Delldonna, Blanchette's next-door neighbor, asked. "He hasn't even landed the helicopter yet, and people are only hearing one side of it. … It's not right."

Deldonna was at home when Blanchette flew over his house for a test run. He said that by the time he figured out what the sound was, it was over.

"My house wasn't shaking, no glasses were falling off," he recalled. He is going to Tuesday night's meeting to support his neighbor.

And Blanchette certainly appreciates the neighborly support, which he said he's sorely missed.

"Never got the chance to get comfortable enough to do what neighbors do, like ask for a cup of sugar," Blanchette said. "I haven't even had the pleasure to meet anyone. That's what's so disheartening."

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

UC Berkeley Bake Sale Ignites Protests, Debates

ABC News(BERKLEY, Calif.) -- A controversial bake sale sparked tense protests and counter-protests Tuesday over racism, diversity, and affirmative action at the University of California, Berkeley.

Hundreds of students gathered on the school's Sproul Plaza to voice their opinion on whether the state's public universities should allow affirmative action, and the dispute was centered around a bake sale.

College Republicans planned a "satirical" bake sale at which the price of items would be determined by the buyer's race, gender, and ethnicity. The bake sale was met with outrage on the campus as student groups claimed racism and a return to Jim Crow laws.

A protest organized by the black student union drew the largest number of participants, as members dressed completely in black and walked silently across the plaza and then lay down on the ground for two hours. The group held signs with phrases like "Can UC Us Now?"

"It was kind of tense," said Maura Mooney, 18, a freshman at the school. "The Republicans were all silent and pretty angry. They didn't say anything, and people were challenging them to debates and asking them questions and they weren't very vocal."

Mooney said that other attendees brought bull horns and shouted chants at the Republicans, including "New Jim Crow, we say hell no." But the Republicans merely handed out fliers in response.

According to Republican organizers, the bake sale was meant to be "satirical," where baked goods would cost $2 for white people, $1.50 for Asians, $1 for Latinos, 75 cents for African-Americans and 25 cents for Native Americans. Women would get a 25-cent discount from all of those prices. The group, however, did not enforce their price structure during the protest, and sold out of baked goods by early afternoon.

Club members said the sale is a way of taking a stand against pending legislation that would let the University of California consider a student's race or national origin during the admissions process.

Yvette Felarca, a graduate of Berkeley who helped organize a counter-protest with the By Any Means Necessary educational advocay group, said that she thought her side had won the day's debate.

"Ultimately I think they know they are a real minority on this campus, with their political sentiment of open racism, and with the hundreds of students coming in and out all day today to counter demonstrate," said Felarca, who graduated in 2005. Felarca noted that when she graduated from the school of education, there were no black students in her graduating class.

In response to the planned event, Associated Students of the University of California approved a resolution that "condemns the use of discrimination whether it is in satire or in seriousness by any student group."

UC Berkeley's Chancellor Robert Birgeneau, Vice Chancellor for Equity and Inclusion Gibor Basri, and Vice Chancellor Harry LeGrande sent out a campus-wide letter early Tuesday condemning the bake sale and endorsing the ASUC resolution.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Josh Powell Investigated on Child Porn Charges

File photo. Comstock/Thinkstock(SEATTLE) -- The children of missing Utah mom Susan Cox Powell were placed in the custody of her parents Tuesday after a state attorney said that their father, Josh Powell, is being investigated on the same voyeurism and child porn charges that his father was arrested on last week.

The two boys had been living with Josh and his father, Steve Powell, since Susan’s disappearance in 2009. But when a police search of the Powell’s Puyallup, Wash., home allegedly turned up thousands of images of naked women and young girls taken without their knowledge, Steve Powell was arrested and the children were placed in protective custody.

Susan Powell’s parents, Chuck and Judy Cox, filed for custody of the children following Steve Powell’s arrest.

An attorney for Child Protective Services told the court Tuesday that Josh Powell, too, is being investigated on the charges, though he could not divulge any further information, according to ABC affiliate KOMO-TV in Seattle.

Josh Powell told the court he never saw any pornography at the house in Puyallup, and that there was no “clear and present danger” to his children, KOMO reported. He also said that he would be moving out of his father’s home and that the family would not post bail for Steve Powell.

Josh Powell is the only named person of interest in his wife’s disappearance, and the Cox’s attorney told the courtroom Tuesday that his clients believe he is solely responsible for their daughter’s disappearance.

Josh Powell denies any involvement in whatever happened to his wife.

“I did not harm her, I did not have anything to do with her disappearance,” Josh said at Tuesday’s court hearing. “I love my wife. I have looked for her in my own private way.”

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Petit Home Invasion Evidence Shows Gas Led to Girls' Beds

Comstock/Thinkstock(NEW HAVEN, Conn.) -- Remnants of the torn and scorched shorts and shirt that 11-year-old Michaela Petit was wearing when she died were shown to a Connecticut jury Tuesday as prosecutors detailed how gasoline poured in the house was meant to lead an arson fire right to her bed.

The grim testimony and pictures were presented in the triple murder trial of Joshua Komisarjevsky.

The evidence of arson was discovered in the aftermath of the rape and strangulation of Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and her daughters, Michaela and her older sister, 17-year-old Hayley.

Their bodies were found in the charred remains of the Petits' suburban home in Cheshire, Conn., July 23, 2007. Komisarjevsky, 31, could be ordered executed if convicted. His accomplice, Steven Hayes, was found guilty last year and sentenced to death. Hayes is currently on Connecticut's death row.

Gabianelli testified that specially trained dogs were brought to the scene in the three days after the murders as police and fire officials combed the house for evidence. The dogs identified the use of an accelerant throughout the house. Gasoline was identified on the stairs leading up the second floor, in the second-floor hallway, and in the bedrooms of both girls, who were left tied to their beds, Gabianellli said.

Photographs of the girl's bedrooms flashed on the screen showing heavy fire damage and charred mattresses. Gabianelli also testified that nylon pantyhose was still lashed to the posts on Hayley Petit's bed. "A portion of nylon that was consistent with pantyhose was found," she said.

The nylons had been used to tie Hayley Petit to her bed, according to testimony in Hayes' trial. Rope restraints were discovered on Michaela Petit's bed.

Gabianelli said that the scissors used to cut Michaela's clothing off her body were found on the floor of her bedroom. "We seized a cotton bra…and it was obvious from looking at the straps that the straps had been cut," the investigator said.

In his audiotaped confession Komisarjevsky, 31, said he used scissors to cut off her top and shorts before he molested the girl. Michaela Petit's body was found still tied to her bed. She had succumbed to smoke inhalation.

Hayley Petit's body was found at the top of the stairs just outside of her bedroom. Gabianelli identified an article of clothing found at the scene that belonged to the teenager. "The plaid shorts that Hayley Petit was wearing had melted into the carpet itself," said Gabianelli.

Although both rooms sustained heavy damage in the fire, there were still heart-wrenching flashes that identified them as girl's bedrooms. Some purple carpeting amidst the burned furniture can be seen in one area and a pink bag is hanging from a bed post. Colorful postcards were attached to one wall in Hayley Petit's bedroom.

There was also significant evidence that Komisarjevsky and Hayes had ransacked the house looking for money and jewelry, said Gabianelli. Drawers in the master bedroom were torn out and clothing was strewn about the floor. "They looked like they had been gone through," said Gabianelli.

Komisarjevsky's lawyers, in an attempt to save him from the death penalty, are trying to show that it was Hayes -- not Komisarjevsky -- who poured the gasoline and started the fire.

Komisarjevsky appears to be taking an active role in his defense. He is alert and often talks to his lawyers. When photographs are posted to the giant video screen next to his head, he seems to stare at them intently.

During a recent break, Komisarjevsky seemed relaxed, almost jovial after he walked out of one room and offered a smile to a court clerk.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

SAT Cheating Ring Busted, Seven Students Arrested

iStockphoto/Thinkstock(NEW YORK) -- An alleged SAT cheating ring has been busted in Long Island, N.Y., resulting in the arrest of seven students.

At least six high school students allegedly paid 19-year-old college student Sam Eshaghoff thousands of dollars to take the test for them, prosecutors said.

Over the past year, six students from Great Neck North High School in Mineola paid Eshaghoff between $1,500 and $2,500 to take the test on their behalf, according to Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice.

"Colleges look for the best and brightest students, yet these six defendants tried to cheat the system and may have kept honest and qualified students from getting into their dream school," Rice said in a statement. "These arrests should serve as a warning to those taking the SAT this Saturday that if you cheat, you can face serious criminal consequences."

Eshaghoff graduated in 2010 from the same high school that the students attend. He spent his freshman year at the University of Michigan before transferring to Emory University, where he is currently a student.

On at least one occasion, Eshaghoff allegedly flew home from school just to take the test twice in the same weekend, according to prosecutors. The students would register for Eshaghoff to take the test in different schools in the district where they would not have been recognized by name, prosecutors said.

Students are required to present test officials with photo identification and an admission ticket. Prosecutors said that Eshaghoff would present a fake ID with the student's name that he was impersonating and his own picture on the card.

In one instance, prosecutors said, he took the test for a female student at no charge, but it is unclear how he was able to pass for her in order to get into the exam.

Early this year, faculty members from the high school heard rumors that students had paid someone to take the test for them. An investigation led to the identification of six students who had taken the test at different schools where they would not be identified and whose test scores seemed out of line with their grades in school.

The Educational Testing Service is the company that designs and administers the SAT and is responsible for test security. Its spokesman, Tom Ewing, said the company takes cheating allegations very seriously and investigations include visits to the schools involved and examinations of documentation.

All seven students were arrested Tuesday morning. Eshaghoff is facing charges for scheme to defraud, falsifying business records and criminal impersonation. If convicted, he faces up to four years in prison. The other six students are facing misdemeanor charges and have not been identified because of their ages.

Great Neck North High School is one of the highest-ranked public high schools in the country with notable alumni including film director Francis Ford Coppola, fashion designer Kenneth Cole and Olympic figure skater Sarah Hughes.

"The Great Neck School District does not tolerate cheating and we remain committed to cooperating with law enforcement in this matter," school district officials said in a statement. "It is our hope that the actions currently being taken by the District Attorney's Office will serve to bring an end to any dishonest practices which may have placed students at an unfair disadvantage and will also bring to light any shortcomings in the security of the SAT testing system."

All seven were scheduled to be arraigned Tuesday afternoon in Long Island.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Fugitive Hijacker Caught After 40 Years

FBI(LISBON, Portugal) -- After more than 40 years on the run, a member of a group that forced FBI agents to deliver ransom money at a Miami airport in nothing but their swimsuits has been caught. George Wright, on the lam since 1970, was arrested by authorities Monday in Lisbon, Portugal.

Wright, 68, broke out of a New Jersey prison in 1970 while serving time for murdering a World War II hero, Walter Patterson, during a robbery in 1962.  He then joined up with the Black Liberation Army, hiding out for a couple years.  He allegedly returned to his criminal ways in Detroit in 1972, boarding Delta Airlines flight 841 bound for Miami with several other armed conspirators. Wright was dressed as a priest and allegedly carried a hollowed-out Bible with a gun hidden inside.

When the flight landed in Miami, the hijackers demanded $1 million in exchange for the passengers to be released safely, authorities said.  The ransom demand was one of the largest in its day and one of the most unusual. Suspect Wright and the other hijackers demanded that the FBI agents deliver the ransom in their swim trunks so the hijackers could be sure that the agents were not hiding any weapons as they approached the plane.

Once they had their money, the hijackers flew to Boston where the plane refueled before they flew to Algeria, where the team had requested asylum.  The hijackers were briefly detained but were released and they fled. The U.S. government eventually recovered the plane and the money. Wright’s associates were eventually arrested in France in 1976 but he remained a fugitive, according to authorities.

Wright was arrested Monday on a provisional arrest warrant in a joint operation with the FBI, the U.S. Marshals and the Portuguese Judiciary Police.

“The investigation into George Wright serves as an example of law enforcement strength and tenacity,” said Michael Ward, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Newark division.

“Even after 40 years, the commitment of law enforcement is unwavering and through the vast contributions of a multitude of people in New Jersey, Washington, D.C., and Portugal, Wright was successfully taken into custody. This case should also serve notice that the FBI’s determination in pursuing subjects will not diminish over time or distance.”

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio