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Dreyfoos: Bodies found at Florida school include custodian, police conducting "open death investigation."
Alexander W. Dreyfoos, Jr. School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, Florida. (CC/Ebyabe)
Published: June 19, 2013 at 3:22 PM
By KRISTEN BUTLER, UPI.com

Two bodies were discovered this morning at Dreyfoos School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, Florida. An employee at Dreyfoos found the bodies of a school custodian and another adult early Wednesday morning.

"It's an open death investigation," West Palm Beach Police spokesman Capt. David Bernhardt said. "That way we're not limiting to ourselves what type of investigation we are doing. It could turn out to be a homicide investigation later on, it could just be a normal death investigation."

So far police say there is no obvious sign of how the two people died at the downtown high school. Bernhardt declined to give the ages or genders of the victims, though they were both reportedly adults.

Bernhardt also revealed the bodies were discovered in a "maintenance or supply area" near the school's theater, and were not found inside a classroom. Although the school held its graduation in May, it is unclear if summer classes were scheduled.

Police, including SWAT, were in and out of the school this morning. The SWAT team was inside to secure the building. The FBI appeared on the scene briefly until it was determined there was no active shooter.

“Our hearts are broken by the tragic loss of lives at the Dreyfoos School. It is a sad day for our schools, community and our workers. While the investigations are underway and we are anxiously waiting to know the details, our heartfelt condolences go out to the co-workers and families,” SEIU-Florida Public Services Union President Alphonso Mayfield said in a statement.

Dreyfoos alumni and parents were shocked to hear of the discovery on the campus of the arts school.



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In a clip from "Jimmy Kimmel Live," Jamie Foxx and Channing Tatum debuted a song with several celebrity cameos.
Actor Channing Tatum appeared in a video on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" with a new song. UPI/Jim Ruymen 
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Published: June 19, 2013 at 3:00 PM
By CAROLINE LEE, UPI.com

Channing Tatum was all over Tuesday's "Jimmy Kimmel Live."

He and Jamie Foxx debuted a video for a song called "(I Wanna) Channing All Over Your Tatum," reprising the song from Kimmel's post-Oscar show in February.

The video aired during a special edition of the show that aired before game six of the NBA Finals. It features a host of other celebrities, including Miley Cyrus, Gabourey Sidibe, Matt Damon and Olivia Munn alongside Kimmel and Tatum.

Channing's name appears all over the video on Champagne bottles, sunscreen, T-shirts and whipped cream, and is sung in a "Channing" chorus.


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Country yodeler Slim Whitman has died at age 90.
Published: June 19, 2013 at 2:28 PM
By CAROLINE LEE, UPI.com

Country singer Slim Whitman, famous for his falsetto and yodeling style, has died. He was 90 years old.

Whitman sold millions of records and appeared in several self-promotional TV ads in the 1980s and 90s. He also wrote the song that saved everyone from aliens in "Mars Attacks!" His career spanned six decades.

He died of heart failure in a Florida hospital, his brother-in-law said.

Whitman was born in Tampa and grew up listening to Jimmie Rodgers. He did not pursue a music career of his own until after World War II, during which he served in the U.S. Navy.

He started out with a band called the Variety Rhythm Boys. The band was picked up by Tom Parker, who later represented Elvis Presley. Parker earned the band a recording deal with RCA Victor, and released Whitman's first single in 1948.

Whitman hit the top 10 in 1952 with hits including "Indian Love Call" and "Keep it a Secret." He was consistently in the charts until 1955, when his hits became less frequent.

He didn't have another chart single until 1961, when "The Bells that Broke My Heart" hit No. 30.

From there, he started a chart streak, placing 22 singles through 1974. He kept the momentum with a mail-order TV album, which was a new concept. He sold 1.5 million units of his first mail-order album "All My Best" in 1979.

"All of a sudden, here comes a guy in a black and white suit, with a mustache and a receding hairline, playing a guitar and singing 'Rose Marie,"' Whitman said in 1991. "That TV ad is the reason I'm still here."

The popularity of the TV album took him to the top 20 again in 1980, which earned him an appearance on the "Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson.

He also became the butt of several jokes, including Slim Whitman lookalike contests to match Whitman's own thick mustache, sideburns and receding hairline. He became a pop culture icon, showing up in "Mars Attacks!" and 2007's "Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story.

Whitman released his last album, "Twilight On The Trail," in 2010.

"The material I did was lasting material," Whitman said in 1991. "A lot of people thought I wasn't doing anything, but I was in the studio. The biggest factor is the material you choose. You hunt, you cut."

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A new documentary out on the 17th anniversary of the explosion of TWA Flight 800 alleges investigators covered up the real cause of the crash.
The recovered wreckage of TWA Flight 800 stands reassembled at the National Transportation Safety Board Training Academy where it is used for training new investigators in Ashburn, Virginia. The Boeing 747 crashed into the Atlantic after passing over Long Island Sound and Long Island, New York in 1996, after a flammable mixture of fuel and oxygenated air caused a catastrophic explosion. The Department of Transportation announced that almost all U.S. commercial airliners will be required to install a new air separator to help prevent oxygen from entering an aircrafts' fuel tank, the cause of the TWA Flight 800 disaster. (UPI Photo/Patrick D. McDermott) 
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Published: June 19, 2013 at 2:24 PM
By GABRIELLE LEVY, UPI.com

Seventeen years ago next month, TWA Flight 800 to Paris exploded shortly after takeoff from New York, killing all 230 people aboard and setting off a four-year investigation.

The National Transportation Safety Board, with the aid of the CIA and the FBI, determined the fatal crash was caused by a spark from faulty wiring. But the explanation never sat well with some and the account has been dogged by accusations of a coverup.

A new documentary premiering July 17, on the crash anniversary, claims to have new proof of a deliberate act of terrorism. "TWA Flight 800" says forensic evidence, along with eyewitness accounts, reveals a missile hit the plane's right wing, causing the explosion.

Six former investigators involved in the film are calling for the investigation to be reopened in light of what they say is new evidence and a "falsified probe," and filed a petition Wednesday with the NTSB.

"Early on in the investigation there was indication that the evidence was being tampered with," said Hank Hughes, a former senior accident investigator, who took part in the documentary.

Among the claims was that the FBI dismissed the claims of almost 800 eyewitnesses, who they say "recalled seeing something resembling a flare or firework ascend and culminate in an explosion."

"Had the crash been the result of state-sponsored terrorism, it would have been considered an act of war," a CIA report from 2008 said. After and eight-month investigation, the CIA "concluded with confidence and full substantiation that the eyewitnesses had not seen a missile."

Instead, the CIA determined the "eyewitness sightings of greatest concerns to us -- the ones originally interpreted to be a possible missile attack -- took place after the first of several explosions aboard the aircraft."

Jim Speer, an accident investigator for the Airline Pilots Association, said he found holes that would be explained by a high-energy explosion on the right wing. When the test came back positive, he said, he was "forcibly removed" from the room by CIA agents.

The film's co-producer Tom Stalcup said radar data offered "solid proof that there was an external detonation" that resulted in an "asymmetric explosion coming out of the plane -- something that didn't happen in the official theory."

But not everyone buys a coverup.

While investigators who took part in the documentary said they kept quiet at the time of the investigation out of fear they would lose their jobs, waiting until after they retired, the former Department of Transportation Inspector General Mary Schiavo was skeptical.

"If this really troubled them at the time and they had conclusive evidence, -- they said they kept quiet to keep their jobs -- well, there's a duty beyond that and there's ways to report this," Schiavo said. "I was the inspector general."

"We protect whistleblowers," she said. "So I'm very critical of them not coming forward before now if what they have really is new. I think the NTSB got it right."

And Pat Milton, a CBS reporter who wrote an account of the investigation called "In the Blink of An Eye" that came out of 11 months at the scene, said the conspiracy theories surrounding the crash have been discounted over time.

One of the oft-pinpointed reasons for doubt comes from the involvement of the FBI and CIA, and the FBI's initial report that terrorism could have been involved.

"At the time, bin Laden was just coming onto the radar of the FBI," she said, which is why the security agencies were involved at all. But the absence of "the tell-tale piece" of evidence eventually led the investigators to rule out terrorism.

The NTSB is required to respond to the petition requesting a reopened investigation, and said the Office of Aviation Safety would assign a team of people who were not involved in the original probe to determine if the documentary team indeed brought new information to the table.

Investigators "spent an enormous amount of time reviewing, documenting and analyzing facts and data, and held a five-day public hearing to gather additional facts before determining the probable cause of the accident," said NTSB spokeswoman Kelly Nantel.

"While the NTSB rarely re-investigates issues that have already been examined, our investigations are never closed, and we can review any new information not previously considered by the board," she said. Still, the Flight 800 probe "remains one of the NTSB's most extensive investigations."

The documentary will air July 17 on EPIX.

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Robert Mueller: Drone surveillance is carried out domestically by the FBI, has no rules "yet."
FBI Director Robert Mueller. (File/UPI/Kevin Dietsch) 
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Published: June 19, 2013 at 2:02 PM
By KRISTEN BUTLER, UPI.com

At a congressional oversight hearing Wednesday, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley asked Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Robert Mueller, "Does the FBI use drones for surveillance on U.S. soil?"

"Yes," Mueller responded, though he quickly added that FBI drones are "very seldom used and generally used in a particular incident where you need the capability."

Mueller confirmed to lawmakers that the FBI owns several unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), but has not yet adopted any policies or guidelines to govern their use. He said the FBI has only just begun to establish rules for the drone program.

Mueller briefly addressed the controversial National Security Agency surveillance program recently exposed by Edward Snowden. Mueller confirmed that 22 agents have access to a vast surveillance database, including 20 analysts and two overseers.

California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who supports the NSA's data collection program, nonetheless told Mueller that drones represent a significant threat to Americans' privacy.

"I think the greatest threat to the privacy of Americans is the drone, and the use of the drone and the very few regulations that are on it today, and the booming industry of commercial drones," Feinstein said.

When asked what, if any, privacy protections are in place, Mueller replied that drone deployment "is very narrowly focused on particularized needs in particularized cases, and that is the principle of privacy limitations we have."

When Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn. asked Mueller if the FBI would consider being more open about surveillance methods, Mueller warned it could risk national security.

"There is a price to be paid for that transparency," Mueller said. "I certainly think it would be educating our adversaries as to what our capabilities are."

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Business magnate Carl Icahn ups the ante in the battle for Dell's re-privatization.
Carl Icahn (L) and Michael Dell 
Published: June 19, 2013 at 2:01 PM
By VERONICA LINARES, UPI.com

The Dell Special Committee has received a new buyout offer from Carl Icahn in which the business magnate suggests that all the company's shareholders sell their Dell shares to him for $14 each, for a total of $16 billion.

The committee is due to vote for or against founder Michael Dell's earlier $24.4 billion ($13.65 a share) proposal in a month. Icahn would have to convince the committee to choose his proposal instead before voting takes place.

According to Icahn, Michael Dell's proposal undervalues the company's shares.

Both Icahn and Dell's proposals come after the company announced in March that it would go private. After the announcement Icahn reportedly offered to pay investors $12 a share in cash or stock and to allow shareholders to hold on to their stock. However, the company's board determined that the offer would result in a $3.9 billion funding gap.

Dell’s attempt to go private comes after a decline in the PC market, low business growth in Europe and a limited spending environment. Even with the two competing offers on the table, the company's stock is rated by investment advisors Zacks in its Zacks #5 Rank "Strong Sell" list.

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Tuesday's NBA Finals game 6 became the "LeBron Headband Game" after the Miami Heat forward lost his staple accessory.
Miami Heat forward LeBron James. UPI/Brian Kersey 
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Published: June 19, 2013 at 1:09 PM
Updated June 19, 2013 at 1:53 PM
By VERONICA LINARES, UPI.com

Miami Heat forward LeBron James got an unexpected makeover during the fourth quarter of the NBA Finals game 6 Tuesday as his headband fell to the ground during a dunk.

James's staple headband has become something of an NBA inside joke as fans have witnessed how the player has moved it back throughout his career as he "attempts to hide a receding hairline."

But last night with 8:59 minutes left in the fourth quarter, Tim Duncan knocked the band off James's head during a dunk and he was forced to finish the game without the accessory.

Many fans and sports aficionados took to Twitter to point out how naked the player looked without his headband. Others simply dubbed the game -- the result of which forced game 7 -- the "LeBron Headband Game." Here are some of the comments:








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The celebrity chef was questioned in a lawsuit, in which the former general manager of her Savannah, Ga. restaurant claimed she used insensitive racial jokes.
Tournament of Roses Grand Marshal Paula Deen and her husband ride in the Rose Parade. A recent lawsuit alleges Deen has regularly used racial slurs on the job in her Savannah, Ga., restaurant. UPI/Jim Ruymen 
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Published: June 19, 2013 at 1:02 PM
By CAROLINE LEE, UPI.com

Celebrity chef Paula Deen admitted to using the N-word and a spread of insensitive racial jokes during a May 17 deposition.

Deen, 66, said she used the N-word and wanted black waiters to dress and act as slaves at a wedding party she was planning. She was questioned for three hours during a hearing for a $1.2 million lawsuit filed in 2012.

The lawsuit covers the claims of Lisa Jackson, former general manager of Deen's Savannah restaurant. Jackson said that Deen used the N-word habitually. The suit also alleges sexual harassment, infliction of distress and assault by Deen's brother, Bubba Hiers.

In court, Jackson's attorney asked Deen whether she used the N-word.

"Yes, of course," Deen responded. She followed with examples of their use, and defended the types of racist jokes she told.

“It’s just what they are -- they’re jokes," Deen said. "Most jokes are about Jewish people, rednecks, black folks…I can’t determine what offends another person.”

Deen said she didn't think the slave costumes were offensive, either, as they were part of a Civil War-themed event. She got the idea from a restaurant she and her husband visited.

At the restaurant, “The whole entire waiter staff was middle-aged black men, and they had on beautiful white jackets with a black bow tie," she said.

“I mean, it was really impressive. That restaurant represented a certain era in America… after the Civil War, during the Civil War, before the Civil War."

"It was not only black men, it was black women… I would say they were slaves.”

The Food Network has not responded to the allegations, and there is no word as to whether it will affect her $17 million culinary empire.

A source said that the claims were just the tip of the iceberg. If the allegations are true, she will really have to butter up her fans if she wants to maintain her following.

A video was taken of the deposition, but it has not yet been released.

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National Beef Packing Co. and The United States Food Safety and Inspection Service announced the recall of 22,737 pounds of ground beef over E. coli fears.
File. (UPI / Ismael Muñoz)  
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Published: June 19, 2013 at 12:37 PM
By VERONICA LINARES, UPI.com

The United States Food Safety and Inspection Service announced Tuesday that 22,737 pounds of ground beef will be recalled over fears that they could be infected with E. coli.

The FSIS categorized the recall as "Class I," meaning its a health hazard situation in which is likely that the use of the product will result in serious adverse health consequences or death.

The products to be recalled were packaged in clear, 10 pound chubs by National Beef Packing Co. in Liberal, Kansas and were shipped to several wholesale locations in the region. They items subjected to the recall are:

- 10 lb. packages of “National Beef” 80/20 Coarse Ground Chuck, package code “0481.”
- 10 lb. packages of “National Beef” 81/19 Coarse Ground Beef, package code “0421.”
- 10 lb. packages of “National Beef” 80/20 Fine Ground Chuck, package code “0484.”

All packages were produced on May 25, 2013 and have a "Use By/ Sell By" date of June 14, 2013.

The contamination was discovered during a routine checkup of the product by the FSIS. No illnesses related to the consumption of the packages have been reported.

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The Restore Honor to Service Members Act would upgrade records of wrongfully discharged gay veterans.
Active and non-active U.S. military personnel participate for the first time in San Diego's 2011 Gay Pride Parade -- reportedly the first openly gay enlisted service members to march in a pride event in the U.S. following the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell." (File/UPI Photo/Earl S. Cryer) 
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Published: June 19, 2013 at 12:27 PM
Updated June 19, 2013 at 1:37 PM
By KRISTEN BUTLER, UPI.com

Two House Democrats introduced a bill on Wednesday that would require the military to update the discharge records of thousands of service members who were discharged on account of being gay.

Reps. Mark Pocan (D-Wis.) and Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.) said roughly 114,000 members of the armed forces were discharged because of their homosexuality, and that many received dishonorable discharges due to their sexual orientation.

Their Restore Honor to Service Members Act calls for a review of all discharges due to sexual orientation, and would upgrade these discharges to "honorable." It would also remove all references to a veteran's sexual orientation from their record.

"Our legislation ensures that gay veterans who selflessly served our country no longer live with tarnished records that prohibit them from receiving the recognition, benefits and honors they deserve," Pocan said Wednesday.

Pocan and Rangel said many gay veterans received discharges that were other than honorable. Dishonorable discharges can be treated as a felony, and those with even a "general" discharge on their record can have trouble finding work due to the classification.

"By enshrining the implementation of the 'Don't Ask Don't Tell" repeal into law, our country can finally close this dark chapter of our history and move forward," Pocan said.

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