text:
Smart. Sharp. Funny. Fearless.
Friday, February 23, 2018

Why Florida Is Sitting On $300 Million Meant To Help Homeowners

Why Florida Is Sitting On $300 Million Meant To Help Homeowners

by Cora Currier, ProPublica

Florida has the highest percentage of home loans in foreclosure in the country. So why is more than $300 million that could help homeowners sitting unused?

Florida was awarded those millions in February as part of the $25 billion national settlement between five of country’s biggest banks and 49 states and the District of Columbia. The settlement resolved allegations of wrongful foreclosures and other mortgage servicing abuses, and required banks to offer some homeowners the opportunity to modify their loans or refinance, or, in some cases pay homeowners directly for wrongful foreclosure.

The banks also had to pay $2.5 billion directly to state governments. Florida’s sum was the largest, after California, in part a measure of how deeply the mortgage crisis affected the Sunshine State.

Yet Florida is one of just a few states where the attorney general has not announced plans for a significant portion of the money. We’ve contacted every state to find out what they were doing with that money. Of the $2.5 billion going to states, just over a billion dollars has been pledged for housing-related programs, while a roughly equal amount has been diverted to plug budget holes or fund programs unrelated to the foreclosure crisis. And $378 million is still to be determined, and almost all of that is Florida’s.

Florida’s funds are caught between the attorney general, Republican Pam Bondi, and the Republican state legislature. Bondi has pledged to make the money available to homeowners; earlier this year, she called for suggestions from the public. Some state lawmakers, however, insist that it needs to go through the regular appropriations process — where it could potentially be siphoned off into other programs. And that wouldn’t happen until March, when the legislative session begins.

“We were very happy about the attorney general’s commitment early on that the money be used within the spirit of the settlement,” said Jaimie Ross, president of the Florida Housing Coalition, an advocacy organization. “But is it just going to sit there until the legislature starts so that we can wait to see how they want to use it? The silence is deafening.”

A spokesman for the attorney general said, “it’s a matter of having a dialogue between the two sides.” He could not give a timeline for when a decision might be reached. The 2013 budget request Bondi submitted to the legislature last week made no mention of the settlement.

Click here for reuse options!
Copyright 2012 The National Memo


Content-Type: application/http; msgtype=response

WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: application/xhtml+xml

WARC-Type: response

text:
Buy Grass-Fed Meats

Aug 15, 2012 by

So, how did you like your organic produce? I hope you gave something new a try and will be adding to your organic options in the future.

Week 3 Challenge: This week, I am challenging you to give grass-fed meats and eggs a try. This is probably the most expensive challenge, but the one with the most health reward. Grass-fed, pasture raised meats are loaded with omega 3’s, essential for quality health (and missing in grain-fed animals.) I am a firm believer that the over abundance of grain (most of it genetically modified) in our diet is systematically ruining our health.

Since I am not an expert and I have used my online resources to learn what I know, I am going to send you to a few sites to get more facts. Learn why these meats are better for you and I am certain you will be convinced this switch is worth it. Get the basics from Eat Wild.

Pasture raised meats do have a slightly different flavor. The best I can describe is what Austin said when he tried grass-fed steak the first time, he said, “it tastes more like the earth.” That doesn’t sound all that appetizing, does it? It is good and clean tasting. Honestly, the meats taste different from farm to farm, depending on what they feed their animals. Try the same item from different farms and taste the differences.

Eggs from grass-fed chickens are amazing. They are bright yellow, even more bright in the summer. They are loaded with Omega 3’s. The farmer’s say you can lower your cholesterol eating their eggs and bacon with your grass-fed butter. It is delicious and you can honestly taste the difference immediately.

A few things I have learned when cooking grass fed meats…

Grass-fed meats don’t need to be cooked as long, as they are so lean. They don’t have injected juices (you know, that injected moisture that you don’t really know what it is) so sometimes you need to add moisture…and not overcook.

Never cook to the recommended temperatures. I take off my pork at about 140-145, no higher or it will be dry.

Make sure to take your meat out of the fridge at least 1/2 hour before cooking. Grass-fed meats don’t like to be cooked cold. Sprinkle with salt & pepper and that is pretty much all you need.

Chicken you should really watch closely as it cooks very quick and drys up quickly. An example for you…I have a recipe for a slow roasted whole chicken, we call it sticky chicken. After coating the chicken with a dry rub and sticking an onion in the cavity (it makes the chicken sweat out juice,) you are supposed to cook at 250 for 5 hours. My grass-fed chickens are done in 3-3 1/2 hours. You also need to add broth or water, as they need that extra moisture so they don’t dry out. Since they aren’t injected with stuff, they need a little natural help.

Grass-fed steaks need very little cooking time and taste best at medium rare. One of my favorite ways to cook steak is to rub with olive oil, sprinkle generously with salt & pepper and sear in a very hot oven-safe pan. Sear for a few minutes on each side and finish off in a hot over (400-450) until desired temperature. The steaks turn out fantastic every time.

Where to buy grass-fed, pastured meats?

My favorite place is the St. Paul farmer’s market. Talk to the farmer, get to know how they raise their animals.

Farm on Wheels

This family is the only certified organic meat farmer at the market. This is my favorite place as they don’t use corn or soy to feed their animals. Their feed is consistent year round. Linda & Dillon Noble are friendly and knowledgeable about what they offer. We love their eggs! Austin loves the jumbo eggs (when they are available,) they are huge.

I also buy all their meats. They have many uncured, nitrate free options for bacon, ham, etc.

Prairie Pride Farms

I really like the Hubmer family’s Berkshire Pork, all non-GMO and delicious. They typically have samples for you to try at the market. They have many nitrate free options, including delicious cinnamon bacon, brats, sausages, etc.

Bar-5 Meat & Poultry

This is one of the first places I bought meat from at the market. It was the end of winter (did you know the farmers are there every Saturday all winter long?) This family is so friendly…I have really enjoyed getting to know Liz and her Dad, John. John processes his own meat, so he is quite creative with what he has to offer. Wild rice blueberry chicken brats; very good! One of my favorite items is the chicken sausage; it has great flavor and I use it for quiche and anywhere else you would use regular sausage. The meat browns up with little to no grease and tastes fantastic. They also have fresh eggs, steaks, chicken (my sister loves the cranberry orange marinated chicken breasts.) They have a large family that works many local markets every week; check out their facebook page to find out where to find them.

Get up early this weekend and head to the market and buy some grass-fed meat and eggs to for dinner (or an amazing breakfast.) I can’t wait to hear what you think. Next week, I will challenge you to change the way you clean your house.

read more

Related Posts

Share This

Boundary Waters Gluten Free Menu

Jul 20, 2012 by

Well, the boys are packed up and ready to go. The food menu planning, shopping and packaging up was a big task…I am glad it is done. I hope everything works for them. Here is the menu and links to where I got the food. The menu is gluten free, soy free (except for occasional Soy Lecithin in moderation), peanut free, cashew free, banana free, nitrate free, casing free, food dye free (except for marshmallows one night…darn that blue food dye #1.) I was able to feed the group of 8 for less than $50/per person for the 5 days in the BWCA. I thought that was pretty good! Everything was vaccuum sealed with my new Food Sealer (this was a great purchase!) Daily snacks are Annie’s Fruit Snacks (Costco), Stretch Island Fruit Leather (Costco), homemade soy free beef jerky, homemade trail mix that is nut, gluten and soy free. When they catch fish, they can batter it in Better Batter’s Seasoned Flour. When traveling to and from Ely, the troop will be stopping at Gordie’s in Cloquet for lunch. Fortunately, the Subway stores in the northern region (Duluth area) are one of three locations doing a trial for gluten free sandwiches. I talked to the manager of the Subway in Cloquet and they have procedures in place for providing a safe environment for Celiac diners. Yeah!

Day 1

Breakfast on the dock: prepackaged blueberry muffin from Bittersweet Bakery, gf Rice Krispies (in a sealed bowl), juice, milk, hot chocolate

Lunch: cheddar and marble jack cheese, Glutino gf cheddar crackers, Applegate Farms nitrate free pepperoni, Enjoy Life Chewy Berry On the Go Bars

Dinner: gf grass-fed beef sloppy joes, gf pita bread, organic white corn (Costco), Hershey bars and a marshmallow or two (everyone else will have smores)

Day 2

Breakfast: Egg Scramble with organic, vegetarian fed eggs, hash browns, Bar 5 chicken sausage (this stuff is awesome), shredded cheddar, Rudi’s gf tortillas

Lunch: bagged chicken, Rudi’s gf tortillas, Trader Joe’s dye free relish, Enjoy Life Bars (see link from Day 1)

Dinner: grass fed steak from Farm on Wheels, baked potatoes, organic green beans (Costco), Pamela’s Mini Ginger Snapz

Day 3

Breakfast: pancakes (made with Better Batter flour and organic applesauce in place of eggs), Three Rivers pure vanilla maple syrup, grass fed Coleman bacon (Costco)

Lunch: Laughing Cow cheese, Glutino gf cheddar crackers, Applegate Farms nitrate free pepperoni, Enjoy Life Chewy Berry On the Go Bars

Dinner: Jamaican black beans & rice (dehydrated and with minor recipe adjustments, using the bagged chicken), Indian flatbread, Organic mixed veggies (Costco), applesauce squeeze tubes (Costco)

Day 4

Breakfast: pancakes (made with Better Batter flour and organic applesauce in place of eggs), Three Rivers pure vanilla maple syrup, grass fed Coleman bacon (Costco)

Lunch: bagged chicken, Rudi’s gf tortillas, Trader Joe’s dye free relish, Enjoy Life Bars (see link from Day 1)

Dinner: Colorado Campfire Chicken Stew using Savory Choice Chicken Broth packets, Indian flatbread, marshmallows, Schar shortbread cookies

Day 5

Breakfast: gf oatmeal packets

Lunch: bagged chicken, Rudi’s gf tortillas, Trader Joe’s dye free relish, Enjoy Life Bars (see link from Day 1)

read more

Related Posts

Share This

Beef Jerky & Indian Flatbread

Jul 15, 2012 by

So, in planning for the BWCA trip, I was challenged with the task of doing grass fed beef jerky with no gluten, soy or nitrates. In searching for a recipe, I ran across this recipe from the blog Jen’s Gone Paelo. Austin really liked the flavor of the jerky and appreciated that it wasn’t as salty as the traditional jerky. It was painful to purchase 3# of grass fed beef from Whole Foods ($30), but I did end up with 5 hearty packages of jerky all vacuum sealed and ready to go. I am thankful for all those on the internet who have shared their recipes. It has made the food planning for my son’s trip so much easier.

3 lbs Round Roast (Grass-Fed and Finished), trimmed of excess fat (the round roast I got at Whole Foods was a bit too fatty for my tastes, I guy told me to try flank steak??)
4 Cups Organic Apple Juice
1T. Garlic Powder
1T. Smoked Paprika
1T. Smoked Sea Salt  (I just used regular sea salt)
1T. Penzey’s BBQ 3000** (I didn’t have any so I used the new Penzey’s Mitchenll St. Steak Seasoning)
  1. Partially freeze meat for 2-4 hours, until mostly solid.
  2. Slice meat into about 1/8” thickness strips (I used an electronic knife and dreamed of using the restaurant meat slicer…next time); cut against the grain of the meat.
  3. Transfer sliced meat to a large container (I used a  plastic bag).
  4. Mix the apple juice and spices in a large measuring cup or bowl and pour over meat, to marinate.  Transfer to the refrigerator. Allow meat to marinate overnight.
  5. I have a convection oven and used the dehydrate setting or 175F; if you have this setting, use it or follow the directions on your food dehydrator.
  6. If using an oven, set up racks (used for cooling cookies and cakes) over cookie sheets lined with aluminum foil (for easier cleanup). Lay strips of beef out on racks and transfer to the oven.
  7. I cooked it for about 8-9 hours flipping the meat over, as I don’t have enough racks to set them up on. Just keep checking for correct consistency. Cooking time will depend on the thickness and size of your meat slices.
  8. Once jerky is to your desired texture, it can be transferred to a tupperware container to retain moisture. If you plan to keep it around longer than a few days, package in airtight packaging (I use FoodSaver bags).

Another cool find for the trip is Indian Flatbread. Apparently, on past trips to the Boundary Waters, my son really enjoyed the packaged flatbread they cooked at the fire. In search for an option to make from scratch, I ran across this recipe from What’s Cooking America. I substituted gluten free flour and they turned out great. It isn’t exactly what I prefer to eat for bread, but my son assured me it will taste great to have warm bread with their fish or other meals.

Navajo Fry Bread Recipe – Indian Fry Bread Recipe
by Cynthia Detterick-Pineda

Recipe Type: Quick Bread, Native American
Yields: 4 servings
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 8 min

1 cup unbleached flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon powdered milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup water
Vegetable oil for frying
Extra flour to flour your hands

Sift together the flour, salt, powdered milk, and baking powder into a large bowl. Pour the water over the flour mixture all at once and stir the dough with a fork until it starts to form one big clump.

Flour your hands well. Using your hands, begin to mix the dough, trying to get all the flour into the mixture to form a ball. You want to mix this well, but you do NOT want to knead it. Kneading it will make for a heavy Fry Bread when cooked. The inside of the dough ball should still be sticky after it is formed, while the outside will be well floured.

Cut the dough into four (4) pieces. Using your floured hands, shape, stretch, pat, and form a disk of about 5 to 7 inches in diameter.  Don’t worry about it being round.

In a deep heavy pot, heat the vegetable oil to about 350 degrees F. You can check if you oil is hot enough by either dropping a small piece of dough in the hot oil and seeing if it begins to fry, or by dipping the end of a wooden spoon in and seeing if that bubbles. Your oil should be about 1-inch deep in a large cast-iron skillet or other large heavy pot.

Take the formed dough and gently place it into the oil, being careful not to splatter the hot oil. Press down on the dough as it fries so the top is submersed into the hot oil. Fry until brown, and then flip to fry the other side. Each side will take approximately 3 to 4 minutes to cook.  Place the cooked Fry Bread on a paper towel to absorb excess oil.

Indian Fry Bread can be kept warm in a 200 degree F. oven for up to 1 hour. They refrigerate well and can be reheated in a 350 degree F. oven for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

read more

Related Posts

Share This

warcinfo:
robots: classic
hostname: ip-10-147-3-28.ec2.internal
software: Nutch 1.6 (CC)
isPartOf: CC-MAIN-2018-09
operator: Common Crawl Admin
description: Wide crawl of the web for February 2018
publisher: Common Crawl
format: WARC File Format 1.0
conformsTo: http://bibnum.bnf.fr/WARC/WARC_ISO_28500_version1_latestdraft.pdf


WARC-Identified-Payload-Type: text/html

text:
Request a free moving quote!

mobile form

Move Type

Count on NAVL for:

  • Different packing supplies for different needs, including boxes and cartons specially made for mirrors, mattresses, wardrobes and dishes
  • The choice of self-pack or full-service packing
  • Fragile packing for those hard-to-handle items
  • Systematic loading and unloading; unpacking; debris removal
  • Protective pads for doors, railings and tight corners; covers for carpets
  • And much more

North American Van Lines always puts your needs first

From acquiring containers to arranging storage-in-transit, there are a number of steps to consider in order to ensure a successful relocation. Fortunately, you can leave all the details — and the heavy lifting — in the capable hands of your nearby North American Van Lines agent. So when it comes to finding the movers in Bonita Springs you need, you don't have to look any further, because we offer comprehensive solutions every step of the way. You can come to us for all the supplies you need — including standard moving boxes, custom crates, dishpack barrels, mattress covers and more — as well as temporary to long-term storage facilities if needed. Choose your local agent to learn more or to get started today!

Feeling overwhelmed by your upcoming move? We can help!

Moving and storage processes are often multifaceted, which sometimes makes it a challenge to even know where to start. However, taking the first step doesn't have to be complicated: all you have to do is get in touch with the North American Van Lines agent nearest you and you'll be carefully guided through the rest. We first conduct an in-depth needs analysis to make sure we understand exactly what it is you require and expect. From there, we use this understanding to map out a moving plan that accounts for major milestones and minor details. There's no need to worry, because we're here to oversee all steps and you can always reach out to us at any stage. So if you're ready to make a move, get in touch with your local agent today and find out how we stand out when it comes to movers in Bonita Springs.

If you want to make sure the job is done right, connect with your local agent today!


text:
Deputy Arrested on Alleged Sexual Relationship with 17-year-old

By  |

Greeley, Colo. (AP) A Weld County Sheriff's deputy has been arrested on suspicion of having a consensual sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl.

Landon Greatheart, 32, was in custody Monday.

Greatheart, who's been with the Sheriff since July 2003, is accused of developing a relationship with the girl in July while he and two adult females became temporary guardians of the child, Sheriff's spokeswoman Margie Martinez said. Greatheart faces a charge of sexual assault on a child by one in a position of trust, and an obscenities charge from information sent over a cell phone.

No number was listed for Greatheart and it was not immediately known if he had an attorney.


text:
Ritter Wants Oil Tax Breaks to Go to Scholarships

By  |

Denver (AP) Gov. Bill Ritter wants voters to end a property tax break for the oil and gas industry and instead use the money to finance college scholarships.

Ritter yesterday said the proposed ballot measure could provide scholarships for more than two-thirds of Colorado students.


text:
Memorial Mass Scheduled For Sam Suplizio

A memorial mass has been scheduled for one of the founding fathers of the Junior College World Series in Colorado.

According to Mesa County Commissioner Tillie Bishop, a memorial mass for 74–year–old Sam Suplizio will be read January 11 at 10 a.m. at St. Joseph Catholic Church. The church is located at 230 N. Third St.

Bishop tells 11 News that his dear friend was truly a Grand Junction icon.

Suplizio played pivotal roll in bringing the annual National Junior College World Series to the Grand Valley and a Major League Baseball franchise to Colorado. He also helped get a new home for the Denver Broncos. And worked for Home Loan and Investment Co. in Grand Junction for 40 years and was president and CEO of the company when he retired in the late 90's.

The baseball guru and businessman died Friday of heart failure at his home in South Carolina.
he is survived by his wife and four children...


text:
Gamecocks defeat Kentucky 8-3 in series finale - NBC12 - WWBT - Richmond, VA News On Your Side

Gamecocks defeat Kentucky 8-3 in series finale

Joey Pankake and DC Arendas each belted their third homers of the season and freshman right-hander Wil Crowe worked six-plus innings to improve to 5-0 on the year as top ranked South Carolina defeated Kentucky 8-3 in the series finale at Cliff Hagan Stadium. The Gamecocks are 19-3 and 3-3 in the SEC with Kentucky 17-3 and 3-3 in league play.

Arendas' solo homer was a solo shot in the fifth inning with Pankake belting a three-run blast to give the Gamecocks some insurance runs in the ninth inning. Pankake has a 10-game hitting streak as he went 2-for-5 with two runs scored. Connor Bright added two hits, a RBI and two run scored with Arendas also scoring two runs.

Crowe did not allow a hit until the fifth inning. He finished allowing three runs on four hits with a pair of walks and two strikeouts. Junior right-hander Joel Seddon picked up his seventh save with 2.1 perfect innings and four strikeouts. Kentucky starting pitcher Andrew Nelson suffered the loss and is 1-1 on the year. He worked 5.1 innings and allowed five runs, four earned, on five hits with a pair of walks and five strikeouts.

"It was a big game for us and a big win," said South Carolina head coach Chad Holbrook. "It was important to try and get a game up here. We played well, played good defense, Wil got us off to a good start and we got a couple big swings of the bat. We try to pride ourselves on winning on Sunday. If we are going to have a great year, you have to win on Sunday. We'll take it, get on the bus, regroup and try to play a little bit better next week."

South Carolina manufactured a run in the top of the second inning to take the early lead, a lead they would never relinquish. Bright led off with a single and Taylor Widener walked to give the Gamecocks a pair of runners with no outs. After a sacrifice bunt by Arendas moved both runners over, Tanner English lifted a sac fly to left-center scoring Bright and giving the Gamecocks a 1-0 lead.

Arendas' third homer of the year increased South Carolina's lead to 2-0 in the fifth inning. Leading off the frame, Arendas launched a 2-0 pitch to right-center for the Gamecocks' first homer of the series. Kentucky answered with a run in the bottom half to cut the Gamecock lead back to a run. Ka'ai Tom reached base on a two-out infield single, the first hit by UK in the game. He would then score on Storm Wilson's RBI double to the gap in left-center.

Carolina responded in the top of the 6th with three more runs to go ahead 5-1. Pankake led off with a single to extend his hitting streak to 10 games and Kyle Martin followed with a base hit. With one out and the runners still on first and second base, Connor Bright knocked a base hit into right-center scoring Pankake. UK right fielder Kyle Barrett threw towards third in attempt to get Martin and allowed Bright to advance to second base. Taylor Widener would then hit a hard chopper to second base that UK's JaVon Shelby could not handle allowing both Martin and Bright to score. Kentucky would get a run back in the bottom of the 6th. JaVon Shelby reached base on a hit by pitch, advanced to second on a passed ball and scored on Kyle Barrett's RBI single to left-center.

Kentucky crept to within two in the seventh inning as pinch hitter Marcus Carson tallied a two-out RBI single. With runners on first and second and two outs, Seddon entered and struck out Kyle Barrett to keep the Gamecocks ahead 5-3.

It would remain that way until the ninth inning. Arendas was hit by a pitch and pinch hitter Elliott Caldwell drew a two-out walk setting the stage for Pankake. On a full count pitch, Pankake launched a deep blast to left-center to give the Gamecocks a five-run advantage.

"I got that one pretty good," said Pankake. "It felt really good and it felt even better to get three more runs and give a little cushion going into the bottom of the 9th."

South Carolina returns home to begin a six-game homestand on Tuesday vs. College of Charleston. First pitch is 7 p.m. with the game available on the Gamecock IMG Network including flagship station, 107.5 FM, "The Game."

Powered by Frankly


text:
Politifact Virginia: Senator Warner and the Keystone Pipeline - NBC12 - WWBT - Richmond, VA News On Your Side

Politifact Virginia: Senator Mark Warner and the Keystone Pipeline

In this week's Politifact Virginia report- Republican Senate candidate Ed Gillespie is hoping to make the Keystone Pipeline a major issue in his campaign.

Here's what he said about Warner in a recent email: "He (Warner) likes to tell us he supports Keystone Pipeline, but his record is one of acting against it."

Is that true? Is Warner really working to stop the pipeline?

Politifact rates that claim "mostly false". According Sean Gorman, Warner has done far more to move the project ahead than stand in its way.

"Although we've found one vote that could be seen as a vote that Warner had made that could be seen as a post against the pipeline, there's also other actions Warner has taken in support of the pipeline," he said.

You can read more on politifactvirginia.com.

Copyright 2014 WWBT NBC12. All rights reserved

Powered by Frankly


text:
Ramzi Haidar  /  AFP/Getty Images
United Nations staff register Iraqi refugees in Duma, Syria, on April 23.
updated 5/30/2007 8:08:13 PM ET 2007-05-31T00:08:13

The United States will soon begin admitting a bigger trickle of the more than 2 million refugees who have fled Iraq, acknowledging for the first time the country may never be safe for some who have helped the U.S. there.

After months of agonizing delays and withering criticism from advocacy groups and lawmakers, the Bush administration has finalized new guidelines to screen Iraqi refugees, including those seeking asylum because helping the Americans has put them at huge risk.

The 2 million-plus people — the fastest growing refugee population in the world — have left Iraq, but Washington has balked at allowing them into the United States for security reasons.

Since the war began in 2003, fewer than 800 Iraqi refugees have been admitted, angering critics who argued the United States is obligated to assist many more, particularly those whose work for American agencies or contractors placed them in danger.

Now, under enhanced screening measures aimed at weeding out potential terrorists — announced this week by the Department of Homeland Security — the administration plans to allow nearly 7,000 Iraqis to resettle in the United States by the end of September.

An initial group of 59, including former U.S. government employees and their families, should arrive in the coming weeks, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff said.

Chertoff cites 'unrivaled' legacy
As with incoming refugees from other countries, Iraqis accepted for resettlement in the U.S. will be given assistance from both government and private aid agencies, including language and job training in the communities that will be their new homes, officials said.

"America's tradition of welcoming international refugees and responding to humanitarian emergencies is unrivaled," he said in a statement. "Yet we also must be mindful of the security risks associated with admitting refugees from war-torn countries — especially countries infiltrated by large numbers of terrorists."

Homeland Security officials would not discuss what the enhanced process entails, but several people familiar with the program said it includes additional interviews, biometric screening and cross-checks against employer databases, none of which are necessarily required for non-Iraqi refugees.

Video: Iraqis in exile The 59 Iraqis who will arrive soon are among a group of more than 700 considered to be the most vulnerable and for whom resettlement interviews have already been conducted, the department said.

They include "persons whose lives may be in jeopardy because they worked for coalition forces," it said, without giving specific numbers of former U.S. employees.

Refugee advocates on Wednesday praised the announcement but lamented that many desperate Iraqis have been languishing in camps in other Mideast countries.

"Obviously, DHS has a responsibility to make sure that everybody who comes into the country is going to be a good citizen ... but they also realize that the country has a responsibility to these Iraqis," said Kenneth Bacon of Refugees International.

"My hope is that with this they will begin a large-scale resettlement program," he said. "We are very disappointed that there are so few now, but I have hope for the future."

Refugees International is one of several groups that have been pushing the administration to accept at least a fraction of the Iraqis and noted that other countries, including some Scandinavian nations, have agreed to accept tens of thousands.

Sweden takes more
"It is embarrassing that Sweden is taking more refugees than we are," Bacon said. "The U.S. should be doing much more."

That complaint has been echoed on Capitol Hill where the Senate and House earlier this month passed legislation allowing a tenfold increase in special immigrant visas for Iraqis and Afghans who worked as translators and interpreters for U.S. forces.

"America has a fundamental obligation to help those brave Iraqis who put their lives on the line by working for our government," said Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., who co-sponsored the Senate bill with Richard Lugar, R-Ind.

As of May 18, the United Nations had identified 4,692 Iraqi refugees at camps in Syria, Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and Egypt for possible resettlement in the United States.

Officials said they expect that number to rise to about 7,000 by Sept. 30 and the U.S. hopes to admit as many as possible.

"We fully intend and expect to be able to handle 7,000 referrals," deputy State Department spokesman Tom Casey told reporters. "This is very good news that this has now been arranged."

The State Department's Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration, which deals with refugee resettlement, said communities around the United States have been identified as destinations for the first batch of Iraqis but would not disclose them pending arrival.

Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Video: U.S. to admit more

Discussion comments

Most active discussions

  1. votes comments
  2. votes comments
  3. votes comments
  4. votes comments


text:
NBC Universal Anchors and Correspondents
By Dennis Murphy Correspondent
NBC News
updated 6/27/2008 7:44:17 PM ET 2008-06-27T23:44:17

This story originally aired Dateline NBC on June 27, 2008.

They met in a most English Wind-in-the-Willows kind of way: By messing about in boats. How appropriate that the university boathouse would turn out to be on Love Lane.

In the north of England the Ouse River flows through the ancient Yorkshire countryside and each practice and race day, Rachel Souza, the petite American, would sit in the coxswain's seat and bellow out instructions in her Boston accent to the eight young men facing her in a line, fellow students at the University of York.

Carolyn Eisen had struck up an immediate liking for Rachel when they met on their Junior-Year-Abroad.

Carolyn Eisen: Rachel was on the crew team.  She was a coxswain, and as much as I understand, she sat at the end of the boat and yelled things at the boys.  Told them to row.  And she was great for this because she was pretty short.

One of the lads dipping oars in unison to the American girl's call was Neil Entwistle. In class-conscious Britain he was a striver, a bright boy from a coal-mining town that had seen better days. It's not hard to imagine him being drawn to the vivacious American.

Donovan Slack, Boston Globe reporter: Her friends describe her as spritely, and full of energy.  She had a sparkle in her eyes that just made everyone she met fall in love with her.

And pretty soon you could count Neil Entwistle in that group. By the end of her school term, Neil was a fixture at Rachel Souza's side. And Rachel's friend approved.

Carolyn Eisen: I would see him, like, opening the door for her.  And he was very polite.  I think he always called when he said he would call her. You know, the things that you're hoping to find when you're meeting a new guy.  And he adored her.

As a schoolboy--son of a town councilor and a school cook--great things were expected of Neil. His childhood friend, Anthony Bootman, remembers Neil as the go-to guy for any computer wizardry.

Anthony Bootman: Well beyond what any of the rest of the students could do.  He was really clever at stuff like that engineering craft and design.

At the University of York, he was studying for a degree in engineering, when he met Rachel.

But semesters end, as semester do, and by the late summer of 2000, Rachel was back home in Massachusetts preparing to finish her senior year at Holy Cross. But she couldn't shake off the happy memory of her English boyfriend, Neil.

Donovan Slack: Rachel told her friends in Massachusetts that Neil was her knight in shining armor.

So when Rachel graduated in 2001 she went right back over to York, England, enrolled in a teacher training program, and quickly resumed with Neil where they'd left off.

Two years on, Neil and Rachel decided to marry at the historic Plymouth Plantation.

Donovan Slack: They had a fairy tale wedding. It was very obvious to the guests there that they were very much in love.

They settled into a modest flat in the Midlands of England, where Neil could commute to his job.

He'd parlayed his Masters degree in electrical engineering into a job as a computer specialist with a large defense contractor. Rachel, meanwhile, was teaching English and drama at a Catholic school.

Buchanan: She was in a job that she loved.  She loved working with young people.  She really enjoyed being a teacher. She seemed blissfully happy following her marriage.

On a website named RachelandNeil.org, Neil the computer whiz had created an online photo album to share pictures with their families and friends so far away back in the States, portraits of the beaming, vibrant couple.

In April 2005, they flooded the site with photos of a new arrival, a baby girl named Lillian Rose.

The infant -- nicknamed Lilly-Bean -- was growing up so fast that her grandparents back in the States, Rachel's mother, Priscilla, and her stepdad, Joe Materazzo, wanted to see ever more of the little girl they doted on.

Maybe it was time to give America a try for awhile?

Slack:  Neil and she decided to move back to Massachusetts. They moved in with her parents for several months. And they finally managed to get their own place.

The house that would become their home was discovered in the suburbs of Boston, a place called Hopkinton, an hour's drive from her parents.

Entwistles signed a three-month lease on the property, with a rent of $2700 a month.

Crime reporter Michele McPhee has written a book about the Entwistle case.

McPhee:  I mean, this house was huge by many people's standards.  It had four bedrooms. They could take a jacuzzi under the stars.

And to fill-up the garage, they leased a white BMW SUV for another $400 per month.

Later on people, would wonder where their money was coming from, since Neil was still job hunting and setting up interviews. But husband didn't bat an eye when in the next few days they bought furniture for their new nest.

A few days after moving in--when January 19, 2006 rolled around on the calendar, a Thursday--all seemed well in the home that was coming together on 6 Cubs Path.

Michele McPhee:   She gets a phone call from her longtime good friend, Joanna Gately, and Joanna says, "I’ll come over this weekend.  We’ll have dinner.  I’ll help you.  I want to see the new house.  I want to see the baby."

It was going to be a busy weekend. In addition to a dinner party Rachel was planning with Joanna for Saturday night, Rachel's mother was coming over for lunch with a friend that same day.

So as Rachel drifted off to sleep that evening she might have been thinking about getting the house ready for its big debut with friends and family.

From what police were able to piece together later, it was the last time she'd ever turn out the bedside light.

Their new home was ready to be shown off.

The furniture had arrived and Rachel and Neil were throwing their first Saturday night dinner party for their friends.

But when Rachel's friend Joanna Gately and her sister pulled up to #6 Cubs Path on Jan. 21, 2006, a Saturday, the house was strangely quiet. Just a light on in the upstairs master bedroom.

McPhee: They're ringing the doorbell.  They peer in the window. They see no sign of Rachel.  No sign of the baby.  And no sign of Neil.

Dennis Murphy:  Did she have the wrong night maybe? Had there been a miscommunication?

On the front door she found a handwritten note.  It was from Rachel's mother, Priscilla Materazzo -- she'd been by earlier that same day for a lunch invitation with her daughter, but didn't find anyone at home.

Joanna the friend immediately called Rachel's mother on her cell. Neither knew what was going on. Where could Rachel, Neil and the baby be?

It was all unsettling enough that friend and mother agreed they should call the police.

The Middlesex County District Attorney, Gerry Leone:

Gerry Leone: The officers were doing a well-being check based upon people who asked they check on Rachel and Neil .. The police officers when they entered the house were not expecting anything all that unusual they were their in the interest to determine that everyone was there and safe.

Dennis Murphy: And they went room to room and didn’t find anything, right?

Leone: No. In fact when you went through house it was as if things were disrupted in way that would cause you to believe in a cursory pass through that there was anything amiss.

Their BMW was not in the garage, but the garage door was closed.  The TV was on, music was playing in the baby's room. The master bedroom had a rumpled, fluffy comforter on it as if the bed was unmade.

McPhee: They started to think all kinds of scenarios.  Car accident.  Where are they?  Joanna said, "I’m not leaving until they get home."  And in an astonishing show of friendship, she slept there in the driveway all night long on a cold New England night, waiting for the Entwistles to come home.

But come the dawn, there were still no Entwistles. And now everyone was frantic. By that evening they went to the Hopkinton police department to fill out a missing persons report.

About this time, Rachel's stepfather, Joe Matterrazo, put a call into a friend, retired State Trooper, Joseph Flaherty, hoping he could help expedite an investigation.

Flaherty: I said to Joe, "There aren't, without being an alarmist, there aren't a lot of good scenarios here. And I told him that I would do my best to get somebody from the state police to call the Hopkinton Police to get a detective to start working on the case.

The police agreed to make a second sweep of the house. Though it was only a day later, they knew as soon as they walked in that this time, something wasn't right.

McPhee: This overwhelming stench of death.  Which all too many police officers are familiar with.  And no one will ever forget.

They followed the sickly-sweet scent to the master bedroom, to the unmade rumpled bed itself.

Gerry: They did a little more than a cursory search that time around, and the unfortunate reality is lifting a puff comforter off of the bed they found the tragic consequences.

Dennis Murphy:  What did they find when they looked in the bed?

Gerry: Rachel and Lillian who had been killed.

Dennis Murphy:  Almost in an embrace?

Gerry: Yes, very close together. Almost as if they had been sleeping together or resting together.

The officers radioed for help, and went looking for the third name on their missing person report, the husband, Neil Entwistle.

McPhee: They saw no sign of him.  They looked in closets.  They looked everywhere in the house.  I mean, they did an up and down search of this four-bedroom house and they found nothing.

As Massachusetts state forensic teams descended on the house to begin the painstaking work of processing the home, now a crime scene, police issued a be-on-the-lookout alert for the family's missing white BMW SUV.

Then came the awful task of breaking the news to Rachel's mom and stepdad. The medical examiner had done his work and found that both Rachel and Lillian had been shot to death with a small-calibre weapon. The baby shot through the torso, the bullet exiting into the mother's breast. Rachel had been shot once in the head.

The investigators' question now was: Where was the son-in-law, Neil?

Flaherty: I did tell Joe that, "Let's wait until we find out where Neil Entwistle is.  He could be expired in the trunk of a car." We didn't know.  But I said, "You know, we have to get somebody to find the car.  And find out where he is."

It was about then--with tragedy engulfing them--that the Matterazzos began to realize how little they actually knew about their daughter's English husband. In the months that he'd lived with Rachel at her parents' as they settled into their new life in Massachusetts, Priscilla and her husband Joe never could get a handle on exactly what it was that Neil did for a living. Something to do with computers. He was vague about it when they started the conversation.

Something else was a little funny: No one had ever seen him use cash -- only credit cards.

McPhee: Neil, would always reassure Rachel.  And he would reassure the Mattarazzos,  "Well, my money--we're fine.  We’re okay.  We have money.  It’s just tied up in offshore accounts."

Two days after the mother and daughter were found beneath the comforter, the "Where's Neil?" question was answered.

McPhee: Clifford Entwistle, Neil Entwistle's dad, called Joe Matterazzo, and said, "We don't know what's going on. I’m very sorry to hear about the deaths. Neil’s here. What’s happening?"

What happened next would be even more remarkable. The parents of Rachel Entwistle were about to hear from Neil himself.

On a chilly February day, a crowd of more than 500 gathered at the Plymouth church where Rachel and Neil Entwistle's daughter, Lillian, had been baptized just seven weeks before.  This time, the family, friends and loved ones gathered to lay Rachel and her baby girl to rest.

Conspicuously absent at the funeral was Neil Entwistle, the husband and father who'd inexplicably flown to England the day before his wife and daughter were discovered dead in their home.  After a day in seclusion, Neil emerged from his parents' house in Worksop, England, dodging reporters' questions.

Dennis Murphy:  By then, Rachel's family had learned disturbing things about their son-in-law.

Niel Entwistle: Hello.

Police: Hi. Is this Neil?

Neil Entwistle: It is. Yes.

Police: Neil, this is -- my name's Bob Manning.  I'm a trooper with the Massachusetts State Police.

In a rambling, two-hour telephone interview from his parents' house in England, Entwistle told a Massachusetts state police investigator about that last day he had seen his wife and daughter alive. The investigator recorded that conversation.

Entwistle: It was -- it was Friday morning. We got up about 7:00, which is what we normally do.  And I fed Lillian.

Manning: Uh-huh.

Entwistle: And well... then I wanted to go out -- just to the store to find some computer equipment...

In a quavering voice, Neil Enwistle recounted heading out at about nine to comparison shop for computer supplies at Staples and Wal-Mart. When he got back, around eleven, he said, the house was quiet.

After puttering around for a while on the first floor, he said, he went upstairs. That's when he found them.

Entwistle: When I walked in, I couldn't see Lilly.  I could only see Rachel. And she just looked asleep. And they -- you know, I, that -- at first it didn't look anything wrong.

When he got closer, Neil said he saw immediately that his wife and daughter had been killed.

Entwistle: Lilly was such a mess.

Police: Where did you see some blood, sir?

Entwistle: Well, there was -- wasn't any on Rachel... It was all on-- it was all on Lilly... Her whole, the whole mouth -- mouth and nose were-- covered. They were, it was almost like it -- it was bubbles.

Dennis Murphy:  Entwistle then told the investigator that he he felt so distraught he went downstairs and grabbed a kitchen knife to do himself in, but he reconsidered.

Entwistle: I think it was almost the thought of how much it was going to hurt. I couldn't do it. And then I realized that what I needed to do was to get to Priscilla and you know -- I've got to let Priscilla know.

He decided he needed to get over to his in-laws' house, he told the police sergeant. And it was at that point he remembered that his father-in-law, Joe Materazzo, had a gun. A gun would be better than a knife.

Manning: You wanted to go to their house, to try and get in, thinking you wanted to hurt yourself—

Entiwistle: That—

Manning: ... with one of his guns?

Entwistle: --that was what I... at that point. Yeah. But it, everything, but none of this happened.

No one was home at the Mattarazzos, so Neil said he never went inside. Rather, he drove to Boston's Logan Airport. At that point, he said, all he could think of was going home to his parents.

So the young husband who claimed he discovered his wife and daughter shot to death never called 911 or told her parents but simply ran back to his childhood home across the ocean without telling a soul.

Entwistle: I don't feel that I've done the right thing in what I've done here by not letting, you know, by not being the one to call and say what had happened.

The strange rambling phone interview gave detectives a lot to work with. Why, for starters, had he said so much about his father-in-law's gun collection? They would test them all in a lab.

Police at Boston's Logan Airport meanwhile had located the Entwistle's white BMW in an airport parking lot. The driver's seat was pushed way back, the SUV was locked with the keys still inside. The water bottle in the cup holder was swabbed to recover a sample of Entwistle's DNA.

Detectives had also seized Neil Entwistle's laptop and were scouring its hard drive for clues when they found what looked like possible motives, reasons why he would want to rid himself of his family.

For one thing, forensic technicians found, he'd been runnning what looked like a possible scam.

McPhee: He was selling bogus computer equipment over eBay and had infuriated a lot of customers who claimed that they paid and never received the product.  There were postings on eBay that the Entwistles were not to be trusted.  And all of this started to unravel.

And investigators found something else on that laptop. He'd searched on a series of kinky websites with titles like "Naughty Nightlife", "Blonde Beauties", and "Hot Local Escorts."  The story told by the computer was that Neil Entwistle, the well-scrubbed family-man, had been dabbling in a secret life. Two hats: potential scam artist and would be swinger.

On Feb. 9, 2006, three weeks after his wife and daughter's death, Neil Entwistle was arrested by British authorities in a London subway station.

Neil Entwistle was arrested this morning just before noon London-time, just before 7 am our time on two charges of murder. The murder of Rachel Entwistle and Lillian Entwistle.

Neil Entwistle was brought back to Massachusetts and appeared in court wearing a bullet-proof vest. He entered a not guilty plea to the charges of the first-degree murders of Rachel and Lillian Entwistle.

Friends of both Neil and Rachel couldn't believe what was happening.

Anthony Bootman, childhood friend of Neil: Just had all shock, disbelief.  And I still find it really hard to believe that he may have done it.

Carolyn Eisen: I can't make sense of it.  I don't understand how this could have happened.

Rachel's family issued an emotionally wrought statement through their friend, former state trooper Joe Flaherty.

Flaherty: The family is deeply saddened at the arrest of Neil Entwistle for the murders of Rachel and Lillian Rose. Rachel and Lili loved Neil very much. Neil was a trusted husband and father and it is incomprehensible how that love and trust was betrayed in the ultimate act of violence.

It would take more than two years before Neil Entwistle would have his day in court, when the secrets about his life and his relationship with Rachel would be more fully revealed.

On June 6, 2008, two-and-a-half years after Rachel and baby Lillian were found shot to death in their Boston area home, Neil Entwistle would stand trial for the murder of his wife and daughter.

The Middlesex County district attorney, Gerry Leone, had assembled a top team of prosecutors to try the case.

Leone: As any case like this, we do it as a team, and we talk a lot about it. And what you try to do is you put your defense counsel hat on, you try to figure out where the holes in your case are.

The theory of the crime prosecutors had to prove -- a killer husband, almost dead broke and boiling with sexual frustration -- was based almost entirely on circumstantial evidence.

Take the .22 revolver that police believe was the murder weapon. It was a mixed bag as far as forensic evidence. The handgun belonged to Rachel’s stepfather, Joe Mattorazzo, but it had no readable fingerprints.

On the other hand, as a DNA analyst testified, Neil Entwistle's DNA was found on the grip and trigger guard of that same revolver, as well as DNA from Rachel both in and around the gun's muzzle.

Laura Bryant: I was able to match the major DNA profile to the DNA profile from Rachel Entwistle.

A forensic chemist took the stand, showing jurors the bloody pillowcase mother and child had rested their heads upon.

She testified that based on tests for gunshot residue, Rachel was probably shot from 18-inches away, while baby Lillian had had the revolver's muzzle pressed against her chest.

Dygan: I concluded it was a contact shot.

Prosecutor: What is that?

Dygan: A contact shot is from a firearm when the firearm is pressed directly against the target.

How could there be a motive to match such an unimaginable crime?

The jurors would soon hear that life under the roof of the young Entwistles wasn't as glowing as it looked on the web page Neil had put up filled with photo album happy snaps.

Remember that scam he'd been running on eBay? It looked like he was selling software that never materialized. A fraud investigator from eBay testified about how duped customers were sending him money, but getting nothing in return.

And eBay wasn't the only site Neil was visiting.  Prosecutors would show how the husband had been trolling for sex online through steamy hook-up sites like "Adult Friend Finder."

A computer specialist read from the profile Entwistle had set up for himself on that site -- an Englishman teasing American women to prove their prowess in bed.

Laurence James (reading): "I need to confirm what friends have told me, that you are much better in bed than the women over the ocean."

Dennis Murphy:  Is this fantasy stuff do you think, or is he actually trying to find swingers, escorts, somebody out there, somebody outside the relationship?

Leone: It's hard to tell whether it's fantasy or not. The fact of the matter is at the end of the day it really gives you a window into his mind. And in addition to everything else we have, you start to piece together a picture of who he is. He was unsuccessful in trying to find a job, and we felt that was another factor, another indicator which led to his what his state of mind was at the time. He was a failure.

The computer expert also testified about a disturbing Google search made on Entwistle's laptop on Jan. 16, just four days before the killings.  A password-protected file had been set up under username, "Ent."

Six words had been typed into the search engine.

James: In quotation marks, "How to kill with a knife."

The next day, two more searches, for "knife in neck kill" and...

James: "Quick Suicide Method."

The prosecution built on its unappealing portrait of a get-rich quick entrepreneur and internet sex addict with testimony about his actions in the hours after the killings.

A bank investigator told the jury about multiple ATM withdrawals Neil had attempted the day of the deaths. The couple's joint account was overdrawn, so Neil was denied all but $800 from a line of credit.

The next morning, Saturday, he was attempting to withdraw still more money at the airport, where that day he also bought a one-way ticket to England.

But it was what Entwistle didn't do in the hours after he claims to have discovered his wife and daughter shot to death that--to the prosecutors--was maybe most chilling of all. He didn't call 911. He didn't cry out for help. He didn't even tell his in-laws what had happened to their beloved daughter and grandchild.

It wasn't until Jan. 23, three days later, that Neil even called his wife's parents, the Mattarazzos, to explain what had happened.

Under questioning by prosecutor Michael Fabbri (fab-ree), father-in-law Joe Matarazzo recounted that overseas call from a whimpering Neil Entwistle.

Joe Matarazzo: First he said, "Hi, Joe, I don't know how things got like this."

Neil told Joe Matarazzo that after finding Rachel and Lily dead, he drove to his in-law's house, partly because he knew Joe kept guns in the house.

Joe Matarazzo: He said when he got to the house, he knew that I had guns in the house, but he didn't have a key he couldn't get in.

Proseuctor: What else did he tell you?

Joe Matarazzo: He said he wanted to see Priscilla and me. He said he couldn't face me.

The father-in-law testified that over the next couple of days, he spoke to Neil several times. Once they discussed funeral arrangements and the father-in-law thought he heard a slip.

Joe Matarazzo: He asked me if Rachel and Lily could be buried together.

Prosecutor: And did he say anything further?

Joe Matarazzo: Yes.  He says, "Because that's the way I left them, I mean, that's the way I found them."

Prosecutor: And that's your best recollection of what he said?

Joe Matarazzo: That's exactly what he said.

Whether he'd "found them dead" or "left them dead," at the funeral a week later Neil compounded his problems with his wife's family by being a no-show.

Rachel’s mother, Priscilla Matarazzo, testified about her son-in-law's unexplained absence.

Prosecutor: Did you see the defendant there at any point in time during the funeral on February 1st?

Priscilla: No.

Dennis Murphy: Entwistle's story that he'd been too distraught to face Rachel’s parents might have carried some weight if he hadn't been caught by then in a series of lies.

Benjamin Prior, an old friend from his university days, testified that he'd met up with Neil shortly after he arrived back in England.

Neil told the friend that before leaving the States, he’d told his mother-in-law, Priscilla, about Rachel and the baby, and had reported the information to the police. Neither story checked out.

Prior: He spoke to the State Police and sort of told them what happened.

Weinstein: Did he tell you how he had gotten in touch with the State Police?

Prior: I believe it was over the telephone.

Another English buddy, Dasheil Munding, told the court he was with Neil the day he was arrested at a tube stop on the London underground.

Munding: I told Neil that I'd received a phone call from the police that they were looking to pick him up in London.

The friend said that police had called him to direct Entwistle out of the train station. In effect, get your mate to turn himself in without a fuss.

But Entwistle implored the friend to help him dodge the police waiting outside.

Munding: He asked whether there was some other way of getting off the platform.

After two weeks and more than 40 witnesses, the prosecution was almost ready to rest its case, but not before letting jurors hear one final disembodied voice.

The recorded conversation Entwistle had with police just 12 hours after arriving at his parent's house in England was played in court.

Entwistle: I haven't even cried yet.

Police: You haven't even cried?

Entwistle: No. Not properly.

Police: What would properly be?

Entwistle: I shed a few tears.

When the prosecution's picture was done, Neil Entwistle had been portrayed before the court as a heartless killer, failed father, husband and entrepreneur.

Prosecutor: There is one person responsible for the murders. And that man is sitting right there. He's the one that pulled that trigger twice. Put a bullet in the head of Rachel Entwistle. Put a body through the body of Lilly Entwistle.

But the defense team was about to present its own picture of Neil and it had a very different take on what had happened in the Entwistle home that winter day in 2006.

It was a scenario that would startle most in the courtroom, not least of all Rachel Souza's family.

The prosecution had depicted Neil Entwistle as a failure, a cold-blooded killer who shot his wife and child in the couple's master bedroom, then made good his escape all the way back home to England.

But the defense attorneys were about to sketch a very different picture of Entwistle:  Adoring Neil.

Eliot Weinstein, lead defense attorney: Neil loved his wife, and Neil loved his daughter. On January 20th, he lost them both. Everything that he said and everything that he did thereafter, he did because he loved them.

The defense attorney advised the jurors that Neil Entwistle had been a loving husband and devoted father. That much, everyone -- from family to friends -- seemed to agree on.

Priscilla Mattarazzo: They seemed to have a friendship, as well as seemed to love and respect each other.

Benjamin Prior: They were very devoted to each other, yes.

Joanna Gately: They seemed very happy and excited.

The defense would call no witnesses of its own.  The defendant declined to take the stand and tell the jury his story, as was his right.

But his lawyers had plenty to say, using cross-examination of the prosecution's witnesses to suggest to jurors that perhaps Rachel Entwistle wasn't the engaging lively young mother with everything to live for as she'd been portrayed.  Maybe Rachel was suffering from post-partum depression?  Did she feel unexpectedly isolated back home in America?

The defense asked the jury to ponder whether this case before them wasn't a double murder at all, a gun in the hand of the husband, but rather a murder-suicide.  Was it possible that the gun was actually fired by Rachel? Shooting the baby first, and then herself?

Weinstein: Everyone's mindset, everyone's frame of reference, filtered information to solve a murder.  No one was open to even considering possibility of suicide.

Dennis Murphy: So your theory of the crime, and it is a crime, it's a murder suicide, you have to believe that Rachel Entwistle held the gun to her child's torso shot her and turned the gun on herself.

Weinstein: Yes.

In this defense theory, the single most important piece of evidence was gunshot residue found on both of Rachel Entwistle's hands.

More damaging still for the prosecution was the fact that in cross examination, the defense got the medical examiner to admit that he was never even made aware of the residue on the dead woman's hands.

Zane: No, I was not informed.

And a forensic chemist conceded in cross examination that when technicians did that same kind of gunshot residue test on the things that Neil Entwistle was known to have touched that day, no traces of gunpowder were found.

Weinstein: You tested and had negative results with respect to the BMW keys.

John Dygan: Yes

Weinstein: You tested and had negative results with result the BMW steering wheel.

Dygan: Yes.

Weinstein: And you tested and you had a positive test result with respect to Rachel Entwistle's hands.

Dygan: Yes.

If the jury was following the assertion that the gun may have been in the hand of a depressed young mother, then maybe other pieces of evidence could be seen in a new light.  Like those Internet searches on how to commit suicide.

As for the prosecution's offer of a motive for murder, the sexually frustrated husband, hopelessly in debt, the defense countered that that wasn't the way things were.  Entwistle's finances may have been wobbly, argued the defense, but they certainly weren't spiraling out of control.

The couple's landlord told defense attorney Stephanie page that they'd paid three months rent in advance.

Defense: Two checks came from Citizens Bank, is that correct?

Kim Puig: Yes.

Defense: And of course they cleared?

Puig: Yes, they did.

Dennis Murphy: Was this guy dead broke?

Weinstein: The evidence that was presented absolutely to the contrary. We all know what dead broke is, that wasn't their financial picture.  Neil's a computer engineer. He had fine computer-based employment in London. He was going to get a job.

And as far as the kinky websites Entwistle visited, his lawyer argued that millions of men do the same thing everyday, and they don't kill their wife and child as a result.

Of course, there was an obvious problem with the defense assertion the Rachel had killed her daughter then herself.  How did the gun end up back in her step-father's collection at his home an hour's drive away?

The defense asked the court to remember that Neil had admitted going to his in-law's house, in telephone conversations with both the police investigators and Rachel’s step-father.  Neil now said through his lawyer that he entered his in-law's house that morning and put the handgun he'd found with Rachel and the baby back in her step-father's gun case.  Why?  Because he was protecting her reputation.

Dennis Murphy: The neon sign, call 911, call the police, call her parents, call somebody.

Weinstein: But Dennis, when you call 911, what's going to happen?  The police are going to show up, and if the police show up what are they going to find? They're going to find what Neil found. That Rachel has killed her child and killed herself.

Dennis Murphy: You argued in court later that this was really an act of love and devotion?

Weinstein: I argued that it was conduct designed to protect Rachel's memory.

Dennis Murphy: Because he saw suicide as a stigma.

Weinstein: He did.

Fleeing back to the childhood home in England, well, that was explained by his being a dazed and distraught husband.

Weinstein: What did he do on the day of Rachel's funeral? Neil went to place where he first proposed to Rachel. He went to the place where he first asked her to spend their lives together.

And so, more than two years after Neil Entwistle was charged with murder, the defense told the court that the police ever had only one suspect in their sites and couldn't think broadly enough to consider that this was really a murder suicide in the house on cub's path.

It was at the very least a novel spin on the Neil Entwistle presented to the jury as a heartless killer.

Was it enough to create reasonable doubt?  The case was about to be the jurors to decide.

After two weeks and 46 witnesses, the two sides in the trial of Neil Entwistle finally rested their case. They’d presented two starkly different portraits of the defendant.

Which was it: a sexually-frustrated husband so drowning in debt that he murdered his wife and child? Or: A loving husband to the end, trying to preserve the memory of his depressed wife, from what he thought of as the shame of suicide?

Now it would be up to a jury to decide which version was the truth.

Ashley Sousa, juror: I tried to check for different emotions, I mean, just as a observation. There were a few times where I thought this man could be a genuine man and he could be telling the truth or he could be just a totally good liar.

It was a case that hit close to home for juror Ashley Sousa. She's 21, just a few years younger than the victim, and has a 2-year-old son.

Dennis Murphy: What was the most perplexing part of the story?

Ashley Sousa: I couldn't understand why he didn't call 911.  We didn't know if maybe things were maybe different in England.  Maybe they didn't know what 911 was.  I mean, that was what got me, why he wouldn't call 911.

Scott Parsons agrees.  He served as an alternate juror, but did not deliberate.

Scot Parsons: That had a very part of, you know, why he didn't-- why didn't he contact someone?

The prosecution's portrayal of Neil Entwistle as would-be swinger who visited kinky websites didn't much matter to Ashley or her fellow jurors.

Ashley Sousa: The porn and the internet just-- it wasn't really any kind of evidence for us, really.

Dennis Murphy: It was fantasy as far as you could tell, huh?

Ashley Sousa: Fantasy. Right. He wasn't getting what he wanted from his wife, but that doesn't necessarily make it a motive for him to kill his wife.

It was the prosecutor's crime scene investigators who presented the most compelling evidence for Ashley, but the defenses the murder suicide scenario also seemed plausible.

Ashley Sousa: I mean,  post-partum depression is real.  And as a mother, I can tell you it's real. And I’ve had post-partum, but we actually went through the crime scene in the deliberating room.  I mean, we reenacted it and we went through.

Dennis Murphy: With someone portraying the part of Rachel?

Ashley Sousa: Yes.

Dennis Murphy: And the child, and how she would have to be and—

Ashley Sousa: Yep, how she was—

Dennis Murphy: --what things would—

Ashley Sousa: --holding Lillian and how far away she would be holding the gun.

On the second day of deliberations, the jury sent word that they'd reached a consensus.

Judge: Have you reached a verdict? Please hand it to the court officer.

Neil Entwistle stood calmly facing the jury as he waited for the verdict.

Ashley Sousa: It was very hard.  Very, very hard.  To have him looking at us.  I mean, what is my fate?  My fate is in your hands.  What have you decided?

Court official: In the case of the Commonwealth vs. Neil Entwistle, charging the defendant with murder in the first-degree, is the defendant guilty or not guilty?

Juror: Guilty of murder in the first-degree of Rachel Entwistle.

Court official: On indictment number is the defendant guilty or not guilty?

Juror: Guilty of murder in the first-degree of Lillian Entwistle.

In the end, the jurors’ reenactment of the murder suicide convinced the last holdouts, including Ashley, that suicide just wasn't possible.

Ashley Sousa: We tried different positions of where she could have held the gun from her head. What different positions she could have been in with Lily.

Dennis Murphy: What made you decide that it wasn't a suicide?

Ashley Sousa: Rachel and I were both 5'2".  So if we had the same arm length and I held the gun from my head -- from my face -- and I shot myself, I would have burn marks all over my face.

After the verdict, outside the courthouse, Cliff and Ivonne Entwistle stood firmly behind their son, who plans to appeal his conviction.

Ivonne Entwistle: We know that our son Neil is innocent. And we are devastated to learn that the evidence points to Rachel murdering our grandchild. And then, committing suicide.

Later at a press conference, another couple, with a very different set of emotions. Rachel’s parents, Priscilla and Joe Materazzo stood hand in hand, relieved over the verdict they'd waited two and a half years to hear.

Joe Materazzo: Priscilla and myself would just like to thank everyone for the prayers and cards - and hundreds of cards that they sent us and support in this country and from Britain. Her students, friends, St. Augustine School sent cards and essays and it was greatly appreciated.

Neil Entwistle will be in prison, serving two life sentences without the possibility of parole, for the murders of his wife, Rachel and daughter Lillian.

Dennis Murphy: Ashley, any unanswered questions for you?  Missing pieces of the puzzle?

Ashley Sousa: What did Lillian do to him?  That's it.  Maybe we're not the love of your life anymore, but how can you un-love your child?

The Sousa family has set up a memorial scholarship in Rachel's name at her old high school.

© 2013 NBCNews.com  Reprints

Video: Entwistle juror speaks out

Discussion comments

Most active discussions

  1. votes comments
  2. votes comments
  3. votes comments
  4. votes comments


text:
Video: Agent helps undocumented immigrants stay in US

Image: Azriel Relph
By NBC News Investigations producer
NBC News
updated 7/11/2011 9:19:43 AM ET 2011-07-11T13:19:43

On a recent sweltering afternoon, two women sat at a restaurant table in a small American town, sharing conversation and a cookie and keeping cool. The normally busy eatery was quiet, but even if it had been packed they would have been the oddest couple in the room – a woman who came to this country illegally and a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent.

"How's your back? Is it treating you OK?" asked the agent.

"Very, very good," replied the woman across the table in a heavy South American accent.

We can’t tell you their actual names. Special Agent Jones, her gold badge clipped to her belt and and ICE logo on her black government-issue polo shirt, often works undercover. Naming her could blow that. And her companion, whom we’ll call Laura, is a crime victim. Using her real name or showing her face could give her tormentors all they need to retaliate. They are both women in their 30s, but the gray streaks running through Laura’s dark hair are suggestions of the pain she has endured.

Laura is a victim of human trafficking who risked her safety by testifying against the man who brought her to this country and forced her to work as a sex slave for at least seven years. Special Agent Jones was a part of the team that saved her.

Story: Regaining trafficking victims' trust, one interview at a time

Their unusual relationship is the result of an alliance that has developed over the past decade, as U.S. law enforcement agencies have sought to enlist victims to help dismantle the growing number of human trafficking rings operating in the U.S.

To do that, they must overcome the fear that the victims have for both their captors and for ICE and other law enforcement agencies. One of their main tools to accomplish that is a special “T Visa,” which offers the victims a path to freedom — and even citizenship — in exchange for their help putting modern day slave runners behind bars.

Story: Qualifications for a T-visa

But a review of the program by NBC News shows that while the visas are effective in gaining cooperation, they aren’t being used nearly as often as they could be, leaving thousands more men, women and children at risk.

Whirlwind romance, heartbreaking betrayal
Laura can’t remember some details of her ordeal, including how long ago she was smuggled into the U.S. — somewhere between 10 and 12 years ago, she reckons. But others — like how she got here — are seared into her memory.

She met a man in her home country when she was in her 20s. He swept her off of her feet, and told her he loved her. She took him to meet her family. When he asked her to go to the U.S. for six months, they cautioned against it, but she was in love and couldn't say no. They boarded a flight north and only then, on the airplane, did he lay out what he really had in mind for her.

"You're going to the United States," she remembers him telling her, "to work like a prostitute." Laura said she wanted to scream for help, but he told her to remember that he knew where her family was. "I have a lot of friends and I know where everybody lives," he threatened.

It was a cold winter night when she landed in Washington, D.C. The man passed her off to a couple who took her directly to an old house. She laid awake all night in shock, listening to rats scrape around. All she could think about was how she wanted to phone her family — if only someone in this unfamiliar and unfriendly place could help her make a call.

But Laura had no allies in this frightening new land. She was now an unwilling sex worker in brothels catering to immigrant Latinos in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Atlanta and New York. She remained the "property" of her trafficker, who arranged her movements, as well as those of other women and girls he lured to the U.S. with similar false promises.

She remembers one especially horrific night in Maryland. "I slept with 103 men," she says. "That is the worst day in my life."

And she was not alone. "I remember, he say, 'You no make money, because the other women [had sex with] 130.' A lot of people don't believe it, and say 'No, it's impossible.'"

Not only is it possible, it happens all the time, all across America, according to Bradley Myles, executive director of Polaris Project, a nonprofit that operates the National Human Trafficking Resource Center.

"Basically there's this whole sex trafficking network that exists in the United States, and it predominantly targets and victimizes women and children from Latin American countries," Myles said.

Story: The sex slaves next door: New form of trafficking invades US

Fear of incarceration due to her undocumented status and concern for the safety of her family kept Laura from attempting escape or contacting authorities. But one day, that fear turned into hope, when Special Agent Jones came through the brothel door.

* * *

During her early years as an ICE agent, Jones worked on Secret Service details for President George W. Bush, and Sen. John Kerry during the 2004 presidential election. An avid runner — ICE agents have to be in top physical shape — Jones helped guard Bush when he went jogging. But when she was asked by the Secret Service whether she would like to join the agency full-time, Jones declined. She had her heart set on working undercover investigations with ICE.

"I love to protect and serve the people of this country — whether they are citizens or undocumented aliens," Jones said.

She wanted to make sure that the protection extended to the community she was policing, that the illegal immigrants would be treated with humanity and fairness. "At the end of the day, we're all people here," she said.

Three years ago, after approximately eight months of surveillance and undercover investigation — including late-night stakeouts, digging through trash, getting evidence any way they could — Jones and fellow ICE agents approached a house on a quiet street in an average American suburb and knocked on the door. They knew that the front door was not shielding a family sitting around a dining room table discussing their day, but a brothel where women and girls as young as 14 were being forced to have sex with "Johns" who paid $25 for 15-minute sessions. The women and girls worked all day and night, and almost never saw a penny.

Video: Video: Exposing a trafficking network

Laura had been in this brothel network for over seven years by now. She had managed to make contact with her family about five years into her ordeal. They told her that she needed to contact law enforcement.

"They say I need to call police," she said. "But I'm so afraid, and I don't do it."

She and the other women and girls were never left alone. They never went to stores, restaurants, movies or malls. And anytime they left the house they were accompanied by a minder. They moved from brothel to brothel and sometimes to stash houses — all in residential neighborhoods — always watched over by their traffickers.

Story: How the sex slave supply chain feeds the U.S. market

On the day of the raid, Laura sat on a couch in the living room, where men awaited their 15-minute sessions, watching television. After seven years in the brothels she was no longer in high demand. New women and girls were constantly being brought in. The younger and fresher the faces, the more popular they were with Johns. The man she had fallen for all those years before in her home country still found a use for her though; she worked as the maid for this brothel.

She heard a knock on the door, peered out the window and saw the police. She didn't say anything — she just started to cry as she opened the door for them.

Laura said she hadn't cried about her situation in years. "You know, at one point you can't cry," she said. "You cry no more." But as she realized what was about to happen, the tears came rushing back. "Crying because I am too happy — not afraid — because I knew that this is over."

What happened next is a blur, but she remembers that the first person she saw come through the door was Jones. The officers told her they had arrested her trafficker. She asked if she was going to jail. They told her no.

The years of slavery had taken a physical and emotional toll on Laura.

"When we rescued her she appeared substantially older than her age," said Jones. "She had a lot of baggage. A lot of mental and emotional distraughtness."

Hard-won trust
Laura called her family, and they told her to get on the next plane home, but she couldn't do it. She recalled how they had warned her seven years earlier not to get on the plane with her trafficker, and how she hadn’t listened.

"I know it's not my fault, but I think I no [longer] have the face to look at them,” she said. “I think I’m like ashamed."

Jones hoped to secure her cooperation as the prosecution built its case against her trafficker and the network he was part of. But her captors had told Laura over and over not to trust law enforcement, and she had no idea if she could really believe anything that an ICE agent was telling her.

"When I first met Laura, she didn't trust us," said Jones. "She actually made the case harder by saying that the other women that we rescued were all doing it voluntarily, that her trafficker was innocent. But that is usually the way these victims have been brainwashed to believe. It's classic Stockholm Syndrome."

Jones was patient. As one of the oldest victims, Laura's testimony was crucial to the case. She decided to show her what her trafficker had deprived her of, and give her a taste of freedom.

"So we put her in a position where she could continue to thrive and see where she's going to go," she said. She arranged for Laura to get temporary status to stay in the country legally. She put her in touch with a relief agency that helped her find work, housing and mental health care. As Laura started to heal, Jones stayed in touch and kept asking for her cooperation, promising that her newfound freedom could be permanent. But Laura continued to resist.

Story: Regaining trafficking victims' trust, one interview at a time

After three years, Laura finally walked into the courtroom where her trafficker sat — the man she once thought she loved — and testified about her ordeal.

"I remember the day, but I no remember what I say," she said, "because I so nervous."

Her trafficker was found guilty of human trafficking. He is in federal prison now, and after five years, he will be deported to his home country. He is also required to pay restitution to Laura and the other nine women and girls he was convicted of enslaving

Working human trafficking cases, Jones has found an even stronger connection to her work. "These girls can be anybody's daughter, anybody's sister,” she said. “When I look at these girls — that could have been me."

* * *

Stories like Laura's would have a different ending if it weren't for the T Visa.

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act, passed early in the Bush administration, established a program where undocumented victims of human trafficking could be granted nonimmigrant status if they lived in the United States, agreed to cooperate with law enforcement and would be at risk if they were to return home.

Interactive: Map: Human trafficking around the world (on this page)

Since T Visas became available in 2002, the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services has been authorized to issue up to 5,000 a year — or enough for 10 percent of the 50,000 men, women and children trafficked into the U.S. for prostitution and forced labor each year, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

But the bureau has not come close to that number. In 2010 – the program’s most successful year — just 447 T Visas were approved. In over nine years, barely 2,300 T Visas have been granted.

The problem, according to officials, is that understanding of the program is low among both victims and authorities.

"We need to raise awareness," said Lynn Boudreau, assistant director at the Vermont service center where USCIS processes T Visa applications. "This is just the tip of the iceberg."

Boudreau said that a form certifying cooperation in an investigation can be hard to obtain from law enforcement officers who don't understand the program. "Sometimes there's a hesitation on the part of law enforcement to actually sign those certifications," she said.  "It's just a piece of the puzzle. We're the ones who adjudicate the case. We're the ones giving the benefit."

Even officers who understand the program, such as Special Agent Jones, have a hard time persuading victims that they really want to help.

"The biggest problem that we have combating these cases," she said, "is that once they hear the words 'Immigration and Customs Enforcement,' they immediately run. They do not trust us. They immediately think we are going to deport them."

Reluctance to report
In cases like Laura's, where the brothels she worked in served mostly illegal immigrants, there can be a reluctance to report any crime. Laura believes her neighbors knew what was happening inside the houses, but were scared to report anything. "They don't want to have problems," she said. "They don't want to call the police for nothing because they do not want to have problems. But they knew."

Many of Laura’s fellow victims also refused to testify, their fear of the traffickers outweighing any possible advantage for their cooperation. "They are so afraid to go," she said. "Nobody helped them. They not going to do it because they know they have families in their countries."

Brock Nicholson, Special Agent in Charge for ICE Investigations, said he has a hard time getting the message out to victims. "Don't be afraid of us," he said. "We're trying to help. We're not going to deport you. You are a victim; our goal is to save you."

Despite the staggering numbers of victims, and their horrifying stories, the highest number of annual human trafficking convictions over the last five years was 103.

But without the T Visa program, that number would be even smaller, said Jones.

"If we didn't have that tool as law enforcement officers …  I would actually have to deport (the victims)," she said, "and we wouldn't have any witnesses to prosecute these traffickers.”

* * *

Sitting at the table in the restaurant, Jones took Laura's hand into her own as she inquired about her new life.

"How is life outside of work? How are your friends?" asked Jones.

"We're good," replied Laura. "We go shopping."

Jones offered encouragement mixed with gentle criticism. She pushed her to get her driver's license, told her she was not a fan of her smoking and made sure her work life was OK.

"She's my angel," said Laura.

Today, Laura is married and has a job and a home. For fun, she watches movies, goes to the park, has cookouts with her family and plays in the pool — small freedoms that she was not allowed during her seven years of slavery. She said her life is beautiful now, all she's ever wanted.

"What I want to do," she said. "Just live like this, be happy, no problems around me. Just have a family life. Quiet, stay at home, that's what I want."

"Is anybody threatening you? Making you feel afraid?" asked Jones, as both friend and law enforcement officer.

"No, nothing will make me afraid again," said Laura.

The two laughed about their unlikely friendship.

"Some people don't know what they have," said Laura. "Because I no laugh for many years, now I laughing for everything. The small things make me very happy. Very small things."

  1. Only on
    1. OWN via Getty Images
      From belief to betrayal: How America fell for Armstrong
    2. pool via Reuters file
      US to Syria neighbors: Be ready to act on WMDs
    3. China: One-child policy is here to stay
    4. NRA: Practice Range
      New 'Practice Range' shooter game says it’s from NRA
    5. 'Gifted' priest indicted in crystal meth case
    6. AFP - Getty Images
      China's state media admits to air pollution crisis
    7. AFP - Getty Images
      French to send 1,000 more troops to Mali

© 2013  Reprints

Explainer: ‘T visa’ qualifications

  • To qualify for a “T visa,” an applicant must satisfy four criteria:

    (Source: U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services)

  • Be a victim of a severe form of trafficking in persons

    The regulation defines victims as aliens who are recruited, harbored, transported, provided or obtained for prostitution by force, fraud, or coercion, or in which the person induced to perform such an act has not attained 18 years of age; or a situation in which the person is forced to provide labor or services through the use of force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of subjection to involuntary servitude, peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.

  • Be physically present in the United States as a result of trafficking

    The applicant must establish that he or she is physically present in the United States, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, or at a port-of-entry on account of a severe form of trafficking in persons. Specifically, the physical presence requirement reaches an alien who is present because he or she is being subjected to a severe form of trafficking in persons; was recently liberated from a severe form of trafficking in persons; or was subject to severe forms of trafficking in persons at some point in the past and whose continuing presence in the United States is directly related to the original trafficking in persons.

  • Comply with reasonable requests for assistance

    The applicant must submit evidence that fully establishes that he or she has complied with any reasonable request for assistance in the investigation or prosecution of acts of severe forms of trafficking in persons, unless the applicant is under the age of 18. Provisions allow USCIS to exempt applicants from the compliance requirement if, in consultation with the attorney general, the applicant is unable to cooperate due to physical or psychological trauma.

  • Be subject to extreme hardship or unusual and severe harm if removed from the U.S.

    The applicant must demonstrate that he or she would suffer extreme hardship involving unusual or severe harm if removed from the United States.  Extreme hardship involving unusual and severe harm is a higher standard than that of extreme hardship as described in 8 CFR Section 240.58.  A finding of extreme hardship involving unusual and severe harm may not be based upon current or future economic detriment, or the lack, or disruption to, social or economic opportunities.

Map: Human trafficking

Many countries enforce the Trafficking Victims Protection Act poorly, if at all.

Discussion comments

Most active discussions

  1. votes comments
  2. votes comments
  3. votes comments
  4. votes comments


text:
Nightly News   |  May 08, 2013

Pakistan politician Imran Khan recovering after fall

Stuck in a hospital bed, the Pakistani cricketer turned politician, Imran Khan, isn't going to let three fractured vertebrae and a cracked rib stop him campaigning. His fall from a stage at a rally yesterday may keep him in hospital until the country's general election on Saturday but it may also get him the sympathy vote. ITV’s Lewis Vaughan Jones reports.

Share This:

Sorry, we do not have a transcript available for this video at this time.


text:
February 16, 2006

Neeley Supply Chain Students Win Prestigious National Competition in First Appearance

Trey Davis, Faculty Advisor Chad Autry, Jeff DeArment, and Carsten Frederikson

In their first appearance at a national case competition sponsored by the Denver Transportation Club, three undergraduate students from the Neeley School of Business at TCU claimed victory over some of the most prestigious supply chain programs in the country, including two-time defending champions Arizona State University, Michigan State University, University of Arkansas, Georgia Southern University, Clarkson University, the University of West Florida and John Carroll University. The Neeley team, sponsored by the Supply and Value Chain Center at the Neeley School of Business, included Jeff DeArment, Trey Davis and Carsten Frederikson, all majors in the new Supply Chain program at TCU. Teams from all other universities had five students each.

The Denver Transportation Club hosts the annual conference and undergraduate student case competition as a part of its Operation Stimulus transportation project, a think-tank environment for innovation in the transportation and logistics industries. The competition draws teams of premier undergraduates together in an interactive forum where difficult real-life business problems are reviewed and addressed. Solutions are presented to executive judges from national transportation and logistics firms such as Ryder Integrated Logistics and JB Hunt, as well as those firms who rely on their services, such as IBM and Cintas.

Chad Autry, assistant professor of Supply Chain Management, led the team and captured these comments from executives in attendance as they congratulated the winning team:

"TCU won because they were able to see what the others couldn't - that events that (impact) the firm also create a ripple effect through the supply chain that everyone has to deal with...and they were able to develop solutions that considered not only our problems, but the issues facing all."

"We didn't know anything about the TCU team, and there were only three of them, but they were the only team that seemed as though they were actually in touch with what we faced in Louisiana."

The tournament consisted of two rounds: a preliminary in which students addressed shipping and transportation problems associated with southern customers and service providers in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, and a final playoff pairing the two finalists. The playoff consisted of a debate where additional constraints were applied to the problem, and a revised solution was formulated and presented. In the preliminary round, the TCU team took down Clarkson University, the University of West Florida and John Carroll University, and stunned two-time defending champions Arizona State University. They finished off the perennial power from the University of Arkansas to advance to the finals.

In the finals, TCU met Georgia Southern University, a team who had reached the final round after toppling Michigan State, University of Denver and Syracuse. In the end, the trio from the Neeley School of Business at TCU was victorious by a 15 percent margin based on scoring from the final-round judges. Each student walked away with a cash prize, a pocket full of business cards and the traveling Operation Stimulus plaque engraved with names of past winners.The Supply Chain program, established at the Neeley School of Business in 2001, offers executive programs such as the annual Global Supply Chain Conference, an MBA Certificate program, and the newly-offered undergraduate major.

"This was a significant step for these three students and the Neeley School Supply Chain Program as a whole," said Charles Lamb, Chair, Department of Information Systems and Supply Chain Management at the Neeley School of Business. "Undergraduate teams from the 'big name' supply chain and logistics programs attend and the competition is intense. National bragging rights are at stake, as are cash prizes and valuable job interviews. These three students earned national respect for themselves and the Neeley School of Business at TCU."
For more information on the Neeley Supply Chain Program, visit www.svcc.tcu.edu.

Elaine Cole
PR Manager
Neeley School of Business


text:
General Discussion / Conference Templates
<< < > >>
Reply to this Thread
10/31/2011 3:04:14 AM Reply with Quote

Good morning,

We are setting up a project that will utilise Nefsis and I have a question regarding Groups and Templates.

I want to create a Conference Template that will be the default template for a subset of Nefisis users - is this possible?

10/31/2011 7:52:58 AM / Edited 10/31/2011 7:58:28 AM by Matt Reply with Quote

Hi Tony,

Unfortunately, I don't believe this is possible at the moment. A conference template is only available to the user account that creates it.

However, I'm sure if you drop a quick email to, they'll log a feature request for you, so that it gets reviewed and possibly added in a future release at some stage.

Depending on what you're after, you can centrally restrict what features are available to users in Nefsis conferences via the admin account (e.g. turning off media sharing, files and handouts etc) - which might help?

<< < > >>
Reply to this Thread

Europe:   +44 (0) 870 224 0415  (09:00 to 17:30 weekdays, GMT)


text:
Kiss My Slice Pizza - New York City

NEPA goes NYC!

I know that I'm the NEPA Pizza Review, but I couldn't resist going on a pizza binge on a recent family trip to NYC!  I hit mostly "touristy" pizza shops due to a lack of time in the schedule, but this is one stop among 9 pizzerias that I feasted on in 3 days!  Yes I felt totally gross after eating all that pizza, but I felt an obligation to keep going so that I could report back to the 570 to let you know how our pizza stacks up against the Big Apple.  Click here to read my comparisons and to find out who truly has the better pizza!

Kiss My Slice pizza was an unassuming little pizza shop with a sort of gimmicky name, so I wasn't sure if I wanted to stop in after already having a full belly, but I'm so glad that I did because I found that the pizza was actually quite good!  The pizza guys were courteous even at a late hour of the night and made sure to heat my slice up thoroughly.  The crust was crisp and tender and the cheese, sauce, and pepperoni formed the flavors of your classic NY style pizza that we all know and love.  I wouldn't make this a destination if you're in town, but if you're in the theater district and need a quality slice late at night, this is a solid bet!

Restaurant: Kiss My Slice Pizza
Location: New York City
Date: August 2016
Pizza Ordered: 1 Slice
Price: $3.00 +/- per slice
Eat In/Take Out: Take out

Crust: 3.75/5
Sauce: 3.5/5
Cheese: 3.5/5
Overall Taste: 4/5
Crispy/Cooked Properly: 5/5
Overall Value: 3.5/5

NYC 5561719108187955010

Post a Comment

Follow Us

Join the Madness

Follow by Email