Slaying of 'deeply in love' DA and wife has police looking for ties

Texas district attorney Mike McClelland and his wife Cynthia were found dead, just two months after McClelland's top assistant was also shot dead. Authorities are exploring a link between the two crimes and a possible link to a ?white supremacist group. NBC's Gabe Gutierrez reports.

By Erin McClam and John Newland, NBC News

An official in the Texas county where a prosecutor and his wife were shot to death over the weekend said Monday that the ordeal was ?surreal? and that authorities there were on alert.

?We?re still in shock,? Kaufman County Judge Bruce Wood told reporters.

District Attorney Mike McLelland and his wife, Cynthia, were gunned down at their home outside Dallas on Saturday two months after another prosecutor there was shot to death.

A white supremacist group has been thought to be planning retaliation after indictments in a racketeering case, and the state has recently warned about Mexican drug cartels.

But authorities have not said the killings of the two prosecutors are linked and have not announced any leads in the McLellands? deaths.

?We are very much on alert,? Wood said. ?We have some folks out there that intend to do harm to public officials.?

He said that the county was open for business.

McLelland had vowed to catch the killer of the other prosecutor, Assistant District Attorney Mark Hasse, who was gunned down near the county courthouse on his way to work Jan. 31.

McLelland told reporters that day: ?I hope the people that did this are watching. Because we're very confident that we're going to find you, pull you out of whatever hole you're in, bring you back and let the people of Kaufman County prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law.?

Mayor Darren Rozell of Forney, which is in Kaufman County, told NBC News after McLelland?s killing that it appeared to be targeted and that civilians probably were not at risk.

Asked about suggestions that a white supremacist group may have been involved, Rozell said he had seen media reports to that effect but ?really couldn?t comment.?

On the day Hasse was killed, the Justice Department announced that the Kaufman County DA?s office was among investigative bodies involved in a racketeering case against the white supremacist group Aryan Brotherhood of Texas.

A district attorney and his wife were found shot dead in their Texas home on Saturday, a chilling crime that has become a murder mystery. NBC's Gabe Gutierrez reports.

The hate group was suspected of ?actively planning retaliation? against police and prosecutors who helped gain indictments in Houston against dozens of its members, the Dallas Morning News reported in February.

In February, the state's Department of Public Safety issued a report highlighting the threat of Mexican drug cartels operating in Texas.

The FBI and the Texas Rangers were leading the investigations, which at one point examined possible ties to the March 19 shooting death of Colorado prisons director Tom Clements, Reuters reported, adding that no connection had been found.

The McLellands were ?deeply in love,? Tonya Ratcliff, the county tax assessor and a longtime friend of the couple, told NBCDFW.com.

?You would never hear one of them say an ugly word about the other one,? she said. "They were just a wonderful couple, and it was a pleasure to be around them ? and I will miss them.?

A tip line has been set up for the investigation. Anyone with information to share with investigators is asked to call 1-877-847-7522.

Related:

District attorney, wife shot to death in Texas county where assistant DA was killed, police say

This story was originally published on Mon Apr 1, 2013 5:52 AM EDT

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94% Room 237

All Critics (80) | Top Critics (16) | Fresh (76) | Rotten (5) | DVD (1)

As amusing as the movie is, I think in the end that Ascher misses the labyrinth for the trees.

The theories proposed in the doc "Room 237" aren't eye-opening. They're laughable.

A beautifully edited, deeply strange compendium of what different people have read into a single film.

A thrilling testament to the fact that art is - and should be - open to interpretation.

This movie about a labyrinth with a monster at its center is itself a labyrinth, [Ascher] tells us; better leave a trail of breadcrumbs behind you if you hope to get out.

Part of what makes "Room 237" fascinating to watch and think about (beyond other people's loopiness) is that it shows how works of art become encrusted with their reception.

I can't buy into the notion of Stanley Kubrick faking Apollo 11's moon landing but he definitely helped Shelley Duvall fake a movie career.

"Anything you say, Lloyd. Anything you say."

"Room 237" is movie so chunky and sweet you can eat it with a spoon.

This documentary will entertain everyone from film junkies to conspiracy theorists and those who like to debunk them as Ascher spreads his net to include everything from the most provocative ideas to blatant bunkum.

This geek gossip is made even more captivating by the fact that nobody will likely ever know whether any of it is true.

Hilarious, bizarre and provocative. You'll never look at The Shining the same way again

The beauty of Room 237, however, doesn't lie in the validity of any one of the commentators' thoughtful (and occasionally well-informed) speculations, but instead in that mysterious grey zone between an artist's intentions and audience interpretation.

Unique and at times profound, Room 237 is a reminder of how much Kubrick left for us to appreciate in his work, and how the greatest films always leave something more to be discovered with each viewing.

A strange and enduring testament to Kubrick's cinematic legacy, as well as a fun way to look at a horror classic in a whole new way.

Like any great puzzle, The Shining is a lot of fun to try and solve.

The effect of Room 237 is intense. It's a deep dive into the rabbit hole of semiotics, designed to train viewers to become alert to what they're really seeing.

For film buffs who love to debate cinematic subtext, the documentary is both exciting and riveting. It's also just plain fun.

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/room_237_2012/

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Ring that may have inspired Tolkien goes on show

This is National Trust undated handout photo made available on Tuesday April 2, 2013, of a Roman gold ring that could have inspired J.R.R Tolkien to write "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" is going on exhibition in England. Found in a field in southern England in 1785, the ring is linked to a Roman tablet inscribed with a curse on the thief who stole it. That tablet was found at the site of a Roman temple dedicated to the god Nodens in Gloucestershire, western England. Tolkien worked on the etymology of the name Nodens in 1929 and visited the temple several times. (AP Photo/ Helen Sanderson/National Trust/PA ) UNITED KINGDOM OUT NO SALES NO ARCHIVE

This is National Trust undated handout photo made available on Tuesday April 2, 2013, of a Roman gold ring that could have inspired J.R.R Tolkien to write "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" is going on exhibition in England. Found in a field in southern England in 1785, the ring is linked to a Roman tablet inscribed with a curse on the thief who stole it. That tablet was found at the site of a Roman temple dedicated to the god Nodens in Gloucestershire, western England. Tolkien worked on the etymology of the name Nodens in 1929 and visited the temple several times. (AP Photo/ Helen Sanderson/National Trust/PA ) UNITED KINGDOM OUT NO SALES NO ARCHIVE

LONDON (AP) ? Could a Roman gold ring linked to a curse have inspired J.R.R. Tolkien to create The One Ring?

Britain's National Trust and the Tolkien Society are putting the artifact on display Tuesday for fans of "The Hobbit" and "The Lord of the Rings" to decide for themselves whether this was Tolkien's precious ring of power.

Found in a field near a historic Roman town in southern England in 1785, the gold ring is inscribed in Latin, "Senicianus live well in God," and inset with an image of the goddess Venus. It is larger than average, weights 12 grams, and is believed to date from the 4th century.

The ring is believed to be linked to a curse tablet found separately at the site of a Roman temple dedicated to a god named Nodens in Gloucestershire, western England. The tablet says a man called Silvianus had lost a ring, and it asks Nodens to place a curse of ill health on Senicianus until he returned it to the temple.

An archaeologist who looked into the connection between the ring and the curse tablet asked Tolkien, who was an Anglo-Saxon professor at Oxford University, to work on the etymology of the name Nodens in 1929.

The writer also visited the temple several times, and some believe he would have been aware of the existence of the Roman ring before he started writing "The Hobbit."

"The influences most often cited for Tolkien's creation of The One Ring usually take the form of literary or legendary rings," said Lynn Forest-Hill, education officer for the Tolkien Society.

"It is, then, particularly fascinating to see the physical evidence of the (ring), with its links to Tolkien through the inscription associating it with a curse," she said.

The gold ring is displayed at The Vyne, a historic mansion in southern England, starting Tuesday.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/aa9398e6757a46fa93ed5dea7bd3729e/Article_2013-04-02-Britain-Tolkien's%20One%20Ring?%201st%20Ld-Writethru/id-4640b1aa7e654dc4b1820c3de2e06a6b

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Riding in style: The evolution of the popemobile

Alessandro Di Meo / EPA

Images of the automobiles that have transported popes over the years.

By Elizabeth Chuck, Staff Writer, NBC News

Comes outfitted in protective bullet-proof glass. Draws a crowd wherever it goes. A driver is included; gold trim is optional.

Popemobiles also include such amenities as a handrail to let the pope easily stand and wave while in motion, a built-in stereo and arctic-cool air conditioning.

Eight popes have had their own set of holy wheels since Pope Pius XI got a stretch 460 Nurburg edition Mercedes-Benz in 1930, but the eighth, Pope Francis -- known for?taking the bus to work?before he was named pope -- may not want all the frills and custom built-ins that popemobiles offer.?

By retiring, Benedict XVI has passed along a white armored Mercedes SUV, which has a white leather interior with gold trim and a white leather turret that can be raised by hydraulic lift high enough for crowds to see the pope, if he wants to sit. (For longer trips around Italy, Benedict enjoyed his own helicopter.) Bullet-proof?Plexiglas?that's strong enough to withstand explosions surrounds the turret on three sides. There's an emergency oxygen supply built in, according to?The Telegraph.?

---

"The pope must feel comfortable. People must be able to see him. People have traveled very far; they want to be able to get a good look at him," said Christoph Horn, Director of Global Communications of Mercedes-Benz, from Stuttgart, Germany. "This is about creating a comfortable and safe environment for the pope to travel in and be seen in.?

The pre-mobile
Popes didn't have to wait for the invention of automobiles to be mobile. For centuries, popes traveled by throne when going out on local outings. The popes were carried by 12 bearers (representing the 12 disciples of the church) as they moved through crowds, Ronald Rychlak, a University of Mississippi law school professor who has written numerous books on religion,?said.

Daimler

The first car used by a pope.

All that changed when Pope Pius XI got his Benz. The limousine was a gift from the car company, which would provide vehicles for many popes after that.

"Usually more than one vehicle was provided, especially for the popes in the 1930s," Horn said. "They were traveling a lot, so many popemobiles were built for them."

Back then, popes traveled in limousines with open tops, he said. Over the years, more than 12 different models of cars and trucks would be provided for popes. Pope John XXIII ushered in a new era of pope cars in 1960 with a Mercedes 300D Landaulet, which had a throne that rose high in the back, The New York Times reported. His successor switched to a 1964 Lincoln model before he went back to the preferred Mercedes brand a year later.

But don't call it 'popemobile'
When popes travel abroad for state visits, it's not always possible for the vehicles they use at home to make the journey with them. Instead, customized cars are prepared ahead of the visit, submitted for Vatican approval from the country he will visit.

"The primary level of security is assigned to the host nation,"?Rychlak said. "If they want to have something like a popemobile for a major parade, let's say they're doing Mass at Yankee stadium or something like that, they would have to make arrangements to ship something over, or that's the kind of situation where there may be a gift made to the pope" by a major car company.

That was how the car that officially became known for the first time as the "popemobile" came into existence: Pope John Paul II had visited Ireland in 1979, and a boxy yellow Ford Transit van awaited him as his chariot. Last November, The Telegraph reported an Irish businessman had acquired the van from the Dublin Wax Museum, where it had been since the papal visit, and was transforming it into a party bus.

Many other popemobiles have stayed in the countries they were used in. In 2008, Newsweek got a peek at the popemobile Benedict used for his U.S. tour, describing it as "by far the fanciest and sleekest papal car ever built ... The papal handlers can shift their passenger from zero to 60 in less than eight seconds, but the drivers probably won't exceed 10 mph along the parade routes."

In 2002, John Paul II asked the media to stop using the term "popemobile," insisting it sounded "undignified."

A clear need for better security
John Paul II survived an assassination attempt in 1981 while in St. Peter's Square. A Turkish man was later convicted of firing the shots, which punctured the pope's car and struck him four times. John Paul II survived, but it was clear his wide-open truck wouldn't suffice to protect him. From then on, bulletproof glass has encased popemobiles, although popes have occasionally ridden around without covering for brief periods.

Arturo Mari / AP

A 1981 assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II in St. Peter's Square.

Since adding bulletproof glass, popemobiles have added other necessary features, including ultra-powerful air conditioning to cool down the glass dome that popes sit in, reports The Telegraph.

Other protection measures include heavy-metal reinforcement on the bottom of the vehicle as well as the other sides, and the driver is always a trusted longtime Vatican employee. There's no partition between the pope and his driver; a microphone enables him to broadcast messages to crowds through speakers outside the popemobile.

The current weighs five tons and was just presented to Benedict last December by Mercedes-Benz.

"We work with the members of the Vatican and with the people in charge of the garages of the Vatican," Horn said. "These are all individual vehicles that are built to specifications."

The new pope's desire to get up close and personal with his faithful has presented challenges for his security detail.

"The pope's going to want to be up close hugging and touching and meeting people and that's going to be a tremendous concern for his security people,"?Rychlak said. "His security forces have taken him aside, or probably already have, and are going to say, 'Holy Father, you're putting us in a horrible situation if you don't go along with these things.'"

They're used to having to say that, though: Benedict didn't always like the feeling of a "shield between him and the people,"?Rychlak said. Most popemobiles are designed so the glass can be lowered, though.

This story was originally published on Sun Mar 31, 2013 4:36 AM EDT

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Bomb-laden truck kills 7 at Iraqi police station

BAGHDAD (AP) ? A suicide bomber drove a fuel-laden truck into a police station in central Iraq on Monday, killing seven policemen, officials said.

The morning attack in Tikrit, north of Baghdad, also wounded more than 30, said Iraqi health official Raed Ibrahim.

Qutayba al-Jabouri, a lawmaker from the Salahuddin province to which Tikrit belongs, also confirmed the incident.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, but the attack was typical of al-Qaida's Iraq branch, the Islamic State of Iraq.

The militant Sunni group frequently uses car bombs, suicide bombers and coordinated blasts to target Shiites and those working with the Shiite-led government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.

Iraqi intelligence officials say that the country's al-Qaida branch is strengthening as it takes advantage of chaos in neighboring Syria to smuggle in arms, weapons and fighters.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-04-01-Iraq/id-ca0221a480f7474a9bd62d297eabb6c8

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Source: http://www.wwe.com/magazine/your-wrestlemania-survival-kit

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'G.I. Joe' commands No. 1 at box office with $41M

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? After a nine-month delay, "G.I. Joe: Retaliation" deployed to the top spot at the box office.

The action film starring Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson, Bruce Willis and Channing Tatum as the gun-toting military toys brought to life marched into the No. 1 position at the weekend box office, earning $41.2 million, according to studio estimates Sunday. "Retaliation" opened Wednesday at midnight, which helped bring its domestic total to $51.7 million.

Paramount postponed the sequel to 2009's "G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra" last May from its original June opening date to convert the film to 3-D. The last-minute switcheroo came just weeks after "Battleship," another movie based on a Hasbro toy, sank at the box office. At that time, Paramount already began its advertising campaign for "Retaliation."

"It certainly vindicates the decision," said Don Harris, the studio's head of distribution. "Any time you make those sorts of moves, people always assume the worst. The truth is I'd seen this movie a long time ago in 2-D, and the movie worked in 2-D. It's not trying to be 'Schindler's List.' This movie is intended to be enjoyed as a big, action spectacle."

Internationally, Harris said "Retaliation" earned $80.3 million, making it the biggest international opening of the year. The film opened in 53 markets outside of the U.S. and Canada, including Russia, South Korea and Mexico.

After debuting in the top spot last weekend, the 3-D animated prehistoric comedy "The Croods" from DreamWorks Animation and 20th Century Fox slipped to the No. 2 spot with $26.5 million in its second weekend. The film features the voices of Nicolas Cage, Emma Stone and Catherine Keener as a cave family on the hunt for a new home.

Among the other new films this weekend, "Tyler Perry's Temptation" starring Jurnee Smollett-Bell and Lance Gross opened above expectations at No. 3 with $22.3 million, while the sci-fi adaptation "The Host" featuring Saoirse Ronan, Max Irons, and Jake Abel as characters from the Stephenie Meyer novel landed at No. 6 in its debut weekend with a modest $11 million.

Overall, the weekend box office was on par with last year when "The Hunger Games" continued to dominate in its second weekend of release with $58.5 million. After a slow start, Hollywood's year-to-date revenues are still 12 percent behind last year, heading into next month when summer movie season unofficially kicks off with "Iron Man 3" on May 3.

"It's getting us back on track after many weekends of down trending box office," said Paul Dergarabedian, box office analyst for Hollywood.com. "Last weekend was a turning point with the strength of 'The Croods' and 'Olympus Has Fallen' doing better than expected. We're heading toward the summer movie season on solid footing. It's been a tough year so far."

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," $41.2 million ($80.3 million international).

2. "The Croods," $26.5 million ($52.5 million international).

3. "Tyler Perry's Temptation," $22.3 million.

4. "Olympus Has Fallen," $14 million.

5. "Oz the Great and Powerful," $11.6 million ($22.2 million international).

6. "The Host," $11 million ($6 million international).

7. "The Call," $4.8 million.

8. "Admission," $3.2 million.

9. "Spring Breakers," $2.7 million.

10. "The Incredible Burt Wonderstone," $1.3 million.

___

Estimated weekend ticket sales at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada) for films distributed overseas by Hollywood studios, according to Rentrak:

1. "G.I. Joe: Retaliation," $80.3 million.

2. "The Croods," $52.5 million.

3. "Jack the Giant Slayer," $25.2 million.

4. "Oz the Great and Powerful," $22.2 million.

5. "Dragon Ball Z: Kami to Kami," $7 million.

6. "The Host," $6 million.

7. "Identity Thief," $5.5 million.

8. "Wreck-It Ralph," $4 million.

9. "A Good Day to Die Hard," $3.6 million.

10. "Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters," $3.3 million.

___

Online:

http://www.hollywood.com

http://www.rentrak.com

___

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

___

Follow AP Entertainment Writer Derrik J. Lang on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/derrikjlang.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/g-joe-commands-no-1-box-office-41m-162245228--finance.html

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