JAILBIRD TWEETING? Report: Murder Suspect Arias Talks Case on Twitter

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The Arizona woman at the center of one of the nation’s most high-profile murder trials is reportedly tweeting from behind bars.

MyFoxPhoenix.com reports that Jodi Arias, who has admitted to killing her boyfriend in 2008, has been communicating with hundreds of followers via her Twitter account since February.

The account is managed by Arias’ friend, Donavan Bering, who updates the account with messages from Arias after speaking to the accused killer on the phone, the station reported.

Some of the tweets are believed to be directed at Juan Martinez, the prosecutor in Arias’ murder trial. Martinez has attempted to portray Arias as a manipulative liar.

“Hmm… Anger Management problems anyone?,” reads one of the tweets on the account. Another tweet reads, “Those afflicted with Little Man’s Syndrome taint society’s perception of genuinely good men who happen to be vertically challenged.”

On Wednesday night, Bering reportedly posted a link to Arias’ personal website, where she is selling and holding auctions for artwork.

Arias says the killing was self-defense, and that on the day of Travis Alexander’s death in June 2008 at his suburban Phoenix home, he attacked her and she was forced to fight for her life.

However, no other evidence — other than Arias’ accounts — have been presented at trial showing Alexander had ever been physically violent.

Authorities say Arias planned the attack. She initially denied involvement then blamed it on masked intruders. Two years after her arrest, she said it was self-defense.

She faces a possible death sentence if convicted of first-degree murder.

A Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office spokesman told MyFoxPhoenix.com they are aware of the activity on the Twitter account but are unable to do anything about it.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Click here for more from MyFoxPhoenix.com.

Meghan McCain Attacks Ann Coulter After Shocking Column

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Meghan McCain condemned Ann Coulter on Thursday after the conservative provocateur joked about her being murdered in a recent column.

Coulter, who has tangled with McCain many times in the past, made the joke in a piece on Wednesday:

Obama has been draping himself in families of the children murdered in Newtown.

MSNBC’s Martin Bashir suggested that Republican senators need to have a member of their families killed for them to support the Democrats’ gun proposals. (Let’s start with Meghan McCain!)

That wasn’t, strictly speaking, quite an accurate reading of Bashir’s comments, as New York’s Daily Intel pointed out, but McCain took notice and issued a stream of tweets condemning the piece:

McCain’s mother, Cindy McCain, also got in on the act:

Fox Nation, which excerpted Coulter’s piece, appeared to have deleted its story.

Thatcher statue in Westminster ‘will be given go-ahead’

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Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg has also refused to dismiss the plans, saying
on his LBC call in show: “Of course she is a polarising figure, she is
a controversial figure, I’m not going to begrudge her supporters the right
to advocate there should be some statue.”

Westminster City Council Deputy Leader, Cllr Robert Davis, said the council
would “look favourably” on anyone coming forward with a genuine
proposal.

“I think that the council would be very up for it,” Cllr Davis
said.

“We would have to consider that planning aspects, but it is really a matter of
where it would be and what it would look like.

“The principle is something that the majority of the council would approve of.”

The next step would be for individuals to form an organising committee and
then find donors, and a sculptor to create the memorial to the Iron Lady.

Cllr Davis echoed Mr Johnson’s comments that the most appropriate place for
any statue would need researching, although initial suggestions included the
empty plinth in Trafalgar Square.

He said: “I actually think that Parliament Square may be more appropriate, or
maybe outside the Minsitry of Defence, there is room for more statues there.
Let’s look at all the options, let’s find out what it is going to look like.”

The Chair of Planning Applications Sub-Committee explained that once a
committee had finalised their plans then an application would need to be
submitted and decided upon by the council, who would also need to be
provided with a “dowry” to maintain the artwork.

Cllr Davis added: “I think that Lady Thatcher is absolutely deserving of a
statue. She was given the freedom of the City of Westminster in 1991, it is
a very rare honour. She is one of our honorary freeman, so we obviously
think very highly of her.”

The only other Prime Minister to be granted the honour was Winston Churchill.

Lord Ashcroft, the Conservative peer, businessman and philanthropist, has
said: “Exceptional people deserve exceptional recognition. Baroness Thatcher
made an extraordinary contribution to British politics and British life.

“It is therefore appropriate for her to receive an outstanding public
acknowledgement of the nation’s gratitude for all that she has done.”

He joined MR Hammond, Commander John Muxworthy, a Lt Commander on the SS
Canberra during the Falklands conflict, and Lord Tebbit in suggesting that
Trafalgar Square would be a fitting home for a memorial. .

However, the space is managed by the Greater London Authority, and a
spokesperson said that it is “not suitable” as the arts programme already in
place is set to continue for several years.

The Mayor has vowed that his “office will do all it can to help find a
suitable high profile site for a statue that reflects the indelible mark she
has left in the service of our country”.

Lord Ashcroft’s second suggestion of a memorial in Westminster echoes that of
UKIP leader Nigel Farage, who said that it would ““show the outside world
that we view her as an important political figure”.

Mr Hammond has agreed that it is “very appropriate to have a memorial” in the
centre of London.

Welfare Cuts ‘Will Widen North-South Divide’

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People living in northern England will be hardest hit by the Government’s welfare reforms, according to new research.

Adults in Blackpool will lose an average of £910 a year each – more than anywhere else in Britain, the study by Sheffield Hallam University suggests.

It claims changes to housing benefit, disability living allowance, child benefit, tax credits and council tax benefit will take nearly £19bn out of the economy every year

Former industrial areas including Middlesbrough, Liverpool and Glasgow will also be disproportionately affected.

A punt makes its way along the River Cam in the spring sunshine in Cambridge
Cambridge will be among the places least affected, researchers say

However, wealthier areas such as Cambridge, parts of Surrey and the Cotswolds are expected to see the smallest financial losses.

Westminster, with its high cost of living, will be the worst-affected London borough, with the average adult losing £820 in annual benefits.

Professor Steve Fothergill, of Sheffield Hallam’s Centre for Regional Economic and Social Research, which led the study, said: “A key effect of the welfare reforms will be to widen the gaps in prosperity between the best and worst local economies across Britain.

“Our figures also show the coalition Government is presiding over national welfare reforms that will impact principally on individuals and communities outside its own political heartlands.”

A pedestrian walks past boarded up houses on Coral Street in Middlesbrough
Former industrial towns such as Middlesbrough are likely to feel the pinch

Professor Fothergill found that, on the whole, the more deprived the local authority, the greater the financial impact.

Collectively, the North West, North East, Yorkshire and Humberside stand to lose £5.2bn a year in benefit income.

David Cameron, speaking on Thursday to Sky political editor Adam Boulton, insisted he did want to close the gap between rich and poor and create a “fairer country”.

He rejected the idea that people who depend on benefits because they do not have a job would be worse off in his Britain as he defended his plans.

“Labour tested to destruction the idea that simply through larger and larger increases in the welfare bill you can heal the north-south divide. You can’t,” he said.

“What Labour did is create a more welfare dependent country … We can’t afford the state we have today, we need a smaller state and bigger private sector.”

The Department of Work and Pensions said around nine out of every 10 working households would be better off by an average of almost £300-a-year because of the changes.

“Our welfare reforms, including reassessing people on incapacity benefit, will help people back into work, which will benefit the economy more than simply abandoning them to claim benefits year after year,” a spokesman said.

“These changes are essential to keep the benefits bill sustainable, so that we can continue to support people when they need it most across the UK.”

Changes to Housing Benefit, Council Tax Benefit and Disability Living Allowance have already been made.

A benefit cap of £500 per week for a family and £350 for a single person will be introduced on April 15, while Universal Credit, which replaces a number of means-tested benefits, will be rolled out from October.

‘WE JUST DID IT’: Teens Lift 3,000-Pound Tractor, Save Trapped Dad

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An Oregon man says his teenage daughters saved his life last weekend after they somehow lifted a 3,000-pound tractor off him after his boot slipped off the tractor’s clutch and flipped.

Jeff Smith, who was tending his yard at the time, was pinned to the ground by the steering wheel. He could not breathe. He told The Democrat Herald, “I was losing more and more breath every time I screamed.

He grew more and more desperate. Smith said he pleaded to God with whatever air he still had left.

His two daughters, Hannah and Haylee, 16 and 14 respectively, had just come home from school in the town of Lebanon, which is northwest of Eugene. They were out walking the family’s dog when they heard the cries. The teens ran to their father’s side.

‘They’re great girls, but that’s a lot of weight. Honestly, I’m a big guy– I don’t know if I could do it’

- Jeff Smith, who says his daughters lifted a tractor off him

The teens say they called 911, but decided they couldn’t wait for emergency crews. They each grabbed a side of the tractor and started lifting. They made headway around the seventh try.

“We just kind of braced ourselves on the tire and just lifted it up,” Hannah said.

The girls were able to lift the tractor enough so Smith could wiggle out. His arm remained pinned. One of the teens raced to a neighbor’s house and the neighbor was able to use his tractor to free his arm. Smith suffered a broken left wrist and some nerve damage to his arm.

“I don’t know how I lifted it, it was just so heavy,” Hannah said. “And I could feel it, I could just feel all the weight. But we just did it. We both did.”

One fire official told The Democrat Herald that he’s never seen a pair of girls lift a heavy piece of farming equipment off someone.

“They’re great girls, but that’s a lot of weight,” the father said. “Honestly, I’m a big guy– I don’t know if I could do it.”

Click for more from KPTV.com. 

Click for more from The Democrat Herald

The Associated Press contributed to this report.