Suspect in Shooting Death of Georgia Cop Releases 4 of 8 Hostages

Suspect in Shooting Death of Georgia Cop Releases 4 of 8 Hostages

March 25, 2011

ATHENS, Ga. -- The man suspected in the shooting death of a Georgia police officer released four of the eight hostages who authorities said he was holding at an Athens apartment Friday evening, and negotiators were working toward a peaceful surrender.

Athens Police Capt. Clarence Holeman said 33-year-old Jamie Hood released the hostages around 9 p.m. Friday night. The police captain said Hood knew the hostages, who police said were not harmed, but added that the relationship is uncertain.

"l like to think it's getting closer if we have hostages being released," Holeman said when asked whether the crisis could soon be defused. "Let's hope so."

Police had been searching for Hood since Tuesday, when Athens Clarke-County policeman Elmer "Buddy" Christian was shot and killed while police say he attempted to apprehend Hood. Another officer, Tony Howard, was shot in the face and upper body, and is recovering from his wounds.

A law enforcement official who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the case told The Associated Press earlier Friday that Hood contacted authorities and requested to speak with his mother and his attorney. The official said Hood was "agitated" and wary of negotiating with police.

The four-day manhunt led authorities to a range of locations around Athens-Clarke County as they received a flurry of tips about where he might be hiding. Officers descended on an area in east Athens, surrounding an apartment complex and barricading nearby roads.

"It is our objective to have the safe release of persons who are with him and then to have the safe surrender of Mr. Hood," said Vernon Keenan, the head of the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. "This is a very tense situation but we have a commitment to see the safe release of these people."

The search began after authorities stopped Howard while he was in an SUV in West Athens around 1 p.m. Tuesday, seeking to question him in connection with a carjacking and kidnapping.

The vehicle's driver was arrested, but police say Hood got out of the vehicle and shot and wounded Howard, striking him in the face and the upper body. He then fatally shot Christian while he was still sitting in his patrol car, authorities said.

Athens-Clarke County Police Chief Joseph Lumpkin called the shooting a police ambush. Lumpkin said this week he hoped a $50,000 reward would inspire someone to come forward, calling Hood a "career criminal" who has associates in the city's murky criminal world.

Police are expecting thousands of people to attend Sunday's funeral for Christian, who was an 8-year veteran of the Athens police department. Christian, 34, was married with two young children.

Friday evening, a crowd of residents and onlookers gathered at a nearby church and gas station to monitor the hostage situation. Several of Hood's relatives waited for updates and prayed it would end without bloodshed.

Jennifer Hood, the suspect's sister, said her brother called police Friday and told them he wanted to turn himself in.

"He's afraid to die," she said. "I would be, too."

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Conditions at Japan Nuke Plant Take Turn for the Worse, Sparking New Fears of Meltdown

Conditions at Japan Nuke Plant Take Turn for the Worse, Sparking New Fears of Meltdown

March 25, 2011

Despite some signs of hope in the past week at Japan's troubled Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, conditions have taken an increasingly alarming turn, with a possible breach at one of the reactors and highly radioactive water found leaking from that and two other reactors.

A nuclear crisis that not long ago was described as serious but stable has now raised concerns of a greater meltdown, with the danger underscored Friday with two plant employees hospitalized after wading into water 10,000 times more radioactive than normal.

The Tokyo Electric Power Co. told Kyodo News that it has begun injecting freshwater into the Unit 1 and 3 reactors at the plant, despite radioactive water leaking from Unit 1, 2 and 3.

The National Institute of Radiological Sciences says that the two employees have likely suffered "internal exposure" in which radioactive substances have entered their bodies, according to Kyodo News.

Trouble at the nuclear plant began shortly after the country's devastating earthquake and tsunami, which knocked out power at the plant, impairing its cooling mechanisms.

March 25: Workers, who stepped into radiation-contaminated water during Thursday's operation at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, are shielded with tarps before receiving decontamination treatment at a hospital in Fukushima, northeastern Japan.

The possible breach in Unit 3 might be a crack or a hole in the stainless steel chamber of the reactor core or in the spent fuel pool that's lined with several feet of reinforced concrete. The temperature and pressure inside the core, which holds the fuel rods, remained stable and was far lower than would further melt the core.

A Japanese government official told residents within 19 miles of the crippled plant to evacuate Friday.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano told a news conference that the government asked leaders of affected municipalities to encourage people to leave the affected areas, according to Kyodo News.

A somber Prime Minister Naoto Kan sounded a pessimistic note at a briefing hours after nuclear safety officials announced what could be a major setback in the urgent mission to stop the plant from leaking radiation.

"The situation today at the Fukushima Dai-ichi power plant is still very grave and serious. We must remain vigilant," Kan said. "We are not in a position where we can be optimistic. We must treat every development with the utmost care."

The uncertain situation halted work at the nuclear complex, where dozens had been trying feverishly to stop the overheated plant from leaking dangerous radiation. The plant has leaked some low levels of radiation, but a breach could mean a much larger release of contaminants.

Kan apologized to farmers and business owners for the toll the radiation has had on their livelihoods: Several countries have halted some food imports from areas near the plant after milk and produce were found to contain elevated levels of radiation.

He also thanked utility workers, firefighters and military personnel for "risking their lives" to cool the overheated facility.

The alarm Friday comes two weeks to the day since the magnitude-9 quake triggered a tsunami that enveloped cities along the northeastern coast and knocked out the Fukushima reactor's cooling systems.

Police said the official death toll jumped past 10,000 on Friday. With the cleanup and recovery operations continuing and more than 17,400 listed as missing, the final number of dead was expected to surpass 18,000.

The nuclear crisis has compounded the challenges faced by a nation already saddled with a humanitarian disaster. Much of the frigid northeast remains a scene of despair and devastation, with Japan struggling to feed and house hundreds of thousands of homeless survivors, clear away debris and bury the dead.

A breach could mean a leak has been seeping for days, likely since the hydrogen explosion at Unit 3 on March 14. It's not clear if any of the contaminated water has run into the ground. Radiation readings for the air were not yet available for Friday, but detections in recent days have shown no significant spike.

But elevated levels of radiation have already turned up in raw milk, seawater and 11 kinds of vegetables, including broccoli, cauliflower and turnips. Tap water in several areas of Japan -- including Tokyo -- also showed radiation levels considered unsafe for infants, who are particularly vulnerable to cancer-causing radioactive iodine, officials said.

The scare caused a run on bottled water in the capital, and Tokyo municipal officials are distributing it to families with babies.

Previous radioactive emissions have come from intentional efforts to vent small amounts of steam through valves to prevent the core from bursting. However, releases from a breach could allow uncontrolled quantities of radioactive contaminants to escape into the surrounding ground or air.

Government spokesman Yukio Edano said "safety measures may not be adequate" and warned that may contribute to rising anxiety among people about how the disaster is being managed.

"We have to make sure that safety is secured for the people working in that area. We truly believe that is incumbent upon us," the chief Cabinet secretary told reporters.

NISA spokesman Hidehiko Nishiyama said later that plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. was issued a "very strong warning" for safety violations and that a thorough review would be conducted once the situation stabilizes.

Another strong aftershock struck off Japan's northeastern coast Friday. A magnitude-6.4 earthquake hit close to the epicenter of the massive March 11 earthquake and tsunami, the United States Geological Survey says.

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