Greg Edwards — Richmond Times-Dispatch
oil well

Some major national business groups, led by oil and gas producers, have stepped up efforts to kill congressional legislation that would promote efficient and renewable energy production.

Business groups say the legislation would reduce energy supplies and cost businesses and consumers money. It would discourage domestic energy production by eliminating incentives for oil and gas production and set unrealistic goals for the use of renewable fuels and improvements to auto fuel economy, they say.

With a final vote drawing near, business groups are running full-page, color newspaper advertisements in the Washington area and in other large markets across the country, including the Richmond Times-Dispatch. An ad in USA Today last Friday claimed the legislation would cost 5 million jobs by 2030 and a $1 trillion reduction in gross domestic product.

The Natural Resources Defense Council, on the other hand, cites an estimate that the legislation could save consumers $850 billion by 2030. The environmental group supports the legislation.

The legislation’s final form is being worked out by negotiators from the Senate and House of Representatives, which passed differing bills. A vote on a compromise version is anticipated around the middle of next week.

National groups behind the anti-legislation advertising campaign include the American Petroleum Institute, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers. Virginia business groups agree with the campaign against the legislation.

Hugh Keogh, president of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, said he agrees with the criticism’s basic theme.

“I think the bill . . . has the impact of discouraging further energy development at a time when we need to be looking under every rock for opportunities,” he said.

Brett Vassey, president of the Virginia Association of Manufacturers, said the bills ignore the kind of diversity of energy sources, such as the nuclear, fossil-fuel and renewable energy, supported by Virginia’s state energy plan. The association’s top issue for a while has been energy.

John Felmy, the chief economist for the American Petroleum Institute, said the bills contain bad policy regarding oil and natural-gas production.

The House version would eliminate a tax deduction for oil and gas producers for any income attributable to domestic production and would cut the amount of royalty relief available to drillers of offshore wells.

“Lousy” is how William Kovacs of the U.S. Chamber described the proposed repeals of tax and royalty incentives. They will make domestic oil more expensive than foreign oil by about $9 per barrel, he said.

The U.S. Chamber could support some provisions for increased energy efficiency in appliances, Kovacs said. But a provision calling for 15 percent of electricity from renewable sources by 2020 could be a problem for parts of the country lacking adequate wind or sunshine, he said.

The renewable electricity provision could drive up electricity costs for Gulf Coast oil refineries, Felmy said. The legislation, he said, also calls for the use of more ethanol in fuel than can be produced with existing technology, and that could hit consumers with higher costs.

The New York Times Media Group

About the only point of agreement on immigration in the United States is that newcomers who play by the rules - fill out their forms, pay their fees and wait their turn - are welcome. But that great American dogma is being sorely tested by the inability of the federal government’s feeble citizenship agency to deal with a flood of applications that arose this summer.

The Citizenship and Immigration Services is telling legal immigrants that applications for citizenship and for residence visas filed after June 1 will take about 16 to 18 months to process. The agency was utterly unprepared for the surge, and so tens of thousands of Americans-in-waiting will have to keep on waiting. Many, gallingly, may have to sit out next November’s election, even though that civic act was what prompted many of them to apply in the first place.

This was not supposed to happen. The director of Citizenship and Immigration Services, Emilio Gonzalez, promised this summer that the era of bad, slow service was over. He said a whopping increase in fees that took effect July 30 - an average of about 66 percent across the board, with naturalization now costing $675 per person, up from $400 - was about to make his agency fit for the 21st century. Speaking to newly naturalized immigrants, Gonzalez promised immediate results.

One immediate result was entirely predictable: people rushed to get their paperwork in. The agency received nearly 2.5 million naturalization petitions and visa applications in July and August, more than double from those months last year. But Gonzalez’s spokesman, Bill Wright, told Julia Preston in Friday’s New York Times: “We certainly were surprised by such an immediate increase.” Surprised and swamped. The agency’s processing center in Vermont is only now acknowledging naturalization petitions that came in by July 30.

It’s telling that we need to explain that this backlog is distinct from the other backlogs that plague the citizenship agency. This is not the visa overload that causes people in some countries, like the Philippines and Mexico, to wait decades to enter legally. Those backlogs are caused by visa quotas that no one has seen fit to adjust.

Nor are they the chronic delays in conducting criminal background checks that have kept thousands of immigrants in limbo for months, even years.

Many of those immigrants have given up on the agency and sought redress in the courts. There has been a spate of decisions by judges who found that delays by the Federal Bureau of Investigation are unreasonable - three years is too long to wait to have the government decide if you are a criminal - and have ordered the bureaucracy to do its job. Judge Nathaniel Gorton of the federal district court in Boston became so fed up last month with a delayed background check that he simply gave a plaintiff, Ahmed Dayisty, the oath of citizenship.

It should never have come to that. The country should summon the will, the resources and the basic administrative competence to carry out one of its most vital functions, the making of new citizens.

Gonzalez’s agency says that the new revenue will allow it to eventually add 1,500 employees to its work force, an increase of about 10 percent, and that staff members have volunteered to work overtime to handle the latest backlog.

The agency has made such vows before, and the volunteerism doesn’t cut it. This is not a benefit car wash or a canned-food drive. Turning immigrants into citizens demands better than platitudes and broken promises.

Sales of existing homes in the United States fell in October for the eighth consecutive month, with median home prices falling by a record amount, the National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday.

Sales of total previously-owned homes, including single-family, townhomes, condominiums and co-ops, eased by 1.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.97 million units in October from a downwardly revised level of 5.03 million in September.

By region of the country, existing-home sales were unchanged at an annual rate of 900,000 units in the Northeast, but down 1.7 percent in the Midwest and 4.4 percent in the West.

In the South, sales were also unchanged at an annual pace of 2. 03 million units in October.

As sales decreased, prices plunged. The median price of existing homes fell to 207,800 dollars in October, down 5.1 percent from a year ago, marking the biggest year-over-year price decline on record.

The median price is the point at which half of existing homes are sold for more and half sold for less.

Meanwhile, total inventory of unsold homes rose 1.9 percent at the end of October to 4.45 million units in October. At the October sales pace, it would take 10.8 months to eliminate the overhang of unsold homes, a record length of time.

The huge inventories of unsold homes could put further downward pressure on prices, analysts say.

The once-sizzling housing market has cooled off since last year. Falling prices and rising interest rates have made many borrowers hard to keep up with their mortgage payments.

As late payments and foreclosures are soaring, banks and other lenders have tightened credit standards significantly. Analysts are worried that the tightening credit and the deepening housing slump could be enough to drag the economy into a recession.

Spc. Ronald D. Allen Jr. 22 Detachment C, 502nd Personnel Service Battalion, 43rd Area Support Group Mitchell, Indiana Died of injuries sustained in a vehicle accident
that occurred during convoy operations near Balad, Iraq on August 25, 2003

Pfc. John D. Amos II 22 Company C, 1st Battalion, 21st Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division Valparaiso, Indiana Killed when a car bomb exploded at a temporary checkpoint near the Kirkuk Police Academy on April 4, 2004

Sgt. Brock A. Babb 40 3rd Battalion, 24th Marines, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve Evansville, Indiana Died while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Anbar province, Iraq, on October 15, 2006

Tech. Sgt. Ryan A. Balmer 33 Special Agent to the Air Force Office of Special Investigations Mishawaka, Indiana One of two airmen killed when their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb in Kirkuk, Iraq, on June 5, 2007

Cpl. Nathaniel S. Baughman 23 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division Monticello, Indiana Died of injuries sustained when his Humvee encountered enemy forces rocket-propelled grenades during patrol operations in Bayji, Iraq, on July 17, 2006

Cpl. Jason J. Beadles 22 887th Engineer Company, 326th Engineer Battalion, 101st Airborne Division La Porte, Indiana Died of a non-combat related injury in Baghdad, Iraq, on April 12, 2007

Staff Sgt. Michael A. Bechert 24 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2d Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division New Castle, Indiana Died on June 14, 2007, in San Antonio, Texas, of wounds suffered when his vehicle struck a roadside bomb in Baghdad, Iraq, on May 30, 2007

Sgt. Jarrod W. Black 26 Company B, 1st Battalion, 34th Armor Regiment, 1st Infantry Division Peru, Indiana Killed when his convoy was hit by a roadside bomb in Ramadi, Iraq, on December 12, 2003

Cpl. Jonathan F. Blair 21 Company B, 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division Fort Wayne, Indiana One of four soldiers killed when a roadside bomb detonated near their Humvee during combat operations in Bayji, Iraq, on November 19, 2005

Staff Sgt. Richard A. Blakley 34 38th Main Support Battalion, Indiana Army National Guard Plainfield, Indiana Killed when he was shot by enemy small arms fire during dismounted combat patrol operations in Khalidiya, Iraq, on June 6, 2006

Spc. Clinton C. Blodgett 19 1st Battalion, 18th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division Pekin, Indiana Died when the vehicle he was in struck a roadside bomb in Baghdad, Iraq, on May 26, 2007

1st Lt. Shaun M. Blue 25 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Munster, Indiana Died during combat operations in Anbar province, Iraq, on April 16, 2007

Sgt. 1st Class Craig A. Boling 38 Company C, 1st Battalion, 152nd Infantry Regiment, Indiana Army National Guard Elkhart, Indiana Died of a non-combat related cause at Camp Wolf, Kuwait on July 8, 2003

Sgt. Kenneth R. Booker 25 2nd Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, 4th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division Vevay, Indiana Died of wounds sustained when a roadside bomb detonated near his vehicle in Mukhisa, Iraq, on November 14, 2007

Lance Cpl. James E. Brown 20 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force Owensville, Indiana Killed during combat operations in Anbar province, Iraq, on November 2, 2006

Spc. Roy Russell Buckley 24 685th Transportation Company, U.S. Army Reserve Portage, Indiana Killed April 22, 2003, in Iraq while aboard a M818 truck traveling in a convoy. He left the passenger compartment and climbed into the trailer but did not return. He was found lying on the roadside with serious injuries and died shortly after.

Sgt. Robert E. Colvill 31 Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 1st Infantry Division Anderson, Indiana Killed along with four other soldiers when a car bomb struck the Iraqi National Guard Headquarters building in Samarra, Iraq, on July 8, 2004

Spc. Jeffrey W. Corban 30 Company A, 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division Elkhart, Indiana One of five soldiers killed when a roadside bomb detonated near their M2A2 Bradley fighting vehicle during combat operations in Ramadi, Iraq, on October 15, 2005.

Lance Cpl. James R. Davenport 20 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force Danville, Indiana Killed during combat operations in Anbar province, Iraq, on November 22, 2006

Pfc. Darren A. Deblanc 20 Company C, 2nd Battalion, 14th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division Evansville, Indiana Killed when a roadside bomb exploded near his dismounted patrol in Baghdad, Iraq, on April 29, 2005

Sgt. 1st Class Adrian M. Elizalde 30 Company C, 2nd Battalion, 1st Special Forces Group North Bend, Indiana One of two soldiers killed when their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb near Al Aziziya, southeast of Baghdad, Iraq, on August 23, 2007

Sgt. James D. Faulkner 23 20th Engineer Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division Clarksville, Indiana Killed when his military vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Baghdad, Iraq, on September 8, 2004

Spc. Luke P. Frist 20 209th Quartermaster Company, U.S. Army Reserve West Lafayette, Indiana Died on January 5, 2004, at Brooke Army Medical Center at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, of wounds received when his convoy was attacked with a roadside bomb near Ramadi, Iraq, on January 2

Spc. Carter A. Gamble Jr. 24 1st Battalion, 15th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Brownstown, Indiana Died of wounds suffered from enemy small-arms fire in Duraiya, Iraq, on June 24, 2007

Spc. Zachariah J. Gonzalez 23 2nd Battalion, 3rd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division Indiana One of three soldiers killed when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle in Baghdad, Iraq, on July 31, 2007

Pfc. Deryk L. Hallal 24 2nd Battalion, 4th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Indianapolis, Indiana Killed in a long firefight after Iraqi insurgents launched a large-scale attack in Ramadi, Iraq, on April 6, 2004

Pvt. Jesse M. Halling 19 401st Military Police Company Indianapolis, Indiana Killed when his military police station came under fire from rocket-propelled grenades and small arms fire on June 7, 2003, in Tikrit, Iraq

Pfc. Nicholas S. Hartge 20 1st Battalion, 26th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division Rome City, Indiana Died of wounds suffered when his unit came in contact with enemy forces using grenades and a roadside bomb in Baghdad, Iraq, on May 14, 2007

Spc. Adam J. Harting 21 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Portage, Indiana Killed when a roadside bomb exploded near his Bradley Fighting Vehicle in Samarra, Iraq, on July 25, 2005

Sgt. David M. Heath 30 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Division, 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division LaPorte, Indiana Killed when his patrol was attacked by small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades in Sadr City, Iraq, on August 16, 2004

Lance Cpl. Eric Hillenburg 21 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Marion, Indiana Killed in action during security and stabilization operations in the Anbar province, Iraq, on Thursday, December 23, 2004

Spc. Nicholas R. Idalski 23 Company D, 1st Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division Crown Point, Indiana One of three soldiers killed when their unit was attacked with small-arms fire during combat operations in Ramadi, Iraq, on June 21, 2005

Spc. William A. Jeffries 39 Company D, 1st Battalion, 152nd Infantry Regiment, Illinois Army National Guard Evansville, Indiana Died from a sudden illness on March 31, 2003, in Rota, Spain, after he was evacuated from Kuwait

Sgt. Rickey E. Jones 21 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division Kokomo, Indiana One of four soldiers killed when a roadside bomb detonated near their Humvee during patrol operations in Hawija, Iraq, on February 22, 2006

Spc. Chad L. Keith 21 Company D, 2nd Brigade, 325th Infantry Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division Batesville, Indiana Killed while he was on mounted patrol and his vehicle drove past an object that exploded on the roadside on July 7, 2003, in Baghdad, Iraq

Staff Sgt. Matthew A. Kimmell 30 3rd Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group Paxton, Indiana Killed when a roadside bomb detonated near his Humvee in Muqdadiyah, Iraq, on October 11, 2005

Staff Sgt. Bradley D. King 28 2nd Battalion, 152nd Infantry Regiment, 76th Infantry Brigade Marion, Indiana Killed when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle during combat operations in Amiriya, Iraq, on April 2, 2007

Pfc. David A. Kirkpatrick 20 5th Squadron, 7th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Upland, Indiana One of two soldiers killed when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle during combat operations in Falluja, Iraq, on April 27, 2007

Pfc. Richard P. Langenbrunner 19 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division Fort Wayne, Indiana Died of injuries suffered from a non-combat related incident in Rustamiyah, Iraq, on April 17, 2007

Cpl. Eric R. Lueken 23 3rd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, 3rd Marine Division, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force Dubois, Indiana Killed while conducting combat operations against enemy forces in Al Anbar province, Iraq, on April 22, 2006

Pvt. Robert L. McKinley 23 101st Corps Support Group, 101st Airborne Division Kokomo, Indiana Died on July 8, 2003, in Homberg, Germany, on a non-hostile gunshot wound he received in Iraq

Spc. Antoine J. McKinzie 25 4th Battalion, 27th Field Artillery Regiment, 1st Armored Division Indianapolis, Indiana Killed when his Humvee came under enemy small arms fire during combat operations in Baghdad, Iraq, on March 21, 2006

Staff Sgt. Frederick L. Miller Jr. 27 K Troop, 3rd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment Hagerstown, Indiana Killed when his vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb while on a security patrol in Ramadi, Iraq, on September 20, 2003

Staff Sgt. Curtis A. Mitchell 28 3rd Squadron, 7th Cavalry, 2nd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division Evansville, Indiana Killed when a roadside bomb detonated near his M1A1 Abrams tank during combat operations in Baghdad, Iraq, on December 12, 2005

Spc. Christopher T. Monroe 19 785th Military Police Battalion, Army Reserve Kendallville, Indiana Killedwhen his five-ton truck was involved in an automobile accident with a civilian vehicle in Basra, Iraq, on October 25, 2005

Sgt. Robert J. Montgomery Jr. 29 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division Scottsburg, Indiana Died of wounds suffered when a roadside bomb detonated near his unit in Al Jabour, Iraq, on May 22, 2007

Pfc. Robert W. Murray Jr. 21 G Troop, 2nd Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment Westfield, Indiana Killed when a roadside bomb exploded near his Stryker military vehicle in Tal Afar, Iraq, on April 28, 2005

Staff Sgt. Paul S. Pabla 23 139th Field Artillery, Indiana Army National Guard Fort Wayne, Indiana Killed by small arms fire during combat operations in Mosul, Iraq, on July 3, 2006

Pvt. Shawn D. Pahnke 25 Company C, 1st Battalion, 37th Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Division Shelbyville, Indiana Killed when he was shot in the back while sitting in a military vehicle during a patrol in Baghdad, Iraq, on June 16, 2003

Sgt. Nicholas J. Patterson 24 1st Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division Rochester, Indiana One of seven soldiers who died of wounds suffered from a non-combat related vehicle rollover in Baghdad, Iraq, on September 10, 2007

Spc. Brian H. Penisten 28 Air Defense Artillery Battery, 1st Squadron, 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment Fort Wayne, Indiana Penisten was onboard a CH-47 Chinook helicopter when it was shot down by a surface-to-air missile near Falluja, Iraq, on November 2, 2003.

Pvt. Jonathan R. Pfender 22 1st Battalion, 187th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division Evansville, Indiana Killed when a roadside bomb detonated near his Humvee during patrol operations in Bayji, Iraq, on December 30, 2005

Cpl. Willard M. Powell 21 4th Battalion, 9th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade (Stryker Brigade Combat Team), 2nd Infantry Division Evansville, Indiana Died in Balad, Iraq, of wounds sustained when the enemy attacked using small-arms fire during combat operations in Taramiya, Iraq, on August 16, 2007

Sgt. Joseph E. Proctor 38 638th Battalion, Indiana Army National Guard Indianapolis, Indiana Killed when a suicide car bomb detonated near his observation post during dismounted combat patrol operations in Tammin, Iraq, on May 3, 2006

Cpl. Cody A. Putnam 22 1st Squadron, 40th Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division Lafayette, Indiana One of two soldiers killed when their patrol encountered a roadside bomb in Baghdad, Iraq, on April 12, 2007

Sgt. Duane R. Rios 25 1st Combat Engineer Battalion, 1st Marine Division Hammond, Indiana Killed during a firefight in central Iraq, on April 4, 2003

Staff Sgt. Jonathan Rojas 27 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team Hammond, Indiana Died of injuries suffered from enemy small arms fire while performing security operations in Baghdad, Iraq, on October 3, 2006

Lance Cpl. David J. Grames Sanchez 22 2nd Tank Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force Fort Wayne, Indiana One of four Marines killed as a result of a vehicle accident in Anbar province, Iraq, on May 11, 2006

Spc. Gregory P. Sanders 19 Company B, 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division Hobart, Indiana Killed in action in Iraq on March 24, 2003

1st Lt. Neale M. Shank 25 1st Squadron, 89th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division Fort Wayne, Indiana Died of a non-combat related incident in Baghdad, Iraq, on March 31, 2007

Pfc. David N. Simmons 20 2nd Battalion, 69th Armor Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Kokomo, Indiana One of two soldiers killed when their unit came in contact with enemy forces using a homemade bomb and small arms fire in Baghdad, Iraq, on April 8, 2007

Pfc. Steven F. Sirko 20 Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division Portage, Indiana Died of non-combat related injuries in Muqdadiya, Iraq, on April 17, 2005

Cpl. Darrell L. Smith 28 Company D, 1st Battalion, 152nd Infantry Regiment, Indiana Army National Guard Otwell, Indiana Smith drowned after his vehicle overturned and fell into a river in Baghdad, Iraq, on November 23, 2003

Spc. Raymond L. White 22 Headquarters Company, 1st Battalion, 8th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division Elwood, Indiana Killed when his patrol encountered enemy forces using small-arms fire in Baghdad, Iraq, on November 12, 2004

Spc. Michael J. Wiesemann 20 C Troop, 1st Squadron, 14th Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division North Judson, Indiana Died at Forward Operating Base Q-West (Quyarrah Air Base, Iraq) of non-combat related injuries on May 29, 2004

Pfc. David A. Wilkey Jr. 22 1st Battalion, 28th Infantry Regiment, 4th Infantry Brigade, 1st Infantry Division Elkhart, Indiana Died on June 18, 2007, of wounds suffered when a roadside bomb exploded near his unit in Baghdad, Iraq, on June 17, 2007

Cpl. Bryan S. Wilson 22 Battery G, 2nd Battalion, 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Otterbein, Indiana Died due to a non-hostile vehicle incident in Anbar province, Iraq, on December 1, 2004

Lance Cpl. Scott A. Zubowski 20 Weapons Company, 2nd Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force Manchester, Indiana, One of two Marines killed when a homemade bomb detonated during combat operations against enemy forces in Al Amiriyah, Iraq, on November 12, 2005

Washington Redskins safety Sean Taylor has died a day after he was shot and wounded in his Miami home, Taylor’s former attorney Richard Sharpstein said Tuesday. Sharpstein told CNN that the 24-year-old football player was shot Monday during a home invasion and died later at a hospital.

“The blood loss was too much. He didn’t make it,” Sharpstein told CNN. “He did supposedly squeeze a nurse’s hand. I wasn’t there,” said Sharpstein. “But obviously that was either some kind of response or muscle reaction and not any sign for the better.”

He never regained consciousness after the shooting, Sharpstein said. “It’s a senseless, tragic death that was so unnecessary, another example of the incessant violence in — not only our community — but the country now.” At 1:45 a.m. Monday, a woman identified as Taylor’s girlfriend called 911 and said someone had been shot. Taylor was airlifted to Miami’s Jackson Memorial Hospital.

Sharpstein said the NFL safety’s girlfriend — who said she was hiding under bedcovers during the attack — has described the shooting to police.

“Sean was awakened with his girlfriend and 18-month old baby,” Sharpstein said. There were “noises, thumps in the living room.” Taylor “got up and locked the bedroom door. Before he could do anything, the door was kicked in and two shots were fired — one hit him in the leg, one went into the wall.”

Taylor “was on the floor, nonresponsive, bleeding out and chest heaving, eyes rolled back and he was pretty much gone from that point on,” Sharpstein said.

Taylor’s girlfriend “tried to call 911 and it’s unclear whether the phone lines were cut or the phone was broken or off or unplugged or turned off,” said Sharpstein. “She had to use her cell phone to eventually call 911.”

“Whether this was a purposeful action in taking Sean’s life or in shooting him or whether it was a burglary gone awry, the police are still investigating those circumstances,” Sharpstein said.

Lt. Nancy Perez with the Miami Dade Police Department said investigators were looking for an “unknown suspect.”

Taylor’s home also was reported broken into eight days earlier on November 18, according to Miami-Dade police.

Someone forced open a window and left a kitchen knife on a bed, according to the police report. Several drawers and a bedroom safe had been searched during the break-in, the report said. No one knows whether the first invasion is related to Monday’s attack, Sharpstein said.

According to the police report, Taylor’s mother reported the break-in, saying it occurred while the house was empty between Saturday evening and Sunday evening. Police found a window pried open, but could not confirm if anything was missing.

Taylor was arrested in 2005 after he was accused of waiving a gun at people he believed were stealing his all-terrain vehicles, according to Sharpstein.

“He got into fisticuffs, but no gun,” Sharpstein said.

After originally being charged with aggravated assault, Taylor pleaded to a misdemeanor battery in the case, Sharpstein said. A civil suit stemming from the case remains open. “There’s still a lot of open ends to that,” he said.

Taylor spent four years with the Redskins, but had been out with a sprained right knee.

He did not play in Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Redskins coach Joe Gibbs called the incident a “tragedy” and said neither he nor the team had “experienced anything like this.”

Taylor was a first-round pick in the 2004 draft. He played at the University of Miami, where he was an All-American in 2003, and was also a high school standout in the city, according to The Associated Press. His father, Pedro Taylor, is the police chief of Florida City, Florida, AP reports.
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Taylor was described as personable and smart and an emerging locker room leader, since the birth of his daughter Jackie, according to AP.

“From the first day I met him, from then to now, it’s just like night and day,” Redskins receiver James Thrash told AP. “He’s really got his head on his shoulders and has been doing really well as far as just being a man. It’s been awesome to see that growth.”

CRIME STOPPERS OF CENTRAL INDIANA
(317)262-TIPS (262-8477) www.crimetips.org 1(800)92-ALERT (922-5378)
Cash Rewards up to $1,000 for Information. Callers Remain Unknown

November 27, 2007
Sergeant Thomas Kern
Case # 071104

Cash rewards available for the identity of these suspected felons

071104A

According to Detective Rusty O’Connor of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department this man and his accomplice were videotaped as they burglarized a neighbor’s home in the 2200 block of West Morris Street in Indianapolis.
071104B

Detective Jason Hyneman of the Franklin Police Department is looking for the identities of these three people who used a stolen credit card to make purchases in Franklin and Indianapolis.

071104C

Detective Harlan McNair of the Carmel Police Department wants to know who this woman is using a debit card stolen from an 85-year-old woman living in an assisted living community. 071104D

Johnson County and Boone County investigators are looking for the identity of the person who used this stolen burgundy Lincoln from October 1st thru November 17th to commit burglaries and assault the homeowners in their communities.
Contact Crime Stoppers at 262-TIPS or 1-800-92ALERT if you have any information that may assist authorities in the arrest of any felony suspect. Callers will remain anonymous; known only by a code number and may be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1000.

INDIANAPOLIS - The news that congresswoman Julia Carson revealed her battle with terminal lung cancer is affecting many Hoosiers. 24-Hour News 8 talked with her constituents Sunday.

“Julia is just a pillar of the community,” Eastern Star Church member Michael Bluiett said.

Members of Eastern Star Church on the city’s east side are in disbelief after learning Congresswoman Julia Carson revealed she has terminal lung cancer.

Congresswoman Carson hasn’t been seen in public for several months; She revealed she’s battling cancer in a statement in Sunday’s Indianapolis Star.

Carson said she is “eternally grateful” to family, friends and her constituents.

“We went down in prayer for her cause, you know she’s been a trooper for the community for so long,” Bluiett said.

News of Congresswoman Carson’s illness spread fast around Eastern Star.

One member of the church remembers her from Crispus Attucks High School.

“I had the pleasure of meeting her as a freshman when she had graduated. So she’s had a lot of impact on my life, and my families and we’re just saddened to hear this,” Fred Robinson of Indianapolis said.

The 69-year-old Democrat went on medical leave after doctors treated her for a leg infection in September. She was expected to return to Congress.

“She’s been one of the best representatives we’ve had, you know she’s strictly for the people,” Bernadette Flowers of Indianapolis said.

Carson is known as an advocate for the poor and those who can’t speak for themselves. News of her terminal cancer not only shocked her constituents, but her colleagues in Washington.

State Representative Bill Crawford works closely with Congresswoman Carson.

“People all over the country are reacting to the concern, but Julia’s in the Lord’s hands and she’s a champion of public service and she’ll be alright,” Rep. Crawford said.

“I think she deserves some rest now. I think she needs to step back and let somebody else take over, but somebody with the same kind of spirit,” Flowers said.
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Indianapolis
The Mozel Sanders Thanksgiving Dinner is the largest free dinner in the city. Crews based at Butler University will be delivering meals throughout the city. If you want to order a meal, call (317) 636-7985.
Marsha Smith and Smokin’ Good Soul Food will again offer Thanksgiving meals to the needy starting at 9 a.m. For more information or to place an order for pickup, call (317) 562-0949. The restaurant is at 2810 E. 38th St. but will also be serving meals at these other locations:
MLK Multi-Service
Center, 40 W. 40th St.
Charles A. Tindley Accelerated School, 3960 Meadows Drive.
Universal Church of Truth, 1927 E. 32nd St.
The Betty Sell Memorial Thanksgiving Dinner will be served from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Broadway United Methodist Church, 609 E. 29th St., in the Community Room. Everyone is welcome. For more information, call (317) 345-7386.

Around the metro area:
Beech Grove: Beech Grove United Methodist Church and Southeast Community Services will provide Thanksgiving dinner from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 901 Shelby St. Everyone is welcome. For more details, call (317) 784-7612.
Fortville: Dinner will be from noon to 2 p.m. at First United Methodist Church’s Friendship Hall, 125 E. Staat St. If you live in the Fortville area and want a meal delivered, call (317) 485-5418.
Greenwood: Food will be served from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at The Gathering Place, 1495 W. Main St. For more details, call (317) 888-6024.
Noblesville: The 2007 Hamilton County Thanksgiving Dinner will run from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at White River Christian Church’s Family Life Center, 1685 N. 10th St.

BEING AN OVERWEIGHT TEENAGER ISN’T EASY!

MTV NEWS & DOCS EXPLORES THE ISSUE OF TEENAGE OBESITY IN “RETURN TO FAT CAMP” ON SATURDAY, DECEMBER 1ST AT 12PM ET/PT

MTV.com Will Feature Before and After Photos of Campers

And think.mtv.com To Provide Synopsis and Resources on Obesity, Healthy Self Image & More

New York, NY – November 20, 2007 – For overweight teenagers trying to “fit in” can seem almost impossible—from getting teased at school to participating in sports, many of these kids find it hard just to feel ‘normal’. They dream of losing weight, looking good and becoming popular and at “Fat Camp” that’s exactly what happens even if they don’t lose a pound! Through first person encounters, MTV’s News and Docs presents “Return to Fat Camp” on Saturday, December 1st @ 12pm ET/PT and explores the lives of five young people who are battling their weight while having the time of their lives and finally fitting in at a weight loss camp where to them becomes a safe environment.

Viewers can follow the campers’ progress by checking out before and after photos on MTV.com. The Think Community at think.mtv.com will help viewers cope with issues featured in this episode by providing resources on obesity and healthy self image. Viewers will also be able to comment on the show and the issues on think.mtv.com.

In “Return to Fat Camp,” MTV spends another summer at Camp Pocono Trails with no-nonsense Camp Director Tony Sparber. Five new campers are hoping to change their lives by shedding pounds, making friends and building self confidence before returning to another challenging year of school. Viewers will meet Logan, a 14 year old from North Carolina, who is burdened with the knowledge that her family is sacrificing financially to send her to fat camp; Adisa, a 14 year old returning to camp for a second summer with a goal of losing thirty pounds; Dan, a 15 year old who has never been away from his family before; Sam, an attractive averaged size girl who sees herself as overweight and Justin, a 400 pound teenager who knows his weight is more than an image problem and knows he has to do something about it before it’s too late.

In this documentary, viewers will see that while at camp the kids discover a world that is completely new to them – most are finally able to feel comfortable in their own skin, no matter what size they are. Shy, introverted teens that have never had friends are suddenly the life of the party. In a place where everyone is overweight, they feel accepted and confident. But surprisingly, fat camp can also be a place where the hunted become hunters…Here overweight, ostracized teens turn the tables by picking on their plus-sized peers.

Think.MTV.com is a dynamic, multimedia-driven Community and enables youth to easily learn more about the issues that matter to them most, share their opinions – via uploaded online videos, podcasts and blogs – and connect with others to make a difference. The site is one of the only to reward members for positive actions taken online or off, serving up chances to hang out with socially conscious celebs, access to exclusive MTV events, exposure on MTV and other national media outlets, as well as grants, scholarships and more. Think.MTV.com was built with the help of financial support and expertise from founding partners the Case Foundation, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Goldhirsh Foundation and MCJ Amelior Foundation. For more information or to build a profile and become involved, visit Think.MTV.com.

New Image Weight Loss Camps help children gain self-esteem and learn about proper diet and exercise, all while having fun. Founded in 1991 by Tony Sparber and his wife Dale, New Image currently has three locations: Camp Pocono Trails (Reeders, PA), Camp Vanguard (Lakes Wales, FL)and Camp Ojai(in Ojai, CA). The Sparbers have helped thousands of children with their battle against obesity. As a child, Tony fought his own battle with weight and has dedicated his life to helping others with this life-threatening problem.

MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is one of the world’s leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. MTV Networks, with more than 137 channels worldwide, owns and operates the following television programming services – MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, VH1, mtvU, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN, VH1 CLASSIC, LOGO, MTVN INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 13 digital services, with all of these networks trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks connects with its audiences through its robust consumer products businesses and its more than 260 interactive properties worldwide, including online, broadband, wireless and interactive television services and also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide.

Indianapolis - Indiana lawmakers are beginning the hard job of finding a solution to skyrocketing property taxes.

Organizational Day at the Statehouse is normally an opportunity to set the agenda for the session, but this year, it marks the beginning of the property tax debate, one the entire state will be watching.

The debate can be broken down into a tale of two cities. Representative David Orentlicher believes he has a solution that will equalize property taxes in Hamilton and Marion Counties.

“We all pay the same state income tax and state sales tax rate, but we pay very different property tax rates,” Orentlicher said.

The Indiana Chamber highlighted that problem Monday, comparing two homes only six miles apart. Under the old assessment system, which depreciated property, a Marion County home built in 1931 was assessed at $227,200, while the Hamilton County home was assessed at $706,700. In 2002, under real market value, the Hamilton County home jumped to $1.4 million, while the Marion County home triples its value, which is still below market value at $756,000. By 2006, trending equalized both homes at $1.2 million, but the net taxes in Marion County at $33,861 doubled the Hamilton County home at $16,940.

“Medco last week said they were going to come to central Indiana,” said Chamber President Kevin Brinegar. They narrowed it down to three counties, and Marion wasn’t one of them.”

Orentlicher says he will introduce a bill capping homeowners 2007 property tax increase at 1.5%, then cut 60% off the 2008 bill. He accomplishes that by cutting spending by $400 million at the state level, shifting all school operating costs to the state and implementing a 1% increase in state sales and income taxes.

Governor Mitch Daniels said he likes the fact that Orentlicher’s plan works from the same framework he established of cutting and capping, but still believes his proposal is better.

“Ours represents a true tax cut,” Daniels said. “It would not only use the sales tax proceeds but also part of the surplus and also the new race track revenues so it would be cutting taxes more than the sales tax increase.”

Under the Governors plan, according to the Chamber, property taxes on the Marion County home mentioned earlier would drop to $22,000 and the Hamilton County home would drop to $15,000, but Democrat Orentlicher says it doesn’t solve the problem.

“The people who have high property tax burden will now have a high income tax burden,” Orentlicher said.

Representative Larry Buell, a Republican from Indianapolis, announced that he will not run for re-election. He’s decided to bow out after 25 years.