President Obama Set to Replace Mueller As FBI Director in What Could Be a Difficult Appointment

Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com   President Obama will soon decide on a successor for Robert Mueller, the longest-serving FBI director since J. Edgar Hoover, the USA Today reports. Replacing Mueller, who is set to leave in 2013 after Congress extended his 10-year term at Obama’s request, won’t be easy for an agency that investigates crime globally, federal…

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FBI Joins Probe of Racist Graffiti at Church, Election Polling Location

Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com  The FBI has joined an investigation into racist graffiti spray-painted on a suburban Detroit church that also was serving as an Election Day poling place, the Associated Press reports. Bishop-Elect James Richard Evans Sr. said he believes the graffiti, which included an anti-black slur, was intended to intimidate voters. Racial problems are…

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Jared Loughner Gets 7 Consecutive Life Sentences in Arizona Mass Killings

By Allan Lengel ticklethewire.com Crazed gunman Jared Loughner, who killed six people in 2011 including a federal judge and wounded 13 including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, was sentenced Thursday in Tucson to seven consecutive life sentences. U.S. District Judge Larry Burns on Thursday called the sentence “astronomical” and “justified” because Loughner, 24, “knew what he was…

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Controversy Brewing in New Orleans Over Allegations Prosecutor Posted Harsh Comments Online Under “Eweman”

By John Simerman New Orleans Times-Picayune NEW ORLEANS — Two of U.S. Attorney Jim Letten’s strongest backers in Washington expressed concern Wednesday about the recent allegation that a second top prosecutor in his office had posted intemperate remarks online taking bitter aim at targets of federal probes. Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La. and Sen. David Vitter,…

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Autopsy: Border Patrol Agent Died from Gunshot to Head During Suspected Friendly Fire Shooting

Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com  A long-awaited autopsy has revealed that a U.S. Border Patrol agent died of a gunshot wound to the head by what federal authorities describe as friendly fire along the Arizona-Mexico border, CNN reports. The report, released Wednesday, shows that Nicholas J. Ivie, 30, of Provo, Utah, died Oct. 2 by a “penetrating…

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Legalization of Marijuana in Two States Could Spark a Clash with Federal Authorities

 Steve Neavling ticklethewire.com  When voters approved ballot language to legalize recreational use of pot Tuesday, they set the stage for a showdown with federal authorities, the Associated Press reports. Pot advocates and opponents are closely watching Washington state and Colorado to see how federal authorities respond to decriminalization. Federal law still prohibits the use of…

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