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Ex-Times publisher Arthur Ochs Sulzberger dies

This March 2, 1973 file photo shows New York Times publisher Arthur Ochs Sulzberger in his office in New York. Sulzberger has died at age 86. The newspaper reports that his family says Sulzberger died Saturday, Sept. 29, 2012, at his home in Southampton, N.Y., after a long illness. He had retired in 1992 after three decades at the paper's helm and was succeeded by his son, Arthur Jr.

Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK -- Former New York Times publisher Arthur Ochs Sulzberger, who led the newspaper to new levels of influence and profit amid some of the most significant moments in 20th-century journalism, died Saturday. He was 86.

Sulzberger, father of current Times publisher Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr., died at his home in Southampton, N.Y., after a long illness, his family announced to the newspaper.

During his three-decade-long tenure, the newspaper won 31 Pulitzer prizes, published the Pentagon Papers and won a libel case victory in New York Times vs. Sullivan that established important First Amendment protections for the press.

In an era of declining newspaper readership, the Times' weekday circulation climbed from 714,000 when Sulzberger became publisher in 1963 to 1.1 million upon his retirement as publisher in 1992. Over the same period, the annual revenues of the Times' corporate parent rose from $100 million to $1.7 billion.

"Above all, he took the quality of the product up to an entirely new level," the late Katharine Graham, chairwoman of The Washington Post Co., said at the time Sulzberger relinquished the publisher's title. When she died in 2001, he returned the praise, saying she "used her intelligence, her courage and her wit to transform the landscape of American journalism."

"Punch" Sulzberger was the only grandson of Adolph S. Ochs (pronounced ox), the son of Bavarian immigrants who took over the Times in 1896 and built it into the nation's most influential newspaper. The family retains a controlling interest to this day, holding a separate block of Class B shares that have more powerful voting rights than the company's publicly traded shares.

Power was thrust on Sulzberger at the age of 37 after the sudden death of his brother-in-law in 1963. He had been in the Times executive suite for eight years in a role he later described as "vice president in charge of nothing."

But Sulzberger directed the Times' evolution from an encyclopedic paper of record to a more reader-friendly product that reached into the suburbs and across the nation.

During his tenure, the Times started a national edition, bought its first color presses, and introduced popular as well as lucrative new sections covering topics such as science, food and entertainment.

A key figure in the transformation was A.M. Rosenthal, executive editor from 1977 to 1986. Rosenthal, who died in 2006, called Sulzberger "probably the best publisher in modern American history."

Sulzberger also improved the paper's bottom line, pulling it and its parent company out of a tailspin in the mid-1970s and lifting both to unprecedented profitability a decade later.

In 1992, Sulzberger relinquished the publisher's job to his 40-year-old son, Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr., but remained chairman of The New York Times Co.

Sulzberger retired as chairman and chief executive of the company in 1997. His son then was named chairman. Sulzberger stayed on the Times Co. board of directors until 2002.

Significant free-press and free-speech precedents were established during Sulzberger's years as publisher, most notably the Times vs. Sullivan case. It resulted in a landmark 1964 Supreme Court ruling that shielded the press from libel lawsuits by public officials unless they could prove actual malice.

In 1971 the Times led the First Amendment fight to keep the government from suppressing the Pentagon Papers, a series of classified reports on the Vietnam War. Asked by a reporter who at the Times made the decision to publish the papers, Sulzberger gestured toward his chest and silently mouthed the word "Me."

Sulzberger read the more than 7,000 pages of the Pentagon Papers before deciding to publish them. After Sulzberger read the papers, he was asked what he thought. "Oh, I would think about 20 years to life," he responded.

But in a landmark decision, the U.S. Supreme Court eventually sided with the Times and The Washington Post, which had begun publishing the papers a few days after the Times.

Gay Talese, who worked at the Times as a reporter when Sulzberger took over and chronicled the paper's history in his book "The Kingdom and the Power," called him "a brilliant publisher. He far exceeded the achievements of his father in both making the paper better and more profitable at a time when papers are not as good as they used to be."

In their book "The Trust," a history of the Ochs-Sulzberger family and its stewardship of the paper, Susan E. Tifft and Alex S. Jones cited Sulzberger's "common sense and unerring instincts."

In an interview in 1990 with New York magazine, Sulzberger was typically candid about the paper's readership.

"We're not New York's hometown newspaper," he said. "We're read on Park Avenue, but we don't do well in Chinatown or the east Bronx. We have to approach journalism differently than, say, the Sarasota Herald Tribune, where you try to blanket the community."

In the mid-1980s Sulzberger authorized the building of a $450 million color printing and distribution plant across the Hudson River in Edison, N.J., part of a plan to get all printing out of cramped facilities in the Times building in Manhattan.

Sulzberger was born in New York City on Feb. 5, 1926, the only son of Arthur Hays Sulzberger and his wife, Iphigene Ochs Sulzberger, Adolph's only child. One of his three sisters was named Judy, and from early on he was known as "Punch," from the puppet characters Punch and Judy.

Sulzberger's grandfather led the paper until his death in 1935, when he was followed by Sulzberger's father, who remained at the helm until he retired in 1961.

Meanwhile, Arthur served in the Marines during World War II and, briefly, in Korea. He later observed, in a typically self-deprecating remark, that "My family didn't worry about me for a minute. They knew that if I got shot in the head it wouldn't do any harm."

Except for a year at The Milwaukee Journal, 1953-54, the younger Sulzberger spent his entire career at the family paper. He joined after graduating from Columbia College in 1951. He worked in European bureaus for a time and was he was back in New York by 1955, but found he had little to do.

Sulzberger had not been expected to assume power at the paper for years. His father passed control to Orvil E. Dryfoos, his oldest daughter's husband, in 1961. But two years later Dryfoos died suddenly of heart disease at 50. Punch Sulzberger's parents named him publisher, the fourth family member to hold the title.

"We had all hoped that Punch would have many years more training before having to take over," said his mother, Iphigene. Sulzberger relied on senior editors and managers for advice, and quickly developed a reputation as a solid leader.

At various times, Sulzberger was a director or chairman of the Newspaper Advertising Bureau, American Newspaper Publishers Association and American Press Institute. He was a director of The Associated Press from 1975 to 1984.

Sulzberger married Barbara Grant in 1948, and the couple had two children, Arthur Jr. and Karen. After a divorce in 1956, Sulzberger married Carol Fox. The couple had a daughter, Cynthia, and Sulzberger adopted Fox's daughter from a previous marriage, Cathy.

Carol Sulzberger died in 1995. The following year, Sulzberger married Allison Cowles, the widow of William H. Cowles 3rd, who was the president and publisher of The Spokesman-Review and Spokane Chronicle of Spokane, Wash.

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Obama, Romney prepare for high-stakes debates

By NANCY BENACBarack Obama is cruising into the presidential debates with momentum on his side, yet he's still struggling to revive the passion and excitement that propelled him to the White House.

Mitt Romney is grasping for his last, best chance to reboot his campaign after a disastrous September.

The fierce and determined competitors in the tight race have a specific mission for the three debates, the first of which is Wednesday night in Denver.

Obama, no longer the fresh face of 2008, must convince skeptical Americans that he can accomplish in a second term what he couldn't in his first, restoring the economy to full health.

Romney, anxious to keep the race from slipping away, needs to instill confidence that he is a credible and trusted alternative to the president, with a better plan for strengthening the economy.

"The burden in many ways is heavier on Romney," says Wayne Fields, a professor at Washington University in St. Louis who specializes in political rhetoric. "What we see right now is an uncertainty about whether he's ready for the job."

For all the hundreds of campaign appearances, thousands of political ads and billions of dollars invested in the race, this is a singular moment in the contest. Upward of 50 million people are expected to watch each of the debates, drawing the largest political audience of the year.

Forty-one percent of Americans reported watching all of the 2008 debates, and 80 percent said they saw at least a bit, according to a Pew Research Center poll.

That intense interest tends to crowd out everything else for a time, adding to the debates' importance. With polls indicating that Obama has been gaining ground steadily in the most competitive states, the pressure is on Romney to turn in a breakout performance.

The Denver debate, 90 minutes devoted to domestic policy, airs live at 9 p.m. EDT, with the two men seated side by side in elevated director's chairs. Romney and Obama debate again Oct. 16 in Hempstead, N.Y., and Oct. 22 in Boca Raton, Fla. Vice President Joe Biden and Republican Paul Ryan have their lone debate Oct. 11 in Danville, Ky.

With early or absentee voting already under way in more than half the states, any first impressions created in the debates could well be last impressions. What the candidates say is sure to matter immensely, but how they say it may count for even more.

"We remember visual impressions from debates more than we remember specific words," says Alan Schroeder, a Northeastern University professor who's written a history of presidential debates.

Whether the candidates smile or grimace, strike a confident or defensive pose, speak with a resonant or strained tone of voice, it all matters. That may be particularly true for the all-important undecided voters and those still open to changing their minds.

Staunch Democrats and Republicans may well be firm in their choices, says Patti Wood, an Atlanta-based expert on body language, but if less partisan voters are "frightened in general about their lives, if they're insecure, they're going to pick the most charismatic person."

Both candidates have challenges to overcome on that score, according to Wood.

Obama, 51, has been sounding "very tired and very strained" lately, she says, and Romney, 65, "has a problem with appearing superior and cold."

Overall, she says, "Romney is looking a little bit younger than Obama right now," in terms of energy if not wrinkles.

Both candidates are experienced and competent debaters. But each, setting the judgment bar high for his opponent, is working overtime to puff up the skills of the other guy and play down his own debate credentials.

Romney recently described the president as "eloquent in describing his vision" during the 2008 debates. But the GOP nominee added that Obama "can't win by his words, because his record speaks so loudly in our ears."

Obama campaign spokeswoman Jen Psaki stresses that Romney has been preparing for the debates with "more focus than any presidential candidate in modern history." Sketching sky-high stakes, Psaki says the Republicans fully expect the debates to be "their turning point" in the campaign.

The president himself mocked the idea that Romney still can alter the campaign dynamic.

"Every few days he keeps on saying he's going to reboot this campaign and they're going to start explaining very specifically how this plan is going to work - and then they don't," he said last week while campaigning in Virginia.

For all their positioning, both candidates will use the debates to try to surmount the same challenges that they long have confronted.

Romney, frequently criticized for shifting his positions to sync up with the politics of the moment, needs to project "a kind of character, a kind of maturity that allows him to be presidential," says Fields.

Obama, an incumbent who's shown himself to be comfortable in the media glare, "doesn't have to prove that part," says Fields. "He has to prove that he has real answers to problems that have not been solved in his first term, and for which there is a great deal of unrest."

Romney is sure to be questioned anew about his caught-on-video comment dismissing the 47 percent of Americans who don't pay federal income tax as victims who won't take responsibility for their lives.

Former President Bill Clinton, offering a bit of unsolicited advice to the opposition, says Romney would be wise not to "double down on that 47 percent remark."

"That will cause difficulties, because we now know that the overwhelming number of those people work and have children," Clinton said recently. He added that the most important job for Romney is to "find a way to relate to more people in these debates and speak to more of them."

On Saturday, the Obama campaign posted a Web video urging debate viewers take Romney's claims of private-sector experience with a grain of salt. "Remember, it wasn't about creating jobs," the video says. It includes testimony from steel- and paper-plant workers laid off after Bain Capital takeovers.

Also Saturday, the Romney campaign announced plans for his wife Ann to speak at a rally Monday in Henderson, Nev., where Obama is planning three days of private debate preparation. And Romney points to Syria, Libya and Iran to criticize Obama's foreign policy as "one of passivity and denial" in his weekly podcast.

Meantime, there's no shortage of advice swirling around the two candidates: loosen up, study up, be aggressive, don't overdo it, admit mistakes, don't apologize, project confidence, ooze emotion, use humor, make eye contact, get more sleep.

It's enough to paralyze even the most skilled orator if not kept in perspective.

"That's what so tricky about this," says Schroeder. "Debates themselves are this kind of interesting blend of the choreographed and the spontaneous. ... What you want is for the candidate to be prepared but not to overlook those opportunities to improvise when you see an opening."

The stakes are lower for the debate between Biden and Ryan. It offers the prospect of a looser and more entertaining discussion between two candidates with vastly different styles and personalities.

In 2008, Biden's debate with Republican Sarah Palin attracted 70 million viewers, easily topping the 63 million high-water mark for the presidential debates that year.

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Latinos Lack National Leadership Voice

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Gunman kills 4, self at Minnesota sign company

AMY FORLITIMINNEAPOLIS -- A man burst into a sign-making business in Minneapolis, fatally shooting the owner and three others in the office before turning the gun on himself, family and officials said Friday.

Police have not revealed the name or apparent motive of the shooter who injured at least four others in the Thursday afternoon attack, and say a search of the suspect's home turned up nothing.

Reuven Rahamim, 61, was shot to death in "a senseless act of violence" at Accent Signage Systems Inc. in Bryn Mawr, a mainly residential neighborhood on the northwest side of the city, son-in-law Chad Blumenfield said in a statement.

"Other members of the Accent family tragically lost their lives as well, and we mourn their loss," Blumenfield said. He provided no details.

UPS driver Keith Basinski was among those killed, the mail service said in a statement Friday. UPS Northern Plains District President Jill Schubert did not say why Basinski was at the Accent offices. She said the company was "profoundly shocked and saddened" at his death.

Authorities have not revealed the names of the others killed.

A police summary describes a chaotic scene with multiple 911 calls from the business and one caller saying someone had been shot. When police arrived, they found four people already dead. Dozens of police squad cars and SWAT officers swarmed the area. The first officers on the scene evacuated workers from the business and closed off several blocks.

Of the wounded, John Souter's condition was upgraded from critical to serious as of Friday morning and Eric Rivers remained in critical condition, according to Christine Hill, a spokeswoman for the Hennepin County Medical Center where they were being treated. She had no information on the condition of a third man earlier listed in critical condition.

A fourth person injured has been treated and released, Hill said Friday.

Late Thursday, police searched a house in south Minneapolis where the suspected shooter had lived but found "nothing that we know of," police spokesman Sgt. Stephen McCarty told the Associated Press. He confirmed the address of the suspect's home but declined to confirm a newspaper report that named the gunman.

There was no evidence of life at that house early Friday except a light in the basement and a boarded-up window with pieces of broken glass nearby. No one responded to a knock on the door.

Thomas Pitheon, a neighbor who lives across the alley, said he came home just after dark Thursday and found "about a dozen" SWAT team members around the house. Pitheon said he had only exchanged pleasantries with the homeowner whom he described as "an average guy" in his 40s.

Rahamim started Accent Signage Systems, Inc. in the basement of his Minneapolis home in the early 1980s, according to the business publication Finance & Commerce. Rahamim said he chose that name because he wanted it to be the first sign company listed in the Yellow Pages.

The small interior signage company specializes in American with Disabilities Act-compliant signs after developing a patented method to create Braille signs for the blind. U.S. Under Secretary of Commerce Francisco Sanchez praised the company for its innovation during a visit to the facility in August, the paper reported.

Rahamim was born and raised in Israel and served as a soldier in the Israeli army before coming to the U.S., Blumenfield said.

"He loved his work and dedicated much of his energy to developing new and greener products," he said by email. "He loved cooking and having people over at his home. He loved spending time with his children and grandchildren and especially loved to take his grandson for bike rides."

Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton expressed his condolences.

"I deplore this senseless violence," Dayton said. "There is no place for it anywhere in Minnesota."

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Associated Press writers Patrick Condon, Doug Glass and Jeff Baenen in Minneapolis, Gretchen Ehlke in Milwaukee, and Barbara Rodriguez in Chicago contributed to this report.

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PHOTOS: Teachers Accused of Sex With Students

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Teacher in group sex scandal says she is victim

It was perhaps the most salacious part of one of the most scandalous student-teacher affair stories in history: a video, taken by a cellphone camera, of then-Texas high school teacher Brittni Colleps having group sex with four 18- and 19-year-old students at her suburban home.

But Colleps, who is 28 and the mother of three young children, says that video -- taken by one of the students -- makes her a victim.

"I felt like I was victimized in that video, because I did not, I never gave my consent for it," Colleps told "20/20" correspondent Deborah Roberts in an exclusive jailhouse interview airing tonight on "20/20." Roberts also spoke exclusively to Colleps' husband, Christopher, who explained why he is standing by his wife.

In August, a jury convicted Colleps on 16 counts of having improper relationships with students. Though the students with whom she had sex -- there were five -- were all older than the minimum age of consent in Texas, state law prohibits any educator in a primary or secondary school from having sex with any enrolled student, no matter their age.

Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Beach prosecuted Colleps' case and defended the law in an interview with "20/20."

"Who has more power in the classroom?" she asked. "Does the teacher have more power or does the students have more power? The teacher has more power. And so the teacher can use that power to sexually exploit students in the classroom, even if those students are 18 years old."

The story of how Colleps went from popular teacher to convicted felon begins with a seemingly innocent text message -- one sent by Colleps to a school athlete asking what time a baseball game was starting.

But in the weeks that followed, as court documents would show, Colleps exchanged 300 pages worth of text messages with the student, most of which were sexual in nature.

"Sitting in the classroom, she goes into these very specific sexual text messages about the things she wants him to do to her body," Beach said. The texts included messages like "I'm an anything goes in sex kinda girl" and "I like pullin' hair, bitin', scratchin', spanking, I even like being choked."

In April 2011, Colleps invited the athlete to her home to watch a movie. They ended up having sex, and the student reportedly returned to her home at least four more times.

The following May, he brought three friends -- all football players -- to Colleps' home for dinner.

But prosecutors say the students got more than just a home-cooked meal. Colleps reportedly put on lingerie, brought out sex toys and led the four young men to her bedroom.

"And she's performing one sex act on one student, and she is simultaneously performing another sex act on another student, and she has farmed out her kids for the night so that she can have four students in, and engage in what is more or less an orgy," Beach said.

That was when one of the students captured the trysts on a cellphone camera, and he didn't keep it to himself. It soon became fodder for hallway gossip that spread to administrators at Colleps' school. Colleps was called to the principal's office and, five days later, arrested.

Last month, before the jury convicted her, it heard explicit and damning testimony.

"She said that she craved...that I had something she wanted," one of Colleps' teenage sex partners testified.

Arizona woman sentenced after faking cancer

Eyewitness NewsPHOENIX -- A Phoenix woman who pretended to have cancer in order to raise money for breast implants has been sentenced to a year in jail and three years of probation.

Court spokesman Kelly Vail says 27-year-old Jami Lynn Toler was sentenced Wednesday. She pleaded guilty in August to a theft charge in a plea agreement.

Authorities say Toler helped organize fundraisers and collected more than $8,000 beginning last September. Medical records obtained by Mesa police show she didn't have cancer and paid a plastic surgeon with the cash.

Court Commissioner Brian Kaiser also ordered Toler to pay restitution.

Police reports show Toler told her former boss she needed a double mastectomy and breast reconstruction but was uninsured. She told the same story to her mother and grandparents.

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US Bank, PNC report website problems

Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK -- Two more major banks, U.S. Bank and PNC, have reported problems with their websites after a financial services security group warned about possible cyber attacks on banks.

A spokesman for U.S. Bank says some customers have experienced delays. He says the bank is working to fix the problem and is working with law enforcement. A spokesman for PNC says the bank is "taking appropriate measures."

The U.S. Bank spokesman says the issue appears to be related to problems at other banks in the past week. JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America both had system problems last week, and Wells Fargo reported access problems with its site Tuesday.

Last week, the Financial Services Information Sharing and Analysis Center raised its cyber threat level to "high" from "elevated" because of potential cyberattacks.

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Police: Drunk man arrested after chase on horse

Eyewitness NewsBUNNELL, Fla. -- A man was intoxicated while riding his horse as he led police on a half-hour chase through a northeast Florida town, authorities said Tuesday.

Charles Larkin Cowart, 29, was arrested Monday afternoon in the city of Bunnell, about 60 miles south of Jacksonville.

A police officer was responding to a report of "an intoxicated male riding a horse" when he turned on his emergency lights to stop traffic as Cowart crossed the street, according to the charging affidavit. Cowart said he was on his way to his grandmother's house in nearby Flagler Beach, but refused officers' order to dismount and "in an aggressive manner reared the horse back" and took off running.

Officers did not immediately chase after him, the report said, citing the public and the horse's safety. Cowart continued to ride through town, "causing a crowd of people to come out of their homes" and a train to slow down as Cowart crossed over a set of railroad tracks. Police kept their emergency lights on, but did not use their sirens to prevent the horse from being frightened and "potentially making the situation worse."

Cowart ignored several verbal commands to get off the horse, which after more half an hour, became exhausted. Cowart eventually jumped off and took off running. He was captured a short time later. The horse returned to Cowart's family and is doing fine, police said.

Cowart was booked into the Flagler County Jail on charges that included disorderly conduct, resisting arrest without violence and cruelty to animals. He was being held Tuesday on $7,000 bond.

A message was left Tuesday at a phone listing for Cowart in Bunnell, about 60 miles south of Jacksonville. It was not immediately known if he has an attorney.

Cowart was arrested for petit theft on Sept. 9 and on a DUI charge in October 2010. The disposition of those charges wasn't immediately known.

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Original Renoir from flea market now thought stolen

BEN NUCKOLSNEW YORK -- The Renoir painting that caused a sensation when it was bought at a flea market for $7 may have been stolen from a museum six decades ago, and an auction house has put its sale on hold.

The planned Saturday auction was canceled Thursday after a reporter for The Washington Post discovered documents in the Baltimore Museum of Art's library showing that the painting was on loan there from 1937 until 1951, when it was stolen.

The Impressionist painting, whose title translates as "Landscape on the Banks of the Seine," was purchased two years ago at a West Virginia flea market. The buyer, a Virginia woman who has not revealed her name, took it to auction house The Potomack Co. in July, and experts there confirmed it was by the French master Pierre-Auguste Renoir. The frame of the painting includes a "Renoir" plaque.

It had been expected to fetch $75,000 or more at auction.

"Potomack is relieved this came to light in a timely manner as we do not want to sell any item without clear title," Elizabeth Wainstein, the owner of the Alexandria, Va.-based auction house, said in a statement.

Potomack and museum officials have notified the FBI about the theft, and an FBI spokesman said the bureau was investigating.

The documents uncovered by The Post in the museum's library indicated that the painting was part of the collection of Saidie May, a major donor to the BMA. It was reported stolen on Nov. 17, 1951, according to the documents, although there is no known police report and the painting does not appear on a worldwide registry of stolen art.

The reported theft occurred shortly after May's death, and the painting had not yet been formally accepted into the museum's collection, which is why museum officials did not initially realize it had been there, BMA director Doreen Bolger said.

"We were caught by surprise," Bolger said Thursday.

Bolger said she would be happy to show the painting again if it is ultimately returned to the museum.

"As this unfolds, we'll find out more about the ownership of the painting," she said. "If the painting is ours, we would be pleased to have it on view."

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Associated Press writer Brett Zongker contributed to this report.

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Man proposes during fake plane emergency

Eyewitness NewsCHICAGO (WABC) -- Call it just "plane" crazy, but a pilot's creative "in descent" wedding proposal flies higher than most.

Ryan Thompson tricked his girlfriend into thinking their plane was about to crash as they were flying over Chicago.

He asked her to read aloud a set of emergency instructions.

Those instructions ended with instructions to "initiate the ring engagement procedure" and the words "Will you marry me?"

After finally realizing she was not going to die in a plane crash, she said yes.

We want to know, what do you think of over-the-top wedding proposals? CLICK HERE to send your thoughts now!

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Mitt Romney looks to Pennsylvania ahead of debate

STEVE PEOPLESVIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- His path to victory narrowing, Mitt Romney is looking to Pennsylvania to help slow President Barack Obama's momentum ahead of a high-stakes meeting on the debate stage next week.

The Republican presidential nominee was to campaign Friday in the Philadelphia area, first courting donors at a high-dollar fundraiser and then meeting voters at a midday rally.

Fresh off a promise to spend more time in the swing states that matter most, Romney will pass much of the day in a state that has not supported a Republican presidential candidate in nearly a quarter-century. His campaign is not running any television ads in Pennsylvania, and aides privately concede that Obama has a significant advantage just 40 days before Election Day.

They suggest that Romney's visit - his first to the state in more than two months - is largely designed to raise the money needed to narrow Obama's edge in more competitive states. After raising $5 million at a Washington event Thursday, Romney is expected to generate more than $1 million in Philadelphia and an additional $7 million at a Boston fundraiser later Friday.

"We're going to have to make the right choice on Nov. 6, and you're going to make that happen," Romney told cheering donors in Washington.

Obama will also focus on raising cash Friday as he keeps his campaign close to Washington, where he has three fundraising events scheduled.

He is set to deliver remarks at a finance event at the Capital Hilton in Washington, where tickets start at $250 but go as high as $10,000 per couple. Obama will attend a smaller fundraiser at a private residence before returning to the Capitol Hilton for a third event.

On Thursday, Romney and Obama campaigned a few hundred miles apart in Virginia.

The president pledged to create many more jobs and "make the middle class secure again," while Romney focused on threats beyond American shores, accusing Obama of backing dangerous cuts in defense spending.

The Republican's message, including questions about the president's response to recent violence in Libya, comes as he tries to move beyond his long-held economic focus to help score political points and reverse a slide in the polls.

"The idea of cutting our military is unthinkable and devastating. And when I become president we will not," Romney declared at an American Legion hall in Springfield, Va.

He is expected to push a similar message on Friday in suburban Philadelphia during a rally at Valley Forge Military Academy and College.

While Romney aides are not optimistic about their chances in Pennsylvania, Republicans are not giving up on the state.

"We have an aggressive operation and ground game in place," campaign spokesman Rick Gorka said.

The state GOP is set to begin running a television ad Friday assailing Obama's economic leadership. Pennsylvania's unemployment rate, at 8.1 percent, is slightly less than the national average.

Obama and Romney are scheduled to face off Wednesday in Denver for the first of three presidential debates, which may represent the challenger's best remaining opportunity to change the trajectory of his campaign. Romney has struggled through a series of perceived missteps in weeks amid signs that confidence in the nation's economy is on the rise.

The Obama campaign released a political memo on Friday saying it expects Romney "to be a prepared, disciplined and aggressive debater."

However, it said that while the president would be laying out his vision for the coming years, Romney has "signaled that he will come to indict the president for the fact that the economy has not fully recovered from the collapse of 2008."

The Obama memo and an accompanying web video also aim to debunk claims by Romney that the president has mischaracterized the Republican's positions on the auto industry bailout, abortion and raising taxes on wage earners to cover tax cuts for multimillionaires.

Obama was expected to meet with advisers Friday to prepare for next week's debate. The president was departing Sunday for Nevada, where he planned to hold debate practice sessions near Las Vegas.

Romney has been focused on fundraising and debate preparation for several weeks, raising some questions from within the GOP about his strategy. Earlier in the week, Romney said the time had come in the campaign when he would start spending less time with donors and more time with voters in swing states.

Following his stop in Pennsylvania, Romney heads to Boston for an evening fundraiser and a weekend focused on more debate preparation.

In an election centered largely on the economy, each side got some new ammunition on Thursday. The Commerce Department lowered its earlier estimate of tepid growth for the April-June quarter, while the Labor Department said the economy added 386,000 more jobs from April 2011 through March 2012 than previously believed.

Romney compared the American economy to that of Russia as he ignored signs of growth and pounced on the Commerce Department's downward revision.

"By the way, Russia's GDP growth is at 4 percent. And we're at 1.3. This is unacceptable," he said. "The president does not understand how to get this economy to work for the American people."

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Cops: 'Sons of Anarchy' actor dies after killing landlady

This Sept. 14, 2011 file photo shows actor Johnny Lewis posing for a portrait during the 36th Toronto International Film Festival in Toronto, Canada. Authorities say Lewis fell to his death after killing an elderly Los Angeles woman. Lewis appeared in the FX television show "Sons of Anarchy," for two seasons. The woman killed is identified as 81-year-old Catherine Davis. (AP Photo/Carlo Allegri, file)

by ROBERT JABLONLOS ANGELES -- An actor whose character died a violent death on the TV drama "Sons of Anarchy" plunged to his death in a driveway after apparently killing his landlady and attacking neighbors near Hollywood, police said Thursday.

Johnny Lewis, who played Kip "Half-Sack" Epps in the FX show, is the only suspect in the death of 81-year-old Catherine Davis, according to Los Angeles police.

Authorities found them dead Wednesday morning after neighbors reported a woman screaming inside the home, Cmdr. Andrew Smith said. Lewis' death ended in a turbulent nearly 10-month span during which he was repeatedly arrested and officials expressed concerns about his mental health and the danger he posed to others.

The home where Davis was found had been ransacked, glass was shattered and a dead cat was found.

Neighbors said a man had jumped a fence and assaulted a painter and homeowner next door.

The body of Lewis, 28, was found in the driveway. He could have jumped or fallen from the roof, garage or balcony, or tumbled down stairs from a patio area, Smith said.

Coroner's investigative division Lt. Fred Corral said an autopsy found Davis' cause of death was blunt head trauma and manual strangulation.

Lewis' autopsy results will have to wait for toxicology tests to be completed, said Corral.

The deaths came about four months after a probation official expressed grave concern about Lewis' mental health. The report was prepared in a case in which Lewis was accused of attempting to break into the home of a woman in Santa Monica, Calif., and it described him as a transient. That case came about six weeks after Lewis hit two men over the head with a bottle during a fight.

The probation official wrote of being "very concerned for the well-being of not only the community but that of the defendant."

The May 17 report goes on to state that "the defendant suffers from some form of chemical dependency, mental health issue and a lack of permanent housing. Given this, (Lewis) will continue to be a threat to any community he may reside."

Within days, Lewis was released to a treatment facility and he pleaded no contest to attempting to break into the home in mid-August.

He was placed on three years of supervised probation, sentenced to time-served in jail and no follow-up hearing was scheduled, court records show.

Lewis' attorney Jonathan Mandel said the actor had serious mental issues that seemed to surface fairly recently. He said Lewis' parents and others had tried desperately to help him.

"Johnny Lewis had a lot of problems, a lot of mental problems," Mandel said by phone Thursday. "I recommended treatment for him but he declined it."

He continued, saying: "I give a lot of credit to his parents. They were really strong in trying to help him out. They really went to bat for him, but I guess they just couldn't do enough."

Lewis was released from Los Angeles County Jail a week ago, according to court records.

He had pleaded no contest to assault with a deadly weapon and attempted burglary in separate cases, according to the records.

"Obviously defendant's behavior is out of control and needs counseling afforded by a professional," another probation officer wrote in a report filed in Lewis' assault case.

Both probation reports state Lewis said he was earning about $20,000 a year as an actor in recent years, and he had been living with his parents when he was first arrested in January. In both cases, he was ordered to stay away from drugs.

Lewis' career spanned more than a decade, mainly in small roles. He played Ricky in the 2007 movie "AVPR: Aliens vs Predator - Requiem" and was Dennis "Chili" Childress for two seasons on TV's "The O.C." He also appeared in episodes of such popular television shows as "Boston Public," ''Judging Amy," ''Malcolm in the Middle" and "Drake & Josh."

He was on "Sons of Anarchy" in 2008 and 2009 before his character was killed off.

Kurt Sutter, the show's creator and executive producer, tweeted news of Lewis' death Thursday: "It was a tragic end for an extremely talented guy, who unfortunately had lost his way," Sutter wrote. "I wish I could say that I was shocked by the events last night, but I was not. I am deeply sorry that an innocent life had to be thrown into his destructive path."

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AP writers John Rogers and Shaya Tayefe Mohajer in Los Angeles contributed to this report.

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Caught on tape: The grumpiest cat ever?

Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK (WABC) -- Imagine doing everything you can to make your pets happy, yet being constantly met with a frown.

This is Tartar Sauce, and she is not impressed by the belly rub she's getting from her owner.

The cat is 9 months old and was the runt of the litter. She moves around slowly and wobbles and falls over easily.

Otherwise, her owners say she's friendly and plays and behaves like a normal cat, but her constant frown suggests it takes a lot to make this kitten happy.

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Vatican says 'Jesus' Wife' papyrus is fake

By NICOLE WINFIELDROME -- The Vatican newspaper has added to the doubts surrounding Harvard University's claim that a 4th century Coptic papyrus fragment showed that some early Christians believed that Jesus was married, declaring it a "fake."

The newspaper, L'Osservatore Romano, published an article Thursday by leading Coptic scholar Alberto Camplani and an accompanying editorial by the newspaper's editor, Giovanni Maria Vian, an expert in early Christianity. They both cited concerns expressed by other scholars about the fragment's authenticity and the fact that it was purchased on the market without a known archaeological provenance.

"At any rate, a fake," Vian entitled his editorial, which criticized Harvard for creating a "clamorous" media frenzy over the fragment by handing the scoop to two U.S. newspapers only to see "specialists immediately question it."

Karen King, a professor of early Christianity at Harvard Divinity School, announced the finding last week at an international congress on Coptic studies in Rome. The text, written in Coptic and probably translated from a 2nd century Greek text, contains a dialogue in which Jesus refers to "my wife," whom he identifies as Mary.

The issue has had resonance since Christian tradition has long held that Jesus was unmarried, and any evidence to the contrary would fuel current debates about celibacy for priests and the role of women in the church.

As such, it's not surprising that the Vatican would challenge the claim.

King has said the fragment doesn't prove Jesus was married, only that some early Christians thought he was. She has acknowledged the doubts raised by her colleagues and says the fragment's ink will be tested to help determine when it was written.

Some scholars attending the conference questioned the authenticity of the fragment, noting its form and grammar looked unconvincing and suspicious. Others said it was impossible to deduce the meaning of it given the fragmented nature of the script.

Camplani, a professor at Rome's La Sapienza university who helped organize the conference, cited those concerns and added his own, specifically over King's interpretation of the text - assuming it is real.

Rather than taking the reference to a wife literally, he wrote, scholars routinely take such references in primitive Christian and biblical literature metaphorically, to symbolize the spiritual union between Jesus and his disciples.

The absence of any reference to Jesus being married in historic documents "seems more significant than the literal interpretation of a few expressions from the new text, which by my reading should be understood purely in a symbolic sense," he wrote.

Camplani nevertheless praised King's academic paper on the subject as scientific and objective.

In its announcement about the discovery, Harvard said the paper would be published in January in the Harvard Theological Review, a peer-reviewed journal. The journal later said it hadn't committed to publication and would await testing on the fragment's ink to help determine its authenticity.

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Study: Splitting chores could lead to divorce

Eyewitness NewsNORWAY (WABC) -- Household chores could tell you a lot about the state of your marriage and how likely you are to get divorced.

A Norwegian study has found divorce rates are far higher among modern couples who share the housework.

In homes where the woman does the lion's share of the chores, the divorce rate was about 50 percent lower.

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Man behind anti-Islam film ordered jailed

by GREG RISLINGLOS ANGELES -- The surrounding mystery of the man behind the crudely produced anti-Islamic video that sparked violence in the Middle East took a strange turn after he appeared in court and gave yet another name in a string of aliases.

Arrested on Thursday after authorities said he violated his probation from a 2010 check fraud conviction, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula told a judge his real name was Mark Basseley Youseff. He said he'd been using that name since 2002, even though he went by Nakoula in his fraud case.

The full story about Nakoula and the video "Innocence of Muslims" still isn't known more than two weeks after violence erupted in Egypt and Libya, where Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others were killed in Benghazi. Violence related to the film has since spread, killing dozens more.

Citing a lengthy pattern of deception and the potential to flee, U.S. Central District Chief Magistrate Judge Suzanne Segal ordered Nakoula to remain in prison without bond until another judge can hold a hearing to determine if he broke the terms of his probation.

"The court has a lack of trust in this defendant at this time," Segal said.

Prosecutors noted Nakoula had eight probation violations, including lying to his probation officers and using aliases. He could face new charges that carry a maximum two-year prison term.

After his 2010 conviction, Nakoula was sentenced to 21 months in prison and was barred from using computers or the Internet for five years without approval from his probation officer, though prosecutors said none of the violations involved the Internet. He also wasn't supposed to use any name other than his true legal name without the prior written approval of his probation officer.

Three names, however, have been associated with Nakoula this month alone.

The movie was made last year by a man who called himself Sam Bacile. After the violence erupted, a man who identified himself as Bacile spoke to media outlets including The Associated Press, took credit for the film and said it was meant to portray the truth about Muhammad and Islam, which he called a cancer.

The next day, the AP determined there was no Bacile and linked the identity to Nakoula, a former gas station owner with a drug conviction and a history of using aliases. Federal authorities later confirmed there was no Bacile and that Nakoula was behind the movie.

Some of the false statements in Nakoula's alleged probation violations had to do with the film, Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Dugdale said. Nakoula told probation officials his role was just writing the script, and denied going by the name Sam Bacile in connection with the film, Dugdale said.

Before going into hiding, Nakoula acknowledged to the AP that he was involved with the film, but said he only worked on logistics and management.

Nakoula, a Christian originally from Egypt, then went into hiding after he was identified as the man behind the trailer, which depicts Muhammad as a womanizer, religious fraud and child molester. He met with federal probation officials two weeks ago, led out of his home in suburban Cerritos in the middle of the night, flanked by Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies and cloaked in heavy clothing to protect his identity.

The public got their first good look at Nakoula on Thursday, although the news media was banned from the courtroom and reporters had to watch the proceedings on a TV in a nearby courthouse.

Nakoula wore beige pants and a collared shirt when he was led into the courtroom handcuffed and shackled. He appeared relaxed, smiling at one point before the hearing and conferring with his attorney.

Nakoula's attorney Steven Seiden sought to have the hearing closed and his client released on $10,000 bail. He argued Nakoula has checked in with his probation officer frequently and made no attempts to leave Southern California.

Seiden was concerned that Nakoula would be in danger in federal prison because of Muslim inmates, but prosecutors said he likely would be placed in protective custody.

Lawrence Rosenthal, a constitutional and criminal law professor at Chapman University School of Law in Orange, said it was "highly unusual" for a judge to order immediate detention on a probation violation for a nonviolent crime, but if there were questions about Nakoula's identity it was more likely.

"When the prosecution doesn't really know who they're dealing with, it's much easier to talk about flight," Rosenthal said. "I've prosecuted individuals who'd never given a real address. You don't know who you're dealing with, and you're just going to have very limited confidence about their ability to show up in court."

Enraged Muslims have demanded punishment for Nakoula, and a Pakistani cabinet minister has offered a $100,000 bounty to anyone who kills him.

First Amendment advocates have defended Nakoula's right to make the film while condemning its content. And federal officials likely will face criticism from those who say Nakoula's free speech rights were trampled by his arrest on a probation violation.

In arguing that Nakoula is a possible flight risk, Dugdale said Nakoula couldn't even reveal something as fundamental as his real name.

"He's a person who simply can't be trusted," he said.

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Associated Press writer Gillian Flaccus contributed to this report.

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Mars rover Curiosity finds signs of ancient stream

ALICIA CHANGLOS ANGELES -- The NASA rover Curiosity has beamed back pictures of bedrock that suggest a fast-moving stream, possibly waist-deep, once flowed on Mars - a find that the mission's chief scientist called exciting.

There have been previous signs that water existed on the red planet long ago, but the images released Thursday showing pebbles rounded off, likely by water, offered the most convincing evidence so far of an ancient streambed.

There was "a vigorous flow on the surface of Mars," said chief scientist John Grotzinger of the California Institute of Technology. "We're really excited about this."

The discovery did not come as a complete surprise. NASA decided to plunk Curiosity down inside Gale Crater near the Martian equator because photos from space hinted that the spot possessed a watery past. The six-wheeled rover safely landed Aug. 5 after a nail-biting plunge through the Martian atmosphere. It's on a two-year, $2.5 billion mission to study whether the Martian environment could have been favorable for microbial life.

Present day Mars is a frozen desert with no hint of water on its radiation-scarred surface, but geological studies of rocks by previous missions suggest the planet was warmer and wetter once upon a time.

The latest evidence came from photos that Curiosity took revealing rounded pebbles and gravel - a sign that the rocks were transported long distances by water and smoothed out.

The size of the rocks - ranging from a sand grain to a golf ball - indicates that they could not have been carried by wind, said mission scientist Rebecca Williams of the Planetary Science Institute in Tucson, Arizona.

Though Curiosity did not use its high-tech instruments to drill into the rocks or analyze their chemical makeup, Grotzinger said scientists were sure that water played a role based on just studying the pictures.

It's unclear how long the water persisted on the surface, but it easily could have lasted "thousands to millions of years," said mission scientist Bill Dietrich of the University of California, Berkeley.

Curiosity chanced upon the dried-up streambed while driving to Glenelg, an intriguing spot where three types of terrain meet. Its ultimate destination is Mount Sharp, a mountain rising from the center of crater floor, but it was not expected to travel there until the end of the year.

Finding past water is a first step toward learning whether the environment could have supported microbes. Scientists generally agree that besides water and an energy source such as the sun, organic carbon is a necessary prerequisite for life.

While an ancient streambed holds promise as a potentially habitable environment, scientists don't think it's a good place to preserve the carbon building blocks of life. That's why the rover will continue its trek to the foothills of Mount Sharp where there's a better chance of finding organics.

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2-legged dogs thriving, thanks to veterinarian

Eyewitness NewsTEXAS (WABC) -- A veterinarian in Texas is giving two puppies a new chance at life.

Young and frisky, brothers Moose and Maverick like to play rough. Born with just one set of legs, the 6-month-old puppies are different, incredibly so. They can sit, stand and jump like few others.

"They don't see that they're different at all," Dr. Erin Schults said. "They absolutely have no problem with anything."

Abandoned at Dallas animal services when they were just a few hours old, they were rescued by Dr. Schults. But even she had her doubts that they could - or should - survive.

"I thought about euthanizing them," she said. "In my mind, I was prejudice in thinking they couldn't have a good quality of life. But my mind was changed very quickly."

Dr. Schults began designing ramps, encouraging the pups to stand on their back legs.

At the time, Dr. Schults was determined to teach them to walk like humans, but then she noticed something interesting - the dogs were developing their own way of getting around.

"I realized they kept reverting to their way that they moved," she said. "And they were more content that way."

Now, she says they are thriving. They even volunteer, spending time once a month at a daycare for homeless children.

"I think they teach the kids it's okay to be different," Dr. Shults said.

Dr. Schults has received adoption applications from as far away as New York, but her family's starting to get attached, so she's not sure just yet.

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Video: Family teaches dogs to stroller race

Eyewitness NewsCALIFORNIA (WABC) -- Call it proof that Eyewitness News has gone to the dogs.

A southern California family has trained their dogs in an unusual type of racing.

It's stroller racing, and not only are the dogs in the strollers, they're pushing them too.

How the owners trained the pups to do this, we're just not sure.

But it's definitely fun to watch.

The owner writes, "The dogs were having lots of fun racing."

She introduces them as Ruger the red Australian cattle dog, Rogue the blue Australian cattle dog, Rain the white and red Australian cattle dog (who is the sitter and loves it) and little famous Pickle.

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Video: Chester the dog tries a lemon

Eyewitness NewsNEW YORK (WABC) -- What happens when a dog tries a lemon for the first time, you ask?

Well, a video going viral on YouTube shows Chester's first experience with the fruit.

Chester's owner let him have a taste, and he went nuts.

It's sweet how he reacts to the sour sensation.

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Gifts stolen from tent at Pennsylvania wedding

BUCKS COUNTY -- Police are investigating the theft of thousands of dollars worth of wedding gifts from the site of a wedding in Bucks County.

"Forever I'll be thinking about the reception and how great it was and then just remember this tragedy at the end," said Amy Wright.

Amy, 30, and Jason Wright, 31, of Pipersville, Pa. had the perfect wedding Saturday on a friend's bucolic farm on Gruversville Road in Richlandtown, Pa.

Amy arrived in a carriage, they said their vows and had a great reception surrounded by family and friends.

But the couple woke up around 7:30 a.m. Sunday to find someone had stolen all their gifts: $10,000 worth of cash and presents left out under a tent.

"There's big gift boxes, there was a table full of things," said Jason. "It wasn't just 'Grab something and run.' It had to be a number of people or they took multiple trips."

Jason and Amy were sleeping in a house just 20 yards away.

"I just felt so violated, not only for myself and Jason but all of our family," said Amy. "It's so creepy to think someone would do that to someone on such a joyous day."

The couple began searching the property. But all they found, floating in a pond, were the soaked remnants of a couple of wedding cards.

"Torn open and all the stuff was removed from out of them," said Amy.

The couple called police. And then they had to call over 100 guests to find out exactly what they'd given them so they'd know what was stolen.

"I feel more sorry for the people who put their time and effort and hard-earned money into picking them out and getting them," said Jason. "But at this point it's strictly principle. Like she said, we feel so violated we just want them caught."

"To steal presents at a wedding in my mind is about as low as you can go," said family friend Pat Raynock, who owns a farm nearby.

Pennsylvania State Police are investigating. And Jason's father is offering a $1000 reward for information leading to the thieves' capture.

Anyone with information about the theft is asked to call PSP Dublin Station, Tpr Stephen Zicker at 215-249-9191.

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Bus driver saves family and dog from pit bull attack

Eyewitness NewsCANANDAIGUA, N.Y. (WABC) -- A 75-year-old school bus driver in western New York is being credited with fighting off two pit bulls after they attacked a woman and her family's dog as she pushed her grandson in a stroller.

David Bliss tells Rochester media outlets that he had just dropped off his last group of students Monday afternoon when he saw Cynthia Devaney and the 10-year-old golden retriever being attacked along a road in Canandaigua.

The stroller with the grandson inside had been knocked over by the time Bliss pulled over. He jumped out of the bus and beat the dogs until they backed off, but not before being bitten several times. Devaney and her family's dog were also bitten. Her grandson wasn't injured.

Police say the two pit bulls have been quarantined.

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A Third Party Review Of Team National - Is It A Good Business Opportunity?

Survey: 1 in 5 households paying student loans

HOPE YENWASHINGTON -- With college enrollment growing, student debt has stretched to a record number of U.S. households - nearly 1 in 5 - with the biggest burdens falling on the young and poor.

The analysis by the Pew Research Center found that 22.4 million households, or 19 percent, had college debt in 2010. That is double the share in 1989, and up from 15 percent in 2007, just prior to the recession - representing the biggest three-year increase in student debt in more than two decades.

The increase was driven by higher tuition costs as well as rising college enrollment during the economic downturn. The biggest jumps occurred in households at the two extremes of the income distribution. More well-off families are digging deeper into their pockets to pay for costly private colleges, while lower-income people in search of higher-wage jobs are enrolling in community colleges, public universities and other schools as a way to boost their resumes.

Because of the sluggish economy, fewer college students than before are able to settle into full-time careers immediately upon graduation, contributing to a jump in debt among lower-income households as the young adults take on part-time jobs or attend graduate school, according to Pew.

As a share of household income, the debt burden was the greatest for the poorest 20 percent of households, or those making less than $21,044. In all, 40 percent of U.S. households headed by someone younger than age 35 owed college debt, the highest share of any age group.

"Comparing the debt to their economic resources, the lowest-income fifth of households are the ones experiencing the greatest stresses," said Richard Fry, a senior economist at Pew who analyzed the numbers.

Noting that college enrollment has continued to climb since 2010, Fry added: "Until college enrollment peaks, I would not expect the amount of outstanding student debt to level off."

The study released Wednesday is based on the Survey of Consumer Finances, conducted every three years and sponsored by the Federal Reserve. The numbers are as of 2010, the latest available for that survey. Separate Fed data have pointed to subsequent increases in student loans since 2010 that totaled $914 billion in the April-June quarter, but don't provide demographic breakdowns on who shoulders the biggest burdens.

Both President Barack Obama and his Republican challenger in this year's election, Mitt Romney, have been seeking to court young voters with differing visions on how to address rising tuition and growing college debt. Obama wants to make tax credits for college expenses permanent and expand Pell grants for lower-earning families. Romney says that making government the direct source of federal student loans has not worked and simply drives tuition higher. He stresses the need to curb college costs.

The Pew report found that the richest 20 percent of households, or those with annual income of $97,586 or higher, owed the biggest share of outstanding student debt - 31 percent, up from 28 percent in 2007. The poorest 20 percent of households also saw their debt grow, to 13 percent from 11 percent.

The richest households saw significant increases in per-household debt. For those with annual income of $97,586 to $146,791, college debt rose from $25,921 in 2007 to $31,989. For the richest 10 percent, making at least $146,792, college debt increased from $36,033 to $44,810.

Across all households, the average outstanding college debt increased from $23,349 to $26,682. For the poorest 20 percent of households, the average debt rose from $19,018 to $20,640.

In recent years, Americans have cut back on several other types of borrowing such as credit card use, with average household indebtedness falling from $105,297 in 2007 to $100,720 in 2010. Broken down by income levels, however, average total indebtedness for the bottom 20 percent of households by income actually rose from $17,579 in 2007 to $26,779; for the higher income groups, average indebtedness either was unchanged or declined.

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Online: Pew Social & Demographic Trends

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Credible tip says Jimmy Hoffa buried in Michigan

Eyewitness NewsMICHIGAN (WABC) -- When crooked union boss Jimmy Hoffa vanished in 1975, law enforcement said the mob had buried his body, never to be found.

Now, police in Roseville, Michigan, say they have a credible tip, the latest of many.

It says Hoffa's body could be buried under the driveway of a private home.

A radar test confirms there is something beneath the cement slab.

Police say they will take a core sample, and if it's positive, they will tear up the driveway.

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Students protest lunch guidelines in video

NEW YORK (WABC) -- We are hungry. That's the message from these high school students in Kansas.

In a viral YouTube video, they are protesting the new government standards for healthy school lunches, saying they're not getting enough food and they don't have energy for sports or activities.

"Being an athlete, being more active, you want more food to keep you going once in a while, get that energy in you," Kaleb Laurent said.

The new guidelines require more fresh fruits and vegetables, less salty and fatty foods.

For the first time ever, there is a maximum calorie limit. For high school students, the lunch must be between 750 and 850 calories. Previous guidelines only had a minimum requirement of 825 calories

Some food service leaders say the changes have been well received.

"Our participation is precisely where it was at last spring when we were serving the old meal pattern," D.C. Everest Food Service Supervisor Christine Welsh said.

"There's a lot of variety so every day I can choose something different and not have the same old things every day," student Reyna Rodriguez said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which created the guidelines, says the amount of food on a kid's plate is not much different than in years past. It is simply healthier.

They also say schools can give students who need additional calories more servings of fruit, vegetables and low fat milk.

The USDA continues to work with schools as they implement these changes.

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Missing iPad tracked to TSA agent's home

In the latest apparent case of what have been hundreds of thefts by TSA officers of passenger belongings, an iPad left behind at a security checkpoint in the Orlando airport was tracked as it moved 30 miles to the home of the TSA officer last seen handling it.

Confronted two weeks later by ABC News, the TSA officer, Andy Ramirez, at first denied having the missing iPad, but ultimately turned it over after blaming his wife for taking it from the airport.

The iPad was one of ten purposely left behind at TSA checkpoints at major airports with a history of theft by government screeners, as part of an ABC News investigation into the TSA's ongoing problem with theft from passengers.

The full video report will be seen today on "Good Morning America," "ABC World News with Diane Sawyer" and "Nightline."

"This is the tip of the iceberg," said Rep. John Mica, R.-Florida, chair of the House Transportation Committee and a frequent critic of TSA senior management. "It is an outrage to the public, and actually to our aviation system."

The TSA said Ramirez was no longer with the agency as of Wednesday afternoon. In a statement to ABC News, the agency said it has "a zero-tolerance policy for theft and terminates any employee who is determined to have stolen from a passenger."

According to the TSA, 381 TSA officers have been fired for theft between 2003 and 2012.

The agency disputes that theft is a widespread problem, however, saying the number of officers fired "represents less than one-half of one percent of officers that have been employed" by TSA.

PHOTOS of TSA officers charged in connection with theft from passengers.

In the ABC News investigation, TSA officers at nine of the ten airport checkpoints followed agency guidelines and immediately contacted the owner, whose name and phone number were displayed prominently on the iPad case.

Luggage checked at the same airports with iPads and cash went through security undisturbed.

But in Orlando, the iPad was not immediately returned and two hours later its tracking application showed the device as it moved away from the airport to the home of the TSA officer.

After waiting 15 days, ABC News went to the home and asked Ramirez to return the iPad.

He denied knowing anything about the missing iPad and said any items left behind at security checkpoints are taken to lost and found.

The Orlando airport lost and found said there was no record of an iPad being turned in on the day in question.

Ramirez produced the iPad only after ABC News activated an audio alarm feature, and turned it over after taking off his TSA uniform shirt.

His explanation for the missing iPad in his home was that his wife had taken it from the airport.

"I'm so embarrassed," he told ABC News. "My wife says she got the iPad and brought it home," he said.

Moments later, his wife appeared at the door to say she had found it and "no told my husband."

Asked how that was possible given that ABC News tape showed him handling the iPad at the security checkpoint, Ramirez shut the door and has not responded to questions since.

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So long, replacements; NFL reaches deal with refs

BARRY WILNERNEW YORK -- So long, replacement refs. The NFL's regular crews will be back on the field starting Thursday night.

After two days of marathon negotiations - and mounting frustration among coaches, players and fans - the NFL and the referees' union announced at midnight Thursday that a tentative agreement had been reached to end a lockout that began in June.

Commissioner Roger Goodell, who was at the bargaining table Tuesday and Wednesday, said the regular officials would work the Browns-Ravens game at Baltimore.

"Welcome back REFS," Buffalo Bills running back C.J. Spiller tweeted shortly after the news broke.

The replacements worked the first three weeks of games, triggering a wave of outrage that threatened to disrupt the rest of the season. After a missed call cost the Green Bay Packers a win on a chaotic final play at Seattle on Monday night, the two sides really got serious.

"We are glad to be getting back on the field for this week's games," referees' union president Scott Green said.

The tentative eight-year deal is the longest involving on-field officials in NHL history and was reached with the assistance of two federal mediators. It must be ratified by 51 percent of the union's 121 members, who plan to vote Friday and Saturday in Dallas.

The agreement hinged on working out salary, pension and retirement benefits for the officials, who are part-time employees of the league. Tentatively, it calls for their salaries to increase from an average of $149,000 a year in 2011 to $173,000 in 2013, rising to $205,000 by 2019.

Under the proposal, the current defined benefit pension plan will remain in place for current officials through the 2016 season or until the official earns 20 years' service. The defined benefit plan will then be frozen.

Retirement benefits will be provided for new hires, and for all officials beginning in 2017, through a defined contribution arrangement. The annual league contribution made on behalf of each game official will begin with an average of more than $18,000 per official and increase to more than $23,000 per official in 2019.

Beginning with the 2013 season, the NFL will have the option to hire a number of officials on a full-time basis to work year round, including on the field. The NFL also will be able to retain additional officials for training and development, and can assign those officials to work games. The number of additional officials will be determined by the league.

"As you know, this has to be ratified and we know very little about it, but we're excited to be back. And ready," referee Ed Hochuli told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. "And I think that's the most important message - that we're ready."

Replacement refs aren't new to the NFL. They worked the first week of games in 2001 before a deal was reached. But those officials came from the highest level of college football; the current replacements do not. Their ability to call fast-moving NFL games drew mounting criticism through Week 3, climaxing last weekend, when ESPN analyst Jon Gruden called their work "tragic and comical."

Those comments came during "Monday Night Football," with Seattle beating Green Bay 14-12 on a desperation pass into the end zone on the final play. Packers safety M.D. Jennings had both hands on the ball in the end zone, and when he fell to the ground in a scrum, both Jennings and Seahawks receiver Golden Tate had their arms on the ball.

The closest official to the play, at the back of the end zone, signaled for the clock to stop, while another official at the sideline ran in and then signaled touchdown.

The NFL said in a statement Tuesday that the touchdown pass should not have been overturned - but acknowledged Tate should have been called for offensive pass interference before the catch. The league also said there was no indisputable evidence to reverse the call made on the field.

That drew even louder howls of disbelief. Some coaches, including Miami's Joe Philbin and Cincinnati's Marvin Lewis, tried to restore some calm by instructing players not to speak publicly on the issue.

Fines against two coaches for incidents involving the replacements were handed out Wednesday.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick was docked $50,000 for trying to grab an official's arm Sunday to ask for an explanation of a call after his team lost at Baltimore. And Washington offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan was tagged for $25,000 for what the league called "abuse of officials" in the Redskins' loss to Cincinnati on Sunday. Two other coaches, Denver's John Fox and assistant Jack Del Rio, were fined Monday for incidents involving the replacements the previous week.

"I accept the discipline and I apologize for the incident," Belichick said.

Players were in no mood for apologies from anyone.

"I'll probably get in trouble for this, but you have to have competent people," Carolina receiver Steve Smith said. "And if you're incompetent, get them out of there."

Added Rams quarterback Sam Bradford: "I just don't think it's fair to the fans, I don't think it's fair to us as players to go out there and have to deal with that week in and week out. I really hope that they're as close as they say they are."

They were.

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AP Sports Writers Tim Reynolds in Miami, Steve Reed in Charlotte, and R.B. Fallstrom in St. Louis contributed to this story.

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