Was there a secret deal?
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/WORLD/europe/08/24/oakley.lockerbie/art.scottish.parliament.spa.jpg caption="Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill says compassion was the only factor in the release."]
Robin Oakley
CNN
An act of compassion or an undercover deal? What is the truth about the release of Abdelbeset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi from the Scottish prison where the only man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing was incarcerated?
Defending his controversial decision Monday at an emergency session of the Scottish Parliament, Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill argued that it was a case of "Do as you would wish to be done by."
He would not have let out al Megrahi, he said, on a prisoner transfer. That would have been against the promises given to the U.S. authorities and to the Lockerbie victims' families that the Libyan would serve his full life term in Scotland.
But when MacAskill, a member of the Scottish National Party-run government, was told by doctors and prison authorities last December that al Megrahi had terminal and untreatable cancer the situation changed.
He released al Megrahi, he said, strictly on grounds of compassion - the kind of compassion the terrorists had failed to show the Lockerbie victims.
Officers who cracked missing girl case: Something wasn't right
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/CRIME/08/31/missing.girl.officers/art.kidnapping.officers.cnn.jpg caption="Allison Jacobs, left, and Lisa Campbell of the UC Berkeley Police Department were wary of Phillip Garrido."]
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/CRIME/08/31/missing.girl.officers/art.girls1.cnn.jpg caption="Jaycee Dugard's daughters attend a birthday party two weeks ago. Their faces are blurred to protect their privacy."]
CNN
Call it mother's intuition. Call it a police officer's intuition. But Allison Jacobs knew something was wrong.
The University of California, Berkeley, police officer was sitting in on a meeting with a man named Phillip Garrido, who wanted to hold an event on campus, and Lisa Campbell, special events manager for the university police. Garrido brought along two young girls, introducing them as his daughters.
Jacobs' and Campbell's intuition, authorities said, led to the arrest of Garrido, a registered sex offender who along with his wife, Nancy, now faces 29 felony charges in connection with the 1991 kidnapping of Jaycee Dugard, who was then 11. Both have pleaded not guilty.
Police have said Garrido kept Dugard in a series of sheds in his backyard for 18 years, fathering two children with her - the 11- and 15-year-old girls he brought with him to the meeting.
In a Friday interview with CNN's "AC360," Campbell said Garrido had approached her August 24 with the two girls in tow, asking about holding his event. She had another commitment, so she asked him to return the following day.
Live Blog from the Anchor Desk 08/31/09
We’re keeping a close eye on a fast-moving California wildfire that’s threatening thousands of homes and businesses outside Los Angeles—and has trapped five people who ignored evacuation orders.
And we now have a much clearer picture of what the last 18 years have been like for Jaycee Dugard, the young woman who was found last week 18 years after her kidnapping. Investigators are combing the secret backyard compound where Dugard was allegedly forced to live–and where she apparently gave birth to the two daughters her captor fathered. We’ll show you what investigators found inside the squalid makeshift compound of tents and sheds.
Want to know what else we're covering? Read EVENING BUZZ
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Evening Buzz: Inside Jaycee Dugard’s secret backyard prison
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/US/08/31/california.wildfires/art.fire.drive.away.gi.jpg]
Cate Vojdik
AC360° Writer
We’re keeping a close eye on a fast-moving California wildfire that’s threatening thousands of homes and businesses outside Los Angeles—and has trapped five people who ignored evacuation orders. They’re stuck in a canyon surrounded by walls of flames. The blaze, which broke out last week, nearly doubled in size overnight. Two firefighters died battling it. We’ll have the latest tonight.
We now have a much clearer picture of what the last 18 years have been like for Jaycee Dugard, the young woman who was found last week 18 years after her kidnapping. Investigators are combing the secret backyard compound where Dugard was allegedly forced to live–and where she apparently gave birth to the two daughters her captor fathered. We’ll show you what investigators found inside the squalid makeshift compound of tents and sheds.
We’ll also hear from people who came into contact with Jaycee Dugard during her captivity. It turns out she wasn’t entirely isolated. She apparently helped Phillip Garrido run his printing business. Why didn’t outsiders suspect anything was wrong? What was their impression of the young woman? We’ll try to answer those questions tonight.
The official complaint filed against Phillip Garrido
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/CRIME/08/28/california.kidnap.shed/art.garrido.mug.jpg caption="Phillip Garrido is a registered sex offender, listed as having been convicted of forcible rape."]
AC360°
The 18-year mystery surrounding the kidnapping case of Jaycee Dugard ended last week when a sex offender admitted to correction authorities that he abducted her.
Dugard was 11-years-old when she was snatched from the street in front of her house in 1991. She had two children with Phillip Garrido, the man accused of taking her, and since her kidnapping she has lived in her alleged abductor’s backyard, in a shed. All of this played out in a residential neighborhood.
Beat 360° 8/31/09
Ready for today's Beat 360°? Everyday we post a picture – and you provide the caption and our staff will join in too. Tune in tonight at 10pm to see if you are our favorite! Here is the 'Beat 360°' pic:
TV personality Tyra Banks accepts the Emmy for Outstanding Talk Show/Informative during the 36th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards at The Orpheum Theatre on August 30, 2009 in Los Angeles, California.
Have fun with it. We're looking forward to your captions! Make sure to include your name, city, state (or country) so we can post your comment.
UPDATE BEAT 360º WINNERS
Staff:
Kirk McDonald
"I never even knew that “Most Annoying Person in the World” was an Emmy category!"
Viewer:
Bob, Massillon, OH
“Now I feel more like Oprah Winfrey and less like Jerry Springer.”
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The science of fires: How wildfires spread
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/08/31/art.graphic.fire.jpg]
CNN
Fueled by summer's dry conditions, millions of acres of America's forests burn each year. Take a look at this interactive to see how fires spread and the tools and techniques that are used to fight them.
Don't dishonour Lockerbie victims
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/WORLD/europe/08/24/scotland.lockerbie/art.megrahi.gi.jpg caption="Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi (second from left) arrives in Tripoli, Libya."]
Brian Flynn
The Guardian
Imagine if one of the September 11 hijackers had lived, that he was fairly tried, convicted and sentenced to a lengthy jail term. Then, after just a few years, under an agreement with the Afghan government, we sent him back to serve out his term with the Taliban under Osama bin Laden.
Although it seems almost impossible, a painfully similar scenario is playing out in the Scotland. Abdelbaset al-Megrahi – the terrorist convicted in the Lockerbie bombing – may soon be released by the Scottish government and handed over to Libya, the very government that plotted this cowardly mass murder.
All of your H1N1 Swine Flu questions answered
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/HEALTH/07/29/CDC.H1N1.vaccine.guidelines/art.vaccines.gi.jpg]
Centers for Disease Control
Check out this link for the most recent information on the H1N1 swine flu virus. This CDC site has maps that show the areas most affected by the virus and it has all of the information about vaccines and what to do if you contract the H1N1 flu. Go here to learn more about the virus and how you can protect yourself from contracting it. And tune in tonight for more from Dr. Sanjay Gupta. He’ll be on to answer your questions.
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