Trayvon Martin's mom calls for gun law review

The mother of an unarmed black Florida teen, who’s killing by a neighborhood watch volunteer set off a storm of protests, released a Mother's Day video calling for a review of lax US gun laws.

"Just like me, 30,000 mothers lost their children this year to senseless gun violence,".

"Nobody can bring our children back, but it would bring us comfort if we can help spare other mothers the pain we will feel on Mother's Day and every day for the rest of our lives."

Martin, 17, was shot to death February 26 in Sanford, Florida, by neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman, who claims he shot the unarmed youth in self-defense.

Fulton called on supporters to lobby against "Stand Your Ground" laws in several US states that allow civilians with weapons to fire if they feel threatened with death or with serious injury.

Local police did not arrest or bring charges against Zimmerman for weeks because of Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law, until public outrage led to an investigation by a special state prosecutor. He was arrested April 11 and charged with second degree murder.

Florida Governor Rick Scott announced the creation of a commission to review the self-defense law.

Mom, daughter found dead; 2 sisters still missing

A Brooklyn mother accused of starving, drugging and beating her 4-year-old daughter to death says she never harmed the child.

Carlotta Brett-Pierce acknowledged at her trial Monday that the girl "had lost weight," but said she "didn't look bad."

Brett-Pierce and her mother, Loretta Brett, are charged with murder in the death of Marchella  in September of 2010. She weighed half what a child her age should, and had bruises and cuts on her body.

The defendants have pleaded not guilty and say they were doing the best they could.

The outcome of the murder trial may have repercussions for the child welfare workers once assigned to the family. They were charged with criminally negligent homicide and have also pleaded not guilty.

The search for two Tennessee girls is intensifying after their mother and older sister were found dead at their alleged kidnapper's house in north Mississippi.

The FBI says the bodies of Jo Ann Bain and her 14-year-old daughter, Adrienne Bain, were found behind Adam Mayes' house near Guntown. The FBI says agents believe Bain's 12- and 8-year-old daughters are still with Mayes.

The search for a man accused of abducting a Tennessee woman and her three young daughters has intensified after authorities said the mother and her oldest daughter were found dead in north Mississippi, behind a house belonging to the alleged kidnapper.

Authorities are looking for Adam Mayes, a 35-year-old family friend accused of abducting Jo Ann Bain and her daughters. Mayes was at the Bains' house helping them pack to move to Arizona when the mother and her three daughters vanished April 27, authorities said.

Bain and her three daughters disappeared April 27 as the family was packing to move to Arizona. Mayes was with them helping the family when they vanished.

FBI agents with rifles joined K-9 units and SWAT teams looking for Mayes in the woods and back roads near Guntown.

Mayes was last seen a week ago in Guntown, about 80 miles south of the Bain family's home in Whiteville, Tenn.

Both Gary Bain and Mayes were once married to sisters, Tennessee Bureau of Investigation spokeswoman Kristin Helm said.

Mayes had stayed over at the Bains' house to help the family pack and load up a U-Haul to drive across the country to Arizona, Helm said. Gary Bain, who was at the house that night, awoke to find his wife, daughters and Mayes gone.

He couldn't reach his wife on her cell phone that day, and reported them missing when the girls didn't get off the school bus.

Linda Kirkland, a family friend and cook at the Country Cafe in Whiteville, said the woman and her daughters were moving to Arizona because two of the girls had asthma.

Mayes also has ties to Arizona, Texas, North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida.

Mayes and the Bains were known around Whiteville, a town of about 4,500 people 60 miles east of Memphis. Mayes was a longtime friend of Bain's husband and had been at their home the evening before they disappeared, police said.

Murder charge out in Trayvon Martin case

Amid furious public pressure to make an arrest in the killing of Trayvon Martin, the special prosecutor on the case went for the maximum Wednesday, bringing a second-degree murder charge against the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot the unarmed black teenager.

There's still no word on whether George Zimmerman will be charged in the death of Trayvon Martin -- but if he is, the charge won't be first-degree murder.

George Zimmerman, 28, was jailed in Sanford -- the site of the shooting Feb. 26 that set off a nationwide debate over racial profiling and self-defense -- on charges that carry a minimum of 25 years in prison and a maximum sentence that could put him in prison for life.

The special prosecutor who's deciding whether to file charges announced today that she's not going to take the case to a grand jury. That's a step that would only be required if a first-degree murder case. 

"We do not prosecute by public pressure or by petition. We prosecute based on the facts on any given case as well as the laws of the state of Florida," Corey said.

Martin's parents, who were in Washington when the announcement came, expressed relief over the decision to prosecute the killer of their 17-year-old son.

Angela Corey could still charge Zimmerman with a serious felony such as manslaughter, which can carry a lengthy prison sentence.

Zimmerman's new attorney, Mark O'Mara, said Zimmerman will plead not guilty and will invoke Florida's powerful "stands your ground" law, which gives people wide leeway to use deadly force without having to retreat in the face of danger.

One Florida defense attorney says the decision not to go to a grand jury means Corey won't have to rely on potentially-unpredictable jurors. David Hill says Corey may know that there isn't enough for a first-degree murder charge, but she wants to charge him with something else -- and she now can "maintain control" of that process.

Corey took over the case last month after the prosecutor who normally handles cases out of Sanford recused himself.

The death of the unarmed black teen at the hands of the neighborhood watch volunteer has led to protests across the nation. One of those protests today prompted the temporary closing of the Sanford Police Department offices to the public, as about a half-dozen student activists blocked the entrance.

Zimmerman, whose father is white and whose mother Hispanic, turned himself in earlier in the day and will make a court appearance as early as Thursday, when his lawyer plans to ask for bail.

Dog saves girl from attack by sex offender

A shelter dog is being hailed a hero for saving a Florida girl from an alleged attack by a sex offender.

National Puppy Day it seems all too appropriate that one Florida shelter dog is being lauded for her heroic efforts as woman's best friend.

A shelter dog has been hailed a hero after saving a Florida girl from an alleged attack by a registered sex offender.

 

The 17-year-old was volunteering for St. Petersburg animal shelter Friends of Strays when she took Mabeline, a Rhodesian ridge back mix, for a walk. When a 17-year-old girl left St. Petersburg's Friends of Strays animal shelter to walk a dog, she never imagined her volunteer work would lead her to be the one in need.

But as the teenager walked down a path behind the building, the attacker allegedly chased her down, grabbed her by her hair and pinned her to the ground, according to WTSP-TV.

 "She was a wonderful stray dog who came to us and we were able to place her in a forever home," the shelter's executive director, Beverly Passe, told FoxNews.com. "We have plenty more liked her who needs homes, too."

Bacon has since been arrested and charged with false imprisonment.

Police said Michael Bacon, a registered sex offender, overpowered the girl and she was unable to escape his grip.

Mabeline's new owner, Mary Callahan, told the station that she was unaware of the dog's heroic act when she adopted her. When she learned the back story, she saw Mabeline in a new light.

"I looked at my dog and I thought, 'You are a hero,'" she said.

Kate Upton will grace cover of Sports Illustrated cover swimsuit issue

Kate Upton unveiled mean acknowledge her cover for this year's annual Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue or clothing for swimming on Monday.
She's a Florida girl who's comfortable in a bikini and now 19-year-old model Kate Upton is on the cover of the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue.
Liv Tyler, who has been the celebrity face of Givenchy for several years, stars in a new music video promoting the house's Very Irresistible Givenchy Electric Rose fragrance, set to go on sale in April. In the video above, Tyler sings INXS's -Need you tonight.

 Teen fashion blogger Tavi Gevinson -- who is appearing and singing in the animated short film "Cadaver" with Kathy Bates and Christopher Lloyd  -- performed Neil Young's "Heart of Gold" for an audience of bloggers and friends before a screening of the film Sunday night.
Kate Upton wears a tiny red-and-brown, sparkle-covered string bikini with a view of the waters of Australia behind her as she poses for the magazine cover, unveiled Monday.
"That was one of the first photos from the first shoot," the 19-year-old model said in a telephone interview before the big reveal. "It was my favorite swimsuit … I felt sexy in it but confident."
"In Florida, people walk around in their flip-flops, bikinis and jean shorts, so I'm very comfortable in a bathing suit," she said.
The 2012 magazine cover is her second time appearing in the annual SI issue called the equivalent of the Super Bowl for models. Last year, Upton was chosen as rookie of the year.
"I have had a great year," she said. "For me, this is groundbreaking."
She wears a tiny red-and-brown, sparkle-covered string bikini with a view of the waters of Australia behind her as she poses for the magazine cover, which is scheduled to be unveiled on TV Monday night on "Late Show with David Letterman" on CBS.
"That was one of the first photos from the first shoot," she said in a telephone interview before the big reveal. "It was my favorite swimsuit. … I felt sexy in it but confident.
Upton, 5 feet 10, was born in Michigan but raised in Florida. Her hometown is Melbourne, on the state's east coast. She attended Holy Trinity Episcopal Academy.
Be sure to follow our coverage of New York Fashion Week. Our latest reviews look at Marc Jacobs, Billy Reid and Diane von Furstenberg. Continuing coverage of the best of the shows can be found on our All the Rage blog.
She’s a Florida girl who’s comfortable in a bikini, and now 19-year-old model Kate Upton is on the cover of the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit issue.
She wears a tiny red-and-brown, sparkle-covered string bikini with a view of the waters of Australia behind her as she poses for the magazine cover, which was unveiled on TV Monday night on Late Show with David Letterman on CBS.
The 2012 magazine cover is Upton’s second time appearing in the annual SI issue that’s the equivalent of the Super Bowl for models. Last year, when Irina Shayk was on the cover, Upton was chosen as rookie of the year.

Top heavy model Kate Upton is the odds on favorite to grace the cover of the new Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, which will be revealed next Monday and why are you still reading this and not clicking on all the pictures?

For anyone overly upset that Punxsutawney Phil recently predicted six more weeks of winter, let us offer five very welcome -- and very lovely -- signs that summer will be here before you can say "body paint."
Three notable female athletes appear in the increasingly popular Body Paint feature. The 2012 group of painted ladies includes U.S. soccer player Alex Morgan, U.S. Olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin and golfer Natalie Gulbis.
Along with Swimsuit 2012 cover girl Kate Upton, Bar Refaeli returns to SI in 2012. The Israeli beauty graces a feature dubbed "Bar & the Boys" that includes photographs of her with U.S. Olympic gold medalist swimmer Michael Phelps, Lob City point guard Chris Paul and tennis superstar Rafael Nadal.