Armed robbers raid Swiss casino

About 10 armed men with pistols and machine guns went into a casino in Switzerland and raided it. They made off into France with several hundred thousand Swiss francs very early Sunday morning. The men were dressed in black clothes and black ski masks. They split into two groups while robbing the Grad Casino Basel. One of the groups tried to break into the lower levels vault but couldn't get in. They did not rob the cashier of the money. The second group was armed and entered the upper level where the blackjack tables are and robbed the chashier. As they were leaving the casino they beat a women who was blocking their cars. There was no serious injuries that occured. Swiss authorities are working with French authorities to find the robbers. The casino is only 100 yards from the French border and the robbers were driving cars with French license plates.

This is just another unfortuante crime. I'm kindof surprised that they all got away. Wasn't there any security? Why didn't someone try and stop them? It is a casino, you would think they would have pretty good security guards. It also sounds like the robbers were able to just walk into the casino and try to open the vaults without any problems. It's lucky for the casino that they didn't get the vault open but still i wonder where the security guards were. I would hope that someone called the cops right away too but they must not have got there in time. The robbers definantly got away with a decent amount of money and hopefully they will be found and put in jail.

www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/europe/03/28/switzerland.casino.robbery

Healthcare: Ensuring Quality Care for Medicare Patients

Almost all policymakers say that Medicare needs to be reformed. Since 2008, doctors who treat Medicare patients have recieved cuts of 5 to 10 percent in their reimbursements from the government. Bush's budget said that $70 billion in savings would occur on Medicare and Medicaid over the next five years. Medicare is set up where doctors get paid for their quantity of services and not their quality of service. Legislators approved a "pay-for-performance" plan that allows Medicare to pay doctors a 1.5 percent bonus if they provide information about the type and quality of their services. Legislators want Medicare to do this to reward good doctors and hospitals that proved the quality and reasonable costly treatment for the Medicare beneficaries. The pay-for-performance system has been a successful one as it has lessen deaths in participating hospitals. Critics say that officails do not have the accurate understanding or knowledge to set standards for medial care. Others argue that if there is guidelines then the government would be undermining doctors authority. Opponents also say that doctors should require "quality care" to their patients at all times.

I agree with the policymakers that Medicare must be reformed. There is no way people my age will be able to have the same benefits as old people do nowadays if Medicare costs and systems continue they way they are right now. Also, I believe that the pay-for-performance system is a good one. The system will promote quality care for everyone getting Medicare. It will reward the superior doctors for giving the best treatment by giving them 1.5 percent bonus. The system will encourage doctors who try to get away with not giving the best care and treatment to start doing so. This program is obviously working because the hospitals participating in this plan have had fewer deaths in heart attack patients than in previous years. This must mean that doctors are giving the best care possible to their patients. Hopefully in return it helps Medicare costs too. Sandra J. Tanenbaum agrees with me on this topic.

Issue #1 Comprehensive vs. Incremental Health Care Reform

Issue #3 Safe to Eat?

Wizards' Arenas to be sentenced on gun charges

Gilbert Arenas, the Washington Wizards point guard will be sentenced for violating the gun laws in the District of Columbia. Arenas has been suspended from the NBA for the rest of the season. He pleaded guilty to illegally bringing four guns into the Wizards lockerroom. It happened during an on going dispute between him and his teammate Jarvaris Crittenton. Prosecutors want three months in jail for the All-star. They said Arenas lied about his the incident he also asked Crittenton to cover up their confrontation. As a part of the plea deal, Arenas will not get more than six months in jail. The judge of this case now says that Arenas will not serve any jail time. He will be sentenced to two years of supervised probation and will have to serve 30 days in a halfway house. Also 400 hours of community service and $5,000 fine to fund for victims of violence.

I'm on the fence for whether I agree with the sentencing or not. He didn't get any jail time when maybe he should have. On the other hand, he didn't hurt anyone so i guess there wasn't much of a reason to put him in jail. I'm a huge NBA fan and I'm also a fan of Gilbert Arenas but I really don't like to see basketball players get publicity for this type of thing. I look up to players like Arenas and I know a lot of other fans do as well but he is definantly not sending a good message. I hope he is ashamed and that he learns his lesson. I also hope that other players and athletes in other sports will change their ways if they too are making bad decisions. Professional athletes are role models whether they want to be or not and they all should send good messages by doing the right things.

www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/03/26/gilbert.arenas.sentencing

Cold case: Mom, tot disappear during custody dispute

Mike Kibalo handed his 2 year old, Samantha, to an officer at the New Hyde Park Police Department in New York for a custody agreement. Kibalo hasn't seen Samantha since February 4, 2001. His wife, Ann Yermak was suppose to be at a divorce hearing the next day but she never showed and no one has seen her since. A psychiatrist has found that Yermak shows symptoms of Munchausen syndrome by proxy which is a condition where someone pretends they have a sickness or in this case pretends that her daughter has a sickness even though her child isn't sick. According to Kibalo, Yermak would take Samantha to the hospital when he dropped her off for visitations and would go to the police and say that he abused her. Dr. Bert Pepper said that he found out after evaluation that the daughter was perfectly healthy and the mother was taking her to doctors for a nonexistent illnesess. Kibalo was going to get custody and apparently Yermak dragged out the divorce.

This is a really weird case. I'm wondering if though, if this is the first time Kibalo has said anything about this. Wouldn't the court have done something after Yermak didn't show up for the hearing, or after Kibalo hadn't heard anything from the mother or daughter in months? It's been 9 years since the mother has been seen so it just seems odd to me that they are bringing this up now. I would like to know what the father did too, like if he went to court or the police in 2001 and told them that he hasn't seen his child or if he just brought it up now. Also I have never heard of Munchausen syndrome so i learned something new reading this article which is a good thing. Although I didn't quite understand how the article defined it so i looked it up and the definition was a little different. It sounds like the wife wasn't the most normal person, I just hope that Samantha is okay. I also hope that someone finds her soon and she gets to stay with either her father or someone that will be a good guardian.

www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/03/22/grace.coldcase.kibalo

Former Ohio doctor gets life for wife's cyanide poisoning death

A former doctor from Ohio poisoned his wife with cyanide five years ago. He was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday. The jury convicted Yazeed Essa of aggravated murder of his wife by using a cyanide-laced calcium pill. Essa will have a possibility for parole in 20 years. The judge, Deena Calabrese had some choice words for Essa. She said, "it is my great hope and the only that I can think of at this moment that they forget you...and that whatever legacy you had is wiped away." The trial lasted six weeks and had testimony from more than 60 witnesses. Essa's wifes mother also talked about how all her daughter wanted was a loving family and that Yazeed took that away from her. Rosemarie was 38 years old and a former nurse, she was driving to the movies when she felt ill. She then called a friend to say she was sick and that it might be from the supplement her husband gave her. She crashed and hit a car shortly after the conversation.

I agree with the judge, Yazeed should get life in prison. He got the sentence he deserved. I have no idea what motives a person to want to kill another person let alone their spouse. It's really sad that these things happen and i wish we didn't have crime of any kind. He must be a very cold hearted human being. The aticle also talked about him having many mistresses. I think that if you don't want to be with your spouse then get a divorce. Don't continue to have affairs with other women, that's just terrible. This guy deserves to be put behind bars for a very long time. Just think about his poor children, who lost their mother and now lost their father too. He probably wasn't a very loving father in the first place, unless he was good at being two faced. He is a very evil man and abused his powers.

www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/03/09/ohio.cyanide.death.sentencing