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New 'Captain America' filming in Ohio


COLUMBUS, Ohio (WDTN) -
Ohio’s film industry announced its receiving another major production in February of 2013, bringing thousands of job opportunities with it. 
Disney’s Marvel Studios was awarded a $9.5 million Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit for two project locations related to the new film,  Captain America: The Winter Soldier. The movie will be shot in northeast and southern Ohio.
“First the  Avengers, now  Captain America—Hollywood is seeing the benefits of filming in Ohio,” said Christiane Schmenk, Director of the Ohio Development Services Agency. “This is another example of the positive impact that the Ohio Motion Picture Tax Credit is having on our film industry and our state’s job-creation picture overall.”
Production in Ohio is expected to begin in February 2013, with the film scheduled for a Spring 2014 release.  An estimated $35 million is expected to be spent in Ohio on the production over approximately 150 days for prep, shooting, and post production work.  Approximately 40 % of the movie will be shot in the Ohio, creating an estimated 2,778 Ohio job opportunities.

NFL reaches tentative agreement with refs


By BARRY WILNER | Associated Press
NEW YORK (AP) — So long, replacements refs. The NFL's regular crews will be back at work 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 regulars would call the Browns-Ravens game at Baltimore.

The tentative eight-year deal must be ratified by 51 percent of the union's 121 members. They plan to vote Friday and Saturday.

"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 NFLRA said 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, and a partial match on any additional contribution that an official makes to his 401(k) account.

Apart from their benefit package, the game officials' compensation will increase from an average of $149,000 a year in 2011 to $173,000 in 2013, rising to $205,000 by 2019.

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

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.

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

Andy Williams dead at 84: ‘Moon River’ crooner loses battle with bladder cancer

Williams came across for six decades on concert stages and television shows as the ultimate Mr. Nice Guy, as well known for his warm, genial personal style as for his music.
Andy Williams at the Emmys with Carol Burnett and Harry Belafonte (left), Williams and then-wife Claudine Longet (top right), and Williams in a quiet moment (bottom right).


Andy Williams, one of the last crooners from the golden age of easy-listening pop music, died Tuesday at his home in Branson, Mo. He was 84.

Williams, who had been battling bladder cancer, had divided in time in recent years between La Quinta, Calif., and Branson, where he owned the Moon River Theater — named after the song that had been his signature since 1962.


Williams came across for six decades on concert stages and television shows as the 
ultimate Mr. Nice Guy, as well known for his warm, genial personal style as for his music.

He had only one major brush with tabloid celebrity, when his ex-wife, Claudine Longet, was charged in 1976 with accidentally killing her new boyfriend, skier Spider Sabich.

Williams, from whom Longet had been divorced a year earlier, escorted her to court, attended the trial and helped pay for her defense.

She was eventually sentenced to 30 days in jail and then married her attorney a few years later.

American singer Andy Williams and his wife Claudine Longet, shown upon arrival at the Odeon, Leicester Square, London, on Dec. 19, 1974 for the Royal Charity World premiere of "The Man With the Golden Gun.”



Williams married Debbie Meyer in 1991 and remained with her until his death.

Williams had one of the most successful music-and-TV crossover careers of his generation.

He went solo as a recording artist in 1953 and started his TV career as a regular on the Steve Allen’s “Tonight Show” in 1954.

He hosted his own TV variety show from 1962 to 1971 along with popular holiday specials into the 1990s.

He recorded eight albums of Christmas music, tagging him with the affectionate nickname “Mr. Christmas.”

During the warmer months, he was in great demand for movie theme music. Beyond “Moon River,” he recorded themes as diverse as the dark “Days of Wine and Roses” and the saccharine “Where Do I Begin” from “Love Story.”

His association with “Moon River” began when composer Henry Mancini asked him to sing it at the 1962 Academy Awards. It won the Oscar and quickly became Williams’ most popular song — though it was never released as a single.


His only No. 1 radio hit was a cover version of Charlie Gracie’s 1957 rockabilly song “Butterfly,” but he kept his popularity with easy-listening fans for decades, racking up 18 gold and three platinum albums.
Reflecting his reputation as a mainstream concert artist, Williams sang the National Anthem at the 1973 Super Bowl. He also hosted seven Grammy Awards shows, from 1971 to 1977.

He was politically active, and while he described himself as a “lifelong Republican,” he campaigned in 1968 for his friend Robert F. Kennedy. He sang “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” at Kennedy’s funeral that year.

Williams hosted his own TV variety show from 1962 to 1971, along with popular holiday specials in to the 1990s.

ANONYMOUS/APAndy Williams performs a song on a television show on May 12, 1961. Emmy-winning TV host and "Moon River"

In 1972, he campaigned for George McGovern, and when the Nixon administration tried to deport John Lennon, Williams became an outspoken defender of Lennon’s right to stay in the U.S. In later years, he criticized Barack Obama for taking the country “too far left.”

Born in Wall Lake, Iowa, Williams began singing in the Presbyterian church choir and joined his three siblings in the Williams Brothers quartet.

They sang on radio programs in the Midwest and backed Bing Crosby on his 1944 hit “Swingin’ on a Star.” They also appeared in several movies.

Williams went solo in 1953 and had his first hit with “Canadian Sunset” in 1956.

He was also a shrewd businessman. He eventually acquired the masters to all the music from his first label, Cadence, where his colleagues included the Everly Brothers and the Chordettes.

He launched his own label, Barnaby Records, which had hits with Ray Stevens and released the first album of a then-unknown singer named Jimmy Buffett. Earlier, on his TV show, he had introduced the Osmond family.

He opened the Moon River Theater with his brother Don in 1992. It was the first Branson theater not directly tied to country music, and paved the way for a broader range of artists to start playing in Branson.

He was also a major golf fan, hosting a PGA tournament in San Diego from 1968 to 1988.

He is survived by Meyer and three children from his first marriage, Robert, Noelle and Christian.

The Osmond's were a regular feature on The Andy Williams Show


Donny Osmond
Andy Williams was an inspiring man in both his music and his life....
donny.com

The Official Jay Osmond Fan Page
So sorry for the loss of dear friend Andy Williams. We would not be in this business & had the success we've enjoyed without this great man.

Apple's Steve Wozniak: I want to become Australian


Steve Wozniak, who co-founded Apple with the late Steve Jobs, revealed his fondness for Australia and said he hopes to become a citizen.

Steve Wozniak, co-founder of Apple Photo: REUTERS

"I actually like this country and want to become a citizen," he told the Australian Financial Review, saying he was particularly impressed with plans to roll out a national broadband network across the country.

Wozniak, who quit Apple in 1987 after 12 years, told local radio in Brisbane last week that he enjoyed his regular visits to Australia.

"I am... on the way to become an Australian citizen, that's a littlenown fact," he told station 4BC after queuing up to buy the new generation iPhone 5.

"It turns out that I get to keep my American citizenship," he added.

"I intend, you know who knows what will follow through in the next five years, I intend to call myself an Australian and feel an Australian, and study the history and become, you know, as much of a real citizen here as I can."

In the interview with the Financial Review, Wozniak said the national broadband network was one of the reasons he wants to become a citizen.

Australia's ambitious Aus$35.9 billion ($37.4 billion) National Broadband Network (NBN) aims to connect all Australians to superfast Internet by 2021 in a move the government hopes will transform the country's economy.

Wozniak said his home in California was not connected to a broadband service and there was no "political idea" to bring it to everyone in the United States.

"There's only one set of wires to be on and I'm not going to pull strings to get them to do something special for me," he said.

Under the NBN scheme, 93 per cent of homes, schools and businesses will be linked by fibre optic while those in more remote regions of the vast nation will receive their service by fixed wireless and satellite technologies.

Beagle survives 70-foot leap off of N.J. bridge with only a few bruises




Burlington-Bristol Bridge (Burlington County Bridge Comission)
(CBS/AP) BURLINGTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. - A beagle who jumped 70 feet off a New Jersey bridge has survived with only minor bruises.
Seven-year-old Brandi got away from her owner, Robert Lorenz, during a walk along the Burlington Riverfront Promenade Friday night.
His wife, Alexis Lorenz, told The Courier-Post of Cherry Hill he returned one hour after he set out on the walk with their two beagles, panicking. The two began to scour the area by the riverfront by foot and car for hours unsuccessfully.
That's when bridge officer Rob Bittner saw Brandi walking up the Burlington-Bristol Bridge toward Pennsylvania.
Bittner tells The Courier-Post he turned on his emergency lights to slow traffic and followed the dog. Bittner says Brandi was doing fine until she got to the top of the span and her paws felt a steel grate.
The officer says Brandi jumped into the Delaware River as motorists tried to grab her.
"She went in," Bittner said. "We immediately started looking over into the water. She was swimming and made it to the shoreline.
The beagle's owner recovered her after a long night of searching and took her to a veterinarian. Brandi was bruised around the abdomen, but didn't have any broken bones. The owners added to that Brandi was a rescue dog who was skittish around people she didn't know because of her past experiences.
Alexis said the dog has a new nickname: Leaping Licker. She also has a brand new harness so she can't get lose again.

Actor Stephen Dunham Dies at 48


He appeared in such sitcoms as “Oh, Grow Up” and “Hot Properties” and the film “Monster-in-Law.”
Stephen Dunham, a charismatic actor who starred in the sitcoms Oh, Grow Up and Hot Properties, died at Providence St. Joseph’s Hospital in Burbank on Sept. 14, days after suffering a heart attack in his home. He died on his 48th birthday.

Dunham is survived by actress Alexondra Lee, his wife since 2005. They met on the set of Alan Ball’s Oh, Grow Up, a 1999 ABC comedy about three pals from college living together.

Dunham and Lee were wed in the Martha’s Vineyard home of comic actor Chevy Chase. The pair will appear as husband and wife in Paramount’s Paranormal Activity 4, out in October.

Dunham also had regular roles on The WB’s What I Like About You, which starred Jennie Garth and aired from 2002-06; NBC’s DAG, which starred David Alan Grier as a demoted Secret Service agent and lasted one season in 2000-01; and TBS’ The Bill Engvall Show.

Hot Properties, a comedy created by Suzanne Martin (Hot in Cleveland) revolving around four female real estate agents (Gail O’Grady, Nicole Sullivan, Sofia Vergara and Christina Moore), aired on ABC in 2005.

Dunham also starred in the 2000 indie film Nothing Sacred and had a nice turn as an actor/waiter in 2005's Monster-in-Law, starring Jennifer Lopez and Jane Fonda. He had bit parts in The Mummy (1999), Traffic (2000), Catch Me If You Can (2002), Anger Management (2003), Get Smart (2008) and this year’s Savages.

A native of Manchester, N.H., and a graduate of The Brooks School outside Boston, Dunham attended New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, then moved to Los Angeles to pursue an acting career.

In addition to his wife, Dunham is survived by his parents Fredrick and Sandra and his siblings Rick and Pam. The family asks that donations in his memory be made to the National Brain Tumor Society or anti-poverty organization KIVA.org.

Antarctic Sea Ice Sets Another Record


Antarctic Iceberg (Photo credit: NOAA's National Ocean Service)
Antarctic sea ice set another record this past week, with the most amount of ice ever recorded on day 256 of the calendar year (September 12 of this leap year). Please, nobody tell the mainstream media or they might have to retract some stories and admit they are misrepresenting scientific data.
National Public Radio (NPR) published an article on its website last month claiming, “Ten years ago, a piece of ice the size of Rhode Island disintegrated and melted in the waters off Antarctica. Two other massive ice shelves along the Antarctic Peninsula had suffered similar fates a few years before. The events became poster children for the effects of global warming. … There’s no question that unusually warm air triggered the final demise of these huge chunks of ice.”

NPR failed to mention anywhere in its article that Antarctic sea ice has been growing since satellites first began measuring the ice 33 years ago and the sea ice has been above the 33-year average throughout 2012.

Indeed, none of the mainstream media are covering this important story. A Google News search of the terms Antarctic, sea ice and record turns up not a single article on the Antarctic sea ice record. Amusingly, page after page of Google News results for Antarctic sea ice record show links to news articles breathlessly spreading fear and warning of calamity because Arctic sea ice recently set a 33-year low.

Sea ice around one pole is shrinking while sea ice around another pole is growing. This sure sounds like a global warming crisis to me.

Actor Jamie Farr and Producer Jonathan Flora release 'Help Us Save Our Tank' video

Producer Jonathan Flora

Hey there friends.

On behalf of Co-Founders Tina Marker and Ernie Root, I hope you can please take a look at this video with Jamie Farr of M*A*S*H (and so much more!) and myself. Our small town of Eaton, Ohio had a historic landmark of more than fifty years, that honors those having served in the military, taken away and well, we'd like for it to be returned.

Please join us and sign up here on this page. You can also check out PrebleCountyHeritage.com

It is a real honor to be part of such a noble cause, even when one town at a time. Please continue to remember those that have served and given their lives for our great nation. And always, see a troop, thank a troop! Their families too!

Well done, gang!
Jonathan
 — with Jamie Farr.

Magic Kingdom No Longer “Dry”, Ready To Serve Beer & Wine


ORLANDO (CBSMiami) – In its 41-year history, Disney World’s Magic Kingdom has never served alcohol, until now.
Disney officials have confirmed beer and wine will be on the menu when the new Be Our Guest restaurant opens in November as part of the Fantasyland expansion.
Disney officials told the Orlando Sentinel Thursday that they’ve listened to feedback from guests who’ve said they’d like the option of being served beer or wine. However, the beer and wine will only be served during dinner hours. Disney hasn’t decided yet what time dinner service will begin.
The Be Our Guest restaurant is based on Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast” and will serve French cuisine. Be Our Guest will offer 20 wines, almost all by the glass. The restaurant will serve several Belgian and French beers, but no domestic. The restaurant’s menu, including the full beer and wine list, is posted at DisneyWorld.com.
Disney’s Vice President of Food and Beverage Maribeth Bisienere says it’s all about the dining experience.
Other Disney World parks; Animal Kingdom, Hollywood Studios and Epcot, also sell alcohol.
Universal Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando sell beer, wine and alcohol at their attractions.

Inside story of US envoy's assassination


Exclusive: America 'was warned of embassy attack but did nothing'

The killings of the US ambassador to Libya and three of his staff were likely to have been the result of a serious and continuing security breach, The Independent can reveal.
American officials believe the attack was planned, but Chris Stevens had been back in the country only a short while and the details of his visit to Benghazi, where he and his staff died, were meant to be confidential.
The US administration is now facing a crisis in Libya. Sensitive documents have gone missing from the consulate in Benghazi and the supposedly secret location of the "safe house" in the city, where the staff had retreated, came under sustained mortar attack. Other such refuges across the country are no longer deemed "safe".
Some of the missing papers from the consulate are said to list names of Libyans who are working with Americans, putting them potentially at risk from extremist groups, while some of the other documents are said to relate to oil contracts.
According to senior diplomatic sources, the US State Department had credible information 48 hours before mobs charged the consulate in Benghazi, and the embassy in Cairo, that American missions may be targeted, but no warnings were given for diplomats to go on high alert and "lockdown", under which movement is severely restricted.
Mr Stevens had been on a visit to Germany, Austria and Sweden and had just returned to Libya when the Benghazi trip took place with the US embassy's security staff deciding that the trip could be undertaken safely.
Eight Americans, some from the military, were wounded in the attack which claimed the lives of Mr Stevens, Sean Smith, an information officer, and two US Marines. All staff from Benghazi have now been moved to the capital, Tripoli, and those whose work is deemed to be non-essential may be flown out of Libya.
In the meantime a Marine Corps FAST Anti-Terrorism Reaction Team has already arrived in the country from a base in Spain and other personnel are believed to be on the way. Additional units have been put on standby to move to other states where their presence may be needed in the outbreak of anti-American fury triggered by publicity about a film which demeaned the Prophet Mohamed.
A mob of several hundred stormed the US embassy in the Yemeni capital Sanaa yesterday. Other missions which have been put on special alert include almost all those in the Middle East, as well as in Pakistan, Afghanistan, Armenia, Burundi and Zambia.
Senior officials are increasingly convinced, however, that the ferocious nature of the Benghazi attack, in which rocket-propelled grenades were used, indicated it was not the result of spontaneous anger due to the video, called Innocence of Muslims. Patrick Kennedy, Under-Secretary at the State Department, said he was convinced the assault was planned due to its extensive nature and the proliferation of weapons.
There is growing belief that the attack was in revenge for the killing in a drone strike in Pakistan of Mohammed Hassan Qaed, an al-Qa'ida operative who was, as his nom-de-guerre Abu Yahya al-Libi suggests, from Libya, and timed for the anniversary of the 11 September attacks.
Senator Bill Nelson, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said: "I am asking my colleagues on the committee to immediately investigate what role al-Qa'ida or its affiliates may have played in the attack and to take appropriate action."
According to security sources the consulate had been given a "health check" in preparation for any violence connected to the 9/11 anniversary. In the event, the perimeter was breached within 15 minutes of an angry crowd starting to attack it at around 10pm on Tuesday night. There was, according to witnesses, little defence put up by the 30 or more local guards meant to protect the staff. Ali Fetori, a 59-year-old accountant who lives near by, said: "The security people just all ran away and the people in charge were the young men with guns and bombs."
Wissam Buhmeid, the commander of the Tripoli government-sanctioned Libya's Shield Brigade, effectively a police force for Benghazi, maintained that it was anger over the Mohamed video which made the guards abandon their post. "There were definitely people from the security forces who let the attack happen because they were themselves offended by the film; they would absolutely put their loyalty to the Prophet over the consulate. The deaths are all nothing compared to insulting the Prophet."
Mr Stevens, it is believed, was left in the building by the rest of the staff after they failed to find him in dense smoke caused by a blaze which had engulfed the building. He was discovered lying unconscious by local people and taken to a hospital, the Benghazi Medical Centre, where, according to a doctor, Ziad Abu Ziad, he died from smoke inhalation.
An eight-strong American rescue team was sent from Tripoli and taken by troops under Captain Fathi al- Obeidi, of the February 17 Brigade, to the secret safe house to extract around 40 US staff. The building then came under fire from heavy weapons. "I don't know how they found the place to carry out the attack. It was planned, the accuracy with which the mortars hit us was too good for any ordinary revolutionaries," said Captain Obeidi. "It began to rain down on us, about six mortars fell directly on the path to the villa."
Libyan reinforcements eventually arrived, and the attack ended. News had arrived of Mr Stevens, and his body was picked up from the hospital and taken back to Tripoli with the other dead and the survivors.
Mr Stevens' mother, Mary Commanday, spoke of her son yesterday. "He did love what he did, and he did a very good job with it. He could have done a lot of other things, but this was his passion. I have a hole in my heart," she said.
Global anger: The protests spread
Yemen
The furore across the Middle East over the controversial film about the Prophet Mohamed is now threatening to get out of control. In Sana'a, the Yemeni capital, yesterday around 5,000 demonstrators attacked the US embassy, leaving at least 15 people injured. Young protesters, shouted: "We sacrifice ourselves for you, Messenger of God," smashed windows of the security offices and burned at least five cars, witnesses said.
Egypt
Egypt's Islamist President Mohamed Morsi yesterday condemned the attack in Benghazi that killed the US ambassador. In a speech in Brussels, Mr Morsi said he had spoken to President Obama and condemned "in the clearest terms" the Tuesday attacks. Despite this, and possibly playing to a domestic audience, President Obama said yesterday that "I don't think we would consider them an ally, but we don't consider them an enemy".
Demonstrators in Cairo attacked the mission on Tuesday evening and protests have continued since.
Iraq
Militants said the anti-Islamic film "will put all the American interests Iraq in danger" and called on Muslims everywhere to "face our joint enemy", as protesters in Baghdad burned American flags yesterday. The warning from the Iranian-backed group Asaib Ahl al-Haq came as demonstrators demanded the closure of the US embassy in the capital.
Bangladesh
Islamists warned they may "besiege" the US embassy in Dhaka after security forces stopped around 1,000 protesters marching to the building. The Khelafat Andolon group called for bigger protests as demonstrators threw their fists in the air, burned the flag and chanted anti-US slogans.
Others
There was a Hamas-organised protest in Gaza City, and as many as 100 Arab Israelis took to the streets in Tel Aviv. In Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai postponed a trip to Norway, fearing violence. Officials in Pakistan said they "expected protests". Protesters in Tunis burnt US flags.

Embassy attack in Libya was coordinated


Attack may have been coordinated
WTOP's J.J. Green
WASHINGTON - Intelligence experts and U.S. government officials are starting to view the attack in Libya that killed U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others in Benghazi as a coordinated attack.
Congressman Mike Rogers, R-Mich., went as far Wednesday to say the attack had all the hallmarks of al-Qaida.
"This was a coordinated attack, more of a commando style event. It had both coordinated fire, direct fire, indirect fire," Rogers said following an intelligence briefing.
Other sources, including officials at the Pentagon and the State Department, are also discussing the possibility that it was a planned operation, and some say several developments support the possibility.
The incident does not appear to be a random mob scene, but rather an opportunity that militants seized, sources say. The attackers used a rocket-propelled grenade, a weapon not traditionally carried by protesters, but commonly used by terrorists.
The attack is believed to have come in two waves. The first wave got inside of the compound, and a second wave penetrated a secure location inside the building. This development raises questions about how the attackers knew the location of that secure facility, sources say.
On Sept. 11, al-Qaida leader Ayman al-Zawahiri put out a video eulogizing Abu Yahya al-Libi, an Islamist terrorist and high-ranking al-Qaida member, who was killed in a drone attack in June. Sources have said they believe the Libyan incident might have been revenge for the death of al-Libi.
The embassy was housed in a local building that had been contracted temporarily. It was not an "Inman" compound, which is a building designed with certain security protocols, such as "standoff" distances between the public street and the actual facility.
Fred Burton, a former diplomatic security agent at the State Department, says it is the host country's responsibility to provide adequate security for all diplomats inside their country.
"One of the more problematic events that you can ever deal with is a large mob that overtakes a facility," Burton says. "You never see that in the U.S. simply because we have adequate police presence and can set up perimeters and keep rolling out the resources to counter that kind of event taking place."
Burton was one of the first diplomatic security agents to staff the diplomatic security service when it began. He was one of the first agents to go to Libya to investigate hijackings of planes and kidnappings of westerners in the early 1980s.
Burton says it is unclear where Stevens was killed.
"Was he killed coming back to the mission or was he trying to exit the mission? Was he trying to exit the safe house that's now into play? There are a lot of unknown factors here," he says.
"You may have had a situation that deteriorated so rapidly that a snap decision was made to load up the ambassador, and 'Let's get the hell out of dodge,' and they just vacated and ran into a situation where you had a perimeter set up and RPGs were fired into the limo as it was departing," he says.
The president has ratcheted up security at embassies worldwide because of the incident.

State Department officer killed in attack on US Consulate in Libya, following Egyptian protest at US embassy


Associated Press  URGENT: 
A Untied States envoy and three others were reportedly killed in an attack on the American embassy in Libya, unconfirmed reports say.  
Protesters angered over a film that ridiculed Islam's Prophet Muhammad fired gunshots and burned down the U.S. consulate in the eastern Libyan city of Benghazi, killing one American diplomat, witnesses and the State Department said. In Egypt, protesters scaled the walls of the U.S. embassy in Cairo and replaced an American flag with an Islamic banner.
It was the first such assaults on U.S. diplomatic facilities in either country, at a time when both Libya and Egypt are struggling to overcome the turmoil following the ouster of their longtime leaders, Muammar Qaddafi and Hosni Mubarak in uprisings last year.
The protests in both countries were sparked by outrage over a film ridiculing Muhammad produced by an American in California and being promoted by an extreme anti-Muslim Egyptian Christian campaigner in the United States. Excerpts from the film dubbed into Arabic were posted on YouTube.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton confirmed that one State Department officer had been killed in the protest at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. She strongly condemned the attack and said she had called Libyan President Mohammed el-Megarif "to coordinate additional support to protect Americans in Libya."
Clinton expressed concern that the protests might spread to other countries. She said the U.S. is working with "partner countries around the world to protect our personnel, our missions, and American citizens worldwide."
"Some have sought to justify this vicious behavior as a response to inflammatory material posted on the Internet," Clinton said in a statement released by the State Department. "The United States deplores any intentional effort to denigrate the religious beliefs of others. Our commitment to religious tolerance goes back to the very beginning of our nation. But let me be clear: There is never any justification for violent acts of this kind. "
In Benghazi, a large mob stormed the U.S. consulate, with gunmen firing their weapons, said Wanis al-Sharef, an Interior Ministry official in Benghazi. A witness said attackers fired automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades at the consulate as they clashed with Libyans hired to guard the facility.
Outnumbered by the crowd, Libyan security forces did little to stop them, al-Sharef said.
The crowd overwhelmed the facility and set fire to it, burning most of it and looting the contents, witnesses said.
One American was shot to death and a second was wounded in the hand, al-Sharef said. He did not give further details.
The violence at the consulate lasted for about three hours, but the situation has now quieted down, said another witness.
"I heard nearly 10 explosions and all kinds of weapons. It was a terrifying day," said the witness who refused to give his name because he feared retribution.
Hours before the Benghazi attack, hundreds of mainly ultraconservative Islamist protesters in Egypt marched to the U.S. Embassy in downtown Cairo, gathering outside its walls and chanting against the movie and the U.S. Most of the embassy staff had left the compound earlier because of warnings of the upcoming demonstration.
"Say it, don't fear: Their ambassador must leave," the crowd chanted.
Dozens of protesters then scaled the embassy walls, and several went into the courtyard and took down the American flag from a pole. They brought it back to the crowd outside, which tried to burn it, but failing that tore it apart.
The protesters on the wall then raised on the flagpole a black flag with a Muslim declaration of faith, "There is no god but God and Muhammad is his prophet." The flag, similar to the banner used by al-Qaida, is commonly used by ultraconservatives around the region.
The crowd grew throughout the evening with thousands standing outside the embassy. Dozens of riot police lined up along the embassy walls but did not stop protesters as they continued to climb and stand on the wall - though it appeared no more went into the compound.
The crowd chanted, "Islamic, Islamic. The right of our prophet will not die." Some shouted, "We are all Usama," referring to Al Qaeda leader bin Laden. Young men, some in masks, sprayed graffiti on the walls. Some grumbled that Islamist President Mohammed Morsi had not spoken out about the movie.
A group of women in black veils and robes that left only their eyes exposed chanted, "Worshippers of the Cross, leave the Prophet Muhammad alone."
By midnight, the crowd had dwindled. The U.S. Embassy said on its Twitter account that there will be no visa services on Wednesday because of the protests.
A senior Egyptian security official at the embassy area said authorities allowed the protest because it was "peaceful." When they started climbing the walls, he said he called for more troops, denying that the protesters stormed the embassy. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.
The Cairo embassy is in a diplomatic area in Garden City, where the British and Italian embassies are located, only a few blocks away from Tahrir Square, the center of last year's uprising that led to the ouster of Hosni Mubarak. The U.S. Embassy is built like a fortress, with a wall several meters (yards) high. But security has been scaled back in recent months, with several roadblocks leading to the facility removed after legal court cases by residents.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry promised in a statement to provide the necessary security for diplomatic missions and embassies and warned that "such incidents will negatively impact the image of stability in Egypt, which will have consequences on the life of its citizens."
One protester, Hossam Ahmed, said he was among those who entered the embassy compound and replaced the American flag with the black one. He said the group has now removed the black flag from the pole and laid it instead on a ladder on top of the wall.
"This is a very simple reaction to harming our prophet," said another, bearded young protester, Abdel-Hamid Ibrahim.
In Washington, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Egyptian police had removed the demonstrators who entered the embassy grounds.
Muslims find it offensive to depict Muhammad in any fashion, much less in an insulting way. The 2005 publication of 12 caricatures of the prophet Muhammad in a Danish newspaper triggered riots in many Muslim countries.
A 14-minute trailer of the movie that sparked the protests, posted on the website YouTube in an original English version and another dubbed into Egyptian Arabic, depicts Muhammad as a fraud, a womanizer and a madman in an overtly ridiculing way, showing him having sex and calling for massacres.
A YouTube spokesperson said the website would not take down the video at this point. The website's guidelines call for removing videos that include a threat of violence, but not those only expressing opinions. YouTube's practice is not to comment on a specific videos.
"We take great care when we enforce our policies and try to allow as much content as possible while ensuring that our Community Guidelines are followed," the YouTube spokesperson said. "Flagged content that does not violate our Guidelines will remain on the site."
Sam Bacile, an American citizen who said he produced, directed and wrote the two-hour film, said he had not anticipated such a furious reaction.
"I feel sorry for the embassy. I am mad," Bacile said.
Speaking from a telephone with a California number, Bacile said he is Jewish and familiar with the region. Bacile said the film was produced in English and he doesn't know who dubbed it in Arabic. The full film has not been shown yet, he said, and he said he has declined distribution offers for now.
"My plan is to make a series of 200 hours" about the same subject, he said.
Morris Sadek, an Egyptian-born Christian in the U.S. known for his anti-Islam views, told The Associated Press from Washington that he was promoting the video on his website and on certain TV stations, which he did not identify.
Both depicted the film as showing how Coptic Christians are oppressed in Egypt, though it goes well beyond that to ridicule Muhammad - a reflection of their contention that Islam as a religion is inherently oppressive.
"The main problem is I am the first one to put on the screen someone who is (portraying) Muhammad. It makes them mad," Bacile said. "But we have to open the door. After 9/11 everybody should be in front of the judge, even Jesus, even Muhammad."
For several days, Egyptian media have been reporting on the video, playing some excerpts from it and blaming Sadek for it, with ultraconservative clerics going on air to denounce it.
Medhat Klada, a representative of Coptic Christian organizations in Europe, said Sadek's views are not representative of expatriate Copts.
"He is an extremist ... We don't go down this road. He has incited the people (in Egypt) against Copts," he said, speaking from Switzerland. "We refuse any attacks on religions because of a moral position.
But he said he was concerned about the backlash from angry Islamists, saying their protest only promotes the movie. "They don't know dialogue and they think that Islam will be offended from a movie."