LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A convicted murderer who escaped from a California prison camp over three decades ago has been recaptured thanks to a clue gleaned from his dying mother, authorities said on Monday.
William Walter Asher III, 66, was taken into custody without incident at a home in the Northern California town of Salida on Friday, FBI spokesman Steve Dupre said.
Asher, who was sentenced in 1967 to seven years to life in prison after a fatal bar robbery, had been on the run since an accomplice helped him escape from a Northern California prison camp in 1975.
The trail had gone cold until 2005, when authorities learned that, on her death bed, Asher's mother had asked family members for help in contacting her son via a secret number, Dupre said.
Agents using phone records tracked two phone calls to a residence in Salida, where Asher was living under the assumed name of Garry Donald Webb, Dupre said.
California fugitive arrested after 36 years: FBI
Best Costumes For Halloween: Dress in Character Costume for Halloween
It is a fact that a character costume is a wise move to take when thinking of ideas for a Halloween party. Aside from the fact that character costumes wouldn't make you look like witches from a thousand feet underground, a character costume never runs out of style or fashion. Nobody will laugh at you for wearing red briefs outside of your leggings, as they all know that you are imitating one of the most elusive action figures in the world of comics and cartoons. In fact, instead of laughing, people may actually take pictures of you with them to show to their friends. This is because character costumes have already established their own ideals, beliefs, and stands throughout the course of the years.
Meet the ‘luckiest’ woman in the world
The August issue of Harper's magazine contains a fascinating story about a woman named Joan R. Ginther, known in the press as the "luckiest woman in the world."
To earn that appellation, Ginther won the lottery four times. That's right, four times. And she didn't win no measly $20 and $30 payouts either—she hit multimillion-dollar payouts each time.
First, she won $5.4 million; then a decade later, she won $2 million; then two years later $3 million; and finally, in the spring of 2008, she hit a $10 million jackpot.
The odds of this? One in eighteen septillion.
To put this into perspective, the Harper's story's author, Nathaniel Rich, says there are only one septillion stars in the universe, and one septillion grains of sand on Earth. A person with Ginther's kind of luck, writes Rich, would only happen once every quadrillion years.
Real estate buyers to focus on low interest, ignore market turmoil: economists
TORONTO - Canada's real estate market is now expected to grow this year rather than decline, as buyers take advantage of continued low interest rates that are intended to offset recent economic turmoil, economists said Tuesday.
The comments came after the Canadian Real Estate Association revised its 2011 national forecast for home resales, citing stronger than expected sales and higher prices in the second quarter.
An earlier CREA forecast that called for a one per cent dip in sales this year from 2011. But the association said Tuesday sales should grow this year — albeit less than one per cent above 2010.
CIBC deputy chief economist Benjamin Tal said recent stock market uncertainty due to the European debt crisis and the United States credit downgrade is actually helping boost sales in Canada's real-estate market.
Bad economic news abroad tends to keep Canadian interest rates low, he said.
Since the European and American debt issues came to a head in recent weeks, economists have been predicting the Bank of Canada will leave its key rate untouched at one per cent until at least next year.
That's a change of opinion since last winter, when economists widely expected Canada's central bank would begin hiking its rates sometime in 2011 as the economy strengthened — putting upward pressure on the price of borrowing.
TLC Cancels Kate Gosselin's 'Kate Plus 8'
TLC has pulled the plug on "Kate Plus 8."
The cable network announced it has canceled Kate Gosselin's reality series, featuring the adventures of the mom and her large brood.
PLAY IT NOW: Access Hollywood Live: Who Would Be Kate Gosselin’s Dream Guy?
"TLC has decided not to renew another season of 'Kate Plus 8,'" a network rep said in a statement to Access Hollywood on Monday. "By the end of this season, 'Kate Plus 8' will have hit the 150 episode mark (including "Jon & Kate Plus 8"); an exceptional milestone."
However, this may not be the end of Kate's days as a reality star.
VIEW THE PHOTOS: Kate Gosselin’s Sexy ‘Dancing’ Transformation
"TLC hopes to check in with Kate and the family periodically with specials in the future," the network's statement continued.
The series finale will air on September 12.
Kate sat down with Access Hollywood in April, where she talked about how her kids - sextuplets and twins - felt about having their lives captured by the cameras.
10 new earthly wonders
These may not be household names, but one peek at these hidden gems and you'll know why they deserve protection and recognition.
UNESCO has just unveiled the newest members of their World Heritage List, which celebrates notable natural and cultural sites around the globe. To be considered for inclusion, a place has to meet at least one of ten criteria, which range from "representing a masterpiece of human creative genius" to being an area of "exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance." The Class of 2011 includes prime examples of all, including the world's top flamingo foraging site, elaborate Persian gardens, and the legendary stomping ground of Lawrence of Arabia. Here are 10 sites that made the cut:
Ningaloo Coast
Australia
Made up of nearly 3,758 square kilometres of Australia's remote western coast, the striking Ningaloo Coast is comprised of both marine and land-based treasures. In the water off the Ningaloo Coast, you'll find one of the longest near-shore reefs in the world and a wealth of diverse sea life, from sea turtles to an annual visit from whale sharks. On the land side, a network of underground caves and groundwater streams help support the coast's biodiversity.
(Courtesy of Sergio Pitamitz/SuperStock)
Ogasawara Islands
Japan
Remarkable method wipes out leukemia in 2 patients, improves a third
NEW YORK, N.Y. - Scientists are reporting the first clear success with a new approach for treating leukemia — turning the patients' own blood cells into assassins that hunt and destroy their cancer cells.They've only done it in three patients so far, but the results were striking: Two appear cancer-free up to a year after treatment, and the third patient is improved but still has some cancer. Scientists are already preparing to try the same gene therapy technique for other kinds of cancer.
"It worked great. We were surprised it worked as well as it did," said Dr. Carl June, a gene therapy expert at the University of Pennsylvania. "We're just a year out now. We need to find out how long these remissions last."
He led the study, published Wednesday by two journals, New England Journal of Medicine and Science Translational Medicine.
It involved three men with very advanced cases of chronic lymphocytic leukemia, or CLL. The only hope for a cure now is bone marrow or stem cell transplants, which don't always work and carry a high risk of death.