The wife of ABS-CBN news anchor Ted Failon is in critical condition after being shot in the head.
A police report quoted Failon as saying his wife, Trinidad, was shot in their home in Tierra Pura while Failon was in ABS-CBN.
Authorities are now trying to determine whether the shooting was an attempted homicide or a suicide attempt.
As of posting, Failon and the persons who were inside the house at the time of the incident had already taken a paraffin test.
A reenactment of the incidents inside the Failon residence was also done for the police.
In a statement, Failon said he didn't finish his program on dzMM this morning after he talked to his wife on the telephone.
Failon said he immediately went home and found the door to their bathroom locked.
When they finally opened the door, he found his wife bloodied and then rushed her to the hospital.
"Hindi ko na tinapos ang aking programa sa dzMM kaninang umaga matapos kong makausap ang aking asawa sa telepono. Kaya umuwi ako kaagad at natagpuan kong nakakandado ang pinto ng banyo,” he said. “Pinabuksan ko ang pinto at natagpuan ko ang aking asawa na duguan kung kaya't itinakbo ko siya kaagad sa ospital."
Police Superintendent Frank Mabanag, chief of the Quezon City Police District Criminal Investigation and Detection Unit, said the couple had an argument Tuesday night after which Trinidad left the house with a sibling and returned only on Wednesday when Failon was at ABS-CBN.
Mabanag said Trinidad apparently left a suicide note which is now in the possession of the police.
The alleged suicide note said:
"Papa, Im so so sorry gustong gusto ko pong magsabi sa yo ng totoo, pero hindi ko po alam kung papaano ko uumpisahan.
"Sobrang takot na takot po ako. Umalis po muna ako. Kasi hindi ko po kayang at nahihiya po ako sayo humarap.
"Sana po mapawad mo ako papa. Sorry, sorry Papa
Mama"
Mabanag lamented that the household helpers of Failon cleaned the bathroom where Trinidad was found and that Failon returned the gun to the bedroom instead of leaving the scene for the police to examine.
These should not have been done, Mabanag said.
Initial reports said the couple had an argument in Failon's car on Wednesday, but this was denied by Mabanag.
As of posting, the hospital refused to give details on the condition of the broadcaster’s wife.
Dr. Salvador Corpuz, New Era Medical Director, said that Failon gave strict orders not to divulge any information about the incident.
In a statement, ABS-CBN Broadcasting Corp. appealed to the public to respect the privacy of Failon’s family.
"We appeal to everyone to please respect the privacy of Ted Failon and his family," ABS-CBN Corporate Communications head Bong Osorio said. "His wife is fighting for her life."
Mabanag said they are now checking every angle that might have led to the incident.
source abs-cbnnews
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Gay marriage, seemingly the providence of the nation's two coasts, is just weeks away from penetrating the heartland and it appears there is nothing social conservatives can do immediately to stop it.
The Iowa Supreme Court on Friday unanimously upheld a lower-court ruling that rejected a state law restricting marriage to a union between a man and woman. Now gays and lesbians may exchange vows as soon as April 24 following the landmark decision.
The county attorney who defended the law said he would not seek a rehearing. The only recourse for opponents appeared to be a constitutional amendment, which couldn't get on the ballot until 2012 at the earliest.
"I would say the mood is one of mourning right now in a lot of ways," said a dejected Bryan English, spokesman for the Iowa Family Policy Center, a conservative group that opposes same-sex marriage.
In the meantime, same-sex marriage opponents may try to enact residency requirements for marriage so that gays and lesbians from across the country could not travel to Iowa to wed.
U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, urged the Legislature to do so, saying he feared without residency requirements Iowa would "become the gay marriage mecca."
Only Massachusetts and Connecticut currently permit same-sex marriage. For six months last year, California's high court allowed gay marriage before voters banned it in November.
For gays and lesbians, meanwhile, the day was one of jubilation. The Vermont House of Representatives also passed a measure Friday that would allow same-sex couples to wed, on a 94-52 roll call vote, just short of the two-thirds majority needed to override a promised veto by Gov. Jim Douglas.
Gay marriage supporters hoped to convince a few Vermont legislators to switch when it comes to the override vote, which could be taken as soon as Tuesday.
In Iowa, hundreds cheered, waved rainbow flags and shed tears of joy at rallies in seven cities Friday evening. "Corn-fed and Ready to Wed!" read one man's sign at a gathering at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls.
In downtown Des Moines, about 300 people gathered beneath rainbow flags to celebrate including Des Moines Mayor Frank Cownie.
"We finally have equality in Iowa," said Harold Delaria, of Des Moines, who attended the rally and has two gay children. "It's kind of the last wall of legalized discrimination and it's coming tumbling down."
The Rev. Diane McLanahan of Trinity United Methodist Church in Des Moines acknowledged that many people of faith won't agree with the ruling. With that in mind, she said the court has reached a decision that "pretty much insists that this will not be a debate about religious rights but a matter of equality and fairness."
In its ruling, the Supreme Court upheld an August 2007 decision by a judge who found that a state law limiting marriage to a man and a woman violates the constitutional rights of equal protection.
Iowa lawmakers have "excluded a historically disfavored class of persons from a supremely important civil institution without a constitutionally sufficient justification," the justices wrote.
To issue any other decision, the seven justices said, "would be an abdication of our constitutional duty."
At a news conference announcing the decision, plaintiff Kate Varnum, 34, introduced her partner, Trish Varnum, as "my fiance."
"I never thought I'd be able to say that," she said, fighting back tears.
Jason Morgan, 38, said he and his partner, Chuck Swaggerty, adopted two sons, confronted the death of Swaggerty's mother and endured a four-year legal battle as plaintiffs.
"If being together though all of that isn't love and commitment or isn't family or marriage, then I don't know what is," Morgan said. "We are very happy with the decision today and very proud to live in Iowa."
Iowa has a history of being in the forefront on social issues. It was among the first states to legalize interracial marriage and to allow married women to own property. It was also the first state to admit a woman to the bar to practice law and was a leader in school desegregation.
Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal, a Democrat, said state lawmakers were unlikely to consider gay marriage legislation in this legislative session, which is expected to end within weeks.
Gronstal also said he's "not inclined" to propose a constitutional amendment during next year's session. Without a vote by the Legislature this year or next, the soonest gay marriage could be repealed would be 2014.
Amendments to Iowa's constitution must be passed by the House and Senate in two consecutive general assemblies, which each last two years, and then approved by a simple majority of voters during a general election.
Iowa's Democratic governor, Chet Culver, said he would review the decision before announcing his views. from googlenews
Alexander Yano, chief of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, said that the military is giving negotiators the chance to talk with the kidnappers, days after government forces mounted a rescue operation when the kidnappers attacked Marine soldiers cordoning them off in the jungles of Indanan town, Sulu.
Havaianas footwear has been pulled out from the market some footwear models after the United States reported that they had high lead content. Most of filipinos want to buy that kind of flip flop. Actually my niece had also of that flip flop. I inform my sister that havaianas kids is dangerous because of the lead content.A prison cellmate told the court Arnold had confessed she had done it because she was worried the boyfriend might discover that he was not the child's father.
The baby's DNA was found inside the microwave in Arnold's flat in Dayton which she shared with her four children and her then-boyfriend Terrell Talley, prosecutors said.
A forensic pathologist testified that the girl was likely to have died from a sharply raised body temperature after being in the microwave for more than two minutes.
Jon Paul Rion, defending, told the jury that Arnold couldn't remember what happened and was probably too drunk that night to have committed the crime.
He introduced testimony from an eight-year-old boy who said he saw another boy walk into the kitchen of a nearby apartment with the baby, heard the microwave go on, and then later saw the burned baby in the microwave.
Judge John Kessler declared a mistrial in February after he privately heard testimony from the juvenile, who had a history of putting cats and dolls into microwaves.
However, the eight-year-old's mother told the court on Wednesday that they lived some distance away and they were not at Arnold's apartment complex when the baby died. Her testimony was backed by her former boyfriend.
I just heard the news yesterday noon,that Glorietta Mall has explode.There was 8 dead, 100 hurt in suspected terror attack at Makati mall. A powerful blast, believed to be caused by a bomb, rocked a crowded shopping mall in Manila's financial district about 1:30 p.m. Friday, killing at least eight people and injuring more than a hundred others. The explosion caused extensive damage throughout the Glorietta 2 shopping complex in Makati City, toppling roofs, destroying walls, and sending debris crashing onto cars outside.
Courtesy Pictures of gmanews
