AP TODAY IN HISTORY. MAY 19.
1536 Anne Boleyn, the second wife of England's King Henry VIII, was beheaded after being convicted of adultery. 1588 The Spanish Armada set sail for England. 1925, black Muslim leader Malcolm X was born Malcolm Little in Omaha, Neb. 1935 T.E. Lawrence, also known as "Lawrence of Arabia," died in England from injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash. 1962 Actress Marilyn Monroe performed a sultry rendition of "Happy Birthday" for President John F. Kennedy during a fundraiser at New York's Madison Square Garden. 1967 The Soviet Union ratified a treaty with the United States and Britain banning nuclear weapons from outer space. 1992 Mary Jo Buttafuoco was shot and seriously wounded in Massapequa, N.Y., by her husband Joey's teenage lover, Amy Fisher. 1992 The 27th Amendment to the Constitution, which prohibits Congress from giving itself midterm pay raises, went into effect. 1994 Former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis died in New York at age 64. 2001 Apple, Inc. opened its first retail stores, in Tysons Corner, Va., and Glendale, Calif. 2004 Specialist Jeremy C. Sivits received a year in prison and a bad conduct discharge in the first court-martial stemming from abuse of Iraqis at the Abu Ghraib prison. 2005 "Revenge of the Sith," the final chapter of the "Star Wars" saga, opened in movie theaters. 2011 Katie Couric, the first regular solo anchorwoman of a network evening newscast, signed off the "CBS Evening News" for the last time after five years.
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Some of the biggest mayhem at NATO summit so far is disorganized protesters
CHICAGO – Thousands of protesters have arrived in Chicago knowing they are there in part to make a little noise during the weekend NATO summit, but myriad groups, special interests and causes have also resulted in internal turmoil.
"Where's our leader? Who’s supposed to be speaking?" a woman said into a microphone Friday during the National Nurses United protest on Daley Plaza.
Those are the same questions that have been asked several times at protest marches over the last week, as about a dozen different groups converge on the city for the summit.
In addition to "Occupy Chicago," and the nurses’ group, such groups as "Iraq Veterans Against The War," "LGBTQ," "ClownBloq" are also holding meetings and press conferences.
It’s a mixed group of people who might not normally stand together in the same protest lot, if not for the NATO Summit and the hundreds of international journalists covering the international event.
Some causes don’t even pertain to NATO but were intended for the G8 Summit that was moved to Camp David, about 90 minutes away from the White House in western Maryland.
"It’s a little hard to figure out who’s got what message around here," added one demonstrator.
The nurse’s protest brought together an exuberant crowd of about 2,500 people, the largest gathering of any protest so far this week.
Group members were calling for a "Robin hood tax on Wall Street," which would provide money to social programs. The message has nothing to do with NATO, but group leaders acknowledged they "wanted to take advantage of this event for the chance for us to be heard."
Amid the sea of nurses, protesters clad in red shirts and green Robin Hood caps marked with feathers. There were also small groups of people dressed in khaki and carrying signs that read "Say No to War."
Some people dressed in all black with bandanas hiding their faces paced the perimeter of the crowd, then began yelling and swearing at police, trying to provoke a battle. One person got arrested.
"We just want theses world leaders to know we’re here. We want them to get to our message" said David Brown, an "Occupy Nation" member who said he drove from Atlanta.
But others questioned just how much of their message is getting out, amid all the chaotic noise and other messages vying for attention.
"It's too much" said Vietnam veteran Dave Hancock. "There's no one message in this group."
Hancock said he came from New Jersey to see his son and daughter in-law, but decided to attend the protest while he was here.
He hopes that at the very least the main point, in his view, gets out.
"The message overall is that we're dissatisfied," he said. "I hope that’s getting back to the people in Canada, in France, in Germany. It doesn't matter that things are screwed up if that message is getting out."
Several websites have been set up to direct supporters and the media to the various activities. And regular e-mails are being sent out with updates. But there appears to be a lack of coordination on some fronts.
Fox News went to see a planned "training event" Thursday night for one group of protestors, yet very few people showed up.
In another location, a scheduled meeting intended to inform people about a plan for protestors to shutdown Boeing’s Chicago headquarters never happened.
Several more protests are planned for the weekend, some being held at the same time but in different locations, which means media will have to choose which one to cover.
One supporter admitted he’s worried that the disorganization and lack of focus might drive away supporters.
"If the intention is to sway the public's attitude and have them join the movement, then I think the very splintered nature … can be a turn off to participants," he said.
Travolta Scandal: Former and current lawyers for John Does 1 and 2 now threatening each other
LOS ANGELES – This one just keeps getting weirder and weirder.
John Doe #2, who last week filed a sexual assault lawsuit against John Travolta, has followed in the footsteps of the first accuser, John Doe #1, and parted ways with attorney Okorie Okorocha in favor of well-known Los Angeles litigator Gloria Allred.
In a statement released to Fox411’s Pop Tarts column, the high-profile attorney confirmed her new client.
"We believe that the lawsuit should be filed in another court and, therefore, the lawsuit was dismissed without prejudice," Allred said. "We will be conferring with our client regarding what will happen next in this case."
But that’s just the tip of iceberg when it comes to this escalating legal drama.
On Thursday, Okorocha accused Allred of soliciting his clients while he was still working on the case. However, Allred was quick to bite back to the lawyer’s accusations, calling his representations "false, outrageous and defamatory."
"John Doe 1 and John Doe 2 contacted my offices and neither I nor anyone in my law firm solicited either of these two clients. Both clients first called me and asked me to represent them," she stated. "I have been practicing law for the past 37 years and I have not and do not solicit clients. Clients come to me. John Doe 1 and John Doe 2 called me without my having any contact with them whatsoever prior to their phone calls. I demand an immediate retraction by Mr. Okorocha of his false statements. I value my reputation and will defend it vigorously both publicly and in court."
But Okorocha showed us text messages he says prove his case.
"There is no dispute. My client informed me on May 15 that she was soliciting," Okorocha said, adding that he intends to take action against her, and that he already warned her that such actions were "unethical and against the law."
According to Los Angeles-based civil litigator Anahita Sedaghatfar, who specializes in sexual harassment cases, it is not unusual for the accusers to change their legal representation; however the issue of credibility of both John Does is likely still the biggest cause for concern, redardless of their attorney.
"When you are filing a federal compliant and allege numerous details about an incident, but get the date wrong, it could mean big problems," she said with regards to John Doe #1. "And for John Doe #2 to send an email addressing work issues and not mentioning the incident … it is not to say that they don’t have valid cases, but credibility is the real issue here."
The fact that Allred, known for taking on high-profile and controversial cases, is representing both Travolta accusers could give them more bargaining power, Sedaghatfar said.
"This changes the dynamic of the case in that it is much more likely to settle out of court because of the increased publicity and media savvy-ness of Allred. It levels the playing field," Sedaghatfar explained. "Allred doesn’t try cases in court. She wins out of court settlement through her use (and threat of use) of the media as leverage in her cases."
But Travolta's lawyer Martin Singer isn't backing down. He told TMZ on Thursday that he is "looking forward to trying the case against Gloria Allred in a court of law, not in the media."
He also insisted that the "Grease" star has not paid either plaintiffs a single penny, continues to maintain that their accusations "ridiculous and false."
