64 year old lady threatens teller to infect her with Aids and Robs bank 3 times

May 17th, 2012 | By love not hate

A 64-year-old woman has been arrested in the U.S after allegedly robbing the same bank three times.

Datha Nation was arrested outside a Wells Fargo Bank in Denver earlier this week after clerks called police to report she was back.

According to police, Nation approached tellers at the bank on June 9, 2011, with a note demanding cash and threatened to infect the clerk with AIDS from a syringe.

Datha Nation was arrested outside a Wells Fargo Bank in Denver earlier this week after clerks called police

Longmont Police Commander, Jeff Satur, said clerks recognized Nation from the first robbery when she returned to the bank in late March.

Police believe on that occasion Nation got nervous while waiting in line with her robbery note and left. On Monday, she returned.

Clerks recognized her again and immediately called police when she entered the bank and approached with a note.

Nation was found sitting inside her car in the parking lot outside the bank.
Police said they also found a note in the car indicating that she was going to rob the bank, demanding money, and telling tellers not to use a dye pack.

Satur paid credit to quick thinking bank employees.

‘Those guys deserve all the credit,’ he said.

‘They did a tremendous job. They were aware of their surroundings, on top of things, and when she walked in, they were on the phone. That really helped us to get her arrested.’

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4 Women killed is fatal car crash on Mothers Day!

May 14th, 2012 | By love not hate

Four young mothers were killed today when their car slammed into a support beam of an elevated train track with enough force for the vehicle to split in two.

Tyshyra Hines, 21, Bernadette Harris, 25 and Alicia Josten, 22, were pronounced dead at the scene.

The fourth victim Ieshia Nelson, 21, who was the driver, was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in Chicago but later died in the Mother’s Day crash. 

Tragedy: Ieshia Nelson, 21, died in the Saturday car crash along with three friends in Chicago

Fatal crash: Four mothers in their 20s died when their car hit a cement pillar in Chicago shortly after midnight on Mother’s Day

Mangled: Investigators document the car crash which happened as four friends were on their way to a party

Chicago Police Department spokesman Hector Alfaro said the car was traveling fast when it hit a cement beam that supports Chicago Transit Authority train tracks on the city’s West Side before it ran into a light pole.

The vehicle crashed with enough force that it split in two, according to fire officials. Police were investigating the cause of the crash, which happened just after midnight on Sunday.

Miss Nelson’s mother, Yvette Harris, said her daughter’s two-year-old son did not yet know that she had died.

Mrs Harris told CBS: ‘I took him to his grandparents’ last night, because he couldn’t go to the hospital with me.

Ieshia Nelson (left) was driving the car which crashed killing her three friends including Tyshyra Hines (right)

Alicia Goston (left) and Bernadette Harris also died in the crash in Chicago shortly after midnight on Saturday

‘And I don’t know what I’m going to say because when I left, he asked me, ”You going to get Eesh? My mommy?” I don’t know what I’m going to say.’

Mrs Harris said that her daughter had been driving and that the four were on their way to a party. Miss Nelson was studying to be a nurse and had just turned 21 on May 1.

Impact: The force of the crash split the young women’s car in two

Devastating: Children lost their mothers in an automobile accident on Saturday night

Miss Harris’ sister, Sheila Harris, told the Chicago Tribune that her sister was a devoted parent to three children, aged four, six and eight.

‘She’d go above and beyond for her kids,’ she said. ‘She was an outstanding mother.’

Another victim of the crash was identified as Tyshaira Hines, 22, by her aunt. Pearl Henderson said her niece worked at
McDonald’s and has a five-year-old son.

No survivors: Tyshyra Hines, 21, Bernadette Harris, 25 and Alicia Josten, 22, were pronounced dead at the scene while Ieshia Nelson died in hospital

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Lil Boosie IS FREE!!!

May 11th, 2012 | By love not hate

BATON ROUGE, LA (WAFB) -

Baton Rouge rapper Lil Boosie, whose real name is Torence Hatch, has been found not guilty of murder. The jury deliberated for about an hour.

Supporters cheered outside the 19th Judicial Courthouse in Baton Rouge once the verdict was announced. Hatch and his defense team hugged and began crying once the verdict was read.

“All I can do is give the glory to God because I knew he was never guilty,” said Connie Hatch, the rapper’s mother. “He’s crying and he knew from the beginning he was never guilty.”

“This man has been innocent,” said defense attorney Jason Williams.  “He’s been innocent this whole time. Fans across the whole world have  been praying for this. And, I thank God that justice was swift. I thank  God that the truth came out.”

“He’s got another chance,” one woman said. “The truth came out. And, I thank God for that.”

“I feel great right now, not guilty verdict,” one man said. “I feel lovely.”

“If it don’t fit, you must acquit,” another man added.

Hatch was taken to the West Baton Rouge Parish Prison, where he has been held since the start of the trial.

Prosecutors said Hatch hired Michael Louding, also known as “Marlo Mike,” to kill  Terry Boyd. The 35-year-old was shot to death through a window while inside his  home in 2009.

Hatch is currently serving an 8-year prison term on  drug charges and is being held in the Louisiana State Penitentiary at  Angola.

In its closing, the prosecution said the evidence speaks for itself. Prosecutor Dana Cummings said Louding admitted on interrogation tape that Hatch gave him $2,800 in $20s after the murder. She said Carvis “Donkey” Webb and Hatch worked on Louding to get him to tell the “truth.” According to Cummings, during phone calls to Louding, Webb told him, “Follow my lead and you coming home Marlo.”

She also told the jury Hatch wrote in a letter to his mother that he might have said some things that incriminate him. Cummings said the lyrics in Hatch’s songs again prove his intent. She said in the phrase “Yo Marlo” he even calls out his hit man. “That’s billboard strong,” Cummings said.

Hatch’s lawyer said detectives called Louding the “ace in the hole.” Attorney Jason Williams pointed out that’s a poker saying. He said poker is a game of deceit. He added the detective testified he’s skilled at deceit and that’s what this case is about. He told the jury to notice investigators said they preserved computers with lyrics on them for jurors to see, but police didn’t preserve 10 hours of interrogation tape for jurors to see.

“This case not about Boosie, but who’s being tried first?” Williams asked. “Not the man who says he killed six people.”

He went on to state there is no proof Hatch had beef with Terry Boyd. He said the task force that was created needs a big arrest to keep going and then asked, “What’s bigger than a rapper going down for murder?” He told the jury no one followed up on the lead Terry Boyd’s mother gave, until last year. By that time, the man she told them to talk to was dead. Officers also said they never read the Terry Boyd file, but they were investigating.

Boyd had 15 old scars on his body from bullet wounds. An old bullet was found in him. Williams posed the question, “Was someone coming back to finish what they started?” He said this all started over a letter Lee Lucas supposedly sent telling Hatch that, “Boyd was getting out of prison and he said he’s going to ‘jack and slap you.’”

“Where is that letter? Why didn’t Lee Lucas testify?” the attorney asked.

He also stated lots of lyrics were played, but prosecutors didn’t play the one that said f— Hillar Moore. “Why?” he asked.

Prosecutors were given a chance to speak to the jury one last time and finished. The judge then gave jurors instructions and they were sent to deliberate the case.

Defense attorneys for Hatch rested their case Thursday afternoon without calling any witnesses.

Attorney Jason Williams told jurors Thursday the defense was resting its case based on the fact the burden of proof lies with the state and based on the testimony of the state’s witnesses.

The prosecution had rested its case around 2:44 p.m. after six days of testimony from 27 witnesses.

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Obama’s sudden support of gay marriage nets him $1MILLION in just 90 minutes

May 10th, 2012 | By love not hate

President Obama’s dramatic change of heart on the issue of gay marriage today sent shockwaves through the political world – and a boatload of cash into his campaign war chest.

After Obama’s shock announcement last night, his re-election crusade saw a massive spike in donations as gay donors lined up to pour money into his campaign.

BuzzFeed reported that Obama’s campaign collected an astonishing $1million within 90 minutes after the ABC News interview aired.

But while gay rights advocates applauded Obama’s announcement on Wednesday, Republicans accused the commander-in-chief of pulling off a cynical political manoeuvre.

Scroll down for video of the interview

Change of heart: President Barack Obama said he once thought civil unions were sufficient rights for gay couples, but he no longer believes that

Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus accused Obama of placating to voters.

Priebus said in a statement: ‘While President Obama has played politics on this issue, the Republican Party and our presumptive nominee Mitt Romney have been clear.

‘We support maintaining marriage between one man and one woman and would oppose any attempts to change that.’

Obama’s announcement yesterday opened up the first major battleground in this year’s election campaign.

Romney himself did not swipe at Obama directly, but affirmed his own views on same-sex unions during an Oklahoma campaign stop, saying: ‘I believe that marriage is between a man and a woman.’

Historic: Obama is the first sitting U.S. President to publicly support gay marriage. President George W Bush opposed it and President Bill Clinton signed the Defense of Marriage act into law

Obama was also rebuked by Log Cabin Republicans, who also accused the president of playing politics and questioned the timing of his remarks.

Log Cabin Republicans Executive Director R. Clarke Cooper said in a statement: ‘That the president has chosen today, when LGBT Americans are mourning the passage of Amendment 1, to finally speak up for marriage equality is offensive and callous.

‘Log Cabin Republicans appreciate that President Obama has finally come in line with leaders like Vice President Dick Cheney on this issue, but LGBT Americans are right to be angry that this calculated announcement comes too late to be of any use to the people of North Carolina, or any of the other states that have addressed this issue on his watch.

‘This administration has manipulated LGBT families for political gain as much as anybody, and after his campaign’s ridiculous contortions to deny support for marriage equality this week he does not deserve praise for an announcement that comes a day late and a dollar short.’

Others, like House Speaker John Boehner, said there are more pressing issues at hand.

Boehner told the Fox Business Network: ‘I have always believed that marriage was between a man and a woman. But Republicans here on Capitol Hill are focused in on the economy.’

The president appears to be banking on the gay marriage issue, which is heavily supported by younger Americans, to mobilize the youth vote, which has become disaffected during his term in office.

Obama had long been suspected of holding this view, but was thought to be afraid to make it public because of the political backlash.

The revelation comes the day after voters in the key battleground state of North Carolina approved a strict new ban on same-sex marriage.

The measure, which prohibits any civil or domestic benefits for gay couples, passed by a landslide with 61 percent of the vote.

‘At a certain point I’ve just concluded that for me personally it is important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same sex couples should be able to get married,’ the president said.

Obama claims the change is a personal one only, and that he he still believes the issue of gay marriage should be left up to the states.

Currently, six states allow gay couples to wed and 30 states have constitutional amendments explicitly banning it.

Obama said his daughters and their friends were a major reason he changed his mind about gay marriage.

‘You know, Malia and Sasha, they have friends whose parents are same-sex couples. There have been times where Michelle and I have been sitting around the dinner table and we’re talking about their friends and their parents and Malia and Sasha, it wouldn’t dawn on them that somehow their friends’ parents would be treated differently,’ he said.

‘It doesn’t make sense to them and frankly, that’s the kind of thing that prompts a change in perspective.’

Obama had been under intense pressure to clarify his view toward gay marriage after Vice President Joe Biden publicly announced he supported it on Sunday.

Family affair: Obama said talking to his daughters, Sasha and Malia, about their friends who have gay parents made him believe gays should be allowed to get married

The White House sought out the interview with Robins Roberts, the ‘Good Morning America’ host, to explain himself.

Parts of the interview will aired tonight on ‘World News Tonight’ and will also appear on Thursday morning’s ‘Good Morning America.’

Roberts, herself, has never married.

Obama seems to be making an election-year political gamble by directly challenging Romney, his likely Republican opponent in November.

‘When these issues were raised in my state of Massachusetts I indicated my view, which is I do not favor marriage between people of the same gender and I don’t favor civil unions if they are identical to marriage other than by name,’ he told KDVR-TV in Denver.

‘My view is that domestic partnership benefits, hospital visitation rights and the like are appropriate but the others are not.’

It could be that Obama is hoping to use the issue to energize young voters, who support gay marriage by way margins.

The president, himself, acknowledged the issue is a generational one.

‘You know when I go to college campuses, sometimes I talk to college Republicans who think that I have terrible policies on the economy, on foreign policy, but are very clear that when it comes to same sex equality or, you know,  believe in equality. They are much more comfortable with it,’ he said in the interview.

Last week, Romney’s spokesman for foreign policy, Richard Grenel, quit the campaign after he came under fire from some conservatives for being openly gay.

Recent polls show 50 per cent of Americans support gay marriage, but also reveal that the 45 percent who oppose it have strong convictions.

This could explain plain why North Carolina’s Amendment 1, which changes the state constitution to prohibit gay marriage and partnership benefits to gay couples, won by such a wide margin among voters.

Biden’s remarks on Sunday set the stage for Obama’s announcement.

‘I am absolutely comfortable with the fact that men marrying men, women marrying women and heterosexual – men and women marrying – are entitled to the same exact rights, all the civil rights, all the civil liberties. And quite frankly, I don’t see much of a distinction beyond that,’ Biden said on Meet the Press.

The president signaled that he was open to changing his opinion on gay marriage in 2010 when he said his feelings on the issues were ‘evolving.’

‘I struggle with this,’ he famously said.

Since 2004, Obama has opposed gay marriage, saying his beliefs were based on his Christian faith.

As a presidential candidate he supported civil unions.

However, this isn’t the first time Obama has changed in mind on the issue.

In 1996, as an Illinois State Senate candidate, he told a gay newspaper in Chicago that he was in favor of legalizing same-sex marriage and ‘would fight efforts to prohibit such marriages.’

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man accused of killing Jennifer Hudson’s relatives in jury’s hands

May 10th, 2012 | By love not hate

Jurors will resume deliberations at 10 a.m. ET Thursday in the trial of a man accused of killing the mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew of entertainer Jennifer Hudson.

William Balfour, Hudson’s former brother-in-law, faces charges of first-degree murder, home invasion, residential burglary and possession of a stolen vehicle. He has pleaded not guilty, and his lawyer has argued there is no forensic evidence linking him to the killings.

Heated closing arguments Wednesday set a tense tone in the courtroom before the judge sent the 12 jurors into deliberations.

The singer-actress kept her head down during much of Cook County Prosecutor Jennifer Bagby’s closing argument.

Hudson first witness in murder trial
After showing autopsy photos of the victims, Bagby pointed toward Balfour.

“It’s time to hold him responsible,” she said.

“They have failed to prove their case,” Balfour’s attorney Amy Thompson said Wednesday during her closing argument, her voice rising. “He is on trial for his life.”

Thompson argued that police homed in on Balfour rather than conducting a full investigation.

“In their mind, this wasn’t a whodunnit,” she said.

No DNA evidence points to Balfour, said Thompson, who also questioned police work in the case, describing a set of keys that she said surfaced on an evidence list a month after the slayings.

“Those keys show how desperate the state was. They resorted to this. … My client is an innocent man,” she said.

But prosecutors argued that physical and circumstantial evidence links Balfour to the killings and described as “absurd” defense claims that police may have planted evidence or been part of a conspiracy to frame Balfour.

Prosecutor Jim McKay told jurors that there was a “tsunami of circumstantial evidence.”

“The circumstantial facts of this case are drowning this guy in guilt,” he said.

Bagby said in her closing argument that Balfour had threatened to kill the family of Julia Hudson, Jennifer Hudson’s sister.

“If you leave me, I’ll kill you. I’ll kill your family first. You’ll be the last to die,” he had said, according to Bagby.

“He went in that house for one reason, and one reason only, to carry out that threat,” Bagby told jurors.

Balfour is accused of fatally shooting Hudson’s mother, Darnell Donerson, 57, and the singer’s brother, Jason Hudson, 29, in their Chicago home in October 2008. The body of Hudson’s 7-year-old nephew, Julian King, was found three days later in an abandoned vehicle.

Prosecutors have portrayed Balfour as a jealous man who murdered the three people in a rage at the thought that his wife had a boyfriend.

In her closing argument, Bagby said Balfour shot Hudson’s mother as she tried to defend herself with a broom.

“He fired that gun at her over and over and over,” Bagby said.

McKay called Balfour “a true coward.”

“He shoots a 57-year-old grandmother in the back. He shoots a 29-year-old man in his sleep. He shoots a 7-year-old twice in the head,” McKay told jurors. “The family, the community, the city, the country demand justice.”

There have been 83 witnesses and 11 days of testimony in the trial.

Hudson, who was on hand through the trial, was called as the prosecution’s first witness. She broke down in tears several times on the stand as she recalled her family.

“None of us wanted her to marry him,” Hudson said of her sister’s decision to marry Balfour. “We did not like how he treated her.

“Where he was, I tried not to be,” she said.

The deaths took place a year after Hudson, who rose to fame as a contestant on “American Idol,” won an Oscar for her role in the movie “Dreamgirls.”

In a recent interview with CNN’s Piers Morgan, Hudson reflected on the life of her mother.

“My mother was a very wise and strong person. I feel like she raised us well, and she prepared me well, and so that’s what I live by,” she said.

Her career has continued to blossom and remains varied since her relatives’ deaths.

Recent milestones include penning a memoir detailing her struggles with her weight; being cast as Nelson Mandela’s ex-wife, Winnie, in an upcoming movie; releasing a new album; and singing a well-received tribute to Whitney Houston at the Grammy Awards in February

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KANYE “LOST IN THE WORLD”

May 9th, 2012 | By love not hate

Kanye West surprised and confused fans last week when, out of the blue, he dropped a video for “Lost in the World” off his fifth album, My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. But director Ruth Hogben tells MTV News that she and ‘Ye actually shot the video together last summer.

Hogben, a fashion filmmaker, explained that she was introduced to Kanye through her SHOWStudio colleague Nick Knight, who thought that she would be a good fit to work with the eccentric rapper/producer.

The pair first began discussing their plans for the video around May 2011, and they captured all of the visuals in a two-day shoot later that summer. “I think he just wanted something that represented the song really well,” Hogben said, detailing the brainstorming session.

Kanye West’s ‘Lost In The World’ Video Director Talks Feelings

“He explained how he felt about the song and it was a really interesting process because he just talked to me about the song — how he felt about the lyrics, about the beat. He was really very concerned about how he felt about the track, so that’s where it started.

“It was a really strong collaborative process,” she continued. “The conversation was very organic — he says one thing, I say one thing, he sends a picture, I send a picture. So it was a creative conversation that just kept rolling. We had a two-day shoot and then we spent quite a long time working on the edit together, making sure that it was right. We’ve probably been tweaking and working on it for about six months.”

On first look, the black-and-white clip seems to play up the desperation of the Bon Iver-featured “Lost in the World,” with West and his dancers set against the dark, ominous backdrop, but Hogben describes the final product as “energetic.” She maintains that fans are supposed to come up with their individual interpretations of the clip. Even the dancers in the video were given the creative freedom to let loose. “It was actually their interpretation of the song,” Hogben explained. “Kanye didn’t say to them, ‘Dance this way.’ We wanted an interpretation of how they felt about the song.”

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FBI wants all access to facebook!

May 8th, 2012 | By love not hate

The FBI is asking social media sites and email providers to create a portal for investigators to access potential suspects online activity in an effort to thwart crime.

The federal agency argues that, given the increased dependence on the internet and web services, their court-approved wiretaps are less useful now because fewer people use the phone to make their criminal plans.

At what many civil liberties experts will likely deem a threat to personal privacy and the proprietary information of the privately-owned businesses like Facebook and Skype, the agency is now pushing for a new law to force such companies to help them in their investigations.

Up with the times: The FBI wants to be able to access suspects email and social media accounts in order to get information during an investigation

CNET obtained a letter from the FBI’s general counsel’s office which will force companies that provide internet messaging or email services to change their code so that they have a portal for the FBI to log into quickly once approved to wiretap a would-be criminal.

The proposed law would change the existing Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act, which was created in 1994 and, as a result, focuses solely on telecommunications companies and not web companies.

If the changes go into effect, lawyers with expertise in technology say that the companies would likely require certain provisions before anything became law.

‘Industry would like to see any new legislation include some protections against disclosure of any trade secrets or other confidential information that might be shared with law enforcement, so that they are not released, for example, during open court proceedings,’ Roszel Thomsen told CNET.

Broadening their power: The FBI wants to increase their purview to include online activities in their wiretaps and not just phone conversations

This is just the latest in the FBI’s attempts to curtail an ongoing issue.

The problem, which insiders have deemed ‘Going Dark’, is what faces the FBI when their surveillance abilities are lessened as technology continues to diversify.

Valerie Caproni, the FBI general counsel in February of last year when the issue was initially raised, said that the advancement of technology and limits of their purview have left the agency ‘increasingly unable’ to gather information on their suspects.

Though the first formal meetings were held between FBI representatives and government officials in June 2008, no specific legislation has been put up for a vote yet, and some experts do not expect that to change anytime soon.

Given the election-season scrutiny of any and all actions by the Obama administration, they are extremely unlikely to put forth new measurements that would cause a potential debate over civil liberties.

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Parents ‘beat son, then poured salt, vinegar and alcohol in his wounds

May 8th, 2012 | By love not hate

Charged: Kerry Dean Parks, 50, is accused of whipping his adopted son with a leather belt and pouring salt, vinegar and alcohol on the wounds

A couple from Seabrook, Texas are accused of beating their 11-year-old son with a leather belt and applying salt, vinegar and alcohol to his wounds.

According to the criminal complaint against the pair, the boy had to be hospitalised after officers found him curled on a sofa in the foetal position, with ‘bandages applied to his waist, buttocks and rear thigh area with bodily fluids seeping through them.’

Kerry Dean Parks, 50, and Merilyn Parks, 35, have been charged with causing serious bodily injury to a child.

The Houston Chronicle reportedthat Mr Parks was arrested yesterday at an apartment in Houston, while his wife remains at large.

Police attention was drawn to the case when staff at Seabrook Intermediate School asked them to investigate the child’s welfare on January 4.

He was promptly taken to Texas Children’s Hospital, and later transferred to Shriner’s Hospital for Children in Galveston.

The boy told investigators his adoptive father Kerry Parks had beat him with a leather belt ‘approximately once or twice a day’ between October 1 and December 24 2011.

The abuse took place at the home they shared with his mother, Merilyn Parks, and his baby sister.

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SPIRIT Airlines will charge $100 for carry on bag wtf!!!

May 3rd, 2012 | By love not hate

Putting a bag in the overhead bin will soon cost some Spirit Airlines passengers $100, which is more than they may have paid for their flight.

The Miramar, Florida, airline currently charges $45 at the gate for a carry-on bag.

As of November 6, just days before Thanksgiving, customers who wait to pay the carry-on baggage fee at the boarding gate will have to fork over $100.

Sky-High Prices: As of November 6, customers who wait to pay the carry-on baggage fee at the boarding gate will fork over $100 to Spirit Airlines

Any bag that needs to fit in the overhead bin is considered a carry-on.

Luckily, a small bag that fits under the seat is still free.

The price for a carry-on bought at an airport kiosk will increase to $50 from $40.

Larger pieces of luggage checked at the airport will cost between $8 and $10 more, while the fee for bags checked online will rise by between $2 and $5.

Spirit will also increase a handful of other fees by between $2 and $10.

Spirit is one of two airlines that charge for carry-ons; Allegiant is the other.

Trend? Spirit is one of two airlines that charge for carry-ons; Allegiant is the other

In the first quarter, Spirit’s average revenue from fees per passenger on a round-trip flight topped $100 for the first time.

‘Despite achieving among the best first quarter results in the industry, we will not relax our vigilance toward further improving our cost structure,’ Ted Christie, Spirit’s Chief Financial Officer said in a statement on May 1.

He said that Spirit would have to make certain adjustments to remain profitable.

‘However, we must remain focused on offsetting cost headwinds, including rising jet fuel prices and aircraft maintenance expenses, in order to maintain our competitive advantage.’

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Planes with beds are ready to fly!

May 2nd, 2012 | By love not hate

Weighing 442 tonnes and with a wingspan of over 225ft, German flag carrier Lufthansa debuted on Tuesday its largest passenger jet.

Executives gathered for a ribbon-cutting ceremony in Everett, Washington that marked the official delivery of Boeing’s 747-8 Intercontinental, scheduled to take its maiden commercial flight on June 1 from Frankfurt to Washington, DC.

The head of Deutsche Lufthansa AG’s fleet management said that while he is not happy with the weight of the jumbo jet the company has dubbed ‘Queen of the Skies’, it will not restrict the use of the airline’s newest aircraft.

Scroll down for video

Jumbo jet: A Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental airliner which was delivered to launch partner Lufthansa sits on the tarmac at the Boeing factory in Washington before its delivery

Spacious: The business class section of the first Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental is seen before a delivery ceremony in Everett, Washington

Lots of legroom: There are 92 business class seats on the aircraft – and only eight in first class

Storage: Lufthansa program manager for cabin development Steffen Voltz shows the larger-than-average overhead bins

‘On all our in-service fleet, even those in our fleet 10 years, we are never happy with the weight situation, so we are always trying to reduce weight in order to save even more fuel,’ said Nico Buchholz, executive vice president of group fleet management at Lufthansa, speaking at a Boeing plant north of Seattle.

‘But the 747, we have planned it for certain missions, we will do those missions and we will do the missions as we planned them,’ said Buchholz, speaking to reporters as Lufthansa prepared to fly away its first commercial 747-8.

Mammoth: The Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental sits on the tarmac at the Boeing factory at Paine Field Airport in Everett, Washington on Tuesday

Air control: The flight deck of the Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental is pictured before delivery

Upper deck: A visitor walks up the stairs to the second floor

Grand tour: Media members look over the first class section of the airplane expected to start service between Frankfurt, Germany and Washington, DC on June 1

Luxurious: A first class berth – one of eight – is pictured on the aircraft

Testing it out: Lufthansa Executive Vice President Nico Buchholz, right, shows Joes Sutter ‘the father of the 747′ the features of first class on a Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental airliner

Shade: Lufthansa Product Manager Uta Koetting demonstrates the use of the blinds

In the back: Some of the 258 economy seats aboard the plane

Down below: Boeing machinist Jose Diaz walks down the stairs on the intercontinental airliner

A little more room: A restroom is seen with some of the variable lighting available

‘Yes, we are satisfied, otherwise we wouldn’t have signed the acceptance of the aircraft,’ said Buchholz, one of the world’s most powerful airplane buyers.

The German flag carrier is the first commercial airline to deploy the new 747-8 Intercontinental, an upgraded, elongated version of the classic 747, and Boeing’s biggest passenger plane.

Its spacious cabin reportedly seats 358 passengers, compared to Boeing’s standard 467 – with eight seats in first-class, 92 in business and 258 in economy.

Lufthansa will use the 747 on long-range, intercontinental routes, putting the first one into service between Frankfurt and Washington DC.

The company has ordered by to be delivered this year. They will be deployed on routes from Frankfurt to Washington D. C, New Delhi, Bangalore, Chicago and Los Angeles.

Address: Lufthansa executive vice president Nico Buchholz speaks at a news conference before the delivery on Tuesday

Executives: Lufthansa CEO Carsten Sporh adjusts his tie as he stands with Boeing senior vice president Pat Shanahan before delivery by Boeing

Handover: Boeing senior vice president Pat Shanahan, left, gives the keys to a new Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental plane to Lufthansa CEO Carsten Spohr as executives look on

Ready for view: Guests walk toward the first Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental launch jet on the tarmac following remarks inside during the ceremony

Photo op: Lufthansa Executive Vice President Nico Buchholz smiles after taking a picture of his company’s newest plane

Celebrating: The flight crew looks on as Lufthansa officials hand off gifts to Boeing executives after delivery

Cutting the ribbon: From left, Boeing Commercial Airplanes Senior Vice President Pat Shanahan, Deutsche Lufthansa AG CEO Carsten Spohr, Lufthansa Executive Vice President Nico Buchholz and Boeing 747 Program Vice President and General Manager Elizabeth Lund

Ready for boarding: Visitors board a Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental airliner which was delivered to launch partner Lufthansa at the Boeing factory

The plane is several tonnes heavier than Boeing’s original target, which generally increases fuel costs. The plane maker said in February it plans to hit its original weight target by 2014.

‘Yes, it is a bit overweight, there’s no secret about that, but is that impacting any of our operations? No.’, Buchholz said after a media conference.

‘Certain things are better than Boeing promised. When I look at all the elements combined as an aircraft, that’s when I say the aircraft does what we want it do and does it the way we want it to do.’

Boeing has not pulled in the orders for the new 747 that it hoped since putting it on sale six years ago, and is well behind Airbus’ (EAD.PA) rival double-decker A380.

As of Tuesday, it had only 36 orders for the passenger version, 20 of those from Lufthansa. So far it has delivered two passenger 747-8s to private buyers and one to Lufthansa.

The freighter version of the 747-8 has fared better, with 70 orders so far.

Watch video here

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