The Daily Blog

Intercontinental Hotel Attack: NATO Helicopters End Kabul Hotel Siege That Leaves At Least 10 Dead.

KABUL, Afghanistan — The death toll in the attack on an international hotel in Kabul has risen to 10.

Kabul Police Chief Gen. Mohammad Ayub Salangi said Wednesday that 10 Afghan civilians – mostly hotel workers – died when heavily armed Taliban fighters stormed the Inter-Continental and fought security forces for more than four hours.

The attack started Tuesday night, on the eve of a conference about transferring responsibility for security from foreign to Afghan forces by the end of 2014. Some conference attendees were staying at the hotel, but were not hurt.

NATO helicopters killed three gunmen on the roof and Afghan security forces rushed in to end the standoff.

However, Salangi says one of the six to eight suicide bombers, who had been injured, later blew himself up in one of the hotel rooms.

Peng Zhimin, Chinese Hilton Hotel Exec, Gets Life in Prison For Organized Crime.

A top shareholder of the Hilton hotel in Chongqing, China was sentenced to life in prison Wednesday for his connections with organized crime.

Peng Zhimin was convicted of bribery, prostitution, intentional injury, assault and other charges relating to organized crime, Agence France Presse reports.

Peng headed the Qinglong Property Development Companu, which owned the Chongqing Hilton Hotel in southwestern China.

Last year, the hotel was closed as authorities investigated an alleged prostitution ring being run out of the hotel.

Peng was arrested last July and his charges are connected to that investigation. Thirty-one others tied to Peng’s ring were sentenced to various terms of several years to life in prison.

The Hilton Hotel Group was reportedly fully cooperating with authorities.

After the raid, the Hilton was forced to close for a week and was stripped of its fifth star. The incident also prompted China to speed up an overhaul of its hotel star rating system, reports USA TODAY.

Chongqing, a city of 30 million people, is known for being a haven for underworld criminals. A crackdown on organized crime has led to more than 3,300 detentions and hundreds of prosecutions.

LeBron James’ mom, Gloria James, reportedly arrested for assault.

LeBron James’ mother, Gloria James, was reportedly arrested for misdemeanor assault at a Miami hotel, according to multiple reports. The Associated Press confirmed the arrest by Miami Beach Police.

NBC Miami reports Gloria James was arrested at the Fontainebleau Hotel and released early Thursday morning. WPLG reports Gloria James assaulted a parking attendant at the hotel.

She reportedly assaulted a valet because it was taking too long to have her car delivered. Miami Beach police told the Associated Press that several witnesses supported valet Sorel Rockfeller’s account of the incident.

Police reported that Gloria James had a strong odor of alcohol on her breath and here eyes were bloodshot when officers arrived at the hotel at 4:47 a.m.

James was issued a Promise to Appear on charges of simple battery and disorderly conduct, according to reports. A police report indicated James was released to Miami Heat executive Steve Stowe.

In 2006, Gloria James was arrested for DWI and kicked out the window of a police car after being detained. In addition to driving while intoxicated, she was charged with reckless operation, speeding for driving 50 mph in a 30-mph zone, disorderly conduct and damaging police equipment.

Gunman Flees Las Vegas Casino with $32,000 in Chips.

Police in Las Vegas are checking surveillance video to determine if cameras captured an armed robbery that went down at the Rio Hotel Casino at about 4:40 a.m. Thursday. The Las Vegas Sun reports the suspected robber arrived by taxi to the casino decked out in a fedora hat, fake mustache and sunglasses.
Markus Martin, a spokesman for the police, tells the Las Vegas Sun a dealer slapped the man’s hand away when he attempted to take chips, but then the man displayed a gun. No one was injured.

The robber walked away with about $32,000 before fleeing the scene in a taxi.

An anonymous source from the casino tells the Associated Press the robber made off with about $21,000 in $1,000 chips. The rest were worth $500, $100 and $25 each. The source requested to remain anonymous because he was not authorized to publicly release details related to the crime.

The robbery follows a Wednesday court appearance for Anthony M. Carleo, who allegedly stole about $1.4 million in chips last December from the Bellagio hotel-casino and then sped away on a motorcycle.

Carleo was arrested on February 3 after he was allegedly caught making a transaction to sell the pink $25,000 chips to an undercover police officer. The robbery prompted the Bellagio to do away with $25,000 chips.

Mexico Outlines Murder Case Against Former ‘Survivor’ Producer.

LOS ANGELES — A defenseless Monica Burgos cried and screamed for help as she was beaten and smothered inside a Cancun hotel room by her TV producer husband, who then dumped her lifeless body in a sewer, a Mexican prosecutor said in an affidavit filed here Monday.

Unhappy with a wife who discovered his numerous infidelities and threatened divorce, Bruce Beresford-Redman — the former producer of TV’s “Survivor” — plotted her death and then concocted a story about how she went missing after a daylong shopping trip, the prosecutor alleged.A 438-page formal extradition request outlines the Mexican attorney general’s murder case against Beresford-Redman in intricate detail, including autopsy and police reports, witness statements, photos and criminalist findings. Beresford-Redman, 39, fled Cancun after his wife’s death last year and was later arrested by U.S. marshals at his Los Angeles home. He remains in custody.

The affidavit portrays a rocky 11-year marriage during which Beresford-Redman racked up a monthly $5,000 telephone sex-line bill, flirted openly with other women and carried on an affair with his personal assistant. But when Burgos, 42, withdrew all their money from the bank, kicked him out of their home and changed the locks, Beresford-Redman devised a plan to kill her in Cancun, the affidavit said.

“He had the time necessary to plan the way he was going to perpetrate the homicide. … He knew he was going to cause her death,” the affidavit said. “Due to his profession as a television producer, he was able to conceal the necessary details which would hide important evidence which would have incriminated him.”According to the file, Beresford-Redman offered to take Burgos on a trip to patch up their marriage and booked the $7,000 getaway. She was surprised at his actions because he never booked anything himself, the affidavit said.

Beresford-Redman ignored his wife’s request to visit Dubai or take a cruise and insisted on Cancun. He also took out a life insurance policy on his wife. Burgos had misgivings about the trip and before she left, gave a box of important documents to her sister and jewels to the nanny of her two children, the affidavit said.

The couple brought their children on the trip and stayed at the pricey Moon Palace Nizuc in April. However, it was far from congenial. On April 4, a hotel employee saw the pair arguing near a restaurant, and Burgos started to cry. Beresford-Redman “attempted to physically attack Monica Burgos but stopped when he realized he was being watched. This was the last time the [witness] saw Monica Burgos,” the affidavit said.

Early in the morning on April 6, neighboring guests heard loud screaming and crying, followed by the sound of something being dragged. It was so bad that they reported it to the concierge the next morning, who called the room. Beresford-Redman answered the phone and said, “Yes, it is true, what happened was that I was arguing with my wife over the behavior of our children, but it won’t happen again.”

At 7 a.m., he reported Burgos missing, saying she was due back from a shopping trip at 10 p.m. the night before. He searched for her around the hotel grounds when she didn’t return and then fell asleep. The rest of the day Beresford-Redman had a “do not disturb” sign on his door and wouldn’t let the maid in to clean the room, according to the affidavit.

Two days later, Burgos’ body was found by a maintenance supervisor who had put together a search party. He noticed the lid covering a sewer was ajar and upon closer inspection saw a decomposed body floating in the water.

An autopsy found that Burgos had been struck on the temple with a strong object like a bat or pipe, her face had been punched, and her buttocks had trauma consistent with being thrown against the in-room Jacuzzi. The cause of death was determined to be asphyxiation. Police searched the room and found blood spatter throughout the bathroom, on a pillow, on a piece of wooden furniture and on a balcony leading to a garden area.

Beresford-Redman was questioned about the noise the night Burgos went missing and gave a different story than what he told the concierge. He claimed to have an upset stomach most of the night and it woke up his family. They then decided to play games including “acting Japanese” which including stomping on the floor and bed, the affidavit said.He was also asked about scrapes to his leg, neck and fingers that looked as if he had been in a fight, the affidavit said. Beresford-Redman claimed to have been climbing a rocky wall in an underground cave.

Police confiscated the producer’s passport and ordered him to stay in Mexico pending the outcome of the investigation. However, “He stealthily left the country and took refuge in the territory of the United States of America,” the affidavit said.

A Mexican warrant for his arrest was issued on May 29. Beresford-Redman proclaimed his innocence and resumed his life in Los Angeles. On Nov. 16, he was arrested by federal authorities.

A hearing will be scheduled in Los Angeles to determine whether enough evidence exists to extradite the television executive.

Woman in Charlie Sheen’s Hotel Room Identified As Porn Star Capri Anderson, Report Says.

The woman who was reportedly in Charlie Sheen’s hotel room on the night police allegedly found the actor drunk and naked has been identified as 22-year-old porn star Capri Anderson, TMZ reports. Anderson was extremely upset after media reports labeled her as a prostitute or escort, a source told the entertainment gossip website.

The young actress — who has starred in numerous adult films — told friends she met Sheen at a bar in The Plaza Hotel, but when she accompanied him to his hotel room she became very afraid of the actor and felt threatened by him.

Earlier Wednesday, Sheen broke his silence about the incident at the luxury hotel.

“Oh my man, I’m fine,” Sheen reportedly said in a text message to RadarOnline senior executive editor Dylan Howard.

“The story is totally overblown and overplayed as far as the reality of the scenario. I know what went down and that’s where it will stay … under wraps,” the actor added.

A drugged-up and naked Sheen — just two months out of rehab — trashed his room early Tuesday in a frantic bid to find his wallet and cellphone, the New York Post reported, citing authorities.

Sheen told police he had been “out partying” and had been drinking and snorting cocaine before flipping out, sources said. Anderson called hotel staff when she became afraid and police were alerted.

Sheen was accompanied to the hospital by his ex-wife, Denise Richards, who was staying at the midtown hotel in a separate bedroom at the Eloise Suite on the 18th floor, sources told the Post. Sheen was in town with Richards, 39, and their two daughters — Sam, 6, and Lola, 5 — for a family vacation.

The “Two and a Half Men” star was released from the hospital late Tuesday and returned immediately to Los Angeles via private jet to to resume filming for his CBS TV show.

A source close to the situation told the celebrity website that Sheen was planning to return to a Promises rehab facility in L.A. where the star recently sought treatment for drug addiction.

Sheen’s publicist Stan Rosenfield said in a statement Tuesday that the 45-year-old actor had reacted badly to an unspecified medication.

“What we are able to determine is that Charlie had an adverse allergic reaction to some medication and was taken to the hospital,” he said.

NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said no complaints were made and there was no arrest. Sheen was not expected to face any criminal charges.