9 teens reported missing as New Mexico investigates ranch for troubled youth

By Jeri Clausing and Juan Carlos Llorca, The Associated Press

HILLSBORO, N.M. -- Authorities were searching Friday night for nine teenagers reported missing from a ranch for troubled youth despite an earlier statement from the facility's attorney that the boys were safe and being returned to their parents.

New Mexico State Police said they executed a search warrant at the Tierra Blanca High Country Youth Program as part of an investigation of abuse. But the teens between the ages of 13 and 17 weren't at the 30,000-acre compound in Sierra County and neither was program operator Scott Chandler.

Police said Children Youth and Families Department officials also went to the ranch to serve orders to Chandler to hand over the custody of the teens.

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"At this time, Scott Chandler is a person if interest in this case," said Sgt. Emmanuel Gutierrez, a state police spokesman. "This is an active investigation and all leads are still being followed. At this point and time, State Police has not been able to confirm a location or the safety" of the teens.

Program operators had been ordered to send the kids back to their parents or surrender them to the state after staff members were accused of beating and shackling students.

Ranch attorney Pete Domenici Jr. said in a statement earlier Friday that the boys had been "on a previously scheduled activity away from the ranch for several days. They are safe and have already been picked up by their parents, or their parents are en route to pick them up."

Domenici accused the state of escalating the situation by failing to agree to an emergency hearing in a lawsuit the ranch filed earlier this week over what the suit contends was an improperly handled investigation.

"We attempted to avoid exactly this type of situation by requesting an emergency hearing," he said.

Several calls Friday night to Domenici about the status of the teens weren't immediately returned.

Officers at the high desert ranch about seven miles from the town of Hillsboro said that everything looked normal when they arrived. They said there were personal belongings and no indication anyone left in a hurry.

Gutierrez said police launched aircraft and off-road vehicles and called in help from local law enforcement agencies to search the ranch.

Last week, the Albuquerque Journal reported state authorities were investigating claims that teenage boys were beaten and forced to wear leg shackles and handcuffs for minor violations of rules at the unlicensed program.

The operators of the ranch, Scott and Collette Chandler, deny any children have been harmed. And they filed a lawsuit earlier this week accusing investigators of targeting the ranch for closure following a fatal car crash involving students.

The operators also claimed investigators have been illegally interviewing students and telling parents to pull their children from the program by Friday or face abuse charges. Their lawsuit said at least one family was contacted directly by Gov. Susana Martinez, a claim her office denies.

"The parents have been subject to verbal bullying and threats from representatives of CYFD for several days," Domenici said in a statement. "Late yesterday afternoon, the Tierra Blanca Ranch received notice of a custody hearing for four of the youths scheduled for Friday, Oct. 18, 2013. No notice of today's efforts to take custody of the nine boys was provided. Instead of handling this matter in an orderly manner, CYFD chose to needlessly escalate the situation."

The Chandlers had traveled to Albuquerque on Thursday with two graduates of their program for a news conference to dispute the abuse allegations.

"I've never seen anyone beaten," said Kevin Finch, now a freshman at Western New Mexico University. "The accusations are downright lies."

Another graduate, Jon Cowen, said the program "turned my life around 180 degrees."

Chandler said Tierra Blanca has been operating for nearly 20 years. Its website promises a program for unmanageable kids that offers a balance of love, discipline and structure.

It is unclear how many such programs are operating in New Mexico or around the country, as many are unlicensed.

"That's the problem," said Varela, noting that the Tierra Blanca is the only such program in New Mexico of which state officials were aware.

He said the administration will push for legislation next year to regulate such programs so authorities know where any programs housing kids more than 60 days are operating and so officials are "able to go in and make sure that whatever youth are in there are safe." 

© 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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Niger's economic growth to hit 7.5 percent in 2014 on oil

NIAMEY (Reuters) - Niger's economic growth will hit 7.5 percent in 2014 from a revised 5.9 percent this year on improved petroleum production at its Agadem oil field, the government said in a budget report seen on Monday.

The Sahel nation and the International Monetary Fund trimmed Niger's 3.6 trillion CFA franc economy from 6.2 percent growth this year due to security concerns weighing on its uranium mining sector and power outages.

An Islamist suicide attack on a uranium mine operated by France's Areva in the northern town of Arlit in May, shut down production for more than a month. Uranium accounts for more than 40 percent of exports from Niger, the world's fourth largest producer.

However, that Niger's economy will bounce back next year, the government said in the report seen by Reuters.

"Based on the assumptions in the 2014 budget, real rate of economic growth is projected at 7.5 percent," it said.

A $3.74 billion budget adopted for 2014, up 22 percent on the previous year, took into account improvement on oil production and a decrease in interest payments on debt for its share of the country's Zinder oil refinery, it said.

Niger owns a 40 percent stake in the 20,000 bpd capacity refinery, a joint venture with China National Petroleum Corporation.

Niger, which ranks bottom in the world in U.N. human development index, deployed some 680 troops to neighbouring Mali to fight the growing Islamist threat as part of a French-led military intervention.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nigers-economic-growth-hit-7-5-percent-2014-065414992--finance.html
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Obama presenting Medal of Honor to Afghan war vet

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former Army captain hailed for bravery during combat in Afghanistan in 2009 is adding the Medal of Honor to his list of military decorations.

President Barack Obama will bestow the nation's highest military honor on William D. Swenson on Tuesday. Vice President Joe Biden and first lady Michelle Obama will also attend the ceremony in the East Room of the White House.

The White House says Swenson is being recognized for courageous actions while he was an embedded trainer and mentor with the Afghan National Security Forces in Kunar Province in northeastern Afghanistan on Sept. 8, 2009.

Swenson retired from the military in February 2011. He has a Purple Heart and Bronze Star Medal and lives in Seattle.

Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-10-15-US-Obama-Medal-of-Honor/id-d653b0116b62418ea7f99f42a3cfa1ad
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Where are they now: Pride’s Ricardo Arona

NITEROI, Brazil -- Ricardo Arona was one of the best fighters in Pride history. He didn’t follow the big stars to the UFC after the Japanese promotion collapsed in 2007, and he hasn't been heard from much since.

Arona made his professional debut in 2000 at Rings with a victory over Andrei Kopylov. In that same year, he defeated Tito Ortiz and Jeff Monson to win the first of his three titles at ADCC World Submission Wrestling Championships.

Later that year, the Brazilian beat Jeremy Horn and lost to Fedor Emelianenko in a controversial decision loss, but signed a contract with Pride. "The Brazilian Tiger" made his debut one month after becoming Rings’ middleweight champion with a pair of wins over Jeremy Horn and Gustavo Machado in the same night, and UFC light heavyweight tournament winner Guy Mezger was his first victim in the Japanese promotion.

Arona won eight of his 12 fights in Pride, including victories over the like of Wanderlei Silva, Alistair Overeem, Dan Henderson and Kazushi Sakuraba. Inexplicably, he wasn’t one of the additions to the UFC roster after Zuffa bought Pride.

Six years have passed since Arona’s last fight in Pride, a knockout loss to Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou in April 2007, and he has fought only once since.

"When Pride was over I didn’t negotiate with the UFC," Arona told MMAFighting.com in Itacoatiara, a beautiful beach in Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro. "I wanted to take some time off. I was fighting five times a year and needed some rest. When I decided to return, I injured my knee and everything has changed.

"I competed professionally since I was 15, and when I was 30 I needed to stop," he continued. "Pride was over and I decided to stop and look to the MMA market, to see where I’d fit. I fought again two years later, at Bitetti Combat, but I torn the ACL in the first round. I fought two more rounds, so it took me almost two years to heal."

Fans around the world ever wondered if he would ever fight again when he accepted to fight UFC veteran Martin Eastman at Bitetti Combat 4 in Rio de Janeiro, winning via decision.

It wasn’t the best performance of his career, but it was a great win considering he injured his knee in the first round, when his foot got stuck between the mat and the fence.

"I’ve fought 18 times in Japan and didn’t feel the pressure I’ve felt fighting in Rio de Janeiro," he said. "I’ve never fought in a cage before and I felt very comfortable there. Many fighters felt that change [after Pride], but I loved it. I felt at home inside the cage."

With an injured knee, Arona went to Las Vegas with his friend Rogerio "Minotouro" Nogueira, who was scheduled to fight Jason Brilz at UFC 114 in May 2010, to meet Dana White.

According to Arona, the UFC president told him to get one more win before they sign him, but it never happened. Three years have passed since that day, and he had the chance to fight again when he got offers from major promotions like Strikeforce, but he never accepted.

"When I decided to fight again, I started to train with my friend Paulo Filho, but I injured my other knee," he said. "I’ve tore the ligaments of my other knee and I will have to go on surgery again. I will do the surgery by the end of the year, so I will need to take some time off to be at 100 percent again. That’s the reason I’m not fighting yet. I have to heal everything to return."

Arona has only won one fight in seven years, but he still wants to compete against the best.

"UFC is the goal of every fighter, and that’s my goal," he said. "I don’t know if I’ll need one or two more fights to get there, but I’m not worried. UFC is the goal, and I will be ready to get there. The only chance I won’t fight again is if my body can’t do it anymore. But I had a knee surgery before and healed well, so I believe my other knee will be 100 percent. I know time flies, but I also believe in my experience. Everything will be alright.

"I’ve talked about it a lot in the past, so I decided I won’t fix a deadline for my return because I need to be solid in every aspect of the fight to return, and I still have that knee surgery to do," he continued. "I believe my recovery will take a year and I should be able at least to decide what’s next at the end of 2014. Will I return fighting jiu-jitsu, submission or straight to MMA? I expect to be ready to fight in one year after the surgery, but if it takes more than a year I’m okay with that too. No rush. I need to get ready to return at 100 percent and that’s what matters."

But a fighter needs money, and having only a single fight in six years doesn't afford a house in Itacoatiara.

"Every athlete lives with the money they get from sponsors and purses," Arona said, "and I haven’t competed recently, but I have Quiksilver and Moskova as sponsors and they support me a lot."

"The Brazilian Tiger" is slowly building his gym in his own house, and he expects to be surrounded by the best teammates when it’s finally finished.

"I like to teach and watch people learning and growing as fighters, but I’m extremely competitive," he said. "I’m building a structure where I can train and get ready to compete. I want to have at my house everything a fighter needs to be able to compete at the highest level without leaving Itacoatiara. I have everything I need here. I live in peace, thinking about my projects. I can stay healthy using the nature, like the mountains and the sea. It would be tougher to do it in the city, and that’s why I love to live here."

"I’ll build a structure with all the equipment I need, but I will also have the best sparring," he continued. "I have a lot of good guys to help me here, but I also want my friends to help me, like Anderson Silva, Rodrigo 'Minotauro', Amaury Bitetti, Rogerio 'Minotouro', Paulo Filho and many others. I will also go to Rio de Janeiro to train with them, but I don’t want to need to go there to train like I needed in the past."

Arona looks slimmer today, but he still weighs the same he used to when he competed in Japan.

"My weight is the same for 10 years," he said. "I weigh 205 pounds and have always weighted that. I always weighed around 209 pounds on fight night while my opponents were at 220, 225 pounds. I believe that the fighters should weigh in on the same day of the fight. Weighing in the day before is ridiculous. That’s not your real weight. You’re a big coward if you need to lose 25 pounds to fight. If you’re really good, there’s no weight. You need to fight at your real weight class."

Arona will be a 36-year old fighter when he finally recovers from his knee injury (projected to be at some point in 2015), but he believes he will be ready to beat anyone in the UFC -- and that includes Jon Jones.

"Jon Jones is reigning in this division, but his last fight was really close," Arona said. "People have trouble dealing with his height and reach, his style, but he’s not unbeatable. You just need to be smart.

"We all saw after his last fight that he’s not that monster that everybody believed he was," he continued. "When I fought Alistair Overeem, he was a monster as big as Jones and I used the right strategy to win. You need the right strategy to beat Jon Jones. Glover Teixeira is an aggressive fighter standing, but he can’t let Jon Jones fight his game.

"I’m capable of beating any fighter. I’ve proven it already. I only need to be 100 percent to do it. Today, I can’t beat any of them. That’s the reality. But I believe a lot in myself. I’ve fought fighter from every weight class. Doing the right thing, I have a chance against any of them. Most of the fighters today (in the UFC) lose because they make mistakes, not because the other one if better than them."

Before driving back home in his car, a mid-1990’s silver BMW, the Pride veteran asks to send a message to his fans around the world, He wants to remind them that Ricardo Arona will fight again.

"I’m doing everything I need to return to the ring and do my best again," Arona said. "I know I’m the type of fighter that the market needs, and I need this time to get ready to go to war again."

Source: http://www.mmafighting.com/2013/10/13/4813226/where-are-they-now-prides-ricardo-arona
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