Elizabeth Smart's alleged captor set to go on trial

Brian David Mitchell is seen a 2004 court appearance. He is accused of kidnapping Elizabeth Smart in 2002.Brian David Mitchell's attorneys will use insanity defenseThe defense tried to move the trial, citing publicity in the caseSmart says she was repeatedly assaulted when she was held captive

(CNN) -- More than eight years after a Utah teenager disappeared from her bedroom on a summer night, the trial of the man authorities believe masterminded her kidnapping is expected to get under way Thursday.

Brian David Mitchell, 57, is accused of snatching then-14-year-old Elizabeth Smart at knifepoint from her family's Salt Lake City home on June 5, 2002, a crime that shocked the nation and the city, which was then basking in the glow of the 2002 Olympic Winter Games a few months earlier.

Mitchell faces federal charges of kidnapping and transporting a minor across state lines for improper purposes. Prosecutors in Salt Lake City are expected to make their opening statements Thursday. The first witnesses may also be called soon afterward.

In the months that followed Smart's disappearance, her anguished parents, Ed and Lois, became a familiar sight in the media as they continued to plead for their daughter's safe return.

But no one expected what happened in March 2003, when Smart was found walking down a street in the Salt Lake City suburb of Sandy in the company of Mitchell and his wife, Wanda Eileen Barzee.

Mitchell, a drifter and self-described prophet who called himself "Emmanuel," had done some handyman work at the Smarts' home.

Utah prosecutors charged Mitchell with six felony charges of kidnapping, sexual assault and burglary. But in July 2005, a Utah district court judge ruled him incompetent to stand trial, leaving him in custody at the Utah State Hospital.

However, the state case against Mitchell was put on hold when federal authorities stepped in. A grand jury in 2008 indicted Mitchell and Barzee. U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball found Mitchell competent to stand trial in March.

Barzee, 64, pleaded guilty in November 2009 to kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor in federal court and was sentenced in May to 15 years in federal prison.

She also pleaded guilty but mentally ill in state court to conspiracy to commit aggravated kidnapping in an attempt to kidnap Smart's cousin a month after Smart was kidnapped. She was given a sentence of one to 15 years, to be served concurrently with the federal sentence, and given credit for the seven years she had spent in custody.

As part of her plea agreement, Barzee agreed to cooperate in the state and federal cases against her husband. However, her name does not appear on a witness list filed by federal prosecutors -- and does appear on a list of witnesses filed by the defense.

Smart, her mother and her younger sister, Mary Katherine -- who was sleeping in the room with Smart the night of the kidnapping and was the only witness -- all appear on the prosecution's witness list.

Mitchell's attorneys attempted to move his trial, saying it should be held outside of Utah because publicity in the case had prejudiced the pool of potential jurors against him and jeopardized his right to a fair trial.

Defense attorneys in July said in court documents that they intend to utilize an insanity defense and intend to introduce expert testimony relating to an alleged mental disease or defect.

Now 22, Smart testified as part of Mitchell's competency hearing last year that after taking her -- still dressed in her red pajamas -- from her home, Mitchell took her to a wooded area behind her home and performed a mock marriage ceremony with her before sexually assaulting her.

Smart testified Mitchell repeatedly assaulted her during her months in captivity, and that he and Barzee took her to California before returning with her to Utah.

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Tomas leaves 12 dead in St. Lucia

NEW: Tomas could reach Haiti as Category 1 hurricane FridaySt. Lucia's prime minister issues a disaster declarationRoads and bridges have collapsed, and homes have been destroyed

Miami, Florida (CNN) -- The death toll attributed to Hurricane Tomas, which swept through the West Indies island of St. Lucia last weekend, rose Tuesday to 12 and Prime Minister Stephenson King issued a declaration of disaster.

"No one could have adequately prepared for the event as the hurricane moved very slowly, a mere 8 miles per hour over the country, and deposited two years' annual rainfall in a 24-hour period," said June Soomer, an official in the prime minister's office.

Tomas hit St. Lucia as a Category 1 hurricane on Sunday morning and caused major damage by the time its winds subsided Monday night.

"Roads and bridges have collapsed, schools damaged ... homes have been destroyed," Soomer said. Some towns, including the town of Soufriere on the southwest coast, were reachable only by sea, she said.

But two bridges in the north have been partially reopened so people can get from the fishing village of Gros-Islet to the capital city, Castries, she said.

Hewanorra International Airport has reopened.

Aid from the United States and France was expected to arrive Tuesday to help clear roads, she said.

But access to fresh water remained a concern: Soomer predicted damaged water mains would be "at least halfway back to normal" by the end of the week.

Tomas also caused damage on St. Vincent, where two people were injured when they attempted to fix roof damage during the storm, officials said. The storm sent some 1,000 people into shelters, said Michelle Forbes, acting director of National Emergency Management.

Meanwhile, Jamaica's government issued a hurricane watch for the island late Tuesday afternoon as Tomas continued its trek through the region. After striking the Windward Islands, which include St. Lucia, Tomas emerged into the Caribbean Sea and weakened into a tropical storm. However, it was expected to reintensify and take a sharp right turn, forecasters said Tuesday.

People in Haiti and the Dominican Republic were urged to monitor the progress of Tomas, which could pose a "significant threat" to those areas later in the week, the National Hurricane Center said.

With the possibility of landslides, flooding and washed-out roads and bridges if Haiti is hit by the Tomas, the United Nations was scrambling to get supplies to key staging areas on the island, a U.N. spokesman said Tuesday.

"Supplies are being pre-positioned notably in Jeremie, Les Cayes, Jacmel and Leogane which are expected to experience the storm more severely," according to Martin Nesirky with the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The official forecast track from the Miami, Florida-based National Hurricane Center shows Tomas making landfall in southwestern Haiti on Friday afternoon as a Category 1 hurricane, with sustained winds of at least 74 mph with higher gusts.

As of 11 p.m. ET, Tomas was carrying 40 mph (65 kph) winds and was centered and 385 miles (620 kilometers) south-southwest of Port au Prince, Haiti and about 320 miles (515 kilometers) south-southeast of Kingston, Jamaica, the center said.

It was moving west at 8 mph (13 kph) and was expected to slow and turn to the north over the next two days.

It could regain hurricane strength by Thursday, the center said.

November hurricanes are rare, said CNN meteorologist Bonnie Schneider. The Atlantic hurricane season ends November 30.

CNN's Mark Bixler and CNN Radio's Matt Cherry contributed to this report.

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Lil Wayne: Out of Jail, Ready For Strip Clubs

Troubled rapper Lil Wayne is set to walk out of New York City's infamous Rikers Island prison this morning after serving an eight months on a weapons charge.

As soon as Weezy's free, his friends are reportedly planning an "extravagant, elegant" evening of celebration, boozing and strippers to welcome him home.

TRIUMPHANT: Lil Wayne is out of jail and back on the streets. Run.

The platinum-selling, billboard topping star pleaded guilty in 2009 to having a loaded gun on his tour bus. He started serving a one-year sentence in March.

He's expected to get out early due to time off for good behavior, despite "electronic contraband" that landed him in solitary confinement for the last month.

In an interview with MTV, Young Money records president Mack Maine said a party is being planned in Miami to help him readjust to life on the outside.

"It should be a lot of beautiful women, just ... beautiful scenery. We're going to just treat him like a king, like the royalty that he is and make him feel like we really missed him and welcome him back to the family," Maine told MTV.

The record label boss, who is also a close personal friend of Lil Wayne, said after a private party, the entourage would move over to a strip club called King of Diamonds in Florida's party capital. Readjusting to normal life? Done and done.

Lil Wayne joined a roster of successful rappers who have spent time behind bars, a list that has muddied the line between art and life in their genre.

Tupac Shakur, Lil' Kim, Foxy Brown, Shyne, Mystikal, Gucci Mane and T.I. have been incarcerated for periods ranging from months to years.

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Robin Quivers: Exploring Solutions for Obesity

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Posted: November 3, 2010 03:35 PMBIOBecome a FanGet Email AlertsBloggers' Indexfunction hide_user_promo_bubble_second_stage() {var bubble = $("user_promo_bubble");bubble.style.display = "none";}function hide_user_promo_bubble() {var bubble = $("user_promo_bubble");var myAnim = new YAHOO.util.Anim(bubble, {opacity: {to: 0}}, 1, YAHOO.util.Easing.easeOut);myAnim.animate();setTimeout("hide_user_promo_bubble_second_stage()", 1100);}function handle_promo_username(params) {var bubble = $("user_promo_bubble");var img = $("user_promo_bubble_image");var anchor = $("user_promo_bubble_link");if (params.has_photo == "true") {img.src = "http://images.huffingtonpost.com/profiles/" + params.user_id + "-tiny.png";} else {img.style.display = "none";Dom.addClass(anchor, "wide");}anchor.innerHTML = "Shared by " + params.user_name;anchor.href = "http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/" + params.user_name;bubble.style.display = "block";var myAnim = new YAHOO.util.Anim(bubble, {opacity: {to: 1}}, 2, YAHOO.util.Easing.easeOut);myAnim.animate();}if (HuffPoUtil.getUrlVar("user_promo")) {YAHOO.util.Event.onDOMReady(function() {var parts = document.location.hash.split(","), shared_by = "", badge = "", i;if (parts.length Exploring Solutions for Obesity What's Your Reaction: HPConfig.entry_digg_promo_url = 'http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robin-quivers/giving-up-or-getting-up_b_778453.html';digg facebook Twitter stumble redditdel.ico.us Amazing
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A friend recently visited the show and announced that after years of struggling with her weight she's decided to have bariatric surgery. It made me sad. I've experienced the same ups and downs, but I always believed there was a natural answer for me. It took a while to find that answer, but I did, and I've been all the happier for it. My solution came with no anesthesia, no surgery, no hospital stay, no recovery period and no side effects.

When my friend made her announcement it was with the resignation that she had failed and she was now delivering herself into the hands of others to do what she has found impossible to do. She had declared herself out of control and helpless, surrendering to the doctors as her higher power.

I believe what my friend is experiencing is an addiction to food. But instead of treating obesity like an addiction to food, doctors often treat it like a disease. Surgery cuts out or renders useless a part of the stomach, making it impossible to eat large quantities of food, at least for a time. This it is essentially an imposed fast or, more accurately, imposed starvation. Patients may leave the hospital no more prepared to take in quality nutrition, which is what is absolutely necessary when you eat so little. If the patient was already malnourished before surgery, that condition may persist after surgery. The patient may experience great difficulty consuming heaps of sugar and salt-laden goodies, so if addiction was indeed the reason for the person's obesity, this may lead them to experience withdrawal-like symptoms.

What health practitioners and others in the field of weight loss all too often fail to address is the patient's relationship with food. Unlike drugs and alcohol, food is a necessity, and abstaining forever is not an option. Abstaining for a period of time through voluntary juice fasting is possible and has health benefits as well, though you should consult your physician before beginning.

Clearly, I don't recommend that this be done without supervision. Supervised fasting can be a great way to provide the education necessary to make fasting work. Removed from food, the patient gets to take a long hard look at their relationship with food. Their body also gets a rest from digestion, probably for the first time in a lifetime. The body has a chance to reset itself and the patient gets the benefit of both losing weight and experiencing what their body feels like with proper nutrition. With your physician's help, fasting may be continued in intervals until the healthy weight is reached.

Surgery is always available, so it's not as if you can't have it done if you find that other options don't work for you. I just wonder why invasive procedures are often the first thing doctors offer to people who are struggling with weight issues.

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Post to Facebook.Post to Blogger.Post to Twitter.Post to WordPress.Post to TypePad.Post to Tumblr.Post to Yahoo! View All Recency  |  Popularity sixyfivepercentwater   0 minute ago (3:51 PM) 147 Fans I haven't found that fasting is necessary, and since it closely mimics starvation I'm pretty sure it's not something we're supposed to do. I have had great success by changing my mindset. Food is not recreation. It is not love, and it does not fill the empty places inside. It is just food.

These days, I eat one helping of something nutritious for each meal. I do not snack. I do not eat sugar in any form, and I long ago eliminated HFCS from my diet. I eat no junk food. And I'm losing about four pounds a month, month after month, WITHOUT exercising in any way. (I don't believe in moving a lot.)

This was only mildly difficult at first, and now I don't think I could eat a sweet thing if I tried. I just don't want it. The weight loss and the resulting feeling of increasing lightness is so much more fulfilling than a donut or six. sixyfivepercentwater: I haven't found that fasting is necessary, and since it http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/sixyfivepercentwater/giving-up-or-getting-up_b_778453_66106763.html Permalink  | Share it     New comments on this entry — Click to refreshLoading comments… Loading twitter module... Most Popular on HuffPostExqUhVpbvPem5enooJfILG3Z8JwRVl%2BaAv29qrEPE1oEYTjxxfBOr5s1ygMeiHJ3iJidrEZ2HksgVzk093s8Sg%3D%3DhAtHLRDwF4jAKYZKRKBtximOtQZccd1HHBFFGViwNOQWpXoa2RWYIob1aR7M3Puznocr0XvR%2BR8NpeijxGj5FA%3D%3D1 of 2 Election Results: Live Updates From 2010 Elections
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