Bloomberg thinks NYC is America

It started as a small group of American mayors worried about gun violence. It has since grown into a vociferous national organisation that has challenged the powerful US gun lobby and boosted speculation about the presidential prospects of Michael Bloomberg, the mayor of New York.

The latest recruit to Bloomberg's coalition of Mayors Against Illegal Guns is Patricia Tucker, the widow of a North Carolina sheriff who was shot in the face by a teenager on probation for an earlier offence. He was found to have bought a shotgun from a dealer who allegedly should have refused the sale.

Tucker appeared last week in a new advertising campaign aimed at Congressional allies of the National Rifle Association, the defender of American gunowners' rights. Bloomberg's assault on one of Washington's most powerful lobbying groups has marked him out as both a target for right-wing critics and as a bold, energetic campaigner whose immense personal wealth might enable him to side-step the traditional primary-filled path to the White House.

As the billionaire founder and majority owner of the Bloomberg media empire, the mayor is considering spending $1 billion of his personal fortune on an independent campaign in the 2008 White House race.

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Oregon Intruder Held At Gunpoint By Homeowner: "A Depoe Bay homeowner took matters into his own hands Friday morning when he found an intruder in his house. Lincoln County Sheriff''s deputies responded to a home on Breeze Street shortly after 1:30 a.m. Friday after the homeowner called police to report that he was holding a suspected intruder at gunpoint. The homeowner told police he saw the man trespassing in the back yard and that the man entered his home without permission. There were three people inside the home, one of which was a small child. Authorities took 25-year-old Justin James of Portland into custody on charges of first- and second-degree criminal trespassing. Stewart is being held in the Lincoln County Jail on $10,000 bail."


Arizona homeowner confronts burglar: "A man is in custody after a homeowner found a suspected burglar inside his house near 16th Street and Maryland Avenue Wednesday morning. A neighbor became suspicious when he saw a man walking around his neighbor's property. The neighbor called the property owner, who returned home armed with a gun. The homeowner confronted the suspected burglar, whom he let go. Police say the homeowner did the right thing. The homeowner was able to provide a vehicle description and the suspect was arrested in a stolen car shortly after the incident."