Ariel Castro suicide: Two guards placed on leave

 

Ariel Castro pleads to Judge Michael Russo during his sentencing on August 1, 2013 in Cleveland, Ohio.

(CNN) -- Two Ohio correctional officers have been placed on leave as investigators look into the suicide of Cleveland kidnapper Ariel Castro, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction told CNN.

Caleb Ackley and Ryan Murphy, both hired in 2007, were on duty in the prison unit where Castro was housed the night he hanged himself.

Castro, 52, was found hanged with a bedsheet September 3, coroner Dr. Jan Gorniak said. He was being held at the Correctional Reception Center in Orient.

Prison medical staff tried to revive him.

Castro pleaded guilty last month to 937 counts, including the kidnapping of Michelle Knight, Georgina DeJesus and Amanda Berry. He was sentenced to life plus 1,000 years.

Ariel Castro house demolished

Mario Balotelli winner secures Italy's passage to World Cup finals

Maria Balotelli celebrates after scoring his crucial penalty in the 2-1 win over the Czech Republic.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Italy and Netherlands seal spots in World Cup finals in Brazil
• Mario Balotelli scores the winner as Italy beat Czech Republic
• Robin van Persie double in 2-0 win for the Dutch in Andorra
• England hold Ukraine to a draw in vital Group H qualifier in Kiev

(CNN) -- Italy and the Netherlands sealed their places in the World Cup finals in Brazil next year while England survived an uncomfortable night in Kiev against Ukraine in key qualifying matches Tuesday.

Mario Balotelli scored the winner as Italy came from behind to beat the Czech Republic 2-1 to seal Group B, while the Dutch had a pair of Robin van Persie goals to thank for a 2-0 win in Andorra to wrap up Group D of European qualifying.

Roy Hodgson's England battled to a goalless draw to maintain their leadership of Group H, one point clear of Ukraine and Montenegro with two rounds of matches remaining.

It was an unconvincing performance and visiting goalkeeper Joe Hart was the busier goalkeeper in a match of few clear cut chances, but Frank Lampard, making his 100th appearance for England nearly grabbed the winner with a headed effort in injury time.

Italy fell behind to a 19th minute Libor Kozak volleyed strike in Turin, but the Azzurri struck back through Giorgio Chiellini in the 51st minute before Balotelli stepped up to hit the winner past Petr Cech from the spot three minutes later to set the four-time champions on the road to Brazil.

Milan's Balotelli had a mixed night, wasting several chances to put his side firmly in control, before winning the penalty as he was crudely fouled by Theodor Gebre Selassie.

Read: Balotelli does not regret leaving EPL

To complete an ultimately disappointing night for the Czechs, Daniel Kolar was given his marching orders near the end.

"We've qualified and we're really satisfied," said Italy coach Cesare Prandelli.

"Tonight there were spells in which we suffered physically but we also played some quality football. This squad has a lot of quality," he told AFP.

Fellow powerhouses Germany need just a single point from their final two matches to join them after a 3-0 win in the Faroe Islands, with Per Mertesacker, Arsenal new boy Mesut Ozil and Thomas Muller scoring the goals.

Sweden still have a mathematical chance of overhauling the Group C leaders after Zlatan Ibrahimovic's first minute goal in the 1-0 win in Kazakhstan, but the Germans can seal qualification next month when they play the Republic of Ireland.

Switzerland are also all but assured of a finals place, five points clear of Iceland in Group E as a pair of Fabian Schar goals saw off Norway 2-0.

France revived their hopes by breaking a scoring drought which had lasted 526 minutes in a fighting 4-2 win in the Belarus.

Franck Ribery canceled out a Egor Filipenko opener for the hosts and then equalized for the second time after Timofei Kalachev's effort.

Samir Nasri and Paul Pogba grabbed vital late goals to clinch victory for the French, who draw level with world champions Spain on points in Group I.

Spain, who have played a game less, were salvaging a 2-2 draw with Chile in a friendly in Geneva, equalizing for the second time in added time through Jesus Navas.

Eduardo Vargas netted twice for the South Americans, with Tottenham striker Roberto Soldado canceling out his first effort.

Read: Real unveil Bale at Bernabeu

Wales' 3-0 home defeat to Serbia in Group A was notable for the appearance of Real Madrid's new world record signing Gareth Bale, who played for half an hour as a second half substitute and almost scored with a late free kick.

Bale has not played since a pre season friendly for his former side Tottenham, nursing a foot injury.

Earlier, Jordan won a marathon penalty shootout 9-8 with hosts Uzbekistan to qualify for an intercontinental playoff, with the winners reaching next year's finals.

They will play South America's fifth placed team after a topsy turvy contest in Tashkent.

The home side went ahead through Anzur Ismailov and dominated much of the first half, only for Saeed Murjan to level with a stunning half volley strike just before the interval.

Despite several chances for either side, the match went into extra time, which was delayed for 18 minutes by a floodlight failure.

The penalty drama was intense until the unfortunate Ismailov failed to convert his effort to leave the visitors celebrating.

US shops and restaurants fight patent trolls

 

 

 

The print and radio campaign will be shown across 15 US states.

The Internet Association is among a group of US trade bodies behind a new campaign calling for politicians to take action over patent trolls.

Patent trolls take out generalised patents, often on widely available technology, and then demand money from companies who use or offer it.
Shops and restaurants have been targeted for displaying QR codes and online store-locators, say the groups.
The radio and print adverts will appear in 15 US states.
"Patent trolls don't make anything, they just get rich," is a line from the Stop Bad Patents campaign, which claims that businesses can find themselves facing demands for $100,000 (£65,000) to settle - a considerable sum but often cheaper than defending themselves in court.
Its organisers want voters to contact their Congress representatives asking them to "stop bad patents, stop the trolls".
'legalized extortion' It is a joint initiative between the Internet Association, the National Restaurant Association, the National Retail Federation and the Food Marketing Institute, all of whom say their members are increasingly being targeted.
"Patent trolls use bad patents to bully companies of all sizes, in every economic sector, from coast to coast," said Michael Beckerman, President of The Internet Association.
"This is essentially legalised extortion, forcing hard-working businesses to go to court or write a cheque."
US President Barack Obama has already called on Congress to tackle the problem of people facing legal action over commonly used technology from others who belatedly take out patents on it.
Speaking to the BBC earlier this month, Alan Schoenbaum, general counsel at the cloud computing firm Rackspace, explained that patent trolls are often "entrepreneurs or finance people" rather than genuine inventors of new technology.
"Defending a lawsuit is extremely expensive... they play on that fear that the defendant is going to spend a lot of money to defend itself and it is simply cheaper to pay them off," he said.
However Erich Spangenberg, owner of "patent monetisation" company IP Nav, says the practice of buying patents and asserting that right is already commonplace in other industries.
"Much like an architect can design a building but does not build it, a song-writer can compose a song but doesn't have to sing it, an inventor can get granted a patent and ultimately is not forced to practise it," he responded.