Md. man charged with hatchet killing; suspect is son of former Bush White House official

Every industry falls victim to scams, rackets and rip-offs. Or plain old pipe dreams. Which reminds me of Powerball, which, isn't a rip-off since someone eventually comes up with the winning numbers but it probably won't be you or me (odds of winning: 1 in 175,223,510). You have a better chance at becoming the next American Idol (1 in 103,000) or succumbing to an attack of bees (1 in 71,107).

Yet perfectly sane people think they're going to win the millions. Maybe that's why some believe those airline ticket giveaways are legit, too.

Repeat after me: If you get an air travel offer that sounds too good to be true, well - duh. Let's burst some bubbles about phony freebies, plus legitimate giveaways that upon closer inspection aren't quite as 'free' as you may think.

For more travel news and insights view Rick's blog at farecompare.com

Some folks in the Dallas area (and possibly elsewhere) have found postcards in their mailbox for a so-called promotion for Delta; the cards said

Ariz. Dept. of Public Safety investigating threatening email sent to 9 lawmakers over Medicaid

Illinois judge charged with heroin, gun possession after colleague ODs at his family's lodge

Authorities: Utah Army veteran charged with killing officer is found dead hanging in jail cell

Sui Lan Gomez, a teacher in Kamuela, Hawaii, handmade these sweet graduation notes for each of her six students.

"I wanted to do something that was fun and creative, and those candy bars have such cool logos," Gomez told GoodMorningAmerica.com.

Gomez has been a teacher for 22 years. Four years ago, she left her job as a tenured public school teacher to work in the private sector.

"This is the fourth year I've done it," said Gomez, 48. "I always try to do something for the different holidays. I try to make it special for them the next day. These guys are going on to middle school so I wanted to make it special."

The full note uses different candy to create the message: "Look! I have some good news for you! Even though this year may have been a rocky road with your schoolwork, you got a big hunk of work done! I hope you learned to work now & later play, then maybe you'll grow up to be successful nerds and make 100 grand. Love, Ms. Gomez."

Her students, ranging from 4 th to 7 th

Authorities: Utah Army veteran charged with killing officer is found dead hanging in jail cell

The man in charge of the jury that convicted Jodi Arias of murder but could not reach agreement on whether her life should be spared described the process as "gut-wrenching" and said he and his fellow jurors struggled to contain their emotions.

"We couldn't allow ourselves to be emotional on the stand," jury foreman William Zervakos said today on "Good Morning America." "We couldn't allow ourselves to show emotion [but] it was a different story when we got back into the jury room."

Some of the most emotional moments during the five-month trial came over the 18 days when Arias, 32, took the stand and described her relationship with Travis Alexander, the ex-boyfriend whom she was convicted last week of stabbing and shooting to death in 2008.

Arias pled for her life also during the sentencing phase of the trial, but Zervakos says her long stint on the stand didn't help her case, especially when she was cross-examined by the prosecutor.

"I think 18 days hurt her. I think she was not a good