Massachusetts drug lab chemist Annie Dookhan was arrested today on charges of obstruction of justice and lying about her educational degrees. She faces up to 20 years in prison.

Dookan has been the subject of a huge lab scandal in Mass. She tested over 60,000 samples in 34,000 cases over 9 years. She has admitted intentionally faking results. More than 1,100 inmates are still serving time in cases in which she performed or assisted in the drug tests. The lab has since been closed.

The only motive authorities have found so far is that Dookhan wanted to be seen as a good worker, the state attorney general said.

Dookhan is expected to face more charges as the investigation continues. While the state initially tried to portray Dookan as a rogue chemist, the problem seems to be systemic:

I'll be flying solo on Daily Kos Radio from 11 to noon Eastern today. Topic of discussion - Cathloic bishop threatens Democratic voters with eternal damnation. NOTE - Show cut short due to technical difficulties.

Open Thread.

Yesterday, Google turned 14, Lil' Wayne turned 30, Gwynneth Paltrow turned 40 and Meatloaf turned 65.

Today, it's my turn.

I'm taking the day off from blogging, so here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Update: Another "real name" for Nakoula Bassely Nakoula. According to KPPC, he told the judge today his real name is Mark Basseley Youseff. The charges are still under seal.

Youseff, who revealed that he also goes by the aliases Nakoula Basseley Nakoula and Sam Bacile, was accused of 8 allegations of probation violation. No date has been set for his next hearing.

Update: Nakoula was ordered detained pending the final determination of supervised release revocation proceedings.

The judge cited a "lengthy pattern of deception," including making false statements to probation officials. "The court has a lack of trust in the defendant at this time," Judge Suzanne H. Segal said, adding that he posed "some danger to the community."

Calfornia film maker Nakoula Basseley Nakoulah was arrested today on a petition to revoke his supervised release. He has an appearance this afternoon in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

I'll be flying solo on Daily Kos Radio from 11 to noon Eastern today. Topic of discussion - can "true" progressives vote for President Obama? Hint - Absolutely yes.

How to Listen to Daily Kos Radio:

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Open Thread.

The Prime Minister of New Zealand has issued an apology to Kim Dotcom. (Video here.)

In a media conference after the release of the report into unlawful monitoring of Mr Dotcom and an acquaintance, Mr Key said he was "appalled" at the agency, saying it had "failed at the most basic of hurdles." "Of course I apologise to Mr Dotcom, and I apologise to New Zealanders."

He said New Zealanders were entitled to be protected by the law "and we failed to provide that protection to them."

The report referred to is that of Paul Neazor, the Inspector General of Intelligence and Security for New Zealand, responding to the Prime Minister's request for an explanation of the illegal interception of Kim Dotcom's communications. The report is here. [More...]

Good news for football fans. The lockout has ended. A deal has been struck and the NFL referees will return starting tomorrow night.

According to reports, the pension issue was resolved with the existing defined-benefit plan remaining in place for five years until the officials are rolled over into a 401(k) plan.

Busy day. Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

Miguel Alonso Contreras-Perez, an army deserter and convicted rapist serving an indeterminate (up to life) sentence has been identified as the suspect in the killing of a Sgt. Mary Ricard, 55, a prison kitchen worker at the Arkansas Valley Correctional Facility near Ordway, Colorado. Another prison staffer, Sgt. Lori Gann was seriously injured in the attack which occurred as as Ricard, who was working on her day off, was supervising inmates preparing breakfast. There are 1,000 inmates at the prison.

Contreras-Perez pleaded guilty in 2004 to kidnapping a 14 year old girl at a bus stop at 6:30 a.m. and sexually assaulting her in 2002. The victim said he was wearing military clothing. He went AWOL from Fort Carson a month after the crime, and traveled to Utah, where he turned himself in at a police station and confessed. (Ex-soldier gets 35 years Man pleaded guilty to kidnapping, raping 14-year-old girl The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colorado) February 3, 2004.)

He was returned to Colorado, pleaded guilty and sentenced in 2004. He was 22 at the time of the crime, and according to the victim, married with two children. (Teen rape victim wants people to understand The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colorado) February 3, 2003 Monday). [More...]

A new poll by Bloomberg today has Obama ahead of Mitt Romney 49 to 43. Mitt's problem: people view him negatively.

Half of Americans hold an unfavorable view of Romney -- a September high for a presidential challenger in the last three decades -- and 49 percent of likely voters consider the former Massachusetts governor out-of-touch compared with 40 percent who say that of Obama in the latest Bloomberg National Poll conducted Sept. 21-24.

Also, voters think Obama has a better vision for the future:

The president does have one clear advantage -- his economic plan is breaking through with more Americans, who give him a 48 percent to 39 percent advantage over Romney on having a vision for a successful future.

In a nutshell:

[T]he public continues to view Romney as more disconnected from their lives and unconcerned with their challenges.

Singer Chris Brown is on 5 years of supervised probation for his felony plea to assault stemming from a 2009 incident in which he hit his then-girlfriend Rhianna. His probation was transferred under the Interstate Compact Act to Virginia where he lives. Virginia filed a petition to revoke his probation, recommending that the judge then reimpose probation with added terms.

Yesterday, a hearing was held. While there are multiple media headlines that he violated probation because he used marijuana, that is misleading.

The terms of his California probation did not require drug testing or prohibit him from using marijuana. Brown has a medicinal marijuana license in California. He smoked marijuana in California and then traveled to Virginia. [More...]

John Edward Smith, imprisoned for the past 19 years for a murder he did not commit, walked out of court a free man yesterday.

It was not DNA evidence that freed him, but perjured testimony at his trial. The sole eyewitness at his trial admitted lying.

Prosecutors told the judge they were convinced that the lone eyewitness to the 1993 shooting had lied at Smith’s trial, naming him as the gunman. Smith maintained he was at his grandmother’s house when the shooting occurred several blocks away.

The witness said said he was pressured by police to identify Smith as the shooter. [More...]