MANILA, Philippines (AP) — Philippine police tracked down a suspect in a series of grisly robberies and killings with the help of his Facebook account, officials said Tuesday. Mark Dizon, a 28-year-old computer technician, did not resist when arrested Tuesday while talking with his father in a public square in northern San Fernando city, police Senior Superintendent Danilo Bautista said. He is accused of killing nine people – six Filipinos, an American, a Canadian and a Briton – in three different robberies at hotels and homes this month in Angeles city. The area, near the former U.S.-run Clark Air Force Base some 50 miles (80 kilometers) northwest of Manila, is home to many retired expatriates. Dizon, who is from a well-off family and according to police had a fascination with guns, was Facebook friends with the daughter of one of the victims. A friend of her family showed his photo on the popular social networking site to witnesses to help identify him, police said. “He was fond of computers and this gave him away,” Bautista told The Associated Press. Murder charges will soon be filed against Dizon, who denied involvement in the killings, Bautista said. The string of deadly robberies started July 12, when Canadian Geoffrey Alan Bennun, 60, and his Filipino girlfriend were shot to death after a robber broke into their hotel room. Four days later, Briton James Bolton Porter, 51, and his girlfriend were killed by a gunman in their house in Angeles’ Malabanas village, police said. Dizon allegedly later pawned some of the possessions taken from Bennun, including a laptop and a cell phone, Bautista said, adding investigators have secured pawnshop records and close-circuit television camera footage showing him with the stolen objects in the shop. Last week, a gunman killed American Albert Mitchell, a 70-year-old veteran of the U.S. Air Force, along with his Filipino wife, Janet, 53, and three Filipino staff inside their Angeles home, Bautista said. In the last killing, the fleeing gunman was seen by a village guard and a motorcycle taxi driver, who later described him to investigators, according to police. After hearing descriptions of the suspect, a family friend of the Mitchells looked up Dizon’s Facebook page – the Mitchells’ daughter was one of his friends on the site. He showed the Facebook profile photo to the witnesses, who identified him as the man fleeing they saw, Bautista said. He added that the same pistol was used in all the killings, linking Dizon to the other two crimes. ? 2010 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use .
July 27, 2010 | Posted in
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NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Singer Taylor Swift will host a live chat to talk with fans about a new album. Swift said she’s always getting questions from fans via the Internet and social networking sites. Next Tuesday she’ll be providing answers about her follow up to “Fearless” and more. “I’ve gotten so many questions from fans – on Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, my website, everywhere really, and it’s so incredible to see how excited everybody is about what’s next,” Swift said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. “I want them to be the first to know about my new music, and I can’t wait to talk to everybody as directly as I can!” Swift will host the chat from Nashville at 5 p.m. EDT. Fans will be able to submit questions on Swift’s website, social networking platforms and Ustream.tv. Swift was recently ranked No. 3 on Forbes’ list of the most powerful celebrities on social media. She has 7 million Facebook friends and 3.6 million Twitter followers. “Fearless” was the top-selling album of 2009 and netted Swift every major award, including two Grammys. — Online: http://www.taylorswift.com ? 2010 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use .
July 15, 2010 | Posted in
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LOS ANGELES (AP) — Remember the MTV VJ? That’s so two decades ago. Now the network is looking to hire its first TJ, or Twitter Jockey. MTV officials say the search is on for a new social media maven who will engage with the MTV audience and serve as a liaison between viewers and network honchos. MTV General Manager Stephen Friedman called the TJ position “a natural evolution of how we connect with our audience.” The network has identified 18 potential candidates and is asking its audience to find two more. The 20 hopefuls will compete in a series of online challenges this summer designed to reveal their personalities and demonstrate how they connect with Twitter followers. Five finalists will ultimately compete on a live show on Aug. 8, when fans will pick who gets the new job. “The hope is that this person will be dynamic, engaging and energized, an enthusiast within the social media world,” said Dave Sirulnik, the executive overseeing the contest. “Somebody who will represent the audience by taking their thoughts and questions and … through an ongoing dialogue with them, be able to bring those questions inside the walls here to the people who make MTV.” The new Twitter Jockey will report on MTV events, such as the Video Music Awards in September, and appear on-air periodically. “While they won’t be on TV the way VJs were,” Sirulnik said, “they will always be on.” Insight MTV executives gain through the new online representative’s interaction with fans could influence programming and network decisions, Friedman said. “Twitter and Facebook enable us to make smarter decisions,” he said. “This will benefit us hopefully as much as it benefits the audience.” Viewers can nominate themselves or their favorite Facebook friends for the position online beginning Monday. The MTV TJ will be based in New York and earn a six-figure salary. — MTV is a unit of Viacom Inc. ? 2010 The Associated Press . All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Learn more about our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use .
June 14, 2010 | Posted in
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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — As part of an ongoing effort to improve its user experience, Internet company AOL Inc. is letting users of its AIM instant-messaging service chat with friends on Facebook. AOL said Wednesday that a new version of AIM connects with the instant-messaging function on Facebook’s Web site, letting AIM users communicate with friends who are logged on to the social network and available to chat. Once an AIM user downloads the new software and links it with their Facebook profile, their buddy list will include a list of online Facebook friends. Excluding mobile, AIM has about 17 million users – a fraction of the more than 400 million on Facebook. It launched a “lifestreaming” feature last year that let users see friends’ latest posts on social sites like Facebook and Twitter.
February 10, 2010 | Posted in
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