Check out my blog from yesterday for more photos!

On those mornings when I’ve only been afforded two hours of sleep, the first thing I attempt, when the alarm goes off, is problem solving; there must be some way I can accomplish everything I need to accomplish, yet stay in this bed for at least another hour. Therefore, on a morning like this, I fail at my first task of the day.

On this particular morning, I needed to meet my cameraman, Chris Jackson, at our office in Jerusalem, load up the gear, get through the stringent security at Ben Gurion airport in Tel Aviv and fly to Amman, Jordan to begin the ground trek to Beirut. The difficulty in making the trip points out the cantankerous folly of man. As the missile flies, the trip from Jerusalem to Beirut would take about 5 hours by car. With Rafiq Hariri international airport in Beirut shut down by Hezbollah, a long series of border crossings and paranoid customs inspectors ahead of me, I was ambitiously betting on 18 hours.

So, we hooked up with a driver in Amman and headed for the Syrian border. At the crossing I found many of my contemporaries in the foreign press, the BBC, Canadian Broadcast Company, Swedish radio and a handful of newspaper reporters. Since I was the only one in the bunch who speaks Arabic, I ended up the translator. It still took hours to get visas and get through customs. It’s Ironic that the Syrians made the border so time-consuming; none of us had any interest in Syria. All we wanted was to cross over Syrian land and get to Lebanon where Hezbollah was making swift work of dominating the forces loyal to the government of Prime Minister Fuad Siniora.

Word was out that a roadblock of burning tires had severed the road, connecting Damascus to Beirut. So, our plan was to drive all the way around to the North of Lebanon, cross the border there and drive down through Tripoli. But the drivers, through their remarkable cell-phone, buddy network, passed word that the road through Tripoli had been blocked as well. We changed our plan and crossed into Lebanon between Damascus and Beirut.

Before we got to the Lebanese passport control, we could see the black smoke of burning tires rising up from the roadblock. Our driver could not take us any further, so Chris and I had to hand carry the gear. The job was made easier by the eager hands of young Lebanese boys who were more than happy to snatch up our gear and carry it around the roadblock in exchange for a buck or two. The gear was snatched up so quickly (and without us asking for help) my immediate concern was that gear would walk away in the chaos. Chris and I ran alongside trying to keep track of each piece. In the end the kids were honest. They were happy to get a dollar and all our gear arrived at the car.

On the other side of the road block there was a man dispatching Taxis. I haggled a deal and for $100 US, his driver would take our gear and us from the border to Beirut.

Our driver was a man who looked more like a bull than any I’d ever seen. He was far too big to be comfortable in the little Mercedes taxi we had overloaded with TV gear. At one point, I handed him my blackberry so he could speak with a contact in Beirut to get directions to our hotel. His meaty hands and fingers that looked like bratwurst with calluses swallowed up the phone. I sat in the back seat and I could sea a lump of flesh balled up just below his baldhead that looked like a serving of haggis with razor stubble on it. Calluses on his forehead perfected his bull-like appearance. Some of the Muslim faithful develop a single dark spot where their foreheads touch the ground during prayer. Our driver however, had two. They were heavy they stuck out like little horns from his thick forehead.

We reached a little mountain town on the edge of the Bekaa valley and our driver pulled into a parking lot where another cab was waiting. Without explaining what he was doing, he just started unloading our gear from the cab. I asked him what was up and he explained that we were switching cabs. He doesn’t go all the way to Beirut. “Fine,” I told him in Arabic. “But we agreed $100. So, you’ll each get $50.”

He responded, “Then, You’ll stay here.”

It was the perfect scam. Beating him up wasn’t an option and I’m sure he could spot the journos in a hurry. We wanted to get to the story, and didn’t have time to argue. As far as getting ripped-off goes, it was a kinder gentler sort of robbery.

I said something nasty to him, but I said it in English then paid the $200.

We made it to Beirut with all our gear and had a pretty successful week. The story is fascinating there. There are a multitude of forces at work in Lebanon. The tension could grind on for a while; it could flare up. I’m betting that I’ll be back on the air reporting from Lebanon soon enough.

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My name is Adam Petlin — I’m the Operations Supervisor for FOX News Channel’s Chicago Bureau.

I’ve been commuting to work on my bike for the last year and wanted to give you a behind the scenes look.

The ride from my Wicker Park neighborhood to our downtown office is about 3.5 miles. Depending on the weather and traffic it takes between 15-20 minutes. I’m glad winter riding is over. Now it’s riding in Chicago’s other season, construction.

The song playing in the background is by Black Angels, called “Black Grease.”

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We ask that question in tonight’s Fox Report w/ Shepard Smith.

Here in the Atlanta area, Fulton County school officials are experimenting with a pilot project that targets students struggling with math or science.

The “Learn & Earn” program is paying 40 public school students in the Atlanta suburb of Fairburn $8 an hour to attend remedial classes.

The privately funded project is being financed by Charles Loudermilk, the founder and CEO of Atlanta-based Aaron Rents, Inc., through the Learning Makes a Difference Foundation.
The non-profit group’s president, Jackie Cushman, says “Learn & Earn” is the brainchild of her father, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who became concerned after a 2001 congressional commission (Hart-Rudman) identified deficiencies in math and science education as a threat to national security.

Click on the video to see my entire interview with Cushman.

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The Colombians have made the argument for months and many within the U.S. Government both here and abroad have told me the same thing …. Hugo Chavez is working with FARC, a known terrorist organization.

Now INTERPOL has analyzed computers found during the Ecuadorean raid, they have concluded that Chavez and his leadership is doing just what our allies have claimed. We reported on this computer find from Bogota’ and on the tensions between Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela about 6 weeks ago and now this determination places blame directly on Chavez. I have been getting e-mails from contacts inside Venezuela claiming this same connection and believe it or not, some of these folks are desperate for the world to take notice of their opposition to their leader and even hope (in some cases) that the United States will list Venezuela as a ‘State Sponsor of Terrorism’.

It’s now tough for any nation skeptical of President Uribe’s assertion, or our belief of Chavez’s ties with FARC, to make any argument in opposition; thanks to the worlds largest international police organization. This report also puts pressure on the Bush Administration, how do they handle this and do they list Venezuela as a state sponsor of terror?

This question I posted in a blog thread about a week ago. Representative Connie Mack from Florida has been a strong supporter of our reports from the region over the course of the last year and he continues his call for the designation. Rep. Mack has been a strong voice against Chavez and the systematic destruction of freedom in a once powerful and free South American nation.

Click on the Read More link for his official press release.

WASHINGTON – Congressman Connie Mack (FL-14) renewed his calls for the Administration to impose tough new sanctions on Venezuela today after Interpol, the international police agency, confirmed the validity of the contents of laptops and other documents containing information strongly tying Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and his allies to the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), an internationally-recognized terrorist organization.

Interpol released its report early this afternoon on laptops, files and other documents that Colombian forces recovered after a raid on a FARC camp inEcuador in which a top leader in the FARC, Raul Reyes, was killed. The laptops and documents contain solid evidence that Chavez and his closest advisors have cooperated and coordinated with the FARC and given them hundreds of millions of dollars, weapons, public support and safe passage and haven in Venezuela.

“Today’s report sheds another bright light on the active efforts of Venezuelan strongman Hugo Chavez and his cronies to promote terror and instability throughout Latin America. He has used his vast oil wealth to fund terrorism in the region and make mischief in order to undermine democratic institutions and principles in Colombia and other countries.

“Because of his allegiances to rogue nations like Iran and Syria, and the evidence conclusively tying Chavez to the highest levels of the FARCterrorist organization, I introduced a resolution two months ago calling on the Administration to add Venezuela to the list of state sponsors of terrorism.

“Today’s developments once again show the need for the State Department to fully recognize the very real threat that Chavez and his allies pose toLatin America and the Western Hemisphere and to impose real and targeted sanctions on the government of Venezuela.

“These sanctions will cripple the ability of the Chavez regime to fund its terrorist friends and allies and will strengthen the stability of the Andean region. Most importantly, tough sanctions will help in the effort to preserve freedom, security and prosperity for all of Latin America.

“It is imperative for the Administration to take these important steps without delay. Latin America is at a crossroads. We need strong leadership now in the United States and across Latin America to confront tyranny and to preserve and strengthen democracy throughout the region. The people ofVenezuela, and indeed all of Latin America, deserve nothing less.”

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Mike Tobin in the mountains south of Beirut; Mike Tobin holds up the remains of a shell during a live shot

Mike Tobin going live from the hills above Beirut; Mike Tobin and field producer Marcia Biggs look at a rocket shell

Fox producer Dany Khoury; Fox producer Dany Khoury inside the burned out house

Fox News Middle East cameraman Christopher Jackson filming the aftermath of a gun battle

Fox News field producer Marcia Biggs on the phone to New York

Fox News correspondent Mike Tobin; Fox News cameraman Christopher Jackson

Fox fixer Ali al Sayed and cameraman Chris Jackson

A house attacked by Hezbollah; The outside of the house - hit by rocket and mortar fire

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This is the first of a couple videos I will post. Our story for Thursday includes ray guns, strobing lights, unmanned planes and hi-tech speakers … all of it comes from the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.

Here you can find Sgt. Brian Muller, the new gadget guy in charge, and the guy who tests much of this stuff out. Not all of it will bought or implemented by the L.A. Sheriff’s, but much of it will continue development and end up working in another area, or in a new way.

Basically Sgt. Muller and his department are watched by many other forces in the country to see what’s next, what’s coming down the line that can make police work safer for all involved and more efficient. We got an up close look at seven different new gadgets and all will be featured during our live reports throughout the day, which includes a new heat ray gun by Ratheon that got me moving.

In the first video here’s — a flashlight that strobes a suspect into submission and then a radar that can see through walls. The second video shows an unmanned plane that can fit into a 3-foot tube when folded up. The plane has two high quality cameras, one of them can pan 350 degrees. Following the plane are some MAD speakers. Magnetic Audio Devices can clearly project for hundreds of yards, they can also pick up my voice from 80 yards at a normal level. Finally I have shown an up close look at Raytheon’s Heat Ray Gun. I got zapped and it feels like someone is sticking you with a cigarette, but there’s no burn. What the gun does is heat the water molecules just under the skin and there’s no after effects.

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The special election to replace a Georgia legislator who pleaded guilty to money laundering appears headed for a runoff, pitting a national guardsman against a minister.

Dee Dawkins-Haigler, a political consultant who is also an ordained minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, received 164 votes in yesterday’s election.

With less than the required “50 percent plus one” majority, Dawkins-Haigler will likely face a June 10 runoff against her apparent runner-up, national guardsman and former police officer Malik Douglas, who received 99 votes.

The day before the election, Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel announced Douglas’s name would be allowed to remain on the official ballot.

Candidate Colet Odenigbo had attempted to disqualify him, arguing that when the National Guard deployed Douglas to Iraq earlier this year, his active duty status made it illegal for him to seek public office. Last week, an administrative law judge dismissed Odenigbo’s case.

In yesterday’s special election, Odenigbo came in fourth with 92 votes, just behind Traci Waites who got 96. Jim Sendelbach came in fifth with 72 votes.

All these numbers are unofficial until next week, when county and state elections officials expect to certify the final results.

Write-in ballots have yet to be counted (a sixth candidate KaTesha Sagers joined the race after the state’s filing deadline and was not listed on the official ballot).

But just looking at the number of ballots cast for the “official” candidates, we’re talking about a grand total of 523. No! I didn’t leave out a digit (believe me, I checked this number multiple times with multiple sources thinking the same thing you probably are).

With votes in such rare commodity, it’s no wonder the candidates so actively campaigned on street corners. And now, the process starts all over again… and then again!

You see, the winner of the June 10 primary fills the unfinished (but soon to expire) term of District 93 State Representative Ron Sailor, Jr., who resigned in March after pleading guilty to money laundering. But the victor will barely have time to settle into the office before he or she seeks re-election in Georgia’s general primary on July 15.

I think it’s a safe bet motorists driving through suburban Atlanta’s Dekalb and Rockdale counties will be seeing a lot of Mrs. Dawkins-Haigler and Mr. Douglas over the next few weeks.

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Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel has decided to allow a national guardsman to remain on the ballot of today’s special election to fill the District 93 state house seat.

Malik Douglas is one of six candidates vying to fill the unexpired term of State Representative Ron Sailor, Jr. who resigned in March after pleading guilty to money laundering.

Douglas was deployed in Iraq, when he learned that one of the other candidates, Colet Odenigbo, was challenging the legality of his seeking elected office while on active duty with the military.

The National Guard allowed Douglas to return to the U.S. to appear before an administrative law judge hearing the case. On May 7, Judge Michael Malihi dismissed the case, writing that Odenigbo “did not present any admissible evidence to support his legal argument.”

Late Monday, the day before the election, Secretary Handel formally adopted the judge’s decision, allowing Douglas to remain on the ballot, along with Odenigbo and three other candidates: Dee Dawkins-Haigler, Jim Sendelbach and Traci Waites. A sixth contender, KaTesha Sagers is running as a write-in candidate.

In a press release Handel said, “The State should not create higher hurdles for brave men and women serving in the Armed Forces who want and are otherwise eligible to stand for election here in Georgia.”

Odenigbo tells me he wants to see the outcome of today’s six-way contest before deciding whether to appeal the secretary of state’s decision.

We’re reporting from outside a polling location at Murphy Candler Elementary School in the Atlanta suburb of Lithonia. Click on the video for a look behind the scenes.

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I have some great news to report. I promised to give an update on a story I wrote here on the blog March 3rd titled “Military Pen Pal Proposal” about my friend Jennifer Jones and her army soldier finance Scott Lee who has been deployed in Iraq. She has been anxiously waiting for Scott’s safe return to the U.S. for an agonizing 17 months total, and just last week, he came home.

Jones flew here to New York from San Francisco, and met Scott at Fort Dix in New Jersey, then the two of them came to stay with me in the city, and what a joy it was to see them together again.

Can you tell how happy she is? Just look at those dimples! We took a walk around the city when they got in, and checked out Carnegie Hall, Times Square, and a place Jones and I called our second home several years ago, the Sheraton Hotel on 7th Avenue.

We each were dispatched to New York during 9-11 from our California radio stations, and were both sent to this hotel. This is where we each built mini remote radio locations in our hotel rooms and did live reports day in and day out. It was raining when we walked up, but wanted to snap a picture anyway…

The very first thing Scott wanted to do in New York, was to get a slice of New York pizza, and after much debate with my friends and co-workers about where to take him(everyone in New York has a strong opinion about where to go for the best pizza in the city…) the decision was made to go to John’s pizza on Broadway.

I had never been there before, and I think it really might be the best slice of pizza around. Can you imagine what this must have tasted like for someone who has been eating MREs in Iraq for all those months?

The happy couple are now off visiting Scott’s family in the south, then they will soon start their new life together in the San Francisco area.

The wedding plans are full steam ahead….no word on if John’s Pizza will cater the event.

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So each Tuesday I feature a product and/or company that has caught my eye. Some of the stuff I have bought myself, or others I have run into while shopping, or in this case while at CES (The Consumer Electronic Show). My first trip there, a paradise for generation gadget, became a bit overwhelming.

So much stuff and so little time to tinker with it all. So this year I went with a direction in mind. Besides looking for and finding gadgets that we can use out of our bureau, I did want to check on a few companies trying to become big in the U.S. market. One of those is Coby Electronics.

Robert Gee and his marketing team had a nice and larger set-up than my first trip to New York and you can see the products and company evolve. I stopped in and got a glimpse of two products of many that they now feature. Digital picture frames and also universal chargers.

I haven’t owned either of these Coby products, but I was impressed in the time I got to see them and try them out while on display. See what you think and it gives you a good idea where the industry is going as I talk with research and development guy Kenji Higa.

Also … in this column, besides watching the video, you can ask me stuff about cameras TVs, etc., and I’ll do my best to give you the best information … and as easy to understand as possible.

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