A Cincinnati man convicted of murdering a friend and assistant of Grammy Award-winning rapper T.I. has been sentenced to 66 years to life in prison. A jury in Cincinnati last month convicted 34-year-old Hosea Thomas of murder, felonious assault and illegally having a gun after a felony conviction.

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Was it really worth losing the rest of your life over some minor beef in a club?

“I was desperate, I guess,” said Mr. Johnson, 25, who said he had never been arrested before. As the economy has weakened, shoplifting has increased, and retail security experts say the problem has grown worse this holiday season. Shoplifters are taking everything from compact discs and baby formula to gift cards and designer clothing.

Police departments across the country say that shoplifting arrests are 10 percent to 20 percent higher this year than last. The problem is probably even greater than arrest records indicate since shoplifters are often banned from stores rather than arrested.

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With so many Americans out of work and retail stores working with small staffs, this problem has the potential to increase in 2009.

The story says 1 in 11 Americans have shoplifted so what have some you been stealing? I have never shoplifted but who knows what I would do if I was struggling and desperate.

Is this just as bad a comment as Yung Berg’s?