Victims of sexual assault and their advocates demand reform of culture in which most of thousands of cases are not prosecuted
The day before defense secretary Leon Panetta announced the lifting of the ban on women in combat, Jennifer Norris, an air force veteran and rape survivor, testified before a congressional panel into one of the worst sexual scandals in military history.
Norris, who was abused by her recruiter and technical school inspector at Keesler Air Force Base, kept quiet about it, she said, after learning "very quickly" that reporting sexual harassment, assault or even lewd remarks could get her turned out of the Air Force. When she did find the courage to report her abusers, they were charged with sexual assault and pleaded guilty. But they were permitted to resign honourably, with full military benefits. One was allowed to stay for another two years. That was 15 years ago.
Society's Child
Citing concern over increasing reports of addiction and overdoses, a Food and Drug Administration safety panel has recommended new restrictions on access to the commonly-used painkiller Vicodin and other products.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that the panel voted 19-10 to suggest that Vicodin and other products containing hydrocodone be reclassified as Schedule II, placing it alongside narcotic painkillers like cocaine and percocet.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that the panel voted 19-10 to suggest that Vicodin and other products containing hydrocodone be reclassified as Schedule II, placing it alongside narcotic painkillers like cocaine and percocet.
© AP Photo/Agencia RBS
A man carries an injured man, victim of a fire at the Kiss club in Santa Maria city, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, early Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013.
A man carries an injured man, victim of a fire at the Kiss club in Santa Maria city, Rio Grande do Sul state, Brazil, early Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013.
Police Maj. Cleberson Braida told local news media that the 245 bodies were brought for identification to a gymnasium in the city of Santa Maria.
That toll would make it one of the deadliest nightclub fires more than a decade.
The cause of the fire is not yet known, officials said. Officials earlier put the death toll at 180.
Civil Police and regional government spokesman Marcelo Arigoni told Radio Gaucha earlier that the total number of victims is still unclear and there may be hundreds injured,
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Symptoms of Bird Fancier’s Lung usually develop four hours after exposure, and include breathlessness and coughing.
Symptoms of Bird Fancier’s Lung usually develop four hours after exposure, and include breathlessness and coughing.
The 84-year-old grandmother was later diagnosed with the little-known disease Bird Fancier's Lung.
Despite never handling Charlie the cockatiel, the retired cotton mill worker became out of breath while exposed to the bird in her living room.
Unbeknown to her family, the ill health was partly due to the bird, which was bought for grandson Lloyd in 2002.
Mrs Kershaw's daughter Denise Bacchas told the Daily Mirror: "My mother never handled him, nobody could because he was so vicious. He would peck you to death and he would draw blood. Whoever cleaned him would have to wear gloves."
After the inquest hearing, Mrs Bacchas admitted: "If we had known we would never have got Charlie.
In Missouri, parents may soon be forced to register firearms with their child's school under threat of criminal penalties. In Massachusetts, another proposal would require storage of semi-automatic rifles at government approved storage depots.
And, in the State of New York, congressional representatives have already passed legislation that requires registration of every semi-automatic rifle and reduces maximum magazine capacity to 7 rounds of ammunition, and Governor Cuomo has floated the idea of gun confiscation.
© Schoharie County Sheriff's Office
Cats rescued from home in Wright
Cats rescued from home in Wright
Authorities who had visited her house on Route 146 in its wretchedly befouled state - it was condemned and deemed unfit for human occupancy - said that she seemed to fit the profile of a hoarder. The excessive collecting of items, frequently animals, is also called compulsive hoarding syndrome. It is a psychological affliction often related to obsessive-compulsive disorder. In severe forms, psychological treatment is recommended.
Possible charges are being weighed against Irene Vandyke, 50, an office worker at a local Walmart store. Her husband, Russell Jack Vandyke, who worked as a cook in Schenectady restaurants, died unexpectedly at 47 in December 2010 after being stricken at home. The couple had been married for 27 years, according to a paid obituary. She has a grown son and granddaughter.
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Rocky Marquez walks out of jail by pretending to be another man scheduled for release.
Rocky Marquez walks out of jail by pretending to be another man scheduled for release.
According to police, on Jan. 20, Rocky Marquez, 34, switched ID wristbands with another inmate, who was about to be freed on bond. Marquez then simply walked out of the Wayne County jail.
This was not the first time Marquez staged a jailbreak. According to U.S. Marshal David Gonzalez, Marquez pulled the same stunt in a Phoenix prison eight months ago when he switched wristbands with another inmate who he had befriended and who had a similar complexion and biuld.
"He obviously has a penchant for getting out of jail and wanting to stay out of jail, but hopefully we can put an end to that run here soon," Gonzalez said.
Brother Stephen Baker, 62, was found dead of a self-inflicted knife wound at the St. Bernardine Monastery in Hollidaysburg on Saturday morning, Blair Township Police Chief Roger White said. He declined to say whether a note was found.
Baker was named in legal settlements last week involving 11 men who alleged that he sexually abused them at a Catholic high school in northeast Ohio three decades ago. The undisclosed financial settlements announced Jan. 16 involved his contact with students at John F. Kennedy High School in Warren, Ohio from 1986-90.
The Youngstown diocese previously said it was unaware of the allegations until nearly 20 years after the alleged abuse.
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This screen shot shows the website of the U.S. Sentencing Commission after it was hijacked by the hacker-activist group Anonymous, early Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013, to avenge the death of Aaron Swartz, an Internet activist who committed suicide. The website of the commission, an independent agency of the judicial branch, was replaced with a message warning that when Swartz killed himself two weeks ago "a line was crossed."
This screen shot shows the website of the U.S. Sentencing Commission after it was hijacked by the hacker-activist group Anonymous, early Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013, to avenge the death of Aaron Swartz, an Internet activist who committed suicide. The website of the commission, an independent agency of the judicial branch, was replaced with a message warning that when Swartz killed himself two weeks ago "a line was crossed."
The website of the commission, an independent agency of the judicial branch, was taken over early Saturday and replaced with a message warning that when Swartz killed himself two weeks ago "a line was crossed." The hackers say they've infiltrated several government computer systems and copied secret information that they now threaten to make public. Family and friends of Swartz, who helped create Reddit and RSS, say he killed himself after he was hounded by federal prosecutors. Officials say he helped post millions of court documents for free online and that he illegally downloaded millions of academic articles from an online clearinghouse.
© WhoForted?
"I think it raises alarms when you have more than one experiencing problems," Shawnee Superintendent Dr. Marc Moore told Oklahoma News 9.
The issues came to a head at a January 11 meeting where teachers all began to complain of a "different kind" of headache, dizziness, and a "fogginess" clouding their minds, leaving them a tired mess when they get home from work.
