Society's Child
There were no obvious signs of foul play, but it has not been ruled out, said Diane Richardson, a spokeswoman with the Charles County Sheriff's Office.
Richardson said authorities are trying to trace the 24-year-old woman's movements over the past several days "to find out what was going on in her life, what led to this moment."
Sheriff's deputies went to the park in La Plata, Maryland, about 7 a.m. after being called to check on the welfare of the woman and child, Richardson said. The officers went to remove the boy from the swing and give him first aid, but "it was instantaneously clear the child was dead," she said. There were no signs of trauma to his body.
Of course rising minimum wages can also have the rather counterintuitive side effect of harming those they're meant to help because after all, when the cost of labor goes up, employers may simply fire people or, as we saw yesterday when McDonald's pledged to reduce the number of company-owned restaurants by 10% over the next several years, resort to other measures aimed at getting around pay floor hikes.
So while one can debate pros and cons of addressing abysmal wage growth by legislating a non-market-driven solution, what is not up for debate is this: it's getting harder and harder to subsist above the poverty line for low-income workers.
In fact, as the following map shows, in no state can a minimum wage worker afford a one bedroom apartment.
Residents discovered the brains on Beck with Street near railroad tracks and called the police.
Gouverneur police collected one of the brains and brought it to a local veterinarian for an examination, WWNY TV 7 reported. The veterinarian determined the brain had been professionally removed -- likely from a dog -- and preserved in formaldehyde.
The veterinarian told North Country Now that the brain was consistent with a beagle-sized brain and was in very good condition with no damage.
But a chemistry professor at Clarkson University told North Country Now the specimen was possibly from a sheep, not a dog.
Regardless, police told both news outlets there was little to fear. The nine brains are believed to have been part of a collection for educational or research purposes and no criminal activity, other than littering, is suspected, police said.
As unusual as it might seem, mishaps with preserved brains do happen. Last year the University of Texas in Austin said dozens of human brains stored in jars of formaldehyde and reported missing were actually destroyed in 2002. The brains had been donated for teaching and research.
Those words of Officer Mary O'Callaghan were said as Thomas was handcuffed and her legs restrained.
The video clearly shows Thomas getting punched in the throat, as well as kicked in the groin over and over by Officer O'Callaghan, in the video that surfaced nearly three years ago.
Watch the full report in the video below...
In the video we can clearly see Officer O'Callaghan punching Thomas' throat.
Thomas is seen tied with a nylon restraint, saying "I can't" over and over.
The video showed O'Callaghan raise her boot and strike Thomas, whose body shook in response. A few minutes later, Thomas' eyes closed and her head fell backward, the video showed. The recording then cut off.
She died at the hospital that evening. The video of her being assaulted was just released for the first time in court and can be seen below.
To any sane person, the sheriff's department would be responsible for the damage inflicted on this child. Not only were there no drugs in the house, but the suspect they were looking for was found elsewhere. And despite their claims that they had the house under surveillance for two days prior to the raid, somehow they had no idea that there were children who lived there.
Still, the family had to fight the county tooth and nail to have their $1 million in medical bills reimbursed. Last month they settled with the county, and received $964,000, half of which will be given to them now, and the rest will be given to baby after he turns 18. While it's great to hear that the family is getting something out of this, it's shocking to see how defiant the sheriff's department was, right to the very end. They never once admitted culpability for their gross negligence, and in a bizarre twist, their defense statement in court basically blamed the infant for his own injuries.
Heather Hironimus, 31, was jailed for a week after hiding out with the child for months after a protracted court fight to block the circumcision, the Sun Sentinel newspaper reported.
Crying in a state courtroom in Palm Beach County, Florida, she consented to the procedure shortly after a judge ordered her to remain jailed until signing off on it, the newspaper reported.
She still faces a charge of interference with child custody, according to the Palm Beach Post.
A lawyer for the child's father, Dennis Nubus, said a date for the circumcision had not been scheduled, the Post reported. The procedure may take place out of state, as Nubus has received death threats from anti-circumcision activists, the Post reported.
Comment: It's such a sad comment on society that we imprison a mother for standing up for the child's right not to be mutilated with such an invasive, dangerous, and indeed pointless medical procedure:
- Circumcision - Conditioning the Adult by Torturing the Child
- Circumcision Fight: Profit, Pleasure, or Population Control?
- Why the benefits of circumcision are based on false assumptions, erroneous conclusions and misleading medical information
- Circumcision Risks Too Great Says Surgeon
- Circumcision and Psychological Harm
The official told Reuters that more than 50 people had been wounded after the suicide bomber let off his device.
"We were doing the first part of the prayers when we heard the blast," Kamal Jaafar Hassan, a worshipper, told the agency by telephone from the scene.
The blast occurred at the Iman Ali mosque in the town of al-Qadeeh, Qatif province, where around 150 people were praying.
Comment: Saudi Arabia is swimming in turmoil.
Yemeni Cyber Army group hacks 3,000 Saudi govt computers revealing top secret docs
The Yemen Cyber Army group claims it not only has the addresses, phone numbers and emails of top Saudi diplomats, Foreign Ministry staff, secret agents and army personnel, but also got hold of classified files and correspondence of senior Riyadh officials with other countries and governments since early 1980s.
"We have gained access to the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) network and have full control over more than 3,000 computers and servers, and thousands of users. We also have access to the emails, personal and secret information of hundreds of thousands of their staff and diplomats in different missions around the world," the hackers informed in a statement cited by the Iranian semi-official Fars news agency.
Comment: Cyber warfare in full swing.
The committee, under the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development, said that all 215 monasteries in Sindhupalchok district were flattened by the April 25 earthquake and its aftershocks. Six monks have been reported dead in the district so far.
A total of 150 Buddhist monasteries collapsed in Gorkha, 105 in Dhading, 60 in Rasuwa and 60 in Solukhumbu. There are reports of them destroyed in Nuwakot, Dolakha, Ramechhap, Okhaldhunga, Makwanpur, Lamjung and Syangja as well. "What we have is a preliminary report of damages caused by the quake," said Bhadra Bahadur Golay, under-secretary at the BPPMDC.
The devastating earthquake has destroyed many well-known monasteries including Seto Gumba in Ramkot; Rato Gumba in Sitapaila; Khumchey Gumba in Gorkha; Chrighyang Gumba in Dolakha and Chirite Gumba in Sindhupalchok.
Karma Tsering Tashi Lama, president of the BPPMDC who recently visited many of the earthquake -affected areas in Sindhupalchok and Rasuwa with an inspection team, said he did not see a monastery that stands straight. "The monasteries we visited had either fallen or were on the verge of collapse," said Lama. "Of those that remain, there is eerie silence."
Missy Smith has lived in her apartment for "around a year," SheKnows reports, and Smith has rented from the same property manager for longer than that. But after a tipster filed a complaint, management notified Smith that if she got caught again feeding her child without the use of a bottle, she would be forced to take her stuff and move somewhere else.
Smith writes on Facebook that employees of the management company informed her that "my breastfeeding is child endangerment. That by me breastfeeding outside of my home I am putting my daughter in danger because a 'pervert' might see her nursing."
Cognizant that breastfeeding is a legal practice in the state of Oklahoma, Smith called police for backup against what she felt was an unlawful threat of eviction. The dispatcher who answered Smith's call sympathized with the landlord, however, and instructed the nursing mother to obscure breastfeeding from view when outdoors, "or stay inside."
Smith confronted her property manager with legal text supporting her right to breastfeed her child. The rental company has since halted any process to evict Smith and her family.
A "nurse in" protest — which one of Smith's friends organized while the mom of an infant was still facing the prospect of getting kicked out onto the street — is still scheduled to take place this Sunday.
Comment: It's ridiculous that a management company would threaten this poor woman with homelessness to prevent her from breastfeeding for her baby. All of you moms out there, keep breastfeeding!
- Why breastfed babies are so smart
- Breastfeeding: The Miracle of Mother's Milk
- Suboptimal Breastfeeding Kills Over 1 Million Infants A Year















Comment: It is beyond belief that anyone could even think to mount such a ridiculous defense. The actions of the SWAT team were completely indefensible, but like any psychopath, completely lacking the capacity for empathy or a moral compass, they prefer to fight rather than own up to their own malfeasance and compensate the family.