Society's ChildS


Heart - Black

Bereaved son billed for ambulance that failed to save his father

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A Washington D.C. man is complaining after being sent a bill for nearly $800 for ambulance services that failed to save his father's life.

"I feel angry. Upset," Durand Ford Jr. told WRC-TV on Friday. "I'm disturbed that we even received this bill."

The bill for $780.85 stems from Ford's call to DC Fire & EMS (DCFEMS) on New Year's Eve when his father, 71-year-old Durand Ford Sr., began having problems breathing.

Wolf

Neighbours tell of 'hysterical screams' after fox bites off baby's finger

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© Photo: SWNS
Neighbours of a baby boy attacked by a fox in South London say they are afraid to leave the backdoor open after hearing the 'hysterical screams' of the mother who found her mauled child.

The one-month-old baby is recovering in hospital after his finger was torn off by a fox in Bromley, South East London on Wednesday.

An ambulance was called and the baby, who also suffered puncture wounds to his face, was taken to hospital.

Surgeons were able to reattach the severed finger in an operation at St Thomas's Hospital in London.

The baby is said to be making a 'good recovery'.

The mother has been re-housed to another council house and neighbours have spoken of their fear it could happen again.

Phoenix

1 killed, 1 injured in explosion at Houston-area gas plant

La Porte - Authorities say one person has been killed and another seriously injured after a gas plant explosion in southeast Texas.
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The Houston Chronicle reports that one employee was flown to a hospital after the incident Saturday morning in La Porte, 25 miles southeast of Houston. Another worker was missing.

The newspaper says crews found a body after searching for about 12 hours, but couldn't confirm the victim's identity Saturday night.

The explosion happened at the Air Liquide plant. The company's website describes itself as "the world leader in gases for industry, health and the environment."

A spokeswoman says the facility houses a mix of industrial gases such as nitrogen and hydrogen that are used in the processing of food, beverages and electronics.

Authorities say air monitoring shows no dangerous substances.

Source: The Associated Press

Pistol

New Orleans police: 4 wounded in Bourbon street shooting

Four people were shot on the French Quarter's iconic Bourbon Street, sending people running as revelers partied Saturday night amid the countdown to Mardi Gras, police and bystanders said. But the party was back in full force hours later as crowds returned afterward.

Two males and two females were wounded just before 9:30 p.m. time, New Orleans police spokesman Frank B. Robertson said. He reported that one male was in critical condition and had undergone surgery, while the other three were in stable condition. He did not release their ages.

Robertson said detectives were working to identify a suspect and determine a motive. A police statement said the shooting occurred on the French Quarter street, but did not provide the exact location where the shots were fired. He said he had no additional information immediately.

"They're just piecing together what happened," he added. Subsequent messages left with police seeking more information were not immediately returned.

The streets were crawling with bar-hopping throngs taking in the last weekend before Fat Tuesday, the enormous party that engulfs New Orleans each year with parades, gaudy floats and merrymakers tossing trinkets and beads to the crowds.

Bourbon Street street is home to strip clubs, watering holes and second-floor balconies lined by people who throw beads to revelers below each Mardi Gras season. The street often gets so crowded that officers have to control the crowds on horseback.

Eye 1

Teacher suspended after pouring pencil shavings in student's mouth

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© CBS 11 News
Arlington, Texas - Marquis Jay pulls out a pencil sharpener and shows the amount of shavings inside, "She poured the pencil shavings in my mouth."

The 8th grader at Boles Jr. High School in Arlington says it was a teacher who poured the pencil shavings in his mouth in January.

"I was sitting in class with my head tilted back and opening my mouth," says Jay. "Teacher came over and poured the pencil shavings in my mouth."

The 13-year-old says he immediately spit it out and was taken to the nurse's office where he washed out his mouth.

His mother Deidre Brown was called and she is still furious.

"I wanted to cry because it was like how could she do that," says Brown. "What kind of message is it sending to the kids? She is supposed to be the teacher - the adult."

Marquis says the teacher responsible wasn't assigned to his class and she had stopped by to help his teacher.

  • Pistol

    Florida Atlantic University shooting: FAU Boca campus officers shoot 'homeless' man


    Boca Raton, Florida - A person being described by police as homeless was shot by FAU officers at the Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton campus Friday morning, according to a police spokesperson.

    FAU Police Chief Charles Lowe said officers received a non-emergency call at 10:01 a.m. of a homeless man on the roof of Building 3 in the Research Park area of FAU.

    Two FAU officers went to the roof to remove the man, said to be between the age of 20 and 30.

    "Preliminarily, it appears the suspect produced a knife and shots were fired," Lowe said. "The suspect was struck. He was transported in serious condition to Delray Medical Center."

    Lowe could not comment on whether or not the man was threatening the officers. He also could not comment on how he gained access to the roof.

    2 + 2 = 4

    Chicago boy with replica gun, 12, robs 11-year-old on school grounds


  • A 12-year-old Chicago boy allegedly held up an 11-year-old using a weapon that turned out to be a replica gun, police said.

    The robbery occurred at the end of the school day on the campus of Palmer Elementary School in the North Mayfair neighborhood, police sources told CBS 2′s Chris Martinez.

    Police were alerted to the incident after the 11-year-old victim and some of his friends later scuffled with the suspect to get the stolen money back. During that second confrontation, what looked like bullets fell from the suspect's backpack. The ammunition was turned over to the school resource officer.

    Stormtrooper

    Guard shoots at boy, 15, at FDA office in Bothell

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    © Joshua TrujilloInvestigators work the scene after a security officer opened fire on a 15 year-old boy outside the Food and Drug Administration's Pacific Regional Laboratory Northwest on Friday, February 8, 2013 in Bothell.
    Bothell, Washington - A security guard opened fire and wounded a 15-year-old boy at a FDA's Food and Drug Administration regional facility in Bothell early Friday, according to police.

    It was around 7 a.m. when two security officers approached a teen acting suspiciously in the building's parking lot, said Shari Ireton with the Snohomish County Sheriff's Office.

    The teen ran away, but then came back a short time later and got into a car in the parking lot. As the security officers approached the car, the teen backed out and struck one of the security officers, who in turn fired at the car, Ireton said.

    Bothell Police Sgt. Cedric Collins said earlier the teen crashed into another vehicle about a mile away on the Bothell-Everett Highway, but Ireton said officers found the teen at a home.

    The teen had a gunshot wound to his foot and minor cuts to his face, Ireton said. He was taken to a a local hospital for treatment and was later released into police custody.

    Folder

    LAPD to reopen investigation into fugitive ex-cop's firing


    The hunt for a former Los Angeles police officer suspected in three killings entered a fourth day in snow-covered mountains Sunday, a day after the LAPD chief ordered a review of the disciplinary case that led to the fugitive's dismissal and new details emerge of the evidence he left behind.

    Officials will re-examine the allegations by Christopher Dorner, 33, that his law enforcement career was undone by racist colleagues, Police Chief Charlie Beck announced Saturday. While he promised to hear out Dorner if he surrenders, Beck stressed that he was ordering a review of his 2007 case because he takes the allegation of racism in his department seriously.

    "I do this not to appease a murderer. I do it to reassure the public that their police department is transparent and fair in all the things we do," the chief said in a statement.

    Authorities suspect Dorner in a series of attacks in Southern California over the past week that left three people dead. Authorities say he has vowed revenge against several former LAPD colleagues whom he blames for ending his career. The killings and threats that Dorner allegedly made in an online rant have led police to provide protection to 50 families, Beck said.

    A captain who was named a target in the manifesto posted on Facebook told the Orange County Register he has not stepped outside his house since he learned of the threat.

    Whistle

    Psychopaths haunt the Beautiful Game - and I may be one of them

    Beautiful Game
    © Martin Argles for the GuardianA test on former SAS member Andy McNab, pictured giving a lecture at an army camp, revealed a severe lack of empathy and emotion – a trait prevalent in some of the best managers I have played under.
    Top players display traits shared by psychopaths because it is often about the achievement of the individual rather than the team.

    I have been reading a lot about psychopaths lately. Before anyone has cause for concern, I do not mean the murderous type, I mean individuals who appear to display psychopathic tendencies in pursuing their everyday lives according to studies of them. They may be high-flying City workers or politicians. Or even Premier League footballers.

    At first glance that might sound far-fetched, but consider that recent research has likened the behaviour of former US presidents such as Theodore Roosevelt, JFK and George W Bush to that of psychopaths. Before we go any further let's be clear: being a psychopath does not mean you are about to harm someone. In any case it takes a clinical assessment to diagnose someone as a psychopath.

    What we do know is that psychopaths share common traits. They can be charismatic, charming, manipulative, ambitious, invested in self-gain and deceptive. In fact, by those characteristics, you could be looking at a close description of some of the best footballers in the world - from diving cheats to global stars.

    Muhammad Ali said if he had not been a boxer he would have been the best binman in the world instead. That kind of drive is celebrated in our society, but it is not normal.

    And, arguably, it comes at cost to everyone else because it's about the achievement of the individual over the masses. Likewise, I have had team-mates for whom winning a match was all about them.