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A Prince William County man says he was suspected by Walmart security of possibly kidnapping his three young daughters -- all because they aren't the same race.

Joseph, who doesn't want his family's last name revealed, and his wife Keana are an interracial couple. They have been married for nearly 10 years and have three daughters: a 4-year-old and 2-year-old twins.

On Thursday evening, Joseph took all three girls to the Walmart in Potomac Mills in Woodbridge to cash a check. He says they weren't there long, but spent a few extra minutes in the parking lot while he buckled the girls in and then made a phone call.

Joseph says he then went to up his wife, Keana, and as they were arriving home, they were shocked to find a Prince William County police officer waiting for them.

"He asks us very sincerely, ‘Hey, I was sent here by Walmart security. I just need to make sure that the children that you have are your own,’” Joseph says.

"I was dumbfounded," says Keana. "I sat there for a minute and I thought, ‘Did he just ask us if these were our kids knowing what we went through to have our children?’

"He took my ID and asked my 4-year-old to point out who her mother and father were."

Joseph says the officer told them a Walmart security guard reported seeing him in the parking lot with the girls and thought it was strange.

Soon after the officer left, Keana called Walmart demanding an explanation. She says after asking to speak with a manager, she was transferred to a Walmart security officer who denied raising the alarm. The officer said it was a customer that came forward.

Keana says she was told, "Well, the customer was concerned because they saw the children with your husband and he didn't think that they fit. And I said, ‘What do you mean by they don't fit?’ And I was trying to get her to say it. And she says, ‘Well, they just don't match up.’”

Keana and Joseph say the incident at Walmart is troubling, but not surprising. They say throughout their courtship and marriage, they have been subjected to racism in various forms.

They say now that their daughters are in the picture, they are speaking out to help shed light on the ignorance that still exists. They want to show people that love sees no color, especially when it comes to family.
[...]

Joseph and Keana say they will never shop at Walmart again.

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Some were shocked. Others disgusted. But for some, it was the breast day ever!

Dozens of semi-nude women gave the city a Double-D eyeful Sunday when they bared their boobs in Central Park and then marched through the streets.

The daring display was part of "National Go-Topless Day" - indeed, there is such a thing - and stunned jaded New Yorkers and wide-eyed tourists alike.

"This is unbelievable - and super," said Dalvin Jan, 21, who rents bicycles for a living on Central Park South. "I'm going to tell my wife to join in."

With Chaka Khan's "I'm Every Woman" blaring from speakers and chants of "free your breasts, free your mind," the troupe of bare-breasted women - and their enthusiastic male supporters - paraded their way along Central Park South.

"We're all here for the same reason - to allow women to be free in the park like men," organizer Sylvie Chabot, 54, of Montreal, told the crowd at a midday rally at Columbus Circle.

Motorists honked their horns in support while bemused tourists took photos from passing tour buses.

"I'm pretty surprised," said Carolyn Meierjurgen, 49, of New Jersey, who was taking a horse carriage ride in the park. "If they want to do it, let them do it. I couldn't," she admitted.

Several unhappy onlookers complained to cops who were powerless to intervene.

New York is the only state in the country where women can be topless legally, after a 1992 ruling in the state's highest court. That means any woman can walk around the city at any time with no shirt on.

Among the speakers was Ramona Santorelli, of upstate Rochester, who was the plaintiff in the 1992 case.

"It's not about baring your breasts," she said. "But the true meaning is to normalize women's bodies."

Yesterday's protesters noted that is not always the case.

Artist Jill Coccaro, who goes by the name Phoenix Feeley, tested the New York law in 2005 after cops arrested her for exposing her breasts on Delancey St. She cited the 1992 ruling when cops grabbed her, but was held for 12 hours. She sued. The city later settled for $29,000.

Topless events took place across the country, from Los Angeles to Columbus, Ohio.

Organizers gathered signatures for a petition asking Congress to relax nudity laws, which they plan to hand over on Go-Topless Day next year.

Most passersby were amused by the sight of scores of half-naked people.

"It's nice for them," said unfazed Swedish tourist Birgitta Asplin, 58. "It's the human body - nothing more!"

But others said it was all a very bad idea.

"This is extreme liberalism and why America's in decline," shouted one woman, who said she was a doctor but declined to give her name. "It's degrading to women to tell them to expose their breasts publicly."

"I'm not shocked - we're in New York City," said Lindsay Hall, 28, of Maryland. "But speaking from a woman's perspective, I disagree with them.
[...]

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She had just turned 16 years old last week, and her family had allowed her for the first time to drive alone.

Savannah Nash was en route Thursday afternoon to the grocery store to pick up items for the family dinner when her vehicle slammed into a semi. She died at the scene.

She was texting when the crash happened, the Missouri Highway Patrol says. An unsent lengthy text was found on her phone.
[...]

The crash happened at 4:19 p.m. at Highway 7 and Walker Road. It was so close to her house that a neighbor heard the horrifying collision.

"When you looked, you could see the tail end of the car," Linda Murphy said. "You just knew that someone had been devastated. It just T-boned that little car. There was no way they could survive."
[...]

The Missouri Highway Patrol's crash log says Savannah failed to yield at the intersection and pulled into the path of a semi. Gary W. Moberly, 60, of Clinton was driving the 2003 Freightliner. He was not injured.

Savannah was driving a 2003 Chrysler, which was totaled in the crash. Savannah was driving on Walker and went to turn left to go north on Highway 7 when she drove into the path of the oncoming semi, which Moberly was driving south on the highway, the Highway Patrol said.

Both drivers were wearing seatbelts.

Savannah was born May 8, 1997. She received a learner's permit on May 23, 2012, according to Missouri records. She received a full driver's license with certain restrictions on Wednesday.

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An 80-year-old South Carolina double-amputee has died from his injuries after he was dragged from his wheelchair and attacked by four dogs, authorities said Tuesday. Carlton Freeman of Harleyville was driving his motorized wheelchair on May 8 when he was attacked, said Maj. John Garrison, a spokesman for the Dorchester County Sheriff’s Department.

An incident report said Freeman told authorities that he was pulled from his wheelchair during the attack in the community about 50 miles northwest of Charleston. He said dogs were biting him and pulling on his clothes.

Coroner Chris Nesbit said Tuesday that Freeman, who had both legs amputated at the knee from an injury years ago, died Sunday of the injuries in the dog attack.

‘‘Upon my examination of Mr. Freeman, it is a wonder that this gentleman was able to hang on as long as he did,’’ Nesbit said in a statement. ‘‘He had bites and lacerations from his legs to the top of his head. This is very sad story, but even worse that Mr. Freeman was basically helpless to the attack, due to being a bi-lateral amputee.’’

Garrison said that officers captured three of the four dogs. They have been taken to an animal shelter while deputies are still trying to locate the fourth.

A police report said three of the dogs belonged to a woman in the neighborhood and there were traces of blood found on them. Authorities have not made any arrests.

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GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. — Authorities in western Colorado say a human skeleton found in a partially buried car belongs to a man who was reported missing 26 years ago.

The Grand Junction Daily Sentinel reports ( ) the Mesa County Coroner's Office identified the man on Monday as 65-year-old Ronald Vasey. He went missing in 1987. http://bit.ly/13VWmIK

The sheriff's department says someone hiking near John Brown Canyon Road, near Gateway, called 911 at about 6 p.m. Thursday to report a crashed vehicle below a cliff. The old station wagon was roughly 100 feet off the roadway, and it was partially obscured by rocks and sediment that presumably washed down over the years.

[...]

The coroner's office says it appears Vasey committed suicide.

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CORONA (CBSLA.com) — Authorities Saturday said a 15-year-old girl was attacked by a pit bull — and nearly lost an ear — while walking her Shih Tzu in south Corona.

Corona police said in a department statement that the attack happened about 4:15 p.m. Friday on Morales Way and Honors Lane.

The victim, identified as Alex Cuevas, was taken to Loma Linda Medical Center. The dog ripped off her right ear and severely injured her dog. The Shih Tzu might lose an eye.

“My dog could have been killed,” Cuevas told CBS2′s Art Barron. All Cuevas’ injuries were sustained trying to protect her dog. “The pit bull got her neck. It was horrible, horrible … screaming, yelping sounds. She was squirming on the ground, in pain. There was blood.”

The statement said Animal Control took the pit bull, which was unlicensed, into custody. It is now being quarantined. A spokesperson for Animal Control said they were unable to find any registration, or proof of vaccination for the dog.

Cuevas’ right ear had to be re-attached with seven staples and stitches. She also had a puncture wound to her finger.

She told Barron that the attack occurred near an elementary school and she was just grateful the dog didn’t attack a small child. “I’m just glad it was me and not some little kid walking home from school. We have little kids running around the community. It could have been one of them instead of me.”

Barron also spoke to the pit bull’s owner, Tom Morenes, who said the dog got loose through an open gate. “Someone didn’t close the gate,” he said. “It’s unfortunate.”

Cuevas credits a man with a shovel for shooing the pit bull away.
[..]

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Management at the Goodrich Capital 8 Theaters is defending what it calls a publicity stunt at the movie theaters this past weekend.

During the opening weekend of the latest 'Iron Man' movie, a man walked into the theater in full tactical gear and carrying a fake gun.

Jefferson City police and witnesses, however, are not pleased with the stunt and are questioning the theater's logic after recent shootings in Aurora, Colo. and Newtown, Conn.
[...]

"We received a series of 911 calls stating that a man dressed in all black and body armor and a rifle was walking into Capital 8 Theaters," said Capt. Doug Shoemaker.

Officers thought they were responding to an active shooter investigation.

"Everything was in place, it's the opening night of a superhero movie, it's somebody walking in all-dark clothes, everything pointed to bad things about to happen," said Shoemaker. "There's really no good that can come of this."
[...]

Capital 8 Theaters manager Bob Wilkins told ABC 17 News this was planned months in advance and only a few people were upset, but hundreds were entertained.

When asked if management took into consideration what happened in the the mass shooting at a Colorado movie theater, Wilkins responded, "Absolutely. That's my number-one priority every day. It's the safety and security of our guests."

ABC 17 News asked Wilkins if he had any regrets for allowing the publicity stunt and he said, "No, my job is to entertain people."

Social media backlash followed ABC 17’s initial report Thursday.

Goodrich Capital 8 posted a Facebook apology Friday around noon, saying:

"We apologize and are sympathetic to those who felt they were in harm’s way with our character promotion for Iron Man 3. This was not a publicity stunt. We have worked with the Cosplacon group on many movies to dress up and help entertain our customers. We have had many complaints about the members dressed specifically as S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives carrying fake guns. We didn’t clearly tell our customers and some people didn’t realize it was for entertainment purposes only. We apologize that police were called to come out to our theater. We have a wonderful working relationship with the Jefferson City Police Department. Going forward we will take the necessary steps to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Security and safety for our customers is our number one priority."

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The US government has blocked a Texas-based company from distributing details online of how to make a plastic gun using a 3-D printer.

The ban, by the State Department citing international arms control law, comes just days after the world's first such gun was successfully fired.

Defense Distributed, the company that made the prototype, stated on Twitter that its project had "gone dark" at the instigation of the government.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology...ate-department

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OAKLAND (CBS SF) – Authorities are investigating the discovery of a human head found at an Oakland recycling yard Wednesday morning.

The human remains were found by workers at California Waste Solutions, located at 10th and Pine in West Oakland.

Police said the head could be mummified, which might make it difficult to identify. Investigators searched the area Wednesday for additional remains.

Cadaver dogs with Alameda County’s Search and Rescue team were sent to the back of the facility Wednesday afternoon, sifting through stacks of garbage
[....]
Nelson said he could not elaborate on the discovery of the head since the Oakland Police Department is the lead investigative agency.

Cadaver dogs are trained to sniff out dead human flesh. Nelson said the dogs are trying to find the rest of the remains.

Detectives told KPIX 5 late Wednesday that they are investigating the case as a murder and said the skull showed signs of foul play. They also said the victim has been dead for a long time.

Dental records and other techniques will be used to identify the skull, detectives said.

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A mother who was forced to pay spousal support to the ex-husband who was convicted of raping her daughter is speaking out to CBS2.

“Every time I wrote that check, I cried because I felt like I was paying the man that raped my daughter,” Carol Abar told CBS2′s Andrea Fujii.

Carol married Ed Abar in 1991, when her daughter, who wishes to remain unidentified, was 9 years old.

Carol’s daughter said Abar abused and raped her for 16 years before she told her mother.

“He had threatened me that he would kill my mom; he would kill my stepbrothers; he would kill me,” she said.

Once Carol found out, she filed for divorce from Abar before rape charges were brought against him.

Since Carol made more money than Abar, she was forced to pay alimony—$1,300 a month.

“The judge told me I had no proof. It was my word against him,” said Carol. “He had been raping her since she was little. Since I got married to him.”

In all, Carol paid $22,000 to Abar until last year, when Abar struck a plea deal and pleaded guilty to one of the five rape charges. He was sentenced to more than a year in jail.

A judge then temporarily stopped the spousal support.

Now out of jail, Abar has filed to reinstate the support, according to Brian Uhl, Carol’s attorney.

“He’s asking not just to resume the existing support of $1,300 a month, but he’s asking for what amounts to approximately $33,000 in past due support and that too is a miscarriage of justice,” said Uhl.
[...]

Under California law, when deciding spousal support, the court will take domestic abuse between couples into consideration, but child abuse is not specifically mentioned in the law.

Since Abar never abused his wife, the judge could rule in his favor, reported Fujii.

“It’s remotely possible and that concerns myself and it should concern those people in California that have similar situations,” said Uhl.

Abar is a registered sex offender, but under the plea agreement, his information is not accessible to the public.

Collins explained he took the plea deal to avoid a longer sentence.

“His way to get out of jail was to take a plea bargain and that’s what he did, but he’s very adamant that he’s not guilty of any of the allegations,” she said.

Carol and her daughter said they know the truth.

“It hurts me. I still feel like I’m being victimized,” Carol’s daughter said.

Carol said, “He victimized a little girl all these years and I have to pay him for that behavior…it just doesn’t make sense to me.”

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Whether you work in retail or you’re a customer, you know how difficult the shopper-worker relationship can be when things aren’t going smoothly.

For one local man, a confrontation at the Tractor Supply in Shawnee got out of control after he said an employee at that store sent him a sexually explicit package in the mail.

Ralph Polnicky said he still can’t believe what’s inside the package he received two months ago.

“We were aghast, I mean, we were absolutely shocked by what’s in this box,” he said. “My wife was, just, ‘Oh my God! What, who is this? What do they want? What are they going to do next?’”

Inside, a replica of the male anatomy with “Tractor Supply. Don’t come back!!” written on it.

“Don’t come back” is a familiar phrase to the former military man.

He said a Tractor Supply employee shouted that at him after he confronted them about taking too long to order a product.

That confrontation happened back in Oct. and Polnicky finally got what he ordered.

Four months later, he received the package.
[...]

Polnicky said the delivery would surprise anyone and other customers agree.

“It would shock me but at the same time it would upset me quite a bit,” Derek Woody said. “I would have whoever done that fired.”

Polnicky said that’s what he wants; Tractor Supply to hold someone accountable for the “private” parcel.

He said he feels Tractor Supply ignored his issue.

“I’ve certainly been offended,” he said. “My wife’s been terrified.”

Attorney Ed Blau said it’s not a crime to send someone a package with a sexual device inside but a civil suit could be filed for emotional damages.

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The 8-inch dildo has the phrases, "Ralph Is A D***" and "Tractor Supply. Don't Come Back" written in a black.
[...]

"They botched an order in October," Polnicky, a retired Vietnam vet, told The Huffington Post. "I ordered a 250-foot spool of bungee cord and didn't get it for weeks -- even though they had it in stock."

Polnicky claims he had words with the assistant managers and one of them yelled "Get out and don't come back!"
[...]

Polnicky has been trying to figure out who sent him the offending sex toy. He's been unable to get fingerprints from the dildo "It had touched too many hands," he admitted.

Polnicky believes, however, the culprit was the one who yelled "Get out!"

"Whoever sent it has a very unusual writing style, writing their "O's" as diamonds," he said.
[...]

Andy Willett, the Tractor Supply V.P. of Store Operations, wrote him a letter on April 25, 2013, saying that the matter had been thoroughly investigated and that he was unable to determine if the package was sent by an employee.

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A prominent Pittsburgh neurologist died with what city homicide detectives are calling “toxic amounts of cyanide” in her system.

Dr. Autumn Marie Klein, 41, chief of women's neurology at UPMC and an assistant professor of neurology, gynecology, obstetrics and reproduction sciences at the University of Pittsburgh, died April 20 at UPMC Presbyterian in Oakland after collapsing at home three days earlier.

“The homicide unit is conducting a death investigation of a UPMC employee who died with toxic amounts of cyanide in her blood,” city police Lt. Kevin Kraus, acting commander of investigations, said on Wednesday. “At this time, the cause and manner of death are undetermined.”
[...]

Paramedics were called to the Oakland home Klein shared with her husband, Robert J. Ferrante, and daughter, Cianna, when she collapsed at 11:52 p.m. April 17, investigators said.

Williams said police received their information about the level of cyanide in Klein's system from the hospital.

Autumn Klein's mother, Lois Klein of Towson, Md., said Wednesday evening that she was surprised to learn that police were investigating her daughter's death.

“I had no idea,” Klein said.

Klein said that neither she nor her husband, William, had any reason to be concerned about her daughter's safety.

She said she had no other comment until the couple have a chance to contact city homicide detectives.

Dr. Cyril H. Wecht, a former Allegheny County coroner, said his private forensic practice has been contacted to look into Klein's death. Wecht would not say who contacted him or when.
[...]

Kraus would not say how police believe the cyanide got into Klein's system.

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The death of a Pennsylvania doctor who had "toxic levels of cyanide" in her system is being investigated as a possible homicide and a possible suicide, authorities said today, before later launching a search of her home.

This evening, investigators with the Pittsburgh police and FBI descended on Autumn Marie Klein's residence, where they were in the process of conducting an extensive search of the home and backyard. Two Mobile Crime Scene Units were stationed in plain view in front of the house.

Investigators declined to discuss precisely what they were doing or looking for but they confirmed to ABC News that they were in the process of an "official search" of the home. Two investigators, wearing blue lab gloves, were seen carrying in large garbage bags.
[...]

When Cook Klein got word of her daughter's death she and her husband were preparing to travel to Pennsylvania to babysit the daughter while the parents went out of town for a medical event. Cook Klein was packing her suitcase late the night before she was set to leave when she said Ferrante called her.

"Bob was saying something had happened to Autumn and he was there in the house by himself with Cianna," Cook Klein said. "He had called 911 and they had taken Autumn to the emergency room."

Cook Klein said she was initially told her daughter may have suffered a stroke.

When she heard about the cyanide, her first concern was her granddaughter and who would pick her up from school if police needed to speak to her father. Cook Klein said police told her that Cianna was with her father.

She said her young granddaughter "just knows her mommy isn't home."

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When Dr. Autumn Klein's husband called 911 the night she lost consciousness, he told dispatchers she was showing stroke-like symptoms, records reviewed by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette show.

At 11:52 p.m. on April 17, Robert J. Ferrante called 911 and stated that his wife was not alert in their Oakland home.

Two minutes later, a call-taker noted that Dr. Klein was "conscious breathing" and then "not alert."

The call-taker wrote that Mr. Ferrante, a professor of neurological surgery, told dispatchers he thought his wife might be having a stroke and that "about 10 minutes ago" she began "just staring off into space."

A medic unit was dispatched at 11:56 p.m. and a note made in the system at 11:57 p.m. says, "Female is groaning right now ... is conscious and breathing."

Three days later she was dead in what officials have since described as a rare cyanide-related death that investigators are probing as either a homicide or suicide.
[...]

Dr. Klein's mother, Lois Klein, said on Friday that she does not know what to make of her daughter's death and investigators have not given her details of the case.

"I certainly am working under the assumption she certainly would not do that to herself," Ms. Klein said. "I'm just totally dumbfounded. I can't imagine anybody that would want to harm her."

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Authorities have said Dr. Klein was taking fertility drugs and her mother said, "She never liked being an only child. She didn't want her child to be an only child."

She said Ferrante also told her the couple was trying to have another child.

The couple met while Klein was a student where Ferrante worked at the VA Hospital in Bedford, Mass. They were married in 2001 and moved to Pittsburgh after being recruited to join the university's neurological surgery team.

Lois Klein said Ferrante was sensitive in explaining the medical situation to the couple's young daughter at the hospital before his wife was pronounced dead.

"He said something about, `Mommy's sick, and I don't mean a headache and I don't mean Mommy has a tummyache,' and `Mommy's heart stopped beating and the doctors are trying to help her and get her heart to start beating again,'" Lois Klein said.

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NORTH CAROLINA -
A high school student is upset her senior photo has been banned from the school yearbook. She took the picture while holding her son and the school pulled it from the yearbook.

Wheatmore senior Caitlin Tiller is proud of what she's accomplished. Just weeks from graduation, she finished high school in December, started college in January, works more than 30 hours a week at a part-time job, and her motivation behind it all? Her son. She's a teenage mom to 1-year-old Leelin. "I wouldn't be the person I am today with out him," says Caitlin.

Last summer, the high school asked seniors to have their yearbook picture taken with a prop of their choosing that best represents them. Something they like or an achievement. "So I brought my son, thinking that he could be in the yearbook with me and two days before the book was due I find out he can't be in," says Caitlin.

Tiller says while other students' pictures included sports equipment, a musical instrument or even the family pet, she says she was told this picture was not allowed as it promoted teen pregnancy. She sees the picture as one of responsibility and love. "The love that I have for my son and how he has helped me achieve my goal to graduate high school."

Randolph County School officials would not comment on exactly why the picture was pulled, except to say the yearbook should be all about the student, not an extension of the student's family. "They should be proud that the students are willing to stay in school and graduate and make something of their self and not try and hide it," says Caitlin.

Tiller's mom, Karen Morgan hopes the school system will have a change of heart in the future and embrace those student who are proud of their accomplishments no matter how real they may be. "She took responsibility. She takes care of Leelin, she's there.
[...]

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Teachers Shocked, Frightened After School Holds Unplanned Shooting DrillALFWAY, Ore. Teachers were shocked and caught off guard when an Oregon school held a school shooting drill.

The Oregonian reports Pine Eagle Charter School in Halfway held the drill last Friday as children were home for an in-service day. Two masked “gunmen” burst into a meeting room holding 15 teachers firing blanks. Teachers only realized it wasn’t a real shooting when none of them were bleeding.

“There was some commotion,” school principal Cammie DeCastro told The Oregonian.

Teachers were frightened about what happened.

“I’ll tell you, the whole situation was horrible,” Morgan Gover told the paper. “I got a couple in the front and a couple in the back.”

The school held the unplanned drill in hopes to better educate teachers on how to deal with a school shooting. Of the 15 teachers in the room, only two would have survived.

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A proposed law introduced in the California State legislature would allow public school children to use bathrooms designated for members of the opposite sex, if that students' "gender identity" differed from the students biological sex.
" Picture this ... your 7 year-old daughter comes home from school in tears. You ask her what's wrong and she says she's afraid to go to the bathroom at school because a boy comes in while she's there. Outraged, you call the school to demand an explanation. You're told that your daughter is telling the truth, but because the boy says he wants to be a girl, their hands are tied. "It's the law."

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DAYTON, TX (KTRK) -- Child Protective Services is investigating a principal in Dayton accused of using excessive force on a student receiving corporal punishment.
A Nottingham Middle School sixth grader and his family claim the principal paddled the boy to the point of causing serious injuries.

As parents gathered for an enrollment meeting at on Monday night, many of them said they were shocked learning Dayton ISD just launched an investigation into the school's principal.

"I don't think it belongs, especially if there's any question of like excessive force or anything like that. Even with the parent's consent," Lyndsay Anderson said.

The boy was reportedly seriously injured after being paddled with a wooden board Friday for acting up in class. The family says the boy's tailbone was fractured.

"Well, that's a shame. It makes me feel bad for our children and for our students," Stacey Brown said. "I believe in corporal punishment, and I'm sorry on all sides, but I do believe that's a little excessive."

Dayton ISD, Harris County Precinct 3 Constable's Office investigators and CPS are all investigating the force allegations.

The boy told us the paddling happened in the principal's office. He said he was told to bend over a chair and look toward the wall.

The 12-year-old's parents say they rushed him to the emergency room after he came home with bruises and blood covering his backside and complaining he was in severe pain.
"Sounds excessive," Jimmie Cullars said. "I mean, I whip my kids, and there should be no blood involved or broken bones."

Several parents told us corporal punishment is common in this area. [....]

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A Sacramento family was torn apart after a 5-month-old baby boy was taken from his parents following a visit to the doctor.

The young couple thought their problems were behind them after their son had a scare at the hospital, but once they got home their problems got even worse.

It all began nearly two weeks ago, when Anna Nikolayev and her husband Alex took their 5-month-old boy Sammy to Sutter Memorial Hospital to be treated for flu symptoms, but they didn't like the care Sammy was getting.

For example, one day Anna asked why a nurse was giving her son antibiotics.

"I asked her, for what is that? And she's like, 'I don't know.' I'm like, 'you're working as a nurse, and you don't even know what to give to my baby for what,'" Anna explained.

According to Anna, a doctor later said Sammy shouldn't have been on the antibiotics.

Anna said Sammy suffers from a heart murmur and had been seeing a doctor at Sutter for regular treatment since he was born. After Sammy was treated for flu symptoms last week, doctors at Sutter admitted him to the pediatric ICU to monitor his condition. After a few days, Anna said doctors began talking about heart surgery.

"If we got the one mistake after another, I don't want to have my baby have surgery in the hospital where I don't feel safe," Anna said.

Anna argued with doctors about getting a second opinion. Without a proper discharge, she finally took Sammy out of the hospital to get a second opinion at Kaiser Permanente.

"The police showed up there. They saw that the baby was fine," Anna said. "They told us that Sutter was telling them so much bad stuff that they thought that this baby is dying on our arms."

Medical records from the doctor treating Sammy at Kaiser Permanente said the baby as clinically safe to go home with his parents. The doctor added, "I do not have concern for the safety of the child at home with his parents."

"So police saw the report from the doctors, said, 'okay guys, you have a good day,' and they walked away," Anna said.

Anna said the next day police and child protective services showed up on her doorstep. Alex Nikolayev said he met them outside a short time after they arrived.

"I was pushed against the building, smacked down. I said, 'am I being placed under arrest?' He smacked me down onto the ground, yelled out, 'I think I got the keys to the house,'" Alex said.

Then police let themselves inside.

On home video shot with a camera Anna set up herself, police can be seen entering her front door on Wednesday.

"I'm going to grab your baby, and don't resist, and don't fight me ok?" a Sacramento police officer said in the video.

"He's like, 'okay let your son go,' so I had to let him go, and he grabbed my arm, so I couldn't take Sammy. And they took Sammy, and they just walked away," Anna said.

When News10 spoke with police, they said talk to CPS; CPS did not say much about the case. Just before 6 p.m. Thursday, Anna said that a CPS social worker told her, the reason they took Sammy is because of severe neglect; however, the social worker didn't elaborate on that neglect.

Sutter Memorial was asked to comment on the story, but the hospital said the case was with CPS and law enforcement and they would have to comment on the case. CPS said they can't specifically comment on this case because of privacy law, but CPS spokesperson Laura McCasland said, "We conduct a risk assessment of the child's safety and rely heavily on the direction of health care providers."
[...]

On Thursday, Anna and Alex were allowed a one hour visitation with Sammy; he's currently in protective custody at Sutter Memorial Hospital.

"His smile, it's everything for me," Anna said. "I was so happy to see him."

Anna and Alex have a court hearing scheduled for Monday.

"We did everything," Anna said. "We went from one hospital to another. We just wanted to be safe, that he is in good hands."

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When Alex and Anna Nikolayev learned they would have a second one-hour visit Friday at the hospital with their baby boy Sammy, the news came as the one happy moment to cap off a difficult day.

"It's like everything in your stomach is turning and then you see his toothless smile and it kills everything in you ," Anna said, "It was nice. At least for one hour."
[...]

Alex and Anna said they've known about Sammy's heart murmur since he was born, and he was regularly seeing a Sutter cardiologist every two to three weeks. Also, the couple reiterated on Friday, that even when doctors at Sutter began talking about surgery, this was not a surgery to take place immediately. This was something the parents understood would be scheduled two weeks later, and no one ever gave them any reason to believe Sammy's health was in any imminent danger.
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On Thursday, the family met with leaders of Sacramento's Slavic community hoping to get help. That resulted in a one-hour visit with Sammy, but the couple's attorney said they were not allowed to see the boy's medical chart. The parents said they did not have a chance to talk to doctors about Sammy's health either.

Then on Friday, the couple and their attorney managed to secure a second one-hour visit with Sammy, but only if they agreed to much stricter pre-conditions.

"She called us back and said we can have this visit at 6 o'clock without any video camera in the room, without taking any pictures," Anna said, describing her conversation with CPS. "My whole family is waiting for pictures in Germany, and you know if they cannot see him either, that's the only thing that we can send after saying, how is he doing? At least pictures, videos. They've been texting me the whole day, calling me the whole day, how is Sammy doing, and I just cannot answer back because I don't even know."

Anna and Alex Nikolayev agreed to everything Child Protective Services asked of them in order to see Sammy Friday night. However, they said they don't know when they'll be able to see him again after Friday.

It is unclear to Anna why Sammy was taken by CPS. CPS policies prevent them from commenting directly on the case.
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Anna said CPS told her the reason they took the boy was severe neglect. Anna explained that growing up in Germany, and English not being her native language, she wasn't clear what that meant, so she asked the CPS worker to elaborate.

"She told me that these words mean that we took Sammy from an emergency, that he was dying, and we just left without giving him the right treatment," Anna said.

The parents kept claiming a police officer visited them at Kaiser Morse Hospital and determined no neglect. On Friday, News10 confirmed her claim was true - a Sacramento police officer met with the parents, as well as Sammy's nurses and doctor at the hospital. A Sacramento police spokesperson said what's unclear is whether an official recommendation was made. It's possible additional tests were being done to rule-out neglect.
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What's also unclear it why CPS a day later took custody of Sammy. Social workers went to the home, along with police officers (which CPS requested), claiming severe neglect.

It is plausible that CPS did not know the baby was treated at Kaiser, therefore treating the case as one of a child needing medical treatment and the parents refusing that treatment, which would put the child in danger.

But most importantly, it's taking much longer for this wrong to be righted. An attorney for the family said CPS directed him to a county lawyer Friday night, who had already left for the evening.

It appears Sammy will not be reunited with his parents until a court hearing is held Monday morning, if the judge agrees that the child is safe at home.

In the meantime, Anna and Alex have been granted additional visitation with Sammy this weekend. They will be allowed to feed Sammy three times a day on Saturday and Sunday. While it's good news, they just wish they could bring Sammy home.

"You're sitting there like in prison, they're watching you not to do anything wrong," Anna explained. "Holding your child in your hands being safe but you just feel like you're not yourself."

"You're being watched over by a lot of people actually," Alex added. "It's not that comforting."

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UPI News Service, 04/26/2013

George Jones, the iconic country music singer known by generations for his distinctive voice and phrasing, died Friday in Nashville at 81, his publicist said.

He was hospitalized at Vanderbilt University Medical Center April 18 for fever and irregular blood pressure, publicist Kirt Webster of Webster & Associates said in a statement.

Jones was in the middle of a tour that he said would be his last when he fell ill. Several dates had already been canceled.

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