Missing Girl Found: LAPD Seeks 2 Suspects In Abduction Of 10-Year-Old Girl

The search is on for missing Northridge girl Nicole Ryan.

 

LOS ANGELES — Two men forcibly took a 10-year-old girl from her bedroom and held her for much of the day before dropping her off at a hospital six miles from her home with cuts and bruises on her face, police said.

Authorities were looking for the two men, whom the girl said she did not know, and seeking to learn why they kidnapped her.

“I’ve got a girl who was abducted,” Los Angeles police Capt. William Hayes said at a media briefing Wednesday night. “I don’t know why.”

Police said one of the men was about 18 years old but released no description of the other.

At the hospital where she was being treated, the girl told investigators the men held her for nine or 10 hours at an abandoned house near her home, Hayes said.

Police believe two vehicles were involved in the abduction and officers have recovered one of them, Hayes said. Investigators have cordoned off several crime scenes including houses and a storage facility in the investigation and manhunt.

“We have a 10-year-old girl that’s been traumatized here, she was forcibly taken from her home,” Hayes said. “If these individuals are brazen enough to do that, I’m putting all the resources I have to make sure they don’t do it again.”

The girl’s parents reported her missing just before 4 a.m., and more than 11 hours later, someone who recognized her from media reports spotted her outside a Starbucks shop and summoned police officers who happened to be nearby, police Capt. Kris Pitcher said at an earlier news conference.

Police later learned the girl had been dropped at a hospital a few blocks away and had wandered to the area around the coffee shop, Hayes said.

“She basically is in shock right now,” Pitcher said.

The girl was wearing an oversized white T-shirt and was barefoot when she was found.

Her parents reported that she had been wearing a black T-shirt emblazoned with characters from the TV show “Heroes” when they last saw her in her bedroom shortly after midnight, police spokesman Richard French said. When they checked on her a few hours later, she was gone.

There were no clear signs of forced entry into the house, Hayes said, but a gate outside that had been closed was left open and investigators believe the men somehow made their way in through the back of the house.

Police released the girl’s name, description and a photo in an urgent campaign seeking the public’s help in spotting the child with distinctive long red hair. After she was found, police asked media to stop using the name and photo, but did not immediately provide a reason.

Source: huffingtonpost.com

Mother Dolphin Carries Her Dead Calf On Dorsal Fin (VIDEO)

 

Tourists in search of a dolphin stampede or intimate whale encounter were instead exposed to a rare and tragic marine life tragedy Tuesday when their sight-seeing boat came across a dolphin funeral procession.

Guides aboard Captain Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Watching Safari in Dana Point, Calif. captured footage of a dolphin carrying a decayed calf on her dorsal fin. In the video, posted on YouTube Wednesday, the tour guide speculates that the dolphin is grieving the death of her calf, and that the surrounding dolphins are guarding the mother and child.

In the video’s description on YouTube, Capt. Dave Anderson explained that because the calf was in a decayed state, it may have died days or even weeks earlier.

“In my nearly twenty years on the water whale watching I have never seen this behavior,” he writes. “Nor have I ever seen anything quite as moving as this mother who refuses to let go of her poor calf.” He continued to speculate about the calf’s death:

Did mom start off helping her weak, sick offspring swim to the surface to breathe for days till the tiny dolphin died? When will she give up on her calf? Will she continue carrying her deceased on her back until the carcass begins to disintegrate? This poor grieving mother dolphin takes us, without words, to a place where as one of our passengers said in the video “humans and dolphins are not so different.”

Tony Green, a sight-seer on board, shared his thoughts on the sad sight with the filmmaker.

“The last thing I expected to see today was a funeral procession,” said Green. “It was pretty profound for me to think about … emotions that animals feel.”

 

Source: huffingtonpost.com

Nelson Mandela in South African hospital after recurrence of lung infection

Former South African President Nelson Mandela has been admitted to hospital for treatment of a lung infection. Picture: Siphiwe Sibeko/AFP

 

SOUTH Africa has asked the world to pray for former president Nelson Mandela who was admitted to hospital following a recurrence of a lung infection.

The 94-year-old, affectionately known as Madiba, was admitted just before midnight on Wednesday.

Mandela was treated for a lung infection and had surgery to extract gallstones over Christmas, and spent a night in hospital earlier this month for a regular check-up.

South African President Jacob Zuma wished Mandela a quick recovery.

“We appeal to the people of South Africa and the world to pray for our beloved Madiba and his family and to keep them in their thoughts,” he said.

“We have full confidence in the medical team and know that they will do everything possible to ensure recovery.”

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton meets with Nelson Mandela, 94, former president of South Africa, at his home in Qunu, South Africa, on August 6, 2012. Picture: Jacquelyn Martin/AFP

The name or location of the hospital was not provided.

The revered statesman has not appeared in public since South Africa’s Football World Cup final in 2010, six years after retiring.

Since then he has stayed out of the public eye at his rural home village Qunu in the Eastern Cape.

The last confirmed image of the statesman was a picture taken with then-US secretary of state Hillary Clinton, when she visited him last August.

At the beginning of February two of his granddaughters released a picture of a smiling Mandela sitting with his youngest great-grandson in an arm-chair.

A 2011 photo  shows former South African President Nelson Mandela posing with his wife Graca Machel after casting his vote at his home in Johannesburg for the country’s local elections. AFP/ SOUTH AFRICAN GOVERNMENT/ ELMOND JIYANE

It was taken to show his recovery after his December hospitalisation, they said while promoting their new reality show, Being Mandela.

Mandela has had several health scares over the years.

In early 2012, he was admitted for a minor exploratory procedure to investigate persistent abdominal pain.

In 2011, he was hospitalised for two nights for an unnamed acute respiratory infection.

The Nobel Peace Prize winner diagnosed with early stage tuberculosis in 1988 while serving a 27-year jail term during apartheid.

Source: http://www.news.com.au

Forestry worker ‘lived life to the fullest’

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Robert Epapara. Photo / supplied

The family of a 23-year-old forestry worker killed by a falling tree yesterday say he died doing what he loved and knew it was a risky job.

Rotorua father-of-one Robert Epapara was working a private forestry road off State Highway 30 near Rotorua when he was hit by a tree being felled by a fellow worker just before 3pm.

He died at the scene.

It is the third fatal forestry incident this year. Four other workers have been seriously injured in other accidents.

Mr Epapara’s devastated family are mourning the loss of the outgoing and giving father.

“We’re just in shock,” said his mother Marsella Edmonds.

“He was just so happy – he loved life and lived it to the fullest. I want him to be remembered for his huge heart.”

Her son had known he wanted to work in the bush like his father since school.

 

“He was adamant he was going to fell trees. he loved the bush.”

Mr Epapara, who lived with his partner and three-year-old son, was safety-conscious and knew the risks of the job, said Mrs Edmonds.

“It can be an unpredictable industry.”

She believed there were appropriate safety procedures and training in place in the industry, but others say not enough is being done to protect workers.

NZ Council of Trade Unions president Helen Kelly described the latest death as “an absolute tragedy”.

“It also shows that the new forestry standards are insufficient to make any impact on this disgraceful situation”.

“The rate of injuries in forestry is not improving despite the assertions of the forest owners, with last year being one of the worst in the last 10 years, and this year shaping up to be the same,” she said.

The CTU has called for an inquiry into the industry to look at the causes of the incidents and possible changes to improve safety.

In January Eramyha Pairama, 19, after being struck by a tree near Taneatua.

Rotorua MP Todd McClay introduced the Government’s new forestry sector safety code last December but said that until the new code was adhered to it was just a set of rules sitting in a bookcase.

First Union spokesman Robert Reid said the latest death “must serve as a wake-up call for better health and safety standards in the industry”.

“We support the Council of Trade Unions’ call for an inquiry into forest safety. Every workplace death in New Zealand is preventable. We cannot accept that current health and safety standards in the forest industries are working, because they clearly are not,” he said.

Between 2008 and 2012 there were 21 deaths in the industry and another three this year.

New Zealand’s forestry death toll is 34 times higher than The UK.

– APNZ

Basketball: Heat’s winning streak ends at 27

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Miami Heat forward LeBron James wipes his face during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls in Chicago. Photo / AP.

The Miami Heat’s 27-game winning streak was ended today by the Chicago Bulls, 101-97, when a furious comeback by LeBron James and his teammates fell short.

The Heat finished six games short of the record held by the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers.

Luol Deng scored 28 points and Carlos Boozer added 21 points and 17 rebounds as the Bulls brought the Heat’s pursuit of NBA history to a screeching halt.

Miami’s superstar James did all he could to keep the run going, scoring 32 points and even collecting a flagrant foul during a physical final few minutes.

The Heat hadn’t lost since the Pacers beat them in Indianapolis on Feb. 1. But after grinding out some close wins lately, including a rally from 27 down in Cleveland, no one counted them out until the final buzzer.

For the better part of two months, they were the NBA’s comeback kings. They erased seven double-digit deficits during the streak. They found themselves trailing in the fourth quarter 11 times, and won them all.

 

Not Wednesday.

And when they walked off the floor in Chicago, faces were stoic as the Heat trudged toward the locker room. James turned and glared at one fan who grabbed at his head.

The Bulls, meanwhile, whooped and slapped hands with anyone they could reach.

It will go down as the second-longest winning streak in the history of American major pro sports. And some of those Lakers believed their time would pass as Miami’s streak rolled along, with Jerry West among those saying that he believed the reigning champions had a real shot at pulling it off.

The streak began on Super Bowl Sunday in Toronto, a day when Heat players were mildly annoyed about having to miss football’s title game. When San Francisco and Baltimore were to be playing, the Heat were to be flying home for a game the following night.

So team officials team changed course, as a surprise.

Miami beat Toronto that afternoon, then stayed in the city several more hours to watch the Super Bowl together, an event highlighted by Shane Battier giving an unplanned speech about appreciating little moments as a team.

For whatever reason, the Heat were unbeatable for nearly the next two months.

And they won games in a number of different ways.

They blew out good teams like the Los Angeles Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder and the Bulls, then inexplicably struggled with lottery-bound Cleveland, Detroit, Sacramento, Charlotte and Orlando. They rallied from 13 points down in the final 8 minutes to beat Boston, from a 27-point third-quarter hole at Cleveland, and from 11-point deficits against Detroit and Charlotte all those coming in a seven-day span, no less.

“There are several teams that can do it,” Pistons guard Jose Calderon said, when asked what it would take for someone to beat Miami. “It’s difficult to maintain this concentration every day. It will likely take everyone to have a bad day.”

Even when those bad days happened, the Heat found ways to win.

A buzzer-beater by James against Orlando. Double-overtime against Sacramento. Huge comebacks. Whatever it took.

“To do something like this, everyone needs to step up,” said Battier, who was part of a 32-game winning streak at Duke, a 22-gamer with the Houston Rockets and now played a role in this epic Heat run.

There were times when even the Heat themselves didn’t know how long the streak was. Because it was interrupted by the All-Star break, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra was surprised when a staff member said something about Miami having won nine in a row. When it was at 24 games, Dwyane Wade made a reference to “23, 24, whatever it is.”

They insisted they did not care about it, whatever the number was.

Heat President Pat Riley played for the Lakers team that won 33 in a row, and remained silent throughout Miami’s streak, mainly because he rarely gives interviews these days but more so because the official team stance was that it simply did not matter. This season is championship-or-bust for Miami, one where nothing else other than raising yet another Larry O’Brien Trophy will satisfy.

“I understand the history of the game,” James said after the streak reached 25. “I appreciate the history of the game. But this team has a bigger goal than winning a number of consecutive games in a row.”

Still, the streak will go down as the story of the regular season.

When it started, Miami was 5 games behind San Antonio for the overall NBA lead, only a half-game ahead of New York in the Eastern Conference race, held just a four-game edge over Atlanta in the Southeast Division and were the league’s ninth-best road team in terms of winning percentage.

Funny what two months or so without losing can do.

The Heat now sit atop the overall NBA standings, gained 12 games over New York in the East entering Wednesday, put away the Hawks for good several weeks ago and are now, by far, the league’s best road team. And with the streak over, all that’s left now is getting ready for the postseason.

Bomb explodes near Acropolis in central Athens

 

Police set up a cordon after a bomb exploded at the home of a Greek shipowner, opposite the Acropolis in central Athens. Photo / AP

A bomb exploded outside a Greek ship owner’s house near a crowded pedestrian area under the Acropolis in central Athens on Wednesday night, causing minor damage but no injuries, police said.

The explosion a few hundred metres from the country’s most famous monument occurred at about 8:30 p.m. (local time) after a warning call to a Greek newspaper.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the blast, which follows a string of bomb attacks in the financially-struggling country by anarchist groups that have caused no major injuries or loss of life.

Police spokesman Panagiotis Papapetropoulos said officers were able before the blast to evacuate one or two people from the building and to seal off the area.

“Judging by the minor extent of the damage, it can’t have been a very strong explosive device,” he said.

The house belongs to a member of the Tsakos ship owning family, police said.

 

The blast, which was heard across the city center, occurred very close to one of the Greek capital’s favorite pedestrian walks that skirts the key tourist site of the Acropolis. At the time of the explosion, the walkway was busy with strolling families and tourists.

Greece is suffering an acute financial crisis, and imposed deeply resented austerity measures over the past three years to secure international bailouts that are shielding it from bankruptcy. Domestic anarchist groups have carried out dozens of attacks on police and other symbols of state authority or wealth in recent years, especially following the 2008 fatal police shooting of an Athens teenager and during the financial crisis.

The attacks have continued, albeit slightly abated, despite the arrests of more than 20 young Greeks accused of belonging to the most active group – Conspiracy Nuclei of Fire.

Earlier this month, militant anarchists claimed responsibility for a bombing at a package shipping firm in Athens, and threatened further attacks on judges, police and prosecution witnesses in a terrorism trial.

In January, another such group planted a bomb in an Athens shopping mall that lightly wounded two security guards.

Man accused of peeping in female toilets in Auckland, New Zealand

File photo / Thinkstock

Women using the public toilets in Auckland shopping centres and movie theatres have been spied on by a peeping-tom, according to police.

Luke Tyron Day is alleged to have gone into women’s toilets at the Atrium shopping centre, Westgate cinemas and Burger King in Queen St and spied on them by peering over cubicle walls.

The 26-year-old also faces charges of going into public toilets to commit a crime, doing indecent acts and a charge of making an intimate visual recording.

One of Day’s alleged victims was an 11-year-old girl and some of the charges dated back to 2009.

Day was arrested last week and freed on bail before being re-arrested yesterday on a fresh charge of attempting to prevent justice by trying to flee the country.

He was back at the Auckland District Court today where his new bail application was declined by a community magistrate. Police argued Day was a flight risk.

APNZ understood that Day bought a one-way ticket to Australia after being let out on bail.

 

He was arrested after customs officers noticed a police flag next to his name.

Police spokeswoman Noreen Hegarty said investigators believed many of Day’s alleged victims had reported incidents to shopping centre managers, instead of police.

“Police believe Day was acting alone when he allegedly offended and that he did not target specific people, rather his actions were random and carried out in women’s toilets.”

Ms Hegarty said the police were grateful to business owners for their help in the case and investigations were continuing.

– nzherald.co.nz

Conman stole £180,000 from a string of women he met through Sugar Daddies dating website by claiming he had cancer

• Jonathan Price told his unsuspecting victims he was a multi-millionaire
• Also claimed he was suffering from cancer, Teesside Crown Court hears
• Lied that he served in the SAS, had property overseas and owned boats
• Described as ‘callous’ man with ‘deception deeply engrained in his mind’

A 41-year-old conman who met a string of women on dating website Sugar Daddies then tricked them into parting with tens of thousands of pounds was today facing jail.

Jonathan Price told his unsuspecting victims he was a multi-millionaire with offshore accounts and was suffering from terminal cancer, Teesside Crown Court was told.

The women encouraged their elderly parents to help when Price claimed he had minor cash-flow problems. His lies included claims that he served in the SAS and the Parachute Regiment.

‘Callous’ behaviour: Jonathan Price (left and right) told his unsuspecting victims he was a multi-millionaire with offshore accounts and was suffering from terminal cancer, Teesside Crown Court was told

Price also said he had property overseas and owned speedboats and luxury cars. But he was really a penniless serial fraudster who had left a trail of victims traumatised and facing financial ruin.

He was described as ‘callous’ in legal papers, which said ‘deception is so deeply engrained in his mind’ that he was planning his next con while in jail for the last one.

Price has seven previous convictions for dishonesty from across the UK over the last 20 years and has served four prison sentences.

Prosecutors branded his lifestyle ‘absurd’ and said the crimes ‘seem to have been committed to maintain his entirely false image of being a multi-millionaire’.

Online: The conman met a string of women on sugardaddies.com (homepage pictured) then tricked them into parting with tens of thousands of pounds

He produced fake bank account paperwork to convince his victims he had fortunes tucked away – providing sham security for loans he would ask them for.

Price dated a number of his victims at the same time, using money swindled from one to pay for posh meals and trips abroad with another.

Each time his web of deceit appeared to be unravelling, he would quickly leave and claim to be unwell or say he had been involved in an accident.

Price claimed to live on Sandbanks – the South Coast millionaires’ island in Poole, Dorset, alongside football manager Harry Redknapp – and made an offer on a £5million property.

‘Acquaintances’: Jonathan Price boasted of being a friend of Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky (pictured), an exiled critic of president Vladmir Putin, who was found dead last weekend

He also boasted of being a friend of Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, an exiled critic of president Vladmir Putin, who was found dead last weekend.

Price claimed to be having trouble freeing some of his fortune from overseas accounts to get advances from his girlfriends and their families. In total, he fleeced more than £180,000 from three women and their parents, as well as estate agents, car and boat dealers and businessmen.

‘He is as dishonest as the day is long. He is a conman first and foremost’

Judge Michael Taylor

After he pleaded guilty to 15 counts of fraud and one of theft, Price’s barrister, Peter Sabiston said: ‘He knows he faces a substantial custodial sentence.’

Judge Michael Taylor said: ‘He is as dishonest as the day is long. He is a conman first and foremost.’

He told Mr Sabiston, who asked for an adjournment for medical reports: ‘If he is hoping to pull the wool over my eyes, he’s in the wrong court room.’

Mr Sabiston told the judge: ‘He is unsure because of the lies he has told, what is true and what is fantasy. He does seem to lead a life of fantasy.’

In December 1994, Price was locked up for two-and-a-half years at Lincoln Crown Court for ten offences of obtaining property by deception.

Abroad: One woman was spun what came to be a familiar yarn that Price was obscenely wealthy with funds in an offshore account in the Cayman Islands (file picture), but did not have long to live

At the same court five years later, Price received a sentence of almost six years for a number of identical crimes and cheating creditors.

In 2003, he was at Doncaster Crown Court in South Yorkshire for four thefts and got three-and-a-half years.

Ipswich Crown Court in Suffolk was the next venue in March 2009 when he was jailed for four years for eight offences of fraud and eight of theft.

‘He is unsure because of the lies he has told, what is true and what is fantasy. He does seem to lead a life of fantasy’

Peter Sabiston, defending

He will return to the Teesside Crown Court building from the prison cell in which he is being held on remand once medical and psychiatric reports have been compiled.

The last time he was behind bars, it is thought he was plotting these crimes – having already joined the Sugar Daddies website to trawl for victims.

He met the first of his three latest loves through the singles website before he was locked up in 2009 – a businesswoman from Dorset in her 30s.

She was spun what came to be a familiar yarn that he was obscenely wealthy with funds in an offshore account in the Cayman Islands, but did not have long to live.

He used money from her and her parents for trips to London for imaginary medical treatment – body scans, injections and appointments.

Luxury living: While in the capital, Price was seeing a woman, having lunch in Harrods (pictured) in Knightsbridge, central London, and telling her tall tales about his vast wealth

But while in the capital, he was seeing another woman, having lunch in Harrods in Knightsbridge, central London, and telling her the same tall tales about his vast wealth.

He finally fled from the home of the first victim when he either realised her parents were beginning to suspect him or that their money was running out.

WHAT PRICE TOLD HIS VICTIMS

• He lived on south coast millionaires’ island Sandbanks
• He was a friend of Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky
• He had funds in an offshore account in the Cayman Islands
• He lived in upmarket Knightsbridge, central London
• He had terminal cancer
• He served in the SAS and Parachute Regiment
• He owned speedboats and luxury cars

The second woman, a retail manager, introduced Price to her family and they were also to be taken in by his lies and fleeced of their savings.

In November 2010, he said he had to go to Geneva, Switzerland, for a week, but then sent a series of texts – some purporting to be from a friend – with terrible news.

They claimed he had been run over, then later collapsed, and later still that he was firstly in hospital in Cambridge and then in a specialist head injury unit in Sheffield, South Yorkshire.

Price ran up huge debts on the woman’s credit cards – hiring a Land Rover Discovery and driving it to Monaco, and asking his lover to fly out to see him.

He disappeared, claiming to have a brain tumour and said he was going to stay with an former army colleague.

In the meantime, the conman had racked up so much debt on her cards that she declared herself bankrupt and was living like a pauper.

On wheels: Price ran up huge debts on a woman’s credit cards – hiring a Land Rover Discovery (file picture) and driving it to Monaco, and asking his lover to fly out to see him

But, rather than staying with a caring old comrade, Price was with another woman and was regularly making contact with yet more on the website.

The third victim – who was being dated at the same time as the other two – was told he lived in upmarket Knightsbridge.

Price proposed to her, went shopping on Bond Street in central London for an engagement ring and booked an exclusive £96,000 wedding at Rockliffe Hall in Hurworth, County Durham.

In the end, their wedding had to be cancelled – she believed because of his illness – and they were married at Harrogate Register Office in North Yorkshire with just four guests.

After ‘borrowing’ money from his wife and her parents on the pretence that he would repay them once his funds were released, Price began to plot his latest exit strategy.

Last April, he complained that something was wrong in the sight of one of his eyes, said he had been for tests and had an inoperable brain tumour.

A month later, he was arrested when his wife’s parents, from the outskirts of Darlington, County Durham, realised what he had been up to and contacted police.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk

Terminal cancer sufferer, 14, who wanted to attend a prom as part of her bucket list is too sick to attend the party… so her friends bring it to her hospital room instead

• Katelyn Norman has suffered from osteosarcoma for two years and doctors told her last week that there is nothing more they can do
• She drew up a bucket list of activities, including attending a prom
• Event was thrown in hometown last night but she had been hospitalized
  
• Moving photographs show how enjoyed the party from her bed instead

When 14-year-old Katelyn Norman learned that her bone cancer was going to take her life, she drew up a list of her final wishes – a slow dance, a last kiss, a date to prom.

But as her friends gathered at a venue in LaFollette, Tennessee on Tuesday night to throw the prom in her honour, Katelyn was airlifted to hospital after struggling to breathe.

So classmates and relatives brought the party to her bedside instead, bringing balloons, music and her smartly-dressed date to make sure she didn’t miss out on completing her bucket list.

Katelyn has been fighting osteosarcoma, an aggressive bone cancer, for two years but doctors told her last week that it has spread to her heart, arteries, pelvis and spine and that there is nothing more they can do.

 

 

Special day: Katelyn Norman, 14, is presented a sash by her date at her prom in hospital on Tuesday night

 

 

Dream come true: Her date presents Katelyn, who is suffering from terminal bone cancer, with a corsage

In an extraordinary show of courage and determination, Katelyn has drawn up a list of activities she hopes she complete before passing away.

Aims on her bucket list include having a last slow dance, learning to drive a car, getting a Marilyn Monroe piercing, spending a day with each of her three siblings – and attending prom.

Katelyn, who was in stable condition and high spirits on Tuesday night, was pictured grinning as her date bent down to her hospital bed to present her with her corsage.

Outside the hospital, thousands of people lined along Highway 63 as part of a candle-lit vigil for Katelyn, who had insisted that a party continue at her school in her absence.

 

Celebration: Staff and family members gather for the prom, which was on Katelyn’s bucket list

 

 

Party: She was supposed to attend a prom in her honour at her school on Tuesday but fell ill earlier in the day

 

 

Support: Relatives joined the party, which was a dream for Katelyn before she succumbs to the illness

 

Personal party: Guests tucked into drinks and cake – which was iced with the theme of the party

‘She contacted me and said prom must go on, that’s her, and you can’t help but feed off that energy, that life,’ Sharon Shepard, an instructor at Katelyn’s school and prom coordinator, told WATE-TV.

‘Once you meet her your life will never be the same, she has such an impact.’

The event, which was held at The Stables in LaFollette, had been personalised for the teenager, with the theme ‘Katie in the Sky with Diamonds’.

Friends danced, ate and drank at the party, and posed in front of Italian landscape backdrops – a nod to Katelyn’s other dream to visit Italy.

The Campbell County mayor, William Bailey, also headed to the prom – where he announced Tuesday – March 26 – would be known as ‘Katelyn Norman Day’.

 

Loved: Other friends and community members gathered outside her bedroom window for a vigil

 

 

Joy: Katelyn, who has been credited with bringing a community together, looks at the gathering outside

 

 

Big day: Katelyn, who has bone cancer, was hospitalised earlier in the day as she struggled to breathe

‘We wanted to try to make this day, and this time in her life, special to her because she makes it special for people in Campbell County,’ he said.

Her story has spread across social networking sites and Kristi Buckner in North Carolina set up a fundraising page so the family could afford to carry out Katelyn’s last wishes.

‘Katelyn has touched so many people and has been an inspiration, she has brought an entire community together,’ it writes. ‘Will you help us fulfill her bucket list?’

Katelyn’s mother, Erica Nelson, said they hoped to complete as many activities as possible as she spends her last days at home.

 

Celebration of a life: Friends and relatives still attended the original party, at Katelyn’s request

 

 

Candle-lit vigil: Thousands gathered with lights along the streets to celebrate Katelyn’s prom

 

 

Smiling until the end: Katelyn, now 14, was diagnosed with bone cancer in her arm in May 2011

 

 

Healthier days: Friends and family have said that Katelyn is headstrong, upbeat and one-of-a-kind

 

HER LAST WISHES: WHAT’S ON KATELYN’S BUCKET LIST?

Dreams on Katelyn’s bucket list include:

A last slow dance

Learning to drive a car

A day with each sibling

Seeing Italy

A last kiss

A Marilyn Monroe piercing on her lip

Attending an Of Mice and Men concert and getting an autographed T-shirt

Riding on the back of a motorcycle

‘I just want to give her what she isn’t going to see and just try to fulfill what she wants to do. It’s not really much, but it’s something to her,’ she said.

‘We’re very grateful that they’re wanting to come help Katelyn. She’s touched a lot of people.’

Sharon Shepard, the school nurse at Campbell County High School, where Katelyn attends, told ABC News the teenager is unlike anyone else.

‘[Katelyn] will change your life,’ she said. ‘You’ll never be the same. She will make an impact on you. She’s a jewel. My life will never be the same.

‘She’s a fighter. She’s just very opinionated and very well-spoken, very headstrong, very driven and that’s what has gotten her this far.’

Her best friend Brandon Huckaby, 16, added to ABC: ‘She’s always used her sense of humor and her grab on others to push to make everything better for everyone.

 

 

 

Fighting back: On Tuesday she will complete one bucket list item – going to a prom at her school

 

 

 

 

Staying positive: She has undergone transplants and chemo but the cancer has spread to her heart and spine

‘She doesn’t care that she’s suffering. She cares that other people are suffering and she wants to stop that.’

He said that, although he’s sad about losing his friend, he knows he must help her complete her final wishes. ‘This is happening,’ he said. ‘I’m getting this done.’

Katelyn was diagnosed with the bone cancer in her right arm in May 2011, after a friend punched her arm and it went limp. X-rays revealed abnormal bone and she was found to be suffering from cancer in her arm and nodules in the lungs.

She has since undergone bone transplants, surgeries of tissue ligaments and chemo for her lungs, but they have failed to ward off the illness.

 

 

Family: She said that her siblings, pictured, are struggling to come to terms with her illness

 

Upbeat: Her friends and family said she has stayed positive and confident despite her prognosis

 

 

Community: Neighbours and groups – including these bikers – have rallied around Katelyn in her last days

Doctors are uncertain exactly how long Katelyn has to live.

‘She doesn’t let the fact that the doctors said she won’t last very long bother her,’ her friend Brandon said. ‘She has an attitude that, “I’m Katelyn. I’m bald, I’m beautiful and I will beat this.”‘

You can donate to Katelyn’s bucket list fund here.

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/

Massive cyberattack hits anti-spam group Spamhaus

A massive cyberattack on anti-spam group Spamhaus may be affecting other internet users.

 

SPAM-fighting organisation Spamhaus says it’s being subjected to a massive cyberattack, apparently from groups angry at being blacklisted by the Geneva-based group.

One expert warned that the electronic onslaught was affecting others across the Internet.

Users could experience slower internet or be subjected to unwanted emails.

Spamhaus carries a constantly-updated blacklist of service providers suspected of offering refuge for spammers.

In an interview, Spamhaus’ Vincent Hanna said his site had been hit by a crushing wave of denial-of-service attacks and that it was “a small miracle that we’re still online.”

Mr Hanna said his group had been weathering such attacks since mid-March. The attacks work by flooding target servers with traffic.

Patrick Gilmore of Akamai Technologies said the attack was so large that online bystanders had been hit as well.

Source: http://www.news.com.au

Twitter ad revenue heads toward $1b

Twitter is going from strength to strength.

 

TWITTER is on pace to earn more than a half-billion dollars in ad revenue this year and close to $US1 billion ($957.99 million) next year.

About 53 per cent of the ad revenue at Twitter this year will come from use of the service on smartphones or tablets in a huge jump from 2011, when the San Francisco company took in no money from mobile ads, according to industry tracker eMarketer.

The improved revenue forecast released by eMarketer estimated that Twitter will take in $US582.8 million in ad revenue this year, nearly $US1 billion next year and about $US1.33 billion in the year 2015.

“The upward revision comes as advertisers have shown more interest in spending money on mobile advertisements on Twitter,” eMarketer said, adding that Twitter’s reach also seemed to be improving.

The bulk of ad money at the one-to-many messaging service was expected to continue to come from the US but the company’s moves to expand its global sales operations were making inroads elsewhere, eMarketer said.

About 83 per cent of Twitter ad revenue this year should be from the US as compared to 90 per cent of the $US138 million the company took in from ads last year, according to eMarketer.

Source: http://www.news.com.au

Woman claims Louis Vuitton bags bought at Joel Morehu-Barlow auction are fakes

Leonie Hourigan paid more than $2000 for two Louis Vuitton bags at the auction of fake ”Tahitian prince” Joel Morehu-Barlow and has alleged the items are imitations. Picture: Megan Slade

 

A WOMAN who paid more than $2000 for two Louis Vuitton bags at the auction of fake “Tahitian prince” Joel Morehu-Barlow has alleged the items are imitations.

Leonie Hourigan, of Mooloolaba, said she is preparing to lodge an application with the Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal after questioning the authenticity of a Louis Vuitton document case and graphite canvas soft suitcase she bought for $2380.

Louis Vuitton Brisbane stated it does not offer an authentication service, however she approached collector and authenticator Paul Pluta, of collectinglouisvuitton.com, who inspected the bags for a fee and concluded they were not genuine.

However, auction house Leonard Joel is standing by the catalogue description and the authenticity of the items it puts up for auction.

Ms Hourigan said she thought she had nabbed “premium products with a good story” when she won the lots during the frenzied bidding at Antique and Fine Art Auctions at Woolloongabba on March 10.

When Ms Hourigan’s bags arrived, she was suspicious about the authenticity. “When I touched them, I knew in my head that it wasn’t right,” she said.

Mr Pluta said he believed the Louis Vuitton soft suitcase was not genuine because the handle end trim was incorrect, the interior had the wrong pattern and layout and the metalware was wrong.

He said the Louis Vuitton document case was also a “poor fake”.

‘These particular items are bad, bad, bad fakes,” he said.

But in a written statement, John Albrecht, managing director for Leonard Joel, said all items put up for auction were inspected by specialists.

“We attended to this particular purchaser’s query when raised with us for the first time, being four days after the auction and advised them that we were confident with our description but that we were happy and willing to investigate the purchaser’s claim,” he said.

“In the event that we discover that an item has been mis-described, we would as a normal course of our business offer a refund of the full purchase price.”

He said Leonard Joel had been unable to obtain a third party opinion so far as the bags were in Ms Hourigan’s possession.

According to the website of the Office of Fair Trading Queensland, consumer guarantees do not cover goods bought at auctions, where “the auctioneer acts as an agent for the owner of the goods”, and said that it is the responsibility of the buyer to check the standard of the goods.

JAILED: Joel Morehu-Barlow

Source: news.com.au

 

Box jellyfish pulled from Coast canal

Nine-year-old Saxon Thomas (inset) found a box jellyfish while fishing in a Paradise Point canal. Pics: Supplied

A JELLYFISH found in a Paradise Point canal has been confirmed as a species of box jellyfish but experts say they will not test its poison until someone is stung.

The long-tentacled creature, found by a nine-year-old fishing in a backyard canal, has shocked locals and marine scientists.

Queensland Museum marine expert Dr Merrick Ekins, who examined the jellyfish, said it appeared to be a new variety.

“It is not the same box jellyfish we see in North Queensland, but it is a species of box and it could have a dangerous sting,” he said.

“Whether it is extremely painful, or dangerous, we won’t know until someone is stung by one.

“We won’t be testing the animal further, as we don’t have the resources.

“It is very exciting to discover a new species so far south and we do encourage any south-east Queenslander who comes across a jellyfish that looks like a box to send it to us for examination.”

Justin Thomas, whose son Saxon made the discovery, said there had been some doubt it was a box jellyfish to begin with.

“I was talking to the neighbour when I heard Saxon yelling out that he had found a box jellyfish,” he said.

“I thought he must have been mistaken, but when we had a good look we were sure it was.

“We collected it carefully and sent it to the Queensland Museum.

“It’s definitely made me think twice about my son and I swimming on the Coast.

“We will be very wary from now on.”

Just two months ago a similar looking jellyfish was found at Main Beach and was found to be a morbakka jellyfish, not a species of box jellyfish.

Queensland’s top jellyfish expert, James Cook University’s Associate Professor Jamie Seymour, said the creature found on the Coast was definitely not a morbakka.

“It is a type of box jellyfish, but it would need to be closer examined to see what, if any, danger it poses to human life,” he said.

“It could have been washed down the coast in bad weather earlier this year, or it could be a whole new species we have never seen before.”

Anyone stung by any form of jellyfish should apply vinegar to the sting and seek medical help.

Source: news.com.au

Onesies trend hits the Gold Coast

Jerald Porter, 18, and Phebe Daniels, 17, in their onesies. Pic: Glenn Hampson

IT’S the winter fashion trend Gold Coasters either love or hate — the adult onesie.

The snug one-piece suit, often worn around the house or as pyjamas, has taken the retail world by storm.

Department stores, lingerie stores, high-end pyjama stores and online shops are all stocking adult onesies this winter.

The unflattering one-piece first took off in America after a number of celebrities were spotted wearing them in public.

Brad Pitt was seen wearing one at the airport, while heart-throb Ryan Gosling wore a hooded onesie on talk show Ellen, cementing their popularity with fans everywhere.

The trend has now spread to the Gold Coast, with several locals swearing by the warm and comfortable pyjamas.

Robina couple Phebe Daniels and Jerald Porter bought their one-piece suits in animal style for a fancy-dress party but after finding the outfits comfortable to wear they decided to include them in their every-day wardrobe.

Miss Daniels, 17, said they were the most comfortable pyjamas she had ever owned.

“Now the nights are starting to cool we wear them all the time, they’re so comfy and warm, people without onesies don’t know what they’re missing,” she said.

“Going to the bathroom can be a pain and cold in winter, but it’s still worth it to get back in that snug onesie.”

Another Gold Coaster, Victoria Frangiosa, said she loved her onesie so much she had even bought some for summer.

Onesies nightwear retail from $20-$100 and are available in various animal prints, stripes, colours and themes.

Source: news.com.au

South Australian first to get OneTab smartphone app to pay for hotel tab

TOAST: Tess Wheeler and Kirsty Michael test the OneTab app at the Robin Hood Hotel, Norwood. Picture: TRICIA WATKINSON

SOUTH Australians will be the first to use a new smartphone application that allows hotel customers to set a limit and pay for their food and drinks tab at selected venues – without handing over a credit card.

OneTab can now be used at 10 Adelaide hotels and helps prevent issues such as consumers losing or forgetting their cards and protects hotels from stolen or fraudulent cards or cards with inadequate balances. The app integrates with the point-of-sale system of the venue.

Tess Wheeler, 22, said she loved the new app, which was easy to use and quick.

“Often, I leave the pub and I have forgotten to sign off and collect my card,” she said. “The app just helps with not having to think about returning the next morning to tidy things up.”

OneTab was developed by Queensland-based Paul Wyatt and Scott Cross. All patrons need to do is find their venue on the app, open a tab and set a credit limit. Once the card balance is verified, a code is generated, which needs to be shown to the bartender at the venue.

Source: http://www.news.com.au

Kidnapped teen gets cop’s attention

A teenager has side-swiped a police car (not pictured) to get attention after being kidnapped.

 

SOME quick thinking by a kidnapped teenager may have saved her life after she intentionally crashed into a police car.

PressofAtlanticCity.com reports that Floribert Nava, 45, kidnapped the teenager in Wildwood, New Jersey and wanted her to drive to Philadelphia.

It is believed that Nava and the girl had a dispute over the adoption of a baby and that Nava still wanted the child.

The teenager, who has not been named, swiped Officer Mark Pawloski’s police car as he was out of the car helping another motorist.

She then jumped out of the car and informed the officer that Nava had a gun, duct tape and latex gloves in the car and that she was trying to make her drive to Philadelphia, where the baby’s adopted parents live.

Nava was arrested and is being held in Cape May County jail in lieu of $US400,000 bond.

Source: http://www.news.com.au

Latest tablets prescribed for South Australia’s toddlers

Prince Alfred College early learning centre’s Athan, Lily and Bailey with the electronic devices. futog Picture: CALUM ROBERTSON

 

SOUTH AUSTRALIA’s toddlers will be using apps in the classroom on tablets and touchscreen electronic boards in an Australian-first trial of high-tech devices for pre-schoolers.

Prince Alfred College has signed an agreement with Samsung, which will provide the school’s early-learning centre with the new device that blends a tablet, laptop and 65-inch touchscreen e-board.

The centre caters for children aged two to four.

The e-board is fully interactive and height adjustable for the children which will allow the college to provide the students with apps-based learning.

Teaching and learning director Kelvin Sparks said there were many educational apps being developed for children but the benefits were not often reported.

“In the first instance we will look to see what apps heighten engagement with learning in a play-based environment. Our teachers will observe and report on their findings at the early learner stages,” he said.

PAC student, Bailey, 4, said he plays the stick man game and pick-up sticks but he’s learning all the time.

Source: http://www.news.com.au

Video captures China sinkhole tragedy

A screen grab from security vision which reportedly shows a man being swallowed by a sinkhole in Shenzen, China.

 

A 25-year-old man in China has died after a sinkhole opened up and swallowed him.

Yang Jiabin was walking in Shenzhen near a construction site when he fell into an 8-metre wide, 16-metre deep sinkhole that killed him, after attempts to revive him failed.

Two closed-circuit videos captured his final moments, which then went viral in China on social media and through news websites like Sina.

There were more than 100 sinkholes formed in Beijing over the past two months, where poorly planned development seems to be a major factor.

Earlier this month Florida man Jeff Bush was killed after a sinkhole opened up under his bedroom.

Source: http://www.news.com.au

 

 

Man in custody after armed siege in Surry Hills

A siege in Surry Hills appeared over Wednesday evening after a shirtless man was escorted from a block of units by police and arrested.

“There were reports of a firearm sighted and police are yet to confirm that to be the case,” Surry Hills Police Local Area commander Superintendent Tony Crandell said. The arrested man allegedly threatened another man in the block of units with the firearm, he said.

About 20 to 30 police attended the scene, including police from the tactical operations unit, negotiations unit and officers from Surry Hills Local Area Command.

The man who was arrested, a 36-year-old, was known to police, Superintendent Crandell said.

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Before the arrest, made at about 6.05pm, police cordoned off parts of Devonshire Street after responding at about 4.30pm.

A number of residents were evacuated from their homes, including a mother and her children.

At 6.15pm police tape was taken down and residents were allowed to re-enter their homes.

Earlier, heavily armed police with automatic rifles and bulletproof vests stormed the building amid a stand-off with the man who police said barricaded himself in a unit.

There was no fortification of the premises, Superintendent Crandell said.

“The man was arrested and has now been taken to the Rocks Police Station where he will be interviewed by detectives,” he said.

He added that a search warrant application was being made to search the premises for an alleged firearm.

“From our perspective this was a very good operation and it was safely contained. The safety of the community was foremost in our mind and that’s been achieved today,” Superintendent Crandell said.

While the siege unfolded an officer at the scene told the gathering crowd: “Can I get you to all move back please, before you get shot.”

About 10 general duty police officers wearing bulletproof vests were redirecting pedestrians and road traffic to safer areas.

One resident said he was leaving the building when police arrived.

“A policeman was aiming a gun at me when I was walking out of the front door. He told me clear directions of where to run to and I did it,” he said.

Devonshire Street resident Damian Sawyers said police told him he could not enter his home.

“They’re refusing me access and they won’t tell me why. I just want to go home, get my bag and go to the gym,” he said.

Another witness said police were urging patrons at nearby establishments to remain indoors.

A local woman said a number of complaints had been made to Housing NSW regarding safety concerns and alleged drug activity in the building.

Source: http://www.smh.com.au

Most US rivers and streams in ‘poor’ shape

The Mississippi River. Photo / AP

More than half of the rivers and streams in the United States are in poor biological health, unable to support healthy populations of aquatic insects and other creatures, according to a nationwide survey released yesterday.

The Environmental Protection Agency sampled nearly 2000 locations in 2008 and 2009 from rivers as large as the Mississippi River to streams small enough for wading. The study found more than 55 per cent of them in poor condition, 23 per cent in fair shape, and 21 per cent in good biological health.

The most widespread problem was high levels of nutrient pollution, caused by phosphorus and nitrogen washing into rivers and streams from farms, cities and sewers. High levels of phosphorus – a common ingredient in detergents and fertilisers – were found in 40 per cent of rivers and streams. Another problem detected was development. Land clearing and building along waterways increases erosion and flooding, and allows more pollutants to enter waters.

“This new science shows that America’s streams and rivers are under significant pressure,” said Nancy Stoner, acting assistant administrator of EPA’s water office. “We must continue to invest in protecting and restoring our nation’s streams and rivers as they are vital sources of our drinking water, provide many recreational opportunities, and play a critical role in the economy.”

 

Conditions are worse in the East, the report found. More than 70 per cent of streams and rivers from the Texas coast to the New Jersey coast are in poor shape. Streams and rivers are healthiest in Western mountain areas, where only 26 per cent were classified as in poor condition.

Source: nzherald.co.nz

Officer keeps job after romancing bikie boss

A policewoman who secretly dated a Hells Angels enforcer while he was on bail for a violent crime and a sergeant who maintained close ties to a criminal bikie boss for more than a decade both avoided dismissal in cases that angered senior police.

Constable Lauren Conte was allowed to remain in her job despite being found guilty of illegally accessing the force’s confidential database to snoop on an associate of Hells Angels Nomads sergeant-at-arms Paul Peterson.

Constable Conte, who allegedly met Peterson while he was facing serious charges in relation to a violent kidnapping, escaped conviction but was given a 12-month good behaviour bond in 2011 by a Ballarat magistrate, who told her she had ”ruined a promising career”.

But last year a police disciplinary board decided to reinstate the suspended constable in a move understood to have infuriated senior police, including Chief Commissioner Ken Lay.

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It is believed Mr Lay sought advice about whether he could intervene in the Conte case but was told he could not.

On Wednesday, Mr Lay confirmed revelations that a policeman with close, long-standing and unapproved ties to Comanchero bikie gang president Amad Malkoun kept his job for years despite being the subject of several internal investigations.

”We didn’t have the systems in place … to collect this evidence and actually get this person out of the organisation,” Mr Lay said of former sergeant Richard Gelemanovic, who resigned four months ago while facing his fourth corruption probe in 10 years.

In 2003, the Australian Federal Police reported to Victoria Police the close association between Mr Gelemanovic and Malkoun, who was convicted of heroin trafficking in 1988 and who took over the Comancheros in 2009. Federal agents investigating Malkoun’s suspected drug trafficking in 2003 observed Mr Gelemanovic fly overseas and regularly communicate with the crime boss, prompting the AFP to report its concerns to the Victoria Police Ethical Standards Department and arrange for ESD detectives to conduct surveillance on the pair.

Asked why Mr Gelemanovic had not been disciplined or sacked in 2003, a police spokesman said the ”allegations of a criminal association” were ”unable to be determined” by ESD.

Mr Gelemanovic’s relationship with members of Malkoun’s syndicate was investigated again in 2008 by the state’s now disbanded police watchdog, the Office of Police Integrity. But it is understood that the OPI shelved its inquiry in early 2009 after incorrectly assessing that Mr Gelemanovic would not return to work from sick leave.

In 2011, the OPI discovered that Mr Gelemanovic was still working as a policeman after receiving a complaint from another policing agency about the sergeant’s continuing association with Malkoun.

Between 2003 and 2012, Malkoun’s syndicate was tipped off twice that it was the subject of investigations by secret, multi-agency police drug taskforces, compromising both investigations.

The OPI launched another inquiry into Mr Gelemanovic in 2011 but could not find evidence he was responsible for either leak. But the inquiry confirmed Malkoun’s ongoing association with Mr Gelemanovic, who resigned last November, citing ill health and while still under internal investigation.

The OPI probe was run by its tactical investigation unit, which uncovered links between a small number of serving and former police officers and bikie figures.

A Fairfax Media investigation can also reveal that the unit was shut down mid-inquiry last year, sparking serious divisions inside the OPI over claims the agency had prematurely ended the probe.

Constable Conte was found guilty in the Ballarat Magistrates Court in 2011 for inappropriately accessing the police database in connection to her relationship with Peterson. The relationship included regular, unapproved contact and is suspected to have begun in 2007, when the bikie – a known crime figure – was reporting on bail to Constable Conte’s station.

Magistrate Michelle Hodgson found Constable Conte guilty of one count of improperly accessing the force database and said she had ruined her career but that, outside of her offending, she was ”an outstanding citizen”.

A police spokesman said in a statement that during a subsequent internal police hearing in May, Constable Conte pleaded guilty to three disciplinary charges and was placed on a 12 month good behaviour bond, shifted to a new station and was denied promotion before May 2014.

Source: http://www.theage.com.au