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Wednesday, 16 March 2011
Tuesday, 15 March 2011
Pilots lock down the cockpit after passengers' bizarre Jewish prayer ritual
Pilots lock down the cockpit after passengers' bizarre Jewish prayer ritual
Pilots locked down their cockpit when three passengers performed a bizarre Jewish prayer in the middle of the jet's cabin.
They radioed a security alert after passengers and flight attendants became alarmed during the flight from Mexico City to Los Angeles.
Police and firefighters with foam trucks met the Alaskan Airlines jet as it taxied to terminal two at LAX at 8.30am this morning.
The men, Mexican nationals, were escorted off the plane and then questioned by the FBI before being released and allowed to continue their journey overseas.
The drama began soon after take off when a flight attendant thought the men were acting suspiciously by praying aloud in Hebrew and wearing what appeared to be leather straps on their foreheads and arms.
But no one was in danger, it was just a traditional orthodox prayer ritual known as Tefillin. The wooden boxes contain Torah quotations.
Initial reports said the passengers were rowdy and that a fight had broken out on board. Two men were later arrested.
FBI spokesman Laura Eimiller said: 'we're obligated, of course, to respond when the flight calls us out to clear up concerns.
'They were Mexican nationals, travelling openly overseas. Because they were not charged with anything, we don't release any kind of personal information.'
Airline spokesman Bobbie Egan said the pilots followed standard procedures following a security alarm. Passengers were held in the plane for about 10 minutes while the three passengers were removed.
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Pilots locked down their cockpit when three passengers performed a bizarre Jewish prayer in the middle of the jet's cabin.
They radioed a security alert after passengers and flight attendants became alarmed during the flight from Mexico City to Los Angeles.
Police and firefighters with foam trucks met the Alaskan Airlines jet as it taxied to terminal two at LAX at 8.30am this morning.
In flight prayer: The Tefillin ritual which was conducted on the jet as it flew from Mexico to Los Angeles, involves binding leather straps to the body
The drama began soon after take off when a flight attendant thought the men were acting suspiciously by praying aloud in Hebrew and wearing what appeared to be leather straps on their foreheads and arms.
But no one was in danger, it was just a traditional orthodox prayer ritual known as Tefillin. The wooden boxes contain Torah quotations.
Initial reports said the passengers were rowdy and that a fight had broken out on board. Two men were later arrested.
An Alaska Airlines jet: Pilots radioed a security alert after three passengers began chanting in Hebrew and strapped leather and boxes to their bodies
'They were Mexican nationals, travelling openly overseas. Because they were not charged with anything, we don't release any kind of personal information.'
Airline spokesman Bobbie Egan said the pilots followed standard procedures following a security alarm. Passengers were held in the plane for about 10 minutes while the three passengers were removed.
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Female bodybuilding champion arrested in prostitution sting
Female bodybuilding champion arrested in prostitution sting
A top female bodybuilder was arrested after being caught in a police prostitution sting.
Rhonda Lee Quaresma,a former Canadian national champion and a member of the International Federation of Bodybuilders, was arrested by police in Florida.
The 42-year-old had advertised her services under the name of 'Miss Sparkle'.
According to an arrest report, police had made contact with her after finding her details on a website.
Quaresma allegedly agreed to sex in exchange for a $280 per hour 'donation' after an undercover officer met her at a motel in Bonita Springs, Florida.
The deputy arrived and was met by a woman wearing pink lingerie.
He was asked to place 'the donation' on a table. He put $200 down and she allegedly reached over and grabbed his genitals.
He asked if she had condoms, and she pointed to a night stand which had a magnum condom and lubricant on it.
After some discussion about sex acts, the deputy gave a pre-arranged signal to uniformed deputies and she was arrested.
Website: Posting provocative pictures of herself she writes that she is 'physical, musical and sensual' and boasts she can squat lift 315lbs
Prostitution: Quaresma is a former Canadian national champion who advertised herself under the name 'Miss Sparkle' when she was arrested in Florida
Quaresma,from Toronto,Canada, has been charged with one count of prostitution and released on bond.
The 5-foot-1 bodybuilder’s career peaked in 1995 when she placed first in the Canadian National Bodybuilding Championships and earned her IFBB professional certification.
Quaresma’s biography on her website describes her as a personal trainer, model and entertainer.
She also writes she is 'physical, musical and sensual' and boasts she can squat lift 315lbs.
Her site also includes shots of her showing off her bulging biceps in revealing outfits and says: 'I am a sensual being and I have been lucky enough to be able to express it.
'An interesting side effect of woman’s pro and top level bodybuilding because we aren’t paid like other top sports are, is that we learn to become businesswomen among things!'
That's rich! Millionaires say they would need $7.5 million to feel truly wealthy
That's rich! Millionaires say they would need $7.5 million to feel truly wealthy
Once if you were a millionaire you felt rich, but these days a million bucks ain't what it used to be.
More than four out of ten American millionaires do not believe they are wealthy and would need at least $7.5 million to feel truly rich, according to a survey.
Boston-based Fidelity Investments questioned 1,000 millionaires who had at least $1 million assets, excluding any real estate or retirement accounts.
Feeling the pinch: Millionaires do not believe they are rich unless they have $7.5 million to keep them going
But 42 per cent still fretted that the money would not last the rest of their lives.
Sanjiv Mirchandani, president of Fidelity's National Financial unit, said: 'Every person in the survey is wealthy, but they are still worried about outliving their assets.
Struggling to get by? One of the world's top models, Alessandra Ambrosio, earned 'just' $6 million in a year
'Wealth is relative and to some extent the more you have the more you realize how much more you need.'
The average age of those surveyed was 56 years old with $3.5 million of investable assets. The threshold for 'rich' rose with age.
Fifty-eight per cent who said they felt wealthy were younger on average and had a greater number of remaining years before retirement.
Mirchandani said that a 65-year-old millionaire is 'looking at potentially the loss of a paycheck as they retire, and 30 years in retirement, with inflation on the horizon.
'So they kind of go, "Well, $3.5 million, $4 million, isn’t what I thought it would be. I’d like to have more."’
Fidelity's survey revealed the richest five per cent of Americans hold more than 55 per cent of the nation's wealth.
Household wealth was $56.8 trillion at the end of 2010, according to the Federal Reserve with 5.5 million households having at least $1 million in assets.
The survey found millionaires’ outlook for the future is the most positive it’s been in at least four years.
Eight in 10 said the financial crisis didn’t shake their confidence in investing, and 43 per cent said they plan to invest more money in stocks over the next year.
Millionaires planned to give $38,000 on average to charity in 2010, up from $36,000 in 2009.
Google Circles 'to launch in May': Could Facebook have met its match?
Google Circles 'to launch in May': Could Facebook have met its match?
Google will launch its own social network in May, it has been claimed.
The search engine giant will unveil Google Circles at its Google I/O conference in San Francisco, according to technology blog The Next Web.
It is thought the network will allow users to selectively share content with people who are members of different social circles in their lives.
Plans: Google will launch its own social network, Google Circles, in May, it has been claimed
Users will be able to filter what content is shown to which group.
Reports that Google Circles is to launch at the South by Southwest technology event, currently taking place in Austin, Texas, were yesterday denied by Google.
The company also refused to confirm or deny any plans for a social network.
A spokesman said: 'We do not comment on rumour and speculation.'
Some industry analysts believe it is unlikely that Google would put itself directly in competition with Facebook.
'Whatever Google comes up with, it almost certainly won't be a competitive social network that mimics Facebook,' Matt Rosoff wrote on SFGate.com.
'That ship has sailed - Facebook has 600million users, and nobody's going to join yet another social network to share photos and status updates with friends.'
Third time lucky? Just days after unveiling Google Buzz in February 2010, the company received a deluge of complaints
Google has tried to ride the social networking wave twice before, the last time proving a public relations disaster.
Just days after unveiling Google Buzz in February 2010, the company was forced to announce a massive overhaul after receiving a deluge of complaints.
The new media tool allows users to share messages, web links, photos and videos with friends and colleagues directly within Gmail.
However, when it launched it automatically linked users with other people they were judged to contact the most.
In their eagerness to kick-start the project, Google failed to recognise many users would resent being 'followed' by others without their agreement.
Google integrated Buzz directly into Gmail in an attempt to tap into its then-existing pool of 176million users and to quickly challenge Facebook.
Following the criticism, they created a new tab within Gmail will make it easier to opt out of Buzz altogether and apologised to its users.
In 2004, Google launched the Orkut social network. But while Orkut is big in certain overseas markets like Brazil, it failed to attract users in the UK and U.S.
Apple sells a million iPad 2 tablet computers
Apple sells a million iPad 2 tablet computers
- iPad 2 sells three times the amount of its predecessor
Apple sold close to a million iPad 2 tablet computers in the U.S. alone over the weekend - significantly more than the first iPad.
People across America queued for hours on Friday to become one of the first to buy the must-have gadget.
The iPad 2, which will be released in Britain on 25 March, sold out in a matter of minutes in some shops.
Enlarge 
Phenomenon: Apple employees welcome the first group of customers intent on buying an iPad 2 at the company's midtown New York store on Friday. Analysts think just under a million of the tablets were sold over the weekend
A spokesman for electronics giant Best Buy said some of its outlets ran out of the tablet and its accessories within just ten minutes.
Industry experts had projected sales of 350,000 to 400,000 iPad 2s in its first weekend on release.
But it seems their predictions were way too low and the iPad 2 sold three times the amount of its predecessor last April.
iPAD 2 FEATURES
Display: 9.7inch 1024 x 768 LCD
Weight: 1.3lb
Operating System: iOS 4.3
Browser: Safari
Flash support: No
Ebooks: Yes
Apps: Apple App Store
Multitasking: Yes
Camera: 2 MP front, 8 MP back
Processor: 1.2GHz Apple A5
Storage: 16, 32, 64GB
RAM: 512MB
Wireless: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth
Battery life: 10 hours
Price: $499 to $829 (in the UK, £400 to £700)
'We would not be surprised to see Apple sell closer to one million iPad2s in the opening weekend,' Wedbush Securities analyst Scott Sutherland said yesterday.
Global Equities Research analyst Trip Chowdhry estimated that Apple may have sold three times more iPad 2s in the first two days compared to the previous version.
Mr Chowdhry also issued a profile of those buying the iPad 2. He said 60 per cent are existing iPad owners, while about 40 per cent are first-time iPad buyers.
Every single person to have bought an iPad 2 over the weekend will already own at least one Apple product, Mr Chowdhry said.
People prefer AT&T's iPad 2 over Verizon's because AT&T has better customer service, Mr Chowdhry added.
The first person to buy the tablet in New York was a Frenchman called Frederick who travelled to the U.S. solely to pick up an iPad 2.
College student Amanda Foote, meanwhile, was the first to turn up at Apple's flagship store in midtown Manhattan, arriving at 5pm on Wednesday.
She endured severe rain and little sleep but on Friday she sold her spot for $900 (£560), that's a $400 (£250) profit if you were buying the basic $499 (£310) model.
Enlarge 
Phenomenon: The iPad 2 sold three times the amount of its predecessor last April
When the original version of the iPad went on sale in April, Apple said it sold more than 300,000 in the first day.
It ended up selling more than 15 million in the first nine months, including 7.3 million to Christmas shoppers in the October-December quarter.
After its U.S. launch on Friday, the iPad 2 goes on sale March 25 in 26 other countries, including Mexico, New Zealand and several European countries.
To show the importance of the iPad to Apple, company CEO Steve Jobs emerged from medical leave earlier this month to unveil the new version.
Jobs, 56, announced in January that he would take a third leave of absence to focus on his health. In the last decade, he has survived a rare but curable form of pancreatic cancer and undergone a liver transplant.
Shares of Apple closed on Friday at 1.53 per cent up at $351.99.
Libya's rebels: Students and businessmen pose with weapons and designer sunglasses
Libya's rebels: Students and businessmen pose with weapons and designer sunglasses
Posing with in beret, designer shades and with his rifle expertly shouldered, a fresh-faced Libyan freedom fighter stares defiantly into the distance.
Agriculture student Hesham, 23, is one of countless ordinary young Libyan men ready to do what the can to help force an end to Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year iron rule and breathe new life into their turmoil-ravaged country.
Now a handful have posed for the camera to show the human face of an uprising that has torn a nation in two.
Time out: Hesham, 23, is an agriculture student. But he has been forced to swap his books for an assault rifle to fight for the Libyan uprising
But these are not gnarled old war dogs, scarred by battle. They are youths in their prime - schoolboys, entrepreneurs and university students who have readily swapped their books for guns.
The portraits, by Reuters photographer Finbar O'Reilly, were taken in a burned out building of a military base in the rebel headquarters of Benghazi.
Many of their weapons they seized from captured mercenaries or troops loyal to Gaddafi.
Ordinary: These are not gnarled old war dogs, scarred by battle. They are youths in their prime, like 20-year-old English student Ibrahim, left, and 26-year-old businessman Wares, right
Fresh faced: Ali is a 22-year-old entrepreneur. In designer jeans and jacket, he is one of many such men caught up in the bloody war against Colonel Gaddafi
But the release of these amazing pictures comes as William Hague today announced that the international community is approaching a 'point of decision' on military intervention in Libya.
The Foreign Secretary, who is meeting fellow G8 foreign ministers in Paris tonight, also hinted the Government may consider arming rebels.
'We are now reaching a point of decision, very clearly, on what happens next,' he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.
'Clearly a no-fly zone is one of the leading propositions. It isn't the answer to everything but it has been called for by the Arab League and is something which the international community must now consider.'
Powerful: Mohammed, 18, left high school to join the resistance while law student Tawfig, 20, has also put his book on the shelf to take part
Any cost: Ismail, 18, also left high school to join the fight. The portraits were taken in a burned out building of a military base in the rebel headquarters of Benghazi
Mr Hague said all arms exports to Libya - including to the rebels - are subject to a UN embargo, although he suggested that that could change.
'I wouldn't exclude various possibilities on this score,' he said. 'I think Malcolm Rifkind makes a very good case. Again, this is the kind of subject which has to be discussed with our international partners.'
But these young fighters still have a long way to go before they may return to their former lives.
Help at hand? William Hague has hinted Britain may consider arming rebels such as 23-year-old entrepreneur Azwa
From Ajdabiyah there are roads to Benghazi and also Tobruk, which could allow Gaddafi's troops to encircle Benghazi.
Inspiration? The young men don't look unlike Cuban revolutionary Che Guevara in his heyday
Government tanks and planes have proved more than a match for the lightly armed, but enthusiastic rag-tag rebel force, especially in the flat desert terrain in between major towns.
The government, vowing to 'bury' the rebels, took the oil terminal town of Brega on Sunday in what looked like an increasingly confident drive towards the rebel stronghold Benghazi.
But the rebels said they had re-taken Brega last night. There was no way of verifying the rival claims.
Outside of the east, insurgents only hold Libya's third city of Misrata, 130 miles east of the capital. The city of 300,000 was quiet overnight, but residents said they were bracing for an attack by besieging elite government troops.
State television carried a confident official message. 'We are certain of our victory, whatever the price,' it said.
Analysts believe there is a very real possibility that Gaddafi's forces will have already secured victory by the time any global response is agreed.
Risk consultant Geoff Porter said: 'The international community has to act now -- not only to protect Benghazi from an onslaught but because of what it means for the rest of the world if Gaddafi is allowed to remain the leader of Libya.'
UCLA student 'Alexandra Wallace' posts 'repugnant' racist rant about Asians on YouTube
UCLA student 'Alexandra Wallace' posts 'repugnant' racist rant about Asians on YouTube
The images of the devastation wrought by Japan's worst-ever earthquake and tsunami stunned the world.
But as the death toll climbed higher, one student at the University of California decided it was the perfect time to film a racist rant about Asian students - and post it on YouTube.
In the three-minute clip, a blonde girl, named on the internet as Alexandra Wallace, complains about Asian students using their cellphones in the library - and speculates they're 'going through their whole families, just checking on everybody from the tsunami thing'.
Scroll down for video
'Offensive': UCLA has condemned the comments made by the blonde student, identified on the internet as Alexandra Wallace
A UCLA spokesman, Phil Hampton, told MailOnline officials were still investigating whether Miss Wallace - who does not identify herself in the video but has been named on the internet - was enrolled at the university.
She took the video down soon after she posted it on YouTube on Friday afternoon, but not before angry users had copied the clip - entitled 'Asians in the Library' - and reposted it. It has since had more than 279,000 views on one version alone.
She is listed on examiner.com as an LA Style Examiner, where she is described as 'an economics student at UCLA, with a passion for recession-friendly fashion.'
It says: 'Her background working in the beauty industry, along with modelling experience has given her insight into what looks great on the individual.'
In the video, the student mocks the way Asian students speak, condemns them for not having 'American manners' and attacks them for disturbing her when she is 'deep in study'.
Viral: In the video - which has had thousands of views - she mocks Asian students for the way they speak on the phone
Silence in the library: Miss Wallace demonstrates how she tells Asian students on the phone to be quiet - because of her 'good manners'
Mr Hampton the university spokesman, said: 'We are looking into the video, and if there is a violation of the student code of conduct, there is action that we will can take according to official procedures and protocol. I wouldn't like to speculate on the outcome.'
'I can say that the comments that are made are quite insensitive and very offensive and contrary to the values that the university strives to instil in all members of our campus community.'
'I know members of the UCLA community have voiced their outrage at the comments being made. They are offensive to say the least.'
Mr Hampton told the university's student newspaper, the Daily Bruin, that the video was 'repugnant'.
Miss Wallace begins the rant with the disclaimer: 'So we know that I'm not the most politically correct person, so don't take this offensively.'
Fashionista: Alexandra Wallace's profile on Examiner.com, where she blogged as an LA Style Examiner. Her YouTube comments have outraged internet users
She then proceeds to criticise the 'hordes of Asian people that UCLA accepts into our school every year', saying they should use 'American manners.'
She says: 'You will always see old Asian people running round this apartment complex every weekend, that's what they do, they don't teach their kids to fend for themselves.'
According to Miss Wallace, the students bring their 'moms and their brothers and their sisters and their grandmas and their grandpas' along with with them from Asia.
But the most controversial part of her tirade comes when she mocks the way Asian students speak.
She says: 'Hi, in America, we do not talk on our cellphones in the library... Every 15 minutes I'll be like deep into my studying... and over here from somewhere it's "Ohhh! Ching chong ling long ting tong? Ohhh!"
Complaint: The girl rants about Asian students using their cellphones in the UCLA library
'Are you freaking kidding me? In the middle of finals?'
Describing herself as the 'polite nice American girl that my mamma raised me to be', she says she 'sshhs' the offending student to be quiet.
She says: 'And then the same thing, five minutes later, but it's someone else. I swear they're going through their whole families, checking on everybody from the tsunami thing.
'I mean, ok, that sounds horrible, I feel bad for all people affected by the tsunami, but if you're gonna go call your address book you might as well go outside, because if something is wrong, you might really freak out if you're in the library and everyone's quiet.'
She ends the video by saying 'thanks for listening, have a nice day.'
Her insensitivity has earned her a hate page on Facebook, numerous negative comments on reposted versions on YouTube, and a host of angry video responses.
Miss Wallace could not be found on Facebook, and a number listed for her on UCLA's directory had been disconnected.
WikiLeaks sympathisers Anonymous to release sensitive Bank Of America e-mails
WikiLeaks sympathisers Anonymous to release sensitive Bank Of America e-mails
Anonymous, a hacker group sympathetic to WikiLeaks, plans to release e-mails obtained from Bank of America early this morning, according to posts on the group's Twitter feed.
The group, unrelated to the document leak website founded by Julian Assange, said it plans to release documents exposing 'corruption and fraud' at the largest U.S. bank by assets.
A representative of Anonymous said the documents relate to the issue of whether Bank of America has improperly foreclosed on homes.
Under attack? Hacker group Anonymous have threatened to release sensitive Bank of America e-mails. Here is shown the head quarters in New York
Sympathisers: Anonymous are supportive of Julian Assange's whistle blowing website WikiLeaks
The group's Twitter feed has been suspended but the representative added that he had not seen the documents, but he has been briefed on their contents.
A Bank of America spokesman said the documents were non-foreclosure related clerical and administrative documents stolen by a former Balboa Insurance employee.
The division - which BofA has since agreed to sell to Australian insurer QBE Insurance Group - provides mortgage and car insurance for banks, and provides home insurance for consumers.
'We are confident that his extravagant assertions are untrue,' the spokesman said.
'Monster' dolphin leaps out of the sea landing on woman watching from boat deck
'Monster' dolphin leaps out of the sea landing on woman watching from boat deck
Dolphins are renowned for leaping out of the water and putting on a show for tourists.
But one 600-pound 'monster' took things a little further in by jumping onto the deck of a charter boat and landing on a woman in Florida.
The passenger was treated for a sprained ankle and the dolphin gently put back in the water by wildlife officials, deputies and a team from the Isles of Capri Fire and Rescue Department.
This 15ft long dolphin stunned a group of day-trippers as it jumped up and flipped itself onto the deck of a boat on Sunday, suffering a small gash
These were the frantic scenes as the daytrippers tried to save the 700lb mammal and get it back into the water
Lt. Keith Perry told USA Today: ''When we pulled up, the boat was three quarters full with water and had the biggest dolphin I had ever seen.
'It was huge. It was a monster.'
The 24ft boat Cool Beans was following a group of dolphins on the Marco River when one apparently mistimed its jump, said Perry.
It took took 10 officials from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the Collier County Sheriff's Office to get mammal back in the water.
Rescuers used a backboard to help get the bottlenose back into the water
Fortunately no one was seriously hurt and the dolphin made it back into the water with no injuries other than the small cuts
The team spent 20 minutes wrapping rope around the dolphin and then placing it on an immobilising board before releasing it.
Perry said: 'He wasn't doing anything to us. He wasn't moving. It was almost like he knew he was stuck and that he had to rely on us to get out.'
The eight people on board were excited about their close encounter with the friendly sea creature.
Perry said: 'Most of the people on board were joyous just because they had the pleasure to be so close to most people's favourite animal.'
Right-to-life baby Joseph Maraachli taken to U.S. in last ditch effort to prolong life
Right-to-life baby Joseph Maraachli taken to U.S. in last ditch effort to prolong life
'Baby Joseph' denied throat operation by Canadian doctors
Pro-life charity campaigned for move to the U.S.
Joseph already denied treatment by Michigan hospital
A Canadian baby who was just hours away from having his life support machine turned off, has been flown over the U.S. border against the wishes of doctors in a last ditch effort to prolong his life.
Baby Joseph, who has been at the centre of an international right to life debate, has been moved by a charity and taken from Ontario, Canada to a children's hospital in Missouri.
Pro-life group The Priests For Life said the move gave the stricken 13-month-old baby a chance at life that was being denied to him in Canada.
Moved: Canadian doctors refused to operate on Thirteen-month-old Joseph Maraachli who has a fatal neurodegenerative disease. He is now in the U.S. waiting a tracheotomy
Speaking to Fox News, Father Pavone from the PFL said: 'Priests for Life staff toiled through the night for many nights, working in concert with dozens of people to make this possible.
'Now that we have won the battle against the medical bureaucracy in Canada, the real work of saving Baby Joseph can begin.'
Baby Joseph has an undetermined fatal neurodegenerative disease and can only survive with the aid of a ventilator.
He was admitted to the London Health Sciences Centre in October last year and has been intubated ever since.
His parents Moe Maraachli and Sana Nader want the hospital to perform a tracheotomy so they can take the child away because they believe he has a chance of breathing on his own.
They did the same thing with their baby daughter Zina eight years ago - she had a similar condition and died six months after the family took her home.
When the dispute arose the hospital took the family to the Consent and Capacity Board of Ontario, which arbitrates in cases where doctors and families cannot agree.
In their ruling they said Baby Joseph’s ‘best interests’ would involve the ‘removal of the endotracheal tube without replacement, a Do Not Resuscitate order and palliative care’.
Joseph was transferred from a hospital in Canada to the St. Louis facility Sunday night by air transport.
Sick: The Parents of baby Joseph hope the operation will prolong his life for up to six months
Denied: Doctors at LHSC would not operate on baby Joseph
The family challenged the judgement in Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice but the court went against them.
The group, alongside a number of pro-life organisations, has been heavily critical of the Canadian healthcare system and has campaigned vigorously for the move.
On their website the PFL said: 'The medical board overseeing his case is apparently convinced that giving proper care to 'Baby Joseph' is futile.
'They don’t mean that the medical care won’t help him. They mean his life in its current condition isn’t worth the trouble.'
Individual rights campaigners The American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) said today it is extremely pleased that a hospital in Missouri has taken Baby Joseph.
Baby Joseph timeline
- Jan. 22, 2010 - Joseph Maraachli is born in Windsor and appears healthy.
- May 31, 2010 - Joseph suffers seizures and spends a month at Michigan Children’s Hospital in Detroit.
- Oct. 17, 2010 - Joseph stops breathing and is taken to Children’s Hospital in London, where he remains. Doctors later conclude he is in a vegetative state, from which he won’t recover.
- Jan. 31, 2011- Ontario’s Consent and Capacity board orders Joseph’s parents to consent to removing life support. They appeal the ruling.
- Feb. 17, 2011 - London judge rules the board’s decision was reasonable.
- Mar. 2. 2011 - parents consider 'mercy dash' to U.S.
- Mar. 13. 2011 - baby Joseph flown to Missouri
The ACLJ has been involved with the case to assist in exploring options to get their son medical treatment in the United States.
The group, which has worked closely with Priests for Life, said today the SSM Cardinal Glennon Children's Medical Center in St. Louis, Missouri has agreed to provide the medical evaluation and treatment requested by his parents.
Jay Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ said: 'We're extremely pleased that this hospital – a leader in healthcare for children – has stepped forward to care for 'Baby Joseph' at such a critical time.
'We're delighted with the outcome of this complex effort, which clears the way for the family to get the care and medical attention they need and deserve.'
In response the London Health Sciences Centre said their staff had faced a barrage of threats from pro-life groups since the case came to light.
LHSC CEO, Bonnie Adamson said: 'LHSC continues to be proud to stand behind their judgements and the care given to Baby Joseph.
'The judgements were sound, both medically and ethically, and the care Baby Joseph received from our staff was second to none anywhere in the world.
'LHSC physicians and staff were targeted by well-organized social media feeds and directly via email with personal threats, threats to their families, innuendoes and falsehoods. The threats, many of which emanated from members of U.S.-based groups, have been passed along to LHSC lawyers who will liaise with police where appropriate.'
The hospital noted that a number of U.S. institutions had already rejected Mr and Mrs Maraachli's calls for baby Joseph to be transferred for the operation.
Mr Adamson added: 'A network of special interest groups refused to accept these facts and attempted to interfere with the most appropriate care possible by advocating for a hospital to accept the baby to implement an alternative care plan.'
Endeavor shuttle worker killed after falling from launch pad
Endeavor shuttle worker killed after falling from launch pad
A space shuttle worker has fallen to his death at a Florida launch pad.
Officials at NASA's Kennedy Space Center said the man fell while working on the shuttle Endeavour this morning.
Medics rushed to the launch pad, but were unable to revive him.
Tragedy: A shuttle worker has died after falling from the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida as he worked on the Endeavour
NASA spokesman Allard Beutel said work on the shuttle was suspended for the day and staff were being offered grief counselling.
Endeavour is due to blast off on April 19 on its final flight. The shuttle only arrived at Kennedy last week.
The victim, who has not been identified, worked for United Space Alliance, a NASA contractor.
Details of what happened have not yet been revealed.
Officials believed it is the first launch pad fatality in decades.
Dov Charney's American Apparel 'sex slave' Irene Morales says 'I thought it was normal'
Dov Charney's American Apparel 'sex slave' Irene Morales says 'I thought it was normal'
The woman behind the $250million lawsuit accusing the founder of American Apparel of turning her into a teenage sex slave said she assumed that kind of behaviour was standard in the fashion and retail industry.
Irene Morales, 20, filed a lawsuit last week against CEO Dov Charney which contained explosive claims that he forced her to perform sex acts on him for eight months and at one point held her prisoner in his New York apartment.
In an interview with NBC's Today show, Miss Morales was asked why she did not report the crime sooner or tell any friends and relatives despite months of alleged abuse.
Victim: Irene Morales appeared on the Today show to talk about her ordeal at the hands of American Apparel boss Dov Charney
Today Show: Miss Morales with her lawyer Eric Baum. She said she came forward as she wants other victims - if there are any - of Charney's to not be afraid to speak out
She said: 'It's something very shameful and embarrassing. I didn't really want to tell anyone about it.
'I thought it was almost normal. I thought everyone in the retail, fashion industry had to go through something similar to that, but I didn't think anything else of it.'
Asked why she returned to the company again and again even after she was hospitalised for having an emotional breakdown, she claimed that it was for financial reasons.
She said: 'I had looked for other jobs but nothing paid as well and I had financial responsibilities. American Apparel pay pretty well. I had to go back.'
Accused: Dov Charney said he and the company are being extorted for money and are trying to stop the case going to court
In response to the claims, American Apparel said Miss Morales had made 'a number of extortion-like threats to expose the company to a threatened avalanche of litigation and negative publicity', according to NBC.
They also claimed she left the company 'without complaint and resigned with a letter of gratitude regarding her positive experience at the company'.
Miss Morales said she finally decided to speak out as she did not want it to happen to anyone else.
'I was victimized by Dov Charney, and I won't stand for this anymore. If there are possibly other women out there, they should absolutely speak up about this, because it's wrong in every way and shape and form.'
A judge has ordered a hearing for later this month. The 20-year-old will have to show why the case shouldn't move to binding arbitration, which American Apparel claims is required.
Claims: Irene Morales said she thought the kind of behaviour she was subjected to was normal
The company told NBC that Miss Morales, like all employees, signed a confidential arbitration agreement that says she won't sue.
Asked what grounds they have to sue, Morales' lawyer, Eric Baum, said she was forced to sign the agreement.
He said: 'She would not have gotten a job if she didn't sign it. The more important question to ask is, "Why is the company so focused on confidentiality? Why are they trying to silence Irene? What don't they want people to know about her and this case?"'
Mr Baum also twice told the Today show that the victims of sexual assault often remain silent for months and even years afterwards because they have so much shame and sometimes fear.
He said: 'The victims of sexual harassment often remain silent. They often don't know what to do in a situation. In Irene's case, she needed the job. She went back to the company and immediately realized that it was a bad decision.'
Charney and American Apparel have faced sexual harrassment claims in the past, none of which made it to court.
He has admitted to dropping his trousers during meetings, running the office with a sexually charged atmosphere and referring to women as 'sluts' which he claims is a term of endearment for him.
The case continues.
Is Napster co-founder (and Facebook billionaire) Sean Parker about to make a bid for Warner Music?
Is Napster co-founder (and Facebook billionaire) Sean Parker about to make a bid for Warner Music?
He co-founded Napster, an online music sharing service that unarguably contributed to the steep decline of mainstream record labels.
But now digital entrepreneur, Sean Parker, is rumoured to be part of a consortium of investors making a bid for Warner Music.
The irony of such a bid will not be lost on the music industry or Parker himself - Warner was part of the consortium that sued Napster into bankruptcy.
According to All Things Digital Parker isn’t part of the formal bid, but aligned with a group led by investors Ron Burkle and Doug Teitelbaum.
The Warner Music Group hired Goldman Sachs to look at a number of options for the company, including selling itself outright, earlier this year.
Owners are expecting to fetch $2.5billion, according to the All Thing Digital report.
Parker helped found Napster in 1999 when he was just 19. He then moved onto address book startup Plaxo and was Facebook's first president before having to leave in 2005 after being arrested for suspected cocaine possession.
An equity stake in the company has made him very rich indeed. Forbes estimates his net worth at $1.6billion.
Irony: Warner was part of the consortium that sued Napster into bankruptcy
Film: Parker, who was portrayed by Justin Timberlake in The Social Network (pictured left), was Facebook's first president with an equity share in the company. He is now worth a reputed $1.6billion
Most recently he has invested in and been advising the streaming music service, Spotify.
Spotify has a million paying subscribers and seven million active users in Europe. It is not yet in the U.S. but the company has hinted it will be in the 'coming months'.
Current Warner CEO Edgar Bonfman also described the service from Spotify and other streaming services as 'meaningful in 2011'.
Burkle and Teitlebaum are one of at least five bidders trying to buy all or part of Warner however.
The music label expects to make a decision on its sale in the coming weeks.
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Virginia university student who drank soy sauce as initiation now in intensive care
Virginia university student who drank soy sauce as initiation now in intensive care
- Police investigation after teenager - who also ate dog food - began foaming at the mouth
A student ended up in intensive care after drinking a bottle of soy sauce as part of an initiation ceremony to join a fraternity house at the University of Virginia.
The dare went wrong when 19-year-old John Paul Boldrick began foaming at the mouth and went into seizure a few hours later, police say.
A police investigation is now under way following the student's four-day stay in hospital earlier this month, after he ate an initiation meal which also contained dog food and gefilte fish.
The teenager studying at the University of Virginia, pictured, was taking part in an initiation to join the Zeta Psi fraternity house
The first year student was pledging fraternity to Zeta Psi. A brother at the fraternity, 21-year-old Peter Flynn, told police other members dared the younger man to drink a whole bottle of soy sauce, NBC 29 reports.
They later found him upstairs having a seizure, and he was driven to Martha Jefferson hospital by 21-year-old Robert Laverty, another fraternity member.
Doctors found he was suffering an electrolyte imbalance caused by the large amount of sodium he ingested from the salt-rich soy.
The man had a seizure after drinking a bottle of salt-rich soy sauce similar to the one pictured
Dr Lawrence Philips of the UVA Department of Neurology told NBC 29: 'It can suck water out very acutely depending on how high the sodium level becomes, to the point where the cells are disrupted and may even be killed.'
The man is also believed to have eaten dog food as part of his initiation to join the 163-year-old Zeta Psi fraternity on February 28 according to The Daily Progress.
And The Washington Post reports the meal - a 'pledges-only tradition' at the fraternity - also contained gefilte fish, matzo balls and the soy sauce.
Charges could be brought by police if it is found that members of the historic university house were involved in hazing - the act of abuse and humiliation used as a way of initiating a person into a group.
According to search warrants seen by NBC 29, on March 1 police began looking for emails concerning traditions, pledging processes and the hazing rituals of Zeta Psi, as well as plans for a meal held on the 28th.
They also searched the fraternity house, where the initiation took place, for any ledgers to show a membership list, any evidence of hazing and the soy sauce container Mr Boldrick drank from.
Police have also requested a warrant for the class transcripts of one of the members, a pre-med student, Fox News reports. They suspect he might have read up on sodium overdoses before the student was taken to hospital.
A university spokeswoman told the Washington Post that if police find any evidence of wrongdoing they will also press charges through the campus judicial system.
Famous former members of Zeta Psi include Ford Motor Company CEO Henry Ford, The New Adventures of Superman actor Dean Cain and grandfather of George W. Bush, Prescott Bush.
Justin Timberlake and Mina Kunis are 'not friends with benefits' as she's blamed for Jessica Biel split
Justin Timberlake and Mina Kunis are 'not friends with benefits' as she's blamed for Jessica Biel split
Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel announced last week that their four-year relationship is over - and Black Swan actress Mila Kunis was rumoured to be behind the split.
But a source close to the Sexy Back singer is insisting that it is simply not true.
'Mila had nothing to do with their break-up', the source said. 'In fact, no one came between them.'
'Just pals': Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis star in new film Friends With Benefits but a source has denied claims their friendship is behind his split with Jessica Biel
'They decided their relationship ran its course and it was time to move on', the insider told People magazine.
Stories in the US have claimed that the Black Swan actress and the pop star have been 'flirting' with each other since September when they met on the set of their upcoming film Friends With Benefits.
The source said: 'They're not in a relationship. They star in a movie called Friends With Benefits but they're just friends. That's it. They are not together'.
But another insider said that although the pair remain platonic, they have great chemistry and Justin is 'very interested' in Kunis, 27.
Separate ways: Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, pictured at the Vanity Fair party in February, announced the end of their four-year relationship last week
Speaking to E! Online, a source said: 'Justin is very interested in Mila.
'They've been flirting. But so far nothing has happened.'
Another source told celebrity blogger Perez Hilton that the pair had been very 'flirty' with each other on set, leading him to suggest that something may now happen between the two now that Timberlake is single again.
The two also joined forces to present an award at last year's Oscars and to some observers, their 'giggling chemistry' was all too apparent.
And they gushed about each other on the red carpet, with Timberlake telling E! Online's Marc Malkin that shooting sex scenes with Kunis wasn't a hard thing to do.
He said: 'That's an easy thing to do. I think I could speak for all the men in the world when I say that's the easy part.'
Close friends: Onlookers said Timberlake and Kunis's chemistry was obvious when they presented an award at the Oscars last month
And her praise was just as gushing when she spoke about him to MTV at the Cosmopolitan's Fun Fearless Males party last Monday.
She said: 'He's just as lovely, just as professional, just as sweet and amazing, and there's nothing that he can't do.'
Timberlake and Biel announced their split yesterday after four years together.
Meanwhile, Kunis split from Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin in January after an eight year relationship.
Meanwhile Jessica Biel put on a brave face as she made her first public appearance since news of her split.
The A-Team actress went to her brother's birthday party last night looking like she did not have a care in the world.
Biel walked in Cafe Entourage with a male friend and strode happily and confidently past the waiting photographers.
Brave face: Jessica Biel appeared publicly for the first time since the split from Timberlake - she attended her brother's birthday party in Hollywood, California
The split between Justin, 30, and Jessica came after a 'very awkward' surprise birthday party thrown by Jessica for her lover.
A source told MailOnline: 'Jessica was overcome with emotion when she stood up to toast her boyfriend on reaching the milestone.'
During the birthday speech, the actress gushed about how utterly head over heels in love she was with the singer-turned-actor and went on at length about how much he meant to her.
But after Jessica had finished her speech, Justin appeared dismiss her emotional speech by standing up and yelling: ‘Yeah b*tches!’
'It was really awkward,' the source told MailOnline. 'Justin's reaction was almost disrespectful. He just laughed it off.'
Rumours were beginning to circulate that things were not great between the couple when the singer turned up to last month's Academy Awards with his mother, not Jessica.
Further cracks had started to show in the relationship earlier that month when Jessica threw the party for Justin at his home at the beginning of the year.
Son, aged 14, 'shoots his teacher mother in the head for being too strict'
Son, aged 14, 'shoots his teacher mother in the head for being too strict'
A boy of 14 is suspected of killing his teacher mother because she was 'too strict.'
The teenager is alleged to have sneaked up behind 46-year-old Staci Lisenby and shot her at point blank range in the head.
The popular maths teacher at Orangefield Junior High, Texas, was still alive when reached by paramedics, but later died in hospital.
Her youngest son, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was the only other person in the house when she was gunned down, according to police.
He told detectives he saw an intruder fleeing from their home at 2478 Oilla Road, Orangefield, after hearing a shot.
The teen said he chased the intruder into a wooden area that was muddy and wet. When he lost him, the teen said he returned to the house and called police.
But after investigators could find no trace of anyone running or walking through the area they began to focus their investigation on the boy.
Friends later told police he had talked about killing his parents because they were too strict.
One said the teen was 'tired of how strict his parents were and that he intended on killing them both and then running away.'
Tragedy: Gun victim Staci Lisenby was voted teacher of the year at her school, Orangefield Junior High in Texas
The boy's father was at church when the shooting occurred on February 20th, leaving his mother alone in the house.
A number of guns that were kept at the property were locked in a safe, but a .22 calibre pistol had allegedly been secretly kept by the teen after he found it in the attic.
Mrs Lisenby died at at Christus St. Elizabeth hospital in Beaumont from a .22 calibre bullet wound, according to an autopsy report.
An arrest warrant revealed that the boy told police he 'suddenly heard a shot and turned and saw an unknown white male opening and fleeing out the front door of the residence.'
Care: St Elizabeth Hospital in Beaumont, Texas, where teacher Staci Lisenby died
He has been held at a juvenile detention centre after giving himself up to authorities.
Lawyer Wendell Odom Jr, who in the past has defended Enron executives and Andrea Yates, the Houston woman who drowned her five children in the bathtub in 2001, has been appointed as his lawyer.
Mrs Lisenby was named Teacher of the Year at at the high school in 2010. Counsellors have been called in to help grieving students.
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