Mother and Daughter charged with battery of a police officer

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- A police officer at Riverside High School wound up in a fight with a mother and a student as he tried to escort them off school property today.

It all started with a bad situation that wound up getting a lot worse.

A fight broke out in the girls' bathroom about 11 a.m. today. Students had gathered to watch.

The fight was broken up by teachers, along with the on-duty school resource officer, Sgt. B.D. Reynolds, according to a statement issued by Kanawha County Sheriff's Lt. Bryan Stover.

During the commotion, a 15-year-old girl became belligerent and started cursing at one of the teachers, Stover said. The girl was escorted to Principal Paula Potter's office, where she was suspended for her behavior and aggression toward the teacher, Stover said.

The girl's mother, Tina Williams, 36, was called to pick her up from the high school in Quincy, but when she arrived she was very upset.

Williams started causing a disturbance in the school and tried to search the hallway for the teacher her daughter was accused of behaving aggressively toward, Stover said. Williams made threats toward the teacher, according to the deputy's statement.

Reynolds was able to stop Williams and escort her and her daughter out of the building. Williams refused to leave school property, and Reynolds placed her under arrest.

While Reynolds was trying to handcuff Williams, the girl approached the officer and punched him in the face. more

Colorado Doctor Finds Foot In Newborn's Brain

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -- A Colorado Springs family is part of one of the strangest cases in medical history.

Dr. Paul Grabb, a pediatric brain surgeon, said he discovered a small foot growing inside the brain of 3-day-old Sam Esquibel, reported KMGH-TV in Denver.

The appendage threatened the newborn's life When Grabb performed the life-saving surgery at Memorial Hospital for Children in Colorado Springs, he was in for another surprise: he also found what appeared to be parts of an intestine in the folds of the infant's tiny brain, in addition to another developing foot, hand and thigh. more

Florida Man Steals Hearse During Funeral

WEST PARK, Fla. — Authorities say a Hallandale Beach man stole a hearse as mourners attended a funeral.

The Broward Sheriff's Office reports that 18-year-old Johnny Silfrain jumped into a black hearse parked outside a West Park church Wednesday morning and drove off.

The report says Silfrain stopped at his house and asked relatives if they wanted to go for a ride in a hearse. Deputies eventually spotted the hearse heading back toward the church and began pursuit.

When deputies tried to take Silfrain into custody, authorities say he drove toward one of them. Silfrain was shot in the leg but kept driving. The service was still in progress when Silfrain got back to the church. He was arrested and taken to a hospital for his injury.

Charges are pending.

Mafia Boss Hangs Himself in Prison After Arrest

One of the Mafia bosses and clan members arrested in a major police crackdown hung himself in his prison cell in Palermo, Italy, just hours after his arrest Tuesday.

Gaetano Lo Presti, 52, who had taken over control of Mafia clans in the Porta Nuova area of Palermo and had previous convictions, was found dead in Pagliarelli prison, police said Wednesday.

Authorities had ordered the sweeping raids to prevent what they said were mob efforts to rebuild Cosa Nostra. Some 90 suspects were arrested in the blitz.

His suicide appeared to be related to clan feuds. Lo Presti took over the Porta Nuova district only a year ago, after the murder of a rival boss, Niccolo Ingarao.

In addition, investigators said Lo Presti may have feared a revenge attack after his intercepted telephone calls were used as evidence by anti-Mafia police to track down Giuseppe Salvatore Riina, son of the imprisoned Cosa Nostra Godfather, Toto Riina. Giuseppe Riina is serving a 14-year sentence for Mafia association, extortion and money laundering. more

Little Adolf Hitler Campbell denied a Birthday cake

EASTON, Pa. — The father of 3-year-old Adolf Hitler Campbell, denied a birthday cake with the child's full name on it by one New Jersey supermarket, is asking for a little tolerance.

Heath Campbell and his wife, Deborah, are upset not only with the decision made by the nearby ShopRite, but also with an outpouring of angry Internet postings in response to a local newspaper article about the cake.

Heath Campbell, who is 35, said in an interview Tuesday that people should look forward, not back, and accept change.

"They need to accept a name. A name's a name. The kid isn't going to grow up and do what [Hitler] did," he said. more

Child Writes to Santa, Asks for Molestation to End

PHARR, Texas — A 9-year-old girl's letter to Santa Claus asking that a relative stop touching her and her sister has led to the arrest of a 55-year-old Pharr man on charges of continuous sexual abuse of a young child, according to a newspaper report.

Andres Enrique Cantu, 55, of Pharr, remained in the Hidalgo County Jail Monday night after his arrest Friday. His bond was set at $100,000. It wasn't immediately clear if Cantu had an attorney.

The girl wrote the letter Thursday and turned it in at Cesar Chavez Elementary School, The (McAllen) Monitor reported. It wasn't clear whether the letter was for a school assignment.

Read a copy of the police complaint at the Smoking Gun.

A probable cause complaint said a counselor at the school reported that the student turned in a wish list to Santa asking that the relative stop touching her and her sister. A day later she was interviewed at the Children's Advocacy Center in Edinburg, which works with abused children, and told authorities about the alleged molestation. Police investigators believe the molestation occurred over a four-year period, according to the complaint. more

22 year old case of Adam Walsh finally has been closed

Hollywood, Fla., Police Chief Chad Wagner announced Tuesday that the department had concluded that Ottis Toole, a serial killer who died in jail in 1996, was the man who kidnapped and decapitated the young boy.

The announcement brought to a close a case that had angered the Walsh family for more than two decades, inspired the television show about the nation's most notorious criminals and triggered changes in how authorities search for missing children.

"Who could take a 6-year-old and murder and decapitate him? Who?" an emotional John Walsh said at Tuesday's news conference. "We needed to know. We needed to know. And today we know." more