Saturday, January 31, 2009

Sister Beats Up Bride at Wedding:


Annmarie Bricker, of Valparaiso, Ind., allegedly showed up uninvited at her sister's wedding reception. She pulled out clumps of her sister's hair, struck her head and took the bride to the ground during a struggle, according to the Porter County Sheriff's Department. Click for full story

Teens treated after collapsing at SoCal bookstore

SANTA CLARITA, Calif. (AP) — Six teenagers have been treated after they were found disoriented or unconscious at a Valencia bookstore, and drugs are suspected.

Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. Robert Lewis says deputies went to a Borders bookstore at about 9:45 p.m. Friday after the manager reported finding the teens. Lewis says they appeared disoriented and two were either delirious or unconscious.

Lewis says the teens, who were not bookstore employees, indicated the problems were "self-induced."

County fire officials say the teens, who ranged from about 13 to 19 years old, may have taken some kind of drug or medication.

They were taken to a hospital and were expected to be kept overnight for observation.

Grandma: Octuplets mom obsessed with having kids

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The woman who gave birth to octuplets this week conceived all 14 of her children through in vitro fertilization, is not married and has been obsessed with having children since she was a teenager, her mother said.

Angela Suleman told The Associated Press she was not supportive when her daughter, Nadya Suleman, decided to have more embryos implanted last year.

"It can't go on any longer," she said in a phone interview Friday. "She's got six children and no husband. I was brought up the traditional way. I firmly believe in marriage. But she didn't want to get married."

Nadya Suleman, 33, gave birth Monday in nearby Bellflower. She was expected to remain in the hospital for at least a few more days, and her newborns for at least a month.

A spokeswoman at Kaiser Permanente Bellflower Medical Center said the babies were doing well and seven were breathing unassisted.

While her daughter recovers, Angela Suleman is taking care of the other six children, ages 2 through 7, at the family home in Whittier, about 15 miles east of downtown Los Angeles.

She said she warned her daughter that when she gets home from the hospital, "I'm going to be gone."

Angela Suleman said her daughter always had trouble conceiving and underwent in vitro fertilization treatments because her fallopian tubes are "plugged up."

There were frozen embryos left over after her previous pregnancies and her daughter didn't want them destroyed, so she decided to have more children.

Her mother and doctors have said the woman was told she had the option to abort some of the embryos and, later, the fetuses. She refused.

Her mother said she does not believe her daughter will have any more children.

"She doesn't have any more (frozen embryos), so it's over now," she said. "It has to be."

Friday, January 30, 2009

Underdog takes Wing Bowl


A skinny newcomer out-eats the competition by a whopping 23 wings. Click for full story

Palin's shoes sell for $2,000 on eBay

Her alleged niece’s ad read: “Up for bid are thee actual Red Naughty Monkey Heels owned/worn by Sarah Palin. I got the shoes from Aunt Sarah after mentioning that I liked them. They don’t fit too well, so I decided to let someone else enjoy them." Click for full story

Police: school strip searches not criminal

SHELTON, Conn. (AP) — Shelton police and state prosecutors say no crime was committed when teachers at the Pine Academy school strip-searched four students last month.

Shelton police say they have finished their investigation.

A lawyer for the four teenage students, Robert Berke, says he won't challenge the police findings, but he plans to file a lawsuit alleging unreasonable searches.

Berke says school Principal Patricia Nicolari ordered the searches on Dec. 2 after a teacher reported $70 missing. He says two male teachers searched the students, making them strip down to their underwear, but the missing cash wasn't found.

The principal and the two teachers were placed on administrative leave after the incident. It's not clear whether they're back on the job.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Kids are returning to the playing field too soon after concussions


The most startling data is that 16% of high school football players who lost consciousness during a concussion returned to the field the same day. The same researchers found that girls have a higher incidence of concussion than boys. Click for full story

Feb. 16 not a school holiday this year

Feb. 16 will not be a holiday for DeSoto County School
students, teachers and staff. Instead it will be a make-up day.

While it was originally scheduled for a holiday in the school
calendar, it is the first makeup day for the school year.

"When school is called off for a day such as icy conditions
yesterday, we have to make it up," said Milton Kuykendall,
superintendent of DeSoto County Schools. "We have to meet the state
requirement of 180 school days for students. I know it is a lot more
popular to call a day off than cancel a holiday, but understand if I
cancel a school day we will have to cancel a holiday. It is the law."

Police: Snow foils 2 burglary suspects

BENTON, Ill. (AP) — Police in the southern Illinois town of Benton are crediting this week's snowfall with literally helping them track down two teenage burglary suspects.

Investigators say officers responding to a liquor store's burglary alarm early Wednesday found no suspects inside — only two sets of fresh footprints in the ice and snow, leading from the business.

The tracks crossed through yards and around fences and houses for about a mile before eventually leading to 19-year-old Craig Dillard and 18-year-old Alan Alexander.

Both Benton teens remain jailed in Franklin County on charges of burglary and criminal damage to property. Dillard was is accused of resisting a police officer.

Soccer teams prepare for first round playoff games

HERNANDO – The Hernando Tigers soccer team will get ready to stand off with Ridgeland High School tonight in a first round playoff game at the school.

Hernando, fresh off a district championship last week, will look to pick up a 4A playoff victory over the Titans.

The game was scheduled for Tuesday, but the ice storm forced the game to back two days. Hernando comes into the game riding a nine-game winning streak. The Tigers finished the regular season 8-0 in district play.


“We’ve had a special season,” Hernando head coach Randy Reiter said. “These boys have bought into the belief of knowing they can win. The chemistry is there with this team. They believe they can win.”

The team practiced inside on Tuesday. Reiter decided to reschedule the game for tonight to put his team in the right frame of mind.

“We could’ve played Tuesday, but I didn’t want to put the boys through that weather,” Reider said. “It’s supposed to be about 48 degrees. We had a good practice and our seniors told the rest of the team, we want to keep going. Ridgeland is a challenge, but we’re going to play hard for 80 minutes. There’s no question about that.”

The Desoto Central Lady Jaguars will host NW Rankin tonight. Desoto Central comes in with a 7-1 record as the one seed in their division. The two seed, Southaven, fell Tuesday in the first round to Madison Central 6-1.

The Lewisburg Lady Patriots will go after a first round playoff win when the team host Madison St. Joe tonight at the school.

Horn Lake dropped their first round playoff game to Madison Central 4-1 Tuesday. Horn Lake finished the soccer season with a perfect 6-0 record in district.

“We accomplished our goal of winning conference,” Horn Lake head coach Cameron Glenn said. “We knew Madison Central was tough, but we hung in there.”

After an injury to their keeper, the Eagles turned to striker Tim Winston.

“Tim did a good job considering he plays a different position,” Glenn said. “Joseph Judd and Ulyssess Vazquez are two juniors who filled in also. I was happy to see some of the younger guys get in there and gain some playoff experience.”


Olive Branch slipped in their playoff tilt with NW Rankin 3-0. The Center Hill Mustangs ended their season against Pearl 6-0.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

SBEC teams split with FACS

The SBEC Lady Trojans improved to 13-9 on the year with a 51-35 win over FACS Tuesday. Morgan Mosby lead the team with 17 points. Meghan O'Brien scored nine points and Candice Clarkson scored seven points in the victory.

The SBEC Trojans fell to FACS 69-42. Leading scorers for SBEC were Taylor Akin and Bart Orr with nine points. Brandon Cox scored seven points.

SBEC will travel to Rossville on Thursday.

Ark. House OKs bill limiting teens' cell phone use

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The Arkansas House has approved a bill that bans drivers under 18 from using cell phones while behind the wheel.

By a vote of 62-27, the House approved the measure Wednesday. The bill bans all cell phone use by drivers under 18, and would only allow a hands-free phone for drivers under 21.

Rep. Allen Kerr, R-Little Rock and an insurance agent, said he introduced the bill to help cut down on fatal accidents involving teenagers.

The measure now goes to the Senate.

Winter weather causes few mishaps


DESOTO COUNTY - The first winter storm of 2009 caused few problems in DeSoto County, with only a few minor wrecks and no major power outages reported.

"We've been out since early morning, traveling up and down the roads, and we've seen very few problems," DeSoto County Emergency Management Agency spokesman Chris Austin said Wednesday. "We've had one or two wrecks - nothing serious - and no power outages. The temperatures should rise enough by late afternoon that we shouldn't have any problems."

Ice and snow accumulations up to 1/2 of an inch have been reported in DeSoto County.


The icy precipitation that dusted roads and bridges could refreeze after sundown, and authorities urged motorists to take precautions when driving at night when temperatures were expected to dip back below freezing.

Utility providers were out en force early Wednesday scraping ice off power lines and taking pre-emptive measures.

"We pretty well escaped it," Entergy customer service manager Pat Nelson said. "The freeze line stayed to the north of us. We were prepared for the worst. We had just scattered outages, no more than we typically get with a scattered thunderstorm or two."

Nelson said once the northwest Mississippi region received an all-clear signal from any chance of further inclement weather, Entergy crews would be headed to Arkansas to help restore powers in areas hit hard by the storm that swept through the Mid-South.

DeSoto County Schools and most day care providers were closed Wednesday, but were expected to be open Thursday as temperatures are expected to climb back into the 40s.

Teen killed in car crash

OLIVE BRANCH – A two-vehicle crash east of Olive Branch claimed the life of an Olive Branch teenager Tuesday morning.

DeSoto County Coroner Jeff Pounders said Randy Jones, 16, 10230 Goodman Road, Olive Branch, died after his GMC SUV collided with an 18-wheel tractor-trailer.

Mississippi Highway Patrol Sgt. Leslie White said Jones was killed shortly after 7 a.m. when his SUV, headed west along Goodman Road, crashed into the side of the tractor-trailer.


The tractor-trailer’s driver, 50 year-old Robert Newman of Paragould, Ark., was attempting to turn north onto Polk Lane from an eastbound lane of Goodman when the crash occurred.

Newman was not seriously injured.