March 20, 2009

Prominent pediatrician accused of sex abuse agrees never to practise again

By Calvin Palmer
A well-known North Carolina pediatrician accused of conducting improper genital exams on five boys signed a consent order today agreeing that he will never practice medicine again in North Carolina or anywhere else.
Dr  Melvin D. Levine, 69, of Chapel Hill, signed the agreement with the North Carolina Medical Board, which permanently ends any opportunity [...]

March 20, 2009

Man ‘impersonating’ a police officer turns out to be the real thing

By Calvin Palmer
A man wanted by police in New Orleans for impersonating a police officer and ordering women to undress in their homes turned out to be a real police officer.
Police Superintendent Warren Riley said Darrius Clipps graduated from police academy last April. They say he admitted two of three home invasions and resigned.
Clipps was [...]

March 20, 2009

Arizona woman gives birth to quintuplets

By Calvin Palmer
A Tuscon woman has given birth to quintuplets, a Phoenix hospital announced today.
Lorena Puig, from the Oro Valley, Arizona, gave birth to three girls and two boys at Banner Good Samaritan Medical Center on Wednesday.
The five babies were delivered within four minutes of each other and were 10 weeks premature.  They range in [...]

March 20, 2009

Briton faces extradition to Australia for murder trial

By Calvin Palmer
A Hampshire man lost his High Court battle today to avoid extradition to Australia to stand trial for the murder of his lover 23 years ago.
Stephen Hutton, 54, of Farnborough, is accused of strangling Sandra White, a 34-year-old mother of one, and setting fire to her body in a caravan in Yandoit, northwest [...]

March 20, 2009

Teachers accused of beating their son with skateboard

By Calvin Palmer
Two special education teachers in Texas have been charged as a result of beating their teenage son with a skateboard after he was caught smoking in a family bathroom.
The 16-year-old boy’s arms may be broken, according to Donna Hawkins, a spokeswoman for the Harris County District Attorney’s Office.
Both parents have been charged with [...]

March 20, 2009

Appeals court rules Madoff must remain in prison until sentencing

By Calvin Palmer
A U.S. Court of Appeals today rejected a bid to release Bernard Madoff from prison until he is sentenced in June.
The court said U.S. District Judge Denny Chin was correct when he sent Madoff to prison last week immediately after Madoff confessed that he had defrauded thousands of investors of as much as [...]

March 20, 2009

Loan shark jailed indefinitely for rape and blackmail in climate of fear

By Calvin Palmer
A loan shark who raped, intimidated and threatened his customers was today jailed indefinitely.
Paul Nicholson, 39, used threats and weapons to force hundreds of thousands of pounds from vulnerable people, charging them interest of up to 150 percent on loans.
When one woman could not pay he threatened to petrol-bomb her home and another distraught [...]

March 20, 2009

Orchestra’s conductor found ‘Brahms and Liszt’ at wheel of his car

By Calvin Palmer
The conductor of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra has been charged with drunken driving after police found him passed out behind the wheel of his car.
Paavo Järvi  was found asleep behind the wheel of running car in the middle of an intersection at 1:30 a.m. yesterday, said Fairfax Police Chief Rick Patterson.
Järvi told a [...]

March 20, 2009

U.S. Navy vessels collide in Strait of Hormuz

By Calvin Palmer
Two U.S. Navy vessels collided early today in the Strait of Hormuz, injuring 15 sailors.
The USS Hartford, a nuclear-powered submarine, and the USS New Orelans, an amphibious assault vessel, were involved in the collision, the U.S. Navy Fifth Fleet said.
Fifteen sailors aboard the USS Hartford were slightly injured but were able to return [...]

March 20, 2009

Police seize 42-piece dinner service made from cocaine

By Calvin Palmer
Spanish police said today they have detained a man who received a 42-piece dinner service made from cocaine.
The plates, dishes, cups and saucers amounted to 45 pounds of the drug and were contained in a parcel sent from Maracaibo in Venezuela to Barcelona via London.
The 35-year-old suspect, named only as JVLL, was arrested [...]