Pit bull fatally mauls one-year-old child

By Calvin Palmer
Police in Michigan say a pit bull terrier fatally mauled a one-year-old boy this afternoon.
The toddler was attacked at his home in Eastpointe, said Eastpointe police Lt Darrell Corsi. The boy’s father shot and killed the dog with a handgun.
The child was taken to St John Hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Police have [...]

Bermuda looks to Facebook and Twitter to boost visitor numbers

By Calvin Palmer
Bermuda’s tourism department is looking to social networking on the Internet to boost visitors to the island in 2009 and plans to give away 400 vacations.
 
The Department of Tourism’s new leadership plans a ‘whisper campaign’ on Facebook and ‘Feel the Love’ messages on Twitter to drag the island’s marketing into the 21st Century.
 
The [...]

FDA backs judge’s ruling to allow morning-after pill for 17-year-olds

By Calvin Palmer
The Food and Drug Administration has given the go ahead for 17-year-olds to get the ‘morning-after’ birth control pill without a doctor’s prescription.
The FDA said today it will not appeal a federal judge’s order overturning restrictions that were imposed during the Bush administration.
Last month, U.S. District Judge Edward Korman ruled in a New [...]

Accused Craigslist killer ‘had panties of victims’ in his apartment

By Calvin Palmer
The man accused of killing a woman who advertised erotic services on Craigslist ,and robbing another, had items belonging to both victims in his apartment.
A police source said Philip Markoff, 23, had panties belonging to the women when police searched his Quincy apartment.
A spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney Daniel Conley said he could not [...]

Father beat and asphyxiated wife and two daughters then killed himself

By Calvin Palmer
The father of the family found dead in a Maryland hotel beat and asphyxiated his wife and two daughters and then killed himself, police said today.
After killing them one at a time over a period of hours on Sunday, William Parente took his own life by cutting himself, Baltimore County Police Chief James [...]

Polo team captain says dead horses were given vitamin supplement

By Calvin Palmer
The 21 Lechuza Caracas polo team horses that died at the U.S. Open Polo Championship in Florida on Sunday were all injected with a vitamin supplement before the match, according to the team’s captain.
Juan Martin Nero told the La Nacion newspaper in Buenos Aires that all of the horses had received Biodyl injections [...]

12-year-old boy faces murder charge in death of baby

By Calvin Palmer
A judge today ordered a 12-year-old Houston boy charged with capital murder in the death of a 10-month-old baby to be held in custody for at least 10 more days.
During  this morning’s hearing, Judge Beverly Malazzo heard from the boy’s mother, aunt and grandmother about the child’s history and home life.
Citing the seriousness [...]

Czech troops under fire for withdrawing from missions in Afghanistan

By Calvin Palmer
Troops from the Czech Republic’s Special Operations Group (SOG) have come under fire from a Czech newspaper for refusing to fight during British-led missions in Afghanistan.
Daily newspaper MF DNES claims the SOG lost the trust of British forces after withdrawing from several operations because of the heavy fighting involved.
When asked by British commanders to [...]

Freddie Mac executive found dead in apparent suicide

By Calvin Palmer
The acting chief financial officer and a senior vice president of troubled mortgage giant Freddie Mac was found dead in his Virginia home today.
David Kellerman, 41, was found dead at his home in Vienna around 5:00 a.m. in an apparent suicide, Fairfax County police said.
A call from inside the red brick home in [...]