LifeDaily

A run is supposed to be something to clear your mind, especially when doing so in a foreign place. For many, getting out and seeing nature is peaceful, relaxing, and allows you to absorb the beauty of a new city. This was the goal for one young woman traveling to Canada to spend time with her mother.

She desired picturesque sights to snap a few photos to document her trip on social media and she thought she had chosen the perfect place for it. However, there was one issue. She unknowingly ran into a problem during her run, one that she couldn’t talk her way out of. What happened next took weeks to resolve and turned her trip into a nightmare…

White Rock, British Columbia

Cedella Roman Story — www.thebeatgoesonmb.org

The coast of White Rock, British Columbia is a beautiful place. Known for its idyllic views of Semiahmoo Bay and waterfront homes and restaurants, visitors there can enjoy the sandy beach or walk along the pier. It’s also the perfect spot for a jog along the water.

Running Into A Problem

A 19-year-old woman put on her running shoes and headed out for a jog. Roman, from France, was visiting her mother who lived nearby in North Delta, Canada. During her run, she admired the gorgeous scenery when she unwittingly ran into a big problem…

Crossing Into The United States From Canada

As Roman ran southeast along the beach on the evening of May 21, she crossed a municipal boundary and soon after, an international border. However, she didn’t see any signs indicating that she was about to cross into the United States from Canada.

Demarcation Line

But it turns out that the demarcation line between the two countries is only about three miles down the coast from the pier. Roman, unaware as to what she had just done, walked onto a dirt path and stopped to take a photo of the picturesque setting, only to turn around and find two officers behind her…

Illegally Crossing The Border

As she turned around to head back to her mother’s house, officers approached her and told her she had crossed the border illegally. Roman told an officer she didn’t do it on purpose and that she didn’t understand what was happening. Except, it was too late.

Unaware Of What Was Going To Happen Next

Roman was asked to show police proof of identification or proof of citizenship, but of course, she didn’t bring these items with her on a jog. Still, she figured that Border Patrol officers would simply let her go with a warning…

Treating Her Like A Criminal

Instead, Roman was put in a caged vehicle and brought her to their facility. There, they asked her to remove all of her personal belongings, including her jewelry. “They searched me everywhere,” Roman said. It was only then that she realized how serious the situation was.

Calling Her Mother

When she reached the center, she contacted her mother, Christiane Ferne, who soon arrived with Roman’s passport and study permits. But, the workers said that the documents would have to be verified by Canadian authorities and it could be a lengthy process…

Expedited Removal

Border Patrol wound up arresting Roman on May 21 and processed her as an “expedited removal.” Then, on May 22, she was taken to ICE’s Northwest Detention Center in Tacoma, Washington, about 140 miles from the border point where she had been arrested.

The Peace Arch

Officers believed that she crossed the border near the Peace Arch, a 67-foot concrete monument that is known as “the world’s first monument dedicated to Peace.” It straddles the U.S.-Canada border and it’s inscribed with the words, “CHILDREN OF A COMMON MOTHER” on one side and “BRETHREN DWELLING TOGETHER IN UNITY” on the other. Its main purpose is to celebrate the friendship between the two countries, but here’s where Roman ran into a problem…

Third-Country National

The problem now was that once the U.S. Border Patrol transfers an individual to ICE custody for expedited removal to Canada, ICE must review the case and receive permission from the Canada Border Services Agency. This process can take several days, especially when the individual is a third-country national.”

Supplying Officials With The Necessary Documents

Despite Roman’s mother having sent her daughter’s travel documents to ICE, they claimed they didn’t receive them until May 24. After that, the Canadian Border Services Agency notified ICE on May 29 that “it would be willing to determine admissibility if [Roman] was returned to the Canadian Port of Entry. Roman’s mom was distraught, referring to her daughter’s arrest as a “trap.” She said…

A Mother’s Panic

“It’s like a trap…anybody can be caught at the border like this,” said Ferne. She gave Roman’s documents including her passport and study permits, yet still, she was told that she’d have to wait to see if her daughter was eligible to be discharged back to Canada.

On Eggshells

This process wound up taking two weeks, where Roman remained in custody for the entire time. Ferne visited her daughter several times while she was detained and she says the detention was unfair because there were no signs warning pedestrians of the international border. U.S. government officials said…

U.S. Officials Say Roman’s Treatment Was Processed Accordingly

U.S. government documents confirm that Roman was discharged from the U.S. on June 6 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. A spokesperson for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection said that “anyone who enters the U.S. outside an official port of entry and without inspection has crossed the border illegally, and will be processed accordingly.”

Protocol

They continued, “It is the responsibility of an individual traveling in the vicinity of an international border to maintain awareness of their surroundings and their location at all times to ensure they do not illegally cross the border.” “Additionally, it’s important for people near the border to carry identification at all times so that agents or officers can easy verify identity.” There’s one thing, however, that Roman believes made her situation worse…

Because She Is A Citizen Of France?

Roman originally came to Canada to visit her mother and work on her English, but after this, the trip took on a new meaning. She believes that because she wasn’t a citizen of the country that the process was much more grueling than it needed to be.

The Border Isn’t Marked In The Traditional Way

Additionally, she protested that she hadn’t seen any warning signs, therefore, she couldn’t have anticipated how serious the matter would become. According to the Province, the Canadian-U.S. border “isn’t marked in the traditional way.” Areas of the border include “no-touch zones.” Basically…

Unsure If Roman Will Be Allowed Back Into The U.S.

Now, Roman’s family is unsure if she’ll be allowed back into the United States. According to her Facebook page, Cedella Roman says she is originally from the town of Briancon, France, in the southeastern part of the country close to the Italian border.

Know Where You Are

After her story received widespread recognition, some are saying that when you go out for a run, you should have a good awareness of where you are. The Bellingham Herald wrote, “the moral of the story is when you go out for a run, walk or hike, know where you are- exactly where you are.” We couldn’t agree more. Research absolutely needs to be done beforehand so you literally don’t run into a situation like this.

Leisurely Jog On Vacation Turns Into Nightmare For Teen When Authorities Tell Her What She’d Done is an article from: LifeDaily

According to the ADL and other similar organizations, Anti-Semitic attacks in Europe have spiked over the past couple of years with some people now making the uncomfortable connection between that and the increase and mass immigration into Europe.

Jews, one of the most ancient people on the planet, are no strangers to hatred. Some would say the most persecuted nation in the history of the world, many Jews in Europe now wonder what the future will hold for them…

In the Diaspora

Anti-Semitism Europe Story — www.aipac.org

The Diaspora is the name Jewish people use to describe any place outside of the Jewish homeland; Israel. Jews have lived in Europe for thousands of years, although a third were wiped out by the Germans during the Holocaust which took place during World War II.

Coming Home

Following the worst genocide in modern human history, the State of Israel was created in 1948 on land mandated by the British, called Palestine. Soon after the creation of the first Jewish state in 2,000 years, thousands of Jews from Europe and North-Africa made the treacherous journey home, but it wasn’t without some serious complications…

Hate Crimes

Hate crimes against Jews have seen a marked increase recently with Anti-Semitic activity reported on a more regular basis, especially in countries like the UK, France, and Germany. Many feel it’s no coincidence that those countries have seen the mass immigration of Muslims from various regions, many of whom attack Jews who have lived there for generations.

Never Again

Many Jewish people brandish the slogan “Never Again,” a reference to the fact that never again will Jews be taken like sheep to the slaughter as they did during the Nazi era. While Anti-Semitism in Europe following the war was less of an issue, it seems to have reared its ugly head once again…

Escaping Persecution

As a result of the spike in attacks against Jews, thousands have emigrated to Israel, where all Jews enjoy the “Right of Return.” From Americans to South Africans and to Europeans; there are currently huge Anglo communities throughout the modern state of Israel, many of whom felt they had to escape the increasing persecution they were suffering, among them also French Jews.

U.K. Attack

Numerous media outlets have reported that just last Monday, a woman brandishing a large kitchen knife was outside a London synagogue screaming, “I want to kill all you Jews.” The woman chased a group of Jewish school children with the knife before she was apprehended by police. This highlights a worrying trend in the UK, and one that has many people concerned.

The ‘Shomrim’

The situation in London has gotten so bad that the Jewish community there have set up their own security service for the community called the “Shomrim.” Shomrim are volunteers who protect Jews from violent attacks and abuse while liaising closely with the police as they patrol areas densely populated by Jews.

Worrying Incident

Rabbi Herschel Gluck, president of Shomrim, spoke out about the attack, and the need for more to be done to curtail a worrying trend. “This is another worrying incident of knife crime in London coupled with hate/antisemitic crime,” he said, adding, “Much more needs to be done to tackle and stop this terrible scourge which is tragically running rampant in our city.”

Record Numbers

It’s bad news for the Jewish community of England, as the recent CST figures are devastating. The CST is the Community Security Trust, an organization similar to the Shomrim who are in close contact with police to monitor and deal with hate crimes against Jews. Last year, they recorded that there were 1,382 Anti-Semitic incidents last year in the UK, with three-quarters of those taking place in London.

Also In America

Hate attacks against Jews aren’t limited just to Europe though; the Anti-Defamation League reported that in the US, from 2016-2017, there was an increase or almost 60% in Anti-Semitic attacks reported. That represents the largest single-year increase since tracking by the organization began…

Cemeteries Targeted

Jewish cemeteries are often targetted for hate crimes and vandalism, be it in Europe or in America. In 2017 alone, for example, Jewish cemeteries across the states were vandalized at a rate never seen before, while Jewish community centers were also evacuated at an alarming rate on a regular basis.

Hate Groups Emboldened

Meanwhile, Jonathan Greenblatt, the CEO and National Director of the ADL, said, “These incidents came at a time when we saw a rising climate of incivility, the emboldening of hate groups and widening divisions in society. In reflecting on this time and understanding it better with this new data, we feel even more committed to our century-old mission to stop the defamation of the Jewish people, and to secure justice and fair treatment to all.”

Mass Immigration

Taking the UK as an example; mass immigration has been common and even accelerated over the past 5 years or so. With many areas of London now officially and unofficially no-go-zones due to Muslim extremist gangs, Jews are more threatened than ever, especially those living close to Muslim communities; some of which who have sympathies for ISIS.

Hatred In France

France has seen one of the biggest spikes in Anti-Semitic attacks, being the country with the largest amount of Jews in the diaspora after the U.S. Hate crimes also spiked in France whenever there was a war or serious conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. Many French Muslims hold extreme views; also in line with the likes of ISIS, making life for Jews in the country a slippery slope at times…

Leaving Paris

Due to the real and daily threats faced by French Jews, immigration to Israel increased exponentially in 2014. More Jews were moving from France to Israel than from America for the first time ever. At the same time, 70% of French Jews said they were concerned about increasing Anti-Semitism in the areas where they lived, with 60% being concerned about being physically attacked and even killed.

German Jewry

Germany is the last place that Jews would expect to see hate crimes; especially considering their history there. However, like the rest of Europe, Jewish people there are also under constant attack. From racial slurs to physical abuse, many Jews have reported being the target of hate in Germany…

Getting Worse

Anti-Semitism in Germany has reportedly reached an all-time high in 70 years. The fact that one million Muslim migrants were welcomed to Germany by the German Chancellor over the past few years, sadly, also has a bearing on the issue. Jews have even been told not to wear skull caps in public by Jewish German leaders.

“Exercise Caution”

Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, even said on public Berlin radio that Jews should “exercise caution” when in big German cities wearing things show them to be Jewish. Just a few weeks ago, two young Jewish men were assaulted when someone spotted their skull caps…

Tackling The Problem

According to Schuster, “Defiantly showing your colors would in principle be the right way to go [to tackle anti-Semitism],” he said, “Nevertheless, I would advise individual people against openly wearing a kippah in big German cities,” adding, “This is not only about anti-Semitism – it goes along with racism, it goes along with xenophobia. You need a clear stop sign here.”

Jewish Resilience

The Jewish people as a nation have been through more trials and tribulations than most. For that matter, many Jewish people in Europe are steadfast; both in terms of being proud Jews and of being proud Europeans at the same time. It is the hope of all the good people of Europe that the worrying spike in anti-semitism is something that won’t stick around for too long.

Anti-Semitic Attacks Reportedly Spike In Europe During Recent Years is an article from: LifeDaily

Rare animals and wildlife suffer around the world on a daily basis, with thousands of people being involved in the illegal trafficking of animals. These people are only interested in one thing: money, but finally somebody decided it was high time to do something about it.

An intricate Interpol sting operation that was many months in the making just landed a lot of people in a bunch of trouble; among them, flight attendants carrying turtles in their suitcases…

Trading Animals

Operation Thunderstorm Story — www.alert-conservation.org

Sadly, the international trade of rare and nearly extinct animals is big business; so big, that the international police agency, Interpol, had to take action to try to curtail these illegal activities. The recent sting operation saw thousands of living and dead animals seized by authorities, with jail time on the horizon for those involved.

1,400 Suspects

Police from around the world worked tirelessly to locate the perpetrators of what they knew was going on right under their noses; the mass import and export of protected species. They found meat, ivory, and countless live animals being kept in bad conditions. The operation led to the arrest of a staggering 1,400 people from numerous different countries…

Posting Trophies

While a number of flight attendants were arrested when protected animals were found in their baggage, others were arrested for rearing their heads on social media. One man, for example, who had posted his illegal trophies to his social media pages found himself facing the long arm of the law, as well as many others, as authorities clamp down on these wicked acts.

Operation Thunderstorm

The complex sting operation, named “Thunderstorm” used a bunch of resources, including police, customs officers, border control and even wildlife and forestry agencies across 92 countries. The operation was a resounding success, with numerous vital seizures, both of endangered species and money…

Wild Meat

Wild animal meat is big business and something that people are prepared to pay big money for. It may seem strange to some people, however, there is a roaring illegal trade globally for bear, elephant, crocodile, whale and even zebra meat. And that’s not to mention valuable ivory from elephant tusks.

Massive Seizures

Operation Thunderstorm saw an amazing 1,974 seizures of millions of dollars worth of wild meat – whereby 43 metric tons were found. Along with that, 1.3 tons of elephant ivory was seized as well as 27,000 reptiles, around 4,000 birds, and the carcasses of seven bears…

Also Timber

Illegal timber is also big business even if it isn’t quite as immoral as animal trafficking. According to Sheldon Jordan, who works for Canada’s Wildlife Enforcement agency, “In this operation, these countries focused during the month of May on all sort of wildlife crimes whether they be plants, animals, timber,” adding, “The results were spectacular.”

Flight Attendants

People usually assume that flight attendants would never dream of trafficking live animals but they are wrong. Thunderstorm saw at least two flight attendants stopped at Los Angeles airport with live spotted turtles to Asia in personal baggage. Both suspects have been charged with smuggling protected species.

Pangolins Threatened

Pangolins are the most trafficked animals in the world, half of which are smuggled by Vietnamese maritime ships from the Congo. Thunderstorm saw a massive 8 tons of pangolin scales, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. These mammals are now on the brink of extinction as their scales are favored in Asian medicine.

One Million Poached

According to estimates, more than one million of these mammals with hard shells have been poached over the last ten years. That means that these creatures are now threatened with extinction, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

Trade Banned

At a global wildlife summit recently, the trade of all pangolins was totally banned, although it’s doubtful that will change anything as people in Africa, where they reside want to make money, and Asian consumers have a thing for their meat and other parts of them which they use in medicine, especially in China.

A Delicacy

Unfortunately, Pangolin meat is considered a delicacy in Vietnam, and this fact along with others means that pangolin populations in East and Central Africa are in big trouble. However, according to Anne-Marie Weeden, general manager at the Uganda Conservation Foundation, this is only “the tip of the iceberg,”

No Value

Weeden explained that poverty and a complete lack of animal welfare standards in Africa are responsible for the endangered species status due to the fact that people living in rural areas generally don’t see any value in protecting animals and see them only as money.

Meaningful Alternative

According to Weeden, if people don’t have a viable alternative they will benefit from the wildlife around them if it means making enough money to support their families. “People need to have a meaningful alternative source of income and have to benefit from the national parks they live next door to,” Weeden said…

Wanting Ivory

The Chinese are particularly superstitious about elephant trunks and believe they have serious medical value. In recent years, as a result of that, tens of thousands of elephants in Africa have been killed. Conservationists estimate that roughly 20,000 elephants are killed each year just to meet the demand for ivory.

Critical Period

According to Iain Douglas-Hamilton, president and founder of Save the Elephants, “This is a critical period for elephants.” He added, “With the end of the legal ivory trade in China, the survival chances for elephants have distinctly improved.” However, in some areas so many have been killed that their population numbers can never recover…

Credit Due

For their part, according to Douglas-Hamilton, the Chinese deserve credit for doing the right thing when it comes to the trade of ivory, “We must give credit to China for having done the right thing by closing the ivory trade. There is still a long way to go to end the excessive killing of elephants for ivory, but there is now greater hope for the species.” He said.

Numbers Talk

There’s no doubt that the statistics speak for themselves. Lucy Vigne, also from Save the Elephants, said that at least 130 licensed ivory outlets in China have been steadily decreasing their demand, “Findings from 2015 and 2016 in China have shown that the legal ivory trade especially has been severely diminished,” she said.

Operation a Success

No matter who you ask, there’s no question that this operation was a resounding success, as Interpol Secretary General Juergen Stock said to reporters, the sting shows “how wildlife trafficking groups use the same routes as criminals involved in other crime areas – often hand-in-hand with tax evasion, corruption, money laundering and violent crime.”

Hopeful Future

Everyone involved in the operation, as well as many others across the globe, hope that it will go some way to highlight the plight of endangered species around the world and to discourage people from trafficking them. Everyone knows there’s a long way to go but at least operation Thunderbolt is a step in the right direction.

Rare Animal Traffickers Targeted By Interpol In Massive Sting Operation is an article from: LifeDaily

For new dads, Father’s Day is supposed to be a day spent celebrating their new roles as the person their child can always count on for the rest of their life.

However, for a young father in Upstate New York, this past Father’s Day in 2018 was nearly the day that he almost left his baby’s life for good. Thankfully, 3 kind strangers made sure that didn’t happen…

Father’s Day Errands

Strangers Save Young Dad Story — www.history.com

On Sunday, June 17, 2018, 2 friends from Upstate New York went out to run some errands around Cicero, New York before celebrating Father’s Day with their families. According to the men, who are also coworkers, they were trying to buy car parts for a project they had started.

The Stopped Vehicle

While heading to the store at around 1 in the afternoon, however, the men were driving on Northern Boulevard and spotted what looked like a car stopped in 1 of the lanes. When they spotted another car stopped behind it, they thought there had been an accident…

Offering Their Help

According to the friends, there was a woman standing near the second car waving her hands as if she needed help so the pair decided to pull over and see if something was wrong and if there was anything they could do to help.

An Emergency

When they pulled over and got out of the car, the woman who had been waving her hands ran over to them and begged for help. At that moment, 2 passengers in the car had gotten out and it became clear the situation was worse than they expected…

Frantic Friends

After pulling over, Stu Cavuto, a retired deputy Syracuse fire chief, and Jason Wheeler watched as a man climbed out of the car and frantically put his hands on his head. Then they heard the woman still inside the car screaming that their friend in the passenger seat wasn’t breathing.

A Bad Sign

Stu, who now works as a director of safety at Hayner Hoyt Corp., ran over to the car with Jason, a project supervisor at the same company, and saw that the man in the passenger seat was slumped over and had stopped breathing…

The 911 Call

Stu immediately pushed the man in his 20s into an upright position to open up his airways while the woman who flagged them over, Melanie, called 911 to report what she had found and calmly told Stu and Jason the dispatcher’s instruction.

The Root Of The Problem

“She’s a rock star in all of this,” Stu said. While Melanie was still on the phone, Stu and Jason tried to figure out how the young man had suddenly stopped breathing. While Stu wasn’t a firefighter anymore, he had an idea of what the cause might be…

Signs Of An Overdose

According to Stu, it looked like the man might have overdosed on drugs, so he asked the man and women if their friend had taken anything. At first, the pair repeatedly insisted that their friend hadn’t taken any drugs but eventually gave in.

The Truth Comes Out

Seeing that their friend didn’t have much time left, the 2 passengers eventually admitted that he had taken heroin and had overdosed. Normally, they would have given him naloxone, a drug that can be used to reverse a drug overdose, but they had run out…

Taking Control Of The Situation

While Jason worked to calm the pair down, Stu jumped to action and found the man’s weak pulse and told the friend to help him breathe. Stu hoped the victim would hold on like this until paramedics arrived with tools and oxygen, but then the situation took a turn for the worse.

A Baby At Home

The man’s heart had stopped. “You’ve got a baby boy at home,” the friend shouted at the unconscious young dad. Stu knew they would have to start CPR if the man was going to survive and instructed everyone to help him carry the man out of the car and onto the grass nearby…

A Miracle

While moving the man’s body, however, a miracle happened. “It was kind of amazing,” Stu said after watching the unconscious man suddenly wake up and take a breath. “He went from no pulse, no respiration to he sat up as we were trying to move him.”

Time Is Running Out

Within seconds, however, the man was unconscious again and had stopped breathing. Stu knew that the man needed more than just CPR if he was going to survive, and thankfully, help had finally arrived before it was too late…

Help Arrives

As the man’s skin started turning a worrying shade of gray, paramedics arrived just in time. The first responders immediately pulled him on a stretcher and loaded him into the ambulance where they could work on reviving him and administering anti-overdose drugs as they rushed him to the hospital.

Out Of Their Hands

Once the man was in good hands, Stu and Jason went on with their day. They didn’t know what would happen to the man and if he would survive, but felt good that they did everything in their power to keep him alive until paramedics arrived…

Father’s Day Celebrations

After leaving the scene, Stu, who is dating Jason’s mother-in-law, left with Jason to finish up their errands and headed off together to a barbeque and pool party with their family that afternoon in celebration of Father’s Day.

An Open Letter

Because of the celebrations, Jason practically forgot about what he had witnessed and done earlier that afternoon. However, once Jason got home that night, the gravity of what he and Stu had done started to sink in. Jason felt compelled to share what happened that afternoon and turned to Facebook to write a letter, which he addressed to ‘the man who I saw take what would have been your last breath…’

A Grateful Brother

“I hope you live. I hope you’re able to change your habits,” Jason said. “I hope you’re able to raise your baby and spend many Father’s Days with him. I hope it scared him. I really do. I hope it scared him to the point where he doesn’t do it again.” Soon after, the brother of the young father who had overdosed saw the post being shared on Facebook and reached out to Jason to thank him. “I don’t know how to ever repay you,” he said.

Hoping For The Best

After that, the man’s parents and other family members reached out to Jason to thank him and Stu for what they did for their loved one. Both Jason and Stu explained they never wanted praise. All they want is for the man to get help. “There’s hope,” Stu said. “I hope he realizes that there are people who care, even strangers. Nobody wants to see somebody die.”

Strangers Save Young Dad After Addiction Nearly Ends His Life On Father’s Day is an article from: LifeDaily

When police are on duty and dealing with potentially armed and dangerous individuals, they typically have just a split second to decide if someone is a genuine threat and how to best diffuse the situation.

In 2016, 2 officers responded to a call about a suspicious man who had been seen taking photos and watching a local school. When the officers arrived, they had reason to believe the man was a danger to them and the public and acted accordingly. The man’s father, however, believes the police jumped to conclusions and it cost his son’s life…

Suspicious Activity

Charles Hollstein Story — www.chicagotribune.com

On January 6, 2016, police officers from the Zion Police Department in Zion, Illinois received a call about a suspicious man had been seen lurking around and taking photographs of a local school at around 8:30 in the morning.

The Suspect

Officers Steven Vines and Nathan Hucker were nearby and responded to the call. When they arrived at the school, they found the suspect wearing a black hoodie, which appeared as if it was concealing something underneath like a bulletproof vest…

Making Contact

The suspect was also wearing a black earphone with a talking piece attached. Vines and Hucker pulled their squad car over and called over to the man to come over and talk to them. However, the suspect failed to respond and kept walking.

Getting Some Answers

At that point, Hucker pulled the squad car up right behind the man and turned on the siren, which finally got the man’s attention. When Hucker got out of the car and asked the suspect what he was doing, the man appeared skittish and replied that he was taking photographs for a Waukegan newspaper…

Failure To Cooperate

When the man refused to identify himself or give them a form of ID, Hucker instructed the man to place his arms behind his back. At that moment, the man turned and ran away and Hucker attempted to stop him by shooting the man with his stun gun.

The Struggle

Despite hitting the man’s back, the stun gun had no effect and Hucker was forced to run after him. “After the foot pursuit, a struggle with the offender and officers ensued,” the Lake County Major Crime Task Force said in a statement…

Shots Fired

When Vines caught up to his partner and the suspect, he deployed his pepper spray but that also failed to stop the man. When Vine saw the suspect reaching for Hucker’s gun, he felt his and Hucker’s lives were in danger and pulled out his gun. “Officer Vines pulled out his weapon and shot Hollstein three times in the upper shoulder. At the moment he fired, Hollstein still had his hand on Officer Hucker’s weapon,” a police report said.

Deadly Force

The suspect, who police later identified as 38-year-old Charles J. Hollstein, was pronounced dead at the scene after the bullets hit his ribs, spine, and both lungs. Once it was clear Hollstein couldn’t be revived, police found that the bulletproof vest he was wearing was actually a homemade vest full of metal inserts…

The Handgun

The officers also found a semi-automatic handgun in a holster on Hollstein’s back, which they realized was actually an Airsoft BB gun painted gold and black to look like a real gun. In addition, police found a folding knife, handcuffs made out of zip ties, 2 cellphones, a smoking pipe, a lighter, and magazines loaded with pellets on Hollstein.

An Investigation Begins

In the wake of the fatal police shooting, Officers Vines and Hucker were placed on paid administrative leave so an investigation could determine if they were justified for using deadly force on Hollstein. At the same time, Hollstein’s father, his only living relative, was contacted and informed about his son’s death…

An Assumption

At the time of Hollstein’s death, the police had assumed that he had been planning some kind of attack on the school and was a threat to their lives. However, when his father, Carl Hollstein, was told about the police’s reason for using deadly force, he insisted they were wrong.

The Truth

While Carl didn’t know for sure what his son was doing that morning when he decided to go to the school and start taking photos, Carl was sure he wasn’t a threat to anyone’s life. Instead, Carl explained that his adult son was mentally ill…

The Diagnosis

According to Carl, Hollstein was diagnosed with schizophrenia, a disorder that can cause someone to hallucinate, hear voices, and lose touch with reality when he was in his 20s. “There had been voices I’d never hear,” Carl explained.

A Criminal History

While Hollstein was typically harmless, he had a history of violent outbursts and episodes. Over the years, Hollstein also had a few run-ins with the law and had been charged with attempted drug solicitation, domestic battery, possession of marijuana, aggravated battery to a peace officer, and retail theft…

A Good Guy

“Even though we arrested him, he was always a decent guy,” Frankfort Deputy Police Chief Kevin Keegan said about Hollstein. “He was always decent to us.” Because of his mental illness, Hollstein was typically sent to receive treatment at several outpatient and inpatient facilities.

A Better Path

While receiving treatment, Hollstein seemed to be on a better path. “He was not a troublemaker,” said a woman from a nursing home he had lived in for a while. “He loved outings — bowling, concerts in the park, the zoo, museums — and Halloween.” From 2005 to 2013, Hollstein lived in inpatient treatment facilities and nursing homes but was allowed to live independently with some assistance since 2013…

A Bad Decision

“He was a very understanding, respectful, quiet, very reasonable guy,” Hollstein’s roommate said. “We haven’t had any trouble with him for a long time,” Carl added. “He made a mistake by going over to that school. He never used the best judgment.”

A Deadly Assumption

Eventually, police determined the 2 officers were justified in using lethal force as they had tried every other method to get the situation under control and were afraid for their lives. Carl, however, couldn’t help but wonder if the officers jumped to conclusions…

Blaming Both Sides

“I’m blaming both of them a little bit,” Carl said about the police and his son. “But then again, it’s a judgment call for the police. They’ve only got a split second to make a decision. They probably rushed to judgment. Charlie probably rushed to judgment… The police don’t want to get shot either. I can understand that.”

The Loser

“It probably would have been better if he’d been living at a nursing home, but who thinks something like this will happen? You can’t read a person’s mind,” Carl said. “With all the violence that’s been going on in this country, places like Sandy Hook and other schools, police are on edge, communities are on edge, people are on edge, and when everyone’s on edge, it’s not too good. The public is the loser. He was and I am.”

Police’s Assumption About Suspect Outside School Cost Him His Life is an article from: LifeDaily

Even in a bustling metropolis as big and crowded as New York City, we like to think that we’re basically safe. This is especially true of our own neighborhoods: places we’ve known our whole lives since we were children.

It was a normal Wednesday night, and Lesandro was down at the bodega a block away from his family’s apartment. It was a place he’d frequented since he was a little kid. Now in high school, he had little to fear from strangers, especially not in his own neighborhood…

Community Mourns

Lesandro Guzman-Feliz Story — www.wsj.com

15-year-old Lesandro had gone to the corner Bodega for a snack. Just as he had a hundred times before. By the end of that day, Lesandro was dead. Today, his parents and community at large are trying to figure out what could have happened as they mourn the loss of their loved one. Hundreds of people lined up for blocks to pay their respects.

Police Dreams

Even Police Commissioner James O’Neill made an appearance. It was appropriate because ever since Lesandro, Junior as he was called by those who knew him well, first saw a police car, he had wanted to join the NYPD. He was even enrolled in the department’s Explorer program and they too were helping to guide him towards fulfilling that dream…

A Memorial

Lesandro’s father, in remembrance of his beloved son, got a tattoo the day of the wake and displayed it proudly as he walked down the street towards his son’s casket. The memorial to Junior’s untimely death had been going on for a few days. Candles and flowers sat outside the now-shuttered bodega on East 183rd Street and Bathgate Avenue.

Grieving Mother

“They broke my heart,” explained Junior’s mom, Leandra “They killed my son, and they killed me at the same time…I feel death right now. That’s the only thing that can bring me back to life, real life. I want my son with me.” But Leandra wouldn’t get her son back and justice for Junior had to wait until the police could find out exactly what happened that fateful Wednesday…

Dragged Out

Junior had gone into the bodega and before he could spit had been snatched up by a gang of no less than eight thugs who dragged him out of the building and into the street. They slashed his throat with a machete and ran off. Bleeding out, Lesandro tried to run the block to St. Barnabas Hospital, but was too weak to make it.

Rushed In

Lesandro collapsed onto the sidewalk. Onlookers tried their best to get him to St. Barnabas but it was already too late. No sooner had his mother arrived than she was given the bad news. Junior had never even made it to the operating table, let alone the intensive care unit where she was looking for him. He was dead on arrival. And that wasn’t even the worst of it…

Did Nothing

Worse than her son’s brutal and completely unwarranted murder was the fact that the workers of the bodega, a place where the Guzman-Feliz family had gone many times before, had done nothing to help Junior. Surveillance video of the attack showed them standing there dumbfounded and useless in the face of the dying teen.

Outrage

The neighborhood was outraged at their inaction. Sure, it’s understandable that they didn’t want to be attacked by the mob themselves, but they could have come out to help him afterward. Since that day, the once popular bodega has remained closed, it’s workers afraid to show their faces as the neighborhood mourns. But who was behind the attack in the first place?

Gang Warfare

Whoever the men were, they certainly knew how to kill. Their machete, not normally used for its finesse, had managed to slice across Junior’s carotid artery, the main artery that pumps blood to the heart. The attack bore all the signs of being part of some sort of gang retaliation or induction test. Only, Leandro wasn’t in or affiliated with any gangs.

Trinitarios

Junior’s neighbors, those who witnessed the attack, believe that the suspected assailants are part of the Trinitarios, a New York-based Dominican gang. Like most gangs, this was not a group of people that you wanted to mess with. Thankfully, before anyone could officially snitch, someone came forward with definitive information…

Mistaken Identity

One of the boy’s relatives, who didn’t want to be identified, was told that a similarly anonymous member of the Trinitarios sent him a message over Snapchat, apologizing for the killing. According to this remorseful gang member, Junior’s savage murder was actually a tragic case of mistaken identity.

Condolences…

The gang member admitted that they thought Junior was someone else at the time of the attack and they killed him by accident. They also sent their condolences for the family’s loss…which of course meant little-to-nothing in this situation. Armed with this knowledge, the police began to follow up on a number of leads…

Police Raid

The NYPD followed those leads all the way to New Jersey, where their brothers in blue set up a raid of a house known as a potential hangout for the gang tied to Junior’s murder. Officers stormed the house and gang members fled in all directions. One of them even jumped out a window and had to be chased down. They captured six men in that raid.

Murderers

They arrested Jose Muniz, 21, of Paterson, Jose Taverez, 21, of the Bronx, Manuel Rivera, 18, of the Bronx, Danel Fernandez, 21, of the Bronx, Joniki Martinez, 24, of Freeport, and Santiago Rodriguez, 24, of the Bronx. That’s not counting 19-year-old Kevin Alvarez, who was also charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter, gang assault, and assault. But there was one more left…

Last Culprit

The eighth and final person aligned with the crime was found in the Dominican Republic. He is currently cooperating with the investigation but no charges have as yet been filed against him. The Guzman-Feliz family could now breathe a sigh of relief. Their son’s killers had been caught and would now face justice.

They Must Pay

As word spread through the neighborhood about the arrests, cheers erupted in front of the makeshift memorial at the bodega. “Thank God they caught him,” said Leandra Feliz, “They have to pay for what they did to my son. My son was innocent.” And Leandra wasn’t the only one who spoke as such….

Mayoral Remembrance

NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio actually came out to speak at Junior’s memorial as well. “That was a young man who wanted to serve the city, be a part of our police force and had such a bright future and now he’s taken from us. I think for all of us it feels very personal to have lost such an exemplary young man.”

Crime Rates

The mayor and the NYPD have recently gone on and on about the much lower crime rates these days. The problem is that the statistics don’t mean a heck of a lot when you’re grieving for a lost son. Especially when you consider that the murder rate in the precinct where Junior was killed increased this year. Some members of the community even believe that the city has failed and continues to fail young people like junior…

Failed Them

Community leaders outside the bodega argue that one of the main problems lies in the infrastructure, that the city just isn’t providing the community with enough resources for youth in the neighborhood. Their opinion is that these problems could be avoided in the future if more of these were put into effect.

Justice for Junior

State Senator Gustavo Rivera agreed saying, “We not only failed Junior, but we failed these young people who believed their only option is to join a group that will force them into this violence.” Meanwhile, the community is still pulling together to help. A GoFundMe account titled “Justice for Junior” raised close to $200,000 thanks to donations.

Police Uncover Questionable Motives Behind Vicious New York City Slaying is an article from: LifeDaily

Life for autistic people is something that most folks can’t comprehend, no matter how hard they try. While so many on the autism spectrum are high-functioning people with jobs and normal relationships, many are not, often making day-to-day life a struggle in many ways.

When Kyle decided he was on a mission to ease the lives of people in similar situations to him, he knew right from the get-go that he would stop at nothing to reach his goal. He had no idea, however, just how massive it would be…

Meet Kyle

At just 28, Kyle has already achieved more in his life than most 50-year-olds. Since he was a toddler, Kyle has had a vision; one he holds very close to his heart. For Kyle it was always just a matter of time before he put the intricate plan in his mind into action.

Living Normal

Kyle’s life is pretty normal day-to-day, even if it isn’t what you’d call “run of the mill.” Being autistic means that Kyle doesn’t quite experience life like other people do. However, the flip side of that coin is that he also possesses some uncanny talents and skills that your average Joe simply doesn’t possess…

Virtual Learning

Speaking frankly, the new virtual learning program, headed up and directed by the Center for BrainHealth at the University of Texas, is all that Kyle really thinks about these days. He hates the fact that the real world is out of reach in so many ways for autistic people, so he decided he was going to do something about it; something radical and life-changing.

Charisma Program

The program which Kyle has basically dedicated his life to is called Charisma; an apt name indeed. The ground-breaking program aims to assist autistic adults and to help them improve their perception when it comes to social cues, which they achieve through real conversations but in a virtual setting.

What To Do With Them?

Kyle is acutely aware of the various stigmas that surround autistic people like him; in a world which doesn’t “know what to do with them,” in Kyle’s words; he no longer wants for people like him to be sidelined or ignored by society.

Rain Man

It took Kyle two years of interviews before he found a job after graduating from the University of Texas at Dallas. Many accused him of not being suitable, while others claimed he clearly wasn’t on the autistic scale at all,”They still have this very Rain Man image of autism,” he said…

Staff Instructor

Kyle is a person who wants to make the world a better place, and he works tirelessly to that end. After taking a job as a staff instructor at the nonPareil Institute, teaching life skills to adults with autism, Kyle hopes that he can help others to fulfill their potential as he has.

On The Spectrum

“I liken being on the spectrum to sort of being separated by a chain link fence,” Kyle said. “You can see through the links. You can see the larger world. You can stick your hands through the links. You can kind of feel it. You can smell it, taste and all that. But if you try to climb that fence, you find there’s barbed wire at the top. And that’s what it feels like.”

Smart But Jobless

Due to the stigmas associated with autism Kyle initially came to the Plano Center four years ago. At that time he was jobless, even though he had graduated with honors from the UTD with a degree in psychology. Kyle then saw the need to help other people in similar situations to himself.

Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism spectrum disorder, the technical name for those on the scale, have some serious issues as a community. The fact that only 14% of them held regular jobs in 2014, that situation has only gotten worse over the past few years. To Kyle’s mind, those levels of unemployment for autistic people is “abhorrent,” and needs to be changed…

Non-Discriminatory

Daniel Faso, director of program engagement at Plano, confirmed that the organization is strictly non-discriminatory, “We try to not distinguish when we’re talking about someone. Whether they’re on the spectrum or not is not the primary piece of who they are,” he said.

Smart Boy

As is often the case with autistic people; they are extremely smart but possess little if no social skills. Kyle’s mother Jill brimmed about her boy, saying, “Kyle has a lot to offer. If he could just get a chance,” she said, adding, “He’s very brilliant. I say that as a mother, but he is very smart.”

Late Diagnosis

Kyle joins countless others whose parents had no idea their kids were on autistic scale. In Kyle’s case, he was only diagnosed when he reached college. Nevertheless, his mom saw the signs early. As Kyle was home-schooled though, it was hard for Jill to see how he would interact with other kids his own age.

Severe Pain

For Kyle, when it came to going for job interviews, the anxiety that his condition caused was something that he described at the time as a “physical pain inside.” Jill recalls, “I knew it was tough for him, but I did not realize it was that much of a hardship.”

Movie Lover

Being a big movie lover, Kyle decided he would design his very own movie theater but with one catch; it’s all on his computer screen and exists only in the virtual world. The program emulates social situations and puts autistic people in situations virtually, such as ordering a drink at a bar or having a job interview.

Nothing Scripted

Tandra Allen who heads up the virtual training programs at BrainHealth, explained that while the program is virtual, the content is very real, “Nothing is scripted or artificial, but it’s real people having real conversations as a practice in this game-like setting,” she said…

Small Group Tests

Before the program can be rolled out properly, tests need to be carried out to make sure they get it just right. That’s why the university is testing the program, which is already a decade in the making, on a small group of students so they can tweak and perfect the systems.

Social Cues

Probably the biggest issue autistic people face is meeting new people and then being able to read social cues properly. As Allen explained, these people struggle with things like common courtesies and empathy, among other issues…

Improving Lives

The test phase of the program to date has been effective and already thrown up some positive results. The participants are able to improve their emotional recognition of sensitive things and understand other people’s intentions better. According to Allen, the program also promotes confidence among the people who took part so far.

Never Too Late

According to Kyle, if only this type of program would have been available years ago, middle school would have been, “a heck of a lot easier.” However, even Kyle agrees that it’s never too late; in his own words, “I wanted to give people hope, show them that, ‘Hey, they can make it,'” he said. “A lot of people come here dejected. They just feel like they don’t have any place to go.”

Autistic Man’s Virtual World Creation Simulates “Real Life” Itself is an article from: LifeDaily

When a woman becomes a mother, she makes a promise to do whatever is necessary to protect her children and give them a good life.

Recently, one mother proved just how far she was willing to go in order to give her son a better and safer life when she not only left everything and everyone she knew behind but took on the United States government – all for the sake of her son…

A Domestic Abuse Victim

Beata Mariana Story — www.dailymail.co.uk

When a mother from Guatemala started getting abused by her husband, she wanted to leave him but felt she had no choice but to stay with him for the sake of their 7-year-old son. If she left, she knew she wouldn’t be able to support herself and her son on her own.

No Way Out

Without any other options, the mother resolved herself to stay with her husband no matter how bad the abuse got. However, over the years, the violence reached new heights as her alcoholic husband became more and more dependant on alcohol…

Crossing A Line

The terrified mother didn’t think there was any way to escape the escalating violence, however, she knew she had to think of something when the abuse, which had always been aimed at her, started being aimed at her 7-year-old.

Never Looking Back

When her husband threatened to kill her and her son, she knew he was serious and that he would eventually follow through with his threats if she didn’t escape soon. So before it was too late, she took her son, ran away, and never looked back…

Seeking Asylum

Beata Mariana de Jesus Mejia-Mejia set her sights on the United States as an asylum seeker. She knew how difficult the process would be to resettle in America legally, but it would all be worth it if it meant she could get a job and give her son a better life.

Fighting For A Better Life

Fueled by the dream of a better life for her son, Beata and 7-year-old Darwin trekked 2,300 miles from Guatemala to the border of the United States, which she crossed on May 19, 2018, near San Luis, Arizona…

Official Entry Ports

Asylum seekers are urged to enter the country at official ports of entry, but Beata couldn’t find an entry point so decided to cross the border and turn herself into a U.S. Border Patrol agent to seek asylum. “She doesn’t have GPS. She didn’t have Google Maps,” said Mike Donovan, CEO of a Virginia firm, Libre by Nexus, that helps with immigration bail.

Crossing The Border

“This woman doesn’t understand where a ‘port of entry’ is. She’s navigating three countries to get here. She doesn’t even know where the border is,” Mike added. Once she turned herself in, Beata and her son were sent to a detention center. At the end of those 2 days, however, Beata’s worst nightmare came true…

A Mother’s Worst Nightmare

“Men dressed in green uniforms (border agents) told Ms. M. they needed to take her son and would not tell her why. Ms. M. said ‘no’ and demanded an explanation, but they would not tell her why they needed to take her seven-year-old son, and they took him anyway,’ explains a lawsuit Beata, referred to as Ms. M., has filed arguing that her rights have been violated.

A Traumatic Separation

“The border agents did not tell Ms. M. where they were taking her son,’ who was ‘screaming and crying’. That was the last time Ms. M. saw her son,” the lawsuit says. After Darwin was taken from her, Beata had an interview with immigration officials and proved that she was an abuse survivor…

Posting Her Bond

Once officials agreed that Beata and her son would be in physical danger if deported back to Guatemala, Beata was authorized to stay in the country as long as she posted a $12,500 bond, which she was able to pay thanks to Libre by Nexus.

A Legal Entry

“We have a charitable bonding program, and that’s how her bond was posted,” Mike Donovan said. “So she doesn’t have to pay anything. It’s based on indigency.” Once it was determined that Beata hadn’t illegally entered the country and wouldn’t be indicted, Darwin should have been returned to her immediately…

Tracking Down Her Son

Unfortunately, that’s not what happened. After Libre by Nexus posted her bond, Beata was released from a detention center on June 15 and tried to find her son as no one would tell her where he was aside from being somewhere in Phoenix, or if he was safe.

Reaching Out For Help

After her release, Beata was allowed just 1 phone call to Darwin “Her son was crying and scared,” the lawsuit says. An official told Beata Darwin was fine but she could hear him shrieking and in distress in the background. Not knowing what else to do, Beata reached out to Libre by Nexus to see if they could help…

The Lawsuit

The firm agreed to help her file a lawsuit and took her case on pro-bono. According to the lawsuit filed against 6 federal agencies and 10 senior officials, Beata alleges that the government violated constitutional guarantees of due process, which applies to all people in the country, not just citizens. By taking her son, the government also denied her of her son’s ‘care and custody’.

A Controversial Policy

Beata’s lawsuit challenges President Trump’s controversial zero-tolerance policy to prosecute anyone who enters the country illegally, which has caused more than 2,300 children to be forcefully separated from adults at the border. Trump has since reversed the policy of separating children from their families and guardians, but there are still thousands of children who have not been returned to their families…

Fighting For Her Child

While Beata doesn’t want to focus on politics, she will do anything to get her son back and hopes her fight will help other mothers in similar situations. “Right now my main focus is to get Darwin back in my arms,” Beata said. “I am a mom, and mothers fight for their children. I hope my fight can help other moms avoid this horror in their lives.”

A Court Order

“All I want is to be with my son. I want to see him. I appreciate very much the attorneys and all of their help. I want to be with my son; I want to see him again,” Beata said. After a court hearing, Darwin was ordered to be released to Beata and was flown from Phoenix to Washington on Friday, June 22, 2018…

An Emotional Reunion

When Darwin landed shortly after 2 a.m., he was finally reunited with his mother. “I started crying when I saw him because he is the only child I have,” Beata said. “I thank God because I have him here with me. He is now sad, but nobody is going to separate us again.”

The Fight Isn’t Over

Even though Beata has been reunited with her son, her attorney, Mario Williams, has no plans of withdrawing the lawsuit. “We definitely will be happy when she gets her son back, but we are going to continue litigating the situation because of the broad impact this egregious policy has had on people around the country and around the world,” Williams said.

Mom Sues Government After 7-Year-Old Was Taken After Legally Crossing Border is an article from: LifeDaily

When faced with a situation that seems utterly hopeless, sometimes the only thing left to do is pray for a miracle.

When doctors insisted there was nothing a couple from England could do to save their little girl from a terminal condition, they refused to give up hope and prayed that a miracle would save their 3-year-old. Now, it seems a mysterious stranger has answered those prayers…

The First Headache

Edie Molyneux Story — www.publicdomainpictures.net

When their little girl first complained that she had a headache, a couple from Tranmere, a suburb on the Wirral Peninsula in England, didn’t think there was anything to worry about since everyone gets a headache from time to time.

Peace And Quiet

In the beginning, the parents did what everyone does when a headache arises. They made sure their toddler was drinking plenty of fluids, got enough sleep, and made sure their home was peaceful and quiet so that the headache could pass…

A Worrying Progression

Soon enough, their daughter’s headache was gone and she was back being her energetic, playful self. However, it wasn’t long before the headache came back. As time passed, the headaches came more frequently and progressively got worse.

Making An Appointment

After 6 months, their daughter’s headaches were practically a daily occurrence and the couple started to worry that something was wrong. Finally, the parents decided to make an appointment at the GP to see if their daughter was just prone to headaches or if something was causing them…

Seeking Answers

Last November, Ashleigh Stadling and her husband Stephen, took their daughter, Edie to her doctor to get some answers. “After seeing her GP she was referred to consultant pediatrician at Arrowe Park,” Ashleigh and Stephen explained.

Unlikely Possibilities

The pediatrician told the couple that their daughter most likely suffered from migraines but told them to bring Edie in for an MRI scan just to rule out any other unlikely possibilities. When the results of the MRI came back, however, Ashleigh and Stephen’s world came crashing down…

The Lump

“Last November our world was crushed,” said Ashleigh, a nursery nurse. According to the couple, doctors told them that the MRI detected a lump in Edie’s brain stem and referred her to specialists at Alder Hey children’s hospital.

The Diagnosis

“After more scans they have told us they are 95% sure that this is a brain tumor called a Diffuse Intrinsic Pontine Glioma (DIPG),” Ashleigh and Stephen explained. Doctors told the couple that DIPG is a rare form of brain cancer that occurs in children, but that wasn’t the only bad news…

An Inoperable Condition

According to the doctors, DIPG can’t be operated on because it’s located in the pons, a crucial part in the center of the brain that is responsible for controlling crucial bodily functions like breathing, sleeping, and blood pressure. It’s also responsible for sensations like balance, taste, and hearing.

The Symptoms

Symptoms of DIPG typically include headaches, balance issues, weakness, seizures, and lack of facial control. Not only is DIPG inoperable, but the tumor usually grows quickly and spreads to other parts of the brain and spinal cord…

The Prognosis

According to statistics, almost all children with the rare brain cancer die within 18 months of diagnosis. Ashleigh and Stephen pleaded with doctors that there must be something that can save their little girl, who is now 3 years old, but they told them there was sadly nothing they could do.

Inoperable And Untreatable

When the couple asked if chemotherapy was an option, doctors explained that the amount of chemotherapy Edie would need to kill the tumor would poison her tiny body. Ashleigh and Stephen, a builder, were devastated and felt powerless to help their first-born…

Out Of Options

“Radiotherapy would alleviate symptoms, make her more comfortable and ease any pain but we would inevitably still lose her,” Ashleigh explained. “We were told by our doctors to go home and make memories with the family,” the mother of 3 added.

A Glimmer Of Hope

However, Ashleigh and Stephen refused to give up on their daughter without a fight and spent hours searching for experimental or cutting edge treatments that might help Edie. Eventually, the couple found a team of doctors across the world that gave them a glimmer of hope…

An Experimental Treatment

The couple discovered a team at The Instituto de Oncología Intervencionista clinic in Monterrey, Mexico that had developed a new treatment for DIPG utilizing both chemotherapy and intra-arterial immunotherapy that targets the tumor through the arteries.

One Big Problem

Normally, chemotherapy affects the entire body, which is why it can be so brutal for patients. But with the new treatment, the drugs are administered straight into an artery in the neck, which allows the cancer-killing drugs to go straight to the tumor. The only downside is that the treatment is still experimental meaning it is incredibly expensive and isn’t covered by the NHS…

Raising Funds

According to Edie’s parents, each treatment costs £30,000, or about $40,000. Despite the cost, they signed Edie up for treatment and started raising funds. “Please support us in any way you can, even if it’s just telling people all about the disease,” the couple explained in their online fundraiser. “At the moment, we don’t know how many treatments Edie is going to need so we’re hoping to raise at least £700,000 to cover the cost.”

A Promising Start

Once they had raised enough for the first treatment, the couple flew to Mexico in January 2018 and Edie started her first round of treatment, which Edie seemed to respond well to. “The most recent MRI scan shows a small amount of shrinkage, a massive step as we were previously told the tumor was stable,” Edie’s parents explained…

A Mystery Donor

While the initial scans are promising, Edie still needs more rounds of costly treatment in Mexico. Recently, however, the couple got more miraculous news when they found out that a mysterious stranger donated £250,000, or more than $325,000 after hearing about the family’s fight when Edie was given the honorary 41st place at the Randox Health Grand National, a horse race in England.

A Huge Relief

The family still has to raise more funds, but the generous donation ensures that Edie can continue to receive treatment. “We were thrilled to get her name out there and thanks to them, there has been an anonymous donation,” the family explained. “This has taken a lot of stress away from the family and allowed us to breathe a little bit more. However, crucial funding is still needed and we will continue to work towards our fundraising goal.”

Mystery Donor Gives Terminal 3-Year-Old Fighting Chance With Generous Donation is an article from: LifeDaily

They say that it doesn’t matter where you come from: that the circumstances of one’s origin are hardly ever indicative of the type of person they will become.

Nowhere is this truer than in certain, war-torn parts of the world, places where every day, human beings have to go through extraordinary hoops just to survive, let alone be decent to one another. This is the story of one man who did just that and more to heal his nation in more ways than one…

Minister’s Son

Life in the Congo was not easy for Denis, his parents, or his eight brothers and sisters. His father was a Pentecostal minister and though he was raised to be religious, Denis soon found that prayer, while helpful in some respects, did little to cure the physical ailments of his father’s parishioners.

Complications

Denis was from a part of the world where proper medical care was little more than a pipe dream. This lack of medical help actually was nowhere more apparent than with the women who came in with complications due to childbirth. These women had no specialists, few hospitals, and limited access to medication. It all got Denis thinking…

Learning Medicine

Young as he was, he knew that above all else, his community needed doctors, real medical professionals. He decided that he would make it his life’s goal to learn medicine. He taught himself as much as he could, and when he finally came of age, he got to go to medical school in Burundi.

School Days

He graduated with flying colors and eventually secured a job as a pediatrician at a rural hospital in Lemera near Bukavu. He treated a number of pediatric patients but soon found that the issues of birth complication that had once plagued his area of the Congo seemed to be in full force even many years later…

Further Complications

Many of the new Doctor’s female patients were suffering pain and genital lesions after giving birth and his country was not equipped to deal with it. There was no gynecology to speak of in his part of the world and this was why so many lives were being claimed by birth complications. Dr. Mukwege wanted to change this.

Improve the Trade

To accomplish this goal of bringing gynecology to the Congo, Dr. Mukwege would have to travel pretty far afield. He went to France to study obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Angers. It was hard work, but like everything else he put his mind to, Denis Mukwege accomplished his goal…

Return Home

After coming back from France, Dr. Mukwege returned to the Lemara Hospital in Bukavu, where he used his new knowledge to help many in his community. Many women, who would have otherwise died from lack of proper gynecological care, survived. Nevertheless, a few short years later, war came to the Congo…

War Comes

The First Congo War had come to Dr. Mukwege’s homeland. The war, which was essentially a foreign invasion of Zaire led by Rwanda, ended up destabilizing an already unstable series of governments. Casualties were high and Denis was forced to use his skills to help not only his regular patients but many others as well…

From Near and Far

In 1999, once the conflict in the region had abated slightly, Mukwege decided to open up his own hospital. He founded the Panzi Hospital and prepared to receive patients from all over the region, especially from zones where conflict was still heavy. Patients often arrived at Panzi hospital naked, or else in horrific condition.

Brutal Attacks

Throughout the course of the first war and into the Second Congo War, Dr. Mukwege treated thousands of women. Many of these women were victims were wartime casualties who had been sexually assaulted multiple times by enemy soldiers. He also discovered that some soldiers were purposefully damaging the genitals of a number of females on the opposition…

Reconstructive Surgery

Even if Dr. Mukwege was not in a position to see the perpetrators of these atrocities punished, he was not about to stand idly by and let the women be scarred for life, or die of their injuries. To help, he dedicated part of his time, a rather large part, to performing reconstructive surgery for victims of sexual violence.

Impossible Hours

He worked tirelessly for these women, performing up to 10 surgeries a day and working near-constant 18-hour days whilst also raising a family and running a hospital. Nevertheless, Dr. Mukwege knew that he could do more. Of course, to do that, he’d have to get help from individuals who wielded much more power than he did…

Speaking Out

In September 2012, Dr. Denis Mukwege traveled to the United Nations to give a speech regarding the horrific mistreatment of female victims in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. He condemned not only the perpetrators and their ilk but also the Congolese government who did nothing to stop the atrocities.

Government Criticism

He didn’t just stop with the Congo either. Mukwege condemned other countries as well. He believed that they had not done nearly enough to stop what he called, “an unjust war that has used violence against women and rape as a strategy of war.” His words touched many-a-nerve and not all of them were happy to hear them…

Trouble Follows

On October 25 of that same year, Denis Mukwege was at his hospital when four armed men attacked his home. The men held his daughters hostage and lay in wait for him to come back home. They were planning to assassinate him, likely for speaking out against the Congolese government.

Saved his Life

Upon his return home, Denis’ guard lept into the fray to protect him. Dr. Mukwege dropped to the ground and crawled to safety. Meanwhile, the brave security guard was shot dead at the scene. Reeling from the failed attempt, the assassins released the hostages and ran for it. This was not the end of things for Mukwege though: not by a longshot…

Fled

After that unsuccessful but terrifying assassination attempt, Denis Mukwege went into exile, taking his daughters with him. They traveled to Europe and he continued to try and run Panzi Hospital from afar. Unfortunately, the hospital needed Mukwege just as much as he needed to practice medicine. In his absence, the hospital’s normally superb daily operations faltered.

They Need Me

Determined not to let the criminals win, Mukwege returned to Bukavu, to run his hospital. The entire population welcomed him with open arms and in spectacular fashion. The whole community, the entire population reserved him a warm welcome over the 20 miles from Kavumu Airport to the city itself.

True Appreciation

Not only had they greeted him with true appreciation, but his patients had sold pineapples and onions in order to raise funds to fly him back. Over the past few decades, the talented staff at Panzi Hospital has treated more than 85,000 women patients with complex gynecological damages. 60 percent of those have been caused by sexualized violence. Today, Dr. Mukwege is still fighting to repair the damage that decades of war had wrought upon his country.

Accolades

Dr. Mukwege has earned several international prizes, including the United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights, the Right Livelihood Award, the European Union’s Sakharov Prize, and the Seoul Peace Prize. He’s also been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize on more than one occasions and was voted one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in 2016.

Child of War-Torn Country Uses Skills To Repair Damage From Atrocities is an article from: LifeDaily

Money means different things to different people. Some people will tell you money is everything while others will tell you it’s the root of all evil. Your opinion on the matter probably varies a lot, depending largely on how much money you’ve got.

But for the couple of thousand people in the world worth more than a billion dollars, money means something completely different to them than it does for the rest of us. How could it not when you have the power to buy just about anything without even thinking about the tag? But financial wealth doesn’t necessarily come with a wealth of character…

Early Morning Call

Shelly Froehlich Story — www.videoblocks.com

When Shelly woke up one day, she saw that she’d missed a phone call from an unknown number early in the morning. Getting such phone calls wasn’t all that unusual for her since she ran Rotten Rottie Rescue, Arizona’s only pet adoption charity just for rottweilers.

Puppies In Need

When she opened up the voicemail, she heard the kind of sad story that was unfortunately all too common in her line of work. A fellow dog lover named Sylvia had ten dogs, six of them puppies. Due to her advancing cancer, she would no longer be able to take care of them all and she needed some help…

A Lot Of Dogs

Sylvia wanted to surrender seven of the six puppies and their mother Coco to the rescue as soon as possible. It was going to be difficult for Shelly to take all the dogs. She ran the rescue out of her home and she was already taking care of ten dogs, which was two more than she was typically comfortable with.

Doing A Favor

But because the woman was in such a dire situation, Shelly agreed to take the dogs. Figuring that Sylvia had enough financial troubles due to her medical costs, she even agreed to waive the entire $600 surrender fee…

Forever Homes

Shelly arranged for the 3-year-old mother Coco and Diesel, the smallest of the puppies, to stay with foster homes until their “forever” homes could be found. The other 5 dogs she would keep at her home for the time being.

Nightmare Scenario

But when the dogs were dropped off in mid-April, it became clear to Shelly that the situation was going to be even more difficult than she thought. It appeared that all of the dogs were in immediate need of medical treatment for various conditions…

Terrible Shape

Four of the 9-week-old puppies hadn’t received their first vaccinations, which were 3 weeks overdue and Coco had a hernia and needed to be spayed. Shelly Froehlich took care of those costs but the two 8-month-old puppies had severe hip problems from a genetic disorder that resulted from inbreeding and had apparently gone entirely untreated. On top of it all, each of the dogs had severe diarrhea and parasites, with one of them so dehydrated, he needed days on an IV in an animal hospital.

Expensive Medical Needs

Those two puppies with the hip problems would either need expensive surgery or would have to be put down to avoid a life full of nothing but severe pain. Unfortunately, the surgeries would cost as much as $20,000, something the charity could never afford. It seemed the dogs would have to be put down until Shelly found out who Sylvia really was…

Plenty Of Cash

The volunteer caring for Coco had looked up the phone number on the dog’s tags and learned that it belonged to Sylvia Shoen, the wife of the second richest man in Arizona, Joe Shoen. He was the 68-year-old son of the founder of U-haul and its current president. With $2.7 billion dollars to his name, the only man richer was Joe’s brother Mark.

Please Help

After Shelly had done the favor of taking the dogs from someone with Sylvia’s considerable resources, she thought it only right that she pay for the dogs’ medical expenses, especially considering that they’d gotten into such a bad state under her care. But when she asked her to cover the bill, she couldn’t believe it when the answer came back “no.”…

Just Write It Off

What happened next was a war of text messages between the two women with Shelly trying everything she could to get the wealthy woman to pay for her dogs’ care. She recommended that the Shoens pay the surgeon directly to make sure the money went where it was intended, and write off the costs as a donation to the non-profit, making it a tax deduction.

Appalled

Still, Sylvia refused to do the right thing. That’s when things started to get heated between the two women. “I was shocked that a woman of your wealth would have staff that would let these dogs get into the shape that they are in,” Shelly said in one text…

It’s Nothing To You

“You certainly can afford [the surgery],” she wrote. “You are a billionaire! You probably have a handbag that costs more than what their surgery will cost.” It’s true the $20,000 would be nothing to her. It would be less than 1 tenth of 1 percent of 1 percent of her total wealth. “You probably have a handbag that costs more than what their surgery will cost,” Shelly added.

A Copper Penny

“Please do this for them. I beg you. Don’t force me to put them out of their misery when you can give them a good life,” Shelly continued. Sylvia replied “Crazy dog adoption lady trying to squeeze the Shoen’s for $$$. This B**** will never see a copper penny!” That’s when Shelly threatened to go to social media…

I’ll Tell The World

“I will make sure that everybody knows about your dirty little secrets, and they will hear about how you neglected them of the medical care that they needed, and how god awful skinny they were when they arrived, full of parasites and illness,” Shelly wrote. When Sylvia still refused, Shelly posted screenshots of their text conversations on Facebook.

Going Viral

Their vicious exchange spread quickly, getting over 800 shares in just a short period of time. There were a few people who stood up for Sylvia, saying that she’d just been through a brutal bout with cancer and had simply hired a bad caretaker for the dogs. But the majority of the people had nothing but disdain for the way the dogs had been treated and the billionaire’s refusal to make things right…

Just Give Them Back

Two days later, Joe Shoen drove to Rotten Rottie Rescue to take the dogs back but Shelly refused to give them up. She had concerns about returning the dogs to owners who’d let them get in such bad shape, especially after getting some calls about the condition they were in from people who’d been to the Shoens’ home.

Fine, We’ll Pay

After a few days of intense social media pressure, the Shoens decided to give in to Shelly’s wishes and pay for the dogs’ medical expenses, which came out to about $15,300 for the parasite treatment and the two hip surgeries…

Thank You

“Im very grateful to the Shoens for taking care of their expenses and getting them the help that they need,” Shelly said. “I’m happy they finally stepped up.” She could then devote her energies toward getting the now healthy dogs placed in forever homes.

Take A Breath

The Shoens were also glad to put this headache behind them. Joe said he was glad to be able to again focus on his wife in her recovery and raising their three children. “She’s trying to make sure she’s alive to see her son graduate from high school,” said Joe. He thought the conflict ultimately wasn’t about the money. “It has to do with emotions and two ladies who love dogs who somehow got cross with each other. You’ve probably seen a lot of misunderstandings on social media. We’d all do well to count to three before we start posting.”

Rescue Shelter Takes To Facebook After Text Battle With Miserly Billionaire is an article from: LifeDaily

Unfortunately, in today’s society, if you fit the description of someone that previously committed a crime, you are put into the same category as that person, even if you are innocent. This stereotyping is what has persisted in our society for so many years.

In the case of the following story, two women were on a leisurely trip to Walgreens, when they were unfairly targeted because of the way that they looked. What happened next left the women furious and scarred by the experience, unlikely to ever return there again…

Odd Announcement

Walgreens Racial Profiling Story — www.insideedition.com

Two women were shopping at a Walgreens in Florida when they overheard on the loudspeaker, “Security, check the floor.” Suddenly, they felt unwelcome, as there were not that many other people in the store. They just had a feeling that the message was in regards to them.

They Just Had A Feeling

Their suspicions were soon confirmed when an employee called the police on them. Her exact words were, “two females with two empty bags putting items into the bags.” She continued to tell police…

Cosmetology

“They’re walking around putting items on the inside of the bag. So, I wanted to know if an officer could come down here just to make sure before they exit the store because we’re not allowed to search the bags.” Cousins, Davis and Neal had just stopped into Walgreens to pick up some beauty supplies since they work in the beauty industry.

Surrounded

They picked out their items, paid for them at the register, and had no idea police were on their way to confront them. As they made their way to their car, three officers swarmed around them…

Insisted On Searching Their Bags

The whole thing was caught on surveillance camera as the officers brought the two women back inside to the Walgreens to check their bags. Despite telling the men that they were paying customers, and voluntarily offering to show them their receipts, the officers insisted their belongings be searched.

Stolen Items?

One of the women pulled out a cell phone and started recording the moment an officer searched her bag. She could be heard commenting in the background, “I guess we’re stealing something like we don’t make enough money or maybe because we’re black.” The officer was searching her purse right in the middle of the store for every customer to see, it was mortifying…

Humiliated

Piece by piece, he went through every single item in both of the women’s bags, and after a thorough search, it was determined that neither of them had stolen anything. Davis was furious, saying, “There’s a line where you can be suspicious and do your job, but a part of doing your job is being sure- ‘Let me be sure that they’re actually stealing something before I get the police involved.’”

Racial Profiling?

So, what was this all about? Had they been racially profiled? Both of the women were African American, but so was the store employee who called police on them, so it made no sense…

Compliant With Police

Davis said that as soon as police came over to them saying that Walgreens had received a report that someone was stealing, she had a quick response. “How?” Davis said. “Here’s our bags. Here’s our receipt.”

There’s No Denying It

She also noticed that the Walgreens manager who was working at the time of the incident was also black, but regardless, she believes this was a classic case of racial profiling. This is why Davis thinks so…

On Why She Thinks She Was Being Racially Profiled

“Your race doesn’t mean anything,” Davis said. “I can racially profile against another black person. You can be racially profiled against your own kind. We weren’t the only ones in the store, but we were being followed…We were harassed and they had no proof of anything.”

The Aftermath

Since the incident, Walgreens has been in contact with the women. The Miramar Police Department is also aware of the issue, saying that the women voluntarily provided their bags to be searched. Of course, this is because they knew they weren’t hiding anything…

Classic Response

A Walgreens spokesperson responded to the incident, “First and foremost, we firmly believe everyone should be welcome and treated with respect at our stores, and we’ll continue working to make sure that happens.” The spokesperson continued with how seriously they take matters such as this.

Sharing Sherri Shepherd’s Experience

“Our policies strictly prohibit any form of discrimination or racial profiling, and any such occurrence will not be tolerated…We take this matter very seriously are sorry it happened.” Still, Crystal Davis and Santanna Neal want this to be brought to everyone’s attention. Furthermore, Davis says she’ll never shop at a Walgreens again. This incident comes just months after Sherri Shepherd had a nightmarish experience at Staples. Here’s what happened…

Staples In Hollywood, California

The former View co-host says she was shopping at a Staples in East Hollywood and she and her friend asked to use the bathroom. She claims that they were told the bathroom was broken and to go to a nearby Rite Aid.

Asking To Use The Restroom

But Shepherd says she was suspicious and asked another Staples worker, who told them it was fine to use the bathroom and gave them the combination. “We used the bathroom,” Shepherd said on Instagram. Then, afterward, she asked the manager why the cashier would say that?

Alerting The Manager

Shepherd was told that maybe the bathrooms needed to be cleaned. But Shepherd said, “They didn’t need to be cleaned. They were fine- why would you lie?” The manager’s response was, “If you’re not going to buy anything, we’re instructed to tell people that.”

Sharing Her Story On Social Media

Shepherd, unhappy with the manager’s response, went back to the original cashier and that’s when the arguing began. Shepherd claims the cashier yelled at her and stormed away. A furious Shepherd said in an Instagram video…

The Aftermath

“I’m not ghetto, but I sure wanted to be.” She said, “Staples, is this how you treat your customers? You racially profile them?” After the incident, Shepherd complained to the Staples corporate officer and the cashier wound up being terminated as a result.

This Isn’t The First Time And Won’t Be The Last

In response to both incidents, people have responded saying that they too have been turned away from using the bathroom in other places. This can be because employees don’t want to clean up after other people, or a number of other unfortunately unsettling reasons, most of which, we may never know.

Store Manager Unfairly Targets Black Women During Theft At Walgreens is an article from: LifeDaily

There are many people out there that believe, rather cynically we might add, that it’s impossible in this day and age for one person to make a difference. It’s not that they can’t, it’s just that the world’s attention span is so short that any difference they make will be forgotten in the next fifteen minutes.

This was not always the case, however. There was a time, not so long ago, when someone could, by way of a single act of kindness, make a difference not only to one person but to many…

Normal Teen

Elizabeth was a normal teen. She faced all the problems that you’d expect a normal 14-year-old to face. There were boys she liked that she couldn’t talk to, schoolwork she couldn’t get ahead of, and friends who were more frenemies than allies. All those problems were nothing compared to what came next.

Rude Awakening

It was Liz’s fourteenth birthday. She had gone to sleep the night before thinking that she’d wake up at fourteen and all those issues would somehow vanish. I mean, who doesn’t wish for that? That morning, however, Liz awoke to find that her problems hadn’t gone away at all. In fact, she found that even though she was awake and could open her eyes, the rest of her was paralyzed…

Spinal Tumor

Liz’s parents took her to the doctor immediately, where a battery of tests revealed that she had a developed a rare condition. The reason she had been briefly paralyzed was that she had a tumor attached to her spine, pressing down on her nerves, and if it wasn’t dealt with soon, Liz could lose more than just motor control.

Brass Tacks

Liz was told that the tumor on her spine represented an aggressive form of osteoblastoma: bone cancer. The cancer was also in such an advanced stage that even if the delicate surgery to remove it was successful, the subsequent treatment would only lengthen her life for a short while. At fourteen years old, Liz was told she had little over five years left to live…

Admitted

Liz Brown had been told that there was little chance she’d survive into adulthood. Suddenly all those boys and school problems seemed to fly out the window. She would spend the next few weeks in the hospital, undergoing treatment and round-the-clock care. It was not an easy road ahead.

Helpless and Hopeless

Despite the feelings of helplessness and hopelessness she was experiencing, Liz would soon learn that she wasn’t alone in the world. It was there, sitting in her hospital bed in Cambridge hospital, that she would meet the kind, slightly batty woman who would change her life for the better…

Odd Jobs

Besides cancer, the struggle to recover, and the impending doom that awaited her, Liz’s other problem in the hospital was that she was too young to be in an adult ward. Amongst the other kids in the children’s ward, Liz felt even more alone. It was lucky for her then that a nurse came along to help lift her from her doldrums.

Above and Beyond

While in the hospital, Ms. Brown was looked after by a kind nurse called Debbie Bye. Debbie was the type of woman whose true calling in life was more apparent to others than to herself. What she saw as simply doing her job and helping sick children, others saw as going above and beyond the call of duty…

Tough Times Ahead

Debbie, for her part, remembers the day that Lize was diagnosed. She was partially paralyzed, terrified, and was, as far as anyone knew, living on borrowed time. When she heard that the poor teen had been given roughly five years maximum to live, she knew that she had to do something to help.

Sweet Deal

Realising how difficult Liz had it in the children’s ward, Nurse Debbie started assigning her small tasks to occupy the girl’s time. She may have been unsteady on her feet, but she could definitely do some walking. The first job was to deliver mail to the adult patients. The task also helped her get in some impromptu physical therapy too…

Fun Activities

It was silly jobs like delivering mail which ultimately helped Liz cope with what she was dealing with. During the months she was there, Nurse Debbie would take her with the other kids on day trips, or go bobbing for apples during the fall. There were even some nights where the nurses would take the kids to their apartments to watch videos and eat pizza.

Kids will be Kids

Years later, when Liz was mostly recovered, she remembered how it felt to watch Debbie work with the younger children. “I remember watching Debbie work and being so inspired by the way that she did things. She showed me that children are children no matter what is wrong with them and she treated us all the same…” That period of Liz’s life would fade into memory, for a time anyway…

Inspiration

Liz Brown had not only survived her brief bout with cancer, she’d actually lived much longer than the assumed five years the doctors had believed she’d last. In fact, she was so inspired by nurse Debbie and her time in the hospital, that she went on to work with children as a sensory support assistant.

Real Person

Liz continued by saying that “She might have thought she was doing her job but it went above and beyond that…I have done is down to the way she realized that spirited, rebellious teenager was a real person, no matter what was wrong with her.” This all stuck with her into her adulthood and she wondered what had happened to the nurse who changed her life…

Thirty Years Hence

Thirty years after Liz Brown’s brief stay in the hospital, Debbie Bye also remembered the young girl and the silly jobs she’d given her. She had helped so many children over the years, but it seemed that this girl, out of so many others, stuck in her memory. She would soon find out that she wasn’t the only one wanting to reconnect.

Wondered for Years

Mrs. Bye, who now lives in Derbyshire, often wondered what had happened to “Lizzy.” She hoped that the doctors were wrong, that said had survived to adulthood to have a family and children of her own, but she had no way of knowing. She decided that she’d find out, using the best tool for reconnecting in the world: social media…

Take to Twitter

Before Debbie Bye could send out the call, Lizzy had already done so. She tweeted an appeal to find Nurse Debbie, asking if anyone else knew her or where she was these days. With a few short days, her tweet was shared and retweeted more than 1,000 times. Through the magic of the Internet, the two soon found one another.

Found Each Other

Many of her friends had sent her a BBC article about Lizzy’s appeal, asking if the Nurse Debbie she was talking about in the article was her. She couldn’t believe it. When Debbie Bye heard that Lizzy was looking for her too, she reached out and got in touch with her. As she dialed the phone, she held her breath….

In Tears

They were both in tears as they spoke. When they’d met, so long ago, Debbie was a 21-year-old nurse and Liz a 14-year-old student, now they were a semi-retired grandma and a mother-of-three. The two planned a physical meeting as well so that they could hug and learn even more about what had happened over the past three decades.

Never Thought

“I enjoyed my job and did my job to the best I could, but didn’t feel like I had made that much impact on someone that 30 years later they could remember my name – it’s a bit overwhelming,” said Debbie Bye afterward. But if this story is any indication, it’s proof that one person can indeed make a difference.

Young Woman Searches For Nurse Who Saved Her After Dreadful Diagnosis is an article from: LifeDaily

When hitting rock bottom, it can feel like life has spun so far out of control that things will never get back on track. However, once you hit the bottom, the only place to go is up.

After a rough childhood led a Washington State woman down a path of drug abuse and crime, she thought she would never be able to reach her true potential. However, after reaching rock bottom and fighting for a second chance, she’s living proof that people don’t have to be defined by their mistakes…

A Runaway

Tarra Simmons Story — www.videoblocks.com

After being born to parents who struggled with substance abuse problems, growing up in poverty, and being the victim of sexual violence as a little girl, 1 Washington State native felt she had no choice but to run away from home when she was 13 years old.

Life On The Streets

While she had nowhere to go and no one to help her, the girl knew that a life on her own was better than living in a toxic environment with her parents. Over the following years, the girl spent periods homeless and living on the street…

A Young Mother

By the time the girl was 15, however, she had fallen pregnant and became a mother even though she was just a child herself. Despite everything working against her, she tried to put herself and her child on a better path by getting a job as a nurse.

Unresolved Trauma

After becoming a registered nurse, the young mother worked as a nurse for 11 years. She had gotten her life back on track for the first time, but sadly, it didn’t last long before her life was derailed, yet again, since she never dealt with the trauma of her past…

Self-Medicated

During her time working as a nurse, Tarra Simmons had access to endless prescription medications and became addicted to prescription drugs as well as methamphetamine. According to Simmons, the drug addiction had started as a way to self-medicate her depression.

Spinning Out Of Control

The drug use quickly spun out of control, as did her life. In 2001, Simmons was convicted of second-degree assault. In 2011, she went back to prison for another 20 months after being convicted of organized retail theft, unlawful possession of a firearm and drug possession…

A Prison Sentence

According to Simmons, she would have people shoplift for her and would sell the stolen goods to fund her meth addiction. Overall, Simmons was arrested 3 times and spent more than 3 years total behind bars in a state prison.

Reaching Rock Bottom

Being behind bars should have been rock bottom for the mother, however, during her time in prison, Simmons reached a new low when her marriage ended, her house went into foreclosure, and she went through 2 bankruptcies…

A Glimmer Of Hope

Simmons felt completely hopeless, but after reaching rock bottom, the only place to go is up. While going through some of the hardest days of her life in prison, Tarra found a glimmer of hope from the lawyers and law students that would come to her prison to provide legal aid and teach inmates about their rights.

A Helping Hand

“A lot of lawyers came alongside me and helped me with all of my legal issues,” Tarra said about the lawyers who came to help her while she was in the Washington Corrections Center for Women in Purdy, Pierce County…

An Inspiration

“All I needed was someone to give me a seed of hope,” Tarra explained. “They empowered me to think I could learn the law. I thought my life was over. But these law students really inspired me.” Tarra clung to that small glimmer of hope and decided to get her life on track for good.

A Step In The Right Direction

After being released from prison, Tarra got a job at Burger King and committed herself to her recovery to make sure she didn’t relapse and eventually end up back in prison. She also made the first step in achieving her new dream…

Following Her Dreams

While in prison, Tarra was inspired by all the lawyers that helped her along the way and dreamed of becoming a lawyer herself so that she could help rehabilitate other former convicts. Once out of prison, Tarra applied to the Seattle University School of Law and was honest about her criminal past.

Life In Law School

Tarra, who was now remarried in a healthy relationship and living with her son and stepdaughter, was accepted into the program and would commute about an hour and a half to 2 hours each way to make it to class from her home in Kitsap County…

Keeping Faith

“There were days I was taking the ferry and exhausted and studying so hard and my kids were acting out and my husband was frustrated,” Tarra said. “I would do some reading, thinking, ‘Just for today, if I stay on the right track, things will get better.’”

A Hard-Earned Degree

Things did eventually get better. After working tirelessly for years, Tarra earned a 3.7 GPA and graduated from Seattle University School of Law with honors and was awarded the dean’s medal. She also was awarded a Skadden Fellowship, a prestigious honor given to a law-school graduate focused on public-interest law…

The Last Obstacle

However, Tarra still had 1 more major obstacle to overcome. She had graduated with a law degree, but her past still posed a problem after the Washington State Bar Association’s Character and Fitness Board recommended Simmons not be allowed to take the bar exam and get a law license. The panel argued that she posed a risk of reoffending and was a risk to the honor and dignity of the law.

The Supreme Court Weighs In

Tarra refused to just give up and appealed the decision. “Obviously, my record is bad,” she said. “But I have done everything in my power to prove that I am not what it says I am. Our character should be defined by how we respond to the mistakes that we’ve made.” Eventually, the state Supreme Court agreed with Tarra and ruled she could take the bar exam. “I never imagined that my case would go to the state Supreme Court and be the first one in 30 years that would break open barriers for other people,” Tarra said…

Passion From Experience

“One’s past does not dictate one’s future,” the Supreme Court explained in their ruling. “It is precisely Tarra’s lived experiences and the way in which she has made restitution and rebuilt her life that make her such a powerful and passionate advocate for justice-involved individuals who are seeking to re-enter society,” added Annette Clark, dean of the Seattle University law school.

The End And The Beginning

The 40-year-old ended up passing the bar exam and was sworn into the Washington State Bar on June 16, 2018. “This day is the finale of a really long and hard journey that started when I was in prison. When I was at my lowest moment, I never thought that it would be this amazing,” Tarra said. “I hope this sends a message to other people that you’re never defined by your worst mistakes. You can keep coming back, there’s always a way…you can still achieve whatever it is you want.” Now, Tarra plans to work with people re-entering society after prison. “The law is powerful for those who have the information. I wanted to be someone who bridges that gap.”

Ex-Con Overcomes Rough Past To Work On Other Side Of Legal System is an article from: LifeDaily

No matter who you are, you can probably agree that you’d rather go through your day without being stopped by a police officer. The best thing you can expect is that the stop will be a waste of both your and the officer’s time. The worst thing some people expect is that they’ll end up in handcuffs, taking a ride in a squad car.

Most people are secure in the knowledge that they’ve committed no crimes and, as such, expect a routine stop to only be a minor inconvenience. But as one teenager would learn, doing nothing wrong is not always enough protection to stay on the right side of the law…

Walking To School

Mariah Charles Story — Youth Today / YouTube

On a Friday morning at the end of April, a 19-year-old named Mariah was walking with her 17-year-old friend Danielle, heading to school in Brooklyn. They were debating whether it was better to become a police officer or join the Coast Guard after they were done with high school.

Cop Or Guard?

Mariah was leaning toward becoming a cop but Danielle saw things differently. Being in the Coast Guard would “have way more respect,” she said. “That’s the last thing I remember talking about.” Just after that brief exchange, the trouble began…

Police Encounter

It started when an NYPD squad car pulled over and an officer and a sergeant got out of the vehicle and approached the two students, asking them where they were going. An officer stopping a young person to make sure they weren’t skipping school wasn’t all that uncommon in New York City. The two teens had encountered this kind of situation before.

No ID

After the girls told the policemen they were on the way to the South Brooklyn Community School, which was just around the corner, the sergeant asked them for ID. Unfortunately, Mariah didn’t happen to have her school ID on her that day…

Walk With Me

Mariah told the officer she didn’t have her ID and suggested that he walk with her to school. “If someone doesn’t have ID they literally walk with you to school so that’s what I thought they were going to do,” she said. “I thought wrong.”

Not So Fast

As she tried to continue on her way to school, the sergeant grabbed Mariah’s arms and pulled them behind her back. The other officer, who had been talking to Danielle a couple of feet away, came over to help restrain her…

What Are You Doing?

With one cop on each arm, the 5’2, 120-pound teenager began to struggle. “I’m going to school and I’m a female,” she shouted. “You’re touching me and I’m a female. What are you doing? What are you doing?” That’s when the policemen slammed her to the ground.

Get Help

As the police were cuffing her, Mariah shouted: “Danny, please go to my school” to her friend, asking her to get help from the school officials. As a crowd began to gather, the officers lifted Mariah and literally threw her head first into the back of their vehicle, shut the door and drove away…

No Cause

The police had confronted Mariah as part of a truancy stop but, being 19 at the time, she was older than the legal dropout age of 17. Also, under NYC law, you are not legally required to have an ID, nor are you required to show one to an officer unless they have reasonable suspicion that you have, are currently, or are going to commit a crime.

I Don’t Understand

Nevertheless, Mariah was charged with resisting arrest and obstructing governmental administration. “I feel confused,” she said. “I don’t understand why them cops did it.” More than a year later, she was waiting in the hallway of Brooklyn Criminal Court, waiting to appear before a judge with a tough decision to make…

ACD?

Mariah was joined that day by her Legal Aid attorney, Robert Heilbrun and Dennis Flores, a “cop watcher” and co-founder of a local community organization. The decision they were debating was whether or not Mariah should accept an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal or “ACD” plea deal.

Seemingly Simple Choice

An ACD says that after admitting guilt, so long as you aren’t arrested again within 6 months of taking the plea deal, the charges will be dismissed. It sounds like an easy choice to make until you consider that the charges wouldn’t be expunged from her record, admitting guilt would adversely affect a civil case Mariah might bring against the city and, on the most basic level, she’d done nothing wrong…

Unfair Dilenma

Clarissa Sosin, the journalist who first reported on the story said “Critics of ACDs say it incentivizes defendants to take a plea, even if they feel they’re innocent. Going to trial opens the possibility of a conviction and a stiff sentence, so it’s common for defense attorneys to recommend taking an ACD.”

The Best Choice

“I’m not telling you to take it or not take it,” Heilbrun told Mariah. “My job is to make sure you don’t get a criminal record.” About a half hour later, she had made her decision. She stood before the judge and pleaded not guilty to the charges…

Not The Easiest

“I didn’t feel I should go with the easiest decision,” Mariah said. “Me taking an ACD is saying that it’s ok what they did. I feel like I want to teach others and open up my generation’s eyes to what we’re going through.” Of course refusing the ACD opened Mariah up to the risk of being sent to jail, should she lose the trial.

Going Viral

When news of Mariah’s decision to fight was covered by the Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, her story along with a video of the incident went viral. In just a couple of days, nearly 200,000 people read the story and it generated nearly 6,000 comments on Reddit, most of them critical of the way Mariah’s arrest and prosecution were handled in particular and the general problems of the legal system that her situation illuminates…

Horrible Predicament

One person to weigh in was Judge Steven Teske, a nationally recognized expert on juvenile justice reform. “It is a horrible predicament for Mariah who knows she is not guilty but is in a quandary whether she should go to trial because to do so would increase the punishment,” he said.

The Lesson

“What are we teaching our children about fairness when we punish them for making a decision to exercise their 6th Amendment right to a trial? What does it teach them about the right to innocence until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt?” he continued. Speaking on prosecutors and judges’ willingness to rely on plea deals, “It is sad when a process established for our own conveniences negates fundamental rights in our Constitution” he said…

Dismissed

Within 2 days, the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office decided to formally dismiss the case against Mariah, vindicating her belief in her innocence. She would be free to move forward in her life without the stain on her record.

Ongoing Debate

Of course, that didn’t put an end to the debate over the police’s use of force and the way plea deals are used in the justice system, especially in the case of juveniles. In the age of cell phone videos and body cameras, it seems every time you look up there is a new video and debate of the police use of force. At the same time, incarceration rates have never been higher, due at least in part to innocent people accepting plea deals for fear of even harsher punishments.

Teenager’s Quest For Vindication After Her Violent Police Encounter is an article from: LifeDaily

Childhood is supposed to be a carefree and fun-filled time, but for kids who grow up without the love, support, and stability that they need, the stress and trauma can leave them scarred for life.

After a traumatic childhood, 1 London-native resorted to an extreme coping mechanism to deal with the deep emotional scars. However, it quickly became addicting and made her a target of bullying. Now, after more than a decade, the 26-year-old is finally standing up for herself with a drastic hairstyle…

A Foster Child

Siobhan Hudson Story — www.nchschant.com

While most of her classmates went home to their loving, stable homes every day after school, 1 woman from London spent the majority of her childhood in and out of various foster homes. After a while, the instability started to take a toll on the young girl.

The Foster Homes

Some of the foster parents that took the young girl in genuinely tried to give her a loving and supportive environment to grow up in, but other foster homes that she was placed in were, unfortunately, no place for a child. Over time, the uncertainty and mistreatment left her traumatized…

A Stressful Period

By the time the London-native was a teenager, she had been placed in more than half a dozen foster homes. The instability from all the moves and the trauma she experienced in some of the homes quickly manifested as anxiety.

An Obvious Difference

When she was younger, the girl didn’t quite understand how different her life was compared to her classmates at school. But as a teenager, the differences were apparent and it only amplified her feelings of hopelessness and helplessness…

A Traumatic Upbringing

“I was in foster care and had been in about seven foster homes. I was treated pretty badly in one of them and ended up in a children’s home. It was a very stressful time for me,” Siobhan Hudson said about her less than ideal upbringing.

The Boiling Point

As time went by, the anxiety about her home life continued to grow until it reached an all-time high when she was just 16 years old, an age that is supposed to be fun and relatively carefree. When it finally reached a boiling point, the now 26-year-old found a way to cope…

Releasing Some Stress

“I started pulling when I was 16,” Siobhan said about when she started pulling her hair, which was her way of releasing some of the stress and anxiety that had built up over the years in the foster care system. “I was sat at my computer then I started pulling the hair, I liked the feeling.”

An Unhealthy Coping Mechanism

“I would pull one strand at a time around the crown area,” Siobhan explained. However, the then-16-year-old had no idea that her coping mechanism for stress would eventually cause her even more stress and anxiety over the next decade…

Chasing The Relief

“There was a feeling of release. It took all the stress away and the more I pulled the more it helped. It’s a physical and emotional feeling of relief,” said Siobhan. However, soon enough the teenager needed to pull out more and more of her hair to feel the same amount of stress relief.

Addicted To Pulling

“I started pulling the odd strand and then gradually I started pulling more until I was pulling about 50 to 70 hairs at a time. I was doing it every single day even at night time,” Siobhan said about her stress-relief technique, which was quickly becoming a compulsion…

The Bald Patches

“When I was unable to sleep I would just keep pulling until my arms got tired then eventually drop off to sleep,” Siobhan said. Soon, all the hair pulling left the teenager with bald spots on her head, which only made her feel more self-conscious and stressed.

A Vicious Cycle

Because she had no other way to deal with stress, the teenager was sucked into a vicious cycle of pulling even more hair. Soon, cruel bullies at school started to notice Siobhan’s thinning hair and relentlessly teased her about it…

A Target For Bullies

“I felt really bad because there are people who lose their hair because of cancer and I’m pulling mine out,” Siobhan said. “Other kids would point at the bald spot and ask what it was. It made me feel so depressed and I didn’t want to go to school.”

A Quick-Fix

Siobhan tried to hide the bald spots by filling them in with eyeshadow, but the more hair she pulled, the less she could hide the growing bald patches. “But then the staff at the children’s home were amazing and took me out to buy a wig,” Siobhan said. “I felt really confident but part of me would be like ‘I’m walking in public with a wig. Can people tell…”

Rock Bottom

“I had really low self-esteem, my confidence hit rock bottom. The thought that people could tell I was wearing a wig would run through my head all the time. It stopped me going out,” said Siobhan, who later learned that she suffered from trichotillomania 2 years later.

The Diagnosis

Trichotillomania is a disorder that falls on the OCD spectrum and involves irresistible, recurring urges to pull body hair out. “I hadn’t heard of trichotillomania,” Siobhan said. “It was only when I was reading a magazine one day that I saw an article and thought that must be what I had. I then went to a doctor but I felt like they looked at me as if I was stupid…”

No Help

“They didn’t know what to suggest to me. I don’t think there was enough information out there about it, I haven’t been back since. I’ve not received any treatment or medication for it,” said Siobhan, who is now a mother to 2 little girls. “I still do it when I’m bored or if I’m feeling stressed or feel things are getting too much. I’m worried that if my kids Sasha-Jane, two, and Jaimeleigh, one, see me pull they will end up pulling themselves and I don’t want it to happen to them.”

Enough Is Enough

While Siobhan is trying to overcome trichotillomania with willpower, she is tired of hiding under a wig and feeling self-conscious. “It’s been an everyday part of my life – covering myself up and hiding away and not feeling normal,” said the 26-year-old, who decided to shave her head and give up her wigs. “It’s only recently that I decided to go out with a bald head. I had a moment where I thought ‘I can’t keep going out like this…’”

Bald And Beautiful

“When I first went out bald I came across a few small-minded people who stared and whispered but I thought to myself ‘rise above it’ and I didn’t let it get to me. I told myself ‘they don’t know what you’re going through’. It was about saying ‘this is me’ and who I am,” Siobhan said. “I felt empowered and I’d never felt so confident in all my life. I think it was because I was willing to accept what I’ve got and that nobody is perfect.”

Spreading Awareness

“I think I’ve turned a corner now and going out without my wig and not caring about it is the bravest thing I’ve done,” she added. Now, Siobhan is sharing her story to spread awareness about trichotillomania in the hopes of helping another sufferer. “There’s a lack of understanding. People will tell you to just stop pulling but they don’t understand it’s a compulsion and it’s not that simple. People think you can control it or that it’s a habit. I tell them it’s something I do that I can’t control… I would say to others going through this to not be scared. Tell someone what you’re going through and be confident – you can get through it.”

OCD Sufferer Makes Powerful Statement Against Bullies With Drastic Hairstyle is an article from: LifeDaily

Our justice system prides itself on getting justice for victims and punishing those who have committed a crime, but sometimes, the wrong man ends up paying the price.

In 2007, a father from St. Paul, Minnesota was put through years of hell after a jury decided he needed to be punished for committing a tragic crime. Over 2 years later, however, 2 lawyers figured out who the real victim was…

A Typical Sunday Morning

Koua Fong Lee Story — John Hansen / YouTube

In 2006, a man living in St. Paul, Minnesota was driving home from church on a Sunday morning with his wife, who was pregnant at the time, their 3 other children, and his wife’s parents like he did every other Sunday.

The Usual Route

That morning, the father took the St. Paul freeway home from church and took the Snelling Avenue exit like he did every other Sunday morning after the family’s weekly church outing. However, this Sunday would not end like all the rest…

The Stop Sign

After exiting eastbound Interstate 94, the father, a Hmong immigrant who had relocated to Minnesota with the rest of his family, was driving along the off-ramp and started to brake to slow the car down when he saw 2 other cars stopped at an intersection.

‘Brakes Not Working’

However, when the man stepped down on his brake pedal, the car failed to slow down. Instead of slowing down, the car actually felt as if it were accelerating. “Brakes not working,” the dad repeatedly shouted at the car zoomed toward the intersection…

The Crash

Koua Fong Lee pressed down as hard as he could on the brake pedal of his 1996 Toyota Camry, but it didn’t do anything to slow the car down. When he finally reached the intersection, the car was out of control and slammed into 2 cars.

A Deadly Accident

Koua’s Camry ended up crashing into the back of a 1995 Oldsmobile Ciera, which ended up killing the driver, Javis Trice-Adams, and his son, 6-year-old Javis Jr. Javis’ 6-year-old niece was also in the car and was paralyzed in the crash. She tragically died about a year later from injuries she sustained in the accident…

An Unbelievable Excuse

Javis’ father and daughter were also in the car at the time of the crash and were severely injured but managed to survive. In addition, Koua’s family were also injured from the impact of the crash. When police arrived Koua insisted he had pressed the brakes but police didn’t believe him.

The Charges

As a result of the deadly crash, Koua was charged with vehicular homicide and went to court in 2007. He never changed his story about what happened in the moments before the accident, but the prosecution argued he accidentally pressed on the accelerator…

His Defense

Despite Koua repeatedly testifying that he only stepped on the brake pedal before rear-ending the Oldsmobile at around 90 miles per hour, his own lawyer, Tracy Eichhorn-Hicks, told the jury that he must have stepped on the accelerator.

The Jury’s Decision

At the end of the trial over the tragic accident in 2007, the jury found Koua guilty and convicted him of vehicular homicide and he was sentenced to 8 years in prison. Even after being sent to prison, however, Koua still insisted he had done everything in his power to stop the car and only stepped on the brake pedal…

2 Years Later…

About 2 years into his 8-year sentence, Toyota disclosed that some of their cars had experienced acceleration issues. With the help of the Innocence Project of Minnesota, attorneys Brent Shafer and Bob Hilliard took on Koua’s case to see if a car malfunction was behind the accident.

A Thorough Investigation

Koua’s new attorneys had the car inspected, which his original lawyer never did, and found evidence that the car’s cruise control may have jammed the throttle into an open position. “If the cruise control was working properly, it would allow the brakes to take over and the car to stop,” said Hilliard…

The Evidence

“We see a mechanical device that appears to stick open and therefore keeps the throttle from closing,” Hilliard added. They also found evidence from the brake light filament proving the brake pedal was being pressed at the time of the crash.

The New Argument

“It means that Mr. Lee had his foot on the brake as he testified,” said Hilliard. “There is enough evidence now to support a new trial,” he added. While petitioning for a new trial, Hilliard argued that Koua’s car had malfunctioned like the millions of Toyotas that were recalled after the accident…

A Second Chance

Hilliard also presented 50 affidavits from other Toyota drivers who claimed to have experienced the same accelerating issue and argued that Koua’s original attorney botched the case. After hearing the evidence, the judge ordered a new trial.

The First Moments Of Freedom

After serving 2.5 years of his sentence, Koua was released from prison on August 5, 2010, in preparation for the new trial. He was overcome with emotion when he finally got to hold his wife’s hands again, which is something he often dreamed about while wrongfully imprisoned…

A Dream Come True

“Sometimes, when I was sleeping in the cot, I dreamed (I was at home), and then I woke up still in the little room,” Koua explained. “But now, my dream has come true.” Less than an hour later, Koua got even more good news.

‘It’s Over’

While talking to the press, Koua found out that the judge vacated his convictions after the prosecution announced they would not appeal the judge’s decision or retry Houa for the charges. “It’s over,” the attorney’s told Koua. “It’s over…”

Making Up For Lost Time

When asked what he was looking forward to the most as a free man, Koua said all he wanted was to make up for the time he lost with his children, now 2,3,5, and 8 years old.”The first thing I’m going to do is talk to them, to get to know them, to play with them,” Koua said. “I want them to know I am their daddy. I will teach them what the word daddy means.”

Justice Is Finally Served

After his release from prison, Koua joined a civil suit against Toyota that was started by a victim’s family member. After the 2015 trial, a jury found that Toyota was 60 percent at fault for the deadly crash while Koua was only 40 percent at fault and awarded Koua and the other crash victims $11.4 million. “I am very happy with the results. At the beginning, Toyota had blamed me. I want people around the world to see and to know that I was pressing the brakes, not the gas,” Koua said.

Dad Gets Justice After Car Company’s Mistake Put Him Through 2.5 Years Of Hell is an article from: LifeDaily

The summer for many is a time to let go a little bit, relax, enjoy the sun, and even travel. But for the dogs and cats of South Korea, it’s a season associated with death. This time of year marks the start of Bok Nal, which is three days annually in which Koreans consume dog meat.

Much like Americans have never visited a slaughterhouse to see how chickens, pigs, cows, and lambs are killed, many South Koreans have never visited a meat farm and are unaware of the suffering of animals used for food. Just like the man in the following story, many are blind to the inhumane cruelty the animals are subjected to. Here’s what happened on one farm in South Korea…

The Horrible Reality

South Korea Dog Meat Trade Story — www.worldofvegan.com

The details of the dog meat trade in South Korea are horrific. Puppies are squeezed and crammed into tiny metal cages and they’re left alone crying for most of all their lives. Sadly, the same torture that dogs have endured for many years in Asian countries, pigs, chickens, and cows, endure on a daily basis in the United States.

This Is Appalling To Dog Lovers

But for dog lovers, the mere thought of eating an animal who is as close to you as your best friend, it’s difficult to imagine. The reality is that more than one million animals are eaten each year inside South Korea, and 70% are consumed on three dates in the lunar calendar…

Education On Korean Meat Trade

These dates fall on July 17, 2018, July 27, 2018, and August 16, 2018, where meat is mostly eaten as a soup called bosintang. Asians believe this method of consuming improves stamina and virility.

What Is Bok Nal

These three days in the summer in South Korea are called Bok Nal, and they are usually some of the hottest days on the calendar. People wrongly refer to these days as a festival, but in fact, the days are not a single event…

The Days Of Bok Nal

Many farmers have their dogs slaughtered just before Bok Nal when they can get the highest prices for them. This basically means that the suffering of 2 million dogs every year, is focused on supplying demand for a soup consumed during just one month.

Korean Society

The belief that dog meat soup will reduce lethargy and revitalize one’s health during the summer is strongly believed in Korean society. While the majority of South Koreans don’t routinely eat dog meat, they believe they have the “right” to do it. Who is the meat eaten by? Is it the elder? Kids? People of all ages?

Misguided Belief

It’s mostly eaten by older citizens in the misguided belief that it’s beneficial for their health. While it’s expected that this inhumane disregard for life will die off in the years to come, it still exists. However, there were 50 lucky dogs on a South Korean meat farm that have escaped the cooking pot barely a month before the start of Bok Nal.

Incredible Rescue

For the past three years, Humane Society International has worked in South Korea and has permanently closed dog meat farms and helped farmers switch to alternative livelihoods. This strategy is to demonstrate that the cruel trade can be phased out…

Types Of Dogs At The Meat Farm

The dogs, including Labrador mixes, terrier crosses, and Jindo mixes are being transported to Humane Society International/Canada’s emergency shelter in Montreal. There, they will receive urgently needed veterinary care, socialization, and must needed nutrition.

Publicizing Images

After the rescue, HSI’s Seoul-based campaigners have publicized images from the farm to raise awareness as the Bok Nal season approaches. Rebecca Aldworth, executive director for HSI/Canada describes what she saw when she walked into the meat farm…

Difficult To See

“My heart broke when I walked onto this dog meat farm. Multiple dogs were crammed into barren wire cages, with no protection from the elements…Some dogs had scarring and injuries from fights with cage matches due to the intense frustration and boredom of living inside small, confined cages day in and day out.”

Crammed Into Cages

Aldworth continued, “Most dogs were absolutely terrified, but as we moved them out of their cages, they seemed to know we were there to help them. Thanks to our incredible supporters, these wonderful dogs will all be safe now, and will get the care and love they so badly need.” But how was HSI able to convince the dog meat facility’s owner to close down the facility in the first place?

Why Shin Spared The Lives Of 50 Dogs

The owner of the facility, Mr. Shin, was eager to join HSI’s dog meat farm closure program after hearing from other former dog farmers working with the charity. Profits from his water parsley business were increasing, and profits from dog farming were decreasing.

Closing Down The Facility

Shin basically realized the dog eating business is a dead-end industry. Once HSI rescued the dogs, the cages were dismantled and Shin agreed to focus full time on crop growing. But how are the dogs doing since the rescue?

Louis, Cocker Spaniel

Many of the dogs in the latest rescue are still suffering from painful skin diseases and swollen paws that will be treated in their refuge in Montreal, Canada. One of the rescue dogs is a cocker spaniel named Louis, who was abandoned as a pet dog. But despite all that he’s been through, he is still loving and craves human attention.

Kaya, Jindo Mix

Another dog on the farm named Kaya is a Jindo mix and she’s also a mom to puppies that HSI hopes to soon find homes for. But, what about the fate of the other dogs left in South Korea awaiting death? What does their future look like?

Eliminating All Of The Dog Meat Farms

The only real way to eliminate these farms one by one is to show Koreans the grim reality of these places because most of them have never even seen a dog meat farm in their lives. Once they actually see a dog meat farm, HSI hopes that Koreans will be horrified.

On The Decline

Borami Seo from HSI said that the practice of dog eating is on the decline and that he hopes to influence other Koreans to stop eating dog meat. “We hope to change that by exposing the disgusting and cruel conditions, and we hope also to influence the government as a growing number of South Koreans are calling on our politicians to shut down this brutal trade.” But as far as the many dog-loving Americans in the United States, some are saying they are hypocrites…

Hypocritical

While the thought of killing, and dismembering dogs is enough for most of us to lose our lunch, there’s no reason why that same thought shouldn’t arise at the thought of eating another animal like a pig. Claire Fryer, a co-coordinator for PETA says, “All animals about to be slaughtered feel terrified, and none wants to die.”

A Life Is A Life

“Scared lambs, chickens, cows, and pigs are killed as we wilfully turn a blind eye to the fact that they’re no different from the dogs we cry for. It’s easy to point the finger at other cultures, but let’s be honest and decent enough to question our own cruel habits,” Fryer said.

This Rescue Will Be The First Of Many For Dogs Subject To Korean Meat Trade is an article from: LifeDaily

It’s admirable when little kids get the inkling to open up their own lemonade or ice cream stand. It shows entrepreneurship and it’s something any parent would be proud of. Besides that, who can turn down an adorable bright-eyed face, asking if they’d prefer chocolate or strawberry?

But, recently, issues have arisen over whether opening up such a stand is legal or not. While it’s usually up to officers to enforce such rules, random citizens have been stepping in and literally raining on the parade of innocent kids. It not only brings up the question of what’s legal and what’s not but what’s right from what’s wrong…

Mini Entrepreneur

Little Jordan was trying to raise money because she wanted to go to Disneyland and her solution was to open a water bottle stand. She lived in an apartment building directly across the street from AT&T Stadium, where the Giants played, making this mini-business idea a no-brainer.

Water Bottle Stand

Her mother, Erin Austin, had recently lost her job, which may have been why 8-year-old Jordan wanted to raise money on her own. Regardless of the reason, they set up shop outside their building and waited for the thirsty Giants fans to come pouring in…

Caught Off Guard

While business was going well that Friday afternoon, the Austins got more than they bargained for when one angry woman approached Jordan asking if she had a permit. Austin was caught off guard when her daughter was approached, but she had her phone out, so she proceeded to record the woman.

Putting The Woman On Blast

Austin is heard saying in the video, “This woman don’t wanna let a little girl sell some water…She’s calling the police on an 8-year-old little girl.” The woman, named Ettel, then ducks behind a brick structure, appearing to hide…

She Wanted The World To See Her Face

As Austin follows her with the camera, she tells her that the whole world is going to see her. Seeming not to care at all, Ethel then says on the phone that the little girl is “illegally selling water without a permit.”

A Bitter Dispute

Austin says to Ettel, “On my property,” to which Ettel replies, “It’s not your property.” Although the video cut off immediately after, Austin was determined for the entire world to see the face of Ettel, a woman who couldn’t let an innocent little girl sell water. It brought up the question of race…

It Went Viral

In the video caption posted on social media, she asked people to make the woman go viral using the hashtag #permitpatty. Just two days later, on Sunday morning, the video had over 800,000 views and #permitpatty was trending on Twitter.

The Internet Went Nuts

Celebrities and others went crazy after seeing the video and media outlets claimed that Ettel (a white woman) was unfairly targeting a little black girl. They were making it about race and to the naked eye, that’s what it appeared to be. After the video surfaced, social media trolls dug into Ettel’s past discovering some pretty unsettling things…

Cannabis Business

Ettel owns a business called TreatWell, which creates cannabis products for humans and animals. Basically, she might not even have a permit for some of the work she does herself.

Cutting Ties With TreatWell

In response to the outrageous video, many businesses have decided to cut ties with TreatWell as a result of the incident. One woman blasted an email written to Ettel, saying, “We pulled Treatwells product line as soon as we saw the video. We do not support that type of behavior.” But, what’s even worse…

Lady Buds

Ettel was set up to be one of the subjects in a documentary called “Lady Buds,” a film about women in the cannabis industry. Upon seeing the viral footage of the phone call, the director of the film announced that Ettel would no longer be involved with the project. Lady Buds took to Instagram to explain their stance.

Removing Her Storyline From The Film

“Alison Ettel is no longer affiliated with the documentary “Lady Buds” due to her racist and divisive actions…Our Project is committed to social justice and there is no room for hate or discrimination in society, the cannabis industry, or our film. We are removing all content that remotely promotes her or her business from our various platforms.” After the backlash, Ettel spoke out in an interview…

Interview With Ettel

She told the Huffington Post that it was the noise from the child as she sold that pushed her to call the police. “They were screaming about what they were selling. It was literally nonstop. It was every two seconds, ‘Come and buy my water.’ It was continuous and it wasn’t a soft voice, it was screaming,” she said.

She Says She “Fake Called” The Police

However, in the same interview, Ettel also claimed to have only pretended to call the police, which means she might have known all along that the actions of the 8-year-old were not actually illegal. She added that she feels “discriminated against,” saying…

Ettel’s Rebuttal

“I completely agree that I handled that so poorly. It was completely stress-related, and I should have never confronted her…That was a mistake, a complete mistake,” she said. “Please don’t make me sound horrible.”

Just Trying To Go To Disneyland

But according to Jordan’s cousin, the whole reason she was selling water bottles was to save up money to go to Disneyland. After the video, strangers decided to purchase the tickets for Jordan and her family members, while others said that they would buy water bottles from her and then donate them to homeless shelters in their communities. The support was pouring in for young Jordan…

Pressing Charges

But Austin, still furious about how her daughter was treated, has chosen to press charges against Ettel for harassment. Jordan’s cousin took to Twitter to explain: “My little cousin is doing okay for those who are asking and her mom is going to be pressing charges for harassment.”

Bringing Up A Good Point

But one Twitter user responded to the Tweet with a very good point of view. “While it sucks how she handled the situation, pressing charges for harassment is excessive at this point as the offender has pretty much lost her means of income already. At this point, you could turn from hero to villain for being vindictive. Let it go.” Others asked if Jordan actually had a permit to sell water on the street?

Is It Legal?

To operate a stand lawfully, any entrepreneur may need to apply for a vendor permit with your town or state. However, there are some towns and officials who are more lenient and do not require these permits. In Jordan’s case, it’s uncertain if she actually had a permit.

Ettel’s Final Words

Ettel vehemently denies the issue had to do with race. She said, “I have no problem with enterprising young women. I want to support that little girl. It was all the mother and just about being quiet.” Sadly, all of social media will remember her as “Permit Patty.”

White Woman Calls Police On Little Black Girl For “Illegally Selling Water Without A Permit” is an article from: LifeDaily

Commercial surrogacy or for-profit surrogacy is banned in certain states in the U.S. and in other countries. It’s for this reason that families or singles hoping to have their own biological children will travel to parts of the United States where it is legal.

The following story describes how one Chinese woman came to the U.S. in search of a surrogate. After being matched with one, she wound up getting more than she bargained for when she learned her surrogate was pregnant with twins. What happened next was a medical miracle and an uphill battle for the families involved…

Getting Married

Jessica Wardell Story — www.thesun.co.uk

Jessica, 31, and her husband Wardell, 34, were elated to just have tied the knot. The couple was so excited to start their lives together but they wanted to wait a while before expanding their family. The pair already shared children together, which was more of a reason for them to wait.

Surrogacy

In the fall of 2015, Jessica decided to become a surrogate. It was six months after the birth of her second son, Jairus, and her husband said to her, “This is your chance to give a family the blessing of a child.” Besides that, she wanted to stay at home with her sons rather than return to her job as a senior caregiver…

Omega Family Global

Jessica also wanted to put the money she’d make toward buying a house. So, the decision was made. Jessica chose to work with Omega Family Global, a San Diego-based agency and they’d be responsible for matching her.

Being Matched

Soon enough, she was matched with Liu, a Chinese woman who wanted to hire an American surrogate to carry her child. Being that surrogacy is illegal in China, Liu felt like this was her only option to have the family her and her husband have always wanted…

Embryo Transfer

So in April 2016, after taking numerous medications, Jessica was ready for the transfer. She laid on a table at an IVF center in Irvine, California, and had Liu’s frozen male embryo transferred into her uterus.

Receiving The Good News

Within nine days of the transfer, blood tests confirmed that Jessica was pregnant. Liu was elated, but there were several guidelines Jessica had to follow to ensure everything went smoothly. For one, she wasn’t allowed to have sexual intercourse with her husband until permission was given from the IVF doctor. He also recommended the use of condoms…

Unexpected News

Fast forward six weeks later, and Jessica headed to her doctor’s appointment for a scan. During the appointment, the doctor said, “I see there is another baby.” He told Jessica that the embryo had split in two and the twins were identical. She was speechless that she was actually carrying twins.

Pregnant With Twins

Jessica figured this news would be a miracle for Liu, as instead of getting one baby, she would be getting two. As expected, Liu and her husband were thrilled and the money they were paying Jessica increased. Her $30,000 payment, including expenses, which Jessica received in installments by check each month, was increased by $5,000 for the second child…

Delivery

Finally, on December 12, 2016, the babies were born at 38 weeks gestation at Riverside Community Hospital in California. Liu was in the operating room and was witness to seeing her twins born. Jessica had to have a C-section and she had to reassure Liu that she would be ok since she was the most nervous.

Taken Away So Fast

Since there was an opaque screen blocking the delivery, Jessica didn’t even get a look at the babies when they were pulled out. They were taken from the operating room before she got a chance to even see them…

Recovering After The Birth

Back home as she recovered from her C-section, there was not much communication with the agency, even though they are supposed to be available even after the birth. Then, on January 10, 2017, days after Jessica and Wardell moved into their new house, they received a WeChat (Chinese messaging app) message from Liu.

They Looked Completely Different

Liu sent her a picture of the babies saying, “They are not the same, right?” followed by, “Have you thought about why they are different?” Since she barely got to see the babies after their birth, this was the first time Jessica got a good look at them. After taking one glance, it was obvious that one of the babies was Asian, and the other was half black and half white…

DNA Tests For The Boys

One week later, the boys, who were still in California, received DNA tests and the agency told Jessica the results. Mike was a biological match to Liu, while Max had her genes. She had been carrying her own son along with someone else’s all along. But how was this possible?

The Medical Phenomenon Of Superfetation

The phenomenon of superfetation happens when someone who is pregnant manages to conceive again after an entirely different sperm and egg join together. Basically, it means you can get pregnant, while you’re already pregnant…

Ovulation During Pregnancy

In this case, Jessica was able to get pregnant again, even while she was carrying someone else’s child. She had actually been ovulating after becoming pregnant, and there was no way she could have known this.

Extremely Rare

Even though the chance of an embryo splitting is very small, it does happen, which is how Jessica wound up being pregnant with twins. “I did notice that one was much lighter than the other,” Jessica said.

Legal Battle

A few days later, the agency told Jessica that someone was looking after Max because Liu wanted nothing to do with him. On top of that, Liu was demanding between $18,000- $22,000 as compensation for the inconvenience.

Fighting To Get Their Son Back

Jessica had already spent most of the money she earned from the surrogacy contract, but besides that, she thinks she would need to pay to get her biological son back. But her first priority was getting back to Max, no matter what the cost and she demanded her son from the agency…

Getting Custody Of Their Little Boy

After spending money on an attorney and enduring an uphill battle, the agency finally reduced the “fee” Jessica owed Liu to zero. Then, on February 5, Jessica and Wardell were reunited with their son and they changed his name to Malachi.

Renaming Him Malachi

The moment was extremely emotional and since getting Malachi, the family has been loving him like crazy. “He’s beautiful,” Jessica said. “He’s healthy and his personality is hilarious. He loves his big brothers, [and] he is learning to walk and speak.” All of the pain Jessica had endured was finally worth it when she got to hold her baby boy.

Surrogate Mom Becomes Pregnant With Her Own Child While Carrying Someone Else’s Baby is an article from: LifeDaily