The Brooks Beat

When a 17-year-old California girl began feeling contractions during her early morning shower, she knew what she should do.

Xochitl Parra was taking a shower around 5:30 a.m. when she began to feel contractions.

"I felt his head coming, so I sit down and pushed so he could come out," Parra said. The baby was still attached by the placenta.

After giving birth to the baby boy, she got dressed and wrapped the baby up. She could not call 911 because the phone in her home was disconnected. She said she did not want to wake the neighbors for help because it was so early in the morning.

Instead, Parra walked four blocks to a nearby hospital cradling her son in her arms. When she reached the hospital lobby, she began asking for help according to the director of the St. Mary Medical Center Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Dr. Jose Perez.

The baby was healthy and "eating like a champ," according to Perez, who commended the girl for her quick thinking.

"They could have bled to death; thank God that didn't happen," the said. "She was very clever. She knew what to do. She wrapped the baby up and walked over here."

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Deborah Jeane Palfrey, best known as the "D.C Madam" was found hanging from a nylon rope in a shed outside of her mother's Florida mobile home.

Palfrey's mother, Blanche Palfrey, found her daughter's body hanging from a rafter in the shed Thursday, only two weeks after Palfrey was convicted of running a prostitution service known for catering to Washington's political elite.

Blanche Palfrey told police she did not have an indication that her 52-year-old daughter would take her own life according to police Capt. Jeffrey Young.

Police released that two suicide notes and other writings meant for Palfrey's family were found, but did not say what those writings or the suicide notes said.

"She opened the shed to go in and she found her daughter hanging there," said 73-year-old Irwin Matthews, a neighbor who said that she was hysterical and calling for help after finding her daughter dead.

Palfrey was convicted April 15 of money laundering, using the mail for illegal purposes as well as racketeering. Through the federal trial, Palfrey maintained she was innocent, ans said that her escort service was not a cover for prostitution. Palfrey contended that any sexual acts preformed for money were done without her knowledge.

"I'm sure as heck not going to be going to federal prison for one day, let alone four to eight years, because I'm shy about bringing in the deputy secretary of whatever," Palfrey said to ABC after releasing phone records revealing some of her clients last year. "Not for a second. I'll bring every last one of them in if necessary."

Continue reading "She Said She Wouldn't Spend One Day in Prison, and She Made Good On That Promise" »

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Presidential candidate Barack Obama excoriated his former pastor Jeremiah Wright on Tuesday during a press conference in North Carolina.

Obama said the was "outraged by the comments" Wright made while at The National Press Club in Washington, D.C Monday.

"We have known since 1787 that it is the most segregated hour. Maybe now we can begin to understand why it is the most segregated hour," Wright said about American's time in church.

Obama said that he found Wright's comments "divisive and destructive."

“The person I saw yesterday was not the person that I met 20 years ago. His comments were not only divisive and destructive, but I believe they ended up giving comfort to those who prey on hate,� Obama said.

Obama said that he had spent his life "trying to bridge the gap between different kinds of people," and said that Wright does not represent his views.

"[W]hen he states and then amplifies such ridiculous propositions such as the U.S. government somehow being involved in AIDS. When he suggests that Minister Farrakhan somehow represents one of the greatest voices of the 20th and 21st century. When he equates the U.S. war time efforts with terrorism, then there are no excuses. They offend me, they rightly offend all Americans and they should be denounced, and that’s what I am doing very clearly and unequivocally here today," he said.

The Press Club appearance was the last in a set of weekend-long public appearances. Wright used his speeches to criticize the media as well as the government. He claimed that the controversy surrounding himself was merely an attack on the black church.

"[T]his most recent attack on the black church is not an attack on Jeremiah Wright; it is an attack on the black church," Wright said.

He also accused Obama of distancing himself from Wright for political reasons.

"Politicians say what they say and do what they do based on electability, based on sound bites, based on polls, Huffington, whoever’s doing the polls. Preachers say what they say because they’re pastors. They have a different person to whom they’re accountable," Wright said when the moderator asked him about his comments that Obama "said what a politician had to say" in distancing himself from Wright.

“If Reverend Wright thinks that that’s political posturing, as he put it, then he doesn’t know me very well — based on his remarks yesterday I may not know him as well as I thought either,� Obama responded.

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A grandfather was pushing his 2-year-old grandson in a stroller when a 20 mph wind gust lifted the stroller away from him, and landed in lake Michigan with the 2-year-old inside Friday afternoon.

The child's grandfather jumped into the harbor to save the boy according to the Chicago Fire Department. The man, struggling in the freezing water, shouted "Child! Child!" according to witnesses.

"He was just moaning in the breakwater, crying," John Derscheid, who called 911, said.

The toddler was strapped into a three-wheeled jogging stroller, sitting 10 feet below the surface of Lake Michigan. The water was 42-degrees.

Rescuers were able to rescue the boy, who was in critical condition at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago Friday night according to authorities. A hospital spokeswoman would not comment on the boy's condition Saturday.

The grandfather, who was in fair condition Saturday afternoon, was being treated at St. Joseph Hospital in Chicago for exposure.

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Up to 4.3 billion barrels of oil are sitting under the Bakken shale formation in North Dakota and Montana, according to the government.

The U.S. Geological Survey reports that the find is the largest it has ever assessed. An assessment, which took place in 1999, found that the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge had approximately 10.3 barrels of oil according to Brenda Pierce, a geologist from the agency.

The Bakken Formation covers an area of about 25,000 square miles and is located in North Dakota, Montana, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.

Almost two-thirds of the oil is located in western North Dakota and is under a thin layer of dense rock about two miles thick.

Using pressurized fluid and sand to break open pores in the rock, companies have been able to recover the oil.

According to Donald Kressel, the vice president of Murex Petroleum Corp in Huston, the estimate may be on the high side. He said that his company was the first to establish a producing well in the Bakken three years ago, and has since built 19 more.

The report, which was released Thursday, was conducting at the request of Sen. Bryon Dorgan, D-N.D.

Continue reading "Northern Plains May Hold Huge Oil Reservoir" »

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Two months ago Cole Hall was the site of a mass killing; today it sits empty.

Northern Illinois University officials are deciding what should be done with the building where five students were killed and 18 were wounded on Valentines Day of this year. Originally, University President John Peters wanted to demalish the building and build a memorial at the site. Some students agree with Peters, saying that it is unfair for them to have to remember the killing spree daily.

22-year-old University student Kristen Highland is one of those students. "Even if they did renovate it, and the classroom was different, I couldn't sit there," she said. "It wouldn't be fair to me to have to go into that building again."

Some have argued that the destruction of the building is like burying the past and the memory of those who died. They say they want to honor the deceased students by using the building for classrooms or other purposes.

"I think it's perpetuating the problem to tear it down," said 23-year-old Amanda Banks, a math education major at the University. "I think it's a waste of resources."

Virgina Tech, were a disturbed student killed 32 of his peers a year ago, turned the building where the murders happened into a peace center. Columbine High School tore down the library in which the shooting took place and rebuilt it. Similarly, the Amish School house in Pennsylvania where a man killed five young girls was also torn down.

The decision for school officials is no doubt difficult, and students have sent over 800 e-mails to school officials when asked for their opinion on what should be done with Cole Hall. More than 1,300 signatures on an online petition ask the school to allow students more input in the decision.

For now, Peters has chosen to back away from demolishing the building, but made clear Thursday that he does not want the building to be used for classrooms again.

Continue reading "Nothern Illinois University Unsure What Will Become of Hall Where Students Died" »

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The city of Dallas says that is cannot shut down a strip club on the basis that a 12-year-old girl was found dancing naked there.

The city ordinance that deals with businesses that are sexual in nature does not allow authorities to revoke the clubs license based on the fact that it employed a minor.

Over a two-week period a sixth-grade girl danced at the Diamonds Cabaret in Dallas, according to police. Authorities have also released that a 17-year-old girl was discovered working at the club in January.

Police say they are still investigating whether the club management was aware that the girl was a minor.

Demonica Abron, a 27-year-old stripper at the club, and 22-year-old David Bell are charged with felony sexual performance of the child for reportedly forcing the girl to dance. They are also accused of being involved in organized crime.

The girl told police that Bell and Abron offered her shelter and was told that she would be stripping at a club called "Diamonds," according to court records.

Bell is also accused of two counts of aggravated sexual assault of a child as well as aggravated kidnapping. He was released on $450,000 bond Thursday.

The family of the 12-year-old said that she ran away from home in November. The girl's family was able to find the girl later that month.

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The man suspected of killing a Georgia hiker last year might have written his twisted fantasy years earlier.

Authorities say that Gar Michael Hilton, who has been charged with the death of Meredith Emerson, helped to write a 1995 horror movie. The movie, "Deadly Run," is about a man who abducts women and releases them into the woods. He then hunts them, eventually killing them.

Hilton suggested to the filmmaker, Samuel Rael, that his film should "let some beautiful women out in the woods and then they could be hunted down like prey," according to a WCTV report.

Rael told WCTV that the charges against Hilton are eerily similar to the film.

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Eleven officers and sailors from San-Diego have been disciplined for falsifying nuclear reactor test reports and cheating on officer exams.

According to a Navy Report released Friday, crew members from the attack sub Hampton have been falsifying weekly chemical tests since November 2006.

The test reports deal with the highly pure water that is used too cool the sub's nuclear reactor. Incorrect chemical levels lead to erosion.

No damage to the reactor core was discovered after the sub returned to base after seven-months at sea in the Pacific last year.

Continue reading "11 Saliors Accused of Fraud, Cheating" »

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8 people were wounded Wednesday after a gunman fired into a crowd of people.

The shootings occurred around 3:15 p.m. at the intersection of Central and Vernon avenues. Some of those who were wounded where middle school students.

A 10-year-old girl, an 11-year-old girl, a 12-year-old girl and a 49-year-old woman were critically injured. A 12-year-old girl, a 14-year-old boy,a 48-year-old man, and a 68-year-old man suffered minor injuries.

Continue reading "Gunman Wounds 8 in South L.A. Street Shootings" »

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Almost 2,000 people marched through the streets of Kosovska Mitrovica Saturday to demonstrate against Kosovo's independence.

A blockade was forced by U.N. police wearing riot gear across the main bridge that separates the Serb and Albanian sides of the northern town in Kosovo. Some protesters threw firecrackers and waved Serbian and Russian flags, chanting "Russia, Vladimir Putin." The demonstration was in support of Russia's refusal to recognize Kosovo as independent.

Since the leaders of the Albanian population in the region proclaimed their independence from Serbia lasy Sunday, Kosovo's Serb population has been protesting.

Protesters threw stones, glass bottles and firecrackers at U.N. security forces protecting the bridge between the two populations Friday.

Continue reading "U.N. Police on Alert as Protestors Take To The Streets Again in Serbia" »

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That's what Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said Friday in response to Obama's claims.

Obama said that he was told by an Army captain that his rifle platoon was sent to Afghanistan with 15 fewer soldiers than what the captain was told. He also stated that the captain said they were under equipped.

“And as a consequence, they didn’t have enough ammunition; they didn’t have enough Humvees,� Obama said. “They were actually capturing Taliban weapons, because it was easier to get Taliban weapons than it was for them to get properly equipped by our current commander-in-chief," the Senator said.

The comments were made by Senator Barack Obama in a debate with Hillary Clinton in Austin, Texas, Thursday.

The Army captain that Obama said he has spoke to told FOX News that Obama's statements were correct.

The captain told FOX News that they were fighting near the Pakistan border with three Humvees. One of the Humvees, he says, has no roof and no doors. He also said that his platoon was forced to scavenge for Taliban weapons after their mounted machine guns stopped working and the proper parts to repair the guns were unavaible.

Army Spokesman John P. Boyce Jr. issued a statement saying that it is hard for the Army to validate or deny the claim because the captain has declined to identify himself or his unit.

"Our soldiers deploy as complete units — either as companies, battalions or brigades, and they do so with every soldier armed with his or her individual weapon," he said.

Continue reading "Government Finds Obama's Claim's "Hard To Believe"" »

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An Arkansas day care worker was arrested on allegations that he raped a young girl at the center.

Police arrested 18-year-old Cesar Monarrez after a 4-year-old girl told her parents that he had touched her inappropriately. The girl told police that her private parts were burning because a man she identified as “Bubba� touched her with a knife inside of his pocket.

Police investigated and found out that “Bubba� was Monarrez.

Close-circuit video shows Monarrez putting his hands inside the girl’s pants as she slept.

According to officials at the Department of Human Services, they first heard of the case after a parent contacted them on Feb. 5 asking about the complaint. At that time, DHS had no report of the incident.

By law, sexual crimes must be reported to the DHS immediately. This has left officials at the DHS asking questions.

Director of the child care center Howard Davis said that he did not notify the parents of other children at the center because he was not sure what to tell them. Davis said now that formal rape charges have been filed against Monarrez he will send a letter to parents.

The mother of the young victim said that she had complained to the day care a month before the incident that Monarrez had failed to notice that her child was suffering from an asthma attack.

Should investigators find that the day care violated state law by not reporting the complaint, the center’s license could be suspended or revoked.

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Mitt Romney suspended his race for the presidency on Thursday.

Romney made his announcement at the 2008 Conservative Political Action Conference. Romney told the group the race against Arizona Senator Jon McCain would put the Republican Party in jeopardy by increasing the likelihood of a Democrat being elected in November.

The announcement gave McCain an even more substantial lead in the race for the GOP nomination.

According to a campaign spokesman, Romney made the decision to leave the race for the nomination as he wrote the CPAC speech on Thursday.

“If this were only about me, I’d go on, but it’s never been only about me. I entered this race because I love America, and because I love America in this time of war, I feel I have to now stand aside, for our party and for our country,� he told the CPAC attendees, some of which booed in response. One of Romney’s staffers began to cry.

During the speech, Romney often cited the Iraq War as being a large part of his decision to quit the race. Romney said that he supports McCain’s approach to fighting terrorism.

McCain was unaware that Romney planned to announce the suspension, and was set to speak at the CPAC conference as well. He told the audience when he took to the podium that he had congratulated Romney on running an “energetic and dedicated� campaign.

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A small, twin-engine went down on the North Carolina-Virginia border killing all six passengers on board.

The plane crashed as it tried to land. Investigators believe that low fog and light rain may have been a factor in the crash. The plane went down in the in the front yard of a home.

According to Warren Woodberry, the spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, the plane took off from Cedartown, Ga. The plane was in route to a hunting and golf resort in Meadows of Dan, Va.

The plane could safely carry six passengers, and was carrying six people at the time. None of the passengers survived.

According to FAA records, the plane is registered to Blue Sky Airways in Dallas, Ga. The cousin of one of the men on board, Ronald Raskestraw, identified him as being John Rakestraw. The man’s cousin said that John Rakestraw is a pilot who owns a construction company listed as having the same address as the plane’s registration.

Debris from the crash was found in a small radius between the two homes.

The National Transportation Safety Board will not being investigating until Saturday.

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