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Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Victoria Stafford, eight years old, was sighted leaving her Woodstock, Ontario school on Wednesday afternoon with an unknown woman caught on video camera. She has not been seen since.

Victoria (Tori) attended grade 3 at Oliver Stephens Public School, and the video is from the College Avenue secondary school as Victoria and the unidentified woman walked along Fyfe Avenue.

“I’ve had a lot of problems come up in my life and stuff like that, and I haven’t always been there for my kids, but this is my baby girl and it’s absolutely hurting now,” her father Robert Stafford said, “It’s killing me, [I want to] let her know that I love her and I’ll see her soon. One way or another I’ll see her soon.”

Police teams from Oxford, Waterloo and London have assembled together with rescue dogs and trained search and rescue personnel to find the child.

Police have called the search a criminal investigation, but have not yet issued an Amber alert as there has been no report of an abduction.

150 volunteers joined search efforts and to pass out flyers on the 10th. Police say they have no need of more volunteers at this time, however they would appreciate any tips or calls from anyone who may have seen either Victoria or the woman.

The unidentified woman seen in the video is described as between 19 and 25 years old with straight long black hair. She weighs about 120 to 125 pounds and was wearing a white coat and black jeans in the video. Victoria was wearing a green shirt with a black pleated skirt. She was wearing black and white shoes and carried a purple and pink Bratz purse. She had on a black Hannah Montana jacket which had a white fur lined hood.

“I think what’s happening with members of the public is an expression of their emotions, their concern for this child. And I think that’s good in terms of the willingness of this community to step up,” said Michael Harding, Mayor of Woodstock.

Volunteers are making and handing out purple ribbons, Tori’s favourite colour. A candlelight vigil will be held in the evening on Easter Sunday.

Saturday, September 26, 2009

The Iranian government has announced that the nation will be participating in a missile defense test which could take place as early as tomorrow.

According to the IRNA, Iran’s official news agency, the test is an annual exercise aimed to “maintain and develop” defense capabilities of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard.

The exercise is named ‘Great Prophet 4’ and will involve shooting a variety of live missiles at targets. Reports say the drill will be conducted in several unknown locations and will last for several days. The exercise also falls on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur.

The announcement comes just hours after the Iranian government stated that the nation was building a second nuclear power facility. The announcement was made in a September 21 letter from the Iranian government to the United Nations Security Council that a second nuclear plant was being constructed in the city of Qom.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

Sunday, May 18, 2008

An HIV-positive man was sentenced to 35 years in prison Wednesday, one day after being convicted of harassment of a public servant for spitting into the eye and open mouth of a Dallas, Texas police officer in May 2006. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that no one has ever contracted HIV from saliva, and a gay-rights and AIDS advocacy group called the sentence excessive.

A Dallas County jury concluded that Willie Campbell’s act of spitting on policeman Dan Waller in 2006 constituted the use of his saliva as a deadly weapon. The incident occurred while Campbell, 42, was resisting arrest while being taken into custody for public intoxication.

“He turns and spits. He hits me in the eye and mouth. Then he told me he has AIDS. I immediately began looking for something to flush my eyes with,” said Waller to The Dallas Morning News.

Officer Waller responded after a bystander reported seeing an unconscious male lying outside a building. Dallas County prosecutors stated that Campbell attempted to fight paramedics and kicked the police officer who arrested him for public intoxication.

Prosecutors said that Campbell yelled that he was innocent during the trial, and claimed a police officer was lying. Campbell’s lawyer Russell Heinrichs said that because he had a history of convictions including similarly attacking two other police officers, biting inmates, and other offenses, he was indicted under a habitual offender statute. The statute increased his minimum sentence to 25 years in prison. Because the jury ruled that Campbell’s saliva was used as a deadly weapon, he will not be eligible for parole until completing at least half his sentence.

The organization Lambda Legal (Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund), which advocates for individuals living with HIV, says that saliva should not be considered a deadly weapon. Bebe Anderson, the HIV projects director at Lambda Legal, spoke with The Dallas Morning News about the sentence. “It’s been 25 years since the virus was identified, but there are still lots of fears,” said Anderson.

The Dallas County prosecutor who handled the trial, Jenni Morse, said that the deadly weapon finding was justified. “No matter how minuscule, there is some risk. That means there is the possibility of causing serious bodily injury or death,” said Morse. Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins stated: “If you look at the facts of this case, it was clear that the defendant intended to cause serious bodily injury.”

A page at the CDC’s website, HIV and Its Transmission, states: “HIV has been found in saliva and tears in very low quantities from some AIDS patients.” The subsection “Saliva, Tears, and Sweat” concludes that: “Contact with saliva, tears, or sweat has never been shown to result in transmission of HIV.” On Friday the Dallas County Health Department released a statement explaining that HIV is most commonly spread through sexual contact, sharing needles, or transfusion from an infected blood product.

Friday, November 18, 2005

A string of suicide bombings in Iraq have killed at least 60 people and injured over 60 more as insurgents attacked a prominent Baghdad hotel as well as two mosques 90 miles (140 kilometres) north-east of the capital.

52 people were killed and 65 wounded when two suicide bombers detonated themselves in Shi’ite mosques in the eastern Iraqi town of Khanaqin, inhabited mostly by Shi’ite Kurds. The bombers entered the mosques during Friday prayers and blew themselves up, completely destroying the buildings. The attack was the latest in a series of bombings by Sunni Muslim insurgents at Shi’ite mosques.

Earlier on the same day two suicide truck bombs destroyed an apartment block in Baghdad, killing at least eight people and injuring at least 43. The blast was near an interior ministry prison bunker where a torture scandal involving numerous Sunni Arab prisoners has been taking place. US military and security experts said, however, that the target of the attack was not the bunker but a prominent hotel used by foreign journalists.

US Colonel Ed Cardon said the Baghdad bombing did not go according to plan. He told reporters that the first truck was to pave way for the second truck, but instead both trucks exploded in the same place. Cardon’s view was supported by deputy interior minister Hussein Kamal, who said initial reports indicate that the Hamra hotel was the actual target.

Thursday, September 30, 2010

The United States House of Representatives on Wednesday approved US$7.4 billion to pay for the medical bills of workers sickened or injured by the September 11, 2001 attacks (9/11 attacks) on the World Trade Center in New York City, New York. The bill was passed by a vote of 268–160. Thirteen Republicans joined the Democrats in supporting the bill, while three Democrats opposed the measure. Similar legislation is pending in the US Senate.

“Let’s not have any more people die because of the attacks of 9/11,” said Representative Anthony Weiner, a Democrat from New York.

The bill, which will provide free health care to 9/11 workers, will be paid for by ending tax breaks for foreign corporations, was fiercely debated on the House floor, with Democratic backers of the bill proclaiming that they stood for 9/11 heroes and victims. Republicans against the bill argued that it was an entitlement program for New Yorkers and that it was another example of bloated government. “There is no excuse for this kind of legislation,” argued Texan Republican representative Lamar Smith.

The Republicans offered an alternative that would reduce funding for 9/11 workers and pay for the remainder by cutting parts of a major health care bill passed earlier this year. This measure failed 185–244.

[edit]

Thursday, January 20, 2005Virginia Mayo, an actress famous for her movie roles of the 1940s and 1950s, died Monday, January 17, 2005 in a nursing home in Thousand Oaks, California, of pneumonia and heart failure.

• Tony Gieske. “Goldwyn Girl Virginia Mayo, versatile actress, dies at 84” — The Hollywood Reporter, January 18, 2005
• Adam Bernstein. “Actress Virginia Mayo, 84; Star of ’40s Musicals” — Washington Post, January 19, 2005
• Ronald Bergan. “Virginia Mayo: Technicolored glamour in blonde and cream” — The Guardian, January 19, 2005

Sunday, May 18, 2008

An HIV-positive man was sentenced to 35 years in prison Wednesday, one day after being convicted of harassment of a public servant for spitting into the eye and open mouth of a Dallas, Texas police officer in May 2006. The United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that no one has ever contracted HIV from saliva, and a gay-rights and AIDS advocacy group called the sentence excessive.

A Dallas County jury concluded that Willie Campbell’s act of spitting on policeman Dan Waller in 2006 constituted the use of his saliva as a deadly weapon. The incident occurred while Campbell, 42, was resisting arrest while being taken into custody for public intoxication.

“He turns and spits. He hits me in the eye and mouth. Then he told me he has AIDS. I immediately began looking for something to flush my eyes with,” said Waller to The Dallas Morning News.

Officer Waller responded after a bystander reported seeing an unconscious male lying outside a building. Dallas County prosecutors stated that Campbell attempted to fight paramedics and kicked the police officer who arrested him for public intoxication.

Prosecutors said that Campbell yelled that he was innocent during the trial, and claimed a police officer was lying. Campbell’s lawyer Russell Heinrichs said that because he had a history of convictions including similarly attacking two other police officers, biting inmates, and other offenses, he was indicted under a habitual offender statute. The statute increased his minimum sentence to 25 years in prison. Because the jury ruled that Campbell’s saliva was used as a deadly weapon, he will not be eligible for parole until completing at least half his sentence.

The organization Lambda Legal (Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund), which advocates for individuals living with HIV, says that saliva should not be considered a deadly weapon. Bebe Anderson, the HIV projects director at Lambda Legal, spoke with The Dallas Morning News about the sentence. “It’s been 25 years since the virus was identified, but there are still lots of fears,” said Anderson.

The Dallas County prosecutor who handled the trial, Jenni Morse, said that the deadly weapon finding was justified. “No matter how minuscule, there is some risk. That means there is the possibility of causing serious bodily injury or death,” said Morse. Dallas County District Attorney Craig Watkins stated: “If you look at the facts of this case, it was clear that the defendant intended to cause serious bodily injury.”

A page at the CDC’s website, HIV and Its Transmission, states: “HIV has been found in saliva and tears in very low quantities from some AIDS patients.” The subsection “Saliva, Tears, and Sweat” concludes that: “Contact with saliva, tears, or sweat has never been shown to result in transmission of HIV.” On Friday the Dallas County Health Department released a statement explaining that HIV is most commonly spread through sexual contact, sharing needles, or transfusion from an infected blood product.

The time is 17:00 (UTC) on May 21st, 2006, and this is Audio Wikinews News Briefs.