1. “She fought like a warrior.” Teenage murder victim stayed alive long enough to name her alleged killers.
Beaten and stabbed, 19-year-old Lizette Cuesta crawled 100 yards to get help. She then clung to life for hours after her attack and just before she died, she told police who attacked her. https://t.co/HPBiTyXaBj
— News 8 – WROC-TV (@News_8) February 14, 2018
A teenager murdered in California didn’t stop fighting until the very end, when she told hospital staff the names of her alleged killers.
The victim of a violent stabbing on Sunday night, 19-year-old Lizette Cuesta was covered in blood and determined to stay alive.
“She was always a fighter, she was always brave, strong, a leader,” said father Ray Cuesta, with whom Lizette was living, CBS News reports. “If she wanted to do something, she would get it done.”
Lizette dragged herself 91 metres to the side of a rural road near the city of Livermore where she was found early Monday morning by Richard Loadholt who was driving by.
He kept her warm with a blanket and waited for paramedics to arrive.
“I hope it will be encouraging to her family to know that their daughter did have that spirit to fight,” Loadholt told KCRA-TV in Sacramento, KTVU reports. “She fought like a soldier. Like a warrior,” he later added.
By the time Lizette arrived at the hospital, she had been outside in cold temperatures for several hours, said Sergeant Ray Kelly from the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office.
Her last words were to identify the two people who’d allegedly stabbed her. According to CBS News, the suspects are 19-year-old Daniel Gross and 25-year-old Melissa Leonardo.
Both were reportedly friends of Lizette and have since been arrested.
“This victim really tried to survive, and she fought and she fought,” Sgt Kelly said. “The last thing, we believe, that she was able to do was to point us in the direction of the people that killed her. And that’s pretty remarkable.”
Ray Cuesta agrees and, through his grief, is proud of his daughter, the fighter. “I’m proud of her,” he said. “You know, she showed them that she didn’t give up!”
2. Warning after fake child protection workers tried to “check on” twin babies in NSW home.
Mum visited by fake welfare workers as authorities issue warninghttps://t.co/LDs6PP4DVq pic.twitter.com/czw4VZ3SDc
— SBS News (@SBSNews) February 14, 2018
A NSW mother has been left distressed after two people pretending to be child protection caseworkers visited her home to “check” on her twin babies.
Police and the Department of Family and Community Services on Wednesday issued a warning following the reported visit near Queanbeyan late last week.
A man and woman allegedly used fake IDs and claimed they were there to check on the six-month-old twins’ welfare. They waited in the lounge room while the infants woke up from an afternoon nap. They left after checking them and their bedroom.
The mother became suspicious and contacted the department, who had no record of the visit. It was then reported to police.
Detective Chief Inspector Neil Grey from Monaro Local Area Command said police were not yet sure of the pair’s motivation. “Anything that involves children is always a concern,” Det Chief Insp Grey told AAP. “She (the mother) is fairly upset”.
The family of five had no known interaction with FACS or police and there had been no other reports of similar events.
Investigators urged anyone with information to come forward.
3. Ouch. Trump lawyer says he paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 and was not reimbursed.
This. Is. Not. Normal. https://t.co/7tLBe1QimZ
— HuffPost Politics (@HuffPostPol) February 14, 2018
President Donald Trump’s personal attorney says he paid $US130,000 ($A182,000) out of his own pocket to a porn actress who allegedly had a sexual relationship with Trump in 2006.
Michael Cohen tells The New York Times he was not reimbursed by the Trump Organisation or the Trump campaign for the payment to Stormy Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, AAP reports.
LISTEN: Trump’s affair with porn star Stormy Daniels, explained. Post continues after.
Cohen says, “The payment to Ms Clifford was lawful, and was not a campaign contribution or a campaign expenditure by anyone.”
The Wall Street Journal reported last month that Cohen had arranged the $US130,000 payment to Clifford in October 2016 to keep her from publicly discussing the alleged sexual encounter during the presidential campaign.
4. A Queensland mum has died trying to save her son in rough seas.
A woman, identified by the media as Tracey Williams, 46, has died and her youngest son taken to hospital after being pulled from the water at a beach near Rockhampton in Queensland.
It was just before 5pm on Tuesday and Williams was trying to save her five-year-old son who'd been caught in rough seas at Emu Park beach, when both began drowning.
Her other son, still on shore, ran to tell a backpacker "my mother and little brother are drowned", Nine News reports.
Both were pulled from the water by the backpacker but for the mother-of-two, it was too late.
Paramedics tried their best to revive the 46-year-old but she was declared dead at the scene. The little boy was taken to hospital with hypothermia.
5. Red-bellied black snake found hiding in school girl's backpack.
Schoolgirl finds snake, not lunch in backpack https://t.co/d8AF002cb1 pic.twitter.com/R0AYwAIz4b
— TODAY (@todayng) February 14, 2018
A Queensland schoolgirl received a shock when she reached into her backpack to find a red-bellied black snake sliding across her hand.
The student from Augusta State School outside of Brisbane quickly alerted her teacher on Tuesday, who zipped up the backpack's front pocket before a snake catcher took the venomous reptile away.
"I'm sure she would have had a shock," Snake Catchers Brisbane employee Lana Field told AAP on Wednesday.
"Nobody has died from a red-bellied black snake bite in Australia, but their venom can lead to serious sickness."
Ms Field said the snake was attracted to the dark colour of the young girl's Harry Potter Gryffindor backpack.
"Red-bellied black snakes love hiding in dark holes," she said.
6. Did taxpayers fund his affair? Labor demands Barnaby Joyce hand over flight and travel documents.
Greg Sheridan: What an utter debacle this @Barnaby_Joyce saga has become for the government. The government is trying to say the Labor opposition can't ask Barnaby Joyce a question.
MORE: https://t.co/kBOKw4nrr2#speers pic.twitter.com/APnyK5Rqvx
— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) February 14, 2018
Labor is demanding to see the details of taxpayer-funded flights Barnaby Joyce and his staffer-turned-partner Vikki Campion took in 2017.
The Deputy Prime Minister's relationship with his now-pregnant partner raised concerns about the potential misuse of taxpayer funds while she worked in various ministerial and MP offices.
Labor senator Kimberley Kitching on Wednesday tabled a notice of motion calling for the details of Mr Joyce and Ms Campion's "special purpose travel" and any international flights.
Mr Joyce has denied breaching the ministerial code of conduct, which says frontbenchers cannot employ "close" relatives or partners or get them work in other ministerial offices "without the prime minister's express approval".
He says Ms Campion was not his partner when she worked in his and Matt Canavan's office, while Damian Drum was not a minister when she transferred to his office.
7. Princess Mary's father-in-law has died, aged 83.
The Danish Royal Family is mourning the death of Prince Henrik, Princess Mary's Father-in-Law who died in his sleep. #Denmark #7News pic.twitter.com/jhxbAq3UmF
— 7 News Sydney (@7NewsSydney) February 14, 2018
Denmark's Prince Henrik, the father-in-law of Princess Mary, has died at 83, taking to the grave his resentment at playing second fiddle to his wife, Queen Margrethe.
The 83-year-old French-born prince died in his sleep late on Tuesday, the palace said.
In August 2017, Henrik announced he did not wish to be buried next to the queen, breaking a 459-year-old tradition. Shortly afterwards, the palace announced he had dementia.
As in most monarchies, a Danish princess becomes queen when her husband takes the throne, but a man does not become king through being married to a queen. He will be cremated and the funeral held on February 20.