1. The police officer who was the first responders to Amanda Berry’s call for help has written about the experience on a Cleveland Police blog.
Patrol Officer Espada arrived at Ariel Castro‘s Cleveland house last Monday and helped to recuse Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michele Knight – the three women Pedro had allegedly held captive for more than 10 years. Officer Espada wrote:
“I’m looking that way just waiting to see what’s going to happen and it was Michelle. She kinda popped out into to the doorway and paused there for a second.
“I mean, within moments she came charging at me. She jumped onto me…. She’s like, ‘You saved us! You saved us!’ And I’m holding onto her so tight. And then within a few seconds I see another girl come out of the bedroom. I just look at her. I … you can immediately tell who it is….and I asked her, ‘What’s your name?’ She said, ‘My name is Georgina DeJesus.’ Very overwhelming. I mean it took everything to hold myself together.”
You can read the full post here.
In other news from Cleveland, Ariel Castro will plead not guilty to the charges of rape and abduction.
2. A NSW Parliamentary committee has found cannabis has value as a medical treatment. It’s also recommended it be used in medical capacity for people suffering from terminal illnesses and AIDs.
The Chair of the Committee, Sarah Mitchell MLC said, “We recognise the risks and negative effects of crude cannabis use particularly via smoking and by no means do we endorse the recreational use of cannabis.
However, the Committee considers that on the basis of the available evidence, providing for a very small and specific group of patients to use crude cannabis products for medical purposes legally is both appropriate and compassionate.”
3. Craig Thompson has announced that he will resign from the Labor Party and will contest his NSW seat as an Independent at the September election. Thompson is currently facing 154 charges relating to alleged misuse of funds during his time as the chief of the Health Services Union.
4. Since revealing that she under went a double mastectomy, Angelia Jolie has reportedly been targeted by internet trolls.
After Jolie made the announcement that she’d had surgery to reduce her chances of getting breast cancer, negative commenters were quick to suggest Jolie was just justifying getting a boob job.
On commenter wrote on Jezebel: “How many guys stopped reading as soon as they realized Angelina Jolie has no breasts—she’s dead to me!”
It’s also been revealed that Angelina is planning on having her ovaries removed. People magazine reported: “Because of her “faulty” BRCA1 gene, she still faces a high risk of developing ovarian cancer, which her doctors estimate at 50 percent.”
5. The Seekers lead singer Judith Durhum is reportedly recovering in hospital after suffering from a cerebral haemorrhage while on tour in Melbourne.
Speaking to the media yesterday, Durham’s band mates described the 69-year-old as a “tough little cookie” and said they were hopeful “she will get through this quite quickly.”
6. In a world first, scientists in the US have been able to clone human embryos to create a source of stem cells. According to the BBC, the cloned embryos “can make new heart muscle, bone, brain tissue or any other type of cell in the body.”
7. The Federal Opposition caused a kerfuffle this morning after originally refusing to grant a Labor MP a pair, so she could travel home to Sydney to care for her sick baby. Michelle Rowland, the Labor Member for Greenway went public with the Coalition’s refusal and has since been granted permission to leave parliament for the day to be with her 14-month-old daughter. She will have to return for Tony Abbott’s Budget Reply speech this evening.
Top Comments
Look at News No. 7
Labor is playing political stun again.
Labor MP Michelle Rowland said her daughter was sick with a fever on Mother's Day( 12/5). Why didn't she stay at home with her?
Then she put an application on 14/5 for a leave to be with her daughter starting on 16/5, 6 PM (tonight).
She should go home immediately on 14/5 if the kid got sicker. What is the point to apply a leave starting 2 days later - Labor tried to distract Abbott's budget reply tonight.
Having played race card, gender card and class card, now Labor is playing sick kid card. How low they can get?
Perhaps someone else was able to look after the child on the other days but not today. Why shouldn't politicians have workplace rights to leave like everyone else and not have to justify it to the public every time their kid gets sick??
She didn't need a pair as there is no voting.
You see why I have a trust issue with these people ?
No one stops her from going home, that was her choice.
Seems odd that she spent a great deal of time giving interviews to All and Sundry about this instead of rushing home.
Angelina, good on her for sharing, it will save lives and that is all that matters.
Thommo, pffft !
Weed for pain ? er I would rather a Pill to take away my life when I choose, but if weed helps those who want help then I don't see why not, put it in cookies though, don't smoke that stuff.
Did Labor write this article? No. It's not them getting themselves in the press - it was the Oppositions actions that got them in the press.
You have no idea how sick her kid was or wasn't on what date, or what care the child had at that time, so saying "she should go home immediately" is insane. How do you know her partner isn't a pediatrician and already at home caring for the child?
And would you say that any male MP whose child gets sick "should go home immediately"? If you were away doing important work interstate and your kid got a fever (but was being well cared for) would you jump on the first plane home, or waiting see if the kid got better and THEN request sick leave? I'm guessing you'd do the latter.
The controversial issue here isn't whether the MP should or shouldn't have taken sick leave to care for her child, or whether she requested it early enough. Regardless of whether the kid got sick on the 14th or today, it's the Opposition who refused her request. Labor didn't do anything, and they're not the ones getting it in the press. The Opposition did the wrong thing by refusing carers leave - they got themselves in the press.
She didn't need permission to leave, that is the whole point.
I'm not Angelina's biggest fan, but I say good on her. Not everyone has the means to be proactive. If memory serves, her mother died of cancer, right? Perhaps she did it not only for herself but for her family. She has 6 kids to think about. She wouldn't want to leave them without a mum.
As for the 'boob job cover up' - puhlease. That's ridiculous.