1. The five-year-old son of Usher is reportedly in intensive care at a Georgia hospital after he got stuck while trying to retrieve a toy from a drain at the bottom of a pool . The boy – whose name is Usher Raymond V – was playing in the pool with his aunt when the incident occurred and was rushed to hopsital where he was met by his mum and dad. Usher Raymond V’s mother has since tweeted: “Cabin fever.. But I’m so happy to say that my son is doing much better. Talking & asking for food. Thank you for ur well wishes & prayers.”
Last year, Usher’s 11-year-old step son was killed in a jet skiing accident.
2. It’s been suggested that a research chemical called NBOM-e is being sold to teenagers as the drug LSD. Last night’s ABC 7:30 program reveled the drug could be responsible for the deaths of three teenagers in Australia. Seventeen-year-old Henry Kwan jumped to his death after ingesting the drug two months ago. Fifteen-year-old Nick Mitchell also died after taking the drug last year, but at the time his death was thought to be caused by LSD. NBOM-e is legal in some Australian states and can be bought for as little as $2.
Drug educator Paul Dillion told the 7:30 program that young people needed to take police warnings seriously. “Police put out warnings about things and then nothing bad happens and young people don’t believe us – we lose our credibility,” he said. “I certainly don’t want to lose mine, but I really do believe that something really is happening at the moment, with the very young – we’re not talking about 18, 19-years-olds here, we’re going younger and younger.”
3. A murder trial in the Victorian Supreme Court must be heard again after a juror fell asleep during the hearing. The Defence Barrister at the trial reportedly said to Justice Phillip Priest: “It’s my submission, sir, that regrettably we need a new jury panel. This man didn’t hear a thing that your honour said, I would say.” The case involved a man called Steve Constantinou, who is accused of murdering Johanna Martin – who was working as a sex worker when she died in October 2011.
4. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has opened the door to Julia Gillard joining him on the election campaign. On last night’s 7.30 Report, Rudd said of the former Prime Minister Gillard, “Julia would be welcome to participate in the campaign in any way she chose fit.”
5. A woman in China has been reunited with her son, after two nurses convinced her he was born with health defects and would soon die. The nurses asked 31-year-old Dong Wan to sign her son over to the hospital, before selling him to human traffickers for $5000. But when Mrs Dong became suspicious and got the police involved – who found her son.
6. The Christian Democratic Party in Australia have been criticised in the lead up to the federal election, after posting ads on their Facebook page over the past few months that were homophobic.
One ad, uploaded at the end of last month, reads: “Same-sex couples earn 29 per cent more money than female-male couples … Mum and dad taxpayers are the most oppressed Australians in our economy.” The party is led by Reverend Fred Nile.
7. Ariel Castro‘s Cleveland home has been demolished. The 52-year-old convicted criminal used to house to keep three women for more than 11 years after he kidnapped them off the streets. Michelle Knight, one of the women who was kidnapped by Castro, was watching the demolition. She told the media: “Why it’s important for me to be here today is because nobody was there for me when I was missing,” she said. “I want the people out there to know, including the mothers, that they can have strength and they can have hope and their child will come back.”
Last week Castro was sentenced to life plus 1000 years in jail.
Top Comments
I saw pictures of the pool that Usher's son fell into on the news. Not a fence in sight. So lucky that he is alive.
He didn't fall in, he went to get a toy and got stuck in a vent or something and he was supervised so a fence would not have prevented it from happening. Alos, it is just recently that fences around pools have become mandatory in Australia (and correct me if I am wrong, but isn't this only for new pools built?) and even then, this doesn't prevent pool deaths.
All pool owners need to abide by pool fencing regulations, not just the owners of newly built pools.
So same sex couples are now the repressed and the gays are the oppressors! This reminds me of whenever I read in the US that the Muslims are about to take over and impose Sharia Law.
This ad makes sense cuz don't men in general earn more than women so if two men are in a relationship together and are both working than they will probably earn more than a couple where there is a female and a male. Doesn't mean the ad is justified just saying that in hypothetical terms it does make sense that gay couples are higher income earners. Now of only we could tackle the low pay for women... That is also a discrimination issue.
Yeah, I belive that the statistics do report that women earn less than men, BUT how the fuck is it the fault of same sex male couples??? And assuming that the gay couple is earning more, then logic would dictate that they pay more tax as well and are also ineligible for the myriad of vote buying benefits/welfare schemes available to the hetero couple.
I know that children are our future and everything, but as someone who does not have children and whose family have never been eligible for any welfare (I class welfare as anything means tested, so public schooling, HECS and medicare are not it), I resent the pandering to "working familes". I would seriously vote for any party that did not use that term as one of their election slogans. And before people jump on and say that their kids will be paying my pension, at 27 years of age, if I plan to rely on some mythical aged pension when I get to retirement age, then I deserve the substandard life that this lack of planning and foresight would lead to and a whole load of possibly pity and definitely scorn!!! Anyone who is in gen y (and maybe even gen x) hoping to rely on a government pension when they retire is an idiot!!!
Also gay people - especially gay men - are probably less likely to have children than hetero couples, meaning they probably spend more time in full time employment. All the more reason for equality!!
They might not be paying your pension but they will be paying for your health care your medication through the pbs the maintenance of the road you will drive on and the infrastructure you will rely on...