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PARKMAN TOWNSHIP, Ohio - When the driver of an SUV slammed into the back of a buggy in Geauga County Wednesday night, the impact ejected a pregnant Amish woman and several of her young children.
Meanwhile, Geauga County prosecutors say they plan to take the case to a grand jury and will seek additional charges against the driver of the SUV.
Also an assortment of stuffed bears
Slightly used young men's shoes including white band shoes for marching and slightly used pair of baseball cleats.
Other items also
To remember just exactly how forceful Mother Nature can be, and to give thanks
to God that tomorrow will bring a new day with an ocean of calm..........
EASTVILLE — Sharone White Bailey’s accused killer allegedly stabbed her, chased her as she ran and then stabbed her repeatedly as she banged on a neighbor’s door for help.Then, after she gained entry to the home of elderly neighbors, Derrick Epps broke through the door and continued to stab her.
“He must have killed her,” the neighbor, 84-year-old Alice Doughty, told a judge during a criminal hearing in Northampton court. “All that blood was on the floor.”
Later, while in custody, Epps made an escape attempt while using the restroom and apparent ran out of the sheriff’s office before being apprehended.
General District Court Judge Gordon Vincent certified the murder charge against Epps, 36, of Exmore, to a grand jury.
Witnesses presented by Commonwealth’s Attorney Bruce Jones told a horrifying story to a courtroom packed with the victim’s friends and family. Many wept quietly as they heard the story of her final moments on July 9.The slaying of Bailey, 57, who had recently been named the 2010 Eastern Shore Citizen of the Year at a gala event, shocked the community.
On the day of her death, Bailey drove home from work in the middle of the day. Epps, her neighbor, saw her pull into her driveway and ran into his kitchen to get a long knife.
“He told her he wanted money,” testified Northampton County Sheriff’s Office investigator Terry Thomas, who said Epps told him the entire story of the slaying when he was arrested. Thomas said Epps told him he stabbed her “a few times.”
He told Thomas that Bailey fell to the ground and then got up and ran across the street. Thomas said Epps told him that Bailey was screaming for help when she got to the neighbor’s front door. He said he was continually stabbing her as she banged on the door.
Epps admitted he went back a few minutes later and broke through the Doughtys’ door, “because a voice told him she was not dead,” Thomas said.
The testimony of the neighbor, Joseph Doughty, 86, told more of the story.
“I heard a hard rap on the door. I jumped up. I opened the door, ” he said.
“She fell on the floor,” he said. “She asked me to call 911. She was trying to fight him off. He had this big, long knife.”
When Bailey fell, the defendant backed away, Doughty said. He testified that he quickly locked the storm door and the wooden door and ran to the telephone to call for help.
As he was talking to 911, Doughty said the defendant burst through the doors breaking the door frame and the wooden door.
“He came in the house and cut her again.”
His wife, Alice Doughty, appeared frail as she was helped to the witness stand by deputies.
Jones asked her if she knew Epps. She pointed to the defendant and said, “He lived next door.”
She recalled the scene with obvious pain, telling the same story as her husband.
“She came running in the door and he was right behind her,” she said, looking at Epps.
“When she fell, I was talking to her. He came into the house, cut her again,” she said.
In addition to the first degree murder charge, Epps is charged with entering a dwelling with a deadly weapon with the intent to commit murder and assault and battery of a police officer.
Northampton Sheriff’s Office Deputy William Smith transported Epps to the sheriff’s office after he was picked up walking on Broadwater Road.
He was being held in the conference room there when he insisted he had an urgent need to use the bathroom. Smith was instructed to take him.
Smith released one of the man’s handcuffs while in the bathroom. At that moment, he said, Epps shoved him into a wall and ran out the door.
Epps ran out the door of the building with Smith fifteen or twenty feet behind him. Smith said he deployed his Taser and Epps went down. He was again taken into custody.
“He made no bones about what he did,” investigator Thomas told the court, referring to Epps’ description of the day’s events. “He said it was not a robbery, that her people owed his people.”
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — Cancer has ravaged several of Ann Aberson's relatives, so she doesn't have a problem with her two teenage daughters wearing bracelets to raise awareness of breast cancer.But their school principal does.
This week, Baltic High School, just north of here, became one of the latest across the USA to ban the rubber bracelet, which has a message some say is in poor taste: "I love boobies."
The bracelets have caused controversy in schools in states including California, Colorado, Idaho, Florida and Wisconsin. Some districts allow students to wear them inside-out, and others ban them.
"When we had an assembly the first day of school, I basically told the students we are not insensitive to the cause," Baltic High Principal Jim Aisenbrey says. "I think everybody in the gym, including myself, has had a family member or relative or friend who has dealt with the issue. I do think there are more proper ways to bring this plight to the attention of people, and I don't think this is a proper way."
"I guess I never thought of them as offensive," Aberson says. Her grandmother and five of her grandmother's sisters battled breast cancer.
The bracelets, which sell for about $4 in stores, were created by Keep A Breast Foundation, a Carlsbad, Calif., non-profit group that seeks to increase breast cancer awareness among young people.
Proceeds from sales support the foundation's programs, founder Shaney Jo Darden says. She says the bracelets are meant to spark discussions.
"That's the whole idea, it's getting people to talk about breast cancer, it's getting people to share their feelings about how this disease has impacted their life," she says. "The bracelet is doing what it's meant to do — it's making people talk."
"Schools banning it? That's crazy," says Julie Hubbell of Lewisville, Texas. Hubbell helped organize an auction and barbeque named "Boobie Q" to raise money for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation.
In the Fresno area, students in the Clovis Unified School District were told not to wear the bracelets in class — or to turn them inside out so the message is not visible, spokeswoman Kelly Avants says. The school district's dress code outlaws jewelry with sexually suggestive language or images, she says.
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — An oil platform that burned off the Louisiana coast Thursday was the second such disaster in the Gulf of Mexico in less than five months. This time, the Coast Guard said there was no leak, and no one was killed.
Responding to any oil spill in shallow water would be much easier than in deep water, where crews depend on remote-operated vehicles to access equipment on the sea floor.
"How many accidents are needed and how much environmental and economic damage must we suffer before we act to contain and control the source of the danger: offshore drilling?" said Rep. Frank Pallone, a New Jersey Democrat.While Hurricane Earl is still on our minds go to the link below to see if you remember any of the past hurricanes that have passed through Maryland. Many of them are of Ocean City, Maryland.
Hurricanes that blew through Maryland through the years - baltimoresun.com
Hurricane Esther(George Cook, Baltimore Sun / September 21, 1961)Esther pushed high tides into some of the streets of Ocean City. |
Mayor Rick Meehan said Thursday the beaches are off limits to swimmers because of pending weather driven by the hurricane. Meehan says lifeguards are only allowing in experienced body-boarders and surfers.
The mayor says the restrictions would likely continue through Saturday.
An offshore oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico 80 miles off the Louisiana coastline Thursday, west of the site of the April BP blast that caused a massive oil spill, Coast Guard officials said. There were 13 workers aboard the rig, U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Bill Colclough told CNN, reporting that all were accounted for with one person injured.
They will be transported to Terrebone General Medical Center in Houma, La., according to a report in the Times Picayune.
The blast was first reported by a commercial helicopter company about 9:30 a.m. CDT Thursday, Coast Guard Petty Officer Casey Ranel told the Associated Press.
Seven helicopters, two airplanes and four boats are en route to the site, about 80 miles south of Vermilion Bay along the central Louisiana coast.
Ranel says it hasn't been determined whether the structure is a production platform or a drilling rig or whether workers were aboard. Ranel says smoke was reported but it is unclear whether the rig is still burning.
SNOW HILL -- Worcester County Recreation & Parks is currently offers Spike Express youth volleyball for those ages 9 to 14 at the Worcester County Recreation Center in Snow Hill.
BERLIN -- Police charged a Pennsylvania man with murder after he allegedly ran his mother over with a work van two to three times and tried to convince investigators it was an accident. Police say 58-year-old Steven Frederick Molin of Darby, Pa., killed his mother, 85-year-old Emily Belle Molin, by running her over with a large work van on rural Carey Road, north of Berlin and west of Ocean Pines, late Tuesday night. The elder Molin, who was transported to Peninsula Regional Medical Center, died from injuries sustained from a motor vehicle.
Investigators from the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation said Steven Molin notified police around midnight Tuesday of a serious motor vehicle accident on Carey Road. He told them that as he and his mother were riding in his vehicle, which he was driving, his mother fell out. He told police that once he realized she had fallen out, he stopped and drove in reverse.
Accident reconstruction specialists looking at the scene could tell that the elderly woman had been driven over two to three times, police said. At that point, WCBI was notified and a criminal investigation ensued.
"He passed it off as, his mom fell out," WCBI Sgt. H. S. Brent said. "When the reconstructionist came out, things weren't adding up."
Based upon his interview with police and the forensic evidence from the scene, Molin was charged with first-degree murder, second-degree murder and manslaughter. According to police, detectives "identified evidence that was not consistent with the reported incident."
Molin is being held in Worcester County Jail without bond, although a bond review hearing is scheduled for today.
Detectives continue to investigate the incident and are asking anyone who was traveling on Carey Road at the time who saw anything suspicious to contact WCBI at 410-352-3476, or the Sheriff's Office at 410-632-1111.
BERLIN — Assateague Island National Seashore is telling all campers to leave by noon Thursday and will close its visitor centers on Friday.The park made the announcement on its Twitter page, @AssateagueNPS, as Hurricane Earl came closer to Delmarva. On Wednesday, park rangers had told campers in remote campsites accessible only by canoe or kayak to move out.
The park also closed its off-road vehicle areas, used by surf fishermen, to any traffic.
A homeless man who sneaked into a Beaverton hot tub, then called 9-1-1 to ask for towels, hot chocolate and a hug got cold comfort from police instead.
Derrick J. Powell’s trial was scheduled to begin Oct. 11 in Georgetown. He is charged with first-degree murder in the September 2009 shooting of police officer Chad Spicer. The Attorney General’s office has said it will seek the death penalty.
Superior Court Judge T. Henley Graves and lawyers will meet Friday to discuss a new trial date.
Richmond, Va. --Because of continuing data headaches, the Department of Motor Vehicles still can't match thousands of photographs with driver information, potentially rendering 10,000 to 16,000 head shots unusable.
If the photos contained in giant electronic files can't be restored, affected Virginians would have to report to DMV offices to sit for fresh pictures.
"It's too early to say whether that next step is necessary," said Samuel A. Nixon Jr., the state's computer chief.
With officials saying Virginia's information-technology systems are fully operational again for the first time since the Aug. 25 crash that crippled 26 agencies, DMV -- the hardest-hit -- breathed 20 days' new life into most of the driver's licenses and identification cards that expired during the outage.
DMV said the 12,226 people whose licenses and ID cards became invalid during the outage will not have to prove their legal presence in the United States by producing additional documentation, such as a passport or birth certificate -- as the agency had advised earlier.
All told, 35,000 to 45,000 customers have been unable to get driver's licenses or ID cards during the service blackout.
The last of Virginia's stricken agencies were, for the most part, up and running yesterday.
That included the State Board of Elections and the departments of Social Services, Environmental Quality, and Taxation.
The tax agency, which handles millions of dollars a day, resumed issuing refunds and liens as well as processing returns via the Internet.
The tax department still has some gaps in its records, but, "we don't think it's as bad as we thought it might be," spokesman Joel Davison said.
Meantime, the state moved closer to opening an independent investigation of Virginia's biggest computer failure since the government hired Northrop Grumman in 2005 to run its IT networks.
Gov. Bob McDonnell, the Nixon-led Virginia Information Technologies Agency, and the General Assembly's investigative arm, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission, will select an outside expert -- who would be paid by Northrop Grumman -- to study the crisis and report within three months.
McDonnell initially wanted VITA to choose the investigator, but legislative leaders said that would raise questions about the probe's independence.
JLARC, under state law, has oversight responsibility for VITA and Northrop Grumman, which is being paid more than $2.3 billion under Virginia's largest privatization contract.
Calling the results of the outage an emergency, DMV also said it will lengthen service hours at its 74 offices to accommodate tens of thousands of inconvenienced people.
"We're trying to get every [service counter] window open," DMV spokeswoman Melanie Stokes said. "We are planning to be extremely busy."
With employees working overtime, DMV will extend hours today and tomorrow until 6 p.m. Offices, which generally open at 8 a.m., usually close at 5 p.m.
During the Labor Day holiday weekend, DMV will extend hours at 14 offices on Saturday. Rather than close at noon, most of the offices will remain open until 6 p.m.
Using the DMV's authority to extend their validity periods, the agency will add 20 days to most licenses and ID cards that lapsed during the disruption.
As an example, licenses that expired Aug. 25 will be good until Sept. 14, giving customers time to renew before the new expiration date.
DMV headquarters workers are being sent to field offices to help with the expected influx of customers.
DMV is paying for the increased costs from the crisis out of its regular operating budget, Stokes said.
The 20-day extension on expired licenses and ID cards will shorten the new ones' validity period by the same amount.
However, the grace period will not apply to limited-duration licenses, such as those issued to foreigners temporarily in the U.S. on a work visa.
A federal grand jury has indicted powerful Maryland Senate committee chairman Ulysses S. Currie on charges of bribery, extortion, and mail fraud and making false statements.Currie, a Democrat from Forestville in Prince George's County, is accused of taking an off-the-book job with Shoppers Food Warehouse in exchange for using his official position to influence government business to benefit the supermarket chain. He has been under federal investigation for more than two years for working as a consultant for Shoppers without disclosing the work in financial disclosure forms.
"Government officials cross a bright line when they accept payments in return for using the authority of their office, whether they take cash in envelopes or checks labeled as consulting payments," U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said in a statement Wednesday.
Prosecutors said Currie received monthly payments of up to $7,600 for a total of nearly $240,000 during the six-year scheme.
The 18-count indictment alleges that after Currie became chairman of the Senate Budget and Taxation Committee in 2002, he asked to be placed on the payroll of Shoppers Food Warehouse Corp.
Two former grocery store chain executives are also charged in the scheme. They are former Shoppers President William White, 67, of Annapolis, and grocery store real estate executive Kevin Small, 55, of Lewisburg, Pa.
Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller Jr. said Wednesday that Currie told him he will step aside as chairman.
The indictment alleges that in 2007, the 73-year-old Currie prepared a list called "Accomplishments on Behalf of Shoppers," to justify his payments and listed 12 projects he had furthered on behalf of the grocer.
As part of the conspiracy, prosecutors said Currie:
¥ Persuaded government officials to give up the right to purchase land in Chillum owned by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, so that the property could be bought to expand a Shoppers supermarket.
¥ Met with government officials to secure $2 million for a Baltimore supermarket to lower the costs of opening a Shoppers store.
¥ Lobbied the Prince George's County Liquor Board to allow the transfer of a liquor license from one Shoppers store to another, and then arranged for another state lawmaker to introduce legislation to approve the transfer and then voted on it.
¥ Convened meetings in his Senate office with state officials to obtain a grant of up to $3 million for road improvements for the supermarket.
¥ Used official letterhead to repeatedly lobby Maryland highway officials for traffic signals at Shoppers stores in Laurel and Baltimore County.
If convicted, Currie, White and Small face more than 80 years in prison.
In a separate criminal filing, Shoppers Food Warehouse Corp., has agreed to pay a $2.5 million penalty. The court must approve the agreement.
The elderly are among the most vulnerable victims when hurricanes strike. Home Instead Senior Care has offered up some tips to help seniors prepare.Tune in. Contact the local emergency management office to learn about the most likely natural disasters to strike your area. Stay abreast of what's going on through your local radio or television.
Take stock. Decide what your senior can or can't do in the event of a natural disaster. Make a list of what would be needed if a disaster occurred. For example, if your loved one uses a wheelchair, determine an evacuation strategy ahead of time. Prepare for whatever disaster could hit the area.
To go or to stay? When deciding to evacuate, older adults should go sooner rather than later. By waiting too long, they may be unable to leave if they require assistance.
Make a plan. Schedule a family meeting to develop a plan of action. Include in your plan key people - such as neighbors, friends, relatives and professional caregivers - who could help.
More than one way out. Seniors should develop at least two escape routes: one to evacuate their home and one to evacuate their community. The local emergency management office can tell you escape routes out of the community.
Meet up. Designate a place to meet relatives or key support network people outside the house, as well as a second location outside the neighborhood, such as a school or church. Practice the plan twice a year.
Get up and "Go Kit." Have an easy-to-carry backpack including three days non-perishable food and water with an additional four days of food and water readily accessible at home. Have at least one gallon of bottled water per person per day. Refresh and replace your supplies at least twice a year. And don't forget the blanket and paper products such as toilet paper.
Pack extras and copies. Have at least a one-month supply of medication on hand at all times. Make ready other important documents in a waterproof protector including copies of prescriptions, car title registration and driver's license, insurance documents and bank account numbers, and spare checkbook. Also take extra eyeglasses and hearing-aid batteries. Label every piece of important equipment or personal item in case they are lost.
Your contact list. Compile a contact list and include people on a senior's support network as well as doctors and other important health-care professionals.
If you can't be there. If you're not living close by to help your loved one, enlist the help of family or friends, or contact a professional caregiving company.
"We know that a disaster can be deadly for some seniors because of physical and other limitations," said Laura Bousman owner of the Home Instead Office serving Tidewater. "That's why the sooner the better for families to talk with their senior loved ones and begin preparing in advance for any kind of emergency that could threaten their health or safety. Consider this checklist as you help your older adult get ready."
For more information contact Home Instead Senior Care at (757) 631-7744 or online at www.homeinstead.com.
Each of these day campers has four legs and a tail and many wag those tails rapidly as the "Doggie Bus" pulls up at a southwest Miami camp created just for canines _ Totally Dog.
Dog trainer Elena Sweet says she opened Totally Dog in 1999 as a peaceful getaway for dogs to run free, socialize and beat urban stress. Husband Jeremy drives the bus and dogs bound off into a bone-shaped wading pool, then romp at play. 
Owners pay about $45 a day for camp. Kenny Reich says his three pooches go right to sleep after camp _ a sure sign they had a doggone "great time."
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) - Amtrak says it's canceling some Virginia passenger train routes because of Hurricane Earl.Amtrak says the cancellations involve routes between the Tidewater area and Newport News. The changes announced Wednesday run Thursday through Saturday.
On Thursday, Amtrak says trains 67 and 66 will end in Richmond instead of Newport News and Train 95 will end at Washington, D.C. instead of Newport News.
On Friday, Train 66 will start from Richmond instead of Newport News, while Train 94 will originate in Washington, instead of Newport News. Trains 95 and 83 will end their routes in Washington instead of Newport News and Train 78 is canceled.
Saturday, Amtrak says Train 194 will start in Richmond instead of Newport News and Train 82 will originate in Washington instead of Newport News.
BERLIN, Md.- Detectives with the Worcester County Bureau of Investigation have arrested a Pennsylvania man on murder and related charges after they say he intentionally ran over his elderly mother with a vehicle. Steven Frederick Molin, 58, of Darby, Pa., is charged with first- and second-degree murder and manslaughter. He is being held without bond in the Worcester County Detention Center.
At around 11:57 p.m. Tuesday, deputies with the Worcester County Sheriff's Office responded to a reported motor vehicle accident on Carey Road in Berlin. When police arrived on the scene, 85-year-old Emily Belle Molin, also of Darby, was transported to Peninsula Regional Medical Center in Salisbury where she died from injuries sustained in the reported accident.
Investigators learned that Steven Molin was the driver of the vehicle. According to police, Molin claimed that his mother fell out of the moving vehicle. He explained that he backed up after he discovered she had fallen out of his vehicle. Police say it was reported that Molin had driven over his mother two or three times before stopping the vehicle.
It was at that point that the WCBI was notified and responded to conduct a criminal investigation. Investigators interviewed Molin. Police say that in addition, a forensic detective identified evidence that was not consistent with the reported incident.
Based upon the interview and forensic evidence Molin was arrested on the aforementioned charges. Police have not yet released a possible motive.
Detectives are still actively investigating this incident. Anyone who may have been traveling on Carey Road between Aug. 31 and Sept. 1, and saw anything suspicious is urged to call the WCBI at (410) 352-3476 or the Sheriff's Office at (410) 632-1111.
The Social Security Administration has authorized the advance delivery of checks in the areas threatened by Hurricane Earl. 
BALTIMORE- A Salisbury cardiologist alleged to have implanted unnecessary cardiac stents in the arteries of his patients has been indicted on health care fraud charges, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.Dr. John R. McLean, 58, is not charged with a crime for the actual surgeries he performed but for the alleged fraud that went along with them. Federal prosecutors say McLean submitted insurance claims for the unnecessary stents, ordered needless tests and falsely documented patients' medical records.
According to the indictment, McLean had a private medical practice known as John R. McLean M.D. and Associates, located at 1315 S. Division Street in Salisbury. He also had hospital privileges at Peninsula Regional Medical Center.
The indictment alleges that at least from 2003 to May 2007, McLean performed cardiac catheterizations on patients at PRMC and falsely recorded in the patients' medical records the existence or extent of any coronary artery blockage, known as lesions, observed during the procedures. Patients must have a 70 percent blockage before cardiac stents are considered medically necessary. The indictment alleges that in order to increase his profit, McLean allegedly implanted cardiac stents in patients who had neither a 70 percent or more blockage nor symptoms of blockage.
The indictment also alleges that McLean ordered that his cardiac patients have routine follow up visits and undergo unnecessary diagnostic testing such as Cardiolite Stress Tests, echocardiograms and electrocardiograms. McLean caused claims in the total amount of $519,063 for medically unnecessary procedures, services and testing to be submitted to health care benefit programs, including Medicare, according to the indictment.
The indictment also alleges that McLean shredded and attempted to shred documents that were subpoenaed by the Maryland Board of Physicians and the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland during an investigation of his medical practice.
The indictment seeks forfeiture of $519,063 and two properties located in Ocean City and Salisbury.
McLean faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison for health care fraud and five years in prison on each of six counts of making false statements relating to health care matters. No court proceedings have been scheduled yet.
McLean is also facing a lawsuit filed by more than a dozen of his patients. His attorneys could not immediately be reached for comment.
season and there are other areas of concern moving off Africa which could move our way. Shoredailynews.com has a brand new hurricane preparedness section which contains extensive information including shelter options and flood zone maps for both counties, and tips on what to do before, during and after the storm.
When Scott Hardy hits the road, he always makes sure to leave room in his suitcase for his stuffed animal.That's right, the 34-year-old businessman always travels with Barkley, a stuffed beagle. No, it's not for his two daughters. No he doesn't sleep with a nightlight and no he isn't smuggling drugs.
Seven years ago Hardy's then girlfriend, now wife, gave him the doggie as a reminder of her.
"I travel enough that it's a nice reminder of home," said Hardy who runs an online legal notice company, Top Class Actions.
Housekeepers like to put it on top of his pillow or prop it up prominently on the night stand.
Even when Hardy travels on an annual guys trip -- a beach trip to Mexico this year -- Barkley comes along.
"I've had some friends who are like, 'What's with the stuffed animal?'" the Phoenix-area man said. "It's just a reminder of my beautiful bride."
"Barkley stays in the suitcase when I'm home," Hardy added. "He only comes out for trips."
Hardy isn't the only adult traveling with a stuffed animal. In fact, as many as one in every four grown men might just have a teddy bear tucked away in their suitcase.
Well, in the last 12 months, British hotel chain Travelodge has reunited more than 75,000 bears with the owners. That's a lot of stuffed animals left at its 452 hotels in the United Kingdom and Spain. So the company decided to investigate a bit further.
Travelodge surveyed 6,000 Britons and discovered that 35 percent of adults admitted they sleep with their teddy because they found cuddling their bear comforting. Additionally, many said the calming feeling of a bear hug helped them lower their stress level after a hard day.And it turns out that a large number of the bear-toting travelers are men.
Travelodge said that 25 percent of men reported they take their teddy bear away with them when going away on business. The stuffed animal supposedly reminds them of home and -- some say -- helps fill a cuddle-void left by distant partners.
One in ten single men surveyed admitted they hide their teddy bear when their girlfriend stays over and 14 percent of married men reported they hide their teddy bear in the wardrobe or under the bed when any family and friends come to visit.
Fear not, it's isn't just men who travel with stuffed animals.
Laurie Luck has a stuffed dog that she sleeps with every night -- at home or on the road.
"Puppy goes everywhere I go. He's kind of my security blanket," Luck said. "He's been everywhere. I sleep with him every night. I know that sounds terrible for a 42–year-old woman to say, but it's true."
Puppy has been camping, on a cruise. He's gone everywhere that Luck has been in the last 26 years.
Yes, that's right, Puppy isn't a holdover from childhood, but a more-recent acquisition.
"I was never allowed to have a stuffed animal or a blankie as a kid because my mom didn't want me to leave it and then not be able to sleep without it," said Luck, an animal trainer. "So 26 years ago, a friend gave me this. It sort of resonated with me. It was the stuffed animal I was never able to have as a kid."
She has never lost the stuffed animal when traveling but said to do so would be "disastrous."
"Puppy is more of a priority than my cell phone or purse," she said, adding, "I know I probably sound like an overgrown child."
Today, Luck said her friends and family accept her bunkmate when they learn about Puppy's existence.
"I made sure my husband was okay with it before we got married," she said. "I had to sort of break the news: I sleep with a stuffed animal. This is what I do and I hope there won't be a problem."
NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — The Navy says its ships in the Hampton Roads area are ready to head to sea to evade Hurricane Earl if needed.The National Hurricane Center says Earl has strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane with winds near 135 mph (215 kph) as it moves away from the Virgin Islands.
Earl is on a path that could brush the coast of the U.S. later in the week, though it's too early to tell exactly where it will go.
LONDON (AFP) – Writer J.K. Rowling has donated 10 million pounds to set up a new multiple sclerosis (MS) research clinic, the Harry Potter author revealed on Tuesday.She hopes the clinic, to be based at the University of Edinburgh, will become a world centre for excellence in its field.
The facility will also aim to help researchers find out more about other incurable neurological conditions, such as Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease and motor neurone disease.
The clinic will be named after Rowling's mother Anne, who suffered from MS and died at the age of 45.
The author said the new clinic, which is expected to be completed within a year, will place patients at the heart of the research and treatment process.
Rowling said in a statement: "It is with great pleasure and pride that I am donating 10 million pounds to the Regenerative Neurology Clinic at the University of Edinburgh, which is to be named after my mother, Anne."
"I am incredibly impressed by the calibre of clinicians and researchers that Edinburgh has already managed to attract to make this project a reality, and I truly believe that it is set to become a world centre for excellence in the field of regenerative neurology."The Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic will be based in a purpose-built facility within the University's Chancellor's Building, next to the city's Royal Infirmary at Little France.
It follows the setting up of the Centre for Multiple Sclerosis Research at the university three years ago, which also received support from the author.
The university said Rowling's 10 million pounds is the single largest donation she has given to a charitable cause. It is also the largest single donation the University has received.
