Janie Thompson speaks about her financial concerns outside of a temporary shelter in Gatlinburg, Tenn., Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016. Thompson, who works at the McDonalds in Gatlinburg, has been unable to... (Associated Press)

 Janie Thompson speaks about her financial concerns outside of a temporary shelter in Gatlinburg, Tenn., Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2016. Thompson, who works at the McDonalds in Gatlinburg, has been unable to work due to the wildfire that hit the town, and doesn't know when she can return. (Andrew Nelles/The... (Associated Press)

 GATLINBURG, Tenn. (AP) — Crews discovered the remains of more people as they searched the rubble of wildfires that torched hundreds of homes and businesses near the Great Smoky Mountains, bringing the death toll to 11, officials said Thursday.

 Authorities set up a hotline for people to report missing friends and relatives, and after following up on dozens of leads, they said many of those people had been accounted for. They did not say whether they believe anyone else is still missing or may have died.

 "I think it's fair to say that the search is winding down," Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters said. "And hopefully we will not find any more."

 He said the searches would likely be completed Friday.

 Nearly 24 hours of rain on Wednesday helped dampen the wildfires, but fire officials struck a cautious tone, saying people shouldn't have a false sense of security because months of drought have left the ground bone-dry and wildfires can rekindle.

 The trouble began Monday when a wildfire, likely caused by a person, spread from the Great Smoky Mountains National Park into the tourist city of Gatlinburg as hurricane-force winds toppled trees and power lines, blowing embers in all directions.

 "We had trees going down everywhere, power lines, all those power lines were just like lighting a match because of the extreme drought conditions. So we went from nothing to over 20-plus structure fires in a matter of minutes. And that grew and that grew and that grew," Gatlinburg Fire Chief Greg Miller said.

 More than 14,000 residents and visitors in Gatlinburg were forced to evacuate, and the typically bustling tourist city has been shuttered ever since. At least 700 buildings in the county have been damaged.

 "Gatlinburg is the people; that's what Gatlinburg is. It's not the buildings, it's not the stuff in the buildings," Mayor Mike Werner said. "We're gonna be back better than ever. Just be patient."

 Starting Friday, homeowners, business owners, renters and lease holders will be allowed to go see most of their Gatlinburg properties, said City Manager Cindy Cameron Ogle. The city is hoping to open main roads to the general public Wednesday.

 There were other signs of recovery. Waters declared that Sevier County was "open for business." In nearby Pigeon Forge, the Comedy House rented an electronic billboard message that said it was open for laughs, and a flyer at a hotel urged guests to check out the scenic Cades Cove loop. "Take a drive and remember what you love about the Smokies!" the flyer said.

 Great Smoky Mountains National Park Superintendent Cassius Cash has said the fires were "likely to be human-caused" but he has refused to elaborate, saying only that the investigation continues. Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are helping investigate the cause.

 About 10,000 acres, or 15 square miles, burned inside the country's most visited national park. Another 6,000 acres were scorched outside of the park.

 One of the victims was identified as Alice Hagler. Her son Lyle Wood said his mother and brother lived in a home at Chalet Village in Gatlinburg and she frantically called his brother Monday night because the house had caught fire. The call dropped as Wood's brother raced up the fiery mountain trying to get to his mother. He didn't make it in time.

 "My mom was a very warm, loving, personable person. She never met a stranger. She would talk to anybody," Wood said.

 Authorities said they were still working to identify the dead and did not release any details about how they were killed.

 Three brothers being treated at a Nashville hospital said they had not heard from their parents since they were separated while fleeing the fiery scene during their vacation.

 A number of funds have been established to help victims of the wildfires, including one set up by the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee and another by country music legend and native Dolly Parton.

 The flames reached the doorstep of Dollywood, the theme park named after Parton, but the park was spared any significant damage and will reopen Friday.

 About 240 people stayed overnight in shelters, including Mark Howard, who was flat on his back in the hospital with pneumonia when the wildfires started. He called 911 when he heard his house was consumed.

 "I had no insurance. It's a total loss," the 57-year-old owner of a handyman business said.

 ___

 Mattise reported from Nashville, Tennessee. Associated Press writers Rebecca Yonker in Louisville, Kentucky, and Kristin M. Hall in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, contributed to this report. ||||| Summers Family (Photo: Summers Family)

 Jon and Janet Summers, the Memphis couple missing since the spread of the Gatlinburg fires, were confirmed dead late Thursday afternoon, brother Jim Summers said in a Facebook post.

 "I am sorry to report that at 4:45 pm CST the Sevier County Sheriff's Department has reported that the medical examiner has confirmed that two of the bodies found in North Chalet Village were Jon and Janet Summers," the post read, adding that the couple's three sons have also been notified.

 While the news was not unexpected considering that the couple had been missing for several days, family and friends still mourned when the official notification came through.

 "We’re going to miss Jon. He brought a lot of leadership to the firm. His exuberance for the work that we did is just something that we’re going to miss," said Steve Berger, the managing principal at brg3s architects, where Jon Summers was a partner. "He brought a lot of experience and our staff always looked to him for guidance. All of us, our thoughts now are with the boys and the family. We’re a small office and all of our families know each other. Janet was a wonderful partner for Jon and a great mom for the boys. We’re going to miss her as well."

 Jon and Janet, both 61, and their three sons were in Gatlinburg for a birthday celebration, and had been staying at the Chalet Village a little west of the city’s popular downtown area. But when the wildfires spread, the family tried to flee the area by car. However, friends said, their path was blocked by debris. They left the car and tried to flee on foot, but became separated.

 The sons — Branson, 23, and Jared and Wesley, who turned 22 on Wednesday — were rescued and taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center. All three were recovering Thursday — Jared and Wesley in stable condition with Branson in critical but stable condition.

 No one had seen or heard from Jon and Janet since that attempted escape, and friends and family had hoped for good news but feared the worst. That came with the family notification Thursday afternoon. According to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, the Knox County medical examiner's office handled the identification of the remains, likely through dental records.

 "It’s significant not only for me, but a lot of other kids our age," said Ryan Agee, a friend to the Summers boys and an admirer of their parents. "(They) were always a second (set of) parents to everybody. We were always eating dinner at their house, talking to them about things. They were very caring people."

 Jon, Janet and Jared left Memphis ast weekend for the quick getaway to the Smoky Mountains, likely picking up Branson and Wesley — who were still living in Nashville — on the way. The plan was to get the family together to celebrate Wednesday's 22nd birthday for the twins, Jared and Wesley.

 They booked a spot at Chalet Village, a large property just west of Downtown Gatlinburg that primarily rents vacation cabins. Before the fires, the family posted several updates and images on social media, letting everyone know how their vacation was going.

 But on Monday night, a fire that began at a point on Chimney Tops Trail, south of Gatlinburg in the mountains, was stoked and spread by high winds that pummeled the area. Those winds took embers from Chimney Tops and threw them all over the Gatlinburg area, sparking dozens of fires that grew and coalesced into what some called an apocalyptic scene. It was that conflagration that prompted the Summers family to try and flee, particularly since several areas in Chalet Village were on fire.

 Firefighters from Gatlinburg and, eventually, from all over the nation battled the flames for days until they finally brought them under control. The original fire on Chimney Tops, however, remained ablaze.

 So far, the grim tally is 11 dead, including Jon and Janet Summers and Alice Hagler, who was also in the Chalet Village area, as well as dozens wounded. More than 400 structures have been destroyed or damaged, and at least 17,000 acres have been scorched in what some officials called the worst fire in Tennessee in more than a century.

 The one spot of good news Thursday, however, was that the Summers boys were improving. Jim Summers posted several Facebook updates Thursday letting well-wishers know what was going on with the young men, adding that it was possible that they could be discharged on Sunday.

 "Sunday discharge not cast in stone. Many things can occur that would extend that, but still positive since we were looking at weeks vs days on arrival. Thanks again for all the prayers and well wishes. So very much appreciated," Jim Summers said on Facebook.

 He then went on to update family and friends about the condition of his nephews. He said that Branson Summers will have to undergo another procedure to repair a small leakage in his collapsed lung.

 "All, this morning at 6 a.m. Ruth and the attending physician contacted me and advised that Branson had developed a very small leakage in the fire damaged lung, and would need a thoracostomy to plug the leakage and remove the fluid from the is chest cavity," Jim Summers wrote. "This will not interfere with his recovery, and will assist in recovering a partially collapsed lung. This is not an unusual condition, considering the trauma from the injury. It not a procedure to be postponed, and I advised the physician to move forward with the procedure, which is done in the room. It takes about 10 minutes. The condition was found with a routine chest X-ray used to monitor lung and chest cavity while he is on the respirator. The risks are minor from the procedure, major if no effort is made to plug the leak. I have no further information at this time."

 Later, he updated readers about the twins.

 "Jared's ventilator was successfully removed yesterday, and he did well. It was decided to hold off on any attempts to remove Branson and Wesley from the ventilator until more time has passed. If Jared continues to breathe on his own today, there is a possibility he will be discharged from emergency care, and move to dressing replacement and wound care. No surgery planned. With the exception of the minor setback to Branson this morning, he and Wesley may be discharged by Sunday, and will then have follow up care for the injuries. But out of the woods in terms of critical vs stable. Improvement continues."

 Friends have set up a fund to help the brothers. By late Thursday, more than $35,000 in donations had been made at youcaring.com/bransonsummersjaredsummersandwesleysummers-704149.

 Gatlinburg Developments

 GATLINBURG, Tenn. - Crews discovered the remains of three more people as they searched the rubble of wildfires that torched hundreds of homes and businesses near the Great Smoky Mountains, bringing the death toll to 11, officials said Thursday.

 Authorities set up a hotline for people to report missing friends and relatives, and after following up on dozens of leads, they said many of those people had been accounted for. They did not say whether they believe anyone else is still missing or may have died.

 “I think it’s fair to say that the search is winding down,” Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters said. “And hopefully we will not find any more.”

 He said the searches would likely be completed Friday.

 More than 14,000 residents and visitors in Gatlinburg were forced to evacuate, and the typically bustling tourist city has been shuttered ever since. At least 700 buildings in the county have been damaged.

 Starting Friday, homeowners, business owners, renters and lease holders will be allowed to go see most of their Gatlinburg properties, said City Manager Cindy Cameron Ogle. The city is hoping to open main roads to the general public on Wednesday.

 Great Smoky Mountains National Park Superintendent Cassius Cash has said the fires were “likely to be human-caused” but he has refused to elaborate, saying only that the investigation continues. Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are helping investigate the cause.

 About 10,000 acres, or 15 square miles, burned inside the country’s most-visited national park. An additional 6,000 acres were scorched outside of the park.

 Read or Share this story: http://memne.ws/2gpkjql

Summary: – Crews discovered the remains of more people as they searched the rubble of wildfires that torched hundreds of homes and businesses near the Great Smoky Mountains, bringing the death toll to 11, officials in Gatlinburg, Tenn., said Thursday. The Commercial Appeal reports that Memphis couple Jon and Janet Summers are among the dead. They were at the Chalet Village with sons Branson, 23, and Jared and Wesley, 22, and found themselves unable to flee by car; the family got separated while on foot. The sons are being cared for at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. A hotline has been set up for people to report missing friends and relatives, and after following up on dozens of leads, authorities say many of those people had been accounted for. They didn't say whether they believe anyone else is still missing or may have died, the AP reports. "I think it's fair to say that the search is winding down," Sevier County Mayor Larry Waters says. "And hopefully we will not find any more." He says the searches will likely be completed Friday. More than 14,000 residents and visitors in Gatlinburg were forced to evacuate, and the typically bustling tourist city has been shuttered ever since. At least 700 buildings in the county have been damaged. The city hopes to open main roads again by the middle of next week. The superintendent of Great Smoky Mountains National Park has said the fires were "likely to be human-caused" but he has refused to elaborate, saying only that the investigation continues. Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives are helping investigate the cause.


Ivanka Trump watches as President Trump speaks before presenting a Medal of Honor at the White House this week. (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

 When Samantha Bee used a vulgarity last month to describe his eldest daughter, President Trump lashed out at the “no talent” comedian and asked why she hadn’t been fired.

 White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders called Bee’s language “vile and vicious” and said that her “disgusting comments and show are not fit for broadcast.”

 Ivanka Trump remained silent.

 During a television interview Friday morning, she sought to explain why.

 “I have chosen, and I made a conscientious decision a long time ago, that I was not going to get into the fray, and that means that I’ll absorb the body blows that come my way,” Trump told host Maria Bartiromo during an appearance on the Fox Business Network.

 “It is important to me to focus on the task at hand, which is serving the American people and using this moment in my life to advance an agenda that I deeply believe in and feel very fortunate to be able to work on,” added Trump, who serves as a White House adviser.

 [Trump says Samantha Bee has ‘no talent,’ asks why she hasn’t been fired]

 During a segment of her “Full Frontal” show on TBS last month, Bee took aim at Trump for tweeting a photo of herself with her younger son around the same time as reports that the U.S. government had lost track of nearly 1,500 migrant children last year.

 “You know, Ivanka, that’s a beautiful photo of you and your child,” Bee said. “Let me just say, one mother to another, do something about your dad’s immigration practices, you feckless c---. He listens to you.”

 Bee later apologized, saying her use of the vulgarity was “inappropriate and inexcusable” and that she had “crossed a line.”

 During Friday’s broadcast on Fox Business, Trump also confirmed reports that she had advocated that her father reverse his administration’s policy of separating migrant families at the border.

 “Of course, I have very strong opinions on that topic,” Trump said when asked by Bartiromo if she had advised the president on the issue before his issuance of an executive order last week.

 Ivanka Trump was among administration guests on the network Friday who talked up the importance of the GOP tax bill signed by the president six months ago.

 She said the tax cuts and other administration policies had served “to really release the animal spirits of the economy.” ||||| When comedian Samantha Bee hurled insults at Ivanka Trump during an episode of “Full Frontal” in June, she incited outrage and furor that crossed the political aisle, with many urging TBS, the Time Warner channel that's now part of AT&T, to cancel her show.

 Continue Reading Below

 But the president’s daughter and close adviser stayed silent on the issue and the extreme vulgarity used to describe a photograph she’d shared on social media.

 “I have chosen, and I made a conscientious decision a long time ago, that I was not going to get into the fray,” she said during an interview with FOX Business’ Maria Bartiromo on Friday. “That means I will absorb the blows that come my way. It is important to me to focus on the task at hand.”

 Bee -- along with other celebrities -- criticized the first daughter for sharing what they said was a tone deaf photo of her with her child, even amid reports that the Office of Refugee Resettlement lost track of 1,500 immigrant children in the last three months of 2017. But Bee took it a step further, calling her a “feckless c---.”

 The comedian, and TBS, later apologized for the comment. Trump, however, said she tries to stay focused on moving forward with her own goals and helping shape policies for America, including expanded paid family leave.

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 “I never allow myself to forget the extraordinary privilege I have to serve this country,” she said. ||||| The first daughter remained silent for months about her father's policy of separating parents and children at the border. During an interview with Fox Business on Friday, Ivanka Trump commented verbally on the family separation policy. When asked whether she'd approached Trump about it, Ivanka said she had, and added that she has "very strong opinions on that topic."

 In April, the Trump administration announced a "zero-tolerance" immigration policy of prosecuting all parents who crossed the border without paperwork, part of which included taking children from their parents and detaining them separately. Ivanka didn't speak out publicly about the policy for months, until the president signed an executive order in June to replace it with one that would allow the government to keep families in detention together indefinitely.

 After discussing the first daughter's support for a child tax credit, interviewer Maria Bartiromo brought up family separation. "Our first lady was very moved by it, went to the border twice," she said. "Did you also say something to him [...] before he signed that executive order?"

 "Of course," Ivanka said, nodding. "I have very strong opinions on that topic." She did not elaborate on those opinions, and Bartiromo ended the interview there.

 Prior to Friday, the first daughter had only commented on the policy via Twitter. After Trump signed the order, she tweeted:

 Thank you @POTUS for taking critical action ending family separation at our border. Congress must now act + find a lasting solution that is consistent with our shared values;the same values that so many come here seeking as they endeavor to create a better life for their families."

 She also wrote that families should be reunited as "swiftly and safely" as possible. These tweets, and her comment to Fox Business, suggest that she was opposed to the separation policy — and she's received some criticism for not saying so openly while it was still going on.

 "Where is Ivanka in all of this?" Meghan McCain, ABC host and daughter of Senator John McCain (R-AZ), said on June 19. "Because she's all for women and mothers, and she has a White House role... and I'm sort of interested that her platform has been women and mothers and she doesn't seem to have anything to say about this."

 The first daughter also experienced backlash for posting photos of her children on social media during the border crisis. Journalist Brian Klaas called one of the pictures "unbelievably tone deaf."

 Even though Ivanka has been reticent to address the crisis in public, Trump told lawmakers on June 19 that she approached him about it privately. "Daddy, what are we doing about this?" he said she asked him.

 Representative Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) told The Daily Beast that Ivanka was eager to end family separations. "She has been apparently very affected by this and moved, and asked him to find a way to stop this practice," he said. Axios reported that she also told the president that photographs from the border crisis were a "problem."

 Last week, Ivanka donated $50,000 to a megachurch in Plano, Texas that plans to help separated migrant kids. The church says that it will hold an event to raise the children's spirits and give families financial assistance. The donation brought her a new round of condemnation, though, when word spread that the church engages in anti-LGBTQ activism.

 The first daughter's comments on Thursday seem destined to bring her yet another surge of criticism. "After weeks of silence on Trump's immoral family separation policy," CNN pundit Keith Boykin tweeted on Friday, "Ivanka Trump now wants to take credit for her father's policy shift."

Summary: – So why didn't Ivanka Trump fire back when Samantha Bee hurled a vulgarity at her? The presidential daughter appeared on Fox Business Network Friday and said her silence was deliberate. “I have chosen, and I made a conscientious decision a long time ago, that I was not going to get into the fray, and that means that I’ll absorb the body blows that come my way,” Trump told Maria Bartiromo. Instead, she says she wants to "focus on the task at hand, which is serving the American people and using this moment in my life to advance an agenda that I deeply believe in and feel very fortunate to be able to work on." Ivanka Trump had taken flak for not publicly criticizing the policy of separating families at the border—in fact, that was the source of Bee's criticism. When Bartiromo asked her if she had advised her father privately to ditch the policy, the first daughter said she had. “Of course, I have very strong opinions on that topic,” she said, per the Washington Post. As Bustle notes, Ivanka Trump tweeted her thanks to President Trump after he reversed the policy and called for families to be reunited "swiftly."


FILE - The Nov. 21, 2011 file photo shows visitors standing in front of an attraction at the Christmas market near Alexanderplatz in Berlin. Police said Monday, Dec. 12, 2011 a man dressed as Santa drugged... (Associated Press)

 FILE - The Nov. 21, 2011 file photo shows visitors standing in front of an attraction at the Christmas market near Alexanderplatz in Berlin. Police said Monday, Dec. 12, 2011 a man dressed as Santa drugged... (Associated Press)

 A man dressed as Santa drugged a 15-year-old girl at a Berlin Christmas market over the weekend _ the latest such attack that has seen holiday revelers left either sickened or unconscious, police said Monday.

 At about 10 p.m. Saturday the suspect approached the girl and her friend at Berlin's downtown Alexanderplatz Christmas market, offering both of them what he said was a shot of alcohol in a paper cup, police said.

 One girl refused, but the other girl drank both of the shots. She soon started vomiting and had to be taken to the hospital, where she underwent a blood test, before being released.

 Police said it appeared she had been slipped some type of a date rape drug, but released no further details, citing the ongoing investigation.

 Eight other people at various Berlin Christmas markets have fallen prey to similar attacks _ usually with an unidentified man in regular clothes handing out single-shot bottles of alcohol, asking people to join him in celebrating the birth of his child.

 Police say some of the victims _ mostly young women _ have lost consciousness and many have been briefly hospitalized. All have experienced dizziness and nausea.

 It's not yet clear whether all the attacks are linked, or whether some may be copycat crimes, and police spokesman Ivo Habedank said authorities did not yet have a good description of the suspect.

 "Intense investigations are ongoing," Habedank said.

 Most recently, a 31-year-old woman who had read media reports of the attacks reported to police Sunday night that she and her friend, a 33-year-old man, had both fallen ill Dec. 7 after drinking small bottles of alcohol given to them at the Alexanderplatz Christmas market by a man saying he was celebrating becoming a first-time father.

 She described the man as about 40-years-old and 5-foot 9-inches (180 centimeter) tall but no further details were released.

 In Germany, Christmas markets are traditional outdoor holiday markets that are popular with residents and tourists alike throughout December, bringing together stands selling handicrafts, ornaments and small gifts along with a wide array of food and drink, including multiple varieties of hot mulled wine. ||||| Christmastime means Christmas crimes. People do stupid crap all year-long, but the holidays inspire a special brand of crazy. The 2011 holiday crime season is just ramping up. Just this week a burglar broke into a Pittsburgh liquor store and made off with two bottles of alcoholic egg nog. I mean, egg nog is good, but not worth going to jail for. Click on through to see some of the craziest Christmas crimes committed so far this year. [Huffington Post]

Summary: – A ho-ho-horrible story out of Berlin, where police say a man dressed as Santa drugged a teenager Saturday night at a Christmas market. The suspect offered the 15-year-old girl and her friend a shot of alcohol; the friend refused, but the victim drank both and soon began vomiting. Police say she was apparently given a date rape drug, the AP reports; she was hospitalized and released. Eight other people have recently been left ill or unconscious after similar attacks at Christmas markets in the city, although the suspect is usually dressed normally. The suspect typically hands out small bottles of alcohol and claims to be celebrating the birth of his child. Most of the victims have been young women, and police are still investigating the possibilities of linked attacks or copycat crimes. If that doesn't trample on your holiday spirit enough, click for six more crazy Christmas crimes from this year.


"She had to make a decision between the drugs and the babies," Roberts said Tuesday.

 He also said DNA testing on seven dead babies found stuffed into cardboard boxes at Huntsman's home in April confirmed that all of them  five girls and two boys  were fathered by her husband.

 The long-awaited results were difficult to obtain due to the condition of the remains. Forensic experts resorted to "nuclear DNA" testing to determine both gender and paternity.

 Nuclear DNA, found in the nucleus of most human cells, generally provides more genetic information  and from both parents  than the more commonly tested mitochondrial, or maternal DNA.

 Prosecutors contend that six of the infants were choked or smothered shortly after birth by Huntsman, 39, during the period from Jan. 1, 1996, to Dec. 31, 2006. Huntsman allegedly told investigators that she had killed six of the babies, but she claimed the seventh was stillborn.

 Huntsman, who was charged in Provo's 4th District Court with six counts of first-degree felony murder, remained in the Utah County Jail on Tuesday in lieu of $6 million cash-only bail.

 The long-kept, deadly secret began to unravel April 12, when Huntsman's now-estranged husband, 41-year-old Darren West  who had spent eight years in prison for drug crimes before being released into a Salt Lake City halfway house  was at their Pleasant Grove home retrieving some of his belongings.

 Inside the garage, West found the remains of a baby wrapped in plastic bags and a green towel and stuffed into a white box, sealed with electrical tape. Alerted to the grisly discovery, police later found six more infant corpses similarly stored inside other boxes.

 Huntsman will not face the death penalty under the near-decade-old murder statute in effect at the time of the crimes. Instead, she faces a maximum penalty for each count of five years to life.

 West and Huntsman have three living children together, all daughters, now ages 13 to 20.

 Huntsman is next set to appear in court July 21 to determine if she will waive a preliminary hearing.

 On May 16, Judge Darold McDade ordered that Huntsman be made available for a psychological evaluation, but no further details on whether that exam had yet been done, or if so what the results were, had been released as of Tuesday.

 remims@sltrib.com

 Twitter: @remims ||||| SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — A Utah mother told authorities that she killed six of her newborns and stored their bodies in a garage because she was addicted to drugs and didn't want to deal with the responsibility of raising them, police said Tuesday, revealing a suspected motive for the first time.

 FILE - This April 13, 2014 file photo shows police tape in front of the scene where seven infant bodies were discovered and packaged in separate containers at a home in Pleasant Grove, Utah. On Tuesday,... (Associated Press)

 FILE - In this April 21, 2014 file photo, Megan Huntsman, accused of killing six of her babies and storing their bodies in her garage, appears in court, in Provo, Utah. On Tuesday, July 8, 2014, authorities... (Associated Press)

 Megan Huntsman, 39, was heavily into a meth addiction when she strangled or suffocated the infants from 1996 to 2006, Pleasant Grove Police Capt. Mike Roberts told The Associated Press.

 She wasn't worried about potential health problems caused by her drug abuse while pregnant, she simply didn't want to care for them, he said. "It was completely selfish. She was high on drugs and didn't want the babies, or the responsibility," Roberts said. "That was her priority at the time."

 Authorities think a seventh baby found in her Pleasant Grove garage after an April search was stillborn.

 Police had previously declined to discuss a motive in the case, saying only that it had been uncovered during interviews with Huntsman.

 Huntsman has been held in Utah County Jail since April 13, and her bail has been set at $6 million. She has been charged with six counts of first-degree murder and is due in court in Provo on July 21. She has not yet entered a plea.

 Her lawyer, public defender Anthony Howell, declined comment Tuesday, saying office policy prevents him from discussing open cases.

 Huntsman's estranged husband, Darren West, spent more than eight years in federal prison after pleading guilty to meth charges. He was released to a halfway house in Salt Lake City in January.

 West made the grisly discovery April 12 while cleaning out the garage of the home he had shared with Huntsman. He told police he found a dead infant in a small white box covered with electrician's tape.

 Six other bodies were found after police obtained a search warrant. Documents show the newborns had been wrapped in shirts or towels inside individual boxes in the garage.

 West lived with Huntsman during the decade their children were killed before going to federal prison in 2006, but he isn't a suspect in the deaths, Roberts said. Investigators don't know how he could have been oblivious to the pregnancies or deaths, but they don't plan to bring him in for further questioning.

 Huntsman remains the only suspect in the investigation, which remains open, Roberts said. Results of a psychological examination of Huntsman haven't been disclosed.

 DNA results revealed Tuesday showed that all seven babies were full term and that five were girls and two were boys. Those tests also confirmed that West was biological father of the infants.

 Previous tests from the Utah state lab found that the babies were likely dead anywhere from two to 10 years or more, Roberts said.

 The day of the grisly discovery, Huntsman told police that were eight or nine dead babies in her home, a previously released search warrant affidavit showed. But Roberts said Huntsman was confused and was taking a ballpark guess. Roberts said Tuesday investigators continue to believe there were only seven.

Summary: – What could drive a mother to smother six babies as soon as she gave birth to them? Police in Utah say it was pure selfishness, driven by drug addiction. Megan Huntsman was a heavy methamphetamine user when she strangled or suffocated the newborns between 1996 and 2006, a police spokesman tells the AP. He says she wasn't concerned about potential health problems caused to the infants by her drug use—but did care about the cost of feeding her addiction. "It was completely selfish. She was high on drugs and didn't want the babies, or the responsibility," he says. "That was her priority at the time." "She had to make a decision between the drugs and the babies," says the police spokesman, who confirmed that the five girls and two boys found in boxes in her garage were all fathered by her husband, the Salt Lake Tribune reports. Investigators believe one of the babies was stillborn, so Huntsman faces six counts of first-degree felony murder. She has been in jail since April with bail set at $6 million. Her long-estranged husband, who spent eight years in federal prison on meth charges, was the one who alerted police after finding one of the dead infants and is not considered a suspect.


HONOLULU (AP) — Honolulu police officers have urged lawmakers to keep an exemption in state law that allows undercover officers to have sex with prostitutes during investigations, touching off a heated debate.

 Hawaii state Rep. Karl Rhoads listens during a House floor session at the Capitol in Honolulu on Wednesday, March 19, 2014. As Hawaii lawmakers considered a measure that would crack down on prostitution,... (Associated Press)

 A pedestrian walks in front of a Honolulu Police Department station in Honolulu's tourist area of Waikiki on Wednesday, March 19, 2014. As Hawaii lawmakers considered a measure that would crack down on... (Associated Press)

 Authorities say they need the legal protection to catch lawbreakers in the act. Critics, including human trafficking experts and other police, say it's unnecessary and could further victimize sex workers, many of whom have been forced into the trade.

 Police haven't said how often — or even if — they use the provision. And when they asked legislators to preserve it, they made assurances that internal policies and procedures are in place to prevent officers from taking advantage of it.

 But expert Derek Marsh says the exemption is "antiquated at best" and that police can easily do without it.

 "It doesn't help your case, and at worst you further traumatize someone. And do you think he or she is going to trust a cop again?" asked Marsh, who trains California police in best practices on human trafficking cases and twice has testified to Congress about the issue.

 A Hawaii bill cracking down on prostitution (HB 1926) was originally written to scrap the sex exemption for officers on duty. It was amended to restore that protection after police testimony. The revised proposal passed the state House and will go before a Senate committee Friday.

 It's not immediately clear whether similar provisions are in place elsewhere as state law or department policy. But advocates were shocked that Hawaii exempts police from its prostitution laws, suggesting it's an invitation for misconduct.

 "Police abuse is part of the life of prostitution," said Melissa Farley, the executive director of the San Francisco-based group Prostitution Research and Education. Farley said that in places without such police protections "women who have escaped prostitution" commonly report being coerced into giving police sexual favors to keep from being arrested.

 The Hawaii bill aims to ratchet up penalties on johns and pimps. Selling sex would remain a petty misdemeanor.

 During recent testimony, Honolulu police said the sex exemption protects investigations and should remain in place.

 "The procedures and conduct of the undercover officers are regulated by department rules, which by nature have to be confidential," Honolulu Police Maj. Jerry Inouye told the House Judiciary Committee. "Because if prostitution suspects, pimps and other people are privy to that information, they're going to know exactly how far the undercover officer can and cannot go."

 Democratic state Rep. Karl Rhoads, the committee chairman, said police testimony convinced him to amend the proposal.

 "It's a really murky area," said Rhoads, who represents a district that includes Honolulu's Chinatown, a longstanding epicenter of street prostitution. "I was reluctant to interfere in something that they face all the time. If they think it's necessary to not have it in the statute, this is one area where I did defer to them and say, 'I hope you're not having sex with prostitutes.'"

 Critics say the police perspective is off base. Lauren Hersh, a former prosecuting attorney who runs the global trafficking program of the women's advocacy group Equality Now, said the risk of re-victimizing a sex worker, who may already have been trafficked, should make sex during an investigation off-limits.

 "I can understand you're in a drug den, and you have a gun to your head and someone says 'snort this,'" Hersh said, acknowledging the gray areas associated with undercover police work. But the sex exemption in Hawaii is "so dissimilar from that circumstance on so many levels."

 There have been instances of police being accused of victimizing sex workers across the nation. In Philadelphia, a former officer is on trial facing charges of raping two prostitutes after forcing them at gunpoint to take narcotics. A former West Sacramento, Calif., officer is awaiting sentencing after being found guilty of raping prostitutes in his police cruiser while on patrol. And last year in Massachusetts, a former police officer pleaded guilty to extorting sex from prostitutes he threatened with arrest.

 Rhoads said he knew no reason to suspect Honolulu police are out of line.

 "All allegations of misconduct are investigated and the appropriate disciplinary action taken," said Michelle Yu, Honolulu police spokeswoman, in an email.

 It's not clear, however, what the punishment would be. The disclosure laws for police misconduct in Hawaii make it impossible to know if an on-duty officer had faced discipline or accusations of having sex with a prostitute.

 Officers who investigate prostitution haven't been accused of sexual wrongdoing in recent memory, Yu said. A patrol officer in 2011 was fired after being convicted of sexual assault against a prostitute, she said.

 Skeptics, such as Roger Young, a retired special agent who for more than 20 years worked sex crimes for the FBI from Las Vegas and has trained vice squads around the country, remain unconvinced.

 Young said Thursday, "I don't know of any state or federal law that allows any law enforcement officer undercover to penetrate or do what this law is allowing."

 ___

 Sam Eifling can be reached on Twitter at http://twitter.com/sameifling ||||| Debate is raging in Hawaii over a controversial law that permits undercover officers to have sex with sex workers during police operations.

 The debate over the law started over a recent bill that attempted to do away with the sex exemption for officers, but it was amended to restore the measure after police testified for lawmakers. According to a report by the Associated Press in The New York Times, police officials say the law is vital in helping them catch people breaking the law in the act.

 Critics, rightfully so, are outraged and say the measure further victimizes people in sex trafficking rings or those who may have been forced into prostitution by abusers and others. There are also serious concerns about potential abuses:

 "Police abuse is part of the life of prostitution," said Melissa Farley, the executive director of the San Francisco-based group Prostitution Research and Education. Farley said that in places without such police protections "women who have escaped prostitution" commonly report being coerced into giving police sexual favors to keep from being arrested or harassed.

 [....]

 Critics say the police perspective is off base. Lauren Hersh, a former prosecuting attorney who runs the global trafficking program of the women's advocacy group Equality Now, said the risk of re-victimizing a sex worker, who may already have been trafficked, should make sex during an investigation off-limits.

 "I can understand you're in a drug den, and you have a gun to your head and someone says 'snort this,'" Hersh said, acknowledging the gray areas associated with undercover police work. But the sex exemption in Hawaii is "so dissimilar from that circumstance on so many levels."

 The law even has critics inside the law enforcement community crying foul, according to the A.P.

 Skeptics, such as Roger Young, a retired special agent who for more than 20 years worked sex crimes for the FBI from Las Vegas and has trained vice squads around the country, remain unconvinced.

 Young said Thursday, "I don't know of any state or federal law that allows any law enforcement officer undercover to penetrate or do what this law is allowing." [....]

 Derek Marsh says the exemption is "antiquated at best" and that police can easily do their jobs without it. "It doesn't help your case, and at worst you further traumatize someone. And do you think he or she is going to trust a cop again?" asked Marsh, who trains California police in best practices on human trafficking cases and twice has testified to Congress about the issue.

 Police officials, such as Major Jerry Inouye who testified before the House Judiciary Committee say they need the exemption because suspects are too familiar with how far undercover cops can and can't go in during sting operations.

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 Of course, the main concern from critics is potential abuse, especially since we've already seen instances where officers have used their position of power to re-victimize women in vulnerable situations. The A.P. points out even more instances that will make you shudder:

 In Philadelphia, a former officer is on trial facing charges of raping two prostitutes after forcing them at gunpoint to take narcotics. A former West Sacramento, Calif., officer is awaiting sentencing after being found guilty of raping prostitutes in his police cruiser while on patrol. And last year in Massachusetts, a former police officer pleaded guilty to extorting sex from prostitutes he threatened with arrest.

 So far, police won't say how much they use this tactic and told lawmakers they have policies in place to keep their officers from abusing it. But very little information is being made available about just what those policies and internal procedures are:

 "All allegations of misconduct are investigated and the appropriate disciplinary action taken," said Michelle Yu, Honolulu police spokeswoman, in an email. It's not clear, however, what the punishment would be. The disclosure laws for police misconduct in Hawaii make it impossible to know if an on-duty officer had faced discipline or accusations of having sex with a prostitute.Vice officers who investigate prostitution haven't been accused of sexual wrongdoing in recent memory, Yu said.

 Even more troubling? There's already been an example in Hawaii of abuse of power—a parole officer was convicted of sexual assault against a prostitute in 2011.

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 Isn't one of the biggest questions here just why, exactly, Hawaii needs a exemption like this for their sex sting operations and none of the other law enforcement agencies in other states need one? They seem to be able to bust prostitutes and pimps in other states just fine without allowing their officers to engage in sexual acts in other places.

 Actually, there's a lot of questions raised by this. As addressed by critics mentioned above, what policies are in place to prevent officers from using this exemption to have sex with people who are being forced into this lifestyle? (Is that even a consideration or concern for Hawaii law enforcement?) How exactly would they even know what someone's situation is before the bust them? And what about underage sex workers? If a young girl is working as prostitute, what's to stop an undercover from engaging in a sexual act with her under this exemption? Hawaii, do you really want your police officers having sex with underage people just so you can increase a few crime fighting stats on a spreadsheet somewhere? Is that what we've come to in this country? Excuse me while I throw up the proverbial "give me a freaking break!"

 The revised proposal has passed the state House and will go before a Senate committee Friday. Hopefully, lawmakers will come to their senses by then.

Summary: – Cops in Hawaii are fighting to keep what they describe as an important legal protection: Permission to have sex with prostitutes. A state bill cracking down on prostitution originally scrapped an exemption allowing undercover officers to have sex with prostitutes, but it was controversially restored after police testimony, the AP finds. Police won't say how often the exemption is used, but critics argue that it leaves the system wide open to abuse, noting that there have been many cases nationwide of police officers extorting sex from prostitutes. The chief of Honolulu's vice squad argued the exemption is necessary because prostitutes and pimps are otherwise "going to know exactly how far the undercover officer can and cannot go." A former FBI agent who trained vice squads around the country for 20 years, however, says he doesn't know of any other state or federal law that allows undercover officers to do what the Hawaii law allows. "Isn't one of the biggest questions here just why, exactly, Hawaii needs a exemption like this for their sex sting operations and none of the other law enforcement agencies in other states need one?" asks Rebecca Rose at Jezebel. "They seem to be able to bust prostitutes and pimps in other states just fine without allowing their officers to engage in sexual acts."


Image copyright Getty Images

 Open heart surgery appears to be safer in the afternoon because of the body's internal clock, scientists have said.

 The body clock - or circadian rhythm - is the reason we want to sleep at night, but it also drives huge changes in the way our bodies work.

 The research, published in the Lancet, suggests the heart is stronger and better able to withstand surgery in the afternoon than the morning.

 And it says the difference is not down to surgeons being tired in the morning.

 Doctors need to stop the heart to perform operations including heart valve replacements. This puts the organ under stress as the flow of oxygen to the heart tissue is reduced.

 The doctors and researchers looked for complications including heart attacks, heart failure or death after surgery. They found:

 54 out of 298 morning patients had adverse events

 28 out of 298 afternoon patients had adverse events

 Afternoon patients had around half the risk of complications

 One major event would be avoided for every 11 patients operated on in the afternoon

 One of those involved in the research, Prof Bart Staels, from the Institut Pasteur de Lille, told the BBC News website: "We don't want to frighten people from having surgery - it's life saving."

 He also said it would be impossible for hospitals to conduct surgery only after lunch.

 But Prof Staels added: "If we can identify patients at highest risk, they will definitely benefit from being pushed into the afternoon and that would be reasonable."

 Obesity and type 2 diabetes have been shown to increase the risk of complications after surgery.

 Heart health is already known to fluctuate over the course of a day.

 The risk of a heart attack or stroke is highest first thing in the morning, while the heart and lungs work at their peak in the afternoon.

 Dr John O'Neill, from the UK Medical Research Council's Laboratory of Molecular Biology, said: "Scientifically it is not hugely surprising, because just like every other cell in the body, heart cells have circadian rhythms that orchestrate their activity.

 "Our cardiovascular system has the greatest output around mid/late-afternoon, which explains why professional athletes usually record their best performances around this time."

 Other possible explanations for the findings included surgeons being tired in the morning or their own body clock affecting their surgical skill, particularly if they are not "morning people".

 But Prof Staels said the researchers had gone to great lengths to show that the difference in survival rates was not down to the surgeons.

 The French team also experimented on cardiac tissue samples from patients and showed they beat more readily in the afternoon.

 And an analysis of the DNA in the samples found 287 genes whose activity showed a circadian rhythm - waxing and waning during the day.

 They then moved into mice and used experimental drugs to alter the activity of one of those genes and seemed to be able to reduce the risk of death.

 Prof Staels said: "We believe we have identified a potential way to circumvent the disturbing observation that operations in the morning lead to more complications."

 However, that will require more research to confirm.

 The researchers are also investigating whether circadian rhythms have an impact on survival in other types of surgery.

 Dr Mike Knapton, from the British Heart Foundation, said: "Thousands of people now have open heart surgery in the UK. If this finding can be replicated in other hospitals this could be helpful to surgeons planning their operating list, for non-urgent heart surgery.

 Follow James on Twitter. ||||| Nobody wants to have open heart surgery. But if you do, you want to have it in that afternoon.

 That's the conclusion of a major new study that found there is a significantly higher risk of damage for people having surgery in the morning.

 And it's all because of the body clock, or circadian rhythms, which help keep us regulated through the day. It decides when we wake up, sleep and eat – and how ready we are to recover from major surgery.

 The new study, published in the Lancet, found that there are almost 300 genes that link the body clock to heart damage.

 And it found that there is a link between a person's body clock and how at risk they are of undergoing heart damage and major events like heart attacks after having heart surgery.

 Science news in pictures

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 Study author Professor David Montaigne, University of Lille, France, said: "Our study found that post-surgery heart damage is more common among people who have heart surgery in the morning, compared to the afternoon.

 "Our findings suggest this is because part of the biological mechanism behind the damage is affected by a person's circadian clock and the underlying genes that control it.

 "As a result, moving heart surgery to the afternoon may help to reduce a person's risk of heart damage after surgery."

 Researchers looked at the medical records of 596 people who had heart valve replacement surgery including half who had surgery in the morning, half in the afternoon.

 They checked for any major cardiac events such as a heart attack, heart failure or death from heart disease in this research which took place between January 2009 to December 2015.

 They found that 28 out of 298 afternoon patients had adverse events while 54 out of 298 morning patients experienced such events.

 The researchers suggest this could equate to one major event being avoided for every 11 patients who have afternoon surgery and that people who had surgery in the afternoon had a 50% lower risk of a major cardiac event, compared with people who had surgery in the morning.

 The team also tracked the health of 88 patients who were randomly scheduled for heart valve replacement surgery in the morning or afternoon between January 2016 to February 2017.

 Those who had afternoon surgery had lower levels of heart tissue damage after surgery, compared with morning surgery patients, according to the researchers.

 Tests on heart tissue samples from 30 of the patients - including 14 who had morning surgery and 16 from the afternoon surgery group - showed that the afternoon surgery samples more quickly regained their ability to contract when put in conditions similar to the heart refilling with blood.

 Genetic analysis of these samples also showed that 287 genes linked to the circadian clock were more active in the afternoon surgery sample.

 The researchers believe this suggests the heart is subject to the body's circadian clock and the post-surgery results highlight that the heart is maybe weaker at repairing in the morning than in the afternoon.

 Larger trials are need to test the findings.

 Professor Michel Ovize, Hopital Louis Pradel, France, said the scientists have "clearly shown that circadian rhythm is of clinical importance in aortic valve replacement surgery" but that more research is needed.

 He added: "Even before we have drugs available to regulate the circadian clock, one might propose that high-risk patients should preferentially be operated on in the afternoon."

 Additional reporting by agencies

Summary: – Should you ever need heart surgery, it might be worth pressing for an afternoon appointment. New research in the Lancet finds patients who undergo morning heart surgery are twice as likely to suffer heart issues and other complications as patients who have surgery in the afternoon, per the BBC. It's not that doctors are drowsy in the morning and therefore prone to mistakes. Rather, researchers say the body's circadian rhythm regulates genes that are in top form and better able to handle stress in the afternoon, a fact that also explains why one's risk of heart attack is highest in the morning. To discover this, researchers conducted several studies, one monitoring 596 patients who underwent an aortic valve replacement, half in the morning, half in the afternoon. After 17 months, they found 18% of morning patients had suffered a major adverse cardiac event, acute heart failure, cardiovascular death, or a heart attack during the operation, compared to 9% of afternoon patients. Morning patients also had twice the risk of other complications, per the study, which identified 287 genes linking the body clock to heart health, reports the Independent. A second study also found morning patients had significantly higher levels of troponin, a measure of heart damage, per the New York Times. This doesn't mean morning surgeries should be avoided, but "we should identify patients at high risk for complications—those with diabetes or other metabolic risks, for example—and operate on those in the afternoon," a study author tells the Times.


CLOSE The Pentagon has apparently spent $28 million dollars on “forest” camouflaged Afghanistan military uniforms rather than give them other patterns that cost nothing. Josh King has the story (@abridgetoland). Buzz60

 An Afghan soldier with an appropriate form of uniform. (Photo: Kay Johnson, AP)

 WASHINGTON — The Pentagon wasted as much as $28 million over the past decade buying uniforms for the Afghan army with a woodland camouflage pattern appropriate for a tiny fraction of that war-torn country, according to the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.

 The Afghan Defense Minister picked the pricey, privately owned “forest” color pattern over free camouflage schemes owned by the U.S. government, according to an advance copy of the report due out on Wednesday. The scathing, 17-page study notes that “forests cover only 2.1% of Afghanistan’s total land area.”

 “My concern is what if the minister of defense liked purple, or liked pink?” John Sopko, the special inspector general, told USA TODAY in an interview. “Are we going to buy pink uniforms for soldiers and not ask questions? That’s insane. This is just simply stupid on its face. We wasted $28 million of taxpayers’ money in the name of fashion, because the defense minister thought that that pattern was pretty. So if he thought pink or chartreuse was it, would we have done that?”

 John Sopko, special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction. (Photo: Charles Dharapak, AP)

 For years, Sopko’s office has scalded the Pentagon for squandering tens of millions of dollars of the $66 billion Congress has appropriated to train, equip and house Afghan security forces. Wednesday’s installment on uniforms was particularly pungent, noting that special tailoring — zippers instead of buttons — boosted the cost of uniforms of already dubious value.

 The report’s release comes as Defense Secretary Jim Mattis considers sending thousands more U.S. troops to bolster beleaguered Afghan forces in what has become America’s longest war. Afghan troops face a resurgent Taliban insurgency, an offshoot of the Islamic State (ISIS), and other terrorist groups.

 The Pentagon has spent $93 million on the uniforms since 2007. Switching to a camouflage pattern owned by the U.S. military could save taxpayers as much as $71 million over the next decade, the inspector general found.

 The Pentagon, in its written response, didn’t quibble with the findings. Instead, in a letter to Sopko, the military acknowledged the need for a cost-benefit analysis “to determine whether there is a more effective alternative, considering both operational environment and cost.”

 No camouflage for bad decisions

 Reaction to Sopko’s findings was swift and sharp.

 “You’d think the Pentagon would have had a good handle on how to pick the right camouflage for uniforms,” Sen. Chuck Grassley, the Iowa Republican and senior member of the Budget and Finance committees, said in a statement. “Instead, the Defense Department gave up control of the purchase and spent an extra $28 million on the wrong pattern just because someone in Afghanistan liked it. It’s embarrassing and an affront to U.S. taxpayers. Those who wasted money on the wrong camouflage uniforms seem to have lost sight of their common sense.”

 The decision to buy the woodland-pattern uniform dates to 2007. For the previous five years, Afghan soldiers had been issued a “hodgepodge” of uniforms donated from several nations, according to the report. Early in 2007, the Afghan Defense Ministry decided it needed a “new and distinctive uniform” to set the Afghan army apart.

 CLOSE The United States is not winning in Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis told Congress on Tuesday, saying he was crafting a new war strategy to brief lawmakers about by mid-July that is widely expected to call for thousands more U.S. troops Time

 In February 2007, U.S. officials training the Afghan army cruised the internet for camouflage patterns. In an email, the officials “ran across” camouflage from a company called HyperStealth and showed them to Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak. He “liked what he saw,” the report says.

 By May, Wardak had selected the “Forest” pattern, and U.S. officials made the decision to buy 1,364,602 uniforms and 88,010 extra pairs of pants “without conducting any formal testing to determine the pattern's effectiveness for use in Afghanistan,” according to the report.

 The report, however, raises questions about the utility of forest camouflage in a country that “on the whole is dry, falling within the Desert or Desert Steppe climate classification,” according to the National Climatic Data Center.

 Read more:

 The Pentagon also could have recommended camouflage patterns the military owns but no longer uses. Those uniforms “may have been equally effective in the Afghan environment” and with fewer alterations, like zippers, could have saved as much as $28 million.

 “We had camouflage patterns,” Sopko said. “Dozens of them. For free!”

 The inspector general’s report concludes that neither the Pentagon nor the Afghan government knows if the uniform still being issued there is “appropriate to the Afghan environment, or whether it actually hinders their operations by providing a more clearly visible target to the enemy.”

 Those soldiers may be the ultimate losers in the uniform debacle, Sopko said.

 “I feel sorry for the poor Afghan soldiers,” Sopko said. “I mean they’re walking around with a target on their backs, ‘Shoot me.’ Because only 2% of the country is forest woodland, and that’s the outfit that the Afghan minister picked.”

 Read or Share this story: https://usat.ly/2sRL7qf ||||| Woodland Battle Dress Uniform worn by Afghan commandos (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Dustin Payne)

 Photo Credit: U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Dustin Payne

 Uniforms used by ANA conventional forces with Spec4ce Forest Uniform pattern. (Defense Department photo by Pfc. David Devich)

 Photo Credit: Defense Department photo by Pfc. David Devich

 WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is under fire for spending nearly $28 million procuring camouflage uniforms for the Afghan army, gear suited for environments so rare they account for just 2 percent of Afghanistan's countryside, according to a new watchdog report.The Defense Department organization overseeing efforts to train and equip Afghan forces supervised selection and design of the new proprietary woodland camouflage pattern without proper testing and assessment, according to the report published Wednesday by the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction.For years, Afghan conventional forces and elite commandos have fielded the U.S. Army’s woodland pattern utility uniforms. In 2007, the Afghan Defense Ministry embarked on a quest to design new uniforms to counter efforts by the Taliban and militants battling government forces to counterfeit the clothing.The new uniform was designed in similar fashion to the current uniform worn by the U.S. Army, called the Army Combat Uniform, but at a much higher cost, the inspector general determined.According to the report, the HyperStealth’s Spec4ce Forest camouflage pattern was chosen by the then-Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak — because he liked what he saw while browsing a website.“This is just simply stupid on its face. We wasted $28 million of taxpayers’ money in the name of fashion, because the defense minister thought that that pattern was pretty. So if he thought pink or chartreuse was it, would we have done that?” said John Sopko, the inspector general, in an interview with USA Today Picking uniform patterns for specific environments requires formal testing and evaluation, a process that can be a “an extremely fussy and demanding experimental design problem,” said Dr. Timothy O’Neill, creator of the camouflage pattern which served as the basis for the Army Combat Uniform. “Desert designs don’t work well in woodland areas and woodland patterns perform poorly in the desert.”The U.S. government already had the rights to multiple camouflage pattern schemes that could have been provided to the Afghan army at no cost.Furthermore, the “DOD was unable to provide documentation demonstrating that the Spec4ce Forest specification was essential to the U.S. government’s requirement, or documentation justifying and approving the Spec4ce Forest requirement in the ANA uniform specification,” the report reads.Propriety uniforms cost significantly more to produce because vendors seeking to supply the Afghan military with its uniform needs are required to “purchase pre-patterned material, or obtain the rights to use the proprietary pattern from HyperStealth or an authorized licensee, according to the report.The new uniforms now cost 40 percent to 43 percent more at about $45 to $80 per set.Sopko has recommended conducting a cost-benefit analysis and consider changing the Afghan camouflage uniforms, which could save taxpayers $70 million over the next 10 years.

Summary: – Just one week after defense chief James Mattis told a Senate panel the US is "not winning in Afghanistan," a new report reveals that the US wasted $28 million on the wrong kind of uniforms for Afghan army soldiers. In 2007, the Pentagon allowed the Afghan defense minister to pick expensive woodland-camouflage patterns from a private company rather than free camouflage schemes from the government, reports USA Today. This despite the fact that forest makes up only 2.1% of Afghanistan's land area. The revelation is in a newly released report from Afghan special inspector general John Sopko. “This is just simply stupid on its face," he tells the newspaper. "If he thought pink or chartreuse was it, would we have done that?” A decade ago, US military consultants decided the Afghan army needed a more distinct uniform, in part to make it harder for the Taliban to stage attacks in counterfeit uniforms, reports the Military Times. The consultants showed then-Afghan defense chief Abdul Rahim Wardak pictures of "forest" uniforms they found on the internet, and he "liked what he saw," according to the report. The Pentagon bought more than 1.3 million of the uniforms and 88,000 extra pairs of pants “without conducting any formal testing to determine the pattern's effectiveness for use in Afghanistan.” The report comes at a sensitive time: Afghan troops are in the midst of a multi-front conflict with both the Taliban and an ISIS offshoot, and earlier this month President Trump gave Mattis the authority to increase troop levels.


A Sauk Village nail salon allegedly burned a man so badly during a pedicure his leg was later amputated and his injuries caused or contributed to his death, according to court records.

 According to a wrongful death lawsuit filed in Cook County court Thursday by the man’s wife, Darryl Carr went to AZ Happy Nails for a pedicure in November 2013. His feet were soaked in a hot water and chemical solution, followed by a hot wax solution, the lawsuit states.

 The suit alleges AZ Happy Nails was careless or negligent in using contaminated or unsafe chemical and wax solutions, soaking Carr’s foot in the solutions too long, using excessive heat on Carr’s left foot and failing to test whether Carr might suffer an allergic reaction or ask whether he had any medical conditions.

 They also failed to warn Carr about the risk of harm and failed to properly train and supervise its employees, the suit claims.

 "As the proximate result … (Carr) suffered injuries of a personal and pecuniary nature, including serious burns to his left foot and leg, which subsequently became infected, resulting in the amputation of his left foot and leg, and other medical complications that ultimately caused or contributed to his death on June 4, 2015," the lawsuit states.

 The lawsuit also names A-Z Nail Spa, Inc., Wen Hua Cong and Xiao Xian Wang. During a call to AZ Happy Nails, a person answering the phone said the salon’s owners or manager were not available to comment Friday evening.

 Carr’s wife is seeking more than $50,000 in damages, according to the complaint. ||||| A man who went to a South suburban nail salon for a pedicure lost his leg, and then his life, after he contracted a gruesome infection, according to a lawsuit filed Friday.

 Darryl Carr got the pedicure on Nov. 13, 2014, at AZ Happy Nails, 1715 Sauk Trail in Sauk Village, according to the lawsuit filed by his widow, Latania Peterson-Carr, in Cook County Circuit Court.

 Workers at Happy Nails soaked Darryl Carr’s feet in a hot water and chemical solution, followed by a hot wax solution, the suit claims.

 But the solutions were contaminated and Darryl Carr’s left foot soaked for an excessive period of time, it’s alleged.

 He suffered “serious burns” to his left foot and leg, which then became infected and had to be amputated, the suit claims.

 The infection and amputation eventually led to “other medical complications that ultimately caused or contributed to his death on June 4, 2015,” according to the suit, which also claims the workers did not determine whether their customer was at risk for an allergic reaction and did not inquire about underlying medical conditions.

 Darryl Carr is survived by his wife and two children, ages 10 and 13, the suit claims. Latania Peterson-Carr is seeking at least $50,000 in damages.

 A representative from Happy Nails could not be reached for comment Friday evening.

Summary: – A widow in suburban Chicago blames a nail salon for killing her husband in a pedicure-gone-wrong. A lawsuit filed in Cook County Circuit Court alleges that Darryl Carr suffered a grisly infection that led to the amputation of his left leg and, ultimately, his death, reports the Chicago Tribune. Carr's family says the AZ Happy Nails salon in Sauk Village soaked his feet in a chemical solution and then in a hot wax solution, but it alleges that the solutions were contaminated and that his left foot was left soaking for too long, reports the Chicago Sun-Times. Carr suffered "serious burns" to his leg, which then became infected, says the lawsuit. It faults the salon for lax safety and training procedures, and for failing to test Carr for possible allergic reactions or warn him of any risks. He visited the salon in November 2013 and died this month, leaving his wife and two kids, ages 10 and 13. His widow is seeking at least $50,000 in damages from the salon, which hasn't responded publicly. (In New York, authorities are cracking down on the exploitation of nail salon workers.)


Father of School Attacker Blames Everyone Else For His Son Getting Shot

 A 14-year-old student pulled a pair of butcher’s knives yesterday during a fight at a Reno High School and swung them at other students before advancing upon an armed school resource officer, who promptly dropped him with a single shot.

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 A student brandishing a knife at Hug High School was shot by a Washoe County School District police officer Wednesday morning, sending the campus into lockdown for the rest of the day as police went room to room accounting for all students and finding witnesses. Justin Clark, who identified his son Logan Clark, 14, as the student shot Wednesday by a police officer during school, said the family is being represented by Reno attorney David Houston. The Washoe County School District and Reno Police Department, heading the investigation, wouldn’t identify the student shot by police but said he’s in critical condition at a local hospital. SEE ALSO: Failed President Really Angry He Failed To Gut Constitution In Eight Years Reno police spokesman Tim Broadway said the officer who shot the student is on paid administrative leave. Police aren’t yet releasing the officer’s identity. It is routine procedure to put officers involved in shootings on leave. “A student is in the hospital, and a thorough investigation is underway,” said the district in a statement, emphasizing that it immediately called Reno police, the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI for assistance following the shooting. Reno Police Chief Jason Soto said the incident began at 11:25 a.m. with an altercation between two students. One of those students drew a knife and tried to attack others. At that point, a school police officer told the student to drop the knife, Soto said. When the student didn’t cooperate, the officer shot him and then provided medical attention, he said. Witness testimony and videos posted to social media on Wednesday also depict the incident.

 It’s unfortunate that young Logan Clark brought knives to his school to deal with the personal problems he had with other students. It’s unfortunate that the officer felt Clark was enough of a threat that he needed to shoot him.

 One of the videos taken of the incident posted online captures a large part of the incident. I’ll caution that the language is profane and that the video captures both the shooting and the immediate aftermath.

 Amazingly (or maybe not), Justin Clark is blaming everyone but his son for the incident.

 Clark started by blaming the school resource officer for shooting his son with a firearm instead of using a taser.

 As regular readers of Bearing Arms are well aware, single officers must respond with lethal force against lethal force weapon, and butcher knives are most certainly capable of killing. Tasers are only to be used against non-compliant unarmed suspects, or if officers have the numbers, in support of an armed officer squaring off against a suspect with impact weapons such as a knife or club. As this school resource officer was responding to this incident unsupported, deploying his firearm was absolutely the correct response.

 If anything, the officer put his life at greater risk by not firing the more typical response of two or more rounds. He fired a single shot, and it is quite possible that Logan Clark is in critical condition instead of the morgue because the officer was willing to take that risk.

 Instead of reaching out to attorneys in hopes of profiting from the city for the officer’s actions, he should be thanking the officer for having such great restraint when he would have been justified in shooting Logan to the ground, and for being the very first person to start trying to save Logan Clark’s life, visibly applying pressure to and sealing with his hand the sucking chest wound that penetrated his son’s lung. If it were not for this school resource officer’s actions, Logan Clark’s last words might have been “I can’t breath” before tension pneumothorax killed him.

 But Justin Clark isn’t grateful. He’s blame-casting, and he’s not done yet.

 At no point does Justin Clark actually blame his thug of a son for bringing weapons onto the school campus, or for lashing out at other students with those knives.

 Did i just call a 14-year-old a “thug?”

 You’re darn right I did.

 According to Logan Clark’s own Facebook page he was a far from being the victim his father is attempting to manufacture. He’s already been arrested and incarcerated on multiple occasions, and was only been out of juvenile lockup a little over two weeks before he was shot at Procter Hug High School .

 Perhaps instead of blaming everyone else, Justin Clark may want to take long, hard look in the mirror at what kind of father he has been, and at the violent young criminal he appears to be raising.

 If he doesn’t, there’s a darn good chance that his son’s going to be in the ground before he’s old enough to vote. ||||| Published on Dec 7, 2016

 This happened at Hug High Reno, NV 12/7/16 around 11:30am.

 I took this video from Facebook. It has since been removed by the author. ||||| Buy Photo Students and parents are reunited after an officer involved shooting occurred on the Hug High School campus in Reno, Nevada on Wednesday Dec. 7, 2016. (Photo: Andy Barron/RGJ)Buy Photo

 There was a shooting at Hug High School in Reno on Wednesday morning. Here's what we know now:

 * A campus police officer shot a knife-wielding student who was fighting with a classmate.

 * Attorney David Houston, who is representing the family of Logan Clark, said the 14- year-old had a stroke Friday morning and is emergency surgery.

 * Justin Clark, who identified his son Logan Clark, 14, as the student who was shot, said the family is being represented by Reno attorney David Houston.

 * The officer who shot the student is on paid administrative leave. Police aren’t yet releasing the officer’s identity.

 * According to police, the incident began at 11:25 a.m. as a fight. One student drew a knife and tried to attack others. A school police officer told the student to drop the knife. When the student didn't cooperate, the officer shot him and then provided medical attention.

 * Witness testimony and videos posted to social media also depict the incident.

 * During the incident, students were told to shelter in the school. They were released to parents after several hours.

 * School will continue as usual on Thursday at Hug High School, the district said.

 * The 911 call came in shortly before 11:30 a.m. Wednesday.

 * Officers detained a group of teens behind the school shortly after the incident. It was unclear why.

 * One video, posted by Vincent Coronado on Facebook about 1:30 p.m. that is not public but was reviewed by the Reno Gazette-Journal, shows the moments leading up to the shooting. The video starts with several students avoiding a boy in a blue shirt brandishing a knife. A male’s voice can be heard yelling, “back up, back up!” At 22 seconds into the video, a single gunshot is heard and several students scream. The camera briefly points down and then points at the boy who is now writhing in pain on the ground. A police officer can then be seen approaching the boy with a pistol drawn, still pointed at him. School officials begin to yell, “get out of here!” The police officer approaches the boy and appears to move something away using his feet. The officer then kneels next to the boy and turns him over on his back. Before the video ends, the officer can be seen using his radio. In another video posted by Eduardo Ayala on Twitter at 12:39 p.m., the same boy is seen brandishing a knife. Ayala posted another video at 12:40 p.m. immediately following the shooting as the police officer approaches the boy who is now on the ground.

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 CLOSE Reno police spokesman Tim Broadway talks to the press Wednesday, Dec. 7, 2016 after a shooting incident at Hug High School. Marcella Corona/RGJ

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Summary: – A 14-year-old boy was shot by a school police officer as he allegedly lunged at classmates with a large knife at Reno's Hug High School Wednesday morning. In a series of Facebook posts written Wednesday and Thursday but later removed from social media, the boy's father ranted against the police response to the situation. Justin Clark, who says son Logan is expected to "pull through," questioned why the officer involved "pulled his side arm" instead of a Taser; the Reno Gazette-Journal is looking into whether school police officers carry Tasers. Justin Clark also alleged that police have been deleting evidence, and asked the public to send him any videos of the incident. (Video is currently still posted on YouTube; warning, disturbing content.) "My son was a a superior athlete and has lost part of his lung," Justin Clark wrote. "Now he won't have the ability that he had before, so he won't have the chance to go to college or any other way to use this gift. Cuz it's gone." The Reno Police Department is investigating the incident and looking into whether the shooting was justified, and a police spokesperson says no evidence has been deleted, including evidence collected "from some students' phones" that includes at least one video. Justin Clark's posts haven't gone over well in some forums: A Bearing Arms blog headline reads, "Father of School Attacker Blames Everyone Else For His Son Getting Shot." The blog also includes screenshots of Justin Clark's posts, one of which claims Logan was being bullied and brought the knife to school because he knew he was going to be "jumped."