Jaycee Lee Dugard: First picture of woman kidnapped and held captive by paedophile for 18 years
By Mail Foreign Service
Last updated at 1:10 PM on 14th October 2009
This is the first picture of Jaycee Lee Dugard taken as an adult after she was released from an 18-year kidnap ordeal.
The image has appeared on the cover of America's People magazine, and was published on the magazine's website this morning.
It shows an adult Jaycee, now aged 29, smiling directly at the camera. Her hair is darker and waved, and her smile is slightly different - but the resemblance to her 11-year-old self is clear.
The first picture: A healthy-looking Jaycee Lee Dugard smiles directly at the camera in this People magazine image shown on U.S. TV this morning, the first to be published of the kidnap victim as an adult
There are no visible signs of the trauma she must have suffered during her 18 years in captivity, when police believe she was used as a sex slave by her captor, Phillip Garrido, who eventually fathered her two children.
More images are being published inside the magazine today. A spokesman for Jaycee said she had released the images of herself to People magazine.
Jaycee also gave her first public statement since her release two months ago.
She told People magazine that she was happy to be with her family and to have their unconditional love and support.
Jaycee was just 11 when she was dragged into a car while walking to the bus stop outside her South Lake Tahoe home in California in 1991.
Her stepfather Carl Probyn watched the abduction in horror. He gave chase, but the car sped out of sight. Jaycee was not heard from again for 18 years.
Abduction: Jaycee as she was before she was kidnapped in 1991 (l) and (r) Phillip Garrido who kept her captive
Then, two months ago, a female police officer encountered Phillip Garrido on a university campus. He had two young girls with him.
Garrido, 58, was on probation for sexual offences when he brought the two young girls to the University of of California Berkeley campus where he was pushing religion.
Officer Ally Jacobs said the girls were acting like 'brainwashed zombies' - and her mothering instincts were triggered.
She began her own investigation into Garrido that just days later blew open the shocking 1991 kidnap case - and brought Jaycee home.
Prosecutors now claim that Garrido and his wife Nancy, 55, were the couple in the car who had snatched Jaycee.
They took her to their home in Antioch, California, where they kept her for 18 years. Prosecutors claim she was repeatedly raped by Garrido, eventually bearing him two children - the daughters that Garrido took to the university campus.
Left, Jaycee in an undated image taken several years before her abduction; and right, a computer-generated image of what investigators searching for her believed she may have looked like grown up
The girls, now 11 and 15, named Starlet and Angel, grew up believing Jaycee was their sister, not their mother.
They were only told the truth after Jaycee was found and returned to her family.
Jaycee and her daughters are now recovering with her mother, Terry, and her teenage sister, who was only a baby when she disappeared.
Her stepfather Carl Probyn, 60, has said she is 'fragile' but 'a great mother'.
A photograph of Jaycee's two daughters Starlet and Angel, aged 11 and 15, believed to be fathered by her captor Phillip Garrido. The photo was taken at a party just days before the kidnapping was revealed
Squalor: Inside what appears to be the kitchen of the Garridos' Antioch, California home. This image was taken by building inspectors in August as they searched the home in relation to the abduction of Jaycee Lee Dugard
12-Year Old N.Y. Boy Charged With Killing Little Brother
tuesday, October 13, 2009
DEPOSIT, N.Y. — A 12-year-old upstate New York boy has been charged with shooting his 8-year-old brother to death, but authorities on Tuesday declined to reveal what was behind the gunfire.
Authorities charged the older boy as a juvenile delinquent Monday and will prosecute him in Delaware County Family Court for conduct they say would constitute second-degree murder if he were an adult. Children must be at least 13 years or older in New York to be prosecuted for murder as adults, said Janine Kava, a spokeswoman for the state Division of Criminal Justice Services.
The boys were home alone late Saturday afternoon when the older brother took a rifle from inside the house and fired a single shot, mortally wounding his younger brother, said state police Lt. Jeffrey Van Auken. The younger brother was airlifted to Wilson Regional Medical Center in Johnson City, where he later died.
The shooting was initially reported to emergency dispatchers as an accident, Van Auken said.
"As we investigated it, the circumstances changed," he said.
Van Auken declined to provide any other details about the circumstances or whether the parents faced any charges. He also wouldn't discuss the parents' whereabouts at the time of the shooting. The investigation was continuing, he said.
State police did not identify the children because of their ages, but a neighbor said the victim was Daniel Schaeffer. No one answered the telephone Tuesday at the family's house.
Delaware County District Attorney Richard Northrup Jr. was in court Tuesday and unavailable to explain the decision to prosecute. Delaware County Attorney Richard Spinney, whose office would handle the prosecution, said his office had not yet received the case and he could not comment.
Deposit is 30 miles east of Binghamton, not far from the New York-Pennsylvania state line. The family lived on a rural dead-end road.
A neighbor described the brothers as being very close and said they were home-schooled.
"It's just heartbreaking," said neighbor Edith Lobdell, who said the family had lived in the house for about a year. "They are good people. I'd see them out cutting firewood and stacking it for winter. I'd wave to them. I've never heard anyone say anything derogatory about them."
The younger brother played pee wee football, she said. Organizers wanted to cancel Sunday's game out of respect for the grieving family, but the family asked for the game to be played and dedicated to their son's memory.
Hoax, stunt or breakthrough? Kellogg's 'laser-etched' cornflakes
By staff writers
news.com.au
October 14, 2009 03:30pm
IS this a marketing stunt, an elaborate hoax or a bizarre attempt by one of the world's biggest food producers to protect an iconic breakfast cereal from imitators?
The British PR office for Kellogg's claimed on its Twitter feed today that it has succeeded in etching its brand into individual corn flakes so they stand out against any copies. 
Spider email prankster behind McDonald's hoax
"Now you'll always be able to tell your Corn Flakes from your corn fakes!" Kellogg's UK announced on Twitter, with a link to an image of branded cereal.
Kellogg's claims the image, which looks like a badly doctored photograph, shows the result of a laser process that directs a concentrated beam of light onto the flake, using mirrors to control the burn.
An Australian representative of Kellogg's was unaware of the announcement when contacted by news.com.au.
The UK's Daily Telegraph today quoted a food technologist named as Helen Lyons as saying: "We want shoppers to be under absolutely no illusion that Kellogg's does not make cereal for anyone else.
"We've established that it is possible to apply a logo or image onto food, now we need to see if there is a way of repeating it on large quantities of our cereal," Ms Lyons said.
"We're constantly looking at new ways to reaffirm this and giving our golden flakes of corn an official stamp of approval could be the answer."
Laser-etching has been used to customise gadgets, create artworks and – in one dangerous experiment – tattoo a teenager's arm.
In 2005, Time magazine recognised Greg Drouillard for his invention of fruit tattoos, which was being tested at the time.
Mr Drouillard, a researcher for Sunkist Growers, says the laser essentially cauterises the burn on the food to stop it from spoiling.
Florida Dad Accused of Killing Family Says 'Bad Spirits' Made Him Do It
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
TAMPA, Fla. — The southwest Florida man accused of killing his wife and five children told investigators "bad spirits" made him commit the murders.
Court documents state that Mesac Damas confessed to killing his family with a knife after his wife threatened to divorce him and take the children. A message was left Tuesday with his attorney.
Records show that Guerline Damas was bound by rope and her mouth shut with duct tape before she begged her husband not to hurt the children. Mesac Damas said he had second thoughts but realized that if he let her go she would call police and the children would be taken away.
Guerline Damas and the five children, ages 11 months to 9 years, were found slain in their Naples home in September. Mesac Damas is charged with their murders.
Police hunt two teenage girls over gay-hate murder in London's West End
By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 12:51 PM on 14th October 2009
Two teenage girls are being hunted by police in connection with the gay-hate murder of a man in Tralfagar Square.
Ian Baynham, 62, suffered fatal head injuries in a suspected homophobic assault close to the South African High Commission.
He died in hospital last night when doctors switched off his life support machine, more than a fortnight after the attack on September 25.
Handout CCTV still issued by the Metropolitan Police showing two teenage girls, seen in the area where Ian Baynham, 62, suffered fatal head injuries
Police want to trace three young people, including two blonde teenage girls who were caught on CCTV, seen in the area.
Mr Baynham, from Beckenham, south east London, suffered severe brain damage when he was punched and kicked to the ground in what police described as a 'vicious' assault. His attackers shouted homophobic abuse.
He was on his way to a night out in the West End with a 30-year-old friend when the attack took place shortly before 11pm.
Mr Baynham was assaulted close to the South African High Commission, in Trafalgar Square, central London. Police want to trace three young people, including the two teenage girls, who were caught on CCTV
The two men had just got off a number 24 bus nearby when three youths confronted them and shouted abuse. The friend was treated for minor injuries.
Detectives from Scotland Yard's Homicide and Serious Crime Command are investigating the murder.
They want the public to help them identify the two girls who may have been sitting in the square with a dark-skinned male youth earlier that evening.
Investigators said the three, all aged between 16 and 20, are suspected of shouting verbal abuse at other people as well.
In July, Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson highlighted his concerns over how the number of homophobic crimes in the capital was increasing.
He said the force's response to such crimes was 'light years' ahead of what it was in the past, and victims were more willing to report offences.
Senior officers were told homophobic crimes have increased by almost 14%, an extra 39 offences, since April, and there has also been an increase nationally.
There have been two other homophobic murders in the capital over the past year.
Gerry Edwards, 59, was stabbed to death at his flat in Bromley, south-east London, in March. His partner also suffered stab wounds.
In November 2008, David Cooper, 28, was beaten to death at his flat in Calderwood Street, Woolwich. He had been drinking in Soho the night before his murder.
Anyone with information, or who recognises the two young women in the CCTV images, should call 0207 321 9314 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111
Report: World's New Smallest Man Turns 18, Seeks Wife
Tuesday, October 13, 2009
A 2-foot tall Nepalese teen reportedly is waiting to be officially recognized by the Guinness World Records as the World's Smallest Man after celebrating his 18th birthday.
Khagendra Thapa Magar is head and shoulders shorter than the current title holder, 2-foot-5-inch He Ping Ping of China, the Daily Mail reported.
Click here to see photos.
Magar made several bids for the world record in the past but was told that because there is no title for world's smallest boy or teen, the tiny dancer who weighs just 10 pounds would have to wait until he became an adult, the Mail reported.
"Now I have turned 18 I want two things: To be recognized by Guinness and to find a wife who is small like me. It is my dream to have four children," Magar told the paper.
"Being small like me is no fun as a boy, but as a man I will be special," he added.
Wife 'lured husband to woods for drug-fuelled sex... then slit his throat so she could meet internet lover for first time'
By Luke Salkeld
Last updated at 10:46 PM on 13th October 2009
Victim: Peter Hale arrives at Bristol Crown Court yesterday to give evidence against his wife Joanne
A poet lured her husband into woodland for a drug-fuelled sex session and then slit his throat, a court was told yesterday.
Joanne Hale, 39, left him for dead so she could see a man she had met on the internet, a jury heard.
Hale gave her 43-year-old husband Peter a dose of a natural aphrodisiac called 'horny goat weed' before she blindfolded him and led him into local woods to act out her fantasy, it was alleged.
The couple kissed and 'rolled about on the leaves' as part of a 'playful game'.
Then Hale sat astride her husband as he lay face- down on the ground and slit his throat with a knife, before plunging it into his neck and chest several times, a jury was told.
It is alleged that she abandoned his bleeding body when she was disturbed by a passer-by, and drove to a nearby railway station for her first meeting with a man she had befriended on the internet. But police arrested her when she returned home.
She denies attempted murder and wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.
Hale publishes her poetry on the internet and, according to her website, likes to write verse about 'people, animals, love and everything that people care about'.
She worked part-time as a sales assistant for a DIY firm. Bristol Crown Court heard how the bizarre events unfolded last Christmas.
Accused: Joanne Hale is alleged to have slashed husband Peter's throat after luring him to woodland for drug-fuelled sex
The woods near the M32 in Bristol where Joanne Hale is alleged to have lured her husband Peter and then slit his throat.
The couple, who married in February 2000, were watching television on December 27 when Mrs Hale suggested her husband take 'horny goat weed'.
Made using extracts from a leafy wild plant, the herbal drug is legal and is widely available to buy in capsule form.
It is used to treat erectile dysfunction and increase sexual desire.
Legend has it that its qualities were first noticed by a Chinese shepherd who observed an increase in promiscuous behaviour among his goats after they ate the plant. 
Horny Goat Weed: Said to be named by goat herder 100s of years ago who noticed constant sexual behavior in his goats whenever they ate a certain weed
It is said to have been used in Chinese medicine for thousands of years.
Mr Hale told the jury that he and his wife discussed how to prepare the drug - and that a mask used to relieve headaches was put over his face.
'Jo said it was quite unpalatable and I said I would like a drink with it,' he said.
At 6pm they left their home in Stapleton, Bristol, and walked to Stoke Park in the dark.
'I think, probably, a migraine cap was put on my head,' said Mr Hale.
'It was just a kind of sexual game. I enjoyed the game but I lifted it up because I wanted to see.'
He said he believed a sexual act was about to take place because it was his wife's fantasy which they had never acted out.
'We had a cuddle and a bit of rolling about in the leaves,' he said. 'I was happy at that point.'
He said his memory was 'hazy' from this point onwards but he remembered seeing his wife and a man before waking up in hospital.
The court heard that after slashing and stabbing her husband, Hale, was disturbed by a passing motorist.
Timothy Walker spotted two figures in his headlights - 'one on the ground, and one standing over'.
Hale is alleged to have fled the scene seconds later.
She is said to have then driven to Bristol Parkway railway-station where she had arranged to pick up postal worker Philip Sudol.
Hale allegedly told Mr Sudol, whom she was meeting in person for the first time, that she was separated, but that her husband had injured himself and she would get the blame.
Mr Hale had 'lifethreatening injuries' and was taken to hospital, the court was told.
The Hales were said to have been affected by stress after Mr Hale 'totally messed up' his PhD studies. He was also due to be made redundant. The trial continues.
Stockholm's rabbits burned to keep Sweden heated
The bodies of thousands of wild rabbits culled each year from Stockholm's parks are being used to fuel a heating plant in central Sweden.
By Allan Hall
Published: 3:09PM BST 13 Oct 2009
Six thousand bunnies were killed last year Photo: GETTY IMAGES
Animal rights activists have claimed that domestic pets are also being rounded up and incinerated.
"Those who support the culling of rabbits think it's good to use the bodies for a good cause. But it feels like the power company is trying to turn the animals into an industry rather than look at the main problem," said Anna Johannesson of the Society for the Protection of Wild Rabbits.
The rabbits going up in smoke are the inhabitants of Stockholm's parks who are culled to protect the shrubs and trees on which they gorge. But many of them are tame domestic pets turned loose by owners who no longer want them.
Six thousand bunnies were killed last year. The corpses were frozen and then sent to a special heating plant at Karlskoga, in central Sweden, where the cadavers were burnt in order to help heat the homes of residents of Värmland.
But animal rights activists have called for better treatment for the wild rabbits.
Mrs. Johannesson told local newspaper Vart Kungsholmen; "We want to see them start looking at other solutions for the rabbits. Helsinki in Finland sprays the plants to make them unappetizing and they have also set up a system of shelters for animals to be donated to. They have come much further along than us."
Fiend admits sex attack
By LEE CAIN
Published: 13 Oct 2009
TWO Polish men carried out a sickening eight-hour sex attack on a woman, a court heard today.
Twisted Michal Marchlewski and his cousin Tomasz Kryczyk attacked the 24-year-old as she was walking home in Edinburgh.
The evil pair squirted their victim with pepper spray before dragging into a makeshift shelter where they raped her multiple times.
The High Court in Edinburgh heard how the woman - who cannot be named for legal reasons - feared she would be killed in the savage attack.
Advocate-depute Andrew Miller said the devastated victim recalled that Kryczyk, 24, had raped her five or six times during her eight-hour ordeal while Marchlewski, 21, raped her twice.
The court was told that Kryczyk had committed suicide while on remand for the attack - which took place on February 16. 
Marchlewski admitted the pair - pictured above - had assaulted and abducted the woman, then forced her to hand over her bank cards and personal identification numbers, and then repeatedly raped her.
Judge Lord Bracadale told Marchlewski he had pleaded guilty to a charge which contained a "catalogue of acts of violence, rape and robbery".
He said: "After spraying her with pepper spray and assaulting her, you abducted her and took her to a den where you held her for a period of eight hours.
"Both you and your friend repeatedly raped her and subjected her to other forms of sexual assault.
"Taken together this act reflects an extraordinary level of wickedness and afterwards you were heard commenting that you should have killed her."
Elvis Presley's grandson takes mother Lisa Marie and granny Priscilla out clubbing in London
By Dominique Hines
Last updated at 12:22 PM on 14th October 2009
We're used to seeing Britain's young royals frequenting London's trendiest nightclubs. But it was Hollywood royalty that partied in the capital last night.
Three generations of Presleys headed to Prince William and Harry's favourite party spot Mahiki and partied until the early hours.
Elvis's daughter Lisa Marie, ex wife Priscilla and lookalike grandson Benjamin chose the Mayfair venue for their family night out.
Rock royalty: Elvis Presley's daughter Lisa Marie and grandson Benjamin partied at London's Mahiki last night
Spitting image: The 17-year-old, who looks similar to his famous grandfather, is hoping to launch a solo music career
After a night of heady partying until 3am Lisa Marie, who gave birth to twins last October, looked far from impressed when she exited the venue to a swarm of paparazzi photographers waiting outside.
Lisa swiftly followed in the footsteps of her former husband, the late Michael Jackson, by covering her face with her scarf and a large pair of shades.
But Priscilla, 63, looked as alert and glowing as ever proving that she could still keep up with a club filled with revelers half her age.
All shook up: The trio, which included Elvis's former wife Priscilla, stayed
out until 3am
Benjamin, 17, seemed to take the whole circus of attention in his stride, which will perhaps come in handy soon.
He is rumoured to have signed a $5 million five album deal.
When Benjamin was recently asked about the album at the Inspiration Awards for Women, at Cadogan Hall in Belgravia, he said: 'The music will be nothing like Elvis, nothing like him at all.'
His mother, 41, who married his father, Danny Keough, a musician, when she was 20 and divorced him in 1994, is also trying to jump start her solo career.
Going the distance: Priscilla, 63, showed she could keep up with revelers
half her age
Lisa Marie is now married to fourth husband, Michael Lockwood, a guitarist and music producer, has enlisted the help of Sheffield musician Richard Hawley to relaunch her music career.
She made a surprise appearance on stage during Hawley's concert at the 02 Shepherd's Bush Empire in London earlier this month.
The two have embarked on a songwriting partnership in which Lisa Marie writes the lyrics and Hawley the music.
They performed their first song Weary - a lilting rock ballad with Lisa Marie on vocals and Hawley on guitar.