Dr. Phil gets call from octuplet mom
Nadya Suleman has voiced concern that the hospital where her octuplets are being cared for may prevent her from taking them home when they’re healthy enough in coming weeks.
But in reality, hospitals don’t prevent healthy children from going home – child protective services do.
And that’s only if a complaint has been filed. Hospital employees are mandated to report to county authorities any concerns they have about unsuitable home environments, a mother’s emotional or psychological instability, or any other situation that could result in harm to a child.
According to talk show host Dr. Phil McGraw, the 33-year-old unemployed mother called him Tuesday and said hospital officials were worried that her current living arrangement wouldn’t be suitable.
Suleman expects the children to come home within the next two weeks, she told McGraw in a show that aired Wednesday.
Fort Bragg, N.C.
Not guilty verdict for Green Beret
A military jury found a veteran Green Beret not guilty Wednesday of premeditated murder and mutilation in the death of an unidentified Afghan man who may have been a Taliban insurgent.
Army Special Forces Master Sgt. Joseph Newell, 39, of Tecumseh, Mich., was charged in the March 2008 shooting in southern Afghanistan’s Helmand province. He was also charged with cutting off the man’s ear, which a prosecutor displayed to jurors as the trial opened last week.
The jury deliberated for about four hours Wednesday before returning the verdict.
Wolcott, Conn.
Teen queen throws troublesome bash
The reigning Miss Connecticut Outstanding Teen, a volunteer for Mothers Against Drunk Driving, held a party that resulted in two dozen people being charged with underage drinking, police said Wednesday.
Rachael Ramonas, 17, once organized a benefit for the families of friends killed in a car crash in which the teen behind the wheel had a history of drunken driving.
It’s unclear whether Ramonas, who competed in the Miss America Outstanding Teen pageant in August in Florida, was among those charged. Police are not releasing the teens’ names because they are juveniles.
Officers responding to an anonymous call about underage drinking Saturday night found beer, rum and items commonly used for a drinking game called beer pong.