In brief: Brain dead girl moved from hospital
OAKLAND, Calif. – The 13-year-old California girl declared brain dead after a tonsillectomy has been taken out of Children’s Hospital of Oakland, her family’s attorney said late Sunday.
Jahi McMath left the hospital in a private ambulance shortly before 8 p.m. Sunday, Christopher Dolan told the Associated Press.
She was taken by a critical care team while attached to a ventilator but without a feeding tube, Dolan said. Her destination was not immediately disclosed.
David Durand, the hospital’s chief of pediatrics, said the girl was released to the coroner. The coroner then released her into the custody of her mother, Nailah Winkfield, as per court order, Durand said in an email.
On Friday, Alameda County Superior Court Judge Evelio Grillo said Jahi could be transferred under an agreement with Children’s Hospital and the girl’s mother will be held accountable for developments that could include Jahi going into cardiac arrest.
Dolan wouldn’t specify where the girl was taken but he said “they are going to care for her, respect her and love her. And they’re going to call her Jahi, not ‘the body.’ ”
No injuries in explosions at apartments
ROGERS, Minn. – A series of explosions forced the evacuation of hundreds of residents of an apartment complex in the northwest suburbs of Minneapolis on Sunday.
A problem occurred in a generator located above an underground propane tank at The Preserve at Commerce in Rogers, said Jennifer A. Johnson, a spokeswoman with the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office. Around 400 to 500 residents were evacuated, officials said.
The explosions happened around 8:45 a.m. No injuries were reported. Johnson told the Associated Press that 12 of the complex’s 192 units were damaged, but residents were eventually allowed to return home.
The State Fire Marshal’s Office and the Office of Pipeline Safety are investigating the cause of the explosion.
One dead, one hurt in high-rise fire
NEW YORK – One man was killed and another injured in a three-alarm high-rise apartment fire in midtown Manhattan on Sunday, authorities said.
Firefighter spokesman Danny Glover said the fire was reported shortly after 11 a.m. Sunday in an apartment on the 20th floor of a building at 43rd Street and 10th Avenue. About 150 firefighters battled the fire and brought it under control shortly before 1 p.m., Glover said.
It was not immediately clear what caused the fire, which spread heavy smoke to several apartments around the affected apartment, Glover said.
Police said one of the victims, 27-year-old Daniel McClung, was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. The other victim, a 32-year-old male, was hospitalized in stable condition, police said.
Assistant Fire Chief John Sudhik told the Daily News the victims were overcome by smoke and flames in the stairwell.
Five firefighters suffered minor injuries battling the blaze and several civilians were injured but refused to go to the hospital, a fire official said.
Gun maker rejects deal with Pakistan
WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah – A Utah-based gun manufacturer has turned down a $15 million deal to supply Pakistan with precision rifles, citing concerns they could eventually be used against U.S. troops.
Mike Davis, sales manager at Desert Tech, said the company was on a short list for a contract with Pakistan, but spurned the opportunity because of unrest in Pakistan and ethical concerns.
It was a difficult decision because of the amount of money involved, he said, and the sale of rifles to Pakistan would have been legal.
“We don’t know that those guns would’ve went somewhere bad, but with the unrest we just ended up not feeling right about it,” Davis told KTVX-TV.
The company, based in the Salt Lake City suburb of West Valley City, was founded in 2007 on the principle of keeping America and its allies safe, he added.
“As a business owner you always want to be successful, but I think ethically and morally you want to go about it the right way and stick behind your founding principles,” Davis told KSL.
Weapons sales to allies such as Pakistan are nothing new but they can be complicated, especially in a country with an al-Qaida presence. The U.S. often targets al-Qaida, Taliban and their Pakistani supporters in the country’s tribal regions.