Story here. Excerpt:

'Calaveras County sheriff’s detectives have arrested a Burson woman after a shooting Wednesday night left her husband dead and her granddaughter critically wounded. A 5-month-old baby found at the scene was unhurt.

Charity Ford, 56, faces charges of murder, attempted murder and child cruelty, authorities said in a news release. Deputies identified the granddaughter as Britney McGhee, 20. They did not identify the male victim by name, pending notification of his biological relatives, authorities said. But they said the 52-year-old was Charity Ford’s husband, and McGhee’s stepgrandfather.
...
Deputies also found a 5-month-old boy in the house. Authorities said the baby is McGhee’s son. All four shared the home.'

Story here. Excerpt:

'An autistic boy at Hillcrest Middle School in Greenville, S.C. was suspended for drawing a cartoonish bomb and showing his friends, reports MSN Now on Oct. 16. Rhett Parham, much like other young boys, enjoys the classic video game Bomber Man and drew a picture of an old style kettle bomb with a fuse. His innocent drawing ignited some real controversy however after older boys at the school blew him in.
...
“They actually reiterated to me they knew he was non-violent,” said Parham. “They knew he was not actually having a bomb, creating or making a bomb. But that they could not go without making an example of him and without having some type of action because they were worried about their perception. Perception is actually the word he used. He, a school official, said ‘Perception is reality, Rhett, and the parents will perceive maybe you have a bomb or you’re violent.’”'

Letter here. Excerpt:

'Tanya Gold articulates well the existence of contemporary antisemitism (A ban on male circumcision would be antisemitic. How could it not be?, 12 October). But I think she's wrong in describing the Council of Europe as antisemitic for including ritual male circumcision in its examples of violations of children's rights.

Article here. Excerpt:

'A team of researchers has identified a novel mutation in the hepatitis B virus (HBV) in Korea that appears only in men and could help explain why HBV-infected men are roughly five times more likely than HBV-infected women to develop liver cancer. Although some women do progress to cirrhosis and liver cancer, the mutation is absent in HBV in women. The research is published ahead of print in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology.

Article here. Excerpt:

'At least that’s what a recent study of diabetic patients found. But the boys shouldn’t pack up their doctor kits yet.

In a new report released by the University of Montreal, investigators found that women outperformed men on certain metrics of patient care.
...
“Women had significantly higher scores in terms of compliance with practice guidelines,” said Martel in a statement that accompanied the release of the study. “They were more likely than men to prescribe recommended medications and to plan required examinations.”

Article here. Excerpt:

'In the 1960s and 1970s, our nation established several guidelines by which we were to construct a more fair society. Being a time of extreme civil rights activism, this era was contained more strides toward equality than any other.
...
The problem with this is that now, Title IX is backfiring, as male athletes are made unable to participate in particular sports. For example, Iowa State’s baseball team, which had existed as early as 1892, played its last season in 2001. As the beloved American pastime, it was a shame to see baseball go. It is more of a shame that capable baseball players are no longer funded and supported by the university, due to “budget cuts” that were a result of equalizing men's and women’s sports at Iowa State.
...
Forty years down the road from Title IX’s original implementation, we need to step back and consider adjusting the rules established by this legislation in university athletics.

Article here. Excerpt:

'Britain cannot expect to flourish economically unless there is a concerted effort to halt academic failure by white boys as they are the “dominant racial group”, a senior Government education adviser has warned.

Dr Tim Leunig, an economic historian and aide to the schools minister David Laws, said that for boys at least “being white” had become “the problem” in schools.
He argued that from an economic point of view it matters “more” to target underachievement among white pupils than others.
...
And he added that the education system could be described as “institutionally sexist” by failing to ensure boys and girls are making similar levels of progress.

His comments, reported by the TES, come after official figures show that white boys from deprived backgrounds are now the worst performing ethnic group in reading tests for six years olds.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'A women-only job and resource fair will be held 10 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17 at the Glenville Recreation Center.

Cleveland Councilman Kevin Conwell, one of the sponsors of the Mothers & Families Together Resource Fair, said organizers believed it is important to have an event focused on women.

"Three-quarters of the households in the area I represent are headed by females," he said of his East Side ward that includes the Glenville neighborhood. "In order to be successful, women need resources and opportunity."

A sentence from the flier makes clear the target group for the event: "The Mothers & Families Together Fair will offer resources to help empower women facing economic challenges, women in recovery from addiction and those who are in need of extra support to turn their lives in a more positive direction."'

Article here. Excerpt:

'At one of the darkest moments of the government shutdown, with markets dipping and both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue hurling icy recriminations, Maine Republican Susan Collins went to the Senate floor to do two things that none of her colleagues had yet attempted. She refrained from partisan blame and proposed a plan to end the crisis. “I ask my Democratic and Republican colleagues to come together,” Collins said on Oct. 8. “We can do it. We can legislate responsibly and in good faith.”'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Robert Redford says bigotry, fear of change and a determination to personally destroy President Barack Obama have paralyzed the U.S. government.

Women and young people are the answer to fixing the gridlock that has partially shut down Washington, the actor told CNN on Tuesday.

"Give them the reins," Redford said. "I think they can do better than we have."
...
Women must save the country "because a lot of men that were in control were behaving stupidly," Redford said. "I mean, sometimes you say: 'Can we actually be this dumbed down, or am I actually hearing what I'm hearing from some of these people? Are they really, is that really happening?' It's sad."'

Article here. No, the reason for circumcision deaths is that you are doing something really nasty to an innocent and helpless victim that induces bleeding, and worse yet, you are getting it "wrong" in the process-- sort of like forcing a person to have a kidney removed and then failing to manage the bleeding so that he or she dies. Yes, they may have had haemophilia, but was that the actual cause of their death? No. It was that you started cutting at their flesh ignorant of the particular risks and worse still, without their consent. Excerpt:

'Reports of deaths during traditional initiation rites often hit the headlines in South Africa, and there is always a devastating sense of young lives lost too soon. Yet, partly because these centuries-old practices are swathed in mystery, insight into the reasons for the loss of life following ritual circumcision is often limited and not fully understood.

Link here. Excerpt:

'The financial crisis of 2008 and lingering economic woes are having an impact on men's reproductive decisions, new research suggests.

"With the current recession, it's pushing more guys to get a vasectomy done," said study author Dr Anand Shridharani, a men's reproductive and sexual health specialist at Erlanger Health System, in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Many urologists reported in 2009 that they were fielding more requests for vasectomies, suspecting the downturn in the economy as a reason and Shridharani's team attempted to find numbers to back up the reported trend.
...
"Comparing the number of vasectomies performed per year from 2005 to 2008 versus 2009 to 2012, the difference [an increase] is statistically significant," he said.

"The suspected reason is that having an unexpected child would increase the cost of living," he noted.

"People are having children older, and older people are more in tune with what children cost," Shridharani suggested.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'Florida's alimony system, like the Florida auto accident system, is based on a "no-fault system." It doesn't matter who ran the red light or who betrayed the marriage. The one who has the money pays.

In divorce, in the vast majority of cases, there is usually one party who is more "at fault" than the other. It is not uncommon for one of the spouses to be involved in extramarital affairs, involved with drugs or alcohol, or be engaged in other aberrant behavior that is destructive to the marriage.
...
However, none of this behavior has any bearing on the final alimony award. When alimony laws were written decades ago, the stay-at-home spouse did not have the opportunity to develop marketable business skills that would allow him or her to re-enter the workforce.'

Article here. Excerpt:

'The Commission will study all aspects of child custody decision-making in Maryland, including the principles governing it, and current practice and processes. The study will encompass how to make child custody orders and modifications fairer, more uniform, and equitable; reduce litigation in child custody proceedings; promote and ensure children's continued relationships with both parents; and maximize involvement of both parents in a child's life. Further, the Commission will consider how the Court may mitigate adverse effects of child custody litigation, as well as the advantages, disadvantages, and impact on children of joint physical custody. In addition, the Commission is to evaluate the governing statutes in other states, and consider whether Maryland law needs a statute specific to child custody decisions.

Story here. Excerpt:

'A Swedish female police officer, accused of beating a drunken man and setting her dog on him, is being prosecuted for assault after the incident was captured on film.

The woman, who denies the charge, was filmed lashing out at the man using her baton an estimated 14 times. Her police dog also got involved and pounced on the man who later fell to his knees and yelled "are you totally stupid or what?" at the officer.

"I have made the decision (to prosecute) because I objectively think we have the foundations for a conviction for either assault or professional misconduct," said prosecutor Mats Åhlund to newspaper Dagens Nyheter.'