A woman's social media post about giving her nieces door stoppers to help prevent a shooter from entering their classroom went viral.

Katie Cornelis took to Facebook after the Parkland, Florida, massacre, explaining that she originally came up with the door stopper idea after Sandy Hook in 2012.

"It truly pained me when I handed it to them, and I didn’t want to scare them, but it was out of love and they understood," she wrote. She continued with details about an idea she had:

In light of the recent shooting, I wanted to share this with all parents...and ANYONE else for that matter...to get themselves one (I always carry mine in my purse). Sure it’s small, but it can be powerful in keeping you safe if you ever have to barricade yourself in a room. If a gunman shoots out the door lock it will still keep the door from opening and may just buy you some time. I’m really sad posting this but a security expert shared this tip with me so I wanted to pass it on. I pray no one ever has to use it.

Cornelis' post quickly went viral, with many expressing sadness over the fact that something like that even needed to be considered when dealing with children.

"Great idea Katie .... unfortunately this is the world we are living in but it doesn’t hurt to try to be as safe as possible," one Facebook user commented in response to the woman's post.

"Katie can’t believe I’m seeing this shared by some of my friends now. Great advice. Thanks for the post," another wrote.

"Hey Katie. Great share. Would have never thought of that. I hope some people with positions to make it happen in schools, superintendents, PTA's etc... see this and invest in the $2 per, or less probably when bought in bulk, and put 1 or 2 in each classroom throughout schools in every state. And add training of placing this door stopper as part of each schools active shooter drills," another added.

Some readers offered alternatives for schools to help keep students safe in case of an active shooter situation.

"Metal detectors should be installed in all schools. If it means getting to school earlier, then so be it. Federal buildings are equipped with metal detectors and all employees go through them. We should have the same safety for our children. What the hell are we paying taxes for? The safety and well being of our children (the future of our country) should be protected," one Daily Mail reader commented.

"How about deadbolts on all school doors and a bar that drops down to cover it? Better to have locked front doors and require ID to enter via camera/intercom," another wrote.

"Also, schools could have video surveillance, a couple of armed guards, and metal detectors ... Basically, set up internal psychological screening/profiling, plus a perimeter for defense. Unfortunately, this is where we are," another added.

An impulsive decision to get a tattoo led to a 25-year battle with HIV for one 57-year-old woman.

In 1992, Lyn Parent went with her sister to get a tattoo. However, she had no clue that her decision that day would change her life for good.

According to the Daily Mail, Parent decided to get a butterfly tattoo in order to give her younger sister more confidence in getting her own tattoo.

"The supermodels all had tattoos, they were super fashionable and I made a split-second decision that changed my life," Parent said of that day in July 1992. "I remember noticing a guy before me had had a tattoo and the artist hadn't changed the needles. But I didn't think anything of it. We didn't in those days, I wasn't worried. In fact, I told my sister I would go first as I was the eldest. He changed the needle after he inked me."

When Parent returned home, all seemed well with her new tattoo. But eight weeks later, she reportedly began developing flu-like symptoms.

"I had a yellow face, I couldn't eat and I needed to sleep nearly all the time," she said. "I knew I needed to go to the doctor, and when they told me my temperature was extremely high, I returned home where specialists ran lots of tests to see whether I had malaria."

After ten days, doctors still did not have a prognosis for Parent.

"I was sleeping for 22 hours a day, so my mother said I had to go back to the hospital," she recalled. "The specialist said that they had to test me for everything under the sun -- including HIV. She told me she'd be back with my results the next day."

The next day, she received some shocking news. She was told that she only had six months to live.

"I remember her body language and knowing it was going to be bad," Parent said. "When she told me I had HIV and that I had six months to live, so I needed to get my bucket list out, I heard nothing except the fact that I had six months left."

"I was in shock," she added. "I had no idea why."

Doctors worked to determine the source of Parent's HIV, testing three of her ex-boyfriends before eventually coming to the conclusion that the disease had come from her tattoo.

"I remember being shocked," she said. "I had no idea that was possible."

Parent told Stuff that she moved to New Zealand following her diagnosis, expecting to die there. Fortunately, she beat the odds and has now made it through 25 years with her condition.

Parent, who has two children, now works to educate others about HIV and AIDS.

"I've started the fashion event StyleAid to raise money for women and children with HIV," she said. "Anyone can get HIV and AIDS and it's important that precautions are taken. I think the testing should be compulsory, like smear tests."

Despite the difficult journey, Parent remains positive about the direction her life has gone.

"I have no regrets, it is what it is," she said. "Plus, I think about the good things. Had I not been diagnosed, I wouldn't have done all these things with my life. I share my story with schools and I have an opportunity to spread the word. Had this not all happened, my life probably wouldn't have gone this way. It's taught me to grab life as it comes and live in the now rather than ten years down the track. I don't have a fear of death like I used to. I've made peace with myself and I think it's made me even more positive as a person. It's part of who I am."

Following news that President Donald Trump allegedly had an affair with a Playboy Playmate, first lady Melania Trump was spotted riding in a separate vehicle from her husband and walking to Marine One without him (video below).

According to The Inquisitr, Melania Trump skipped her usual walk across the South Lawn with her husband after reports surfaced that President Trump had a second affair shortly after the birth of their son, Barron.

Karen McDougal, a former Playboy Playmate of the Year, claimed in a story that broke on Feb. 16 that she had a nine-month adulterous affair with the president, during which she said he showed her Melania Trump's bedroom in Trump Tower. The affair reportedly took place from June 2006 to April 2007.

After the reports surfaced, the first lady broke with tradition when she took a separate vehicle from President Trump, rather than walking with him across the South Lawn.

Following Marine One's arrival at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, Melania Trump ascended the stairs separately from President Trump.

The first lady's communications director, Stephanie Grishman, said in a statement that because of her busy schedule, "it was easier to meet him on the plane."

According to CNN, a White House spokesperson denied President Trump's affair with McDougal in a statement.

"This is an old story that is just more fake news," the spokesperson said in a statement. "The President says he never had a relationship with McDougal."

The first lady previously broke with the tradition when she drove separately from her husband to the U.S. Capitol to attend the State of the Union address on Jan. 30. The address was Melania Trump's first public event following reports that porn star Stormy Daniels allegedly received payment to cover up an alleged affair she had with President Trump in 2006, four months after she gave birth to their son, Barron.

The White House said that she chose to drive separately to the event so that she could attend a reception with guests joining her in the first lady's box in order to connect with them on a more personal level.

The president denied that the affair with Daniels took place, though it was reported that his attorney, Michael Cohen, had paid the porn star $130,000 to keep quiet about the affair. Cohen issued a statement on Daniels' behalf, calling the report "absolutely false." However, Cohen later admitted to paying Daniels the money out of his own pocket.

Sources close to the Trumps said that Melania Trump was "blindsided" by the reports and was "furious" with President Trump.

President Donald Trump's son, Barron Trump, was spotted arriving to the airport in his own Secret Service vehicle, rather than riding alongside his parents.

The 11-year-old was pictured arriving at the Palm Beach International Airport in West Palm Beach, Florida, in his own vehicle while his parents, the resident and first lady Melania Trump, were seen arriving separately. The three then boarded Air Force One together.

Barron and his parents were heading back to Washington, D.C., after spending a weekend at the president's Mar-a-Lago estate with Donald Trump Jr., Eric Trump, Tiffany Trump and their respective families. The eldest Trump daughter, Ivanka Trump, was not present for the trip.

Barron was pictured wearing a red shirt tucked into khaki pants, and was seen walking alongside his father onto the airplane while his mother walked ahead of him.

Many readers noted that the photos appeared to show a love that President Trump has for his son and his family.

"I rather like Trump although sometimes I wish he wouldn't 'tweet' as much. I think he has great ideas and policies if only the Dems and the media would stop trying to obstruct him. He was elected sh he should be allowed to do things his way. That is only fair. If people don't like it they they can vote for someone else in 2020. Lastly he appears to really love his family and have a strong bond with them. No man who loves and is loved can be all bad," one Daily Mail reader commented.

Meanwhile, President Trump shocked supporters when he endorsed Mitt Romney in his run for a Senate seat. The former presidential candidate notoriously had harsh words for the president, who later slammed the former Massachusetts governor in response.

"[Mitt Romney] has announced he is running for the Senate from the wonderful State of Utah. He will make a great Senator and worthy successor to [Orrin Hatch] and has my full support and endorsement!" Donald Trump tweeted.

Romney subsequently thanked the president for his endorsement.

"Thank you Mr. President for the support. I hope that over the course of the campaign I also earn the support and endorsement of the people of Utah," he tweeted.

President Trump previously called Romney a "mixed up man who doesn't have a clue," and slammed him on Twitter on multiple occasions.

"Mitt Romney, who was one of the dumbest and worst candidates in the history of Republican politics, is now pushing me on tax returns. Dope!" the president tweeted in early 2016.

"Failed presidential candidate Mitt Romney, the man who 'choked' and let us all down, is now endorsing Lyin' Ted Cruz. This is good for me," another tweet from 2016 read.

Students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where a deadly shooting that killed 17 people took place, reportedly refused to pose for a photo op with President Donald Trump when he visited the school following the massacre.

Survivors Emma Gonzalez and David Hogg told reporters that they would not be attending a "listening session" with the president.

"I believe we’ve been invited, but neither of us are going," Emma told CNN, ShareBlue reported.

In a now-viral speech, Emma took Trump to task for blaming the victims of the shooting for not taking the shooter's behavior seriously.

"We did," she said in her speech, ShareBlue reported, "time and time again, since he was in middle school."

"We need to pay attention to the fact that this isn’t just a mental health issue," she added. "He wouldn’t have harmed that many students with a knife."

Emma pointed the blame at not just shooter Nikolas Cruz, but also the gun sellers and other people who essentially allowed him to have access to a firearm.

"[The people] who let him buy the guns in the first place. Those at the gun shows. The people who encouraged him to buy accessories for his guns to make them fully automatic. The people who didn’t take them away from him when they knew that he expressed homicidal tendencies. And I am not talking about the FBI. I am talking about the people that he lived with, I’m talking about the neighbors who saw him outside holding guns," she said.

She further criticized Trump in her speech.

"If the president wants to come up to me and tell me to my face that it was a terrible tragedy, and how it should never have happened, and maintain telling us that nothing is going to be done about it, I’m going to happily ask him I’m going to happily ask him how much money he received from the National Rifle Association," she said.

Trump was criticized for not just placing blame on the students, but also the FBI -- and the Russia investigation.

"Very sad that the FBI missed all of the many signals sent out by the Florida school shooter. This is not acceptable," Trump tweeted, Vox reported. "They are spending too much time trying to prove Russian collusion with the Trump campaign -- there is no collusion. Get back to the basics and make us all proud!"

A new poll reveals many Americans would urge Congress to pursue impeachment should Robert Mueller's investigation find President Donald Trump acted illegally.

The results, which include internal polling data from the Democratic firm Greenberg Quinlan Rosner and was released by left-leaning group Stand Up America, found that 65 percent of the 1,001 registered voters surveyed would support Trump's impeachment, reports McClatchy.

However, that's only the case if Trump was found to be personally involved in colluding with Russia.

Support for impeachment dropped to 58 percent if an associate of Trump's was found to have acted unlawfully.

"The survey suggests voters would also turn strongly against the President if the investigation produces evidence of illegal actions by Trump or his team, with little variability depending on the details of the crimes," the Stand Up America memo states.

Congressional members who opposed impeachment efforts in such a scenario would also suffer. If evidence were to cause Trump to be indicted, 64 percent of respondents would be less likely to support an incumbent who attacked the investigation.

The figure includes 58 percent of Republicans who believe members of Congress shouldn't interfere with warranted impeachment hearings.

"Despite attacks by President Trump and his allies on Special Counsel Robert Mueller and the investigation he is leading, a new survey shows the public believes Russia meddled in the 2016 election, is concerned about it, and is prepared to support Trump's impeachment if the investigation produces evidence of illegality," wrote Greenberg Quinlan Rosner, the Democratic polling firm.

While many Americans may support the idea of impeachment if warranted, at the moment it appears some still support the president.

Another poll from the The Telegraph in the UK indicates President Trump's approval ratings have seen an improvement.

The tracker, which takes an average of the last eight polls, reveals Trump's approval rating has increased to 41.5 percent. He has not seen such high ratings since he fired former FBI Director James Comey in May 2017, sparking debate as to why.

Some argue the Republican-backed tax bill may be why polls reflect favorably on the president, while others go so far as to argue Trump's tweeting habits may have played a role.

"I suspect something else is happening, too, that has gone virtually unnoticed," argues Henry Olsen for the City-Journal. "Trump has mostly stopped his provocative tweets."

"A thorough review of Trump’s tweets during the period of his rise in approval shows a nearly complete absence of the vitriolic and personal attacks that frequently dominated 2017 news cycles," he adds, arguing instead his tweets have been more "more focused on legislative debates" than before.

A British pedophile who forced a father to rape his own toddler has been sentenced.

Matthew Falder, 29, was sentenced to 32 years in prison and will only be eligible for parole in 2038 if he is deemed not dangerous, reports Sky News.

Falder admitted to committing 137 crimes over an eight-year period. These include encouraging rape, sexually exploiting children, blackmail, and voyeurism.

The research physicist and Cambridge University graduate committed all of his crimes online. He used his technological skills to hide behind over 70 false identities, blackmailing various victims into various lewd acts in a spree described by Judge Philip Parker QC as "a tale of ever-increasing depravity."

"In more than 30 years of law enforcement I've never come across an offender whose sole motivation was to inflict such profound anguish and pain," said Matt Sutton, a senior investigating officer at the UK's National Crime Agency, CNN reports. "Matthew Falder reveled in it. His primary motivation was for power and control, suffering and humiliation. Believing he had superior intellectual and computational abilities, he was confident he could outwit law enforcement."

Birmingham Crown Court heard how Falder forced one father to rape and torture his 2-year-old son also made a young girl lick a toilet seat and eat dog food. Three of those he forced into sending humiliating images attempted suicide.

"You wanted to assume total control over your victims," Judge Philip Parker QC told Falder in court. "Your behavior was cunning, persistent, manipulative and cruel. The damage you did is ongoing and will never end. Victims know those images still exist on the computers of unknown people."

Prosecutor Ruona Iguyovwe told the court Falder showed "no shred of sympathy," even when his victims told him they were contemplating killing themselves.

Instead, he would respond by reinforcing his demands.

Victims recalled how Falder posed as a depressed female artist called Liz, offering money for topless pictures.

He would then threaten to expose the photos if the victim did not send more explicit and humiliating pictures.

One man was even blackmailed into eating his feces and drinking urine.

"I was ashamed," another 15-year-old victim said, saying how he felt about the situation: 

Obviously you've heard what the pictures were like. They were awful. And I didn't want any of my friends to know that I wanted to do that. It was all online, through the internet. I felt that no one would understand because there was no one there holding a knife to me saying 'you will do this', even though it felt like that. I don't talk to my family anymore at all because, for me, I felt that they wouldn't understand and didn't understand what had happened to me.

A teacher who was killed during the Feb. 14 Florida high school massacre in Florida left his fiancee funeral instructions in case a school shooting ever claimed his life.

Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School geography teacher Scott Beigel, 35, brought up the subject while watching coverage of a previous school shooting on television, reports the New York Post.

"Promise me if this ever happens to me, you will tell them the truth -- tell them what a jerk I am," Beigel told his fiancee, Gwen Gossler. "Don't talk about the hero stuff."

In a touching tribute, Gossler recalled the conversation on Feb. 18, the day of Beigel's funeral, Fox 8 reports.

"Ok, Scott," said Gossler at Beigel's funeral. "I did what you asked. Now I can tell the truth. You are an amazingly special person. You are my first love and soul mate."

Beigel was one of 17 people shot and killed at the high school.

The teacher was reportedely trying to protect his students, unlocking his classroom door to let them before attempting to lock it again. Beigel died in the process.

"When he opened the door, he had to re-lock it so we could stay safe, but he didn't get the chance to," said Kelsey Friend, one of Beigel's students, reports the Sun-Sentinel. "He was in the doorway and the door was still open and the shooter probably didn’t know we were in there because he was lying on the floor. If the shooter had come in the room, I probably wouldn't be [alive]."

Loved ones are now paying tribute to Beigel.

"Mr. Beigel was my hero and he still will forever be my hero," Kelsey added. "I will never forget the actions that he took for me and for fellow students in the classroom. I am alive today because of him."

"If I could see him right now...I'd give him a huge teddy bear to say thank you," she said. "But, unfortunately, I can't do that."

Beigel also worked as a counselor at Camp Starlight in Pennsylvania, a place that praised him as a "friend and hero" on Facebook.

At his funeral, Beigel's father said his son had always been a hero.

"I don’t want Scott's memory to be the horrific moment on that afternoon," said his father, Michael Schulman, Newsday reports. "Scott's heroism was not that instant. Scott's heroism was his entire life."

"The pride and the love and the admiration that I have for my son, there are no words," added Beigel's mother, Linda. "He is so humble, and he never knew the value he had in everybody's life. The school knows he was always committed to whatever it was that he was doing."

A Louisiana grandmother may very well have saved a police officer's life after she jumped on a suspect while he reached for the officer's gun (video below).

Vickie Williams-Tillman, 56, was on her way to the store to buy essentials for a Sunday meal when she noticed an officer and a suspect arguing with each other on the sidewalk, People reported.

Williams-Tillman stopped her vehicle and saw the suspect attack the officer.

"They began tussling on the other side of the car," Williams-Tillman told People. "It didn’t look good."

Williams-Tillman, who is a mother-of-three and grandmother-of-four, called 911.

"But that wasn’t enough," she said. "I thought, 'They’re not going to make it in time.' There was just a small amount of time before something could have happened."

The officer was identified as 44-year-old Billy Aime. Baton Rouge Police Department spokesman Sergeant L’Jean McKneely said Aime found drugs in 28-year-old Thomas Bennett's vehicle during a traffic stop. He said Bennett became aggressive after Aime attempted to handcuff him.

Bennett allegedly grabbed Aime's baton and struck him repeatedly over the head, McKneely said. Williams-Tillman intervened shortly after.

"I put the window down and I asked, 'You got it?'" Williams-Tillman recalled, adding that the officer mouthed the word "no." "The officer and I just locked eyes. I will never forget the look in his eyes. His eyes said, 'Help me.'"

The grandmother, who is only 5-feet 2-inches tall, then "jumped out of her vehicle and onto [the] back of the assailant," police said.

"It was just instinct," Williams-Tillman said. "God led the way."

Williams-Tillman said the suspect was reaching for Aime's gun.

"They both had their hands on the gun to see who would get it first, so I twisted the suspect’s arm," the grandmother explained. "Then we were all falling. I didn’t let go of his arm until we all fell. My tennis shoe came off in all of this, too."

Williams-Tillman said she left the altercation with some bruises, but added, "I’m a big girl. I’m a strong woman. It didn’t matter at the time." She said the officer "was banged up pretty bad."

Other officers arrived at the scene and subdued Bennett with a stun gun. He was arrested and charged with battery on a police officer, aggravated battery, disarming a police officer, resisting an officer with violence, possession of cocaine and possession of drug paraphernalia, police said.

Williams-Tillman said she and Aime hugged each other after the altercation.

"All these emotions came out," she said. "It was like we already knew each other."

"But my oldest daughter started crying, saying, 'What if you didn’t make it back to us?'" Williams-Tillman added. "I didn’t fear anything. There was no time to fear. I just walked in the path God had for me."

Several social media users praised Williams-Tillman for her bravery.

"So Awesome when a heart is full of Love and at Peace it makes the best focused warrior," wrote one Facebook user.

"Go Grandma and God Bless you!" wrote another. "I probably would have stopped but got my assets kicked too. Amen."

"Any car that didn't stop to help this man needs some help," added another user. "u have no soul if u don't stop to help someone in a spot like that. u would want someone to stop for u if u were in a spot like this."

Some social media users are calling President Donald Trump "tone-deaf" after he gave a thumbs up while taking pictures with the first responders of the Florida school shooting.

The photo was taken on Feb. 16, just two days after the Parkland school shooting that took 17 lives, HuffPost reported. Trump paid a visit to first responders at the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.

The photo was shared on Twitter by Washington Post reporter Mark Berman.

"The president's new Twitter banner is a photo of him smiling and giving a thumbs up while meeting tonight with police officers who responded to the massacre of 17 people, most of them students, at a high school in Parkland," Berman tweeted.

Several social media users found the photo disturbing, and accused the president of lacking empathy and compassion. Some even went as far as to calling Trump a sociopath.

"Smiling and thumbs up?" asked one Twitter user. "Most of us have been distraught about what happened (and keeps happening)."

"Here’s Trump’s new header pic. He’s meeting with Florida police about the Parkland shooting and giving a thumbs up like he’s at the grand opening of a car lot," wrote another.

"You disgusting, emotionless, phony person," added another. "To give a thumbs up like you just had a great dinner. No empathy. Disgusting. Go away."

"I would like to be able to say I’m appalled but with this sociopath I’m not at all surprised," wrote another user.

Debate about the photo op spread to Facebook after an account celebrating former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton posted a photo of former President Barack Obama after the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting for a side-by-side comparison.

Reactions were mixed among social media users, with some attempting to defend Trump.

"So it's wrong to show support to our first [responders]?" asked one Facebook user.

"He's not showing them support. He's taking a photo-op, with that famous Cheetos grin and the stupid thumbs up," responded another. "Really what fool does a thumbs up after a massacre?"

"I think the thumbs up is him saying good job to the police station and all the cops who did a good job on that day," wrote another user. "I mean they did do a good job."

One user argued that both photos are just fine.

"Obama was mourning the deaths of children, showing compassion to lead. Trump was congratulating first responders, showing strength to lead," wrote the observer. "There's nothing wrong with either of them…"

A petition has been started to give one Parkland hero a military burial.

Peter Wang, 15, died while holding the door open for his fellow classmates at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School so that they might escape the gunfire, the Sun-Sentinel reported. The freshman was wearing his Junior ROTC uniform at the time.

"He is so funny, caring and selfless," Peter's cousin, Lin Chen, 24, told the Sun-Sentinel. She said she was not surprised when she learned what he had done.

"He is so brave. He is the person who is genuinely kind to everyone," Chen said of Peter, who was hoping to attend West Point one day. "He doesn’t care about popularity. He always liked to cheer people up. He is like the big brother everyone wished they had."

Peter had two younger brothers, 5 and 11. His parents own a restaurant in Pompano Beach. They were too upset to talk.

"I feel the family can never be the same," Chen said, adding that the family had planned to celebrate Chinese New Year's eve together the day after the shooting.

Peter previously attended PenTab Academy in Miami Gardens from pre-kindergarten to second grade. Barbara Sharpe, the principal of that school, was devastated by the news of his death.

"He was a sweet, loving child … very eager to learn," Sharpe said, adding that the school's staff became close with the family because they owned a restaurant across the street.

"His parents were very supportive and involved in his education," Sharpe continued. "We still have pictures of him at our school. Our heart is hurting. We were devastated when we saw the name."

A petition has now been started calling for the government to give a full-honors military funeral to Peter for his courageous actions:

Peter Wang, 15, was one of the students killed in Florida this past week. He was a Jrotc Cadet who was last seen, in uniform, holding doors open and thus allowing other students, teachers, and staff to flee to safety. Wang was killed in the process. His selfless and heroic actions have led to the survival of dozens in the area. Wang died a hero, and deserves to be treated as such, and deserves a full honors military burial.

The petition has garnered more than 49,000 signatures since it was posted on Feb. 16. It needs 100,000 signatures by March 18 to get an official response from the White House.

As an after effect of the mass killing in a Florida high school, the sales of bullet proof bags for kids soar to new heights.

The number of school massacres have grown widely in the nation, and some companies have taken it upon themselves to provide children with necessary equipments so as to save their lives in times of grave danger -- such as a lethal shooting rampage, like what happened in Florida when an ex-student began firing at his old high school and took out 17 people with an AR-15 rifle, reports The New York Times.

A company has created an everyday necessity as a weapon of protect against armed criminals, the backpack. The company also claims that this backpack will enable students to stop various kinds of ammunition from harming them.

According to ABC 13, the backpacks are already selling out.

According to several reports, the parents of students are terrified of such incidents and are spending cash on such bullet proof backpacks.

According to TMZ, Massachusetts-based company Bullet Blocker sells fortified bags for a hefty amount, ranging from about $200 to $500. The company says it has seen a 30 percent spike in the rates of sales ever since the Parkland massacre in Florida.  People are scared.

On Thursday alone, the company reportedly sold 500-plus bags, and the majority were headed to Florida, said owner Joe Curran, according to the New York Post. On the company website, Curran is described as “a real-life father who wanted to do all that he could to protect his two school-aged children after witnessing the horror of the Virginia Tech massacre.”

A Seabrook resident began to search for things to protect his children from such life-threatening occurrences. "I guess that's just the harsh reality of the world we live in today," said Nick Barnett after having seen a video from Florida’s shooting.

"It's still just kind of mind blowing that you even have to think about it," he added.

"Being how close they were to it and it's just no penetration, it's just really amazing. It really would make somebody feel very secure," said Tonnie Coleman, who works at the Central Spy Shop in northwest Houston. 

"You definitely can't put a price on your child's life. You do what you can to protect them, whether it be a bulletproof backpack or a helmet when they ride their bicycle," he continued.

One of the most popular backpacks offered by the manufacturer is their BulletBlocker NIJ IIIA, which is equipped with an anti-ballistic panel weighing in at around 20 ounces. They also claim that the bag is capable of stopping .357 and .44 Magnum rounds, 9 mm bullets and .45-caliber hollow-point ammo, as well as much more.

The president of Guard Dog Security, Yasir Sheikh, said that his company was not by any means flourishing on the parents' fears.

“It’s not as foreign anymore,” Sheikh told a local news outlet. “A few years ago, people would kind of frown at bulletproof backpacks, but people have accepted the idea.”

The company also caters to adult customers who are ready to pay a hefty amount with their luxury bulletproof item selection, which reportedly includes: a $3,100 Gucci diaper bag, a $3,200 Gucci jacket, a $5,225 Hermes bag and a $5,895 Armani suit.

A clip of a magician appearing to saw his baby daughter in half has gone viral, sparking a debate about how the trick may have been pulled off (video below).

According to the Daily Mail, magician Justin Flom shared a video to the "The Magic Show" Facebook page showing his baby calmly laying down before he splits her body in two.

The father placed two books down to separate his daughter's upper half from her lower half before pulling her legs away from her body.

Flom placed his daughter's body back together before picking her up and giving her a kiss while she smiled back at him.

The video quickly went viral, garnering more than 143 million views in less than a month.

Viewers immediately began speculating on how the trick may have been pulled off.

A common theory is that a mirror was cleverly placed on the bottom half of the table on which his daughter was laying, concealing the real bottom half of her body. Some suggested that there may be an area built into the table to hold the baby girl's body while her upper half stays above the surface.

"There's a mirror under the table that makes it seems like it's empty, but sadly there's a dip or hole where the babies legs are Look closely and you'll see light reflect off the mirror when the camera pans down," one viewer commented.

"At the end you can se her legs were tucked in the special table," another user added. "And both times it went either out of frame or his leg was covering it when he switched."

Some suggested the video was simply cleverly edited.

"Actually it's just amazing photo editing skills nothing to do with under the table," one viewer wrote. "And when the baby is put back together they take the books off which are hollowed around the body, notice you don't see the books going on or off cause it's out of the camera lol."

Others pointed out that the books appear to be magnetic.

"That's awesome but when he brings the two halves together you can see the books magnetically snap back together," a user noted. "Watch it again and just look when he puts her back together lol know it's just for fun but that one moment when the 2 magnets come together needs to be a little more smooth. I still have no clue how this was done lol."

A Pennsylvania couple admitted to starving their three young children more than a year after the children were found days away from death in their home.

According to the Daily Mail, Joshua and Brandi Weyant were arrested in December 2016 after an anonymous tip was submitted to police claiming that the couple were abusing their children.

The couple's two daughters, ages 4 and 5, and their 6-year-old son, were found emaciated in their home. They were all reportedly covered in filth and weighed under 30 pounds.

On Feb. 15, the parents pleaded guilty to aggravated assault, endangering the welfare of children, false imprisonment, and conspiracy. Both are said to be facing a minimum of 10 years in prison.

The children were reportedly found covered in bruises and abrasions, and were living in a dirty, locked room. They all had lice and were covered in human urine and feces, as well as animal hair.

Prosecutors said following the couple's arrest that the parents decided they no longer wanted to look after their children, so they locked them in a room in their home and starved them.

After the children were found, they were taken to a doctor, who said that they were just days away from death when they were rescued from the home.

"They looked like they had walked out of a concentration camp," said Chief Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Gettle.

The children were so thin when they were found that doctors could see their bones through their skin.

After being rescued from the home, the children were all taken into foster care.

In February 2017, Penn Live reported that the children were "thriving" after police became involved. Gettle said that the children all doubled in weight just months after being found.

After being arrested, Brandi and Joshua reportedly gave confused statements to police. The mother told investigators that none of the children were hers or Joshua's biologically. However, neighbors who were interviewed told police that she was in fact the mother.

Gettle said that the prosecution has photos showing the horrific condition inside the family's home, particularly the room in which the children were kept.

"I know that there have been pictures out in the media that show a room with lots of things, but the reality was the room police found that day was completely empty," she said. "There were no beds in the room. There were no toys in that room. The only thing was the paint peeling off the walls."

The children told police that they were locked in the room with no heat for long periods of time, even in freezing weather, and that they were violently assaulted by their parents.

According to the authorities, the parents of a child who was last seen at around March of 2015 have been arrested for the charges of murder and child endangerment which eventually led to death.

On Valentine's day, Omar Misael Lopez, 33, and Mayra Alejandra Chavez, 26, were arrested for suspicion of murder.

The police said that the two were in custody on civil arrest warrants since October 2017 because they had failed to provide any information on the whereabouts of their 3-year-old child.

The toddler, Kimberly Lopez, was last seen with Omar by social workers, who had the guardianship of the child, reports the Daily Mail. Chavez was only allowed to visit Kimberly with the supervision of Omar, and also that of the child's mother, Maria Lopez.

Oxnard police officials stated that child services did not look into Kimberly’s well-being until the July 2016, when someone had contacted them with ‘concerning’ information.

The toddler’s parents reportedly ignored the questions of the police regarding their daughter several times, and told them that she was allegedly in Mexico living with her family.

Kimberly was then reported missing in October of 2016 by the Ventura County Children and Family Services after Omar and Chavez were not able to provide any reasonable answer or provide proof of their daughter’s whereabouts.

The parents had told the police that their daughter was well the last time that they had seen her, but after spending months in jail, they changed their story.

In a court declaration, Oxnard Detective Scott Aaron said that in August of 2016, Omar had told the investigators the 3-year-old had hurt her head while he was trying to change her pants.

Both Omar and Chavez did nothing about the trauma their daughter had faced and did not seek any medical help whatsoever for their injured baby. According to them, Kimberly had two seizures after she had hurt her head.

As per a statement by Aaron, the parents allegedly told the investigators that their daughter did not survive one night, and died on the same evening. After, they are said to have driven the body to Tijuana.

Although Kimberly’s remains had not yet been found, the presence of human decomposition has been found in the back of the vehicle by detection dogs.

With the help of several interviews with family members and friends, the authorities now believe that Omar and Chavez were the ‘key’ to locating the toddler.

The authorities have also come to the conclusion that the child was killed in June of 2015, very shortly after the child turned 3, as reported by Ventura County Star, according to the Daily Mail.

The investigators believe that Kimberly was ‘placed in a situation that resulted in her death’ and her parents were responsible for it.

Authorities reported that Omar is additionally facing a torture charge for child abuse inflicted by him in 2013. His bond was set at over $6 million, according to the Daily Mail. Each are set to receive over 40 years in prison if convicted for these crimes. 

A woman in Brazil is believed to have been buried alive mistakenly and allegedly lay conscious inside of her coffin for over 11 days before she eventually fought her way back out of the tomb.

Rosangela Almeida dos Santos, 37, is said to have desperately tried to escape her wooden coffin which had been nailed shut after her burial -- although she was still alive.

By the time the family members came to find about reports of hearing of screams coming from her grave, Rosangela had already died; they reportedly smashed open her tomb to find she'd died trying to escape.

Shocking footage was released showing the commotion that took place in the Senhora Santana cemetery in Riachao das Neves, which is in northeastern Brazil, as local men of the town brought out the heavy coffin and removed its lid.

Rosangela, who was a married lady, was mistakenly declared dead by the hospital on Jan. 28 and was buried the very next day.

After having taken her body out of the coffin, her family noticed that her body was still warm and the cotton wool that was placed in her ears and nostrils had come out. There were also several injuries on her body which had not been there at the time of the burial.

She was admitted to the Hospital do Oeste in Barreiras in the state of Bahia, Brazil, where she was declared dead due to ‘septic shock.’

Housewife Natalina Silva told Brazil's G1 website that many people had heard subdued screams coming from the tomb during the night.

'When I got there right in front of the tomb, I heard banging from inside it. I thought the kids who play around the cemetery were playing a joke on me,’ she said.

'Then I heard her groan twice, and after those two groans she stopped.'

Germana de Almeida, 66, the mother of Rosangela, said that they found injuries on her body which had not been there at the time of her burial.

Germana said, 'She had tried to open the lid, even the nails that had been hammered in were loose. Her hands were injured, like she had been trying to get out.'

Ana Francisco Dias, who lives near the cemetery, reported to Brazil's Globo TV station: 'There were [more] than 500 people who came here and packed the cemetery, everybody went to see, lots of people touched her foot and everybody saw that she was still warm. She wasn't cold.'

'We don't want to accuse any doctor, we don't want to cause any problems, but we witnessed that situation, there's just no way a person can be buried for 11 days and still be warm,’ said Rosangela’s sister, Isamara Almeida.

The leading official of the investigation, Police Chief Arnaldo Monte, said: 'We have today started to take statements from family members and other people.

'If need be we will exhume Ms Santos’ body again so we can get to the bottom of what really happened.'

A spokesman for the Hospital de Oeste, which had declared her dead, said they 'will provide all necessary information requested from them to the family and authorities.'

President Donald Trump reportedly set a new record for the longest span of time a president has gone without conducting a formal press conference in 50 years.

Trump's first press conference as president came three weeks after he was inaugurated -- during which he criticized the media as "fake news" and asked an African-American reporter whether she was friends with the Congressional Black Caucus, the Daily Beast reported.

A year later, that press conference remains the only one that Trump has held since taking office.

"The president and his administration have been one of the accessible administrations," Lindsay Walters, White House deputy press secretary, told the Daily Beast. "The president frequently holds impromptu gaggles, takes questions from the pool and engages daily with the American people."

Trump, the Daily Beast reported, has engaged in short, sometimes random conversations with the press over the past year, but has not held a formal press conference since his first one after taking office.

"There’s value in those nontraditional exchanges," Bloomberg correspondent and White House Correspondents' Association President Margaret Talev said. "But we also really encourage this president, and any American president, to hold open, normal news conferences, because they are of real value to the American public."

Meanwhile, Trump has garnered continued criticism for his inaction following the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, on Feb. 14, as well as his decision to seemingly blame the students and faculty at the school for the shooting.

"So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior. Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again," Trump tweeted following the attack, Fortune reported.

Reports had been filed against alleged shooter Nikolas Cruz by at least one person who contacted the FBI about his behavior before the shooting.

Trump's criticism sparked backlash from people who felt he was being hypocritical considering his rollback of Obama-era regulations that had made it harder for mentally ill people to purchase firearms.

"We really need to look at the big picture," National Alliance on Mental Illness Senior Policy Advisor Ron Honberg told Time about support from Washington for mental health problems in the country. "When you start peeling back the component parts, I can’t say that there’s been wholesale support."

Honberg added that Trump and other politicians' habit of "using mental illness as a political football in the aftermath of tragedies" often "hurts" the conversation.

Late night host Jimmy Kimmel slammed President Donald Trump in his opening monologue when addressing the mass shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida (video below).

In a clip of the monologue, Kimmel becomes emotional when talking about the events that took place at the school.

"As I'm sure you know and feel, this is another very sad day in America," the "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" host says. "At least 17 lives have been lost. More than a dozen people are hospitalized, and our president, as he should, weighed in on the tragic events this morning from the White House."

Kimmel then shows a few clips of Trump's statement from the White House following the shooting, stopping at several moments to say he agrees with the sentiments before offering advice on what to do to change the culture of mass shootings in the country.

"Here's what you do to fix that. Tell your buddies in Congress -- tell Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell and Marco Rubio, all the family men who care so much about their communities -- that what we need are laws. Real laws that do everything possible to keep assault rifles out of the hands of people who are going to shoot our kids," Kimmel says.

"Tell these Congressmen and lobbyists, who infest that swamp you said you were going to drain, force these allegedly Christian men and women who stuff their pockets with money from the NRA year after year after year to do something."

Kimmel then pleads with Trump to do something, slamming him for having "done nothing" to influence change in gun laws and restrictions.

Many viewers agreed with Kimmel's stance on the issue, and criticized Trump for his lack of action.

"They dont want to talk about it now, its too early for the victims and their families, it was not too early when that muslim immigrant ploughed through streets with a car to talk about immigration bans though," one viewer commented on CNN's Facebook page.

"When your elected officials are getting 'contributions' in the millions democrat and republicans ... what do you think is going to happen the same thing that happened after the last mass shooting and the next one that's coming on the horizon ... Nothing," another added.

Meanwhile, several survivors of the shooting have begun to speak out -- including David Hogg, whose sister lost friends in the massacre.

"Sadly, my sister, she’s a freshman and she had two of her best friends die. And that’s not acceptable. That is something we should not let happen in this country, especially when we’re going to school. It’s something we really need to take a look at. The fact that this is the 18th school shooting, and this is only February, it’s a testament to where this country has come, and how far," Hogg told CNN's Alisyn Camerota, Uproxx reported.

"We need to dig out of this hole. We need to step out of it and take a look back and realize, there is something seriously wrong here. And some of our policy makers, and some people need to look in the mirror and take some action. Because ideas are great, but ideas stay ideas and children die."

Former President Barack Obama called for "common-sense gun safety laws" in light of the Parkland, Florida Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting that claimed 17 lives on Feb. 14.

"We are grieving with Parkland," Obama began. "'But we are not powerless. Caring for our kids is our first job. And until we can honestly say that we're doing enough to keep them safe from harm, including long overdue, common-sense gun safety laws that most Americans want, then we have to change."

It's just one of many times Obama has publicly spoken out in support of stricter gun laws. He calls the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut, in which 20 first-graders and six school staffers were shot to death in December 2012, the worst day of his presidency.

Former White House photographer Pete Souza remembers the moment Obama first learned about the Sandy Hook shooting, saying he saw "the energy just zap out of the president".

"I think he was thinking of this not only as a president but imagining what it must be like as a parent," Souza said, reports Business Insider.

"The horror of sending your six-year-old kid off to school, you put [them] on the school bus, and you never see them again because some crazy guy shot them to death, point-blank, at their school," he added.

The shooting continued to leave an impact almost half a decade later. In January 2016, Obama famously wiped away tears while talking about the shooting.

"Every time I think of those kids, it gets me mad," Obama said then, reports the Daily Mail.

The former president's response to the latest shooting contrasts the current commander in chief's.

President Donald Trump did not mention guns, but rather called the attack an example of  "terrible violence, hatred and evil" and called for a change in the "culture."

"We must also work together to create a culture in our country that embraces the dignity of life, that creates deep and meaningful human connections, and that turns classmates and colleagues into friends and neighbors," President Trump said in an official White House statement, later tweeting that the shooter was "mentally disturbed".

Other leading Republicans also refused to blame gun laws.

"There's more questions than answers at this stage," Republican House Speaker Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin said, Reuters reports. "I don't think that means you then roll that conversation into taking away citizens' rights -- taking away a law-abiding citizen's rights. Obviously this conversation typically goes there. Right now, I think we need to take a breath and collect the facts."

People are praising a Californian airport deputy and agent for potentially saving two girls from human trafficking.

Traffickers persuaded two teenagers to fly to New York, but their plans went awry thanks to Denice Miracle, a Sacramento International Airport American Airlines agent, reports Fox 40.

On Aug. 31, the girls, ages 15 and 17,  approached Miracle with reservations made on a fraudulent credit card. Neither had booked a return flight home nor had identification on them.

"I think the way they kept looking back-and-forth at each other like they weren't really sure," Miracle recalls of the moment she grew suspicious, reports KOVR. "And then they were texting someone on the phone and that person was giving them answers."

"It was a first-class ticket; it was very expensive," she added. "I told a supervisor go to [tell] the sheriff that it just doesn't feel right. It just didn't feel right."

So Miracle alerted Todd Sanderson, sheriff's deputy at the Sacramento International Airport, who later questioned the girls. 

"They had told us they were talking to somebody on Instagram who was asking them to come back and take pictures, modeling pictures, and music videos," said Sanderson.

"That's typically the ruse that's being used to get minors and others involved to do that," he added.

At first, the girls didn't believe they had been tricked into a trafficking situation.

"They were somewhat flippant saying that no, that can't be true and I said, 'No, the airline says you have a one-way ticket,' and I said, 'It’s my belief you're going back there not to do the things you think you're going to do,'" Sanderson said. "And they said, 'I wouldn't let anything happen that I didn't want to.' And I said, 'Well, probably you wouldn't have a choice in the matter.'"

Thankfully, the girls eventually believed Sanderson. They were shaken but saved.

Afterward, authorities tried to look the man up, but it was too late.

"When we attempted to look him up on Instagram just a few minutes after contact he erased all of his profiles on social media," Sanderson said.

Sanderson notified the girls' parents after the event. They reportedly said they thought the girls were staying at the other's home and were shocked.

"I fully believe [Miracle] probably prevented these girls from becoming victims," said Sanderson.

"She probably really was their miracle that day whether they want to believe it or not," he added.

Actress and comedian Roseanne Barr criticized former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on ABC's Feb. 15 episode of "20/20." 

The 65-year-old Barr said President Donald Trump did a better job than Hallary Clinton at appealing to the average working-class American, reports

"He talked about jobs," she said. "That's what you need to do if you want working people to vote for you. Not Syrian airspace."

"I don't think Hillary talked about jobs much," Barr added. "She was always just talking about Syrian airspace. Do you think people in America care? Maybe they do, I didn't, though."

The actress continued, offering an explanation why her character on the revival of popular TV sitcom "Roseanne" will also be a Trump supporter like her.

"Trump offended half of America and [Hillary Clinton] offended the other half, so that's great for sitcoms," Barr said.

"It's great for comedy," she added. "We're lucky to have him as a president, it's great for comedy."

In the show, Barr will allegedly portray a grandmother who voted for Trump, getting into arguments with family members with different views at times as a result, reports The Hill.

Sara Gilbert, who plays one of Barr's daughters on the show, said the episodes show a family "divided by politics but still filled with love."

Barr is not the only celebrity to publicly speak out in support of President Trump.

"Happy Days" and "Joanie Loves Chachi" star Scott Baio praised Trump at the 2016 Republican National Convention, Variety reports.

"We need Donald Trump to fix this," he said then. "Is Donald Trump a messiah? No, he's just a man, a man who wants to give back to his country, America, the country that has given him everything. ... Hillary Clinton wants to be president for Hillary Clinton," added Baio. "Donald Trump wants to be president for all of us. So, of course, let's make America great again, but let's make America, America again."

Others echoed similar sentiments. "Cheers" and "Toy Story" star John Ratzenberger also praised Trump, reports Fox News.

"I want us to become self-reliant again," he said before the 2016 presidential election. "The only candidate out there is Donald Trump, for me, because he's a builder. He understands better than anybody that if we lose the people -- average age is 58 years old by the way of people that actually know how to build things -- once they're gone, they're gone and we don't have anybody comin' up behind them."

A Facebook post about a group of women who were total strangers coming to the aid of a helpless mother as her child was throwing a tantrum has gone viral.

The incident occurred at Los Angeles International Airport on Feb. 2. Beth Bornstein Dunnington took to Facebook to write about a heartwarming moment she said she won't soon forget, Sunny Skyz reported.

Dunnington said she was waiting to board her plane when she saw a young pregnant woman attempting to calm down her child, who appeared to be having a "meltdown." The child was reportedly running around, kicking and screaming and lying on the ground.

At one point, the child is said to have become so out of control that the mother buried her head into her hands and appeared to give up. That's when a group of total strangers -- all women -- intervened and lent a helping hand to the mother.

In a lengthy post, Dunnington wrote about the experience, and part of that post is below:

Then, this gorgeous thing (I'm crying just writing this)... the women in the terminal, there must have been six or seven of us, not women who knew each other, approached and surrounded her and the little boy and we knelt down and formed a circle around them. I sang 'The Itsy Bitsy Spider' to the little boy... one woman had an orange that she peeled, one woman had a little toy in her bag that she let the toddler play with, another woman gave the mom a bottle of water. Someone else helped the mom get the kid's sippy cup out of her bag and give it to him. It was so gorgeous, there was no discussion and no one knew anyone else, but we were able to calm them both down, and she got her child on the plane. Only women approached. After they went through the door we all went back to our separate seats and didn't talk about it... we were strangers, gathering to solve something. It occurred to me that a circle of women, with a mission, can save the world. I will never forget that moment.

Dunnington's post quickly went viral, garnering more than 51,000 likes in just two weeks. The post was also shared more than 15,000 times.

Several social media users commented on the photo.

"I am brought to tears! I invision a world ... The one we are becoming, where women gather always as needed every where, all the time time... PRN," wrote one Facebook user. "May this movement towards love and light and healing, occur more and more often in my world and in our world. Many Mahalos for sharing your beautiful story!"

"Thank you for sharing, I had goosebumps," wrote another reader.

"Are you kidding me!! That is so beautiful and not surprising at all that women would make this gesture without giving it a second thought!" added another user. "Women are the most thoughtful, amazing, people on this planet. Sadly under appreciated too.."

Footage of the Florida high school shooter shooting a BB gun in his backyard while wearing what appears to be a "Make America Great Again" hat has surfaced (video below).

The video shows Nikolas Cruz shirtless having target practice in his backyard, the Daily Mail reported. The footage was obtained by CNN, and was reportedly taken a few months before the Feb. 14th shooting that killed 17 students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

The weapon Cruz is seen using sounds like a BB gun. He also appears to be wearing President Donald Trump's signature "Make America Great Again" cap, although the footage is too blurry to confirm.

Cruz had posted several photos of guns on his Instagram account. In some photos, the suspect is seen posing with the guns and holding ammunition.

There has been no official motive tied to Cruz's shooting rampage. The 19-year-old was reportedly expelled from the school for behavioral issues, and was caught carrying bullet casings in his bag.

Cruz's former friend, Joshua Charo, 17, told the Daily Mail that Cruz would send him photos of guns and other weapons through Instagram and Snapchat.

"I knew him from freshman year to sophomore year,"' Joshua told the Daily Mail. "When we were inside of class, we would talk but when we were outside it, we wouldn't really hold a conversation.

"He usually liked to talk about hunting, guns, stuff like that -- that particular subject.

"He always showed people the guns he wanted to buy and he would always ask if they had any suggestions for which guns they thought would be better and stuff like that.

"He was studying marksmanship in [the U.S. Army Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps]."

Joshua added that Cruz was "a bit odd" and struggled to make friends and was having troubles getting a girlfriend.

It has since been revealed that Cruz purchased the AR-15 he used in the shooting legally, the New York Daily News reported.

"It was his gun," family lawyer Jim Lewis told the New York Daily News. "The family made him keep it in a locked gun cabinet in the house but he had a key."

Cruz also had smoke grenades and a gas mask, according to Florida Sen. Bill Nelson. It is not clear where the suspect obtained the grenades from.

During a brief statement from the White House, President Trump did not mention guns and instead focused on mental health.

"We are committed to working with state and local leaders to help secure our schools and tackle the difficult issue of mental health," the president said, according to NBC News. "It is not enough to simply take actions that make us feel like we are making a difference. We must actually make that difference."

Chris Waltz, the CEO of AR-15 Gun Owners of America, praised the president's response to the tragedy.

"The fact that the president didn't talk about rifles today ... that was good," Waltz said. "He's been, so far, the most outspoken president on gun issues, as far as supporting the Second Amendment."

A photo of an elderly man having Valentine's Day dinner with the ashes of his late wife has gone viral.

The photo was taken by Texas resident Chasidy Gwaltney, the Daily Mail reported. It shows an elderly man at a restaurant sitting across an urn presumably containing the ashes of his late wife.

The man appears to be in tears as he sits with a plate full of food and two glasses of wine. A Valentine's Day card can also be seen on the table, with the words "You & Me" inscribed on it.

Gwaltney shared the photo on Facebook to remind people to appreciate their loved ones while they still can:

You know? We are all guilty of taking our other half for granted from time to time. We may forget to give a goodbye kiss, say I love you or just be so caught up in what we are doing at the moment that we don't notice the very little things that mean so much to our special someone.

I saw something today that has made me remember that we won't always have each other to hold, talk to, love, play with or even just aggravate every now and then.

This picture speaks loudly and it may hurt your heart as it has mine. This man looks like he is spending Valentine's Day alone at first glance but that is actually his wife in that very beautiful bottle sitting on the table.

Apparently his love for her was and still is very strong as he takes her ashes out for a Valentine's lunch date together. He even bought her a glass of wine....

Please love your Sweetheart while you have the opportunity, you never know what tomorrow will bring or take away!

Happy Valentine's Day All!!!

The photo quickly went viral, being shared more than 400,000 times in just two days. Thousands of social media users commented on the photo. Most agreed with Gwaltney.

"That make me so sad!! We really do take our loved ones for granted sometimes!! So sad," wrote one user.

"So true. I woke up one morning to find my husband passed away," wrote another. "We got married on valentine's day and every since he passed away valentine's day has never been the same. Spend each day as if it's your last."

Other users were more skeptical.

"This is fake you guys. Look at the wine glass that's on the opposite side of the table some of it has been consumed," wrote one user. "Looks like somebody got in a fight and left."

"It clearly says ice bag with a bottle wrapped in something, not an urn. and there are two Valentine’s Day cards here," wrote another observer. "This women is looking for her five minutes of viral. Not to mention there are two plates on the other side one which appears to have a pickle on it."

The victims of the deadly shooting at a South Florida high school on Feb. 14 were revealed one day after the incident took place.

The victims of the shooting, which was reportedly carried out by 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, included both students and faculty at Marjory Douglas Stoneman High School in Parkland, Florida.

One of the victims, Jaime Guttenberg, died in the shooting and was honored on Facebook by having her profile changed to a memorial.

Another victim, 14-year-old Martin Duque, was a freshman at the high school and was memorialized by his brother, Miguel, on social media.

"Words can not describe my pain," Miguel Duque wrote. "I love brother Martin you’ll be missed buddy. I know you’re in a better place."

Nicholas Dworet, a 17-year-old senior who died in the shooting, was remembered by her friend Alex -- the niece of a local reporter who quoted her in a story.

"I don’t think it has sunken in yet that you are gone forever," Alex said, Business Insider reported. "My heart is in pieces after hearing this news."

"On February 14, we had class together earlier in the day. ‘See you tomorrow,’ you said as you walked out. But I won’t see you tomorrow, or next week, or next month. We walked into kindergarten together, so knowing that you won’t be walking across the stage at graduation with me in a few months is devastating and heartbreaking. Rest in peace and fly high Nick."

Carmen Schentrup, a 16-year-old student, was remembered by her cousin Matt Brandow in a Facebook post.

"With a very heavy heart, my beloved cousin Carmen just passed away in the Parkland high school shooting today," Brandow wrote.

"Rest In Peace Carmen, you were the smartest and most intelligible 16 year old I’ve ever met! You will be remembered forever."

Another student who died in the shooting was Meadow Pollack, an 18-year-old who was first reported missing before being confirmed as one of the dead. Her family, Business Insider reported, was initially concerned because she wasn't answering her phone.

Geography teacher Scott Beigel also died in the shooting, and was trying to save students when he was shot.

"When he opened the door, he had to relock it so that we could stay safe, but he didn’t get the chance," student Kelsey Friend told CNN, Business Insider reported.

"Thank you for bringing and having this amazing person in life and giving him the power to be stronger than I could have ever been."

Football coach Aaron Feis also died in the incident. Feis was a security guard who had been coaching for the school since 2002.

The school's athletic director, 49-year-old Chris Hixon, was also killed in the shooting -- and remembered as a "super human being, the kind of person who would do anything for anyone," according to the Sun-Sentinel.

Other victims of the attack who were injured include Ben Wikander, a student who was shot three times and taken to surgery at a hospital near the school. Maddy Wilford, a student and basketball player at the school, was also shot a number of times and had to undergo three surgeries as of the morning after the shooting.

Several people remain missing following the attack, Business Insider reported.

Nikolas Cruz, the alleged gunman, who was captured alive and arrested, reportedly "threatened to bring the guns to school multiple times" and "threw jokes around that he'd be the one to shoot up the school," senior Eddie Bonilla told NBC News.

A 6-year-old girl, who is afflicted with a genetic disorder which make her hair untamable and is so rare that only 100 people worldwide have it, is being compared to the scientific genius Albert Einstein.

Little Charleigh Sayor, who has a genetic disease called the uncombable hair syndrome, has only ever had a haircut once in her lifetime because her frizzy white-blonde locks grow very slow, reports the Daily Mail.

Michigan resident and the child's mother, Lisa Parsons, 44, says: ‘People always want to ask about her hair, or touch it. It looks rough and wiry, but it's not.

'They tell her she looks like Albert Einstein, who actually had uncombable hair syndrome too.

'Charleigh is so proud of it, though. She tells everyone she has magic hair that grows in the sun.'

Lisa's son, Daniel, 24, said that Charleigh was born virtually bald. She only showed any sign of hair growth when she turned 1.

Lisa also confessed to having been stopped in the streets by people asking whether she had crimped her daughter’s hair, since it had such a fuzzy appearance.

As Charleigh grew older, her hair proved to become unruly and unmanageable. The schoolgirl’s locks eventually grew out to become gravity defying and took the form that they are in today.

'Nobody had any clue where it'd come from,' said Lisa. 'I'd never heard of uncombable hair syndrome. I just told Charleigh her hair was special, beautiful and unique.'

In 2017, while on an unplanned trip to Ohio, Lisa and Charleigh spotted a girl with very similar hair, which appeared unruly and untamable.

Lisa then took a photo with the random girl, and posted it on Facebook.

'I joked that the girl was exactly what Charleigh would look like when she was older,' she continued.

'Loads of people began to comment underneath, posting links to articles about uncombable hair syndrome.

'As soon as I read about it, I knew that's what Charleigh had.'

In August 2017, Lisa and Charleigh visited a dermatologist, who offered some pills for the child to grow her hair out, but she said she didn't want them.

'She loves it, she calls it her crazy hair,' Lisa, a big smile spread on her face. 'Now it's just past her neck, it's long enough to put into short pigtails, but mostly, Charleigh likes to wear it down and show it off.'

Lisa also said that Charleigh does not have any specific hair care routine.

'It can tangle a lot where she rubs it against the pillow,' said Lisa. 'It used to be slightly shorter at the back, where it was brittle and broke off.

'Now, though, we use lots of conditioner to keep it healthy.'

Lisa has also contacted other families who have the same syndrome, now that she knows exactly what her daughter has.

She continued: 'It's remarkable -- all the kids I've seen with uncombable hair look exactly alike. They have the same white blonde color and sticky up texture.

'I do, occasionally, have people looking at me funny, as if to say, 'Does she even comb her daughter's hair?' But I do, then 10 minutes later it's tangled again.

'Thankfully, Charleigh has never been teased, but I always make sure I remind her of how special she is, and tell her to be proud of her beautiful hair.'

On Feb. 14, Florida witnessed a tragic day when just before 3 p.m. Eastern Time at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, a school shooter opened fire. This incident led to the killing of over a dozen people.

Although the suspected shooter has now been handed over to the police for proper investigation and punishment, this tragedy highlights a much deeper issue -- gun violence. A lot of people have taken to their social media accounts to denounce the shooting and call in for better gun protection and control laws.

Fashion mogul Kim Kardashian also took to her Twitter, only hours of the incident, and called for a gun control reform.

On Wednesday evening, the reality television star posted a message on her Twitter which has made a huge impact among her fans and the media. She begged for Congress to impose legislation that would "protect Americans from senseless gun violence."

She further added that it takes action and not just prayers to incite gun control. Her tweet had garnered over 100,000 retweets in only two and a half hours. 

"We owe it to our children and our teachers to keep them safe while at school. Prayers won't do this: action will. Congress, please do your job and protect Americans from senseless gun violence."

She posted this only an hour after Broward County Sheriff Scott Israel’s office had confirmed 17 fatalities through a Twitter post. And, according to CNN, the investigators are leaning toward the belief that the shooter triggered the fire alarm in order for the people to come out of the classrooms. Most of them, however, reportedly quickly figured out it was a fake since there had been an official fire drill earlier that day.

The school posted a message on their Twitter account just after 3:30 p.m. to announce that the students and staff members at the high school had heard gunfire, and the students were now being dismissed.

The tweet read, "'Today, close to Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School’s dismissal, students and staff heard what sounded like gunfire. The school immediately went on lockdown but is now dismissing students. We are receiving reports of possible multiple injuries. Law enforcement is on site."

Footage has also been released from the incident which shows the students running away from the school while SWAT team members took their positions nearby.

CNN also said that the suspect is a former student of the school and had been earlier expelled due to "unspecified disciplinary reasons."

According to gun safety advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety, this was the 18th shooting which had occurred in a U.S. school in the year 2018.

Micheaql Skolnik wrote: "One shoe bomber tried to blow up a plane and now we are forced to take off our shoes.
1606 mass shootings since Sandy Hook Elementary School and Congress has done NOTHING."

Earlier this morning, the National Rifle Association re-tweeted a post from a gun manufacturer, encouraging people to buy their loved ones guns for #ValentinesDay 

Since the school shooting in Florida, the NRA deleted that tweet and has gone silent.

On a tragedy that befell Florida Feb. 14, a school shooter opened fire in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland killing more than a dozen

The suspected shooter was an ex-student of the school, and has now been detained and placed under police custody for further investigation as well as punishment.

Many people have a lot to say about this shooting, and so did President Donald Trump.

President Trump suggested that it was mental illness which led a 19-year-old -- who was reportedly orphaned twice -- to unleash this murderous attack with an assault rifle which led to the death of 17 people.

“So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior,” the president tweeted.

“Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again!” he added.

After the attack had taken place on Wednesday afternoon, President Trump shared his condolences and offered his prayers to the families of the victims, who lost their lives in the terrible shooting.

“No child, teacher or anyone else should ever feel unsafe in an American school,” tweeted the president.

The tweet  was not the first time that he had actually pointed fingers at mental illness in connection to mass shootings which have been occurring so frequently.

In November 2017, Donald Trump described a deadly and horrific shooting which took place in a church in Sutherland Springs, Texas, as a "mental health problem at the highest level," and absolutely not a "guns situation."

In that shooting, Devin Patrick Kelly, who was 26 years old at the time, killed about 26 people and had injured 20 others before he was finally shot by a civilian.

The killer had been prohibited from purchasing or even possessing an guns whatsoever because he had also been convicted for a case of domestic violence while he was a part of the U.S. Air Force.

President Donald Trump also raised the same argument of the mentally sick being the backdrop of these attacks after the Las Vegas shooting, which took place on October 2017. Stephen Paddock, 64, killed about 58 people and severely injured more than 850 by firing at concert goers at a music festival.

After the massacre had taken place, Donald Trump also questioned the shooter’s mental capacity and whether or not he was a stable human being by saying that he was a "sick, demented man" whose "wires are screwed up."

The president completed his message telling the reporters repeatedly that it was not the right time to talk about gun control.

McDonald's revealed that it will soon remove cheeseburgers and chocolate milk from its Happy Meal menu in an attempt to cut down on the amount of unhealthy food consumed by children, and some say it's a result of former first lady Michelle Obama's initiative to make children healthier.

According to WPVI, McDonald's announced the plan to remove the items from the Happy Meal menu, which the company hopes cut down on the amount of calories, sodium, saturated fat, and sugar consumed by children at its restaurants.

Customers will still be able to ask for cheeseburgers and chocolate milk with the kid's meal, but the company said that not having the items listed on the menu will reduce how often they are ordered.

Four years ago, in 2014, McDonald's removed soda from the Happy Meal menu and Happy Meal orders with soda fell 14 percent.

Parents and advocates have long criticized the fast food company for its contribution to childhood obesity. McDonald's has made a number of changes to their menu over the years to combat the issue, such as cutting down the size of its french fries portions and adding fruit to the menu. Recently, the company changed its apple juice to one with less sugar.

According to CNN, the company has been experimenting with new Happy Meal items around the world.

In Italy, the company recently released a grilled chicken sandwich, while locations in both France and Australia began exploring other vegetable and protein options.

Ernest Baskin, a professor of food marketing at Saint Joseph's University, said that the company is likely making the changes in order to both improve its image among parents and to reduce food costs.

"Kids do crave McDonald's, but parents might not always feel good about bringing them there," Baskin said. "By positioning their meals as healthier, McDonald's is likely attempting to make the decision easier for the parents."

McDonald's said that it is aiming for all of the Happy Meal options to have 600 or fewer calories and less than 650 milligrams of sodium. The company is also aiming to have less than 10 percent of each meal's calories come from saturated fat and added sugar.

The cheeseburger and chocolate milk on the Happy Meal menu did not meet those standards. The company reportedly hopes to have the chocolate milk back on the menu in the future, however, if it is able to cut sugar from the recipe. It is not clear when that will be.

In 2010, Michelle Obama launched the White House initiative "Let's Move!" in an effort to solve childhood obesity. The former first lady's program got kids more focused on physical exercise and promoted healthy eating in schools. The program sparked a nationwide conversation about what's healthy for kids, and some say that the recent move by McDonald's is a direct result of Michelle Obama's efforts.

McDonald's will reportedly be making other changes to the Happy Meal menu, as well. The six-piece chicken nugget Happy Meal will now come with a kids-sized fries instead of a small. Bottled water will also be added as an option on the menu, though it will cost extra.

Following a shooting at a Florida high school that left at least 17 dead, Chelsea Handler blamed Republicans for allowing such a shooting to happen.

On Feb. 14, at least 17 were killed when a 19-year-old opened fire at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

The shooting revived the debate over gun control, with millions of users on social media sharing their thoughts on the issue.

According to The Hill, comedian and former talk show host Chelsea Handler was one of many who tweeted about the issue and her stance stirred up controversy.

"We have to elect candidates that are not funded by the NRA in November," Handler tweeted. "We have an opportunity to elect candidates who won't allow kids to go to school and get shot. It is disgusting how many times this has happened and Republicans do nothing. You all have blood on your hands."

Others shared a similar opinion to Handler's. Bess Kalb, a writer for the "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" show, called out lawmakers for accepting money from the National Rifle Association following the school shooting.

"This is not a political issue," Kalb tweeted. "This is not a Constitutional debate. This is a pandemic that's killing children. And it's perpetrated by hypocrites who preach a doctrine of 'life' but take money from a profit-driven gun lobby."

Kalb then followed up by tweeting the amount of money lawmakers have received from the NRA. For example, Sen. Richard Burr reportedly received $6,986,620, while Sen. Roy Blunt received $4,551,146. Sen. Thom Tillis received $4,418,012, Sen. Cory Gradner received $3,879,064, and Sen. Marco Rubio received $3,303,355. Kalb continued to list a number of other lawmakers and the amount of money they have received.

According to CNN, police arrested suspect Nikolas Cruz, 19, following the shooting. He reportedly gunned down students and staff members with a rifle as he walked the halls of the high school and targeted groups of students huddled in classrooms.

Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie said that Cruz was once expelled from the high school due to disciplinary problems.

Cruz is now accused of committing one of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in modern U.S. history. He was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder, according to police.

In addition to the 17 killed in the shooting, at least 14 were injured and sent to local hospitals.

"This has been a day where we've seen the worst of humanity," Runcie said. "Tomorrow is gonna bring out the best in humanity as we come together to move forward from this unspeakable tragedy."

First lady Melania Trump sparked criticism on social media for not tweeting about her husband, President Donald Trump, on Valentine's Day.

She tweeted on the holiday while visiting the National Institute of Health's Children's Inn in Bethesda, Maryland -- but made no mention of the president or their marriage. During her visit, the first lady was pictured chatting with children at the center and helping them decorate cookies.

"Looking forward to a very sweet afternoon visiting @theChildrensInn & celebrating Valentine’s Day with some kids at @NIH! #HappyValentinesDay," she tweeted prior to her visit.

Social media users were quick to respond to the tweet, with many applauding her for not mentioning Donald Trump amid controversy surrounding an extramarital affair.

"Absolutely love that she doesn't even mention her husband," one Twitter user tweeted.

"Hey [Donald Trump] - this is what they call a totally deserved burn from wifey," another user tweeted.

"In our country, we traditionally spend this day with our spouses. Problems at home?" another joked.

The silence was intensified by romantic tweets and messages from other world leaders, including former President Barack Obama and his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, as well as Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

Despite the controversy, some defended Melania Trump's choice not to publicly acknowledge her husband on Valentine's Day.

"First thing that popped in my head was Melaina take your coat off and stay a while... why was she wearing a coat? No one else had one on... and as for her not wishing hubby a Happy Valentine's Day... who care does he deserve a Valentine's day shout out?? I would say no. Also, again why must people wish their spouse (who I am going to assume they live with) a Happy Valentine's Day or Happy Birthday or Happy Anniversary on social media??? It can only be for attention," one Daily Mail reader commented.

"Does the media REALLY need to continue these unwarranted, nasty, snarky attacks on their personal life???? This is absolutely ridiculous - they do not necessarily need to fawn all over each other as the obama's and clinton's do in order to feign they are a couple," another added.

Meanwhile, President Trump made headlines for an early morning response that followed the devastating mass shooting in Florida that took place on Valentine's Day -- questioning the behavior of the shooter that were virtually ignored by school officials and authorities, reports Time.

"So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior. Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again," the president tweeted.

A family's heartbreak over losing their dog prompted an FDA investigation -- and ultimately a recall -- of dog food after traces of a euthanasia drug were found in it.

Nikki Mael said she and her family were heartbroken over the loss of their dog Talula, who died after her five dogs ate Evanger's pet food and began convulsing.

"They were falling over. They were running into the walls. They were convulsing," Mael told ABC 7.

Vets told the woman that Talula wouldn't make it out of the ordeal alive, prompting the heartbroken family to begin searching for answers. They took the dog for a postmortem to see what killed her, and doctors found traces of pentobarbital -- a lethal drug that is commonly used to euthanize dogs -- in her system.

"Pet food violates federal law, is openly allowed by the FDA to violate federal law, billion dollar a year companies are making profit selling illegal adulterated products to unknowing consumers in the US every day," pet food consumer advocate Susan Thixton said.

ABC 7 conducted an investigation alongside Ellipse Analytics, a lab that tests food for potential contamination.

"I think you have a duty to understand what you’re selling to human beings and pets, and I think that the obligation is on you to understand what is, and is not, in your product," said the lab's founder, Kevin Hicks.

The investigation revealed that nine out of 15 cans of one particular dog food, Gravy Train, tested positive for pentobarbital. Gravy Train is produced by Big Heart Pet Foods, who also produces Meow Mix, Snausages and Jerky Treats.

Pentobarbital, ABC 7 reported, is illegal at any concentration in dog food, despite the fact that the levels detected during testing were deemed not lethal.

"It comes from euthanasia of animals using that euthanasia drug," Center for Canine Behavior Studies' chief scientific officer Nicholas Dodman said.

"So, these animals could be dogs, they could be cats, they could be horses -- but how is it getting into the pet food? If they say it doesn’t come from dogs, cats and horses where does it come from? It doesn’t come from outer space."

Smuckers, the company that owns Big Heart Pet Foods, issued a statement to ABC 7 following the station's investigation.

"We launched and are conducting a thorough investigation, including working closely with our suppliers, to determine the accuracy of these results and the methodology used," the company's statement read.

Following controversy surrounding the investigation, Smuckers announced a voluntary withdrawal of nearly all the dog food brands associated with pentobarbital, reports Fox News.

An Ohio sex offender has captured national attention after he flagged down police and admitted to abusing a child (video below).

In a video, 22-year-old Mark Fry can be heard sobbing while confessing to his crimes in July 2017, reports the Daily Mail.

"I'm sick," a shirtless Fry cries out to the officer.

"I understand that you're sick, but what did you do?," the officer asks in response.

"I hurt her," Fry is heard crying out referring to the 7-year-old victim still sitting in the back of Fry's car at the time he flagged down police.

"In a way somebody should never be hurt," he added, when police asked him how.

"She'll tell you about it," continued Fry.

It was then revealed Fry had raped the child after he took her from her home only a few hours prior.

Afterward, Fry frantically tried to turn himself into a police station.

"I pulled in here and stopped, he pulled in here and said, "Take me to jail ... I did something really bad,"' the officer says in the video, reports Fox 8.

Fry pleaded guilty to the child sex crimes and may receive a sentence of 35 years to life.

While prosecutors say Fry's case is rare, they noted there has been an increase in sex assault cases leading to indictment.

"What happened with Mark Fry is by far the exception to the rule," Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Jeff Schnatter said in a statement. "Obviously there's a lot of news about victims of sex offenses coming forward, so I think there's a feeling of safety to come forward."

While unusual, it's not the first time an individual has confessed to such a crime.

In Minnesota, a man from Michigan admitted to attempting to sexually assault a 7-year-old girl while staying as an Airbnb guest at her home, reports the Star Tribune.

Derrick Aaron Kinchen, 28, pleaded guilty to one count of attempted second-degree criminal sexual conduct of a victim under age 13.

Kinchen admitted to going to a wedding and returning drunk to the home around midnight.

About 15 minutes later, the father caught Kinchen in bed naked next to his daughter. Kinchen fled the home and fell asleep in a neighbor's boat until a police dog bit him and he was arrested.

Kinchen says all he remembers is drinking a lot, going to the bathroom, thinking he was going back to his room, and people yelling at him before he ran.

A Washington mother of two is accused of shooting her best friend dead after catching her in bed with her fiance.

Amy Brown, 36, was celebrating her birthday with her fiance, Brandon Fayard, and her best friend, 35-year-old Amanda Hill, in a camper at their house, reports the Tri-City Herald.

They reportedly had drinks while Brown's children played video games at home when Fayard left to go to sleep after midnight.

At that point, Hill told Brown she needed to use the restroom.

When twenty minutes passed and she still had not come back in, Brown went into the house and found Hill in bed with her fiance.

Brown reportedly yelled at them before going out onto the back porch to smoke.

She alleges Hill pushed her from behind, straddled her, grabbed her face, pushed it down, and attempt to put her hands around her throat.

Although she didn't fear for her life, Brown says she was able to free herself and ran to grab her gun, shooting Hill in the torso twice.

"[Brown] said she knew she didn't have to shoot her, but she did and she is sorry," Detective Scott Runge wrote in a probable cause affidavit.

After shooting her, Brown says she tried to help Hill by applying pressure to the wounds and yelling at Fayard to call 911.

Hill, the mother of a 13-year-old boy, died at the scene.

Brown is now being held on suspicion of second-degree murder or first-degree manslaughter. Her bail was set at $100,000.

"We're all a bit shocked right now," Hill's aunt, Pamela Grant, said. "We would just like justice. We're praying for [Brown's] family, as well."

News of the crime sparked debate on social media. Some sympathized with Brown.

"Temporary insanity," wrote one person in the Daily Mail's comments section. "I would not convict her."

"Don't condone whatsoever," wrote a second. "But the 2 people closest to her betrayed her. That can make a sane person lose it."

"Geez, she found them in bed together at her own birthday party," added another. "That's really low of them. I don't condone what she did but I get it."

Others even blamed the gun.

"If she didn't have a gun, she would be at home and her friend would still be alive," wrote one. "People do stupid things, give them a gun and stupid turns deadly."

However, others were less than compassionate toward Brown.

"Guilty," said one. "You can't shoot to kill without immediate fear of harm or death, or in the protection of another in immediate danger. And she actually went and got the gun, before coming back and murdering the other girl. Guilty."

On Feb. 14, a North Carolina man was charged with murder after his girlfriend's baby died.

Dylon James Kirkpatrick, 26, was initially arrested for abusing the baby on Feb. 9, reports The News & Observer.

He was charged with one count each of felony child abuse inflicting serious bodily injury and assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious bodily injury, Fox 8 reports.

Yet on Feb. 10, those turned into murder charges after the child passed away.

Two days before, deputies and emergency responders rushed to save the infant's life after receiving calls he was unresponsive.

The child was transported to Randolph Hospital before being taken to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Brenner Children's Hospital.

The next day, Kirkpatrick -- who is not biologically related to the infant -- was arrested and charged.

Kirkpatrick is now in jail with no bond.

It's not the first time a North Carolina resident has captured national attention for child abuse.

WAVY recently reported that public school teachers and principals in two North Carolina districts are legally allowed to hit their students as long as they have parental permission.

Graham and Robeson County public schools continue to beat misbehaving students, reportedly hitting 75 kids last school year.

"We've got more than 90 studies that show that there are negative effects [from the use of corporal punishment]," Tom Vitaglione, with the group "NC Child," said. "There's no studies showing a positive effect."

"[The law is] about as close as you can come to sanctioning child abuse," Vitaglione added.

Over the years, groups like Vitaglione's have fought hard to ban such practices in various other North Carolina districts -- and achieved success.

"We've been working one-by-one with local school systems across the state," Vitaglione explained

"We feel it's really important to try to break this cycle, and we're happy that it's happened in 113 of the school districts,"  he added. "We hope that the last two will come on board soon."

The districts' punishments have since sparked controversy, producing a diverse range of responses.

Asked to comment on the two districts, State Superintendent Mark Johnson echoed similar sentiments to Vitaglione's.

"While this is a local decision, we know that there are more effective and constructive ways of enhancing discipline and ensuring order than by using corporal punishment," he said.

"I didn't even know that," parent Ken Harris said while picking up his first-grade daughter from a school in one of the districts. "It seems like they might need a little reform there."

However, some support the districts' use of corporal punishment.

"I don't think there's anything wrong with it," one man said while he waited to pick up his fourth-grade grandchild. "When I came up as a young boy, we were punished when we did wrong."

A football coach at the Florida high school where a former student went on a shooting rampage that killed at least 17 people is being called a hero after he shielded students from the gunfire.

According to a social media post made by the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School football team, assistant coach Aaron Feis died while attempting to save students from the gunman, the Daily Mail reported.

"It is with Great sadness that our Football Family has learned about the death of Aaron Feis," the team wrote on Twitter. "He was our Assistant Football Coach and security guard. He selflessly shielded students from the shooter when he was shot. He died a hero and he will forever be in our hearts and memories."

Several other users commended the coach's bravery, while condemning the actions of the gunman, later identified as 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz.

"His name is Aaron Feis. Coaches are always protectors. Today he sacrificed his body for his students. Some heroes wear Gatorade towels over their shoulders," wrote one user, according to the Daily Mail.

"Rather than talk about the coward shooter, meet Aaron Feis, football coach & security guard at Marjory Stoneman Douglas HS," wrote another. "He stepped in front of many students to protect them from bullets. #hero #Parkland."

Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie said the school will be closed for the remainder of the week, CNN reported. Counseling will be provided to students and their families.

"This has been a day where we've seen the worst of humanity," Runcie said. "Tomorrow is gonna bring out the best in humanity as we come together to move forward from this unspeakable tragedy."

Runcie said Cruz had been expelled for unspecified disciplinary reasons. The suspect will appear in court on Feb. 15.

The identities of all 17 victims have not yet been released. They were transported to a total of three different local hospitals, Local 10 News reported.

Teacher Melissa Falkowski said the school has had recent active shooter training.

"We could not have been more prepared for this situation, which is what makes it so frustrating," Falkowski told CNN. "We did everything that we were supposed to do. Broward County Schools has prepared us for this situation and still to have so many casualties, at least for me, it's very emotional. Because I feel today like our government, our country has failed us and failed our kids and didn't keep us safe."

President Donald Trump took to Twitter later that evening to respond to the school shooting.

"My prayers and condolences to the families of the victims of the terrible Florida shooting," Trump tweeted. "No child, teacher or anyone else should ever feel unsafe in an American school."

"So many signs that the Florida shooter was mentally disturbed, even expelled from school for bad and erratic behavior," the president added on Feb. 15. "Neighbors and classmates knew he was a big problem. Must always report such instances to authorities, again and again!"

Photos of actress Lara Flynn Boyle drinking from a bottle of whiskey while sitting in the driver's seat of her car have surfaced online.

Boyle, 47, who is best known for her role in the hit TV series "Twin Peaks" in the 1990s, was photographed with her mouth on a bottle of Johnnie Walker Red Label while sitting in her car on Feb. 13, the Daily Mail reported.

The actress was not very discreet while taking a sip of the whiskey as she sat in the driver's seat of her car. Although she was donning a gray cap over her eyes, she did have the windows partially rolled down.

Boyle reportedly lit a cigarette before driving off.

Several social media users commented on the photos. While some appeared concerned for Boyle's well-being, others were not so considerate.

"It’s pretty evident that she has a serious health problem due to, presumed excessive alcohol consumption," wrote one user on the website Post Radar. "Tragic indeed."

"Maybe someone should ask her how she's doing, rather than being quick judging her," wrote another.

"Omg she was so beautiful she is just not happy, so sad," observed one user.

"One way to celebrate Valentines day," quipped another.

Under California law, it is illegal for drivers or passengers to consume alcohol while in a car, regardless of whether the vehicle is in motion or parked. Such instances would be classified as unlawful consumption.

The Liquor License Act also prohibits drivers from having an open liquor container in the car, or any alcoholic beverage readily available to the driver.

Boyle previously appeared at the 15th Annual LA County Walk To Defeat ALS in October 2017. She was asked by The Hollywood Reporter if she had ever been mistreated in her acting career, in light of the numerous allegations of sexual harassment facing famed producer Harvey Weinstein.

"Oh, all the time. All the time! It happens all the time," Boyle responded. "I looked at it on two levels: Do I want to flip burgers, or do I want to put up with someone not being appropriate with me? I chose the other side."

"It still stays with you. You still remember things that were not quite appropriate, but you move on and that's all you can do I guess," Boyle continued. "I support all the actresses that have come forward."

When asked how she has been recently, Boyle did not reveal much.

"I'm an actress, nothing is personal. It's all out in the open," she said while laughing.

President Donald Trump could be impeached if he refuses to interview with Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

Citing an article of the U.S. Constitution, Time reports that Trump could very well be impeached if he refuses to speak with Mueller in regards to the Russia investigation.

The president "shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed," reads Article II, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution

Times reporter Martin London argues that the article is not a suggestion, but a command. It was added to the Constitution because the founding fathers sought to prevent any situation in which a president could behave like a king and ignore or violate the law.

Under this law, London argues that it is Trump's obligation to help Mueller execute the law, not try and stop him. This would fall under a new application of the Faithful Execution clause.

London added that Trump would risk a grand jury subpoena if he refuses to interview with Mueller. Trump would then have to testify under oath, leaving him vulnerable to self-incrimination or perjury.

The president has previously stated he would be willing to talk to Mueller under oath. But according to The New York Times, Trump's lawyers have advised him to decline any interview with Mueller. Other Republicans have agreed.

"I don’t think the president of the United States, unless there are credible allegations -- which I don’t believe there are -- should be sitting across from a special counsel," former governor of New Jersey Chris Christie said during an appearance on ABC's "Good Morning America," The New York Times reports.

"The idea of putting Trump in a room with five or six hardened, very clever lawyers, all of whom are trying to trick him and trap him, would be a very, very bad idea," former House speaker Newt Gingrich said in January while speaking with "Fox and Friends."

Meanwhile, senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee Adam Schiff said there is "ample evidence" of collusion between Russian officials and members of the Trump campaign, but it is Mueller who will ultimately decide if the evidence is enough to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that there was collusion.

"There is already, in my view, ample evidence in the public domain on the issue of collusion if you're willing to see it," Schiff told reporters on Feb. 14, USA Today reported. "If you want to blind yourself, then you can look the other way."

Trump has previously referred to the Russia investigation as a "witch hunt" carried out by Democrats mourning their loss in the 2016 presidential election.

An inspiring message to students went viral after teachers around the country began posting it in their classrooms.

According to HuffPost, a California teacher's message to students went viral after one student shared a photo on her Twitter page.

English teacher Senora Tarman put the note up on her classroom door to ensure students who felt afraid after Donald Trump became president of the U.S. that they still belong in the country.

The note read:

Dear undocumented students,

In this classroom, there are no walls. You belong here. You are loved.

Dear black students, In this classroom, YOUR life matters. You are loved.

Dear Muslim students and students of Middle Eastern descent, We know you are not terrorists. You are loved.

Dear Mexican students, You are not rapists or drug dealers. You are loved.

Dear female students, Men cannot grab you. Men WILL respect you -- demand it. You are loved.

Dear LGBTQ students, You are perfect just as you are. You are loved.

Dear ALL students, We will get through this day, this year, together. We will respect each other and learn from one another. You are a beloved part of this country and community.

Love, Senora Tarman

A number of different versions of the note began popping up in classrooms around the country. According to Babble, one teacher in New Jersey shared the inspirational message alongside a quote from South African anti-apartheid activist Desmond Tutu, which reads, "If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor."

The high school teacher, Nagla Bedir, who teaches in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, said students responded positively to the message and began sharing photos on their social media accounts.

Other faculty members also loved the message and began sharing similar messages in their classrooms.

Bedir herself is a Muslim woman who wears a hijab. She said that she knows exactly what some of her students might be experiencing in the U.S. today. She wanted to make sure that her students know that when they are in her classroom, they are loved.

Thousands of Twitter users responded to the photo of Tarman's note, sharing their support for the message written for her students.

"Tell your English teacher to keep up the good work," one user wrote. "We need more people like her."

"Sounds like a special teacher," another user responded. "I humbly suggest that you and your classmates find a way to show her you appreciate her."

"You've got a great teacher & mentor..." Another added. "It's people [like] this who will make America great again!"

For seven months, single father Trenton Lewis uncomplainingly walked 11 miles every morning to get to his 4 a.m. shift at a UPS facility in Arkansas (video below).

"My pride is strong," the 21-year-old told CNN. "Whatever my [14-month-old daughter, Karmen] needs, I'm the person who is supposed to provide it for her."

When Patricia "Mama Pat" Bryant found out, she was floored.

"She was like a second mom," Lewis said. "She actually got upset with me when she found out I was walking to work."

So without Lewis knowing, Bryant and her husband devised a plan. "For a young person to decide in their mind 'if I don't have a ride, if I can't get a ride then I'll walk,'" Kenneth Bryant said. "If a guy can do that, we can pitch in to help."

The couple quietly told the other employers. Together, they raised enough money to buy Lewis a 2006 Saturn Ion.

"Everybody that I talked to said yes!" recalls Kenneth. "The hardest part was reminding them to bring cash. I told the seller what I was doing and who it was for and he said he was willing to work with me on a price."

When they finally had the vehicle, they invited Lewis to a short "union meeting." When he showed up, he was most definitely in for a shock: his coworkers handed him keys to a new car.

"I was emotionally moved," Lewis recalls. "My heart just fell."

"God always has something for you," he added. "I'm never going to forget this ever."

It's not the first time a group of good Samaritans surprised a man in need with a car.

Andy Mitchell, 40, stopped to give 20-year-old Texas man Justin Korva a ride to work after he saw Korva walking in 95-degree weather, reports Today.

The two started talking. When Mitchell learned Korva walked three miles to work and back home every day, he was moved and shared the story on Facebook.

"Meet my friend justin!" Mitchell wrote. "I picked this boy up this am and gave him a ride to work at taco casa. He told me he walks 3 miles to work and home everyday. To all the people that say they want to work but can't find a job or don't have a vehicle all I can say is you don't want it bad enough! As Wade Anders would say leave it better than you found it!"

But that's not all.

Initially, Mitchell planned on buying Korva a bicycle.

Yet within 30 hours of his Facebook posts, strangers from all over donated $5,500 toward getting Korva a car.

"Justin, you can't imagine all the people who wanted to help you," Mitchell later told Korva on video while handing him over a car. "So, instead of walking to work, buddy, you're driving this car from now on."

A Feb.13 trial came to a halt after the court grew emotional while a medical examiner recalled the graphic autopsy of a raped and murdered 8-year-old girl.

Jacksonville Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Valerie Rao was asked to give her testimony at the trial of 61-year-old Donald Smith, reports News 4 Jax.

Smith reportedly kidnapped, raped, and killed Cherish Perrywinkle in June 2013.

He allegedly lured her family with promises of new clothes and a McDonald's meal at Wal-Mart after seeing the mother struggle to pay for her children's outfits at a discount store.

Cherish's mother, Rayne, recalls the moment Smith had deceived her into thinking he was just being a good Samaritan when he took her child and never came back.

"I was yelling, 'Call 911!" she recalls. "My daughter's been taken,' and no one would help me right away."

Later, Rao recalled finding severe injuries all over the child's body from being strangled with a piece of clothing and raped.

The medical examiner said the girl's body was "totally distorted" from the trauma, and estimates it took the child 3 to 5 minutes to die, First Coast News reporter Anne Schindler live-tweeted.

She continued, adding the child's right eye began bleeding while being strangled.

Rao also revealed that Cherish had tried to fight back and had injured Smith's penis.

Viewing photographs of the body in court, Rao grew teary and was forced to take a break.

Upon hearing her testimony, jurors were also left in tears.

Yet not everybody was moved. Smith's defense urged the judge to declare a mistrial, arguing that the medical examiner's reaction could produce bias among the jurors.

Judge Mallory Cooper denied the motion.

Before the testimony that day, the jury heard secret jail recordings in which State Attorney Melissa Nelson says Smith can be heard bragging about the crime.

"She had a lot for a white girl," Smith is heard telling another inmate on the tape, allegedly referring to Cherish's buttocks.

After closing arguments are presented on Feb. 14, the case will go to the jury for deliberations.  

If Smith is found guilty, jurors will be asked by prosecutors to sentence him to death.

It's just one of over a dozen times Smith has been arrested in the past 40 years.

IN fact, Smith had been released from prison only three weeks before Cherish died.

Doctors determined he was a violent sexual predator after arrests in 1999.

At least three of his previous charges have led to sex abuse convictions, and he has been on Florida's registry of sexual offenders since it was created.

A North Carolina mother was sentenced to seven days in jail after she baptized her daughter.

The punishment comes after mother Kendra Stocks and father Paul Schaaf fought a custody battle over their child, reports WSOC-TV.

A court granted Schaaf, a practicing Catholic, the final authority on all legal custody decisions, including those concerning religion.

The court warned both parents they would face jail time if found in contempt.

In such cases, an individual can either be arrested, fined, or both if they improperly challenge or ignore the court's authority.

The next day, Schaaf found out through Facebook that Stocks had baptized their daughter anyway.

"The mother has acted selfishly by depriving the father of the ability to be present at an event that was extraordinarily important to him," court documents stated.

News of the judge's sentence has since sparked controversy on the internet.

"You got to be joking," wrote one person in News Break's comments section. "These are the judges that we have before us? this world is so screwed. these judges act like they are the law. they don't uphold the law, they abuse their power. This sickens me."

"[He] is violating right to religion laws, violating women rights laws, wrongful prosecution laws, false imprisonment laws, and false arrest laws," commented one person on Facebook.

"It's about him power tripping on a woman and putting her in her place," they added. It has nothing to with baptism in which its out of the Judicial Systems Jurisdiction. It should have been thrown out of court."

It's just one of the many times in recent weeks a judge's ruling in a religion-related case has provoked controversy.

On Feb. 5, a California judge ruled a baker was legally within her rights when she refused to make a wedding cake for a same-sex marriage, reports the Chicago Tribune.

"A wedding cake is not just a cake in a Free Speech analysis," wrote Superior Court Judge David R. Lampe. "It is an artistic expression by the person making it that is to be used traditionally as a centerpiece in the celebration of a marriage. There could not be a greater form of expressive conduct."

The case captured national attention after Eileen and Mireya Rodriquez-Del Rio filed a complaint after Tastries bakery owner Cathy Miller refused to make their cake.

"Miller is a practicing Christian and considers herself a woman of deep faith," the opinion said, adding that she believes same-sex marriages "violate a Biblical command that marriage is only between a man and a woman."

Larry Nassar, the former Team USA doctor who was sentenced to 175 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexually abusing seven girls, was pictured on the tarmac in handcuffs in the freezing cold, without a jacket, as he waited to be transported via private jet to federal prison in Arizona.

According to the Daily Mail, Nassar got a ride on a private jet from Michigan to the United States Penitentiary in Tuscon, Arizona, where he will serve his sentence. The prison is a high-security facility that houses more than 1,300 inmates.

Nassar was sentenced to 175 years in prison in January after pleading guilty to sexually abusing a seven young girls, including several U.S. Olympic gymnasts.

The ex-Team USA doctor will first serve 60 years in federal prison for a child pornography conviction. IndyStar conducted an investigation into Nassar's sexual abuse of many of the girls under his care, which was first published in September 2016. Since then, more than 260 women have come forward to accuse Nassar of sexually abusing them.

During his sentencing, Judge Rosemarie Aquilina did not shy away from telling Nassar how she felt about his crimes.

"I've just signed your death warrant," the judge told him. "I find that you don't get it, that you're a danger. That you remain a danger."

Nassar admitted in court to using his trusted position as a doctor to assault and molest girls under the guise of medical treatment, according to CNN.

"There are no words that can describe the depth and breadth of how sorry I am for what has occurred," Nassar said in a statement in court. "An acceptable apology to all of you is impossible to write and convey. I will carry your words with me for the rest of my days."

Before delivering the sentence, Aquilina read a letter Nassar had previously written to the court, in which he defended himself and claimed that he was "manipulated" into pleading guilty. He accused the women of lying about the abuse.

"I was a good doctor because my treatments worked, and those patients that are now speaking out are the same ones that praised and came back over and over," Nassar wrote in the letter. "The media convinced them that everything I did was wrong and bad. They feel I broke their trust. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

Prior to Nassar's sentencing, a total of 156 victims gave victim impact statements over seven days. All recounted similar stories about Nassar sexually assaulting them and telling them that it was a form of treatment.

Nassar's sentence ensures he will be in prison for the remainder of his life, Aquilina said.

Months after being arrested in connection with the death of their 3-year-old daughter, a Utah couple appeared in court while prosecutors reviewed evidence regarding their case.

According to the Inquisitr, police were called to the home of Brenda Emile and Miller Costello in July 2017. When they arrived at the home in Ogden, officers were horrified to find the lifeless body of 3-year-old Angelina Costello on the floor of an empty room.

Now, the parents could face the death penalty if proven guilty of aggravated murder in the case of Angelina's death.

The girl's body was wrapped in a blanket when police found her. Officer Sitka Hrabal testified that she could not believe the girl was 3 years old after seeing her gaunt body.

"I was told she was 3," the officer testified. "She looked like a Holocaust victim."

The child's face was reportedly covered in bruises and cuts and officers said they found fresh burn marks on her body.

Hrabal said the girl's facial features were sunken in and that she appeared to be devoid of any fat or muscle, likely due to severe malnutrition. Angelina's body weighed only 13.67 pounds -- the weight of a normal 3-month-old baby.

Investigators believe the parents had applied makeup to the 3-year-old's body in an attempt to hide her injuries.

"Officers on scene immediately recognized the child victim had bruising, contusions, lacerations, burns, open sores and abrasions all over her face, hands, legs, head and neck," court papers read.

According to the Standard-Examiner, Michael Belenky, the forensic pathologist who conducted the child's autopsy for the state Medical Examiner's Office, testified in court about what he found during the autopsy.

Belenky showed an autopsy photo of the child's brain in court and pointed out that the 3-year-old had three points of brain hemorrhaging. Other photos shown by Belenky demonstrated the child's hygiene, which he called "deplorable."

The forensic pathologist also testified that injuries the child sustained on her back were consistent with healing burns from cigarettes. He said the child had cigarette burns on her face, lower back and fingers.

Emile reportedly told investigators that her daughter suffered from Clostridium difficile colitis, a colon infection. Belenky said he found no signs of the condition.

Belenky said that it was not clear when exactly the child died, but that the cause of death was clear.

"I believe the manner of death is homicide," he said.

Police believe that Angelina endured abuse for 18 months until her body could no longer bear it and she died.

Both Costello and Emile were charged with aggravated murder and are being held at Weber County Jail.

An envelope containing a white "powdery substance" was reportedly sent to former President Barack Obama's Washington, D.C., office.

The powder was found and reported to authorities around 11 a.m. on Feb. 13 at the World Wildlife Fund headquarters, where Obama has been leasing office space since leaving the White House. Authorities in hazmat suits entered the building soon after to investigate the substance, before ultimately learning that it was baby powder.

D.C. Fire and EMS Battalion Chief Edward Smith told Fox 5 D.C. that the envelope was mailed from Hong Kong, China, but did not include a note.

A number of unconnected incidents took place around the same time, with current President Donald Trump's daughter-in-law also being the victim of a similar scare. An envelope with white powder in it was addressed to Donald Trump, Jr. and caused his wife, Vanessa, to be taken to the hospital.

"You are an awful, awful person. I am surprised that your father lets you speak on TV. You the family idiot. Eric looks smart," a letter sent with the powder stated, NBC New York reported. "This is the reason why people hate you. You are getting what you deserve. So shut the f**k up."

Vanessa Trump later tweeted her thanks to the authorities who made sure she was safe and healthy following the scare.

"Thank you so much for all the help today in NYC! I appreciate all the quick response to make sure that I was safe ! Thank you @FDNY @SecretService @NYPDnews @NYPDCT @NewYorkFBI," she tweeted.

"Thankful that Vanessa & my children are safe and unharmed after the incredibly scary situation that occurred this morning. Truly disgusting that certain individuals choose to express their opposing views with such disturbing behavior," Donald Trump, Jr. tweeted.

In a statement, the president's attorney, Michael Cohen, addressed the alarming incident.

"How disturbed must a person be to do what they did to a mother of five young children? This dangerous and reckless act goes beyond political differences," Cohen wrote in the statement.

An envelope with white powder was also sent to the London office British Home Secretary Amber Rudd, who was in the States at the time.

"At approximately 11.36am on Tuesday, 13 February, police were informed of a suspicious package that had been delivered to an office within the Palace of Westminster. Police are at the scene and dealing," a statement from British police read, The Sun reported.

"The letter contained a white powder which is currently being assessed by specialists. The office remains closed at this time, but the rest of the Palace of Westminster is open. Detectives from the Met’s Counter Terrorism Command have been informed and are investigating."

A source told The Sun that staff at Rudd's office was forced to evacuate as a result of the package.

"Police and security were all over the Home Secretary’s staff office, they threw us all out in panic and suddenly coppers were everywhere," the source added.

Social media users were shocked when it was quickly pointed out that what appeared to be a sixth finger was painted into the official portrait of former President Barack Obama.

The portrait, done by artist Kehinde Wiley, is set to hang in the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery and shows the former president sitting in a chair surrounded by greenery and bright flowers. People were quick to notice, however, that it appeared to show his hand with a sixth finger tucked underneath his palm.

"What's extra weird: Obama has an extra finger growing beneath his pinky on his left hand," one Twitter user pointed out, the Daily Mail reported.

"Serious Question - why does Obama have the appearance of a 6th finger?? Mistake? Or something else??" another tweeted.

"Why does Obama have an extra finger tucked behind his others?" another questioned.

Both Barack Obama and his wife, former first lady Michelle Obama, were present when the portraits were unveiled, and reportedly spoke to the process of being interviewed prior to the creation of the artwork. The former president also joked about his portrait during the ceremony.

"I tried to negotiate less gray hair, smaller ears," he said, Time reported.

"Maybe the one are where there were some concessions … his initial impulse may be in the work may be to elevate me … mounting me on horses … and I had to explain I’ve got enough political problems without you making me look like Napoleon."

Amy Sherald, the artist chosen to paint Michelle Obama, spoke to the unique opportunity in an interview with The New York Times, published before the unveiling.

"We’ve been on a first-name basis for eight years," Sherald joked, before speaking seriously about the significant honor.

"She’s an archetype that a lot of women can relate to -- no matter shape, size, race or color," Sherald said. "We see our best selves in her."

Sherald and Wiley were the first African-Americans commissioned to paint portraits of a former president and first lady for the gallery. Wiley, Time reported, was chosen for his use of color when depicting black people, and said that he used flowers from Chicago, Hawaii and Kenya in the background of his portrait as a way to represent Barack Obama's history.

"I’m just going to pretend it’s not a big deal," Sherald said in her New York Times interview about the opportunity to paint the portrait of Michelle Obama.

"I paint paintings of people. And I’m painting a painting of another person."

A woman was kicked out of a Delta airplane for throwing a tantrum after being seated next to a young mother and her baby (video below).

Video of the incident was shared on Facebook on Feb. 6 by Marissa Rundell, the Daily Mail reported. The 19-year-old mother was traveling with her 8-month-old baby, Mason, at the time.

"She was the last one to get on the plane and I was in the second to last row of the plane," Rundell told the Daily Mail. "She came to the back and slammed her bags down. She said 'this is f**king ridiculous. It's bulls**t having to sit in the back of the plane.'"

Rundell asked the unidentified passenger if she could not use profanity around her baby. She said the woman ignored her, continued complaining and did not bother to even look her way.

"I said again please watch your language she told me to shut the f**k up and shove it," Rundell recalled. "That's when the flight attendant came over and asked what the problem was."

In the video, the attendant is heard offering the woman a seat on the next plane. The woman then asks the flight attendant for her name. The attendant, Tabitha, responds with her name and employee number.

"Thank you, Tabitha, you may not have a job tomorrow," the woman says to the flight attendant.

"I want this lady off my flight," Tabitha responds, as she storms past the woman.

"No I can't, Tabitha," the woman replies. "I apologize, I have to be on this flight, ok, Tabitha?"

Tabitha then accused her of screaming at the baby.

"I'm not screaming," the woman says. "I'll be quiet now, please. Ok, I'm sorry, I was really stressed out. Please, Tabitha. Thank you."

The video then abruptly ends.

Rundell said the gate agent instructed the woman to leave the plane, but she tried talking her way out of it.

"Ten mins later she came back and got her things and was again swearing up a storm saying they will all regret kicking her off the plane," Rundell said, adding that she was pleased with the way the airline handled the situation.

"I thought it was funny how she was acting like a child throwing a tantrum," Rundell said. "Also I see videos all the time about people bashing airlines for kicking people off so this is like the opposite.

"The flight attendants were absolutely amazing."

Rundell also thanked the airline staff in the Facebook post.

"This lady thought she was going to be rude to me and Mason now she has no way home today," Rundell wrote. "Thank you to the lovely Delta flight attendant for not letting this women bully us. Karma is a b***h."

The video has more than 1 million views and has been shared more than 12,000 times in just one week.

Comedian Bill Murray shed some light on his own political views during a recent interview with CNBC, praising Trump's tax cuts and criticizing Democrats for divisiveness.

While speaking with CNBC's Squawk Box, Murray referred to the current political climate as a "Clash of Clans everyday, first thing in the morning," the Daily Mail reported.

"People are going to war about so much," the comedian said.

Murray was critical about the way Democrats approach politics.

"My friend who's a great comedy writer, Jim Downey, he's accused of being a right-wing comedy writer, if there is such a thing," Murray said. "He says, 'No, I just think the way the Democrats handle things is poor, where they try to pick out little pieces of a population, oh well we represent the Hispanics, we represent the LGBT or something.'"

"And they're not speaking to everyone at once," Murray continued. "And it's almost demeaning to say, 'I'm choosing you because you're a splinter group or you're a certain minority group.'

"There's almost a resentment that somehow you're separated, again, by a politician -- 'You're my people. I'm in control of you, I represent you,' instead of thinking that each citizen has a right to be respected as a citizen first, under the laws of the country."

Murray lamented that the divisiveness looming over the country has made political comedy very difficult to execute.

"How can Kristen Wiig make everyone laugh?" the 67-year-old asked. "She's not thinking about being political, she's thinking about what resonates and what is common to all of us.

"I think that's harder and harder to do because people are trying to win their point of view as opposed to saying, 'What if I had spoke to everyone?'"

Murray did express some satisfaction however, with the Republican tax reform.

"The change in the tax law is a great thing for the corporations, it's a fantastic thing," he said. "I don't pretend to understand what that will mean in the future in terms of the economy or what the budget will have to do to take care of what people call entitlements."

"In the first step, it's made things easier," Murray continued. "I think people feel like there was probably too much regulation, and yet you just hope that they don't throw out the baby with the bathwater when breaking down regulations."

Murray is gearing up to perform at the Sydney Opera House for two nights in November, the Daily Telegraph reported. He will be singing classical music and reading from Ernest Hemingway and Mark Twain.

A photo of actor and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger sleeping underneath a statue of himself has gone viral.

Schwarzenegger shared the photo on his Instagram account in January 2016. It shows him tucked into a sleeping bag underneath a massive, bronze statue of himself, People reported.

The photo was captioned "How times have changed." It was taken in front of the former governor's statue in front of the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Ohio.

It is unclear what message Schwarzenegger was trying to convey. The photo quickly went viral, and social media users began circulating unconfirmed theories about the picture.

"The reason he wrote the phrase was not only because he was old, but because when he was governor of California he inaugurated a hotel with his statue," one Instagram user explained. "Hotel staff told Arnold, 'at any moment you can come and have a room reserved for you.' when Arnold stepped down as governor and went to the hotel, the administration refused to give him a room arguing that he should pay for it, since they were in great demand."

"He brought a sleeping bag and stood underneath the statue and explained what he wanted to convey: 'When I was in an important position, they always complimented me, and when I lost this position, they forgot about me and did not keep their promise. Do not trust your position or the amount of money you have, nor your power, nor your intelligence, it will not last,'" the user continued.

This explanation was copied and pasted a few times across other social media platforms, including Facebook. None of it has been confirmed, and several other social media users were skeptical.

"Come on people, he is shooting for a movie in Columbus Ohio and just having fun," wrote one Instagram user. "He is worth $300 million and there is absolutely no sob story behind this picture, take it easy social media. He is a funny guy, THATS IT."

"Arnold you need to do bulk this story that is going all over the internet about this picture!!" added another. "I'm seeing this on LinkedIn lately!! People are saying that you were denied a room at this hotel in California, when this is a Convention Center in Ohio!! Please stop the madness!"

According to Gulte.com, Schwarzenegger was in town shooting for the movie "478" at the time. The film was based on the true story surrounding the aftermath of the July 2002 mid-air collision of two planes in Germany.

Ford Motor Co on Monday warned an additional 33,000 owners of older pickup trucks in North America to stop driving them until potentially defective Takata Corp air bag inflators can be repaired.

In January, Ford told 2,900 owners of model year 2006 Ford Ranger trucks to stop driving immediately after a second death was linked to inflators built on the same day.

The expanded warning was prompted by additional testing, Ford, the second largest U.S. automaker, said in a statement, and now covers a broader time frame of production.

Mazda Motor Corp said it was issuing a similar expansion for about 1,800 2006 Mazda B-Series trucks that were built by Ford after it had issued a warning for 160 trucks in January.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said the vehicles pose "an immediate risk to safety" and urged owners to immediately schedule a free repair.

Ford and Mazda have replacement air bag inflators available now and will tow vehicles to a dealership for repairs as well as provide loaner vehicles free of charge, the companies and NHTSA said. About 90 percent of the vehicles subject to the "Do Not Drive" warning are in the United States.

Two U.S. senators in January questioned why Ford’s warning only applied to a small number of the 391,000 2004-2006 Ranger trucks recalled because of Takata air bags in 2016 in the United States.

Ford said last month the death in a July 2017 crash in West Virginia in a 2006 Ford Ranger was caused by a defective Takata inflator after a similar 2015 death in South Carolina.

At least 22 deaths worldwide are linked to the Takata inflators that can rupture and send deadly metal fragments into the driver’s body.

The faulty inflators have led to the largest automotive recall in history. The other 20 deaths have occurred in Honda Motor Co vehicles, most of which were in the United States.

About a quarter of the 2,900 vehicles have been repaired since Ford issued the warning last month, the company said on Monday.

Takata said in June it has recalled, or expected to recall, about 125 million vehicles worldwide by 2019, including more than 60 million in the United States. About 19 automakers worldwide are affected.

Takata inflators can explode with excessive force, unleashing metal shrapnel inside cars and trucks and have injured more than 200 people. The defect led Takata to file for bankruptcy protection in June.

(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Grant McCool and Jeffrey Benkoe)

Country singer Daryle Singletary died at the age of 46 on Feb. 12.

Singletary, a Georgia native, suddenly and unexpectedly passed away in his Tennessee home, reports WKRN.

The cause of his death has yet to be revealed.

Only a few days prior, Singletary had performed on Feb. 9 at The Rodeo Club in Alabama and reportedly appeared healthy. It was the singer's first tour of 2018, and he had planned to continue performing across the nation in the following months.

"We've been very fortunate to stay on the road, year in, year out," the singer told the Grand Ole Opry. "I continue to work and continue to build a fan base. There are still people out there who want to hear traditional country music. I've been fortunate to be able to always keep it real and not have to compromise. I can't ask for nothin' better, I don't guess."

The singer left behind his four young children and his wife, as well as his parents and siblings.

Funeral arrangements are reportedly still pending.

Singletary achieved a number of achievements throughout his music career, entering the top 40 of the Hot Country Songs charts five times for his songs "I Let Her Lie,"  "Amen Kind of Love," and "Too Much Fun."

Many country singers paid tribute to the late singer on social media.

"Country Music lost one its finest people and voices!" tweeted songwriter Ben Hayslip. "I'm honored that I got to call him a friend and heart broken that he's gone! Let's all pray for his wife and 4 kids! RIP [Daryle]."

"Sad day...the greatest country voice of my time is now singing in Heaven's band," singer Craig Campbell wrote. "Gonna miss you [Daryle] ! Now show them how a good ol country shuffle is supposed to sound!"

"Just got word that Daryle Singletary has passed away," famous country musician Charlie Daniels added. "Rest in peace Buddy, you sang country like country should be sung."

"I believe all of it is still a dream," he added. "I have been very fortunate to do [country music] for a living. It is a dream in itself."

"Daryle Singletary was one of my very favorite country singers," chimed in country singer Tanya Tucker. "I just saw him and hugged his neck at Mel Tillis' memorial. I'm so thankful for that. Go rest high Daryle!  All our prayers are with your family now!"

On Feb. 8, authorities sentenced an Oklahoma mother-of-three to 25 years in federal prison after she filmed herself sexually abusing her baby and sent the clips to her boyfriend.

Jerrica Lackey, 30, pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a child under the age of 12 -- and in return, prosecutors dropped one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child porn as part of a plea deal, Tulsa World reports.

In addition to her 25-year sentence, she was ordered to serve 120 months of post-custody supervision.

Lackey was convicted of sexual exploitation of a child after admitting to the crime on a 911 call in May 2017.

The mother's ex-husband says he was borrowing her smartphone when he clicked on the social media app Kik.

There, he discovered images of his then-16-month-old baby daughter being molested by her mother.

"He is shocked to see images of his 1-year-old daughter; videos and pictures of her being abused by her mother," Casey Roebuck with the Tulsa County Sheriff's Office said, News On 6 reports.

"To see a parent perpetrate a crime like this is tough to investigate, it's hard for all of us to understand," she added.

After confronting his ex-wife, Lackey called 911 and confessed to the crimes.

Lackey says her new boyfriend in Florida demanded she send him the videos and would get angry and "punish" her if she did not.

One of the clips Lackey sent him depicts her penetrating the baby with her finger.

"This case is an excellent example of state and federal law enforcement working together to identify those who exploit children," United States Attorney Trent Shores stated. "We will hold those who prey on the most vulnerable in our society, and who choose to manufacture child pornography, accountable for their actions."

Lackey's neighbors were shocked when they learned about her crimes.

"We see her all the time outside with the babies, interacting with them, and she just didn't seem like she would ever do that," Tymprance Melton said.

"Just shocking, 'cause that's our neighbor," she added. "Like I said, there are babies here. Babies all around the neighborhood."

News of the crime also sickened many worldwide.

"The boyfriend in Florida should be arrested also, and whoever else in on this," commented one person in the Daily Mail's comments section. "Poor little defenseless kids being done like this by the one they trust most in the world."

"This is one of the most horridly disturbing stories I have ever read," added another

A tiny rodent has captured hearts nationwide after it attempted to hitch a ride on the windshield of a Californian police officer's car.

"We are not sure if this was an attempted car jacking but this little mouse popped up on the windshield of Deputy Brandon Dennington's K9 vehicle," the Alameda County Sheriff's Office wrote while sharing a photo of the mouse on their Facebook page.

Deputy Brandon Dennington says the mouse popped onto his K9 vehicle's windshield while he was driving to see the Golden State Warriors beat the San Antonio Spurs for a work assignment.

"Deputy Dennington was able to use de-escalation techniques and get the rabid fan off his car," continued the Alameda County Sheriff's Office. "Luckily, he was able to snap this photo of the elusive bandit. The suspect was last seen on foot running to a hiding spot. The suspect is 4 inches tall, weighing 1 ounce and wearing a [gray] and white [furry] coat."

"Further investigation revealed the suspect was likely a San Antonio Spurs fan trying to intimidate us," they added.

On Twitter, the department confirmed the mouse was safely on the ground now and "looking for a new ride."

The photo quickly spread around the nation.

"Saw this on our local news here in Kentucky," tweeted one woman. "So awesome! What a great photo opportunity. It's too bad you couldn't catch it, handcuff it, and read him his rights!"

"It's so nice to have a good story," wrote one person on Facebook. "Thank you for all you do!!!"

"So cute but I would have hit the windshield wipers and screamed," chimed in a third.

It's not the first time a fluffy creature joined a police officer on duty and melted hearts everywhere reports HuffPost.

In October 2017, a cat called Tia the Birman joined her owner, Senior Constable Kerry Morrell, for a day at his station in New Zealand.

Morrell outfitted the cat in a high-visibility harness, while the police department captured footage of the kitty's first day "on the job."

The cat is seen exploring Morrell’s workspace and walking over a squad car, while later "helping" with "admin, paperwork, and the odd bit of light typing," a police spokeswoman said

A WSVN news producer has been fired after launching the N-word at her neighbor during a heated argument that was caught on video. WSVN terminated Robin Cross after the feud with her neighbor about street parking concerns escalated into an intense confrontation.

Robert Fenton, a retired car dealer, confronted Cross after she parked in front of his house, blocking his driveway. Cross lost her composure, shouted obscenities at Robert, and called his son's girlfriend the N-word.

According to the Miami Herald, who spoke to sources close to Cross, the news producer has been in an ongoing battle with the Fenton family over street parking issues. Cross told the station that the discord started over four years ago when she moved to Fort Lauderdale. She says Robert and his family have been harassing her about parking in front of their house and blocking their driveway.

However, things erupted on Tuesday when Cross and Robert confronted each other about her car blocking the driveway, Heavy reports.

“These f**king people think they’re going to f**king park here and play their f**king games, f**k them,” Cross is heard muttering as she steps out of her car. “You don’t f**king own the road,” Cross is heard telling Robert as she walks over to him. He tells her that she is blocking his driveway and she continues her tirade, telling him he blocks the way of every car that passes down the road when he parks on the street himself.

After a few more heated words are exchanged, Cross says, “Yes, I used the word f**king, if you haven’t heard it before. Except for your f**king son who dates a f**king n****r. ... Finally, I said it out loud,” Cross says as she walks away.

The Herald reports that Avery Fenton, Robert's son and a local attorney, wrote a letter to the WSVN news station illustrating the incident which occurred on Feb. 7.

“Your employee reduced my girlfriend to nothing other than a slur based off of the color of her skin last night,” Avery wrote. 

Avery states that his father was met with a barrage of verbal attacks. “The video ends with her using extremely foul language, and then a personal attack on me as my father’s son, for dating my girlfriend who is African American. The most awful of racial slurs was used, followed by 'finally I said it out loud.'”

Avery and his father have sent multiple messages demanding her termination.

The station told the Fentons it was investigating the event but has not sent a response. WSVN spokeswoman Lily Pardo sent out an email stating that Cross has been terminated.

“After conducting a thorough investigation, WSVN has terminated a 7 News producer who was caught on cellphone video using a racial slur,” the email stated. “WSVN will not tolerate any kind of discriminatory language or behavior.”

After Cross was fired, Avery told the Miami Herald that “justice was served.” 

“I’m glad WSVN did the right thing, and this puts the matter to rest as far as I’m concerned,” he told the paper, according to the Sun Sentinel. “I hope she will act with more care and thoughtfulness with the people around her in the future.”

Real estate site Zillow reports that homes in the area go for $1 million to $2 million dollars, according to The Inquisitr.

Former Major League Baseball pitcher Esteban Loaiza was arrested in San Diego on Friday with 44 pounds of cocaine in his possession. Loaiza is being held on a $200,000 bond and faces felony charges of possessing and transporting a controlled substance with intent to sell.

According to the San Diego Sheriff’s Department, Loaiza was stopped by police for a minor traffic violation while driving a vehicle suspected of being involved in drug smuggling. The vehicle search exposed a secret compartment used to conceal contraband. Police obtained a search warrant to search Loaiza's home, where they discovered a substance believed to be cocaine worth an estimated value of $500,000.

The San Diego County Sheriff’s Department released an official statement:

During surveillance related to that investigation, Loaiza was seen driving a vehicle believed to be involved in the smuggling of narcotics. Loaiza was contacted during a traffic stop for a minor traffic infraction after leaving home in the City of Imperial Beach. A search of the vehicle led to the discovery of a sophisticated aftermarket compartment used to conceal contraband.

Based on evidence obtained during the traffic stop a search warrant was issued for the Imperial Beach home which had been leased by Loaiza in early February,' the release continued. 'The home was just steps away from an area preschool. The subsequent search of the home led to the discovery of 20 kilograms of suspected cocaine which had an estimated value of about $500,000.

Loaiza pitched in the major leagues from 1995 to 2008, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. He played for eight different teams and was a starter for the 2003 All-Star Game as a member of the Chicago White Sox. Loaiza played 14 MLB seasons with a career record of 126-114, notes The Washington Post. According to Baseball-Reference, Loaiza made more than $43.7 million over his career, reports the Daily Mail.

Loaiza recently attended SoxFest, an event held in Chicago in which former White Sox players interact with fans and sign autographs, according to The Inquisitr.

Loaiza’s agent, John Boggs, told the San Francisco Chronicle that he has not spoken with Loaiza recently and that he had no information about the arrest. He said Loaiza had called his office early last week, but Boggs was unavailable.

‘‘I am shocked and saddened by the news and had no indication he would ever be in this type of situation,’’ Boggs reportedly said in a text message to the newspaper. ‘‘I do not know how he would get himself involved in this, so it is difficult to even comment on it.’’

It is not the first time Loaiza has dealt with law enforcement. He was arrested in 2006 while playing for the Oakland Athletics after he was caught speeding and failed a sobriety test.

It is unknown whether Loaiza has hired a lawyer to take his case because Loaiza could not be reached for comments. Packages of white powder are being tested, but are believed to be cocaine, according to San Diego Sheriff's Lt. Jason Vickery. Loaiza’s charges are said to add up to at least 15 years in prison. Loaiza faces his court date on Wednesday.

A big cat poacher in South Africa was killed and eaten by a pride of lions when hunting at a private game reserve.

As he screamed, he was heard by people at the Ingwelala Private Nature Reserve in Hoedspruit, just outside of Phalaborwa.

At first, the police thought the mauled man was a tractor driver, but then, through investigations, they found out he was a poacher.

Further, the police in Limpopo have asked for help from the Department of Home Affairs in order to identify the dead man, who was not carrying any documents whatsoever at the time of his demise.

'The process of identifying this body has already commenced and it might be made easier as his head was among the remains found at the scene,’ said police lieutenant-colonel Moatshe Ngoepe.

'The head was still there but the lions had eaten most of the rest,’ added a local worker as he described the area as being lion territory.

'A scream was heard and the lions were scattered by the sound of gunshots but it was too late to do anything for him. He was eaten.'

Mr. Ngoepe further said that in the course of the investigation, a possibility arose that the deceased might have been a poacher since a hunting rifle was found near the scene of the attack.

British wildlife photographer Charlie Lynham, who lives close to the reserve and who arrived shortly after the paramedics, was told that the suspected poacher was killed, but it was still unclear as to whether the attack happened in the Ingwelala area or in a neighboring reserve.

Mr. Lynham then gave an account as to what happened as he understood it thus far:

It turns out it was not the resident pride that lives here responsible as they were on a buffalo kill at the time of the incident but a pride perhaps come over from the [Kruger National Park].

It happened on the border of the Umbabat Game Reserve after dark and may have been on their reserve.

Two .456 big game rifles and ammunition were found at the scene and that is the weapon of choice used by those hunting big game -- especially elephant and rhino in the bush.

' cannot say if it was poachers as the matter is under investigation but that is their weapon of choice and they usually work in groups of three and work under cover of darkness. Two sets of footprints have been found running away and obviously the dead and eaten man.

... Lions are not a particular danger in daylight but after dark, then that is another matter.

It is purely speculation on my part but it would seem they either walked into a pride of lions in the darkness or they were stalked and attacked and a man was taken down and eaten.

The other two it seems ran off and two .456 big game rifles were found and ammunition.

Lynham then said that he had been photographing the Ingwelala pride for several years and was 'concerned in case it was them in case they got accused of attacking humans and there were calls to kill them.'

'But it as not our pride and was probably one from the Kruger that come over the border,' he said.

'If you go out walking in the bush in the dark then I am afraid you are fair game in the wild and there is no way that anyone can attribute any blame to those lions for this kill.'

A 61-year-old man who reportedly admitted to having molested his young seven-year-old granddaughter may not have to serve even one day behind bars for the crime.

Dean Hilpipre, from Alden, Iowa, was arrested in August 2017 and was charged with two counts of second-degree sex abuse of a child younger than 12. When combined, the two charges together carried a possible penalty of about 50 years in prison.

Nine months after his paternal granddaughter told her older sister about the sexual abuse, and her older sister then reported him to a school counselor, he was arrested.

Shortly after, in an interview, the victim told investigators about how her grandfather had forced her into inappropriate touching and oral sex. She further told the police that the abuse took place over and over in various different places, such as his bedroom, where he had locked the door, or in a bathroom and also in nearby woods.

What outraged both the mother and the maternal grandmother of the victim is the fact that Dean may not have to go to prison at all.

"What's five years probation?" Kasey Hilpipre, the 34-year-old  mother of the victim asked WHO-TV. "After five years the no contact order's done, then what's he going to do again? Is he gonna pick her up again and take her into the woods again and she may not come out? What justice is that? What safety is that for the remainder of her life?"

Deborah Yanna, the victim’s maternal grandmother, also seemed quite surprised to hear the details of the plea deal, which took place in December.

"I was just stunned," Yanna told the Des Moines Register. "At his plea-agreement hearing, I said, 'Why don't you just throw in a spa day?'"

Kasey and her mother also said the abuse has had a deep impact on the mind of the victim and she’s even scared to leave her front yard.

Both of them are now on a mission to ask members of the public to attend Dean's sentencing hearing, which is later in February, with the hope that they may convince the judge to not accept the plea deal's terms.

"This little girl has a heart and she has a soul and she has a little mind, and this disgusting human debris has broken her," said Yanna. "He won the Iowa Lottery. He's celebrating. He thinks he's terrific ... Where's her justice? Where's her celebration? The rest of her life she will always remember."

Dean reportedly recently won $100,000 in a Mega Crossword game.

Dean now appears to have changed his story of the events. In his latest interviews, he does not deny the allegations, but instead says that he does not remember them happening.

"If I did it, I deserve everything I get," he said. 

"He received the lowest score possible, a minus 3, which makes him a 'very low risk'; his likelihood of future offending is .9 percent over five years," said state-approved psychologist Tracy Thomas of Dean in psychosexual evaluation documents.

The next hearing for the case takes place on February 23 at 10 a.m. at the Hardin County Courthouse in Eldora, Iowa.

A recent case has come up, wherein a woman has admitted to having snatched a newborn from the hospital. She also admitted that she has been raising the child for about 18 years as her own now.

Gloria Williams, 52, allegedly posed as a nurse at a hospital in Jacksonville, Florida. She could serve up to 22 years for having walked out with Kamiyah Mobley, a baby which was not hers.

Williams appeared in court to plead guilty of kidnapping as well as a charge for interference, which could lead to an additional five years served in prison.

She was arrested in January 2017 after Kamiyah, whom Williams had renamed as Alexis Manigo, discovered that the woman who had raised her for 18 years was not her real mother, but a kidnapper.

To everyone’s astonishment, Mobley, who is a resident of South Carolina, says that she has already forgiven Williams, and now is pleading with the court to reduce her sentence by as much as 10 years.

Her birth parents have not shown any involvement with the case whatsoever and are as of now reportedly only focused on spending time with their long lost daughter.

'Don't get me wrong, I do feel like it was wrong. But we talked about it and I can understand at the time what was going on,' she told the Daily Mail.

'I sympathize with her, I'm not mad at her -- of course I forgive her.

'I am certain that she's going to get time but I'm hoping not very, very long. I think they should be lenient. It's not like she took me and tortured me my whole life. She took care of me very well.'

Williams, however, has made it quite difficult for her daughter to get over her. Shanara Mobley wrote on her Facebook: 'The tears won't stop. I see my baby girl wanting this lady in her life and not me.'

'It's been harder for my mother to cope. We are working on our relationship. I don't like to define which one is my mother, I like to be respectful of both parties,' the daughter said.

'I don't like to take away from either one of their duties or what they did. I don't want to pick sides.'

Mobely insists that there was absolutely no reason for her to have doubted Williams, as she treated the girl like a "princess."

'As a mom, she was very smart, very loving, and generous. She was always giving everything she had to me and my friends,' Kamiyah said. 'She wasn't a parent who could say no. I was very spoiled. I know she loved me.

'She taught me the difference between right and wrong. We went to church. She may have had a few speeding tickets, but she was never in any trouble. She is a good person.'

Footage of the daughter briefly being allowed to speak with her falsified mother has been released by the Florida prosecutors.

'I'm sorry baby. I love you,' Williams can be heard telling an emotional Mobley in the video, which was obtained by ABC News.

'They are sending three people like you are some kind of violent person.'

Williams responded: 'They just want to make sure you are okay.'

Portraits of former first couple Barack Obama and Michelle Obama have been revealed.

The portraits of the 44th president and first lady were unveiled on Feb. 12 at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, the New York Post reported.

New York-based artist Kehinde Wiley painted Barack Obama, while his wife's portrait was done by Baltimore-based artist Amy Sherald. The former president gave the two artists high marks.

"I tried to negotiate less gray hair and Kehinde’s artistic integrity would not allow him to do what I asked," Barack quipped, according to CNN. "I tried to negotiate smaller ears. Struck out on that as well."

In his portrait, Barack Obama is seated among a sea of chrysanthemums, the official flower of Chicago -- his hometown. Jasmine was added to pay homage to the former president's Hawaiian roots, along with African blue lilies as a tribute to his late father's Kenyan heritage.

The former president also praised Sherald's work.

"Amy, I want to thank you for so spectacularly capturing the grace and beauty and the intelligence and charm and hotness of the woman that I love," he said, according to The Hill.

Michelle Obama said she "was a little overwhelmed, to say the least," after seeing her portrait. She was painted in a long, sleeveless black and white dress designed by Michelle Smith’s label, Milly.

The former first lady said she thought about the impact Sherald's art will have on "girls and girls of color."

"They will see an image of someone who looks like them hanging on the walls of this great American institution," she said. "And I know the kind of impact that will have on their lives because I was one of those girls."

A few celebrities were in attendance for the grand unveiling of the portraits, including director Steven Spielberg and actor Tom Hanks. Former Attorney General Eric Holder and Chicago attorney Tina Tchen were also present.

Spielberg and his wife, Kate Capshaw, had donated to the commissioning of the Obamas' portrait. Singer John Legend and model Chrissy Teigen were also listed as donors.

Wiley became the first African-American artist to paint an official presidential portrait for the gallery. The Yale University-trained painter was known for his previous work depicting African-Americans in the style of Old Masters paintings.

According to the Smithsonian, Sherald is known for capturing "the inner strength of her subjects through a combination of calm expressions and confrontational poses."

The Obama portraits will join the "America’s Presidents" exhibition at the gallery and will be made public on Feb. 13.

A California family is mourning the loss of their 14-year-old daughter after she died from complications related to the flu (video below).

Gabriella Chabot, 14, came down with the flu toward the end of January, NBC Los Angeles reported. Her symptoms improved after taking Tamiflu, but she left school early on Feb. 8 and was rushed to a local hospital, where she later died.

A vigil was held at La Reina High School’s gymnasium in honor of Gabriella. Several members of the school community prayed for the teenage girl and her family.

"We have prayers for her parents, her sister and her brother," Sharon Hobbie, Gabriella’s grandmother, told NBC Los Angeles.

Gabriella's father, Michael Chabot, took to Facebook on Feb. 9 to talk about the devastating loss.

"Today I experienced the day that no parent should. I lost my daughter... my angel Gabriella Chabot. We are heartbroken," Michael wrote. "She would have been 15 on 2/16/18. I love you peanut! Papi will never forget you. You will always be my angel."

Several social media users responded to Michael's post, offering their condolences and words of support.

"Michael you don’t know me but I just want you to know you are in my heart. I’m so terribly sorry for your loss. I truly am," wrote one user. "My thoughts and prayers are with you and your family…"

"Very heartbreaking to hear of your loss Mike. Just know you all have the love and support of all of your friends," wrote another. "You and Janice are wonderful human beings and only time can heal. When someone you love becomes a memory, that memory becomes a treasure. Anything you need from me Mike, I am there."

Another user, who said he was a student at La Reina High School, spoke highly of Gabriella.

"Although I didn’t know Gabriella personally, I know in my heart that she was an absolutely amazing person who enhanced the lives of everyone who was honored to know her. She was a beautiful and wonderful girl, who will be incredibly missed by the community," the user wrote. "There are no words to be able to express how much I’ve been praying for you all and keeping your family in my thoughts. I hope for peace and God’s grace to be with you and your family."

According to the Department of Public Health, there have been 158 reported deaths caused by the flu in Los Angeles County alone.

"We never anticipated that the flu is going to get this bad," physician Alice Benjamin told the news station.

Donald Trump Jr.'s wife was rushed to a local hospital after opening an envelope that contained a mysterious white powder.

The incident occurred on Feb. 12 at around 10 a.m. Vanessa Trump was opening a letter that was addressed to her husband when she discovered the mysterious white powder inside, the New York Post reported.

The letter was postmarked from Boston. Vanessa Trump was rushed to a local hospital as a precaution. She was accompanied by her mother, Bonnie Haydon, and an unidentified third party, sources said.

Haydon touched the letter before handing it to her daughter. The envelope also including a threatening letter that described Donald Trump Jr. as a terrible person.

The Secret Service, New York Police Department, the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force, and the Department of Environmental Protection all worked together in responding to the scene. Investigators confirmed that the mysterious white substance inside the envelope was corn starch.

"How disturbed must a person be to do what they did to a mother of five young children?" President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, said in response to the incident. "This dangerous and reckless act goes beyond political differences."

During a press briefing, White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also responded to the incident.

"I know the president spoke with [Vanessa]," Sanders said. "Beyond that at this point, it’s an ongoing and active investigation so I can’t comment any further."

Donald Trump Jr. married Vanessa Trump in November of 2005 at his father's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida. First daughter Ivanka Trump took to Twitter to offer words of support to her sister-in-law.

"Thinking of [Vanessa Trump] & wishing I was by her side today," Ivanka Trump wrote. "No one deserves to be frightened this way. There is no excuse."

Donald Trump Jr. also took to Twitter to thank law enforcement officials for their help and condemn whomever may have been responsible for the letter.

"Thankful that Vanessa & my children are safe and unharmed after the incredibly scary situation that occurred this morning," Donald Trump Jr. wrote. "Truly disgusting that certain individuals choose to express their opposing views with such disturbing behavior."

"A special thanks today to the great men & women of the [NYPD, FDNY, Secret Service, [FBI], and the Joint Terrorism Task Force for their decisive action and incredible words of support to my wife and family," the president's son added in a later tweet. "Their professionalism under pressure made a rough day manageable."

Kansas City's Veterans Community Project knew their homeless veterans didn't have many options: they were either going to spend the rest of their lives poor or end up in jail.

So they took matters into their own hands: with the help of the city's citizens, banks, trade unions, stores, local government officials, lawyers, and more, they literally made them their own town, reports The Kansas City Star.

"On any given night in Kansas City there are 130 to 200 homeless veterans who sleep on the streets, in the cold, under bridges, in the woods," one of the initiative's co-founders, Chris Stout, said. "These are the people who took the oath and were willing to die to defend our Constitution of the United States of America ... we are providing housing with dignity."

For the past two years, the Veterans Community Project has reportedly worked on creating the tiny Missouri town. It not only boasts homes but offers veterans classes on how to budget money, cook, stay healthy and overcome substance abuse issues.

The 240-square-foot homes contain all the necessities, from a kitchen to a bed and even climate control, but can be customized to suit each individual's needs. The veterans are allowed to live rent-free and can stay six months or a year.

While the majority of the 13 homes built so far are single units, four include facilities for veteran families, as well. They reportedly plan on adding at least 19 more homes, as well as building a community center for the residents.

"One of the vets was sitting out there last week, watching the houses get built and was in tears," Veterans Community Project co-founder Mark Solomon recalls, reports American Web Media. "Literally just crying about the fact that he was going to be moving into one of these houses. That's real. That's what makes this all worth it and yeah, it's a ton of time and a ton of effort, but we're gonna be able to help these people."

Other veterans were just as emotional after taking a first look at their new homes.

"Today is a momentous day for me," said Marvin Gregory, a veteran of the Army National Guard and the Coast Guard, at the town's ceremonial ribbon cutting on Jan. 29. "I'm very happy. These guys have been great. Now I'm going to have my own house and my own keys."

"This is a blessed day for me," added Michael Koch, a Marine veteran. "I can't wait to see my new home."

Footage of a South Korean figure skater's Olympic debut has gone viral after she completed her routine despite suffering a wardrobe malfunction (video below).

Yura Min, 22, was performing alongside her partner, Alexander Gamelin, when her red low-cut top became undone at the back, the Detroit Free Press reported.

A hook on Min's top came undone just seconds into her routine. The Olympic skater however, did not appear to miss a beat as she continued her routine despite the wardrobe malfunction.

"I was like, ‘Oh no!' If that comes undone, the whole thing could just pop off," Min told the Detroit Free Press. "I was terrified the entire program."

Although Min was seen constantly adjusting her top, she was able to complete her routine without any major mistakes.

"I didn’t stop. I went from the beginning to the end," she recalled. "I didn’t stop because you get a deduction if you stop in the middle of a program. In my head, I was thinking, 'Is it better to stop and fix it and get the deduction or keep going?'"

"This is my first Olympics, our first program and if my top were to come down, that would have been a disaster," Min added. "I was very nervous that the entire thing was going to come off.

"The fans kept cheering. Obviously, this is my first Olympics. I don’t want to let loose. I was terrified. I tried my best to keep it together."

Min and Gamelin came in ninth out of 10 teams. Gamelin said their low score had more to do with the wardrobe malfunction than the actual routine itself.

"Anytime she brought her shoulders in, it came down," Gamelin recalled. "I only noticed it halfway through. During our twizzle, it came off her shoulder, all of the way. She had to stop and pull it back up and that cost us a bunch of points. It wasn’t because we were skating poorly."

"Obviously, there were some things she couldn’t do because her costume came undone," Gamelin added. "She had to fix it a couple of times. I think the skating was good."

Min has since tweeted about the performance.

"Despite the wardrobe malfunction, I had an amazing time competing in my home country!" Min wrote. "I promise to sew myself in for the individual event. I would like to thank the audience for keeping us going until the end. Couldn't have done it without you guys #grateful."

An Outback Steakhouse server who complained relentlessly on her Facebook page about a church group that had left her no tip, lost her job. Her complaint was that even though they had ordered food worth $735 for a carry-out order, they were negligent to pay her any tip for her service, which ended up getting her fired because of her social media outbursts.

The story has gone viral after Tamlynn Yoder, who is 25 years of age, reported that she had spent most of her shift on Wednesday putting together an order by the church group. She said that the 75-item order was for the Christ Fellowship at the Outback Steakhouse where she was employed in Palm Beach Gardens, Florida.

"We take the order over the phone, we put the order together, take payment and then take order to the car,"Yoder said while speaking to The Palm Beach Post. "It's a lot of work just as much as serving."

Yoder went on to say that she only managed to make $18 from tips on Wednesday since she devoted most of her shift to putting up the church’s order of about 25 steaks, 25 chickens and 25 potatoes.

Yoder then took to Facebook to complain that the Christ Fellowship had gone miser while giving her a tip. Although, she did not confess as to where she worked in that post.

Later, when a friend of hers saw what she had written, he urged her to take the post down and further said that he would contact the Christ Fellowship directly to see whether they were in a position to offer some remedy to the dispute.

Only the next day, when Yoder came in to work, she was told that Christ Fellowship had been refunded their whole order amount of $735 and that the company would be letting her go.

As told by an Outback spokeswoman, Yoder had gone against the company’s policy, which prohibited any employee of the franchise to talk about their customers online.

Christ Fellowship said that they had reported back to the restaurant after hearing the complaint from Yoder’s friend and confessed that they had never intended for her to get fired over the topic of a tip.

The minimum wage for employees that have the advantage of getting tips is $5.23 per hour. Opinions vary from person to person with regard to the norms of giving tips to carry-out orders, but according to Yoder, it is a must.

"Coming in to eat or takeout, you should automatically be wanting to tip 15 per cent," she told WFLX, according to the Daily Mail. "From there you either go up or you go down, based on service."

"Thank you all very much for expressing your concerns," the church said in a statement on Facebook.

"We are sorry to hear about this situation and our leaders have been notified about it. We value our local business partners and those who work in their establishments -- many of whom are members of our church -- and it is customary for us to leave a generous tip whenever we pick up a carry-out order."

"They will be looking into what happened in this instance. We are reaching out directly to the people affected."

Renowned actor John Gavin, who starred in various movies such as "Imitation of Life," "Psycho" and "Thoroughly Modern Millie," has died. He was 86 years of age.

Gavin was a Hollywood heartthrob and also served as former President Ronald Regan's ambassador to Mexico in the 1980s. He died on the morning of Feb. 9, said Budd Burton Mossa, a representative for Gavin's wife, Constance Towers.

A regular on soap operas, both Gavin and Towers also played parts in the experimental films of Sam Fuller, such as "Shock Corridor" and "The Naked Kiss," and later got hitched in September of 1974.

Gavin, who is accredited with the titled of the second coming of Rock Hudson at Universal Pictures, played Lana Turner’s love interest in the 1959 reboot of "Imitation of Life" by Douglas Sirk. He played the role of Sam Loomis, who helps solve the mystery of Norman Bates as the boyfriend of Janet Leigh in Alfred Hitchcock’s classic movie "Psycho," which released in 1960.

Gavin was the object of Julie Andrews and Mary Tyler Moore’s affections in the movie "Thoroughly Modern Millie" by George Roy Hill, which was released in the year 1967.

"A sad day, my great friend John Gavin died. This morning. One of the finest men I knew. And like a brother to me. May he Rest In Peace,” wrote director William Friedkin on Twitter, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

He also appeared as Julius Caesar in Stanley Kubrick's "Spartacus" in the year 1960, and worked in the film "Midnight Lace," wherein he helps rescue Doris Day from her thieving husband, Rex Harrison.

Gavin was also a part of two short series in 1994 and 1995 as the framed lawman on the infamous ABC Western "Destry" and also as a freighter captain on NBC’s "Convoy."

He was signed and all set to portray his skills as James Bond in the movie "Diamonds Are Forever" (1971) just before Sean Connery reclaimed his role as the superspy after sitting out from "On Her Majesty’s Secret Service."

Later, in May 1981, the 6-foot 4-inch tall actor, who also spoke Spanish fluently, quit a Broadway-bound edition of "Can-Can" in order to accept Reagan's invitation to serve as ambassador to Mexico.

Some of the films which showcased Gavin’s acting skills are: "A Time to Love and a Time to Die" (1958), directed by Sirk; "A Breath of Scandal" (1960); "Back Street" (1961), another remake; "Tammy Tell Me True" (1961), with Sandra Dee; "The Madwoman of Chaillot" (1969); and "Pussycat, Pussycat, I Love You" (1970).

In his later years, Gavin also starred on the 1979 ABC miniseries "Doctors' Private Lives" as a heart surgeon, and also played the role of Cary Grant in a 1980 NBC telefilm, which was about the life of actress Sophia Loren.

Gavin also took advantage of the Broadway stage to win hearts in the 1973 romantic comedy "Seesaw." Some of his television appearances include: "The Virginian," "Hart to Hart," "Medical Center,"  "Mannix," "The Doris Day Show," "The Saint," and "Fantasy Island."

Emmy award-winning actor Reg E. Cathey, who was perhaps best known for his role in Netflix series "House of Cards," was also widely known for his work on HBO's "The Wire", died recently. He was 59 years old. Although the news was shared on Twitter and other social media platforms, no immediate details of his death have been given

Reg E. Cathey was known for his portrayal of the character of Freddy Hayes on "House of Cards," where he played the owner of a barbecue joint who eventually ends up in the White House with a high-profile job. He won an Emmy for the role in 2015 and was nominated for three consecutive years for the show.

Cathey also played the role of Norman Wilson, a newspaperman who became a Baltimore politician on the acclaimed drama series, "The Wire," by David Simon. He also stood out as a unit manager and warden Martin Querns on Tom Fontana’s HBO series, "Oz."

The most recent notable work of Cathey was when he played the character of Chief Byron Giles on Robert Kirkman’s series "Outcast," which was a Cinemax show. He was also a part of HBO's movie "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks."

Netflix, in a statement given to The Hollywood Reporter said, "We are heartbroken by the passing of our friend and House of Cards colleague … Reg was the kindest man, the most giving actor, a true gentleman."

David Simon also tweeted about Cathey’s death: “Reg Cathey, 1958-2018.  Not only a fine, masterful actor -- but simply one of the most delightful human beings with whom I ever shared some long days on set. On wit alone, he could double any man over and leave him thinking. Reg, your memory is a great blessing.”

"House of Cards" screenwriter Beau Willimon wrote, “Reg Cathey was one of a kind. Brimming with life force, generosity, humor, gravitas and a fountain of talent. Loved by everyone lucky enough know him and work with him. He will be greatly missed. Rest In Peace, Reg.”

Cathey was known for his commanding baritone voice. Another prominent role he played was that of Dr. Franklin Storm in the reboot of "The Fantastic Four" in 2015. Some other of his notable works include "Born on the Fourth of July" (1989), "What About Bob?" (1991), "Clear and Present Danger" (1994), "Seven" (1995), "Tank Girl" (1995), "American Psycho" (2000) and "Pootie Tang" (2001).

His television roles include that of a drug addict in the Simon miniseries "The Corner"; "Star Trek: The Next Generation"; Fontana's "Homicide: Life on the Street"; and "Grimm."

In an interview with The Guardian in 2016, Cathey said his career took an escalated path after President Barack Obama was elected.

"What I did notice is that Barack Obama becomes president and suddenly black people who are well-spoken are working more," he said. "This new market for the well-spoken black actor is all due to Obama. He got inaugurated, and I started working like a fiend -- hired by the same people who would previously ask: 'Have you always spoken like that?' It's like, you know what, motherf**kers, yes, I have.”

It was summer 2015 and the nation was reeling after a video of a Pennsylvania police officer beating a black man had just gone viral on the internet.

Racial tensions were undeniably high and media reports constantly reflected that at the time, reports Newsweek. It was in the thick of all this when African American Aj Baker and his friend Dajuan McElroy one day found themselves left stranded on the road.

The two were forced to pull over after getting lost and then suffering a flat tire. They had installed a spare that didn't work and hoped somebody would stop and help, but nobody did.

Baker, keenly aware of the current racially charged atmosphere, says it's likely the fact he is a 6-foot 6-inch African American man with tattoos kept people at a distance.

As a result, the men were forced to call police for directions, but authorities were also of little help.

"I had caution lights on and 3 squad cars passed me with my arm out the window -- and no help," Baker told Mad World News.

After four hours of waiting, the men were reportedly starting to panic when the most unlikely person noticed their situation.

A frail 88-year-old white man, George M. Jonkel, saw the two needed help, and immediately pulled over.

"He literally was the only person who stopped to help me," Baker remembers. "He pulled up graciously without looking at me weird because of my appearance."

Not only did Jonkel drive the boys to get a new tire, he bought it for them and stood with them until the spare was replaced.

When he noticed the car had died because the caution lights had been left on for too long, he jump-started the engine himself and even gave Baker gas money to get back home.

"God was good, and we got home, so I had to post what the Lord is still doing in the world," Baker explained. "If we hadn't gotten lost, I would have never met him … I'm glad I did because it was a moment of humbleness and understanding."

Many were moved by the story and applauded the elderly man for looking past racial stereotypes and divisions.

"Both Baker and Jonkel broke through various stereotypes to prove that there is a force more powerful and impactful than generations of negative assumption -- love for your fellow-man," wrote the Mad World News writer known only as Dom The Conservative. "We can assert and insist, allege and reason, even shriek and howl all we want in an attempt to convince someone, but the best proof is action, and the best action is one that surpasses all selfish reason."

Footage of a doctor draining a woman's infected abscess is going viral (video below).

The disturbing video was shared on YouTube. It shows Dr. Michael Lewis draining a patient's abscess, which was located on her armpit, the Daily Mail reported.

As the doctor guides his scalpel into the woman's armpit, red fluid is seen gushing out of the large abscess.

"It doesn't smell very good," the doctor is heard saying.

Dr. Lewis makes another incision in the infected area where an even thicker, reddish-brown pus oozes out.

"Fat abscess!" he exclaims.

The woman appears to be in pain as she starts to wince and bang on the table. The doctor injects more anesthesia and insists that all the pus.

Toward the end of the clip, Dr. Lewis is heard saying there is a lot of infected tissue, but all of the pus was removed. He revealed that he did not feel queasy at any point during the procedure.

"I have always enjoyed performing procedures -- it is one of my favorite things to do," the doctor told the Daily Mail. "I perform multiple procedures weekly from simple things like cleaning out ear wax and joint injections to removal of masses on the skin.

"Nothing bothers me too much as far as procedures go; however if the smell is bad, it can be really tough."

Several social media users commented on the video. Some recalled their own personal experiences with skin abscesses, while others simply wished for a speedy recovery for the patient.

"I've had one this big and let me tell you, it's an experience," wrote one user. "So seeing this doesn't so much gross me out but it does make me go wow."

"I had those when i lived on poverty and slept on a [mattress] i picked up in the street, [it] HURT so bad, i couldn't even put my arm down, these were feverish and huge," added another.

"That is painful," another commenter wrote. "Hope you are better!"

Skin abscesses usually occur when bacteria gets into a wound or enters the root of a hair or a blocked oil or sweat gland. Such infections can be avoided by washing your hands regularly, using your own towel, and bathing alone.

Maintaining a healthy, balanced diet, losing weight and not smoking can also help reduce the risk of skin abscesses, according to American Web Media.

Squeezing the pus out yourself is highly discouraged as it could spread the bacteria to other areas of your skin.

Warning: This video contains graphic content.

One Texas teenager died only a few hours after complaining of a stomach ache.

Now doctors have finally figured out what killed 17-year-old Josh Gray, reports American Web Media.

Josh was reportedly in class at Glenda Dawson High School when the pain struck, forcing him to go to the nurse's office. Two hours later, he was dead.

"He went from going to school yesterday morning -- normal day, happy -- to having a stomach ache, to within two hours not being with us anymore," recalls Josh's mother, Laurie Gray.

At first, doctors were puzzled; nobody could explain what killed Josh.

"No answers," said Laurie. "At 11:30 it's a stomachache, by three in the afternoon he's gone."

However, further investigations have since revealed Josh was suffering a ruptured artery that led to his pancreas. The pancreas ruptured shortly after the artery did, causing uncontrollable bleeding.

News of his death has left family and friends devastated.

"Josh loved everyone for who they were," Josh's friend, Austin Hurst, said, the Houston Chronicle reports. "I'm loud and obnoxious; he loved that about me. I mean, he loved all of us for exactly who we were. And that was the best part about being with Josh; you could be you."

"We love Josh," another friend, Seth Blunt, added. "We all love Josh. He's connected to us."

Now, loved ones are determined to raise awareness about the illness.

After Josh died, a friend launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover the Gray family's expenses, as well as help fund research for rare underlying disease.

"The Gray family is always the first to intercede and offer support the second someone they love is in need," the page reads. "Well, now it's our turn. While there is nothing that anyone can say or do to make this hurt any less, we would like to open this account for people to give anything they can so that this family has one less thing to think about during this time."

Within just a few days, donations quickly helped the friends surpass their initial $30,000 goal.

"So very sorry for the loss of dear Josh," wrote one donor. "We are all family in Pearland so losing him is losing one of our sweetest, kindest, caring son. The 17 on the end has meaning. That is his graduation year. He will graduate, not here on earth but in heaven."

"I am so sorry for your loss of a friend and family member," added another. "As a single mother of three, I can not contribute much, however, I hope the little bit our family can give will help."

A U.K. man who thought he found abandoned puppies in the trash learned they were actually fox cubs.

Craig Mcgettrick, who works in Liverpool as a mover, was on the job in March 2017 when he lifted the blanket off of a worn-out mattress and found five baby animals underneath it, American Web Media reported.

At first glance, Mcgettrick thought the animals were newborn puppies. He and his coworker rescued them from the trash and got the animals the medical attention they needed.

"Those were probably the only two options I knew of," Mcgettrick told The Dodo. "We thought someone had dumped them knowing we were going to remove rubbish."

After transporting the animals to a nearby rescue center, Mcgettrick took to social media to post pictures of the mysterious pups. While most people agreed that the animals were probably dogs, others were skeptical.

"After a rubbish removal job we unearthed a pile of rubbish and these little pups appeared in the rubbish we have taken them to an animal sanctuary so they have a chance to survive," Mcgettrick wrote of the rescue.

The image eventually reached Martin Hemmington, founder of the National Fox Welfare Society.

"We were contacted by a lovely lady called Beccie through our Facebook Page," Hemmington wrote. "Beccie had sent a few photos asking if the babies in the photos were indeed fox cubs. ... We confirmed they certainly were," Hemmington continued. "Beccie advised us that they had been taken to a rescue center in Liverpool mistakenly as puppies, not fox cubs."

However, the rescue mission was not over.

The National Fox Welfare Society then sought to reunite the fox cubs with their vixen mother. They received a tip informing them that the mom was looking for them in a garden. They reunited the babies with their mom one by one.

The organization wrote a summary:

By 6.54 the vixen was on a mission and one fox cub now remained and by 7.01 pm, Paul text me a photo of the empty box. All through this, I was letting Beccie and Craig know and everyone was so pleased that the cubs were back where they belonged ... with mum!

Special thanks to Beccie whose quick thinking and help made this heartwarming story possible, to Craig and Karen for their invaluable help and the Animal Sanctuary for agreeing to pass the cubs on. To Paul and his team (The Fox Man at Freshfields) for collecting the cubs and sitting patiently with hearts in mouths waiting for the vixen to return.

This story was only possible because of each and every person mentioned above and it really is heartwarming to know that this combined teamwork reunited five fox cubs, that were only days old, with their vixen mother. Well done everyone and thank you.

When a 9-year-old Texas cheerleader, whose absent father was training 1,700 miles away at Travis Air Force Base in California, began to cry during a football game, a high school boy did something incredible.

Addie Rodriguez, 9, is a cheerleader at St. John Bosco Elementary School in San Antonio. Addie’s dad, Abel Rodriguez, is a senior airman who has fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to WAOI.  

During a football game when all the girls’ fathers stepped out of the bleachers to lift their daughters onto their shoulders, Addie was left alone, reports KTLA.

Her mom, Alexis Perry-Rodriguez, explained, “It was really heartbreaking to see your daughter standing out there being the only one without their father, knowing why he’s away. It’s not just an absentee parent. He’s serving our country.”

It was a stark reminder that her dad couldn’t be there for her. Her eyes welled up with tears as she watched the other cheerleaders with their fathers.

“I just felt like really sad because I missed him a lot,” says Addie.

But Matthew Garcia, a high school senior, saw that Addie was still on the ground and visibly distraught. So he jumped over the fence to ask her if she was OK.

Garcia told WOAI, “I ran down from the bleachers right here. I just hopped the fence, and I went over, and I kneeled down, I talked to her and I said, ‘Are you OK?’”

He immediately realized what was wrong and lifted her up onto his shoulders so she wouldn’t feel left out.

“I realized what he [Garcia] was doing, and my heart just melted,” says Alexis. “It was just the most beautiful thing.”

The high school senior is just glad he could help make Addie’s day. And the 9-year-old was eternally grateful for what Garcia did.

“I just felt like somebody saved my life,” said the fourth-grader.  

“She’s really tough and she understands that dad goes away for a reason,” says Alexis.  

A mother is speaking out after finding a pedophile-linked symbol on her child's toy.

Nicole O'Kelly had taken her children to the Tampa Bay, Florida, Monster Jam show when her son decided to buy his 2-year-old sister a pink, plush monster truck, reports WHEC.

"I actually thought it was cute because it was pink," recalls O'Kelly. "I was like 'Oh, they actually have a pink toy for a girl, that's really cool.'"

However, upon returning home, O'Kelly's older daughter immediately noticed the toy had a family symbol: a double heart emblem she'd seen on the TV show "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit."

After doing a bit of research, O'Kelly was horrified to learn the heart's double meaning. It turned out to be a symbol pedophiles use to represent a sexual relationship between an adult and female minor, an FBI bulletin published by WikiLeaks reveals.

"Pedophilia symbols on jewelry, coins, Web sites and other effects are indicative of advertisement methods used by child sexual predators to promote their cause," the document reads.

"When I see that heart inside the heart, it's a pedophile," agrees Anna Potter, the associate executive director of The Bivona Child Advocacy Center, HuffPost reports. "It's that underground culture that they use to communicate."

"It could mean criminal behavior," Potter added, reports Syracuse.com.

The disgusted O'Kelly quickly went into action.

"Immediately, I went into momma bear mode," she said, WFLA reports. "I was angry. I wanted to call and text everybody. I wanted answers."

"I'm absolutely sick," she added. "I bought this for my 2-year-old little girl. This is for little girls, especially at a predominately male event."

O'Kelly reached out to Feld Entertainment, the company that runs the Monster Jam. They were clueless as to the symbol's double-meaning and decided to pull the toy while offering full refunds to anybody who bought it.

"The company was not aware of the disturbing message contained in the truck's design, nor did we intend to use any design that had a secret or double meaning," said Stephen Payne, vice president of corporate communication.

"We had no idea," he added. "We reacted immediately. I had no idea there was an underlying meaning of these symbols and the deplorable behavior...We just want to make sure it doesn't happen again."

The individual who designed the toy reportedly now no longer works for Feld Entertainment.

One Minnesota family is convinced they've witnessed a "miracle" after their daughter survived what should have been a deadly car crash.

Hannah Smith, 21, lost control of her Toyota Camry and went tumbling down the highway before her car was ripped in half, reports WDAY.

"I get emotional every time I think about it, when I think about her in that car, tumbling, breaking into two," Todd Smith, Hannah's father, remembers.

Authorities rushed to the scene fully expecting to recover a dead body. Yet upon scouring the heaps of metal that was once the car, they found an injured -- but alive -- Hannah.

Paramedics were shocked.

"There was one portion of that car that was survivable and that's where she ended up," Todd said.

"The one guy told us he's been doing this for 15 years and he honestly didn't expect anyone to be alive in there," he adds. "He'd never seen anyone survive such a catastrophic accident."

What's more, it turned out Hannah received minimal injuries, considering the severity of the accident; she only suffered a fractured sternum, pelvis, and had surgery on a broken arm.

"There was something other than that little Toyota Camry that saved her life," said Todd. "I don't believe in good luck. I think that God saved her."

Many agree with Todd that this was an act of divine intervention.

"God is in all things and was in that car for this young woman to make it out alive, so she can accomplish the things He has in His perfect plan for her," wrote a Mad World News writer. "[Hannah's] path in life didn't end there on that road. Looking at this car and seeing her today should be faith-affirming to believers and convince the skeptical that there's more at work than our earthly minds can comprehend."

It's just one of the many times a person has gone through a catastrophic crash and somehow survived.

A 3-year-old girl was the sole survivor of a small plane crash in Russia, thanks to a teacher who cocooned her body, the Mirror reports.

"When the witnesses ran up to the crashed plane, there was silence," recalls Natalia Petukhova, a local airport official.

"Then I heard somebody was crying," adds Petukhova. "The girl was sitting in her seat wearing a safety belt, next to a woman. This woman was Olga Laponnikova. She had covered the girl with her body."

Recently, horrifying news of a young Kentucky family of four people has shocked readers. They were killed in a terrible car crash earlier this week -- four months earlier, a separate car crash killed five other members of the same family.

A collision in Cold Spring, Kentucky, led to the deaths of five people, four of whom were related.

The victims of the accident were identified as Taylor Koch, aged 22; her husband Brandon Lawson, aged 23; and their two children -- Brendan, who was only 21 months old, and his sister Isabella, only 6 months old -- by the police. Another person who was killed in the accident was 74-year-old Sharon Groves.

According to the authorities, all five of the car crash victims were pronounced dead at the scene. The sole survivor of the initial crash was Russell Groves, Sharon’s husband, 83.

A Facebook post from one of the family members claimed that Russell Groves was hospitalized with serious injuries.

"Father-in-law is still in critical condition on a ventilator not conscious. Has multiple broken bones and has had two surgeries so far to repair internal bleeding,' Jim Pychon wrote.

"Update, it's much worse. Both legs broken, arm broken, lost his spleen and a large section of intestines, and all his ribs broken. Dr. says 50% chance," he added.

Cold Spring Police Chief Steve Collinsworth said that tests have been ordered but it’s highly unlikely that the cause of the crash was drugs.

"It's really undetermined why it happened," he said. "If you can put your finger on it, it makes it a little easier, but in this case, we may never be able to do that."

"I saw the young woman first. I checked for a pulse, there wasn't one," he said. "The car was such a mess, it looked like it didn't have anyone else in it. I didn't see anybody else. I looked and I saw a car seat. I reached in for the baby. I felt for a pulse. There was not a pulse."

"I kept going back and checking again, checking again," he said.

A family relative, Nancy Dishman, said that she was heartbroken over the loss.

"There are no words you can put in to ease the pain and suffering that both families are going through or getting ready to go through," her brother, Ray Dishman, added.

"Such tragedies in the past few months that you've got to pull support from your faith and your family and your friends to get you through this difficult time," he said.

In November of 2017, Nancy and Ray Dishman attended the funeral for Nancy’s son and his family.

On Oct. 26, in Independence, Kentucky, a family of five was killed in a car crash. Rodney Pollitt, aged 26; his wife Samantha Malohn, aged 27; and their three children -- Hailieann Pollitt, aged 9, Brenden Pollitt, aged 8, and Cailie Pollitt, who was only 6.

Taylor Koch and Rodney Pollitt were cousins and fell victim to untimely deaths.

The car the family was traveling in was hit by 57-year-old Daniel Greis in a head-on collision. The entire family died on the spot. Greis was hospitalized.

The police accused Greis of drinking and driving at the speed of 100 mph at the time of the accident. He was further charged with murder and pleaded not guilty in January. He is set for a court trial June 19.

After an escort claimed a married Republican lawmaker met her twice for sex, he has resigned without any prior notice. This is the same lawmaker who had voted for stronger punishments for prostitution.

Call girl Brie Taylor claimed she was paid for sex on at least two occasions by Republican state Rep. Jon E. Stanard of Utah while he was on  business trips to Salt Lake City in 2017. He lives in St. George, Utah.

On his website, the politician claimed, “I am a strong advocate for conservative family values. I am pro life, as well as for traditional marriage.”

The 43-year-old member of the Utah House of Representatives was caught red-handed after Taylor, 39, released the text messages sent to her by the Republican. The numbers from which Taylor received those texts about meeting up matched to those of Stanard.

After this, his personal numbers have been disconnected and his website and social media accounts have been shut down.

The speaker of the Utah House of Representatives, Greg Hughes released a statement that expressed his surprise:  "Last night Rep. Stanard unexpectedly resigned due to personal and family concerns. We will honor his request for privacy, and ask that others do the same."

The statement continued, "We wish Jon and his family the best at this time."

Stanard's lawyer, Walter Budgen, also released a statement about his client's resignation.

"Given the current climate in this country with misconduct allegations and the way things are happening in the media right now, there isn't any explanation that my client could give that would overcome the shadow of these allegations," Budgen said. "He has resigned his office."

Taylor also reacted to the news of her client's resignation:  "It was inevitable that he had to resign."

“People here will be grossed out and appalled by this," she added. "They thought they knew him. I was surprised when I found out that he voted in favor of stricter laws. This is a Republican state so you have to stick with your buddies otherwise it will hurt your career, but on the other hand, he is a john. It is hypocritical because he is supporting laws that make it stricter for other men who do what he does.”

According to Taylor, he first approached her on March 7, 2017, writing, "Looking at your website. Can you meet? Would need to be tonight. Only in town a little. Anytime. Can do in or out. At hotel in downtown [Salt Lake City]."

He reportedly messaged her again on June 20.

"I already knew who he was because I screen all my clients using a phone number service and I Googled him," Taylor noted. "I was surprised that he was using his real phone number. I thought that was kind of stupid but I knew he wasn’t a psycho so I met him. He opened the door and he was very nice. He was a gentleman. We chatted just briefly and then I got changed out of what I was wearing into lingerie. Then the adult stuff started to happen."

She said the one-hour session went quickly, then they chatted for a while. Taylor says she told Stanard that she knew about his politics.

"I told him I had Googled him and we talked about what he does," she said. "He said he comes up to Salt Lake a lot and he would like to see me again. He said he never does this sort of stuff in St. George because it is really culturally strict down there."

She also disclosed other information about their session: "He doesn’t drink so we didn’t do anything like that but during that session they were trying to pass medical marijuana so we talked about that."

If convicted of the crime, he could face a fine of up to $2,500.

The internet is filled with condolences after Hollywood producer Jill Messick took her own life on Wednesday in Los Angeles. She used to be Rose McGowan's manager in 1997.

Messick's family released a statement confirming her death on Thursday, reports the Daily Mail. She was 50 years old.

It was revealed that she had been a longtime sufferer of depression.

The new book "Brave" by McGowan, which was released on Jan 30, claimed that Messick did very little to help her after McGowan initially came clean about the alleged sexual attack by Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.

It is reported that Messick helped set up the meeting between McGowan and Weinstein at the Sundance Film Festival in 1997, where McGowan now claims that Weinstein raped her.

The family said that McGowan's personal battle with the allegations is what initially set the spotlight on Messick.

Messick’s name being pulled through the mud amid the sexual misconduct allegations reportedly led her to suffer depression and manic episodes.

"What makes Rose’s inaccurate accusations and insinuations against Jill ironic was that she was the first person who stood up on Rose’s behalf, and alerted her bosses to the horrific experience which Rose suffered," the family said.

Messick’s family went on to say that "the media is a fearsome tool which cannot be used indiscriminately or even inadvertently to create further victims."

"There is a responsibility when using a platform to accurately expose criminals, predators, mistruths and misdeeds while protecting the actual truth of third parties," the statement read. 

An email was made public by Weinstein attorney Ben Brafman which said that Messick had sent to McGowan Weinstein in the first place. The email spoke to various circumstances surrounding the allegations of the sexual assault filed by McGowan.

The email includes the following passage:  

"When [McGowan and Messick] met up the following day, she hesitantly told me of her own accord that during the meeting that night before she had gotten into a hot tub with Mr. Weinstein. She was very clear about the fact that getting into that hot tub was something that she did consensually and that in hindsight it was also something that she regretted having done."

Several lawyers from Addis-Wechsler & Associates said that settlement talks were headed by Messick, but the family says that is completely untrue.

Messick's family released a statement regarding the issue:

In January 1997, Jill was an entry-level manager at Addis Wechsler. One of her first clients was Rose McGowan, and one of Jill’s first duties was to set up a breakfast meeting with Harvey Weinstein during the Sundance Film Festival. Following the meeting, Rose told Jill what had happened -- that she made the decision to remove her clothes and get in the hot tub with him -- a mistake which Rose immediately regretted. Rose never once used the word rape in that conversation.

Despite this, Jill recognized that Harvey had done something untoward to Rose, if not illegal. She immediately went to her bosses, the partners of Addis Wechsler, to recount Rose’s story and to insist that they immediately address the situation. They told Jill that they would handle the situation.

The ensuing arrangements between Rose and Harvey were then negotiated, completely without Jill’s knowledge. At that time, all Jill knew was that the matter was settled and that Rose continued making films with the Weinsteins. She never knew any details until recently, when Rose elected to make them public.

McGowan and Weinstein have not yet commented on Messick’s suicide.

Messick also leaves behind her two children, Jackson and Ava.

A photo of an American flag featuring light shining through in the shape of a soldier during Memorial Day weekend has gone viral on social media.

Steve Bankston was fishing at his favorite spot along the Mississippi River when he decided to take a photo of the scenery, Mad World News reported. He captured an American flag in the photo.

Bankston said he's taken several pictures of American flags in the past, but when he took this picture, he noticed something on the flag that made him look twice. The sun was shining through, causing a very interesting shape on the flag.

Bankston took to Facebook to share a photo of the bizarre shot:

After coming in from fishing this evening and as we were frying the fish and the Sun was setting over the River I took this picture. I have taken a lot of pictures of our flags with the River in the background but Never had an Image on one like is in this picture. We might look at a cloud and everybody see a diffrent image and the same for this picture but what I see is the Image of an American Soldier with his Helmet on Protecting our Country and Us. Thought it was Awesome that the Image showed up on the Flag for Memorial Day Weekend. I took pictures from the same place 5 minutes later and the Image is gone. What do you see on the Flag? Beverly tagged some folks with my picture and it has been shared almost 300 times. The Image is touching peoples lives on this Memorial Day Weekend. Please Share and help it go Viral. God Bless America and our Military!!

Bankston's photo ended up going viral and was shared more than 39,000 times.

President Donald Trump took to Twitter on Feb. 9 to talk about the military, and accuse Democrats of not prioritizing America's armed forces.

"Just signed Bill. Our Military will now be stronger than ever before. We love and need our Military and gave them everything -- and more," the president tweeted. "First time this has happened in a long time. Also means JOBS, JOBS, JOBS!"

"Without more Republicans in Congress, we were forced to increase spending on things we do not like or want in order to finally, after many years of depletion, take care of our Military," Trump continued. "Sadly, we needed some Dem votes for passage. Must elect more Republicans in 2018 Election!"

"Costs on non-military lines will never come down if we do not elect more Republicans in the 2018 Election, and beyond," the president added. "This Bill is a BIG VICTORY for our Military, but much waste in order to get Dem votes. Fortunately, DACA not included in this Bill, negotiations to start now!"

A Marine veteran's photos showing her body after having her leg amputated have gone viral.

Kristie Ennis got into a helicopter accident in 2012 that led to multiple surgeries, the Independent Journal Review reported. She was forced to have her leg amputated, but decided to complete the Walk of Britain before undergoing the life-changing procedure.

Ennis took the 1000-mile trek across Great Britain alongside several other veterans from around the world. Prince Harry also appeared at the event and met Ennis.

Ennis gave Prince Harry dog tags that belonged to a friend she had lost. She took to Instagram to reflect on the event:

This was a hard one. There are people in your recovery who turn into your rock, and they never even truly realize it. Since my injury, I have met some of the most remarkable, and inspiring people. Chris Van Etten and Colleen Baune became pillars of strength for me even through the new challenges they faced after TJs passing. We may not be terribly close as we were in the beginning of my recovery, but I'll always feel indebted to you. I truly don't feel like I would be as far as I am now without you being there in the start. Thank you. I did this for you to honor TJ. All my love, and best wishes.

As we finished at Buckingham Palace today, TJs dog tag was left with Prince Harry to be honored and remembered. Prince Harry has become a dear friend to us and genuine advocate for our militaries.

Since having her leg amputated, Ennis says she has worked hard to stay active and inspire others. She has posted several pictures, including one photo project called "body image project," where she shows the results of her procedure.

"I wanted to show the scars initially, anywhere on my body, even the disfiguring scar on my face," Ennis told People. "I wanted to portray the scars but I also I wanted to show the evolution of what I have been through.

"At the end of the day, the struggle of what you go through -- whether it be traumatic or if you have a bad day in everyday life -- the struggle is what makes you stronger."

Ennis is currently the director of Wounded Warrior Outdoors. She plans on climbing the Carstensz Pyramid in Indonesia, a climb which has never been attempted by a woman with the injuries she has.

"I’m trying to move forward without being a sitting duck with my leg," Ennis said. "I can do whatever I want to do -- it might just take a little longer and I have to find the means to do it. I am completely able.

"Physically I am different, but I am just as whole."

Most of us don't like being pulled over by a cop, but for one woman, it was a blessing in disguise; thanks to a traffic stop, her child is alive today.

Officer Nick Mitchell initially pulled Michigan mother Rhonda McArthur over because she was speeding, reports WXYZ.

Yet after approaching her car, the officer was distracted; he noticed there was something off about her 10-year-old son, Nickolas.

"He didn't ask for my driver's license and registration," recalls the mother. "He looked at him and asked, 'Is he okay?'"

McArthur explained the boy was experiencing a life-threatening asthma attack. She was speeding on a nearly empty tank, desperately trying to get her son to the hospital as quickly as possible.

"I had meant to fill up that morning, but I didn't have time," said McArthur. "I was just hoping I would make it to the doctor."

"She had 10 miles to empty…" said Mitchell. "He was gasping for air."

Without a moment's hesitation, Mitchell tried to call the ambulance but ran into another problem: there were none available.

So he was forced to take matters into his own hands.

"A decision was made to put him in the police car and get him there as fast as we could," said Officer Mitchell, adding a firefighter arrived to supply oxygen while they headed to the hospital.

After arriving at the hospital, it took time to stabilize the child. But thanks to the traffic stop, he survived.

"I wasn't expecting this, but it feels good to help," said Officer Mitchell.

It's not the first time a routine traffic stop turned out to be a miracle.

South Carolina State Trooper Benjamin Crocker saved a 3-month-old baby's life while conducting his routine traffic stops, reports KUTV.

"It was just a normal day, you know, spotting violations," said Crocker.

While in the middle of explaining what one driver had done wrong, a woman parked behind him and started a commotion.

"She starts screaming 'my baby, my baby he's not breathing,'" Crocker recalled. "At that point, I just went into action."

Crocker rushed to the woman's car.

Thanks to CPR classes he took through his military and police service, he was able to rescue the infant.

"I kicked into life-saving mode I guess," he said. "I just started doing gentle light, sternum rubs with my two fingers. Once I got a response out of him and he started crying, I knew he was breathing again."

"I think everything happens for a reason," he added. "For that day, I think I was just placed there."

A Utah mother has been charged with child abuse after allowing her boyfriend to abuse her child and ultimately cause the baby's death.

Gena Nicole Sanchez, 22, has been charged with two counts of second-degree felony child abuse a week after her boyfriend, 17-year-old Isaiah Weaver, was charged with causing the death of her 21-month-old baby, Jaycieion Sanchez, The Salt Lake Tribune reported.

Weaver reportedly beat the baby boy with a heated clothes hanger. He is also accused of kicking and hitting the infant. Sanchez is believed to have witnessed the abuse, according to court documents.

The baby died from blunt force injury on Jan. 16. Court documents revealed that Jaycieion suffered brain trauma that was consistent with head impacts and "vigorous shaking."

Weaver was charged with first-degree felony aggravated murder earlier in February. He was also charged with two counts of second-degree felony child abuse. He is being charged as an adult.

Sanchez told authorities she had been dating Weaver for about 8 months and that he was staying at her house for a month. He had stopped working and was babysitting Sanchez's three children while she worked. Her other two children are 2 and 5 years old.

The mother-of-three added that she felt Weaver was jealous of her relationship with Jaycieion. She also told authorities that she had a "weird feeling about going to work" on the day her baby died. Sanchez said she still went to work "because they needed the money."

Police were called to the home and found Jaycieion unconscious. The child was pronounced dead about an hour later at a nearby hospital.

According to court documents, police found fresh blood stains on the walls, ceiling and furniture inside Sanchez's home. Weaver was initially booked into a juvenile detention center, but was later transferred to an adult jail after prosecutors filed a motion.

Weaver reportedly admitted to having a "bad temper" with the boy and said he had "gone too far" when trying to get Jaycieion to "be quiet," according to Mad World News. He also confessed to throwing the infant child several times before he died.

Sanchez is now mourning the death of her baby boy, despite being charged with allowing the abuse to take place.

"I will never forget you Jay, I will never forget you," she said, according to Mad World News. "You’re always in my heart, and I will not rest until you get justice."

"He was the happiest baby ever," Sanchez said of her baby. "You ask him a question like, 'Did you miss me?' And he says 'Yeah!' I can still hear it."

A Little Caesars Pizza restaurant in Indiana was temporarily closed after customers found mouse feces in their food.

Johnathan McNeil said he and his girlfriend noticed the droppings after picking up the pizza at a Little Caesars in Indianapolis on their way home on Feb. 6, reports Fox 59.

"She looked at the pizza and realized there was like doo-doo looking stuff on the pizza," said McNeil.

Disgusted, the two rushed back to the restaurant.

"All of them were looking at my pizza dumbfounded as if they didn’t know what’s going on," recalls McNeil, "I said 'That's mouse doo-doo on the bottom of my pizza.'"

Later, McNeil called in health inspectors and posted about the incident on social media.

"I called the police and three officers came to the scene and found the mice poop covering the entire pizza," McNeil wrote on Facebook. "This is extremely disgusting and unsafe to health. I seen a woman with children walking out with pizza before me. Lets expose them & get them shutdown."

Upon inspection, authorities confirmed McNeil's suspicions.

"We did find that there were rodent droppings and violations that warranted us doing a license suspension," said Janelle Kaufman with the Marion County Health Department.

It turns out the restaurant had been battling mice for at least six months, and had been cited 4 times.

Kaufman says the restaurant fully cooperated with authorities. By the next day, it was open again.

"They cooperated with us, they worked with us ... they cleaned everything they needed to do," said Kaufman.

Nevertheless, McNeil urges the public to always be careful.

"I just want people to check their food and be very cautious about what they're eating," said McNeil.

Kaufman agrees and encourages customers to call health inspectors if they think it's necessary.

"When they call and let us know what they see, it's so helpful to us," said Kaufman. "Any restaurant can benefit from another inspection."

This is not the first time food from Little Caesars Pizza has captured national attention for posing health hazards.

In October 2017, Detroit health officials reported two cases of hepatitis A at a Little Caesars Pizza store and Firewater Bar and Grill, MLive reports.

"Those who patronized Firewater Bar and Grill from October 15 through October 24, or consumed food from Little Caesars Pizza at 12712 Fenkell in Detroit from Oct. 15 through Oct. 26 should consult their primary care provider to receive the Hepatitis A vaccine as early as possible, and before November 7, 2017," Detroit health officials said.

A North Carolina mother is speaking out after her disabled daughter's photo was used to promote eugenic abortion on Twitter.

Natalie Weaver says 9-year-old Sophia suffers from Rett syndrome, a neurological disorder that impairs brain development, thus affecting one's use of language and motor functions, reports Fox 8.

Consequently, Sophia depends on her family 24 hours a day, every day. The child was also born with face, hand, and feet deformities.

"We have to deal with so many challenges, but because of her my life is better," Natalie says. "I know what true happiness is."

Sadly, however, not everybody appreciates Sophia.

Natalie was outraged and worried after somebody tweeted a picture of her 9-year-old daughter with a paragraph promoting coerced abortion.

They made sure to tag the m other in it before even sending her a direct message to stress their point.

"Yea it is okay to think that everything matters, however, a lot of them do not hence the amnio test," tweeted the individual, adding that those who choose not to abort an abnormal fetus should pay for all bills accrued because of the disabled child.

While Natalie reported the tweet and encouraged thousands of her follows to do so as well, Twitter reportedly never deleted the account nor removed the post.

"I blocked it," she said. "I just hoped it was gone. But it was never removed. The account remained."

Consequently, only a few months later, the individual returned to throw more Twitter daggers.

"She will live a miserable life and be a burden on the family and society," one of the tweets read, according to Fox 8. "Civilization does not run on feels."

"#ISHUDNTHAVETOPAYFOIT" added another.

Eventually, after Natalie reached out to news outlets, Twitter was pressured to respond and take the post down.

"After reviewing your earlier report, it appears as though we missed a violation," they wrote Natalie in a message the mother shared on her Twitter account.

They admitted they'd made a mistake and that they did not have enough space in their reporting tool to include disability as a reason for reviewing a post. This may have been a reason why the abuse was allowed to continue.

The mother says she is no stranger to such attacks. Throughout Sophia's life, Natalie's been told her child should be dead, and Facebook users are no exception to the rule.

However, unlike Twitter, Facebook's reporting feature already has a category specifically for attacks against "people with disability or disease."

"Twitter needs to add people with disabilities as a category in their violation reporting," the angry mother says. "Otherwise people don’t know the appropriate category to select for hate towards people with disabilities."

At a February summit in Abu Dhabi, former President George W. Bush declared there's "pretty clear evidence" Russia interfered with the 2016 presidential election.

 "Whether they affected the outcome is another question," Bush said at a summit put on by the Milken Institute think tank in the United Arab Emirates capital, reports The Guardian.

While Bush never directly criticized current President Donald Trump, he continued, expressing his concerns over such alleged meddling.

"It's problematic that a foreign nation is involved in our election system," he said. "Our democracy is only as good as people trust the results."

The former commander-in-chief also criticized Russian President Vladimir Putin while expressing his support for NATO and similar alliances, reports the New York Daily News.

"He's got a chip on his shoulder," Bush said of Putin, calling him "zero-sum." "The reason he does is because of the demise of the Soviet Union troubles him. Therefore, much of his moves [are] to regain Soviet hegemony."

"[He] is pushing, constantly pushing, probing weaknesses," added Bush. "That's why NATO is very important."

In addition to commenting on Russia, Bush also discussed immigration.

Although he didn't mention Trump specifically, he criticized the administration's decision to get rid of a program which allowed young immigrants illegally brought to the country stay.

"America's their home," he said. "They've got to get it fixed."

Bush's comments on Russia was met with praise.

"I disagree with essentially every decision the man made, but I respect this man 1000 times more than the current occupant of the White House," wrote one person in Politico's comments section.

"Trump allowed this in his desire to become the leader of the US for his own greedy end," added a second. "President Bush is correct. We need all notables in this country to speak out against this tyrannical administration and their Putin dictator friend."

Yet not everybody was a fan nor agreed with the former president's assertions.

Some pointed out Bush was the same president who claimed there was also evidence of "weapons of mass destruction in Iraq."

"So show us the PROOF of collusion between Russia and the Trump Administration...there is NONE after over a year of saying there is," wrote one person. "What a fraud."

"He has no moral authority and needs to keep his yap shut like he did for the Obama Presidency," lashed out another. "Too bad his loser brother lost and that seems to be the driving force for this sort of attack on Trump."

After students at a California elementary school asked for better toilet paper for the school, toilet paper manufacturer Charmin delivered in a big way.

According to KSBW, students at El Gabilan Elementary School in Salinas, California, were challenged to make a positive change at their school.

After doing some brainstorming, students decided the school needed better toilet paper as the generic, inexpensive type the school used was too rough.

Students shared a video on Twitter asking Charmin, the toilet paper manufacturer known for its advertisements featuring cartoon bears, for help.

"I have some breaking news, we have some bad toilet paper," one of the students said in the video.

"It just rips into little bits," another student added. "You have to keep pulling and pulling it."

The next morning, Charmin responded to the video. Students were shocked by the response.

Within days, a delivery truck arrived at the school with a special delivery: 6,000 rolls of toilet paper.

"It was shocking," said 4th-grader Diego Nuno. "I never knew it would happen."

Fourth-grade teacher Ariel Cariaga said she felt proud of her students and was glad that they learned that they are capable of making a difference.

"That's what we wanted them to really learn," she said. "That their voices can be heard at the age of 9 and 10."

This is not the first time Charmin has donated its toilet paper for a good cause.

According to parent company Procter & Gamble, in 2014, Charmin donated nearly 50,000 rolls of toilet paper to firehouses across the country. Each firehouse the company donated to received 960 rolls, which is a year's supply of toilet paper for about 20 firefighters.

"We heard stories of firehouses across the country that could use a little help due to insufficient funds or other constraints," said Charmin Regional Brand Director Scott Mautz. "We want to help the brave men and women who put their behinds on the line day in and day out for others -- America’s firefighters. Charmin is committed to giving people a more enjoyable bathroom experience -- no matter where they are."

"My firehouse is my home away from home and where my extended family lives in good times and bad," said firefighter Chris Smith from Rhode Island. "It is awesome to know that Charmin cares enough not only to think about us, but also to try and make us more comfortable. In really hard times, our firehouse serves to keep our tax payer family safe too, especially when they have lost their first home. Helping us helps them when they need it most."

An Alabama man is in custody after turning himself in to police in connection with a viral video showing the sexual assault of a child.

According to CNN, 44-year-old Germaine Moore of Millbrook, Alabama, turned himself in to police outside of Montgomery on February 6 after a disturbing video went viral in which he is reportedly seen sexually assaulting a child.

The video spread on social media as users shared it in an attempt to find the man involved. Authorities believe the girl seen in the video was 6 years old at the time.

Leading authorities from several states warned after the video began spreading that sharing and possessing the video could lead to charges.

"To everyone concerned about the viral video involving the small child, PLEASE STOP SHARING IT," the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department wrote on Twitter. "Think of the child and how this will affect her. The child is safe, and the male has been identified. This is not in Indiana. Thank you all for your genuine concerns."

Authorities confirmed that the child seen in the video was found and is safe.

Moore has been charged with multiple counts of criminal sexual conduct, according to WXIN. He is accused of sexually assaulting three girls under the age of 13 from 2011 to 2017. Those girls were family members and were under his care at the time of the alleged crimes. Prosecutors said that the instances of abuse took place in both Alabama and Michigan.

"I believe we have the right person for this event," said Lt. Brooke Walker, the commander of the Alabama Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Authorities are now working to determine when and where the video was taken.

According to WXIN, another Alabama man was arrested in connection with the case. Jerrell Washington, 42, was accused of sharing the video to Facebook. Police said that he was not involved in the creation of the video.

"These are the kind of cases -- where a six-year-old child is being forced to engage in sexual activity -- that gives all of us as parents nightmares," said Elmore County District Attorney Randall V. Houston.

The investigation began after the Alabama Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and police in Montgomery, Alabama, learned that the video was being shared on social media. Authorities teamed up with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and Facebook to find out more information on the video.

Tips began pouring in from around the world, leading investigators to believe that the video was connected to the Montgomery, Alabama, area.

After police identified Moore as a suspect and asked the public for help locating him, he turned himself in to Millbrook Police.

Moore is being held in the Elmore County Jail.

The bearded and grizzled face of Mickey Jones was often used to add texture to shows including "The Rockford Files" and "Justified." He was also in more than a dozen films, including "Sling Blade" and "National Lampoon's Vacation." His drumming skills will forever be heard in oldies on the radio. He died after a prolonged illness at the age of 76.

"Mickey Jones died at 2:17 a.m. today of the effects of a long illness,” confirmed his representative, Cherry Hepburn to the Fox News in a statement on Feb. 7. The illness that took Jones' life has not been disclosed.

It is mostly likely that Jones will be remembered for his performances in the movies, "National Lampoon’s Vacation," "Sling Blade" and to his sitcom fans, for "Flo," in the early 1980s.

But Jones got his start in show business on a drum kit, playing for 1960s hitmakers, including Trini Lopez in "If I Had a Hammer," Johnny Rivers in "Secret Agent Man" and country legend Kenny Rogers and the First Edition in "Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love To Town" and "Just Dropped In (To See What Condition My Condition Was In."

Jones even went on tour with musician Bob Dylan and was the drummer during the 1966 performance, which is now considered a legendary one, at the Manchester Free Trade Hall when Dylan was chastised as "Judas" by an audience member for using an electric guitar.

Jones even appeared on the early 1970s variety show, "Rollin’ on the River," while he was playing with First Edition. This gave him a taste of life in television and marked the start of a TV career that would continue for decades.

His most talked-about role was in "Flo," which was a spinoff of "Alice" and aired from 1980 to 1981 on CBS. Following that, he got a role in top shows of the time, including  "M*A*S*H" and "Home Improvement" in which he had a recurring role as Pete Bilker. Other shows he was in include "Baywatch," "Entourage," "It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia" and "Workaholics."

Mickey Jones was a character actor who was typically cast as a rugged biker, a hippie or a blue collar worker. Jones’ most recent role was a 2015 recurring character as a pot dealer named Hot Rod Dunham on FX’s "Justified."

Jones’ movie appearances were limited to a few, but he made a mark in whatever role he bagged for himself, some of which include, "Sling Blade," "Tin Cup," "Total Recall" and "The Last Best Sunday."

In a 2009 Houston Chronicle Profile, Jones was sitting at the Bob’s Big Boy diner in Burbank, California, which said that he had frequented since 1960. He also went on to explain his acting approach as “I’m not a method actor.” He added, “When somebody says ‘action,’ I can turn it on, and when they ‘cut,’ I turn it back off.”

Billy Bob Thornton, who was Jones’ friend and also a "Sling Blade" co-star, told the Houston Chronicle: “There’s no pretense to him and none in his acting, but he can do it all. He can do anything, from a kid’s enthusiasm to something real mean.”

Over the years, the assignments given out in elementary schools have changed drastically. The basic aim of all schools at this point is "modernizing" their homework strategies so they can better equip students with knowledge of the world.

One mother was particularly upset with the assignment her son, who is a fourth-grader, came home with. She found the content of the homework offensive.

Trameka Brown-Berry, from Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, is the mother of fourth-grader Jerome, a student at Our Redeemer Lutheran Church and School.

One day, Jerome returned from school with an unusual assignment that his teacher had given him to complete. When Jerome shared this assignment with his mother, she was shocked to see what the school might be trying to teach her child.

The question clearly asked the students to come up with any three bad reasons for slavery, and also three "good" ones. Trameka, after having glanced at the assignment, was outraged at the audacity of the teacher to have asked such a question.

Soon after, she posted a picture of the assignment, along with a short message, asking people if they were as outraged. “Does anyone else find my fourth-grader’s homework offensive?”

Plenty of people responded shortly after Trameka posted.

“Not only was this assignment offensive, it also minimizes the impact that slavery has had on Black people today. The faculty doesn’t just need culture training, they need an entire education,” commented one Facebook user.

Another added to this by saying that, “What was good about slavery? I think this assignment was badly worded by the teacher.”

While most of the commenters were horrified by the question in the homework, one of the comments tried to come up with a different angle.

One Twitter user explained that "good" is in quotations and "It's possible the question is asking kids to think critically about why a culture would have slavery and how it would be defended by those who did it. If appropriate class discussion accompanies it, it could be a good assignment.”

A lot of people had their own opinions on a critical issue as this, but the most surprising and beautiful reason came from the fourth-grader himself. Jerome, may be a young boy but he is already a kind, confident and outspoken.

Jerome wrote, “I feel there is no good reason for slavery.” For this, his mother was extremely proud of him.

Trameka, along with a group of supporters, contacted the school board to get the issue sorted out. A statement was released by the principal of the school, Principal Jim Van Dellen, who was apologetic that the assignment was so inappropriate.

“We understand that, as presented, the words used showed a lack of sensitivity and were offensive,” he explained to The Associated Press. “The purpose of this assignment was not, in any way, to have students argue that ANY slavery is acceptable -- a concept that goes against our core values and beliefs about the equality and worth of people of all races.”

“Out of a very negative situation we were able to come together as a community and stand united in support. That is so beautiful, thank you,” Trameka wrote after seeing the response.

A family in Southern California has said it is suing Starbucks. The Redlands family filed suit after their 2-year-old girl drank a beverage served to her. The family says the drink was contaminated with the blood of a barista, the family's attorneys announced on Wednesday.

The family, Amanda Vice, her husband Louis Vice and his mother, Rhonda Agles, had ordered several beverages from the coffee shop  in San Bernardino on February 6, 2016. After returning home, the family noticed a red smear on the side of one of the cups and they described a strong smell coming out of the drink as "metallic', according to the 19-page-long lawsuit. The document was provided by a Los Angeles-based firm, Frish Law Group, which represents the family.

The family became even more suspicious after a similar red mark was seen on another cup that was shared by the family and the little girl. Because of this, Amanda Vice suggested that, at first she was unable to see anything on one of the cups.

She also added, "Once we drank it, then we could see on the inside of the rim that there was blood." She also said her daughter was licking the lid from the cup, which had whipped cream on it.

The family stated that none of its members were bleeding at the time, so they called Starbucks to ask if any employees had open wounds. They were told one employee at Starbucks had been bleeding but had been removed from the floor, the lawsuit states.

The father, Louis, added, “My wife and my baby just drank someone’s blood. It was bad.”

The family was concerned about the possibility of disease and asked the manager to tell the employee to go for an HIV test, even though he could not be forced to do so.

“The family was then left to schedule their own blood tests, causing extreme distress for the parents as they had to watch their daughter be poked with a needle and agonizingly wait for the results,” reads a news release from the firm.

The blood tests were negative for any serious diseases, but the family needed to be tested six months later to make sure they had not contracted HIV or another communicable disease.

“This caused the family stress, nervousness, fright, anguish, grief, anxiety, worry and shock for several months while awaiting the second round of test results” the law firm noted.

"We felt sick to our stomachs, we shouldn’t have to worry about going to get something to drink and there being blood in our drink where we could get sick," Amanda said. "It’s very stressful."

The family was later offered compensation of $1,000 per family member after the incident, but according to attorney Stan Pekler, “it does not begin to compensate the family for suffered injuries and damages for which Starbucks is liable.”

“They endured additional distress because Starbucks seemed to not care about their wellbeing and refused to direct the employee to undergo a blood test to ensure the family's safety,” Pekler said.

A woman's birth story went viral after photos were published of her giving birth to her son in the hallway of a hospital.

Jesica Hogan wrote a blog to share the story of the birth of her son, Max, as well as included photos of the labor captured by photographer Tammy Karin.

"We finally were off to head to the hospital around 5 am. Contractions coming every 3 minutes, mildly intensifying and becoming closer together. Went from almost 3 cm dilated to a 4 in the first hour of arrival, and we thought we were in the early stages of welcoming our last baby into our family," Jesica wrote in a blog on Little Leapling Photography's website.

She continued her rather amazing story:

After 4 hours of laboring in the tub, bouncing on the ball, and walking the halls, we decided we wanted to try to stick to our plan of an intervention free birth. So we chose to leave the hospital without any further progress and contractions that had begun to space out. We spent the following days gently encouraging the contractions, hoping to edge them on into labor. At home I was 5 cm dilated but would not move any further and contractions were uncomfortable, but never really gave me the feeling they would amount to anything more than a sleepless night.

We spent our days walking, going to the pool with our girls and completing small projects around the house. Every night brought timeable contractions that were not allowing me to sleep. I was losing faith in my ability to tell when I would actually be in labor, and losing faith that my body knew what it was doing.

Sunday we spent nearly the whole day at our local pool and ended the evening with my mother in law and I painting our nails while we watched Game of Thrones with my husband. I put our 2 year old to bed, still contracting, and we snuggled for some time. Later, I vividly remember telling my husband, “I’m having contractions again, but I don’t think they’ll amount to anything”. I confided in him as we lay in bed that night that I was afraid I would either need to be induced, or that I wouldn’t know it was the real thing until it was too late and we were having a baby at home.

The couple ultimately went to the hospital, and Jesica explained that she could "feel the baby moving down quickly with each contraction." The mother knew that her son was on his way quicker than expected, and she even felt like the baby was ready to emerge as she attempted to get out of her car once she arrived at the ER. That feeling, she wrote, "made it nearly impossible to move."

Just as she was about to walk into the hospital, Jesica spotted Karin coming toward her. The two made their way into the hospital just as Jesica's husband, Travis, was coming back outside to get her after checking in and getting assistance.

"Tammy rushed through the doors ahead of us to alert the front desk  that I was in fact having this baby right now and urged her to call for help," she wrote.

I made it just past the second set of automatic doors, into the next hall which luckily was not carpeted like the one we had just stepped out of. I know at this point I said something to the effect of, “oh god, he’s here”. I then started to take my pants off because I could feel my body pushing the baby’s head out. I reached down and could feel his head crowning with my hand. I looked at my husband and said, “Travis catch him!” Without any hesitation he did just that as I felt my body involuntarily pushing his head the rest of the way out. At that moment Tammy began snapping away! Then the nurses came rushing down the hall. It was a blur at this point, they reached us, helped me lay down just as my body began to push again.

Travis said the ER nurse who reached us first quickly supported his head, he still had his hands on baby’s head too, as well as my back while they laid us down. That same nurse gently removed his cord that was loosely around his neck, now his head was completely out. With 1 more push as instructed by the nurse, and the only intentional push I gave, I felt the rest of his body come out.

He arrived on the floor just inside the entrance of the emergency room at 3:38 am. Less than 25 minutes from the time my water broke at home, and only a few moments after we stepped inside the hospital. They placed him on my chest, his head was so bruised from arriving so quickly. The nurses were amazing, so was my husband. They all gently helped move baby up to my chest, and my husband placed a towel sweetly under my head. I wasn’t aware of much other than his presence at my right side.

Jesica called the experience her "craziest birth" but also deemed it "the most perfect."

"It was not at all what I had planned, but it ended without any intervention, with a healthy baby, and amazing support people by our sides. It was beautiful and I’ll forever love every memory of it," she wrote.

Stunning photos of the birth taken by Karin quickly went viral after the woman's story circulated online.

"Amazing photos," one Daily Mail reader commented in response to the pictures.

"Omg that's crazy! Blessings to the family," another added.

Grateful Dead lyricist John Perry Barlow, who was also an internet activism pioneer, has died at the age of 70.

Barlow was the writer behind several Grateful Dead classics including "I Need a Miracle" and "Cassidy" -- writing many of them alongside band member Bob Weir. Weir mourned Barlow on social media after news of his death surfaced.

"This life is fleeting, as we all know - the Muse we serve is not. John had a way of taking life’s most difficult things and framing them as challenges, therefore adventures. He was to be admired for that, even emulated. He’ll live on in the songs we wrote," Weir tweeted, HuffPost reported.

Other tributes soon poured in, with many expressing sadness over Barlow's passing.

"The world lost a true hero today, a Renaissance man who was a relentless warrior for our freedom. We will all miss you," entrepreneur Nolan Kay Bushnell tweeted.

Barlow was also an activist for online freedom, and co-founded the Electronic Frontier Foundation. Cindy Cohn, an executive with the organization, mourned Barlow in a statement.

"It is no exaggeration to say that major parts of the Internet we all know and love today exist and thrive because of Barlow’s vision and leadership. He always saw the Internet as a fundamental place of freedom, where voices long silenced can find an audience and people can connect with others regardless of physical distance," Cohn's statement read.

Other tributes praised Barlow following his tragic death.

"I knew John Perry Barlow from the early days of Twitter, when the place was like a global coffee shop we all staggered into in the mornings. He was never less than kind, funny and warmly human. Good night, John," author Warren Ellis tweeted.

"Oh, no. I just knew something awful would happen to my generation today! And only 70! These days, especially here in Florida, where we dress young, act young, attend marches and political meetings, fight to save our lagoon. 70 is really young to die. What a loss to rock 'n roll," one HuffPost reader commented on the site's Facebook page.

"I am so very sorry...his words have transformed, comforted and pleased so many...this Deadhead is forever Grateful...May you Rest In Peace...and jam with Jerry, Brent and Pig Pen," another added.

"Today the world lost a champion of the internet. I lost an old friend. Memories are rushing back. 'Blow the horn, and tap the tambourine; Close the gap of the dark years in between... Fare thee well now.' RIP," researcher Danah Boyd tweeted.

An Oregon hospital has reversed its position after initially denying a woman a liver transplant because she was not a documented citizen of the United States.

Silvia Lesama-Santos, 46, was listed as being in "critical condition" when the Oregon Health and Sciences University denied her a liver transplant, Fox12 reported. The American Civil Liberties Union said in a press release that the transplant was denied because Lesama-Santos was an undocumented immigrant.

Lesama-Santos, who is a mother of four, has reportedly lived in Oregon for three decades. Although she has health insurance through her husband's employer, she received a letter on Feb. 5 informing her that she does not qualify for transplant evaluation because she does not have "lawful presence."

Andrea Williams, who is the executive director of immigrant rights advocacy group Causa Oregon, was devastated by the rejection.

"Denying Silvia a transplant based on her immigration status is effectively a death sentence," Williams said in the release. "Our hearts are breaking for Silvia and her family. We hope there is still time for OHSU to change their decision."

The Oregon Health and Sciences University reversed its decision on the same day the ACLU press release emerged. They also issued a statement:

It was brought to our attention this evening that an archaic transplant policy was preventing an undocumented individual from being evaluated at OHSU. Upon learning of the policy, OHSU leaders acted immediately and terminated the policy. We deeply regret the pain this has caused the family.

OHSU is committed to serving our entire community -- all are welcome at OHSU, and this policy does not reflect our values.

The OHSU transplant team is informing the family of our change in policy... OHSU's legal team has begun a system-wide audit to ensure no other such policies exist.

The mother's eldest son, Ivan Gonzalez Lesama, started a GoFundMe page.

"My siblings are young, they are ages four, thirteen, and fifteen, with me being the oldest at 21.  We don't know what we'd do without her," the son wrote. "While my family continues to fight for her life and health as she remains hospitalized, we are asking our community for support with medical expenses."

He later said he appreciated everyone for their support.

"To who this may concern my mother starts the transplant process tomorrow!" Ivan wrote. "This is a life changing opportunity that we have been givin! My mother thanks all of you for your thoughts!"

The page raised nearly $5,000 of its $10,000 goal in just one day.

A fourth-grade teacher adopted her most difficult student and his baby brother after forming an unlikely bond that turned the young boy's life around.

Chelsea Haley began working in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, for nonprofit organization Teach For America in 2013, CNN reported.

The nonprofit seeks to "strengthen the movement for educational equity and excellence," according to its mission statement, the Daily Mail reports.

During her time there, she met Jerome Robinson.

"At certain points, his behavior got so bad, I thought, 'I can't do this anymore. I can't be a teacher,'" Haley told CNN, admitting that she was not planning on adopting Jerome or his little brother Jace.

"I never thought I'd be a single mom at age 24, especially of two boys, one of which was my 12-year-old student. And the other one who was only a year-and-a-half," Haley admitted.

Jerome and Jace spent most nights with their grandparents and some time with their mother. The family lived in poverty and was mourning the death of two other family members.

"It was really hard on [Jerome's mother] after she lost her husband," Haley said, adding that the family lost a little sister, as well. "It was just a combination of tragedy coupled with the other social situations you face when you live in poverty."

The fourth-grader was struggling in school, and teachers were having difficulty controlling his behavior, according to Haley. She says she was the only one who could get through to the boy.

In 2015, Haley was closing in on her end time with the school when the principal suggested that she stick around "for Jerome." She decided to sign up for a third year as a special education teacher.

One night, Haley said she had a dream in which she felt as if God was telling her that she was destined to become Jerome's mother. She laughed about it, and went back to sleep.

But the following day at school, Haley said she felt very peaceful while she sat with Jerome as he took an exam.

"He just asked me if he could live with me," Haley remembered. "I told him I had been feeling the same thing."

Haley went to have dinner with the boys and their mother the next day. Haley said she was planning on moving back to Georgia at the end of her third year at the school.

"You can go back," the mother said to Haley. "But I want you to take Jerome and Jace with you."

Haley filed the paperwork to become Jerome and Jace's legal guardian. She also pulled money out of her retirement plan to place a down payment on a house.

The teacher said Jerome "has not gotten any suspensions or anything, which is a huge improvement from life in Louisiana."

"He used to fail all of his classes and just didn't care," said Haley, who is now teaching in Georgia. "Now he has made honor roll both quarters of his eighth-grade year so far."

"I always knew I wanted to be a mom and I wouldn't trade this for anything," Haley added.

Haley took to Facebook on Feb. 8 to thank everyone who supported her during her transition into parenthood:

Any and all money will go straight to getting Jace back to his preschool in the Fall and the remainder immediately to a college savings account for both boys.

I cannot even count the number of nights I have laid in my bed and shed tears (like, bawling, for real) to God to provide relief and financial support for my boys. For those of you who know me, you know all I have goes to my boys. Heck, I wear the same three pairs of shoes for every occasion.

When God told me I would be Jerome's mom, He also told me, 'It was going to be okay. You need to trust Me.' I have held on to those words of Hope for over two years and promised to be faithful, even when it hurt. I want to thank everyone in advance for everything you are doing and will do for my boys. We are so Blessed by you all. I know their birth mother will be moved when we call her with the news.

A photo of an injured volunteer deputy in Texas has gone viral.

Harris County Sheriff’s deputy Major Jimmy Rollins was left bloodied after responding to a domestic violence call, KHOU reported. He is a reserve deputy, meaning he works for free.

"We play the same role as a full-time deputy, except that we don’t get paid. There’s really no difference other than a paycheck," Rollins said.

Rollins has reportedly volunteered with the Harris County Sheriff's Department for 32 years now. The county is said to have the second-largest reserve program in the United States, with 200 volunteer deputies.

"Man, I just think it’s something that’s in your heart. If it’s not in your heart, I don’t think you’ll do it," Rollins explained.

Several social media users praised Rollins for his volunteer work as a reserve deputy.

"I had no idea that we have VOUNTEER police officers! (About 200 in Harris County) Now that's dedication!" wrote one Facebook user. "Thank you!"

"Thank you for keeping us safe," wrote another. "Continued prayers for all Law Enforcement Officers."

"Bravo to you sir for standing up for what is right in your community," another user wrote.

"Thank You for everything you do to keep us safe ... You're All Appreciated," added another.

"Thank you Deputy for protecting our city," wrote another commenter.

"God bless him and his service," wrote another.

Chief Deputy of Harris County Sheriff’s Office Reserve Command David Deleon spoke about the merits of being a volunteer deputy.

"We’re doing this in a profession right now that’s probably not the most popular profession this day and age," Deleon, who has been a volunteer for 25 years, told the news station. "We have people who are willing to do this for free because they believe in it."

The suspect accused of assaulting Major Rollins was identified as Israel Meza. He is now facing charges of aggravated assault on a peace officer.

According to Twitter account "Back The Blue," Rollins was protecting a woman and her children from Meza during the encounter.

"HARRIS County Sheriff Reserve Deputy Major Rollins Had A Rough Day," the tweet read. "He Helped Protect A Woman and Her Kids From A Man Assaulting Her. Major Rollins Did His Job, He Answered The Call. He VOLUNTEERS His Time and Services In His Community To Which He Receives NO PAY."

Details on the domestic call response have not yet been confirmed by the news station. The photo of Rollins was reportedly shared more than 14,000 times.

A well-known Black Lives Matter activist was shot dead in New Orleans. He was known for his video footage of crossing over a police line and grabbing a confederate flag in Charleston.

The activist, known as Muhiyidin d'Bah and also known as Muhidin Elamin Moye -- and to some, Moya -- was shot at 1:00 a.m. on Monday morning, according to the Daily Mail. He was reported dead from loss of blood at 9:30 a.m. the next day after being rushed to the hospital.

The activist was reportedly in New Orleans for personal reasons and not necessarily for activist purposes. Very little is known about the shooting and police are still investigating on the motive and suspects behind the killing.

D’Bah was in his 30s when he lost his life and was considered a very significant figure in the community. News about his death has greatly affected his friends and family, who had called up a fundraiser with a $7,500 target -- but ended up raising $15,000.

Prior to his death, D’Bah had been arrested in February 2017 for disorderly conduct when he jumped a police line and grabbed a flag from a Secessionist member.

The man had been waving the flag outside Sottile Theatre in Charleston, South Carolina, and was part of a demonstration. He was said to be waiting on Brittany Newsome, who was scheduled to give a talk at the premise.

This act resulted in great tension where members from the party demonstrated against D’Bah by flying their flags over garages in the city all through the weekend.

D’Bah was reportedly a passionate activist and was caught on live camera running through a police barricade behind a TV anchor.

He tried grabbing the Confederate flag after breaking through the barrier, but soon dropped it before getting tackled by police officers.

D’Bah and his parents moved to Southern California when he was 13. His father is Muslim while his mother is of the Baha’i faith.

D’Bah had a troubled childhood, in which he reportedly got into trouble for stealing cars but later went on to college to study psychology and also played football.  

His friends and family speculate that his death was the result of a violent hate crime, although it is still not quite clear who is behind the shooting and what motive they had. Friends and family have paid tribute to him on Facebook as they try to absorb the shock of his death, while stating that he was a man who lived and served his community and people.

D’Bah’s sudden passing has left many in shock as the police assure the community that they are looking into his case and are working on it as hard as they can. He was known to be a fighter of justice by his friends and family and even though some of them disagreed with his methods of expression, they still upheld his message.

According to reports and interviews, droves of people are convinced that there is a lot more to his killing than meets the eye. 

Ernest Merle Anziana, aged 48, was arrested on Tuesday for trying to buy sex from an 11-year-old for $250. His intention was to buy sex from the young girl, impregnate her and keep the baby for himself after delivery.

Anziana fell prey to a make-believe advertisement by police who were posing as an 11-year-old girl online for sale. The 48-year-old man took the bait and offered the girl $250 and a quantity of meth in order to have sex with her and get her pregnant.

Anziana was charged with five different counts of cyber crimes which fall under unlawful use of electronic device as well as soliciting a minor for sexual favors.

The devices used to lure the girl included a cell phone and a tablet. He is currently being held in Kansas on a $250,000 bond and if convicted, is looking at almost 20 years jail.

Anziana has had three prior arrests involving aggravated incest, which will not help his case if he is taken to court for trial. He is already a registered sex offender and the courts will likely not appreciate seeing him return, which may result in the judge handing down a harsh sentencing.

The community received the news with shock, most of them stating that they are relived the 11-year-old girl in this case was make believe. However, that does not change the fact that the man had ill intentions and, if there were a little girl, she would have surely suffered at his hands.

Anziana is now facing human trafficking charges. He was indicted on Tuesday by a grand jury. The trap that led to his current predicament was launched by the cyber crimes branch of the Kentucky Police.

His intentions of buying the girl and getting her pregnant was clear on the site after he offered her $250 and some street drugs. Anziana is also facing charges for offering illegal substances to an minor. The felonies just keep stacking up for this guy.

The drug charges may be handled separately from the soliciting ones or may be inclusive and dealt with all at once. With his three prior incidences, Anziana has proved to be a danger to the community at large.

Ernest had no clue that he was being set up when communicating to the fake little girl online, who were actually police officers trained in the art of baiting pedophiles.

Police still do not know whether the meth he offered the undercover police officer was tangible as he was not found with any in his possession at the time of his arrest. 

Daily Mail readers left all sorts of comments on the article. 

"Rabid dogs are always put down. Why should this animal be any different?" said one. 

"It's terrifying that someone could even consider doing this - and even worse that it could really be happening. There's some people out there who are too sick to be allowed to be free," another added. 

One even offered to take him off the legal system's hands.

"I volunteer to give him some 'counseling' to see the error of his ways for no charge. It might even save the expense of a trial."

A Texas middle school student drove the school bus he was riding on to safety after the driver had a medical emergency (video below)

Karson Vega, 13, says he was taking the bus home from LaGrange Middle School with six other students on Feb.1 when the driver started driving erratically, reports KXAN.

"He was going off in the ditch almost every turn, and then he started driving and swerving and stuff," Karson recalls. "I noticed something was wrong."

Without a moment's hesitation, Karson reportedly ran to the front, jumped onto the bus driver's lap, and got behind the wheel.

"I was like "no, I’m not dying", so I jerked the wheel," he said.

"He wouldn’t take his feet off [the pedal] so I kicked them over a little, so I could get the brake and stuff and turn the flashers on and everything," the student added.

In the meantime, sophomore Kyler Buzek comforted the younger children while calling 911.

The teenager managed to drive for about two miles down to a bridge that crosses the Colorado River before safely stopping the vehicle, thus allowing emergency responders to get on board.

Asked if he was scared to drive, Karson said no. He explained he loves automobiles and his family has let him practice driving on back roads.

"I'm used to driving," he said.

"My uncle let me drive his 18-wheeler, so it’s pretty much the same thing," he added.

After rushing the sick bus driver to the hospital, he is now in recovery.

Karson and the other students are now being lauded as heroes.

"You can't foresee something like this," Superintendent William Wagner said. "This is my 41st year in education, never experienced anything like this. I hope I don't have to again, but I'm just very proud of our students, because in critical situations it takes people to step up, and they did."

News of the incident soon captured national attention, impressing many across the country.

"Absolutely well done young man you definitely deserve a medal for what you did," another added in the Daily Mail's comments section, referring to Karson. "Not only did you save the driver and the school bus but you also saved all those other children on that school bus with you.But most of all you should be very proud of yourself."

"Wow!" exclaimed one person in KXAN's comments section. "La Grange has some real heroes! Without their quick thinking and keeping their cool under pressure, we could be reading a very different and very tragic story."

They continued, praising both Karson as well as Kyler.

"That was a very frightening moment for everyone onboard," they said of the boy. "It takes a very mature person to step up like that and reassure everyone. That's a sign of a good leader."

The internet is abuzz with speculation after many noticed first lady Melania Trump was following former President Barack Obama on Twitter.

The first lady recently started following Obama, causing some to raise their eyebrows -- particularly as the FLOTUS only follows three other people on Twitter: her husbands two accounts, second lady Karen Pence, and Vice President Mike Pence, reports Newsweek.

It's not clear when, exactly, Melania Trump started following the former president.

Nevertheless, some wonder if the first lady -- who reportedly distanced herself from the president after reports revealed his lawyer paid a porn star to cover up an alleged affair --purposefully followed Obama.

"It's a lovely bit of husband-trolling that Melania Trump only follows five people and one of them is Barack Obama," tweeted British novelist Matt Haig.

Many have long believed that President Donald Trump, who has sought to reverse many of Obama's policies, is in competition with his predecessor -- and possibly outright dislikes him.

Up until now, at least, it appears Melania Trump supported her husband's hostile actions toward Obama.

"It's not only Donald who wants to see [Obama's birth certificate]," Melania Trump once said in 2011, defending her husband's accusations that Obama was not born in America. "It's American people who voted for him and who didn't vote for him. They want to see that."

However, since reports of the president's affair with porn star Stormy Daniels surfaced in January, some think the first lady has kept her distance from her husband.

Not only  did she cancel her plans to travel with the president to the World Economic Forum in Switzerland, the two arrived to the State of the Union address separately.

Yet not everybody is a fan of such rumors or believes them.

The first lady's communication director, Stephanie Grisham, spoke out against allegations the president's marriage is on the rocks.

"BREAKING:The laundry list of salacious & flat-out false reporting about Mrs. Trump by tabloid publications & TV shows has seeped into "main stream media" reporting," tweeted Grisham in January. "She is focused on her family & role as FLOTUS - not the unrealistic scenarios being peddled daily by the fake news."

Some agreed and offered their sympathies.

"I'm very sorry she has to be subjected to this," responded one person on Twitter. "Clearly it is unfair.  I have never been more proud of a First Lady in my life.  Please assure her there are many, many who love and appreciate her sacrifice for our great country.  Blessings."

A Tennessee Wildlife Resource Agency officer was asked to leave an Ohio Outback Steakhouse restaurant because he was carrying his service weapon.

The officer, Andrew Ward, says he was out having dinner with his wife when the manager asked him to remove the weapon, reports News Channel 9.

"I let her know that I couldn't because I was in uniform," Ward wrote in Facebook post that has since been deleted, reports the Daily Mail. "She then went and made a call and came back and we were asked to leave because Outback is a gun free zone."

Ward adds that the manager explained a nearby customer became "scared for her life" and terrified because "police are shooting people."

Outback later apologized for the manager's behavior.

"We've always allowed uniformed law enforcement officers to carry their side arms inside our restaurants," said the Director of Media and Community Relations for Bloomin Brands, Outback's parent company. "A manager made a mistake and we have discussed this with her. We have contacted the guest personally and apologized."

Ward says the manager at the Outback also apologized and will be sending him a $100 gift card.

"They have apologized profusely and I have accepted their apology and the issue, in my opinion, has been concluded," he said.

Nevertheless, news of the incident quickly captured the attention of other officers, who were upset by the restaurant's actions.

"I was very saddened to hear the reports of a law-enforcement officer who was asked to leave a restaurant in this community," Wrote Bradley County, Tennessee, Sheriff Eric Watson in a Facebook post. "While I truly respect the restaurant for reaching out to the officer, our community must also show support to the men and women who place the badge on their chests every single day in order to protect the establishment in which the officer was asked to leave."

However, some took the restaurant's side.

"This is a family restaurant," wrote one person in the Daily Mail's comments section. "And he should have respected that woman who spoke up and not brought his gun into a restaurant that has a posted no guns allowed sign. He was in uniform also, could he not have gone home and changed so he and his wife could have had a nice dinner out."

"If the restaurant policy is no firearms, then no firearms, officer of the law or not," agreed another. "It is well documented that police officers shoot unarmed people in the USA daily, he has no right to complain, go eat with your gun loving citizens and allow good folk to eat in a gun free oasis."

Investigators said a Missouri woman who killed her 3-month-old baby and her husband before turning the gun on herself may have been suffering from postpartum psychosis.

According to the Daily Mail, Mary Jo Trokey, 32, her husband Matthew Trokey, 33, and their 3-month-old daughter, Taylor Rose Trokey, were all found dead from gunshot wounds by a concerned family member. The family member immediately called police to report the gruesome scene.

Police said they believe Mary Jo killed her baby and shot her husband before turning the gun on herself.

Now, it is thought that the mother may have been suffering from postpartum psychosis when she killed her family and herself.

Postpartum psychosis, a disorder that is triggered by childbirth, can cause delusional and irrational behavior. In rare cases, the disorder can cause a mother to harm her child.

A law enforcement source said that Mary Jo appeared to have purchased a gun shortly before killing her family on either February 1 or February 2.

News of the murder-suicide shocked the St. Vincent community of St. Louis. Neighbors described the Trokeys as "the perfect family."

"It's a shame," said neighbor Frank Cantone. "That's tragic, especially when you have an infant involved. We've waved at them, said hello."

Local pastor Bob Reiker, who baptized Taylor Rose in December 2017, expressed his shock after hearing the news.

"It's hard to imagine what happened," the pastor said. "People are baffled by it. It's inexplicable how someone could do this to themselves, let alone their little girl."

He continued, "[They] seemed like a very stable, Catholic couple. You would never suspect there were any problems that would lead to something like this."

According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, the majority of those suffering from postpartum psychosis do not harm themselves or their children. The rare few who do harm their children are betrayed by their maternal instinct, which leads them to believe that death is the only way to protect their child.

As many as 85 percent of new mothers experience mood swings, anxiety and sadness in the first several days or weeks following childbirth. For only about 15 to 20 percent of mothers, the mood swings do not fade and can progress into severe depression and anxiety.

"Usually the first indication that it's anxiety is when she's distraught by it ... she recognizes this is not typical or healthy," said Erin Poniewaz, a mother-baby intensive outpatient program therapist at Mercy Hospital in Creve Couer, Missouri.

Women suffering from postpartum psychosis, which is experienced by up to 1 in 1,000 new mothers, often to not realize they are acting irrationally and may hear voices or have paranoid delusions and hallucinations.

A federal prisoner who was convicted in connection with the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks claimed that he has evidence proving President Donald Trump of collusion, though it has nothing to do with Russia.

According to the Inquistr, Zacarias Moussaoui, 49, filed a lawsuit against Trump, claiming the president is responsible for the "psychological torture" he has endured while serving his time in solitary confinement.

"They are trying to break me psychologically," Moussaoui wrote in the lawsuit.

Moussaoui is known as the "20th hijacker" for his role in the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. According to KDVR, he was the only person convicted in the U.S. in connection with the terror attacks.

The convicted terrorist claimed in the lawsuit that he had evidence that President Trump is guilty of collusion, but not with the Russians. Instead, he claimed that Trump colluded with Saudi princes who were responsible for conspiring with the CIA, FBI and the late al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden to attack the U.S.

Moussaoui claimed in his handwritten petition that Trump will not allow him access to attorneys who would be able to help him prove the allegations.

Courts have dismissed several other federal lawsuits filed in various states by Moussaoui through the years, including a 2014 lawsuit in which he claimed that he had inside information on the inner workings of al-Qaida.

Moussaoui also claimed that he was assaulted while in federal custody and sought the assistance of various judicial officials, both civilian and military.

He said that he was attacked by other inmates during his time at the federal Supremax prison in Florence, Colorado, which was previously used for some of the country's most dangerous criminals, including Unabomber Ted Kaczynski, Oklahoma City bomber Terry Nichols and Ramzi Yousef, who who the mastermind behind the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center.

Moussaoui, a French citizen of Moroccan descent, attended flight school in Norman, Oklahoma, prior to the 9/11 terror attacks.

In August 2001, after leaving Oklahoma for Minnesota, Moussaoui was arrested on immigration charges after employees of a Minnesota flight school became alarmed that he expressed interest in wanting to learn to fly a Boeing 747 despite having no pilot's license.

In 2005, he pleaded guilty to conspiring with the other 19 hijackers to kill Americans. He is serving a life prison sentence at the Supermax prison.

Moussaoui has given multiple accounts of his connection to the attacks. Since his sentencing, however, he has claimed that he lied when testifying that he plotted to hijack a fifth airplane on September 11.

Two Washington state mothers were horrified when they discovered that their toddlers' eyebrows had been waxed while at daycare.

Alyssa Salgado and Glenda Maria Cruz both took to Facebook to complain after they discovered that daycare workers at the Boys and Girls Club daycare center waxed their toddlers' eyebrows.

"I really didnt wanna make this a big deal but today my life change i never thought something like these would or could of happened to my son like wtf were this ladys from sons daycare were thinking to waxes his eyebrows and not just him they also did it to my friends daughter I know a lot of you are going to say this not a big deal but honestly for me it is because their skin is really delicate and no lady has the right to do this to any kid," Cruz wrote in a Facebook post.

"When we went to [confront] the lady who is in charge there all she said was that she talked to her staff and they all say they didn't do it and then she asked me what I wanted with a smile on her face and then told me that no one is forcing me to bring my son [to] CBC daycare but I'm paying for they can watch him good not to be waxing his eyebrows honestly I don't know how other moms will react if this was your child for me I feel like this is a warning like they did this what's next."

Salgado claimed in her post that she dropped her 2-year-old daughter off at daycare was shocked when she noticed a red patch of skin between her eyes when she picked her up later in the day.

"I, like, got a closer look and I saw she was missing her patch of hair because she has a unibrow and she was born like that," Salgado told WLTX.

The Boys and Girls Club quickly responded to the controversy.

"The Boys and Girls Club takes these allegations seriously and will work to support the investigation process," the organization wrote in a statement to the Tri-City Herald, adding that they were "committed to operating safe and supportive programs."

Salgado told WLTX that she hopes investigators eventually figure out who waxed her daughter's eyebrows and hold them accountable.

Both women took their daughters out of the daycare after discovering the alleged waxing.

The Washington State Department of Early Learning confirmed that it was investigating the incident. Officials stated that they expected the investigation to take no longer than 30 days to complete.