Tuesday, June 21, 2011
German surgeons remove huge tumor from woman's mouth
Specialist surgeons have performed an incredible transformation on a 21-year-old patient, after removing a 14 pound tumor from her mouth.
The 21-year-old Ethiopian-born patient, identified only as Tsehay, was so deformed by the 10-inch wide tumor she could barely eat or swallow water.
Lead surgeon Peter Cornelius from Bamberg, Germany, explained: "The operation to remove the tumor took three hours. It was complicated as so much of the lower face was disfigured by it. Only then were we able to reconstruct her face."
The young woman faces more reconstructive surgery to rebuild her face but said she was delighted with the result, saying: "They not only saved my life, they have given me a future as well."
Man Shot Twice In Head Runs From Gunman, Survives
A man who was shot two times in the head on Friday was able to run away from the gunman and seek help at a neighbor's house, police said.
Investigators said the shooting happened inside of a car parked along Bedworth Street in Rostraver, Pennsylvania.
"It was a robbery-type scenario where the suspect demanded money from the victim and shots were fired," said Rostraver Police Chief Gregory Resetar.
Police said Travis Kenny was able to escape the car and run to a nearby home to get help after he was shot.
"We were watching TV in bed and I heard 2 gunshots and a guy yelling, 'Help me, help me. I've been shot in the head,'" said Rob Cooper. "He come beating down my door. So I opened the door, let him in and I called 911 and they came and helped him out."
The criminal complaint stated the police later arrested Philip Mercurio, 19, in connection with the shooting. Investigators said after firing at Kenny, Mercurio went back to the car and shoved the gun into the head of an 18-year-old girl.
"The gunman pointed a firearm at the driver and demanded that she drive away," Resetar said.
Mercurio is the son of a Pittsburgh narcotics officer.
Kenny was taken to the hospital and is expected to be OK. Mercurio faces attempted homicide charges. Police said the teen shot Resetar over $150.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Love Thy Neighbor: Even Your Own Son's Killer?
In Minnesota, a young man was murdered and his killer was sent to prison. Then, as CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman reports, the story took a surprising turn.
In a small apartment building in North Minneapolis - a 59-year-old teacher's aid sings praise to God for no seemingly apparent reason. Indeed, if anyone was to have issues with the Lord, it would be Mary Johnson.
In February 1993, Mary's son, Laramiun Byrd, was shot to death during an argument at a party. He was 20, and Mary's only child.
"My son was gone," she says.
The killer was a 16-year-old kid named Oshea Israel.
Mary wanted justice. "He was an animal. He deserved to be caged."
And he was. Tried as an adult and sentenced to 25 and a half years -- Oshea served 17 before being recently released. He now lives back in the old neighborhood - next door to Mary.
How a convicted murder ended-up living a door jamb away from his victim's mother is a story, not of horrible misfortune, as you might expect - but of remarkable mercy.
A few years ago Mary asked if she could meet Oshea at Minnesota's Stillwater state prison. As a devout Christian, she felt compelled to see if there was some way, if somehow, she could forgive her son's killer.
"I believe the first thing she said to me was, 'Look, you don't know me. I don't know you. Let's just start with right now,'" Oshea says. "And I was befuddled myself."
Oshea says they met regularly after that. When he got out, she introduced him to her landlord - who with Mary's blessing, invited Oshea to move into the building. Today they don't just live close - they are close.
Mary was able to forgive. She credits God, of course - but also concedes a more selfish motive.
"Unforgiveness is like cancer," Mary says. "It will eat you from the inside out. It's not about that other person, me forgiving him does not diminish what he's done. Yes, he murdered my son - but the forgiveness is for me. It's for me."
For Oshea, it hasn't been that easy. "I haven't totally forgiven myself yet, I'm learning to forgive myself. And I'm still growing toward trying to forgive myself."
To that end, Oshea is now busy proving himself to himself. He works at a recycling plant by day and goes to college by night. He says he's determined to payback Mary's clemency by contributing to society. In fact, he's already working on it - singing the praises of God and forgiveness at prisons, churches - to large audiences everywhere.
"A conversation can take you a long way," Oshea says to one group.
Which explains why Mary is able to sing her praise of thanks -- to her audience of one.
JOKE: Arrested
A rookie cop hauled a small man up into the station and presented him to his sergeant. The man had a desk strapped on his back, a water cooler under one arm, a computer under the other, and wore a fax machine like a hat. "What's the charge, Murphy?" growled the desk sergeant. "Impersonating an office, sir."
VIDEO: The 8 Most Awkward Video-Dating Profiles EVER...EVER
This gentleman has quite a way with words. For somebody who's trying to meet people, he sure talks about his ex-girlfriend a lot. NSFW
10-33! Rat crawls up officer's back in car, bites him
Baltimore police confirmed that the officer was riding in the passenger seat of an unmarked patrol car Wednesday while cruising down Hanover Street when he felt something on the back of his neck.
The officer swiped at his neck and discovered the big rodent crawling up his back, police said. The rat bit his palm and thumb before the officer was able to throw it out of the car window.
Police said the officer's partner rushed him to Harbor Hospital, where they were told they had to retrieve the rat to test it for diseases.
The officer said he and his partner went back to where they threw the rat out, found it limping along the road and, after a small struggle, one of the officers beat the rat to death with an umbrella and bagged it.
The officer who was bitten is on leave waiting to see if the rat is diseased.
Police said it's believed that the rat crawled up through the car's underbelly and bit apart some wires before it crawled into the back seat.
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