Preschool worker dropped toddler ‘face down’ on his head because he didn’t want to go outside, cops say
Erin Burke, 27, faces charges of endangering the welfare of a child and simple assault, Bucks County court records show.
She has been released from police custody after posting bond.
On July 24, just before midnight, the Newtown Township Police Department was contacted about an incident involving a child that happened at Newtown Discovery Preschool on Blacksmith Road in Newtown, Pennsylvania. The township is located about 30 miles northeast of Philadelphia.
The boy, a 2-year-old student at the preschool, was located with a “scratch on the child’s neck and back of both arms,” according to an affidavit of probable cause obtained by Law&Crime.
Detectives continued to investigate, speaking with school leaders.
They reviewed surveillance footage from earlier on that Friday, finding that the incident occurred as Burke — an employee of the preschool — was “attempting to change the clothes of the child,” who appeared to be crying.
“Burke then stands up and picks the child up before moving him across the classroom and drops him face down from approximately 6 inches in the air onto a cushioned mat area,” the court document states. “Burke then moves across the room in a clearly agitated manner with demonstrative hand movements while the child remains face down on the mat.”
Mamdani Bans “FREE DELIVERY”… Then Amazon FIRES 20,000 WORKERS OVERNIGHT
It seems tens of thousands of jobs are on the line with the mayor of NYC throwing his support behind a controversial ban on Amazon’s business model…
Man waits for ex-girlfriend to arrive home with her kids, kidnaps her then shoots the mom dead: Police
A Florida sheriff’s deputy waited for his ex-girlfriend to arrive home with her two kids after a day at the beach before he kidnapped her and shot her to death in his rented vehicle, authorities say.
Deputy Troy Savetz, a 14-year veteran with the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office, was found with a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the car next to his ex-girlfriend, who has not been identified.
The woman and her two kids, ages 12 and 9, arrived at their home in the 16800 block of Platinum Drive in Spring Hill at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco told reporters. Savetz was standing on the lawn.
They began to argue, and Savetz snatched the woman’s phone, Nocco said.
Savetz was upset because he wanted his TV set back, according to the sheriff. The mother told her kids to go inside and call 911, which they did.
Savetz forced her into his car and drove off with her.
Nocco credited the “extremely brave” girl who called 911 and provided critical information, including identifying Savetz so they could track him down.
He said that their mom is “looking down from heaven” and “proud” of them for doing what she asked.
Cops later found the vehicle. Both Savetz and the woman were already dead….
Every Climate Activist’s Worst Nightmare Just Came True… And It’s THEIR Fault?!
It seems “The Experts,” were once again inaccurate with their climate change predictions.
5 California destinations notorious for killing tourists — including 2 in Yosemite
California is home to many a fabled tourist attraction, but some unlucky visitors never make it out alive.
In a recent TikTok, Orange County realtor Lindsey Marino gave a rundown of a fistful of perilous places in the Golden State, including two locations in Yosemite National Park that are as famed for the ever-present threat of death as they are for their views.
Read on for the list of the top five deadly destinations.
Death Valley National Park
Earning its moniker in body count, the 3.4 million-acre desert expanse of Death Valley National Park is among the deadliest places in California.
“People know that the biggest danger here is the heat,” said Marino. “But it’s also how fast things can go wrong.”
She noted that as temperatures climb, a small problem like a flat tire or a dead battery can become life-threatening, leading to dehydration, exhaustion, and heat stroke.
“Every year, people underestimate the desert and every year, the desert wins,” she said.
Indeed, in 2024, a motorcyclist died from heat exposure while traveling through Death Valley.
According to a recent study, between 2007 and 2024, 68 people died at Death Valley National Park, averaging out to 4 deaths per year.
According to the National Park Service, the most common cause of death in Death Valley National Park in recent years has been motor vehicle accidents, accounting for roughly 25% of fatalities. Environmental causes, specifically hyperthermia, accounted for 20%.
Half Dome
Rising a monolithic 8,800 feet above sea level, Half Dome in Yosemite National Park remains a perennial bucket list item for many a hiker.
The 14- to 16-mile round-trip hike to Half Dome is punctuated with cables to assist those aiming to summit the iconic peak.
While the views are incomparable, the danger is real.
At least 15 people have died on the cables and top of Half Dome since 1948.
Park officials caution hikers who require a permit to make the ascent to avoid the cables when storm clouds gather, or the ground is wet. Hopeful hikers should also be leery of lightning.
Ocean Beach
San Francisco’s Ocean Beach has long been considered the deadliest stretch of sand in the Bay Area due to powerful rip currents, frigid temperatures and mighty waves. In 1998 alone, seven people lost their lives to Ocean Beach.
Eight more deaths were reported between 2014 and 2020.
In 1998 alone, seven people lost their lives to Ocean Beach.Getty Images
“If you’ve never been here, you’d probably think it’s just another beautiful California beach, but locals know better,” said Marino, noting that deadly waves can arise without warning.
In June, a Bay Area surfer was killed by unseasonably large waves in Ocean Beach.
Mount Whitney….
Syria’s former ruler Bashar al-Assad is sentenced to death for crimes against humanity
A Syrian court sentenced ousted Syrian president Bashar al-Assad along with his younger brother to death in absentia today for crimes against humanity and war crimes.
The offences took place during Syria‘s 14-year conflict, which began in 2011 and left an estimated half a million people dead.
The sentences at the Fourth Criminal Court in Damascus are the first against Assad or members of his inner circle since the Assad family’s five decades in power came to an end in December 2024.
His humiliating retreat from the country he once called home saw him cash in a favour with Russian president Vladimir Putin, who airlifted him and his family to Moscow.
‘Bashar Assad used state agencies to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity,’ said judge Fakhareddine al-Aryan during a court session that was aired live on state TV.
Also sentenced to death in the same case was Assad’s maternal cousin Atef Najib, who was convicted of overseeing a deadly crackdown in the southern province of Daraa that led to the uprising and later the civil war.
Amid tight security, Najib stood inside a cage wearing a prisoner’s uniform as the judge read the sentence. A crowd of people gathered outside the courthouse in central Damascus to hear the verdict.
Assad and his brother Maher fled to Russia after the government’s fall 20 months ago and received political asylum. Syria’s new rulers have asked Russia to hand the Assads over.
Najib, who was sanctioned by the US Department of the Treasury in April 2011, was later detained in rural Latakia, in Syria’s north-west, and is one of the highest-ranking officials to be put on trial….
Former Marine held in Russia for more than 4 years has been released
A former U.S. Marine who spent more than four years in a Russian prison and is believed to be seriously ill has been released and was on his way back to the United States on Tuesday.
President Donald Trump announced the release on Truth Social, saying Robert Gilman, 32, was freed after he discussed the case with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Trump said Gilman, a teacher, was released “very much on a Humanitarian Basis,” with no exchange of prisoners having taken place. He is expected to land at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, D.C.
The president added in his post that he had spoken to Gilman “and he had one request — A GREAT cheeseburger when he lands. I will take care of that!”
The Russian government has not commented on the release.
About 50 days ago, Gilman was diagnosed with a “dissociative stupor — a condition where he is non-responsive and unable to interact or eat,” Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., said in a statement following the man’s release.
“He was essentially catatonic and also suffered a severe case of pneumonia,” added Markey, who has been campaigning for Gilman’s release. “We don’t yet know the full details of his current condition or the long-term impact on his recovery.”
Gilman’s sister Lexie Hudson thanked Trump in a statement issued by Global Reach, an advocacy group representing his family.
“There is no other reason that Robert is alive today other than that President Trump heard about the case and took action,” she said….
Ukraine-Russia war latest: Kyiv sends new proposals to Trump’s negotiators for plan to end conflict, says Zelensky
Volodymyr Zelensky revealed on Tuesday that Kyiv has delivered fresh proposals to American negotiators aimed at ending the four-year war with Russia.
US-mediated talks have been on ice since the war in Iran broke out in February. Efforts to bring Ukraine and Russia back to the table have not produced any material results since.
But even with the war in the Middle East no closer to being resolved, the Ukrainian president said in his nightly address:
“We have conveyed our proposals to the American side.”
“And the United States can help strengthen our defence, first and foremost with air defence, and put pressure on Russia so that its plans are different — to prepare for an end to the war rather than prolonging it,” he said.
Ukraine says that Russia is scaling up its production of ballistic missiles, aiming to exploit Kyiv’s critical shortage of Patriot air defense interceptors that can stop them, and claims Moscow is preparing to recruit more troops for a new push on the front line that now stretches 1,250 kilometers.
In an indication that Putin is determined to press on with the invasion, Russia’s highest court on Monday ordered that Yabloko, the only political party opposing the war, to be excluded from the ballot in next month’s parliamentary election.
Key Points
- Russia uses North Korean missiles in deadly overnight strikes, Zelensky says
- Russia claims to have captured two Ukrainian villages
- Russia preparing large strike campaign against energy infrastructure ‘in coming weeks’, says Kyiv
- Zelensky says Russia cannot wage war without North Korea’s help
- Russian attack on Kyiv triggers fires, officials say
- Ukrainian MiG-29 aircraft lost after catching fire
Death toll rises to six in Zaporizhzhia after Russian strikes
Russian attacks killed six people and wounded 20 in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhzhia early on Tuesday and also struck Kyiv, triggering fires in the capital, officials said, taking the death toll to 12 across Ukraine in the last 24 hours.
Zaporizhzhia regional governor Ivan Fedorov said Russian troops launched missiles and aerial bombs at the city.
Air raid alerts were sounded in both Zaporizhzhia and in Kyiv, where the capital’s military administration said warehouses in a central district were ablaze. One person was reported injured.
Mayor Vitali Klitschko said medical personnel had been dispatched to a central district.
Elsewhere in Ukraine, local authorities reported another six people were killed and 16 wounded overnight in the regions of Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk….
IDF scales back Gaza operations; Trump: Iran must pay reparations – TV7 Israel News – 11 Aug.
1) Despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s public rejection of the 15-point plan for the Gaza Strip – Israel’s security establishment has been instructed to scale back operations against Hamas.
2) President Donald Trump insists that, moving forward, Iran must pay reparations for its terrorist behaviour since the Ayatollah regime took over the country, in 1979.
3) IDF Chief of General Staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir asserts the Israeli military maintains immediate readiness to return to high-intensity combat.
California county caught illegally using taxpayer money to promote sales tax hike
Spending taxpayer money to convince taxpayers to pay more taxes — it’s a California specialty.
But it seems Nevada County went too far, as the state’s political watchdogs found the Lake Tahoe-area jurisdiction spent more than $34,000 in taxpayer money trying to convince residents to raise their own taxes — and now that failed campaign is poised to cost county taxpayers another $31,500.
California’s Fair Political Practices Commission is scheduled to vote Aug. 20 on a proposed settlement stemming from Nevada County’s promotion of Measure V, a 2022 ballot measure that would have raised the county sales tax by half a percentage point for 10 years.
A disclaimer stating that Nevada County did not advocate a yes or no vote wasn’t enough for state law.
“I find it deeply ironic that the government would use taxpayer dollars to campaign for increasing taxes on those very same taxpayers,” Nevada County Republican Party Chairman Mac Young told The California Post.
“Public funds belong to the people, and they should never be used to persuade the public to give the government even more of their money.”
Measure V was pitched as a way to generate roughly $12 million annually for wildfire prevention, emergency services and disaster preparedness. But voters weren’t convinced.
The measure received just 48.41% of the vote and failed — despite Nevada County spending $34,614 in public funds on two mailers that state regulators determined crossed the line from informing residents into political advocacy.
The first mailer landed in the mailboxes of 33,351 residents in October 2022 at a cost of $17,708 and touted Measure V as “responsive to community priorities,” including preventing wildfires, improving evacuation routes, enhancing emergency communications and helping low-income seniors and people with disabilities.
But regulators found the county buried the less attractive part — the half-percent sales-tax hike — in the smallest font, while emphasizing the measure’s benefits.
The county tried again later that month, spending another $16,906 to send 33,101 residents a second mailer.
It prominently warned that “92% of Nevada County residents live in high or very high fire hazard severity zones” before touting Measure V as a way to improve evacuation routes and get residents out safely during emergencies.
Regulators concluded that mailer also promoted the measure’s benefits while minimizing the tax increase and other potential downsides.
The FPPC charged Nevada County with seven violations: Two counts of prohibited campaign-related mass mailings at public expense, two disclosure violations, one count for failing to timely file a semiannual campaign statement, and two counts for failing to timely file 24-hour independent expenditure reports…..
Gavin Newsom SLAMS Joe Rogan For Not Hosting Him, Absolute CLOWN | Tim Pool
Must be nice: Senate takes a month off, unfinished business and all
The Senate skipped town Saturday for a monthlong recess with a stack of major Republican priorities still unfinished, including election integrity legislation President Trump had personally urged lawmakers to stay and pass.
Senators adjourned until Sept. 14 without clearing the Safeguard American Voter Eligibility (SAVE) America Act, a major cryptocurrency bill, another reconciliation package or legislation governing college sports.
Several conservative Republicans wanted no part of leaving with that much work still sitting on the table.
Sens. Mike Lee (R-UT), Rick Scott (R-FL), Eric Schmitt (R-MO) and Jim Banks (R-IN) backed canceling the recess to continue work on the SAVE America Act.
Trump also called on Senate Majority Leader John Thune to keep the chamber in session, though Thune argued additional days in Washington would not necessarily produce the votes needed to pass it…
North Carolina Man Arrested and Charged After Savagely Beating Female DoorDash Driver in Shocking Road Rage Incident, Leaving Her with Devastating Brain Injuries
North Carolina authorities have arrested the individual responsible for an incredibly wicked and stunning attack on a hard-working mom of three earlier this month.
As The Gateway Pundit reported, Jacksonville DoorDash driver Christen Phillips suffered life-threatening injuries earlier this month following one of the worst possible attacks of road rage imaginable.
The 34-year-old Phillips was on her way to deliver an order in Onslow County at 1:19 a.m. Saturday, when she came up to a green traffic light.
But the car in front of her, a Range Rover, refused to move.
She began honking her horn. The driver allowed Phillips to pass, but then followed her all the way to her stop.
Once Phillips got out of the car and delivered the order, the Range Rover driver assaulted her with a wooden bat just as she was about to enter her vehicle to drive back home.
Phillips was left with multiple skull fractures and brain bleeds.
Blood and cerebral fluid were draining from her left ear for hours, and her cheekbone on her left side was also fractured.
On Monday, police arrested 44-year-old Stanley Shockley for the horrific crime. He has been charged with assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, inflicting serious injury….
Harris Faulkner: They are PANICKING
Fox News senior correspondent Mike Tobin reports on controversial past social media posts from Wisconsin socialist gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong.
Former Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker weighs in on ‘The Faulkner Focus.’
Tasia Fortune hanging death draws calls for answers
The Tasia Fortune hanging death in Jackson has left her family demanding answers as police work to determine how the Mississippi mother died.
📌Key Takeaways
- Tasia Fortune, a 29-year-old mother of four, was found hanging in Jackson, Mississippi, on Aug. 3.
- Her mother, Christy Spivey, says she does not believe Fortune died by suicide.
- Police have not identified suspects and have said they are working to determine the circumstances.
- The case has drawn attention because of Mississippi’s history and other recent unexplained hanging deaths.
The Tasia Fortune hanging death in Jackson, Mississippi, is drawing intense scrutiny as the family of the 29-year-old mother of four pushes back hard against the idea that she died by suicide. Her mother, Christy Spivey, says she believes her daughter was killed and insists the family wants a full accounting of what happened behind an abandoned home in the city.
Spivey told ABC News, “She did not do this to herself,” adding, “I know my daughter and she did not do this to herself.” She said the last time she saw Fortune was on July 26, when Fortune traveled from Mississippi to Kentucky for a family reunion. Spivey described her daughter as calm and in a better place emotionally than she had seen in some time. “She was at peace,” she said. Authorities said Fortune’s body was found in Jackson on Aug. 3 and had been there for three to four days.
Police and other officials have not yet determined the cause of death. Investigators have said they are working to determine the circumstances surrounding Fortune’s death, but they have not said whether they believe the case is suspicious. That uncertainty has left the family waiting for official autopsy results and trying to make sense of a death that has already become a flashpoint in Mississippi.
Spivey said she does not want her daughter’s name linked to a claim that the death was racially motivated, even as others outside the family have pointed to the state’s history of lynchings. Bernice King, the daughter of Martin Luther King Jr., wrote on Facebook that people should not jump to conclusions, but she also said the painful history of such cases in Mississippi makes transparency, thoroughness and truth essential. Jackson City Councilman Kenneth Stokes also sent a letter on Wednesday to Mississippi U.S. Attorney Baxter Kruger seeking help in the case and referred to Fortune as a murder victim.
The investigation has moved slowly in public view. Jackson police have released limited information, and no suspects have been identified. One man, Terrence Anderson, was interviewed by police and said he had argued with Fortune but had nothing to do with her death, WLBT reported. Police said the two were in a relationship, a claim Anderson denied. He acknowledged arguing with her, but denied involvement in her death.
- Privacy Policy
- Balanced News for America: Top Sources
- Balanced News for America: Top Sources, section 2.
- Balanced News for America: Top Sources, section 3.
- Balanced News for America: Top Sources, last section.
- US, World Markets: Financials, Stocks and Business News.
- Top Military and Law Enforcement News Sources
- Leading Sources for Technology Insights and Reviews.
- Top Christian Resources for News and Scriptural Truths.
- About the Site and Author.
- Donate and Help keep In The News Feed up and running.
