MONSTER: Father Stomps Mother To Death In Front Of 7-Year-Old Son
Ferman said the youngest son told police his father became angry Saturday night over a takeout food order and began “punching his mother in the mouth.” The boy tried to call for help, but his father ripped out the phone cord, locked the front door, and continued beating his wife. “The boy related that his mother then said to him, ‘I’m going to die. I love you,'” the criminal complaint said. The boy told police his father left the kitchen and put on a pair of shoes, “returned to his mother’s body and jumped on her stomach and face at the same time.” He said blood came out of his mother’s face and she did not move again, the complaint said. [via THE INQUIRER]
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MIRACLE: PPA Coughs up $6.7 Million For Schools, After Nutter Does Heimlich
In a surprise move apparently orchestrated by mayor elect Michael Nutter and State Rep. Dwight Evans, the Philadelphia Parking Authority said it would transfer an additional $6.77 million to the city’s general fund and school district over the next two fiscal years. The funds — which come principally from the agency’s reserves and non-parking enforcement divisions — will allow the Parking Authority to meet its budgeted payments to the city and, for the first time 2004, have a little cash left over for the School District of Philadelphia: $1.25 million this year, and $1.75 million next year. [via THE INQUIRER]
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THE TROUBLE WITH ISLAM: Saudi King Pardons Gang Rape Victim
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — A gang-rape victim who was sentenced to six months in prison and 200 lashes for being alone with a man not related to her was pardoned by the Saudi king after the case sparked rare criticism from the United States, the kingdom’s top ally. Outrage over the sentence prompted unusually strong comments from President Bush, who said that if the same thing had happened to one of his daughters, he would be “angry” at a government that didn’t protect the victim. The White House called the sentence “outrageous.” With the pardon, Abdullah appeared to be aiming at relieving the pressure from the United States without being seen to criticize Saudi Arabia’s conservative legal system, a stronghold of powerful clerics adhering to the strict Wahhabi interpretation of Islam. “The king always looks into alleviating the suffering of the citizens when he becomes sure that these verdicts will leave psychological effects on the convicted people, though he is convinced and sure that the verdicts were fair,” al-Sheik said, according to the Al-Jazirah newspaper. [via VIA ASSOCIATED PRESS]