# data[].attributes.body
Mom of 2 dies day after flu diagnosis

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Family members of an Arizona mother who died just one day after being diagnosed with the flu said the 20-year-old was very healthy leading up to her illness, with the exception of suffering from the occasional cold. Alani Murrieta, who leaves behind a 2-year-old and 6-month-old, had started complaining of symptoms on Sunday, Fox 10 reported.

"Monday she was still feeling sick, so her sister took her to urgent care, her and her kids," Stephanie Gonzales, the woman's aunt, told Fox 10. "They diagnosed them with the flu, sent her home with flu meds."
HEPATITIS A OUTBREAK PROMPTS SAN DIEGO TO BUILD GIANT TENTS FOR ITS HOMELESS
By Tuesday, Murietta was taken to the hospital by her mother where she was diagnosed with pneumonia and her condition continued to deteriorate. She was placed on a ventilator but never recovered.

"Never in a million years would we have thought we would have lost her that day like this," Gonzales told the news outlet, adding that Murrieta had not received the flu shot this season.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends that everyone 6 months and older receive the flu vaccine, with recent stats reporting 24 states with local influenza activity, and four with widespread activity.

A GoFundMe account has been set up to help relatives cover Murietta funeral expenses.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Family members of an Arizona mother who died just one day after being diagnosed with the flu said the 20-year-old was very healthy leading up to her illness, with the exception of suffering from the occasional cold. Alani Murrieta, who leaves behind a 2-year-old and 6-month-old, had started complaining of symptoms on Sunday, Fox 10 reported.

# data[].attributes.body
An apartment building in Las Vegas busted into flames and a homeless man did a careless act and saved two kids.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
homeless man rescues 2 children from a burning building  - cnn

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Homeless man rescues 2 children from a burning building

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A homeless man walking in an eastside Las Vegas neighborhood didn't hesitate to act when he saw plumes of smoke coming from an apartment building.

# data[].attributes.body
Kyrie Irving scored 32 points last night beating the Bucks 111-100. Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 40 in a losing effort.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
12:52 AM ET

Chris ForsbergESPN Staff Writer

Close

Covered Celtics since 2007

Emmy award-winning videographer

Joined ESPNBoston.com in 2009

BOSTON - Looking for a knockout punch during Monday's visit from the Milwaukee Bucks, Kyrie Irving dribbled between his legs three times then once behind his back before jab-stepping his defender. Creating maybe a sliver of space, the Boston Celtics point guard rose up over 6-7 Khris Middleton and effortlessly lofted a 27-foot bomb that exploded through the cylinder.

Irving, having capped his 32-point night (and maybe expecting the Bucks to call a timeout), ripped off the protective facemask he's worn since early November and exulted after a late-game dagger that helped Boston emerge with a 111-100 triumph.

Irving, still recovering from a facial fracture beneath his right eye, is hoping to shed the mask for good later this week, though it's hardly hindered him over the past month and certainly not on Monday.

Irving and Giannis Antetokounmpo engaged in a fascinating second-half duel with the Greek Freak trying to rally his team back from 20 points down and Irving ensuring there would be no comeback.

The win spoiled Greek Night at TD Garden where flag-totting fans cheered appreciatively for the visiting star but serenaded Irving with his usual "MVP" chants.

Irving is now averaging 26.4 points while shooting 53.6 percent overall and 45.4 percent beyond the 3-point arc in the 11 games he's worn a mask. But even after another brilliant outing, Irving left no doubt as to the future of his mask.

"I'm ready to take that s--- off. I've been ready to take it off since I wore it," said Irving. "Four weeks, OK guys? Four weeks. So I think Saturday [is the final day with the mask]. Saturday. The countdown begins."

The Celtics host the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday before visiting the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night in a national TV game on ESPN.

Irving sustained the fracture when he caught an inadvertent elbow from teammate Aron Baynes early in a win over the Charlotte Hornets last month. Irving returned after missing the next game and initially fidgeted with his mask. In fact, he ditched it completely in the second half of a win over the Golden State Warriors and eventually swapped an asymmetrical version for one that featured bigger eyeholes.

With better court vision, Irving aided Boston's 16-game winning streak. Irving has now scored 30 points or more in six of his last night outings. But his cheek is feeling better and Irving is ready to ditch his headwear, no matter how comfy he might look in it.

"The cheek feels good," said Irving, who joked about nearly tearing up when his young daughter, Azurie, hit him near the injury in the immediate aftermath of the fracture. "My daughter's not hitting me in the face any more."

I want to thank the 2 thousand Greeks that showed up to the game tonight and supported me and my team! I counted like 15 greek flags🇬🇷🇬🇷 at the game tonight. 💪🏾💪🏾

- Giannis Antetokounmpo (@Giannis_An34) December 5, 2017

Irving got plenty of help on Monday night. Teammate Al Horford finished with 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting and flirted with a triple-double while adding nine rebounds and eight assists. Rookie Jayson Tatum, improbably the league's top 3-point shooter, hit four first-quarter 3-pointers to help Boston build an early double-digit cushion.

But the Celtics struggled at times to slow down Antetokounmpo, who scored 16 third-quarter points on 6-of-8 shooting while helping the Bucks make it a game again. Irving countered with 14 third-quarter points on 6-of-11 shooting to ensure Milwaukee didn't make things too interesting.

Irving finished with 19 points in the second half, while Antetokounmpo countered with 22. Irving very much enjoyed their duel.

"It's always fun," said Irving. "Another premiere guy in the Eastern Conference, in the league, a Nike brother of mine. It's just always good to go against high-level competition. It just raises your game."

TD Garden featured multiple blue-and-white Greek flags in the loge sections, especially around the visitor's bench. Fans cheered loudly for Antetokounmpo during lineup introductions - maybe preparing for a Boston free agent run further down the road (hey, it helped with the Gordon Hayward pursuit).

Young fans wore homemade shirts with "Greek Freaks" on it while many adults had "Greek Night" tees. Antetokounmpo certainly took notice.

But as spectacular as Antetokounmpo was for much of the night, the Celtics rode a surging offense to keep him at arm's length. Celtics coach Brad Stevens called the first half "as good as [Boston has] played offensively all year." The Celtics' defense hasn't been as crisp as it was earlier in the year but did enough to help Boston emerge with its third straight victory.

The Celtics, who avenged a loss to the Bucks during their home-opener here in October, sit atop the Eastern Conference at 21-4, still 3.5 games in front of a Cleveland Cavaliers team that has won 12 in a row.

Given the way Antetokounmpo took over at times Monday, Stevens took the opportunity to appreciate both the Greek Freak and his own eccentric point guard.

"When [Antetokounmpo] gets going downhill, he finishes so well around the rim," said Stevens. "That's the thing, we were between him and the basket on a lot of those finishes. He's really special and he's going to be a special player for a long, long time. You think about it, he played 39 minutes tonight. He played both ends, had to guard Al at the end in the fourth quarter and he's still going at the rim like he was. He's tough."

Turning his focus to Irving, Stevens said, "I think he's getting more comfortable. He's been unbelievable, I think. Obviously, his exploits on the offensive end are pretty well documented, all the things that he can do. ... But he plays hard and he puts forth a lot of effort on both ends.

"He's been really good, obviously. I feel like I'm stating the obvious on him and Giannis. They're good."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Bucks get 40 from Giannis, but Celtics get a win from Kyrie

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
12:52 AM ET Chris ForsbergESPN Staff Writer Close Covered Celtics since 2007 Emmy award-winning videographer Joined ESPNBoston.com in 2009 BOSTON - Looking for a knockout punch during Monday's visit from the Milwaukee Bucks, Kyrie Irving dribbled between his legs three times then once behind his back before jab-stepping his defender.

# data[].attributes.body
a teacher who was tripped by a student said this was an act of descrimination

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A teacher who was tripped by a child and knocked unconscious in her classroom is suing the Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools for discrimination after she was discharged following an extended work leave.

Former McKinley Elementary School teacher Susan Miles also alleges that she suffered retaliation from the district and the school's principal, Valerie Castillo, for taking work leave, and that she was not given a due process hearing when she was discharged in January 2017.

Miles, who started teaching in the Kansas City, Kan., district in 2007, has also filed a disability discrimination complaint with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, according to the lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court.

The district did not respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.

According to the lawsuit:

In April 2016, a student tripped Miles in her classroom. Miles fell and was knocked unconscious. Another teacher found her on her classroom floor.

The lawsuit alleges that no one at the school called an ambulance. Instead, Miles drove herself to an urgent care facility.

Miles, of Overland Park, had multiple injuries related to her fall, including a concussion, occipital nerve damage, a back sprain, neck sprain and a foot fracture.

She filed a claim with the Kansas Division of Worker's Compensation and was later diagnosed with occipital neuralgia and post-concussive syndrome. She experienced vision problems, severe headaches, confusion and dizziness.

Though Miles stated that she was still able to perform teaching duties, she filed for work leave a month later because of neck and head pain.

Her request was approved, but Castillo required Miles to complete lesson plans for the following school year before taking her leave.

Miles was also later directed to return to school to clean out her classroom.

Castillo told Miles "we need you to get back to your classes" and "you need to get your lesson plans done," according to the lawsuit.

Though Miles intended to return to teach in the 2016-17 school year and renewed her teaching contract, continued headaches and confusion prompted her to take leave from August to November 2016.

She also took an approved unpaid leave of absence from November through January.

Miles said that during this time she phoned the district multiple times to discuss returning to work in January. Her inquiry was not addressed, the lawsuit states.

When she went to deliver a physician's work release form to the school district in December 2016, Castillo and Miles had at least two interactions.

"(Miles) asked Castillo what (Miles) had missed while she was away from work. Castillo responded, in a disparaging manner, 'half a year of school,'" the lawsuit states.

It also states that Castillo later told Miles, "you need to get out of here so our people can work."

In January, when Miles expected to return to work, she learned she had lost her position. She says she was not offered a due process hearing.

Though she continued to receive medical treatment through the district's workers compensation health care provider, Miles was later notified that her health coverage had ended.

She maintains that she was not offered the opportunity to continue health coverage through COBRA.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Teacher tripped by child, knocked unconscious sues KCK schools for discrimination

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A teacher who was tripped by a child and knocked unconscious in her classroom is suing the Kansas City, Kan., Public Schools for discrimination after she was discharged following an extended work leave.

# data[].attributes.body
An Australian electrician was fired recently for using a potato chip bag to ditch work and play golf, and he actually got away with it for two years before he was caught.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
An Australian electrician was fired recently for using a potato chip bag to ditch work and play golf, and he actually got away with it for two years before he was caught.

According to Yahoo News Australia, 60-year-old Tom Colella was a senior union delegate and had worked as an electrician for the same company for 20 years. Then one day his employers got an anonymous tip saying Colella had actually been playing golf while he was supposed to be at work at least 140 times during the past two years. Somehow, nobody had noticed his absence.

Like other employees at his company, Colella had a personal digital assistant that tracked his assigned and completed job tasks and also had a GPS that monitored his location. Colella allegedly hid his PDA in an empty foil potato chip bag and sealed it up, which blocked the GPS signal and hid his location from his employers.

Colella initially claimed the PDA had a glitch, but Australia's Fair Work Commission, a workplace tribunal, declared there was no reasonable explanation for his potato chip bag trick other than trying to sneak out of work. He was reportedly golfing during work for at least 21 days during the month of April.

"Mr. Colella appears to have been deliberately mischievous in acting in this manner," said tribunal commissioner Bernie Riordan.

Colella allegedly used his chip bag to hide his location, but he was still able to update his job information as though he were completing assigned tasks. Somehow, nobody noticed what was going on.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Man who used potato chip bag to skip work for years has been fired

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
An Australian electrician was fired recently for using a potato chip bag to ditch work and play golf, and he actually got away with it for two years before he was caught. According to Yahoo News Australia, 60-year-old Tom Colella was a senior union delegate and had worked as an electrician for the same company for 20 years.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The fiancé of the Wall Street exec who was killed by a shark off Costa Rica last week blames the diving company she was with for not keeping her safe.

"Apparently they didn't have any protection - the divers or the instructors had nothing to ward off any of these fish, sharks,'' plastic surgeon Dr. Jeffrey Rosenthal told The Post in an exclusive interview Monday as he grieved for his girlfriend, Rohina Bhandari, 49.

"I don't understand that aspect of it, that there was no protection for her or for the other guests for that matter," the doctor said. "I just feel that the safety precautions they took were not as good as they should have had."

Bhandari, a senior private-equity director for WL Ross & Co., was killed by a female tiger shark while scuba-diving Thursday.

Rosenthal said he found some solace in knowing that at least his fiancé died doing what she loved.

"She loved seeing the fish," he said, noting her prior dives in Jamaica, the Galapagos Islands and the Bahamas. "The wildlife fascinated her."

Rosenthal referred to his late fiancée as "a 10-star person" - who always had a smile on her face and touched the lives of everyone around her.

He described her as the more outgoing of the pair, saying, "We'd go to an affair or party, and within 5 minutes she'd know everyone in the place."

Rosenthal recalled one instance, at President Trump's inauguration party, when she introduced him to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan - after meeting Ryan's wife in the ladies room.

"She was someone who befriended everyone," he explained.

Remembering their first date, when he was just returning home from a beach trip, Rosenthal said, "She was all dressed up in makeup and jewelry and was really beautiful, and I'm wearing a pair of shorts, and I'm like, I can't compete.

"There was a universe of stars, and she was the brightest," Rosenthal said.

The surgeon had now been tasked with caring for Bhandari's 7-year-old golden Labrador, Simba, after making a promise to her back when they first began dating.

"When we started going out many years ago, the deal was that I accept them both," Rosenthal said.

"And I accepted them with open arms, and a while later she said, 'Well when are you going to adopt him as yours,' and I said, 'He's adopted, he's mine now,' so Simba and I are now together."

Countless people have reached out to Rosenthal since his fiancé's death, asking for ways to help him with the loss, both emotionally and financially, he said.

He has asked people to contribute to the South African based foundation, US Friends of Hoedspruit Endangered Species Center, which Bhandari supported. The foundation, he says, will name their next new animal after her.
Click for more from the New York Post.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Fiancé of Wall Street big killed by shark slams diving company

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The fiancé of the Wall Street exec who was killed by a shark off Costa Rica last week blames the diving company she was with for not keeping her safe.

# data[].attributes.body
Background checks for firearms purchases have been under the spotlight since it was discovered that the suspect in a deadly rampage last month at a Texas church was able to purchase an assault rifle despite a law that restricts people convicted of domestic violence from buying such weapons. Black Friday 2017 was the new single-day record for gun checks at more than 200,000, according to the FBI.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
More than 4,000 guns that were transferred into the hands of buyers in 2016 were later referred to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) for retrieval because the purchasers were found to be prohibited from buying a gun.

Background checks for firearms purchases have been under the spotlight since it was discovered that the suspect in a deadly rampage last month at a Texas church was able to purchase an assault rifle despite a law that restricts people convicted of domestic violence from buying such weapons.

When a gun purchase is made by a federally licensed gun dealer, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is required to run a background check. By federal law, this must be completed in three days, or the sale in some states is approved by default.

However, the work to determine if the purchaser is prohibited from possessing a firearm can continue after the sale and in some cases, a determination is made that the buyer should be prohibited from having a gun after it is already sold.

When this kind of "delayed denial" occurs, the case is referred to ATF for retrieval.

Once that happens, either state authorities or ATF go knocking on doors to get the gun back.

In 2016, that happened 4,170 times, as first reported by USA Today

The FBI processed more than 51 million NICS transactions from 2008 to 2014, of which 556,496, or about 1 percent, were denied, according to the Department of Justice (DOJ) Office of the Inspector General (OIG).

Background checks have been on the rise. Black Friday 2017 was the new single-day record for gun checks at more than 200,000, according to the FBI.

When asked about the current success rate of ATF recoveries, a spokesperson said that the information was not publicly available.

A September 2016 DOJ Inspector General report found that "ATF generally has an appropriate system of controls for processing NICS denials that are referred by the FBI."

ATF recovered 93 percent of the sample of 125 firearms that required recovery, according to the report.

Gun laws across the states are inconsistent. Some states, like California, have a 30-day waiting period for purchases, so delayed denials are generally not a problem there.

On Nov. 22, following the revelations that the criminal history of the Texas church shooter Devin Kelley was not properly entered into the correct database, Attorney General Jeff Sessions directed the FBI and ATF to conduct a comprehensive review of the background check system.

Kelley, 26, killed 26 people and injured at least 20 others on Nov. 5, 2017, at the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, Texas. He died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after the shooting.

"The recent shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas revealed that relevant information may not be getting reported to the NICS -- this is alarming and it is unacceptable," Sessions said in a statement at the time.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
More than 4,000 guns retrieved after delayed background checks last year

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
More than 4,000 guns that were transferred into the hands of buyers in 2016 were later referred to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) for retrieval because the purchasers were found to be prohibited from buying a gun.

# data[].attributes.body
U.S. and Russian ships are still searching for the missing Argentine submarine that went missing in the South Atlantic 19 days ago. An explosion occurred near the time and place where the ARA San Juan disappeared Nov. 15. The navy said that they are no longer looking for survives. There were 44 crew members aboard. U.S. and Russian ships will join five other vessels from Argentine and Chilean. The navy has said the vessel's captain reported that water entered the snorkel. He later called and said that the problems had been fixed. A few hours later an explosion was detected near the time and place where the San Juan was last heard from. A spokesman said that it could have been caused by a "concentration of hydrogen."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Argentina's navy says that U.S and Russian ships carrying remotely operated vehicles capable of deep seafloor searches are joining other vessels hunting for an Argentine submarine that went missing in the South Atlantic 19 days ago.

Navy spokesman Enrique Balbi said Monday that Russia's Yantar oceanographic research ship will arrive to the search area Tuesday. The U.S. Atlantis research vessel is expected to arrive Saturday.

They will join five vessels from Argentina and a Chilean ship combing the area of some 1,500 square miles (4,000 square kilometers).

An explosion occurred near the time and place where the ARA San Juan sub went missing with 44 crew members on Nov. 15. The navy says it is no longer looking for survivors although a multinational operation continues to search for the vessel.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
More US, Russia ships join search for missing Argentine sub

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Argentina's navy says that U.S and Russian ships carrying remotely operated vehicles capable of deep seafloor searches are joining other vessels hunting for an Argentine submarine that went missing in the South Atlantic 19 days ago. Navy spokesman Enrique Balbi said Monday that Russia's...

# data[].attributes.body
Singer Melanie Martinez has been accused of sex assault by a former friend, who claims to have “repeatedly said no” to her sexual advances. Timothy Heller, a female Los Angeles-based aspiring singer, came forward with the allegations late Monday, sharing her story on Twitter about how she said Martinez, an artist who shot to stardom after appearing on NBC’s “The Voice,” sexually assaulted her.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Singer Melanie Martinez has been accused of sex assault by a former friend, who claims to have "repeatedly said no" to her sexual advances.

Timothy Heller, a Los Angeles-based aspiring singer, came forward with the allegations late Monday, sharing her story on Twitter about how she said Martinez, an artist who shot to stardom after appearing on NBC's "The Voice," sexually assaulted her.

"I have kept this secret for years, convincing myself that it wasn't a big deal and I wasn't hurt by it. The thought of accepting that my best friend raped me seems insane," Heller began her post on Twitter that attracted more than 61,000 shares at the time of publication. "When faced with a friend who really needed help though, I can honestly say she let me down completely."

Heller claims she was sexually assaulted by her then-best friend "during the most difficult time in my life, my rock bottom," and taken advantage of during one of the nights she slept at the singer's place.

Heller did not specify when the alleged assault occurred.

"I never said yes. I said no, repeatedly. But she used her power over me, and broke me down," she said. "Just so there is no confusion, I was molested by my best friend."

After multiple attempts to touch her, Martinez proceeded to perform "oral sex on me and then I was penetrated with a sex toy without being asked," the woman alleged. "She knew I didn't want to, I made that clear," noting that she was "completely not reciprocating."

Heller wrote that she was encouraged to break her silence following the recent sexual misconduct allegations against celebrities and other popular figures. "The only reason I do this now is because I'm hoping because of recent events, people will believe me."

"I beg you to imagine her role in this being a man. Girls can rape girls. Best friends can rape best friends. Friendships does not equal consent. Silence doesn't equal consent. I wish it wasn't so hard for me to convince myself of these things," she added.

Martinez responded to the allegations on Monday, writing on social media that although she's "horrified" by the allegations, Heller "never said no to what we chose to do together."

She wrote: "I am horrified and saddened by the statements and story told by Timothy Heller. What she and I shared was a close friendship ... We tried to help each other. We both had pain in dealing with our individual demons ... She never said no to what we chose to do together. And although we parted ways, I am sending her love and light always."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
'The Voice' star Melanie Martinez accused of sex assault by former friend, denies allegations

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Singer Melanie Martinez has been accused of sex assault by a former friend, who claims to have "repeatedly said no" to her sexual advances. Timothy Heller, a Los Angeles-based aspiring singer, came forward with the allegations late Monday, sharing her story on Twitter about how she said Martinez, an artist who shot to stardom after appearing on NBC's "The Voice," sexually assaulted her.

# data[].attributes.body
the Steeler won against the Bengals 23-20 with a big comeback.

Chris Boswell kicked a field goal on the final play shortly after Antonio Brown caught a 6-yard touchdown pass -- taking a hit to the head while landing in the end zone -- and the Pittsburgh Steelers pulled off another improbable comeback against the...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
CINCINNATI -- No matter how high the stakes, how big the deficit or how late in the game, Ben Roethlisberger and his tough-to-catch playmakers always find a way to leave the Bengals wondering what just happened.

Chris Boswell kicked a field goal on the final play shortly after Antonio Brown caught a 6-yard touchdown pass -- taking a hit to the head while landing in the end zone -- and the Pittsburgh Steelers pulled off another improbable comeback against the stunned Bengals, rallying for a 23-20 victory Monday night.

Down 17-0 early, the Steelers (10-2) extended their best start since 2004 in a physical game with a couple frightening injuries. Brown's touchdown tied it at 20 with 3:51 to go -- safety George Iloka was penalized for hitting him in the head after the catch. Boswell won it with 38-yard field goal, his second straight winner in the closing seconds.

Both teams know the script.

"It sort of reminded me of the playoff game -- what was it, two years ago?" Steelers defensive end Cameron Heyward said. "It's sort of the best reality TV show out there -- better than the Kardashians."

Two years ago, the Steelers came to Paul Brown Stadium and pulled out an improbable 18-16 playoff win set up by Cincinnati's fumble and personal fouls on Vontaze Burfict and Adam "Pacman" Jones. Boswell won that one with a 35-yard kick with 14 seconds left.

Desperate for a win to salvage their playoff hopes, the Bengals (5-7) still couldn't find a way to beat their Ohio River rival, not even after getting off to the big early lead. They've dropped six straight and nine of 10 against Pittsburgh.

"Very disappointing," said Bengals receiver A.J. Green, who had two touchdown catches in the first half. "We had it."

Nope. They never do, not against the Steelers.

"We've got a no-blink group," coach Mike Tomlin said. "We've been in this situation before, and in this stadium before."

The hard-hitting game was full of personal fouls, penalties and injuries that could have a long-term effect, especially for the AFC North leaders.

Pittsburgh lost leading tackler Ryan Shazier to a back injury in the first quarter. The linebacker was taken off the field on a cart and taken to a hospital for evaluation. Tomlin had no details about his injury or his prognosis after the game. ESPN reported that Tomlin went to the hospital after the game to check on Shazier.

"Ryan is one of the biggest players on this defense," linebacker Vince Williams said. "When we need a big play, he's one of the guys we look to. It's going to be tough."

Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict was carted off in the fourth quarter after JuJu Smith-Schuster leveled him with a high hit, then taunted him by walking over him.

There were four penalties for unnecessary roughness, one for unsportsmanlike conduct, one for roughing the passer and another for taunting. The Bengals self-destructed with 13 penalties for a team-record 173 yards.

The Steelers remain tied with New England for best record in the conference. They host the Patriots on Dec. 17.

Bottled up by Cincinnati's aggressive defense in the first half, Pittsburgh's playmakers made the difference down the stretch, just as they have all season. They rallied to beat the Packers 31-28 last Sunday on Boswell's 53-yard field goal on the final play, which was set up by Brown's incredible sideline catch.

After missing practice last week with an injured toe, Brown ran gingerly in pregame warmups and had another big game, finishing with 101 yards in eight catches.

Le'Veon Bell ran for 76 yards and had another 106 yards on five catches, including a 35-yard touchdown play in which he remarkably kept his balance along the sideline -- cornerback William Jackson pulled up, thinking there was no way he could stay inbound.

It's the first time that Bell and Brown each had 100 yards receiving in the same game. Ben Roethlisberger was 24 of 40 for 290 yards with a pair of touchdowns and an interception.

PRIME-TIME OPPOSITES

The Steelers have won 11 straight prime-time games, including four already this season against the Lions (Sunday night), the Titans (Thursday night) and the Packers (last Sunday night). It's been a horrific time slot for the Bengals, who are 11-24 on Monday night, dropping their past four.

PRIME-TIME PLAYERS

Roethlisberger has won his last seven prime-time starts, throwing 26 touchdowns and five interceptions. In those games, Brown has 58 catches for 883 yards with 15 touchdowns.

IN YOUR FACE

Bell and Burfict have a long-running feud on Twitter, and it got in-your-face right away. After Jones picked off a pass to end the Steelers' opening possession, Bell shoved Burfict's facemask and drove him to the ground, drawing a personal foul.

BIG NUMBER

Roethlisberger became the eighth quarterback in NFL history to reach 50,000 yards passing, joining Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, Drew Brees, Tom Brady, Dan Marino, John Elway and Eli Manning.

OTHER INJURIES

Steelers: Brown missed practice last week with a toe injury. He moved slowly during pregame warmups but started and finished with eight catches for 101 yards.

Bengals: Jones injured his groin on his first-quarter interception and didn't return. Running back Joe Mixon suffered a concussion late in the first half.

UP NEXT

Steelers host second-place Baltimore (7-5) next Sunday night in their fourth prime-time game of the season. They won at Baltimore 26-9 on Oct. 1.

Bengals host the Bears (3-9), completing a stretch of three straight home games. Cincinnati is 3-2 at Paul Brown Stadium this season.

---

For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Steelers vs. Bengals - Game Recap - December 4, 2017 - ESPN

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
CINCINNATI -- No matter how high the stakes, how big the deficit or how late in the game, Ben Roethlisberger and his tough-to-catch playmakers always find a way to leave the Bengals wondering what just happened.

# data[].attributes.body
Charlie Craig and David Mullins is a same-sex couple that went to masterpiece cake shop to buy a custom-made cake for their wedding. The owner of the cake shop Jack Phillips refused their services when they told him it was for their wedding. A formal complaint was lodged by the gay couple and later a state civil rights commission sanctioned Phillips. Phillips claims that he serves everybody but he just doesn't create cakes for every event that he is presented with. The Trump administration backs Phillips who is  presented in court by a conservative christian non-profit. So far Phillips has lost every step in the legal appeals process.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The encounter between a same-sex couple and a Colorado baker lasted just a few seconds -- but the legal, political and social impact could extend for decades after the Supreme Court takes up their case on Tuesday.

The justices will hear oral arguments in perhaps the most closely watched appeal so far this term, pitting religious conviction against anti-discrimination laws.

At issue is that July 2012 encounter, when Charlie Craig and David Mullins of Denver visited Masterpiece Cakeshop to buy a custom-made wedding cake. Owner Jack Phillips refused his services when told it was for a same-sex couple. A state civil rights commission sanctioned Phillips after a formal complaint from the gay couple.

"This case has never been about cakes," Mullins told Fox News. "It's about the rights of gay people to receive equal service in business and not be afraid of being turned away because of who they are. It's about basic access to public life."

But the Trump administration backs Phillips, who is represented in court by the Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian nonprofit. He has lost at every step in the legal appeals process.

"I serve everybody that comes in: gay, straight, Catholic, Muslim, atheist. I welcome everybody into my shop," Phillips told Fox News recently. "I just don't create cakes for every event that's presented to me."

Phillips says he has lost business and had to let employees go because of the controversy.

The court on Tuesday will examine whether applying Colorado's public accommodations law to compel the local baker to create commercial "expression" violates his constitutionally protected Christian beliefs about marriage.

By wading again into the culture wars, the justices will have to confront recent decisions on both gay rights and religious liberty: a 2015 landmark opinion legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide and a separate 2014 decision affirming the right of some companies to act on their owner's faith by refusing to provide contraception to its workers.

'My bakery, my family, my life, the work I get to do, is a gift from God and I want to honor Him in everything I do.'
- Jack Phillips

Chief Justice John Roberts predicted the current legal dilemma in his gay marriage dissent: "Hard questions arise when people of faith exercise religion in ways that may be seen to conflict with the new right to same-sex marriage."
BRIEF ENCOUNTER
Craig and Mullins met on blind date in late 2010, and decided to get married a couple years later. Since Colorado did not permit it at the time, they tied the knot in Massachusetts. While planning for a hometown reception with friends and family, the two decided to visit Phillips' small shop in a Denver suburb.

Along with Craig's mother and a book of ideas, they met with Phillips for just 20 seconds by the owner's account, when he said he told them, "Guys, I don't make cakes for same-sex weddings."

"What followed was a horrible pregnant pause during which what was happening really sunk in and we were mortified and embarrassed," recalled Mullins. "We teared up. It was a very painful and emotional moment for us."

"It made us feel helpless," added Craig. "To this day I feel like Dave and I are sort of on guard when we go into public accommodations, whether we can talk about our relationship openly for the fear of being discriminated against again."

Phillips was behind the counter at his shop when Fox News visited him last week. Using a palette of colored icing, he sculpted sugary designs that included red birds and the Denver Broncos football logo.

"It's not about turning away these customers, it's about doing a cake for an event -- a religious sacred event -- that conflicts with my conscience," he said earlier. "My bakery, my family, my life, the work I get to do, is a gift from God and I want to honor Him in everything I do."

The soft-spoken Phillips adds that like other artists, he has turned away cake requests for a variety of reasons: baked goods with profanity or obscene images, racial stereotypes, even those that he says would disparage homosexuals.
OPPOSING VIEWS
The Trump administration agrees with Phillips' legal claims to a large extent. Attorney General Jeff Sessions in October issued broad guidance to executive branch agencies, reiterating the government should respect religious freedom, which in the Justice Department's eyes extends to people, businesses and organizations.

"Faith is deeply embedded into the history of our country," President Trump said in May, adding his administration "will not allow people of faith to be targeted, bullied or silenced anymore."

But civil rights groups worry the conservative majority on the court may be ready to peel back protections for groups with a history of enduring discrimination.

"A ruling in this case to give businesses the right to refuse service to customers would shatter longstanding non-discrimination laws and have wide impacts on religious and racial minorities, single mothers, people with disabilities, and others," James Esseks, director of the ACLU's LGBT and HIV Project, said.

The case raises tough moral and legal questions that courts are increasingly being asked to navigate:

When certain businesses open their doors for business, do they in essence get to choose their customer base, by creating exceptions for whom they will serve?

Do artists and others who provide subjective, personalized content have any discretion to refuse or tailor their creations -- based on religious or moral beliefs?

Couldn't Mullins and Craig have found another bakery to accommodate them, a practical solution in the eyes of many that would avoid further conflict between customer and owner?

Does the LGBT community deserve a higher level of protection from civil rights discrimination -- in the same class as race, sex, and disability -- when it comes to states passing and enforcing statutes involving sexual orientation?

NEXT STEPS
Sitting in their comfortable home, the couple at the center of the case said they are anxious to put their half-decade legal odyssey behind them.

"Five years is a long time to continue talk about a situation that has happened," Mullins said. "But it has forced us to really come together as couple and support each other. I think we have been stronger for it.

Mullins, an office manager and part-time musician and photographer, and Craig, who is an interior designer, express hope their case sends a clear social message.

"We were doing this initially for ourselves. But, along the way we have heard thousands of people that have been discriminated against," Craig said. "So, now I feel like we are also standing for them too."

The case is Masterpiece Cakeshop, Ltd. v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission (16-111).

A ruling is expected by June 2018.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Gay wedding cake controversy heads to Supreme Court

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The encounter between a same-sex couple and a Colorado baker lasted just a few seconds -- but the legal, political and social impact could extend for decades after the Supreme Court takes up their case on Tuesday. The justices will hear oral arguments in perhaps the most closely watched appeal so far this term, pitting religious conviction against anti-discrimination laws.

# data[].attributes.body
A deputy risked his life to save an 82-year-old woman who crashed her SUV into a Florida pond. An 82 year old, who was seriously injured, wound up in the water after driving her SUV across four lanes of traffic and through a fence on Friday. Several people who had witnessed the crash were trying to pull the women's car out of the water. someone had a rope and tired it to the car trying to pull it out while it was still floating. The deputy dove over to the pond and swam to the women. He then used his baton to smash the window of the SUV to get inside. He eventually got the women out of her car. she was hospitalized with broken bones, open wounds, head trauma and possible damage to her spinal cord.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A deputy risked his life to save an 82-year-old woman who crashed her SUV into a Florida retention pond.

Leona Evans, who was seriously injured, wound up in the water after driving her Hyundai Santa Fe across four lanes of traffic and through a fence on Friday.

"When we arrived, there was just this red SUV floating, wasn't sitting, floating on the water in the middle of this retention pond," Hillsborough County deputy Benjamin Thompson told FOX 13 Tampa.

Thompson and deputy Trent Migues arrived on the scene as several people who had witnessed the crash were trying to pull Evans' car out of the water.

"They had actually gotten a rope," Thompson said. "They were trying to attach the car, thinking they could pull it back while it was floating."

The station reported that Thompson dove into the pond and swam out to Evans. He then used his baton to smash the window of the SUV to get inside.

"I hit that window in the corner, and I hit it, and I hit it, and I hit it, and I hit it with all my life, then after about the 6th time it finally shattered," he said. "And I knew the water was going to come in at that point, but I didn't realize how fast, it was like a waterfall, that car began to sink."

Migues told reporters that "the scariest moment was when her screaming stopped, and the roofline started going underneath the water, and my partner here disappeared in the car with her."

Eventually, Thompson cut his face, arms and hands on jagged pieces of glass as he pulled Evans out of the vehicle.

They were then helped out of the water by Migues and the Good Samaritans.

"She was injured pretty bad, but she stuck out like a champ," Migues said. "I told her she was a tough old lady. She enjoyed hearing that."

Evan's family told FOX 13 she was hospitalized at the ICU with broken bones, open wounds, head trauma and possible damage to her spinal cord.

The two deputies said they would like to find those who stopped to help to thank them for what they did.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Florida deputies rescue 82-year-old woman after she crashes into pond

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A deputy risked his life to save an 82-year-old woman who crashed her SUV into a Florida retention pond. Leona Evans, who was seriously injured, wound up in the water after driving her Hyundai Santa Fe across four lanes of traffic and through a fence on Friday.

# data[].attributes.body
The photographs North Korean state media released of last week's Hwasong-15 nighttime missile test appear to have been tampered with, an analyst told CNN.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Marco Langbroek, a space expert who tracks North Korea's missile program, told CNN he noticed something strange about the stars in images taken from opposite sides of the missile launch.

"You should see constellations that are opposites in the sky. That is not the case," he said.

Langbroek determined the direction of the photo based on the shape of the plumes of smoke coming from the rocket engine.

In the early hours of Wednesday, North Korea test-fired what is believed to be its most technologically advanced long-range ballistic missile. North Korea state media reported the Hwasong-15 reached an altitude of 4,475 kilometers (2,800 miles), putting the "whole" US mainland in range.

Langbroek, who is based in the Dutch city of Leiden, said he's been studying the photos since they were released by North Korean state media last week.

Something was off; to shoot stars, photographers use a longer exposure to more let light in. However, the longer exposure means that movement is captured as a blur.

When photographing a missile at night, photographers would use a wide-open aperture and fast shutter speed to capture the missile's rapid ascent. Stars wouldn't show up that clearly in an image, even in North Korea, where there's very low light pollution.

"They looked so crisp, that just didn't seem right to me," said Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics who corresponds with Langbroek.

Not all the images appear to be tampered with, Langbroek said.

One shot of the Hwasong-15 erected before launch shows the stars in the background, but also shows blurry individuals in the bottom-right corner, a sign that a long exposure was used to capture the night sky.

Ears to hovercrafts

North Korea has a reputation of altering images it releases to the world, tampering with everything from Kim Jong Un's ears to hovercrafts conducting an amphibious landing.

The concern with aesthetics could explain why North Korea may have tampered with its missile photos. The starry background helps highlight the missile and give it an ethereal quality, giving the photograph some texture that a near pitch-black background would not.

But the enhancements could also throw off those who study North Korea's missile program.

North Korea has conducted most of this year's missiles tests during daylight hours, and background landmarks help analysts locate exactly where a missile was launched.

That's an important data point that helps experts calculate everything from range to payload.

Using stars to locate where a missile was launched is much more difficult.

"Stars just don't look that different a few miles apart, and we have no reason to disbelieve that this launch was from the Pyongsong region north of Pyongyang," McDowell said.

By conducting the launch at night and altering backgrounds, it's possible that Pyongyang was trying to throw everyone off.

Jeffrey Lewis, a nuclear weapons expert at the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, said on his latest podcast his team will use forensic software to lighten the nighttime images for clues. When asked about Langbroek's findings, Lewis told CNN they are still running the images.

But McDowell believes the images were only edited for aesthetics because the missile itself does not appear to have been altered.

"I don't think we've seen any evidence of that, so it looks like they just cut out a star background and put it on to make it look cool," he said.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
north korea missile: inconsistencies spotted in hwasong-15 images - cnn

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
North Korea missile: Inconsistencies spotted in Hwasong-15 images

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Marco Langbroek, a space expert who tracks North Korea's missile program, told CNN he noticed something strange about the stars in images taken from opposite sides of the missile launch. "You should see constellations that are opposites in the sky. That is not the case," he said.

# data[].attributes.body
A Canadian fisher man hopes that his impressive catch of a pick that has grown around a drink rapper that will teach others not to litter. Adam Turnbull cough a pike that was wrapped in a powerade wrapper. " Pick up your garbage" said Turnbull . Turnbull removed the wrapper and released the pike into the water of Alberta. " I was surprised that a fish could survive like this" said Turnbull.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A Canadian fisherman hopes his astounding catch of a pike growing around a drink wrapper will teach others not to litter.

"Pick up your garbage. This is a Powerade wrapper which takes up no room in your pocket until you get to a garbage can. Please share!" Adam Turnbull, of Sarnia, Ontario, wrote on a Facebook post.

The images have gone viral with more than 12,000 shares.
WASP RIPS BEE IN HALF IN VIRAL VIDEO
Turnbull said he removed the wrapper and released the fish back into the waters of Alberta.

"I was very surprised a fish could even survive like this," Turnbull told Fox News, adding that he has never caught anything like it before.

"I spoke to a biologist and the blockage was just behind its stomach so it would have been able to eat normally, just longer for digestion to take place," he said.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Fisherman catches fish that grew around a drink wrapper

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A Canadian fisherman hopes his astounding catch of a pike growing around a drink wrapper will teach others not to litter. "Pick up your garbage. This is a Powerade wrapper which takes up no room in your pocket until you get to a garbage can. Please share!"

# data[].attributes.body
A Minnesota family has settled a 2 million dollar lawsuit after there 17 year old daughter went into cardiac arrest while getting her wisdom teeth pulled

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A Minnesota family has settled a lawsuit over the 2015 death of their 17-year-old daughter who went into cardiac arrest while having her wisdom teeth removed. The family of Sydney Galleger, who was under the care of Dr. Paul Tompach at the time of the procedure, reached a $2 million settlement with the oral surgeon, The Star Tribune reported.

The procedure took place at Tompach's Edina Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery office on June 9 at 9 a.m., with the teen's heart rate dropping dramatically between 9:15 and 9:20 a.m. A call was placed to 911 and CPR was administered before paramedics arrived, according to the news outlet.

A medical examiner later ruled that Galleger died from oxygen being denied to the brain due to cardiac arrest. Initially, the family had told The Star Tribune that they were not planning on filing a lawsuit, but that changed in January 2017.
MOM OF 2 DIES DAY AFTER FLU DIAGNOSIS
Tompach, 54, saw his license to practice suspended in January 2016 following the teen's death, but was practicing again under the restrictions placed by the state's Board of Dentistry just six weeks later, The Star Tribune reported. The restrictions were lifted in June 2017.

The lawsuit alleged "negligent and dangerous" actions pertaining to administering anesthesia, and a failure to properly monitor the teen during the extraction.

"The decision to place [Galleger] under anesthesia without using [the proper] monitoring equipment is negligent and dangerous," the lawsuit stated. "The evidence in this case will clearly and convincingly demonstrate that [Tombach] had deliberate disregard for the safety of his patients."

The case was scheduled to go to trial in May 2018.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Family settles $2M lawsuit in teen's dental death

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A Minnesota family has settled a lawsuit over the 2015 death of their 17-year-old daughter who went into cardiac arrest while having her wisdom teeth removed. The family of Sydney Galleger, who was under the care of Dr. Paul Tompach at the time of the procedure, reached a $2 million settlement with the oral surgeon, The Star Tribune reported.

# data[].attributes.body
Another Cali wildfire made thousands of residents flee their homes, only 1 dead. The fire was impacting structures in downtown Ventura early Tuesday morning, with multiple residential homes on fire near City Hall. The blaze has charred at least 25,00 acres of land. Officials said the blaze started as a 50-acre brush fire in a foothills area east of Santa Paula located about 40 minutes east of Santa Barbara at around 6:30 p.m. Monday. The fire  multiplied in size to 10,000 acres in just 4 hours. Santa Paula has a population of 30,000. Firefighters in Ventura said they were dealing winds of between 25 and 50 mph, which they said made it impossible to fight the fire via aircraft. Officials said they planned to attack the fire by air at daybreak.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Thousands were forced to flee their homes on Monday as firefighters battled a fast-moving wildfire in Southern California that had charred more than 10,000 acres of land, authorities said.

Intensified by strong winds and harsh weather conditions, the fire caused at least one death in Ventura County, California, emergency officials said. The person's identity was not released, but authorities attributed the death to an automobile accident.

About 650 residents were under mandatory evacuation in Ventura County as of early Tuesday morning as the wildfires moved southwest toward the coast. Officials said several thousand homes in nearby areas had been evacuated due to the fire, although they cautioned that the figure was a rough estimate.

Two buildings were destroyed, officials said.

Separately, Thomas Aquinas College in Santa Paula, California, which has about 350 students, was evacuated Monday evening.

*** FIRE ALERT ***
A large brush fire has struck the area around Steckel Park, just south of the Thomas Aquinas College campus. As a precaution, all students are being evacuated to nearby homes. Please pray for the safety of all those affected!
- ThomasAquinasCollege (@TACollege) December 5, 2017

"We're really just trying to catch it around the edges and just pinch it off as quickly as we possibly can," Ventura County firefighter Jason Hodge told reporters Monday. "It's a challenge, but everybody's out there working hard and will be through the night."

Officials said the blaze started as a 50-acre brush fire in a foothills area east of Santa Paula -- located about 40 minutes east of Santa Barbara -- at around 6:30 p.m. Monday.

It multiplied in size to 10,000 acres in just four hours, authorities said. Santa Paula has a population of about 30,000.

The fire, referred to as the Thomas Fire by authorities, knocked out power for more than 190,000 customers in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, Southern California Edison said. Firefighters in Ventura said they were dealing winds of between 25 and 50 mph, which they said made it impossible to fight the fire via aircraft.

"It's always difficult and somewhat dangerous to fly at night, so depending on different conditions and the geographic challenges is how they evaluate whether or not they can operate at night," Hodge said.

The cause of the fire is unknown.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Wildfire threatens thousands of homes in Southern California, kills 1

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Thousands were forced to flee their homes on Monday as firefighters battled a fast-moving wildfire in Southern California that had charred more than 10,000 acres of land, authorities said. Intensified by strong winds and harsh weather conditions, the fire caused at least one death in Ventura...

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
They'd known each other for two years and eaten together before. She accepted.

They took the Jaguar to a Jamba Juice and sipped smoothies. After lunch, Ditsworth asked Barcay if she would go with him to mail something on the way back to school. She agreed.

Soon after, according to court records, he drove past a mailbox and detoured to a quiet residential street, parking at a dead-end with the passenger door up against a wall. There, he told Barcay he had thoughts of suicide. She suggested he drive back to school and see a counselor.

Instead, according to court records, he reached inside his backpack, pulled out a claw hammer and started swinging. Ditsworth delivered dozens of crushing blows, smashing Barcay's nose and leg, splitting her scalp and giving her two black eyes, the records say. Her family said they counted at least 40 visible wounds.

During a struggle, the weapon broke. So Ditsworth grabbed Barcay's throat and tried to strangle her, she testified during a preliminary hearing.

Barcay said she bit down on his finger to stop the attack. He let go.

"I'm done," he screamed.

Bloody and wounded, Barcay managed to escape from the car before collapsing in front of a nearby home.

She survived the attack, emerging with fierce resolve. Five days later, she went to prom - in a wheelchair - and was crowned queen, the high school's student newspaper reported at the time. Barcay could not be reached for comment for this article.

Prosecutors filed three felony charges against her attacker: one count of attempted murder and two counts of assault with a deadly weapon. If convicted of those charges, Ditsworth was facing the rest of his life behind bars.

But he never spent a day in jail.

What followed instead was a series of moves that gave the teenager a near-clean criminal slate, allowing him to reinvent himself in Florida.

"When you have a lot of money, you can kind of get away with stuff," said Celeste Ellich, vice chair of the Broward County Republican Party, who had supported Tarsey's secretary bid before she knew about his past. "They thought they had it buried."

Deputy District Attorney Ed Nison, who prosecuted the case in California, told the Los Angeles Times that because Ditsworth was relatively young, had no prior record and suffered from psychiatric issues, putting him in jail "would not serve the purpose that it's supposed to serve."

"The goal was to avoid a reoccurrence of this kind of behavior," Nison said. "And simply locking him up wouldn't have done anything to prevent future behavior under these circumstances."

But at the time, others saw the situation differently.

"You should have gone to prison," David Barcay, the victim's father, told Ditsworth at a dramatic court hearing in 2010. "Instead, you're going to school and making friends and enjoying the outdoors and posing for pictures with your fraternity brothers with paintball guns in army fatigues. ... You have moved to Florida and created a life that has allowed you to forget."

After the attack, Ditsworth's parents immediately admitted him to a hospital for mental health treatment. Ditsworth, who previously had been diagnosed with autism, spent three months in a psychiatric hospital in Texas and then four years in a residential treatment program for autistic students in Florida, according to court records.

A band of private attorneys represented him in criminal proceedings, brokering a plea deal with prosecutors that involved pleading no contest to one count of assault with a deadly weapon in exchange for six years of probation. A judge terminated the terms after five.

His attorneys argued, according to court records, that Barcay screamed when Tarsey expressed suicidal thoughts, and his hypersensitivity to sound caused him to react to "silence the noise."

Court records show his family settled a civil lawsuit brought by his classmate for $1.17 million.

Ditsworth changed his name to Rupert Tarsey, after his mother, Patrice Tarsey, an attorney who represented her son and testified for him in the name-change proceedings, according to court records. A judge granted the request in October 2010.

Two years earlier, he had filed a separate request to change his name to Robert Ditsworth, to carry on the name of his late grandfather, court records show. It was dropped when he didn't show up to a hearing in 2009. Before that name change request, and while his criminal case was pending, someone using the name "Rypert Ditworth" and Tarsey's birthday registered to vote in Broward County, a Florida Department of State spokeswoman confirmed.

In Florida, Ditsworth continued to get 12 hours a week of one-on-one behavioral therapy. About a year after the attack, he made the dean's list at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale.

He graduated with multiple honors and in 2013 earned a master's degree in business administration. Property records show he now owns a $1.7 million waterfront condo with a pool, basketball court and home theater.

For more than two years, a psychotherapist sent at least 21 letters, which were obtained by The Times, to the Los Angeles County Probation Department describing Ditsworth's progress.

In a letter from December 2011, she wrote that Ditsworth's close friends from college named him godfather of their first child. In another letter a year later, she wrote that Ditsworth lovingly cared for his new cockatiel and delighted in giving his pet new toys.

Heidi Rummel, a professor at USC Gould School of Law, said that, while Ditsworth's outcome was very unusual, he did well with a second chance.

"That second chance is not afforded to most - kids of color, kids of poor communities. When they commit a crime like that, in most cases, they spend many, many years in prison," Rummel said. "A lot of kids do well with a second chance. We should be thinking about that more broadly for the kids who never had a first chance."

Almost a decade after the attack, his attorneys cited much of the same progress detailed in the letters when they asked a judge to reduce his felony conviction to a misdemeanor.

"Rupert was an immature 17-year-old autistic high school student with multiple untreated documented neurological and communication disorders," they wrote in the application, filed last year. "A felony conviction would constitute an almost insurmountable impediment to being granted a license, much less obtaining employment in the field in which he is trained."

It worked. A judge granted the request on Jan. 12, 2016.

Two days later, with the felony scrubbed from his record, Rupert Tarsey registered to vote.

---

The Broward County Republican Party was already beset by fundraising problems and leadership turnover. Tarsey had been putting out feelers to committee members, asking if they'd support him in a bid for chairman.

"The minute he became secretary, he decided he wanted to be chair," said Ellich, the committee's vice chair. "He told me he wants to be 'president of Earth.' I thought he was kidding. I didn't take any of that serious at the time, but I think he truly believes that."

When his past came to light, the group fell into disarray. Some felt they'd been deceived. Others were shocked that Tarsey had so eagerly jumped into the spotlight with such a disturbing history of violence. Many wanted him out.

"I am all for rehabilitation and second chances, but this individual went through extensive means to hide his name," said Sutton, the group's chair. "No self-respecting Republican, Democrat or independent would support an individual who took a claw hammer to a female."

In an email to committee members soon after the revelations reached the board, Tarsey said the negative attention was retaliation for supporting efforts to unseat Sutton. The incident a decade earlier, he wrote, resulted from a verbal argument with a classmate that turned physical when his classmate kicked him and pinned him against the side of the car. He used the hammer, he said, in self-defense.

"BUT TO BE CLEAR," he wrote, "EVEN THOUGH I WAS ACTING IN SELF DEFENSE I STILL REGRET WHAT HAPPENED AND FEEL THAT MY ACTIONS WERE UNCALLED FOR."

That was nearly three months ago.

Despite calls for him to resign, Tarsey hasn't stepped down. When reached by phone this week, he declined to comment, other than to say, "I don't really see how it's a controversy - this is not a state-level position. This isn't a public office."

Two grievances, one filed by Tarsey against Sutton and another by Sutton's attorney against Tarsey, are pending before the Florida Republican Party.

Until there's a ruling, the executive committee does not intend to meet. Meanwhile, its website lists the secretary position as vacant.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
As a teen, he savagely beat a classmate. The attack was forgotten, until he went into politics

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Republicans of Broward County, Fla., knew little about Rupert Tarsey when he ran for an open slot on the local party's executive committee. But the young man had some decent political cred. Before the 2016 presidential election, he told them, he knocked...

# data[].attributes.body
A 19 year old Florida boy set his girlfriends house on fire, while her and the parents were inside. He even used the liquid fuel to draw a heart on a fence near his girlfriend’s bedroom window. Cops say he did this days after he searched google for “how to burn a brick house down,” and threatened to kill his girlfriend over snapchat. When confronted by detectives, he claimed a “random black guy”did it.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
A Florida teen allegedly set his girlfriend's house on fire while she and her parents were inside. But when confronted by detectives, he claimed a "random black guy"did it.

Cops say Jose Bernardo Rosas Madrigal doused the Polk City home with lighter fluid-days after he scoured Google for "how to burn a brick house down," and threatened to kill his sweetheart over Snapchat.

The 19-year-old even used the liquid fuel to draw a heart on a fence near his girlfriend's bedroom window, the Polk County Sheriff's Office says.

After Madrigal ignited the family's front yard, he drove past the house to see his handiwork, authorities allege.

James Scott, the father of the girlfriend, says his residence avoided damage but that parts of his yard went up in flames. "We were very lucky. We caught it in time before it blew up," Scott told The Daily Beast.

"I thank God because God was on our side," Scott added. "If it would have gone 5 or 10 more minutes, the car would have blew up. My house would have been on fire. He could have killed us."

Madrigal faces three counts of attempted first-degree homicide and one count of first-degree arson. He is also charged with possession of liquor by a person under 21.

Messages left for Madrigal's public defender were not returned. He remains in Polk County jail on a $60,000 bond, records show.

"He planned this in advance. He Googled how to burn the house, he mixed the combination and poof, he set it on fire. And poof, we put him in jail," said Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd in a statement to The Daily Beast.

The Scott family reported the blaze at 7:30 p.m. on the day after Thanksgiving.

According to an arrest affidavit, the girlfriend received "several Snapchat [messages] which had threats of burning down her home."

Scott told The Daily Beast his daughter had recently requested some space from Madrigal, whom he described as "controlling." Madrigal and the girl, who are high schoolers, had been dating for a year, Scott said.

Recently, the girl began receiving death threats on Snapchat from a bogus account, and those warnings continued even after the blaze, Scott said. (Police believe Madrigal is behind the social media threats.)

But when deputies began investigating the messages, they soon focused on Madrigal.

The teen told investigators that he was at his mother's Auburndale home, 25 minutes away, when the fire broke out, the affidavit says.

Yet a neighbor's surveillance footage showed Madrigal's truck arrive at the home minutes before the victims dialed 911, police say.

When confronted with the footage, Madrigal told a detective that "he was in the neighborhood driving by [his girlfriend's] house trying to check on her," because they'd had a spat earlier in the day, the affidavit states.

Madrigal said he drove past the house three times, and on the third, he saw the yard burning, police say. The high schooler allegedly told cops he didn't know what to do, so he took off.

One neighbor told News Channel 8 that residents helped extinguish the flames. "There was liquid everywhere," Margaret Elkins told the Tampa station.

Elkins claimed Madrigal appeared at the scene minutes later and said something that gave her chills. "Usually the one that does it comes back to see what all the excitement is about," Madrigal said, according to Elkins.

The teen would later tell investigators that he saw a "random black guy" light the flames before running off, the affidavit alleges.

Police say they searched Madrigal's phone and discovered Google searches made just before the fire, including, "can you start charcoal with gasoline house on fire," "how to burn a brick house down," and "does liquor have alcohol to turn on fire."

Inside Madrigal's truck was a half-full bottle of Pinnacle Vodka, police say.

When asked about his search history, Madrigal allegedly claimed his brother was the one who started the blaze and that he helped him carry out the deed.

According to the affidavit, Madrigal told detectives that he knew his girlfriend and her mother were in her bedroom doing homework, and that her father was home, too.

Scott told The Daily Beast he was devastated by Madrigal's alleged crime.

"We heard a boom outside, and I never thought anything of it. Push came to shove, and my wife says, 'James, honey, you need to go and check it out,'" Scott recalls.

"She opened the door, and it just smelled like some kind of gas or toxic fume," he added. "You could smell it from a block down the road."

Scott went outside to find his canoe and front yard in flames. He said he quickly put the fire out before it spread.

Madrigal had a troubled home life, Scott said. Wanting to help the teenager, Scott arranged for him to move in with Scott's mother, where his daughter also stayed sometimes.

Scott says that the night before the fire, his mother told Madrigal he needed to find somewhere else to live.

Madrigal was five months away from graduating high school. "I hate to see the kid go to prison and ruin his whole life," Scott said.

"We feel bad in a way," the father added. "I feel sorry for him. We don't even really know what to do. We're stunned.

"I guess it's a love gone bad or something."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cops: Teen Sets Girlfriend's House on Fire, Blames 'Random Black Guy'

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A Florida teen allegedly set his girlfriend's house on fire while she and her parents were inside. But when confronted by detectives, he claimed a "random black guy"did it. Cops say Jose Bernardo Rosas Madrigal doused the Polk City home with lighter fluid-days after he scoured Google for "how to burn a brick house down," and threatened to kill his sweetheart over Snapchat.

# data[].attributes.body
Pittsburgh beat Cincinnati last night 23-20. The Steelers pulled out the victory after a hard fought battle for both teams.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
1:47 AM ET

Close

ESPN.com national NFL writer

ESPN.com NFC North reporter, 2008-2013

Covered Vikings for Minneapolis Star Tribune, 1999-2008

You can love football and hate what happened Monday night in Cincinnati.

You can tune in for bone-crushing tackles. You can stand up and cheer when a running back trucks a linebacker. And, yes, you can still be repulsed by two plays that will hover this game -- and perhaps the NFL -- for weeks and months to come.

This is not the time to argue, stubbornly and with fleeting merit, that football must be accepted as an uncontrollably vicious and unavoidably violent game. Indeed, it once was. But it can no longer be, at least not in the context we're accustomed to. We know too much now about the long-term impact of brain injuries to simply tolerate the unconscionably-directed hits that Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict and Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Antonio Brown absorbed in the fourth quarter of the Steelers' 23-20 victory.

Burfict left the field on a stretcher to be evaluated for a concussion, the victim of Steelers receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster's illegal block. Less than four minutes later, Bengals safety George Iloka drilled Brown's face mask after a game-tying touchdown. The plays came amid the pall of a frightening first-quarter injury suffered by Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier, who was taken to a local hospital because of a back injury.

The Shazier injury happened innocently enough after he lowered his head to make a routine tackle. And to be fair, most of Monday night's game was played within reasonable boundaries of roughness. These teams have a long and heated rivalry, flush with a history of legal and illegal hits in recent years. That's almost certainly why Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, asked about the viciousness of the game, blew it off as "AFC North football."

But that just can't be, not anymore, not if you recognize the way the wind is blowing with this sport and game. I spoke this summer with Dr. Bennett Omalu, who discovered chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) by identifying it in the brains of deceased NFL players. In his opinion, and the opinions of many other medical professionals, the science of repeated brain injuries is settled.

"There is no such thing as a safe blow to the head," he said. "And then when you have repeated blows to your head, it increases the risk of permanent brain damage. Once you start having hundreds or thousands of blows, there is a 100 percent risk of exposure to permanent brain damage. The brain does not have a reasonable capacity to regenerate. This is something we have always known."

In other words, if you play football long enough, you're going to be exposed to permanent brain damage. That doesn't necessarily mean everyone will fall victim, of course. But if you think that focus on brain health in football is a fad or a passing concern or anything other than central to the future of the game, then you haven't been paying attention lately. It's not going away. At some point, a moral reckoning will arise among fans -- if it hasn't already -- who no longer feel entertained by players bashing in each other's brains.

Even the NFL has accepted a reality where it must at least attempt to minimize head trauma, be it sub-concussive hits on a daily basis or clinical concussions in games. That acceptance has manifested in a set of rules that Smith-Schuster and Iloka blew through Monday night.

* Statistics
* Scoreboard
* 2017 schedule, results
* Standings

Both were well within their rights to initiate a high degree of contact. Smith-Schuster was trying to block a much larger man from tackling a teammate, while Iloka was trying to break up a touchdown reception. But whether by intent or a simple lack of control, both players hit their opponents in the head.

When you combine their hits with the cheap shot New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski was suspended one game for Monday, you realize the NFL still has work to do to convince players to respect what must be a red line for avoidable contact to the head. The ask is simple: Do everything you can to minimize head shots. That alone won't solve the issue, but it should be a minimum for any serious attempt to make the game safer for the brain.

That might be something players can handle among themselves over time. "We need to take ownership," Bengals receiver A.J. Green told reporters. "We need to take care of each other."

Maybe the NFL will assert itself to a greater extent. It's possible that Smith-Schuster and/or Iloka will meet Gronkowski's fate and face a suspension. But the point will not be to water down the game or take away someone's manhood or earn credit by clutching pearls. It will be to preserve the vast majority of a game that many people love, at the expense of a level of savagery we can all stand to evolve from.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Brutality of Steelers-Bengals shouldn't be dismissed as 'AFC North football'

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
1:47 AM ET Close ESPN.com national NFL writer ESPN.com NFC North reporter, 2008-2013 Covered Vikings for Minneapolis Star Tribune, 1999-2008 You can love football and hate what happened Monday night in Cincinnati. You can tune in for bone-crushing tackles. You can stand up and cheer when a running back trucks a linebacker.

# data[].attributes.body
cold weather and snow is hitting the mid west and north east. about 20 inchs fell in steam boat springs, Colorado

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Mild temperatures that covered much of the Midwest and Northeast are out the window Tuesday as cold air and snow have moved into the region.

Interested in Weather?

Add Weather as an interest to stay up to date on the latest Weather news, video, and analysis from ABC News.

Out west, up to 20 inches of snow fell in Steamboat Springs, Colorado in the last 24 hours, while 11 inches of snow fell in parts of northwestern Minnesota.

Winds gusted in the Dakotas up to 66 mph, producing white out conditions on I-94 and I-29.

As the storm moved east, the temperature fell in Minneapolis from a record high yesterday of 57 degrees to 20 degrees Tuesday morning, and officially 2.1 inches of snow is reported at the airport this morning.

This morning, winter weather alerts and wind advisories are issued for 12 states from the Dakotas to Maine.

The storm system is moving out of the Plains Tuesday morning and into the Ohio Valley and eastern Great Lakes. The trailing cold front extends all the way south into the Tennessee River Valley and the Deep South.

The storm system moves into the Northeast on Tuesday evening with a squall line possible from Washington, D.C. to New York City and Boston. Gusty winds and heavy rain are possible.

Behind the storm system, wind chills Tuesday morning are dropping below zero in parts of the northern Plains.

The cold air continues to move into the Northeast by Thursday morning when wind chills will be below freezing from the Carolinas to Boston.

With cold air moving over the relatively warm Great Lakes, a winter storm watch has been posted for western New York with more than a foot of lake effect snow expected late Wednesday into Thursday.

Fire danger and damaging winds

Dry, Santa Ana winds overnight in Ventura and Los Angeles counties have gusted close to 70 mph and produced prime conditions for wildfire spread.

The Thomas Wildfire in Santa Paula, California has grown to 25,000 acres in a matter of hours overnight.

Red flag warnings and high wind warnings continue through this morning for Los Angeles and Ventura counties and all the way down to San Diego.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Cold and snow moving into the Midwest, Northeast

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Mild temperatures that covered much of the Midwest and Northeast are out the window Tuesday as cold air and snow have moved into the region. Out west, up to 20 inches of snow fell in Steamboat Springs, Colorado in the last 24 hours, while 11 inches of snow fell in parts of northwestern Minnesota....

# data[].attributes.body
The father of UCLA guard LiAngelo Ball says he plans to withdraw his son from school because of concerns related to the freshman’s indefinite suspension for his participation in a shoplifting incident during the Bruins’ trip to China last month.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Basketball patriarch LaVar Ball has hit a barrier with his family dynasty conquering The American Dream.

The father of UCLA guard LiAngelo Ball says he plans to withdraw his son from school because of concerns related to the freshman's indefinite suspension for his participation in a shoplifting incident during the Bruins' trip to China last month.

The younger Ball, along with freshmen Jalen Hill and Cody Riley, have been barred from all team activities as part of their suspension for shoplifting from three high-end stores last month when UCLA opened its season overseas.

Ball, Hill and Riley publicly apologized while reading prepared statements at a campus news conference on Nov. 15.

LaVar Ball told the Los Angeles Times and ESPN on Monday that he's going to explore other options for LiAngelo because "I'm not going to let him sit back and not practice."

The elder Ball says he hasn't spoken to the school about withdrawing his son. "I'm taking him and I'm gone," he told the Times.

Asked if LiAngelo agreed with the decision, the elder Ball told the Times, "My boy is loyal to me. I tried to let UCLA deal with the process and he should have been playing the next week."

"We learned today of LiAngelo Ball's intention to withdraw from UCLA," Coach Steve Alford said in a statement. "We respect the decision he and his family have made, and we wish him all the best in the future."

Alford said last week that he and his staff were communicating with the players via text messages and calls, mostly to see if they are attending classes. The players are allowed to use athletic facilities, including the weight room, but aren't working directly with the coaching staff, he said.

Alford indicated last week that he expected the fate of the three suspended players to be resolved in the near term.

LiAngelo is the middle child of Ball's three sons. Oldest son Lonzo is a rookie with the Lakers after playing one successful season at UCLA.

The elder Ball pulled his youngest son, LaMelo, out of Chino Hills High recently in favor of home schooling him.

LiAngelo Ball never played a regular-season game for the Bruins (7-1), who fell out of the Top 25 last week.

LaVar Ball and President Donald Trump have engaged in a public war of words since the three players returned from China. Ball minimized Trump's involvement in winning the players' release and Trump tweeted in response that he should have left the players in China in jail. Ball rebuffed Trump's demands for credit, saying it was Chinese President Xi Jinping who freed his son.

Fox News previously reported that Trump escalated his Twitter war with the Ball patriarch, calling him "a poor man's Don King" and an "ungrateful fool."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
LaVar Ball says he's withdrawing suspended son from UCLA

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Basketball patriarch LaVar Ball has hit a barrier with his family dynasty conquering The American Dream. The father of UCLA guard LiAngelo Ball says he plans to withdraw his son from school because of concerns related to the freshman's indefinite suspension for his participation in a shoplifting incident during the Bruins' trip to China last month.

# data[].attributes.body
IOS 11 has a hack to help in cas of emerginces

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Not trying to be sensationalist - this hack really is essential for every kid to know.

There's a iPhone hack doing the rounds on Facebook that seems too important not to share.

The latest iOS for iPhone has an important safety feature built in that every kid (and their parents) needs to know about.

If you ever find yourself in an unsafe situation and need to discreetly call the police, all you need to do is press the iPhone lock button (on the right-hand-side) quickly 5 times.

When you slide the Emergency SOS bar to the right, your phone will immediately dial 000 and connect you with the Emergency operator.

Even if your phone is out of service, if another provider has service in the area you are dialling 000 from, your call will most likely be connected.

Reassuring to know, right?

I've already showed my three kids (aged 13, 12 and nine) how to use this hack just in case of an emergency.
EMERGENCY CONTACTS LIST
You can also add emergency contacts to your phone so that after your 000 call ends, your iPhone alerts your emergency contacts with a text message. Your iPhone will send your current location, and will even send updates if your location changes during a certain period after the emergency call has ended.

Add emergency contacts to your phone via the Health app. Tap on the Medical ID tab, scroll down and you will see the green plus button next to 'emergency contacts'. Hit the plus button and add your people.

Five quick hits on the side of the phone and a slide is so much easier than unlocking the phone and dialling 000. It's reassuring to know that it's so easy to get help if it's needed - and hopefully it will never be needed.
OTHER NEW SAFETY FEATURES WORTH KNOWING ABOUT
A few other 'good to know' features in iPhone iOS11 that can help keep the kids safe:

Do Not Disturb While Driving - The first time your iOS 11 iPhone senses you might be driving, it shows a description of the Do Not Disturb while driving feature after you stop. If this doesn't show up for you, you can turn it on in the Control Centre of your phone. Go to Settings > Control Centre > Customise Controls > Do Not Disturb While Driving.

Improved Parental Controls - the parental controls has received a revamp and it's now a lot easier to restrict access on your iPhone.

More hoops for kids' to jump through for apps - the new system makes verification codes mandatory between kids' accounts and parents accounts when downloading apps. This means that even if your kids guess your password, they will still need you to send a verification code in order for them to download new apps. What a good idea.
For more stories like this visit kidspot.com.au. This story originally appeared in news.com.au.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
This iPhone hack could save your kid's life

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Not trying to be sensationalist - this hack really is essential for every kid to know. There's a iPhone hack doing the rounds on Facebook that seems too important not to share. The latest iOS for iPhone has an important safety feature built in that every kid (and their parents) needs to know about.