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Passenger attacked a flight attendant, swallowed rosary beads on plane

Sivan2500 — Wed, 12 Mar 2025 00:09:20 +0000

SAVANNAH, Ga. — Court records say a passenger on a small regional flight to Miami attacked a flight attendant, kicked and punched the seat of the person in front of him and swallowed rosary beads as pilots returned to the airport in Savannah, Georgia.

The passenger was traveling with his sister, who said her brother told her before the violent outburst to “close her eyes and pray because Satan’s disciple(s) had followed them onto the plane,” according to an FBI agent’s affidavit filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court.

No one was seriously hurt on the Monday night flight operated by Envoy Air, a regional carrier for American Airlines. The 31-year-old passenger was jailed on charges including misdemeanor battery, misdemeanor obstruction of police and a felony count of criminal property damage.

FBI Agent Savannah Solomon described the violent episode in her affidavit, saying there was probable cause to charge the man with a federal crime of interfering with a flight crew.

Solomon wrote that eight passengers were on the plane and flight attendants became concerned immediately after takeoff when they noticed one of them appearing to have a “fit of epilepsy” that included “stomping, incoherent yelling, and shaking.”

When a flight attendant approached the man, he turned in his seat and kicked the attendant in the chest, sending the worker flying into a window across the aisle, the agent wrote. The passenger then started kicking and punching the seat of the person in front of him, who moved before the back of the seat collapsed.

The pilots returned to the Savannah airport. After the plane landed, the man who had kicked the flight attendant charged toward the exit and threw punches at another flight attendant before being subdued by other passengers, the affidavit says.

He was apprehended by airport police and taken to a local hospital for “ingestion of rosary beads,” the affidavit says. Then the passenger was booked into the Chatham County jail.

Federal court records and online jail records did not list an attorney for the arrested passenger.

His sister told the FBI agent that they were traveling to Haiti “to flee religious attacks of a spiritual nature.” According to the affidavit, the woman said her brother had “swallowed the rosary beads because they are a weapon of strength in the spiritual warfare.”

The woman told the agent her brother was not suffering from mental health problems or medical issues.

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The push to create a hockey program at a majority-Black U.S. college

Sivan2500 — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 23:52:20 +0000

A college in Tennessee is set to become the first historically Black institution to ice an NCAA Division 1 hockey team.

Tennessee State University, which counts among its alum TV icon Oprah Winfrey and Olympian Wilma Rudolph, has more than a dozen players committed to the program, including a number of Canadians.

National Post contributor Allen Abel joins host Dave Breakenridge to discuss the challenges TSU faces in getting the program off the ground, what’s significant about this push to grow hockey at the collegiate level, and the former Maple Leafs coaching staffer leading the charge.

Background reading: One man’s audacious dream to import Canada’s game to Black America

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L.A. County resident had measles when they recently flew into LAX

Sivan2500 — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 23:08:07 +0000

Public health officials have confirmed the first case of measles in a Los Angeles County resident this year — the second infected person known to have passed through Los Angeles International Airport in 2025.

A county resident who traveled while infectious arrived at LAX in the Tom Bradley International Terminal (Terminal B) on a China Airlines flight March 5, the L.A. County Department of Public Health announced Tuesday.

Measles is a viral infection that spreads through the air and via droplets. It can potentially lead to serious health complications, including death. The virus can spread when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes, or a person can contract it by touching an infected surface, according to the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

The disease is so contagious, the Centers for Disease Control says, you can get measles just by being in a room where an infected person has been — even up to two hours after that person has left the room.

This is the second recent case of a measles-infected person exposing others at LAX. Last month, an infected infant returning home to Orange County arrived at the airport on a Korean Air flight in Terminal B.

Health officials listed the following locations the infected person visited after their flight.

People who are at risk of exposure to the recent measles case include:

Travelers who were at the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX the evening of March 5 between 7 and 10:40 p.m.
People who visited Cloud 9 Nail Salon in North Hollywood on March 7 between 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. The salon is at 5142 N. Lankershim Blvd.
Customers of Superior Grocers at 10683 Valley Blvd. in El Monte who visited on March 10 between 8:15 and 10:30 a.m.

California now has five reported cases of measles as of March 11 amid an expanding measles outbreak in the U.S.

There are 222 cases across the nation in states that include Alaska, California, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Texas and Washington, according to the CDC.

All measles cases diagnosed in California thus far were of infected people who traveled internationally, the county health department stated.

At least 17% of cases nationwide have required hospitalization for management of measles complications or for the purpose of isolation, and two people have died from complications of the disease; most of the cases have been among individuals who were not immunized.

Health officials say the best way to protect against the measles is with the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine. Two doses of MMR vaccine are about 97% effective at preventing measles; one dose is about 93% effective. The CDC recommends getting the first dose of the MMR vaccine at ages 12 to 15 months and the second dose at 4 to 6 years of age.

What to do if you’ve been exposed to measles

If you were on the flight or at the terminal, nail salon or grocery store where the infected traveler visited, you should:

Review your immunization and medical records to determine if you’re protected against measles. If you have not had measles in the past or have not yet obtained the measles vaccine, you are at risk of contracting the disease.
Contact and notify your healthcare provider as soon as possible about a potential exposure if you are pregnant, have a weakened immune system or haven’t been immunized against the disease. Parents or guardians of infants who were possibly exposed should contact their pediatrician.
Monitor yourself for symptoms, specifically a fever or unexpected rash from seven to 21 days after the potential exposure.
If symptoms develop, stay home and do not enter a healthcare facility before calling first to make them aware of your exposure and symptoms.

How long it takes for measles symptoms to appear

Symptoms can develop from seven to 21 days after exposure.

Exposed individuals who have been free of symptoms for more than 21 days are no longer at risk.

The symptoms of measles

Between seven and 14 days after exposure, your symptoms could include high fever, cough, runny nose, red and watery eyes, and rash.

From seven to 18 days after exposure, you may develop a rash on your face and upper neck. The rash can spread to your hands and feet over the course of three days. Health officials say the rash should last for five or six days before fading.

The infection can result in severe complications, including blindness, encephalitis (an infection causing brain swelling and, potentially, brain damage), severe diarrhea and related dehydration, ear infection, trouble breathing due to pneumonia and, in some cases, death, according to the World Health Organization

It’s most common for complications to occur in children younger than 5 and adults over the age of 30, according to public health experts.

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Calgary massage therapist charged with sexual assault of client – Calgary

Sivan2500 — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 22:51:05 +0000

By Staff

The Canadian Press

Posted March 11, 2025 6:48 pm

1 min read

Calgary police say a massage therapist has been charged with sexual assault of a client.

Police say the client went in January to Parkview Massage and Wellness, located located at 3125-380 Canyon Meadows Dr. S.E in south Calgary.

It’s alleged the client was touched sexually without consent during an appointment.

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Police said the client reported what happened the following month.

A 46-year-old man is now charged with one count of sexual assault.

He is slated to appear in court in May.

Police noted in Canada, there is no time limit on reporting a sexual assault.

“Anyone who believes they are a victim of sexual assault is encouraged to report it, even if many years have passed since the incident,” Calgary police said on Tuesday.

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— With files from Karen Bartko, Global News

&copy 2025 The Canadian Press

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Louisiana’s first nitrogen gas execution blocked by federal judge

Sivan2500 — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 22:07:03 +0000

A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked Louisiana’s first execution in 15 years after lawyers for the condemned man argued a new method known as nitrogen hypoxia would violate his constitutional rights.

The inmate, Jessie Hoffman Jr., 46, said the use of a face mask to deliver only nitrogen gas, depriving him of oxygen, “substantially burdens” his ability to engage in his Buddhist breathing practices and create “superadded pain and suffering.”

Hoffman’s execution, scheduled for March 18, was set to be the first time Louisiana would put a person to death using nitrogen hypoxia.

Louisiana Middle District Chief Judge Shelly Dick ruled in partial favor of Hoffman in his request, writing that it is in the “best interests of the public” to be able to examine the state’s “newly proposed method of execution on a fully developed record.” She said she was particularly troubled that the state only released a redacted protocol to the public until the day before the preliminary injunction hearing on Friday.

“The public has paramount interest in a legal process that enables thoughtful and well-informed deliberations, particularly when the ultimate fundamental right, the right to life, is placed in the government’s hands,” she wrote.

She said Hoffman cannot be executed until his claims are “decided after a trial on the merits and a final judgment is issued.”

Neither the office of state Attorney General Liz Murrill nor the state Department of Public Safety and Corrections immediately responded to a request for comment, but state officials immediately appealed the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

Hoffman’s planned execution was set for a particularly busy one-week span of executions in America, with five states, including Louisiana, expected to carry out punishment.

In 1996, Hoffman was 18 when prosecutors say he abducted his victim, Mary Elliott, at gunpoint from a New Orleans parking garage on the night before Thanksgiving Day, forced her to withdraw $200 from an ATM, then raped and shot her to death.

State corrections Secretary Gary Westcott selected nitrogen hypoxia as Hoffman’s method of execution. Last year, the state legalized the use of nitrogen gas in addition to the more widely used method of lethal injection, but officials have had trouble procuring the necessary lethal injection drugs since its last execution in 2010. There are more than 50 people on Louisiana’s death row.

Another state, Alabama, has had similar trouble sourcing lethal injection drugs, and last year, became the first state to administer nitrogen hypoxia. It has executed four prisoners using the method, including one last month.

Louisiana corrections officials said they traveled to Alabama to study how its nitrogen system functions. Louisiana subsequently built a nitrogen hypoxia facility at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola consisting of an execution chamber, a valve and storage room, and an observation area.

The state said in a court filing Sunday that “breathing in the mask is ‘very comfortabl[e],'” and “the mask is very similar, if not identical, to the one used in Alabama’s system.”

During a hearing last week seeking a preliminary injunction, Hoffman testified that he began practicing Buddhism in 2002 after the death of his grandmother. He said he believed having a mask on his face would only exacerbate his trauma and claustrophobia stemming from being locked in a closet by his brother as a young child.

He said his breathing recently helped him to remain calm when he was moved to a smaller cell in anticipation of his execution, and the surroundings “triggered anxiety of small spaces.”

Dr. Philip Bickler, the chief of neuro-anesthesia at the University of California, San Francisco, testified that the sensation nitrogen hypoxia provides is “very similar to drowning.”

“I think for someone like Mr. Hoffman, nitrogen asphyxiation would be a particularly horrible method, a really inhumane choice for an individual who has a history of PTSD,” Bickler said.

The state’s own experts rejected the idea that death by nitrogen hypoxia would adhere Hoffman to unconstitutional pain and that the “only material dispute” is how long it may take for him to become unconscious as he begins to breathe in nitrogen.

At the hearing, the state also cross-examined a Zen Buddhist priest testifying for Hoffman, and noted that while she “maintained that air is important to the practice, she was unable to identify any doctrine within the Tibetan Buddhist tradition that required oxygen in particular.”

Critics of nitrogen hypoxia have included the Louisiana group Jews Against Gassing, whose members have said the method “echoes” the Holocaust.

Medical experts have also warned that if the procedure is not done properly, even a small amount of oxygen getting into the mask could lead to slow asphyxiation and prolong the time it would take to die.

In previous nitrogen hypoxia executions, media witnesses have described inmates appearing to remain conscious longer than expected, and thrashing and shaking on the gurney.

Last month, Gov. Jeff Landry said Louisiana would remain undeterred.

“We will carry out these sentences and justice will be dispensed,” he said.

In opposing nitrogen hypoxia, Hoffman’s lawyers offered other methods they believed would reduce his “risk of harm,” including firing squad. The option is not currently legal in Louisiana.

Last week, South Carolina executed its first inmate by firing squad after the prisoner, Brad Sigmon, chose not to die by alternative methods lethal injection or electrocution.

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Independence is key election issue as Greenland residents cast ballots on Tuesday

Sivan2500 — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 21:50:01 +0000

Greenland’s residents voted on Tuesday in an election brought into the international spotlight by U.S. President Donald Trump’s pledge to take control of the mineral-rich island, firing up a debate over its independence.

Since taking office in January, Trump has vowed to make Greenland — a semi-autonomous territory of Denmark — part of the United States, saying it is vital to U.S. security interests.

The vast island, with a population of just 57,000, has been caught up in a geopolitical race for dominance in the Arctic, where melting ice caps are making its resources more accessible and opening new shipping routes. Both Russia and China have intensified military activity in the region.

Greenland is a former Danish colony and a territory since 1953. It gained some autonomy in 1979 when its first parliament was formed, but Copenhagen still controls foreign affairs, defence and monetary policy and provides just under $1 billion US a year to the economy.

In 2009, it won the right to declare full independence through a referendum, though it has not done so out of concern living standards would drop without Denmark’s economic support.

Voting in the parliamentary election began Tuesday morning at 72 polling stations across the Arctic island, where 40,500 people are eligible to vote. Unofficial election results should be available soon after polls close at 10 p.m. GMT on Tuesday, but they won’t be certified for weeks as ballot papers make their way to the capital from remote settlements by boat, plane and helicopter.

“I’m feeling very excited. I hope that people will vote with their common sense and without greed,” Liv Aurora, a candidate with the ruling Inuit Ataqatigiit party, said at a polling station in the capital, Nuuk.

“I hope to make a difference and to make Greenland strong and independent.”

Independence question ‘put on steroids’

Trump’s vocal interest has shaken up the status quo and — coupled with the growing pride of the Indigenous people in their Greenlandic Inuit culture — put independence front and centre in the election.

“The question of independence was put on steroids by Trump,” said Masaana Egede, editor of local newspaper Sermitsiaq. “It has put a lid on everyday issues.”

In the final debate on Greenland’s state broadcaster KNR late on Monday, leaders of the five parties currently in parliament unanimously said they did not trust Trump.

People gather outside a polling station in Nuuk on Tuesday. (Evgeniy Maloletka/The Associated Press)

“He is trying to influence us. I can understand if citizens feel insecure,” said Erik Jensen, leader of government coalition partner Siumut.

No polls or exit polls are expected. A January poll suggested that a majority of Greenland’s inhabitants support independence but are divided on timing.

Early on, the election campaign focused on the anger and frustration aimed at historical wrongdoings by former colonial ruler Denmark, according to Julie Rademacher, a consultant and former adviser to Greenland’s government.

“But I think the fear of the U.S. imperialist approach has lately become bigger than the anger towards Denmark,” Rademacher said.

Reuters spoke to more than a dozen Greenlanders in Nuuk, all of whom said they favoured independence — although many expressed concern that a swift transition could damage the economy and eliminate Nordic welfare services like universal health care and free schooling.

“We don’t want to be part of the U.S. for obvious reasons: health care and Trump,” said Tuuta Lynge-Larsen, a bank employee and Nuuk resident, adding that this election is especially important.

The island holds substantial natural resources, including critical minerals such as rare earths used in high-tech industries, ranging from electric vehicles to missile systems.

However, Greenland has been slow to extract them due to environmental concerns, severe weather and China’s near-total control of the sector, which has made it difficult for companies elsewhere to make a profit or secure buyers.

Trump softens stance

Trump initially declined to rule out military force, alarming many Greenlanders, although he later softened his stance, stating he would respect the will of the local people and was “ready to invest billions of dollars” if they joined the U.S.

Greenland’s prime minister, Mute Egede, has stressed the island is not for sale and advocated for a broad coalition government to resist external pressure. In an interview aired on Monday by Danish broadcaster DR, he dismissed Trump’s offer as disrespectful, expressing willingness to co-operate with other countries instead.

Election posters are displayed outside a polling station in Nuuk on Tuesday. (Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty Images)

Denmark’s prime minister has said Greenland is not for sale but made it clear that it is up to the local people to decide their future.

All six main political parties support independence but differ on how and when it could be achieved.

The pro-independence Naleraq party, the leading opposition force, has gained momentum ahead of the election, bolstered by U.S. interest and fresh accusations of Denmark’s historic exploitation of Greenland’s mineral wealth.

“This is our independence election,” said Qupanuk Olsen, a Naleraq candidate.

The party believes that U.S. attention strengthens Greenland’s position in secession talks with Denmark, and it aims to bring a deal with Copenhagen to a vote before the next election in four years.

According to Egede, the local newspaper editor, the party could increase its current five seats but is unlikely to secure a majority in parliament.

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Here’s how to watch the ‘blood moon’ total lunar eclipse this week

Sivan2500 — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 21:06:03 +0000

Celestial enthusiasts will be able to see a total lunar eclipse for the first time in three years this week.

The “blood moon” will be visible in every state between Thursday night and Friday morning and will glow with a reddish hue.

Here’s what to know.

Why is it called a blood moon?

A lunar eclipse occurs when the moon passes into the Earth’s shadow when the Earth, moon and sun align, according to NASA. When the moon is within the umbra, the darkest part of Earth’s shadow, it looks red-orange, giving the eclipse the name “blood moon.”

When is the total lunar eclipse happening?

The eclipse will happen Thursday night through Friday morning, and the moon should appear to turn red, according to NASA.

The totality of the eclipse will start around 11:26 p.m. PST and end around 12:31 a.m. PST. Overall, the eclipse will last between 8:57 p.m. PST and 3 a.m. PST.

Why does the moon turn red during a lunar eclipse?

The moon looks red during a lunar eclipse because the sunlight that isn’t blocked is filtered through the Earth’s atmosphere, according to NASA. The blue part scatters away and only the red part can be seen by our eyes.

What is a “worm moon” and how is it connected to this week’s event?

A full moon in March is known as a worm moon, according to “The Old Farmer’s Almanac.”

According to the publication, Capt. Jonathan Carver documented in the 1760s that Native American tribes used beetle larvae, which emerged from thawing tree bark during this time of year.

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Carney puts assets into blind trust as he prepares to become prime minister

Sivan2500 — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 20:49:05 +0000

The statement did not detail the plan nor who would administer the blind trust. It also did not detail which assets he may have divested

Published Mar 11, 2025 • Last updated 42 minutes ago • 3 minute read

Liberal leader Mark Carney speaks briefly with media before making his way to caucus meeting on Monday, March 10, 2025 in Ottawa.

OTTAWA — Incoming prime minister Mark Carney says he has put all his assets other than his “personal real estate” into a blind trust after months of Conservative questions about his potential conflicts of interest.

In a statement Tuesday, spokesperson Audrey Champoux confirmed that Carney had set up a blind trust and provided the confirmation document to the federal ethics commissioner when the Liberal leadership results were announced Sunday evening.

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“We have been actively working with the Ethics Commissioner and we have delivered a full and robust conflict of interest management plan,” she added.

The statement did not detail the plan nor who would administer the blind trust. It also did not detail which assets he may have divested.

Carney will only be bound by federal ethics and conflict of interest law the day he is appointed prime minister by Governor General Mary Simon, which is expected to happen this week.

The Conflict of Interest Act dictates that Carney must disclose his assets to the commissioner and then either dispose of controlled assets or put them into a blind trust administered by a third party within 120 days of his appointment.

Champoux’s statement says Carney has started fulfilling his ethics obligations earlier than strictly necessary, though it’s not quick enough for the Conservatives, who have called on him to do so from the moment he announced he was running to replace Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader.

The statement also promised that Carney would complete his compliance process “well in advance” of the 120-day requirement.

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Carney may also be required by Ethics Commissioner Konrad von Finckenstein, if necessary, to set up a conflict of interest screen between him and anyone that could possibly further his private interests.

Any formal conflict of interest screen will be posted on the commissioner’s office’s public registry.

In a statement, ethics commissioner spokesperson Michael Wrobel confirmed that the office had been in touch with Carney’s team but was not at liberty to discuss nor confirm the steps taken by Carney regarding his assets.

The Tories have for months been raising concerns about how Carney, a two-time former central banker who enjoyed a long career in finance, including with different international companies, acted as an adviser to Trudeau.

Trudeau tapped Carney for a special role last fall, where he served as chair on a task force the Liberal party struck to provide Trudeau with insights on economic growth. Carney served in a similar role as the government looked for ways to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, which arrived in March 2020.

In the days leading up to Carney’s election as Liberal leader on Sunday, the Conservatives repeatedly said it was troubling that he could become prime minister and potentially trigger an election without disclosing his assets and potential conflicts of interest because of the legislated timeline.

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They accused Carney, who is set to become the first Canadian prime minister who isn’t already an elected member of Parliament, of benefitting from a loophole that Opposition Leader Pierre Poilievre has promised to close.

If elected prime minister, Poilievre promised last week to amend ethics laws to require party leadership candidates to disclose their financial holdings within 30 days of becoming an official candidate and publish them within 60 days.

“Canadians deserve to know whether their Prime Minister is working against their best interests for their own profit,” Poilievre said in a statement.

Carney promised during his leadership campaign that he had stepped away from “all” professional and advisory roles, namely his position as chair of Brookfield Asset Management. He also said he had quit all his jobs before National Post revealed that he had yet to resign from five volunteer positions.

Carney spent his second full day as Liberal leader receiving briefings from the public service, including the heads of national security agencies. He did not hold any public events after meeting with Liberal MPs on Monday.

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With files from Stephanie Taylor.

National Post

cnardi@postmedia.com

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Hyperbaric chamber facility where boy died put profits before safety, AG says

Sivan2500 — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 20:05:13 +0000

The Michigan facility where a hyperbaric chamber fire killed a 5-year-old child “held safety among their lowest considerations,” the state attorney general said Tuesday, a day after four people were arrested in the boy’s death.

Thomas Cooper died on Jan. 31 at the Oxford Center, an alternative medicine facility in the Detroit suburb of Troy that says it treats over 100 conditions, including Alzheimer’s, autism and dyslexia. Those conditions are not cleared for hyperbaric oxygen therapy by the Food and Drug Administration, nor are the ones that a family attorney said Thomas’ parents brought him in for: sleep apnea and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

In a scathing news conference Tuesday, state Attorney General Dana Nessel said the Oxford Center put profits before the safety of its clients.

“This was an unscrupulous business operating powerful machines, beyond their manufacturers’ intended term of use, on children’s bodies over and over again to provide unaccredited and debunked so-called treatments, chiefly because it brought cash into the door,” she said.

During the investigation into the deadly incident, “some horrifying and simple conclusions were reached,” Nessel said.

“The Oxford Center routinely operated sensitive and lethally dangerous hyperbaric chambers beyond their expected service lifetime and in complete disregard of vital safety measures and practices considered essential by medical and technical professionals,” she added.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy involves the delivery of 100% oxygen in a pressurized, tubelike chamber. The amount is about five times as much oxygen as is typically found in regular air, making it highly combustible.

Nessel said the investigation revealed the event was preventable and that a single spark “ignited into a fully involved fire that claimed Thomas’ life within seconds.”

Among the errors she said the facility made at the time of Thomas’ death: not performing daily maintenance checks or yearly inspections of the equipment; not having a doctor or safety supervisor on site; and not having a licensed technician performing the treatment.

The attorney general also said the Oxford Center did not use a grounding strap for Thomas, which is essential in protecting patients and equipment from static electricity that can serve as an ignition source in the chamber.

An attorney for the Oxford Center did not immediately respond to questions about the allegations. In a statement sent to NBC News before the news conference, the Oxford Center said it was “disappointed to see charges filed.”

“The timing of these charges is surprising, as the typical protocol after a fire-related accident has not yet been completed. There are still outstanding questions about how this occurred,” Oxford Center attorney Sam Vitale wrote in an email. “Yet, the Attorney General’s office proceeded to pursue charges without those answers.”

Authorities announced Monday that four people had been arrested and charged in connection with Thomas’ death. Three were charged with second-degree murder, while a fourth person was charged with involuntary manslaughter and intentionally placing false information in medical records.

The three who face the more serious charge of second-degree murder have each also been charged with alternative counts of involuntary manslaughter, meaning a jury will decide which charge is most appropriate, Nessel said.

“My office is confident that second-degree murder charges are appropriate for these individuals,” Nessel said. “We intend to demonstrate in court a series of actions undertaken by these defendants that satisfy these charges and tragically led to this child’s death.”

Nessel identified those charged with second-degree murder as Oxford Center owner Tamela Peterson; her primary management assistant, Gary Marken; and the company’s safety manager, Jeffrey Mosteller.

The fourth person charged, Aleta Moffitt, was the operator of the hyperbaric chamber at the time of Thomas’ death, Nessel said. The attorney general’s office did not provide any details about the charge of falsified medical records that was filed against her along with the count of involuntary manslaughter.

Attorneys for two of the defendants declined to comment on the arrests Monday evening, while attorneys for the others could not be located. All four were arraigned Tuesday afternoon.

Thomas Cooper.Courtesy family of Thomas Cooper

James Harrington, managing partner of Fieger Law in Southfield, Michigan, represents Thomas’ family and has said the boy’s parents took him for multiple sessions of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. When the fire broke out, Thomas’ mom rushed to the chamber where Thomas was receiving treatment, burning her arm as she tried to save her son.

The family is planning to file a lawsuit, Harrington said, adding that he was “not surprised” by the arrests.

“This is a very, very egregious case,” Harrington said in a phone interview Monday.

In addition to the facility in Troy, which is currently closed, the Oxford Center has another location in Brighton, Michigan, which the attorney general’s office said is also under investigation. The center says on its website that it offers physical therapy, occupational therapy and services for children with autism, among other treatments. A receptionist who answered the phone at the Brighton location Tuesday afternoon said the facility was open and providing all services except hyperbaric therapy.

The FDA has cleared hyperbaric oxygen therapy for several conditions, including carbon monoxide poisoning, certain wounds and burns and decompression sickness in scuba divers.

In recent years, spas, wellness centers and other unaccredited facilities have promoted hyperbaric oxygen therapy as a treatment for numerous health issues, although “some claims of what it can do are unproven,” the FDA warns.

The agency recommends going to a facility that has been evaluated and accredited by the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society, which has a list of accredited facilities. The Oxford Center is not among the accredited facilities listed.

“The Oxford Center operated these machines and offered unfounded treatments to patients when medical science contradicted these uses of their services,” Nessel said.

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Removal of speed gates on Stanley Park seawall to cost over $800K – BC

Sivan2500 — Tue, 11 Mar 2025 19:48:09 +0000

A project to remove speed gates at three locations on the Stanley Park seawall is moving forward at a cost of nearly $1 million.

Last year, the Vancouver Park Board voted to find ways to remove the gates at Third Beach, Prospect Point and Lumerman’s Arch, citing safety and accessibility.

The tightly spaced maze gates require cyclists to dismount from their bikes as they arrive at the high-traffic areas.

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A report to the park board said the gates created access barriers for people with wheelchairs, hand-cycles, cargo bikes and other devices. It also found that there was poor compliance among cyclists, creating a heightened risk of collisions.

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On Monday, park board staff presented recommended changes to each location including fencing, signage and a separate, marked cycling path with a more obvious pedestrian crossing.

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The total cost of the work will come to $828,000, including $588,000 for construction, $90,000 for design, and $30,000 for project management.

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It also includes $120,000 for archeology, as the Lumberman’s Arch and Third Beach locations are within recorded archeological sites or areas with high archeological potential, according to the report. The Musqueam, Squamish and Tsleil-Waututh nations have been offered involvement.

Park board commissioners approved the project unanimously.

The design phase is scheduled for later this year, with construction projected to begin in 2027.

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