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Hillary Clinton: I've never had a subpoena. House Select Committee on Benghazi Chairman Trey Gowdy: "To state that you never received a subpoena, you did get one, in March. Clinton lawyer David Kendall responded to the subpoena on March 27 Speaking for myself, I haven’t forgotten the Clinton’s Arkansas Whitewater Development Corporation scandal.

I assume that TUPY will get ALL of Navistar's business now (not just MaxxForce 11 and 13).. TUPY began supplying Volvo Powertrain with cylinder blocks since late 2003. The MaxxForce 11 and 13 (MAN D20 and D26) blocks are cast at TUPY S.A., a Brazilian foundry in Sao Paulo, and then shipped to MWM’s Santo Amaro plant (also in Sao Paulo) for pre-machining before heading to Navistar’s modern big-block engine plant in Huntsville, Alabama for final-machining and assembly. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Navistar Assigns Engine-Block Production to Tupy Foundry Management & Technology / June 29, 2007 Navistar's International Truck and Engine Corp. has chosen Brazilian metalcaster Tupy S.A. to supply compacted-graphite iron engine blocks for two large-bore diesel engine products, the MaxxForce 11 and MaxxForce 13. The blocks will be cast at Tupy's foundry at Mau, in Sao Paulo, beginning later this year. Tupy uses the Sintercast process control technology for CGI casting, a product of Sweden's Sintercast AB. The plant is already producing heavy-duty diesel engines with CGI for the German truck group MAN AG. Compacted-graphite iron is created by adding magnesium to molten gray iron. The process requires careful process control, but the resulting material is said to offer advantages over gray iron, including a higher fatigue limit because CGI's molecular structure is fracture-resistant. "The MaxxForce 11 and MaxxForce 13 will be the first heavy-duty diesel engines in North America to leverage advances in manufacturing technology to offer an engine block cast from CG Iron," stated Jacob Thomas, Navistar vice president Jacob Thomas. "The use of this material allows us to provide a high-strength block without added weight — a valuable attribute for our truck customers." Tupy's cast blocks will be machined by Navistar's MWM International Motores at Santo Amaro, Brazil, and shipped to Navistar's new engine plant in Huntsville, AL, for final manufacturing, beginning in 2008. Navistar is building a new operation near its existing Huntsville plant, but the initial products in the MaxxForce series will be partially assembled in Germany and "trimmed" at Huntsville. "Our ability to source globally and utilize MWM International for the machining of this new innovative block design demonstrates our commitment to integration and growth as a global company," stated Persio Lisboa, International Engine Group v.p.-purchasing and logistics. "This also allows us the opportunity to leverage our assets to serve the North American market, while creating a competitive advantage for our MaxxForce big bore engines." The MaxxForce engines are said to offer excellent fuel economy and power characteristics, low noise vibration and harshness, and high strength, with low overall weight. The engines will be installed in International's ProStar line-haul tractors, TranStar regional-haul tractors, and WorkStar severe-service vehicles in the U.S. and Canada.

Father tosses 7-month-old son into river, dies Reuters / July 7, 2015 Connecticut police have found the body of a 7-month-old boy they believe was tossed into a river by his father, who had tried to kill himself at the same time. Middletown police responded to a report of a body found in the river near East Haddam, Connecticut, around 8 p.m. Detectives and Connecticut State Police confirmed the body was that of Aaden Moreno, who had been missing since early Monday. Police believe the baby's father, Tony Moreno, 22, was holding the child, or had flung him into the water, as he attempted suicide early Monday by jumping off the Arrigoni Bridge in Middletown. Moreno is expected to face criminal charges. Moreno's family called police on Monday to report that Moreno was threatening to commit suicide and that he had the baby with him, police said. Two officers arrived in time to see Moreno jump off the 120-foot bridge but did not see the baby. The father was rescued and airlifted to Hartford Hospital. Court records made available Tuesday show that Moreno had recently been accused of threatening the child and the child's mother, Adrianne Oyola. Oyola said in a June restraining order application that Moreno had struck her and told her that he could make the baby "disappear." .

Ogden, Utah man beats 14-month-old baby to death Standard Examiner / August 29, 2014 Adam Barney admitted to killing his girlfriend’s 14-month-old daughter by repeatedly punching her in the face and abdomen and squeezing her, a probable cause statement filed in 2nd District Court says. Ogden police arrested the 23-year-old after emergency crews responded to the Western Colony Inn at 234 24th St., No. 2, where they found a baby “beyond medical help and deceased,” court documents said. Barney was booked into the Weber County Jail and charged with aggravated murder, a first-degree felony, which holds a maximum sentence of up to life prison. Bail is set for $100,000. “Barney stated he struck the child several times in the face and stomach then squeezed her substantially,” the document said. Barney said that during his increased frustration over dirty living conditions, the victim crying and other two children misbehaving, he lashed out. “Barney picked the toddler up and threw her onto the bed where she struck an unknown object, which caused more crying,” the document said. The toddler was sticky from food she had eaten so Barney picked her up and they went into the shower together. While holding the toddler in the shower, Barney said, he fell down and dropped her. “Out of frustration, he punched her in the face twice. ... punched her in the stomach and squeezed her really hard.” Adam Barney punched 14-month-old Kenzie Rose La Buy with “everything he had,” a detective said in testimony. Barney said he got out of the shower and put the baby on the bed, and told the other kids to watch her while he continued to clean up. “Barney looked at the infant on the bed and noticed her exhale a couple times like she couldn't breathe,” the report said After realizing the girl was dead, Barney told police, he cleaned her up and later called his live-in-girlfriend, the toddler’s mom. An autopsy performed Tuesday at the state Medical Examiner’s office revealed that the cause of death is “homicide due to blunt force trauma to the abdominal area causing the victim to hemorrhage internally,” reports said. .

2-year-old girl dies - tortured most of her life, coroner says Cincinnatti.com / April 8, 2015 When 2-year-old Glenara Bates was taken to Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center last month, she had more than 100 wounds to her body, officials said. She weighed only 13 pounds. Hamilton County's prosecutor said child protective officials "dropped the ball" in the case of Glenara and her siblings – and county Department of Job and Family Services officials acknowledged missteps. Glenara had broken teeth, bite marks, and numerous lacerations as well as marks from being whipped with a belt, officials said while announcing murder charges against her parents. They face the death penalty. "There's no doubt in my mind that his child was tortured for most of her ... pitifully short life," said Hamilton County Coroner Dr. Lakshmi Sammarco. "She was, literally, skin over bones." Andrea Bradley, 28, of East Walnut Hills, and Glen Bates, 32, of College Hill, have been indicted on charges of aggravated murder, murder and child endangerment. They were arrested March 29, the same day Bradley brought the girl to the hospital, said Prosecutor Joe Deters. Glenara – one of Bradley's seven children – was pronounced dead at the hospital. Both Bradley and Bates admitted severely abusing Glenara. Glenara's death happened a year and a half after she was returned to Bradley's custody. Court records show Bradley gave up custody to Glenara days after she was born in January 2013. Bradley had been convicted of endangering another of her children. She also was once hospitalized for psychiatric reasons and has a history of drug use, according to court records. At Wednesday's news conference, Deters said the county should have removed Glenara and her siblings from their parents' custody "five years ago." In a statement Wednesday, county Jobs and Family Services director Moira Weir said a preliminary review shows "we failed to follow our own policies and procedures in this case." "We are conducting further internal reviews and will also have an independent reviewer examine our casework and practice," Weir said in the statement. "I will add that we deal with 17,000 Hamilton County children a year, and when we have any case end tragically like this, it weighs heavily on me and everyone in our organization ... This result is heartbreaking." She said she could not comment further. Five of Bradley's children, ranging in age from 1 to 8, who were living in her house in the 2600 block of Hackberry Street, were removed from the home after Glenara's death, Deters said. They are now in JFS custody. A sixth child lives with Bates' relatives. Bradley is now pregnant with her eighth child and will likely give birth in jail. She gave birth to her first child at 15. Court documents list four fathers, including Bates. Two of the other fathers are in prison, the documents say. Deters said there is evidence the other children had been abused in the past, although they didn't exhibit "current signs of abuse" the way Glenara did. Glenara, he said, slept in a bath tub filled with feces and blood. "It's horrific, what was going on," Deters said. Bradley was well-known to JFS. Her history with the agency dates back to 2007. Bradley was hospitalized in 2009 for "extreme depression," records show. She has been diagnosed as bipolar and has a history of marijuana use. She was accused of physically abusing at least three of her other children. One child tested positive for marijuana after being born, court records say. Glenara's death occurred a year and a half after JFS and a juvenile court magistrate agreed to allow Glenara and her siblings back into Bradley's home. In 2012, before Glenara was born, JFS took temporary custody of five of Bradley's children. She was accused of abusing one of them. The child, whose name and age is redacted from the documents, had bruises and whip marks on her face, neck, eye, back and legs. The child had difficulty walking because of the severity of the bruises, the documents say. In January 2013, six days after Glenara was born, Bradley agreed to give up custody, records show. Glenara was placed in foster care with her other siblings. Bradley was ordered to undergo drug treatment, parenting education and mental health therapy, records show. Random drug tests were ordered. In September 2013, JFS and a juvenile court magistrate agreed to return Bradley's children to her because she was doing so well. JFS monitored Bradley and her children for three months. In December 2013, after a juvenile court hearing, it was determined that the children were doing well and protective supervision was ended. Glenara was hospitalized in 2014 for "failure to thrive" and later released, according to court records. Sammarco said others may have known Glenara was being abused, but didn't act. "I think it's a case of a number of people knowing what's going on," she said, "and not saying anything." .

Pennsylvania 3-year-old hung up by feet, beaten to death WPVI TV / November 7, 2014 A man and his girlfriend are charged with murdering the girlfriend's 3-year-old son in what a prosecutor described as an "unspeakable act of depravity.". Chester County District Attorney Tom Hogan announced the arrests of Gary Fellenbaum and Jillian Tait. On Tuesday authorities were called to their residence for the report of an unresponsive child. Responding EMTs found 3-year-old Scott McMillan suffering from bruises, lacerations and puncture wounds all over his body. Fellenbaum, Tait, and Fellenbaum's wife, Amber, confessed that the little boy had been beaten with blunt and sharp objects, whipped, taped to a chair with electrical tape and beaten, hung up by his feet and beaten, leading to his death. Authorities say they beat Scott to death using homemade weapons, like a whip, a curtain rod, a frying pan, and an aluminum strip. Police say Tait explained that the fatal beating began when the boy wouldn't eat his breakfast. Hogan said, "Little Scotty McMillan is dead. Over a three day period ... he was systematically tortured and beaten to death. He was punched in the face and in the stomach. He was scourged with a homemade whip. He was lashed with a metal rod. He was tied to a chair and beaten. He was tied upside down by his feet and beaten. His head was smashed through a wall." Hogan said professionals with deep experience in these types of cases were brought to tears. "Our ER nurses see a lot of terrible things. But when they saw his body, they wept," Hogan said. The district attorney says Gary Fellanbaum and Tait went car shopping, bought pizza, took a nap and engaged in sexual activity - all while the child lay dying after weeks of relentless torture. Tait allegedly told police that Fellenbaum beat her 6 and 3-year-old boys on a number of occasions. He would allegedly hit them with a closed fist in the head, face, chest and buttocks, and on one occasion she says he strung the boys up by their feet and beat them, while she and Fellenbaum laughed. That 6-year-old boy is now in the care of relatives. Fellenbaum and Tait are charged with murder and are currently being held without bail. Hogan says he will be seeking the death penalty. Amber Fellenbaum, who lived in the home with their 11-month-old child, has been charged with child endangerment for not calling police. She is currently being held on $500,000 bail. Law enforcement veterans tell Action News that they have never seen a child abuse murder case like this one. Hogan said, "When you go to bed tonight, say a prayer for little Scotty McMillan. The brief nightmare that was his life... is over." .

Eric Dean: The child they couldn't save Star Tribune / January 12, 2015 Special report: On 15 occasions, day-care workers and others told Pope County authorities that they suspected Eric Dean was being hurt. But it was not enough. His death exposes the failure of a system charged with protecting the youngest Minnesotans. Bruises covered 3-year-old Eric Dean’s face. A scab formed above his lip. His ear bled from a red welt. Before his stepmother, Amanda Peltier, left him at his new day care, she bent down to meet his blue eyes and told the boy to say he fell down. Day-care provider Colleen Myslicki watched in disbelief. After studying the strange puncture wounds on Eric’s face and ear, she realized they were bite marks. Later that day, she asked him what happened. Eric’s reply: “Mommy did it.” As required by state law, Myslicki reported to Pope County child protection that she believed Eric was being abused. She didn’t know it then, but hers was the 12th report to alert social workers in the west-central Minnesota county to suspected maltreatment of the boy. That scene and a string of others documented in court and social service records, testimony and interviews offer a rare view into the short and tragic life of Eric Dean and a child-protection system that was unable to save him. Those records show that by the time Eric died at age 4 in February 2013, 15 reports had been filed on his behalf. The county’s child-protection agency investigated only one, after the boy’s arm was broken in 2011, and found no maltreatment. According to records, only one report was shared with police, despite state law directing that law enforcement should be notified of all suspected abuse reports. An examination of Eric’s county and court records reveals the failings of a system built to protect Minnesota’s most vulnerable children: Caretakers such as Myslicki make reports to child protection and watch helplessly as the maltreatment continues. Reports often go uninvestigated and don’t get referred to police. Social workers frequently encourage parents suspected of neglect or abuse to attend parenting classes. In the most tragic of cases, those children die. Fifty-four Minnesota children have died of maltreatment since 2005, despite child-protection agencies getting reports that the kids were at risk or their parents and caretakers were dangerous, according to a Star Tribune analysis of state and county child protection records. Pope County’s review of the case, completed last month, concluded that the county should share more information with police and that state law should change to direct counties to consider previous reports when deciding whether to investigate an allegation. A child-protection worker testified that the county believed Eric was being abused, but in the face of the family’s denials and a lack of witnesses, could never prove it. The county declined to discuss details of Eric’s case but said it followed the law in how it responded to the multiple abuse reports. “We responded to the information we received,” said Nicole Names, the county’s director of human services. “That’s about all I can say about that.” Eric’s former caregivers are angry at the way the county responded to their warnings. Myslicki, who would ultimately file four reports during the six months Eric was in her care, sobbed uncontrollably all night when she found out he was dead. “It felt so hopeless,” Myslicki said. “If the county had done more, I know he’d be alive today.” The home Amanda Peltier shared with Eric’s father, David Dean, was supposed to be a refuge. Eric had been living with his mother and her boyfriend. After reports had alleged Eric and his brother were being abused in that home, Eric’s father moved the boys to their apartment in November 2010. But when Eric started attending Kingdom Kids day care in Glenwood, a day-care worker noticed something amiss. Brandi Knight, who taught in the toddler room, examined the facial bruises and bite marks on the little boy. She asked how he got them, but at that time, in December 2010, he couldn’t say. At 2 years old, Eric’s speech was delayed at least a year. Knight knew the injuries could have been from other kids. But over time, Knight noticed new injuries, once or twice a week. She asked Peltier about the marks. Eric is clumsy, she would say. Or, he could be uncontrollable and violent and bang his head on the walls or on his bed when he sleeps. His brothers and cousins bite. Knight had trouble believing Peltier’s explanations. She came to know Eric as a quiet kid who craved attention and loved to be held and hugged. She never saw him bang his head on walls and rarely saw him misbehave. Knight and other teachers began to note how Peltier treated Eric differently from her other children. She was forceful with Eric, would grab him and yell at him. She demanded that the teachers not show any affection to Eric, saying he didn’t deserve it. Once, after one teacher bought him new shoes to replace ones that were so worn they fell off his feet, Peltier was enraged. “She said he can’t have them until he’s a good boy,” the teacher, Karin Egdorf, recalled. Both teachers said what they saw was not enough to report to child protection. Even so, two reports were made to child protection in February 2011 that Eric was being maltreated. The county won’t say what was alleged or who alleged it, only that the allegations didn’t meet the criteria for a response. Day-care director Brenda McDonald said the complaints could have come from other parents at the day care. They’d noticed Peltier’s rough handling of Eric, and McDonald encouraged them to report what they witnessed to the county and gave them the number to call. The teachers’ concern about Eric grew as he continued to arrive at day care with bruises and bite marks. In July 2011, a hospital reported to the county that Eric’s arm was broken in a way that often indicated violence. The county opened an investigation. “We hoped they would find out who was doing this,” Knight said. The hospital case was assigned to Kelly Lurken-Tvrdik, a county child-protection worker. She had worked at the county for a year, after a decade of experience as an advocate at a St. Cloud battered women and children’s shelter. Lurken-Tvrdik interviewed Peltier in July 2011. “The reason that we got the report in the first place is because of the way that it was broken,” the social worker told Peltier, according to child-protection records filed in court. “It’s like someone twisting the arm.” Peltier told Lurken-Tvrdik that she wasn’t watching the kids as closely as she should have been, and was in the basement of her mother’s home doing laundry when suddenly Eric came tumbling down the stairs, plopping down in front of her, according to a transcript of her interview with Lurken-Tvrdik. “He does fall down a lot,” she told the social worker. The county sent the report and Peltier’s story of what happened to Dr. Mark Hudson, a child abuse specialist at Children’s Hospital in Minneapolis. But they didn’t tell him about any of the six prior abuse reports, according to Hudson. Lacking other evidence of child abuse, Hudson concluded the break could have resulted from a fall down the stairs. He did express concern to the county about Eric’s black eye, which Peltier’s explanations could not account for, records show. Lurken-Tvrdik determined that Eric wasn’t maltreated and the county closed the case. (She did not respond to requests for comment for this story.) State law says any investigation or family assessment conducted by a county agency needs to be shared with law enforcement. Child protection didn’t tell police about Eric’s broken arm. Only one of the 15 abuse reports was passed on to police. “Is that concerning?” said Jim Minion, the police chief in Starbuck at the time. “You bet.” Eric began working with a special-education teacher, Mindy DeGeer, when he was 2. Her assignment: Teach Eric to talk. He began in the lowest percentile for his age. She grew to enjoy her time with Eric. He was affectionate, had a bright, easy laugh and wanted to do whatever it took to please her. After weekly hourlong sessions reading and playing with toys, Eric started to speak. By the time he was nearly 3, Eric could easily say “Mommy.” It was then, in October 2011, that Knight, the toddler room teacher, asked how he got the new injuries on his body. “Mommy did it,” Knight recalls Eric saying. “Mommy bite.” Another day-care teacher, Heather Hopper, ran to tell her boss, McDonald, that she needed to see Eric right away. McDonald found burst skin with adult-sized upper and lower jaw marks on Eric’s face, bruises from the bites, scratches all over his body, and fingernail imprints on his abdomen, as if somebody was holding him down. In Minnesota, teachers and day-care providers must report suspected abuse or neglect to child protection. Failure to do so is a crime. “You need to report this,” McDonald said to Hopper. That day Hopper filled out a “suspected child abuse or neglect form” and sent it less than 2 miles away to the county’s child-protection office. The county never investigated. It screened out the report and a similar one made by someone else, saying the allegations didn’t meet the criteria in state law to respond, according to county records. Hopper filed another report two weeks later. This time, Eric had an egg-sized lump on his head with puncture wounds around it that formed into tiny red scabs. The county declined to investigate that report as well. Of the 15 abuse reports eventually filed on behalf of Eric, nine would be “screened out,” meaning they were closed without investigation or assessment. That’s consistent with practices statewide, where agencies did not follow up on 71 percent of suspected maltreatment reports, one of the highest rates in the country. McDonald began to fear that Peltier was going to kill Eric. But she and the other teachers wanted to protect him by keeping him at Kingdom Kids. “We were smart enough to know that once we started reporting, she would pull him,” McDonald said. That’s what Peltier did. DeGeer, the special-ed teacher, continued teaching Eric after he started at a new day care in Colleen Myslicki’s home in Glenwood. DeGeer, too, had seen bite marks on Eric at Kingdom Kids, but assumed another child must have done it. By January 2012, she saw the bite marks on the boy’s face again at Myslicki’s day care. This time, she knew something was seriously wrong. Eric told her he bit himself. DeGeer reported it to the county. That same day, Myslicki filed her first report, that she saw facial bruises and bite marks on Eric’s cheek and ear, which was bleeding. “Mom coached Eric into saying he hurt himself,” she told the county. Rather than determine whether abuse happened, the county referred the family to a state program known as family assessment. Made state law nearly a decade ago, the program tries to teach adults to be better parents. The program is intended only for children in “low-risk” situations, but family assessment has become so prevalent in Minnesota that it’s now used by counties in lieu of investigation more than 70 percent of the time. And unlike investigation, in which child-protection workers determine whether abuse or neglect occurred, family assessment is voluntary. The assessment was assigned to Lurken-Tvrdik. She went to the home and took photos of Eric, which showed bruises to his left ear, his forehead, his right cheek and under his right eye, and a scab above his lip. Unlike the last time she saw Eric, he wouldn’t talk or look at her. “He looked very sad,” Lurken-Tvrdik later testified in court. “Yes, I definitely saw a change.” Dean and Peltier declined help from the county, which closed the case. The next week, Eric came to day care with a bruised face and neck, a bleeding right ear and a fat lip. Myslicki alerted child protection once again, and the county screened out that report. Myslicki began keeping a log of the boy’s injuries. On Feb. 14: black and blue marks on his forehead. Feb. 22: swollen left cheek and a left black eye. The next day: bruises on his right cheek starting to turn black and blue. The day after that: more bruises on his forehead and nose. The log was enough to get the county to open another family assessment case, Eric’s third in his three years of life. On March 13, 2012, Lurken-Tvrdik and another county child-protection worker, Amy Beckius, met again with Peltier at her Starbuck home. This time, Eric’s father was there. Though Peltier did most of the talking, she and Dean both told the child-protection workers that they never laid a hand on any of their children. Peltier told them what she told day-care providers: Eric’s injuries were largely a result of his own doing. The bites, she said, came from other kids, including their 6-month-old son. Eric’s grandparents told the social workers they saw no signs of abuse. Eric’s siblings also said their parents didn’t physically punish them. A week after Peltier and Dean met with child protection, Eric went for a checkup at Glenwood Medical Center. His nurse practitioner said there was no medical explanation for the boy’s bruises. The county identified Eric as high-risk for more maltreatment, then closed the case on April 5, 2012. “It would appear,” Beckius wrote, “that the family is willing to access what services are needed for Eric and they continue to deny any physical means of punishment to Eric... .” At day care, Myslicki said the signs of abuse stopped for a few months until one morning in August 2012. Peltier was furious with Eric when she came to pick him up, Myslicki said. The boy cowered as Myslicki held on to him. Peltier slapped Eric out of her hands, knocking him to the floor, and yelled at him to get his shoes on, according to Myslicki. Myslicki made her final report to the county. “If that’s not maltreatment,” Myslicki said, “I don’t know what is.” The county screened out the report. Myslicki said child protection told her that if she had any further problems with Peltier and Eric, she should contact her day-care licenser. Myslicki said the bruises, bleeding ears and bite marks started to reappear. Eric continued to tell her his stepmother was hurting him. But she stopped filing reports. “What good would it have done?” she said. In October 2012, two months after Myslicki’s last report, Peltier pulled Eric out of the day care. She started caring for him and the five other children in the blended family in their Starbuck home. It was there that Eric would suffer the final abuse. On Feb. 26, 2013, Peltier slapped Eric across the face, bit him and threw him across a room, she later admitted to two Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) agents. Eric screamed and cried, then started to complain his stomach hurt. Medical examiners would later say a perforation in his small intestine leaked fluid into the space around his organs. Enzymes that digest food were digesting his body. He vomited throughout the day, continually asking for water, but was unable to hold down fluids or food. The next day, Peltier spanked him after she said she saw him misbehave. Eric became listless and later that night had trouble breathing. Dean and Peltier put him on their bed. He went into shock and became delirious. Peltier told the BCA that she went to smoke a cigarette. When she came back to the bedroom, Eric was choking on his own vomit. His father called 911. Eric was taken to a Glenwood hospital, then airlifted to St. Cloud. He was pronounced dead early the next day. A few days later, BCA investigators confronted Peltier with photos of the bite marks. Over the course of 2 1/2 hours, she admitted to what child protection had been warned about for years. Sometimes she got so mad at Eric that she’d grab him by the ears or yank him by the arm and throw him. She said she bit Eric so many times it became instinctive for her. “I feel bad about everything,” Peltier told the investigators. “I feel like I took his whole ... childhood away.” A jury deliberated for five hours in May 2014 before finding Peltier, 32, guilty of first-degree murder. She was sentenced to life in prison and will be eligible for parole in 30 years. When word first spread through Starbuck and Glenwood about Eric’s death, residents at first were told it was from the flu. Eric’s teachers and day-care providers knew right away what really happened. Mindy DeGeer broke down in tears at her school when another teacher gave her the news. “I just knew it in my heart,” she said. Myslicki knew, too. She will always think that she should have done more. “I should have continued reporting it, but I didn’t think the county would do anything,” she said. After Peltier took Eric out of her day care, “I had a bad feeling he wasn’t going to survive under that roof,” she said. “I’ll carry that with me for the rest of my life.” .

2-year old child beaten to death over dirty diaper KUTV / May 13, 2015 The 2-year-old toddler, James Sieger Jr. (nicknamed JJ) was taken off life support Monday morning as a result of being beaten, kicked, punched and dropped according to Layton, Utah police. “It’s just horrible,” said Lt. Travis Lyman with Layton Police Department. Lyman says the beatings happened at a home in Layton where the boy’s mother, Jasmine Bridgeman, 23, and her boyfriend, Joshua Schoenenberger, 34, lived. According to jail documents, JJ pooped his diaper and the couple became furious, even taking the diaper off and smearing it in his face. Documents say Schoenenberger continued to beat JJ while Bridgeman went outside and smoked a cigarette. “The biological mother allowed significant amount of abuse to go on without intervening, but also engaged in it herself,” said Lyman. Police say the couple brought JJ to the Davis County hospital and lied, reporting he had almost drowned in the bathtub. Police say it was clear that’s not what happened. He had internal bleeding, bruising to his legs, groin, arms and head. Investigators believe the beatings have been going on for some time. .

Grandmother charged with first-degree murder after cutting baby's throat with power saw New York Daily News / March 11, 2015 Chicago woman Manuela Rodriguez was charged with first-degree murder Tuesday for the brutal death of her 7-month-old granddaughter Rose Herrera. whose throat was slashed post-mortem with a power saw. Initial reports said Rodriguez, 52, killed the baby by cutting her throat with the saw to silence her crying Monday. But an autopsy Tuesday concluded the girl was killed by blunt force injuries, caused by multiple hits to the head, before the gruesome grandmother sliced the baby’s throat, the Chicago Tribune reported. The infant, whose age was reported Monday as 9 months old, also could have been suffocated after having a sock shoved in her mouth, the medical examiner’s office said. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/woman-cut-baby-throat-attempted-suicide-cops-article-1.2143546 http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/chi-grandmother-charged-in-gruesome-killing-of-7monthold-20150310-story.html

Father beats his 11-month-old daughter to death WGN TV / November 19, 2014 Kenosha, Wisconsin police are investigating the homicide of 11-month-old child Serenity Rose. It’s a crime the Kenosha Police Chief says is the “most violent child death” he’s ever seen in his years of law enforcement. He said the child was brutally beaten – killed by her own father, 34-year-old Russell Rose. “The words I would use to describe this person are not fit for the media. So I’m calling him a monster,” said Police Chief John Morrissey. Morrissey said officers were first dispatched to the neighborhood near 50th Street and 21st Avenue in Kenosha where the murder occurred around 7 p.m. on Tuesday, November 18th. “A citizen witness heard a baby crying, heard what he described as two thumps, the baby was not crying, observed the suspect holding something above his head and drop what he was holding. Turns out, that was Serenity. And that’s when the citizen tackled him,” said Morrissey. A neighbor was able to lead the 27-year-old mother who was bruised and had cuts to her face to a home just a few doors down. There’s where an officer found her and 11-month-old Serenity. Morrissey said the child was “lifeless, badly bruised, bloody” and her face was partially disfigured. The mother and child were taken to Kenosha Hospital and Medical Center. The mother was treated for her injuries and Serenity was pronounced dead having suffered multiple blunt force injuries. Chief Morrissey said Russell Rose has an extensive criminal record that includes battery to an officer and escape. The Kenosha Police Department is seeking homicide and arson charges in this case. .

North Carolina father kills his one month old baby WCTI 12 / September 16, 2014 Kinston, North Carolina police have charged a man with murder in the death of his 1-month-old baby, who died of "abusive head trauma" and other injuries. Police arrested 20-year-old Ricky Lee Clark Jr. and charged him with an open count of murder in the death of his 1-month-old son, Caden Demari Williams. An autopsy revealed that the baby's death was a homicide. Caden died from "abusive head trauma and blunt/compressive force injuries of the trunk." Baby Caden's mother, Tyrianna Williams, said Clark never told her what happened in the hours before Caden's death. Autopsy examination revealed acute subdural hemorrhage suspicious for abusive head trauma as well as rib fractures, contusions of the thymus and right middle lobe of the lung, and multiple lacerations of the liver," the report says. The 1-month-old was suffering from subdural and subarachnoid hemorrhage (bleeding in the area between the brain and the thin tissues that cover the brain), according to the report. In addition, the baby had mild brain swelling and retinal bleeding, as well as a skull fracture, a spinal cord injury, and four rib fractures. "[The injuries are] consistent with compressive grasping of the infant by the chest and vigorously shaking and slamming the infant against a relatively soft but nonyielding object. Striking the infant with a hand or fist would produce similar injuries," the report states. Further examination of the baby's brain revealed that the injuries were acute and occurred within hours of the baby's death, according to the report. An examination of the spinal cord revealed that the injuries were acute and in the process of healing, with some prior injuries dating back at least two to four days, the report says. The baby's rib fractures were healing, indicating that the injuries had occurred several days prior to his death, the report states. The report explains that the infant could have appeared relatively normal just hours before the fatal injuries were inflicted. Based on the findings, the report concluded that the cause of death is "abusive head trauma and blunt/compressive force injuries of the trunk."

Minneapolis Toddler ‘Stomped’ to Death by Mother’s Teenage Boyfriend for Crying KTLA 5 / June 16, 2015 A Minneapolis teenager has been charged with second-degree murder in the brutal beating death of his girlfriend’s 2-year-old daughter. The 17-year-old suspect is currently charged as a juvenile. He made his first court appearance Monday at the Hennepin County Juvenile Justice Center, where it was announced there would be a certification trial to determine if he should be tried as an adult. Police were dispatched to a home in Minneapolis around 12:35 p.m. on June 10 on a report of a child not breathing. The child, 2-year-old Sophia O’Neill, was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center where she died almost nine hours later. Doctors said the girl had “multiple bruises, including extensive bruising to back and abdomen. Specifically, the doctors who tried to save O’Neill found that she had a split kidney, split pancreas, liver damage, rib fractures, both new and healing, a collapsed lung and other cuts and bruises,” a statement from the Hennepin County Attorney said, citing the juvenile petition. The child’s 20-year-old mother told authorities that she left her daughter with her boyfriend earlier that day. A neighbor told police that the 17-year-old knocked on his door around 12:25 p.m. and asked to use his cell phone. The teen returned about 10 minutes later carrying the child, according to the statement. The neighbor told authorities he called 911 and began performing CPR on the child. “In an interview with police, the boyfriend admitted that when the toddler wouldn’t stop crying, he kicked the child twice in the back and then laid her on the floor and stomped on her back.” A pretrial hearing was set for July 9 during which the court will consider whether to certify the suspect as an adult. “This was a brutal beating that is almost beyond comprehension,” Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman said. “This investigation continues and if (the suspect) should be convicted, we will determine if there are legal factors that would allow us to seek a harsher sentence,” Freeman added.

Now French authorities are attempting to halt the flow of asylum seekers on their way to Britain by offering them temporary visas if they promise to leave Calais. Just unbelievable. These illegals needs to be escorted out of France.

The Local / July 7, 2015 German-owned Patriot missiles stationed in Turkey were briefly taken over by hackers, according to media reports on Tuesday. The attack took place on anti-aircraft ‘Patriot’ missiles on the Syrian border. The American-made weapons had been stationed there by the Bundeswehr (German army) to protect Nato ally Turkey. According to the civil service magazine, the missile system carried out “unexplained” orders. It was not immediately clear when these orders were carried out and what they were. The magazine speculates about two weak spots in the missile system which could be exploited by hackers. One such weakness is the Sensor-Shooter-Interoperability (SSI) which exchanges real time information between the missile launcher and its control system. The second exposed point is a computer chip which controls the guidance of the weapon. Attackers might have gained access in two different ways, one that takes over the operating of the missile system and one that steals data from it. The patriot missile has been in service in the US army since 1984 and was first used in operation in the first Gulf war in 1991. In 2012 Turkey asked that its Nato partners support it by stationing Patriot missile systems there, after the civil war in Syria drew closer to its southern border. In June 2015 Germany announced that it would replace its Patriot missiles with MEADS, an air defence system designed in cooperation with the USA and Italy.

Prime Mover Magazine / July 7, 2015 Queensland-based transport company, DGL Logistics, has taken delivery of its 150th Mack truck. DGL’s milestone Mack is a Granite model equipped with an all-Mack driveline and sports a custom paint job, along with the gold bulldog on the bonnet. “We thought we should do something a bit special for this truck,” said DGL’s Managing Director John West (pictured alongside Vice President Mack Trucks Australia, Dean Bestwick). “We’ve had just about every model Mack has made since the early 2000s, and this truck is certainly a milestone.” According to DGL, the latest Granite will be operating in Sydney hauling dangerous goods. “I asked Mack about doing an individual paint job and putting some bling on this truck and they put me in touch with Wayne Dawson from Belair. Between us we came up with the design,” West said. “I told him I wanted a big bulldog on it pulling the DGL logo and left it to him. I love what he came up with and I’m sure the driver will love it too.” Of the 150 Macks DGL has bought over the years, close to 100 of them are still in service, the company said. “We turn them over every seven years or so, around the 750,000 km mark,” West added. “The Mack service agreement means they’re fully serviced so I don’t have to touch them at all during that time and then I get a good trade value when I sell them.” .

Interest received for all and parts of HHA business Australasian Transport News / July 7, 2015 The search for a positive outcome for Heavy Haulage Australia (HHA) has entered its next stage following Friday’s deadline for expressions of interest (EOIs) in the firm. HHA entered voluntary administration last week, with accountancy Ferrier Hodgson handling the company and haulage firm McAleese, which owns half of HHA, making threatening legal noises. "We’ve had a really good level of interest in the business," Ferrier Hodgson partner Brendan Richards says. "It’s only early in terms of the process of selling it. "We’ve had lots of expressions of interest – converting those into offers is the real task." Amongst the EOIs, Ferrier Hodgson is also fielding interest in parts of HHA’s business. Even if it comes to breaking the business up, Richards says he is "feeling reasonably confident that there is a solution out there". On the block are assets including around 55 prime movers, 120 heavy haulage trailers, 15 cranes and 45 pilot cars and light commercials. HHA’s services include mobile, track and rough terrain cranes, oil and gas rig and camp move services, self-propelled modular trailers and licenced electronic haulage escorts. It also has facilities in Brisbane, Toowoomba/Wellcamp, Beaudesert, Port Hedland, Perth and Darwin. Group turnover is estimated at about $50 million, which is said to be the amount sought by all creditors and about what HHA paid for trailers and 40 new Macks 18 months ago. The $3 million purchase of half of HHA last November has been a huge headache for McAleese, which has admitted woes related to the move will cost it $17 million. HHA’s public profile was raised with its appearance last year in satellite TV show MegaTruckers, which also brought managing director Jon Kelly to broader prominence. But with that has come scrutiny of its finances. Following the administration announcement, Kelly has stated that McAleese has been in the driving seat since the takeover.

Update: Heavy Haulage Australia undergoing restructure Prime Mover Magazine / July 7, 2015 A week after officially being placed into administration, Heavy Haulage Australia (HHA) is now undergoing a rapid restructure in an attempt to preserve the parts of the business that could be of interest to potential buyers. Ferrier Hodgson’s partner and Voluntary Administrator of HHA, Brendan Richards, said that the sales campaign calling for expressions of interest in both the business and its assets has generated a promising response so far, but a restructuring of the business is still considered unavoidable. The downsizing reportedly affects 14 full-time and three part-time staff in Brisbane, two full-time staff in Toowoomba and six full-time staff in Perth and Port Hedland combined. “We have informed all of the staff about the downsizing and explained that, while unfortunate, it is the only way that we have any chance of achieving a good outcome for both employees and suppliers,” said Richards. “We are currently in negotiations with interested parties and I am hopeful of being able to announce a resolution in the very near future.” According to Richards, HHA’s voluntary administration is “yet another indication” of the difficulties facing the Australian transport industry following the downturn being seen in the resources sector.

Coalition urges Congress to act on truck weight reform Fleet Owner / July 7, 2015 The Coalition for Transportation Productivity (CTP), a group of nearly 200 of the nation’s manufacturers, shippers, carriers and allied associations, urged members of Congress to review data from the U.S. DOT’s Comprehensive Truck Size & Weight Limits Study and then take action to reform interstate vehicle weight limits for six-axle trucks. CTP sent a letter to members of Congress as well as a one-pager highlighting key data from the U.S. DOT’s technical findings, which demonstrate the safety of heavier, six-axle trucks, as well as reduced logistics costs, pavement life-cycle costs, fuel costs, vehicle miles traveled, congestion, and emissions associated with their use. In his letter to Congress, CTP Executive Director John Runyan writes: “The actual study data provides strong support for allowing trucks equipped with six axles to carry more freight on Interstate System highways. This is the real message for Congress, despite the fact that U.S. DOT political leadership, after three years of study and 1,100 pages of released data, wrote a cover letter citing insufficient information and recommending against any changes in truck size and weight regulations. While the Administration could not find a political path to support truck weight reform, we urge members of Congress to review the study findings for themselves and allow carefully crafted reforms in vehicle weight regulation to move forward.” In its letter and accompanying one-pager, CTP cites U.S. DOT technical findings that six-axle trucks weighing either 91,000 or 97,000 pounds maintain key braking and handling characteristics, allowing them to safely ship more freight and reduce vehicle miles traveled, logistics and pavement costs, and environmental impacts. The technical report also finds that the use of these vehicles would lead to a minimal diversion of freight from rail to truck, which would be more than offset by projected freight rail growth. CTP also notes that while the U.S. DOT justified its call for inaction by referencing a higher crash rate for six-axle trucks operating over a limited time period in the state of Washington, the technical report also shows that none of those accidents involving six-axle trucks were fatal. In contrast, the study found that five-axle trucks weighing 80,000 pounds (the current federal gross vehicle weight limit) were involved in 10 fatal crashes in Washington State during the same period. CTP said it supports carefully crafted truck weight reform giving each state the option to set higher interstate weight limits only for trucks equipped with six axles rather than the typical five. Because one-quarter of U.S. truck shipments meet the current interstate weight limit with space left in the trailer, this proposal would allow companies to meet demand with fewer vehicles and make the U.S. transportation network more efficient, especially as gross domestic product and population continue to grow, according to CTP.

Transport Topics / July 7, 2015 The Environmental Protection Agency and the Obama administration as a whole will continue to emphasize their campaign against climate change from carbon emissions, even if all aspects of useful technologies are not known at present. Speaking at a July 7 press conference here, EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said reducing carbon dioxide and other greenhouse-gas emissions is so important an issue that government action cannot wait until everything is known about it. “We have to get started,” said McCarthy, the EPA chief since 2013, adding that her agency must focus on the issue even if personnel do not know all of the technology that will be used. Failure to act, she said, would be “shortsighted and disappointing.” “We can save billions of dollars and many lives if we act now. We will lose billions and human lives if we fail to act,” she said. McCarthy reminded reporters and editors that trucking is part of the regulatory schedule. On June 19, EPA and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration unveiled Phase 2 of their regulations on heavy- and medium-duty truck emissions for greenhouse gases. A final version of the Phase 2 proposal is expected next spring. In addition to large trucks, McCarthy said EPA also is regulating cars and light vehicles, aircraft and power plants. The administration also is working on bilateral agreements with other nations and a large-scale summit among many nations in Paris at the end of this year. Related reading - http://www.bigmacktrucks.com/index.php?/topic/40614-your-epa-people-who-made-the-new-truck-fuel-efficiency-regs-possible/?hl=mccarthy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7yAn31NdXfk

Transport Topics / July 7, 2015 Navistar Inc. said it has ended operations at the Indianapolis foundry where it previously produced engine blocks and heads for its MaxxForce engines. The truck and engine maker first announced plans in December 2014 to close the facility as a way to cut expenses. Navistar said it expected the closure to eliminate about 180 jobs and reduce annual operating costs by about $13 million. Company spokesman Steve Schrier confirmed that operations had ceased by late June. Note: Navistar closed its Indianapolis engine plant in the summer of 2009 after losing the Ford Powerstroke business. In 2010, a plan to close the foundry was reversed after it was put under a Navistar engine parts venture called Pure Power technologies. Under an economic development agreement with the city of Indianapolis in 2011, Navistar agreed to spend $19 million to upgrade the plant with new casting equipment over three years, while increasing employment to 250. In return, the company would save $897,712 in property taxes over seven years.

Commercial Carrier Journal / July 7, 2015 A national organization representing shippers is once again calling on Congress to approve larger, heavier trucks on U.S. highways. In a letter sent Monday, July 6, the Coalition for Transportation Productivity (CTP) ­­calls attention to a Department of Transportation (DOT) study it says “… provides strong support for allowing trucks equipped with six axles to carry more freight on Interstate System highways.” It also takes a swipe at the DOT leadership, which said the study contained insufficient data and recommended against truck size and weight limit changes. The coalition supports increasing the federal vehicle weight limit to 97,000 pounds for vehicles equipped with an additional sixth axle. A group of some 200 businesses and organizations, the coalition says it sees vehicle weight reform as a way to improve the international competitiveness of U.S. manufacturers and shippers. In its letter to Congress, the coalition says: “The actual study data provides strong support for allowing trucks equipped with six axles to carry more freight on Interstate System highways. This is the real message for Congress, despite the fact that U.S. DOT political leadership, after three years of study and 1,100 pages of released data, wrote a cover letter citing insufficient information and recommending against any changes in truck size and weight regulations. While the Administration could not find a political path to support truck weight reform, we urge members of Congress to review the study findings for themselves and allow carefully crafted reforms in vehicle weight regulation to move forward.” According to the CTP, the DOT study shows that six-axle trucks the same size as those with five axels “… maintain key truck safety characteristics, including safe stopping distances and turning capability, providing every reason to believe they will perform safely if allowed the chance to operate more widely than they are today.” It also says the study proves that allowing larger trucks on the nation’s highways will not undermine U.S. railroads. The CTP’s letter says “… a small amount of freight diversion is more than offset by the projected higher overall growth of freight volume for all modes.” Other benefits of six-axle trucks, according to the CTP, include: •reduced vehicle miles traveled •lowered total national logistics costs •reduced pavement restoration costs with manageable bridge impacts •less fuel consumption •fewer emissions In criticizing the DOT, the coalition’s letter says: “The Administration has unfortunately adopted a kind of ‘Catch 22’ approach to the badly needed modernization of our nation’s truck weight laws by opposing the wider use of the six-axle vehicles that would result in the greater data that it says is needed. In justifying its call for inaction, the Administration also plucked findings from the ‘statistically insignificant’ data pointing to a higher crash rate for six-axle trucks compared to five-axle trucks operating over a limited time period in one state. What is not said in the letter, but is included in the technical report, is that there were no fatalities involving six-axle trucks in that state during that period, which was not the case for the five-axle trucks.” The coalition also said it supports “… an approach to truck weight reform that is not preemptive. We simply want to give individual states the option to allow six-axle vehicles at heavier weights on their Interstate System highways. Nothing in our approach reduces state and local authority over truck weights on so-called ‘local’ roads and bridges.”

As has been mentioned here, the second generation LE was shelved in 2008 by Volvo. Finally in 2014, the second generation LE was displayed in 2014 as the LR, and formally launched this year. My point is, it hasn't bothered Volvo to soldier on with obsolete cabs so as to pinch a penny. Current Mack brand employees on this forum won't speak about the new cab, out of need for job security. Mack dealers are continually told the new cab is in the wings. It's not a matter of existence, but rather when to phase in.

Infiniti has released a new sales marketing video for the 2015 QX60, inspired by the 1983 classic “National Lampoon’s Vacation”, which coincides with the July 29 release of Warner Bros. Studio’s remake. The video stars Ethan Embry, who played Rusty in "Vegas Vacation" - as he travels to Wally World with his family. Once on the road, Ethan looks in his side mirror and sees an attractive blonde in a sports car fast approaching. Along the way, he gets passed by a blonde in a two-tone Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder. As blonde pulls up alongside and exchanges innuendo with Ethan, Christie Brinkley is revealed as his wife. Unimpressed, Christie says “Honey, a blonde in a convertible? Seriously?” Christie Brinkley of course played the "blonde bombshell" in the original movie.

Does you dream truck utilize the 27-year-old Mack legacy cab, or the new Mack brand variant of the Volvo global market cab? "Volvo has things a certain way for reasons"....................well put.

The thought of Hillary Clinton becoming president is scary. Every instinct I possess tells me to maintain my distrust in her.