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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.

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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.”

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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.”

Any further info on the new cab? Pictures? Specs?

On that note yeah, Id like to see the super liner return.

I've only "moved" a Titan that was in for service but I did drive the D16 in a Volvo and it had good power. We serviced a heavy hauler from NJ that had a 11-12? Titan and he had nothing but great things to say about it.

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.

Ok maybe I need to narrow this down even farther for some! There is a chance something may happen but it needs to use 90% or better parts that are already used in production trucks. To add a sleeper to the titan would be nice but it still won't sell for otr use, its too big, too heavy and too expensive. Using parts in existing inventory and adding some small relatively inexpensive parts to fill gaps that don't require large die and mold investments is the only way this will work. The owner op market is dominated by 15-16 liter engines and this will bring Mack fully into that market with the CHU. As far as sales numbers would go there are thousands of owner operators, heavy haul contractors and companies is that operate in mountainous territory that will not run anything smaller than a 15 liter engine and the only current offering from Mack (Titan) has no real sleeper option and is far too heavy and expensive to be in the market.

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.

Mother chokes 2-year-old daughter to death, throws into ravine

Associated Press / July 7, 2015

The mother of a 2-year-old girl found dead in a ravine has been arrested on charges she asphyxiated the girl after becoming upset that she had to help the toddler clean herself after using the toilet, police say.

Adriene Williams, 26, of Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania, was arrested on charges of criminal homicide, endangering the welfare of a child, tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse.

Her toddler, Adrionna, was discovered dead by a dog walker in a neighboring suburb, Swissvale, about 40 minutes after her family reported her missing June 14.

Medical examiner determined the girl was asphyxiated.

The girl's bare feet gave no indication she had walked to where she was found, about 2 miles from her grandmother' duplex, police said.

Shortly before Williams left for work, her daughter used the bathroom and needed help cleaning herself, according to one cousin.

"This seemed to annoy Adriene and she got up from the couch stating, 'I want to change my name,' in a loud angry voice," the cousin told police. After Williams helped her daughter, the girl climbed on a couch to play with her mother but the cousin told police, "it seemed that Adriene didn't want to play with her."

Surveillance video from various sources showed Williams' car headed toward the area where the girl's body was later found. Cellphone tower information painted a similar picture, police said.

How many individuals have the ability to design their own engine and carve their own molds from wood?

Mother beats her 17-month-old daughter to death

April 20, 2015

Taylor Lynn Fast’s daughter was discovered beaten to death.

Fast, 21, from Festus, Missouri, told police that her daughter, Layla, was severely bruised and unresponsive because she was bitten by a spider.

She also said that she did not realize that her little girl was dead.

Paramedics who attempted to treat Layla at the scene said she had been dead for several hours.

Layla suffered severe injuries to her face and neck. She had bruises all over her small body. Police at the scene compared her wounds to that of a high speed car crash victim.

Another child, a three-year-old boy, was also discovered at Fast’s home. The boy had severe bruising and a broken leg. It is unknown at this time if the boy is Layla’s brother.

Police say the beating taken by seventeen month old Layla is the worst case of child abuse officers there had ever seen.

“It’s anger. It’s sadness. It’s empathy,” Festus Police Chief Tim Lewis said. “Anybody that’s a parent. What got me is when I first saw this child; she looked like one of my great nieces. Just a small innocent child maybe 25 pounds. Just a little one year old girl should not have experienced what this child experienced. Her last few seconds of life were a pure hell. I’ve been a policeman for 32 years and this is the worst case of child abuse I have ever seen. Nothing even comes close to this. This child looked like a situation; say if a child was involved in a car accident. It was horrible.”

Aunt beats 3-year-old boy to death because he wouldn't go to sleep

Daily News / February 27, 2015

A bouncing 3-year-old boy was beaten to death by a belt-wielding aunt infuriated when the adorable child refused to go to sleep, police sources said Thursday.

Christen (Ninee) Dale, 21, confessed to whipping her sister’s son, little Ethan Ali, inside Dale’s Brooklyn apartment.

“He came into her room and started jumping up and down on her bed,” the source recounted. “She told him, ‘Go to your room.’ Then she hit him with the belt.”

The mortally injured child went back to his room, where he died, while his aunt fell asleep in her bed.

The child had bruises on his chest and back, and the medical examiner ruled Thursday that his death was a homicide caused by “multiple blunt impact injuries.”

The heartless aunt, who was apparently alone in the apartment with her nephew, was charged with manslaughter, assault, endangering the welfare of a child and criminal possession of a weapon.

The dead child’s grandfather told the Daily News that Dale and Skeet beat the preschooler “all the time” with a belt.

“They beat him and they beat him,” said grandfather Leroy Ali. “He was always bruised. She beat him with the belt. I told her stop.”

Father and stepmother murder 3-year old boy

Sun Sentinel / March 26, 2015

The 3-year-old boy was covered in bruises from head to toe; his pancreas was broken into three pieces. His body was stuffed into garbage bags tucked inside a box in a laundry room.

Wednesday, police announced that his stepmother and father had been arrested in connection with his death.

The body of Ahziya Drew Osceola was found in the family's residence in the 5400 block of Johnson Street.

His stepmother, Analiz Rodezno Osceola, 24, was charged Wednesday with aggravated manslaughter; child neglect and providing false information to law enforcement.

Her husband of 10 months, Nelson Drew Osceola, 24, who is the child's father, was charged with child neglect.

Nelson Osceola was freed on a $50,000 bond from Broward County's main jail Thursday morning. His wife remained behind bars with a $230,000 bond after appearing in court.

"In his first three years of life, he endured what we believe to be a significant amount of pain," Hollywood Police Chief Frank Fernandez said. "No child should ever, ever endure this life, the life of little Ahziya."

The cause of the child's death, ruled a homicide, was from blunt impact abdominal trauma, according to the Broward Medical Examiner's Office.

His face and body were bruised; his pancreas was broken into three pieces. Enzymes from that organ were let loose and were breaking down internal organs, the medical examiner's office said.

The autopsy also found a spiral fracture of the child's left shin bone that was probably an old break. The medical examiner's office estimated Ahziya died late Wednesday night or Thursday morning.

During Ahziya's short life, there were four reports to the Florida Department of Children and Families hotline. Three described injuries and allegations of harm that prompted home visits, doctor exams, interviews with teachers and relatives, counseling and training for the parents. But physical abuse allegations were not substantiated.

Ahziya had a purple bruise on his left cheek that was blamed on a fall onto a wooden bed frame, an August 2013 report said.

In April 2014, fingerprints and a bruise on the lower side of each jawbone, scratches on both sides of Ahziya's neck and bruises on his left back ribcage were observed, a report states. His father attributed some of the marks to a fall in the bathroom and rough play with kids at an Easter party, and said his son fell all the time.

A bruise and abrasion were noticed beneath Ahziya's eye in December 2014. The child's bottom was also sore. His mother took him to an emergency room doctor who found small abrasions in his rectum that could have been from constipation, a report said. He was otherwise described as "very happy, rambunctious and talkative" and denied being harmed by anyone.

A fourth report said child investigators determined there was inadequate supervision and medical neglect when in January 2014 Ahziya left his mother in a fifth-floor hotel room, got into an elevator and was found in the hotel lobby. Karen Cypress was arrested and pleaded not guilty to criminal charges including child neglect. The case is open, according to Broward court records. The boy was placed with his father and Cypress was allowed to visit her son.

State reports listed investigators — from the Broward Sheriff's Child Protection Investigation Section, who work on behalf of DCF; the medically oriented Child Protection Team and Seminole Family Services — that had looked into allegations of abuse of Ahziya.

"There is no fail-safe system, other than a responsible parent," Fernandez said.

The world has changed. High levels of operating performance and fuel economy are no longer just a plus – they’re a necessity.

With tough competition for those good drivers, a truck interior serving a high level of comfort is mandatory too.

Versatility by design? Sure, that’s a signature Volkswagen Truck trademark.

Today’s Constellation, designed to exceed your expectations and keep your accountant smiling.

See your Volkswagen Truck dealer today, and experience a new era of cost-effective transport.

Volkswagen Truck – We’re right for your business

It all relates back to NAFTA.

If we actually had a functioning democracy, the American people would have been able to vote yea or nay on such a significant decision as NAFTA.

The establishment's sales pitch for NAFTA to the gullible masses was a complete fabrication, a brilliantly played out distraction from the truth.

NAFTA in fact was the idea of big business, a way for them to produce in low-labor-cost Mexico, and then import to the US without tariffs.

UPI / July 6, 2015

Nearly 700 trucks will be made by Oshkosh Defense for the U.S. Army beginning next year under a $184 million contract, the company announced.

The award from the Army's TACOM Life Cycle Management Command is for 698 Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles, which is comprised of 17 models of trucks in 23 configurations -- from 2.5-ton to 10-ton payloads.

"The Oshkosh FMTV delivers unprecedented durability and reliability while meeting the demands – of the mission and our soldiers on today's battlefields," said John Bryant, senior vice president of defense programs at Oshkosh Defense.

"The FMTV program is a prime example of how Oshkosh has worked with the U.S. Army to deliver a very successful vehicle program that achieves all of the quality, performance, schedule and cost objectives – and ultimately puts a great truck in the hands of our soldiers, who deserve nothing less."

Oshkosh said it began producing FMTVs for the U.S. Army in 2010 and has so far delivered more than 22,000 trucks and 11,000 trailers to the service.

A breakdown of the number of models and variants covered under the contract was not released by the company.

Supplemental reading - https://oshkoshdefense.com/vehicles/fmtv/