Crying Baby Empties Bus…In Protest of the Driver

Brand X Pictures/Thinkstock(HILLSBORO, Ore.) -- A Hillsboro, Ore., bus driver who reportedly kicked a mother and her infant off the bus after the baby wouldn’t stop screaming has been placed on administrative leave.

Passengers on the bus had stormed off after the mother and child when the driver ordered the pair off, leaving him alone.

TriMet spokeswoman Mary Fetsch told ABC News that her office has received six complaints from people who were on the bus during the incident.

“This is something we take very seriously,” Fetsch said.

One passenger, Jennifer Chapman, herself a young mother, told the Oregonian she was outraged.

“I don’t care if the baby was screaming her head off, which she wasn’t, you don’t drop a woman off in the dark with her baby,” Chapman said.

While some people left in support of the mother, others may have been tired of the bus not moving.

“Several of the riders would call out to move along, that it wasn’t bothering anyone else, and more than a few delved into obscene name-calling toward the driver. The driver then compounded the whole thing by spitting heatedly that anyone who didn’t like it could get off the bus as well,” wrote one rider in a submission to Rantings of a Transit Bus Driver, an Oregon blog run by a bus driver named Al Margulies.

Margulies said these kinds of incidents happen, but drivers are trained on how to handle them.

“If she got to a point where she was unable to drive the bus, she should have pulled over and called for a supervisor,” Margulies told ABC News. “That would have been the right thing.”

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

NC Couple Gives Birth During Hurricane Irene

(CAROLINA BEACH, N.C.) -- When it rains, it pours, for the Curtis family of Carolina Beach, N.C., who welcomed the arrival of a new addition, all while the eye of Hurricane Irene watched over.

"I fully expected that delivering a baby in August meant it would be hot and muggy," said new mother, Andi Curtis. "But I never thought hurricane would be an issue."

Andi and Jeff Curtis were admitted to New Hanover Regional Medical Center in Wilmington, N.C., Friday evening and welcomed daughter Parker Elizabeth during the height of the storm.

"I could see out the window but honestly I really wasn't paying attention during labor and delivery," said Andi Curtis.

New Hanover Regional Medical Center reported a dozen new babies within the near 17-hour lockdown of the hospital, and eight mothers in waiting. Now that the lockdown is lifted, the hospital expects several more soon-to-be mothers to rush in.

The hospital delivers about 4,000 babies a year. But according to Martha Harlan, a spokeswoman for New Hanover Regional Medical Center, the 12 so-called hurricane baby deliveries within their lockdown period suggests a 30 percent spike.

TheTheThe Curtis' evacuated their home on Friday and stayed at a hotel near the hospital. The bridge to Carolina Beach shut down on Friday and they didn't want to chance it. The hospital was on lockdown and Curtis expected to deliver after the weekend. But Parker Elizabeth just wouldn't wait.

In fact, some experts say the weather could be to blame for some mothers who go into labor unexpectedly.

"With the fall in barometric pressure seen around these weather events, maternal amniotic membranes (bag of waters) tend to rupture more easily, thus initiating spontaneous labor," said Dr. Robert Welch, chairman and program director of obstetrician and gynecology at Providence Hospital in Southfield, Mich.

"Everybody kept telling me about barometric pressure," Curtis said. "But I just kept thinking the storm isn't going to make my child come."

And the weather may not only bring on a new bundle of joy. Some evidence suggests that natural disasters could be the basis of why some couples will soon find themselves expecting.

Fertility rates seem to rise during less severe storms in areas that are used to experiencing natural disasters, according to a 2010 report published in the Journal of Population Economics. But highly severe weather advisories don't seem to boost fertility, according to the report.

So will the hurricane inspire a new wave of Irenes to walk the earth?

The Curtises never planned on it.

"We will document her coming in a hurricane in other ways, like newspaper clippings," Curtis said. "We'll definitely remember it."

Harlan said only two of the couples at the hospital seemed to be considering the name Irene, but just as a middle name.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio



California Gun Battle Ended with Dead Baby

Comstock/Thinkstock(SAN DIEGO) -- Police in Southern California found the body of a baby girl near the scene where a police officer was filmed while being shot in the neck during a gun battle Sunday, officials said Monday.

Officer Jarder Slocum of the El Cajon Police Department, who is in stable condition, was shown stumbling and bleeding on camera after being hit with a bullet during a firefight between cops and a man hiding out in a house in a residential neighborhood.

Police responded to a call of suspicious activity in a residential neighborhood northeast of San Diego, where they were told an adult male had entered a home with a gun and proceeded to set the house on fire. As police arrived, the suspect, 32-year-old Kevin Collier, opened fire from inside the burning home.

The dead child is believed to be Collier's 14-month-old daughter.

In a video at the outbreak of the violence, which was recorded by a freelance photographer, gunfire is heard before Officer Slocum is seen pressing his hand against his neck and stumbling to get to safety before collapsing on the ground, where another officer and citizens then pull him to safety. He was later taken to a hospital, where he underwent surgery and is listed in critical but stable condition, according to a statement released by the department.

The residence where the man was hiding became fully engulfed in fire, and police evacuated the neighborhood before entering the home, where the body of the suspect was found dead by the front entrance, according to the statement.

El Cajon police were not immediately available for comment, although a staff member said the investigation is ongoing.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

California Woman Arrested for Allegedly Microwaving Baby to Death

Comstock/Thinkstock(SACRAMENTO, Calif.) -- A California woman was arrested Tuesday for allegedly microwaving her six-week-old daughter to death, shocking even the most seasoned police detectives who conducted a three-month investigation to determine such a rare cause of death.

"We had never seen a crime this unique and disturbing," Sgt. Norm Leong of the Sacramento County Police Department told ABC News.

Fire officials responded to the residence of Ka Yang, 29, on March 17. A relative who had returned home called the department after noticing burns on baby Mirabelle Thao-Lo.

Yang initially told fire authorities she suffered a seizure and had dropped her daughter, who died at the scene, according to officials.

"It was clear the child was burned but the source was mysterious," Sgt. Leong said.

An autopsy conducted by the Sacramento County coroner found the child had deep tissue burns, although the source of the burns remained unclear.

"The burns were not typical of fire or acid injuries and there was damage to the baby's clothing," he added.

Detectives thought something was peculiar and spent the next three months investigating the case. "Early on, we did speculate it was possible the baby had been put in the microwave," Leong said.

Detectives turned to Google and found three similar cases involving newborns being placed in microwaves in Ohio, Texas and Virginia.

They studied the cases and met with medical professionals, forensic specialists and government agencies.

After the research, it became clear that Mirabelle's injuries were consistent with the kind of burns caused from being placed in a microwave, officials said.

Yang was arrested without incident Tuesday and is being held in Sacramento County Jail. She will be arraigned Thursday.

Yang was alone in the home with Mirabelle at the time of the incident, Sgt. Leong said, although a relative was outside doing yard work.

The baby's father lived with the family but was not home at the time of the incident, police said.

Police said they've been unable to pinpoint a motive and declined to say whether Yang was cooperating.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Three Arrested for Death of Toddler in Overheated Day Care Van

Jupiterimages/Thinkstock(ATLANTA) -- The owner of a Georgia day care center and two employees have been charged with cruelty to children and manslaughter in the death of a two-year-old girl who was left in a locked van for two hours while daytime temperatures soared into the mid-90s.

Jazmin Green's death came Monday, just three months after the day care center, Marlo's Magnificent Early Learning Center in Jonesboro, was found to be in violation of a Georgia law that requires a check of vehicles after trips "to assure that no child remains on the vehicle."

Marlo Fallings, the owner of the center, Fallings' daughter Quantabia Hopkins and a teenager whose name has not been released were arrested and charged with cruelty to children in the second degree, involuntary manslaughter and reckless conduct, according to the Clayton County Police Department.

The children were taken in the center's van on a field trip to a Chuck E. Cheese. After returning to the center, Jazmin was overlooked and left in the van.

Officer John K. Schneller said it was Hopkins who realized at approximately 3:30 p.m. that Jazmin was not inside the center. The field trip van had returned to the day care center between 1:30 p.m. and 2 p.m. The temperature outside was about 93 degrees.

"Hopkins went into the parking lot and found Jazmin still in her car seat inside the van," Schneller said in a press statement, adding that the two-year-old was nonresponsive and didn't appear to be breathing.

According to ChildcareCenter.us, a website that collects information on child care centers, Marlo's Magnificent Early Learning cares for over 40 children of infant, toddler, preschool and school age.

An average of 38 children die every year in hot cars from heat-related deaths, according to Kids And Cars, a group that documents and studies the dangers associated with children and motor vehicles. The organization reports that between 1998 and 2010, 495 children died from vehicular heat stroke, with 2010 breaking the record with 49 deaths.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Florida Grandmother Pleads No Contest to Attempted Sale of Grandson

Brand X Pictures/Thinkstock(HOLLY HILL, Fla.) -- A Holly Hill, Fla., grandmother accused of trying to sell her newborn grandson last year, pleaded no contest Thursday to two felony charges of illegal sale of a child and using a cell phone to commit a crime.

Patty Bigbee tried to sell her infant grandson for $75,000, Keith Kameg of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement told ABC News.

"The parameters of the case are very unique," Kameg said. "In terms of a baby sale, it's very rare and not something you encounter every day, thank goodness."

The Missouri Lottery confirmed that in 2008, Patty Bigbee won a $1 million lottery prize in Hazelwood, Mo. Reports are that Bigbee blew through the money in two years and became desperate for money.

Bigbee tried to sell her grandson to her estranged daughter, Danielle Skiver, who she had given up for adoption in 1983, according to affidavits, which described the case panning out as follows:

Bigbee initially reached out to Skiver over Facebook and began a relationship over the social networking site.

Skiver discussed with her mother her desire to have more children. After Bigbee told Skiver she had a grandchild who had been abandoned by her other daughter, Stephanie Bigbee Fleming, 22, Skiver agreed to adopt the child.

Skiver said there was no initial communication about money for the child, but after she agreed to adopt Bigbee asked her for a fee of $75,000.

Skiver subsequently contacted authorities and agreed to cooperate with police in a sting operation of Bigbee's the sale of the child.

Skiver and her husband, Guy, released a statement to ABC News expressing their relief that Bigbee finally made a plea.

"We are very pleased that Patty finally made the right choice to admit her guilt," the statement read. "We will be speaking at her sentencing on August 11 and hope that justice prevails and that she serves all 10 years that she is facing. We all love [the baby] very much and we see him as much as allowed and pray that one day he will join our family. We are not allowed to speak on any court proceedings."

Last year, the baby boy was put into the care of the state Department of Children and Families.

Patty Bigbee's sentencing has been set for Aug. 11.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Jury Weighs Sentence for Teen Mom Who Tried to Smother Baby

Brand X Pictures/Thinkstock(WACO, Texas) -- A Texas jury is weighing the sentence for a teenage mom convicted of injuring a child after a graphic video of her trying to smother the baby was shown in court.

Shantaniqua Nykole Scott, 18, of Waco, held a blanket over the face of her son, Rhaidyn, last July 16 for 21 seconds and later put her hand over his nose and mouth for 1 minute and 14 seconds, according to evidence presented in the trial at Tarrant County court.

The baby survived and is now 14 months old and in foster care.

The jurors took 28 minutes Thursday to find Scott guilty of injury to a child. They were to consider her sentence Friday, according to the Tarrant County District Attorney's office.

In her taped confession, played in court after the jury returned its verdict, Scott told police: "If I could get him to die, I could get him out of my life." She said she tried three times to smother the baby at home when he was 4 months old.

In closing arguments, her lawyer, David Jones, said Scott did not damage the child. "She had no business having a baby at her age. But what were the injuries?" he asked.

Prosecutors argued that hospital staff saved Rhaidyn's life.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Baby Patdown Followed Procedure, TSA Says

PRNewsFoto/Transportation Security Administration(WASHINGTON) -- Airport Security screeners may face a new round of scrutiny following the online posting of a picture showing two officers patting down a baby at the Kansas City International Airport.

The picture, posted on Twitter, has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times.  It shows two security screeners patting down the baby as the infant's mother holds the child, face down, in her arms. 

In a statement, TSA says the agency has reviewed the screening and determined that proper procedure was followed.  The baby was selected for a pat down because a test of the child's stroller set off explosives detectors. 

TSA adds that the family was very cooperative.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio 

California Baby Survives Toilet Birth

BananaStock/Thinkstock(BAKERSFIELD, Calif.) -- A mother due to have her baby in two weeks got the surprise of her life when she delivered a baby boy in her California bathroom. And she has a calm and collected friend and 9-1-1 dispatcher to thank for helping her through the process.

The Bakersfield mom-to-be was 38 weeks along when she had to go to the restroom Thursday. Moments later, she delivered her baby in the toilet of the bathroom.

Fortunately, a quick-thinking friend was visiting at the time of the unexpected delivery. The friend immediately called 9-1-1, beginning a step-by-step process that developed into a touching dialogue between the 9-1-1 operator and the friend.

"She's sitting on the toilet and the baby's in the toilet," the friend said.

Without missing a beat, the dispatcher instructed the shocked caller on what to do next. "Oh, get her off the toilet," she said. Soon thereafter, the baby's first cry can be heard. "OK, listen carefully," she said. "I have help on the way. I'm going to tell you exactly what to do next."

The dispatcher then instructs the friend to find a shoelace or string in order to wrap the baby's umbilical cord, encouraging the caller the entire time. "You're doing a great job, OK?" the 9-1-1 dispatcher said. The dispatcher's caring manner continued through the call as she guides the caller through tying the cord. "Around the umbilical cord, about six inches from the baby, but don't cut it," the dispatcher said.

The dispatcher even remained on the line after emergency medical responders arrived and continued the touching conversation. "So cute. Does he look full size?" the dispatcher asked.

"He, he looks pretty big," the caller said.

"He's still breathing," the friend said.

"How exciting," the dispatcher responded.

The mother and her baby were taken to a local hospital but there's no word on the condition of either.

Neither the mother nor dispatcher has been identified.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Trapped 14-Month-Old Rescued From Inside Bank's Vault

Photo Courtesy - WSB-TV Atlanta(CONYERS, Ga.) -- Firefighters worked ferociously for several hours this weekend to free a 14-month-old toddler who had wandered into a Conyers, Ga., bank vault and became trapped.

After pumping oxygen into the air-tight vault at the Wells Fargo bank in Conyers, rescue workers and a safe technician were able to reach the crying toddler, who was trapped for approximately four hours.

According to a spokesman for the Conyers Police Department, the baby and her mother, who are the grandchild and daughter of one of the bank's employees, were inside the premises at the bank's closing time. Soon the toddler began to wander around the bank, and unbeknownst to her mother, walked into the bank's vault.

The vault, which is fitted with a time-lock close, must have shut immediately after the child wandered inside, according to ABC News affiliate WSB-TV in Atlanta.

Wells Fargo spokesman Jay Lawrence told WSB-TV that the baby was not in any danger. 

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio