In the news
Liam Brenes, 4, of Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., whose prosthetic leg was stolen when he visited the beach for the first time, is the focus of a crowd-funding effort that has raised more than $18,000 to buy a replacement leg.
Silvia Cotriss, a 20-year police officer fired from her job in Roswell, Ga., for flying the Confederate battle flag outside her home, says she had no idea the flag was controversial and is appealing her termination.
Anna Lebedeva and Mustafa Danguir, both circus acrobats, got married on a tightrope 30 feet off the ground during a Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey show in Houston, in a service conducted by the ringmaster.
Mike Megna, 44, of West Milford, N.J., who helped search for survivors in the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, World Trade Center attack, is using billboards in his bid to get his rare kidney disease added to the list of conditions covered by a fund that helps ground zero workers suffering from health problems.
Joe O’Malley, with the Faneuil Hall Marketplace, said officials have received complaints from visitors in Boston’s historic shopping district about people “dressed in monk garb” demanding donations, and his shop has posted a sign that reads: “Do not give money to the fake monk mafia!”
Peter Adeniji, 67, is facing charges, including operating a medical practice without a license, after police in Prince William County, Va., said he discouraged people from getting traditional cancer treatments in his pitch to sell fake $1,200-a-bottle cancer cures.
Paul Simmons Jr., 23, of Holden Beach, N.C., was sentenced to at least six months in prison for removing nearly 1,000 Venus’ flytrap protected-species plants from public lands in North Carolina.
Walter Richters, 38, of Hardwick, Vt., was sentenced to three years in prison for manslaughter after he admitted putting vodka in the feeding tube of his girlfriend’s severely disabled 13-year-old son, killing the boy, and will testify at the trial of his girlfriend, who authorities said approved Richters’ actions.
Jeremy Lucas, an Episcopal rector in Lake Oswego, Ore., spent $3,000 in church funds to buy 150 of 499 raffle tickets being sold as a fundraiser for a girls softball team and won an AR-15 rifle, which he plans to destroy or have incorporated into artwork.