wynndy:

Following the path on a chilly morning.

Breaking news.

TRENTON, N.J. –  Police say the bodies of a woman and a 13-year-old boy have been found after a dayslong standoff in New Jersey, and a suspect was killed in the rescue of three children inside the home.

Authorities said at a news conference Sunday that officers stormed the house and shot 38-year-old Gerald Tyrone Murphy because he was threatening one of the children. Murphy later died of his injuries.

The standoff ended at 3:45 a.m. Sunday, about 37 hours after it began. Murphy had been holed-up in a two-story red brick house in South Trenton since Friday afternoon.

Police say they were called to the home on reports that a man had barricaded himself inside. Authorities say police entered the home and found the man brandishing a gun.

Some news for today.

NASHUA, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire man who fled a day before being convicted in 1991 of killing his 2-year-old stepson has been tried and convicted again in Greece, where he is serving an 18-year sentence for the boy’s death, authorities said Friday.

Federal and state officials held a news conference to provide an update on 45-year-old Steven Kamberidis’ whereabouts since he disappeared May 14, 1991, the day before he was convicted in Nashua of second-degree murder in the 1989 beating death of James Chartier.

Kamberidis, who was free on $50,000 bond when he went missing, was sentenced in absentia to 30 years to life.

New Hampshire law enforcement officials said they’ve known for at least a decade that Kamberidis was in Greece, his native country, and FBI officials said the agency had been making a concerted effort to bring him to justice since 2006.

“It was a fugitive case, not a cold case, and not a cold fugitive case either,” FBI supervisory special agent Kieran Ramsey said before the news conference. “We’ve known he was in Greece for quite some time, for years.”

Police in Greece said Kamberidis was arrested Feb. 5 in a village near Thessaloniki, the country’s second-largest city. He was tried, convicted, and sentenced again in late April.

At the news conference, Ramsey said the prosecution, conviction and sentencing of a Greek citizen for a U.S. crime was “unprecedented” for both countries.

“At times people may have thought justice was delayed,” said Senior Assistant Attorney General Jane Young, who heads the criminal bureau. “The efforts of the law enforcement community have certainly shown that justice was not denied to James and his family.”

Young said officials are continuing their diplomatic efforts to have Kamberidis returned to the United States, where he would serve his original 30-year-sentence and face a federal charge of fleeing to avoid prosecution.

James’ mother, Tracey Nicholson, attended the news conference with other family members, but declined to comment. Her brother, Tim Grover, said “words cannot measure our thanks” to the FBI and other law enforcement officials for their “tireless” efforts.

Ramsey said Kamberidis had a vast network of relatives in Greece and had worked for relatives in various flooring businesses. He said Kamberidis had remarried, but he did not know if he has children.

Autopsy results show James died of a fractured skull. During Kamberidis’ New Hampshire trial, a medical examiner testified the child’s injuries were comparable to falling out of a three-story window and were caused by multiple, forceful blows. After his arrest, Kamberidis was held without bond. But once bond was set, his father posted it.

Ramsey said he could not address the disparity in the sentences given by the New Hampshire court and the court in Athens.

“That was the prerogative of the Greek criminal justice system,” Ramsey said. “We are still very pleased with even an 18-year sentence in a Greek prison than no time anywhere.”

Ramsey would not address whether Greece refused to extradite Kamberidis. He said Kamberidis’ case was heard by a panel of judges in Athens. Court documents from New Hampshire, including the autopsy report and transcripts of trial testimony, were translated into Greek and shipped to Athens, he said.

Ramsey and Nashua Police Chief John Seusing both said they do not know whether Kamberidis was required to forfeit his passport as a condition of bond. Seusing said some detectives in his department worked on the case for years, including some well into retirement.

nancyfu:

It will take just 37 seconds to read this and change your thinking..

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room.

One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs.

His bed was next to the room’s only window.

The other man had to spend all his time flat on his back.

The men talked for hours on end.

They spoke of their wives and families, their homes, their jobs, their involvement in the military service, where they had been on vacation..

Every afternoon, when the man in the bed by the window could sit up, he would pass the time by describing to his roommate all the things he could see outside the window.

The man in the other bed began to live for those one hour periods where his world would be broadened and enlivened by all the activity and color of the world outside.

The window overlooked a park with a lovely lake.
Ducks and swans played on the water while children sailed their model boats. Young lovers walked arm in arm amidst flowers of every color and a fine view of the city skyline could be seen in the distance.

As the man by the window described all this in exquisite details, the man on the other side of the room would close his eyes and imagine this picturesque scene.

One warm afternoon, the man by the window described a parade passing by.

Although the other man could not hear the band - he could see it in his mind’s eye as the gentleman by the window portrayed it with descriptive words.

Days, weeks and months passed.

One morning, the day nurse arrived to bring water for their baths only to find the lifeless body of the man by the window, who had died peacefully in his sleep.

She was saddened and called the hospital attendants to take the body away.

As soon as it seemed appropriate, the other man asked if he could be moved next to the window. The nurse was happy to make the switch, and after making sure he was comfortable, she left him alone.

Slowly, painfully, he propped himself up on one elbow to take his first look at the real world outside.
He strained to slowly turn to look out the window besides the bed.

It faced a blank wall.

The man asked the nurse what could have compelled his deceased roommate who had described such wonderful things outside this window.

The nurse responded that the man was blind and could not even see the wall.


She said, ‘Perhaps he just wanted to encourage you.’

Epilogue:

There is tremendous happiness in making others happy, despite our own situations.
Shared grief is half the sorrow, but happiness when shared, is doubled.
If you want to feel rich, just count all the things you have that money can’t buy.
‘Today is a gift, that is why it is called The Present .’