An Alabama couple will serve just two years in prison for inflicting horrific abuse on their adoptive son — including locking him in a basement for 23 hours a day and nearly starving him to death.

Richard Kelly, 60, and his wife Cynthia, 51, were sentenced Thursday in Shelby County to the maximum allowed under a previous plea deal, AL.com reported.

The light sentence followed an emotional statement by their son, Ethan Kelly — now an 18-year-old high school senior — who recounted his years of torture after his adoption in 2007.

“This wasn’t the dream. I cried every night and prayed for Jesus to end it all” Kelly told the court.

“I’m not who I used to be. I’m not even who I was supposed to be. I lived the story of Cinderella with no happy ending.”

The couple was accused of keeping Ethan locked in prison-like conditions in the basement for around two years.

For nearly 23 hours a day, he was forced to stay in a locked room with a camera, alarm system and box spring for a bed.The abuse came to light on Nov. 12, 2016, when Richard took the gravely ill boy to the hospital weighing. Though age 14, he weighed less than 55 pounds.Doctors told police at the time that the boy was near death — suffering from malnourishment, dehydration, acute respiratory distress, shock and hypothermia.

“His body was failing in all of the critical ways that keep us alive. He was essentially dying,” Children’s Hospital of Alabama Dr. Melissa Peters told the court, according to AL.com

Both parents testified that they had not abused Ethan — and that they did not believe they did anything wrong.

Richard told the court that they “did what we thought was best,” while Cynthia claimed that “we did not intend to hurt our son.”

“Maybe we missed some signs. If I could do it over again, I would get him help,” Cynthia said, AL.com reported.

In handing down the sentence, Shelby County Circuit Judge William H. Bostick told the court that he would’ve given them a harsher punishment if he had the power.

“It would be somewhere in the realm of 20 years to life if I weren’t constrained by the law. But I am,” Bostick said.

via: https://nypost.com/2020/11/14/alabama-parents-get-jail-time-for-locking-adopted-son-in-basement/

Photo Credit: Shelby County Jail

Erykah Badu is understandably confused after somehow testing both positive and negative for COVID-19 this week.

The Grammy-winning artist shared the news Friday, telling fans that while she was asymptomatic, she tested positive in only her left nostril, leaving the “Afro Blue” songstress slightly befuddled.

“No symptoms. Was tested for COVID. Same machine. Left nostril positive. Right nostril negative,” she tweeted. “Maybe they need to call Swiss Beats so they can do a versus between them. Funny thing is, Dr. ONLY reported the positive result. What the fack is goin on here. Rapid Test. $$$$ smh.”

Badu also attached a screenshot of the unusual result. She added that she and her crew are required to take a COVID-19 test prior to any livestream broadcasts for the safety of the band and staff members.

“Something extremely bogus is going on,” he wrote. “Was tested for covid four times today. Two tests came back negative, two came back positive. Same machine, same test, same nurse. Rapid antigen test from BD.”

via: https://pagesix.com/2020/11/14/erykah-badu-tests-positive-for-covid-19-in-left-nostril-negative-in-right/?_ga=2.213279639.2026506654.1604801803-1483909753.1590005431

Photo Credit: pagesix.com

A Minnesota teacher has dodged prison time for having sex with a 16-year-old student after telling the court that “personal” trauma impacted her judgement.

According to The Sun, former Hermantown, Minnesota teacher Madeleine Schmaltz, 30 and of Saginaw, had already pleaded guilty to a count of fourth-degree criminal sexual conduct and was sentenced to probation on Monday.

The Duluth News Tribune reported that Schmaltz must serve three years of probation and is required to register as a predatory offender.

She is also required to refrain from contact with her victim or any other minors to avoid time in prison.

In court, the Minnesota teacher asked for mercy for having sex with the student, saying inner troubles had caused “clouded judgement.”

“During the spring of 2019, I was going through personal traumatic experiences that did cloud my judgment,” Schmaltz said at the virtual hearing Monday.

“Since then, I’ve been working through those experiences, along with just trying to better myself, and I will continue to do so. I know that my clouded judgment has harmed the victim and the victim’s family, and for that I am truly sorry.”

In 2019, Schmaltz struck up an illicit relationship with the 16-year-old, who she had taught at Hermantown Middle School a few years before.

According to a criminal complaint, the student’s mother found out about the illicit relationship and sex in June 2019 after overhearing a phone call between the boy and the Minnesota teacher.

The conversation was “sexual in nature,” the complaint stated. The student later confirmed the relationship and said he had been going over to Schmaltz’s house in Saginaw for homework and mentoring. Authorities later confirmed they were having sex during the “mentorship” sessions.

The complaint stated that Schmaltz “admitted to sexual touching of the victim on the victim’s intimate parts and to having the victim touch her on her intimate parts.”‘

According to previous reporting from the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the teacher admitted to having sex with the student on multiple occasions.

The Minnesota teacher resigned from the middle school soon after the student sex relationship was uncovered.

According to The Daily Mail, Schmaltz will have to register as an offender and remain on probation for three years, but will have her felony conviction reduced to a misdemeanor if she does not re-offend.

Her defense attorney said she now works in online sales and is attending therapy.

“She’s sincerely apologetic for her behavior, she recognizes the pain that she caused and she’s doing what she can to put not only herself in a better place, but eventually be able to move forward with her experience and help others,” he said, according to the Duluth News Tribune.

Authorities determined that the sexual acts had been occurring at Schmaltz’s house in Saginaw under the guise that he was there for help with homework and mentoring.

via: https://knewz.com/minnesota-teacher-student-sex/?utm_source=nypost

Photo Credit: knewz.com

LONDON (AP) — Imagine a world where you move around in your own personal sound bubble. You listen to your favorite tunes, play loud computer games, watch a movie or get navigation directions in your car — all without disturbing those around you.

That’s the possibility presented by “sound beaming,” a new futuristic audio technology from Noveto Systems, an Israeli company. On Friday it will debut a desktop device that beams sound directly to a listener without the need for headphones.

The company provided The Associated Press with an exclusive demo of the desktop prototype of its SoundBeamer 1.0 before its launch Friday.

The listening sensation is straight out of a sci-fi movie. The 3-D sound is so close it feels like it’s inside your ears while also in front, above and behind them.

Noveto expects the device will have plenty of practical uses, from allowing office workers to listen to music or conference calls without interrupting colleagues to letting someone play a game, movie or music without disturbing their significant others.

The lack of headphones means it’s possible to hear other sounds in the room clearly.

The technology uses a 3-D sensing module and locates and tracks the ear position sending audio via ultrasonic waves to create sound pockets by the user’s ears. Sound can be heard in stereo or a spatial 3-D mode that creates 360 degree sound around the listener, the company said.

The demo includes nature video clips of swans on a lake, bees buzzing and a babbling brook, where the listener feels completely transported into the scene.

But even CEO Christophe Ramstein finds it hard to put the concept into words. “The brain doesn’t understand what it doesn’t know,” he said.

In a Noveto demonstration conducted via Zoom from Tel Aviv, SoundBeamer Product Manager Ayana Wallwater was unable to hear the sound of gunshots on a gaming demo.

That’s the point. But she does get to enjoy the reactions of people trying the software for the first time.

“Most people just say, ‘Wow, I really don’t believe it,’” she said.

“You don’t believe it because it sounds like a speaker, but no one else can hear it…it’s supporting you and you’re in the middle of everything. It’s happening around you.”

By changing a setting, the sound can follow a listener around when they move their head. It’s also possible to move out of the beam’s path and hear nothing at all, which creates a surreal experience.

“You don’t need to tell the device where you are. It’s not streaming to one exact place,” Wallwater said.

“It follows you wherever you go. So it’s personally for you — follows you, plays what you want inside your head.”

“This is what we dream of,” she adds. “A world where we get the sound you want. You don’t need to disturb others and others don’t get disturbed by your sound. But you can still interact with them.”

After his first listening experience Ramstein asked himself how it was different from other audio devices.

“I was thinking, ‘Yeah, but is it the same with headphones?’ No, because I have the freedom and it’s like I have the freedom of doing what I want to do. And I have these sounds playing in my head as there would be something happening here, which is difficult to explain because we have no reference for that.”

While the concept of sound beaming is not new, Noveto was the first to launch the technology and their SoundBeamer 1.0 desktop device will be the first branded consumer product.

Ramstein said a “smaller, sexier” version of the prototype will be ready for consumer release in time for Christmas 2021.

“You know, I was trying to think how we compare sound beaming with any other inventions in history. And I think the only one that came to mind is… the first time I tried the iPod I was like, ‘Oh, my God. What’s that?’ I think sound beaming is something that is as disruptive as that. There’s something to be said about it doesn’t exist before. There’s the freedom of using it. And it’s really amazing.”

via: https://fox2now.com/news/national/new-device-beams-music-to-your-head-no-headphones-required/

Photo Credit: Noveto Systems via AP

(CNN) — Thanksgiving typically means two things: lots of food and lots of family time. But this year, with Covid-19 numbers soaring, the city of Chicago would prefer if its residents nixed the latter.

As cases of Covid-19 continue to rise in the city, Chicago has issued a stay-at-home advisory — encouraging residents to stay home and only leave for school, work or other essential needs, according to a news release issued Thursday. That includes seeking medical care, grocery shopping and picking up food.

The order, which begins Monday, extends through Thanksgiving festivities. Residents are “strongly advised” to not have guests in their homes outside of essential workers — even family and close friends.

“Chicago has reached a critical point in the second surge of COVID-19, demanding that we undertake this multi-faceted and comprehensive effort to stop the virus in its tracks,” said Mayor Lori Lightfoot in the release.

“The gains we have made this past year have been the result of our willingness to work together. Even in this difficult moment, we will continue to unite as we always have for our city in order to halt the rise we’re seeing, shake out of the fatigue we’ve been experiencing, and make the crucial difference in what our future is going to look like.”

The advisory, which will remain in place for 30 days, also imposes a limit on in-person meetings and social events, restricting them to just 10 people both inside and outside.

Chicago has 122,712 total cases since the start of the pandemic, according to the city’s Covid dashboard. The most recent 7-day positivity rate is now at 14.1%, up from 10.9% the previous week.

And Chicago isn’t alone. Across the country, Covid-19 numbers are continuing to reach record highs, as hospitalizations and deaths accelerate and alarming rates. With the holiday season approaching, providing incentive for folks to gather, these numbers are only expected to continue to rise, health experts have said.

More than 110,000 additional people in the US are projected to die from Covid-19 in just the next two months, according to the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

CNN’s Christina Maxouris and Holly Yan contributed to this report.

As cases of Covid-19 continue to rise in the city, Chicago has issued a stay-at-home advisory — encouraging residents to stay home and only leave for school, work or other essential needs, according to a news release issued Thursday. That includes seeking medical care, grocery shopping and picking up food.

The order, which begins Monday, extends through Thanksgiving festivities. Residents are “strongly advised” to not have guests in their homes outside of essential workers — even family and close friends.

“Chicago has reached a critical point in the second surge of COVID-19, demanding that we undertake this multi-faceted and comprehensive effort to stop the virus in its tracks,” said Mayor Lori Lightfoot in the release.

“The gains we have made this past year have been the result of our willingness to work together. Even in this difficult moment, we will continue to unite as we always have for our city in order to halt the rise we’re seeing, shake out of the fatigue we’ve been experiencing, and make the crucial difference in what our future is going to look like.”

The advisory, which will remain in place for 30 days, also imposes a limit on in-person meetings and social events, restricting them to just 10 people both inside and outside.

Chicago has 122,712 total cases since the start of the pandemic, according to the city’s Covid dashboard. The most recent 7-day positivity rate is now at 14.1%, up from 10.9% the previous week.

And Chicago isn’t alone. Across the country, Covid-19 numbers are continuing to reach record highs, as hospitalizations and deaths accelerate and alarming rates. With the holiday season approaching, providing incentive for folks to gather, these numbers are only expected to continue to rise, health experts have said.

More than 110,000 additional people in the US are projected to die from Covid-19 in just the next two months, according to the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.

CNN’s Christina Maxouris and Holly Yan contributed to this report.

via: https://www.kmov.com/news/chicago-issues-stay-at-home-advisory-and-tells-residents-to-cancel-traditional-thanksgiving-celebrations/article_d92d8c9f-a36b-57c5-a3fc-cc98a997a549.html

Photo Credit: chicagotribune