DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: 61 y-o man impregnates 13 y-o girl who gave birth to triplet boys

A 13-year-old girl gave birth to triplets in a maternity unit in this capital and both she and the newborns are out of danger, the hospital said Tuesday.
The three boys weighed 1.9, 1.4 and 1.7 kilos (4.2, 3.1 and 3.7 pounds) at birth and are the product of a sexual relationship the teenage mother had with a 61-year-old man, who was accused of seducing minors and is now a fugitive. The three infants are "beautiful" and "healthy," but they are being kept in the intensive care unit because the mother's pregnancy only lasted 34 weeks, the director of the Nuestra Señora de la Altagracia Maternity Unit, Victor Calderón, said. The babies, however, are not in any danger, Calderón said. read more

Outlandish Estate Built By Pimp Is Like Nothing You've Ever Seen (PHOTOS)......A 26,000 square foot home on the market -- for less than $1.3 million?

kessler estateA 26,000 square foot home on the market -- for less than $1.3 million? Something seems amiss.
At 4923 Kessler Blvd. East Drive, it might be the absolute lack of any cohesive design focus in this immense, sprawling manor, dubbed "one of the most unique pieces of real estate in Indianapolis," that allows the bargain pricing.
Superlatives are often overused in real estate descriptions, but there is literally nothing like this estate -- and the story of how it all came to be is even more ludicrous than the decor.
The estate was the dream of Indy's Jerry A. Hostetler, whom the Indy Star refers to as "the almost-famous pimp-turned-construction mini-magnate" in a 2012 piece. "Mr Big," as the cops called Hostetler, bought the property in the 1960s when it was just a modest ranch home, at the age of 23. From there, he began buying up his neighbors' houses and constructing a fantasy estate -- in a style that can only be described as Midwestern Vegas Versailles. read more

Ira Curry, Bronx native is one of two to share 636 Million Dollar Lottery Winner comes forward in Georgia.

ATLANTA (AP) — A Georgia woman who bought just one ticket and used family birthdays and lucky No. 7 to choose her numbers was one of two winners of the $636 million Mega Millions jackpot, the second-largest in U.S. history.
Cheers! Ira Curry is the big winner in the massive Mega Millions drawing. She'll take the lump sum, leaving her with about $123 million after taxes.
Ira Curry.
Lottery officials in Georgia identified the winner as Ira Curry, of Stone Mountain, which is east of Atlanta. Curry will take a lump sum of $123 million after taxes, Georgia Lottery chief executive Debbie Alford said. "She has not decided how she'll spend those winnings," Alford said at a news conference Curry did not attend.
The other winning ticket was sold at a gift shop in San Jose, Calif. Curry was driving to work Wednesday when an announcer on the radio talked about the mega ball being No. 7. Curry knew that was her mega ball number, so she called her daughter to check the numbers. "Between joyful tears and laughter on the daughter's part, she relayed to her mother that her mother had won the lottery," Alford said. read more 

Tessanne Chin: "I Have Nothing" - The Voice Highlight

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Jamaican bride dumps new husband 20 MINUTES after arriving in the UK... and guess who paid for her £5k visa Heartbroken charity worker believes she 'joined boyfriend with whom she planned scheme' He paid £5,000 for her visa

A charity worker who spent £5,000 bringing his new Jamaican bride to the UK was left heartbroken after she abandoned him within 20 minutes of walking through his front door.
False pretences: Mr Gannon pictured with his new wife after their wedding in Jamaica
False pretences: Mr Gannon pictured
with his new wife after their wedding in Jamaica


 
Johnny Gannon spent thousands arranging a visa for 24-year-old Patrice Chambers so they could live in marital bliss in his council flat in Perth, Scotland.
But as soon as Patrice arrived in Perth, she sent trusting Mr Gannon, 57, out to buy Pot Noodles. When he returned she grabbed her bags and told him she was going.


Within 20 minutes of arriving through his front door she had flagged down a car and caught a train. He found out she had also run up a £500 bill on his mobile phone.
Heartbroken Mr Gannon, who married Patrice in Jamaica early this year, believes his new wife fled to Bristol to meet a Jamaican boyfriend with whom she had organised the scheme.
He told the Daily Mirror: 'I was looking forward to spending the rest of my life with Patrice but I think she had planned all along to do this. Read more:  

Tessanne Chin is The Voice.....Tens of Thousands celebrate in Half Way Tree Square. (VIDEO)

Post by Jamaica IS Nice.

JUST as her coach Adam Levine had predicted at the blind auditions on September 24, Jamaican singer Tessanne Chin walked away with the top spot on the NBC talent show The Voice, last night, creating local music history in the process as the first Jamaican to ace the popular contest.
The curtains came down on the fifth season of the show with an emotional Chin singing in a hail of confetti, belting the Ryan Tedder-penned winner's song under the intense and emotional gaze of her mother Christine and husband Michael Anthony Cuffe Jr.
When host Carson Daly announced the winner at just before 11:00 pm, Jamaicans erupted in spontaneous applause and wild cheers. Second spot went to 16-year-old Jacquie Lee, while Will Champlin picked up the third spot.
It was a night of great performances as the three finalists, 17 of the former contestants and recording artistes Celine Dion, Lady Gaga, Paramore, Aloe Blacc and One Republic took to the stage. Read more: 
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MANDEVILLE, Manchester JAMAICA: Making learning fun Music boosts academics at McIntosh Primary

MANDEVILLE, Manchester — Remember when you were in basic school?
The classroom was full of energy — music, songs, brilliant colours. Much of what was learnt was steeped in happy rhythms and poetic songs.

Songs like 'a, b, c, d, e, f, g... next time won't you sing with me' and 'one and 20, two and 20, three and four and five and six and 20, 27, 28, 29, 30'. A similar but more advanced programme incorporating music and song in the classroom has been reaping success at a number of primary schools.
Students at McIntosh Primary School
The First Global Bank initiative entitled 'Music — a perfect pitch for a sound education', was launched across six primary schools in 2011 to defuse the myth surrounding Mathematics and English, and to help students do better in these courses. Organisers targeted the grade three students in particular, to ensure a good showing on the Grade Four Literacy Test, which assesses primary school students' ability to read and do Math ahead of the GSAT exit exam. Read more: 

DRUG COMPANY GIVES UP KICKBACKS TO DOCTORS.....GlaxoSmithKline To Stop Paying Doctors To Promote Drugs


* GSK scrapping doctor payments for speaking engagements

* Ending sales reps' targets globally following U.S. move

* Comes amid criticism of aggressive industry sales tactics

* Move may pressure other drug companies to follow suit

By Ben Hirschler

glaxosmithkline pay doctors
LONDON, Dec 17 (Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline will stop paying doctors for promoting its drugs and scrap prescription targets for its marketing staff - a first for an industry battling scandals over its sales practices, and a challenge for its peers to follow suit.

Britain's biggest drugmaker also said on Tuesday it would stop payments to healthcare professionals for attending medical conferences as it tries to persuade critics it is addressing conflicts of interest that could put commercial interests ahead of the best outcome for patients. read more 

Tessanne Chin: "I Have Nothing" - The Voice Highlight.......Sings Whitney Houston (VIDEO)

Banana Fungus, Insect Outbreak Threaten Global Supply

Banana lovers better satiate their appetites now. The world's supply of the fruit is under attack.
According to Scientific American, strains of a particular soil fungus -- Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense, or Foc -- have struck a key variety of banana grown for export in Mozambique and Jordan. Scientists fear that if the banana fungus spreads further, the popular Cavendish banana could become critically threatened.
banana fungusThe fungus, which has been found on several plantations, causes the incurablePanama disease, or Fusarium wilt, that rots bananas. In the 1950s, another strain of the banana fungus nearly wiped out the Gros Michel cultivar, once as common as the Cavendish variety. After the fungus decimated banana populations in Central and South America, producers switched to the Cavendish, which was resistant to the strain of fungus at the time.
But scientists have long feared that the Tropical Race 4 strain of the fungus -- previously confined to areas of Asia and Australia -- would eventually spread around the world and wipe out the Cavendish supply, just as a previous strain did to the Gros Michel banana. read more

Jamaicans Dominate CSEC Vocational Subjects Rankings......Jamaicans were placed in the Top 10 in 34 out of 35 subjects. Ardenne High was the top school.

Jermaine Francis, Staff Reporter
Jamaican students have dominated the technical and vocationalsubjects in the recent Caribbean Examinations Council exams, with many of the island's students outclassing their regional contemporaries to secure top-10 places in these subjects.
Thwaites, Ministry of Education in Jamaiaca
Subjects such as food and nutrition, building technology (construction), mechanical engineering, and electrical and electronic technology, at both the Caribbean Secondary Education Certificate (CSEC) and the Caribbean Advanced Proficiency Exams (CAPE), had more than five Jamaican students being placed in the top 10.
In fact, in both units of CAPE food and nutrition, Jamaican students swept the top 10, and 11 students, some tying, copped a spot in the top 10 for construction.
It is for this reason HEART Trust/NTA officials say they will be expanding their programmes to offer more appealing courses to the these top students. read more

CAN'T TESS DIS.....TESSANNE CHIN HOLDS # 1, 4 and 13 positions on iTUNES Top 100 Chart. See complete list as she will be the CHAMPION of The VOICE Tonight.


































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See the top 100 iTUNES Download list. 
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JAMAICA: Dr. Henry Lowe on the Bissy - A New Potential Anti-Cancer Agent

The Jamaican bissy, also known as cola nut (cola acuminata), which is well known as a Jamaican remedy for the management of poisoning, may have yet another very important use.
Jamaica Bissy, popular for making tea
Recent research data have revealed the significant anti-cancer activity of an extract from the Jamaican bissy. This research-and-development activity grew out of the anti-cancer work being spearheaded by Dr Henry Lowe, founder and executive chairman of the Bio-Tech Research and Development Institute. The main focus of the institute is the development of pharmaceutical and nutraceutical products from Jamaica's indigenous medicinal plant resources.
In November 2011, Lowe and Dr Charah Watson, technical director of the Bio-Tech Research and Development Institute, took the plant extract to the School of Medicine at the University of Maryland, Baltimore, where Lowe's major research work is being done. There, they teamed up with Dr Joseph Bryant and Dr Ngeh Toyang and investigated the possible anti-cancer activity of the bissy-plant extracts against four cancer celllines: two prostate (PC-3 and DU-145), one breast cancer (BC), and onemelanoma (B16). read more

IN JAMAICA: EDUCATION MINISTER THWAITES..... Hunger Pains: Underfed Children Fill Public Schools - In-Need Students Take Lunch Home For Dinner

The Government, through the Education Ministry and Ministry of Social Security, is currently saddled with a heavy financial burden to provide at least one meal per day to hungry children within the island's public school system.
Minister of Education Ronald Thwaites. - File
Thwaites
For this year, the Government has budgeted $4 billion to feed publicschool students, 30 per cent of whom often count the State-sponsored meal services their only chance to eat.
Addressing members of the media and stakeholders last week, Education Minister Ronald Thwaites said many of the children, especially at the primary levels, were eating only half of the meal at school while taking home the other half for dinner. read more

Carlene Davis, KipRich Laud Mandela In Song

With former South African President Nelson Mandela passing less than two weeks ago, at least two Jamaican artistes have decided to pay their respects through song.
Dancehall artiste KipRich has recorded Mandela Tribute, while gospel artiste Carlene Davis has done Thank You, Mandela.
Carlene Davis - File photo
Carlene Davis
In an interview with The Gleaner, KipRich said he decided to pen the song because he thought Mandela was quite the world leader.
"I see Mandela as a world icon, like the greatest black leader. This man has been through tribulation to stand up for what he stood for. When me see a man like that, it motivates me. We haffi show appreciation fi a man like that weh trod earth and do weh him do," KipRich told The Gleaner, noting that the song was recorded on the night of Mandela's death and was complete by the following day. read more

VYBZ KARTEL MURDER TRIAL: Expert can’t say if text messages came from Kartel’s phone

AN expert from telecoms giant Digicel testified on Friday that he was unable to say whether text messages recovered by the police were sent from devices owned by murder accused Vybz Kartel or his co-accused.
Mario Ghantous Assaad, Digicel's group chief technology officer, testified under cross-examination in the Home Circuit Court that it was possible for a SIM card to be cloned.
Vybz Kartel

Under questioning from attorney Michael Lorne, Assaad said that it was possible for a mobile phone's unique identification number to be hacked and for a phone call to be placed or a message sent from a cloned mobile phone, making it appear as if the original owner of the phone number was placing the call or sending the message.
Due to these factors, Assaad said he was unable to say if messages reportedly recovered from Digicel's system were actually sent from the original devices which the police are alleging were confiscated from Vybz Kartel and his co-accused. Read more: 

The Voice: Final tess Tessanne Chin goes for Voice top prize tonight

JAMAICAN singer Tessanne Chin goes into the finals of The Voice tonight with the support of a nation eager to see her make another historic step in a career that has just started to blossom internationally.
Chin, who moved into the finals with the most votes earned by her scintillating performance of the Simon and Garfunkel classic Bridge Over Troubled Water on December 9, is the in the NBC television talent show. Her performances on the show so far have pleased and energised Jamaicans and have, at times, left her coach Adam Levine speechless.
Competing coach Blake Shelton, whose charge Cole Vosbury was eliminated last Tuesday, has said he believes Chin will win the contest against her Team Adam mate Will Champlin and 16-year-old Jacquie Lee from Team Christina. Following tonight’s show, Chin’s fans can vote for her by downloading the song she performs from iTunes.  

Obamas Attend Christmas Benefit Concert For Children's National Health System

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obamas got into the holiday spirit Sunday evening with a little help from Hugh Jackman, Sheryl Crow and Janelle Monae.
obamas christmas benefit concertPresident Barack Obama and his family attended the 32nd annual "Christmas in Washington" concert, a benefit for the Children's National Health System. After an evening of Christmas carols at the National Building Museum, the president said Americans should remember Jesus Christ's lessons of charity and compassion.
"Through his example, he taught us that we should love the Lord, love our neighbors, as we love ourselves. It's a teaching that has endured for generations. And today, it lies at the heart of my faith and that of millions of Americans, and billions around the globe," Obama said.
"No matter who we are, or where we come from, or how we worship, it's a message of hope and devotion that can unite all of us this holiday season," he added. read more

IN JAMAICA: Iris "Goddy" Jacques, 101 y-o, believes in giving to those in need.....the lady who would stand outside her gate, bag in hand, looking for someone, anyone, to give that bag to....One of the best stories ever.

ASK relatives and neighbours about Iris Jacques and they will tell you about the lady who would stand outside her gate, bag in hand, looking for someone, anyone, to give that bag to.
Inside the bag would be a piece of meat, a live chicken or even a piglet. "One thing about 'Goddy' you know, she nuh want to have anything that gives anybody trouble," one of Jacques' many godchildren, Paulette McIndoe said.
Iris Jacques would give away any
animal she had that would give trouble.
 (right) Iris Jacques and her son Earl Jacques


 
"If she have a fowl - sometimes you see Goddy at the gate with something in a bag. And you hear her say 'you want this fowl yah?' and I would ask her why she giving it away and she would whisper 'it start to give trouble'," McIndoe said. "Goddy, give away the fowl.
"Sometimes mi pass and mi seh 'Goddy how you stand up out here so? Goddy have a little bag in her hand. Guess what Goddy have? A piece of meat, looking for somebody to give it to. And sometimes she say 'is not you mi want to see today enuh. You see Cherry?' And I will go and call Cherry and Cherry come and get her parcel. She always try to give more than what she ask for. Goddy don't ask for anything, she always try to have something to give. She don't ask. You have to feel like giving Goddy something. But she always have something to give. She just wants to give something," McIndoe said. Read more: 

QUNU, SOUTH AFRICA: Nelson Mandela Buried After State Funeral

Military escort
The ex-wife of Nelson Mandela,
 Winnie Mandela Madikizela,
and the widow of Nelson Mandela,
 Graca Machel at graveside.
QUNU, South Africa (AP) -- Big guns fired a salute in the rural village where Nelson Mandela grew up and military servicemen marched stiffly behind his casket on a winding dirt road Sunday as South Africa said goodbye for the last time to the man who reconciled the country in its most vulnerable period.
Several thousand guests, some singing and dancing, gathered in a huge tent at the family compound of the anti-apartheid leader, who died December 5 at the age of 95 after a long illness.

Guests included senior South African officials, veterans of the fight against white rule and foreign diplomats, including US Ambassador Patrick Gaspard. Britain's Prince Charles, entrepreneur Richard Branson and former Zimbabwean Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai were also there.
Mandela's portrait was placed behind two rows of candles in the white, dome-shaped marquee. Outside, South African honour guards from the army, navy and air force marched in formation. Mandela's casket, covered by a national flag, was transported on a military vehicle to the tent, where pallbearers carried it on a red carpet into the tent where guests awaited. Read more: 

THE POPE: I'M NOT A MARXIST, BUT..... Read more at www.RulaBrownNetwork.com

In a new interview with the Italian newspaper La Stampa, Pope Francis responded to allegations that he is a Marxist, after he recently criticized 'unfettered capitalism.'
The Pope told La Stampa that “Marxist ideology is wrong. But I have met many Marxists in my life who are good people, so I don’t feel offended ... there is nothing in the exhortation that cannot be found in the social doctrine of the church.”
The Pope
He was referring to an apostolic exhortation from November, in which he wrote, "As long as the problems of the poor are not radically resolved by rejecting the absolute autonomy of markets and financial speculation and by attacking the structural causes of inequality, no solution will be found for the world's problems or, for that matter, to any problems."
Another passage read, ""Just as the commandment 'Thou shalt not kill' sets a clear limit in order to safeguard the value of human life, today we also have to say 'thou shalt not' to an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such an economy kills." read more

4 y-o Kai and His Girlfriend, Ellen.....The adorable 4-year-old crooner was back to put the moves on our host, and to make everybody in the audience melt. This kid is too adorable!

TESSANNE CHIN in the FINALS on The VOICE NEXT WEEK.....LIKE, SHARE & VOTE for TESSANNE to # 1. Call your friends & neighbors and encourage them to VOTE for TESS. How many votes do you think TESS will win with?


MONTEGO BAY, JAMAICA: A City Under Siege - 12 Killed As New Wave Of Criminality Rocks MoBay

Adrian Frater, News Editor/Western Bureau:
Montego Bay, St James, is on the edge again.
Residents cower in the wake of the latest violence, which is reminding them of several similar periods of bloodletting they had to endure in the past decade.
Twelve persons' lives have been snuffed out by ruthless criminals in several incidents, including a triple murder and two double murders in the past week.
Policemen making their way to a crime scene along Union Street in Montego Bay. - File
Policemen making their way to a crime
 scene along Union Street
in Montego Bay. - File
In the latest incident, a 36-year-old woman, Monique Watson of Rose Heights in St James, was shot and killed by a gunman who reportedly walked into her hairdressing parlour and shot her at point-blank range.
That followed 15 minutes of raw brutality last Wednesday morning, when four persons were slaughtered gangland-style in two incidents in North Gully, downtown Montego Bay, and Hibiscus Drive, Norwood. read more

Beenieman and Patrick Roberts for Ghetto Splash......which was last held in 1996, takes place at the Waterhouse Stadium.

ON Tuesday, the Ghetto Splash live show returns after a 17-year break. Promoter Patrick Roberts, who first staged the event in 1989, says while top dancehall acts will be present, it is much more than a stage show.
Beenieman and Patrick Roberts
Ghetto Splash will also be used to bring peace to crime-riddled communities. "We have gone into areas such as Tel Aviv, Rema and Southside and had dialogue. This will be the ultimate tool of peace for uniting the communities," said Roberts, a councillor for the Molynes Gardens division of the Kingston and St Andrew Corporation..
Ghetto Splash, which was last held in 1996, takes place at the Waterhouse Stadium. Read more: 

IN JAMAICA: Pregnant mother and child hit by JUTC bus Learner driver, female passenger also injured

Sophia Banton, who assisted the
 injured, demonstrates how she
 tried to remove the child from
the wreckage. (PHOTOS: J
OSEPH WELLINGTON)


 
A pregnant woman and her 19-month-old child were yesterday hospitalised after they were hit down by an out-of-control Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) bus in downtown Kingston. The driver and a female passenger also received injuries...
Police reported that about 10:30 am, the driver of the State-owned bus was travelling in South Parade when the vehicle got out of control and slammed into a sidewalk, hitting the woman and her child, and causing panic among shoppers and other persons in the busy business district.

While some people were trying to get the police on their cellphones, a desperate attempt was made by vendors and other persons to rescue the mother and her child who were pinned under the vehicle. Read more: 

chop him up with machete: my girl caught me cheating (video)

Caribbean International Network (CIN) tops Fox, CBS, ABC and Discovery for Caribbean viewership in New York

TELEVISION cable company, Caribbean International Network (CIN) headed by Jamaican Stephen Hill has, according to a survey conducted by Hope Research Group, scored a higher viewership among people of English-speaking Caribbean heritage residing in the New York area than established television cable networks, Fox, CBS, ABC and the Discovery Channel.
Caribbean International Network
boss Stephen Hill (second right) with
New York City mayor-elect Bill de Blasio
and wife Chirlane (left).
Also pictured is Hill’s assistant.


 
CIN came out ahead with 57.2 per cent of the survey, followed by ABC with 56.0 per cent, and coming in at third place was Fox at 38.4 per cent. Then came CBS with 32.7 per cent followed by Discovery at 32.7 per cent.
The US 2012 Census has declared that the English- speaking Caribbean audience (by households) in New York totals 450,589. CIN has a minimum viewership of 238,812. When extrapolated to include other persons watching together, viewership could increase to as many as 558,025. Read more:

NEW SCHOOL SHOOTING ONE YEAR AFTER NEWTOWN.....Arapahoe High School Shooting Leaves 2 Injured, 1 Dead [UPDATE]....15-Year-Old Girl In Critical Condition... Congress's Record Since Newtown: Pathetic... At Least 194 Children Shot To Death In Last Year... Americans Decry Washington Inaction On Gun Control

At least two people were injured in a shooting at Arapahoe High School in Centennial, Colo. on Friday.
One student was taken to a hospital with serious injuries, according to KDVR. The second student suffered a minor gunshot wound...
At a 1:45 p.m. MST press conference, County Sheriff Grayson Robinson said the suspect, who was a student, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities “found his body in the internal portion of the school in a classroom,” Robinson said at a 3 p.m. press conference. The shooter is believed to have acted alone. read more

Thamsanqa Jantjie, 'Fake' Mandela Interpreter, Was Reportedly Accused Of Murder was within arm's length of President Obama and other world leaders

JOHANNESBURG (AP) — South Africa's government was confronted Friday with a new and chilling allegation about the bogus sign language interpreter at Nelson Mandela's memorial: He was reportedly accused of murder 10 years ago.
Fake Mandela Interpreter AccusedOfficials said they were investigating the revelation by the national eNCA TV news station. But they were unable, or unwilling, to explain why a man who says he is schizophrenic with violent tendencies was allowed to get within arm's length of President Barack Obama and other world leaders.
Investigators probing Thamsanqa Jantjie "will compile a comprehensive report," said Phumla Williams, the top government spokeswoman. But she did not say how long the investigation would take and insisted details would not be released until it was completed.
"We are not going to sweep it under the carpet," Williams said. "We want to own up if there is a mistake, but we don't want to be dishonest" to Jantjie. read more