(TIMESUNION.COM) 22 April 2008:

Mail carrier Lisa Harrell of Albany, New York was in the right place at the right time this past week when she literally caught a baby that fell from the sky.

She doesn’t usually deliver to 306 Second Street in Albany until about 2 pm, but she happened to be at the address three hours early for a special delivery.

As she was delivering the package, she looked up and saw a baby in the window. As she rang the doorbell, something fell from the sky and struck her arm. Instinctively, she put out her arms and caught the projectile, which happened to be the baby she had just seen in the window.

“The baby fell right into my arms. Everything happened so quick,” said Harrell.

Her boss is hailing her as a hero but Harrell believes she was just in the right place at the right time.

(WFTV.COM) 25 March 2008:

Detectives said 24-year-old Shawanda Butler of Ocala went to Little Angels Adoption Agency in Sebring, Fla. in November 2007 claiming she was three months pregnant and wanted to give up the baby for adoption. The agency then began providing assistance to Butler for such things as medical bills, rent, clothing and groceries.

According to investigators, the adoption agency sent an agent to Butler’s home in February to confirm the pregnancy, but Butler refused to get up from her couch or show her stomach. The agency representative said Butler then went into a bedroom where the agent saw her put a pillow under her shirt.

The adoption agency then contacted authorities who arrested Butler on Tuesday on claims she defrauded the agency of $5,000. She is being held at the Marion County jail.

(FOX NEWS) 21 February 2008:

A five month old baby died after being strapped in a carseat in his parents’ home for eight days.  It’s unclear who dropped the baby off at the parents, but he was dropped off while strapped in his carseat. The parents apparently put the carseat in the crib and went about their daily routine for eight days. State’s Attorney Kevin Lyons explained that the couple were both home, “playing video games, watching TV, feeding and caring for themselves.” The parents face first-degree murder charges in Central Illinois.

(CINCINNATI ENQUIRER) 31 January 2008:

While most 10-year-olds are going to school and Hannah Montana concerts, one 10-year-old girl was giving birth on November 4 in Ohio. The father is her mother’s 40-year-old boyfriend. The baby’s birth stunned social workers and they are trying to figure out how to deal with the situation. The father of the infant is in jail, accused of child molestation. Ya think?

(KITSAP SUN) 25 December 2007:

A 19-year-old woman who beat up her ex-boyfriend Monday after he drunkenly urinated in a closet told officers she hoped he would bail her out of jail because it was the right thing to do for their baby.

Bremerton police were called to the residence after receiving initial reports that the 25-year-old had assaulted the woman, reports said.

When met by officers, the woman explained that the man had been drinking and was extremely intoxicated when he went to bed. At some point he woke up to use the restroom, but was so confused he urinated in the closet.

“I attacked him,” she told the officer, reports said. “He was so drunk that I beat the (stuff) out of him.”

During the “wrestling,” as the man described it, she “repeatedly” kicked him in the face.

When police arrived, they arrested the 19-year-old woman and booked her into the Kitsap County jail for investigation of fourth-degree assault, third-degree malicious mischief and unlawful imprisonment.

The woman told officers she hoped her ex-boyfriend would come to the jail and bail her out because they “always did what was best for their child,” the report said.

(NATIONAL ENQUIRER) 20 December 2007:

The National Enquirer is reporting that presidential candidate John Edwards has fathered a love child. They say that a woman linked to Edwards in a cheating scandal earlier this year, “is more than six month pregnant–and she’s told a close confidante that Edwards is the father of her baby.”

Edwards has denied having an affair with Rielle Hunter, and she has publicly denied the baby is his or that she had an affair with him. The Enquirer reports:

“[We have] now confirmed not only that Rielle is expecting, but that she’s gone into hiding with the help of a former aide to Edwards. The visibly pregnant blonde has relocated from the New York area to Chapel Hill, N.C., where she is living in an upscale gated community near political operative Andrew Young, who’s been extremely close to Edwards for years and was a key official in his presidential campaign.”

And in a bizarre twist, Young — a 41-year-old married man with young children — now claims HE is the father of Rielle’s baby! But others are skeptical, wondering if Young’s paternity claim is a cover-up to protect Edwards.”

(MSNBC.COM) 15 November 2007:

Chinese doctors who expected to find an inflamed appendix during a patient’s surgery instead found a 33-pound tumor. Reuters reports, “Her family had not noticed anything wrong with Xiao Wen’s stomach as at 251 pounds, she was already ‘comparatively fat,’ the paper said.” The paper Reuters refers to is the Beijing Times.

(THESUN.COM) 12 September 2007:

She of the golden pipes Charlotte Church and her companion Gavin Henson are expecting a new baby any moment now. She’s already received approximately $60k in free baby gifts. The gifts include six prams, clothing, and tons of toys. It’s reported, however, that Charlotte would like to sell most of the items and give the money to…nope, not charity. She reportedly plans on putting the money in a trust fund for the expected child.

(COSMOPOLITAN) January 2007:

Many women are giving birth to their children in rapid succession.  Gwyneth Paltrow had two babies in 23 months, Denise Richards had her two within 15 months, Britney Spears has her two bouncing boys within 12 months, and Victoria’s Secret model Heidi Klum had three babies within 30 months!  Having back to back babies make sense for women who don’t start having babies until their late 30s or early 40s, but this trend does have some danger involved.

A review of studies on birth spacing conducted over the past three decades concluded that having more than one baby within 27 months significantly increased the risk of miscarriage, stillbirth, and premature birth.

“It takes about 18 months for a new mom to recover from the nutritional deficiencies that childbearing causes, so it’s adviseable to wait that long before starting to try again,” said Paula J. Adams Hillard, MD, professor of pediatrics and obstetrics at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center.