Katelyn Yates, a 20-year-old nursing assistant from Illinois, visited a hospital on April 1, expecting to get treatment for her sore throat. Instead, she received life-changing news that she was pregnant with quadruplets. Ms Yates shared her incredible story with Today, recounting how her hospital visit started with throat pain that led doctors to recommend an X-ray. As a precautionary measure, doctors also asked Yates to take a pregnancy test before the X-ray, since radiation can be harmful to a fetus. Surprisingly, her pregnancy test came back positive, and her human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) levels were “off the charts,” indicating multiple fetuses.

Notably, hCG is a hormone produced by the placenta during pregnancy, detectable by blood tests around 11 days after conception and urine tests about 12-14 days after conception. Typically, hCG levels double every 72 hours, peaking between 8-11 weeks of pregnancy before levelling off.

Ms Yates thought it was an April Fool’s Day joke at first, but reality soon set in. His fiance, Julian Bueker, was overjoyed when he heard the news, which helped calm her nerves. As Yates’ pregnancy advanced, complications arose, leading to a diagnosis of preeclampsia, a condition characterised by high blood pressure after 20 weeks. She endured debilitating symptoms, including difficulty breathing, liver complications and kidney issues. 

At 28 weeks and 4 days, Yates underwent an emergency C-section at HSHS St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, Illinois, delivering quadruplets on October 17. The smallest baby was Elizabeth, who weighed 1 pound 2 ounces; while Max, the largest of the bunch, weighed 2 pounds, 6 ounces.

However, all four babies are doing remarkably well, gaining weight and growing. “They’re doing phenomenal. They are gaining weight and growing. Elizabeth is about six grams away from reaching two pounds,” she told Today. 

The odds of conceiving spontaneous quadruplets are less than one in 500,000, according to the Journal of Family and Reproductive Health. As per the Mayo Clinic, various factors contribute to premature birth. A woman’s previous experiences with pregnancy, such as having had a premature birth or abortion, can increase the risk. Additionally, underlying health issues like uterine abnormalities, high blood pressure, and diabetes can also play a role. 

Melody Sasser, a 48-year-old Tennessee woman, was sentenced to 100 months in prison for attempting to hire a hitman to kill the wife of a man she met on a dating website. According to People, Sasser used the dark website “Online Killers Market” to seek a hitman, offering $9,750 in Bitcoin for a “random” or “accident” killing. According to court documents, Sasser met David Wallace on Match.com and became obsessed after he revealed his engagement. 

Mr Wallace told investigators that their relationship was limited to hiking companionship. Sasser had assisted him on an Appalachian Trail hike and they had also explored trails together in the Knoxville area before he relocated to Alabama and married his now-wife.

However, Sasser’s interest evolved into an unhealthy obsession. After learning of his engagement, she showed up at his Alabama home, making disturbing threats and beginning a campaign of harassment against his now-wife. Sasser monitored the couple’s activities using a fitness app and harassed the wife with six phone calls in one day.

”It needs to seem random or accident. or plant drugs, do not want a long investigation. She recently moved in with her new husband,” she wrote on the website, including details such as the couple’s license plate numbers and the wife’s workplace. 

Sasser also notified the website administrator when he left her home for a mere two-mile walk.

“I have waited for two months and 11 days and the job is not completed. 2 weeks ago you said it has been worked on and would be done in a week. The job is still not done. Does it need to be assigned to someone else? Will it be done? What is the delay? When will it be done,” Sasser wrote in a follow-up message to the website’s administrator.

Ultimately, the plan was unsuccessful. During the search of her home, law enforcement uncovered incriminating evidence, including a journal detailing multiple hitman websites and a handwritten account of her communications with the notorious “Online Killers Market”. Additionally, investigators found a stash of cash hidden beneath a sticky note bearing a Bitcoin address. 

As a result, a federal grand jury indicted Sasser in June last year for utilising interstate commerce facilities to facilitate murder-for-hire. Sasser ultimately accepted responsibility for her crimes through a plea deal. On Wednesday, she received her sentence: 100 months in prison, accompanied by an order to pay over $5,300 in restitution to the victim.

A New Jersey woman has filed a lawsuit against American Airlines, alleging that the carrier failed to prevent or stop a sexual assault she experienced at the hands of a stranger seated next to her on a flight. According to the Independent, the incident occurred on August 26, 2022, during a nighttime flight from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Newark Liberty International Airport. The woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, claims that American Airlines bears responsibility for not ensuring her safety and well-being on board.

According to the lawsuit, shortly after takeoff, the woman fell asleep, only to awaken to a horrific discovery. She found the stranger’s arm inside her pants and his hand forcing hers onto his p***s. The man had covered them both with his black puffer jacket, “digitally penetrating” her while she slept. The woman was left paralysed in shock and panic upon waking.

The stranger then climbed on top of her, ”attempting to penetrate her with his p***s, which he was partially able to do,” according to the lawsuit. The woman mustered the strength to push him away, and he promptly returned to his seat, ending the assault.

Later, the attacker attempted to downplay the assault by offering the victim water while forcibly holding her hand, only stopping when he noticed a flight attendant approaching. The victim then woke her friend and reported the incident to a flight attendant, who relocated her to a different seat for the remainder of the flight.

Upon landing, the perpetrator was escorted off the plane, and authorities collected statements from the victim and witnesses. But it is ”unknown whether the Perpetrator was taken into custody and/or ever charged with the sexual assault of Plaintiff,” the lawsuit claimed.

”As alleged in the complaint, we look forward to seeking justice on behalf of our client to remedy this terrible injustice for all that she has suffered,” the woman’s attorney, Brian Andris, told The Independent.

In an email, an American Airlines spokesperson said, “We are reviewing the lawsuit and the details of the flight. The safety and comfort of our customers is a top priority for Americans.”

The lawsuit alleged that the airline industry has been aware of the alarming increase in in-flight sexual assaults, with the FBI reporting 96 related cases in the previous year alone. The suit further emphasised that the victim bore no responsibility for the assault and that American Airlines had a clear duty to ensure her safety during the flight. 

”American Airlines breached its duty of care by failing to properly monitor the cabin, failing to prevent the sexual assault, and failing to promptly intervene when the assault occurred,” the lawsuit claims.

A woman from Brooklyn, United States, who fell from a golf cart is suing Hard Rock Cafe & Hotel in the Dominican Republic for $500,000 (Rs 4 crore). Taylor O’Leary claimed in the complaint that she suffered several injuries after she fell out of her golf cart in July 2022 because the seat was wet and slippery, as per a report in the New York Post.

The incident happened at the Hard Rock Golf Club in Punta Cana. According to the lawsuit, the 27-year-old, who was a guest at the hotel, filed the complaint against the establishment and its corporate owner, Hard Rock Cafe International.

Celebrities like Justin Bieber, Shakira, and Mariah Carey are said to love this five-star luxury resort, which is located along Macao Beach.

Meanwhile, in June, a Disneyland employee died two days after suffering a head injury in a golf cart accident, as per a report in The Hollywood Reporter. The 60-year-old woman named Bonnye Mavis Lear was in the backstage area of the California theme park when the incident occurred.

Anaheim Police and Anaheim Fire and Rescue personnel arrived at the resort on Wednesday after they were informed about the accident. She was sitting as a passenger and struck her head after falling from the moving cart. The 60-year-old was then taken to a local hospital in grave condition.

The 60-year-old worked for 24 years at the Disneyland Resort, where she “supported membership services at Club 33,” the park’s exclusive private dining club.

Disney California Adventure Attractions cast member Rae Delgado, wrote on Facebook that Ms Lear suffered brain swelling and a fractured skull from the accident. “Bonnye was travelling on a rear-facing seat of a golf cart along with 3 passengers behind Critter Country. The driver of the vehicle was driving at least 20 mph on the route. The golf cart came in contact with a bump/dip in the road which caused Bonnye to react immediately. As she went to grab the handrail, it gave way and sent her out of the vehicle. … She was deemed unconscious when paramedics arrived.”

Despite the surgery, “it was beyond repair,” according to the employee, and Ms Lear was pronounced “brain dead”.

 

A 63-year-old woman in the US has been arrested and charged with killing two of her adopted children after their bodies were discovered inside a burn barrel. According to the Independent, two of Avantae Deven’s adopted children, Blake and London Deven, hadn’t been seen for years. London was last seen in 2019, but her mother never reported her missing. Blake hasn’t been seen since 2022, but Deven didn’t report him missing until earlier this year. 

Authorities in Fayetteville, North Carolina were alerted of the situation in 2023 after one of her surviving foster children made a mental health call to police. When cops investigated the multiple homes the family had lived in, they found remains at multiple residences. Detectives found a burn barrel with partial human remains inside it. Forensic tests revealed that they belonged to a female aged 15 to 19 and a male aged 7 to 10. 

Investigators believe that Deven abused the children and ultimately killed and dismembered them. As per NBC affiliate WRAL, London died of starvation and neglect while testing continues on the boy’s remains.

More chilling details released by the authorities this week revealed that the siblings, along with three other adopted children, had lived in brutal conditions while in the care of Deven. Blake and London were adopted by Deven in 2013 and 2011 respectively, according to court documents obtained by ABC11.

They were kept in a small, dark room and given little to no food. They were allegedly able to “earn” food by writing hundreds of paragraphs to apologise for their behaviour. The children told social workers that they were also beaten at times to the point where they would have needed medical assistance.

During a press conference, police said they have the forensic evidence to support allegations of torture, starvation, and isolation. 

”We believe he (Blake) was mentally abused and starved. His body could not sustain the inhumane treatment. Then, Avantae developed a plan to hide Blake’s remains. She forced another person in the household to participate,” Sgt. Locklear said. London Deven died ”in the same painful way that Blake died, starvation and neglect,” Mr Locklear added. 

Deven is now facing two counts of first-degree murder, concealment of death, kidnapping and felony child abuse, according to the Fayetteville Police Department.  She is being held at the Cumberland County Detention Center with no bond.

“All of us have soft spots for children and cases with children are the most difficult that we deal with. The fact that this involves allegations of the abuse in the death of children was certainly the thing that grabbed my attention first, particularly how the allegations suggest the way they died,” Cumberland County District Attorney Billy West said. 

A woman in the US was sentenced on Friday to at least nine years in prison for manslaughter after she fed her diabetic daughter a diet consisting mainly of Mountain Dew. According to the New York Post, her 4-year-old daughter Karmity Hoeb died in January 2022 from complications related to diabetes and severe dental decay.

Prosecutors said Tamara Banks caused her daughter’s death through malnutrition and lack of proper medical care. She often gave the girl bottles of baby formula mixed with the neon-green sugary soda. Many of the girl’s teeth had rotten away at the time of her death, the court heard.

Mountain Dew notably contains 77 grams of sugar, far more than the less than 24 grams recommended by experts, according to the report. The little girl’s father, Christopher Hoeb, 53, also pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter and is set to be sentenced on June 11.

NEW: Cincinnati parents Christopher Hoeb and Tamara Banks plead guilty to involuntary manslaughter of their 4 year old daughter.

The child was almost exclusively fed Mountain Dew. They went as far as to mix it in with baby formula.

The parents were originally indicted with… pic.twitter.com/CbaamYxzI6

— Joshua Walker (@RedsRepair95) April 28, 2024

“This is one of the most tragic cases I have ever encountered. This child did not have to die,” Clermont County Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Clay Tharp said.

The case came to light when the girl suffered a “serious medical issue” in January 2022. Her symptoms worsened as the days progressed and her mother only called 911 after she turned blue and stopped breathing, the Cincinnati Inquirer reported. 

First responders were able to revive the child for a short time before taking her to the hospital, where doctors performed scans that showed she was brain dead. An autopsy showed that she died from a diabetes-related brain injury and being fed a sugary drink through a bottle that dissolved her teeth. She was never taken to the dentist, the paper reported.

Prosecutors also pointed out Banks has several other grown children who were treated poorly in her custody, including a son who fell into a coma at 4 years old from previously undiagnosed diabetes.

However, Banks regularly refilled her prescriptions and even had doctors visit her apartment to ensure that her medical needs were met.

“It’s hard to be a good parent but you expect at least mediocre parents, everybody should expect that. Not knowing what to do is not an excuse, the judge said during Friday’s hearing. 

Under Ohio state law, Banks could serve as much as 13 and a half years if the Department of Rehabilitation and Correction decides to extend her sentence based on behaviour while jailed.

An American woman travelling on American Airlines Flight 2790 from Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, to Charlotte, North Carolina, tragically passed away after experiencing a sudden illness on the flight, according to The New York Post.

The 41-year-old passenger, identified by family members as an Indiana mother of two, became ill during the flight, prompting the crew to divert the plane to Providenciales International Airport in the Turks and Caicos Islands.

Despite the crew’s efforts to revive the woman and the prompt response of medical personnel upon landing, she was pronounced dead at the local hospital. The Royal Turks and Caicos Island Police Force confirmed the incident and stated that a post-mortem examination will be conducted to determine the cause of death, according to the news outlet.

“A commercial flight was diverted to the Turks and Caicos this evening after a female passenger fell ill mid-flight. At 6:12 pm, the Police Control Room received a call from the Air Traffic Control Tower requesting medical assistance for a 41-year-old female, who at the time was receiving cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR),” reads the Facebook post.

While the official identification of the dead is pending, a woman on Facebook also identified the passenger as her sister-in-law.

“We are in disbelief, and our hearts are broken,” Stephanie Quinn wrote in response to the Royal Turks and Caicos Island Police Force’s announcement.

Quinn described her sister-in-law as the only girl out of five siblings and the mother of two “beautiful children with big hearts and straight as.”

“She is still down there, so please take good care of her as she ventures home,” pleaded Quinn, who did not immediately respond to messages Friday.

A woman in the US has opened up about her unique illness – Aquagenic Urticaria or allergy to water. Tessa Hansen-Smith told ABC News that she developed the allergy when she was 8 and it has worsened over the years. She played, swam and drank lots of water as a child but after the onset of the disease, she started developing symptoms. Taking baths or drinking water causes itching, rashes and hives on her skin. Ms Hansen-Smith has shared more about the journey and hospitalisations on Instagram.

“I would come out of showers and have huge welts on my skin, and my scalp would be bleeding after showering,” she told ABC News.

“So, the first things we kind of did was, ‘OK, let’s take away your shampoos, take away your conditioner, take away any soaps you’re using’,” Ms Hansen-Smith added.

Drinking water causes a burning sensation in her throat and body so the 25-year-old claims she drinks milk because the fats and proteins and sugars in milk help the water molecules to “sneak past” her immune system.

Her mother Karen Hansen-Smith is a doctor who has seen many rare illnesses, but watching her own daughter suffer is very difficult.

“I feel a little guilty as a mom for not having seen when she would get out of the shower that she had hives and figuring it out way earlier that it was a water issue,” she told the outlet.

“It is heartbreaking. I still have my daughter. But she’s not living the life she wanted to live,” the doctor said.

Ms Hansen-Smith has an older sister who does not have a water allergy.

The family has set up a GoFundMe page to pay the bill for her recent hospital stay, which rose to $8,000 (Rs 6.65 lakh). She has thanked all her supporters for helping them collect $10,000 in just three months, which will also help her in doctor’s appointments, follow ups and physical therapy.

But she has had her tough moments. Ms Hansen-Smith said the scepticism of people around her was more painful than the condition.

“When I did tell people about it in college, I would have people try to purposely splash water on me, or I would have people throw ice cubes at me,” she told ABC News.

However, despite her condition, Ms Hansen-Smith thrived in college. She attended UC Davis after graduating from Clovis Unified’s Buchanan High School.

She takes walks but must avoid sweating too much, so she spends much of her days indoors, working on art, playing with her cats and reading.

It is that estimated only 100 to 250 people have Aquagenic Urticaria worldwide.

A 10-year-old boy and his sister, aged 11, were arrested in Florida for taking their mother’s car and going for a joyride in the middle of the night after she took away their electronic devices. According to local news outlet KBTX, the siblings were stopped by the police on a highway around 3.50am on Thursday (September 21). They were surprised to see the 10-year-old boy driving the car and his sister sitting on the passenger’s seat. The car had been reported stolen out of North Port.

Their mother had filed a missing person complaint.

The Alachua County Sheriff’s Office said the siblings were upset because their mother took away their gadgets. It’s believed the gadgets were taken away because the children “were not using them appropriately”, the police were quoted as saying by the outlet.

The children were spotted during a “high risk traffic stop” as the white sedan had been reported stolen, the police said in a Facebook post.

“It was learned that the siblings had been reported as missing to the North Port Police Department and that the stolen vehicle belonged to their mother,” the post said.

The police further said that they called the mother of the children who said she doesn’t want to pursue charges and drove 3 hours north to Alachua County to take custody of the boy and the girl.

The police’s social media post included two photos of the children exiting the vehicle with their hands raised. The department covered their faces in the images to conceal their identities.

NBC News said the brother and the sister had travelled about 200 miles (320 kilometres) from home.

A police officer told the outlet that the driver could have been booked on an allegation of driving without a license. However, it is a misdemeanour traffic violation and would not lead to detention in a juvenile facility, the officer added.

“Our detectives did speak with their mother at length,” the sheriff’s office told NBC News. She “was clearly doing her best to raise two young children and she was very receptive to the recommendations they provided in helping her get assistance”.