Wikinews Shorts: August 18, 2010

Mother confesses to suffocating her two children
An unemployed, single mother from South Carolina has confessed to suffocating her two toddler children with her bare hands. After suffocating her one year-old and two year-old sons, 29 year-old Shaquan Duley drove her car into a river. Police have identified the suffocated children as Ja'van T. Duley and Devean C. Duley. She faces two murder charges and is scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.

Duley had apparently argued with her mother the night before the murder. Sheriff Larry Williams has stated that "We believe this is a direct response [to the argument] from Ms. Duley. I believe she was just fed up with her mother telling her she couldn't take care of the children and she wasn't taking care of her children and she just wanted to be free." Williams also said that Shaquan's mother "was a very, I guess, firm individual. ... She often talked with her daughter about, I guess, maybe being more of a mother or being more reliable."

Sources



US officials visit American sentenced to hard labor in North Korea
US officials said Monday that an American, Aijalon Mahli Gomes, sentenced to hard labor in North Korea was visited by a US consular official and two American doctors.

"We requested permission to visit Mr. Gomes. That permission from the North Korean government was granted," said U.S. State Department spokesman Philip Crowley. Crowley also said that "We requested permission to bring Mr. Gomes home. Unfortunately, he remains in North Korea."

North Korea said that Gomes was hospitalized after attempting suicide. Gomes was arrested by North Korean authorities and sentenced to eight years of hard labor in January after the 31 year-old man alledgedly attempted to cross the border with China.

Sources

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General Motors recalls 243,000 crossover vehicles
American car company General Motors (GM) said Tuesday that it will recall 243,000 crossover vehicles due to faulty seat belts. The crossovers recalled include the Saturn Outlook, Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Chevrolet Traverse. The damage to the seat belts could happen after the second row seats in the car-based SUVs are returned to a upright position after being folded. The damage causes the seat belt to feel correctly latched when it is possibly not.

Sources