STRANGER THAN FICTION: Two-Headed Baby Worshiped As A God In India
A BABY born with two faces is doing well one month on from her birth. Tot Lali was born in a northern Indian village with two noses, two pairs of lips and two pairs of eyes – but only two ears. Hundreds of pilgrims have visited Lali, worshipped as the reincarnation of a Hindu goddess, and her impoverished parents to touch her feet out of respect and receive blessings. The baby has caused a sensation in the dusty village of Saini, 25 miles from New Delhi. When she left the hospital, eight hours after a normal delivery, she was swarmed by villagers. The director of Saifi Hospital Sabir Ali said: “She drinks milk from her two mouths and opens and shuts all the four eyes at one time.” The child apparently has an extremely rare condition known as craniofacial duplication, where a single head has two faces. Lali’s condition is often linked to serious health complications, but the doctor said she was doing well. “She is leading a normal life with no breathing difficulties,” said Ali, adding that he saw no need for surgery. Lali’s parents, Vinod and Sushma Singh, were married in February 2007 and Lali is their first child. Sushma said: “Initially we had some problem in accepting the child but now everything is fine. “She is just like any other child.” [via THE SUN]
*
NJ Judge Orders Suspect Voting Machines Tested, Same Machines Used In PA
Subpoenas were issued in six New Jersey counties today, demanding that officials turn over for testing all voting machines where discrepancies were found in the presidential primary tallies. Election officials in Bergen, Gloucester, Mercer, Middlesex, Ocean and Union counties were instructed to turn over the machines by April 15. Activists trying to persuade Superior Court Judge Linda Feinberg that electronic voting machines should be discarded succeeded in convincing her that examining these counties’ machines is critical to their case. “In order to succeed in our case and show Sequoia machines are insecure and can be hacked into, we need to look at these machines,” Venetis argued. Clerks in the six counties uncovered discrepancies in 60 machines when they doubled check the vote tallies after the Feb. 5 presidential primary. Michelle Shafer, a spokeswoman for Sequoia in California, said her company would try to have the subpoenas quashed. But no motions were filed today with Superior Court Judge Linda Feinberg, who is presiding over the case in Trenton. [via NJ STAR-LEDGER]
*
Pennsyltucky Asshole Beats 2-Year-Old To Death With Joystick
YORK, Pa. — A 2-year-old girl died after being beaten with a video game controller by her mother’s boyfriend, police said Tuesday. Darisabel Baez’s mother overheard the beating Sunday but did nothing until she realized the girl was unconscious, police said. The girl was pronounced dead late Monday at Hershey Medical Center, police Lt. Ron Camacho said. Homicide was added to the list of charges against Harve L. Johnson on Tuesday; he was already in jail on counts including aggravated assault and reckless endangerment. The girl’s mother, Neida E. Baez, was charged with endangering the welfare of a child. It was clear from the bruises and other injuries on the little girl’s body that Sunday was not the first time she had been abused, Dauphin County coroner Graham Hetrick told WGAL-TV. He said it was one of the worst cases of child abuse he has ever seen. Baez, 19, called for an ambulance Sunday and said Johnson had brought the unconscious child to her, limp and wet from an attempt to revive her in a bathtub, a police affidavit said. [via ASSOCIATED PRESS]