Mayor Paula Southgate said it had been “the most challenging and complex” LTP.
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Celine Dion says she’s struggled to sing with rare syndrome
Celine Dion is sharing details about how difficult her life has become as she lives with stiff person syndrome.
In a clip from an interview with NBC's Hoda Kotb, the acclaimed singer revealed that it's "like somebody is strangling you" when she has attempted to sing.
"It's like someone's pushing your larynx this way," Dion told the "Today" co-host as the singer pushed on her throat to demonstrate what she meant.
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The spasms can attack different parts of her body, including her abdomen, spine and ribs, she said.
"I have broken ribs at one point because sometimes when it's very severe, it can break some ribs as well," the Grammy-winner shared.
The disorder is "a rare, progressive syndrome that affects the nervous system, specifically the brain and spinal cord," according to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
Dion last year announced she had cancelled her "Courage World Tour," with a source close to her telling CNN at the time that she "will likely never tour again."
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Doctors have located something in Dion's blood that helps explain why she contracted the rare neurological disorder, according to the NBC report, and she is under care to try to resume more activities.
That is also the focus of an upcoming documentary, "I Am: Celine Dion," set to stream on Prime Video on June 25.
The biggest hotspots for animal collisions in the country
More than 21,000 vehicle insurance claims were analysed after drivers hit an animal. Here's what the data reveals about the biggest animal collision hotspots in the country:
US judge drops murder charges against parents in 1989 killing of boy
A South Carolina judge on Friday threw out murder charges filed this year against a father and a step-mother, saying there was no new evidence they killed their five-year-old child in 1989.
Circuit Judge Roger Young ruled the original detective in the case changed his interpretations of the evidence and with more than 20 witnesses either dead or unable to testify in the 35-year-old case, the couple couldn't put up a fair defence and question witnesses who claimed they made incriminating statements.
The judge barred prosecutors from ever charging the couple again.
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The boy's father said on Friday that by wrongly focusing on them at the start they could never properly grieve and the real killer likely will never be known.
"I feel like they did a very poor case from the beginning," said Victor Turner, father of five-year-old Justin Turner.
"I'm glad that it's over with but now we really won't ever know too much. All I wanted was to get the person who did this."
Justin Turner was found dead in a cabinet in a camper behind his Berkeley County home in March 1989. He had been strangled.
Investigators immediately thought the killing scene had been staged and they caught his father, Victor Turner, and step-mother, Megan Turner, in lies, Berkeley County Sheriff Duane Lewis said at a January news conference where he announced murder charges against both of them in the cold case.
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Megan Turner was also charged with murder in 1990, but a grand jury refused to indict her.
Megan Turner said the suspicion around her since her step-son's death has been crushing. She has been afraid to speak to anyone, fearing her words would be twisted by police determined to unjustly convict her.
"It's been over 30 years," Turner said, crying.
"We couldn't say anything. The investigation when it first started everything went so wrong … if we said anything, they tried to turn it against us."
Sheriffs determined to solve the case had tunnel vision depending on assumptions and poorly gathered evidence, defence attorney Shaun Kent said at a Friday news conference.
"One sheriff after another would whisper a rumor in the next one's mind. And then the next one would say it and the next one," Kent said.
"This case is not based on any evidence. It is based on rumors and innuendos."
After the couple were arrested, the Virginia School of Law's Innocence Project sent Kent evidence that serial killer Richard Evonitz was stationed on a US Navy ship in nearby Charleston at the time of the killing.
Evidence and the method used in the boy's case matched three other kidnappings and killings of children in Virginia that Evonitz was linked to, Kent said.
Evonitz killed himself as police closed in on him in 2002. His body was cremated, likely making it impossible to try to match his DNA with evidence in the South Carolina case and further hampering the Turners ability to defend themselves.
The detective who investigated the case in 1989 was rehired by the Berkeley County Sheriff's Office in 2021 to review cold cases.
He testified investigators were able to determine tiny fibers from a ligature found at the home shortly after the boy's disappearance were found to match those found on the boy's shirt.
Kent said that using a microscope shouldn't count as new evidence.
When they arrested the couple this year, deputies changed their theory on how the boy was killed, saying he was strangled with a dog collar attached to a leash instead of just the leash.
The new theory only came after deputies bought a collar and tested it with a mannequin, defense lawyers said.
The judge pointed out the collar and dog would have been available in 1989 but not now. The collar has not been found since, even with detectives digging up the dog's remains, the defence said.
Justin Turner's body was found two days after he was reported missing as investigators in arresting the couple cited strange statements and behaviour like Victor Turner entering the camper as a TV camera filmed him and seconds later said he found the body among the many cabinets and drawers in the camper.
The couple asked officers what might happen if a family member harmed the boy and others said Megan Turner suggested a big fight with her step-son before he died that she won.
Having more than 20 witnesses used to build the case in 1989 unable to testify today isn't fair to the couple, the judge ruled.
"This is a circumstantial evidence which depends on part on supposedly incriminating statements made to third persons. Unavailability of those witnesses for cross examination would be highly prejudicial to the defence," Young wrote.
Prosecutors said they had no grounds to dispute Young's ruling and lamented the mistakes made by investigators 35 years ago in collecting and preserving evidence.
"It is rare that prosecutors can say there is nothing more that could have done to conduct a more thorough investigation, but in this case, we know that Sheriff Lewis and his team of investigators did all they could do to find truth and justice," Solicitor Scarlett Wilson wrote in a statement.
Other family members of Justin Turner issued an unsigned statement through prosecutors saying the justice system failed.
"Based off the overwhelming evidence, the ones responsible for Justin's death had the chance to face justice here, but instead chose to stay silent and face the final justice handed out by God for eternity!" the statement read.
Auckland crews battle large shed fire in Browns Bay, North Shore
Firefighters were called to the property about 7.45pm.
Woman killed, child critically injured in Caboolture car crash
A woman has died and a young child has been rushed to hospital after a single-car crash in Upper Caboolture this afternoon.
Officers were called to the scene after a white car crashed into a tree near Caboolture River Road, north of Brisbane, about 2.30pm.
The woman, who was driving, was declared dead at the scene.
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The child was taken to Queensland Children's Hospital in a critical condition.
Forensic crash investigators are investigating.
Police urged anyone who witnessed the incident or has dashcam footage to come forward.
‘Without hope we’re doomed’: Legendary conservationist Jane Goodall graces Taronga Zoo
Dozens of students met legendary conservationist Jane Goodall at Sydney's Taronga Zoo today as part of her youth action group.
Goodall met with students from the Jane Goodall Institute's Roots and Shoots program, which runs in 70 countries as a way to get young people thinking about conservation solutions to modern-day environmental challenges.
Goodall was inspired to start the program in Tanzania in 1991, which was her home at the time, after a group of 12 local kids expressed their concern for the planet's future.
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"It was when there was a United Nations in New York and so I brought my Roots and Shoots groups from around the world and from there it just grew," Goodall said.
"Hope is really, really important, without hope we're doomed, we're literally doomed."
Zavier, 12, said it was "a pleasure" to meet the conservationist.
"I got a mini-grant for her organisation roots and shoots and now I have my own YouTube channel and I'm lucky enough to meet her in person," he said.
Minister for Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Heritage Penny Sharpe said the zoo was "privileged' to have a "living legend" visit.
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Goodall developed a breakthrough approach to the conservation of the chimpanzee and made what's considered one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century when she discovered that chimps make and use tools like humans do.
She has dedicated her life to chimpanzee conservation, starting in the forest of Gombe in 1960.
"I already felt that I belonged to this new forest world, that this was where I was meant to be," she said.
Grandmother battling flesh-eating ulcer in Melbourne hospital
The mother of a woman who recently moved to Melbourne is in a critical condition in hospital after contracting a flesh-eating illness.
Carmel Rodrigo, 74, was visiting Australia for the first time from Sri Lanka when she became ill just six months into her trip.
She was visiting her daughter Gayathri Perera, who had relocated to Essendon with her husband and three young children last year.
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Rodrigo was rushed to hospital after she started deteriorating rapidly.
"She was really happy to be here, but suddenly she told me she felt like she had a fever," Perera told 9News.
"I gave her some Panadol and she was sleeping all day. About 10pm, she began howling with so much pain.
"I was helping her but nothing worked.
"I checked her hand in the morning and I took her to my GP.
"They said this was an emergency case and we took her to the hospital.
"She couldn't even walk."
Within hours at Sunshine Hospital, Perera was told doctors were doing everything they could to save her mother's life.
"They said it was an infection, and they had to take her to do an operation," she said.
"She was unconscious by then and she was fighting for her life. Doctors said to pray.
"I was praying and the doctors couldn't confirm what type of infection it was."
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Three days later, doctors discovered Rodrigo had contracted a flesh-eating disease called Buruli ulcer.
A record number of flesh-eating ulcer cases were recorded in Victoria last year.
About 363 Buruli ulcer cases were diagnosed across the state, the highest recorded since 2004.
The Buruli ulcer is caused by the bacterium Mycobacterium ulcerans and destroys skin cells, small blood vessels and fat under the skin, leading to infection, ulcers and skin loss.
"It's a nightmare and it's an unforeseen situation, I pray no one will ever get this sickness," Perera said.
Her mother remains in hospital and had her left hand amputated last week.
"She has terrible pain still," Perera said.
"For her comfort, we had to sedate her."
A fundraiser has been set up for the family to help with medical costs, estimated to be more than $200,000.
"We are going through a hard financial crisis at the moment, it's unbearable," she said.
"We have three kids and it's hard to balance everything."
Iconic Aussie landmark to reopen after temporary closure
The Sunshine Coast's iconic landmark, the Big Pineapple, will finally reopen to the public after a long restoration project forced its temporary closure.
The 16-metre tall replica has stood on the Bruce Highway near Nambour since 1971 and has attracted millions of visitors over the years, even including Princess Diana.
The heritage-listed attraction has been repaired and repainted and final preparations are under way ahead of its grand reopening on Tuesday.
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The final product will be revealed in stages.
Tuesday's stage one reopening will have the viewing deck, new cafe and train station open to the public.
The owners aren't yet sure whether the train will be running on time.
Works are still ongoing inside the pineapple so visitors won't be able to climb back to the top just yet.
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The parfaits and ice cream sundaes are expected to return in stage three, which is set to be announced at a later date.
But tourists are already excited for the big reopening.
"It looks really good," one said.
"Definitely come back and visit it," said another.
Search for hit-run driver after mum pushing pram struck by car in Sydney’s south-west
A search for an alleged hit-run driver is under way after a mother pushing a pram was struck by a car in Sydney's south-west.
Police were called to Claremont Street in Merrylands about 1.40pm today.
CCTV footage shows the moment the blue Mitizubishi turns into the street, striking the woman as she crosses the road.
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The car can then be seen driving away.
The woman in her 40s was found injured on the side of the road before being taken to hospital in an ambulance with a broken leg.
The baby was found unharmed in the pram.
Witnesses told police that the driver of the blue Mitsubishi failed to stop.
Local Mohammed Narrouzi was the first to assist the woman after she was hit.
"She was bleeding and (I) asked her what happened and she was barely speaking," Narrouzi said.
The woman, who is from Afghanistan, tried to describe the person behind the wheel to police, with Narrouzi acting as an interpreter.