New England Sun-Times

A boy who claimed in a best-selling book that he died and visited heaven after a car crash that left him paralyzed is now saying he made it all up. Nearly five years after "The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven" hit best-seller lists, publisher Tyndale House announced Thursday that it's pulling the book from shelves after Alex Malarkey recanted his claim. Malarkey said he visited heaven after spending two months in a coma following a car crash when he was six years old in 2004. Malarkey, now a teenager, wrote an open letter to Christian booksellers on the website Pulpit and Pen retracting the claims in the book. "I did not die,'' he wrote. "I did not go to Heaven. I said I went to heaven because I thought it would get me attention. When I made the claims that I did, I had never read the Bible. People have profited from lies, and continue to. They should read the Bible, which is enough. The Bible is the only source of truth. Anything wri...

  By Erik Adams   In Hear This , A.V. Club writers sing the praises of songs they know well. As part of Simpsons Week, we’re picking our favorite songs from the show.   “Happy Birthday Lisa” (1991) Considering Michael Jackson’s affinity for and association with Peter Pan, it makes sense that he’d be a Bart Simpson fan, too. As America’s preeminent 28-year-old fourth grader, Bart is another Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up; unlike Peter Pan , the King Of Pop eventually got to visit Bart and his fictional world. He even wrote a song with the character—his second contribution to the Simpsons catalog after the No. 1 novelty hit “ Do The Bartman .” Though, at the time, Jackson couldn’t cop to his participation in either recording. The story of “ Stark Raving Dad ”’s production is one of the more bizarre passages in Simpsons history, marked by the secrecy surrounding Jackson’s appearance as Leon Kompowsky, the hulking patient of a Springfield mental inst...

Dalton Hayes, 18, and Cheyenne Phillips,13, in photos from the Grayson County, Kentucky, Sheriff's Office. An 18-year-old Kentucky man and his 13-year-old girlfriend who have been missing for 12 days are believed to have taken off on a Bonnie-and-Clyde-style crime spree across the South, authorities said Thursday, during which they're suspected of having stolen at least two vehicles — one of which had guns in it. "It is imperative that these two be located and apprehended as their behavior is becoming increasingly brazen and dangerous," the Grayson County Sheriff's Office said in a statement. The sheriff's office identified the pair as Dalton Hayes, 18, and his girlfriend, Cheyenne Phillips, 13, whom Cheyenne's father reported missing on Jan. 3. They're accused of stealing a neighbor's red Toyota pickup truck, which was spotted on security video nine days later outside a Walmart store in Manning, South Ca...

By Delores Handy January 15, 2015   BOSTON — The Boston Teachers Union has approved a plan to add 40 minutes to the school day for all elementary and middle schools that don’t already have extended day programs. That’s about two-thirds of the schools serving Boston Public School students in grades K-8 — or nearly 60 schools. The union’s leadership had already agreed to the deal with the Boston School Department and Boston School Committee. The school committee must still approve the plan. Richard Stutman, the president of the teacher’s union, says about 800 union members attended Wednesday night’s meeting and “voted roughly 4-to-1 in favor of this.” “Now it’s no longer a tentative agreement . It’s a permanent agreement,” he said. “We’re very happy about that.” Stutman says those opposed raised logistical — and not philosophical — is...

By ALAN SCHER ZAGIER   ST. LOUIS (AP) — The night manager of a Drury Inn in St. Louis was shot to death during an early Thursday robbery attempt, one of the city's six homicides during a 12-hour span. Police quickly made three arrests in cases in which the victims reportedly knew their assailants. Police Chief Sam Dotson and Mayor Francis Slay condemned the violence at a Thursday afternoon news conference. They did not identify the suspects in custody, who will be formally charged Friday. Scott Knopfel, 50, was shot in the head at the Drury hotel near Interstate 44 just before 3 a.m. after he struggled with his assailant wh...

Henrico County, Virginia, couple Apryl Kellam and James Coalson. A pregnant woman who was recently fired by a Virginia church's daycare center for not setting a date for her wedding to the father of her unborn baby says she might take legal action. Apryl Kellam was fired from her position at the chid development center just days after she said she received a raise on Jan. 7. James Coalson, Kellam's fiancé and the father of her soon-to-be born child, told The Christian Post that they've been mulling the idea of seeking legal counsel after Staples Mill Road Baptist Church's firing for her violation of the center's employee handbook . "We are considering legal action, but have not talked to an employment law attorney, but have been in contact with the law office of Maciej Zebrak," Coalson said. "The church did not follow correct hiring practices by not giving Apryl the proper paperwork stating the rules and regulations that the chur...

Amey Molloy of Portland, Maine, was arrested Wednesday for allegedly defrauding a fund set up to help Boston Marathon bombing victims, authorities said. A 49-year-old woman who submitted medical claims for more $20,000 for injuries she never sustained at the Boston Marathon bombings has been arrested in Maine, authorities said. Amey Malloy was arrested in Portland on Wednesday on charges of larceny and attempted larceny, according to Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakely. The woman collected $8,000 from One Fund in July 2013, based on a detailed and notarized claim that she had undergone foot surgery in Maine for damage done by the April 2013 bombings. She submitted extensive medical records with her claim, Coakely said. In July 2014, she sent a second claim, this one saying Malloy had surgery on her hip to correct damages caused by her injured foot. This time, officials at One Fund opened an investigation of Malloy's filings, the attorney general ...

Ever wanted to live out your favorite scenes from the bestseller, Fifty Shades of Grey ? A chain of hotels in the San Francisco Bay Area is bringing that fantasy to life for hotel guests through a $150 add-on service called “50 Shades of Women.” One package deal, which comes in a “discreet” black box, is fully endowed with “a Lilly Fringe Whip, Feel Me Bondaids handcuffs, Madame’s Mystique paddle, a silky sash restraint, Art of Lust Condoms and Wicked Aqua Lubricant.” “Take notes because Christian and Anastasia are hitting the big screen,” the hotel said, via TheWrap, of Jamie Dornan and Dakota Johnson’s on-screen characters. The package was offered in 2012 when the book became wildly popular, but this time around, it has been subtitled “Come Again.” Moving on to the features that are a little more impersonal: an exclusive “Fifty Shades” wine range will also be offered by the hotel. The vino, “White Silk” and “Red Satin,” was reportedly tested by the experts ...

The FBI today arrested a 20-year-old Ohio man for allegedly plotting to carry out a terrorist attack on the US Capitol.  Christopher Lee Cornell, of Green Township, was taken into custody by federal agents on charges of attempting to kill a government official and possession of a firearm in furtherance of attempted crime of violence, according to a criminal complaint.    Government documents filed in the case indicate that the 20-year-old Cornell, who also goes by the name Raheel Mahrus Ubaydah, allegedly planned to detonate pipe bombs in the Capitol and then open fire on people fleeing the building in the aftermath of the blasts. According to government documents, Cornell first showed up on the FBI's radar several months ago after he sent out a tweet in support of violent 'jihad.' An investigation into Cornell's activities has revealed videos and other online statements backing the deadly extremist organization ISIS, also known as ISIL....

Blame game: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested French security forces were behind the Paris attacks as they 'track' former prisoners and the culprits in the Charlie Hebdo shootings had served time The President of Turkey has suggested French security forces are to blame for the deadly terrorist attacks in Paris last week, since the culprits had recently served prison sentences. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accused the West of 'playing games with the Islamic world', warning fellow Muslims to be 'aware'. Erdogan said Muslims are 'paying the price' for the attacks on satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo and a Jewish kosher supermarket in Paris last week.  'French citizens carry out such a massacre, and Muslims pay the price,' Erdogan said yesterday. 'That's very meaningful ... Doesn't their intelligence organisation track those who leave prison? 'Games are being played with the Islamic world, we...

German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, one of the woman digitally removed Paris Mayor and Danish Prime Minister also edited out by The Announcer Allegedly altered its front page so as not to offend 'ultra-orthodox' readers Israeli newspaper says the women were removed for 'reasons of modesty' They were among 40 world leaders who led a million people through Paris 17 innocent people died last week in wave of terror attacks on the city  An ultra-conservative Jewish newspaper has digitally removed female politicians from an iconic image of world leaders marching through Paris, following last week's terror attacks. Israel's The Announcer airbrushed out German Chancellor Angela Merkel and Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo - and cropped the front-page picture to completely exclude  Danish Prime Minster, Helle Thorning-Shmidt. It's believed the women were removed from the historic image, taken on January 11, so the newspaper would not offend its hig...

A former 'Mother of the Year' who admitted to terrorizing a couple after they outbid her for her dream home has been ordered to keep away from them for 10 years. Kathy J. Rowe, 53, expressed her regret as she was sentenced in San Diego, California on Friday, where she was also handed down a year of electronic surveillance and five years of probation. Court records document how Rowe tormented Jerry Rice, 40, and Janice Ruhter, 37, for months after they moved into the home in the upscale neighborhood of Carmel Valley in 2011. Soon after the move, they noticed their home was mysteriously listed for sale online. Their mail stopped over Christmas and they were inundated with more than $1,000 worth of magazines and books they had not ordered,  People reported.  Heading home: Kathy Rowe, 53, smiles after she is sentenced to five years probation in court on Friday for terrorizing a couple who outbid her for her 'dream home' in San Dieg...

Police officers wearing camouflage, bullet-proof vests and Kevlar helmets used pepper spray to break up crowds in Columbus after Ohio State's football team won the National Championships The Ohio State Buckeyes made college football history on Monday as they stormed to National Championship victory over Oregon in the first College Football Playoff Championship - but in the adrenaline-pumped excitement managed to trample one of their own cheerleaders as they ran onto the field.  A cheerleader, who was enthusiastically shaking her pom-poms, ended up face-down on the field as she tried to scramble out the way of the rushing players. The young woman had been carrying the 'O' flag to complete the waving banner for Ohio which also ended up being trampled into the field at Cowboy Stadium in Arlington, Texas. As she struggled to escape, one player then tripped over her, almost causing a domino-effect among the rushing team. The cheerleader was...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Two Albuquerque police officers were charged with murder Monday in the shooting death of a knife-wielding homeless man that led to sometimes violent protests and a federal investigation into the city's police force. The decision to bring murder charges occurred at a time when police tactics are under intense scrutiny nationwide, fueled by the fatal shooting of an unarmed 18-year-old in Ferguson, Missouri, and the chokehold death of another unarmed man in New York City. Grand juries declined to charge officers in those cases, leading to large protests. Acknowledging the frustration over the secrecy of the proceedings in those cases, the Albuquerque district attorney said she would bypass the grand jury process and instead present the murder case to a judge at a preliminary hearing that will be open to the public. "Unlike Ferguson and unlike in New York City, we're going to know. The public is going to have that informati...

  Bill Cosby’s two most prominent accusers, former models Beverly Johnson and Janice Dickinson, both fabricated their claims against Cosby, Johnson’s former manager told The Daily Caller in an exclusive interview. Newly unearthed information suggests that Dickinson recently changed her story about Cosby to include sexual assault allegations. Veteran Hollywood talent manager Don Gibble represented Johnson in the early 1990′s, and also says he personally knew Dickinson for more than twenty years. Johnson recently alleged in a Vanity Fair piece that Cosby drugged her at his home in the mid-1980s after serving her a cup of cappuccino during a period in which Johnson was auditioning for a role on his sitcom. Johnson said that Cosby forcibly threw her, drugged, into a cab. But Gibble said that Johnson told him her Cosby story many times, and that it only involved one personal meeting: at a pleasant, non-eventful brunch with Cosby and his wife Camille. “She sa...

Tyrone Hood at Lawrence Correctional Center, Tuesday, Dec. 13, 2011, in downstate Sumner. (Chuck Berman, Chicago Tribune) In his final minutes in office Monday, Gov. Pat Quinn granted 43 clemency petitions, including two commutations that will lead to freedom for convicted murderers whose appeals had been stuck in the courts in spite of mounting evidence of their innocence. The outgoing governor also commuted the sentence of a man convicted of attempted murder following a shootout with Chicago police and granted pardons to one of former Chicago police Cmdr. Jon Burge’s alleged torture victims as well as to a former Peoria County man who spent three decades in prison for a double murder before being paroled. Although not nearly as sweeping or dramatic as former Gov. George Ryan’s emptying of Death Row as he left office in January 2003, Quinn’s clemencies were nonetheless bold, and sparked intense criticism. In some instances, Quinn acted in cases in which prosecutor...