Diane McCloud's 15-month jail sentence was suspended so she could get a life saving heart transplant, but the judge's sympathy ended after McCloud plead guilty to shoplifting.

A sticky-fingered Long Island woman who had been freed from jail so she could get a heart transplant may have given up a second chance at life - all for some diet pills and Crest Whitestrips.

Diane McCloud, 47, of Hempstead, showed up at court Friday for a hearing in her previous case and was arrested and jailed for stealing about $500 in toiletry items from a CVS store in July.

The CVS caper came after a judge halted a previous 15-month sentence for a petit larceny rap in January so she could get on a waiting list for a transplant.

It seemed like McCloud, who has end-stage heart disease, had gotten away with the CVS theft - until the stunning and potentially life-threatening reversal of fortune in Nassau County District Court.

Judge Francis Ricigliano, who had sprung her on the previous sentence, was furious she had shown him up a second time - and tossed her in jail.

"The heart transplant is off the table," said her lawyer, Leonard Isaacs, explaining that as an inmate, she no longer qualifies for the Medicaid that would have covered a transplant.

McCloud, who could be heard sobbing in court, travels with an I.V. drip that keeps her heart pumping.

She had been going to screenings at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Manhattan to get on a heart transplant list there.

"I don't know if she can medically survive another year. I hope she does, but it looks bleak," Isaacs said. "It's not the judge's fault. He was kind by giving her an opportunity to get a heart transplant."

After Ricigliano let McCloud out of jail, he had a change of tune in the spring when her doctors told the district attorney she was still smoking, a habit she had picked up when she was 13.

"I will resentence you to the maximum amount of jail, without any problem," he said then.

She was due in court Friday to present an affidavit from her cardiologist saying she was cigarette-free and participating in a smoking cessation program.

She pleaded guilty to the CVS theft and will have another six months tacked onto the remainder of her 15-month sentence, her lawyer said.

McCloud was taken to Winthrop-University Hospital when she complained of chest pains after the court appearance Friday. But she was expected to be rerouted to jail, her lawyer said.

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Entry #5,235

August 13, 2011
5:23 am

Appeals Court Rules Against Obamacare Insurance Mandate

Newsmax

Appeals Court Rules Against Obamacare Insurance Mandate

Friday, August 12, 2011 01:33 PM

A federal appeals court panel on Friday struck down the requirement in President Barack Obama's health care overhaul package that virtually all Americans must carry health insurance or face penalties.

The divided three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals struck down the so-called individual mandate, siding with 26 states that had sued to block the law. But the panel didn't go as far as a lower court that had invalidated the entire overhaul as unconstitutional.

The states and other critics argued the law violates people's rights, while the Justice Department countered that the legislative branch was exercising a "quintessential" power.

The decision, penned by Chief Judge Joel Dubina and Circuit Judge Frank Hull, found that "the individual mandate contained in the Act exceeds Congress's enumerated commerce power."

"What Congress cannot do under the Commerce Clause is mandate that individuals enter into contracts with private insurance companies for the purchase of an expensive product from the time they are born until the time they die," the opinion said.

Circuit Judge Stanley Marcus disagreed in a dissent.

The 11th Circuit isn't the first appeals court to weigh in on the issue. The federal appeals court in Cincinnati upheld the government's new requirement that most Americans buy health insurance, and an appeals court in Richmond has heard similar legal constitutional challenges to the law.

But the Atlanta-based court is considered by many observers to be the most pivotal legal battleground yet because it reviewed a sweeping ruling by a Florida judge.

U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson's ruling not only struck down a requirement that nearly all Americans carry health insurance, but he also threw out other provisions ranging from Medicare discounts for some seniors to a change that allows adult children up to age 26 to remain on their parents' coverage.

The states urged the 11th Circuit to uphold Vinson's ruling, saying in a court filing that letting the law stand would set a troubling precedent that "would imperil individual liberty, render Congress's other enumerated powers superfluous, and allow Congress to usurp the general police power reserved to the states."

The Justice Department countered that Congress had the power to require most people to buy health insurance or face tax penalties because Congress has the authority to regulate interstate business. It said the legislative branch was exercising its "quintessential" rights when it adopted the new law.

During oral arguments in June, the three-judge panel repeatedly raised questions about the overhaul and expressed unease with the insurance requirement. Each of the three worried aloud if upholding the landmark law could open the door to Congress adopting other sweeping economic mandates.

The arguments unfolded in what's considered one of the nation's most conservative appeals courts. But the randomly selected panel represents different judicial perspectives. None of the three is considered either a stalwart conservative or an unfaltering liberal.

Dubina, an appointee of President George H.W. Bush, is not considered to be as reflexively conservative as some of his colleagues. But he's been under particular scrutiny because of his daughter's outspoken opposition to the health care overhaul. U.S. Rep. Martha Dubina Roby, a Montgomery, Ala., Republican elected in November, voted to repeal the health care law.

Marcus and Hull were both tapped by President Bill Clinton to join the court. But Marcus was also previously appointed by Republican President Ronald Reagan to serve on the Florida bench after several years as Miami's lead federal prosecutor. And Hull, a former county judge in Atlanta, is known for subjecting both sides of the counsel table to challenging questions.

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Entry #5,234

August 12, 2011
11:25 pm

Hey Libs, Face Facts: Obama's a Bad President

August 12, 2011

Hey Libs, Face Facts: Obama's a Bad President

http://finance.townhall.com/columnists/johnransom/2011/08/12/hey_libs,_face_facts_obamas_a_bad_president

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Entry #5,233

August 12, 2011
5:59 am

The five most controversial behaviors in restaurants

http://insidescoopsf.sfgate.com/blog/2011/08/11/the-five-most-controversial-behaviors-in-restaurants/

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Entry #5,232

August 12, 2011
5:43 am

Girl has tongue lengthened to help her speak Korean

Student obsessed with Korean culture has tongue surgically lengthened on NHS to help her speak the language

Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 8:16 AM on 12th August 2011

Student Rhiannon Brooksbank-Jones dreams of living and working in South Korea once she finishes university, even though she has never visited the country.

But while taking language lessons, the 19-year-old found that she couldn't pronounce certain crucial sounds in the Korean alphabet.

Her dentist suggested it may be because she was born with a slightly shorter than average tongue, caused by having an unusually thick lingual frenulum - the flap of skin that joins the underside of the tongue to the floor of the mouth.

Language barrier: Rhiannon had her tongue lengthened by one centimetre to help her pronounce Korean words

Language barrier: Rhiannon Brooksbank-Jones, from Nottingham, had her tongue lengthened by 1cm to help her pronounce Korean words

After discussing the matter with her parents and language tutor, Rhiannon decided to undergo an operation to correct the condition, despite the fact it has never caused her any problems in speaking English.

She underwent a lingual frenectomy, which involves making an incision in the flap of skin. As a result, Rhiannon's tongue is now about 1cm longer, and she can say words that were impossible before.

Rhiannon, of Beeston, Nottingham, said: 'I'd been learning Korean for about two years, and my speaking level is now high, but I was really struggling with particular sounds.

'It became apparent after a little while that I was having trouble with the Korean letter 'L', which is very frequent and comes from a slightly higher place in the mouth than the English 'L', and that my tongue was too short.

'My pronunciation was very 'foreign', but now I can speak with a native Korean accent. The surgical procedure was my only option. It's not like you can stretch your tongue otherwise. I just decided enough was enough.

'For me it was an important thing, because I'm a bit of a perfectionist, and if I can't do it perfectly, it really irritates me.

Mother tongue: Rhiannon became obsessed with Korean culture at school

'Some might say it's extreme, but you could apply the same argument to plastic surgery.

'That makes people feel more confident looks-wise, and this made me feel more confident language-wise. For me, it was like having a tooth pulled.'

Rhiannon is currently awaiting her A-level results, and hoping to study Korean Studies and Business Management at the University of Sheffield.

The four-year course includes a year at Yonsei University in the South Korean capital, Seoul.

She added: 'I think this will show real dedication. It will prove I'm not just going to drop out after a year.

'In Korea they like good students, and I think having my tongue lengthened will be a real help with the course, especially during my year in Seoul.

'I'd love to live and work in Korea one day and being able to speak perfectly will really benefit me.

'Native English speakers can earn quite a lot of money in Korea, so that's another option.'

The 20-minute operation was carried out at Nottingham's Queen's Medical Centre under local anaesthetic.

Being born with an unusually thick lingual frenulum - a condition known as Ankyloglossia, or commonly as 'Tongue Tie' - meant Rhiannon qualified for the procedure on the NHS.

She said: 'I was a bit nervous, and it was agony at first, but healed within two weeks, and I noticed the difference instantly. Suddenly I was able to pronounce words I had no hope of before.'

Rhiannon became interested in the Asian nation's culture through a friend at school.

The teenager said: 'She was into Korean pop and television programmes, which I would listen to and watch at her house.

'Most of my free time was soon taken up with Korean things. Now I visit a Korean Church in Nottingham, where I do bible readings in Korean, and can't wait to visit the country itself.

'Korean people can be quite reserved at first, but once you get to know them, they are very warmhearted. They'll do anything for you.'

Rhiannon's mother, Fiona Brooksbank-Jones, 56, said she supported her daughter in undergoing the procedure.

She added: 'As her parents, we welcome her interest in other parts of the world, and are very proud of her.

'I've heard of people having the condition corrected as babies, but never later in life. But we looked into it, and have backed her all the way.

'When she sets her mind to something, she usually goes for it wholeheartedly, and this was no different.'

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Entry #5,231

August 12, 2011
5:35 am

Ex-inmate captured breaking back into prison

Officials: Ex-inmate captured breaking back into prison

KSBW.com

8/11/2011 7:51:20 PM

FOLSOM, Calif. — Thermal imaging cameras recorded a parolee sneaking back into New Folsom State Prison at 1:30 a.m. Thursday, prison officials said "We quickly determined we did not have an escape. We found the suspect hiding in bushes near the Prison Industry Authority area," prison spokesman Tony Quinn said.

Marvin Lane Ussery, 48, was arrested on suspicion of being a felon on prison grounds.Ussery served time behind bars at New Folsom Prison, also known as California State Prison Sacramento, for robbery before he was granted parole in June 2009.

The prison houses mostly maximum-security inmates serving long sentences, or inmates who have been difficult to control at lower-security institutions.

Ussery's bicycle was parked near where he hopped the prison fence, prison officials said. Thirty corrections officers combed the prison yard for hidden contraband that the ex-inmate may have been trying to sneak in.

"We don't have any evidence of this in this case, but we have had incidents where former prisoners have snuck back onto the property to hide backpacks filled with drugs, alcohol or phones," Quinn said.

"Minimum-security prisoners then find those backpacks and try to smuggle the contraband into the prison," he said. Officers had not found smuggled contraband by Thursday afternoon.

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Entry #5,230