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Herald Sun
a day ago
- Health
- Herald Sun
Mum-of-two Melissa Hartman revived after suffering cardiac arrest
Don't miss out on the headlines from Heart Health. Followed categories will be added to My News. Melissa Hartman was 31 years old when her heart suddenly stopped while she was getting ready for a date one August afternoon. The mother-of-two had no idea that she had suffered a cardiac arrest and flatlined for 20 minutes after a coughing fit. 'I was a bit nervous for the date but not nervous enough to have a bloody cardiac arrest,' the now 35-year-old told The Advertiser. Luckily, Ms Hartman organised for a friend to visit before her date and he arrived just as she collapsed. 'He found me on the floor, I had no pulse and had stopped breathing,' she said. 'He was straight onto the CPR.' Paramedics arrived and administered seven shocks of a defibrillator and three rounds of adrenaline to stabilise Ms Hartman. With a less than one per cent chance of survival, she was placed into an induced coma at Flinders Hospital for a week. 'For the first 48 hours, nobody expected me to survive at all,' she said. Despite all odds, the Christie Downs woman made it. But when she flatlined, on the floor her home she said she had a 'death experience' and saw a 'white light'. 'It was so bloody peaceful and calm and I wasn't even tired, it was just amazing,' she said. 'That was a miracle in itself, not feeling exhausted and chronically fatigued.' She said since being revived she's attempted to feel that again. Following her episode, Ms Hartman refers to the day as her 'birthday'. 'I've come back for a reason,' she said. She said by calling it her 'birthday' it allows the people closest to her to feel better about it. 'Mum still has it in her mind, (as) when she got the call,' she said. 'It helps her heal.' Eventually, when Ms Hartman was brought out of a coma she was transferred to ICU. Doctors eventually discovered two benign brain tumours — which are still present. She also spent six weeks in Hampstead Rehabilitation Centre where she learnt how to walk, talk, eat and read again after suffering a brain injury. 'After only a week in the coma, I'd lost everything — I had to learn who my kids were again,' she said. Ms Hartman, who is a single mum, said her children, Ayla, 8 and Mason, 11, were the reason she pushed through rehabilitation. She said she didn't want to have a carer 'raise' her children. 'If I didn't have my kids, I'd still be in a bed in hospital now,' she said. 'I'm not going to have my kids watching me lay down and admit defeat. 'If I can come back from the dead, they can get up and clean their rooms.' Ms Hartman, who lives with a hypoxic brain injury, is emceeing the Brain Injury South Australia launch event marking Brain Awareness Week on August 18, 2025. She wants to spread awareness about the importance of learning CPR. Originally published as Mum-of-two Melissa Hartman bought back from the dead after suffering cardiac arrest
Miami Herald
15-07-2025
- Politics
- Miami Herald
‘A black hole': Attorneys say they still can't reach clients in Alligator Alcatraz
One week after the first detainees began arriving at the Florida-run detention center for migrants in the Everglades, Katie Blankenship, a Miami immigration attorney, showed up at the gates of Alligator Alcatraz with a list of five names and a demand: let me in to see them. She waited two and a half hours, only to be told to put her name on a list and to wait between 24 and 48 hours for a call back. 'These folks have due process and the right to counsel,' Blankenship told the employee manning the gate on July 10. 'They cannot be denied counsel for this long and we cannot have a black hole of information where we do not know how to contact clients.' That call has yet to come. Nearly two weeks since the site opened, lawyers say Florida's pop-up detention facility has been something of a black box, with detainees going in and little information coming out, except for outgoing calls from the facility. Detainees taken to the seized county property in the Big Cypress National Preserve fall out of a federal immigration database created to help families and lawyers locate migrants who are in custody. Attorneys have struggled to schedule legal visitations with their clients, despite the state's public assurances that they can be set up. Lawyers say it's not even clear where to file legal briefs due to muddiness about whether detainees are in the custody of the state or federal government, which has claimed the DeSantis administration has final say on who is brought to the site. The Herald/Times spoke with seven attorneys who have clients at the facility. They said the need for transparency and legal access is urgent, as the state says detainees are sent to the site to be processed and be quickly deported from an on-site airstrip. But so far, lawyers are having trouble finding phone numbers and emails associated with the site — at least ones that lead to responses. 'I've called, I've emailed everybody and their grandmother and their grandmother's sister. Nobody emails you back and nobody calls you back,' Atara Eig, a seasoned immigration attorney based in Miami, said in an interview Monday. Stephanie Hartman, a spokeswoman with the Florida Division of Emergency Management, which is overseeing operations at Alligator Alcatraz, said in an email that detainees have 'regular access to phone and video calls with their attorneys and family members upon request.' 'These are federal detainees held in a state facility, and therefore, attorneys should follow their normal representation procedures as they have full access to their clients,' Hartman said. 'The purpose of the facility is to stage illegal immigrants for deportation, as has been repeatedly stated.' Attorneys of detainees can email, legal@ to schedule appointments, Hartman said. On Sunday afternoon – a week and a half after the first detainees arrived – one attorney emailed that address and an automated reply said, in part: 'Your message wasn't delivered because the recipient's email provider rejected it.' A few hours later, the attorney sent another email to the same address, and received a response Monday with a form to fill out to set up a legal visitation. The visit hasn't happened yet. She was scheduled to have a bond hearing for her client Tuesday afternoon and had not been able to prepare him as of Tuesday morning. The Herald/Times emailed the address on Monday afternoon and about two hours later received the following message: 'As we continue to develop and expand direct legal access resources at the facility, please be assured that we are working diligently to ensure timely, secure, and reliable attorney-client communication. We recognize the importance of these interactions and are committed to continuously improving the systems that support them. We sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding as we enhance our processes to better serve both legal counsel and the individuals in our care.' To date, it is unclear whether any family members or attorneys have been able to visit detainees in person. When asked how many visitations had been approved as of Monday, Hartman did not respond. Scrambling to locate and represent Some attorneys said that while they experienced delays, they have seen some progress, at least when it comes to scheduling bond hearings to try to get their clients out of the detention center in the Everglades. Magdalena Cuprys says she has three clients at the state facility. In the case of one of her clients – a Honduran man with a pending asylum application as a victim of human trafficking — Cuprys said she was able to land a bond hearing. But she remains puzzled by his detention. She said her client was originally held at a U.S. Customs and Border Protection building in Dania Beach for about a week after he was stopped at a truck weigh station by Florida Highway Patrol officers on June 25. He has a valid drivers' license, Cuprys said. She still doesn't know why he was detained that day. The Honduran man called her when he was stopped and an FHP officer took the phone and told her that anyone who 'appears Hispanic' needs to be sent to CBP to have their license verified, she said. Cuprys didn't name her client publicly, but the Herald/Times was able to independently confirm he is a detainee at the facility. The Florida Highway Patrol could not immediately be reached for comment. Officers told Cuprys her client would eventually be transferred to Krome detention center, so she prepped to file for his bond there. Then she found out from his family that he ended up at Alligator Alcatraz. She filed at Krome Immigration Court anyway, since there was no process to file a motion at Alligator Alcatraz. She could not find a phone number or an email. When she asked an immigration court clerk what she should do, the clerk told her they had no information about Alligator Alcatraz or any of the detainees at the site. So she called back on July 8. 'And she [the clerk] said that their instructions are to reject those motions because they're not in ICE custody,' Cuprys said. The motion for a bond hearing was stuck in processing for days. Then, late last week it was scheduled for Tuesday. Cuprys said she's not optimistic. She's unsure whether her client will be able to attend. She's also expecting the judge to determine the court doesn't have jurisdiction, because she's been repeatedly told that her client is not in ICE custody. The question about legal jurisdiction is critical for attorneys navigating their clients' cases. But since the detention center opened to detainees on July 2, attorneys say they have had trouble discerning whether their clients are in the custody of the federal government or the state. The Trump administration has insisted in court that it does not have control over the facility where ICE detainees are being held. Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin said Saturday that the state of Florida — not ICE — is in charge of managing the facility. And while Gov. Ron DeSantis has said the site has on-site legal services for detainees, it is unclear how that is working two weeks into the facility's opening. Trump has also expressed support for Florida's plan to expedite deportations by having qualified National Guard members act as immigration judges at the site, but as of Monday those plans were not yet in motion, as guardsmen had yet to receive any 'formal tasking,' according to a spokesperson for the National Guard. Falling off the grid A DHS official, who asked to remain anonymous because he does not have authority to speak publicly, said there have been a lot of bumps in the rollout, including incorporating the new Alligator Alcatraz detainees into ICE's database system that tracks them. 'Because it's so new, it's going to take a while for them to be added to the ICE locator system,' the official said. The Herald/Times searched 747 names of people who are held or scheduled to be sent to Alligator Alcatraz on the ICE database. Only 40 appeared on the public-facing website, most of them listed as being located at nearby facilities, and three marked with a note to 'call field office.' Eig, the Miami immigration attorney, said one of her clients — a man with no criminal record who was detained by federal immigration agents during a routine check-in at an ICE field office — showed up on the ICE locator last week. But on Monday, she checked again, and his name was no longer there. 'He's completely gone, but he was there,' she said. While detainees are not showing up on the ICE database, officials at the Krome detention center in Miami are regularly interacting with their state counterparts at Alligator Alcatraz. But attorneys interviewed by the Herald/Times have had to figure this all out on their own. As Cuprys tried to represent her clients at Alligator Alcatraz, she started making calls. She said the clerk at Krome suggested she reach out to federal Enforcement and Removal officers. An officer there told her that Alligator Alcatraz wasn't set up yet for hearings and that the state was working on a memorandum of understanding, but it wasn't 'notched out' yet. When Cuprys emailed a legal visit request to the Department of Homeland Security, she was told her client was 'under the custody of the State of Florida,' not the federal government. As the question of legal custody lingers, attorneys are still trying to meet with their clients – but it has not been easy. Victor Martinez, Cuprys' law partner, said staff at the facility told him when he visited Alligator Alcatraz on July 7 that he was one of the first attorneys to try and conduct a legal visitation at the site. So, they had him park and wait for almost five hours outside. 'What they said is that they are not ready to receive attorneys,' Martinez said. 'Maybe they didn't think attorneys were going to go visit their clients. They never set up for that.' Martinez was not allowed inside, and he wasn't able to contact his clients. Neither he nor Cuprys have been able to get their clients on the phone since then.
Chicago Tribune
07-07-2025
- Automotive
- Chicago Tribune
Residents push back on truck routes between Interstate 57, Illinois 394
Will County transportation officials are seeking input on the ongoing Eastern Will County Freight Mobility Corridor study, while some residents are starting a petition drive in protest of the county's plan to create a dedicated east-west truck route between Interstate 57 and Illinois 394. About 140 residents attended a recent meeting at Monee Elementary School to hear information and provide feedback on the plan. Residents have through July 24 to submit written comments that will be entered into the official public record. A survey about the project is online at Will County transportation officials are studying how best to organize truck traffic in response to local leaders, who said truckers now drive through their towns, sometimes on roads not meant for semis, said Christina Kupkowski, a project manager with the Will County Division of Transportation. But the study is concerning to several residents worried a truck route will be built near their neighborhoods. 'How are they going to change our community?' said Monee resident Jacqueline Rosinski. 'The community needs to be heard.' Rosinski said she understands the logic of trying to get trucks from I-57 to IL-394, but said there are concerns. Nearby residents said the project would add more trucks, increase noise and pollution, harm farmland, destroy wildlife habitats and create greater traffic hazards for residents. 'We will lose our privacy,' said Monee resident Chad Hartman, who is organizing a petition drive against the east-west truck route after learning one of the alternatives under consideration goes near his Country Meadows subdivision. Hartman said it would ruin the view from his picturesque yard, and he fears reduced property values and increased noise. Hartman said he is concerned that county officials are catering to truck drivers without regard to residents' well-being. He said if they make it easier for trucks to travel through town, it will invite developers to build more warehouses and industrial parks, which would then lead to even more trucks. Hartman said he is also concerned about an increase in crime because there would be easier access to I-57, and he wondered how Monee Elementary School or the Golf Vista Estates senior living community would be affected if the truck route were located near them. 'Everybody likes Monee because it's a quiet, quaint little town,' Hartman said. County Board member Judy Ogalla, a Monee Republican, said she didn't like any of the proposed alternatives, which affect neighborhoods, schools and a potential location for a new Monee police station. 'This is not community friendly at all,' Ogalla said. County Board member Dan Butler, a Frankfort Republican, said a handful of residents and local leaders have contacted him about the project. Residents, who appreciate the farmland and rural living, told him they want less truck traffic, not more. If truck routes are created, more warehouses and industrial parks could be built on the farmland, Butler said. 'Are we doing this for the people, or are we doing it for the businesses,' he said. 'People live in Will County because it's more rural, especially out this way. They like the country, natural environment.' He said a broader issue of how development should look, especially on farmland, should be discussed. Butler also questioned the maintenance costs for upkeep. 'Infrastructure costs never go away,' he said. There has been a significant growth in truck traffic, but there is a lack of dedicated east-west connections between I-57 and IL-394, Kupkowski said. The study is being done to evaluate alternatives to improve freight mobility. Some of the area's weight-restricted roads are not built for truck traffic, and those weight restrictions may not be conveyed on GPS devices. As a result, truckers drive on roads they shouldn't and violate those roads' weight limits, Kupkowski said. 'A designated truck route tells truckers, 'This is where we want you to be,'' she said. No decisions have been made at this point, Kupkowski said. The study, which started in 2020 with a series of meetings and surveys, includes about 20 square miles and the municipalities of Crete, Monee, University Park and parts of Frankfort, Park Forest, Steger and Sauk Village. It borders the Cook County municipalities of Richton Park and South Chicago Heights, the Indiana state line, I-57 and the south suburban airport planning area. At one point, nearly 30 alternatives were explored, and the county has narrowed the scope to six alternatives to design and construct highway improvements along the Crete-Monee Road corridor with various connections to IL-50 and IL-394, Kupkowski said. A no-build alternative assumes no improvements will be made and only regular road maintenance will be done. The county is looking decades out so it doesn't build a road system that is obsolete, Kupkowski said. Truck traffic and warehouse development has been increasing throughout the county, officials said. In 2015, trucks carried $282 billion in goods through Will County, and it's estimated to increase to about $1.2 trillion in goods by 2040, project documents said. Will County's largest employer and freight mover is Amazon, which recently built fulfillment centers in Monee, University Park and Matteson, in or adjacent to the study area, according to project documents. The increased freight traffic in eastern Will County was introduced without accompanying improvements to the county transportation network or a designated truck route network, leading to uncontrolled freight movements on roads that were not designed to support significant truck travel, project documents said. Kupkowski said safety is the county's number one goal. Part of the reason for surveys and request for feedback is to gather information that officials might not know, she said. While the county has data on accidents and traffic volumes, officials do not know about intersections or other locations in which a near-miss accident may have occurred, she said. The county also looks at other anecdotal information or opinions from residents who live or work in the proposed area. County officials anticipate Crete-Monee Road will remain one lane in each direction, but improvements will be needed, such as wider shoulders and intersections and thicker pavement to accommodate the weight of trucks, Kupkowski said. The preliminary engineering phase is expected to take up to three years, while the next phase that includes land acquisition could take 18 months to two years as the project continues to be refined. The more data the county can collect during the early planning periods ultimately makes for a better road system, Kupkowski said. The county is working to reduce the number of trucks traveling down residential areas. 'The whole goal is to build a safe roadway system that fits holistically with the area,' she said. 'This is the time to provide comments. Let us know your concerns.' Construction, which could run more than $100 million, wouldn't occur until at least 2030 or 2031, Kupkowski said. A future public engagement session is likely to take place next year.
San Francisco Chronicle
04-07-2025
- San Francisco Chronicle
Fireworks explosion: Officials expect several dead as officials sift rubble for human remains
Human remains were found at the site of a major explosion this week at a fireworks factory near Esparto, Yolo County Sheriff's Office confirmed Friday. In a press release, the sheriff's office said they had not yet identified the remains and did not specify how many people were confirmed dead, though Sheriff's Office spokesperson Lt. Don Hartman told the Chronicle that he was fairly certain that 'more than one' person had been killed based on the remains recovered so far. Seven people were reported missing shortly after the explosion. By Thursday, officials said at least one person had been killed in Tuesday's blast, which also triggered a 78-acre fire. By late Friday morning, coroners were still trying to locate additional bodies, though their efforts were hampered by the risk of igniting any dormant pyrotechnics that remained. The scene looked like 'devastation,' Hartman said, with rubble and debris everywhere and lingering 'hot spots' of fire. Once all remains are recovered, teams will employ rapid DNA testing on them to identify those killed in the blasts. The incident, which is being called the Oakdale Fire, began around 5:50 p.m. on Tuesday after a commercial fireworks facility ignited. The flames quickly spread to the warehouse containing the pyrotechnics, triggering a massive fireball embedded with popping fireworks and an enormous plume of smoke billowing more than 10,000 feet into the air. Among the missing were brothers and warehouse employees Joel 'Jr' Melendez, 28, Johnny Ramos, 22, and Jesus Maneces Ramos, 18, who'd just begun his first day. A GoFundMe page was set up for Melendez' pregnant wife, Maria, and their 11-month-old son. The warehouse belonged to a company called Devastating Pyrotechnics, according to a joint statement by Marysville, Yuba City, and Sutter and Yuba counties. Archived versions of the company's website describe it as having 30 years of experience producing pyrotechnic displays across California. Arson and bomb investigators from CAL FIRE are leading the investigation into the origin and cause of the explosion.
The Citizen
04-07-2025
- Sport
- The Citizen
Fire and Fury League set to ignite women's cricket in Ekurhuleni
Benoni Northerns Ladies' captain and Eastern Storm wicketkeeper Tamzyn Hartman believes the Fire and Fury Women's League will bring much-needed exposure to women's cricket in Ekurhuleni. Hartman was one of 52 Eastern Cricket Union (ECU) players drafted into four teams that will form part of the competition during a player draft at Willowmoore Park on June 28. 'It brings so much exposure to the women's game and gives players looking to move up in the cricket world an opportunity to be recognised,' she said. 'It also lets them compete against more established players.' While the region's experienced names will likely draw the spotlight, the right-handed batter said the league also offers fringe players a platform to shine. 'It gives us all something to fight for. I like that we'll be playing against teammates we usually train with, and also seeing new talent step up and show us what they're capable of.' The franchise-based league was created to inspire, develop and showcase the growing female cricketing talent in the Eastern region. The four teams – the Dragons, the Gryphons, the Phoenix and the Unicorns – will be coached by former Eastern Storm player and current Titans cricketer Alysia Rudolph, Benoni Northerns' Megan Wilke, Ricea Coetzer, and Simone Lourens of the Titans. League convenors Carmen Coppin and Shannon McKelvey said the tournament for women is about more than competition. 'It's about empowerment and visibility for Easterns' rising stars,' said Coppin. 'Our mission is to create a space where women's cricket is taken seriously, where talent and hard work are celebrated, and future legends are forged on and off the field.' McKelvey added, 'The league brings together players aged 15 and older, affiliated with the ECU – from schools and clubs to provincial level – in an exciting, competitive format.' Matches will take place on September 6 and 7 at Hoërskool Hugenote and Laerskool Palm Brink in Springs. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
