b>Three-year-old Grayson Clamp has heard his father’s voice for the first time following one-of-a-kind surgery.
Grayson, who was born deaf, is now experiencing an entirely new world after undergoing the new surgery in the US. His parents Len and Nicole Clamp decided to take a chance on the “Auditory Brain Stem Implant” surgery performed at UNC Hospital.
Grayson, who was born without the cochlear nerves in his ear which help to process and hear sound, was the first child in the US to undergo the procedure.
Following the success of the surgery, which involved implanting a microchip into Grayson’s brain, Len and Nicole are excited their adopted son can now hear their voices. They are now trying to teach him how to process the sounds he hears.
“We don’t know exactly what he hears. His brain is still trying to organize itself to use sound,” his mum Nicole says.
The family from Charlotte, North Carolina, said they are willing to do anything to help their son to hear.
Watch the heart-warming moment in the video above.
James Gandolfini has died after a suspected heart attack. He was 51 years old.
The star of cult show The Sopranos was on holiday in Rome and was due to attend the 59th Taormina Film Festival in Sicily this weekend.
He is survived by his wife, former model Deborah Lin, their baby daughter, Liliana Ruth, nine months, and his son Michael, 13, from a previous marriage.
James and Deborah married in Hawaii in 2008 and welcomed their first baby last October.
James starred in films including True Romance and Terminal Velocity before scoring the lead role of Tony Soprano in hit HBO series The Sopranos.
The show made him a household name and won him three Emmy Awards.
When The Sopranos finished in 2007, James went on to appear in critically acclaimed movies including The Loop, The Taking of Pelham 123 and, more recently, Zero Dark Thirty.
She’s the future queen but the Duchess of Cambridge is not too posh to push. Royal sources have revealed Kate is hoping for a natural birth at the London hospital where Princess Diana had William in 1982.
Kate, 31, is reportedly booked in to the state-of-the-art Lindo Ward of St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington.
She will deliver her baby in one of the private hospital’s $16,000 birthing suites and is hoping for a natural birth, which makes her a rarity among high profile London women who usually opt for an elective caesarean.
William is determined to be present at the birth and a special helicopter is said to be on standby at his RAF base in Anglesey, Wales, to rush him to London if Kate goes into labour.
“He very much plans to be at the birth but between now and then will also be on and off duty in North Wales, meaning he might have to get there rather swiftly,” a source told the UK’s Daily Mail.
“It could be by train or car if he is up in Anglesey but should a helicopter be available then that is also a strong possibility.”
Kate’s mother Carole Middleton and sister Pippa will also be present at the hospital to support the Duchess if William doesn’t make it in time.
After the birth, William will have two weeks’ paternity leave before returning to his normal shift pattern. Kate will not be returning to their rented farmhouse in Anglesey however. She and baby will move to her parents’ Berkshire home for six weeks before returning to the humble two-bedroom cottage on the grounds of Kensington Palace that has been the couple’s city home since their 2011 marriage.
As for the sex of the baby, royal insiders claim the couple genuinely don’t know, and will not find out.
William and Kate are reportedly looking forward to a surprise, and asked not to be told about the sex so they couldn’t accidentally let it slip.
When Kate goes into labour, Clarence House and Buckingham Palace will announce the news on their Twitter accounts (once she has been admitted to hospital and been seen by a doctor), but the actual birth will be telegraphed with a little more pomp and circumstance.
As happened when William was born in 1982, an announcement will be printed on special stationary and signed by the delivery room doctors, including the Queen’s Surgeon-Gynaecologist, Marcus Setchell and the Royal Household’s official Surgeon-gynaecologist, Alan Farthing.
It will then be rushed to Buckingham Palace under police escort, where it will be displayed on an easel by the front gates.
Diana, Charles and baby William on the steps of St Mary’s Hospital in Paddington.
The sign announcing William’s birth erected outside Buckingham Palace.
The notice announcing William’s birth read: “Her Royal Highness, The Princess of Wales was safely delivered a son at 9.05pm today. Her Royal Highness and her child are both doing well.”
“We wanted to retain some of the theatre of the notice,” a source said. “It is quite important to us that this is done properly and with the degree of dignity that the event demands.
“This is the birth of a child who will be in line to the throne. It is a rare occasion and it is nice to be able to do it with some historical precedence.”
After the sign has been posted, Kensington Palace will send out an email press release that will divulge important details like the baby’s weight and other details. The release after William’s birth revealed he had blue eyes and had “cried lustily” as he was handed to his parents.
However, if the baby is born between 10.30pm and 8am, the new will be emailed first, with the easel being erected later that morning at around 9am.
“If the baby is born late at night, it would be unreasonable not to tell anyone [and] we wouldn’t run around with a police escort at 3am,” the source said. “We would be slightly disappointed not to announce it on the easel first, but would still put the notice up the next morning.”
William is also planning to address the media from the steps of the hospital.
“While it is a deeply personal and private event, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge realise this is a time of national celebration and that there will be vast interest in the baby. They realise many people will want to share in their happiness,” a spokesman said.
Tom Meagher gives his first interview since his wife Jill Meagher's horrific death.
The husband of murdered rape victim Jill Meagher has slammed the justice system that he says failed to protect his wife.
In an interview following the conviction of Adrian Ernest Bayley, the man who raped and murdered his 29-year-old wife, Tom Meagher described Jill’s killer as “unreprentantly evil” saying he had been let off too many times.
Bayley was yesterday sentenced to 15 years in prison for rape and life for murder with a non-parole period of 35 years. Mr Meagher told ABC’s 7.30 his sentence was “a disgrace”.
“Given what this man has done in the past, I think that 15 years is a disgrace, considering the maximum penalty for rape is 25,” he said.
“I don’t know what the maximum penalty is for if it’s not for that man. Who else could fit the bill of a maximum sentence for rape than Adrian Ernest Bayley?”
He was first jailed in 1991 for sexual assault and served just 22 months of a five-year sentence, and in September 2000 he was jailed for a minimum of eight years for the rape of five women over a six-month period.
Having served only half of his sentence, Bayley was on parole in September last year when he raped and murdered Jill Meagher.
Mr Meagher said that the justice system had failed in punishing Bayley appropriately in his previous convictions.
“I think the number one priority [of the parole board] should be to protect the innocent. That’s what they didn’t do in this case and that’s why Jill’s not here,” he said.
Bayley’s previous attacks were on sex workers, and Mr Meagher said the leniency with which these crimes were treated by the justice system sent “a disturbing message”.
“Put it like this: if he’d raped five people like Jill that many times in that brutal a fashion, I don’t think he would have served eight years in prison,” he said.
“What it says to women is if we don’t like what you do, you won’t get justice, and what it says to people like Bayley is not ‘don’t rape’, but ‘be careful who you rape’.”
Mr Meagher said he remembers his wife as “the funniest girl in the world”, but that it is was still painful to think of her and what happened the night her life ended and his “changed forever”.
“It took ages to kind of separate my memories of her from what happened to her,” he said.
“I love to think about her, but it’s often very intrusive.”
Jill’s father John McKeon spoke yesterday following Bayley’s sentencing remembering his daughter who lived a life “filled with family, friends, and her beloved Tom”.
He thanked police and prosecutors, saying “justice has now been served”.
Princess Mary, Prince Frederik and twins Josephine and Vincent in Sydney in 2011.
The Sydney Opera House has confirmed Princess Mary will visit Australia in October.
Demark’s Crown Princely couple HRH Prince Frederik and HRH Princess Mary will attend the Opera House’s 40th Anniversary concert and gala dinner on October 27.
The couple met at Sydney bar the Slip Inn during the 2000 Olympics. Their October visit will be the first time Princess Mary, originally from Tasmania, has returned to her home country since 2011.
The couple will open design exhibition Danish Rooms @ the Opera House and accompanying architectural symposium Next Generation.
The Danish couple will also will also bring with them Danish event the Crown Prince Couple Awards to be held at the Oscars on October 28.
“The Opera house was integral in forging important links between Australia and Denmark that continue to strengthen and evolve to this day,” Sydney Opera House CEO Louise Herron said.
Crown Princess Mary and her husband Prince Frederik will return to Sydney in October, 2013, as the official patrons of the Sydney Opera House’s 40th birthday celebrations.
The Danish royals, who first met in Sydney, will head a number of activities from October 20 to 28 focusing on the iconic Aussie landmark during their stay.
The pair are said to be “delighted” and “incredibly excited” about their role as patrons.
“The Opera House was born out of a combination of Australian optimism and Danish design” Opera House chief executive Louise Herron said.
“From the start it was clear that the ideal patrons of the Sydney Opera House’s 40th would be the Crown Prince couple.”
There is no word yet on whether their children – Prince Christian, Princess Isabella, and twins Princess Josephine and Prince Vincent – will accompany them on their visit.
The Sopranos star James Gandolfini has died in Italy, aged 51.
Variety says the Emmy Award-winning actor suffered a likely heart attack while visitng Rome. TMZ reports he was die to attend the 59th Taormina Film Festival in Sicily, TMZ reports.
Television production company HBO has also confirmed his death.
James leaves behind his wife, former model Deborah Lin, a daughter born last October and a teenage son with his ex-wife Marcy Wudarski.
Tributes to the actor have poured in on social media.
Sunrise host Melissa Doyle has announced she is leaving the popular morning show after 12 years.
Breaking the news on air this morning, Mel said she loved every minute of working with the Sunrise team including her good friend and co-host David Koch.
“For nearly 15 of the past 17 years, my alarm clock has gone off at 3.15am. I’ve spent three quarters of my professional life doing breakfast television. And I’ve LOVED every minute of it,” she wrote on her facebook page.
“I’ve been offered a great opportunity to front a new, prime time Network News initiative. I decided it was time to take on a new challenge and so it is with great sadness that I announce I will be leaving Sunrise.”
Mel praised the Sunrise team saying they have been like a “second family”.
Mel will now take annual leave before flying to London to cover the birth of the royal baby.
She will then return briefly to Sunrise before saying goodbye to breakfast TV.
Katie Holmes’ life couldn’t have changed more in the year since she abruptly left Tom Cruise and became a single mother.
The 34-year-old, who now lives in New York with her seven-year-old daughter Suri, is still adjusting to her new life of juggling motherhood and a career comeback.
“She had the courage to leave and take control of her life. Things have been tough for her, but she’s happy. She’s moving on,” a producer she has worked with told People magazine.
“She’s lying low on the romantic side of things. She doesn’t need that right now. Her focus is on Suri. I don’t think she’s ready.”
Despite recently being snapped looking loved-up with her Mania Days co-star Luke Kirby, the producer insists the pair are “just friends” but that “they spend lots of time together. Luke thinks Katie is terrific.”
But being a single mum isn’t easy, with sources saying Suri can be difficult to deal with.
“Katie seems flustered a lot,” one of her neighbors revealed. “You can see the struggle in her face. Suri is quite a handful.”
Katie is also dealing with the pressure of making a career comeback after her Broadway play, Dead Accounts, closed after only a few weeks.
A mother has told of her horror of realising an online predator was grooming her teenage daughter on Facebook, sparking renewed warnings from safety experts.
The WA mum-of-four became suspicious when she read a message from a user called “Sarah Jamesy” while monitoring her 14-year-old’s page.
“At first I didn’t pay attention because it was a woman’s name,” the mother, who did not wish to be named to protect her daughter’s privacy, told The Bunbury Mail.
“But then I saw a message that said ‘I didn’t mean to scare you’ which made me scroll up the conversation.”
“Sarah Jamesy” had repeatedly private messaged her daughter with compliments before asking her to send nude photos. “For all I knew, Sarah Jamesy could have been an older man asking my daughter to send provocative photos,” she said.
The predator had also friended 50 other young girls at local high schools. The incident has been reported to police.
Detective Inspector Stephen Loth, of Queensland Police’s online child protection branch Task Force Argos, told aww.com.au it was vital for parents to engage with and understand what their children are doing online.
Because today’s children are digital natives, Det Insp Loth said their digital immigrant parents should take the time to sit down with them and ask how their social media applications work.
“We are not able to stop kids communicating online,” he said. “We just want to ensure they do it as safely as possible and to limit the amount of information [they] are putting out there on the internet.”
Parents should determine the privacy setting on social media applications, which tend to be set to open as a default, and reach a family agreement on monitoring rather than spying on their children’s activities, he says.
“While mum and dad may set rules about what we can or can’t do, kids always have to be able to come to parents if they are feeling uncomfortable about something, such as having an unwanted approach [online],” Det Insp Loth said.
Other measures include ensuring kids know everyone on their friends list in real life and understand that they should never send sexually explicit images. “Any information you put out there has got to be information you don’t mind everyone seeing,” Det Insp Loth added. “Once you’ve sent it, you’ve lost control.”
Risks include criminal prosecution for pornography and reputation damage that could affect kids in the future. Even photos that allegedly self-destruct within moments of being received on applications like Snapchat can be recovered.
With an “increasing uptake of technology in Australia” and “an explosion in smartphones”, Det Insp Loth said it was more important than ever to be aware of the potential dangers of digital technology alongside the benefits.
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