Pedro Medina, a Cuban refugee, then 39, murdered his neighbour Dorothy James, 52, in Orlando, Florida, on April 4, 1982. He was due to be electrocuted to death by the infamous electric chair, Old Sparky, in Florida State Prison on March 25, 1997 – nearly 15 years after the crime. But the chair malfunctioned, causing foot-long flames to shoot out of his head, and burst from behind the mask over his face, filling the death chamber with smoke. Executions in Florida were delayed by almost a whole

Is there a “right age” to tell your child you’re getting a divorce? Microsoft founder Bill Gates, and his wife Melinda, announced on 3 May that they’re filing for divorce after 27 years of marriage. It’s been suggested that the couple waited till their youngest daughter had turned 18 and graduated from high school before deciding to split. As a child of divorced parents, I question whether timing your divorce till your children are ‘old enough’ is the right choice. I was 14 and my sister was 1

When the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11, 2020, it felt as if the whole world was thrust into a state of trepidation. I remember trying to suppress how bad it was in those early days, despite the death and case figures on the news constantly screaming at me. I could not stand the uncertainty surrounding what this all meant, for our health services, for the economy, for vulnerable people. I couldn't help but wonder how long our lives would stay on pause. To es

Innovative study in Bradford schools could lead to faster autism diagnosis in children A 2019 pilot study, which took place in ten Bradford schools, found a strong link between children’s performance during their early years’ education and a later diagnosis with autism. This year, the study will be expanded across Bradford and York to reach more children and to speed up the often-lengthy autism diagnosis. Bradford Opportunity Area (BOA), a government-funded scheme created four years ago to enc

Yorkshire’s approach to life seems to suggest we’ve been maintaining our distance The Google Community Mobility reports suggest that Yorkshire has largely been sticking to the social distancing rules, even with an increase in public activity outside the home in the run up to Christmas. Yorkshire’s overall compliance could reveal why our transmission rates are broadly in line with the national average, as of 22 January – 0.8–1.1 percent across the whole Yorkshire region and the North East. The

Villagers’ frustrations over poor mobile signals reached breaking point as they miss Covid-19 vaccine texts Residents of the Nidderdale villages in North Yorkshire have been struggling with little to no mobile phone reception for several years. This ongoing frustration has now reached breaking point, with residents eligible for the Covid-19 vaccination not receiving text messages from their GP regarding their appointments. The poor mobile phone reception is affecting the villages from Pateley

Bradford businesses combine to thank NHS staff with a Christmas surprise One NHS consultant geriatrician at Bradford Royal Infirmary (BRI) has found a touching way to express her gratitude for her staff’s dedication during the Covid-19 crisis. Alison McMurtry, along with other consultant colleagues, has bought £10 salon gift vouchers for the 350 nurses on her whole team. The vouchers will be handed over just before Christmas as a surprise. The salon, Mirror Mirror in Bingley, has decided to ma

“We are your future”: Barnsley student pleads to government for justice after results day shambles An A-level student from Barnsley has written a letter to the prime minister and the health secretary, as well as her new Conservative MP Miriam Cates, about the A-level results shambles. Her letter pleads for justice for this year’s A-Level cohort, after being subjected to a failed algorithm that appears to favour private schools over state schools. Hannah Hinchliffe, 18, of Penistone Grammar Sch