Thursday, November 12, 2009
Medals Of Dishonor
FBI: Prodigiously decorated California man never served in military
NOVEMBER 11--Just in time for Veteran's Day, a California bank employee is facing federal charges for allegedly masquerading as a decorated Marine and wearing a host of bogus medals, including the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and Navy Cross. Steven Burton, 39, is scheduled to surrender tomorrow in U.S. District Court in Riverside, California (Burton, who has never served in the armed forces, was named last week in misdemeanor criminal information charging him with the unauthorized wearing of military medals). According to a search warrant affidavit, Burton's charade was discovered after an actual Navy commander, Colleen Salonga, ran into Burton at their high school reunion. Online records indicate that Salonga and Burton graduated in 1988 from Alhambra High School in Martinez, California (and that their class's 20th reunion was last October). Suspicious that Burton was playing dress up, Salonga asked to take a photo with him. That image was later provided to FBI agents. A subsequent investigation turned up another photo of Burton in uniform as well as blog postings in which he recounted his "combat experience" and tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the real world, Burton is employed at Rabobank in Palm Springs, California.
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NOVEMBER 11--Just in time for Veteran's Day, a California bank employee is facing federal charges for allegedly masquerading as a decorated Marine and wearing a host of bogus medals, including the Purple Heart, Bronze Star, and Navy Cross. Steven Burton, 39, is scheduled to surrender tomorrow in U.S. District Court in Riverside, California (Burton, who has never served in the armed forces, was named last week in misdemeanor criminal information charging him with the unauthorized wearing of military medals). According to a search warrant affidavit, Burton's charade was discovered after an actual Navy commander, Colleen Salonga, ran into Burton at their high school reunion. Online records indicate that Salonga and Burton graduated in 1988 from Alhambra High School in Martinez, California (and that their class's 20th reunion was last October). Suspicious that Burton was playing dress up, Salonga asked to take a photo with him. That image was later provided to FBI agents. A subsequent investigation turned up another photo of Burton in uniform as well as blog postings in which he recounted his "combat experience" and tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the real world, Burton is employed at Rabobank in Palm Springs, California.
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Girl Sneezes Approximately 12,000 Times a Day
It’s that time of year when everyone seems to be coughing and sneezing, but for a 12-year-old girl from Virginia, she can’t sit for more than a few seconds without someone saying "bless you."
It’s so bad, on a regular day Lauren Johnson can sneeze more than 12,000 times a day.
"I can't stop sneezing. It goes off about eight to nine times a minute," Lauren said.
The condition, described as "machine gun sneezing," started about two weeks ago when the sixth-grader caught a cold and ever since then she’s been miserable.
"I know this is terrible for her," Lauren’s mom, Lynn Johnson said.
Lauren hasn’t been able to go to school and has visited six different doctors since the non-stop sneezing began. Although there’s no clear diagnosis, one neurologist told the family Lauren’s condition could be "irretraceable psychogenic disorder," which could be triggered by stress, according to the report.
It’s so bad, on a regular day Lauren Johnson can sneeze more than 12,000 times a day.
"I can't stop sneezing. It goes off about eight to nine times a minute," Lauren said.
The condition, described as "machine gun sneezing," started about two weeks ago when the sixth-grader caught a cold and ever since then she’s been miserable.
"I know this is terrible for her," Lauren’s mom, Lynn Johnson said.
Lauren hasn’t been able to go to school and has visited six different doctors since the non-stop sneezing began. Although there’s no clear diagnosis, one neurologist told the family Lauren’s condition could be "irretraceable psychogenic disorder," which could be triggered by stress, according to the report.
"There's less than 40 cases ever documented ever in the entire world," Johnson said. "Nobody really knows how to treat it, what's going to work, and even in the cases where it might have worked or turned the sneezing off for awhile, a lot of times it comes back again and then you're right back to where you started," she added.
However, there are a few hours when Lauren does not sneeze."It turns off when she sleeps," her mom said. "Only in a deep REM sleep it turns off."
However, there are a few hours when Lauren does not sneeze."It turns off when she sleeps," her mom said. "Only in a deep REM sleep it turns off."
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