COOK COUNTY, IL - Cook County Medical Examiners’ staff loaded as many as 26 fetuses and stillborn babies of Cook County moms who can’t afford a burial into a single pauper’s coffin — a decision Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart Thursday called “horribly offensive.” Calling for reforms of how the remains of the state’s poorest and most helpless residents are treated, ...

EXETER, N.H.—Police in New Hampshire are investigating the theft of two paintings from Exeter Hospital that were part of a program designed to raise money for cancer patients. The watercolor paintings belong to Exeter artist Sandy McDermott. The hospital says they disappeared on Monday. Hospital spokesman Ray Lawrence says officials aren't sure how someone could leave the hospital with the paintings. ...

MIAMI-DADE, FL - A South Florida man accused of dousing his son with a chemical has been charged with attempted murder. Jorge Barahona, 53, was initially charged with aggravated child abuse for the critical injuries to the boy but the new charge was added last night, according to West Palm Beach police spokesman Chase Scott. Police say Barahona critically injured his ...

WEEHAWKEN, N.J. — Make that a rush delivery. A newborn baby got her first glimpse of the world during rush hour Thursday morning as her mother went into labor just outside the Lincoln Tunnel. There, a quick-thinking cabbie and some heroic efforts by police from the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey helped bring little Abigail into the world. ...

THORTON - A horrific three-vehicle crash that sent an SUV hurtling through the air and landing on top of a pickup truck, killed five people and injured four others in suburban Denver Thursday, authorities said. Police in Thornton said those killed were in the Chevrolet S-10 pickup. "All five occupants were pronounced dead at the scene," police spokesman Matt Barnes said. ...

BOSTON - A Boston police detective sergeant is on paid leave and three other officers were placed on administrative duty while internal affairs officers and prosecutors investigate allegations of possible “misconduct” related to court appearances, a police statement said. Officers make overtime pay for court appearances that fall on their days off or at times that are not part of their ...

HOUSTON - Houston Police Chief Charles McClelland went on the defensive Thursday during a meeting with local journalists, saying officers have made recent traffic stops in which residents leave their vehicles to take pictures or shoot video — encounters he says could endanger officers and that have increased following the release of the Chad Holley beating footage. "Officers are telling me ...