Paige Parkerson, 20, is charged with first-degree felony murder in the death of Clifton “JR” Barkin, the 22-year-old father of her two children, according to the Daily Mail.

Barkin’s mother, Evetta Wright, received a call from Parkerson early Monday morning informing her that Barkin was dead. “Paige told me that she killed JR,” Wright told the Beaumont Enterprise. “That he was dead.”

Wright last saw her son at 11:30 p.m. the previous night, when she dropped him off at the home he shared with Parkerson, according to the Enterprise. Just before that, Wright had driven Clifton to Walmart so he could purchase flowers and a Mother’s Day card for Parkerson. Wright believes that her son’s fiancée attacked him because she expected a more lavish gift.

Parkerson, whose Facebook page lists her favorite quotation as, “if looks could kill i would be da murder of all my haters,” was arrested shortly after her phone call to the victim’s mother, the Houston Chronicle reported. She is currently being held at Jefferson County Jail on $75,000 bond.

The couple’s children are now staying with relatives.

The events leading up to the shocking discovery began at about 11:56 p.m. Saturday, when a motorist in Worcester contacted police and reported finding an infant strapped to a car seat in the middle of Lovell Street.

When police and paramedics arrived on the scene, they examined the child and discovered it was a baby boy, who is about 6 months old. The child appeared to be unharmed, but was transported to a nearby hospital for evaluation.

While canvassing the area, police were told by a local resident that the baby might belong to a woman living in a first-floor apartment at 326 Lovell Street. When police went to the residence to investigate, they heard sounds of a person in distress coming from inside and immediately entered, Worcester police Sgt. Kerry Hazelhurst told The Huffington Post Tuesday.

When officers entered the residence, they found two women, ages 36 and 18, and one man bound and gagged. The women were both severely injured and transported to the hospital in critical condition. The man, who has since been identified as 32-year-old Javier Maldonado, was pronounced dead.

Police also found a pit bull inside the residence. The dog was uninjured and taken away by an animal control officer.

Authorities have yet to identify the female victims, but did say the younger woman is the mother of the 6-month-old boy. The baby is healthy and has been placed in the custody of the Department of Children and Families, police said.

An autopsy was completed Monday on Maldonado, but authorities have not yet released the results. Investigators are also not releasing details on the injuries sustained by the two women, but local media outlets have reported they suffered multiple stab wounds. Both women are unconscious and have been unable to make a statement to police.

Authorities do not believe the killing and assaults were random and say they discovered drug activity inside the home.

On Sunday night, authorities were called to another apartment building, located approximately a mile-and-a-half northeast of Lovell Street, to investigate a homicide. Police discovered the body of 25-year-old Nestor Ramirez at the residence. The victim had suffered a single gunshot wound and was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police found narcotics and drug paraphernalia at the residence. Investigators have not disclosed what types of drugs were found at either residence, but have said they have found no evidence linking the two incidents.

In regard to Maldonado’s murder, Hazelhurst said investigators are still trying to determine what happened.

“We have nothing at this point,” the veteran officer told HuffPost.

Anyone with information in the cases is asked to call The Worcester Police Department at 508-799-8651. Anonymous web-based messages can also be sent via worcesterma.gov/police.

Ned Simons reported from London, Alexandre Phalippou from Paris, and Ryan Grim from Washington.

When Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke ventured to the Senate last Thursday for a closed-door gathering, he found a nervous Democratic caucus. One senator put their anxiety into words: How worried should we be about Europe?

The question wasn’t merely about the drag on U.S. gross domestic product that a downturn on the continent could have. More importantly, Democrats were worried about the anti-incumbent anger in the European electorate, said one senator who was in the meeting.

Bernanke demurred, declining to get into the politics, but other senators in the room answered the question: Voters, they warned, will punish incumbents for the pain of austerity.

“Incumbency plus austerity equals political death,” MP Jon Trickett, a top official with Ed Miliband’s Labour Party, told HuffPost. “There is a general spirit across Europe, and perhaps in the U.S., against the political elite.”

The weekend after the meeting, that equation played out as predicted, smashing Chancellor Angela Merkel’s ruling party in a state election described as a devastating setback by German media.

One of the most powerful messages that U.S. politicians have delivered to voters over the past few years is the warning that the nation will “become Greece” if it doesn’t lower its debt and deficit. But now voters in Greece and across Europe are sending back a warning of their own.

American elites are fond of describing the nation they represent as exceptional. But the language of reelection is universal — and bipartisan.

“Off with their heads,” said Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) when asked about the message European voters were sending.

Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) both said the European elections are a frequent topic of conversation among senators. “Every bill up here is a ‘jobs’ bill. It’s your job,” said Graham. “I guess the question is, how much do you want the job?”

Sunday’s rebuke to Merkel in North Rhine-Westphalia, home to some 18 million Germans, came a week after French voters tossed out President Nicolas Sarkozy and elected socialist François Hollande, a symbol of the anti-austerity movement. And that followed electoral rebukes to the ruling coalitions in Spain, Greece, Holland, Britain and Italy.

Trickett, who was previously a parliamentary aide to then-Prime Minister Gordon Brown, said that although elections are “complex,” he was sure the government’s handling of the economy was a major factor in recent losses.

“There is no doubt that at the front of people’s minds was that the austerity measures are not working. That does explain the election result,” he said.

In the United Kingdom, where voters tend to behave most similarly to those in the United States, the governing Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition that took power in 2010 has defined itself by its mission to cut the budget deficit by imposing spending cuts across public services. Despite falling living standards and rising unemployment, the Conservative Party had largely managed to sustain the near 37 percent approval rating it secured at the time of the general election — high by British standards because of the parliamentary system.

However, following the party’s 2012 budget, which included a headline-grabbing tax cut for the wealthiest Britons, and news that the UK had slipped back into recession, its poll rating plummeted below 30 percent for the first time since 2004. This slip in support was reflected in local council elections in May, when both the Conservatives and the Lib Dems suffered heavy losses.

Overall, the Conservatives lost 405 council seats while the Lib Dems lost 336. By contrast, the Labour Party gained 823 councillors. Labour secured a 38 percent national share of the vote, while the Tories received just 31 percent.

Labour MP Trickett’s advice for Obama and the Democrats? Even though he is the one in office, the president must “capture the spirit of insurgency against austerity” in his fight against Mitt Romney.

Unfortunately for American incumbents, the French, British and Spanish elections tell different stories with identical outcomes. Spanish leader José Luis Zapatero was thrown out because he tried to underestimate the impact of the crisis and austerity. He lost credibility and lost power.

In France, Sarkozy took the opposite tack. He and Prime Minister François Fillon repeatedly warned that the country was living through the worst economic crisis since 1929, hoping that if people were convinced of that, they would more readily sacrifice.

It turns out that when government policy makes people’s lives noticeably worse, they vote out the policymakers, no matter what the rationale.

Graham, the South Carolina Republican, said that American politicians should learn from the Europeans and make sure that both parties are on board for spending cuts. That gives voters nowhere to flee.

“We’re going to need a Ronald Reagan-Tip O’Neill moment, because what you see in Europe is a breaking apart of consensus. The centrist parties took a beating, and now everybody’s running for the hills,” he said. “Here’s what Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neill did: They held hands, and they did it together.”

In the 1980s, President Reagan and House Speaker O’Neill famously cut a grand bargain with a mix of entitlement reform and tax increases.

“What you see happening in Europe is really going to happen in December [in the U.S.], because in December all of these things come together,” Graham said, referring to the expiration of the Bush tax cuts and payroll tax cut, the approach of the debt limit, and the kicking in of automatic cuts mandated by the previous budget deal, which will all coincide with the new year. “If in December, we run for the hills as a nation, what’s going on in Europe is coming to our doorstep.”

But politicians are fooling themselves if they think some sort of centrist consensus will save their jobs, said Rep. Brad Miller (D-N.C.). “European elections should remind politicians here not to worry about the approval of pampered, pompous Washington pundits who think the middle class just has it too good,” Miller said. “Washington pundits love austerity, and they’re all clucking with disapproval for European voters. The pundits always think someone else’s belt needs tightening, and it’s always someone who doesn’t go to the same cocktail parties they go to. But there are a lot more middle-class voters than there are Washington pundits.”

Pat McFadden, a Labour MP who was a close aide to Prime Minister Tony Blair and served as a business minister under Peter Mandelson during the Brown administration, said voters’ reaction to the austerity arises not just from the pain, but from the unfairness of it.

The British elections “were also a statement that people think cuts [are] being implemented unfairly,” said McFadden. “Taxes are being cut for people earning over £150,000 while low-income families are having their incomes cut, VAT has been increased and people are struggling to make ends meet.”

That type of pain shouldn’t be delivered during already rough economic times, McFadden argued. “American politicians will make their own decisions, but the big task for politicians in countries with deficits is to bring the deficits down over the medium term but without damaging jobs, growth and confidence,” he said. “If government simply slashes spending all over the place, it can become self-defeating because growth stalls, unemployment rises and ultimately borrowing goes up, not down.”

Calling Europe “a controlled experiment” for austerity policies, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.) said, “It’s a disaster, and we should learn from it.”

Sen. Graham, for his part, acknowledged the need for economic growth. “At the end of the day, austerity and growth have to go together,” he said. “But this rebellion, or pushback, against making hard choices in Europe, if it does come to our shores, we’re in trouble.”

Shaun Winkler, an avowed Ku Klux Klan member and convicted batterer, had received only 40 votes in northern Idaho’s Bonner County, versus 1,072 votes for incumbent Sheriff Daryl Wheeler, with 10 of 33 precincts reporting.

Tim Fry, a police officer, had 353 votes.

Winkler, 33, attracted national attention for a campaign that culminated earlier this month with a cross burning on his northern Idaho property near Priest River and a pledge to crack down on sexual predators and illegal drugs.

Winkler’s supremacist sentiments, in which he has derided Jews and African-Americans, have sparked outrage in the Idaho Panhandle, where local leaders and human rights activists have struggled to shake off decades-old stereotypes of the area where the late Aryan Nations leader Richard Butler sought to establish a “white homeland.” Winkler was one of Butler’s trusted aides.

Bonner County Republican chair Cornel Rasor said the area, once tied to logging and mining but which now promotes tourism, was dedicated to dispelling the myth that it welcomes hate-mongers.

“The philosophy of racism and racial superiority is not acceptable here,” Rasor said.

“It’s frustrating that a community made up of so many unsung heroes – volunteer firefighters and emergency workers – has been damaged by people like Mr. Winkler, who know how to get media attention.”

Thomas Carter, head of the Human Rights Education Institute in neighboring Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, said outbursts by Winkler and others like him would not distract the region from its goals.

“We have the same mission we’ve always had: respect for one another and dignity for all,” Carter said.

Winkler could not be reached for comment. (Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Paul Simao)

During the con, customers are told they can earn credits toward utility bills, but that they must first provide their Social Security number to apply.

“Scammers have visited customers in person, posted fliers and used social media and texting to send messages claiming that President Obama will provide a credit or directly pay utility bills,” according to a statement released by the company.

The scam represents a risk of identity theft. Southern California Gas Co. said employees always carry proper identification and do not randomly contact customers and ask for their Social Security number.

Southern California Gas Co. also issued tips to properly identify employees, including:

•Be vigilant and question anyone who presents themselves as an employee.

•SoCal Gas employees who do in-home-appliance services, work on gas meters or work on gas pipelines wear uniforms.

•Always ask for identification before allowing anyone inside your home or on your property.

•If no one scheduled an appointment, call SoCal Gas before allowing anyone inside the home or on the property.

•SoCal Gas does not ask customers to leave their homes unattended.

To verify the authenticity of a Southern California Gas Co. employee, call 800-427-2200.

Officers responded at 11:25 p.m. Monday to reports of a disturbance in front of an apartment complex in the 1100 block of North Acacia Avenue near Romneya Drive, Anaheim police Sgt. Bob Dunn said.

Officers found two men who had been stabbed – one stabbed in the arm and the other in the hand, Dunn said.

There were reports that a woman was also stabbed, however, she suffered a minor arm injury from a broken window, Dunn said.

It was unclear if a weapon was recovered, Dunn said, adding that the investigation is ongoing.

The sergeant, who claimed in court documents he was forced into an early retirement and his night shift switched to the day as retaliation, filed a lawsuit asking for $2.7 million, City News Service reported.

While working as a West Los Angeles station assistant watch commander, James Abbate claims he was told by another sergeant in 2009 that Los Angeles Police Capt. Ruben De La Torre used duct tape on his patrol car’s license plate to avoid toll road violation cameras along the 91 Express Lanes between the 55 freeway and the Riverside County line.

The lawsuit states De La Torre began using the duct tape after the city received $240 in fines for his use of the toll roads, City News Service reported.

But an attorney representing the city said Abbate was not the victim of retaliation, and said called the claim filed by the police sergeant a “money grab.”

The suit claims Abbate reported the claim to a lieutenant, a deputy chief and the Los Angeles Police Protective League. After doing so, Abbate claims, he was retaliated against by having his shift changed from evenings to days, which made it hard for him to care for his mother.

He was also reprimanded for his handling of a domestic abuse case and a citizen’s noise complaint, according to court documents.

Los Angeles Deputy City Attorney Daniel Aguilera said Abbate deserved to be reprimanded for the two cases, and said Abbate’s shift was changed for only a month.

Jurors began deliberating on the case Monday.

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An amateur wrestler best known for his chipped teeth and his ragged backstory was convicted this week of sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl he met online.

Matthew Castaneda, 35, faces a maximum sentence of 24 years to life in prison. Prosecutors say he assaulted the girl at an Anaheim motel after trading messages with her on MySpace and arranging a meeting near South Coast Plaza.

Castaneda was featured in a 2004 Register cover story as a recovering alcoholic and former gang member seeking a new life in the “lucha libre” wrestling ring. He took his stage name, Chippy Sanchez, from the chipped teeth of his brawling early life.

A photograph of a bare-chested Castaneda praying before a match, which ran with the 2004 story, shows the same emblem tattooed on his chest that appeared in a mug shot that Anaheim police released when they arrested him. The photo also shows what appears to be a “13″ tattooed on his abdomen, also apparent in the Anaheim pictures.

The District Attorney’s Office said it could not confirm that the man convicted Monday of aggravated sexual assault and lewd acts on a child was the amateur wrestler.

Prosecutors say Castaneda befriended the12-year-old girl on MySpace in November 2009. The girl’s profile said she was 19 and, in online chats, she told Castaneda she was 16, Deputy District Attorney Cynthia Herrera said.

He met the girl near South Coast plaza a few months later, then took her by bus to Anaheim, according to the District Attorney’s Office. They walked through parks and then went to Zaby’s Motor Lodge where, prosecutors said, Castaneda sexually assaulted the girl and then fled.

Deputy Public Defender Lisa Kopelman conceded that her client had sex with the girl, but argued it was not forced and that he should be convicted of lesser molestation charges.

Afterward, the girl flagged down an Anaheim police traffic controller and asked to be taken home, prosecutors said. Police in Santa Ana – where the girl had been reported missing – learned she had been assaulted by Castaneda, prosecutors said.

Castaneda was arrested days later at a Costa Mesa warehouse. The jury that convicted him on Monday failed to reach a verdict on a second charge of aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14 and attempted aggravated sexual assault of a child under 14, court records show.

Castaneda was on parole for a 2007 domestic-violence conviction and for violating a restraining order, according to the District Attorney’s Office.

World Power Wrestling, the organization for which Castaneda wrestled, did not return a phone call seeking comment. It specializes in the highly theatrical, carefully choreographed Lucha Libre wresting popular for decades in Mexico.

The 2004 Register article described Castaneda seeking redemption from his troubled past inside the ropes of the Lucha Libre ring. He talked of smoking marijuana, drinking, running with gang members and brawling with his father. “I needed to do something with my life,” he said in the article. “I always loved wrestling.”

Castaneda will have to register for life as a sex offender. His next court hearing is in June.

City News Service contributed to this report.

Leesa Lyon was attacked inside the Corona Pointe Apartments complex in the 3900 block of Pierce Street, said John Welsh, spokesman for Riverside County Animal Services, in a news release.

It was about 10:20 p.m. Monday, May 14, when Lyon and her daughter got out of their car and began walking to their apartment when they saw the dogs run at them, Lyon told Riverside police and an Animal Services sergeant who responded to the 911 calls of the daughter and others who witnessed the attack.

Lyon, who drove herself to a hospital for treatment of the dog bites, said she was attacked when she put herself between her daughter and the charging dogs, whose behavior she later described as frenzied.

“I told her, ‘Run! Run!’ Thank God she listened to me,” Welsh quoted Lyon as saying later. “I stood between her and them. Thank goodness she got to the car.”

The dogs will be quarantined for 10 days at the Western Riverside County/City Animal Shelter in Jurupa Valley, Welsh said. They could be held longer depending upon the outcome of a potential dangerous-dog hearing, the date of which has yet to be set, he said.

The dogs, all female, have not been spayed, are unlicensed and unvaccinated, he said.

Lyon said the dogs earlier charged a man taking out his trash, Welsh related. He had to jump into the trash bin to keep from being attacked.

Ashly Nicole Rodriguez, of Murrieta, pleaded guilty Monday, May 15, to DUI vehicular manslaughter with gross negligence and felony driving under the influence, Riverside County court records show.

John Hall, spokesman for the Riverside County district attorney’s office, said Rodriguez made a plea to the court and faces up to 10 years in prison at her June 28 sentencing.

Rodriguez was driving on Borel Road early Jan. 22 with three passengers when she swerved and rolled her car, California Highway Patrol officials said in a news release.

Aaron Michael Ellis, 19, of Murrieta, was thrown from the car and killed.

Hall said Rodriguez’s blood alcohol level was 0.19 percent two hours after the crash.

CHP investigators learned Rodriguez and her passengers had come from a party where people younger than 21 were drinking alcohol, the release said.

In cooperation with investigators from the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, the CHP determined a 20-year-old Winchester woman and her 41-year-old mother provided the alcohol to guests younger than 21, the release said.

The names of the women were not released because they have not been arrested, CHP spokesman Officer Nathan Baer said.

The case will be referred to the district attorney’s office for consideration of criminal charges, he said.