A US mother who used to give parenting advice to more than two million subscribers on YouTube has pleaded guilty to child abuse after starving two of her children.
Ruby Franke, a mother of six from Utah, has admitted four counts of aggravated child abuse.
She was arrested in August after her emaciated 12-year-old knocked on a neighbour’s door asking for food and water, showing signs that he had been restrained.
Her controversial YouTube channel, called 8 Passengers, had nearly 2.3 million subscribers and focused on parenting style and discipline.
Wearing grey and white prison clothing, Franke pleaded guilty to each of the first three charges individually in court today and on the fourth said: “With my deepest regret and sorrow for my family and my children, guilty.”
Judge John J. Walton accepted a plea agreement and scheduled sentencing for 20 February.
The agreement leaves the sentencing up to the judge and does not rule out prison time, Franke’s lawyer, LaMar Winward, acknowledged.
Franke was arrested on 30 August when her 12-year-old son escaped from her business partner, Jodi Hildebrandt’s home after climbing out of a window, and asked a neighbour to call the police.
Franke’s lawyer said she was influenced by Hildebrandt, a relationship counsellor, who led her to “a distorted sense of morality”.
Image: Jodi Hildebrandt appears at a virtual court hearing. Pic: Utah State Courts via AP
A statement from her lawyer said Franke initially believed that Hildebrandt “had the insight to offer a path to continual improvement,” but added the counsellor “took advantage of this quest and twisted it into something heinous”.
Hildebrandt “systematically isolated Ruby Franke from her extended family, older children, and her husband, Kevin Franke,” the statement added.
Hildebrandt, who was also arrested on 30 August, will not see patients until the allegations are addressed.
Her next court hearing is set for 27 December, according to court records.
Franke’s son was emaciated and had duct tape around his ankles and wrists when he escaped but wouldn’t say why, the 911 caller reported.
“I think he’s been… he’s been detained,” the caller said, his voice breaking up. “He’s obviously covered in wounds.”
The boy’s condition was judged by police to be so severe he was taken to hospital.
Image: Ruby Franke. Pic: moms_of_truth/Instagram
Franke’s 10-year-old daughter was later found at Hildebrandt’s house in a malnourished state and was also taken to hospital.
The children were found at Hildebrandt’s house, but Franke had been seen on a YouTube video filmed there and posted two days earlier, indicating she was at the home and had knowledge of the abuse, malnourishment and neglect, arrest records said.
Four of Franke’s children are under 18 and have now been placed in care.
YouTube viewers had been calling out Franke’s parenting style and discipline choices for several years before her arrest – with a video about her 6-year-old forgetting her school lunch facing a particular backlash.
In the video, Franke said she would not drop any food at school and her daughter should use the “pain” of being hungry as a lesson not to forget her lunch in future.
Former US president Joe Biden has prostate cancer, his office has said.
The statement said Mr Biden, who left the White House in January, is reviewing options for treatment with his physicians.
It read: “Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms.
“On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterised by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone.
“While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management.
“The President and his family are reviewing treatment options with his physicians.”
Image: File pic: Reuters
According to Cancer Research UK, a Gleason score of 9 means the cancerous cells “look very abnormal” and the disease is “likely to grow quickly”.
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A source familiar with Mr Biden and his family’s thinking has told Sky’s US partner network, NBC News, that the former president is considering “multiple treatment options” – including hormone treatment for the cancer.
They added he is at his home in Wilmington, Delaware, and that as of now, it is unclear where the former president will be treated.
Mr Biden, 82, was the oldest person to ever serve as president, with concerns about his health raised regularly during his campaign for re-election last year.
A Mexican navy ship has hit the Brooklyn Bridge during a promotional tour in New York City.
The New York Fire Department said authorities were responding to injuries but had no details about how many people might have been hurt or whether they were on the vessel or on the bridge.
Sky’s US partner network NBC News reports that at least three people were seriously injured in the incident.
The Mexican navy said in a post on X that the Cuauhtemoc, an academy training vessel, was damaged in the accident, which has prevented it from continuing its voyage.
Eyewitness video of the collision posted online showed the mast of the ship, which was flying a large Mexican flag, scraping the underneath of the bridge.
Image: Pic: AP
The vessel then drifted toward the edge of the river as onlookers scrambled away from shore.
The Mexican navy said the status of personnel and material was under review by naval and local authorities, which were providing assistance.
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The Cuauhtemoc is about 297ft long and 40ft wide, according to the Mexican navy. It sailed for the first time in 1982.
Image: Pic: AP
Each year, it sets out at the end of classes at the naval military school to finish cadets’ training.
It left the Mexican port of Acapulco, on the Pacific coast, on 6 April with 277 people onboard, the navy said at the time.
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
One person has died in a bomb explosion near a reproductive health clinic in California, authorities have said.
The incident took place in Palm Springs, a city two hours east of Los Angeles, and is being investigated as a possible car explosion.
The city’s mayor Ron DeHarte said one person died in the blast, adding that the bomb was “either in or near” a vehicle. The deceased’s identity is not known, Palm Springs police said.
Dr Maher Abdallah, who runs the American Reproductive Centers clinic, told the Associated Press his facility was damaged but all staff were safe and accounted for.
The explosion damaged the office space where the practice conducts patient consultations, but the IVF lab and stored embryos were unharmed, he added.
“I really have no clue what happened,” he said. “Thank God today happened to be a day that we have no patients.”
Image: Debris covers the ground after the explosion. Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
In a statement posted on Facebook the clinic said it was “heartbroken” to learn someone died in the explosion and added: “Our deepest condolences go out to the individuals and families affected.”
It continued: “Our mission has always been to help build families, and in times like these, we are reminded of just how fragile and precious life is.
“In the face of this tragedy, we remain committed to creating hope – because we believe that healing begins with community, compassion, and care.
The clinic will be fully operational on Monday, it added.
“This moment has shaken us – but it has not stopped us. We will continue to serve with strength, love, and the hope that brings new life into the world,” the statement concluded.
Image: Pic: ABC7 Los Angeles/AP
The Palm Springs city government said in a post on Facebook that the explosion happened on North Indian Canyon Drive, near East Tachevah Drive, before 11am local time (6pm GMT).
A burned-out car can be seen in a parking lot behind the building in aerial footage.
The blast caved in the clinic’s roof and blew debris across four lanes of the road.
Another person said he was inside a cannabis dispensary nearby when he felt a massive explosion.
Nima Tabrizi said: “The building just shook, and we go outside and there’s massive cloud smoke.”
Investigators from the FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are travelling to the scene to help assess what happened.
California governor Gavin Newsom has been briefed on the explosion, his press office said.