Title: Veronica back in S.C.
1Veronica back in S.C.
2Matt and Melanie Capobianco, of Charleston, S.C.
have been trying to adopt a 4-year-old Cherokee
girl named Veronica since her birth. It wasnt
until Monday night after the Oklahoma Supreme
Court said it didn't have jurisdiction over the
child that they finally got her. Until the Monday
night transfer, the Cherokee Nation had insisted
the girl would remain with the tribe. The
Capobiancos and the girl's biological father,
Dusten Brown, had fought for years over custody
of the girl. The dispute has raised questions
about jurisdictions, tribal sovereignty and a
federal law meant to help keep Native American
tribes together. Veronica's birth mother was
pregnant when she put the girl up for adoption,
and the Capobiancos took custody of Veronica
shortly after birth. Veronica, whose biological
father is a member of the Cherokee Nation and
whose biological mother in not Native American,
had lived with the Capobiancos until she was 27
months old, when Brown was awarded custody under
the Indian Child Welfare Act. Brown and his
family claim the Indian Child Welfare Act
mandates that the child be raised within the
Cherokee Nation. The law was passed in 1978 with
the intent of reducing the high rates of Native
American children being adopted by non-Native
American families. The U.S. Supreme Court this
year said the law did not apply because he had
been absent from the child's life.
3In Other News
- Several gunmen -- including snipers -- are still
inside Kenya's Westgate mall, where more than 60
people have been killed since Saturday. - A 56-year-old man was found dead Monday in
western Tennessee after a skydiving incident went
horribly wrong. The man's body was found in a
wooded area about a mile from the drop zone. It
was not immediately clear what happened. - Apple announced it sold 9 million of the new
iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C models since they went on
sale Friday -- a record opening weekend for the
iPhone. - Arizona Cardinals safety Rashad Johnson suffered
a bizarre and gruesome injury in the midst of the
teams blowout loss to the New Orleans Saints.
Apparently the 27-year-old lost the top of his
left middle finger and did not realize it until
after he removed his glove. The injury took place
during a punt return in the second quarter as he
attempted to make a tackle. There is a
possibility that Johnson smashed it into the
turf, but its currently uncertain if that is
what actually caused the top of the finger to be
removed. Johnson initially stayed in the game
despite suffering the injury. - Disneyland and Walt Disney World Resort will no
longer allow visitors with disabilities instant
access to rides, starting next month, in an
attempt to reduce abuse of the policy. Under the
current policy, Disney visitors can get a guest
assistance card that grants quicker access to
rides, often entering through exit doors to
bypass the main lines. There were widespread
reports of able-bodied people abusing the policy
(things such as hiring disabled people to pretend
to be family members so they could skip lines).