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Georgia boy recovering after horrifying sleepover prank

A sleepover prank took a terrifying turn when the trusted friends of a 12-year-old Georgia boy dumped scalding water on him, ripping the skin from his face and leaving him with severe burns.

Georgia’s Trey West spent New Year’s Day in hospital, recovering from the severe burns left on most of his face after three of his friends allegedly found amusement in pouring boiling water over his face while he slept.

According to WALB 10, the 12-year-old was at his neighbor’s Tifton apartment, enjoying a sleepover with three other boys – ranging in age from 12 to 15.

When the incident happened, Trey was sleeping while the other pre-teens were playing video games. Then one of the kids dumped hot water on Trey, said his mother, Tiffany West.

“I mean, I really can’t describe it now. In that moment I was just mad, hurt, in shock,” West said of the alleged prank, that caused second degree burns, primarily on the boy’s face, requiring immediate medical attention.

“I was seeing red. I was just trying to hurry up and get him some help.”

Medical News Today writes these burns can be extremely painful and following an almost months-long healing process, “second-degree burns often leave a scar, which may fade over several years.”

‘Numb’

West’s son was rushed to the hospital where he underwent surgery to treat his injuries.

“He was transported to the burn center in Augusta. He had to have surgery. Of course, he is out of surgery and is recovering at home, now. But it is going to take him 12-14 days to heal,” said West about Trey’s journey ahead, which will have both physical and emotional challenges.

“You got to be in shock to know your friends are capable of doing this to you. Like somebody you trusted, it’s just horrible. He never thought something like this would happen to him,” said Nachelle Austile, the boy’s aunt.

“I always ask him if he’s mad, sad…he just doesn’t have [any] emotion about it,” Austile says while West adds, “he’s numb about it.”

The three boys responsible for the prank were arrested but later released to their families as they await court hearings scheduled for next month.

Challenging moments

Meanwhile, the community has rallied around the victim and his family, offering donations and support.

West expressed her gratitude in an emotional Facebook post, thanking well-wishers for their generosity and encouraging words. “I woke up to SO much LOVE being shown to my son!” she wrote. “It brings tears to my eyes to know so many people care for me & my son and that we are not alone in this.”

The post continued, “I drop to my knees every day thanking God that my baby is still here and he is going to be ok because it could have been [worse],” West writes in the January 3, 2025 post.

Referring to her son as a “warrior,” West celebrated the positivity that the community’s kindness has brought to their lives: “Every donation, gift, encouraging word, and prayer has put a smile on my son’s face!” she added.

Days later, she shared another social media post, explaining that her young boy was at home and recovering well.

“My son is recovering beautifully since surgery! He may be able to go back to school next week after his second follow up appointment Tuesday! Occasionally, he does have some challenging moments but overall, he’s in good spirits,” she writes. “When we first got home from the hospital, he had to stay elevated and sleep in a recliner but now he’s able to sleep normal in his own bed…I don’t only cry because of sadness and madness but also because of joy that my baby boy is going to be just fine!”

Perhaps the most heartwarming update is a clip that West shared on January 11, where Trey is seen smiling and dancing with his sister.

“Video of my son & his baby sister. He’s healing Beautifully! Nobody But God,” she writes.

The ordeal serves as a sobering reminder of the dangers of reckless pranks and the importance of fostering empathy and accountability among youth.

What are your thoughts on this terrifying incident? Please let us know what you think and then share this story so we can hear from others!

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Do you wake up between the hours of 3 and 5am? The reason isn’t what you might think

Sleeping well for an entire night, without waking up once, seems to be a surprisingly rare thing, but it’s actually what’s required if you’re to be entirely productive – without feeling tired – the next day.

Many people think that simply going to bed at the right time guarantees them a good night’s sleep, only to then wake up – more often than not – between 3:00am and 5:00am. Sometimes this can cause problems, particularly when someone finds it difficult to return to sleep.

The fact that most people wake up during this window isn’t coincidence, however, nor is down to bad luck. It turns out, there’s a significance to the trend …

The hours between 3:00am and 5:00am are sometimes referred to as the hour of the wolf, after Swedish director Ingmar Bergman’s psychological horror[film of the same name.

”The hour between night and dawn … when most people die, sleep is deepest, nightmares are most real. It is the hour when the sleepless are haunted by their worst anguish, when ghosts and demons are most powerful. The hour of the wolf is also the hour when most babies are born,” Bergman explained.

According to Professor Birgitta Steene, the title is derived from Swedish folklore, wherein the “hour of the wolf” signifies the timeframe between 3:00am and 5:00am.

This period is believed to be associated with a higher occurrence of both deaths and births. It’s also precisely that time when the body often slips into its deepest rest, which is why the body’s functions can be so affected by it.

In folk traditions, the witching hour, also known as the devil’s hour, is a nocturnal period linked to supernatural occurrences. It is believed that during this time, witches, demons, and ghosts are thought to manifest and wield their greatest influence.

The hour of the wolf

For those who are able to sleep as normal, the hour of the wolf represents the period wherein sleep is at its deepest. For those who wake up, however, it supposedly represents the time when feelings of anxiety are at their most potent.

The body’s circadian rhythm (the 24 hour cycle of physiological processes) tends to follow the sun’s rise and fall, meaning that things such as body temperature, blood pressure and metabolism go down during the night.

At around 4:00am they are at their lowest, since this is when the body has entered its natural rest stage. If you suffer from anxiety, however, it’s during this period when feelings can be exacerbated, hence why you find yourself waking up.

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Animal lover finds squirrel with giant tooth, brings him home and gives him a new opportunity – thank you

Living on a ranch in rural Alberta, Canada, Jannet Talbott may be far away from people but is never alone as she is always surrounded by animals.

The animal lover is used to the many animals, both domestic and wild, who live on her ranch and looks out for them all.

One day she was watching a squirrel enjoying a snack from her bird feeder when she noticed something unusual on his face.

“I could see there was something on the side of his face,” Talbott told The Dodo. “I got closer and thought, ‘Oh my gosh, that’s a massive tooth growing out of his mouth.’”

Squirrels have four front teeth that never stop growing but their constant gnawing on nuts and seeds ensure most squirrels’ teeth are kept short. Somehow this had not happened with this squirrel and Jannet knew he was in danger.

The tooth was growing toward the squirrel’s eye and Jannet suspected he was living on powdered bird food as he couldn’t chew on anything.

Now she had the difficult task of trying to catch Bucky, as she named him, so she could give him the help he needed.

“One day, I saw him in the feeder. It was like divine intervention. I just had to reach in and grab him,” she said. “Once I had him in my hand, I just kept telling him, ‘I’m going to help you, Bucky. You’re going to be OK.’”

When Jannet had the canine challenged squirrel in her hands she saw that it wasn’t just one tooth that was an issue.

“His mouth was an absolute mess. His upper incisors were curled around and growing inside his mouth,” she said. “When he ate, his teeth were rubbing on his face. He was so horrific.”

She worried that if she took Bucky to a vet they may not be able to do anything for him and the journey would stress him out too much so she grabbed her cuticle trimmers and attempted the job herself.

After watching some instructional videos on YouTube, Jannet swaddled Bucky and covered his eyes; he instantly became calm which was lucky for this talented rancher as the job took ten minutes.

Squirrels have no feeling in their teeth and even after she had finished trimming, the squirrel was in “no hurry to get away,” Jannet said, as per CBC Canada.

“I took him outside, and he ran to a branch and started rubbing his little cheeks. It was like he couldn’t believe those teeth were gone. He just kept rubbing his face,” she said.

“The next day, I saw him back in the feeder — and he had the most amazing little squirrel smile on his face. He was just so happy.”

Now Jannet hopes to inspire others to help a needy animal.

“I really feel a deep connection to animals, and they always seem to come to me when they need help,” she added.

“I’m always happy to help them, and I think if we all did a little, it would end up being a lot.”


I cannot imagine how nervous Jannet must have been attempting dentistry on this creature in distress but thank goodness she did as he may have starved to death had she not been brave that day.

Help us thank this animal hero by sharing this story.

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Jane Fonda ‘calls out Donald Trump’ during SAG award speech

Jane Fonda's speech. Credit / Getty Images
Jane Fonda’s speech. Credit / Getty Images

Jane Fonda’s hardly been a stranger to political controversy over the course of her long and storied career. Once dubbed “Hanoi Jane” after being photographed sitting on a North Vietnamese anti-aircraft gun in 1972, it’s fair to say she’s had her fair share of public chastisement.

The actress was also an opinion-splitting figure as far back as the 1960s, when she actively supported the Civil Rights Movement and the Black Panthers to the chagrin of certain sections of society.

This past weekend, Fonda was awarded the Screen Actors’ Guild (SAG) Life Achievement Award, and used part of her speech to throw shade in the direction of President Donald Trump.

With the current political climate in the US testy to say the least, it’s hardly a wonder that many of the country’s biggest celebrities are making their voices heard.

For 87-year-old Fonda, Sunday’s SAG Awards provided the perfect platform to make a statement.

“Thank you SAG AFTRA. Your enthusiasm makes this seem less like a late twilight of my life, and more like a go girl, kick a**. Which is good because I’m not done.” Fonda said.

Though she didn’t directly namedrop President Trump, Fonda referenced Sebastian Stan’s portrayal of him in 2024’s The Apprentice.

Jane Fonda’s speech

“Though you may hate the behavior of your character, you have to understand and empathize with the traumatized person you’re playing,” she said.

The actress proceeded to then defend ‘wokeness’, stating: “Empathy is not weak or ‘woke.’ And, by the way, ‘woke’ just means you give a damn about other people.

“A whole lot of people are going to be hurt by what’s happening, by what’s coming our way,” she continued.”‘We are going to need a big tent to resist what’s coming at us.”

“And even if they are of a different political persuasion, we need to call upon our empathy and not judge, but listen from our hearts, and welcome them into our tent. Because we are gonna need a big tent to resist successfully what’s coming at us.”

Fonda’s comments come in the wake of some turbulent weeks in US politics. Many had anticipated that Trump’s second term in office would mean chaos, but few could have predicted just how fast the apple cart might be tipped upside down.

Amid a slew of executive orders and typically boisterous claims – many of which have questionable ties to reality – Trump has wasted no time at all in trying to enforce large-scale changes, for better or for worse.

His newly-founded Department of Government Efficiency, headed by Elon Musk, has come in for particular criticism in recent days, while Trump’s apparent siding with despot Vladimir Putin in an attempt to negotiate an end to the war in Ukraine has caused concern on the international stage.

What did you make of Jane Fonda’s statement? Let us know in the comments.

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