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Tuesday's news in 5 minutes.

1. Parents allegedly gave their baby drugs since the day she was born as part of cover-up ploy.

A young couple in the US state of Utah is behind bars after they allegedly fed their newborn daughter a ‘cocktail of drugs’ in an effort to cover up the fact that she was born addicted.

According to KUTV, 29-year-old Colby Glen Wilde and 26-year-old Lacey Dawn Christenson are facing drug distribution and child endangerment charges after their arrests earlier this month.

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Investigators learned Lacey had been using heroin and prescription pain medication heavily throughout her pregnancy, and her daughter, born on April 9, was born addicted to the same substances.

‘Informants’ told police that the parents would often crush up painkillers and rub it onto the infant’s gums so she wouldn’t go into withdrawal in an effort to mask the addiction from hospital staff.

The couple allegedly admitted that they first gave their daughter drugs on the same day she was born, while nurses and other medical staff were out of the room.

They allegedly said they continued to give the baby drugs when they returned home from hospital.

The baby girl tested positive for heroin and morphine. Two of her three older siblings – boys aged eight, four and two – that also lived in the home tested positive for methamphetamine.

The children were taken into custody by Family Services, and were later taken into the care of the oldest boy’s biological father. Not wanting to separate his son from his three younger siblings, he is now caring for all four children.

Utah County Sheriff Sergeant Spencer Cannon told KUTV the case made him “sick to his stomach”.

“You’ve got an infant who cannot do anything for herself, and the people who should be providing her nurture, and love, and care, are the ones who are harming their child,” he said.

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The couple are both being held on cash bail.

2. Car taken by police from the home of murdered Melbourne woman Karen Ristevski, witness claims.

A black Mercedes coupe has reportedly been seen on the back of a tow truck outside the home of murdered Melbourne woman Karen Ristevski.

A caller told 3AW the two-door late model car was put on the tow truck at Avondale Heights about 1.20pm on Monday, The Age reports.

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Victoria Police would not comment on the reports, but the caller said the car was sealed with yellow tape, while an unmarked police car with flashing lights escorted the truck away from the home.

The caller, who identified himself as ‘Rob’, said he believed the car was the same Ms Ristevski was seen driving before her death.

“According to… the footage I’ve seen of her car driving, yeah it does look like [her car]. I do believe it is,” he said.

Ms Ristevski went missing on June 29 last year after a fight with her husband. Her body was found seven months later in the Macedon Regional Park.

Police searched the area where her body was found again in mid-July, after information given to investigators confirmed her black Mercedes-Benz was seen in the vicinity on the day she went missing.

A witness also said they saw a lone male near the car, and police stressed it was reported to them before they discovered her body.

3. A man who raped a teenage girl in his tattoo parlour has been jailed for more than three years.

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A former tattoo parlour owner who raped a teenage girl in his regional Victorian shop after giving her a body piercing has been jailed for more than three years.

Clinton Osborne, 48, was found guilty by a jury of two counts of having sex with a child under the age of 16, stemming from a 2008 attack at his Shepparton tattoo parlour, AAP reports.

Osborne gave the girl five or six cans of bourbon and a body piercing before assaulting her, Victorian County Court Judge Richard Smith said.

“You asked what she was going to do in return for the piercing,” Judge Smith told Osborne during his sentencing on Monday.

Osborne then forced himself upon the teenager in the shop, holding her down by the shoulders as she “repeatedly said no”.

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He was also found guilty of the false imprisonment of another female customer who he pierced at his shop in 2012.

Osborne demanded she give him her phone number and blocked her path in the narrow shop when she tried to leave.

“The experience would have been a frightening event for her,” Judge Smith said, noting the victim suffered anxiety and stress after the incident.

“There was no one else in the shop at the time. You are much larger and stronger than her. To describe her as a soft target would be an understatement.”

Osborne, who has prior child sex convictions dating back two decades, was jailed for three years and nine months on Monday.

“In each case the girls involved were much younger than you,” Judge Smith said.

“You would have been well aware it was illegal and a serious offence.

“Your plea of not guilty and vigorous denial suggests you do not have any remorse.”

Osborne must serve at least two-and-a-half years in jail before being eligible for parole.

If you or someone you know is in need of help, please call the National Sexual Assault, Domestic and Family Violence Counselling Service on 1800 RESPECT.

4. Five-year-old girl ‘taken’ from a Gold Coast childcare centre found safe.

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A young girl who was taken by a man from a Gold Coast daycare has been found safe and well on the central coast of NSW.

On Monday evening Queensland police issued an amber alert and said the five-year-old may be at “significant risk” after she was taken by a man known to her from the Carrara daycare centre at 4pm.

“The man and the girl are known to each other and haven’t been seen since,” Queensland Police said in a statement on Monday evening.

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They released photographs of the girl and the man believed to have taken her and called on anyone with information to contact authorities.

Early on Tuesday police said she had been found “safe and well with the man” near Kempsey.

Police are continuing their investigations into the incident, but thanked the public for their assistance in locating the young girl.

5. Couple shot at a Melbourne swingers party set to sue Victoria Police.

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Two costume-clad swingers shot during a Melbourne nightclub raid are suing Victoria Police for damages while the venue has flagged possible legal action over traumatised staff.

Dale Ewins and Zita Sukys were in a “compromising position” when they were shot by heavily armed police inside city nightclub Inflation on July 8.

Mr Ewins, dressed as the Joker and carrying a fake gun, and Ms Sukys, as Suicide Squad character Harley Quinn, will seek damages for pain and suffering, medical expenses and loss of earnings, lawyer Kim Price told AAP.

Lawyers on Monday filed a writ in the Supreme Court of Victoria, alleging Mr Ewins, 35, was shot, tasered and punched in the face by police with “no lawful justification”, while Ms Sukys, 37, was shot.

Both are alleged to have suffered hand and wrist injuries from police handcuffs and are psychologically scarred by “the attack”.

Mr Price said police were repeatedly told by venue staff the gun was a plastic toy – part of Mr Ewins’ costume.

The pair were at a swingers’ costume party when the Critical Incident Response Team stormed the club and shot them.

Inflation nightclub owner Martha Tsamis said the club could also launch civil action against police.

“We’ve got staff who are traumatised. They’re a bit of a mess. Young vulnerable people that go to work and don’t expect to see this,” she told 3AW on Monday.

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“There are some that have already gone on mental health plans and there are some that have got work cover plans that are being processed at the moment.”

Ms Tsamis said police overreacted after security told them the gun was a plastic toy and club staff had assessed the man and perceived him to be no threat.

Victoria’s anti-corruption watchdog is overseeing the internal investigation into the shooting, along with Victoria Police’s Professional Standards Command.

Victoria Police said the investigation was ongoing and it would be inappropriate to comment further.

The club launched legal action against police a week before the shooting over comments made by a senior officer about drug activity at the venue.

6. Australian researchers make ‘miracle breakthrough’ in Alzheimer’s treatment.

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Australian researchers say they’ve made a breakthrough in Alzheimer’s research that points towards a potential new therapy to slow, if not stop, the progression of the brain disease.

Scientists at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health and the CSIRO have for the first time shown an association between higher levels of iron in the brain, the presence of the Alzheimer’s protein known as amyloid with poorer memory and language skills, AAP reports.

It’s long been known a build up of amyloid in the brain determines whether people will eventually experience Alzheimer’s disease.

Analysis of MRI brain scans of 117 participants of the Australian Imaging and Biomarker lifestyle study now suggests the presence of high levels of iron in the hippocampus acts together with amyloid to speed up the disease’s progression.

“Cognitive abilities like short-term memory, executive function and language ability declined much faster in people with brain iron levels and high amyloid levels even if they were otherwise healthy, than those with low brain iron who were also amyloid positive,” said co-lead investigator Dr Scott Ayton.

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“Those individuals with high amyloid but low iron will also eventually go on to develop Alzheimer’s disease, but much later than their high-iron counterparts,” added Dr Ayton.

As a result of the findings, published in journal Brain, a drug trial will begin in Australia later this year.

Scientists will use existing drug, deferiprone, to “mop-up” the excess iron in the brain to see if it slows down the progression of the disease.

Professor Ashley Bush at the Florey Institute says if the 3D trial proves iron slows disease progression then it’s likely in the future doctors will be better able to predict the onset of Alzheimer’s and begin therapy sooner.

“We imagine a future where your GP sends you off for your 60-year health check, including a brain iron MRI scan, which is quick, cheap and painless,” Professor Bush said.

Newly diagnosed dementia patients or those aged 65 who have noticed their memory declining can register to be involved in the study at 3D@florey.edu.au.

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