Children

Distraught over his divorce and the loss of his job, James Mulvaney did the unthinkable, Ventura County authorities say. Sometime after his ex-wife dropped their two children off at his Thousand Oaks apartment Tuesday, Mulvaney stabbed 12-year-old Jason and 7-year-old Jennifer to death in their bedrooms. The 52-year-old father then took his own life by overdosing on prescription pills, a preliminary review Thursday by the county medical examiner's office indicates. Pending toxicology tests are needed to confirm the finding, but Mulvaney's body had no visible trauma and prescription medicines were found in the residence, Deputy Medical Examiner Michael Tellez said.

An unoccupied delivery van mistakenly left in reverse jumped a curb and barreled into a group of children returning to their day-care center after a trip to the library, killing two and seriously injuring a third, authorities said. Fourteen other children were hospitalized with minor injuries. The incident occurred in the Chinatown district of Manhattan as the children walked less than two blocks through the busy area with their teachers. Police reviewed the incident and decided it was an accident.

A man killed his three children at a downtown Baltimore hotel, then called the front desk to report the killings, police said. Mark Castillo, 41, of Silver Spring was being held in the deaths. Police spokesman Sterling Clifford identified the children as Anthony, 6, Austin, 4, and Athena, 2.

Children and seniors demand many of the same things from their technology: They want it to work right away. They don't want it to do a million things. And they need it to be secure. "Both groups need simple things with less functionality and more protection," said Robin Raskin, a former PC Magazine editor who founded twin conference sessions on technology for the two age groups at this week's Consumer Electronics Show.

A 9-year-old boy took his grandmother's pistol to an El Monte elementary school Tuesday and accidentally discharged it as school was letting out in the afternoon, police said. No one was hurt in the incident at Baker Elementary about 2 p.m., when the boy, who has not been identified, took the .22-caliber semiautomatic pistol out of his backpack and fired a shot into the asphalt of a sports court.

Researchers have identified a chemical in urine that is closely associated with appendicitis in children and are working to develop a simple test that could be used to diagnose the condition -- a test that would both increase the likelihood of performing surgery before the appendix bursts and prevent unnecessary surgery.

Sadie couldn't wait to welcome in the Lunar New Year. She helped her parents decorate their home with red and gold banners for luck, picked out a red embroidered outfit to wear to school and made sure to tidy her blue-walled room to sweep out evil spirits. It is the Year of the Ox, the first time that zodiac sign has appeared since the year she was born, thousands of miles away in China's Hunan province.

The ex-husband of the Northern California woman charged with murdering and raping an 8-year-old girl said Friday he was in "shock and complete disbelief" when his ex-wife was arrested. John Huckaby told ABC's "Good Morning America" that he knew Melissa Huckaby as a carefree, nonviolent person he "could not see doing something like this." The two married in 2003, separated a year later and divorced in 2005. John Huckaby said he hasn't talked to his former wife for more than three years.

Phillip Garrido, who was convicted in a 1976 kidnapping and rape, was arrested four years earlier for allegedly drugging and raping a 14-year-old girl near his hometown, police in Antioch, Calif., revealed Thursday for the first time. Garrido was arrested last week on suspicion of kidnapping and raping Jaycee Lee Dugard, who was 11 when she was snatched from her street in South Lake Tahoe in 1991 and was allegedly kept in a hidden backyard warren of sheds and tents for 18 years.

After weighing the implications of bringing its youngest, poorest Indian actors to the Academy Awards, the makers of "Slumdog Millionaire" have decided to do so, and now expect the film's entire cast to arrive in time for Sunday night's Oscar ceremony. If the film wins the best picture Oscar, all nine of the youthful performers are expected to join producer Christian Colson on the stage of the Kodak Theatre.