'BEST MOTHER'S DAY': Mom Happy to Be Reunited With Kidnapped Daughter

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  Nancy Ruiz, mother of Gina, speaks to the media after bringing her daughter home Wednesday, May 8, 2013, in Cleveland. DeJesus was one of three women held captive for about a decade at a run-down Cleveland house. Kidnapping and rape charges were filed Wednesday against the man arrested after the missing women were found alive at his home. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)AP2013

For nearly a decade, Nancy Ruiz hoped against hope her daughter was still alive.

Today, she celebrates “the best Mother’s Day . . . ever” after a homecoming that – at last – brought the return of Gina DeJesus.

"This is the best Mother's Day I could ever have," Ruiz said, according to Reuters, following DeJesus’ escape from the Cleveland house of horrors in which she and three others were held captive by the accused, Ariel Castro.

"This is the best Mother's Day I could ever have."

- Nancy Ruiz

DeJesus, now 23, was kidnapped at 14 while walking home from junior high school in 2004, and allegedly held in the basement of Castro’s Cleveland home, along with Amanda Berry, 27, and Michelle Knight, 32.

Berry escaped Monday, and phoned 911, leading to not only Castro’s arrest, but also the freedom of the two others -- as well as the child Berry apparently bore while in captivity. 

However, while this Mother’s Day proved joyous for Ruiz, the occasion is likely bittersweet for Berry, who lost her own mother during the 10 years she was held, and mothered a child, as well; police said DNA indicates the child was fathered by Castro.

Prosecutors are seeking murder charges, which could carry the death penalty, against Castro, 52, a former school bus driver who police said induced several miscarriages by beating and starving Knight.

Castro is currently charged with four counts of kidnapping and three counts of rape, prosecutor Victor Perez said. He is being held on $8 million bond.

According to Reuters, a city councilman briefed on the case said the women were subjected to prolonged sexual and psychological abuse and suffered miscarriages, never finding a chance to escape until this week.

Councilman Brian Cummins said that many details remain unclear, including the number of pregnancies and the conditions under which the miscarriages occurred. He also said the women were kept in the basement for some time without having access to the rest of the house. 

"We know that the victims have confirmed miscarriages, but with who, how many and what conditions we don't know," Cummins said. He added: "It sounds pretty gruesome."

The Cleveland community has joyously welcomed the three women – and Berry’s child. But while DeJesus and Berry were reunited with their long-lost families, Reuters reports there was no such homecoming for Knight, who slipped into seclusion after departing a hospital on Friday.

While at the medical facility, she reportedly refused visits from family members, some of whom believed she was a runaway when she disappeared in 2002 after losing custody of her young son, her grandmother reportedly said.

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'MY HEART JUST ACHED': Daughter Angered After Missing Mom Resurfaces

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  April 26, 2013: This combination of Associated Press file photos shows, left, an undated driver's license photo distributed by police in 2002 of Brenda Heist, and right, an April 26, 2013 photo of Heist taken by the Monroe County, Fla. Sheriff's Office and released by the Lititz Borough, Pa. Police.AP

HARRISBURG, Pa. –  The teenage daughter of a woman who just revealed she abandoned her family 11 years ago said Thursday the disclosure has angered her and she is not eager to restart their relationship.

Morgan Heist, who learned last week Brenda Heist had surfaced in the Florida Keys, said the news has made her recall with bitterness the years of mourning she endured when she assumed her mother was dead and feared she'd been murdered.

"I ached every birthday, every Christmas," said 19-year-old Morgan Heist, a freshman at a community college outside Philadelphia. "My heart just ached. I wasn't mad at her. I wanted her to be there because I thought something had happened to her. I wish I had never cried."

Brenda Heist's mother, Jean Copenhaver, said Thursday that her daughter "had a real traumatic time" but was doing OK.

Brenda Heist was released from police custody on Wednesday and is staying with a brother in northern Florida for now, Copenhaver said.

Copenhaver, of Brenham, Texas, said she had spoken with Heist several times since Friday, when the 54-year-old woman turned herself in to police in Florida and was identified as a missing person.

"She just said she thought the family wouldn't want to talk to her because of her leaving," Copenhaver said. "And we all assured her that wasn't the case and we all loved her and wanted to be with her."

Morgan Heist said she's not sympathetic, partly because her mother had a choice, unlike the family she secretly abandoned.

"It's definitely very selfish," Morgan Heist said. "She clearly did not think of me or my brother or my dad at all with that decision. She thought of herself."

Heist told police she made a spur-of-the-moment decision in 2002 to join a group of homeless hitchhikers on their way to Florida, walking out on Morgan, 8, and her brother, then 12.

Brenda and her husband, Lee, were living together but going through an amicable divorce when she learned she had been denied housing support, police said. She was crying about that in a Lancaster park when three strangers befriended her and offered to let her join them.

Morgan Heist said her parents had agreed to live near each other once they divorced. Brenda Heist had been a bookkeeper at a car dealership.

"It's more of a mystery than ever," she said. "Her life was not hard at all."

Brenda Heist told police she slept under bridges and survived at times by scavenging food from restaurant trash and panhandling. But Lititz Police Detective John Schofield said Thursday he is looking into reports that have come in over the past day suggesting Brenda Heist's time in Florida included much less miserable periods.

"We're getting several calls from people down in Florida that knew her who want to say she's not being truthful with us," Schofield said.

Heist told a detective with the Monroe County Sheriff's Office that she had recently been arrested in the Tampa Bay region and might be in violation of probation. She told the detective she used the name Kelsie Lyanne Smith and provided a date of birth.

Jail and court records show Kelsie Lyanne Smith, with a matching birth date, was arrested in January on misdemeanor charges of marijuana possession, possession of drug paraphernalia and providing false identification to law enforcement. After pleading guilty, Smith was sentenced to time served and was released on Feb. 13. She was also ordered to pay court costs but failed to do so and was found delinquent on April 15.

Copenhaver said she has not pressed her daughter about what led her to walk away from the life she knew in Pennsylvania and then live underground for more than a decade.

"We haven't gone into that with her," Copenhaver said. "She just needs time to recover, and have some peace and that. She'll tell us when she's ready."

She agreed to pass along a message from The Associated Press, asking Brenda Heist for an interview.

Heist told police she contacted them after feeling like she was at the end of her rope and tired of running.

"She's doing OK," Copenhaver said. "She's got a long way to go. She had a real traumatic time, but she's doing OK."

She said Heist was born in South Carolina, then moved as her father was transferred by the Air Force to Italy and Missouri before ending up in San Antonio, where she graduated from high school.

When she vanished, Lee Heist, was investigated but was cleared as a suspect. He raised the children without her and got the courts to declare her legally dead. He has since remarried.

Police erroneously said on Wednesday that daughter Morgan Heist was a sophomore at West Chester University. She is a freshman at Montgomery County Community College.

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Glenn Campbell's daughter Ashley tells senators how Alzheimer's has affected her father

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  Glen Campbell, center, with his wife Kim, left, and daughter Ashley arrive at the 54th annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, California February 12, 2012.Reuters

An emotional Ashley Campbell spoke to Senators on Wednesday about how Alzheimer ’s disease has affected her father, country music legend Glen Campbell.

“I think a person’s life is comprised of memories, and that’s exactly what this disease takes away from you,” his daughter said.

She described how she used to play the banjo with her father as he played the guitar, something her father can no longer fully participate in since his disease has progressed.

“Now when I play banjo with my dad, it’s getting harder for him to follow along and it’s getting harder for him to recall my name,” she said through tears. “It’s hard to come to realization that someday my dad might look at me and I will be absolutely nothing to him.”

She spoke on behalf of her family to advocate for Alzheimer’s research, as her famous father sat beside her.  

The 77-year-old also attended a fundraising dinner for the Alzheimer's Association while in Washington.

Glen Campbell went public with his Alzheimer’s diagnosis in June 2011. Shortly after that he stopped touring.

Still, Campbell will release a new album, "See You There," on July 30. It's a reimagining of some of his most popular songs, recorded by Julian Raymond during the same sessions that produced Campbell's last studio album of all new material, 2011's "Ghost on the Canvas."

The album offers new versions of his biggest hits like "Wichita Lineman," ''By the Time I Get to Phoenix," ''Rhinestone Cowboy" and "Hey Little One."

His wife, Kim Campbell, says her husband still occasionally lays down vocal tracks in the studio but the disease has progressed too far to allow him to continue touring, something the family and Campbell's management left open when he wrapped up his successful goodbye world tour last year.

"Glen still wants to record, but it's just a matter of if he's able to," Kim Campbell said. "It just gets more and more difficult for him all the time."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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CHEERING ON A FRIEND: Family Mourns Daughter, 29, Killed in Bombing

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  April 15, 2013: This undated photo provided by the family shows Krystle Campbell. Campbell, 29, a restaurant manager from Medford, Mass., was among the people killed in the explosions at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, in Boston.AP

A 29-year-old restaurant manager has been identified as one of three people killed in the bombing at the Boston Marathon.

Her father says Krystle Campbell, of Medford, Mass., had gone with her best friend to take a picture of the friend's boyfriend crossing the finish line on Monday afternoon.

William Campbell says his daughter, who worked at Jimmy's Steakhouse in nearby Arlington, was "very caring, very loving person, and was daddy's little girl." He says the loss has devastated the family.

"Mr. Campbell said that she certainly was a dream daughter, the daughter that every dream to have and friends of hers said that she was eager about life," Medford Mayor Michael McGlynn said. 

Campbell's friend was seriously injured in the explosion.

Campbell's family told the New York Post that they were initially informed that she had survived the blast. It wasn't until family members arrived at the hospital that they realized the friend who survived the blast had been mistakenly identified as her. 

"They’re just viewing the body now. And we're just devastated,” Liese Reilly, a relative told The Post. “I can’t even begin to understand what just happened.”

An 8-year-old, Martin Richard of Boston, also died. He was at the finish line watching the race with his family. 

Boston University says a graduate student at the school was killed in the bombings

In a statement late Tuesday afternoon, the school said it was not releasing the name or any other information about the student, pending permission from the family.

The statement says the student was with two friends who were watching the race at the finish line, not far from the university's campus. One of the friends, also a grad student at the university, was injured and is at Boston Medical Center in stable condition.

The twin blasts killed at least three people and injured 176 -- including 17 in critical condition, authorities said today.

Click for more from The New York Post.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Former Sen. Domenici admits having son outside marriage with colleague’s daughter

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. –  Former U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici of New Mexico is acknowledging he fathered a son outside his marriage three decades ago.

Statements released by the Republican and the son's mother, Michelle Laxalt, of Alexandria, Va., identify Domenici as the father of Las Vegas lawyer Adam Paul Laxalt, The Albuquerque Journal reported Wednesday.

"I deeply regret this and am very sorry for my behavior," Domenici, 80, said in his statement. "I hope New Mexicans will view that my accomplishments for my beloved state outweigh my personal transgression."

Michelle Laxalt's statement said she and Domenici had agreed to keep his fatherhood secret because he and her father, ex-Nevada Gov. Paul Laxalt, were senators.

"One night's mistake led to pregnancy more than 30 years ago," Michelle Laxalt said in her statement, adding that she chose to raise her son as a single parent.

Both Domenici and Michelle Laxalt indicated in their statements that were disclosing his fatherhood because they thought somebody might soon attempt to make it public, with her statement saying she thought someone would shop it to the media to smear Domenici.

In his statement, Domenici said he was sorry that he caused hurt and disappointment for his wife and other family members. Domenici is the father of eight children with his wife, Nancy. He said he disclosed the situation to his family several months ago.

"I have apologized as best as I can to my wife, and we have worked together to strengthen our relationship," Domenici said.

Domenici told the Journal his son participated in the drafting of his statement. But it was unclear if the two had a prior relationship.

Laxalt's statement said her interaction with Domenici "consisted of telling him my decision, asking that he avail himself for health-related purposes, and asking that he agree that this remain private between the two of us."

Reached at his Washington home Wednesday morning, Domenici told The Associated Press he had nothing more to say.

Domenici served six terms, making him the longest-serving senator in New Mexico's history. He was known for his unflagging support of the state's national laboratories and military installations. In Washington, he became a power broker for his work on the federal budget and energy policy. He also was an advocate for insurance coverage for mental health.

Domenici declined to seek a seventh Senate term in 2008, saying he had been diagnosed with an incurable brain disorder. 

The website for Adam Laxalt's law firm, Lewis and Roca, said he is a former U.S. Navy officer and lawyer who served in Iraq. He also worked for then-Sen. John Warner, R-Va., and as a special assistant to an undersecretary of state, according to the website.

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