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MH370 Search Team Finds Something: a Shipwreck

(May 13, 2015 6:00 AM CDT) The massive search for Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 has turned up not a plane, but an uncharted shipwreck. Sonar equipment detected multiple small bright reflections 2.5 miles below the surface of the Indian Ocean more than 600 miles off the coast of western Australia, AFP and ABC Australia report. Though crews believed the debris field probably wasn't an aircraft, an unmanned sub was sent to investigate what turned out to be a wreck, anchor, and apparent lumps of coal, reports the AP. It's a fascinating find, but it's not what we're looking for, the Australian Transport Safety Bureau's search director says. We're not pausing in the search for MH370; in fact, the vessels have already moved on to continue the mission. He adds the find shows if there's a debris field in the search area, we'll find it. Marine archaeologists, meanwhile, will examine photographs of the wreck in an effort to identify it. One archaeologist says it was likely a common, European-style cargo ship built in the second half of the 19th century, but little else has been determined. We've got quite a lot of stories about ships that sank in the Indian Ocean mid-voyage and you would be struggling to tell which is which unless you had a complete catalog of all the ones lost, he says, adding, I doubt that anyone would pay the enormous cost of going down to look at it. (The Flight 370 search area has just doubled in size.)

Move Over, Keystone: 2 More Pipelines Planned

(Mar 27, 2012 9:39 AM CDT) The Keystone XL pipeline may be mired in politics, but take heart, pipeline lovers: With Canadian crude oil production soaring, Houston-based Enterprise Products Partners and Calgary-based Enbridge hope to build two new pipelines to pump it to US refineries, the Wall Street Journal reports. The companies intend to build a second pipeline alongside an existing one from their Cushing, Okla., storage facility to Freeport, Texas, and another from Enbridge's hub in Flanagan, Ill., to Cushing. These pipelines have fewer hurdles to jump than Keystone, because the cross-border portion is already in place, but still must get approval from the US Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Army Corps of Engineers. And while they're less controversial than Keystone, environmental groups aren't thrilled with them, arguing that Canadian oil sands produce more corrosive crude, making pipeline leaks more likely. A similar Enbridge pipeline near Kalamazoo, Mich., sprang a costly leak in 2010.

2 Firefighters Dead in Boston

(Mar 26, 2014 4:53 PM CDT) Two Boston firefighters are dead and more than a dozen more people were hospitalized after a fire broke out at a four-story brownstone this afternoon, reports CBS Boston. City Councilor Josh Zakim, who represents Boston's densely populated Back Bay neighborhood, confirmed the two deaths. No details were available about what happened. The nine-alarm fire started in the building's basement and quickly spread, with heavy winds sending smoke across the neighborhood, reports CNN. The city's EMS took at least 18 firefighters or police officers to local hospitals. No residents seem to be missing. On this tragic day, our thoughts and prayers are with the brave men and women who fought this fire, Zakim said. An assistant district attorney was sent to the scene, standard procedure in cases in which there are serious or potentially life-threatening injuries or deaths, said Jake Wark, a spokesman for Suffolk District Attorney Dan Conley. There was no immediate word on the cause of the fire, which was still burning several hours later.

Army Shrinks—Minus 5— Deployed to Afghanistan

(Dec 5, 2009 6:45 AM) The unit of psychiatric specialists who were among those fired on by rogue psychiatrist Nadal Malik Hasan Nov. 5th, seeing five comrades killed and 17 wounded, left for Afghanistan yesterday, right on schedule, reports the Washington Post. This promises to be the most challenging year of our lives, though we have already faced our first battleground, said a colonel in the detachment, which lost its major, staff sergeant, and sergeant. The mental-health specialists, who range from veterans of multiple tours to recent college grads with degrees in psychology, offer soldiers counseling and treatment on the frontlines, sometimes helicoptering to remote areas to do so. The decision was made the day of the shooting not to delay deployment. After the shooting, they had to pass their own psychiatric screening and requalify for combat readiness. The soldiers are wearing black bracelets engraved with the names of their slain comrades.

Steve Jobs' 1983 Time Capsule Uncovered

(Feb 14, 2014 11:14 AM) A massive time capsule put in the ground during 1983's Aspen International Design Conference earned the nickname the Steve Jobs Time Capsule after he dropped his own computer mouse into it. The pod was supposed to be unearthed in 2000, but construction in Aspen caused organizers to lose track of it for some time. Now, an 80's gold mine and a rare piece of Apple history, has been unveiled, or so says the website for National Geographic show Diggers. It zeroed in on the capsule in September, but video of it is only coming out now, revealing its haul: A Rubik's Cube, a Moody Blues eight-track, and some very old Balantine beer are among its hundreds of items. We just freaked out, George Wyant, a co-host of the show, told CNET. As for Jobs' mouse, it comes from the Apple Lisa—the precursor to the first Macintosh computer released in 1984—and he used it while giving a talk at the conference, the Telegraph reports. After the conference, hundreds of other items, many protected in plastic bags, were packed along with the mouse into a 13-foot metal pipe and buried. You can get a good look at the dig later this month when the whole thing airs Feb. 25.

Girl, 8: I Lied About Boys Raping Me

(May 13, 2010 2:20 PM CDT) An 8-year-old British girl admitted today in court that she lied about two 10-year-old boys having raped her because she was worried that her mother would deny her sweets for having been a tiny bit naughty. Prodded by a defense attorney, the girl admitted she was with the boys of her own accord, reports the Times of London, and all three were showing each other their private parts. At the time, the girl was taken to the hospital with stomach pain and various scratches, but no sign of genital trauma was observed. Both boys, now 10 and 11, have steadfastly denied the charges of rape and attempted rape. They listened, with their mothers at their sides, as the girl's testimony was broadcast in Old Bailey.

3 Maryland Friends to Split Mega Millions Riches

(Apr 10, 2012 7:47 AM CDT) Mirlande Wilson apparently lost something other than her winning ticket (her mind?), because Maryland's Mega Millions prize has officially been claimed, and the riches go to three friends who work together in the state's public school system—where they say they'll continue to work. They'll each walk away with $34.997 million after taxes, and they plan on staying anonymous. Want to mimic their good luck? Fox News shares their method: They each spent $20 on 60 tickets, which were purchased at three different locations. They were modest, says the Maryland Lottery director. They were humbled by this stroke of luck they've received.

17 Men Nailed to Crosses in Philippines

(Apr 6, 2012 7:12 AM CDT) At least 17 men were nailed to crosses to mark Good Friday in front of thousands in Philippine villages today. Under the watch of villagers posing as Roman centurions, the men were crucified for a few minutes as part of a religious reenactment that occurs yearly, the AP reports. Those enduring the crucifixions aim to give thanks, atone for sins, or pray. After his 26th time on the cross, I feel good because my suffering has ended, said one man. But Filipino church leaders are opposed to the practice, in which shirtless men first trudge miles hitting their backs with sticks; some had cuts made on their backs to maintain a bloody appearance. We do not judge and condemn, but we discourage the ritual, says an archbishop. Adds another leader: The church's position is there's no need to go through this physical and literal pain on the body because Christ already did that for us.

Katharine Hepburn Estate: Yours for $30M

(Mar 31, 2012 7:11 AM CDT) Katharine Hepburn's former mansion on Long Island Sound in Connecticut has sat on the market for a year at $28 million. It's now available for ... $30 million, reports the Wall Street Journal. The current owners have jacked the price because they're building a fancy new gatehouse. The home in Old Saybrook has 3.5 acres and about 680 feet of waterfront. The late actress lived there until her death in 2003, notes Business Insider, which provides a link to more photos.

Yahoo Posts $303M Loss, Beats Estimates

(Jan 27, 2009 4:58 PM) Yahoo Inc. stumbled to a fourth-quarter loss of $303 million, but the Internet company withstood the recession better than analysts had expected. Yahoo's loss—officially wrapping up the Jerry Yang era—translated into 22 cents per share, compared with a profit of 15 cents per share in the prior year, when Yahoo earned $206 million. Investors seemed relieved as shares gained 41 cents in extended trading, after finishing the regular session at $11.34, up 17 cents. The fourth-quarter setback wasn't as bad as it appeared because the loss stemmed from one-time charges of nearly $600 million related to restructuring. If not for those, Yahoo said it would have earned 17 cents per share, beating the estimate of 13 cents per share by analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuter.

Cream Bass Player Jack Bruce Dead at 71

(Oct 25, 2014 1:33 PM CDT) Jack Bruce, bass player, singer, and songwriter for the 1960s rock trio Cream, has died at 71 of liver disease. The British band, which also featured Eric Clapton and drummer Ginger Baker, sold 35 million albums in just two years, breaking up despite their popularity in 1968. The band was the first ever to receive a platinum disc, the Herald reports. Bruce wrote hits like Sunshine of Your Love and I Feel Free, the BBC reports. Prior to playing in Cream—which the BBC calls one of the most important bands in rock history —he was a member of groups like Manfred Mann and John Mayall's Blues Breakers. After Cream broke up in 1968, his reputation continued to grow as one of the industry's top bassists. The world of music will be a poorer place without him, but he lives on in his music and forever in our hearts, his family says.

60 Years Later, Divided Korean Families Could Meet

(Feb 3, 2014 9:28 AM) Families split by the Koreas' North-South divide could soon be reunited for the first time since the Korean War's 1953 end, though uncertainty remains. The North today agreed to talks aimed at planning the reunions, which the South has proposed run from Feb. 17 to 22, the New York Times reports. Seoul wanted to hold the planning talks last Wednesday, but the North gave no reply for a week; the two sides have now settled on this Wednesday. Such reunions have occurred 18 times previously, beginning in 1985, bringing together 22,000 Koreans. That came to an end in 2010, and the AFP reports an urgency to their potential kick-start: Most of the relatives who would be reunited are quite old, and many have died. Indeed, the South held a lottery to select 100 participants in August, and two are now dead. One potential sticking point, however, is planned US-South Korean military exercises. Pyongyang says the exercises are aimed at a future invasion of the North and wants them canceled, but the South intends to hold them later this month. Some 73,000 South Koreans are on a waiting list to visit with relatives they haven't seen in six decades; half of those on the list are older than 80, the Times notes.

Palin Laid Groundwork for 2012 Run

(Nov 4, 2010 7:25 AM CDT) Not all Sarah Palin’s Mama Grizzlies won, but enough did to give her a significant leg up going into a possible 2012 race, the New York Times reports. When the primary season kicks off in New Hampshire, for example, she’ll be able to call in a favor from newly-elected senator Kelly Ayotte. After that, the nomination campaign heads to South Carolina—where Palin endorsee Nikki Haley will be governor. But if Palin does decide to run, she’ll face tough questions about the candidates that didn’t win, like Palin mini-me Christine O'Donnell. And her 2012 rivals were active this year as well; Mitt Romney’s PAC for example quietly doled out more than $1 million to GOP candidates, while Haley Barbour can claim credit as the chairman of a newly-expanded Republican Governors Association. For another, more pessimistic take on Palin's election efforts, click here.

Possession Casts Spell With $21M Opening

(Sep 3, 2012 4:50 PM CDT) Forgotten for much of the summer, horror fans flocked to Possession and gave it the second-best Labor Day opening ever at $21.3 million, says The Hollywood Reporter. The Prohibition-era shoot-em-up Lawless took second with $13 million. The anti-Obama doc 2016: Obama's America came in ninth ($7.3 million), while indie kid flick The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure crashed at $601,545, and the phone sex laffer For a Good Time Call bowed on 23 screens at $186,077.

The $40K Potato Salad on Kickstarter Is Evil

(Jul 8, 2014 1:54 PM CDT) By now you have probably heard about Zack Danger Brown's ludicrously successful potato salad Kickstarter. It's at more than $40,000 as of this writing, and headed higher all the time. And as far as John Herrman at the Awl is concerned, it's not just out of control, it's a science fiction villain … an invader, an awakening of The Old Ones, a Dire Event, or at least a Portent. Yes, it was once funny, but the whimsy is gone; it's just an engine. Because what's funnier than a $40,000 potato salad? A $50,000 one. With every new dollar, it feels more urgent to a viewer that he attach his name and his dollars to the thing … a fee for ensuring you're in on the joke. It's an investment compulsion, and the investment is a scam. It will be only after the dust settles and the checks clear that we realize what the joke really was, and at whose expense it was told. (On the other hand, Brian Barrett at Gizmodo thinks Brown is a hero because he's found a way to skewer Kickstarter in a way that's entertaining, lucrative, and (potentially, depending on how much dill he uses) delicious. Kickstarter recently stopped vetting projects, making this insanity possible. The takeaway? Assume everything on Kickstarter is a potato salad. )

Man Pens Love Note to Wife Every Day for 40 Years

(Feb 13, 2015 8:49 AM) Bill and Kirsten Bresnan are off to an early Valentine's Day start—they've been sharing holiday-themed cards since Feb. 1. But that's not even close to the whole story. Bill has penned a love note to his wife nearly every day since 1974. Bresnan tells the Asbury Park Press that Kris was initially a student of his in a six-week prep class for the Series 7 exam; when they started commuting on the same Long Island Railroad train, he began by jotting notes to her on napkins. It grew from there to, by today's count, 10,000 letters, organized chronologically in some 25 boxes. The couple, who say they've never had a fight in all those years and prefer to talk it out instead of argue, call the collection their love diary. The signature of each letter bears an infinity sign. Some of the notes are short and sweet— Thank you for being you and loving me, scribbled on a postcard in December 1989—but sometimes Bill goes big, reports ABC News. In the 50 days leading up to Kris' 50th birthday, for instance, he sent a series of 50 special cards. But in the end, Bill says, the key is to focus on and treasure each other, not phones and other distractions; he says dinner each night is eaten by candlelight, with romantic music as a backdrop. As for this Valentine's Day, We'll probably have a nice dinner, a special bottle of wine, and a piece of chocolate, he says. We're past the craving for jewelry and expensive nonsense. We just enjoy simply being together. As for his letter-writing habit, he expresses a single qualm to CBS New York: As I get older, my biggest fear is the day I forget to give it to her. (One couple's love letters from WWI were recently uncovered.)

40% of US Whites Lack Non-White Friends: Poll

(Aug 8, 2013 8:30 AM CDT) When it comes to friendship, a vast chunk of Americans are stuck within their own racial communities, a Reuters/Ipsos poll of 4,170 people finds. Some 40% of US whites have no non-white friends, while 25% of non-whites have only friends of their own race. Even if coworkers are thrown into the mix, 30% of Americans have no one of another race in their circles. Certain groups, however, blend more than others: Just a tenth of Hispanics, for instance, have no non-Hispanic friends. What's more, among Hispanics in relationships, half are with a person of a different race. Just a tenth of whites and blacks in relationships have partners of a different race. There are also regional differences. Pacific states have the most racially diverse friendships and relationships, while the South has the smallest proportion of people who have more than five acquaintances racially different from themselves. Age-based statistics offer hope for a more integrated future: A third of under-30s have a partner of a different race, compared to a tenth of over-30s, and just 10% of under-30s have no racial diversity in their social circles.

Feds Nab 7 in $61.8M Stock Fraud Case

(Jan 18, 2012 10:22 AM) Seven people have been charged in an insider trading scheme that netted more than $61.8 million in illegal profits based on trades of a single stock, prosecutors announced today. Two New York hedge fund executives and a Massachusetts man were among four charged in a criminal complaint in federal court in Manhattan. Anthony Chiasson was among those charged with conspiracy to commit securities fraud and securities fraud. He surrendered to the FBI this morning. He's a co-founder of former hedge fund group Level Global Investors LP. Jon Horvath was arrested at his New York City home. He's an employee of Sigma Capital Management, an affiliate of hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors in Manhattan. Also arrested was Todd Newman in Needham, Mass.

300M 'Chinglish' Speakers Can't Be Wrong

(Jun 29, 2008 5:52 AM CDT) Some 300 million English speakers in China are altering the language in small but important ways—and may be creating their own dialect, Michael Erard writes in Wired. So-called Chinglish —which stresses unique syllables, drops dos and dids, and adds sounds for questions—has already been studied in a Hong Kong exhibit and is used widely in Singapore books and films. Chinese does not require subjects in its sentences where English does, so travelers there may hear lines like, Our goalie not here yet, so give chance, can or not? And the th sound is often altered, so that think becomes tink. Soon, when Americans travel abroad, one of the languages they may to have to learn could be their own, Erard notes.

In Congo, 48 Women Raped Every Hour

(May 11, 2011 2:11 PM CDT) Reports of mass rape as a weapon of war have been common in Congo for years, but a new survey shows the problem to be far worse than thought. An estimated 1,152 women are raped every day, or 48 per hour, according to a study to appear in the American Journal of Public Health. That's 26 times higher than a previous UN estimate. The numbers are astounding, says a Johns Hopkins expert. In one particularly war-ravaged part of the country, 67 out of every 1,000 women have been raped at least once. By comparison, the annual rate in the US is 0.5 per 1,000. The message is important and clear: Rape in (Congo) has metastasized amid a climate of impunity, and has emerged as one of the great human crises of our time, says the director of the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative.

Consumer Prices Take Biggest Dip in 59 Years

(Aug 14, 2009 1:10 PM CDT) Consumer prices have fallen 2.1% over the past year, the biggest year-over-year decline in 59 years, the Labor Department announced today. Though the Consumer Price Index was unchanged from June to July, it was drastically lower than in July 2008, when oil peaked at $147 a barrel and gas cost $4.11 per gallon, the Washington Post reports. Economists fear dropping prices are a sign of deflation. Deflation can be even more dangerous than inflation, because falling prices often bring wages down with them, creating a vicious downward spiral. The slackening of the domestic economy reflects a worldwide slowdown, the New York Times reports. The inflation story was nonsense in an environment where you have such wild excess capacity globally, says an economist. I think inflation is below 2% for the next 2 years.

Happy 30th Birthday, Apple's '1984' Commercial*

(Jan 22, 2014 6:53 PM) This time of year, it's not unusual for someone to bring up Apple's Super Bowl ad from 1984, usually with the word iconic attached. But this year—today, in fact—the attention is especially appropriate, because it's the 30th anniversary, notes the Huffington Post. Well, mostly, considering this weird piece of trivia noted by AppAdvice.com: Part of the ad's lore is that it aired on TV just once, right? Wrong. Creators Chiat/Day wanted it to be eligible for the 1983 advertising awards, so the spot aired late on Dec. 31, 1983, at a small station in Twin Falls, Idaho.

Ike Spikes to Cat 4, Deadly Hanna Churns Toward US

(Sep 4, 2008 2:25 AM CDT) Two major storms are churning across the Atlantic, with their chances of striking the US still unclear. Hurricane Ike has rapidly strengthened to a raging Category 4, while Tropical Storm Hanna is now battering the Bahamas after killing 26 in Haiti. Hanna could hit the US  Saturday anywhere between Georgia and North Carolina, reports AP. Ike’s path is still uncertain. Experts predict Hanna could be upgraded to a hurricane sometime today, and note that the storm's reach is growing. So far, Hanna has knocked out power in the southern Bahamas and closed some airports. Ike is still far out at sea, but is moving landward at 17 mph. Tropical Storm Josephine is following, but has already begun to weaken.

'Doctor' Charged With Infecting 100 With HIV

(Dec 22, 2014 3:32 PM) An unlicensed medical practitioner suspected of negligently infecting more than 100 villagers in northwestern Cambodia with HIV was charged today with murder carried out with cruelty. Health officials say 106 people out of more than 800 tested in Roka village were found to have the virus; the Wall Street Journal puts the figure at 140. Cambodian media have reported that the infected villagers range in age from 3 to 82 years old and include Buddhist monks. A senior provincial police officer says Yem Chhrin acknowledged reusing syringes for treatment of patients, and told us that he had no intention of spreading HIV to villagers. Al Jazeera describes Roka as a community of about 9,000 rural farmers. The Health Ministry said in a statement last week that a team including experts from US and UN agencies had been sent to Battambang province to determine the source, extent, and chain of transmission of HIV infection. The outbreak began to unfold last month, when a 74-year-old tested positive; his son-in-law and granddaughter were then tested, and were positive, too. Yem Chhrin was arrested over the weekend after being taken into protective custody last week; villagers had vowed to kill the person responsible for the mass infection. A provincial court prosecutor says the 53-year-old, who had no formal medical training or certification, has also been charged with intentionally spreading HIV and practicing medicine without a license. The prosecutor declined to say what penalty might be applied for the crimes. Cambodia has no death sentence.

Reid Trails 2 Republican Challengers in Poll

(Aug 23, 2009 1:54 PM CDT) Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is trailing not one but two GOP challengers in the race for his seat, Politico reports. In a poll released today, Reid lags behind both college basketball star Danny Tarkanian, 38% to 49%, and state GOP chairwoman Sue Lowden, 40% to 45%, in one-on-one match-ups. The poll surveyed 400 registered Nevada voters and has a 6% margin of error.

Beijing's Biggest Rains in 60 Years Kill 10

(Jul 22, 2012 5:52 AM CDT) Beijing was hit by the worst torrential rains in 60 years yesterday, killing at least 10 people and trapping cars and buses in deep water around the capital, reports Sky News. Two people were killed when the roof of their home caved in, another by a downed power line, while others drowned. About 6.7 inches of rain fell in the city starting yesterday afternoon and into the overnight, with one district to the west of Beijing receiving 18.1 inches. Another 10 people were killed outside of Beijing, including six in a landslide. More than 500 flights were canceled at the Beijing Capital International Airport, leaving 80,000 people stranded. But there was one tiny silver lining to the devastating storms—the heavy rains washed much of the usual pollutants out of the sky, giving the city a rare excellent rating on the official pollution index.

Airlines Out $1.7B as Germany Reopens Airspace

(Apr 21, 2010 7:12 AM CDT) Air controllers lifted all restrictions on German airspace today, as airlines announced they had lost at least $1.7 billion and criticized government actions during the volcanic ash crisis. The head of the International Air Transport Association called the economic fallout from the six-day travel shutdown devastating and urged European governments to compensate airlines, as the US did after 9/11. Many airlines have criticized authorities for closing airspace longer than necessary, CNN reports. London's Heathrow is officially open, but so far planes are only landing, not taking off. Some restrictions remained Wednesday morning over parts of Britain, Ireland and France, as well as over parts of central Europe. And severe delays are still expected across Europe, as airlines pressed to patch together normal flights with airplanes and crews scattered all over the globe.

Guardian Axes American Website After 2 Years

(Oct 21, 2009 4:15 AM CDT) Guardian News and Media, which lost $60.3 million last year, is shutting its US-centered website Guardian America after two years. The site will now redirect to the Guardian newspaper's American coverage. Guardian America's head will instead focus on international expansion for guardian.co.uk. We took it down because it was confusing and few people landed there, said one exec. The change is meant to be more user friendly to our American audience.

GE CEO Scraps His $12M Bonus

(Feb 18, 2009 10:14 AM) Jeffrey Immelt has recommended to GE's board of directors that he not get a planned $12 million bonus for 2008, the Wall Street Journal reports. The CEO noted that earnings were below where we expected, but stressed that even those numbers represent success in the midst of a faltering economy, well outperforming the S&P 500.

Company's Poop Investigation Costs It $2.2M

(Jun 24, 2015 11:33 AM CDT) It's like a modern-day Goldilocks, except instead of trying to figure out who's been sleeping in its bed, a Georgia company wanted to know who's been pooping in its warehouse. In an effort to solve its 2012 mystery, Atlas Logistics Group Retail Services—which operates warehouses that store products en route to grocery stores—swabbed some of its employees to collect their DNA. Jack Lowe and Dennis Reynolds were two of them, and their DNA didn't match that taken from the poop, which had been found in the aisles and on canned goods. So they sued. Courthouse News Service reports that they cited the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act, which generally prohibits a company from asking its workers to hand over their genetic info. Last month, US District Judge Amy Totenberg determined Atlas did indeed seek and obtain such info as outlined by GINA, even though the test didn't disclose any medical details. She denied Atlas' motion for summary judgement, and the New York Times spoke to legal experts who believed this to be the only case involving GINA to go to trial. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the men were on Monday handed a total of $475,000 in compensatory damages for pain and suffering and $1.75 million in punitive damages; GINA has a $600,000 cap on such damages, however, meaning the amount could ultimately be reduced. The company's lawyer is not pleased: Dion Kohler says the men produced very little evidence ... of emotional injury, and as for the punitive damages, which are intended to dissuade Atlas and others from repeating the transgression, Kohler says there's no need. His own firm had incorrectly told Atlas the tests were legal; this was a one-time deal. The pooper was never IDed.

36 USA Swimming Coaches Molested Teen Athletes

(Apr 9, 2010 4:25 PM CDT) USA Swimming has been rocked by the disclosure that 36 coaches have been banned for life for molesting teen athletes over the last 10 years, according to a suit brought by victims' families. Coaches secretly videotaped, fondled, and were otherwise indecent with their charges, court papers reveal. One coach in Indiana set up a camera in a special shower room and secretly filmed his athletes while they bathed, ABC News reports. In some cases, the itinerant coaching lifestyle allowed predators to stay one step ahead of authorities and victims' families. Another coach, who was sentenced to 40 years in prison last year for molesting over a dozen female teens, would switch towns after arousing suspicion. His 30 years of sexual predation highlight the ineffectiveness of background checks by USA Swimming, the sport's national governing body, which cleared him in 2008.

Hackers Hit Hospital Network, 4.5M Patients' Data

(Aug 18, 2014 12:03 PM CDT) Hackers hit Community Health Systems, a company that operates 206 hospitals across the United States, accessing the records of some 4.5 million patients, reports CNN. What they got, as per the AP: patient names, addresses, birthdates, and phone and Social Security numbers. That affects anyone treated at any location within the last five years. What they didn't get: medical records or credit card numbers. CHS says that the hack, which used malware to access data, was likely the work of Chinese hackers and occurred in April and June. It says the malware has since been removed and other remediation efforts are in place. CNN notes that CHS has a heavy presence in Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas. (A list of locations is here, though the site appears to be down currently.)

Korean War Vet's Remains Go Home, 6 Decades Later

(Nov 7, 2013 4:05 PM) George Conklin was all of 18 when he got killed fighting in the Korean War in 1950. More than six decades later, the Army corporal is finally back home for burial in upstate New York, reports AP. His were among the remains recovered near North Korea's Chosin Reservoir in 2004, and a military lab recently identified Conklin thanks to a DNA sample given years ago by a now-deceased brother. It’s closure, a niece tells the Rochester Democrat and Chronicle. He's coming home. Conklin will be buried with full military honors on Saturday in Phelps, next to his parents. The teen enlisted at 17, was reported missing after the Chosin battle, then listed as killed in action when the war ended. Hundreds greeted his casket when it arrived in Phelps yesterday. It was a phenomenal sight, says the funeral home owner. It was amazingly silent. It was like a peace come over everybody.

'World's Most Powerful' Drug Lord Pulls Off 2nd Prison Break

(Jul 12, 2015 5:57 AM CDT) Top drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman has done what Mexican authorities promised would not happen after his re-capture last year—escaped a maximum security prison a second time. A manhunt began immediately for the head of the powerful Sinaloa Cartel, believed to control most major crossing points for drugs at the US-Mexico border. Journalists near Altiplano prison, 56 miles west of Mexico City, said roads were heavily patrolled by Federal Police, who had set up checkpoints. Flights were also suspended at Toluca airport near the penitentiary. Guzman was last seen about 9pm last night in the shower area of the prison, the National Security Commission said early today. After a time, he was lost by the prison's security camera network. Authorities then found his cell empty. The escape is a massive blow to the administration of President Enrique Pena Nieto, which has received plaudits for its aggressive capture of drug lords. During his first stint as a fugitive, Guzman transformed himself from middling capo into arguably the most powerful drug trafficker in the world with a $1 billion fortune, and a Forbes World's Most Powerful People ranking. He was re-captured in 2014, some 13 years after his escape from another Mexican maximum-security prison. But Guzman's Sinaloa Cartel empire stretched throughout North America, into Europe and Australia. Guzman also faces federal drug trafficking indictments in the US, and was on the DEA's most-wanted list. Mexico's former AG said earlier this year dismissed the possibility of extraditing him to the US, dismissing concerns that Guzman could escape as a risk that does not exist.

Dow Tumbles 332, Below 8,000

(Jan 20, 2009 3:21 PM) A spirit of optimism swept through America today as Barack Obama was sworn in—except on Wall Street, where financial trouble at home and in the UK sent the Dow below 8,000 for the first time since November, the Journal reports. The Dow fell 332.13 to close at 7,949.09. The Nasdaq shed 88.47, settling at 1,440.86, and the S&P 500 closed down 44.90 at 805.22. The British government prepared to bail out banks riddled with losses, and the US-listed shares of Royal Bank of Scotland and Barclays plummeted 73% and 41%, respectively. The news of unexpected losses at State Street hit US financials hard, with Bank of America down 27.6%, Citigroup falling 17.7%, and State Street itself losing 59%. The SPDR, an exchange-traded fund that tracks the financial sector, fell 15% to a record low of $8.21.

Cops: Brazilian 'Fritzl' Jailed Daughter, Had 7 Kids With Her

(Jun 10, 2010 9:19 AM CDT) A man in a remote fishing village in Brazil kept his daughter imprisoned for 12 years, raped her repeatedly, and had seven children with her, police said. The man is also accused of abusing a young girl he had with his daughter. Police allege that Jose Agostinho Pereira, 54, kept his daughter, now 28, under virtual house arrest in a two-room, thatched-roof hut near a tiny fishing village in northeastern Brazil. He confessed to everything, said an officer. The home was located in such a remote, jungle area that the only way to reach it was by using canoes. Authorities said the children appeared to suffer from malnutrition and could barely communicate with others. Most were unclothed. The four girls and three boys range in age from about 2 months to 12 years. Last year in Austria, Josef Fritzl was found guilty of locking his daughter in a dungeon for 24 years and fathering seven children with her.

Chemistry Nobel Goes to 3 for Computer Modeling

(Oct 9, 2013 6:07 AM CDT) Martin Karplus, Michael Levitt, and Arieh Warshel won this year's Nobel Prize in chemistry today for laying the foundation for the computer models used to understand and predict chemical processes. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said their research in the 1970s has helped scientists develop programs that unveil chemical processes such as the purification of exhaust fumes or the photosynthesis in green leaves. The work of Karplus, Levitt, and Warshel is ground-breaking in that they managed to make Newton's classical physics work side-by-side with the fundamentally different quantum physics, the academy said. Previously, chemists had to choose to use either/or. Karplus, a US and Austrian citizen, is affiliated with the University of Strasbourg, France, and Harvard University. The academy said Levitt is a British, US, and Israeli citizen and a professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine. Warshel is a US and Israeli citizen affiliated with the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Warshel told a news conference in Stockholm by telephone that he was extremely happy to be awakened in the middle of the night in Los Angeles to find out he had won the prize and looks forward to collecting the award in the Swedish capital in December. In short what we developed is a way which requires computers to look, to take the structure of the protein and then to eventually understand how exactly it does what it does, Warshel said.

Meet the 2011 MacArthur 'Genius Grant' Winners

(Sep 20, 2011 6:25 AM CDT) When silversmith Ubaldo Vitali got the phone call, he thought it was a joke. Cellist Alisa Weilerstein nearly wrote off her email as spam. But it was neither a joke or spam: Vitali and Weilerstein are among this year’s 22 recipients of the MacArthur Foundation’s $500,000 genius grants. Since the annual fellows are chosen through a secret process, most are shocked when they receive notification, the Wall Street Journal notes. Recipients of the grants, which offer a chance to pursue projects with no strings attached, also include the architect of what's thought to be the tallest building designed by a woman, a chemist, a historian, a public radio show co-host, and a New Yorker correspondent, among others. The grants come with a sense of great responsibility, notes Vitali: You have to rise to the occasion. See the Journal for a complete list of fellows.

Whites No Longer Majority by 2043

(Dec 13, 2012 7:24 AM) By 2043, white people will cease to be the majority in the US, Census data suggests; at that point, there will be no single ethnic majority. That's actually a year later than had been predicted, the New York Times notes. With a still-higher birthrate among minorities than among whites, we can expect non-whites to account for 57% of the population by 2060, Reuters reports. The US will become a plurality nation, where the non-Hispanic white population remains the largest single group, but no group is in the majority, says the Census Bureau's acting director. Indeed, when this decade ends, notes the Times, there will be no majority ethnic group among the under-18 set. As it stands, racial minorities make up 37% of the US. Meanwhile, as a nation, we're getting older: The number of people over 65 will more than double by 2060, reaching 92 million (accounting for one in five Americans), while the number of people 85 and older will more than triple, hitting 18.2 million. The figures herald a coming divide in the population between younger, more diverse generations and older whites, a Pew researcher notes.

Meet World's Shortest Man: 22"

(Feb 21, 2010 12:15 PM) A man who is only 22 inches tall left his home country of Nepal today in a quest to be recognized as the world's shortest living man. Khagendra Thapa Magar is traveling to Europe to campaign for the Guinness World Record title. He applied to the London-based group for a place in the record book in October, soon after turning 18, but has not received any response. Magar's family initially filed a claim when he was 14, but were rejected because he was not an adult and there was a chance he might grow. We are going to Italy to try to record his name in the Guinness Book of World Records, his father, Rup Bahadur Thapa Magar, told reporters in Katmandu. The current record is held by He Pingping of China, who is 29 inches tall.

Up to 50K Gallons of Oil Spills Into Yellowstone River

(Jan 20, 2015 9:22 AM) Montana Gov. Steve Bullock declared a state of emergency for two counties yesterday after a 12-inch oil pipeline burst Saturday, pouring up to 50,000 gallons of oil into the Yellowstone River near the town of Glendive, the state's Department of Environmental Quality reports. Bridger Pipeline Co. noticed the breach Saturday around 10am and shut the pipeline down by 11am, per a company statement. A spokesman for Bullock initially told the AP that we think it was caught pretty quick and noted the frozen river may minimize damage. But cleanup crews are struggling through the ice, the AP notes. And although initial tests revealed no oil in the drinking water, residents started noting Sunday that they smelled something funny in the water; the EPA said in a statement last night that elevated hydrocarbon levels were detected in Glendive's water, the Grand Forks Herald reports. Drinking water is now being trucked into Glendive as a precaution, say officials; an advisory against drinking water from the local treatment plant was also issued last night, the AP notes. Officials had said earlier yesterday that contamination was unlikely because of oil's tendency to float (the water intake is nestled 14 feet below the surface). The DEQ notes a few oil sheens have been seen, with the AP reporting one 60 miles downstream from Glendive. In addition to the EPA and DEQ, the Coast Guard, Fish and Wildlife Service, and DOT are all assessing the mess and assisting with cleanup, notes the Herald. Our primary concern is to minimize the environmental impact of the release and keep our responders safe as we clean up from this unfortunate incident, Bridger VP Tad True said in the statement. (An Exxon Mobile pipeline flooded the Yellowstone River nearly four years ago.)

World Marks 12-12-12

(Dec 12, 2012 3:40 AM) If 12 is your lucky number, today is as good as it gets. This is 12-12-12, the last repeating date of its kind any of us are likely to ever see, and the superstitious are marking it in a lot more than 12 ways, the AP reports. Huge numbers of weddings are planned around the world, including more than 100 at the Viva Las Vegas Wedding Chapel. The 'go-getting' 1 and the 'sensitive' 2 make this a very balanced number, the chapel explains. Casinos are offering 12-themed promotions and stars including Bruce Springsteen, the Rolling Stones, and Bon Jovi are headlining the 12-12-12 Superstorm Sandy benefit concert in New York City. Lots of children will be celebrating their 12th birthdays on the auspicious date, including Kiam Moriya of Alabama—who was born at 12:12pm. The one-two has caused today to be nicknamed National Soundcheck Day, Mashable notes. After today, there won't be another triple date to match until Jan. 1, 2101.

Ford Reports Record $14.6B Loss for 2008

(Jan 29, 2009 7:17 AM) Ford Motor Co. today reported its worst year in its 105-year history, driving through more than $5.9 billion in cash in the fourth quarter on its way to a $14.6 billion loss for the year, reports Bloomberg. The company said it had enough cash reserves and credit available to survive without tapping into any government bailout money. The $14.6 billion loss eclipses its previous record of $12.6 billion lost in 2006. Last year the automaker lost $11.8 billion. Ford said it would scoop $10.1 billion from its cash reserves for the first quarter. Ford also said the UAW agreed to end its job bank practice, saving Ford from having to pay union members even when no work is available.

'Inverted Jenny' Stamp Surfaces 61 Years After It Was Stolen

(Apr 16, 2016 1:20 PM CDT) An incredibly rare and valuable stamp stolen right out of its exhibition frame at a 1955 convention resurfaced this month in New York and has promptly rocked the philatelic world. Inverted Jenny stamps are considered the most famous in America: A printing accident in 1918 produced a single sheet of 100 of the stamps, each featuring an upside-down Curtiss JN-4H biplane, NPR explains. In 1955, someone swiped a block of four from the collection of Ethel Stewart McCoy, whose father was a Dow Jones founder. It is one of the most notorious crimes in philatelic history, Scott English, administrator of the American Philatelic Research Library, tells the AP. The stamp was submitted this month to New York auction house Spink USA by an unnamed man in his 20s who hails from the UK and says he inherited it from his grandfather; it's unclear if he knew it was stolen. A press release from Spink USA states that the inverted Jenny was determined to be position 76 in the pane of 100 subjects —the one in the bottom right of the block of four stolen. Identification took some sleuthing: In a long-ago attempt to disguise it, the stamp had been reperforated at right and most of the gum was removed, so the pencil position numbers written on the gummed side had been lost. Positions 75 and 65 turned up in 1958 and 1982, respectively, and the new discovery leaves only one of the four stolen stamps unaccounted for. (In 2014, a dealer offered a $50,000 reward for the missing inverted Jennies.) The American Philatelic Research Library at the American Philatelic Society was given rights to the stamps by McCoy, who died in 1980, and is working with the auction house to take possession of the stamp. (By one measure, this stamp is the most expensive thing ever sold.)

2 Brits Get 4 Years for Pushing Riots on Facebook

(Aug 16, 2011 3:50 PM CDT) As sentencing continues in last week’s riots across Britain, some observers fear the punishments far outweigh the crimes. Two young British men who used Facebook to call for local rioting have each received four-year jail sentences—though the riots they suggested never took place. In one case, a 20-year-old man set up a Facebook event labeled Smash Down in Northwich, but only police showed up at the appointed time, the Guardian reports. This happened at a time when collective insanity gripped the nation, said the judge. Your conduct was quite disgraceful and the title of the message you posted on Facebook chills the blood. Another man, 22, created a Facebook page called The Warrington Riots and took it down the following day, calling it a joke. In his case, too, the page did not lead to a specific riot, but that didn't protect him from the 4-year sentence. Magistrates have been told by their supervisors to ignore normal sentencing when it comes to the riots, sparking an outcry from civil rights advocates and defense lawyers, the Guardian reports. Click to read about a 16-year-old facing murder charges.

149 Confirmed Dead in Spain Crash

(Aug 20, 2008 1:44 PM CDT) The Spanish government confirms that 149 people died when a Spanair jet crashed shortly after takeoff from Madrid's airport today, the AP reports. Only 26 survived the horrific crash, which tore the aircraft apart to the point that rescue workers said the wreckage didn’t look like a plane and made the victims' bodies so hot they couldn’t be touched.

Sure, You Can See Palin Email ... for $15M

(Oct 17, 2008 1:20 PM CDT) Sarah Palin ran on a platform of transparent government, but it seems that Alaskan transparency has a price: $15 million. That’s how much the governor’s office wants from news organizations for copies of official email, MSNBC reports. Even if organizations are willing to pay up, the email will be censored, and won’t come until well after Election Day. Why $15 million? The office says a computer programmer needs13 hours to assemble the emails for each employee, which, at $73.87 an hour, equals $960.31. Multiply by the 16,000 full-time state employees, and you get $15,364,960. Plus 10 cents per photocopy. State law allows such fees to be waived for journalists, but Palin’s only done so when it’s a few dollars.

Ex-Secretary of Interior Stewart Udall Dies at 90

(Mar 21, 2010 7:21 AM CDT) Stewart Udall, an elder in a famed political family who led the Interior Department as it vastly expanded public lands and helped win passage of major environmental laws, has died at the age of 90. During his 1961-1968 tenure as Interior secretary, Udall sowed the seeds of the modern environmental movement. He later became a crusader for victims of radiation exposure from the government's Cold War nuclear programs. Udall, brother of the late 15-term congressman Morris Udall, served six years in Congress as a Democrat from Arizona, and then headed the Interior Department from 1961 through 1968—helping to write several far-reaching pieces of legislation, including the Wilderness Act of 1964, which protects millions of acres from logging, mining, and other development. His son Tom and nephew Mark also became congressmen, then both were elected to the Senate in 2008. Current Interior secretary Ken Salazar called Udall one of the greatest secretaries of the Interior in my lifetime.

2 Michigan Shootings Leave One Student Dead, 2 Hurt

(Feb 1, 2014 5:25 PM) One of two students shot in their apartment near the Michigan State University campus died this morning at an area hospital of multiple gunshot wounds, police said. The dead student was identified as 20-year-old Dominique Nolff, of Middleville in western Michigan. He was pronounced dead at 9:23 am, about 12 hours after he and his 20-year-old roommate were shot. His roommate, from Grand Haven—whose name wasn't released—was treated and released from a hospital. East Lansing police found the two students after responding last night to a report of a shooting at the Cedar Village apartment complex. This does not appear to be a random act, police said in a statement. Police described the suspect as a 20- to 25-year-old man who was wearing tan pants, a black coat, and black shoes or boots. The shootings near Michigan State occurred hours before a separate shooting near Ferris State University in Big Rapids, about 50 miles north of Grand Rapids. Early this morning, a male student was shot in an apartment complex just off Ferris State's campus. His wounds were not considered life-threatening.

NYC Tenants Allegedly Turned 3-Bedroom Into 10-Bedroom

(Dec 10, 2015 3:50 PM) A New York landlord says he rented out a three-bedroom apartment to two men—and they turned it into a 10-bedroom apartment and started renting out the rooms on Airbnb. The kicker: So far, he hasn't been able to evict the two official tenants, Burak Firik and Dogan Kimilli, WPIX reports. Landlord Eddie Shiew owns a three-story Queens home, and the person renting out the first floor alerted him to construction on the third floor. Shiew found that a construction crew had divided each bedroom into three bedrooms by putting up sheetrock. WPIX also investigated, and found people staying in the apartment who said they were paying $35 a night for a room after finding the property on Airbnb. Shiew brought in his own workmen to tear down the sheetrock dividers; he also changed the locks and told Firik and Kimilli to get out. But they went to court and got a court order against me, Shiew says. They said I illegally locked them out. The court agreed, ordering Shiew to let them back in. This time, instead of putting up sheetrock, the tenants allegedly used curtains as room dividers and continued to rent out rooms on Airbnb. Meanwhile, Shiew hired a lawyer and started eviction proceedings. He points out that the lease they signed bars them from making repairs or alterations, and his lawyer thinks the court will order them out within months. As Gothamist points out, Airbnb released anonymized data on their hosts last week to rebut allegations that many New York hosts are basically running illegal hostels, and said that just two Queens hosts had six or more listings on the site. Still, as Firik and Kimilli's case proves, it's exceedingly difficult to evict tenants running Airbnb hotels, adds the post. (Here's another Airbnb horror story.)

Florida Man Tried to Cash $100 Check ... Gets $3.3M

(Feb 16, 2012 11:22 AM) It's not every day that you walk into a bank planning to cash a $100 check—and ultimately find yourself $3.3 million richer. That's what happened to Rodolfo Valladares, just not quite that smoothly. Valladares, sporting a Miami Heat hat, walked into a Florida Bank of America in July 2008 to cash said check. A teller mistakenly identified him as a robber who had been hitting area banks—in a Heat cap. She set off the silent alarm, and things went south for Valladares, who was handcuffed by police and kicked in the head, reports the Miami Herald. This mistake quickly came to light: The robber was in his 60s and 145 pounds; Valladares was 46, weighed in at more than 200, and presented the check and driver's license, not a weapon. And he wasn't wearing the exact same hat. Now, he's getting a little something for his trouble, courtesy of a Miami-Dade jury. They awarded him $3.3 million in damages, having ruled that the bank was negligent in both tripping the alarm and not canceling it when they realized Valladares was a customer, not a criminal. His lawyer says Valladares is plagued by headaches, blurred vision, and PTSD—and notes that to add insult to injury, they cashed his check after finally telling police officers it was a false alarm. (In other big-bucks news, a man bought a safe for $123 on eBay, and found major cash inside; click for that story.)

1,000 Kids a Year Forced Into Sex Slavery—in Ohio

(Feb 11, 2010 5:25 AM) Each year in Ohio some 1,000 US-born children are forced into the sex trade and about 800 immigrants are sexually exploited or pushed into sweatshop labor. Weak trafficking laws, poorly informed law enforcement, and the state's proximity to the Canadian border combine to make Ohio a hub of human trafficking, according to a new report by a state commission. Ohio is not only a destination place for foreign-born trafficking victims, but it's also a recruitment place, the head of the study tells the AP. Ohio's rapidly growing immigrant population adds to trafficking networks; thanks to the nearby Toronto airport, a major international trafficking destination, Toledo ranks fourth among US cities for reported trafficking incidents. Compounding the problem, Ohio tends to treat child prostitutes as delinquents and imprison them rather than investigating the adults involved.

'Gay Terrorist' Debacle May Explain 9/11 Intel Failure

(Mar 17, 2010 4:08 AM CDT) The CIA's eagerness to recruit a gay al-Qaeda insider could explain one of the biggest intelligence failures in the run-up to 9/11, according to investigative journalist Aram Roston. Ahmad Hikmat Shakir—an Iraqi Arab working for Malaysian Airlines—was closely associated with 9/11 hijacker Khalid al-Mihdhar, whose name the CIA failed to turn over to the FBI despite his terror links and travel to the US, Roston writes in the New York Observer. The CIA viewed Shakir as an access agent with valuable contacts in the world of jihadis and believed his homosexuality would make him easier to blackmail and recruit as a double agent, intelligence sources tell Roston. The CIA's failure to share Mihdhar's name with the FBI may have been out of fear the agency would mess up the recruitment effort, Roston writes. All efforts to recruit Shakir failed, and the Iraqi has not been seen since September 2001.

7 US Soldiers Killed in Iraq Copter Crash

(Sep 18, 2008 8:04 AM CDT) Seven US soldiers were killed in southern Iraq today when their helicopter crashed, the AP reports. At this time we are uncertain of the cause, but hostile fire has been ruled out, a military spokesman said. The crash occurred shortly after midnight in a desert under British military control, as a four-helicopter convoy was heading from Kuwait to a military base north of Baghdad. A British quick reaction force and road convoy were dispatched to help American officials at the site, and an investigation is under way. The helicopter accident is the deadliest for US troops since August 2007, when a Black Hawk crashed in northern Iraq, killing all 14 soldiers aboard. The military has not yet released the names of those killed today.

14 Americans Killed in 2 Afghan Chopper Crashes

(Oct 26, 2009 7:42 AM CDT) A pair of helicopter crashes today in Afghanistan killed 14 US troops and civilian workers and injured at least 28 others. In the first crash, a helicopter went down in the west of the country after leaving the scene of a firefight with insurgents, killing 10 Americans—seven troops and three civilians working for the government. Eleven American troops, one U.S. civilian and 14 Afghans were also injured. In a separate incident in the south, two other US choppers collided while in flight, killing four American troops and wounding two more, the military said. Military officials were investigating both incidents, and have ruled out hostile fire in the collision.

Tech Titans Throw $3.6M at Preventing New Heartbleed

(Apr 24, 2014 12:25 PM CDT) Competing tech giants don't want to see another Heartbleed, and they're putting their money where their mouth is to ensure that they don't. Some of tech's biggest names—Google, Facebook, Microsoft, Amazon, and Dell, to name a few—are now jointly funding an effort to support essential online projects, Wired reports. OpenSSL, the security software affected by Heartbleed, has just one full-time worker; the new Core Infrastructure Initiative, driven by the Linux Foundation, aims to allow more developers to devote their time to such projects. The initiative will also fund security and infrastructure tests, Wired notes. Given concerns surrounding Heartbleed, the Linux Foundation decided to do what we always do: work with the industry to raise money and fund developers directly so they can do what they do best, develop, says a rep. Already, supporters have committed $3.6 million to the effort. The first project to get funding, TechCrunch notes: OpenSSL.

Woman in NYC Gets 108 Catcalls in 10 Hours

(Oct 28, 2014 5:49 PM CDT) Video of a woman who walks around New York City for 10 hours makes one thing very clear: It can be exhausting to be a woman, observes Jessica Roy at New York mag. How else to describe what's it's like to listen to the relentless stream of catcalls from guys of all kinds? To be precise, Shoshana Roberts recorded 108 over that stretch, with the camera tucked away in a backpack of someone walking in front of her, explains the website Hollaback! The site is dedicated to stopping what it calls street harassment. Roberts, dressed in a T-shirt, jeans, and sneakers, got lots of remarks of the Hey Baby variety, along with what Gothamist calls the most infuriating type of catcall: A guy scolds her, Somebody's acknowledging you for being beautiful—you should say thank you! Writes Jen Carlson: Ladies whenever will we learn to smile and thank our street harassers? The creepiest encounter might be another guy who walked silently by Roberts' side for five minutes after his opening remark failed to get a response.

Parents Leery About H1N1 Vaccine

(Sep 14, 2009 10:34 AM CDT) Concerned over unforeseen effects and unconvinced that the H1N1 virus is really anything worse than a case of the sniffles, some parents are leaning away from vaccinating their kids against it, the Los Angeles Times reports. It's a different brand of flu, but it is still the flu, says one mom. I'm really more concerned about the long-term effects and lifelong damage it could do. Federal officials are thought to be planning a wide-ranging vaccination campaign, and complacency is a big challenge, says a CDC director. Others worry that there's so much information out there, notes another mom, that You don't know what's right and what's wrong. Some epidemiologists support widespread vaccination of schoolkids to help restrain the flu’s spread, but parents plagued by uncertainty could prove a roadblock.

Rarity: US Executions Fall Below 40 for Year

(Dec 19, 2013 3:24 PM) The Death Penalty Information Center's year-end report is out, and the number of US executions fell to 39 in 2013—just the second time that number has fallen below 40 in almost 20 years, reports USA Today. What's behind the drop? Difficulty in getting the necessary drugs, fewer death sentences, and waning public support for the death penalty are major factors, says the center, which opposes capital punishment. The report's lead author notes that executions have been on the decline since 2000, but perhaps this is the final chapter, though that is too early to tell. Texas, which has the country's busiest death row, is scrambling to get its hands on the drugs, while other states have halted executions altogether. Florida, meanwhile, began using the untested drug midazolam hydrochloride, never before used in executions, which some say may inflict cruel and unusual punishment, reports the Guardian. The goalposts keep shifting under the death penalty states, says the lead author. As soon as they move to a new protocol, the boycott spreads. Also from the report: Sticking at last year's all-time low, just nine states performed executions in 2013, while the number of death row inmates fell from 3,170 in 2012 to 3,108.

Army: 2nd Schoolgirl Rescued From Boko Haram

(May 20, 2016 4:01 AM CDT) The families of hundreds of schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram two years ago have been given fresh hope by what the Nigerian military says is another rescue. A military spokesman says that Miss Serah Luka, who is number 157 on the list of the abducted schoolgirls, was among 97 women and children rescued in a raid that killed at least 35 militants, reports the BBC, although a spokesman for the families of the girls kidnapped in the town of Chibok denies that she is on the list. The military says Luka, a pastor's daughter who joined the Chibok school just two months before the mass kidnapping, is receiving medical treatment, the Guardian reports. On Tuesday, the military announced that it had rescued missing schoolgirl Amina Ali Nkeki from the militants. Since then, she has met with President Muhammadu Buhari and so many other dignitaries that critics are accusing the government of putting a traumatized girl on parade in an effort to score political points. Nkeki was found by vigilantes in the Sambisa Forest after she ran away from a Boko Haram camp with a 4-month-old baby and a man she said was her husband. But while she was meeting the president, the husband was being interrogated as a suspected Boko Haram fighter, CNN reports. Some 217 schoolgirls are still missing, and Nkeki has reportedly said that they are all still in forest camps, apart from six killed in a recent attack.

No. 1 Way to Lower Dementia Risk: Exercise

(Dec 10, 2013 7:00 AM) A 35-year study of 2,235 men in the UK finds that exercise is the biggest factor when it comes to reducing the risk of dementia, the BBC reports. People who practiced four of the following five lifestyle choices saw their dementia risk reduced 60%, and were 70% less likely to develop diabetes, heart disease, or stroke compared to those who practiced none of the following: The size of the reduction in risk based on all of the above factors really amazed us, says the lead researcher, who points out that while exercise had the single biggest impact, the other factors come in very close behind. He recommends 30 minutes of exercise five times per week, but says simply walking works if you don't want to go to the gym. Healthy behaviors have a far more beneficial effect than any medical treatment or preventative procedure, he tells the Independent. A doctor from the Alzheimer's Society says this study is proof of the idea that what is good for your heart is also good for your head. Another recent study finds that even for people who already have dementia, regular exercise can help reduce the effects, improving cognitive functioning and helping people care for themselves longer, Reuters reports. (This news follows last week's warning from Alzheimer's Disease International that a dementia epidemic is coming.)

3 'Helicopter Escapees' Arrested in Luxury Condo

(Jun 22, 2014 2:25 PM CDT) Three men who escaped by helicopter from a Quebec City-area prison two weeks ago were captured early today at a Montreal residence, Quebec provincial police said. The fugitives were arrested by police investigators, accompanied by SWAT team members, around 1:30am at a luxury condo in Old Montreal, reports the Montreal Gazette. Quebec police Sgt. Audrey-Anne Bilodeau said further arrests in the case are likely as the investigation into the June 7 escape continues. It could be a person who helped them escape from prison or a person who helped them hide from us, Bilodeau said. Police did not divulge further details about how they finally found the fugitives—Yves Denis, 35, Denis Lefebvre, 53, and Serge Pomerleau, 49. They are due in court in Quebec City tomorrow. The three men were originally arrested as part of Operation Crayfish in 2010, which dismantled a network of drug traffickers, and were awaiting trial when a helicopter plucked them from a detention-center courtyard in Quebec City, triggering an international manhunt. Interpol placed them on its list of the world's most wanted fugitives. Shortly after the daring breakout it was revealed that a judge had granted the three inmates looser restrictions the day before they escaped; an official said she doesn't know why the judge agreed to the request. Now the Quebec government has ordered an internal investigation into the jailbreak and yet another high-flying breakout that occurred in March.

G7 Vows to Get a Grip on Financial Crisis

(Oct 10, 2008 6:28 PM CDT) The finance ministers of the world's economic leaders vowed to stem the financial bleeding in international markets today after stocks plummeted yet again, Reuters reports. Reacting to pleas from investors, the IMF, and several other countries, the G7 reps pledged urgent and exceptional action  to free up credit and money markets. Meanwhile, Washington confirmed that it will use bailout money to purchase stakes in US banks, the Washington Post reports. The G7 ministers promised that their plan will keep vital institutions afloat and make sure banks can raise capital, but the statement they released after North American markets closed was light on specifics. Their pledge comes after other moves, including interest rate cuts, cash injections, and the $700 billion American bailout plan, have failed to reassure investors. It all depends on whether the governments can get a grip on this, a US portfolio manager said.

Prosecutor Gives 87-Year-Old Man a Pass

(Sep 2, 2015 2:51 PM CDT) Howard Arthur Klein lived 87 years without so much as a blot on his criminal record. In truth, the elderly Michigan man didn't have a record at all until a night in June when he was nabbed in a sting, accused of soliciting a prostitute who was actually an undercover cop. But it seems all will be forgotten as a Kent County prosecutor has decided to throw out his case. He is 87 years old with absolutely no criminal record. In addition, I am told he struggles to some degree with dementia, he tells Michigan Live. He wouldn't and shouldn't go to jail and 87 years without involvement in the criminal justice system has, in my opinion, earned him a pass. Two accused prostitutes, aged 32 and 45, and two other males arrested alongside Klein in the June sting in Grand Rapids were booked into the Kent County Jail, but Klein was allowed to go free because of his age, reports Fox 17. He was arraigned on July 8 and faced 93 days in jail if convicted. Klein, who MLive reports is likely the oldest person ever charged with this crime, has denied any wrongdoing. He tells WOOD-TV he simply thought the woman he approached on a street was someone he knew from his church.

MySpace Wins Record $234M From Spammers

(May 14, 2008 2:55 AM CDT) MySpace has been awarded $234 million from spammers in what's believed to be the largest such judgment ever, AP reports. A federal court ordered two notorious spammers to pay damages for sending hundreds of thousands of messages to MySpace members. The social networking site hailed the award as a landmark. MySpace has zero tolerance for those who attempt to act illegally on our site, said the company’s chief security officer. It’s our job to send a message to stop them.

Mitt Romney Announcing 2012 Bid Next Month

(May 27, 2011 1:20 AM CDT) Mitt Romney is making his run for the White House official next week. The former Massachusetts governor—who is the GOP's front-runner in the latest Gallup poll—plans to formally announce his candidacy at a barbecue hosted by Republican stalwarts in New Hampshire next Thursday, the Union-Leader reports. Romney will be the first 2012 hopeful to make a formal announcement in New Hampshire, where a recent poll put him in first place with 32% of possible votes, compared with 9% for second-place Ron Paul. Romney, who dropped out of the 2008 race after coming in second to John McCain in the Super Tuesday primaries, has the experience to create jobs and grow the economy, and he is the strongest Republican to defeat President Obama in 2012, an aide says.

$621M Hill Visitor Center Opens

(Dec 2, 2008 2:43 PM) Congressional leaders spoke today at the opening of the Capitol Visitor Center, the Hill reports. The center, which was heavily delayed throughout its 6 years construction and cost a well-over-budget $621 million, will be the first stop for visitors to the Capitol, who previously had to wait in long lines outside in often-oppressive Washington heat. Speaker Nancy Pelosi spoke of working on legislation to rename the center’s hall to Emancipation Hall. That day we talked about the fact that the Capitol was built by slaves, Pelosi said. Today I want to talk about the fact that it’s so appropriate that this Capitol Visitor Center is ready for 2009, which is the 200th anniversary of the birth of Abraham Lincoln, the Great Emancipator.

Obama Earned $790K in 2011

(Apr 13, 2012 11:14 AM CDT) President Obama and his family paid more than $160,000 in federal taxes last year, the White House says. The president's 2011 federal income tax return shows reported adjusted gross income of about $790,000 last year. About half of the first family's income is the president's salary. The White House says the rest comes from sales of Obama's books. Obama's effective tax rate is just above 20%—lower than many Americans who earn less. He has made tax-rate fairness a campaign issue. The White House released a copy of the president's tax return, which also shows charitable donations of more than $172,000. Obama is donating after-tax proceeds from his children's book to the Fisher House Foundation. The charity helps veterans and military families receiving medical treatment.

Met Museum Sued for 'Tainted' $100M Picasso

(Oct 1, 2016 7:58 AM CDT) A woman who says her relatives had no choice but to sell a Picasso when fleeing the Nazis in 1938 wants New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art to hand over the painting—or pay more than $100 million in damages. Laurel Zuckerman is the great-grandniece of German Jewish businessman Paul Leffmann, who sold the 1904-5 work The Actor for $13,200, the Times of Israel reports. Leffmann and his wife had fled Nazi Germany for Fascist Italy the previous year. According to a lawsuit filed in New York on Friday, they sold the Picasso they had bought in 1912 at a discount to fund their escape to Switzerland. It was donated to the Met in 1952 by Chrysler heiress Thelma Foy. A lawyer for Zuckerman, who administers the Leffmann estate, says the painting is tainted by the history of the Holocaust, and the Leffmanns, given the circumstances under which they sold it, never lost title, Reuters reports. The New York Times reports that the museum says it has indisputable title to the painting and will fight the lawsuit. The museum says the price dealers in Paris paid for the Picasso was fair market value at the time and notes that the Leffmanns, who settled in Switzerland after the war, reclaimed some of the property they had been forced to sell but did not make a claim on the painting. (A stolen $15 million Picasso was sent to the US as a $37 Christmas gift.)

James Watson's DNA Nobel Sells for $4.1M

(Dec 4, 2014 6:04 PM) James Watson will collect $4.1 million for the Nobel medal he received in 1962 for unraveling the structure of DNA. The anonymous buyer will actually have to shell out $4.8 million counting the premium that goes to Christie's auction house, reports the New York Times. The newspaper says the 86-year-old Watson watched the bidding open-mouthed from the back of the room as the price went up and up and up. Christie's had estimated the medal would go for between $2.5 million and $3.5 million. I’m very pleased, said Watson afterward. It’s more money than I expected to give to charity. The price is a record for a Nobel medal and the first sold by a living recipient. Watson has said he hopes the sale and subsequent donations to charity will help him reenter public life, notes CBS News. He's been largely ostracized since suggesting in a 2007 interview that white people were smarter than black people.

No. 12: Gay Marriage Legal in Minnesota

(May 14, 2013 5:29 PM CDT) Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton signed a bill today that legalizes gay marriage, making the state the 12th to do so. Cheering spectators filled the south lawn of the state Capitol for the outdoor ceremony, with rainbow and American flags fluttering in a sweltering breeze. Dayton's signature came one day after the state Senate approved the measure. The first same-sex marriages will take place in the state on Aug. 1. (Nevada is considering joining the club, and the Advocate has videos of kids testifying in favor of the move last week.

Polygamist Gets 33 Years for Girl's Sex Abuse

(Dec 18, 2009 2:06 AM) A leader of a Texas polygamist sect has been sentenced to 33 years in prison for child sex abuse after marrying and impregnating a 15-year-old girl. Allan Eugene Keate, 57, is the second man so far convicted of the charges among those who were busted after the headline-grabbing roundup of residents last year at the Yearning for Zion Ranch. Prosecutors relied on compound documents of the Mormon splinter group detailing men's spiritual marriages to girls to make their case. Records indicated Keate had 7 wives, reports AP.

Colorado, Utah Propose: Under 21? No Smokes

(Feb 21, 2014 8:15 AM) Colorado and Utah are taking a page from Michael Bloomberg's book: Both states have moved to raise the smoking age to 21, following a similar bill passed in New York City last fall. The proposals were given the initial go-ahead yesterday, and though more votes are needed, this is the furthest any state has gone to rein in teen access to cigarettes, the AP notes. Utah—with the nation's lowest smoking rate at 12% as of 2011—is already one of only four states that require tobacco purchasers to be 19. The smoking rate is low in Colorado, too, at about 18%, but health advocates only want to see it fall. What I'm hoping to do is make it harder for kids to obtain cigarettes, says Colorado Rep. Cheri Gerou, while a Utah woman adds, By raising the age limit, it puts them in a situation where they're not going to pick it up until a much later age. A study last year found 90% of daily smokers have their first cigarette by 18, and 90% of those who buy cigarettes for minors are between 18 and 20. Still, the Salt Lake Tribune notes it was an emotional debate in Utah, with opponents arguing adults should be free to make their own choices—even if they're bad ones—and noting a slippery slope could lead to bans on high-calorie foods ... or teen motorcycle riding.

We Need 2nd Stimulus Bill: Pelosi

(Oct 8, 2008 2:45 PM CDT) House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says a second economic stimulus plan is needed now because of the faltering economy, and she puts the price at $150 billion. President Bush, however, has promised a veto. The House passed a $61 billion economic aid proposal last month before lawmakers left Capitol Hill ahead of the election, but a similar plan failed to pass the Senate. The Senate is expected to be back at work after Election Day to complete a public lands bill and other matters. The House also could return to consider a stimulus plan and additional issues. The first economic plan this year cost $168 billion and sent tax rebate checks to most individuals and couples and awarded tax breaks to businesses.

3 Young Men Killed 'Execution-Style' in Indiana House

(Feb 28, 2016 5:55 AM) Authorities in Indiana are investigating the execution-style deaths of two men and a teenager found inside a Fort Wayne home. The bodies of 23-year-old Mohamedtaha Omar, 20-year-old Adam Kamel Mekki and 17-year-old Muhannad Adam Tairab were found last week by police responding to a problem unknown dispatch. The Allen County Coroner's Office says they died of gunshot wounds, and the deaths have been ruled homicides. Police Chief Garry Hamilton tells WANE-TV each victim was shot multiple times. All the victims have roots in East Africa, but as Vox reports, York says police have no reason to believe this was any type of hate crime, or focused because of their religion or their nationality whatsoever. Fort Wayne Safety Director Rusty York tells WPTA-TV the residence where they were found was known as a party house for teens and young adults. It had been a place where young people would go—there was no adult supervision, he said. We were aware that this home had become a problem for the neighborhood. A relative of Omar and Tairab tells CNN, They will always be remembered as good kids. We all came here to find like peace and security away from war zones. But the destiny waiting for us here is ... really crazy.

Campbell's Recalls 15M Pounds of SpaghettiOs

(Jun 18, 2010 1:07 PM CDT) Two popular grocery items are being pulled off the shelves—SpaghettiOs that weren't adequately heated during processing, and Marie Callender frozen dinners that pose a salmonella risk. In kid food news, Campbell Soup is recalling 15 million pounds of SpaghettiOs with meatballs after a cooker malfunctioned at one of the company's plants in Texas. Details on lot numbers and more from the USDA here. ConAgra Foods, meanwhile, is recalling all meals labeled Marie Callender's Cheesy Chicken and Rice White Meat Chicken and Broccoli over Rice Topped with Rich Cheddar Sauce, regardless of production date. The move comes after the CDC informed the company of a possible link between the meals and 29 illnesses. USDA details on this recall here.

NBC Confirms Leno's Move to 11:35pm

(Jan 10, 2010 12:38 PM) NBC confirmed that the Jay Leno primetime television experiment is over, saying today that Leno's nightly primetime show will end with the beginning of the Winter Olympics on Feb. 12. NBC exec Jeff Gaspin says NBC wants Leno to do an 11:35pm show, a return to his old time slot. NBC wants Conan O'Brien and Jimmy Fallon's shows to shift back a half-hour. Gaspin says that's not a done deal, but he hopes to have NBC's late-night lineup cleared up by the beginning of the Olympics. Gaspin said Leno's show performed well enough in the ratings for the networks, but it did not meet the needs of NBC's affiliates.

25-Foot Waves Pound Chicago

(Oct 20, 2011 10:51 AM CDT) If you live in Chicago, today is probably a bad day to go sailing. For the second straight day, Lake Michigan is being bombarded by winds gusting at up to 60mph, which are conjuring up waves up to 25 feet high. Wipeout conditions and some low-level flooding are expected along the lakefront, and the National Weather Service estimates the waves will sink to mere 15- to 20-foot levels by afternoon. The storm ripped more than a dozen boats from their moorings overnight and dashed them against a sea wall, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

'Crazy Green Idea' Video Wins Students $25K

(Feb 9, 2009 12:34 PM) Two California film students won $25,000 for a YouTube video challenging the tech community to develop a rechargeable device far more eco-friendly than standard batteries, BusinessGreen reports. The clip was one of 133 entries in a contest to create a challenge to be met for a future environmental prize. The clip calls for a gadget that could power an electric vehicle for 100 miles.

Brazil Thieves Nab 2 Picassos

(Jun 12, 2008 7:22 PM CDT) Picasso remains the artist of choice for the criminal elite of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Three armed robbers made off with two of his prints—The Painter and the Model and Minotaur, Drinker and Women—from a city museum today, Reuters reports. The robbery comes just weeks after thieves nabbed Picasso's Suzanne Bloch painting from a different city museum. The Bloch painting has been recovered, and two suspects are under arrest. Today's robbery at the Pinacoteca Museum also claimed two oil paintings by Brazilian artists. Museum officials estimate the total haul to be worth about $600,000. The heavily armed art aficionados struck in broad daylight.

Goth Bonnie & Clyde Busted in $7.4M Heist

(Jan 24, 2008 3:34 PM) Lover of vampire novels Roger Dillon and girlfriend Nicole Boyd—dubbed the goth Bonnie and Clyde on a popular Internet site—thought they'd planned the perfect crime. Dillon worked at an Ohio armored car firm, where he gleaned valuable inside info. On Thanksgiving weekend, he and Boyd looted $7.4 million from the company's safes and fled to West Virginia, according to law enforcement authorities. The FBI busted them five days later. It sounds like a good plan, I know, said a police chief. But they left a trail like Hansel and Gretel leaving the crumbs in the forest. They pleaded not guilty yesterday to charges that could see them spending up to 25 years in jail, the New York Times reports. The song Dumb as Dillon has become a hit on local radio.

Osama Deputy Says Iran Lying About 9/11

(Apr 22, 2008 4:00 PM CDT) Al-Qaeda's No. 2 leader says Iran is denying the terrorist group credit for 9/11 by spreading the rumor that Israel masterminded the 2001 attacks on the US. A new audiotape from Ayman al-Zawahiri highlights the growing tension between al-Qaeda and Tehran, the BBC reports, evidence of a sectarian struggle for power in the region. The purpose of this lie is clear—[to suggest] that there are no heroes among the Sunnis who can hurt America as no-one else did in history, said Zawahiri. He also knocked Shia-dominated Iran for collaborating with the US, and accused Tehran of spreading lies to cover up its involvement with America in invading the homes of Muslims in Afghanistan and Iraq.

'Billie Jean' Sues Jacko for $1B

(Dec 22, 2008 5:58 PM) Billie Jean is still calling Michael Jackson the one, Access Hollywood reports. A woman who says she is Billie Jean Jackson—and refers to Jackson as her husband —is suing him for $1 billion in Los Angeles, seeking joint custody of his 6-year-old boy, Blanket. She has pursued him before, filing a $150 million paternity suit in 1987 and getting arrested on his Neverland Ranch earlier this year.

8th-Graders Devise Secret, Inspiring Touchdown Play

(Nov 1, 2013 3:26 PM CDT) Talk about a touching touchdown: Sheridan Hedrick was about to hit the end zone at a Olivet Middle School football game in Michigan on Oct. 5 when he stopped at the one-yard line. Unbeknownst to anyone, the 8th-grade team was about to perform the Keith Special —a play that can only be completed by Keith Orr, a student with behavioral and learning disabilities. He always tries his hardest, Sheridan told WILX. We thought it would be cool to do something and have him get a touchdown. Keith ran the ball across the goal line and the stadium erupted, said the team's coach. The kids have never celebrated a touchdown as enthusiastically as Keith's touchdown. It was a play Keith's teammates had come up with on their own, and one that was weeks in the making. The coaches didn't know anything about it, one player tells CBS News. If you do something nice to people, then probably it could change someone's life forever, and I think we changed Keith's life, Sheridan said. That's what gets to me, said Keith's mom. Not that my kid made a touchdown, but that these kids planned it. ... They made it happen for him. As for Keith, he said the touchdown was awesome, adding, before I started playing football I barely had any friends. Now I have a bunch. (Click for another heart-warming sports story.)

Mom Offers $500 Reward to Get Daughter a Job

(Mar 6, 2013 9:51 AM) A mother in Southern California is on a one-woman mission to get her daughter a job. Linda Smith took to holding up a sign at a busy intersection in Menifee on Friday, offering $500 to anyone who takes her daughter's resume and gets her employed, reports the Press-Enterprise. I’m offering $500 cash the minute she gets hired for $15 an hour or more as an executive assistant or an office job. Daughter Lisa, 36, has been looking since June and reluctantly embraced the strategy. After so much trying and trying and trying, I started acquiescing. The story has an added twist: Lisa had been her 61-year-old mom's main caregiver since a 1996 car accident left Linda with head trauma and mild dementia. But a doctor recently deemed Linda well enough to live on her own again, putting an end to the stipend that Lisa was receiving. Mom's effort may be heartwarming, but the Consumerist notes that it might not be enough: Motorists often stop and tell the mother that they’re looking for a job, too.

Chicago Cop Fatally Shoots NIU Student, Mother of 5

(Dec 26, 2015 4:40 PM) A Chicago police officer shot and killed two people early Saturday while responding to a domestic disturbance call on the city's West Side, police said. Quintonio Legrier, a 19-year-old college student, was pronounced dead at a hospital at 4:51am and Bettie Jones, a 55-year-old mother of five who was Legrier's neighbor, died at a different hospital at 5:14am. The shootings happened around 4:25am after officers who responded to the call were confronted by a combative subject, the Chicago Police Department said in a statement. NBC Chicago cites neighbors and relatives who say Legrier was threatening a male resident with a metal bat; a source tells the Tribune the man was his father. Jones lived in a downstairs apartment in the same building and the Tribune's source says Legrier's father had asked her to look for the arriving police; sources say she was shot after she opened the door for police. Legrier's mother, Janet Cooksey, told the Chicago Tribune that her son was studying engineering at Northern Illinois University and was going somewhere. Cooksey, who was not present at the time of the shooting, told the Tribune that her son had been dealing with mental issues, but we're thinking the police are going to service us, take him to the hospital. They took his life, she said. She said her son didn't have a gun. He had a bat. The Tribune points out the killings mark the the first use of lethal force by Chicago police since video of Laquan McDonald's death was released.

65 Oil Protesters Arrested at White House

(Aug 21, 2011 6:04 AM CDT) Two weeks of anti-oil protests at the White House kicked off with 65 arrests yesterday, reports the AP. Top on the protesters' agenda is getting President Barack Obama to kill the permit for a 1,700-mile pipeline through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas to refineries on the Gulf of Mexico. That was the most arrests at a White House protest since an anti-war protest in March that saw more than 100 taken in.

007 Hot to Score With Dark-Haired Yanks

(Jun 7, 2009 8:47 AM CDT) Leave it to professors to nail down exactly what type of woman James Bond wants in bed. A team of pop culture researchers have pored over the mythical MI-5 spy's list of 195 female contacts in the first 20 Bond movies to determine the sex partner he most prefers: women with long, dark hair, American accents—and a weapon. The younger, slimmer and prettier, the better, of course. The average age for Bond sex partners is 26, reports the Telegraph. He tends not to be attracted to women who wear glasses. Three-quarters of all the women in the films were white, 8% Asian, and 7% black, with a handful of Arab and American Indian women. One in five female characters were killed by the end of the movie, including many who had sex with 007. The ultimate penalty for a woman in a Bond film—death—seems to accrue from promiscuity and daring to threaten the ultimate iconic masculine hero, concluded the researchers' report.

Retiree Bets Life Savings on May 21 Doomsday

(May 12, 2011 4:39 PM CDT) A retired public transportation worker in New York City is sure the world will end on May 21st—and he wants everyone to know it. He’s put his life savings—$140,000—into an ad campaign across city transit announcing doomsday, reports the New York Daily News. I'm trying to warn people about what's coming, says 60-year-old Robert Fitzpatrick. People who have an understanding of the matter have an obligation to warn everyone. To that end, his poster warns: Global Earthquake! The Greatest Ever—Judgment Day: May 21. More than a thousand others like it adorn subway cars and bus shelters. Fitzpatrick picked up the information listening to Harold Camping on Family Radio. It'll start just before midnight, Jerusalem time: It'll be instantaneous and global, he says. But others aren’t so sure. My sister doesn't believe it, he says. I've tried to tell her. But that's pretty much the story with most people.

Sea Levels to Rise 13 Feet by Year 3000

(Jan 10, 2011 7:34 AM) Best case scenario: Even if we give up using all fossil fuels this very second and manage to stop all carbon dioxide emissions, the West Antarctic ice sheet is expected to collapse by the year 3000, causing sea levels to rise by at least 13 feet. The catastrophic prediction is from a new study published in the Nature Geoscience journal, the first study to look ahead at climate change consequences 1,000 years from now, the Daily Mail reports. Scientists say the actual effects could be even worse, since their study looked at a zero-emission scenario. Their study found that, in such a scenario, the northern hemisphere made out better than the south—climate change patterns even reversed in places like Canada. But in addition to the ice sheet collapse, parts of north Africa dried out and became desert. One reason the southern hemisphere fared so poorly: Change occurs more slowly there, and the inertia in intermediate and deep ocean currents driving into the southern Atlantic means those oceans are only now beginning to warm as a result of CO2 emissions from the last century, says a researcher.

Prozac Made Teen Kill 9-Year-Old: Doctor

(Feb 6, 2012 7:02 PM) A Prozac prescription may have led a teenager to murder a 9-year-old Missouri girl and describe it as ahmazing, the News Tribune reports. Testifying today at the trial of Alyssa Bustamante—who has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder—defense witness Dr. Edwin Johnstone said that Prozac needs to be prescribed in a very careful way. He noted reports that showed an abundance of suicides and violent events, including homicides among Prozac users, particularly younger ones. Bustamante's dosage peaked just two weeks before she killed little Elizabeth Olten east of Jefferson City, Johnstone added. But the prosecution noted that the FDA has found no evidence of Prozac making people homicidal. Key to the trial is Bustamante's private journal, where she wrote that I just f—cking killed someone. She called it ahmazing and a pretty enjoyable experience, the AP reports. Olten's mother, weeping on the stand, said that from what she has written, stabbing my little girl eight times, she is not a child, she is a monster.

What Made Us Happy in 1938—and 7 Decades Later

(May 5, 2015 10:07 AM CDT) The world used to be a simpler place—and what we said made us happy then isn't what we think makes us happy now. That's the conclusion of a small new study that was a restaging of a previous one. As Science Direct explains, in 1938 an ad in a British paper invited Bolton Evening News readers to respond to the question, What is happiness? The 226 respondents were then asked to organize 10 factors by their happiness importance. Their top three, in order: security, knowledge, and religion. Last year, psychologist Sandie McHugh also asked Bolton residents, via the News, to fill out a questionnaire that mirrored the one used in 1938. Some 76 years later, things have certainly changed, at least according to the 489 people the News reports responded to the survey: Religion now occupies the 10th slot. While security holds on to a place in the top 3, it is joined by leisure and good humor, which the survey defined as more smiling and laughter for myself and those around me. McHugh observes that the overall impression from the correspondence in 1938 is that happiness factors were rooted in everyday lives at home and within the community, and that, too, has changed: While a majority once reported being happiest in their town, 63% of 2014 respondents said they were happier away from Bolton. What hasn't changed: more leadership and more politics ranked near the bottom in both years. (Click to read about an equation for happiness, or find out the world's happiest country.)

Ex-Senator Jesse Helms Dead at 86

(Jul 4, 2008 10:44 AM CDT) Jesse Helms, a polarizing figure who represented North Carolina in the US Senate for 30 years before retiring in 2003, died today in Raleigh, the News & Observer reports. He was 86. A pro-segregation TV commentator before entering national politics, the first Republican senator from North Carolina since Reconstruction opposed virtually every piece of civil rights legislation that crossed his desk. I believed right would prevail as people followed their own consciences, he later wrote. One of several lawmakers known as Senator No, Helms was known for his refusal to work out differences with his colleagues. Compromise, hell! he wrote. That’s what has happened to us all down the line—and that’s the very cause of our woes.

Octuplets' Mom Collected $165K in Disability

(Feb 6, 2009 3:03 AM) A California agency paid Nadya Suleman over $165,000 in disability benefits for an on-the-job back injury, records obtained by AP reveal. Suleman was employed at a state mental health hospital from 1997 until December, although records show that her injuries—which were aggravated by pregnancy—left her unable to work for much of that time. Suleman was injured in 1999 while helping to restrain a patient during a riot in the women's ward of the mental hospital. Records show that Suleman was reluctant to have surgery and at one point refused to have X-rays taken, fearing they would interfere with her fertility treatments. She told psychiatric evaluators that the injury had caused her to become depressed, but the birth of her first child helped my spirits.

45 Feared Trapped in Afghanistan Avalanche

(Mar 12, 2012 9:13 AM CDT) A second deadly avalanche has hit Afghanistan this month: Today's struck two remote villages in the northeast part of the country, and 45 people are feared trapped in the snow, authorities said. The avalanche hit the villages of Poshan and Ghadoor in Nuristan province. We are not sure how many died and how many survived, said a provincial spokesman. There is no rescue team there yet. Avalanches are common in the mountainous northern provinces, but extremely heavy snowfall this year has resulted in more avalanches than normal. The spokesman said that nearby villagers were working to try to locate victims and survivors. It's not enough, he said. We are calling for more help. He said it is not possible to access the villages from Nuristan—that rescuers would have to go through neighboring Kunar or Laghman provinces to get to the area. At least 50 people died March 4 in an avalanche in Badakhshan province.

150 Schoolgirls Poisoned in Afghan Attack

(Apr 17, 2012 10:19 AM CDT) About 150 Afghan girls were poisoned today after drinking the water at their Takhar province school, in what officials believe was a deliberate attack by Islamist militants opposed to educating girls. We are 100% sure that the water they drunk … was poisoned, an education department spokesperson tells Reuters, speculating that it could be the work of irresponsible armed individuals. The stricken girls suffered from vomiting and headaches, and some are in critical condition, officials said. Educating women was banned under the Taliban, and there have been periodic attacks on female students ever since they returned to schools in 2001, with hardliners poisoning or throwing acid at them. Last year the Afghan government said that the Taliban had dropped its objections to female education as it explored peace talks, but insurgents have never confirmed that.

Pilot Killed in Crash of F-22 Fighter Jet

(Mar 25, 2009 9:47 PM CDT) The pilot aboard an F-22 fighter jet that crashed near Edwards Air Force Base this morning was killed, the Los Angeles Times reports. The F-22 Raptor went down during a test mission, and it wasn't immediately clear if the 49-year-old pilot ejected; no word yet on the cause of the accident. President Obama is to decide by next month whether to buy more of the $140 million stealth jets from Lockheed Martin, notes Bloomberg. The timing isn’t great for the aircraft’s advocates, but I can’t imagine one crash being an effective argument against additional procurement, said an analyst. I can’t think of a modern-generation fighter that hasn’t crashed either in operational use or in testing.

72 Bodies Found on Mexico Ranch

(Aug 25, 2010 5:14 AM CDT) The Mexican military says it has found the biggest dumping ground for cartel victims since the country's drug war began. Marines found 72 bodies in an outbuilding at a ranch in northern Mexico after a gun battle in which one marine and three suspected cartel members were killed, CNN reports. They had been led to the ranch by a wounded man who approached them at a checkpoint. It's unclear whether the 58 men and 14 women had been killed at the same time or separately, said a military spokesman. A search of the ranch uncovered a stash of weapons, camouflage uniforms, and trucks that had been disguised to look like military vehicles. Tamaulipas, the northeastern state where the bodies were found, is being fought over by the Gulf and Zetas cartels.

28 Dead, 113 Hurt in China Knife Attack

(Mar 1, 2014 11:53 AM) Reports of a horrific knife attack at a train station in southwest China say 28 people are dead and 113 injured. The official Xinhua News Agency says a group of men carried out the attack at the Kunming Railway Station in Yunnan province, report the BBC and AP. It remains unclear who was behind the incident and why it occurred, but officials are calling it an organized, premeditated, violent terrorist attack. Five suspects were reportedly shot and killed, CNN notes, and others are said to have been arrested. Officials tell Xinhua there were 10 attackers. I saw a person come straight at me with a long knife and I ran away with everyone, a witness tells the agency. Victims, meanwhile, just fell on the ground.

Teens Threw Mansion Party, Stole $250K Leopard: Cops

(Dec 12, 2013 1:42 AM) Sixteen suspects described as kids of means have been arrested after a wild party in a wealthy Los Angeles suburb where a $7 million mansion was trashed and partygoers made off with a bizarre assortment of loot—including a mounted snow leopard valued at $250,000. LA County Sheriff Lee Baca estimates the damage to the La Habra Heights mansion, which was vacant but fully furnished and had been put on the market by its out-of-the-country owner, is at least $1 million, reports the San Gabriel Valley Tribune. He calls the destruction and frenzy of looting one of the worst youth crimes he has ever seen. Organizers charged admission to the Nov. 23 party, which CNN reports went on for 17 hours; more than 100 young people attended, the LA Times adds. A sheriff's department rep says the party originally started outdoors, by the pool, but at some point during the party, somebody forced entry into the house, which caused kind of a frenzy. Partygoers also made off with Versace suits, scuba gear, and medieval armor. The teen who snatched the leopard told police he grabbed it because all the good stuff was gone. Thirteen of the teenage suspects are juveniles, and police say they were easy to track down because they posted selfies online of themselves with the stolen goods, much of which has been recovered. (Read another story of teen affluence gone wrong, this one involving a 16-year-old who killed four people while drunk—and got probation.)