headline
stringlengths 12
127
| news
stringlengths 127
3.02k
|
|---|---|
After Car Falls on Dad, 8-Year-Old Son Rescues Him | (Mar 9, 2017 1:23 PM) Jack it up quick are the last words Stephen Parker recalls yelling before passing out, the weight of his Toyota Prius slowly crushing him. The only one around to hear him was his 8-year-old son, JT. The elder Parker and his 17-year-old son, Mason, had been working on the car together in the family's backyard in Sugar City, Idaho, when Mason cut his hand and went inside. With JT looking on, Stephen began trying to remove a sticky axle. Suddenly, however, the car shifted and fell on top of him. I thought, 'This is it. There's no way [JT] can jack up this car,' Parker tells East Idaho News of the incident last July. I was totally trapped, and then I passed out. But JT, weighing just 50 pounds, jumped into action—literally. He maneuvered the jack into position and started bouncing all his weight on the handle. He jumped for 15 minutes, until the car was lifted, then got his brother, who called 911. Soon after, a helicopter landed in the yard and took Parker to a hospital. But all they found was 13 broken ribs, says Parker, who was back home two days later. It was just a miracle. JT—honored by the American Red Cross as one of 11 East Idaho Real Heroes last week—later tried to jack up the same car but failed. Parker tells the Post Register he must've had help from above. Or as JT puts it, angels. |
'Screaming Eagle' of Soul Dead at 68 | (Sep 24, 2017 1:03 AM CDT) Charles Bradley, known as the Screaming Eagle of Soul for a powerful, raspy style that evoked one of his musical heroes, James Brown, died Saturday at age 68. Bradley, who achieved success later in life with his 2011 debut album No Time for Dreaming, was diagnosed with stomach cancer in the fall of 2016 and underwent treatment, according to a statement from his publicist Shazila Mohammed. He headed out to tour earlier this year after receiving a clean bill of health, reports the AP, but the cancer returned recently, spreading to his liver. I love all of you out there that made my dreams come true, Bradley said earlier this month, per Rolling Stone. Recording on the Daptone label, Bradley was a fiery live performer. He followed up his first album with Victim of Love in 2013. His third album, Changes, was released last year. A stop last year on CBS This Morning: Saturday earned him an Emmy nomination. Bradley idolized Brown, working as a Brown impersonator known as Black Velvet before he was discovered by Gabriel Roth, a Daptone co-founder. He later became known for closing shows under his own name with hugs for his audiences. The world lost a ton of heart today, Roth said in the statement. Charles was somehow one of the meekest and strongest people I've ever known. His pain was a cry for universal love and humanity. His soulful moans and screams will echo forever on records and in the ears and hearts of those who were fortunate enough to share time with him. Roth said he told Bradley recently there's solace to be found for fans knowing Bradley will continue to inspire love and music in this world for generations to come. Bradley's response? I tried. The Rolling Stone obituary has much more here. |
'Lowlife ... Bee Rustlers' Steal $90K Worth of Honeybees | (Jan 9, 2017 5:05 PM) Last month, Texas thieves made off with $90,000 worth of ... bees. A Danbury beekeeper says he discovered 300 of his honey bee colonies were missing from a cattle ranch on Dec. 17, the Houston Chronicle reports. Randy Verhoek's bees are typically unattended as they spend the winter on properties around Brazoria County. Verhoek, who calls the still-at-large suspects bee rustlers and lowlife thieves, has filed a police report, and police are asking anyone who sees bee boxes branded with the letters HHI to get in touch. |
Women's Brains More Active Than Men's in 2 Key Areas | (Aug 8, 2017 8:03 AM CDT) In the latest men are from Mars, women are from Venus debate, neuroscience jumps into the fray. In what UPI deems the largest functional brain imaging survey ever, researchers from California's Amen Clinics used a type of 3D imaging to determine that women's brains are decidedly more active than males' in many regions—especially in those that handle focus and self-control, as well as those that manage mood disorders, per a press release. The findings suggest a possible tie between the higher rates of Alzheimer's disease, depression, and anxiety disorders in women, as well as higher rates of ADHD and conduct-related issues in men, who are also more likely to be incarcerated. Scientists say the study is important in advancing our understanding of gender-based brain differences, which can then lead to better, more targeted treatment for various conditions down the road. The study, published in the Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, looked at more than 46,000 single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) scans from 119 healthy subjects and more than 26,000 participants with various psychiatric conditions (including bipolar disorder and ADHD) to measure blood flow in 128 discrete regions of the brain, both at rest and immersed in a concentration task. Scientists observed increased blood flow in women to their prefrontal cortexes (the region that handles impulse control and concentration) and limbic areas (the mood and emotion managers), while men's visual and coordination centers lit up more than women's. The quantifiable differences we identified between men and women are important for understanding gender-based risk for brain disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, lead author Daniel G. Amen says. (Boys and girls have different reactions to childhood trauma.) |
Judge Blocks One of 8 Arkansas Executions | (Apr 7, 2017 1:00 AM CDT) A judge on Thursday blocked the execution of one of the eight inmates Arkansas was planning to put to death this month, but he said at least five of them could go forward even though he found that the state broke some rules and policies. US District Judge D. Price Marshall Jr. ruled for Jason McGehee, 40, a day after the Arkansas Parole Board recommended Republican Gov. Asa Hutchinson grant McGehee clemency. Marshall said the state must allow for a 30-day comment period that will last until after a key execution drug expires on April 30. The judge said he might also rule for inmate Jack Jones if the parole board approves his clemency petition Friday, but in the case of five other inmates, no violation tipped the scales of justice. At McGehee's hearing, a defense attorney said the former gang leader had been only 20 years old when he was involved in a 1996 killing, and that he had a near-perfect record in prison. The rulings came in a lawsuit filed by some of the inmates that challenges Hutchinson's decision to conduct four double executions this month. The inmates argue the unprecedented execution schedule infringes on their right to complete hearings on clemency requests. The first double execution is set for April 17. Only Texas has executed that many inmates in a month, doing it twice in 1997. Seven executions in a month would still be a record for Arkansas. The state needs six witnesses per execution, and it's having trouble finding volunteers. |
Air Force Launches Missile 4.2K Miles in 'Nuclear Deterrent Test' | (May 3, 2017 4:40 PM CDT) An unarmed missile capable of sending a nuclear bomb across the world was launched Wednesday from a California military base amid rising tensions between the US and North Korea. The unarmed Minuteman 3 intercontinental ballistic missile blasted off from a silo at 12:02am from Vandenberg Air Force Base and delivered a single re-entry vehicle to a target about 4,200 miles away at Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean, the Air Force Global Strike Command said. The test took 10 months to plan. It was the latest aimed at checking the readiness and accuracy of a weapon system that forms part of the US nuclear force. The US has about 450 of the missiles. Each can travel about 8,000 miles. It was the second such launch in seven days, the AP reports. The launches came amid US expressions of concern about North Korea's nuclear capability. Per the Los Angeles Times, the Air Force said the purpose of Wednesday's test was to ensure the missile is reliable and can function as an effective nuclear deterrent. New missile tests by North Korea and its progress toward developing a nuclear weapon capable of hitting the US have made it one of the top US national security concerns. The US has sent warships to the region to deter North Korea from conducting another nuclear test. But President Trump on Monday said he might be willing to meet with Kim Jong Un. If it would be appropriate for me to meet with him, I would absolutely, I would be honored to do it, Trump told Bloomberg News. |
2nd Man Indicted in Death of Teacher in 2005 | (Jun 20, 2017 2:07 PM CDT) A new indictment sheds light on the 2005 murder of a Georgia teacher. Authorities say Bo Dukes helped a friend remove the body of Tara Grinstead from her home, then brought it to his uncle's pecan farm near Fitzgerald and burned it, reports the Atlanta Journal Constitution. Dukes isn't charged in the actual killing. Prosecutors say his friend, Ryan Duke, killed the 30-year-old Grinstead—his former history teacher—in an apparent robbery, then asked Dukes to help him get rid of her body. Grinstead's disappearance had remained a cold case for 11 years before a tipster came forward. Charred remains were found on the farm in February, around the time Duke was charged with murder, reports WRBL. Dukes' girlfriend, Brooke Sheridan, identified herself as the tipster last month, telling CBS News that Dukes told her about the murder and the disposal of the body. I felt like I was gonna be sick. I didn't know who I was staring at, Sheridan said, adding that putting Grinstead's family at peace was more important than his freedom. Dukes is charged with concealing a death, hindering the apprehension or punishment of a criminal, and tampering with evidence, per the Macon Telegraph. Duke, meanwhile, has pleaded not guilty to charges including one count of malice murder and two counts of felony murder, per Fox 5. |
Jumanji Tops the Charts Again With $20M | (Jan 21, 2018 11:25 AM) Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle outdid another weekend's worth of newcomers to top the North American box office for the third straight weekend, making the surprise hit the fifth-highest grossing film of all time for Sony Pictures. Jumanji sold $20 million in tickets, according to studio estimates Sunday, bringing its five-week domestic total to $317 million, per the AP. Landing in second is Warner Bros.' war drama 12 Strong, starring Chris Hemsworth. It grossed $16.5 million in its debut weekend. The heist thriller Dean of Thieves slots in at third place with an opening weekend of $15.3 million. The STXfilms release stars Gerard Butler and Curtis 50 Cent Jackson. |
Russian Ambassador Found in Pool Is 4th to Die in 9 Months | (Aug 24, 2017 1:19 AM CDT) Russian ambassadors are dying at a startling rate: Russian and Sudanese authorities say Mirgayas Shirinsky was found dead at his Khartoum residence on Wednesday, making him the fourth Russian envoy to die overseas since December. Authorities say the 63-year-old was found in the residence's swimming pool after suffering an apparent heart attack, the Sudan Tribune reports. Shirinsky had been the ambassador to Sudan since 2013, the New York Times reports. Vitaly Churkin, Russia's UN envoy, died suddenly in February. Alexander Kadakin, Russia's longtime ambassador to India, died after an illness in January. And Andrei Karlov, Russia's ambassador to Turkey, was assassinated in December last year. |
Mar-a-Lago Doubles Its Initiation Fee to $200K | (Jan 26, 2017 8:44 AM) Want to join the ranks of those allowed into Donald Trump's winter White House ? You'll have to double what you would've spent in 2016 for a Mar-a-Lago membership fee, which was increased Jan. 1 from $100,000 to $200,000, sources close to the resort tell CNBC. Bernd Lembcke, the club's managing director, confirmed the price spike in an email Wednesday, per Bloomberg. And although Donald Trump Jr. has now reportedly been named the official director of the club in his father's stead, Norm Eisen—President Obama's former chief ethics lawyer and part of an advocacy group that's filed a lawsuit against Trump for violating the Constitution's Emoluments Clause—says what's going on at the Palm Beach, Fla., estate is nothing more than naked profiteering that would have been more befitting a kleptocrat like Louis XVI. Mar-a-Lago is certainly a lot more crowded now that he's president, one member concedes to the Washington Post. The club's fee had reached $200,000 in the past, but had been slashed back to $100,000—the CNBC sources say the cost was cut in 2012 after the Bernie Madoff hubbub, while Lembcke tells the New York Times that it was reduced in 2010 due to the recession. In addition to the reinstated $200,000 initiation fee, members must also pay $14,000 in annual dues (plus tax on the whole deal). But while one ethics watchdog rep calls the increased fee an unacceptable development that demeans the presidency, Lembcke tells the Times that plans for this price boost were put in place before the election. He does add that since Trump's win, there's been a sudden surge in application requests. |
Samsung Reveals Successor to Its Exploding Note 7 | (Mar 29, 2017 2:11 PM CDT) Samsung announced its Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus on Wednesday, and early reviews might be positive enough to make people forget that its last highly touted phone was more of a very expensive time bomb. This is a journey, USA Today quotes the president of Samsung Electronics America as saying. We're rebuilding the brand. So long as that journey doesn't end in fire this time around. So far, things are looking positive. USA Today calls the S8 and S8 Plus fast, sturdy, good looking. And Wired decrees them pretty dope. Perhaps most promisingly, Samsung has completely changed the way it tests and inspects its batteries after what happened with its doomed Note 7. The first thing that jumps out about the S8 and S8 Plus are the screens, which are super big, take up 83% of the phone's face, and wrap slightly around its edges. Some other features: The phones can be unlocked using facial recognition software, can survive 30 minutes underwater, and can be converted into a desktop computer by attaching a dock, monitor, keyboard, and mouse. T-Mobile says the S8 will be the fastest phone on its network. And the phones mark the debut of Bixby, Samsung's version of AI assistants like Alexa and Siri. There has, however, been one bad omen raising the specter of the combusting Note7: Cnet reports a Samsung store in Singapore caught fire the day before the debut of the S8 and S8 Plus. Samsung's new phones go on presale Thursday and will be available next month. |
Ad for 2002 Oldsmobile Is Delightfully Honest | (Feb 5, 2017 2:25 PM) Car buyers who fear getting fooled into purchasing a lemon, take solace: There is at least one honest car salesman out there. An ad posted on Facebook Wednesday for a 2002 Oldsmobile Alero has gone viral, and the first line gives a taste as to why: Nothing special or pretty about this car. The car, available for sale at Journee Autos in Largo, Fla., has racked up 200,000+ miles and is being offered for $900, and You're getting 900 dollars worth of car, reads the post by Shelmar Pierre Roseman. The side is rusted, and the photos zoom in on that, so don't bring your a-- down here saying it looks different in the pics or you didn't know it had that much rust. I'm telling you right now. This b-tch rusty. And should you bring your butt to the dealer, no haggling. No I do not have any wiggle room. You can wiggle yo a-- down to another dealership. Bottom line, the car runs, the air conditioning works, and it has a CD player. This will get you from A to B. Just don't try to make it to C. ... This car will last you at least ALL SPRING '17. The Daily Dot says it has to be the most honest ... ad in the history of automobile selling, and many of the 22,000 commenters on the Facebook post apparently agree. Finally an honest car dealer!! wrote one. (This honest note went viral, too.) |
Missing Dog Found 3 Years Later, 1.2K Miles Away | (Dec 2, 2016 10:52 AM) On Friday, Dec. 13, 2013, the Gerstein family's dog, Bella, went missing after Bill Gerstein let her out outside his law office in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. Almost exactly three years later, she showed back up—1,200 miles away, in New Jersey. She would go out back and then come back in when she was done outside, and that day, I was distracted, Gerstein tells NorthJersey.com. By the time he realized the Maltese Pomeranian mix never came back inside, she was gone, notes the Sun-Sentinel. He and his family mounted an extensive search for her, PIX11 reports. Then, on Nov. 22, he got a call from the pet recovery service associated with the microchip Bella had implanted: The dog had been found wandering the streets of Paterson, NJ, and had been brought to a shelter. Gerstein flew to New Jersey immediately, where Bella wagged her tail when she saw him. She definitely remembered me, he says. The next day, they flew home. She wouldn't stop kissing me, and she's not a big kisser, says Gerstein's wife, Dori. A veterinarian found the dog to be in good health. It's not clear how she ended up in New Jersey, but the Gersteins have heard from a family in the state with whom Bella briefly lived: Someone gave the dog to the family in January, but she later escaped under a fence. The family realized who the dog was after finding a Facebook page about Bella. One thing is clear: Gerstein says he will now use a leash when letting his dogs do their business. |
Worst Storm in 56 Years Kills 3 in Ireland | (Oct 17, 2017 12:18 AM CDT) The remnants of Hurricane Ophelia slammed into Ireland with wind gusts of up to 80mph on Monday, killing at least three people, grounding planes, shutting schools, and causing widespread power outages. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar urged people to stay indoors until the storm passed. Tens of thousands of homes were without power and the military was placed on standby. Hurricane-force gusts were reported 30 years to the day after a weather event dubbed the Great Storm of 1987 battered southern England, the AP reports. It is a very dangerous storm, Varadkar said. The last time there was a storm this severe, 11 lives were lost, he added, referring to Hurricane Debbie, which hit Ireland in 1961. |
For 12 Hours, Teen Clung to Tree in Freezing Water | (Jan 17, 2017 7:33 AM) As Natalie Griffin clung to a branch while a creek swelled below her, she imagined that her friend—who was dead—was speaking to her. She said, 'It's OK, you can't think you are going to die,' Griffin tells People. The thought helped calm her as she sat atop the branch for 12 hours in freezing weather following a car accident in California's Mendocino County last Wednesday. Griffin and her friend Jenna Santos, both 19, had been driving on Highway 101 during a rainstorm, with Santos at the wheel, when the car hydroplaned, flipped, and landed on its wheels in a swollen creek, reports the East Bay Times. As the car began filling with water, the women kicked out the cracked windshield, hoping to escape, but the water only flooded the vehicle faster. With water at the teens' necks, Griffin noticed the back window was also broken and told Santos to follow her out of it, reports the Press Democrat. Griffin made it out but was quickly carried downstream. I remember reaching from the water and grabbing onto a branch and I pulled myself up, she says. Santos never emerged from the car, and Griffin spent the next 12 hours on the branch in a light jacket as temperatures dropped to 28 degrees. I thought I was going to die, Griffin says, though she was eventually able to cross the creek and flag down a car. At a hospital, she was treated for hypothermia, with her body temperature at 90 degrees. She was so brave, says Griffin's cousin. But pain clouds Griffin's tale of survival. This girl, who is like a sister to me, is just gone, she says. (A couple survived 48 hours lost in a blizzard.) |
In Vault, US Army Keeps 3-Foot Bust of Hitler | (Nov 14, 2017 1:09 PM) Getting to the 3-foot bust of Adolf Hitler, taken from his mountaintop retreat known as the Eagle's Nest, was a monthslong effort. Even on the day that Andrew Beaujon would set his eyes upon it, he had to pass through a security gate, drive a mile to its host building at Virginia's Fort Belvoir, then get inside a vault. There, he found the bust looking less than menacing with 70-year-old dents from boot kicks and the word FOOL written on the side. But opinions can change. That's part of the reason this item—one of 586 Nazi-era art pieces in Fort Belvoir's collection—is cloaked in near secrecy, Beaujon writes in a 3,500-word feature at the Washingtonian. As the curator of the collection explains, There's a very narrow line that we have to walk because we certainly don't want it to be a rallying point for Nazism. Neither did Gordon Gilkey, a real-life Indiana Jones who was instructed by the Chief Military Historian's office to seize all Nazi militaristic art in Germany after World War II, Beaujon writes. In his travels from an Austrian bar to a Bavarian castle, Gilkey uncovered 8,722 art pieces, most of which were returned to Germany after 1982 based on a historian's assessment that they were laughable to all but the lunatic fringe. The bust and four paintings by Hitler were among the most heinous pieces kept in US possession, and Beaujon notes recent neo-Nazi rallies mean the conviction that these pieces were laughable feels a little less persuasive today, even as the National Museum of the United States Army prepares to open at Fort Belvoir in 2019. The full piece is here, and explains how much of the collection was nearly handed over to a guy from Texas. |
Woman No. 7 Accuses Bush of Groping Her | (Nov 15, 2017 5:15 PM) A Broadway actress says she was groped by former President George H.W. Bush in 2009, before he started using the wheelchair that a spokesman has cited in previous apologies, the AP reports. Megan Elizabeth Lewis tells NJ.com that Bush was standing when he grabbed her buttocks at the performance of a musical in Houston. She says she was upset by a spokesman's statement that Bush's arm sometimes falls on the lower waist of people when he is in his wheelchair. The spokesman, Jim McGrath, did not respond to a request for additional comment Tuesday. Six other women have said Bush grabbed their buttocks as they stood next to him for photos. |
'Person of Interest' Named in Search for 4 Missing Men | (Jul 12, 2017 5:15 AM CDT) As the search for four missing young men continues in Pennsylvania, a 20-year-old man arrested on a weapons charge Monday has been confirmed as a person of interest in the case. Bucks County DA Matthew Weintraub says investigators are still trying to figure out the relationship between Cosmo DiNardo and the four men who vanished last week, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. On Tuesday, as dozens of law enforcement personnel searched farmland belonging to DiNardo's parents, Weintraub said it was important to hang onto hope that the men would be found alive. We have not recovered any human remains to this point, he told reporters. But we continue to work very, very hard. Police say foul play is suspected in the disappearances of Jimi Tar Patrick, 19; Dean Finocchiaro, 18; Mark Sturgis, 22; and Tom Meo, 21. According to Sturgis' father, Meo's car was found at a DiNardo family property. DiNardo's arrest came two weeks after prosecutors asked police to arrest him on the weapons charge, which had previously been dismissed, reports the New York Times. He was found in February with a shotgun he wasn't allowed to possess because he had previously been committed to a mental institution. Weintraub says the charge is unrelated to the disappearances. DiNardo was released late Tuesday after his father paid $100,000 of his $1 million bond in cash, the Morning Call reports. |
Guy's Online Order Turns Up 8 Years Late | (May 28, 2020 3:09 AM CDT) When the fifth season of Mad Men aired in 2012, Canadian man Elliot Berinstein decided to try out the Don Draper look and ordered some hair cream online. It arrived three weeks ago. Berinstein says he was surprised when a package from online retailer Well.ca turned up on his doorstep May 6. I was very confused because I hadn't ordered anything from Well.ca in awhile, he tells the CBC. And then I remembered one time about eight years ago I ordered something from them. He says he decided against using the Brylcreem after he opened the tube. It was bright yellow, he said. When I Googled it, it was supposed to be pretty white, so I didn't try it out. Berinstein, a doctor, says the package never turned up at his Ottawa address after the 2012 order. After moving to Toronto, he contacted the company and asked them to send it to his new address—and when it didn't turn up there, he decided to quit chasing the $5 order. Canada Post says it will look into the late delivery. This is certainly a unique situation and we can only speculate at this point as to what may have happened, a spokesperson tells CTV. Berinstein says he's moved on from wanting to copy the Mad Men look—but jokes that with barbers in Ontario closed, perhaps he should try it out. |
At 94, She's on Year 44 of McDonald’s Employment | (Mar 28, 2017 9:02 AM CDT) Loraine Maurer went to work at McDonald's in 1973 after her husband decided to retire. Then 50, I told him we were too young to stay at home, Maurer recounts to ABC News. She didn't plan to stay for long, but Maurer discovered that she liked the job. And when her husband died in 1980, she says the comfort provided by the many friends she'd made at work is what saved her. The people, the clientele, that's why I stuck with it, she tells People. Maurer, 94, is now celebrating 44 years of service at McDonald's locations across Evansville, Ind., where she's amassed quite a fan base. She has lots of very loyal customers who come especially to our restaurant to see her, her boss says. In fact, Maurer even has customers drive her to and from work for her two shifts per week. I know what goes on with them, she says. I have traveled with them, gone to ball games with them. They're friends, not just customers. And while she thinks about retiring every winter, I would miss it too much, she says. She means the food as well as the people. Maurer says she's eaten at McDonald's on each day of work for the past 44 years. On occasion, she even gets McDonald's meals delivered to her house. Her favorite menu item is the fish sandwich, she says. But on the breakfast menu, there isn't anything I don't like. (This drive-thru worker went above and beyond.) |
Fugitive Disbarred Attorney Captured After 8 Months | (Oct 1, 2019 2:28 AM CDT) A disbarred attorney from Georgia who allegedly killed his mother and went on the run instead of surrendering to serve a prison sentence has been recaptured after eight months as a fugitive. Authorities say Richard Merritt was arrested by the US Marshals Service in a thrift store in Nashville on Monday, CNN reports. Merritt pleaded guilty in January to theft, forgery, and elder-exploitation charges involving 17 of his clients, 11 Alive reports. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison and ordered to report to the Cobb County Jail on Feb. 1. Instead, authorities say, he cut off his ankle monitor. The body of Merritt's mother, Shirley Merritt, was found in her home on Feb. 2. Merritt had been living with her while out on bond. Police believe Merritt stabbed his mother to death and stole her vehicle. Before he was sentenced, investigators said Merritt, who surrendered his license to practice law in early 2018, settled lawsuits without his clients' knowledge and spent the money to go on vacations and buy a Porsche. In addition to the 15 years in prison, he was sentenced to 15 years of probation and ordered to pay $454,706 in restitution, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. His brother, Robert, says their mother was close to Richard and was always very supportive. He says it was a mistake for the judge to give his brother time to get his affairs in order before going to prison. I think there was always a concern that he might flee given the nature of the crimes he had committed, but no one ever saw this coming, he says. |
Cleveland Cruises to Victory in Game 1 | (Oct 25, 2016 11:28 PM CDT) Corey Kluber got the Cleveland Indians off to a great start and Roberto Perez finished off the Chicago Cubs in their first World Series game since 1945. Kluber pitched neatly into the seventh inning, Perez hit two home runs, and the Indians beat the Cubs 6-0 in the opener Tuesday night, the AP reports. AL Championship Series MVP Andrew Miller escaped a bases-loaded, no-out jam in the seventh and got out of trouble in the eighth, preserving a 3-0 lead at Cleveland's Progressive Field. In a matchup between the teams with baseball's longest championship droughts, the Indians scored twice in the first inning off October ace Jon Lester and were on their way. Perez drove in four runs—he became the first No. 9 batter to homer twice in a Series game, and the first Indians player to accomplish the feat. He hit a three-run drive to put it away. In an ominous statistic for the Cubs, who are seeking their first title since 1908, the Game 1 winner has taken the title in the last six Series and 17 of the last 19. Trevor Bauer, trying to come back from a sliced pinkie, starts Game 2 for the Indians on Wednesday night against Jake Arrieta. |
Chicago Sees 6 Days With No Homicides. That's a Big Deal | (Mar 6, 2017 12:49 PM) A 23-year-old man was shot to death while sitting in a vehicle in Chicago around 11am Feb. 26. And a 22-year-old man was shot to death on a Chicago street around noon Saturday. There were no homicides in between those two—marking a six-day homicide-free streak, which the city hadn't seen since Dec. 3-9, 2012, the Chicago Tribune reports. So far in 2017, there have been more shootings overall (539) than at this point in 2016 (520), but fewer homicides—103 so far this year by March 5, compared to 109 last year. The last day that no one was shot in Chicago was Feb. 28, 2015. |
It Took 11 Hours to Restore Power at World's Busiest Airport | (Dec 18, 2017 2:57 AM) Power was finally restored to the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport just after midnight Sunday—some 11 hours after the lights went out in the world's busiest airport. The massive power outage caused the cancellation of more than 1,000 flights, including 900 Delta flights, Business Insider reports. The airline says it expects to cancel another 300 flights at its hub Monday in the aftermath of the outage, which is believed to have been caused by a fire in an underground electrical facility. Travelers say there was chaos and confusion after the outage brought the airport to a sudden standstill, the AP reports. This is the worst experience I've ever had at an airport, says passenger Jeff Smith, who was stuck on a plane for more than three hours after it landed. Georgia Power says it believes the very rare outage was the result of a fire started by an equipment failure, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. This fire was located adjacent to redundant circuit cables and switching mechanisms serving the airport and those cables were damaged, resulting in the outage and loss of redundant service method, the utility said in a statement. WSB-TV reports that one of the thousands of passengers stranded Sunday was former Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, who served from 2013 to 2017. Total and abject failure here at ATL airport today, he tweeted. There is no excuse for lack of workable redundant power source. NONE! (It took five days for Delta flights to get back to normal last year after an Atlanta outage caused a global systems failure.) |
Amnesty: Syria Has Hanged Up to 13K at 'Human Slaughterhouse' | (Feb 7, 2017 3:22 AM) Every week, sometimes twice a week, a military facility in Syria executes more people than the United States executes in a year, according to a hard-hitting Amnesty International report on the human slaughterhouse that is Saydnaya Prison. Syria has been secretly killing up to 50 people at a time, mostly civilian opponents of the regime, in mass hangings at the prison, executing up to 13,000 people between 2011 and 2015, according to the report. It notes that there's every reason to believe that the executions continue to this day. The executions are in addition to the estimated tens of thousands of deaths in prisons across Syria since the beginning of the civil war that were due to torture or inhumane conditions, the Guardian reports. The only legal process inmates go through before they're executed is a one- or two-minute hearing at a Military Field Court, according to Amnesty, which spoke to 84 witnesses, including former guards, in the course of its investigation. A portion of the report: Throughout this process, [the prisoners] remain blindfolded. They do not know when or how they will die until the noose was placed around their necks. Lynn Maalouf, deputy director for research at Amnesty's Beirut office, says upcoming peace talks cannot ignore the findings. The horrors ... [were] authorized at the highest levels of the Syrian government, aimed at crushing any form of dissent. She calls for Iran and Russia, the regime's closest allies, to push for an end to Syria's murderous detention policies. |
The Wreckage Was Found in 2010. Now, Bones | (Jul 10, 2017 1:00 PM CDT) Divers have located human bones near the wreckage of a US bomber that crashed in the Adriatic Sea in Croatia in 1944. The discovery was made last week at the site of the crash of the Tulsamerican, the last B-24 Liberator bomber built in Tulsa, Okla., near the end of World War II, according to Croatia's state TV. The remains of human bones have been found, but we can't say anything without further analysis, says Zadar University archaeologist Mate Parica. The wreckage itself was found at the bottom of the sea at a depth of some 130 feet near the island of Vis in 2010 after a 17-year search. Three members of the 10-man crew were killed in the crash, reports the AP. The plane was hit after a bombing run over German-occupied Poland. It crashed into the Adriatic Sea on Dec. 17, 1944. The crew apparently tried to get the plane back to its base in Italy, but they eventually decided to ditch it in the Adriatic. An effort to recover and return pieces of the wreckage to Oklahoma for display at the Tulsa Air and Space Museum has been underway for several years. Tomo Medved, who heads Croatia's ministry for war veterans, says the US is still looking for some 200 Americans who perished in Croatia during WWII. Croatia was run by a Nazi puppet regime during the war. Medved pledged the country's cooperation. We will launch the procedure to sign an agreement between our countries regarding the quest to find Americans' remains, he says. |
Girl, 9, Dies After 325-Pound Cousin Sat on Her: Cops | (Oct 17, 2017 8:21 AM CDT) A 9-year-old girl was allegedly killed by her adult cousin, a 325-pound woman accused of sitting on the child to punish her for misbehaving, the AP reports. Per the Pensacola News Journal, Dericka Lindsay was pronounced dead Saturday after an incident at the home of her parents, Grace Smith, 69, and James Smith, 62. Grace Smith's arrest report notes that she says she was having trouble disciplining Dericka, so she phoned her niece, 64-year-old Veronica Green Posey, to help her out. When Posey arrived, Grace Smith says her niece hit Dericka with a metal pipe and a ruler, and when Dericka ran into an armchair, Posey followed the child and sat on top of her. James Smith told cops Posey sat on Dericka for 10 minutes, at which point Dericka said she couldn't breathe. Posey reportedly remained sitting for two more minutes after that, and when she stood up, she saw Dericka wasn't moving. A 911 call brought paramedics to the home, and Dericka was transported to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Posey, who told a deputy from the Escambia County Sheriff's Office that Dericka had been out of control, was arrested and charged with homicide and child cruelty. The Smiths were charged with neglect for not reporting the abuse, and Grace Smith was also hit with a child cruelty charge. A rep from the Florida Department of Children and Families told the News Journal that his agency had had at least one interaction with this family before, that Dericka's death was appalling, and that they'd be working with the sheriff's office to hold anyone responsible for her death accountable. Posey was released on $125,000 bail; the Smiths are still in jail, per court records. |
London Victim: Utah Man Celebrating 25th Anniversary | (Mar 23, 2017 12:33 PM CDT) Not much was initially revealed about the two civilians killed in Wednesday's terror attack in London, which also ended in the death of a British cop and the attacker being gunned down by police, but now there are a few details on at least one of the deceased: a Utah man celebrating his 25th wedding anniversary with his wife in the British capital. The Salt Lake Tribune identifies the man as 54-year-old Bountiful resident Kurt Cochran, who reportedly plummeted off the Westminster Bridge onto a concrete surface below when the attacker plowed his vehicle into pedestrians. Cochran's wife, Melissa Payne Cochran, is said to be one of the dozens of others who were injured, with a head cut and broken rib, though she's expected to be OK. In a message on Facebook, Shantell Payne, whom the Tribune says is Cochran's sister-in-law, called the tragedy heart wrenching and raw and said it had rocked our family. She also posted a link to a GoFundMe account to raise money to help Melissa Cochran—who the Tribune says ran a music and rehearsal studio with her husband—pay her bills while she's recuperating. The GoFundMe, which has so far raised more than $13,000 of a $50,000 goal, notes that the couple were spending their last day on a European tour visiting Melissa's parents, who are members of London's Mormon temple. President Trump called Cochran a great American in a Thursday morning tweet, sending prayers and condolences to the Utah man's loved ones. (The attacker has been identified.) |
Hernandez Left 3 Suicide Notes | (Apr 21, 2017 6:13 AM CDT) Though a prison official initially said Aaron Hernandez left no suicide note, three notes were in fact found in his cell at Massachusetts' Souza-Baranowski Correctional Center, reports the Boston Globe. A statement from Worcester District Attorney Joseph D. Early Jr. confirmed the handwritten notes were found next to a Bible in the cell following his death, ruled a suicide by the state medical examiner on Thursday. But a rep for Early wouldn't say to whom they had been written. Sources tell TMZ that one was addressed to the general public. However, sources tell CBS Boston that there was a note each for Hernandez's mother, fiancee, and 4-year-old daughter, reading, I love you and please don't cry. The investigation has found Hernandez was alone in his cell when he used a bed sheet to hang himself sometime after 8pm Tuesday, the last time he was checked by guards before being found dead around 3am. A lawyer for Hernandez says the former NFLer spoke to his fiancee on the phone until 8pm. The corrections officer who found Hernandez has apparently been detached with pay after admitting to missing a 2am check, per CBS Boston. It reports cardboard had been stuffed into the door tracks of Hernandez's cell and the floor made slick with soapy water, apparently to impede corrections officers. Hernandez had also written John 3:16 on his forehead and wall of his cell. Sources say he also carved an unknown word in his arm. There were no signs of a struggle, per Early's statement. |
Wisconsin Might Take 25 Years to Break Even on Foxconn Deal | (Aug 9, 2017 12:58 AM CDT) President Trump says a deal to bring a $10 billion Foxconn plant to Wisconsin will bring magnificent decades —but analysts warn that it could be decades before the state sees any benefit from the deal. The non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, which provides analysis for the state legislature, predicts that it will be at least 25 years before the state breaks even on the $3 billion package of incentives it has offered the Taiwanese electronics giant, Reuters reports. Gov. Scott Walker has offered the company $2.85 billion in tax credits, along with tax breaks on construction materials and exemption from environmental regulations. The deal still needs the approval of the state legislature. The analysis found that according to an optimistic model of increased tax revenues after the plant opens in 2020, the state will break even in the 2042-2043 fiscal year, the AP reports. But numerous variables could push the date back even further, including the location of the plant. Foxconn is believed to be looking at a site just across the Illinois border and if a significant proportion of the plant's workers live out of state, it could mean several more years before Wisconsin breaks even, analysts say. Much will also depend on whether Foxconn follows through on its promise to expand employment from 3,000 to 13,000 workers. (Walker says critics of the once in a lifetime deal can go suck lemons. ) |
3 of Year's Most Popular Tweets Belong to Obama | (Dec 5, 2017 4:45 PM) Twitter on Tuesday released its list of the 10 most retweeted tweets of 2017, and President Trump may not be pleased. The regular tweeter did not make the cut even once, while predecessor Barack Obama ended up with three in the top 10, notes Politico. The most retweeted tweet of all, however, belonged not to a politician but to a teenager trying to score some Chicken McNuggets. |
Parking Spot in Hong Kong Sells for $664K | (Jun 14, 2017 7:51 PM CDT) A parking space in Hong Kong has set a world record, selling for $664,200, the South China Morning Post reports. The 188-square-foot spot is on the first floor of a luxury apartment complex near the harborfront and was purchased by an executive director of an investment firm, AFP reports. Property prices are insanely high in Hong Kong, where last month someone paid $3 billion for a commercial lot in a business and shopping district and small businesses are closing over high rent costs. |
1.4K Cars Destroyed in New Year's Eve Blaze | (Jan 1, 2018 11:30 AM) A massive fire New Year's Eve in a multi-story parking garage in Liverpool, England, destroyed around 1,400 cars, with one exploding every few seconds at the height of the blaze, authorities say—but no humans or animals were seriously injured. Horses had been stabled in the garage before performances at the Liverpool International Horse Show, but they were moved to safety inside the nearby Echo Arena, the AP reports. Firefighters say six dogs that had been left in cars were rescued, including four from a vehicle on the roof of the seven-story structure and two that were saved from the second floor before the fire took hold, reports the Guardian. Police say an accidental fire within a vehicle caused other cars to ignite. The fire was brought under control Monday morning. The horse show was canceled and shelters were opened for people—and horses—needing emergency accommodation. Visitor Kerry Matthews tells the BBC that he left his car in the parking garage while visiting the city for New Year's Eve. A fireman said the whole car park is on fire. He said, 'What level is your car on?' We said six, Matthews says. He said, 'Well, you best go and have a couple of drinks to celebrate [the] new year because you're not going to get your car back.' |
Girl Missing 33 Years Tweets via Sheriff's Account | (May 31, 2017 7:44 AM CDT) Florida authorities have let the imagined voice of an 8-year-old girl who went missing on Memorial Day Weekend in 1984 take over the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Department Twitter account. Through a series of tweets with the hashtag #Justice4Luna, they led a social media campaign that included the tweets HELP!!! and Why are you taking me? Why are you doing this? Nothing will ever be the same after this. The Washington Post calls it an eerily unorthodox campaign to resurrect the girl’s story—by resurrecting the girl. And while many seem to agree that the tweets are disturbing, the social media response has been largely positive, with people thanking the department for trying to revive interest in the 33-year-old case. The last time anyone saw her, Marjorie Christy Luna had slipped out of her house in a turquoise swimsuit and walked to Belk's General Store to buy cat food while her mother napped, reports the New York Daily News. The Post reports that authorities suspect one Victor Wonyetye is responsible. He was at a party in her neighborhood the day she went missing and soon moved to New Hampshire, where an 8-year-old girl went missing while walking to school. He died in 2012 after being released from prison for indecent exposure and burglary, and inmates claim he admitted to killing both girls. Canadian authorities used a similar social media campaign in the hopes of finding a girl who went missing in 1986, and say it brought information that made it absolutely worthwhile. (This cold case has had numerous twists.) |
41 Elk Fall Through Ice, Die in Oregon | (Dec 28, 2016 8:51 AM) Oregon is home to 41 fewer elk—and poachers aren't to blame. On Tuesday, an elk herd fell through ice while trying to cross the Brownlee Reservoir on Powder River, says the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, which was told about the incident by a witness. Only four elk were alive when officials arrived but couldn't be saved because of unstable ice, reports OregonLive. The bodies of the others also couldn't be reached, reports the Baker City Herald. The slight silver lining: Oregon is experiencing a wet winter following a drought and the extra moisture and snowpack will be good for wildlife and habitat in the long run, the ODFW says. |
In South Korea, All Eyes on Inmate 503 | (May 23, 2017 10:00 AM CDT) Former President Park Geun-hye stared straight ahead in court Tuesday at the start of a criminal trial that could send South Korea's first female leader to prison for life. Police escorted Park, in handcuffs with her eyes downcast, into court for her first public appearance since she was jailed on March 31 based on the corruption allegations that led to her removal from office. Cameras flashed as Park emerged from a bus, her inmate number 503 attached to her dark-colored jacket, and walked into the Seoul Central District Court, where she sat before a three-judge panel. When Judge Kim Se-yun asked Park, What is your occupation? she replied: I don't have any occupation. Her longtime confidante, and the woman she is accused of conspiring with, Choi Soon-sil, sat near Park, reports the AP. The two had been friends for four decades but did not acknowledge each other. Choi sobbed as she answered questions about her address and occupation. But Park stared straight ahead as prosecutors read out the charges. Park's lawyer denied any wrongdoing. Asked whether she had anything to add, Park said in a calm, measured voice: I will say afterward. The judge also directly asked Park whether she denies all charges. Yes, Park replied, I have the same position as the lawyers. The most damning allegation is that Park colluded with Choi to take tens of millions in bribes from Samsung. The judges are expected to decide whether to try Park and Choi together or to split their cases. Park's lawyers have alleged the combined hearings could create bias. The AP has much more here. |
$950K Violin Collection Ruined. 3 Years Later, Ex-Wife Arrested | (Jul 26, 2017 5:31 PM CDT) The world's tiniest violin might not be enough to express one man's loss, allegedly at the hands of his ex-wife. The Japan Times reports 34-year-old Midori Kawamiya was arrested Tuesday, accused of destroying her ex-husband's $950,000 violin collection in 2014 as the two were divorcing. Authorities say Kawamiya admitted to breaking into Daniel Olsen Chen's apartment in Nagoya but denied destroying his collection, which the BBC reports was comprised of 54 violins and 70 bows. Kawamiya, a Chinese national, was arrested this week—more than three years after the alleged crime—when she returned to Japan from China. The 62-year-old Chen, who both collects and builds violins, says it will probably take him the rest of his life to repair his collection, the Violin Channel reports. The most valuable of the destroyed violins—said to be worth nearly $450,000 on its own—is believed to have been a Nicola Amati instrument from Italy. (The saga of a Stradivarius stolen in 1980s ends on a high note.) |
Ex-NFL Player Accidentally Kills Daughter, 3 | (Apr 15, 2017 7:45 AM CDT) Tragedy for Todd Heap: Police say the former NFL tight end accidentally killed his 3-year-old daughter while moving a truck outside his home in Mesa, Arizona, ESPN reports. Police say they were told the girl was on the driveway outside the home Friday afternoon when Heap hit her while moving the truck forward. Heap, who grew up in Mesa, played for the Baltimore Ravens and Arizona Cardinals before retiring in 2012. Police say they do not believe impairment was a factor in the accident, which is still being investigated, the Arizona Republic reports. |
Boy, 6, Dies After 'Healing' Course; Parents Charged | (Mar 16, 2017 7:46 PM CDT) In 2015, Australian 6-year-old Aidan Fenton attended a controversial week-long self-healing workshop meant to treat his diabetes. After attending a course and returning to a nearby hotel, the boy collapsed in his family's room; his parents' screams got the attention of staff, who called police, but Aidan died at the scene, the Washington Post reports. Now, nearly two years later, his parents, ages 56 and 41, have been arrested and charged with their son's manslaughter. Police say Aidan was denied food and insulin, and they say his parents were complicit in that denial; their gross negligence caused his death, police say, per the Sydney Morning Herald. If convicted, they face 25 years in jail. The workshop was run by Hongchi Xiao, a Chinese man who describes himself as a healer and practices what he calls paidalajin therapy. It involves fasting, stretching, and slapping the skin until it bruises in order to release poisoned blood. He has not been charged in Aidan's death, and in a Facebook post shortly after the incident he denied responsibility. But he was arrested in November in the UK on suspicion of manslaughter after a 71-year-old woman with diabetes died during one of his retreats. He's currently out on bail. Xiao insists that a study shows his paidalajin therapy can cure diabetes, though he notes that during a healing crisis while undergoing the therapy, patients needed treatment including rapid action insulin to prevent ketoacidosis, a medical emergency that can lead to death. (A family faces charges in the death of a teen after a 68-day fast.) |
3rd US State Just Raised Smoking Age to 21 | (Jul 22, 2017 3:34 PM CDT) Gov. Chris Christie signed a law Friday that made New Jersey the third state to raise its smoking age to 21, the AP reports. Hawaii and California are the only other states where the smoking age is 21. On Friday, Christie cited the strain on the health care system caused by tobacco-related illnesses. He also noted that his mother died from the effects of smoking. By raising the minimum age to purchase tobacco products to 21, we are giving young people more time to develop a maturity and better understanding of how dangerous smoking can be and that it is better to not start smoking in the first place, Christie wrote. The restriction applies to tobacco products and electronic smoking devices. Christie vetoed a similar measure last year. Democratic Sens. Richard Codey and Joseph Vitale, the bill's co-sponsors, said reports show smoking causes about $4 billion in health care costs to the state each year. That amount doesn't include costs related to secondhand smoke or smokeless tobacco use, they said. Data surveys show that if individuals aren't smokers by 21 years of age, they will most likely not start later in their lives, Vitale said. Making it harder to buy cigarettes by raising the age to legally purchase them in New Jersey will help prevent our youth from becoming lifelong smokers and suffering the long-term effects of the habit. |
Someone in Florida Just Won 10th Largest US Jackpot Ever | (Jan 6, 2018 9:39 AM) The winning ticket in the latest Mega Millions drawing was sold in Florida, the AP reports. One ticket matched all six numbers in Friday night's drawing and will claim a $450 million grand prize. The Florida Lottery says the winning ticket was bought at a 7-Eleven convenience store in Port Richey. The winning numbers to claim the nation's 10th-largest jackpot were 28-30-39-59-70-10. |
5 Performers Plummet Off High Wire During Wallenda Act | (Feb 9, 2017 1:24 PM) A circus act in Florida that featured members of the famed Wallenda family, including extreme stuntman Nik Wallenda, went terribly wrong Wednesday when five performers in an eight-person routine fell 25 to 30 feet to the ground off a high wire, the Herald-Tribune reports. Wallenda was not one of the Circus Sarasota's injured performers, he told reporters Thursday, per the Washington Post. Wallenda's uncle tells the Tampa Bay Times that Nik's aunt and sister were among those hurt. All of the injured are expected to survive, though at least two patients were said to remain in critical condition and one in guarded condition, WFLA reports. I'm sure they'll be back on their feet in a few months. Thank God, Pedro Reis, the CEO of Circus Arts Conservatory, says. The stunt they were practicing for a Friday performance was the eight-person pyramid—a variation of the seven-person pyramid that killed two Wallenda family members and paralyzed one at a 1962 Detroit show. The Wallendas typically don't use safety nets in their acts, and this one was no different. So what caused the accident? Wallenda told reporters one of the performers may have passed out and lost balance, setting off a chain reaction that affected everyone on the wire. Wallenda himself didn't fall off when people in front of him started losing their balance and falling. The group had practiced the act successfully the day before. Our hearts go out to everybody, Reis tells WFLA, adding, The show must go on. |
Ex-Cop in Walter Scott Shooting Gets 20 Years | (Dec 7, 2017 10:55 AM) A white former South Carolina officer was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Thursday for fatally shooting an unarmed black motorist in the back in 2015, wrapping up a case that became a rallying cry for the Black Lives Matter movement. Before US District Judge David Norton announced the punishment, he had to decide whether Michael Slager's shooting of Walter Scott in April 2015 was manslaughter or murder; he ruled it was second-degree murder, and the guidelines recommended Slager spend 19 to 24 years in prison, reports the AP. No matter what sentence I give, neither the Scott family nor the Slager family is going to think that it's right, the judge said. |
$560M Lottery Winner Made a 'Huge Mistake' | (Feb 6, 2018 6:03 AM) A New Hampshire woman found out she was the winner of the $559.7 million Powerball grand prize drawn on Jan. 6. Then she made a huge mistake. Following instructions on the state lottery website, she signed the back of the ticket, which seemed like a no-brainer. But according to her lawyer, Steven Gordon, the woman had hoped to collect her winnings anonymously—allowing her to set up a charity—to maintain her privacy and the freedom to walk into a grocery store or attend public events without being known or targeted as the winner of a half-billion dollars, per the Union Leader. This is possible: Under New Hampshire's Right to Know law, lottery winnings can be awarded to a trust if the name of the trust appears on the winning ticket, reports NPR. As the woman's name appears instead, it is to be released when the winnings are claimed. For this reason, Gordon's law firm warned the winner not to sign a name on the ticket just two days after the draw. It becomes public, and you lost the option of staying anonymous, attorney William Shaheen said on the firm's website. The post went on to explain a 2016 Powerball winner was able to collect $487 million through a trust Shaheen created, called the Robin Egg 2016 Nominee Trust. Gordon says he has since asked lottery officials if his client's name could be whited out from the ticket, but was told this would invalidate the ticket for a loss of winnings. While we respect this player's desire to remain anonymous, state statutes and lottery rules clearly dictate protocols, a lottery rep says. The woman, whose ticket was sold in Merrimack, is now seeking a court order to allow anonymous collection before the prize expires in 11 months. |
Bitcoin Passes $11K. Then Falls Back to Earth | (Nov 29, 2017 3:44 PM) What goes up must come down. CNBC reports that bitcoin passed the $11,000 mark for the first time Wednesday just hours after surpassing $10,000 for the first time. Wednesday was the sixth day in a row the cryptocurrency hit a record high, increasing its value 15%, according to Reuters. But later Wednesday, the value of a bitcoin plummeted to as low as $9,300, the AP reports. Regardless, that's still a massive increase over the $1,000 value of a bitcoin at the start of the year. And the CEO of CryptoCompare tells Business Insider the passing of $10,000 was a seminal moment for bitcoin. The cryptocurrency market as a whole is now worth more than $330 billion total. The recent meteoric rise of bitcoin has brought increasing warnings of a bubble set to burst. Even if you believe in bitcoin, the velocity of the move is a sign that it is parabolic, CNBC's Jim Cramer says. And parabolic moves don't last. It appears few people are actually using bitcoin as currency, instead stockpiling it in hopes of increasing their capital. What’s happening right now has nothing to do with bitcoin’s functionality as a currency—this is pure mania that’s taken hold, research fellow Garrick Hileman tells Reuters. Hileman says people need to be very careful about the coming burst. But it appears few are heeding his message. One provider signed up more than 300,000 new bitcoin users over the Thanksgiving holiday. And one analyst predicts the bubble is going to get a lot bigger still—say $40,000 by the end of 2018. |
Happy 80th Birthday to (the Original) Spam | (Jul 6, 2017 3:47 AM CDT) American soldiers gobbled up more than 100 million pounds of it during WWII, and a tableful of Monty Python Vikings sang its praises. Although its origins are humble and its nutritional content dubious, Spam is going strong on its 80th birthday. More than 8 billion cans of the pink loaf have been sold, and presumably eaten, since Hormel introduced Spam in July 1937, Live Science reports. The little blue cans went global when the army shipped troops overseas, and Spam even sustained hungry Russian troops. Despite many jokes, it tasted good, nonetheless, former Soviet premier Nikita Khrushchev once wrote, per Time. Civilians appreciated the low price and extended shelf-life, and didn't seem to mind the vague kinda like ham taste. Ham is, thankfully, one of only six ingredients that also include salt—a lot of it. A regular can packs a mouth-puckering 4,696mg of sodium, plus 100 grams of fat, and 1,000-plus calories, per the Evening Standard. Farm-sourced and organic may be all the foodie rage today, but 44,000 cans of Spam are produced very hour. The Standard compiles other fun facts about everyone's favorite mottled meat, including the root of its name: Sizzle, pork, and mmmm. In Hawaii, Spam is literally all around you, one chef tells NBC News. Another fan who serves Spam sliders from her food truck calls it the perfect luncheon meat … it's salty, a little sweet. As for Spam's transmogrification from meal into junk email, the Standard speculates that that dates back to that famous 1970 Python sketch. (Here are more reasons to like Spam.) |
She Was Evicted at 88, and Then a Neighbor Stepped Up | (Dec 13, 2016 12:00 PM) Angie Tyma had lived in the same Hudson, Fla., home for 35 years—and when the then-88-year-old was recently evicted due to foreclosure, her neighborhood came together to make sure she could continue living in it. Tyma and her husband initially owned the house, but after his death, a family friend bought it and rented it to Tyma. Unbeknownst to Tyma, that person had since stopped paying the mortgage; the bank foreclosed on her and booted Tyma from the home when an investment company bought it at auction—padlocking the door and leaving Tyma's belongings in the streets. That was Nov. 16, and her neighbors went into action, making sure her belongings were stored and her two dogs had a place to stay, the Tampa Bay Times reports. But one neighbor went even further. Tyma approached Danielle Calder, 65, and asked Calder to buy the house and rent it to her—and Calder agreed. Tyma moved back in on Tuesday, her 89th birthday. Quite honestly, I didn't need another house, Calder tells Today. But I needed her. I couldn't see her living in a motel room ... she's been here so long. Everyone looks out for her. Calder says Tyma is the fabric of the neighborhood, adding that everybody knows the feisty lady. Before Tyma moved back in, neighbors moved all her belongings back into the house and gave it a fresh coat of paint. Said Tyma, Usually one of my neighbors bakes me a cake every year, but this time, when I got out of the car, and saw all these people, and the media ... I was in a state of shock. ... I never expected I would make the front page! |
Trump Has Visited His Golf Courses 13 Times as President | (Mar 27, 2017 7:07 AM CDT) President Trump stayed away from his Florida resort for the weekend, but not from Trump properties: He was at the Trump National Golf Club in Virginia on Saturday and Sunday and dined at the Trump International Hotel in Washington, DC, on Saturday night, reports the Washington Post, which calculates that Trump has spent all or part of 21 of the first 66 days of his presidency at Trump-owned properties. Golfweek notes that Trump—who repeatedly criticized then-President Obama for golfing and said that he would be too busy to golf when president—has now visited golf courses 13 times since Jan. 20. The White House said Trump was in meetings, though photos emerged of him riding in a golf cart and wearing golf attire Saturday. On Sunday, during a brief visit to the Virginia club in which the White House said he held three meetings, a photo emerged of Trump watching the Golf Channel with two people. Critics accuse Trump of hypocrisy and complain that he is providing his businesses with a lot of free publicity. It is normal for presidents to get out—and it can be a boost for small businesses across the city and the country, Robert Weissman of nonprofit group Public Citizen tells the New York Times. But with President Trump, he spends his downtime as a walking advertisement for his businesses. It is a major departure from historic norm and degradation of the office. (Sean Spicer says Trump's golf habit is totally different from Obama's.) |
3 Dead, 20 Hurt After Car Mows Down Pedestrians | (Jan 20, 2017 1:00 AM) A man deliberately drove into a street crowded with pedestrians in Australia's second-largest city on Friday, killing at least three people and injuring 20 others, police say. Officials said the incident had no links to terrorism. The chaos began in the early afternoon, after a man was seen driving in erratic circles in the middle of a major intersection in downtown Melbourne, the AP reports. The driver then turned onto the Bourke Street Mall, a pedestrian-only road, deliberately colliding with pedestrians before continuing onto a sidewalk and hitting several other people, Victoria state Police Acting Commander Stuart Bateson said. The man was arrested at the scene and there was no further threat to the public, Bateson added. Police say the suspect has a criminal history linked to family violence and has come to police attention on numerous occasions in the past related to drug issues and mental health problems. They believe the incident is connected to a stabbing that occurred in the city earlier in the day. At this present stage, we ask the public to avoid the city, Bateson told reporters. It is going to take us a really long time to process this scene. Our priority at the moment is with the injured, and it must be that we give them our attention. The Herald Sun reports that a child is among the three people killed. Doctors are fighting to save the life of a 3-month-old baby injured in the incident. |
A Dow Milestone: 19,000 Hit for First Time | (Nov 22, 2016 8:59 AM) MarketWatch credits Trump-induced euphoria in its headline: The Dow on Tuesday hit 19,000 for the first time at open, a milestone that followed Monday's record close of 18,957. The S&P 500 also passed 2,200. The AP earlier reported that global stocks rose Tuesday, buoyed by hopes that OPEC will support the price of oil with a production cut. The Wall Street Journal reports oil prices continue to hang around a three-week high in anticipation of a possible end-of-month OPEC deal. Rising commodity prices do help, one senior portfolio manager with Robeco tells the Journal. But I think there is also a bit of an upbeat mood about the [Donald] Trump election. |
Interest Rates Hit a Milestone for First Time Since 2008 | (Jun 15, 2017 1:20 AM CDT) The Federal Reserve signaled confidence in a strong economy Wednesday with its second interest rate hike of 2017, bringing its benchmark rate up a quarter-point to push it over 1% for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis. The move, which brings the range to between 1% and 1.25%, had been seen as almost a certainty, and investors were more intrigued by Fed chief Janet Yellen's plan to start rolling back the $4.5 trillion balance sheet, which it packed with government bonds and mortgage-backed securities in an effort to offset the crisis, the Street reports. It was below $900 billion in 2007. Yellen said the balance sheet would be gradually rolled back in a process that would be as exciting as watching paint dry. The interest rate hike reflects the progress the economy has made and is expected to make toward maximum employment and price stability, Yellen told reporters Wednesday, pointing to job gains and moderate rises in economic activity. The Fed admitted that inflation is below its 2% target and is likely to stay there in the near term, Forbes reports. Analysts tell the Washington Post that many people are unlikely to notice the effects of the rise in rates, though people with large mortgages or a lot of credit card debt may start to feel the pinch. For those where budgets are tight and their debt burdens have been growing the last few years, this is where the signs of strain begin to emerge, says Greg McBride at Bankrate. |
Apple Releasing 1st New Product Since Apple Watch | (Jun 5, 2017 3:24 PM CDT) Apple is transplanting its digital assistant Siri into an internet-connected speaker that will become the company's first new product in more than two years, the AP reports. The HomePod speaker unveiled at Apple's annual conference for app developers Monday is similar to devices that rivals Amazon and Google have already been selling, though Apple says it's giving more emphasis to sound quality, not just smarts. It's no surprise, but there's integration with the Apple Music online subscription. Besides playing music, HomePod will help people to manage their lives and homes. Siri will be the voice assistant responding to requests for information and other help around the house. It's Apple's first new device since the company released the Apple Watch in April 2015. The speaker will sell for about $350 in December in the US, UK, and Australia. Amazon sells the main version of the Echo for $180 and Google sells its Home speaker for $130. The Echo, released in 2015, and Google Home, released last year, have helped plant the seeds for a promising market. The research firm eMarketer says than 35 million people in the US are expected to use a voice-activated speaker at least once a month this year, more than doubling from last year. Click for more from the conference. |
Boy, 10, Drowns After Being Sucked Into Drainpipe | (Jul 10, 2017 10:38 AM CDT) Thousands of people in Connecticut packed an emotional ceremony to mourn a 10-year-old boy who drowned after getting sucked into a drainpipe, the New Haven Register reports. Ben Callahan was playing with his two brothers Friday when he slipped down an embankment, into a culvert, and was sucked into the 4-foot-wide pipe, per the AP. The pipe discharges into the Branford River. Police using divers, sonar, and a drone found Ben's body three hours later, about 500 feet from where he disappeared. Branford Police Capt. Geoffrey Morgan says via NBC Connecticut that parents should exercise vigilance after heavy rains. When [a] waterway swells around rainstorms, remind your children to not get around those pipes, he says. At a vigil Sunday night, mourners holding candles packed Branford Green to remember Ben, who was called a little warrior, a star athlete, and musician who loved art. The Branford Youth Football club planned to retire Ben's No. 2 jersey, per the Register. Ben's dad, David Callahan, described his son as sunshine, per FOX61, a boy who made personal connections with so many people. Younger brother Scout Callahan, who with older brother Cooper made a futile bid to save the boy, said Ben was friendly, he was funny, he was fast, he was strong. A crowdfunding campaign set up to help the family recalls Ben as a one of a kind and special boy with a huge heart and smile. He excelled in every sport he played, devoting himself 100% always. (A New Hampshire teen died after likely plunging into an open sewer.) |
2nd Video Allegedly Shows a Baltimore Cop Planting Evidence | (Aug 1, 2017 11:44 AM CDT) More drug charges have been dropped in Baltimore as a result of a second body-camera video that apparently shows police officers planting evidence. The unreleased video appears to depict multiple officers working together to manufacture evidence, according to the city's public defender. The news comes less than two weeks after a separate video was released seeming to show a police officer planting drugs in an alley while with two other officers. The latest video involves different officers, reports the Baltimore Sun. It shows authorities repeatedly searching a vehicle during a November 2016 traffic stop but finding nothing, lawyer Debbie Katz Levi of the public defender's office tells WBFF. Later, she says, an officer looks like he places an item in the car. Two officers are under investigation, but Levi says the video shows approximately six officers standing around while this suspected misconduct is taking place, per CBS Baltimore. The public defender's office said it would not release the video because one of the suspects featured in the video isn't a client; meanwhile, charges were dropped Monday in this case. Days earlier, the Baltimore State's Attorney's Office announced 34 drug or weapons cases had been dropped in connection with a Jan. 24 body-cam video allegedly depicting officer Richard Pinheiro planting drugs in the company of officers Hovhannes Simonyan and Jamal Brunson. The cases relied on the officers' credibility as witnesses, reports CBS News. Another 77 cases were under review as of Friday. |
10-Story Hotel Ordered to Shrink to 8 Stories | (May 11, 2020 10:40 AM CDT) It's one thing for a city to reject plans for a tall hotel near a world-famous site. It's another to do so after the hotel has been built. That's now the case in Athens, Greece, where a 10-story hotel near the Acropolis has been ordered to remove its top two floors, reports the National Herald. Locals united in a fierce campaign against the hotel because its height obstructed their view of the historic site. Now the nation's Central Archaeological Council has agreed with them and ordered the hotel to reduce its height. The decision actually marks a reversal by the council, which approved the construction plans for the COCO-MAT Hotel Athens in the first place. It was a very brave decision, says Athens Mayor Kostas Bakoyannis, per the Guardian. The Acropolis is our heart and our soul, an essential part of our cultural heritage. It's very important that everyone can enjoy it. The outcome is seen as a big victory against developers, especially paired with a ruling from Greece's highest court last week that future hotels in the area must be no higher than 68 feet. The hotel near the Acropolis, in the city's Makriyianni district, is a shade over 100 feet tall, at least for now. No word yet on when the de-struction will take place, or whether the government will help pay for it. |
Dow, S&P 500 Close at Record Highs | (Sep 18, 2017 3:11 PM CDT) Banks and other financial companies led stocks modestly higher, extending the market's gains from last week, the AP reports. Industrials stocks also rose Monday, while retailers and other consumer-focused companies lagged the most. JPMorgan Chase rose 1.4%, while chipmaker Nvidia jumped 4.1%. Aerospace manufacturer Orbital ATK soared 20% after agreeing to be acquired by Northrop Grumman. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 63 points, or 0.3%, to 22,331. The Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed 3 points, or 0.1%, to 2,503. Both indexes closed at record highs. The Nasdaq composite increased 6 points, or 0.1%, to 6,454. |
2 Big Hurdles Lifted in Arkansas Execution Plan | (Apr 17, 2017 8:13 PM CDT) State and federal courts lifted the two primary obstacles Arkansas faced in its plan to execute eight inmates before the end of April, but the state backed away from legal efforts to carry out one of the first two lethal injections scheduled Monday night, the AP reports. The decisions from the 8th US Circuit Court of Appeals and the state Supreme Court were among a flurry of legal actions over the series of planned lethal injections that, if carried out, would mark the most inmates put to death by a state in such a short period since the US Supreme Court reinstated the death penalty in 1976. The rulings left the state fighting against the clock to execute convicted killer Don Davis before his death warrant was expected to expire at midnight. Davis and Bruce Ward were set to be executed Monday night and had been granted stays by the state Supreme Court, but Attorney General Leslie Rutledge said she wouldn't appeal Ward's stay at this time. Separately, a federal appeals court overturned US District Judge Kristine Baker's decision to halt the executions over the use of midazolam, which has been used in flawed executions in other states, but the Arkansas Supreme Court's stays remain in place. A little over an hour later, the state Supreme Court lifted a judge's ruling that had effectively blocked the executions by prohibiting the state from using its supply of vecuronium bromide, one of the other lethal injection drugs. A medical supply company said it was misled by the state and that the drug was sold for medical purposes, not executions. |
Judge Refuses to Release 4 Accused in Chicago Beating | (Jan 7, 2017 8:24 AM) A Chicago judge has refused to allow four black people caught on cellphone footage taunting and beating a mentally disabled white man to post bail and leave jail, saying they are accused of such terrible actions that they are a danger to society. Where was your sense of decency? Cook County Circuit Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil asked them on Friday during their first court appearance, sounding baffled that the suspects could be charged with such cruelty toward the 18-year-old victim, the AP reports. The beating was captured on cellphone video by one of the assailants and has since been viewed millions of times on social media. The graphic footage shows the suspects taunting the victim with profanities against white people and President-elect Donald Trump. All four suspects—Jordan Hill and Tesfaye Cooper, both 18, and sisters Tanishia and Brittany Covington, ages 18 and 24—have experienced previous brushes with the law. Prosecutors offered new details of the assault in Friday's hearing, explaining that one of the suspects demanded $300 from the mother of the victim, who is schizophrenic and has attention-deficit disorder. A prosecutor told the judge that the suspects forced the victim to drink toilet water and then allegedly stuffed a sock into his mouth and taped it shut as they bound his hands with a belt. The four are charged with two counts of committing a hate crime—one because of the victim's race and the other because of his mental disabilities. (The victim and his parents thought he was going to a sleepover with Hill, a former classmate.) |
He Broke Quarantine for 8 Seconds. Now, a $3.5K Fine | (Dec 7, 2020 12:02 PM) Taiwan has had only about 700 cases and only seven deaths from the coronavirus, per Johns Hopkins University, and it intends to keep it that way. That's why the island nation is so strict with its quarantine protocols, as one man recently found out. The Filipino migrant worker was holed up in one of the 56 quarantine hotels scattered around Kaohsiung City, where he was under strict orders not to leave his room, per CNN. But the man was spotted on CCTV by hotel workers stepping into the hallway for a whole eight seconds before turning around and heading back inside, Taiwan's Central News Agency reports. Hotel staff contacted the country's health agency, and the man has now been hit with a $3,500 fine for those eight seconds of relative freedom. CNN reports that Taiwan has managed to keep its COVID-19 numbers low not with sweeping nationwide lockdowns, but with fast initial responses to cases, aggressive testing and contact tracing, and rigid enforcement of safety protocols regarding quarantine. |
Cops: Man Kept 8 Women Captive in Million-Dollar Home | (Mar 10, 2017 6:40 PM) A man has been charged with holding eight women against their will inside a million-dollar home in the suburbs of Atlanta, NBC News reports. Authorities say 33-year-old Kenndric Roberts met the women online and offered them modeling jobs. But once they moved into the 6,800-square-foot, five-bedroom house he was renting, things changed, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. The women—who range in age from 19 to 22—tell police Roberts threatened them if they tried to leave, forced them to work at strip clubs, threatened their families, and made them get plastic surgery. One of the women referred to Roberts as our boss, the AP reports. It's unclear how long the women had been in the home. What authorities now believe was a human trafficking operation was discovered Tuesday when one of the women called 911 and asked police to help her escape a very bad situation in a very nice house. She said a man who had a house full of girls was threatening to kill her if she left. Police responded and found the eight women. Roberts was arrested on Wednesday. He's been charged with multiple counts of false imprisonment, trafficking persons for labor, and more. Federal charges are also possible. The women have been returned to their families or placed in safe houses. |
Amazon Spending $1.5B on Own Air Cargo Hub | (Feb 3, 2017 12:46 AM) Amazon isn't content just being the everything store. Increasingly, it looks like it wants to be its own deliveryman, too. The company's announcement this week of a new air cargo hub in Kentucky is merely its latest foray into building out its own shipping and logistics unit, the AP reports. Amazon plans to build a worldwide air cargo hub at a northern Kentucky airport about 13 miles southwest of Cincinnati. The nearly $1.5 billion investment is expected to create 2,700 jobs. If successful, the move could ultimately mean lower costs for Amazon—and possibly faster delivery and low prices for consumers. But it could also pit Amazon against package deliverers like FedEx and UPS. It's not a big surprise, Cathy Roberson, founder of consulting firm Logistics Trends & Insights, says of Amazon's Kentucky announcement. By utilizing that location they can reach anywhere in the US in two days. Amazon has long plowed its profits back into its business investments. To speed up its delivery, it has invested in opening new distribution centers and leasing fleets of trucks. In May, Amazon leased 40 Boeing jets from Atlas Air Worldwide Holdings and Air Transport Services Group, a fleet it dubbed Prime Air. But to build a network to rival FedEx, UPS, and DHL, Amazon will have to at least double what it's already spending, Roberson estimates. |
She's 55 Feet Tall, Nude, and Pretty Controversial | (Oct 21, 2016 10:06 AM CDT) There have long been complaints about the lack of women in the tech industry. Now there's a towering female figure, in a tech park across the bay from San Francisco, although not quite what some people had in mind. A 55-foot-tall statue of a nude woman unveiled this week in the community of San Leandro is stirring controversy and a lot of conversation, the AP reports. At the base of the 13,000-pound statue is a message in 10 languages that says: What would the world be like if women were safe? The statue—roughly three times as tall as Michelangelo's David—is made of steel mesh in the form of a graceful dancer, with an arched back and arms stretched overhead. The debate, however, is not over its artistic merit—it's over whether it's appropriate in public. The Truth Is Beauty statue by sculptor Marco Cochrane is on private property at the edge of a new tech office complex, in a highly trafficked area just across from San Leandro's commuter rail station. Cochrane says he was marked as a child by the rape of a neighborhood friend and tries through art to bring attention to sexual assault, and to both the fear and strength many women feel. Not everyone shares his views on the statue, now attracting selfie-seekers. If she's a ballerina, she should have some clothes on, says a local mom. But others have welcomed the statue as a reflection of the changing demographics in San Leandro, where millennials now outnumber older residents. It's edgy and modern, and it makes me proud, says Mayor Pauline Russo Cutter. |
Obama Receives Letter From Alleged 9/11 Mastermind | (Jan 17, 2017 1:56 PM) One of the final letters Barack Obama will receive during his time as president comes from the man who allegedly planned the Sept. 11 attacks, the Miami Herald reports. According to CBS News, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was captured in 2003 in Pakistan, tortured by the CIA, then moved to Guantanamo Bay, where he's currently awaiting trial. In 2014, Mohammed wrote a letter to Obama, addressing Muslim oppression at the hands of the US and the West, plus events in Gaza, Iraq, and Palestine. But the prison at Guantanamo refused to deliver it. The judge in Mohammed's case finally ordered the letter delivered earlier this month. He ruled Obama should have the letter before becoming a private citizen. While a White House source confirms the letter has been delivered, it's unclear whether or not Obama has read it. The Pentagon's chief war crimes prosecutor remained opposed to the release of the letter, which he calls propaganda. Mohammed has, in the past, been described as having a deep desire for attention. |
Dow Ends Day Down 13 | (Apr 3, 2017 3:16 PM CDT) US stocks started the second quarter with a thud Monday after car makers reported disappointing March sales, a possible warning about other types of spending. But a late rally helped stocks escape bigger losses, the AP reports. On Monday the Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped 3.88 points, or 0.2%, to 2,358.84. The Dow Jones industrial average declined 13.01 points, or 0.1%, to 20,650.21. The Nasdaq composite dipped 17.06 points, or 0.3%, to 5,894.68. The Russell 2000 index of small-company stocks dropped 16.25 points, or 1.2%, to 1,369.67. |
Melania Trump Plans 1st Solo World Trip as First Lady | (Jul 27, 2017 1:35 PM CDT) Melania Trump is heading out on her first solo foreign trip as first lady. She'll lead the US delegation to the Invictus Games, an international sporting events competition in which wounded service members participate, the Hill reports. Ninety US athletes are heading to Toronto for the third annual games, which start Sept. 23 and last for one week. In a statement, Trump says she is heartened by the great success of the games in the two years since Prince Harry founded them. She will meet the British royal during the event, USA Today reports. |
Mom, Child Die in 2 Different Accidents 30 Minutes Apart | (Mar 22, 2017 7:08 AM CDT) A mother and her 5-year-old daughter were both killed Tuesday in Alabama—but, in what seems to be a freak coincidence, in two different incidents. Per Valley Head police, the girl was hit by a vehicle on state Route 117 just outside Mentone around 3:30pm, although authorities are still trying to figure out why she was on the highway, WAFF reports. The youngster was pronounced dead at the scene. Meanwhile, just 30 minutes or so earlier, her mom, who has yet to be identified, was driving in Valley Head when her car smashed into another, injuring two people in the second vehicle. She was pronounced dead on the scene as well, and the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency is now digging deeper into what happened in both fatalities. (Tragedy for a mom and her two daughters at a Colorado ski resort. |
$85 for a Rock? Maker Explains Cost of Weird Nordstrom Gift | (Dec 6, 2016 9:47 AM) It's not a lump of coal, but one of Nordstrom's stocking-stuffer possibilities this holiday season is in the same ballpark—it's a rock in a leather pouch. And many are confused, per People, which reports on the $85 Los Angeles-area stone clothed in rich, vegetable-tanned American leather secured by sturdy contrast whipstitching that the retailer is hawking for $85. Even Nordstrom doesn't seem sure what Wrapped Stone really is, noting in its website description: A paperweight? A conversation piece? A work of art? It's up to you. BuzzFeed compiles the best musings, cheers, and complaints about the item, including a single mom of five who says no one in my family will eat this month, however I have a piece of rock, and a man who says it offers existential validation. If some jerk can sell a rock in leather for $85, I'll be ok, he tweets. And then there's the romantic who bought the stone for his girlfriend and takes issue with the description that each piece is made by hand, noting there were many markings from factory machinery. A Nordstrom spokeswoman says the handmade claim refers only to the stone's leather pouch, because obviously only Mother Earth can take credit for rocks. Meanwhile, Made Solid, the company behind the product, says that it's no joke and that it's one of our most consistently popular items. (A smaller version sells for $65.) Co-founder Peter Maxwell tells Cosmopolitan that he's aware the comments are going nuts, but he justifies the price because of the high-end vegetable tanned leather used for the pouch, along with the labor-intensive work that goes into making it. ($340,000 for a moon rock probably isn't unreasonable.) |
Seismologist Warns 1925 Quake Will Strike—in 2025 | (Jun 22, 2017 7:54 PM CDT) On Wednesday afternoon California residents were shocked to learn that a powerful earthquake had supposedly hit the Pacific Ocean about 10 miles off the coast of Santa Barbara. They were probably just as surprised to learn a few minutes later that the magnitude 6.8 quake had actually happened in 1925. The Los Angeles Times reports that a staffer at the California Institute of Technology mistakenly triggered an alert while correcting information about the location of the 92-year-old quake for the US Geological Survey's earthquake database. An email was then sent out from the USGS email server claiming that the 1925 quake was set to occur on June 29, 2025. The Washington Post reports that email alert automatically generated a story on the Times site through an algorithm called Quakebot. The HuffPost reports that several automated tweets synced to the USGS server were sent out as well, causing confusion. USGS corrected the mistake on Twitter shortly after the initial alert went out and followed up with a more detailed explanation on its website within a half hour. The Times sent out tweets explaining the mistake and blaming the original USGS alert. The paper also tweeted a picture of its front-page coverage of the 1925 Santa Barbara earthquake, which, it reported at the time, demolished or seriously damaged virtually all brick concrete and stone structures in the city, virtually wrecked a famous hotel, and forced the city's 30,000 residents to evacuate their homes and sleep outside. |
Serial Cat Killer Sentenced to 16 Years in Jail | (Jul 15, 2017 6:00 AM CDT) A grisly and bizarre animal cruelty case has come to a close in San Jose, with a serial cat killer sentenced to 16 years in jail. Police say Robert Farmer killed at least 16 cats after stealing and torturing them in 2015. Prosecutors also alleged that he sexually abused at least one of the cats, but the 26-year-old avoided having to register as a sex offender, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. He had pleaded guilty to 21 counts of animal cruelty prior to sentencing. Pet owners celebrated the maximum sentence, though Farmer's attorney says he could be released in about 4 years. It’s so hard to grasp I did this, Farmer wrote in a letter read by his attorney in court, per the Mercury News. It feels like another man committed these crimes, but I know it was me. Neighbors in the Cambrian Park community began sharing stories when their cats started disappearing without a trace. Most of the time, the bodies would turn up discarded in dumpsters or elsewhere. Farmer was arrested after being captured on a pet owner's surveillance camera snatching the family's 17-year-old pet from the property. |
Saudi Arabia Wants $6B to Free Rich Prince: Report | (Dec 23, 2017 12:17 PM) One of the world's richest men is being asked to pay a staggering amount to secure his freedom, according to a report from the Wall Street Journal. Saudi Prince al-Waleed bin Talal—who owns stakes in Twitter and other Western companies and has an estimated worth of $18.7 billion—was arrested as part of a sweeping roundup of royals, officials, and others in Saudi Arabia orchestrated by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in November. The arrests are being characterized by the government as a crackdown on corruption, but most believe they are instead a consolidation of power by Prince Mohammed. A senior Saudi official says Prince al-Waleed faces allegations of bribery, money laundering, and extortion. Prince al-Waleed denies any wrongdoing, sources say. Prince al-Waleed has spent the last few weeks at the Riyadh Ritz-Carlton, which has been turned into a prison. Sources say the Saudi government is demanding at least $6 billion from him to be released. Many of the arrested have already paid for their freedom—though $6 billion is one of the highest amounts being sought, sources say. Some close to Prince al-Waleed say he doesn't want to pay because it would be an admission of guilt and hurt his business. Instead, sources say he's trying to get the government to accept a large share of his company, which is valued at $8.7 billion or so. People close to Prince al-Waleed say his arrest was likely a shock to him, as he had been supportive of Prince Mohammed's plans for reform in Saudi Arabia. It's possible Prince Mohammed resented Prince al-Waleed for his international notoriety. Read the full WSJ report here. |
Man's Quick Swim Turns Into 4-Hour Nightmare | (Oct 20, 2016 8:02 AM CDT) A swimmer who vanished off a Massachusetts beach was found safe and sound Tuesday after treading water for 4 1/2 hours. Randall Hackett, 58, and his 28-year-old son-in-law, Alexander Auerbach, had decided to swim part of the 4-mile distance of Crane Beach in Ipswich around 5pm Tuesday, report the Salem News and WCVB. Both are strong swimmers, and they were clad in wetsuits, but family members were nonetheless concerned when neither had returned to shore after an hour and a half, per ABC News. Shortly after family members reported the pair missing, Auerbach was found on the beach around 7:30pm, about a mile south of the men's starting point, but he said he'd lost track of Hackett because of rip currents and heavy fog. For two hours, the Coast Guard, police, and fire department combed the water before rescuers using an infrared camera aboard a helicopter spotted Hackett treading water a quarter-mile offshore, per WCVB. Hackett was plucked from the water around 9:30pm and returned to the beach, where he walked into his wife's arms. The fog was so thick you couldn't even see your hand, says Hackett, who was taken to a hospital as a precaution. I made the decision to try and conserve energy, he adds, noting he clung to a buoy for a time. I thought I could survive until morning. On Facebook, police called the rescue a tremendous effort … in difficult conditions and rough waters, while the Coast Guard warns water conditions are getting worse as temperatures drop. (This Coast Guard rescuer had to rely solely on his own muscles in another incident.) |
Man Fined $4K for Giving the Thumbs-Up on Facebook | (May 31, 2017 2:32 PM CDT) Be careful what you like online, especially if you're in Switzerland—it may get you in trouble for defamation. In what Fortune reports could be a first, a court there has fined an unidentified man the equivalent of more than $4,000 after he liked defamatory comments on Facebook that accused an animal rights activist of racism and anti-Semitism. The activist, Erwin Kessler, had been the subject of heated Facebook conversations in 2015 about which animal welfare groups should be allowed in a vegan street festival, reports the Swiss daily Tages Anzeiger. In stark contrast, a US federal court ruled in 2013 that an online like is protected by the First Amendment. Kessler sued over a dozen people involved in those online exchanges, several of whom have already been convicted for comments they made, reports the Guardian, but this latest fine appears to be the first time someone has been convicted for merely pressing like. The court, however, ruled that even though the defendant didn't write the comments, he clearly endorsed the unseemly content and made it his own. A defense attorney says that if courts want to prosecute people for simply liking content, we could easily need to triple the number of judges in this country, adding it could easily become an assault on the freedom of expression. (See how Facebook likes are linked to lower self-esteem.) |
'Mother of All Bombs' Reportedly Killed 36 | (Apr 14, 2017 6:00 AM CDT) The mother of all bombs dropped on the Islamic State in Afghanistan Thursday not only killed 36 militants but also destroyed their base within a 1,000-foot-long network of tunnels and a stockpile of weapons, says the Afghan defense ministry. A presidential spokesman tells the BBC that ISIS commander Siddiq Yar was among those killed as the GBU-43/B Massive Ordinance Air Blast bomb detonated in the Momand valley of Achin in Nangarhar province. Officials say civilians had previously left the area and weren't affected by the blast, which the district governor described as the biggest I have ever seen. President Trump says the strike was another successful job, per CNN, which notes the US military had pegged the number of active ISIS militants in the area at up to 800. They had been launching attacks on Afghan troops from the tunnels. One person who was displeased by the move: former Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who called it an inhuman and most brutal misuse of our country. Read more about the specifics of the bomb here. |
Yahoo Knew About 'State-Sponsored' 2014 Hacks: SEC Filings | (Nov 10, 2016 12:46 PM) Yahoo identified that a state-sponsored actor had access to the company’s network in late 2014, the company reported in SEC filings related to its proposed $4.8 billion acquisition by Verizon. The disclosure directly contradicts Yahoo's previous claims that the breach was only discovered in August, the Financial Times reports. Yahoo says it launched a serious investigation into its network security in 2016, and that it lacked a complete picture of the hacks because of the sophisticated nature of state-sponsored attacks. The hack has complicated Verizon's proposed acquisition of Yahoo, which was first announced in July, before the hacks became public knowledge. Verizon believes that news of the hack should affect the deal (read: lower the purchase price), while Yahoo is arguing that the revelations had no impact on Yahoo's business. Yahoo has already been hit with 23 class-action lawsuits—both foreign and domestic—over its handling of the breach, Ars Technica reports. |
Vandals Smash 115M-Year-Old Dinosaur Footprint | (Dec 26, 2017 4:26 AM) Some 115 million years ago in what is now South Australia, a theropod dinosaur left a footprint that remained through the ages until this month, when somebody deliberately smashed it. Officials say they were disheartened to discover the vandalism at the famous Flat Rocks site in Victoria state. It looked like somebody had taken to it with either a hammer or a rock, and had broken off sections of the toes, Parks Victoria ranger Brian Martin tells the BBC. Martin says the vandals left freshly broken pieces of rock scattered around the tidal rock platform. The site, which dates from a time when Australia was still connected to Antarctica, is one of the only polar dinosaur sites ever discovered. The footprint was discovered in 2006, and officials say it was left uncovered so that visitors could have the thrill of standing where a meat-eating dinosaur stood millions of years ago. For someone to damage it intentionally, you'd have to have a rough idea of where it is because seaweed grows on the rock platform and it looks like a normal rock until you look closely and see the outline of the footprint, Martin tells the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Authorities say they may be able to restore the footprint to some degree, using the broken pieces of rock and a rubber mold taken by paleontologists in 2006. (Scientists in Alaska have discovered what they say is one of the world's great dinosaur track sites.) |
Attempted Prison Break Leaves at Least 14 Injured | (Oct 12, 2017 6:22 PM CDT) At least 14 people were injured Thursday afternoon in an attempted prison break in North Carolina, ABC News reports. The incident started with an inmate setting fire to the sewing plant at the Pasquotank Correctional Institute around 3:30pm. Details of the attempted prison break are scarce, and the extent of the injuries—some of which were to prison employees in the sewing plant—are unknown, according to the AP. WITN reports no inmates were able to escape. As the situation was unfolding, three schools in the area were put on lockdown. School buses taking children home brought them back to the schools for security reasons. Pasquotank houses 729 male prisoners in both high-security and minimum-custody facilities. Authorities say the situation is now under control. |
The Simpsons Have Officially Been on TV for 30 Years | (Apr 19, 2017 6:25 PM CDT) The Simpson family first appeared on television 30 years ago today—April 19, 1987—in a short on The Tracey Ullman Show called Good Night, EW reports. Three decades later, The Simpsons is in its 28th season, has aired more than 600 episodes, and is the longest-running scripted prime-time series in TV history. Not bad for characters creator Matt Groening came up with at the last minute. According to the Guardian, Groening was supposed to pitch an animated version of his comic strip Life in Hell but didn't want to give up the rights to it. He quickly sketched out the Simpson family, naming its members after his own relatives. That led to Good Night and the first words of The Simpsons' illustrious run on television: Well, good night, son. The show would get funnier. The Simpsons appeared in 48 shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show before getting their own series in 1989. That series is currently renewed through its 30th season. A TV historian tells NPR The Simpsons broke ground when it came to what you could put on television: When The Simpsons came out, people were so worried about the crude behavior. And the Ringer ranks the show's 100 best episodes. |
Woman Who Saved Dozens of Jews in Holocaust Dies at 96 | (Dec 21, 2016 2:30 PM) A woman credited with helping up to 150 Jews—many of them children—and saving dozens of lives during the Holocaust died earlier this month at the age of 96, her family announced this week. The Washington Post reports Marion Pritchard was a social work student in the Netherlands when Germany invaded in 1940. She was jailed for seven months in 1941 for transcribing Allied radio broadcasts but truly realized her calling to fight in 1942 while bicycling by a home for Jewish children. It was a beautiful spring morning, and it was a street I had known since I had been born, and all of a sudden you see little kids picked up by their pigtails or by a leg and thrown over the side of a truck, she explained in an interview. In the coming years, Pritchard would hide Jewish families under floorboards, find them safe houses, secure fake identity documents and extra ration cards, and pretend to be an unwed mother to protect Jewish babies. Most of us were brought up to tell [the] truth, to obey the secular law and the Ten Commandments, she once said. By 1945, I had stolen, cheated, deceived, and even killed. Pritchard shot a policeman who discovered she was hiding a Jewish family—a decision that bothered her for years but that she never regretted. After the war, she became a UN social worker then got married and moved to the US, where she worked with refugees and became a psychoanalyst. Pritchard was recognized by the Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem in 1981. |
2017's Banned Word List: 'Covfefe,' 'Fake News' | (Dec 31, 2017 8:59 AM) Let me ask you this: Would a story that unpacks a list of tiresome words and phrases be impactful or a nothingburger? Worse, could it just be fake news? Northern Michigan's Lake Superior State University on Sunday released its 43rd annual List of Words Banished from the Queen's English for Misuse, Overuse, and General Uselessness, reports the AP. The tongue-in-cheek, non-binding list of 14 words or phrases comes from thousands of suggestions. This year's list includes let me ask you this, ''unpack, ''impactful, ''nothingburger, ''tons, ''dish, ''drill down, ''let that sink in, and the top vote-getter, fake news. The others are pre-owned, ''onboarding/offboarding, ''hot water heater, ''gig economy, and the Trumpian Twitter typo covfefe. |
Couple Married 69 Years Die Minutes Apart, Holding Hands | (Apr 26, 2017 7:50 PM CDT) The children of a suburban Chicago couple married for 69 years say their parents died just 40 minutes apart while holding hands at a hospital, the AP reports. Teresa Vatkin died Saturday at 12:10am at Highland Park Hospital at age 89. Her husband, 91-year-old Isaac Vatkin, died around 12:50am. Relatives say the husband and wife were holding hands when Teresa Vatkin passed away. Their daughter, Clara Gesklin, says her father stopped breathing when family members separated the couple's fingers. The couple's son, Leo Vatkin, says his father never wanted to do anything apart from his wife. During a joint funeral held Monday for the couple, Gesklin said her parents' love for each other was so strong they simply could not live without each other. |
Thorn in the Side of 9 US Presidents: the Assads | (Apr 23, 2017 12:36 PM CDT) The Assad family has been in power in Syria since a successful coup in 1970, the last of dozens that occurred after the country, which is wedged between Israel, Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, and Iraq, had declared sovereignty from France in 1946. Since then, each of nine American presidents has tried in his own way to deal with the Assad family—namely its founder, Hafez al-Assad, and more recently his son, current Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. It's been largely an exercise in futility for all, reports the New Yorker in a piece detailing the tumultuous history between the two countries since the 1970 coup. As veteran reporter Robin Wright writes, the elder Assad not only no-showed all sorts of meetings and summits that hinged on his participation, but didn't hesitate to resort to violence and terror. Tensions have only further mounted as his son, who was brought up in palaces and pampered by privilege, has killed, injured, or displaced millions more Syrians than his father did, and in a far shorter time, Wright writes. Now President Trump, who like his predecessors first expressed a willingness to negotiate with Assad, seems to have discovered within his first 100 days that Assad, per the New Yorker, may be his nemesis, too. (Press Secretary Sean Spicer even suggested that Assad is worse than Hitler in remarks that went viral and for which he later apologized.) Read the entire piece here. |
Missing 5 Days, Woman Pulled From Hummer in Mojave | (Oct 31, 2016 6:03 AM CDT) A woman who'd been reported missing five days earlier was found alive Saturday, trapped inside a Hummer that had crashed in the Mojave Desert. San Bernadino County Fire reports on Facebook that search and rescue teams had to use off-road vehicles to reach the SUV, which had rolled down a slope in a desert area. They stabilized the Hummer to prevent it from rolling further and were able to free the woman, who was flown to a medical center with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. The woman is being identified as 69-year-old Barbara McPheron, reports KTLA. The circumstances under which she disappeared remain unclear. ABC 7 reports that the Ridgecrest Police Department in Kern County, roughly 80 miles north, say that McPheron was reported missing on Oct. 23, when she used the OnStar feature on her red 2007 Hummer to reach 911. A search at the time failed to turn up McPheron. (A rescuer ended up suing a woman he helped pull from a burning Hummer.) |
Missing 8 Days, Teen Found in Closet at Friend's Home | (Nov 6, 2020 2:39 AM) A 14-year-old girl went to spend a few nights at a friend's house in California's Calaveras County and was nowhere to be found when her grandmother came to pick her up Oct. 22. On Oct. 30, police found her hiding in a closet at the friend's home. Authorities searching there found a trapdoor that led to a dirt-floor area under the Sacramento-area house where police say she had apparently been sleeping, the Los Angeles Times reports. Isaiah Haggard, 20, and his mother, Annie Pearl Abernathy, 41, were arrested and charged with felony child endangerment, contributing to the delinquency of a minor and providing false information to a peace officer. Jose Tinocopureco, 34, was arrested on suspicion of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and providing false information to a peace officer, but has since been released. The adults at the home told the girl's grandmother she had already left the home, and the girl's family immediately alerted police. Sheriff's deputies interviewed Abernathy, Haggard, and Tinocopureco (a tenant at the home) and were told they'd last seen the girl walking down the driveway. The homeowners later asked law enforcement to protect them from harassment from the girl's family, members of which occasionally drove by. They were painting themselves as the victims when they were, in fact, victimizing, a sergeant says. Detectives searched the home right away, then returned due to new information eight days later. They found the girl next to a crossbow, deep within the corners of two adjoining closets as she was intentionally hiding amongst densely hanging clothes. She was unharmed. It's not clear why she was in the closet or whether she was being concealed, but the suspects lied to authorities about the circumstances surrounding her disappearance, authorities tell CBS Sacramento. |
For the 3rd Time, Afghan Officials Flee US Training Site | (Aug 22, 2017 1:20 AM CDT) Three prison officials from Afghanistan apparently fled a Colorado residential training center over the weekend. Authorities say this is the third time in three years that Afghan officials who arrived at the International Correctional Management Training Center in Canon City for tactical training ended up walking away, the Denver Post reports. The State Department and law enforcement agencies have been notified, though authorities say extensive background checks were carried out on the three men before they were issued temporary US visas and that there's no reason to believe they are a threat, reports the Daily Record. (In 2014, three Afghan soldiers who fled a US training exercise were nabbed at the Canadian border. |
'Killer' Kern River Claims 7th Drowning Victim This Year | (Jul 2, 2017 1:30 PM CDT) A deadly year for California's Kern River got even deadlier over the weekend when authorities pulled two more bodies from the water. The Los Angeles Times reports that eight people have died along the river nicknamed the Killer Kern since March, though one of those fatalities was a heart attack. At least two others remain missing. One of those pulled from the river Saturday has been identified as Michael Ramirez, a 27-year-old Orange County rapper who disappeared while swimming on June 22. Also Saturday, a 22-year-old Los Angeles man drowned after being warned about the dangers. Bureau of Land Management and Forest Service officials say they warned him and his cousins about jumping from rocks into the river that morning, Bakersfield.com reports. The warning apparently went unheeded, however, and he was dragged into the main current and underneath the surface. His body was found by a nearby campground. Authorities say the rise in drownings on the 165-mile river is likely due to visitors being unused to such high waters and fast currents, the Times reports. Last winter was one of the wettest on record and followed five years of drought. Snow melting on the Sierra Nevada has caused the Kern to swell with cold, fast-moving water. In 2011, the last big-water year in California, three people drowned in the Kern on the Fourth of July, and authorities are warning people to keep away this year. |
Aaron Hernandez Acquitted in 2012 Double Murder | (Apr 14, 2017 5:04 PM CDT) Former NFL star Aaron Hernandez was found not guilty Friday of murdering two men outside a Boston nightclub in 2012, Reuters reports. But that doesn't mean the ex-New England Patriot is going to be a free man any time soon. Hernandez is currently serving life without parole for murdering an acquaintance in 2013. The double murder charges stemmed from an altercation that reportedly started over a spilled drink and ended with Daniel de Abreu and Safiro Furtado dead. According to CNN, Hernandez was acquitted of all eight charges related to the double murder except for a single weapons possession charge. The judge added four to five years to the end of Hernandez's current life sentence for that charge. Hernandez's defense team cites a lack of evidence as the reason for the acquittal and claims Hernandez's friend, who testified against him, is the actual killer. One of the eight charges against Hernandez was for witness intimidation for allegedly shooting the friend in the face to keep him from testifying. An attorney for Hernandez says the 27-year-old is relieved about the verdict. The attorney tells the Boston Globe he hopes people will now see Hernandez for who he is—a very good young man. The district attorney says there's some consolation that Hernandez will remain behind bars regardless. He was found guilty two years ago in the 2013 murder of Odin Lloyd, the boyfriend of his fiance's sister. |
The Coffee Cost Her $2.50. It Cost Starbucks $100K | (May 19, 2017 8:22 AM CDT) The Venti Pike Place coffee cost her about $2.50. It ended up costing Starbucks about 40,000 times that. In the latest hot-coffee lawsuit, a Florida woman was awarded $100,492 Thursday after a 2014 incident at a Starbucks drive-thru in Jacksonville left her physically scarred, reports the New York Post. According to defense lawyers, Joanne Mogavero, a 43-year-old mother of three, had received a cup of coffee from a barista and was attempting to hand it to a passenger when the lid popped off and the 190-degree drink spilled in her lap, leaving her with permanent scarring from first and second-degree burns. Mogavero accused Starbucks of failing to adequately fasten the lid, while her lawyers argued Starbucks should warn customers that lids may pop off, reports the Wall Street Journal. After a Starbucks rep testified that the company receives 80 complaints about lids per month, a Duval County jury found Starbucks 80% at fault for the spill and awarded Mogavero $15,492 for medical bills, plus $85,000 for pain and suffering. My client didn't want sympathy from the jury—she wanted justice—and the jury gave it to her, her lawyer says. Starbucks' stance: As we said in trial, we stand behind our store partners (employees) in this case and maintain that they did nothing wrong. The coffee giant is considering an appeal. (This woman was paid $522,000 after tripping and spilling her coffee.) |
Death Toll in London Tower Fire Rises to 58 | (Jun 17, 2017 4:24 PM CDT) London police on Saturday raised to 58 the number of deaths either confirmed or presumed following the horrific inferno that turned the city's Grenfell Tower public housing block into a charred hulk, the AP reports. Public anger is mounting as residents and neighbors demand answers for how the blaze early Wednesday spread so quickly and trapped so many of the tower's 600-odd residents. British media have reported that contractors installed a cheaper, less flame-resistant type of exterior paneling on the 24-story tower in a renovation that was completed just last year. Police Commander Stuart Cundy said the number of 58 is based on reports from the public and may rise. It includes 30 deaths that already have been confirmed, and reports of people who are missing and presumed to have been killed. He says it will take weeks or longer to recover and identify all the dead at the building. Police have been struggling to come up with an authoritative list of who was in the building when the fire started, making it difficult to determine how many had died. Cundy said there may have been other people in the tower who police are not aware of, and that could increase the death toll. He asked anyone who was in the tower and survived to contact police immediately. |
Bodies Found After Plane Vanishes With 120 Aboard | (Jun 8, 2017 12:36 AM CDT) A navy ship found bodies and aircraft parts in the seas off Myanmar while searching Thursday morning for a military transport plane carrying 120 people, a spokesman says. The Chinese-made Y-8 turboprop aircraft disappeared Wednesday afternoon about a half-hour after leaving Myeik, also known as Mergui, for Yangon on a route that would have taken it over the Andaman Sea, the AP reports. It was raining, but not heavily, at the time. Nine naval ships, five army aircraft, and three helicopters were searching for the plane Thursday morning, a military spokesman says. Gen. Myat Min Oo says the ship found two life jackets, three bodies, and a tire that was part of an aircraft wheel. The bodies were of a man, a woman, and a child. The plane carried 106 passengers—mostly families of military personnel—and 14 crew members. Fifteen of the passengers were children. It is not unusual for such flights to carry civilians to offset transportation costs for military families stationed in the country's remote south. The military says Myanmar received the Y-8 plane in March of last year, and since then it had logged 809 flying hours. The BBC reports there was no mayday call from the aircraft and while the cause of what is believed to be one of the deadliest plane crashes in Myanmar's history is still unclear, the dispersed debris suggests the plane broke up in mid-air. |
Carrie Fisher Dead at 60 | (Dec 27, 2016 10:57 AM) Carrie Fisher died Tuesday at the age of 60 following a heart attack suffered Friday during a flight from London to Los Angeles, People reports. Her death was confirmed by a family spokesperson via a statement from Fisher's daughter. It is with a very deep sadness that Billie Lourd confirms that her beloved mother Carrie Fisher passed away at 8:55 this morning, the statement reads. She was loved by the world and she will be missed profoundly. Our entire family thanks you for your thoughts and prayers. Fisher is survived by Lourd, who is her only child; mother Debbie Reynolds; brother; and half-sisters. Fisher starred in her first movie, Shampoo, in 1975. She would become internationally famous with Star Wars just two years later. She went on to have roles in The Blues Brothers, When Harry Met Sally, and many more. She was perhaps even more accomplished as a writer of both books and films, according to the Hollywood Reporter. She wrote about her own struggles with drug addiction and mental illness in Postcards From the Edge and published memoirs Wishful Drinking and The Princess Diarist, not to mention her work on numerous Hollywood scripts. I didn't want to be in show business, and I think I did a very good job [of that], Fisher once joked. (Last month, she detailed her affair with Harrison Ford in her latest book.) |
They Were Stuck in a Burning Car. Then Came 2 Young Cops | (Dec 28, 2017 7:01 PM) Two young Milwaukee police officers are being hailed as heroes for rescuing two unconscious teenagers from a burning car. Officers Nicholas Schlei and Nicholas Reid, both 23, were on patrol Tuesday night when a Pontiac Grand Am crashed into a utility pole and overturned. Flames erupted from the car's engine compartment. One teen escaped by kicking out a window, but the driver and another boy were unconscious, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported. The two officers managed to pull the 16-year-olds out in less than a minute. A body camera captured the rescues on video. |
8 Hurt After Shooting Outside San Antonio Bar | (Jun 13, 2020 6:30 AM CDT) A man apparently upset that a Texas bar wouldn't let him in opened fire Friday night, wounding eight people, cops say. KSAT reports there were no fatalities from the incident at San Antonio's Rebar, where around 11:30pm, the suspect and the group he was with were turned away from the bar because he seemed drunk, according to the city's police chief, William McManus. He adds the suspect then said to staff, Don't you know who I am? I'm a UFC fighter from California, before walking back to his car, grabbing a rifle, and opening fire in the parking lot, CNN reports. The gunman is still at large after fleeing from the scene in a vehicle, though McManus says residents in the area aren't thought to be at risk. The victims, five women and three men, are said to be between the ages of 23 and 41 and haven't yet been publicly identified, per ABC News. McManus notes that six of the victims found their own way to the hospital, while two victims who were grazed said they didn't need to be treated. McManus adds all of the hospitalized victims are in stable condition: The most serious was someone was hit in the back, he says. Investigators are trying to piece together what happened by examining surveillance footage. |
Father of Missing 3-Year-Old Charged After Changing Story | (Oct 24, 2017 12:54 AM CDT) The Texas man who claimed his adopted 3-year-old daughter disappeared after he put her outside at 3am as punishment was arrested Monday, a day after a child's body was found. Police say Wesley Mathews was charged with felony injury to a child after visiting a police station with his attorney and giving them a different version of events, the Dallas Morning News reports. He provided an alternate series of events from what he had previously given us, said police spokesman Kevin Perlich, who did not elaborate. Police say the body found in a culvert less than a mile from the Mathews home in the Dallas suburb of Richardson is most likely that of Sherin Mathews, though they are waiting for confirmation. Mathews, who was out on bail on a charge of child endangerment, is being held on $1 million bond on the new charge, which carries a maximum sentence of life imprisonment, the AP reports. Police say more charges—and more arrests—are possible. Mathews has told police that Sherin, who was adopted from India last year, was on a special diet and was being punished for not drinking her milk. He did not report her missing for five hours and police are seeking surveillance footage of a vehicle they believe left the home between 4am and 5am on Oct. 7, the night the girl disappeared. Earlier Monday, Mathews and his wife went to a court hearing seeking to regain custody of their biological 4-year-old daughter, who was taken into protective custody after Sherin disappeared. |
No Charges for 10 Players in Gophers Sexual Assault Case | (Dec 30, 2016 4:58 PM) Ten suspended Minnesota football players will not face charges in connection with an alleged sexual assault near campus, prosecutors announced Friday after taking a second look at the case. It's the second time the Hennepin County attorney's office has weighed in on the September incident that triggered suspensions, possible expulsions, talk of a bowl game boycott, and questions of whether coach Tracy Claeys should continue with the Gopher football program, the AP reports. County Attorney Mike Freeman declined to press charges in October, citing a lack of evidence. After reviewing the troubling details of the school's own investigation, Freeman said it didn't add enough information to warrant criminal charges. That report shined a light on what can only be described as deplorable behavior, Freeman said in a statement. He said he would have no further comment because the university's appeal process was continuing. The school suspended the 10 players after completing its own investigation, the results of which it kept private, citing federal privacy laws. But a local TV station published a redacted copy of the 82-page report which quoted the woman as saying she believed 10 to 20 men had sex with her, though she was not certain. She told university investigators she was too traumatized to clearly remember events. Five players told police they had consensual sex with the woman at an off-campus dorm. Four of them were suspended for three games early in the season, but later reinstated in October. After the school's investigation, which has a lower standard of proof than criminal charges, the school announced on Dec. 13 that those five players were suspended and another five were out for the bowl game as well. All 10 players are awaiting a university hearing to appeal their suspensions. Several players face permanent expulsion from the university, while others could be suspended for a year. |
2nd Woman Accuses George HW Bush of Groping Her | (Oct 26, 2017 1:26 AM CDT) George HW Bush issued his second apology in two days Wednesday after another actress accused him of groping her during a photo-op. Jordana Grolnick told Deadspin that the former president touched her inappropriately in 2016, when he came backstage during the intermission of a Maine production of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. He reached his right hand around to my behind, and as we smiled for the photo he asked the group, 'Do you want to know who my favorite magician is?' As I felt his hand dig into my flesh, he said, 'David Cop-a-Feel,' Grolnick said. She said other people present laughed politely and out of discomfort and Barbara Bush quipped that he would get himself put into jail. On Tuesday, Bush apologized after actress Heather Lind accused him of very similar behavior during a 2014 screening of Turn: Washington's Spies. A spokesman delivered another apology after Grolnick's accusation. At age 93, President Bush has been confined to a wheelchair for roughly five years, so his arm falls on the lower waist of people with whom he takes pictures, the spokesman said, per People. To try to put people at ease, the president routinely tells the same joke—and on occasion, he has patted women’s rears in what he intended to be a good-natured manner. Some have seen it as innocent; others clearly view it as inappropriate. He said Bush apologizes most sincerely to anyone has he offended. |
Death Toll Hits 8 in Florida Nursing Home Tragedy | (Sep 14, 2017 7:33 AM CDT) The death toll has risen, and may continue to rise, at a Florida nursing home that lost air conditioning as a result of Hurricane Irma. Two more patients died in hospitals following the evacuation of the Rehabilitation Center at Hollywood Hills on Wednesday, bringing the total number of dead to eight. Three patients died at the facility earlier Wednesday, while three others died in hospitals. The deceased ranged in age from 71 to 99 and their causes of death are not yet clear. But the medical director at a hospital across the street from the facility, where evacuees were taken, says most were treated for respiratory distress, dehydration, and heat-related issues, per Local 10. He adds at least 12 other patients are in emergency care. The Rehabilitation Center has been barred from admitting patients as agencies investigate. Hollywood police are also conducting a criminal investigation. The facility has previously faced issues regarding care and safety and a pending lawsuit claims employees failed to properly monitor and supervise the care and treatment of a patient who suffered infections, sepsis, and dehydration, report the Washington Post and Miami Herald. A man who'd been trying to fix the facility's AC unit, however, says Florida Power & Light could be at fault. Despite repeated calls to the company to repair a fuse, no one showed up, he tells Local 10. Florida Power & Light counters that the Rehabilitation Center wasn't on Broward County's list of critical infrastructure. |
At Least 35 Dead in Mexico Quake | (Sep 8, 2017 2:29 PM CDT) The death toll from Mexico's huge earthquake has risen to 35, the AP reports. The magnitude 8.1 earthquake appears to have hit hardest in the city of Juchitan, a township of almost 100,000 people that's a center of the Zapotec culture. The Oaxaca state government says 17 people in Juchitan died in the earthquake that struck late Thursday. State spokesperson Alfonso Martinez said he saw a very high percentage of homes damaged or destroyed. It's not just the roofs that have collapsed. In many cases the walls have cracked or collapsed completely, he said. Martinez said it's unlikely more dead will be found in the town, but said soldiers were still digging through the rubble. Meanwhile Chiapas state civil defense director Luis Manuel Moreno says 10 people are known dead and about 120 people have been injured across his state, the closest to the earthquake. Many buildings in the area are constructed of thick, unreinforced masonry walls, with timber roof beams supporting clay tile roofs. That appears to have contributed to the injuries. A preliminary analysis indicates the quake was triggered by the sudden breaking or bending of the Cocos plate, which dives beneath Mexico. This type of process doesn't happen often in subduction zones. It's unusual, but it's not unheard of, says seismologist Susan Hough of the US Geological Survey. |
Info on 198M Americans Was Exposed for 2 Weeks | (Jun 19, 2017 12:57 PM CDT) More than 198 million Americans—that's about 61% of the US population, as Gizmodo points out—had personal information and political data exposed this month. It includes home addresses, birthdates, phone numbers, plus data used to predict which way they might vote on specific issues and what religion and ethnicity they might be. UpGuard cyber risk analyst Chris Vickery discovered last week that Deep Root, a marketing firm contracted by the Republican National Committee, stored the data on an Amazon cloud server with no password, meaning anyone who found the URL could access it. (It has since been secured, per the Hill.) In a post about the discovery Monday, UpGuard calls it the largest known data exposure of its kind, pointing out that the data covers almost all of the 200 million registered voters in the US. The data included in the leak was gathered from many sources, from Karl Rove's super PAC to a banned subreddit. Much of the data originated from data firms other than Deep Root, some of whom were also paid by the RNC, but Deep Root's founder tells Gizmodo the firm takes full responsibility for this situation. The data first became exposed June 1 after Deep Root updated its security settings, the founder says, and the company has hired a cybersecurity and digital forensics firm to investigate the fallout. So far, it seems Deep Root's systems were not hacked and no malicious third parties accessed the data while it was exposed. Though some of the data involved is publicly accessible, experts say that having all of the data involved combined and available in one database is a big concern. This is valuable for people who have nefarious purposes, says one. |
New York Is Creating a 50-Mile Drone Corridor | (Oct 23, 2017 12:03 AM CDT) Envisioning a day when millions of drones will buzz around delivering packages, watching crops, or inspecting pipelines, a coalition is creating an airspace corridor in upstate New York where traffic management systems will be developed and unmanned aircraft can undergo safety and performance testing. The unmanned aircraft traffic management corridor, jump-started by a $30 million state investment, will extend 50 miles west to Syracuse over mostly rural farmland from Griffiss International Airport, a former Air Force base in Rome that is already home to NASA-affiliated drone testing, the AP reports. The corridor will be equipped with radar and ground-based sensors to enable what Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo boasted would be the most advanced drone testing in the country. |
Diver Survives 60 Hours Due to Air Pocket, Smart Decision | (Apr 21, 2017 8:25 AM CDT) A wise decision by two expert divers saved both of their lives, though one of them had to hold tight for 60 hours, 130 feet below the surface, experiencing hopelessness and hallucinations. The BBC reports on the extraordinary ordeal of Xisco Gracia, who was diving with a partner Saturday off of Spain's island of Mallorca when an equipment malfunction left the two with just enough air for one person to make it back up top. Instead of sharing what oxygen was left—what a member of the local underwater police tells the National Post would've been suicide —Gracia, in his 50s, and Guillem Mascaro decided Mascaro would take what was left in Gracia's tank and venture for help. Gracia remained behind in a cave's air pocket they found (the Post describes it as a sizable one, measuring about 40,000 square feet) with only brackish water to drink. The air heavy with carbon dioxide, Gracia started imagining lights or bubbles ; his oxygen-deprived brain made him think at one point five days had passed (it hadn't even been two) and Mascaro hadn't made it. Rescuers did actually get near Gracia fairly quickly on Sunday, but visibility was so bad (the water dark like cocoa ) they had to briefly pull back so they wouldn't get lost underwater. They even tried to drill a hole through the rocks so they could get food and water to him, but that effort was unsuccessful. Eventually, however, they found Gracia about half a mile from the cave's entrance, and the Weather Network shows a video of him emerging onto land Monday night around midnight on his own two feet, assisted by rescuers. He says he still plans on diving again. (An air pocket saved a toddler trapped under a boat.) |