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30K Walmart Part-Timers to Lose Health Insurance | (Oct 7, 2014 12:40 PM CDT) As of Jan. 1, Walmart will no longer offer 30,000 of its employees health insurance. Bloomberg notes that's about 2% of its workforce. The move comes as a reaction to the company's rising health care costs as far more of its employees and their families enrolled in its health care plans than it had expected following the ObamaCare rollout. The AP reports those costs will surge $500 million this fiscal year, $170 million more than had been estimated. Those affected are employees who average fewer than 30 hours of work per week; the Wall Street Journal explains they were grandfathered in when Walmart in 2012 stopped offering insurance to new hires who didn't exceed the 30-hour threshold. A benefits expert says Walmart is actually late to the game in terms of cutting insurance to some part-time workers; Target, the Home Depot, and others have already done so. Meanwhile, Walmart's full time workers will see their premiums rise in 2015. Premiums for the basic plan, which 40% of its workforce is on, will increase 19% to $21.90 per pay period come Jan. 1. |
Dax Shepard: Wedding to Kristen Bell Cost $142 | (Oct 29, 2013 8:15 AM CDT) Dax Shepard and Kristen Bell got married at the Beverly Hills courthouse, in a ceremony about as different from Kim Kardashian's last wedding extravaganza as it is possible to be. As Shepard revealed last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live, the whole thing—including the fuel it took to get to the courthouse—cost $142. It was just Kristen and I at this lonely courthouse, he said, so friends showed up afterward with a cake reading, in icing, The World's Worst Wedding. How many people can say they threw the world's worst wedding? Shepard asked. |
Nancy Reagan Dead at 94 | (Mar 6, 2016 10:50 AM) Nancy Reagan, the helpmate, backstage adviser, and fierce protector of Ronald Reagan in his journey from actor to president—and finally during his 10-year battle with Alzheimer's disease—died Sunday at the age of 94, reports the AP, via CBS News. The cause was congestive heart failure, notes ABC News. In addition to her famous campaign against drugs, the one-time actress promoted several causes while she was in the White House and even in the years after. She was a passionate advocate for lifting restrictions on stem cell research and promoting better treatment of America's veterans. But above all, Nancy Reagan was a fiercely devoted wife. My life began with Ronnie, she told Vanity Fair magazine in 1998. The first lady's public life had its share of controversy but also earned the respect of the nation, making Nancy Reagan one of America's most admired women in the 1980s and beyond. Anne Frances Nancy Robbins was born on July 6, 1921 in New York City to Kenneth Robbins, a car salesman, and Edith Luckett Robbins, an actress. She met Ronald Reagan in 1950, when he was president of the Screen Actors Guild and she was seeking help with a problem: Her name had been wrongly included on a published list of suspected communist sympathizers. They discussed it over dinner, and she later wrote that she realized on that first blind date he was everything that I wanted. They wed two years later, on March 4, 1952. She was thrust into the political life when her husband ran for California governor in 1966 and won. She found it a surprisingly rough business. The movies were custard compared to politics, she said. The couple had two children together, Patricia Ann and Ronald Prescott. Reagan will be buried next to her late husband at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. The New York Times has a full obituary here. |
American Airlines Faces $7M Fine for Safety Violations | (Aug 15, 2008 5:11 AM CDT) American Airlines faces FAA fines of more than $7 million for a series of safety and maintenance violations and for deficiencies in its drug and alcohol testing, the Wall Street Journal reports. In proposing one of its biggest fines ever, the FAA accuses American of knowingly flying planes that needed safety repairs, including one MD-80 that flew several times in 2007 with a faulty autopilot. American claims the violations were largely technical and plans to contest the excessive penalty. We do not agree with the FAA's findings and characterizations of American's action in these cases, said a spokesman. It's the latest of example of the FAA's growing aggressiveness on maintenance supervision, the Journal notes. |
$222K Raised for Kids of Mom Dismembered on Date | (Apr 18, 2016 1:02 PM CDT) Ingrid Lyne, the Seattle mom allegedly murdered while on a date, left behind three daughters—and a GoFundMe campaign set up to help the girls has raised more than $222,000 so far, Us reports. A friend of the family set up the campaign, and says that all the money raised will go into a trust for the girls, who are ages 12, 10, and 7. Lyne's date was charged with her murder last week. |
I Don't Want to Live Past 75 | (Sep 19, 2014 12:58 PM CDT) Ezekiel Emanuel is a healthy 57-year-old in all respects, as his recent hike up Mount Kilimanjaro would suggest. Which is why it might be disconcerting to read his essay in the Atlantic laying out the reasons why he hopes to be dead in 18 years. To Emanuel, 75 is the right age at which to die. I will have lived a complete life, he writes. He will have seen his grandkids begin their own lives and will have made whatever contributions, important or not, I am going to make. And, with luck, the inevitable mental and physical declines of old age will not have set in yet. Emanuel rejects what he calls the American immortal —the concept that drives people to obsessively exercise, pop vitamins, do mental puzzles, etc., in the hope of cheating death. Yes, death is a loss, he writes. But here is a simple truth that many of us seem to resist: living too long is also a loss. It renders many of us, if not disabled, then faltering and declining, a state that may not be worse than death but is nonetheless deprived. Emanuel isn't talking about committing suicide on his 75th birthday, but he says his whole approach to health will change. I won’t actively end my life. But I won’t try to prolong it, either. No more cancer tests, for example, or even flu shots. Click to read the full, provocative essay, which ends with Emanuel retaining the right to change his mind and write another essay in 18 years arguing for a longer life. That, after all, would mean still being creative after 75. |
SNL's Kattan Calls It Quits After 2-Month Marriage | (Aug 24, 2008 7:18 AM CDT) No joke: Former Saturday Night Live star Chris Kattan has filed for a legal separation from the woman he married less than two months ago. The papers cite irreconcilable differences with model Sunshine Tutt, 31. Kattan, 37, met Tutt at a party three years ago and they married in Yosemite Valley. The couple has a prenuptial agreement, reports People. |
Stripper Denies a Guy Sex, He Calls 911 | (Aug 21, 2014 9:56 AM CDT) There are some incidents that don't warrant a 911 call. One of those is when a stripper won't turn a lap dance into sex. William McDaniel, 53, learned this Saturday night, when he paid $350 for a private dance at Sagebrush Sam’s Exotic Dance Club in Butte, Montana, reports the Smoking Gun. When the stripper said no to sex, McDaniel called 911 to say he was a disappointed consumer. Unfortunately for him, it's illegal to solicit prostitution. McDaniel was arrested, went to jail, and is now facing a misdemeanor charge, KTVQ reports. He was released Sunday. Sagebrush Sam's isn't exactly known for making customers happy. The Smoking Gun provides these priceless Yelp reviews of the establishment: It is dirty and smells like vomit, says one reviewer, and the stripper pole looked like it was going to break loose from the floor. Cleanliness and attitude need to be addressed. I will not go back, says another. |
Swallow This: Executive Pay Jumped 23% in 2010 | (Jul 3, 2011 1:36 PM CDT) We know CEOs have it good ... but this good? The New York Times had executive pay data firm Equilar analyze bigwigs' 2010 compensation, and what Equilar found wasn't just a gain. It was a big, big gain: a 23% boost over 2009, with the median pay for chief executives at 200 large companies clocking in at $10.8 million. That's not back to where it was pre-recession, but, as the Times notes, it definitely seems headed in that direction. As for what's behind the jump, Equilar found that cash bonuses were resurrected by many firms, and were up 38% over the year prior. Some of the increase could be makeup pay, too, with corporate boards deciding to be more generous to execs who weathered the leaner years. Still, that 23% raise dwarfs the median gain in both shareholders' total return (16%) and revenue (7%). Atop the money-making heap sits Philippe Dauman, Viacom, $84.5 million; Leslie Moonves, CBS, $56.9 million; Brian Roberts, Comcast, $28 million; Gregg Steinhafel, Target, $23.5 million. Compare their pay to that of the average American worker, who made $752 a week at the end of last year, a gain of just 0.5% from a year earlier. |
2012 Warmest Year Ever for Continental US | (Jan 8, 2013 2:16 PM) The past year was the hottest on record for the 48 contiguous states in the US, the NOAA announced today, featuring the warmest spring ever, the second warmest summer, the fourth warmest winter, and an above-average autumn. Overall, the average temperature was 55.3 degrees F, or 3.2 degrees F above the 20th-century average. If that wasn't enough, it also the second-most extreme year on record, based on the US Climate Extremes Index, which takes into account factors like tropical storms, precipitation, and extreme temperatures. The index came in at almost twice its average level, which makes sense given that 2012 saw 11 disasters that caused more than $1 billion in damage. Precipitation was significantly below average, as you might expect given the massive drought that hit much of the country this summer. The warmth also helped cause the drought; the lack of snow kept the soil dry, and the warm spring pushed up the growing season, draining what water there was from the soil faster. |
3 Dead in Alaska Floatplane Crash | (Sep 15, 2015 4:39 PM CDT) Three people died and others were injured today after a floatplane belonging to a fishing lodge crashed with 10 people on board in southwest Alaska, authorities said. Alaska State Troopers said the three dead were from outside the state. The injured passengers were being flown to Anchorage hospitals following the crash near the small community of Iliamna, 175 miles southwest of Anchorage. It's unclear how many people were hurt. Local residents said the plane belongs to the Rainbow King Lodge. Rescue personnel initially took injured passengers to the clinic in Iliamna. The plane crashed on takeoff at Eastwind Lake, 1 mile north of the community, according to Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Allen Kenitzer. It was a De Havilland DHC-3 Turbine Otter on floats, he said. The cause of the crash is not yet known. National Transportation Safety Board Alaska Chief Clint Johnson said the plane came to rest in some trees. Two NTSB investigators were heading to Iliamna later in the day, he said. |
Movie Popcorn = 3 Quarter Pounders, Plus Butter | (Nov 19, 2009 4:10 PM) Figure 1,600 calories, 60 grams of saturated fat, and 980 milligrams of sodium—that’s what you’re eating when you scarf down a medium helping of movie popcorn at the nation's biggest theater chain. Add a soda and it’s the equivalent of eating a pound of baby back ribs and a scoop of ice cream, or three Quarter Pounders with a stick and a half of butter, an analysis by a nutrition watchdog group says. In many cases, calorie counts are significantly higher than those posted in theaters. Regal, the No. 1 chain, and AMC cook their popcorn in coconut oil, which is 90% saturated fat, while Cinemark gets better grades—relatively speaking—for using canola oil, reports the LA Times. |
Teen, 17, Wins GOP Race for Not 'Rocket-Science' Job | (May 15, 2014 10:40 AM CDT) Saira Blair can't legally vote yet, but she managed to rack up a sizable number of votes all the same. The West Virginia 17-year-old emerged victorious in the Republican primary over (two-term) incumbent state delegate Larry Kump, 872-728, on Tuesday. Among the very teenage elements to her campaign, per the Washington Post and the Herald-Mail: She freely gave out her cellphone number to voters and described the job as not rocket science by any means. Blair, who is pro-gun rights, against abortion, and the daughter of a West Virginia state senator, also outspent the 67-year-old $4,800 to $1,800. She'll be up against Layne Diehl in November in her quest to win a seat in the West Virginia House of Delegates. If she does so, she'll be the youngest state lawmaker in West Virginia history, reports the AP—and will have to skip the spring semester at West Virginia University, where she's headed in the fall to pursue economics and Spanish degrees. Lawmakers convene for business in Charleston from January to March, and the two-year House gig pays a $20,000 annual salary. |
Howard Sparks Rout; Phillies Lead Series, 3-1 | (Oct 26, 2008 11:12 PM CDT) Ryan Howard homered twice and drove in five runs, and the Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 10-2, in Game 4 of the World Series tonight in Philadelphia. The Fightin' Phils are one victory away from capturing the second World Series title in franchise history. They wouldn't be here without their big slugger. We just have to stay focused and hopefully come out with that 'W,' Howard said. With the Phillies leading 2-1 in the fourth and stranding runners at an alarming rate, Howard drove Andy Sonnanstine's 2-1 pitch into the left-field seats to put the Phillies ahead, 5-1. Howard knew it was gone when he made contact and paused to admire the shot before circling the bases. The towel-waving crowd roared, demanding a curtain call. If that wasn't enough, Howard went deep again in the eighth. |
Rock Legend Levon Helm of The Band Dead at 71 | (Apr 19, 2012 3:58 PM CDT) With songs like The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down, The Weight and Up on Cripple Creek, The Band fused rock, blues, folk, and gospel to create a sound that seemed as authentically American as a Mathew Brady photograph or a Mark Twain short story. In truth, the group had only one American—Levon Helm. Helm, the drummer and singer who brought an urgent beat and a genuine Arkansas twang to some of The Band's best-known songs and helped turn a bunch of musicians known mostly as Bob Dylan's backup group into one of rock's legendary acts, has died at 71. Helm, who was found to have throat cancer in 1998, died this afternoon at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. On Tuesday, a message on his website said he was in the final stages of cancer. The son of an Arkansas cotton farmer, Helm was just out of high school when he joined rocker Ronnie Hawkins for a tour of Canada in 1957 as the drummer for the Hawks. That band eventually recruited a group of Canadian musicians who, along with Helm, spent grueling years touring rough bars in Canada and the South. They would split from Hawkins, hook up with Dylan, and eventually call themselves The Band—because, as they explained many times, that's what everyone called them anyway. |
After 10 Brides, 11th to Wear 120-Year-Old Dress | (Sep 25, 2015 8:40 AM CDT) When Abigail Kingston became engaged to Jason Curtis, she did not have to wonder about what she'd wear on her wedding day. The dress she had in mind has been passed down through five generations in her family, starting with her great-great grandmother Mary Lowry Warren, who wore it when she wed on Dec. 11, 1895, in Buffalo, New York. In the 120 years since, it has been worn by nine other brides in her family, making so many trips that Abigail and her mother Leslie, who wore the dress as bride number 6 in 1977, were afraid that it was simply beyond repair, reports the Lehigh Valley Express-Times. When the keeper of the dress (the mother of the last bride to wear it—that last wedding being in 1991) sent it to Kingston, it arrived filled with holes, with disintegrating sleeves and browned satin. Not only had the dress been dry cleaned just once, lace patched the wear from 10 brides of different sizes trying to make it fit. Abigail, who is tall and thin, turned to a bridal designer, who spent 200 hours restoring it to its spectacular original design, reports Jezebel, transforming the brown into a blush shade and painstakingly recreating the disappearing sleeves and their 80 hand-sewn pleats. Still, it is very, very fragile, says Abigail, so she'll slip it on after the ceremony to wear throughout the cocktail hour during her Oct. 17 wedding in Perkasie, Pennsylvania. Abigail will also wear her great grandmother's ring and a locket given to her grandmother by her grandfather. It's not just the dress that's been handed down, Leslie says. It's the love. A 12th bride is already asking about it. (This bride wore her baby.) |
Zach Braff Gets His $2M on Kickstarter | (Apr 28, 2013 9:15 AM CDT) First Veronica Mars, now Zach Braff's Wish I Was Here: Another indie movie has been successfully funded by Kickstarter. Braff raised his goal of $2 million in just three days, according to the Hollywood Reporter, and funding will continue for 26 days. (As of this writing, Braff has raised more than $2.1 million.) Predictably, not everyone is happy with the trendy new method of rich and famous people using Kickstarter to fund their projects. Sample headline from the Atlantic Wire: Zach Braff Will Get His Dirty Kickstarter Money. Writes Connor Simpson, So there you have it. 28,000 people are paying Zach Braff to make the most Braff-ian movie he possibly can ... so they can pay him again when they buy tickets at the theater to see this terrible movie. |
18 Students Confirmed Dead in China Landslide | (Oct 5, 2012 3:34 AM CDT) There were no survivors from a landslide that buried 18 children inside an elementary school in southwest China yesterday, authorities have confirmed. Rescuers recovered the last child's body from the school in Yunnan province early this morning, reports the AP. One adult is still missing. Yesterday was a holiday in China but the children were at the school temporarily to make up for days missed during an earthquake that damaged their previous school last month. |
Online Wiz, 29, Sells Firm for $170M | (Dec 3, 2009 2:00 AM) Aaron Patzer recently joined the ranks of America's under-30 tech multi-millionaires when rival firm Intuit snapped up his Mint.com online personal finance tool for $170 million. It was a jaw-dropping moment when Intuit—which is transferring its 43 million Quicken users to Mint—made the offer, Patzer tells the New York Times. Patzer, who has now joined Intuit as a vice-president, says he's sure another young person is already working on a tool to replace Mint. In a technology company, if you let up just a couple of years in your innovation, that’s all the gap a competitor needs. That’s what happened with Intuit. They ignored and neglected Quicken from about 2002 to 2008, and that was enough of a gap to give rise to Mint. If I back off even for a second, someone is going to come along with something better. |
Kate Moss Marks 40 With Nude Playboy Cover | (Jun 17, 2013 10:24 AM CDT) Kate Moss is celebrating her 40th birthday (yes, she's turning 40; go ahead and bemoan your lost youth now) the only way one could really expect: by appearing nude on the cover of Playboy. She's already completed the photo shoot, which will run in the January issue, the New York Post reports. In addition to her birthday, the issue will celebrate Playboy's 60th anniversary. It's not her first time posing naked; she's appeared in the buff in fashion shoots and a few ads. Perhaps the weirdest part of the story: Moss has reportedly commissioned a piece from artist Chuck Close based on the Playboy spread. |
Chelsea's Wedding Tab: $3M to $5M | (Jul 27, 2010 9:52 AM CDT) Previous reports estimated that Chelsea Clinton’s wedding would cost a cool $2 million, but the real number is probably more like $3 million to $5 million. Wedding experts run down the costs for the New York Daily News, from $600,000 air-conditioned tents to the $150-a-pop invitations and $100 place settings for each of the 500 guests. At the more conservative $3 million estimate, the total cost comes to $6,000 per guest. But it’s not all designer dresses, fancy food, and $15,000 port-a-potties (yes, $15,000 for outhouses that are much nicer than your bathroom at home—TMZ has pictures). Because of the high-profile nature of the event, security will probably run at least $200,000 (even though the White House confirms President Obama won't attend)—or more if they opt to shut down air space or pay police to monitor traffic. Overcome with Clinton wedding fever? Click here for 10 things that would make Chelsea's big day even more awesome. |
At Least 22 Dead in Head-On Train Crash | (Jul 12, 2016 7:03 AM CDT) Authorities in southern Italy say at least 22 people are dead and more than 40 others injured after two trains collided in Puglia on Tuesday. Italian news reports say that two trains—each with four cars—collided head-on near the town of Andria on a line with just a single track, reports the AP. Rescue workers were pulling victims from the rubble, including a small child who was airlifted to a hospital, reports the BBC. Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi says the train crash is a moment of tears and promises a full investigation. |
$45 Garage Sale Photos Are $200M Ansel Adams Works | (Jul 27, 2010 10:58 AM CDT) It’s every garage sale shopper’s dream: Find two boxes of old negatives for $70, bargain the price to $45, and discover 10 years later that they’re worth at least $200 million. That’s what happened to Rick Norsigian, who spent the past decade proving the negatives he found in Fresno, Calif., were pictures taken by Ansel Adams in the 1920s, before the photographer became well known. Photography, handwriting, and art experts, art appraisers, and even meteorologists helped authenticate the photos. The 65 glass negatives, originally thought destroyed in a 1937 darkroom fire, are a missing link of Ansel Adams and his career, one appraiser tells CNN. The person selling them 10 years ago bought them in the 1940s in Los Angeles, and one expert says Adams brought the negatives—some of which have fire damage—to a class he was teaching to show students how to not let their negatives be engulfed in a fire. |
1 Child Dead, 10 Injured When Car Hits Day Care | (Apr 9, 2014 4:34 PM CDT) A vehicle crashed into an Orlando-area day care today, killing one child and injuring about a dozen more, reports the Orlando Sentinel. At least one adult was reported to be injured as well. Several of the victims were in serious condition hours after this afternoon's accident in Winter Park. Police say a Dodge Durango crashed into another vehicle, which went out of control and smashed into the KinderCare building. The driver of the Durango fled the scene in his vehicle, though police later found it in Winter Park. Authorities have named 26-year-old Robert Corchado as a person of interest. |
Olé! Teen Matador Kills 6 Bulls | (Feb 6, 2010 2:05 PM) A 16-year-old Spanish matador killed six bulls in one afternoon today, pulling off a feat normally attempted only by seasoned veterans and winning trophies for his skill—ears from animals he had just slain. Jairo Miguel Sanchez Alonso, the son of a bullfighter who nearly died from a horrific goring in Mexico in 2007, smiled broadly and waved to a friendly hometown crowd after a pageant that took about two and a half hours. Jairo Miguel, who says he first locked horns at age 6 with a young cow, has spent some four years fighting in Latin America to escape Spain's age limit—16. Ever since I was very small I have had this in my genes, he said. I have practically grown up with bulls. His mother said she would prefer he do anything but this— football, computers, whatever. But he has chosen this and I have to support him. All I know is what his eyes say when he struts out into the ring. |
8 Chinese Tourists Walk Into Israeli Hummus Joint, Rack Up $4.4K Tab | (Sep 12, 2016 8:03 AM CDT) How did eight Chinese tourists rack up a tab worth about $4,400 at an Israeli hummus restaurant? That's what the Israeli Foreign Ministry is asking after the group was charged a hefty 16,500 shekels for dinner, the New York Daily News reports. By behaving this way we are destroying with our own hands the budding potential of the Chinese market for Israel, complained an Israeli tourism group to Globes. Some 47,000 Chinese visit Israel each year, and the Israel Incoming Tour Operators Association said it chose to go public with the bill in order to chide the restaurant and dissuade others from following in the restaurant's allegedly unfair footsteps. The bill at the popular Abu Ghosh Restaurant included: Restaurant owner Jawdat Ibrahim defended the bill and said the Chinese asked him to close the eatery on one of his busiest nights. They sat there from 3pm on Friday until midnight, and became rowdy and drunk, he said, noting that the group added a 10% tip. He says he got a thanks from the diners, only to find them trying to besmirch us ... two weeks later. The Association disputes that account, saying the Chinese arrived at 7pm, never asked Ibrahim to close the place, and arrived to find the alcohol pre-ordered and on the table. HummusGate has prompted an inquiry by the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the Israeli Embassy in China, which is trying to track down the tourists, the Washington Post notes. (This drunk diner accidentally tipped 1,800%.) |
April 10 Is Nirvana Day | (Dec 26, 2013 5:28 PM) Nirvana fans now have two choices of pilgrimage for April 10: They can trek to Cleveland to see surviving members Dave Grohl and Krist Novoselic as the band gets inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Or they can head to little Hoquiam, Washington, which has declared the 10th to be Nirvana Day to commemorate the occasion, reports Rolling Stone. Kurt Cobain was born and raised just a few miles away in Aberdeen. They bring great honor ... to our entire community, the mayor tells KXRO. And I think that it’s good Kurt Cobain lived in Hoquiam for a little while, but he and Krist Novoselic are part of our community, and I think it’s good to honor our sons and their great accomplishments. |
Apple to Pay First Dividend Since 1995 | (Mar 19, 2012 7:56 AM CDT) Apple shareholders ought to be even happier with the company than usual this morning, as the gadgets giant announced plans to spend $45 billion of its $97 billion in cash reserves on a buyback and a dividend program. Of that, $10 billion will go to a buyback authorization—though Business Insider cautions that Apple has merely given itself the option to buy back shares, not actually committed to doing so. The rest of the money will go to a $2.65-per-share quarterly dividend, which will start in its fiscal fourth quarter, which begins July 1. It's the first dividend Apple has offered since 1995, notes CNN. CEO Tim Cook promised that the plan wouldn't hurt Apple's investments in research and development, retail stores, and other companies. Even with these investments, we can maintain a war chest for strategic opportunities and have plenty of cash to run our business, he said in a statement. On a conference call, Cook added that the moves would bring in new investors who only buy dividend-yielding stocks, according to Bloomberg. |
7 Cuban Soccer Players Defect to US | (Mar 13, 2008 12:27 PM CDT) Seven Cuban soccer players defected from the national team over the last two days—five on Tuesday and two last night—slipping from their Tampa hotel after a game to seek asylum in the US, the Miami Herald reports. The first five have contacted a lawyer and are in discussions with a second-tier soccer team, Miami FC; they may start training as soon as today, Reuters reports. The loss of seven players could be the team’s downfall in Olympic trials. Anytime a Cuban team comes to the United States, there's a chance someone might defect, said a Miami soccer coach who scouted the players during a 1-1 tie with the US. Even the players' families didn't know they'd defect. My heart will be in Cuba with my family, but I want to have the freedom to better my life, to play professional soccer, to be the best I can be, said the former captain, Yenier Bermudez. |
19 Shot at NOLA Mother's Day Parade | (May 12, 2013 4:24 PM CDT) At least 19 people, including two 10-year-old children, were injured when gunmen opened fire on marchers in a Mother's Day parade in New Orleans yesterday, the Times-Picayune reports. No fatalities have been reported, but three victims are in critical condition. Police believe three suspects and at least two different weapons were involved. The suspects—one of whom is described as 18 to 22 years old with short hair, wearing a white shirt and blue jeans—were seen fleeing after the incident and are still at large. A police spokeswoman says many of the victims, including the two children, were grazed by bullets that ricocheted. At this point, there are no fatalities, and most of the wounds are not life-threatening, she says. This is an extremely unusual occurrence, and we're confident that we will make swift arrests. The FBI says it believes the shootings were street violence, not an act of terrorism, the AP reports. Investigators aren't sure if the gunmen were shooting at random or targeting particular people in the second line parade—a New Orleans tradition in which participants walk or dance behind the main band. |
Chicago's Bloody Weekend: 46 Shot, 7 Killed | (Jun 17, 2013 6:50 AM CDT) The news out of Chicago just five days ago was encouraging: after a murder-riddled 2012, this year's murder rate had plummeted to a level not seen in 50 years. Today, the news is of a darker nature. Between Friday afternoon and Sunday, a total of 46 people were shot in the city, seven fatally, per the Tribune. (Other sources put the tally slightly lower. The stat does represent a sort of improvement: The Tribune reports that around this time last year, those numbers were 53 and nine, respectively. And the Atlantic Wire notes that a deadlier weekend has already occurred in 2013: January closed with eight deaths. The youngest victim, 16-year-old Kevin Rivera, apparently tried to flee from a gunman on a bicycle late Saturday. The dead teen's family was just two weeks away from a move from their sometimes dangerous Hermosa neighborhood. |
$700M in Katrina, Rita Aid May Have Been Squandered | (Apr 4, 2013 7:12 AM CDT) Officials lack conclusive evidence that up to $700 million in federal aid following hurricanes Katrina and Rita was used appropriately, a federal investigation finds. Some of the 24,000 families who received up to $30,000 apiece to elevate their homes used the money for another purpose, while others failed to provide a full report of what they'd done with the cash, says the report, by HUD's inspector general. HUD officials say Louisiana was responsible for overseeing the appropriate use of the money, the AP reports. Since Katrina, the department has helped put stricter rules on aid distribution for events like Hurricane Sandy, a rep says. Indeed, as the federal government prepares to spend nearly $16 billion on recovery efforts related to Sandy, this is a mistake taxpayers, and citizens affected by the storm, can't afford to see repeated, says Sen. Tom Coburn. Louisiana is still pushing aid recipients to document their use of the money, and some 5,000 homeowners have complied following the report's assessment. |
There's a 29% Chance You Have Sleepwalked | (May 15, 2012 12:44 PM CDT) Nearly one in three adults in the US have sleepwalked, a new study finds. Researchers surveyed 16,000 Americans and found that 29% of respondents said they had sleepwalked at least once; almost 3% said they do it as often as once a month and another 1% said they do it at least twice a month. Prior to this, We did not know what was the prevalence of sleepwalking—as a disorder—in the general population, and that was a big problem, says the lead researcher. Prior research has been based on lab studies, but this one focused on home sleepwalking activity. Among its other findings: severe depression, OCD, insomnia, and sleep apnea can increase the likelihood you’ll sleepwalk. Also linked to an increased possibility of sleepwalking: drinking heavily and taking sleeping pills, Reuters reports. |
Climber Who Lost 9 Fingers Abandons Everest | (Sep 28, 2015 7:38 AM CDT) For a fifth time in six years, Japanese climber Nobukazu Kuriki is turning back from his summit bid on Mount Everest—this time hindered by heavy autumn snows and the profound challenge of making the bid with only his right thumb. Kuriki, 33, lost nine fingers to frostbite on the mountain in 2012, when he barely survived two days in a snow hole at 27,000 feet in below-zero temps, reports the BBC. And with the mountain claiming one in 10 climbers who try to summit, Kuriki decided not to push his luck. This time it was the conditions that prompted him to turn back after spending a month acclimatizing, reports CNN. I realized if I kept going, I wouldn't be able to come back alive, Kuriki wrote on Facebook. Kuriki was at the final stretch, having rested at the last camp on the route that Everest's first climbers, Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, took in 1953, but it took too much time to move in deep deep snow, he wrote. Kuriki was not only climbing without oxygen, but also without partners—he prefers to climb solo—and at a difficult, more volatile time of year. Climbers typically make their attempts in May, but Nepal closed the mountain for the spring climbing season after the April earthquake killed 19 people at base camp. Kuriki was the first to make an attempt since. (The earthquake actually moved Everest's peak.) |
Soldier Charged With 5 Murder Counts in Iraq Clinic Shooting | (May 12, 2009 10:37 AM CDT) The US Army today identified Sgt. John Russell as the man being held in the shooting deaths of five soldier at a stress clinic on a US base in Baghdad yesterday, CNN reports, as details of the assault emerged. Commanders had asked Russell, a 44-year-old Texan on his third tour in Iraq, to seek counseling and took the rare step of confiscating his weapon, the Washington Post adds. Russell was escorted to the clinic, but on arrival got into a verbal altercation with staff and was told to leave. As he was being driven away, Russell grabbed his escort’s gun and ordered him out of the vehicle. Then he drove back to the clinic and opened fire, killing two staff members and three enlisted soldiers. Russell was charged with five counts of murder and one count of aggravated assault. |
IRS to Broke Spanish Hipster: You Owe $172M | (Aug 25, 2010 2:10 PM CDT) The IRS says Marcos Esparza Bofill owes them $172 million in back taxes—which is pretty hard to believe, given that Esparza is a broke Spanish musician who recently had to borrow money from his relatives to pay his bills. The tax lien, which you can see on The Smoking Gun, springs from the brief stint Esparza spent trying to make a living as a daytrader in New York in 2006. Esparza’s trades went poorly, and he left the city in less than a year. He had a very modest apartment. I think he was in a room that all you could fit in was a bed, a friend tells the New York Post. When he heard about the tax bill, the first thing he said to me was, ‘What’s the IRS?’ Experts say Esparza probably just didn’t file a return. When traders fail to file, the IRS assumes all their trades were profitable. |
Carbon Monoxide Leak at Grandma's Kills 3 Teens | (Mar 2, 2015 10:39 AM) Four cousins were found unresponsive at their grandmother's home in Troy, Ohio, on Friday afternoon after a carbon monoxide leak, and three of them have now died. Sisters Dionanna Bishop, 14, and Dejah (also spelled Dejay) Bishop, 13, died after being taken to the hospital Friday; Jakia Jones, 13, died yesterday. Her brother, 8-year-old Jahari (also spelled Jakari) Ward, remains in critical condition, WDTN reports. The children lived with their grandmother, Jean Bishop, and investigators say the carbon monoxide poisoning was caused by a malfunctioning furnace, the Dayton Daily News reports. Police tell WHIO they are not sure whether the children went to school Friday; a relative came to the home around 2:20pm and found them unresponsive. That person told dispatchers the kids had been sick for days, CBS News reports; it notes the grandmother was in the hospital at the time, where she was being treated for what is thought to be pneumonia. The home is not believed to have carbon monoxide detectors, and attorneys representing the homeowners, Joseph and Kathy Caldwell, say the Caldwells were not aware of any furnace issues. As for Jahari, his uncle says the little boy is fighting; he’s showing signs from stimulus, from us touching him and praying with him. We need prayers to help him fight for his life. |
Dad of Stanford Rapist: Don't Judge Son on '20 Minutes' | (Jun 6, 2016 6:41 AM CDT) A rape case at Stanford continues to make headlines, first because of the defendant's sentence and the victim's powerful statement, and now because of another statement made by the 20-year-old assailant's father. Swimmer Brock Turner received a sentence of six months in jail—he could have gotten 14 years—after being convicted of raping a passed-out young woman. In a letter written to the judge before sentencing, his father argued for just such leniency, reports the Guardian. Brock Turner shouldn't have his life ruined over 20 minutes of action, wrote Dan Turner, adding that his son had suffered enough already. He will never be his happy go lucky self with that easy going personality and welcoming smile, he wrote. His every waking minute is consumed with worry, anxiety, fear, and depression. You can see this in his face, the way he walks, his weakened voice, his lack of appetite. The letter was made public Sunday in a tweet by Stanford law professor Michele Dauber, who helped shape the school's new sexual assault policies, and it's being met with a barrage of criticism online. Tone-deaf, says a post at the Huffington Post. It's a near-perfect complement to the victim's statement, writes Christina Cauterucci at Slate. Dan Turner defends his son with nearly every thin excuse his son's victim demolishes in her letter; he elevates all the rape-apologist, victim-diminishing tropes she exposes as misogynist garbage. |
Law Would Shield Cop IDs for 60 Days After Shooting | (Mar 23, 2015 11:40 AM CDT) Darren Wilson went into hiding after shooting Michael Brown, and when a Phoenix cop killed an unarmed black man in December, police were afraid protesters would mob his home, NBC News reports. The latter never happened, but Arizona Rep. Steven Smith is sponsoring Senate Bill 1445, which would keep secret for 60 days the names of officers involved in shootings that [result] in death or serious physical injury. This is about protecting the welfare of an officer who is not a suspect, the director of the Arizona Police Association tells NBC. But critics say the law would undermine the tenuous relationship between police and community and possibly hide abuse or mistakes. At a time when the entire country is raising legitimate questions about why so many black men are dying at the hands of police, the state of Arizona is … becoming less transparent, the director of the ACLU of Arizona tells NBC. An officer's name can still be released before the 60-day moratorium is up if the family or department OKs it, or if the officer is charged. And the bill has been amended from its original 90-day freeze—it passed in the House 44-13 last week and now heads back in amended form to the Senate, per the Eastern Arizona Courier. Protesters in the capital Wednesday refuted Smith's assertion that the law would stop a whimsical mob [from] roaming the streets looking for blood and noted there are already laws that allow for such secrecy if the officer is in danger, the Phoenix New Times reports. This is being packaged as a cooling-off period; what many people in the community believe is this could build a covering-up period, Democratic state Rep. Reginald Bolding tells NBC. The beauty of our Public Records Law is its reliance on common sense, not arbitrary prohibitions, adds David Bodney in an op-ed for the Arizona Republic. |
$23M Lawsuit: Steinbrenner Stole My Idea | (Aug 29, 2009 12:54 PM CDT) The former president of Madison Square Garden is suing George Steinbrenner for $23 million, accusing the Yankees boss of stealing his idea for a team-owned TV network, Newsday reports. Bob Gutkowski claims he brought the idea for what would become YES to Steinbrenner in the mid-'90s and was given assurances that he would head the network. The Yankees call the allegations patently false and frivolous. |
Bee Gees' Robin Gibb Dead at 62 | (May 20, 2012 6:01 PM CDT) The Bee Gees' Robin Gibb lost his battle with cancer today. He was 62. In a statement, his family announced his death with great sadness. Though the singer had recently made what seemed like a miraculous recovery, Rolling Stone reports that Gibb fought both colon and liver cancer and recently faced a secondary tumor and pneumonia. Gibb made up one third of the Bee Gees, formed with twin Maurice and older brother Barry. Writing for Rolling Stone, David Browne notes that Robin's quivering, vulnerable voice was a major element of the group's earliest 1960s hits, but it wasn't until the mid- to late-'70s (and after a band breakup, stalled solo career, and reunion) that the Bee Gees hit it huge thanks to Saturday Night Fever. Bittersweet: Next week's Glee will feature the group's Saturday Night Fever songs. |
Rogue Mobster Enrico Ponzo Arrested in Idaho After 17 Years On the Lam | (Feb 9, 2011 4:02 AM) Stunned residents of the small Idaho town of Marsing have just learned that the man they knew as Jay Shaw was actually Enrico Ponzo, a fugitive mobster from Boston. Ponzo, who had been on the lam for 17 years, was arrested this week for a long list of charges including racketeering and conspiracy to murder. The FBI says the 42-year-old gangster was part of a rogue Mafia faction that attempted to kill New England mob boss Cadillac Frank Salemme. You know, I’ve always thought there was something a little bit different about Jay. I’ve always felt he was running or hiding from something, said a neighbor who describes Ponzo as a very, very, nice guy who lived an unremarkable life. I’m in shock, he told the Idaho Statesman. Ponzo, the neighbor says, called him from jail to ask him to look after his cows. I said, ‘Hey, what’s going on,’ the neighbor says. He laughs: ‘This is a bunch of bull, but I’m going to be here a long time.’ |
10-Minute In-Person Chat May Reduce Prejudice | (Apr 9, 2016 12:59 PM CDT) A new study published in the journal Science suggests that a quick, face-to-face conversation can put a dent in LGBT prejudice. Volunteers who went door to door—aka deep canvassing, per the Atlantic— substantially reduced transphobia, say the researchers. We found that a single, approximately 10-minute conversation with a stranger produced large reductions in prejudice that persisted for at least the three months studied to date, says lead author David Brockman in a press release. And it's all about reaching people through empathy, not wearing them down through arguments or tricking them over to your side. Similar to cognitive behavioral therapy … if you ask the right questions and have [people] think through their own opinions and behaviors, that can help people lead them to change their own minds, Brockman tells ABC News. The study recruited 56 canvassers to receive training developed by the Los Angeles LGBT Center in CBT-based techniques, then sent them to visit 501 voters in the Miami area. The topic: issues facing transgender people after an anti-discrimination ordinance was passed. The canvassers took 10 minutes to explain the ordinance, ask voters for their take on transgender people, and have the voters recall a time when they themselves were judged for being different, thus encouraging voters to see how their own experience offered a window into transgender people's experiences. They say 70% of those who opened their doors went through the entire exercise, and three months later, they were more likely to show positive feelings toward transgender people than those in a control group. |
Dead Man With 1.5K Guns 'Thought He Was Alien Spy' | (Jul 24, 2015 5:41 AM CDT) The death of a Los Angeles man in his car has led police to a huge stash of firearms and an even bigger pile of strangeness. From what cops can piece together, Jeffrey Alan Lash claimed to be a spy—sometimes a hybrid human-alien spy—and just before he died in his car on July 4, he told his fiancee that government agencies would take care of his body, the Guardian reports. She left town on his orders and called police two weeks later after discovering his rotting corpse was still in the vehicle in the upscale Pacific Palisades neighborhood. Police found a stash of 1,200 firearms in the apartment they shared—which has now risen to 1,500, according to the Los Angeles Times—along with $230,000 cash, explosives, and 6.5 tons of ammo. Police say the weapons were legally acquired and that out of 14 vehicles registered to Lash, they've found eight in various LA locations—including an SUV that can drive underwater, the AP reports. The partner of Lash's late father tells the Times that he was a loner and that she lost touch with him years ago and didn't know where his money came from. Police say Lash had late-stage cancer and that foul play is not suspected in his death. He had told his fiancee that his illness was caused by chemical weapons exposure on a secret mission, reports the Guardian, which notes that the tentative conclusion investigators have reached is that he was so caught up in a fantasy world of spying that others around him started to believe it. |
Family Sues Mortuary After Body Left in Garage 2 Years | (Oct 11, 2016 12:29 PM CDT) After 50-year-old Brigitte Godfrey died of an asthma attack in March of 2013, her family contacted Living Waters Funeral Home near Chicago to cremate the body, reports Courthouse News Service. That never happened: Two years later, Godfrey's corpse was found with three other bodies and a bag of organs in a suburban Chicago garage. Now her family has filed a lawsuit claiming the defendants lost, disposed of and handled Brigitte's remains in an unlawful, unauthorized manner in violation of the contract. The garage belonged to a man named Anton Godfrey, who apparently worked in some capacity for Living Waters, though the Chicago Tribune reports that the relationship remains unclear. Authorities say Anton Godfrey essentially operated an unlicensed mortuary and was the subject of multiple court orders to cease and desist his in-home mortuary practices, per the Tribune. He was once fined $10,000 over the issue. When he died last year, his wife discovered the remains in their garage, and all four bodies have since been identified. (The son of one man says Godfrey kept promising to deliver the ashes in an urn but never did.) Anton Godfrey reportedly had a distant family relationship to Brigitte Godfrey, and he told her relatives that he would take care of things for $1,800 when she died, reported the Chicago Sun-Times and NBC Chicago. (The body of a newborn baby was found after his parents paid for his cremation.) |
Woman, 87, Convinces New York She's Not Dead | (Sep 28, 2015 5:40 PM CDT) The New York City Bureau of Fraud Investigation sent a letter last week announcing that Medicaid health benefits for Selma Cohen had been cut off because the woman had been declared dead. So you can imagine the surprise Cohen, 87, felt when she received the letter. I couldn’t believe it, the Brooklyn woman tells the New York Daily News. At first I thought it was a joke or something. She called the bureau and was told to visit a local Medicaid office, where a clerk told her there had been a computer error—but that Cohen would have to apply for and receive a state ID in order to prove she is, in fact, alive. When you’re dead, they don’t send you checks, she says. Cohen, who had already paid her Medicaid premium through December but had to cancel a doctor's appointment when the doctor confirmed she was no longer covered by Medicaid, was extremely frustrated, noting that she didn't have time for the weeks-long process and was concerned she'd also stop receiving her Social Security benefits and food stamps. The cut-off would also prevent her from visiting doctors and paying for much-needed cancer medication, CBS New York reports. But as of Monday, Cohen's Medicaid benefits were reinstated after Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s office stepped in. Cohen will also be reimbursed for the time she had been deemed dead. (Medicaid recently paid more than $30,000 in an attempt to wean a newborn baby girl off heroin.) |
Walker Demotes Donor's Kid— to Puny $65K Job | (Apr 6, 2011 10:10 AM CDT) Well that was fast. Scott Walker did an about-face yesterday and demoted the son of a major campaign donor from his $81,500-per-year Commerce Department gig—to his former $64,728 job. Brian Deschane will return to his previous post as a bureau director at the Department of Regulation and Licensing, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports. The 27-year-old, who has no college degree and little experience (but does have two drunk-driving convictions!), had been in that job just two months when he was promoted to head of Wisconsin's environmental and regulatory affairs. Among those Deschane beat out for the job: a former Cabinet secretary with a doctoral degree and eight years experience overseeing oil contamination cleanup, and a professional engineer who had held the job since 2003 under the last governor. Neither was even interviewed. When Governor Walker learned the details of this agency staffing decision, he directed his administration to move in another direction, a Walker spokesman says (last week, this same rep called Deschane a natural fit for the position). But the demotion didn't satisfy some Democrats. I want to make sure he was properly hired for that job in the first place, said Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca. Click for more on the brouhaha. |
Uganda Tabloid Names 200 'Top' Homosexuals | (Feb 25, 2014 10:25 AM) Yesterday, Uganda's president made aggravated homosexuality punishable by life in prison; today, a tabloid has printed a list of Ugandans it says are gay. The Red Pepper headline reads, EXPOSED! Uganda's 200 Top Homos Named, per CNN. The AP adds that the list, which was accompanied by some photos, includes some Ugandans who had not identified themselves as gay. Similar lists have previously been published in the country. President Yoweri Museveni yesterday told CNN that gays are disgusting. ... I've been told recently that what they do is terrible, he added. But I was ready to ignore that if there was proof that that's how he is born, abnormal. But now the proof is not there. His comments come after government scientists supposedly found that being gay is learned. Meanwhile, the White House has slammed the new law, and John Kerry says the US is reviewing its ties with Uganda. Ugandan gay rights activist Pepe Julian Onziema— who is on the list along with a hip-hop star and a priest—claims that people attempted suicide in advance of the new law. They are like, 'I'm not going to live to see this country kill me, so I would rather take my life.' |
Delaware Will Be 11th State to Allow Gay Marriage | (May 7, 2013 4:22 PM CDT) Delaware will become the 11th state to allow same-sex marriages. A divided state Senate gave final legislative approval today to a bill authorizing same-sex marriage after hearing about three hours of debate. The vote sends the bill to Democratic Gov. Jack Markell, who has promised to sign it. The bill doesn't give same-sex couples any more rights or benefits under Delaware law than they currently have with civil unions. But supporters say same-sex couples deserve the dignity and respect of married couples. Rhode Island became No. 10 last week. |
UK Conservative Leader's Son Dies at Age 6 | (Feb 25, 2009 5:31 AM) The eldest son of David Cameron, leader of Britain's Conservative Party and the country's possible next prime minister, died early this morning at age 6. Ivan Cameron suffered from severe epilepsy and cerebral palsy and required constant care, reports the Times of London. He was born with Ohtohara syndrome, a rare neurological condition from which almost all sufferers die in childhood. |
After Pouring a $300 Bottle, White House Mum on Wine | (Mar 14, 2012 9:38 AM CDT) Last night, British PM David Cameron enjoyed his very first taste of March Madness, compliments of President Obama. At tonight's state dinner, he'll likely enjoy some American wine as well—but don't expect too many details about the winery, year, or appellation. That's because Obama put a stop to the tradition of revealing said info after his third state dinner ... following a brouhaha over the price tag. In honor of Hu Jintao's visit, the Chinese president was served a 2005 Quilceda Creek Cabernet Sauvignon from Washington state that garnered a 100-point Robert Parker rating. The White House didn't say how much it paid per bottle, but it originally retailed for $115, and was selling for $300 and up by the time of the Jan. 19, 2011, dinner. So when Angela Merkel was honored at a state dinner in June, the released menu said nothing more than an American wine will be paired with each course. Ditto for South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak's Oct. 13 menu. And while the move may ostensibly make sense ( they’re probably sensitive to displays of wealth at a time when the economy is not firing on all cylinders, says one wine expert), many argue the move hurts, instead of helps. Promoting top winemakers is good for America, says one wine editor, and Bloomberg notes that state dinners provide a prime opportunity to show China and other new big wine importers what the US has to offer. To wit, Quilceda Creek saw a pretty significant uptick in Asia after Hu's dinner. |
Mom Lets 4-Year-Old Play 120 Feet Away, Faces Jail | (Dec 2, 2015 7:42 AM) A mom who lives in a gated apartment complex in Sacramento, Calif., and describes her parenting style as free range faces up to six months in jail for letting her 4-year-old son play alone in the complex playground 120 feet from her front door. She was charged after two neighbors watched the boy, Tomahawk Hendren, playing by himself at the playground and then went outside to ask him to go home. When he said he wasn't done playing, they called the cops, and Child Protective Services took over, reports Fox40. Sonya Hendren's attorney says it's now up to the prosecution to prove that Hendren willfully put her son in danger to proceed with the child endangerment and neglect charges. While she was initially arrested for felony child endangerment and neglect, Hendren's charges have been reduced to misdemeanors and she has been offered a reduced sentence of 30 days in jail and one year of probation. However, she rejected the plea deal in order to fight the charges and now faces a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a three-year probation, reports People. I just thought she would get a warning, says one of the neighbors who called CPS, adding, I'm not mad she has to do things now to teach her, because what if someone did take him? For her part, Hendren says, Of course I love him, I do everything for him. I breastfed for 28 months. I cloth-diapered, you know, obviously I'm avoiding helicopter parenting. Meanwhile, Tomahawk, an outdoors boy, says, I love her like 20 times—maybe a thousand. (See what happened when this couple left four young kids home alone.) |
Nobody Wins Powerball; Jackpot Heads to $1.3B | (Jan 10, 2016 5:59 AM) Enthusiastic ticket-buyers pushed the record Powerball jackpot to $949.8 million for Saturday night's drawing, but no ticket matched all six numbers, boosting the expected payout for Wednesday's drawing to a whopping $1.3 billion. The winning numbers were 16-19-32-34-57 and the Powerball number 13. All six numbers must be correct to win, although the first five can be in any order. The odds to win the largest lottery prize in US history were one in 292.2 million. Officials with the Multi-State Lottery Association, which runs the Powerball game, said they expected about 75% of the possible number combinations would have been bought for Saturday night's drawing. Since Nov. 4, the Powerball jackpot has grown from its $40 million starting point as no one has won the jackpot. Such a huge jackpot was just what officials with the Multi-State Lottery Association hoped for last fall when they changed the odds of matching all the Powerball numbers, from about one in 175 million to one in 292.2 million. By making it harder to win a jackpot, the tougher odds made the ever-larger prizes inevitable. The US saw sales of $277 million on Friday alone and more than $400 million were expected Saturday, according to the executive director of the Texas Lottery. The record jackpot lured an unprecedented frenzy of purchases. Anndrea Smith, 30, said Saturday that she already had spent more than she usually does on Powerball tickets. I bought four yesterday, and I usually never buy any, said Smith, manager of Bucky's gas station and convenience store in Omaha, Nebraska. She's not alone, saying the store sold about $5,000 worth of tickets yesterday. Usually on a Friday, we might sell $1,200 worth. |
9's Visuals a Perfect 10 | (Sep 9, 2009 9:59 AM CDT) The creepy tale of 9, which depicts a burlap-bodied robot’s (Elijah Wood) quest for his origins while battling bad guys in a post-apocalyptic world, looks incredible—but its script leaves something to be desired. |
Thousands of Cops Look for Dorner in 3 States | (Feb 8, 2013 9:05 AM) With the manhunt in Big Bear Lake for ex-cop Christopher Dorner coming up empty so far, authorities are admitting they have no idea where Dorner is, reports Fox News. Thousands of police officers are now involved in the hunt, in California, Nevada, Arizona, and northern Mexico. He could be anywhere at this point, says the San Bernardino county sheriff. Meanwhile, the AP reports that as many as 16 San Diego County sheriff's deputies spent the night surrounding and searching a rural home after a hoaxer reported Dorner was there. There were people at home but Dorner wasn't one of them. Investigators have a pretty good idea who made the call and will seek criminal charges. |
Woods Solid, 2 Behind Poulter, Westwood | (Apr 9, 2010 6:38 PM CDT) Tiger Woods plodded along in today's second round of the Masters, making one par after another, mixing in the occasional birdie, and avoiding any major mistakes on his way to a 2-under-par 70—which has him two shots off the lead heading into the weekend. Woods still has some work to do. A pair of Englishmen, Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood, share the lead at 8-under 136. Neither Poulter nor Westwood has won a major title—Woods has 14, including four of Augusta's famed green jackets. |
2 Activists Accused of Freeing 5K Mink Caught | (Jul 25, 2015 10:01 AM CDT) Two animal rights activists who authorities say went on an epic vigilante road trip across the US have been arrested and face jail time. Joseph Buddenberg, 31, and Nicole Kissane, 28, both of Oakland, are accused of freeing about 5,000 mink from various farms along with a slew of vandalism incidents, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Prosecutors say the pair set out in June 2013 in a Honda Fit and began their spree by vandalizing a San Diego fur store with paint and Super Glue. After that, they allegedly freed mink from cages at farms in Idaho, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Pennsylvania, along with one lucky bobcat in Montana, reports the San Diego Tribune. They also vandalized other stores and vehicles (including a police chief's car) along the way, say authorities. Whatever your feelings about the fur industry, there are legal ways to make your opinions known, say US Attorney Lura Duffy. The conduct alleged here, sneaking around at night, stealing property and vandalizing homes and businesses with acid, glue and chemicals, is a form of domestic terrorism and can’t be permitted to continue. The pair allegedly wrote of their spree in encrypted communiques on activist websites as it progressed. They're accused of violating the federal Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act, and each faces 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Both are out on bond with electronic monitoring. |
Playing With Kids Bores 30% of Parents | (Aug 30, 2010 5:08 PM CDT) Some 30% of UK parents think playing with their children is boring, a new poll finds. The poll, commissioned by Disneyland Paris, looked at how parents spent recreational time with their children. More than a fifth hadn't played with their kids in such a long time that they had forgotten how, the Independent reports. The kicker? Many kids aren't fooled—15% said they realized their parents were bored while playing with them. |
Enjoy Your 'Th' Sounds Now, They'll Be Gone by 2066 | (Sep 29, 2016 5:55 PM CDT) The Queen's English as spoken in the UK is under attack by immigrants, computers, American television, and youths. Or should we say yoofs? In a report published Thursday, linguistic experts at the University of York predict major changes in Brits' pronunciation of the English language by 2066, the Sun reports. According to the Telegraph, those changes include the complete disappearance of the voiced dental nonsibliant fricative, also known as the th sound. It will be replaced with the f, d, and v sounds, so thick becomes fick and mother becomes muvver. Other changes include words like cute and beauty becoming coot and booty, the w and r sounds becoming indistinguishable, and the dropping of l sounds at the end of words. Researchers studied 50 years of language recordings and current social media to make their predictions, which the Guardian sums up in a sentence: I totes fink that car is a booty. (Your Newser editors have no idea why the newspaper didn't change that to dat in dat example.) Researchers believe the changes will be spurred on by immigrants, who have a hard time pronouncing the th sound; the increased use of voice command; the prevalence of the American accent in pop culture; and the fact that most computers are developed in California. They found that in 50 years, age—not class—will be the biggest determinant of how people speak. The Queen’s English spoken by Prince George as he grows up is not going to be the same as the Queen’s English spoken by the Queen, RT quotes the study's author as saying. (A Texas woman came out of surgery with a British accent.) |
Mom on Murder Rap After 5-Year-Old Shoots Self | (Jun 24, 2013 2:56 AM CDT) A woman who locked her 5-year-old daughter up in a room with a loaded gun has been charged with second-degree murder in the child's death, police in New Orleans say. Initial investigations show that the girl found a loaded .38-caliber revolver in the bedroom and accidentally shot herself in the head, a police spokesman tells the Times-Picayune. Laderika Smith, 28, who admitted that she left the child locked alone in a room while she went to the store, was initially charged with child cruelty but the charge was upgraded to murder after her daughter was taken off life support yesterday afternoon. The Advocate spoke with a relative who lives in the home and claimed possession of the gun—but said he was keeping it for someone else, and, by raising his arm, suggested to the Advocate reporter that he kept the gun high up in the room. He didn't give any more specifics about its location. |
GI Gets 10 Years for Iraqi Murder | (Feb 11, 2008 5:12 AM) A US Army sniper was sentenced to 10 years in prison yesterday after a court martial found him guilty of murdering an Iraqi civilian. The Iraqi was shot when he stumbled upon the sniper's hideout, and a weapon was planted on the body to make it appear that the victim was a terrorist, reports the Los Angeles Times. When I came to Iraq, I didn't come over to do the wrong thing, testified shooter Sargeant Evan Vela. My experience in Iraq is with me every day. I have to live with this every day for the rest of my life. I am truly sorry for what happened. |
Toll Hits 32 in Japan Quakes | (Apr 16, 2016 7:48 AM CDT) Army troops and other rescuers rushed Saturday to save scores of trapped residents after a pair of strong earthquakes in southwestern Japan killed at least 41 people, injured about 1,500, and left hundreds of thousands without electricity or water. Rainfall is forecast to start pounding the area soon, threatening to further complicate the relief operation and set off more mudslides in isolated rural towns, where people were waiting to be rescued from collapsed homes, the AP reports. Officials say the death toll is at least 32 from the magnitude-7.3 quake that shook the Kumamoto region on the island of Kyushu early Saturday. Nine died in a magnitude-6.5 quake that hit the same area Thursday night Japanese media reported that nearly 200,000 homes are without electricity, and that drinking water systems have also failed in the area. TV video showed people huddled in blankets, sitting or lying down shoulder-to-shoulder on the floors of evacuation centers. An estimated 400,000 households were without running water. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe expressed concern about secondary disasters as forecasters predicted rain and strong winds later in the day. With the soil already loosened by the quakes, rainfall can set off mudslides. Daytime today is the big test for rescue efforts, Abe said. Landslides have already cut off roads and destroyed bridges, slowing down rescuers. |
Gold to Top $2K an Ounce by 2014 | (Apr 12, 2011 1:10 PM CDT) Maybe Glenn Beck has been right about gold all this time—a new report says the precious metal could top $2,100 an ounce by 2014, and could come close to hitting the staggering $5,000 mark by the end of the decade in a possible ‘super-bull’ scenario, reports the Telegraph. The key is less economic problems in the West and more continuing growth in the East, according to a report by the Standard Chartered Bank. Rising demand for gold in China and India will be the force behind the bull run: Incomes in those two countries are expected to rise to 30% of the US level by 2030. Assuming that the relationship between rising income levels and gold holds, gold prices could reach $4,869 by 2020, the report said. But higher mine production in the coming years should overwhelm demand growth beyond 2014. |
Teens Lose Left Arms in 2 NC Shark Attacks | (Jun 15, 2015 2:27 AM CDT) Two teenagers lost limbs in two separate shark attacks off Oak Island, NC, yesterday—and for now, authorities do not recommend going back in the water. Authorities say the first victim, a 13-year-old girl, was attacked at around 4:40pm yesterday and lost her left arm below the elbow, as well as suffered severe damage to her left leg, NBC News reports. Not much more than an hour later, a 16-year-old was attacked around 2 miles away and lost his left arm below the shoulder, reports WECT, which gives the age of the first victim as 12. Both victims are now in stable condition after surgery, authorities say. Oak Island's town manager says helicopters will patrol the coastline and beaches will be open today, NBC reports. He says visitors will be encouraged to stay out of the water, though few are likely to need encouragement: Witnesses to the aftermath of the first attack tell the AP it was nightmarish and like a scene from Jaws. Experts tell ABC News that the severe nature of the injuries suggests that a large shark, possibly a tiger shark, is to blame. This is the real deal threat, University of Florida shark expert George Burgess says. This is highly unusual—I have seen this twice in 40 years. Once in Egypt and once in the Florida Panhandle. (In Florida last week, a shark was killed in a car crash.) |
Shamans Among 4 Killed in California Home | (Jun 10, 2012 11:30 PM CDT) Two shamans from the Hmong community were among four people shot dead in a Sacramento home over the weekend. An armed house guest was wounded when he confronted the gunman, police told the Sacramento Bee. Investigators believe one of the dead males is the shooter who stormed the home, reports AP. They haven't yet determined a motive, but believe it may be gang-related. The spiritual leaders, a husband and wife in their 50s, had moved to the neighborhood several months ago and raised chickens for healing purposes, said relatives. |
Ten Best Places to Live in U.S. 2010 Edition | (Jul 12, 2010 2:37 PM CDT) If you follow the advice of Money magazine, you'll want to live in a non-diverse suburb of a not-too-gritty city. The top five places to live are Eden Prairie, Minn.; Columbia, Md.; Newton, Mass.; Bellevue, Wash.; and McKinney, Texas. The rest of the list is dominated by more suburbs and lots of towns in rural areas. The largest place on the list is Scottsdale, population 235,000, at No. 71. According to Money, the list spotlights places with plenty of jobs, great schools, safe streets, low crime, lots to do, charm, other features that make a town great for raising a family. Read the full article. |
Poll: Obama Up by 6 Points | (Jul 25, 2012 2:09 AM CDT) The Supreme Court ruling on ObamaCare, the shooting at the Aurora theater, the Bain Capital debate, and a mediocre jobs report have hit the headlines in the last 30 days, but none of it seems to be having much of an effect on the presidential polls. President Obama is up six percentage points over Mitt Romney in the latest NBC News-Wall Street Journal poll, a small increase from last month when he had a three-point lead. In 12 battleground states, Obama's lead is eight points, the same as last month. So much has happened, and so little has changed, said a Democratic pollster. One thing both candidates have in common is that their very negative numbers are both rising. In fact, people say the more they learn about both candidates, the more they don't like either one of them. Obama's favorable/unfavorable ratings are now 49%-43%, down a bit from June's 47%-38%; while Romney's are 35%-40%, a tick better than last month's 33%-39%. But that does give Romney a rare net negative favorable/unfavorable number before the party convention, a feat that no modern GOP candidate has ever had. These are numbers you usually see in October, said a Republican analyst. It does speak to the growing polarization of the campaign. |
Fox Brings Back Jack Bauer, 24 | (May 13, 2013 10:11 AM CDT) Jack Bauer is about to get a fresh batch of time to run out of. Kiefer Sutherland will reprise his role as the ass-kicking, torture-happy counterterrorism agent on a new 12-episode limited series re-launch of 24 next May, Fox announced today, ahead of its upfront presentation to advertisers, according to the Hollywood Reporter. The announcement comes just days after the network canceled Sutherland's most recent drama, Touch. It'll be called 24: Live Another Day, and will be produced by former showrunner Howard Gordon. Yeah, we think they should have called it 12, too. The show will be the debut offering in Fox's event series franchise. Fox entertainment chair Kevin Reilly said that a little light bulb went off for Gordon while they were prepping the aborted 24 movie, as they all realized that 24 being compressed into two hours isn't 24. And speaking of TV revivals, the Internet is abuzz today because the long-awaited fourth season of Arrested Development finally has a trailer. |
Report: 90 'Near Collisions' Between Drones, Commercial Jets | (Dec 12, 2015 11:30 AM) There has yet to be a confirmed US collision between a drone and a manned aircraft, but there's a growing number of close calls as drones fly where they least belong—near airports. A report released Friday counted at least 241 reports of close encounters between drones and manned aircraft that meet the Federal Aviation Administration's definition of a near-collision, including 28 incidents in which pilots had to veer out of the way. The analysis by Bard College's Center for the Study of the Drone found that 90 of the close drone encounters involved commercial jets. The FAA defines a near-collision as two aircraft flying within 500 feet of each other. In 51 of the incidents studied, the drone-to-aircraft clearance was 50 feet or less, the report said. Most of the sightings occurred within 5 miles of an airport and at altitudes higher than 400 feet. Those are spaces in which the FAA prohibits drones from flying, raising questions about the effectiveness of the rules. The cities with the most incidents were New York, Newark, Los Angeles, and Miami. The report is based on an analysis of government records detailing 921 incidents involving drones and manned aircraft between Dec. 17, 2013 and Sept. 12, 2015. Researchers cautioned that it's hard for pilots to judge their distance from another object when flying at high speeds. The majority of the incidents, 64%, were sightings of drones in the vicinity of other aircraft with no immediate threat of collision. The Bard report is the first comprehensive analysis of the sightings by researchers outside the aviation community. |
Home Sales Send Dow Over 9,000 | (Jul 23, 2009 10:22 AM CDT) The Dow Jones industrials are back above 9,000 today for the first time since the beginning of January. A report of a jump in home sales eased investors' worries about one of the economy's biggest trouble spots. They responded by buying stocks across the market, lifting the major indexes more than 1.5% and sending the Dow up 150 points, past 9,000. A real estate group said sales of previously occupied homes rose 3.6% from May to June. It was the third straight monthly increase, feeding investors' hopes that the overall economy is strengthening. Several better-than-expected earnings reports also helped boost investor sentiment. Ford surprised with a second-quarter profit of $2.3 billion, while drug maker Wyeth, cigarette maker Philip Morris, and candy maker Hershey all raised their profit forecasts. |
Bullpen Phone Screwup Costs Cardinals Game 6 | (Oct 25, 2011 7:35 AM CDT) Nobody loves working pitching matchups like Tony La Russa, so it was a bit surprising when he let lefty Marc Rzepczynski in to pitch to Mike Napoli with the bases loaded last night. Napoli knocked a double off him, scoring what would be the two winning runs. But what happened next was even weirder—La Russa brought in Lance Lynn, had Lynn issue an intentional walk, and then immediately replaced him with Jason Motte, MLB.com reports. Was this some bizarre tactical error? No, La Russa explained afterward—it was a communication breakdown. When La Russa first called the bullpen, he’d told the coach to have Rzepcynski and Motte warm up, he explained. But thanks to the rowdy Rangers crowd, the bullpen coach only heard Rzepcynski’s name, so when Napoli came up, there was no one ready to replace the lefthander. When La Russa realized that Motte wasn’t throwing he called the bullpen again, but this time the coach thought he’d asked for Lynn—who was supposed to be unavailable after throwing 47 pitches in Game 3. La Russa didn’t realize until Lynn jogged in to the game. I went, ‘Oh, what are you doing here?’ he says. (Click for 10 reasons why the Rangers will finish off the Cardinals in Game 6.) |
T-Mobile User's Phone Bill: $201K | (Oct 18, 2011 4:18 PM CDT) When a Florida woman put her college-student brother on her cell phone plan, she had no idea what she was getting herself into. After two weeks in Canada, he managed to run up a $201,000 bill, WSVN reports—and that's without even talking. Turns out he hadn’t turned off his data roaming on the T-Mobile plan. Shamir Aarons, who is deaf, had also exchanged some 2,000 texts and downloaded a few videos. The phone company says it sent Aarons a number of texts about rates. But his sister Celina says the company should have told her, too. Wouldn't you let me know as the primary holder? she asked. They are saying no, we respect your privacy. What privacy? That is my account. T-Mobile could have let the charges stand, the Consumerist notes—but it decided to cut the bill to $2,500, which Celina has 6 months to pay. |
348 Arrested, 386 Kids Saved in Huge Child Porn Bust | (Nov 15, 2013 2:22 AM) Nearly 350 people, including schoolteachers, doctors, and actors, have been arrested around the world in what Toronto police called one of the largest child porn busts they have ever seen. Police say 386 children were rescued as a result of the sweeping investigation. More than 100 people were arrested in Canada, 76 in the US, and 55 in Australia in an investigation dubbed Project Spade. Others were arrested elsewhere in a probe that involved more than 50 countries, including Spain, Mexico, Norway, and Greece. It is alleged that officers seized hundreds of thousands of videos detailing horrific sexual acts against very young children, some of the worst that they have ever viewed, a police spokeswoman says. The investigation began with a Toronto man accused of running a company that distributed child pornography videos. Police says Brian Way, 42, instructed people around the world to create videos of children ranging from 5 to 12 years of age, then distributed the videos to international customers. He has been charged with 24 offenses, including child pornography, and has been in jail since 2011 awaiting trial. |
France Spending $4M to Save Its Hamsters | (May 7, 2014 4:50 PM CDT) They're furry, with little round ears, and grow up to 10 inches long—and they're costing France $4.2 million. Europe's top court has pressured Paris into saving the Great Hamster of Alsace, an endangered rodent whose fate has drawn official attention before, the Guardian reports. In the current project, farmers will grow grains or plants amenable to the little creature (like alfalfa and wheat). The aim is to find innovative ... practices to preserve the animal without harming farmers' activities, said the regional council in a statement. Industrial-scale farming, suburban sprawl, and freeway projects have contributed to the hamster's dwindling population—which is now between 500 and 1,000, RT.com reports. It dipped as low as 161 in 2007, when the European Commission urged France to preserve the furball; an earlier effort in 2000 went nowhere when French farmers refused to replace maize with less profitable crops, the Guardian reports. Now, France will have to pay fines of hundreds of millions of dollars if it can't boost the hamsters' population to around 1,500. (Spain saw the birth of a rare hamster-sized deer last month.) |
2 Uteri, 2 Babies: Woman Has 1-in-5M Birth | (Mar 3, 2009 11:35 AM) What’s more impressive, having eight babies, or having two—one from each womb? Sarah Reinfelder, whom the New York Post has tastefully dubbed Womber Woman, did the latter, thanks to a condition called uterus didelphys, or double uterus. One in every 2,000 women has didelphys, it turns out, but most aren’t aware of it until they get pregnant, and sometimes not even then, ob-gyn Robert Zurawin tells Scientific American. Most women with two wombs only get pregnant in one—Reinfelder’s case is one of only three recorded in the last 40 years—and if they don’t get an ultrasound early enough in the pregnancy, the womb with the child will block the other from view. Others, however, will know they have the condition from birth, because they’ll have a second cervix and vagina. |
Love Guru Up For 7 Razzies | (Jan 21, 2009 4:57 PM) Mike Myers’ The Love Guru looks poised to dominate the Razzie Awards this year, the Los Angeles Times reports, with the film nabbing seven nominations, including worst picture. Myers specifically has nominations for writing, producing and acting. But Myers was bettered on personal Razzie noms by Paris Hilton, who’s got four between The Hottie and The Nottie and Repo: The Genetic Opera. This year features a first for the Razzies: a dual worst-picture nomination for Disaster Movie and Meet the Spartans. The two can be counted as one because they are two films from the same two talent-free writer/directors, both featuring essentially the same cast, a Razzies press release said. The winners will be announced at a ceremony Feb. 21. |
2nd Mayan Tablet Linked to 2012 Apocalypse | (Nov 25, 2011 12:32 AM) The bad news is that Mayan ruins make not one but two apparent references to a possible apocalypse in 2012. The good news—maybe—is that Mexican archeologists say not to worry about it. Experts have finally confirmed that a second suspected reference to 2012 was found at the Comalcalco ruin in an inscription that has been safeguarded in storage for years by Mexico. An earlier find from the nearby Tortuguero site in the Gulf coast state of Tabasco named the same apparent date on a stone tablet. The Tortuguero inscription describes some kind of world-ending or world-changing event that is supposed to occur in December 2012 involving Bolon Yokte, a Mayan god linked to both war and creation. But some experts say translating the Mayan date to 2012 is inaccurate, and officials at Mexico's Institute of Anthropology and History have long said such fears are a Westernized misinterpretation of what happens at the end of a Mayan calendar cycle. Western messianic thought has twisted the cosmo-vision of ancient civilizations like the Maya, the institute said in a statement yesterday. But concern is running so high that a roundtable of 60 Mayan experts will meet next week at Palenque to dispel some of the doubts about the end of one era and the beginning of another, the statement added. |
Dan Quayle Defends Son at 11th Hour | (Aug 24, 2010 6:41 AM CDT) And at the 11th hour, dad chimed in. Dan Quayle sent an email to his son's campaign supporters on the eve of today's 10-way GOP primary election, a last-ditch email pitch defending Ben against allegations that he wrote for a raunchy sex site. Firing back at leading opponent Steve Moak, who has played up Ben's links to the site in campaign ads, Dan wrote, With the recent turn of events, I cannot in good conscience remain silent. I took my fair share of outrageous slams in politics but Steve Moak's vicious smear against my son is over the top and unprecedented. I have never in my 35 years of politics seen such an ugly, slanderous assault in the closing days of a campaign against a fellow Republican. Ben has admitted to writing for the blog a few years ago, but denies he wrote under the name Brock Landers, the fictional porn star from Boogie Nights, reports Politico. We'll see if it helps. Today's race for Rep. John Shadegg's seat in Arizona's 3rd District promises to be crowded and ugly. Click here for more. |
US Clinches World Cup Berth With 4th 2-0 Win Over Mexico | (Sep 11, 2013 12:20 AM CDT) The US is going to its seventh straight World Cup after beating archrivals Mexico 2-0 in Columbus, Ohio—the same venue where the Americans won 2-0 in World Cup qualifiers in 2001, 2005, and 2009. Chants from the raucous capacity crowd included Dos a cero, This is our house, and You're not going to Brazil, as the US won with second-half goals from Eddie Johnson and Landon Donovan, the AP reports. It's become its own monster. People want to come to Columbus and see US-Mexico, goalkeeper Tim Howard said. You almost feel like it's our destiny to win here. But fans had to wait until nearly an hour after the final whistle to be sure that their team was going to Brazil next year, USA Today notes. Players celebrated on the field after Honduras tied Panama 2-2, clinching the US berth. Mexico, meanwhile, dropped to fifth in the group, leaving them with an uphill struggle to qualify. |
Ex-Cop Gets 263 Years for Raping Women While on Patrol | (Jan 21, 2016 6:19 PM) A former police officer accused of raping more than a dozen women while on patrol will spend the rest of his life behind bars after being sentenced to 263 years in prison on Thursday, NBC News reports. Daniel Holtzclaw, 29, was charged in 2014 and found guilty on 18 of 36 counts last month. According to CNN, Holtzclaw found his victims—ranging in age from 17 to 57—in one of the poorest neighborhoods in Oklahoma City and targeted them for their histories with drugs or prostitution, believing that would protect him from accusations. During the trial, 13 women—all black—testified that Holtzclaw threatened to arrest them if they didn't have sex with him, NBC reports. According to the BBC, they felt their lives were in danger. Holtzclaw's attorney had petitioned for a new trial on Wednesday, claiming his client didn't get a fair trial due to evidence being withheld from the defense, NBC reports. That request was denied by the judge when Holtzclaw was sentenced. During the trial, Holtzclaw's attorney claimed his client was trying to help the victims, according to the BBC. |
Credit Reform May Drain $9B in Holiday Sales | (Dec 23, 2009 2:46 PM) The impending enactment of new credit card law is poised to rob retailers of $9 billion in holiday sales compared to last year. The law, designed to protect consumers from rates being raised on the sly and sneaky fees, already has led to lower credit limits and more rejected applications than usual. Diminished availability of credit equals diminished spending, a Target exec tells Bloomberg, helpfully. If the credit card companies weren’t cleaning house ahead of the new regulations' start date in February, spending would be up 0.8% over last year, instead of the projected drop of 1.2%, one analyst says. We’re scared to death of what this law is going to do, adds another retailer. It’s definitely going to hurt consumer spending. Cry me a river, replies Rep. Carolyn Maloney, the bill’s sponsor. Much of the damage was and is self-inflicted. |
1 Year After Shooting, Pistorius Speaks | (Feb 14, 2014 6:04 AM) The last time Oscar Pistorius tweeted was Feb. 12, 2013, two days before he shot and killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp in what he maintains was a tragic accident in which he mistook her for an intruder. Today brought a new tweet: A few words from my heart on oscarpistorius.com. There, the double-amputee Olympian posted a brief statement. It reads in part: No words can adequately capture my feelings about the devastating accident that consumes me with sorrow. The loss of Reeva and the complete trauma of that day, I will carry with me for the rest of my life. Meanwhile, Steenkamp's parents, Barry and June, released a statement of their own. All we are looking for is closure and to know that our daughter did not suffer on that tragic Valentine's Day, they said, per the Guardian. Steenkamp's uncle noted a private family gathering would be held today in Cape Town to mark the anniversary. We will release balloons in her memory, he told the AFP. They will be red and white, her favorite colors. Steenkamp's parents also said a foundation, possibly focusing on women's abuse issues, would be set up in their daughter's honor once Pistorius' murder trial is over. It begins March 3. |
Slice of Diana's Wedding Cake Sells for $1.4K | (Aug 30, 2014 6:16 AM CDT) Somewhere out there is what the Independent calls a passionate group of royal cake collectors. And one member of that group shelled out $1,375 this week for a 33-year-old slice of cake served at Charles and Diana's wedding in 1981. With best wishes from Their Royal Highnesses, the Prince & Princess of Wales, reads the card that accompanies the slice in its original presentation box. The online buyer in the sale by Nate D. Sanders Auctions of Los Angeles wasn't named. The slice is, of course, older than Prince William, and cake from his 2011 wedding is already hitting the auction block, notes Hello! |
Manuel Noriega Breaks His 19-Year Silence | (Jun 25, 2015 6:03 AM CDT) Former dictator Manuel Noriega broke a 19-year silence to ask his compatriots yesterday to forgive actions by his military regime that culminated in the 1989 US invasion. Noriega began his brief jailhouse interview with local network Telemetro by reading a handwritten statement in which he said his apology came after days of reflection with his family and church members and wasn't motivated by any personal interest. Before the altar of my conscience I've come to express myself in the spirit of forgiveness, Noriega said, his hand shaking but otherwise appearing in good health for his 81 years. Noriega apologized to those offended, affected, injured, or humiliated by his own actions or those of his superiors and subordinates. The onetime CIA informant hadn't spoken to a journalist since a 1996 interview with CNN's Larry King from a Miami federal prison, where he was sent following his capture by US troops for being a major conduit for Colombian cocaine traffickers. After completing his sentence in the US, Noriega was extradited to France to serve time for money laundering. He returned to Panama in 2011 to complete a 60-year sentence for murder, corruption, and embezzlement. Referring to himself as the last general of the military era, Noriega didn't comment on any specific abuses and refused to take the bait when pressed about the still murky circumstances that led to the disappearance and murder of two opponents. Some saw the interview as a sly move to pave the way for a presidential pardon or for him to finish his sentence under house arrest, something his lawyers have been seeking on medical grounds for years. |
China Singer, 24, in Creepy Romance With Model, 12 | (Sep 25, 2012 10:33 AM CDT) A gossip scandal has erupted in China around 24-year-old pop star Zhang Muyi and his declared love for 12-year-old Canadian model Akama Miki. Muyi and Akama have been flaunting their romance all over popular Chinese social media site Weibo, posting pictures and sending each other public messages on the Twitter-like service, ninemsn reports. Sample, from Akama to Muyi: Wait until I'm old enough to marry you, and then I'm going to say 'I do.' Muyi's response? He simply can't wait for these next four birthdays of yours to pass, I'm counting down each one. Thousands of Weibo users have weighed in on the romance, some deriding it as unnatural and others declaring their support. Still others think the whole thing is nothing more than a publicity stunt, and it could well be: The two are collaborating on a few music projects at the moment. |
How to Read 365 Books in 2013 | (Dec 31, 2012 9:46 AM) A book a day, every day, from tomorrow to next New Year's Eve: Sounds impossible, right? Well, Jeff Ryan managed it in 2012—without giving up his job or his family duties, he writes in Slate. Of course, he tweaked the rules a little; some days, he wouldn't have time to read, but he'd make up for that by reading multiple books later—often at the same time. By the end of today, he will have read 366 books this year. Want to mimic Ryan's resolution but not sure how to tackle it? It's not just about reading short books (though that helps), he explains. The key is to avoid min-maxing : That is, dropping all your other activities to focus on one. Instead, make reading your go-to activity for every free moment: Drop music for audiobooks in the car and while mowing the lawn, and forget about guilty-pleasure movies. But go for guilty-pleasure books (erotica, Star Wars novels) as well as meaty tomes. Still daunted? Consider this: Right now, you are probably reading a comparable amount to me—but you're reading newspapers, Facebook and Twitter, and the work of the fine folks at Slate. Read more on his quest. |
Woman Charged With Hiding 6 Dead Infants in Locker | (Oct 24, 2014 8:28 AM CDT) Police in Winnipeg have charged a 40-year-old woman with six counts of concealing a body after they found the remains of six infants in a storage locker she rented. But the Toronto Star reports that it could be months before forensic tests determine how the babies died and whether Andrea Giesbrecht was their mother. Employees of the U-Haul facility opened the locker when Giesbrecht stopped making payments, and a court appearance late last month might shed light on why she fell behind. Giesbrecht pleaded guilty to defrauding an older neighbor of about $8,000 as evidence of a long-term gambling addiction came to light, reports the Winnipeg Sun. I feel distraught and severely taken advantage of, her 73-year-old neighbor wrote in a victim-impact statement obtained by the CBC. But a friend of Giesbrecht came to her defense: In the five years I have known Andrea, I have come to love her as a friend and person, she wrote. She is a loving, considerate person and I have seen her drop everything to be there. Giesbrecht, who also has used the name Andrea Naworynski, is married and has two teenage sons. Court documents suggest she got hooked on gambling as a teenager and had repeatedly borrowed money from her now-dead parents that was never repaid. |
Man Who Stole $460K in Quarters Must Return Only Half | (Jul 10, 2014 2:07 PM CDT) It's hard to say what's more surprising: Thomas Rica's crime, or his sentence. The former Ridgewood, NJ, public works inspector was sentenced yesterday to five years of probation for stealing more than a million quarters harvested from the city's parking meters. Over a period of several years, prosecutors say Rica would make regular trips to the meter collection room, each time swiping thousands of coins from the buckets there, the Record reports. All told, they believe he stole $460,000, notes AP. That should have landed him in jail under state sentencing guidelines, but under his plea deal Rica won't serve any time—and he'll have to pay back only $250,000 of the money he stole. Prosecutor Daniel Keitel defended the deal by saying that if they'd gone to trial, Rica may have gone to jail, but he wouldn't have had to return any money at all. This deal will get as much of the money back to the public as quickly as possible, he said. |
World Pop. to Hit 7B by 2012 | (Jun 20, 2008 2:37 AM CDT) The world's soaring population is expected to hit 7 billion by 2012, further straining thinly stretched natural resources, AP reports. The current population is 6.7 billion, and growing at 1.2% a year, spurred by increasing medical and nutritional advances in developing countries. But as more women in developing nations join the work force, the growth rate is expected to slow—eventually to .5% by 2050. |
Open Letter Supporting Trump Has 88 Notable Signatures | (Sep 6, 2016 7:40 AM CDT) National security is the theme of Election 2016 this week, with an NBC-MSNBC forum on that topic Wednesday night and lots of apparent new support on that front for Donald Trump. The New York Times reports that 88 retired military figures—described by retired Army Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn as a group of national security professionals —have placed their John Hancocks on an open letter set to be released Tuesday and endorsing the GOP nominee. The 2016 election affords the American people an urgently needed opportunity to make a long-overdue course correction in our national security posture and policy, which can only be done by someone who hasn't been complicit in the hollowing out of our military, notes the letter, which was coordinated by Holocaust survivor and Army veteran Maj. Gen. Sidney Shachnow and the Navy's Rear Adm. Charles Williams. The letter seems to be Trump's way to blunt the edge, as the Times puts it, of possible support for Hillary Clinton from foreign policy aces who have already rejected him. The signatories, who seem to support Trump's past and present stances on a variety of issues, include everyone from a retired Air Force lieutenant general who happens to be an Obama birther to an ex-Army official known for making inflammatory remarks about Islam. We support Donald Trump and his commitment to rebuild our military, to secure our borders, to defeat our Islamic supremacist adversaries, and restore law and order domestically, the letter says. We urge our fellow Americans to do the same. In a campaign statement, Trump called the endorsements a great honor, per Politico. (Trump's foreign policy speech in August did not get rave reviews.) |
Driver Fills Gas Tank for Just 26 Cents | (Feb 15, 2016 3:47 PM) A computer glitch led to a brief price war between two gas stations in northwest Ohio, allowing some drivers to fill their tanks for pennies per gallon, the AP reports. According to WTOL-TV, a computer malfunction dropped prices at one north Toledo gas station, and another across the street lowered its prices to stay competitive early Sunday. Customer Taylor Kline told the station he filled his empty tank at an incredible price. I just filled my gas tank up from dead empty for 26 cents, says Kline. That's too funny. I already took a video, it's already on Facebook, so yeah, hopefully we'll see what happens. The extra-low pricing lasted at least three hours before returning to normal. Ohio's average price for a gallon of regular gas was $1.55 in Monday's survey from auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and WEX Inc. That's down from $2.29 a year ago. The national average Monday for regular gas was $1.70. |
Dow Up 61 on Strong Earnings | (Oct 8, 2009 3:14 PM CDT) Stocks closed below their session highs but still finished in positive territory after Alcoa set a strong tone for the third-quarter earnings season. The firm posted a $77 million profit after the bell yesterday. Also helping was good news on the jobs front, with last week’s initial claims for jobless benefits down 33,000 to 521,000. The Dow gained 61 points to close at 9,787. The Nasdaq added 14 points to close at 2,124, and the S&P 500 gained 8 points, closing at 1,065, the Wall Street Journal reports. |
Clients Lose Big on Goldman's 2010 Advice | (May 19, 2010 7:31 AM CDT) Goldman Sachs made money on trading every single day last quarter, but anybody following its advice wasn't so lucky. Seven of Goldman's nine recommended top trades for 2010 have been money-losing duds, Bloomberg reports, with the worst of them dropping as much as 14%. This says that Goldman's guys are only human, says one investment executive. No one is always right. So how is Goldman making so much money if it's so wrong? Goldman's COO says that it makes most of the money by capturing bid-offer spreads when it acts as intermediaries for its clients, and that proprietary trading accounts for only a small part of its earnings. Henry Blodget has another theory. Goldman's analysts did a lot better last year, incidentally: nine of their 11 top trades panned out. |
Woman Tries to Stowaway to Hawaii ... 3 Times | (Mar 1, 2014 1:29 PM) A 62-year-old woman in San Francisco wanted to get to Hawaii so badly that she managed to slip through security and actually get aboard a plane on Feb. 15, reports CBS San Franscisco. Trouble is, the person who actually paid for the seat then showed up. Authorities escorted Marilyn Jean Hartman off the plane and told her to leave the airport. She did, but returned three days later to try again, only to be foiled at security. Again, authorities let her go, and again she returned, two days later, armed with a bogus boarding pass. This time, she got arrested and spent eight days in jail on commercial burglary charges, reports the San Francisco Chronicle. Hartman indicated she has cancer and simply wanted to go somewhere warm, says the local DA. It’s unknown if this was another of her lies. |
Mexico Arrests 2 for Killing of Border Patrol Agent | (Oct 4, 2012 3:53 AM CDT) Mexican authorities say they have arrested two suspects in Tuesday's killing of a Border Patrol agent in Arizona, Reuters reports. Nicholas Ivie, a 30-year-old father of two, was shot dead and a colleague was injured while responding to a tripped ground sensor. Mexican officials say the suspects were captured during a military operation a few miles away from the shooting site. Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer, a frequent critic of President Obama's immigration policy, said the shooting highlighted the federal failure and political stalemate that has left our border unsecured and our Border Patrol in harm's way. |
No Kennedys in DC for First Time Since '47 | (Dec 17, 2010 11:35 AM) When retiring Congressman Patrick Kennedy leaves DC in the next week or two, it marks the end of an American milestone, notes the Boston Globe. No Kennedy will be in the House, the Senate, or the White House for the first time since 1947—the year a not-yet-30 JFK became a Massachusetts congressman. Kennedy-philes have hope, however, because at least four family members—including RFK Jr. and Teddy's widow, Vicki—could conceivably gain office before long. As for Patrick: I feel liberated to try to live a life as foreign to me as anything—a life outside of politics,’’ he tells the Globe. I’m actually for the first time in my life venturing out on my own. This is unfamiliar territory.’’ |
25% of India Turning to Desert | (Jun 20, 2014 12:35 PM CDT) Nearly a quarter of India's land is turning to desert thanks to over-use of land, heavy grazing, and changing rainfall patterns, says the country's environment minister. He warns land is becoming barren, and notes that could threaten food security in a country that houses 17% of the world's population on just 2% of its land, Reuters reports. Forbes points out 25% desertification is a much higher figure than the one an Indian scientific council put forth in 2007. At the time, it said it said roughly 10% of the country's land would become unusable desert by 2050, and by its calculations, India wouldn't hit the 25% threshold for at least a century. At this point, land degradation—which indicates a loss of productivity —is believed to be affecting 32% of the country's land. |
Police Find 10 Bears Guarding Marijuana Grow-Op | (NoneDate) Canadian police ran into a complication while raiding a marijuana grow-op in British Columbia—10 or so black bears that were guarding the outdoor pot plants. The property contained two houses and a fenced-in growing operation with about a thousand plants, plus the bears, which roamed around outside the fence as a deterrent to thieves. The woman accused of running the grow-op has been feeding the bears for years, according to a neighbor. Officers soon noticed the bears were docile and tame, a police sergeant said. One of them jumped on our unmarked car for a while. But it soon became apparent they were habituated to the grow operation. Conservation officers are deciding what to do with the bears, which may have to be put down because they expect contact and food from humans. Read the full article at CBC News. |
Driver Backs Out of Spot, Hits 7, Kills 3 | (Feb 6, 2014 9:25 AM) A 79-year-old woman mistakenly backed into seven people in a parking lot with her SUV Sunday, killing three of them and injuring four. The Florida Highway Patrol said yesterday that Doreene Landstra of Palmetto has been ordered to appear in court next month after receiving a citation for improper backing. The collision happened at a mobile home community about 45 miles south of Tampa. Residents had gathered for church services inside a clubhouse building. According to a police report, Landstra began backing her 2009 Chevrolet Tahoe SUV out of a parking space, pulled forward when she realized she needed more room to clear another parked vehicle, and then struck the seven people when she began to back up again. The AP previously reported that the Tahoe then proceeded to run over a curb, collide with some small trees, and come to rest in a canal, partially submerged. A trooper and witnesses said that the driver apparently thought she had the car in drive—and not reverse—when she pressed the gas pedal. |
7.4 Quake Hits Off Guatemala, 39 Dead | (Nov 7, 2012 11:16 AM) At least 39 people died in Guatemala today after a mighty 7.4-magnitude quake struck just off the coast. President Otto Perez Molina declared a state of emergency, urging people to evacuate tall buildings, the BBC reports. The quake hit about 15 miles southwest of Champerico at a depth of about 26 miles, but buildings shook as far away as Mexico City, and one in San Salvador actually toppled over, Reuters reports. It was really big, I felt quite nauseous, says one woman who was in a 10th-floor office in Guatemala City. Landslides have buried a number of roads, and it may be 24 hours before traffic is moving freely again. The US Pacific Tsunami Center said there was no danger of a big tsunami, but warned that a localized one was still possible. |
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