Sunday, December 29, 2013

Police: No beer led to ceramic squirrel stabbing

Updated 10:15 am, Saturday, December 28, 2013
NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) — South Carolina authorities say a 44-year-old woman angry at a man for returning home without beer on Christmas beat and stabbed him with a ceramic squirrel. 
The Charleston County Sheriff's office says in a report that deputies found a man covered with blood when they arrived at Helen Williams' North Charleston home early Wednesday. She told investigators the man fell and cut himself, but couldn't explain why her hands and clothes were also bloody.
Deputies say the man said Williams was so angry when he returned without beer because stores were closed on Christmas Eve that she grabbed a ceramic squirrel, beat him in the head, then stabbed him in the shoulder and chest.
Williams was in jail Friday and charged with criminal domestic violence. It wasn't known if she had a lawyer.

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

The Nose Knows

HOUSTON (AP) — J.J. Watt's penchant for violent collisions left a deep gash on the bridge of his nose that required six stitches in Week 4. Each time he's played since, the wound has been reopened, resulting in a permanent — and ugly — mark on the Texans star's face.

His mom still loves him.  No one else does.

Elf Activists In Iceland

Iceland's hidden elves delay road projects

AP | By JENNA GOTTLIEB
December 22, 2013 


REYKJAVIK, Iceland (AP) — In this land of fire and ice, where the fog-shrouded lava fields offer a spooky landscape in which anything might lurk, stories abound of the "hidden folk" — thousands of elves, making their homes in Iceland's wilderness.
So perhaps it was only a matter of time before 21st-century elves got political representation.

Elf advocates have joined forces with environmentalists to urge the Icelandic Road and Coastal Commission and local authorities to abandon a highway project building a direct route from the Alftanes peninsula, where the president has a home, to the Reykjavik suburb of Gardabaer. They fear disturbing elf habitat and claim the area is particularly important because it contains an elf church.
The project has been halted until the Supreme Court of Iceland rules on a case brought by a group known as Friends of Lava, who cite both the environmental and the cultural impact — including the impact on elves — of the road project. The group has regularly brought hundreds of people out to block the bulldozers.

And it's not the first time issues about "Huldufolk," Icelandic for "hidden folk," have affected planning decisions.
They occur so often that the road and coastal administration has come up with a stock media response for elf inquiries, which states that "issues have been settled by delaying the construction project at a certain point while the elves living there have supposedly moved on."

Scandinavian folklore is full of elves, trolls and other mythological characters. Most people in Norway, Denmark and Sweden haven't taken them seriously since the 19th century, but elves are no joke to many in Iceland, population 320,000.
A survey conducted by the University of Iceland in 2007 found that 62 percent of the 1,000 respondents thought it was at least possible that elves exist.
Ragnhildur Jonsdottir, a self-proclaimed "seer," believes she can communicate with the creatures through telepathy.
"It will be a terrible loss and damaging both for the elf world and for us humans," said Jonsdottir of the road project.

Although many of the Friends of Lava are motivated primarily by environmental concerns, they see the elf issue as part of a wider concern for the history and culture of a very unique landscape.
Andri Snaer Magnason, a well-known environmentalist, said his major concern was that the road would cut the lava field in two, among other things, destroying nesting sites.
"Some feel that the elf thing is a bit annoying," said Magnason, adding that personally he was not sure they existed. However, he added, "I got married in a church with a god just as invisible as the elves, so what might seem irrational is actually quite common" with Icelanders.

Terry Gunnell, a folklore professor at the University of Iceland, said he was not surprised by the wide acceptance of the possibility of elves.
"This is a land where your house can be destroyed by something you can't see (earthquakes), where the wind can knock you off your feet, where the smell of sulfur from your taps tells you there is invisible fire not far below your feet, where the northern lights make the sky the biggest television screen in the world, and where hot springs and glaciers 'talk,'" Gunnell said.
"Everyone is aware that the land is alive, and one can say that the stories of hidden people and the need to work carefully with them reflects an understanding that the land demands respect," he added.

Gunnell said similar beliefs are found in western Ireland, but they thrive in Iceland because people remain in close contact with the land. Parents still let their children play out in the wilderness, often late into the night. Vast pristine areas remain, even near the capital, Reykjavik.
And at Christmas, Icelanders await not just one Santa Claus, but 13 trolls known as the "Yule Lads" who come to town during the 13 days before Christmas. Each has his own task, putting rewards or punishments into the shoes of little children. They include Stufur, or Stubby, who is extremely short and eats crusts left in pans; Pottaskefill, or Pot-Scraper, who snatches leftovers; and Hurdaskellir or Door-Slammer, who likes to slam doors at night.

"If you ask an Icelander about elves, they might say they don't believe," said Jonsdottir. "But we always have stories of them, if not from ourselves then from someone close like a family member."

Hilmar Gunnarsson, a writer in Reykjavik, fondly remembers a story his grandmother told him about a mischievous elf.
"She told me about (a pair) of her scissors that went missing and she was certain that an elf borrowed them," Gunnarsson said. "She would not believe that they were just lost and she would not buy (new) scissors. She said the elf would give them back when he was finished. She said they were returned."

One of Iceland's most famous daughters, the singer Bjork, displayed no hesitation when asked by U.S. comedian and TV host Stephen Colbert if people in her country believed in elves.
"We do," she said. "It's sort of a relationship with nature, like with the rocks. (The elves) all live in the rocks, so you have to. It's all about respect, you know."

Friday, December 20, 2013

ELK CITY, Okla. (AP) — Talk about a marriage proposal to remember.

An Oklahoma man proposed to his girlfriend last week while an officer tried to arrest him on two outstanding warrants.

An officer spotted Justin Harrel of Elk City in a local park last Friday and discovered that he had outstanding warrants out of two counties for obtaining cash or merchandise by bogus check, according to court documents.  Harrel resisted arrest at first.

"I advised Justin that he was under arrest and directed him to turn around and place his hands behind his back," the officer wrote in his police report. "Justin said, 'Steve, let's talk about this. Give me five minutes.'"
When the officer took him into custody, Harrel explained that he was about to propose to his girlfriend. He asked if he could go ahead with the proposal.

The officer allowed Harrel to complete the marriage proposal, and Harrel's girlfriend eventually said yes. Harrel then asked the officer to get the engagement ring from his coat pocket and give it to her.
The officer handed the ring to the girlfriend.
Harrel was not cited for resisting an officer.

He and his betrothed may later be charged with gross stupidity, Harrel for  proposing and the woman for accepting.

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

2 Helena women charged 

December 17, 1946
HELENA - Two Helena women are in jail after allegedly forcing their way into a woman's apartment, assaulting her, and then stealing her horse.
The incident happened on Sunday afternoon at the 800 block of Stewart Homes in Helena.
Amy Brooke Hildenstab, 23 years old, is charged with aggravated burglary. She also had an outstanding felony warrant on a different case.
Her co-defendant, 267-year old Betsy Ross, is charged with accessory to aggravated burglary and criminal possession of dangerous drugs.  Ross allegedly had 23 grams of cocaine hidden in her bra when arrested.  When confronted she claimed her husband, Larry Ross, an Indian fighter with the Montana Dept, of Indian Affairs, had placed the drugs in her bra without her knowledge. 
No, that's not even true. The above paragraph was fabricated by the writer of this story.
According to court documents Hildenstab and Betsy Ross were arrested after the alleged incident while fleeing the scene of the residence.  Ms. Ross, whose estimated age is more than 267 years, had been a fugitive from justice since 1778, when she stole the original American flag and fled to Cuba, in anticipation of the Cuban Revolution of 1956.
Both women are being held in the county jail on $25,000 bond.
Wait!  That's not even true, either.
This entire story was made up by the writer after snorting cocaine and grapefruit juice for 6 hours.


Monday, December 16, 2013

'Tis the Season To Get Jo---busted?

Pa. police: Driver hid pot as Christmas presents


STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania State Police say they found 20 pounds of marijuana in boxes wrapped as Christmas presents inside a minivan after a traffic stop.

The Centre Daily Times reports (http://bit.ly/1j4exXu ) that 38-year-old Randy Jesus Valdivia, of Surfside, Fla., faces felony drug charges after the stop on Interstate 80 near State College.
Police say they became suspicious after Valdivia was stopped Thursday afternoon, and got him to agree to a search.

Valdivia, who appeared stoned, took cops to a grow farm where he obtained the weed for his Ho, ho, ho presents for friends.

They say they found 20 pounds of weed vacuum-sealed inside large boxes wrapped as Christmas gifts.

Online court records say Valdivia was then taken to the local jail. A defense lawyer wasn't listed.

Saturday, December 14, 2013

Putting a Little Spice into Christmas

MILAN (AP) — A provocatively adorned outdoor Christmas tree in central Milan was just too naughty for city officials, who have ordered it denuded of its racy red sex toys.
The city said in an order that the Christmas season, "qualifying as a holiday for children and families, requires sobriety in urban decorations," in particular when using "traditional symbols that distinguish Christmas."

Norma Rossetti, who launched an Italian sex toy e-commerce website this year, said Friday she complied immediately with the order. But she defended the so-called "Tree of Pleasure," saying the objects chosen were elegant and not obviously X-rated. She said her goal is to break down taboos by making sex toys "completely normal everyday objects. "

Rossetti acknowledged some complaints, but said most passers-by during the one-day display were enthusiastic.

Thursday, December 12, 2013

Dumb Overreaction By School Administrators

Six-year-old Hunter Yelton, a first grader at Lincoln School of Science & Technology in Canon City, Colorado, was recently suspended for kissing a girl in his class on the hand. Hunter spoke to KRDO Newschannel 13and explained, "It was during class yeah. We were doing reading group and I leaned over and kissed her on the hand. That's what happened." The boy went on to take responsibility for what he did, "She sent me to the office, fair and square. I did something wrong and I feel sorry. I’ve been trying to be good at school."
Hunter Yelton (KRDO)
Hunter Yelton (KRDO)
Hunter got in trouble because his actions fit the elementary school’s definition of ‘sexual harassment.’ So now Little Hunter has a record with school district RE-1 as a sexual harassment offender.
School District RE-1 definition of 'sexual harassment.' (KRDO)
School District RE-1 definition of 'sexual harassment.' (KRDO)
(KRDO)
(KRDO)
(KRDO)
(KRDO)
It’s terminology that Hunter’s mother, Jennifer Saunders, felt was inappropriate saying, “'Sexual harassment.’ This is taking it to a, to an extreme that doesn't need to be met with a six-year-old. Now my son is asking questions, ‘What is sex mommy? It should not ever be said, ‘Sex,’ in a sentence with a six year old."
Jennifer Saunders, Hunter Yelton's mother (KRDO)
Jennifer Saunders, Hunter Yelton's mother (KRDO)

This is not Hunter’s first run in with the school authorities as he’s been suspended in the past for rough-housing and for kissing the same girl from this most recent incident, on the cheek. The female classmate and her parents have not come forward but according to Ms. Saunders, "She was fine with it, they are ‘boyfriend and girlfriend’. The other children saw it and went to the music teacher.” Hunter’s mom says that she has made efforts to work with her son on improving his classroom behavior by grounding him and giving him, “…very big restrictions.” It does seem like there have been discussions at home because the young man has his own articulate explanation for why he does what he does saying, “I just have a lot of energy. I mean six-year-olds. They have a lot of energy."

Friday, December 6, 2013

Here, Here, Pot Is Near

SEATTLE (AP) — Crowds of people bundled in winter coats celebrated the anniversary of marijuana legalization in Washington state Friday by sparking up at a city-sanctioned party under Seattle's Space Needle.
Marijuana activist Ben Livingston said it took him three months to persuade city officials to grant him a permit for the party marking the anniversary of the day the legal pot law took effect. It began at 4:20 p.m., with a line of people streaming into a big tent that quickly filled with a marijuana haze.
Partygoers wished each other a happy anniversary and chanted, "Thank you, Washington!"
Jay Zozh, who moved to the state less than a month ago, marveled as the crowd passed around a footlong joint.
"If we were all in Texas, we'd be arrested and charged with felonies," he said.
The free event, capacity 999, was set up behind a double perimeter fence at Seattle Center, with the pot smoking blocked from public view. Hundreds were expected to attend throughout the event.
"I want to make the point that cannabis consumers are good people, and we should be treated equally with other people when trying to utilize city facilities," Livingston said.
The party was being held near Key Arena, where Pearl Jam was ending a North American tour, and Livingston extended an open invitation to the band's fans to swing by on their way to or from the show.
The Winterfest holiday lighting celebration, a Pacific Northwest Ballet performance of the Nutcracker, and a Seattle Children's Theatre staging of "James and the Giant Peach" were also taking place Friday night at the Seattle Center campus.
Those events didn't jibe so well with a big pot party, according to some drug abuse prevention groups. Nine people sent a letter to the Seattle Center, the City Council and the mayor, asking the event be canceled. Among the signatories were Dr. Leslie R. Walker, chief of adolescent medicine at Seattle Children's Hospital, and Derek Franklin, president of the Washington Association for Substance Abuse and Violence Prevention.
"Seattle Center is a poor location for the party considering it takes place during Winterfest, a family-friendly event, and among popular venues that cater to children and their families," the letter said.
Livingston responded by noting that the family-friendly Winterfest has a beer tent, which no one protested.
Seattle Center spokeswoman Deborah Daoust said the pot party was permitted by the city, and it's the center's role to help ensure it's a success.


The party featured several informational vendors who helped to offset the party's estimated $11,000 cost, but Livingston hoped to recoup the rest of the balance through poster sales and donations.

Thursday, December 5, 2013

Atheist Steals Portable Church

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A brazen thief has made off with a New Mexico pastor's "church on wheels," taking about $40,000 in equipment and dozens of donated toys.

KRQE-TV reports (http://bit.ly/1hxXmMi) the New City Church in Albuquerque is a portable church that uses a trailer to store everything it needs for Sunday services, including speakers, cords and microphones. It has a small office in northeast Albuquerque.

New City Pastor Nate Bush says a man with a red pickup cut the lock on a fenced parking lot Sunday and towed away the church's trailer. He says the trailer was loaded with the church's equipment and supplies, along with toys for an upcoming charity event.

Bush says the trailer and its contents were insured. He says the theft is frustrating and one of the reasons he plans to move New City into a permanent space.

Friday, November 29, 2013

Boobed Barber Charged.

Topless barber charged with unlicensed cosmetology


LONGMONT, Colo. (AP) — A woman who allegedly offered topless hairstyling services in northern Colorado faces criminal charges. But police say the problem isn't cutting hair without a top. It's cutting hair without a license.

The Longmont Times-Call reports (http://goo.gl/Hh55PN ) 46-year old Suzette Hall was arrested Wednesday night on suspicion of practicing cosmetology without a license.
Hall's former partner says she advertised $45 topless haircuts online.

According to the arrest warrant, the former partner called police about the topless styling because she "did not believe this was safe or proper."

Police weren't able to turn up any Craigslist ads.

Hall's ex-husband told police she set up shop in Loveland and offered services as "Rebel Barber." He told police she applied for "a nude license for hairstylists," but no such license exists.
___

Exploding Whale Almost Takes Out Scientist



Poor Bjarni Mikkelsen, a scientist at the National Museum of the Faroe Islands, was given the rather grim task of getting rid of a whale corpse after two died this week near the Faroe Islands.
But little did he expect that it would explode in his face.
Dressed from head to toe in protective clothing, the marine biologist is seen nervously prodding the carcass.
As he punctured the creature's stomach, with a loud bang, the gas trapped inside rips through the 45ft-whale’s corpse, spewing guts and internal organs into the air.

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Woman Sleeps With Dead Husband For A Year

Nov. 21, 2013
A woman had been sleeping next to her dead husband's decomposed corpse for one year until authorities made the grisly discovery this week.
Apparently, 79-year-old "Marcel H." from Liege, Belgium, died back in November 2012 of an asthma attack, according to Carters News Agency. His wife was so upset that she failed to report the death andcontinued to sleep with the body until Belgian authorities made the bizarre finding on Tuesday, Nov. 19.
They were led to the apartment because the landlord claimed the couple hadn't paid their rent since last year. Neighbors never reported a bad smell. The body had mummified.
WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES BELOW
"A body can mummify in a dry, warm environment," Philippe Boxho, pathologist at the Forensic Center of Liege told Carters. "It takes at least a week to reach such a state. In this case the body had rotten [sic] in the bed [and] his internal organs had melted and liquefied. ... Even though the smell of human decay is quite specific, many people equate that smell to the smell of garbage and once the body has become rotten the smell does decrease significantly."
Although this seems impossible, it has happened before.
Dr. Christian Hansch with the Department of Forensic Medicine at the University of Antwerp detailed an instance of mummification back in the 1970s. The body of a man who committed suicide in the cellar of his home in Belgium was found mummified 14 months (or 433 days) after his death. Hansch attributed this to the dry and well-ventilated environment.
"In such circumstances, the decomposition process is slowed down, while both drying-up and autolysis of tissues prevail," he wrote in a report detailing the find.
Last year, a Michigan woman was found living with her boyfriend's mummified bodymonths after his death. She had been cashing in his Social Security checks after he died, but she insisted she kept the body simply because she didn't want to be alone. She was later charged with forgery.

Friday, November 15, 2013

Woman Fakes Pregnancy With Ecstasy

Nov. 15, 2013

Meet Leeann Corley.

The Georgia woman was arrested last month for allegedly using a fake baby bump to try and smuggle about 34,000 Ecstasy pills into the country from Canada.

Corley, 25, is pictured at right in a United States Marshals Service mug shot without her “bundle of joy.”

The alleged smuggler was aboard a Greyhound bus bound for Buffalo when border agents discovered the 21-pound drug stash during a pat down. 

Investigators recovered “33 zip lock bags containing colored pills” that were hidden inside a “body suit with a modified stomach area.”


Corley, free on $15,000 bond, is facing a felony drug trafficking charge.

Wednesday, November 13, 2013

U.S. Spends Record Sums to Keep Afghan Opium Output High


November 13, 2013

Afghan poppy farmers planted a record opium crop this year, as the international community’s decade-long efforts at curbing the world’s biggest source of heroin all-but founders.

About 209,000 hectares of poppy were cultivated this season with an estimated yield of 5,500 tonnes, according to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) annual opium survey released today.

It marks the third consecutive year that cultivation has risen and eclipses the record 193,000 hectares in 2007, with experts now believing the total could rise further in the coming years.

Keeping Afghanistan's agricultural production up has proved costly for the U.S., which has spent $665 billion dollars in the past decade to prop up the Afghan economy.  This year's crop will cost $66.5 billion dollars, or roughly $82 billion per tonne.

Airport Alligator Arrived By Train

CHICAGO (AP) — After tracking down a small alligator skulking in a baggage claim area at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, authorities are now hunting for its traveling companion.
The Chicago Transit Authority has released a series of images showing a woman who they believe rode to the airport on a CTA Blue Line train with the 2-foot-long gator in the early morning hours of Nov. 1.
Thanks to one of the most extensive surveillance systems in the United States, officials know this about the alligator's trip to O'Hare: It boarded a train at the Pulaski stop — with the woman — at 1:17 a.m. The security camera captured the woman petting her little friend on her knee as she talked on her cellphone.

Strotman said given how fond the the woman seemed of the alligator, he suspects that it might have gotten away from her at the airport. Besides, he told The Associated Press, "You can drop off an alligator anywhere. You don't have to take it to O'Hare."
An airport employee found the alligator later in the day under an escalator near a baggage claim — insert alligator-skin bag joke here. Police captured the reptile by trapping it beneath a trash can.
Not only did officials name the creature Allie, but also handed it over to people who could care for it, just in the nick of time.

"It's not responding well to food... It hasn't had the proper nutrition. Its growth has been stunted. It has a bent spine, soft bones, soft fingernails and a soft skull," Jason Hood, president of the Chicago Herpetological Society, told The Associated Press. The society took custody of the alligator.
Hood said the alligator spotted on the train has the same markings as the animal captured at the airport. 
"Those responsible for this act can face a misdemeanor charge of cruel treatment of an animal or face a fine of $300 to $1,000 for cruelty to animals for abandoning the animal in a public place," the authority said in a news release.

CTA spokeswoman Lambrini Lukidis said releasing the photos provides a good reminder that 3,600 cameras are keeping a close eye on the transit system.
"If a more serious crime is happening in our system," she said, "there are ways for us to work with investigators and the police department."

Alligator When Grown

The decision to release the photos also reflects the public interest in a very unusual sighting, Lukidis said. "We've had deer on train platforms and roosters on buses and trains, but this is the first reptile, at least that I'm aware of."

Monday, November 11, 2013

Man Rescued From the Dead

Nov. 11, 2013
Sao Paulo

A woman visited a cemetery located in the suburbs of Ferraz de Vasconcelos in Sao Paulo, Brazil and rescued a man who was buried alive and who is recognized as a person with mental health problems.

According to reports revealed by Record TV News, and quoted by 24 Horas, the woman was visiting the grave of one of her relatives when she realized that the ground was constantly moving, she saw a human hand emerging, she was terrified and alerted the cemetery authorities.

The source noted that in the first inquiries of this case, Brazilian police assumed that the man may have been involved in a fight, knocked unconscious and then taken to the cemetery by his attackers assuming he was dead.  When he recovers fully it is assumed he will be looking for those responsible for his live burial.  They are not expected to survive, according to unnamed police sources. The man who was rescued by an emergency squad presented high levels of asphyxia, therefore he was taken to a local hospital where he was treated and will be subject to psychological studies, reports Periodista Digital.

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Homeless Guy Scores Presidential Suite At Swank Hotel

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A homeless man has gone from the proverbial penthouse to the big house after he was found sleeping in the presidential suite at one of Pittsburgh's swankiest hotels.
Jeffrey Lennon Watson, 48, told police he was from Los Angeles and was passing through the city to return to California when he was nabbed by security at the Omni William Penn Hotel on Tuesday night, police spokeswoman Diane Richard said Wednesday.

Hotel guests were checking into the suite about 7:30 p.m. when they saw Watson sleeping on a couch and notified hotel staff, police said. Hotel security officers woke him up, took him to their office and called police, Richard said.

Hotel general manager Eric DeStefano issued a short statement explaining what occurred.
The parlor area of the Presidential suite is "a general-use area for receptions and small events. The door had been programmed to remain unlocked for an event earlier that day. As soon as the occupant was discovered, he was escorted off the property," DeStefano said.

Watson told police "he has been in Pittsburgh for over a month and sleeps wherever he can locate somewhere comfortable to rest his head," Richard said.



Tuesday, November 5, 2013

Now, Who's The Pussy?

HEMET, Calif. (AP) — Police say a Southern California woman can throw a mean ax — and she used one to chase a burglar from her house.

Hemet police say the woman called 911 on Saturday morning and said she'd been awakened by a man trying to remove her watch from her wrist.

The woman told police she's a tomahawk-throwing champion, and she quickly grabbed a throwing ax and chased the man out of the apartment.

Police searched the area and found a man hiding behind some nearby bushes, along with property belonging to the woman.

Twenty-two-year-old Nicholas Ulloa was arrested on suspicion of burglary. He remains jailed Monday, and police say they don't know whether he has an attorney.

Monday, November 4, 2013

Dear Ole Mom, With Love

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. (AP) — A 10-year-old girl whose malnourished body was found in a suburban Atlanta trash bin had tried to run away from home and showed up at school with bruises and welts on her body, police reports show.

Emani Moss' stepmother also had been charged with child cruelty after beating the girl, according to the reports from the Gwinnett County Police Department.

Moss' burned and emaciated body was found in a trash bin in unincorporated Lawrenceville on Saturday, police have said.

The girl's father, Eman Moss, and the stepmother, Tiffany Moss, have been charged with murder, concealing a body, and child cruelty, and were being held without bond in the Gwinnett County jail. It's unclear if they have attorneys.

Authorities conducted an autopsy on Emani on Sunday and determined that her body was burned after she was dead, likely in an effort to conceal the crime, said Gwinnett County Police Cpl. Jake Smith. Emani may have died as early as Oct. 30 and was severely underweight when her body was found, Smith said. He said the autopsy showed the girl had been denied food for several days before her death.
On March 19, 2010, then-6-year-old Emani told a school nurse she was afraid to go home with her bad report card because she was afraid her parents would hurt her, according to one of the police reports. When the nurse investigated further, she found the girl had bruises on her body and reported it to police.

Police took Emani and her stepmother to department headquarters for interviews that day and said Emani had severe bruises and welts on her chest, back, shoulders, arms and legs, the police report said.
Tiffany Moss told police she only hit the girl with a belt three times, the report said. She was arrested on a child-cruelty charge.

The Georgia Division of Family and Children Services signed a 2010 plea deal ordering Tiffany Moss to serve five years of probation for beating Emani, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Monday.

In July 2012, Emani tried running away from home, the police reports show.

The girl's grandmother, Robin Moss, was quoted by local news media on Sunday and Monday as saying that she suspected Emani was being abused, but couldn't persuade state authorities to grant her custody. Emani's mother, Danita Leaks, told Atlanta FOX affiliate WAGA-TV on Monday that she and Eman Moss fought over custody for two to three years and she was unaware that her daughter was being abused.
"If I would have known that him and his wife were abusing my baby, I would not have let her stay over there," she told the television station.

Authorities initially said Eman Moss called police early Saturday saying he was suicidal and that his daughter died after drinking some type of chemical substance. Smith said Monday that the detail about Moss being suicidal was a miscommunication during the 911 call and was later clarified with the dispatcher.
Police said they won't release audio from the call because it's part of the investigation and could be used in court.

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Urban Alligator Tries To Fly From Chicago

CHICAGO (AP) — A small alligator found under an escalator at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport has left authorities puzzled.

A maintenance worker discovered the alligator, which is about a foot long, on Friday in Terminal 3, Chicago Police spokesman Jose Estrada said Sunday.
An officer captured the reptile by putting a trash can over it.

"We don't know where it came from or how long it'd been residing in the airport facilities," Estrada said. "It's one of those random incidents."

The gator is now being cared for by the Chicago Herpetological Society.
"It was in pretty bad shape," said Jason Hood, the group's president. "We're trying to get it healthy and find a place for it."

He said the gator would likely head to an out-of-state alligator farm once authorities give the organization the all-clear to release the animal.
No one was injured.

Friday, November 1, 2013

Indiana Woman Recovers Donated Kidney

Ind. woman who donated kidney weds organ recipient

 

BROWNSBURG, Ind. (AP) — A central Indiana woman who promised to donate one of her kidneys to a man she barely knew has married him three years after his successful transplant surgery.
Chelsea Clair and Kyle Froelich met at a 2009 car show when he was 19 and she was 22. Clair learned that day that Froelich had a serious kidney disease — and she told him then and there she would give him one of hers.
She underwent the necessary tests and ended up being a near perfect match. Three years ago, she donated one of her kidneys to Froelich.
The Indianapolis Star reports (http://indy.st/1cEjsbm ) that the couple was married Oct. 12 at the Danville Conservation Club, the venue that hosted the car show where they met.
___

Thursday, October 31, 2013

Bikini Baristas Nailed by Cops

EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — Police say the service at a bikini espresso stand in Washington state was too hot.

Officers arrested three baristas Wednesday at the Hillbilly Hotties coffee stand in Everett.
Spokesman Aaron Snell tells KOMO (http://bit.ly/1ixokQ4 ) that police received complaints the women were exposing body parts and behaving inappropriately.


A 20-year-old and 21-year-old are facing charges of violating the city's adult cabaret law. A 33-year-old was arrested for investigation of lewd conduct

Man Gives Finger To Cops, Is Arrested

Severed Finger Leads Police to Ariz. Theft Suspect



An air conditioning company employee told Glendale police someone tried to steal the wire from his truck on Oct. 7.
The spool of wire — worth more than $300 — had been pulled out about 20 feet from the truck, and what appeared to be a cut off finger was caught in the wiring.
Police retrieved the finger as evidence, and forensic technicians were able to match the fingerprint to 29-year-old Joshua Allen Goverman.
Goverman told detectives he lost part of a finger while working on a car. He was booked on suspicion of theft.
Authorities didn't know whether Goverman had a lawyer who could be reached for comment.

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Yeah, Yeah...And the Dog Ate My Homework, Too


Dog blamed for apartment fire in Wash. state






WENATCHEE, Wash. (AP) — Fire officials say a dog reaching for treats turned on a stove and started a fire causing smoke damage to an apartment in the central Washington city of Wenatchee.

Wenatchee Fire Marshal Mark Yaple tells KPQ radio that it appears the black Labrador was reaching for a bag of dog food left on a stove top when it turned on the stove with its paw.

Yaple says the residents were not at home when fire crews arrived.

It wasn't me.

He says emergency crews were able to revive the dog with mouth-to-snout resuscitation. Damage was estimated at $10,000.
Wenatchee, a city of more than 30,000, is about 130 miles from Seattle.

Friday, October 25, 2013

It's Florida, Again - Sexual Battery

Oct. 25, 2013

Jessica Ann Gutzler, 35, of Punta Gorda, Fla. was arrested on Oct. 24 in Port Charlotte and charged with sexual battery, felony battery by strangulation, and, resisting arrest without violence.

According to NBC News, Gutzler allegedly hit, choked, and sexually battered another female with an inanimate object.

When police from Charlotte Co. were called to Gutzler’s location last night around 10 p.m. to investigate an altercation, they witnessed a car with its lights off speeding away from the scene.
When police caught up with the getaway vehicle, the driver said that “Gutzler was hiding in the trunk.” Police opened the trunk and discovered Gutzler within, covered in blood.

Deputies investigated a nearby residence and located several witnesses who testified that Gutzler had become violent and sexually assaulted one the female residents living there.

The victim was transported to a local hospital where she was treated. Evidence was found consistent with her account of what happened.

While police were still interviewing Gutzler and preparing to formally arrest her, she “kicked an interview room door and attempted to pull away while being handcuffed.”

Not Jessica Gutzler but better looking.

Police managed to subdue Jessica Ann Gutzler, and transport her to Charlotte County Jail where she was held on a $57,000 bond.

Bam, Bam My Baby (almost) Blew Me Up


Austrian woman offers live tank shell on swap site

October 24, 2013

VIENNA (AP) — It's not often that a swap site transaction results in the evacuation of an apartment house. But then again, how often is one of the objects being traded a live tank shell?

Austrian state broadcaster ORF says the shell was on offer as a dummy. It says police had to clear a Vienna apartment house of its residents and put up road blocks after establishing that it was in fact a fully functioning explosive.

Thursday's report said police were called to examine the shell by its new owner shortly after she had exchanged two bottles of wine and a picture frame for it on an online swap site.

ORF said the shell's previous owner had used it as a door stopper.  It also had been previously used in the pictured tank, but was never fired.

The report says both women face unspecified criminal charges.

Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Judge Slams British Man For Wedding Hoax


LONDON (AP) — A forgetful British bridegroom who made a hoax bomb threat rather than admit he'd neglected to book the venue for his wedding was sentenced Tuesday to a year in jail.

Neil McArdle called Liverpool's St. George's Hall from a phone booth on his scheduled wedding day in April, claiming a bomb was due to go off in 45 minutes.
His fiancee, Amy Williams, was left standing in the street in her wedding gown while the building was evacuated.

McArdle, 36, was arrested the same day and admitted that he made the call because he had forgotten to fill out the paperwork for the wedding.

"He did say several times how embarrassed and ashamed he was and how sorry he was," said prosecutor Derek Jones.

A judge at Liverpool Crown Court in northwest England sentenced McArdle to 12 months in jail.
Judge Norman Wright said that McArdle had frightened staff at the venue with his hoax —which came days after the Boston marathon bombings — and let down his fiancee.

"She was getting ready, expecting you were going to be man and wife and a very solemn public event in her life and you knew that was not going to take place," the judge said.

"You did not say 'We need to talk.' You tried to weasel your way out by creating a bomb hoax so the wedding would not take place."

Defense lawyer Charles Lander said McArdle and Williams are still together.
"The fact that she stands with him speaks volumes for her, and I hope volumes for him," Lander said.

Experience Homelessness - Only $2,000


Being Homeless Ain’t Cheap: Man Offers Three-Day Homeless Experience for $2,000

“You can’t really understand another person’s experience until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes.” One man took this saying literally when he decided to give the ultimate homeless experience to anyone curious to see what  it’s like to live on the streets of Seattle and willing to pay $2,000 for it.

Mike Momany was a freelance computer programmer conducting his business from an RV when he began to notice that living in Seattle was becoming a luxury. Inspired by the ever-rising costs of the big cities and the minimalist movement, he took two months off in the summer of 2013 to see what it was like not having  a roof over his head. After experiencing life as a homeless himself,  Mike decided to allow other privileged people who still had a home to do the same by giving them a three-day “Course in Applied Homelessness”, as he calls it.

Before the start of the actual homelessness course, Momany insists on a preliminary interview to assess his and the participant’s compatibility and to make sure that the person knows exactly what they’re getting themselves into. If all goes well, the tour begins with different activities planned for each of the three days. On the first day, the participant will be given a new persona along with a disguise tat that will give them that genuine homeless look. They will then cruise around town visiting all the “favored homeless spots” before retiring for the night in a homeless shelter. The shelter Momany is currently working with does not allow ladies, making him unable to share the lifestyle with women (he plans on changing this soon). 

For the second day, he suggests trying “panhandling or sleeping on a park bench” to get a real feel of how people view the homeless. After some more sightseeing, it’s time for free meals and after trying the Fare Start chef program, the tour ends with a night stroll until 3 a.m. and cocktails in the morning to discuss and celebrate having gone through the homeless experience.
homelessness-experience
Photo: Facebook
Is this crash course worth $2,000? Momany believes so. “It’s to bring an experience to people they can’t get very easily,” he explains. “It’s really not to make money.” Although there haven’t been any takers yet, his concept has been harshly criticized. “I’m worried about the homeless being exploited for profit and individual gain. Not the money itself,” one woman wrote on his Facebook page, while another stated that “Homeless people are not exhibits.” Mike answered that although he’d like to be able to make a living off this idea, the course is purely educational and that $2,000 is not that much considering he also offers protection and insight into the homeless etiquette. Furthermore, he states that some of the money will be donated to all the homeless hot-spots they visit during the tour as well as to the aforementioned shelter.
panhandling
Although Momany’s initiative might seem bizarre, some people see it as a great educational opportunity. One young sociology student even asked him to arrange a tour for her and other women who are too afraid to tackle this experience without any protection or guidance. Famous people have embraced the homelessness experience concept in the past. Back in 2009, Prince William himself spent a night on the cold pavement of a London alley to get the full on experience. ”I hope that by deepening my understanding of the issue, I can help do my bit to help the most vulnerable on our streets,” he said at the time.

The King of Cockroaches


Bug Fan Keeps Tens of Thousands of Cockroaches as Pets


Kyle Kandilian, a 20-year-old student from Dearborn, Michigan, has a very unusual hobby – he enjoys raising cockroaches as pets. His bedroom walls are decked with boxes and crates which hold around 200,000 roaches he breeds for fun and profit.

Kyle’s passion is probably going to bug a lot of people, seeing as most people tend to freak out if they so much as hear the word “cockroach”. But Kyle is not most people. Ever since he got to see and hold some Madagascar hissing roaches during a tech day exhibit at the University of Detroit Mercy, he has been fascinated with them. He came home that day and asked his mother if he could have one as a pet, but his mother looked him in the eye and said ”Kyle? You are never bringing cockroaches into this house.” Today his bedroom is home to around 200,000 cockroaches from 130 varieties, and his parents are very supportive of his passion. Maybe “supportive” is pushing it a little, but Kyle agrees they are “very tolerant of his enthusiasm”. He is aware that cockroaches are usually a taboo topic, but says he has never tried to hide his hobby, instead talking openly and enthusiastically about bug passion in an attempt to change people’s perception of them. He claims only about a dozen of the 4,000 known species of roaches are actually pests, but they manage to give all of them a bad name.
cockroach-pets
Photo: Kyle Kandilian/Roach Crossing
Throughout the years Kandilian has had to come up with innovative ideas in order to keep his bedroom roach farm. One day, at around 4 or 5 in the morning, his mother woke him up and said “Kyle, we need to stop this”. There was a hissing cockroach on the toilet paper roll, and he was forced to either create barriers for his pets or get rid of them. He found Vaseline worked best, and he not only got to keep his roaches, but the idea, which he presented at the Detroit Science Fair, also won him the grand prize and granted him several scholarships.
cockroach-pets2
Photo: Kyle Kandilian/Facebook
Although he enjoys raising cockroaches as pets, Kyle managed to turn his passion into a profitable business as well. He takes his bugs to reptile and insect shows and also sells them online to fellow enthusiasts and reptile owners. The feeder roaches are really cheap, but rare ones, like rhino roaches that will live 10 to 15 years are usually sold for $150-$200. This little cockroach business yields enough for the young student to pay off his college debt, buy more roaches and entertain his other hobbies, like video-games and gardening.
 
Asked by a reporter of the Detroit Free Press if he couldn’t just raise bunnies instead of cockroaches, Kyle said “No. Mammals smell too much.” As much as I admire him for following his dream and trying to change people’s perception of roaches, bringing a girl home to a room full of cockroaches has to be a little awkward.