| OCTOBER 31ST 2008 Judge Tells Offenders: Give Blood! Don't be found guilty in Broward County, Florida. You could wind up paying in blood! In Judge Steven Shutter's courtroom, offenders who face sentencing for everything from underage smoking to unintentionally killing someone in a car accident are given a choice - they can pay a fine, do community service or roll up their sleeves at a local blood bank! "People who haven't done it before think it sounds vampire-ish," explains Shutter. "The system wins because they have needed blood coming in." "The defendants win because they feel like they have done something important by saving someone's life instead of raking leaves." Each year, about 300 offenders choose to give the gift of life in return for knocking as much as $75 off their fines. Although that's only a small percentage of the 238,000 donors who give to the Community Blood Centers of South Florida every year, it still makes a critical difference. "If these 300 people didn't donate, that would be 900 fewer people who could receive transfusions of plasma, platelets and other materials," explains Michael Rogers, vice president of the centers. |
| OCTOBER 30TH 2008 $360 Billion Dollar Check! You Can't Cash That An aspiring record company owner is behind bars after he tried to finance his business with a bogus check for $360 billion! When they spied the colossal number of zeroes, bank employees got suspicious and called the check's owner for verification. Cops were called after the woman said the 21-year-old suspect was her daughter's boyfriend and didn't have her permission to cash the check. The would-be bigwig was busted on an array of charges, including suspicion of fraud, carrying a weapon and marijuana possession. |
| OCTOBER 29TH 2008 Wife Saves Husband From Shark Attack! Zombie Strippers Now In Stores BUY IT Demonstrating courage and wisdom beyond her years, a 19-year-old bride saved her wealthy 54-year-old husband from the jaws of death. Millionaire Frank McDermott and his new wife Tiffany were honeymooning on his yacht near Catalina Island, California, when he accidentally dropped his bottle of Viagra overboard - and leapt into the shark-infested waters to retrieve it. "I saw my Spanksie bobbing in the water like a champagne cork," recalls Tiffany. "This big shark was swimming toward him. I didn't know what to do until frank shouted, 'I haven't changed my will yet!'" "Suddenly, the thought of life without my dear, sweet husband became unbearable." The intrepid blondie threw caution to the wind, leapt into the ocean and, as the shark was about to take a bite out of her future, poked the savage creature in the eye with a well-manicured, inch-long fingernail. The beast fled in agony. Apart from saving her husband's life, Tiffany also retrieved the Viagra. Back on board his yacht, grateful McDermott enthused: "Her quick thinking proved she's no airhead. I think I'll appoint her to the board of directors of my company!" Confirming her newfound non-airhead status, Tiffany, sitting in her hubby's lap, added: "Spaksie, about that will..." |
| OCTOBER 28TH 2008 Light Up A Little Of That Lizard Poop? WTF? Tuscon, Ariz. - America's teens are turning away from pot, cocaine and other "old" drugs in favor of a new legal high: Lizard dung! Whether smoked, snorted or brewed as a stinky tea, users such as 18-year-old Amy - a college freshman who declined to reveal her last name - say it delivers a potent kick that "makes any other drug seem like a diet cola." Amy says: "The white part of a dried Gila monster 'load' is the best. I chop it up into lines, snort it up and I'm flying for hours." "At first the whole idea seemed, like, really gross. But when my sorority sisters experimented with it, I decided to try it and I'm never going back to any other drug." Other "Crap Heads," as users have dubbed themselves, prefer to smoke poop from a bong, like pot, and say its effects are superior to even the finest Colombian imports. "A lot of us are volunteering to clean up lizard cages in zoos and pet stores jsut for the poop," says another anonymous user. A gram of high quality creepy crawly crap costs about $30, compared to $80-$100 for the same quantity of cocaine, say obervers. |
| OCTOBER 27TH 2008 Classic Alien Cats Discovery On Mars Story... Dig In And Relax It's Not True...Or Is It? NASA's bold plan to send astronauts to Mars by 2020 ground to a screeching halt last week, when an unmanned rover transmitted pictures of a savage breed of hair-less cats marauding over the surface of the Red Planet! The images of the snarling, hissing felines were the last the rover was to send. Seconds later, the freocious cats destroyed the multimillion-dollar robotic explorer. "They're no bigger than your average house cat, but they are fearless, hostile and deadly," says shaken NASA spokesman Paul Rivers. "Unlike Earth cats, which are solitary creatures, these cats rove in packs, which makes them even more lethal." The program to establish a base on Mars, announced proudly several years ago by President George W. Bush, was to have been NASA's showpiece in the post-Shuttle era. Now, it lies in shambles. "We have no idea how many of these brutal cats are living on Mars," Rivers says. "But from what we've observed of their behavior, they would pose a threat to any humans who landed there." "NASA has deemed the risk unacceptable and has put the program on hold until we learn how to get rid of them." Animal rights activists are rallying around the extraterrestrial cats, demanding that they be treated humanely. "They may be hairless, ugly, dangerous and from a different planet, but they are still God's creatures and we'll go all the way to the Supreme Court to make sure NASA treats them with dignity, respect and humanity," declares militant cat-lover Amanda Peake. Scientists have also petitioned NASA not to harm the mysterious animals. "They are what we've been seeking for decades - extraterrestrial life," says astrobiologist Dr. Martin Schudderman. "We must determine where they came from and how they managed to thrive in an environment as hostile as that on Mars." There are two competing theories as to the origin of the strange cats. One, advocated by Schudderman, is that they are the descendants of cats sent to Mars as part of a secret Soviet space program. "The radiation they've been bombarded with over the years was not sufficiently high to kill them, but it did alter their DNA, so they came to appear and act differently from the cats that we're used to here on Earth," he says. Nonsense, says zoologist Dr. Marianne Nestor. "If the Russians had put cats on Mars, we'd have heard about it," she says. "Schudderman's theory ignores the undeniable fact that these cats look exactly like statues of cats worshipped as gods in ancient Egypt." "I believe that these cats are the descendants of a race of intelligent felines from a distant galaxy that explored our solar system thousands of years ago." "They landed not only on Mars, but also on Earth, where they interacted with the Egyptians and taught them how to build the pyramids. That's why the Egyptians worshipped cats as gods." "Because Mars is a much more hostile place than Earth, the alien cats who landed there degenerated into savages in a bid to stay alive." "These so-called animals may in fact be more intelligent than we are. We must reach out to them." The White House is considering launching a pre-emptive strike against the cats. "President Bush believes that if the cats are so smart, they may be hiding weapons of mass destruction," says an Oval Office spokesman. |
| OCTOBER 26TH 2008 Lady Bluebeard... Killer... Researchers are closing in on one of America's most notorious murder cases - a woman who may have murdered more than two dozen people before faking her own death 100 years ago. Belle Gunness, a widow and foster mother, lived on an isolated farm in Laporte, Indiana, at the turn of the last century. She was well known for the tenderness she showed the children she took in - and for the mysterious deaths of her husbands. The woman later dubbed "Lady Bluebeard," after the infamous fairy-tale noble man who murdered three of his wives, first came to this country from Norway in 1881 at age 21. She was married in Chicago three years later. Then her husband died, leaving her with a sizable insurance settlement. She moved to northern Indiana, where she met Peter Gunness. They were married in 1902 and later that year, he died when a sausage grinder and a jar of hot water fell on him. The alleged accident seemed suspicious to authorities, as did the size of the new life insurance settlement. Soon, the Widow Gunness was placing lonely hearts ads in regional newspapers. Suitors would turn up at the farm, then mysteriously disappear. In 1908, suitor Andrew Helgelien's brother, Asle, came looking for him after a bank reported that he'd cashed a $3,000 check. Gunness claimed he'd gone off to Chicago, or maybe back to Norway. But Asle discovered his brother's remains in a garbage pit. Gunness was never arrested. Shortly before Asle's arrival in LaPorte, there was a fire on her farm and the 48-year-old widow was never seen again. "There was always a sense of, what if she's still out there? What if she's lurking around?" explains forensic anthropolist Andi Simmons, who is investigating the Gunness case. At the time, authorities dug through the ashes of the farm and found evidence that Gunness may have poisioned and dismembered between 25 and 33 victims. They also found a set of her dentures, but these were not burned, meaning they could have been planted after the fire. Now, Simmons has opened Gunness' grave. Inside the coffin, she found body parts from two unknown children mingled with bones that might not have belonged to the Black Widow of Indiana. |
| OCTOBER 25TH 2008 The Race Is On... Jaun... For A Car That Gets 100 MPG! That Be Right! The X-Prize Foundation is challenging the world's auto designers to come up with the most fuel-efficient car ever built. The carrot the Foundation - famed for its pioneering efforts in private space flight - is dangling in front of the car makers is nothing sneeze at: $10 million to the first one to put together a production-ready car that gets 100 miles per gallon of gasoline. The winning vehicle must be affordable, have four wheels, a range of 200 miles and be able to hit 60 miles per hour in 12 seconds or less. It must also carry at least four passengers, have climate control, an audio system and 10 cubicfeet of cargo space. More than 60 design teams from nine countries have already thrown their hats in the ring. They'll show off their creations in a series of cross-country races in 2009 and 2010. In 2004, the Foundation awarded a $10 million prize for the first private vehicle to fly into space. It's currently offering $30 million to whomever is the first to put a robot on the moon. |
| OCTOBER 24TH 2008 Electric Cigarette - Buy Them! A cigarette is about to hit the market that will give smokers a nicotine fix without spewing noxious fumes into the air. The Gamucci Classic consists of a disposable nicotine cartridge, a vaporization chamber and a lithium battery. When the smoker inhales, the nicotine is vaporized, satisfying his or her or it's nicotine craving, but it produces no smoke to offend nearby people or get the puffer tossed out of bars, restaurants and other public places where smoking is banned. The cigarette contains no tabacco and produces no cancer-causing tar or other harmful substances. Each nicotine cartridge lasts for 300 puffs, the equivalent of a pack of cigarettes, and the manufacturer claims it's 80 percent cheaper than the real deal. "The response has been phenomenal," says Mo Zar, head of client relations for Gamucci. "Smokers are simply amazed by the device." http://www.gamuccishop.com/shop.html |
| OCTOBER 23RD 2008 The Heck With The Weatherman! The Sun Is Where It At For thousands of years, farmers have been relying on faulty weather forecasts to tell them the appropriate time to sow their seeds and harvest their crops. Since predicting future weather has been such a hit-or-miss business - even the best science can offer hasn't been good enough- the results have often been disastrous. But a new discovery about the sun is going to put an end to all the uncertainty, crop failures and the resulting food shortages. Climatologist Curt Stager, of Paul Smith's College near Saranac Lake , New York, has discovered that sunspots - dark traces on the solar surface caused by monumental energy eruptions - can predict rainfall with uncanny accuracy. One year before peak periods of sunspot activity, which occur like clockwork every 11 years, Earth experiences unusually heavy rainfall. These sunspot patterns can predict the best times - and worst times - to plant. They also predict when flooding is most likely to occur, allowing authorities to plan in advance for potential disasters. |
| OCTOBER 22ND 2008 Dog Falls In Love With Orhaned Cheetah! A gentle giant canine and an orphaned cheetah cub have called a truce in the legendary fight between cats and dogs. Four-month-old Kendra was all alone in the world when she arrived at a nature preserve, but her life immediately ceased to be a jungle when she met Kia, a massive Caucasian shepard. Drawing on deep-rooted maternal instincts that overwhelmed the natural rivalry between the two species, Kia took charge of the frightened cub and began to lavish motherly love on the forlorn waif. Now, they're inseparable, say handlers at La Torbiera Park in Italy. Kia's in for a long haul. Cheeta cubs normally stick close to their mothers until they're 20 months old - by which time Kendra will be just about as big as her foster mom! |
| OCTOBER 21ST 2008 World's First Dwarf Soccer Team A gang of little men with big hearts gave declared themselves the world's furst dwarf soccer team! Known as the Giants of the North, they tour their native Brazil by bus, playing friendly games with youth groups. They hope to dispel the negative attitudes against drawfism that are prevalent in their country. And judging by the legions of new fans they're attracting, the pint-sized pitchmen are succeeding. Professional coach Carlos Lucena manages the team of 11 players, whose talliest member stands 4-fott-7 and the shortest 3-foot-3. Yet they're proving that a lack of height is no barrier to achieving your goals. "The Giants were put together to raise the profile of little people and challenge 'siziest' attitudes," says Lucena. |
| OCTOBER 20TH 2008 Dino Dung For Sale! YES! If you've always wanted a dinosaur relic of your own but felt that fossils were just too fancy, get a load of this - they're selling prehistoric poop! Auctioneers with Bonhans New York have put a 3-pound red-and-white mound of dinosaur manure on the block, along with a 30,000-year-old mammoth tusk and the skull of a giant beaver. Bottom line, experts expect the colorful, 130 million-year-old deposit to fetch $350 to $450. |
| OCTOBER 19TH 2008 Ghost Hunters Baffled By... Shadow Man! Seriously! Stunned witnesses are reporting eerie encounters with a living shadow - a dark, ghostly figure who stalks through grimy alleyways or climbs over graffiti-sprattered walls, then vanishes. Paranormal investigators in North Philadelphia have been stymied by the apparition, even though it has been spotted by dozens of witnesses, some of whom thank the ghost for scaring off muggers and stopping purse snatchers in their tracks. "In a standard haunting, a ghost only appears in a specific area, like a hotel toom or a corner of someone's backyard," explains parapsychologist Burt McCoy, of New York City. "In this case, we've reviewed hundreds of sightings in neighborhoods from West Oak Lane to Spring Garden - all across the northern half of Philadelphia." "The incidents are all very brief, taking place at night in a dark area. Suddenly, a shadow comes to life as a male figure in a long coat wearing a wide-brimmed hat." Augustimna Reyes, 48, was visiting a sick friend after midnight near the corner of Tilghman Street and West Montgomery Avenue when two young men approached her and demanded money. "One of them had his hands in his pockets like he had a gun, and I thought it was all over for me," Reyes recalls. "But then they all of sudden got scared and ran away." "Then I saw him - the Shadow Man. He was creeping along the wall behind me." "There was no streetlight, and no way for anyone to be casting a shadow. In two seconds, he faded away." Researchers say Reyes' story is typical - a witness is recued late at night near a dark alley by a shadow that disappears within seconds. "It could be the spirit of a crime victim or a policeman who died on the streets," McCoy explains. "Or perhaps it's some kind of collective unconscious projection from all the residents of North Philly combined. "We don't yet have enough data to be sure." |
| OCTOBER 18TH 2008 Moon Children? Sad Story Of Sickness Imagine living in a world without sunlight - where a walk on the beach could be deadly. That's the world of three teenagers suffering from a condition known as Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP), which leaves them with no protection against the sun's ultraviolet light. When twins Thomas and Vincent Seris and their friend Mohamed want to spend a weekend in the great outdoors, they head underground to explore caves and sinkholes. The twins wear special full-body suits designed by NASA to block sunlight. Mohamed, who wants to lead as normal a life as possible, refuses to wear one. That puts him at greater risk of developing cancerous lesions after any exposure to the sun. The rare genetic disease strikes one in every million children born in Europe and the United States, but is more common in Japan and North Africa. XP causes abnormal pigmentation and high frequency of skin cancers. In the most serious cases, patients must be kept out of the sun completely. Thomas and Vincent were diagnosed with XP 11 years ago, when they developed unusual freckles on their eyelids. "Fortunately, the dermatoligist we consulted at once suspected xeroderma pigmentosum," recall parents Francoise and Bernard Seris. "We found ourselves faced with our uncertainties and lack of knowledge." "Even though our dermatologist was able to explain about the disease, nobody could tell us how to deal with it from day to day." Over time, the French family developed routines to keep their kids protected, while knowing that the DNA damage is irreversible and cancer is inevitable. "We know that we can do nothing to delay the inescapable outcome, but we keep fighting hard to push back," the parents explain. |
| OCTOBER 17TH 2008 Iraq's "Nessie" Captured On Film A soldier stationed in Iraq has snapped stunning photographs of a Loch Ness-like monster swimming at night in a lake west of Baghdad. The soldier, a Marine who can't be named for security reasons, was testing experimental night vision equipment on the shores of Lake Habbaniyah. The 52-square-mile lake collects floodwaters from the Euphrates River halfway bwetween the wartorn cities of Fallujah and Ramadi. "Our unit's mission was to detect a glider towed behind an Air Force vehicle flying over the lake and take its picture in total darkness," the leather-neck explained in a telephone interview. "We waited for an overcast night with no moon to really test the limits of what we could see." "It was totally black - I couldn't even see my hand in front of my face." While waiting for the glider to appear, the Marine says he heard a distant sound of splashing, as if fish were jumping from the water. He looked across the lake and saw something rise from the surface nearly 75 yards away. "It looped up like a snake does before it strikes," he recalled. "Then it started swimming across the lake for around 45 seconds before it suddenly dove under." Taking the sitance into account, the jarhead believes the creature was between 30 and 50 feet long, and traveled at more than 50 miles an hour. Military officials have declined to comment on the photographs, but digital analysts have looked over the images and say they show no signs of trickery. "Interestingly, the creature shines in the night-vision scope as if it were warm-blooded," declares Dr. Philip Burdoch, of Albuquerque, New Mexico. "Everything else - the apparent movement, the body structure - it all fits with what we know about prehistoric marine reptiles like plesiosaurs." "This could be one of the greatest scientific discoveries of all time, but it's also the worst place in the world to send a research team to investigate further." |
| OCTOBER 16TH 2008 Mayor's Campaign Idea: Hand Out Viagra?!?! huh. A small-town mayor has taken a firm politicial stand - by handing out free Viagra to senior citizens! Mayor Gonzalo Navarette Munoz, of Lo Prado, Chile, says he was inspired to take action after working as a doctor and hearing complaints from older patients. He's drawn up a list of 1,500 potential recipients and plans to hand out the peppy blue pills once a week to every man who asks - and passes a physical. |
| OCTOBER 15TH 2008 Talk To Your Dead Pet! NOW... With This New Amazing Invention! First, there were interactive tombstones that allowed grieving relatives to commune with the dearly departed. Now, pet owners crushed by the loss of a cherished dog or cat can do the same. French inventor Jean Francois Picaud-Laethier created a funeral urn, which displays a series of photos or videos of the deceased. "I videoed my golden retriever, Sweet Pea, barking and growling as we played in the backyard before her last illness," says Sally Jemson, of Long Island, New York. "She passed away a few months ago, and I'm so grateful I have this special resting place for her ashes. It allows me to listen and see her every day." Picaud-Laethier says he got the idea for the hightech funeral urn as he was thinking about how he would like to be remembered when he died. That led him to craft the Eternny.t urn, which melds high-tech circuitry with heart-warming memories. Picaud-Laethier also realized that the desire to leave something behind also applied to animals, too. "Pets are such an important part of the family," Jemson adds. "It only makes sense that an owner would want to have a meaningful tribute to them." |
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OCTOBER 14TH 2008 |
| OCTOBER 13TH 2008 Easy Bugs Use Phones. Huh What? Hows that? I'll Tell You. Please Do. I Will. Ok. Scientists have discovered a chatty little world among insects who use plants as telephones! A team lead by Roxina Soler, of the Netherlands Institute for Ecology, found that bugs who feed on roots use chemicals to converse with bugs eager to snack on a plant's leaves. Once settled down underground for a good nosh on a plant's roots, they sent out a call that says "no vacancy" to anyone hoping to munch on the top half. This works to the above-ground bugs' advantage, since studies show they don't grow as quickly as when feeding on a plant that already has underground residents. |
| OCTOBER 12TH 2008 Oh My, What A Small Painting. This One Of The Best And I've Seen 4 A painter with an eye for the little things has created the world's tiniest Mona Lisa - a classic portrait 70 times smaller than the original. Andrew Nicholls, 44, decided to paint the .275-inch by 433-inch replica of Leonardo Da Vinci's masterpiece after reading about the previous record holder on an Internet site dedicated to hobbyists. That record was held by Yves Gerard, from Luxembourg, who painted a .354-inch by .512-inch likeness of the Mona Lisa that now hangs in a French museum dedicated to tiny artworks. To beat Gerard's record, Nicholls used a 0000 gauge paintbrush - a few strands of hair tapered to a miniscule point - to painstakingly daub acrylic paints onto a piece of white cardboard a quarter the size of a postage stamp. Every step of the way, he peered at his tiny Mona Lisa through a magnifying glass. "I've been painting tiny pictures for doll houses for five years now and can produce one of them in about an hour," explains Nicholls, of Farnborough, England. "But the detail of the Mona Lisa was much more difficult and I wanted to get it right." "I don't believe it's possible to make the painting any smaller without compromising on detail or using a magnifying glass to see the finished item." |
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OCTOBER 11TH 2008 |
| OCTOBER 10TH 2008 Here are eight ways to spot a liar: 1. Eyes aflutter. When people lie, their blink rate tends to go up.
2. The eyes have it. Conventional wisdom says that liars don't look you directly in the eye. And sometimes this is the case. However, research shows that practiced liars will actually give you more eye contact than people telling the truth!
3. Frankly, my dear. People who lie often feel the need to draw your attention to their trustworthiness. They may preface statements with words like "honestly," "frankly," and "truthfully." They're also likely to make assertions such as "I would never lie to you" and "I'm not lying."
4. Cool and casual. Most people expect liars to be nervous, but practiced liars know how to act casual while weaving a web. They may have their feet up or be slumped down in a chair as the lies flow.
5. Behind the smile. A liar's smile is different from a truth-teller's smile. According to research, true "enjoyment smiles" are so big and bright that you'll notice a crinkle around the eyes. These authentic smiles last for less than five seconds. The "masking smile," or lie smile, tends to last longer than five seconds, doesn't involve the eyes, has a hint of negative emotion, and may be crooked. 6. Sticking to it.Good liars stick to the true parts of their story as much as possible and insert lies at key points. If you suspect you're being lied to, don't be fooled into thinking that the whole story is true, even if you can confirm that parts of it are true.
7. Derailed by details. Liars often try to divert you from their falsehoods by detailing you to death. They'll get you so bogged down by the minutiae of the story that you lose track of what they're saying or you get tired of listening. Never hesitate to ask for clarification if the story seems confusing or doesn't add up.
8. It's not me, it's you! If you catch someone in a lie, they'll frequently try to turn it back on you. "You must be crazy. I never said that!" or "You must have memory loss because that's not the way it happened." |
| OCTOBER 9TH 2008 Innocent Dog Beaten To Death With Baseball Bat Police say a drunken Dwight Thompson snuck into his neighbors' yard - and battered their helpless dog to death with a baseball bat! "The dog was chained up - defenseless. My pet never had a chance against this monster," said anguished grandmother Roberta Wood, owner of the brown chow mix pooch named Harley. The shocking story unraveled July 24 when police in Zanesville, Ohio, received a call that a man was beating a dog with a wooden baseball bat. "When officers arrived they found the dog lying in a pool of blood with family members gathered around crying hysterically," Capt. Mike Baker said. The Wood family told police that their neighbor Dwight Thompson, a 55-year-old unemployed laborer, had come into their yard an hit the dog on the head with a bat, said Capt. Baker. "When our men spoke with Thompson, he claimed the dog had attacked him. But when the officer asked to see his injuries, he had none," said Baker. "Then Thompson claimed the attack had happened at his trailer, but there was no blood or any type of evidence there. Instead, officers found a black baseball cap near where Harley was tied up in the Wood's yard. Thompson admitted it was his." Roberta wood said her 14-year-old grandson Mike watched while Thompson attacked Harley, who was 18 pounds and 11 inches tall. "Mike looked out the window and saw Thompson brandishing the bat and snarling at Harley, 'Don't ever bark at me again.' Then he bashed Harley on the head with the bat," said Roberta, 52, a clothing store cashier. "When I went out to confront Thompson, he still had the bat in his hand. He drew back and threatened to hit me with it." Her daughter Bobbie, 29, added: "He did this in front of my kids! He's cruel, evil man and I hope he rots in jail for what he did." According to police, Thompson had been drinking before attacking the 10-year-old dog. "Officers said Thompson was under the influence of alcohol. They noted the smell of liquir coming from his person and his speech was slurred," said Capt. Baker. Harley was still breathing when officers arrived. But when the bloodied pooch was taken to a vet's office, he had to be euthanized due to the extent of his injuries. Thompson was charged with killing or injuring an animal, which carries a maximum sentence of 90 days in jail, plus a $750 fine. He was also charged with aggravated menacing for threatening Roberta Wood with the bat and aggravated trepass. Both charges carry sentences of up to one year in jail and a $1,000 fine. He's awaiting trial. |
| OCTOBER 8TH 2008 Have You Seen My 15 Monkeys? Really? I Know Not Where They Are A troop of monkeys saved from certain death by a Good Samaritan have gone on the lam from their brand new home. The 15 patas monkeys were considered a nuisance in Puerto Rico, where they had been imported from their native Africa. Authorities were going to euthanize the animals when Lex Salisbury, owner of Safari Wild in Polk County, Florida, intervened. Salisbury transported the monkeys to a small island on his property. But in less than three days, the crafty animals - male, females, young, old - disappeared. "They ended up outfoxing me and swimming off the island," says Salisbury. "I think they're more street-smart than a zoo monkey." Patas can run at a top speed of 35 mph. They're obviously good swimmers, too. "That amazed me," Salisbury says about the escape. "These guys are pretty smart." Helicopter pilots have spotted some of the primates, and keepers are setting traps with bananas and sweet potatoes, hoping to eventually corral the furry Houdinis. |
| BREAKING NEWS: Iceland teeters on the brink of bankruptcy!!! REYKJAVIK, Iceland - This volcanic island near the Arctic Circle is on the brink of becoming the first "national bankruptcy" of the global financial meltdown... (Read the rest) |
| OCTOBER 7TH 2008 Cat Music Group. Thats The Title. Ok.... Meet rock's newest superstars - a group of five cats whose meowing has fans pouncing on their latest singles. The band Musashi ( http://plaza.rakuten.co.jp/musashis/ ) has released music videos for well-known tunes like Auld Lang Syne and Jingle Bells on the Internet. Their lead singer, also named Musashi, is a 4-year-old Norwegian Forest Cat. He's backed yp by Leo, Luca, Seri and Marble. Their top hit (Musashi's Xmas Song) has been viewed by Internet fans over 1.2 million times, and they've signed on with a management company that's making their music available on cell phones. Musashi gets an added bonus along with their fame - for each song they produce, every kitty gets a fresh skipjack tuna. |
| OCTOBER 6TH 2008 OMG What The Hell Is That! Is That An Elephant! An elephant named Jumbo is making a BIG splash - and he doesn't even have to pack his trunk to head for the beach! HA ha. The titanic 2-year-old is a resident at the JW Marriott luxury hotel in the seaside resort of Phuket, Thailand, where he's got an important job greeting guests as they check in. Every morning, he unwinds with a dip in the ocean. After playing with his fellow bathers, he heads back to the pool for a shower and a good brush down before reporting for duty. "Jumbo's just fantastic," raves tourist Gwen Deland, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin. "Not only is he incredibly smart, but he's a great swimmer." "I could tell he was having even more fun splashing around with me than I was with him - I think he's great!" |
| OCTOBER 5TH 2008 Mom On The Run... Housewife Back Behind Bars After Excaping From Prison 32 Years Ago Marie Walsh is a model wife and mom and a tireless worker for charities. The Sand Diego homemaker is adored in her affluent community. But in her long ago past lurked a dark secret that no one close to her suspected - not her husband, children, neighbors or friends. She was an escaped convict who had broken out of jail 32 year ago. Her name was not Marie. It was Susan LeFevre. As a 19-year-old serving a 10-20 year sentence on a drug conviction, she'd escaped in Michigan and built an entirely new life in California. But the knock on the door she'd been dreading for more than three decades finally came after cops got an anonymous tip - and now she's back behind bars as inmate No. 140217. She's facing the prospect of serving out her first sentence - plus an extra five years for escape. The devoted wife and mom of three says her remarkable turn-around deserves consideration. "When I was in prison I prayed I'd get out, and all I wanted was a family in my life. As far as I'm concerned, 'Susan' died in that prison. I tried to do the right thing." Telling her children about her past was one of the hardest things she has ever had to do. She says her 15-year-old son took it the hardest. "My son is a bit in shock. I think they can't believe it. I'm a pretty strict mother. I'm always lecturing them about drugs, telling the truth, integrity - because I know how you can get in trouble." Her friends, neighbors and relatives are organizing a petition asking Michigan's governor to return her freedom. Like lots of young people in the 1970s, she smoked pot and experimented with other drugs. She was arrested when she went along with a pal who was busted for selling three grams of morphine to an undercover cop. It was her first offense, but authorities threw the book at her with a staggering 10-20 year sentence. She says she was assaulted in prison and tried to commit suicide. When she couldn't take it any longer, she hatched her escape plan. "I got through the barbed wire - and ran through the woods." Her grandfather helped her, waiting in a car to drive her away. "Then I grabbed a ride to California with a small suitcase and $200. I had to create a new life and literally reinvent myself." She met her husband Alan , married, had a family, and worked hard at leading a productive life. Her children - ages 22, 20 and 15 - are back in San Diego praying for her return. Her 22-year-old daughter just graduated from college with high honors. "She raised three wonderful children, contributed to her community, and has had no further contact with the legal system," said her husband of 23 years. "We miss her very much. I'm hoping the legal system will do the right thing." |
| OCTOBER 4TH 2008 World's Smartest Man Declares: There Is Life On Other Planets! We are not alone, says the smartest man on Earth. Stephen Hawking, the wheel-chair-bound scientist and acclaimed author of A Brief History of Time, has made a career of studying the structure of the universe. He recently announced that he believes life is common on alien planets. At a lecture at George Washington University in honor of NASA's 50th anniversary, hawking directly addressed the issue of extraterrestrials. He declared that there are three possible answers to the question: Do ETs exist? The firsty answer is that there isn't life anywhere but here. The second is that when life gets smart enough to send signals into space, it also gets smart enough to make nuclear weapons and destroy itself. But he says he prefers a third option. "Primitive life is very common and intelligent life is fairly rare," Hawking explained. "Some would say it has yet to occur on Earth." He also added a warning for astronauts and anyone else who might come in contact with otherworldly beings. Their DNA is likely to be very different from anything on Earth. "Watch out if you would meet an alien," Hawkings declared. "You could be infected with a disease to which you have no resistance." Hawking, 66, has been confined to a wheelchair by Lou Gehrig's Disease, which also forces him to communicate only through a mechnical speech synthesizer. Despite having struggled against the disease since his 20s, he has become recognized as one of the world's foremost experts on black holes and space exploration. |
| OCTOBER 3RD 2008 The Odd-lympics - Pull Up A Chair While Pablo Tells You A Story On your mark, get set...clip?! The 2008 Olympics in Beijing were an amazing spectacle, but not much can top the sheer - or should I say "shear" (LOL I so Funny!) - nuttiness of some Olympic sports that have been discontinued. One of the strangest competitive events of the past was poodle trimming! At the Paris Olympics in 1900, a French farmer's wife won the gold medal after trimming a record 17 poodles in two hours. Another event in the 1900 Paris Olympics was pigeon shooting. Some 300 live pigeons were let loose - and gold medalist Leon de Lunden, from Belgium, bagged 21 birds. Dueling pistols was on the program at the 1906 Athens Summer Olympics - but no one actually faced off with a live target during this event. Instead, participants fired at mannequins dressed in coats with bull's-eyes on their chests! The same year, there was a "running deer shoot" event, where participants shot at moving cutouts of animals. And that good ol' picnic game, tug of war, was on the Olympic program in 1900, 1904, 1906, 1908, 1912 and 1920. Eight-men teams would pull with all their might to be the best in the world. In 1904, the U.S. swept the medals. |
| OCTOBER 2ND 2008 'Bid of $1.75 on eBay gets abandoned Saginaw home SAGINAW, Mich. - With a winning bid of just $1.75, a Chicago woman has won an auction for an abandoned home in Saginaw. Joanne Smith, 30, recently was the top bidder for the home during an auction on eBay, The Saginaw News reported. Her bid was one of eight for the home. "I am going to try and sell it," she told the newspaper. "I don't have any plans to move to Saginaw." Smith said she hasn't seen the property or visited Saginaw, which has been hard-hit by economic troubles in recent years. There's a notice on the door of the home saying a foreclosure hearing is pending, the newspaper said. She must pay about $850 in back taxes and yard cleanup costs. The Saginaw News said it could not reach the seller, Southern Investments LLC, for comment. |
| OCTOBER 1ST 2008 'Miss Disabled' Pageant Seeks... Beauty With A Difference Here she comes, the most beautiful disabled woman in the world! Hopefuls from around the globe are vying for top honors in the Miss Disabled Neauty Contest. Some wear leg braces. Some walk with canes or crutches. But they'll all don evening gowns and swimwear and strut their stuff before a panel of judges. Contestant Sinem Ozturk, 32, was diagnosed with infantile paralysis at 8 months of age. She spent years getting medical treatment and learning how to walk. But now, she gets around fine with her crutches and a smile. She'll be competing against Damla Ozgen, 26, who suffered spinal injuries after playing with her policeman father's gun at age 10. Doctors said she'd never walk again, but Damla vowed to prove them wrong. Five years ago, she had an extensive operation that left her with 10 plates in her leg - and the ability to walk with the help of a cane. Sukran Ilhan, 32, entered the pageant in Antalya, Turkey, after being paralyzed in a car accident 11 years ago. She spent three months in a coma and two years recuperating in the hospital. For the better part of a decade, her injuries left her completely devastated - but she conquered depression, wrote several books and now, her favorie activity is walking in the rain. Any of these lovely ladies - or the rest of the more than 50 contestants - could leave the pageant with a crown. But they've all proved they're winners! |