Homeless man surrenders 31 dogs he lived with in Tenn. woods

A Tennessee man surrendered 31 dogs he was living with in the woods of a state park on Friday, according to officials. Animal Rescue Corps recovered the animals from their owner, who was living in Natchez Trace State Park, about 120 miles northeast of Memphis, according to the organization's president, Scotlund Haisley.

Haisley said the dogs' owner had lived in the woods for at least 16 years.

"It was a very interesting, unique situation," Haisley said. "I wouldn't call it hoarding, and he wasn't abusing or neglecting the animals for profit. He was providing care for the animals."

Haisley said the owner was having health issues, and the community had started to come together to get him medical attention, but the man did not want to leave his dogs.

"He wasn't going to address his medical needs until he knew his dogs were safe," Haisley said.

Haisley said the dogs suffered from internal and external parasites, broken teeth, cuts, and one dog had a broken leg. Another dog had injuries that appeared to have been sustained years ago, Haisley said.

Animal Rescue Corps president Scotlund Haisley said the owner was having health issues, and the community had started to come together to get him medical attention, but the man did not want to leave his dogs. (Photo: Animal Rescue Corps, Photo: Amiee Stubbs)

Animal Rescue Corps teams responded to a request for assistance in Henderson County to rescue the animals. The man, who has not been identified, surrendered his dogs to the organization, and Haisley said Animal Rescue Corps is not recommending he face criminal charges because the surrender was voluntary.

Culled from USATODAY

Read More

Flushing Sound? Japanese Toilets Explained

 

After a 13-hour flight, upon our arrival at Tokyo's Narita International Airport, I made my usual ladies room stop upon deplaning. This proved to be my first, "Toto, we're not in Philadelphia anymore" moment of our trip. I assume it is merely coincidental that "Toto" is the name of a popular Japanese toilet manufacturer.

Although my husband has cooled his heels waiting for me outside ladies rooms in airports all over the world, he could not imagine what was taking me so long. I had to explain to him that I was simply taken aback to find that using a Japanese toilet required some of the same skills employed in piloting a spacecraft. I had to read the instructions! One is actually confronted by fine print with ominous looking diagrams on the back of the toilet seat.

After studying the control panel, I was quite sure I wasn't going to be pushing any of the buttons, at least not before retrieving my luggage. I thought it would be prudent to have a change of clothes available before trying any of the water features (i.e. bidet, shower-at any strength). Actually, "flush" wasn't one of the choices on the special control panel. That was "flushing sound". I later learned that Japanese women can become embarrassed by bodily function sounds in public bathrooms, so Toto thoughtfully provides a "flushing sound" option to camouflage what might actually be going on. I decided it would be wise not to be messing with the buttons labeled only in Japanese. Really, why did they translate only some of the buttons? Was it a case of, "If you can't understand the labels for these buttons, you have no business using them"?

I admit I became somewhat obsessed by Japanese toilets. I suspect I'm not the only gai jin (foreigner) to have photographed a Japanese toilet. Fortunately, most public Japanese toilet stalls are completely contained little rooms, thus sparing one the questioning looks (or rolling eyeballs) from fellow bathroom users that a camera flash might otherwise cause.

Some toilets had more features than others. I mean, you never know when you might have forgotten your watch and mobile phone and need to know what time it is. And, some toilets were clearly designed to be used by both genders, creating the need for labels identifying which functions would correspond to the anatomic idiosyncrasies of each sex. It was a relief to know that I did not run the risk of washing my "bottom" with the guy spray. Apparently, the Japanese have determined that "drying wet rear" is a unisex function.

Although the Japanese have clearly forged ahead of the rest of the developed world when it comes to toilet technology, I did come across some bathrooms which appeared to be set up to cater to even the toilet technology challenged. There were little diagrams on the outside of the stalls identifying the type of toilet available within: one could opt for a trough in the ground (honest), a regular non-high tech toilet or a toilet with all the bells and whistles.

Finally, there was the sad day when instead of being able to visit the excellent (I'm told) exhibits in the Tokyo National Museum, aberrant gastro-intestinal activity forced me to confine myself to the museum bathroom.

So, there I was, actually in need of some bottom washing (and drying), and sure enough, the toilet button labels were all in Japanese. Fortunately, this was towards the end of our trip when I was more familiar with Japanese toilet possibilities. So, I took a deep breath, figured the situation couldn't get any worse, and went with my gut.

Culled from YAHOO

Read More

ISIS Burns Its Own Jihadis Alive After Losing Ramadi to the Iraqi Army

Iraqi security forces and allied Sunni tribal fighters evacuate an injured woman after she was shot by Islamic State group fighters (AP Photo, File)

 

In what's just more proof that ISIS is by far the most diabolical terrorist organization in the world, Fox News reports that its leaders burned their own jihadists alive because they fled when the Iraqi city of Mosul was attacked by the Iraqi army.

ISIS fighters who fled to the terror group’s Iraqi stronghold of Mosul after being defeated in Ramadi were burned alive in the town square, sources told FoxNews.com, in an unmistakable message to fighters who may soon be defending the northern city from government forces.Several residents of Mosul recounted the grisly story for stateside relatives, describing the deadly reception black clad jihadists got when they made it to Mosul, some 250 miles north of the city retaken by Iraqi forces operating with cover from U.S. air power.

A former resident of Mosul who now lives in the U.S. says that his family back home told him what happened:

They were grouped together and made to stand in a circle, and set on fire to die.

Several other Iraqi refugees have heard similar stories from family members still in Mosul. Michael Pregent, a terrorism expert and former intelligence adviser to Gen. David Petraeus, says this kind of brutality -- even towards its own fighters -- is nothing new for ISIS:

There is no surprise on executing ISIS fighters from Ramadi. They did the same to fighters after Tikrit.

The "sin'"of the executed jihadis is that they didn't fight to the death when Ramadi -- an important strategic city in Iraq -- was attacked and eventually retaken by the Iraqi army (with air support from the U.S.). Apparently not dying in battle is a deadly sin in the eyes of ISIS's leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. And he means that literally. This group doesn't just kill outsiders, as other terror groups do, but even its own members.

This isn't the first time ISIS has committed horrific atrocities. Last year the group released a video showing child executioners brutally slaughtering twenty-five Syrian troops in an amphitheatre as they were paraded before hundreds of spectators.

They've also executed victims in group explosive beheading and by burning or drowning them alive in cages.

Culled from YAHOO

Read More

Another rare, venomous sea serpent washes ashore in Southern California

 

For the third time in recent months, a rare venomous sea snake has washed up on a Southern California beach, hundreds of miles from its normal waters.

The 20-inch-long yellow-bellied serpent was found about 2:30 p.m. Tuesday at Dog Beach in Coronado by a passerby who alerted lifeguards, Coronado city officials said in a statement. The lifeguard put the snake in a bucket, where it died soon afterward, officials said.

Two of the snakes have washed up on Southern California shores in recent months -- one 27 inches long in Huntington Beach in December and a 2-footer in Ventura County in October. Both died.

The species, known to scientists as Pelamis platura, was first seen in Southern California in San Clemente in 1972 during an El Niño.

Greg Pauly, herpetological curator at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County, told The Times last month that he believed the reptile in Huntington Beach may have been prompted to navigate north of its normal tropical habitat by the spread of unusually warm ocean temperatures because of the strong El Niño this year.

“It is incredible and fascinating to have two of these aquatic, highly venomous snakes suddenly show up around here,” he said. “But this is not an invasion, and no one has ever died from the bite of this animal.”

“Their fangs are tiny and they can barely open their mouths wide enough to bite a person,” he said. “So, unless you pick one up, the biggest safety concern with going to the beach is with driving there and then driving home.”

The sea snake has a bright yellow underside and a flat, paddlelike tail with black spots. It is the most wide-ranging snake species on Earth, cruising the warm tropical waters off the coasts of Africa, Asia, Australia, Central America and Mexico.

The snake found Tuesday will be turned over to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, Coronado city officials said.

Culled from YAHOO

Read More

Suicide bomber kills 13 in Cameroon mosque

Scene of an explosion where two female suicide bombers killed at least 10 people and injured 12 in a mosque in Cameroon ...on Wednesday

A suicide bomber on Wednesday killed 13 worshippers and wounded at least one in an attack on a mosque in northern Cameroon, according to officials. The attack was suspected to have been carried out by terror group, Boko Haram. 

Cameroonian troops form part of an 8,700-strong regional force created to battle Boko Haram.

The United States recently disclosed plans to send military supplies and troops to the Central African country to aid the fight.

“The suicide attack took place at 5.40am (04.40 GMT) in a mosque at Kouyape. There were 13 deaths, including the man, who blew himself up and one wounded,” said a senior local official, who declined to be identified.

The suicide bomber, who struck at the mosque, was said to be praying alongside worshippers when he blew himself up, a security source told AFP.

“Twelve worshippers were killed at the scene. Another died of his wounds in the hospital,” the source added.

The bombing came after two people were killed overnight in the same area in another attack. Another source close to the security services confirmed that the blast killed 13 persons including the bomber.

Read More

Health workers flee from suspected Lassa fever patient

 

Health workers at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, took to their heels when a patient who was suspected to have been down with Lassa fever was brought to the Medical Emergency Unit of the hospital on Wednesday.

According to an attendant at the unit, the middle aged security officer was rushed to the hospital by his colleagues on Wednesday morning after he began bleeding through the nose. It was gathered that one of the nurses at the unit with the doctor on duty eventually came to the patient’s aid and later directed that a series of tests be conducted on him before he was admitted into the ward. 

A medic at the unit said that they were taking precautions to ensure that they were wearing protective garment before attending to sick patients to prevent any cross-infection should it be Lassa fever. The doctor and a senior nurse at the unit also advised the attendants not to panic when patients with symptoms of fever were brought to the hospital. 

She said, “These bleeding could have been as a result of tuberculosis as he complained that he had been coughing a lot lately.”

However, the Minister of Health, Prof. Isaac Adewole, in a telephone conversation with one of our correspondents on Wednesday, said that any health worker or doctor found to have rejected sick patients over unfound claims would be sanctioned.

Adewole said that such a reaction from health workers who should know better might frustrate ongoing efforts to detect and treat suspected cases of Lassa fever. He insisted that sick patients or those with symptoms of Lassa fever should be taken to LASUTH, as doctors and nurses at the tertiary institution had been trained on how to quickly attend to such infectious diseases. 

Adewole said,“ It is an unprofessional behaviour and if we investigate this, we would sanction such health workers. If there is a suspected case of fever, please go to LASUTH, it is a tertiary hospital and they have adequate health professionals to handle many cases. No one should turn a patient away on the basis of a fever.”

The minister said that a man died of Lassa fever at the National Hospital, Abuja on Wednesday.

Adewole said that the patient who came from Plateau State died shortly after he was admitted to the hospital. He said, “The man came in from Plateau State because he was ill. The healthcare team at the private hospital failed to suspect Lassa fever.” 

The minister, however, had directed that all those who had contact with the deceased should be traced.

Adewole noted that no case of Lassa fever had been confirmed in Sokoto and Gombe states; hence the reason the Federal Government would be delisting them from the list of affected states while it would add Ondo State.

He said,“We are removing Gombe and Sokoto states because none of the cases were confirmed but we are adding Ondo State. So, we still have 10 states that have been affected.”

Adewole, who had visited Minna, the Niger State capital, one of the affected states earlier in the day, said that the outbreak had been brought under control. The minister, who also visited one of the affected communities during the Lassa fever surveillance and nationwide fact-finding visit, told the state Governor, Abubakar Bello, that despite the high rate of fatality in the last few months, efforts by all stakeholders in the country had brought the scourge under control. 

“A nationwide alert system is on to track the disease. Except for the case in Plateau, no person-to-person or hospital-acquired infection has been recorded. So far, things are under control but the state and local governments should put an alert system in place to enable us to track new cases whenever they happen,” Adewole noted.

He added that the Federal Ministry of Health must be notified of any strange death.

The minister blamed the current Lassa fever outbreak on the failure of notification system in the country. He cited the case of Niger State where it took months after the outbreak before his ministry was notified. The Niger State governor, who was represented by his deputy, Alhaji Ahmed Ketso, called for the inclusion of traditional healers in disease control programmes, saying they were the first healthcare givers that rural dwellers consult. 

Meanwhile, a male patient who was receiving treatment for Lassa fever at the isolation ward of the Irrua Specialist Teaching Hospital, in Esan West Local Government Area of Edo State, was said to be in a critical condition on Wednesday. A medical personnel at the hospital expressed fears that he had a low chance of survival, having reported late for treatment.

Read More

Lawrence Phillips, imprisoned ex-NFL rusher, dies in suspected suicide

Lawrence Phillips, an imprisoned former NFL running back who was awaiting trial on charges of killing his cellmate last year, died Wednesday morning after being found unresponsive in his prison cell, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said. 

The death of Phillips, 40, is being investigated as a suicide, the department said.

Phillips was a star running back at Nebraska and a first-round pick for the St. Louis Rams in 1996, but lasted in the NFL only three seasons. He was sent to a California prison in 2008 after being convicted of domestic violence, false imprisonment and vehicle theft charges. 

While serving a 31-year sentence, authorities say, he killed his cellmate in April of last year. A trial for that killing was anticipated in Kern County, California. Phillips was found unresponsive at 12:05 a.m. Wednesday in his cell at the Kern Valley State Prison, authorities said. He was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:27 a.m.

The Corrections Department didn't say what led investigators to believe he committed suicide.

Phillips rushed for 1,453 yards and 14 touchdowns over three seasons for the Rams, the Miami Dolphins and the San Francisco 49ers in 1996, 1997 and 1999. He added 219 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown.

He also played for the Canadian Football League's Montreal Alouettes and the Calgary Stampeders early last decade, winning the league's championship with the Alouettes in 2002.

Culled from CNN

Read More

Avalanche swamps students in French Alps, 3 dead, 1 missing

 

Scores of rescuers worked into the night Wednesday looking for victims of an avalanche that struck in the French Alps, killing two teenagers and a Ukrainian skier after engulfing them on a closed slope, officials said.

Ten students from the St.-Exupery school in Lyon, accompanied by their teacher, as well as the Ukrainian skier were in the Les Deux Alpes ski resort when the avalanche occurred late Wednesday afternoon, the regional Isère government said in a statement.

Two of those students and the Ukrainian died in its aftermath, the statement said, while the students' teacher was taken to CHU hospital in Grenoble.

In a statement, the French Interior Ministry said that the search continued Wednesday night for one person still missing. It also noted that all of the other children from the high school group had been found. 

Some 80 people were part of the rescue effort, including military personnel, police and dog search-and-rescue teams, according to the Interior Minister. There were also helicopters -- some to ferry out the dead and injured, and others to aid in the search effort, including one equipped with a thermal camera, officials said.

Culled from CNN

Read More

Pennsylvania girl, 12, killed after father aims gun at constable

Constable fatally shoots 12-year-old girl 01:20

Ciara Meyer stood directly behind her father as he raised a .223-caliber rifle and pointed it at the chest of a constable who'd come to serve an eviction notice at their apartment. The constable responded with a single shot.

That bullet went through the arm of 57-year-old Donald Meyer and into his 12-year-old daughter, Ciara, killing her.

Meyer now faces charges of aggravated assault, simple assault, terroristic threats and recklessly endangering another person, according to a Pennsylvania State Police report. He was flown to Hershey Medical Center for treatment after Monday's shooting in Perry County.

The man who shot him, Constable Clarke Steele, is "heartbroken" over the incident, his friend and fellow constable Bill Stoeffler told CNN affiliate WPMT-TV. 

"He was put in a position from which he couldn't retreat safely," Stoeffler said of the shooting, calling it "every constable's worst nightmare." "He had no other option, really, than what he did."

Culled from CNN

Read More

German Justice Minister: More migrants will be deported after Cologne attacks

German Justice Minister Heiko Maas said Wednesday that more foreign criminals will be deported once new rules are introduced in response to an unprecedented wave of mob sex attacks blamed on migrants in Cologne. 

In an interview with German broadcaster and CNN affiliate ARD, Maas said that Germany's plans to lower the threshold for deportation would lead to more criminal migrants being expelled.

"Criminals should be punished consistently," he said. "That will also lead to more deportations."

On Tuesday, German officials outlined plans to make it easier to deport foreigners. They say the plans could be passed into law as early as next month. The new rules would lower the threshold of criminal offending for expulsion, allowing authorities to deport offenders found guilty of sexual or physical assaults or resisting police officers. 

Previously, foreigners could be deported only if they were found guilty of crimes punishable by a sentence of one year or more.

Culled from CNN.

Read More

Man charged in fatal stabbings of woman, her 2 kids in Ohio

This 2007 photo made available by the Franklin County (Ohio) Sheriff’s Office shows Wendell Louis Callahan, …

Police vehicles and crime scene tape surround an apartment complex, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016, on 

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A woman's ex-boyfriend forced his way into her apartment early Tuesday and fatally stabbed her and her two children before being critically injured in a knife fight with her current boyfriend, police said.

Officers were called to the sprawling apartment complex on the north side of Columbus just before 1:30 a.m. and found the woman and children already dead and the two men with stab wounds, police Sgt. Rich Weiner said.

The slain victims were identified as Erveena Hammonds, 32, and her daughters, 10-year-old Anaesia Green and 7-year-old Breya Hammonds.

Erveena Hammonds' ex-boyfriend, 35-year-old Wendell Louis Callahan, arrived at the apartment, forced his way in and killed her and the children before her current boyfriend, Curtis Miller, showed up and the two men scuffled, Weiner said.

"Officers followed a blood trail and found what appears to be the suspect with multiple stab wounds," Weiner said.

Callahan was hospitalized in critical condition. He has been charged with three counts of murder in their deaths. Miller wasn't seriously hurt. He was treated at a hospital and released, police said.

Yellow crime-scene tape hung over a large area surrounding the beige three-level apartment building in steadily falling snow Tuesday.

Culled from YAHOO.

Read More

Cristiano Ronaldo Statue Defaced with Pro-Lionel Messi Graffiti

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo attend a press conference prior to the FIFA Ballon d'Or at the Kongresshaus on January 11, 2016 in Zurich, Switzerland. Messi's named has been daubed on a statue dedicated to Ronaldo.Philipp Schmidli/Getty Images

Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the world’s two best footballers, have long had a storied rivalry on the pitch. The intensity was ratcheted up to new levels on Tuesday night, after a statue built in Ronaldo’s honour in his home town of Funchal, on the island of Madeira, was defaced with pro-Messi graffiti.

AS, the Spanish sports newspaper, reported that the slogan “Messi 10 ”, referring to the Argentine and the number he wears for his club Barcelona, was daubed on the statue, which bears the phrase “Best player in the world”.

The newspaper quoted Katia Aveiro, Ronaldo’s sister, saying: "This is a disgraceful act of vandalism in itself but just shows the levels of jealousy that exist. As a Portuguese citizen it embarrasses and saddens me. This island is clearly still inhabited by savages who have no respect and don’t know how to live in a respectable society.”

Ronaldo, the Real Madrid player, was beaten to the FIFA Ballon d’Or by Messi on Monday night at the annual ceremony to mark the world’s greatest footballer. The Portuguese star had won the award the past two years.

Ronaldo and Messi have both frequently sought to downplay their rivalry, which is based far more on their respective statuses as the world’s pre-eminent players than any personal enmity.

In June 2015, Messi claimed that there had never been a rivalry between him and Ronaldo, rubbishing it as an invention of the media.

Clearly, some of his fans would beg to differ.

Read More

No Cash To Open A Bank Account? Don't Do What This Guy Allegedly Did.

Land O' Lakes Detention Center 

 

Steve Leon Coley Jr. of Florida walked into a Bank of America to open an account, but the teller told him he didn't have the $25 minimum. Police say he solved the problem in a simple way -- he robbed the place. The 36-year-old was arrested Wednesday hours after he entered the bank to make his first deposit, according to WTSP.com.

 

Deputies in Pasco County said the suspect showed his Florida driver's license to the teller on his first visit and returned around 2:47 p.m. demanding money, according to TampaBay.com. Police say Coley left with an undisclosed amount of cash and was spotted walking down the street counting money.

The arresting officer said Coley fit the description of the suspect and that he had the exact amount of money stolen from the bank in his possession, according to ABC Action News. Coley was arrested on one count of robbery without a weapon. He was taken to the Land O'Lakes Detention Center, according to jail records.

Read More