WEIRD NEWS
When Idiots Buy Guns
Authorities in Warrenville, South Carolina have charged 31-year-old Albert Davis with murder after he gave a 3-year-old boy a loaded gun and told him to chase another man, 24-year-old Timothy Johnson, around the yard of his home. Well, the kid pulled the trigger and Aiken County Sheriff's Sgt. Stephen Shunn said witnesses told deputies that Johnson was shot in the chest. Davis is charged with murder, possession of a stolen handgun, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Deputies are still investigating why Davis gave the child the gun in the first place and whether or not Davis was angry at Johnson. (Newser)
We Are Switching From Blue to Red!
There's going to be a big switch from blue to red - and no, we're not talking politics. A woman's menstrual cycle involves blood and a new ad from Bodyform appears ready to acknowledge that. The new ad shows a red liquid - rather than the standard blue liquid - being poured onto a sanitary pad. It also shows blood streaming down a woman's leg in the shower. The 20-second ad is the first for the industry and includes the tagline: "Periods are normal. Showing them should be too." Essity, the parent company of Bodyform, says the goal of the campaign is to end "the stigma around periods." Bodyform, citing its own research, states the confidence of one in five women has been hurt because of the taboo around periods. Traci Baxter, marketing manager at Bodyform, says they were "shocked" by that. "We want to change this by challenging the taboo and ultimately removing the stigma, making it even easier for anyone to talk about periods, now and in the future." So far, the response to the ad has been mostly positive. (Cosmopolitan)
You'll Live on Mars One Day...In a Lava Tube
Thanks to a study in Geophysical Research Letters, we now know where the first human settlement on the moon could be built. It'll be in a massive lava tube potentially extending miles below the surface. Astronauts can't spend more than three days on the because spacesuits offer minimal protection from radiation, extreme temperatures, and meteorites. A lava tube, on the other hand, is just the thing. Researchers at JAXA, Japan's space agency, and Purdue University have located what they believe are a number of intact lava tubes - formed when flowing lava forms a crust before draining away - in the Marius Hills area of the moon. Marius Hills is the moon's biggest volcanic dome field. Italian researchers recently presented findings that lava tubes on the moon could be massive compared to their counterparts on Earth due to lower gravity, stating the "results have important implications for habitability and human exploration of the moon." One model from the new study shows a lunar lava tube could be large enough to encompass the entire city of Philadelphia. Wow - maybe then we could transport the whole of Washington DC up there...and leave it there. Forever. (Houston Chroncle)
Boy Goes to Uncle's Wedding, Then Sleeps for 11 Days
Wyatt Shaw was living it up at his uncle's wedding. The 7-year-old ring bearer from Kentucky even snagged the bride for a final dance. The next day, when he complained of a headache and an upset stomach, his family figured it was just too much cake. But when Wyatt had trouble waking the next morning and couldn't stand up, mom Amy Shaw grew alarmed. The second-grader was alert when he checked into a Louisville children's hospital, but he then fell into what his grandfather Doug Thompson called "that deep sleep." He wouldn't wake for another 11 days. Amy says, "It was horrible." A battery of tests, including three spinal taps, turned up no clues as to what happened. Doctors ruled out viruses, bacteria, and encephalitis, a brain infection. In fact, Wyatt's condition confounded experts from the Mayo Clinic to London, where a doctor said the longest he'd seen a child sleep was 10 days. With the help of meds used for seizures, Wyatt finally woke last Thursday. He's been able to drink liquids, but his speech and movement are limited. Wyatt is headed to rehab, and his doctor warns that the road to recovery will be more of a "roller coaster." A family friend is raising funds to help the family.
Maybe Don't Eat Krispy Kremes in Your Car
Maybe you've heard about Daniel Rushing. He's the 65-year-old Good Samaritan who drove a friend to chemo, then a fellow churchgoer home, then got arrested and jailed for having crystal meth in his car. No - it wasn't crystal meth. It was sugar flakes from a Krispy Kreme donut he ate in his car. All this went down in December of 2015, and yes, you bet he sued. Daniel is now $37,500 richer after settling with the city. So how do the cops make that kind of mistake to begin with? Blame the cheap drug-testing kits that law enforcement rely on in the field which have been proven to be inaccurate 21% of the time. The results of these kits can be marred by everything from weather to human error. In Rushing's case, the cops weren't trained correctly in using the kits. Amazingly, Rushing says he has no hard feelings and says his goal now is to get his arrest wiped: He's trying to get security work and having a hard time due to his record. (Orlando Sentinel)
Kid Dies When 325-Pound Cousin Sits On Her
In Pensacola, Florida, 9-year-old Dericka Lindsay was allegedly killed by her adult cousin, a 325-pound woman accused of sitting on the child to punish her for misbehaving! The little girl was pronounced dead Saturday after an incident at the home of her parents, Grace Smith, 69, and James Smith, 62. Grace Smith's arrest report notes that she says she was having trouble disciplining Dericka, so she phoned her niece, 64-year-old Veronica Green Posey, to help her out. When Posey arrived, Grace Smith says her niece hit Dericka with a metal pipe and a ruler, and when Dericka ran into an armchair, Posey followed the child and sat on top of her. James Smith told cops Posey sat on Dericka for 10 minutes, at which point Dericka said she couldn't breathe. Posey reportedly remained sitting for two more minutes after that, and when she stood up, she saw Dericka wasn't moving. A 911 call brought paramedics to the home, and Dericka was transported to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Posey, who told a deputy from the Escambia County Sheriff's Office that Dericka had been "out of control," was arrested and charged with homicide and child cruelty. The Smiths were charged with neglect for not reporting the abuse, and Grace Smith was also hit with a child cruelty charge. (Pensacola News Journal)
Wedding From Hell
A few weeks before she was to walk down the aisle as bridesmaid at her friend's wedding, Heather McNamara's father passed away. But that was only the first tragedy to befall her family and circle of friends. The Friday before the wedding, the wedding party was decorating a venue in Fort Wright, Ky. Suddenly a towering tree cracked and fell onto a canopy. McNamara and the bride's sister, maid of honor Rebecca Wright, were both beneath it and trapped when paramedics arrived. Responders used chainsaws to remove the dead ash tree - described as 8 to 10 stories high and more than a foot in diameter - but it was too late for McNamara, 32, who was pronounced dead at the scene. Wright, 45, was airlifted to a hospital in critical condition and has since undergone two surgeries. The wedding reception was canceled, though the bride and groom wed in a private ceremony Saturday. (WLWT)
What the What?
It's called Nxivm (pronounced Nex-e-um) , and it's a pyramid selling organization that offers classes and seminars that encourage clients to pursue a path of personal and professional development. Thousands have attended since the 1990s and most take a few classes and leave. But others become devotees to the organization and its guru-like founder, 57-year-old Keith Raniere. Now, sensational stories are emerging of a secret sorority within Nxivm in which women must undergo a jarring initiation ceremony. First, they submit compromising photos as a sign of lifelong loyalty. Then comes what has been described as branding. "A female doctor proceeded to use a cauterizing device to sear a two-inch-square symbol below each woman's hip, a procedure that witnesses say takes 20 to 30 minutes. Sarah Edmondson says, "I wept the whole time." She also says she thought she and the handful of other women in the ceremony would be getting small tattoos. A story in the New York Times reports that more and more members are speaking out and leaving the group amid allegations that the organization is "spinning more deeply into disturbing practices." Authorities in New York state have so far declined to investigate, and Raniere and other top Nxivm leaders would not comment. (New York Times)
Authorities in Warrenville, South Carolina have charged 31-year-old Albert Davis with murder after he gave a 3-year-old boy a loaded gun and told him to chase another man, 24-year-old Timothy Johnson, around the yard of his home. Well, the kid pulled the trigger and Aiken County Sheriff's Sgt. Stephen Shunn said witnesses told deputies that Johnson was shot in the chest. Davis is charged with murder, possession of a stolen handgun, and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Deputies are still investigating why Davis gave the child the gun in the first place and whether or not Davis was angry at Johnson. (Newser)
We Are Switching From Blue to Red!
There's going to be a big switch from blue to red - and no, we're not talking politics. A woman's menstrual cycle involves blood and a new ad from Bodyform appears ready to acknowledge that. The new ad shows a red liquid - rather than the standard blue liquid - being poured onto a sanitary pad. It also shows blood streaming down a woman's leg in the shower. The 20-second ad is the first for the industry and includes the tagline: "Periods are normal. Showing them should be too." Essity, the parent company of Bodyform, says the goal of the campaign is to end "the stigma around periods." Bodyform, citing its own research, states the confidence of one in five women has been hurt because of the taboo around periods. Traci Baxter, marketing manager at Bodyform, says they were "shocked" by that. "We want to change this by challenging the taboo and ultimately removing the stigma, making it even easier for anyone to talk about periods, now and in the future." So far, the response to the ad has been mostly positive. (Cosmopolitan)
You'll Live on Mars One Day...In a Lava Tube
Thanks to a study in Geophysical Research Letters, we now know where the first human settlement on the moon could be built. It'll be in a massive lava tube potentially extending miles below the surface. Astronauts can't spend more than three days on the because spacesuits offer minimal protection from radiation, extreme temperatures, and meteorites. A lava tube, on the other hand, is just the thing. Researchers at JAXA, Japan's space agency, and Purdue University have located what they believe are a number of intact lava tubes - formed when flowing lava forms a crust before draining away - in the Marius Hills area of the moon. Marius Hills is the moon's biggest volcanic dome field. Italian researchers recently presented findings that lava tubes on the moon could be massive compared to their counterparts on Earth due to lower gravity, stating the "results have important implications for habitability and human exploration of the moon." One model from the new study shows a lunar lava tube could be large enough to encompass the entire city of Philadelphia. Wow - maybe then we could transport the whole of Washington DC up there...and leave it there. Forever. (Houston Chroncle)
Boy Goes to Uncle's Wedding, Then Sleeps for 11 Days
Wyatt Shaw was living it up at his uncle's wedding. The 7-year-old ring bearer from Kentucky even snagged the bride for a final dance. The next day, when he complained of a headache and an upset stomach, his family figured it was just too much cake. But when Wyatt had trouble waking the next morning and couldn't stand up, mom Amy Shaw grew alarmed. The second-grader was alert when he checked into a Louisville children's hospital, but he then fell into what his grandfather Doug Thompson called "that deep sleep." He wouldn't wake for another 11 days. Amy says, "It was horrible." A battery of tests, including three spinal taps, turned up no clues as to what happened. Doctors ruled out viruses, bacteria, and encephalitis, a brain infection. In fact, Wyatt's condition confounded experts from the Mayo Clinic to London, where a doctor said the longest he'd seen a child sleep was 10 days. With the help of meds used for seizures, Wyatt finally woke last Thursday. He's been able to drink liquids, but his speech and movement are limited. Wyatt is headed to rehab, and his doctor warns that the road to recovery will be more of a "roller coaster." A family friend is raising funds to help the family.
Maybe Don't Eat Krispy Kremes in Your Car
Maybe you've heard about Daniel Rushing. He's the 65-year-old Good Samaritan who drove a friend to chemo, then a fellow churchgoer home, then got arrested and jailed for having crystal meth in his car. No - it wasn't crystal meth. It was sugar flakes from a Krispy Kreme donut he ate in his car. All this went down in December of 2015, and yes, you bet he sued. Daniel is now $37,500 richer after settling with the city. So how do the cops make that kind of mistake to begin with? Blame the cheap drug-testing kits that law enforcement rely on in the field which have been proven to be inaccurate 21% of the time. The results of these kits can be marred by everything from weather to human error. In Rushing's case, the cops weren't trained correctly in using the kits. Amazingly, Rushing says he has no hard feelings and says his goal now is to get his arrest wiped: He's trying to get security work and having a hard time due to his record. (Orlando Sentinel)
Kid Dies When 325-Pound Cousin Sits On Her
In Pensacola, Florida, 9-year-old Dericka Lindsay was allegedly killed by her adult cousin, a 325-pound woman accused of sitting on the child to punish her for misbehaving! The little girl was pronounced dead Saturday after an incident at the home of her parents, Grace Smith, 69, and James Smith, 62. Grace Smith's arrest report notes that she says she was having trouble disciplining Dericka, so she phoned her niece, 64-year-old Veronica Green Posey, to help her out. When Posey arrived, Grace Smith says her niece hit Dericka with a metal pipe and a ruler, and when Dericka ran into an armchair, Posey followed the child and sat on top of her. James Smith told cops Posey sat on Dericka for 10 minutes, at which point Dericka said she couldn't breathe. Posey reportedly remained sitting for two more minutes after that, and when she stood up, she saw Dericka wasn't moving. A 911 call brought paramedics to the home, and Dericka was transported to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Posey, who told a deputy from the Escambia County Sheriff's Office that Dericka had been "out of control," was arrested and charged with homicide and child cruelty. The Smiths were charged with neglect for not reporting the abuse, and Grace Smith was also hit with a child cruelty charge. (Pensacola News Journal)
Wedding From Hell
A few weeks before she was to walk down the aisle as bridesmaid at her friend's wedding, Heather McNamara's father passed away. But that was only the first tragedy to befall her family and circle of friends. The Friday before the wedding, the wedding party was decorating a venue in Fort Wright, Ky. Suddenly a towering tree cracked and fell onto a canopy. McNamara and the bride's sister, maid of honor Rebecca Wright, were both beneath it and trapped when paramedics arrived. Responders used chainsaws to remove the dead ash tree - described as 8 to 10 stories high and more than a foot in diameter - but it was too late for McNamara, 32, who was pronounced dead at the scene. Wright, 45, was airlifted to a hospital in critical condition and has since undergone two surgeries. The wedding reception was canceled, though the bride and groom wed in a private ceremony Saturday. (WLWT)
What the What?
It's called Nxivm (pronounced Nex-e-um) , and it's a pyramid selling organization that offers classes and seminars that encourage clients to pursue a path of personal and professional development. Thousands have attended since the 1990s and most take a few classes and leave. But others become devotees to the organization and its guru-like founder, 57-year-old Keith Raniere. Now, sensational stories are emerging of a secret sorority within Nxivm in which women must undergo a jarring initiation ceremony. First, they submit compromising photos as a sign of lifelong loyalty. Then comes what has been described as branding. "A female doctor proceeded to use a cauterizing device to sear a two-inch-square symbol below each woman's hip, a procedure that witnesses say takes 20 to 30 minutes. Sarah Edmondson says, "I wept the whole time." She also says she thought she and the handful of other women in the ceremony would be getting small tattoos. A story in the New York Times reports that more and more members are speaking out and leaving the group amid allegations that the organization is "spinning more deeply into disturbing practices." Authorities in New York state have so far declined to investigate, and Raniere and other top Nxivm leaders would not comment. (New York Times)
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