A freight train carrying ethanol derailed in Ohio’s capital city of Columbus around 2 a.m. this morning, sending flames shooting upwards of 20 to 30 feet into the air and landing two people in the hospital, reports USA Today.

11 cars of a 98 car train were sent screeching off the tracks near Interstate 71, just south of the Ohio State University campus early Wednesday morning. The derailment took place in a largely industrial area located a few blocks away from major residential neighborhoods.

Chris Mumma, a photographer from New Albany, says that he saw the blast from 10 miles away and immediately rushed towards the flames to get a closer look. As he approached he saw the blaze was reaching 20 to 30 feet into the sky, but quickly retreated as he knew something wasn’t right.

“I noticed there was a chemical smell, and I was inhaling it so I backed up a little bit more because I wasn’t sure what I was getting involved with,” he said. That smell soon made him nauseous, sending him to the hospital.

According to MSNBC, several of the cars contained styrene, which if ignited can radiate a harmful gas that can affect the nervous system upon inhalation.

Residents only blocks from the explosion watched the scene from their homes before being forced to leave because of the mile wide evacuation order.

“I saw flames, then I heard a loud sound, like a boom, and saw the flames shooting higher,” said Joel Priester, who lives 2 blocks away.

“It looked like the sun exploded.”

The cause of the derailment is still under investigation as authorities have chosen to let the ethanol finish burning before they approach the scene.

Ohio Train Derailment: 11 Cars Burn In 30-Foot High Inferno [VIDEO] is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Lionsgate produced “Hunger Games” trilogy has determined that the finale known as “Mockingjay” will reportedly be split into two separate films. The film company hopes to give their audience more content in addition to cashing in on the book’s wildly popular story, according to MTV.

Following the lead of other successful franchises, “The Hunger Games” will be splitting their final book into a two-part series with the first film set to release November 21st, 2014. Repeating the actions of films such as “Twilight” and “Harry Potter, “Mockingjay” part two will then be released almost exactly one year later on November 20th, 2015.

According to Hollywood.com, the film’s producers have also determined that the movie based on Suzanne Collins second book in the series, “Catching Fire,” will have a release date of November 22nd, 2013.

Lionsgate also recently announced that the cast would be joined by Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymor Hoffman. The actor will be portraying the pivotal role of head game maker Plutarch Heavensbee and is a vital character in “Catching Fire” as well as “Mockingjay.”

The first “Hunger Games” film released in March has already earned $400 million domestically and seems to be only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the potential success of this prosperous trilogy.

What do you think of Lionsgate’s decision to split “The Hunger Games” finale into two separate films? Do you enjoy the anticipation that comes with waiting a year in between movies? Or do you wish that they would just make a single four-hour movie that would contain all of the same content?

Hunger Games Finale: ‘Mockingjay’ To Be Split Into Two Films is a post from: The Inquisitr

Glamour model and online personality Kourtney Reppert was the recent victim of online cyberstalking and has stepped out to speak about her experience in hopes to raise awareness about online bullying, reports ABC News.

The 26 year-old, who has gained hundreds of thousands of followers by posting semi-nude photo’s of herself in addition to offering life advice, revealed spine-chilling death threats from cyberstalker Luis Plascencia who has since been arrested by the FBI.

“I’m going to stab you in the f—ing heart and cut your f—ing head off. I will kill your parents, cut them to pieces with a handsaw, do you f—ing understand me? Don’t f— with me or make me mad,” read one threat that dates back to March 8th, with another saying,

“I hope you die in an automobile accident and crush your ugly face through the windshield and a large piece of glass cuts your throat.”

According to the Sun Times, Reppert says that her stalker went on to demand that she delete all of her social media accounts and immediately move back to Pennsylvania from Los Angeles. The model says she moved to LA only a year earlier to further her modeling career.

“He changed the way I view people,” she said. “I don’t even want to go out. I don’t even want to work because I’m so petrified.”

However, despite this frightening experience with her stalker, Reppert has teamed up with former Miss USA Chelsey Cooley in an attempt to raise awareness and fight back against cyber bullying and abuse. The duo has formed a hotline and a website to provide a place for victims to find help in their situations.

“On the darkest day, during the most hopeless moments, when it’s hard to even get out of bed- we understand. Cyberstalking, bullying and any form of abuse are everywhere. It’s hard to trust and know where to turn. Until now,” reads their website.

To receive you help, you can visit www.KourtneyandChelseacare.com.

Kourtney Reppert: Glamour Model Fights Back Against Cyberstalker is a post from: The Inquisitr

U.S. Women’s Soccer goalkeeper Hope Solo has officially received a warning from the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency after she tested positive for the banned substance Canrenone, reports The Associated Press.

The 30 year-old who tested positive for the banned substance on June 15th will still participate with the Olympic team as she has worked with the USADA to provide them with all of the necessary information to prove that this was an honest mistake.

“I took a medication prescribed by my personal doctor for pre-menstrual purposes that I did not know contained a diuretic,” Solo said in a statement.

“Once informed of this fact, I immediately cooperated with USADA and shared with them everything they needed to properly conclude that I made an honest mistake, and that the medication did not enhance my performance in any way.”

The soccer star insists that she has always been an advocate of clean sport and is thankful that she had the opportunity to have her case examined by the USADA to prove that she had no knowledge of the banned substance, reports Fox Sports.

“As someone who believes in clean sport, I am glad to have worked with USADA to resolve this matter and I look forward to representing my country at the 2012 Olympic Games in London,” she said.

After being denied her first World Cup title in last year’s loss to Japan, Solo and her teammates hope to prove that they have what it takes to be deemed the best women’s soccer team in the world as they travel to compete in the 2012 London Olympics.

What do you think of Hope Solo’s drug test and her clearance by the USADA?

Hope Solo Drug Test: U.S. Women’s Soccer Player Receives Warning From USADA is a post from: The Inquisitr

A Florida Marine has committed to doing 1 million push-ups in the year of 2012 to raise money for wounded veterans and those suffering from post traumatic stress disorder, reports MSNBC.

Sgt. Enrique Trevino set his goal at the beginning of the year and is already over half-way finished at 523,153 push-ups.

“In the very beginning, there were a lot of people who said your body can’t handle it,” said Trevino. “That’s their first mistake was telling a Marine you can’t do something.”

Trevino set his goal with hopes of raising $30,000 for the Wounded Warrior Project, and has already raised over $20,000.

“Instead of doing a million push-ups to benefit myself, I want to give back to my brothers and sisters in the armed forces, who have had so much taken away from them,” he said.

“A lot of people have forgotten about them.”

Sgt. Trevino has specifically said that he is hoping to raise awareness for soldiers suffering from PTSD as most of them go unnoticed with no physical injuries to be seen. His 1 million push-ups will serve as a way to communicate that message.

“People who are suffering from PTSD. Those are scars that are not seen, but people don’t notice everyday,” Trevino said. “I’m just trying to bring awareness to those veterans who’re transitioning into civilian life, and just make sure they’re never forgotten.”

If you would like to donate to Sgt. Enrique Trevino’s cause you can visit his donation page here, as well as check his Facebook for daily updates about his progress towards the goal.

What do you think of Sgt. Enrique Trevino’s pledge to do 1 million push-ups to raise awareness for soldier’s suffering from PTSD?

Sgt. Enrique Trevino: Marine Pledges 1 Million Push-Ups To Raise Money For Veterans is a post from: The Inquisitr

An Illinois father received the scare of life after he checked on his son in the middle of the night and found a 2 foot-long python wrapped around his baby boy, reports ABC.

Devan Winans says that he heard his 1 year-old son stirring in his crib late Monday night when he decided to check on him. As he approached the crib in the dark, he began to feel around and knew something wasn’t right.

“When I felt it it was slimy and I knew that wasn’t normal,” said Winans. “When it turned on the light, I saw a python wrapped around his foot constricting, trying to eat his foot.”

Frantically trying to drag the snake off the boy’s foot, Winans picked up a blanket, grabbed ahold of the snake and pulled him off of the boy and out of the crib. With blood everywhere, Winan called the boy’s mother for help.

“I saw the blood all over his foot and grabbed him from Devin,” Sara Lacey said.

KSDK reports that the Illinois couple raced their son to the hospital where he was treated for his injuries and later released.

After an investigation of the matter, authorities said that the 2 foot-long python belonged to the neighbor next door and that he had been cited for his offense.

“I’m so thankful he’s ok,” Winans said.

“We’re still practicing walking on his hurt foot, but it could have been a lot worse if he wrapped around his chest and we probably wouldn’t be having his first birthday today.”

What would you do if you found out that it was your neighbors pet snake that had found its way into your baby’s crib?

Python Wrapped Around Baby Sends Family To Hospital is a post from: The Inquisitr

I’m not sure if this is incredibly cruel, or incredibly brilliant. Either way it seems to be effective.

No Cheating is a post from: The Inquisitr

In a frantic scene that was soon the subject of laughter, a quick lightning strike and an enormous boom of thunder sent players and umpires scrambling for the dugout in the Texas Rangers vs. the Minnesota Twins game this past Sunday, reports ESPN.

During the fourth inning of the scoreless game, Rangers pitcher Roy Oswalt was preparing to deliver a pitch to Ryan Doumit when a blinding flash of lightning lit up the sky. The lightning was quickly following by a sonic boom that brought Twins player Josh Willingham to his knees and people all over darting for the exits.

“That was the loudest thunder I’ve ever heard in my life,” said Rangers first baseman Michael Young.

“(Twins base runner Josh) Willingham hit the deck. I turned around and he was doing a dirt angel on the floor. Their first base coach (Jerry White) was going bananas and hid behind the umpire.”

Rangers catcher Mike Napoli instinctively began sprinting for the dugout, leaving the playing field without even thinking about it.

“I don’t know really what I was doing,” Napoli said.

“It just kind of freaked me out so I just started running to the dugout and went for cover, but I don’t think that helped anything. It was so quick and you see the flash and the bang and, I don’t know, I just started running for some odd reason to the dugout.”

According to MSN, the game entered a lengthy rain delay that allowed players from both sides to watch the replay of the incident, provoking laughter each time they saw player reactions from a different angle.

“We watched the video probably about 40 times, just watching everybody on the field, and every time we watched it we cracked up laughing,” said Napoli.

The game finally ended after 13 innings with the Rangers winning by a score of 4-3, sending both teams into the All-Star break with quite a memorable first half.

Major Leaguers Freaked Out By Thunder And Lightning [VIDEO] is a post from: The Inquisitr

We reported yesterday that Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson was arrested by Houston police after he was supposedly unwilling to leave a nightclub after closing time. However, Peterson has stepped out and indicated that those are false allegations.

It was reported that Peterson was “was heavily intoxicated at the time of his arrest” and that it took three off-duty police officers to subdue the NFL star and place him in handcuffs. After being charged with the misdemeanor of resisting arrest, Peterson spent the night in jail and bonded out on $1,000 the next morning, according to USA Today.

Upon being released from behind bars, the Vikings running back immediately took to Twitter to thank his fans and indicate the allegations behind his arrest were not correct and that real story will find its way out sooner than later.

“Thank you for waiting for the facts. Truth will surface,” he said.

Peterson soon followed with a historical quote from the great Winston Churchill, further leading fans and supporters to the belief that there is certainly more to the situation, saying:

“A lie gets halfway around the world before the truth has a chance to get its pants on.”

This led many of his fans to tweet back their support for the All-Pro running back, hoping for the best for Peterson.

“Been with you in HS, been with you at OU, been with you at Vikings. Knew there was more to the story,” said one follower, with another adding

“They always have to mess with someone!”

The Vikings are obviously aware of the issue and are said to be gathering more information about the situation.

Do you think that Adrian Peterson was wrongfully arrested?

Adrian Peterson Arrest: RB Says The “Truth Will Surface” is a post from: The Inquisitr

Reality TV star Kourtney Kardashian and her significant other Scott Disick welcomed a baby girl into the world this past weekend, according to The Washington Post.

Weighing in at 7 pounds, 14 ounces, daughter Penelope Scotland Disick arrived on Sunday at the Los Angeles based Cedar-Sinai Medical Center to the reality show clan, joining 2 year-old big brother Mason.

USA Today reports that sister Kim Kardashian immediately took to her blog to welcome the new addition and to congratulate the loving couple.

“Welcome to the world, Penelope Scotland Disick,” she said.

“Kourtney gave birth to a beautiful baby daughter on Sunday and the whole family is so thrilled to finally meet her! She is absolutely perfect! I am so excited to be an aunt again and can’t wait to spoil little Penelope. I know Mason is going to be the best big brother in the whole world. Congratulations Kourtney and Scott. Xo”

33 year-old Kourtney took the time to speak with E! News, letting them know that her natural birth went as planned and to express their thankfulness for their new baby girl.

“Scott and I are overjoyed to welcome our precious angel Penelope Scotland Disick into our lives. We are forever blessed. Mommy and baby are resting comfortably,” Kourtney told E! News.

Mother Kris Jenner also took the time to speak with E! News, saying ”[Penelope] is so cute. She looks just like Mason. She’s so beautiful. We are so happy.” 

What do you think of Kourtney Kardashian and Scott Disick’s decision to name their child Penelope Scotland? Is the name too trendy for you? Or do you like the uniqueness that Penelope Scotland offers?

Kourtney Kardashian And Scott Disick Welcome Baby Girl is a post from: The Inquisitr

A Missouri man recently stumbled upon a hidden treasure in his attic when he went to work on home repairs and instead found 13 bottles of untouched century-old whiskey, according to Yahoo.

40 year-old Brian Fite was in the market to replace the central air conditioning in his 1850′s “fixer upper” when the lucrative discovery occurred. After learning that the cost of having the work done by someone else would be too high, Brian took it upon himself to get most of the work done by replacing wires in the attic and cutting down on the cost of a replacement.

While prying boards in the attic, Fite came across what looked like oddly insulated pipes. However, after further investigation he found that it was actually 13 bottles of untouched whiskey that was distilled between 1912 and 1913, but bottled in 1917 with a label that read “Hellman’s Celebrated Old Crow.”

Curious as to where the bottles originated from, Brian and his wife made the assumption that they were hidden there by a previous owner that was said to have been placed in a sanitarium for “alcohol reasons.” It seems it was the owners intent to stash them for a later date, but that the opportunity never came.

Fite tells reporters that he plans to let the whiskey continue to age until it officially turns 100 years old in 2017.

“Part of the allure for me is having them in their original state,” said Fite.

“I have high expectations of what they’ll taste like, and I’m afraid if I open them I’ll be disappointed.”

Lew Bryson of WhiskeyAdvocate.com says that Fite could possibly sell the bottles for several hundreds of dollars a piece, but there is no way to predict what the selling price will be until he actually finds a buyer.

Do you think Brian Fite should sell his 100 year-old whiskey, or drink it himself?

Man Finds 13 Bottles Of 100 Year-Old Whiskey In Attic is a post from: The Inquisitr

A Kentucky woman accidentally set fire to an apartment complex after her attempt to rid her apartment of a bedbug infestation turned horribly wrong, according to MSN Now.

In an ill-advised attempt to exterminate the pests, the woman came up with a plan to douse her couch in alcohol to try and kill the bugs. After she fully covered the love seat in the alcohol, the woman then made the mistake of accidentally dropping her cigarette on the couch, instantly igniting the extremely flammable piece of furniture.

According to Lex 18, the fire quickly spread from her apartment to another, sending flames shooting into the air that could be seen from several blocks away.

“I was scared to death for my husband because he was in the apartment,” says resident Vicky Bussell.

“It damages you. It’s hard when you lose everything.”

The fire that resulted from the attempted bedbug extermination caused 30 people to lose their homes. Of those 30, six families lived in the apartment building and ten families lived next door.

Firefighter’s spent hours trying to contain the blaze that sent four people to the hospital for smoke inhalation. One of those people was the mother of Jackie Bond.

“My mom’s bed ridden. I take care of her everyday. I don’t know where I’m going to take her, I don’t know what to do,” Bond says.

“I guess I just work until we build everything back up,” adding,

“Everybody’s alive. As long as everybody’s alive, I’ll find a way. I’ll have to.”

The Red Cross assisted the families with food and water and were working on finding them a place to stay.

What do you think of this woman’s attempt to get rid of the bedbugs in her apartment?

Bedbug Extermination: Woman Douses Couch In Alcohol, Sets Fire Leaving 30 Homeless is a post from: The Inquisitr

A new study published in Cancer Research has revealed that drinking coffee may help prevent basal cell carcinoma, one of the most common forms of skin cancer reports Yahoo News.

According to the study, women who drank more than three cups of coffee a day were 21 percent less likely to develop the cancer known as BCC than those who drank one or fewer cups of coffee containing caffeine a month. The study reported a 10 percent reduction for men.

The study emphasized that people who drank decaffeinated coffee didn’t receive the same benefits, claiming that there were no effects on the risks of cancer. This led researchers to believe that the caffeine ingredient was the key behind reducing skin cancer risks.

“Most likely, the protective effect is due to caffeine,” said Jiali Han, an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health in Boston.

Han says that the study only pertains to risks associated with BCC for now, but other types of skin cancer may be a possibility in the future.

“In another 10 years or more, it may be clearer whether caffeine also helps stave off these other types of skin cancer,” Han said referring to melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer, and squamous cell carcinoma.

However, doctors do caution readers that this the study is not conclusive and only shows an association between the two and not a direct cause and effect relationship. They also say that this is certainly not a substitution for sunscreen, nor is it an excuse to spend more time in the sun.

Live Science writes:

“I would hope that people would not decide to spend a lot more time in the sun because they are drinking coffee,” said Lorelei Mucci, an associate professor of epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health, who was not involved in the study. “There is a lot more about the prevention of BCC that we need to understand,” Mucci said.

Doctors are encouraged by the findings and hope that this is just the beginning in the relationship between caffeine and reduced skin cancer risks.

What do you think of these new findings indicating that coffee and caffeine may reduce the risks of skin cancer?

Drinking More Coffee Could Cut The Risk Of Skin Cancer, Says New Study is a post from: The Inquisitr

Alec Baldwin snagged a few headlines yesterday with his decision to quit Twitter again, but his headline today carries a little more meaning as the generous “30 Rock” star donated $1 million to the New York Philharmonic, reports MSN Now.

Baldwin, who is a member of the Philharmonic’s board as well as the host of its radio show, “The New York Philharmonic This Week”, has always looked out for the best interest of the orchestra. The musicians were even featured in the Baldwin starred “Capital One” commercials.

The Philharmonic stepped out and informed their supporters that Mr. Baldwin’s donation was actually from the proceeds of his Capital One campaign and were sent in honor Zarin Mehta, the Philharmonic’s outgoing president and executive director.

Alec Baldwin released this statement:

“I have loved classical music all of my life, but Zarin Mehta made my dream of becoming part of the world of classical music come true. I will miss working with him directly, but will always bear in mind his passion, commitment, and insight as I continue my work with the New York Philharmonic. Zarin has my best wishes for the future, and I look forward to continuing our rich, musical friendship.”

The New York Times reports that Mehta released his own statement thanking Mr. Baldwin for his contribution, saying that Baldwin’s gift ““humbles me and inspires me to continue to contribute to the art form in any way I can.”

What do you think of Alec Baldwin donating $1 million from his Capital One commercial campaign to the New York Philharmonic?

Alec Bladwin Donates $1 Million To New York Philharmonic is a post from: The Inquisitr

Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer recently announced that he has listed all three of his Cy Young Awards and two of his four Gold Glove Awards up for auction in an attempt to raise money for his autistic stepson that will need care for the rest of his life, reports the AP.

Palmer didn’t say that he or his family was hurting for money, but instead realizes that there are more important things in life than awards sitting on a shelf.

”At this juncture of my life, I would rather concern myself with the education of my grandchildren,” Palmer said.

”I also have a stepson, (15-year-old) Spencer, who is autistic and will need special care for the rest of his life. My priorities have changed.”

A portion of the profits will also be donated to the autism project of Palm Beach County.

According to MSN, Palmer goes on to say that he’ll always have the memories of the moments that helped earn him those awards, and those memories are what is most important to him when thinking about his baseball career.

”You can’t erase the memories of 1973 or 1975 when I came back from my arm injury, when I had 10 shutouts and had to win the last day of the year to beat Catfish Hunter to win a Cy Young and get the ERA down to 2.09,” he said.

”To me, those are things that happened in the past. I’m really lucky to remember all of them. Whether I have the awards or not, it’s not going to take those memories away.”

Hunt Auctions will be responsible for auctioning off the Cy Young Awards that Palmer won in 1973, 1975 and 1976, as well as the Gold Gloves he earned in 1976 and 1979.

The Cy Young Awards expected to go for anywhere between $60,000-$80,000 and the Gold Gloves to reach $15,000 a piece. Hunt Auctions will be accepting phone and online bids through July 8th, with the live auction taking place July 10th.

What do you think of Jim Palmer selling his Cy Young and Gold Glove Awards to benefit his autistic stepson?

Hall Of Fame Pitcher Jim Palmer Selling His Cy Young And Gold Glove Awards To Help Autistic Stepson is a post from: The Inquisitr

Sometimes the best method is just to wait it out.

Circle Of Life is a post from: The Inquisitr

U.S. Women’s soccer player Megan Rapinoe has publicly stepped out for the first time to admit to her fans that she is gay, reports USA Today.

The soon to be 27 year-old who leaves for the 2012 London Olympics in less than a month has stepped out in hopes that the publicity following the U.S. Women’s Soccer team will serve as a platform, and that her story will empower those in the LGBT community.

Although living openly gay with her friends and family, Rapinoe was able to officially announce it to her fans in an interview with Out Magazine, and according to USA Today Sports it was all timed out perfectly.

“To be honest I’ve been thinking about it for a while, trying to find a time that works, now leading up to the Olympics, people want to get personal stories,” she says.

“Our team in general is in a position where people look up to us and kids look up to us. I embrace that and I think I have a huge LGBT following. I think it’s pretty cool, the opportunity that I have, especially in sports. There’s really not that many out athletes. It’s important to be out and to live my life that way.”

“It’s about standing up and being counted and saying you’re proud of who you are.”

When asked what her thoughts were on the difficulties that male athletes face when coming out, Rapinoe does admit that the idea is tougher to face, but all it takes is one high-profile athlete to break the barrier.

“The climate is much different for men,” she says.

“That stigma is only going to be broken when people come out and see that there is a positive response. That doesn’t mean there will be no negative response, but if people can have the courage to be one of the first, which is very hard, those barriers can be broken down very quickly.”

Rapinoe goes on to say in the interview how important it is to have the support of your family, saying, “they’ve been really supportive and they love me for exactly who I am.”

What do you think about the timing of Megan Rapinoe’s public announcement of her sexual preference? Do you think the publicity surrounding the soccer team will serve as a platform for the encouragement of the LGBT community?

U.S. Women’s Soccer Player Megan Rapinoe: ‘I’m Gay’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

Scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology claim that they are one step closer to creating a synthetic liver using 3D printing to replicate the human organ and build a network for the blood vessels to grow into, reports MSN. 

MIT, in conjunction with the University of Pennsylvania, have been working to find a way to keep cells alive once the newly engineered tissues have been created. This issue has long been a problem according to Dr. Jordan Miller:

“The big challenge in understanding how to grow large artificial tissue is how to keep all the cells alive in these engineered tissues, because when you put a lot of cells together, they end up taking nutrients and oxygen from neighbouring cells and end up suffocating and dying.”

However, in a recent breakthrough in the research and development of synthetic organs, scientists have discovered a way to use sugar as a building material in 3D printing that would serve as a place for the vessels to grow into.

MIT Professor Sangeeta Bhatia describes the process in further detail:

“So far, it’s been difficult to make organs big enough so that they could provide useful function – and if you implant any tissue thicker than about a millimetre, we can’t provide it enough nutrients without also engineering blood vessels into the tissue,” continuing,  

“We created a network of places that we wish vessels to grow into, so they would become piping into the tissue, and we printed those in 3D out of sugar.

“Sugar is a very nice material that can be dissolved away in the presence of living tissue, it’s very friendly to biological tissue.

“We then surrounded the network with the cells that we would like to be fed by the blood vessels when the tissue is implanted – and once we have this structure of pipes-to-be and tissue, we dissolve away the sugar using water.”

According to BBC News, University College London professor Martin Birchall admits that these findings are “quite away from clinic yet,” and that the next steps will include animal testing to give a better idea of what we’re dealing with.

Professor Birchall does say though that the idea of 3D printing human organs “is certainly very exciting.”

What do you think of this new development that has found a place for new cells to grow in synthetic organs?

Printing A New Liver: Scientists At MIT Use 3D Printing To Create New Human Organs is a post from: The Inquisitr

A Florida homeless man recently seized an opportunity to make some extra cash by renting out a vacant beach home to two different people before being arrested by police, reports The Sun-Sentinel.

27 year-old Eric Sisson had a stroke of genius when he decide to pursue a new entrepreneurial inspiration to start renting out a home. He toured the home, decided that it’d be a great rental and proceeded to list the home on craigslist. Sisson soon received a call about his rental and was well on his way to renting out the property. The only problem was that the property that he decided to rent out wasn’t his.

The homeless man from Ormond Beach, FL received an email and text message from a 19 year-old female who was interested in the property. Sisson told her to go ahead and tour the home as he would leave it unlocked for her since he couldn’t be there. Apparently liking the home, the 19 year-old met up with Sisson on June 25th and gave him $400 in cash. Eager to move in, the girl agreed to meet up the very next day to give the man another $550 in cash.

However, something didn’t seem right about the situation so the girl asked for her money back and wanted to get out of the deal. Sisson agreed to write her a check for a full refund. As the girl went to the bank to cash the check, she quickly found out that it was for a fraudulent account.

After finding out about the situation, the girl’s father went to the home only to find a 29 year-old girl there who had already paid Sisson the first installment towards the deposit. The father informed the girl of the situation and the two alerted the authorities.

This time when Sisson showed up the next day to collect his second installment he was met by deputies waiting to arrest him.

According to The Brevard Times, Sisson was charged with obtaining property by fraud, uttering a worthless check, three counts of unarmed burglary, and two counts of grand theft. Police also found an arrest warrant from Brevard County for failure to appear on driving with a suspended license and worthless check charges, and an arrest warrant from Indiana for forgery and grand theft.

Sisson later told deputies that he had scammed the women with intentions of finding his own home to live in.

Homeless Man Seizes Opportunity, Rents Out Vacant Home And Collects $1375 Deposit is a post from: The Inquisitr

A recently released survey reveals that one in four women deliberately post ugly and unflattering photos of their friends in bikini’s to social networking sites such as Facebook in an attempt to make themselves look better, reports MSN.

The survey conducted by MyMemory.com, a photo gift website, has found that after polling 1,500 women over the age of 18 a quarter of them have maliciously posted a photo of a friend after a falling out or in attempt to get back at them for doing the same thing. Two fifths of the women also admitted to posting a photo of a friend with no makeup and one fifth of them refused to take it down when asked to do so.

Most of the women admitted to de-tagging themselves in a photo if they thought that the picture wasn’t a good portrayal of what they really look like and even asked the poster to delete it. While people can remove their names, only the original poster can delete the photo.

According to The Telegraph, co-founder of MyMemory.com, Rebecca Huggler said:

“The etiquette of tagging friends in photographs on social networking sites is a tricky one to master, and with so many pitfalls, we wanted to look into women’s relationships with the photographs they upload to the sites in question.

“To see that so many women deliberately commit ‘photo sabotage’ and upload unflattering pictures of friends is somewhat surprising, particularly when you consider how many said they’d be mad if the same was done to them.

“Photo sabotage is never kind, but I think we’ve all seen pictures on social networking sites that we know the ‘victim’ won’t be happy with. It’s always a good idea to check with your friends before uploading; they’ll thank you, and it could prevent some serious fallout.”

Have you ever knowingly uploaded a photo of a friend that you knew they would find unflattering? Also, if a friend asked you to remove the photo from your Facebook profile would you do so?

Survey Finds That Women Deliberately Post Unflattering Photos Of Their Friends To Facebook is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Chinese-exported stink bug has made its way to 38 states in the U.S., destroying millions of dollars worth of crops in the process and prompting the Department of Agriculture to quickly find a repellent, reports The Washington Examiner.

Farmers across the nation have reported that the ”brown marmorated stink bug” has caused significant damage to their apple, peach and grape harvest.

In an attempt to find a method of eliminating the unwanted bug, the House has passed a Farm Bill that includes an extra $831,000 to aid the research and development of finding a way to rid the country of the stink bug crisis.

One report that was given to the House states that the insects are “causing significant damage to agricultural products, particularly the apple crop in mid-Atlantic states.”

That apple crop in the mid-Atlantic states has already suffered a reported $40 million loss because of the infestation of the stink bug. Farmers say that the stink bug causes bruises on the apple’s with a single undetectable bite, ruining their crop in the process. Virginia vineyards also say that it only takes one or two bugs to be smashed in the grapes for the entire lot to be ruined.

“Clearly these bugs are spreading, and they are more than just a nuisance because they smell,” said Representative Frank Wolf.

“They have the potential to devastate crops-apple crops, peach crops, grapes. We have to get a handle on it.”

Some agricultural officials have suggested importing a chinese bee as a way to control the population. Chinese bee’s seek out the stink bug eggs and lay their own on top, killing the stink bug eggs in the process.

Have you or anyone you know been affected by the stink bug crisis?

Stink Bug Crisis: Reaches 38 States And Counting is a post from: The Inquisitr

Rep. Allen West is under fire once again for a controversial remark, however this time he has taken the opportunity to call out the President by claiming that Obama would “rather you be his slave,” reports The Huffington Post.

West, who is facing a primary challenge to his candidacy in District 18, was campaigning along Florida’s Treasure Coast this past weekend when he took the opportunity to take a jab at President Obama in his speech.

“He does not want you to have the self-esteem of getting up and earning and having that title of American,”adding,

“He’d rather you be his slave.”

This wasn’t the first time that tea party favorite Allen West has made controversial remarks. In April, West said that over 80 of the democratic members of congress were “card-carrying Marxist socialists.” West has also been quoted as saying that being gay is just the same as someone choosing to like chocolate chip ice cream.

His opponent in the race, Martin County Sheriff Bob Crowder, says that he is in disbelief at the things that come out of West’s mouth.

“I think trying to label some people that he would have to work with in Congress as being Communists … I just think that’s the wrong thing to do,” Crowder said.

According to the LA Times, this also wasn’t the first time that Allen West has connected Democrats to slavery when he made a speech to the House regarding Democratic “handouts”:

“We [Republicans] reject the idea of the safety net becoming a hammock. For this reason, the Republican value of minimizing government dependence is particularly beneficial to the poorest among us,” he said.

“Conversely, the Democratic appetite for ever-increasing redistributionary handouts is in fact the most insidious form of slavery remaining in the world today, and it does not promote economic freedom.”

The primary is set for August 14th.

What do you think of Allen West’s remarks regarding President Obama and slavery in his campaign speech this past weekend?

Allen West: Obama Would ‘Rather You Be His Slave’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

15 year-old Katie Ledecky will be headed to the 2012 London Olympics with a win in the 800 Freestyle, making her the youngest member of the U.S. swim team, reports the Associated Press.

Breaking the trials record of 8:20.81 set by swimmer Katie Hoff four years ago, Ledecky came in at 8:18.78 in the 800 freestyle and officially earned herself a trip to London to represent her country in the summer games.

“I had a lot of confidence going into that race,” Ledecky said.

“I went out with it and I just kept trying to hold on to it,” she said, keeping count of the remaining laps quietly in her head.

“I never told myself I had it. I just kept trying to hold the same pace I was holding. I tried to pick it up a little bit and just try to push through.”

According to Yahoo, the 15 year-old girl, still stunned by her accomplishments, looks back 4 years ago realizing something like that was never even on her radar as it seemed to be an unrealistic achievement. However, through her hard work at the Curl-Burke Swim Club in the Washington, D.C. area, that dream has become a reality.

“It’s just unbelievable to think back at where I was and to think about the work I’ve put in these last couple months,” she said.

“Four years ago I never knew how to qualify for Olympic trials. I thought it was this unreal thing.”

What do you think of 15 year-old Katie Ledecky claiming 1st place in the Olympic trials and becoming the youngest member on the U.S. swim team?

Katie Ledecky: 15 Year-Old Swimmer Wins 800 Freestyle And Berth To 2012 Olympics is a post from: The Inquisitr

Last month we saw “The Douche Burger” come in as the most expensive burger in the world at $666, however a delectable desert has seemingly topped that coming in at $1,007 as the most expensive cupcake in the world, reports MSN.

“We are really excited to have unveiled the most expensive cupcake in the world,” said Vinay Lall, General Manager of the company that produces the cupcakes.

Aptly named the “Golden Phoenix,” this dessert made out of gold sheets can only be found at the Bloomsbury cupcake shop which is conveniently located in the Dubai Mall. Bloomsbury began offering the sweet treat for sale this past Thursday to any consumer willing to spend the cash.

In addition to being made with 23-carat edible gold sheets, this high-priced cupcake is said to be made using only organic flour and butter imported from the UK, Italian chocolate and vanilla beans from Uganda. The cupcake is served along a golden spoon, topped with chocolate icing and strawberries dipped in edible gold, all on top of a 24-carat gold stand.

“We have seen people attempt expensive cupcakes before, however, those are not edible as they are incrusted with diamonds and other components.

“That is why we decided that we would take the realistic approach and present the most expensive edible cupcake in the world.”

According to The National, Bloomsbury only requests that you give them a 48-hour notice before arriving to pick up your “Golden Phoenix”, allowing them enough time to perfectly prepare your treat.

Would you ever order and eat the most expensive cupcake in the world known as the “Golden Phoenix”?

Most Expensive Cupcake In The World: The ‘Golden Phoenix’ Tops Out At $1,007 is a post from: The Inquisitr

This child is wishing that the dad would at least make an attempt at claiming autocorrect, but he clearly said what he meant.

Wishing It Was Autocorrect is a post from: The Inquisitr

Bill Nye has long been known as “The Science Guy” to children growing up everywhere, however as Nye has been recently placed at the head of the Planetary Society he has taken a stand against the planned budgetary cuts in the NASA organization that aims to withdraw over $300 million worth of support, reports CNN.

“This is a deep, deep concern. All the budgets are being cut. We gotcha, budgets are being cut, budgets are being pulled back, yes, yes, all good,” says Nye.

“But investment in space stimulates society, it stimulates it economically, it stimulates it intellectually, and it gives us all passion. Everyone, red state, blue state, everyone supports space exploration. So I understand the budget has got to be cut, but something has gone a little bit wrong.”

With the planetary exploration budget set to be cut by 21%, Nye says that there is much that could be lost should the government choose to cut spending that drastically, even asserting that the preparation wouldn’t be there to avoid certain natural disasters.

“If the Earth gets hit by an asteroid, it’s game over. It’s control-alt-delete for civilization.” Nye says acknowledging that the possibility is always there.

“Sea jellies, squid, cockroaches will be fine but an asteroid could wipe out humankind.”

“So what we want to do is to develop the capability to redirect, to deflect an asteroid, ever so slightly. If you’re going to do that, you’ve got to have space exploration. And sooner or later, you’re going to want to send people out there to look around. It’s just our nature, and one day it would be exciting to send people to Mars,” adding,

“If we found life on Mars, or evidence of life on Mars, it would change the way everybody thinks about everything. It would change the way you think about your place in space.”

Nye hopes to raise awareness about the effects on our country should planetary exploration should but cut, emphasizing that it could take years to rebuild and regain its edge.

“To try to really land a spacecraft really on another world is really difficult, and if we lose that ability, it’s going to be heartbreaking.”

Do you agree with Bill Nye that the United States could lose its space edge if we cut spending by that much?

Bill Nye Argues For Budget: If The U.S. Loses It’s Space Edge, ‘It’s Going To Be Heartbreaking’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

Inquisitr reported last week when Rupert Murdoch sent out a barrage of tweets aimed at Mitt Romney and his presidential campaign asking when he is going to start looking like a challenger. However, according to recent tweets it seems as though the media mogul is still fully on board with Romney and even continuing to offer up advice, according to the LA Times.

“Met Romney last week,” Murdoch said. “Tough O Chicago pros will be hard to beat unless he drops old friends from team and hires some real pros. Doubtful.”

Many Romney supporters questioned whether or not the conservative associated mogul was implying that he was instead leaning towards a Obama victory by calling out the Republican campaign. However, he laid those concerns to rest, tweeting:

“Romney people upset at me! Of course I want him (Romney) to win, save us from socialism, etc but should listen to good advice and get stuck in!”

This attempt to counsel the Romney campaign wasn’t his first, as last week he tweeted:

“When is Romney going to look like a challenger? Seems to play everything safe, make no news except burn off Hispanics,” adding,

“Easy for Romney to spell out restoration of the American dream and bash incompetent administration. But not a word!”

As appreciative as the Romney campaign is for the advice of Murdoch, Senior campaign adviser Eric Fehrnstrom says that they can’t pay attention to every tweet and that they are very happy with the state of the race right now.

“We like the way things are right now,” he said.

“We’re happy with the state of the race. I can’t respond to every tweet that Mr. Murdoch sends out, but we like the way things are.”

Whether or not Romney’s campaign decides to adhere to the recommendations of Rupert Murdoch remains to be seen, but it doesn’t appear as though he will be laying off the tweets any time soon as he informs his followers, “see you next weekend perhaps.”

Do you think the Romney campaign should listen to Rupert Murdoch and his tweets? Or should he just run his race and not worry about them?

Rupert Murdoch Still Wants Romney To Win Despite Harsh Criticisms is a post from: The Inquisitr

A 19 year-old UK boy who was attacked only 8 months ago and left for dead will be making his return to dancing as he has begun to miraculously recover from the severe injuries, reports MSN.

After being attacked after a night out in Cardiff, Wales, Jack Widdowson was badly beaten and feared to be facing severe paralysis from the waist down when doctors made their assessment. However, as the teenager has began to progress it is believed that he will make a full recovery.

“Of course we know that Jack still has some enormous challenges and long hours of physiotherapy ahead of him, even just to get back to a normal level of mobility.

“However, this incident hasn’t at all diminished his determination to succeed as a top ballet dancer,” his father,Dr. Julian Widdowson said.

Jack was admitted to a prestigious ballet company before the accident and was said to have a bright future as a performer. His father says that he hopes to continue his studies while he continues to regain the strength that he lost.

“He’s already talking with his tutors at the London Contemporary Dance School, who secured his apprenticeship with the prestigious ballet company in Bern, about how he can continue his coursework while he recovers and he is wholly focused on returning to the stage as soon as possible,” said his dad.

Jack admits that in the first few weeks it was tough to see how things might end up as he struggled with daily tasks. However, he tells BBC News that he is focused on one goal, and that is to dance again.

“I don’t want this injury to define me or my career therefore, [during] even long and difficult hydrotherapy and physiotherapy sessions, I keep focused on the end goal, which is to dance again and hopefully continue my apprenticeship,” adding,

“Ballet is my passion… this has made me realize that now more than ever.”

What do you think of this young man’s inspiring story to overcome his potential paralysis?

Potentially Paralyzed Teen Returns To Ballet Stage 8 Months After Attack is a post from: The Inquisitr

A group of drug users in North Carolina have found themselves behind bars as they misdialed their dealer by one digit to complain about the drugs they received. That one digit placed them on the receiving end of a North Carolina police officer’s cell phone who promptly set up a sting.

According to the Salisbury Post, Sandra Davis of Statesville, North Carolina made repeated calls at 4 a.m. to Deputy Jagger Naves of the Rowan County Sheriff’s Department demanding that he make right the bad drugs that he sold her and her friend, 50 year-old Henry Cloer. The only problem was that the number they thought they were calling was supposed to be their dealer, and not the deputy.

The woman called four separate times trying to reach her dealer, leaving a voicemail on the last attempt.

“This isn’t even a $10 rock. You need to make this right!” she yelled into the phone.

Awakening after the fourth call, Deputy Naves then alerted the authorities to handle the situation, even calling the number back to inform them that he was actually a police officer and that they had the wrong number.

Despite his warning, Davis called back a fifth time, asking if they could meet up to fix the problem. Not passing up the opportunity to land the woman behind bars, Naves agreed and contacted the police to let them know when and where he would be meeting her.

The officers ended up meeting the disgruntled drug addicts and placed them under arrest for the drugs that they possessed as well as the paraphernalia they had in the car.

While searching the suspects, one of their phones began to ring and displayed a phone number that was on digit off from Deputy Nave’s number. Once again taking the opportunity, police answered the call and met up with the actual drug dealer, arresting him as well.

According to MSN, four people in all were arrested from their involvement over one missed digit in a phone number.

Do you think these people deserved what they got from Deputy Jagger Naves?

Drug Users Misdial, Call Cops To Complain About Drugs They Received is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Colorado Avalanche were the recent victims of an embarrassing Twitter gaffe when they announced to their 72,000 followers that there were two recent additions to team, only to have one of those players announce a signing to a different team less than an hour later, reports Yahoo.

The Avalanche released a tweet at 1 p.m. ET yesterday informing their fans that they had recently acquired players John Mitchell and Matt Carkner. The tweet reads:

“NEWS: The #Avs have come to terms with UFAs John Mitchell (formerly NYR) and Matt Carkner (formerly OTT). Official announcement to follow.”

Only a half hour after sending out this tweet, Bob McKenzie of TSN sent out his own tweet informing fans that he had just spoken with Carkner’s agent and nothing was official.

This tweet led to another by TSN’s Aaron Ward confirming that Carkner had actually signed a three-year deal with the New York Islander’s, not the Colorado Avalanche.

The tweet by the Avalanche was promptly removed, hoping to sweep the gaffe under the rug.

Matt Carkner went on to explain to NHL.com that confusion had led to the Avalanche mishap:

“It was pretty early on in the day and I don’t know if they were trying to exchange information for my address to make an official offer, and somewhere along the line someone must have confused Colorado, saying that maybe I accepted the deal,” Carkner told NHL.com.

“I never told anyone that, but things like this happen. We called Colorado and apologized right away. We didn’t mean to mislead them at all. It ended up a couple of hours later, I agreed to terms with the Islanders.”

Thankfully for the Avalanche, they did go on to sign Greg Zanon, P.A. Parenteau and Steve Downie as they hope those will prove to be better options than their missed opportunity.

What do you think of the Colorado Avalanche’s early announcement of the signing of Matt Carkner through their Twitter account?

Colorado Avalanche Twitter: NHL Team Releases Embarrassing Tweet is a post from: The Inquisitr

In another odd display of airline behavior, an Air India pilot recently refused to fly a plane full of people unless his mother was allowed on board. This tantrum came despite the repeated attempts to inform the pilot that the plane was fully booked, reports Nine News.

The pilot that was responsible for flying the 122-passenger flight from Pune Airport in western India to the capital of New Delhi demanded that his mother be issued a “dummy boarding card” that would allow her to fly with her son. The Air India pilot claimed that his mother was too sick to be left alone at the airport and he refused to take off without her.

Air India normally allows their pilots and staff to reserve spots for family members when flights are not booked to capacity, according to MSN.

“When the pilot insisted on taking his mother on board, the operations and commercial departments were informed,” an airport official told the Sunday Express.

“The pilot threatened that he would not fly without his mother.”

Quickly causing a scene and a 20-minute delay in take-off, the pilot was soon granted permission to allow his mother to be seated in the cockpit where she would sit in the jump seat, a spot typically occupied by a crew member.

Air India chairman Rohit Nandan informed reporters that the situation was being investigated internally and that disciplinary action would most likely be taken.

What do you think of this pilot’s refusal to fly unless his mother was allowed to fly as well? What do you think of the decision that allowed her to fly in the cockpit?

Air India Pilot Throws Tantrum, Refuses To Take Off Without Mother is a post from: The Inquisitr

Retired astronaut Alan Poindexter was killed in a tragic jet-ski accident when his 26 year-old son crashed into him off the coast of Pensacola Beach, reports The Pensacola News Journal.

51 year-old Captain Alan G. Poindexter had been riding jet-ski’s in Little Sabine Bay with his family when the accident occurred. 22 year-old Samuel Poindexter was sitting on the back of his fathers jet-ski when they decided to sit idle in the water for a few moments. While they were sitting still, Poindexter’s 26 year-old son Zachary violently crashed into them on a separate jet ski after apparently not seeing his father and younger brother.

Zachary hit the rear of the jet ski the father and his brother were on,” said Stan Kirkland of the Florida Fish and Wildlife.

“Capt. Poindexter was then knocked off his jet ski.”

Yahoo reports that the 51 year-old astronaut was immediately pulled into a boat and driven to the beach where friends attempted CPR. Poindexter was then airlifted to a local hospital where he later died due to injuries sustained in the crash.

Neither of the astronaut’s sons suffered any serious injuries.

Captain Alan G. Poindexter graduated with highest honors from Georgia Tech in 1986 with a degree in aerospace engineering.

After serving as a Naval Aviator starting in 1988, Poindexter was then selected by NASA and began training in July of 1998. He was selected to pilot the STS-122 mission that delivered the European Space Agency’s Columbus Laboratory to the International Space Station in February 2008.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Agency is currently investigating the tragic crash.

Retired Astronaut Alan Poindexter Dies In Tragic Florida Jet Ski Accident is a post from: The Inquisitr

Orlando Magic Center Dwight Howard has been at the forefront of media attention the past couple of days as it came out that Howard felt that the Magic had blackmailed him when deciding to give the Magic one more year. However, in a recent interview with Yahoo Sports Howard denies that he accused them of blackmail and insist that there is only one team on his immediate trade list.

It was first reported that when Howard met with new Magic GM Rob Hennigan, he told him that he wanted to be traded to the Brooklyn Nets instead of playing out his last year with the Magic.

According to USA Today, along with the report it was even said that Howard felt he had been blackmailed into signing the one year extension to forgo free agency in the summer of 2012, giving the Magic one last shot to win over their star player. However, Howard has spoken out at least declining the claim regarding the blackmail.

“I never used the word blackmail in reference to any of my dealings with the Magic,” Howard said. “I never said that. It’s defamatory and it’s inaccurate. I know what blackmail means and any report that I used the term incorrectly is inaccurate.”

Reports went on to say that both the LA Lakers and the Houston Rockets were both interested in making a deal to land the all-star center and bring his talents to their respective cities. Though Howard has once again spoken out to reaffirm his feelings to land with the Nets.

“There’s only one team on my list and if I don’t get traded there, I’ll play the season out and explore my free agency after that,” said Howard.

“This was not the first time [that I asked for trade],” he continued.

“I communicated this to [Magic president] Alex [Martins] and [former general manager] Otis [Smith] way before Friday that I wanted to be traded – months before this meeting with Rob Hennigan. That was all way before Stan [Van Gundy] got fired.”

Howard went on to speak with Yahoo about claims that he faked his back injury and quit on his team, saying that “it really upset” him that people would say that he quit on his team and would make up an excuse like that. Howard also added that he still had nothing to do with the firing of coach Stan Van Gundy and that people calling him a “coach killer” “upset” him and “hurt a lot.”

Where do you think Dwight Howard will end up this offseason? Will the Magic try to once again convince him to stay or will he be a new member of the Brooklyn Nets by the end of the summer?

Dwight Howard Trade: Star Center Speaks Out, ‘There’s Only One Team On My List’ is a post from: The Inquisitr

Some things will never apply to this relationship, and that is certainly one of them.

For Richer Or For Poorer is a post from: The Inquisitr

In a recent interview with a morning radio show, pop-star Justin Bieber quickly became agitated when a radio host commented about his similarities with Justin Timberlake and then decided to question him about his mother’s intimate relationships.

Bieber was being interviewed by Detroit-based Mojo of Mojo In The Morning when the host decided that it would be a good idea to compare the similarities between the “Sexy Back” star and Bieber’s recent single, “Boyfriend,” reports MSN.

“I hope you take this as a compliment” said Mojo.

“When I first got played the song by your record people, and this was months and months before it came out, they said ‘take a listen to this and tell me if you can tell me who this is.’ I thought it was Justin Timberlake.”

“When I heard Boyfriend for the very first time,” he said “I thought it was Justin Timberlake’s single.”

A clearly annoyed Bieber quickly retorted, saying “Man, that’s crazy because our voices sound nothing alike.”

The pop-star continued to defend his music from being compared to Timberlake and wasn’t being fooled by the radio show host’s attempt to make subtle jabs at his music as the interview continued, reports Gawker.

Mojo went on to talk about the Bieb’s relationship with the band member’s of “One Direction” when he decided to take it up a notch and ask Justin if he was nervous about the other teen heart-throb’s being around his mother.

“Do you worry about Harry around your mom since he likes older women?” said Mojo.

Undeniably over it, Bieber replies “No, but you should worry about me around your mom though.”

The interview quickly went down hill as Mojo informed that his mother had passed, prompting Justin to officially end the interview and hang up the phone.

Do you think Justin was justified in his response towards Mojo of “Mojo In The Morning”?

Justin Bieber Mojo In The Morning Interview: Pop-Star Insults DJ’s Dead Mother, Hangs Up On Radio Host [AUDIO] is a post from: The Inquisitr

DISH Network has announced that they plan to replace the AMC Network for excessive rate increases with the change taking effect as of midnight on Saturday, reports Reuters.

AMC Networks would require DISH to carry additional low viewership channels such as IFE and WE, therefore causing the popular cable provider to inform its customers that the services offered are not justified for the price that AMC is requesting to renew the contract between the two.

Dish has instead elected to offer channels HDNet, HDNet Movies and Style channels as a replacement for the network that houses shows such as “The Walking Dead”, “Breaking Bad” and “Mad Men.”

“HDNet Movies and HDNet are exciting offerings for our customers,” Dish’s senior vice president of programming, Dave Shull said.

“These are networks that will bring great entertainment, including first-run, commercial-free movies in high-definition to our customers. DISH is the only pay-TV provider that did not raise its core package prices in 2012. We will continue to fight hard for choice, control, and value in home entertainment.”

The relationship took a turn for the worse when AMC Networks chose to sue the cable provider 4 years ago for a separate issue involving breach of contract. The lawsuit is seeking $2.5 billion in damages.

“It is unfortunate that in retaliation for an unrelated lawsuit DISH is choosing to punish its customers by dropping AMC Networks,” said AMC.

“DISH customers can no longer watch popular, critically acclaimed series, including the July 15 season premiere of AMC’s ‘Breaking Bad,’ and upcoming and future seasons of AMC’s ‘The Walking Dead,’  ‘Hell on Wheels,’ ‘Mad Men’ and other popular programming.”

Yahoo reports that AT&T is also battling the rate increase with AMC and has yet to make a statement regarding their future with the network.

Are you upset that DISH didn’t renew their contract with AMC?

Dish Network Set To Lose AMC, ‘Mad Men’ And ‘The Walking Dead’ Blacked-Out is a post from: The Inquisitr

Two officers in charge of patrolling the small town of Vaughn, New Mexico have found themselves in trouble with the law, forcing them to hand over their firearm’s and operate the force without a gun.

Police Chief Ernest “Chris” Armijo was indicted by a grand jury in Texas after owing his family over $52,000 in unpaid child support, according to KOB.

“I was unable to make the amount that was being required and I got behind. Its hard, because if you’re not making enough to do it then what do you do?” said Armijo. “It’s something I didn’t take care of and I know that I should have.”

The Police Chief managed to work out a plea deal, reducing his total amount owed to $40,000 and placing him on 5 years probation. Unfortunately because of the indictment, the officer was forced to sell any firearm’s that he owned.

The other officer in the town of 500, Brian Bernal, isn’t even officially certified as he has failed to attend the police academy and receive his certification. However, Armijo hired him on the notion that he would complete the training after being hired.

Once again, Officer Bernal plead guilty to battery charges against a family member in January of 2011, also stripping him of his right to carry a gun in the state of New Mexico, reports MSN.

Armijo insists however that carrying a gun isn’t always necessary when serving as a police officer for a town of that size.

“We have tasers, batons, mace … stuff like that,” Armijo said.

“This isn’t a TV show. This is life. We don’t run in everyday with a gun drawn. Life isn’t in a pistol grip. It’s how you talk to people. I wasn’t the type of person to go, ‘I’m a cop now give me my badge and my chip on my shoulder.’ That’s not me.”

Fortunately for the residents of Vaughn, County Sheriff’s and State Officers are also assigned to the town should they need assistance with a situation.

“As a law enforcement officer I’m responsible for 3,000 square miles which consists of parts of Vaughn,” Sheriff Michael Lucero said. “We do handle it.”

Officials at the State Law Enforcement Academy did say that they are reviewing Armijo’s case, but the final say to suspend or revoke his certification lies in the hands of the review board.

Would you feel safe with these two officers serving in your town?

Small Town’s Two Cops Face Legal Trouble, Can’t Own Guns is a post from: The Inquisitr

A Connecticut woman was outraged when she received a video that had been circling around her community showing her 3 year-old son being taunted by his daycare babysitter after being put in time-out, according to The Huffington Post.

Mother Tyesha Reese says she received the video of daycare worker  Lindsay Cavallaro teasing her toddler while she filmed it on her cellphone.

“Do it. Go ahead. No balls. Oh you’re a tough guy. Hey boss, show me your nine,” Cavallaro could be heard saying when the young boy, Michael, said he was going to hit her.

“News flash sweetheart I don’t really like you either. Because you throw toys. I don’t like you,” she continues.

Michael was in “timeout” after he was seen throwing toys at another child, according to MSN.

After Cavallaro finished filming the child, she apparently thought that it would be a good idea to forward the video on. It wasn’t until someone recognized the child in the video and brought it to the mother’s attention that she realized what her son was being subjected to.

“It got into someone’s hands who actually saw the video and was like, wait a minute, I recognize whose son this is and that’s when they forwarded it to me and said ‘I need you to see this,’” Reese said.

“And when I saw my son’s face it was just unbelievable, you know.”

Reese went on to tell News 8 that ”it hurt because he was defenseless,” she said. “He was sitting in a chair and as a child he was trying to defend himself.”

The mother has pulled her son out of the daycare and Cavallaro has been placed on paid leave while the situation is investigated.

What do you think about Cavallaro’s comments to the young boy? What would you do if you were the toddler’s parent?

Daycare Taunts Toddler Saying He Has ‘No Balls,’ Verbally Abuses 3 Year-Old Boy [VIDEO] is a post from: The Inquisitr

A UK man recently awoke from a coma after falling ill from a deadly lung disease and immediately asked for fast-food chicken restaurant KFC before asking for his own mother, reports MSN.

26 year-old Sam Boughen suffers from a rare genetic liver disease and was facing death after receiving two life-saving liver transplants when he contracted the lung disease in addition to E. coli. After spending 8 days in a coma, Sam suddenly awoke with family by his side and one thing on his mind.

Unable to speak Sam grabbed the iPad and opened an application that would allow him to write out what he wanted to say. As he began to spell out his first words after being on the brink of death, his family could barely contain their excitement.

“We all held our breath the first time he started writing. We thought he would tell us that he loved us – but instead he asked for a KFC. Then we knew we had Sam back,” said his dad Martin.

Sam, communicating through his iPhone and iPad, told the Telegraph that for some reason he had Colonel Sanders on his mind.

“I don’t eat many takeaways – but if I do it would be KFC,” he said.

“For some reason chicken must have been on my mind – because the first thing I asked for was a KFC chicken burger with gravy.”

“Unfortunately I couldn’t eat it because I was too ill,” he added.

Sam has been released back home where he takes daily medicine for the lung infection and makes weekly visits to the hospital to track his progress.

Sam’s dad expresses his gratefulness for the organ donor that saved his son’s life, saying “if it wasn’t for an organ donor, we would have lost Sam.”

Man Awakes From Coma, Immediately Asks For KFC is a post from: The Inquisitr

Denver Wide Receiver Demaryius Thomas admits now that they have future hall of famer Peyton Manning on the roster that the Denver receivers will have to start learning more of the playbook, according to Yahoo Sports.

The receiver most widely known for his Tim Tebow thrown 80-yard touchdown in overtime of last year’s playoffs against the Pittsburgh Steelers has recently spoken with an Atlanta radio station regarding his new quarterback. Thomas reveals in the interview that he will now have to “run the whole route tree”  with Peyton Manning in town, as opposed to when he had the likes of Tebow and Orton in charge.

Thomas told 790 The Zone in Atlanta:

“To get to play with a future Hall of Famer, I knew I had to step my game up and get in my book more, run routes more, because I never really ran routes much. So I thought it was gonna be a challenge, and it has been so far. But it’s been good, too.”

“You’re gonna have to run the whole route tree now. The comebacks, the slants, the posts, the ins. And I didn’t have to do that much when I was my first couple of years in the league.”

I find it rather odd that after two years in the league that Thomas says he never really had to run routes much, but hopefully with the addition of Manning he’ll be able to expand his game even further, leading to an incredible 2012 season for the young wide receiver.

What do you think about Demaryius Thomas’ comments regarding the need to learn more routes in Denver’s playbook?

Denver Bronco Demaryius Thomas Admits He’ll Have To Learn More Routes With Peyton Manning is a post from: The Inquisitr

The crowning of the very first “Miss Holocaust Survivor” has caused quite a stir. The event that was meant to be a celebration of life has caused critics to claim that the pageant was exploiting a traumatic experience, reports the Chicago Sun-Times.

Pageant organizer Helping Hand was aiming to celebrate the survivor stories of the brave woman who had escaped the Holocaust in a country where over 200,000 survivors still live to this day. However, even though organizers claim that the contest was only based 10% on looks, critics are saying that the judging of aging women who have suffered so much on physical appearance at all is inappropriate and offensive.

“Why use a beauty contest to show that these people survived and that they’re brave?” said Lili Haber, a daughter of Holocaust survivor.

“It sounds totally macabre to me,” added opposer Colette Avital. “I am in favour of enriching lives, but a one-time pageant masquerading (survivors) with beautiful clothes is not what is going to make their lives more meaningful.”

Helping Hand insists the fourteen finalists that were apart of the contest enjoyed themselves and that the women appreciated the recognition as they were chosen based on the hardships that they faced when they were younger.

“They feel good together. They are having a good time and laughing in the rehearsals,” said Sabag, the director of the pageant.

The women raging from 74 to 97 did seem to be having a good time as they each had a chance to put on their black dresses, earrings and high heels, showing the audience how beautiful they are, according to Yahoo.

“I have the privilege to show the world that Hitler wanted to exterminate us and we are alive. We are also enjoying life. Thank God it’s that way,” said Esther Libber, a contestant who fled Poland during WWII.

“This place is full of survivors. It puts us at the centre of attention so people will care. It’s not easy at this age to be in a beauty contest, but we’re all doing it to show that we’re still here,” said Romanian Hava Hershkovitz, a survivor of a Soviet Union detention camp.

The Holocaust has played a large role in the history of Israel as the country gained its independence in the wake of the tragic events. Many survivors made their way to the country that served as a refuge to hundred of thousands people after the war.

Do you think Israel’s pageant crowning the “Miss Holocaust Survivor” is offensive or inappropriate?

Israel’s ‘Miss Holocaust Survivor’ Pageant Stirs Controversy is a post from: The Inquisitr

The logic behind a squirrels road crossing techniques will forever remain a mystery.

A Squirrel’s Logic is a post from: The Inquisitr

Rookie Firefighter Emily Franklin battled the first fire of her young career as a quickly developing blaze engulfed the town Estes Park. The only problem was that it was her home that was being consumed by the fast-moving flames, reports MSN.

“This is my first fire and it was my own home,” Franklin, 18, told ABC News.”Great way to kick off a career.”

One of several fires that are claiming homes in the Colorado area, Franklin noticed the fire spreading as it approached her home. She quickly ran outside and turned on her water hose, instructing her neighbors to do the same. As fellow firefighters arrived to the neighborhood she ran up to the command center with her gear to receive instructions.

Franklin received her orders and was able to see her home going up in flames in the process. There was nothing she could do as her childhood home was incinerated in the blaze.

“I look through the trees and see fire going under our deck, and I was like, ‘I think that’s my house,’” She said. “It goes up, and I was like, ‘That’s my house!”

Franklin continued to work throughout the day assisting residents as the fire swept through the town, knowing that her home and all of her possessions were gone.

“I guess anything can happen in a matter of 10 minutes,” she said. “Getting out was the most important thing, so that’s what we did.”

This Colorado fire was one among many that firefighters are struggling to contain. The Waldo Canyon fire is the largest of the fires burning over 18,500 acres and reducing hundreds of homes to nothing but ashes.

Rookie Firefighter Fights Colorado Blaze, Watches Own Home Go Up In Flames is a post from: The Inquisitr

Reg Traviss, the former boyfriend of the late pop-star Amy Winehouse, has been arrested and charged with rape according to reports at Yahoo.

The 35 year-old who was dating Winehouse at the time of death faces two counts of rape and will appear before a judge next month.

According to The Daily Mail, the film director has been the mind behind many movies, including Psychosis, which featured Charisma Carpenter and Darkness frontman Justin Hawkins.

Reg Traviss was officially arrested on April 5th by authorities in relation to allegations of a rape charge that dated back to January 18th.

Lawyer for the Crown Prosecution Service, Rebecca Mundy, tells reporters that she gave the go ahead for authorities to take action and seek out Traviss for the arrest on the allegations.

“I have authorized the Metropolitan Police to charge Reginald Traviss with two counts of rape,” says Mundy, adding that “the decision was taken in accordance with the Code for Crown Prosecutors.”

The lawyer then informed reporters that the multiple counts of rape took place over a 4-day span dating back to the beginning of the year.

“The alleged offenses took place between 29 December 2011 and 1 January 2012″ she said.

The Huffington Post reports that Winehouse’s father spoke with radio station WNYC about his daughter’s plans to start a life with Traviss before she passed away last July, claiming that she was planning to start a family with the director.

“They were trying to have children and they would have got married too,” he said.

Reg Traviss is set to appear in court on July 17th.

Reg Traviss, Amy Winehouse’s Former Boyfriend Arrested For Rape is a post from: The Inquisitr

A London cab driver has developed a plan to turn his Hackney carriage into a miniature hotel room during the 2012 London Olympics as a way to make up for lost revenues while trying to navigate the congested London roads, reports Yahoo.

London cabbie David Weekes has come to the conclusion that rather than let his money-making machine sit idle on his off days that it would be a brilliant idea to rent the space out as a cheap alternative for Olympic goers to rest their head at night.

“I’m really excited that the Olympics are coming to the city but it’s going to be a nightmare for cab drivers,” he said.

“When I heard that I could rent out my taxi, I thought it was a no-brainer.”

The UK-based Telegraph writes:

Taxi Hotel: London Cabbie Turns Taxi Into An Overnight Hotel During The Olympics is a post from: The Inquisitr

A New Mexico woman was jailed after police arrived at her home to arrest her husband, but in the process found 2 outstanding warrants for her arrest stemming back to five months worth of overdue fines on the ‘Twilight’ products, according to ABQ Journal.

Lori Teel claims that she doesn’t remember checking out a ‘Twilight’ book and movie from her local library back in October of 2011, however when police arrived at her home to investigate a disturbance that led to the arrest her husband on battery charges, they soon came across the warrants issued for her own arrest because of overdue fines totaling $35.98.

According to MSN, it turns out that when Teel failed to return the books after a long period of time, a summons was issued to her but was sent to an incorrect address. Apparently sent to her childhood home, Teel never received the summons which then led to warrants being issued for her arrest.

Teel says her children that were in the home at the time of the arrest were traumatized over the events as they were forced to stay with a neighbor that they didn’t even know while their mother had to spend the night in jail.

“My kids are still very emotional,” Teel said.

“They had to stay with a complete stranger. My 3-year-old is traumatized over it. She will not leave my side.”

Teel bailed out from jail the next morning for $610 and immediately sought an attorney to take up her case. An appeal was submitted and the charges were soon dropped. Her claim states:

“Ms. Teel and her small children have been traumatized, humiliated, embarrassed, subject to ridicule, and otherwise suffered pain and suffering and other damages as a result of the wrongful arrest.”

Do you think Lori Teel should have been arrested for her overdue fines?

Mother Arrested For Overdue ‘Twilight’ Books is a post from: The Inquisitr

Charlize Theron has been spotted for the first time proudly sporting a freshly shaved head as she visited her home country of South Africa, reports Yahoo.

The Snow White And The Huntsman actress debuted her uncovered new do while traveling with her baby boy Jackson in Namibia on Sunday. The shaved head is the result of the role that she has taken on during the filming of the “Mad Max” sequel “Fury Road” where she will be playing the role of “Furiosa.”

Theron is no stranger to having to alter herself to fit the character of a movie as she was reported to have gained a total of 30 pounds for her portrayal of a serial killer in the 2003 Oscar-winning film “Monster.” The weight gain was accompanied by a set of fake crooked teeth to give the actress the correct look for the role, reports The Improper.

A follow-up to the original “Mad Max” that featured a talented Mel Gibson, Theron was excited to get the ball rolling after originally agreeing to star opposite actor Tom Hardy for the sequel of the original.

“It’s been three years: It’s time to skin this cat already!” Theron told Us Weekly while promoting Prometheus in London May 30. “I’m very excited about it.”

“The original Mad Max created such a vivid world, so to go back and re-imagine it and re-play in that sandbox sounds like fun to me,” she added.

What do you think of Charlize Theron’s shaved head in the photo of the actress below? Do you think the shaved head looks good on her?

First Look At Charlize Theron With A Totally Shaved Head! [PHOTO] is a post from: The Inquisitr

A Houston woman was arrested last week after she made a sign to warn oncoming traffic of an approaching speed trap that was claiming numerous victims, reports local affiliate ABC 13.

Natalie Plummer was riding her bike down a busy street when she noticed police officers had set up a speed trap. Seeing the amount of cars that were being targeting by the trap she took it upon herself to save a few motorists from a hefty ticket. However, when officers noticed that she was warning drivers, they quickly approached the woman and arrested her for what they claim was obstruction of justice.

“He was telling me he was taking me to jail for obstructing justice, that was an automatic three to five years,” Plummer said.

After spending over 12 hours in jail, Plummer was instead slapped with a misdemeanor for walking in the street when there was a sidewalk available. Police officers claim that she ”was a danger to herself and others,” according to MSN.

Plummer protests that the charge is bogus and that she never even came close to walking in the street while holding her sign.

“I for sure did not step into the street,” Plummer said. “I stayed on the sidewalk the entire time.”

“I was simply warning citizens of a situation ahead,” adding ”he couldn’t take me to jail for holding up this sign or he would have. So all he could do was make up something fake about it.”

Do you think Plummer was in the wrong for warning motorists about an upcoming speed trap? Should she fight her misdemeanor charges of walking in the street when there’s a sidewalk available?

Woman Gets Arrested After Warning Cars About An Upcoming Speed Trap is a post from: The Inquisitr

A soldier has fatally shot a fellow serviceman at Fort Bragg and then turned the gun on himself, injuring another soldier in the process, reports USA Today.

A battalion commander from the 525th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade was shot dead by a fellow soldier during a unit safety brief around 3:30 pm on Thursday afternoon. The unknown gunman then turned the weapon on himself, injuring another by the attempt on his own life.

Fort Bragg has released a statement regarding the incident:

One Soldier from the 525th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade is dead and two others are wounded following a shooting incident June 28, 2012.

During a unit safety brief a Soldier shot another member of the unit and then turned the weapon on himself. The shooter was injured and is in custody. A third Soldier who was in the area was also slightly wounded in the shooting.

“This is a tragedy for our community. We don’t yet know the reasons for the shooting, but are working with the unit and the affected Families to help them through this difficult period,” said Col. Kevin Arata, XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg Public Affairs Officer.

“Our prayers are with those who have been affected by this terrible incident,” Arata said.

Fort Bragg law enforcement and emergency responders secured the scene within minutes at the corner of Letterman and Armistead Streets.

Special Agents from the Army Criminal Investigation Command are on the scene and have begun an investigation.

The Army has not identified any of the soldiers involved in the shooting as of yet.

Fort Bragg Shooting: 1 Dead, 2 Wounded In Tragedy is a post from: The Inquisitr

A New Zealand mother was sent scrambling for the phone when her four year-old son submitted a $24,000 bid for a real train being sold in an online auction, reports MSN.

The online auction being hosted on the site Trade Me had yet to receive a bid on the full size electric 2 car train when the offer came in. However, shortly after user “smiley134″ submitted the bid, they received a request to remove the $24,000 mistake.

”I’m really sorry, my 4-year-old was playing and placed a bid, I don’t actually want to buy the train, can my bid please be removed?” the mother asked the company.

Obviously disappointed after being informed they would not be selling the train, Metlink, the company selling the train, was gracious enough to allow “smiley134″ to withdraw the offer.

”For a moment I thought I was falling in love with you smiley! But then you blew it all,” replied customer service representative Zelda MacKenzie.

She went on to say how impressed she was with the toddler’s ability to have the intelligence to submit a bid as you actually have to confirm three separate times that you would like to submit the offer.

”The child has to be exceptionally bright if they can read all that,” Ms MacKenzie said.

According to The Dominion Post, the company hopes that the fully operational train will be purchased by a museum to be put on display showing the progression of the train system in that area, however they are open to anyone that would like to purchase the large unit.

Do you think the child was actually the one to submit the bid? Or was it an immediate buyer’s remorse for the New Zealand woman?

4 Year Old Bids $24,000 For A Real Train In Online Auction, Mother Freaks Out is a post from: The Inquisitr