The Inquisitr » america

Report: 1 In 10 Americans Out Of Work

AHN — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:15:36 +0000

Washington, D.C. (AHN) – More than 10 percent of Americans are out of work, the Labor Department reported Friday. It’s the highest rate of unemployment in 26 years.

Some 190,000 workers lost their jobs in October, driving the unemployment rate to 10.2 percent, the agency said in a monthly report. That’s a rise of 0.4 percent from September. Economists had expected the rate to rise to between 9.9 percent to 10 percent.

In a glimmer of good news, the department said job losses in September were 219,000, a decline from an earlier estimate of 263,000.

Construction, manufacturing and retailing got the brunt of the losses, with cuts of 62,000; 61,000 and 40,000 respectively. Health care companies added 29,000 jobs and education added 16,000; while the number of temporary workers grew by 34,000.

The underemployment rate rose to 17.5, the highest level since at least 1994. The figure includes part-time workers, the jobless, and people who have given up looking for work.

The manufacturing workweek was unchanged at 33 hours and average hourly earnings rose a nickel, or 0.3 percent, to $18.72. Average hourly wages have risen 2.4 percent in the past year. The report was produced by surveying 400,000 business establishments.

U.S. Plane Carrying Marine Commandos Ordered to Land for Straying into India

AHN — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 02:00:20 +0000

New Delhi, India (AHN) – A U.S. plane transporting 205 marine commandos to Thailand was grounded for 33 hours in India for violating the country’s airspace on Sunday. The plane resumed its flight on Monday after getting a clearance.

India’s air force ordered the North American Airlines Boeing 767 to land at the Mumbai International Airport when it apparently strayed into Indian airspace Sunday.

U.S. embassy official Colonel Steward Kowal called the incident a “misunderstanding with call signs.” But he thanked Indian military authorities for resolving the matter quickly.

The chartered plane came from the Middle East and was bound for Bangkok.

14-year-old has sex for a cheeseburger with bacon

Duncan Riley — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 09:08:22 +0000

On the bright side, at least the burgers have bacon on them. Mmmm….bacon.

Katy Perry to Introduce Russell Brand to Parents

Bang — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 19:00:42 +0000

Katy Perry wants new boyfriend Russell Brand to meet her parents.

The ‘I Kissed A Girl’ singer is worried her evangelical Christian parents don’t approve of her fledgling romance with the British comedian – who is famed for his womanizing ways and has battled drug addiction – but thinks meeting him could change their mind.

A source told Britain’s The Sun newspaper, “Katy is as besotted with Russell as he is with her.

“Katy is sure that, after they get used to him, they would approve of Russell, but she wants to get that initial meeting out of the way as early as she can.

“Keith and Mary are devoted to the church and hold the institution of marriage as a central core of their beliefs.

“They are genuinely happy for their daughter, but want to give Russell the once-over to check that he is suitable.”

Katy hopes her 34-year-old beau will fly to Los Angeles to spend time with her family ahead of her stint hosting the MTV Europe Awards (EMAs) next month.

The 24-year-old singer, whose parents Keith and Mary Hudson are pastors and run a ministry near Los Angeles, wants to arrange the meeting as soon as possible so she can continue working on her new album without worrying.

The source added, “Katy is really keen to get the meeting out of the way early-on, so her and Russell can get on with their relationship without anything hanging over their heads.”

Katy and Russell were first romantically linked after the MTV Video Music Awards when they were seen kissing at Lady Gaga’s after-party at New York nightspot Avenue.

The have since enjoyed a romantic holiday in Thailand together, and been spotted watching shows at Paris Fashion Week.

Last week, Russell admitted he was in love, while Katy has been equally as glowing about their romance.

She wrote on Twitter, “been in a love K-hole… (sic).”

Massachusetts man gets 18 months for stealing a hot dog

Duncan Riley — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 04:05:42 +0000

A Massachusetts man has been sentenced to 18 months in jail on charges relating to the theft of a hot dog.

Antonio Judd admitted in court that he had indeed stolen the hot dog from a man eating it in a Worcester park back in August. But just in case you think stealing a hot dog is like taking candy from a baby, Judd also used a pellet gun to make his huge heist.

According to local reports, Judd made no attempt to flee the scene, and instead stood in full view of witnesses who saw him “devour the hotdog, spilling mustard over his shirt.”

Criminal genius Judd has three previous convictions for assault and vandalism.

Bank of America sued for “1,784 billion, trillion dollars”

Duncan Riley — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 10:56:44 +0000

Bank of America is being sued by a man upset with the customer service he received for a cool “$1,784 billion, trillion dollars.”

In a lawsuit considered in the Manhattan District Court Thursday, Dalton Chiscolm claimed among other things that he received inconsistent information from a ‘Spanish woman and that his checks have been rejected because of incomplete routing numbers.

The figure asked for is 1 followed by 22 zeros, significantly higher than the combined GDP of every country on the face of the earth.

According to Reuters, U.S. District Judge Denny Chin called the suit “Incomprehensible,” and gave Chiscolm until October 23 to :better explain the basis for his claims, or else see his complaint dismissed.”

Female Drunk Driving On The Rise

AHN — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 15:35:20 +0000

San Diego, CA (NewsBahn) – San Diego DUI attorneys are noticing a sharp rise in the number of women seeking legal representation for DUI arrests throughout San Diego County.

Lawrence Taylor, known as “The Dean of DUI Attorneys” and author of the book Drunk Driving Defense, confirms the statistics law experts are noticing. Taylor is the principal lawyer for a nationally recognized firm of California DUI defense attorneys.

“Each San Diego DUI attorney in our firm has observed a steadily rising percentage of female San Diego drunk driving clients in recent years,” Taylor said in a statement.

The FBI also recently released evidence of alcohol related driving arrests. Statistics from 1998-2007 indicate an increase of nearly 29 percent for women driving under the influence of alcohol. What’s interesting to note is for the same time period the instance of men driving under the influence decreased 7.5 percent.

Further confirmation comes from a recent DUI fatality study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The agency looked at the number of female drunk drivers involved in fatal crashes from 2007 to 2008 and found that the female DUI rate increased or remained flat in 15 states, compared to 13 states for male DUI involved fatalities. This is noteworthy, since the overall number of DUI cases decreased 9 percent nationwide. About 2,000 fatalities a year now involve a female driver arrested for DUI.

Oklahoma Abortion Law On Ultrasounds Overturned

AHN — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 17:00:31 +0000

Oklahoma City, OK (AHN) – An Oklahoma district judge has overturned a law requiring women seeking an abortion to undergo an ultrasound and have their doctors describe to them the image of their unborn child. The 2008 law was approved by a bipartisan vote from state lawmakers, who later reiterated their support by overriding a veto by Gov. Brad Henry.

In her ruling, County District Court Judge Vicki Robertson said SB 1878 violated the state constitution’s “single-subject” requirement.

The decision was in response to a lawsuit filed in October 2008 by a Tulsa-based clinic, Nova Health Services, which is represented by the Center for Reproductive Rights.SB 1878 has never been enforced since its passage last April. It was vetoed by the governor, but lawmakers overrode the veto by a 37-11 vote in the state Senate, and an 81-15 vote in the state House.

The bill was then blocked by the lawsuit, which the measure’s main author, state Sen. Todd Lamb, had said “sought to undo important reforms to provide women with information that helps them give informed consent.” The Republican cited the legislation’s protection of healthcare workers to refuse to provide an abortion, and changes in state law to “mirror federal regulations on the use of the dangerous abortion pill RU-486.”

Lamb had also dismissed Nova Health Services as a “pro-abortion fringe group” that “repeat[ed] some of the falsehoods about SB 1878 raised during the Legislature’s debate” such as claims that women are required to view their ultrasound.

An attorney for the Center for Reproductive Rights, Stephanie Toti, said the law was an “affront to women’s decision-making power” and had threatened to shut down the clinic, which caters to more than 2,000 women from Oklahoma and surrounding states annually.

The group also said the law would have forced some women to undergo surgery because of restrictions in the availability of the medical abortion pill.

But state Sen. Randy Brogdon said he was “deeply disappointed” with the court ruling, saying the judge had demonstrated a “kind of judicial activism [that] undermines representative government.”

“The people of this state elected us to write laws and create public policy on their behalf,” added Brogdon, who authored similar legislation in 2006. “The district court ruling claimed the bill violated the one-subject rule of the constitution, but clearly each of the provisions dealt with the same subject.”

10 year old girl fined $50 for operating a lemonade stand without a license

Duncan Riley — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 08:00:00 +0000

Life imitates the Simpsons: a 10 year old New York girl has been fined $50 for operating a lemonade stand without a license.

Clementine Lee set up a lemonade stand in Riverside Park, New York Saturday as a way to raise some pocket money, but that was before not one, but three city officials pounced on her illegal operation.

“I was kind of nervous, and I also really felt bad because I didn’t know I was doing something against the law,” Clementine told local media. “They made me feel really, really bad, and scared at the same time,” Clemetine said. “We could have gotten into really big trouble and gotten arrested or something.”

A spokesperson for the New York Parks Department says that the three agents “showed poor judgment” (you think so?) and that the ticket will be dismissed.

For the record, Clementine had managed to sell $19 worth of lemonade before being slapped with the $50 fine.

19 arrested over Canary bird fighting ring…yes, Canaries

Duncan Riley — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 04:34:50 +0000

Connecticut police have arrested 19 people in connection with a canary bird fighting operation.

Over 100 canaries were seized from a home in Shelton as the 19 were preparing to the birds to fight Sunday reports Fox. Apparently Canaries can become aggressive and fight each other, particularly during breeding season

We’ve tried to do some background on Canary fighting because lets face it, you don’t really expect to hear of Canary fighting rings, however there’s not a lot of history on it available on Google. One site on Canary breading did note however that they are prone to fight:

Fighting is a common problem when trying to breed canaries. Males can sometimes be aggressive with the female. The female can sometimes be severely injured by the male. Therefore, make sure you keep an eye on things and separate the two if you have to. You can help prevent fighting by keeping the two birds in adjacent cages until they get used to each other.

But even still: Canary fighting as a sport. Serious levels of WTF.

US Government spends $1,191,200 on two pounds of frozen, sliced ham

Duncan Riley — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 10:27:43 +0000

Your tax money at work: the United States Government has spent a staggering $1,191,200 on two pounds (900 grams) of frozen, sliced ham.

The money for the ham was funded by President Obama’s stimulus package and awarded through the Department of Agriculture. The money went to Cloughherty Packing, a Los Angeles based company that “processes pork products, including fresh-cut pork, prepared bacon, sausages, and boneless and bone-in cooked ham.”

According to the official record for the million dollar ham, the project which involved “animal slaughtering” was awarded in April 2009 and was due for completion in at the end of June 2009. It’s not clear from the record where the ham was heading after it had been sliced and frozen.

American taxpayers can take some solace though in the million dollar ham: the tender attracted two bids with the cheapest offer winning the deal. They usually say politicians have their snouts in the troth, although in this case they’re eating pig at $595,600 per pound instead. A copy of the official Government record here.

CDC: More, Younger Children Having Sex

AHN — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 16:00:28 +0000

Washington, D.C. (AHN) – The number of teenagers and young adults having sex has increased, reversing a 20-year trend, according to a report issued Friday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The increase was seen in children as young as 10.

The federal agency compiled data between 2002 and 2007 for adolescents and young people between 10 and 24. Its findings were compared it with data in a previous study that included figures from as far back as 1990.

The CDC found that in 2006 about 1 million youths were reported to have a sexually transmitted disease. Nearly 25 percent of girls between 15 and 19 and 45 percent between 20 to 24, had a human papillomavirus infection between 2003 and 2004, the study reported.

About 100,000 females between 10 and 24 were treated for rape at a hospital between 2004 and 2006, according to the report.

Children between 10 and 14 also were engaging in sexual behavior more often, the study found. About 17,000 children in that age group developed a sexually transmitted infection in 2006, while 16,000 girls were estimated to have become pregnant in 2004. Some 30,000 girls were treated at a hospital emergency room for sexual assault between 2004 and 2006.

The report found that one third of youths had not received any instruction of methods of birth control before they were 18.

“It is disheartening that after years of improvement with respect to teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, we now see signs that progress is stalling and many of these trends are going in the wrong direction,” commented Dr. Janet Collins, director of CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion.

Virgin Mary spotted in bird poop

Duncan Riley — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 04:57:29 +0000

Virgin Mary spotting has dropped to new lows with a Texas family claiming that the mother of Jesus has made an appearance in bird poop attached to their pickup truck.

The image of the Virgin Mary appeared after Salvador Pachuca returned home after having an accident four months ago. The truck was taken outside for a wash, and then the Virgin Mary bird poop magically fell from the sky.

“I told my brothers come over here and see what this is and they say this is the Virgin,” says Salvador Pachuca told local media. Wife Cristal said she took pictures and began making calls to invite others to see, what she describes as, a miracle. “We just all feel protected. It’s a blessing to our family and to everybody that comes to see it.”

The family say they will welcome anyone who wants to see the image, and there are no plans yet to sell the bird poop on eBay.

The local TV station report as follows:

Cigarettes in New Hampshire now cost $23 quadrillion a pack

Duncan Riley — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 04:28:06 +0000

A New Hampshire man has discovered that smoking isn’t only bad for your health, but also bad for your hip pocket when he was charged $23,148,855,308,184,500 for a packet.

If the thought of a $23 quadrillion packet of cigarettes isn’t bad enough, image Josh Muszynski’s surprise when he eventually discovered the charge: Bank of America not only deducted the amount from his account, they also charged him a $15 overdraft fee for the privilege.

“I thought somebody had bought Europe with my credit card,” Muszynski told local television, although his troubles weren’t over yet. When him first approached Bank of America, they wouldn’t correct the error, and it took several attempts to get it sorted. The Bank also eventually reimbursed Muszynski the $15 over draft fee.

To put the amount in perspective, $23 quadrillion is multiple times larger that US national debt, a figure astronomically large in itself.

How to Really Celebrate Independence Day

Kyle Brady — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 19:00:59 +0000

July 4th, also known as Independence Day in America, was this past Saturday, resulting in large quantities of grilled foods, fireworks, and alcohol consumption, much to the chagrin of history buffs and hardcore patriots. But most of the country missed a key component of the weekend: truly celebrating Independence Day. How do you really celebrate Independence Day?

Politics.

I’m not talking about politics at the local level, or even the state level, but politics in the national and international arenas that should be the focus of attention on July 4th. Most Americans are too self-absorbed and/or ignorant to know how good we truly have it – even if you don’t like our President, you think some of our laws are unjust, or you’re incarcerated, you’re still pretty well off. Americans as a people enjoy many freedoms that citizens of countries around the world will never have, and the day that is meant to evoke such reflections has turned into a bloated festival of food, booze, and shenanigans.

China imposes many restrictions on its citizens, not the least of which is internet censorship. Honduras, a South American country, is shadow-controlled by the military and staged a coup against the President. Many Mexicans live in fear of the continuing drug war violence. England is quickly becoming a high-surveillance, low public freedoms police state. Not to mention all the problems of Africa, India, the Middle East…

Yet many Americans don’t realize that our freedoms are so great, so large as to allow us to heavily criticize our own government, move freely throughout the country, or have “basic” services provided to us relatively cheaply and unaffected by government hands. We aren’t jailed for gathering in public groups or persecuted based on where within the United States we were born. We have running water, mostly-stable electricity, computers, cars, gadgets, and much more that large portions of the world will only ever dream of.

Rather than being concerned with how much wealth can be acquired (an activity that has largely resulted in widespread disaster as a country), American citizens should instead occasionally remember that we started out as a group of mostly-English exiles who were looking for something better. We should remember that our country was formed based on ideas of freedoms across-the-board, self governance, and a better life. We should remember that no matter how vitriolic the political rhetoric becomes, we are a single nation of free people seeking to hopefully achieve what is best for ourselves, the future, and the rest of the world.

Life is about much more than the latest episode of a TV program or stalking celebrities – attention needs to be given to the critical issues at hand, and consideration given to the proper place of the general public’s obsessions. This is why the way to truly celebrate the American Day of Independence, on July 4th, is to read, consider, and discuss politics. Real political issues, not merely the party favorite one-liners of menial consequence.

The Founding Fathers would be ashamed of Average John Q. Public today, so it is fitting on a day in memory of them that the public attention wanders across the plains of political enlightenment.

President Obama, it seems, understands this.

Kyle Brady is a contributing columnist for the Inquisitr, an entrepreneur, and has a future in science fiction. He can be found at his blog, via email, or on Twitter.

Lake electrocutes people, power company denies their corroded cables are to blame

Duncan Riley — Sat, 27 Jun 2009 15:00:11 +0000

A power company is denying responsibility for a string of electrocutions in a Missouri lake despite having corroded cables in the lake itself.

The lake has electrocuted nearly a dozen people over three years, including the death of a teenage swimmer. The most recent electrocution occurred over the Memorial Day weekend.

State officials have only now closed Spring Lake, and are investigating why residents and swimmers are being electrocuted.

Local media notes that the local power company AmerenUE is denying responsibility, despite having paid $2.3 million in damages over the electrocutions so far (they didn’t admit liability as part of the settlement.) The company though is “replacing and rerouting corroded cables around the lake,” a project the company claims is related to improving customer service and not the electrocutions….because of course corroded cables in or near a body of water couldn’t possibly have anything to do with people being electrocuted

Serious business: Congress warned that smoking lettuce is bad for your health

Duncan Riley — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 17:00:10 +0000

Congress was shocked to learn this week that millions of Americans have a serious drug in their refrigerators: lettuce.

The dangers of smoking lettuce were highlighted by Congressman Steve Buyer of Indiana as part of a debate into new anti-smoking legislation. Buyer informed the house that if you dry and smoke lettuce, you will end up with “similar problems than if you smoke tobacco.” Buyer argued “it’s not the nicotine that kills, it’s the smoke that kills!”

While millions of Americans prepare to purge their kitchens of their wacky vegetables, or a few try rolling a joint made of lettuce leaves, here’s the Steve Buyer dangers of lettuce video:

Little League Coach teaches players break and enter skills

Duncan Riley — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 11:30:43 +0000

A Little League Baseball coach in Washington has been arrested for burglary after using team members to help in with the break in.

George Spady Jr, who coached the team in the Arlington Little League, is alleged to have taken his son, his nephew, and one other team mate to the break and enter. At the scene, Spady had his son crawl through a vent at the back of the shop to let him in. Inside the vacant shop, Spady then stole overhead lights and bulbs, enlisting the kids help in carrying the stolen goods to his car.

The story only came to light after the unrelated boy at the scene told his step-father what had happened, who immediately called police.

Spady has been charged with second-degree burglary, and the children have not been charged due to their age.

Video from local television below, including an interview with Spady’s wife.

(via Deadspin)

Police shoot dead a chihuahua, but only after tasing it first

Duncan Riley — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 05:57:26 +0000

Police in Blue Ash, Ohio have shot dead a Chihuahua cross dog, but only after first tasing it.

5 year old Jack was the pet of the Bullock family, who bought the dog several years ago for their now 12 year old son. While the Bullock’s were out, Jack got out, and that’s where the police became involved.

If tasing and shooting a small 5 pound dog isn’t bad enough, the way the family found out about it was worse again. On returning home, they found three bullets and blood splattered over their front porch, along with a note to call the police about their dog.

To keep this is perspective, we’re talking about a chihuahua here with zero history of violence, who lived in a home with a 12 year old child and a 5 year old, and despite coming to the attention of police for getting out, was shot none the less on the front porch of the home it lived in.

Scott Bullock told local media that he couldn’t understand why they didn’t call the SPCA. “They didn’t make that phone call other than to come scoop the dog off the porch after they shot him. Two grown men that can’t gather up a five-pound dog – and they’re trained police officers – sounds ridiculous to me.”

The police officers claim that the dog bit them, and the local police department claim that the officers handled the situation according to department policy.

Only in America.

North Korea journalist case highlights American hypocrisy

Duncan Riley — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 00:53:22 +0000

As much as I hate to start a post quoting Ashton Kutcher, his sentiment sums up the outrage in the United States over the jail sentence handed down to two American journalists:

“This should be a national crisis… We have to demand that something be done. This is our country, it’s our military,” Ashton Tweeted on Monday. “I say it’s special ops time… If we can save that Captain from pirates we can save these journalists.”

I am sympathetic to the plight of Laura Ling and Euna Lee, and that it is fair to argue that by western standards, the 12 year sentences doesn’t nearly fit the crime, but lets take a closer look.

Reports are saying that Ling and Lee were taken on the China/ North Korean border where they were “reporting about the trafficking of North Korean women.” But there’s a flaw in that statement: the proximity to the border is irrelevant, because they were arrested inside North Korea. If they had been taken inside China, the “international incident” wouldn’t just involve North Korea and the United States, it would most definitely involve China, who would be outraged about an incursion into its territory by North Korean troops.

So these two “journalists” were arrested inside North Korea, having crossed the border without permission or appropriate paperwork. What if the incident were the other way around: two North Korean “journalists” crossed into the United States, cameras at hand, without paperwork. Better still, substitute North Korean journalist for a muslim journalist.

We already know the answer, and despite the occasional travel brochure suggesting otherwise, Gitmo isn’t overly pleasant for those detained there.

It’s terribly rich for America to complain about two entirely stupid journalists who purposely put themselves in harms way, knowing to well what the consequences might be, while America routinely detains anyone remotely suspected of being a threat, and holds them without trial nor natural justice.

To hold others to such high standards, you yourself practice those standards; when you do not, it can only be considered hypocrisy.

I do hope that Ling and Lee are released, and the issue is resolved. But the incident should be cause to reflect that America is long since dropped the flame when it comes to justice. President Obama promises hope, but every day prisoners at Gitmo do not face trial, nothing really changes.