10-year-old acrobat, juggler and street-performance prodigy Caleb “Flip” Kors was found strangled in his bedroom this week, leaving the entire circus community and its fans stunned. Caleb was found strewn among his various acrobatic equipment and investigators believe he may have slipped while climbing to retrieve an unknown object, perhaps one of his many costumes.

A spokesman for the police said of the incident:

“The young man died in what appears to be an accidental hanging. How he got there, we’re not actually sure.”

Strangely Doesburg, one of Caleb’s circus instructors told ABC News:

“He was an amazing kid. Incredible.”

Doesburg added:

“A kid can learn to juggle and do partner acrobatics and mime or whatever, and those are all things I was teaching him. But he brought this boundless enthusiasm for interacting with other people. Caleb at 10 could read a person or crowd and see what they needed and take them to a special place. He could say, ‘Hey I’m going to juggle.Be a part of this with me.’”

Grief counselors were on hand at the boy’s school after the incident to speak with students, parents and teachers following the accidental strangulation.

Caleb was loved in his community where he could often be found performing next to his mom’s jewelry stand at a local farmer’s market in Bellingham.

Our condolences go out to Caleb’s family and friends during their time of mourning.

If you knew Caleb or witnessed him perform feel free to share your memories about the young circus prodigy in our comments section.

Circus Prodigy Dead At 10 Years Old, Found After Mysterious Strangulation is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Ringling Brothers circus has paid an animal mistreatment fine of $270,00 after many of their shows animals were found to be living and transported in squaller.

While the circus did not admit any wrong doing Federal inspectors found that the company’s animals were living in conditions that did not meet federal guidelines.

In one instance an elephant was forced to perform while sick, while other elephants’ faces were cut open by sharp edges found inside their transport trailers.

Investigators also found that the circus’ big cats were living in rusty cages with splintered floors.

In perhaps one of the most appalling acts of animal mistreatment food was delivered to Tigers in the same wheelbarrows used to haul their excrement.

The fine levied against Ringling Brothers is the largest ever assessed against an exhibitor of animals and the USDA has promised to make sure that the company takes all necessary steps to protect their animals under the Animal Welfare Act.

Along with their penalty Ringling officials will now perform annual compliance training for all employees. The circus described the fee simply as the “cost of doing business.”

Do you think $270,000 was a large enough fine given the size of the circus and the severity of their offenses?

[Image via ShutterStock.com]

Ringling Brothers Pays $270,000 Fine After Appalling Treatment Of Animals is a post from: The Inquisitr

Britney Spears’ new album Circus has debuted at No. 1 on the charts in the US and five other countries.

Circus sold 505,000 copies in the US for the week ending 7 December 2008, making it one of the biggest album debuts for the year. The album also hit No. 1 in Brazil, Canada, Japan, Mexico and Switzerland, and top 10 in seven other countries.

Of 6 albums, Spears has hit the No. 1 spot 5 times, with her previous album Blackout released during her breakdown in 2007 managing to debut only in second spot with 290,000 copies.

Spears starts her world tour in New Orleans next March and more than 400,000 tickets have been sold in the United State alone.

Britney Spears top of the pops with Circus is a post from: The Inquisitr

Britney Spear’s European publicity tour is picking up steam appearing on French TV performing Womanizer.

She looked amazing, even though we aren’t loving the circus theme. The crowd goes nuts for a hot bod, music miming Britney.

Is she back? We suppose if she can keep the circus that is her life at bay, maybe. Check out the French performance below. Where can we get one of those hats? One of those and that on fire circus ring might really fire up the old boudoir!

Britney’s Back: Womanizer Video from French and British TV is a post from: The Inquisitr

Until then, tell me why Britney could almost pass for Madonna here, because I think it’s the hair, but I’m not 100% sure.

Circus Music Video Teaser Released is a post from: The Inquisitr