Hey, reader. Have you ever heard of The Onion News Network? Here’s a quick summary: it’s a satirical news conglomerate. While I’m reluctant to say that nothing they say is true, I will say that their stories are 100% fictional. Thanks to their poker-face reporting, many have been reeled in and outraged over their fabricated antics, and ONN‘s latest victim is a humble and naive Louisiana Congressman.

Not too long ago, Louisiana Representative John Fleming posted a link to an Onion story on his Facebook page, adding: “More on Planned Parenthood, abortion by the wholesale,” underneath it. The article in question revolved around “The Abortionplex” which is more or less exactly what it sounds like (in case you still don’t quite get it, here’s a free laugh on me).

A screencap of Fleming’s faux pas was picked up by Literally Unbelievable, a website that makes fun of people who take The Onion seriously.

Since the fallout, Fleming’s page still hosts a hefty amount of anti-Planned Parenthood posts, but the one in question has been quietly removed (though it has inherited eternal life thanks to the folks at Literally Unbelievable). If you need a quick refresher on who Fleming is, he’s the guy who complained about his income last September, hemming-and-hawing at the financial stretches he has to make scraping by on $600,000 a year. This complaint led comedian Jon Stewart to help him devise a budget plan to help the congressman stem food costs. No word on whether or not Fleming took Stewart’s advice to heart or whether he’s making any traction on understanding the nature of satire.

What do you think of The Onion? Are they really that believable?

GOP Rep Believed Onion’s “Abortionplex” Story, Decried it on Facebook Page is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Brain-Eating Amoeba infected the victims’ brains with a neurological disease called primary amoebic meningoencephalitis (PAME), which quickly destroys brain tissue and typically causes death with 48 hours.

What is worrying experts in the field is that if the deaths were caused by exposure to tap water, it will be the first recorded cases of PAME coming form treated drinking water.  The Brain Eating Amoeba thrives in the warm untreated water found all throughout the southeastern United States.  Every year there are several deaths from people swimming in waterholes rivers and streams.

This time though the water was treated with chlorine and other chemicals to make the water safe.

So it is possible to catch the disease form exposure to treated water?  Jonathan Yoder, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention had this to say to Fox News “Municipal water undergoes a rigorous purification process to make it potable, including being treated with chlorine to kill microorganisms, he explained. “We consider chlorination to be effective in killing [N. fowleri]. I can’t comment on any water system in Louisiana, but in general … you may start out with 1 million amoebas and your goal is to reduce it with chlorine, and you might get 99.9 percent out. But you’re probably never going to eliminate 100 percent. That goes for amoebas, parasites, bacteria, viruses. So while we say our drinking water is safe, it’s not sterile.  N. fowleri only seems capable of reaching the brain if it’s given a big boost by being squirted deep into a person’s nasal passages. That’s why water that is considered safe to drink or bathe in isn’t necessarily safe to use in a neti pot” Yoder said.

Does the Brain Eating Amoeba freak you out enough to ditch the Neti Pot?

Neti Pots Responsible For Transmitting Brain-Eating Amoeba is a post from: The Inquisitr

It turns out using neti pots doesn’t just run the risk of making you look like a crunchy hippie that avoids actual medicine and is scared of chemtrails or something.

Actually, neti pots can be very effective with what they seek to accomplish- flushing allergens from the sinuses and generally irrigating the nasal area, loosening boogers and goop- but the seemingly innocuous devices sold at health food shops and similar outlets are the subject of a dire warning from Louisiana state health officials. It appears that use of neti pots can place individuals at risk of contracting a “brain-eating amoeba” called Naegleria fowleri. Normally contracted- albeit in rare circumstances- from swimming in freshwater bodies such as ponds and lakes- Naegleria fowleri can cause primary amebic meningoencephalitis. Symptoms initially mimic those of bacterial meningitis- fever, headache, chills, nausea, vomiting and stiffness of the neck- but soon progress to seizures, hallucination and loss of balance. Progression of the infection is rapid and death generally occurs within twelve days.

The warning comes after the second death associated with neti pot use in the region came to light- previously, a 20-year-old man died of the infection after using the device, and a 51-year-old woman also succumbed- and Louisiana State Epidemiologist, Dr. Raoult Ratard explained that neti pots could be used safely if certain precautions are taken:

“If you are irrigating, flushing, or rinsing your sinuses, for example, by using a neti pot, use distilled, sterile or previously boiled water to make up the irrigation solution. Tap water is safe for drinking, but not for irrigating your nose.”

Do you have a neti pot? Were you aware they posed risks when used with tap water?

Neti Pots Linked to Deadly Infection, Two Deaths is a post from: The Inquisitr

About 45.8 million or 15% of the entire US population relied on Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) last August, the Wall Street Journal reports.

This figure represents an 8.1% increased compared to last year, the Department of Agriculture reported. It should be noted though that the increase has slowed down compared to previous years.

Also known as food stamps, the number of those the program is availing  is expected to rise in the coming months as the economy continue to suffer from high unemployment. September data will also factor in the disaster assistance for the destruction and flooding brought by Hurricane Irene.

Among the states, Mississippi reported the largest number of population at 21% recieving food stamps. About one in five residents in New Mexico, Tennessee, Oregon and Louisiana were food stamp recipients also.

No relief is seen as families continue to depend on food stamps due to unemployment and lower wages for those who even have employment.

15% of U.S. Population on Food Stamps is a post from: The Inquisitr

I’ve read about a lot of really stupid ideas in my time but this one from the halls of the Louisiana state government has to rank up there as one of the most ridiculous idea yet.

Proclaiming the law as a way to help law enforcement fight the sale of stolen goods Louisiana has decided to make the ability to pay cash for second-hand goods illegal.

Yes you read that right. It is now illegal in the state of Louisiana to use a piece of paper that is clearly stamped “This note is legal tender for all debts, public and private.” (as well as “In God We Trust”) to buy second-hand merchandise.

State representative Rickey Hardy, co-author of the bill, says that the bill is targeted at criminals who steal anything from copper to televisions and then sell them to make a quick buck. The idea is that by forcing a paper trail the police will have an easier time tracking down offenders.

Here is the section of the bill that deals with this, and that was buried so deep in the re-written bill that most businesses don’t even know the law exists.

A secondhand dealer shall not enter into any cash transactions in payment for the purchase of junk or used or secondhand property. Payment shall be made in the form of check, electronic transfers, or money order issued to the seller of the junk or used or secondhand property and made payable to the name and address of the seller. All payments made by check, electronic transfers, or money order shall be reported separately in the daily reports required by R.S. 37:1866.

I’m wondering how long it will be before this is challenged in courts. Hopefully not long but in the meantime Techdirt has the full text of the bill available as an embed in case you are interested.

via KLFY.com

It is now illegal to use cash in Louisiana to buy second-hand goods is a post from: The Inquisitr

Employees at Christus St. Frances Cabrini Hospital in Louisiana will soon no longer be allowed to wear “smokey” clothing at work. Hospital officials have announced that starting in July 2012 employees who wear clothes that smell like smoke will be sent home.

The hospitals smokey clothes policy has been in place for their women’s and children’s wings for two years. Since employees will not be allowed to smoke at all during their shifts the hospital is offering resources and support for any employees who choose to quit smoking.

According to hospital officials the policy will extend to the entire campus and is intended to reduce patients’ and employees exposure to “third-hand smoke” and other toxins that remain on clothing after a cigarette is smoked.

The women’s and children’s wings went into effect earlier than the rest of the hospital because third-hand smoke and contaminants have been shown to have more far reaching negative effects on those groups.

Under the program employees were sent letters explaining that they had nearly one year to make adjustments to their lifestyle and comply with the new hospital policy.

Do you think it’s fair for hospital administrators to impose smoking sanctions on a staff that work double and triple shifts on a regular basis?

Hospital Sending Home Employees With “Smokey” Clothing is a post from: The Inquisitr

BP claims that $357 million in oil spill compensation payments have been made to more than 12,300 Louisiana residents, enough to cover their losses through the 2013 fishing season.

The payments were made to fisherman who catch fish, crabs, shrimp and oysters for a living, all industries that were pounded when BP’s Gulf Coast oil rig began spilling oil into the ocean around the area.

According to the report the average payout to local fishers was more than $29,000, approximately $5,000 more than the average spill pays out to residents around the world.

In the meantime the process isn’t being hailed as perfect by any means, many local fisherman are taking “quick” final payments of just  $5,000 for individuals or $25,000 for businesses just so they can pay their bills, a payment that stops them from further compensation in the future. According to statistics 81 percent of the areas 13,100 paid fishing claims were quick payments which required only minimal documentation to receive six-month payments last fall.

In the meantime there has been vast criticism of the company’s $20 billion trust fund they set up at the request of President Barack Obama last fall, according to reports that money is being used to pay court judgments, damage claims from state and local governments and spill-response costs, none of which were originally meant to be covered with the fund’s money.

Do you believe BP should have to pay back the money used from the $20 billion fund which was meant to protect businesses and not their own interests?

BP Claims: $357 Million Paid to 12,300 Louisiana Residents After Oil Spill is a post from: The Inquisitr

Tropical Storm Lee made it’s way across the central Gulf Coast early Sunday morning while dropping plenty of rain across low-lying communities, possibly foreshadowing the type of rainfall cities in the area could witness in the coming days.

The center of the storm crossed the shoreline into Louisiana just before dawn after spending the weekend hovering in the northernmost Gulf of Mexico.

Once the storm reached land it quickly knocked out power to 32,000 residents before it moved North and began threatening various areas with flash floods.

In some areas of Louisiana as much as 6 to 10 inches of rain has already fallen with those numbers extending into the Mississippi as well. The National Weather Service has already begun warning residents in those areas that there is a threat of flooding and flash floods.

Rains are expected to head north later in the week with 10 to 15 inches of rain possible along the central Gulf Coast and 20 inches expected in some isolated areas.

Residents are urged to stay away from areas with heavy rain while observing proper tropical storm and hurricane protocols, for example do not attempt to drive your vehicle through drenched areas as even just an inch of rain can cause your vehicle to be swept away.

Stay tuned to your local weather stations and when required observe proper evacuation procedures in the event of flooding.

What type of weather have you been experiencing in your part of Louisiana or Mississippi?

Tropical Storm Lee Pours Down Rain On Louisiana, Knocks Out Power is a post from: The Inquisitr

The creepy and unsettling image making the rounds last week that purportedly depicted a zombie-like creature lurking in a Louisiana backwater was, surprise surprise, a viral marketing campaign for an upcoming game, Resistance 3.

As the story goes, a hunting stand out in the middle of nowhere had a digital camera set up, and the shots of the thing were captured before it smashed the camera up, leaving the memory card intact. The freaked out camera owner posted the pics to a gaming website, as you do when you encounter a pants-peeable cryptid in the middle of nowhere and it could have followed you home.

Playstation Lifestyle connected the “sighting” to this tweet from Insomniac Games about the upcoming release of Resistance 3:

Whoops… looks like one got out. If you see a Grim on the loose… please return to Insomniac Games, Burbank, CA: http://bit.ly/fqGoXX #fb

While the tale’s debunking hasn’t gotten much attention, the original story hit many mainstream media outlets, including several local affiliate news shows and Britain’s Daily Mail.

Creepy, unidentified Louisiana beast is viral videogame advert is a post from: The Inquisitr

Clearly, this dude was out walking his Montauk Monster when it got off the leash- it explains the anguished look.

The image and video below have captured the imagination of the internet this morning- some guys from Louisiana who have chosen to remain nameless submitted the pics from a deer hunting stand in Berwick. The camera was unmanned and broken, presumably by the unidentified thing, but the memory card was intact and the camera’s owners say the image was found on the card.

Local news describes the thing in the pic:

It looks like a cross between a human and an animal, with long slender appendages and glowing eyes.

The hunter says he just hopes it’s a vegetarian, if he runs into it in the woods again.

Bad attempt at viral internet fame? Zombie? Alien? Amy Winehouse? Do you have an explanation for the creepy creature supposedly caught on film in the woods in Louisiana?

[Video] What creepy, unidentified beast is stalking the woods in Louisiana? is a post from: The Inquisitr

An inactive oil rig owned by Mariner Energy exploded this morning in the Gulf of Mexico, injuring one worker.

There is no word on whether the rig, which was not producing oil at the time of the explosion, is likely to leak or pollute the surrounding area. U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Bill Colclough spoke to CNN and answered questions about environmental safety and the cause of the explosion:

“We don’t know what caused the rig to catch on fire,” he told CNN, noting the incident is under investigation.

Asked about concerns regarding oil leaks or pollution, Colclough said “there are reports the rig was not actively producing any product, so we don’t know if there’s any risk of pollution.”

12 workers from the production platform await rescue in water immersion suits as of noon EST. “Several helicopters” are reportedly en route to the site of the incident, south of Vermillion Bay in Louisiana.

One injury, no deaths in offshore oil rig explosion in Gulf of Mexico is a post from: The Inquisitr

Before I started writing here, my main job was writing a Sports Business Column. Even while working here it is a column I still love to write as it gives me the freedom to look at Sports from a business perspective. That being said this is one of these stories I have been following for awhile now. The main problem here is their are folks in Los Angeles who are building a NFL stadium, without a NFL team to play in it. That means they will try and lure a team from a different city to play in their new stadium.

For some time now I have had the list of teams looking for a new stadium and possibly relocating at two; the Minnesota Vikings, and the New Orleans Saints. Now it looks like the Saints will continue to call New Orleans home until at least 2025.

Instead of giving subsidies to the Saints, the Louisiana State Government leased a bunch of office space from some buildings that New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson owns. These buildings are in the vicinity of the Super Dome and is a crucial step in the plan to redevelop the area surrounding that facility with mixed retail and office space.

Deal reached to keep Saints in New Orleans is a post from: The Inquisitr

No .. you read that right. Yesterday Arielle Smith, 19, was facing second degree murder charges in New Orleans Louisiana for putting five month old Andre Jenkins into a tumble dryer because he would not stop crying. Apparently he was disturbing her television time while she was babysitting Baby Andre along with her own 1-year old son and Baby Andre’s older brother.

Baby Andre died from a skull fracture and horrific burns caused by the 175C temperature inside the dryer

"She was trying to watch something on television," said Assistant District  Attorney Amanda Calogero said.   

"She put the two older kids in a room, and she put the baby in the dryer and turned it on."  

Later Smith called the boy’s mother Brandy Dozier and told her Andre was  not  breathing.

Dozier had dropped her sons off at Smith’s home while she went to work.

Smith claimed she had spilt a pan of boiling water on him – but later confessed to putting the boy in the drier and turning it one.

Medical experts said the baby suffered second degree burns caused by the   scalding temperature inside the drier. The baby had burns on his feet, face, head, arms and legs.

He is thought to have been in the spinning drier for up to three minutes

Source: The Daily Mail

I wonder if Louisiana has the death penalty?

Baby dies from being put in a dryer is a post from: The Inquisitr