Catatan Harianku

Deanna Durbin, who as a plucky child movie star with a sweet soprano voice charmed American audiences during the Depression and saved Universal Pictures from bankruptcy before she vanished from public view 64 years ago, has died, a fan club announced on Tuesday. She was 91. In a newsletter, the Deanna Durbin Society said Ms. Durbin died “a few days ago,” quoting her son, Peter H. David, who thanked her admirers for respecting her privacy. No other details were given. Ms. Durbin had remained determinedly out of public view since 1949, when she retired to a village in France with her third husband. From 1936 to 1942, Ms. Durbin was everyone’s intrepid kid sister or spunky daughter, a wholesome, radiant, can-do girl who in a series of wildly popular films was always fixing the problems of unhappy adults. And as an instant Hollywood star with her very first movie, “Three Smart Girls,” she almost single-handedly fixed the problems of her fretting bosses at Universal, bringing them box-offic...

MIA Vietnam War Vet Found?, During the Vietnam War, the U.S. government declared approximately 1,350 people taken as prisoners of war or MIA. Among them was U.S. Army Sgt. John Hartley Robertson whose helicopter was shot down over Laos 44 years ago. He was presumed dead. Now, Canadian documentarian Michael Jorgensen said he's found Robertson living in a small village in Vietnam. He said that Robertson cannot remember how to speak English nor does he recall the names of his family members. He's documented the case in his upcoming film "Unclaimed." The film is premiering Tuesday at the Toronto Independent Film Festival. The story depicts Vietnam veteran Tom Faunce who went on a humanitarian journey to Southeast Asia in 2008. While he was there, he heard tales of an "Army brother" who had been abandoned by the government and living a new life in Vietnam. Jorgensen was hesitant of the man's claims, with the original angle of the documentary set to reveal Fau...

Nike Elephant Shoe, The biggest Nike shoe ever was not made for a tall basketball player, but for an elephant with a limp. A PR representative for the sneaker company shared a photo of this gargantuan piece of footwear on Twitter, explaining that the shoe was engineered to help one elephant find balance, since one of its legs was shorter than the others. The leather sneaker is designed to look like elephant skin, and it features stylish white buckles on the heel, grey shoelaces, and remnants of baby pink trademark Nike swooshes on the sides. The PR representative captioned the photo: 'Biggest shoe Nike ever made was for an elephant that had one leg shorter than the others. Nike fitted him with lifts.' No details about the age or size of the shoe or elephant were given, but from its tattered appearance it would appear the sneaker was well worn. Joel Colley, an Oregon-based art director, took to Instagram to share a photo of the shoe back in October. According to Mr Colley, the i...

Video: SpaceShipTwo's first powered flight, Commercial spaceflight took a major step forward yesterday, as Virgin Galactic's SpaceShipTwo completed it's first powered flight high above the Mojave Desert in California. The vehicle was dropped from mothership WhiteKnightTwo at an altitude of 47,000 feet. It then fired its rocket engines for a brief 16 seconds, which propelled it to an altitude of 56,200 feet. During the flight, SpaceShipTwo traveled faster than sound, achieving a speed of Mach 1.2. The company has now posted a video with four different views of the flight, including a spectacular view from the wing tips that captures earth, ship, and the rocket engines firing. With the successful flight, SpaceShipTwo is on the way to carrying passengers past the edge of space as early as next year. A number of test flights still remain, including flying into space, which is officially 100 kilometers (62 miles) in altitude. SpaceShipTwo has been in development for eight years....

Tebow Omaha Beef, The Omaha Beef have a job waiting for Tim Tebow if he wants it — and the Nebraska indoor football team will even pay him $75 a game. A day after Tebow was cut by the New York Jets, the Beef called the office of Tebow agent Jimmy Sexton to offer a standard player contract. Beef assistant general manager Andrew Mather said Tuesday that he doesn't expect to hear back, but he thought it was worth asking. The Beef's current quarterback, James McNear, has led the team to a 5-1 start. He's completing 70 percent of his passes and has thrown for 21 touchdowns against just two interceptions. McNear is anything but insulted by the Beef's wooing of Tebow. McNear said, "I think Tim can learn a lot from me."

$70 Million Per Seat, NASA is paying $424 million more to Russia to get U.S. astronauts into space, and the agency's leader is blaming Congress for the extra expense. NASA announced its latest contract with the Russian Space Agency on Tuesday. The $424 million represents flights to and from the International Space Station aboard Russian Soyuz spacecraft, as well as training, for six astronauts in 2016 and the first half of 2017. That's $70.6 million per seat -- well above the previous price tag of about $65 million. Russia currently provides the only means of getting people to and from the space station, and its ticket prices have soared with each new contract. Several U.S. companies are working on rockets and spacecraft to launch Americans from U.S. soil. But that's still a few years away. The ability to launch crews into orbit from America ended with NASA's shuttle program in 2011. Even before the shuttles retired, the U.S. had been relying on Russia to transport long...

Ron Paul Slams Police, Former GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul has slammed US law enforcement for responding to the Boston Marathon bombing with “police state tactics.” In a post on the website of libertarian activist Lew Rockwell, Mr. Paul said Monday that the governmental reaction to the tragic explosions was worse than the attack itself. The forced lockdown of much of the Boston area, police riding armored vehicles through the streets, and door-to-door searches without warrants were all reminiscent of a military coup or martial law, Paul added. “The Boston bombing provided the opportunity for the government to turn what should have been a police investigation into a military-style occupation of an American city,” according to Paul. Furthermore, this response did not result in the capture of suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, Paul charged. He was discovered hiding in a boat by a private citizen, who called police. “And he was identified not by government surveillance cameras, but by priva...

'Dancing with the Stars' to honor Boston Marathon amputee, The hit reality show “Dancing with the Stars” will honor a Boston Marathon bombing amputee on Tuesday, April 30 according to a report by Metro. Metro reports that the show's host, Tom Bergeron said that 32-year-old Adrianne Haslet-Davis would be introduced during Tuesday night's show on ABC. Adrianne Haslet-Davis is a professional ballroom dancer who was with her husband near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, and was injured in the second blast. Her husband, who recently returned home from service in Afghanistan suffered from shrapnel wounds from the blast, and reportedly used his belt as a tourniquet on Adrianne's badly injured foot. CNN reports that Adrianne had this to say about the attacks. “I remember everything. I remember the first bomb going off and holding on to Adam — my husband — and thinking, ‘I know there’s never just one.’” Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, and his 26-year-old brother, Tamerlan Tsar...

Ponytail stunt death: Man dies crossing river while suspended by hair, Nath Roy died while trying to cross the Teesta River suspended by his hair. He began having difficulties crossing the river about halfway through the stunt and died before he could finish. According to an April 30 report by The Hollywood Gossip, Nath Roy held the Guinness World record for travelling the farthest distance on a zip wire using hair. According to a friend of Nath Roy, the record holder had promised is wife this would be his last ponytail stunt. She worried that he would get hurt or killed when doing the ponytail stunts. Unfortunately, Nath Roy kept that promise. It was reported that Nath Roy suffered a “major heart attack” while attempting the ponytail stunt. He had been having difficulties cross the river. About halfway across, he became stuck. He tried to shout out instructions to those watching, but no one could follow them. After about 30 minutes of being stuck and struggling, Nath Roy became very s...

'Super drunk' principal arrested on school property, slips off handcuffs, A 'super drunk' principal from Deerfield Elementary School in Novi, Mich. was arrested on school grounds April 8, Policemag.com reports April 30. Kim Warren managed to slip out of her handcuffs and attempted to hand them to police when she was in the police car. Warren was arrested in the school's parking lot after she failed a breathalyzer by blowing a .21 and .20 -- over twice the legal limit. She was charged based on a "super drunk" ordinance. While the school principal was in the back seat of the police car, she managed to slip off her handcuffs. A video was posted of the incident that is circulating the Internet. In the video, she was instructed by the officer not to throw her handcuffs out the window. How she was able to get out of a locked set of handcuffs is interesting. Warren was seen crying and said she wanted to quit her job. She has since been suspended from her job as t...

Preventing identity theft while you travel, Summer vacation is supposed to be relaxing! Turns out some of us are already stressed when it comes to plotting trips and travel. What's the worry? A new survey found that identity theft while traveling is a top concern! 70% of Americans are more concerned about having their identity stolen while on vacation, than travel costs and airline issues. Consumer Expert Adam Levin of Credit.com & Identity Theft 911 shared his advice with News You Can Use about how to protect your credit and identity while you’re on the go this summer. Here are his 9 tips on how to thwart thieves: 1. Let your credit-card company know if you'll be traveling (especially if you're leaving the country). Financial institutions' fraud departments are becoming more vigilant about any unusual activity on your card, which can be a great way to detect a problem. But if you're away from home when the bank calls to verify the charges, you could end up with...

5-year-old rape victim dies; mother wants rapists 'burned alive', A 5-year-old girl was raped in central India. She later died due to the injuries she sustained during the rape. According to an April 30 report by ABC News, the girl had a brain injury and suffered a cardiac arrest. The young girl was lured to a farm by one man. Upon arriving at the farm, another man raped her. Both men have been arrested by the authorities in India in connection with the rape. The girl's mother is grief-stricken. She wants the men to be “burned alive. She wants the “whole world to know how such criminals ought to be punished.” The 5-year-old girl was taken to the hospital in Maharashta after the attack on April 18. She slipped into a coma and died two days later. This one just one attack. It was the latest in a series of attacks in Madhya Pradesh. Based on reports from India, very little is being done to prevent attacks on women and girls. This has caused an outcry from people who are demand...

Carrie Fisher: Actress to portray Princess Leia again?, Carrie Fisher claims that she will portray Princess Leia again in "Star Wars: Episode VII" according to reports. The Inquisitr said on April 29, 2013, that Carrie Fisher intimated again that she would be reprising her role in J.J. Abrams sequel. She made this claim while speaking at the Calgary Comic Expo. "I’m glad they are doing a new movie because they are sending a trainer to my house so I can get in really good shape." Apparently she likes to joke about her involvement in future installments in the "Star Wars" franchise. Fans were let down before as the actress raised their hopes. It sounds like nothing more than another rumor or just a ruse at this point. "A representative later explained that Fisher had simply been joking about the role. The rep added that nothing about her involvement had been confirmed." Is this a real possibility? I would love to see some involvement of the origina...

Driver takes 30 minutes to parallel park, It can be difficult to parallel park but it shouldn't take 30 minutes to do so. According to Digital Spy, it was reported on April 30 that a female driver did take at least 30 minutes to parallel park. It was a normal sized car space as well so it really shouldn't have taken this long. Passerby's noticed the driver taking a long time to do this task and someone stopped and asked her if she needed help. She declined. However, someone decided to start taping the incident and uploaded it to YouTube on April 25. Since then, the video has gone viral. Although the video starts halfway through the driver trying to park the car, this video lasted 14 minutes long. It has since received more than 1.1 million views. What do you think about this Weird News story? Do you think it should take anyone, whether they don't know how to do it or not, this long to parallel park a car? Sound off with your comments below and let everyone know what you...

Jurors begin weighing in on murder charges in Kermit Gosnell abortion trial, On April 30 Huffington Post reports that the jurors trying the Kermit Gosnell abortion case are beginning to weigh murder charges after aborting four babies that were born living. Gosnell performed thousands of abortions in his thirty year career. He claims that he was providing an "out" for women and teens that had gotten pregnant and didn't want the baby. According to prosecutors, Gosnell didn't know how to perform a proper abortion and would cut the back of a baby's neck to sever the spine, causing the baby's death. He is also being charged in the death of a woman who came into his clinic in 2009 for an abortion and was given anesthesia and monitored by two medical assistants and a teenager. Prosecutors are partly blaming state officials that were supposed to check into the clinic regularly because they hadn't done so since the early 90s. Jurors are beginning to weigh in on whe...

Over a quarter-million Somalis died from famine, terrorism: Study, Besides the hundreds of deaths each year attributed to the war against terrorist group Al Shabaab, far-reaching famine and starvation killed upwards of a quarter-million people in Somalia in 2011, according to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) report completed on Monday. About half of those deaths in 2011 were children five-years-old and under, according to the report. The effects of the famine were compounded with Islamic extremists from the al-Qaeda-affiliated group Al-Shabaab, who viciously prevented food aid deliveries to the areas of Somalia that they occupied. The Somalia report will be made public on Thursday by the U.S. government's aid arm USAID, and by the Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit - Somalia, which is funded by the U.S. and Britain. An earlier report by United Kingdom government officials had claimed that between 50,000 and 100,000 Somali deaths were tied to the...

Woman poses as 5-year-old’s mother, signs child out of school and rapes her, Christina Regusters, 19, was charged in Philadelphia on April 29 with aggravated assault, kidnapping, involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and a variety of additional offenses after being indicted for pretending to be the mother of a 5-year-old girl, signing the child out of her West Philadelphia elementary school, taking her to a nearby house, and raping her. Afterwards, Regusters left the abused and crying child at a nearby playground wearing hardly any clothes, according to CNN. The kidnapping and rape occurred on January 14 when Regusters told school officials she wanted to take her daughter out to have some breakfast, but instead took the little girl to a nearby house. Once inside the home, authorities say, the girl was told to remove her clothing and was given a black T-shirt to wear. She was blindfolded and forced to hide under a bed, they said. At some point, the girl, now 6, was sexually assaulted, ...

News media credibility disturbed by recent revelations of Benghazi terror attack, Many in the mainstream news media find themselves trapped somewhere between uncomfortable and mortified as more facts and information surface about the 2012 Benghazi terrorist attack. Now embarrassed, many news organizations attempts to ignore or soften the blows against the Obama Administration for deliberately telling false information to the American people regarding the Sept. 11, 2013 attacks, have disturbed their credibility. “Make no mistake,” President Obama stated the day after U.S. Ambassador J. Christopher Steven, Tyrone Woods, Glen Doherty and Sean Smith were killed by terrorists. “We will work with the Libyan government to bring justice to the killers who attacked our people,” the news organizations quoted the president as saying. It’s no wonder the media has devoted little coverage to a 43-page report recently released by House Republicans last week. Information revealed from investigations o...

Worker dies in blender: 'Chopping wounds' caused by meat blender killed worker, In a horrible industrial accident, a Clackamas, Ore. worker was killed when he fell into a running blender at a meat-processing plant, the Clackamas County Sheriff's Office said. According to an April 30 Yahoo! News report, 41-year-old Portland native Hugo Avalos-Chanon, an employee of DCS Sanitation Management, was cleaning the giant blender overnight on Friday. Interstate Meat Distributors owns the plant, but they contract out with DCS to have their equipment cleaned nightly. Paramedics and sheriff's deputies were called around 11:45 p.m. Friday, after Avalos-Chanon was found entangled in the machinery. The emergency stop button was hit, but it was too late, Thompson said. Firefighters returned the following day to dismantle the machine and remove the body. Dr. Cliff Young, a deputy state medical examiner, said Avalos-Chanon died from "blunt-force injuries and chopping wounds." N...

FDA okays morning-after pill as OTC birth control for women 15 and up, The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the morning-after pill to become an over the counter contraceptive method or birth control for women 15 years and older as per reports from the USA Today on April 30. Debates were ongoing as to whether the vote would come to fruition sooner than later. The morning after pill is meant to be an ‘emergency contraceptive’. What does this mean? It means you have unprotected sex one day and go buy the pill the next day you are one step closer to an ‘unwanted’ pregnancy. Arguments against the morning after pill claim women will take for granted the availability of the pill, thereby using it as their ‘go-to’ method of contraception.

Idaho black bear shot dead after rampage of eating goats, raiding trash cans, Idaho wildlife officials say they had to shot and kill a bear that went on a rampage of eating goats and raiding trash cans earlier this month. KBOI-TV reported Tuesday (April 30) that Idaho Fish and Game killed the black bear after it ventured from the high country into the Shadow Valley area north of Boise on April 20. Wildlife officials said the bear raided several trash cans and later went into a livestock pen where he killed and partially ate two goats. "This bear showed up in the same area last year and someone made the mistake of intentionally feeding him," said Evin Oneale with Idaho Fish and Game. In the days that followed that incident, the bear raided more trash cans and acted aggressive toward people. Fish and Game officials said last Fall they had to live-trap the bear and move it to the Garden Valley backcountry, where it apparently hibernated before returning to the place he last rece...

Westboro Baptist Church: Threatening to picket Oklahoma City Thunder NBA playoff, The Westboro Baptist Church is threatening to picket game five of the NBA playoff series between the Oklahoma City Thunder and the Houston Rockets on Wednesday night in Oklahoma City. On April 30, Margie J. Phelps, daughter of Fred Phelps and spokesperson for the Westboro Baptist Church, took to Twitter to make that threat. “Westboro has #BeedOnNBA bc GOD has #BeedOnNBA! @jasoncollins34 proud sodomite vs @Chris_Broussard WBC Picket OK vs Houston 5/1 @ OK 6-8:30pm [sic],” Margie J. Phelps tweeted. This is just one of the many threats that the Westboro Baptist Church has made against Oklahoma and it's residents. Despite those many threats, they do not show up. When they do, the Westboro Baptist Church members rarely get out of their vehicles. “Thunder up and bring it on,” Peter Blackmon, an Oklahoma City Thunder fan from Moore, said. “We've handled their kind before and we'll do it again. I'...

Current Look at American Medical System, The state that the American medical situation is in has very few terms that can be used to describe it. Awfully non-humane is a term that could be use but might not reach the staggering level of injustice and lack of respect for human life that is needed to even begin to talk about the medical system in the United States as of 2013. It is a privatized business, meaning that only corporation has control over costs and patient care. It is the largest business in the United States and happens to be monopolized by the American Medical Association (AMA)(Henslin, 2012). All of this has lead to the amazing increase in price that only a monopoly can concur because there are no possible ways to develop a competitor to the AMA in the United States. The United States government has willingly allowed this occur which says a lot about how much Americans care about one another. Sociologist can take a few different stances to look at this situation including c...

Worker dies in blender: 'Chopping wounds' from meat blender cause of death, A 41 year old cleaning worker was killed in what is being called a "tragic industrial accident" at a meat processing plant located in Clackamas, Oregon according to a Yahoo! News report published April 30, 2013. Hugo Avalos-Chanon (41 years old), an employee of DCS Sanitation Management and a Portland native, died after reportedly falling into a running blender. The emergency stop button was pressed and authorities were called to the scene Friday night where they found Avalos-Chanon's body "entangled" in the machine. Dr. Cliff Young (deputy state medical examiner) reported that Avalos-Chanon died from "blunt-force injuries and chopping wounds." Deputy Nate Thompson said investigators believe that Avalos-Chanon's death is a tragic accident. OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration) is also involved in their own investigation and spokeswoman Melanie Mesaros...

BP posts loss over last year, but slight uptick over previous quarter, Today, BP announced underlying profits of $4.2bn for the first quarter of 2013, during a conference call broadcast for the media, shareholders and the public. This compares to $3.9bn in the previous quarter, inspiring CEO Bob Dudley to say that, "These strong results demonstrate the progress BP is making." In the past, the company has been more verbose and boastful about announcing news, especially semi-good news. But that was not when they were fighting for their life at a civil trial in New Orleans, which has wrapped Phase 1 as the judge weighs the evidence presented by BP, the Plaintiffs' Steering Committee and the US Justice Dept. (simply called "the US" at court). Despite progress over 4th Q. 2012 results, BP's profits are down 9 percent over the same period last year. These days, BP is drawing significant support from branching out beyond the Gulf of Mexico and American or western E...

Video - 'Super Drunk' elementary school principal hauled off in handcuffs, An elementary school principal who was not setting a good example for her grade-schoolers may have to go the "principal’s office," which in the adult world, means jail. According to an April 30 ABC report, Kim Warren, a 44-year-old Deerfield Elementary School principal, has been charged under a Mich. regulation for being drunk. And not just drunk, but “Super Drunk,” according to the Novi, Mich. ordinance. Drivers who have more than twice the legal blood alcohol concentration may be charged under a new section of Michigan’s Vehicle Code commonly known as the “Super Drunk” law. The incident occurred on April 8 as Warren was driving back to her school from a “liquid lunch.” Two citizens called to report that a driver swerving and weaving had just pulled into the school parking lot. Warren was arrested and Police found an open bottle of vodka in her car. Video shows the handcuffed Warren crying in ...

Hey, hey: The surviving Monkees are hitting the road, "A Midsummer's Night With the Monkees," is the name of the latest reunion tour featuring the surviving members of the group. Micky Dolenz, Michael Nesmith and Peter Tork kick it all off July 15, playing Port Chester, N.Y. Popular Monkee Davy Jones passed away at the age of 66 on February 29, 2012. The Monkees enjoyed much success with their comedy TV show. In 1966, they hit number one on the Billboard Magazine chart with "Last Train To Clarksville." "I'm A Believer" went to number one that same year. In 1967, "Daydream Believer," went to number one.

Man loses his savings, but gets a giant banana with dreadlocks for his troubles, Gribbohm tried to win a Xbox Kinect by playing Tubs of Fun. Most of us have seen this game at any amusement park or local carnival. You toss balls into a tub and hope they stay in the tub. He said it was easy when he practiced. But at the carnival it wasn’t so simple. He kept trying to win his money back by playing double or nothing. After he lost $300, he went home and brought back $2,300, and lost it all. Interesting enough, with $2,600, he could have purchased an Xbox system at his local department store. He tells WBZ News that he just got caught up in the game. The game operator gave Gribbohm back $600 and a giant banana with dreadlocks for his troubles.

April Jones was likely raped, dismembered and burned by suspect, April Jones will possibly never be found. That's because details were released on April 30, 2013 about the suspect in her disappearance and the evidence against him. The Mirror News site reported some extremely gruesome details that indicate a potential improbability in locating her remains. What's more: Mark Bridger has appeared to make a total mockery of the court system by pretending not to know what he did with her body. This case has taken a horrific turn from once being a suspicious kidnapping and death case to a trial drenched with accusations of sexual assault, dismemberment, desecration and child pornography. There are even a few other missing children thrown into the mix. Mark Bridger is said to have a "lurid fascination" with child pornography and a fascination with murdered and kidnapped children from both Europe and the States. A veritable stockpile of child porn was found in his possession ...

The Countdown: Fleetwod Mac plays Verizon Arena in NLR Friday, It could be the concert of the year for Arkansas music fans. Rock and Roll Hall of Fame members, Fleetwood Mac hit the Verizon Stage Friday, May 3. Their songs are very personal to them as Stevie Nicks explains in this interview segment. Nicks joined the band in 1975. She will turn 65 this year on May 26. In 1981 she charted "Stop Draggin' My Heart Around" with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Another biggie for her was "Leather and Lace," from 1981.

$320 Million of BP Bucks Released for Louisiana Barrier Island Restoration, Today, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal announced that BP has agreed to fund approximately $320 million in barrier island restoration projects in the state. The funds will come from the $1 billion in early Natural Resource Damage Assessment funds BP agreed to invest in restorating damaged natural resources stemming from the spill. The Environmental Defense Fund, National Wildlife Federation and National Audubon Society will all benefit. They released the following joint statement in response to the announcement: “More than two years after BP’s initial pledge, it’s about time that a large amount of early Natural Resource Damage Assessment funds be released for work in hard-hit Louisiana. These dollars, still only a portion of the $1 billion BP down payment, will restore four barrier islands directly affected by the 2010 BP oil disaster, that provide important habitat for birds, fish and other wildlife. “We are gl...

Morning-after pill now available for girls as young as 15, The Food and Drug Administration has lowered the legal age required to purchase the morning-after pill, according to an April 30 report by The New York Times. Effective immediately, the “Plan B One-Step” morning-after pill, which is designed to help prevent pregnancy if taken after intercourse will be available to girls as young as 15-years-old without a prescription. Additionally, the pills will no longer be kept behind the counter. They will now be on store shelves. In early April, a federal judge’s ruled that officials had 30 days to make the morning-after pill available to all ages without a prescription. Officials are still deciding if they will appeal the judge's ruling. The New York Times reports that this decision is allegedly a compromise between the FDA and anti-abortion groups. In 2011, Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius decided morning-after pill would only be available to woman 17-years o...

Boston Marathon: Tsarnaev family received $100,000 in taxpayer funded benefits, Boston Marathon bombing suspects, 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev along with their family, reportedly received nearly $100,000 in government aid according to an April 30 article published by CBS News. CBS News reports that the family received $100,000 in taxpayer funded benefits from 2002 to 2012. The aid they allegedly received came in the forms of food stamps, Section 8 housing, heating fuel assistance, tuition, and more. The Tsarnaev brothers are accused of bombing spectators who were attending the 117th running of the Boston Marathon on April 15. Officials says the brothers set off two bombs by remote control that killed three people and injure more than 200 others four hours into the race. Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in a confrontation with law enforcement officers on April 18. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was captured alive after a 24-hour manhunt in Massachusetts. He is now reco...

Pennsylvania Citizens Bank fined $5 million for deceiving customers, It is easy to overdraw at the bank. This is especially true if you think you have a certain amount in your account and you buy something and end up with an overdraft fee. Sometimes it doesn't even matter if you checked your account before you made the purchase because those who are taking money out of your account can easily do so really fast that you wouldn't even have known it happened. Although this could happen, what if it was your bank doing this to you on purpose? According to a report by Philly.com on April 30 the Citizens Bank in Pennsylvania did this to its customers. Because of their deceptive ways, they are now having to pay out a $5 million fine to the customers they deceived. They have neither admitted nor denied these accusations. You would think most banks have good business training and wouldn't even try doing something like this. In addition to the $5 million fine, they also agreed to pay ...

350 Sacramento works locally to build global climate movement, One of the growing number of green groups dedicated to planet restoration is 350 Sacramento, “an organization that supports local initiatives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and works to engage Sacramento area citizens and local community groups in helping to build a global climate movement”…from the webpage of 350 Sacramento. In line with this credo 350 Sacramento participated in the obligatory Earth Day event in April, but also closed the month with an event spotlighting the folly of tar sands development as a means of squeezing the last bits of petrol from our continent. Looking ahead on its varied calendar 350 Sacramento will have a team in the bike ride May Is Bike Month and will ride for all the right reasons, which are "fun, exercise and the planet". The event is May 9th at the Capitol. Additionally you can get more information about 350 Sacramento at the Green Fair at the State Capitol on May 29th. In t...

$70 million per seat: Russia charging NASA to fly, Russia is charging NASA $70 million per seat to fly astronauts to the International Space Station. According to The Washington Post on April 30, NASA is now paying Russia $424 million more, or over $70 million per seat, "well above the previous price tag of about $65 million." The price includes flying to and from the ISS using Soyuz spacecraft and training for six astronauts. Russia is the sole provider of transport to and from the ISS currently. The current contract covers Americans, Japanese, Europeans, and Canadians too. U.S. companies like SpaceX and Orbital Sciences Corp. are developing rockets to do the job, but will not be ready any time soon. Capability to send U.S. astronauts to the ISS ended in 2011 after the space shuttle program was retired. Russia increases the price for this service with each negotiation. Charles Bolden, NASA Administrator, blames congress denying his request for additional funding to cover a c...

Worker dies in blender: Man falls into operating meat blender, A worker died in a blender while working a meat distribution plant in Clackamas, Ore. Saturday. KGW reports April 29 that 41-year-old Hugo Avalos Chanon was the employee killed. The horrible incident happened at Interstate Meat Distributors. Police were alerted to the employee's death around midnight Saturday. Workers with the DCS Sanitation Management were reportedly cleaning equipment when Chanon fell into the meat blender that was fully operating. Apparently a worker noticed something was wrong and hit the emergency switch to shut off the blender. It was too late. Chanon had died. Law enforcement and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration launched an investigation. OSHA spokeswoman, Melanie Mesaros, said Interstate Meat Distributors was cited for multiple safety violations between October 2012 and January 2013. One violation read, "Points of operation of machinery were not guarded to prevent employee(...

Idaho black bear shot dead after rampage of eating goats, raiding trash cans, Idaho wildlife officials say they had to shot and kill a bear that went on a rampage of eating goats and raiding trash cans earlier this month. KBOI-TV reported Tuesday (April 30) that Idaho Fish and Game killed the black bear after it ventured from the high country into the Shadow Valley area north of Boise on April 20. Wildlife officials said the bear raided several trash cans and later went into a livestock pen where he killed and partially ate two goats. "This bear showed up in the same area last year and someone made the mistake of intentionally feeding him," said Evin Oneale with Idaho Fish and Game. In the days that followed that incident, the bear raided more trash cans and acted aggressive toward people. Fish and Game officials said last Fall they had to live-trap the bear and move it to the Garden Valley backcountry, where it apparently hibernated before returning to the place he last rece...

Emergency contraception now to be sold over the counter, Big news today: The "morning after pill" emergency contraception will now be available in pharmacies, sold over the counter to women who are more than 15 years old. The FDA approved an amended application from Teva Women’s Health, Inc. to market Plan B One-Step for use without a prescription by women 15 years of age and older. But the Food and Drug Administration did not approve Teva’s application to make the drug available over the counter to women of all ages. The FDA says: The product will now be labeled “not for sale to those under 15 years of age *proof of age required* not for sale where age cannot be verified.” Plan B One-Step will be packaged with a product code prompting a cashier to request and verify the customer’s age. A customer who cannot provide age verification will not be able to purchase the product. In addition, Teva has arranged to have a security tag placed on all product cartons to prevent theft. T...

Man spends life savings on carnival game, Anyone that has ever been to a carnival has seen the games that offer the biggest and best prizes. All you have to do is pay a few dollars, complete a simple task and that prize is yours, right? We all no better, but the challenge still gets us and we usually walk away empty handed. One New Hampshire man couldn't walk away from one game and ended up blowing his life savings, $2600.00 as reported by WBZ-TV on April 29, 2013. At a carnival in Manchester, Henry Gribbohm, 30, had his eye on an Xbox Kinect at the Tubs of Fun game. All he had to do was toss the balls into the tub and even got to practice. He said when practicing it was easy, but when it was time to play for the prize, the balls kept bouncing back out. "It's not possible that it wasn't rigged," said Gribbohm. Gribbohm returned home after spending $300.00 within just a few minutes, only to return to the carnival with $2300.00. Just a short time after that he walke...

6th snake discovered inside Mississippi courthouse, Another snake has been found in central Mississippi's main courthouse as the reptiles come out with the increasing spring warmth. WAPT-TV reported that the clerk's office at the Hinds County Courthouse in downtown Jackson sent in a photo of the small snake that turned up Monday (April 29). Five other non-venomous brown DeKay's snakes or earth snakes have been found in the courthouse's basement office since April 8. Former zookeeper Percy King, who was called to identify the snakes, said last week that it is not unusual for DeKay’s snakes to sneak into buildings during the springtime as they wake up from hibernation with the arrival of warmer weather. The courthouse basement has windows but officials say the windows are tightly sealed. It remains unclear on how the snakes are getting into the building. Temperatures have reached their highest levels of the season this month so far with a max of 87 degrees recorded on bot...

Jessica Heeringa exclusive update: What was her last transaction?, Jessica Heeringa case update: On April 30, 2013 the Norton Shores Police Department released a sketch of a presumed suspect in the Exxon worker's alleged kidnapping. Along with the description of a silver minivan, this latest update may lend to some positive leads in the search for her. That's not the only update in this case. The missing woman's boyfriend spoke exclusively for Examiner News, in particular to answer questions regarding her last transaction before the alleged abduction. Dakotah Quail-Dyer confirmed that the last transaction Jessica made at the Exxon station was approximately 10:55 -- and she was "figured to be gone," by 11:15. When asked what the transaction was, he wasn't sure but did note that "if it was stuff like tape or rope," the cops would have definitely looked into it. He confirmed that police spent a considerable amount of time with the Exxon station's ow...

FWC reports ninth panther death in Florida, The remains of another endangered Florida panther were found on Sunday, April 28, in Southwest Florida, reported the St. Augustine Record on Tuesday, April 30. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission reports that the ten year old female was found on Sunday in Collier County. The panther died after being hit by a car. It is the ninth panther death of the year, the sixth from a vehicle. Vehicle strikes were blamed for most of the more than two dozen panther deaths reported last year. The dead panther will be taken to the FWC’s Wildlife Research Lab in Gainesville for a necropsy. The Florida panther once roamed across the southeastern United States, but it is mainly found in south Florida. The FWC estimates that between 100 and 160 adult panthers remain in the wild, south of the Caloosahatchee River and Lake Okeechobee. Much of their habitat has been lost to development. Scientists say panthers need lots of land where they can hunt...

Starbucks 'Vagina' cup offends customer, A worker messed up bad when a Starbucks cup was inked with the word "Vagina" instead of the name "Virginia" for a customer waiting for her drink Monday. Huffington Post reports April 30 that Virginia Goh was understandably upset when she saw what a barista penned on the side of her drink. The customer's sister, Veronica Goh, posted a photo of the Starbucks 'Vagina' cup on the company's Hong Kong Facebook page. "THIS is just UNACCEPTABLE," she wrote. "Starbucks HK, you have to buck up or just not spell your customers' name [SIC] anyway." She added, "Every Starbucks experience for her has been coupled with fear and anticipation." Veronica added that it's not the first time Starbucks as screwed up her sister's name. The word "virgin" was once written across her cup. A lot of people named Virginia or Regina are accustomed to others teasing them or kidding...

Mother shot holding newborn baby: She ‘didn't want to live in Gate City anymore’, The mother who was shot holding her 10-day-old baby “was hit in the chest, Jackson said, and she was dead when authorities arrived at the scene. She had fallen onto a couch, Jackson said, her newborn child still in her arms.” Jackson, the man who described Monday’s tragic death of 24-year-old Sheri Williams is Kerry Jackson, Sheri Williams's uncle according to an April 29, 2013, Alabama news report. “Williams, 24, was killed before 1 p.m. Monday when a bullet intended for somebody else hit her in the chest as she stood in the door of her apartment on 64th Court Way South, according to Birmingham police. Her 10-day-old son was in her arms, but was not hurt.” According to Birmingham police spokesman Sgt. Johnny Williams Jr., shortly before 1 p.m. on Monday, 24-year-old Sheri Williams was standing in the doorway to her apartment at 7563 64th Court Way South in Birmingham's Gate City public housin...

Boston Marathon: FBI collects evidence from Rhode Island home, FBI agents who are investigating the Boston Marathon bombings reportedly removed evidence from a North Kingstown, Rhode Island home on Monday, according to an article published by the Irish Examiner on April 30. The home is said to be that of Katherine Russell's parents. Russell is the widow of 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Officials haven't released a list of the evidence that was removed from the home, but it has been reported that FBI agents collected a DNA sample from Russell. Russell's DNA will likely be compared to an unidentified female DNA found at the Boston bomb site. Tamerlan Tsarnaev was killed in an April 18 shootout with the police in Massachusetts. His brother, 19-year-old Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was also injured in that confrontation, and is currently recovering in a federal prison medical center where he is being held on charges of using a weapon of mass destruction, and with malicious destruction of...

MIA Vietnam War vet found? 44-years later MIA vet alive, Has an MIA Vietnam War vet been found? On April 30, Mail Online reported that 76-year-old John Hartley Robertson is believed to be alive and well, living in Vietnam forty-four years after he was presumed dead. The problem in proving whether or not this is true lies in the hands of his two daughters -- the girls are refusing to take DNA tests. "Somebody suggested to me maybe that's (because) the daughters don't want to know if it's him. It's kind of like, 'That was an ugly war. It was a long time ago. We just want it to go away.' I don’t know. What would compel you not to want to know if this person is your biological father?" said filmmaker Michael Jorgensen. The MIA Vietnam War vet found is part of a new documentary that is questioning whether or not he is who he says he is. Without any DNA testing, it's near impossible to confirm whether or not he is Sgt. John Hartley Robertson -- a one-tim...

Castro daughter to U.S.: Mariela Castro to receive award, It was reported on April 30, 2013 , that Mariela Castro, daughter of Cuban President Raul Castro, is to visit the U.S. to receive an award for her gay rights advocacy. She will be presented with the award at a conference put on by the Equality Forum on civil rights for gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people. "Mariela Castro is the niece of retired Cuban leader Fidel Castro. She is the director of Cuba’s National Center for Sex Education and the country’s most prominent gay rights activist." Initially the U.S. State Department denied her permission to visit on Thursday. This decision was reversed on Tuesday. When asked for a reason the reported reply was, "The State Department does not comment on visa records, which are confidential." The Equality Forum holds an international conference on LGBT right annually. This year's conference is featuring Cuba as its spotlight nation. Mariela Castro is also ...

Chris Broussard ESPN, Chris  raised eyebrows on Monday during an appearance on ESPN's Outside The Lines. The self-identified Christian reporter called homosexuality "an open rebellion to God" in a discussion about NBA veteran Jason Collins' announcement that he is gay. Broussard is one of ESPN's lead NBA reporters, appearing online and on broadcast. Monday night, he released a statement on Twitter. Today on OTL, as part of a larger, wide-ranging discussion on today's news, I offered my personal opinion as it relates to Christianity, a point of view that I have expressed publicly before. I realize that some people disagree with my opinion and I accept and respect that. As has been the case in the past, my beliefs have not and will not impact my ability to report on the NBA. I believe Jason Collins displayed bravery with his announcement today and I have no objection to him or anyone else playing in the NBA. Broussard has made comments expressing his beliefs reg...

Newborn Left On Beach, A baby girl was abandoned and found crying in the sand at a Hawaii beach soon after she was born, human services officials said Monday. The full-term, 8-pound newborn was "abandoned immediately after birth," state Department of Human Services Director Patricia McManaman said. A woman parked at Sandy Beach in east Honolulu sometime between 11 p.m. Sunday and midnight heard several people screaming, police spokeswoman Michelle Yu said. A few minutes later the screaming stopped and the woman heard a baby crying. She walked toward the ocean and saw an infant on the sand. The woman took the baby to a hospital. Police are investigating the case as endangering the welfare of a minor and child abandonment. The baby, who had been found naked, was doing well and drinking formula at the Queen's Medical Center, McManaman said. "We're just very grateful this child is alive and doing well," she said. If no one comes forward to claim the child, the D...

Kenneth Appel Dies, Kenneth Appel, 80, who successfully brought the computer to bear on a celebrated mathematical problem that, in its capacity to perplex, tantalize and frustrate, conformed to a common view of mathematics itself, died April 19 in Dover, N.H. He had esophageal cancer. A funeral home in New Hampshire confirmed the death to the Associated Press. A quiet and modest hero of the life of the mind, Dr. Appel (pronounced ap-PELL) had emerged in triumph after plunging into the thorny mathematical thicket represented by the “four-color theorem.” This was a mathematical assertion that, shorn of caveats and qualifications, says that any map can be drawn with only four colors. Four colors were sufficient, under the theorem, to ensure that no two adjacent elements on a map were drawn in the same color. For a century, the theorem had resisted the most determined efforts to prove it or to show that it was not so; it was sometimes described as merely a conjecture. Proof of the theorem ...

Geno Smith Fires Agent, Geno Smith thought he would be a top-10 draft pick, maybe even first overall. Instead, he went in the second round. And now apparently, his agents have paid the price. Smith has fired his representatives and will now hire a new agent, according to a person informed of Smith's move. The person, who spoke to USA TODAY Sports on condition of anonymity because neither Smith nor his former agents have commented publicly on the matter, said a big part of the reason for Smith's decision was his going 39th overall to the New York Jets. Smith declined to discuss the move in an interview on NFL Sirius radio. "I don't want to shed too much light on it," he said. "The thing that I can tell you is that it's not because of the whole draft experience. It's not because of one particular incident. There's a number of things. And that story, you know, that battle will be fought on a different day. As of right now, I don't feel too comfor...

Willie Nelson's birthday: Going strong at the age of 80, Willie Nelson, who turned 80 on April 30, shows no signs of slowing down. Despite his age, the country music legend is going strong. According to an April 30 report by the Los Angeles Times, Willie Nelson recently released a new studio album and has concert appearances scheduled, at least, through August. Willie Nelson is “on the road again,” touring with his band. He has an appearance in Florida on his birthday. That birthday performance will be followed up with a concert at the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival this weekend. “It is hard to believe that Willie Nelson is now 80 years old,” Ruth Esterly, a fan of Willie Nelson from Oklahoma City, said. “I grew up listening to him and George Jones. After losing 'The Possum,' it really makes me thing about how old my country favorites are getting.” Country music fans have become much more aware of Willie Nelson's age since the death of country music superstar, G...

Madonna Daughter Green Hair, Madonna's daughter has shown off her new green hair as she was out and about in New York City this week. Lourdes, 16, was seen in NYC after dying her hair an emerald green color, according to People magazine.The young fashionista was seen in regular teenage clothes wearing a graphic T-shirt and high waist jeans. The news comes as Lourdes Leon was reported as allegedly dating Homeland actor Timothee Chalamet. However, other reports claimed that her father does not approve. The pair were spotted recently in New York City having a dinner date. The young couple was not alone, however, and was joined by Lourdes' father, Carlos Leon. Madonna has seemingly laughed off the entire incident. A source has said to Radar Online: "Madonna just thinks it's hilarious. Now she secretly gets a kick out of it when Lourdes complains to her about the curfew her dad's imposed and all the embarrassing questions he asks her and Timothee." "Madonna wa...

Maria Shriver Job, After nearly a decade away, former California first lady Maria Shriver is returning to NBC News for a job where she will concentrate on the roles of women in American life. Shriver on Tuesday was named a “special anchor” who will appear on various NBC programming, including CNBC, MSNBC and NBC Sports, and be an editor at large on women’s issues for the network’s digital properties. She had worked at NBC from 1986 to 2004, much of it on “Dateline NBC.” Shriver quit NBC amid concerns about whether her job at the news division could cause conflicts with her position as first lady while her husband, Arnold Schwarzenegger, was governor. The two are now divorcing. At the time, NBC’s then-news president, Neal Shapiro, referred to her exit not as a resignation but “an extended leave of absence.” “The truth is I never took a leave from journalism,” Shriver wrote on her blog. “I just took my reporter’s skills and used them in other arenas.” Shriver had her own production compa...