Tuesday, August 05, 2014
Teenage girl smeared mascara on improperly parked car
A teenage girl has been charged with property damage after allegedly vandalising a car at the Jewish Community Centre in Chesterfield, Missouri, as she was offended by the way the person had parked their car.
Police said mascara was smeared all over the windows and a note, laced with obscenities, was left on the car. Scratches from the mascara application resulted in thousands of dollars in damage.
The note read: “Hey [expletive]. How about you park your car like a normal person you [expletive] head. Also, left you some presents in your gay car!” Carlie Hertel, 18, has been charged with felony first degree property damage and police said she admitted to leaving the note and the mascara mess.
Hertle said she was upset the victim’s car used more than one parking space. “Thousands of dollars of damage to a vehicle, it’s entirely possible this person wasn’t parked appropriately,” Chesterfield Police Captain Steve Lewis said, “However, that doesn’t mean that someone should take it upon themselves to damage their vehicle and damage their property.”
With news video.
Police said mascara was smeared all over the windows and a note, laced with obscenities, was left on the car. Scratches from the mascara application resulted in thousands of dollars in damage.
The note read: “Hey [expletive]. How about you park your car like a normal person you [expletive] head. Also, left you some presents in your gay car!” Carlie Hertel, 18, has been charged with felony first degree property damage and police said she admitted to leaving the note and the mascara mess.
Hertle said she was upset the victim’s car used more than one parking space. “Thousands of dollars of damage to a vehicle, it’s entirely possible this person wasn’t parked appropriately,” Chesterfield Police Captain Steve Lewis said, “However, that doesn’t mean that someone should take it upon themselves to damage their vehicle and damage their property.”
With news video.
Thief broke through brick wall of store to steal a 12-pack of beer and some meaty snacks
Surveillance has been released showing a man breaking into an Enmark convenience store in Bluffton, South Carolina, last Tuesday morning.
The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office said the man got into the store by creating a large hole in the brick wall to the rear of the building. The video shows the man used a crowbar to get in to the building. Once he was inside, he only wanted beer and some Slim Jims.
Sheriff's deputies said the man knew exactly what he was doing. He searched for cameras, and when he spotted one, he knocked it down. Once the man got inside the store, he crawled to the front of the store in an attempt not to trigger the motion sensor cameras.
That did not work. He also didn't get very far in the store. Something spooked him, so he grabbed some Slim Jims and ran out. However, he made a return and spent some time trying to decide what kind of beer he wanted before ultimately settling on a $16.99 12-pack of Budweiser.
With news video.
The Beaufort County Sheriff's Office said the man got into the store by creating a large hole in the brick wall to the rear of the building. The video shows the man used a crowbar to get in to the building. Once he was inside, he only wanted beer and some Slim Jims.
Sheriff's deputies said the man knew exactly what he was doing. He searched for cameras, and when he spotted one, he knocked it down. Once the man got inside the store, he crawled to the front of the store in an attempt not to trigger the motion sensor cameras.
That did not work. He also didn't get very far in the store. Something spooked him, so he grabbed some Slim Jims and ran out. However, he made a return and spent some time trying to decide what kind of beer he wanted before ultimately settling on a $16.99 12-pack of Budweiser.
With news video.
Couple who thought home had been wrecked by burglars discovered culprit was pregnant squirrel
When Mariam Pal and her husband returned to their home in the Notre-Dame-de-Grâce area of Montreal, Canada, after a week away and found the interior trashed, they assumed the damage had been caused by burglars.
The living room was overturned - lamps knocked over, sofa cushions on the floor, window blinds shredded and chocolate wrappers all over the floor.
“I thought, ‘Oh my God, someone’s broken in,’" she said. She ran upstairs to check on her computer and in her study, she found the culprit - a grey squirrel. She called the Montreal SPCA, which advised her to try to catch the squirrel in a box or cage, and take it outside. Finally, she got hold of an exterminator who came and chased the squirrel out of the house.
Pal said the squirrel caused several hundred dollars in damage to the home that wasn’t covered by her insurance policy. “Our blinds were ruined, we had to have all our furniture cleaned, there was oil all over the kitchen floor, the squirrel gnawed at kitchen cabinets, destroyed all the soap in the bathroom,” she said. Chris Grabas, manager of Skedaddle Wildlife Control, says that chimneys are the most likely home entry points for squirrels.
Most of them fall in accidentally and can’t get back out up the slippery interior of the chimney. “The squirrel was obviously frantic and trying to get out. It was starving and, unfortunately in this case, it was pregnant and had to give birth,” he said. Pal found the baby squirrels near death in her sewing basket. Grabas said the best defence against animal intrusions into your home is installing a cage of heavy-gauge galvanized steel on top of your chimney. Pal had hers installed on Friday.
Includes audio interview with Mrs Pal.
“I thought, ‘Oh my God, someone’s broken in,’" she said. She ran upstairs to check on her computer and in her study, she found the culprit - a grey squirrel. She called the Montreal SPCA, which advised her to try to catch the squirrel in a box or cage, and take it outside. Finally, she got hold of an exterminator who came and chased the squirrel out of the house.
Pal said the squirrel caused several hundred dollars in damage to the home that wasn’t covered by her insurance policy. “Our blinds were ruined, we had to have all our furniture cleaned, there was oil all over the kitchen floor, the squirrel gnawed at kitchen cabinets, destroyed all the soap in the bathroom,” she said. Chris Grabas, manager of Skedaddle Wildlife Control, says that chimneys are the most likely home entry points for squirrels.
Most of them fall in accidentally and can’t get back out up the slippery interior of the chimney. “The squirrel was obviously frantic and trying to get out. It was starving and, unfortunately in this case, it was pregnant and had to give birth,” he said. Pal found the baby squirrels near death in her sewing basket. Grabas said the best defence against animal intrusions into your home is installing a cage of heavy-gauge galvanized steel on top of your chimney. Pal had hers installed on Friday.
Includes audio interview with Mrs Pal.
Man whose pregnant girlfriend threw knife that lodged in his forehead says it was a good throw
A pregnant woman, accused of throwing a knife which embedded in her boyfriend's skull, was given name suppression in a New Zealand court on Monday.
The 21-year-old woman entered no plea to a charge of causing grievous bodily harm when she appeared before a registrar at the Christchurch District Court.
The woman, who is eight months pregnant, was remanded on bail without plea to appear in the court again on August 25. Her boyfriend, a 20-year-old builder, was at the court for her appearance. He admitted that he was lucky to escape serious harm after the kitchen knife lodged in his skull. "It was a good throw," the man said. "It hurt a little bit," he added.
He was rushed to hospital, with the 20-30 centimetre (8-12 inch) blade still protruding from his forehead, shortly after midnight on Sunday. It narrowly avoided penetrating the bone and entering his brain, police said. Police have said that a woman had picked up a knife off a kitchen bench during a domestic-related incident at their home in New Brighton and thrown it a few metres away at her partner.
Police were called by ambulance staff at 12.06am. The knife was later "pulled out" at Christchurch Hospital and the wound closed with two staples. The man was kept in hospital for observation before he was discharged at about 11am on Monday. He did not want his X-ray made public. He had not spoken to his girlfriend since the incident but was confident their relationship would continue.
The woman, who is eight months pregnant, was remanded on bail without plea to appear in the court again on August 25. Her boyfriend, a 20-year-old builder, was at the court for her appearance. He admitted that he was lucky to escape serious harm after the kitchen knife lodged in his skull. "It was a good throw," the man said. "It hurt a little bit," he added.
He was rushed to hospital, with the 20-30 centimetre (8-12 inch) blade still protruding from his forehead, shortly after midnight on Sunday. It narrowly avoided penetrating the bone and entering his brain, police said. Police have said that a woman had picked up a knife off a kitchen bench during a domestic-related incident at their home in New Brighton and thrown it a few metres away at her partner.
Police were called by ambulance staff at 12.06am. The knife was later "pulled out" at Christchurch Hospital and the wound closed with two staples. The man was kept in hospital for observation before he was discharged at about 11am on Monday. He did not want his X-ray made public. He had not spoken to his girlfriend since the incident but was confident their relationship would continue.
Tortoises have learned how to use touchscreens
Touchscreen technology has ventured into the world of reptiles. Red-footed tortoises have learned how to use the devise in exchange for a strawberry, a new study reports.
Researchers taught the tortoises a few touchscreen basics in order to learn about the animals' navigational techniques. The tortoises not only mastered the task in exchange for strawberries, but the animals also transferred their knowledge to a real-life setting.
"Generally people see reptiles as inert, stupid and unresponsive," said Anna Wilkinson, one of the study's lead researchers and a senior lecturer of animal cognition at the University of Lincoln in England. "I would like people to see that there is something much more complex going on."
Red-footed tortoises are inquisitive and eager to eat treats, making them good test subjects, Wilkinson said. The tortoises, which are native to Central and South America, don't have a hippocampus, an area of the brain associated with learning, memory and spatial navigation, Wilkinson said. Instead, red-footed tortoises may rely on an area of the brain called the medial cortex, an area associated with complex cognitive behaviour and decision making in people. To understand how tortoises learn, the researchers tested how the reptiles relied on cues to get around. Wilkinson's colleagues at the University of Vienna gave the tortoises treats when the reptiles looked at, approached and then pecked on the screen.
The four red-footed tortoises in the study learned how to use touchscreens fairly quickly, Wilkinson said. "It's comparable to the speed with which the pigeons and rats do it," Wilkinson said. "I've trained dogs to use a touchscreen and I'd say the tortoises are faster." Their speedy learning is in line with the fact that tortoise hatchlings don't receive parental care, so they have to learn how to make decisions about food and shelter for themselves from the moment they hatch, she added. In the main experiment, the tortoises pecked a red triangle in the centre of the touchscreen. When two blue circles flashed, they had to consistently peck either the circle on the right or the one on the left to get a treat.
YouTube link.
All four of the tortoises mastered the touchscreen task, but two eventually stopped cooperating, possibly because they were too small to properly reach the screen, Wilkinson said. The remaining two tortoises applied their knowledge to a real-life situation in the next part of the experiment, Wilkinson said. The researchers placed them in an arena with two blue empty food bowls that looked like the blue circles on the touchscreen. The tortoises went to the bowl on the same side as the circles they were trained to peck on the screen. However, it's possible that the tortoises weren't transferring knowledge, but simply had a preferred side, said Jennifer Vonk, an associate professor of psychology at Oakland University in Michigan, who was not involved with the study. The researchers trained the tortoises to go to the opposite bowl in the arena to see how flexible they were, but once reintroduced to the touch screens three months later, the tortoises immediately began pecking on the same side as before.
Red-footed tortoises are inquisitive and eager to eat treats, making them good test subjects, Wilkinson said. The tortoises, which are native to Central and South America, don't have a hippocampus, an area of the brain associated with learning, memory and spatial navigation, Wilkinson said. Instead, red-footed tortoises may rely on an area of the brain called the medial cortex, an area associated with complex cognitive behaviour and decision making in people. To understand how tortoises learn, the researchers tested how the reptiles relied on cues to get around. Wilkinson's colleagues at the University of Vienna gave the tortoises treats when the reptiles looked at, approached and then pecked on the screen.
The four red-footed tortoises in the study learned how to use touchscreens fairly quickly, Wilkinson said. "It's comparable to the speed with which the pigeons and rats do it," Wilkinson said. "I've trained dogs to use a touchscreen and I'd say the tortoises are faster." Their speedy learning is in line with the fact that tortoise hatchlings don't receive parental care, so they have to learn how to make decisions about food and shelter for themselves from the moment they hatch, she added. In the main experiment, the tortoises pecked a red triangle in the centre of the touchscreen. When two blue circles flashed, they had to consistently peck either the circle on the right or the one on the left to get a treat.
YouTube link.
All four of the tortoises mastered the touchscreen task, but two eventually stopped cooperating, possibly because they were too small to properly reach the screen, Wilkinson said. The remaining two tortoises applied their knowledge to a real-life situation in the next part of the experiment, Wilkinson said. The researchers placed them in an arena with two blue empty food bowls that looked like the blue circles on the touchscreen. The tortoises went to the bowl on the same side as the circles they were trained to peck on the screen. However, it's possible that the tortoises weren't transferring knowledge, but simply had a preferred side, said Jennifer Vonk, an associate professor of psychology at Oakland University in Michigan, who was not involved with the study. The researchers trained the tortoises to go to the opposite bowl in the arena to see how flexible they were, but once reintroduced to the touch screens three months later, the tortoises immediately began pecking on the same side as before.
Man in court for licking women's legs
A man who licked three women in busy areas of Lincoln city centre in front of crowds of shoppers has appeared in court.
Mareks Anbanks, 37, licked a shop assistant on the cheek – and knelt down to lick the legs of two other horrified victims.
In the first incident on February 21, Anbanks entered a store and told the assistant he was looking for something for his girlfriend.
Lincoln Magistrates Court was told the defendant then grabbed hold of the victim’s hands and told her she was wonderful. She pulled her hands away, but Anbanks then put his arm around her neck and licked her on the cheek.
Tracey Ross, prosecuting, told the court: “She tried to stay calm, then he told her he would go and he left the shop. She went into the back of the shop and burst into tears and was very scared.” On May 2, a woman who was shopping in a busy city centre store became aware Anbanks was standing close to her. The court heard he told her she was a very nice lady. A short time later, Anbanks approached her from behind. Ms Ross said: “He knelt down and kissed the back of her leg in the middle of her thigh before standing and walking out of the store.
“The woman said she didn’t know him and she was shocked and distressed.” Later that day, a woman waiting at the ticket office at Lincoln Station noticed Anbanks standing close to her and acting in a strange manner. The court heard how the defendant then dropped to his knees and grabbed the woman’s legs. Ms Ross said: “She tried to pull away as he told her that he wanted to lick her legs. His tongue was out and he made licking motions.
“She was very scared and yelled at him to get off her. She tried to pull her legs away but his grip was very tight. She wasn’t sure if his tongue made contact with her legs as she was wearing tights at the time. One of her friends pulled her away and he left the ticket office.” Anbanks admitted three counts of sexual assault. Tony Cunningham, defending, told the court that the defendant was very ashamed of his actions and that he was under the influence of alcohol at the time. Anbanks was given a 12-month community order and 100 hours of unpaid work. He will also have to pay a surcharge of £140 in compensation and other costs.
Tracey Ross, prosecuting, told the court: “She tried to stay calm, then he told her he would go and he left the shop. She went into the back of the shop and burst into tears and was very scared.” On May 2, a woman who was shopping in a busy city centre store became aware Anbanks was standing close to her. The court heard he told her she was a very nice lady. A short time later, Anbanks approached her from behind. Ms Ross said: “He knelt down and kissed the back of her leg in the middle of her thigh before standing and walking out of the store.
“The woman said she didn’t know him and she was shocked and distressed.” Later that day, a woman waiting at the ticket office at Lincoln Station noticed Anbanks standing close to her and acting in a strange manner. The court heard how the defendant then dropped to his knees and grabbed the woman’s legs. Ms Ross said: “She tried to pull away as he told her that he wanted to lick her legs. His tongue was out and he made licking motions.
“She was very scared and yelled at him to get off her. She tried to pull her legs away but his grip was very tight. She wasn’t sure if his tongue made contact with her legs as she was wearing tights at the time. One of her friends pulled her away and he left the ticket office.” Anbanks admitted three counts of sexual assault. Tony Cunningham, defending, told the court that the defendant was very ashamed of his actions and that he was under the influence of alcohol at the time. Anbanks was given a 12-month community order and 100 hours of unpaid work. He will also have to pay a surcharge of £140 in compensation and other costs.
Lady says stray cat provided her with words from beyond the grave to write book of poetry
A sorry looking stray cat that came to unfortunate end has become an unusual inspiration for poetry writing grandmother Dawn Minall, from Paulton in Somerset.
Dawn, 62, first spotted Hero the tabby when he arrived out of the blue at her horse stables in Timsbury in 2006.
Won over by his gentle nature she began to feed and care for the emaciated cat and was heartbroken when he had to be put down after being kicked by one of her horses.
Dawn didn’t think too much about the cats passing till she says he began to communicate with her in the months after his death using poems and verses. She said: “I would be out in the garden or with the animals and a poem would just pop into my head and I would know it was from him. It may sound strange to some people but over time he wrote hundreds of poems that went through all the emotions from sadness and anger to peace.
“I knew the poems had not come from me because they were very different from my usual writing style. He even told me things I didn’t know about myself.” At the time she promised Hero that she would one day publish his poems and has just managed to fulfil her promise the book My Hero. The poetry book has 150 pages of poems which Dawn believes were passed to her from the cat to prove to people there is life after death.
For some, a tale of speaking to the dead may sound incredible, but for Dawn it what she needed to prove to her something she says has been part of her life for as long as she can remember. She added: “Hero's words were confirmation of a long held belief that there is life after death, just in a different form and dimension.”
Dawn didn’t think too much about the cats passing till she says he began to communicate with her in the months after his death using poems and verses. She said: “I would be out in the garden or with the animals and a poem would just pop into my head and I would know it was from him. It may sound strange to some people but over time he wrote hundreds of poems that went through all the emotions from sadness and anger to peace.
“I knew the poems had not come from me because they were very different from my usual writing style. He even told me things I didn’t know about myself.” At the time she promised Hero that she would one day publish his poems and has just managed to fulfil her promise the book My Hero. The poetry book has 150 pages of poems which Dawn believes were passed to her from the cat to prove to people there is life after death.
For some, a tale of speaking to the dead may sound incredible, but for Dawn it what she needed to prove to her something she says has been part of her life for as long as she can remember. She added: “Hero's words were confirmation of a long held belief that there is life after death, just in a different form and dimension.”
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