Monday, December 08, 2014
Deer broke into home before ransacking bathroom
A woman from Galloway in New Jersey was putting sweet potatoes in the oven on Saturday afternoon when she saw a deer running down a hallway in her home.
Curious, she followed the animal as it explored the home and then entered the master bathroom. Seizing the opportunity, she locked the door and quickly called police.
Officials say when they arrived, they found broken glass from the front storm door and damage to the main door frame. There was a short standoff as officers decided how to corral the animal.
Eventually, the deer was captured and taken to the woods, where it was released. Authorities say the animal must have really wanted to get inside. An investigation showed the deer fought its way through two doors to gain access into the home. The homeowner wasn’t hurt, but the bathroom sustained heavy damage.
Curious, she followed the animal as it explored the home and then entered the master bathroom. Seizing the opportunity, she locked the door and quickly called police.
Officials say when they arrived, they found broken glass from the front storm door and damage to the main door frame. There was a short standoff as officers decided how to corral the animal.
Eventually, the deer was captured and taken to the woods, where it was released. Authorities say the animal must have really wanted to get inside. An investigation showed the deer fought its way through two doors to gain access into the home. The homeowner wasn’t hurt, but the bathroom sustained heavy damage.
19 people hospitalised after possibly intentional chlorine leak at furry convention
A chemical spill at the O’Hare Hyatt Regency Hotel in Rosemont, Chicago, hospitalised 19 people at around 1am on Sunday morning.
People complained of a strong chlorine-like smell on the 8th and 9th floors of the hotel.
Several hotel guests complained of nausea and dizziness. Several fire trucks and ambulances from Rosemont and surrounding suburbs were called to the scene, as well as the Hazmat and decontamination units.
Thousands of people were evacuated from the hotel, which was packed with people attending the Midwest FurFest, which celebrates art, literature and performance based around anthropomorphic animals. Those attendees were sent into the streets wearing furry animal costumes. Firefighters discovered the source of the chlorine odour, was a broken container in a stairwell on the 9th floor.
Investigators say the powered chlorine was released “intentionally” and the incident is being investigated by the Rosemont Police Department. Guests were allowed to return to the hotel after the scene was secured at about 3am. Organizers said in the statement late on Sunday morning that the FurFest would go on.
With news video.
Several hotel guests complained of nausea and dizziness. Several fire trucks and ambulances from Rosemont and surrounding suburbs were called to the scene, as well as the Hazmat and decontamination units.
Thousands of people were evacuated from the hotel, which was packed with people attending the Midwest FurFest, which celebrates art, literature and performance based around anthropomorphic animals. Those attendees were sent into the streets wearing furry animal costumes. Firefighters discovered the source of the chlorine odour, was a broken container in a stairwell on the 9th floor.
Investigators say the powered chlorine was released “intentionally” and the incident is being investigated by the Rosemont Police Department. Guests were allowed to return to the hotel after the scene was secured at about 3am. Organizers said in the statement late on Sunday morning that the FurFest would go on.
With news video.
Rocket fans successfully launched porta-potty
A group of rocket enthusiasts in southwestern Michigan successfully launched a portable toilet on Saturday in an event named Thrusting the Throne.
The levitating lavatory roared skywards, made an arc, then, slowed by parachutes, almost landed on a spectator's pick-up truck 2,000 feet away. Michiana Rocketry club members planned the project for more than two years.
YouTube link. Additional video.
The club is trying to increase awareness of rocketry as a hobby and prove it is possible to turn a porta-potty into a rocket and launch it successfully. The lift-off occurred in a soya bean field near Three Oaks in Berrien County.
About 30 people worked on the rocket, from engineers to sales people who lined up sponsors. Rocket enthusiast Bob Bycraft says it was carefully planned and not "barnyard engineering".
The levitating lavatory roared skywards, made an arc, then, slowed by parachutes, almost landed on a spectator's pick-up truck 2,000 feet away. Michiana Rocketry club members planned the project for more than two years.
YouTube link. Additional video.
The club is trying to increase awareness of rocketry as a hobby and prove it is possible to turn a porta-potty into a rocket and launch it successfully. The lift-off occurred in a soya bean field near Three Oaks in Berrien County.
About 30 people worked on the rocket, from engineers to sales people who lined up sponsors. Rocket enthusiast Bob Bycraft says it was carefully planned and not "barnyard engineering".
Five-foot crucifix taken from church named after patron saint of lost and stolen items
Police in New York are asking for the public's help in solving the case of a missing five-foot-tall crucifix taken from a church named after the patron saint of lost and stolen articles.
Someone stole the crucifix on Wednesday from the lobby of Saint Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church in the Bronx, the NYPD said.
The theft of the crucifix, said to be worth $5,000, occurred between 6pm and 8:30pm, probably while mass was in progress.
Catholics invoke St. Anthony's help in locating lost or stolen items on the basis of an incident in which a book of psalms was returned to Anthony by a disgruntled student who had taken it after rejecting life in the Franciscan Order.
Someone stole the crucifix on Wednesday from the lobby of Saint Anthony of Padua Roman Catholic Church in the Bronx, the NYPD said.
The theft of the crucifix, said to be worth $5,000, occurred between 6pm and 8:30pm, probably while mass was in progress.
Catholics invoke St. Anthony's help in locating lost or stolen items on the basis of an incident in which a book of psalms was returned to Anthony by a disgruntled student who had taken it after rejecting life in the Franciscan Order.
Woman woke up to find mystery baby in her bed
A Michigan woman woke up to find an infant in her bed on Sunday, having no idea where the child came from or whose it was.
Battle Creek Police took custody of the baby pending the arrival of Child Protective Services. Police said the child became “an instant hit” with the officers on duty.
The officers gave the child “matchbox cars, teddy bears and beanie babies” and even changed the baby’s diaper, making the child’s odd experience a little easier to get through. The baby has since been identified and is in the process of being returned to his mother.
It turns out that the original caller’s son had dropped off the child before going out for the night and didn’t notify his sleeping mother. In another twist, the baby was not related to the man. Child Protective Services is in the process of investigating the incident.
Battle Creek Police took custody of the baby pending the arrival of Child Protective Services. Police said the child became “an instant hit” with the officers on duty.
The officers gave the child “matchbox cars, teddy bears and beanie babies” and even changed the baby’s diaper, making the child’s odd experience a little easier to get through. The baby has since been identified and is in the process of being returned to his mother.
It turns out that the original caller’s son had dropped off the child before going out for the night and didn’t notify his sleeping mother. In another twist, the baby was not related to the man. Child Protective Services is in the process of investigating the incident.
All-women Spanish theatre group selling porn instead of tickets to avoid high taxes
An all-women theatre group has found an ingenious way around a sales tax hike that is crippling Spanish theatres - by selling pornography.
The group registered as a distributor of pornographic magazines earlier this year after getting hold of around 300 back issues of a discontinued erotic magazine.
Primas de Riesgo, or Risk Premium, now give a free ticket to their production of "The Prodigious Magician", a 17th-century drama by Pedro Calderon de la Barca, in Madrid, with every €16 (£12.50, $20) porn magazine they sell.
With the sales tax on porn less than a fifth of that on plays, it allows them not only to keep ticket prices down but take a serious swipe at crisis-hit Spain's cultural policy.
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's conservative government raised sales tax on tickets to movies, plays and concerts from eight percent to 21 percent in September 2012 as part of its efforts to rein in the public deficit as unemployment rocketed. The sales tax on magazines remained at 4.0 percent. "We want people to ask what kind of a society makes this kind of decision.That they compare pornography and Calderon, who is Spain's Shakespeare, and reach their own conclusions," said the group's director, 34-year-old Karina Garantiva. "We don't want subsidies, we are a private initiative. The best subsidies are fiscal measures that don't prevent me from doing my work," added Garantiva, who moved to Spain from Colombia 12 years ago. Audiences at cultural events have slumped since the sales tax hike, according to a study by the National Federation of Theatre and Dance Business Associations (FAETEDA).
Figures show that in the first 12 months after it took effect audiences fell from 13.1 million to 9.3 million, a 29 percent decline, according to the association.Takings from cultural events in Spain during the same period fell by more than a quarter and 1,800 jobs in the sector were lost. "It's a real state of emergency," said Jesus Cimarro, a Madrid theatre producer who heads the association. The group wants the government to reduce the sales tax on theatre tickets to 10 percent, the same rate as in Italy, which is also under pressure to reduce its public deficit. It points out that the sales tax on cultural services in neighbouring France is only 5.5 percent, while in Germany it is 7.0 percent. "Just with this measure (of reducing the tax), a medium or large theatre company could stage three or four more productions per year," said Cimarro.
YouTube link.
The government argues the sales tax hike on theatre tickets is needed to balance the public accounts and has shown no sign that it is willing to lower it. The Primas De Riesgo theatre group vow to keep selling porn magazines until the government lowers the tax. "If the sales tax changes, we will suspend our campaign. If not, we will pursue this until the end," said Garantiva. "We are either part of the problem or part of the solution. We shouldn't complain, we should work to change it," she added. The initiative has been well received by the public who bought 180 porn magazines with their free entries to the opening night performance of "The Prodigious Magician" on November 25. The novel protest has its critics, however, including some who have questioned the morality of distributing pornography. But Garantiva hit back, "What is immoral is not that women distribute porn magazines, but that the government offers subsidies to these publications and not to its cultural heritage."
Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy's conservative government raised sales tax on tickets to movies, plays and concerts from eight percent to 21 percent in September 2012 as part of its efforts to rein in the public deficit as unemployment rocketed. The sales tax on magazines remained at 4.0 percent. "We want people to ask what kind of a society makes this kind of decision.That they compare pornography and Calderon, who is Spain's Shakespeare, and reach their own conclusions," said the group's director, 34-year-old Karina Garantiva. "We don't want subsidies, we are a private initiative. The best subsidies are fiscal measures that don't prevent me from doing my work," added Garantiva, who moved to Spain from Colombia 12 years ago. Audiences at cultural events have slumped since the sales tax hike, according to a study by the National Federation of Theatre and Dance Business Associations (FAETEDA).
Figures show that in the first 12 months after it took effect audiences fell from 13.1 million to 9.3 million, a 29 percent decline, according to the association.Takings from cultural events in Spain during the same period fell by more than a quarter and 1,800 jobs in the sector were lost. "It's a real state of emergency," said Jesus Cimarro, a Madrid theatre producer who heads the association. The group wants the government to reduce the sales tax on theatre tickets to 10 percent, the same rate as in Italy, which is also under pressure to reduce its public deficit. It points out that the sales tax on cultural services in neighbouring France is only 5.5 percent, while in Germany it is 7.0 percent. "Just with this measure (of reducing the tax), a medium or large theatre company could stage three or four more productions per year," said Cimarro.
YouTube link.
The government argues the sales tax hike on theatre tickets is needed to balance the public accounts and has shown no sign that it is willing to lower it. The Primas De Riesgo theatre group vow to keep selling porn magazines until the government lowers the tax. "If the sales tax changes, we will suspend our campaign. If not, we will pursue this until the end," said Garantiva. "We are either part of the problem or part of the solution. We shouldn't complain, we should work to change it," she added. The initiative has been well received by the public who bought 180 porn magazines with their free entries to the opening night performance of "The Prodigious Magician" on November 25. The novel protest has its critics, however, including some who have questioned the morality of distributing pornography. But Garantiva hit back, "What is immoral is not that women distribute porn magazines, but that the government offers subsidies to these publications and not to its cultural heritage."
Christmas tree's roadworks-themed decorations removed
An artist was told to remove his roadworks-themed decorations from a Christmas tree in Oxfordshire.
Summertown's 18ft Norwegian pine was decorated with orange mesh, barrier fencing, red and white striped tape, and topped with a traffic cone. Entitled Elfen Safety, Oxford artist Ted Dewan said it was designed as a tribute to the city's road workers.
One local business, which sponsors the tree, called for their removal following complaints from residents. The business, which did not want to be named, said it had received several complaints and felt the decorations should come down. Mr Dewan said the theme for the tree had been an "emergency" one after he discovered the original decorations were not weatherproof.
He said he hoped people would see the "beauty beyond the humble associations with these hastily improvised materials" which cost £75, but admitted many had not. He said he would now offer them to a construction company.
Summertown's 18ft Norwegian pine was decorated with orange mesh, barrier fencing, red and white striped tape, and topped with a traffic cone. Entitled Elfen Safety, Oxford artist Ted Dewan said it was designed as a tribute to the city's road workers.
One local business, which sponsors the tree, called for their removal following complaints from residents. The business, which did not want to be named, said it had received several complaints and felt the decorations should come down. Mr Dewan said the theme for the tree had been an "emergency" one after he discovered the original decorations were not weatherproof.
He said he hoped people would see the "beauty beyond the humble associations with these hastily improvised materials" which cost £75, but admitted many had not. He said he would now offer them to a construction company.
Rail replacement bus crashed into railway bridge causing train services to be suspended
A rail replacement bus service caused trains to be suspended after its roof was ripped off when it crashed into a railway bridge.
Merseyrail trains were halted between Rock Ferry and Birkenhead Central just after 12pm on Saturday afternoon following the crash.
The full length of the double decker’s roof could be seen lying on the road, with the roofless bus cordoned off by officers from Merseyside Police and Merseyside Fire and Rescue. Merseyrail said there were no passengers on board at the time of the incident.
A spokeswoman for Merseyrail confirmed the bus involved was a rail replacement service that was set to serve passengers hit by the closure of Hamilton Square station. She said: “The bus had a problem earlier in the day and it was coming from the garage to Hamilton Square.”
Merseyrail trains were halted between Rock Ferry and Birkenhead Central just after 12pm on Saturday afternoon following the crash.
The full length of the double decker’s roof could be seen lying on the road, with the roofless bus cordoned off by officers from Merseyside Police and Merseyside Fire and Rescue. Merseyrail said there were no passengers on board at the time of the incident.
A spokeswoman for Merseyrail confirmed the bus involved was a rail replacement service that was set to serve passengers hit by the closure of Hamilton Square station. She said: “The bus had a problem earlier in the day and it was coming from the garage to Hamilton Square.”
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