Tuesday, April 14, 2015
University rowing team attacked by flying carp
The Washington University rowing team were paddling down the Creve Coeur Lake outside St. Louis, Missouri, on Friday morning when danger came from beneath.
As the team's boat got near the dock, suddenly a swarm of Asian carp emerged from the water and went on the attack.
YouTube link.
As the team's boat got near the dock, suddenly a swarm of Asian carp emerged from the water and went on the attack.
YouTube link.
Man faces several charges after breaking into neighbour's home and microwaving his wallet
A Florida man forced his neighbour on to a balcony at their Tampa apartment tower before he microwaved the man’s wallet and tried to start a fire, according to Tampa Fire Rescue officials.
Firefighters responded on Sunday morning to a report of a fire on the 30th floor of the Element apartment tower where a resident was said to be trapped on a balcony. When they arrived at around 8:45am, firefighters found smoke, but no active fire, officials said.
According to a fire marshall’s report, Mohammed Almarri, 21, illegally entered his neighbour’s apartment and threatened the owner of the apartment until he retreated to the balcony. From the balcony, the owner, who was not identified, watched as Almarri put his wallet in the microwave and turned it on.
He then piled his collection of lighters next to a small electric heater and turned that on, officials said. Almarri was arrested and charged with first-degree arson, assault with a deadly weapon, three counts of battery on a law enforcement officer, armed burglary of a dwelling and false imprisonment. The owner of the apartment was not injured. Damage was estimated at $1,000.
Firefighters responded on Sunday morning to a report of a fire on the 30th floor of the Element apartment tower where a resident was said to be trapped on a balcony. When they arrived at around 8:45am, firefighters found smoke, but no active fire, officials said.
According to a fire marshall’s report, Mohammed Almarri, 21, illegally entered his neighbour’s apartment and threatened the owner of the apartment until he retreated to the balcony. From the balcony, the owner, who was not identified, watched as Almarri put his wallet in the microwave and turned it on.
He then piled his collection of lighters next to a small electric heater and turned that on, officials said. Almarri was arrested and charged with first-degree arson, assault with a deadly weapon, three counts of battery on a law enforcement officer, armed burglary of a dwelling and false imprisonment. The owner of the apartment was not injured. Damage was estimated at $1,000.
Gay penguin story again on list of disputed library books
A picture book about two male penguins raising a baby penguin has again made a list of books to have received the most complaints from library users.
And Tango Makes Three by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell came third in a list of titles the American Library Association said had received the most complaints from parents and educators.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian came top of the list. Sherman Alexie's tale of a young Native American at a predominately white high school was first published in 2007. Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, a graphic novel about a young Iranian girl growing up in the years after the country's Islamic Revolution, is ranked second.
The list of titles, all of whom have been the subject of a formal written complaint, filed with a library or school, requesting they be removed, is compiled annually by the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom. The alleged "cultural insensitivity" of Alexie's novel is one of the reasons cited in complaints calling for its removal. And Tango Makes Three, based on a real-life story of two male penguins who hatched an egg at the New York Zoo, is accused of promoting a homosexual agenda.
YouTube link.
Other titles on the list include Toni Morrison's debut novel The Bluest Eye, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and A Stolen Life, a kidnapping memoir by Jaycee Dugard. The remaining books cited by the library association were Robie Harris' It's Perfectly Normal, Saga by Brian Vaughan and Fiona Staples, Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Raina Telgemeier's Drama. The ALA counted 311 challenges in 2014, roughly the same as were lodged in 2013.
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian came top of the list. Sherman Alexie's tale of a young Native American at a predominately white high school was first published in 2007. Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis, a graphic novel about a young Iranian girl growing up in the years after the country's Islamic Revolution, is ranked second.
The list of titles, all of whom have been the subject of a formal written complaint, filed with a library or school, requesting they be removed, is compiled annually by the ALA's Office for Intellectual Freedom. The alleged "cultural insensitivity" of Alexie's novel is one of the reasons cited in complaints calling for its removal. And Tango Makes Three, based on a real-life story of two male penguins who hatched an egg at the New York Zoo, is accused of promoting a homosexual agenda.
YouTube link.
Other titles on the list include Toni Morrison's debut novel The Bluest Eye, The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini and A Stolen Life, a kidnapping memoir by Jaycee Dugard. The remaining books cited by the library association were Robie Harris' It's Perfectly Normal, Saga by Brian Vaughan and Fiona Staples, Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Raina Telgemeier's Drama. The ALA counted 311 challenges in 2014, roughly the same as were lodged in 2013.
Driverless train with 150 passengers travelled backwards for 27 kilometres
A train travelled for 27 kilometres backwards on Sunday, passing through three stations in Rajbari, central Bangladesh, without its driver.
The Faridpur Express was finally be stopped near Pangsha station thanks to a ticket checker's presence of mind.
With the help of some passengers, the ticket checker undid the air-brake hoses between three carriages, which put the brakes on and stopped the train.
Some 150 passengers were on board the runaway train.
According to railway officials, minutes before the train was to leave Rajbari station for Faridpur at around 8:00am, its driver Mohammad Ali, who was not in the locomotive, sent his assistant Faisal Hossain to check the engine. Faisal did something wrong that made the train roll backwards on the Rajbari-Poradaha route. Ali was chewing betel leaf on the platform. “Before I could realise what was happening, the train shot out of the station,” the driver later said.
Failing to control the train, the assistant jumped off the moving train. “The train ran up to Pangsha Railway Station without any driver on board,” Bangladesh Railway Director (Traffic) Zahurul Islam said. It took quite some time for the passengers to realise that something was wrong. “I didn't understand what was going on. I got frightened when I learned that the train was without the driver,” said passenger Azbor Uddin, 52.
As panicked passengers started screaming, ticket checker Anwar asked them to calm down and help him stop the train, Azbor added. The train was then travelling at around 30km an hour. After some effort, they managed to stop it near Pangsha station at around 8:55am. By that time, it had passed through three stations. Driver Ali, his assistant Foysal and guard Subhas Chandra Sharma were suspended in connection with negligence of duty. The railway has formed a five-member team to probe the incident.
According to railway officials, minutes before the train was to leave Rajbari station for Faridpur at around 8:00am, its driver Mohammad Ali, who was not in the locomotive, sent his assistant Faisal Hossain to check the engine. Faisal did something wrong that made the train roll backwards on the Rajbari-Poradaha route. Ali was chewing betel leaf on the platform. “Before I could realise what was happening, the train shot out of the station,” the driver later said.
Failing to control the train, the assistant jumped off the moving train. “The train ran up to Pangsha Railway Station without any driver on board,” Bangladesh Railway Director (Traffic) Zahurul Islam said. It took quite some time for the passengers to realise that something was wrong. “I didn't understand what was going on. I got frightened when I learned that the train was without the driver,” said passenger Azbor Uddin, 52.
As panicked passengers started screaming, ticket checker Anwar asked them to calm down and help him stop the train, Azbor added. The train was then travelling at around 30km an hour. After some effort, they managed to stop it near Pangsha station at around 8:55am. By that time, it had passed through three stations. Driver Ali, his assistant Foysal and guard Subhas Chandra Sharma were suspended in connection with negligence of duty. The railway has formed a five-member team to probe the incident.
Woman allegedly attacked husband with knife because of the terrible smell he left in toilet
A Japanese woman allegedly attacked her husband with a kitchen knife because of the terrible smell he had left in the toilet.
Police say Emi Mamiya, 29, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after apparently slashing her husband’s face with the knife.
Mamiya was reportedly incensed by the smell left behind after her 34-year-old partner emerged from the bathroom.
Her anger was further fuelled when he tried to help their 3-year-old son use the toilet “without washing his own hands first,” she said.
Police say Emi Mamiya, 29, was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder after apparently slashing her husband’s face with the knife.
Mamiya was reportedly incensed by the smell left behind after her 34-year-old partner emerged from the bathroom.
Her anger was further fuelled when he tried to help their 3-year-old son use the toilet “without washing his own hands first,” she said.
Thieves who used quilt cover to transport stolen cigarettes lost a lot of their loot during getaway
Four men have been caught on CCTV robbing a service station in Melbourne, Australia, and filling a quilt cover with their loot of stolen cigarettes, before spilling it as they fled in a car.
The group, all wearing hooded jumpers, gloves and hiding their faces, broke into a service station on the Burwood Highway at Tecoma.
Two of the men smashed their way in at about 2:30am before running to the car with a quilt cover filled with cigarettes. When they failed to fit the bursting cover into the boot, they then decided to drag the sack alongside the car as they escaped. Police said they lost about a third of their loot in the process as it trailed along the road.
The thieves also used a quilt cover to make off with cigarettes in a similar incident at a shopping centre in nearby Kilsyth. Police believed the group has also targeted five other places including service stations in the past few months. It is believed the thieves have stolen up to $38,000 worth of goods.
YouTube link.
"They were probably surprised by how much they got in the end and just failed to focus on the getaway plan," Constable Gavin Rhodes said. "I would describe them as fairly efficient, they obviously know what they came there to do. They seem to be focused on obtaining cigarettes." Police have released CCTV footage of the incident at Tecoma in the hope someone would recognise the men.
Two of the men smashed their way in at about 2:30am before running to the car with a quilt cover filled with cigarettes. When they failed to fit the bursting cover into the boot, they then decided to drag the sack alongside the car as they escaped. Police said they lost about a third of their loot in the process as it trailed along the road.
The thieves also used a quilt cover to make off with cigarettes in a similar incident at a shopping centre in nearby Kilsyth. Police believed the group has also targeted five other places including service stations in the past few months. It is believed the thieves have stolen up to $38,000 worth of goods.
YouTube link.
"They were probably surprised by how much they got in the end and just failed to focus on the getaway plan," Constable Gavin Rhodes said. "I would describe them as fairly efficient, they obviously know what they came there to do. They seem to be focused on obtaining cigarettes." Police have released CCTV footage of the incident at Tecoma in the hope someone would recognise the men.
Law student who ran naked through streets for free kebab called a goose by magistrate
With a free kebab on offer, Jack Mascitelli stripped naked and ran through the streets of Byron Bay, Australia, at 8.45 in the morning.
The law student's week prank ended abruptly, when he inadvertently ran "screaming and yelling" towards a group of police officers, who fined him $500 for offensive behaviour.
Mr Mascitelli, 18, from Victoria, elected to appear in Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney on Monday to argue against the fine, and was admonished by Deputy Chief Magistrate Chris O'Brien. "Mr Mascitelli, what a goose. That's what you are," Mr O'Brien said to the teenager, who stood in court looking sheepish.
"This is 8.45 in the morning and you are running through the streets with no clothes on. I don't know why you would want a kebab at that time of day. This behaviour is embarrassing for your family, embarrassing for you, it's embarrassing for the community." Mr O'Brien said there could have been families in Byron Bay trying to enjoy their holidays on the morning of February 4.
"If people had been there with their children, or in my case my grandchildren, to see you exposing yourself ... they're wandering off to have a swim and there you are in all your glory." The court heard Mr Mascitelli, who is studying law and commerce at university, was very remorseful for taking up the dare. The magistrate said he hoped that the incident didn't prevent him from achieving his ambitions, and dismissed the case, without recording a conviction.
Mr Mascitelli, 18, from Victoria, elected to appear in Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney on Monday to argue against the fine, and was admonished by Deputy Chief Magistrate Chris O'Brien. "Mr Mascitelli, what a goose. That's what you are," Mr O'Brien said to the teenager, who stood in court looking sheepish.
"This is 8.45 in the morning and you are running through the streets with no clothes on. I don't know why you would want a kebab at that time of day. This behaviour is embarrassing for your family, embarrassing for you, it's embarrassing for the community." Mr O'Brien said there could have been families in Byron Bay trying to enjoy their holidays on the morning of February 4.
"If people had been there with their children, or in my case my grandchildren, to see you exposing yourself ... they're wandering off to have a swim and there you are in all your glory." The court heard Mr Mascitelli, who is studying law and commerce at university, was very remorseful for taking up the dare. The magistrate said he hoped that the incident didn't prevent him from achieving his ambitions, and dismissed the case, without recording a conviction.
Art gallery visitor rescued after six hours stuck in disused bank vault says ordeal was pretty nuts
A man who became trapped in a disused bank vault in a Cardiff City Centre building, sparking a six hour rescue operation involving firefighters and heavy duty drilling equipment, has explained his story of misadventure.
21-year-old Jacob Church, who described his ordeal as “pretty nuts” has explained how he became trapped after attending the launch night of an exhibition at the Abacus art space.
Mr Church and Joe Tobin, who he only met that night, were in the secure room, where art was being displayed, at around 1am on Saturday.
Jacob, originally from Taff’s Well, tried to close the door slightly, but it closed fully and inadvertently activated the lock. “We were just in there and realised there was a really nice echo in the room,” he said. “I went to shut the door a tiny bit and it shut the whole way.” The room was completely dark but the pair had signal on their mobile phones so Jacob was able to ring his friend who was also in the gallery to explain they were trapped. “I thought it would just be a case that they would come and let us out,” he said. But the door was firmly shut. Although the pair could hear noise outside, they were unaware what was going on, but were told the fire service had been called.
The first crews arrived at 1.48am and initially tried to unlock the door. But when that didn’t work, they had to drill through the wall to create a hole large enough for the two men to escape. “They tried drilling for two hours but then had to call for back up and then more back up,” he said. Part of a nearby road was closed for the emergency services to access the building. The initial amusement at their fate wore off, said Jacob. “We started off with fairly high hopes. The first few hours we were singing and running around the room and trying to make the best of it. After two or three hours, before there was an air hole, we started to think ‘are we going to get out of here’.
“As soon as the hole was in the wall the firefighters were speaking to us.” They told the pair they would drill for 15 minutes and then break to check on them. Masks and ear plugs were passed to them through the hole that had been created. Fire crews had to drill through the concrete but also cut through large metal poles which were in the wall. Both men were uninjured after their ordeal. Arielle Tye, from Promo-Cymru which runs the gallery with Modern Alchemists, said they made all the necessary checks on the room before it was used for the exhibition.“We always have it open,” she explained. “They managed to activate the lock but we have never seen that happen before.” The exhibition, “Look, no hands” continues until Sunday, April 26.
Jacob, originally from Taff’s Well, tried to close the door slightly, but it closed fully and inadvertently activated the lock. “We were just in there and realised there was a really nice echo in the room,” he said. “I went to shut the door a tiny bit and it shut the whole way.” The room was completely dark but the pair had signal on their mobile phones so Jacob was able to ring his friend who was also in the gallery to explain they were trapped. “I thought it would just be a case that they would come and let us out,” he said. But the door was firmly shut. Although the pair could hear noise outside, they were unaware what was going on, but were told the fire service had been called.
The first crews arrived at 1.48am and initially tried to unlock the door. But when that didn’t work, they had to drill through the wall to create a hole large enough for the two men to escape. “They tried drilling for two hours but then had to call for back up and then more back up,” he said. Part of a nearby road was closed for the emergency services to access the building. The initial amusement at their fate wore off, said Jacob. “We started off with fairly high hopes. The first few hours we were singing and running around the room and trying to make the best of it. After two or three hours, before there was an air hole, we started to think ‘are we going to get out of here’.
“As soon as the hole was in the wall the firefighters were speaking to us.” They told the pair they would drill for 15 minutes and then break to check on them. Masks and ear plugs were passed to them through the hole that had been created. Fire crews had to drill through the concrete but also cut through large metal poles which were in the wall. Both men were uninjured after their ordeal. Arielle Tye, from Promo-Cymru which runs the gallery with Modern Alchemists, said they made all the necessary checks on the room before it was used for the exhibition.“We always have it open,” she explained. “They managed to activate the lock but we have never seen that happen before.” The exhibition, “Look, no hands” continues until Sunday, April 26.
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