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Tide laundry detergent is meant to be used for household cleaning purposes, but thieves are turning it into something dirty. Authorities are reporting a spike in thefts of Tide, and in some cities they are setting up task forces where the detergent is sold to track the number of bottles in stores. Police believe thieves are using the soap on the black market, which retails for $10-$20, to buy drugs. On the black market, Tide is often referred to as "liquid gold" and can go for $5-$10 per bottle.
Last year, in St. Paul, Minnesota, a man is alleged to have stolen $25,000 worth of Tide over 15 months before authorities captured him. Stores such as CVS have amped up security measures to prevent theft; at some locations the detergent is kept in a locked container and an employee must retrieve it for customers.
So why is Tide the only detergent being targeted? Authorities list several reasons: Tide is instantly recognizable because of its Day-Glo orange bottle; it is one of the most expensive brands of laundry detergent; and it does not have serial numbers, so it cannot be tracked.
On social media, people are calling the theft trend "bizarre" and many are blaming it on the tough economy and rising gas prices. One person tweeted that the thefts are "a result of inflation."
A spokesperson for Procter & Gamble, the manufacturer of Tide, called the thefts "unfortunate."
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Two of Donald Trump's sons are being criticized by animal rights groups for pictures that have just surfaced online. The extremely graphic photographs, which were taken more than a year ago, feature Eric and Donald Trump Jr. after hunting big game in Zimbabwe.
Donald Jr. and Eric are pictured next to several large dead animals, including an elephant, a crocodile, a kuku, a civet, and a water buck. One picture in particular is very gruesome and shows Donald Jr. holding an elephant's severed tail.
The animal rights group In Defense of Animals is not pleased and released a statement saying, "This is truly a pitiful testimony to their lack of character and compassion."
But the Trump boys are not retreating or showing any remorse. Yesterday, Donald Jr. tweeted, "I'm a hunter, for that I make no apologies." He also later tweeted that he has "no shame" about the pictures. In addition, the Trumps say they donated the game meat to local villagers.
People on social media have differing opinions on the pictures. Several people tweeted in support of the hunting as long as the meat was going to be eaten and not just done for sport. However, one person called it "horrendous and unnecessary."
As for their father, real-estate mogul Donald Trump, he told TMZ that "anything they did was 100 percent OK in terms of the hunting community." The senior Trump also added that he is not a believer in hunting and is surprised his sons like it.