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Guards strike, inmates set free at Norway prison

Fri, 25 May 2012 17:34:22 -0400

OSLO (Reuters) - Convicted sex offenders and violent criminals were let loose from a Norway prison this week when guards went on strike, forcing authorities to free 52 inmates, officials said. "Some of these are prisoners convicted for violence, drugs, economic crime and sex crimes," Harald Aasaune, the manager of the Bjoergvin prison outside Bergen, said on Friday. "Bjoergvin is an open prison, but still, many of them are sitting in relatively long sentences," he added. "I don't think this has ever happened before. ...

Etan Patz and the history of missing kids on milk cartons

Fri, 25 May 2012 15:35:22 -0400

Click image to see more photos. Etan Patz disappeared on May 25, 1979 (AP Photo/Stanley K. Patz) In today's social-media world, it's hard to imagine: But in 1979, there was no coordinated effort of state or national law enforcement when a child went missing. Etan Patz, who disappeared 33 years ago on May 25, changed [...]

Mexican mother arrested after son's eyes gouged out

Thu, 24 May 2012 21:01:28 -0400

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A mother in Mexico has been arrested on suspicion of gouging out the eyes of her 5-year-old son during a ceremony. Police said on Thursday they had arrested seven people, including the boy's parents, after his eyeballs were pulled out during the ritual in Nezahualcoyotl, a working-class neighborhood on the eastern flank of Mexico City. "There was some kind of ceremony inside a house," said Laura Uribe, a spokeswoman for state prosecutors in the State of Mexico, a populous region that borders much of the capital. She did not give details of what the ritual involved. ...

School bus with students aboard crashes into home; 4 hurt

Thu, 24 May 2012 18:18:12 -0400

A school bus in New York State carrying 19 children swerved out of control and crashed into a private residence on Thursday morning. The Buffalo News reports that the bus was carrying students to nearby Lorraine Academy when it crashed through the front of the home. Police say the bus driver may have been trying [...]

Phony 'dying bride' ordered to repay victims

Thu, 24 May 2012 16:20:04 -0400

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York bride who faked having terminal cancer to swindle well-wishers into funding her dream wedding and honeymoon to the Caribbean on Wednesday was ordered to repay more than $13,000 (8,200 pounds) to her victims, prosecutors said. Jessica Vega, 25, pleaded guilty last month to fraud and forgery charges for deceiving people in the Hudson Valley area of New York into thinking she had only a few months to live, New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman said. ...

Unabomber can't make Harvard reunion, sends update

Thu, 24 May 2012 16:18:43 -0400

BOSTON (Reuters) - The 50th reunion for Harvard's University's undergraduate class of 1962 took a strange turn when Ted Kaczynski, the year's most infamous graduate, sent in a status update that was published in the alumni book. Kaczynski, better known as the Unabomber, was convicted in 1998 of killing three people and injuring 23 others in a mail bombing campaign against modern technology that was waged for almost two decades. ...

Harvard alumni group apologizes for Unabomber entry in directory

Thu, 24 May 2012 15:25:47 -0400

Harvard University's alumni association has issued an apology for references made by Ted Kaczynski, a graduate of Harvard's Class of 1962, in the school's latest directory. A spokesman for Harvard told Boston.com that Kaczynski, the so-called "Unabomber," submitted the entry for the directory himself. "While all members of the class who submit entries are included, [...]

Another bear falls from tree in Colorado (PHOTOS)

Thu, 24 May 2012 15:08:59 -0400

The bears don't grow on trees in Colorado, but they sure are making a habit of falling from them. The Steamboat Pilot & Today reports that another black bear has been tranquilized and immortalized in photos as it fell from a tree to safety. The Colorado Division of Parks and Wildlife tranquilized the bear after [...]

A look inside the ‘world’s nicest prison’

Thu, 24 May 2012 14:05:24 -0400

Picture this: A small Norwegian island dotted with pine trees, rocky coasts, rustic farms and private, wooden cottages. It sounds almost like the perfect romantic getaway. But the residents are actually inmates confined to what some are calling the "world's nicest prison." CNN has an excellent, in-depth look at Bastoy Prison, located on a one-square-mile [...]

TV weather reporter caught recreating storm during live broadcast

Thu, 24 May 2012 12:40:44 -0400

A Romanian TV weatherman has put a new spin on the phrase "having sand kicked in your face," after he was seen faking a storm during a live news report. The Metro reports that the reporter was filing a story about heavy winds along the Black Sea coast, which were gusting at more than 60 [...]

South Africa painting debate exposes racial rifts

Thu, 24 May 2012 08:03:19 -0400

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's ruling ANC went to court on Thursday seeking to remove from public display a painting of President Jacob Zuma with his genitals exposed, saying the work is symbolic of the lingering racial oppression of apartheid. Proceedings were halted after a bizzare scene where Gcina Malindi, lawyer for the ANC, broke down in tears when a judge asked him how the court can halt viewing of an image widely distributed on the Internet. ...

iFound you: Woman posts pictures from her stolen iPhone to Facebook

Wed, 23 May 2012 18:01:00 -0400

Katy McCaffrey doesn't have her stolen iPhone back yet. But it looks like she's one step closer after an alleged thief's pictures taken with the phone began uploading to her photo stream. NPR reports that McCaffrey had her phone stolen while taking part in a Disney Cruise Line vacation. The pictures being automatically uploaded from [...]

Man survives 2,400-foot helicopter jump without a parachute

Wed, 23 May 2012 15:25:36 -0400

Stuntman Gary Connery has pulled off a truly amazing feat, jumping 2,400 from a helicopter and landing safely on the ground without the use of a parachute. The 42-year-old Connery made his landing on top of 18,600 cardboard boxes in a stunt captured live on video by the London Telegraph. "I feel absolutely wonderful, I [...]

Dog bites into spray can; explosion ignites kitchen fire (VIDEO)

Wed, 23 May 2012 13:13:34 -0400

In the words of his human mom, 8-year-old Yogi is one "rotten" dog. But after the incorrigible Corgi caused a kitchen fire that was caught on film, she's just happy he's safe and sound. Hali Hudson had agreed to let Yogi appear on an episode of the new animal Web series, "Pet Sense," being produced [...]

‘Grieving’ dog refused to leave dead dog’s side

Wed, 23 May 2012 10:21:29 -0400

A heartbreaking photo of a male pit bull refusing to leave the side of a female pit bull that lay dead on the side of a Phoenix road is making the rounds on Facebook. According to Fox's Phoenix affiliate, the female pit bull appeared to have been struck by a car on Friday. The male [...]

Border patrol nabs fake UPS truck skirting checkpoint

Wed, 23 May 2012 08:33:35 -0400

SACRAMENTO (Reuters) - U.S. border patrol agents found 13 illegal immigrants in the back of a fake UPS van after they noticed the brown vehicle with yellow insignia trying to circumvent a highway checkpoint, the agency said on Tuesday. The agents arrested the passengers, identified as Mexican citizens without legal immigration documents, at an inland checkpoint on Friday on the dusty Highway 111, about 50 miles by car from the U.S.-Mexico border. The driver of the replica mail delivery van, a 21-year-old U.S. ...

Mountain lion wanders into California city center, is killed

Tue, 22 May 2012 22:25:50 -0400

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A mountain lion ventured into the center of a crowded Southern California city on Tuesday, and was shot and killed when authorities had trouble corralling the animal in the courtyard of a building, police said. It was not immediately clear how the 3-year-old mountain lion weighing about 75 pounds (34 kg) ended up in the middle of the beachside city of Santa Monica, which lies just west of Los Angeles. ...

South Africa protesters deface Zuma penis portrait

Tue, 22 May 2012 22:23:46 -0400

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Two men vandalized a portrait of South African President Jacob Zuma with his genitals exposed on Tuesday, intensifying a heated debate about the picture that has enraged the ruling African National Congress. Television footage showed a white middle-aged man in a suit walking up to the portrait at a Johannesburg gallery and painting a red cross on president's face and private parts. A younger black man then smeared black paint over the picture while the first man was being taken into custody by security guards. ...

Parents take aim at proposed gun range near elementary school

Tue, 22 May 2012 20:03:56 -0400

A Connecticut town is caught up in a heated debated over whether a proposed gun range should be built just hundreds of feet from a local elementary school. "I'd say total insanity. A gun range should not be put next to a school, period. Put it on the outskirts of Waterbury, or somewhere else," community [...]

Berkeley police chief assigns 10 officers to find son’s missing iPhone

Tue, 22 May 2012 16:24:17 -0400

How many people have called their local police station about a stolen cell phone or laptop, only to be told by the authorities that they have more pressing issues at hand? Well, Berkeley Police Chief Michael Meehan has opened himself up to a new round of controversy after it was reported that he dispatched 10 [...]

Hologram avatar to greet travelers at New York City airports

Tue, 22 May 2012 15:36:41 -0400

Holograms are supposed to be a thing of the future. As it turns out, the future is only about two months away. Starting July, travelers at New York City's three major airports will be able to interact with a life-size hologram avatar that will provide detailed information about connecting flights and even where to find [...]

‘Fifty Shades of Blue’ with Selena Gomez and Nick Kroll (VIDEO)

Tue, 22 May 2012 14:25:57 -0400

Fifty Shades of Blue with Selena Gomez from Selena Gomez In this new video from "Funny or Die," Selena Gomez and Nick Kroll parody the 2011 erotic novel "Fifty Shades of Grey." In the original novel, a young woman falls for a wealthy but reserved entrepreneur and embarks on an unusual romantic and sexual journey. [...]

Bellagio employees foil attempted casino robbery

Tue, 22 May 2012 13:48:07 -0400

Some quick-thinking employees thwarted a high-stakes robbery attempt at a Las Vegas casino. The Las Vegas Sun reports that around 11 p.m. on Saturday, the alleged thieves entered the Bellagio wearing wigs and sunglasses. Armed with pepper spray, they attempted to steal 23 high-value chips from a blackjack table. After dousing the dealer with the [...]

Are sweaty brokers more ethical?

Tue, 22 May 2012 10:44:05 -0400

LONDON (Reuters) - If you want to know how ethical your broker is, give them a moral dilemma and see how much they sweat before deciding what to do. It's quite a jump from the laboratory to real-world decisions about asset management but British researchers have found that gut feeling can override rational thought when people are faced with financial offers that look unfair. Even when we could benefit, a physical response like sweating can make people reject a financial proposition they consider to be unjust. The key is how tuned in they are to their own bodies. ...

Are sweaty brokers more ethical?

Mon, 21 May 2012 19:05:21 -0400