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Zumba sex scandal: Accused business partner claims affair with Alexis Wright, denies prostitution ring involvement

John Schriffen and Lauren Effron
ABC News
Sat, 19 Jan 2013 16:10 UTC
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© ABC News
In an interview with "Nightline," Mark Strong Sr., spoke out for the first time about accusations that he was a Maine Zumba instructor's business partner in a prostitution scandal.
The man accused of bankrolling the Maine Zumba studio, which instructor Alexis Wright allegedly used as a front for a brothel, denied having any involvement or knowledge of the alleged prostitution ring, but said he and Wright had an affair and he loaned her money.

In an interview with "Nightline," Mark Strong Sr., flanked by his lawyer, Dan Lilley, spoke for the first time about the accusations that he was the 30-year-old Zumba instructor's business partner in a prostitution scandal that has rocked the small New England town of Kennebunk, Maine.

"I'm sorry for any dishonesty [and] for the intimate relationship that I had with Alexis Wright," Strong said.

Strong, a married 57-year-old former private investigator who owns an insurance agency, said he and Wright had a casual relationship at the time of his arrest and he had only been to Kennebunk "a few times."
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Arrow Down

Point blank: Man aims gun at head of Bulgarian politician during speech


RT.com
Sat, 19 Jan 2013 14:23 UTC

A man boarded the stage and pointed a gas pistol at the head of a leading Bulgarian politician in front of a stunned party conference. Angry parliamentarians then pounced on the would-be assassin, beating him to a bloody pulp.

­Ahmed Dogan, the leader of the Turkish minority MRF party, known as the kingmaker of Bulgarian politics, was delivering an emotional speech in which he was about to announce that he was stepping down as chief of the party he founded in 1990.

Local video footage then shows a tall, heavily-built man wearing a laminated badge, later named as Oktai Enimehmedov, running into view, before holding the pistol an inch away from Dogan's face. Dogan flinches, and Enimehmedov pauses for a second without firing, before the politician rapidly regains his composure and pushes away the assailant's hand. Security personnel then run onto the stage, and overwhelm the failed assassin. What follow are unedifying scenes of a swarm of furious politicians repeatedly kicking and punching Enimehmedov on the ground as blood streams from his head.
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Husband talks about rhino attack


The Associated Press
Sat, 19 Jan 2013 11:56 UTC
Rhino Attack
© Associated Press
Chantal Beyer and her husband Sven Fouche, left, pose for a photograph with rhinos at the Aloe Ridge Nature Reserve near Johannesburg South Africa last weekend. Just after the photo was taken, the closest rhino attacked Beyer and its horn penetrated Beyer's chest from behind, resulting in a collapsed lung and broken ribs.
The husband who saw his new bride gored by a rhino is giving more insight on the attack that happened moments after the above photo was taken. Sven Fouche and Chantal Beyer were at the Aloe Ridge Nature Reserve near Johannesburg, South Africa last weekend, when they posed for a photo with a rhino in the background.

The Beeld newspaper reported Tuesday that the game park owner snapped pictures and suggested they "stand just a little bit closer" to the powerful animal. Seconds later, the trip turned into a nightmare.

"This is what the husband told me," Beeld reporter Lourensa Eckhard explained in a new interview. "As soon as he [park owner] took the picture, he took a step back, and you could see the fear in his eyes. When the husband turned around the rhino was right behind him. The next thing he knew his wife was flung in the air."

According to reports, the rhino's horn penetrated Beyers' chest from behind, resulting in a collapsed lung and broken ribs. The Aloe Ridge Hotel and Nature Reserve, where the incident took place, declined to comment Tuesday.
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Snakes in Suits

Complaint accuses university administrators of downplaying sexual assault despite federal rebuke

Arturo Garcia
Raw Story
Fri, 18 Jan 2013 19:12 UTC
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A complaint filed with the U.S. Department of Education accuses administrators at the University of North Carolina of downplaying sexual assault cases at the school, and pressuring the assistant dean of students to under-report such cases.

The accusations indicate that the school could be ignoring concerns that the U.S. Department of Education has emphasized to schools as recently as two years ago, an attorney with the National Women's Law Center (NWLC) told The Raw Story on Friday.

According to the student newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel, the complaint, filed on Wednesday accuses the university of violating both Title IX the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits gender-based discrimination, and the Campus Sexual Assault Victims' Bill of Rights, as outlined in the Clery Act.

"If you look at the [department's] 2011 guidance, it makes it really clear about the critical role schools play in both responding to reports of violence and in reporting sexual assault on campus under the Clery Act," said Fatima Goss Graves, the NWLC vice president for education and employment.
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Heart - Black

Cancer survivor says she was fired for medical leave


RT.com
Fri, 18 Jan 2013 18:56 UTC
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© Reuters / Eric Gaillard
A breast cancer patient in hospital.
After taking leave to get a mastectomy, a breast cancer survivor was fired from her job the day before she was scheduled to go back to work, allegedly because she had taken too much medical leave.

Vivienne Parra, 39, is now suing her former employer for what she considers an unjust termination. The Oceanside, Calif., woman took three weeks of leave to undergo cancer treatment and a mastectomy in 2009, followed by three more weeks when she delivered a baby.

The woman claims she went to work whenever she was physically capable of it during those six weeks. She says always gave her employer advance notice and documentation whenever she had to take medical leave.

"I put all my effort into this job and even how sick I was I came in. I didn't have my hair, I'd come in, and I worked hard and I was pregnant; tired from day one," Parra told NBC News.
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Dollar

High-tech thieves rob Berlin bank vault

Alyssa Danigelis
Discovery News
Fri, 18 Jan 2013 18:12 UTC
Bank Robbery
© Paul Zinken, Corbis
The thieves’ tunnel in an underground parking garage.
Danny Ocean, you've got competition. Wiley thieves spent months using special machinery to burrow into an underground bank vault in Berlin, making off with more than $15 million in cash and valuables this week.

The thieves started by renting a small garage unit, where they began tunneling, according to the BBC's Lucas de Jong (video). Then, over the course of several months, they used special machinery to dig a 100-foot tunnel leading into the safe deposit room of Berliner Volksbank.

All the while, nobody on the surface had any idea what was happening. On Monday, the thieves made their move, taking valuables and cash from more than 100 safe deposit boxes. One estimate in The Mirror said more than $15 million was stolen, but the police are still trying to determine what valuables were in the vault. Then the thieves lit a fire in the tunnel to cover their tracks.
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Eye 2

Famous Russian chef dismembered his wife -- and then asked his Facebook friends to help find her

Kevin Morris
Daily Dot
Fri, 18 Jan 2013 18:35 UTC
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After allegedly strangling and mutilating his wife earlier this week, a Moscow chef enlisted his 1,300 Facebook friends in a phony and macabre search for a woman they thought was still alive.

"The police are saying that she will come back and everything will be alright," Alexey Kabanov wrote on his wall Jan. 6. "If one of our common acquaintances knows what's happened to her, then just say she's alive."

On Jan. 12, Police intercepted Kabanov as he attempted to dispose of the remains. He'd tossed his wife's arms, legs, and head into the trunk of a car, which he'd borrowed from one of his Facebook contacts after asking for help so he could supposedly take his kids to school.

Later, in police custody, Kabanov confessed to the grisly murder.
      Read More...
Dollar

Chipotle prices may rise on higher food costs


Huffington Post
Fri, 18 Jan 2013 18:16 UTC
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The next time you go to Chipotle, you may be forced to utter three words you thought you'd never say: hold the guac.

The burrito seller announced on Thursday that it will likely raise prices later this year to combat the higher cost of ingredients, the Wall Street Journal reports. Currently, an average meal at Chipotle will set you back $9, according to the WSJ.

With more than 1,400 locations, Chipotle is also under the pressure of increased competition from other burrito makers like Taco Bell that offer lower prices, Bloomberg reports. On Wednesday, Chipotle stock saw its biggest decline since October after disappointing fourth-quarter profits.
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Windsock

Indonesia: Food prices soar as bad weather strikes

Slamet Susanto and Wasti Atmodjo
The Jakarta Post
Fri, 18 Jan 2013 18:13 UTC
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© Antara/Andreas Fitri Atmoko
Imported dry fish for sale at Bitingan market in Kudus, Central Java, on Thursday. Local fishermen are reporting poor catches due to bad weather in recent days, leading people to buy imported dry fish, sales of which have surged from 1,200 to 3,600 kilograms a day
Extreme weather, marked by storms and floods across the country, is being attributed to the spiraling prices of basic foodstuffs in the past week. In addition, crops are rotting and many fishermen cannot take to the sea due to high waves.

The price of staple foods in Bantul, Yogyakarta has soared following crop failure caused by the extreme weather in the regency.

Subariyoto, the head of the Bandul administration's domestic trade, industry and cooperatives division, said on Thursday that the bad weather ruined many crop fields in the regency.

"The bad weather also disrupted the distribution of produce. As the transport of supplies was halted, resulting in price increases," he said.
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Arrow Up

India: Inflation dips but food prices soar


Daily Pioneer
Fri, 18 Jan 2013 18:10 UTC
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Though the inflation based on wholesale prices has dipped to three years' lowest, according to Government, prices of food items including rice, wheat and pulses in retail have surprisingly gone through the roof during the last 12 months. In December 2012, the inflation was 7.18 per cent - a little lower than it was in December 2011 at 7.74 per cent.

The rates of food grains and pulses have increased manifold in the last three years. In 2011, in wholesale market, various qualities of rice were available at Rs20-52 per kg but within a year the price have increased by 20 per cent and are still on the rise. Currently, the price of rice is Rs25-70 per kg. The rate of pulses, milk, sugar and wheat are also on a constant rise offering absolutely no relief to the common man. The inflation rate in December 2010 was 9.47 per cent.
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