Society's ChildS


Pistol

Armed Nevada assemblyman arrested for threatening to shoot Assembly speaker

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© SAM MORRIS / LAS VEGAS SUNAssemblyman Steven Brooks is seen on the third day of the 2011 legislative session Wednesday, Feb. 9, 2011, in Carson City.
A Democratic assemblyman is in jail, arrested for threatening Democratic Speaker-elect Marilyn Kirkpatrick, according to North Las Vegas Police and Democratic sources familiar with the situation.

Assemblyman Steven Brooks, 40, of North Las Vegas made threats to harm a public official Saturday afternoon, police said in a news release Sunday morning. A source said he was arrested with a loaded gun after threatening to shoot Kirkpatrick.

Kirkpatrick and witnesses who corroborated the allegation prompted police to begin searching for Brooks. About 5:30 p.m., Brooks was seen driving in the area of Carey Avenue and Mt. Hood Street, where he was taken into custody without incident during a traffic stop.

Another Democratic source with knowledge of the situation said Brooks publicly threatened to harm Kirkpatrick because he was unhappy with the committee assignments given to him by Kirkpatrick. The 2013 Legislature begins Feb. 4.

Sheriff

Man tasered by police four times in under a minute before death

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© Photograph: Scott Heppell/PAA police Taser was used four times on Dale Burns in his apartment, where he was said to be resisting arrest.
Officers say they feared for their safety while arresting Dale Burns, 27, who died two hours later after suffering a heart attack.

A bodybuilder was Tasered four times in under a minute by police as they struggled to arrest him, an inquest has heard.

Dale Burns, 27, from Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, died hours after being repeatedly hit "without warning" by the electric shock gun and pepper-sprayed in the face, as officers tried to hold him with handcuffs and leg restraints, the hearing was told.

Burns, as father of two, was described as a "gentle giant but with a drug habit" who had taken a "gram of Madcat", an illegal drug, on the day he died, the inquest at the County Hall in Kendal heard.

Alan Sharp, the deputy coroner for south and east Cumbria, told the jury of five women and six men they may have to see distressing CCTV footage of a wild-eyed and agitated Burns in the police van after his arrest for criminal damage.

Burns died at Furness General hospital two hours after police were first called to his flat on 16 August 2011.

Question

Japan man 'bit snake-possessed son to death': reports

Tokyo: A 53-year-old man has been arrested on suspicion of biting his adult son to death to get rid of a "snake haunting him", Japanese media have reported.

TV Asahi said Katsumi Nagaya seriously injured his son, Takuya, on Friday at the younger man's apartment in Anjo, central Japan, by head-butting and biting him after the 23-year-old began writhing around and claiming to be a serpent.

Takuya was taken to hospital but declared dead a short time later, the broadcaster said.

The suspect reportedly told police he had attacked his son in order to remove the snake from his mind.

Black Cat 2

Economist wants cat-free New Zealand

Cat Free
© OneNewsGareth Morgan wants to see a cat-free New Zealand.
Economist Gareth Morgan is championing a campaign to eradicate cats from New Zealand.

The "Cats to Go" initiative is encouraging owners not to replace their cat when it dies, in an effort to protect native bird species.

"Almost half of Kiwi households have a cat (or two) making New Zealanders the world's biggest cat owners. Cats are incredibly effective hunters and are wiping out our native birds," the campaign website says.

It cites research which claims the average cat brings home 13 pieces of prey each year, but this represents only a fifth of the animals it kills.

It also offers evidence against claims that cats only kill rodents or do no hunt if they are well fed.

"In one study, six cats were presented with a live small rat while eating their preferred food. All six cats stopped eating the food, killed the rat, and then resumed eating the food," the website says.

A video on the site goes further and labels cats as "serial killers" who "torture their victims slowly and without mercy".

The site says cat owners can support the cause by not getting any new cats, fitting their pets with a bell and keeping them indoors at all times. SPCA chief executive Bob Kerridge says the campaign is a bit radical and over the top, and questioned the validity of Morgan's research.

He said their surveys show fewer than half of New Zealand's domestic cats kill other animals.

Display

Television viewer captures "very weird subliminal message"

A television viewer in the UK thought he noticed something odd flash across the screen last evening, and lucky for us, his DVR was running and he was able to post the strange capture to a forum. After a bit of back and forth rewinding, he managed to pause it at just the right second, presenting us with what he believes is a "very weird subliminal message".

The flash, which was broadcast on Comedy Central during a commercial break for the Mr. Bean episode "Goodnight, Mr. Bean", contains a huge block of text impossible to read unless paused, with several of the words highlighted as though important. Even weirder, is that it seems to be an ode to financially troubled record store HMV. The caps locked text reads about the "shared experience" of visiting the record store with your "tribe", and ends with the question of whether or not one can "fight progress".

The highlighted words are VOICE, MEMORIES, COLLECTION, JOY, EXPERIENCE, and PROGRESS.

You can view the capture below, or read our transcription further down the page:
Subliminal Message
© WhoForted?

Heart - Black

Teacher avoids statutory rape charge by marrying 17-year-old student

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Leah Gayle Shipman avoids jail time by marrying 17 year old she had sex with
A 42-year-old North Carolina teacher escaped charges of statutory rape by marrying the teenager she was accused of having sex with.

WGN-TV reported on Monday that Leah Gayle Shipman married the 17-year-old boy, identified as Johnny Ray Ison, just six days after being granted a divorce from her previous husband.

Pistol

Father shoots wife and then himself at daughter's 16th birthday party

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© WFAAKristi and Kelly Suckla
A Texas girl's 16th birthday party ended in tragedy over the weekend after her father killed his estranged wife and then himself.

Grapevine police said 43-year-old Kelly Suckla argued with his 44-year-old wife, Kristi, before shooting her at about 10 p.m. during the party on Saturday, according to The Dallas Morning News. Kelly Suckla then turned the gun on himself.

Kristi Suckla suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the neck and body. She was pronounced dead about 40 minutes later at Baylor Medical Center. Kelly Suckla died of a single gunshot to the head, which was ruled a suicide by the Tarrant County medical examiner's office.

Stock Up

Veterans Affairs spending on erectile dysfunction meds almost triples

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© Shutterstock
The Department of Veterans Affairs is spending almost three times as much it did in 2006 on erectile dysfunction drugs, reported Bloomberg News.

That's apparently due to soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with mental health issues, according to a senior program manager at the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

Boat

Sailor adrift in life raft for three days rescued by Antarctic cruise ship

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© Photo: Facebook
Alain Delord was attempting to sail solo and without assistance around the world in his yacht, Tchouk Tchouk Nougat

A French solo sailor adrift for days in a life raft in the Southern Ocean after his yacht sank has been rescued by the crew of an Antarctic cruise ship.


Alain Delord was attempting to sail solo and without assistance around the world when his yacht, Tchouk Tchouk Nougat, was damaged in rough weather off southern Australia's Tasmania island on Friday.

The Frenchman was forced to abandon ship and has been adrift in a life raft on the Southern Ocean for more than three days.

An Antarctic cruise ship carrying 100 passengers was diverted about 1,118 miles to his assistance and had battled deteriorating weather conditions to reach him before sunset, with fears he would have to spend a third night at sea.

But the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said the Orion ship managed to find Delord and pluck him to safety.

Airplane

Lightning-induced explosions ground 'Lightning II' F-35B in bad weather

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© Reuters / Handout
It's the world's most expensive combat aircraft, but don't expect it to fly in bad weather: The $237-million F-35B has been banned from traveling within 25 miles of a thunderstorm, amid fears that lightning could cause its fuel tank to explode.

The aircraft, which is ironically known as 'Lightning II,' is not permitted to fly in thunderstorms until an oxygen gauge in the fuel tank is redesigned.

The findings were disclosed in the Pentagon's 2012 Annual Operational Test and Evaluation report, which examined 327 defense programs slated for full production.

The announcement is a major setback for the combat plane, which is set for use in the US Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force. The planes are also scheduled to fly with Britain's Royal Navy and Royal Air Force by 2018.

Other fears besides a lightning-induced explosion have left engineers worried. A design fault in the fuel tank prevents the jet from rapidly descending to low altitudes. The Pentagon report described both flaws as "unacceptable for combat or combat training."

The F-35B's problems don't stop there: Attempts to increase the aircraft's fuel efficiency by reducing its weight have made it more vulnerable to enemy attack - even more so than the aircraft it's designed to replace, the Telegraph reported.

Examinations by the US Air Force and manufacturer Lockheed Martin also discovered possible widespread cracking on the right wing and right engine of the F-35A, and on an area of the F-35B. "All of these discoveries will require mitigation plans and may include redesigning parts and additional weight," the report said.