Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Deputies found cockfighting, cocaine and a kid

Cockfighting doesn’t stop for anything, not even a global pandemic. Fourteen people were arrested at a gambling and cockfighting function in Central Florida, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office. They were all charged with attending the fighting of animals, illegal gambling and contributing to the delinquency of a minor. Deputies responded to a mobile home and discovered men gambling at a table. They also noticed a 10-year-old boy, bags of cocaine on the table and what appeared to be evidence of cockfighting. Detectives acquired a search warrant for the property where they later found seven dead roosters about 25 yards away from the gambling table, a scale for roosters to weigh in and chairs for spectators, according to PSCO. A dismantled fighting ring was discovered, the inside and sides of which were covered with fresh feathers. Investigators also stumbled upon a shed containing rubber boxing gloves, knives and performance-enhancing drugs — all used in various aspects of cockfighting. A nearby metal trash bin held the charred remains of numerous roosters, deputies say. A total of 481 roosters and chickens were removed from the property. Detectives also confiscated a loaded AK-47, 12-gauge shotgun and a trafficking amount of cocaine. The person who lived on the property, told detectives that a cock fight had taken place earlier followed by the gambling with dice. The man faces several charges including armed trafficking, owning animals for fighting and possession of paraphernalia. Jail records show he posted his $53,250 bond. The boy was given back to his parents who were neighbors, but didn’t attend the event, deputies say. (Miami Herald)

Woman Sends A Ton Of Onions To Ex As Revenge

A heartbroken woman in China took revenge on her ex-boyfriend by dumping a ton of onions at his doorstep, apparently in a bid to make him cry as much as she did. The woman was devastated after her boyfriend broke up with her. They had been together for over a year but the man reportedly cheated on her. Furious at this, she decided to get 2205 pounds of onions delivered to his doorstep. She also sent instructions that the veggies were to be dumped on the offending ex’s doorstep without contacting him. Photos and videos that have gone massively viral on Chinese social media platforms show sacks of red onions being delivered to the ex’s home in Zibo, eastern China. Along with the onions, she sent a note that read: “I’ve cried for three days, now it’s your turn.” The ex-boyfriend later said he had broken up with her due to her “over the top” behavior. “My ex-girlfriend was very dramatic. She is telling everyone that I haven’t shed one tear since our break-up,” he said. “Am I a bad person for simply not crying?” While it is not clear if the ex-boyfriend cried on receiving the onions, his neighbors certainly did. One of them told reporters that the whole compound stank of onions because of the stunt. (Daily Mail)

Don’t leave hand sanitizer in your car on a warm day

An Oconomowoc, Wisconsin fire department is warning people about the dangers of leaving hand sanitizer in their vehicles on a hot day. In a Facebook post showing a burned-out car door, the Western Lakes Fire District explains most hand sanitizers are alcohol-based, making them flammable. “Keeping it in your car during hot weather, exposing it to sun, and particularly being next to open flame while smoking in vehicles or grilling while enjoying this weekend can lead to disaster,” they stated. The fire district also warned of the risks of leaving clear water bottles in cars on a warm day. In the post, the fire department including links to more information about flammable hand sanitizer and even a video on the subject. “Please respect the possibilities and be fire safe,” the fire department urges. (WMTV)

A Virginia family found and returned $1m in cash

A woman and her family were driving through Caroline County, Virginia when they saw large bags on the road. Thinking that it was trash, they put the bags on their pickup truck to dispose of later. When they opened the bags, they found packs of cash with a tag that read “cash vault”. Instead of keeping the money, they called the police. The local Sheriff’s department later found that the money was being transported by USPS, which is now investigating how the bags ended up on the road. The woman said that she felt she had to “do the right thing and return it. Because it didn’t belong to us.” (WTVR)

School ‘sorry’ after pupils researched porn homework on web

A head teacher in England said he is “sorry” if homework asking pupils to define types of hardcore pornography led them to undertake inappropriate web searches. The work was given to children, aged 11 to 14. The principal stressed the assignment did not require internet research as the answers were in the material the pupils were sent. The work is part of pupils’ Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) learning, the school said. The students were asked to “define” topics including hardcore pornography, soft pornography as well as female genital mutilation and breast ironing. They were also asked questions about alcohol, drugs and smoking, as part of the homework. The work was in line with government guidance, but he added: “I have asked that no future PSHE materials contain any potentially sensitive content and will ensure all materials are fully age-appropriate.” (BBC)

Cosmic rays may have left indelible imprint on early life

A Stanford professor and a former postdoctoral scholar speculate that this interaction between ancient proto-organisms and cosmic rays may be responsible for a crucial structural preference, called chirality, in biological molecules. If their idea is correct, it suggests that all life throughout the universe could share the same chiral preference. Chirality, also known as handedness, is the existence of mirror-image versions of molecules. Like the left and right hand, two chiral forms of a single molecule reflect each other in shape but don’t line up if stacked. In every major biomolecule – amino acids, DNA, RNA – life only uses one form of molecular handedness. If the mirror version of a molecule is substituted for the regular version within a biological system, the system will often malfunction or stop functioning entirely. In the case of DNA, a single wrong handed sugar would disrupt the stable helical structure of the molecule. (Standford University)

Mount Everest is Visible From Kathmandu, Nepal for First Time in Living Memory

Kathmandu is the capital and second-largest metropolis of Nepal in area, with a population of around 2.5 million. Mount Everest is Earth’s highest mountain above sea level, located in the Mahalangur Himal sub-range of the Himalayas. The China–Nepal border runs across its summit point and the current official elevation of 29,035 ft was determined in 1999 by climbers using Global Positioning System equipment. Due to the global lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus, vehicles are off the roads, and industry has ground to a halt, resulting in significantly reduced air pollution and clean air above Nepal. Vehicular emissions are by far the biggest source of air pollution in Kathmandu Valley, and one study calculated it accounts for as much as 70% of all particulate matter at street level. The concern is that once lockdown measures are removed people will return to their normal way of life and may even avoid public transport more than pre-pandemic to avoid social contact, and this once-in-a-lifetime sight will be shrouded in smog yet again. For now, though, the residents of Kathmandu can revel in its majesty. (Snow Brains)

Covid-19 Is Causing a Spike in Sales for Bane Masks

Due to the recent pandemic, online retailers are seeing a spike in sales of Bane masks. Turns out, the headgear made popular by Tom Hardy’s character in The Dark Knight Rises is becoming a much-coveted accessory for folks looking for face coverings to wear to protect themselves from Covid-19. Online costume retailers like Costume.com are sold out of the masks, and sellers on Etsy are churning out cloth versions at a rapid pace. “Looking at sales figures, the adult mask had quite a sales spike in April and early May, which is unusual for this time of year”. (Hollywood Reporter)

Semi dumps 40K pounds of mac and cheese on Nashville interstate

A tractor-trailer overturned recently in Nashville, spilling 40,000 pounds of yellow macaroni and cheese powder and dried noodles onto the highway. The accident occurred near downtown early in the morning near the junction of interstates 24 and 40. According to the Tennessee Department of Transportation, the powder was spilled across the highway and affected eastbound traffic. Westbound traffic was not impacted by the spill. It has not been a good week for trucks hauling food in middle Tennessee. Prior to that, a tractor-trailer carrying pumpkin pies caught fire on Interstate 65. And then, a truck hauling frozen chicken crashed on I-840 south of Nashville. (Fox 23)

Bologna smugglers caught at border

Border patrol agents have seized 590 pounds of smuggled bologna and cold cuts in Texas in two different incidents. The first incident took place on May 13 at the Ysleta port of entry. A driver of a GMC Acadia arrived from Mexico and initially did not declare any agricultural/food items during the primary inspection. The vehicle was referred to the secondary inspection area were 35 rolls of pork bologna (350 pounds) and nine rolls of pork/poultry cold cuts (99 pounds) were found in the back seat and cargo area of the SUV covered by blankets and other items. The second incident happened the following day at Bridge of the Americas. The driver of a Toyota Sienna arrived from Mexico and did not declare any goods during the primary or secondary inspection. CBP officers searched the vehicle and located 14 rolls of bologna (141 pounds) mixed with clothes in the rear storage area. The meats in both incidents were destroyed by agents. People are prohibited from bringing in the meats because they are made from pork and poultry and have the potential for introducing foreign animal diseases to the United States. (Fox 5 New York)

Service Station apologizes for ‘racially insensitive incident’

An Upper Macungie Township automotive garage that came under fire from a patron who says he spotted a racist prop there has since issued a public apology, calling the incident “racially insensitive.” Getz’s Service Station in Breinigsville, Pennsylvania said in the statement the service manager who didn’t take immediate action when the prop was brought to his attention has since been reprimanded. Another roughly 10 employees would be participating in mandatory diversity sensitivity training. “When we learned what happened on site, we were concerned and troubled,” stated the manager of Getz’s Service Station. “We want customers and partners to know that Getz Service Station has a zero-tolerance policy for racism or racial insensitivity and that we have taken steps to rectify this situation.” (Lehigh Valley Live)

Netflix will start cancelling inactive members’ subscriptions

Netflix will start asking customers who haven’t used its platform in the past year if they want to keep their subscriptions, the company announced recently. If a customer doesn’t respond, Netflix will automatically cancel the subscription. The move is extremely unusual among companies that charge an annual subscription, and shows a measure of confidence in Netflix’s value proposition for customers. It may also help Netflix stand out against an influx of new competitors, including Disney+, NBCUniversal’s Peacock, and WarnerMedia’s upcoming HBO Max. Netflix said that its inactive accounts represent less than a half of one percent of its overall member base and are already factored into its financial guidance. The company saw a huge uptick in subscribers in the past quarter, as the coronavirus pandemic has kept many at home. (CNBC)

Mayor lies in coffin and pretends to be dead Coronavirus victim to avoid arrest after breaking curfew rules to go drinking

The mayor of a small town in Peru laid in a coffin and pretended to be a dead Coronavirus patient to avoid being arrested. However, he was caught by police violating coronavirus lockdown rules while drinking with friends. When officers came to arrest him in the town of Tantará, in the south of the country, he lay down in an open casket and played dead. A photo of the mayor wearing a face mask and lying in the coffin has been circulated online. Police say he violated curfew and social distancing laws in order to drink liquor with his friends, and was drunk when he was arrested. It is not clear exactly where he and his friends were drinking, or why there were open caskets there. He has previously been accused by locals of failing to take the threat of the virus seriously and failing to implement safety precautions in the town. Locals say he has spent just eight days in the town since the start of the lockdown, and has failed to put in place any local safety measures. (News Day Ghana)

Tuesday Crunches Down With:

• National Chardonnay Day
• National Paper Airplane Day
• World Lindy Hop Day