The Daily Drift

Jayne Mansfield in the kitchen ...!

 

Carolina Naturally is read in 203 countries around the world daily.   

    
Listen to the Music  ... !

Today is  International Jazz Day

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The Americas
Beunos Aires, Argentina
Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, Brazil
Chelsea, Henry Farm, Montreal, Ottawa and Saint-Jerome, Canada
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Mexico City, Mexico
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Pajaros and San Juan, Puerto Rico
Caracas, Venezuela
Christiansted, Virgin Islands
Europe
Tirana, Albania
Vienna, Austria
Homyel and Minsk, Belarus
Hadzici, Bosnia-Herzegovina
Glavinitsa, Sofia and Varna, Bulgaria
Nicosia, Cyprus
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Chester, Colney and London, England
Boulogne-Billancourt, Jumilhac-le-Grand, Lyon, Paris and Salon-de-Provence, France
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Barcelona, L'Hospitalet de Llobregat and Madrid, Spain
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Today in History

313		Licinius unifies the whole of the eastern Roman Empire under his own rule.
1250		King Louis IX of France is ransomed.
1527		Henry VIII of England and King Francis of France sign treaty of Westminster.
1563		All Jews are expelled from France by order of Charles VI.
1725		Spain withdraws from the Quadruple Alliance.
1789		George Washington is inaugurated as the first U.S. president.
1803		The United States doubles in size through the Louisiana Purchase, which was sold by France for $15 million.
1812		Louisiana is admitted into the Union as a state.
1849		Giuseppe Garabaldi, the Italian patriot and guerrilla leader, repulses a French attack on Rome.
1864		Work begins on the Dams along the Red River, which will allow Union General Nathaniel Banks' troops to sail over the rapids above Alexandria, Louisiana.
1930		The Soviet Union proposes a military alliance with France and Great Britain.
1931		The George Washington Bridge, linking New York City and New Jersey, opens.
1943		The British submarine HMS Seraph drops 'the man who never was,' a dead man the British planted with false invasion plans, into the Mediterranean off the coast of Spain.
1945		Adolf Hitler commits suicide in his bunker. Karl Donitz becomes his successor.
1968		U.S. Marines attack a division of North Vietnamese troops in the village of Dai Do.
1970		U.S. troops invade Cambodia to disrupt North Vietnamese Army base areas.
1972		The North Vietnamese launch an invasion of the South.
1973		Nixon announces the resignation of H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, and other top aides.
1975		North Vietnamese troops enter the Independence Palace of South Vietnam in Saigon ending the Vietnam War.
1980		Terrorists seize the Iranian Embassy in London.

New Chocolate Bar Has 7 Different Kinds of Filling

Cadbury has produced a new chocolate bar that will contain no fewer than 7 different flavors inside its chocolate blisters. They are solid chocolate, caramel, almond, fruit and nut, Oreo, almond butter, and Turkish delight. It's called the Dairy Milk Spectacular 7. Food artist Prudence Staite helped Cadbury design this ingenious candy bar.
You won't be able to buy it in stores. Cadbury is making only 50 of them, which will be prizes in a contest available to residents of the United Kingdom.

Possibly drunken sailor broke both legs after jumping eight floors into hotel swimming pool

The US Navy and West Australian police are investigating after a US sailor broke both of his legs after jumping from the 10th level of an inner-city Perth hotel and landing in the pool, eight levels below.

Barefooted robber wearing 'Scream' mask made getaway on child's scooter after raiding bookies

A man wearing a ‘Scream’ mask and no socks or shoes made his getaway on a children’s scooter after raiding a bookmakers. The robber struck at Ladbrokes in Kenton, Newcastle upon Tyne, at around 5.45pm on Sunday. He demanded money from staff before fleeing on a children’s scooter with cash in a Tesco bag. No one was injured in the raid and no weapon was seen.
A Northumbria Police spokesman said: “Anyone who was in the area and who may have seen or heard anything suspicious is asked to contact police.”
The offender is described as around 5ft 8ins tall, of slim build, aged late 20s to early 30s, wearing gloves and a ‘Scream’ mask. He was not wearing any shoes or socks and made off on the scooter.

Shoplifting woman who crossed items off list rode away on shopping cart getaway vehicle

A woman walked through the aisles at Walmart with a list of items, crossing each one off along the way, then rode away on her shopping cart full of stolen goods. State police have released surveillance video of the incident at the store in East Huntingdon Township, Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.

Police said the unknown woman used large Rubbermaid containers to store the stolen items, including razors, meats, milk and beauty products. After she would put each item into her cart, police said she would cross it off her list. "It appears she is basically going off of a grocery list," said Trooper Stephen Limani.
"Usually criminals don't grab heavy items that cost $2 or $3 and run out of a store with them. Sometimes it happens in our area because people do amazing things, but that's not normal." Surveillance video from the parking lot shows the woman pushing her shopping cart and running behind it to gain speed, then hopping on the cart and riding it as a child might do.

YouTube link.

"When she got out of the store, she took her buggy and started to run with it and ultimately used her buggy as a skateboard to skate away," said Limani. The theft happened at the end of February, but police said they are only just now releasing the surveillance footage because of issues with the video and failed leads. Anyone who recognizes the woman in the video is asked to call police.

'Moronic' man badly burned while trying to steal live 11,000 volt electrical cable faces jail

A would-be thief is facing a jail sentence after he plunged part of a Scottish town into darkness, sustained severe burn injuries and caused more than £60,000 worth of damage when he tried to steal a live 11,000 volt electrical cable. John Maguire suffered horrific full thickness burns to his right hand and wrist after trying to steal the cable in Leven, Fife, in a bid to bolster his finances two days before Christmas. Kirkcaldy Sheriff Court heard his stunt plunged a large area of Leven, including a supermarket and an industrial park, into darkness until Scottish Power engineers fixed it.

The court heard Maguire had caused the cable to explode when he pushed a tester into it to see if it was live. That left a blast mark on an adjacent wall and led Scottish Power engineers called out to deal with it to suspect the culprit would be badly hurt. Police launched a media appeal to find the thief, as well as raising concerns about his injuries. They found him at his home on December 27, 2013 nursing a horrific injury to his right hand, which had not been seen by medics. A Scottish Power insider said: “This was utterly moronic, it’s hard to imagine anything more idiotic than tampering with a live high voltage cable.”
His skin was black and red, with an ambulance then summoned to get him treatment. Fiscal depute Susan Armstrong said: “The cost of damage was estimated at £61,500. She said: “The circuit was tripped around 12.40am on December 23 and was made safe by an engineer. Another engineer found the cable had been broken. The cable carried 11,000 volts and supplied a large area of Leven, including an industrial area and a Sainsbury’s supermarket, which reported a loss of power. Police received anonymous information on December 27 that the accused was responsible and he was traced at his home.
“He had obvious injuries to his hand which was extremely swollen and covered in black and red skin. He later told police he had suffered full thickness burns to his hand and wrist as well as burns to his face and there may be lasting nerve damage. He indicated he was sorry for the bother he had caused and said he had done it because he needed money for Christmas.” Maguire, 54, of Leven, pleaded guilty on indictment to a charge of attempted theft. His not guilty plea to charge of culpably and recklessly tampering with the cable causing danger of injury and death was accepted by the Crown. Sheriff Jamie Gilchrist QC deferred sentence until next month for social work background reports and released Maguire on bail in the meantime.

CO2 Battery

Captured CO2 Could Fuel a Giant Underground Battery

A massive carbon battery could be used to store energy from renewable sources, such as wind and solar.

Universal Hologram

Is the universe a hologram?

Describing the universe requires fewer dimensions than we might think; new calculations show that this may not just be a mathematical trick, but a fundamental feature of space itself At […]

Orchids' Lips

Orchids' Lips Evolved to Lure Pollinators

Orchid lips are irresistible to pollinators, such as bees, and these lips can develop and change over time.

Woman reunited with piglet after seeking police help when it was pignapped and held for ransom

A woman from central Oahu, Hawaii, was left in shock when she entered her barn recently and found a hole in a screen barrier and a piglet was missing. Micro-mini pig seller Kristen De La Torre says it was no accident.

“After the thieves cut through the screen they grabbed a piglet then took off,” she said. She says 10 days before this break-in, she had brought an interested buyer up to her property. Days after the theft she received a suspicious email from who she believed to be the boyfriend of the interested buyer.
“They were saying that they were going to get possession of the piglet that they knew who has him and they’re going to rescue the piglet for me in exchange for a reward,” said De La Torre. It was ransom for the piglet. “I told them an amount and they raised it another $400 so they demanded more money,” said De La Torre. She then set up a time and place to meet the person to get her piglet back, but before she did that she notified police.

YouTube link.

“The police had been working with me, I had been forwarding them all the emails and text messages to them so they were able to detain him at the time and return my pig to me safely,” said De La Torre. The person arrested was released pending further investigation. De La Torre is just happy to have her piglet back and hopes next time someone actually buys the piglet instead of stealing it. “I’ve only been doing this for a year and this is my first litter so it’s been kind of a challenging start, but you live and learn,” said De La Torre.

Firefighter used duck call ringtone to rescue ducklings from storm drain

A duck call ringtone helped a firefighter rescue six ducklings that had fallen into a storm drain in southeast Louisiana on Saturday. At approximately 5:24pm, St. Tammany Fire District #1 responded to a call for baby ducks trapped in a storm drain in Slidell.

A neighbor reported seeing a number of baby ducks fall into a storm drain. Upon arriving on the scene, firefighters verified that several baby Mallard ducks were trapped in the storm drain. Firefighters removed the top cover of the drain to gain access to the ducks. Firefighter Cody Knecht got down in the drain to try and capture the ducks.

Captain Chuck Davis, Fire Operator Jason Theriot, and Fire Prevention Officer Billy Dekemel assisted from above. With the help of a duck call ringtone on his iPhone, Firefighter Knecht was able to lure the baby ducks to him. It took about an hour and a half to rescue four of the six baby ducks.

YouTube link.

Unable to capture the other two baby ducks, the crew went back to the fire station to give the ducks a chance to calm dawn. They returned about an hour later and rescued the two remaining baby ducks. All of the baby ducks were reunited with their mother in the canal behind the home where the incident took place.

Baby Elephant Seal Cuddles with Woman

At a mere 200 pounds, this elephant seal is just a little baby. He's been abandoned by his mama, so he's eager for some snuggling. Charlene Fritz, a tourist from Canada, was glad to provide it. While she visited Snow Hill Island off the coast of Antarctica, the little seal crawled over to her and climbed on of her lap.

(Video Link)

You Can Now Rent Goats On Amazon

No one likes yardwork and chemical weed killers tend to be terrible for the environment. That's why goat rental has become a popular alternative for clearing large swatches of land. While we previously covered this trend, it was still sort of a fringe service that wasn't available commercially in many areas.But all that's changing thanks to Amazon's new service section which was recently launched. The company offers all the usual local services like plumbing, home cleaning, computer repair, but they also offer two unusual options in their "other" category, namely goat grazing and silk aerialists.
So next time you're planning a big party in the middle of an unkempt field, just head to Amazon and rent a goat to clear out the space and a silk performer to entertain your guests. If you time things just right maybe your guests will get to enjoy a goats-only petting zoo too.

Vegetarian T. Rex

This T. rex-Like Dino Was Vegetarian

T. rex had some surprising relatives, including a new dinosaur nicknamed The Platypus that loved plants instead of meat.

Got Back Pain?

Got Back Pain? You Might Be Part Chimp

People with lower back issues have spines indistinguishable from a chimp's, a new study finds.

Hating Bugs

Why Do Americans Hate Bugs?

In some cultures insects are considered a delicacy. So is the aversion to insects a Western phenomenon?

High-Pitched Seizures

High-Pitched Sounds Can Trigger Seizures in Cats

The sudden rip of Velcro or the clank of a metal spoon against a pet dish are just a few of the sounds that can trigger seizures in cats.

The Eagle Owl Has Landed

Huge Eagle Owl Nails Landing on Woman's Head

The apparently tame owl has taken to perching on bystanders' heads.

Animal Pictures

The Daily Drift

Handy Tip ...!

 

Carolina Naturally is read in 203 countries around the world daily.   

    
Dance the day away  ... !

Today is  International Dance Day

You want the unvarnished truth?

Don't forget to visit: The Truth Be Told

Some of our readers today have been in:
The Americas
Buenos Aires, Argentina
La Paz, Bolivia
Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, Brazil
Chelsea and Toronto, Canada
Torreon, Mexico
Boaco, Nicaragua
Lima, Peru
Pajaros and San Juan, Puerto Rico
Bastrop, Bogalusa, Immokalee, Muskogee, Nixa and Churubusco, United States
Barquisimeto, Caracas, Venezuela
Europe
Vienna, Austria
Minsk, Belarus
Brussels, Belgium
Hadzici and Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina
Glavinitsa and Sofua, Bulgaria
Ostrava, Prague and Stare Mesto, Czech Republic
Frederiksberg, Denmark
Chester, Colney, London and Saint John's Wood, England
Tallinn, Estonia
Boulogne-Billancourt, Cerny, Paris and Rouen, France
Tbilisi, Georgia
Berlin, Eschborn, Munich, Rothe Erde and Stuttgart, Germany
Athens, Greece
Reykjavik, Iceland
Dublin, Ireland
Eboli, Lamboglia, Ravenna, Rome and Terlizzi, Italy
Riga, Latvia
Vilnius, Lithuania
Skopje, Macedonia
Chisinau, Moldova
Roosendaal, Netherlands
Gjerstad and Nesoddtangen, Norway
Katowice and Warsaw, Poland
Costa de Caparica and Lisbon, Portugal
Bucharest, Romania
Moscow and Saratov, Russia
Edinburgh, Scotland
Belgrade, Serbia
Barcelona, Castello de la Plana, Madrid and Port d'Alucdia, Spain
Gislovs lage and Lulea, Sweden
Ankara, Turkey
Dnipropetrvosk and Kiev, Ukraine
Asia
Dhaka, Bangladesh
Beijing, Guangzhou and Suqian, China
Bokaro, Calicut, Delhi, Mumbai, Pune and Shillong, India
Pekanbaru, Jakarta, Purwakarta and Tangerang, Indonesia
Petah Tikva and Tel Aviv, Israel
Osaka and Tokyo, Japan
Amman, Jordan
Seoul, Korea
Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Kuala Terrenganu, Kuching, Kulim and Sibu, Malaysia
Colombo and Kurunegala, Sri Lanka
Bangkok and Khlong Toei,  Thailand
Africa
Algiers, Algeria
Shubra El-Kheima, Egypt
Tripoli, Libya
Casablanca, Morocco
Lagos, Nigeria
Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Roodepoort, South Africa
Lusaka, Zambia
The Pacific
Homebush and Sydney, Australia
Makati, Philippines

Don't forget to visit our sister blogs Here and Here.

Today in History

1289		Qala'un, the Sultan of Egypt, captures Tripoli.
1429		Joan of Arc leads French forces to victory over English at Orleans.
1624		Louis XIII appoints Cardinal Richelieu chief minister of the Royal Council of France.
1661		The Chinese Ming dynasty occupies Taiwan.
1672		King Louis XIV of France invades the Netherlands.
1813		Rubber is patented.
1852		The first edition of Peter Roget's Thesaurus is published.
1856		Yokut Indians repel a second attack by the 'Petticoat Rangers,' a band of civilian Indian fighters at Four Creeks, California.
1858		Austrian troops invade Piedmont.
1859		As the French army races to support them and the Austrian army mobilizes to oppose them, 150,000 Piedmontese troops invade Piedmontese territory.
1861		The Maryland House of Delegates votes against seceding from Union.
1862		Forts Philip and Jackson surrender to Admiral Farragut outside New Orleans.
1913		Gideon Sundback of Hoboken patents all-purpose zipper.
1916		Irish nationalists surrender to the British in Dublin.
1918		America's WWI Ace of Aces, Eddie Rickenbacker, scores his first victory with the help of Captain James Norman Hall.
1924		Open revolt breaks out in Santa Clara, Cuba.
1927		Construction of the Spirit of St. Louis is completed.
1930		The film All Quiet on the Western Front, based on Erich Maria Remarque's novel Im Western Nichts Neues, premiers.
1945		The German Army in Italy surrenders unconditionally to the Allies.
1945		The Nazi concentration camp of Dachau is liberated by Allied troops.
1946		Former Japanese leaders are indicted in Tokyo as war criminals.
1975		The U.S. embassy in Vietnam is evacuated as North Vietnamese forces fight their way into Saigon.
1983		Harold Washington is sworn in as Chicago's first black mayor.
1992		Four Los Angeles police offices are acquitted of charges stemming from the beating of Rodney King. Rioting ensues.

"I Am Big Bird"

Meet the Man Inside the Muppet

In 1969, puppeteer Caroll Spinney donned the enormous Big Bird costume for the first season of Sesame Street. He still does 45 years later. Spinney writes in The Guardian that it led to fascinating experiences:

I once got a letter from Nasa, asking if I would be willing to join a mission to orbit the Earth as Big Bird, to encourage kids to get interested in space. There wasn’t enough room for the puppet in the end, and I was replaced by a teacher. In 1986, we took a break from filming to watch takeoff, and we all saw the ship blow apart. The six astronauts and teacher all died, and we just stood there crying.

Big Bird is a complex mechanism that requires considerable skill. Spinney describes how it works:

Big Bird is actually a puppet; my right arm is his neck, and my right hand moves his head, with my little finger controlling his eyebrows, moving them up and down to show when he’s thinking. I can change his expression by tilting his head toward the camera at a different angle. My left hand is in the left wing, which is linked to the right wing with fishing wire. I can’t see anything outside the suit when I’m in it, so I wear a little monitor strapped to my chest, which shows me what the viewers see at home.
In the early days, each scene was very simple and I could memorize my lines on the spot, but the show evolved and the story-lines became much more elaborate as the years passed, so now I keep my cues and my lines taped to the inside of the costume.

Gas and Oil Permanently Harm Ecosystems

Oil and Gas Boom May Permanently Harm Ecosystems

Oil and gas drilling is causing long-lasting damage to ecosystems, and it's outpacing recovery efforts.

Starting Your Own Country

A Simple Guide to Starting Your Own Country

Have you ever wanted to rule your own country? Of course, you have. Find out how.

Mayan Collapse and Politics

What the Mayan Collapse Can Teach Us About Politics

The discovery of a Mayan Water Temple may help determine the demise of Mayan culture and how leaders in general lose their place in power.

Oldest Footage Of London

This is the oldest footage of London ever. Includes amazing old footage from between 1890 and 1920, plus modern shots of the same location today. Also features maps carefully researched to show where the camera was. Arranged by location, 46 shots of classic footage with a twist and an inspiring soundtrack.

YouTube link

Teenager missing for four days was hiding at school eating fruit from trees

A missing 17-year-old Northern California boy, who was found on Thursday, picked fruit from trees at a high school and drank any water source he could find to survive, police said.

Connor Sullivan eluded more than 200 volunteers who searched for days as he hid on the Monta Vista High School campus in Cupertino, where he was last seen at 10am Monday, said Sgt. James Jensen of the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office. He slept under the school bleachers, ate from fruit trees on and around the campus, used the portable toilets and drank from fountains and faucets.
That went on for days as volunteers searched the campus and nearby neighborhoods until 9 pm on Thursday, when he finally decided to go home. “He did not want to be found,” Jensen said. It is unclear why he ran away, but sheriff’s officials said they believed he was missing.
Deputies didn’t think he was hurt, but they deemed his departure suspicious because he had never run away before. Sheriff’s officials have looked into whether they could seek restitution from the boy’s family for the search efforts but couldn’t find any laws to support it, Jensen said.

Couple unhappy about letter from HMRC saying husband was dead and may owe tax

Debbie Moore was surprised when she received a letter from the Government chasing up tax from her 'dead' husband, despite him still being alive. Now the couple are demanding an apology from HM Revenue & Customs, the department behind the correspondence. Officials had written to "the representative" of Peter Moore, sympathizing during "this difficult time". The letter then stated officials needed to ensure the 47-year-old had paid the correct amount of tax before he passed away. However Peter, of Fenton in Stoke-on-Trent, returned home while his wife was reading about his recent demise.

Debbie said: "It's really not nice getting a letter from HMRC, especially when what they're saying hasn't really happened. I was gobsmacked." Peter added: "I don't know how that kind of mistake could have been made." Mr Moore immediately phoned HMRC demanding an explanation only to be told it was 'a mistake.' He said: "I used to work away in the week so if that would have happened my wife could have really started to worry. It was addressed to the representative of Peter Wiliam John Moore, which is my full name, and it included my national insurance number so I knew it referred to me. It apologized for a recent bereavement and went on about some tax I paid before my death.
"My dad's name was Peter Moore but he died 32 years ago so I didn't think it would be anything to do with him. My wife opened the letter when I was out of the house, fortunately I came back home about five minutes after she read it so she knew it was a mistake but that might not have always been the case. I rang the tax people and the lady on the other end said she couldn't believe it." The letter states: "I am sorry to hear about your recent bereavement and recognize that this is a difficult time for you. When someone dies, I need to work out if they paid the right amount of tax before their death. In many cases, HMRC repays tax to the estate. I need to know details of the person responsible for finalizing their affairs."
Mr Moore added: "I was just really shocked, it's just all a bit strange." Mr Moore is concerned how some may respond to the letter. He added: "If a letter like this was sent to an older person or the relative of someone who was really ill it could have caused them some distress. It never should have happened." His wife Debbie had opened the letter after returning home from work. She said: "I just did what I usually did, I picked up the letters and sat down to open them. When I read it I thought it was a scam or some sort of joke. I showed it to Pete when he came in and he got straight on the phone to the tax office." A spokesman for HMRC said: "We don't talk about individual cases but when we make mistakes we aim to put them right fast and apologize."

Search for woman who stole at least seven boxes of computer components in floral dress

A woman in a floral dress walked into a Radio Shack in Weston, Florida, slipped several computer parts under her dress and walked out. The Feb. 26 theft was caught on surveillance video. It took a store employee several hours to notice that a large section of shelving was empty.
Broward Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Dani Moschella said a man acted as a lookout while the woman placed at least seven computer components under her dress. It appeared that there was a bag hidden under the fabric of her dress. "Clearly she's done this before," added Moschella. "She puts them in there quickly and she's gone."

According to Radio Shack employees the female suspect was wondering around the store until she reached one particular aisle and found the more valuable items on the shelf. "The man hands the woman a pretty sizable box containing a computer component," Moschella said. On the surveillance video, the woman is seen placing at least seven boxes inside her dress, with her male accomplice by her side.

YouTube link.

"Detectives believe she must of had a bag or something set up," Moschella said. At one moment in the video, the woman is seen adjusting her dress to make room for the loot. Authorities say they were in and out in minutes. "The images are super clear. Anyone who knows this couple can see this video and you're gonna know who they are," Moschella said. The thieves got away with $1,140 worth of merchandise.

Four-year-old boy's Nerf gun confiscated by airport security staff

Four-year-old James Hayward had his orange and yellow toy Nerf gun confiscated by "over-zealous" security staff at East Midlands Airport. His dad Phil Hayward said the following body search was "ludicrous" and that security staff should loosen up. The £6 plastic "weapon", described as a "semi-automatic soft dart gun" by its manufacturers, was taken while the family, of Doncaster, were en route to Lanzarote in Spain. The youngster was also patted down by security staff as his toy was taken from him. But East Midlands Airport, which offered to post the "gun" back to the family's home, defended the decision to uphold security.
Mr Hayward, 44, said: "Fair enough they are thorough but it just seemed a bit ludicrous to take a plastic gun away from a four-year-old. I thought it was a bit over-zealous considering how many people were trying to get through security at the time. It came at the end of an hour and a half queuing, so we didn't cause too much fuss because we didn't want to miss our flight."
East Midlands Airport apologized for the inconvenience. A spokeswoman said: "The safety and security of our passengers is our first priority and all regulations on security are set by the government. This regulation states that no items may be permitted through security that resemble a prohibited item."

Russian women jailed for ‘inappropriate’ twerking next to war memorial

Three young women in southern Russia will serve up to 15 days in prison, on charges of hooliganism, after posting a video of themselves twerking with a WWII memorial looming in the background. Two more of the six women in the video had their punishments reduced to a fine, for health reasons.

One of the dancers was under 16, and avoided punishment, which was transferred to her mother, who was reprimanded for failing to “carry out measures to ensure the proper physical, intellectual, psychological, spiritual and moral development of the child," a court in the city of Novorossiysk ruled on Saturday. After the video first surfaced earlier this week, it was brought to the attention of the mayor of Novorossiysk, where the women reside, who was “outraged” and personally charged officials with identifying the names of the performers, who posted the video to bring new recruits to their modern dance school.
“We condemn these women. Every inch of this land is covered in blood. It is inappropriate,” said Viktoriya Dikaya, the press secretary for the city’s education department. Prosecutors in Novorossiysk said they are conducting sweeping checks at the institutions were the twerkers, who were all under 30, are enrolled, to make sure they are in compliance with “programs aimed at ensuring respect for the law among their members.” The Malaya Zemlya memorial, completed in 1982, which is seen behind the twerkers, commemorates a battle to free Novorossiysk from German occupation in 1943.

YouTube link. Alternative YouTube video with different music.

There appears to be a new-found intolerance for twerking among Russian officials, despite the dance being taught to thousands of youths throughout the country. A suggestive twerking video performed by teenagers in front of their parents in Orenburg earlier this month, led to a federal investigation for “lewdness,” with the Russia’s children’s ombudsman calling the choreographers “swine.” City officials soon officially shut the dance school that put together the routine. In one notable difference with the current case, most of the twerkers in Orenburg were underage. Parallels have been drawn with the Soviet era, when the authorities disapproved of boogie-woogie, the foxtrot and other “ideologically alien” dances.

Hit and run suspect crawled into hole and covered herself in dirt after striking 5-year-old

Police in Washougal, Washington, have arrested a woman they say hit a 5-year-old then tried to flee the scene. Police said they found 36-year-old Marsha Santoro hiding in a shallow hole where she had tried to cover herself with dirt.

At around 6pm on Friday, police said Santoro was driving when a child riding a Big Wheel rolled out of a driveway and Santoro hit the child.
Witnesses told officers Santoro attempted to drive away, but when that didn't work she got out of her Ford F-150 pickup and walked off, according to police. Police said a K-9 unit tracked Santoro to the hole that she was hiding in. When officers gave Santoro a warning, she surrendered, according to police.
Santoro was booked into Clark County Jail and faces charges for felony hit-and-run, third-degree driving with a suspended license and an unrelated misdemeanor warrant. Police said they don't think alcohol or drugs played a part in the hit-and-run. Santoro's arraignment is set for Monday at 9am.

Man crossing road injured after running into car

A middle-aged man is believed to have broken his wrist after running into the side of an almost-stationary car.

The driver of the small silver Daihatsu sedan was slowly moving in traffic along Grey St in Hamilton East, New Zealand, on Friday, when the pedestrian ran straight into the passenger side of his car.
Senior Sergeant Juliet Burgess, of the Waikato District Command Center, said the man was crossing the road through stationary traffic when he bumped into the car at about 4.15pm.
"He bounced off the side of the car, onto the ground. He said that he just didn't see it and the vehicle was traveling very slowly at the time." Other road users stopped to help the man and someone called emergency services. Ambulances treated him on site. "All we know is that he was trying to cross the road to get to the other side." There were no reports of damage to the car.

Naked man arrested for attempting to carjack motorist who offered him clothes

A man was arrested in Florida on Tuesday afternoon after he was accused of trying to steal a car while naked from a man who offered him clothes.

At 3:25pm, 32-year-old Ganzo Keith Haynes was completely naked and ambling along Southwest 40th Avenue in Gainesville when he came upon a man beside a vehicle who offered him a chance to cover up.
The man told police officers he reached into his car for some clothing and Haynes grabbed his neck and began to choke him, according to a jail booking report. Haynes told the man to get on the ground and hand over the keys to the car, according to the report. Haynes’ grip eventually forced the man down, and then he told him he no longer wanted the keys.
Haynes then ran away, and GPD officers eventually caught up with him. He told them he was naked because he had been drinking and that he grabbed the man in an attempt to get away after the man tried to unbuckle his own pants, the report states. Haynes was arrested on a charge of carjacking and booked into the Alachua County jail, where he remains awaiting a bond hearing.

Comedy penis crusader gets potholes filled in

A mystery "road artist" has been drawing pictures of penises around potholes in Bury, Greater Manchester, as a way to get the council to fix them. "They [potholes] don't get filled. They'll be there for months," says the artist who goes by the name of Wanksy. "People will drive over the same pothole and forget about it. Suddenly you draw something amusing around it, everyone sees it and it either gets reported or fixed." He says his drawings have meant the potholes get fixed more quickly, although Bury Council says they already have a plan in place to deal with the issue.

A spokesman for the council has describes Wanksy's artwork as "obscene" and urges him to stop his painting. "The actions of this individual are not only stupid but incredibly insulting to local residents," the Bury Council spokesman says. "Has this person, for just one second, considered how families with young children must feel when they are confronted with these obscene symbols as they walk to school?" But Wanksy says: "It's not an actual photograph of an anatomical part, it's a drawing, it's artwork. The naked body is a thing artists have painted for years. There are sculptures that don't wear clothes. It's artistic expressions.
"To be offended by that, you must be very prudish." The council spokesman says: ""Not only is this vandalism, but it's also counter-productive. Every penny that we have to spend cleaning off this graffiti is a penny less that we have to spend on actually repairing the potholes! People are entitled to express their grievances to the council, but offending the public and wasting their council tax is not the way to resolve the situation. We understand and accept that residents are unhappy with the number of potholes in the borough, and we have a program of scheduled works to fix them.

"We have also invested substantially in new machinery which is enabling us to carry out repairs more rapidly. Painting obscenities around potholes will not get them repaired any quicker, but simply waste valuable time and resources. We urge the perpetrator to stop defacing the roads immediately, and ask anyone who sees this sort of criminal damage being carried out to report it to the police and the council." Wanksy says he has considered the legal implications of his drawings and says he makes them with paint used by professionals when they are temporarily marking the road. "It does eventually wash off. It's not graffiti spray paint. It's gone within a week or two. It's a step up from chalk."

B.C.