The Daily Drift

Welcome to the Wednesday Edition of  Carolina Naturally.

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~ Carrie Lockhart

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Today in History

1620		The Puritans sail from England on the Mayflower.
1668		King John Casimer V of Poland abdicates the throne.
1747		The French capture Bergen-op-Zoom, consolidating their occupation of Austrian Flanders in the Netherlands.
1789		Jean-Paul Marat sets up a new newspaper in France, L’Ami du Peuple.
1810		A revolution for independence breaks out in Mexico.
1864		Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest leads 4,500 men out of Verona, Miss. to harass Union outposts in northern Alabama and Tennessee.
1889		Robert Younger, in Minnesota’s Stillwater Penitentiary for life, dies of tuberculosis. Brothers Cole and Bob remain in the prison.
1893		Some 50,000 "Sooners" claim land in the Cherokee Strip during the first day of the Oklahoma land rush.
1908		General Motors files papers of incorporation.
1920		Thirty people are killed in a terrorist bombing in New York’s Wall Street financial district.
1934		Anti-Nazi Lutherans stage protest in Munich.
1940		Congress passes the Selective Service Act, which calls for the first peacetime draft in U.S. history.
1942		The Japanese base at Kiska in the Aleutian Islands is raided by American bombers.
1945		Japan surrenders Hong Kong to Britain.
1950		The U.S. 8th Army breaks out of the Pusan Perimeter in South Korea and begins heading north to meet MacArthur’s troops heading south from Inchon.
1972		South Vietnamese troops recapture Quang Tri province in South Vietnam from the North Vietnamese Army.
1974		Limited amnesty is offered to Vietnam-era draft resisters who would now swear allegiance to the United States and perform two years of public service.
1975		Administrators for Rhodes Scholarships announce the decision to begin offering fellowships to women.
1978		An earthquake estimated to be as strong as 7.9 on the Richter scale kills 25,000 people in Iran.
1991		The trial of Manuel Noriega, deposed dictator of Panama, begins in the United States.
1994		Britain’s government lifts the 1988 broadcasting ban against member of Ireland’s Sinn Fein and Irish paramilitary groups.
2007		Military contractors in the employ of Blackwater Worldwide allegedly kill 17 Iraqis in Baghdad’s Nisour Square, further straining relations between the US and the people of Iraq.

Firefighter groom saved woman's life with Heimlich maneuver during wedding reception

A Los Angeles firefighter interrupted his own wedding reception to help a choking guest. Cody Campbell, 30, was listening to his father Craig's speech when another guest shouted, "She's choking!" Campbell sprung out of his chair and rushed to help, performing the Heimlich maneuver on a woman in her 60s.

“At the time I was giving my toast about how proud I was that he was a firefighter, we overheard a couple of people yell, ‘Oh my God! She’s choking,’ ” recalls Craig Campbell, Campbell’s father and best man. “Basically, I just grabbed her and I kicked the chair out of the way, found her navel, rolled up and I just started doing the Heimlich as hard as I could and I did it about five times,” Cody Campbell said.
Many of the wedding guests were firefighters, who lined up to help. Campbell’s bride, Kelly, said some in the crowd didn’t think it was real. “The timing was just crazy with how the speeches were going and what was said,” she said. “Even some people in the back who really couldn’t see this far ahead truly thought that it might have been staged.”

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She added: “but I assure you, I’m not an actress, that was not faking it.” Campbell said the guest ended up finishing her steak and that he later saw her on the dance floor. “I saw her out on the dance floor. She’s like, ‘You saved my life!’ It’s kind of a surreal feeling,” he said. The wedding reception then continued without further incident.

Inflation-Adjusted Wages Have Declined Since Great Recession, and Worse for Low-Wage Occupations

Inflation-Adjusted Wages Have Declined Since Great Recession, and Worse for Low-Wage Occupations

‘Molecules’ made of light may be possible

Physicists show ‘molecules’ made of light may be possible

It’s not lightsaber time, not yet. But a team including theoretical physicists from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has taken another step toward building objects out of […]

Just 6% Of Americans Can Get These Basic Science Questions Right

Weep For Our Future

Pew asked Americans these basic questions about science – and the results weren’t pretty.

Read more 

The Cost of Cool

The Psychological Cost of Cool

Kids often think they can buy their way to a cooler, more popular self.
Usually, that's not how things work out.

Social Media Bad For Health?

Is Too Much Social Media Use Bad for Teen Health?

Spending too much time managing their virtual identities can have a profound, and negative, impact on teens' actual lives.

Head Transplant Surgery

First Head Transplant Patient Schedules Surgery for 2017

An Italian neurosurgeon will perform the procedure on volunteer Valery Spiridonov, who has a genetic muscle-wasting disease.

Blood Fats and Migraines

Blood Fats May Play a Role in Migraines

If confirmed, the new findings could lead to a blood test that could diagnose patients with migraines.

Whistleblower on Medical Research Fraud 'Positive Results Are Better for Your Career'

by Rafaela von Bredow and Veronika Hackenbroch

In an interview, whistleblower Peter Wilmshurst discusses how pressure from Big Pharma corrupts research into new medicines and leads companies to cover up fraudulent data. He says he has no regrets about taking on an entire industry.  More

Welcome To The Century Of The Refugee

We have only seen a taste of what is to come.
Read more 

Why Are Young Egyptian Activists Disappearing?

by Nicola Abé

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's security forces have been kidnapping scores of young activists in the country. They include former revolutionaries and islamists who are, in many cases, being denied due process.  More

Why Executions in Saudi Arabia Are on the Rise This Year

Why Executions in Saudi Arabia Are on the Rise This Year

Saudi Arabia holds the record for the most executions, for crimes ranging from robbery to rape. What can you be executed for in the country, and why is capital punishment on the rise there?

New York bishop says teen was an ‘accomplice’ when priest molested him

New York bishop says teen was an ‘accomplice’ when priest molested him: ‘The boy is culpable’

Bishop Robert Cunningham testified in deposition as part of a federal lawsuit filed by a man accusing a priest of sexually abusing him years earlier as a child.

Transgender Woman Fired After Being Asked ‘What Are You?’ Scores A Victory

"That's not a question you ask me as a person, it's a question you ask some little knickknack."

$17 million to farm workers

Florida jury awards $17 million to abused migrant female farm workers

Fountain thief left a trail of wet coins while running from police

A midnight raider left a trail of damp loose change as he tried to make a rapid getaway from police. CCTV had caught the moment money appeared to be taken from a fountain in Wells, Somerset.
When Avon and Somerset Police officers arrived in the Market Place the man denied fishing coins out of the fountain. Inspector Mark Nicholson said: "When the police asked to search the man he refused.
"He then started to run away and wet loose change flew out of his pockets and onto the pavement. He was arrested and taken to Bridgwater where he was remanded in custody before being taken to Taunton Magistrates and charged with theft."
A 27-year-old man from Wells has been charged with theft from the fountain and has been released on unconditional bail until his appearance at Taunton Magistrates Court on October 2.

Stolen diamond surgically removed from woman after laxatives failed

A Chinese woman suspected of stealing a 10 million baht (£195,000, $300,000) diamond in the Thai capital, Bangkok, has had the jewel surgically removed from her intestines.

She is thought to have swallowed it in order to smuggle it out of the country. Jiang Sulian, 30, is believed to have stolen the six-carat diamond from a jewellery fair on Thursday by swapping it for a fake gemstone.

However, she was caught on security cameras at the fair and later arrested at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport. A man traveling with her was also arrested. Police said the woman initially denied involvement, but an X-ray revealed the diamond lodged inside her.
She was initially given laxatives, but when nature failed to take its course, a colonoscope was used to extract the gem. Pol Maj Gen Sanit Mahathavorn said the operation had taken about 12 minutes and the woman was now recovering in hospital to regain strength before being sent for detention.

Woman stole steak, fondled strangers, flashed genitals and entered home to play cards

A woman from Spartanburg, South Carolina, faces several charges following an unusual crime spree on Tuesday in which police say she stole steak, fondled store customers, exposed herself, and locked herself and two women in an apartment to play cards while police searched for her. Annetta Pabellon Brewton, 46, has been charged with kidnapping, burglary, indecent exposure and other offenses.

At about 10:00am a Spartanburg police officer responded to a shoplifting at a Save A Lot store. A store employee told the officer that a woman took several packages of steak and hid them under her shirt before leaving the store. The employee stated that several customers told him the woman’s name. The officer compiled a photo lineup including Brewton’s photo and she was positively identified by the employee. Police say Brewton then caused a disturbance a couple of hours later.
At around 12:15pm, an officer responded to a disturbance at a store in the same strip mall where a witness complained that Brewton came into his store and began fondling customers and asking them for money. The man claimed Brewton pulled down her pants, revealing her genitals, and made “vulgar slurs.” The man said Brewton left when he grabbed a phone to call police. Officers searched for Brewton who was later found inside an apartment sitting on a toilet, cursing and asking the police to leave.
Brewton refused to stand up and pull up her pants, but was eventually handcuffed and led from the apartment. Two women in the apartment told police that Brewton opened the front door to the apartment, sat on a couch and insisted they play cards. After she was asked to leave, Brewton locked the door and told them they were not going anywhere and to stay inside because the police were outside. Brewton remains jailed at the Spartanburg County Detention Center.

Mother arrested after children found living in wooden crate in cave

A woman has been charged after her two children were found living in a wooden crate at an underground cave in Kansas City, Missouri. Brittany Mugrauer, 24, was charged with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, according to the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office.

Jackson County Sheriff's deputies found the children on Thursday while they were investigating a possible chop shop at the cave. According to court records, the children, ages 4 and 6, were barefoot and filthy. They were toward the back of the cave and were discovered in a 10' x 8' wooden crate with car seats and blankets. Investigators said the 4-year-old was eating a cup of dry ramen noodles that had dirt in it.
The children told deputies that they lived in the cave with mother and that "mema and papa live in a hotel," according to court documents. The children were taken to a hospital to be evaluated. "It's quite inhumane," said a man who said he rents space in the cave but did not want to give his name. "I don't even believe they allow animals to live like that, so for a person or two children, I'm saddened by it."

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The cave is large, cold and damp inside. "It's a storage facility, not a living space," said the man. Court records indicate that when Mugrauer was reached by phone, she told investigators that the children had been living in the cave for several days, and that she left them there without a parent. The oldest of the two children should be in first grade, but does not attend school. Mugrauer, who is originally from Florida, was taken into custody on Friday. Prosecutors requested $75,000 bail. The children were taken to a hospital for evaluation and were given food, new clothes and a bath.

Oklahoma cop breaks man’s face then charges him with assault

Oklahoma cop breaks man’s face and charges him with assault for no apparent reason

Nazi 'Gold Train'

Nazi 'Gold Train' Drives Treasure Hunters to Poland

Claims that a mysterious lost Nazi train has been found have created a bit of a treasure-hunting circus in Poland, prompting concerns about safety and questions about who's entitled to what from the train, assuming it exists.

Key to Survival Found

Key to Survival Found for Sailors Shipwrecked in Alaska in 1813

The survivors managed to live for nearly a month — in winter — despite struggling to shore with almost nothing.

Thinking of Colors

People worldwide — even nomads in Tanzania — think of colors the same way

Would a color by any other name be thought of in the same way, regardless of the language used to describe it? According to new research, the answer is yes. […]

Cosmic Hourglass

Cosmic Hourglass Reveals Tricky Birth of Giant Stars

The unusual hourglass-shaped structure is carved by multiple jets of gas, suggesting the structure hides two bulky newborn stars at its heart.

Big Mouth

Prehistoric Shark with Enormous Mouth Discovered

A larger mouth can improve feasting, as demonstrated by a newly identified prehistoric shark that could take in enormous quantities of food.

Man surprised to find alligator in his koi pond

When Ryan Alavi from Montgomery County, Maryland, got up on Friday morning, he looked out his back window and saw something in his koi pond. “Looked out my window thought I saw a snake walked out to flush him out ... took a step there and realized that was no snake,” Alavi said.

That’s when Alavi dialed 911. “This may sound crazy but...we have an alligator in the pond in our back yard,” Alavi said. “The lady said ‘are you sure?’ I said yeah I’m pretty sure it’s a gator,” he said. Police were sent to the scene in Brookville. Officer Jack Breckenridge, with animal control, couldn’t believe it.
“They said there’s an alligator in that pond and I’m like ... and when he popped up I’m like hey there’s an alligator in this pond,” Breckenridge said. It was the first alligator officers have seen in the area in 18 years. Officers are still investigating exactly how the three-foot gator got into the koi pond especially because they’re illegal in Montgomery County and in the state of Maryland.

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“It could be an accidentally escaped pet it could be an intentionally released pet,” Breckenridge said. “This property backs up to the reservoir there’s no telling where this animal came from.” The gator is now at the Catoctin Wild Life Preserve and Zoo. Officers are investigating what happened and said anyone in possession of an alligator faces a misdemeanor charge with a $1,000 fine.

Genetic Islands

Genetic Islands Are Stranding Big Animals

Chopping up habitat into small patches or reserves has led to declines of many big animals.

Animal Pictures