The Daily Drift

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Today in History

193		In the Balkans, the distinguished soldier Septimius Severus is proclaimed emperor by the army in Illyricum.
715		Constantine ends his reign as Catholic Pope.
1241		In the Battle of Liegnitz, Mongol armies defeat Poles and Germans.
1454		The city states of Venice, Milan and Florence sign a peace agreement at Lodi, Italy.
1682		Robert La Salle claims lower Mississippi River and all lands that touch it for France.
1731		British Captain Robert Jenkins loses an ear to a band of Spanish brigands, starting a war between Britain and Spain: The War of Jenkins’ Ear.
1770		Captain James Cook discovers Botany Bay on the Australian continent.
1859		Realizing that France has encouraged the Piedmontese forces to mobilize for invading Italy, Austria begins mobilizing its army.
1865		General Robert E. Lee surrenders his rebel forces to Union Gen. Ulysses S. Grant at Appomattox Courthouse, Va.
1900		British forces route Boers at Kroonstadt, South Africa.
1916		The German army launches its third offensive during the Battle of Verdun.
1917		The Battle of Arras begins as Canadian troops begin a massive assault on Vimy Ridge.
1921		Russo-Polish conflict ends with signing of the Riga Treaty.
1940		Germany invades Norway and Denmark.
1942		In the Battle of Bataan, American and Filipino forces are overwhelmed by the Japanese Army.
1945		The Red Army is repulsed at the Seelow Heights on the outskirts of Berlin.
1950		Comedian Bob Hope makes his first television appearance.
1963		Winston Churchill becomes the first honorary U.S. citizen.
1966		The statue of Winston Churchill is dedicated at the British Embassy in Washington, D.C.
1968		Murdered civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., is buried.
1970		Paul McCartney announces the official break-up of the Beatles.

Graduate says he shouldn't have to pay back student loans because he didn't deserve them

A Florida man is hoping to get out of paying back nearly $60,000 in student loans because he says he never should have been given the money in the first place. Ian Locklear, 44, from Tampa, was an 11th-grade student at Hillsborough High School when he was accepted into the University of South Florida in 1989. However, records show that once he received acceptance, he withdrew from high school to attend USF full time in January 1990. He never finished the 11th grade and never received a high school or equivalency diploma. Locklear graduated from USF on May 4, 1995, with a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary social sciences and six Stafford loans totaling $56,485.

In the years since, the loans have accumulated interest of $10,891. Now, Locklear is suing John King Jr., secretary of the US Department of Education, to have his student loans immediately discharged. He also wants back any money already paid on the loans and his credit report corrected. The Higher Education Act of 1965 requires student loans to be discharged if the school attended by the student “falsely certified that the student had the ability to benefit from a program for which the student’s loans were taken out.” The lawsuit, issued by Nancy Cavey, an attorney with the Sunshine State Bankruptcy Law Firm in Tampa, argues that Locklear should never have received the loans because he did not have his high school diploma.
To qualify for the Federal Family Education Loan Program, which paid out Locklear’s loans, students have to meet requirements including the “ability-to-benefit.” That requirement says the student must have received a high school diploma or its equivalent before enrolling in the school, achieve a passing grade on an approved standardized test, or successfully complete a period of developmental or remedial education. Locklear didn’t meet any of those requirements, the lawsuit states. His high school transcript reads: “student withdrew due to early admissions to USF. Did not graduate from Hillsborough H.S.”
In December 2010, Locklear tried to file an “ability-to-benefit false certification discharge” with the Texas Guaranteed Student Loan Corporation managing his loans, but his application was denied in January 2011. Appeals were also denied by the Department of Education. “Based on the current information available, it is ED’s position that the University considered you to have the recognized equivalent of a high school diploma, even though you turned out to not graduate from high school as you originally reported you expected to,” a letter from the Department of Education said. An Education Department spokesman said the department will not comment on pending litigation. The lawsuit said the Education Department’s position fails to take into consideration Locklear’s evidence, relying only on incomplete records kept by USF.

Racism Accidentally Prevents Pain Killer Addiction From Hurting Black Communities

Racism Accidentally Prevents Pain Killer Addiction From Hurting Black Communities

I honestly can’t tell if I should be laughing at the irony or crying at the racism.

America’s Overdose Crisis Is Being Fueled By A Drug 50 Times More Potent Than Heroin

Fentanyl is 100 times more potent than morphine.

Michigan's moron Snyder faces racketeering lawsuit over Flint water crisis

Michigan's moron Snyder faces racketeering lawsuit over Flint water crisis

The lawsuit brought by Flint residents alleges the two-year crisis was the result of ‘intentional’ actions by state officials to cut costs amid bankruptcy fears

Quaker school wins religious right to discriminate against special-needs kids

Quaker school wins religious right to discriminate against special-needs kids

Citing religious exemption, a federal judge in New Jersey ruled that a borough school founded in 1786 on Quaker values did not have to provide special accommodations for a special-needs student.

The Horrifying Consequences of Our National Rape Kit Backlog

The Horrifying Consequences of Our National Rape Kit Backlog

Bystanders beat the crap out of youth pastor they caught molesting a 6-year-old boy

Bystanders beat the crap out of youth pastor they caught molesting a 6-year-old boy

A Texas youth pastor who was caught allegedly sexually abusing a 6-year-old child was beaten by witnesses who say they attacked him to stop the abuse.

Florida finally made it legal for unmarried couples to live together

Florida finally made it legal for unmarried couples to live together

Obama’s National Monuments Have Been An Economic Boon For Local Economies

Monuments, it turns out, are great economic drivers.

Study Shows ‘Profound’ Negative Impact Of Religion On Gender Pay Gap

Study Shows ‘Profound’ Negative Impact Of Religion On Gender Pay Gap

Once again, religion is a problem for women.

Millions Of Workers Just Won The Right To Paid Time To Care For Loved Ones

The country now has four states that guarantee paid family leave, and the most recent addition is by far the most generous.

Almost Two-Thirds of People in the Labor Force Do Not Have a College Degree, and Their Job Prospects Are Dimming

Almost Two-Thirds of People in the Labor Force Do Not Have a College Degree, and Their Job Prospects Are Dimming

Border Patrol Agents Loot Immigrants Before Deporting Them Back To Mexico

This appears to be an ongoing problem.

Almost Half Of Natural World Heritage Sites Are Threatened By Industry, New Report Says

Sub-Saharan Africa has the most World Heritage sites at risk, but even developed countries like the United States and Canada are harming some of their sites with development.

Ashes of Supernovas Litter Ocean Floor

Ashes of Supernovas Litter Ocean Floor

Scientists have discovered radioactive debris from relatively nearby stars that exploded a few million years ago, raising questions about whether cosmic rays released by the supernovae impacted Earth’s past climate.

Gravitational wave search provides insights into galaxy evolution and mergers

Gravitational wave search provides insights into galaxy evolution and mergers

New results from NANOGrav – the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves – establish astrophysically significant limits in the search for low-frequency gravitational waves. This result provides insight into how often galaxies merge, and...

Black Holes

Mystery Fast Radio Burst Caused By Flashing Black Hole

The true nature of mysterious fast radio bursts (FRBs) may not have been revealed after all.

Supermassive Black Holes Could Be Everywhere

Astronomers have found a monster black hole, some 17 billion times more massive than the sun, in a modestly sized galaxy, raising suspicions that supermassive black holes may be much more common than originally thought.

Black Hole Jets Hotter Than Expected

New measurements show that quasars can blow far past the theoretical temperature limit of 100 billion degrees Kelvin (179 billion degrees Fahrenheit), which has scientists puzzled.

Couple arrested after allegedly attacking each other with tweezers

A Florida couple were arrested after allegedly attacking each other with tweezers at about 10:30am on Saturday morning.
Sumter County sheriff’s deputies were called a property in Wildwood where Ian Michael Harvey, 35, and Janet Driggers, 33, had been involved in an altercation.
Harvey had wanted to end their relationship, their arrest reports indicated. Both Harvey and Driggers had suffered lacerations due to the aggressive use of tweezers.
Both were arrested on felony charges of battery. Harvey and Driggers each have previous battery convictions. Harvey was also arrested for violating his probation on a charge of possession of marijuana.

Man with handcuff key in rectum led officers on high-speed chase before punching police dog

A man from Macclenny, Florida, left the scene of an argument in Baker County on Saturday night and led police on a high-speed chase through a few streets before fighting a deputy's K9 and deputies themselves before a handcuff key was discovered in his rectum, authorities say. Nicholas Dwight Byram, 32, was arrested and charged with a litany of offenses, from resisting arrest with violence, aggravated assault, drug possession and obstructing police, according to the Baker County Sheriff's Office. Deputies received a call reporting a disturbance in rural Baker County, but then heard that "one half" of the disturbance had fled in a Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Byram, the driver of the Jeep, forced a deputy to drive into a ditch to avoid a wreck, deputies say. Byram continued south. Two deputies were in pursuit of Byram by now. He'd been driving the Jeep at up to 80 miles per hour, deputies say. "Stop sticks," akin to spike strips, were used at an intersection. The front-left tire was struck, but Byram allegedly continued, reaching speeds of 110 mph. He drove through intersections at speeds nearing 70 mph before another tire popped on Byram's Jeep and he lost control, smashing into a tree.
Multiple deputies descended on Byram's wreckage, but the suspect reportedly wouldn't leave the SUV. A K9 deputy approached the vehicle. One deputy tried punching out Byram's back window with a device, but ended up cutting his hand. The K9 deputy was able to open the passenger read door and let K9 deputy Monsoor into the car. Byram fought with Monsoor, punching and kicking the dog while trying to wrap his hands around the dog's muzzle. Byram eventually left the Jeep and then started wrestling with deputies, who eventually tasered the suspect after being punched and kicked themselves. After all that, deputies found a handcuff key in Byram's rectum. He also had to be patched up after he was injured by the dog and wreck.
Deputies involved in apprehending Byram report no major injuries, but one was almost struck in his cruiser by Byram's Jeep and another hurt himself trying to punch out the glass. Monsoor was struck multiple times trying to subdue Byram. Byram's was charged with: Reckless driving with damage to a person or property; Fleeing to elude police at high speeds; Driving while license suspended; Aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill; Battery on an officer; Assault on an officer, 2 counts; Resisting an officer with violence; Resisting an officer without violence; Possession of a concealed handcuff key while in custody; Touch, strike or cause harm to police animal; Possession of not more than 20 grams marijuana and possession of drug equipment.

Dispute over hermit crab led to shooting

A dispute over a hermit crab led to a shooting and the arrest of a 31-year-old man in Nazareth, Pennsylvania, at around 6:20pm on Sunday. No one was injured, according to Nazareth police.

Mario Ramon Maisonet was charged with two counts of aggravated assault, plus attempted simple assault, recklessly endangering another person, discharging a firearm, harassment by annoyance, disorderly conduct and endangering the welfare of children. Police responded to a report of shot fired outside Advanced Auto Parts in the borough. Maisonet lives in an apartment nearby.
The male victim told police he got into an argument with Maisonet over Maisonet's 10-year-old stepson taking a hermit crab into the residence. The victim said Maisonet pulled out a black handgun and aimed it at him, while the boy was standing next to the victim. The victim told police Maisonet then shot at the victim's car, striking the left front wheel.

After firing the gun, Maisonet moved to the front of the car and aimed the gun at both the male and female victims sitting inside it. Maisonet then fled. He was arrested by Palmer Township police at his mother's home. The Ruger handgun was recovered from that home. Police recovered one 9-mm shell casing outside the auto parts store. Several eyewitnesses on the scene verified that Maisonet brandished and fired the gun in the direction of the car. Police also received a written statement from Maisonet admitted he fired in the direction of the vehicle.

Why Humans Are Slower than Most Animals

Why Humans Are Slower than Most Animals

Have you ever tried to outrun a cheetah? It's a safe bet you lost, right? You could out-endure a cheetah, though, so take heart! Here's why humans traded speed and strength for endurance.

Stone Age Humans Brought Deer to Scotland by Sea

Stone Age Humans Brought Deer to Scotland by Sea

Researchers admitted surprise at our prehistoric ancestors’ seafaring prowess.

‘Forgotten’ fish turns up in West Texas

‘Forgotten’ fish turns up in West Texas

With no more “swimmable” water than thirsty West Texas has, it’s hard to imagine a fish, even a minnow-sized fish could remain “missing” for more than a century. But due to a case of mistaken identity, such is the case, said a Texas A&M AgriLife Research...

Piga and Tigers

Fewer Than 250 Rare Pigs Left on Indonesian Island

A survey of Bawean warty pigs on Indonesia's Bawean Island finds the animal needs protection.

Tigers Declared 'Functionally Extinct' in Cambodia

Conservationists say they will launch a bold action plan to reintroduce the big cats to the kingdom’s forests.

Wasps Built These Colorful Nests with Colored Paper

Mattia Menchetti is a graduate student in biology at the University of Florence in Italy. He specializes in the study of the social wasp (Polistes dominula). This study is not one of merely science, but also art.
Menchetti says that the cellular nests of wasps are natural wonders. All they need to gain human notice is a bit of flair. So he gave captive wasps pieces of colored paper, which the wasps then used to build their nests. You can see more photos here (translation).

Ravens Know What You're Thinking

by Molly Michelson

Humans’ ability to understand the perception and intent of others allows us to navigate the world in an advanced fashion. Theory of mind, as it’s called, is a social tool, and is often missing in people within the autism spectrum.
But it is not uniquely human. Non-human primates have been found to have theory of mind, and now, ravens have, too. In a study published today in Nature Communications, a team of researchers write that ravens are able to infer what a competitor might want, even though they cannot see the competitor.
The scientists were inspired by a 2001 paper that attributed theory of mind to another corvid, the scrub jay, demonstrating that the birds are able to infer that they are being watched by competitor birds who might steal their stores of hidden food. But the study couldn’t discount the fact that the jays might be able to follow the competitor’s gaze to understand intent. These visual cues weren’t predicting another’s behavior, so could not be clearly attributed to the jays having a theory of mind.
So the raven scientists created an experiment where the birds couldn’t see their competitors. They placed a raven in a study area where there was either a window, a peephole, or a wall. Food was offered and the team often would play sound cues of another raven behind the window, peephole, or wall and watched how the ravens responded. If the raven thought it was being watched through the window or peephole it would quickly respond by hiding its food out of the potential line of sight of a competitor. In the case of the peephole, the raven could not see the competitor but assumed it was there, watching the raven. If it was just the wall, the raven did nothing to conceal its food.
“Our results suggest that ravens can generalize from their own perceptual experience to infer the possibility of being seen,” the team writes. They believe this paper strengthens the reasoning of the scrub jay paper, as well, offering more evidence that corvids are some of the most intelligent animals on the planet.

Tug-of-War: Dachshund vs. Two Giant Dogs

Kera is an 11-pound, 15-year-old dachshund. She decided she wanted in on a tug-of-war between two 100-pound Bernese mountain dogs pulling on a thick rope. Does little Kera stand a chance against these giants? She think she does!

(YouTube link)

It turns out that a little dog with some years on her knows a thing or two. Determination and tenacity will win over brute strength, especially if your opponents are not too bright and have to stop and bark every once in a while. Way to go, Kera!

Animal Pictures