Caution

Understanding how plants withstand harsh conditions ...

Understanding how plants withstand harsh conditions remains major research challenge

Understanding how plants sense and cope with harsh conditions such as drought, too much salt in the soil or extreme temperatures could help researchers develop tougher crops - an essential step to improving agricultural productivity, environmental sustainability and...

Did you know ...

Better SPF than zinc oxide

Sea lion pups allegedly roll in the sand for sun protection.

Climate change could be a greater threat to tropical frogs than deforestation

Climate change could be a greater threat to tropical frogs than deforestation

Changes in climate and land use are expected to reduce the livable area for tropical frogs because these species will increasingly encounter temperatures hot enough to harm their behavior, reproduction and physiology. Climate change, however, may be the most...

Bizarre new marine worms covered in bristles, wrinkles & bumps

Bizarre new marine worms covered in bristles, wrinkles & bumps

An extraordinary arrangement of bristles, wrinkles and wart-like bumps cover the cold skin of Sphaerephesia amphorata, a new deep-sea worm described and named by researchers at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of...

Animal Pictures

The Daily Drift

Welcome to Today's Edition of  
Carolina Naturally

Oh, yeah ...! 

 

Carolina Naturally is read in 210 countries around the world daily.   

  
Chess Board ... !

Today is - National Chess Day

 You want the unvarnished truth?

Don't forget to visit: The Truth Be Told
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The Americas
Antigua - Argentina - Aruba - Bahamas - Barbados - Belize - Bolivia - Brazil - Canada - Chile  Colombia - Costa Rica - Dominican Republic- Ecuador - El Salvador - French Guiana - Haiti  Honduras - Jamaica - Mexico - Nicaragua - Paraguay - Peru - Puerto Rico - Sint Eustatius and Saba  Sint Maartin - Trinidad and Tobago - Turks and Caicos - United States - Uruguay - Venezuela
Virgin Islands
Europe
Albania - Armenia - Austria - Belarus - Belgium - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Bulgaria - Croatia  Cyprus -  Czech Republic - Denmark - England - Estonia - Finland - France - Georgia - Germany Greece -  Hungary - Iceland - Ireland - Isle of Mann - Italy - Jersey - Latvia - Lithuania - Macedonia  Malta - Moldova - Monaco - Montenegro - Netherlands - Northern Ireland - Norway - Poland Portugal - Romania - Russia - San Marino - Scotland - Serbia - Slovakia - Slovenia - Spain - Sweden  Switzerland - Turkey - Ukraine - Wales
Asia
Afghanistan - Azerbaijan - Bangladesh - Brunei - Burma - Cambodia - China - Hong Kong - India  Indonesia  Iran - Iraq - Israel - Japan - Jordan - Kazakhstan - Korea -  Lebanon - Malaysia - Mauritius
Mongolia - Nepal - Oman - Pakistan - Plestine - Saudi Arabia - Singapore - Sri Lanka - Taiwan Thailand - Tibet - United Arab Emirates - Uzbekistan - Vietnam - Yemen
Africa
Algeria - Chad - Congo - Egypt - Ethiopia - Ivory Coast - Kenya - Libya - Madagascar - Morocco  Mozambique - Nigeria - South Africa - Sudan - Tunisia - Zambia - Zimbabwe
The Pacific
Australia - French Polynesia - Guam - Marshall Islands - New Zealand - Philippines

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

Today in History

19		Germanicus, the best loved of Roman princes, dies of poisoning. On his deathbed he accuses Piso, the governor of Syria, of poisoning him.
732		At Tours, France, Charles Martel kills Abd al-Rahman and halts the Muslim invasion of Europe.
1733		France declares war on Austria over the question of Polish succession.
1789		In Versailles France, Joseph Guillotin says the most humane way of carrying out a death sentence is decapitation by a single blow of a blade.
1794		Russian General Alexander Vasilyevich Suvorov crushes the rebel Polish army at Maciejowice, Poland.
1845		The U.S. Naval Academy is founded at Annapolis, Md.
1863		The first telegraph line to Denver is completed.
1877		Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer is buried at West Point in New York.
1911		Revolution in China begins with a bomb explosion and the discovery of the revolutionary headquarters in Hankow. The revolutionary movement spreads rapidly through west and southern China, forcing the abdication of the last Ch’ing emperor, six-year-old Henry Pu-Yi. By October 26, the Chinese Republic will be proclaimed, and on December 4, Premier Yuan Shih-K’ai will sign a truce with the rebel general Li Yuan-hung.
1911		The Panama Canal opens.
1933		At Rio de Janeiro, nations of the Western Hemisphere sign a non-aggression and conciliation treaty. President Roosevelt adopts a “good neighbor” policy toward Latin America and announces a policy of nonintervention in Latin American affairs at the December 7th International American Conference at Montevideo, Uruguay.
1941		Soviet troops halt the German advance on Moscow.
1953		The Mutual Defense Treaty between the US and South Korea signed.
1966		U.S. Forces launch Operation Robin, in Hoa Province south of Saigon in South Vietnam, to provide road security between villages.
1970		The Quebec Provincial Minister of Labour, Pierre Laporte, is kidnapped by terrorists.
1971		The London Bridge, built in 1831 and dismantled in 1967, reopens in Lake Havusu City, Arizona, after being sold to Robert P. McCulloch and moved to the United States.
1973		Agnew resigns the vice presidency amid accusations of income tax evasion. President Nixon names Ford as the new vice president. Agnew is later convicted and sentenced to three years probation and fined $10,000.
1985		An Egyptian plane carrying hijackers of the Achille Lauro cruise ship is intercepted by US Navy F-14s and forced to land at a NATO base in Sicily.
2008		Orakzai bombing takes place in Afghanistan: members of the Taliban drive an explosive-laden truck into a meeting of 600 people discussing ways to rid their area of the Taliban; the bomb kills 110.

Now, Every Storm Is a Climate Change Storm

Now, Every Storm Is a Climate Change Storm

Researchers Believe There Are Four Common Personality Types- Which One Are You?

People are always coming up with new theories on how to divide us all into categories according to our personality, most of which use broad terms to make sure everyone fits in to the system.
But when the people creating this personality division system are psychologists we should probably take note, because even if doesn't change our own minds it may teach us about how others think.
Researchers from the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid believe 90% of people belong to four basic personality groups- Optimists, Pessimists, Trusting and Envious.

The Envious are the largest group, with 30 percent, while the other three groups have twenty percent each, with ten percent of people fitting into the category they haven't figured out yet.
The system is based on the way 541 volunteers responded to hundreds of different social situations and whether they chose to conflict or collaborate with others.
Here's more from head researcher Anxo Sánchez:

“Two people can hunt deer together, but if they are alone, they can only hunt rabbits.
“The person belonging to the Envious group will choose to hunt rabbits because he or she will be at least equal to the other hunter, or maybe even better; the Optimist will choose to hunt deer because that is the best option for both hunters; the Pessimist will go for rabbits because that way he or she is sure to catch something; and the hunter who belongs to the Trusting group will cooperate and choose to hunt deer, without a second thought.”

Read These Are The Four Most Common Personality Types here

Woman's giant 'Rapunzel syndrome' hairball removed from stomach

Real life moved from Grimm to gruesome for one 38-year-old woman in the US who had a giant hairball in her stomach. She is one of only a handful of documented cases of "Rapunzel syndrome", which is caused by people plucking and eating their own hair. Their once glorious locks build up in the digestive system where they can eventually have a devastating effect. The woman, who is has not been named, developed sudden vomiting and constipation. Meanwhile, her stomach swelled as it filled with liquids and gas.
She had gone off food for a year, lost 15lb in the previous eight months, and by the time she reached hospital, was unable to keep down any food. Doctors in Arizona initially gave her donor blood to tackle her anemia. But when they performed abdominal surgery they uncovered a 6inx4in (15cmx10cm) ball of densely packed hair in her stomach.
The blockage was safely removed, (graphic image), and the woman was given a diet high in protein to help her recover. There have only been 88 other reported cases of Rapunzel syndrome. In some the hair snakes all the way through the digestive system from stomach to large intestines. Most cases are in childhood, with 40% of Rapunzels under the age of 10.

The BBC Halloween Hoax That Traumatized Viewers

We’ve been exposed to the old bait-and-switch on TV a few times now, particularly in the genre of reality TV, so that many viewers don’t believe a thing they see. TV audiences as a whole were more trusting 24 years ago. On Halloween night in 1992, the BBC aired an early version of what we’ve now come to know as the “mockumentary.” Ghostwatch was billed as a drama in the TV listings, but it came across more as a live news report, particularly due to the presence of popular BBC presenters Sarah Greene and Craig Charles right on the scene as a poltergeist tormented the Early family. But Ghostwatch had been completely recorded earlier, using actors.

The finale laid it on a little thick, but not everyone made it that far in. By the time Ghostwatch signed off, a not-insignificant portion of the show’s 11 million viewers were either convinced ghosts were real, extremely upset at the BBC for traumatizing their children, or both.
The broadcaster had just five operators standing by its phones [PDF] once the show went off air, a number that was quickly overcome by the thousands of calls that flooded in. One woman reportedly went into labor due to the stress caused by watching the program; another reported her husband had soiled himself. Within hours, the BBC aired a brief segment that reminded viewers the show was fictional. It was a little too late.

Those who watched were either terrified or else angry at the BBC for causing such terror. Ghostwatch was blamed for several cases of PTSD and at least one suicide. Read the story of Ghostwatch and its fallout at mental_floss.

The Barnacle

A New Tool for Parking Enforcement

Police can use a mechanical boot clamped to a wheel to prevent a parking scofflaw from moving a vehicle until he pays the fine, but it’s a hassle. Boots are heavy, difficult to install and remove, and time consuming. But now meter maids have a new weapon in their arsenal: the Barnacle! This is a large “parking ticket,” so to speak, that adheres to the vehicle’s windshield and covers it completely. It sticks there by 700 pounds of suction, and is wired to tell the cops where you are if you drive off anyway. Read about the advantages of the Barnacle at Wired. Advantages to the government, that is, because it would suck to find one on your car. However, it may prove to be easier to deal with than the boot for drivers, too.

'13th' Is a Devastating Look at America's Long History of Criminal Injustice

Ava DuVernay's '13th' Is a Devastating Look at America's Long History of Criminal Injustice

Daily Show Shreds Fox's Offensive Chinatown Segment

Daily Show Shreds Fox's Offensive Chinatown Segment: 'When They Mention Mexico, Do You Send Them to Taco Bell?'

Architect humiliated when Seattle bank refuses to believe her paycheck is real

Black architect humiliated when Seattle bank refuses to believe her paycheck is real

A black architect was questioned and humiliated on Wednesday when she attempted to deposit her paycheck into her account at a new bank.

Male model films himself calling a black woman ‘gorilla’ — and gets promptly fired

Link Dump

The Most Captivating Celebrity Eyes

Cheesy pics of girls and cars

Make the Cubs Great Again

How Well Do You Know Your Sh!t?  

33 Inventions You Never Knew You Needed

Someone Made A Real-Life LEGO Hair Bike Helmet

What the cleaner saw: dirty secrets of the upper crust

The curious case of San Francisco’s leaning tower

The cost of flying in Air Force One

Servers Reveal The Weirdest Requests From Customers

Help for those whose computer files are encrypted and held for ransom

Is Dumbass Trump tearing the NFL apart?   Did he kill the USFL?

Bigfoot in Michigan Photobombs Eagle Nest Cam?

 

An eagle's nest cam in Michigan captured an image of a figure that some are calling Bigfoot.

by Karl Nelson

Bigfoot photobombed an eagle's nest cam in Michigan, according to some observers of the footage, which shows a mysterious figure walking into the frame.
Two baby bald eagles were being filmed on a live cam installed by Carbon Media Group and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources before what appeared to be Bigfoot stole the spotlight, walking into the frame, according to The Daily Mail.
The mysterious creature was walking through a forest in Beulah, Michigan, when it was caught on the eagles’ nest cam. The dark figure with two legs came fleeting through the trees below the nest, stopping to look around before beginning to walk again.
The footage was recently discovered by Carbon Media Group, and is believed to have been filmed in the spring, Daily Mail noted.
When the video was first released on YouTube, there were many who believed the Bigfoot references were false and that the dark object captured on the cam was simply a prankster dressed in an ape suit, Daily Mail noted.

Video Link

“Like most videos purported to be Bigfoot, it’s grainy and out of focus — of course, the camera wasn’t set up to be focused on the ground; it was focused on the nest,” said Ed Eisch, DNR Fish Production manager for the state and the Platte River hatchery, according to USA Today.
However, there were those who believed it was in fact Bigfoot.
“Bigfoot for sure,” one person commented, according to the Daily Mail. “A faker wouldn’t jump down into the gully with the big ape suit on — would take an easier path.”
Another person wrote that they found the footage to be “intriguing.”
“Either it some jerk acting or it’s the real deal,” the person wrote in the video comments on YouTube. “The arms looked long and it seemed to make an athletic move by jumping on the tree branch. Then it leaped a few feet to the ground.”
Jeff Meldrum, a professor at Idaho State University who’s studied Bigfoot, also offered comments on the video.
“It’s an interesting video,” he told the Detroit Free Press. “But it remains just that, given the lack of scale and detail in the image.”
The 50th anniversary of the controversial Patterson-Gimli film that shows exclusive footage of what appears to be Bigfoot is approaching, USA Today noted.
The last place he was reportedly spotted was in woods near Caerphilly Mountain in Wales last month, according to Daily Mail.
The never-confirmed creature remains a mystery.

Apes Understand That Some Things Are All in Your Head

Apes Understand That Some Things Are All in Your Head

We all know that the way someone sees the world, and the way it really is, aren’t always the same. This ability to recognize that someone’s beliefs may differ from reality has long been seen as unique to humans. But new research on chimpanzees, bonobos and orangutans...

Snake orgy in bottom of empty swimming pool said to be a rare occurrence

A family in Nerang on the Gold Coast in Queensland, Australia, made a rare discovery after finding eight tree snakes having an orgy in their derelict backyard pool. Ray and Sue Jeffrey were entertaining family on the back deck of their Nerang home which overlooks the pool when someone spotted a snake. "I called my wife out who was in the kitchen and then she looked down there was this tangled mess of snakes," Mr Jeffrey said.
Mr Jeffrey quickly called snake catchers Samuel Howard and Katie Eales to their home. "When we went down to the pool area, I just held the phone with a light on and the two of them bare-handed just grabbed the whole tangled mess to get as many as they could in one go and tossed them into the bag," Mr Jeffrey said. "Then they took them back out of the bag and counted them one-by-one into another bag to make sure they had the right count." Mr Howard said it was an unusual number of snakes to be found and a record for him.
"It just so happened that there was a few pairs of tree snakes mating and there were a few males waiting for their turn next," Mr Howard said. He said tree snakes were one of only two species found on the Gold Coast who were happy to share females. "It is still quite an unusual act to happen, it is not usually seen or often witnessed," Mr Howard said. The snake catcher said the pool's cracks and shallow water provided the perfect environment for the snakes. "The water that was sitting in the pool was inundated with little frogs and cane toads and tree snakes love eating frogs," he said.
"Because the pool was empty there was lots of cracks in the wall of the pool and tree snakes love living in little cracks. So we think they probably all had a lovely home in there with a little water source, heaps of food and lots of little cavities they could hide in, and now it is breeding season they have all come out together and found each other." Mr Jeffrey said he was happy to have witnessed something so rare. "I think we were lucky in they were essentially a very harmless snake at the end of the day just doing what they do," he said. The snakes have since been transported to a more suitable location.

Bear spotted having a soak in backyard hot tub

A California homeowner's backyard security cameras recently caught a bear making itself at home in their hot tub.
The bear wandered into the backyard of the La Crescenta residence in the foothills east of Los Angeles.
It ignored the pool, opting instead for a relaxing dip in the hot tub. The visitor soaked for a while, enjoying a solo pool party.

YouTube link.

The bear then appeared to pluck something from a tree before pawing open a gate and lumbering back into the Pickens Canyon area.

What have cats ever done for us?

What have cats ever done for us?

Clever Fish Keep Cool

Clever Fish Keep Cool

Ocean warming is occurring at such a rapid rate that fish are searching for cooler waters to call home. A group of international scientists has new evidence that coral reef fish – which struggle to adapt to the warmer ocean temperatures brought about by global climate...

Ultimate sacrifice ...

Ultimate sacrifice: Spider’s post-sex cannibalism aids offspring

The male dark fishing spider is just dying to father some children – and this death wish probably evolved to benefit his offspring, according to new research from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Gonzaga University. In 2013, Steven Schwartz and his colleagues...

Animal Pictures

The Daily Drift

Welcome to Today's Edition of  
Carolina Naturally

Today also happens to be National Motorcycle Ride Day ...! 

 

Carolina Naturally is read in 210 countries around the world daily.   

  
Colorful Music ... !

Today is - Universal Music Day

 You want the unvarnished truth?

Don't forget to visit: The Truth Be Told
Some of our readers today have been in:
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Antigua - Argentina - Aruba - Bahamas - Barbados - Belize - Bolivia - Brazil - Canada - Chile  Colombia - Costa Rica - Dominican Republic- Ecuador - El Salvador - French Guiana - Haiti  Honduras - Jamaica - Mexico - Nicaragua - Paraguay - Peru - Puerto Rico - Sint Eustatius and Saba  Sint Maartin - Trinidad and Tobago - Turks and Caicos - United States - Uruguay - Venezuela
Virgin Islands
Europe
Albania - Armenia - Austria - Belarus - Belgium - Bosnia and Herzegovina - Bulgaria - Croatia  Cyprus -  Czech Republic - Denmark - England - Estonia - Finland - France - Georgia - Germany Greece -  Hungary - Iceland - Ireland - Isle of Mann - Italy - Jersey - Latvia - Lithuania - Macedonia  Malta - Moldova - Monaco - Montenegro - Netherlands - Northern Ireland - Norway - Poland Portugal - Romania - Russia - San Marino - Scotland - Serbia - Slovakia - Slovenia - Spain - Sweden  Switzerland - Turkey - Ukraine - Wales
Asia
Afghanistan - Azerbaijan - Bangladesh - Brunei - Burma - Cambodia - China - Hong Kong - India  Indonesia  Iran - Iraq - Israel - Japan - Jordan - Kazakhstan - Korea -  Lebanon - Malaysia - Mauritius
Mongolia - Nepal - Oman - Pakistan - Plestine - Saudi Arabia - Singapore - Sri Lanka - Taiwan Thailand - Tibet - United Arab Emirates - Uzbekistan - Vietnam - Yemen
Africa
Algeria - Chad - Congo - Egypt - Ethiopia - Ivory Coast - Kenya - Libya - Madagascar - Morocco  Mozambique - Nigeria - South Africa - Sudan - Tunisia - Zambia - Zimbabwe
The Pacific
Australia - French Polynesia - Guam - Marshall Islands - New Zealand - Philippines

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

Today in History

876		Charles the Bald is defeated at the Battle of Andernach.
1690		Belgrade is retaken by the Turks.
1840		King William I of Holland abdicates.
1855		Arrow, a ship flying the British flag, is boarded by Chinese who arrest the crew, thus beginning the Second Chinese War.
1862		The Union is victorious at the Battle of Perryville, the largest Civil War combat to take place in Kentucky.
1871		The Great Chicago Fire begins in southwest Chicago, possibly in a barn owned by Patrick and Katherine O’Leary. Fanned by strong southwesterly winds, the flames rage for more than 24 hours, eventually leveling three and a half square miles and wiping out one-third of the city. Approximately 250 people are killed in the fire; 98,500 people are left homeless; 17,450 buildings are destroyed.
1897		Journalist Charles Henry Dow, founder of the Wall Street Journal, begins charting trends of stocks and bonds.
1900		Maximilian Harden is sentenced to six months in prison for publishing an article critical of the German Kaiser.
1906		Karl Ludwig Nessler first demonstrates a machine in London that puts permanent waves in hair. The client wears a dozen brass curlers, each wearing two pounds, for the six-hour process.
1912		First Balkan War begins as Montenegro declares war against the Ottoman Empire.
1918		US Army corporal Alvin C. York kills 28 German soldiers and captures 132 in the Argonne Forest; he is promoted to sergeant and awarded the US Medal of Honor and the French Croix de Guerre.
1919		The U.S. Senate and House of Representatives pass the Volstead Prohibition Enforcement Bill.
1921		First live radio broadcast of a football game takes place; Harold W. Arlin is the announcer when KDKA of Pittsburgh broadcasts live from Forbes Field as the University of Pittsburgh beats West Virginia University 21–13.
1922		Lillian Gatlin becomes the first woman pilot to fly across the United States.
1932		The Indian Air Force is established.
1939		Nazi Germany annexes Western Poland.
1956		Don Larsen of the New York Yankees pitches the first perfect game in the World Series history against the Brooklyn Dodgers.
1967		Guerrilla Che Guevara is captured in Bolivia.
1968		U.S. forces in Vietnam launch Operation SEALORDS (South East Asia Lake, Ocean, River and Delta Strategy), an attack on communist supply lines and base areas in and around the Mekong Delta.
1969		The “Days of Rage” begin in Chicago; the Weathermen faction of the Students for a Democratic Society initiate 3 days of violent antiwar protests.
1973		In the Yom Kippur War an Israeli armored brigade makes an unsuccessful attack on Egyptian positions on the Israeli side of the Suez Canal.
1978		Ken Warby of Australia sets the world water speed record, 317.60 mph, at Blowering Dam in Australia; no other human has yet (2013) exceeded 300 mph on water and survived.
1982		The musical Cats begins a run of nearly 18 years on Broadway.
1991		Croatia votes to sever its ties with Yugoslavia.
2001		The shrub establishes the Office of Homeland Security.

Michelle Obama Makes The White House Garden Permanent, So Racists Called Her A ‘Gorilla’

Michelle Obama Makes The White House Garden Permanent, So Racists Called Her A ‘Gorilla’

The absolute hatred wingnuts have for First Lady Michelle Obama knows no bounds.

Collective Unconscious Is Creating Creepy Clowns

Crazy: The Collective Unconscious Is Creating Creepy Clowns

Girls with ADHD

An ADHD diagnosis puts girls at much higher risk for other mental health problems

Girls with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are at higher risk than girls without ADHD for multiple mental disorders that often lead to cascading problems such as abusive relationships, teenage pregnancies, poor grades and drug abuse, UCLA psychologists report...

Police appeal for information about mysterious panty planter

A sustained campaign involving underwear being placed beneath a tree outside a house in the east of Melbourne, Australia, has left police and the homeowner baffled. The resident of Surrey Hills has told law enforcement that knickers of various styles and sizes have been appearing in her front yard since 2014.
At least five times, the woman has found a pair of undies carefully laid out in the same spot at the base of a tree trunk. On the sixth occasion, a black lacy number was put inside the woman's letterbox. While mystery surrounds the origin of the multiplying smalls, police are unsure if an offense has even been committed.
If there is a crime to investigate, Senior Sergeant Mark Standish from Boroondara police said it could possibly be deemed offensive behavior. "It's very strange. We get people pinching underwear, but ... I haven't seen anything like this," he said. The victim has told police that she doesn't have any enemies or people with grudges against her.
Senior Sergeant Mark Standish said that while the case may seem bizarre, this kind of behavior can develop into more serious offending. "We're appealing for anyone who recognizes their underwear to come forward," he said. "We'll get to the bottom of it." Anyone with information is asked to contact Boroondara police station.

Father and son both arrested after coming to blows over thrown away Lego

A Florida man’s decision to throw out his 19-year-old son’s Lego collection triggered a domestic brawl that ended with both combatants behind bars.
Responding to a domestic violence call at a Port St. Lucie residence at 11pm on Wednesday, police encountered Nicholas Melice, Sr. and his son, Nicholas Jr.. The elder Melice, 46, had been arguing with his son, officers noted, “over Mr. Melice Sr. throwing out Mr. Melice Jr.’s Lego’s.”
The dispute, both Melices acknowledged, turned physical and included the exchange of shoves and punches. The men each suffered scratches during the fight. The younger Melice apparently discovered that his Lego had been thrown away upon returning to his family’s home from his current residence in Jupiter
“Both Mr. Melice and Mr. Melice Jr. advised they wished to pursue criminal charges,” reported an officer who added that he was unable to determine the scrape’s “primary aggressor.” The Melices were each booked into the county jail on Thursday morning for misdemeanor battery.

Backpage.com raided, CEO arrested for sex-trafficking

State agents raided the Dallas headquarters of adult classified ad portal Backpage and arrested Chief Executive Officer Carl Ferrer on Thursday following allegations that adult and child sex-trafficking victims had been forced into prostitution through escort ads posted on the site.

Ferrer, 55, was arrested on a California warrant after arriving at Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport on a flight from Amsterdam.

"Making money off the backs of innocent human beings by allowing them to be exploited for modern-day slavery is not acceptable in Texas," Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, said in a statement.

California Attorney General Kamala Harris said that Ferrer was arrested on felony charges of pimping a minor, pimping, and conspiracy to commit pimping. He is being held in lieu of $500,000 bond and will face an extradition hearing before he can be returned to California.

"Raking in millions of dollars from the trafficking and exploitation of vulnerable victims is outrageous, despicable and illegal," said Harris, a Democrat who is running for the U.S. Senate in next month's election. "Backpage and its executives purposefully and unlawfully designed Backpage to be the world's top online brothel."

An attorney representing Backpage, Liz McDougall, did not immediately respond to telephone and email messages left by The Associated Press.

The site's controlling shareholders, Michael Lacey, 68, and James Larkin, 67, have been charged with conspiracy to commit pimping, Harris said in a statement. Neither of them has been taken into custody by late Thursday although warrants have been issued for their arrest. Under California's law, felony pimping is defined as making money off of prostitutes or soliciting customers for prostitution.

Lacey and Larkin are former owners of the Village Voice and the Phoenix New Times. An attorney who previously represented the two men, Michael Manning, did not immediately respond to a telephone message from The AP.

Backpage advertises a wide range of services, but the California arrest warrant alleges that internal business records obtained through a search warrant show that 99 percent its revenue came from its adult services section between January 2013 and March 2015. California officials said the site collects fees from users who use coded language and nearly nude photos to offer sex for money.

Worldwide revenue from sex ads topped $3.1 million in just one week last year, according to a court affidavit. It says Ferrer expanded Backpage's share of online sex marketing by creating affiliated sites including EvilEmpire.com and BigCity.com with related content.

The site operates in hundreds of cities worldwide, authorities said, including more than 30 in California. It collected $2.5 million per month just from California, or more than $51 million during the 29 months covered by the internal revenue reports.

Larkin and Lacey each received $10 million bonuses from the website in September 2014, according to the court filing. It says Backpage was created in 2004, but since 2014 has been owned by a Netherlands-based company that has Ferrer as its only named partner.

California authorities said the state's three-year investigation found many of the ads include victims of sex trafficking including children under the age of 18.

One of the advertisers, identified only as 15-year-old "E.S.," ''was forced into prostitution at the age of 13 by her pimp," according to an affidavit filed with the complaint. She used other online advertising services until they were shut down, the court filing says, when she turned to Backpage.

"I mean really, coming from someone my age, there is too much access, like it's too easy for people to get on it and post an ad," she told California Special Agent Brian Fichtner, according to his affidavit.

California officials said their investigation was prompted in part by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which reported 2,900 instances to California authorities since 2012 when suspected child sex trafficking occurred using Backpage.

The criminal complaint includes allegations that five minors, three of them including "E.S." under age 16, paid to post advertisements on Backpage.

The charges against Ferrer could bring him nearly 22 years in prison, while Larkin and Lacey face a maximum six years.

Backpage has been the subject of recent Senate hearings into its classified ads. Last month, the Supreme Court refused to block a Senate subpoena seeking information on how Backpage screens ads for possible sex trafficking.

U.S. Sens. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, and Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, chairman and ranking member of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, issued a statement hailing the criminal charges resulting from what they called "the scourge of online sex trafficking."

They put the site's estimated annual revenues at more than $150 million, calling it "a market leader in commercial sex advertising."

McDonald's accused of ignoring rampant sexual harassment in its restaurants

When C.C. Monet began her job as a cook and cashier at a McDonald's in Flint, Michigan, she says she was nervous. "I was brand new, a little shy," she said in a call with the media on Wednesday.

Read more

9-month-old dead after horrific sexual assault

A nine-month-old West Virginia girl died after sustaining horrific injuries during a sexual assault at the hands of her mother’s boyfriend, authorities confirmed Wednesday.
Benjamin Taylor, 32, was charged with murder on Thursday morning, according to Jackson County Sheriff Tony Boggs. Taylor was initially charged with first-degree sexual assault and was being held on $2 million bail.
The child’s mother found the nine-month-old covered in blood in the basement of the apartment complex where the couple lived on Monday morning.
She had injuries consistent with a violent sexual assault, according to Boggs.
"I’d have to say more clear cut than usual, without going into graphic details due to some of the injuries and what the guys observed when they arrived on scene," Boggs said.
Family members told the West Virginia Metro News, the child, who is not Taylor's, was brain dead on Wednesday.
According to a criminal complaint, Taylor told authorities that he took the baby to the basement while he did laundry and had no recollection of how she sustained the horrific injuries, the AP reported.
Boggs said it's hard to understand how someone could do this to a child.
“Obviously this is not something we have encountered,” he said. “I don’t think the average or below average person can comprehend or even fathom this.”

7 Butch Women Talk About Being Discriminated Against in Women's Bathrooms

7 Butch Women Talk About Being Discriminated Against in Women's Bathrooms

South Carolina cops fatally shoot motorist

South Carolina cops fatally shoot motorist after dispute at Hurricane Matthew evacuation checkpoint

Ben and Jerry’s furious about police shootings

Ben and Jerry’s furious about police shootings: ‘All lives will not matter until black lives matter’

Ben and Jerry’s is typically known for tasty treats and social justice is weighing in on the Black Lives Matter movement.

The Tanzanian Rescue "Fortress" That Protects African Albinos From Human Hunters

Humans hunting humans sounds like the plot of a horror movie, but it's a sad reality for many Africans born with albinism.
People in Tanzania and other parts of Africa believe an albino's body is either magically blessed or cursed, so they're barbarically dismembered or killed over their magical properties.
In fact, so many albinos have been killed or maimed in Tanzania the government had to come to their rescue by setting up special centers where they can live in peace.
The largest of the bunch is the Kabanga Refuge Center, a rescue "fortress"in Tanzania dedicated to saving the lives of young albinos who would otherwise be hunted down due to their congenital disorder.
Documentary photographer Ana Palacios visited the Kabanga Refuge Center between 2012 and 2016 to shoot these wonderful photos and share the plight of African albinos with the world.
Ana's photos contain a tinge of sadness, the light of hope and the warmth of knowing these kids are safe to live and play like any other kid, rather than being brutalized by the ignorant and superstitious.
Read Rescue 'Fortress' In Tanzania Protects Albinos From Human Hunters here

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