PHOENIX (April 14) — In a freak accident, a landscaper in Phoenix suffocated under palm fronds as he was trimming a tree on Saturday. Phoenix police say 36-year-old Erasmo Rodrigue…
PHOENIX (April 14) — In a freak accident, a landscaper in Phoenix suffocated under palm fronds as he was trimming a tree on Saturday.
Phoenix police say 36-year-old Erasmo Rodriguez Corrales had been cutting the fronds from a palm tree when they collapsed on top of him.
Two co-workers also became trapped in the tree. They had been trying to rescue their friend, according to The Arizona Republic.
Police say it appears the weight of the palm fronds suffocated Corrales. The newspaper reported that the tree skirt trapping him weighed about 2,000 pounds. Corrales also suffered a gash in his leg from his chainsaw when he dropped it. Corrales was pronounced dead at the scene. Fire officials freed the other two men, who were uninjured.
LONDON – An unemployed chemist was jailed Tuesday for spraying a mix of urine and feces on food, wine and children's books in several British stores. Sahnoun Daifallah was sen…
LONDON – An unemployed chemist was jailed Tuesday for spraying a mix of urine and feces on food, wine and children's books in several British stores. Sahnoun Daifallah was sentenced to nine years in prison after being found guilty of four counts of contaminating goods.
The 42-year-old Algerian carried a mix of his waste in a container of weed killer concealed in a laptop bag, a court found. Using the nozzle, which poked out of the bag, Daifallah was able to spray large areas, leaving a powerful stench and causing tens of thousands of pounds (dollars) worth of damage.
Daifallah's first target was The Air Balloon pub and restaurant near Cheltenham in western England, which he visited around lunchtime on May 14. Kate Rochead, on duty that day, told The Associated Press she didn't know exactly what area he sprayed.
"All we know was that it was a horrendous smell that was left behind," she said.
Daifallah next visited a bookstore in neighboring Cirencester, dousing hundreds of books — most of them in the children's section.
Two days later he struck in the nearby suburban area of Quedgeley, where a customer spotted him squirting the frozen french fries at a supermarket. Daifallah then drove four miles (six kilometers) to another supermarket, where an employee in the wine section noticed him acting suspiciously and reported an overpowering stench. Both supermarkets were closed for two days for cleaning. Shoppers reported suffering from rashes and nausea.
Local police said the products weren't handled by customers, but Morrisons, one of the supermarkets targeted, said a small number of goods were returned as a precaution. Tesco, the other supermarket hit by Daifallah, declined comment.
Police were able to identify Daifallah using security camera footage. When they raided his home, they found a stockpile of the substance and plans to spread it. Plastic bags containing excrement were marked with the names of cities on them.
Daifallah represented himself at Bristol Crown Court, where he pleaded not guilty.
Judge Carol Hagen said Britain's security agencies had labeled him a high risk to public safety. Authorities have already begun deportation proceedings.
If I could ever choose, what would I choose? Sometimes looking forward to the future could get me excited and at other times it would make me feel drained, and like the whole worl…
If I could ever choose, what would I choose? Sometimes looking forward to the future could get me excited and at other times it would make me feel drained, and like the whole world could in a minute become bleak and lonely. At other times I find myself thinking, lost in my own thoughts about my future and how I would like it to be, and as the days go by I notice how its ever changing never constant for a duration of more than one month. I am only human, and everyday I am always seeking something new, something more satisfying; but there are always those things we all wish we would have forever. And I sit and think and count and classify according to priorities what I would want to keep forever. The results I get is me writing, saying, thinking the same thing. Family. That’s the only thing I would want to always be the same never changing. You would ask me, Why? Well, I will explain my reasons in the paragraphs that follow. In the years that I have spent alive, and around my family, the only way I have ever identified with them is by knowing that they were my safe haven from the world, giving me absolute fulfillment. My family has always encouraged me to work hard, be true to myself and love fearlessly. At times I would feel like I was far removed and as though I was from another world, but as soon as I reach home walk in through the doors and see my mother waiting for me, with the biggest and warmest smile , I know that I am understood. And within those walls I am accepted and never judged. And if I were ever to be judged it would only positive criticism that would encourage me to change for the better, and work on myself. Yes with them I belong, I am a part of a larger clan if I may call it that. And nothing else ever matters. This is could be one of the reasons I would be able to let go of everything but could never afford having my family removed from my life. Intimate relationships play a central role in our overall human experience, love and trust making up the essence of it all. This is where individuals could for seconds at a time escape the rough competitiveness of society that sometimes dehumanizes you. Family is where warmth, tenderness and undivided attention could be received. Families protect you the world, make you stronger and fight for you. No matter how the world turns and whatever hand fate deals, you are sure to fall down standing on your feet, because your family are the only ones who will forever love you no matter what. No matter how. We are who we are, we didn’t choose to be born and raised a certain way, but we were. This fact of reality is something we can never change. We are identified and classified as to who we are, where we belong and where we come from. And the more we know our own family, the more we know ourselves. Close relationships are important for emotional wellbeing throughout out lives, however short or long they may be. I am my parents, but on a smaller scale with less experience. In a few years I will be my parents, I would always want them to be around, sometimes I think that when I do actually reach a time where I look in the mirror and remember them, instead of see them; I would truly for the final time in my life know how much different I would’ve been without their love and care. I would miss them and I would know how I am nothing without them. With all that said, we can never live alone. And no matter how many friends, lovers and acquaintances you have, at the end of the day everyone is looking out for their best interest. Survival of the fittest! But not your family, your family are defined by your existence, just like you are by theirs. This sense of knowing who I am, I would never trade for anything in the world. I would forever want them beside me, and that way I would forever know me.
Carrie Underwood has won the most prestigious award in country music: Entertainer of the year! This award was given to 6 females over the past 40 years. It was last given to the Di…
Carrie Underwood has won the most prestigious award in country music: Entertainer of the year! This award was given to 6 females over the past 40 years. It was last given to the Dixie Chicks in 2000.
Actress Natasha Richardson has died, a family spokesperson announced Wednesday evening. The 45-year-old mother of two and wife of actor Liam Neeson, succumbed to a head injury sus…
Actress Natasha Richardson has died, a family spokesperson announced Wednesday evening. The 45-year-old mother of two and wife of actor Liam Neeson, succumbed to a head injury sustained during a skiing accident at Mont Tremblant.
"Liam Neeson, his sons, and the entire family are shocked and devastated by the tragic death of their beloved Natasha," a statement issued by the family Wednesday evening said. "They are profoundly grateful for the support, love and prayers of everyone, and ask for privacy during this very difficult time."
The New York City medical examiner's office reported on Thursday that Richardson died of blunt impact to the head and that her death was ruled an accident.
Hailing from one of Britain's most illustrious theatrical dynasties, Richardson was the elder daughter of Oscar-winning actress Vanessa Redgrave and the late director Tony Richardson.
Her other famed relations included sister and "Nip/Tuck" star Joely Richardson, aunt Lynne Redgrave, uncle Corin Redgrave, and Richardson's maternal grandparents, Sir Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson.
Born on May 11, 1963 in London, England, the flaxen-haired beauty made her film debut at age four in 1968's "The Charge of the Light Brigade," a film directed by her father. Richardson played a flower girl to film's star, Vanessa Redgrave.
Trained at London's Central School of Speech and Drama, the acclaimed stage actress launched her career in regional theatre in Leeds, England in 1983. Her first professional performance in London's West End followed in 1985 when the 22-year-old actress appeared in a revival of Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull."
Starring as Nina - a role in which her mother first made her mark - Richardson was reportedly bruised by comments she overheard after Redgrave joined the cast. Most of the barbs blamed Richardson for copying her mother's magic, not delivering her own star power.
From "Hamlet's" Ophelia to the faded, troubled beauty Blanche Dubois in Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire," Richardson's regal demeanour and smoky voice channelled the essence of the stunning Redgrave as she was in her '60s heydays.
That, however, is where the obvious comparisons ended.
Determined to distinguish herself from other starlets saddled with a famous last name, Richardson appeared in winning stage productions of "High Society" (1987), "Fat Man and Little Boy" (1989) and "Anna Christie" (1993) - a role that earned her a Tony Award nomination.
In 1998 Richardson won a Tony Award for her portrayal of Sally Bowles in the musical "Cabaret." According to critics, Richardson's superlative work blasted any memories of Liza Minnelli's film performance from their minds.
Able to play the seductress as well as a cool terrorist, a caring scientist or a neurotic Southern belle, Richardson's film work was impressive.
Launching her adult career in Ken Russell's "Gothic" (1986), Richardson later appeared in "A Month in the Country" (1987), the biopic "Patty Hearst" (1988) and "The Comfort of Strangers" (1990). But it was her performance opposite Robert Duvall and Faye Dunaway in "The Handmaid's Tale" (1990) that put Richardson on Hollywood's radar.
In 1994 Richardson co-starred with Jodie Foster and future husband Neeson in "Nell," a story about a girl doctors try to civilize after spending years alone in the bush.
Richardson and Neeson married in 1994. It was Richardson's second marriage. In 1990 she wed filmmaker Robert Fox. The couple divorced in 1992.
Other successful film roles included the Disney's 1998 remake of "The Parent Trap," "Maid in Manhattan" (2002), "The White Countess" (2005) (in which "Richardson found "the story's grieving heart" according to Rolling Stone) and "Wild Child" (2008).
A seemingly harmless accident turns fatal
On Monday, March 16 Richardson took a tumble on a beginner's hill at Mont Tremblant ski resort in Quebec. The actress was not wearing a helmet at the time of accident.
Feeling fine, Richardson joked about the fall with a ski instructor who immediately came to her rescue.
The Globe and Mail reported Wednesday that a potentially life-saving ambulance was originally turned away.
Yves Coderre, director of operations at the company which sent the medics to Mont Tremblant, told the Globe an ambulance was first requested for Richardson after she fell.
But when it arrived, the emergency workers were told they weren't needed.
"They never saw the patient," Coderre said, whose company, Ambulances Radisson, serves Mont Tremblant. "So they turned around."
Coderre said that victims of head trauma can often make the potentially fatal mistake of thinking they are OK.
"When you have a head trauma you can bleed. It can deteriorate in a few hours or a few days," he told the Globe. "People don't realize it can be very serious. We warn them they can die and sometimes they start to laugh. They don't take it seriously."
One hour after her fall Richardson was rushed to the Centre Hospitalier Laurentien in Ste-Agathe, Que. after complaining of a headache. She was later transferred to Montreal's Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur.
Neeson flew from the Toronto set of Atom Egoyan's new film "Chloe" to join his wife. Rumours swirled that Richardson was on life support and brain dead. Other reports suggested Richardson was suffering from swelling of the brain.
On Tuesday, March 17 Neeson whisked his wife to a private jet waiting at Pierre Elliott Trudeau Airport at approximately 12:30 p.m. Richardson was airlifted to the United States. Unconfirmed reports at the time suggested that the Irish actor was taking Richardson to New York to spend her last hours with her family.
Richardson is survived by her two sons: Daniel Jack Neeson, 12, and Micheal Richard Antonio Neeson, 13.
A computer programmer from Finland who lost his ring finger in a motorcycle accident has had it replaced with a USB drive. Jerry Jalava from Helsinki, Finland, has built…
A computer programmer from Finland who lost his ring finger in a motorcycle accident has had it replaced with a USB drive.
Jerry Jalava from Helsinki, Finland, has built the special prosthetic finger to use as computer storage for his photos, movies and other useful filesPhoto: NEWSTREAM
Jerry Jalava has built a special prosthetic finger which contains computer storage for photos, movies and other useful files.
While the prosthetic looks like a normal finger Jerry can peel it back from the 'nail' and plug it into the USB slot on his computer using it as an additional har
The software developer from Helsinki lost his finger last summer after crashing his one week old Ducati Monster 696 motorbike.
He was rushed to Helsinki Hospital where he was examined by a hand surgeon who said they were unable to save it and amputated half of the finger.
When Jerry told doctors what he did for a living they joked he should have a USB 'finger drive' but that was good enough for him, and he set about making one.
Using a traditional prosthetic finger Jerry has been able embed a 'USB key' - like the ones used in traditional flash drives - giving him the world's only two gigabyte finger.
The finger is not permanently attached to his hand meaning it can be removed when plugged into a computer.
"It is not attached permanently in to my body, it is a removable prosthetic which has USB memorystick inside it," said Jerry.
"When I'm using the USB, I just leave my finger inside the slot and pick it up after I'm ready."
Jerry said he is already thinking about upgrading his faux finger to include more storage and wireless technology.
"I'm planning to use anther prosthetic as a shell for the next version, which will have removable fingertip and an RFID tag," he added.
The bird, called AJ, can be seen putting a golf ball, slam dunking a basketball and performing gymnastic routines. Thousands of fans have watched the sporting all-rounder de…
The bird, called AJ, can be seen putting a golf ball, slam dunking a basketball and performing gymnastic routines.
Thousands of fans have watched the sporting all-rounder demonstrate his prowess in a one minute 14 second clip on video sharing website YouTube.
The green and yellow parrot's personal trainer offers encouragement from the sidelines with comments such as "good bird" and "good job."
And the bird psyches himself up for the challenge by repeating: "Put the ball in the basket. Put the ball in the basket."
The Indian Ringneck Parakeet starts his gymnastic routine by playing dead and jumping to his feet as a man out of view of the camera says: "get up".
The 18-year-old parrot rolls over sideways and climbs onto his trainer's finger, which he uses as a high bar to perform more remarkable stunts.
As the trainer says "do a flip" and "turn around" the obedient parrot rolls over the finger using his feet to grip. He then balances and turns on the spot.
He finishes the routine by offering a claw to shake hands.
The parrot leaves the gymnasium and heads to a miniature golf course where he holds a club in his beak and swings at a ball.
The ball rolls smoothly across the green, avoiding the bunkers, and falls into the hole - possibly for a birdie.
AJ picks the ball out of the hole and hands it to his trainer.
He then plays the ball again to demonstrate his previous effort was not a fluke.
Taking a miniature yellow basketball in his beak, the parrot climbs a ladder onto a table with court markings and a basketball net and backboard at one end.
He repeats his trainer's command to "put the ball in the basket" and slams the ball through the hoop for two points.
Owner Dave Cota, of Florida, USA, a 40-year-old, an entrepreneur who has worked in the sports industry, said: "It seems that he can play anything I show him.
"I have had him since he was very young and he just loves to play sports. I have had no trouble training him at all - he is very special."
AJ even has a custom-built golf course which cost around £2,000.
Dave added: "He also has his own custom-made golf clubs and bag. It cost a lot but it's worth it because he likes doing it so much."
Television wildlife expert Chris Packham explained the parrot species had a natural ability to learn and mimic human behaviour.
He said: "The Parrot's beak and claws, designed to grasp and break open fruit, gives it a dexterity not found in all birds.
"Bring that together with its ability to learn and mimic and you can see why these creatures are so endearing to humans and so popular as pets."
Strange shapes have been photographed hovering over London leading to speculation they could be UFOs. Photograph taken by Derek Burden of the London skyline which shows four UFO…
Strange shapes have been photographed hovering over London leading to speculation they could be UFOs.
Photograph taken by Derek Burden of the London skyline which shows four UFO's in the sky Photo: ARCHANT
Derek Burdon was left stunned when he took a scenic pictures of the UK capital then noticed four flying saucers on the far right of the picture.
Mr Burdon took the photographs 16 floors up on the roof top of Orion House in Covent Garden in the morning.
Although invisible to the naked eye, the shapes can be clearly seen on the picture.
Derek, 40, of Leverington, Cambs, said: "We couldn't believe it when we came to look at the photo. I just thought I would take some scenic shots of the London Eye and also Big Ben.
"There was nothing unusual in the photo and it was only when we flicked through them later that we saw them and then it started a big UFO debate.
"I have not tampered with it and you would not be able to fake it. It was taken on my mobile and I guess I am just lucky to have it. These shapes were not visible to the naked eye so it's not as if I was looking for them."
In Feburary video footage of a UFO hovering above the British coastline was captured by holidaymakers in Somerset.
Caravaners were left baffled when the mysterious cylinder hovered over a busy campsite in Brean, Somerset.
But experts dismissed the strange moving shape as a weather balloon.
Carrie Underwood has released her duet with Randy Travis on her current hit: I Told You So. Originally Travis' song, it got to #1 in 1988. Check it out:
Carrie Underwood has released her duet with Randy Travis on her current hit: I Told You So. Originally Travis' song, it got to #1 in 1988. Check it out:
