From the Trenches World Report
Enforce our Bill of Rights
Huffington Post – by David Moye
When Katzen Hobbes was a toddler, she had dreams where she saw herself covered in tiger stripes.
When she was 18, she started making that dream a reality.
Now, at the age of 40, 90 percent of her body is covered in stripes.
“I still need a little bit of work under the right armpit and right ear, but I’m pretty close to completion,” Hobbes told The Huffington Post. “But I might add something more.” Continue reading “Katzen Hobbes Turns Herself Into Tiger Woman”
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Young people aren’t the only ones who get back-to-school blues. Pooches used to months of constant playtime can get upset when their best buddies disappear with the dog days of summer.
Many dogs whine and wait eagerly at the front door but eventually adjust to the absence of their young owners when they are in class. But millions of dogs can feel abandoned, sad and unable to cope – and they look for ways to lash out. Continue reading “Dogs get the blues when kids go back to school”
The World Post – by JACK CHANG and KELVIN CHAN
BEIJING (AP) — China’s legislature on Sunday ruled out allowing open nominations in the inaugural election for Hong Kong’s leader, saying they would create a “chaotic society.” Democracy activists in the Asian financial hub responded by saying that a long-threatened mass occupation of the heart of the city “will definitely happen.”
In setting tight limits on how far electoral reforms can go in Hong Kong, Beijing issued its firmest reminder yet that it’s still in charge despite the substantial autonomy it promised the city after taking control from Britain in 1997. Continue reading “China: No Open Nominations For Hong Kong Leader”
Odenton-Severn Patch – by Elizabeth Janney
With a feral cat loose in one Anne Arundel County elementary school, administrators have decided to close school early on Friday.
Richard Henry Lee Elementary School in Glen Burnie will close at 9:45 a.m. on Friday, according to Anne Arundel County Public Schools.
Typically, the school day at Richard Henry Lee Elementary starts at 8:45 a.m. The feral cat was discovered before the school day began, according to The Capital. Continue reading “Feral Cat Causes School Closure”
Huffington Post – by Stephanie Nebehay
GENEVA, Aug 29 (Reuters) – The U.N. racism watchdog urged the United States on Friday to halt the excessive use of force by police after the fatal shooting of an unarmed black teenager by a white policeman touched off riots in Ferguson, Missouri.
Minorities, particularly African Americans, are victims of disparities, the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) said after examining the U.S. record. Continue reading “UN Condemns U.S. Police Brutality, Calls For ‘Stand Your Ground’ Review”
Wall Street Journal – by ALEJANDRO LAZO
A bill banning plastic bags in California grocery stores, pharmacies, liquor stores and other businesses is headed to Gov. Jerry Brown’s desk after the state legislature passed the measure Friday.
If signed by Mr. Brown, the bill would institute the first statewide ban on plastic bags in the U.S. A spokesman for the governor said Friday he hasn’t taken a position on the issue. Continue reading “California Legislature Passes Ban on Disposable Plastic Bags”
On the first Monday of September, the United States celebrates Labor Day… but just what is Labor Day?
The first Labor Day Parade was held September 5th, 1882 in New York City to celebrate the strength of trade and labor organizations and to host a festival for worker’s families. But there are conflicting theories as to who created the holiday. Some say that it was Peter J McGuire of the American Federation of Labor, while others argue it was Matthew Maguire (Maguire not McGuire) that proposed the holiday while serving as the secretary of the Central Labor Union of New York. Continue reading “Labor Day’s surprisingly dark history”
The National Rifle Association remarkably promoted a blog post about how children can have fun at the gun range only two days after a nine-year-old girl shot her shooting instructor dead.
Sent Wednesday from the @NRAWomen Twitter account, the tweet was a link to a piece titled “7 Ways Children Can Have Fun at the Shooting Range.” The tweet was first noticed by Huffington Post. Continue reading “Outrage at NRA tweet just days after instructor shot dead by nine-year-old girl”
Wall Street Journal – by Yoni Bashan
High above the grassy parkland on Randall’s Island—site of this weekend’s Electric Zoo music festival—hangs a robotic camera so powerful it can read text on a note pad 80 feet below.
Security officials will monitor the video feed from the camera and 11 more like it from a command center nearby, part of a new strategy during the three-day music fair to keep drugs off the island. Continue reading “Electric Zoo to Clamp Down on Drugs This Year”
More than 12, 500 people in “Saint John the Baptist” parish are at risk: A brain-eating amoeba was detected in the water system there. People in Reserve, Garyville and Mount Airy are advised to take precaution.
A water sample taken two weeks ago by the department of health and hospitals tested positive for the potentially deadly bacteria.
They also found the parish drinking water was not in compliance with state-mandated disinfectant levels. Continue reading “Deadly, brain-eating amoeba found in Louisiana water system”
New York (CNN) — The sister of the Boston marathon bombing suspect was arrested in New York City Wednesday for allegedly making a bomb threat, police said.
Ailina Tsarnaev, 24, sister of Dzhokhar and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, was charged with aggravated harassment after a bomb threat was made by phone to another woman on Monday.
The recipient — whose name was not released — notified police of the threat, according to NYPD Lt. John Grimpel. Continue reading “Sister of Boston Marathon bombing suspect charged with making bomb threat”
Decator-Avondale Estates Patch – by Sydney Wu
A Lithonia man and his 9-year-old grandson have quite the story to tell after a bullet grazed the man’s head as carjackers reportedly shot at him and his grandson.
Luther Tookes, 71, had just pulled into the driveway of his Lithonia home with his grandson in the backseat when he noticed two men in a Lexus, Fox Atlanta reports.
Tookes told his grandson, Deshon, to duck when he saw one of the men pull out a gun, according to WGCL. Continue reading “Grandfather Protects Grandson, Shoots Back at Carjackers”
Silver Spring Patch – by Deb Belt
A former Baltimore City police officer pleaded guilty Wednesday to aggravated animal cruelty charges for beating his girlfriend’s puppy to death.
Officers from the Montgomery County Police-Animal Services Division last winter arrested Alec Eugene Taylor of Silver Spring for intentionally and cruelly killing Rocko, a seven-month-old puppy.
Taylor, 28, entered a guilty plea to the felony charge of beating and choking the puppy, and texting his girlfriend a photo of the dog’s body, reports WJLA TV. Continue reading “Judge: Cop Who Beat Puppy to Death Should Expect Jail Time”
Huffington Post – by Charlotte Alfred
The Islamic State militant group released a video on Tuesday purporting to show its fighters burning down a marijuana field in a town it captured in north Syria.
In the clip, which appears to be shot in the town of Akhtarin and was uploaded to YouTube by an ISIS supporter on Tuesday, the fighters denounce the evils of drug-taking, before appearing to chop down bushes and setting them ablaze. Continue reading “ISIS Says It’s Burning Marijuana Fields In Syria”
SEATTLE — Firefighters perform lifesaving acts as part of their job. But one local firefighter went above and beyond the call of duty for one tiny little creature.
Andy Reilly says he was headed out from the firehouse on a call early Tuesday morning.
“I saw something on the floor that I first thought was a giant moth,” he wrote on Facebook. “On closer inspection it turned out to be a humming bird.” Continue reading “Local firefighter saves tiniest patient”
Daily Mail – by JONATHAN O’CALLAGHAN
A pilot and his co-pilot have spotted a mysterious orange and red glow over the Pacific Ocean.
The strange lights were spotted south of the Russian peninsula Kamchatka during the flight of a Boeing 747-8 from Hong Kong to Anchorage, Alaska.
And while no explanation has yet been given, it’s thought that they may have originated from the explosion of a huge volcano under the surface of the ocean. Continue reading “Mystery glow over the Pacific Ocean: Pilots left baffled by strange orange and red lights spotted in the dead of night”
On Friday, Manhattan will officially become home to the world’s swankiest Denny’s. Patrons of the sleek new Financial District diner-cum-lounge will have access to all sorts of unholy pairings unfathomable to your teenage self growing up in Chippewa Falls: Madam, would you care for a Bellini with your Grand Slam? A craft mezcal cocktail to accompany your Pancake Puppies? Looking to impress clients or a mid-level courtisan? Look no further than the $300 Grand Cru Slam, which includes two Grand Slam breakfasts, a bottle of Dom Perignon Vintage 2003 champagne and a “bartender high five,” if you’re OK with allowing your manicured hands contact with the lower castes like that. Continue reading “Manhattan’s First Denny’s Opens Friday With $300 Grand Cru Slam”
The star of a hit reality television show has reportedly been arrested for repeatedly raping his own 12-year-old daughter.
“Sons of Guns” star Will Hayden, 44, was arrested Tuesday in Louisiana by U.S. Marshals and charged with aggravated rape of a child – his second arrest in as many weeks for child molestation. Continue reading “‘Sons of Guns’ star arrested for allegedly raping his 12-year-old daughter”
The Washington Post – by Abby Ohlheiser
A veteran “Cops” sound supervisor who was critically injured while filming an armed robbery in Nebraska on Tuesday has died, the reality show’s production company said Wednesday. Thirty-eight-year-old Bryce Dion was killed by a police officer’s errant bullet during a shootout with a robbery suspect in Omaha.
“We are deeply saddened and shocked by this tragedy and our main concern is helping his family in any way we can,” Pam Golum said in an e-mailed statement. “Bryce Dion was a long term member of the Cops team and a very talented and dedicated person. We mourn his passing. An investigation is ongoing and we are cooperating with local authorities.” Continue reading “The ‘Cops’ crew member killed in a police shootout was shot by an officer’s gun”
AOL – by Sue Manning
AOL
AOL – by Ryan Gorman
AOL
CNN – by Rande Iaboni
Q 13 Fox – by Travis Mayfield
Gothamist
AOL – by Ryan Gorman