False Sense Of Security

West Point sergeant accused of filming naked female cadets without their consent

"A West Point sergeant in charge of teaching cadets has been accused of videotaping a dozen female officers without their consent, including times when they were in the shower, according to military officials. The Army confirmed reports Wednesday it had filed charges against Sgt. 1st Class Michael McClendon under four articles of the Uniform Code of Military Justice for cruelty and maltreatment, indecent acts, dereliction in the performance of duty and actions prejudicial to good order and discipline. The charges, filed May 14, come at a time when the U.S. military has come under intense scrutiny for the way it handles sexual harassment and abuse cases." Continue reading →

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Runaway goat leads New Jersey police on 90-minute highway chase

"A runaway goat on a New Jersey highway caused a four-car pileup Tuesday after leading police on an hour-and-a-half chase across a major highway. Now nicknamed 'Sky' for Tuesday’s episode on the Pulaski Skyway, the goat has been turned over to a rescue farm in Wantage, New Jersey, according to The Jersey Journal. But for a little while there, it didn’t look good for Sky as she was jumping over the highway’s divider and leaping atop cars trying to dodge police. While unharmed through the incident, it’s likely that she was on her way to a slaughterhouse and somehow escaped." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRunaway goat leads New Jersey police on 90-minute highway chase

FDA often has slow and secretive response to flawed drug research

"The Food and Drug Administration left medicines on the market for years after discovering they were approved based on fraudulent studies by Cetero Research, which did testing for drug companies worldwide. Turns out that wasn’t an anomaly: The agency’s slow, secretive response in the Cetero case mirrors how it handled an earlier instance of scientific misconduct at another contract research organization, MDS Pharma Services. Just as in the Cetero case, the agency declined to make public a list of the 217 generic drugs, both on the shelves and awaiting approval, that it said could be affected by MDS’ potentially faulty research." Continue reading →

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FDA secretly retests 100 different drugs after testing company admits its work was all fraudulent

"Pamidi bluntly acknowledged that much of the lab’s work was fraudulent, Stone said. 'You got us,' Stone recalled him saying. Based partly on records in the file boxes, the FDA eventually concluded that the lab’s violations were so 'egregious' and of such a 'pervasive nature' that studies conducted there between April 2005 and August 2009 might be worthless. The health threat was potentially serious: About 100 drugs, including sophisticated chemotherapy compounds and addictive prescription painkillers, had been approved for sale in the United States at least in part on the strength of Cetero Houston’s tainted tests." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFDA secretly retests 100 different drugs after testing company admits its work was all fraudulent

Mob Steals $100,000 Worth Of Jewelry From Woman On Chicago’s Mag Mile

"A 69-year-old woman was confronted on the Magnificent Mile (Rahmaland's answer to NYC's Fifth Avenue) by a mob of young men on Wednesday, who proceeded to take $100,000 worth of jewelry she was wearing, reports CBS Chicago. A Chicago police source said the woman from the Rahmaland suburb of Homewood Flossmoor was accosted by 10 to 12 men while walking in the 700 block of North Michigan around noon in front of Saks Fifth Avenue. They threatened to beat her if she didn’t give them her purse and jewelry. She took off her jewelry, valued at around $100,000, and handed it to them." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMob Steals $100,000 Worth Of Jewelry From Woman On Chicago’s Mag Mile

In-Flight Thieves Targeting Airline Travelers’ Carry-On Bags

"Travel experts such as Hobica say theft on planes is a growing problem, with bags getting swiped, valuables stolen and pockets picked. Jewelry, money and medications are often the sought-after prizes. One of the reasons in-flight thefts are rising is because more travelers are trying to avoid checking their bags these days. 'People don’t want to pay the check-bag fee,' Hobica said, adding, 'They also know there can be a lot of theft from baggage handlers.' More passengers carrying on luggage means overhead bins are packed. Travelers often cannot use an overhead bin near their seats, putting their valuables out of sight." Continue reading →

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$625K in gold stolen at Miami International Airport

"A box containing $625,000 in gold arrived in Miami but disappeared about an hour and a half later, Miami-Dade police say. An American Airlines plane arrived at Miami International Airport from Guayaquil, Ecuador, and docked at Gate D3 at 4:42 a.m. Tuesday, according to a Miami-Dade Police Department incident report. A tug arrived at the plane from Gate D6, according to the report. It then drove away with the cart holding the plane's cargo at 5:22 a.m. Surveillance video showed the tug continue to D37 before it entered an alley and disappeared from the video. The cart was found in front of Gate D19 at 6:20 a.m. but without the box containing the gold." Continue reading →

Continue Reading$625K in gold stolen at Miami International Airport

As Thieves Troll Spanish Farmland, Villagers Begin Patrols

"Police officials say they have seen a steady rise in the crime rate in rural areas since 2009. Just about everything is a target. Three hundred onions one night. A rubber irrigation hose the next. In Albelda, thieves have taken diesel fuel, nail guns, electric clippers — even shampoo and soap that workers use. Elsewhere in Spain, particularly in coastal regions like Valencia where there is a lot of farming, villagers are organizing themselves into patrols, too. It is not a trend that police officials like much. But they understand it. In many areas, there are too few officers to cover acres and acres of farmland. And yet there are few useful alternatives to a watchful eye." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAs Thieves Troll Spanish Farmland, Villagers Begin Patrols

CME Halted Silver Trading 4 Times Sunday as Prices Slid 9%

"Exchange operator CME Group Inc. (CME) said it halted silver trading four times Sunday evening due to highly volatile markets, a spokesman told Dow Jones Newswires. The trading halts came as silver futures slumped 9.4% to a low of $20.250 a troy ounce in the first few minutes following the open of electronic trading on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. Silver trading was stopped for two 20 second intervals at 6:07 p.m. EDT and 6:09 p.m. EDT, and two consecutive 20 second halts at 6:09 p.m. and 6:10 p.m., the spokesman said. CME Group owns and operates both the Nymex and the Comex exchanges." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCME Halted Silver Trading 4 Times Sunday as Prices Slid 9%

Student shot in head by cop while being used as human shield during home invasion

"The Hofstra University student killed during a home invasion robbery was the victim of friendly fire from a veteran cop who unleashed a barrage of bullets when the armed intruder pointed a gun at him, Nassau County police announced tonight. Andrea Rebello was accidentally shot in the head while career criminal Dalton Smith had her in a headlock and used her as a human shield while trying to escape out the back door, Det. Lt. John Azzata said. The unidentified cop fired eight rounds, seven of which struck and killed Smith, and one of which hit Rebello, he said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStudent shot in head by cop while being used as human shield during home invasion