Mainstream News

Pakistani flagmakers may see boost in sales after Obama victory spurs more effigies

"Demonstrations against Washington’s programme of missile strikes against suspected Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants are common in Pakistan, and no protest is complete without a Stars and Stripes being sent up in flames. Nadeem Shah, the owner of a flag business in Rawalpindi, the twin city of the capital Islamabad, said he expected more drone strikes — and more protests. In Rawalpindi, US flags start at around 120 rupees ($1.25) but in Nadeem Shah’s shop 1,500 rupees will get you a three-square-metre number in cloth." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPakistani flagmakers may see boost in sales after Obama victory spurs more effigies

Piedmont Boy, 3, Gets $2,500 Ticket For Urinating In His Front Yard

"A three year old gets his mom in trouble with the law when he gets a ticket from police. Now the little boy's mother will have to pay thousands of dollars for what the toddler did in their own front yard. The toddler is being potty trained, and he wasn't near the facilities, so he unzipped. We are told before he could pee, a Piedmont police officer stopped him. It's a bathroom break that cost mom $2,500." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPiedmont Boy, 3, Gets $2,500 Ticket For Urinating In His Front Yard

SWAT team brought in to evict homeowner

"A two-county SWAT team was sent to a home in Idaho Springs to evict a 63-year-old woman. SWAT team members with assault rifles were sent in because two dozen protestors joined 63-year-old Sahara Donahue. The protestors were part of a group called the Colorado Foreclosure Resistance Coalition, which is part of the Occupy movement." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSWAT team brought in to evict homeowner

Business fined $4,000 over missing trashcan lid

"Jones is one of the owners of Buckingham Slate, a Virginia business a little over an hour's drive west of Richmond. The company is distinguished by the quality of the highly valued Arvonia slate it produces. And by the fact that its roots trace back almost to the Civil War. And by the fact that federal regulators smacked it with a $4,000 fine. Over a trash can." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBusiness fined $4,000 over missing trashcan lid

Sandy victims furious as FEMA troubles begin to build

"Homeowners looking to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for assistance to rebuild their homes are learning they won’t get the immediate aid they expected. And maybe no aid at all. While the federal agency has approved $210 million in financial assistance — mostly in vouchers for hotel rooms — aid for rebuilding homes damaged or destroyed last week isn’t flowing as smoothly. FEMA won’t award grants for damage to second homes. It won’t duplicate benefits paid by private insurance. And most of its recovery aid comes in the form of low-interest disaster loans." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSandy victims furious as FEMA troubles begin to build

Internet pirates get 2 years in U.S. prison over bootleg new releases

"Two members of an Internet piracy group were sentenced to prison Friday on charges stemming from unauthorized online distribution of first-run films, officials said. The Justice Department said a Virginia court sentenced Willie Lambert, 57, of Pennsylvania, to 30 months in prison and Sean Lovelady, 28, of California to 23 months. Lambert was ordered to pay $449,514 in restitution and Lovelady $7,500. Lambert and Lovelady were indicted along with two other defendants in April for their roles in the IMAGiNE Group, a ring that sought to copy and release to the Internet copies of movies only showing in theaters." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingInternet pirates get 2 years in U.S. prison over bootleg new releases

Oklahoma Man On No Fly List Fighting To Come Home

"An overseas Oklahoman who hasn't been on the Sooner soil for more than a decade is now fighting to come home. Forty-three-year-old Saadiq Long lives in Qatar where he teaches English. In April, the U.S. Air Force veteran was told he was on the Department of Homeland Security's no fly list. He's been fighting to get taken off the list ever since, but now he's running out of time. Long's mother who still lives in McAlester is terminally ill. Long will try to fly back to Oklahoma this week to visit her, perhaps for the final time. Long, a U.S. citizen, hasn't been given a reason for why he's on the list." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOklahoma Man On No Fly List Fighting To Come Home

4 police officers arrested for performing rectal searches

"A prosecutor says criminal charges are being filed against four Milwaukee police officers accused of illegally strip searching suspects. Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm says Officer Michael Vagnini faces 25 counts of violating the strip search law, misconduct in public office and sexual assault. The investigation into potentially illegal searches began in March. Police Chief Edward Flynn said at the time the department was aware the searches for drugs had possibly crossed the line to sexual assault and civil rights violations. Seven people have filed notices claiming they were illegally searched." Continue reading →

Continue Reading4 police officers arrested for performing rectal searches

Woman Sues Pantego Police Over Burst Breast Implant

"A North Texas woman who says a Pantego police officer caused her breast implants to rupture during an arrest is suing the town. Rebecca Van Hooser said the officer threw her against her car when he arrested her during a traffic stop on Bowen Road. The Pantego officer pulled her over on a headlight violation and arrested her after learning she had a warrant for an unpaid speeding ticket. Van Hooser spent the night in jail. Her attorney said the rupture has led to health problems." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWoman Sues Pantego Police Over Burst Breast Implant

Ayahuasca-drinking shamans in Peru give Obama the win

"Using maracas, coca leaves and a hallucinogenic brew, shamans in Peru got down to business Monday using pre-Columbian traditional ceremonies to pick a winner in the US presidential race. Members of the group placed flower petals on photos of the candidates that were also swept over with tobacco smoke. The shamans chewed coca leaves, a traditional ceremonial and medicinal plant since Inca times that helps fight altitude sickness. And the crew took some swigs of ayahuasca, a psychoactive brew used widely among Amazon basin indigenous people." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAyahuasca-drinking shamans in Peru give Obama the win