Page 2 News: April 18, 2012 – April 27, 2012
NEWS
Brain dead mom gives birth to twins
Vance Terrell offered encouraging words to his pregnant sister during visits to a western Michigan hospital. It didn’t matter that she couldn’t see or hear him, and would never hold her twin sons. Christine Bolden, 26, was already brain dead from aneurysms, but doctors kept her on a respirator for a month to allow for the development of babies who were born prematurely at 25 weeks. It was a rare procedure…..
Tax time pushes some Americans to take a hike
A year ago, in Action Comics, Superman declared plans to renounce his U.S. citizenship.Genette Eysselinck renounced her U.S. citizenship to become Belgian. “‘Truth, justice, and the American way’ – it’s not enough anymore,” the comic book superhero said, after both the Iranian and American governments criticized him for joining a peaceful anti-government protest in Tehran. Last year, almost 1,800 people followed Superman’s lead…..
Super Secret Hypersonic Aircraft Flew Out of Its Skin
It turns out that tearing through the atmosphere at 20 times the speed of sound is bad for the skin, even if you’re a super high-tech aircraft developed by the government’s best engineers at its far-out research agency. DARPA, the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency, has made public its best guess about what might have caused its unmanned arrowhead-shaped Hypersonic Technology Vehicle (HTV-2) to suddenly lose contact…..
Jailed for $280: The Return of Debtors’ Prisons
How did breast cancer survivor Lisa Lindsay end up behind bars? She didn’t pay a medical bill — one the Herrin, Ill., teaching assistant was told she didn’t owe. “She got a $280 medical bill in error and was told she didn’t have to pay it,” The Associated Press reports. “But the bill was turned over to a collection agency, and eventually state troopers showed up at her home and took her to jail in handcuffs…..
Asteroid Mining: Planetary Resources Plans to Dig Off-Earth
Forget Earth. Let’s mine space. There are a lot of rocks floating around out there beyond our planet’s confines, and the thinking of a smart, connected and very rich group of investors is that the time is right to search for resources somewhere besides the ground we call home. A company called Planetary Resources — started three years ago, but only now unveiling its plans…..
SPORTS
Small boy runs on field at White Sox game
Who said the Chicago White Sox don’t have any exciting young talent waiting in the wings? An unidentified young boy stole the show at U.S. Cellular Field on Thursday, storming the field in the seventh inning of a 5-3 loss to the Baltimore Orioles. With the small matinee crowd pointing and laughing, the tiny Sox fan scampered over the wall and into the outfield. The South Side’s version of Ferris Bueller didn’t make it far…..
Pudge Rodriguez’s unique first pitch
Rather than do the “hang around by the phone and wait” routine that so many aging ballplayers have recently opted for, Ivan Rodriguez cut straight to the chase. The 21-year veteran catcher officially announced his retirement at Rangers Ballpark on Monday and then rode off in the sunset with a “first pitch” that ranks a lot better than being gradually forgotten about…..
OUTDOORS/NATURE
Armored catfish wreaking havoc in South Florida lakes
A species of “armored catfish” are damaging South Florida’s lakes, causing coastal erosion and even burrowing holes that trip up humans walking along the water’s edge. Catfish are usually one of the more popular breeds of aquatic life, with their smooth skin and flavorful meat. There’s even a highly unconventional form of fishing known as “noodling,” in which people use their bare hands to capture catfish…..
New species of purple crab discovered in the Philippines
Four new species of crab have been discovered in the Philippine island of Palawan. And one of the crabs truly stands out with its unusually bright purple shell. National Geographic reports that the Insulamon palawanese may use its uniquely colored shell to help identify its own kind. “It is known that crabs can discriminate colours. Therefore, it seems likely that the colouration has a signal function for the social behaviour…..
First-ever footage of rare white orca released by Russian scientists
Russian scientists have released footage of what’s believed to be the world’s only all-white adult male orca, which belongs to a small pod known to inhabit waters off Russia’s Commander Islands in the Bering Sea. The orca was named “Iceberg” because of the way its towering white dorsal fin broke the surface of the chilly waters east of the Kamchatka Peninsula…..
AUTO
Range Rover spices it up with Evoque Victoria Beckham Edition
“Tell me what you want, what you really, really want,” sang former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham before she signed on as a spokes-celebrity for Land Rover. And now, apparently, she’s ready to answer her own question. Or, more accurately, Land Rover is, the maker revealing the new Evoque Victoria Beckham Edition during a preview ahead of the opening of the 2012 Beijing Motor Show…..
TRAVEL
America’s best cities for hipsters
You generally know hipsters when you see them—most likely in funky, up-and-coming neighborhoods. A smirking attitude toward mainstream institutions means they tend to frequent cool, often idiosyncratic restaurants, shops, and bars—the same kinds of venues that appeal to travelers looking for what they can’t find at home. And to hang out with hipsters, start in Seattle; a local taste for the retro, artsy, and…..
REAL ESTATE
The world’s most expensive one-bedroom condo
This might very well be the world’s most expensive one-bedroom condo. The penthouse of the 10-story exclusive residence building “The House Minami-Azabu,” located in the Tokyo district of the same name, is listed with Japan’s Sotheby’s International Realty for 1.8 billion yen, or approximately $22 million. The average cost for an existing Tokyo condominium this size in February was $1.982 million…..
Ex-Nazi watchtower becomes luxury home
We’ve seen some truly unique homes in the past — from private islands designed for the super rich to massive castles with more rooms than you’d know what to do with — but an antiquated war monument turned luxury home? Now we’ve seen everything. On the outskirts of a village named Steenokkerzeel in Belgium stands a World War II-era water tower that is more than meets the eye. Its brick and mortar shell hides a secret…..
ENTERTAINMENT
The Top 10 Most Expensive Celeb Splits Ever
Neil Diamond was all smiles when he got hitched to his manager over the weekend, but there was a time when the “Sweet Caroline” singer made headlines for the sweet settlement his ex-wife got when the couple divorced. At $150 million, it was one of the biggest divorce payments in Hollywood history at the time. Take a look at these other wildly expensive celebrity divorces…..
Shirley Temple – A Pictorial
“When I was 14, I was the oldest I ever was. I’ve been getting younger ever since.” ~ Shirley Temple …..
“One famous movie executive who shall remain nameless, exposed himself to me in his office. ‘Mr X,’ I said, ‘I thought you were a producer not an exhibitor’.” ~ Shirley Temple
