Monday, June 30, 2014

Drivers stunned to see man hanging on back of speeding car

Man hanging on the back of car on I-77 in traffic
(Brenda Cruz via YouTube)

It’s something you never expect to see in real life.  Drivers along I-77 in North Carolina were stunned Saturday to see a man hanging onto the back of a car that was traveling on the interstate.  The incident was captured on video by Brenda Cruz.

Cruz and her family were driving along the busy highway and suddenly her kids started screaming that there was someone on top of the trunk of a car.  At first she didn’t believe them, but then she saw it, pulled out her phone and started filming.

Traffic along that stretch of I-77, near Charlotte, NC, is usually speeding along at 70 mph.  However, Cruz says that she and other motorists had slowed down to catch a glimpse of the unbelievable sight.  She estimates that at the time they witnessed the incident, the car the man was clinging to was probably going about 50 mph. (Continue reading full story here.)

Friday, June 27, 2014

Fired nanny refuses to leave; family turns to Facebook for help

The Bracamontes just want to be home alone
(via their Facebook page)

It’s a scene that could have been lifted straight out of Tyler Perry’s hit TV show “The Haves and the Have Nots”.  On the show, both Jim and Katheryn (the husband and wife characters of the wealthy and powerful Cryer family) have often told their maid Celine that she is fired, but she refuses to leave.  Well CNN reported today that an Upland, California, family has fired their nanny Diane Stretton, 64, and Stretton refuses to move out.

Ralph and Marcella Bracamonte said they hired Stretton as a nanny on March 4.  She was supposed to help with the children and also pitch in with chores around the house in exchange for room and board.  The Bracamontes followed the usual protocols of caution and investigated her background.  (Continue reading full story here.)

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Dashcam video: Cop drags woman off tracks seconds before train mows her down

Caught on tape!  Cop rescues woman from train tracks
seconds before train speeds by.
(Dashcam video:  Richmond Police Department)

With so many stories of law enforcement authorities (from officials to beat cops) being exposed for corruption, it’s easy for people to forget the many officers out there who continuously uphold their oath to protect and serve.  The Huffington Post reports today that one heroic officer snatched a suicidal woman off the train tracks mere moments before the speeding train would have shred her to pieces.

Police Officer Ramon Morales, 27, of the Richmond Police Department (RPD), was hailed by a passerby early Sunday morning.  The person told Morales that there was a woman on the train tracks.  When Morales arrived he says that he saw a woman on the tracks crying, the crossing guard was coming down, and he sprang into action.  (Continue reading full story here.)

Monday, June 23, 2014

Pastor uses gun giveaways to lure young men to church

Baptism by rifle?
(Pastor Heath Mooneyham via his Facebook page)

Giving away fish dinners, CDs, and crocheted blankets in order to lure people to church is one thing, but Ignite Church in Joplin, MO, has raised eyebrows with its radical membership drive.  According to a story in the NY Daily News today, Pastor Heath Mooneyham has crossed the line.  He is using semi-automatic weapons as bait to get young men to attend church.

Mooneyham advertised via Facebook, Twitter, and his website that he was looking for men to join the church.  He said that he especially wanted young men between the ages of 18-35 to become a part of Ignite Church’s ministry. To capture their attention, he promised to raffle off two Black Rain AR-15s on Father’s Day.   (Continue to reading full story here.)

Friday, June 20, 2014

Man ordered to take down U.S. flag because it makes Muslims feel threatened

Should Muslims be threatened by this flag?
(Photo Credit:  Jerry Markland/Getty Images)

Our great nation is often referred to as a melting pot.  Everyone is invited to enjoy the opportunities America offers.  But when does the hand held high in welcome become bruised from being ungratefully trampled on once more and again?  Well Headline News reported yesterday that Duy Tran, of Texas, was ordered by his apartment complex to remove the U.S. flag from his balcony because it is a “threat to the Muslim community.”

Tran said that he moved into the Lodge on El Dorado Apartments just a couple of days ago.  As he was getting settled in and putting things away, he decided to put up his U.S. flag.  He didn’t fly it on the carefully manicured apartment lawns, or near the centralized pool area.  He draped this flag from his very own personal and private balcony.  (Continue reading full story here.)

Thursday, June 19, 2014

Woman videos herself having stroke after doctors say it was "just stress"

Stacey Yepes of Thornhill, Ontario, was out for a drive when she started to experience numbness and tingling on the left side of her body.  She quickly pulled over and made a video showing and describing what was happening.  (YouTube on.aol.com) 

Have you ever sat in front of a doctor and you can practically feel the breeze of him brushing off your symptoms and rushing on to the next appointment?  Well you are not always imagining it.  CTV news ran a story yesterday showing a video that Stacey Yepes, 49, of Ontario, Canada, took of herself having a stroke.

Yepes was home watching TV one evening and suddenly her whole left side started feeling numb.  She drove to the hospital to get checked out.  She says she felt that something was very wrong and she might be having a stroke.  (Continue reading full story here.)

Monday, June 16, 2014

Backhoe used to find body of woman buried under rubbish after floor collapsed

Authorities used a similar backhoe to locate
Beverly Mitchell's body.
(photo:  handout by Getty Images)

Many fans tune in to shows like “Hoarders” to have a few chuckles over the pile and stacks of things that people refuse to throw away.  But hoarding can be very dangerous.  Connecticut police found Beverly Mitchell, 66, dead Saturday.  Her floor collapsed under the weight of all of the rubble accumulated over the years.

According to Cheshire Patrol Sergeant Kevin O’Donnell, they found Mitchell buried under a collection that included mail, packages, magazines, bottles, etc.  He said it was “piled to the ceiling in most rooms. There was a waist-high layer of clutter in the room she had been living in.”  (Continue reading full story here.)

Thursday, June 12, 2014

#GoKillYourself: the latest fast-growing trending hashtag; danger ahead

You have the power to delete and protect yourself.
(Photo Credit:  Cyberbullying via Facebook)

Commentary:  There is a disturbing trend emerging on many internet discussion forums and social media sites.  Tried and true manners and etiquette are fast disappearing.  The problem seems to stem from the fact that some people no longer appreciate the challenge and beauty of a lively debate.  Instead some seem to want to use these threads as a platform where their opinion is the only one that matters.

Whereas before the only thing such commenters blew up was their own ego, now we are living in a time when you never know what they might do.  More and more we are seeing the particularly ugly comment #GoKillYourself.  It was probably there all the time, but with all of the recent stories of children, teens, and adults killing themselves over cyberbullying, these vicious comments seem to jump off the page.

The comment is usually preceded by a hashtag for emphasis and may contain other instructions.  Some of the more common ones are #ShutUpAndGoKillYourself,  #LogOffAndGoKillYourself, #StopTalkingAndGoKillYourself, #LockYourselfInARoomAndKillYourself, #GoJumpOffABridgeAndKillYourself.

Forums are meant to be places where people can safely gather and contribute their opinions and views to the topic of conversation.  What is alarming is that there no longer seems to be any appreciation of the fact that people can agree to disagree and still be civil.  It is certainly fine to attack someone’s point of view with a stinging rebuttal.  In fact, these very differences of opinion can lead to a thread with pages of engaging and entertaining comments.  But it is never okay to attack the person who made the comment.

Why do people want to shut down a conversation if it isn’t going their way?  Why not just silently excuse themselves and find a thread more suitable to their liking?  There are many theories.  The person may have no, or very little, control in their own lives, so it gives them a sense of power to badger other commenters; especially while remaining invisible behind a computer screen.

Maybe they are a part of a group or culture that uses #GoKillYourself as a figure of speech and mean no harm.  For example, the highly offensive “B word” and “N word” have been so overused in  everything from TV programs and movies, that many people use it in regular conversations as if it is a term of endearment meant for friends and loved ones.

Whatever the reason, it needs to be stopped now.  How can we get rid of this virus?  Well that seems a monumental task, but there are some steps we can take to move in that direction.  Moderators can block or delete commenters who do this.

Some threads have thousands of replies and the moderator, unless comments have to be approved, often does not see every response.  Readers can be a great help by flagging any comment that contains the phrase #GoKillYourself  or any of its variations which will bring it to the moderator’s attention.

Why is this vitally important?  A look at any news site will reveal an alarming number of recent mass shootings and murder-suicides.  It is impossible to tell which commenter is almost to that point, or mentally ill, and for whom that simple command will be the straw that breaks the camel’s back.

We must do everything possible to make sure a silly hashtag order is not taken seriously by the wrong person who mistakes it for “voices in their heads” telling them to do it.  So if you or any of your friends do this, start a campaign to stop it immediately.  Because the person you tell to #GoKillYourself might do just that, but not before taking many other innocent bystanders with him or her during a real life rampage.  Let’s #KeepItClassy and #TakeBackTheInternet.

Tuesday, June 10, 2014

Newlywed couple dead; crashed head-on into each other while texting each other

Nicolas Cruz and Christina Munoz died while texting each other.
(Photo Credit:  Nicolas Cruz via Facebook)

A sad story out of Texas that demonstrates, once again, just how quickly life can change.  On June 5th, a Texan newlywed couple was killed in a car crash.  Authorities just released new information yesterday that the couple was texting each other during the wreck that landed both vehicles in a ditch.  The ironic part is that they were driving to meet each other.  The ill-fated couple was identified as Christina Munoz, 26, and Nicolas Cruz, 31.

As the couple was approaching each other from opposite directions, something happened and Munoz apparently lost control of the car.  Her 1999 Saturn veered into the oncoming lane and she crashed head-on into the 1990 Mazda pickup truck that her husband Cruz was driving.  (Continue reading full story here.)

Sunday, June 8, 2014

Yaya DaCosta to portray icon Whitney Houston in Lifetime's biopic

Yaya DaCosta has been tapped to portray the legendary Whitney Houston.
(Photo Credit:  Rommel Demano/Getty Images)

The wait is finally over.  The Huffington Post reports today that model and actress YaYa DaCosta, 31, has been selected to play the role of the late singer Whitney Houston on Lifetime Network’s upcoming biopic.  The movie, as yet untitled, is scheduled to air sometime in 2015 and will be actress Angela Bassett’s first turn at directing.

The choice of DaCosta to star as the beloved Houston is already causing negative backlash and critical questions.  Many on social media are fearful that she won’t be able to do the role justice because she is known more for modeling, rather than acting.  (Continue reading full story here.)

Friday, June 6, 2014

Shootout at Forsyth County GA courthouse; deputy injured, attacker dead

Scene of shootout at Forsyth County GA Courthouse
(Photo Credit:  MyFoxNewsAtlanta.com)

CNN is reporting that a man is dead after trying to attack and take over a courthouse in Forsyth County, GA.  Just hours ago today the man, identified as Dennis Ronald Marx, 48, of Cumming, GA, drove his SUV straight up to the courthouse steps with intentions of wreaking havoc.  Authorities are calling it a “frontal assault”.

Marx screeched to a stop practically on top of the courthouse doors and immediately began throwing out spike strips that appeared to be homemade.  Spike strips are used, usually by police, to slow down or stop a criminal by causing his tires to go flat.  He also fired through the windshield hitting a deputy in the leg.  (Continue reading full story here.)

Wednesday, June 4, 2014

'Keeping Up With The Kardashians' star Kourtney pregnant again; still unwed

Scott Disick and Kourtney Kardashian are
expecting their third child, but have made no move to get married.
(Photo Credit:  John Parra/Getty Images)

Kourtney Kardashian, 35, and her children’s father Scott Disick, 31, are officially statistics.  US Weekly is reporting today that the eldest Kardashian sibling is pregnant with her third child.  Kourtney and Disick are not married, although maybe her sister Kim Kardashian West’s recent nuptials with Kanye West will start her to thinking along those lines.

This was no teenaged “oops”.  Kardashian has always made it known that she wants a lot of children.  She knows what it takes to get them and this pregnancy was planned.  Where she differs from many is that she is showing no interest in making it a priority to bring her children into the world under the covering a covenant marriage household.  Not every marriage lasts till death does the couple part.  Some shatter in divorce long before the silver anniversary.

But Kardashian is travelling down a parental path that is seemingly widening day by day.  (Continue reading the full story here.)

Monday, June 2, 2014

Chris Brown released from jail this morning; like his song, he's a 'Changed Man'

Chris Brown in happier times.  Hopefully he is on his way back.
(Photo Credit:  Chris Brown via his own Facebook page)

Singing and dancing sensation Chris Brown is once again a free man.  Brown was released from prison at 12:01am this morning, according to Los Angeles Sheriff’s Deputy Tony Moore.

Brown was convicted of beating pop star Rhianna after an argument in 2009.  Pictures were released of a bruised and battered Rhianna that left no doubt that she had been savagely attacked. Rhianna told police that she had been punched and bitten.  Brown served time for that beating, did community service and was out on probation.

(Continue reading full story here.)