According to many sources, including the Associated Press, Wall Street Journal, KGAN, and FOXNews, a package found in a motel room in Las Vegas contained the deadly poison ricin. Seven people were taken to the hospital according to authorities since all preliminary tests indicated that the package found had the deadly poison ricin.
According to AP, Las Vegas Police was called to the Extended Stay America Motel: Upon Arrival police found a package that according to the motel manager it contained a chemical or a possible controlled substance. Preliminary test run by the Center for Diseases Control (CDC) revealed the dangerous chemical. More confirmatory tests are needed to be absolutely sure about the presence of the deadly substance.
After the preliminary results police cordoned the motel and Homeland Security officials, FBI, Las Vegas personnel, Health District authorities, a hazardous materials team, and the National Guard were also brought in, according to the sources.
The authorities cautioned that this does not look as a probable terrorist attack. "This is not a terror incident at this point," Police Captain Lombardo said.
Ricin is a protein that can be found and extracted from castor beans (Ricinus communis). According to the CDC, the lethal dose for an average person is 0.2 milligrams (0.0002 grams). Experts report that ricin is 12000 times more poisonous than rattlesnake venom. On the other hand, ricin is several times less toxic than botulinum toxin.
During the First World War the United States researched ricin as a potential chemical/biological warfare agent. Ricin was used in 1978 to kill defected Bulgarian dissident Georgi Markov in a London Street. There is no specific antidote for ricin
According to the CDC (Centers for Disease Control Web site) ricin causes vomiting and diarrhea. Hallucinations, seizures, blood in the urine are also present in infected patients.
Source:
http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/631191/deadly_poison_ricin_found_in_las_vegas.html
Deadly Poison Ricin Found in Las Vegas; 7 People Hospitalized
Lisa Lynette Clark Free From Prison After Marrying 15-Year Old
Atlanta, GA 2/22/2008 09:49 PM GMT (FINDITT)
Lisa Lynette Clark, a Georgia woman who married a 15-year-old boy and later had his child, was released from prison Friday.
Clark finished a two-year prison sentence after pleaded guilty in Douglas County to aiding her teenage husband's flight out of state in February 2006. The teenager, who was on probation for a burglary and was in a group home in DeKalb County, was caught in Ohio and returned to Georgia.
The teen had been on probation for a burglary. Authorities caught him within two weeks and brought him back to Georgia.
In 2006 Clark spent nine months in jail after pleading guilty in Hall County to statutory rape, stemming from her relationship with the teen she married.
Clark was 36 when she married one of her teenage sons' 15-year-old friends in November 2005. The couple was married by a retired county probate judge who performed the ceremony in the driveway of his home.
Hall County authorities arrested Clark the next day on charges of sexually molesting a minor.
While in jail, Clark gave birth to a 7-pound, 9-ounce son she named Skye Cobain Gonzalez, in part to honor the late Kurt Cobain, founder of the rock group Nirvana. The baby was placed in a foster home.
For more legal news, please check out http://news.finditt.com/NewsList.aspx?cat=19&wcat=17
befound@finditt.com
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Audi's New R8 seen on SuperBowl
The carmaker is kicking off its venture into the luxury market with its first Super Bowl ads in 19 years.
By Ken Bensinger and Alana Semuels, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers
February 2, 2008
Audi's top American executives were in Arizona this week, hosting golf outings with Ronnie Lott, tippling drinks with Kate Hudson and throwing swanky parties at an exclusive nightclub, all in conjunction with the carmaker's first Super Bowl advertisement in 17 years.
Hyundai is also advertising during the Super Bowl for the first time in years -- 19 to be precise -- to promote its new Genesis luxury sedan. Its on-the-ground Super Bowl effort? Inviting a handful of Hyundai dealers to attend the game with the corporate marketing chief.
Related
- YouTube: Hyundai Super Bowl ad
- YouTube: Hyundai Genesis Super Bowl ad
"It's a question of where we want to put our resources," explained Chris Perry, vice president of marketing communications at Hyundai Motor America, based in Fountain Valley. Yet considering the money involved -- an estimated $2.7 million for each 30-second spot, and Hyundai bought two -- as well as a public miscue that made it appear that Hyundai was pulling its ads, only to recommit a few days later, Hyundai's approach to the big game strikes an odd note at a crucial moment for the company.
The stakes couldn't be higher for the South Korean automaker, which is trying to push an upscale image in advance of the June launch of the Genesis. For years, the company has prospered at the bargain end of the car-selling spectrum, but it is facing a slumping market for cars in general and a looming threat from Chinese automakers eager to break into the area.
"This is extremely important for Hyundai," said George Peterson, president of industry consultant AutoPacific. "They have to move their product up in public perception. The question is: Can they position themselves as a luxury brand?"
If they can't, he says, the cost could be much greater than $5.4 million in airtime.
Last year, Hyundai sold 467,009 cars and sport utility vehicles in the U.S., according to AutoData, a record but well short of its target of 512,000. For 2008, the company expects to sell 500,000 vehicles, a tall order in an overall U.S. market expected to shrink, by Hyundai's expectations, by 4%. Last month, it sold 21,452 vehicles, down 22.6% from a year earlier.
The Genesis, though not expected to be a big seller at first, is a significant part of Hyundai's growth strategy. Since entering the U.S. in 1986, Hyundai has focused on cars priced below $20,000. Last year Hyundai had difficulty meeting dealer demand for its low-cost Accents and Elantras, but the carmaker had a surplus of Sonatas, which top out at $25,000, and it sold many into rental fleets.
The Genesis is a different animal. The company's first rear-wheel-drive vehicle, and its first with a V8 engine under the hood, the Genesis is a 375-horsepower machine packed with the kinds of features typically associated with BMW 5-series or Mercedes E class sedans. At a price that could surpass $40,000 (Hyundai hasn't released final figures), it will be the Korean carmaker's most expensive vehicle ever.
If it succeeds, said Bernard Swiecki, industry analyst at the Center for Automotive Research, it will help Hyundai "round out and be a full-product-offering automaker." Not only would the high-margin Genesis boost profit, he said, but, with inexpensive Chinese cars expected in the U.S. in as little as three years, it would also help spread growth across a wide spectrum of buyers.
Thanks to a 10-year, 100,000-mile warranty, Hyundai has succeeded in getting the word out about its much-improved quality. But persuading drivers to choose it for a luxury car is a matter of brand perception. Enter the biggest ad spend in the world.
For a company trying something new, the Super Bowl can be a great venue, said Tim Calkins, professor of marketing at Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.
What's the Story on Groundhog Day?
Why all the fuss about Groundhog Day?
Find out at the Lake Superior Zoo on Groundhog Day (Saturday, Feb. 2) at 10 a.m.
The public is invited to do a little digging and visit the kissing-cousins, a close relative of Punxsutawney Phil. Will they see their shadows?
The Lake Superior Zoo has 36 prairie dogs that are busily preparing to assume their kissing-cousin’s, the groundhog, prognosticating assignment. Submitted photo
The Lake Superior Zoo has 36 prairie dogs that are busily preparing to assume their kissing-cousin’s, the groundhog, prognosticating assignment. Submitted photo
Groundhogs are woodchucks, and vice versa. Groundhogs, or woodchucks, are one of 14 species recognized as marmots, which, in essence, are large rodents that are found throughout the Northern Hemisphere. Groundhogs are closely related to both ground squirrels and prairie dogs.
The Lake Superior Zoo has 36 prairie dogs that are busily preparing to assume their kissing-cousin’s prognosticating assignment!
Marmots (groundhogs and prairie dogs) live a life of feast-or-famine, gorging themselves all summer to build up plentiful reserves of fat to sustain them through their winter hibernation. As winter approaches, they retreat into their underground burrows and snooze (on and off) until spring. The length of hibernation depends upon many factors, including weather and extreme temperature. It is common for them to wake up, or be aroused, every week or so for a bit and then go back into their deep slumber.
So, what does a sleepy, furry marmot have to do with the coming of spring?
Well, the story is traced back to the early Christian tradition of Candlemas, a day to bless and distribute candles, a hot commodity in the days before electric light — especially during the cold, dark winter. Seasonal Affective Disorder notwithstanding, the early Christians found a way to make the dismal winter season a bit cheerier: They decided that clear skies on Candlemas Day meant a longer winter. By the time this tradition reached Germany, the groundhog and his shadow had entered the story. When the Germans came to Pennsylvania, they brought their traditions — including the marmot — with them.
This quirky tradition developed into what we now call Groundhog Day.
But where does Punxsutawney Phil fit in?
Well, in 1887, a spirited group of groundhog hunters from Punxsutawney, Pa., dubbed themselves “The Punxsutawney Groundhog Club.” One member of the club happened to be the editor of the local newspaper.
Using his editorial clout, he proclaimed Punxsutawney Phil, the local groundhog, to be the one and only official weather prognosticating groundhog. He issued this proclamation on, appropriately enough, Groundhog Day. Newspapers from around the globe began to report Punxsutawney Phil’s Groundhog Day predictions. Today, more than 20,000 fans come to Punxsutawney on Groundhog Day to continue the tradition. Will we have six more weeks of winter?
Find out Saturday at the Lake Superior Zoo. For more information, call 730-4500 during business hours. The zoo is located at 72nd Avenue West and Grand Avenue in Duluth and is open seven days a week from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. throughout the winter months.
Source: http://www.duluthbudgeteer.com/articles/index.cfm?id=21576
'U.S. Male' survive Wing Bowl's 1st round
StoryChat Post Comment
Friday, February 1, 2008
BILL DUHART
Staff Writer
PHILADELPHIA -- Two South Jersey contestants have made it past the first round of this year's Wing Bowl.
Five-time champion Bill "El Wingador" Simmons, of Woodbury Heights, at 107 wings during the 14-minute round while Dave "U.S. Male" Goldstein, of Voorhees, consumed 81.
Audubon resident Elliott "Wing Tut" Maruffi-Cowley, however, was eliminated.
The leader after the first round was defending champion Joey Chestnut, who downed 124 wings.
The remaining contestants now move on to the second round, which also lasts 14 minutes.
The event ends with a 2-minute eat-off.
In its 16th year, The Wing Bowl lurched into gear early this morning here at the Wachovia Center, a campy tribute to gluttony and light-hearted debauchery.
A capacity crowd of close to 20,000 watched a seemingly endless procession of scantily clad women parade into the area with their favorite power eater.
The goal? To eat mounds of barbecue chicken wings until no one can eat more.
