Duck survives two days in a Fla. refrigerator after being shot; startles hunter's wife
By: Associated Press | ∞
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- Neither gunfire nor two days in a refrigerator could slay this duck.
When the wife of the hunter who shot it opened the refrigerator door, the duck lifted its head, giving her a scare.
The man's wife "was going to check on the refrigerator because it hadn't been working right and when she opened the door, it looked up at her," said Laina Whipple, a receptionist at Killearn Animal Hospital. "She freaked out and told the daughter to take it to the hospital right then and there."
The 1-pound female ring-neck ended up at Goose Creek Wildlife Sanctuary, where it has been treated since Tuesday for wounds to its wing and leg.
Sanctuary veterinarian David Hale said it has about a 75 percent chance of survival, but probably won't ever be well enough to be released back into the wild.
He said the duck, which has a low metabolism, could have survived in a big enough refrigerator, especially if the door was opened and closed several times. And he said he understands how the hunter thought the duck was dead.
"This duck is very passive," Hale said. "It's not like trying to pick up a Muscovy at Lake Ella, where you put your life in your hands."
Man survives fall from 17th floor at downtown Minneapolis hotel
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- A man crashed through a double-paned window in a hotel on Saturday and plummeted 16 floors -- but survived when he was caught by a roof overhang.
Joshua S. Hanson, 29, of Blair, Wis., was taken to a hospital. Police said his most serious injury from the fall was a broken leg.
The man must have "an angel on his shoulder or something," said Minneapolis police Lt. Dale Barsness. "He's a lucky guy."
According to a police report, Hanson and two friends returned from a night of drinking about 1:30 a.m Saturday. When the elevator reached the 17th floor, Hanson ran down a short hallway toward a floor-to-ceiling window, Barsness said. He apparently lost his balance and crashed through the glass, then fell 300 feet.
The window was double-paned and had a safety bar, said Tom Mason, general manager of the Hyatt.
"This has never happened before," said Mason, who added that hotel officials will investigate and take whatever steps to ensure the hotel's safety.
Judge denies unemployment benefits to woman who was fired from her job for keeping a journal detailing her efforts to avoid work
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- An administrative judge has denied unemployment benefits to a woman who was fired from her job for keeping a journal detailing her efforts to avoid work.
Emmalee Bauer, 25, of Elkhart, was employed by the Sheraton hotel company as a sales coordinator in Des Moines. While on the job, she kept a handwritten journal. A supervisor told her to stop writing on company time, but instead, Bauer wrote her journal, all 300 single-spaced pages, on her work computer.
In the journal, portions of which were introduced during a recent hearing regarding Bauer's request for unemployment, Bauer describes her efforts to avoid work.
"This typing thing seems to be doing the trick," she wrote. "It just looks like I am hard at work on something very important."
Bauer also wrote: "I am only here for the money and, lately, for the printer access. I haven't really accomplished anything in a long while ... and I am still getting paid more than I ever have at a job before, with less to do than I have ever had before. It's actually quite nice when I think of it that way. I can shop online, play games and read message boards and still get paid for it."
In her journal she speculated it could someday be published.
Bauer was fired for misuse of company time after a supervisor discovered the journal late last year.
Administrative Law Judge Susan Ackerman denied Bauer's request for unemployment last week, saying she the journal demonstrated a refusal to work, as well as Bauer's "amusement at getting away with it."
Newspaper: 10 months after disappearance, Missouri boy met police to report bike stolen
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Ten months after Shawn Hornbeck's disappearance, he spoke with police to report his bike had been stolen but gave no clue that he was a missing child, a newspaper reported Saturday.
That apparently was the first of two encounters Shawn had with police after his 2002 disappearance, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported. The boy also may have placed a message on the Web site created by his parents during their search for him.
Shawn was missing more than four years before he was discovered Jan. 12 with 13-year-old Ben Ownby, who had been reported missing four days earlier. Michael Devlin, 41, has pleaded not guilty to kidnapping Ben and has been charged with kidnapping Shawn.
The Post-Dispatch said that on August 15, 2003, when Shawn was 12, he introduced himself to police in suburban Kirkwood as Shawn Devlin and gave no clue that he was a missing child being held captive. Shawn reported that his bike had been stolen from outside the apartment he shared with Devlin, according to the police report.
"I spoke with Shawn Devlin and his father Michael Devlin," Officer Christopher Moss wrote in the report, which the newspaper obtained through a public records request.
There was no immediate response to calls seeking comment Saturday from Moss, now an officer in nearby Overland. James Herron, chief of police in Overland, said Saturday that policy prevents him and his officers from commenting on current investigations.
Kirkwood police also did not immediately return calls seeking comment.
Kim Evans, a friend of Shawn's family who has been speaking for them, said she was "speechless" that Shawn was seen by police 10 months after his kidnapping.
"You would think someone would have recognized him," she said. "But it's hard to say."
The Post-Dispatch previously reported that on Sept. 29, 2006, a police officer in suburban Glendale stopped Shawn late at night because he was wearing dark clothes and didn't have reflectors on his bike.
According to the police report on that encounter, Shawn told the officer his name was Shawn Devlin and gave him the birth date July 7, 1991, 10 days off his true date of birth. Shawn told the officer he was riding his bike to his apartment in Kirkwood after visiting a friend's home.
Glendale police have said the officer had no reason to suspect Shawn Devlin was someone else.
On Friday, Shawn's stepfather, Craig Akers, said he was haunted by having dismissed a series of messages Shawn apparently posted on a Web site his parents had created in their search for him. "How long are you planning to look for your son?" read one of the messages, signed "Shawn Devlin."
"Never in my wildest dreams would have I have imagined it was my son who had done that," Akers said, adding that he had assumed the messages were like many others sent by people who falsely claimed to be Shawn or to know where he was.
10th dolphin trapped in N.Y. creek dies despite rescue efforts
EAST HAMPTON, N.Y. (AP) -- The number of dolphins who have died since being trapped in a shallow creek off eastern Long Island has risen to 10, a rescue leader said Saturday.
About 20 of the "common dolphins" were first sighted about 11 days ago in the Northwest Harbor cove, which is north of East Hampton. Marine biologists feared for their safety. Eight dolphins swam to safety earlier in the week after being coaxed out of the cove, and three were spotted Friday. Officials don't know how many are still alive.
More than 80 people have been involved in the rescue effort. The 10th dolphin's body was found midmorning Saturday, officials said.
Chuck Bowman, president of the Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation, said that rescuers could not go out on boats Saturday because of strong winds.
"Common dolphins" and another type, "white-sided" dolphins, are found throughout the year in waters off Long Island and into New England. Typically, they stay 30 to 80 miles off shore.
This group may have been chasing bait food, such as mackerel, that came closer to the coast. A preliminary study of two of the dead dolphins found their stomachs were empty.
On the Net: www.riverheadfoundation.org
Shooter sentenced to write essay on why he's sorry
SACRAMENTO (AP) -- An Orangevale youth who fatally shot a passing motorist with a hunting rifle had to write a 1,000 word essay on why he was sorry and will serve 30 days in juvenile hall.
The sentence is far short of the maximum penalty of 14 years' incarceration.
The 14-year-old shot Gary Marcy, 69, of South Natomas, on Sept. 27, while barely missing his wife of nearly 50 years, who was sitting beside Marcy in the vehicle.
"I killed a man that day, and nobody knows how it feels," the youth said as part of the essay he read in court. "I cannot, no matter how much I want to, take that bullet back."
Sacramento County supervising juvenile prosecutor Richard Lewkowitz said the boy did not know the gun was loaded, did not intend harm, and had no criminal record.
As part of his sentence, the special education student also must spend 500 hours speaking to other youths on the dangers of guns.
Gary Marcy Jr. said the family felt the punishment was too light for the crime.
"He's only going away for 30 days," Marcy said. "My dad's never coming back."
Prosecutor in hot water over Duke lacrosse case hires well-known lawyers
WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. (AP) -- The prosecutor who removed himself from the Duke lacrosse sexual assault case has hired a well-known law firm to defend him against ethics charges before the North Carolina State Bar.
Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong has retained Winston-Salem lawyers David Freedman and Dudley Witt, law partners known for defending lawyers facing professional misconduct charges.
"Years ago, I just started helping out lawyers who got in trouble for various things," said Freedman, a 1982 graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's law school. "I have a firm belief that you look out for your own."
The state bar filed ethics charges against Nifong in December, accusing him of violating rules of professional conduct. The bar said Nifong made misleading and inflammatory remarks to the media about the lacrosse players.
The punishment for ethics violations can range from admonishment to disbarment.
Nifong filed rape charges against three lacrosse players in March, when a woman hired to perform as a stripper at a team party said she was raped. He has since dropped the rape charges after the accuser changed a key detail in her account.
The three players still face sexual offense and kidnapping charges. All three strongly maintain their innocence.
The bar's complaint cited dozens of remarks Nifong made to the media in the early days of the case that it said amounted to "improper commentary about the character, credibility and reputation of the accused."
In one comment, Nifong referred to the defendants as "a bunch of hooligans."
Animal control officers in Palmdale have removed 57 dogs from a rundown house where they had been living in filthy conditions
PALMDALE - Animal control officers in Palmdale have removed 57 dogs from a rundown house where they had been living in filthy conditions, it was reported Saturday.
Another 50 or so dogs remain in the care of the occupant of the house, Linda Papineau, a 48-year-old woman who has been charged with code and animal control violations, including operating an illegal kennel.
"The inside of that home was among the worst I've ever seen," code investigator Walter Jimison told the Daily News. Investigators found feces, dead rodents, garbage and pools of urine in the one-story home in the 38000 block of 75th Street, he said.
Jimison said the dogs removed from the house were those that appeared to be vicious or suffering from illness, injury and neglect. Papineau has until Jan. 30 to find homes for the others. Any remaining will be taken by animal control officers.
"It was really sad to see the animals living in those conditions," Jimison told the Daily News. "Her intent was well-meaning, but having that many animals in the home is overwhelming, and it just created an unfortunate situation."
Jimison said code enforcement officers noticed an unusually large animal population about three weeks ago at the home while investigating a land-use complaint on an adjacent parcel.
---- North County Times wire services
Man sentenced in bank robbery in which he tried to escape via scuba diving
TACOMA, Wash. (AP) -- A bank robber who wore a wetsuit under his clothes and tried to escape with scuba tanks into Puget Sound has been sentenced to 16 years in prison.
Charles Everett Coma, 38, was sentenced in U.S. District Court for armed bank robbery, brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence and assault on a federal officer.
Coma was on supervised release for another bank robbery in April 2004 when he held up a KeyBank branch in Olympia, the U.S. attorney's office said.
Police saw his fleeing car crash through a gate at an industrial area on Budd Inlet. Coma got out with scuba tanks and ran toward the water.
He threw a backpack containing the robbery money into the sound, but was tackled before he was able to enter the water.
Police recovered $6,000 taken from the bank and found a loaded rifle used in the robbery.
114-year-old Conn. woman, the daughter of former slaves, now world's oldest woman on record
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) -- A 114-year-old Connecticut resident who was born to former slaves in North Carolina has become the world's oldest known woman after the death this week of a Canadian woman.
Emma Faust Tillman, born Nov. 22, 1892, became the oldest validated female "supercentenarian" in the world when 115-year-old Julie Winnifred Bertrand of Montreal, Canada, died in her sleep early Thursday.
Tillman, of East Hartford, is now the second-oldest known person in the world behind 115-year-old Emiliano Mercado del Toro of Puerto Rico, born August 21, 1891.
They are among many validated supercentenarians on a list maintained by the Gerontology Research Group in Los Angeles and other organizations.
Officials at East Hartford's Riverside Health and Rehabilitation Center, where Tillman has lived since she was 110, were surprised to learn Friday of her new honor. They planned to wait until her family notified her, not wanting to overwhelm her.
"At 114 years old, having too much activity can wear on you after a while," said Karen Chadderton, the center's administrator.
Tillman, who has been widowed for almost 70 years, takes no credit for her uncommon longevity and says she has no secrets for other aspiring supercentenarians.
"I think as she gets older, it gets a little less exciting only because reaching this age is something she feels she didn't really do herself -- she says the good Lord did it," Chadderton said.
Tillman's great-nephew, former Hartford fire chief John B. Stewart, said last month that she never smoked, never drank, did not need glasses and agreed to wear a hearing aid only reluctantly.
He said when she's asked about the secret to her longevity, Tillman invariably points skyward and says "Ask the man upstairs."
Tillman, one of 23 children, moved from North Carolina with her family to Glastonbury in 1895.
She graduated in 1909 as the only black student in her high school and later worked as a cook, maid, party caterer and caretaker for children of several wealthy families.
She married Arthur Tillman in 1914, and they moved to Hartford's south end and raised two daughters before his death in 1939. One of her daughters is deceased.
Before moving to Riverside, she lived alone in a Hartford apartment for years, family members have said. She also has been a member of the A.M.E. Zion Church in Hartford for more than 80 years.
Longevity runs in the family. One of Tillman's brothers lived to be 108, while one sister lived to 105 and two others lived to 102.
"You can tell she's tired now, but at 114, we're blessed and she's blessed," Stewart said Friday.
Snow storm rolls across Plains; 3 killed in Kan. car accident
GOODLAND, Kan. (AP) -- A winter storm rolled across the Plains states Saturday, causing numerous crashes and a three-car accident on a western Kansas highway that killed three people.
Heavy snow hit western and central Kansas, limiting visibility and creating hazardous driving conditions.
The three people died when their car drove off U.S. 50 and collided with two others cars, authorities said. Three others were critically injured, authorities said.
A heavy snow warning was in effect until 6 a.m. Sunday from areas around Wichita westward, the National Weather Service said. Up to 6 inches of snow were forecast for some sections by Sunday, with more to follow.
In Oklahoma, the storm spared much of the state, though snow fell in western and north-central regions. More than 39,000 were still without power a week after a crippling ice storm.
The Oklahoma Highway Patrol said Saturday the latest round of weather hadn't caused significant problems on state roads, but falling temperatures overnight could lead to frozen bridges and overpasses. The ice storm was blamed for 25 deaths, most in motor-vehicle accidents.
Utility crews continued to restore electricity in the state. The Oklahoma Corporation Commission reported Saturday afternoon that 39,969 customers in the state remained without power.
The National Weather Service said the state is expected to warm into the 40s by Wednesday.
Federal appeals court says horses can't be slaughtered for food in Texas
HOUSTON (AP) -- A federal appeals court says slaughtering horses for meat is illegal in Texas, where the animals symbolize the Old West and where two of the nation's three processing plants are located.
The decision, issued Friday by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans, overturns a lower court's ruling last year on a 1949 Texas law that banned horse slaughter for the purpose of selling the meat for food.
The lower court said the Texas law was invalid because it had been repealed by another statute and was pre-empted by federal law.
However, a panel of three judges on the 5th Circuit disagreed, saying the law still stood and was still enforceable.
The 5th Circuit decision also cited more than the law.
"The lone cowboy riding his horse on a Texas trail is a cinematic icon. Not once in memory did the cowboy eat his horse," wrote Judge Fortunato Benavides.
The ruling involves the Dallas Crown Inc. slaughter mill in Kaufman and Beltex Corp. in nearby Forth Worth. The nation's third plant is in Illinois, run by Cavel International Inc. at DeKalb. All three operations are foreign-owned.
A bill pending before Congress would shutter all three operations.
The plants ship the meat overseas, since it is considered a delicacy in parts of Europe and Asia.
About 88,000 horses, mules and other equines were slaughtered in 2005, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department.
While proponents such as the American Veterinary Medical Association say slaughter is a kind way to deal with old horses and a better alternative to abandonment, opponents including Texas oil tycoon T. Boone Pickens and country music star Willie Nelson have argued that the killing of equines is un-American -- and that many young horses are killed as well.
The Humane Society of the United States, which filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case, applauded the 5th Circuit decision.
"This is the most important court action ever on the issue of horse slaughter," Wayne Pacelle, the society's president and chief executive, said in a statement. "When this ruling is enforced, a single plant in Illinois will stand alone in conducting this grisly business."
There was no immediate response to calls seeking comment Saturday from representatives of Dallas Crown and Beltex.
On the Net:
http://www.dallascrown.com/
Demolition crew blows up New Haven, Conn., coliseum; Elvis, Sinatra once sang there
NEW HAVEN, Conn. (AP) -- Crews set off a thunderous explosion Saturday to demolish Veterans Memorial Coliseum, a 35-year-old arena that held sporting events and concerts by Elvis Presley and Frank Sinatra.
Crowds filled a nearby 10-level parking garage to watch the demolition, which makes way for a downtown redevelopment project.
"I've seen many hockey games and concerts at the coliseum, and it's sad to see a landmark in New Haven leaving us," said Ed Seward, 50.
Others have considered the building an eyesore.
"The first time I came to New Haven, I thought it was so very ugly. I'm glad to see it go," said Linda Young, 32.
Much of the building already had been dismantled before two children, who had won a lottery, pushed a ceremonial plunger to set off about 2,000 pounds of explosives.
The blast produced a huge dust cloud and left behind 50-foot piles of rubble. A few windows were broken on nearby buildings.
The $230 million development project will include stores and up to 280 housing units. A community college and a theater will move to the site and an adjacent property.
Prince Charles cancels annual ski holiday in carbon emissions row
LONDON (AP) -- Prince Charles canceled a traditional skiing holiday in a bid to reduce his carbon footprint, his office said Saturday.
The decision came a day after campaigners and a government minister criticized his decision to fly to New York to collect an award for work on environmental issues.
Environment Secretary David Miliband expressed reservations Friday about the heir to the British throne traveling to the U.S. for the ceremony, while advocacy groups urged the prince to use a video link instead.
Prince Charles' Clarence House office said the prince had decided last year to cancel a regular skiing holiday to Switzerland as part of an effort to reduce the number of flights he takes.
Details of the prince's carbon footprint -- the measure of greenhouse gases created by his activities -- are scheduled to be published along with his annual office accounts later this year. The document will set out targets for the reduction of carbon emissions by his office and household.
During the two-day trip to the U.S. beginning Jan. 27, Prince Charles and his wife Camilla will visit youth development, urban regeneration and environmental conservation projects, the British Council in New York said Friday.
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