A Casting Director for Police Lineups

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18 October 2011
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He is one of New York’s busiest casting directors, yet very few know of his work.

Light-skinned Hispanic?

Robert Weston mulled over the possibilities. He knew they would want five people; they always do.

Javier, Javier Jr, Eddie, Ray, he said into a cellphone, and I’ll get another Spanish guy.

Mr Weston, 45, was not casting for an Off Broadway production, and his roster of extras would not need Actors’ Equity cards.

For some 15 years, Mr Weston has been providing the New York Police Department with fillers — the five decoys who accompany the suspect in police lineups — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Radio preacher now says 21 October is definitely Doomsday – well, probably

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15 October 2011
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Family Radio Network preacher Harold Camping, whose prediction for the end of the world on 21 May misfired, now says that his new date of 21 October looks like the real thing — well, probably.

A lot of things we didn’t have quite right will probably be finished out on 21 October, the 90-year-old Camping says in a message on his Family Radio Network website. That looks like it will be at this point, looks like it will be the final end of everything.

After the 21 May debacle, Camping initially said he was “flabbergasted, but then announced that it had in fact been a spiritual End of the World, and that would culminate in the finally, final end on 21 October, Time reports — via redwolf.newsvine.com

David Williamson jailed after reporting cannabis theft

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12 October 2011
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An Edinburgh man who reported the theft of his cannabis plants to the police has been jailed for 10 months.

Sheriff Isabella McColl said she had no option but to jail David Williamson, 34, after he claimed he would continue to smoke the drug.

Police were called to Williamson’s home in May 2011 to investigate reports he had been assaulted and robbed — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Palm City man reaches for taco when Martin deputies ask for ID

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12 October 2011
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After a deputy asked Matthew Falkner for his identification, the Palm City man started taking out a taco.

When another deputy noted the request wasn’t for a taco, the booze-smelling Falkner shrugged and laughed and again started to take out a taco while in the driver’s seat of a pick-up at Taco Bell, according to recently released Martin County Sheriff’s records.

The records didn’t state whether Falkner was thinking outside the bun — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Amish gang sought over ‘hair-cutting’ assaults

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7 October 2011
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Gang warfare doesn’t always involve drugs, tattoos and disagreements over rap lyrics. Police in Ohio are investigating an outbreak of violence between rival factions of the Amish community suspected of breaking into homes and cutting off each other’s hair.

A series of incidents across four rural counties have seen large groups of men barge into properties and drag the occupants into the street. They are then held down and attacked with scissors — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Westboro Baptist Church plan picket funeral of Steve Jobs

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7 October 2011
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Members of the Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) have announced their intention to protest at the funeral of Steve Jobs, in a Twitter message sent via an iPhone.

The group, best known for their rainbow God hates fags signs and web page, are claiming the action is in response to Jobs not using his wealth to promote their interpretation of the bible and for Apple being consistently voted one of the most gay-friendly employers. The group’s grievances, and its original protest plans were posted from iPhones, something the Twittersphere has been quick to point out — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Improbable research: chicken bone injury leaves a fowl smell

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4 October 2011
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Four doctors in Wales rose to fame because of a man who pricked his finger and smelled putrid for five years.

The doctors were hit nose-on with one of the most baffling medical mysteries on record. It all started with a chicken. The case ended happily — yet mysteriously — half a decade later, the stink having vanished. The Lancet published an account of this called, accurately, A Man Who Pricked His Finger and Smelled Putrid for 5 Years.

The report, written by the relieved but puzzled physicians, ends with a plea: We ask assistance from colleagues who may have encountered a similar case or for suggestions to relieve this patient’s odour — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Aussie researchers among IgNobel winners

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30 September 2011
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Australian scientists who discovered that delaying a trip to the toilet causes people to make bad decisions and that a species of beetle makes love to a beer bottle are among the winners at this year’s IgNobel Prizes.

The IgNobels are awarded each year by the Harvard-based Annals of Improbable Research as a light-hearted counterpart to the Nobel Prizes, which will be awarded next week.

The prizes are intended to celebrate the unusual, honour the imaginative, and spur people’s interest in science, medicine and technology — once they stop laughing.

Most of the winning researchers appear happy to go along with the joke — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Door-knocking goats lead police on chase

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30 September 2011
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Two wily goats have led Queensland police and residents on a merry chase through suburbia after knocking on the door of a local councillor.

Paul Tully was at his electorate office at Goodna, in Ipswich, west of Brisbane, on Thursday morning when he went to investigate persistent knocking.

No, it was not a disgruntled constituent but two goats, curious at their own reflections, butting their horns against the glass front door.

Then they took off, leading Mr Tully, police, locals and council officers on a farcical two-hour chase — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Man Accused Of Vandalizing Ex-Wife’s Home Found Guilty

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27 September 2011
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A 58-year-old man was found guilty Wednesday of breaking into his ex-wife’s home and causing thousands of dollars in damage.

Ronald Dean Smith was convicted of second-degree burglary and criminal mischief, both felonies.

He was accused of breaking into his ex-wife’s Stapleton home in September 2010 and leaving a trail of damage that included bleach poured into the woman’s baby grand piano and putting chicken parts in the heating vents of her house — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Men in wigs accused of stealing boas and bras

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23 September 2011
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Men wearing wigs and dressed as women are accused of stealing thousands of dollars of filmy fabrics, sequins, feather boas and other accessories from Central Florida stores.

It’s a whole gang of drag queens, said Amanda Marshall, manager of Jo-Ann Fabrics on East Colonial Drive in Orlando, where police arrested three suspects Sunday afternoon. They were real upset when the police made them take their wigs off — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Miami Invaded By Giant, House-Eating Snails

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19 September 2011
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In southwest Miami, a small subdivision is being called ground zero of an invasion by a destructive, non-native species.

It’s us against the snails, Richard Gaskalla, head of plant industry for Florida’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, tells weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz.

That’s the Giant African Land Snail, to be precise. They can grow to be 10 inches long. They leave a slimy trail of excrement wherever they go. They harbor the microscopic rat-lung worm, which can transmit meningitis to humans. And they will literally eat your house — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Glow cat: fluorescent green felines could help study of HIV

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12 September 2011
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It is a rite of passage for any sufficiently advanced genetically modified animal: at some point scientists will insert a gene that makes you glow green. The latest addition to this ever-growing list — which includes fruit flies, mice, rabbits and pigs — is the domestic cat.

US researcher Eric Poeschla has produced three glowing GM cats by using a virus to carry a gene, called green fluorescent protein (GFP), into the eggs from which the animals eventually grew.

This method of genetic modification is simpler and more efficient than traditional cloning techniques, and results in fewer animals being needed in the process.

The GFP gene, which has its origins in jellyfish, expresses proteins that fluoresce when illuminated with certain frequencies of light. Poeschla, of the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, reported his results in the journal Nature Methods.

This function is regularly used by scientists to monitor the activity of individual genes or cells in a wide variety of animals. The development and refinement of the GFP technique earned its scientific pioneers the Nobel prize for chemistry in 2008.

In the case of the glowing cats, the scientists hope to use the GM animals in the study of HIV/Aids — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Five arrests in slavery raid at Greenacre travellers’ site

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12 September 2011
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Twenty-four men suspected of being held against their will have been found during a raid at a travellers’ site.

Four men and a woman were arrested on suspicion of committing slavery offences in the raid at Greenacre travellers’ site, Leighton Buzzard, Bedfordshire, on Sunday.

The men, who are English, Polish and Romanian, were found in filthy and cramped conditions, police said.

Detectives believe some may have been there for up to 15 years — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Woman punches bear to save her dog

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9 September 2011
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Black bears in residential neighbourhoods aren’t exactly unheard of in Juneau. While many people stay inside when bears are about, one local woman says she had a different instinct when she saw her dog was in trouble.

It started out as a typical evening for 22-year-old Brooke Collins. She let her dogs out as usual but this time, she said there was a black bear outside who took hold of her dachshund Fudge. She said she feared for her pet’s life and, in an instant, ran over and punched the bear right in the face to make it let go.

It was all so fast. All I could think about was my dog was going to die, said Collins.

It was a stupid thing but I couldn’t help it, she said. I know you’re not supposed to do that but I didn’t want my dog to be killed

Teen sex slave, bullying and assault victim shook with terror

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8 September 2011
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A teenager who allegedly raped a 14-year-old boy and kept him as his personal slave has shown no remorse for his actions, a children’s court has heard.

The 15-year-old yesterday faced charges of rape, indecent assault of a person under 16, making threats to kill, making threats to inflict serious injury, false imprisonment and assault.

Police opposed bail for the teen, who can’t be named for legal reasons, telling the court he was a bully who had no remorse for his actions.

In denying bail, a magistrate described the allegations as one of the most disturbing scenarios he had heard — via redwolf.newsvine.com

Bay Bridge Troll Faces Eviction

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6 September 2011
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Bay Bridge Troll
Bay Bridge Troll, originally uploaded by John Robinson.

When construction workers begin taking apart the old Bay Bridge, they will have to contend with a squatter.

The Bay Bridge troll, a 14-inch-high, snarling iron sculpture, has lived beneath the upper deck of the eastern span of the bridge since workers completed repairs after the magnitude 6.9 Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989.

The quake caused a 50-foot section of the bridge to collapse, resulting in one death and forcing construction of a massive new eastern span, which is expected to be complete in 2013.

Now, many Bay Area residents wonder what will become of the troll, whose powers are said to have protected the bridge, and the 280,000 cars that cross it daily, from further troubles — via redwolf.newsvine.com

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