South Carolina mom accused of setting car on fire with 14-month-old son inside
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Police said a South Carolina woman tried to kill her 14-month-old son by setting her car on fire.
Columbia Police arrested 23-year-old Caylin Watson on Sunday, charging her with attempted murder, arson and child abuse.
The son was taken to a burn center in Augusta, Georgia, where he was hospitalized Sunday in critical condition with extensive burns, police said.
Watson was parked on Interstate 126 on Sunday afternoon when she lit the vehicle on fire, police said.
Four people passing by stopped to help, including some who sought to retrieve the child. Firefighters extinguished the flames, and police said they arrested Watson after finding evidence suggesting the fire was intentionally set.
Watson, an Elgin resident, remained jailed in Richland County on Monday. It’s unclear whether she’s seen a judge or has a lawyer representing her.
Photo Credit: Richmond County Sheriff’s Department
12-year-old boy shot to death in front of his twin brother; police searching for a suspect
(Meredith) – A Chicago family is devastated after someone shot and killed a 12-year-old boy in front of his twin brother as they rode in a car.
Demetrius Townsel Jr. was pronounced dead Saturday night following the shooting in Gary, Indiana, about 35 minutes outside of his Chicago neighborhood.
Police said someone fired shots at a car and struck the 12-year-old boy, who was sitting next to his twin brother, Darius.
Community activist Andrew Holmes told WGN-TV that Darius held his brother “all the way to the hospital” and tried to save his life by applying pressure to the gunshot wound.
“I miss my brother,” Darius said during a memorial on Monday. “He was the funniest dude I’ve ever known. Picked everybody up, made them laugh.”
Gary detectives are asking for the public’s help in identifying the shooter who killed Demetrius, and his family is also demanding justice.
“Why would y’all take my baby’s life?” his father, Demetrius Townsel Sr., said.
“I can’t hold my baby anymore. Please turn yourself in,” the boy’s mother, Catherine Brown, added.
Gary Police Cmdr. Jack Hamady said detectives have no updates to offer the public yet, but more information will be forthcoming later in the week.
Anyone with information on this case can call 1-800-U-TELL-US (1-800-883-5587).
Photo Credit: Demetrius Townsel’s family
Carole Baskin of ‘Tiger King’ fame is selling leopard print face masks
(CNN) — Big Cat Rescue founder Carole Baskin is bringing together the two necessities that are helping us get through this pandemic — masks and of course, “Tiger King.”
Baskin, who was featured in the immensely popular Netflix docuseries “Tiger King: Murder, Mayhem and Madness,” is officially selling cat-themed face masks.
They come in two styles — one black and one leopard print — but both feature a whiskered cat smile and Baskin’s tagline, “Hey all you cool cats and kittens.”
The masks, available on tread365.com, cost $11 each. A portion of the proceeds will go to support big cats, obviously, but also, first responders, according to the product description.
Big Cat Rescue, Baskin’s animal sanctuary in Tampa, Florida, has been closed to the public due to the pandemic. But that hasn’t stopped her from providing daily updates to her fans on the sanctuary’s Facebook page — and pushing back against some of the drama.
“There are not words for how disappointing it is to see that the series… had the sole goal of being as salacious and sensational as possible to draw viewers,” Baskin wrote in a blog post titled “Refuting Netflix Tiger King.”
With 64 million member households worldwide viewing “Tiger King,” according to Netflix, Etsy creators and other online retailers have been cashing in on the trend by selling face masks that feature Joe Exotic and the iconic smile of his ex-husband, John Finlay.
Now, fans can get one produced by one of the show’s subjects.
Photo Credit: Tread 365
Man allegedly wrapped ex-girlfriend’s head in foil after decapitating her
A jilted ex-boyfriend is accused of decapitating his 17-year-old lover — then wrapping her head in tin foil as a twisted keepsake — because she dumped him, according to a new report.
Tishko Ahmed Shabaz has been charged in the murder of 17-year-old Wilma Andersson, who went missing in Uddevalla, Sweden, last November, the Daily Mail reported.
Shabaz, 23, allegedly went berserk after Andersson dumped him and went to his house to pick up her things, family members said. Hundreds of volunteers searched for Andersson — but her severed head was found days later, prompting the arrest of Shabaz.
The Iraq-born man, who became a Swedish citizen in 2014, has been in custody since and was charged last week.
He allegedly wrapped Andersson’s head in tape and aluminum foil and kept it in a bag. Police found blood on his apartment floor and “traces of Wilma” on a kitchen knife, according to local media reports.
The teen’s coat and purse were also hanging in his closet.
“The suspect has retained a body part for an unknown reason and got rid of the rest of the body,” the police chief said.
Andersson’s body was never found.
Shabaz goes on trial May 26.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/05/19/man-wrapped-ex-girlfriends-head-in-tin-foil-after-decapitating-her/
Photo Credit: CEN
Man gouges neighbor’s eyes out over loud rooster
A West Virginia man allegedly gouged out his neighbor’s eyes after an argument over a loud rooster, authorities said.
Richard Wayne Ellison, 47, of the town Rock, has been charged with murder after police said he admitted to killing the rooster and its owner, 72-year-old Benny Foutch, saying “Lucifer made me do it,” according to the Bluefield Daily Telegraph.
Ellison was reportedly irritated by the noise of the crowing rooster so he stormed onto Foutch’s property Sunday, leading to an argument between the neighbors, police told the outlet.
Police believe Ellison at some point killed the rooster before turning on Foutch and gouging out his eyes.
EMS responders arrived at the scene to find Foutch dead on his porch with “blood coming from his orbital sockets,” according to a criminal complaint filed by Detective-Corporal M.S. Horn of the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office.
Ellison allegedly took the dead rooster back home and instructed his son to dispose of it before officers at the sheriff’s office arrived and arrested him later Sunday, according to Horn’s complaint.
“I asked [Ellison] what happened with him and Benny, he then made the hand motion of pressing his thumbs to his eyes,” Horn said. “He advised he went up there to kill the rooster because of a movie he had watched and because it was crowing.
“[Ellison] later explained that he pressed his thumbs into Benny’s eyes, he advised that he stayed there until he knew Benny was dead,” the criminal complaint continued.
“He made the statement that he killed him, referring to the incident with Benny. He made a reference that Lucifer made him do it. He kept asking me to shoot him, that he deserved it. He then talked about getting somebody in the jail to kill him.”
Ellison was arraigned and a judge set a $200,000 cash-only bond.
via: https://nypost.com/2020/05/19/man-gouges-neighbors-eyes-out-over-loud-rooster-sheriff/
Photo Credit: nypost.com
A man who wore a watermelon on his head while stealing from a convenience store has been arrested
A pair of melon heads — yes, actual people with watermelons on their heads — caused quite a stir after they used watermelons as face masks to allegedly steal from a convenience store in a small Virginia town.
The duo pulled up in a lifted 2006 black Toyota Tacoma pickup truck and entered a Sheetz store in Louisa on May 5 while wearing carved out watermelons with holes cut out for their eyes, according to the Louisa Police Department. One of the two suspects was arrested on Friday, Police Chief Tom Leary confirmed to CNN. Police are still looking for the second suspect.
The 20-year-old suspect who was arrested has been charged with wearing a mask in public while committing larceny, underage possession of alcohol, and petit larceny of alcohol, police said.
“This is definitely not something you see very often in Louisa,” Leary said. “We’re a really nice, quiet town, with a lot of hardworking people and something like this is pretty unusual.”
Candice Wendt, a Sheetz customer, told CNN affiliate WRIC she thought using melons as face masks is “ridiculous.”
“The amount of work that you have to do to actually hollow-out a watermelon to stick it on your head, I think, is kind of crazy,” she said. “Why? Why would they do that? It’s so stupid.”
Article via CNN
University of Kentucky fires cheerleading coaches after hazing and nudity investigation
The University of Kentucky fired its entire cheerleading coaching staff after an investigation into alleged inappropriate conduct, including hazing, alcohol use and public nudity on the team.
The three-month investigation found that four coaches and an administrative assistant “failed to provide reasonable oversight during off-campus events,” the university said in a press release. The investigation revealed alleged misconduct at a retreat and other off-campus events, ranging from cheerleaders being encouraged to perform stunts and chants while partially nude to excessive consumption of alcohol that required medical treatment for several cheerleaders.
At a team retreat in Lake Cumberland, some cheerleaders performed gymnastics routines known as “basket tosses” that included hurling teammates from a dock into the water while either topless or bottomless, the investigation found. The routines were performed within the view of at least some of the coaches, according to the investigation.
In another incident, at a cheerleading camp in Tennessee, some cheerleaders were directed by other members to perform lewd chants and wear outfits that did not include underwear, according to the university.The investigation found no evidence of sexual assault or sexual misconduct.
“The advisor and the coaches failed to stop a culture of hazing, alcohol use and public nudity at off-campus activities where they were present,” Eric N. Monday, UK’s executive vice president for finance and administration, said in a release. “Our students deserve more responsible leadership and the University of Kentucky demands it.”
Head coach Jomo Thompson and assistant coaches Ben Head, Spencer Clan and Kelsey LaCroix were dismissed. The investigation also found “lax oversight and poor judgement” by T. Lynn Williamson, the program’s advisor and the university’s principal deputy general counsel. He retired days after learning of the investigation, UK said.None of the coaches nor Williamson have responded to CNN’s requests for comment.The investigation began in February after a cheerleader’s family member alleged inappropriate conduct by squad members and inappropriate oversight by coaches at off-campus trips, according to Monday.
Kentucky’s cheerleading team is one of the most successful programs in the country and has won 24 national championships in the past 35 years, including four straight from 2016 to 2019.
“A commitment we make and renew every day at the University of Kentucky is that the success of our students is at the center of everything that we do. But for that sentiment to be more than words, we must always act in ways that honor that commitment — especially when we discover rare instances where those who supervise and guide our students don’t meet the standards of integrity we expect of each other. This is one of those times,” said UK President Eli Capilouto.
“The University of Kentucky has built the nation’s premier collegiate cheerleading program. But regrettably, the integrity of the program has been compromised by inappropriate behavior by some squad members on off-campus trips and by lax oversight by the program’s coaches and advisor.”
Article via CNN
André Leon Talley: My relationship with Anna Wintour ‘is in an iceberg’
André Leon Talley just can’t stop talking about Anna Wintour.
Talley, 70, slammed the Vogue doyenne in his new memoir — due out Tuesday — and on Monday told Gayle King during a segment for “CBS This Morning” that “I think my relationship is in an iceberg with her,” adding, “I hope that it will not be that forever.”
As Page Six revealed, those around Wintour, also 70, believe she would be extremely hurt by the book, “The Chiffon Trenches,” which Talley claimed is a “love letter” to her — despite also arguing she is “not capable of simple human kindness.”
During Monday’s broadcast, King asked him to clarify the contradiction.
“I looked at that André and I went, ‘Love letter?’ If that’s your idea of a love letter I’m thinking I don’t want you to like me at all,” King said. “How do you explain that? I thought this must be very painful for her to read. Seriously.”
“Indeed, it is probably very hard for her to read,” Talley replied. “It was painful for me to write this.”
“But it is a love letter because it’s a love letter about the joys as well as the lows of my life. And the joys of my life have been with Anna Wintour,” he explained. “I owe to her the pioneering role that I had of a creative director of Vogue. I was the first black man to ever be named such. I owe that to Anna Wintour. I owe her much. And I think, in turn, I think she owes me.”
When asked to elaborate on what Wintour owes Talley, he replied: “She owes me kindness and simple grace and being decent when things go south.”
“I understand changes are made in a corporate institution at Vogue,” Talley said. “When she decides that I’m no longer working on the carpet for the Met Gala, just call me and say ‘André we’re moving in a new direction, you’ve been wonderful, I love what you’re doing, but now we’re going with the young influencers who know nothing because they have 20 million followers on YouTube.’ Just say it to me. No one had come to say to me why I was taken off the red carpet.”
Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson ‘very proud’ of his daughter joining WWE
Article via PageSix
Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson’s daughter is joining the family business.
During a virtual conversation with Jimmy Fallon, Johnson revealed that his daughter — Simone, 18 — has signed a contract with WWE, the professional wrestling organization where he worked before transitioning into acting.
“She signed her contract with the WWE, it just blows my mind,” said Johnson, 48. “First of all, I mean, what an honor that my daughter wants to follow in my footsteps. But, more importantly, ‘follow in my footsteps’ sounds cliché, but she actually wants to blaze her own path, which is just so important. She wound up being the youngest signee in the history of the company.”
The “Jumanji: The Next Level” star explained that it was a long time coming; Simone had been working toward it since she was just 16.
“She was working her a– off. Quietly, under the radar, in the ring, getting thrown around, and all the bumps and bruises that go with pro wrestling,” Johnson explained. “She hung in there. I’m very, very proud of her.”
Not only is Simone following in her father’s footsteps, but her grandfather Rocky Johnson and great-grandfather Peter Maivia also were professional wrestlers. Both were inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame.
Rocky died earlier this year at the age of 75.
In February, Simone shared a photo to Instagram, expressing her excitement at joining the WWE.
“To the little girl who fell in love with wrestling & said ‘this will be my life one day’, this is for you,” the caption read. “I’m humbled, grateful & ready to work. Let’s do this.”
The picture featured Simone wearing a grey WWE T-shirt and grinning.
NASA scientists detect evidence of parallel universe where time runs backward
In a scenario straight out of “The Twilight Zone,” a group of NASA scientists working on an experiment in Antarctica have detected evidence of a parallel universe — where the rules of physics are the opposite of our own, according to a report.
The concept of a parallel universe has been around since the early 1960s, mostly in the minds of fans of sci-fi TV shows and comics, but now a cosmic ray detection experiment has found particles that could be from a parallel realm that also was born in the Big Bang, the Daily Star reported.
The experts used a giant balloon to carry NASA’s Antarctic Impulsive Transient Antenna, or ANITA, high above Antarctica, where the frigid, dry air provided the perfect environment with little to no radio noise to distort its findings.
A constant “wind” of high-energy particles constantly arrives on Earth from outer space.
Low-energy, subatomic neutrinos with a mass close to zero can pass completely through Earth, but higher-energy objects are stopped by the solid matter of our planet, according to the report.
That means the high-energy particles can only be detected coming “down” from space, but the team’s ANITA detected heavier particles, so-called tau neutrinos, which come “up” out of the Earth.
The finding implies that these particles are actually traveling backward in time, suggesting evidence of a parallel universe, according to the Daily Star.
Principal ANITA investigator Peter Gorham, an experimental particle physicist at the University of Hawaii, suggested that the only way the tau neutrino could behave that way is if it changed into a different type of particle before passing through the Earth and then back again.
Gorham, lead author on a Cornell University paper describing the odd phenomenon, noted that he and his fellow researchers had seen several of these “impossible events,” which some were skeptical about.
“Not everyone was comfortable with the hypothesis,” he told New Scientist.
The simplest explanation for the phenomenon is that at the moment of the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago, two universes were formed — ours and one that from our perspective is running in reverse with time going backward.
Of course, if there are any inhabitants of a possible parallel universe, they’d consider us the backward ones.
“We’re left with the most exciting or most boring possibilities,” said Ibrahim Safa, who also worked on the experiment.
Article via NYPost