Missouri man is accused of holding his pregnant girlfriend captive, punching her and forcing her to drink toilet water and bleach
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that 40-year-old Ronnie William Howard of St. Peters is charged with kidnapping, domestic assault and unlawful use of a weapon. He is jailed on $300,000 cash-only bail.
Police say the assault took place Wednesday at the 20-year-old victim’s apartment in St. Peters. She made a video call to a relative about the crime. The relative called the woman’s mother, who called police.
The victim was treated at a hospital.
A police probable cause statement says Howard has convictions in another state for kidnapping, assault by strangulation, assault with a firearm and stealing a motor vehicle. He does not have a listed attorney.
via: https://pix11.com/2019/11/24/police-pregnant-woman-forced-to-drink-toilet-water-bleach/
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Man dies after being licked by his dog and contracting rare infection
GERMANY — A 63-year-old man in Germany has died after contracting a rare infection when he was licked by his dog.
Doctors have warned pet owners to seek urgent medical advice if they exhibit unusual flu-like symptoms following the rare case, details of which have been published in a paper in the European Journal of Case Reports in Internal Medicine.
The previously healthy man’s infection was caused by capnocytophaga canimorsus, a bacterium that is commonly found in the mouths of dogs and cats, according to the report. It is transmitted to humans only in rare cases.
The bacteria can be transmitted through an animal bite, but the man had not been bitten.
“He had been touched and licked, but not bitten or injured, by his dog, his only pet, in previous weeks,” reads the paper, produced by doctors from the Red Cross Hospital in Bremen, Germany.
At first the man reported flu-like symptoms and later developed severe sepsis and purpura fulminans, an acute disorder that causes blood spots, bruising and discoloration of the skin as well as necrosis.
The man was treated in intensive care but his health continued to deteriorate and he died from multiple organ failure, according to the authors.
“Pet owners with banal, for instance flu-like, symptoms should urgently seek medical advice when symptoms are unusual,” wrote the doctors.
In May, an Ohio woman had her legs and hands amputated after contracting a rare infection from the bacteria capnocytophaga canimorsus.
Doctors say the infection probably occurred when her German shepherd puppy licked an open cut.
And last year surgeons amputated parts of a Wisconsin man’s nose and limbs, including both hands and feet, after the same bacteria got into his body.
The type of bacterium, capnocytophaga canimorsus, is “completely normal flora of a dog’s mouth and usually doesn’t cause any sort of significant disease. However, in the wrong place, at the wrong time, in the wrong patient … it can lead to severe infections — but very, very rarely,” said Dr. Stephen Cole, a lecturer in veterinary microbiology at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine.
via: https://pix11.com/2019/11/25/man-dies-after-being-licked-by-his-dog-and-contracting-rare-infection/
Photo Credit: Getty Images
Over 1,000 patients may have been exposed to HIV, other viruses after error in sanitizing procedure
INDIANA — More than a thousand surgical patients at Goshen Hospital in Indiana may have been exposed to HIV, hepatitis C and hepatitis B after an error in the sanitizing procedure for surgical equipment, according to a press release from Goshen Health.
One step in a multistep cleaning process was missed by a technician, possibly contaminating the surgical equipment, said Liz Fisher, marketing specialist for Goshen Health.
The hospital identified 1,182 surgical patients between April and September of 2019 who may have been impacted, Fisher said.
Those who may have been exposed were sent notification letters and are being offered free testing for the viruses, according to Fisher.
Hepatitis C is a liver infection caused by a blood-borne virus and is usually spread by sharing needles or equipment to inject drugs, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. Hepatitis B is also a liver infection caused by a blood-borne virus but is spread when bodily fluid is passed from an infected person to someone who is not infected, according to the CDC. HIV — human immunodeficiency virus — weakens a person’s immunity system by destroying important cells that fight disease and infection.
The hospital maintains that those patients who may have been affected constitute a “small subset,” that the risk of exposure is “extremely low,” and that the free testing for the viruses is being offered “out of an abundance of caution.”
“While our sterile processing and infectious disease experts believe that the potential transmission of blood borne viruses between patients is extremely remote, out of an abundance of caution, we want to verify through lab blood tests that patients have not been harmed,” a November 20th health update from the hospital’s president and chief medical officer said.
A call center has also been set up for patients to ask questions and schedule testing, the press release states.
Photo Credit: pix11.com
Nail salon workers butcher deer meat right in front of customers
They were cutting more than nails at this establishment.
A woman enjoying a manicure at a North Carolina nail salon witnessed an unusual sight — workers chopping up deer meat in plain sight.
Morgan Taylor posted about her bizarre experience on Facebook last Thursday, including a photo of a salon worker at Diamond Nails in High Point, N.C. kneeling down on the floor while cutting hunks of meat.
“Hunting for a new nail salon in High Point, North Carolina? Talk about multitaskers … manicures, pedicures, and amateur deer butchers. Oh deer!” Taylor wrote, along with hashtag “notfawned” and “ohbuckno.”
Taylor told WXII-TV that she was at the salon last Wednesday getting her nails done for her sister’s Saturday wedding when the butchering occurred.
“I was sitting there getting my nails done, and looked over and they were pulling out deer meat from a cooler,” Taylor told the outlet.
“I get scared that I’m going to see trash on the ground or weird smells, but not to see a dead deer.”
Taylor said the workers placed the meat atop a tarp on the ground and sliced it without gloves. Others in the salon, including customers, seemed unfazed by the sight, she said.
“All the workers there were really nice to me and they did a good job, but I don’t think they thought that anyone would care,” said Taylor.
“And they didn’t think it was wrong to cut it in front of clients in the nail salon, which is surprising.”
The incident was reported by Taylor to the North Carolina Board of Cosmetic Arts. They are investigating whether the nail salon violated any codes, the report said.
The owners of the salon had no comment on the occurrence, a woman inside the salon told WXII-TV.
via: https://nypost.com/2019/11/24/nail-salon-workers-butcher-deer-meat-right-in-front-of-customers/
Photo Credit: Facebook
Mother is angry after her first grade daughter was given a ‘body-shaming’ homework assignment to ‘identify a fat person’
(Meredith) – A Kentucky mother said she believes a worksheet that her first-grade daughter brought home from school promotes body-shaming.
Laura Lee Lewis, of Laurel County, said her daughter completed the assignment for her reading class at London Elementary School.
The assignment asked students to identify the adjective “fat” by circling an image of a girl who fit the description, WKYT reported. Lewis told the news outlet it’s not merely the word she’s upset about.
“The way they illustrated it, it bothered me more than anything. Big girl being put on display just really hurt,” said Lewis. “They could have used an animal. I gave an example of a cupcake. They could have even used that, a bigger cupcake or a little cupcake, and say ‘Which one is fat?'”
After reviewing the assignment, Lewis said she had an important conversation with her daughter.
“I had to explain to her that it was body-shaming,” she said. “Even if it was a skinny girl or the example of skinny, I feel like it would still be body-shaming that person because some don’t want to be called that.”
The Laurel County Board of Education later released a statement to WKYT, saying it’s looking into the matter.
“We were notified yesterday via news media of this concern. We have not had any parent report this concern to us,” the statement reads. “However, we are reviewing the curriculum to identify the concern.”
Lewis said she is not blaming the teachers, but she believes the curriculum should be checked to make sure it’s not offensive.
Photo Credit: dailymail.co.uk
Doctor saves life by sucking urine from man’s bladder mid-flight to NYC
When an elderly plane passenger fell ill mid-flight Tuesday, a courageous doctor with a stomach of steel rose to the occasion.
Dr. Zhang Hong saved the man’s life by spending 37 minutes sucking urine from his blocked bladder with nothing but a plastic tube and an empty wine bottle.
China Southern Airways Flight CZ3009 was far from its takeoff point in Guangzhou, China — and still six hours from its destination, New York — when a man with a bloated stomach began sweating profusely around 1 a.m.
The cabin crew made an emergency announcement, asking if there was a doctor on board. Dr. Hong quickly identified the problem — and its hard-to-stomach solution.
“When I saw that the man could hardly bear the pain anymore, my only thought was how to get the urine out of his bladder,” Hong, head of vascular surgery at Jinan University’s First Affiliated Hospital, told the South China Morning Post.
“He was going into shock and may have suffered a risk to his life if we didn’t tend to him urgently.”
Hong questioned the senior’s on-plane relatives about any past medical issues. “His family said he had a history of prostate enlargement, so we suspected this was causing urinary retention,” Hong told the outlet.
That’s when Hong diagnosed exactly what was happening: The man’s bladder was so bloated with urine, it was at risk of rupture.
China’s the Paper reported Hong shouted, “Fast! Help me get a cup!”
Fellow surgeon Xiao Zhanxiang swiftly helped his colleague MacGyver a catheter out of a piece of plastic tubing, the straw of a milk carton, sticky tape and a syringe from the plane’s medical kit.
Flight attendants spread blankets in the aisle and the doc went to work.
However, when Hong realized the syringe’s needle was too thin, he quickly moved on to the necessary but nasty backup plan: using his mouth to extract the urine.
With consent from the man’s family, Hong spent the next 37 minutes sucking 800 milliliters (about 1½ pints) of urine from the senior, spitting it into a wine bottle as he went.
Chaotic footage taken of Hong working on the man was watched over 20 million times in less than 24 hours.
The brave act saved the man’s life — but the doctor considers his actions merely logical.
“Saving lives is a doctor’s instinct,” he said. “There was no other way. I didn’t think much about it.”
Photo Credit: AsiaWire
Alaska Man Arrested for Allegedly Smuggling Heroin, Meth in Rotten Goat Intestines
An Alaska man was arrested for allegedly smuggling heroin and methamphetamine hidden in rotten goat intestines at the Anchorage airport.
Cenen Placencia, 71, from Kodiak, was arraigned on Friday for a complaint charging him with possession and intent to distribute controlled substances, the US Attorney for the District of Alaska said in a release.
Placencia was home from Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. Investigators asked to search the luggage he checked in, a 47-pound fish box that was sealed with duct tape and tied with rope, the District of Alaska said.
CNN reached out to the Alaska Public Defender Agency for comment from Placencia’s attorney.
Investigators found “loosely wrapped meat pieces frozen together in a single large mass,” the District of Alaska said. “The meat did not appear to be for human consumption, and packaging and shipping was inconsistent with the standard methods of meat processing.”
Once the meat started to thaw, investigators said the meat’s odor revealed it was rotten and unsafe to eat.
Inside what investigators believe were goat intestines were 10 duct tape-wrapped balls of meth and heroin, the District of Alaska said. In total, 389 grams of methamphetamine and six packages of about 740.5 grams of heroin were recovered.
Placencia told investigators he bought the goat for $140 from a rancher in California and packed his luggage with the intention of eating the intestines, the District of Alaska said. Placencia denied knowing anything about the meth and heroin.
In February, the Alaska State Troopers said in a report a narcotics investigation had begun on Placencia. In March, police found drugs and cash in his home, including 247 grams of heroin and 13 grams of crystal meth, the troopers report said.
If convicted, the District of Alaska said, Placencia could face 40 years in prison and a $5 million fine.
Photo Credit: pix11.com
Dog drives in circles for almost an hour in Florida driveway
Anne Sabol’s cul-de-sac in Port St. Lucie, Florida, is fairly quiet.
Well, it was, until a dog hopped in its owner’s running car, kicked it in reverse, drove in circles for an hour and smashed a neighbor’s mailbox before safely exiting the vehicle without so much as a scratch.
But Sabol didn’t know who was behind the wheel when she first spotted the car, whirling around the block like an inept student driver might.
“At first I thought I saw somebody backing up, but then they kept going, and I’m like, ‘OK, what’re they doing?’” she told CNN affiliate WPBF.
Then the cops came. And then the fire department. Authorities watched from a distance as the driving dog did donuts.
Finally, the vehicle hit a mailbox and some garbage cans, then slowed down.
Port St. Lucie police opened the door, and Sabol watched as a large black Labrador retriever hop out of the driver’s seat.
“‘OK, this is turning weird,’” she remembered thinking.
It turns out, the dog’s owner, who asked to remain anonymous, had left his car running in the street when the dog changed gears and didn’t stop driving for almost an hour, Port St. Lucie police said.
The community escaped injury save for the mailbox, which the dog’s owner promised to fix.
As for the pup, it’s impossible to know its thoughts behind the wheel. Did it jump at the chance for a joyride and a fleeting taste of freedom? Or was this all a harrowing accident as the dog felt all control slip through its paws?
Sabol, for one, was impressed.
“They should give that thing a license.”
via: https://pix11.com/2019/11/23/dog-drives-in-circles-for-an-hour-in-florida-driveway/
Photo Credit: pix11.com
Damon Dash Arrested for Unpaid Child Support, Released After Paying More Than $1 Million
Hip-hop mogul Damon Dash was arrested in New York City on Wednesday for failing to pay two of the mothers of his children — Rachel Roy and Cindy Morales — overdue child support, according to TMZ.
Earlier this year, it was reported that Dash, 48, owed more than $400,000 in child support to Roy and Morales. He shares two daughters — Ava, 19, and Tallulah, 11 — with Roy, 45, and a son, Lucky, 15, with Morales (he also shares son Damon Dash Jr., 27, with ex Linda Williams).
Page Six reports that in April 2015, a Bronx family court judge issued an arrest warrant for Dash and ordered him to pay $62,000 to Morales. This year, a Supreme Court divorce warrant was issued for Dash, who was ordered to pay $342,000 to Roy.
According to TMZ, Dash went to a Manhattan courthouse on Wednesday to take care of the two warrants. He told the outlet that after he paid off about $1 million to clear one warrant, he was arrested as soon he stepped out of the courtroom.
Dash claimed he was then hand-cuffed and escorted by police to a Bronx courthouse to take care of the rest of his debts. In total, Dash reportedly paid more than $1 million to clear his name and be released.
“We’ve been looking to arrest him since 2015,” N.Y.C Sheriff Joseph Fucito told Page Six.
The outlet reports that Dash left court holding hands with his pregnant fiancée, Raquel Horn, and said he had been crucified “just like Jesus Christ.” In addition, he said that there “ain’t no money problems” despite claiming in federal court papers last week that his personal income was “virtually nonexistent” and that he was facing additional unexpected expenses due to Horn’s pregnancy.
“I went to turn myself in with money! I already paid it! And I still walked in with cuffs,” he reportedly said. “No more warrants. Everything is clear.”
On Wednesday night, Dash celebrated his release on his Instagram Story, saying, “No more warrants! … I’m home, I’m really home.”
via: https://currently.att.yahoo.com/entertainment/damon-dash-arrested-unpaid-child-233735385.html
Photo Credit: people.com
Dog chewed off own leg after being left in cold with no food
EXETER, Mich. – An upstate New York man faces several charges after his dog appeared to have chewed off one of its own limbs, state police say.
Carl K. Pritchard, 59, of Exeter, faces charges of agriculture and markets law overdriving, torturing and injuring animals; failure to provide proper sustenance; and failure to provide appropriate shelter for a dog left outdoors.
The dog, Zoe – who appears to be an older German shepherd mix – was found outside in a plastic pet crate lined with hay.
Zoe was chained up with no food or water, according to police. One of her bowls was frozen and covered in snow, WWLP reports.
A UPS driver noticed Zoe and reportedly called 911, telling the operator there was a dog that appeared to have had its front left leg “blown off.”
Zoe was treated at Susquehanna SPCA before being transferred to the Cornell University of Veterinary Medicine.
Veterinarians determined that Zoe likely chewed off her own leg after they found bone fragments in her stomach, WWLP reports. She was also treated for other unspecified injuries and scarred ear tips.
Pritchard has a court appearance scheduled for Dec 4.
Photo Credit: fox2now.com