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Repository: uclmr/fakenewschallenge
Branch: master
Commit: badc65fb8d06
Files: 12
Total size: 22.8 MB

Directory structure:
gitextract_qhwr8nss/

├── LICENSE
├── README.md
├── model/
│ ├── checkpoint
│ ├── model.checkpoint.data-00000-of-00001
│ ├── model.checkpoint.index
│ └── model.checkpoint.meta
├── pred.py
├── test_bodies.csv
├── test_stances_unlabeled.csv
├── train_bodies.csv
├── train_stances.csv
└── util.py

================================================
FILE CONTENTS
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================================================
FILE: LICENSE
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================================================
FILE: README.md
================================================

<img src="https://github.com/uclmr/fakenewschallenge/blob/master/images/uclmr_logo.png" alt="UCL Machine Reading" width="25%"/>

# UCL Machine Reading - FNC-1 Submission

The submission made by [UCL Machine Reading](http://mr.cs.ucl.ac.uk/)
(UCLMR) during Stage 1 of the [Fake News Challenge](http://www.fakenewschallenge.org/)
(FNC-1) is based on a single, end-to-end system consisting of lexical as
well as similarity features passed through a multi-layer perceptron with
one hidden layer.

Although relatively simple in nature, the system performs on par with
more elaborate, ensemble-based systems of other teams.

We use two simple bag-of-words representations for the text inputs:
term frequency (TF) and term frequency-inverse document frequency
(TF-IDF). The representations and feature thus extracted from the
headline and body pairs consist of only the following:

* The TF vector of the headline;
* The TF vector of the body;
* The cosine similarity between the TF-IDF vectors of the headline and
body.

A schematic overview of the setup is provided below. Further detailed
information can be found in a [short paper](http://arxiv.org/abs/1707.03264)
on arXiv.

## Reproducibility

This repository contains the files necessary to reproduce UCLMR's
submission.

Rather than providing seed values and requiring the model to be
retrained, the repository contains relevant scripts and the TensorFlow
model trained as part of the submission.

The submission can easily be reproduced by loading this model using the
`pred.py` script to make the predictions on the relevant test set.

Alternatively, as suggested by the organisers of the competition, the
validity of the submission can also be checked by using the `pred.py`
script to train the model with different seeds and evaluating the
mean performance of the system.

## Getting started

To get started, simply download the files in this repository to a local
directory.

### Prerequisites

The system was developed, trained and tested using the
following:

```
Python==3.5.2
NumPy==1.11.3
scikit-learn==0.18.1
TensorFlow==0.12.1
```

Please note that compatibility of the saved model with newer versions
of `TensorFlow` has not been checked. Accordingly, please use the
`TensorFlow` version listed above.

### Installing

Other than ensuring the dependencies are in place, no separate
installation is required.

Simply execute the `pred.py` file once the repository has been
saved locally.

## Reproducing the submission

The `pred.py` script can be run in two different modes: 'load' or
'train'. Upon running the `pred.py` file, the user is requested to input
the desired mode.

Execution of the `pred.py` file in 'load' mode entails the
following:

* The train set will be loaded from `train_stances.csv` and
`train_bodies.csv` using the corresponding `FNCData` class defined in
`util.py`.
* The test set will be loaded from `test_stances_unlabeled.csv` and
`train_bodies.csv` using the same `FNCData` class. Please note that
`test_stances_unlabeled.csv` corresponds to the second, amended release
of the file.
* The train and test sets are then respectively processed by the
`pipeline_train` and `pipeline_test` functions defined in `util.py`.
* The `TensorFlow` model saved in the `model` directory is then loaded
in place of the model definition in `pred.py`. The associated
`load_model` function can be found in `util.py`.
* The model is then used to predict the labels on the processed test
set.
* The predictions are then saved in a `predictions_test.csv` file in the
top level of the local directory. The corresponding `save_predictions`
function is defined in `util.py`. The predictions made are equivalent to
those submitted during the competition.

Execution of the `pred.py` file in 'train' mode encompasses steps
identical to those outlined above with the exception of the model being
trained as opposed to loaded from file. In this case, the predictions
will not be identical to those submitted during the competition.

The file name for the predictions can be changed in section '# Set file
names' at the top of `pred.py`, if required.

Please note that the predictions are saved in chronological order with
respect to the `test_stances_unlabeled.csv` file, however, only the
predictions are saved and not combined with the `Headline` and `Body ID`
fields of the source file.

## Team members

* [Benjamin Riedel](https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjaminriedel/) - Full implementation
* [Isabelle Augenstein](http://isabelleaugenstein.github.io/) - Advice
* [Georgios Spithourakis](http://geospith.github.io/) - Advice
* [Sebastian Riedel](http://www.riedelcastro.org/) - Academic supervision

## Citation

If you use this work in your research, please cite the [short paper](http://arxiv.org/abs/1707.03264)
on arXiv using the following BibTeX entry.

```
@article{riedel2017fnc,
author = {Benjamin~Riedel and Isabelle~Augenstein and Georgios~P.~Spithourakis and Sebastian~Riedel},
title = {A simple but tough-to-beat baseline for the {Fake News Challenge} stance detection task},
journal = {CoRR},
volume = {abs/1707.03264},
year = {2017},
url = {http://arxiv.org/abs/1707.03264}
}
```

## License

This project is licensed under the Apache 2.0 License. Please see the
`LICENSE.txt` file for details.

## Acknowledgements

* Richard Davis and Chris Proctor at the Graduate School of Education
at Stanford University for [the description](https://web.stanford.edu/class/cs224n/reports/2761239.pdf)
of their development efforts for FNC-1. The system presented here is
based on their setup.
* Florian Mai at the Department of Computer Science at
Christian-Albrechts Universität zu Kiel for insightful and constructive
discussions during system development.
* Anna Seg of FNC-1 team 'annaseg' for her suggestions on how to split
the training data for more realistic system evaluation.

================================================
FILE: model/checkpoint
================================================
model_checkpoint_path: "model.checkpoint"
all_model_checkpoint_paths: "model.checkpoint"

================================================
FILE: model/model.checkpoint.data-00000-of-00001
================================================
[File too large to display: 11.5 MB]

================================================
FILE: pred.py
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# Copyright 2017 Benjamin Riedel
#
# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
# you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
# You may obtain a copy of the License at
#
# http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
#
# Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
# distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
# WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
# See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
# limitations under the License.

# Import relevant packages and modules
from util import *
import random
import tensorflow as tf

# Prompt for mode
mode = input('mode (load / train)? ')

# Set file names
file_train_instances = "train_stances.csv"
file_train_bodies = "train_bodies.csv"
file_test_instances = "test_stances_unlabeled.csv"
file_test_bodies = "test_bodies.csv"
file_predictions = 'predictions_test.csv'

# Initialise hyperparameters
r = random.Random()
lim_unigram = 5000
target_size = 4
hidden_size = 100
train_keep_prob = 0.6
l2_alpha = 0.00001
learn_rate = 0.01
clip_ratio = 5
batch_size_train = 500
epochs = 90

# Load data sets
raw_train = FNCData(file_train_instances, file_train_bodies)
raw_test = FNCData(file_test_instances, file_test_bodies)
n_train = len(raw_train.instances)

# Process data sets
train_set, train_stances, bow_vectorizer, tfreq_vectorizer, tfidf_vectorizer = \
pipeline_train(raw_train, raw_test, lim_unigram=lim_unigram)
feature_size = len(train_set[0])
test_set = pipeline_test(raw_test, bow_vectorizer, tfreq_vectorizer, tfidf_vectorizer)

# Define model

# Create placeholders
features_pl = tf.placeholder(tf.float32, [None, feature_size], 'features')
stances_pl = tf.placeholder(tf.int64, [None], 'stances')
keep_prob_pl = tf.placeholder(tf.float32)

# Infer batch size
batch_size = tf.shape(features_pl)[0]

# Define multi-layer perceptron
hidden_layer = tf.nn.dropout(tf.nn.relu(tf.contrib.layers.linear(features_pl, hidden_size)), keep_prob=keep_prob_pl)
logits_flat = tf.nn.dropout(tf.contrib.layers.linear(hidden_layer, target_size), keep_prob=keep_prob_pl)
logits = tf.reshape(logits_flat, [batch_size, target_size])

# Define L2 loss
tf_vars = tf.trainable_variables()
l2_loss = tf.add_n([tf.nn.l2_loss(v) for v in tf_vars if 'bias' not in v.name]) * l2_alpha

# Define overall loss
loss = tf.reduce_sum(tf.nn.sparse_softmax_cross_entropy_with_logits(logits, stances_pl) + l2_loss)

# Define prediction
softmaxed_logits = tf.nn.softmax(logits)
predict = tf.arg_max(softmaxed_logits, 1)

# Load model
if mode == 'load':
with tf.Session() as sess:
load_model(sess)

# Predict
test_feed_dict = {features_pl: test_set, keep_prob_pl: 1.0}
test_pred = sess.run(predict, feed_dict=test_feed_dict)

# Train model
if mode == 'train':

# Define optimiser
opt_func = tf.train.AdamOptimizer(learn_rate)
grads, _ = tf.clip_by_global_norm(tf.gradients(loss, tf_vars), clip_ratio)
opt_op = opt_func.apply_gradients(zip(grads, tf_vars))

# Perform training
with tf.Session() as sess:
sess.run(tf.global_variables_initializer())

for epoch in range(epochs):
total_loss = 0
indices = list(range(n_train))
r.shuffle(indices)

for i in range(n_train // batch_size_train):
batch_indices = indices[i * batch_size_train: (i + 1) * batch_size_train]
batch_features = [train_set[i] for i in batch_indices]
batch_stances = [train_stances[i] for i in batch_indices]

batch_feed_dict = {features_pl: batch_features, stances_pl: batch_stances, keep_prob_pl: train_keep_prob}
_, current_loss = sess.run([opt_op, loss], feed_dict=batch_feed_dict)
total_loss += current_loss

# Predict
test_feed_dict = {features_pl: test_set, keep_prob_pl: 1.0}
test_pred = sess.run(predict, feed_dict=test_feed_dict)

# Save predictions
save_predictions(test_pred, file_predictions)

================================================
FILE: test_bodies.csv
================================================
Body ID,articleBody
1,Al-Sisi has denied Israeli reports stating that he offered to extend the Gaza Strip.
2,"A bereaved Afghan mother took revenge on the Taliban after watching them kill her son in an ambush. Reza Gul killed 25 Taliban fighters and injured five others in a seven-hour gunbattle in Farah province.

Gul, who was joined by her daughter and daughter in-law, engaged the Taliban using AK-47s and grenades, despitenever before having used a weapon.

The embattled mother told Tolo news, a 24-hour Afghan news broadcaster, she was awakened by shots early Tuesday. After seeing that her son had been killed, Gul and the other two women fought back.

“I couldn't stop myself and picked up a weapon,” Gul told Tolo News. “I went to the check post and began shooting back.”

Seema, her daughter-in-law, added: “The fighting was intensified when we reached the battlefield along with light and heavy weapons. We were committed to fight until the last bullet.”

Gul said that the battlefield was covered in Talib fighters after the deadly exchange ended.

While the Taliban have not publicly commented on the incident, the Afghan government labeled it a symbol of a public uprising against the Taliban.

Taliban and other groups have regained large swathes of the country as U.S. and NATO forces slowly pull out troops after 14 years of war. The Taliban have targeted government and foreign infrastructure as the group attempts to claw back power it lost in 2001.

While the Taliban have made key gains in rural regions, members continue to employ suicide bomber tactics in well protected towns and cities. Earlier this week, 50 people were killed after a suicide bomber detonated a vest during a volleyball competition in Yahyakahil, Paktika province.

That particular attack prompted President Ashraf Ghani to order a complete overview of the country’s defense forces and to rethink the ban on nighttime raids, which were outlawed by his predecessor, Hamid Karzai."
3,"CNBC is reporting Tesla has chosen Nevada as the site of its Gigafactory.

""We look forward to meeting with Gov. (Brian) Sandoval and other legislators in Carson City at 4 p.m. tomorrow to announce a major economic development,"" a Tesla rep told Business Insider.

The Gigafactory is a critical piece of CEO Elon Musk's plan to make a mass-market Tesla car, and lower the cost of carbon-neutral power. Musk has said he intends to double the world's supply of lithium-ion batteries by 2020 and thus drive the price of the power packs downward. He's also said he plans to build multiple Gigafactories in the future.

Tesla had already broken ground on a prospective site outside Reno earlier this summer that only bore the name ""Project Tiger."" The Tahoe Reno Industrial Center currently boasts e-commerce facilities owned by Apple, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Zulily.

Tesla's facility, which is expected to employ 6,500 workers is estimated to cost up to $5 billion. CNBC says specific terms of the deal with the state are still being worked out, and that it could be a week before they're announced.

Dow Jones also reported Nevada was chosen."
12,"A 4-inch version of the iPhone 6 is said to be in development as a replacement for the entry-level iPhone 5c.

The handset will be launched during 2015, according to Chinese rumour site Feng.com, although there it's unknown if the new model would be a scaled-down luxury phone or continue to act as the entry-level iPhone to Apple's range.

If true, the move would be a return to creating smaller handsets following the runaway success of the 4.7-inch iPhone 6 and 5.5-inch iPhone 6 Plus, launched in September.

iPhones now account of 39.5 per cent of British smartphone sales, the Californian company's highest ever UK market share, thanks to strong sales of the new models. The smaller 6 outsold the 6 Plus by 4:1 across the UK, according to Kantar Worldpanel ComTech.

The two new handsets swiftly became Apple's fastest-selling product to date, shifting more than 10 million units within three days. A return to manufacturing 4-inch handsets (the size of the current iPhone 5s and 5c models) would extend the iPhone 6 design across three differently sized phones.

Consumers are unlikely to see the launch of a new iPhone before September 2015, although the company's first smartwatch the Apple Watch is due for release in the spring."
19,"GR editor’s Note

There are no reports in the Western mainstream media pertaining to this issue.

This report is based on statements emanating from the Iraq parliament, with photographic evidence. We have not been in a position to corroborate this report by FARS News.

* * *

Iraq’s army has shot down two British planes as they were carrying weapons for the ISIL terrorists in Al-Anbar province, a senior lawmaker disclosed on Monday.

“The Iraqi Parliament’s National Security and Defense Committee has access to the photos of both planes that are British and have crashed while they were carrying weapons for the ISIL,” Head of the committee Hakem al-Zameli said, according to a Monday report of the Arabic-language information center of the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq.

He said the Iraqi parliament has asked London for explanations in this regard.

The senior Iraqi legislator further unveiled that the government in Baghdad is receiving daily reports from people and security forces in al-Anbar province on numerous flights by the US-led coalition planes that airdrop weapons and supplies for ISIL in terrorist-held areas.

The Iraqi lawmaker further noted the cause of such western aids to the terrorist group, and explained that the US prefers a chaotic situation in Anbar Province which is near the cities of Karbala and Baghdad as it does not want the ISIL crisis to come to an end.

Earlier today, a senior Iraqi provincial official lashed out at the western countries and their regional allies for supporting Takfiri terrorists in Iraq, revealing that US and Israeli-made weapons have been discovered from the areas purged of ISIL terrorists.

“We have discovered weapons made in the US, European countries and Israel from the areas liberated from ISIL’s control in Al-Baqdadi region,” the Al-Ahad news website quoted Head of Al-Anbar Provincial Council Khalaf Tarmouz as saying.

He noted that the weapons made by the European countries and Israel were discovered from the terrorists in the Eastern parts of the city of Ramadi.

Al-Zameli had also disclosed in January that the anti-ISIL coalition’s planes have dropped weapons and foodstuff for the ISIL in Salahuddin, Al-Anbar and Diyala provinces.

Al-Zameli underlined that the coalition is the main cause of ISIL’s survival in Iraq.

“There are proofs and evidence for the US-led coalition’s military aid to ISIL terrorists through air(dropped cargoes),” he told FNA in January.

He noted that the members of his committee have already proved that the US planes have dropped advanced weaponry, including anti-aircraft weapons, for the ISIL, and that it has set up an investigation committee to probe into the matter.

“The US drops weapons for the ISIL on the excuse of not knowing about the whereabouts of the ISIL positions and it is trying to distort the reality with its allegations.

He noted that the committee had collected the data and the evidence provided by eyewitnesses, including Iraqi army officers and the popular forces, and said, “These documents are given to the investigation committee … and the necessary measures will be taken to protect the Iraqi airspace.”

Also in January, another senior Iraqi legislator reiterated that the US-led coalition is the main cause of ISIL’s survival in Iraq.

“The international coalition is only an excuse for protecting the ISIL and helping the terrorist group with equipment and weapons,” Jome Divan, who is member of the al-Sadr bloc in the Iraqi parliament, said.

He said the coalition’s support for the ISIL is now evident to everyone, and continued, “The coalition has not targeted ISIL’s main positions in Iraq.”

In late December, Iraqi Parliamentary Security and Defense Commission MP disclosed that a US plane supplied the ISIL terrorist organization with arms and ammunition in Salahuddin province.

MP Majid al-Gharawi stated that the available information pointed out that US planes are supplying ISIL organization, not only in Salahuddin province, but also other provinces, Iraq TradeLink reported.

He added that the US and the international coalition are “not serious in fighting against the ISIL organization, because they have the technological power to determine the presence of ISIL gunmen and destroy them in one month”.

Gharawi added that “the US is trying to expand the time of the war against the ISIL to get guarantees from the Iraqi government to have its bases in Mosul and Anbar provinces.”

Salahuddin security commission also disclosed that “unknown planes threw arms and ammunition to the ISIL gunmen Southeast of Tikrit city”.

Also in Late December, a senior Iraqi lawmaker raised doubts about the seriousness of the anti-ISIL coalition led by the US, and said that the terrorist group still received aids dropped by unidentified aircraft.

“The international coalition is not serious about air strikes on ISIL terrorists and is even seeking to take out the popular (voluntary) forces from the battlefield against the Takfiris so that the problem with ISIL remains unsolved in the near future,” Nahlah al-Hababi told FNA.

“The ISIL terrorists are still receiving aids from unidentified fighter jets in Iraq and Syria,” she added.

Hababi said that the coalition’s precise airstrikes are launched only in those areas where the Kurdish Pishmarga forces are present, while military strikes in other regions are not so much precise.

In late December, the US-led coalition dropped aids to the Takfiri militants in an area North of Baghdad.

Field sources in Iraq told al-Manar that the international coalition airplanes dropped aids to the terrorist militants in Balad, an area which lies in Salahuddin province North of Baghdad.

In October, a high-ranking Iranian commander also slammed the US for providing aid supplies to ISIL, adding that the US claims that the weapons were mistakenly airdropped to ISIL were untrue.

“The US and the so-called anti-ISIL coalition claim that they have launched a campaign against this terrorist and criminal group – while supplying them with weapons, food and medicine in Jalawla region (a town in Diyala Governorate, Iraq). This explicitly displays the falsity of the coalition’s and the US’ claims,” Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri said.

The US claimed that it had airdropped weapons and medical aid to Kurdish fighters confronting the ISIL in Kobani, near the Turkish border in Northern Syria.

The US Defense Department said that it had airdropped 28 bundles of weapons and supplies, but one of them did not make it into the hands of the Kurdish fighters.

Video footage later showed that some of the weapons that the US airdropped were taken by ISIL militants.

The Iranian commander insisted that the US had the necessary intelligence about ISIL’s deployment in the region and that their claims to have mistakenly airdropped weapons to them are as unlikely as they are untrue."
20,"“I once sent Tim an email about the quality of music while on hold with Apple. It was super low quality, therefore an upbeat rock song sounded like pure distortion and really aggravated me because I was on hold for 20+ minutes for something so simple (iPhone didn’t turn on, needed to set up a repair as in my country no Apple Store = have to send it to another country),” Reddit user lerde writes.

“Much to my surprise a lady from Cupertino called me up the next day, saying she’d received a concerning email from Tim about ugly distortion hold music while on the phone, that Tim had tested this himself and agreed that something had to be done. She assured me that the hold music would be tested to make sure it sounded pleasant on all types of phones and connections,” lerde writes. “The next time I called Apple, the hold music was indeed very pleasant.”

Read more in the full article here.

[Attribution: Cult of Mac. Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Dan K.” for the heads up.]"
21,"Absolutely no one was devastated when news broke last week that 26-year-old Afton Elaine “Star” Burton would not be marrying 80-year-old psychopath felon Charles Manson after all. But as it turns out, there’s more to the story than their wedding license expiring.

Just in case you needed more nightmare fuel... ((AP Photos/California Department of Corrections)
Just in case you needed more nightmare fuel… ((AP Photos/California Department of Corrections)
The New York Post is reporting that journalist Daniel Simone learned the true reason behind the nixed nuptials: Manson’s fiancee was marrying him to get access to his corpse.

According to Simone, Star isn’t quite the deranged Manson maniac we all thought she was. She was a woman with a plan. Not a good plan, necessarily. But a plan.

When Manson keeled over, Star reportedly envisioned putting the murderous cult leader on display Lenin-style in a glass coffin so she could charge money to morbid looky-loos.

Manson was allegedly less-than-pleased with this idea and called off the unholy prison wedding — potentially the only good thing he’s ever done his life. The Post has all the details, including this masterpiece of insanity:

Another reason the madman balked at the plan is because he believes he is immortal. “He feels he will never die,” Simone said. “Therefore, he feels it’s a stupid idea to begin with.”

Manson is housed in California State Prison, Corcoran and is presumably now looking for a life partner who is not interested in profiting off his disgusting corpse. Please send all applications straight to an incinerator and seek professional help immediately."
28,"In designing its first wearable device in the Apple Watch, Apple looked to incorporate a variety of highly advanced health functions with an eye on creating a holistic monitoring device, but ultimately scrapped those plans due to technological and regulatory hurdles.

According to The Wall Street Journal, sources claim Apple Watch was supposed to be much more than the device unveiled last year and slated to launch in April. Specifically, Apple executives wanted to produce a cutting edge health-monitoring tool, one capable of measuring a user's blood pressure, heart rate, stress level and more, said people familiar with the matter.

The publication says the setbacks forced Apple executives into a corner when it came to marketing the device to the general consumer. As it stands, Apple Watch boasts a variety of sensors, including accelerometers, touch inputs and a bespoke optical heart rate sensor, the latter of which connects to the iOS Health app for fitness and wellness tracking. While polished and presented in a slick package, Apple Watch is powered by technology on a par with competing devices running flavors of Android.

Aside from catchall smartwatch devices, a number of standalone solutions for off-the-shelf medical style monitoring already exist in the form of products — usually wrist-worn — from smaller manufacturers and startups. For example, the W/Me band incorporates a specialized sensor to measure a user's autonomic nervous system for keeping track of stress levels, while the latest products from Fitbit tout all-day heart rate monitoring.

Apple started development of its Watch four years ago, with an eye on health and fitness, but the project was quickly dubbed a ""black hole"" for sucking in resources. Advanced technology and component reliability failed to meet Apple's rigorous standards, sources said.

For example, skin conductivity sensors showed promise in early designs, but later testing showed actual results varied person to person, with everything from hairy arms to strap tightness contributing to unreliable readings. The company also investigated incorporating blood pressure and blood oxygen measurement features, but results were inconsistent.

Apple is seemingly investing on health-minded devices and programs, as evidenced by recently discovered job postings, but will take a more mainstream approach for the first generation Watch. Instead of focusing exclusively on health and fitness, the device is being positioned as a niche-filling fashion accessory, iOS compatible smartwatch, iPhone companion and daily communicator, among others.

Apple Watch does, however, sport a few Apple-only features, including Apple Pay integration and WatchKit development tools that are expected to foster a rich ecosystem of bite-sized apps later this year."
31,"The picture of a possible ""Crabzilla"" measuring about 50 feet has surfaced after such creature was allegedly spotted at a harbor in the United Kingdom. The oddity has led many to ask: could this be real or simply a hoax?

The photograph of the monster crab first came out in the website Weird Whitstable, which collects exciting and unusual pictures of sightings reported in the town of Whitstable, Kent.

Quinton Winter, the curator of the website, reveals that a follower sent him the picture of the giant crab lurking at the Kent harbor. The satellite image of the crab shows the creature to be about 50 feet in size, more than four times bigger than the biggest crabs alive on the planet. Winter initially thought the crab-like image was due to some sort of sand formation; however, he now believes that it is an actual crab.

Winter says that he may have also seen the gigantic crab when he went for crabbing with his son in the summer of 2013.

""At first all I could see was some faint movement, then as it rose from the water I thought, 'that's a funny looking bit of driftwood,"" said Winter. ""It had glazed blank eyes on stalks, swiveling wildly and it clearly was a massive crab with crushing claws. Before this incident I thought the aerial photo showed an odd-shaped sand bank. Now I know better.""

Japanese spider crabs, found in the waters around Japan, are the biggest known living crab species is the world. The Japanese spider crab can weigh up to 12 kilograms (26.45 pounds) and its leg span can reach up to 3.8 meters (about 12 feet).

Even though some people believe that the giant crab image is real, there are some who believe it is a hoax and may be the result of computer image manipulation. The image could be an enlarged picture of an edible crab with the scientific name of Cancer pagurus, which is generally found in the waters surrounding the British Isles. However, this crab species is not as big as 50 feet but measures just about 10 inches and weighs just around six pounds.

Check out the picture of the giant crab of Weird Whitstable and decide for yourself: is it real or a hoax?"
33,"Early Tuesday morning, Dornella Conner was “riding around, respecting Mike Brown” with her boyfriend De’Angelas Lee when she was injured with flying shards of glass after police officers fired into her car with specialized “bean bag” bullets, designed to help control rioters and unruly protesters. According to Conner, she and Lee pulled up at a gas station, and were blocked off on all sides by approaching police officers before one of them fired their weapon, injuring Conner in her face. However, according to police officers, Conner’s boyfriend, De’Angelas, aggressively drove the car straight at them, which is why they decided to fire the bean bag into the car to stop their approach. Broken glass from the shattered car window flew into Conner’s eye, and despite being rushed to a hospital shortly after, doctors were unable to save her left eye.

She released a statement to Facebook:

Thanks [to] all my Facebook friends for your support. Im blind in my left eye and they took it out because i got [shot] in my face … but thank god that i can see the world. Im soo thankful that im here too spend thanksgiving with my family and my kids even tho im still in pain. I will have justices for what they did too me but I happy I’m alive."
37,"An airline passenger headed to Dallas was removed from a plane at La Guardia Airport on Christmas Eve because he raged after workers wished him a Merry Christmas, The New York Post reports.

The man was waiting to board American Airlines Flight 1140 to Dallas when a gate agent began welcoming everyone with the Yuletide greeting. He yelled at the woman, “You shouldn’t say that because not everyone celebrates Christmas.”

Once on the plane, a flight attendant wished him a “Merry Christmas.” He yelled, “Don’t say, ‘Merry Christmas!’”

According to the Post, he was escorted off the plane as other fliers burst into cheers and applause."
38,"Saudi Arabian Airlines on Sunday dismissed claims made by some local media outlets that the national flag carrier is planning to segregate men and women on its flights.
Denying that such arrangements are being considered, Abdullah Al-Ajhar, the airline’s spokesman, termed the reports as “false” and “misleading.”
Speaking to Arab News, Al-Ajhar asserted that there are no plans to separate passengers based on their gender.
A few days ago, international media, quoting a local daily, reported that Saudia is planning to segregate according to gender, following complaints of uncomfortable journeys by male relatives of female passengers.
According to the report, some passengers complained that females sitting next to non-related male passengers felt uncomfortable.
In the report, the international news organization quoted Abdul Rahman Al-Fahd, airline’s vice president for marketing, as saying that measures would be taken to solve this problem.
However, the official concerned denied having made any statement on segregation. He asserted that his quote was taken out of context.
Al-Fahd tried to clear the air on the matter by tweeting what he claimed was his real response: “I answered: We are trying to find a solution and awaiting the outcome.”
In a significant but unrelated move, Saudia has extended the validity of domestic flight tickets from 6 months to 1 year from Jan. 1.
إعلان
What's this? inRead™ invented by Teads.tv

According to the new system, passengers will have to purchase tickets while making reservations on domestic flights, with the ticket validity extended to one year to give passengers enough flexibility, a Saudia official said."
39,"A clinic employee tells investigators the picture was taken while Rivers was under anesthesia, according to a new report

Joan Rivers‘ personal ear, nose, and throat doctor allegedly snapped a selfie with the comedienne while she was under general anesthesia for her throat procedure.

Also read: Joan Rivers’ Endoscopy Clinic Denies Performing Dangerous Throat Biopsy

According to CNN, a Yorkville Endoscopy staff member told investigators the photograph was taken while Rivers was in the procedure room.

The 81-year-old entertainer went to the clinic to undergo a scheduled endoscopy by gastroenterologist and the clinic's medical director Dr. Lawrence Cohen, according to reports. After that procedure, CNN reports Rivers also underwent an unauthorized vocal cord biopsy performed by a physician, who hasn't been identified.

Also read: Joan Rivers Doctor Out at Clinic After Her Death

On Friday Yorkville Endoscopy announced Dr. Cohen was no longer medical director of the clinic, located in Manhattan. Reports are conflicting as to whether he voluntarily stepped down or was fired.

“Dr. Cohen is not currently performing procedures at Yorkville Endoscopy, nor is he currently serving as medical director,” a spokesperson from the clinic said in a statement obtained by TheWrap.

Also read: Joan Rivers Funeral: Howard Stern Delivers Eulogy at Star-Studded Service

On Sept. 5 the New York Medical Examiner's Office told TheWrap that the autopsy on Rivers’ body did not yield a firm cause or manner of death, and that further studies would be conducted to determine exactly how she died following the Aug. 28 procedure.

Rivers was immediately rushed to a nearby hospital, but did not recover. She was placed in a medically-induced coma and had been on life support when she died on Sept. 4."
42,"SAN FRANCISCO -- Apple plans to shut down streaming service Music Beats, according to a published report.

Several prominent employees at Apple and Beats told TechCrunch that Apple planned to discontinue the service.

Re/code says Beats Music the brand may be going away but the service is not.

Apple spokesman Tom Neumayr told Re/code the TechCrunch report is ""not true.""

Apple bought the service started by Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre in May for $3 billion. At the time it had a few hundred thousand subscribers.

Apple could not be immediately reached for comment."
46,"The militant Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) has released a video it says shows the beheading of U.S. journalist Steven Sotloff, according to the website Siteintelgroup.com.

The video of reporter James Foley's beheading released in August also showed Sotloff, warning he would be killed next if U.S. airstrikes continued.

In Washington, the White House said it couldn't confirm the authenticity of the video, Reuters reported.

Before his capture near Aleppo, Syria, in August 2013, freelance reporter Sotloff, 31, had contributed to Time magazine and other periodicals. He was born in Miami.

Last week, Sotloff's mother Shirley made a recorded video plea to her son's captors, pleading for his release."
49,"WASHINGTON, Dec 19 (Reuters) - The hackers who launched a cyberattack on Sony Pictures praised the company's decision to cancel the release of ""The Interview"" and said its data will be secure if they continue to comply, CNN reported on Friday, quoting the message.

""It's very wise that you have made a decision to cancel the release of 'The Interview,'"" the message said, according to CNN. ""We ensure the security of your data unless you make additional trouble."" (Writing by Doina Chiaacu; Editing by Susan Heavey)

Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article."
50,"Another rape allegation has surfaced against famed comedian and actor, Bill Cosby. This time it is from a familiar face which speculates that there may be some truth to Cosby's sketchy past.

Actress and singer Raven-Symone, who rose to fame with Cosby in the hit television sitcom ""The Cosby Show"", revealed to the TMZ offices that she too had been raped and drugged years ago following the shows last episode.

There are whispers that Cosby wouldn't allow Raven-Symone in the production of the last season of his show, but abruptly changed his mind. It was never revealed what changed his original intentions.

Her lawyer gave an announcement to the press, here is an excerpt:

""...we among so many others are tired of the media worshipping and praising a man that has a past so terrible that it is unbelievable. My client (Raven-Symone) is also ready to tell her side of the story. A side that was kept quiet because of threats from being blackballed. There was no monetary compensation that made my client keep quiet, but more so the respect for Mr. Cosby. Well that respect has come to an end. And what we thought was a mistake or anomaly has surfaced to become a lifestyle. We will be pursuing damages that are not going to be disclosed at this time.""

On Sunday, Cosby’s attorney issued a statement saying the accusers are rehashing “decade-old, discredited” allegations.

Lawyer John Schmitt said the fact that the allegations are being repeated “does not make them true.” But this particular accusation is interesting. We have a very successful star in Raven-Symone who doesn't look to need any press or financial reward. Which makes us think that Cosby has a really shady past.

Cosby went silent when asked about the new allegations in an interview on NPR on Saturday In the interview, reporter Scott Simon asked Cosby about the claims, but the legendary comic just silently shook his head. To emphasize Cosby’s silence, Simon said, “You’re shaking your head no.”

Cosby has never been criminally charged with sexual assault, but he did settle a civil case in 2006 brought by Temple University employee Andrea Constand who claimed he drugged and groped her at his suburban Philadelphia mansion.

Differences between the two were ""resolved to the mutual satisfaction"" of both Cosby and Constand, according to a new statement issued Monday by their lawyers.

The media has since found some interesting clips from Cosby's past. Now, the Village Voice unearthed audio clips from the comedian’s ninth comedy album, “It’s True! It’s True,” which was released in 1969. An unfortunately titled compilation given the current headlines, the album includes a disturbing track of Cosby describing his long-standing desire to drug women and take advantage of them.

In the routine, Cosby describes his childhood fascination with a drug, “Spanish fly,” that supposedly makes women go crazy (or renders them incapacitated) if slipped into a drink. He says his fascination continued into adulthood, when he and “I Spy” co-star Robert Culp had the opportunity to go to Spain — and he became hopeful he might finally get his hands on some Spanish fly. Cosby describes how Culp, too, wanted to get his hands on the drug.

The latest round of bad press for Cosby started in October when comedian Hannibal Buress called him a “rapist” while performing a standup routine in Philadelphia.

Bill Cosby(Credit: AP/Victoria Will)

SOURCE-Salon-"
52,Diane Foley told ABC News that US officials threatened her family over their proposed efforts to raise ransom for their son's release.
57,"After sending a tweet that many observers said they believed was directed at Bill Cosby, a Twitter account claiming to be that of “The Cosby Show” actress Lisa Bonet was suspended. The account was suspended Saturday following a Nov. 21 tweet directed to no one in particular that piqued the attention of many in the media, including the New York Post and Fox News.

“According to the karma of past actions, one’s destiny unfolds, even though everyone wants to be so lucky… Nothing stays in the dark 4ever!” the tweet said.

Bonet starred as Denise Huxtable on “Cosby” and many said they believed the tweet was directed at her former on-screen father, who has of late suffered a devastating blow to his public persona. Public anger prompted numerous partners to sever relationships with the embattled actor and comedian as a result of allegations he raped more than a dozen women during his career that were reignited by comedian Hannibal Buress last month.

The account is no longer on Twitter, but it featured the Twitter handle @Lilakoi_Moon and used “Lisa Bonet” in its full name field. It also included a photo of the actress. Bonet changed her name to Lilakoi Moon while still acting under the name Lisa Bonet.

Cosby and Bonet were rumored to have had a falling out during the 1980s because Cosby did not approve of her decision to shoot a sexually explicit scene in the 1987 R-rated film “Angel Heart” or to pose topless for a photoshoot with Interview magazine. Bonet left “The Cosby Show” to shoot the spin-off “A Different World” but returned after giving birth. She parted ways with the show again in 1991 and chose not to be part of a reunion special.

The @Lilakoi_Moon account had been on the social networking service for a number of months, and before being shut down had garnered thousands of followers. The user sent tweets to verified Twitter accounts belonging to actor Kadeem Hardison and other members of the “Different World” cast. Representatives of Twitter did not immediately respond to requests from International Business Times to explain why the account was suspended.

An account said to be that of Cree Summer, the actress who played Winifred ""Freddie"" Brooks on “A Different World,” told followers that the @Lilakoi_Moon was fake in a tweet July 10.

I have to let everyone know that @Lilakoi_Moon is not a real account Lisa Bonet , my sister Lilakoi Moon is NOT on Twitter . Please do not

â€” Cree Summer (@IAmCreeSummer) July 10, 2014

Bonet's reps have reported confirmed that the Twitter account does not belong to the actress and requested it be taken down. “I can assure you that is not her Twitter account and I have had the account suspended,” talent manager Jillian Neal told TheWrap Sunday."
58,"When Tim Cook hits the stage Monday to reveal availability and pricing information about Apple Watch, the biggest question he will answer will be about the price of the high-end Edition line. Rumors have pegged that price to range between $5,000 and $20,000. Not a lot, perhaps, compared to a gold Rolex. But a 20-year-old Rolex will still tell the time. Who knows how functional the first Apple AAPL +0.97% Watch will be in five years?

There is now a new development in the pricing story. A new Apple patent has surfaced for a “Method and Apparatus for forming a gold metal matrix composite.” In simple terms, this new “Apple gold” is lighter, stronger and more scratch-resistant than ordinary 18 karat gold through alloys of low-density ceramic particles instead of precious metals. It also contains roughly half the amount of pure 24 karat gold as ordinary 18 karat gold (which is 75% gold, 15% silver, and 10% copper). The math is all explained in geeky detail on a blog called All This.

How much actual gold will be in the Apple Watch Edition? For the models on Apple’s current Edition page, the answer is about half an ounce (current value $640). What Apple isn’t showing on this page is a gold Edition with a solid gold link bracelet. This bracelet only appears in stainless steel on the Apple Watch Collection page. It is not an unreasonable assumption that Apple will roll out a gold link bracelet Edition, which could add another full ounce of gold (total current value $1,920).

Apple-Watch-Edition-value-of-gold

Still, with John Gruber of Daring Fireball estimating a price range of $10,000–$20,000 for the Edition, the profit margins start looking a little rich. Marco Arment is calling it at $5,000, but he is not talking about a solid gold bracelet. In the fine jewelry business, it is not uncommon for the retail price to be between five and ten times the cost of the raw materials. (see this analysis from Apple Spotlight on how much Tiffany customers pay for “form.”)

Apple reported in September that the profit margin for the entry level iPhone 6 was 69%, and slightly higher for the pricier models. That iPhone 6 costs Apple $216 to make, according to a teardown published in Re/code. Let’s assume that the basic Apple Watch will cost Apple no more than that, considering that it’s retail prices is supposed to start at $349. That would have the total cost to Apple for the Apple Watch Edition (without the gold link bracelet) at less than $1,000 and the model with the bracelet just above $2,000. The economics of the “Apple gold” could allow pricing with iPhone-level profit margins to be $2,999 and $6,999 respectively. For those expecting price points of $5,000 and $10,000, or $10,000 and $20,000, this “reasonable” pricing would be a welcome surprise.

As surprising as it is that the high-end Edition could contain so little actual gold, this is not at all a bad thing. Not only will this new process make the Apple Watch Edition lighter for delicate wrists and more resiliant, but it also might help the cause of (relatively) affordable luxury that Apple has championed. More significantly, this level of innovation in manufacturing follows through on Apple’s commitment to using fewer resources in its products. And since the mining of gold involves a lot of dangerous and underregulated human labor, it’s a win in an area that Apple has taken a lot of heat about for years. From the investor point of view, if the gold Apple Watch is a hit like the iPhone 6 Plus has been, the money saved on gold will add meaningfully to Apple’s already healthy bottom line.

Update: As reader Michal Kvasnica points out, the Apple Watch Edition will literally be worth its weight in gold. My original headline was intended rhetorically, not literally. Apple can claim its new gold metal matrix composite is 18 karat because it will be 75% solid gold by weight. The overall weight per volume is where Apple has achieved the savings. The low-density ceramic particles represent a surprising proportion of the volume of the material but still only contribute 25% to the weight. Since no one will buy an Apple Watch Edition with the intention of melting it down for gold, the real point is that “Apple gold” is great from an engineering perspective but bad in terms of intrinsic value. Passing the savings along to the (already overpaying) consumer reinforces Apple’s affordable luxury brand promise. A $10,000 starting price, in my opinion, would be abusing that promise."
64,"No, you do not need to adjust your sets, you are actually looking at a woman with three breasts.

Jasmine Tridevil wants to work on TV and in a bid to get there she has spent $20,000 on surgery to get an extra boob.

It was a bit of an uphill struggle for Jasmine, however, as she says she asked between 50 and 60 doctors but none of them wanted to do it because they would be breaking ethics codes.

It took two years to save up for the surgery but it has now been finished, topped off with a tattooed nipple.

She told Real Radio 104.1: My whole dream is to get this show on MTV.

Scroll down for video

Her mother and sister are no longer talking to her (Picture: Facebook/Jasmine Tridevil)

‘I’m dumping every penny I have into this. If this doesn’t work, I’m through.

She denies that she had the extra breast put on to get fame and fortune.

Jasmine added: ‘I got it because I wanted to make myself unattractive to men. Because I don’t want to date anymore.’

However, her mum and sister will not speak to her and her father is ashamed of her."
66,"THE Islamic State may be harvesting the organs of victims to finance its terror operations, Iraq’s ambassador to the United Nations says.

Ambassador Mohamed Alhakim said today that in the past few weeks, bodies with surgical incisions and missing kidneys or other body parts have been found in shallow mass graves.

“We have bodies. Come and examine them,” he said, referring to the UN Security Council.

“It is clear they are missing certain parts.”

HORROR: ISIS fanatics hurl public execution victims into deep ravine in Syria

HOSTAGE: Kayla Mueller’s boyfriend tried to save her from ISIS

Ambassador Alhakim also said a dozen doctors had been “executed” in Mosul for refusing to participate in organ harvesting, before briefing the council on the situation in Iraq, in which he accused ISIS of committing “crimes of genocide” in targeting certain ethnic groups.

The outgoing UN envoy to Iraq, Nikolay Mladenov, told the council that 790 people were killed in January alone by terrorism and armed conflict.

Mr Mladenov noted the increasing number of reports and allegations that the Islamic State group is using organ harvesting as a financing method, but he said only that “it’s very clear that the tactics ISIS is using expand by the day.”

He said Iraq’s most pressing goal is to win back the vast territory that the Islamic State group has seized in the past year, including a third of both Iraq and neighbouring Syria, where the Sunni militants have imposed strict Sharia law.

“Especially worrying is the increasing number of reports of revenge attacks committed particularly against members of the Sunni community in areas liberated from ISIL control,” Mr Mladenov said.

ISIS had recently confirmed the death of American aid worker and ISIS hostage Kayla Mueller, who was kidnapped by the militant group in 2013 during what should have been a 10-minute trip to the bus station in Syria.

Ms Mueller, her boyfriend at the time, Alkhani, the taxi driver and a fourth person were ambushed and forced out of the vehicle at gunpoint and threatened with death.

Mueller remained a hostage, while Alkhani was released a couple of months later after being beaten and interrogated about his work as a photographer, his religion and his relationship to Mueller.

The terror group has also recently antagonised Egypt after releasing a video showing the beheading of 21 Egyptian Christians.

Egypt retaliated by bombing ISIS targets in Libya."
67,"Mariam Al Mansouri's F-16 bombing raids were celebrated in the West

But a statement purporting to be from her UAE family has 'disowned' her

It attacks her for 'taking part in the brutal aggression against Syria'

The female air force pilot whose missions against Isis were dubbed 'boobs on the ground' has reportedly been disowned by her family and labelled an 'ingrate'.

Mariam Al Mansouri's participation in F-16 bombing raids for the UAE was celebrated in the West, but an anonymous statement claiming to be from her family 'disowned' her for 'taking part in the brutal international aggression' against Syria.

It also expressed support for the Islamic State, saying 'we are proud of the Sunni heroes in Iraq and the Levant'. The brutal terrorist group's original name was the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or Isil.

Courageous: Major Mansouri, from Abu Dhabi, made a remarkable rise through the ranks of the UAE air force. She's pictured here in an F-16 Desert Eagle

Major Al Mansouri's F-16 fighter was one of several from a group of Arab nations that are blitzing Isis

In the name of God All Merciful.

'O ye who believe! Take not your fathers or your brethren for friends if they favour disbelief over faith. Those of you who taketh them for friends are wrong-doers.' [Quranic verse]

'Renouncement of Mariam Al Mansouri:

'We the Mansouri family in the United Arab Emirates hereby publicly declare that we disown the so-called Mariam Al Mansouri as well as anyone taking part in the brutal international aggression against the brotherly Syrian people, starting with our ingrate daughter Mariam Al Mansouri.

'We hereby remind the Muslim nation all over the world of its duty to defend the causes of the nation [meaning the Islamic nation], and we urge them to take up the jihad [holy war] for the sake of God to support the blessed Syrian revolution against the descendants of Ibn Al Alqami.' [Sunni Islamist insurgents refer to the Shi'a as 'alqami' - a reference to Mu'ayyad al-Din Muhammad Ibn al-Alqami, a Shi'ite minister in the last Abbasid caliphate, who purportedly assisted the Mongols in conquering Baghdad in 1258.]

'We call upon all factions and battalions operating on the Syrian battleground to unite and join efforts and forces towards the single objective of overthrowing the monstrous Assad regime perched on the pure and blessed Syrian land.

'Al Mansouri family, in the UAE and abroad, takes this opportunity to declare its support for the blessed Syrian revolution and to all free men defending their rights everywhere in the world.

'Our family is proud of all free men who defend their cause and of all those who take up arms to defend the honour of their nation [The Islamic Nation}. We are proud of the Sunni heroes in Iraq and the Levant and all those who take up the banner of righteousness wherever they may be. We may not know them, but God knows them and would champion them.

'We ask our countrymen not to burden us with the consequences of the actions of the so-called Mariam Al Mansouri. All the honourable members of our family have agreed to this statement.

'Al Mansouri family.'

The statement also expressed support for the Syrian revolution, according to the Palestinian Wattan news agency.

It said: 'We the Mansouri family in the United Arab Emirates hereby publicly declare that we disown the so-called Mariam Al Mansouri as well as anyone taking part in the brutal international aggression against the brotherly Syrian people, starting with our ingrate daughter Mariam Al Mansouri.

'We ask our countrymen not to burden us with the consequences of the actions of the so-called Mariam Al Mansouri.'

It continued: 'We call upon all factions... on the Syrian battleground to unite and join efforts and forces towards the single objective of overthrowing the monstrous Assad regime.

'Our family is proud of all free men who defend their cause and of all those who take up arms to defend the honour of their nation [the Islamic Nation]. We are proud of the Sunni heroes in Iraq and the Levant and all those who take up the banner of righteousness wherever they may be.'

It's not clear whether the views expressed in the statement represent those of the entire family or indeed if it is genuine.

The Mansouri tribe has some influential members, including the country's economics minister, but it's also very large – the second biggest in Abu Dhabi, the capital of UAE, so it certainly can't be assumed that the views expressed in the statement are representative of the whole group.

The statement could well have been made anonymously out of fear of punishment, as voicing dissent against the UAE government can result in imprisonment.

If true, the statement won't represent the first time the Mansouri family has been linked to extremism.

In January this year high-profile lawyer Mohammed al-Mansoori was jailed for allegedly trying to set up an 'international' branch of the controversial Muslim Brotherhood in the UAE, according to the BBC.

Major Mansouri, from Abu Dhabi, made a remarkable rise through the ranks of the UAE air force. She joined it in 2007 and is now a squadron commander.

She is one of eight children and has a degree in English literature.

The UAE is known to have the most liberal views on women's rights in the Middle East and Mansouri said that she was treated as an equal by her commanding officers.

She told Deraa Al Watan magazine: 'Everybody is required to have the same high level of combat competence.'

She says that her nearest relatives are supportive of her role in the air force.

There was also no difference between men and women with regards to training and assignments, she said.

'Everybody is required to have the same high level of combat competence,'

Earlier this week Fox News host Eric Bolling apologised for calling Major Mansouri's missions as 'boobs on the ground'.

Major Mansouri, from Abu Dhabi, made a remarkable rise through the ranks of the UAE air forc

A Fox News host has issued an apology after making a sexist comment about a female fighter pilot earlier this week on The Five.

During a segment about Maj. Mariam Al Mansouri, a female pilot from the United Arab Emirates who led a mission this week against ISIS in Syria, Eric Bolling referred to her mission as 'boobs on the ground.'

Now, after outrage from viewers, and even his own wife, following these insensitive remarks, he has apologized.

'I made a joke and when I got home, I got the look, and realized some people didn't think it was funny at all,' Bolling said on the air today.

'I said sorry to my wife and I apologize to all of you as well and want to make that very clear.'

This all began when Bolling's cohost, Kimberly Guilfoyle, praised Maj. Mansouri on the program Wednesday afternoon.

'Hey ISIS, you were bombed by a woman,' Guilfoyle said.

'Oh yeah, hell came down on ISIS in Syria, because guess what: the first female pilot piloting for the [United Arab Emirates], there she was, leading the strikes. Dropped the bombs on ISIS Monday night.'

Maj. Mansouri, 35, was the first woman to join the Emirati Air Force.

'This is really incredible,' Guilfoyle continued.

'Major Mariam Al Mansouri is who did this. Remarkable, very excited. I wish it was an American pilot. I'll take a woman doing this any day to them.

Right after she said this, the men on the panel began making sexist jokes.

It comes as Britain, Belgium and Denmark on Friday joined the U.S.-led coalition of nations that are launching airstrikes on Isis.

The European politicians flatly described the moves as critical to security on home soil, arguing that facing down terrorists has become a matter of urgency.

Prime Minister David Cameron made a passionate plea for action in drastic terms - noting that the militants had beheaded their victims, gouged out eyes and carried out crucifixions to promote goals 'from the Dark Ages.'

'This is about psychopathic terrorists that are trying to kill us and we do have to realize that, whether we like it or not, they have already declared war on us,' he said. 'There isn't a `walk on by' option.

There isn't an option of just hoping this will go away.'

Cameron told a tense House of Commons during more than six hours of debate that the hallmarks of the campaign would be 'patience and persistence, not shock and awe' - a reference to the phrase associated with the invasion of Iraq.

That unpopular intervention has cast a shadow over the discussions because critics fear that Europe will be drawn into a wider conflict, specifically taking on the Islamic group's fighters in Syria.

British MPs voted 524-43 for action after being urgently recalled from a recess. Belgian lawmakers also overwhelmingly approved, voting 114-2 to take part, despite widespread concerns that more terrorism may follow in their homeland as a result.

The White House said in a statement that it welcomed the countries to the coalition.

'These decisions - along with those by Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and Qatar to participate in airstrikes against ISIL in Syria - demonstrate the clear commitment of the international community to take action together against these terrorists,' the statement reads."
69,"The group calling itself the Islamic State (also ISIS or ISIL) has released a video purporting to show the execution of American journalist Steven Sotloff, according to the Site Intelligence Group.

Sotloff is the second American journalist brutally murdered by ISIS in less than two weeks. On Aug. 20, the group released a video showing the execution of James Foley, during which they also promised to execute Sotloff if the U.S. did not cease airstrikes against the group in Iraq.

The video of Sotloff, which was posted by Site, was entitled, ""A Second Message To America.""

Based on a portion of the footage that was posted by Site and seen by Business Insider, it begins with footage of President Barack Obama speaking about the airstrikes the U.S. launched against Islamic State last month. It goes on to show Sotloff being held at knifepoint in an orange jumpsuit and behing forced to deliver a statement, a similar procedure for Foley in the video of his execution.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters Tuesday afternoon he was not immediately ""in a position to determine the authenticity of the video."" He said the White House's thoughts and prayers were with Sotloff's family.

""If the video is genuine, we are sickened,"" State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said. She said the intelligence community would work quickly to determine the video's authenticity.

In the video released Tuesday by ISIS — entitled ""A Second Message to America — Sotloff appears dressed in an orange jumpsuit before he is executed by an ISIS member.

Sotloff was kidnapped by militants upon crossing into Syria a little more than a year ago. He had been freelancing for Time and Foreign Policy magazines. Last week, his mother made an emotional plea to his captors and the Islamic State's self-proclaimed caliph, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

U.S. officials have said that Sotloff and Foley were among fewer than 10 Westerners being held hostage by the group. When asked again on Tuesday, Psaki said ""a few"" U.S. citizens were being held by ISIS.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated as we learn more information.

SEE ALSO: Obama: ISIS Is A 'Cancer' That Has 'No Place In The 21st Century'"
71,"The next iPhone's camera may see a massive leap in image quality, Apple Insider reports — if it gets the rumoured inclusion of optical image zoom for the first time.

The Apple news site is basing its report off rumours heard by the Japanese-language UDN and its ""ever-reliable sources in the Asian supply chain.""

Currently the iPhone — like almost every other smartphone — makes use of digital zoom. With digital zoom, zooming in doesn't add any extra detail to your photo — it just enlarges and enhances what's already captured. In contrast, optical zoom uses an actual lens to to magnify and capture significantly more detail without sacrificing image quality.

The camera in the iPhone 6 is already highly praised, but the rumoured new version will reportedly make use of a new dual-lens system to aid magnification — like compact cameras and professional SLRs.

It's a rumour in keeping with what we've already heard about the next iPhone. Blogger and developer John Gruber, who has an excellent track record on Apple product news, said that the next model may have ""the biggest camera jump ever.""

""I've heard that it's some kind of weird two-lens system where the back camera uses two lenses,"" Gruber said, ""and it somehow takes it up into DSLR quality imagery.""

And that's not the only new prediction about the next iPhone from UDN. The Apple smartphone is also reportedly to include ""Force Touch,"" a pressure-sensitive touchscreen which is also included in the Apple Watch. A user could press lightly on an app to load it, or push more forcefully in order to bring up more options, for example."
73,"Last Tuesday, College Humor posted a photo series titled ""This Is The Most Passive-Aggressive Office Battle We've Ever Seen"" depicting an exchange of break room notes that escalates into a full-scale sandwich hostage crisis. It was pretty funny, but also totally fake, as made clear by the extensive watermarks and ""CH Staff"" byline, an attribution the site reserves for original works like last year's phony Breaking Bad finale script.
The obvious joke wasn't quite as obvious, however, when someone cropped out the ""College Humor"" watermarks and posted the images on Reddit, the bottomless well from which all deadline-facing bloggers drink. From there the clearly staged photos were picked up far and wide, earning credulous coverage from the Daily Mail, the Mirror and Fox 32 Chicago, which ran the headline ""Lunch theft prompts ransom note from sandwich thief.""

When those news organizations did try to credit the pictures, they generally cited the Facebook page of a New Zealand radio station, which—as most non-journalists could probably tell you—isn't a real source.

But probably the funniest write-up of all came from Rupert Murdoch's News.com.au. ""Beware the sandwich thief,"" cautioned the News Corp subsidiary, apparently unable to heed their own warning."
79,"DEVELOPING: An Internet video purports to show the beheading of US reporter Steven Sotloff by the Islamic State extremist group.

The global terror intelligence firm SITE first reported the release of the video, titled ""A Second Message to America,"" in which Sotloff, a 31-year-old freelance journalist, speaks to the camera before a cloaked Islamic State fighter decapitates him.

“I’m sure you know exactly who I am by now and why I am appearing,” Sotloff said. ""Obama, your foreign policy of intervention in Iraq was supposed to be for preservation of American lives and interests, so why is it that I am paying the price of your interference with my life?”

The video then cuts to the masked militant warning that as long as U.S. missiles “continue to strike our people, our knife will continue to strike the necks of your people.” He also threatens the life of British captive David Cawthorne Haines.

The grim video comes just days after Sotloff's mother, Shirley, directly addressed the leader of the Islamic State last week, saying her son shouldn't pay for U.S. government actions in the Middle East and that he cared about the weak and oppressed as a journalist.

""I want what every mother wants, to live to see her children's children,"" she said last week. ""I plead with you to grant me this.""

Shirley Sotloff cited by name the leader of the Islamic State, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who has described himself as a caliph intending to lead the Muslim world. She had asked him to show mercy and follow the example of the prophet Muhammad in protecting people of Muslim, Jewish and Christian faiths.

Sotloff was last seen in August 2013 in Syria. He was recently threatened with death by the militants on a video unless the U.S. stopped airstrikes on the group in Iraq. The same video showed the beheading of fellow American journalist James Foley, 45.

Several U.S. officials, including U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, R-Fla., have said they were working behind the scenes to find out more about Sotloff and try to secure his release.

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest could not confirm the reports when asked about the video at Tuesday’s press briefing. He noted the administration has been monitoring his situation carefully since threats were first made.

“The United States, as you know, has dedicated significant time and resources to try and rescue Mr. Sotloff,” he said, adding “thoughts and prayers” are with the family.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said the intelligence community will work “as quickly as possible” to determine the video’s authenticity.

""If the video is genuine, we are sickened by this brutal act taking the life of another innocent American citizen,” she told reporters.

Pressed by Fox News, Psaki would not say whether this would constitute an act of war. She said the prior execution of journalist James Foley was a “horrific terrorist act,” and was a “motivating” factor for creating a coalition to address the Islamic State.

The Associated Press contributed to this report."
85,"Brian Stelter from CNN just reported that hackers sent Sony executives an email telling them they made the right decision by canceling The Interview.

According to CNN, the email reads:

It is very wise that you have made a decision to cancel the release of the interview. It'll be very useful for you.

We still have you sensitive and private data. We ensure the security of your data, unless you make additional trouble."
90,"The world was outraged yesterday when RadarOnline.com confirmed that Joan Rivers doctor Gwen Korovin took a selfie in the operating room just moments before Rivers stopped breathing on the table. Now, only RadarOnline.com has all the details of the sick shot — and why investigators are now cracking down on the shady doc after Rivers’ tragic death.

Staff from Yorkville Endoscopy, the clinic where Rivers was treated, told medical investigators looking into the death of the 81-year-old that “Dr. Korovin took the selfie with her personal cell phone,” an insider tells Radar.

What’s more, an unconscious Rivers “was in the shot,” the source reveals. “She was under anesthesia at this point. Everyone in the operating room was just stunned as they had never witnessed anyone do that before.”

PHOTOS: Celebrities Who Died In Bizarre Circumstances

It was only a few minutes later that Dr. Korovin performed the unauthorized biopsy that preceded Rivers’ death.

“Joan never consented to the procedure,” the source says. “And Dr. Korovin never should have been in the operating room to begin with — certainly not to perform any procedure on Joan, since she didn’t have privileges to do so at the clinic.”

Medical investigators are now “eager to talk to Dr. Korovin about the events leading up to and after Joan’s death,” the source claims. “They will certainly be asking what the purpose of taking the selfie was for, and they will want to see it.”

PHOTOS: Hollywood Plastic Surgeons Tell All: 42 Stars Who’ve Had Lipo, Lifts, Tucks And More

Meanwhile, “Joan’s daughter Melissa has been telling friends that she is a spineless monster,” the source said.

Under the care of Dr. Lawrence Cohen, who performed the endoscopy on Rivers, and her E.N.T. Specialist Korovin, Rivers stopped breathing and later died.

Dr. Cohen, who doubled as the clinic’s medical director, has since parted ways with Yorkville. The clinic confirmed his departure, stating, Dr. Cohen “is not currently performing procedures…nor is he currently serving as medical director.”

The source added, “Melissa just can’t believe a doctor would be so cavalier, especially someone with Dr. Korovin’s credentials. Joan was completely vulnerable while under anesthesia, and for her privacy to be violated like that just makes Melissa sick.”"
92,"An unfortunate woman in South Korea was left in ‘agony’ after being partially eaten by a robot vacuum cleaner.

The Guardian reports that the woman was sleeping on the floor while the autonomous roving vacuum did its job.

But disaster struck when her hair became trapped in the mechanism after the machine mistook it for dust.

Fortunately the 52-year-old woman from Changing City was able to get help in time.

The woman was immediately woken by the pain, and called the local fire department with what the Yonhap news agency reported as a “desperate rescue plea”.

She was eventually separated from the machine by paramedics and was not seriously injured. Reports say she lost ""about 10 strands"" of hair.

South Korean newspaper Kyunghyang Shinmun did not report on the specific brand of vacuum involved - though another local news source said that since sleeping on the floor is more common in the country, people may be at more risk from robotic disaster.

Inevitably thoughts here will turn to the inevitable automaton uprising - but since the other other violence known to have involved a robot vacuum is one act of suicide, we probably don't have too much to worry about."
94,"Becoming a supplier for an Apple product is big competition among Asia Pacific suppliers, but Apple will rely on just one supplier to make all of its Apple Watch displays this year, reports J.P. Morgan analyst J.J. Park.

LG Display will be the sole supplier of the p-OLED display for the Apple Watch, according to Park’s recent note to investors. His firm also predicts LG’s stock could jump as much as 25% because of the new deal.

J.P Morgan estimates LG’s Apple Watch deal could generate $1.4 trillion in revenue for the company in 2015, assuming the average sale price for a tiny p-OLED is $45 the entire year. The team forecasts Apple will ship 29 million watches this year. By 2016 that number could more than double to 61 million based on their projections.

Samsung has also been identified as one of the suppliers of the 32bit S1 processor. The System-in-Package module might be made by ASE while the chip package could come from Amkor and STATS.

Tim Cook revealed that Apple Watch is schedule to ship in April, though a firm launch date hasn’t been announced. An event is expected to be held in March or early April to give customers full details on features, pricing, and launch."
96,"The news: If you've been keeping up with the images of protests coming out of Hong Kong, you might have noticed a recurring gesture among the protesters.
That's right: To demonstrate peaceful intent to the riot police, protesters have been raising their empty hands in the air.

Look familiar?

Source: Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Source: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
A common thread: As many online commentators have noted, there's a striking similarity between the gesture of the ""umbrella revolution"" taking place in Hong Kong and the ""hands up, don't shoot"" gesture from the protests in Ferguson, Mo.

Is there an actual connection? It doesn't look like the hands-up gesture by Hong Kong protesters is a callback to the events still unfolding in Ferguson. As reported by Quartz, ""The gesture is a result of training and instructions from protest leaders, who have told demonstrators to raise their hands with palms forward to signal their peaceful intentions to police.""

While the gesture might not have been a deliberate cultural reference like Thai protesters adopting the Hunger Games salute, the unplanned nature of its similarity to the Ferguson gesture makes it all the more powerful: Although the two sites of protest are a world apart from each other and are fighting against very different sociopolitical issues, both movements are dealing with police brutality and demonstrating peaceful intent in an act of nonviolent civil unrest.

And the fact that Ferguson protesters are marching in solidarity with the Hong Kong protesters makes it all the more moving:

Ferguson and Hong Kong may face different conflicts, but some sentiments truly are universal."
97,"Mittens, an ordinary cat with an incredibly ordinary name, is a hermaphrodite whose owner will be giving it gender assignment surgery [via CBC News]. Newfoundland, Canada, resident Colleen Clarke-Murphy was surprised to find out her cat was had male and female sex organs during a vet visit.

Mittens, a stray brought in by Clarke-Murphy's daughter, would need to be spayed and neutered and then assigned a gender. Taking the advice of her veterinarian, Clarke-Murphy will make Mittens male. The assignment will help Mittens with bowel and urinary problems he previously had.

Gender reassignment surgery to help out with blocked urethras in cats is more common than you might think. More and more veterinarians are using it as a way to alleviate these kinds of problems by reassigning male cats to female. However, it's still rare to have a hermaphrodite cat. I guess it works out that Mittens is such a gender-neutral cat name."
98,"Wen Apple first released the iPhone and iPad, their launches were limited to the US before rolling out to other countries over the following months. It appears that won’t be the case with the Apple Watch.

While speaking at an Apple Store in Berlin last week, Apple CEO Tim Cook told employees the new wearable will launch in Germany during April, according to 9to5Mac.

In January, Tim Cook said the Apple Watch would be shipping in April, but it was unclear which countries would be included in the initial launch. Cook’s statement suggests a wider initial roll-out than we’ve seen before for new product categories from the company.

It’s possible the Apple Watch will launch in the US first with other countries coming later in the month. In any case, it seems Apple fans outside the US won’t have long to wait before they can get their hands on the wearable.

Apple has its next event set for March 9, so we’ll likely find out all the launch details then."
100,"The answer is no, absolutely not.
Well… sort of.
[ Related: High School Investor: My Story — And Millions — Are A Complete Lie! ]
Argentina's President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner just took on Iair Tawil as a godson. True.
Thing is, Iair is a 21-year-old son of a rabbi, and now, Argentina's first Jewish presidential godson, even though he's not a baby and is at no risk of becoming a lycanthrope.
Apparently several news agencies, which we won't be making fun of for reporting something so ridiculous, claimed that the president adopted a baby to keep it from becoming a werewolf.
In Argentina, the legend of the lobizón is similar to the standard werewolf legend. Basically, in the Argentinian legend, the seventh son of a seventh son was suuuuuper susceptible to becoming a werewolf.
What's funny is this apparently has nothing to do with the Argentinian tradition of the seventh son (or daughter) of a family being eligible to become the President's godchild. That tradition was apparently brought over by Russian immigrants in 1907.
President Fernández is already godmother to around 700 children after taking office in 2007.
Regardless, it's still pretty cute this 21-year-old man became her godson!
We love they're all lighting a menorah too, seeing as how only Christian babies used to be eligible to become presidential godchildren!
We're glad times are changing! And REALLY glad werewolves don't exist. LOLz!"
101,"Argentina’s president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, announced on Dec. 23 that she had adopted a young Jewish man as her godson to prevent him from turning into a werewolf-like creature.

According to Argentine folklore, the seventh son of a family will turn into a werewolf-like creature called “el lobizón” when he turns 13. The lobizón feeds on excrement and unbaptized babies.

The Argentine president will now become the official godparent of any family that has seven sons or daughters. The tradition dates back to 1907. In 1973, the Argentine government extended it to baby girls.

Mágico fue recibir a Iair Tawil, 1er ahijado presidencial de nuestra historia que profesa la fe judía.

Yair Tawil, Kirchner’s newest godson, is the first Jewish person to be adopted, however. Kirchner said the tradition only included Catholics until 2009.

Yo no lo sabía, pero su visita coincidía con la celebración de Hanukkah. El papá, decía que no era una casualidad…

The ceremony began in 1907 in an effort to demystify the folklore and prevent the abuse of children, but has since become a time-honored tradition. The anti-lobizón adoption ceremony also includes a gold medal and a full educational scholarship.

Tenía razón. Me trajeron de regalo un candelabro de Israel. Me pidieron que encendiera las velas…

The boy’s parents, Shlomo and Nehama Tawil, had written the president’s office requesting the adoption in 1993, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency reported.

Y a Iair, que hiciera el rezo. Un momento muy especial. Después me dijeron que tenía que apagarlas y pedir un deseo…"
102,"People with ties to Islamic State are reportedly trying to negotiate the sale of American hostage James Foley's remains, according to BuzzFeed News.

ISIS is reportedly attempting to sell the body and deliver it across the Syrian border to Turkey, sources in contact with the terror group told Mike Giglio at BuzzFeed.

One source told BuzzFeed that an ISIS leader approached him about the sale of Foley's body and asked if he could get in contact with someone within the US government or Foley's family.

ISIS executed Foley on camera and posted the video online in August. He was captured in northwest Syria on Thanksgiving Day 2012.

The terror group makes millions of dollars from its hostages.

They typically demand ransoms from the countries the hostages are from, but some countries, like the US, refuse to pay up. Selling Foley's remains seems to be a way for ISIS to make money off of him in lieu of a ransom.

Since Foley's death, ISIS has executed three other Western hostages — US journalist Steven Sotloff, British aid worker Alan Henning, and US aid worker Peter Kassig. The executions seem to be retaliation for airstrikes in the Middle East.

SEE ALSO: 3 Big Sources Of Revenue Help ISIS Make Millions Each Day"
103,"Turns out Bilbo might be a bad influence.

This discipline measure may not have been made with Gandalf-level wisdom.

According to the New York Daily News, a nine-year-old boy in Texas was suspended from school for telling a classmate that he could make him vanish using J.R.R. Tolkien-inspired sorcery.

Fourth grader Aiden Steward last week apparently told his friend that he could make him invisible like Bilbo Baggins by placing the ring on his head … and Kermit Elementary School officials deemed it a “terroristic threat,” reports Odessa American.

Steward’s father, though, just says it was harmless fun, inspired by their family viewing of “The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies” days prior.

“I assure you my son lacks the magical powers necessary to threaten his friend’s existence,” Jason Stweard wrote in an email. “If he did, I’m sure he’d bring him right back.”

Steward told the New York Daily News that his son “didn’t mean anything by it.” The school principal refused to comment on the story, citing student confidentiality.

It kinda sounds like this kid hasn’t been getting a fair shake recently. According to the Daily News, Aiden was previously suspended for bringing “The Big Book Of Knowledge” to school because it contains an illustration of a pregnant woman."
106,"A teenager woke up while undergoing brain surgery in Poland and began speaking to doctors about cats and how the surgery was going.

Iga Jasica, 19, was undergoing surgery to remove a cancerous growth from inside her head at the Central Clinical Hospital in the city of Katowice in southwest Poland when the incident happened.

Neurosurgeons had removed the top part of her skull and were in the process of taking out parts of the growth when suddenly she woke up.

Iga Jasica, 19, was undergoing brain surgery in a hospital in Katowice, southwest Poland, when she suddenly came round and began speaking

But instead of panicking or crying out in pain, Miss Jasica began calmly talking to doctors and asked how her operation was going.

Medics say she was unable to see or feel anything that was happening to her, but for some reason had regained consciousness and the ability to speak.

Doctors say it is possible that the brain surgery caused neurons to trigger which could have woken Miss Jesica up, but investigators are probing whether the anesthetic was administered incorrectly.

Despite having part of her skull removed and her brain exposed, Miss Jasica began talking to doctors about how her operation was going, and cats - her favourite animal

Medics added that it was extremely unusual for a patient to come round during surgery, especially while their brain was exposed.

After the operation Miss Jasica said: 'I can’t remember much but the doctor said he talked to me about cats, which I love.

'I missed Christmas because of this operation but it is the best present I could have had as I am now feeling great.'"
111,"A Kermit parent said his fourth-grade student was suspended Friday for allegedly making a terroristic threat.
His father, Jason Steward, said the family had been to see “The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies” last weekend. His son brought a ring to his class at Kermit Elementary School and told another boy his magic ring could make the boy disappear.
Steward said the principal said threats to another child’s safety would not be tolerated – whether magical or not. Principal Roxanne Greer declined to comment on the matter.
“All student stuff is confidential,” Greer said. She referred a call from the Odessa American to Kermit ISD Superintendent Bill Boyd, who did not return a phone call.
Steward said he didn’t understand why his son was removed from school and why the district didn’t just send a letter home.
He said he requested that the school send him “something in writing” saying that the school suspended his son and why they suspended him. Steward was told the school would put the letter in the mail.
Steward said his son has attended Kermit Elementary since August. The 9-year-old has been in in-school suspension for referring to another student’s skin color and got in trouble for bringing a kids’ book about pregnancy to school."
113,"A TEENAGER woke up during brain surgery — to ask doctors how it was going.
Iga Jasica, 19, was having an op to remove a tumour at when the anaesthetic wore off and she struck up a conversation with the medics still working on her."
122,"Jasmine Tridevil, 21, 'paid $20,000 to add a breast to become a TV star'

She was 'rejected by 50 doctors who feared violating ethical codes'

It took her two years to find willing surgeon who would also add a nipple

She now has a film crew tracking her 'struggles as a three-breasted woman'

A 21-year-old woman claims to have paid $20,000 to surgically add a third breast in a desperate bid to become a reality TV star.

Jasmine Tridevil, not her real name, insists she was rejected by more than 50 doctors who feared violating ethical codes before she found a willing surgeon who would perform the procedure.

Now, she has hired a camera crew to follow her around Tampa, Florida, documenting the 'struggles' she faces as a three-breasted woman.

Scroll down for video

Three-breasted? Jasmine Tridevil, 21, claims she paid $20,000 to have a third breast surgically attached to her chest. She is now filming her own reality show about the struggles she faces as a three-breasted woman

Surgeons are reluctant to perform unnatural procedures as the ethical code outlined by the American Board of Plastic Surgeons dictates that 'the principal objective of the medical profession is to render services to humanity with full respect for human dignity.'

Tridevil claims she found a surgeon who agreed to carry out the operation on the grounds that she kept their name a secret.

The massage therapist, who recently celebrated her 21st birthday, has shared dozens of pictures of her new look in custom made bikinis on her Facebook fan page in a bid to convince followers the surgery was legitimate.

And she has proudly declared that she been disowned by her mother and sister, who ran out the room in disgust when they saw what she had done.

'My mum ran out of the door. She won't talk to me. She won't let my sister talk to me,' Tridevil said.

Dreams of being a star: The massage therapist from Tampa, Florida, said her dream is to have a show on MTV

'My dad… he really isn't happy. He is kind of ashamed of me but he accepted it.'

However, Tridevil insists she has no regrets as she prepares to send pilot episodes of her self-produced reality show titled Jasmine's Jugs to MTV.

'My whole dream is to get this show on MTV,' she told Real Radio 104.1.

'I'm dumping every penny I have into this. If this doesn't work, I'm through.'

Despite scheduling interviews, creating a fan page, and hiring a film crew, Tridevil insists her apparent surgery was not an attempt become famous.

Reminiscent: Her new look is similar to that of the three-breasted prostitute in the 1990 film Total Recall

Disowned: Tridevil, who recently celebrated her 21st birthday, says she has been disowned by her mother

'I got it because I wanted to make myself unattractive to men,' she claims. 'Because I don't want to date anymore.'

The new look is reminiscent of the alluring three-breasted prostitute who parades around semi-topless in the 1990 Arnold Schwarzenegger film Total Recall.

The bizarre character prompted one of the most famous movie quotes to date, as a man declares: 'Baby, you make me wish I had three hands!'"
123,"A grieving Afghan mother took bloody revenge on the Taliban militants who gunned down her son, killing 25 and injuring five of them during a seven hour gun battle.

Reza Gul watched helplessly as her son died while he manned a village checkpoint with his small team of police officers in the lawless Farah province.

But flanked by her daughter and daughter-in-law, she led a counter strike on his attackers killing 25 militants and wounding another five during a ferocious seven hour gun battle.

Scroll down for video

Reza Gul (center), her daughter Fatima (left) and daughter-in-law Seema, killed 25 members of of the Taliban after watching them gun down her son

Fatima Gul, who also took up arms against the Taliban after her brother was killed during a Taliban raid on his police checkpoint in the Farah province

From left to right, Fatima, Seema and Reza Gul battled for seven hours against Taliban forces after they attacked a police checkpoint, manned by Reza's son

'I couldn't stop myself and picked up a weapon,' Gul told TOLO News. 'I went to the check post and began shooting back.'

Her daughter-in-law Seema added: 'The fighting was intensified when we reached the battlefield along with light and heavy weapons. We were committed to fight until the last bullet.'

She added that the combats zone was strewn with Taliban bodies when the fighting was over.

A spokesman for the Afghanistan's Ministry of Interior told the agency it was a symbol of a public uprising.

The Taliban is yet to comment about the incident.

Alongside other insurgent groups, the Taliban have escalated attacks across the country since the withdrawal of most of the US led forces from the country last month.

Targeting, government, security and foreign installations, especially in the country's capital Kabul, members of the public have also been caught in the crossfire.

At least 50 people were injured earlier this week, when a suicide bomber detonated his explosive vest in a crowd watching a volleyball tournament at an inter-district competition in Yahyakahil, Paktika province.

The attacks have prompted Afghanistan's president Ashraf Ghani to order a comprehensive review of the country's defense forces.

He is also rethinking Afghan policy towards controversial night raids, banned by his predecessor Hamid Karzai.

Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has ordered a top-to-bottom inspection of his country's military forces after a rise in Taliban attacks

Ghani is considering whether night raids, barred by his predecessor Hamid Karzai, should be reintroduced

The latest attacks come as it was revealed US President Barack Obama signed a 'secret' order allowing the Pentagon to continue to target Taliban fighters even after the military withdrawal.

The president's decision, made during a White House meeting with national security advisers, also gives the military the green light to conduct air support for Afghan operations when needed.

Obama issued the guidelines in recent weeks, as the American combat mission in Afghanistan draws to a close, thousands of troops return home, and the military prepares for narrower counter terrorism and training mission for the next two years.

Afghan lawmakers have also approved agreements with the US and NATO allowing Western soldiers to remain in the country.

The international combat mission in Afghanistan, which began after the 2001 US-led invasion that toppled the Taliban, was due to conclude at the end of this year"
127,"Michael Jackson, legendary as he was as the King of Pop, wasn’t the most the popular dad in showbiz. Ever since the Berlin baby-dangling incident of ’02, the media has tirelessly and unfairly portrayed him as an irresponsible and detached father (before his death, Jackson had shown remorse for the incident). This depiction was unfortunately fueled by his own erratic behavior during the final years of his life, and the sexual abuse charges that chased Jackson a few years before his death certainly didn’t help with his image.

This week, social media went crazy over a “news” article that had been circulating Facebook and Twitter like wildfire. An article published by Empire News entitled, “DNA Results Confirm Michael Jackson Is Biological Father Of Bruno Mars,” has unsurprisingly shocked and enraged fans of both singers across the internet.

The story went on to detail how the Billionaire singer allegedly and inadvertently revealed where he got his singing genes. The article wrote that the discovery involved Mars’ firing of a certain Vladimir Kershov, the singer’s reported publicist.

“Vladimir Kershov, publicist of R&B singer Bruno Mars, has been fired today after he revealed a shocking secret regarding the pop and R&B singer. Kershov leaked private information that revealed that Michael Jackson is Mars’ biological father.”

Gullible netizens went insane over the Michael Jackson-Bruno Mars story, not realizing that Empire News, an Onion-like website (without the funny), publishes mostly “satirical” and made-up articles. Fact-checking website Snopes has since labelled the story “false”.

According to Bruno’s Wikipedia page, the half-Filipino singer was born to Peter Hernandez and Bernadette Bayot in 1985 and was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii. Meanwhile, Michael was, at the time, not involved with anyone, although he was already beginning to form a relationship with future-wife Lisa Marie Presley.

While Jackson was often portrayed as a bad dad in tabloids, he was, in reality, an amazing father to his kids Michael Jr, Paris and Prince. Shortly after his death, MTV revealed never-before seen correspondence with people closest to Michael, most of whom attested to the fact that the singer was a caring and loving dad to his children. Producer and Jackson’s friend Teddy Reily recalled, “Michael] read them a book every day. When we were in Virginia during the Invincible [sessions], there was not one day missed reading the children something. So that showed me right there that he was an incredible father.”

In other news, Michael Jackson’s brothers continue to celebrate his musical legacy through various performances around the world. Inquisitr recently reported about the brothers’ upcoming UAE concert, which is set to be attended by thousands of fans.

[Image Via fanpop.com and obladoo.se]"
128,"UPDATE: Sod Crabzilla, Now Budapest Is Under Attack From A Furious Giant

Behold – there is a ocean-dwelling beast lurking off the shore of Whitstable.

Yes, the sleepy seaside town famed for its oysters and cream teas is now apparently home to a giant sea monster, which has rightly earned the moniker ‘Crabzilla’.

A satellite image of the colossal crustacean – thought to be 50ft across - surfaced on Weird Whitstable, an online journal dedicated to tall tales in the area.

Could it be...?

Blog curator Quinton Winter revealed to The Express he had encountered the decapod himself: “At first all I could see was some faint movement, then as it rose from the water I thought ‘that’s a funny looking bit of driftwood’.

“It had glazed blank eyes on stalks, swivelling wildly and it clearly was a massive crab with crushing claws.

“Before this incident I thought the aerial photo showed an odd-shaped sandbank. Now I know better.”

Winter first made reference to the giant crab in July last year when he published a wholly unconvincing image of an oversized shellfish poking its claws out of the water below two blissfully unaware children playing on the pier.

It was accompanied with the explanation: “This shocking image of a giant crab under a popular crabbing spot in Whitstable was taken last weekend.

“The boys were unaware of the danger, but as several passerbys shouted to them, the crab silently slipped away under the water, into the dark, sideways.”

According to the Marine Biological Association of the UK, the biggest crab in the world is the Japanese Spider Crab, which can grow up to 3.7m across.

Crabzilla, however appears to be shaped like an edible crab, commonly found in British waters and growing up to 5 inches in width.

Graphic artist Ashley Austen told Kent Online: “The image of the giant crab can be quite easily recreated in Photoshop.

“All the ‘artist’ had to do is find a suitable image of a crab, overlay it onto the satellite picture of the harbour and apply a few filters to get the realistic look.”

You don't say."
129,"A woman has spent $20,000 on surgery to get a third breast and her dream is to become a celebrity.

The Florida massage therapist, who calls herself Jasmine Tridevil, said she had the surgery a few months ago.

“It was really hard finding someone that would do it, too, because they’re breaking the code of ethics,” Tridevil told Real Radio 104.1.

“I called like 50 or 60 doctors, nobody wanted to do it.”

Last month she posted a YouTube video of herself in a bikini while Radiohead’s Creep plays in the background.

Tridevil said her extra breast felt like her other breasts, “the only difference is the nipple”, which she had to get tattooed on.

The 21-year-old saved up for two years so she could have the surgery and is also paying for a film crew to follow her around.

Photo: Faceook“My whole dream is to get this show on MTV,” she said.

“I’m dumping every penny I have into this. If this doesn’t work, I’m through.”

Tridevil said that while she wanted fame and fortune, this was not why she had the surgery.

“I got it because I wanted to make myself unattractive to men. Because I don’t want to date anymore,” she said.

She has been filmed telling her parents about the third boob and they were not happy.

“My mum ran out the door. She won’t talk to me. She won’t let my sister talk to me. My dad … he really isn’t happy … he is kind of ashamed of me but he accepted it,” she said.

While some have criticized Tridevil for her chasing fame, others have described her as “beautiful” and commented that she reminds them of the girl in the sci-fi film “Total Recall.”

“I love boobs, you have three, what’s not to like … we all loved that girl in Total Recall, now your (sic) the real deal,” said one follower on her Facebook page."
131,"The Islamic State group is allegedly closing in on Baghdad, according to a report from a vicar at Iraq's only Anglican church that claims the jihadists formerly known as ISIS are roughly one mile away from the Iraqi capital. Airstrikes against ISIS targets were supposed to stop the group from taking Baghdad.

“The Islamic State are now less than 2km (1.2 miles) away from entering Baghdad. They said it could never happen and now it almost has,” Canon Andrew White of the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East, a British-based charity that supports Iraq’s only Anglican church in Baghdad, said on his Facebook page early Monday morning. “Obama says he overestimated what the Iraqi Army could do. Well, you only need to be here a very short while to know they can do very, very little.”

The Christian aid group was referring to the U.S. president’s interview Sunday night on “60 Minutes,” the CBS news magazine show, where Obama conceded that his administration underestimated the ascendancy of ISIS. More than 1,000 Iraqi troops were reportedly killed Sunday in clashes with ISIS about 10 miles outside of Baghdad.

The advance by ISIS toward Baghdad shows that the group isn't weakening despite U.S.-led airstrikes in Iraq. ISIS executed 300 Iraqi soldiers last week during their march toward the Iraqi capital and attempted to break into a prison in northern Baghdad.

""This attack is very significant. It is the first infantry-like, complex, and penetrating attack in Baghdad city by ISIS since the fall of Mosul in June of this year,"" the Washington-based nonprofit Institute for the Study of War wrote on its website, referring to Iraq's second-largest city, which is in the Islamic State's hands. ""ISIS likely carried out the attack to release some of the pressure it is facing as a result of the recent U.S. air campaign targeting its positions. The attack also signifies that, despite the heightened defenses of Baghdad in the aftermath of the fall of Mosul, ISIS is still able to carry out attacks in an area where it is unlikely to have active sleeper cells.""

U.S.-led airstrikes against ISIS in Iraq and Syria have come under criticism over their effectiveness. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry defended the military action last week in a CNN interview. Kerry claimed “Baghdad could have fallen” if it weren't for the airstrikes, which have predominantly been launched in the northern part of Iraq."
133,"An Indian bride has married a guest at her wedding after her groom-to-be had a seizure and collapsed.

Reports said the groom, Jugal Kishore, was epileptic and he had kept the information from the bride, Indira, and her family.

While Mr Kishore was taken to hospital, the angry bride decided to switch husbands.

She asked a member of her brother-in-law's family, who was a guest, to step in and marry her instead. He agreed.

The incident took place in Rampur town in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.

According to a report in The Times of India, Mr Kishore, 25, fell to the ground in front of the wedding guests just as he was reaching out to garland Indira.

On his return from the hospital, Mr Kishore pleaded with Indira to change her mind, telling her that he would be ridiculed by friends and relatives if he went home without a bride, but she refused.

Local police official Ram Khiladi Solanki told the BBC that Mr Kishore and his family were initially upset and lodged a complaint with the police.

""But since the bride is already married now, what can anyone do? So the families have resolved the matter and the complaint has been withdrawn,"" he added."
138,"Absolutely no one was devastated when news broke last week that 26-year-old Afton Elaine “Star” Burton would not be marrying 80-year-old psychopath felon Charles Manson after all. But as it turns out, there’s more to the story than their wedding license expiring.

According to Simone, Star isn’t quite the deranged Manson maniac we all thought she was. She was a woman with a plan. Not a good plan, necessarily. But a plan.

When Manson keeled over, Star reportedly envisioned putting the murderous cult leader on display Lenin-style in a glass coffin so she could charge money to morbid looky-loos.

Another reason the madman balked at the plan is because he believes he is immortal. “He feels he will never die,” Simone said. “Therefore, he feels it’s a stupid idea to begin with.”

Manson is housed in California State Prison, Corcoran and is presumably now looking for a life partner who is not interested in profiting off his disgusting corpse. Please send all applications straight to an incinerator and seek professional help immediately."
141,"Hewlett Packard plans to split into two companies on Monday, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal. One company will be focused on enterprise computing and services, and the other will build and sell PCs and printers.

Current HP CEO Meg Whitman will lead the enterprise-focused version of HP (it’s not clear who gets to keep the iconic name) and will be chairman of the PC/printer company, which will be led by Dion Weisler as CEO. Details are still fuzzy as to how this will all work, but WSJ reported that HP plans to announce the move on Monday.

HP is perhaps the seminal Silicon Valley company, with a rich history of computing breakthroughs and technology leadership since it was founded in 1939. But despite taking in $112 billion in revenue in 2013 (split almost evenly between the groups that will form the two separate companies) it has struggled over the last decade with the decline of the PC market, the rise of mobile computing, and the shift to enterprise cloud computing. A series of at-times comical leadership fiascos hasn’t helped.

I’ll update this post as more information becomes available, and we’ll certainly cover any announcement HP might make tomorrow."
143,"Hong Kong protesters have ""emulated"" the Ferguson gesture in their recent protests."
145,"Apple has multiple versions of its upcoming smartwatch. This we already know. And while we don’t know the specific price points of each model, the consensus is that the Watch Edition will be the most expensive of all three thanks to its 18-karat gold casing. Though the Apple Watch Sport will cost $349 USD when it launches, the Edition is rumoured to cost thousands of dollars.

Apple is used to selling expensive merchandise in its stores, but the Watch Edition is different to anything else the company has sold, and it will be modifying its stores appropriately. According to 9to5Mac, Apple will be implementing some new security measures to ensure the watches aren’t stolen while they’re sitting in the store or when people are trying them on.

Sources are quoted as saying there will be special safes for the Edition. These will be equipped with MagSafe connectors to keep the watches charged and will house inventory during the day as well as the show floor demo models overnight.

Perhaps most interesting of all is that Apple will reportedly also have scales that employees will use to weigh the watches before they’re sold. This is not for the customer’s bragging rights but so Apple will know whether customers returning their watches are returning all of their watches.

Tim Cook confirmed last week that the Apple Watch will start shipping in April. Previously the device was thought to be launching sometime in March."
150,"""My death needs to mean something. My death needs to be counted in the number of transgender people who commit suicide this year. I want someone to look at that number and say 'that’s fucked up' and fix it. Fix society. Please.""

UNION TOWNSHIP, Ohio — A 17-year-old transgender teen was struck and killed by a passing semi trailer on an Ohio interstate on Sunday, and a previously written suicide note later appeared on the teen’s Tumblr blog through scheduled publishing.

Leelah Alcorn was in the roadway when she was struck, and is believed to have walked 3-4 miles from her parents house in nearby Kings Mill, Ohio.

Police say she died at 2:20 a.m. Sunday.

The incident is being investigated by the Ohio State Highway Patrol, but local media have reported the incident as the death of a teen “boy,” using Leelah’s (male) birth name, and have made no mention that she was transgender.

Following the incident, this entry appeared on Leelah’s blog describing the pain of being “a girl trapped in a boy’s body” and her Christian parents’ refusal to allow her to transition:

SUICIDE NOTE

If you are reading this, it means that I have committed suicide and obviously failed to delete this post from my queue.

Please don’t be sad, it’s for the better. The life I would’ve lived isn’t worth living in… because I’m transgender. I could go into detail explaining why I feel that way, but this note is probably going to be lengthy enough as it is. To put it simply, I feel like a girl trapped in a boy’s body, and I’ve felt that way ever since I was 4. I never knew there was a word for that feeling, nor was it possible for a boy to become a girl, so I never told anyone and I just continued to do traditionally “boyish” things to try to fit in.

When I was 14, I learned what transgender meant and cried of happiness. After 10 years of confusion I finally understood who I was. I immediately told my mom, and she reacted extremely negatively, telling me that it was a phase, that I would never truly be a girl, that God doesn’t make mistakes, that I am wrong. If you are reading this, parents, please don’t tell this to your kids. Even if you are Christian or are against transgender people don’t ever say that to someone, especially your kid. That won’t do anything but make them hate them self. That’s exactly what it did to me.

My mom started taking me to a therapist, but would only take me to christian therapists, (who were all very biased) so I never actually got the therapy I needed to cure me of my depression. I only got more christians telling me that I was selfish and wrong and that I should look to God for help.

When I was 16 I realized that my parents would never come around, and that I would have to wait until I was 18 to start any sort of transitioning treatment, which absolutely broke my heart. The longer you wait, the harder it is to transition. I felt hopeless, that I was just going to look like a man in drag for the rest of my life. On my 16th birthday, when I didn’t receive consent from my parents to start transitioning, I cried myself to sleep.

I formed a sort of a “fuck you” attitude towards my parents and came out as gay at school, thinking that maybe if I eased into coming out as trans it would be less of a shock. Although the reaction from my friends was positive, my parents were pissed. They felt like I was attacking their image, and that I was an embarrassment to them. They wanted me to be their perfect little straight christian boy, and that’s obviously not what I wanted.

So they took me out of public school, took away my laptop and phone, and forbid me of getting on any sort of social media, completely isolating me from my friends. This was probably the part of my life when I was the most depressed, and I’m surprised I didn’t kill myself. I was completely alone for 5 months. No friends, no support, no love. Just my parent’s disappointment and the cruelty of loneliness.

At the end of the school year, my parents finally came around and gave me my phone and let me back on social media. I was excited, I finally had my friends back. They were extremely excited to see me and talk to me, but only at first. Eventually they realized they didn’t actually give a shit about me, and I felt even lonelier than I did before. The only friends I thought I had only liked me because they saw me five times a week.

After a summer of having almost no friends plus the weight of having to think about college, save money for moving out, keep my grades up, go to church each week and feel like shit because everyone there is against everything I live for, I have decided I’ve had enough. I’m never going to transition successfully, even when I move out. I’m never going to be happy with the way I look or sound. I’m never going to have enough friends to satisfy me. I’m never going to have enough love to satisfy me. I’m never going to find a man who loves me. I’m never going to be happy. Either I live the rest of my life as a lonely man who wishes he were a woman or I live my life as a lonelier woman who hates herself. There’s no winning. There’s no way out. I’m sad enough already, I don’t need my life to get any worse. People say “it gets better” but that isn’t true in my case. It gets worse. Each day I get worse.

That’s the gist of it, that’s why I feel like killing myself. Sorry if that’s not a good enough reason for you, it’s good enough for me. As for my will, I want 100% of the things that I legally own to be sold and the money (plus my money in the bank) to be given to trans civil rights movements and support groups, I don’t give a shit which one. The only way I will rest in peace is if one day transgender people aren’t treated the way I was, they’re treated like humans, with valid feelings and human rights. Gender needs to be taught about in schools, the earlier the better. My death needs to mean something. My death needs to be counted in the number of transgender people who commit suicide this year. I want someone to look at that number and say “that’s fucked up” and fix it. Fix society. Please.

Goodbye,

(Leelah) Josh Alcorn

In a second post, Leelah expressed apologies to her sisters and brother.

Editor’s Note: If you or a young person you know is LGBT and thinking about suicide, please call The Trevor Lifeline at 1-866-488-7386, or the Trans Lifeline at 1-877-565-8860. For adults over 24, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255."
153,"A top Iraqi diplomat told world leaders that ISIS is harvesting the organs of its victims to fund it murderous operations, the latest charge of barbarity in a list that already includes mass beheadings, burning people alive, crucifying children and throwing people off of buildings.

The shocking new claim was presented by the Iraqi ambassador to the United Nations, who said bodies have turned up in mass graves bearing surgical incisions and missing organs such as kidneys. Ambassador Mohamed Alhakim leveled the charge as he asked the Security Council to investigate whether harvesting and selling the organs of those it executes. The claim followed an unconfirmed report late Tuesday that as many as 45 people captured by the Islamic State in the Anbar Province town of al-Baghdadi had been rounded up and burned alive.

""We have bodies,"" Alhakim told his international counterparts. ""Come and examine them. It is clear they are missing certain parts.""

Alhakim, who said a dozen doctors have been executed in Mosul for refusing to participate in organ harvesting, briefed the council on the overall situation in Iraq and accused the Islamic State group of ""crimes of genocide"" in targeting certain ethnic groups. The outgoing U.N. envoy to Iraq, Nikolay Mladenov, told the council that 790 people were killed in January alone by terrorism and armed conflict.

Mladenov noted the increasing number of reports and allegations that the Islamic State group is using organ harvesting as a financing method, but he said only that ""it's very clear that the tactics ISIL is using expand by the day."" He used an acronym for the group.

He said Iraq's most pressing goal is to win back the vast territory that the Islamic State has seized in the past year. The Sunni militants seized a third of both Iraq and neighboring Syria and imposed strict Sharia law.

""Especially worrying is the increasing number of reports of revenge attacks committed particularly against members of the Sunni community in areas liberated from ISIL control,"" Mladenov said.

The identities of the victims who were reportedly burned alive Tuesday in al-Baghdadi are not clear, the local police chief told the BBC. ISIS fighters reportedly captured most of the town last week.

Col. Qasim Obeidi, pleading for help from the Iraqi government and international community, said a compound that houses families of security personnel and officials was now being targeted.

The reports come days after ISIS released a video purportedly showing the beheadings of 21 Egyptian Coptic Christians along a beach in Libya, sparking an international outcry, including commendation from Pope Francis, who called the killings ""barbaric.”

Earlier this month, ISIS released another video showing a fleet of vehicles flying the black ISIS flag and driving through what is believed to be the streets of Benghazi, Libya. The video shows the vehicles being cheered by men, women and children as they drive by.

On Friday, a media group linked to ISIS released a four-minute video titled ""Peshmerga Captives in Kirkuk Province,” which purportedly showed Kurdish prisoners -- imprisoned in iron cages -- being driven around on trucks in Iraq, according to the Middle East Media Research Institute.

The imagery of the prisoner convoy in orange uniforms was similar to the scenes of an execution of a Jordanian pilot. In a video released by ISIS two weeks ago, Lt. Muath al-Kaseasbeh was shown being burned alive in a cage.

Al-Baghdadi, which is about 50 miles northwest of Ramadi in Anbar province, is located about five miles from Ain al-Asad air base, where 400 U.S. military personnel are training Iraqi soldiers and Sunni tribesmen to take on ISIS. The base was raided last week by a small band of fighters, in what some experts believe may have been a probe in preparation for a full-scale attack.

The base has been the target of sporadic mortar fire in past weeks, and the jihadist army has been moving forces from its strongholds in Syria to Anbar Province, possibly setting the stage for a major clash with forces on the base that is now the sole bulwark between ISIS and Baghdad.

There are currently nearly 2,600 U.S. forces in Iraq, including about 450 who are training Iraqi troops at three bases across the country, including al-Asad. Forces from other coalition countries conduct the training at the fourth site, in the northern city of Irbil.

But even if Islamic State militants close in on the base, taking it would require a massive force, that would present a target for airstrikes, retired Col. Thomas Lynch, a National Defense University fellow, told Fox News.

The Associated Press contributed to this report."
157,"The woman claiming to have 3 boobs is A FRAUD ... A FAKE ... and ironically what exposed her lie is a crime someone committed against her.

Jasmine Tridevil has been making the rounds, claiming she got plastic surgery to netted her an additional boob.

But we got a document from the Tampa International Airport Police Dept. describing a baggage theft. According to the doc ... someone stole a bunch of luggage off an American Airlines conveyor belt, including a black nylon roller bag.

Cops caught the thieves after IDing them with surveillance video. The black bag belonged to Tridevel, but before she got it back it was inventoried by police as part of the case against the crooks.

Guess what was inside the bag? ""A 3 breast prosthesis.""

BTW ... she told cops the prosthesis was valued at $5K.

The boobs are perfect, but she's a little crooked."
160,"Isis fighters are reportedly just one mile away from Baghdad as reports emerge of al-Qaeda militants bolstering their ranks in Syria.

According to the Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East, Isis was approaching the Iraqi capital on Monday morning, report The Independent.

""The Islamic State are now less than 2km away from entering Baghdad,"" a spokesperson said.

""They said it could never happen and now it almost has. Obama says he overestimated what the Iraqi Army could do. Well you only need to be here a very short while to know they can do very very little.""

The news comes amid reports of an emerging alliance between Isis forces in Syria and Jabhat al-Nusra, also known as the Nusra Front.

The group is the Syrian offshoot of al-Qaeda and has been fighting against the Assad regime in the civil war.

Despite months of clashes between its forces and Isis (also known as Islamic State) militants, the two groups appear to be forming a loose coalition in parts of the country to fight increasing attacks by the US and its allies.

Al-Nusra’s official spokesperson, Abu Firas al-Suri, threatened the coalition nations with retaliation on Saturday.

“These states have committed a horrible act that is going to put them on the list of jihadist targets throughout the world,” he said.

“This is not a war against al-Nusra, but a war against Islam.”

Al-Nusra and Isis leaders are now holding war planning meetings together, a source told the Guardian, although no formal alliance has been confirmed.

The reports follow growing defections from other Islamist groups to Isis, which is seen as better organised and equipped to create an “Islamic State” straddling Iraq and Syria.

A loyalty pledge was reportedly made by al-Nusra in June in the town of Al-Bukamal near the Iraqi border, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said, and the two groups have fought together against Government forces.

The report appeared to be confirmed on Twitter by a photograph showing an Egyptian al-Nusra Front commander shaking hands with an Isis leader of Chechen origin.

Although both Isis and al-Nusra are rooted in al-Qaeda, the two have been rivals since Isis started its involvement in Syria’s civil war in spring last year and have engaged in bloody battles killing more than 3,000 militants from both sides.

A merger had been declared by Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi in 2013, when Isis was known as al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI), but the alliance was rejected by al-Nusra and overruled by al-Qaeda leader al-Zawahiri.

But the international response to Isis’ bloody rampage through Iraq and Syria, and the beheadings of British and American hostages, is pushing the groups towards an alliance.

An al-Nusra source told Reuters: “There are hardline voices inside Nusra who are pushing for reconciliation with Islamic State.”

A formal alliance is believed to only be possible on the orders of al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri.

A deal between the militant groups would strengthen the Islamist force in Syria as air strikes cripple Isis funding sources, equipment stores and slow its advances.

The US has not said al-Nusra is being targeted but its planes have attacked a new group called Khorasan, which some analysts suspect is part of al-Nusra.

The two groups have been known to co-operate and Khorasan is believed to be made up of veteran al-Qaeda fighters with battlefield experience mostly in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Britain, the US and the United Nations are among those who have classed al-Nusra as a terrorist group, citing its use of suicide bombing, terrorist attacks and attempts to impose Islamic law.

A small number of anti-Government groups, including some members for the secular Free Syrian Army, opposed the label after al-Nusra gained respect fighting the Assad regime."
163,"In a day packed with major Apple announcements, the company tackled smartphones, wearables, and payments. But there is one more sector that may be about to get the Apple treatment: Social.

According to a single well-placed source inside Apple’s engineering team, the company is poised to announce an acquisition of Dave Morin’s Path social network. To quote our source, who requested to remain anonymous because the deal has not been announced yet, “It’s almost done, if not signed already, but it’s essentially a done deal.”

If true, it would be major news for the heretofore struggling social platform that has been known more for its design and user interface innovations than for its ability to drive adoption among consumers – particularly in non-Asian markets. Apple hasn’t fared much better in the social realm historically, having flopped with its Ping social network and having made very little out of its acquisition of the team and IP from failed location-based photo social network, Color.

According to our source, this is more than just a talent acquisition, or acquihire. The Path product will likely survive the acquisition and be incorporated, in whole or in part, into Apple’s newly refreshed Messages app. That doesn’t mean that the deal will be priced like some other recent high-profile mobile communication deals, namely Facebook’s $19 billion Whatsapp acquisition and rumored $3 billion-plus offers extended to Snapchat by Facebook and Google.

Facebook paid $42 per Whatsapp user, and $33 per Instagram user before that. By comparison, Rakuten bought the far less beloved Viber for just $3 per user. With Path having somewhere in the vicinity of 25 million users at the beginning of this year, and far weaker growth and engagement than any of the above platforms, it would be lucky to command anywhere near Instagram/Whatsapp sums. According to App Annie, Path ranks just 177th among iOS Social Networking apps in the US and not among the top 1000 overall iOS apps. When Path raised its most recent round in January of this year, the company reportedly commanded a sub-$400 million valuation, well below the $500 million-plus levels reportedly sought by management. Given the trajectory it was on, exiting at that level would likely be considered a win among most Path insiders. Hell, for many Valley observers, that would be the win of the century for Path investors, many of which have all but left the company for dead.

Apple’s re-entry into social would also be a notable development. With Facebook (including Instagram and Whatsapp), Twitter, and Snapchat each looking stronger than ever in their respective social verticals, it’s unclear just where an Apple-driven social product would fit in among consumers daily habits. Google seems to have reached a similar conclusion, all but abandoning its strategy of pushing Google+ as a standalone social platform, and instead choosing to let the platform fade into the background of its other consumers platforms like Gmail and YouTube. Apple’s one stronghold has been in messaging via iMessage, which recently got a facelift. And Path has recently leaned more in this direction with its launch of an ephemeral messaging product, abandoning its long-held love of more lasting, intimate communications. It’s certainly conceivable that Path could be integrated into Apple’s messaging platform, but it’s unclear, beyond the design prowess, how this acquisition helps Apple, at any price.

Adding additional fuel to this fire, Dave Morin was spotted sitting in the front row for today’s Apple keynote event, a high profile position reserved for Dr. Dre and other key Apple insiders.

Did not forget about Dre. pic.twitter.com/fWNDpFhfYr — Dave Morin (@davemorin) September 9, 2014

Apple has been known to be a fan of Morin’s, as well as the Path design aesthetic and broader design team. Take for example the company’s decision to feature the Path app early on in numerous keynotes and advertising campaigns. In that sense, it wouldn’t be that surprising if such a deal were to be consummated. Jason Calacanis made a similar observation in his evening email newsletter today, noting Morin’s seating at today’s event and Apple’s long-standing frustrations around social. Others have been asking whether such an acquisition makes sense for years.

To be clear, even if our source is correct, these transactions are never a sure thing until ink has been put to paper and (at least in the case of a public company like Apple) a public announcement has been made. But the tea leaves seem to be aligning on this deal. It’s certainly an unexpected outcome, but it would sound even more crazy if Apple didn’t have north of $150 billion in cash burning a hole in its pocket and a love for all things aesthetic. And with Morin’s vaunted reputation for design, and Apple’s social struggles I can’t think of a better home for the once-hyped app. Don’t be surprised to see Apple swoop in to rescue Path from social also-ran status.

Pando has reached out to Morin for confirmation (or otherwise) of the claim. We will update this post as soon as I hear back."
164,"Islamic State terrorists couldn’t strike ransom deals with the United States to trade hostages for money — so their newest revenue drive has them attempting to sell the body of James Foley, one of their beheaded victims.

Several sources for the Islamic State told BuzzFeed News that middlemen have been trying to strike a sale, with the asking price for Foley’s remains at $1 million.

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Foley, a U.S. journalist and long-time hostage, was the first of a series of public and videotaped Islamic State beheadings of Western citizens. He was killed in August.

Islamic State terrorists say they’ll transport his body to Turkey — and that they’ll even give a DNA sample to prove the remains belong to Foley, BuzzFeed News reported.

Islamic State terrorists reportedly held 23 hostages from the West earlier this year. Fifteen Europeans were freed after the group received millions of dollars in ransom payments. American and Britain hostages, however, were not among the ransomed.

BuzzFeed News said three sources with contact with Islamic State members confirmed that Foley’s body was being put up for sale. One is a former Syrian rebel fighter with ties to Islamic State leaders, BuzzFeed News said.

“They ask for $1 million and they will send DNA to Turkey, but they want the money first,” he said, BuzzFeed News reported. “They will not give the DNA without the money.”

Another source, also granted anonymity, said similarly and added, “This is business.”"
165,"A FIVE-YEAR-OLD boy has been billed with a ""no show fee"" - for missing his friend's BIRTHDAY party.

Derek Nash and his partner discovered the invoice - for the sum of £15.95 - after it was slipped into their son Alex's school bag.

The host of the party gave it to Alex via a teacher after he failed to show up for the get-together at a ski slope and snowboard centre in Plymouth, Cornwall.

Alex's family confirmed that their son would be attending the party just before the Christmas holidays.

But Mr Nash, from Torpoint, Cornwall, realised he had arranged for their daughter to go on a day trip with her grandparents.

He then asked Alex if he wished to join his sister or go to the party, to which he chose to spend time with his grandparents.

Bemused Mr Nash said he originally thought the invoice ""was a joke"", but the issue has remained unresolved and now the birthday boy's mother has threatened to take him to a small claims court.

He said: ""She saw me and asked if Alex was coming to the party. At this time I agreed and said that Alex was looking forward to it.""

However, after Alex had changed his mind about the party, Ms Nash realised he had no way of contacting the birthday boy's mother.

""So on the day of the party we asked Alex what he wanted to do - he chose to be with his grandparents,"" he said.

""By this time we did not have a contact number, email or an address to let [the boy's mother] know.""

Alex returned to Torpoint Nursery and Infant School on January 6, but just over a week later, the family were stunned to receive the bill.

Mr Nash continued: ""My partner looked out for [the friend's mother] to apologise for Alex not showing up to the party, but didn't see her.

""But on January 15 she looked in Alex's school bag and found a brown envelope. It was an invoice for 15.95 for a child's party no show fee.

""I asked Alex's class teacher if [the child's mother] had given anything to her. She said, 'Yes, a brown envelope'.

""I then visited Alex's school headteacher, who couldn't apologise enough that one of the teachers had passed this on.

""She said she would remind all staff that this was a breach of protocol.""

He then went to visit the mother, since named as Julie Lawrence and whose address was on the invoice, and told her that he would not be paying the bill.

""I told her she should have spoken to me first and not put the invoice in my son's school bag,"" he said.

""I would have sympathised with her about the cost of Alex not showing up, but I just can't believe the way she has gone around it.""

The mother has since threatened the family to take the case to a small claims court, while the birthday boy will no longer play with Alex at school.

Mr Nash added: ""I drive all around the South West for my job and I have talked to quite a few people about this.

""They're all quite incredulous that this has happened. I thought it was a joke to begin with. I am lost for words.""

His partner, who does not want to be named, has been in contact with the mum on Facebook and is hoping to resolve the situation.

In a short statement, Ms Lawrence said she had no regrets about sending the invoice.

She said: ""All details were on the party invite. They had every detail needed to contact me.""

Manager of the Plymouth ski and snowboard centre, Louisa Duggan, said they would never send invoices to individuals and were upset at being dragged into the row.

She said: ""This is nothing to do with us. It is a dispute between two parents. But I really need to clarify that we don't send invoices to private individuals - ever.

""We don't know the names of the children coming so we would never even be able to.

""We are upset that we have been dragged into this. We ask families who book with us to pay a small deposit and then 48 hours before we ask them to confirm the numbers.

""This gives them plenty of time to get responses in. We are quite flexible if any of the party does not turn up.

""We can put on other activities to compensate or often an adult will take part in place.

""We do need to know how many people are coming because we have to plan food and reserve activities and spaces. That is how any businesses like ours has to operate."""
166,"This is the stuff nightmares are made of, but one teen took it all in her stride. Waking up in the middle of brain surgery sounds like a painful experience, but when this happened to 19-year-old Iga Jasica she didn’t feel a thing. The teen just asked the surgeons how the operation was going when she suddenly woke up on the table, according to Fox News on Jan. 3.

It is a mystery as to why the girl woke up during the delicate procedure while on the operating table in Poland. The doctors were shocked to hear her talk to them while they had her brain exposed mid-surgery. The hospital is looking into the possibility that the anesthesia was improperly administered.

Experts say that the procedure itself could have caused the teen to regain consciousness even with enough anesthesia on board to knock her out. Jasica chatted with the doctors a bit when she woke up during the surgery and apparently she had a lot to say. She brought up the subject of cats to the physicians who were literally working on her exposed brain, according to Sports Act today.

Even though the teen woke up enough to carry on a conversation, she was never in any pain or danger when this happened say doctors. Jasica was having a cancerous growth removed from her brain during this procedure, reports Headlines & Global News today. The doctors were about half-way through the operation when the teen woke up.

The teen reports that she was happy to have gone through the operation because she is feeling good today. She also reports that she doesn’t remember waking up and chatting with the surgeons while on the operating table."
172,"A female Kurdish fighter, who has become the face of the Kurdish resistance fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) to claim the town of Kobane, has been reportedly killed by the militant group, several media outlets claimed.

Rehana, a member of the Women’s Defense Unit, was reportedly beheaded by ISIS after a photo of her posing with a victory sign was tweeted by a journalist, Britain's Daily Mail reported.

In the same tweet, the journalist claimed that Rehana, the nom de guerre she adopted as per female Kurdish fighter tradition, had already killed 100 militants fighting with ISIS.

As the tweet was retweeted more than 5,000 times, she became the poster girl of Kurdish resistance in Kobane.

Reports of her death circulated on social media after a photo of an ISIS militant holding her severed head was reportedly shared on Twitter.

The People’s Defense Unit, or the YPG, are yet to make a comment about the allegations, the British daily said.

The YPG is the de facto army of the Kurdish regions of north and northeast Syria, is the armed wing of the powerful Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD).

Kurdish women have been at the forefront in the battle against ISIS, as their numbers, already in the thousands, continues to grow.

According to Agence France-Presse, women traditionally form a major part of Kurdish fighting forces, and they are well represented among Kurdish forces in neighboring Turkey and Iraq.

On October 5, young Kurdish woman fighter Dilar Gencxemis, identified by the YPG by the nom-de-guerre of Arin Mirkan, blew herself up outside Kobane in an attack which reportedly killed dozens of IS militants.

The battle to claim Kobane has been raging for more than a month with fierce fighting between ISIS militants and Kurdish fighters backed by a an anti-ISIS U.S.-led coalition.

[With AFP]"
174,"Saudi Arabia's national airline plans to keep men and women apart after passengers objected to on-board gender mixing, the Emirates247 news website reported Wednesday.

""There are solutions to this problem,"" said Abdul Rahman Al Fahd, the assistant manager of national carrier Saudia. ""We will soon enforce rules that will satisfy all passengers,"" Saudi daily Ajel quoted him as saying.

The paper said flight staff at Saudi Arabia's airports would be instructed to keep men and women segregated on board Saudia planes, unless they are close relatives.

Complaints about mixed-gender sitting are also common on planes flying to Israel, with some ultra-Orthodox Jewish men refusing to sit next to unrelated women and some women objecting to being asked to move so that the men won't have to sit next to them.

A Delta flight from New York to Israel was delayed earlier this month when ultra-Orthodox passengers refused to sit between two women, Israel Radio reported on Friday.

A number of similar incidents were reported in the media earlier this year, bringing the controversial issue into the headlines. In some cases, the men reportedly offered to pay the female passengers to switch their seats.

In September, a petition on Change.org urged Israeli carrier El Al to stop allowing female passengers to be ""bullied, harassed, and intimidated into switching seats."" El Al told Haaretz that its policy is ""to try to accommodate any customer request.”"
177,"Poland: Some birds want the whole package. None more so than a particularly demanding Snowy Owl in Poland, who KILLED her new boyfriend because of his tiny penis. The bird, nicknamed the Black Widow, left her suitor half-eaten, shocking vets at the animal shelter in Knyszynska Forest. Park keepers had noticed the owl was unhappy and decided to pair her up with a new mate. But just two days after arriving from Germany, they found the new owl devoured and dead. Shelter spokesman, Robert Konowal, said: ""The first two days were fine and they seemed to get on very well. ""We were horrified when we then discovered she had killed him. ""At first we couldn’t understand why but we took the remains to a vet who after examining him found that his testicle sack and private parts were underdeveloped. See Also: Woman kills her rich husband to get his insurance cover and be with another man ""In other words, he wasn’t a suitable lover, and we assume that after failing to perform she killed him, probably out of frustration. A lonely female owl was introduced to a male suitor. She killed him because his penis was not big enough ""The Snowy Owl is beautiful but also brutal and we have nicknamed her the Black Widow."" The zoo confirmed that they were now looking for another snowy owl to be provided but said so far other facilities were reluctant to accommodate the request after the way the owl's last partner ended up.
Konowal added: ""She may be a bit fussy but we're sure there's another owl out there who will meet her standards."""
178,"The legendary Hewlett-Packard reportedly is about to become two companies.

One will focus on the firm’s personal computer and printer business, and the other on its business hardware and services, according to a story in today’s Wall Street Journal.

The publication, citing “people familiar with the matter,” said the split may be made public as early as tomorrow.

The Journal said that current CEO Meg Whitman will become CEO of the enterprise-oriented company, and independent director Patricia Russo will be chairman. Whitman will serve as chairman of the PC/printer firm, and exec Dion Weisler will be CEO.

HP has been struggling with its dual selves of being oriented toward businesses’ high-end needs and toward personal computers and printers. Various company executives have in the past discussed spinning off its PC unit, only to be followed by the company asserting its long-term interest in PCs.

In 2000, Agilent Technologies split off from HP, taking with it the test and measurement equipment business that was HP’s first line of business.

The company had long reigned as the top PC maker in the world, although it dropped to second place last year in the rankings of industry research firm IDC, after Lenovo. Its printer/personal systems group rakes in about $56 billion in fiscal 2013, about half the company’s total, but sales are down about seven percent from the previous year.

Via the Wall Street Journal"
180,British jihadist al-Britani has reportedly been killed in a US drone strike in Syria.
182,"Joan Rivers personal doctor snapped a selfie while the comedian was under anesthesia and the physician was about to perform an unauthorized biopsy that lead to her cardiac arrest, a report said.
The doctor took the photo in the procedure room before performing a biopsy on Rivers’ vocal chords, according to CNN.
A staffer at the Manhattan’s Yorkville Endoscopy, where Rivers was treated, told investigators about the doctor’s behavior, the network said.
Rivers was at the clinic for an endoscopy by another doctor, when her personal physician took it upon himself to perform the biopsy, CNN said."
183,"The Islamic State (Isis) are attempting to sell the body of beheading victim James Foley for $1m (£638,000) to raise funds for their terrorist organisation, according to reports.

The group are said to be coming up with new ways to raise money following a series of failed hostage negotiations and are now hoping to sell the murdered journalist's body back to his family.

The group are willing to provide a DNA test to prove the body is Foley's before taking it across the border into Turkey once the ransom is paid, reported Buzzfeed News.

Foley was the first US citizen to be beheaded by IS on video, a move which was widely condemned as a ""shocking and depraved"" act. The 40-year-old journalist was taken hostage while reporting in Syria in November 2012.

Three middlemen with ties to IS – a former Syrian rebel fighter, a businessman, and an official for the Free Syrian Army (FSA) – said the group believe the act of handing over the body is a ""humanity case"" to help give the family closure.

The former rebel said: ""They ask for $1m, and they will send DNA to Turkey, but they want the money first. They will not give the DNA without the money.""

The other two sources are said to have backed up the $1m figure.

It was previously reported that IS demanded a $132m ransom for Foley while he was still alive, which the US government refused to pay as they were not willing to negotiate with the terrorist group.

The FSA official notes the issues raised if the US now purchase Foley's body after allegedly threatening his parents with prosecution if they paid the ransom themselves.

""It will be like a shame for the US government,"" the official said. ""People will ask why you brought the body but you didn't bring him when he was alive.""

Foley's family have not commented on the claims and the US State Department said they are ""seeking more information"".

According to the New York Times report by Rukmini Callimachi, hostage negotiations and ransom payments has earned al-Qaida and its affiliates more than $125m over a five-year period.

""Although every country in the world says they don't pay, the reality is that, in fact, it's really only the British government, the US government, the Canadians, and a few small European governments that don't pay,"" wrote Callimachi.

RelatedJames Foley Beheading: Family Says US Threatened Them over Isis Ransom Payment DecisionFox News Slams Barack Obama on James Foley Rescue OperationJames Foley's Mother: We Were Told Our Government Will Not Take Military ActionJames Foley Beheading: Should USA and UK Rethink Blanket Ban on Paying Ransoms?"
184,"Almost throughout the entire year we constantly heard rumors that Apple’s smartwatch will be released later this year. A couple of weeks back the Apple Watch was formally unveiled but the company also revealed that it won’t hit the market until early 2015. There has already been much speculation about why Apple missed its 2014 launch target for this wearable device but what most people are now interested is when it’ll finally be available? If recent reports are to be believed then Valentine’s Day 2015 may be the Apple Watch release target.
Every year Apple releases its new iPhones and iPads around the holiday season which is one of the most lucrative shopping seasons of the year. Probably why it was assumed from the very start that Apple’s smartwatch too would be released around the same time.
But recently rumors about production issues starting cropping up, hinting that the release may have been pushed back as a result of these delays. While Apple hasn’t confirmed if production issues really did play a part in pushing the smartwatch’s release into 2015 CEO Tim Cook did remark in an interview with Bloomberg BusinessWeek that Apple “could have done the watch much earlier, honestly, but not at the fit and finish and quality and integration of these products.”
Valentine’s Day doesn’t see shopping frenzy that can rival the lucrative holiday season but its still that time of the year when people are a bit loose with their wallets. The Information reports on the possibility of Apple shipping the smartwatch by Valentine’s Day 2015 and 9to5mac has been hearing whispers about the same, still there no confirmation on this from Cupertino.
Whenever the Apple Watch ultimately go on sale it will start from $349."
191,"A heartwarming letter of support written by a nine-year-old to her primary school teacher has swept the internet.

The British student wrote the tearjerker note after the teacher told her class that he was gay.

The man, who has preferred to stay anonymous, told the website PinkNews that he decided to come out to his pupils after learning that all of the class had heard the word 'gay' used as an insult.

The note that a British student wrote to her teacher after he told her class that he was gay. The man came out after learning every pupil had heard 'gay' used as an insult

He was stunned to receive the letter from the child afterwards, which described him as 'fantastic and awesome.'

It read in full: 'Dear Mr R

'Even though you're gay, I will always treat you the same way as I do now.

'I still think about you the same way as I used to.

'You're a great teacher and these are just some of the words that I would describe you as: great, amazing, fantastic, brilliant, awesome and brave.

'The reason why I say brave is because you shared a personal secret which was very brave.

'You don't have to feel scared because I know that everyone in the class feels the same way as I do.

'From A x x

'PS. We are all proud of you'

The teacher then shared the letter on social media.

He told PinkNews: 'As a primary school teacher, I'd always worried about mentioning my sexuality, despite the fact that my colleagues talked about their husbands, wives and significant others all the time.

'Then, as part of anti-bullying week, I'd asked who'd heard 'gay' being used as an insult. Almost every one of my class put their hands up. I was stunned.'

The teacher, who preferred to stay anonymous, said that he welled up after reading the letter (picture posed by models)

He continued: 'Then I asked who thought that people who were gay or lesbian were bad or wrong in some way, again almost every hand went up.

'After speaking to my Head, who was very supportive, we agreed I could tell the class that I'm gay so they at least knew one gay person and hopefully explain that when people use that word they're talking about me.'

'The reaction was fantastic – there were a lot of gasps and shocked looks and some basic questions – do you have a boyfriend, etc – but after a couple of minutes they were over it and we moved on to the rest of the lesson.

'The letter came a couple of days later. The little girl who wrote it gave it to me at the start of the day with all the other slips about dinner money, school trips and doctors appointments.

'Reading it brought tears to my eyes and it took me a little while to compose myself. When I thanked her she just shrugged and repeated something one of the boys in the class had said during the lesson, 'It's just your life'. Then she went back to her maths.

'For my class it was a surprise sure but, to them, it was just something simple and easy to file away as another piece of information. There was no judgement, no follow-up, just acceptance.

'Now, I can mention my fiance as easily as any other teacher and my class know me a little better. I've had a lot of letters and cards over the years, but this one I know I'll keep forever.'"
192,The US declared the video of Sotloff to be authentic.
196,The US has denied claims that it threatened James Foley's family over ransom payments.
197,"A scorpion stung a woman on an Alaska Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Portland on Saturday as the plane was taxiing down the runway.

The plane was also carrying the Oregon State University men's basketball team; head coach Wayne Tinkle told ESPN: ""The woman was a real champ. She acted like it was a mosquito bite. They got it off her but the needle was stuck.""

It's been confirmed by Alaska Airlines that a flight attendant killed the scorpion, but at first reports were conflicting—according to CBS News, the victim herself ""stomped the scorpion to death."" That would have been cool. Either way, though, it seems she was extremely even-keeled about the whole thing, even declining further medical treatment back at the gate.

Passengers were told that the scorpion ""hitched a ride"" in the carry-on bag of a passenger who was coming from Mexico. And I will never fly again."
201,"U.S., BRENT CRUDE CRUDE FUTURES EXTEND GAINS ON UNCONFIRMED MARKET RUMOR OF OIL PIPELINE EXPLOSION IN SAUDI ARABIA"
202,"A JILTED wife faces jail after chopping off her cheating husband's manhood… TWICE.

Unfaithful husband Fan Lung was rumbled after he sent a saucy message to his younger lover Zhang Hung, from his wife's mobile phone.

Angry Feng later discovered the steamy message, as well as several others , on her smartphone after her husband neglected to log-out of his email account.

In a fit of rage and clutching a pair of scissors, Feng burst into the couple's bedroom where father-of-five Lung was sleeping.

She then sliced off his genitals.

Fan was rushed to hospital where doctors successfully sewed his appendage back in place.

However, while he was recovering from the operation, his still-angry wife stormed into the hospital room with a pair of scissors and repeated the attack.

Fuming Feng cut away the fresh stitches before throwing her husband's manhood out of a window.

""The first we were aware of what happened was when someone came into the reception area to say a naked man was beating up a woman outside the hospital,"" said a hospital spokesperson.

""Staff rushed out to see what was happening and found the patient with blood streaming down his legs hitting the woman.

""He was stopped and the woman was taken in for treatment, and then we discovered she had chopped his penis off again.""

Medical staff, with a helping hand from some local police officers, carefully combed the area outside the hospital in search of Fan's penis.

However the search proved unsuccessful, with some officers speculating the missing manhood may have been stolen by a stray dog or cat.

The spokesperson added: ""The man had lost a lot of blood and was taken in for emergency surgery.

""He is now in a stable condition but is extremely emotionally distraught.""

Fan's mistress Zhang, 21, who has visited her lover in hospital since the incident, claimed she plans to marry the dad-of-five despite the traumatic incident.

""It doesn't matter that he's lost his fertility, he has five children already,"" she said.

Feng, from the city of Shangqiu in central China's Henan province, was arrested for grievous bodily harm."
207,"NEW YORK, New York -

Vladimir Kershov, publicist of R&B singer Bruno Mars, has been fired today after he revealed a shocking secret regarding the pop and R&B singer. Kershov leaked private information that revealed that Michael Jackson is Mars’ biological father.

In a statement emailed to news and media outlets across the world, Kershov revealed that he was told by the singer that DNA testing had proven that Jackson, known across the world as the King of Pop, was without a doubt his biological father. After pleading with Mars, born under the name Peter Hernandez, to go public with the revelation, Mars refused to do so. Kershov insisted that it be made known to the public, and that the news would catapult the singer’s fame and boost record sales. Mars remained adamant that the information not be released. According to Kershov, he then took it upon himself and emailed the shocking news to media sources all over the world.

“DNA testing has proven that Michael Jackson is the biological father of Bruno Mars,” Kershov said in the statement. “Against his wishes, I have decided to relay this message for the greater good and betterment of Bruno’s life and extravagant music career.”

In a statement released by Mars’ new publicist, Jacqueline Pryor, it has been announced that Kershov was immediately fired by the singer, and may seek legal action against his former publicist. “The job of a publicist is indeed to better the career of their clients by persuading them to take part in things that cause their popularity to grow, however, the client must trust their publicist. The artist has the final say, no matter what.”

When asked about the validity of Kershov’s statement, Pryor surprisingly made it clear that the information is accurate. “It is true. Doesn’t mean he was right in saying so, but it is true. When it comes to 29-year-old Bruno Mars, Michael Jackson is the father!”"
211,"Update at 5:38 p.m.

Did Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner take on a godson? Yes. Did she do it, as we and others reported, because of the legend of the werewolf? No.

The Guardian reports that a tradition that began during mass Russian immigration to Argentina in the early 20th century became conflated with a local legend involving seventh sons and werewolves.

""The local myth of the [lobison] is not in any way connected to the custom that began over 100 years ago by which every seventh son [or seventh daughter] born in Argentina becomes godchild to the president,"" Argentine historian Daniel Balmaceda told the newspaper.

The emigres from Russia who asked the Argentine president in 1907 to become the godfather to their seventh son were carrying on a custom from czarist Russia. The practice became law in 1974.

Our original post is below:

Silver bullets are believed to be among the few effective weapons against werewolves. In Argentina, add presidential protection to that short list.

President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, in keeping with a long-standing tradition, has embraced a 21-year-old Jewish man as her godson to prevent him from assuming a lycanthropic form.

The root of the story is the mythology of the Guarani people that says the seventh son in a family of only male children will turn into el lobison — a werewolf. This legend prompted some people to abandon — or kill — their seventh-born sons. So Argentina passed a law in the 1920s that gave the seventh son presidential protection along with a gold medal and a scholarship until his 21st birthday.

At first, that law covered only Catholic families. But in 2009, a presidential decree broadened the law to cover children of other faiths, too.

Kirchner's godson is Yair Tawil, the seventh son of a rabbi, and he's the first Jewish godson of an Argentine president.

The Jewish Telegraphic Agency reports:

Fernandez received Yair, his parents and three of his brothers in her office in Buenos Aires. They lit Hanukkah candles on a menorah the family presented her. Kirchner publicized the event on Twitter, calling the meeting ""magical"" and the Tawil family ""marvelous."""
215,"(CNN) —The cardiac arrest leading to Joan Rivers' death happened as the comedian's personal doctor began performing a biopsy on her vocal cords, a source close to the death investigation told CNN.

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A staff member at Manhattan's Yorkville Endoscopy clinic told investigators that the doctor, who has not been publicly identified, took a selfie photo in the procedure room while Rivers was under anesthesia, the source said.

Rivers, 81, was at the clinic for a scheduled endoscopy by another doctor, gastroenterologist Dr. Lawrence Cohen. That procedure, intended to help diagnose her hoarse voice and sore throat, involved the insertion of a camera down her throat.

After Cohen, the clinic's medical director, finished his work, a biopsy was done on Rivers without her prior consent, according to the source.

An ear, nose and throat specialist not certified by the clinic as required by law performed a biopsy on her vocal cords. The doctor is described by the source as Rivers' personal ear-nose-throat physician.

""Even though you are a licensed physician, you still should have, if you will, the checks and balances to get your approval to practice in that particular place,"" said Dr. Arthur Caplan, a medical ethicist at New York University's Langone Medical Center.

Investigators believe that Rivers' vocal chords began to swell during the allegedly unauthorized biopsy, cutting off the flow of oxygen to her lungs, which led to cardiac arrest on the morning of August 29, the source said.

Rivers, 81, was rushed by paramedics from Yorkville Endoscopy to New York's Mount Sinai Hospital a mile away, where she died a week later.

Yorkville Endoscopy issued a statement last Thursday denying reports that any vocal cord biopsy has ever been done at the clinic, although federal privacy law prevented any patient information from being released.

The day after the denial was issued, the clinic confirmed that Dr. Cohen ""is not currently performing procedures...nor is he currently serving as medical director.""

The source said that at this time neither Cohen nor the ear, nose and throat doctor have been accused of wrongdoing by investigators.

The clinic declined to respond to the source's comments about a biopsy or a selfie, citing federal privacy law."
216,"Pictures of Britain's so-called biggest crustacean, dubbed Crabzilla, have emerged in Whitstable.

Aerial images of what is said to be a giant sea creature have appeared on supernatural website Weird Whitstable set up by Station Road artist Quinton Winter.

But it has left doubters racking their brains as to how the image might have been created - and how likely such a huge shellfish is in our waters.

Crabzilla was spotted lurking beneath the water
The shadowy figure has been estimated to be 50ft long as it dwarfs fishing boats resting on the pier.

According to the website, the discovery was made in July last year in a popular crabbing spot by two young boys.

Is this the Britain's biggest crustacean?
The website reads: ""This shocking image of a giant crab under a popular crabbing spot in Whitstable was taken last weekend.

""The boys were unaware of the danger, but as several passersby shouted to them, the crab slipped silently away under the water, into the dark, sideways.""

But graphic artist Ashley Austen remained sceptical.

He said: ""The image of the giant crab can be quite easily recreated in Photoshop.

""All the 'artist' had to do is find a suitable image of a crab, overlay it on to the satellite picture of the harbour and apply a few filters to it to get the realistic look.""

The website is described as an exhibition of phantoms, mysteries, tall tales and artefacts."
222,"Thousands of students and activists gathered in the city's financial district in protest of anti-democratic leaders

Officers used tear gas and baton charge to break up crowd, but many protesters remain and have set up camp

Beijing last month ruled out open nominations for candidates for the first democratic election in Hong Kong in 2017

Protesters chanted 'Shame on C.Y. Leung', the city's Beijing-backed leader, while shielding faces from the gas

HSBC and Standard Chartered shut bank branches in Hong Kong as Hang Seng stock market fell to two-month low

Chinese riot police were forced into an embarrassing back down today as they withdrew from the streets of Hong Kong amid fury over their heavy-handed use of tear gas to disperse anti-democracy protesters.

Tens of thousands of people, mainly students, have brought central Hong Kong to a standstill, blocking roads and forcing the closure of banks and schools, in a major pushback against Beijing's decision to limit democratic reforms.

The uprising is fast becoming known as the 'Umbrella Revolution' due to the fact that protesters are using little more than parasols to protect themselves against the volleys of tear gas being fired at them by police - in an unprecedented crack down on dissent - leaving many choking under thick clouds of toxic vapour.

The protesters have in turn countered with the 'hands up, don't shoot' gesture, first employed last month by demonstrators in Ferguson, Missouri, as they marched over the police shooting of unarmed black teenager Mike Brown. There, the gesture became a symbol of the fight against racism and police violence in America.

Scroll down for video

'Hands up, don't shoot': Protesters have responded to the government's use of tear gas by using the 'hands up, don't shoot' gesture first employed by demonstrators in Ferguson, Missouri, last month as they marched over the police shooting of unarmed black teenager Mike Brown

Toxic fumes: Fury continues to grow over the police's heavy-handed attempts to disperse protesters, including the widespread use of tear gas

Appropriation: Protesters in Hong Kong have appropriated the gesture, which came to symbolise the fight against racism and police violence in America, as a symbol of democracy and freedom

Their use of the gesture has been hailed as a sign of how 'plugged in' to world affairs Hong Kongers are despite the mainland government's attempts to stifle social media and other information-gathering tools

And this morning, the Chinese government announced that riot police had been taken off the streets as citizens 'have mostly calmed down' and urged people to unblock roads and disperse.

Instead, the government switched its focus to social media, banning Instagram across the country in a further bid to stifle dissent in the Asian financial hub.

The popular photo-sharing service was shut down today in an apparent attempt to prevent demonstrators sharing photographs of the upheaval with their countrymen, as they expanded their rallies throughout Hong Kong.

Many photos already posted on the image-sharing website - labelled under the hashtag #OccupyCentral, a phrase officials went on to block from Weibo, China's version of Twitter.

Resistance: Thousands of protesters are still gathered in Hong Kong's financial district despite police throwing tear gas at them and launching a baton charge

Heavy-handed: Many photos already posted on the image-sharing website - labelled under the hashtag #OccupyCentral - show police firing tear gas canisters into crowds leaving protesters choking under thick clouds of toxic vapour

The social media crack down comes as police officers tried to negotiate with protesters, some wearing surgical masks and holding up umbrellas to protect against tear gas, camped out on a normally busy highway near the Hong Kong government headquarters that was the scene of impassioned clashes that erupted the evening before.

An officer with a bullhorn tried to get them to clear the way for the commuters. A protester, using the group's own speaker system, responded by saying that they wanted Hong Kong's Chief Executive Leung Chun-ying to demand a genuine choice for the territory's voters.

'Do something good for Hong Kong. We want real democracy!' he shouted.

As the mayhem continued, London-based banks HSBC and Standard Chartered were today forced to shut bank branches in Hong Kong as the territory's political unrest spills into the financial markets as the Hang Seng stock market to fall 2 per cent to a two-month low.

Meanwhile, the Foreign Office confirmed it is carefully monitoring the situation with a spokesman saying the British Government was 'concerned' about the events there and highlighted people's right to protest.

Banned: The popular photo-sharing service was shut down today in an apparent attempt to prevent demonstrators sharing photographs of the upheaval with their countrymen

Crack down: The social media crack down comes as pro-democracy protesters, some wearing surgical masks and holding up umbrellas to protect against tear gas, expanded their rallies throughout Hong Kong today

Rest time: The unrest is a major pushback against Beijing's decision to limit democratic reforms in the Asian financial hub

Protesters rest following pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. China has called the protests illegal and endorsed the Hong Kong government's crackdown

Nap time: Policemen rest following pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong after tens of thousands of pro-democracy demonstrators brought parts of central Hong Kong to a standstill in a dramatic escalation of protests that have gripped the semi-autonomous Chinese city for days

He went on: 'It is Britain's long-standing position, as a co-signatory of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, that Hong Kong's prosperity and security are underpinned by its fundamental rights and freedoms, including the right to demonstrate.

'It is important for Hong Kong to preserve these rights and for Hong Kong people to exercise them within the law.

'These freedoms are best guaranteed by the transition to universal suffrage.

'We hope that the upcoming consultation period will produce arrangements which allow a meaningful advance for democracy in Hong Kong, and we encourage all parties to engage constructively in discussion to that end.'

Hands up: Protesters in Ferguson, Missouri, adopted the 'hands up, don't shoot' gesture after claims Mike Brown had his arms in the air when he was shot by a police officer in the city

Defiance: The clashes - images of which have been beamed around the world - are undermining Hong Kong's image as a safe financial haven, and raised the stakes of the face-off against President Xi Jinping's government

Anger: Beijing has taken a hard line against threats to the Communist Party's monopoly on power, including clamping down on dissidents and Muslim Uighur separatists in the country's far west

Force: The authorities have threatened to increase their use of force if the student activists, who are demanding democratic elections, do not disperse

Disruption: The protest marks the end of a week of activities which has become the worst unrest in Hong Kong since Britain handed the province back to China

Hong Kong police rained tear gas on thousands of pro-democracy protesters in the city's financial district today as tensions over the island's democratic rights grow

Gas: Officers used tear gas to break up the protest for the first time in Hong Kong since 2005, though officers denied rumours they had also fired rubber bullets

China has called the protests illegal and endorsed the Hong Kong government's crackdown. The clashes - images of which have been beamed around the world - are undermining Hong Kong's image as a safe financial haven, and raised the stakes of the face-off against President Xi Jinping's government. Beijing has taken a hard line against threats to the Communist Party's monopoly on power, including clamping down on dissidents and Muslim Uighur separatists in the country's far west.

The mass protests are the strongest challenge yet to Beijing's decision last month to reject open nominations for candidates under proposed guidelines for the first-ever elections for Hong Kong's leader, promised for 2017. Instead, candidates must continue to be hand-picked by Beijing - a move that many residents viewed as reneging on promises to allow greater democracy in the semi-autonomous territory.

With rumours swirling, the Beijing-backed and deeply unpopular Leung reassured the public that speculation that the Chinese army might intervene was untrue.

'I hope the public will keep calm. Don't be misled by the rumors. Police will strive to maintain social order, including ensuring smooth traffic and ensuring the public safety,' Leung said. 'When they carry out their duties, they will use their maximum discretion.'

Democracy: The students are demanding a free vote in upcoming elections after the Chinese government hand-picked candidates loyal to the regime

Protection: Protesters wearing home-made gas masks and goggle throw tear gas grenades back at police as they demand democratic elections in Hong Kong

Unlawful: Hong Kong leader C.Y. Leung has said authorities will do whatever is necessary to break up the protest, which he said were illegal

Violent: An officer holding a riot shield shouts at protesters during a second day of demonstrations in Hong Kong where police have clashed with activists

The protest has been spearheaded largely but student-age activists but has gathered momentum among a broad range of people from high school students to the elderly.

Protesters also occupied streets in other parts of Hong Kong Island, including the upscale shopping area of Causeway Bay as well as across the harbor in densely populated Mong Kok on the Kowloon peninsula. The city's transport department said roads in those areas were closed.

More than 200 bus routes have been canceled or diverted in a city dependent on public transport. Subway exits have also been closed or blocked near protest area. Authorities said some schools in areas near the main protest site would be closed.

Leung urged people to go home, obey the law and avoid causing trouble.

'We don't want Hong Kong to be messy,' he said as he read a statement that was broadcast early Monday.

Arrests: While police have dispersed many of the protesters there are still thousands from the Occupy Central group gathered in the city's financial district

Protest: It is believed that the city's financial district will try to operate as normal tomorrow, despite thousands of protesters camped in the street

Crowd control: Riot police prepare to defend the Hong Kong government complex, although it was later reported that some protesters had made it inside

Standoff: Protesters have now erected barricades in the centre of Hong Kong and are preparing to settle in for the night as riot police surround them

Unrest: The night of demonstrations follows on from clashes between activists and police yesterday when students charged through a cordon and broke into the Hong Kong government complex

That came hours after police lobbed canisters of tear gas into the crowd on Sunday evening. The searing fumes sent demonstrators fleeing, though many came right back to continue their protest. The government said 26 people were taken to hospitals.

To ward off tear gas, demonstrators improvised with homemade defenses such as plastic wrap, which they used to cover their face and arms, as well as umbrellas, goggles and surgical masks.

The protests began with a class boycott last week by students urging Beijing to grant genuine democratic reforms to this former British colony.

'This is a long fight,' business and law student Edward Yau, 19, said overnight. 'The government has to understand that we have the ability to undo it if they continue to treat us like we are terrorists.'

U.S.-led mission attacks Islamic militant base near Kobani,...

German Shepherd doesn't want to get out of the water

Seal the deal! Seal takes short refuge in divers shark cage

Shocking moment of a broad daylight shooting in New York

Horror as a monster truck ploughs into the audience

'Three-breasted' hoaxer shows off her radical surgical...

A look at Carters' Co-Workers at Crye-Leike Real Estate

Tiger jumps on car roof, bursts spare tire then takes cat...

Vroooooom! Adorable daughter explains car sounds to dad

Major Mariam al-Mansouri, the United Arab Emirates' first...

French Spiderman scales Russian skyscraper

Sarah Palin makes fun of Obama's salute with a coffee cup

Riot teams wearing protective headgear and carrying body-length shields faced off with crowds on one of the financial district's main streets as fumes from the gas rose above the crowds

Thousands of students and activists frantically dispersed as fumes from the gas spread among demonstrators calling for democratic reform in Hong Kong

Crowds hopped over the barriers separating some of the city's main roads to flee the streaming gas as riot police became more violent in their efforts to control crowds

A wall of umbrellas goes up against riot police yielding full-body-length shields and has masks as officers throw pepper spray on students and activists in Hong Kong

When China took control of Hong Kong from the British in 1997, it agreed to a policy of 'one country, two systems' that allowed the city a high degree of control over its own affairs and kept in place liberties unseen on the mainland. It also promised the city's leader would eventually be chosen through 'universal suffrage.'

Hong Kong's residents have long felt their city stood apart from mainland China thanks to those civil liberties and separate legal and financial systems.

Beijing's insistence on using a committee to screen candidates on the basis of their patriotism to China - similar to the one that currently hand-picks Hong Kong's leaders - has stoked fears among pro-democracy groups that Hong Kong will never get genuine democracy.

University students began their class boycotts over a week ago and say they will continue them until officials meet their demands for reforming the local legislature and withdrawing the proposal to screen election candidates.

Students and activists had been camped out since late Friday on streets outside the government complex. Sunday's clashes arose when police sought to block thousands of people from entering the protest zone. Protesters spilled onto a busy highway, bringing traffic to a standstill.

U.S.-led mission attacks Islamic militant base near Kobani,...

German Shepherd doesn't want to get out of the water

Seal the deal! Seal takes short refuge in divers shark cage

Shocking moment of a broad daylight shooting in New York

Horror as a monster truck ploughs into the audience

'Three-breasted' hoaxer shows off her radical surgical...

A look at Carters' Co-Workers at Crye-Leike Real Estate

Tiger jumps on car roof, bursts spare tire then takes cat...

Vroooooom! Adorable daughter explains car sounds to dad

Major Mariam al-Mansouri, the United Arab Emirates' first...

French Spiderman scales Russian skyscraper

Sarah Palin makes fun of Obama's salute with a coffee cup

The police threatened using 'a higher level of force' to stomp out the protests in Hong Kong if crowds returned to the site but were unsuccessful as hundreds stood their ground

The force threatened tougher action on the protesters if they returned to the site following the tear gas. Undeterred demonstrators did indeed come back however later in the evening

Crowds grab umbrellas and throw them above their heads in a desperate attempt to shield themselves from the gas as tensions flared during the third day of protests

A man throws his arms in the air and walks away from streaming canisters of tear gas as photographers - some of whom were wearing masks - scramble to capture the dramatic moment in Hong Kong

The Hong Kong leader C.Y. Leung backed the police's efforts to control swelling crowds as Beijing branded the previously peaceful protests 'illegal'

One of the main streets in Hong Kong's financial district was blocked as thousands of protesters staged a planned mass sit-in in the name of democratic reform

Outrage: Protestors chanted in opposition of the Hong Kong leader outside his headquarters today as their campaign for democratic reform was thwarted by police

A lone protester stands among armoured riot police waving their body-length shields as the third day of demonstrations in Hong Kong reached boiling point

Demonstrators covered their eyes with sunglasses and goggle and their mouths and noses with clingfilm to avoid breathing in tear gas at the protest

Two young demonstrators stood their ground at the scene of the protests this evening, wearing waterproof ponchos and protective eye gear in anticipation of more gas

Students and activists covered themselves entirely in protective clothing in the event more gas was distributed. One man wrapped cling film around his forearms in a bid to avoid burns

As night fell hundreds had returned to the scene with protective eyewear and waterproof ponchos in the fear that more tear gas will be distributed tonight

In a statement issued after midnight, the Hong Kong police said rumors that they had used rubber bullets to try to disperse protesters were 'totally untrue.'

Police in blue jumpsuits, wearing helmets and respirators, doused protesters with pepper spray when they tried to rip metal barricades apart.

Thousands of people breached a police cordon Sunday as they tried to join the sit-in, spilling out onto a busy highway and bringing traffic to a standstill.

Although students started the rally, leaders of the broader Occupy Central civil disobedience movement joined them early Sunday, saying they wanted to kick-start a long-threatened mass sit-in demanding Hong Kong's top leader be elected without Beijing's interference.

Occupy Central issued a statement Monday calling on Leung to resign and saying his 'non-response to the people's demands has driven Hong Kong into a crisis of disorder.' The statement added that the protest was now 'a spontaneous movement' of all Hong Kong people.

Police said they had arrested 78 people. They also took away several pro-democracy legislators who were among the demonstrators, but later released them.

A police statement said the officers 'have exercised restraint and performed their duties in a highly professional manner.' It urged the public to not occupy roads so that emergency vehicles can get through.

Among the dozens arrested was 17-year-old Joshua Wong, who was dragged away soon after he led a group of students storming the government complex. Wong is a leader of the activist group Scholarism, which organized protests two years ago that forced the government to drop proposed Chinese national curriculum guidelines seen as brainwashing. He was released Sunday evening.

Powerful images. Thoughts with the people of Hong K..."
223,"The appearance of Path founder Dave Morin in the front row of Tuesday's iPhone 6 launch event has added credibility to a Pando report that says Apple is about to acquire the struggling social network. Morin tweeted a selfie of him and Dr Dre, who has previously occupied the front row slot. Dre's Beats Entertainment was Apple's last acquisition.

Pando writes:

According to a single well-placed source inside Apple's engineering team, the company is poised to announce an acquisition of Dave Morin's Path social network. To quote our source, who requested to remain anonymous because the deal has not been announced yet, ""It's almost done, if not signed already, but it's essentially a done deal.""

Until recently, Path was all but written off by most people. The social network - which limits users to an exclusive ring of just 150 friends - laid off 20% of its staff a year ago and has gathered only 25 million users.

More recently, Morin told BuzzFeed that Path ""maybe"" failed:

""Did the experiment fail? Maybe,"" he told BuzzFeed News. ""Are we trying to take new approaches to the interface and approach it different ways than we did before? Absolutely. ... I think failure is a big part of life and being human the best thing we can do is keep moving forward.""

Pando reports that Path's social network function might by incorporated into a revamped Messages app.

Path and Apple have a history. It was a screwup by Path, in which the app by default uploaded iPhone users' entire contacts lists, that required Apple CEO Tim Cook to answer letters from Congress about Apple's efforts to protect user privacy."
231,"Joan Rivers' doctor took a selfie with the unconscious comedian in the operating room before her endoscopy, according to a new report from CNN. The ear, nose and throat specialist, who hasn't been publicly identified, was also allowed to perform a biopsy on her vocal cords, a procedure that Rivers hadn't previously approved and which may have led to her cardiac arrest.

Citing ""a source close to the death investigation,"" CNN reports that the doctor was allowed into the operating room at Yorkville Endoscopy, although he wasn't affiliated with the clinic in any way. While there, the source added, he ""took a selfie photo in the procedure room while Rivers was under anesthesia."" After Dr. Lawrence Cohen, medical director of Yorkville, finished performing the procedure on Rivers, he stepped aside and allowed the ear nose and throat specialist to biopsy her vocal cords. During that procedure, CNN says, her vocal cords ""began to swell,"" cutting off oxygen to her lungs and leading to her cardiac arrest.

Yorkville Endoscopy previously released a statement denying that Rivers' vocal cords were being biopsied when she went into cardiac arrest. The statement didn't address reports that Rivers' personal doctor was allowed in the operating room. Yorkville's medical director, Dr. Lawrence Cohen, who was performing the endoscopy on Rivers, has already stepped down from his position. Neither he nor Rivers' doctor have been accused of any wrongdoing by the state Health Department officials investigating Rivers' death.

[Image via Associated Press]"
233,"Never has the saying 'hell hath no fury like a woman scorned' been more fitting than when a jilted wife in China chopped off her cheating husband's penis... twice.

When Feng Lung, 30, discovered her husband was having an affair she cut off his manhood with a pair of scissors, then snipped it off again after surgeons reattached it.

She is now facing jail after being arrested for causing grievous bodily harm.

Fan Lung (right) turned on his wife (left) after she cut off his penis for a second time and he was spotted naked and bloody attacking her outside the hospital

Two-timing dad-of-five Fan Lung, 32, had used his wife's mobile to send lover Zhang Hung, 21, a saucy email from his marital home in the city of Shangqiu in central China's Henan province.

But after forgetting to log out of his account, stunned wife Feng came across the message and several others, and flew into a rage.

Grabbing a pair of scissors she stormed into their bedroom where he was sleeping and cut off his penis.

Surgeons were able to reattach it, but fuming Feng sneaked into his hospital room and cut it off again before throwing it out of a window.

This prompted the cheat to turn on his wife and he was spotted naked and bloody attacking her outside the hospital.

A hospital spokesman said: 'The first we were aware of what happened was when someone came into the reception area to say a naked man was beating up a woman outside the hospital.

'Staff rushed out to see what was happening and found the patient with blood streaming down his legs hitting the woman.

'He was stopped and the woman was taken in for treatment, and then we discovered she had chopped his penis off again.'

Lover: Zhang Hung (left) visited Fan (right) in hospital and said she planned to marry him as soon as she could

Doctors and police officers combed the area outside but failed to find the man's missing member. They believe it may have been taken by a stray dog or cat.

The hospital spokesman said: 'The man had lost a lot of blood and was taken in for emergency surgery.

'He is now in a stable condition but is extremely emotionally distraught.'

Fan's lover, who visited him at the hospital, said she planned to marry him as soon as she could.

'It doesn't matter that he's lost his fertility, he has five children already,' Zhang said.

Feng was discharged and is now under arrest for grievous bodily harm."
237,"A woman cut off her three-year-old nephew’s penis after flying into a rage because he walked in on her using the toilet.

Xue Paan, 37, now faces jail time following her sadistic punishment of her nephew Qiang Qiang, who she was looking after while his mother visited a neighbour in the Henan Province in central China.

Xue was reportedly using her phone on the toilet when the toddler walked in and asked if he could play a game on the device.

She was so angered by this that she took a blunt kitchen knife and cut his penis off with it, then fled the house before her sister, Qiang’s mother, returned.

Mother Cai Tuan, 27, immediately ran back to the house after hearing her child scream.

‘Qiang Qiang had fainted and was lying in a pool of blood. Next to him was a knife and his penis. It was simply horrific,’ she said.

The boy’s parents rushed him to a hospital where surgeons were able to reattach the appendage, before transporting him to a specialist clinic in Beijing.

A hospital spokesman said the knife was ‘quite blunt and the cut wasn’t clean so although we reattached the boy’s penis, it wasn’t ideal and he had to have further treatment’.

Following three surgeries in total, hospital workers are now confident the young boy’s penis will work properly and he should suffer only minor side effects from the attack.

His aunt was tracked down and arrested, and police say she now faces five years in prison for the horrific attack.

MORE: Student high on meow meow cuts off his own penis after ‘stabbing mother’

MORE: Killer cut off lover’s penis and flushed it down toilet before hammer attack

MORE: Woman sentenced to life for cutting off husband’s penis and throwing it in bin"
238,"A teenage girl in Poland woke up during brain surgery and asked her doctors how the operation was going, The Daily Mirror reported.

Iga Jasica, 19, had been undergoin

Download .txt

gitextract_qhwr8nss/

├── LICENSE
├── README.md
├── model/
│   ├── checkpoint
│   ├── model.checkpoint.data-00000-of-00001
│   ├── model.checkpoint.index
│   └── model.checkpoint.meta
├── pred.py
├── test_bodies.csv
├── test_stances_unlabeled.csv
├── train_bodies.csv
├── train_stances.csv
└── util.py

Download .txt

SYMBOL INDEX (7 symbols across 1 files)

FILE: util.py
  class FNCData (line 60) | class FNCData:
    method __init__ (line 68) | def __init__(self, file_instances, file_bodies):
    method read (line 87) | def read(self, filename):
  function pipeline_train (line 113) | def pipeline_train(train, test, lim_unigram):
  function pipeline_test (line 216) | def pipeline_test(test, bow_vectorizer, tfreq_vectorizer, tfidf_vectoriz...
  function load_model (line 270) | def load_model(sess):
  function save_predictions (line 285) | def save_predictions(pred, file):

Copy disabled (too large) Download .json

Condensed preview — 12 files, each showing path, character count, and a content snippet. Download the .json file for the full structured content (12,220K chars).

[
  {
    "path": "LICENSE",
    "chars": 11357,
    "preview": "                                 Apache License\n                           Version 2.0, January 2004\n                   "
  },
  {
    "path": "README.md",
    "chars": 6088,
    "preview": "<p align=\"center\">\n<img src=\"https://github.com/uclmr/fakenewschallenge/blob/master/images/uclmr_logo.png\" alt=\"UCL Mach"
  },
  {
    "path": "model/checkpoint",
    "chars": 89,
    "preview": "model_checkpoint_path: \"model.checkpoint\"\nall_model_checkpoint_paths: \"model.checkpoint\"\n"
  },
  {
    "path": "pred.py",
    "chars": 4096,
    "preview": "# Copyright 2017 Benjamin Riedel\n#\n# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the \"License\");\n# you may not use t"
  },
  {
    "path": "test_bodies.csv",
    "chars": 2030509,
    "preview": "Body ID,articleBody\n1,Al-Sisi has denied Israeli reports stating that he offered to extend the Gaza Strip.\n2,\"A bereaved"
  },
  {
    "path": "test_stances_unlabeled.csv",
    "chars": 1927686,
    "preview": "Headline,Body ID\nFerguson riots: Pregnant woman loses eye after cops fire BEAN BAG round through car window,2008\nCrazy C"
  },
  {
    "path": "train_bodies.csv",
    "chars": 3724537,
    "preview": "Body ID,articleBody\n0,\"A small meteorite crashed into a wooded area in Nicaragua's capital of Managua overnight, the gov"
  },
  {
    "path": "train_stances.csv",
    "chars": 4235394,
    "preview": "Headline,Body ID,Stance\nPolice find mass graves with at least '15 bodies' near Mexico town where 43 students disappeared"
  },
  {
    "path": "util.py",
    "chars": 11405,
    "preview": "# Copyright 2017 Benjamin Riedel\n#\n# Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the \"License\");\n# you may not use t"
  }
]

// ... and 3 more files (download for full content)

About this extraction

This page contains the full source code of the uclmr/fakenewschallenge GitHub repository, extracted and formatted as plain text for AI agents and large language models (LLMs). The extraction includes 12 files (22.8 MB), approximately 3.0M tokens, and a symbol index with 7 extracted functions, classes, methods, constants, and types. Use this with OpenClaw, Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor, Windsurf, or any other AI tool that accepts text input. You can copy the full output to your clipboard or download it as a .txt file.

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