The family of a man who drowned tragically under the suction force of a hotel whirlpool is suing the resort, its marketing firm, and the hot tub manufacturer.
John Van Hoy Jr., 33, was lounging in the hot tub at the Sandals Royal Bahamian Resort on Dec. 28, 2010 when he dipped his head, only to be trapped underwater by the extreme force of the whirlpool's suction outlet, Courthouse News Service reports.
The complaint describes Van Hoy as "in excellent shape," with the ability to bench press over 300 pounds. Nevertheless, the suction force was allegedly so strong that he could not free himself.
Yum! Brands, the fast-food megabrand that includes Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut, has announced this week it will switch to BPA-free receipts.
The heath hazards of the chemical Bisphenol A, known as BPA, are well-understood. And more recently the prevalence of BPA on receipts and paper bills has been generating buzz, putting pressure on companies to take action. Kroger Supermarkets has also recently switched to BPA-free receipts.
An investigation by the Environmental Working Group found BPA on 40 percent of receipts sampled from major U.S. businesses like McDonald's, CVS, KFC, Whole Foods, WalMart, Safeway -- even the post office. (Whole Foods has since gone BPA-free).
On Tuesday's "Colbert Report," Stephen announced, "Whenever a big story hits, the first thing you do is tune in here to find out how you feel." With that responsibility in mind, Stephen chose to avoid talking about the news that Arnold Schwarzenegger fathered a child out of wedlock with a member of his staff 10 years ago, prompting wife Maria Schriver to leave the ex-California governor.
But as Stephen is only human, he could only discuss other topics for so long before indulging in jokes about a good old-fashioned sex scandal. The inner turmoil eventually proved so strong that he split into two Stephens, one representing the hardened newsman, and the other the sensationalist yellow journalist.
Math problems make more than a few students--and even teachers--sweat, but new brain research is providing insights into the earliest causes of the anxiety so often associated with mathematics.
VIENNA — The U.N. nuclear agency is investigating reports from its experts that their cellphones and laptops may have been hacked into by Iranian officials looking for confidential information while the equipment was left unattended during inspection tours in the Islamic Republic, diplomats have told The Associated Press.
One of the diplomats said the International Atomic Energy Agency is examining "a range of events, ranging from those where it is certain something has happened to suppositions," all in the first quarter of this year. He said the Vienna-based nuclear watchdog agency was alerted by inspectors reporting "unusual events," suggesting that outsiders had tampered with their electronic equipment.
Finland recently topped rival nation Sweden in the World Hockey Championships. The upset win sent the Finnish people into a frenzy, as Helsinki was reportedly overrun with tens of thousands of all-night revelers after the title was secured.
The jubilation wasn't limited to fans, evidently, as the team evidently enjoyed itself on the flight home as well. A video that is quickly making the rounds shows Finnish goalkeeping coach, Pasi Nurminen, stumbling off of the team plane before falling forwards and face-planting into the trophy.
Helsingin Sanomat reports that "the trophy had a very visible dent in it by the time it appeared before the public." Watch the video below to see just what might have caused that dent.
AUGUSTA, Ga. — Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas opened up to an audience of attorneys in his home state of Georgia on Tuesday, comparing critics of the bench to die-hard sports fans and wondering aloud whether they suffer from a "disease of illiteracy or laziness."
Thomas, who was born in nearby Pin Point, told the Augusta Bar Association that the downward spiral of public discourse from people who are "drunk on their own opinions" must come to an end.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The troubled healthcare industry, recently a problem for Democrats facing voter anger over President Barack Obama's overhaul law, is now plaguing Republicans hoping to take the White House in 2012.
The health law proved a liability for Democrats in the November 2010 elections as Republicans surged to big victories in Congress by labeling it and other Obama-backed programs as the heavy-handed intrusions of big government.
This story has been updated to include an interview with John Feal.
WASHINGTON -- Attorney General Eric Holder named a veteran New York lawyer to head the new 9/11 victims' fund, passing up another choice that was more popular with the 9/11 community.
Holder announced late Wednesday morning Sheila Birnbaum, an attorney who teaches law at NYU and helped mediate dozens of 9/11-related lawsuits, will be the fund's special master. Birnbaum has extensive background in mass tort cases, having represented State Farm Insurance against Katrina victims, among numerous other actions.
Oh yes, there is in fact such thing as "contraband lunchmeat." In what is reported to be the largest bust of bologna ever at the Santa Teresa, New Mexico point of entry, U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized 35 rolls of the pork product (385 pounds!!) from a Ciudad Juarez resident. That's enough for about 4,000 sandwiches.
Although bologna is more likely considered a mild lunchmeat rather than a hot black market item, it is prohibited to bring it into the country. Since bologna is made from pork, it has the potential to introduce foreign animal disease to the U.S. pork industry, Santa Teresa Port Director Grace Gomez told KOAT. She expands, "This seizure really stands out because when we seize bologna it is usually a small quantity or at most a roll or two."
This recent seizure is not actually Guinness World Record worthy, however. In November 2003, 81 rolls of bologna (756 pounds!!) were seized in El Paso.
LOS ANGELES -- Authorities are hoping a bigger reward will lead them to the suspects in the brutal beating of a Giants fan at Dodger Stadium in March.
Los Angeles Police Chief Charlie Beck said Tuesday the Dodgers have increased the size of the reward by $100,000, pushing the total amount offered past $200,000.
NEW YORK -- Sugar Ray Leonard says in his upcoming autobiography that he was sexually abused by a coach as a young boxer in the early 1970s.
In "The Big Fight: My Life In and Out of the Ring," the Hall of Famer writes than an unnamed "prominent Olympic boxing coach," who has since died, assaulted him in a car in a deserted parking lot across the street from a rec center after praising his bright future.
Gilt Taste has assembled a group of seasoned food professionals, including editorial advisor Ruth Reichl, the former editor-in-chief of now-defunct Gourmet magazine, and features editor Francis Lam (also formerly of Gourmet). Lam will be working with a team of food writers including James Beard award winner Barry Estabrook (see his piece on fracking), Hank Shaw, of the blog Hunter Angler Gardener Cook and Le Bernardin pastry chef Michael Laiskonis.
Reichl explains Gilt Taste's mission in her welcome letter:
Over the course of the recession, major companies have failed, entire industries have withered. But at least a few have not only survived, but grown.
IBISWorld's recently released report, "Top 10 Fastest Growing Industries," delves deeper into the trends discussed in last month's report on dying industries. Except this time, their focusing on the good instead of the bad.
Dying telecommunications and newspaper industries have made way for other companies based around internet and technology. No one's revenue growth comes even close to that of voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) providers, like Skype, as the entire industry's revenue grew by 194 percent in the las tyear. That could help explain Microsoft's surprising decision to purchase the company for $8.5 billion earlier this month.
Via Realtor.com: Fashion designer Christian Audigier, the man behind the clothing and wine label of the same name and the infamous Ed Hardy brand, has listed his Hancock Park home on the market for $8.265 million. Realtor.com says that Audigier had at one time planned to move into the Holmby Hills mansion once owned by Michael Jackson, though that home has since been taken off the market.
Audigier purchased this seven bedroom, seven bathroom home for $4.78 million in 2007. The 8,276 square foot house was built in the 1920s and its features include a grand foyer and gourmet chef's kitchen. The .80 acre corner-lot estate also includes a separate guesthouse, custom-sized pool with two cabanas, a built-in 20 foot bar, and an outdoor kitchen. And, in classic Audigier form, the already over-the-top house comes with a Rolls Phantom 5 included. Want to see how the man behind Ed Hardy designs his digs? Check out the slideshow below.
As scientists suggest they're close to discovering the first habitable planet beyond our own, 86 individual planets are now being scanned for signs of aliens in the cosmos. And people can use their home computers to join in the search.
In April, the SETI Institute in California announced what it hopes to be a temporary suspension of its efforts to find intelligent signals from outer space. Federal and state budget cutbacks caused a reduction in the use of the Allen Telescope Array in northern California, leaving astronomers who search for extraterrestrial intelligence to ask for public donations to get the array up and running again.
In the meantime, space.com reports that instead of searching the heavens for other solar systems that might contain ET signals, scientists are scanning 86 specific planets with the world's largest steerable telescope, the Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Radio Telescope in West Virginia.
LOS ANGELES — Los Angeles City Councilwoman Janice Hahn advanced to a runoff in the election to fill Democratic Rep. Jane Harman's Southern California congressional seat, but the race for second place was too close to determine who her opponent would be.
With all precincts reporting, Hahn, a Democrat, led the other 15 candidates in Tuesday's election with 24.6 percent of the vote.
Forty years after finding their golden tickets, the lucky kids who first met in Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory have reunited.
No word on whether the snozzberries still taste like snozzberries, but there's good news: no giant purple floating girls this time.
Nearly all of the surviving cast of the 1971 film, based on Roald Dahl's beloved novel, was brought back together by the "Today Show" on Tuesday, all grown adults but no less fond of their magical adventure.
LANGHORNE, Pa. -- Suburban Philadelphia police say a DUI stop involving an ice cream truck led to the discovery of water bottles filled with urine, including one in the freezer where treats are kept.
Police say 46-year-old Yassir Hassan was visibly drunk when he was pulled over Friday in Middletown Township, Bucks County. When police searched the Trenton, N.J. man's truck, they say they found boxes of wine along with the bottles of urine.
Post-Daley Chicago politics publicly began Wednesday as newly inaugurated Mayor Rahm Emanuel took the reins of his first City Council meeting.
Emanuel showed up a half hour early for the 10 a.m. meeting that will approve new council committees and chairmen, including Ald. Edward Burke (14th Ward) as chairman of the Finance Committee and Ald. Patrick O'Connor (40th Ward) as chairman of the new Workforce Development and Audit Committee.
MANILA, Philippines — The president says he is ready to face excommunication from the Roman Catholic Church for advocating free access to condoms. A boxing champion says he is the best example of why birth control should never be allowed.
After simmering for months, a wide-ranging and acrimonious debate over government-funded access to contraceptives in the Philippines has entered the country's Congress.
On Wednesday morning, Air Force One was approaching Bradley International Airport in Connecticut with President Obama on board when it aborted its landing due to bad visibility, the White House reports.
Air Force One's pilot did a "go-round" of the airport, circling due to safety concerns at 9:50am, the FAA reports.
The FAA reported to ABC News that visibility was "below the minimum", indicating that the pilots could not see the runway from the altitude required to guarantee a safe landing.
SAO PAULO -- A 114-year-old Brazilian woman is the world's oldest living human, Guinness World Records said Wednesday.
Maria Gomes Valentim attributes her longevity to eating a daily roll of bread for breakfast along with fruit – though she indulges in the occasional nip of wine.
Despite having the best chance at winning the top pick in Tuesday night's NBA Draft Lottery, the Minnesota Timberwolves finished the night with the No. 2 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. T-Wolves GM David Kahn is far less than happy with that result; so unhappy, in fact, that he thinks something foul might be afoot.
Kahn spoke after the Cleveland Cavaliers, represented at the lottery by Dan Gilbert's 14-year-old son who suffers from neurofibrosis (a nerve disorder), were awarded the top pick in the 2011 draft. Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press reports:
"This league has a habit, and I am just going to say habit, of producing some pretty incredible story lines," Kahn said, while smiling, on Tuesday. "Last year it was Abe Pollin's widow and this year it was a 14-year-old boy and the only thing we have in common is we have both been bar mitzvahed. We were done. I told (Utah executive) Kevin (O'Connor): 'We're toast.' This is not happening for us, and I was right."
Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich declined to offer an explanation when asked about a questionable Tiffany & Co. bill during an appearance on Fox News' "On the Record" on Tuesday night.
"My answer to you is, I'm not commenting on stuff like that," said the former House Speaker when the issue was raised by network host Greta Van Susteren. "I'm perfectly happy to talk about what we need to do for America and what we need to do help Americans. But I frankly don't want to play the gotcha games in Washington and I'm just not going to participate."
After being pressed on his reluctance to address the issue, Gingrich said, "Part of running for president is that everything you ever did, every person you ever knew, name it -- sooner or later somebody somewhere is going to run across it. You know, and it will show up. I just decided, if it doesn't relate to a better future for America, if it doesn't relate to helping the American people, if it doesn't relate to solving our problems, from here on out, my answer is going to be I'm not commenting on it and then people can decide if you want to play Trivial Pursuit -- that's fine. But I'm going to play trivial pursuit. I'm going to try to help this country get back on track."
UPDATE: The AP reports that Gorske enjoyed his burger:
FOND DU LAC, Wis. — A retired prison guard ate his 25,000th Big Mac on Tuesday, 39 years to the day after eating his first ... nine.
Don Gorske was honored after reaching the meaty milestone during a ceremony at a McDonald's in his hometown of Fond du Lac. Surely McDonald's most loyal customer, Guinness World Records recognized Gorske's feat three years and 2,000 Big Macs ago, and the 57-year-old says he has no desire to stop.
Despite the governor's campaign promise to focus on job creation, Florida Governor Rick Scott and the Florida legislature have focused their attention on other matters.
In the legislative session that ended Saturday, lawmakers passed no job creation bills for Scott to sign. But they did pass five bills restricting abortion rights and a state budget that cuts nearly 4,500 public sector jobs.
The five bills, which Scott is expected to sign, force women to undergo ultrasounds prior to having an abortion, prohibit private insurance coverage of abortion care in the new state health-insurance exchange, require young women to prove the medical necessity of their abortions before a judge in order to bypass parental permission, establish state-sanctioned license plates that funnel money to anti-choice "crisis pregnancy centers" and changes the state constitution to prohibit the government funding of abortion.
ROME -- The fight against human trafficking, which for years has focused on rescuing sex slaves and punishing their pimps and smugglers, is now seeking to compel corporations to ensure they aren't unknowingly facilitating modern-day slavery.
United States Congressman Chris Smith told a conference Wednesday inside the palazzo housing the Vatican courts that Delta Air Lines Inc. has already begun training flight attendants to spot potential victims from being trafficked and to notify police upon landing.
HOUSTON — Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' recovery isn't slowing down while her astronaut husband speeds around the Earth.
Giffords will undergo surgery Wednesday so doctors can replace a piece of her skull with a plastic implant, another encouraging step since the Arizona congresswoman was shot in the head more than four months ago.
BEIRUT -- Syria's president said the country's security forces have made mistakes during the uprising against his regime, blaming poorly trained police officers at least in part for a crackdown that has killed more than 850 people over the past two months.
President Bashar Assad's comments, carried Wednesday in the private Al-Watan newspaper, came even as a human rights activist said Wednesday that Syrian troops have used heavy machine guns to attack a neighborhood in the central city of Homs.
Bloomberg pledged to back senators who "stand up for marriage equality" and warned that those who don't could be left without his often-generous financial support. "I certainly will concentrate and focus more on those that do," said Bloomberg, who has donated big bucks to Senate Republicans in recent years. Read More... More on NY News
WASHINGTON — If former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman decides to join the Republican presidential race as expected, he would base his campaign in Orlando, Fla.
Huntsman aides on Wednesday said a campaign based in central Florida would show how seriously the just-returned U.S. ambassador to China is taking the state in both the primary and the general elections. Aides point out that Huntsman's wife, Mary Kaye, grew up in the area and her family still lives there.
ATLANTA — An official presidential candidate for less than a week, Newt Gingrich already finds himself in hot water with conservatives for suggesting he supports health care mandates while at the same time deriding a Republican budget proposal that would replace Medicare with vouchers.
The former House speaker has moved quickly to backtrack, arguing he remains "committed to the complete repeal of Obamacare" and supports state lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of President Barack Obama's signature health care law.
You've probably never heard of it, but "Sing and Scream Along" is an award-winning artwork -- and it's made entirely of Scotch tape.
Designed by University of Florida art student Cameron Nunez, the piece depicts a group of animated hard-core music fans jumping in a mosh-pit. It won the "People's Choice" for at the 2011 Scotch Off The Roll Tape Sculpture contest.
Nunez, 20, says he was inspired by his love of punk music, and realized the concept for the project while attending a show.
WASHINGTON — A person familiar with the matter says the Justice Department plans to appoint a well-known New York attorney to run the fund that will be used to compensate Ground Zero workers who say they're suffering illnesses due to their work amid the wreckage of the Sept. 11 terror attacks.
The person says the appointee is Sheila Birnbaum, who previously served as the mediator in lawsuits brought by families of the victims of Sept. 11. The person who confirmed her selection spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision has not been publicly announced.
KABUL, Afghanistan — Hundreds of protesters, angered by an overnight NATO raid that they believed killed four civilians, clashed on Wednesday with security forces on the streets of a northern Afghan city. Eleven people died in the fighting, government officials said.
There was also deadly violence in the east on Wednesday. A suicide bomber crashed a car into a police bus, killing 14 people and wounding 16, said Zemeri Bashary, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry. Most of the casualties were police officers, he said.
DUBAI (Reuters) – Al Qaeda has appointed an Egyptian militant as temporary leader and named a new head of operations following the killing of Osama bin Laden by U.S. commandos, al Jazeera reported on Wednesday, citing its own correspondent.
In a brief news flash, the Arab satellite channel said Saif al-Adel was named interim leader and Mustafa al-Yemeni, whose surname hints he is from Yemen, would direct operations.
BOISE, Idaho -- Horse owners and organizations nationwide are watching anxiously and some are shutting down shows and other events in an effort to keep a deadly horse virus outbreak that began in Utah from spreading beyond a handful of Western states and Canada.
So far, at least 17 horses in Idaho, Utah, Colorado, California, Washington and Canada have been infected with the highly contagious Equine Herpes Virus-1, and at least three have died. The disease poses no threat to people but is easily spread among horses, alpacas and llamas because it can be airborne and transmitted by touch or by sharing feed, brushes, bits and other equipment.
Motorola and Verizon have officially announced the release date for the DROID X2, the next generation of the DROID X smartphone.
DROID X2 will be available online starting May 19 and is coming to Verizon stores May 26. The phone, which costs $199.99 with a two-year contract, will be running Android 2.2 (with an Android 2.3 update coming), includes a mirror mode for sharing media on a TV via HDMI, and other features.
See the press release here, then check out a photo of the DROID X2 below.
"190 Street Dogs Shot." "10,000 Stray Dogs To Be Shot." "Stray Dog Deportation Plan Compared To 'Concentration Camp'." "Officials Kill 58,000 Stray Dogs." The headlines speak for themselves, but animals cannot. Activists have stepped up in order to not only protect stray animals, but also find an actual solution to animal overpopulation.
Shanghai recently implemented a policy of one dog per family in an effort to control the animal population and curb rabies -- rabies takes up to 55,000 lives per year (a far cry from the small number of deaths in the U.S. per year, as reported in… The Office). But the city's efforts have seen a backlash from pet owners with more than one dog who fear losing their additional pets.
Adoption programs are another way to reduce the number of stray animals, an old idea that received a facelift with PetFinder.com and other online websites offering not just the opportunity to adopt a pet, but also the opportunity to procrastinate for hours online. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has a recent ad campaign that goes so far as to blame pet owners who purchase a dog, asking, "If you buy a dog, what will you do with the shelter dog you kill?"
DENVER -- Pitching with confidence and command, Jonathan Sanchez was on the brink of another win for the San Francisco Giants. It all slipped away after he fielded a sacrifice bunt and threw wildly to first base.
Sanchez's throwing error opened the door to a four-run eighth inning and the Colorado Rockies surged back into first place in the NL West with a 5-3 win Tuesday over the San Francisco Giants.
Get excited, you guys: former boy bander, current superstar and unofficial "Saturday Night Live" cast member Justin Timberlake is returning to host "SNL" this weekend with musical guest Lady Gaga.
Timberlake's past appearances on the show have always been memorable. Whether he reprises his best hits like "Give It On Up To Homelessville," performs another instant classic like "D*ck In A Box," or wows us with something completely different, it's safe to say we have high expectations for Mr. Timberlake.
Watch his relentlessly silly promos with Andy Samberg below wherein they almost kiss, introduce their twin sisters and defend themselves against a "real ghost." Yeah, it's going to be a great show.
The space shuttle Endeavour, which blasted off on Monday for its final mission, docked with the International Space Station on Wednesday.
NASA has released a video of the Endeavour performing the "rendez pitch maneuver" (which NASA dubs a "backflip") as it arrived at the ISS for the last time.
As the AP noted, the shuttle is carrying, "the most expensive payload ever carried by a shuttle, a $2 billion magnetic device that scientists hope will unravel the mysteries of the cosmos." The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer will be attached to the ISS on Thursday.
Pennsylvania officials fined Chesapeake Energy more than $1 million on Tuesday, the state's largest fine ever to an oil and gas company. In a statement, the Department of Environmental Protection said Chesapeake's drilling operations had contaminated water supplies for 16 families in Bradford County.
The announcement came just days after the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the administration of Gov. Tom Corbett, who took office in January, has issued far fewer environmental fines than its predecessor.
"It is important to me and to this administration that natural gas drillers are stewards of the environment, take very seriously their responsibilities to comply with our regulations, and that their actions do not risk public health and safety or the environment," DEP Secretary Mike Krancer said in the statement on Tuesday.
The fine also cited Chesapeake for a fire at a well site that injured three workers in February. The announcement didn't mention the blowout at a Chesapeake well in Bradford County last month. That accident leaked a still-undisclosed amount of brine and hydraulic fracturing fluid onto nearby fields and into a creek. The department issued Chesapeake a notice of violation for that incident and is continuing to investigate.
The DEP said the water contamination in Bradford County, which occurred last year, was caused by failures in the casing and cement that surround gas wells, allowing methane to leak into water wells from shallow gas formations. Chesapeake issued a statement saying the company agreed to pay for water treatment for the affected families. The company also said it has enhanced its casing and cementing designs.
"We have worked in coordination and cooperation with the PADEP from the moment we learned a potential problem existed," Chesapeake spokesman Brian Grove said in the statement. Grove added that although the company has agreed to settle the matter, it hasn't admitted that it caused the contamination.
The DEP has been under increasing pressure from critics and the federal government to tighten its oversight of the gas industry. Last month, the department asked drilling companies to voluntarily stop sending their wastewater to treatment facilities that discharge the waste into rivers after only partial treatment. But that move only prompted further federal involvement. Last week the EPA ordered the largest drilling companies in the state to disclose where they plan to put the wastewater, indicating that agency officials saw the state's voluntary request as inadequate
"Since there was not a requirement that they notify DEP or EPA of the new disposal methods, we wanted to ensure that we all had this information," EPA spokeswoman Terri White wrote in an email last week. "We want to track these wastewater activities regularly to ensure the protection of public health and the environment. "
The EPA also asked the DEP to improve the way it tests wastewater discharges.
So, is the DEP sending a message with the Chesapeake fine? The department hasn't returned our request for comment yet, but in the statement Secretary Krancer said, "The water well contamination fine is the largest single penalty DEP has ever assessed against an oil and gas operator, and the Avella tank fire penalty is the highest we could assess under the Oil and Gas Act. Our message to drillers and to the public is clear."
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