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Daily Archives: December 21, 2011
Money won’t be floating like snow over Wichita, Kansas, this Christmas season
Kansas man abandons plans for X-Mas money drop, citing safety
REUTERS
Reuters US Online Report Domestic News
Dec 21, 2011 17:35 EST
KANSAS CITY, Mo (Reuters) – Money won’t be floating like snow over Wichita, Kansas, this Christmas season.
The city council was considering a man’s request to drop dollar bills over the city from a helicopter before Christmas. The council on Tuesday asked the city attorney to look into the request.
But the man, who did not wish to be identified, called Mayor Carl Brewer Wednesday to say that out of concern for safety and security of citizens scrambling for the money, he would find another way to disperse his Christmas cash.
“They will not be dropping money from the air, but at the end of the day citizens will be helped on the holidays,” Brewer said.
He said there were several problems with dropping money from the sky, including the need for a permit because the event was expected to draw at least 250 people.
A permit would need some time to review, probably requiring a special meeting of the council, he said. The nature of the permit would be unusual.
“It would be very rare we would do something like that,” Brewer said.
(Reporting by Kevin Murphy; Editing by Mary Wisniewski and Jerry Norton)
Source: Reuters US Online Report Domestic News
via Featured Articles and Videos – Source One News, Source One Magazine.
A Tennessee man has pleaded guilty to making drunken, profanity-laced telephone threats to Majority Leader Eric Cantor
Man faces prison for threats to senior lawmaker
Tim Ghianni
Reuters US Online Report Domestic News
Dec 21, 2011 16:10 EST
NASHVILLE, Tenn (Reuters) – A Tennessee man has pleaded guilty to making drunken and profanity-laced telephone threats to U.S. House of Representatives Majority Leader Eric Cantor and his family.
Glendon Swift, 64, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to threatening a family member of a federal official and accepted prosecutor’s recommendation for a 13-month prison sentence for the October 27 calls, according to court documents. He was arrested November 2.
Swift, who lives in Lenoir City outside Knoxville, Tennessee, called the Republican representative’s suburban Richmond, Virginia, offices, threatening Cantor and his family and prompting an investigation by U.S. Capitol Police and FBI.
Cantor’s staff saved recordings of the calls. They included derogatory comments about Cantor’s Jewish faith and threats to “destroy” him, according to court documents.
Swift admitted it was his voice on recordings and told FBI agents he “got drunk the other night and started cussing people out,” the documents said.
According to the FBI, the profanity-laced remarks included, “How about if I rape your daughter? How about that, if I come into your house and kill your wife?”
Swift pleaded guilty in federal court in Knoxville. The charge carries up to 10 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.
Swift’s attorney could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. The congressman’s office issued his response via email.
“Leader Cantor appreciates the dedicated service of law enforcement and the U.S. Capitol police for their continued efforts to keep members of Congress and their families safe,” spokeswoman Laena Fallon said.
Sentencing has been set for April 4.
(Editing by Tim Gaynor and Xavier Briand)
Source: Reuters US Online Report Domestic News
via Featured Articles and Videos – Source One News, Source One Magazine.
The Holidays, for many it can be a time of intense loneliness. Scammers count on that
Romance scams heat up for the holidays
Mitch Lipka
Reuters US Online Report Technology News
Dec 21, 2011 11:40 EST
(Reuters) – For most people, the holiday season is a time spent with family and friends, but for many it can be a time of intense loneliness. Scammers count on that.
Internet scams don’t just come in the variety of a letter from a foreign country seeking funds, or phishing emails that seek to get your credit card information. Romance scams, as they are called, are long-term, romantic relationships that thieves cultivate online with a potential victim, and they are on the rise. Western Union, which is a frequent conduit for money lost to these scams, says faux love is one of the top five most common scams – with a 30 percent increase in complaints registered in November.
Actual numbers on romance scams specifically are hard to come by, but Barb Sluppick, who runs the support and awareness site http://Romancescams.org, says more than 48,000 people have joined her support group (she was nearly victimized herself) since 2005 and more than 17,000 are currently active. The 1,165 people on the site who have revealed how much money they gave up to the scam reported a total loss of $14.1 million – more than $12,000 apiece, on average.
The Internet Crime Complaint Center run by the FBI says most of the scams originate in Nigeria, Ghana, England and Canada. International frauds are difficult to shut down and when money is wired, it is almost never recovered. Complaints are so common, the U.S. State Department has a detailed warning posted to its website that says complaints are received about these scams daily. The victims range in age from 18 to 81 and come from all socioeconomic backgrounds.
“It’s a huge problem and we’ll never know how big it is,” says Sluppick, who explains the shame of falling victim to such a crime – being mocked or blamed prevents reporting by many. “It happens to men, it happens to women. If you are on the Internet and you have an email address and you are open to having a relationship with someone, you can become a victim of this.”
Here’s how it works. You meet someone in a forum or a dating site. They’re friendly, interesting and, most important, interested in you. Conversation – whether in emails, instant messages or phone calls – will continue for weeks, or even months, until a deep enough trust is built to start angling for money. That request could come in a variety of forms, including:
- They need help to pay for their travel to come see you. (Distance is an important component of the scam.)
- They’ve had a series of costly problems and are in a jam.
- They need help paying for holiday gifts……
Read the whole story here via Source One Featured Stories.
Video: Will Florida become the next Las Vegas?
Will Florida become the next Las Vegas? There is debate going on over whether the sunshine state should allow a huge gambling expansion in exchange for thousands of new jobs. The AP’s Tony Winton reports from Miami. (Dec. 21)
A west Florida community is spending $3,800 in tax dollars to entice naked Germans
Florida town seeks nudist vacationers from Europe
REUTERS
Reuters US Online Report Domestic News
Dec 21, 2011 12:49 EST
ORLANDO, Fla (Reuters) – A west Florida community is spending $3,800 in tax dollars to entice naked Germans to spend their summer vacations there.
The advertising grant was awarded Tuesday by the Pasco County commission to Pandabare, a local nudist organization representing 16 resorts, campgrounds and clubs located in the largely rural county north of Tampa.
The ads, to be placed in European publications, will promote the county’s longstanding reputation as the nudist capital of America.
“The idea is to create a Euro-bird season in July and August which are our worst two months of the year,” said Eric Keaton, public communications manager for the Pasco County tourist development agency. Keaton said nudism contributes to the county’s economy, but he had no figures to quantify its impact.
The first target market for the ad campaign will be Germany which, according to Pandabare’s application, is “a large and lucrative market whose millions of nudists are among the world’s most prolific travelers.” The group also anticipates a campaign aimed at British nudists.
Keaton said the advertisements, set to launch in 2012, remain in the conceptual stage.
“They are very clean, and somewhat funny,” he said.
(Reporting by Barbara Liston; Editing by Greg McCune)
Source: Reuters US Online Report Domestic News
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The Vatican said an unknown buyer had snapped up the internet address vatican.xxx
Mystery buyer acquires vatican.xxx web address
REUTERS
Reuters US Online Report Oddly Enough
Dec 21, 2011 12:54 EST
VATICAN CITY (Reuters) – The Vatican said on Wednesday an unknown buyer had snapped up the internet address vatican.xxx, a domain combining its name with an extension reserved for pornographic content.
“This domain is not available because it has been acquired by someone else, but not the Vatican,” Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi said on Vatican radio.
It was not clear from his statement if the Vatican had tried to acquire the domain in order to prevent future misuse and had been beaten to the punch by the unknown buyer.
Lombardi denied Italian media reports that the Vatican had, like many other organizations including companies, universities and museums, registered the xxx domain to prevent its misuse.
The xxx domains are being launched this month for pornographic content and many organizations have preemptively acquired them so others cannot.
(Reporting By Philip Pullella; Editing by Barry Moody)
Source: Reuters US Online Report Oddly Enough
Video: How to Survive an Anaconda Bite – When bitten on the hand by an anaconda, do not…..
Memo to herpetologists in the field: When bitten on the hand by an anaconda, do not — repeat, DO NOT — pull away.
