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03 Aug 2011 20:23

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Biz: Latest salmonella outbreak forces recall of lots of freaking turkey

  • 36 million pounds of ground turkey; no word on how many giblets source
  • » One person killed, 76 sickened: Salmonella is no laughing matter, and Cargill is responding quickly to the crisis. “It is regrettable that people may have become ill from eating one of our ground turkey products and, for anyone who did, we are truly sorry,” said Steve Willardsen, who’s in charge of the company’s turkey-processing business. Ground turkey is particularly susceptible to salmonella contamination — at any given time, federal research says that 10 to 15 percent of all ground turkey is contaminated with salmonella. In the case of the Cargill outbreak, the meat was infected with a antibiotic-resistant variety called Salmonella Heidelberg. While cooking the meat at 165° F kills the salmonella, the problem arises when handling the meat, which can infect other foods nearby. Might want to be careful, carnivores.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Aug 2011 16:44

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U.S.: DB Cooper’s niece? Woman comes forward with new info

  • Does she hold the key to one of the greatest mysteries in aviation history? We mentioned this bizarre case the other day, but now there’s more information on just who is coming forward, and with what. Someone who is calling herself Cooper’s niece is coming forward, saying she remembers her uncle talking about his financial troubles being over, and several family members talking about him hijacking a plane. Her name? Marla Cooper — so at least the last names match. However, the FBI has said this isn’t a huge priority for them — so don’t expect them to drop everything for this 40-year-old cold case. source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Aug 2011 14:40

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Offbeat: Animals are pretty good at escaping from zoos in New York

Yesterday, a peacock escaped from Central Park Zoo. It flew away, perched on this Fifth Avenue apartment window, and took a nap. After it woke up, it flew back to the zoo. Not exactly the next summer blockbuster, huh? source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Aug 2011 14:25

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World: Hosni Mubarak trial begins on not exactly the best of terms

  • You’re seeing correctly. That is former Egyptian dictator Hosni Mubarak, in a cage. He’s actually standing trial from a cage, and he’s in a hospital bed. His trial started today, and it’s surprising a lot of Egyptians, who figured he’d use health problems as an excuse to not show up. Mubarak has denied all of the charges against him. We’ll be careful not to drop a reference to The Smashing Pumpkins’ “Bullet With Butterfly Wings” in here. source
Posted by Justin Jones • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Aug 2011 11:45

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U.S.: With Congress in recess, political fight in Senate leaves FAA crippled

  • 4,000 FAA employees off the job due to stalemate source
  • » People are working for free to inspect airports: After financing for the Federal Aviation Administration ran out on July 23, thousands of people were put out of work, and all over a fairly minor issue that has gummed up the Senate — how (or if) to pay for a subsidy program for rural airports. But that issue isn’t going to go anywhere for at least a month, after both chambers took their August recess. We know that the debt ceiling fight was tough and took a lot out of the politicians who solved that issue, but this seems like something that should’ve been dealt with before they hit the gavel and took vacations. This is not a judicial nomination. This is airport safety we’re talking about. Some talk about running the government like a business — well, here’s a secret, guys. Businesses don’t furlough workers over a disagreement that those workers have no control over, then ask them to work for free. Businesses pay workers.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Aug 2011 11:25

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World: Australian teen with bomb strapped to her neck freed (whew)

  • We don’t know what to make of a story this weird. After a 10-hour ordeal involving a bomb and an apparent extortion attempt, an 18-year-old Sydney girl has been freed (the clip reflects the situation before she was freed). “She’s good – she’s been kept in a very uncomfortable position,” New South Wales state Police Assistant Commissioner Mark Murdoch  said. “She has been and will be uncomfortable for a little while to come.” Murdoch says that the device was no joke — it was “very elaborate, very sophisticated.” Right now, officials are trying to learn the identity of the weirdo who did this to her. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Aug 2011 11:14

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World: United Nations: Refugee totals from Somalia reach devastating new highs

  • 860k the number of refugees from Somalia that have left the country due to the debilitating drought
  • 1.5M the number of refugees experts say have been displaced within Somalia by the drought
  • 12M the number of people the United Nations says need food aid within the region source
  • » To put this in perspective: In Somalia alone, experts say that 3.7 million people are directly affected by the drought — roughly half the population in some places. And to be clear, “famine” is a loaded term, but one the UN only uses when the situation meets a very dire statistical level — we’re talking malnutrition rates above 30 percent.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

03 Aug 2011 00:49

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U.S., World: Jon Stewart’s words of inspiration from a soldier in Khandahar

  • We cooperate and we fight as hard as we can, because there will perhaps be disappointment but there will be no shame.
  • A specialist in the 655th TC, writing to Jon Stewart • In a letter Stewart mentioned on Monday’s episode of “The Daily Show.” Stewart used the episode to pay tribute to the soldiers fighting overseas after he paid a visit to Khandahar this past weekend. After displaying several t-shirts that he had promised to wear, he read some of his observations and thank yous. Stewart then read this quote from a letter from a young specialist, from one of the nicest letters he’s ever received. source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Aug 2011 23:23

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Culture: Ellen Page’s sexual orientation called into question (again).

  • accusation A blogger with a bone to pick has supposedly “outed” actress Ellen Page out of what they claim is hypocrisy. A post on the obscure site V-Generations makes the accusation as such: “The truth is: Ellen Page is bisexual.”
  • evidence The writer gave diddly for evidence besides a bunch of hearsay and a photo which appears to be of Ellen Page and Drew Barrymore, but could be anybody. For years, Page has chosen to keep quiet about her private life. source
Posted by samimain • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Aug 2011 22:46

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Politics: More evidence that Newt Gingrich has lots of fake Twitter followers

  • At first, we actually thought it might have been a bug. We have seen some pretty low consumer ratios in our testing, but Newt’s was the lowest we had ever seen.
  • PeekYou CEO and founder Michael Hussey • Discussing (and possibly confirming) the rumor that Newt Gingrich has a lot of fake followers on Twitter. Here’s the thing, though — PeekYou noticed this on their own, weeks before it became a story on Gawker. The number — 8 percent real people — was so low that PeekYou actually thought it was a glitch. And here’s the interesting thing — according to PeekYou, if you take Newt’s fake followers out, Sarah Palin has more followers than he does. That’s kinda crazy, and PeekYou is doing some more research on the phenomenon for Mashable to figure out if the alibi we’ve heard about Newt’s follower count (that his follower count perked up once he was added to Twitter’s “suggested users” list) is plausible. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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