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18 Aug 2010 00:04

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U.S.: Stupid punk iPad robbery/amputation suspect fails at plotting hits

  • awful The suspect in a Colorado iPad robbery, Brandon Darnell Smith, apparently pulled so hard that he ripped the victim’s pinky to the bone, later causing it to be amputated. the Which is unspeakably awful.
  • dumb Smith, who’s been in jail ever since, tried to send a letter to a friend ordering a hit on the victim. “I really need this otherwise it’s a wrap!! If you do this, case is dropped,” he wrote. That’s not how the criminal system works, idiot. source

18 Feb 2009 10:26

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Offbeat: How to get rich: Get drunk, fall in the subway, lose your leg

  • Dude got a $2.3 million settlement. Brooklynite Dustin Dibble, 25, doesn’t even remember his apparently epic bender, but he has a pretty obvious souvenir from it in the form of a missing leg after a train hit him. His lawyers are pretty good, apparently: He won a lawsuit after they claimed the train had time to stop. There are worse ways to make your life savings. source

24 Jan 2009 14:27

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World: Brazillian model Mariana Bridi da Costa loses her battle to live

  • The circumstances Costa, 20, was a world-class model who quickly fell ill from sepsis, an infection of the blood that caused her immune system to fail. The illness, rooted in a misdiagnosis, caused doctors to remove her hands and feet. She was in a coma for 10 days and was only given a short time to live.
  • Losing the fight Despite showing great strength even at her lowest point, it wasn’t enough. “Unfortunately Mari couldn’t resist any longer,” said Henrique Fontes, the executive director of Miss World Brazil. “She passed away at 3 a.m. today.” Costa’s family has received an worldwide outpouring of support in response to the tragedy. source

23 Jan 2009 11:31

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World: A model loses her hands and feet in a bid to save her life

  • What happened? Mariana Bridi, a 20-year-old Brazilian model, was a rising star in the international modeling world, coming in fourth in a recent competition to be Brazil’s entrant in the Miss World pageant. But after going to the doctor in December suffering from what initially were thought to be kidney stones, she was eventually diagnosed with a urinary tract infection. Unfortunately, the infection had infected the blood by then.
  • Trying to keep her alive Given just two weeks to live, Bridi had her hands and feet removed to help blood circulation through the rest of her body. In intensive care and on life support, she currently communicates with her family through blinking but thus far has held on. “They say her situation is very critical and that her chances are not really significant,” said Henrique Fontes, executive director of Miss World Brazil, “but she keeps on surprising everyone.” source