Mysterious ‘Dinosaur’ Shark Caught

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. . .The animal, which was snagged off the coast of Portugal, is considered a “living fossil” by scientists because the species is thought to have remained largely unchanged … After it was caught, the commercial fishermen reported their strange catch and the creature was transferred to a research vessel where scientists examined it.

According to the fishermen, the beast measured an impressive five feet in length and had been hauled in from a depth of around 2,300 feet. The odd sharks are thought to live at extreme depths, and have been caught as far as 5,150 feet, which is the primary reason humans very rarely encounter them. Old tales of sailors encountering “sea serpents” may have been inspired by the occasional spotting of the animals, but there’s really no way of knowing.

That’s not necessarily a bad thing, as the frilled shark is a pretty frightening creature to see. With a long, snake-like body, it hunts by lunging at its prey and snagging them with its rows of needle-like teeth. (Read more from “Mysterious ‘Dinosaur’ Shark Caught” HERE)

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Nurse May Have Killed Over 100 Patients

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A nurse who is already serving a life sentence for two murders may have killed more than 100 patients over several years at two hospitals in northwestern Germany, prosecutors said Thursday.

Investigators have completed toxicological examinations on patients who died during Niels Hoegel’s time as a nurse in the hospitals in Oldenburg and Delmenhorst, prosecutors and police in Oldenburg said. They found a further 16 cases in which he is suspected.

In late August, they said they had determined that he might have killed at least another 84 patients beyond the ones for whose murder he is already serving time. At the time, they said that they were awaiting toxicology results on another 41 fatalities, which have now been concluded. (Read more from “Nurse May Have Killed Over 100 Patients” HERE)

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Newest Threat to Mental Health: Christmas Music

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Are you one of those people that can’t stand hearing Christmas songs months before the holiday actually arrives? Does hearing festive carols weeks before Thanksgiving only make you upset that you haven’t eaten your turkey yet? A psychologist in Great Britain says your reactions don’t make you a Grinch because too much Christmas music is actually bad for your mental health.

Clinical psychologist Linda Blair claims the constant barrage of Christmas tunes too early in the season forces people to remember all the things they have to do before the holiday. Blair says the songs are a reminder to buy presents, cater parties, organize travel, and all the more stressful chores during Christmas. “You’re simply spending all of your energy trying not to hear what you’re hearing,” Blair tells Sky News.

The psychologist added that store workers are most at risk for being worn down by the catchy beats. She states that hearing the same songs over and over each day make workers struggle to “tune it out” and they become “unable to focus on anything else.” “Christmas music is likely to irritate people if it’s played too loudly and too early,” Blair explained to reporters.

(Read more from “Newest Threat to Mental Health: Christmas Music” HERE)

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Hepatitis A Outbreak Continues to Grow

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Though the case count in San Diego’s ongoing hepatitis A outbreak increased again Monday, officials said that the number of new infections continues to slow.

In a presentation to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, Dr. Wilma Wooten, the county’s public health officer, showed a chart that indicated there were 31 cases in October, significantly fewer than the 81 reported in September and 94 in August which saw the largest total of the outbreak so far . . .

The latest update bumped the outbreak’s case total to 544, eight more than the 536 reported last week. The number of deaths did not increase, remaining at 20 after one new death was reported last week.

Though the county has been providing weekly case, death and hospitalization updates, there has been some confusion, even among the Board of Supervisors, about what those numbers really mean. (Read more from “Hepatitis A Outbreak Continues to Grow” HERE)

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Mom Strapped Son to the Roof of Minivan to Hold Down Plastic Pool

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A 28-year-old Wisconsin mother is accused of taking her son for a very dangerous ride — on top of the family minivan — in order to hold down a plastic pool, according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday.

Amber Schmunk of Fredonia is charged with second degree recklessly endangering safety and could face up to 10 years in prison for the Sept. 9 incident, according to the complaint obtained by FOX6.

Authorities were initially called after receiving a report of a child riding on top of a minivan holding a plastic pool.

The complaint obtained by FOX6 said the 28-year-old eventually pulled over and took her son off the roof, folded the pool up and put it into the van before pulling into her sister’s driveway.

After police arrived at the sister’s house, Schmunk said she “believed it was OK as her father let her do things like that when she was that age,” the complaint said. (Read more from “Mom Strapped Son to the Roof of Minivan to Hold Down Plastic Pool” HERE)

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53-Year-Old Nuclear Missile Accident Revealed

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Bob Hicks was spending a cold December night in his barracks 53 years ago at Ellsworth Air Force Base near Rapid City when the phone rang.

It was the chief of his missile maintenance team, who dispatched Hicks to an incident at an underground silo.

“The warhead,” the team chief said, “is no longer on top of the missile.”

Hicks eventually learned that a screwdriver used by another airman caused a short circuit that resulted in an explosion. The blast popped off the missile’s cone — the part containing the thermonuclear warhead — and sent it on a 75-foot fall to the bottom of the 80-foot-deep silo.

The courageous actions Hicks took that night and over the next several days were not publicized. The accident was not disclosed to the public until years later, when a government report on accidents with nuclear weapons included seven sentences about it. The report listed the accident as the nation’s first involving a Minuteman missile. (Read more from “53-Year-Old Nuclear Missile Accident Revealed” HERE)

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Black Death Warnings as Plague Spreads

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Health experts are warning there is “something different” about a new Black Death outbreak spreading across the world.

Some 1,300 cases of the pneumonic plague, which is transmitted by air, have now been confirmed.

An estimated 50 million lives were lost as a result of the Black Death epidemic of the 1300s.

And now the deadly disease has spread into more African countries after taking root in Madagascar.

Countries affected include South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, Kenya, Ethiopia, Comoros, the Seychelles, Mauritius and Reunion. (Read more from “Black Death Warnings as Plague Spreads” HERE)

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Out of the Broom Closet: Witches Coming ‘out’ in DC

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To celebrate Samhain, a Wiccan festival that falls on the evening of Oct. 31, Washington, D.C. resident Elizabeth Stephens usually prepares a pot of jambalaya to honor her late grandmother and a plate of roast beef in memory of her parents. She marks the festival with witches and fellow Wiccans, who offer their own dishes as a part of the day’s feast. The table they set becomes patterned with platters that were the favorites of family members and friends.

As a part of the celebration, a black cloth is held above the heads of the attendees and cut with a knife through the center, representing an opening between the spirit and material worlds. After some time has passed, participants encourage the spirits to return to their realm and the cut in the cloth is sewn.

Images of witches being veiled in darkness, casting spells over cauldrons endure, but a new generation of Wiccans and witches have established growing communities in D.C. and across the country.

Like other Wiccans and witches, Stephens has come “out of the broom closet” — a term that refers to publicly revealing one’s beliefs as a Wiccan or witch. They are fighting back against misinformation about Wiccans and witches. (Read more from “Out of the Broom Closet: Witches Coming ‘out’ in DC” HERE)

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Commit a Crime? Your Fitbit, Key Fob or Pacemaker Could Snitch on You

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The firefighter found Richard Dabate on the floor of his kitchen, where he had made a desperate 911 call minutes earlier, court records show. Bleeding and lashed to a chair with zip ties, the man moaned a chilling warning: “They’re still in the house.”

Smoke hung in the air, and a trail of blood led to a darkened basement, as Connecticut State Police swarmed the large home in the Hartford suburbs two days before Christmas in 2015.

Richard, 41, told authorities a masked intruder with a “Vin Diesel” voice killed his wife, Connie, in front of him and tortured him. Police combed the home and town of Ellington but found no suspect.

With no witnesses other than Richard Dabate, detectives turned to the vast array of data and sensors that increasingly surround us. An important bit of evidence came from an unlikely source: the Fitbit tracking Connie’s movements.

Others from the home’s smart alarm systems, Facebook, cellphones, email and a key fob allowed police to re-create a nearly minute-by-minute account of the morning that they said revealed Richard’s story was an elaborately staged fiction. (Read more from “Commit a Crime? Your Fitbit, Key Fob or Pacemaker Could Snitch on You” HERE)

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Robots Are Replacing Fast Food Workers at New Shake Shack

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It’s the future of fast food bytes in the Big Apple.

Robots will replace humans and cash won’t be accepted at a soon-to-open Shake Shack in the East Village, reps for the popular burger chain said Monday.

Customers will place orders via an app and at touch-screen kiosks inside the restaurant, which is scheduled to open an Astor Place branch later this month, according to company CEO Randy Garutti.

Workers dubbed “hospitality champs” will guide diners through possible tech glitches as they place orders at the kiosks, which only accept credit cards. (Read more from “Robots Are Replacing Fast Food Workers at New Shake Shack” HERE)

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