There are probably at least a few former investors who wish this was literal: Bernie Madoff says the judge in his Ponzi scheme trial made him the “human piñata of Wall Street” when he dished out a 150-year sentence. Madoff tells the New York Times Judge Denny Chin’s ruling was…
Continue reading …This is a little worse than driving off with a cup of coffee on the roof: The Seattle Police Department is investigating how one of its officers managed to drive around downtown with a semiautomatic rifle on the trunk of the cruiser. “It’s very embarrassing,” says a department spokesman. And…
Continue reading …In their fight to raise the debt ceiling, a move largely opposed by Tea Party Republicans, Democrats are considering a surprise weapon—the Constitution. With negotiations at an impasse and default looming , Democrats are thinking of declaring the debt ceiling itself unconstitutional, as the 14th Amendment reads: “The validity of…
Continue reading …Apparently, nothing can stand in the way of a turtle’s libido—not even a 747. Turtles crawling to breeding grounds across a tarmac at JFK airport have forced the shutdown of a runway several times this week, delaying flights, reports the New York Post . “Running over turtles is not healthy…
Continue reading …The explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine that killed 29 people was caused by safety concerns that owner Massey Energy was well aware of, but hid from federal regulators, according to a new report from the Mine Safety and Health Administration. “This much we already know. The tragedy at…
Continue reading …Six-time champion Roger Federer was upset in the Wimbledon quarterfinals for the second straight year today, squandering a two-set lead for the first time at a Grand Slam tournament and losing to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 3-6, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-4, 6-4. Federer had been 178-0 in matches in which he had…
Continue reading …Taliban militants today released a pair of French journalists they’ve been holding for 547 days. Hervé Ghesquière and Stéphan Taponier were nabbed along with three Afghans back in December 2009, France 24 reports. The interpreter has also been released, but there’s no word on the fixer or driver. The journalists…
Continue reading …In a blunt challenge to Republicans in Congress, President Obama insisted today that eliminating selected tax breaks for oil companies and the super-wealthy must be part of any deficit reduction plan. “That’s not radical,” he said at a wide-ranging White House news conference (still going). He was quick to add…
Continue reading …A group of Libyan rebels seized what some Arab television networks described as the biggest arms depot in Africa yesterday, at the Ghaaa military base—not that it was particularly well guarded. Though the base had a complement of about 60 soldiers, the arms cache itself was surrounded by nothing…
Continue reading …A Michigan man has paid a $1 Florida parking ticket more than 35 years overdue. Orlando police received Stanley Baker’s payment for a Nov. 7, 1975, parking ticket yesterday. The 89-year-old Pentwater, Mich., man included a note reading, “Better late than never!”
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