pileofcrapola

Hate dealing with traffic, and have a big chunk of money just burning up in your pocket? You’ll soon be able to summon a helicopter ride using Uber, as part of partnership between the ride-hailing company and aircraft manufacturer Airbus.

Uber and Airbus will provide on-demand flights with H125 and H130 helicopters, starting with a test of the service during the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, UT, which starts Jan. 21. Don’t get excited about the idea of a chopper landing on the front lawn, either, as Uber will send a car to pick up clients for their helicopter rides.

“Its a pilot project, we’ll see where it goes—but it’s pretty exciting,” Airbus Chief Executive Tom Enders told The Wall Street Journal at the Digital Life Design conference in Munich.

The project’s goal is to make chopper rides available to a wider audience, but just how wide remains to be seen, as Enders didn’t disclose how much it’ll cost per trip. And let’s not even think about surge pricing for helicopters.

This isn’t the first time Uber has tried its UberChopper service: the company tested it between Manhattan and the Hamptons in 2013, and has also offered chopper rides at special events like the Cannes Film Festival. Each of those rides cost between several hundred and several thousands of dollars, so you’d better start saving your pennies if you’re interested this time around.

Airbus to Join Forces With Uber for On-Demand Helicopter Service, CEO Says [The Wall Street Journal]

If you dumped a packet of Sweet’N Low in your coffee this morning, it’s likely that the pink packet was filled with sweetener made in Brooklyn and packed there, too. But it’s the end of an era for Cumberland Packing Corp., which announced that it’ll be shutting down manufacturing and packing work at its New York home of almost 60 years.

The family-owned company will keep its headquarters in the borough, where Sweet’N Low was first created, but all other operations will cease over the course of the year and move to other parts of the country, reports the Associated Press.

It’s not cheap to manufacture goods in New York City, what with competition from cheaper parts of the world, the high costs of labor, and the price of real estate in the city.

Sweet’N Low’s founder, Benjamin Eisenstadt, used to work at a company that filled teabags in the late 1940s, which gave him the idea to put sugar into individual packets. He didn’t patent the idea, however, and other sugar companies went with it. In 1957, he and his son developed a low-calorie sugar substitute using saccharin and called it Sweet’N Low, making it at their Brooklyn plant.

The company CEO –and grandson of Benjamin Eisenstadt — says the decision to move all packing and manufacturing out of Brooklyn is one “that we’ve been holding off for decades” out of commitment to employees, though Sweet’N Low has used other packing companies for at least some of its production since the early 1980s.

“As much as we would like the ‘Made in Brooklyn’ aspect to be meaningful, it doesn’t seem to necessarily have the same resonance in other parts of the country as it would around here,” Steven Eisenstadt told the AP. “There are other aspects where it’s just about how competitive are you compared to others.”

It’s unclear what will happen to the 300 employees working at the factory, though he says the company is committed to helping them find new jobs and is talking to their union about it.

Sweet’N Low to end Brooklyn production after nearly 60 years [Associated Press]

Back in 2014, the soft drink industry funded a study that, coincidentally, concluded that diet soda is better for weight loss than water. These same companies are at it again, not only providing the backing for another study extolling the virtues of diet drinks, but also — according to new reports — directly paying money to the researchers involved.

The latest research to be criticized over this apparent conflict of interest comes from the International Journal of Obesity, which recently published a review [PDF] of existing scientific research on the link between “low-energy sweetener consumption” and “energy intake and body weight.”

The study does disclose that it was funded, in part, by the International Life Sciences Institute — Europe, a group whose board of directors features not just a bunch of heavily credentialed academics, but also executives from Coca-Cola, Nestlé, PepsiCo, Mars, and Unilever. In fact, while there are some 19 people on the ILSI Europe board, three out of five of its officers are representing the food industry.

Additionally, one of the researchers himself is an employee of ILSI Europe, while the study’s lead author previously received research funding from a group called “Sugar Nutrition, UK,” an industry lobbying group formerly known as the British Sugar Bureau. Others on the team have previously been paid for research by the Dutch Sugar Bureau, UK sweetener brand Canderel, or are — as disclosed at the end of the study — “employees and shareholders of companies that manufacture products containing sugars and low-energy sweeteners.”

According to the Times on Sunday [reg. required], the researchers didn’t just get their funding for this study from ILSI Europe, the group also directly paid some of the academics involved around $1,090 each.

Which may not be a concern if the review hadn’t come to such a pro-industry conclusion — that the effect of diet drinks on body weight “appear neutral relative to water, or even beneficial in some contexts.”

As The Independent notes, of the 5,500 studies included in this review, it appears as if the researchers are only using the results of three to reach that conclusion. And of those three, only one — the 2014 paper, funded by the American Beverage Association, mentioned at the start of this story — actually showed any weight loss benefit compared to water.

The University of Bristol, where the study’s lead author teaches, stands by the research, pointing out that it has been peer-reviewed, “which means the data and conclusions have been scrutinised by other scientists.” The school also contends that the study received additional funding from the National Health Service and the European Union.

This news comes on the heels of Coca-Cola’s attempt to start a “political campaign” by providing more than $1 million to the University of Colorado Foundation “for the purposes of funding” a group called the Global Energy Balance Network, which stressed the importance of diet and exercise and downplayed the role of sugary foods in the obesity epidemic.

When Coke’s involvement in the GEBN became known, the beverage biggie claimed it took a hands-off approach to the group. However, subsequently revealed emails showed that Coca-Cola was heavily involved in shaping the group’s message, likening it to “a political campaign, we will develop, deploy and evolve a powerful and multi-faceted strategy to counter radical organizations and their proponents.”

On Nov. 30, weeks after the university gave back $1.1 million to Coca-Cola, GEBN disbanded, posting a notice to the website that Coca-Cola had registered on the group’s behalf.

Then came the news that Coca-Cola had paid $550,000 directly to the man who would eventually head GEBN, and even offered to help his son find a job.

Did you enjoy this? We’re a non-profit! You can get more stories like this in our twice weekly ad-free newsletter! Click here to sign up.

If you email a client about a project and never hear back from them, it might be because your email leaves things too open-ended. To make it easier for the recipient to reply, suggest the next step.

Read more...

WASHINGTON — Civil rights leader and Nobel Prize winner Martin Luther King Jr. died almost 50 years ago.  He would have been 87 years old on Jan. 15. One of my mom’s friends, who witnessed King’s inspirational 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, recently told her two kids about her participation.  They were dutifully impressed.  Then the younger one asked: “Mom, did you know Abraham Lincoln too?”

This is the challenge we parents face in making an icon, one who was a living and breathing force to many of us, relevant to our children today.

Here are some ways to do so, no matter how old your kids are, every day of the year.

•  Share lesser known facts about King that are more relevant and memorable to children than the dates and milestones they memorize in school.  For instance: his name was originally Michael, but when he was two, his father changed it to Martin.  He often got in trouble with his parents as a child, causing him to jump off the roof of his house when he was 12.  He got a C in public speaking, even though today he is remembered as one of America’s finest orators.  He spent his honeymoon in a funeral parlor, because a friend offered it to him to use for free. He had four children with his wife Coretta, and when he died at age 39, his oldest was only 12.

• Make MLK local.  Find out a few facts about a place that is meaningful to your kids, where King made a speech or held an important sit-in, and use that local history to make King relevant to them.  In D.C. where I live, this is easy — but King held marches, rallies and activist meetings around the U.S. and the world. In addition to extensive travel in Georgia, Alabama and Tennessee, Martin Luther King went to India, Berlin, Oslo and elsewhere. An easy trick: find out if your town has one of the 902 streets in the U.S. named for him.

• Tell them your own memories about King’s legacy. I describe to my kids the day in second grade that my public elementary school was officially “integrated” with a bus of African American children from another neighborhood — and how hard it was for these children, but how much we all benefited from the change. Valerie, the new girl who sat next to me, became one of my closest friends, yet we never visited each other’s houses. I ask my kids to imagine how awkward, controversial and hopeful the “desegregation” or “forced busing” program was for young children and their families.  How would they feel if one day they were required to ride a bus to a different school, completely outside of their choosing, in a potentially hostile neighborhood they may never have been to before?

• Talk about how little our society has changed since the 1960s, the busiest years of King’s activism.  “A state trooper pointed the gun, but he did not act alone,” King said at a funeral in 1965. “He was murdered by the brutality of every sheriff who practices lawlessness in the name of law. He was murdered by the irresponsibility of every politician, from governors on down, who has fed his constituents the stale bread of hatred and the spoiled meat of racism.” King could have been speaking at a funeral caused by recent police brutality in Baltimore, Chicago or Ferguson.

• Talk about how much our society has changed since King’s death.  We have 44 black members of Congress and our first black president (although he received 30 death threats a day when he first became president). Many cities, including Washington and Atlanta, are now majority African American and every aspect of our society, from sports to education to entertainment, is more integrated than it was during King’s life. Use the movie “Selma,” or other movies that naturally get kids pondering how we’ve overcome or failed to overcome complex issues of race in America, such as “Remember the Titans” or “The Blind Side.”

Before giving in to cynicism, thinking that watching a movie, visiting a statue, or talking about a memory won’t make any difference in ending the racism we all still live with today, here’s what Martin Luther King cautioned: “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”

It’s up to us and the next generation — our children — to continue King’s courageous work.

Leslie Morgan Steiner is a contributing writer to WTOP.com.

The post Ways to bring Martin Luther King Jr. alive to kids appeared first on WTOP.

Washington Post

Old machines and missing dollars. Is DC ready for an election? Washington Post Elections in the District have been handicapped by faulty voting machines, inadequate polling staff, inaccessible polling stations and delays in vote tallying. And yet it is unclear whether any of those problems will have been remedied by the time the ...

Bookmark Kinja Deals and follow us on Twitter to never miss a deal. Commerce Content is independent of Editorial and Advertising, and if you buy something through our posts, we may get a small share of the sale. Click here to learn more.

Read more...

FLINT, Mich. (AP) — The Rev. Jesse Jackson says Flint, Michigan, residents coping with a drinking water crisis “have been betrayed.”

The civil rights leader told a crowd at a church Sunday in Flint that the full effect of the lead contamination of the city’s tap water is not yet known.

He says there should be “tape around the city, because Flint is a crime scene.”

The water became contaminated after Flint switched from the Detroit water system to the Flint River as a cost-cutting move. The corrosive water lacked adequate treatment and caused lead to leach from old pipes.

Jackson’s comments came a day after President Barack Obama signed an emergency declaration that clears the way for federal aid.

Authorities and volunteers have already been distributing free water, filters and other supplies.

The post Jesse Jackson: Flint residents ‘betrayed’ in water crisis appeared first on WTOP.

TEMPE, Ariz. (AP) — Police have made an arrest in connection with the deadly Arizona road rage shooting of a student visiting from China.

Tempe police Lt. Michael Pooley said Sunday that 32-year-old Holly Davis has been booked on three charges including first-degree murder.

According to police, Davis’ vehicle was involved in a collision at a busy intersection around 2:40 p.m. Saturday. Davis allegedly got out of her car and fired several shots into the other vehicle, hitting Yue Jiang several times.

Pooley says Jiang lost control, crashing her vehicle into another car carrying a family of five. The 19-year-old woman was taken to a hospital where she died.

The family did not suffer serious injuries. Davis fled the scene but was later located.

Police say Jiang was a university student.

The post Police arrest woman in deadly Arizona road rage shooting appeared first on WTOP.

SALEM, Mass. (AP) — Two men have pleaded not guilty in Massachusetts in the deaths of four dogs, including one whose ears were cropped with scissors and another who was fed Valium inside pieces of meat.

Jason Gentry entered his plea Friday in Salem Superior Court. He has addresses in Salem and Swampscott. Long Beach, New York, resident Dominick Donovan pleaded not guilty Thursday.

Both are charged with animal cruelty.

The Salem News reports (http://bit.ly/1JP0Rxv ) they were arrested last summer after two dead puppies were found in a trash bag. Authorities allege Donovan hanged the puppies from their collars until they asphyxiated.

Officials say three of the dogs died at an unlicensed kennel run by Gentry.

Gentry has agreed to be a witness in the case.

Donovan’s attorney calls his client a “respected breeder.”

___

Information from: The Salem (Mass.) News, http://www.salemnews.com

The post Authorities: Puppies hanged from collars until they died appeared first on WTOP.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — A Kansas City woman whose daughter was 10 years old and weighed just 32 pounds when she was rescued from a closet was sentenced Friday to 34 years in prison.

The mother yelled at the judge before being escorted out in handcuffs and screamed all the way down the hallway as supporters followed her in tears, The Kansas City Star reported. Jurors who convicted her in November of endangering, abusing and assaulting the girl had recommended the sentence.

The Associated Press isn’t naming the mother to protect the child’s identity.

Police officers found the emaciated girl barricaded in the closet in a Kansas City apartment in June 2012 while responding to a child abuse hotline call. She wore a toddler-size shirt and weighed about half what a girl her age should have weighed, witnesses testified during the mother’s trial.

Prosecutors said the girl didn’t attend school or receive adequate medical care. They argued the abuse left her so weak that she had a heart transplant in 2013. Defense witnesses said her heart disease could have had “a vast number of causes.”

The daughter, who is now 14, testified earlier that she was largely kept in the darkened closet and that when she was allowed out, she usually stayed behind the couch or on the floor. Some days she was given no food at all and when she did have food, she usually ate it in the closet or behind the couch.

The woman’s attorney argued that she had a personality disorder and other mental health issues that made her believe she was protecting her daughter by keeping her in the closet. Prosecutors have said that the mother’s difficulties had not prevented her from caring for her two younger daughters, who were always well dressed, with their hair braided.

In January 2014, the mother had entered Alford pleas to felony child abuse and assault charges and pleaded guilty to child endangerment, and prosecutors agreed to seek a prison sentence of no more than 20 years. However, the mother withdrew her pleas the next month.

Under the Alford plea, the mother maintained her innocence but acknowledged that a jury could find her guilty.

The post Mom gets 34 years in prison for locking girl in closet appeared first on WTOP.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A leak from an underground natural gas storage facility that has sickened Los Angeles residents and sent thousands from their homes has been out of control for 12 weeks and a possible fix is expected no sooner than March. Here are some things to know about it:

SCOPE OF THE PROBLEM

Gov. Jerry Brown declared an emergency for the Southern California Gas Co. leak that some environmentalists are calling the worst disaster since the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010.

The leak first reported Oct. 23 has foiled efforts to contain it, and some attempts may have made the problem worse.

In addition to bathing the Porter Ranch community in a foul smell that is blamed for nausea, nosebleeds, headaches and other symptoms, it has also released an immense amount of climate-changing methane equivalent at one point to about a quarter of the state’s total output of the gas.

A SoCalGas executive has said the leak is unprecedented. Financial filings show the company anticipates spending $50 million a month for the complex effort to cap the leak and up to $7,500 a month for each of the 4,500 families being relocated through as late as April.

It also faces more than two dozen lawsuits, some of which are seeking class-action status.

POSSIBLE DANGER

The company has said the leak, which is located about a mile from the nearest homes, does not pose an imminent threat to public safety. But crews are working under safety restrictions around the flammable gas, and efforts to stop the leak may have weakened the well and created a greater problem.

The Los Angeles Times reported Friday that a “blowout” is a concern after seven attempts to plug the leak by pouring a muddy mix into it.

A blowout would send a large amount of gas directly up the well instead of dissipating through the ground and could cause a massive fire if sparked. Workers cannot use cellphones and wear watches at the site because of fire danger.

“If the wellhead fails, the thing is just going to be full blast,” said Gene Nelson, a physical sciences professor at Cuesta College. “It will be a horrible, horrible problem. The leak rates would go way up.”

Attempts to stop the high-pressure leak with a briny solution have created a crater around the wellhead and opened up a vent in the ground about 20 feet from the well.

Sempra Energy, which owns the gas company, would not comment on the blowout danger.

The company is drilling a relief well to intercept the well and plug it about a mile-and-a-half underground where it taps into a vacant oil field storing natural gas.

Regulators have also expressed fears that the attempts to burn off escaping natural gas will lead to an explosion.

The state Public Utility Commission has asked the company in a letter to address its concerns by Tuesday.

The letter says the burn-off system as currently devised “is NOT fully designed and needs further work and analysis,” according to the Los Angeles Times.

THE GAS COMPANY’S RESPONSE

SoCalGas initially acted slowly to publicly acknowledge the leak and notify residents about what happened.

It eventually apologized for its response, and it has posted on a website daily updates and results from twice-daily air quality tests as part of efforts to be more open with the public about what’s going on.

In summarizing air quality reports, the company understated levels of the cancer-causing chemical benzene found in the community. After inquiries from The Associated Press, SoCalGas acknowledged Thursday that higher-than-normal readings had been found in at least 14 samples. It previously stated that just two air samples over the past three months showed elevated concentrations of the compound.

A spokeswoman said the error was an oversight that would be corrected. The incorrect information was still on the website Friday.

WHERE IS THE GOVERNMENT?

An alphabet soup of state and local government agencies are overseeing work at the site of the leak and issuing a variety of orders to fix the problem.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health ordered the company to relocate anyone seeking to move while the leak continues. The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued a notice of violation for the leak and can assess penalties ranging from $1,000 to $1 million a day for each day of the nuisance.

The state Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources is overseeing efforts to stop the leak and will investigate the cause once it’s plugged.

California lawmakers proposed bills this week that will carry stronger regulations to prevent future incidents like the one at the Aliso Canyon facility. One proposed bill would require safety valves on such wells. The leaking well previously had a safety valve, but it was removed in 1979 after it leaked. A replacement wasn’t required.

Lawmakers want the company to cover the costs of the leak, pay for greenhouse gas emissions and not pass them on to customers through higher rates.

The post Things to know about 12-week-old Los Angeles gas leak appeared first on WTOP.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S pardoned or dropped the charges against seven Iranians in a prisoner swap for the release of four Americans held by Iran. The seven were accused or convicted of violating U.S. sanctions. Six of them have dual U.S.-Iranian citizenship, and at least two plan to stay in the U.S.

Iran’s official state news agency released the names of the following seven people, whose background has been detailed in releases and filings from federal prosecutors:

___

Nader Modanlo

Modanlo, a naturalized U.S. citizen, was sentenced to eight years in prison for violating the trade embargo and helping Iran launch its first-ever satellite into orbit.

According to court documents, Modanlo was a mechanical engineer who received science and engineering degrees from George Washington University. Modanlo said in court he was an internationally recognized expert on strategic policy and finances affecting the space-based telecommunications industry, and that he managed space and science programs for private companies, the Department of Defense and NASA.

___

Bahram Mechanic

Mechanic, a dual citizen who lives in Houston, was indicted last year on charges he illegally exported millions of dollars in U.S. technology to Iran.

Mechanic, 69, is the co-owner of Iran-based Faratel Corporation and its Houston-based sister company Smart Power Systems. Faratel designs and builds uninterruptible power supplies for several Iranian government agencies, including the Iranian Ministry of Defense, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and the Iranian Centrifuge Technology Company, according to the charges.

The technology Mechanic sold to Iran is used in a wide range of military systems, including surface-air and cruise missiles. Between July 2010 and 2015, Mechanic’s network allegedly obtained 28 million parts valued at about $24 million worth and shipped them to Iran through Taiwan and Turkey. Among the parts shipped were microelectronics and digital signal processors, according to the indictment.

“Everything about the government’s allegations were false,” Houston-based attorney Joel Androphy said. “The government created an aura of hysteria to keep him incarcerated.”

Androphy said that Mechanic, who was released early Sunday morning, plans to continue living in Houston.

“He’s going to enjoy a nice rest of the weekend with his wife and then get back to work probably tomorrow,” Androphy said.

___

Khosrow Afghahi

Afghahi co-owns Faratel Corporation in Iran and Houston-based Smart Power Systems with Mechanic, according to an indictment.

U.S. prosecutors say Afghahi helped Mechanic to illegally provide U.S. technology to Iran.

Houston-based attorney David Gerger says the charges against his client were “wrong.”

“Freeing Khosrow Afghahi is the correct result,” Gerger said. “He is a 72 year old businessman who has never been in trouble. He is a good man, and we will be happy to put this ordeal behind him.”

Gerger said that Afghahi lived mostly in Iran but became a U.S. citizen so he could more easily visit his family. Gerger said Afghahi was arrested in April while visiting family in Los Angeles.

Gerger said his client was released from the federal detention center in Houston early Sunday morning.

He said that Afghahi is getting to “spend precious time with his family . and probably have his first cup of hot coffee in nine months.”

___

Tooraj Faridi

Faridi, 46, is vice president of a Smart Power Systems and along with Afghahi assisted Mechanic in the illegal transfer of U.S. technology to Iran, according to court documents.

Mechanic, assisted by Afghahi and Faridi, also of Houston, regularly received lists of commodities, including U.S.-origin microelectronics, sought by Faratel in Iran, according to an indictment.

Houston-based attorney Kent Schaffer said Faridi, who had remained free on bond, did nothing to jeopardize national security or violate trade sanctions.

“I always felt he would be vindicated at trial, but at least the president’s action allows him to get on with his life,” Schaffer said.

He said his client plans to continue living in Houston.

___

Arash Ghahraman

Ghahraman, 46, was sentenced to more than six years in prison last year for violating the trade embargo after he participated in a scheme to purchase marine navigation equipment and military electronic equipment for illegal export to Iran.

Prosecutors argued in court the naturalized U.S. citizen, who lived in Staten Island, New York, acted as an agent of an Iranian procurement network and used a front company in Dubai to illegally acquire U.S. goods and technologies to be sent to Iran.

A maritime engineer, Ghahraman also worked at shipyards in the U.S.

___

Nima Golestaneh

Golestaneh, an Iranian national, pleaded guilty to hacking the computer system of Arrow Tech, a Vermont-based aerodynamics company and U.S. defense contractor, to steal software.

Golestaneh, 30, was arrested in Turkey in 2013 and extradited to the United States last year. He was the only Iranian released Saturday who doesn’t have dual citizenship.

___

Ali Saboonchi

Saboonchi, 35, was convicted in 2014 of exporting industrial products to Iran though companies in China and the United Arab Emirates.

A U.S. citizen who was living in Parkville, Maryland at the time of his arrest, Saboonchi conspired with others to evade the Iran Trade Embargo and export to Iran numerous industrial parts, including hydraulic valves and connectors; and liquid pumps and valves, which can be used in the oil, gas, energy, aerospace and defense industries, authorities said.

His public defenders, Lucius Outlaw and Elizabeth Oyer, said in a statement Sunday morning that Saboonchi’s release “shows that he poses no danger to the American people.”

“Ali Saboonchi is a beloved and hard-working family man and American. He was born in the U.S. and is proud to be raising his young family here. His arrest and incarceration were devastating to his many friends and family,” the attorneys said. “Ali is thrilled and grateful for his release and return to his family.”

The post A look at the 7 Iranian prisoners released by the US appeared first on WTOP.

EL CAJON, Calif. (AP) — Police in El Cajon said an officer has fatally shot a woman and a dog in a stolen car after the driver tried to run over the officer.

Lt. Frank La Haye said the early Saturday shooting came at the end of a high-speed chase, when the driver of the stolen Toyota hit a cul-de-sac and stopped.

He said when an officer got out of his patrol car to talk to the driver, he sped toward him, prompting the officer to open fire at the car.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports (http://bit.ly/1NdQcr3 ) a woman who was in the front seat of the Toyota was killed.

The driver was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder and felony evading; two male passengers were arrested on suspicion of drug-related offenses.

The post Officer fatally shoots woman, dog at end of high-speed chase appeared first on WTOP.

Walk back through history and relive Martin Luther King Jr.’s struggles and accomplishments as he campaigned for human rights in this interactive timeline.

The post Chronology of a civil rights icon: Martin Luther King Jr. appeared first on WTOP.

DENVER (AP) — Suspicion over federal plans to restore endangered Mexican gray wolves in the Southwest has spread to Colorado and Utah, where ranchers and officials are fiercely resisting any attempt to import the predators.

About 110 Mexican gray wolves — a smaller subspecies of the gray wolf — now roam a portion of Arizona and New Mexico, nearly two decades after the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released 11 wolves there to restart a population that had nearly vanished.

The agency hopes to complete a comprehensive recovery plan for the Mexican wolf in 2017, and officials say they’ve made no decision about releasing them in Colorado or Utah.

But neither state is waiting. Their governors joined Arizona and New Mexico’s executives in November to accuse the Fish and Wildlife Service of using flawed science and biased experts. They demanded that no Mexican wolves be released outside the southern parts of Arizona and New Mexico.

Wildlife commissioners in Utah and Colorado also spoke out against releasing Mexican wolves in their states — the Utah Wildlife Board in December and the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission last Wednesday.

The Fish and Wildlife Service defended the experts and the process.

Mexican wolves have been contentious in Arizona and New Mexico for years. New Mexico officials are resisting proposals to release more wolves. Arizona state lawmakers tried but failed to allow ranchers to kill federally protected wolves in self-defense.

Environmental groups, meanwhile, are pushing for the release of more captive-bred wolves to bolster the population in those states.

In Colorado and Utah, opponents argue that wolves would inflict costly and cruel losses on cattle and sheep and decimate big game herds that support the lucrative hunting industry. They also say Mexican wolves aren’t native to their states, and bringing them in could taint the gene pool if they bred with gray wolves roaming down from the northern Rockies.

“We don’t need to introduce another large predatory carnivore to the state,” Colorado Wool Growers Association director Bonnie Brown told the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Commission last week. Mountain lions are already killing pets in urban areas bordering open country.

Wolf advocates say the fears are overblown, and that Mexican wolves need more ranges to avoid extinction. Parts of Colorado and Utah would be ideal for wolves, said Jonathan Proctor of Defenders of Wildlife, and he argued that both states are within the wolves’ historical range.

The West needs wolves to help restore balance to the environment, he said.

“It’s we humans who have eradicated all the wolves from the West,” Proctor said. “It’s our responsibility to bring this animal back.”

Wolves have long been deeply divisive subject in the region. They were hunted, trapped or driven out of many areas by the end of the last century and were regarded as a menace to largely defenseless sheep and cattle. But they also became a symbol for the environmental movement, a noble if fearsome avatar of the wild.

To support their arguments, both sides point to the northern Rockies, where the Fish and Wildlife Service estimates about 1,800 gray wolves live in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington and Wyoming.

Wolves began killing hundreds of sheep and cattle after their release in the northern Rockies about 20 years ago, and big game populations fell drastically in some areas, officials said.

But they say cattle deaths are declining and game herds are rebounding since wolves were removed from Endangered Species Act protection in Idaho and Montana in 2011. The Fish and Wildlife Service then turned over wolf management to the states, which allow some hunting and sometimes remove or kill problem wolves.

“We know the wolf population is doing fine and continues to expand,” said Mike Jimenez, northern Rockies wolf coordinator for the Fish and Wildlife Service. “We use lethal control on wolves that are causing big problems.”

Overall agricultural losses are low, but to an individual rancher, they can be devastating, he said.

In Idaho, elk numbers have begun to rebound since the state began managing wolves, state Fish and Game spokesman Mike Keckler said.

“And we still have a very sustainable wolf population in our state,” he said. “So we feel like we’re making progress in bringing balance.”

Wolves were briefly removed from federal protection in Wyoming, but safeguards were restored after environmental groups filed lawsuits challenging state management plans. The state is appealing the decision.

Legal wrangling is part of what makes wolves so aggravating, said Jim Magagna, executive vice president of the Wyoming Stock Growers Association.

“We have learned to live with them,” he said of the estimated 330 wolves in Wyoming. “We have not learned to live with the never-ending process.”

___

Follow Dan Elliott at http://twitter.com/DanElliottAP. His work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/dan-elliott.

The post Suspicion over federal wolf plan spreads to Colorado, Utah appeared first on WTOP.

WASHINGTON — The Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute is trying to protect the animals in its collection, after coyotes killed an endangered gazelle.

This is the first attack by a coyote on another animal at the Front Royal facility, Pamela Baker-Masson of the Smithsonian told The Northern Virginia Daily.

The deputy director of the institute says the facility isn’t coyote-proof, and the animals do roam freely in and out of the property, but this is the first time coyotes have attacked a collection animal.

The coyotes that fed on the gazelle will likely try to access other animals in the collection, Baker-Masson said. The institute will attempt to kill coyotes that try to access collection animals.

The facility is moving animals to protect them and reinforcing fencing and gates.

Electric fences surround some enclosures to prevent raccoons and feral cats from bothering birds.

The gazelle, which was either an addra or dama gazelle, died Oct. 10, according to the Smithsonian.

Officials believe most coyotes on the property don’t threaten collection animals because they find other natural resources.

The post Smithsonian facility on guard after coyotes killed gazelle appeared first on WTOP.

WASHINGTON — A man accused of walking away from a halfway house and going on a crime spree targeting women is now under arrest.

Melvin Latney, 25, of Southeast D.C. is charged with robbing five women in the city, and trying to sexually abuse two of them.

“The troubling part of this is that he began his spree on the same day he walked away, the same day he became an escapee,” D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier said at a press conference outside police headquarters announcing the arrest.

The attacks began Nov. 24, 2015, and the last known attack happened on New Year’s Eve.

Two took place in Northeast, another two happened in Southeast, and one happened in Northwest.

“In four of the five cases that he is being charged with, we had some sort of video that we were able to retrieve to help us identify and track down the suspect,” Lanier said.

She says the community was a big help too.

“We did get a lot of tips.  We did get information in, and that helped to identify the person,” she said.

The post Arrest made in D.C. crime spree appeared first on WTOP.

BALTIMORE (AP) — The National Aquarium says it plans to build an Animal Care and Rescue Center in Baltimore’s Jonestown neighborhood.

The aquarium purchased the building at 901 E. Fayette St. last month for $4.25 million, according to land records. The aquarium says in a news release that renovation of the 50,000 square-foot property is expected to take 18 months, with a 2018 move-in date

The aquarium’s Animal Care Center is currently located in Fells Point, where it has been for 22 years. The site is used to quarantine animals, house injured or sick animals, perform animal rescue functions and rehabilitate creatures.

Jonestown Planning Council member Joseph M. Cronyn says the new center should contribute to the Jonestown neighborhood’s revitalization.

The aquarium says it “has funding plans in place” for the new facility.

The post National Aquarium plans animal care center in Jonestown appeared first on WTOP.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Panda cub Bei Bei is making his public debut at the National Zoo in Washington.

The cub, who was born Aug. 22, is making his official debut Saturday, though zoo members have been able to see him since Jan. 8.

The cub is the third surviving offspring for parents Tian Tian and Mei Xiang, who also live at the zoo along with their second cub, Bao Bao, who was born in 2013. The couple’s first surviving offspring, Tai Shan, lives in China.

A twin cub born the same day as Bei Bei died soon after birth.

The post Panda cub Bei Bei making debut at National Zoo appeared first on WTOP.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Virginia man who was allegedly attempting to travel to Syria to join the Islamic State group and a man accused of helping him have been arrested.

Prosecutors said in a statement Saturday that 28-year-old Joseph Hassan Farrokh was arrested Friday at the airport in Richmond, Virginia. Officials said his ultimate destination was Syria. Officials also arrested 25-year-old Mahmoud Amin Mohamed Elhassan, who they say drove Farrokh to Richmond. Both men are from Woodbridge, Virginia.

Farrokh, a U.S. citizen born in Pennsylvania, has been charged with attempting to provide material support and resources to a designated foreign terrorist organization. Elhassan, a legal permanent U.S. resident originally from Sudan, has been charged with helping Farrokh. They are scheduled to make their first appearance in federal court in Alexandria, Virginia, on Tuesday. Prosecutors said that if convicted, Farrokh and Elhassan each face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.

Attempts to reach their families by telephone for comment were unsuccessful Saturday.

According to court documents filed in the case, Farrokh asked for help getting to Syria from a person who he didn’t know was an informant for the FBI. He later met with two other FBI informants he believed were people who could help him join the Islamic State group. Court documents say Farrokh expressed concerns about trusting the men and said he didn’t want to go to jail. At one meeting with them, however, he agreed to swear an oath of allegiance, court documents said. He also allegedly said that he wanted to die a martyr but did ask if his wife and family could eventually join him in Syria. He said he had other ways to get to Syria in the past that weren’t secure and needed a connection because he didn’t want to get arrested.

Farrokh made plans to travel from Richmond to Chicago and from there to Jordan, where he was told he would be met by a contact. He asked the opinion of one of the FBI informants of his plan to buy a round trip plane ticket and reserve a hotel room in Jordan to minimize suspicion. He also allegedly said he planned to trim and style his beard to appear more American and agreed to fly out of a smaller airport to avoid what he believed would be stricter scrutiny at a large airport.

On Friday, Elhassan allegedly picked Farrokh up from his home and drove him in a taxi to about a mile from the Richmond airport, where a second taxi picked him up. Court documents say Elhassan had warned Farrokh to be careful about what he said about the Islamic State group over the phone and expressed concern that law enforcement authorities might be listening to his conversations. Elhassan also allegedly knew that while Farrokh intended to go to Syria he was telling family he was traveling to Saudi Arabia to study.

When questioned by FBI agents after he dropped Farrokh off, Elhassan said Farrokh was traveling to California to attend a funeral and would be back in two weeks, court documents said. Elhassan also lied about the airport Farrokh was flying out of, saying he was flying out of Dulles airport near Washington, court documents said.

___

Follow Jessica Gresko on Twitter at twitter.com/jessicagresko. Her work can be found at http://bigstory.ap.org/content/jessica-gresko

The post 2 Virginia men arrested on terrorism charges appeared first on WTOP.

WASHINGTON — Two bills introduced in the Virginia House of Delegates try to clarify which bathrooms transgender students can use.

House Bills 663 and 781 require that every public, multiple-occupancy restroom in a state government or school building across the Commonwealth be designated for the sole use of a specific gender, either anatomically or biologically.  There is also a provision that would allow a student to use a transgender student to use a single-occupancy restroom.

Violators could face a fine of up to 50 dollars.

“These bills are among several, the purpose of which, frankly, is mean-spirited and intended to deprive transgender Virginians of their dignity and their human and legal rights,” ACLU Virginia Executive Director Claire Gastañaga told WTOP.  “School bathrooms all have private bathroom stalls and what goes on in those private stalls is private.”

The concern expressed by Gastañaga, blogs and op-eds is when those private moments are made public.

“We’re not 100 percent sure we fully understand how the patron [the bill’s sponsor] and the proponents of the bill expect it to be enforced,” Gastañaga explained.  “Are folks going to stand outside of bathrooms and look at people and decide if they need to look at their parts? It’s just really ludicrous.”

The short answer, say lawmakers: that is not the case.

“The bill’s been greatly over exaggerated,” House Speaker Bill Howell (R-Stafford) stated to WTOP.  “Internet blogs are going around about how it was going to require the child taking their pants down or whatever. That’s not in the bill. There’s not a word about it in the bill. It just says you’ll just use the birth certificate.”

These bills were introduced by Del. Mark Cole (R-Spotsylvania), after the Stafford County school board had to determine which bathroom a transgender elementary school student should use.  The board ended up voting 6-0 to allow that student to use a single-occupancy restroom, a staff bathroom or the restroom of the student’s biological gender.

“It is common sense legislation designed to protect the privacy of children and adults, and was requested by a group of parents in my district who are concerned about a male student who wanted to use the girls facilities,” Cole wrote in a statement, entitled, “Delegate Cole files legislation to protect the privacy of schoolchildren and adults,” on his website. “Schools have been sued for not allowing males to use female restrooms and this legislation is intended to adopt a clear policy and to pre-empt further suits.”

Howell added that these proposals are simple pieces of legislation.

“All the bill says is that if there is a concern, if there is a discussion, the administration of the school will check the student’s birth certificate,” said Howell. “They will make a determination of which bathroom they should use based on what it says on the birth certificate.”

But critics question the purpose.

“I think it’s one of those things where it’s a legislation in search of a problem that doesn’t exist,” Gastañaga opined, adding that there are other bills that, “similarly try to write transgender people out of Virginia.”

Howell’s response to opponents?

“It’s helpful to read the bill before you criticize it.”

 

 

The post Va. bills to address transgender student bathroom use appeared first on WTOP.

Washington Post

'Bei Bei is just so cute, a little ball of fluff' Washington Post For the beginning of his public debut, Bei Bei mostly snoozed on his back — a big puff of black-and-white fur with fluffy black ears curled in a box in a corner of his mother's den at the National Zoo. Crowds stood captivated, and a few fans even ... Panda Cub Bei Bei Makes Public Debut At National ZooCBS Local Panda cub Bei Bei makes debut at National Zoo in D.C.Washington Times Bei Bei Shy at National Zoo DebutNBC New York WBAL Radio all 193 news articles »

Washington Post

For third time in war against the Islamic State, Pentagon admits to killing ... Washington Post U.S. airstrikes in Iraq and Syria killed eight civilians and wounded an additional three during a period between April 12 and July 4 last year, the Pentagon said in a statement Friday. The release marks the third time the Pentagon has acknowledged ... Pentagon Admits to Eight More Civilians Killed in Iraq, Syria AirstrikesAntiwar.com all 153 news articles »

Washington Post

Two DC students expelled for sending bomb threat from Muslim student's email ... Washington Post The subject line said “Bomb,” and the email — sent to more than 600 current and former students at one of the District's best-regarded charter schools — appeared to come from a Muslim student's account. But the message was in fact written by two ... and more »

We all know that a lot of businesses outsource customer service work to call centers around the world. But what you may not know is that there are also call centers that specialize — and openly advertise — their services in aiding ID theft and other cyber fraud.

KrebsOnSecurity.com recently took a look at how openly some of these call centers operate, and what
services they provide.

It’s a pretty basic idea. You’ve acquired stolen information, like credit card numbers, but in order to use that purloined data to make an online purchase, you may need to verify over the phone that you are the actual cardholder. Even if you have enough info to pass that verification, you might not speak the same language as the person you’re pretending to be. And so, you hire one of these call centers to do the speaking for you.

For example, one call center offers male and female callers in your choice of seven different languages — English, French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, German, and Polish. Each call in English will run you $10; calls in the other languages are $12 a pop.

And this isn’t some sort of thing where you have to know a guy who knows a lady whose cousin is a con artist. The call center has online ads depicting the above information, complete with a colorful illustration of President Obama chatting on the phone with a scantily clad blonde woman.

Customers of these sorts of call centers can often go online, enter the info needed for the call, and then track to see the status of the scam.

Krebs has the example of someone who used a stolen American Express card number to purchase a $250 remote control car. The scammer filled in all the relevant data — card number, name, address, shipping address — then the call was placed, and the order fulfilled.

These call centers demonstrate the lengths to which scammers and ID thieves will go, how the fraud industry evolves to elude anti-fraud practices, and how there are entire industries springing up to support criminal enterprises.

Earlier today, Walmart announced it would be closing 269 stores worldwide, including 154 in the U.S. We now have a state-by-state breakdown of all of the stores to be closed, and when they will close the public.

The full list is below. It covers more than half the states, from Alaska to Rhode Island. Texas is, by far, the state with the most closures.

The majority of the stores listed below are Walmart Express stores, along with a handful of superstores, Neighborhood Markets, and Sam’s Clubs.

The closing dates start as early as Jan. 17 and go until early February, though most of the stores will close for good to the public on Jan. 28.

ALABAMA (ALL CLOSING JAN. 28):
14331 Count Rd. 99, Headland, AL
18 Apple Way, Ashford, AL
952 E. Lawrence Harris Hwy, Slocomb, AL
407 West Washington St., Abbeville, AL
6361 Hwy 72 East Gurley, AL
87395 US Hwy 278, Snead, AL
3530 Cathedral Caverns Hwy, Grant, AL
10188 Hwy 431 South, New Hope, AL
7201 Aaron Aronov Drive, Fairfield, AL

ALASKA (CLOSING FEB. 5):
6525 Glacier Hwy, Juneau, AK

ARKANSAS (CLOSING JAN. 28):
720 N Hwy 71, Mansfield, AR
3500 Mulberry Hwy 64 W, Mulberry, AR
814 W. Main, Charleston, AR
1531 E Hwy 64, Coal Hill, AR
8848 N Hwy 59, Van Buren, AR
5 Hwy 124 West, Damascus, AR
154 E Roller, Decatur, AR
905 S Gentry Blvd, Gentry, AR
800 1st Ave SE, Gravette, AR
881 W Buchanan, Prairie Grove, AR
117 Audubon Drive, Maumelle, AR

CALIFORNIA (CLOSING JAN. 28):
5502 Monterey Hwy, San Jose, CA
151 E 5th St., Long Beach, CA
8400 Edgewater Drive, Oakland, CA
4101 Crenshaw Blcd., Los Angeles, CA
2408 Lincoln Ave., Altadena, CA
6820 Eastern Ave., Bell Gardens, CA
701 W Cesar E Chavez Ave., Los Angeles, CA
2045 E Highland Ave., San Bernardino, CA
12120 Carson St., Hawaiian Gardens, CA

COLORADO (CLOSING DATES VARY):
8196 West Bowles Ave., Littleton, CO (Jan. 17)
2253 S Monaco Pkwy., Denver, CO (Jan. 28)

CONNECTICUT (CLOSING JAN. 28):
333 N Main St., West Hartford, CT

FLORIDA (CLOSING JAN. 28):
1113 S.R. 20, Interlachen, FL
1209 East Wade St., Trenton, FL
15726 SE Hwy 19 Cross City, FL

GEORGIA (CLOSING JAN. 28):
560 S. Broad St., Ellaville, GA
1041 S US Hwy 1, Alma, GA
155 West Washington Ave., Ashburn, GA
398 Barrow Ave SW, Pelham, GA
907 Marianna Hwy, Donalsonville, GA
290 Albany Ave. West, Pearson, GA
142 S. Valdosta Road, Lakeland, GA

ILLINOIS (CLOSING JAN. 17):
3636 N Broadway, Chicago, IL
225 W Chicago Ave., Chicago, IL

KANSAS (CLOSING JAN. 28):
900 East Ross Ave., Clearwater, KS
505 Housatonic St., Burlington, KS
705 N High School Ave., Columbus, KS
1105 East 15th St., Ellsworth, KS
120 West Rosewood St., Rose Hill, KS
605 Orchard Drive, Hillsboro, KS
601 N West St. STE 100, Wichita, KS
9831 E Harry St., Wichita, KS
4794 E 13th, Wichita, KS

LOUISIANA (CLOSING JAN. 28):
1445 Old Highway 13, Mamou, LA
1506 Main St., Colfax, LA
620 North Hwy 26, Lake Arthur, LA
501 West Hwy 90, Iowa, LA
9181 Hwy 67, Clinton, LA
920 Avenue G, Kentwood, LA
1495 Obrie St., Zwolle, LA
515 3rd St., Independence, LA

MARYLAND (CLOSING JAN. 17):
2701 Port Covington Drive, Baltimore, MD

MASSACHUSSETTS (SAM’S CLUB ONLY; CLOSING JAN. 28):
941 Grinnell St., Fall River, MA
1110 Fall River Ave., Seekonk, MA

MICHIGAN (CLOSING JAN. 28):
10400 Highland Rd., Hartland, MI
SAM’S CLUB:
495 Summit Drive, Waterford, MI

MISSOURI (CLOSING JAN. 28):
224 E Hwy 76, Anderson, MO
508 N Cliffside Dr., Noel, MO
33597 State Hwy 112, Seligman, MO
414 N Elm, Clever, MO

MISSISSIPPI (CLOSING JAN. 28):
410 2nd St., Belmont, MS
2795 Hwy 371 N, Mantachie, MS
420 E Lee St., Sardis, MS
28191 Hwy 15, Walnut, MS
519 W Veterans Ave., Derma, MS
7104 Will Robbins Hwy, Nettleton, MS

NORTH CAROLINA (CLOSING JAN. 28):
509 Dr. Donnie H. Jones Blvd W, Princeton, NC
511 N Mckinley St., Coats, NC
6043 US Hwy 301 S, Four Oaks, NC
112 N Main St., Broadway, NC
908 E. 4th Ave., Red Springs, NC
7670 Clinton Rd., Stedman, NC
1400 B Broad St., Oriental, NC
702 S. Wall St., Benson, NC
945 Monroe St., Carthage, NC
303 S. Goldsboro St., Pikeville, NC
632 W Swannanoa Ave., Liberty, NC
139 N Hwy 49, Richfield, NC
1593 NC Hwy 86 N, Yanceyville, NC
905 SE 2nd St., Snow Hill, NC
182 NC 102 W, Ayden, NC
189 Hickory Tree Rd., Midway, NC
1010 Martin Luther King Pkwy., Durham, NC

NEVADA (CLOSING JAN. 17):
4350 N Nellis Blvd., Las Vegas, NV

OHIO (CLOSING JAN. 28):
22209 Rockside Rd., Bedford, OH

OKLAHOMA (CLOSING JAN. 28):
124 E. Columbia St., Okemah, OK
19250 E Hwy 66, Luther, OK
2310 West Main, Prague, OK
1600 West Hwy 66, Stroud, OK
2324 Seran Drive, Wewoka, OK
812 N Clarence Nash Blvd., Watonga, OK

OREGON (CLOSING DATES VARY):
8235 SW Apple Way, Portland, OR (Jan. 17)
17711 Jean Way, Lake Oswego, OR (Jan. 28)

RHODE ISLAND (SAM’S CLUB ONLY; CLOSING JAN. 28):
25 Pace Blvd., Warwick, RI

SOUTH CAROLINA (CLOSING DATES VARY):
9032 Hwy 14, Gray Court, SC (Jan. 28)
7013 S Pine St., Pacolet, SC (Jan. 17)
721 US Hwy 321 BYP S Unit, Winnsboro, SC (Jan. 28)

TENNESSEE (CLOSING JAN. 28):
Nashville Hwy, Chapel Hill, TN
523 N Military St., Loretto, TN
400 North Main St., Cornersville, TN
934 Hwy 79, Dover, TN
1220 Gallatin Ave., Nashville, TN

TEXAS (CLOSING JAN. 28, except where noted):
721 Dale Evans Drive, Italy, TX
221 S State Hwy 274, Kemp, TX
504 W Pine St., Edgewood, TX
301 Hwy 69 S, Whitewright, TX
122 Commercial Ave., Anson, TX
1003 Telephone Cir., Merkel, TX
5 N 14th St., Haskell, TX
1010 N Main St., Winters, TX
501 N Main, Godley, TX
416 N Third St., Grandview, TX
420 S US 69, Leonard, TX
428 N Dallas St., Palmer, TX
440 E Pine St., Frankston, TX
1787 US Hwy 259 S, Diana, TX
1005 Texas Avenue E, Waskom, TX
870 Taylor St., Hughes Springs, TX
914 North Main St., Lone Star, TX
504 WL Doc Dodson, Naples, TX
12522 Fm 1840, Dekalb, TX
114 Redwater Boulevard West, Maud, TX
14091 FM 490, Raymondville, TX
7480 Padre Island Hwy, Brownsville, TX
8201 N FM 620, Austin, TX
7075 FM 1960 Rd W, Houston, TX
2218 Greenville Ave., Dallas (Greenville), TX
2740 Gessner Rd., Houston, TX
2201 West Southlake Blvd., Southlake, TX
1901 S. Texas Ave., Bryan, TX
4268 Legacy Drive, Frisco, TX (Jan. 17)

WEST VIRGINIA (CLOSING JAN. 28):
61 Plaza Drive, Kimball, WV

WISCONSIN (CLOSING JAN. 28):
5825 W Hope Ave., Milwaukee, WI
3850 N 124th St., Wauwatosa, WI
N88W15559 Main St., Menomonee Falls, WI
S14W22605 Coral Drive, Waukesha, WI

As U.S. poultry farmers continue to get their flocks back to normal levels and consumers are finally seeing prices dropping after the widespread avian flu outbreak that hit the industry last year, officials with the Department of Agriculture say they’ve found the first case of bird flu since last June.

The USDA says a different strain of bird flu than the one that hit farmers last year has infected a commercial turkey flock in Indiana.

It’s the first highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) case since June. Up until now, bird flu had affected 211 commercial and 21 backyard poultry premises since December 2014.

Officials say the facility in Dubois County, IN has been quarantined, and depopulation of the flock has started in an effort to prevent the flu from spreading. Birds from the turkey flock won’t enter the food system, the USDA said.

So will this new case snowball into an epidemic like last year? Only time will tell, one shell egg and egg product market analyst tells CNBC, saying it’s “too early” to guess how turkey and egg prices might be affected.

“No egg-laying hens have been affected so we have to wait to see what happens,” Brian Moscogiuri from Urner Barry told CNBC.

USDA reports first bird flu case since June, different strain than last year [CNBC.com]

When you’re selling things from a mobile storefront, there are certain rules and regulations that your city will most likely make you abide by. To wit: selling sex toys alongside hot dogs, candy, and other snacks from a food cart just won’t fly in downtown Evansville, IN.

The entrepreneur behind the two-in-one business idea told Fox 19 Now when a reporter came to check out his wares that there’s a very simple reason he decide to peddle sex toys: “Sex sells.”

“We all love it. We love it more than we actually show it,” he opined to the news station. “Is sex selling in Evansville? Yeah! More peace. More kids. More peace. It will settle everybody down.”

Perhaps, but that didn’t prevent the city from shutting it down, citing out-of-date permits. Besides the fact that said permits weren’t valid anymore, they also didn’t indicate that he’d be shilling plastic schlongs and other paraphernalia.

The vendor says he was doing well with his cart before it was shut down. If he updates his permits he should be allowed to continue running the cart… at least, the food part of his venture.

Food cart selling sex toys in downtown Evansville [Fox 19 Now]

Months after Playboy made the decision to try to stay in print by ditching the bared flesh that made it famous, its raunchier longtime competitor Penthouse has decided to give up on print and focus on being an online-only publication.

CNBC reports that Penthouse’s parent company announced today that the magazine will soon cease to exist in print and that readers with existing print subscriptions will be transitioned to an online version of the magazine going forward.

“Penthouse Magazine will continue to be published in print during the transition to digital. No specific date to stop print publication of our flagship magazine has been set,” reads a statement from Ezra Shashoua, CFO of FriendFinder Networks, the parent company behind the magazine founded in the 1960s by icon of excess Bob Guccione.

The slick-voiced, and frequently unbuttoned Guccione left the publication in 2003 after the business entered bankruptcy. FriendFinder then purchased Penthouse in 2004. It too, filed for bankruptcy protection in 2013, noting that the magazine hadn’t turned a profit in years.