A teen born with no hands is humiliated after being kicked off a roller coaster at SeaWorld - one she says sheÂ’s been allowed to ride before.

According to the amusement park, 17-year-old Katie Champagne didn't meet safety requirements, the Orlando Sentinel reported.

“My heart just sank,” she said, explaining how a SeaWorld Orlando employee told her she had to exit the Kraken coaster.

“I was like, ‘Oh no, not again,’ ” she said.

While Champagne insists the park has allowed her to ride the coaster before, itÂ’s not the first time safety rules have prohibited her from having fun. She recounted to the Sentinel being barred from Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey at Universal StudiosÂ’ Islands of Adventure in December.

In both situations, Champagne was told she couldnÂ’t ride because of her disability. Without hands, she wouldn't be able to grasp the pull-down harness, employees stated.

“Our policies regarding guests with disabilities were written in consultation with ride safety experts,” said SeaWorld Orlando spokesman Nick Gollattscheck.



According to Tom Schroder, a Universal spokesman, the theme park’s decision was correct, and aligned with “years of experience in this area.”

Still, the distressed teen and her parents are upset, and lobbying for the parks to change their policies.

They argue that Champagne gets along perfectly fine without hands. She is a co-captain on her high school equestrian team, an aspiring artist, and can use her arms to navigate her iPhone as quickly as any other teenager — or to hang onto a coaster's harness.

But it might not be so simple.

“Making exceptions opens theme parks to liability and park-goers to danger,” said James Barber, a member of the National Association of Amusement Ride Safety Officials.

“Safety rules aren't just put there arbitrarily,” he told the Sentinel. “They don’t put those restrictions there to be mean.”

Read more: Teen born with no hands barred from rides at SeaWorld, Universal; theme parks cite safety reasonsÂ* - NY Daily News

Ron Paul On Donald Trump Endorsement: 'I Was The Only Candidate Who Didn't Kiss His Ring'
:clap:

It's happened 13 times since 1936. Call it the IBD January Incumbent Barometer.

An incumbent president faces a challenger ... and 13 out of 13 times the stock market picks the winner in January.

Say again?

Here's how it works: When the stock market scores a big gain in January — about 6% or more — the challenger beats the incumbent president every time, or as we shall see, almost every time. When the stock market goes up or down modestly in January — 4% or less in either direction — the incumbent wins almost every time.

This January the Nasdaq rose 8%, signaling a loss for President Obama, according to the IBD JIB.

You can write this off as wishful thinking by Obama's critics, fearful thinking by his supporters, a silly ham-on-wry exercise, or just a coincidence emerging from data mining.

But just as the January barometer for stocks supposedly signals the market's direction for the year, this political January barometer does the same for incumbent presidents with one catch.

The January barometer for stocks has sometimes been wrong. The last time the JIB missed was 1932. Since then, the JIB has been on a roll. Consider the record:

Nasdaq up 5.8% in January 1992, and challenger Clinton wins in November.

Nasdaq up 7% in January 1980, and challenger Reagan wins.

S&P 500 up 11.8% in January 1976, and challenger Carter wins.

In all three cases, the electorate was pining for a change, whether the aftermath of Watergate, the dismal economy of the late 1970s or President George H.W. Bush's failure to keep his "read my lips, no new taxes" promise.

Indeed, the stock market typically looks ahead and reacts before headlines become reality. So there may be more at work than an uncanny streak.

The JIB has been just as good with incumbent victories. In January 2004, the Nasdaq rose 3.1% and Bush won in November. (See table for the complete tally.)

The more modest moves in January signaled an incumbent victory. The big up moves in January signaled a challenger victory.

The exception was 1932. The Dow fell 1.7%, a modest move which should've been good for incumbent Herbert Hoover, according to the JIB. But FDR, the challenger, won.

If Obama is re-elected, he will be the first to beat the JIB since that Great Depression election. But if the JIB performs in its usual near-perfect fashion, look for a Republican victory in November.

IBD January Incumbent Barometer: Stock Market Calls Every Incumbent Election Since 1936 - Investors.com

The traumatized grandmother of an unarmed teen killed by cops as she looked on helplessly was reportedly held in police custody for seven hours after the killing.

Patricia Hartley said police threw her to the ground and stuck a gun in her face after Ramarley Graham, 18, was killed inside the bathroom of his familyÂ’s Bronx apartment.

The weeping woman was also denied access to her heart medication, said Assemblyman Eric Stevenson (D-Bronx), who helped win her release from the 47th Precinct stationhouse.

“I asked the district attorney a simple question: ‘Is this woman being held against her will?’ ” Stevenson recounted Saturday. “Within 10 minutes, she was released.”

According to Stevenson, the 58-year-old woman was inside the apartment with her 6-year-old grandson when Graham burst inside Thursday afternoon.

She ran behind the cops, who chased her grandson into the bathroom of the Bronx home — where Graham was fatally shot once in the chest, police said.

Hartley, although at best a witness to the slaying, was taken by cops to the Bronx precinct stationhouse and kept away from family, friends and a lawyer, her supporters charged.

It was unclear whether the NYPD was investigating the accusations, but Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said Friday night that the story was worthy of an internal probe.

“Obviously, it’s a very, very traumatic situation for the grandmother,” Kelly said. “She was present when this happened. And she certainly should have been shown a sensitivity to that issue.”

Kelly added that he was unaware of the mistreatment complaints.

The Rev. Al Sharpton raised funds Saturday to help cover the cost of a funeral and burial for Graham — with Grammy-winning singer Roberta Flack kicking in $500.

The money would also help fly the boyÂ’s grandfather to New York from Jamaica.

GrahamÂ’s parents joined Sharpton for his weekly Saturday radio program, although they declined to speak with reporters.

Graham died at Montefiore Medical Center after the officers chased him from the street into the apartment and then into the bathroom — where his blood was spattered on the shower curtain.

Officer Richard Haste, who fired the fatal bullet, and Sgt. Scott Morris were both placed on modified duty for the duration of the investigation.

Both were stripped of their guns and placed on desk duty.

Although the teen was unarmed, one of the two officers was shouting, “Gun! Gun!” in the seconds before the fatal bullet was fired.

Graham ignored police orders to stop, setting off the deadly chase.

Read more: Bronx granny held for 7 hours after unarmed teen grandson is slain by cops - NY Daily News

Maybe The Donald's endorsement isn't such a good thing for Mitt Romney, after all.

A sizable 41% of Nevada Facebook users say Donald Trump's recent endorsement of the Republican presidential candidate negatively affects their view of the ex-Massachusetts governor, according to a new poll.

That's in comparison to just 9.6% who say Trump's backing positively affects their view of Romney.

Meanwhile, according to the Facebook/Politico poll, roughly half — 49% — say the real estate mogul's endorsement doesn't matter either way.

The poll was released Saturday, the day of the Silver State caucuses, which Romney is expected to sweep.

Trump isn't the only GOP figure that has a negative effect on a candidate. According to a recent Pew poll, Trump tied Sarah Palin with 28% of respondents saying either of their endorsements would make them less likely to vote for a candidate they back.

The Politico poll surveyed 1,150 adult Facebook users in Nevada on Friday.

Read more: Donald Trump’s endorsement of Mitt Romney: 41%Â*say it negatively affects their view of GOPerÂ* - NY Daily News

As the Bronx community met with the New York City Police Department on Saturday to talk about Thursday's shooting of 18-year-old Ramarley Graham, surveillance video that was released and first aired on NY1 shows the unarmed teenager entering his home moments before he was killed.

Authorities say Ramarley Graham fled from narcotics officers who approached him on White Plains Road and 228th Street in Wakefield at around 3 p.m. Thursday.

The officers put over the radio two separate times that they thought Graham had a gun. Police say they ordered the teen to stop but he went into his house on 229th Street.

Officers followed Graham into the house's second-floor bathroom, where the teen was fatally shot and found to be unarmed.

The pursuit was captured on surveillance video released on Saturday by the lawyer of the landlord of Graham's family.

In that video, Graham can be seen walking up to the house and entering through the front door. Seconds later, police officers are seen running up to the house. Some try to kick open the front door, while others search for alternate entrances.

Minutes later, the police entered the house through a first-floor entrance in the landlord's apartment and then opened the front door to let other officers enter.

"Clearly they were intent on getting into the house, they were intent on capturing this young man and they were intent on doing whatever they did. It's unfortunate,” said Neville Mitchell, the attorney for Graham's landlord.

The officers then followed Graham to the second-floor apartment, knocked and then kicked open the door and found Graham in the bathroom, where he was shot moments later.

Mitchell said the officers had plenty of time to calm down before entering the house.

"They're outside for some time in the front. They go to the back, which is where we're standing, and for several minutes this young man is apparently inside the house. And for several minutes there, outside the house, I don't know what they're doing there in terms of communicating with their command, or if they are talking about what's going on," said Mitchell. "What's clear, though, is that there was enough time for them to reflect on what is happening and this tragedy should not have happened."

Graham's six-year-old brother and grandmother were in the home at the time and his little brother is seen on the video being consoled by officers.

Police say they found marijuana in the home and think Graham may have been trying to flush some down the toilet when police entered the home.

Meanwhile, the local community continued to react to the shooting and met with Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson and law enforcement on Saturday afternoon.

“What I told the community was just an outline of how we handle these cases. The fact that our presence is there, from the day of the incident we had assistant [district attorneys] there, they were there again yesterday. They've been briefing the chief of the Homicide Bureau,” said Johnson.

The NYPD is reviewing a copy of the surveillance video and is continuing to investigate. In the meantime, a police officer and a sergeant who were on the scene have been placed on modified duty.

NY1 Exclusive: Surveillance Video Shows Bronx Teen Pursued By Police Moments Before Shooting - NY1.com

A group of Russian scientists plumbing the frozen Antarctic in search of a lake buried in ice for tens of millions of years have failed to respond to increasingly anxious U.S. colleagues -- and as the days creep by, the fate of the team remains unknown.
"No word from the ice for 5 days," Dr. John Priscu -- professor of ecology at Montana State University and head of a similar Antarctic exploration program -- told FoxNews.com via email.


Race to Reach Antarctica's Giant Buried Lake Vostok Almost Over
Scientists to drill to lake buried 2 miles beneath Antarctica's ice
Journey to Antarctica: Mission to Drill Lake Buried Under 2 Miles of Ice
The team from Russia's Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) have been drilling for weeks in an effort to reach isolated Lake Vostok, a vast, dark body of water hidden 13,000 ft. below the ice sheet's surface. The lake hasn't been exposed to air in more than 20 million years.
Priscu said there was no way to get in touch with the team -- and the already cold weather is set to plunge, as Antarctica's summer season ends and winter sets in.
"Temps are dropping below -40 Celsius [-40 degrees Fahrenheit] and they have only a week or so left before they have to winterize the station," he said. "I can only imagine what things must be like at Vostok Station this week."
The team's disappearance could not come at a worse time: They are about 40 feet from their goal of reaching the body of water, Priscu explained, a goal that the team was unable to meet as they raced the coming winter exactly one year ago.
When the winter arrives in the next few weeks, the temperature can get twice as cold. Vostok Station boasts the lowest recorded temperature on Earth: -89.4 degrees Celsius (-129 degrees Fahrenheit).
If the team does reach the lake water, they will bring its water up through the hole and let it freeze there over the winter. The following year they will be able to start research on what they find, Priscu explained.
While there are only a few researchers actually working at the lake, scientists around the globe have been waiting with bated breath to see what the Russian's unearth this weekend.
"We are terribly interested in what they find," Alan Rodger, a scientist at the British Antarctic Survey, told FoxNews.com last year. "This is a lake that we don't think has been exposed for 15 million years. Therefore, if there is life there, we're going to have so many questions. How has it evolved over those years, how has it survived, what does it look like? Won't it be exciting to find something completely new on Planet Earth?"

Hey, where's the lake? Hidden beneath nearly 2 miles of ice in Western Antarctica.
The Lake Vostok project has been years in the making, with initial drilling at the massive lake -- 15,690 square kilometers (6,060 sq mi) -- starting in 1998. Initially, they were able to reach 3,600 meters, but had to stop due to concerns of possible contamination of the never-before-touched lake water.
"Ice isn't like rock, it's capable of movement," Dr. Priscu told FoxNews.com. "So in order to keep the hole from squeezing shut, they put a fluid in the drill called kerosene. Kerosene also grows bacteria, and there's about 65 tons of kerosene in that hole. It would be a disaster if that kerosene contaminated this pristine lake."
But the scientists came up with a clever way to make sure this debacle would not occur. They agreed to drill until a sensor warned them of free water. At that point they will take out the right amount of kerosene and adjust the pressure so that none of the liquids fall into the lake, but rather lake water would rise through the hole.
Priscu was concerned for his colleagues, but also admits the stunning scope of the story.
"It could be fodder for a great made-for-TV movie,......


Read more: Russian Scientists Seeking Lake Vostok Lost In Frozen 'Land Of The Lost'? | Fox News




bottom line.. whatever's out there... has them :sadto:



*edit* updates...

The world holds its breath, hoping for the best after six days of radio silence from Antarctica -- where a team of Russian scientists is racing the clock and the oncoming winter to dig to an alien lake far beneath the ice.
The team from Russia's Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute (AARI) have been drilling for weeks in an effort to reach isolated Lake Vostok, a vast, dark body of water hidden 13,000 ft. below the surface of the icy continent. Lake Vostok hasn't been exposed to air in more than 20 million years.


Race to Reach Antarctica's Giant Buried Lake Vostok Almost Over
Scientists to drill to lake buried 2 miles beneath Antarctica's ice
Journey to Antarctica: Mission to Drill Lake Buried Under 2 Miles of Ice
Russian scientists seeking Lake Vostok lost in frozen 'Land of the Lost'?
The team’s last contact with colleagues in the unfrozen world was six long days ago, and scientists from around the globe are unsure of the fate of the mission -- and the scientists themselves -- as Antarctica’s killing winter draws near.
“When you’re outside, it’s extremely cold -- minus 30, minus 40,” microbiologist Dr. David A. Pearce told FoxNews.com. “If you left your eyes open the fluid in them would start to freeze. Your nostrils would start to freeze. The moisture in your mouth would start to freeze,” he said.
Pearce heads a team from the British Antarctic Survey on a competing mission, set to plumb the depths of Lake Ellsworth, one of a string of more than 370 lakes beneath Antarctica that may soon see light for the first time since well before Fred Flintstone’s ancestors roamed the planet. But time is running out for the Russian scientists.
“They need to be out by the 6th of February,” Pearce said, when winter sets in and temperatures drop another 40 degrees centigrade. Vostok Station boasts the lowest recorded temperature on Earth: -129 degrees Fahrenheit (-89.4 degrees Celsius).
The Russian scientists have been communicating with Pearce and colleagues at a third Antarctic expedition -- a study of the subglacial Whillans Ice Stream mainly featuring U.S. scientists. The competing teams have been watching the Russians and sharing notes over the past few days, Pearce told FoxNews.com -- yet no one knows what has happened.
“We’re all waiting with bated breath,” he said.
Antarctic scientists carry Iridium satellite phones for communication, he said, but there are spots without coverage. The scientists may have encountered a technical issue, he speculated, or perhaps they’ve simply packed up and are travelling home -- keeping their discoveries to themselves.
“I don’t think there’s anything sinister or ominous,” Pearce said. Still, the absence of information after nearly a week has the world’s scientists worried and wondering.
"Temps are dropping below -40 Celsius [-40 degrees Fahrenheit] and they have only a week or so left before they have to winterize the station," Dr. John Priscu -- professor of ecology at Montana State University and former head of the Whillans Antarctic exploration program -- told FoxNews.com via email.
"I can only imagine what things must be like at Vostok Station this week," he said.
Pearce knows well enough, having spent 15 years working in and on Antarctica. Vostok is right in the center of the Antarctic platter, he said, situated somewhat to the East. To survive the extreme colds there, scientists wear as many layers as possible and do everything they can to work indoors.
The actual well head itself would be enclosed by a tent, he said, and scientists would sleep in tents as well. But they must battle more than just the cold.
“It’s not just physically challenging, it’s psychologically challenging,” Pearce said. “You’re away from your family and friends, and there’s pressure to deliver the science you’ve promised. “
The Russian Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute did not respond to FoxNews.com requests for information on the status of the team, information that did not surprise Priscu.
“The Russians have their own way of dealing with things, particularly the media, which I respect,” he told FoxNews.com. “There is nobody to call.”
Other science institutions that typically conduct investigations in Antarctica did not respond to requests for information, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the NSF’s United States Antarctic Program, or the U.S. Ice Drilling Program.
“They are running out of time to complete the drilling this year,”......


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2012/...#ixzz1lWOOKdKn

Call it Bed bug-gate.

The University of Nebraska Lincoln is accused of covering up a bedbug infestation, but the school claims the whole situation is a misunderstanding. The story was first reported by The Daily Nebraskan.

Keith Zaborowski, associate director of residence life, told the Lincoln Journal Star that the Housing Department thought a student had reported a dead bedbug in her dorm room.

But the student said she had bites on her neck and found at least one living bed bug in her room.

"I find it surprising they would say a single dead bedbug," Amanda Wekesser, a 23-year-old meteorology student told the Star. "As far as I know, dead bedbugs don't bite."

Wekesser told the paper she wanted hold a meeting to inform dorm residents about a possible infestation, but a resident director denied her request. According to Wekesser, the director then told her to put a sign on her door saying her room was being remodeled while it was being cleaned and checked for bugs.

But the school claims there was no attempt to cover up anything.

"Nobody was trying to keep anything from anybody, and nobody was lied to," university spokesperson Kelly Bartling told the Star.

All told, 26 student rooms and eight common areas were found to be infested with bed bugs.

The school newspaper, the Daily Nebraskan, has since accused university housing officials of withholding information and releasing reports that downplayed the severity of the infestation.

The paper has also called for Housing Director Sue Gildersleeve to resign over the controversy.

source

Would you believe that Wall Street's ruling class has a fraternity of its own? One that enjoys eating lavish meals at the St. Regis and regaling its members with "raucous" skits that only reinforce how hopelessly out of touch they are? Pick your jaw off the floor, brother: the Times is on it.

Dealbook reporter Kevin Roose was able to amble into the annual black-tie meeting of Kappa Beta Phi, a fraternity founded in 1929 to mock Phi Beta Kappa that counts "big-name bankers, hedge fund billionaires and private equity titans" as current and former members. Though it was announced that "what happens at the St. Regis stays at the St. Regis," Roose was able to "walk in unquestioned and observe the proceedings," presumably because he was disguised as a platinum, monogrammed money clip.

In attendance were the chairman of AIG, the former chairman of Bear Stearns, the senior managing director of the Blackstone Group and Wilbur Ross Jr., a billionaire investor who served as the frat's "Grand Swipe." The aim of the evening was to induct new officers and "haze incoming members by having them don wigs, gold-sequined skirts and skin-tight tops and put on a comedic variety show for the enjoyment of other members." You know, the usual non-homoerotic stuff fraternities do.

The variety show included hilarious skits invoking Occupy Wall Street:

William Mulrow , a senior managing director at the Blackstone Group, put on raggedy clothes to play the part of an Occupy protester. Emil W. Henry Jr., a managing partner at Tiger Infrastructure Partners and a fellow new Kappa, joined him dressed as a wealthy baron.

“Bill, look at you! You’re pathetic, you liberal! You need a bath!” Mr. Henry said, voice full of mock indignation.

“You callow, insensitive Republican!” Mr. Mulrow said. “Don’t you know we need to create jobs?”

And fabulous musical routines:

Inductees sang Wall Street-themed versions of “Mama, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys,” (replacing “cowboys” with “traders”) and Abba’s “Dancing Queen” (which was retitled “Bailout King”). Mr. Lasry, [Ed: Marc Lasry, the billionaire founder of the Avenue Capital Group] along with two other inductees, dressed as a member of the Village People for a financial rendition of “Y.M.C.A.” Mr. Lasry declined to comment.

And when things got really rowdy, "some audience members threw objects at performers on stage, including petit fours and napkins dipped in wine." Wait, people eat petit fours?

Did we miss the part where Jon Corzine shotguns a Natty Ice and farts the tune of "Friday?" Where are the ice luges? The searingly offensive gags? Did anyone even have fun being Masters of the Masters Of The Universe on Thursday night?

As for the menu: "rack of lamb and crème brûlée?" Why not just have the waiters at Smith and Wollensky sing everyone Happy Birthday?
Wall Street "Frat" Just A Bunch Of Sad Old Men & Their Crème Brûlée: Gothamist



So whats going to happen when the police they hire can no longer protect them and turn on them? Its going to happen eventually.
Remember when OWS started, first week millionaires sat above the protestors toasting to them as police officers maced and tortured citizens spraying them at close range.

Listen, Occupy protests are going to get ugly as more people wake up. prepare, prepare, prepare.

Deputies used a Taser on a woman who wouldn't surrender to them after she cut into a McDonald's drive-through line and then refused to move her car without being served, according to the Cumberland County Sheriff's Office.

Evangeline Marrero Lucca, 37, of the 100 block of Snow Hill Church Road, pulled up to the window of the McDonald's on Legion Road, near Black and Decker Road, on Friday afternoon and held up the line for about 20 minutes before deputies arrived, said Debbie Tanna, a Sheriff's Office spokeswoman.

Staff at the restaurant reported that Lucca drove her Ford Taurus to the pickup window, bypassing the order screen and payment window, and tried to order her food there, she said.

"She did not want to wait in line," Tanna said. "They told her she had to go around and wait like everybody else did and place her order that way, that they weren't set up at that window to take her order or take her money. ... She wasn't having any of that."

The woman refused to move her vehicle and became confrontational with the employees, she said.

"When we arrived, she really got mad," Tanna said.

Attempts to reach Lucca for comment were unsuccessful Friday.

Customer Anthony Rich said he pulled into the parking lot to order lunch and found a long line of cars at the drive-through. He said he got in line and waited, eventually getting up to the first window, where he commented about the long line.

An employee told him the woman was refusing to move, Rich said.

The employee told him the woman frequently comes to the restaurant and cuts in line, and that, "We're not having it anymore, so we called the cops," Rich said.

Lisa Powell, who owns the franchise for that McDonald's location, said in a prepared statement that employees called deputies "after lengthy conversation with the customer" about why her actions were unsafe.

Rich said deputies soon arrived at the scene and ordered Lucca to get out of the car, but she refused. The deputies continued their orders for about 20 minutes, until they finally removed a young girl, he said.

"Two or three officers entered the car with her and started trying to forcibly drag her out of the car, and that's when you could hear the clicking sound of the Taser one time," Rich said. "They pulled on her a couple of times, and then they Tased (stunned) her again, and when they Tased (stunned) her the second time, she just flopped out of the car like a fish."

Lucca was charged with second-degree trespassing. Social workers took custody of her 3-year-old child who was in the car, Tanna said.

Tanna said deputies are not allowed to use Tasers on a person who simply refuses to comply with orders without danger involved, but in this case Lucca was engaging in "threatening behavior."

"Our top priority was making sure people weren't hurt because we didn't know if she was going to drive the car off and run over somebody," Tanna said. "Then there was the baby in the car we were concerned about."

The deputies performed a "drive stun" on Lucca, a technique that does not involve firing probes into the target's skin, she said.

A drive stun involves removing the Taser cartridge and touching the weapon directly on the skin to create a "pain compliance effect," according to the Fayetteville Police Department's use of force policy. A drive stun is applied to pressure points on the surface of the skin and allows officers to restrain a suspect without full incapacitation.

FayObserver.com - Cumberland County Sheriff's deputies use Taser on woman blocking McDonald's drive-through