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(NEWSER) – The former high priest of a famous Tokyo shrine killed his older sister, an accomplice, and finally himself with a samurai sword Thursday in what police believe was a feud over succession. Police say 58-year-old Nagako Tomioka, the high priestess of the Tomioka Hachimangu shrine, was killed by her brother, Shigenaga Tomioka, on the temple grounds after she got out of her car, the AP reports. His female accomplice attacked the driver, inflicting non-life-threatening injuries and chasing him hundreds of feet down a road, leaving a trail of blood. Shigenaga Tomioka is believed to have then killed his...

A wildlife photographer and an animal rights group have reached a settlement in perhaps the weirdest lawsuit of the century. David Slater and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) have been at loggerheads for years over who owns the rights to the famous "monkey selfie" taken by a curious macaque in 2011.

"A Scout is Trustworthy, Loyal, Helpful, Friendly, Courteous, Kind, Obedient, Cheerful, Thrifty, Brave, Clean, and Reverent." – 12 Points of the Boy Scout Law The head of the Boy Scouts of America publicly apologized Thursday for the "political rhetoric" in President Trump's keynote speech at the scouts' Jamboree, saying that "We sincerely regret that politics were inserted into the Scouting program" and affirming Scout values that include "fairness, courage, honor and respect for others." The carefully worded statement suggests that the Scout leadership heard loud and clear the complaints from parents who were offended by a speech that sounded much...

House Majority Whip Steve Scalise was shot in the hip and at least one other aide was also hit in the chest by a gunman with a rifle who opened fire at a baseball practice in Virginia Wednesday morning, Fox News confirmed. Police tweeted they "believed" the gunman was in custody. Sen. Mike Lee told Fox News, however, the gunman was dead. He said a staffer used a belt as a tourniquet to stop Scalise's bleeding. Display nothing; This is on Publish with no configured Image The shots were reported on East Monroe Street in Del Ray, Alexandria police said...

First revealed way back in 2011, Bridgestone’s airless tires use a series of rigid plastic resin spokes to help a wheel keep its shape as it rolls, instead of an inflatable inner tube that can puncture and leak. Military vehicles and ATVs have been some of the first vehicles to adopt the unorthodox design, but Bridgestone will soon be making a version of its airless tires for use on bicycles.

The Czech finance ministry said Havana had raised this possibility during recent negotiations on the issue. Cuba owes the Czech authorities $276m (£222m), and if the offer is accepted the Czechs would have enough Cuban rum for more than a century.

In the next decade, there will be tens of billions of connected devices—from thermostats and cell phones to parking meters and cars. Increasingly, these connected devices that make up the Internet of Things will be imbued with intelligence so that they can not only communicate, but transact, negotiate, collaborate and exchange value. The Internet of Things needs a Ledger of Things How will we handle this mind-boggling volume of data being transmitted, and do it in a secure way? “The Internet of Things needs a Ledger of Things,” says Alex Tapscott, coauthor with his father, Don Tapscott, of the "Blockchain...

Jeffrey Grossman thinks we've been looking at coal all wrong. Instead of just setting it afire, thus ignoring the molecular complexity of this highly varied material, he says, we should be harnessing the real value of that diversity and complex chemistry. Coal could become the basis for solar panels, batteries, or electronic devices, he and his research team say. Read more at: http://phys.org/news/2016-04-electronics-coal.html#jCp

Get rid of the $100 bill. Heck, maybe get rid of the $50 bill, too. So says Lawrence Summers, a former economic adviser to President Obama and ex-Treasury secretary. Summers points to research showing that corruption is aided by paper currency in larger denominations, such as Uncle Sam’s $100 bill and the 500-euro bill ($557 U.S. equivalent). How so? It’s easier for criminals and terrorists to move lots of cash illicitly in large bills. A million dollars in €500 bills weighs just 2.2 pounds, Summers writes in a blog post on the Washington Post website. The same amount of money...

Crime took a big bite out of a small Texas town’s city hall last week when five top officials in Crystal City were arrested on federal corruption charges. Mayor Ricardo Lopez, city manager William James Jonas, council members Rogelio Mata and Roel Mata, and former council member Gilbert Urrabazo, as well as businessman An indictment handed down by a grand jury accuses the men of taking tens of thousands of dollars in bribes and helping Nguyen, the operator of an illegal gambling operation who goes by "Mr. T," according to The Post. Another council member, Marco Rodriguez, was arrested last...

In our world of 24-hour social media and information it seems like there aren't many secrets left. Maybe that's why uncovering the covert world of Cold War spies is so appealing today. There are entire museums dedicated to the profession of secrets and with good reason. Real life spy gadgets are still amazing today.

1 horsepower approximates the sustained work output of a horse A healthy human can sustain about 0.1 hp indefinitely which is 74.5 watts 1 horsepower is the sustained effort of ten people 1 horse power = 745.6 watts = 33000 ft-lb/min The average american uses 13,250 kWh/year in electricity Which is 36 kwh/day Which is 1512 watts constant US average per person electrical energy is like 20 human slaves 24 hours per day 60 human slaves on 8 hour shifts 7 days a week

DETROIT – A suburban Detroit official is trying to extinguish the use of personal flamethrowers, which are being sold online by two Midwest companies, in his city. The companies, located in the Detroit area and Cleveland, claim their devices can be used for recreation or to control weeds and insect hives, clear snow and ice, clear brush and start a bonfire. Warren Mayor Jim Fouts calls the proposed uses "pretty specious" and "silly," the Detroit Free Press reported. Fouts wants to ban the storage, use and possession of flamethrowers in Warren because he believes the devices are dangerous and could...

<p>A group of climate change activists staged a protest on one of London Heathrow airport's two runways on Monday, causing minor delays to flights, the police and airport officials said.</p> <p>"A group of people have breached the airport perimeter fence and are currently staging a protest on the northern runway," the airport said in a statement.</p>

Accelerated modern human–induced species losses: Entering the sixth mass extinction There have been papers which show that species and area relationships always overestimate extinctions. Ehrlich became well known for his controversial 1968 book The Population Bomb, which asserted that the world's human population would soon increase to the point where mass starvation ensued Among the measures he suggested in that book was population control, to be used in his opinion if voluntary methods were to fail.

— West Harlem residents say a posse of raccoons has taken over their neighborhoods and in some cases even broken into their homes. “These things think they live here and they actually walk in if you leave an opening,” said resident Lauren Flanigan. Pictures from residents showed a raccoon making itself comfortable on the patio of a West Harlem home, and even coming up to the door. And that raccoon was not alone, residents said. “They came in the kitchen, and they’re not that friendly, and they also pushed the window screens in,” Flanigan told CBS2’s Tracee Carrasco.

ALEPPO, Syria, Nov. 13 (UPI) -- Here's what every caliphate apparently needs: its own money, so Islamic State leaders plan to mint their own gold, silver and copper coins. The decision aims to remove Muslims from the "tyrant's financial system" and a global monetary operation "based on satanic usury," said a statement by the Islamic State's Beit al Mal, or treasury, and posted on websites used by jihadist movements. The exchange rate of the new currency — which will consist of seven coins — and where it can be found will be spelled out in a future statement. Unlike many...

25 Year Anniversary of the Fall of the Berlin Wall

Dozens of protestors with the group Occupy Los Angeles gathered Wednesday in Hollywood as part of a global Million Mask March. Across the nation, demonstrators donning Guy Fawkes masks took to the street in an mass effort to "shed light on corrupt government," according to the movement's website. The event was organized by the "hackivist" group Anonymous.

RUSH: Okay, what is voter shaming? In North Carolina they're having the same problem, the Democrats are. It's not as pronounced as Colorado because Kay Hagan hasn't begun the silly implosion. Actually she has. It just hasn't registered yet. I mean, this woman, stimulus money went to her family? Her family is wealthy. She's flip-flopped on all kinds of things. The incompetence that is finally on display that is the Democrat Party, is just not a surprise to me, but so many people are finally seeing it. They're reacting in ways that we would all hope.