Free Republic

A TikTok boat jumping challenge that sees people jump from the rear of the vessels while moving at high speed has been blamed for four deaths in Alabama. The challenge, which has been popularized on TikTok, involves individuals engaging in dangerous water activities. Those participating in the challenge launch themselves from the rear of a boat and into the wake behind it, as the boat continues to move. Now, officials in Alabama have said the new fad has claimed the lives of four people, after they broke their necks instantly. Officials said in the last six months, they had to...

Locomotive Runs Over Ukrainian Couple Having Sex on Railroad Tracks MOSCOW, September 29 (RIA Novosti) – An attempt to spice up their sexual life went badly wrong for a middle-aged couple in central Ukraine, which was run over by a train when having sex on the railroad tracks, local police said. The woman died on the spot, while the man lost both legs and was hospitalized, the country’s Interior Ministry said on its website. The man and his girlfriend “failed to overcome their natural passion when walking home … and wanted to experience an extreme sensation near the railroad tracks,”...

A man who suffered severe burns in June while apparently trying to steal wire from an Ameren power substation near Alton has died of his injuries and authorities said Monday that an alleged accomplice might face additional charges. Madison County sheriff's Capt. Brad Wells said 30-year-old Dusty Austin of Alton died Saturday at St. John's Mercy Medical Center in Creve Coeur. Sheriff's deputies were called to the end of Cut Street on June 12 after three people found Austin naked and screaming for help. His clothes apparently had been burned or blown off. He was taken first to an Alton...

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip - Hamas gunmen stormed the home of a militant from the rival Fatah movement Friday, witnesses said, sparking a deadly gunbattle and capping a day of factional violence across the Gaza Strip that killed at least 13 people, including a 2-year-old boy. The fighting was among the deadliest in nearly two months and marred the first anniversary of Hamas' upset victory in Palestinian elections. After nightfall, the fighting showed no signs of slowing, as the sound of gunfire echoed throughout Gaza City. The heaviest shooting was concentrated around the home of Mansour Shaleil, a local Fatah...

- Police and family members said a 10-year-old boy who died by hanging himself from a bunk bed was apparently mimicking the execution of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. Sergio Pelico was found dead Sunday in his apartment bedroom, said Webster police Lt. Tom Claunch. Pelico's mother told police he had previously watched a news report on Saddam's death. "It appears to be accidental," Claunch said. "Our gut reaction is that he was experimenting."

Palestinian sources say explosion collapses tunnel under Gaza-Egypt border early trapping five al-Aqsa members inside Palestinian sources said an explosion collapsed a tunnel under the Gaza-Egypt border early Friday, trapping five militants inside and killing at least two. The Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades, a violent offshoot of the Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, said the five were members. The group refused to say what they were doing. The militant group said the explosion was not caused by an Israeli air strike, after first blaming Israel. The Israeli military said it had no forces inside Gaza and denied involvement...

A Brazilian man died on Tuesday when he tried to open what police believe was a rocket-propelled grenade with a sledgehammer in a mechanical workshop on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. Another man who was in the workshop at the time of the explosion was rushed to a hospital with severe burns, a police officer told Reuters. The workshop was destroyed and several cars parked outside caught fire. Police found several unexploded army issue rocket-propelled grenades in the workshop. They believe the ammunition had been brought there by scavengers wanting to sell them as scrap metal, but they also...

Olympia Woman Killed In Anti-Israel Demonstration March 16, 2003 By Emily Langlie GAZA CITY - Friends describe Rachel Corrie, from Olympia, as an especially caring and empathetic young woman. They say she was drawn to try to help in the Palestinians in Gaza. She was interviewed there just last week about her efforts to stop Israeli army bulldozers. On March 5th she said "these are homes that don't have any connection necessarily with suicide bombers. These are homes that just happened to be in a place that the Israeli military finds strategically important to them." Rachel was with a group...