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A fight that erupted over snow shoveling allegedly led to a Pennsylvania man shooting two of his neighbors to death, authorities said. The fatal gun violence occurred in Plains Township, about 15 miles southwest of Scranton after 2 feet of snow blanketed the area, officials said. Just before 9 a.m. on Monday, Plains Township police officers responded to a report of shots fired in a residential neighborhood and discovered 50-year-old James Goy and his 48-year-old wife, Lisa Goy, lying dead in the street in front of their home, according to a joint statement by Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis...

A Berlin court has ordered a cat owner to have her hairless Sphynx cat castrated – because it would be animal cruelty to let the naked pet breed. Willi, a Canadian Sphynx, belongs to Berlin cat breeder Jacqueline Linke. True to his breed, Willi is almost completely hairless – a quality that makes Sphynx cats popular choices for those with pet allergies. Despite his questionable appearance, Willi emerged as champion in the 2013 Pedigree Cat Exhibition in Berlin, and has gone on to become a proud father to three naked kittens. However, Willi won't get to pass on his genes...

By the time the last troops returned home, beards were the mark of a hero. Men who had never seen any military action began to grow beards. Within a few years, it was almost impossible to see a beard-free male face in Victorian Britain - except in Buckingham Palace, as Prince Albert refused to conform to the fashion. In America, the return of the beard began at around the same date. This was partly fuelled by fashion plates from British magazines, which were read avidly in America for the latest word in European fashion. Many American men, however, also decided...

The Toyota sudden acceleration debacle may be a thing of the past, but one U.S. Senator thinks the government investigation is worth another look. Sen. Charles E. Grassley claims the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, along with NASA, may have let what he calls a “serious issue” fall through the cracks. In a letter sent to NHSTA administrator David Strickland, Grassley raised questions about the investigation, asking whether vehicles were tested for a very serious defect called “tin whiskers,” reports the Los Angeles Times. Tin whiskers, as described in a NASA report, are “electronically conductive, crystalline structures of tin that...

Artificial whiskers that mimic the way rats and seals sense their prey might one day let planetary rovers or uncrewed submarines explore the shape and texture of strange objects they encounter on their travels. So says Joe Solomon and Mitra Hartmann at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, who have developed delicate artificial whiskers - in both steel and plastic - that can accurately sense different shapes and textures. Rats actively rotate, or "whisk", their whiskers against objects to discern features, while seals keep their whiskers relatively fixed to sense changes in wake flow that might mean prey is nearby. Previous...

3 Children Reel In Giant Catfish   POSTED: 4:55 pm EDT April 5, 2005 UPDATED: 5:16 pm EDT April 5, 2005   Three children in Houston, Texas, reeled in a giant blue catfish (pictured, left) while fishing in a bayou, according to Local 6 News.         The Spring Brach Middle School students said it took about 30 minutes to bring the 65-pound fish to shore at the bayou located at Shasta and Memorial.       The giant fish may be the largest ever caught in the area.Local 6 News showed video of the boys unsuccessfully attempting...

I'm planning on adopting a cat from our local shelter.I haven't had a cat since I was young so I'd appreciate some input on which of these cats that you'd think would be the best to adopt :)I Know that there are a lot of cat lovers in the freeper community. Many Thanks Nashua Humane SocietyPersonally I'm leaning towards Jamie or Whitney.