Mereja

Author: Sean Patterson

  • $4.8M Lotto Winner Found in Cookie Jar

    An Illinois man this week is all smiles after finding a winning lottery ticket stashed away in an old cookie jar.

    According to the Illinois Lottery, Ricardo Cerezo had some old lottery tickets sitting in a cookie jar and decided to look through them. When he scanned them at a convenience store, he found out he had won $4,850,000. The quick pick ticket was for the February 2 Illinois Lottery drawing.

    Cerezo was in disbelief, saying that he couldn’t believe that much money was sitting on his kitchen counter for months. He stated his intentions to pay off his mortgage, give money to his church, and give money to charity.

    “It is very important to us that we use this money to help others,” said Cerezo.

    This happy turn of events contrasts with recent troubles Cerezo and his family have faced. According to a report from an NBC news station in Chicago, Cerezo and his wife had last year made the decision to take their 14-year-old daughter off of life support. The girl, named Savannah, died as a result of seizures. The Cerezos had also fallen behind on their mortgage payments and were facing foreclosure before the cookie jar lotto ticket solved their money problems.

    (Image courtesy the Illinois Lottery)

  • Vikings Move QB to Wide Receiver

    The Minnesota Vikings this week officially revealed that backup quarterback Joe Webb has been moved to a wide receiver position.

    Vikings head coach Leslie Frazier confirmed the decision in an interview with the Minneapolis Star Tribune. A move for Webb had been rumored since the Vikings signed free agent quarterback Matt Cassel for the backup position. Frazier stated that the decision was made shortly after this year’s NFL Draft, during which the Vikings drafted wide receiver Cordarelle Patterson in the first round.

    Webb was reportedly informed of his new position on the first day of team workouts. He told the Star Tribune that the move will be “very interesting,” as he has not played wide receiver since his rookie minicamp. Webb also played wide receiver during his college sophomore season with the University of Alabama at Birmingham, during which he had 30 receptions and three touchdown catches. Webb stated that he believes his quarterback experience and knowledge will help him and his fellow teammates.

    Vikings offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave told the Star Tribune that Webb may be used on special teams and “in other ways.”

  • Chef Killed Over Meal of Fried Noodles

    It’s never a good idea for a chef to argue or fight with customers. This is especially true if those customers are capable of beating someone to death.

    According to an Australian Associated Press (AAP) report, Japanese chef Miki Nozawa died on Monday after a fight with two “disgruntled” customers. The incident took place on the German island of Sylt, and the argument was reportedly about the quality of a fried noodle dish. The customer did not like dish, and left the restaurant without paying. The AAP report states that Nozawa ran into the two customers later that same day at a “table-dance bar,” where the fight broke out.

    The 57-year-old Nozawa was taken to a nearby hospital with brain trauma and internal injuries, but died while in intensive care. The specific cause of death is not yet known, though a German prosecutor has stated an autopsy is being performed.

    The customers suspected in Nozawa’s death had not yet been found by authorities as of Wednesday.

  • Pat Robertson: Cheating Husband’s Wife Should be “Grateful” [VIDEO]

    Pat Robertson is well-known for making controversial statements. In addition to failed end of the world and presidential election predictions, the well-known conservative Christian has blamed everything from the 9/11 attacks to hurricane Katrina on gay people and non-Christian society.

    This week, Robertson has made headlines again, this time for blaming the victim of marital infidelity.

    While addressing questions on his Christian Broadcasting Network, Robertson told a woman who was cheated on and trying hard to forgive her husband that men can be expected to do that sort of thing. He goes on to tell her that she should be grateful for all of the things he provides for her and attempt to “fall in love with him again.”

    “Stop. Talking. About. The. Cheating,” said Robertson. “He cheated on you. Well, he’s a man, ok. So, what you do is begin to focus on why you married him in the first place. On what he does good. Does he provide a home for you to live in? Does he provide food for you to eat? Does he provide clothes for you to wear? Is he nice to the children?…”

    After that, things get a bit cathartic for Robertson, who gets specific on a scenario the question did not even mention.

    “You’re praying ‘oh, God, keep me not to hate him for what he did when he was with that stripper in that hotel room ten years ago and I’ll never forgive him…please help me.’”

    Robertson goes on to make his excuse for men even clearer, and implies that the woman who sent the question may, in fact, be at fault.

    “Like it or not, males have a tendency to, uh, wander a little bit and what you want to do is to make a home so wonderful that he dosen’t want to wander.”

  • Nicki Minaj Leaving American Idol [RUMOR]

    One week ago, veteran American Idol judge Randy Jackson announced that he will not be returning for the 13th season of the hit network TV show. Jackson was the last remaining of the original three judges on the show, which also included Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell.

    Now, it appears that another current judge will not be returning for another year of American Idol.

    According to an Us Weekly report, pop star Nicki Minaj will not be returning as a judge in the next season of the show. The report cites an unnamed “insider” as saying Minaj will instead be cutting another album, touring, and accepting endorsements. It was also stated that she had only expected to judge on one season of American Idol.

    Minaj’s stint on American Idol has been tinged with scandal. The singer has had a not-so-secret feud with fellow judge Mariah Carey and Minaj last month taunted one of the contestants that had been recently voted off the show via Twitter.

  • Beckham to Retire From Soccer This Year

    David Beckham, perhaps the most well-known soccer player of his generation, is now set to retire. BBC News is reporting that Beckham intends to retire from playing soccer after his season in France’s Ligue 1 is over. The season ends on May 26.

    Beckham’s current team, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), last weekend locked up its first Ligue 1 title in almost 20 years. The victory caused fans in Paris to celebrate, which turned into a riot after protesters clashed with police. Dozens of fans were injured and arrested, and shop windows along the Champs-Elysees were broken.

    During his 20-year career, Beckham has won championships in four different leagues – the Premier League with Manchester United, La Ligua with Real Madrid, Major League Soccer with the Los Angeles Galaxy, and now Ligue 1 with PSG. He also won the FA Cup and Champions League with Manchester United, captained the English soccer team for six years, and scored goals in three different World Cups.

    “I’m thankful to PSG for giving me the opportunity to continue but I feel now is the right time to finish my career, playing at the highest level,” said Beckham. “If you had told me as a young boy I would have played for and won trophies with my boyhood club Manchester United, proudly captained and played for my country over one hundred times and lined up for some of the biggest clubs in the world, I would have told you it was a fantasy. I’m fortunate to have realised those dreams.”

  • New J.C. Penney Logo Spotted in Ads and Mailers

    J.C. Penney has had a rough year for its brand. When former Apple executive Ron Johnson took over as the company’s CEO, he transformed the company, eschewing established department store pricing schemes such as coupons and constant sales in favor of lower overall prices. The strategy was an incredible failure, and now J.C. Penney has removed Johnson and secured billions in loans to stay afloat.

    One of the things Johnson changed was the J.C. Penney logo. The new logo was a red, white, and blue squared symbol that only contained the company’s initials – jcp. It was meant to symbolize the department store’s new commitment to treat its customers “fair and square.” Now, the J.C. Penney logo may be changing again, the third time in as many years such a change has occurred.

    As pointed out over at Business Insider, the company’s latest ad features a brand new J.C. Penney logo at the end. The ad is a “thank you” of sorts for customers who have returned now that prices are higher and sales are back. It’s a follow up from an earlier commercial in which J.C. Penney apologized for the changes customers saw over the past year. Both ads feature a clean, lowercase “jcpenney” logo at the end.

    Though the logo change can also be seen on recent J.C. Penny coupon mailers, the “jcp” logo can still be seen all over the company’s website and social media account. J.C. Penney has not formally announced a logo change.

  • Tommy Chong Touts the Economic Benefits of Weed

    Tommy Chong, along with co-star Ceech Marin, became famous in the 70s and 80s for the Ceeech & Chong movies, which satirized and glorified many aspects of hippie and stoner culture. Now, Chong is, unsurprisingly, advocating for the legalization of marijuana.

    According to an Associated Press report, Chong recently stated that marijuana could be the cure for the ailing U.S. economy. Chong stated that legalizing and taxing marijuana and hemp could provide enough revenue to “save the world.” From the AP:

    “Look at the situation we’re in now. Sequesters. Cuts. Everything cut across the board. Now, the government is tapped into the biggest cash crop in the world,” Chong said. “There’s little manufacturing cost. You don’t have to do anything except watch it grow and get a couple of hippies to cut it and then put it in a bag.”

    Chong, who revealed last year that he battled prostate cancer, still tours occasionally with Marin. He is also using social media to promote marijuana legalization. His Facebook and Twitter accounts are filled with statements such as these:

  • Charles Darwin Wrong About Coral Atolls, Shows Study

    Though Charles Darwin is known as the father of modern biology, evolutionary biologists are well aware that he got many aspects of evolution wrong. In particular, with no knowledge of genetics Darwin was left to speculate heavily on the mechanisms of evolutionary change.

    Now, geologists have discovered another hypothesis on which Darwin was not entirely right. According to a LiveScience report, a new paper published recently in the journal Geology shows that Darwin was wrong about how coral atolls grow.

    In his 1842 book The Structure and Distribution of Coral Reefs, Darwin had originally proposed that coral atolls grow as islands sink and are actually very thick. Though in the 1950s Darwin was proven right about atolls being thousands of feet thick, geologists at MIT have now found that glacially induced sea-level cycles (a mechanism that had not been uncovered in the 19th century) are also responsible for coral atoll growth.

    The new paper finds that reefs can grow or not as sea levels rise or sink with the melting of glaciers. With different islands sinking at different rates, the processes combine to create the variety of different atoll growths seen throughout the world. Researchers state that this accounts for reefs that Darwin’s purely subsidence-based ideas don’t.

    Being magnanimous, a co-author the the study told LiveScience that Darwin was “mostly right.” The paper points out that the Society Islands, where Darwin gathered evidence for his reef book, is one of the rare places on the planet where glacial cycles and sinking combine in such a way as to create “perfect” atolls.

  • 3,500 Potential Witnesses in Aurora Shooting Trial

    Nearly one year ago, James Holmes entered a Century movie theater in Aurora, Colorado with tear gas and guns, killing 12 people and injuring over 60 others. The shooting took place during an opening weekend showing of The Dark Knight Rises, turning crowded summer movie blockbuster premieres into yet another place where Americans are now wary of guns (though at least one Missouri movie theater recently forgot this).

    Now, Holmes’ murder trial is about to begin, and prosecutors seem to have an incredible amount of evidence to demonstrate that he was the shooter. According to an Associated Press report, prosecutors this week filed a motion in court that states they have close to 3,500 potential witnesses that could be called on to testify. In addition, prosecutors estimated they have almost 40,000 pages of evidence that have been filed.

    Holmes will be tried on multiple counts of first-degree murder. Prosecutors have turned down a plea offer from Holmes’ defense for the suspect to plead guilty if they agree not to seek the death penalty, stating they do intend to seek the death penalty. Holmes’ lawyer recently requested the suspect’s plea be changed to not guilty by reason of insanity, which the judge in the case is currently deciding whether or not to accept.

  • Robin Williams CBS Comedy Coming This Fall

    CBS Entertainment today announced its new fall lineup, which includes an emphasis on the network‘s comedy programming.

    One of the more interesting new comedies announced is The Crazy Ones, a new show featuring comedian Robin Williams and Sarah Michelle Gellar of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame. The show will premiere this fall in the 9:00 EST slot, just after The Big Bang Theory and The Millers, a new comedy starring Arrested Development‘s Will Arnett. It is being produced by David E. Kelley, the Emmy Award-winning creator of shows such as Ally McBeal, Boston Legal, The Practice, and Chicago Hope.

    The Crazy Ones will be a single-camera comedy about the head of an advertising agency named Simon Roberts (Williams), whose eccentric behavior is matched only by his skill in advertising. Gellar will play Sydney Roberts, Simon’s daughter and business partner, whose ambition and work ethic put her at odds with her father. The pair are joined by a varied cast of employees played by James Wolk, Hamish Linklater, and Amanda Setton.

    Last month, Williams teased fans by tweeting out several photos from the set of The Crazy Ones:

  • Whites-Only Scholarship to be Changed at Columbia

    As the costs for college continue to skyrocket, the task of finding money for higher education is now harder than ever. Though exclusionary scholarships tailored to certain kinds of students are often a way for those with a specific background (such as women who want to study Computer Science) to go to college, one prestigious U.S. university is now seeking to change an 80-year-old scholarship that discriminates based on race.

    According to a New York Daily News report, Columbia University is now supporting a change in the Lydia C. Roberts Graduate Fellowship and Lydia C. Roberts Traveling Fellowship. The scholarships are currently available only to students from Iowa who are Caucasian. The university has reportedly filed an affidavit in the Manhattan Supreme Court in favor of modifying the scholarship.

    The scholarship was founded in 1920 by Lydia C. Chamberlain, who set out the criteria by which scholarship applicants should be judged. According to the Daily News, organizations such as the NAACP have been calling on Columbia to cut the scholarship for decades. The scholarship hasn’t been awarded since 1997, and at least one former student who received it and spoke with the Daily news claims not to have known that being white was a stipulation of the award.

  • Ron Weaver Dies, TV Producer Was 75

    Ron Weaver, a long-time daytime TV producer, has died at the age of 75. He was best known as a long-time producer of the soap opera The Bold and the Beautiful.

    According to an obituary in the Hollywood Reporter, Weaver died at his home in Los Angeles on Thursday, May 9. The cause of his death has not been released.

    Weaver began his career at WCBS in New York, and then moved on to become a producer for Children’s Television Workshop. There he was involved in creating classic kids shows such as Sesame Street, The Electric Company, and 3-2-1 Contact.

    He joined The Bold and the Beautiful in 1986 as an associate producer, helping to launch the soap opera. During his 27 years with the show he rose to become a senior producer and eventually vice president of BBL Distribution. He, along with other The Bold and the Beautiful producers, received three Daytime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Drama Series during his time with the show.

  • Brett Favre: Packers Want Him “Back in the Family”

    It’s hard to fault 43-year-old Brett Favre‘s Career. During his nearly 20 years in the NFL, the former quarterback made the Pro Bowl 11 times and holds NFL records for the most passing touchdowns, most passing yards, most passing completions, and most wins. When Favre left the Green Bay Packers in 2007, however, fans were hurt that their quarterback of 15 years ended up playing for the New York Jets and the Minnesota Vikings.

    Now, it appears the Packers organization is attempting to smooth things over with their greatest quarterback. According to a Fox Sports Wisconsin interview with Packers CEO Mark Murphy, the Packers want Favre “back in the family.” Murphy cited Favre’s appearance with current Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers at a recent NFL Honors show as a “first step” in bringing Favre “back into the fold.”

    Rodgers has also made similar statements on an ESPN radio show, revealing that he spoke with Favre and carefully helped organized the two’s handshake during the show. The Packer’s organization is hoping the event will symbolically begin healing the rift between the team and Favre that began in 2007.

    “It didn’t take a lot of coaxing for me to do it,” said Rodgers. “I did want to sit and think about whether it was the right thing to do. I really feel very secure in my position with the team and feel good about the things that we’ve been able to accomplish in my five years as the starter, and feel good about the direction the organization is going in.

    “Brett is two years removed from the game. He’s going to obviously be in the Packers Hall of Fame. He’ll get his number retired, and he’ll be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in the next few years. It’s important, I think, to make sure that he’s recognized for all the accomplishments that he’s achieved in our organization especially. He’s still very dear to many of our fans for the things that he’s done for the Packers on the field. You can never take that away.”

  • Abercrombie & Fitch: Homeless People Given the Brand’s Clothing

    Last week, Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries came under fire for comments he had made years ago. The comments, brought up in a recently published book about marketing, conveyed that Abercrombie & Fitch’s target audience is “cool and popular kids” – a category into which fat people apparently can never fall. Jefferies is quoted as stating the stores do not sell female clothing for larger women in order to protect the Abercrombie & Fitch brand from being seen on people who “don’t belong.”

    The comments caused an uproar online and reignited debate about body image issues, exclusionary marketing, and weight-related health. Now, one man has taken it upon himself to remake the Abercrombie & Fitch brand on his own.

    YouTube filmmaker Greg Karber (gkarber) scoured a Los Angeles Goodwill store for A & F apparel, which he then handed out to homeless people on Skid Row. He’s calling on viewers to donate their old A & F clothing to homeless shelters and share their experiences through social media using the #FitchTheHomeless hashtag.

  • Lower Blood Alcohol Limit Urged by NTSB

    The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) this week issued guidelines meant to totally eliminate alcohol-related car crashes. Among their recommendations is that states lower their blood alcohol driving limits to 0.05.

    “Most Americans think that we’ve solved the problem of impaired driving, but in fact, it’s still a national epidemic,” said Deborah Hersman, chairman of the NTSB. “On average, every hour one person is killed and 20 more are injured.”

    The NTSB stated that 0.05 BAC (blood alcohol content) is when “most” drivers experience a decline in cognitive and visual ability. According to the NTSB, more than 100 countries have BAC limits at or lower than 0.05.

    “The research clearly shows that drivers with a BAC above 0.05 are impaired and at a significantly greater risk of being involved in a crash where someone is killed or injured,” said Hersman.

    The NTSB cited statistics to make their case that drunk driving is still a problem in the U.S. Among the statistics were the fact that close to 10,000 people each year are killed in alcohol-related car crashes. Also, 30% of highway fatalities are attributed to impaired drivers – a statistic that has remained relatively steady despite the total number of highway fatalities having fallen over the past few decades.

    In addition to urging states to lower their BAC limits, the NTSC also recommended that states support sobriety checkpoints and “saturation patrols” in addition to high-profile media campaigns in an effort to deter drunk driving. It also endorsed the use of “administrative license suspension,” which allows police to suspend a driver’s license at the time of a DUI arrest, and went even further, stating that offenders should have ignition interlock devices installed in their vehicles before license reinstatement.

    The NTSB released an informational YouTube PSA to accompany their recommendations:

  • ‘I Will Always Love You’ Singer Escorted Off Plane

    Plane flights can be hard. Given how crowded flights are, and how there is no way to escape from them after takeoff, passengers generally have to rely on each other to act civil and be polite. Though the worst most of us can expect is a crying infant, one recent flight found that terrible singing can sometimes be worse.

    In a new viral video making its way around the internet, a woman can be seen being escorted off the plane while singing “I Will Always Love You,” the song made famous by Whitney Houston as part of the soundtrack to the movie The Bodyguard. The woman definitely does not have Whitney Houston’s pipes, though even the famous singer probably wouldn’t be welcome for more than an encore on a long plane flight:

    Though Flight attendants during the video can also be heard telling passengers that they are not allowed to take pictures on the plane, there is no official photography ban for airplanes in the U.S. The U.S. FCC does, however, explicitly ban cell phone use during flights. Airlines are allowed to make exceptions for devices, but American Airlines’ current policy is to ban cell phone use on flights:

    You may use your cell phone, laptop computer, two-way pager, and PDA until the aircraft door is closed; however, use of cell phones is not allowed during flight per Federal Communication Commission rules.

  • Trayvon Martin Shouts Analyzed in Court

    Over on year ago, Trayvon Martin was shot and killed while walking from a convenience store to his home in his Florida neighborhood. The shooter, George Zimmerman, claims that he shot Martin in self-defense, but he is now on trial for the 17-year-old’s murder.

    This week, a pre-trial hearing for Zimmerman’s trial turned to the topic of the shouts heard on a 911 call recorded at the time of the incident. Zimmerman had called a non-emergency police number at the time of the incident. Martin was also on the phone, with a female friend who has stated she heard Martin say, “Why are you following me?” shortly before his death.

    According to an Associated Press report on the trial, the prosecution has hired audio experts to determine whether the shouts heard on the call recording were those of Zimmerman or Martin. Of the two experts cited in the story, one found that the shouts were Martins and the other found they were a mix of both Zimmerman and Martin. In a court filing, Zimmerman’s lawyer has stated that he believes the audio analysis could prejudice jurors, and should not be allowed at the trial.

    Since he was charged with Martin’s murder, Zimmerman has been in hiding and using various schemes to pay for his legal representation.

  • Senior Prostitution Ring Busted at Nursing Facility

    Police in New Jersey have arrested two residents of the Vicente K. Tibbs Senior Citizen Building in Englewood, New Jersey for running a prostitution ring for their fellow residents.

    According to a New Jersey Record report, 75-year-old James Parham and 66-year-old Cheryl Chaney were charged for possessing drug paraphernalia and “maintaining a drug nuisance.” Parham allegedly provided residents of the nursing facility with access to crack-addicted prostitutes.

    Residents had been complaining to police about the “drunks and addicts” that could be found wandering the facility. Stories from residents recalled non-residents sleeping it off in the lounge, used condoms being found in the recreation room, and late night disturbances that caused residents to lock themselves in their rooms. An undercover police investigation uncovered the wave of crime that had swept the building.

    Police have now begun to patrol the entry to the building, turning away vagrants or arresting them for trespassing. The facility is funded by the Englewood Housing Authority, which has stated that it does not have the funds to provide security guards for the building.

  • Iron Man Stunt Goes Wrong in Missouri Theater

    Iron Man 3 kicked off the summer movie blockbuster season with a huge opening weekend. One theater in Missouri decided, as many theaters do, to provide a little extra entertainment to die-hard moviegoers who showed up for opening night. Unfortunately, the theater’s management failed to realize that patrons might be a bit worried about fake guns in a movie theater given the Aurora, Colorado shooting that took place during the opening weekend of last year’s big super hero blockbuster, The Dark Knight Rises.

    According to an Associated Press report, the Goodrich Capital 8 Theatres in Jefferson City, Missouri hired cosplayers to dress up as Marvel characters, including some dressed as members of S.H.I.E.L.D., the paramilitary organization tasked with combating superhuman threats in the Marvel universe. One of the costume-wearers was reported to have carried a prop assault rifle. Complaints were made, and the Jefferson City police were called.

    The theater has now made a formal apology through its Facebook page. Capital 8 claims that the incident was not a publicity stunt, and that in the future it will “take the necessary steps to make sure this doesn’t happen again.” The statement, in full:

    Capital 8 Theatres4 days ago

    To our customers:

    We apologize and are sympathetic to those who felt they were in harm’s way with our character promotion for Iron Man 3. This was not a publicity stunt. We have worked with the Cosplacon group on many movies to dress up and help entertain our customers. We have had many complaints about the members dressed specifically as S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives carrying fake guns. We didn’t clearly tell our customers and some people didn’t realize it was for entertainment purposes only. We apologize that police were called to come out to our theater. We have a wonderful working relationship with the Jefferson City Police Department. Going forward we will take the necessary steps to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Security and safety for our customers is our number one priority.

    Sincerely,

    Capital 8, Goodrich Quality Theaters Powered by socialditto  70 likes ·  237 comments

    (Image courtesy Capital 8 Theatres Facebook page)