Rabid raccoon attacks Seminole woman and her dog in Florida

Seminole County residents are asked to be on high alert after a raccoon that attacked a resident, and her dog, tested positive for Rabies. The incident occurred in about 3 miles from a Rabies alert that was issued on July 22. Officials say if you or a family member has been bitten or scratched by a raccoon, or if you know anyone who was bitten or scratched, to contact the Florida Department of Health in Seminole County at 407-665-3294. It's important to remember that Rabies is present in the wild animal population, and domestic animals are at risk if they are not vaccinated. An animal with Rabies could infect other wild or domestic animals that have not been vaccinated. Officials say Contact with feral cats, stray dogs and all wildlife particularly raccoons, bats, foxes, skunks, otters, bobcats and coyotes should be avoided. The following advice is issued:

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Federal Judge orders IRS to come up with better explanation of missing Lerner e-mails

The dog-ate-my-homework - er, excuse me, hard-drive-ate-our-emails excuse did just about as well in federal court as it would during an IRS audit. Judge Emmet Sullivan rejected the IRS' response to the Judicial Watch complaint about missing e-mails from Lois Lerner and other IRS employees involved in the targeting scandal yesterday. Sullivan in effect took steps to conduct his own independent probe, issuing an order demanding specific answers - and demanding them by one week from today: A federal judge asked the U.S. Internal Revenue Service for more information on efforts it made to recover missing e-mail from the computer of an agency official at the heart of a quarrel between Congress and the Obama administration over scrutiny of Tea Party organizations. U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan's order today giving the IRS until Aug. 22 to come up with further details on what it did to retrieve e-mail from the malfunctioning computer of Lois Lerner signals his dissatisfaction with the agency's earlier explanation, contained in an Aug. 11 filing. The order comes in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the activist group Judicial Watch. The complaint seeks Lerner's e-mail and other communications concerning the processing of applications for tax-exempt status.

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Ferguson area cop says protesters 'should be put down like rabid dogs'

A police officer just 15 miles away from the ongoing protests in Ferguson, Mo. allegedly said he thinks the protesters should have been "put down like rabid dogs." Officer Matthew Pappert is a police officer with the Glendale Police Department. He has been an officer since 2008. Pappert received the 2009 City of Glendale Community Service Award and the 2013 Kirkwood American Legion Post and Kirkwood Optimist Club Public Safety Award.

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'Haboob' storm blankets Palm Springs, California in dust with 40 mph winds

Ferocious winds roared through southern California on Thursday, leaving the region covered in thick dust.The summer storm, called a haboob, swept through the area, including Palm Springs, with winds up to 40mph. One man was hospitalized at Desert Regional Medical Center with minor injuries after being hit by a fallen tree. Road conditions were dangerous as tires kicked up dust leaving drivers with low visibility.The sky was turned completely dark by the huge cloud of dust and turned conditions at sea rough and choppy. One driver, Scott Pam told ABC that a 'huge wall of dust and sand' ripped the door straps off his Jeep. Mr Pam, a photographer, managed to snap some shots of the swirling clouds of dust.

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Research proves you can smuggle weapons past naked body scanners

Weapons are easily smuggled through so-called naked body scanners, according to new research released Thursday. The devices are no longer used at airports in the United States but remain in other government facilities worldwide. The Rapiscan Secure 1000 Single Post "backscatter" scanner - called the "naked scanner" by critics because of the images it produced of those inside - cannot detect a weapon hidden on the side of one's body, according to the team of researchers from the University of California-San Diego, University of Michigan, and Johns Hopkins University. "We performed several trials to test different placement and attachment strategies. In the end, we achieved excellent results with two approaches: carefully affixing the pistol to the outside of the leg just above the knee using tape, and sewing it inside the pant leg near the same location. ... In each case, the pistol is invisible against the dark background, and the attachment method leaves no other indication of the weapon's presence." In 2012 a Florida man, Jonathan Corbett, filmed himself successfully passing through the backscatters with metal at two different US airports using the same method. At the time, the TSA responded to Corbett's efforts saying the "machines are safe." Comment: Evidence suggests the machines are not safe, the levels of radiation they emit are well above background. Corbett, who is now suing the TSA over the backscatters, has encouraged those who did not believe him to "try it."

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Symbolic? Freight train carrying oil products derails, engine catches fire in central Ukraine

A freight train transporting oil products went off the rails at a train station in central Ukraine's Cherkasy Region, the Ukrainian State Emergency Service's press department told RIA Novosti on Friday. "Yes, the fact [the incident] took place," the press department's representative said. Eleven tanks carrying oil products and the train's engine caught fire. The train was transporting a total of 35 tanks. There have been no reports about injuries or deaths yet. While a part of the cargo of oil products has spilled, the area affected by it is not expanding. The authorities have not commented on possible ecological threats yet. A total of 40 vehicles and 200 personnel have been deployed for rescue efforts and to put out the fire

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Electricity arcs to Ice-Bucket challengers, injuries result

Four firefighters were shocked by a nearby power line on Thursday in the process of helping students at Campbellsville University participate in the 'Ice Bucket Challenge,' a social media-fueled fundraiser for ALS research. Two of the Kentucky firefighters on the ladder of a fire truck used to dump water on the students had to be airlifted to the University of Louisville Hospital to be treated for severe burns. The first, Capt. Tony Grider, is in critical condition, according to WHAS11, while the other, Simon Quinn, has been "upgraded from serious to fair condition." "[It] appears energy arced over and ladder didn't actually hit lines. If you get within certain radius that can happen," officials said Thursday. Two other firefighters were also shocked by electricity that traveled down the ladder. "From talking with power company technicians, if you get within a distance of three or four feet, the energy that surrounds the high-voltage wire will actually arc over onto another object, in this case being the personnel occupying the bucket," Campbellsville Police Chief Tim Hazlette told WAVE. The Ice Bucket Challenge has swept across the United States in recent weeks. Participants dump ice water on themselves, promising to also donate money to research of amyothrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a nerve cell disease in the brain and spinal cord. Participants then challenge others to do the same. Much of the "challenging" has been done via social media outlets like Facebook.

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