TAMPA, FL -- A Tampa woman refused to be a carjacking victimn said she was approached by an armed man who jumped into her car on Thursday.  The woman, who only wants to be identified as Adrianna, pulled out her own gun.  "I just leaned forward and punched him in the forehead with my gun," she said.  The man "screamed like a girl and almost dropped his gun" as he ran away, she added. Tampa Police have arrested one suspect so far in what they see as a pattern of carjackings.  A-Keem Carr was arrested on related charges, but two others are believed to be preying on motorists in the Westshore area. So far, two carjackings and four attempted carjackings have occurred over the last two weeks.   In one case, a man from Land O' Lakes was pumping gas when an armed suspect approached demanding the car keys.  The man refused because his 6-month-old son was still in his car seat and the suspect took off. Another incident involved a woman who was closing her business when she was approached by an armed man who took her van.  Her credit cards were used at a business in St. Petersburg and the van was found later along 39th Street in St. Petersburg.  A. Keem Carr was charged in that crime. Other carjacking attempts included a woman standing next to her car in the Regency Apartments when she was approached but she screamed and scared off the bandit.  Adrianna was pulling into the International Mall when the armed man jumped in her car.  She talked about defending herself.  "I didn't want to have to shoot...anyway over a car.  But if it was going to be him or me..." Tampa Police warn the suspects are becoming more aggressive and may be prone to violence

Link to Video Slide Show and Photo of Robber:

http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local/story/Tampa-woman-stops-armed-carjacker-with-her-own-gun/lzk5OlbYpkC5occGcyQP_w.cspx

http://www.kontraband.co.uk/pics/17508/Mugshot-Tattoos-Madness/

10 Things You Didn't Know About You

The human body is a great, sweaty, fluid-filled machine, moving and mixing chemicals with precision and coordination, making everything from memories to mucus. Here we explore some of the complex, beautiful or just plain gross mysteries of how you function.

Start Here:

http://www.livescience.com/health/top_10_about_you.html

101-year-old woman runs for town council

Published: May 14, 2009 at 6:23 PM

Coupon: $1 million off condo purchase

Published: May 14, 2009 at 4:10 PM

Memorial Day Promotion:

Free Funeral Planning for Drunk Drivers

Thu May 14, 2009 3:05 PM EDT

Did you know that Memorial Day ranks as the 3rd most deadly holiday due to drunk driving accidents? Funeralwise.com wants Americans to stop and think before drinking and driving this Memorial Day Weekend. To raise public awareness of this serious issue, Funeralwise.com is encouraging anyone who plans to drink and drive over the holiday weekend to create a funeral plan in advance. They made need it sooner than they think.

You can join in the fight against drunk driving because Funeralwise.com will donate $10 to Mother's Against Drunk Driving (MADD) for the first 10,000 funeral plans created using our online funeral planner through May 25th. Your funeral plan will not only be helping MADD but you'll be taking an important step for your family as well. All you need to do is take a few minutes to complete a simple 4-step funeral plan.

 Thank you. Have a safe and enjoyable Memorial Day Weekend!

     http://funeralwise.com/

Funeralwise.com wants Americans to stop and think before drinking and driving this Memorial Day Weekend. To raise public awareness of this serious issue, Funeralwise.com is encouraging anyone who plans to drink and drive over the holiday weekend to create a funeral plan in advance. For people who do not intend to drink and drive, Funeralwise.com is providing a tangible way they can help fight drunk driving by donating $10 to Mother's Against Drunk Driving (MADD) for the first 10,000 funeral plans created on its website through May 25th.

Man hasn’t bathed in 35 years to sire a son

May 14, 2009 • 8:46 am

By Diana Fasanella

An Indian father with seven daughters has not washed for 35 years to help ensure his next child will be a boy.

Kailash Kalau Singh told a friend that a “seer” once told him 35 years ago if he did not take a bath he would be blessed with a male child, according to Hindustan Times. So he stopped. 

Instead of washing with water, Singh bathes by standing with one leg beside a bonfire and smokes marijuana while praying to Lord Shiva. The “fire bath” helps to kill germs and infection, he claims. 

The 63-year-old man’s professional life suffered when customers of his grocery store stopped shopping there due to his “unhealthy personality.” He had to close the store and now tills fields in the holy city of Varanasi. 

Kalau claims his commitment to not bathing was due to national interest. He vows to end his pledge when all problems confronting the nation end. His neighbors in the village of Chatav differ and say his washing boycott really is about his suspicions and not having a son. 

Most Indians prefer sons, who are typically regarded as breadwinners, while girls are seen as a burden because of the matrimonial dowry demanded by a groom’s family and the fact that their earnings go to their husband’s family. 

No washy washy? It’s a miracle he has seven daughters. 

I’m melting, I’m melting!

http://www.livescience.com/strangenews/090513-best-illustions.html

MANNING, S.C., May 13 (UPI) -- Police in South Carolina said a waitress allegedly shot a customer in the arm and struck the customer with the gun during a heated argument.

Crystal Samuel said she was waiting for a takeout breakfast order at the Waffle House in Manning, S.C., when a waitress, identified by police as Yakeisha Ward, 29, allegedly told her friends they could not eat their food while waiting for Samuel's order, WLTX-TV, Columbia, S.C., reported Wednesday.

"I said what is your fuss about. I said we haven't paid for our food. She (Ward) said well you all got to leave. How you want us to leave and we ain't paid for the food yet," Samuel said.

Samuel said she threw a waffle at the waitress "but it didn't hit her."

"That's when she (Ward) jumped across the counter and we got into it," she said.

Clarendon County Sheriff Randy Garrett said the women took their argument outside and Ward retrieved a gun from her car. He said Ward's gun discharged during the altercation and a bullet fragment struck Samuel in the arm. Ward also struck Samuel in the head with the gun before deputies arrived and ended the confrontation, Garrett said.

Ward was charged with assault and battery with intent to kill. She was released after posting $500 bond.

May 12, 2009

DALLAS - Like most twins, 11-month-old Justin and Jordan have a lot in common. But it's what they do not have in common that has a lot of people, including their parents, calling them a miracle of science.

"I have twins, but they're by different fathers," said Mia Washington.

The twins' parents contacted FOX 4, wanting to go public with their story. Washington admits she had an affair that resulted in two babies, born at the same time, fathered by two different men.

"Out of all people in America and of all people in the world, it had to happen to me. I'm very shocked," Washington said.

The parents went to Dallas DNA Lab Clear Diagnostics after noticing the twins have different facial features.

According to the paternity test, there's a 99.999 percent chance Justin and Jordan do not have the same father, and zero percent chance they do. The lab has never seen this type of result, nor do they expect to see it again....

Video Link:

http://www.myfoxdfw.com/dpp/news/weird/Dallas_Twins_Fathered_by_2_Men

                                             

Two women switched at birth reconnect    May 12: Two 56-year-old women reconnect after DNA tests confirm they were switched as newborns at an Oregon hospital. TODAY's Hoda Kotb and Kathie Lee Gifford discuss the amazing story.

HEPPNER, Ore. - On a spring day in 1953, two baby girls were born at Pioneer Memorial Hospital in eastern Oregon. They grew up happily, got married, had kids of their own and became grandparents. Then last summer their lives were turned upside down.

Kay Rene Reed Qualls found out that she and DeeAnn Angell Shafer were switched at birth.

They recently met for the first time and underwent DNA tests after a woman who knew both their mothers called Qualls' brother with her suspicion

Qualls' brother, Bobby Reed, said the 86-year-old woman knew his mother and had also lived next door to the Angell family.

"She said she had something she had to get off her chest," he told the East Oregonian newspaper in a story published Monday.

Rumors of a mix-up
The woman, whom he declined to identify by name, told him that his mother, Marjorie Angell, had insisted back in 1953 she had been given the wrong baby after the nurses returned from bathing the two newborns, but her concerns were brushed off.

Video Link:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30704907/

Callous thief stole keys from hearse

May 12 2009

Mark Welford

Evening Gazette

A CALLOUS thief has admitted targeting a funeral by taking the keys from the hearse of a rival undertaker.

David Leslie Wood, 48, of Bridge Court, Middlesbrough admitted theft at Teesside Crown Court.

As previously reported in the Evening Gazette, the vintage Rolls Royce Phantom 6 funeral car containing the body of Patricia Thorburn was outside the Salvation Army Citadel in Trimdon Avenue, Middlesbrough, after the funeral service on Tuesday September 23 when the heartless thief struck.

Shocked mourners were left in disbelief as the dignity of the 65-year-old’s final journey to Acklam Cemetery was destroyed. The dashboard of the car, which belonged to Joel D Kerr had to be stripped out and the hearse “hot wired”. It is believed the theft, which caused major disruption and a one hour delay in the funeral plans, was carried out by Wood after he accused Mr Kerr of taking business - something Mr Kerr denied.

Wood was expected to go on trial yesterday but pleaded guilty.

Speaking after yesterday’s hearing Irene Jessop, funeral director with Joel D Kerr funeral service in Marton Road, Middlesbrough, said: “We are very relieved and pleased that Mr Wood pleaded guilty for the awful crime he committed.”

The incident happened at around 2pm in the citadel car park as the family were preparing to go to the cemetery for the funeral.

Speaking at the time Ms Jessop, said: “The level of disrespect is unbelievable, dreadful.

“The cars were left unattended for only five to 10 minutes at the most. We had got the deceased and family members out of the citadel and were ready to leave when the hearse driver said the keys had gone. I have been a funeral director for 16 years and have never experienced such disrespect.”

One shocked family member who asked not to be named said at the time: “I can’t understand what type of person would steal the keys to a hearse on the way to a burial. It is sickening.”

Prosecutor Jolyon Perks said Wood last appeared in court in 1996 but had gone 20 years without offending.

He said businessman Joel D Kerr had to pay £250 for a replacement secondhand lock ignition but the repair to the trim and the cost of matching the locks on the vehicle had not yet been itemised.

Judge Les Spittle adjourned the case for a background and pre-sentence report and Wood will appear in court again in around three weeks time.

He told Wood that he could anticipate some “financial costs by way of compensation” to Mr Kerr and added that he would like to involve the probation officer to find an appropriate community order.

The judge added: “The victim here is not going to bear the cost of your activity.”