A new season of the weight-loss show will air in January and producers have allowed children as young as 13 to come compete at the ranch. According to The Daily Mail , the show’s secured pediatricians and childhood obesity experts, but the decision to bring pre-teens on is still drawing criticisms… In a bid to tackle childhood obesity The Biggest Loser is welcoming 13-year-old contestants for the first time in its eight-year history. Traditionally the hit NBC show has helped adults shift extra pounds, but Season 14 will address America’s growing epidemic with the help of three overweight teens. Talking about the upcoming series, returning trainer and new mother Jillian Michaels, told People: ‘This is about an introduction to an active lifestyle and helping them feel better about themselves.’ She added: ‘This is not their fault… It is about reeducating them and working on their goals.’ Michaels – along with fellow trainers Bob Harper and Dolvett Quince – will mentor Sanjana Chandrasekar, 16, Lindsay Bravo, 13, and Noah Gray, 13. Dr Joanna Dolgoff, a childhood obesity expert and pediatrician will also work closely with the team, helping tlo formulate age-appropriate diet and exercise plans. In addition to the teens, 15 adults will also feature, including the show’s first openly gay contestant, 21-year-old Jackson Carter; former college football player Joe Ostaszewski; and police officer David Jones, 51. The teens will not be asked to weigh in on camera and they will train predominately at home. They will also not be up for elimination. We’re glad they won’t be asked to step up on the scale but, do you think their participation still puts them in vulnerable positions? We wish all of the contestants luck! Images via youtube/tumblr
Adults on the scene tried to help but it was too late…SMH. According to The Daily Mail … A 12-year-old boy was grabbed by a crocodile which swam off with the child in its mouth today in the second fatal attack within two weeks in Australia’s tropical Northern Territory. Although teams of police and rangers will continue the hunt for the youngster on Sunday they privately fear that the boy is well beyond help. ‘Inital reports suggest adults within the group tried to save the boy by spearing the animal, but the crocodile dragged the child out to deeper water,’ said police Superintendent Michael White. He said officers from an Aboriginal police station were remaining at the scene until dusk and would resume the search for the boy at first light on Sunday. Mr White said the tragedy once again highlighted the dangers of swimming in waterways in northern Australia. Today’s attack was a chilling reminder of the day earlier in November when the seven-year-old girl was snatched by a saltwater crocodile 210 miles east of Darwin, the Northern Territory’s capital. Police searching the waterhole shot dead a 10ft crocodile and an examination of the reptile revealed what were believed to be remains of the child in its stomach. Saltwater crocodiles, which can grow up to 25ft and weigh more than a ton, are plentiful in the Northern Territory and signs have been erected near waterways warning visitors to stay away from the water and river banks. Crocodiles are protected in the Northern Territory and their numbers have increased steadily, resulting in a number of attacks on people, One man writing to the Northern Territory News today said: ‘This has got to stop – there are too many crocs. ‘Of course we need to use common sense when in the bush, but please let’s have a sensible policy on the crocodile population.’ Is it the crocs fault or should folks not go for a dip in infested waters?? Images via tumblr
Could you leave all the ‘unnecessary’ things in life behind in exchange for just enough space and cheaper energy bills ?? According to The Daily Mail , there are lots of folks in DC that are saying ‘Yes We Can’… A neighborhood of miniaturized homes, that look like what some Americans build in their backyards as dollhouses, is propping up in northeast Washington, D.C. The 150 to 200 square feet living spaces in a transformed vacant lot behind a line of row houses, sell for between $20,000 to $50,000 a piece and are part of a national backlash to the conspicuous consumption of the McMansion era. The concept of the tiny residences came from Tumbleweed Tiny House Co., based in Santa Rosa, Calif., that launched in 2000. The plans faced a tepid reception but after the credit crisis of 2008, have exploded in popularity. The lot was purchased in March by a group of four DC residents who became interested in creating a neighborhood of tiny houses as an example of affordable, scaled back living. The group have transformed the concrete abandoned lot into a grassy area for the stall-like homes. They also have plans to construct a garden area and plant 10-15 trees to surround the lot. The group of homes will all circle an open, grassy area with a picnic table open to the community. The homes, ideal for one or two inhabitants, are naturally limited in space and so the neighborhood will include a 8’x20’ garage/storage structure for those items that just can’t be squeezed into the miniature shelters. Jay Shafer, who founded the The Tumbleweed Tiny House Co., has sold more than 1,500 sets of plans for the small living spaces. He said after the recession of 2008, the tiny houses took off. ‘Americans still like our stuff big and cheap, so a 100-square-foot house is not for everyone or big families. But people in tiny homes save a ton of money on heating and AC,’ he told the Washington Post. Though Shafer used to reside in a 90-square foot house, he has since upgraded to a 500-square-foot home after he and his wife welcomed their second child. ‘It’s no longer about impressing your friends with your huge 1980s castle, it’s more about your lifestyle: What restaurants and fitness centers and community life can you walk to? It’s not about driving everywhere and staying inside and spending hours watching TV,’ said Monty Hoffman, chief executive and founder of PN Hoffman, a Washington area condo builder. ‘They’re a statement that no one needs to be trapped in a mortgage they can’t afford in a house that’s too big for them anyway,’ Amy Lynch, a consultant with the Minneapolis-based BridgeWorks, told the Washington Post about the practicality of the miniaturized residences after the housing crisis of 2009. ‘The baby boomers raised their children. Now, they’re looking at all this stuff they have and thinking, ‘What has meaning for me now?’ Plus, these tiny houses are small enough that you can clean — actually clean them!’ The DC neighborhood that is beginning to take shape, called Stronghold, is the brainchild of Boneyard Studios, a group that has mobilized volunteers and residents to join the cause. But the pint-sized homes make some area residents feel like the American Dream is no long attainable. ‘These tiny houses feels like we are going backwards,’ Patricia Harris, who owns a rowhouse in the District, said. Hit the flip for more shots of the tiny lil’ homes…
The Long Island Power Authority should be ashamed of themselves! According to The New York Post , they’ve sent millions of their customers ‘normal’ electric bills, as if Sandy and the power outages never even happened!?!? The clueless utility charged Sandy-soaked Long Island residents an estimated rate that covered the entire billing cycle, and the statements made no mention of potential refunds to account for the prolonged blackouts. Jonathan Saporta was slapped with a double whammy by the Long Island Power Authority — a $649 bill for the Long Beach home he left in October and a $281 bill for his new Great Neck pad. He also is expecting a $1,700 bill for his storm-ravaged restaurant, Jake’s Wayback Burger, which is in hard-hit Long Beach and remains without power. “I can’t get LIPA to acknowledge my existence on earth to talk to me about anything,” he ranted. “But I guess they had power, so they could print my bills. Nice, right?” Saporta, 33, moved to the Great Neck home on Oct. 1 and got the bill in the mail on Wednesday for a cycle covering 43 days — including the two weeks he spent in the dark following the Oct. 29 storm. Even though he switched his account to the new address on Sept. 26, he still received an e-mail bill for the Long Beach house on Nov. 10 — and somehow it was $390 more than the previous month. “I am not paying any of my bills, that much I promise,” said Saporta. “They can put me into collections, and I’ll fight them tooth-and-nail. “It’s simply criminal.” Michael Hilferty, 29, an attorney from Long Beach, was e-mailed his bill — which was about a dollar more than the previous month — as he chowed down on some turkey. “To get this message on Thanksgiving was crass and classless. It’s just heartless,” he said. His oceanfront building was flooded with 7 feet of water and inundated with 4 feet of sand, covering the LIPA meters. Hilferty left the apartment, which remains dark and boarded up, and has been staying in Connecticut. Yet he was hit for 29 days of electric usage, including delivery and system charges. David Wasserman, 40, of Merrick, tried to report online the difference between his actual and estimated electric usage. “I got some message that said, ‘Service records show your usage would be higher. Please call an operator for further assistance,’ ” he said. “No one ever picked up.” LIPA did not return repeated calls seeking comment. Con Ed, on the other hand, wants to refund its Manhattan customers who lost power $3 and customers from other boroughs who lost power $6, the utility proposed this week in a filing with the Public Service Commission. Those figures represent a portion of customers’ fixed monthly bills, which exclude power usage. This is just ridiculous. SMH Images via tumblr
Wonder if Papa’s ‘dip’ in sales had anything to do with this shady letter? Pay attention folks! According to The Huffington Post , this is what a half-azzed apology from a wealthy CEO looks like! Reading what has been written about statements I made on the effect of the Affordable Care Act on our franchisees reminds me of a quote from Lewis H. Lapham, former editor of Harper’s magazine: “People may expect too much of journalism. Not only do they expect it to be entertaining, they expect it to be true.” Many in the media reported that I said Papa John’s is going to close stores and cut jobs because of Obamacare. I never said that. The fact is we are going to open over hundreds of stores this year and next and increase employment by over 5,000 jobs worldwide. And, we have no plans to cut team hours as a result of the Affordable Care Act. Clearly there was some misunderstanding somewhere. The remarks that generated the headlines were made during an entrepreneur class I was asked to speak to at a Florida college. I was asked to share my experience as an entrepreneur and to provide the students with real-life small business situations. Unbeknownst to me, until she identified herself, a reporter was there. Reporter: “My understanding is that if you’re a full time employee, which is 35 hours or over, you’d be covered. Or if you’re part time then you wouldn’t be. So wouldn’t some business owners just cut people down like 34 hours a week so they wouldn’t have to pay for health insurance?” Me: “It’s common sense. It’s what I call lose-lose.” Companies like Papa John’s are largely a collection of small independent businesses. The average Papa John’s franchisee owns three to four stores. Since our franchisees own the restaurants they operate, who they hire, how many hours they give each employee and what they pay each employee is up to them, not me or Papa John’s. Like any small business in these economic times, our franchisees are under a tremendous amount of pressure on costs. During that same interview, talking about Obamacare I said, though it wasn’t widely reported: “The good news is 100% of the population (full-time workers) is going to get health insurance. I’m cool with that.” “We’re all going to pay for it. There’s nothing for free.” “And this way I get to provide health insurance and I’m not at a competitive disadvantage … our competitors are going to have to do the same thing.” Papa John’s, like most businesses, is still researching what the Affordable Care Act means to our operations. Regardless of the conclusion of our analysis, we will honor this law, as we do all laws, and continue to offer 100% of Papa John’s corporate employees and workers in company-owned stores health insurance as we have since the company was founded in 1984. How the hell is this a ‘lose-lose situation’ when the dayum CEO isn’t losing a thing? Maybe because the worker’s losing out twice?? Fewer hours = not being eligible for insurance is going to start becoming the norm soon. All of this for .11 fawking cents per pizza. Images via tumblr
Wow! This guy has no grasp of reality for the rest of us 47% folks . Mittens just got caught again talking that same isht he was spittin’ earlier this year when he told TOP donors that POTUS won his re-election through the “gifts” he was already giving blacks, Hispanics, and the youth. According to The Huffington Post , Romney’s finance team organized the call to donors: “The president’s campaign, if you will, focused on giving targeted groups a big gift,” Romney said in a call to donors on Wednesday. “He made a big effort on small things.” Romney said his campaign, in contrast, had been about “big issues for the whole country.” He said he faced problems as a candidate because he was “getting beat up” by the Obama campaign and that the debates allowed him to come back. In the call, Romney didn’t acknowledge any major missteps, such as his “47 percent” remarks widely viewed as denigrating nearly half of Americans, his lack of support for the auto bailout, his call for illegal immigrants to “self-deport,” or his change in position on abortion, gun control and other issues. He also didn’t address the success or failure of the campaign’s strategy of focusing on the economy in the face of some improvement in employment and economic growth during the months leading up to Election Day. Obama won the popular vote by about 3.5 million votes, or 3 percent, and won the Electoral College by a wide margin, 332-206 electoral votes. Exit polls conducted for The Associated Press and television networks showed that Obama led Romney by 11 percentage points among women and won better than 7 of 10 Hispanic voters and more than 9 of 10 black voters. Romney called his loss to Obama a disappointing result that he and his team had not expected, but he said he believed his team had run a superb campaign. He said he was trying to turn his thoughts to the future, “but, frankly, we’re still so troubled by the past, it’s hard to put together our plans for the future.” Among the “gifts” Romney cited were free health care “in perpetuity,” which he said was highly motivational to black and Hispanic voters as well as for voters making $25,000 to $35,000 a year. Romney also said the administration’s promise to offer what he called “amnesty” to the children of illegal immigrants – what he termed “the so-called DREAM Act kids” – helped send Hispanics to the polls for Obama. Young voters, Romney said, were motivated by the administration’s plan for partial forgiveness of college loan interest and being able to remain on their parents’ health insurance plans. Young women had an additional incentive to vote for Obama because of free contraception coverage under the president’s health care plan, he said. “I’m very sorry that we didn’t win,” he told donors. “I know that you expected to win. We expected to win. We were disappointed; we hadn’t anticipated it.” Romney said he and his team were discussing how his donor group could remain connected and have an influence on the direction of the Republican Party and even the selection of a future nominee – “which, by the way, will not be me.” We’re still looking for that ‘free stuff’ Mittens keeps talking about. We’ll let you know when we find it! Images via tumblr
This is raising a lot of eyebrows and analysts are questioning how not one single vote was made for Romney . According to The Grio : U.S. cities are usually bursting with Democrats. Politically homogeneous, most big cities have 75 to 80 percent of its residents identifying with President Barack Obama’s party. Still, what happened in some Philadelphia districts on Election Day was incredible. Fifty-nine of the city’s voting districts came up with results that if proven to be without fault, are outstanding. They reported that not a single person voted for GOP candidate Mitt Romney. Zero. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports the unofficial vote tallies for President Obama at 19,605 to Mitt Romney’s nil. “We have always had these dense urban corridors that are extremely Democratic,” said Stanford University political science professor Jonathan Rodden told Philly.com, “It’s kind of an urban fact, and you are looking at the extreme end of it in Philadelphia.” The unanimous support for Obama was clustered in the predominantly black neighborhoods of West and North Philadelphia. Though a big win, the result can be used as fodder for voter fraud conspiracy theorists. Steve Miskin, a spokesman for Republicans in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives brought up his party’s voter ID initiative when he heard about the results. “We believe we need to continue ensuring the integrity of the ballot,” he said. “I’d be surprised if there weren’t a handful of precincts that didn’t cast a vote for Romney, but the number of zero precincts in Philadelphia deserves examination.” said Larry Sabato, a political scientist at the University of Virginia who has studied African-American precincts. “Not a single vote for Romney or even an error? That’s worth looking into,” he said. In many of the wards, not only were votes for Romney missing, but Republicans were generally AWOL. The City Board of Elections claimed some registered voters were Republicans. But when asked by the Inquirer, they said they were Democrats. James Norris, 19, is listed as a Republican, but claims to be a Democrat. Another voter, Eric Sapp, 42, was surprised to hear that the city listed him as a Republican. Both voted for President Obama. “I got to check on that,” Sapp told the Inquirer. This result isn’t the first time that the Democrat candidate has won so overwhelmingly in a Philadelphia precinct. George W. Bush came out with no votes in five divisions in 2004, and in 2008, McCain didn’t get a single vote in 57 divisions. Do you think it’s all a coincidence?? Images via WENN
Taxpayer money spent really well …SMH. A homeless man had to pay $500 in bail or spend the night in jail this past Sunday. He chose the latter…and all of this was over his arrest for charging his cell using an outlet at a public picnic shelter. According to The Herald Tribune : Darren Kersey, 28, was charged with theft of utilities after Sarasota Police Sgt. Anthony Frangioni spotted him charging his phone at about 9:20 p.m. Sunday. Unable to come up with the $500 bail for the misdemeanor, Kersey had no choice but to stay in jail. In his arrest report, Frangioni wrote that he told Kersey that the “theft of city utilities will not be tolerated during this bad economy.” Frangioni also told Kersey that he should charge his phone at local shelters, according to the report. But Monday morning Circuit Judge Charles Williams threw the case out, saying Frangioni lacked the legal justification to make the arrest. Frangioni, a 14-year veteran of the Sarasota Police Department, did not return calls or emails seeking comment for this story. Neither did City Manager Thomas Barwin. Police spokesman Capt. Paul Sutton said Chief Mikel Hollaway, who was off Monday, will be reviewing the case today. Following the review the department is expected to issue a statement, Sutton said. The arrest threatens to add to a rolling battle between Sarasota and the American Civil Liberties Union, which have clashed over various homeless issues. Glad the Judge was smart enough to toss this bull out. Images via facebook
The Cops never even released an Amber Alert , citing the teen “did not fit the criteria”. Her poor family had to get the heartbreaking news that their baby girl’s body was found, stuffed inside a furniture trunk, alongside the highway and everyone’s wondering if the Police should have done more. According to The Huffington Post , the family is asking the killer to come forward. The emotional plea came Thursday from Alicia Chanta Moore’s aunt, Jessica Byrd, on behalf of the 16-year-old murder victims’ entire family. “Do the right thing and turn yourself in. That’s all we ask you to do so we can get some sort of peace from this situation,” Byrd told The Huffington Post. The distraught aunt, whose deep sorrow was evident in her voice, added, “We’re not here to judge you. That’s not our job. That’s God’s job.” The body of 16-year-old Alicia Moore was discovered at about 12 p.m. Tuesday in a furniture trunk along Highway 47. The body, police said, was transported to the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office for the positive identification. According to Greenville Police Chief Dan Busken, detectives are treating the case as a homicide. Moore appears to have suffered trauma wounds, though the exact cause of death has not yet been determined, Busken said. “We have a lot of work ahead of us with this investigation,” Busken said. “We have received many tips from the community, and we hope those tips continue to come in.” The police chief did not elaborate on what type of trauma Moore suffered and did indicate whether police have a suspect in mind. Moore’s body was found in Van Zandt County, about 40 miles away from Greenville where she disappeared. Moore was last seen Friday afternoon when she got off the school bus. Busken said officials at Greenville Independent School District reviewed campus surveillance camera footage that showed Moore safely exit the bus at 3:25 p.m. Friday, near her home at the corner of Bourland and Walnut streets. What happened to the teen after her drop-off — roughly one block from her home — remains a mystery. “There’s nothing that we can think of that could have happened,” Byrd said. “She’s not the type that would just take off and she would not walk up to anybody she did not know. She is very shy and quiet. Either someone threatened her to come with them or she was approached by someone she trusted. We just don’t know.” Authorities said they interviewed Moore’s friends and teachers. The school district’s technology department also attempted to trace the location of Moore’s school-issued iPad, however officials said the device had been reset and was untraceable. Byrd said Moore’s family is upset that police did not do more to locate the missing teenager. An Amber Alert was never issued and a police press release was not issued until Monday, Byrd said. “[Police] didn’t do enough,” Byrd said. “They told us the situation did not qualify for an Amber Alert because there was no evidence of abduction. Then they waited till Monday to do something.” Cedric Fisher, a friend of Moore’s family, expressed the same doubts in an interview with The Dallas Morning News. “I feel like personally [the police] really dropped the ball,” Fisher said. Lori Philyaw, public information officer for the city of Greenville, Texas, told HuffPost Wednesday that authorities did not issue an Amber Alert for Moore because the case “did not fit the criteria.” According to the Texas Department of Public Safety, a law enforcement agency in Texas must meet a number of specific criteria’s to issue a state Amber Alert. That criterion includes determining whether abduction occurred and or if the child is in “immediate danger of sexual assault, death or serious bodily injury.” The Greenville Independent School District issued a notice to parents Thursday about a suspicious person who had approached a student. According to the notice, a student at Greenville Middle School reported being approached Wednesday and offered a ride by a man in a gray or silver Dodge four-door pickup truck. “The student reported that the suspect had been waiting on Texas Street in front of the Middle School as though waiting to pick up a child, only he did not pick up a child,” Superintendent Don Jeffries said. “Instead, the man drove his pickup truck toward the student in the parking lot. He lowered his window and asked if the student needed a ride and offered to take the student home. When the student refused, the man drove away west on Park.” Authorities have not yet commented on the possibility of a link between Wednesday’s report of a suspicious person and Moore’s homicide. Meanwhile, Byrd said that the last 6 days have been a living nightmare for her family. “We just don’t know why [this happened] or who could be responsible,” she said. “This is a nightmare that we wish would just go away.” Anyone with information in this case is asked to contact the Greenville Police Department at 903-457-2900. This is just all-around sad to think about. Knowing that last image of Alicia getting off of the bus is the last her loved ones have of her. Thoughts and prayers go to the family and we hope this is a reminder to us all to keep your beautiful babies close. There are monsters out there! Images via tumblr
This piece of isht doesn’t even have an argument to make in court … According to NBC News : DeMarco Myles, 19, wrote down his first name and cell phone number for a 19-year-old Howard University student after he allegedly raped her in her room at Bethune annex, an all-women’s dorm, Friday afternoon. Police tracked the number to a Fourth Street NW address where Myles lives with his mother and arrested him. The first attack took place in a Rhode Island Row apartment Oct. 26 in Northeast D.C. The victim, a 24-year-old consultant, was working from home when she got a knock at the door about 2 p.m. by a man who said he was promoting a party. He forced his way in to her apartment before allegedly trying to kill her. She said she screamed at the top of her lungs and fought back as he kicked and beat her and stabbed her at least 25 times. The Howard student told police the suspect appeared in her room and made casual conversation about 1:15 p.m. Friday, one week after the first attack. She told him to get out, but he didn’t. She began texting a friend, and the suspect pulled out brass knuckles with a purple blade, grabbed the victim’s phone, texted the victim’s friend and then raped the victim, according to court documents. Then he allegedly wrote the note, saying, “Since you don’t know me, here’s my number.” He tried to cross out the phone number, according to court documents, but detectives were able to read it. A man matching Myles’s description entered other rooms at Bethune but left when asked, detectives learned. Myles told detectives that the sex with the Howard student was consensual, but he admitted forcing his way in to the Rhode Island Row apartment and stabbing her after she resisted, according to court documents. He asked detectives if she survived, saying he didn’t mean to kill anyone. Thoughts go out to the victim and we can only hope this disgusting kid gets a reality check in prison soon!! Images via nbc
