Teachers Charged With Terrorism Over Tweets

A Mexican teacher and tutor could face up to 30 years in jail after allegedly spreading false reports of child kidnappings on a social networking website.

Britain's Daily Mail reported car crashes and panic followed after the accused allegedly posted rumours on Twitter stating that gunmen were kidnapping children from schools in Veracruz, Mexico.

Tutor Gilberto Martinez Vera, 48, and Maria de Jesus Bravo, a teacher and radio commentator, face charges of terrorism and sabotage.

Vera's lawyer has said the rumour was already circulating.

2,370-pound Crocodile Hunted Down

Dozens of locals and expert hunters were involved in a three-week effort to ensnare a 21-foot, 2,370-pound SyFy-esque ultra-croc in the Philippine town of Bunawan.

“We were nervous but it’s our duty to deal with a threat to the villagers,” Mayor Edwin Cox Elorde told the Associated Press. “When I finally stood before it, I couldn’t believe my eyes.”

The massive saltwater crocodile is set to become the highlight of a eco-tourism park set to open in the area.

[ap / ibt.]

Introducing Fried...What...? Bubblegum?

Move over doughnut cheeseburger, there’s a new fried what? in town, and his name is bubblegum.

Winner of “most creative dish” at the 7th Annual Big Tex Choice Awards, fried bubblegum isn’t actually gum — it’s a Chiclets-topped marshmallow infused with bubblegum extract — but according to creator Justin Martinez, it’s as close as you’re going to (or going to want to) get to the real deal.

Other fried food finalists include “buffalo chicken in a flapjack,” Deep-Fried Texas Salsa(tm), and El Bananarito — a fried tortilla-wrapped banana. All of these wholesome, colon-friendly health foods will be available at the Texas State Fair, which opens to the public September 30th.

And just for the sake of it, we're posting two video players so you can watch the news story again after ward. Enjoy.

[nbcdfw.]

Eddie Murphey On Board to Host The Oscars

It’s official: Eddie Murphy has been tapped to host the 84th Academy Awards.

Murphy, an Oscar nominee himself (Dreamgirls), was handpicked by producer Brett Ratner to host the show, which is slated to air Sunday, February 26th.

“Eddie is a comedic genius, one of the greatest and most influential live performers ever,” said Ratner in a statement. “With his love of movies, history of crafting unforgettable characters and his iconic performances – especially on stage – I know he will bring excitement, spontaneity and tremendous heart to the show Don [Mischer] and I want to produce in February.”

“I am enormously honored to join the great list of past Academy Award hosts from Hope and Carson to Crystal, Martin and Goldberg, among others,” said Murphy in the same statement.

According to Deadline, Murphy’s Hollywood agency WME sees his hosting gig as an opportunity to kick-start the actor’s “dormant career.”

[oscars / deadline.]

Entertainment: Adele to Vogue: ‘I Puke Quite a Lot’

Adele vomits constantly, but it's more anxiety disorder than eating disorder. Madonna ridicules a fan on an open mic. Alyson Hannigan isn't pregnant, just bloated. Alexander Skarsgard growls at girls. Tuesday gossip is body conscious.

• Adele vomits constantly, but not in an eating disorder way. "I puke quite a lot before going on stage, though never actually on stage...The bigger the freak-out, the more I enjoy the show." You'd think this would eventually have negative consequences on her voice (wasn't excess stomach acid Ashlee Simpson's excuse for lip syncing?) but so far so good, I guess. [Us, Vogue, Image via Getty]

• Alexander Skarsgard went "on the hunt for some midnight tequila" at the Hamptons this weekend. A separate report has him "'doing growls' and some air-claw baring" later in the night, so it is safe to say he probably found it. [P6, Gatecrasher]

• Here's a Madonna at a Venice Film Festival press conference, receiving a bouquet of hydrangeas. She rolls her eyes, tosses the bouquet on the floor, then turns to her seatmate and announces, "I absolutely loathe hydrangeas. He obviously doesn't know that." All in the vicinity of a live microphone, and press conference cameras! You'd think she'd be better with those by now. [Celebitchy]

• Free-range spaghetti noodle Gwyneth Paltrow is still talking about the life she saved on 9/11, when she almost ran a lady over with her ginormous SVU, thereby preventing the lady from getting to work on time. "Basically, what happened was I had gone to a yoga class very early." Yoga saves! Gwyneth saves! Hail GOOP! [Us]

• Colin Farrell on filming kissing scenes: "It's always strange to kiss someone when you know they're getting paid to kiss you back. That's the most simple, mathematical way to put it." O RLY? "But it's part of the gig and at the same time, kissing is lovely. So any time I get to kiss someone, that's great." Oh, really. [FemaleFirst]

• Lindsay Lohan community service update: 45 hours down, 445 to go! After a few hundred more hours at a women's shelter, she will switch to duty at the county morgue. [Radar]

• "Is Alyson Hannigan PREGGERS?!" gossips asked after seeing the doe-eyed beauty's distended belly at the Malibu Chili Cook Off Carnival this weekend. "NO, I'm not pregnant. I just ate too much carnival food, that time of the month, hurt my back & couldn't suck my gut in, and need to do cardio! And I'm NEVER gonna wear that shirt again!!!" Well, this is awkward. [Perez, Us, @Alydenisof]

• Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel attended a wedding in Colorado, and "everyone was kind of hoping Justin would get up and perform with the band" at a bar they went to later. Instead, one of his friends got up and "played the bluegrass violin"! But that guy wasn't famous, so it's like, WTF, why do these hobos keep rushing the stage? [Radar]

• Chaz Bono on his transphobic haters: "It's made me realize I'm really glad I'm doing this, because America really needs to see this… there's so many just completely inaccurate stereotypes and thoughts that people have." [ABCNews, Celebitchy]

• Guy Ritchie had a baby with girlfriend Jacqui Ainsley, who looks a little like Kate Beckinsale. Mazel tov! [Mirror]

• Anderson Cooper tweeted today that the guests on the September 12 debut of his daytime talk show will be Amy Winehouse's family, giving their first interview about her death. A mix of topical and emotional. He is the new Oprah! [Twitter]

The Video: Many, Many Film Appearances of the Twin Towers

The two monoliths of the World Trade Center were such an integral part of the New York skyline, that you didn't even notice them in the many movie shots of Gotham's majestic sprawl. Now, a decade after they fell, their presence in a movie scene is all you can see. Here are some of their greatest starring rolls.

Filmmaker Dan Meth (no jokes about his sister Crystal) put together this video of the twin towers in the background (or foreground) of dozens of movies starting in the '70s, when they weren't even finished, up until 2000. They appear in everything from the sacred (Serpico) to the profane (Home Alone II: Parenting Never Sleeps) and everything in between. Like a great character actor, we'll never stop noticing what they add to a scene.

Twin Tower Cameos from Dan Meth on Vimeo.

Videos of The Edewalk at the CN Tower

Here are some videos of the new crazy tourist ride at the top of the CN Tower in Toronto. No matter how strong that harness is, I know I will be freaking out. And loving it.

New Study Warns Hot Dog Eaters What Exactly They Are Eating

Hot dogs. Juicy, succulent, mouth savouring meat. A pink mixed mash of deliciousness. See hot dog, want hot dog, eat hot dog. That's what I think, at least. I might have to think twice though. Some truly disgusting stuff is sometimes found in a hotdiggity.

The NY Times sent a FOIA request to the USDA asking to see the complaints the USDA received about foreign objects in hot dogs and um, it ain't pretty. I know hot dogs aren't exactly the shining saint of natural, healthy human food but I didn't expect it to be this bad. Here's a list of the grossest things that managed to finagle its way into the pink tube we all know and love (and probably ate this past weekend):

small piece of glass
worms
maggots
bone fragments
plastic
piece of an eyeball
piece of metal
"something green"
rat leg
"someone has ejaculated in these hot dogs"
Band-Aids
rubber glove
lock washer
"winged insect that resembled a dragonfly inside the package of hot dogs"
razor

There's more too, I could only look at about half of the 64 case files the NY Times received before grossing myself out. All of these "foreign objects" were in complaints filed with the USDA from 2007 through 2009. Having these case files doesn't mean they're all true but it does mean the USDA investigated these claims to a certain point.

Luckily, in most if not all cases, the USDA determined that there was no "pattern of neglect at the packing plant" and just notified the company that handled the hot dogs. To be fair, foreign objects inside hot dogs are still a pretty rare occurrence. Think about it, there are 20 billion dogs made every year and only a few cases include "foreign objects". That's not too bad of a rate, I suppose? Whatever. I'm never eating a hot dog again. Or at least I won't eat one today.

Check out the entire case files of complaints here: Scribd

[NY Times, Image Credit: nito/Shutterstock]

Large Water Balloon Fight Draws in 8,957 Participants

LEXINGTON, Ky. -- Organizers of an event billed as "The World's Largest Water Balloon Fight" at the University of Kentucky said they set a world record with 8,957 participants.

The Lexington school's Christian Student Fellowship said the Aug. 26 event set a world record with 8,957 people lobbing a total of 175,000 water balloons, CBS News reported Tuesday.

Organizer Reid Wahlbrink told The Kentucky Kernal the event marked the third time the CSF has set the world record for the world's largest water balloon fight.

"I've been a part of the production every year," Wahlbrink said. "It's getting bigger every year with more people and more balloons."

"A lot of people ask us 'Why do you guys do this every year?' and it's just a way to let a lot of people – 9,000 people – know about (CSF) right off of the bat," Wahlbrink said. "We're a Christian ministry on campus, and we're here for U.K. students."

[UPI]

World's Longest Ears Gets Dog into Record Books

BOULDER, Colo. -- Guinness World Records announced a Colorado coonhound will appear in the 2012 book after receiving the title of "longest ears on a living dog."

The record keeping organization said Harbor, an 8-year-old coonhound belonging to Jennifer Wert of Boulder, made it into the book with a left ear measuring 12.25 inches long and a right ear measuring 13.75 inches long, The Denver Post reported Tuesday.

"When he was 9 months old, he was sitting in his crate and his ears were hanging down over his paws," Wert said.

Guinness said the previous record holder was an Illinois bloodhound named Tigger, which had a 13.5-inch left ear and a 13.75-inch right ear before his death in 2009.

[UPI]

Video: Only in New Zealand - A Flash Haka

This took play on Sunday, at exactly 3pm, and I hear that it is mandatory for every man born to do this everyday at that exact time.



[LiveLeak]

Regis Philbin To Retire From Talk Show In Nov.

NEW YORK — Regis Philbin says he'll retire from his talk show on November 18.

The veteran TV personality made the announcement on Tuesday's edition of "Live with Regis and Kelly" as it began its 24th season in national syndication.

Philbin announced last January that he planned to leave the show by year's end, but didn't specify a date. The show will continue with Kelly Ripa, who joined him as co-host a decade ago.

No new co-host has yet been chosen to team up with Ripa.

Philbin, who turned 80 last month, has been a TV fixture since the 1950s. A three-time Emmy Award winner, he was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences at the Daytime Emmy Awards in 2008.

Video: Don’t Trust Your Hotel Room Safe

Because it's not secure at all. The default password for the safe (regardless of what password you've set) is insanely simple.



This is a little disconcerting. Frequent traveller and caution-monger skyrangerpro discovered something bad about his hotel safe: it can be opened, overriding his own password, by entering all zeros. You might want to check your hotel safe today.

We're still trying to discern the make of the unit in question up there, but it looks pretty standard issue. Manufacturer Nationwide Safes doesn't make this one, but had this to say:

The safe shown in the video is not one of our hotel safes. However, most hotel safes, including the one shown in the video, support two user codes: a guest (user) passcode and an override code for use by hotel security. When a guest forgets her code, the safe may be opened by hotel security using the override code.

It is important to note that only the most negligent of hotel operators would leave the override code set to all 0's, a default code, some other easy to guess code. The override code can (and must for obvious reasons) be changed to something difficult to guess prior to putting the safe into operation.

So who's more at fault here—lazy hotel staff, or safe manufacturers for setting such a lazy default code? No matter who we blame for this half-assed security, check this if you're currently staying at a hotel, or the next time you check in—and let us know what you find. It's one thing if someone can guess your phone's password—another if someone can get their hands on your passport.

[YouTube via Reddit]