U.S. luge star Kate Hansen and Jimmy Kimmel reveal how they pulled off Sochi wolf hoax

She’s the girl who tweeted wolf.

Or so Jimmy Kimmel called U.S. luge star Kate Hansen, who aided him in pulling off a prank that fooled just about everyone…including us. Hansen tweeted out a video of a wolf in her Sochi dorm earlier this week and everyone on the internet went nuts. Thing was, it wasn’t a real video. The video was shot by Jimmy Kimmel, the latest in his series of fake viral videos.

On Thursday, Hansen appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live via a Skype feed from Sochi, and the two discussed how they made it happen.

It was a lot more involved than what you’d think.

Read More: http://ftw.usatoday.com/2014/02/kate-hansen-jimmy-kimmel-sochi-wolf-hoax/

This proves the media knows the formula for making something go viral and we should be ultra-skeptical about the social media cause du jour.

Police search leaves Lakewood landlord with hefty repair bill

One look at Dan Neary’s property and you know something’s not right.  The garage door is off its hinges, all the windows are broken and the back gate is lying on its side.  For this Army veteran, it’s like a flashback to his time at war.

“This is kind of like an assault I would do in Afghanistan or Iraq,” said Neary.

But this wasn't in the Middle East.  The damage was caused by the City of Lakewood's SWAT team.  They were looking for Duane Samms.  All Neary knew was that he was renting his property to a single woman.  Later, she told him her husband was moving in.  That man was Samms and he’s wanted for felony domestic assault.

“I had no idea until Tuesday or Wednesday when I was contacted by Lakewood PD that they were looking for this guy,” explained Neary.

That was cool to Neary because he had evicted the couple earlier in the month.  He quickly agreed to meet the police to open the doors and let them search the home, but the SWAT team decided to move in two hours early.

Read More: http://www.king5.com/news/get-jesse/Lakewood-landlord-left-with-repair-bill-after-search-warrant-by-police-246460031.html

Brian Williams Raps "Rapper's Delight"

Ukraine protests: Fighting in Kiev 18.02.2014

Filmed from behind both lines.
(Violence warning)

http://vimeo.com/87111967

http://vimeo.com/channels/156519/87111967

Credits:
Oleksandr Techynskyi
Aleksey Solodunov
Dmitriy Stoykob

When tumbleweeds attack...

(Swearing)

'Boys will be boys' no excuse; feds target Montana handling of rapes

The U.S. Department of Justice says it has uncovered "substantial evidence" that sexism in a Montana county attorney's office has led to prosecutors dropping rape cases and belittling victims.

In a 20-page letter sent to Missoula County Atty. Fred Van Valkenburg, federal attorneys said rape victims had been "treated with disrespect, not informed of the status of their case, and re-victimized by the process."

For example, federal officials said, when one mother asked a county attorney why an adolescent boy who assaulted her 5-year-old daughter had only received two years of community service, the attorney responded, "boys will be boys."

Federal investigators added that Missoula prosecutors had failed to pursue "nearly every case" where a mentally or physically disabled woman claimed sexual assault, "even in cases where there was evidence such as a confession or incriminating statements by the perpetrator."

Read More: http://www.latimes.com/nation/nationnow/la-na-nn-montana-rape-case-sexism-justice-20140217,0,3054706.story

The Happiest States In America

Gallup is out with its annual ranking of the happiest states in the U.S., and this year North Dakota grabbed the top spot, taking the title from longtime frontrunner Hawaii.


Read More: http://www.sfgate.com/technology/businessinsider/article/The-Happiest-States-In-America-5252504.php

Colorado's marijuana firms beg banks to take their cash

"Let's just say we have a couple of armed staff," he says.

The owner of Pink House, a marijuana dispensary in Denver, Colorado, Mr Klug has armed his employees because he has been unable to find a bank that will accept the thousands of dollars of cash he takes in each day since recreational cannabis became legal in Colorado on 1 January.

"Even armoured cars have been told not to do business with us," says Mr Klug.

That's because while Colorado has legalised cannabis, most banking institutions are governed by federal laws which make it a crime to take money from firms engaged in the cultivation and sale of what is technically still an illegal drug.

While the Obama administration has recently attempted to convince banks that it will not prosecute them for doing business with Colorado's firms, issuing new guidance just last week, the banking industry remains unmoved.

"An act of Congress is the only way to solve this problem," says Colorado Bankers Association president Don Childears, who says he has continued to advise banks to refuse cannabis cash out of fear of money-laundering charges.

Read More: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-26248396

Regional spymasters make tactical changes to bolster Syrian moderates

Western and Arab intelligence services that support Syria’s struggling opposition gathered for a two-day strategy meeting in Washington last week that appears to signal a stronger effort to back the rebels.

The spymasters’ conclave featured Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, Saudi Arabia’s minister of the interior, who will now supervise the kingdom’s leading role in the covert-action program. He replaces Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi intelligence chief, who has been suffering from a back ailment and whose leadership of the program was seen as uneven.

Susan Rice, the U.S. national security adviser, met with Prince Mohammed to discuss strategy. But sources caution that President Obama is still wary of any major escalation in Syria that might involve U.S. forces directly. The United States opposes no-fly zones, for example, although the administration’s call for secure corridors to provide humanitarian assistance may lead it to embrace de facto safe zones if the United Nations can’t agree on a formal plan.

Prince Mohammed’s new oversight role reflects the increasing concern in Saudi Arabia and other neighboring countries about al-Qaeda’s growing power within the Syrian opposition. As interior minister, he coordinates the kingdom’s counterterrorism policy, which gives him close ties with the CIA and other Western intelligence services.

Read More: http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/david-ignatius-regional-spymasters-make-tactical-changes-to-bolster-syrian-moderates/2014/02/18/5d69596c-98f0-11e3-b931-0204122c514b_story.html

Rapid home price gains make renting more attractive, study says

It’s now cheaper to rent than own.

Across a large swath of Southern California, owning a house has become less attractive financially in the wake of rapid home price gains last year, according to a new study.

The mortgage payment on a median-priced, three-bedroom would exceed the rent on a comparable property in Los Angeles, Orange and Ventura counties, according to a RealtyTrac analysis released Thursday, based on prices from the fourth quarter of 2013.

Nationwide, there were only 29 large counties in that situation, including the Northern California counties of Santa Clara, Alameda and San Francisco. A year earlier, nowhere in Southern California was rent cheaper than monthly house payments.

Read More: http://www.latimes.com/business/money/la-fi-mo-rent-or-buy-20140220,0,6388101.story