Dog Injures Man With Car

In what seems to be linked to an early story about dogs learning how to drive in New Zealand, (http://thesweatycowboy.blogspot.com/2012/12/new-zealand-spca-to-teach-dogs-how-to.html) the first casualties from this development have arisen. A man in West York, Pennsylvania, was struck by a car that was being driven by a dog on Tuesday. The dog was apparently left in the car while the owner ran some errands, and the vengeful animal somehow managed to knock the car into gear. The slow moving car trapped the unfortunate passerby between the hood of the car and the tail of a nearby truck. The man was knocked unconscious, and taken to the local hospital where his injuries were treated.
http://www.ydr.com/local/ci_22876161/west-york-police-dog-pushes-car-into-drive

Russian Bears Addicted to Jet Fuel

In Russia, scientists are beginning to notice a frightening trend in brown bears. At the Kronotsky Nature Reserve, bears have been observed taking long sniffs of discarded barrels of jet fuel, often until they pass out. Researchers have noticed that some of the bears are beginning to display addict behaviors, a  truly frightening trend. Some of the bears have even been known to approach landing helicopters, perhaps expecting some of that succulent jet fuel. The habit of inhaling kerosene and gasoline is not a particularly healthy one, and scientists will continue to observe this phenomenon, and perhaps intervene for the sake of the bears' well-being. However, these are some of the largest bears in the world, weighing up to 1,200 lbs, and it is still unknown whether their addiction will make them more aggressive towards humans.

Iran Deploy's Snipers to Deal with Rodent Problem in Tehran

There are an estimated 25 million rats in Iran's capital, Tehran. They outnumber people 2 to 1. Previous attempts to control the rat population using poison have only proved semi successful  so Iran is rolling it's next best plan: snipers. Ten teams of sharpshooters have been deployed throughout the city, tasked with killing as many of the "cat-sized-rodents" as they can. They are armed with rifles equipped with infra-red sights. According to reports, the squads have bagged close to 2,000 rodents in the past week.

"It's become a 24/7 war," says Mohammad Hadi Heydarzadeh, the head of Tehran's environmental agency. 

News reports have stated that some of these pesky rodents weigh up to 11 pounds. The rodents present health problems to the capital's 12 million residents, especially as spring approaches. As snow melts and the city's water rises, the rodents are forced into close quarters with the humans. The city council of Tehran has found this method of action so effective that they are considering implementing 30 more squads.

"Turbaned Torpedo" Runs His Last Race

Fauja Singh, the world's oldest marathon runner, has just run his last race at the ripe old age of 101. Singh ran a 10k marathon in Hong Kong in 1 hour and 32 minutes. Fauja, a Sikh, is known for his saffron colored turban that he wears, hence the nickname; "The Turbaned Torpedo." Singh became the oldest man to run a marathon in 2011. He originally began running as a way to cope with his son's unfortunate demise (he was decapitated by a piece of scrap metal blowing in the wind).
"I am feeling a bit of happiness and a bit of sadness mixed together..." said Singh, before the race.

Mississippi Finally Gets Around to Outlawing Slavery

147 years later, Mississippi has finally ratified the 13th Amendment. Ranhan Batra, the associate professor at the University of Mississippi Medical Center, noticed that while Mississippi had ratified the amendment locally, the local government had never formally notified the U.S. archivist. Apparently, the bill had never been sent to the Office of the Federal Register, thus leaving the amendment unlawful in Mississippi for close to 150 years. Technically, slave ownership has been legal in Mississippi for the last 150 years. The state finally received notification on Feb. 7 from the Federal Register that they had officially ratified the 13th Amendment. 

http://newsfeed.time.com/2013/02/19/mississippi-finally-ratifies-the-amendment-to-ban-slavery-148-years-later/

Emu Heist in Austrailia

Zookeepers at an Australian wildlife are reeling for answers after they discovered one of their emus has gone missing, quite possibly stolen. The bird was found to be missing from the Featherdale Wildlife Park in Sydney on Tuesday morning. Investigators suspect theft because of the large amount of feathers in the bird's enclosure, which may indicate a struggle. However, park management are confused as to why the thieves chose to steal the emu. Chad Staples, the senior curator at Featherdale said,
"Emus don't really have a monetary value because of how common they are."

For the amount of effort and planning the theft would require, it seems unlikely that the thieves stand to make enough money to make this endeavor worth their while. Investigators suspect that more than one person is involved, considering the size and vigor of the large flightless bird in question. Adult emus can grow to be almost 2 meters tall, up to 100 pounds, and in situations of danger they can run up to 31 mph. In the wild, emus use their remarkably strong , sharp clawed feet to defend against predators.

The French Lift 200 Year Old Ban on Women Wearing Trousers in Paris

The law, put into service on the 17th of November in 1800, has now finally been overturned. According to the law, if a women wanted to wear "pantaloons, trousers, or other menswear," she would have to get permission from local police or else risk arrest. Some 100 years later, in 1909, the law was modified to allow women to wear pants if they were, "holding a bicycle handlebar or the reins of a horse." The law has mostly been ignored for the last 100 years, because it was determined that it was not a priority of the French government, and because it was considered a piece of "legal archaeology." France's minister of Women's Rights announced that the law was ,

 "incompatible with the principles of equality between men and women that are written into the constitution, as well as in France’s European engagements. It has absolutely no legal effect."

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-21329269