White House Correspondent Helen Thomas Dies At 92: Thomas covered 10 presidents, and was well known for her fierce questioning of presidents and spokespeople alike, as well as her hatred of White House secrecy. She retired in 2010 after a videotape of her saying Israelis should “get out of Palestine” and “go home” circulated through the internet. According to a friend, Thomas had been in and out of the hospital before dying in her apartment.
What Is Your Problem, Royal Baby? Despite the UK waiting on bated breath for the next little monarch to pop into the world, that damn baby is just not ready to come out yet. Royal entitlement, amirite? Follow @RoyalBabyYet on Twitter to find out if we indeed have a royal baby yet. Shit is succinct.
Cow-nda? Pand-ow? A man in Roy who breeds miniature cows on his farm successfully bred a cow with the markings of a panda. The miniature cow, Peanut, was born June 28th. Another cow with panda markings was born on the farm July 3rd, but the markings aren’t as well defined.
Colorado Man Faces 16 Years For Rape: King County Superior Court charged Courtney Wayne Dawson with 16 years in prison for rape and kidnapping yesterday. 38-year-old Dawson had previously tried to squirm out of the charges by bribing a witness. As part of his plea deal, prosecutors agreed to dismiss another rape charge against Dawson from two years ago.
Bye Bye Bertha! Bertha, the massive drilling machine which will create the city’s fancy new waterfront tunnel is about to start its long journey. But before Bertha gets to work, WSDOT is hosting a sendoff for the machine today between 11:30 a.m. and 3:00 p.m., so everyone (wearing closed-toed shoes) can see the biggest tunneling machine in the world.
Beijing Bomb Fizzles: Chinese state media reports a man in a wheelchair set off a homemade bomb in Beijing International Airport, injuring no one but himself. No flights were interrupted, and the man, identified as Ji Zhongxing, was taken to the hospital. Interestingly, NPR found a micro blog that belonged to a Ji Zhongxing, detailing police auxiliaries crippling him in 2005. The blog has since been shut down.
So I Have This Great Business Idea… A Nazi-themed cafe in Indonesia is coming under fire for, well… being Nazi-themed. The cafe Soldatenkaffee features employees decked out in SS garb, a giant picture of Hitler, and a bunch of other really bad ideas. The cafe’s owner has denied being pro-Nazi, saying, “I’m just a businessman, not a politician.” The restaurant is temporarily closed.
Israel Will Free Palestinian Prisoners For Peace Talks: As part of an agreement with Secretary of State John Kerry to resume peace talks between Israel and Palestine, Israel will release a number of Palestinian Prisoners. According to an Israeli human rights group, there are over 4,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israel. Doing their part, Palestine has agreed to commit to negotiations for a minimum of nine months. The last time Israel and Palestine held direct talks was in 2010.
Look at this vain cat.