Piranhas in New York

From 2011 to 2012, New York City resident Joel Rakower allegedly smuggled 40,000 of the amazonian fish.  Rakower pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court in Brooklyn for smuggling in the illegal fish into the United States.  The federal Lacey Act prohibits the trafficking of foreign wildlife, fish, and plants into our country.  Rakower admitted he purchased the fish from a Chinese company that supplies tropical fish.  He claimed that he instructed the supplier to label the packaging lists incorrectly, claiming them to be silver tetras, a common aquarium fish.  Rakower smuggled 39,548 piranhas over the course of 2011 and 2012, swimming up costs of approximately $37,376, according to the statement. Rakower agreed to pay more than $70,000 in fines, and his company will serve a two-year period of probation. Rakower will be sentenced on April 24.

Rob Ford has minor set-back, still fights for Toronto's taxpayers

The always lovable mayor of Toronto Rob Ford was back to his old shenanigans on Monday.  What he called a set-back was reported to be yet another drunken stupor.  When asked about the incident Mayor Ford stated, "As you know, I am a human being. The same as every one of you. And I'm entitled to a personal live. And my personal life does not interfere with the work I do day in and day out for the taxpayers of this great city."  Recently, Mayor Ford has been recorded while attempting to enter his office.  While being swarmed by reporters and photographers, Robbie and his posse bull rush the media in an attempt to safely make it into the office.  Escaping with only minor hand-to-camera lens contact, the mayor of Toronto lives to see another day.
  http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2014/01/22/rob_ford_quiet_on_video_shoving_match_ensues.html

Little League player sued by coach

A California Little League coach is suing his own player for allegedly throwing down his baseball helmet in celebration after hitting a walk-off home run.  The 14 year old boy was unnamed during this incident's publicity.  Coach Allen Beck is suing the boy for $500,000.00 because of he claims to be "pain and suffering".  Also, an additional $100,000.00 for loss of wages, Allen Beck was unable to work as a chiropractor for 6 months.  The boys family is astounded by the actions taken by Beck and are calling the situation "laughable".  They say that the coach didn't confront them about the injury until 6 months after the alleged incident.  When asked what he was hoping to get out of this, Beck simply stated all he really wanted was an apology...and $600,000.00.
http://www.cnn.com/video/data/2.0/video/bestoftv/2014/01/16/coach-sues-berman-newday.cnn.html 

South Sudan

Warfare in South Sudan is becoming a major problem.  Bor and parts of Unity state are continuously clashing.  There are preparations beginning in Ethiopia involving peace talks.  As of now, conditions for refugees are extremely poor and are becoming to be a very serious issue.  People do not have clean water and are becoming very sick.  About 75,000 people in Awerial refugee camp are experiencing the deterioration of their living conditions.  The bishop of Bor, Ruben Akurdit Ngong, fled the area because of the fighting.  He has described the area as a war zone that is strewn with dead bodies everywhere.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-25573882

Five Organ Transplant

Adonis Ortiz, a three year old boy from Tampa, Florida was born with an extremely rare defect, causing some of his organs to form outside of his body.  After his family received a call from Jackson Memorial Hospital, Adonis and his family were rushed to Miami so the procedure could be preformed.  Doctors told the family there was only a 50/50 chance that the boy would survive.  Miraculously, the five organ transplant was a success.  The baby received a liver, pancreas, stomach, small, and large intestines.  He is still in Miami recovering from surgery, but is in stable condition.  

Stick it to the poor

Apparently, our governments is coming up with ideas to ruin the lives of millions of people across our country.  Congress will basically start kicking people out of their homes early next year.  The idea is, if you can't pay for your house without government assistance, you don't deserve to live in one.  All in all, about 3 million disabled senior citizens and families will be affected by this.  Our government is also making budget cuts for the SNAP benefits, which means people who lean on the help of the government for food stamps will be deprived of this necessity.
 http://news.yahoo.com/stick-poor-congressional-strategy-080500785.html 

Shark Attack in Maui

While fishing from his kayak, the unnamed victim was attacked by the shark.  He and his companion, also unnamed, were fishing for bait fish with artificial lures when the shark bit the foot of the man as he dangled it in the water.  After falling into the water, the shark came up and bit again on the thigh of the same leg.  Said companion then tried to stem the severe bleeding by tying a tourniquet to the man's leg.  A rescue boat was called quickly and arrived within a few minutes.  Once back to shore, the victim was rushed to a hospital, but it is believed that he died on the rescue boat on the way to shore.  This is the 13th shark attack in Hawaii this year, and the 8th in Maui alone.
 http://www.cnn.com/2013/12/02/us/hawaii-fatal-shark-attack/