By Cynthia Herbert :: 12:44 PM
An eight-week-old kitten who was placed in a microwave oven by a pair of Maine teenagers is expected to make a full recovery, according to staffers at the animal shelter that are currently caring for the nuked feline.
In a video posted to Twitter’s Vine micro video sharing service and other social networking sites last week, the two 15-year-old girls, from South Portland High School in Maine, allegedly placed the kitten inside of the appliance, and appeared to switch it on. Law enforcement officials aren’t sure how long the microwave oven was running with the kitten inside, but some estimates put it at several seconds.
“She’s eating normally, and appears to be in fine shape,” said Lynne McGee of the Animal Refuge League. The kitten, named “Miracle” by shelter staffers, will remain at the facility for a few weeks, be spayed, and then be placed up for adoption. She will not return to the household with the teenage girls.
South Portland police lieutenant Frank Clark says that the two girls have been charged with animal cruelty. The case is currently with the Cumberland County District Attorney’s office.
Below is a GIF of the original Vine movie.
By Paul Thomson :: 12:06 PM
The image above comes from Esquire Magazine’s website today, on the sidebar for some of the content pieces of the site. It’s an unfortunate mistake that pairs a photograph of a man falling to his death from the World Trade Center twelve years ago today with a headline about what to wear to work.
The falling man photo is included on this article about September 11th on Esquire’s website, and fits in that context, but not when accidentally paired with another article title, as has happened here.
Esquire’s error was first noticed by Twitter user Emily Kaiser, Associate digital producer at Minnesota Public Radio around 11:40 AM, Eastern time.
After a number of Twitter users, including Kaiser, pointed out the error and messaged Esquire, the magazine removed the photo from the sidebar about 20 minutes later.
Update: The magazine Tweeted the following response at 12:12 PM: “Relax, everybody. There was a stupid technical glitch on our “Falling Man” story and it was fixed asap. We’re sorry for the confusion.”
By Gilbert Falso :: 4:39 PM
An apology to all the die-hard Harry Potter fans out there, Â but that rumor going around Twitter and Facebook this afternoon about J.K. Rowling being close to finishing another book in the popular series is untrue.
The hoax started when someone Tweeted a link to a parody news story from April 1 of this year. Think hard, what day is the first of April? That’s right, April Fools – you’ve been had!
Despite the date on the article being clearly listed, not to mention the fact that the news is several months old, many across social media are falling for it. Thousands of manic Harry Potter fans are feeling like they won the lottery on Christmas day, only to feel the despair of letdown several minutes later when a Facebook friend chimes in and points out the fallacy of the article they just linked to.
Sorry, Potter-heads, the series still ends with Book 7
By Cynthia Herbert :: 11:12 PM
With the announcement earlier this week that Apple is likely to debut the next generation iPhone next week, many current iPhone owners are wondering what to do with their old phones when they upgrade, and if they’re worth anything.
Users of an iPhone 4, 4S or 5 can take advantage of a price lock-in program currently being offered by Gazelle, a company that specializes in smartphone buyback programs. Gazelle will allow users who choose to trade in their phone to hold onto it until October 15th – giving them more than enough time to purchase the next model of the iPhone when it comes out later this month.
As an example of buy-back prices, Gazelle will purchase a used iPhone 5, 16 GB, on AT&T’s service for $305. An iPhone 4S, 32 GB, on Verizon’s network will fetch $155. Both offers assume that the used phone is in good condition, and shows only normal signs of wear.
Once Apple announces the next version of the iPhone, rumored to be the iPhone 5S, it is likely that prices for older units will drop significantly.
In addition to the announcement of the iPhone 5S next week, it is also rumored that Apple will bring a lower-priced entry level iPhone model to market – thought to be called the iPhone 5C. The 5C will feature a plastic housing, and is said to come in a variety of pastel colors.
Apple will make its iPhone 5S announcement on September 10 at 10:00 AM Pacific Time.
By Gilbert Falso :: 12:24 AM
Just a few moments ago, tech giant Yahoo revealed its new logo, pictured above.
Before making this choice, the company spent a month cycling through possible logo options on its website as a way to generate interest in the process.
Yahoo’s new CEO, Marissa Mayer, hoped that the “logo-a-day” initiative would generate interest and buzz in the company, which has taken a backseat in relevance to Google and other more hip, trendy Internet companies in recent years.
The company also produced a short video, below, that outlined the logo selection process. We should point out that there is some irony in Yahoo hosting its new logo video on Google’s YouTube video service.