Posted 12:26 pm Thursday, January 10, 2013
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MIDDAY UPDATE: Texas is best; NFL brain injuries; Monopoly changes; Guns beat cattle prods
Andy Woods students Skype with Air Force Sergeant in Afghanistan
More than 60 Andy Woods Elementary School first-graders recently had the opportunity to visit with a soldier in Afghanistan using Skype.
Tech. Sergeant Chuck Smith, of the United States Air Force, is serving a six-month tour of duty as an operations management specialist, according to a Tyler ISD news release.
When he is away from his Air Force duties, Smith works as TJC's assistant athletic director.
Students gathered around the projector screen and asked Smith questions about being in the Air Force.
Tech. Sergeant Chuck Smith, of the United States Air Force, is serving a six-month tour of duty as an operations management specialist, according to a Tyler ISD news release.
When he is away from his Air Force duties, Smith works as TJC's assistant athletic director.
Students gathered around the projector screen and asked Smith questions about being in the Air Force.
Texas is best
Governor Rick Perry concedes he can't get the nation's 49 other governors "to admit they'd want to be Texans."
But he says many would love to create as many jobs as Texas does — including New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Addressing an annual policy orientation in Austin on Thursday, Perry referenced Cuomo's support for gun control and said his New York counterpart probably wouldn't want to move to Texas.
Perry added, though, that in a candid moment, Cuomo likely envies Texas' growing economy.
He also said that some on the East Coast believe "people in the west are different than them and they're right. And that's OK."
But he says many would love to create as many jobs as Texas does — including New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Addressing an annual policy orientation in Austin on Thursday, Perry referenced Cuomo's support for gun control and said his New York counterpart probably wouldn't want to move to Texas.
Perry added, though, that in a candid moment, Cuomo likely envies Texas' growing economy.
He also said that some on the East Coast believe "people in the west are different than them and they're right. And that's OK."
Jail inmate fooled by Sheriff posing as hit man
A North Texas sheriff faked being a hit man to negotiate with a jail inmate who is now charged with trying to have his estranged wife and her male friend killed.
The Johnson County Sheriff's Office says nobody was hurt and 52-year-old Tab Johnson was being held Thursday on two counts of solicitation of capital murder.
Johnson originally was arrested on charges of violating a protective order and stalking his spouse, who filed for divorce last year.
Johnson allegedly asked other inmates about carrying out some killings.
Sheriff Bob Alford portrayed a hit man in conversations and relayed instructions from Johnson.
The Johnson County Sheriff's Office says nobody was hurt and 52-year-old Tab Johnson was being held Thursday on two counts of solicitation of capital murder.
Johnson originally was arrested on charges of violating a protective order and stalking his spouse, who filed for divorce last year.
Johnson allegedly asked other inmates about carrying out some killings.
Sheriff Bob Alford portrayed a hit man in conversations and relayed instructions from Johnson.
Former NFL player Junior Seau had brain injury
Junior Seau, one of the NFL's best and fiercest players for nearly two decades, had a degenerative brain disease when he committed suicide last May, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Results of an NIH study of Seau's brain revealed abnormalities consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.
It said the findings on Seau were similar to autopsies of people "with exposure to repetitive head injuries."
His ex-wife, Gina Seau, responded to the results by saying "It was important to us to get to the bottom of this, the truth, and now that it has been conclusively determined from every expert that he had obviously had it, CTE, we just hope it is taken more seriously. You can't deny it exists, and it is hard to deny there is a link between head trauma and CTE. There's such strong evidence correlating head trauma and collisions and CTE."
Results of an NIH study of Seau's brain revealed abnormalities consistent with chronic traumatic encephalopathy, or CTE.
It said the findings on Seau were similar to autopsies of people "with exposure to repetitive head injuries."
His ex-wife, Gina Seau, responded to the results by saying "It was important to us to get to the bottom of this, the truth, and now that it has been conclusively determined from every expert that he had obviously had it, CTE, we just hope it is taken more seriously. You can't deny it exists, and it is hard to deny there is a link between head trauma and CTE. There's such strong evidence correlating head trauma and collisions and CTE."
Drop the thimble or the iron?
Hasbro is holding a Facebook contest to eliminate one of eight tokens that identify the players in Monopoly and introduce a new one.
Possible new tokens include a cat, diamond ring, guitar, toy robot and helicopter.
It's the latest effort by the toymaker to jazz up the game which debuted almost eight decades ago.
Up for elimination: the battleship, iron, racecar, Scottie dog, shoe, thimble, top hat and wheelbarrow.
To vote on which piece to eliminate and which to add, you must be a fan of Monopoly's Facebook page.
The voting takes places through February 5.
You know that thimble has got to go.
Possible new tokens include a cat, diamond ring, guitar, toy robot and helicopter.
It's the latest effort by the toymaker to jazz up the game which debuted almost eight decades ago.
Up for elimination: the battleship, iron, racecar, Scottie dog, shoe, thimble, top hat and wheelbarrow.
To vote on which piece to eliminate and which to add, you must be a fan of Monopoly's Facebook page.
The voting takes places through February 5.
You know that thimble has got to go.
Guns better than cattle prods
You've heard that you should never bring a knife to a gun fight, right?
The same goes for cattle prods.
Authorities say a Florida Panhandle man has been arrested after he tried to rob a convenience store with a cattle prod
but was thwarted by a clerk with a gun.
The Leon County Sheriff's Office says 26-year-old Lance Tomberlin went into a store just outside Tallahassee on January 2, produced the cattle prod and demanded money from the clerk.
Officials say he shocked the clerk several times before the clerk pulled a handgun.
Authorities say Tomberlin then ran away.
He was arrested Tuesday and charged with armed robbery and aggravated battery.
The same goes for cattle prods.
Authorities say a Florida Panhandle man has been arrested after he tried to rob a convenience store with a cattle prod
but was thwarted by a clerk with a gun.
The Leon County Sheriff's Office says 26-year-old Lance Tomberlin went into a store just outside Tallahassee on January 2, produced the cattle prod and demanded money from the clerk.
Officials say he shocked the clerk several times before the clerk pulled a handgun.
Authorities say Tomberlin then ran away.
He was arrested Tuesday and charged with armed robbery and aggravated battery.
