The Last 48
Eight of the most interesting, intriguing and biggest news stories of the last 48 hours
1. North Korean Uncle Out in the Cold After Government Shakeup
In a move to squash dissent within North Korea’s ruling elite, the once-powerful uncle of Leader Kim Jong Un was removed from his government position According to CNN. The actual removal happened at a Ruling Workers’ Party politburo meeting Sunday, North Korea’s state news agency KCNA confirmed. Jang Song Thaek, who married Kim’s aunt, was the vice chairman of North Korea’s top military body and has often been pictured beside Kim, who has ruled North Korea since his father’s death in 2011.
2. Man Locked In Airplane – A New Punishment For Snoring on a Flight?
Tom Wagner woke up Friday night and the plane cabin was dark. Completely Dark. And empty. Completely empty. He looked around from his window seat near the back of the jet and wondered, “What is going on?” He tried the jet door. It was locked. He told an affiliate of CNN that he called his girlfriend, and she thought he was kidding, or crazy. Then she called United Airlines and about 30 minutes later, the door opened up.
3. Anti-Drone Senator Likes New Amazon Drone Idea
Amazon boss Jeff Bezos took some hits last week over his revelation that he’s hoping to one day use drones to deliver packages. Some questioned whether Amazon could pull off such a feat, and whether the government would even approve it. According to Fox News, perhaps surprisingly, anti-drone warrior Sen. Rand Paul is not among the haters. The Republican Kentucky senator, who once filibustered on the Senate floor for 13 hours to draw attention to his concerns with the expansion of armed drones, told “Fox News Sunday” he’s more concerned about the government using drones — not so much about air-lifted books and DVD players.
According to News Hounds the Mike Huckabee show was a vision of unfairness and unbalance tonight as it parodied The 12 Days of Christmas carol with The 12 Days Of ObamaCare. Must be seen to be believed. If you watch it, try to get to the end where Huckabee sings his Christmas wish (hint: it’s about Republicans winning in 2014). Also, check out the woman in the audience singing along to “Five Harry Reids.”
5. They Literally Stole My Son’s Heart
The family of a U.S. Marine who committed suicide inside a U.S. Embassy in Greece says their son was buried without a heart, after the Greek government performed an illegal autopsy on his body and “harvested” the organ. Craig and Beverly LaLoup, of Coatesville, Pa., filed a lawsuit in federal court on Friday against the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Navy and U.S. government for negligence, emotional distress and alleged mistreatment of their son’s body.
6. Patriots Score Two Touchdowns in 30 Seconds
For the better part of 59 minutes, Sunday was not a good day for the New England Patriots. Things wound up brightening up a lot at the very end, however. Julian Edelman held onto a two-yard touchdown catch from Tom Brady despite a hit by Jordan Poyer that was flagged for unnecessary roughness with 1:01 left to play, Kyle Arrington recovered an onside kick and then Leon “McFadden was flagged for pass interference in the end zone with 40 seconds left to play. It was a weak call by the officials, although New Englanders may think it just penance for the flag that was picked up in their loss to Carolina…”
A Hermitage Tennessee couple cashed in big during a routine trip to their local McDonald’s, reports Emily Luxen of CBS station NewsChannel5. Instead of their normal breakfast order, they drove away with something much more valuable — thousands of dollars in cash. The cash, which was about to be deposited at the bank, had been placed in a McDonald’s bag, and was placed by the drive thru orders. An employee mistakenly passed the bag with the cash to Greg and Stacye Terry. “My husband opened the bag and discovered the money inside,” said Stacye Terry. “He said, ‘You are not going to believe this.’ Sure enough, it was their bank deposit money.”
8. Police to Pay for Information Leading to Finding Lost Bourbon
It’s not easy to get a bottle of Pappy Van Winkle bourbon and now, whiskey fans will find it’s even harder after a recent burglary. In October, 195 bottles of the Kentucky-made spirit went missing from the Buffalo Trace Distillery. Since then, police have interviewed 100 people and searched Craigslist and blogs for traces of the stolen goods, but the bourbon is still missing and police here are raising the stakes. On Monday, Franklin County sheriff Pat Melton announced a $10,000 reward for tips leading to an arrest in the case.
