Some of the top stories we discussed on this June 17th edition of "Gulf Coast Mornings with Kelly Bennett and Uncle Henry":
Law enforcement officials in Mississippi are on high alert after being threatened in the wake of a Memphis shooting. The Department of Public Safety says a credible threat of violence was made against all police officers in the state by the Gangster Disciples. The threat follows last week's shooting death of Brandon Webber by the U.S. Marshals Service. Webber was shot after reportedly threatening officers with a weapon as they tried serving arrest warrants.
An Army veteran from Brandon, MS is in custody after a 12 hour standoff with police.David Irby and his wife allegedly got into an argument that got so heated she left, taking her children with her.That’s when she called police and told them her husband was alone, and mentally ill.
The Bonnet Carre’ Spillway has been open 80 days now, and folks that visited Horn Island over the weekend says you can spot the effect of the influx of fresh water from the MS River.They say the water isn’t as clear as usual, and dead fish have washed up along the shore.No word from the Army Corps of Engineers about when the Spillway will be closed.
Leaders along our coast have expressed their concerns about the impact the situation is having on local marine life, and now NOAA is putting together a team of their own.They want to look into the high number of bottlenose dolphins strandings in the Northern Gulf.When you take MS, Alabama, Louisiana and the Florida panhandle into account, dolphins deaths number 279.NOAA has declared this an unusual mortality event, hoping that will bring marine biologists and government agencies to investigate.
"Men In Black International" is the number one movie in the U.S. and Canada. The latest in Sony Pictures' "MIB" [[ m-i-b ]] franchise earned 28-and-a-half-million-dollars in its debut weekend. Coming in second is "The Secret Life of Pets 2," earning nearly 24-million-bucks in its second week in North America's theaters.
A British man is taking cocktail garnishes to the next level. Nick Griffiths, a former British Marine, donated his toe to a bar in Canada so he could drink it in a cocktail. Griffith lost his toe to frost bite while competing in a marathon and decided to take part in a tradition at the bar in Dawson City, Canada. Ever since 1973, people have visited the Downtown Hotel for its signature drink- the Sourtoe Cocktail. Visitors are challenged to drink a shot of whiskey with a mummified human toe floating inside. Griffith plans to visit the bar later this summer to drink the Sourtoe Cocktail with his own toe in it.
Over a thousand homes lost power in Australia when a pair of Kookaburras mated on a power line. Witnesses in Perth say they saw the birds on top of a electrical pole and sparks literally flew, followed by large flashes and bangs. When electricians responded to the scene they found the bodies of the two birds on the ground. The female bird reportedly extended her wings during the mating which then made contact with separated power lines.
A Utah teenager has invented a new cap for premature babies that protects their hearing. Fourteen-year-old Olivia Washburn is the creator of a specially designed cap for preemies to wear in newborn intensive care units. It started as a science project last year, as the cap is designed to reduce harmful sounds and can be adjusted for a snug fit over the baby's head. The invention has won several awards, including the seven-thousand-dollar grand prize in the Utah Entrepreneur Challenge.
A Connecticut woman is sharing her outrage after receiving a body-shaming email from a local gym. On June 12th, Mora Reinka shared the email she received from Anytime Fitness which she found extremely offensive. The email encouraged readers to "pinch" and "grab" any "excess" fat on their body, and even addressed Mora personally when it said, "Mora, I need you to do me a favor," the email, titled "Be comfortable in your skin this summer." The email was been widely denounced as inappropriate and Anytime Fitness has apologized for it.
Marathon moms … A new study has revealed that being pregnant is basically the equivalent of running a 40-week marathon. Yep, pregnant women are like top endurance athletes. According to Duke University professor Herman Pontzer, “Pregnancy is the longest-duration, highest-energy-expenditure thing that humans can do. Mothers probably aren’t surprised by this.” (The Ladders)
Well this is disturbing … Seems all the hours we spend looking down at our phones is causing some people to develop growths on their skull. Yep, people, especially young people, are developing a bony bump just above their necks. "I have been a clinician for 20 years, and only in the last decade, increasingly, I have been discovering that my patients have this growth on the skull," said David Shahar, a health scientist at the University of The Sunshine Coast, Australia. (Live Science)
Zap out of it … So when willpower isn’t enough, there’s now a bracelet that will shock you if you eat the wrong food, oversleep, spend too much time on social media, or any other habit you are trying to break. The Pavlok wristband will give you a 350-volt electric shock to remind you to get back on track. “There's a real power in using a little bit of pain to help you break your bad habits," says inventor Maneesh Sethi. (ABC News)
Leaders in a Wisconsin city are considering a proposal that would fine parents if their kids are caught bullying. The Wisconsin Rapids Tribune reports that the issue stems from an incident involving a seventh grade girl who received notes telling her to kill herself. Under the Wisconsin Rapids proposal, parents could be fined 50-dollars for the first bullying offense. They also could receive written warnings.