WORLD/ FAKE TIGER SPARKS POLICE ALERT: Police in England are trying to trace the owner of a toy life-size tiger which sparked a major operation involving armed officers and a force helicopter. The alert was raised by several members of the public yesterday afternoon when they spotted what they believed to be a live white tiger in a field, pictured, near Hedge End, Southampton, Hampshire. The police helicopter was scrambled and a golf course cleared after police arrived at the scene and confirmed the sighting. Armed police were called to the scene in case the animal came too close to members of the public. Specialist staff from nearby Marwell Zoo also attended to advise and potentially tranquilize the wild animal. A local golf course was evacuated and plans were put in place to close the nearby M27 motorway if necessary in case the tiger moved in that direction. But as police officers carefully approached the "wild animal" they realized it was not moving and the helicopter crew, using thermal imaging equipment, realized there was no heat source coming from it. A spokeswoman for the force said: "After a brief stalk through the Hedge End savannah, the officer realized the tiger was not moving and the air support using their cameras realised there was a lack of heat source. The tiger then rolled over in the down draft and it was at that point it became obvious it was a stuffed life-size toy". Police are trying to trace the owner of the stuffed animal in hopes of determining if it was a planned hoax.
Scotland Yard is fighting an extraordinary legal battle to withhold 123 year old secret files that experts believe could finally provide the identity of Jack the Ripper. 4 thick ledgers compiled by Special Branch officers have been kept under lock and key since the Whitechapel murders in 1888. Trevor Marriott, a Ripper investigator and former murder squad detective, has spent 3 years attempting to obtain uncensored versions of the documents. But he has been repeatedly refused because the ledgers contain the identities of police informants, and the Metropolitan Police insist that revealing the information could compromise the gathering of information from ''supergrasses'' and other modern-day informants. Marriott took Scotland Yard to a tribunal earlier this month in a last-ditch attempt to see the journals, which contain 36,000 entries, and which he believes contain evidence that could finally unmask the world's most famous serial killer. The ledgers provide details of the police's dealings with thousands of informants from 1888 to 1912. A sample of about 40 pages from the Scotland Yard ledgers was released to the tribunal, but with the names of informants and other key details blacked out. Marriott says the files contain the names of at least 4 new suspects, as well as other pieces of evidence. Jack the Ripper killed at least 5 women between August and November 1888 in the slums of Whitechapel, east London, but experts have claimed other murders may have been committed by the killer. The case remains one of the world's great unsolved mysteries. The tribunal decision is expected later this year.
The Minnesota House passed a proposed constitutional amendment yesterday to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman. Voters will decide the question in November 2012. The final vote was 70-62, with 4 Republicans voting no and 2 Democrats voting yes. The Senate had already approved the measure. Minnesota law already bans gay marriage, but backers of the proposal say only a constitutional amendment could keep courts from deciding the issue. An amendment also works around Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton, who said he opposes it with "every fiber" of his being. Governors have no veto over constitutional amendments passed by a legislative majority. According to a recent poll by a Minneapolis newspaer, a slim majority in the state opposes the proposed amendment. The amendment question will set off multimillion-dollar campaigns from both sides. It also is expected to draw in national donors, operatives and attention, as did campaigns in several dozen other states that have voted on the issue.
At least 1 person was killed and over 200 homes damaged as tornadoes struck NE Kansas overnight. A state of emergency has been declared in 16 counties in the state. The main area of tornado damage was centered around the town of Reading. Initial reports indicate there are 200 homes in the town and surrounding community that have some type of damage ranging from minor to severe. Another 20 homes were reportedly destroyed. The tornadoes were part of a storm system moving thru the middle part of the country, with heavy storms and tornadoes reported thru-out the midwest in the last 24 hours. In Minnesota, a tornado was reported at 6:30pm last evening in Medinah, Minnesota, pictured left, however no signficant damage was reported from the twister. Heavy rains and minor damage were reported thru-out Central Minnesota from the storms. Elsewhere in the country, towns along the lower Mississippi River were coping with floodwaters, that are finally starting to abate. The river, which hit record crests in Mississippi at Vicksburg and Natchez, will slowly inch downward at those gauges in the next few days and is unlikely to rise again as a result of the additional rain this weekend.
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