California cat sanctuary to reopen following deadly lion attack

San Francisco (Reuters) - The California wildlife sanctuary where an African lion attacked and killed a 24-year-old worker this week is set to reopen to the public on Sunday.

The Cat Haven preserve, which has been shut since the attack on Wednesday, will resume regular operations, including offering guided tours to visitors, Cat Haven officials said.

"It is important that we attend to (the animals') health and well-being, and we believe returning to a state of normal operations is a part of that process," Cat Haven founder Dale Anderson said in a statement.

Dianna Hanson, a 24-year-old intern who had been working at the park since January, was attacked while cleaning an empty cat enclosure.

A 4-year-old male lion named Cous Cous escaped from his feeding pen, apparently by pushing open an improperly secured gate, and pounced on Hanson, fracturing her neck and killing her instantly, according to Fresno County Coroner David Hadden.

Sheriff's deputies later shot and killed the lion, which weighed at least 400 pounds (181 kgs), after they failed to coax him away from Hanson's body.

Cous Cous and his mate, Pely, were Barbary lions, a species from the region between Morocco and Egypt that is extinct in the wild. He had been handled by humans since he was weeks old.

A necropsy, the animal form of an autopsy, was performed on Thursday to determine whether health issues, such as a neurological disorder or a disease like rabies, could have contributed to the attack.

An initial examination found the lion healthy, but full test results are expected to take weeks, said Janice Mackey, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.

Cat Haven, a 100-acre (16-hectare) sanctuary in Dunlap, California, run by the group Project Survival and located about 40 miles east of Fresno, is still home to 29 large cats.

State and local agencies are investigating whether Cat Haven violated any safety procedures that could have safeguarded against such an attack.

Anderson said the sanctuary is cooperating with the investigation and cautioned that, until law enforcement releases its findings, "anything reported about the accident is purely speculative."

Hanson earned a biology degree in 2011 from Western Washington University and last year she spent six months in Kenya working on a wild feline reserve.

Her family says they see the incident as a tragic accident.

"We know that first and foremost, Dianna would want the work that Cat Haven is doing to continue," her mother, Donna Hanson, said in a statement.

The Hanson family has set up a fund in Dianna's honor that will benefit her favorite charitable organizations, including Cat Haven.

(Editing by Edith Honan and Vicki Allen)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/california-cat-sanctuary-reopen-following-deadly-lion-attack-194133989.html

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Makerbot's Bre Pettis And OK Go's Damian Kulash On The Addictive ?Rush' Of Making Stuff That Works [Video]

One of the reasons that coming to South By Southwest Interactive continues to be worthwhile despite all its flaws is that it still attracts some of the most intelligent and fascinating people to the same place at the same time. Getting to bump into brilliant people leads to some wonderful conversations, and often gives just the boost you need to go back to 'regular life' with a fresh pair of eyes. Yesterday morning I had the opportunity to have brunch here at SXSW with seven fascinating people -- Tumblr's David Karp, The Onion's Baratunde Thurston, OK Go's Damian Kulash, Vimeo and Elepath's Jake Lodwick, roboticist Carla Diana, Makerbot's Bre Pettis, and GE's Beth Comstock -- for a roundtable discussion organized by General Electric. We had a wide-ranging discussion over the course of the meal, which was all filmed, but it all started out with the group talking about the original sparks of passion that led them to their current vocations.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/SxHG_Ysi8zs/

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South Africa: Mandela in hospital for tests

JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? Nelson Mandela, the former South African president and anti-apartheid leader, was admitted to a hospital on Saturday for a scheduled medical check-up and doctors say there is no cause for "alarm," the president's office said.

Officials have used similarly soothing language to explain previous hospital stays for 94-year-old Mandela, but in those cases he later turned out to have more serious conditions. The intense privacy surrounding the health of Mandela reflects in part the official reverence for a man who is seen as one of the great, unifying figures of the 20th century for helping to avert race-driven chaos in South Africa's tense transition from apartheid to democracy.

Mandela's latest hospitalization comes at a time when South Africa is enduring a series of setbacks that serve as a reminder of how it has fallen short of the kind of harmonious society that he envisioned, but could not realize during his five years as the country's first black president.

The nation of 50 million has long struggled with poverty and inequality since it emerged from white minority rule. But crisis hit in August, when police shot and killed 34 striking miners at the Marikana platinum mine in a spasm of violence that drew comparisons among some South Africans with Sharpeville in 1960, Soweto in 1976 and other mass killings by agents of the apartheid state.

Then came February, when the gang-rape and killing of 17-year-old Anene Booysen highlighted the scourge of violence against women in South Africa; the arrest of Oscar Pistorius, South Africa's double-amputee athlete who inspired millions at the London Olympics, on charges of murdering his girlfriend; and the killing of Mado Macia, a Mozambican taxi driver who was found dead in a South African police cell after he was dragged from a police vehicle in view of onlookers who filmed the shocking incident.

Just a few days ago, Graca Machel, the Mozambican wife of Mandela, appeared at a memorial service for Macia east of Johannesburg and issued a rare denunciation of conditions in South Africa, warning of "big trouble" because of the alleged role in his death of police officers who are supposed to protect the public.

"We have all been correctly angered by the rogue elements and criminals who molest women and children and commit other extreme forms of violence," President Jacob Zuma said in a recent speech to traditional leaders.

"The outrage expressed by our people at such recent violent incidents in particular is most welcome as it indicates that South Africans have not lost their sense of right and wrong," he said. Zuma asserted that "general crime" had decreased over the years, but acknowledged that violence against women and children remains high and he encouraged efforts to rebuild the "moral fiber" of South African society.

Presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj said Mandela went on Saturday afternoon for tests "to manage existing conditions in line with his age" at a hospital in Pretoria, the capital.

"Doctors are conducting tests and have thus far indicated that there is no reason for any alarm," Maharaj said in a statement. He appealed for the public to respect the privacy of Mandela and his family.

Mandela was hospitalized for nearly three weeks in December before going home on Dec. 26. At that time, he was treated for a lung infection and had a surgical procedure to remove gallstones.

The former president has become increasingly frail over the years. In January 2011, Mandela was admitted to a Johannesburg hospital for what officials initially described as tests but what turned out to be an acute respiratory infection. He was discharged days later. He also had surgery for an enlarged prostate gland in 1985.

Under South Africa's white-minority apartheid regime, Mandela spent 27 years in prison, where he contracted tuberculosis, before being released in 1990. He later became the nation's first democratically elected president in 1994 under the banner of the African National Congress. He served one five-year term before retiring.

The Nobel laureate last made a public appearance on a major stage when South Africa hosted the 2010 World Cup soccer tournament.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/south-africa-mandela-hospital-tests-180852203.html

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Steelers cut Harrison

Getty Images

When it comes to obtaining public funding for an NFL stadium, the best approach is to not approach the voters directly.? In Miami, the plan making its way through the legislature would, if successful, result in a public referendum.

Thus, getting the bills passed has been much easier than the voter-circumvention strategy employed elsewhere, such as Minnesota.

Via the Associated Press, three legislative committees in Florida have approved a bill that would guarantee $3 million per year for 30 years to help pay for an upgrade of SunLife Stadium, which is owned by Dolphins owner Stephen Ross.? If the bill becomes law, the voters will then become involved.

Some lawmakers nevertheless oppose the effort.? ?The NFL is conning us, vote against this madness,? Rep. Bill Hager, a Republican representing Delray Beach, told the AP.

Nationwide, the trend among voters is to reject such measures.? In Miami, current polling conducted not by the Dolphins indicates that opposition is significant.

That?s why the Dolphins need to make an extra-big splash in free agency this year.? They need to create the kind of excitement that will increase supporters of the effort and motivate them to show up and cast ballots at the appropriate.

Still, unless and until the Dolphins have the leverage that comes from a potential relocation of the franchise, the locals will remain ambivalent, at best.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/03/09/james-harrison-tweets-his-goodbye-to-the-steelers/related/

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Wingnuts Raging at John Brennan for Not Swearing on a Bible (Little green footballs)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

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Justin Bieber Needs A Twittervention!

Someone needs to get Justin Bieber off Twitter (and while they're at it, Instagram, too). The 19-year-old has been sharing a bit too much with the world recently, and is getting himself in trouble by doing so.

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/justin-bieber-apologizes-another-incident-twitter/1-a-526268?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Ajustin-bieber-apologizes-another-incident-twitter-526268

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PFT: Poll: Public opposes giving Panthers money

AP

We noted at the end of the season that the Buccaneers plan to release cornerback Eric Wright, who?s due a base salary of $7.75 million this season. That?s still the case, but it may not happen soon.

The Tampa Bay Times reports that Wright initially expected to be released as early as this week, which would have given him a head start on free agency. But now the Bucs aren?t planning to release him this week, or even this month.

When Wright signed with the Bucs last year, that $7.75 million salary for 2013 was guaranteed. But when Wright was suspended four games last season for violating the league?s performance-enhancing drug policy, it allowed the Bucs to cut him at any time before the start of the 2013 regular season without paying him anything. And that?s what the Bucs plan to do ? but only after taking their time about seeing what they can do at the cornerback position in free agency and the draft.

It?s possible that the Bucs will try to squeeze Wright into taking a reduced salary in lieu of getting cut, although Wright apparently isn?t open to that at this point. Unfortunately for Wright, if he balks, the Bucs can wait as long as they like to cut him, and by the time they finally get around to it, his value may have gone down because teams that might have otherwise been interested in his services would have looked elsewhere to shore up the cornerback position.

The biggest risk the Bucs have is that Wright could get injured during offseason workouts. If Wright blows out his knee while working out at the team facility, the Bucs would be forced to put him on injured reserve and pay him that entire $7.75 million salary. So it?s still more likely than not that Wright will get cut before offseason workouts begin in April.

But even if he gets cut in April, Wright will have missed out on the initial frenzy of free agency. The same frenzy he was part of last year, when he got a ?five-year, $37.5 million contract? that turned out to be a whole lot shorter and a whole lot less lucrative than that.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2013/03/08/carolina-poll-shows-strong-opposition-to-public-money-before-leak-of-financials/related/

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