Emperor

A United Airlines plane was forced into an emergency landing after it caught fire after a rabbit was reportedly sucked into its engine.

The flight in the US issued an alert following a “giant fireball” after the reportedly got stuck in the plane’s engine before take off.

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The plane was turned around after around 75 minutes in the air and landed safely. There were no reports of injuries.

An unusual startup announced the world's first sperm race -- a race involving actual sperm -- will be held April 25 at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles.

Sperm Racing, a startup founded by a team of young millionaires, announced representatives from two competing schools -- the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles -- will provide the microscopic swimmers for the inaugural Sperm Race.

The race will take place under a microscopic camera that will track the progress of the sperms as they attempt to cross to the finish line.

The startup said there will be three races held to determine the overall winner, and play-by-play commentary will be provided during each heat. There will also be instant replays, leaderboards and betting through approved partners.

Albert Saniger, the founder and former CEO of Nate, an AI shopping app that promised a “universal” checkout experience, was charged with defrauding investors on Wednesday, according to a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice.

Founded in 2018, Nate raised over $50 million from investors like Coatue and Forerunner Ventures, most recently raising a $38 million Series A in 2021 led by Renegade Partners.

Nate said its app’s users could buy from any e-commerce site with a single click, thanks to AI. In reality, however, Nate relied heavily on hundreds of human contractors in a call center in the Philippines to manually complete those purchases, the DOJ’s Southern District of New York alleges.

Saniger raised millions in venture funding by claiming that Nate was able to transact online “without human intervention,” except for edge cases where the AI failed to complete a transaction. But despite Nate acquiring some AI technology and hiring data scientists, its app’s actual automation rate was effectively 0%, the DOJ claims.

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Nate isn’t the only startup that has allegedly exaggerated its AI capabilities. For example, an “AI” drive-through software startup was also powered largely by humans in the Philippines, The Verge reported in 2023.

More recently, Business Insider reported that an AI legal tech unicorn, EvenUp, used humans to do much of its work.

‘Hairy” medieval book covers previously thought to be made from deer or boar skin are in fact made of sealskin, researchers have found.

The covers of the 12th- and 13th-century books from French monasteries were made using seals believed to be from Scandinavia, Scotland and potentially Iceland or Greenland, hinting at extensive medieval trade networks.

Researchers analysed volumes from a Cistercian monastery, Clairvaux Abbey, and its daughter monasteries, identifying 43 sealskin books.

“Contrary to the prevailing assumption that books were crafted from locally sourced materials, it appears that the Cistercians were deeply embedded in a global trading network,” reads the research article, published today in Royal Society Open Science.

Boris Johnson got a shock when an ostrich attacked him on a day out with his family. Hilarious video shows the former prime minister and one of his children admiring the large, flightless bird from the apparent safety of a car.

The feathered giant can be seen striding up to the vehicle as Mr Johnson and the youngster look on with the driver's side window wide open. Mr Johnson appears to describe the ostrich as being "very naughty" as the creature gets closer and closer. Then as it peers into the car, the bird lashes out with a sharp peck at the ex-PM, to which a shocked Mr Johnson cries out in front of his giggling child: "Christ! F****** hell!"

The street gained mass attention and even became a landmark after The Beatles named their 1969 album 'Abbey Road', with the album cover featuring the four members crossing the road.

Now, every day, dozens of eager and excited tourists head to the location to recreate the iconic album cover.

However, it seems some of those tourists expect a bit more than just a road when they make the trip to St John's Wood and often end up disappointed.

Many of those tourists have taken to the online review site Tripadvisor to share their upset.

One visitor titled their review "disappointed doesn't cover it..." explaining: "On reflection, I think I may have been expecting too much. My disappointment in not finding street sellers, either side of the road, selling cheap t-shirts and merchandise was a surprise."

They added: "It's just a zebra crossing and you'd save yourself some money by just standing on any of the millions in the UK and just photoshopping the background in."

Another upset Beatles fan shared that there's 'nothing to see': "I am a massive Beatles fan, but there really is nothing to see here.

"It's just an ordinary zebra crossing. It's busy - crowded with fellow tourists trying to work out if they are even at the right place, and with annoyed drivers trying to drive down a busy main road."

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A babysitter in Kansas found a troubling surprise after a child she was watching complained there was a "monster" hiding.

The babysitter found a man hiding under a child's bed after they attempted to show the children there was nothing under there, the Barton County Sheriff's Office said in a statement Wednesday.

"She came face-to-face with a male suspect who was hiding there," the sheriff's office said.

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The following day, deputies spotted the man while they were in the area looking for the suspect. He ran and after a short pursuit, deputies caught him.

Martin Villalobos Jr., 27, was arrested and booked into the Barton County Jail on multiple charges, including aggravated kidnapping and child endangerment. The sheriff's office said Villalobos is being held on a $500,000 bond.

Villalobos once lived on the property, the sheriff's office said. There was a current protection order issued against him to stay away from the property.

Chanel Tapper, 34, who has held the Guinness World Record for the longest tongue (female) since 2010, said her tongue, which measures 3.8 inches from the tip to her lips, gets her an array of reactions.

"Honestly, the best reaction I could ever get when someone sees my tongue is screaming. I actually do like when people yell or scream in shock, or horror sometimes," she told Guinness World Records. "But that's probably my favorite one because it's funny to me because it's a dramatic response."

Tapper showed off some of the tricks she has learned to perform with her tongue, including removing Jenga blocks, flipping plastic cups and holding a spoon.

"I like little fun, silly things like that. That's what makes my tongue the most fun when I can do things that are outside the box with it," she said.

Video

Yep, they exist.

edit: Context for the non-British

A mum from Prestatyn claims she's been denied a passport by the Home Office after changing her name to Pudsey Bear for charity 16 years ago. Eileen De Bont, 53, became 'Mrs P Bear' in honour of the Children In Need mascot having raised £4,000 at an online eBay auction for the cause back in 2009.

The Welsh mum-of-two, now affectionately known as 'Mama Bear' by her daughters, successfully changed her name when the UK Deed Poll Service secured the highest bid. She had given a list of 50 options stating that she would change her name to the one chosen by whoever bid the most.

Her driver's licence and bank card both bear the names 'Mrs P Bear' and 'Mrs Pudsey Bear' respectively while council tax communications address her as 'Ms Pudsey Bear' and Inland Revenue calls her 'Mrs Pudsey Bear'.

Despite being recognised by various government agencies under her chosen moniker she has struggled with the Passport Office which has repeatedly refused to issue her a passport, calling her name change "frivolous". Mrs Bear recently faced another setback when warned that her renewed attempt at acquiring a passport could be thwarted due to potential copyright infringement issues.

She told MailOnline: "All my bills, my bank details, the GP, my local health trust – verywhere else has accepted my new name. Everywhere except the Passport Office. When I applied back in 2009 their reasoning was that it was a frivolous name and therefore the answer was no."

She continued: "I thought that after 16 years the passport agency can hardly call my name 'frivolous'. It is my name, and has been for 16 years, so I would like it on the front page of my passport next to my photograph."

Mrs Bear has previously been asked if she'd revert to her birth name but she's fond of her current name and doesn't want to change it. Her tarot reading business, Northern Light Tarot, which boasts 32,000 subscribers on YouTube, is even registered under Mrs Pudsey Bear at Companies House.

She was advised to seek permission from the copyright owner, the BBC, before proceeding with her application. Having given up driving due to medical reasons she now finds herself without any valid form of photographic ID.

And previously:

• Game of Thrones name sparks passport mix-up for family
• Family’s ordeal after son, whose name is inspired by Star Wars, refused passport due to copyright issues
• Paddington Bear given UK passport by Home Office

Two Japanese tourists in their 20s were detained for two weeks in China then deported for taking photos showing exposed buttocks at the Great Wall, local media reported.

The incident at the World Heritage site near Beijing concerned a man who showed his bottom and a woman who took photos, NTV and other Japanese media outlets reported yesterday.

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Tokyo’s foreign ministry said today that “the Embassy of Japan in China confirmed on January 3 that two Japanese nationals were detained by local authorities at the Great Wall.”

They “were subsequently released and returned to Japan during January”, it said in a statement.

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Exposing the lower half of the body in a public place is against the law in China, according to the reports.

The tourists reportedly told the Japanese embassy they did it as a prank.

The reports sparked outrage in China, where memories of atrocities committed during Japan’s colonial occupation of the country in the 1930s and 40s still inspire strong feelings.

A hashtag translating to “Japanese man and woman detained for indecent behaviour at the Great Wall” had been viewed over 60 million times on social media platform Weibo by Friday morning.

Many top-liked comments blasted the tourists for the act, with some using hateful language toward Japanese people.

One comment by Chinese actor Chen Yitian, who has over 7 million followers on the platform, condemned them for doing “shameful things on my Great Wall”.

Others suggested China ban all Japanese visitors