Latest news with #Dixie
1News
09-06-2025
- Health
- 1News
Alligator at Auckland Zoo undergoes check-up after swallowing jandal
An alligator at Auckland Zoo recently had to undergo a veterinary examination after being seen swallowing a jandal in her habitat. Dixie, an American alligator, continued eating normally afterwards, but the zoo's veterinary team took action to ensure no lingering health concerns. An endoscopy was performed under general anaesthesia by the zoo's veterinary team, assisted by external specialist Dr Tomm Fluen. Using a flexible camera scope, the team thoroughly examined Dixie's stomach but found no trace of the jandal, just half digested meat and vegetation. Auckland Zoo staff examine the contents of Dixie's stomach. (Source: Auckland Zoo) ADVERTISEMENT Head of veterinary services James Chatterton said this suggested the footwear had already been expelled. "While the endoscopy was taking place, our team took the opportunity to check Dixie's eyes and body condition, which are in great shape." Alligators often consume foreign objects because they are "sit and wait" hunters. If something moves near them, they will often automatically snap and eat. This means that wild alligators can die from ingesting man-made objects. (Source: Auckland Zoo) Chatterton said it would be "amazing" if Dixie never came across a man-made object in her habitat. "Hopefully, our visitors can help us with that preventative healthcare by going home with everything that they brought to the zoo." He said many people's trip to the zoo was when they developed an interest in and care for animals. "That's the first step on providing a better future for wild animals everywhere."
Irish Independent
08-06-2025
- Irish Independent
Obituary: Sunny Jacobs, US campaigner who fought against the death penalty after her own experience of spending five years on death row
An advocate for those given wrongful convictions, she ran a foundation and sanctuary from her home in Casla with her late husband, Peter Pringle. She was born in Queens and grew up in a Jewish family in Elmont, New York. She went to college at 16, but dropped out when she became pregnant. Her son Eric Stuart was born just before her 19th birthday and she married his father, Kenny, but the relationship did not last. As she wrote in her autobiography, Stolen Time, she met Jesse Tafero in 1973 when she was 24 and a 'flower child' living in Miami with her son. She wrote that she didn't know initially about Tafero's criminal past – he was given parole for a conviction of assault with intent to commit rape and robbery. The events that followed have been investigated by Ellen McGarrahan, author of Two Truths and a Lie (2021), who was sent as a reporter to Tafero's execution. McGarrahan has written about the couple's involvement in drugs and their association with an organised crime work known as the 'Dixie mafia'. Their daughter, Christina, was 10 months old and her son, Eric, was nine when she and Tafero took a 160km lift from Walter Rhodes, to Florida. They had pulled over for a rest stop when two police officers approached, saw a gun and asked Rhodes, who was on parole, to step out. The two officers were shot dead, and she wrote that Rhodes forced the couple and their children into the patrol car and sped off before being caught. McGarrahan's investigation quotes eye witnesses who said shots came from the back of the car. All three adults were arrested and Rhodes subsequently testified against Tafero and Jacobs, who were sentenced to death. Rhodes later confessed to the murders, but then recanted several times. Eric was held in a juvenile detention centre in Florida for two months, while Christina was taken into foster care for two weeks before Jacobs's parents secured custody of both. Jacobs was placed in solitary confinement as there was no 'death row' for women. She wrote about living in a 'world of one', where she could measure just six steps between the toilet and the steel door and she had no natural light. In 1981, her sentence was converted from death to life imprisonment by the Florida Supreme Court. However, in July 1982 her parents, who had been raising her children, were among 153 people killed in the Pan Am flight 759 crash in Kenner, Louisiana. Christina was placed in foster care while Eric left school and began working. He had already developed a stutter from the trauma of his two months' detention after the shooting in 1976. Jacobs maintained a relationship with Tafero through correspondence, and learnt that men on death row had greater privileges. She filed a lawsuit that gave her access to two books a week and four hours a week out of her cell under supervision. She said she set herself a goal of becoming the best person she could possibly be, doing 'yoga, prayer, push-ups and sit-ups, and with mathematical tasks'. Jacobs was allowed a 10-minute phone conversation with Tafero in May 1990 before his botched execution by electric chair. It took him 13 minutes to die in horrifying circumstances. Two years later, an appeals court overturned Jacobs's 1976 murder conviction and ordered a new trial, but she was released from prison under a deal known as the Alford plea. In her book, she wrote that this was a 'plea of convenience', which would 'allow them to read an adjudication of guilt of a lesser degree into the record to prevent me from being able to sue for false imprisonment or whatever later'. She was 45 and tired and just wanted to be with her children and her first grandchild, she wrote. The Irish Independent has seen court transcripts indicating Jacobs understood she was pleading guilty to the second degree murders of the officers and the kidnapping of an elderly man. Jacobs moved to Los Angeles and began a global campaign against the death penalty. She suffered injuries when she was hit by a car that left her with chronic mobility issues. She met Pringle at an Amnesty International event in Ireland in 1998. Pringle, who served time in prison in the early 1960s for being a member of the IRA, had been sentenced to death for the murder of gardaí John Morley and Henry Byrne during a bank robbery in Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon, in July 1980. His death sentence, along with that of two other men, was commuted to 40 years in jail. He was released after 15 years when the Court of Appeal ruled the original verdict was unsafe and unsound and ordered a retrial that never happened. Pringle and Jacobs formed a relationship, and she moved to Connemara to live with him and their dogs, cats, hens, ducks and goats. They created the Sunny Center Foundation, welcoming people who had been wrongfully imprisoned and helping them to return to society. 'The greatest tool is forgiveness,' she told The New York Times in 2019. 'If you hold on to that anger and resentment, then there's no room for happiness and love in your heart, and you start destroying your own life.' Their marriage in New York in November 2011 made the 'weddings' section of The New York Times, with Brooke Shields, Marlo Thomas and Amy Irving among those present. All three actors had by then played Jacobs during various productions of The Exonerated, written by Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, about six people wrongfully imprisoned. After Pringle died on New Year's Eve 2022, the debate over his innocence reopened, with an article by investigative journalist Michael Clifford in The Examiner. Retired garda detective Tom Connolly also produced recordings to support his firm belief that Pringle was the third man in the Co Roscommon robbery. Speaking to Joe Duffy on RTÉ Radio 1's Liveline, Jacobs said that details of wrongful conviction cases 'can never be resolved… and that's how it is in most cases'. She continued her own advocacy work up until very recently, in spite of her health challenges. Dr Edward Mathews, director of the Irish Innocence Project at Griffith College, described her as 'a lifelong campaigner for human rights and the abolition of the death penalty, speaking all over the world of how the death penalty invariably kills the innocent and debases the whole of humanity'. Close friend Ruairí McKiernan said: 'Sunny travelled the world, often in her wheelchair, tirelessly advocating against the death penalty, with recent speaking engagements in Paris and Strasbourg. She was driven not by anger, but by love.' Jacobs, who was predeceased by partner Tafero and husband Pringle, is survived by her daughter Christina, son Eric and grandchildren Claudia, Jesse and Bella.
RNZ News
08-06-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Alligator that swallowed jandal at Auckland Zoo gets all clear
Dixie the American alligator from Auckland Zoo during the procedure to put a camera put down her throat after she swallowed a jandal. Photo: Auckland Zoo An Auckland Zoo alligator which ate a jandal left behind in its enclosure had to undergo an hospital procedure to make sure the man-made object had passed. American alligator Dixie was seen swallowing the jandal in her habitat, Auckland Zoo said in a post on Facebook. "Although after this she continued eating well, our vet team wanted to ensure this was not going to be a longer-term health issue for her," the social media post on Sunday said. "Alligators can consume foreign objects because they're 'sit and wait' hunters. "If something moves near them, they will often automatically snap and eat it. This means that in the wild, alligators can die from ingesting man-made objects." The zoo's vets were joined by Dr Tommy Fluen, an external specialist experienced with endoscopy - where a thin flexible tube is passed into a patient's body. Once Dixie was safely anaesthetised, Fluen was able to look inside her stomach using a small camera attached to the scope. "Every inch of Dixie's stomach was examined, and thankfully a jandal was not found - however we did find a lot of half-digested meat and vegetation. "This means it is very likely the jandal was expelled previously." While the endoscopy was taking place, the zoo's vet team took the opportunity to check Dixie's eyes and body condition, which were "in great shape". "It would be amazing if Dixie never came across a man-made object in her habitat," the Auckland Zoo post said. "Hopefully, our visitors can help us with that preventative healthcare by going home with everything that they brought to the zoo." Head of veterinary services James Chatterton said for many people a trip to the zoo was the time they developed an interest in animals and started to care. "And that's the first step on providing a better future for wild animals everywhere," he said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Venus square Pluto is a time of betrayals, ghosting and breakups — be prepared
On Monday, June 9th, Venus — our planet of love and attachment — forms a charged and challenging square with Pluto, our power planet of sex, death and transformation. It's a yikes moment, folks and while the square is exact on June 9th, we'll be feeling the effects of this friction for several days before and after. Venus is currently frolicking through the pleasured pastures of Taurus, where the planet is at home and encouraging us to seek the beautiful and the stable. Meanwhile, Pluto is retrograding through the weirder-than-a-box-of-hair, revolution over romance, and progress at all costs, sign of Aquarius, in effect revealing where beauty is deceptive and stability stifling. A square aspect forms when two planets are three zodiac signs apart, or separated by roughly 90 degrees. This creates a tug of war between the themes and energies of each. Venus rules relationships, and Pluto lords over power struggles and repressed impulses. In kind and conflict, when these two luminaries square off, issues are brought to the surface, and controlling, jealous, possessive, and manipulative behaviors exhibit themselves — often to an explosive degree. As Pluto relates to the buried and/or the exiled, these patterns are often born from deep insecurity and fear of being abandoned, betrayed or unappreciated. During a Venus square Pluto transit, we may feel attacked, confined or undermined in our closest relationships. Bear in mind that the goal here is not punishment, but growth — and sometimes the two feel more kindred than we'd like. Squares naturally foster conflicts, struggle, tension and drama. Pluto is a planet of extremes, and this transit could trigger ultimatums, discord, ghosting, and precipice moments, particularly if a partner or friend feels controlled or coerced. Unhealthy relationships are likely to reach a literal and decidedly dramatic breaking point during this transit. At the same time, more fortifying bonds will endure, but the dynamic could shift in ways that support the independence and well-being of both partners. The ethos of Pluto is transformation through trauma, so trust that however painful, whatever burns down, blows up or falls apart, is in service of meaningful, progressive change. Beware of instant attractions and rapid relationships that begin during this transit, as they will likely be characterized by obsessive attachment and an intense destabilizing chemistry. Tarot reader and psychic astrologer Christian Dixie says folks should beware not just of volatility and fractures in love relationships but with friends and energy vampires alike. 'I'm really feeling friendship betrayals on a deep level, and this could be financially because of Venus in Taurus. Friends will be revealed to be liabilities more than they are assets,' Dixie said. However, he maintains that painful revelations will ultimately lead to overdue endings and healthier dynamics. 'I won't be surprised if there are friendship breakups during this transit. The friends we think have added value to our lives but are subtracting from our lives will be revealed, people who feel entitled to drain you of your time and energy.' Dixie noted that friends who exhibit clingy or possessive behaviors should be eyed with extreme caution and perhaps given a compassionate dismissal. Bear in mind, my babies, our losses do not make us less — and every ending is sewn with the seeds of what's to come. Because this square is squaring in a fixed sign, the fixed signs; Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aqaurius will feel the effects of this transit most acutely. Astrologer Reda Wigle researches and irreverently reports on planetary configurations and their effect on each zodiac sign. Her horoscopes integrate history, poetry, pop culture, and personal experience. To book a reading, visit her website.
CBS News
06-06-2025
- CBS News
Blind Colorado woman attacked by other passenger while riding RTD bus in Denver
A Colorado woman who is blind and her seeing-eye dog were assaulted last month on a Regional Transportation District bus twice by the same woman. The suspect is still wanted by police. For the victim, Angela Stewart, being visually impaired has never stopped her in her tracks. CBS Colorado's Gabriela Vidal interviews Angela Stewart. She walks with her seeing-eye dog Dixie in the image. CBS "I've had low vision my entire life. I have a very rare eye condition that makes my retinas didn't form all the way," said Stewart. "That took my vision from like maybe 25% to 15%." Nearly every day after work in Denver, she walks along 16th Street with her German Shepard guide, Dixie, leading her to their RTD stop she takes to Union Station. "I don't let my disability or issues define who I am, so I'm going to take the bus because that's what I have to do," said Stewart. It's a route, however, that has now become a reminder of the one time she could not see danger coming. "I got on the shuttle like I always do, and there was a woman screaming on the bus at the bus driver," said Stewart. "My problem is, she's screaming and yelling and carrying on and I can't hear the bus stops." Stewart says she yelled back at the woman to be quiet, and admittedly may have replied to the woman in a negative way when she threatened to beat her up. "She came up the bus and she punched me in the face, and then she punched me again and she pushed me in the back of the bus," said Stewart. Video shared by RTD captured the whole altercation, which happened on May 29 after 4:25 p.m. Stewart is seen trying to defend herself as the female suspect punches Stewart and pulls her by the hair until other passengers tried to remove the suspect from the bus. RTD "I was just in shock that she actually came over and hit me," said Stewart. Moments later, the same suspect got back on the bus to pick up a red object on the ground near Stewart's legs, grabs Stewart by the face and shoves her against the bus seats before getting away. RTD "Maybe I shouldn't have said what I said, but I didn't deserve to get beaten like that," said Stewart. Stewart sustained bruises on her face and body from the attack. "I'm not going to let a situation like this intimidate me. I'm not going to live in fear because somebody hit me," said Stewart. RTD tells CBS Colorado the incident is still under investigation. DPD says anyone with information is asked to call Metro Denver Crime Stoppers. "I can't fight back, except for this way," said Stewart, "Except for pressing charges and letting the police and the law do what they need to do." For now, Stewart is remaining a little bit more vigilant every time she and Dixie get on the bus. "I couldn't see her, but I could hear her. I could hear her voice, so if she gets on the bus all I can do is listen; listen for it and see if she's on there." Stewart hopes anyone who rides public transportation does their best to be careful to avoid something like this from happening. "Just be aware of where you are, and be aware that if somebody is yelling and carrying on, they might be violent," said Stewart. "Don't engage them."
