These Fanged Deer Are Real And Will Haunt Your Dreams Like Vampires

For most people, deer are friendly forest dwellers à la Bambi below.

Isn’t he adorable? Unfortunately, Bambi isn’t exactly representative of every deer IRL. He’s definitely nothing like the musk deer species (pictured below) who have terrifying fangs that rival Dracula’s.

Julie Larsen Maher © WCS

Researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society recently spotted the vampire deer species — that’s what we’re referring to musk deer as — roaming forests in northeast Afghanistan. Before this, the last documented sighting of vamp deer was all the way back in 1948. The incredible discovery was published in the October issue of Oryx, the international journal of conservation.

Related: Watch Two Kangaroos Face Off In An Insane Street Fight

Vampire deer may look scary, but there’s nothing frightening about them aside from their teeth. They’re very timid and like to stay hidden, so it’s no surprise they went undetected for over 60 years.

Their fangs serve a bigger purpose than chomping down on tasty necks, though. Vampire deer are full-on herbivores, and males sport elongated canines solely to find a mate during breeding season. They use their teeth as weapons to fight off competitors.

But even though vampire deer are relatively harmless to humans, they’re extremely endangered thanks to habitat loss and poaching. Poachers hunt the deer because its scent glands are worth a ton of cold hard cash — up to $45,000 per kilo, which is more than gold is worth.

WCS hopes to increase funding for ecosystem research in the area so that conservation efforts can better protect the musk deer going forward.

“Musk deer are one of Afghanistan’s living treasures … We hope that conditions will stabilize soon to allow WCS and local partners to better evaluate conservation needs of this species,” said study co-author Peter Zahler in a press release. He is also WCS’ Deputy Director of Asia Programs.

Woman comes to bald eagle's rescue after mid-air battle

Venice, Florida -- A Florida Fish and Wildlife biologist was in the right place at the right time for one lucky bald eagle.

In a Facebook post, FWC says traffic on a Sarasota road screeched to a halt as drivers witnessed an "epic mid-air battle" between two eagles. Still fighting, the two birds crash landed into a nearby muddy ditch.

See Also: Bald eagles lose nest at Orioles stadium in Sarasota

A 16-year-old girl saw the fight and told her mom that one of the eagles needed her help. She would be a good choice to come to the animal's aid; Michelle van Deventer is both an FWC biologist and Florida's bald eagle coordinator!

Van Deventer pulled to the side of the road and jumped into the ditch after seeing the winning eagle fly off, leaving the loser behind. With help from the Wildlife Center of Venice and Sarasota County Animal Services, she was able to secure the exhausted and stressed bald eagle.

The male eagle was taken to a WCV clinic and kept overnight. After determining it had no serious injuries, it was safely released the following morning.

6 Reasons You Didn’t Get the Job (That No One Will Ever Tell You)

The way you speak can, surprisingly, be a huge indicator to your interviewer about whether you’re the right fit for the position

 

  

You dressed the part. You told engaging stories. You asked insightful questions. Frankly, you nailed the interview, but you didn’t get the job. What gives?

You can certainly try to ask for feedback after receiving a rejection, but most employers probably won’t say much. If they do, it’ll be something fairly generic, along the lines of “other qualified candidates.” That, of course, isn’t always the real reason—it’s just that the real reason might be a little too awkward to actually say to someone’s face.

So, what are some of these uncomfortable reasons for not selecting a particular job candidate? Read on for a list of commonly cited deal breakers that are pretty difficult for hiring mangers to admit to.

1. You Spoke Funny

Do you have a habit of making your statements sound like questions? Tend to speak in an overly casual or formal tone?

The way you speak can, surprisingly, be a huge indicator to your interviewer about whether you’re the right fit for the position. Maybe you sound too meek to manage a team of 10 or too aggressive to handle customer complaints. This might not be a fair assessment, but it happens all the time—so it’s definitely worth thinking about and practicing for as you’re doing mock interviews to prepare.

2. You, Um, Smelled Funny

And I don’t just mean that you didn’t shower. That could be it—or it could be that you overdid it on the cologne. Either way, you don’t want to be that interview candidate who overpowered the conversation with your aroma rather than your charisma.

To combat this, lay off the perfume and make sure your personal hygiene is top notch. Seriously, please don’t let this be the reason you didn’t get the job.

3. You Were Too Eager

Did you show up 45 minutes early to the interview? Did you offer to do the internship unpaid without being prompted? It’s good to be enthusiastic during your interview, but be careful not to be over the top. It can come off as a little much and, like the first example, even inconvenient for the hiring manager. Instead, show your excitement by being exceptionally well versed about the company and position. Top it off with a thank you note, and you’re all set.

4. You Were Too Arrogant

Don’t get me wrong: Confidence in an interview is essential, and apparently it’s even good to be a little narcissistic. But don’t step over the line toward being arrogant. This can really rub people the wrong way and make you seem a little hard to manage.

To make sure you’re not overdoing it, back up your claims and your skills with concrete stories, and show an openness to learn by asking thoughtful questions. And even if you think you have it in the bag, think twice before letting that show.

5. You Didn’t Pass the Airport Test

This reason might be the most awkward of them all: It’s possible that your interviewer just didn’t click with you. You’re not going to get along swimmingly with everyone, and most people are too polite to tell you if you didn’t with him or her.

That’s okay. The most you can do is try to be yourself. Do some mindfulness exercises before you head over to the interview, take a deep breath before you walk into the building, and relax. Don’t let people judge you based just on your nerves. Try to let your interviewer actually get to know you a bit.

6. You Weren’t the Internal Candidate They Wanted All Along

It’s a sad truth of job hunting: At many companies, hiring managers are required to do a few interviews before making a decision, even if they have a strong internal candidate that they probably knew from day one that they were going to hire. There’s pretty much no way to know when you’re interviewing for a position like this and, unfortunately, there’s almost nothing you can do. So, if you didn’t get the job, it could also very well be because it was impossible to get in the first place. Don’t get too hung up on it.

At the end of the day, there are some things you can control about the interview process (like showering and doing your company research), and then there are some things you can’t do anything about (like knowing your interviewer’s pet peeves ahead of time). So, do what you can and understand that interviewing is an incredibly subjective way to evaluate whether someone is a good fit for a position.

10 Cyber Monday Must-Knows

Separating frugal fact from fiction and putting the most Cyber Monday deals in your hands.

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In my continued search to save you time and money, we have some spectacular plans to put the most Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals in your hands. While I can't divulge those plans yet which kick off right here on Monday November 24th, here's what you need to know now.

              1. Cyber Monday will be better than Black Friday this year for the first time ever.I've                      been hunting deals for more than decade and while we saw the start of this trend last year,                    Cyber Monday will bring steeper discounts to the table this year.

2. More people will shop Cyber Monday which means bigger deals. Based on my deal lists last year, I saw a 105% increase on Cyber Monday over Black Friday. Last year 92 million people shopped on Black Friday while 131 million people shopped Cyber Monday. That trend is expected to continue this year.

3. Cyber Monday is not just for tech. Last year stronger, better, store-wide clothing sales appeared on Cyber Monday, for one of the first times beating out the Black Friday offerings. Stores that were offering 40% off site-wide Black Friday had 50% off Cyber Monday. Many other shopping categories will see similar discounts.

4. You need a strategy to save money on Cyber Monday. Aimless browsing and google does not get you the most deals. If you want access to the most deals in the country before anyone else, you need a strategy and for that, check out the next point.

5. SIGN UP HERE TO GET THE DEALS FIRST.I'm working with a team of deal bloggers and giant team of coupon hunters around the country. As soon as humanly possible, before Cyber Monday, you'll get access to every big Cyber Monday deal first.

6. Cyber Monday does not have the same Black Friday stock issues. Since stores are not tied to ad-scans, they can shift merchandise and offer great reductions throughout the day.

7. Appliances, gaming bundles and television deals are all better Black Friday.While we will see deals from all of these categories, Black Friday in-store or online is your better way to go.

8. Cyber Monday brings savings that are 10% - 14% better than Black Friday.That's based on my findings from last year and the trends we expect this year. Obviously there will be exceptions, but this is my prediction for many major categories.

9. Shoppers will spend more on Cyber Monday and it's something retailers notice. Last year the average shopper spent around $310 Black Friday and around $470 Cyber Monday according to an AOL Survey.

10. We see three important sale spikes on Cyber Monday. 12:01am EST when a good chunk of the deals are live. The next spike is 12:01am PST when certain West Coast retailers join the mix and the next spike is just before those office lunch breaks local time - usually between 11am and 12:30pm when most shoppers are making the most of Cyber Monday from their desks. Additional incentives sometimes appear during these three spike periods.

A reminder, if you want to get the biggest deals first for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and every day of the week, subscribe hereand feel free to follow @MattGranite on twitter.

Peter Kassig’s Powerful Silence Before ISIS Beheaded Him

Abdul-Rahman (Peter) Kassig is pictured making a food delivery to refugees in Lebanonís Bekaa Valley in this May 2013 handout photo.

The former Army Ranger did not address the camera.

  

It’s tough to take any solace when the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria commits a murder, as it made clear yet again on Sunday it had done with the release of a video of the apparent beheading of American Peter Kassig.

But as grimly depressing as the video was—this is the fifth recorded killing of a Westerner released by the group since August—it differed from those that came before.

The video didn’t feature as many high production values or multi-camera angles. Most startling, Kassig, an Indiana native, didn’t make a final statement into his captors’ cameras, as those who died before him had done (he did, however, speak to Time early last year before he was kidnapped).

Kassig, 26, “doesn’t have much to say,” said ISIS’s British-accented, black-robed executioner on the video.

There is speculation over why this video is different.

“The likeliest possibility is that something went wrong when they were beheading him,” Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told the New York Times.

But there’s another possibility. “I don’t know how this went down, or if it really did,” tweeted Andrew Exum. “But I like the idea of the Ranger not saying a damn thing.”

Kassig became a Ranger in 2006, and served with the 75th Ranger Regiment in Iraq in 2007. Exum himself is a former Ranger, an elite band of soldiers that the Army declares to be its “premier direct-action raid force.”

Kassig knew what he faced, and he knew the Ranger Creed, which says:

Recognizing that I volunteered as a Ranger, fully knowing the hazards of my chosen profession, I will always endeavor to uphold the prestige, honor, and high esprit de corps of the Rangers…

Never shall I fail my comrades. I will always keep myself mentally alert, physically strong and morally straight and I will shoulder more than my share of the task whatever it may be, one-hundred-percent and then some.

Energetically will I meet the enemies of my country. I shall defeat them on the field of battle for I am better trained and will fight with all my might. Surrender is not a Ranger word. I will never leave a fallen comrade to fall into the hands of the enemy and under no circumstances will I ever embarrass my country.

His family, and his nation, can take solace in Ranger Kassig’s silent courage before his country’s enemies.

Iran plans to offer Alamut Fortress to UNESCO

Iran plans to offer the historical Alamut Fortress to UNESCO for a possible inscription on the World Heritage list of the UN organization.

Located in Alamut region in Iran’s Qazvin Province, the castle is a mountain structure built on a massive rock in an altitude of 2,100 meters above sea level.

The fabled ruin of Alamut Castle owns historical significance dating back to around 1090 AD, when Hassan Sabbah, the leader of Ismailites in Iran, chose the Alamut region as his headquarters.
The origins of the Alamut Fortress can be traced back to the Kings of Daylam, a Justanid ruler, at the end of the 8th century, who selected the area for the construction of a fortress.

The fortress was demolished and set ablaze by Hulagu of Mongolia in 1256. Later the site was only used as prison and a place of exile.
World Heritage site is a title that is given to locations that have “outstanding universal value” to humanity, according to the UNESCO description.
Armenian monastic ensembles of Iran, Bam and its cultural landscape, Bisotoun, Naqsh-e Jahan Square, Pasargadae, Persepolis, Sheikh Safi al-din shrine, Shoushtar historical hydraulic system, Tabriz historic bazaar complex, Chogha Zanbil and the Persian garden are some of the Iranian historical heritage sites that have been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List.

What Happens If A Doctor Wrongly Pronounces You Dead?

 

 For this 91-year-old woman, a wake up call in the morgue was the result. 

Everyone has a few stories about waking up somewhere weird: the back of your friends car, the middle of a field, et cetera. How many people, though, can say they’ve woken up in a morgue?
That’s exactly what happened to a 91-year-old woman in Ostrow Lubelski, a town in Poland. After a doctor pronounced her dead, Janina Kolkiewicz was sent to a funeral home. Her body was placed in cold storage. 11 hours later, she woke up.
CNN’s Polish affiliate station TVN reports that she’s now home and in stable condition. They interviewed the doctor who signed the death certificate:
“I checked the pulse on the forearm artery, carotid artery also,” claimed the doctor. “I listened to the heart, to the breathing. I also examined the pupils. There were no reflexes. Typical symptoms of death.”
The family was already planning services when they received a call from the funeral home with the unexpected news.
Confused authorities are trying to piece the story together. They’re considering criminal charges against the doctor:
“We are investigating whether the doctor exposed the woman to imminent danger of loss of life, as the lady was moved to a funeral home and kept in cold storage,” said Beata Syk-Jankowska, a spokeswoman for the local prosecutor’s office Lublin, in an interview with TVN.
While this is a serious issue of life and death, the situation does provide a remarkable parallel with Monty Python’s classic “Not Dead Yet” skit. Everyone be careful out there during your particularly long naps though.
 

This Court Just Ruled That An Underage Teen Can Consent To Sex With A Teacher

The school district's lawyer introduced the 14-year-old's sexual history and compared her decision to have sex with her teacher to 'crossing the street.
The age of consent might be 18 in criminal court, but the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) claimed that a 14-year-old student was plenty old enough to willingly agree to have sex with her 28-year-old math teacher.
Elkis Hermida, the former math teacher at Thomas Edison Middle School, was convicted of lewd acts against a child in July 2011 and sentenced to three years in state prison. However, the family filed a follow-up civil suit against the school district, claiming negligence and seeking compensation for the teen’s emotional trauma stemming from the months-long relationship. But in a surprising move, the jury ruled that she was capable of giving her consent.
The LAUSD attorney, Keith Wyatt introduced the victim’s past sexual history while arguing the student’s right to consent—essentially victim-blamed the young girl while dismissing her teacher’s responsibility as an authority figure. Wyatt cited a federal decision that says in some circumstances minors can consent to sex—revealing a huge gap between criminal and civil law in California. Including past sexual history is also barred in criminal cases due to rape shield laws, but not always in civil ones.
During a radio interview with KPCC on Wednesday (November 12), he even compared her decision to crossing the street.
“Why is it her fault that she planned on having sex with her teacher?” Wyatt said. “That she lied to her mother so she could have an opportunity to have sex with her teacher. Making a decision as to whether or not to cross the street when traffic is coming, that takes a level of maturity and that’s a much more dangerous decision than to decide, ‘Hey, I want to have sex with my teacher.’”
The jury ultimately found in favor of LAUSD—ruling that the district had no knowledge of the relationship, and therefore should not be held liable for the damaged incurred.
But amidst backlash from the community, the school district’s general counsel Dave Holmquist issued an apology to the victim and her family for the lawyer’s remarks.
“Mr. Wyatt’s comments were completely inappropriate, and they undermine the spirit of the environment we strive to offer our students every day,” Holmquist, said. “Our deepest apologies go out to the young woman and her family, who were hurt by the insensitive remarks of Mr. Wyatt.”
The district has severed ties with Wyatt, but will continue to use the firm where he practices law.
Wyatt also issued a statement from his law office on Thursday (November 13), apologizing for his comments.
“Upon reflection, I realize how insensitive the comments I made to KPCC were, and I am truly sorry to this young woman and her family,” he said. “My statements were ill thought out and poorly articulated and by no means reflect the opinions of the school district or its leadership. It is regrettable that my remarks have taken away from the respectful manner in which this case was tried.”
The family’s attorney, Frank Perez, told KPCC that they will appeal the case, and attorney Holly Boyer, who filed the appeal, told CBS that the verdict shocked her.
“The teacher is a person in an authority position who is grooming a child for several months, establishing a relationship with this child, and then abusing this child,” she said. “For the District to then argue that the child was somehow, should be responsible for her injuries is shocking.”
Do you think a teenager can fully give their consent to have sex with an authority figure like a teacher? Or was this ruling totally wrong? Let us know in the comments.

Men offering "natural insemination" services to women who want children

Kyle Gordy is also a natural sperm donor who says he recently had his first child with an anonymous woman. (ABC News)


The internet has created a lot of connections but a new trend may rank as one of the most bizarre. More and more men are going online, offering to have sex for free with women who want to get pregnant.

No more paying a sperm bank thousands of dollars to get artificially inseminated. Now some women are connecting with and sleeping with sperm donors for what they call natural insemination.

One man, who claims he's fathered 30 children so far, has written a book about it called "Get Pregnant for Free on the Internet with a Private Sperm Donor." The man who calls himself "Joe" says he's married with three children of his own and that his wife doesn't know he's connecting with women online and traveling around the country to sleep with women who want to become pregnant.

"I have a Clark Kent life and then a superman life," Joe told ABC News.

Joe says he sometimes ships his sperm to buyers, but most often he sleeps with the women because they believe the "natural way" increases their chances of getting pregnant. In the past seven years, Joe claims he has slept with more than 100 women for natural insemination.

Kyle Gordy is also a natural sperm donor who says he recently had his first child with an anonymous woman. He doesn't get paid to do it and insists his motive is to have the satisfaction of knowing he's got another descendant out there. He's pursuing his master's in accounting and says women want his sperm because he's healthy, good looking and comes from a family of scientists.

Gordy posts photos of himself online, and information for prospective mothers like his hair color and IQ. And he'll answer any question they have, such as, "is your sperm good?", or "have you had success in the past?"

One of those who's slept with Gordy is 44-year-old Serena. She drove two hours to be naturally inseminated by Gordy at his home. She's never been married but the insurance broker desperately wants a child.

"I don't care if I have a husband. I just want a child," Serena said.

Sperm from a sperm bank would have cost her at least $700. Gordy was free. She'll soon find out whether it worked and she plans on staying friends with Gordy.

But during the process, she had to keep reminding herself that he was a donor, not a date. Now she's waiting for a date from the stork and figuring out what to say when her child is old enough to ask, "Who's my daddy?"

A Design Student Built A Portable Isolation Pod So You Can Nap Anywhere You Want

Nap time can be a rare commodity outside the comfort of your own room, but one design student is looking to change that. Eden Lew, an MFA candidate at the School of Visual Arts in New York, designed a portable fabric pod called the Nutshell that you can carry around like your very own cave.

Eden Lew / SVA NYC

The Nutshell works sort of like a hood in reverse: You unfold it over your face to block out light, sound, and other distractions, setting up the perfect environment for prime snoozing or just taking a quiet break from real life. Lew designed it to boost the psychological benefits of being alone when you’re stuck in a busy environment. Put in some headphones and you won’t even hear your co-workers asking why there’s a human-sized cocoon in the break room.
Right now the Nutshell is only a prototype, so you can’t add one to your holiday wish list just yet. But it looks like Lew might just have a great business plan to work on once she graduates.

2 in 5 Young Americans Don’t Want a Job

Analysis shows increase in the percentage of teenagers and twenty-somethings outside the labor force

Nearly 40% of people in the United States ages 16 to 24 say that they don’t want a job, accounting for a sizable portion of the 92 million Americans who are currently outside the labor force, according to a new analysis of labor statistics.
The figures do not include young people who aren’t working, but are actively seeking employment. About 10% of Americans aged 20 to 24 and 19% of those aged 16 to 19 are considered unemployed, which means they are actively seeking work.
According to Pew Research Center analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data, 39.4% of men and women aged 16 to 24 are outside the labor force over the first 10 months of 2014. That’s up from 29.5% in 2000, the steepest rise of any age group and one that pre-dates the recent financial crisis.
 The U.S. unemployment hit 5.8% last month, the lowest number since 2008.