Halloween pumpkins were carved on aquatic themes at the South Carolina Aquarium’s contest.

A unique pumpkin carving competition took place at South Carolina Aquarium on Friday, October 21. Six divers participated at the contest and carved Halloween pumpkins in a giant tank, while fish were swimming around them. The visitors could admire six different and unique designs after only twenty minutes of work from the divers.

The Underwater Pumpkin Carving contest is an event which is organized each year. The 2016 edition was hosted by the largest tank in North America. It is called the Great Ocean Tank, and it is forty-two feet deep.

The competition lasted for twenty minutes. The divers’ task was to create a unique carving on the Halloween pumpkins. The design had to be related to the aquatic environment. The winner was an elaborated octopus engraving from a master diver.

People who visited the South Carolina Aquarium on Friday had the chance to see the divers at work and choose their favorite Halloween pumpkin. They had five orange pumpkins to choose from, and one yellow pineapple, as one of the divers decided to try something different this year.

If you find the show interesting, but you are concerned about the aquatic animals, you shouldn’t worry. Specialists explain that the fish interacted just well with the divers, and were not disturbed by their activity and devices. Moreover, they added that the environment change is beneficial for the sea creatures.

The Great Ocean Tank at the South Carolina Aquarium is the home of hundreds of fish. There are also sharks, which were not removed from the tank at the moment of the competition. Neither they nor the divers felt intimidated by each others’ presence.

The competition on October 21 is not the only one held at the South Carolina Aquarium. Another similar show will be displayed next week, on October 28. The next underwater contest will begin at 11 a.m.

What’s more, the carving of underwater Halloween pumpkins is such a popular activity that other aquariums made it available too. A similar performance will be held at Orlando’s Sea Life Aquarium on October 31. There are scheduled two such shows, so the public has many chances to see the competitions and admire the divers’ skills.

There are people who find it difficult to carve their Halloween pumpkin for trick-or-treaters. However, the divers took the tradition to a whole new level thanks to their incredible skill of craving the traditional lanterns underwater. Will you go to see one of the shows?

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6000 drug felons will see early release from prison.

The U.S. Sentencing Commission said that around 6000 drug felons are soon to be released. Among them is Myrna Suner who was considered the queen of the drug empire in Philadelphia during the 80’s. She would rent out street corners and ran a very lucrative cocaine trade in her neighborhood located in north Philadelphia after her 20-year-old son was shot and killed in the streets.

A younger son would then testify against her in federal court in 1990. After the trial Myrna suren was sentenced to life in prison. At the time she was 41 years old. Now aged 67, Suren will soon be leaving the federal prison located in downtown Philadelphia where she has spent her last 25 years behind bars.

But she is just one of the 6000 drug felons which are set to be released around November 1. This is part of a national effort coming from the U.S. Sentencing Commission. They now deem such punishments for drug related crimes to be too harsh and also expensive for the state. The drug laws which were put in motion during the “War on Drugs” era are now costing the state millions which they have to spend on prisoners.

No matter what they are expecting from the outside world upon release, the inmates are still facing a shock. The world has changed a lot these last 20 years. For the prisoners who were in prison for a short period of time this will not be such a problem. But some who have spent over 20 years in a federal prison will have a hard time adjusting to the ways in which the world has changed.

Every year around 50,000 federal inmates are released from prison. This early release program is going to save the taxpayers a lot of money. The state pays around $30,000 annually for each inmate. This is a huge sum compared to the $3,900 it takes to supervise them after they are released.

From the 6000 which are set for release around 2000 of them will be immediately deported upon their release. All of the offenders being released are drug offenders. While prosecutors signed off on most of the petitions for early release they still had to deny some which they considered to be a danger for the community.

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Two police officers from Lewisville, Texas were denied service when they tried to order food from a Whataburger employee.

Officer Cameron Beckham and Strawn City Deputy Michael Magovern were about to start their night shift, providing traffic security at a construction site on Interstate 35. On their way to Stemmons Freeway, they reached a Whataburger restaurant and decided to have a quick meal.

However, the fast food cashier who greeted them refused to assist them, claiming that the joint didn’t serve law enforcement members. The police officers insist that his rejection wasn’t expressed as a joke, but as a real rule that he was following, upon noticing that they were wearing their uniforms . Eventually, the policemen left the place and grabbed a bite to eat at Dairy Queen instead.

Following this incident, Whataburger was inundated with complaints on its Facebook and Twitter pages. In response, the fast food chain’s representatives have labelled the employee’s attitude as “completely unacceptable” and committed themselves to resolving the issue as soon as possible.

They quickly began an internal investigation and eventually they fired the accused server and offered their apologies to the officers. This decision was followed by a meeting which took place on Wednesday afternoon, between the policemen and Whataburger’s executives, including the area’s district manager.

Other staff members from the Lewisville eatery did not provide any additional details regarding the squabble. Nevertheless, one of the law enforcement officers remains of the opinion that the company is usually supportive of their profession and that this was just a one-off incident.

“I knew right off the top this was not a Whataburger corporate issue. This was a single location, employee with a problem issue”, declared Magovern.

Due to this outlook, he intends to remain a customer of the restaurant chain, whereas officer Beckham has declared he no longer trusts the business and will turn to other alternatives.

A similar incident has happened earlier this month at an Arby’s drive thru in Florida, where another police officer was denied service, but the fast food employee later claimed it was all just a prank that had been misunderstood. However, the matter wasn’t treated lightly by a South Florida police union, who called for a nationwide boycott of the company.

Some suggest that these trivial disputes may be signs of a growing aversion towards law enforcement in America. There have been several highly publicized police killings recently but according to the National Law Enforcement Officer Memorial Fund, the total number of fatalities this year is just 3% higher than last year.

While traffic accidents accounted for the largest percentage of these deaths, gun-related fatalities have decreased by 22%. However, the media has been providing extensive coverage to these high-profile cases, leading people to believe there is currently a spike in violent acts against policemen.

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The remains of a child that could not have been older than two or three have recently been found in the Garfield Park Lagoon.

The Chicago Police are now working on a sketch that could depict the young child and it is expected they will release it on Thursday, September 11.

According to the authorities, the officials have managed to recover the feet, hands and head of the child, but they are in a very deteriorated state because they are decomposed. The torso has not yet been found, but the police reported that they have started draining the western part of the lagoon.

The news was released on Saturday, after someone spotted a floating foot in the lagoon and called the police. After the search began, the police also found the right foot, the hands and the head, not far from the place where the left foot was seen. It was estimated that about 100 officials, including divers and detectives, are now working on the case.

The Cook County medical examiner’s office only managed to determine that the child was not younger than eight months of age and not older than four years old and that the color of the skin indicates he or she is either African-American or has a mixed race heritage. They were unable to tell if the child was a boy or a girl. However, there are indications that the remains were that of a boy:

“All the body parts appear to be from a child of approximately the same age. The hair was short, curly and black in color; the eyes were brown; and the earlobes were not pierced, suggesting the child may be male (but female gender cannot be ruled out at present),” said  a statement released by the police and the County Cook’s examiner’s office. ”

The investigators are also looking at missing child reports and a full forensic DNA testing is going to be carried out. For now, all evidence point s out that the child was cut into pieces by someone and the officers are hoping to get to the bottom of it as soon as possible.

The sketch of the child is expected to be released today at 11:30 and anyone who has information on his or her identity is expected to contact Area North detectives.

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The Guinness World Records photograph featuring Chandra Dangi, the World’s Shortest Man and Sultan Kosen, the World’s Tallest Man

The world’s shortest man dies at the age of 75 due to a complicated case of pneumonia. Chandra Dangi will be remembered as a true wonder of the natural world and an amazing person.

Mr. Dangi from Nepal stood only 21.5 inches tall but his character made his influence on his community nothing short of colossal. He received the title for the World’s Shortest Man from Guinness World Records two years back and his greatest joy was to be able to travel the world in the name of his native country.

“It makes me extremely proud to represent Nepal all around the world, I’m extremely humbled by the support I receive.”, Mr. Dangi said in an interview for the Telegraph that he gave last year.

The Guinness World Record photograph that featured both Mr. Dangi and Sultan Kosen, from Turkey, the holder of the title for the World’s Tallest Man at a height of 8 feet 1 inch, that you can see above is one of the most impressive photos in Guinness history, as it relays the immense diversity that that nature has created on this planet.

It was an extremely moving moment when Mr. Kosen said that looking at Mr. Dangi, he realizes that they are quite very much alike and that he can see that they have faced similar hardships throughout their lives due to their extreme heights.

In spite of his height, Mr. Dangi has never shied away from hard work throughout his life. He was a skilled placemat and head strap manufacturer. He spent his days in the village of Reemkholi, that is almost 350 miles away from Kathmandu, India and he has earned money and fame for his home after receiving the tile from Guinness World Records.

Therefore, a great many people are mourning his loss at the moment, but they remember him as an unique character, an example of strength and a delightful person.

Chandra Dangi died in a hospital from American Samoa, where he was scheduled to make an appearance, and while the full extent of the factors that have led to his death have not been made public, the pneumonia that he was being treated for seems to have been the most influential one, as reported by the Kathmandu post.

Mr. Dangi will be remembered as an extraordinary record holder by the Guinness Community, an icon of strength by his native community and a great man by all.  He will he greatly missed by all the people that he has impressed with his wonderful character.
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