Bedbugs are biting in Cincinnati

When complaints about the bloodsucking insects first trickled in to Cincinnati's public health department three years ago, officials assumed it was an anomaly -- or perhaps the overactive imagination of a bug-phobic public. After all, Cimex lectularius had all but vanished here by the 1950s because of the frequent use of DDT and other now-banned pesticides.


But that trickle of complaints has grown into a flood: A recent public survey found that 1 in every 6 people here has had a run-in with the biting bugs in the last 12 months.

Dozens of fire stations in Cincinnati have had to dump furniture or have their living quarters exterminated because firefighters unknowingly brought the eggs in on their boots or pant legs. Assisted-living complexes have spent tens of thousands of dollars on pest-control companies because, the thinking goes, visitors may have carried in the bugs on their purses or bags.

City health department officials said they now receive more frantic calls about the insects than about mice, rats and cockroaches combined.


If things continue, "we won't be able to keep up with the requests for inspections," said Camille Jones, assistant Cincinnati health commissioner and member of a city-county bedbug task force. "It's a problem that we expect to only get worse."

Cincinnati is not alone in its itchy woes. Reports of a welt-covered public are coming in from college campuses, high-end hotels and even movie theaters across the country.

University officials at Texas A&M in College Station have flown in bedbug-sniffing dogs to root out the insects. The University of Florida in Gainesville reportedly has spent tens of thousands of dollars to clear dorm rooms and campus apartments of infestations.

In New York, there were 8,830 complaints about bedbugs in fiscal 2008, which ended June 30, up from 1,839 in 2005, according to the city's Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

The bugs have shown up in unexpected places: An executive with Fox News told the New York Times that the Manhattan newsroom had to be exterminated for bedbugs and have its furniture replaced after an employee tracked the insects in from home.

Task forces aimed at eradicating the bugs and educating the public have been established in numerous states -- including Kentucky, Massachusetts, Minnesota and Ohio.

In California, the bugs have become such a problem that the state's Department of Public Health started surveying local public health agencies in 2007 to get a handle on the scope of the infestation. Among the reasons cited for the return of the bugs: the DDT ban and an increase in international travel.

Often mistaken for ticks, adult bedbugs are about a quarter-inch long and reddish-brown. They are active mostly at night, and their bites can leave itchy welts on the skin.

During the daytime, they tend to hide near places where people sleep -- such as the seams of mattresses -- or in wall cracks or beneath furniture. The eggs are white, sticky and about the size of a speck of dust, so people can unknowingly spread them from room to room or even across town. more

John Travolta's Son, 16, Dies in Bahamas

Police in the Bahamas say John Travolta's teenage son has died after injuring himself at the actor's vacation home. Police spokeswoman Loretta Mackey says 16-year-old Jett Travolta hit his head in a bathtub Friday morning. She said he was declared dead at Rand Memorial Hospital on Grand Bahama Island.
Jett was the oldest child of Travolta and his wife, actress Kelly Preston, who also have an 8-year-old daughter.
A spokeswoman for the hospital in Freeport said she could not release any information because of privacy concerns.

London Fireworks on New Year's Day 2009 - New Year Live - BBC One

New ignition lock laws aim to stop drunk drivers

CHICAGO – Motorists convicted of driving drunk will have to install breath-monitoring gadgets in their cars under new laws taking effect in six states this week.
The ignition interlocks prevent engines from starting until drivers blow into the alcohol detectors to prove they're sober.
Alaska, Colorado, Illinois, Nebraska and Washington state began Jan. 1 requiring the devices for all motorists convicted of first-time drunken driving. South Carolina began requiring them for repeat offenders.
Mothers Against Drunk Driving has been conducting a nationwide campaign to mandate ignition locks for anyone convicted of drunken driving, claiming doing so would save thousands of lives. But critics say interlocks could lead to measures that restrict alcohol policies too much.
Users must pay for the fist-sized devices, which in Illinois cost around $80 to install on dashboards and $80 a month to rent; there's also a $30 monthly state fee. And they require periodic retesting while the car is running.
"It's amazingly inconvenient," said David Malham, of the Illinois chapter of MADD. "But the flip side of the inconvenience is death."
Other states with similar laws include New Mexico, Arizona and Louisiana. Most other states give judges the option of forcing convicted drunk drivers to use the devices. In practice though, they are rarely ordered unless laws mandate them, according to MADD.
Until now, that's been true in Illinois, said MADD national CEO Chuck Hurley.
"Illinois has excellent law enforcement," he said. "But the judicial system leaks like a sieve. This law will change the catch and release system to one where people are at least caught and tagged."
In Illinois, the interlocks are mandated only for the five to 11 months licenses are suspended with a first DUI. Drivers can opt not to install them, but then would be banned from driving during the suspension period.
Motorists in Colorado get a similar choice — install the devices or get a longer suspension. more

Prisoner stabbed after scaring cat

WELLINGTON, New Zealand, Jan. 1 (UPI) -- Prison officials in New Zealand said a prisoner nearing the end of his sentence for rape and murder stabbed another prisoner for frightening his cat.
Corrections Association President Beven Hanlon said the attacker was living with the victim in a minimum security self-care unit at Rimutaka Prison in Wellington that was designed to help prepare long-term prisoners for release, The Dominion Post reported Thursday.
Hanlon said the victim entered the shared living room in the unit Dec. 26, causing the cat to flee. The attacker stabbed the other man six times in the neck and likely would have killed him had a third prisoner not intervened, Hanlon said.
"That prisoner is lucky to be alive," Hanlon said. The victim was taken to Hutt Hospital and returned to the prison Dec. 28.
Tony Howe, acting southern assistant regional manager for the Corrections Association, said the attack was carried out with a "makeshift weapon."
Howe said police and corrections officials are investigating the incident and the attacker has been moved to a high security area.

Zune Extinction Event: Microsoft Music Players All Freeze Up at Once

Thousands of Zune portable media players made by Microsoft Corp. suddenly froze up early Wednesday, Dec. 31, labeling Internet wits to label the phenomenon "Z2K."
The model affected was the Zune 30, which sports a 30-gigabyte hard drive and was first released in November 2006, though it is still sold.
Later models, including the flash-memory-based Zune 4, Zune 8 and Zune 16, as well as the hard-drive-based Zune 80 and Zune 120, were spared.
"Apparently, around 2:00 AM today, the Zune models either reset, or were already off," one user wrote in to the Gizmodo tech blog early Wednesday. "Upon when turning on, the thing loads up and ... freezes with a full loading bar. I thought my brother was the only one with it, but then it happened to my Zune. Then I checked out the forums and it seems everyone with a 30GB

Some online techies recommended taking the thing apart, disconnecting both the battery and the hard drive, waiting a few seconds, then plugging them back in. more

Teens Set Fire to Boy's Hair

EDEN, Md. (Dec. 31) - Police say two Maryland teens lit a boy's hair on fire and recorded the attack on a camera phone.
The Wicomico County Sheriff's Office says the victim was sleeping early Sunday at a home in Eden in eastern Maryland when 17-year-old Forrest Wilson poured lighter fluid on his hair and set it ablaze. The victim put out the fire, then discovered a 14-year-old boy was recording the video.

Investigators say the video showed Wilson light the 16-year-old victim's hair on fire. Police did not know a motive and withheld the victim's name. The victim, whose hair was singed, notified his parents later that day.
Wilson and the 14-year-old are charged with assault and other charges — Wilson as an adult, and the younger teen as a juvenile.