Free Republic

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/143396 and http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/143381

The death toll from Friday's devastating earthquake and tsunami that hit northeastern and eastern Japan will likely exceed 10,000, the Miyagi police chief said Sunday, according to an NHK report. Naoto Takeuchi, head of the prefectural police, was quoted as saying that ''I have no doubt'' the toll will rise that high in Miyagi Prefecture alone, the hardest-hit region, while the official tally stands at a little over 800 confirmed dead in Miyagi and other areas, the public broadcaster said.

L.A. County Employee Dead in Cubicle a Day Before Being Noticed DOWNEY (KTLA) -- An L.A. County employee apparently died while working in her cubicle on Friday, but no one noticed for quite some time. 51-year-old Rebecca Wells was found by a security guard on Saturday afternoon. She was slumped over on her desk in the L.A. County Department of Internal Services. "I came in Saturday to do a little work, and I saw them when they were taking her out," co-worker Hattie Robertson told KTLA. The exact time of death is not clear, but detectives say that, at worst,...

The body of a woman who died at her work desk went undiscovered by colleagues for at least a day. LA County employee Rebecca Wells, 51, apparently died while she was at her work station cubicle on Friday morning. Her lifeless body lay slumped over her desk until it was found by a security guard at the LA County Department of Internal Services on Saturday afternoon. Though her time of death is not clear, Ms Wells, who was a compliance auditor, had not been seen since 9am Friday. Detectives say, at worst, she had been there a day. Co-worker Hattie...

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- Hundreds of mourners, some chanting anti-American slogans, turned out Monday for the funeral of an Afghan prisoner at Guantanamo Bay who collapsed and died while exercising at the U.S. detention center last week. The mourners ran alongside a vehicle carrying the body of 48-year-old Awal Gul - the seventh detainee to die at the detention center in Cuba since it was opened in January 2002.

MIAMI -- Joint Task Force-Guantanamo announced today that a detainee died of apparent natural causes late Tuesday evening. The detainee is identified as Awal Gul, a 48-year-old Afghan. He arrived at Guantanamo in October 2002. Gul was housed in Camp 6, which provides communal living areas for up to 20 detainees. He collapsed in the shower after exercising on an elliptical machine. Other detainees in his cell block then assisted Gul to the guard station for medical attention. The guards immediately alerted medical personnel, who upon arriving at the cell block found him unresponsive. He was immediately transported to the...

What happens when a person dies? Since death happens to everyone eventually, the question is frequently pondered. Will there be a second chance at life? What happens to our loved ones when they die? Can the living do anything to make the afterlife of the dead better? There are a number of teachings on the topic of death and afterlife. Some theories say that there is nothing after life. Many eastern theologies believe in reincarnation. Christianity speaks of Hades and then an all encompassing judgment. Catholicism speaks of purgatory. The concepts of prayer, baptism, and preaching for the dead, as...

A worker was found dead on Monday morning after falling into a Tortilla mixing machine Monday morning in Brooklyn, New York. It all happened at about 2:30 a.m. at Tortilleria Chinantla when police responded to a 911 call of an unconscious man. When police arrived they found the body of the 22 year-old Hispanic man who appears to have fallen victim to an industrial accident.

HARARE, Zimbabwe – Nearly one-third of Zimbabwe's registered voters are dead, and others appear to be babies or up to 120 years old, researchers said Friday, calling for the list to be overhauled so that the upcoming election cannot be rigged. The independent Zimbabwe Election Support Network's report said that the anomalies opened the way for "double voting and other rigging intentions." In its research, the group found some 2,344 voters between the ages of 101 and 110 still on Zimbabwe's voting rolls, a dubious figure in a country where the average life expectancy is a mere 44 years.

EAST HARTFORD — A man died this morning after a fight involving him and two others that began as an argument over snow shoveling, police said. Around 8:30 a.m. police were dispatched to the area of 190 Burnside Ave. to respond to a dispute and were later informed that one person was on the ground. Police found that man, Robert Lindsey, 55, but would not disclose if he was injured during the fight. Lindsey was taken to St. Francis Hospital and pronounced dead there. Police arrested the two other men involved in the scuffle, Edward Rolocut, 48, and Paul Turkowski,...

STOCKHOLM (AFP) – In a week that saw unexplained massive bird deaths in the southern United States, up to 100 birds were found lying in a snow-covered street in Sweden Wednesday, officials said. "Most were dead," Christer Olofsson of rescue services in the southwestern town of Falkoeping said of the 50 to 100 jackdaw birds, a type of crow. Ornithologist Anders Wirdheim said the find was surprising. "This is unusual," he told tabloid Aftonbladet, which posted online a reader's photo of dozens of black birds littering a snow-covered road. "They are probably jackdaws. They spend the winter in large flocks....

Man Found Dead Inside of Cooler at Local Restaurant; Awaiting Autopsy Results

BOSTON -The youngest son of the late shah of Iran has been found dead of an apparent suicide at his home in Boston. Reza Pahlavi, the shah's oldest son, announced the death on his website Tuesday. Pahlavi says his 44-year-old brother, former Iranian prince Alireza Pahlavi, had "struggled for years to overcome his sorrow." Police say they found a man dead from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound shortly after 2 a.m. Tuesday at a home in Boston's South End neighborhood.

The AP said more than 1000 birds fell from the sky, but CNN put the number at up to 5000.

The late U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy’s cuddly, curly coated canine companion, Splash, has gone to doggy heaven. Kennedy’s widow, Vicki, announced the death of the 13-year-old Portuguese water dog to friends and family earlier this week. “At Teddy’s side, Splash became a world-class fetcher of tennis balls and a meeter and greeter of presidents, senators, congressmen and even foreign dignitaries,” Kennedy wrote. “I like to think that he and his master are playing tennis ball fetch again tonight.” Kennedy, who died last year after he was diagnosed with brain cancer, was rarely seen without the black-and-white, high-energy pooch, whether...

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, leaving the funeral of a murdered Border Patrol agent Wednesday, scolded a reporter for asking her to address the victim's family's concerns that not enough is being done to secure the southern border. The family of agent Brian Terry had complained that Napolitano had offered them "empty words" when she called to express her condolences. Terry's father, Kent Terry, in an interview with ABC affiliate KGUN, said he told Napolitano to "wake your man up in the White House," to which she replied that he's done more in two years than any president. Napolitano attended...

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Police say a store owner shot and killed three suspects during an attempted robbery of his jewelry store. Police were called to Castillo Jewelry on Canal Street and North Hagerman Street around 2pm after two customers had entered the store inquiring about some jewelry. A third customer entered with a gun, then stated it was a robbery. The two customers then pulled guns and pushed the owner's wife to a back room, tying her up. As they tried to force the owner back as well, the owner was able to pull a handgun and shoot and kill...

At least one man has been shot dead in clashes with UN peacekeepers in Haiti. UN troops fired tear gas to disperse demonstrators who were throwing stones and blocking roads in Cap Haitien. The protests come amid a continuing cholera epidemic that has killed more than 900 people, but the UN has also linked them to upcoming elections. UN peacekeepers in Cap Haitien and Hinche were the target of protesters wielding stones and in some cases - the UN says - guns. Some Haitians have accused peacekeepers from Nepal of introducing cholera to Haiti for the first time in a...

The state of Oklahoma is planning to execute death row inmates with drugs intended for use on animals. Lawmakers want to switch away from the only brand of anaesthetic that has been used in the US for lethal injections because there is not enough to go around. The replacement is likely to attract controversy because it is currently used by vets to anesthetise animals for operations. Other states are watching closely and may well follow suit, but such a move is likely to face a challenge from human rights groups to ensure that it is safe to use.

The body of an elderly woman that was taken from a plane in Gatwick Airport and unofficially driven to Co Kerry by her son for burial is thought to be back in the UK. Gardai believe the woman's body may have been driven to the UK via Northern Ireland by her son after he was warned by a coroner that if he did not bury the body it would be confiscated and put in cold storage at his expense. The matter came to light when Kerry Coroner Terence Casey was contacted by the gardai after the landlord of a rented...