Dear Amy: I have been dating my boyfriend "William" for 2.5 years. We are both divorced with children. William's ex-wife had a horrible two-year affair that hurt him deeply. Knowing this, I have always tried to assure him that he is the only man in my life and I make sure to go above and beyond to reassure him that I am thinking about him whenever we are apart.
However, in the past six months, William has become extremely jealous of my very dear gay friend of many years "Kevin" (who also happens to be an important client of mine).
It started out with snide comments and then recently escalated to him accusing me of having an "inappropriate intimate relationship" with Kevin. He says Kevin is a bad influence, he is inappropriate and most recently, he feels like I am having an emotional affair.
I have made it very clear that we are just friends -- exactly like all of my female friends -- but William refuses to accept this.
William has gone so far as to create secret social media accounts to monitor my daily activity. He also monitors Kevin's. It became somewhat of an obsession. He has been checking several times a day and screen captures anything he deems inappropriate with ANY of my friends, but is focused specifically on Kevin.
This volatile situation had been building over the past six months. We have been arguing a lot without my full understanding as to what was going on behind the scenes. I have been unjustly accused of many completely fabricated scenarios.
Apparently I spent too long in the ladies room at a restaurant several months ago, and now I'm being accused of conspiring with Kevin to get together without William knowing.
One Friday night I fell asleep and didn't text William to say goodnight. This caused a week-long argument. William would not take my calls, cancelled our plans for the weekend and refused to believe that I didn't sneak away to New York to see my friend.
I also have a female friend who William has decided is "undermining" our relationship and frowns on me seeing her as well.
This man is wonderful in so many ways, but I can't seem to fix my relationship and keep my friends in the process! -- Heartsick in PA
Dear Heartsick: I'm not a therapist. But I can see a pattern building. Even if you are not telling me an objective version of this story, it seems like a bad situation for you.
Anyone who sets up secret accounts to monitor you -- and also friends of yours -- is not someone who respects your right to have relationships and friendships with other people. I don't believe you should try to "fix" this relationship.
And I hope you don't expose your children to this craziness.
Dear Amy: One of my bachelor friends has run into a problem that has me stumped. He is into online dating and seems to run into the same situation with many of his dates.
They meet up for drinks or dinner, and he is happy and prepared to foot the bill. Though by date six or seven, after dinners, plays, movies, etc., none of these women have ever offered to split the check or pay for one thing.
I personally find that appalling, but we can't think of a tactful way to handle this.
Suggestions? -- Stumped
Dear Stumped: One way around this is to plan low-cost outings, such as walks, hikes, or museum visits. Your friend might be initiating all of these dates, which would make the woman more likely to assume he is treating.
But this is also the ideal situation to test a couple's ability to communicate. By the sixth or seventh date, your friend should be brave enough to say, "I notice you seem to expect me to always pick up the check. Are you willing to share the costs when we do something together?
Dear Amy: "Protective" was wondering how to exclude her aunt's racist boyfriend from this year's Thanksgiving dinner.
I liked your recommendation, but perhaps something more blunt is called for: "Your boyfriend is a jerk. We're all tired of him and don't want to share our holiday with him. He needs to stay home." -- Blunt
Dear Blunt: Excluding this family member's romantic partner will likely lead to the aunt's exclusion, too. If family members are willing to deal with this drama, then yes -- they could definitely choose the more blunt statement.

Boyfriend's social surveillance spells trouble


Dear Amy: I have been dating my boyfriend


RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian police charged American swimmer Ryan Lochte on Thursday with filing a false robbery report over an incident during the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.
A police statement said Lochte would be informed in the United States so he could decide whether to introduce a defence in Brazil.
The indictment will also be sent to the International Olympic Committee’s ethics commission, the statement said.
Lochte initially said that he and fellow swimmers Jack Conger, Gunnar Bentz and Jimmy Feigen were robbed at gunpoint in a taxi by men with a police badge as they returned to the Olympic Village from a party Aug. 15. However, security video suggested the four actually faced security guards after vandalizing a gas station restroom.
Lochte left Brazil shortly after the incident. Three days later, local authorities took Conger and Bentz off an airliner heading to the United States so they could be questioned about the robbery claim. They were later allowed to leave Brazil, as was Feigen, after he gave testimony. Feigen, who initially stood by Lochte’s testimony, was not charged.
Lochte has since acknowledged that he was highly intoxicated and that his behaviour led to the confrontation. It is not clear from the video whether a gun was ever pointed to the athletes.
Under Brazilian law, the penalty for falsely filing a crime report carries a maximum penalty of 18 months in prison. Lochte could be tried in absentia if he didn’t return to face the charge.
The United States and Brazil have an extradition treaty dating back to the 1960s, but Brazil has a long history of not extraditing its own citizens to other nations and U.S. authorities could take the same stance if Lochte is found guilty.
That is currently the case of the head of Brazil’s football confederation, Marco Polo del Nero, who faces charges in the wide-ranging scandal entangling international soccer’s ruling body, FIFA. He has not travelled outside Brazil for more than a year to avoid being arrested by U.S. authorities somewhere else.
The charges in Brazil raise questions about the future for Lochte, who is planning to take time off from swimming but wants to return to compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He has 12 Olympic medals, second only to Michael Phelps among U.S. male Olympians.
Lochte lost four major sponsors early this week over the controversy, including Speedo USA and Ralph Lauren. But on Thursday he picked up a new sponsor — Pine Bros. Softish Throat Drops. Pine Bros. said people should be more understanding of the swimmer and said he will appear in ads that say the company’s product is “Forgiving On Your Throat.”

Lochte charged with false report of robbery at Rio 2016


RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazilian police charged American swimmer Ryan Lochte on Thursday with filing a false robbery report over an incident during the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.


GREENSBURG, Pa. -- A Pennsylvania man who had sexual contact with a 14-year-old girl as part of a vampire role-playing game that included drinking her blood must spend 10 years on probation, the first two confined to his home.
Westmoreland County Richard McCormick Jr. imposed the probation sentence for Jonathan Ryan Davis on Thursday despite calls by prosecutors that he be imprisoned. Davis, of Vandergrift, pleaded guilty in November to statutory sexual assault, indecent assault and corruption of minors for a December 2014 incident with the girl in a church stairwell after both had been drinking.
Davis told police he, the victim, and two other girls drank blood drawn from their arms as part of a role-playing game he read about online. He pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct for the blood-drinking episodes.
Assistant District Attorney Chris Flanigan wanted Davis to spend more than two years in prison. Davis previously was convicted in juvenile court for impregnating a 12-year-old girl. He didn't seem to learn anything from the probation he received in that case, Flanigan said.
But defence attorney Adam Gorzelesky argued that Davis' behaviour and co-operation with police since his arrest warranted probation, which would allow him to continue receiving counselling. Two psychologists testified Davis would benefit from continued counselling.
McCormick's sentence was a compromise that the judge said "will meet the requirements of punishment, rehabilitation and the protection of the community."
While on probation, Davis can't go online for recreational purposes, view pornography, drink alcohol or go to bars and clubs. He also cannot have unsupervised contact with minors.

Vampire role-playing, teen sex net Pennsylvania man 10 years probation


A Pennsylvania man who had sexual
contact with a 14-year-old girl as
part of a vampire role-playing game
that included drinking her blood must
spend 10 years on probation, the first
two confined to his home.


OTTAWA -- Labour Minister MaryAnn Mihychuk said Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers will begin working with a special mediator Friday morning in the face of a union threat of job action.
"In an attempt to push the two parties, help them facilitate a mediated, negotiated settlement, we've got a special mediator coming in who will start working with both parties tomorrow morning," Mihychuk said Thursday evening in Saguenay, Que., where she was attending the Liberal summer caucus retreat.
"We hope to have significant resolution by Sunday," Mihychuk said.
The union representing nearly 51,000 employees issued a 72-hour notice of job action Thursday, accusing the Crown corporation of forcing a labour dispute.
It was not immediately clear whether the action would result in a disruption of mail and parcel deliveries, something that -- if it does happen -- could come as early as next week.
The union said the notice, delivered to management just hours before a strike mandate was set to expire, "listed anticipated job actions" but stopped short of a full-blown walkout. The union hasn't said exactly what actions it was planning.
The notice puts postal carriers in a legal strike position by Aug. 28.
In a statement, CUPW national president Mike Palecek said Canada Post forced the union's hand by refusing to accept a request from the federal labour minister to continue negotiations under a 24-hour deadline extension with the help of a special mediator.
"This was an eleventh-hour intervention from the government to avoid a dispute and of course we said, 'Yes,'" said Palecek.
"From the outset, our goal has been a negotiated collective agreement without service disruptions. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for Canada Post, whose president and CEO Deepak Chopra refused the minister's request."
But a spokesman for the agency said that was not the case.
"Canada Post will fully co-operate in the (mediation) process," Jon Hamilton said in an email.
"We hope that the assistance of a neutral third party will help both parties address the real challenges facing the postal service caused by declining mail volumes and increasing pension obligations."
The union's strike mandate was set to expire at midnight.
Had it expired, Canada Post employees would likely have had to vote to approve another mandate, a costly process that could take up to two months to complete.
CUPW had asked the agency to allow an extension of the mandate, a request that was refused as "inappropriate."
The two sides had been in sometimes bitter negotiations for more than nine months but were still far apart on key issues, including pay equity for rural carriers and proposed changes to the Canada Post pension plan, despite days of intensive talks that carried through last weekend.
CUPW offered a glimmer of hope Thursday that a strike could be averted, saying it's still prepared to talk.
"We are still willing to withdraw our notice if Canada Post agrees to an extension," said Palecek.
The Crown corporation also has the option to lock out workers.
A pay equity issue pitting rural and urban carriers against each other and a proposed move from a defined benefit pension plan to a defined contribution plan for new employees are the main stumbling blocks in the dispute.
The union claims rural postal workers earn, on average, nearly 30% less than city carriers.
Other issues revolve around part-time and temporary work, staffing improvements and the possible closure of nearly 500 retail postal outlets that could result in the elimination of up to 1,200 full-time jobs that are currently protected.
Although Mihychuk hoped the latest effort would bring results over the weekend, she cautioned that it might not work.
"Canadians need to get prepared for a potential work stoppage," she said.
"I think that's the reality."
- With files from Joanna Smith in Saguenay, Que.

CUPW issues strike notice after it says Canada Post refused to extend talks


Labour Minister MaryAnn Mihychuk said
Canada Post and the Canadian Union of
Postal Workers will begin working with a
special mediator Friday morning in the
face of a union threat of job action.


Don Bradway, shown at his home in Hayden, Idaho, moved from California five years ago to join the American Redoubt, among the most motivated of a broader survivalist movement that advocates preparedness and self-reliance. (Matt McClain, The Washington Post)
Chris Walsh of Revolutionary Realty stands in the cellar of an unfinished home for sale in Spirit Lake, Idaho. (Matt McClain, The Washington Post)
Don and Jonna Bradway go for a walk with their dog, Moose, near their home in Hayden, Idaho. (Matt McClain, The Washington Post)
This sign is seen on a property that is for sale in Athol, Idaho. (Matt McClain, The Washington Post)
Todd Savage, a retired Marine who moved to north Idaho from San Francisco and opened American Redoubt Realty, displays a firearm that he routinely carries with him in Sandpoint, Idaho. (Matt McClain, The Washington Post)
Jacob Clad, 22, performs a flip into Lake Pend Oreille near a replica of the Statue of Liberty in Sandpoint, Idaho. (Matt McClain, The Washington Post)
HAYDEN, Idaho - Don and Jonna Bradway recently cashed out of the stock market and invested in gold and silver. They have stockpiled food and ammunition in the event of a total economic collapse or some other calamity commonly known around here as "The End of the World As We Know It" or "SHTF" - the day something hits the fan.
The Bradways fled California, a state they said is run by "leftists and non-Constitutionalists and anti-freedom people," and settled on several wooded acres of north Idaho five years ago. They live among like-minded conservative neighbours, host Monday night Bible study around their fire pit, hike in the mountains and fish from their boat. They melt lead to make their own bullets for sport shooting and hunting - or to defend themselves against marauders in a world-ending cataclysm.
"I'm not paranoid, I'm really not," said Bradway, 68, a cheerful Army veteran with a bushy handlebar moustache who favours Hawaiian shirts. "But we're prepared. Anybody who knows us knows that Don and Jonna are prepared if and when it hits the fan."
The Bradways are among the vanguard moving to an area of the Pacific Northwest known as the American Redoubt, a term coined in 2011 by survivalist author and blogger James Wesley, Rawles (the comma is deliberate) to describe a settlement of the God-fearing in a lightly populated territory that includes Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, and the eastern parts of Washington and Oregon.
Those migrating to the Redoubt are some of the most motivated members of what is known as the prepper movement, which advocates readiness and self-reliance in man-made or natural disasters that could create instability for years. It's scenario-planning that is gaining adherents and becoming mainstream in what Redoubt preppers described as an era of fear and uncertainty.
They are anxious about recent terrorist attacks from Paris to San Bernardino, Calif., to Orlando, Fla.; pandemics such as Ebola in West Africa; potential nuclear attacks from increasingly provocative countries such as North Korea or Iran; and the growing political, economic and racial polarization in the United States that has deepened during the 2016 presidential election.
Across the U.S., dozens of online prepper suppliers report an increase in sales of items from water purifiers to hand-cranked radios to solar-powered washing machines. Harvest Right, a Utah company that invented a US$3,000 portable freeze dryer to preserve food, has seen sales grow from about 80 a month two years ago to more than 900 a month now, said spokesman Stephanie Barlow.
Clyde Scott, owner of Rising S Bunkers, said pre-made, blast-proof underground steel bunkers are in big demand, including his most popular model, which sleeps six to eight people and sells for up to $150,000.
"Anybody with a peanut-sized brain," he said, can see that the U.S. economy is in perilous shape because of the national debt, the decline of American manufacturing and the size of the welfare rolls.
Some people worry about hurricanes, earthquakes or forest fires. Others fear a nuclear attack or solar flare that creates an electromagnetic pulse that knocks out the nation's electric grid and all computers, sending the country into darkness and chaos - perhaps forever.
"The list is long; the concerns are many," said Glenn Martin, who lives in north Idaho and runs Prepper Broadcasting Network, an online radio station. "Imagine a societal collapse and trying to buy a loaf of bread in Los Angeles or New York and stores are closed down."
Martin's programming emphasizes gardening, farming and how-to shows about sustainable living more than "doom and gloom," he said, and his audience has grown from 50,000 listeners a month two years ago to about 250,000 a month now.
Online interest in prepper and American Redoubt websites is increasing. Tools that measure online readership show that monthly search traffic to Rawles' survivalblog.com has doubled since 2011; an estimate from SimilarWeb, a Web analytics firm, shows that the site had about 862,000 total visits last month.
Rawles's guidebook, How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It, and his post-apocalyptic survival novel, Patriots, have sold about 350,000 copies, according to Nielsen BookScan. They are among hundreds of available survivalist books.
In response to all the uncertainty, more and more preppers are not simply stocking up at home. They are moving their homes - to the Redoubt, a seldom-used term for stronghold or fortress.
It is impossible to know exactly how many people have come over the past few years, but newcomers, real estate agents, local officials and others said it was in the hundreds, or perhaps even a few thousand, across all five states.
Here, they live in a pristine place of abundant water and fertile soil, far from urban crime, free from most natural disasters and populated predominantly by conservative, mostly Christian people with a live-and-let-live ethos and local governments with a light regulatory touch and friendly gun laws.
The hearty and adventurous, or those seeking an escape from modernity's leading edge, have long made a new life for themselves in Idaho; Ernest Hemingway came here to live and to die.
The locals regard the newest transplants as benign if odd, several said in interviews.
"The mainstream folks kind of roll their eyes," said state Sen. Shawn Keough, a 20-year veteran Republican legislator who represents north Idaho.
Many drawn to the Redoubt are former police, firefighters and military. Most said they would vote for Donald Trump as the "lesser of two evils," and they said Hillary Clinton would make an already bloated and ineffective government even bigger.
"I don't want to be one of the guys waiting for help," said Patrick Devine, 54, a former paramedic in Los Angeles who moved two years ago at a friend's urging.
Devine said he had firsthand knowledge of chaos and government failure, earned from working numerous shootings and earthquakes, particularly in Haiti in 2010.
"I can't stop it. But I can prepare myself to the best of my ability for anything that does come and be helpful to other people," said Devine, who works at a local gun range and wears a 9mm pistol on his hip.
"I love this place," said Chris Walsh, as he buzzed low over sparkling Lake Coeur d'Alene in his mustard-coloured Beechcraft Bonanza airplane.
A Detroit native, Walsh, 53, runs Revolutionary Realty, which specializes in selling real estate to those moving to the American Redoubt. He said he has sold hundreds of properties in the last five years.
He lives off the grid in a house high on a hill overlooking a lake, producing his own electricity from 100 solar panels. But he is also a few miles from restaurants and shopping in Coeur d'Alene, a popular tourist destination.
Walsh said most of the prepper properties he sells generally have key features: at least two sources of water, solar panels or another alternative energy source, ample secure storage space for a few years' worth of supplies, and a defensible location away from main roads and city centres.
Such amenities don't come cheap; the average property sells for between $250,000 and $550,000, he said, but some go for more than $2 million. Walsh said a basic solar array can cost around $15,000, while more elaborate systems can cost 10 times that.
Walsh said most of his clients regard moving to safer territory as a prudent step against a reasonable fear. But just as important, he said, they get to live a simpler life in a safe, beautiful place.
"What they are doing when they come here is relearning things that their great-great-great-grandfathers and mothers already knew," Walsh said. "What's going on here is a pioneering spirit."
Much of the Redoubt migration is motivated by fears that President Barack Obama - and his potential successor, Hillary Clinton - want to scrap the Second Amendment, as part of what transplants see as a dangerous and anti-constitutionalist movement toward government that is too intrusive and hostile to personal liberties.
"This is a bastion of freedom," said Todd Savage, 45, a retired Marine who moved to north Idaho from "the urban crime-scape" of San Francisco and opened American Redoubt Realty after meeting Rawles a few years ago.
"The bottom line is that our clients are tired of living around folks that have no moral values," Savage said. "They choose to flee tyranny and leave behind all the attributes of the big city that have turned them away."
Savage spoke as he drove his Chevrolet Suburban with an AR-15 rifle tucked next to the driver's seat, a handgun between the front seats, and body armour and more than 200 rounds of extra ammunition in the back - along with a chain saw to move fallen trees and two medical kits, just in case.
"You have GEICO; I have an AR-15," Savage said.
Trevor Treller, 44, who carries a small Smith & Wesson pistol on his hip, moved to north Idaho last year from Long Beach, Calif., and recently paid a little less than $400,000 for a defensible three-bedroom house on five wooded acres.
Treller, a sommelier at a local resort, said Obama was a key factor in his decision. He said the president has inflamed racial tensions in America, presided over a dangerous expansion of the national debt, been "hostile" to Second Amendment rights and failed to curtail the nuclear ambitions of North Korea and Iran.
Treller said any one of those factors could lead to crippling chaos, so he and his wife have laid in food, weapons and ammunition and are installing an iron gate across their long gravel driveway.
"I think there's a very good chance that these things won't happen in my lifetime, but I also think there's a chance that they will," Treller said. "It's extreme collective hubris to think that we're exempt from everything that happened to every single society before us throughout history."
Treller said he settled on Coeur d'Alene after scouring city-data.com, a website where he looked for his ideal mix: conservative election results, low crime rates, solid incomes, low population density, affordable house prices - and few illegal immigrants, because he said they erode "American culture."
Utah is about 83% white, and its three northernmost counties are more than 90 percent white, according to Census Bureau data. Those interviewed in the American Redoubt insisted they are not trying to segregate themselves by race. And while the Aryan Nations white supremacist group was headquartered near Hayden Lake in the 1980s and 1990s, Rawles has described the Redoubt movement as "anti-racist" and said like-minded folks of all races are welcome.
Walsh, the real estate agent, said he saw far more racism in Detroit, where he was raised, than in north Idaho.
"Here, a black person, they're a novelty," Walsh said. "You'll see people walk up to black people here sometimes and just talk to them because they've never spoken to a black person before. In terms of them walking around [saying racist things], you never see it."
Treller's wife, Christina Treller, 38, a critical care nurse at a local hospital, said she initially resisted her husband's proposal to move to Idaho. Now she loves their new Victorian-style house in the woods, with its fresh well water and clean air, and fruit and nut trees that they recently planted.
Having lived through the 1992 riots after Los Angeles police were acquitted in the videotaped beating of Rodney King, she said she views society as more fragile than most people realize.
"I'm being wise," she said.
In north Idaho, the narrow panhandle that stretches to the Canadian border, many people on the streets of pretty towns such as Coeur d'Alene, Sandpoint and Bonners Ferry have never heard of the American Redoubt.
That's mainly because of the prepper ethos of privacy - most don't even tell their neighbours they have years' worth of food in a safe room.
Several locals did express unease about their new ammo-stockpiling neighbours.
"I don't have a problem with preppers, but it's the extremists people don't want around - the fringe, the radicals. That's the concern I hear from people," said Mike Peterson, a real estate agent in Bonners Ferry and retired Los Angeles firefighter and EMT.
Keough, the state senator, recently fought off a tough GOP primary challenge in which she was labelled a "progressive traitor" by Alex Barron, a blogger who calls himself the Bard of the American Redoubt.
"We're certainly not oblivious to the turmoil in the world and not oblivious to the huge challenges we have at the national level," Keough said. "But those who subscribe to the 'world is coming to an end' theory, people tend to shake their heads at those folks. They come across as paranoid."
State Rep. Heather Scott, a Republican who represents north Idaho, said the newcomers have adapted smoothly.
"I have met many people, especially recently, who have moved here after being inspired by the idea of the American Redoubt," she said. "I haven't heard any of them speak about the 'end of the world' but rather the appreciation for a simpler and safer life."
Scott said preparing for a natural or man-made disaster was "simply prudent," because, "Economic experts are consistently saying that global markets are at risk, and they are telling people to take precautions to weather through an economic crisis."
Don Bradway dug into a plate of homemade enchiladas in the kitchen of the cozy house he and Jonna bought for $259,000in 2010.
What they have looks like an idyllic retirement experience: his and hers recliners in front of a big-screen TV, a "side-by-side" all-terrain vehicle in the barn, an art studio for retired nurse Jonna, a carpentry and machine shop for retired firefighter and EMT Don, and a sweet-natured dog named Moose.
Their 30-year-old son, who moved to Idaho with them, lives nearby.
Don, who's a member of the GOP Central Committee of Kootenai County, won't say exactly how much food and supplies they have on hand.
"There are some things you don't talk about," he said. "But the Bradway motto is that it's better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it."
As Don sees it, you need look no further than the economic chaos in Venezuela, with its hungry people storming grocery stores, to see that a society-ending economic collapse could easily happen anywhere.
"We pray to God that it never happens," he said, finishing his refried beans.
But if it does, he said his "fellow thinkers" in the American Redoubt are prepared.
"They know they can depend on the Bradways to help them," he said.

Preparing for the end of the world in Idah


Don and Jonna Bradway recently cashed out of the stock market and invested in gold and silver.


LOS ANGELES — Tim Tebow has taken his first big swing at a baseball career, showing off a powerful bat and a few areas of needed improvement in a workout for dozens of major league scouts.
The Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback worked out at the University of Southern California’s Dedeaux Field on Tuesday. Scouts and reporters tracked, timed and recorded his every move.
Tebow’s 255-pound muscled physique and 6.70-ish time in the 60-yard dash were impressive. So was a series of long homers into the trees and off the scoreboard.
The 29-year-old outfield hopeful also showed he still needs baseball seasoning. Former big-leaguers David Aardsma and Chad Smith repeatedly fooled him with off-speed pitches later in the hitting drills.
Tebow’s representative would like to see him in instructional league play starting in September.

Ex-NFLer Tim Tebow hits 430-foot HR in MLB workout


LOS ANGELES — Tim Tebow has taken his first big swing at a baseball career, showing off a powerful bat and a few areas of needed improvement in a workout for dozens of major league scouts.


CHUUK STATE, Micronesia — The U.S. Coast Guard says two stranded mariners were rescued Friday after crews saw their "SOS" in the sand on an uninhabited island in Micronesia, Hawaii News Now reports.
A U.S. Navy aircraft crew spotted the pair on the beach and gave their location to the Coast Guard in Guam. Hawaii News Now says the two, who had no emergency equipment, were picked up and taken to a patrol boat.
The Coast Guard received a report about the couple’s 18-foot vessel going missing on Aug. 19. Hawaii News Now says the two departed Weno Island on Aug. 17, and they were expected to arrive at their destination to Tamatam Island the next day.
Hawaii News Now says that on Wednesday, a ship noticed flashing lights from the uninhabited Chuuk State island where the two were later found. The U.S. Navy was alerted and spotted the survivors on the beach.

'SOS' in sand leads to rescue of 2 people stranded on island


The U.S. Coast Guard says two stranded mariners were rescued Friday after crews saw their


TORONTO -
There is no licence needed to own one.
No training required to shoot one. There’s no registry. No need to show identification or even write down your name.
Just put down your cash (between $300 and $1,300) and legally walk out of a sporting goods store in the GTA with a lethal killing machine called a crossbow.
Of course, they are designed to kill legally regulated wild game in appropriate hunting seasons. But like all weapons designed for something else, they can be commandeered for murderous purposes on humans, as Toronto experienced Thursday.
It’s not Toronto’s first crossbow-related slaying scene and one wonders how many more will be tolerated by the public, and those who govern, before there is a move to make them more difficult to buy and kept better track of.
Right now, cigarettes are a more onerous task to purchase. A trip on Hwy. 407 asks for more personal information.
Toronto Police were not confirming very much of what happened in this blood-curdling triple homicide in Scarborough where a crossbow was found and that later had them dealing with a suspicious package at a downtown condo building.
The whole thing is bizarre. Scary.
But this business of a crossbow being used went viral around the world because it sounded different. Still, it was not clear to me at deadline if a crossbow was fired in one or more of the three slayings, or if a bolt (arrow) with a sharp star head was plunged into people.
Forensics was trying to put all that together at the scene near Kingston and Markham Rds. Either way, there are three dead.
Talking to crossbow enthusiasts in the hours after this frightening incident, a few things became clearer. The weapon is not designed for quantity hunting but more quality.
“It’s all about the one shot,” a crossbow owner told me and Sun photographer Dave Thomas at the incredible Bass Pro Shops store in Vaughan. “You can reload if you are strong and fast, but the emphasis on this kind of hunting is the accuracy of your main shot.”
So for someone to have the opportunity to get off potentially three shots that all proved fatal is no easy task.
“They are very quiet,” adds Dave, who has used them for target shooting in the past. “There is no pop like with a gun, so it is conceivable a person could reload without detection.”
In time we will get a clearer picture of what happened. Police sources tell both myself and colleagues Chris Doucette and Terry Davidson that the investigative theory is the players in this disturbing scene are part of a family unit. But that has not been confirmed, and I have an open mind on where this ultimately goes. It all seems pretty strange.
No matter how it’s sorted, there are three dead and one in custody.
If homicide charges are laid, it will have been Toronto’s second triple homicide in 2016 — the first was by gunfire in Chinatown in the spring. It will also push Toronto’s 2016 homicide number to 47 — a shocking 12 more than the 35 at this time last year.
But none of that seems to be the focus. People want to know about the crossbow and bolts.
From all the people I talked with at Bass Pro Shops, crossbows are not a menace to society or a concern in the proper hands.
But in the wrong hands, there can be a whole lot of a carnage. Perhaps that is what happened in Scarborough.
Either way, authorities need to ask the question about how these weapons should be accessed before we see many more examples of how deadly they can be.
jwarmington@postmedia.com
RULES FOR CROSSBOWS
When it comes to buying a crossbow in Toronto or across Canada, it turns out that bigger is better, legally speaking.
According to the Canadian Firearms Program as published by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, crossbows with an overall length of 500 mm or less are prohibited across the country.
However, the program states that no licence or registration is required for crossbows longer than 500 mm and that Criminal Code provisions making it an offence to acquire a crossbow without a valid licence were never brought into force.
Here are more guidelines for crossbows, according to Paul Hunkin, from Al Flaherty’s Outdoor Store on Dufferin St. in Toronto:
Age and use restrictions:
You must be 18 years of age or older to purchase one.
Crossbows may not be fired anywhere inside the boundaries of the City of Toronto.
Different types of crossbows that are available in stores:
There are only two types: Prohibited and non-prohibited.
Prohibited are crossbows that are 500 mm in length or smaller, which can be held and fired with one hand, similar to a handgun.
Both are classified as “firearms” for legal purposes.
Locations where crossbows are sold and how much they cost:
Retailers such as Al Flaherty’s, Canadian Tire, Sail, and Bass Pro Shops all sell a wide range of crossbows.
Prices range from around $400 to well over $1,000.
Purpose of crossbows sold in stores:
Commonly used for a wide variety of hunting.
The crossbow hunting seasons do not overlap rifle and shotgun seasons and typically run for a longer period, making them popular among hunters.
Moose, deer, bears, and sometimes turkeys are hunted with crossbows.
- Daniel McKenzie


TORONTO — Jose Bautista made it clear on Thursday afternoon that he has not returned to the Blue Jays lineup with a list of demands or a prima donna attitude or as a pending free agent worried about his individual statistics.
He’s not about to tell manager John Gibbons where he wants to bat in the lineup, nor is he going to demand to start every game in right field or anything like that.
Bautista said he just wants to be a good soldier and help the Jays get into the playoffs and to the World Series. He wants to be another bullet in the holster.
“Right now it’s about winning,” said Bautista, following batting practice at the Rogers Centre. “The team’s doing great. Hopefully I’ll slide in and continue to let the team roll like we have.”
Bautista has been out since Aug. 9 when he twisted his left knee while attempting to make a throw to the infield in a game against the Tampa Bay Rays. He also went on the DL with a toe injury suffered on June 17 against the Philadelphia Phillies.
Needless to say it’s been a frustrating season for the long-time Toronto slugger, who was, of course, hoping for a big year given that he is a free agent at the end of the season. But the injuries have held him back.
Statistics-wise, Bautista is not going to be able to post the mega-numbers of years back and he can live with that.
“It’s been tough,” he said about the season. “I’ve had to deal with a lot. Overall, I think I contributed. My on-base-percentage, RBIs and runs scored-per-game played are not bad at all. I just want to finish out strong and, again, we’re in first place, I don’t think I’m going to focus a lot on my individual situation. If we continue to win and I’m playing every day, I’m sure I’ll contribute and at the end of the year my numbers are going to look fine.”
Bautista wants to help the Jays put together a nice winning streak like they did a couple of times last year. The media pushed him on Thursday as to where he wants to bat in the line-up — if he expects to bat lead-off again despite the fact that second baseman Devon Travis has assumed that spot in his absence. In 22 games as the lead-off hitter, Travis is batting .311 with an .806 OPS.
“I don’t think I’m in a position to be demanding or tell anybody what to do,” Bautista said. “This team is playing great and the last thing I want to be is a disruption. I just want to continue to help anyway I can and hopefully get back in the playoffs and try to get that championship that we missed out on last year.”
Bautista did bat lead-off on Thursday against the Los Angeles Angels with Travis out with a sore knuckle. He also DH’d with Ezequiel Carrera playing right field.
Gibbons said he expects to have Bautista DH from time to time having just come off the DL.
When Bautista assumed the lead-off spot earlier this summer when the Jays were struggling, he actually went to Gibbons and suggested the move. It paid off. Now everyone seems to be waiting for a controversy to break out over who bats lead-off when Travis and Bautista are both healthy.
Bautista said he isn’t going to get in a twist one way or the other — sincere in his intent on helping the team win without making any waves.
“We want to have the best nine out there and obviously Devon’s done a great job at lead-off and, again, this is Gibby’s team. He’s the manager and we’re not going to try to undermine him,” Bautista said. “He has to go with the hot hands and whatever’s working. So wherever I can fit in, I’m sure I’ll be fine. As long as we keep getting wins, I’ll be happy.”
With Bautista back and Travis expected to return in the next day or so, the Jays are finally getting close to being the offensive dynamo they expected to be all season.
Left fielder Michael Saunders, who has 21 home runs this year, was out with a sore hamstring on Thursday, but that’s not expected to be a major problem.
Besides the power and his outstanding eye at the plate (Bautista was leading the AL in walks before he ran into injury troubles), the veteran outfielder gives the Jays some more swagger, something they had in abundance en-route to the AL East title last season.
“Oh yeah. No doubt,” Gibbons said. “He’s a feared hitter in this league and everybody knows where he is in the lineup, when he’s coming up, when he’s sitting on deck, everyone’s aware of that.
“He can burn ya, he can burn ya with the best of them, and you know he’ll take his walks, he’s got great discipline. It’s a weapon.”
sbuffery@postmedia.com

Returning Bautista in it for the team, not his numbers


Jose Bautista made it clear on Thursday afternoon that he has not returned to the Blue Jays lineup with a list of demands or a prima donna attitude or as a pending free agent worried about his individual statistics.


SANTA CLARA, Calif. — San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick is refusing to stand for the U.S. national anthem before games because he believes the United States oppresses African Americans and other minorities.
Kaepernick sat on the team’s bench Friday night during the anthem before the Niners played host to the Green Bay Packers in an exhibition game. He later explained his reasoning in an interview with NFL Media.
“I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of colour,” Kaepernick said. “To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid leave and getting away with murder.”
The 49ers issued a statement after Pro Football Talk initially reported on Kaepernick’s stand, saying that Americans have the right to protest or support the anthem.
“The national anthem is and always will be a special part of the pregame ceremony,” the team said. “It is an opportunity to honour our country and reflect on the great liberties we are afforded as its citizens. In respecting such American principles as freedom of religion and freedom of expression, we recognize the right of an individual to choose to participate, or not, in our celebration of the national anthem.”
Kaepernick, who is biracial, was adopted and raised by white parents. He has been outspoken on his Twitter account on civil rights issues and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Kaepernick is not the first U.S.-based athlete to use the anthem for protest. In 1996, NBA player Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf refused to stand for the anthem, saying the United States had a history of tyranny and doing so would conflict with his Islamist beliefs. The NBA initially suspended Abdul-Rauf for his stance before it was lifted when he said he would stand and pray silently during the song.
Kaepernick said he is not worried about any potential fallout from his protest.
“This is not something that I am going to run by anybody,” he told NFL Media. “I am not looking for approval. I have to stand up for people that are oppressed. ... If they take football away, my endorsements from me, I know that I stood up for what is right.”
The NFL and Kaepernick’s agent did not immediately return a request for comment.
Kaepernick is in competition to win back the starting quarterback job in San Francisco that he lost to Blaine Gabbert last season. He made his first appearance of the preseason on Friday night after missing two games with a tired shoulder. He finished 2 for 6 for 14 yards and added 18 yards on four runs.

49ers QB Colin Kaepernick refuses to stand for U.S. national anthem


San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin
Kaepernick is refusing to stand for
the U.S. national anthem before games
because he believes the United States
oppresses African Americans and other
minorities.


Two people are dead and three others injured in a serious crash that shut down a busy downtown Vancouver intersection on Monday.
A white SUV heading north on Seymour Street veered off the street just before 5:30 p.m. and hit a tree, sending it toppling onto the sidewalk in the path of pedestrians before striking a lamp post.
The two occupants of the SUV, a 68-year-old man driving the SUV and his 70-year-old female passenger, were killed instantly, said Vancouver police.
Three others, all men in their 30s, were injured by the fallen tree and flying debris. One man had minor injuries and lacerations. Two other men suffered more serious injuries, including broken bones and a punctured lung. They are expected to survive, but are listed in critical condition.
A couple hours after the crash a blue tarp covered the driver's and passenger's seat of the SUV, which was flipped on its side. On the sidewalk, scattered amid glass and metal debris, were mundane objects — a pack of tissue paper, bags of fruit, a red shoe.
Vancouver police spokesman Const. Brian Montague said investigators are still trying to determine what caused the crash. They have video footage of the incident and have talked to many witnesses. Investigators and the Coroner will see if any underlying medical conditions may have contributed to the crash.
But what was clear was "the crash behind me clearly tells our officers that speed is going to be a factor here," said Montague. "There's no question about that. We are working to determine what that speed was, and if there were other factors."
The sound of the single-vehicle crash was heard by some people in nearby stores, and by residents who live high up in nearby condo towers.
Francis Lin was at a Starbucks across the street when he heard a loud boom.
"I looked outside and it was this SUV on its side. It looked like it was wedged between two poles," he said. "How fast must you have been going to saw off a tree? It's pretty horrific. There's no skid marks, no nothing."
Bobby Soor was working at a smoothie store just around the corner from the crash. He felt the crash's vibrations and heard the sound of metal debris, including a crumpled newspaper box, scraping on concrete. When he got outside, he saw two men on the ground. Both had lower-body injuries, he said. One had a bone sticking out of his ankle.
"The one guy with a visible fracture, he was in pretty bad condition. The other guy wasn't moving his legs."
Xiomara Lopez said she often sees cars speeding on Seymour or Davie, well above the posted speed limit. Soor said some vehicles coming off the Granville Street Bridge onto Seymour Street often speed trying to beat the light. "We're not surprised that this happened," said Lopez.
chchan@postmedia.com
twitter.com/cherylchan


Two people are dead and three others
injured in a serious crash that shut
down a busy downtown Vancouver
intersection on Monday.


Britney Spears wants to have three more children.
The 34-year-old singer is mother to 10-year-old Sean and nine-year-old Jayden with ex-husband Kevin Federline. But while she doesn't have a man in her life right now, Britney foresees a bigger family in her future.
Toxic star Britney made the admission during her appearance on James Corden's Carpool Karaoke on Thursday night, telling the host she is "so jealous" of him having two little ones.
"Mine are nine and 10, they're not babies anymore!" Britney exclaimed. "I want more, I would like to have like three more.
I have to find the right guy first, and then... you know."
She then burst into an impromptu rendition of Ace of Base's song All That She Wants (is another baby).
Britney has been married twice before - a 55-hour union with childhood friend Jason Alexander following a Vegas wedding, and to dancer Kevin from 2004 to 2007.
She was also engaged to Jason Trawick and was reportedly set to wed ex-boyfriend Charlie Ebersol, but told James she won't walk down the aisle again.
"I think I might not do the whole men thing anymore. I won't do the men thing, or get married, I'm just done with men," she vowed. "I might French kiss someone but I'm not going to marry anyone - I don't believe in marriage any more."
Britney and James belted out her songs Oops!... I Did It Again, Toxic and her biggest hit Baby One More Time, for which the duo donned school uniforms to recreate the infamous video for the track, with James even sporting a blonde, plaited wig.
Britney's appearance on the Late Late Show's Carpool Karaoke comes amid a busy week for the star. On Friday morning, the singer released her ninth studio album Glory and tweeted her excitement by writing: "It's here!!! #GloryOutNow."
The hashtag is just one of those that will trigger the use of a specially created Britney emoji, which shows a close-up cartoon version of the singer's face. Among others that will cause the emoji to feature are #BritneyCarpool, #BritneyonCorden and #BritneyCarpoolKaraoke.
Britney is also capitalising on her upcoming performance at Sunday night's (28Aug16) MTV Video Music Awards, with the hashtags #BritneyVMAs and #BritneyOnVMAs also triggering the emoji.

Britney Spears talks kids, being single on ‘Carpool Karaoke’


Britney Spears wants to have three more children.


WWE is reporting that Mr. Fuji -- Harry Fujiwara -- has died. He was 82 years of age, and had been in poor health for a number of years.
While many remember Mr. Fuji as the devious manager of the likes of Demolition and Magnificent Muraco, he had a storied wrestling career well before becoming a manager.
As for his colleagues, they remember his ribs.
No one was safe from Fuji.
"Fuji's were nonstop: in the arena, in hotels, in airports, in restaurants. And Fuji was an instigator. He'd find weak-minded wrestlers and have them do ribs for him, just to wreak more havoc. The man was incorrigible," wrote Classy Freddie Blassie in his autobiography, Listen, You Pencil Neck Geeks. "If you were sitting across from Fuji, drinking a cup of coffee, he was liable to slip in some laxatives when you weren't looking. It would be time to go to the ring, and you'd be on the toilet, shitting your guts out. If he heard you on the phone, making airplane reservations, he'd call up the airline after you hung up, and cancel your trip. You'd miss a booking, lose money, and Fuji would think it was funny."
There was the occasional payback, though, said Larry Zbyszko. "We used to put him in some sort of leg hold, because they didn't wear shoes with that gimmick, and we'd grab his ankle and tickle his feet and he'd go apes---," recalled Zbyszko, a frequent foe, with a chuckle.
Jules Strongbow said he did the same thing as revenge against Fuji.
"Fuji tried to get silly in the ring with me one night. I let him get away with it because I figured somewhere down the line, I'm going to find out something about Fuji and I'm going to use it against him in a rib," said Strongbow, a WWWF tag team champion with Chief Jay Strongbow. "Well, I found out that he had very ticklish feet. So one night me were in, I think it was Baltimore, and I grapevined his legs, and I started tickling him. I kept it up for about 10 minutes. To the crowd, it looked like he was in pain, absolute miserable pain. But he wasn't, and I just kept it up, and kept it up. And after that, he never did anything to me. He never pulled a rib on me outside the ring."
"I liked Fuji. We got along good," said Randy Colley, who was Moondog Rex. "He never did give me a hard time, but I knew some guys he'd just do things that were awful. It was always a situation usually when he'd done something that nobody knew for sure it was him, but a lot of people suspected it was him. But he was a good guy too. He was one of them you had to know."
For all the ribs played against his colleagues, Fuji was also a wonderful performer. He held the WWWF tag team titles three times with Professor Toru Tanaka and twice with Mr. Saito. As well, he was a star in many territories, from Portland to San Francisco, from Hawaii to Australia.
It all started for Fujiwara in Hawaii in 1962, but really didn't start full-time until about 1966. He said that he knew "a lot of guys wrestling, who wanted me to become a wrestler because I was big." At 5-foot-10, and 235 pounds, Fujiwara was a decent size, and comparable to other stars in Hawaii, most of whom trained at the gym run by Dean Higuichi, who himself would find his way into the business as Dean Ho.
Ed Francis, the promoter in Hawaii, gave Fujiwara and chance, and he never looked back.
His first mainland promotion was Don Owen's Portland territory, and it was there that he first had to buy proper shoes instead of sandals -- it was "Tough" Tony Borne who helped him find a pair. In his early years, Fuji spent a lot of time in the Pacific Northwest territory, teaming with Haru Sasaki and Tony Borne for tag gold, and having success as a single too.
Fuji and Tanaka were brought back together in 1972. "I was wrestling in Texas and he saw me. He talked to Vince McMahon Sr. and that was it," said Fuji about his entry into the WWWF. Assigned The Grand Wizard (Ernie Roth) as their manager, Fuji and Tanaka immediately struck gold, winning the WWWF tag belts on June 27, 1972 from Sonny King & Chief Jay Strongbow. A few months later, they wrestled in the main event against the dream team of Pedro Morales & Bruno Sammartino in Madison Square Garden. Two more WWWF title reigns would follow, as well as regional titles until their split in 1979.
What worked for the team? "We were both big, for one, and I was a flyer and he was a ground worker," Fuji said. "We clicked real good. At one time, they said we were the best tag team of the '70s."
Zbyszko can still vividly recall their look, the way their filled the ring. "Fuji was probably 270, and then he teamed with Tanaka. Tanaka had one of the most fantastic looks in the business -- 300 pounds with that 25-inch neck of his. He looked like a giant fireplug. They both would put fear in you," he said. "You'd look at those guys—especially Tanaka -- and you'd say, 'Jesus Christ, I wouldn't mess with him. He'd kill you.'"
Fuji would have another successful run as WWWF tag champion with Mr. Saito (who was legitimately from Japan), and by 1985 had transitioned into a manager in the expanding WWF, handling the likes of Demolition, the Moondogs, Killer Kahn, Orient Express, Don Muraco and Yokozuna. "I enjoyed it. I really did. I wanted to be the best, and I think I did become the top manager there too," Fuji said. "I still wrestled too, I wrestled a little, maybe eight, 10 matches a year."
In recent years, Fuji lived a quiet life out of the business in Tennessee.
-- With files from Steven Johnson and The Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame: The Tag Teams

Wrestler-turned-'manager' Mr. Fuji dead at 82: WWE


WWE is reporting that Mr. Fuji -- Harry Fujiwara -- has died. He was 82 years of age, and had been in poor health for a number of years.


TORONTO -
Jerome Cruz was gardening in the backyard when suddenly he heard a man “screaming and banging” at a neighbouring house.
At the time, the 69-year-old had no idea three people were being brutally slain with a crossbow bolt. Nor could he know that in a bizarre twist, the triple murder in Scarborough would end up being linked to a suspicious package found downtown.
“It was angry screaming,” Cruz recalled Thursday from his yard, which backs onto the yard of the Lawndale Rd. home where the murders unfolded.
“It went on for about five minutes and then I heard another man trying to calm him down. He was saying, ‘Calm down, be quiet.’”
With his view blocked by a shed, Cruz was unable to see the two men.
But soon after he caught a glimpse of a woman running along the driveway at the side of the house.
Within a few minutes, it got deathly “quiet,” but Cruz just figured the commotion had ended peacefully.
“I thought maybe the young man was drunk or something and now everything was OK,” he said.
But when his neighbourhood was soon filled with the flashing lights of emergency crews, Cruz knew something bad had happened.
Toronto Police say they initially received a 911 call around 1 p.m. for a man bleeding heavily from a suspected stab wound on the residential street near Markham and Kingston Rds.
“When our officers from 43 Division arrived, they found the lifeless bodies of three individuals,” Det.-Sgt. Mike Carbone said at the scene. “They also took one person into custody.”
A fourth victim was taken to hospital, he added.
Carbone refused to reveal if there was any sort of relationship between those involved.
Toronto EMS confirmed two men and one woman were killed and the fourth victim suffered only minor injuries.
Carbone also refused to comment on reports a crossbow or bolts, the arrows fired from a crossbow, were involved in the killings.
However, in the immediate aftermath of the murders, police said the victims suffered what appeared to be fatal injuries from a crossbow bolt. Police couldn’t say Thursday night whether the bolts were fired from a crossbow or used like a knife to stab the victims.
About 90 minutes after the triple murder, cops received a call for a suspicious package inside a condo at Queens Quay and Lower Simcoe St. that is thought to be tied to the attack.
Traffic was shut down in the area and 218 Queens Quay was evacuated while bomb disposal officers were called in.
“We have cleared the package and there is no threat to public safety,” Supt. Bill Neadles said. “Homicide detectives have now taken over the scene.”
While it’s unclear what was contained within the package, Carbone confirmed the downtown incident was tied to the Scarborough murders.
“I’m not going to discuss what was found at the scene other than to say there is a link between our scene here and the one down on the Queens Quay,” he said.
Residents of the Scarborough neighbourhood were stunned by the mayhem that occurred in their community.
“This is a quiet area ... I’m very surprised by this,” Ragu Sangaramoorthy, 41, said.
The family man, who rents a basement apartment two doors down from where the victims were found, recalled having seen three children, maybe 7 to 13, and a woman possibly in her 50s coming and going from the home at times.
“I’m very upset because I have two kids,” Sangaramoorthy said.
Another resident, Sadiya Haque, said her sense of shock and fear is based partly on the many unanswered questions.
— With files from Kevin Connor
RULES FOR CROSSBOWS
When it comes to buying a crossbow in Toronto or across Canada, it turns out that bigger is better, legally speaking.
According to the Canadian Firearms Program as published by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, crossbows with an overall length of 500 mm or less are prohibited across the country.
However, the program states that no licence or registration is required for crossbows longer than 500 mm and that Criminal Code provisions making it an offence to acquire a crossbow without a valid licence were never brought into force.
Here are more guidelines for crossbows, according to Paul Hunkin, from Al Flaherty’s Outdoor Store on Dufferin St. in Toronto:
Age and use restrictions:
— You must be 18 years of age or older to purchase one.
— Crossbows may not be fired anywhere inside the boundaries of the City of Toronto.
Different types of crossbows that are available in stores:
— There are only two types: Prohibited and non-prohibited.
— Prohibited are crossbows that are 500 mm in length or smaller, which can be held and fired with one hand, similar to a handgun.
— Both are classified as “firearms” for legal purposes.
Locations where crossbows are sold and how much they cost:
— Retailers such as Al Flaherty’s, Canadian Tire, Sail, and Bass Pro Shops all sell a wide range of crossbows.
— Prices range from around $400 to well over $1,000.
Purpose of crossbows sold in stores:
— Commonly used for a wide variety of hunting.
— The crossbow hunting seasons do not overlap rifle and shotgun seasons and typically run for a longer period, making them popular among hunters.
— Moose, deer, bears, and sometimes turkeys are hunted with crossbows.
OTHER CROSSBOW INCIDENTS IN CANADA:
-- In December 2010, 24-year-old Zhou Fang shot his father in the back with a crossbow then crushed his skill with a hammer, at a public library in Toronto's east end.
-- In July, a Mission, B.C., father was charged with attacking his son who was shot in the forearm with a crossbow.
-- In November 2007, a 26-year-old man was charged with murder and attempted murder after his mother was killed and father was injured by a crossbow in St-Cesaire, Que.
-- In October 2002, a dairy farmer was shot in the back and injured with a crossbow in St.-Bonaventure.
-- In August 1998, a man asleep in his Hamilton home was shot in the head and injured by a man who fired a crossbow.
-- In 1998, Edward Stuart Walker shot a pregnant Stephanie Celestine Thomas with a crossbow, then stabbed her 46 times in Central Saanich on Vancouver Island.
-- In September 1994, Yvon Gosselin was driven to a gravel pit near Terrace, B.C., where he was killed with two bolts from a crossbow.
-- In May 1995, a man armed with a crossbow entered the Winnipeg Convention Centre shortly before then-prime minister Jean Chretien arrived to deliver a speech. The suspect was arrested.
-- In January 1993, B.C. Institute of Technology student Silvia Leung, 22, bled to death in the campus parking lot in Burnaby after being hit in the shoulder by a crossbow.
-- In November 1991, Ottawa lawyer Patricia Allen was killed with a crossbow by her estranged husband Colin McGregor.
- The Canadian Press

Three dead in crossbow attack in Toronto's east end


A brutal triple murder in broad daylight in a Scarborough neighbourhood, possibly involving a crossbow, is believed to be connected to a suspicious package found downtown Thursday afternoon.


In this March 16, 2005 file photo, actor Gene Wilder speaks about his life and career at Boston University in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
In this April 9, 2008 file photo, actor Gene Wilder listens as he is introduced to receive the Governor's Awards for Excellence in Culture and Tourism at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford, Conn. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill, File)
Actor and author Gene Wilder autographs copies of his new book 'The Woman Who Wouldn't' at Barnes & Noble Bookstore at The Grove on March 17, 2008 in West Hollywood, California. (Photo by Charley Gallay/Getty Images)
Gene Wilder and his wife Karen Boyer watch as Shahar Peer of Israel takes on Anna Chakvetadze of Russia during day ten of the 2007 U.S. Open at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center on September 5, 2007 in the Flushing neighborhood of the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images)
Actor Gene Wilder poses as he signs copies of his autobiography "Kiss Me Like A Stranger", at Waterstone's, Oxford Street on June 7, 2005 in London, England. (Photo by MJ Kim/Getty Images)
This file photo taken on September 7, 1984 shows US actor and director Gene Wilder of the movie "The Woman in Red" during the 10th American Film Festival of Deauville. / AFP PHOTO / Mychele DANIAUMYCHELE DANIAU/AFP/Getty Images
LOS ANGELES -- Gene Wilder, the frizzy-haired actor who brought his deft comedic touch to such unforgettable roles as the neurotic accountant in "The Producers" and the deranged animator of "Young Frankenstein," has died. He was 83.
Wilder's nephew said Monday that the actor and writer died late Sunday at his home in Stamford, Connecticut, from complications from Alzheimer's disease.
Jordan Walker-Pearlman said in a statement that Wilder was diagnosed with the disease three years ago, but kept the condition private so as not to disappoint fans.
"He simply couldn't bear the idea of one less smile in the world," Walker-Pearlman said.
Wilder started his acting career on the stage, but millions knew him from his work in the movies, especially his collaborations with Mel Brooks on "The Producers," "Blazing Saddles" and "Young Frankenstein." The last film -- with Wilder playing a California-born descendant of the mad scientist, insisting that his name is pronounced "Frahn-ken-SHTEEN" -- was co-written by Brooks and Wilder.
"One of the truly great talents of our time," Mel Brooks tweeted. "He blessed every film we did with his magic & he blessed me with his friendship."
Gene Wilder-One of the truly great talents of our time. He blessed every film we did with his magic & he blessed me with his friendship. — Mel Brooks (@MelBrooks) August 29, 2016
With his unkempt hair and big, buggy eyes, Wilder was a master at playing panicked characters caught up in schemes that only a madman such as Brooks could devise, whether reviving a monster in "Young Frankenstein" or bilking Broadway in "The Producers." Brooks would call him "God's perfect prey, the victim in all of us."
But he also knew how to keep it cool as the boozy gunslinger in "Blazing Saddles" or the charming candy man in the children's favourite "Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory." His craziest role: the therapist having an affair with a sheep in Woody Allen's "Everything You Wanted to Know About Sex."
He was close friends with Richard Pryor and their contrasting personas -- Wilder uptight, Pryor loose -- were ideal for comedy. They co-starred in four films: "Silver Streak," "Stir Crazy," "See No Evil, Hear No Evil" and "Another You." And they created several memorable scenes, particularly when Pryor provided Wilder with directions on how to "act black" as they tried to avoid police in "Silver Streak."
In 1968, Wilder received an Oscar nomination for his work in Brooks' "The Producers." He played the introverted Leo Bloom, an accountant who discovers the liberating joys of greed and corruption as he and Max Bialystock (Zero Mostel) conceive a Broadway flop titled "Springtime For Hitler" and plan to flee with the money raised for the show's production.
Matthew Broderick played Wilder's role in the 2001 Broadway stage revival of the show.
Though they collaborated on film, Wilder and Brooks met through the theatre. Wilder was in a play with Brooks' then-future wife, Anne Bancroft, who introduced the pair backstage in 1963.
Wilder, a Milwaukee native, was born Jerome Silberman on June 11, 1935. His father was a Russian emigre, his mother was of Polish descent. When he was 6, Wilder's mother suffered a heart attack that left her a semi-invalid. He soon began improvising comedy skits to entertain her, the first indication of his future career.
He started taking acting classes at age 12 and continued performing and taking lesson through college. In 1961, Wilder became a member of Lee Strasberg's prestigious Actor's Studio in Manhattan.
That same year, he made both his off-Broadway and Broadway debuts. He won the Clarence Derwent Award, given to promising newcomers, for the Broadway work in Graham Greene's comedy "The Complaisant Lover."
He used his new name, Gene Wilder, for the off-Broadway and Broadway roles. He lifted the first name from the character Eugene Gant in Thomas Wolfe's "Look Back, Homeward Angel," while the last name was clipped from playwright Thornton Wilder. A key break came when he co-starred with Bancroft in Bertolt Brecht's "Mother Courage," and met Brooks, her future husband.
"I was having trouble with one little section of the play, and he gave me tips on how to act. He said, 'That's a song and dance. He's proselytizing about communism. Just skip over it, sing and dance over it, and get on to the good stuff.' And he was right," Wilder later explained.
Before starring in "The Producers," he had a small role as the hostage of gangsters in the 1967 classic "Bonnie and Clyde." He peaked in the mid-1970s with the twin Brooks hits "Blazing Saddles" and "Young Frankenstein."
He went on to write several screenplays and direct several films. In 1982, while making the generally forgettable "Hanky-Panky," he fell in love with co-star Gilda Radner. They were married in 1984, and co-starred in two Wilder-penned films: "The Lady in Red" and "Haunted Honeymoon."
After Radner died of ovarian cancer in 1989, Wilder spent much of his time after promoting cancer research. He opened a support facility for cancer patients called "Gilda's Place." In 1991, he testified before Congress about the need for increased testing for cancer.
Wilder guest-starred on two episodes of NBC's "Will & Grace" in 2002 and 2003, winning a Primetime Emmy Award for outstanding guest actor on a comedy series for his role as Mr. Stein, the boss of Will Truman, played by Canadian Eric McCormack.
Wilder is survived by his wife, Karen, whom he married in 1991.
RIP Gene Wilder pic.twitter.com/TuMQheQCa4 — Gilbert Gottfried (@RealGilbert) August 29, 2016
"Good Day Sir!"
RIP Gene Wilder — Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) August 29, 2016
Rest in Peace, Gene Wilder... 💔 — Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) August 29, 2016
Gene Wilder as one of my earliest heroes. Blazing Saddles, Willy Wonka, are CLINICS on comic acting. Sad to hear of his passing. — Rob Lowe (@RobLowe) August 29, 2016
so sad to learn of the passing of my good friend, gene wilder... such an incredible man... i'll miss you ❤ — Harry Connick Jr (@HarryConnickJR) August 29, 2016

Gene Wilder, star of Mel Brooks movies, dies at 83


WINDSOR, Ont. -Tamim Chowdhury was once held up as an academic example to other students at Forster Secondary School in Windsor, Ont. On Saturday he was killed in a shootout with police in Bangladesh, accused of being the mastermind behind a terrorist attack that killed at least 20 people.
Pat Osborne, who was just starting out as a business teacher at the now-shuttered school when Chowdhury was a student there, said he remembered him as a “real bright kid.”
“Tamim was one of our highest award winners in terms of winning academic scholarships to the University of Windsor,” he said.“Later on we used him as an example of a kid who worked hard and was able to receive money for university.”
On Saturday, police stormed a two-storey building near Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, and killed three suspected militants, including Chowdhury.
Bangladesh police chief A.K.M. Shahidul Hoque stated that Chowdhury was the mastermind behind a July 1 attack on a popular cafe and another attack on an Eid congregation on July 7 that left four dead.
According to the chief, police received a tip Chowdhury was in the house. When a SWAT team raided the building they were shot at and, when the suspects failed to surrender, they were killed.
Chowdhury’s death has done little to answer questions about how a southern Ontario student became a suspected terrorist leader.
Amarnath Amarasingam, a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Waterloo who studies radicalization and terrorism, said it’s not known if Chowdhury was born in Bangladesh or Canada.
Only a handful of facts are known about his time in Windsor.
Results from a WECSSAA meet in 2004 reveal that, while attending Forster, Chowdhury competed as a member of the track and field team and finished last out of 45 runners in the 100-metre dash. He also participated in shot put and javelin with only marginally better results.
A spokesperson for the University of Windsor confirmed that the school’s records show someone with the name Tamim Chowdhury graduated with an honours degree in chemistry in 2011.
Osborne said he was shocked to read about what the former student was accused of committing and added that years ago he had expected the then-teenager to follow a very different path.
“You never know what’s going on in someone’s life, but it’s not something you would have ever expected from him. You figured he would get into research and help people,” he said.
According to Amarasingam, Chowdhury’s close friends described him as a “quiet shy guy who wasn’t particularly charismatic,” but there are still gaps in the narrative of how the promising student turned into an alleged terrorist leader.
The timeline becomes choppy after Chowdhury’s graduation. Amarasingam said Chowdhury travelled to Calgary where he reportedly participated in a private study circle with Damian Clairmont and other members of the “Calgary cluster” who later went overseas to join terrorist groups.
However, Amarasingam said religious leaders in Windsor told him they asked Chowdhury not to engage with youth at mosques sometime in 2013, “clearly worried he was potentially radicalizing them,” he wrote in a recent article.
“Something happened between 2009 and 2011-12,” said Amarasingam. “We don’t know whether he was influenced by individuals in Windsor or individuals in Calgary, but by 2012 he was fully into the jihadist narrative.”
The radicalization expert said that only three to five people have left Windsor to join terrorist organizations — in a Canada-wide context of about 100 who have gone overseas, that’s not a drastic number, he added.
“There’s nothing particularly in the water in Windsor or Calgary that we need to pay attention to,” Amarasingam explained. “It’s just where the networks and friendship clusters play out.”
Md. Abdul Quaiyum, president of the Bangladesh Canada Association of Windsor Essex, told the Associated Press that Chowdhury’s family is still living in Windsor along with about 1,000 other Bangladeshi-Canadians who are hardworking and peaceful.
“The Bangladeshi community here condemns this,” he said of the attacks Chowdhury is accused of.
“We hate this.”
With files from the Associated Press

Tamim Chowdhury, Canadian who allegedly masterminded Bangladesh cafe attack, was


Tamim Chowdhury was once held up as an academic example to other students at Forster Secondary School in Windsor, Ont.


PARIS -- France's top administrative court overturned a ban on burkinis in a Mediterranean town, in a decision Friday that should set legal precedent regarding a swimsuit crackdown that has divided the country and provoked shock around the world.
The ruling by the Council of State Friday specifically concerns a ban on the Muslim garment in the Riviera town of Villeneuve-Loubet, but the binding decision is expected to impact all the 30 or so French resort municipalities that have issued similar decrees.
The bans grew increasingly controversial as images circulated online of some Muslim women being ordered to remove body-concealing garments on French Riviera beaches.
Lawyers for a human rights group and a Muslim collective challenged the legality of the ban to the top court, saying the orders infringe basic freedoms and that mayors have overstepped their powers by telling women what to wear on beaches.
Mayors had cited multiple reasons for the bans, including security after a string of Islamic extremist attacks, risk to public order, and France's strict rules on secularism in public life.
The Council of State ruled that, "The emotion and concerns arising from the terrorist attacks, notably the one perpetrated in Nice on July 14, cannot suffice to justify in law the contested prohibition measure."
It ruled that the mayor of Villeuneuve-Loubet overstepped his powers by enacting measures that are not justified by "proven risks of disruptions to public order nor, moreover, on reasons of hygiene or decency."
"The contested decree has thus brought a serious and manifestly illegal infringement on basic freedoms such as freedom to come and go, freedom of conscience and personal freedom," the ruling reads.
Lawyer Patrice Spinosi, representing the Human Rights League, told reporters in Paris that women who have already received fines can protest them based on Friday's decision.
"It is a decision that is meant to set legal precedent," he said. "Today all the ordinances taken should conform to the decision of the Council of State. Logically the mayors should withdraw these ordinances. If not legal actions could be taken" against those towns.
But the mayor of the Corsican town of Sisco said he wouldn't lift the ban he imposed after an Aug. 13 clash on a beach.
"Here the tension is very, very, very high and I won't withdraw it," Ange-Pierre Vivoni said on BFM-TV.
He said he doesn't know whether a woman was actually wearing a burkini the day a clash occurred that set a group of Corsican sunbathers of North African origin against villagers from Sisco. It took days to untangle the events leading to the violence that many immediately assumed was over a burkini sighting.
The bans have become a symbol of tensions around the place of Islam in secular France.
Many officials --including Prime Minister Manuel Valls -- have argued that burkinis oppress women. But critics say the bans were feeding a racist political agenda as campaigning for next year's French presidential elections were kicking off.


France's top administrative court has
overturned a town burkini ban amid
shock and anger worldwide after some
Muslim women were ordered to remove
body-concealing garments on French
Riviera beaches.


EDEN PRAIRIE, MINN. -
Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater went down with an injury in practice on Tuesday, causing the team to cut short its session after 25 minutes.
Bridgewater dropped back to pass during a drill, planted his foot and immediately went down. He grabbed his left knee while concerned teammates and athletic trainers huddled around him.
Coach Mike Zimmer eventually called off practice, and the rest of the team walked off the field while Bridgewater was being attended to. Moments later, a siren-blaring ambulance pulled into the team’s Winter Park headquarters, stayed for about 10 minutes and then pulled away.
The nature of Bridgewater’s injury was not immediately clear. The team said Zimmer would address the situation at a later time.
Players were visibly distraught as they exited the field, some hurling expletives into the air. A small group remained behind, huddled around him in prayer as team athletic trainers worked to immobilize his leg.
Ambulance arrives at Winter Park after #Vikings Bridgewater goes down with injury in practice. pic.twitter.com/H6Uohrs9gL — Shari L. Gross (@ShariStrib) August 30, 2016
If Bridgewater is unable to return in a timely manner, there is little behind him on the depth chart. Shaun Hill is the primary backup, but he’s 36 years old and has played only sparingly over the last five years.
Bridgewater is entering his third season in the NFL and the Vikings were counting on him to take some major steps forward after a promising start to his career. He helped lead the Vikings to the NFC North championship last season as more of a game manager, but Zimmer and offensive co-ordinator Norv Turner have said that they expected him to be much more of a playmaker in 2016.
You could hear a pin drop on field as Bridgewater was tended do on ground -- silence only broken by several F-bombs players screamed#Vikings — Brian Murphy (@murphPPress) August 30, 2016
Bridgewater missed the second preseason game with a sore shoulder, but was very sharp on Sunday against San Diego. He went 12 for 16 for 161 yards and a touchdown in two quarters of work, leaving Vikings players and fans fully confident as the team starts to prepare for the season opener at Tennessee on Sept. 11.
The Vikings host the Los Angeles Rams in their final preseason game Thursday night, though Bridgewater and most of the starters were not expected to play.

'Doesn't look good:' Bridgewater has 'significant' knee injury


Minnesota Vikings quarterback Teddy Bridgewater suffered a


As National Energy Board hearings resume Monday in Montreal on TransCanada’s proposed Energy East pipeline, it’s time to stop kidding the troops.
Kidding the troops is what happens when Prime Minister Justin Trudeau floats the idea that if pipeline proponents act in a certain way domestically, and Canada acts in a certain way internationally, it will earn a “social licence” to construct pipelines and export oil.
Pipelines which are vital to Canada’s economy and necessary to move our landlocked fossil fuel resources to Canadian ports and from there to international markets.
The problem with Trudeau’s rhetoric is that it suggests there is some sort of perfect pipeline proposal that will satisfy all critics such as Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre, environmental groups and First Nations opponents.
The reality is there is no process for pipeline approval that will satisfy these people. Pretending there is, is a fool’s game.
Coderre, for example, now wants the Energy East pipeline hearings suspended and reviewed because former Quebec premier Jean Charest met with NEB officials while an employee of TransCanada -- at the NEB's request -- to discuss the conduct of the hearings in Quebec.
Never mind that the NEB met with Coderre and other pipeline opponents to discuss the same thing.
Never mind that the NEB and a spokesman for Charest said there was no discussion of and no lobbying for Energy East.
Coderre and the environmental groups are now saying the simple fact of the meeting -- and that Charest didn’t tell the NEB he was in TransCanada’s employ, is enough to undermine the credibility of the entire hearing process.
That’s absurd. It would have been better had the NEB been informed of Charest’s relationship to TransCanada but to suggest that means the entire process is tainted is ridiculous.
As for social licence, Trudeau would no doubt point to his good buddy U.S. President Barack Obama as a jolly green giant of environmentalism.
Obama stopped the Canada-U.S. Keystone XL pipeline.
Except Obama has also boasted that his administration has approved enough new U.S. oil and gas pipelines to more than encircle the Earth.
Why? Because approving them was in the economic interests of the United States.
Someone should tell Trudeau that Energy East is in Canada’s economic interests.


As National Energy Board hearings resume Monday in Montreal on TransCanada’s proposed Energy East pipeline, it’s time to stop kidding the troops.


CHICAGO — Two brothers have been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of the cousin of NBA star Dwyane Wade as she was walking to register her children for school, Chicago police announced Sunday.
Darwin Sorrells Jr. and Derren Sorrells, 22, also were charged with attempted murder in Friday’s shooting.
Nykea Aldridge, a 32-year-old mother of four, was pushing her baby in a stroller near the school when two men walked up and fired shots at a third man but hit Aldridge in the head and arm. Police say she wasn’t the intended target, and the baby was not injured.
Nykea Aldridge, mom of 4 and cousin of NBA star Dwayne Wade, killed pushing baby stroller. #Enough #EndGunViolence pic.twitter.com/8STOB9aDlY — Robin Kelly (@Robin42CD) August 27, 2016
Police say the suspects in the shooting have criminal records. Superintendent Eddie T. Johnson plans to release more information at a news conference later Sunday.
Authorities are investigating whether the encounter between the men was a robbery, possibly involving a driver from a ridesharing company, police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said Saturday.
Chicago has been in the throes of a major uptick in gun violence this year, largely centred in a few South and West Side neighbourhoods, after years of seeing declines. This July alone, there were 65 homicides — the most that month since 2006.
Wade, whose charitable organization, Wade’s World Foundation, does community outreach in the Chicago area, signed with the Chicago Bulls in July after 13 years with the Miami Heat. He and his mother, pastor Jolinda Wade, participated Thursday via satellite in a town hall meeting in Chicago on gun violence hosted by ESPN.
Wade has reacted to his cousin’s shooting only online, tweeting Friday: “My cousin was killed today in Chicago. Another act of senseless gun violence. 4 kids lost their mom for NO REASON. Unreal. #EnoughIsEnough.”
My cousin was killed today in Chicago. Another act of senseless gun violence. 4 kids lost their mom for NO REASON. Unreal. #EnoughIsEnough — DWade (@DwyaneWade) August 27, 2016
Wade also tweeted Saturday morning: “The city of Chicago is hurting. We need more help& more hands on deck. Not for me and my family but for the future of our world. The YOUTH!” adding in a following tweet, “These young kids are screaming for help!!! #EnoughIsEnough.”
The city of Chicago is hurting. We need more help& more hands on deck. Not for me and my family but for the future of our world. The YOUTH! — DWade (@DwyaneWade) August 27, 2016
These young kids are screaming for help!!! #EnoughIsEnough — DWade (@DwyaneWade) August 27, 2016
It is not the first time Dwyane Wade’s family in Chicago has been affected by gun violence. His nephew, Darin Johnson, was shot twice in the leg in 2012 but recovered.

2 charged with murder of Dwyane Wade's cousin, shot in head while pushing baby s


Two brothers have been charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of the cousin of NBA star Dwyane Wade as she was walking to register her children for school, Chicago police announced Sunday.


NEW YORK — What will be the spectacle at the MTV Video Music Awards this year? A long rant from Kanye West? A surprise appearance from Beyonce? It’s all possible, and likely.
The show is returning to New York City on Sunday, where Beyonce is the leading nominee with 11, though it’s not confirmed if she will or won’t attend the show. She outshone her peers at the 2014 VMAs, closing the show with a 16-minute medley of songs from her self-titled surprise album that dominated that night.
West has had even more history with the awards show: He famously jumped onstage and stole Taylor Swift’s microphone at the 2009 show and last year gave an 11-minute speech onstage — after being introduced by Swift — and announced he was going to run for president in 2020.
He’ll have another chance to own the night since his controversial Famous music video — featuring what appears to be naked images of West, Swift, Kim Kardashian and Donald Trump — is nominated for best male video and video of the year.
Beyonce’s Formation, Justin Bieber’s Sorry, Drake’s Hotline Bling and Adele’s Hello are also up for the top prize. Adele, though, won’t attend the show at Madison Square Garden, her representative said. Reps for Drake and Bieber didn’t return emails asking if they would or would not attend the show.
Rihanna will receive the Michael Jackson Video Vanguard award and kick off the show with a performance. The VMAs will air live on MTV at 9 p.m.
Other performers include Britney Spears, Ariana Grande with Nicki Minaj, Future, Nick Jonas and The Chainsmokers.
Presenters include Jimmy Fallon, Alicia Keys, Puff Daddy and the recent Olympian gold medallists Michael Phelps and the Final Five gymnasts — Simone Biles, Gabby Douglas, Laurie Hernandez, Madison Kocian and Aly Raisman.
Nominees for best female video include Beyonce, Adele, Rihanna, Sia and Grande. The best male video nominees are West, Drake, the Weeknd, Bryson Tiller and Calvin Harris, whose nomination is for This is What You Came For, which he co-wrote with former girlfriend Swift.
Coldplay, Desiigner, Fergie and Alessia Cara earned multiple nominations, while David Bowie — who died from cancer earlier this year — is nominated for best direction, cinematography, art direction and editing for Lazarus. The music video, which shows him looking frail in bed with bandaged eyes, was released just days before the icon’s Jan. 10 death.

MTV Video Music Awards to feature Kanye West, Rihanna, Britney Spears


What will be the spectacle at the MTV Video Music Awards this year? A long rant from Kanye West? A surprise appearance from Beyonce? It’s all possible, and likely.


Something sinister may be afoot in the woods of Greenville, S. C. - and, if so, its shoes are comically oversized.
Clown sightings, as reported by residents of Fleetwood Manor Apartments, have alarmed local parents and set the community on edge. Per a letter distributed to residents of the community and then posted to Facebook on Friday, the property manager warned of a "clown or a person dressed in clown clothing" who was "trying to lure children in the woods." It is the latest in a recent string of clowns reported as real-life menaces.
Though the evidence is sparse, the Greenville County Sheriff's Office is investigating the clown complaint.
"Many of you have inquired about clowns being spotted in the woods near Fleetwood Manor Apartments," said Drew Pinciaro, a Greenville County deputy, in a press release on Monday, according to WYFF News 4.
"As of today's date," he said, "there has been one incident report filed with our office regarding this."
In the incident report, one woman said she saw "several clowns in the woods flashing green laser lights" on Aug. 19. The next night, she said her son could make out the sounds of "chains and banging" coming from outside their front door. A different person said a clown with a large, winking nose was hanging out near the dumpsters early one Saturday morning.
Fleetwood Manor resident James Arnold told Buzzfeed News his children, aged 10 and 13, described "clowns out there in the woods and they're trying to get us to come out there,'" he said. "Some had chains, some had knives, and some were holding out money, saying, 'Come here, we've got candy for you,' but they wouldn't go." His wife, Donna, said she filed the report and invoked the miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's "It," about a creature that takes the form of a clown to stalk children.
If what the Arnolds saw mimicked "It," they could hardly be faulted for being so distraught. In the long descent from court jester to made-up face of villainy, "It," when King published the horror novel in 1986, marked the changing of the cultural tide against clowns. Clowns could be threatening characters, made worse by the fact there was real-world precedent for evil jesters. In the decade prior to the book's release, serial killer John Wayne Gacy, convicted of raping and killing 33 men and boys, occasionally performed as a clown named Pogo.
Though the killer-clown trope in fiction is at least as old as "Pagliacci," the 1892 opera about a knife-wielding performer, since "It," the dark side of clowns has steadily picked up steam. "American Horror Story" featured a killer clown. There is an "It" movie currently in the works. Through the Joker, the great comic-book villain, the clown has been portrayed with buffoonish menace by Jack Nicholson, criminal nihilism by Heath Ledger and teeth grills by Jared Leto.
(Even "Baskets," FX dramedy starring Zach Galifianakis as a clown, wallows in what The Post described as delicious misery; this too could be an old echo of Joseph Grimaldi, the 19th-century English clown whose fame on the stage was rivaled by the illness and depression he suffered later in life.)
The secret to the clown's anti-success, wrote the Smithsonian Magazine in 2013, is in the mix of mischief, makeup and a target demographic made up of children. "Where there is mystery, it's supposed there must be evil, so we think, 'What are you hiding?'" Andrew McConnell Stott, a University of Buffalo, SUNY, English professor, told the magazine in 2013.
As the evil clown ascends, the friendly clown has not. By 2014, there were 2,500 members of the World Clown Association, a thousand fewer clowns than a decade before. The big-tent circus, the American clown's natural habitat, is on the decline, while Cirque du Soleil and more acrobatic acts prosper. Clowns like the Florida entertainer named Wrinkles have embraced the creepy vibe and can be hired to scare friends.
The South Carolina incident is not the first time disturbing clowns have been reported by witnesses, either. Earlier in August, Wisconsin police fielded calls about a dirty clown wandering Green Bay carrying black balloons.
And in October 2014, a rash of hooligans in spooky clown costumes were spotted across the United States, reported ABC. That same month, more than a dozen French teenagers dressed as clowns were arrested for harassing strangers, too; it was one episode in what the Atlantic called France's "clown outbreak" that in turn spawned anti-clown vigilantes, the "chasseurs de clown."

South Carolina community warned about reported group of scary clowns trying to l


Something sinister may be afoot in the woods of Greenville, S. C. - and, if so, its shoes are comically oversized.