Head found in Shamokin, PA, in 1904 brought to new life in documentary
A Pennsylvania filmmaker revived a mystery surrounding a head found in Shamokin, a town in the Pennsylvania coal region, for a new generation. Matt Spade unveiled his latest documentary about the case that spans more than a century on Saturday, Sept. 14.
In 1904, a decapitated body found in Northumberland County, Pennsylvania, was buried after police declared it a murder. However, after burial, someone found a head, but locals didn’t bury it. Instead, they took it to a funeral home in Shamokin where staff embalmed it. The funeral home put it on display in the hopes that someone would identify the victim.
Hundreds of people reportedly viewed the head of the murdered man. However to this day, no one has determined the identity of the homicide victim. The head remained with the funeral home until 1976. Then, it was put on display at the Anthracite Heritage Center and eventually became dubbed “The Shamokin Head.”
Two judges reportedly saw the exhibit at the museum, and the display allegedly disturbed them. That viewing eventually lead to a court order in 1977 that required the town to bury the head in an undisclosed location in Northumberland County.
However, as the legal battle played out, the museum claimed it lost the head for several weeks. That’s where this new documentary directed by Spade and narrated by Chet Davis comes in. It is titled: “The Shamokin Head: A Chet Davis Story.”
Davis, a 24-year-old art teacher at the time, said during the fall of 1976, then-Mayor Harold Thomas asked him to put the head in his care and make a model replica of it before the town buried it.
“It was my second-year teaching at the Shamokin High School,” Davis said in the documentary. “One day, Harold Thomas walks in carrying a midsize box, and then Harold said, ‘Can you keep a secret?’ And looking right at me is the head, and I had never seen a decapitated head before.”
“I’d like to tell my story and clear up the mystery of what happened to the Shamokin Head,” Davis added.
The head, alongside Davis, reportedly made its way into bars, the passenger seat and trunk of his Chevy Chevelle, and in a box in the back sink of his art room.
Spade and Davis hope the 20-minute film dispels myths about the head. It addresses allegations like a cult taking the head and other folklore by revealing the “true oddity of it all.”
The documentary’s first screening took place on Saturday, Sept. 14, but Spade said he plans to share it on his Shamokin History YouTube Channel.
Invasive ManhattAnts are spreading from New York City along the East Coast
An invasive ant species, nicknamed the ManhattAnt, has become a prevalent sight across New York City. Originally hailing from Europe, these ants have rapidly evolved to adapt to their new urban environment.
First identified in the city around 2011, the ManhattAnt population has grown at an alarming rate, becoming one of the most common ant species in the area.
According to experts, these ants are expanding their territory by approximately one mile every year. If this trend continues, they could potentially spread as far north as Maine and as far south as Georgia.
Their expansion is aided during the summer, the ants’ annual mating season, when they briefly sprout wings and can fly short distances. This behavior further facilitates their spread across the city and beyond.
While the rapid proliferation of ManhattAnts is clear, scientists are still working to understand the potential ecological impact of their presence. Ongoing research aims to determine what threats these ants may pose to native insect species and local plant life.
Scientists say relentless floods in Vermont may be here to stay, here’s why
Vermont continued to experience historic flooding on Tuesday, July 30, and more rain is in the forecast for the rest of the week. However, scientists warn that while these scenes of devastation may be shocking, this type of catastrophic flooding could soon become the new normal.
Scientists said that climate change is fueling stronger and more saturated storms, and the United States’ East Coast may face some of the worst of the flooding. A recent study found that the East Coast’s precipitation is expected to rise by 52% by the end of the century.
“There’s more moisture available in the atmosphere as the climate warms,” National Weather Service meteorologist Peter Banacos said. “We’re seeing higher dew points. We’re seeing more moisture-laden air masses making it up into our latitude.”
At that rate, experts say that current infrastructure won’t keep up. Some reportedly fear that Vermont’s roads, bridges, culverts and wastewater facilities are in danger of being washed away with more flooding.
Vermont also has mostly older, smaller dams, designed to power textile mills, provide water storage and irrigate farms. However, as intense storms become a more common threat, these dams may no longer be useful. Heavy flooding in the state last year led to five dams failing and around 60 dams overtopping.
Meanwhile, state officials are in the middle of a multidecade project to strengthen infrastructure to endure the effects of climate change. Officials said that the goal is to replace and repair structures and are working on statewide floodplain standards.
U.S. shoots down missiles, drones in largest Houthi attack in Red Sea: The Morning Rundown, Jan. 10, 2024
U.S. forces take down a barrage of missiles and drones in what is being called a “complex attack” by Houthi militants. And masked gunmen storm onto the set of a live newscast in Ecuador as the country’s president declares a state of emergency. These stories and more highlight The Morning Rundown for Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024.
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U.S. shoots down barrage of Houthi missiles, drones over Red Sea
United States Central Command said U.S. and British warships shot down a massive barrage of drones and missiles fired by Iran-backed Houthi militants in Yemen Tuesday night, Jan. 9. The U.K. defense minister said the attack over the Red Sea was the largest by the Houthis since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.
Central Command said in a statement that U.S. forces intercepted a “complex attack” of 18 drones, two anti-ship cruise missiles, and one anti-ballistic missile. Fighter jets from the aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower and four other U.S. warships, along with a British Navy destroyer, took down the 21 munitions fired by the Houthis. The U.S. reported no injuries to military personnel or damage to its ships.
The latest attack by the Houthi militants comes a week after the U.S. and a dozen allies issued a final warning to the group to stop their attacks on commercial ships traveling through the Red Sea or “bear the responsibilities of their consequences.” The Houthis said they will only cease their attacks when Israel stops the war in Gaza.
Gunmen storm set of live TV newscast in Ecuador
Tense and disturbing moments during a live news broadcast airing in Ecuador on Tuesday, Jan. 9, when a group of masked gunmen stormed the set waving guns and explosives. Sounds of gunshots could be heard in the background as the assailants shouted out threats over the air for 15 minutes before the feed cut out.
The station’s crew was forced onto the set and ordered to lie down. It was not immediately clear if any of the employees were injured during the incident. Police responded, arrested the 13 gunmen, and said they would be charged with terrorism.
The head of Ecuador’s armed forces said the attacks were in response to the government’s moves against gangs in the country. The president of Ecuador declared a state of emergency on Monday, Jan. 8, after one high-profile gang leader escaped from prison. Following the TV set attack, the president issued a decree declaring the South American country had entered an “internal armed conflict.”
Defense Secretary diagnosed with prostate cancer
After being diagnosed with prostate cancer in December, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin underwent a “minimally invasive” surgery, which led to his mysterious hospitalization. According to Austin’s doctors, he underwent surgery on Dec. 22; a week later, he reported severe pain in his abdomen, hip, and leg. Unbeknown to anyone in the White House, Austin was taken to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Jan. 1 and treated for a urinary tract infection.
“Nobody at the White House knew that Secretary Austin had prostate cancer until this morning,” Kirby said. “And the president was informed immediately after.”
Doctors said that Austin’s cancer was detected early, and the prognosis was excellent. Still, questions about transparency within the Defense Department persist, as President Biden was kept in the dark, and up until Tuesday, Jan. 9, it was believed that Austin underwent an elective medical procedure, not prostate surgery. It is still not clear how or if the cancer diagnosis will affect Austin’s work.
At least 4 dead due to winter storms across the country
Much of the country was hit by severe weather on Tuesday, Jan. 9, from tornadoes to snow to heavy rain and flash flooding, with officials confirming at least four people have died due to the storms. An 81-year-old woman was killed when a suspected tornado swept through Alabama. Fire officials in Birmingham said one person died when a tree fell onto a car. A similar incident killed a person near Atlanta.
In North Carolina, one person was killed, and four others were hospitalized after a suspected tornado hit a mobile home park. At least four tornadoes were believed to have touched down in the Florida panhandle. In the Midwest, a snowstorm that began Monday, Jan. 8, is blanketing parts of the region with up to 12 inches of snow. The strong storms knocked out power to more than 600,000 customers along the East Coast Tuesday night, Jan. 9.
SEC says X account hacked after post approving Bitcoin ETFs
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said its account on the social media site X was hacked after a post went out Tuesday, Jan. 9, claiming the SEC had approved Bitcoin ETFs, exchange-traded funds, that would allow everyday investors to have exposure to Bitcoin without owning the cryptocurrency directly.
The SEC’s false post led to the price of Bitcoin spiking for a brief period. Minutes later, the SEC sent out a follow-up post that said its account had been compromised and the commission did not make the message approving Bitcoin ETFs. On Tuesday night, Jan. 9, X released a statement explaining an unidentified user had breached SEC’s account by obtaining a phone number through a third party.
X confirmed that the SEC account did not have two-factor authentication enabled. The SEC is expected to decide on Bitcoin ETFs sometime this week.
NASA delays moon landing to 2026
It has been over 50 years since a human stepped foot on the moon, and now we’ll have to wait a little longer to see it again. On Tuesday, Jan. 9, NASA announced it is delaying the Artemis III mission from late 2025 to September 2026. The mission would see humans land on the moon for the first time since 1972. NASA said the delay concerns SpaceX developing its starship lunar lander and completing multiple test flights. NASA is also pushing back the timing for its Artemis II mission from November 2024 to September 2025.
The flight would send four astronauts around the moon and back. NASA said the delay will give engineers more time to resolve an issue with the capsule’s protective heat shield, which was found during the first Artemis mission.
Whale strandings fuel controversy: Are offshore wind farms to blame?
Whales have been washing up lifeless in a startling and now-common sight along the Eastern Seaboard, a cause for concern for local communities. Various residents and conservationists are pointing fingers at offshore wind farm surveys conducted as a precursor to building wind energy facilities in the Atlantic Ocean.
“It’s very moving in a bad way to see that,” said Cindy Zipf, executive director of Clean Ocean Action in Long Branch, New Jersey. “Something that’s so majestic and so beautiful – just kind of lifeless on land.”
Clean Ocean Action is one of several organizations along the Jersey Shore that publicly expressed concern regarding the “scale, scope, and speed” of offshore wind energy development.
Before constructing offshore wind farms, developers employ geophysical surveys to map the seafloor and geological layers beneath it using sound waves. Concerned communities are becoming more suspicious that geophysical surveys play a role in these whale deaths.
And about the time that the work started is when the whales started piling up.
Bonnie Brady, executive director of the Long Island Fishing Association
“They’ve been doing all this work,” said Bonnie Brady, executive director of the Long Island Fishing Association. “And about the time that the work started is when the whales started piling up.”
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has classified the humpback whale strandings since 2016 and the minke and North Atlantic right whale strandings since 2017 as “Unusual Mortality Events” (UMEs). This designation highlights the significant and unexpected number of whale strandings, which have happened as survey work picked up in the Atlantic.
Severe weather leads to canceled flights, United blames FAA: June 28 rundown
The CEO of United Airlines called out the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after flights across the country were canceled, and Ford is set to make more job cuts. These stories and more highlight the rundown for Wednesday, June 28, 2023.
United Airlines CEO blames FAA for thousands of flight cancellations
Hundreds of flights have been canceled Wednesday following thousands of cancellations on Tuesday, June 27. In airports across the Northeast, thousands of passengers were waiting for hours to reach their destination. 2,000 flights were canceled and 7,000 flights were delayed on Tuesday as severe storms struck the Northeast.
United Airlines said 150,000 of its customers had been impacted. In a memo to employees, United CEO Scott Kirby slammed the FAA over canceled flights in the Newark region claiming the severe weather is something the FAA has historically been able to manage.
This comes as the FAA faces new scrutiny after a government audit released last week revealed a “critical shortage” of employees in air traffic control facilities. The audit claims the staffing issue poses a risk to flight operations with a busy summer travel season approaching.
Chicago, Detroit ranked worst air quality in world due to wildfire smoke
The National Weather Service warned more smoke from the Canadian wildfires will likely move into the Northeast and mid-Atlantic Wednesday, potentially impacting more flight schedules across the region. Chicago and Detroit ranked as having the worst air quality in the world Tuesday due to the wildfire smoke looming over the city.
More than 80 million Americans from the Midwest to the East Coast were under air quality alerts Wednesday. Canada is seeing its worst fire season on record with hundreds of wildfires burning out of control.
U.S. to house migrant children at former boarding school
The Biden administration plans on housing up to 800 unaccompanied migrant children at a repurposed boarding school in Greensboro, North Carolina. The former American Hebrew Academy will house boys and girls between the ages of 13 and 17 who entered U.S. border custody without their parents or legal guardians. The 800 available beds will make the former boarding school the government’s largest active housing facility for unaccompanied minors.
Another facility in Texas currently has the capacity to house up to 500 additional migrant children. However, the Department of Health and Human Services has tried to reduce the use of the facility following reports of substandard conditions and child depression.
Spacey sex assault trial gets underway
Actor Kevin Spacey’s sexual assault trial began Wednesday. The two-time Oscar winner is charged with sexually assaulting four men between 2001 and 2013 while he was the artistic director of London’s Old Vic theater.
The trial is expected to last four weeks. If convicted, Spacey could face prison time. If he is acquitted, it could lead to a revival of an acting career that’s largely been on ice since the allegations surfaced.
“There are people right now who are ready to hire me the moment i am cleared of these charges,” Spacey said in an interview with a German magazine earlier in June. He added that the media has turned him into a monster.
Former NFL quarterback Ryan Mallett dead after apparent drowning
Former Arkansas quarterback Ryan Mallett, who went on to have a seven-year career in the NFL, died Tuesday in an apparent drowning incident at a Florida beach. Mallet’s sudden passing has stunned the NFL community, who offered an outpouring of support for the former New England Patriots backup quarterback. .
Mallet also played for the Houston Texans, where he made his first career touchdown pass to defensive end J.J. Watt. Mallet was most recently the head football coach at White Hall High School in his home state of Arkansas. He was 35 years old.
Ford to cut another 1,000 jobs in EV push
Ford plans to lay off at least 1,000 salaried employees and contract workers in North America. The move is the latest effort to cut company costs in order to better afford their new focus on electric vehicles.
A chunk of the layoffs will be white-collar jobs, including hundreds of engineers in the U.S. and Canada. Ford has made several rounds of global layoffs over the past year, nixing 3,000 jobs in the U.S. in the summer of 2022 and conducting an even larger layoff in Europe earlier in 2023.
Volvo to adopt Tesla’s charge port
Another automaker has announced it will start using Tesla’s charging standard port in its electric cars starting in 2025. Volvo is joining Ford, General Motors, and Rivian in using Tesla’s technology so drivers can use Tesla’s broad charging network across North America.