Idiot of the Week: Longtime head of Megachurch indicted on federal sex trafficking charges

This week's winner is a story we've heard many times before. It's another church leader involved in sex trafficking or sexual abuse. This one led a Mexican megachurch based in Guadalajara, Mexico, and there are church locations throughout the United States (including Milwaukee, WI, as pictured). Here's the story.

(Photo: On July 11, 2019 Residents were upset that a banner featuring megachurch leader Naasón Joaquín Garcia, charged in California with child rape and human trafficking, among other crimes, still hung from the La Luz Del Mundo’s Milwaukee church on South Cesar E. Chavez Drive. (Photo by Edgar Mendez, Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service)

Head of Mexican megachurch is indicted in New York on federal sex trafficking charges

By LARRY NEUMEISTER, Assoc. Press, September 11, 2025

NEW YORK (AP) — The longtime head of a Mexican megachurch who is serving more than 16 years in a California prison for sexually abusing young followers has been charged with racketeering conspiracy and sex trafficking for allegedly victimizing members of the church for decades, federal authorities said Wednesday.

A New York grand jury returned the indictment alleging that Naasón Joaquín García, 56, and five others, including his 79-year-old mother, exploited the church for decades, enabling the systemic sexual abuse of children and women for the sexual gratification of García and his father, who died in 2014.

García is the head of La Luz del Mundo (The Light of the World), which claims to have 5 million followers in more than 50 countries. Believers consider him to be the “apostle” of Jesus Christ.

The newly unsealed indictment said the criminal activity included the creation of photos and videos of child sexual abuse and had begun after the church was founded a century ago by Garcia’s grandfather, who died in 1964. Garcia’s father, Samuel Joaquin Flores, led the church from then until his death.

Sexual abuse alleged to have occurred for over 50 years

The indictment said the sexual abuse went on for so many decades that many of the grandfather’s victims were mothers of girls and women abused by García’s father and many of the father’s victims were the mothers of girls and women abused by García.

The indictment listed 13 female victims anonymously and specifically, describing when they were allegedly attacked while they were under the age of consent. Some victims, it said, were as young as 13.

The church is based in Guadalajara, Mexico, and there are church locations throughout the United States, including in California, New York, Nevada, Texas, Georgia, Indiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey and Washington, D.C., according to the indictment.

In a court document seeking detention of all indicted without bail, prosecutors said sex trafficking of women and children occurred as a result of the case in the U.S., Mexico, Europe, Asia, Africa and elsewhere.

García was taken into federal custody early Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025, in Chino, California, where he is serving a sentence after pleading guilty in 2022 to two state counts.

Hero of the week: Good Samaritan saves 98-year-old woman from house fire

 This week's hero comes from Hawaii where he rescued a senior citizen from a house fire. Here's the story. 

(Photo: James Jeff Bruce rescued a 98 year old woman when her home caught fire in Maui. Credit:Hawaii News Now)

Good Samaritan saves 98-year-old woman from house fire

By Chelsea Davis, Hawaii News Now,: Sep. 6, 2025

KAHULUI (HawaiiNewsNow) - A house fire on Maui has left a kupuna homeless.

Though her house is destroyed, the 98-year-old Kahului resident is lucky to be alive. A 71-year-old stranger ran into her burning home and carried her out.

“There was hollering outside, but I couldn’t make out what it was. I thought it was school kids,” said Hana resident Marilyn Bruce.

She and her husband, James “Jeff” Bruce, were visiting her sister in Kahului last Monday when the home in front of the property went up in flames.

The fire broke out around 10:45 a.m. on Holua Drive in Kahului, and two people in their 90s were inside.

VIDEO: https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1041438541236999 

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“(I) saw the smoke first and then I looked over and saw the flames when I got it further over and Betty, there was Betty, the older lady, 95-year-old lady, Betty, was the one hollering fire, fire!” Jeff Bruce said.

The 98-year-old woman was still trapped inside, and Bruce picked her up and carried her out of the burning home.

“I ran in there, and Mama Sue was trying to get out on her walker. She was coming out of the room with the walker, and I was trying to get her out, and then as I noticed the flames on the couch was getting higher,” he said. “So I grabbed her and just told her, and she said, ‘Who are you?’ She kept asking me, ‘Who are you? Who are you?’ I said, ‘Don’t worry about who I am. We just got to get out of here real quick.’”

As they were leaving, Bruce said there was a small explosion. “We were going to pass it, and then the fire zipped to the back,” Bruce said. “So then I just kept on going out of there. It was as hot as anything, but I got her out of there in time.” He added that he hovered over her so that she wouldn’t get burned.

The two women in their 90s were unharmed.

Bruce was taken to the hospital with burns to his face.

“I would give up the burns anytime if it was to save someone. That doesn’t bother me,” he said.

He added that he was just doing what came naturally to him, helping others.

Books of the Week: Superman 78 and Superman 78: The Metal Curtain

 Today's Book(s) of the week are two of my favorites (because it's my birthday, I chose SUPERMAN, one of my favorite superheroes. These two books are based on on the Superman movie from 1978, "Superman 78" Hardcover and the "Superman 78 - The Metal Curtain" trade paperback. Both were illustrated to resemble Christopher Reeve's version of Superman and Clark Kent; and Margot Kidder's version of Lois Lane. They also depicted Jackie Cooper's version of Perry White, Gene Hackman's version of Lex Luthor, Marc McClure's Jimmy Olsen and Marlon Brando's Jor-El in those Superman films (1 through 4). OUTSTANDING.

The first graphic novel "Superman 78" featured Brainiac and the second "Metal Curtain" featured Superman's villain Metallo, but with a twist - they had him coming from Russia instead of the U.S. Both were really enjoyable and it was great seeing the depictions of the on-screen actors. It made it easy to picture in my mind with their voices as I read the stories. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

(L to R: Gene Hackman as Lex; Christopher Reeve as Superman; Margot Kidder as Lois Lane) 

 Finding ancient ships, treasures and fossils are fascinating. In today's blog, you'll read about a recent discovery of a shop that sank in Lake Michigan 139 years ago.

(photo: A cargo schooner, the FJ King, that sank in Lake Michigan more than a century ago has been discovered.) 

Searchers find ‘ghost ship’ that sank in Lake Michigan nearly 140 years ago

By Grace Moon, MSN, Sept 2025

A group of citizen scientists has discovered the long-sought schooner F.J. King more than a century after it sank in an 1886 storm — solving one of Lake Michigan’s enduring maritime mysteries, the Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association said Sunday.

For decades, the quest for one of Lake Michigan’s most elusive lost ships captivated many, even inspiring a dive club to offer a $1,000 reward for its discovery. Recreational divers, hopeful fishermen and seasoned wreck hunters all tried their luck — only to come up empty-handed.

Brendon Baillod, the principal investigator, knew the F.J. King was a long shot. “Fishermen had said they brought up parts of her in their nets, but when people went out to the site, there was nothing there,” he said. The shipwreck had become a “local legend.”

Baillod said he saw the search as an opportunity to invite the public into the world of underwater archaeology. “We thought, what a fun search. We’re not going to probably find it, but every rock you run over, it’ll get your pulse going, you know,” he said.

Baillod and his longtime research partner proposed the idea of the citizen expedition to the state. Participants would have the chance to pilot remotely operated vehicles and probe the waters with side-scan sonar.

Baillod pored over old newspaper clippings, including an account from the lighthouse keeper. That became a vital clue, said Tamara Thomsen, a maritime archaeologist at the Wisconsin Historical Society. The keeper reported seeing the ship’s masts breaking the surface. “These are historic shipping lanes, and everyone sailed on them,” Thomsen said.

The schooner sank off Baileys Harbor on Sept. 15, 1886, after taking on a load of iron ore bound for Chicago, according to Thomsen. “When the storm came up, it developed a leak that its pumps couldn’t keep up with,” she said, noting that all aboard were rescued by a passing schooner.

The keeper’s report provided an actual range and bearing for where the ship’s masts were sticking out of the water. And on June 28, Baillod used that information to scan the surface with a group that included history enthusiasts, local university students and scuba-diving hobbyists, among others.

Just two hours into the search, a big object crawled across the screen, to everyone’s disbelief, Baillod recounted. The sonar revealed an image of a ship, its hatches still gaping open.

“We absolutely could tell we found the F.J. King,” Baillod said.

And the wreck itself was “preserved like a time capsule,” he added.

“The vessel was a unique class of Great Lakes vessel,” Thomsen said, noting such ships’ role in carrying grain between the upper lakes and Lake Ontario.

To Baillod, the discovery was a chance to tell the story of the state’s port cities and the engines that powered industrial America.

Next year, they plan to do it all over again. “We’ve got a good track record of finding them, you know,” Baillod said.

RESEARCH: 5 Proven Ways Coffee Can Improve Your Health

As a huge coffee drinker, I can understand many of these conclusions. Drinking black coffee (don't add sugar or cream) after a meal really does help digestion, I can attest to that. Coupled with daily exercise and not overeating helps keep weight off. Thanks to my friend Jacquie a fellow coffee drinker, for sharing. Here's the story.  

5 Proven Ways Coffee Can Improve Your Health 

By Team Verywell Health,  September 30, 2025  (Medically reviewed by Leigh Weddle, PharmD)

Coffee isn’t just a morning pick-me-up; it’s linked to surprising health benefits beyond energy. From boosting sexual health to supporting your gut and aiding weight loss, your daily cup of coffee may do more for you than you think.

1. It May Help You Live Longer 

Drinking coffee may be key to adding years to your life. Research shows that consuming one to three cups of black caffeinated coffee daily may lower your risk of death and cardiovascular disease. 

• The study found a 16% lower risk of all-cause mortality and death from cardiovascular disease for participants who drank at least one cup of caffeinated coffee a day, and two to three cups reduced the risk by 17%. However, adding some sugar and milk or cream cancels out these benefits, with the study finding a 14% lower risk of death. 

This study had limitations and should be considered suggestive rather than conclusive.

2. It May Support Your Gut 

• Coffee may support the gut microbiome (the community of microbes in the gut). People who drink coffee (regular and decaf) had higher levels of Lawsonibacter asaccharolyticus, a gut bacterium linked to increased levels of quinic acid. This antioxidant can help lower oxidative stress and inflammation.
• The polyphenols in coffee may provide a prebiotic effect by promoting the growth of good gut bacteria. These plant compounds can help improve digestion. A diverse gut microbiome is also associated with regular bowel movements.

3. It May Help You Lose Weight 

Drinking coffee alone won't lead to weight loss. However, coffee may help improve your metabolism by:

• Burning more calories: After drinking coffee, your metabolic rate increases by 5% to 20% for about three hours.
•  Increasing fat breakdown: Coffee significantly improved fat breakdown in the body, particularly in individuals with leaner body weight compared to those with obesity.
• Reducing appetite: Drinking coffee before a meal may reduce the calories consumed by about 20% for men, but not for women.  

4. It May Reduce Your Chronic Disease Risk 

Drinking coffee regularly may protect your heart and lower your risk of chronic diseases. Some conditions coffee may benefit include:

• Parkinson's disease 
• Lower risk of type 2 diabetes
• Liver cancer
• Colon cancer
• Stroke
• Heart failure 

5. It May Boost Your Sexual Health 

• Increasing testosterone levels: Research shows that consuming caffeine before a workout boosts testosterone levels temporarily after exercise. 
• Improving sexual stamina: Drinking a cup of coffee 45 minutes before sex may increase sexual stamina. 

Sierra Nevada's glaciers Will be gone in 75 years

Climate change is visible everywhere. From the recent revealation of an island in Alaska from melting ice, to sea level rise, to more intense hurricanes and typhoons. This week's blog is about another observation regarding a retreating glacier in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, uncovering land that hasn't been seen since before the Ice Age. 

(Caption: Repeat photography of Maclure Glacier in Yosemite National Park. September 1914 versus September 2021. Portrait size image showing two photos of Maclure Glacier in Yosemite National Park. September 1914 (above) versus September 2021 (below). In 2021, ice coverage is considerably less compared to the photo taken in 1914. Image credit: United States Geological Survey and Greg Stock (National Park Service).)

Yosemite's glaciers have survived 20,000 years — but we could be the first people to see Sierra Nevada ice-free

LIVE SCIENCE, By Stephanie Pappas, Oct 1, 2025

New research finds the disappearance of glaciers in the Sierra Nevada will be unprecedented in the human history of North America.

The mountain glaciers of Yosemite National Park are projected to melt away in 75 years or less. Now, new research finds that their loss will be the first time humans have ever seen the Sierra Nevada mountains without ice.

According to a new study, published Wednesday (Oct. 1) in the journal Science Advances, the Sierra Nevada's glaciers have not disappeared since the last ice age. Because they reached their maximum extent during the ice age about 30,000 years ago, and because humans aren't thought to have arrived in North America until after 30,000 years ago, that means people have never witnessed an ice-free Sierra Nevada, according to the study.

"Anthropogenic climate change is therefore likely creating a no-analog scenario in the western United States within the current interglacial," the researchers wrote in the new paper.

Geoscientists have long known that the extent of the mountain glaciers in what is now the western U.S. shrank and grew over the last 11,700 years, a timeframe known as the Holocene. In the warm early Holocene, the Sierra glaciers got smaller before expanding again in the mid-to-late Holocene. They've since shrunk in the last century, contracting from formidable ice walls hanging above steep slopes into small snowfields barely clinging to existence.

(Caption: Maclure Glacier in Yosemite National Park. Sierra Nevada's glaciers are expected to vanish by 2100. (Image credit: Andrew Jones))

What was unclear was whether these glaciers ever fully disappeared. Some studies of glacial sediments in lakes below the ice suggest they may have vanished in the early Holocene, only to reform 3,000 years ago.

To get a clearer picture, the researchers tested samples of boulders and recently-exposed bedrock from near four retreating glaciers in and near Yosemite National Park: Conness, Maclure, Lyell and Palisade. They were looking for particular variations of carbon and the element beryllium that are formed only when cosmic rays from the sun hit the rock.

Since these variations don't form when the rocks are buried and sheltered from the sun, their presence can reveal when the rock was exposed. And because the variations decay away at known rates, they also provide a "clock" that gives a date for that exposure.

The results suggest that the rocks beneath these long-lasting glaciers have been exposed for between less than 100 to several thousand years, and that none of the glaciers have ever fully disappeared — though the eastern section of the Lyell glacier may have been even smaller than it was today during the early Holocene. This tracks with the current warming trends, the study authors wrote: California's recent summer warming of 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit (2 degrees Celsius) over pre-industrial temperatures is comparable to or larger than the climate 11,000 years ago.

Prior to the Holocene, during the ice age — scientifically known as the Last Glacial Period — the Sierra Nevada glaciers would have been beefier, peaking around 30,000 years ago. Humans are confirmed to have been living in North America as early as 23,000 years ago. Some controversial archaeological evidence puts people in northwestern New Mexico around 30,000 years ago. Either way, it's unlikely that humans ever set eyes on an ice-free Sierra Nevada.

"[Our] reconstructed glacial history indicates that a future glacier-free Sierra Nevada is unprecedented in human history," the authors wrote.

An Amazing Local Cemetery Spirit Visit and a Spirit's request fulfilled

There's so much you can learn about local history in cemeteries. In one visit, a certain soldier's spirit who was Missing in Action, influenced me to park near his grave marker, so I could help fulfill his on-line record. Today's blog is about that experience. 

CEMETERIES ARE NOT HAUNTED - Cemeteries are generally not haunted by earthbound ghosts. However, whenever you visit one, a spirit of those buried there can sense you there from where they are on the other side (crossed over). So, they return to acknowledge your presence and are appreciative that you came to honor them. That's what happened in this instance.

HOW IT HAPPENED - Here in northern New England we started a tradition of enjoying our lunches in cemeteries, where it's both quiet and interesting. One day, when Tom was traveling, I  drove to the nearby Forest Glade Cemetery, Somersworth, New Hampshire with lunch with our dogs, Dash and Cody. Once there, I felt compelled to pull over and stop the truck. Soon, I realized that the spirit of a missing soldier influenced me to stop near his marker to help complete the online record of his life and death.

From inside the vehicle I started looking around. That's when I noticed 3 headstones to my left. The one that I focused on was a cenotaph (a marker for someone whose body isn't buried there, because they are either interred elsewhere or body is lost)  for Cpl. Irving A. Corliss, It said that he was a Veteran, born: 26 Feb 1920 and died: Death: 20 Jun 1945 (aged 25).

Because Tom likes to investigate history of people who passed, I took a picture of the cenotaph stone and sent it to him. I asked him to look up this soldier. ***I have Never done that before.** He found a record of him on Find a Grave.com. 

REALIZING THE REQUEST - When I got home, I looked at the webpage https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/56127653/irving_a-corliss, and I realized that of the 5 photos about this soldier's life, there was ONE MISSING. The photo of his cenotaph stone that I had just taken!  

That told me that the soldier was there in spirit because I had stopped at his gravesite, and he wanted me to take a picture of the cenotaph and complete the record of his grave. I created a log in, and uploaded the photo to his reference page, so his life and death story is now complete.

It's amazing how the spirit of a person knows whenever you are visiting their grave, and lets you know. Sometimes, like this time, the spirit will ask for help or just let you know they are around. 

(Photo Corporal Irving Corliss is one of these men. Credit: Find a Grave/D Langfor) 

About Corporal Irving A. Corliss from Find a Grave

Irving served as a Corporal on B-29A #42-93953, 6th Bomber Squadron, 29th Bomber Group, Very Heavy, U.S. Army Air Forces during World War II.

He resided in Strafford County, New Hampshire prior to the war.

He enlisted in the Army Air Corps on February 9, 1944 at Fort Deven's, Massachusetts. He was noted, at the time of his enlistment, as being employed as a Skilled mechanic and also as Single, with dependents.

B-29 #42-93953 was part of a mission sent out on May 5, 1945 when "55" B-29's bombed airfields at Oita, Tachiarai, Kanoya, and Chiran on Kyushu. "2" other B-29's also attacked targets of opportunity. Three B-29's were lost on this mission ( see below ).

B-29A #42-93953 took off on May 5, 1945 from North Field on Guam for a precision bombing mission against Tachiarai Airfield, Kyushu, Japan. They were shot down by Japanese aircraft and crashed, possibly at sea, during the war. Eight parachutes were seen to open by other planes.

Irving became a POW of the Japanese Army.

Based on Japanese records, Irving, along with 3 other crewmen, were shot and killed while trying to escape during the war.

(Photo: Article from local NH newspaper about Cpl Corliss missing. Credit: Find a Grave/Sam Pennartz)

His remains were not recovered and he was later declared "Missing In Action".

He was awarded the Air Medal and the Purple Heart. Service # 31376497

Irving also has a "Cenotaph" in the Forest Glade Cemetery, Somersworth, New Hampshire with his Dad. His headstone there shows the date his B-29 was shot down and not the actual date he was killed.

Idiots of the Week: Pair Accused Of Driving More Than 100 MPH in New Hampshire

 This week's idiots are two people who decided excessive speed on a highway was okay. 

Pair From Nashua, NH Accused Of Driving More Than 100 MPH

Tony Schinella, d Patch Apr 21, 2025

CONCORD, NH — Two drivers from Nashua were arrested in April, 2025 on reckless operation charges after New Hampshire State Police accused them of driving more than 100 mph on the Everett Turnpike.

Around noon on April 14, a state trooper on the southbound side of the turnpike saw two black cars driving more than 100 mph on the highway. The cars were stopped at Mile Marker 1, according to Michal Sventek, a public information officer for the department. Calexis Gonzalez, 30, was driving a Hyundai Elantra while Ruben Ceballos, 21, was driving an Acura TLX, a report stated.

Both were arrested on reckless operation charges and released on personal recognizance.

They will be arraigned in Nashua District Court at a later date, Sventek said.

Hero of the week - Oil truck driver saves dog in Rochester fire: 'What a courageous act'

This week's hero is a truck driver for an oil company in New Hampshire that saw a house on fire and acted quickly to rescue a trapped dog inside. 

Oil truck driver saves dog in Rochester fire: 'What a courageous act' 

Karen Dandurant, Sept 25, 2025 Foster's Daily Democrat

(Photo: Max the dog, saved from the burning house. Credit: D.F. Richard Energy)

ROCHESTER,NH — Matthew Wrisley, an oil truck driver for D.F. Richard Energy, is being credited with saving a family's dog in a fire that destroyed their home Sept. 23.

Michael LaPanne, operations manger for D.F. Richard, said Wrisley was driving by when he saw the mobile home on fire at 23 Royal Crest Park in the Hideaway Village neighborhood. He said Wrisley is shy and doesn't want attention for saving Max, the dog.

"He kicked in the door and saved the dog," LaPanne said. "He is kind of embarrassed by all the attention he is receiving. He said he just did it, and he would do it again, because it was the right thing to do. He said he just wants to go back to doing his job."

Max the dog was saved in a fire in Rochester by a D.F. Richard Energy oil truck driver. Dylan and Erin L'Heureux and their young son were not home at the time of the fire and they are safe. Their two cats were located by firefighters, given oxygen and survived.

(Photo: Fire in home at 23 Royal Crest Park in the Hideaway Village neighborhood of Rochester, NH. Credit: D.F. Richard Energy)

Owen Richard, grandson of the D.F. Richard Energy's founder, Ray Richard, said the company is very proud of Wrisley.

Dianna Purves, a resident of 47 Royal Crest Park, said she witnessed the driver's heroics and talked to him.

"He could barely see Max’s black face in the front window," she said. "Took him a few tries to kick in that door. He coaxed Max to come to him because he couldn’t go in and he took him and went down to the end of the street just in case the propane exploded. Thankfully that didn’t happen. He waited for the owner to show up. He loves dogs. He has dogs himself. He even had a leash for Max so he could be safely walked to the owners' aunt’s house. I absolutely love Max and was very relieved to see him sitting in the D.F. Richard van. ... He was a hero. What a courageous act."

Ever Read a Book You Heard was Great and it wasn't?

Today's blog is about a series of mystery books that I've heard a lot of great things about, so I thought I would finally give them a try. As you could guess from the headline of the blog, I was disappointed. The author won a lot of accolades for her long running series. Perhaps I just read the only one in the series that seemed to take a long time to get to the mystery. I also couldn't relate to, or get interested in the characters.  Today's blog is about my read of it. 

It's called "The Cat Who Tailed a Thief," and I'll leave the author's name out of this blog since she passed away in 2011. 

I usually give books 50 pages to draw me in, especially if they are 250 pages (That's 20% of the book read)... but I read up to page 75. 

   The book had about 15-20 different characters and it was way too many to keep track of, or develop an interest in any of them. The lead character is a newspaper reporter with 2 cats, one who had some strange affinity to solve mysteries... but the murder didn't happen until page 70, and I didn't know much about the victim and thus, I didn't care about him. Maybe I'm being too critical... but I'm used to mysteries where the characters are set up in the first 2 chapters and the murder happens within or by chapter 3 or so. 

I really, really wanted to like this book and read more in the series, but...

I stopped reading at page 75. 

I'm not motivated to read another unless someone can recommend one. 

ABOUT THE BOOK: Jim Qwilleran—along with his lovable Siamese cats Koko and Yum Yum—follows a trail of clues as elusive as a cat burglar in the night in this mystery in the New York Times bestselling series.

There’s been a rash of petty thievery in Pickax—ever since banker Willard Carmichael and his flashy young wife, Danielle, moved in. But now Willard’s been killed in a mugging Down Below…or so it seems. Qwill’s suspicious, especially when Willard’s house-restoration project in Pickax falls into the hands of Danielle’s cousin—whose rich new wife then dies on her honeymoon! The clues are confounding. But with Koko’s help, Qwill intends to catch a thief—and a killer...

‘Very mean squirrel’ has sent at least 2 people to a California ER

Here's an unusual story about a squirrel gone mad for food and has been attacking people in California!

(Photo: provided by Joan Heblack, a flyer warning of an aggressive squirrel is taped up in San Rafael, Calif., Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2025. (Joan Heblack via AP) 

‘Very mean squirrel’ seeking food has sent at least 2 people to the ER in a California city 

Associated Press, September 24, 2025

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Residents of a San Francisco Bay Area city are on the lookout for an aggressive squirrel that has sent at least two people to the emergency room for medical treatment.

Joan Heblack told ABC affiliate KGO-TV that she was walking in the Lucas Valley neighborhood of San Rafael when a squirrel seemingly came out of nowhere and attacked her leg, clawing and biting.

“It clamped onto my leg. The tail was flying up here. I was like, ‘Get it off me, get off me!’,” Heblack said.

Isabel Campoy also said she was attacked while walking in the same area. The squirrel launched itself from the ground to her face and wound up on her arm, leaving it bloody, she said.

Both women went to the emergency room, the TV station reported in its Monday story.

Flyers have now been posted, warning residents that the squirrel is no joke and that more than five people have been attacked by a ”very mean squirrel” that “comes out of nowhere.”

Lisa Bloch with Marin Humane says they have had no reports of squirrel attacks since mid-September. If the squirrel crops up again, the nonprofit will coordinate with the state to remove the animal, she said.

Fishers discover first-of-its-kind bright orange shark in Caribbean

If you've never heard of an orange shark before, you're not alone. I haven't heard of one either, although living in the Northeastern U.S. I've read about blue, pink and orange lobsters. Today's blog is about an orange shark disovered in the Caribbean Sea!

(Photo: Nurse sharks are normally yellow to gray-brown, but this one was bright orange. (Image credit: Garvin Watson and Parismina Domus Dei. Parismina Limón Bar, Costa Rica.)

Fishers discover first-of-its-kind bright orange shark with two rare conditions in Caribbean

Live Science, Patrick Pester published September 5, 2025

A first-of-its-kind bright orange shark with white eyes has been caught and released in the Caribbean, a new study reveals.

The nurse shark (Ginglymostoma cirratum) had a mysterious condition called xanthism, or xanthochroism, which increases yellow pigmentation in the skin. Researchers have recorded xanthism in several animals, but this is the first definitive case of a nurse shark with the trait. The shark also appears to have albinism, making it even more unusual.

Sports fishers discovered the shark by chance off the east coast of Costa Rica in 2024. Garvin Watson, owner of the Parismina Domus Dei hotel in the village of Parismina, reeled in the shark, which was around 6.6 feet (2 meters) long and swimming 120 feet (37 m) below the surface.

"We could not believe what we had in front of our eyes," Watson told Live Science in an email.

"That orange shark shining with the sunlight was something out of the ordinary," he said. "We did not know that it was going to be a discovery worldwide, recognized by all the biologists of the world."

The fishers photographed the shark, then removed the hook from its mouth and released it back into the Caribbean Sea. Researchers described the event and its significance in a new study published Aug. 1 in the journal Marine Biodiversity.