THIS JUST IN: Dead Horse Found In North Philly
PHILADELPHIA – Officials say a North Philadelphia block filled with horse stables has at least one rotting horse carcass and many more neglected horses in deplorable conditions. Officials from the city and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals went to the block Tuesday afternoon in response to an anonymous tip. They say tons of horse manure was piled up inside the stables. The dead horse was found partly buried behind one of the buildings. One man who says he keeps horses there says he and his friends care for horses properly. When asked about the dead horse, he said he knew nothing about that. [via ASSOCIATED PRESS]
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BREAKING: Two Philadelphia Police Officers Down In North Philly Shootout...DEVELOPING
There are no moratoriums on shooting at police officers. Just three days after the city buried Officer Chuck Cassidy in an emotional civic funeral, the bullets were flying at police again in Grays Ferry on Saturday when officers tried to break up a fight. No officer was injured, though one gunman was wounded when police returned fire. But the latest shooting is an example of what experts say is an alarming reversal of a long decline in law-enforcement officers’ being targeted and killed. Not only have more police officers been shot at or threatened with guns this year, but experts say more are being targeted in a deliberate fashion, as Cassidy was — with close shots to the head. “Something has transformed the mentality of these inner-city kids that killing a police officer is just the price to be paid for doing business of dealing drugs or robbing a store,” said Hubert Williams, president of the Police Foundation in Washington. [via the INQUIRER]
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Herbal Viagra Remedies Pose Deadlier Threats Than The Usual ‘Persistent Erection’
LOS ANGELES — Many of the pills marketed as safe herbal alternatives to Viagra and other prescription sex medications pose a hidden danger: for men on common heart and blood-pressure drugs, popping one could lead to a stroke, or even death. “All-natural” products with names like Stamina-RX and Vigor-25 promise an apothecary’s delight of rare Asian ingredients, but many work because they contain unregulated versions of the very pharmaceuticals they are supposed to replace. That dirty secret represents a special danger for the millions of men who take nitrates — drugs prescribed to lower blood pressure and regulate heart disease. When mixed, nitrates and impotency drugs can slow blood flow catastrophically, leading to a heart attack or stroke. An investigation by the Associated Press shows that spiked herbal impotency pills are emerging as a major public health concern that officials haven’t figured out how to track, much less tame. Emergency rooms and poison control hot lines are starting to log more incidents of the long-ignored phenomenon. Sales of “natural sexual enhancers” are booming — rising to nearly $400 million last year. And dangerous knockoffs abound. [via ASSOCIATED PRESS]