Another Black Eye for Newt Gingrich, "Newt, Inc.," has filed for Bankruptcy -

Another Black Eye for Newt Gingrich, "Newt, Inc.," has filed for Bankruptcy - 


In a Chapter 7 filing in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Northern District of Georgia, The Gingrich Group LLC, doing business as the Center for Health Transformation, filed for bankruptcy Wednesday. (Chapter 7 is "the chapter of the Bankruptcy Code providing for 'liquidation,' that is, the sale of a debtor's nonexempt property and the distribution of the proceeds to creditors," as defined by the federal courts.)
The vast majority of Gingrich's net worth is tied up in the Gingrich Group. Gingrich is worth overall between $7.1 million and $31 million, according to his financial disclosure. He lists a promissory note from Gingrich Group as being worth between $5 million and $25 million.



Gingrich was chairman of the group until May of last year, when he announced he was running for president. Since focusing his efforts on his presidential run, the "Gingrich Group" has struggled to raise money, leading to its eventual collapse.
The bankruptcy comes at a time when Gingrich's campaign is struggling to regain any momentum. He has only won two states during his run for president -- South Carolina and Georgia, his home state -- and he lags far behind front runner Mitt Romney in the delegate count, in third place with just 137 out of the 1,144 needed to become the nominee.


Read more - 
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/04/05/11036798-gingrich-group-files-for-bankruptcy

Pilot turns back after snake pops out of dashboard - and slithered across his leg during a solo cargo flight -

Pilot turns back after snake pops out of dashboard - and slithered across his leg during a solo cargo flight - 


An Australian pilot said he was forced to make a harrowing landing reminiscent of a Hollywood thriller after a snake popped out from behind his dashboard and slithered across his leg during a solo cargo flight.


Braden Blennerhassett _ unsure whether the snake was venomous _ said Thursday that his heart raced as he tried to keep his hands still while maneuvering the plane back to the northern city of Darwin. The snake popped its head out from behind the instrument panel several times, Blennerhassett said, and then the ordeal worsened when the animal crawled across his leg during the approach to the airport.


"I've seen it on a movie once, but never in an airplane," Blennerhassett told Australian Broadcasting Corp., referring to the 2006 movie "Snakes on a Plane," in which deadly snakes are deliberately released in an airliner as part of a murder plot.


The 26-year-old Air Frontier pilot was alone in a twin-engine Beechcraft Baron G58 and had just left Darwin airport on a cargo run to a remote Outback Aboriginal settlement when he saw the snake on Tuesday.


Air Frontier director Geoff Hunt described Blennerhassett as a "cool character" who radioed air traffic control to report: "I'm going to have to return to Darwin. I've got a snake on board the plane."


But Blennerhassett admits he was shaken, telling Nine Network television that his blood pressure and hear rate were "a bit elevated."


"You're trying to be as still as you possibly can and when you've got your hands on the power levers," he told ABC. "You're kind of worried about the snake taking that as a threat and biting you."


Read more - 
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=681&sid=2815620

'Fish From Hell' Now a Prized Catch in Maryland - hardy enough to survive up to four days on land -

'Fish From Hell' Now a Prized Catch in Maryland - hardy enough to survive up to four days on land - 


Wildlife officials in Maryland have put a bounty on the snakehead, the so-called "fish from hell" that can migrate on land and devastates the eco-systems of lakes, ponds and streams.
The state will give out $200 gift cards for Bass Pro Shops as well as other prizes for catching and killing the fish, which is native to Africa and Asia but is believed to have made its way to America through Asian seafood merchants. 
“We do not want snakeheads in our waters," said Maryland Department of Natural Resources Inland Fisheries Director Don Cosden. "This initiative is a way to remind anglers that it is important to catch and remove this invasive species of fish.” 



The first time a snakehead was seen in Maryland was when an angler caught an 18-inch specimen in 2002 in Crofton Pond, 20 miles north of Washington, D.C. Since then, the population has grown and they've been caught in dozens of bodies of water, including the Potomac River and tributaries.
The fish are hardy enough to survive up to four days on land, and can migrate up to a quarter mile between bodies of water by wriggling on their fins. National Geographic has dubbed the snakehead "fishzilla," and it is also frequently referred to as the "fish from hell." They can grow to more than 2 feet long and have been found in at least seven states.
“We don’t expect that anglers will eradicate the snakehead population,” said Joe Love, the state's Department of Natural Resources Tidal Bass program manager. “We do believe this promotion and inspiration of anglers can help control the snakehead population. The information we gain from the Angler’s Log reports are also helpful in assessing the abundance, spread and impact of these feisty fish.”
The ravenous appetites that can destroy native populations actually works against the fish when humans go after them. One fisherman told Outdoor Life blogger Gayne C. Young they bite at any type of bait.




Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/04/05/maryland-puts-gift-card-bounty-on-fish-from-hell/