Daily News

[Jimbuna]

Woman who faked being a man to get into Magic Circle finally allowed in

How did one woman fool the most famous magic society on the planet?

Back in 1991, Sophie Lloyd pulled off the ultimate illusion, tricking the Magic Circle into thinking she was a man.

But over 30 years after being unceremoniously kicked out, the Circle has tracked down the former actress to apologise and reinstate her membership.

She told Sky News how returning feels like the society has "made good on something that was wrong".

How did she infiltrate that exclusive group that nowadays counts the likes of David Copperfield and Dynamo as members?


In March of that year, she took her entry exam posing as a teenage boy, creating an alter-ego called Raymond Lloyd.

"I'd played a boy before," she explained, but "it took months of preparation" to secretly infiltrate the Circle's ranks half a year before it would officially vote to let women in.
https://news.sky.com/story/the-magic...do-it-13354578

[Jimbuna]

Dog found using owner's t-shirt after 529 days in Australian wilderness

A miniature dachshund has been found alive and well after spending more than 500 days in the Australian wilderness.

Kangala Wildlife Rescue said it had been working "around the clock" to find the dog, Valerie, on Kangaroo Island, off the coast of Australia. She was last seen by her owners on a camping trip in November 2023.

Georgia Gardner and her boyfriend, Joshua Fishlock, had momentarily left Valerie in a playpen at their campsite while the couple went fishing. When they returned, she was gone.

Valerie's 529 days in the wilderness - surviving intense heat and avoiding venomous snakes - was brought to an end in part through using Ms Gardner's t-shirt to create a "scent trail" to a trap.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly1p1lezdgo

[Jimbuna]

Letter sheds possible new light on Shakespeare's marriage

New analysis of a letter fragment has possibly shed light on William Shakespeare's marriage - suggesting it may have been less fractious than previously suggested.

The wordsmith, it has long been assumed by some scholars, had a largely unhappy marriage with his wife, Anne Hathaway.

It was said that he left her in Stratford-upon-Avon while he spent his time in London.

However, new analysis of a 17th-century letter fragment by the University of Bristol has questioned that narrative.

The letter was preserved by accident in the binding of a book in Hereford, and is addressed to "good Mrs Shakespeare" and appears to show both husband and wife living together in central London at some point between 1600 and 1610.


Prior to this work by Professor Matthew Steggle, the university said there was no evidence putting Mrs Shakespeare in the capital with her husband.

Professor Steggle said: "First discovered in 1978, the letter's been known for a while, but no one could identify the names or places involved or see any reason to think that the Mr Shakespeare in the letter was necessarily William rather than anyone else of the same name in the general period.
https://news.sky.com/story/letter-sh...riage-13354329

[Jimbuna]

Student rescued from mountain twice in four days - after going back to find his phone

A Chinese student who was airlifted from Japan's Mount Fuji last week had to be saved a second time just four days later, local authorities have said.

The 27-year-old climber made an emergency call on 22 April after getting altitude sickness on the mountain's Fujinomiya trail, about 3,000 metres (nearly 10,000 feet) above sea level.

It is the peak's off-season, when officials urge people to be aware of incredibly harsh conditions.

But four days later, police said they received another call to the mountain after the student, who has not been named, returned to look for his phone and other belongings left behind.

They said another climber found him there unable to move after he apparently developed altitude sickness for a second time.

There is no penalty when a climber needs to be rescued, but the Chinese student's case prompted outrage on social media and calls for him to be charged, at least for his second rescue.

The Shizuoka police urged all climbers to use caution, noting that the mountain has low temperatures and is covered in snow even in spring.

The mountain's hiking trails are officially open only from July to early September, but there is not a ban on hiking off-season.

Local authorities introduced entry fees and caps on the number of entrants on the most popular trail last year, and say they will introduce similar rules on other main trails later this year, whereas climbing off-season and off trail has no charge.
https://news.sky.com/story/student-r...-days-13357944

[Reece]

[Jimbuna]

Runaway kangaroo on the loose named Sheila shuts down Alabama interstate

TUSKEGEE, Ala. (AP) — A runaway kangaroo named Sheila shut down a stretch of interstate in Alabama on Tuesday before state troopers and the animal’s owner wrangled the wayward marsupial.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said the kangaroo was spotted Tuesday hopping along the side of Interstate 85 in Macon County, which is between Montgomery and Auburn.

The sight snarled traffic, and state troopers shut down both sides of the interstate for the safety of motorists. The animal’s owner and troopers were able to capture it, Capt. Jeremy J. Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said.

“When somebody said there was a kangaroo of course I didn’t believe it, and nobody believed it. But I’m looking at him,” Macon County Sheriff Andre Brunson said in a Facebook live video as the animal was captured.

The owner used a dart to tranquilize the animal.

Brunson’s video showed the drugged kangaroo being carried to a vehicle to be returned to its home. The animal was captured on the side of the interstate between Tuskegee and Auburn, the sheriff said.

“We see a little bit of everything here,” the sheriff said.

The animal’s owner, Patrick Starr, told The Associated Press that the animal’s name is Sheila and that she escaped from her enclosure.

“She’s back home safe. She’s up. She’s not sedated anymore. She’s eating. She’s drinking. She’s not injured,” Starr said.

The kangaroo was treated by the Auburn University College of Veterinary Medicine, he said.


The family runs a pumpkin patch and petting zoo, but Sheila is just a personal pet, Starr said.

“She’s a sweet pet. I’m glad she’s back home, and I’m glad everybody slowed down a little bit,” he said.

Austin Price, who took video of the animal hopping down the interstate, said he had to briefly question if he was seeing things.

“I hear my grandmother yell, ‘Is that a kangaroo?’ ” Price said.

He assumed it was probably a deer until he looked. “And yeah, it’s a kangaroo.”
https://apnews.com/article/escaped-k...ae4f3e7b324cca

[Moonlight]

JK Rowling posts essay about 'signatories motivated by fear' after Harry Potter stars she created turn on her by signing pro-trans open letter

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...ma-watson.html

The celebrities who've signed the letter, didn't sign it because they believe in it, they signed it to make sure that they don't get Cancelled, anyone supporting these Freaks needs their bloody head examining and, if that treatment requires them to have a lobotomy, well, that's even better news.

[Jimbuna]

Woman missing for more than 60 years found 'alive and well'

A woman in the US who has been missing since 1962 has been found "alive and well", authorities have said.

Audrey Backeberg left her home in Reedsburg, Wisconsin, in July that year when she was 20 years old, Sauk County Sheriff's Office said.

Investigators pursued numerous leads over the years but the case eventually went cold.

However, during a review of cold cases earlier this year, a detective reassessed all the case files and evidence, and re-interviewed several witnesses - and found Ms Backeberg.

The 82-year-old was "alive and well" - living outside of the state of Wisconsin, the sheriff's office said.


Ms Backeberg was married and had two children when she disappeared on 7 July 1962, according to the Wisconsin Missing Persons Advocacy organisation.

She left her home to pick up her salary but never returned, causing her husband to ask family members where she was.

Shortly afterwards their 14-year-old babysitter claimed she and Ms Backeberg had hitchhiked to Wisconsin's capital city Madison and then caught a bus to Indianapolis, Indiana.

The teenager said when she arrived she became nervous and wanted to go home, while Ms Backeberg refused to return and was last seen walking near a bus stop.

Ms Backeberg's marriage was troubled and there were allegations of abuse, the Wisconsin Missing Persons Advocacy organisation said, with a criminal complaint having been filed days before she went missing.

Her relatives insisted she would never abandon her children, the organisation added, and her husband passed a polygraph test and maintained his innocence.
https://news.sky.com/story/woman-mis...-well-13361368

[Jimbuna]

Cha-ching! Millions of dimes spill onto Texas highway after truck rolls

ALVORD, Texas (AP) — Talk about some serious coin.

Millions of coins spilled onto a Texas highway this week after a tractor-trailer hauling $800,000 in dimes rolled over in an accident, authorities said.

The spillage led to the closure of a portion of the southbound lanes of U.S. 287 in Alvord for about half a day as workers got on their hands and knees to pick up the coins in addition to using brooms and shovels and large industrial vacuums.

The tractor-trailer rolled onto its side at about 5:30 a.m. Tuesday after veering off the road and overcorrecting, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety. The highway reopened at about 7 p.m. that day, DPS said.

The driver and a passenger were transported to a hospital with injuries that were not life threatening, DPS said.

Alvord is located about 80 miles (130 kilometers) northwest of Dallas.
https://apnews.com/article/dime-spil...1e602ab1377c57