Amish man dies after being pinned by buggy

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. (AP) — An Amish man has died after he was pinned under his buggy in rural Canton.

The Lewis County Sheriff’s office announced Thursday that 70-year-old Tobias S. Borntreger, of rural Canton, died Wednesday when he was trapped under the right rear wheel of a cart loaded with wood.

The Kirksville Daily Express reports that Borntreger apparently fell off the seat or was walking beside two horses that were pulling the cart when he was pinned.

Napolitano Visit Aimed at Beefing Up Afghan Border Security, Customs

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano eats lunch
Dec. 31 with troops at Torkham base near the Pakistan border.

KABUL, Afghanistan -- During an unannounced New Year's Eve visit to Afghanistan, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano traveled to the country's mountainous border region near Pakistan to see first-hand her department's efforts in the war effort there.

"Seeing is worth a thousand words," Napolitano said after the tour, to which Fox News was granted exclusive access. "This all involves safety and security in this part of the world. And that is something that has direct connection as well to the United States."

She described her department's role in war-torn Afghanistan as a "complement" to the military operations there.

Her agency has about two dozen officials in Afghanistan, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, Customs and Border Protection officers, and Border Patrol agents. Many are training Afghan security forces to manage their country's borders.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year

to all readers thanks for your visits and support.

Admin

World News eTrends

Jamshaid Yousaf

Addict-turned-Ironman swims, bikes, runs from past

BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- The first time Shane Niemeyer thought about Ironman triathlons, he had just tried to hang himself.

It was 2003 and he was a 27-year-old homeless heroin addict in an Idaho jail, awaiting sentencing for drug possession and burglary. Guards put him in a straitjacket, so he says he used his feet to turn the pages of the magazine article about the endurance sport.

There was something about triathlons - and the commitment they demanded - that tripped a switch inside him: Maybe this was his way out, Niemeyer thought. Maybe he could spend his days swimming, cycling and running, instead of beating up Honduran drug dealers or burglarizing businesses to fuel his habit.

"I read the distances," said Niemeyer, now 35. "I read the average time triathletes spend training. It was overwhelming to me. For some reason, I figured that would help occupy my time."

Since his March 2004 release from a prison drug program, he's done eight Ironman distance races, covering a combined 140.6 miles in each. He placed 19th at a 2009 Ironman race in Wisconsin, out of nearly 2,400 competitors. On Oct. 8, Niemeyer finished his first Ironman World Championship race in Kona, Hawaii.

But Kona, a race many count among the world's toughest sporting events, wasn't his biggest accomplishment of 2010.

New year brings new law targeting cyberbullying

Tragic end: In the past year, there have been several high-profile
suicides nationwide attributed to harsh treatment on the Internet.
A new state law aims to address that behavior.

Facebook profiles can be set up within minutes to catch up with old friends, but they can also be used to spread rumors and maliciously hurt people.

Starting Saturday, however, using a fake online profile or e-mail address to harm others can lead to a fine of up to $1,000 and one year in jail. The law that creates the new penalties is one of hundreds in California that is taking effect in the new year.

Introduced by state Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, the Facebook law is in reaction to the growing problems surrounding cyberbullying and e-impersonation that are affecting children and adults nationwide.

"What people thought was just a prank is now a violation of law," Simitian said. "I hope this is the first step in changing behavior."

SB 1411, which was signed into law in September, updates an existing impersonation law, originally passed in 1872, to make "online impersonators who assume someone else’s identity to harm, intimidate, threaten or defraud" a crime, according to Simitian.