Brit Gang Uses Snake to Attack Teen

Obama prepares to pitch Chitown Olympics as city reels from murder

(NEWSER) - As Barack Obama prepares to make a pitch to hold the Olympics in his hometown, the White House is decrying a "chilling" videotaped beating death of a teenager in the same city. It's one of the most shocking things "you can ever see," White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said yesterday. Four people have been arrested in the death of honor student Derrion Albert, who was fatally pummeled with wooden planks in the middle of a gang melee outside a city high school last week. More»

(NEWSER) - A 2-year-old Florida girl was strangled to death yesterday by a pet python owned by her mother’s boyfriend, the Orlando Sentinel reports. Charles Darnell noticed that his 8-foot-long albino Burmese python had escaped from its aquarium when he awoke yesterday morning. He found it on top of the girl in her bedroom and immediately began stabbing it. More»

Man snagged in police sting draws 10-month suspended sentence

(NEWSER) - A UK man who confessed to trying to pick up a prostitute for his teenage son has been sentenced to 10 months in prison but won't serve time, the Daily Mail reports. The 42-year-old visited Nottingham's red-light district last year on a quest to help his son, 14, lose his virginity—but the woman he tried to hire was an undercover cop. More»

12-foot snake attacks pet shop owner

(NEWSER) - A cop and several firemen struggled to rescue an Oregon pet shop owner after she stuck her hand in a python's cage, the Eugene Register-Guard reports. Teresa Rossiter was showing off 12-foot Darla to customers when the snake bit her, wrapped around her, and knocked her down. A policeman came to cut off the $850 python's head, but Rossiter begged him to find another way. More»

Stop 'pretending it's not young black kids doing it,' PM says

(NEWSER) - Black culture is responsible for a recent rash of teenage murders in Britain, Tony Blair said yesterday in a burst of un-PC criminology that outraged black leaders. The violence, which has killed seven teens in recent weeks, won't let up unless Britons stop “pretending it is not young black kids doing it," Blair said. More»