poison

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Poison Specialist Allegedly Killed Wife With Poison

Pharmacist Betty Bowman, 32, died in August

(Newser) - A poison specialist and former medical resident at Mayo Clinic in Minnesota is charged with fatally poisoning his wife, a 32-year-old pharmacist who died days after she went to a hospital on Aug. 16 with stomach distress. Authorities say Connor Bowman, 30, tried to stop the autopsy on his wife,...

He Heard the Word 'Guilty,' Ate a Poisoned Snickers Bar

76-year-old has since recovered sufficiently to return to court

(Newser) - A 76-year-old Australian man returned to court Monday after a hospital stay of his own making. After being found guilty of committing decades-old child sex offenses in June, he bit into a Snickers bar that he had laced with rat poison in an attempt to die by suicide. The Canberra ...

Richard Moriarty's Mr. Yuk Still Warns of Poison Danger
Doctor Developed Mr. Yuk
obituary

Doctor Developed Mr. Yuk

Richard Moriarty said the warning symbol was designed 'by kids for kids'

(Newser) - Dr. Richard W. Moriarty, a retired pediatrician who helped create the bright green Mr. Yuk sticker that warns kids away from poisonous substances, has died. He was 83. Moriarty died on Thursday in Pittsburgh, according to a funeral home, the AP reports. Moriarty was involved in establishing and developing the...

AI-Powered Recipe Bot Offers Deadly Suggestions

Ant-poison jelly sandwiches, anyone?

(Newser) - A supermarket chain in New Zealand had to make some changes to its artificial intelligence-powered recipe app after it delivered some potentially deadly recommendations. The Savey Meal-bot from Pak'nSave came up with meal plans or recipes when customers entered lists of ingredients, but users soon discovered that the bot...

Infamous Poison Garden Adds a Truly Nasty Plant

The gympie-gympie reportedly makes those who touch it feel 'electrocuted' and 'on fire'

(Newser) - Saying the United Kingdom's Poison Garden is a unique and intriguing attraction might be underselling it a bit. The garden is exactly what the name states: a place that contains a diverse collection of poisonous plants, and as CBS News reports, it has just acquired a nasty new...

Woman Charged With Poisoning Husband's Tea With Drain Cleaner

Yue 'Emily' Yu indicted, faces 8 years behind bars

(Newser) - The California dermatologist suspected of poisoning her husband with drain cleaner has been indicted, Orange County officials announced Wednesday. Yue "Emily" Yu, 45, was arrested last summer and released on bail. Her husband of a decade noticed his tea started tasting odd, and installed cameras in the kitchen to...

Wife Found Guilty of Murdering Husband via Poisoned Cookies

Australian woman convicted of 2020 murder

(Newser) - An Australian woman was convicted this month of fatally poisoning her husband in 2020 by lacing his lemon cookies with sleeping pills. Rebecca Payne lived with her husband Noel in the state of Victoria, and the now-43-year-old told authorities he was abusive toward her. In an episode of A Current ...

Probe Underway on Poisoning of Hundreds of Iranian Girls

Some believe monthslong chemical incidents are 'biological terrorism' to keep girls out of schools

(Newser) - Since November, dozens of girls in Iran have fallen ill after attending school, suffering from dizziness, fatigue, nausea, headaches, heart palpitations, and respiratory issues, among other maladies. Some parents say their children were sick for weeks afterward. Now, Iranian officials have launched a probe, with reports of hundreds of girls...

Ricin-Laced Package Is Addressed to Trump

One official says it may have come from Canada

(Newser) - Looks like a poison-filled package addressed to President Trump never made it as far as the White House mail room. Two law enforcement officials tell CNN it contained ricin, a toxic compound made from castor beans that can be fatal if inhaled or ingested. Little else is known, except it...

Germany: 'Certain Likelihood' Navalny Was Poisoned

Tests in Berlin are still underway as Russian opposition leader remains unconscious

(Newser) - Now that he's safely in Berlin , a seriously ill Alexei Navalny is being treated and monitored by doctors, and now the German government is saying the 44-year-old Russian opposition leader needs police protection, as it seems fairly clear what happened to put him in this state. "Because one...

The Maya Had Good Reason to Abandon Tikal
The Maya Had Good
Reason to Abandon Tikal
new study

The Maya Had Good Reason to Abandon Tikal

Researchers dig deep into the city's reservoirs

(Newser) - Why did the Maya flee the majestic city-state of Tikal? Experts say overpopulation, overexploitation of land, and droughts drove them out in the ninth century AD. Now, another cause: poisoned water. A new study says there's evidence of mercury and toxic algae ruining the drinking water just as residents...

Claim: Scientology Poisoned Singer's Dog Amid Rape Accusations

Cedric Bixler-Zavala claims the Church is protecting actor Danny Masterson

(Newser) - A progressive rock singer claims Scientologists have poisoned his family dog—again. Cedric Bixler-Zavala, lead singer of Mars Volta and At the Drive-In, says he put down his dog this week after it ate poisoned meat tossed into the yard by Church of Scientology members, per the Hollywood Reporter . "...

EPA Makes Contentious Decision on 'Cyanide Bombs'

Trump administration reauthorizes M-44 traps to kill predator wildlife

(Newser) - The Environmental Protection Agency has just reupped authorization of a controversial device designed to protect livestock from predators, but which critics call a "safety menace" against other animals and humans. CBS News reports the EPA has given the green light for the USDA's Wildlife Services, as well as...

The Plan: Drop 1.5 Tons of Rat Poison Pellets Here

Fish and Wildlife Service thinks it's the only way to rid the Farallon Islands of mice

(Newser) - The only humans who occupy the South Farallon Islands off San Francisco are scientists. But the land is otherwise well-populated: In addition to sea lions, seals, and salamanders, it's home to the biggest seabird breeding colony in the Lower 48. But there's also house mice—up to 60,...

Cops: Woman Gave Boyfriend Drano to Induce 'Eternal Sleep'

Elle Weissman, 43, was arrested in Salt Lake City

(Newser) - Utah police say a woman tricked her boyfriend into drinking Drano in the hope it would kill him—and then, oddly, she took him to a hospital. Elle Weissman, 43, was arrested in Salt Lake City on Tuesday on charges of attempted murder and surreptitious administration of a certain substance,...

They Were Feasting. Then They Began Dying

Dozens dead in India after downing 'spurious' liquor

(Newser) - Police say 39 people have died and another 27 fallen sick from drinking spurious liquor containing toxic methanol in several villages in northern India. Senior police officer Ashok Kumar says 26 died in two separate incidents in the state of Uttar Pradesh, 190 miles east of the New Delhi capital,...

'He Had It All.' But Soon It All Unvraveled
A Sad Ending to Life of Man
Who 'Had It All'
in case you missed it

A Sad Ending to Life of Man Who 'Had It All'

'NYT' explores the life and suicide of Geoffrey Weglarz

(Newser) - After police in Manhattan found a 61-year-old man dead in a parked car in late August, they identified him as Geoffrey Corbis and said it appeared he died of natural causes. Turns out, his name was actually Geoffrey Weglarz, and he died by suicide after ingesting poison he bought on...

German Doctors: Pussy Riot Poisoning 'Highly Plausible'

Pyotr Verzilov is expected to recover

(Newser) - German doctors treating a member of Russian protest group Pussy Riot said Tuesday that claims he was poisoned are "highly plausible," but stressed they can't say how this might have occurred or who was responsible, the AP reports. Pyotr Verzilov has been receiving intensive care since arriving...

Officials Let Woman, 29, Kill Herself With Poison

Aurelia Brouwers applied for legal euthanasia in the Netherlands

(Newser) - Aurelia Brouwers tried to kill herself many times, and ultimately succeeded—with the government's help. The 29-year-old Dutch woman won the right to die after squeaking through an approval process that usually denies psychiatric cases, the BBC reports. "When I was 12, I suffered from depression," she...

Amid a Trio of Rare Books, a Toxic Find

Tomes in Denmark university library were coated in arsenic-laced paint

(Newser) - If one were to handpick a career that guaranteed a safe work environment, librarian would seem a reasonable choice. A trio of books found at the University of Southern Denmark may have just upended that assumption as researchers discovered a possible toxic avenger from the Renaissance era. Experts were studying...

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