Man Electrocuted Posting to Facebook in Tree

A man was electrocuted to death on Saturday when he accidentally touched a powerline while trying to post pictures of a sunset to Facebook.

David Strohm, 27, successfully posted a set of the pictures to Facebook Saturday evening from a tree in his parent's backyard in Tustin, California. Not long after, friends and family noticed he was missing and began looking for him. They found his body Sunday morning, still in the tree.

"After he took the pictures and posted them on Facebook, he came in contact with some power lines up in the tree," Orange County Fire Authority Captain Steve Concialdi told KNX 1070's Bob Brill.

Concialdi told the Orange County Register that Strohm often climbed the tree, though he added the he was not sure how the 27-year-old came in contact with the power lines.

"Our message is: stay away," Concialdi told the paper. "Electricity is so dangerous."

Strohm lived at home with his step-father and mother, who found his body the next day after spotting his cell phone in the grass near the tree.

"Our hearts go out to the family,' Concialdi said. "It was a very tragic scene."

[Image via CBS LA]

Suicide Bomb Instructor Accidently Kills Students

BAGHDAD — A group of Sunni militants attending a suicide bombing training class at a camp north of Baghdad were killed on Monday when their commander unwittingly conducted a demonstration with a belt that was packed with explosives, army and police officials said.

The militants belonged to a group known as the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS, which is fighting the Shiite-dominated army of the Iraqi government, mostly in Anbar Province. But they are also linked to bomb attacks elsewhere and other fighting that has thrown Iraq deeper into sectarian violence.

Twenty-two ISIS members were killed, and 15 were wounded, in the explosion at the camp, which is in a farming area in the northeastern province of Samara, according to the police and army officials. 

Stores of other explosive devices and heavy weapons were also kept there, the officials said.

Eight militants were arrested when they tried to escape, the officials said.

The militant who was conducting the training was not identified by name, but he was described by an Iraqi Army officer as a prolific recruiter who was “able to kill the bad guys for once.”

ISIS militants drove into Falluja and the nearby city of Ramadi, both in Anbar Province, earlier this year with heavy weaponry, taking control of key intersections and offices of local authorities.

Local security forces and tribes have since re-established control in Ramadi.

But Iraq is developing a plan, with help from the United States, that would have Sunni tribes take the lead in ending the standoff with ISIS in Falluja, with the Iraqi Army in support, a senior State Department official told Congress last week.

The official, Brett McGurk, said that ISIS had about 2,000 fighters in Iraq, and that its longer-term objective is to establish a base of operations in Baghdad, led by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who has been officially designated as a global terrorist by the State Department.

In other violence in Iraq, a roadside bomb detonated in the northern city of Mosul alongside the convoy of the speaker of Parliament, the Sunni leader Osama al-Nujaifi, security officials said. Six of his guards were wounded, but Mr. Nujaifi was unharmed, they said.

In Baghdad, a doctor was found dead with bullet wounds in his head and chest two days after he was kidnapped from his house, medical officials said.

In the Baya district of southwestern Baghdad, a bomb left near a cafe killed four people and wounded 11, according to a police official.

Via The New York Times - Christine Hauser contributed from New York City.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/11/world/middleeast/suicide-bomb-instructor-accidentally-kills-iraqi-pupils.html?hp

Hypnotist Falls To Death

A renowned American stage hypnotist has fallen to his death at a Sydney apartment block.

Scott Lewis was in Australia to perform with the Illusionists 2.0 magic troupe at the Opera House when his body was found on a fourth floor balcony at Pyrmont.

Police inquries will be made to determine if the 50-year-old was climbing from one balcony to another when he fell. His death is not being treated as suspicious.

Tourist Rachael Waack, who was staying at the flats, told the website news.com.au she was woken by the sound of a "whoomp" noise soon after 9am.

Ms Waack said: "I went out to the walkway outside our apartment and saw a woman walking along with her head in her hands, screaming.

"She was saying 'do they know?, do they know?’. Then we saw the police arrive soon after that."

Dr Lewis was the host of the longest running hypnosis show in Las Vegas where members of the audience are hypnotised on stage to perform comedy acts.

He had his own hypnosis show at the Riviera Hotel for more than nine years.

The Sydney Opera House described Dr Lewis as a wonderful performer who would be "greatly missed", adding that Saturday’s show would be dedicated to him.

Tim Lawson, co-producer of the show said: "The company is deeply saddened by the sudden loss of Dr Lewis. The entire company has decided to continue the show in his honour, and send our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends."

Dr Lewis, a clinical hypnotherapist, was written a number of self-help books and was also a motivational speaker.