SOUTH AFRICAN SAFARI PARK OWNER WHO SAID HE'D RATHER BE KILLED BY CHARGING ELEPHANT THAN SHOOT ONE KILLED BY CHARGING ELEPHANT

Daily Mail

South African safari park owner who said he'd rather be killed by charging elephant than shoot one dead is killed by charging elephant

By JOE ROSSITER, REPORTER

Published: 13:08 EDT, 18 April 2026 | Updated: 13:11 EDT, 18 April 2026

A South African safari park owner is believed to have been killed by a charging elephant after claiming he would rather die that way than shoot one of

the animals dead.

Gary Freeman, 65, was leading a group of tourists on a guided hike when an elephant attacked - he brandished his revolver to try to scare it off but did

not pull the trigger.

Mr Freeman, a co-owner of the 148,000-acre Klaserie Private Nature Reserve, was killed in the attack, which a source said was 'all over quickly'.

The source added: 'Gary tried to break the charge but he never fired a shot. The elephant was very quickly on him and it was as you can imagine not pleasant.

'There is nothing anyone can do to stop six tonne of angry elephant. Fortunately it was all over quickly.'

Mr Freeman's group of four tourists helped to get him on to a vehicle and 'rushed him to try and get medical attention but nothing could be done'.

'He had succumbed to his dreadful injuries,' the source said.

Mr Freeman had been leading his group along the banks of the Klaserie River inside the reserve, which sits on the western border of Kruger National Park

- one of South Africa's largest game reserves - in the north-east of the country.

Judy Connors, from Johannesburg, attended Mr Freeman's safari camp at Klaserie in February, writing on Facebook: 'In the past we have heard Gary speak

of his deep respect and love for the elephants.

'He said he would rather be killed by an elephant than shoot one.

'Perhaps this is what I want to believe but there must have been a special bond, soul-to-soul, for this elephant to be the chosen one tasked with his deliverance.'

Another friend, Thomas Marshall, said: 'I had the pleasure of joining Gary three times on his wilderness hikes and he was totally at one with nature and

told the most amazing stories around the camp-fire.

'The word legend is much abused but he truly was one.'

A mechanical engineering graduate, he ran Gary Freeman Safaris for 33 years after becoming a ranger when he left university.

Standing at well over 6ft, he was known as 'Thutwa', which means giraffe in the local Tswana language.

Mr Freeman was a co-owner of Klaserie from its founding in 1969, when 36 farm owners merged to create one of the biggest Big Five game reserves in South

Africa.

The Big Five are a group of animals traditionally believed to be the most dangerous to hunt on foot, including the elephant, rhinoceros, lion, buffalo

and leopard.

Klaserie is home to around 750 wild elephants and also hosts rhino, lions, leopard, buffalo, giraffe, hyena, buck and hundreds of different types of bird.

Though he died on April 9, the circumstances of Mr Freeman's death have just emerged and police in Limpopo Province have opened an inquest into the episode.

It is understood no action has been taken against the elephant but experts have been called in to study its behaviour and assess its threat to others.

Male elephants are the world's largest land animal and can grow up to 13ft tall and run up to 25mph.

They can weigh as much as six tonnes and kill up to 500 people a year throughout Africa.

Police spokesman Brigadier Hlulani Mashaba said: 'The deceased, who is the owner of the game reserve, was touring with the tourists and at some point alighted

from their vehicle and walked on foot.

'As the group were walking an elephant suddenly emerged and charged at him. He tried to scare it off with the revolver he was carrying but he was ultimately

attacked by the elephant.

'The driver and tracker together with other tourists took him to a safe place and summoned the emergency medical personnel. Upon their arrival, he was

unfortunately certified dead.

'There is no evidence that suggests the firearm was used.'

A spokesman for the Klaserie Private Nature Reserve said: 'Gary was a true gentleman and an integral part of the fabric of Klaserie who was a remarkable

and extraordinary trail guide who loved the bush.

'Gary's presence, kindness and contribution to this landscape will be deeply missed by all who knew him and our thoughts are with his partner Hanneke and

his family and his many, many friends.

'Gary will forever be a part of the Klaserie.'

In July 2025 two female tourists including a British pensioner were killed by a charging female elephant protecting a young calf while out on a walking

safari in the Zambian bush.

Janet Easton, 68, from Bradford, and her New Zealander cousin Alsion Taylor, 67, were trampled to death at the South Luangwa National Park despite tour

guides firing shots to stop the attack.

UBER EATS NOW OFFERS EASIER RETURNS WITH INSTANT REFUNDS, BUT IT WILL ACTUALLY COST YOU

New York Post

 

Uber Eats now offers easier returns with ‘instant’ refunds — but it will actually cost you

By Ella Morrison

Published April 18, 2026, 1:10 p.m. ET

 

You can now make an online return without leaving your couch — but it comes at a price.

 

Uber Eats has rolled out a new returns feature that allows avid online shoppers to return items purchased through the delivery app and receive an instant refund.

 

“A first for the on-demand delivery industry, customers will now be able to send back eligible retail items purchased on Uber Eats and receive an instant refund — just request a return in the Uber Eats app and a courier will come pick it up for a fee,” Uber said in its announcement.

 

For items purchased for $20 or more, shoppers can request a courier through the app to make the return — for a fee — without ever having to leave the house.

 

The cost of returning items is dependent on the shopper’s order and is calculated in-app based on the courier’s time and distance to make the return.

 

Uber will immediately process the refund — including the item price, applicable taxes and the Uber Eats service fee — once the courier picks up the return.

 

However, tips and the delivery fee from the original order are non-refundable.

 

On the returns fee consumers will be slapped with, Uber said to “think of it as a small price for never having to find parking at the mall again.”

 

Retailers operating through Uber Eats — including Petco, Dick’s Sporting Goods and Best Buy — will be part of the initial launch, with additional retail partners planned to be added to the service in the future.

 

For items not purchased through the Uber Eats app, consumers can utilize the “send items” feature, with which shoppers can request a courier to send up to five prepaid and sealed packages to local post offices, UPS or FedEx locations.

 

Shoppers will still have the option to make the return themselves if they don’t want to cough up the return fee.

 

The new feature comes after online shoppers have long grappled with issues while making online returns, a survey revealed, as cited by CNBC.

 

A recent study of 1,000 people who made an online return in the last year revealed that a third of shoppers found printing labels and locating packaging stressful — with 43% of respondents noting that waiting for a refund was the top return stress point.

FIREFIGHTERS DEMONSTRATE EXTINGUISHING FIRES WITH SOUNDWAVES

Wow!

 

New York Post

 

Firefighters show off amazing new way to extinguish flames — by blasting them with sound, not water

By Jeanne Erickson

Published April 18, 2026, 12:14 p.m. ET

 

The sound you can’t hear might just save your house.

 

It sounds like something out of a sci-fi blockbuster, but firefighters in California are firing up a fascinating new way to fight flames — with sound waves.

 

The San Bernardino County Fire Department recently showed off a futuristic system that detects and extinguishes flames without water or chemicals.

 

Instead, it uses powerful — but completely silent — sound vibrations to snuff out the fire itself.

 

The red-hot technology, inspired by NASA experiments and developed by Sonic Fire Tech, works by first spotting flames with infrared sensors and AI.

 

Once a fire is detected, the system instantly releases specially tuned sound waves aimed right at it.

 

It isn’t magic, it’s physics, said the developers.

 

“For a fire to burn, you need three things — fuel, heat and oxygen,” Remington Hotchkis, chief commercialization officer at Sonic Fire Tech, told the Post. “Sound waves vibrate the oxygen faster than the fuel can use it, and break the chemical reaction of the flame.

 

“The system uses thermal detectors to sense the flame, or conditions for the flame and initiates the acoustic defense.”

 

The flame fizzles out in seconds.

 

During a live demo on March 31, firefighters at the San Bernardino County Fire Department tested the device, which is worn like a “Ghostbusters” Proton Pack-type backpack, and showed how the technology could extinguish trouble before it grows.

 

And firefighters loved it.

 

“If you keep a fire small because it was detected right away, that’s going to save money, that’s going to help insurance rates,” said Ryan Beckers of the San Bernardino Fire Dept.

 

The fire-fighting technology could be a game-changer, especially in wildfire-prone areas and inside homes by helping stop small sparks from turning into full-blown infernos, Sonic Fire Tech explained.

 

Unlike traditional methods, it won’t soak buildings with water or leave behind chemical residue.

 

The system’s low-frequency infrasound is harmless to humans and household pets.

 

In fact, some newly built homes in Altadena, Calif., are already starting to include the at-home system, which begins emitting sound waves instantly when its sensors detect fire.

 

“Wildfire danger isn’t abstract for me, it’s personal,” said Hotchkis. “When my former home in Altadena burned in the Los Angeles fires … I saw firsthand that it wasn’t the wall of flame that destroyed homes, it was the embers. In that moment I realized that this part of the global wildfire crisis is solvable.”

 

Hotchkis joined forces with Geoff Bruder, the company’s co-founder and CEO, who had worked at NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, where he and a colleague invented a new type of thermo-acoustic engine that could generate power on planets like Venus.

 

Bruder left NASA in 2015 to develop and market his thermo-acoustic engine for putting out wildfires.

 

The January 2025 California wildfires killed at least 31 people, forced more than 200,000 to evacuate, destroyed more than 18,000 homes and structures, and burned more than 57,529 acres of land.

 

The National Safety Council assessed the civilian fire death toll at 3,920 in 2024, up 6.8% from the 3,670 total in 2023.

 

While the new tech is not ready to replace fire hoses just yet, Sonic Fire Tech said it is working to commercialize the technology for home defense to replace water sprinkler systems while doing demos of their backpack systems to fire departments nationwide.

BLIND MAN RAN MARATHON USING SMART GLASSES THAT ALLOWED VOLUNTEERS TO GUIDE HIM IN REAL TIME

PEOPLE

 

Blind Man Ran Marathon Using Smart Glasses That Allowed Remote Volunteers to Guide Him in Real Time

By Lexi Lane  Published on April 19, 2026 05:30PM EDT

 

A blind man used smart glasses and virtual volunteers to guide him to the finish line of a marathon.

 

Clarke Reynolds, a Braille artist who works under the name Mr. Dot, ran the Brighton Marathon in England on Sunday, April 12, using Ray-Ban Meta Wayfarer smart glasses and an app called Be My Eyes.

 

Be My Eyes connected Reynolds, 45, with people around the globe who could see where he was going and help direct him along the running route.

 

"I am now the first blind person to run a full marathon while being supported by volunteers using smart glasses and Be My Eyes," he said, according to Fight for Sight.

 

Added Reynolds, "My aim in doing this was to really push the boundaries of what this technology can do for me as a blind person, and I’ve done that."

 

The pre-selected users across the globe logged on and could see what was ahead of Reynolds, which allowed them to guide him appropriately.

 

"I love the idea that up to 300 people from all over the world — from Croydon to Kansas and Belfast to Bahrain — helped me to achieve it," Reynolds said.

 

Reynolds was also partially supported by a trained guide runner, Alaistair Ratcliffe, who ran alongside him as an additional safety precaution, as connectivity sometimes stopped along the marathon path.

 

The man ultimately finished the 26.2-mile marathon in under six hours and 20 minutes.

 

Reynolds was diagnosed with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a group of rare eye diseases that affects the retina, according to the National Eye Institute.

 

When he was six years old, he learned he had lost sight in one eye, and Reynolds later had to leave school at age 14 due to kidney issues, per Fight for Sight.

 

As an adult, Reynolds worked as a dental model maker and "loved it." However, a few months into the job, he noticed he "had a dark shadow in the good eye," but he thought he just "needed stronger glasses."

 

Reynolds was 32 when ophthalmologists told him he was going blind and that he had to surrender his license. "Deep down in my head, I thought I would lose sight, but not in my 30s. I thought it would be more in my 50s and 60s," he said.

 

Despite ups and downs in his life, Reynolds still works to inspire others. He has incorporated Braille into his passion for art, and he visits schools as Mr. Dot to encourage kids to embrace their creativity.

 

"I believe Braille should be part of the national curriculum because it transcends all the subjects: math, English, science, history, art. It's perfect, it's great," he said, according to Fight for Sight.

 

Reynolds used the Brighton Marathon run to raise thousands of dollars for Fight for Sight, which researches various eye conditions.

 

"We are so proud of Clarke. What he has achieved is extraordinary," Eleanor Southwood MBE, Fight for Sight's Director of Impact and External Affairs, said.

 

"We are so grateful to him for his support and to everyone who has so generously sponsored him," she added.

 

Though Reynolds previously took part in the London Marathon, he felt he was "free to safely put the tech to test in this very unusual way" at the Brighton Marathon.

 

"They’ve really kept me going on this incredible journey. It’s been one of the best experiences of my life," he said. “By running a marathon and using the tech in a way that hasn’t been done before, I’ve raised awareness and sparked so many conversations, which I hope will help to challenge society’s ideas about what blind people can do."

NOAH'S ARK MYSTERY DEEPENS AS RESEARCHER DISCLOSES STRANGE ROCK FORMATIONS

New York Post

 

Noah’s Ark mystery deepens as researcher blows lid on strange rock formations in Turkey

By Zoe Hussain

Published April 21, 2026

Updated April 21, 2026, 12:16 a.m. ET

 

A researcher’s bombshell new findings about a strange rock formation in Turkey could prove that Noah’s Ark was real, according to reports.

 

Andrew Jones, a researcher with Noah’s Ark Scans, told GB News that “exciting new findings” about the rock formation first discovered in 1959 on Turkey’s Mount Ararat could prove the boat from the Book of Genesis once existed.

 

Ground penetrating radar scans and soil samples from the tunnel site — which reportedly match the 515-foot dimensions of Noah’s Ark — uncovered a series of “corridors” below the earth, the outlet reported.

 

Tunnels were discovered running down the middle of the “boat” and alongside the inside edge of the possible ship, leading to a central cavity Jones called the atrium.

 

“God told Noah to bring the animals in. And so these animals would have stayed there, plus Noah and his family. What’s interesting is that these voids are lining up below the ground – and they’re not just random,” Jones told the outlet.

 

“These tunnels are also following a pattern. GPR is just a way to look below the soil using radar. There’s also been studies done with IRT, which is another geophysical technique – and they’re showing a ship-shaped hull still preserved deep in the soil,” the researcher said.

 

Scientists also uncovered additional evidence from soil samples that could prove that humans constructed the rock formation.

 

“In 2024, we took 88 random soil samples inside and outside of that ship shape,” Jones recalled. “And what they showed was that the soil inside the ship shape had three times more organic matter than right outside, and 38 per cent more potassium.”

 

“What that shows is that the soil is unique. And the grass, in the fall, it has a yellower color just inside.”

 

“It’s exactly the link given to the Bible. It’s 300 Egyptian cubits. For us, these are all positive lines that we’re pursuing, and it’s showing that there’s more to be found,” he said.

 

Fossil remains found deposited around the boat-shaped site, which sits roughly 6,500 feet above sea level, could also show evidence of the Great Flood, Jones argued.

 

Ancient coral and seashells uncovered by researchers could prove that “one time this area was underwater,” he added.

 

The phenomenon, however, could be tectonic plates shifting and raising the rock formation high above the prehistoric ocean.

 

Jones and his team are now considering exploring the mysterious tunnels with a robotic device.

 

“We have a team that is designing a robotic, remote-controlled device that could go down inside the holes and explore the tunnels,” he told the outlet.

THE TRANSGENDER HOUSE OF CARDS JUST CAME CRASHING DOWN

National Review

 

The Transgender House of Cards Just Came Crashing Down

By Roy Eappen

April 21, 2026 6:30 AM

 

Will the activist community now admit the truth?

 

It’s no secret that the child sex change industry is built on a foundation of falsehoods, not science. Yet the activist community has long pretended otherwise, despite appeals from doctors like myself. They’ve claimed — without good evidence — that gender-confused children have better mental health outcomes after they’re pumped full of dangerous chemicals and given irreversible surgeries. The way their argument goes, if these kids don’t get sex changes, they’re doomed to a life of depression and other mental health struggles, possibly leading to suicide.

 

Earlier this month, that house of cards came crashing down.

 

Medical researchers just released a groundbreaking study that proves, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that sex change treatments don’t improve children’s mental health. The researchers’ conclusion couldn’t be more clear: “Psychiatric needs do not subside” after children start going down this road. To the contrary: They’re far more likely to need psychiatric help later in life than they were prior to receiving medical intervention. In other words, the very treatments that are supposed to help these vulnerable kids do nothing of the sort and, in fact, may cause more pain. According to basic medical ethics, that means these treatments shouldn’t be provided because they aren’t really treatments at all.

 

This isn’t the first study to reach this conclusion. But crucially, the activist community can’t simply dismiss this particular study out of hand. The researchers are from Finland, one of the earliest countries to embrace sex changes for children. They analyzed over two decades of real-world data, not hypothetical situations. They didn’t just look at the number of doctor’s appointments that patients had — they focused on those that dealt with serious mental illness.

 

Add it all up, and this isn’t some right-wing hit job or a report from an ideologically minded government agency. It’s an apolitical — and honest — examination of the evidence. And that evidence is clear: Sex changes don’t improve kids’ mental health and may significantly worsen kids’ troubles.

 

The study reaffirms some painful truths about what kids in this situation face in life. The researchers found that before children are referred for sex-change treatments, these young patients already struggle with “severe psychiatric morbidity.” That means they’re grappling with serious issues like anxiety, depression, and suicidality. Clearly, they need real medical help.

 

Common sense — to say nothing of standard medical assessment — points to the kind of help they require. They’re counting on psychiatric treatment, which can help alleviate their mental health challenges and bring them to terms with who they really are. Sex change treatments do exactly the opposite, forcing kids to become something they biologically are not. This foolhardy effort is proven to cause worse physical health outcomes, from sexual infertility to weaker bones to greater risk of strokes. But even if you ignore the physical consequences, it also stands to reason that mental health won’t improve either. If common sense isn’t enough, the new Finnish study grounds this reasoning in science.

 

Will the activist community now admit the truth? That seems unlikely, given that so many people’s professional and political identity is defined by pushing child sex changes. But while activists’ views are likely set in stone, the medical establishment’s stance needs to shift, given the increasingly incontrovertible evidence.

 

Change is needed most from the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Endocrine Society, which represents my own medical specialty. These two professional associations were early backers of unquestioned — and really, unthinking — sex changes for kids. To this day, they proclaim their support for subjecting children to experimental chemical cocktails and invasive surgeries that frequently have lifelong complications. While the Endocrine Society has said it is developing new guidelines, it remains to be seen if they’ll be grounded in science or merely repeat the activist party line. For the sake of kids, the Endocrine Society needs to get this right.

 

Across America and the Western world, tens of thousands of children and young people are genuinely struggling with their gender. They deserve all the compassion and evidence-based care the medical community can provide. Alas, for the past decade-plus, most of these vulnerable young people have been given the opposite, receiving harmful treatments masquerading as medicine. Yet the facts are now clearer than ever before, and they point to a single and simple conclusion: No child should ever be allowed — much less encouraged — to endure a sex change.

YOUNG WOMAN LEFT PARALYSED AFTER BEING STRUCK BY DRUNK DRIVER, THEN RUN OVER BY TWO MORE VEHICLES

Daily Mail

 

Autistic woman, 24, worked hard to build independent life for herself... now she's PARALYZED thanks to selfishness of stranger

By ELIOT FORCE, US NEWS REPORTER

Published: 10:23 EDT, 21 April 2026 | Updated: 12:04 EDT, 21 April 2026

 

A young woman with autism who had successfully created an independent life for herself is now paralyzed from the waist down after she was struck by a suspected drunk driver.

 

Julie Steed, 24, was horrifically injured on the night of March 4 after she finished a shift and donned her helmet to ride home on her scooter in Lafayette, Louisiana.

 

While driving home, she was struck from behind by a drunk driver whose blood alcohol content was three times over the legal limit, police said.

 

As Julie lay helpless on the road, she was run over by two more vehicles. Her mother, Jamie Steed, told WBRC that doctors said the young woman had been dragged 500 feet.

 

Lafayette police arrested the alleged drunk driver, a man named Dakota Wagoner, 36. He was charged with operating while intoxicated and vehicular negligent injuring.

 

Photos of Julie in the hospital show her face and neck covered in horrific bruises. She is now paralyzed from the chest down with limited mobility in her right arm.

 

Julie's mother and sister set up a GoFundMe to help pay for medical expenses and the cost of renovating the family's home to accommodate the needs of a paralyzed person.

 

According to the fundraising page, Julie is 'autistic and has struggled with depression and anxiety her whole life.' That made her early steps into independence by finding a job and moving away from home particularly remarkable.

 

'She was living on her own. She was paying her bills. She got her a job, (taking) herself back and forth to work on her own,' Jamie told WBRC. 'I was so proud of her. I really was.'

 

The Steed family is from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, which is more than 400 miles from Lafayette.

 

That is where Jamie was when at 2am, she received the terrifying call informing her that her daughter was hit by a car and in critical condition at a hospital.

 

The mother rushed to Louisiana to be with her daughter, who has had five surgeries since she was struck by a car nearly two months ago.

 

According to the GoFundMe page, the first surgery was to repair Julie's back, and doctors had to use 'rods, screws and bolts.'

 

The second surgery was to give her a colostomy bag and repair her colon. The third surgery was to fix her broken right arm. The fourth surgery was to 'close her up' from the second surgery and remove dead tissue.

 

The fifth surgery took place about two weeks later on March 20. Doctors replaced her wound vac, which is a medical device used to drain fluids from injuries and promote healing.

 

Julie told WBRC: 'I know this isn’t the end of my life. I know that there are opportunities for me, but this isn’t something that you prepare for.'

 

'I’ve never once had the thought of, what if one day I become paralyzed?' she added.

 

The 24-year-old spent a month recovering from her severe injuries at a hospital in Louisiana before she was transferred to Nolan Hospital in Alabama to be closer to home and receive specialized care.

 

She is currently still recovering at the Alabama hospital. Once she is discharged, she will be transferred to an inpatient rehab facility and stay there for about a month.

 

According to the GoFundMe, the Steed family 'is preparing to care for her full-time, and her boyfriend is moving here to help as well.'

 

'To make our home accessible, we need to sell our current car and buy one that she can use, rip up the carpet so she can move around in her wheelchair, and remodel the bathroom so she can bathe safely and comfortably,' the family said.

 

'On top of that, we’re facing mounting medical bills and know she’ll need a hospital bed and a better wheelchair than what the hospital can provide.'

 

The family is planning to convert a building in their yard into a wheelchair-accessible home, 'so that way I can live as independently as possible with my loved ones,' Julie told WBRC.

 

The young woman also told the outlet that she hopes her story might discourage others from driving drunk in the future.

 

'Look at what you’ve done. You’re never going to undo your actions, but you can be better in the future,' she said.