News Briefs

Prisoner sues after his weight loss

A US prisoner named Broderick Lloyd Laswell is suing the Benton County jail with a federal lawsuit after he lost almost 100 pounds. He complained that the jail is not feeding him enough, even though he now weighs 308 pounds. He said that his vision has even become blurry while attempting to workout. The prison said that it was feeding him meals that averaged 3,000 calories each day. This is much more than the recommended calorie intake for the US. Before being jailed, Laswell weighed 406 pounds. He was charged with beating and stabbing a man to death. He said, “The only reason we lost weight in here is because we are literally being starved to death.” His suit also requests that the prison serve hot food instead of cold food.

Dancing prisoners all the rage

Ever since a YouTube video was posted showing prisoners in a Philippines’ dancing to Michael Jackson’s song, “Thriller,” people have been lining up to watch them perform. The dance had over 1,000 prisoners in their orange jumpsuits. The video had almost 15 million views. Now people in the area are visiting the prison each month to watch their next performance from viewing platforms around the exercise ground. Some of the other songs that have been danced to are Queen’s “Radio Ga Ga” and a Bonnie Tyler song called “I Need a Hero.” The show usually lasts two hours and visitors can have their pictures taken with the prisoners afterward. They even have prison shirts available for sale. All of the prisoners seem to be enjoying the celebrity attention.

Chernobyl to get new sarcophagus

It was recently announced that a brand new shelter will begin construction next year to replace the Chernobyl nuclear power plant’s current shelter. The current shelter has been in place for 22 years and is in danger of collapsing. The new shelter will be built next to the reactor and slid into place by rail. It will weigh 20,000 tons and be “345 feet tall, 840 feet wide and 490 feet long.” The shelter was designed by a French-led consortium. After the shelter is in place, the old shelter will be removed, and, in 50 years, the nuclear fuel left in the reactor will be pulled out. Over 95% of the original nuclear fuel is believed to still be in the reactor.