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Ouch! Illusionist Roy Horn Mauled By Tiger
It was just another show Friday night for Las Vegas illusionists Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn, who met on a cruise ship more than forty years ago and have been performing in front of sold-out Las Vegas casino crowds ever since. Until a 600-pound Royal White tiger grabbed onto Roy’s arm, and then bit his neck and dragged him offstage in front of the Mirage casino packed crowd of 1,500. According to the Associated Press, the tiger was sprayed with a fire extinguisher to get him to let go of Horn, who was then taken to the hospital. Horn suffered massive injuries, undergoing emergency brain surgery and suffering a stroke in the aftermath of the mauling. The attack was the first in almost 5,700 shows at the Mirage, and the reasons are unknown. “The best guess is that maybe he was playing with Roy and then bit his hand and then got scared,” said Philip Misiura, general manager of the show, in a Reuters article. On Monday’s edition of Larry King Live, it was said that before Horn was taken away by ambulance, he insisted that the tiger not be harmed. Siegfried and Roy’s show at the Mirage has been postponed indefinitely, and the 267 human employees have been told to look for new jobs.
Do-Not-Call Registry Approved By 10th Circuit
According to the Associated Press, the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Federal Trade Commission could operate a national Do-Not-Call registry. Questions had arisen over whether the FTC had the legal authority to run the registry after U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham of Denver banned the FTC from implementing the registry because the list blocks calls from businesses but not charities. “The Supreme Court has held that there is undoubtedly a substantial governmental interest in the prevention of abusive and coercive sales practices,” the circuit court said. “The prevention of intrusion upon privacy in the home is another paradigmatic substantial governmental interest.” About 50 million Americans have signed up for the free registry. Among the downsides of the do-not-call registry are that Americans on the list will no longer have easy access to discount magazine subscriptions, new lines of credit, and term life insurance without a medical exam. Unless they have e-mail addresses.