TIME Crime

Alleged Killer Arrested After Pictures of Murdered Girlfriend Posted Online

Body Found-Online Photos
This image released by the Portland, Ore., Police Bureau, shows David Kalac, 33, who police say is a suspect in the killing of a woman in Port Orchard, Wash., where graphic photos of the victim's body were posted online hours before before police found the body. ( AP Photo/Portland Police Bureau) AP—AP

"Turns out it's way harder to strangle someone to death than it looks on the movies"

Washington state police officials said they arrested a man Wednesday night after pictures of his murdered girlfriend’s body were posted online on 4chan, the anonymous messaging board website linked to this summer’s nude celebrity photo leak.

David Michael Kalac, 33, surrendered to Oregon police at 8:50 p.m. local time and was charged with second-degree murder.

The arrest came after an anonymous poster published photos Tuesday appearing to show the corpse of Amber Lynn Coplin, accompanied by the message: “Turns out it’s way harder to strangle someone to death than it looks on the movies… She fought so Damn hard.”

The Washington Post reports that another disturbing message by the poster read:

Check the news for Port Orchard Washington in a few hours. Her son will be home from school soon. He’ll find her, then call the cops. I just wanted to share the pics before they find me. I bought a BB gun that looks realistic enough. When they come, I’ll pull it and it will be suicide by cop. I understand the doubts. Just check the f*** news. I have to lose my phone now.

Coplin’s 13-year-old son found her body shortly after the photos were published online.

NBC reports that an affadavit indicates Kalac, who is suspected of driving away in Coplin’s car following her murder late Monday or early Tuesday, texted friends with messages like, “S*** is all f***** now. You’ll see me in the news.”

Police said that Kalac is cooperating with investigators.

TIME Food & Drink

Starbucks Brings Back Eggnog Latte After Outcry

Operations Inside A Starbucks Corp. Coffee Shop
The Starbucks Corp. logo hangs outside of a coffee shop in London, U.K., on Monday, June 9, 2014. Bloomberg—Getty Images

The coffee giant admitted it laid an egg dropping the holiday favorite from menus

Starbucks has announced it will bring back the Eggnog Latte, after customer complaints that the holiday favorite did not appear alongside the coffee chain’s red holiday cups on Nov. 1.

Starbucks had dropped the seasonal drink—made with spiced eggnog, espresso and nutmeg—in an effort to streamline its menu, but because it has been a seasonal offering since 1986, fans were not ready to give up their holiday treat.

Though customers in the Pacific Northwest have already seen the beverage return to menus, the rest of the country will have to wait until Nov. 17, when the coffee giant estimates it will be able to stock up on the necessary supplies.

The Seattle-based chain was also forced to bring back its other seasonal favorite, Gingerbread Latte, after retiring it in Pacific Northwestern stores (though it has remained stocked in the rest of the country).

 

Next year, Starbucks will know better than to mess with the sentimental ties to that time of year when we all need a little extra caffeine.

[USA Today]

TIME animals

This Baby Otter Learning How to Swim Is the Cutest Thing You’ll See Today

Oh, my heart

You may not have known how much you needed this video of a baby otter swimming, but the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago sure did.

The Chicago-based aquarium has welcomed this little fellow to their facilities and now you can welcome the pup into your heart. You can thank us later.

Pup 681, the name the otter was given, was discovered orphaned on a California beach in late September weighing a mere 1 kg. After some much-needed rehabilitation, the Shedd accepted a California aquarium’s invitation to take care of the pup full time.

“It truly takes a village to rehabilitate a young sea otter. Our animal care team is teaching the pup how to be an otter,” said Tim Binder, vice president of Animal Collections for Shedd in a press release. And, apparently, teaching the world what it means to love.

(H/t Mashable)

Read next: Charlie the Beagle Will Trade You His Toy for Your Breakfast

TIME Comics

Bill Watterson Drew a New Comic, and It’s Really Funny

WATTERSON
Bill Watterson, creator of the syndicated cartoon strip "Calvin & Hobbes" is shown in this Feb. 24, 1986 file photo at his home in Chagrin Falls, Ohio. C.H. Pete Copeland—The Plain Dealer/AP

The 15-panel comic was created by Watterson for France's 2015 Angoulême International Comics Festival

Bill Watterson, the reclusive cartoonist behind Calvin and Hobbes, has created a new comic. But don’t go looking for it in your local newspaper.

Watterson’s latest strip was created in celebration of France’s 2015 Angoulême International Comics Festival. In 2014, Watterson received the Grand Prix award at the festival, its highest honor, for his esteemed comic about an imaginative little boy named Calvin and his wise stuffed tiger Hobbes. Since retiring the cartoon in 1995, Watterson rarely illustrates strips. One exception is a poster he drew for the recent comic strip documentary, Stripped.

In an interview, Watterson said he drew his latest comic without text in order to break any language barriers. “Telling a story only in pictures is one of the great strengths — and greatest pleasures — offered by comics,” Watterson said.

TIME Music

Hear Taylor Swift’s ‘Shake It Off’ Played With Ukeleles, Shakers and Kazoos

We can't stop, won't stop grooving to this

Are you sick of hearing “Shake It Off” yet? If your answer is yes, that’s nonsense because that song still has at least a month left before it becomes insufferable.

But if you do want to hear a new spin on the catchy Taylor Swift hit, check out this cover by Canadian five-piece rock band Walk off the Earth. They use ukeleles, kazoos and shakers to create a very chill but still upbeat version of the 1989 track. They even perform it while sitting beside some beautiful body of water at sunset for an especially chill vibe.

This isn’t the first time Walk off the Earth has taken on a Tay-Tay song. Here’s their cover of “I Knew You Were Trouble”:

TIME space

Watch 3D Videos of the International Space Station

Nasa is using more 3D video

Astronauts at the International Space Station have created a 3D video that shows a GoPro inside of a bubble floating in the space station.

Three astronauts–Steve Swanson, Reid Wiseman and Alexander Gerst–are seen studying water surface tension in microgravity. The first video below is of their bubble experiment, and the second video was shot by astronaut Don Pettit in 2012, also in 3D.

Nasa is using more 3D video to capture what their astronauts are seeing and experiencing in space.

TIME viral

It Doesn’t Matter if Alex From Target Is Real or Fake

YouTube

We have become conditioned to trust both everything and nothing

The Internet is an emotional roller coaster.

Over the weekend, a picture of a 16-year-old cashier now forever known as Alex from Target went mega-viral for no discernible reason save the fact that the Internet is 1) incredibly random and 2) run by teenagers who love adorable boys.

By Tuesday, a digital marketing company called Breakr told CNET that it was actually responsible for Alex from Target’s virality — launching his fans into a deep depression made up of sad emoji upon realizing that everything is, in fact, a lie. Later that day, following significant Twitter backlash, Breakr backpedaled and said the meme was real — the company had merely “drummed up support.”

So is he real? Business Insider is skeptical and thinks that Target — a company that, let’s face it, could use some good press right now — could actually be the brains behind the operation. The fact that Alex waited a few days to go on Ellen as his first press appearance seems kind of calculated (you know all the morning shows were calling), and companies have a history of planting viral stories. Some never even end up coming clean — which, considering the Breakr backlash, is understandable.

But when Alex appeared on Ellen, he was everything we wanted him to be. Confused (“I was just really confused!”), unassuming (when asked if he could use the moment to capitalize on other talents he claimed he couldn’t even dance well), and unready for fame (his Twitter following jumped form 144 to 550k — “I feel so pressured, they’re waiting!”)

We may never really know whether Alex from Target is real, a marketing ploy, or a little bit of both. And it doesn’t really matter. We have become conditioned to trust both everything and nothing. We know that most viral moments are too good to be true, and that every meme runs the risk of breaking our hearts. And yet, having the collective memory of a goldfish, the Twitterverse will continue to favorite and share.

Because Alex is adorable and a great distraction. Even if Alex is lie.

See More:
7 Incredible Viral Moments That Turned Out to Be Marketing Stunts

TIME Music

A Brief History of Kendrick Lamar and Taylor Swift’s Mutual Respect and Adoration

Taylor Swift and Kendrick Lamar
Getty Images (2)

Lamar and Swift have been vocal in their support of each other — and they also genuinely dig each other's tunes

Last night, Taylor Swift took to Instagram to celebrate her record album sales the best way she knew how: by jamming out to Kendrick Lamar:

Tay’s love for Kendrick, of course, is no secret. In a September interview with Rolling Stone, she said his “Backseat Freestyle” (which is the song she’s lip-synching above) is her “go-to” jam to help her “immediately go from feeling victimized to feeling awesome.” She proudly declared that she knew every word to the three-and-a-half-minute track.

Then there was the time Taylor rather enthusiastically rocked out to Kendrick’s performance at the Grammys while the rest of the crowd sat demurely in their seats. Who would have expected T-Swift to be such a big K.Dot fan? (K.Dot was Kendrick Lamar’s former rap name, in case you were unaware. We’re assuming Tay-Tay already knew that.)

Here’s the thing, though: the love is not unrequited. It’s reciprocal and it’s real (real, real, really really real). Yup — Kendrick feels the love too.

After Taylor’s shout-out in Rolling Stone, Kendrick had nothing but gratitude and praise for the country-pop singer. “I appreciate Taylor Swift for supporting not only my music but just the hip-hop culture,” he said in an interview with the Associated Press. “There’s really no gap. It’s music and it feels good.” He added that her comments helped show that hip-hop is something that can and should be enjoyed by everybody. “Some people always try to lock it down and categorize it for one particular listener,” he said. “But it moves all, even people from other genres.”

And in a recent interview with The Fader, Kendrick once again confirmed that he respects Taylor as a fellow musician — and, again, as someone who appreciates and enjoys music that’s wildly different from her own.

“Shout out to Taylor Swift,” he said. “You can’t put great music in different genres. I enjoy great music outside of my own music all the time, so I definitely can see where she’s coming from when she says that she listens to the record, and it’s a great thing for her to acknowledge that and put that good energy out into the world like that.”

But then, things got even better. When the conversation turned to Taylor’s recent hit “Shake It Off,” Kendrick proved that he doesn’t just respect her as a musician — he also genuinely enjoys her work. “I love that song,” he said, before launching into an impromptu sing-along:

“Yeah, I ain’t playin'” he said after. “I say what I mean, I mean what I say.”

Soon, a Dallas radio station asked Kendrick to freestyle over the “Shake It Off” beat, since he’s clearly such a big fan of the tune — and of course, he totally goes for it. “K.Dot, you know that he’s hot” he spits. “I can do rhythm, hip-hop, I can do pop.”

We can only hope the Kendrick/Taylor love continues to grow into something big and concrete (yet still, of course, platonic) enough for Taylor to one day write a song about it — a song that Kendrick would then cover.

TIME Internet

7 Incredible Viral Moments That Turned Out to Be Marketing Stunts

130883718
Businessman sitting in front of his laptop, angry Getty Images

Social marketing schemes will break your heart

There have been a lot of questions about whether or not overnight Internet darling ‘Alex from Target‘ is a real viral sensation or a just a marketing ploy. Here are 7 other viral sensations that broke our hearts when we found out they weren’t real:

Dumb Starbucks

In February, a “Dumb Starbucks” opened its doors in Los Angeles. Not only did the Internet freak out, but people actually got out from behind their computers to line up around the block to order Dumb Espressos and buy Dumb Norah Jones CDs. Then it turned out to be part of a Comedy Central show hosted by comedian Nathan Fielder. Womp womp.

Bar for Pregnant Women

The Internet was horrified when pictures of Gestations, the self-proclaimed “first bar for pregnant women,” began making the rounds on Twitter. “It may just be a tasteless advertising gimmick,” the New York Post wrote. And it was. Gestations, soon replaced by Blackbox bar for on-duty pilots, was just a way for an app called Bartendr to drum up publicity.

Worst Twerk Fail

A YouTube video showing a girl catching on fire after attempting to twerk upside down racked up 9 million views in just six days. It was featured on The View and The Today Show. And then Jimmy Kimmel revealed it was all a stunt for his show, and the woman was a literal stunt woman.

Hoverboard was a lie

In March, people were convinced that hoverboards were about to become a reality. And then Funny or Die released a statement declaring that the ad was fake. “Sadly, we were lying,” the liars explained.

20 Strangers Kissing

A beautiful, seemingly sincere video showing strangers — gay and straight, young and — meeting and then kissing garnered 42 million YouTube views in four days. And then the world found out that it was actually an ad for a clothing company. Love isn’t real. Trust no one.

Evan Longoria’s Bare Hand Catch

Baseball player Evan Longoria saved a reporter’s life by catching a ball speeding towards her head with his bare hand. Except he didn’t because it was a stunt for Gillette.

Ellen’s Celebrity Selfie at the Oscars

If you put the world’s most famous actors together in a picture, it’s hardly surprising that it will become the most retweeted selfie ever. But was Ellen’s “spontaneous” Oscars moment really that spontaneous? Or was it an ad for event sponsor Samsung? Ish. Samsung spent an estimated $20 million on the show, and marketing chief Todd Pendleton told Adweek that it planned to have Ellen take a selfie with Meryl Streep using a Samsung smartphone. Ellen may have upped the stakes, but it was, essentially, an ad.

TIME viral

This Local News Reporter Dancing to T.I. Is Everything

"Where They At Doe" is unstoppable.

Local news is a treasure trove of incredible moments. Like this or this or this or this video of West Virginia news anchor Dan Thorn busting a move to T.I. at the news desk.

WVNS 59 News was on a commercial break, but the cameras were still rolling when the reporter started getting down to T.I.’s “Where They At Doe,” proving you don’t have to be in the club to drop it low.

While this video would seem to prove the theory that when T.I. plays, you dance, Thorn’s co-anchor Sarah Pisciuneri was clearly not impressed with his iPad-wielding dance moves. Her disinterest was explained when she tragically announced that she just can’t dance on camera. Seems like she could pick up a few pointers from Thorn on that front.

As for Thorn, now that he’s practiced dancing alone to T.I., we’ll look for his appearance on dancing alone to Pony.

H/T Tastefully Offensive

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