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Woman in Canoe Pays with Her Life After Passing Over Hidden Alligator

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3 months ago

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A Florida woman died Tuesday afternoon when an alligator flipped her canoe and attacked her in Lake Kissimmee, which is south of Orlando and East of Tampa.

Cynthia Diekema, 61,  sat at the bow of the 14-foot canoe as she and her husband paddled the shallow depths near the mouth of Tiger Creek, according to The Lakeland Ledger.

The couple passed over an alligator in 2.5 feet of water, and the reptile began thrashing and flipped the couple’s boat over.

“She ended up on top of the alligator in the water and was bitten,” Maj. Evan Laskowski of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said at a news conference Wednesday.

“Her husband attempted to intervene, but was unsuccessful,” Laskowski said.

A sheriff’s office helicopter crew later spotted Diekema’s body floating in the water.

Bradley Johnson, the public information officer for FWC Division of Law Enforcement, said such alligator attacks are rare.

“This is not believed to be a predatory incident but simply a defensive incident, where they came upon the alligator beneath the water’s edge, and when the canoe struck it, it caused a reaction,” Laskowski said at the news conference.

That night, trappers caught two alligators that matched the description: one was 11 feet, 4 inches long and the other about 10 to 11 feet long, according to WKMG-TV in Orlando.

Both alligators were killed.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is still investigating the attack.

“While alligator attacks resulting in fatalities are extremely rare, this tragedy serves as a somber reminder of the powerful wildlife that share our natural spaces,” Col. Roger Young, executive director of the commission, said.

In March, a woman was attacked by an alligator while kayaking along Tiger Creek, according to Florida Today.

The woman went into shock and needed a tourniquet after an alligator shredded her elbow.

She was later flown to a hospital for treatment while trappers set out to search for the alligator, WKMG-TV reported on March 3.

Lake Kissimmee had the second highest population of alligators in Florida, numbering more than 16,000, while Lake Okeechobee had the most, according to The Lakeland Ledger, citing 2024 FWC census data.

Alligators are a problem in the state — so much so that it has an alligator elimination program, according to Florida Today.

The Statewide Nuisance Alligator Program uses contracted trappers to remove alligators that pose a threat to people, pets or property, according to a statement from SNAP.

This article appeared originally on The Western Journal.

The post Woman in Canoe Pays with Her Life After Passing Over Hidden Alligator appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Politics

Victor Reacts: This Is Almost Too Stupid to Be True – NYC Transgender Homeless Shelter (VIDEO)

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17 hours ago

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August 9, 2025

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Democrats continue to somehow subvert the lowest of expectations as they fight their woke crusades.

In a first ever virtue signal, New York City is set to open a transgender only homeless shelter.

The Gateway Pundit reported,

The city of New York is opening the nation’s first transgender-only homeless shelter.

The shelter, a partnership between a local LGBTQ nonprofit and the city government, will cost the city an extraordinary $65 million and will be the first transgender homeless shelter in the nation.

“ We’ve watched so many other corporations and foundations and businesses just like completely turn their back on the community and the city didn’t do it,” said Sean Ebony Coleman, founder and CEO of Destination Tomorrow, the nonprofit that will manage the shelter for the city.

“The city is keeping in line with what New York City has always been, a sanctuary city, a safe haven, but more importantly, a trendsetter when it comes to LGBTQ rights.”

The opening comes amid a broader homelessness crisis in New York City, where more than 100,000 people are estimated to be without stable housing on any given night.

The city’s shelter system is already stretched thin, with demand rising due to a combination of economic hardship, an influx of illegal aliens ,and a severe shortage of affordable housing.

Who cares about all the other homeless people in New York City each night, the transgender homeless come first.

Truth has become stranger than parody. With any luck, Democrats will continue down this path of self destruction that has been so thoroughly rejected by the American people.

The post Victor Reacts: This Is Almost Too Stupid to Be True – NYC Transgender Homeless Shelter (VIDEO) appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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Suspect in Deadly Montana Bar Shooting Captured After a Weeklong Manhunt

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17 hours ago

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August 9, 2025

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A weeklong manhunt has come to a close with the apprehension of Michael Paul Brown, a 45-year-old Army veteran, following a fatal mass shooting at The Owl Bar in Anaconda.

On August 1, 2025, at approximately 10:30 a.m., Brown entered The Owl Bar, where he lived next door, and opened fire with a rifle, killing four local residents: bartender Nancy Lauretta Kelley (64) and patrons Daniel Edwin Baillie (59), David Allen Leach (70), and Tony Wayne Palm (74).

A multi-agency effort, including state law enforcement, the U.S. Marshals Service, and federal resources, scoured the mountainous terrain surrounding Anaconda. Helicopters, K9 units, and tactical teams were deployed across the region.

A reward of $7,500 to $10,000 was offered for information leading to Brown’s capture.

On Friday, Montana Governor Greg Gianforte confirmed Brown’s arrest via social media, acknowledging the rapid and resolute law enforcement response.

“The Anaconda shooter Michael Brown has been apprehended. Incredible response from law enforcement officers across Montana. Thank you to all partners for your commitment to the search. May God continue to be with the families of the four victims still grieving their loss,” Gianforte.

CNN reported:

Brown had been on the run since the “biggest” shooting in the state of Montana in a decade. He was arrested around 2 p.m. local time Friday near the search area in Anaconda and is now in the custody of Anaconda-Deer Lodge County authorities, according to the Montana Department of Justice.

Brown, an Army veteran, was seen on security footage fleeing The Owl Bar, where the fatal shooting occurred, investigators said. Since then, he had been sought by authorities representing at least 38 local, state and federal agencies traversing challenging terrain in the western Montana wilderness.

“I am proud of the unrelenting law enforcement effort this week to find and arrest Michael Paul Brown. The support we’ve seen for the community of Anaconda from across the state and the nation has also been remarkable,” Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen said in a statement following the arrest. “The families and friends of the victims remain in my prayers.”

[…]

Brown served as an armor crewman in the US Army from January 2001 to May 2005 and was deployed to Iraq from February 2004 to March 2005, Lt. Col. Ruth Castro, a spokesperson with the US Army, previously told CNN.

Brown’s niece, Clare Boyle, previously told CNN he struggled with his mental health during his time in the Army and was never the same after his service. Brown’s mental health got progressively worse with the passing of both of his parents, Boyle said.

The post Suspect in Deadly Montana Bar Shooting Captured After a Weeklong Manhunt appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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WATCH: Fire Ravages World-Famous Mosque-Cathedral in Cordoba, Spain

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18 hours ago

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August 9, 2025

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Fire breaks out in the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption in Cordoba.

More than a tourist attraction, more than an architectural treasure, the Mosque-Cathedral in the Andalusian city of Cordoba, Spain is a historical monument and a spiritual center – so, all around the world, both the faithful and the history lovers are mourning as a massive fire consumes the building complex.

Newsweek reported:

“Firefighters are responding to the blaze at the major tourist attraction and UNESCO-listed heritage site in Andalusia. Footage shows thick smoke billowing out from the millennia-old building as flames lapped at its roof.

Firefighters from the city of Córdoba are still battling to extinguish the fire at the Mosque-Cathedral of Córdoba but local reports say the blaze is mostly contained as of 10 p.m. local time. The extent of damage is not yet clear.”

Being simultaneously one of the most significant buildings both in Islamic and in Christian architectural history, it began as a grand mosque in the 8th century and was transformed into a cathedral in 1236.

“The Mosque–Cathedral of Córdoba, officially called the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Assumption, was built as a mosque over 200 years starting 785 CE. The mosque opened in 988 CE, and remained a Muslim site for nearly 300 years before the Christian conquest of Cordoba in 1236 CE.

The structure converted to a cathedral, undergoing additional modifications and building until one final, major addition in 1607 CE.”

Read more, from November 2024:

‘The Virgin of Paris’: Medieval Statue of the Virgin Mary With Baby Jesus, That Survived the 2019 Fire, Is Returned to the Notre Dame Cathedral Ahead of December Grand Reopening

The post WATCH: Fire Ravages World-Famous Mosque-Cathedral in Cordoba, Spain appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.

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