This Day In History

Dec 14 1503
Nostradamus born. If you write vague enough prophecies, they will fool almost anyone.

Dec 14 1944
Lupe Velez, Hollywood's "Mexican Spitfire" of the 1940's, commits suicide with an overdose of sleeping pills. Contrary to her plans of being found laid out on the bed in a silk nightgown, she is instead discovered in the bathroom with her head in the toilet. Her ex-husband, Tarzan star Johnny Weismuller, frequently used to beat her.

Dec 14 1991
A ferry near Safaga, Egypt on the Red Sea strikes a coral reef, drowning more than 460 passengers.

Jury Deliberating Elizabeth Smart Kidnapping Case

Salt Lake Tribune- In the face of damning evidence that he kidnapped, raped and degraded Elizabeth Smart, Brian David Mitchell’s attorney had difficulty saying anything positive about the 57-year-old, self-proclaimed prophet.

“He is not a good person,” Robert Steele told a federal court jury Thursday during closing arguments at Mitchell’s trial.

Instead, Steele claimed that Mitchell was mentally ill and suffering from the delusion that he was commanded by God when he abducted then-14-year-old Smart at knifepoint from her Salt Lake City home in June 2002.

“I don’t think he has the free will to say, ‘God, I’m not going to do it.’ ” Steele said in asking the jury to find Mitchell not guilty by reason of insanity.

Twelve jurors began deliberating at 5:35 p.m. Thursday, but they went home for the night three hours later. They will resume deliberations Friday morning.

Mitchell is charged with interstate kidnapping and unlawful transportation of a minor to engage in sexual activity for allegedly holding Smart captive for nine months, including near-daily rapes and a trip to California and back.

During their closing arguments, prosecutors argued against the notion that Mitchell was insane when he committed the crimes.

U.S. District Attorney Diana Hagen told jurors that, according to trial testimony, Mitchell disobeyed revelations from God “all the time.”

Notre Dame Student Tweets ‘I Guess I’ve Lived Long Enough’ Hours Before Dying In Freak Accident

Notre Dame, Indiana – A 20-year-old Notre Dame student was killed in a tragic accident after the scissor lift he was standing on toppled over in a strong gust of wind.

Declan Sullivan worked as a member of the athletic department’s video crew and was on the lift, which extends above the field’s goal posts, recording the team practice.

Hours before the accident occurred, Sullivan sent a prophetic messages to Twitter that read: ‘Gust of wind up to 60mph well today will be fun at work… I guess I’ve lived long enough.’ This was followed by another at 4.06pm, that read: ‘Holy f*ck holy f*ck this is terrifying.’

At 4:50pm, the tower would fall over in a 51mph gust of wind, fatally injuring Sullivan. He was rushed to a nearby hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly after his arrival.

Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said: ‘Our thoughts and prayers go out to Declan’s family and friends. Declan was a diligent student worker in our video department and had a tremendous personality and great sense of humour. He brightened the days for all that had the privilege to work with him and the Notre Dame football family will dearly miss him.’

Others are wondering why a student was even allowed on top of the lift in those conditions in the first place, a question the athletic department will have to answer eventually.

'And the Last Shall be First'

On the weekend of his presidential inauguration in 1961, John Kennedy gave Ted, the last born of the Kennedy siblings, an engraved cigarette box. It read, "And the last shall be first." That was almost 50 years ago. Neither of them knew then in just what ways that prophecy might turn out to be true, Time.com reports. full story