<p>The Arlington Police Department recently announced a breakthrough in a 1991 cold case, thanks to the efforts of criminology students at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). Janie Perkins, 63, was taken into custody and charged with capital murder in connection with the death of Cynthia Gonzalez. Gonzalez, 26 at the time, had been missing since September 17, 1991, and her body was discovered five days later, with multiple gunshot wounds.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>The fresh lead in the case emerged after UTA criminology students, working on cold cases as part of a class project, began reviewing evidence from unsolved investigations. As part of a new initiative launched at the beginning of the semester, the students were assigned to groups that examined different cold cases in collaboration with the Arlington Police. During their review of Gonzalez’s case, the students raised red flags about Perkins. They discovered that Perkins had failed polygraph tests, never provided a solid alibi for the time of the murder, and had made disturbing comments suggesting she was pleased that Gonzalez was dead. Although polygraph results aren't admissible in court, the students’ findings piqued further interest.</p><p>&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Also Read: </strong><a href="https://www.wionews.com/trending/-portal-to-underworld-found-in-denver-stolen-in-early-20th-century-it-was-broken-into-25-pieces-1767092765791"><strong>'Portal to underworld' found in Denver: Stolen in early 20th century, it was broken into 25 pieces</strong></a></p><p>&nbsp;</p><p>Arlington detectives reopened the case, and new testimonies from witnesses revealed that Perkins had confessed to her involvement in the murder. These revelations led to her arrest. Arlington Police Chief Al Jones expressed gratitude for the students' work, saying, "When we launched our cold case partnership with UTA, we hoped for a result like this, but we didn’t expect it to happen so soon. This success is a testament to the hard work of the students and faculty." The police department hopes that this case will be the first of many to benefit from such collaborations.</p>

No one could solve this 1991 murder, until this group of students took a closer look

The Arlington Police Department recently announced a breakthrough in a 1991 cold case, thanks to the efforts of criminology students at the University of Texas at Arlington (UTA). Janie Perkins, 63, was taken into custody and charged with capital murder in connection with the death of Cynthia Gonzalez. Gonzalez, 26 at the time, had been missing since September 17, 1991, and her body was discovered five days later, with multiple gunshot wounds. The fresh lead in the case emerged after UTA criminology students, working on cold cases as part of a class project, began reviewing evidence from unsolved investigations. As part of a new initiative launched at the beginning of the semester, the students were assigned to groups that examined different cold cases in collaboration with the Arlington Police. During their review of Gonzalez’s case, the students raised red flags about Perkins. They discovered that Perkins had failed polygraph tests, never provided a solid alibi for the time of the murder, and had made disturbing comments suggesting she was pleased that Gonzalez was dead. Although polygraph results aren't admissible in court, the students’ findings piqued further interest. Also Read: 'Portal to underworld' found in Denver: Stolen in early 20th century, it was broken into 25 pieces Arlington detectives reopened the case, and new testimonies from witnesses revealed that Perkins had confessed to her involvement in the murder. These revelations led to her arrest. Arlington Police Chief Al Jones expressed gratitude for the students' work, saying, "When we launched our cold case partnership with UTA, we hoped for a result like this, but we didn’t expect it to happen so soon. This success is a testament to the hard work of the students and faculty." The police department hopes that this case will be the first of many to benefit from such collaborations.

<p>A cold case from 1991 has been solved after criminology students at the University of Texas at Arlington uncovered key clues, leading to an arrest in the murder</p>

<p>A university in the United States has congratulated a cat for attending every Zoom lecture with her owner.</p>

<p>Francesca Bourdier, who was forced to spend the majority of her college experience at home, used the Zoom app for online classes during her pandemic.</p>

<p>"I was pretty much at my apartment for most of the time and I had my cat next to me. Whenever I would have my Zoom lecture on, it's like she almost wanted to listen in on it, and she would always just sit by my laptop," she told Fox7.</p>

<p>Expressing her happiness that she wasn't alone in achieving the milestone of graduating, she wrote on Instagram, “My cat attended every zoom lecture I had so we will BOTH be graduating from THE University of Texas at Austin together.”</p>

<blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-permalink="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd3mK6WOlye/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" data-instgrm-version="14" style=" background:#FFF; border:0; border-radius:3px; box-shadow:0 0 1px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.5),0 1px 10px 0 rgba(0,0,0,0.15); margin: 1px; max-width:540px; min-width:326px; padding:0; width:99.375%; width:-webkit-calc(100% - 2px); width:calc(100% - 2px);">
<div style="padding:16px;">
<div style=" display: flex; flex-direction: row; align-items: center;">
<div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 40px; margin-right: 14px; width: 40px;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center;">
<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 100px;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 60px;">&nbsp;</div>
</div>
</div>

<div style="padding: 19% 0;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="display:block; height:50px; margin:0 auto 12px; width:50px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd3mK6WOlye/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank"><svg height="50px" version="1.1" viewbox="0 0 60 60" width="50px" xmlns="https://www.w3.org/2000/svg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"><g fill="none" fill-rule="evenodd" stroke="none" stroke-width="1"><g fill="#000000" transform="translate(-511.000000, -20.000000)"><g><path d="M556.869,30.41 C554.814,30.41 553.148,32.076 553.148,34.131 C553.148,36.186 554.814,37.852 556.869,37.852 C558.924,37.852 560.59,36.186 560.59,34.131 C560.59,32.076 558.924,30.41 556.869,30.41 M541,60.657 C535.114,60.657 530.342,55.887 530.342,50 C530.342,44.114 535.114,39.342 541,39.342 C546.887,39.342 551.658,44.114 551.658,50 C551.658,55.887 546.887,60.657 541,60.657 M541,33.886 C532.1,33.886 524.886,41.1 524.886,50 C524.886,58.899 532.1,66.113 541,66.113 C549.9,66.113 557.115,58.899 557.115,50 C557.115,41.1 549.9,33.886 541,33.886 M565.378,62.101 C565.244,65.022 564.756,66.606 564.346,67.663 C563.803,69.06 563.154,70.057 562.106,71.106 C561.058,72.155 560.06,72.803 558.662,73.347 C557.607,73.757 556.021,74.244 553.102,74.378 C549.944,74.521 548.997,74.552 541,74.552 C533.003,74.552 532.056,74.521 528.898,74.378 C525.979,74.244 524.393,73.757 523.338,73.347 C521.94,72.803 520.942,72.155 519.894,71.106 C518.846,70.057 518.197,69.06 517.654,67.663 C517.244,66.606 516.755,65.022 516.623,62.101 C516.479,58.943 516.448,57.996 516.448,50 C516.448,42.003 516.479,41.056 516.623,37.899 C516.755,34.978 517.244,33.391 517.654,32.338 C518.197,30.938 518.846,29.942 519.894,28.894 C520.942,27.846 521.94,27.196 523.338,26.654 C524.393,26.244 525.979,25.756 528.898,25.623 C532.057,25.479 533.004,25.448 541,25.448 C548.997,25.448 549.943,25.479 553.102,25.623 C556.021,25.756 557.607,26.244 558.662,26.654 C560.06,27.196 561.058,27.846 562.106,28.894 C563.154,29.942 563.803,30.938 564.346,32.338 C564.756,33.391 565.244,34.978 565.378,37.899 C565.522,41.056 565.552,42.003 565.552,50 C565.552,57.996 565.522,58.943 565.378,62.101 M570.82,37.631 C570.674,34.438 570.167,32.258 569.425,30.349 C568.659,28.377 567.633,26.702 565.965,25.035 C564.297,23.368 562.623,22.342 560.652,21.575 C558.743,20.834 556.562,20.326 553.369,20.18 C550.169,20.033 549.148,20 541,20 C532.853,20 531.831,20.033 528.631,20.18 C525.438,20.326 523.257,20.834 521.349,21.575 C519.376,22.342 517.703,23.368 516.035,25.035 C514.368,26.702 513.342,28.377 512.574,30.349 C511.834,32.258 511.326,34.438 511.181,37.631 C511.035,40.831 511,41.851 511,50 C511,58.147 511.035,59.17 511.181,62.369 C511.326,65.562 511.834,67.743 512.574,69.651 C513.342,71.625 514.368,73.296 516.035,74.965 C517.703,76.634 519.376,77.658 521.349,78.425 C523.257,79.167 525.438,79.673 528.631,79.82 C531.831,79.965 532.853,80.001 541,80.001 C549.148,80.001 550.169,79.965 553.369,79.82 C556.562,79.673 558.743,79.167 560.652,78.425 C562.623,77.658 564.297,76.634 565.965,74.965 C567.633,73.296 568.659,71.625 569.425,69.651 C570.167,67.743 570.674,65.562 570.82,62.369 C570.966,59.17 571,58.147 571,50 C571,41.851 570.966,40.831 570.82,37.631"></path></g></g></g></svg></a></div>

<div style="padding-top: 8px;">
<div style=" color:#3897f0; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:550; line-height:18px;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd3mK6WOlye/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" background:#FFFFFF; line-height:0; padding:0 0; text-align:center; text-decoration:none; width:100%;" target="_blank">View this post on Instagram</a></div>
</div>

<div style="padding: 12.5% 0;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: row; margin-bottom: 14px; align-items: center;">
<div>
<div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(0px) translateY(7px);">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; height: 12.5px; transform: rotate(-45deg) translateX(3px) translateY(1px); width: 12.5px; flex-grow: 0; margin-right: 14px; margin-left: 2px;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style="background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; height: 12.5px; width: 12.5px; transform: translateX(9px) translateY(-18px);">&nbsp;</div>
</div>

<div style="margin-left: 8px;">
<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 50%; flex-grow: 0; height: 20px; width: 20px;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 2px solid transparent; border-left: 6px solid #f4f4f4; border-bottom: 2px solid transparent; transform: translateX(16px) translateY(-4px) rotate(30deg)">&nbsp;</div>
</div>

<div style="margin-left: auto;">
<div style=" width: 0px; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-right: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(16px);">&nbsp;</div>

<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; flex-grow: 0; height: 12px; width: 16px; transform: translateY(-4px);">&nbsp;</div>

<div style=" width: 0; height: 0; border-top: 8px solid #F4F4F4; border-left: 8px solid transparent; transform: translateY(-4px) translateX(8px);">&nbsp;</div>
</div>
</div>

<div style="display: flex; flex-direction: column; flex-grow: 1; justify-content: center; margin-bottom: 24px;">
<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; margin-bottom: 6px; width: 224px;">&nbsp;</div>

<div style=" background-color: #F4F4F4; border-radius: 4px; flex-grow: 0; height: 14px; width: 144px;">&nbsp;</div>
</div>

<p style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; line-height:17px; margin-bottom:0; margin-top:8px; overflow:hidden; padding:8px 0 7px; text-align:center; text-overflow:ellipsis; white-space:nowrap;"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/Cd3mK6WOlye/?utm_source=ig_embed&amp;utm_campaign=loading" style=" color:#c9c8cd; font-family:Arial,sans-serif; font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;" target="_blank">A post shared by Francesca Bourdier (@francescabourdier)</a></p>
</div>
</blockquote>
<script async src="//www.instagram.com/embed.js"></script>

<p>Her post on the social networking app has gone viral and has received over 600 likes and more than 75 comments.</p>

<p>Congratulating the both of them, a Insta user wrote, “Only here because I saw you two on the news and I myself am a crazy cat lady who's obsessed with this entire situation.”</p>

<p>Another user commented on her post, “Ended up in my feed via a different account and had to come find the original. This made my day! Congratulations!”</p>

<p>“This is the cutest and most original thing I've seen in awhile! Congratulations to the both of you!!” added third.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Bourdier also bought Suki her own cap and gown even though her cat did not receive any graduating degree, she was happy to find her at every stage that led that day.&nbsp;</p>

<p><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>

<p><strong>Watch WION's live TV here:</strong><br />
&nbsp;</p>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false"><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1&lt;/div">&amp;times;</iframe></div>

<p>&nbsp;</p>
</div>


A university in the United States has congratulated a cat for attending every Zoom lecture with her owner. Francesca Bourdier, who was forced to spend the majority of her college experience at home, used the Zoom app for online classes during her pandemic.

A university in the United States has congratulated a cat for attending every Zoom lecture with her owner. Francesca Bourdier, who was forced to spend the majority of her college experience at home, used the Zoom app for online classes during her pandemic. "I was pretty much at my apartment for most of the time and I had my cat next to me. Whenever I would have my Zoom lecture on, it's like she almost wanted to listen in on it, and she would always just sit by my laptop," she told Fox7. Expressing her happiness that she wasn't alone in achieving the milestone of graduating, she wrote on Instagram, “My cat attended every zoom lecture I had so we will BOTH be graduating from THE University of Texas at Austin together.” View this post on Instagram A post shared by Francesca Bourdier (@francescabourdier) Her post on the social networking app has gone viral and has received over 600 likes and more than 75 comments. Congratulating the both of them, a Insta user wrote, “Only here because I saw you two on the news and I myself am a crazy cat lady who's obsessed with this entire situation.” Another user commented on her post, “Ended up in my feed via a different account and had to come find the original. This made my day! Congratulations!” “This is the cutest and most original thing I've seen in awhile! Congratulations to the both of you!!” added third. Bourdier also bought Suki her own cap and gown even though her cat did not receive any graduating degree, she was happy to find her at every stage that led that day. (With inputs from agencies) Watch WION's live TV here:

United States: University congratulates cat for attending every Zoom lecture with her owner

<p>Scientists at the University of Texas at Austin have predicted that the US state is going to be hit hard by a killer fungus.</p>

<p>It comes after crazy and invasive ants rolled into new parts of Texas. They are called "crazy" because of their erratic, jarring movements,&nbsp;unlike the orderly marches of their cousin species.&nbsp;</p>

<p>While they don't have the venomous bite of fire ants, they secrete formic acid that shields them against fire ant venom, and incapacitates native animals.</p>

<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/us-centre-for-disease-control-and-prevention-reports-outbreak-of-superbug-fungus-400406/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>

<p>Like fire ants, whom they have displaced in parts of Texas, tawny crazy ants are native to Argentina and Brazil and came to the United States via ships.&nbsp;</p>

<p>The “superbug” outbreaks were reported in two hospitals at Dallas, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. A handful of the patients had invasive fungal infections that were impervious to all three major classes of medications.</p>

<p>“This is really the first time we’ve started seeing clustering of resistance” in which patients seemed to be getting the infections from each other, said the CDC’s Dr. Meghan Lyman.</p>

<p>The fungus, Candida auris, is a harmful form of yeast that is considered dangerous to hospital and nursing home patients with serious medical problems. It is most deadly when it enters the bloodstream, heart or brain. Outbreaks in health care facilities have been spurred when the fungus spread through patient contact or on contaminated surfaces.</p>

<p><strong><a href="https://www.wionews.com/science/meet-indian-jumping-ants-who-can-shrink-and-re-grow-their-brains-377559">Also read |&nbsp;Meet Indian jumping ants, who can shrink and re-grow their brains</a></strong></p>

<p>Researchers believe a naturally occurring fungus-like pathogen can be used to reverse their rampant spread across the southeastern United States, where they have wrought havoc for the past 20 years.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Ecologist and lead author Edward LeBrun said that the fungus had already driven pockets of the invaders to extinction, and would soon be tested at environmentally-sensitive sites to protect endangered species.</p>

<p>"It's kind of a horror show," said LeBrun, who described apocalyptic rivers of ants swarming trees at an infestation site he visited at the Estero Llano Grande State Park, which had lost native ants, insects, scorpions, snakes, lizards and birds to the invaders.</p>

<p>Not only are they destroying ecosystems, "they're miserable to live with" for humans, said LeBrun. The ants seek out electrical systems to nest in, causing shorts in breaker boxes, AC units and sewage pumps.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Pesticides are highly toxic and serve only to slow their progress, leading to snowdrift piles of dead ants that have to be cleared, and the ants eventually break through anyway.</p>

<p>Health officials have sounded alarms for years about the superbug after seeing infections in which commonly used drugs had little effect. In 2019, doctors diagnosed three cases in New York that were also resistant to a class of drugs, called echinocandins, that were considered a last line of defense.</p>

<p>In those cases, there was no evidence the infections had spread from patient to patient — scientists concluded the resistance to the drugs formed during treatment.</p>

<p>The new cases did spread, the CDC concluded. Investigators reviewed medical records and found no evidence of previous antifungal use among the patients in those clusters. Health officials say that means they spread from person to person.</p>

<p>Microsporidians commonly hijack an insect's fat cells, turning them into spore factories. The pathogen's origins aren't clear -- perhaps it came from South America or perhaps from another insect.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Whatever the case, scientists found it cropping up across Texas. They observed 15 populations for eight years, finding that every population harboring the pathogen declined, and 60 percent of the populations went completely extinct.<br />
&nbsp;</p>

<p data-changed="false" data-paragraphid="14"><em>(With inputs from agencies)</em></p>


Scientists at the University of Texas at Austin have predicted that the US state is going to be hit hard by a killer fungus. It comes after crazy and invasive ants rolled into new parts of Texas.

Scientists at the University of Texas at Austin have predicted that the US state is going to be hit hard by a killer fungus. It comes after crazy and invasive ants rolled into new parts of Texas. They are called "crazy" because of their erratic, jarring movements, unlike the orderly marches of their cousin species. While they don't have the venomous bite of fire ants, they secrete formic acid that shields them against fire ant venom, and incapacitates native animals. Like fire ants, whom they have displaced in parts of Texas, tawny crazy ants are native to Argentina and Brazil and came to the United States via ships. The “superbug” outbreaks were reported in two hospitals at Dallas, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported. A handful of the patients had invasive fungal infections that were impervious to all three major classes of medications. “This is really the first time we’ve started seeing clustering of resistance” in which patients seemed to be getting the infections from each other, said the CDC’s Dr. Meghan Lyman. The fungus, Candida auris, is a harmful form of yeast that is considered dangerous to hospital and nursing home patients with serious medical problems. It is most deadly when it enters the bloodstream, heart or brain. Outbreaks in health care facilities have been spurred when the fungus spread through patient contact or on contaminated surfaces. Also read | Meet Indian jumping ants, who can shrink and re-grow their brains Researchers believe a naturally occurring fungus-like pathogen can be used to reverse their rampant spread across the southeastern United States, where they have wrought havoc for the past 20 years. Ecologist and lead author Edward LeBrun said that the fungus had already driven pockets of the invaders to extinction, and would soon be tested at environmentally-sensitive sites to protect endangered species. "It's kind of a horror show," said LeBrun, who described apocalyptic rivers of ants swarming trees at an infestation site he visited at the Estero Llano Grande State Park, which had lost native ants, insects, scorpions, snakes, lizards and birds to the invaders. Not only are they destroying ecosystems, "they're miserable to live with" for humans, said LeBrun. The ants seek out electrical systems to nest in, causing shorts in breaker boxes, AC units and sewage pumps. Pesticides are highly toxic and serve only to slow their progress, leading to snowdrift piles of dead ants that have to be cleared, and the ants eventually break through anyway. Health officials have sounded alarms for years about the superbug after seeing infections in which commonly used drugs had little effect. In 2019, doctors diagnosed three cases in New York that were also resistant to a class of drugs, called echinocandins, that were considered a last line of defense. In those cases, there was no evidence the infections had spread from patient to patient — scientists concluded the resistance to the drugs formed during treatment. The new cases did spread, the CDC concluded. Investigators reviewed medical records and found no evidence of previous antifungal use among the patients in those clusters. Health officials say that means they spread from person to person. Microsporidians commonly hijack an insect's fat cells, turning them into spore factories. The pathogen's origins aren't clear -- perhaps it came from South America or perhaps from another insect. Whatever the case, scientists found it cropping up across Texas. They observed 15 populations for eight years, finding that every population harboring the pathogen declined, and 60 percent of the populations went completely extinct. (With inputs from agencies)

After invasive ants, Texas to be hit hard by a killer fungus