Wasted Daily News

Transportation officials have vowed to figure out how a group of cows wander onto Interstate 95, most recently on Tuesday morning when several Holsteins stopped rush hour traffic.

The cows from Brook-Knoll Farm walked onto the highway near Exit 2 about 8 a.m. State Police stopped traffic while two troopers used air horns to shoo away the bovines, which can weigh about 1,500 pounds each.

“If a vehicle hits them, it could cause a serious, serious accident,” Sgt. Nicholas Tella said. Read the rest of this entry →

Oscar the cat seems to have an uncanny knack for predicting when nursing home patients are going to die, by curling up next to them during their final hours. His accuracy, observed in 25 cases, has led the staff to call family members once he has chosen someone. It usually means they have less than four hours to live.

“He doesn’t make too many mistakes. He seems to understand when patients are about to die,” said Dr. David Dosa in an interview. He describes the phenomenon in a poignant essay in Thursday’s issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

“Many family members take some solace from it. They appreciate the companionship that the cat provides for their dying loved one,” said Dosa, a geriatrician and assistant professor of medicine at Brown University. Read the rest of this entry →

The house is for sale well below its assessed value, has four bedrooms and sits on more than a half acre of land. It’s also got lots of vultures, and that’s made it a tough sell.

The trees around the Hopkinton house are a year-round nesting ground for turkey and black vultures. The previous owners blamed the birds for polluting their well, scaring their children and causing various illnesses.

But real estate agent Patrick Murray said he’s optimistic it could make a good home for the right buyer. It’s listed at $189,900, below the assessed value of $222,800, and Murray is pitching it as a place that could “make an excellent bird-watching bed-and-breakfast establishment.”

“What am I supposed to do?” Murray asked. “I’m trying to turn lemons into lemonade.”

For now, the house is empty after a March foreclosure.

Previous owners Daniel and Sue Cullen, who bought the house in 2002 for $152,000, told the Providence Journal that any buyers should beware. Daniel Cullen said the vultures stayed no matter what he tried, and the state Department of Environmental Management told him vultures are protected by the federal government from destruction or harassment.

The Cullens now live in a rented house in North Stonington, Conn. Their kids seem healthier, and they’re outside more so they’re losing weight, Daniel Cullen said.

“We are doing wonderful,” he said.

Apart from the vultures, the house needs some work, including new windows, doors, siding and a new septic system, Murray said

In the three months on the market, there have been 18 showings and Murray said he’s had a couple offers, but nothing the bank would accept.

“It’s just a matter of time,” he said. “The right guy will come along.”