The bodies of Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez and his 23-month-old daughter, Valeria, were found in the Rio Grande on Monday.CreditCreditJulia Le Duc/Associated Press
MEXICO
CITY — The father and daughter lie face down in the muddy water along
the banks of the Rio Grande, her tiny head tucked inside his T-shirt, an
arm draped over his neck.
The
portrait of desperation was captured on Monday by the journalist Julia
Le Duc, in the hours after Óscar Alberto Martínez Ramírez died with his
23-month-old daughter, Valeria, as they tried to cross from Mexico to
the United States.
The image
represents a poignant distillation of the perilous journey migrants face
on their passage north to the United States, and the tragic
consequences that often go unseen in the loud and caustic debate over
border policy.
It recalled other
powerful and sometimes disturbing photos that have galvanized public
attention to the horrors of war and the acute suffering of individual
refugees and migrants — personal stories that are often obscured by
larger events.
Like
the iconic photo of a bleeding Syrian child pulled from the rubble in
Aleppo after an airstrike or the 1993 shot of a starving toddler and a
nearby vulture in Sudan, the image of a single father and his young
child washed up on the Rio Grande’s shore had the potential to prick the
public conscience.
As the photo
ricocheted around social media on Tuesday, Democrats in the House were
moving toward approval of an emergency $4.5 billion humanitarian aid
bill to address the plight of migrants at the border.
In Hudson, Fla., Brandon McCray, 47, came unglued on Tuesday, May 1,
after discovering two of his socks missing. When suspicion fell on his
roommate, Frank Smith, 53, McCray attacked him with a sword, according
to WTVT. The attack continued as McCray also struck and injured two
women living at the home. Pasco County Sheriff’s deputies said Smith
nearly lost several fingers trying to defend himself. Deputies arrested
McCray at a neighbor’s house on charges of attempted homicide and
battery. Must Be a Millennial Thing
As finals were ramping up at the University of Utah at the end of
April, one student’s class project went viral: Senior Nemo Miller
created a stand-alone closet—placed in the J. Willard Marriott
Library—where stressed-out students could go for a good cry. KSL-TV
reported “The Cry Closet” caught on quickly; even with a suggested
10-minute limit, @Gemini tweeted, “I stayed 11 minutes, but I feel so
much better. Thank you to whoever built this. Can we add a box of
tissues, please?” Miller filled the closet with stuffed animals and soft
materials. “I think everyone just needs a safe space sometimes,” she
said, “even if it’s in a very public place.” Terrus Incognito?
A French museum dedicated to the work of painter Etienne Terrus
announced April 27 that more than half of its collection from the
19th-century artist are forgeries. The Terrus Museum in Elne, where he
was born, gathered a group of experts to inspect the works after a
visiting art historian noticed some of the paintings depict buildings
that were not constructed until after Terrus’ death. In all, 82
paintings were determined to be fake. BBC News reported that the town’s
mayor, Yves Barniol, called the situation “a disaster” and apologized to
museum visitors. High on the Hog
On Yaji Mountain in China, hog farmers are experimenting with
high-rise hog breeding facilities that house 1,000 head of sows per
floor. Xu Jiajing, manager of Guangxi Yangxiang Co. Ltd., told Reuters
that the “hog hotels save energy and resources. The land area is not
that much, but you can raise a lot of pigs.” The buildings range from
seven floors to 13, with elevators to move both people and pigs. “How Much for the Little Girl?”
The grandmother of a 7-year-old girl in Marietta, Ga., became alarmed
on Monday, May 7, when a stranger started following her and the little
girl around a Kroger store. WXIA-TV reported that Einodd Samimi had
earlier approached the grandmother at a nearby Walmart and asked if he
could “have” her granddaughter for $100. Turned down, he later upped the
ante at Kroger, offering to purchase her for $200 and commenting on the
little girl’s “pretty hair.” The grandmother confronted Samimi, drawing
a large crowd of shoppers who chased him through the store and to his
car. Police arrested Samimi at his home on charges of enticing a child
and criminal solicitation. Parrot Parrots Dog
Police in Loerrach, Germany, responded on Monday, May 14, to
complaints about a domestic disturbance after a neighbor reported a loud
confrontation that had been going on for some time. But when they
arrived, they found a 22-year-old man arguing with his girlfriend’s
parrot, according to Metro News. The parrot had been making barking sounds like a dog, and the man became annoyed with it. No charges were filed. Fast Food Gone Weird
@BurgerKing was looking for love in all the right places on May 9
when workers changed a Boston location’s sign to read: “@Wendys ...
Prom?” and posted a picture to Twitter. United Press International
reported that it took less than an hour for the red-headed fast-food
heartthrob, just a few doors down, to respond: “OK, but don’t get handsy
and we have to be home by 10.” In a classic love triangle, @MoonPie
expressed his disappointment: “I knew I should’ve asked sooner.”
Neighbors of the so-called “Pooperintendent”—a New Jersey school
superintendent nabbed for repeatedly relieving himself on a high school
running track—were nonplussed by the news. Thomas Tramaglini, 42,
superintendent of schools in nearby Kenilworth, N.J., was charged on
Monday, April 30, in Holmdel Municipal Court for defecating in public,
lewdness and littering after being caught on surveillance video
relieving himself on a daily basis during his run at the Holmdel High
School track, which is about three miles from Tramaglini’s home. But
neighbors told nj.com that Tramaglini always struck them as a nice guy,
“Except for pooping on the field,” one added. Art Au Naturel
The Palais de Tokyo, a contemporary art museum in Paris, France, has
made a name for itself by granting special visiting hours to nudists. On
Saturday, May 5, Reuters reported that naturists were invited to tour
an exhibit, with about 160 attendees taking advantage of the
sans-clothing event. Paris is seeing an increase in naturist events,
according to Julien Claude-Penegry, communications director of the Paris
Naturists Association. “The naturists’ way of life is to be naked.
Naturists are pushing past barriers, taboos or mentalities that were
obstructive,” he said. Next up for French nudists: a clubbing night
later this year. Maybe it was Mellow Yellow?
Angelique Sanchez, 26, of Denver was asked to provide a urine sample
for a prospective employer on Thursday, May 3, so, of course, she
stopped off at a 7-Eleven store en route to apply the final touch: She
put the urine-filled bottle in a microwave and turned it on, whereupon
the bottle exploded. A 7-Eleven clerk, who observed a “yellow liquid
dripping from the microwave,” confronted Sanchez, who quickly wiped down
the microwave and the floor underneath and walked out. KUSA TV reported
that police caught up with her and issued a summons for damaged
property. Medical expert Comilla Sasson guessed that Sanchez was trying
to restore the sample to body temperature. Where There’s Smoke There’s “Fire!”
When Leroy Mason, 68, of Barton, Vt., takes care of a problem, he
doesn’t do things halfway. On Monday, April 30, as his smoke detector
blared yet again, Mason aimed his 20-gauge shotgun at the cursed piece
of electronics and fired twice. The detector was blown to bits, but
unfortunately, the shots also hit the adjoining wall of an occupied
apartment. Fire and EMS crews called to the scene had been there before
(according to a Vermont State Police news release quoted by Boston25
News) as “Mr. Mason has complained in the past about frequent false
alarms and was upset that fire crews would not relocate the detector.”
When first responders relieved him of his shotgun, Mason rearmed himself
with a Colt .45 handgun and demanded his shotgun back. Mason was
finally subdued and charged with aggravated assault with a weapon and
reckless endangerment. When At First You Don’t Succeed…
Wednesday, April 11, was a great day for Markiko Sonnie Lewis of
Maple Heights, Ohio: He got out of jail after a stint in state prison
for robbing a Cleveland Key Bank branch in 2015. To celebrate his
newfound freedom, Lewis returned to the same bank on the next day and
robbed it again, according to WIOI, leaving with about $1,000. Lewis was
indicted on Tuesday, May 1, with one count of bank robbery. Not Exactly Police Officer of the Year Caliber
Jose Arreola, 49, of Bellflower, Calif., was more angry than scared
when a police officer drew a gun on him on Friday, March 16, mistakenly
thinking Arreola had stolen a $1.19 roll of Mentos. A security camera at
an Orange County service station captured the incident, showing Arreola
placing the Mentos on the counter along with a $20 bill. As he waited
for his change, Arreola put the mints in his pocket, which is when an
off-duty officer behind him pulled a gun out of the pocket of his hoody
and ordered him to put the mints back on the counter. When the clerk
confirmed Arreola had paid, the officer said, “My apologies.”
In the tony Denver suburb of Castle Rock, Colo., residents on Avery
Way are in a tizzy about the Thunderstorm Play Palace—a
7,500-square-foot home where, neighbors told KDVR-TV, the owner invites
swinging couples and singles to gather for wild sex parties. Invitees
must make a “donation” ($70 for couples and single men; $20 for single
women), and the parties include drinks, snacks and potluck dishes. On
the invitation, guests were asked to bring their own condoms and show
respect for the “new furniture.” The host is a married father of three
who feels harassed by the neighborhood, but he counters that he’s taken
steps to be discreet, including installing soundproofing and making sure
“there are no open areas.” But neighbors claim they hear “disturbing
sounds” coming from the house. “You can hear people doing what they’re
doing,” one resident told reporters. Castle Rock Police say the man is
not breaking the law because he’s only taking donations, and the
activities are contained to his home.
Fifty Shades of Neustadt
Police officers in the German town of Neustadt were called to an
apartment building on Wednesday, April 25, after reports of screaming
led neighbors to suspect domestic violence, The Daily Mail reported. Instead, they found a couple receiving instruction in the Japanese art of Shibari
(erotic bondage) from the apartment’s tenant. “Shibari” translates as
“the beauty of tight binding.” In an official statement regarding their
investigation, the police reported the couple were “well and in a good
mood,” even asking the officers if they’d like to join in; alas, they
had to decline.
Bathing Gone Weird
- Evelyn Washington, 29, broke then crawled through a window in a
Monroe, La., home on Tuesday, April 17, then settled into a warm
bath—along with a bag of Cheetos within reach on an adjacent toilet lid.
The Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that, when the homeowner
returned from work around 5 p.m., she called police, who quickly
arrived and removed Washington to the Ouachita Correctional Center,
where she told them “an unknown male told her to break into the victims’
residence.”
- On Wednesday, April 4, a homeowner in Stoke-on-Trent, England,
returned home to discover a man bathing in his tub and enjoying a cup of
Oxo (broth), according to the BBC. When police arrived, the 36-year-old
naked man tried to flee but was caught and arrested. As the incredulous
homeowner later complained: “He ate my crisps, had five rounds of
corned beef and sauce, ate a jar of pickles, had two ice creams and a
can of Coke!”
What’s in a Name?
A Planet Fitness customer in Saginaw Township, Mich., was alarmed on
Sunday, April 15, when he located a Wi-Fi network named “Remote
Detonator” while searching for an available connection. The gym manager
evacuated the building and called police, who brought in a bomb-sniffing
dog and declared the facility safe after a three-hour shutdown. Saginaw
Township Police Chief Donald Pussehl told mlive.com that people often
choose odd names for their Wi-Fi networks, adding that one on his own
street is called “FBI surveillance van.”
The Long Arm of the Law
In October 1981, Stephen Michael Paris escaped from the Jess Dunn
Correctional Center in Muskogee, Okla., where he had been serving a
nine-year sentence for drug possession and distribution. Using the name
Stephen Chavez, Paris managed to evade authorities until April 12, when
investigators tracked him down at an office in Houston, where he was
working. Paris was mentioned in his mother’s obituary—using his alias,
the Associated Press reported, and after confirming his identity with
fingerprints, the U.S. Marshals Service returned him to custody—nearly
37 years after his escape.
Jaywalkers Getting Hosed!
Jaywalkers, beware: The city of Daye, in Hubei Province, China, has
installed water sprayers and an electronic screen at a crosswalk to stop
people from crossing on a red light. Five pylons were placed along the
road on Monday, April 16, China Daily reported—three of which
identify offenders using sensors and then spray them with water if they
attempt to cross against the light. Other pylons “photograph people
crossing against red lights,” explained Wan Xinqiang of the Daye public
security bureau, and “a large electronic screen at the intersection will
instantly display their photos.”
In Ohio in 2004, 6-year-old Alex Malarkey spent two months in a coma
after a car accident, awaking as a quadriplegic and telling his family
he had visited heaven, saw angels and met Jesus. Alex and his dad,
Kevin, co-wrote the best-selling 2010 book, The Boy Who Came Back From Heaven,
but five years later, Alex admitted he had made up the story to get
attention. “I did not die; I did not go to heaven,” he told The Guardian.
In a recent effort to set the record straight, Alex filed a complaint
Monday, April 9, in DuPage County, Ill., against the book’s publisher,
Tyndale House, alleging that “any reasonable person would have realized
that it was highly unlikely that the content of the book was true.” The Washington Post
reported that while Kevin Malarkey is not a party to the suit—which
cites several Illinois statutes regarding the right to privacy,
defamation and financial exploitation of a person with a disability,
among others—it does allege that Alex’s dad concocted and sold the story
to Tyndale. The younger Malarkey did not receive any royalties from the
sales of the book.
Maybe She’s a Furry?
Richland Carrousel Park in Mansfield, Ohio, a family oriented
destination, just wanted to provide a seasonal attraction for kids who
wanted to pose for pictures with the Easter Bunny. But Ladonna Hughett,
54, had other things in mind when she plopped into the bunny’s lap,
grabbed him in “inappropriate ways” and made “lewd comments,” reported
Fox 8 Cleveland. She then moved on to ride a horse on the carousel, also
in ways witnesses described as “lewd.” “I’ve never heard of somebody
performing those types of acts on the Easter Bunny,” said Mansfield
Assistant Police Chief Keith Porch. Hughett was arrested for public
drunkenness and is no longer welcome at the amusement park.
Sauced on the Special Sauce?
On Saturday, March 17, police officers called to a McDonald’s
restaurant in Okeechobee, Fla., found Derril James Geller of West Palm
Beach had passed out in his car while waiting in line; he was arrested
for driving on a suspended license and DUI. The Okeechobee News
reported that in January, a local woman was charged with DUI after
passing out at a different area McDonald’s drive-thru, and in December, a
Texas man also received a DUI for nodding off in the line at that same
McDonald’s.
Is the McArachnid Next?
At Bull City Burger and Brewery in Durham, N.C., April is Exotic Meat
Month. This year, according to WTVD, the restaurant offered a
“Tarantula Challenge,” where by customers were invited to enter their
name in a raffle, and, if chosen, could claim a $30 tarantula burger,
which included a pasture-raised beef patty, gruyere cheese, spicy chili
sauce… and an oven-roasted zebra tarantula. Those who finished the
burger received a commemorative T-shirt.
Zero-Tolerance Gone Weird
In Manchester, England, 75-year-old Peter Vipham of Rawtenstall,
Lancashire, was shocked on Wednesday, April 11, when he was approached
in the city center by two women who identified themselves as law
enforcement. The officers told Vipham, a retired shoemaker, that he had
been filmed littering—a small crumb of the pork pie he had been eating
fell to the ground, and he flicked another crumb off his coat. Vipham
offered to pick up the crumbs, but told Metro News he was not
given the opportunity to view the video footage, and he refused to pay
the fine. “If I had dropped litter, I would pay the (50 pound) fine, but
I would never drop litter. I am against litter 100%!” Vipham declared. A
Manchester city council spokesperson said the city would review the
evidence and contact Vipham to discuss his case.
Around 4:30 a.m. on Thursday, March 22, High Point, N.C., 911
dispatchers received a surprising call from someone telling them he had
broken into a business. “Yes, hello, this is Jesus Christ, and I just
broke into the Pizza Hut. Jesus is here, he’s back to Earth. I just
broke in and had a pizza. I’m Jesus, and because I’m Jesus, I can do
whatever I want.” Or so claimed 46-year-old Richard Lee Quintero of
Greensboro, according to WFMY TV, who also informed dispatchers,
“Everybody’s been treating me mean.” High Point police officers arrested
Quintero the Christ and charged him with breaking and entering and
larceny. Millennial Matrimony
It’s been a twisty, U-turny road for Brittany Ann Koerselman, 19, and
her first—and soon-to-be second—husband, Jeremie Rook, 24, of Little
Rock, Iowa. The two originally married in 2014, when Koerselman, then
15, was pregnant with Rook’s child. But they divorced when she was 18.
“He just wasn’t ready to be all of that,” Koerselman told Metro News.
“The parent, the husband, the responsible person. He just wasn’t ready
for that.” She said she and Rook have gotten back together and split up
seven times since their divorce, but they can’t stand being apart, so
they’re planning a “fucking princess wedding” for this summer. “The last
time I got married, I got swollen on the way to Missouri… it’s a
six-hour drive, so my shoes didn’t fit,” the once-and-future bride
recalled. “We’re reusing the old engagement ring. He’s different this
time,” she told (herself). Least Competent Criminals
When an intoxicated man arrived at the Delaware State Police
Troop 1 station in Wilmington on Tuesday, March 20, looking for a ride
home, officers thought he looked familiar. Turns out he was Christopher
McDowell, 34, a suspect in a Thursday, Feb. 22, shoplifting incident at a
local Kohl’s store, according to the News Journal. McDowell
was charged with shoplifting, arraigned and released on $1,000 bail,
after which he made a phone call to a friend for a ride—his shoplifting
accomplice, April Wright, 48, who was arrested and charged upon arrival
to pick up McDowell.
Shannon Dean Egeland, 43, of Kuna, Ore., was found guilty
Wednesday, Feb. 28, in an elaborate scheme to delay a prison sentence
and collect insurance. The Idaho Statesman reported that
shortly before Egeland was to begin a 10-year jail term for his role in a
$20 million housing scandal, he acquired a disability insurance policy
and then talked his 17-year-old son into shooting him in the legs with a
20-gauge shotgun. The injury from the blast would not only delay his
prison term, but Egeland would also be able to collect on the new
insurance policy. After his son shot him, Egeland called police and said
he’d been assaulted, but police became suspicious when they found
Egeland’s wallet and BMW were still at the scene. U.S. District Judge
Anna J. Brown tacked three years and 10 months of additional time onto
Egeland’s original sentence. Egeland also lost his left leg due to the
damage caused by the shotgun.
Canadian Crisis
In Toronto, a group of animal rights advocates started protesting
outside a restaurant called Antler in early December. By March, the
protests had grown, and Antler’s co-owner, Michael Hunter, had had
enough of the “Murderer!” signs and “You’ve got blood on your hands!”
chanting. So, on Friday, March 23, he told the Toronto Globe and Mail,
he decided to protest the protesters. “This is who we are and what we
do,” Hunter claimed. He explained that he went in the back of his
restaurant, grabbed a deer leg, a cutting board and a large knife and
took them all to the large plate glass front window, where he proceeded
to butcher the meat while the protesters looked on in horror. As a
result, Hunter and the protesters are now trying to open a dialogue, and
reservation requests at Antler have actually increased.
Police in Sheboygan, Wis., appealed to the public for help in late
March tracking down a most unusual perpetrator. “Over the past year and a
half,” the department posted on its Facebook page, “someone has been
clogging the women’s toilet (at the Deland Community Center) with
20-ounce soda bottles. This is very strange… and gross.” The Sheboygan Press
reported that the string of more than 25 incidents began in 2016. Joe
Kerlin, the city’s parks and forestry superintendent, says the suspect
is likely an adult male, based on security camera footage from outside
the restroom. The city’s resulting plumbing bills have totaled between
$2,000 and $3,000. In a Tight Spot
A man playing with a baseball on the roof of a parking structure in
Honolulu on March 23 had to be rescued by firefighters after he fell
into the seven- to nine-inch-wide space between two buildings and got
stuck, KHON2 TV reported. Security guard Ray Rodrigues was dispatched to
the roof to run the 55-year-old off, but found the man had fallen into
the narrow gap between the cement walls. When pulling him out with a
rope failed, firefighters resorted to using drills and saws to cut
through the concrete to free him. He was taken to a hospital in serious
condition. More Than They Bargained For
Shoppers at the Miracle Mile Shopping Center in Monroeville, Penn.,
got an eyeful on April 8, 2017, as model Chelsea Guerra, 22, and
photographer Michael Warnock, 64, conducted a nude photo shoot around 11
a.m. inside the mall. According to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review,
as Warnock took photos and families looked on, Guerra walked around and
posed wearing only thigh-high black stockings and high-heeled shoes. In
early March of this year, Guerra and Warnock pleaded guilty to
misdemeanor disorderly conduct after other charges were dropped, and
paid a $300 fine. “My nude modeling is honest work,” Guerra said, “and I
use it mostly to fund my college career.” Don’t Drink the Yellow Milk
A dairy truck driver lost his job in early March after being caught
on a surveillance camera urinating near dairy cows in a barn at Tremblay
Farm in Highgate, Vt. While no charges were filed, Monica Massey of the
Dairy Farmers of America said the driver’s behavior was unacceptable.
“We saw the videos. What we saw was deplorable,” Massey said told WCAX
TV. Farm co-owner Darleen Tremblay said she was “shattered” by what she
saw on the video. “I couldn’t move. I froze and I shook,” she added. Next Stop: Mordor
In Didcot, England, known as the country’s “most normal town,” one
resident creatively tried to change people’s perceptions with additions
to road signs along local highway A4130. The prankster added
destinations such as Narnia, Gotham City, Middle Earth, Emerald City and
Neverland to roundabout signs, telling the BBC (on condition of
anonymity): “To me, there’s nowhere that is ‘normal’; there’s no such
thing.” He said he’s been making “creative interventions” all over the
country for about 20 years. The Oxfordshire County Council responded
that, while the additions were “amusing,” they’ll be removed as soon as
the county’s potholes are fixed. Expedition: Victoria
Maghan LeGlue, 25, of Bridge City, La., shifted her rage into high
gear on March 24 when she used her 2004 Ford Expedition to pin her
27-year-old boyfriend up against his Ford Crown Victoria, according to
the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office. The Times-Picayune
reported that the couple, who have three children together, had been
arguing when LeGlue hit him, shattering his leg. Doctors performed
emergency surgery on the victim, and LeGlue was taken into custody and
was held without bond. What an Asphalt
Eastern Michigan University student Andrew (who, understandably,
didn’t give a last name), 22, claims that he wasn’t making any kind of
statement or protesting any government action (or lack thereof) on March
12 when he filled a pothole in Trenton with a whole box of Lucky Charms
and a gallon of milk. Andrew then lay on the road with a spoon and ate
the cereal out of the pothole. “I don’t know where the inspiration came
from, but when it hit me, I knew it was a great idea,” he told
MLive.com. “It tasted great”
’m Not Dead Yet!
Constantin Reliu, 63, appealed unsuccessfully to a court in Barlad,
Romania, in March to overturn a death certificate that his wife had
obtained after not hearing from him for more than a decade. According to
The Guardian, Reliu left Romania for Turkey in 1992 to look
for employment, but neglected to keep in touch with his family
thereafter. In 2003, Reliu’s wife, believing he had likely died, argued
in court for a death certificate, which didn’t come to light until Reliu
was deported back to Romania because of expired papers in Turkey. Upon
his arrival, immigration officers explained to Reliu that he had died in
2003. Despite being very much not dead yet, Reliu’s court appeal to
overturn his death failed (the court maintained that he was too late;
the ruling is final). “I am officially dead, although I’m alive,” Reliu
told Romanian media outlets. Punctilious Primate
Louis, an 18-year-old male gorilla at the Philadelphia Zoo, appears
to be something of a germophobe, according to the Associated Press. When
he is carrying food, six-foot-tall Louis walks on his hind legs, like a
human, rather than leaning forward on his front knuckles, as gorillas
usually do. Zoo curator Michael Stern says workers installed a fire hose
over a mud puddle in Louis’ yard, which he crosses like a tightrope to
avoid getting his feet dirty. Stern says in the wild, gorillas may stand
up on their hind feet to reach food or wade in a swamp, but only for a
few seconds. Planters Periodontics
Ravenna, Ohio, resident Nickolette Botsford was startled by what felt
like an extra-hard cashew as she enjoyed some Planters nuts in early
March. As she drove, she handed the object to her mom, who turned on the
interior light in the car and realized it was a human tooth, with dried
blood on it. “I got very upset, I was crying, I threw up two or three
times,” Botsford told WOIO-TV. She went to a hospital, where doctors
confirmed it was a human tooth and treated her for exposure to blood or
bodily fluids. Botsford called Planters, and parent company Kraft Heinz
sent a courier to pick up the tooth for testing. The company said it is
investigating its manufacturing process and suppliers. Who You Gonna Call?
A member of the Listowel Paranormal Society in Windsor, Ontario,
Canada, was surprised when police arrived at his door on March 13,
inquiring about a small black box with a red wire protruding from it
that had been left at Mackenzie Hall in Windsor. The Windsor Police
Explosives Disposal Unit was called to the hall to investigate the box,
but determined it was “safe” and not explosive. Society members had used
the box three days earlier at the historic building to sweep for
spirits. Jen Parker, assistant director for the society, called the box
an EMF (electromagnetic field) sensor and said each team member carries
one when they’re looking for ghosts. Fast and Furious
Siblings Antoine Dorsey, 23, and Antoinette Dorsey, 27, of St. Louis cooked up a clever scheme to steal a car. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch
reported that on March 14, the two went to Joe-K Used Cars and asked to
test drive a 2012 Dodge Charger. The salesman drove them off the lot,
and the Dorseys asked him to drive to their apartment building so they
could retrieve their IDs. In the parking lot of the apartment building,
Antoinette got out of the car, an unidentified person drove up next to
the Charger in a Volvo, got into the Charger, pulled out a gun and
demanded the stunned salesman get out, which he did. The armed Charger
bandit then got back out himself, went back to his Volvo and drove off.
Meanwhile, Antoine jumped back into the Charger and sped away with his
sister, leaving the salesman watching in disbelief. Antoine, however,
soon crashed and flipped the Charger. Both siblings have been charged
with first-degree robbery.
As the 2018 Winter Olympics got underway—and athletes from Russia
were forced to compete under the Olympic flag and be designated as
“Olympic Athletes from Russia” (OAR) as punishment for systemic doping
at the 2014 Winter Olympic Games in Sochi—bobsledder Nadezhda Sergeeva
proudly wore a t-shirt that read “I Don’t Do Doping.” But, on Friday,
Feb. 23, Sergeeva became the second Russian athlete to fail a doping
test (curler Alexander Krushelnitsky also failed a drug test). Sergeeva
had been a vocal critic of the Olympic policy toward Russian athletes,
telling Yahoo Sports: “If we are here, and we are clean, we should be
able to walk under our flag.”
Here Comes the Judge!
District Judge Joseph Boeckmann, 72, took a personal interest in the
young men who came through his courtrooms from 2009 to 2015 in Cross and
St. Francis counties (Arkansas) with traffic citations or misdemeanor
criminal charges. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reported that
Judge Boeckmann routinely dismissed those charges pending completion of
“community service”—which the judge would arrange through private phone
calls with the men. The “service” amounted to providing sexual favors or
allowing Judge Boeckmann to take pictures of them in “embarrassing
positions; positions that he found sexually gratifying,” a court
document revealed. Boeckmann, of Wynne, Ark., admitted to the charges in
October and was sentenced Feb. 21 to five years in prison. Prosecutors
had agreed to a lesser sentence in light of Boeckmann’s age, but U.S.
District Judge Kristine Baker ordered the maximum sentence, saying,
“(H)e acted corruptly while serving as a judge. That sets his crime
apart.”
Compelling Explanations
On Friday, Feb. 9, the Texas Third Court of Appeals upheld the
four-year prison sentence Ralph Friesenhahn, 65, of San Antonio received
after his fourth DWI conviction in 2016, rejecting arguments from his
lawyer, Gina Jones, that the state’s legal limit for alcohol
concentration discriminates against alcoholics, who have a higher
tolerance for liquor. “You’re not being punished for being an
alcoholic,” Sammy McCrary, chief of the felony division for the Comal
County criminal district attorney’s office, told the Austin American-Statesman. “It’s the driving that’s the problem.”
Special Delivery
At the beginning of February, several residents along a block in
Marina, Calif., were hit by mail thieves. But the criminals probably
didn’t know what hit them when they stole Rosalinda Vizina’s package.
SFGate.com reported that Vizina, an entomologist, had ordered 500 live
cockroaches for a study she’s working on. “I feel a little bad for the
roaches in case they got smushed or tossed or something like that,”
Vizina told KSBW. “For the thieves, I hope they went everywhere,” she
added.
Mullet Mania Down Under
The mining town of Kurri Kurri, Australia, cut loose on Saturday,
Feb. 24, with a new festival to draw visitors: Mullet Fest, a
celebration of the infamous hairstyle and those who wear it. Local
hairdresser Laura Johnson came up with the idea, which included contests
(Junior Mullet and Ladies’ Mullet categories, etc.) and bands like The
Stunned Mullets. Winner of the junior division prize, Alex Keavy, 12,
told The Guardian: “It’s not a hairstyle, it’s a lifestyle.” He
pledged to use his $50 prize to buy his girlfriend a pie. More than 180
contestants competed for Best Mullet of Them All. Meryl Swanson, the
local Labor MP and a contest judge, said she was “looking for pride,
people embracing the mullet, finding self-worth in it.”
Wichita Windfall
Christina Ochoa of Wichita, Kan., and her mom, Christy, explained to The Wichita Eagle
that more than 50 $5 withdrawals Christina made from a Central National
Bank ATM during a five-day period in mid-January were for a “money
cake” she was making as a gift for someone. But the bank says the faulty
ATM was dispensing $100 bills instead of $5 bills, and that Christina
received $14,120 instead of $1,485. In a lawsuit filed on Monday, Jan.
22, the bank sought $11,607.36 (plus interest) it says is owed by
Christina. The bank is also trying to seize two cars she bought during
the same period—claiming that the $3,000 down payment for one of them
was made up entirely of $100 bills.
Police in Mainz, Germany, responded to an apartment building after
cries were heard from within one unit early on Feb. 17, The Associated
Press reported. When they arrived, officers found two men, the
58-year-old tenant and a 61-year-old visitor, “hopelessly locked up”
with a mannequin dressed as a knight and a large remote-controlled car.
The men were too drunk to explain how they had become entangled, and one
officer remarked that “the whole thing would have remained a funny
episode” if the younger man had not become “more than impolite.” He now
faces a charge of insulting officers.
Least Competent Criminals
• Shanghai, China, police posted a video on social media of two men
trying to break into a business on Feb. 14 by using bricks to shatter
the glass storefront. But as United Press International reported, when
Suspect A’s brick bounced off the glass, he bent to retrieve it and
ended up squarely in the path of Suspect B’s brick, which struck him in
the head and apparently knocked him out. In the video, Suspect B can be
seen dragging Suspect A away from the store. Police remarked: “If all
burglars were like this, we wouldn’t need to work as hard.”
• A drug smuggler from Brazil apparently didn’t know he was under
investigation by the National Anti-Narcotics Trafficking Unit in
Portugal when he arrived on a flight Feb. 12 wearing a set of false butt
cheeks that were filled with 2.2 pounds of cocaine, according to United
Press International. The 32-year-old unidentified man was detained at
the Tax and Customs Authority and searched, where his unusual derriere
aroused suspicion. An accomplice, waiting for him at a Lisbon train
station, was also arrested and charged with drug trafficking.
And 9/11 Was an Inside Job!
Crestline, Calif., resident Claudia Ackley, 46, has teamed with
“Discovering Bigfoot” filmmaker Todd Standing to sue the state of
California, requesting that state agencies acknowledge the existence of a
Sasquatch species. Ackley and her daughters, 11 and 14, say they were
hiking a trail at Lake Arrowhead last March when they spotted a large
figure braced in a pine tree. “I ran into a Sasquatch, a Bigfoot. We
were face to face,” Ackley told The San Bernardino Sun. Forest
rangers insisted at the time that Ackley and her daughters had seen a
bear, and Ackley fears that by not acknowledging the presence of the
legendary creatures, the state is putting the public at risk. “People
have to be warned about these things!” she said. “They are big!”
Mary, Mother of Jesus!
A woman claiming to be on a mission from God led a Kentucky State
Police trooper on a chase at speeds up to 120 miles per hour on Feb. 10,
stopping only when another trooper pulled in front of her car.
According to the Elizabethtown, Ky., News-Enterprise, Connie
Lynn Allen, 52, of Goodlettsville, Tenn., told officers that she was
“Mother Mary,” en route “to pick up baby Jesus,” and that God had given
her permission to speed. She also said that she had died six years ago.
She was charged with several offenses and is being held in Hardin
County.
A Sugar High?
Staffers at a Bangor, Maine, day care called Watch Me Shine were
happy to receive Valentine’s Day cookies made by a parent—until those
who ate them started to feel high. “Within 15 minutes, teachers were
reporting they had concerns about those cookies,” Tiffany Nowicki,
director of the center, told The Bangor Daily News. About 12
staff members felt the effects of the treats, which were confiscated by
the police and are being tested. “If they find something that shouldn’t
be in those cookies,” Nowicki said, “that’s a big problem, and we’ll
make sure it’s addressed.”
Animal Antics
At 10 Downing Street in London, Larry the cat is an institution,
charged with chasing away mice and offering pet therapy to any willing
caressers. Meanwhile, at the Foreign Office, Palmerston the cat serves
the same purpose. But Larry and Palmerston have a long-running feud,
according to The Telegraph, and on Feb. 16, they went at it
again. The paper reported that fur was ripped and a collar torn off as
the two cats duked it out in the street. Nick Dixon of “Good Morning
Britain” said it appeared that Palmerston won this round: “Palmerston
seemed to strut out of Downing Street. Larry seemed a bit dazed and
confused after the fight.”
Michelle Myers of Buckeye, Ariz., suffers from blinding headaches,
but it’s what happens afterward that until recently had doctors stumped.
Myers, who has never been out of the U.S., has awakened from her
headaches three times in the last seven years with a different foreign
accent. The first time it was Irish, the second time it was Australian,
and both lasted only about a week. But Myers’ most recent event, which
was two years ago, left her with a British accent that she still has.
Doctors have diagnosed her with Foreign Accent Syndrome, a rare
condition that usually accompanies a neurological event such as a
stroke. Myers told ABC-15 that the loss of her normal accent makes her
sad: “I feel like a different person. Everybody only sees or hears Mary
Poppins.” Get Your Goat
A new golf course at The Retreat & Links at Silvies Valley Ranch
in Seneca, Ore., will take “the golf experience to a new level” in 2018,
owner Scott Campbell announced in early February to the website Golf
WRX. This summer, golfers will be offered goat caddies to carry clubs,
drinks, balls and tees on the resort’s short seven-hole challenge
course, McVeigh’s Gauntlet. “We’ve been developing an unprecedented
caddie training program with our head caddie, Bruce LeGoat,” Campbell
went on, adding that the professionally trained American Range goats
will “work for peanuts.” Fatberg, Dead Ahead!
News of the Weird reported last September on the giant “fatberg”
lodged in the sewer system beneath the streets of London. The huge glob
of oil, fat, diapers and baby wipes was finally blasted out after nine
weeks of work. On Feb. 8, the Museum of London put on display a
shoebox-sized chunk of the fatberg, the consistency of which is
described by curator Vyki Sparkes as being something like “Parmesan
cheese crossed with moon rock. It’s disgusting and fascinating.” The
mini-fatberg is enclosed within three nested transparent boxes to
protect visitors from potentially deadly bacteria, the terrible smell
and the tiny flies that swarm around it. The museum is also selling
fatberg fudge and T-shirts in conjunction with the exhibit, which
continues until July 1. Least Competent Criminals
n Kenneth R. Shutes Jr. of New Richmond, Wis., bolted from a midnight
traffic stop on Feb. 6, but he didn’t make it far before having to call
911 for help. The Twin Cities Pioneer Press reported that
Shutes got stuck in a frozen swamp in rural Star Prairie and, after
about an hour, became unable to walk as temperatures dipped to 8 below
zero. Fire and rescue workers removed Shutes from the wooded area, and
he was later charged in St. Croix County Circuit Court for failing to
obey an officer, marijuana possession and obstructing an officer.
n Marion County, Fla., sheriff’s officials were surprised to get a
text from David W. Romig, 52, on Jan. 30 about a murder scene at his
home in Dunnellon. The Ocala Star Banner reported that
detectives were called to the home after Romig reported an intruder had
killed his girlfriend, 64-year-old Sally Kaufmann-Ruff. Some of the
evidence they found didn’t match Romig’s story, and their suspicions
were confirmed later in the day when Romig texted a detective, saying,
“I think they are going to arrest me”—a text he had intended for his
wife. On Feb. 12, Romig admitted he may have killed Kaufmann-Ruff. He
was charged with homicide, making a false report and tampering with
evidence. Evolution in Action
Frank Lyko is a biologist at the German Cancer Research Center in
Heidelberg with a narrow field of study: the marbled crayfish. But as
Dr. Lyko and his colleagues reported in a study published Feb. 5,
there’s more to the six-inch crustacean than meets the eye. Until about
25 years ago, this species didn’t exist, The New York Times
explains. One single, drastic mutation created a whole new species of
crayfish—one that can clone itself. Since then, it has spread across
Europe and other continents, threatening native varieties. The eggs of
the crayfish all produce females, which do not need to mate to produce
more eggs. Dr. Lyko’s DNA research offers new insights into why most
animals have sex, because there are so few examples of sex-free species
(they don’t last long). He admits that the marbled crayfish “may last
only 100,000 years. That would be a long time for me personally, but in
evolution it would just be a blip on the radar.”
A Canadian goose got its final revenge on Feb. 1 when, after being
shot out of the sky by a hunter in Easton, Md., it struck Robert
Meilhammer, 51, of Crapo, Md., seriously injuring the waterfowler. NPR
reported that Meilhammer was hunting with a group when one of the large
geese flying overhead was killed and fell about 90 feet—hitting
Meilhammer’s head and knocking him out; it also dislodged two of
Meilhammer’s teeth. Adult Canadian geese weigh about 12-14 pounds and
can have a wingspan of up to six feet. At press time, Meilhammer was in
stable condition after being airlifted to a hospital.
So Many Questions
Aaron Meininger, 29, of Hernando Beach, Fla., was arrested on Feb. 2
after Hernando County deputies caught him stealing items from the
Demarco Family Funeral Home in Spring Hill. When officers arrived,
Meininger was carrying a tub of formaldehyde out of the building (they
also found makeup, nail polish, electric clippers, soap and other items
used in funeral preparation in Meininger’s car). Curiously, the Tampa Bay Times reported, Meininger told deputies that he was “bored and messed up.”
Precocious!
When a Texas stripper arrived at her 11:30 a.m. gig on Feb. 1, she
just knew something was amiss. Her destination turned out to be Noel
Grisham Middle School in Round Rock, Texas. Rather than going inside,
the performer called the school and reported what most assuredly had to
be a prank. Jenny LaCoste-Caputo, a district spokesperson, told the Austin American-Statesman
that a student at the school had used his cellphone to order the
stripper and had paid for it with his parents’ credit card. He now faces
disciplinary action.
The Taco-preneurial Spirit
Houston Realtor Nicole Lopez is sporting a new nickname these days:
The Taco Lady. Since late 2017, Lopez has incorporated a novel incentive
for buyers of homes she’s listed: $250 in free tacos with the purchase
of a home. “Let’s be honest, everyone in Texas loves tacos,” Lopez told
KHOU-TV. Lopez cited as proof of her success a $170,000 home that’s
under contract, “and they are super excited for their taco party at the
end of this month!”
Got Milk?
Prason Sukkorn, owner of Coffee on the Day in Chonburi, Thailand, had
his marketing idea laid bare after he posted “obscene materials”
online: photos and videos of his barista, Arisa Suwannawong, 22, wearing
nothing but an apron while drawing shots and serving customers.
Suwannawong, who goes by the nickname “Jaenae with the big boobs,”
glances down at her breasts in the video while gushing, “The coffee is
so good; they use plenty of milk!” Police commander Thanachai Usakit
told Metro News that Sukkorn, “didn’t realize it would break
the law, because the model in the photos wasn’t fully naked.” Sukkorn
faces three-to-five years in jail and a fine of 100,000 Thai baht (about
$3,200 U.S.).
For Your Convenience
Undoubtedly, many records will be set during the 2018 Winter Olympics
in PyeongChang, South Korea, but before the games had even begun, one
Winter Games record was already in the books. Organizers distributed
110,000 condoms to the participating athletes—about 37 condoms per
competitor. “We hope to aid the athletes visiting from various countries
to complete their events successfully and safely,” said a spokesperson
for Convenience, the South Korea condom manufacturer that supplied most
of the prophylactics. The Korea Biomedical Review reported on
Feb. 1 that finely conditioned athletes have been notoriously “sexually
unrestrained” before—both during and after Olympics contests. Free
Olympic Games condom distribution began in 1988 when a mere 8,500 were
handed out during the Seoul games.
The Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts in Switzerland
has a new course of study for scholars to pursue: a bachelor's or
master's in yodeling. Beginning in the 2018-19 academic year, students
will be able to major in the traditional form of singing, which was used
by Swiss herdsmen to communicate with each other in the mountains. The
BBC reported that prize-winning yodeler Nadja Räss will lead the
courses, which will also include musical theory and history. “We have
long dreamed of offering yodeling at the university,” gushed Michael
Kaufmann, head of the school’s music department. The Continuing Crisis
Birds nesting near natural gas compressors have been found to suffer
symptoms similar to PTSD in humans, according to researchers at the
Florida Museum of Natural History, and noise pollution has been named
the culprit. The Washington Post reported the team studied
birds in the Rattlesnake Canyon Habitat Management Area in New Mexico,
which is uninhabited by humans but does contain natural gas wells and
compression stations that constantly emit a low-frequency hum. The
steady noise was linked to abnormal levels of stress hormones, and the
usually hardy western bluebirds in the area were found to be smaller and
displayed bedraggled feathers. “The body is just starting to break
down,” explained stress physiologist Christopher Lowry. Toilet Ghost
Homeowners in Noosa, Queensland, Australia, were perplexed about why
their toilet kept randomly flushing, so on Jan. 28, they looked into the
flush mechanism embedded in the wall behind the toilet. Then they
summoned Luke Huntley, a local snake catcher. Huntley found a 13-foot
brown tree snake in the niche, according to the Daily Mail,
resting on the flush mechanism. “Hopefully, he’s going to be able to
come straight out,” Huntley said on a video of the capture, “but he’s a
little grumpy.” Government in Action
Saugatuck, Mich., attorney Michael Haddock’s dog, Ryder, probably
gave the mail carrier a day off after receiving an unexpected letter on
Jan. 27 from the State of Michigan Unemployment Insurance Agency.
According to WZZM TV, Haddock opened the envelope addressed to Ryder and
found a letter saying that Ryder is eligible for $360 per week in
unemployment benefits. “I knew he was clever,” Haddock said of Ryder,
“but he surprised me this time.” The UIA admitted that its computer did
send the notice to Ryder, but it was later flagged as suspicious, and
the German shepherd won’t receive any benefits after all. Smooth Reaction
A Missouri State University freshman identified only as Hayden may
have set the perfect stage for a romantic story he’ll tell into old age.
In January, as he trolled Tinder, he spotted Claudia, also a student at
MSU in Springfield. But, as the Springfield News-Leader reported,
Hayden accidentally swiped left, rejecting her, so he decided on a bold
move to find her. On Jan. 20, he searched the MSU website for every
person named Claudia and emailed them all, asking “the” Claudia to email
him back. He offered a doughnut date for “the one that got away.”
Claudia Alley, a freshman from Jefferson City, got Hayden’s email and
knew she was his target because he referenced a joke she made in her
Tinder bio. Alley emailed Hayden, and the two planned to get
doughnuts—and perhaps make history—later that week. Awesome!
Rookie metal detectors Andy Sampson and Paul Adams were out looking
for treasure along the Suffolk/Essex border in England when they came
across more than 50 gold coins and pottery. Sampson said Adams started
“shouting and jumping around and dancing.” As for himself, Sampson
immediately started figuring out how he would spend the money, which the
pair thought might amount to 250,000 pounds or more. Alas, when Sampson
showed the coins to his neighbor, he said, “They’re not real—there’s
something wrong with them.” Sure enough, when the treasure hunters made
inquiries, they found that the coins and pottery were props for a BBC TV
show, “Detectorists.” Sampson and Adams told the BBC on Jan. 31 that
they have “got over” their huge disappointment and will continue to
metal detect.
COPYRIGHT 2018 ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION
DWB’—Turkmenistan Style
In Turkmenistan’s capital, Ashgabat, drivers of black cars are facing
high costs to repaint their cars white or silver after President
Gurbanguly Berdymukhammedov banned black vehicles because he thinks the
color white brings good luck. Police began seizing dark-colored vehicles
in late December, and owners have to apply for permission to repaint
and re-register them. The average wage in Ashgabat is about $300 a month
(or 1,200 manats); one resident informed Radio Free Europe that he was
quoted 7,000 manats for a paint job but was told that the price would
rise within a week to 11,000 manats. “Even if I don’t spend any money
anywhere, I will be forced to hand over pretty much my entire annual
salary just to repaint my car!” he said. The man’s black car,
incidentally, has also been impounded.
Public Safety—Tennessee Style
Tennessee’s legislature has a newly renovated home in Nashville’s
Cordell Hull Building, so Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and House Speaker Beth
Harwell have been busy outlining some new rules, to wit: “Hand-carried
signs and signs on hand sticks” will be “strictly prohibited because
they pose a serious safety hazard.” Animals, too, will be turned away at
the door, reported The Tennessean on Thursday, Dec. 21. But,
unfazed by the obviously irony, McNally and Harwell will continue a
policy they enacted last year: Holders of valid gun permits will still
be able to bring their weapons into the building.
News of the Weird—Taco Bell Style
n Tampa, Fla., resident Douglas Jon Francisco, 28, was arrested for
DUI after he mistook a Spring Hill bank drive-thru for a Taco Bell
drive-thru. On Wednesday, Jan. 17, around 5 p.m., the bank branch
manager noticed a passed-out driver in a blue Hyundai sedan in the
drive-thru lane. When the manager banged on the window, Francisco woke
up and tried to order a burrito, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
After being informed that the bank drive-thru was not for ordering fast
food, Francisco drove around to the front of the building and parked,
where deputies later found him and administered a field sobriety test,
which he failed. “He made several statements that were differing from
reality,” a Hernando County Sheriff’s deputy reported.
n A Facebook event calling for a candlelight vigil to remember a
destroyed Taco Bell restaurant in Montgomery, Ala., started as a joke.
But according to UPI, about 100 people showed up on Sunday, Jan. 21, to
pay their respects to the popular fast-food restaurant, which had burned
down four days before the vigil after electrical equipment sparked a
fire.
Dog Shoots Man
Outdoorsman Sergey Terekhov, 64, had just let his dogs out to run
before a January hunting outing in Russia’s remote Saratov region when
one of the dogs bounded back to him and clawed the trigger of Terekhov’s
double-barreled shotgun, shooting the man in the abdomen. The Telegraph reported that his brother rushed Terekhov to the hospital, but he died less than an hour after the shooting.
Compulsion
Bradley Hardison, 27, of Elizabeth City, N.C., achieved minor
celebrity status in 2014 when he won a doughnut-eating contest sponsored
by the Elizabeth City Police Department, whereby he had consumed eight
glazed doughnuts in two minutes. At the time, police had been looking
for Hardison as a suspect in break-ins going back to 2013, so they
arrested him, and he received a suspended sentence that ended in October
2017. The Virginian-Pilot reported that Hardison was charged on Thursday, Jan. 18, with robbing a Dunkin’ Donuts store.
I Love You, You Love Me…
If you’ve been wondering whatever happened to Barney the Dinosaur, the Daily Mail
has the answer for you. David Joyner, 54, romped inside the big purple
suit for 10 years on the 1990s “Barney & Friends” TV show on PBS.
Today, Joyner is a tantric sex guru in Los Angeles who says he can unite
his clients’ “body, mind and spirit through tantric massage and
unprotected sex.” Joyner credits his tantric training with helping him
endure the 120-degree temperatures inside the Barney suit.
Linda Jean Fahn, 69, of Goodyear, Ariz., finally succumbed to a
frustration many wives suffer. On Dec. 30, as her husband sat on the
toilet, she barged in and “shot two bullets at the wall above his head
to make him listen,” she told Goodyear police when they were called to
the scene. Fahn said her husband “would have had to be 10 feet tall to
be hit by the bullets,” as ABC15 in Phoenix reported. However, police
officers estimated the bullets struck about seven inches over the man’s head as he ducked. She was charged with aggravated assault. Blood Sausage to the Rescue!
Chris McCabe, 70, of Totnes, England, escaped a frigid death thanks
to his own quick thinking on Dec. 15. McCabe owns a butcher shop, and he
had entered the walk-in freezer behind the shop when the door slammed
behind him. Ordinarily, that wouldn’t be a problem, as a release button
inside the freezer can open the door. But the button was frozen solid.
So McCabe looked around the freezer and saw the shop’s last “black
pudding,” or blood sausage, which he used as a battering ram to unstick
the button. “They are a big, long stick that you can just about get your
hand around,” McCabe told The Mirror. “I used it like the
police use battering rams to break door locks in. Black pudding saved my
life, without a doubt.” He believes he would have died within 30
minutes in the -4 degree temperature had the blood sausage battering ram
not worked. Fighting Fire with…Ice?
One of Quebec City, Canada’s iconic tourist attractions is its ice
hotel, the 45-room Hotel de Glace. But on Jan. 9, the hotel’s
unlikeliest disaster—a fire—broke out in one of the guest rooms, the CBC
reported. Manager Jacques Desbois admitted that, “When I received the
phone call, they had to repeat twice that there was a fire in the ice
hotel.” Predictably, the flames did not spread and caused little damage
to the structure, although smoke spread throughout the hotel and
residents were evacuated. “In a room made out of ice and snow, there are
few clues to look at,” Desbois said. Each room has candles, and the
hotel is considering the possibility that one of them caused the fire. Family Values vs. Family Valuables
Alyce Davenport, 30, and Diron Conyers, 27, of Southbridge, Mass.,
couldn’t make it to the funeral of Audra Johnson, Davenport’s mother, on
Jan. 5 because they were busy stealing a safe from Johnson’s home.
Southbridge police started searching for the pair after the decedent’s
boyfriend discovered her safe was missing, reported The Worcester Telegram and Gazette.
When police stopped Davenport the next day, they found her deceased
mother’s safe in the trunk of the car she was driving (also registered
to Johnson) and seized it. Davenport and Conyers were arrested at a
Sturbridge motel, where officers found jewelry, keys, cellphones and
other items formerly belonging to Audra Johnson. Pest Control Gone Wrong
An unnamed man tried an unconventional method to kill a wolf spider
in his Redding, Calif., apartment on Jan. 7. He set it afire with a
torch lighter. Unfortunately, the burning spider ran onto a mattress and
caught it on fire. Residents were able to put out the mattress fire,
but not before the flames had reached nearby drapes, a flag collection
and a closet, reported the Redding Record Searchlight. When a
garden hose failed to douse the growing blaze, firefighters were
called—preventing it from spreading to other apartments. The blaze
caused about $11,000 in damage. Just Horsing Around?
Daniel Bennett, 18, of Irvington, Ala., was charged in Mobile County
with bestiality after “engaging in sexual contact with an animal, to
wit: a horse.” The horse’s owner, Francine Janes, and her husband became
suspicious when their dogs started barking on the evening of Jan. 4.
They found Bennett, dressed in a trench coat and carrying burglar’s
tools, hiding in one of their barn stalls, Janes told WPMI-TV. Bennett
told Janes “he wanted to pet (Polly) the horse,” but he admitted to
sheriff’s investigators he had instead sexually molested Polly. Janes
said she suspects Bennett had visited Polly “seven, maybe 10 times,”
because “toilet paper had been left; items had been turned over, and
that’s as far as I want to go.” Plan Z From Outer Space?
Troy, Mich., police received two calls early on Jan. 10, both leading
them to the Zion Church. One call was from the church, reporting
vandalism caused by gunfire. The other was from the alleged shooter, who
told police the church was, in fact, “an alien spaceship.” Surveillance
video shows the unnamed shooter, 40, driving up to the church around 5
a.m. and firing shots into the doors. “He was talking very strangely
about how the Zion Church is an alien spaceship for reptiles,” Troy
Police Capt. Bob Redmond told WJBK-TV in Detroit. Police were assessing
the shooter’s mental health to determine whether charges would be filed.
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