Saudi Arabia’s Sharia-based courts continued their application medieval notions of justice this week with the execution of another person accused of “witchcraft and sorcery.” Muree bin Ali bin Issa al-Asiri was beheaded after he was found in possession of books and talismans. He was also accused of adultery.
Category: Bizarre
Now this is an interesting tort. A diner at Cheeseburger in Paradise in California, Maryland (yes, that is the city’s name) was bitten by a skunk on the foot as she sat eating her meal. Worse yet, the skunk was rabid.
Continue reading “Rabid Skunk In Paradise: Diner Bitten By Rabid Animal In Maryland”
While much of the country has ridiculed New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg for his ban on large sugary drinks, Cambridge officials have proposed going one step further and banning all sodas from restaurants. People will of course be able to buy shots of alcohol and fried food items. However, the request for a coke would be turned down as a matter of public health.
Continue reading “Massachusetts Proposal Would Ban All Sodas From Restaurants”
This amazing x-ray shows a three-foot fishing spear embedded in the head of Yasser Lopez, 16. The spear entered two inches above the right eye and protruded out the back of the skull. Even more amazing is that Yasser will recover from the injury.
Continue reading “Teenager Expected to Recover After Removal of Three-Foot Fishing Spear From Head”
San Francisco prosecutors have brought relatively rare felony vehicular manslaughter charges against a bicyclist who allegedly hit and killed an elderly man, 71-year-old Sutchi Hui in a crosswalk. Chris Bucchere, 36, allegedly ran a red traffic light before hitting Hui who died later of his injuries. His trial could feature a highly inadvisable blog posting that he allegedly published after the fatal accident — bemoaning the loss of his helmet.
Continue reading “San Francisco Bicyclist Charged With Vehicular Homicide”
Prosecutors in the trial of former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky are asking NBC to turn over the tapes of an interview with him that had unaired creepy segments. It is not clear why NBC chose not to air the statements where Sandusky appears almost self-incriminating. There is no reason for NBC to protect Sandusky so many of us are perplexed why such revealing lines were left unaired.
It never fails. I still get goosebumps when I see the majestic plumage and hear the haunting call of the English warbler.
Continue reading “Rare English Warbler Spotted At U.S. Open”
In Texas, two school employees have been sued after they allegedly verbally abused a boy for being “smelly” and forced him to strip and shower in front of them. The boy was just eight years old and attended Peaster Elementary School. The child’s parents, Amber and Michael Tilley, also filed a police report but no charges were brought against the employees. The lawsuit names Peaster Independent School District and Peaster Elementary School employees Julie West and Debbie Van Rite in federal court in Fort Worth.
Continue reading “Texas School Sued After Forcing “Smelly” Kid To Strip and Shower At School”
Former “NYPD Blue” screenwriter Ted Shuttleworth, 51, is now part of a case that could easily end up on an episode of show. He seems to have answered Det. Danny Sorenson’s question “Where’s a good homicide when you need one?” Shuttleworth has been arrested after punching his poodle in the face on May 29th so hard that it died of a brain injury.
Continue reading “Poodle Puncher: Former NYPD Blue Writer Charged With Killing Poodle”
A West Virginia lawyer Hiram C. Lewis IV, 41, narrowly lost a race to become the state attorney general in 2008 but has now found himself on the other side of the courtroom charged with malicious wounding and wanton endangerment with a firearm. Lewis is accused of shooting a man at his home in Procious, West Virgina. He is invoking the Castle Doctrine, which allows citizens to use lethal force in defense of their homes. I have been a long critic of Castle Doctrine laws, which have spinned off various extensions for the work place, cars, and other locations. Called “Make My Day” laws in some states, we now have “Make My Day Better” laws allowing people to use lethal force in defense of other property like cars as well as laws like “Stand Your Ground” involved in the Zimmerman case and other cases in Florida.
Santa Monica, California is introducing new technology to end the practice of drivers using minutes remaining on parking meters from the prior cars. New meters use internet connections and sensors buried in the asphalt to wipe out remaining time once a car leaves the parking space. It seems a bit unfair. The city was paid to rent the space and I think I should be allowed to hand over my time to another citizen — after all I paid for the rental and could remain in the spot for the full duration.
Continue reading “Meter Madness: Santa Monica Introduces New “Smart” Parking Meters”
There is an interesting defamation lawsuit announced this week by the Miss Universe Organization. The organization which runs the Miss Universe and Miss USA contests (and is co-owned by Donald Trump) is suing Sheena Monnin, who resigned recently as Miss Pennsylvania. Monnin, 27, charged that the competition is rigged and that a fellow contestant saw a list of the top five selectees in the Miss USA pageant before they were actually selected on the program.
Continue reading “Miss Pennsylvania Sued Over Allegations that Pageant Is Rigged”
Springfield College (Massachusetts) student John McGuinness, 22, is facing a rather novel charge — assault with wasabi. McGuinness allegedly covered his girlfriend’s jeans in wasabi after learning “some guy she slept with in school was texting her.”
Continue reading “Springfield College Student Charged With Wasabi Assault”
New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg has been justifiably ridiculed for his banning of large sugary drinks — refusing to allow adults to make such choices for themselves. Despite the overwhelming criticism of the soda ban, his health board appears emboldened rather than chagrined by the controversy. It is now moving to ban certain sizes of popcorn and milk.
Continue reading “Uber-Nanny: Bloomberg Administration Now Moves Against Popcorn and Milk”
We have previously discussed how it is remarkable that people still fall for Nigerian Internet scams and fork over much of their life savings — allowing these criminals to thrive on the one percent of gullible people. Now it appears that these gullible parties include law firms which have forked over millions to Nigerian con men. The most common involves a con where a man asks a firm for help in a settlement negotiation or real estate deal. He offers the law firm a hefty cashier’s check to put in its escrow account. It is only after the firm pays out on part of the check that they discovered it is bogus. At least 600 attorneys and firms have fallen victim to the scam with losses exceeding $31 million.
Continue reading “Dewey, Cheatem & Howe: Law Firms Losing Tens of Millions In Nigerian Scams”