Category: Bizarre

Cohen Goes Out On The Town After Postponing Testimony Again For Health Reasons

I have been a long critic of Trump former counsel Michael Cohen whose lack of legal skills is only surpassed by his lack of legal ethics (here and here and here and here and here and here). Cohen is a serial liar and legal thug who committed various tax and fraud crimes worth millions. Cohen was given an absurdly low sentence by U.S. District Judge William H. Pauley III who fell for the latest dubious pitch of Cohen. While a teenager will get twice as much time for robbing a store for $1000, Cohen got just three years for stealing millions and lying under oath. He then was called to appear before Congress and worked a new sham as the redemptive sinner. Yet, there is always a warning of Caveat Emptor that comes with dealing with Cohen: buyer beware. Cohen has now postponed testimony repeatedly in Congress. The latest excuse was his health — a claim that was refuted by a videotape showing him enjoying a night out on the town at an expensive restaurant the night before.

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American Trophy Hunter Triggers Controversy After Shooting Protected Goat In Pakistan

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As many of you know, I am no fan of such trophy hunts.  I often hike in remote spots to see bears and other animals in their natural habitat. We have previously followed the controversy over the shooting of “Cecil the Lion” by an American dentist Walter Palmer from Minnesota as well as  subsequent controversies of an Idaho hunter taunting animal advocates and killing giant elephants or giraffes  or famed wolves for trophies. Now, American trophy hunter Bryan Kinsel Harlan, an entrepreneur from Texas, has triggered an outcry in Pakistan after paying over $100,000 for the joy of shooting a rare mountain goat (a national symbol of Pakistan).

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WSJ: National Enquirer Publisher Asked The Justice Department If It Should Register As Saudi Agent

We have been following the seedy legacy of American Media CEO David Pecker and his National Enquirer tabloid. Pecker is a cooperating witness with Special Counsel Robert Mueller after using his publication to pay off a former Playmate model who reportedly had an affair with President Donald Trump. Pecker and the newspaper previously denied the arrangement to help Trump by buying and killing the story of Karen McDougal.  AMI was also recently implicated in an effort to effectively blackmail Washington Post owner and Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos with the threat to release embarrassing photos. Bezos suggested that AMI was acting at the behest of Saudi figures upset with the Washington Post investigation of Saudi influence. Now, the Wall Street Journal has disclosed a letter confirming that AMI considered filing papers as a Saudi agent. The letter would seem to reinforce the AMI-Saudi connection referenced by Bezos.

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Lock Him Up? Warren Suggests Trump Will Go To Prison Before 2020

Democrats have (for good reason) criticized President Donald Trump for his signature campaign rally chant of “Lock her up” in referring to his then opponent Hillary Clinton.. Many of us objected to the display as obnoxious and demeaning to our political system. That objection apparently does not hold when a Democratic candidate, in this case Elizabeth Warren, is referencing Donald Trump as being locked up. Warren received the predictably wild applause to her suggestion in a campaign rally that Trump will be in prison by 2020.

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Woman Accused of Trying To Run Over Her Boyfriend and Then Posing With Damaged Car After Hitting Another Woman

Police in Wilmington, North Carolina are searching for Courtnay Danielle Lawrence, 22, who was allegedly caught on videotape trying to run over her former friend. Instead, another woman, Christina Benson, with the man was hit. Lawrence however was happy to pose with her damaged car even though she missed her boyfriend and sent an innocent woman flying into the air.

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Did National Enquirer Extort Jeff Bezos?

In an incredible disclosure, the Amazon founder and owner of The Washington Post Jeff Bezos has released what he says was communications from the National Enquirer that sought to blackmail him into dropping an investigation into the tabloid’s motivations in targeting Bezos, a long target of President Donald Trump. The tabloid is of course owned by close Trump friend David Pecker, who is viewed by many as a thoroughly disreputable businessman. On this occasion, however, Bezos says that he has something that has long been missing: an actual letter laying out the alleged extortive pitch. In the middle of this sordid mess is an American Media, Inc. (AMI) attorney named Jon Fine, who identifies himself as the Associate General Counsel. The role of an attorney in such a matter could raise very serious bar and ethical concerns.

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No [Chunky] Soup For You: Campbell Seeks To Trademark Term “Chunky” [Updated]

We recently discussed an absurd effort to trademark a hashtag. Now, the Campbell Soup Company has trademarked the word “chunky” in an application to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). Campbell is using pop culture references (including Saturday Night Live skits and Simpson episodes) to support its claim over this common term. It is just another example of the utter lunacy that Congress has created in our copyright and trademark laws.

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College Student Thinks She Has A Ghost . . . Instead Finds Homeless Man In Her Closet In Her Clothes

A University of North Carolina college student in Greensboro thought she had a ghost in her apartment. Clothes were disappearing and she would hear movement or knocks. However, when she finally summoned the courage to look inside, she found a man in her closet, dressed in her clothes.

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Amusement Park Sued Over Trauma Caused During Halloween Event

Every year we discuss new tort actions tied to Halloween as part of our “Spooky Torts” tradition. A new case was just filed by Shannon Sacco and her daughter over their visit to the Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom in Pennsylvania. The park, owned by Cedar Fair, included costumed employees as part of a Halloween attraction. Sacco claims that the costumes were too scary and caused trauma worth more than $150,000.

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Women Go To Barber For Cosmetic Surgery . . . Well You Know The Rest

Barbershop owner Young Hwan Choi, 72, allegedly had a side business of doing cosmetic surgery and the results were as predictable as their were criminal. Various women suffered facial scars from the laser surgery. What is striking is that the police released images of his barbershop, suggesting that the women may have actually gone to the barbershop for the surgery as opposed to some fraudulent surgery center. If true, the bizarre decision of these victims could factor into any tort damages as plaintiff’s conduct questions.

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California Man Surrenders After Video Of An Attack On Two Women At Hot Dog Stand

The Los Angeles police department has been looking for a man who beat two women at a hot dog stand and then ran off — all captured on a videotape later distributed by the LAPD. He turns out to be Arka Sangbarani Oroojian who turned himself in to the LAPD.

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Tattoo Taboo? Ariana Grande’s Botched Tattoo Triggers Debate Over Cultural Appropriation

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In what many view as a hilarious example of affected celebrity styling, Ariana Grande showed fans a new tattoo in Japanese Kanji writing that she said meant “7 Rings.” In reality, a missing character left a tattoo reading “BBQ Grill.” Some however did not miss the opportunity to be outraged and have claimed that any Kanji writing is cultural appropriation.

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