Former Philadelphia schools superintendent Arlene Ackerman is the center of a firestorm this week after she accepted a roughly $1 million buyout from the city and then promptly filed for unemployment benefits. The outrage over the unemployment claim may be better directed at the school district’s handing out obscene salaries and buyouts.
Continue reading “Philadelphia School Head Is Given $1 Million Buyout . . . And Then Files For Unemployment Benefits”
We recently saw how the leading California physicians group has called for the decriminalization of marijuana as no more harmful as alcohol. Now a new study suggests that legalizing medical marijuana has resulted in a nearly nine percent drop in traffic deaths and a five percent reduction in beer sales.
Ruth Wagner, 55, may have committed the ultimate Christmas crime — combining holiday themes with criminal intent. Wagner is accused of stealing various items from a Christmas Craft Fair and, when discovered, using a seashell ornament to stab another woman. The case raises an interesting question: is a seashell Christmas ornament a dangerous weapon?
Valery Vawn Wright, 49, of Two Harbors is shown on a website posing with her prize 199 pound buck. The photo may now be part of a criminal case against her for allegedly baiting deer and hunting without a license.
Archeologists in Israel have shocked religious officials with a new finding that the revered Western Wall in Jerusalem is not what people have long believed: a wall built by the Jewish ruler Herod. Newly discovered coins underneath wall strongly indicate that it was built long after Herod’s death.
Continue reading “Oops: Archeologists Discover Western Wall Was Probably Not Built By Herod”
Three people in Florida have pleaded guilty to scamming customers of their septic tank company, FBK Products, into buying unnecessary products, including in some cases enough toilet paper to last more than 70 years. They are charged with lying to customers by telling them that federal regulations required special toilet paper.
Continue reading “Three South Florida Septic Tank Employees Plead Guilty To Fraud”
A lawsuit has been filed against Adams County Sheriff Doug Darr that alleges a shocking mistreatment of a deaf prisoner, Timothy Siaki, who was held in jail for 25 days due to a lack of an interpreter. Siaki is deaf.
Continue reading “Colorado Sheriff Sued After Holding Deaf Man For 25 Days Due To Lack of Interpreter After Unfounded Arrest”
This handsome fellow is the most recent new dinosaur — discovered in Saskatchewan’s Assiniboia district. This resulted in a named that will have kids sniggering in science classes across North America: Assiniboiensis. Thescelosaurus assiniboiensis (THES’-kel-oh-SAWR’-us ah-SIN’-ni-boy-EN’-sis) was confirmed from the 66-million-year-old partial skeleton as a new type of dinosaur.
Continue reading “Dino Gap: Canadians Add New Dinosaur”
This video shows Yves Rossy testing his jet pack by flying with a couple of military jets. The result is spellbinding in the Alps.
Continue reading “Meet Yves Rossy: Rocket Man”
If there is one rule for the corrupt public officer it is this: cash only. Parking Enforcement Aide Jamila Judkins is accused of violating that rule when she allegedly demanded that a man write her a personal check when he explained that he did not have cash to pay her rate of $20 for ignoring a parking violation.
Continue reading “Corruption 101: How Not To Accept A Bribe”
The Obama Administration is often at odds with Russia and China, but it has found one area upon which they agree: cluster bombs. With Israel, the United States has joined China and Russia to fight an international effort to ban cluster bombs which maim and kill thousands of innocent civilians, particularly children. They were banned under a 2008 convention signed by over 100 countries but not the United States. England finds itself in the odd position to fighting the United States in its effort to rid the world of these weapons.
Continue reading “England Defeats U.S. Effort To Gain International Support For Its Use of Cluster Bombs”
I just saw this video on YouTube and had to share it. Scientists decided to pump a special concrete into an ant colony to create a hard structure of the “ant city.” The result is astonishing.
Continue reading “Welcome To Ant City”
Grant Smith, 47, of Utah is the subject of a rare case of child pornography involving witnesses. Usually child porn cases arise from searches of personal or work computers. Smith, however, allegedly decided to review his cache of child porn on a flight from Utah to Boston. Another passenger in First Class reported him to flight attendants who called in the police. [Update: Smith is a professor at the University of Utah and has pleaded not guilty].
Florida Judge Donna Miller is delighted by the results of a novel sentence that she handed down to a 345-pound man jailed for driving with a suspended license. Miller told George McCovery, 37, that she would reduce his time by a pound a day for weight loss. He lost 25 pounds in 20 days and received early release. Miller is one of the judges who has merged justice with the entertainment industry — replaying proceedings on the television show “Lake Courts.” I have previously written about the dangers of such “novel” sentencing in judges using their courtrooms for entertainment or self-aggrandizement. While some judges have been sanctioned for crossing the line in merging judicial with their entertainment careers, Miller appears to be flourishing in the practice.
Continue reading “Florida Judge Combines Criminal Sentencing With Weight Loss Offer”
Many of us grew up watching Monty Hall on Let’s Make a Deal. It turns out that the show presents something of a mathematical conundrum: does switching your choice at the last minute between the two remaining rooms increase your chances of success? The video below presents the answer and it may surprise you.