Curses, Foiled Again
Instead of pulling over when a police officer caught him running a stop sign in Palm Beach County, Fla., Alexander Webster, 29, led the officer on a high-speed chase. He lost control and crashed into a hedgerow, then fled on foot until the officer drew his pistol and ordered him to stop. Websters 6-year-old son was found unhurt in the backseat of the crashed car. Webster said he fled because he didnt want to be charged with driving with a suspended license. Police checked and found his license was valid. (The Palm Beach Post)
Overreaction of the Week
Pang Se Vang, 84, shot his son to death after the son installed cable television in their home in Maplewood, Minn., but then refused to pay the bill. Police arrived to find Vang locked in a bedroom, declaring he had stabbed himself in the chest so he could die and settle the dispute with his son in the afterlife. (Minneapolis’ WCCO-TV)
Fault in Their Stars
Nadja Svenson, 22, was charged with stabbing her father in the chest outside their home in Londonderry, N.H., while the two were stargazing “and began arguing over where the Big Dipper and other constellations are in the sky,” police Detective Chris Olson said. “It escalated from there.” (New Hampshire Union Leader)
Slightest Provocation
Fred John Govern, 92, died from cardiac arrest after a fistfight at a nursing home in Orwigsburg, Pa., that started when another resident cut in line at dinner. “My father had to have said something to him about jumping the line, which I know he would do, knowing my father,” Fred Govern Jr. said. “The guy just turned around when my father checked him and started punching him.” (Philadelphia’s WPVI-TV)
Reasonable Explanation
When Chicago police arrested Xavier Guzman, 25, for a drive-by shooting that wounded a 21-year-old man in the arm, Guzman explained that he became enraged after his childs mother refused to let him see the child on Fathers Day and someone had to pay. (Chicago Tribune)
Slip-Shod Education
Authorities investigating a report that Kenneth R. Webb, 29, of Middletown, Ind., repeatedly struck his 3-year-old son in the face said that Webb acknowledged slapping the boy more than once because the child wouldnt look him in the eye while he was trying to explain sentence structure. Webb said he wanted the child to begin requests with, May I please. (Indianapolis Star)
When Guns Are Outlawed
Ice cream truck driver April Johnson, 37, told police in Rock Hill, S.C., that a man assaulted her with a Fudgsicle ice cream bar, leaving a red mark on her arm. Johnson said the man accused her of giving his daughter the incorrect change. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Things That Go Boom
Iraqi authorities reported that a terrorist commander training suicide bombers in a secluded camp north of Baghdad was demonstrating with a belt packed with live explosives, which he accidentally triggered, killing himself and 21 other members of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Fifteen others were wounded. An Iraqi Army officer described the militant commander as a prolific recruiter who promised martyrdom as a sure ticket to heaven. (The New York Times)
Commercialized Airspace
A car dealership in Houston, Texas, hired a drone to film its latest commercial. “It’s a good technique for getting shots that you normally wouldn’t be able to get for advertising purposes, because you get a different perspective,” said Don Ruguleiski, Internet-digital marketing director for Mac Haik Chevrolet. “It’s tough to get a boom out here with a camera on it.” The lightweight unmanned aerial vehicle with six propellers is operated by JAM Aviation. “You know, people used to be scared of it,” owner Don Hirsch explained. “Now they’re saying, ‘Hey, that looks like a UFO. Hey, that looks like a really cool piece of equipment.” (Houston’s KHOU-TV)
First Things First
Nyima Dorjee, 39, was sitting in a New York City jury pool for a gun-possession trial when he complained to the questioning prosecutor of chest pains and difficulty breathing, but when a court officer informed Justice Joel Blumenfeld, the judge told him to let the prosecutor finish his questioning. “There’s a few more minutes left,” the judge reportedly said. “They can wait.” The officer decided that Dorjee needed immediate assistance, however, and called an ambulance. Doctors determined he was having a heart attack. (United Press International)
When Weight Watchers Isn’t Enough
An alternative to liposuction lets people lose fat through urination. The treatment, called Aqualyx, involves injecting a water solution into specific areas of the body. It liquefies fat cells, which are then eliminated over a three-week period. “Aqualyx isn’t an injection for weight loss,” its British supplier, Mills Medical Services, said. “It is used for contouring the body and slimming down those stubborn fat areas.” One session, which is sufficient for chin areas, costs $417, Mills Medical said; larger areas require several treatments. (Britain’s Daily Mail)
Virtual Solution
After Los Angeles County passed a law requiring porn actors to use condoms, adult-film production companies fled to Las Vegas, Miami and other less restrictive locations. Some remaining companies responded by turning to technology, specifically computer-generated imagery (CGI), to digitize the flesh over the condoms. Gay porn company Falcon Studios released the first digitally enhanced film, California Dreamin’ 1. “I wanted to give the impression of a pre-condom movie,” director Tony DiMarco said, “but use condoms as we do in every scene we film.” (Slate)
Science Schmience
Christian minister Ken Ham’s goal of building a replica of Noah’s Ark in the Kentucky hills stalled for lack of money until Ham (no relation to Noah’s son) engaged in a debate on evolution with PBS “Science Guy” Bill Nye. Ham’s Answers in Genesis ministry and the Creation Museum received widespread media attention during the debate, which pitted science against the Bible’s explanation of the origins of the universe. Ham said that a flood of donations would allow construction of the Ark Encounter to begin soon and open to the public in summer 2016. (Associated Press)
News and Blues is compiled from the nation’s press. To contribute, submit original clippings, citing date and source, to Roland Sweet in care of the Syracuse New Times.
