News of the Weird newspapers illustration
Awesome!
Pope Francis' popemobile has been repurposed as a mobile health clinic for children in war-torn Gaza, NBC News reported on Nov. 25. Francis used the vehicle during a visit to Bethlehem in 2014 and blessed the project before his death in April. The open platform where he stood has been enclosed and converted to a treatment area. Caritas, the Catholic organization tasked with the conversion, said the vehicle will be able to treat about 200 children per day.
But the Turkey Is Doing Fine
Two men resorted to gunplay on Nov. 13 at a Food Lion in High Point, North Carolina, WBTV reported, with one suffering a gunshot wound to the arm. It all started when one of the men argued with an employee over a turkey; the second man allegedly stepped in, and both of them left the store to get their guns. The two men shot at each other outside the store. Police said one man was interviewed by detectives, but it was unclear whether either had been charged.
Precocious
On Nov. 14, a mom popped into W.A. Wright Elementary School in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, to deliver some paperwork, leaving her 10-year-old son in the car outside. She returned to the parking lot to find the car gone, WSMV-TV reported, and assumed it had been stolen with her son inside. A witness said they'd seen the car driving recklessly out of the parking lot. But when police checked the family home about a mile away, they found the car in the garage and the child in the house with his dad. He explained that he'd had an argument with his mom and decided to drive himself home. Officers declined to charge the boy because he's too young to be held criminally responsible.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
It's Raining ...
A woman driving to work on Nov. 19 in Bryson City, North Carolina, was stunned when a cat fell from the sky and crashed through her windshield, shattering about half the glass on the passenger side. The Charlotte Observer reported that the cat had been seen by a witness struggling with the eagle that was flying with it; the car was traveling at about 55 mph when the cat made impact. The driver was uninjured, the cat didn't make it, and the eagle made a quick exit.
The Passing Parade
Kohl Bertels, 33, had an unusual explanation for breaking into a Circle K store on Nov. 23, eating a bag of beef jerky and drinking a sweet tea, The Smoking Gun reported: "I know you're going to think I'm crazy," he said, "but there is an AI intelligence speaker in my neck." Bertels kicked through the glass door of the store in St. Charles, Missouri, around 2:15 a.m. He explained that the voices in his head told him to break the door, since it was locked. He faces charges of burglary and property damage, but it's not his first rodeo: His rap sheet is full of felony burglary convictions.
Recurring Theme
A Buddhist temple near Bangkok, Thailand, was the site of an unsettling situation on Nov. 23 after a woman was brought in for cremation, the Associated Press reported. The "deceased" was in a white coffin that her brother delivered to the temple, but as workers went to unload the cargo from the bed of a pickup truck, her brother heard a faint knocking. "I asked them to open the coffin, and everyone was startled," said the 65-year-old brother. "I saw her opening her eyes slightly and knocking on the side of the coffin. She must have been knocking for quite some time." The woman's brother said she stopped breathing two days before; after her startling recovery, she was sent to a local hospital.
Bright Idea
CNN reported on Nov. 25 that an unnamed 57-year-old man in Borgo Virgilio, Italy, dressed up as his mother, Graziella Dall'Oglio, and tried to renew her government ID card so that he could continue to collect her pension. He wore a wig, makeup and her clothing, but authorities were tipped off by the hair on his neck and chin. Inconveniently, the signora passed away in 2022 at age 82. Her son, an unemployed nurse, did not report her death to authorities. When they visited his home, they found his mother's mummified body in the laundry room closet, wrapped in sleeping bags. An autopsy was ordered, and the son was held in a local jail.
Scrooge Lives
On Nov. 22 (which, arguably, is a tad early for Christmas carolers), Paul Brian Susie, 58, was taken into custody in Annapolis, Maryland, after he allegedly pointed a firearm at three 12-year-old girls who arrived at his house to sing Christmas carols. WMAR2-TV reported that the incident happened around 8:30 p.m.; police recovered a loaded .40-caliber Glock handgun from Susie's home. Exhibiting "loud and belligerent" behavior as he was questioned, Susie admitted to pointing the gun at the girls. He was charged with first- and second-degree assault.
Redneck Chronicles
Around 1 a.m. on Nov. 19, Hancock County (West Virginia) Sheriff's officers responded to a call about a man suffering a gunshot wound while a rifle was being cleaned. WKRC-TV reported that when officers arrived, two men at the home revealed the real story: They had been shooting out the second-story window of the home at rats, they said, and the gun went off when one man tried to take it from the other. The victim was transported to the hospital; homeowner Mark Fuller was charged with wanton endangerment involving a firearm and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling.
|
|
Questionable Judgment
Fifteen-year-olds aren't known for their excellent judgment, but this kid's antics were on another level. On Nov. 24 in Jerusalem, firefighters were called to a 36-story skyscraper with a crane on top -- and a 15-year-old atop the crane. The teenager was trapped on a small platform above the building. The kid told rescue teams he had scaled the crane around midnight to "see the view," the Associated Press reported. Fire official Eyal Cohen said they've responded to a number of cases of young people scaling large buildings. "This is a serious incident that ended in a miracle," Cohen said.
Goals
In northern China, an unidentified 23-year-old man was the victor in a lying-flat contest, the South China Morning Post reported. The contest at a shopping mall on Nov. 15 started out with about 240 people lying flat on mattresses; 186 of them had quit within 24 hours. After 33 hours and 9 minutes, just three contestants were left, and organizers upped the competition by asking them to raise their arms and legs. "My girlfriend sent me a link to the competition and suggested I have a go," the winner said. His prize was about $420. "I will use the money to treat my friends for a hotpot dinner," he said.
It's a Mystery
Authorities in Flagler County, Florida, are trying to solve the mystery behind some "suspicious incidents," Click Orlando reported. Between Nov. 12 and 17, in seven separate circumstances, a masked man was captured on surveillance video leaving a piece of wood and a $1 bill on front porches of homes. One family, who received two different deliveries, said the second one had writing on the wood: "The Midnight Stalker is coming for Palm Coast." Flagler County Sheriff Rick taly called the incidents "unnerving" and said the person could face charges of trespassing, loitering and prowling, and littering.
Send your weird news items with subject line WEIRD NEWS to WeirdNewsTips@amuniversal.com.
COPYRIGHT 2023 ANDREWS MCMEEL SYNDICATION
1130 Walnut, Kansas City MO 64106; 800-255-6734
