News of the Weird: Week of July 9, 2026

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Toddlers, Man

Gracie, a 3-year-old giraffe who wandered from her enclosure in Texas Hill Country, has returned home safely, the Associated Press reported on June 26. The 1,200-pound giraffe was missing for two weeks before being spotted about four miles south of her home, Cedar Hollow Ranch, in Real County. The area is so remote that parts of it cannot be reached by car, sparking searches conducted by helicopter and drones. Since Gracie was within half a mile of water and surrounded by vegetation, and found on uninhabited private property, her owner had a little time to formulate the best method for bringing her back. "We didn't bother her," owner Vick Jones said. "She's got water. She looked in really good shape." The rescue operation took some careful planning that included coordinating with veterinarians to safely sedate the giraffe before moving her to two different trailers to drive her back to the ranch. Jones believes Gracie left from an area of the ranch that didn't have a gate. The other giraffes at the ranch had never wandered over there, and there was no gate because installing one would have meant jackhammering through rock to put it up. After Grace's great escape, though, Jones has plans to build a fence. [AP, 6/26/26]

Water Baby

On Saturday, June 27, a woman went into labor at the Wet 'N Wild Emerald Pointe Waterpark in Greensboro, North Carolina, People reported. According to one witness, the delivery happened in the women's bathroom. "Just casually leaving Wet 'N Wild today and they start bringing a lady out of the bathroom with a baby," he said on social media. "They delivered her baby in the bathroom. The whole park clapped and she rolled off on the stretcher." A spokesperson for the Guilford County Emergency Medical Services said that both mother and baby are doing well. "Our Paramedics, advanced EMTs and EMTs are always ready to meet patients where they are, and sometimes that includes a water park on a hot summer day. Emergencies do not wait for ideal circumstances, and neither do we," Scott Muthersbaugh, the public information officer for Guilford County Emergency Services, said. [People, 6/29/26]

Oops

An unfortunate translation error raised some eyebrows in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. According to UPI, posters meant to reference "public squares" were posted in both English and France around the Centretown area to promote the city's "Uncommon Spaces" initiative. However, the French version of the signs -- "Placettes Pubiques" -- was missing a key letter in the second word, making it read as "pubic squares" instead. The signs were taken down, but not before making the rounds on social media. "This was an unintentional translation error that made its way into production," Sabrina Lemay, executive director of the Centretown Business Improvement Area, said. "As soon as we became aware of it, we took steps to have it corrected." City officials were not involved in the mistake, and city councilor Stephanie Plante expressed frustration over the ordeal. "We want to attract Francophones. We want people from Gatineau to come here and participate in our events," she said. "I think they'll think we're taking this a bit lightly when we make mistakes like 'publiques' without the 'l.'" [UPI, 6/29/26]

Roast Beef With a Side of Herpes

Former Arby's manager Amanda Hendricks, 38, of Broken Bow, Oklahoma, has been charged with poisoning food/medicine with intent to injure after spitting into a customer's sandwich, causing the customer to contract herpes. On June 22, The Smoking Gun reported that Jennica Church, 38, contracted oral herpes, with symptoms such as cold sores and painful lesions, after consuming one of her 4-for-$10 roast beef sandwiches. The remaining three were shared with family members, who did not get sick. When Church's daughter heard rumors of Hendricks bragging that she had spit in Church's food, Church contacted police, who served a warrant to Arby's for their surveillance tapes. In the affidavit, Officer Zane Mann described the video: "Amanda has the meat in her hands and lifts it to neck level and leans her head down and you can see the saliva leave her mouth and go into the sandwich." When he contacted Hendricks about coming to the station for an interview, she told him she couldn't get there due to lack of transportation, but she confessed anyway. "While speaking with Amanda, she made the utterance that I have the footage, and she was not going to waste my time," Mann said. "Yes, she did it." Church has filed a lawsuit against Hendricks and Arby's. [The Smoking Gun, 6/22/26]

Smooth Criminal

On June 24, Nadi Jabari, 46, was arrested in Hillsborough County, Florida, after he tried to impersonate law enforcement and conduct a traffic stop, complete with the familiar red and blue flashing lights, WKRN reported. Unluckily for him, the car he pulled over was an undercover vehicle that belonged to the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. The detectives quickly turned the tables and conducted a traffic stop of their own on Jabari. Their search of his black Chevrolet Suburban yielded an illegal emergency light installation, an emergency light bar and a firearm. Jabari has been charged with false impersonation, unlawful use of blue light, and possession of a firearm. "When someone falsely presents themselves as law enforcement, they threaten the trust that exists between deputies and the community we serve," Sheriff Chad Chronister said. "This individual's actions were dangerous, deliberate, and illegal. We will aggressively pursue anyone who attempts to impersonate a deputy and use that deception to intimidate or endanger others." [WKRN, 6/28/26]

Na Na Na Na Na Batman

An anonymous vigilante in Lagos de Moreno in Mexico's Jalisco state has been duct-taping alleged thieves to lamp posts, The Independent reported on June 29. The first victim was found on June 13. Since then, police have discovered four more individuals bound and taped. Some showed visible signs of battery. Others had mustaches, cat whiskers and the word "thief" drawn on their faces. Pink signs above the victims indicated the alleged thieves had been punished for stealing motorcycles. Police are investigating the alleged crimes as they search for the person responsible for tying the men up. Mexican journalist Luis Cardenas has dubbed the perpetrator the "Batman of Lagos de Moreno." [The Independent, 6/29/26]

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