Creme de la Bizarre
The Kyiv Submit reported on Dec. 13 that Russia’s safety service, the FSB, has launched its 2024 propaganda fundraising calendar, and it is a doozy! The entrance cowl options “artwork” of an improbably ripped Vladimir Putin giving his finest sultry stare whereas leaning on an enormous, black compensator car. In the meantime, the apocalyptic November picture depicts an FSB particular forces soldier standing earlier than the U.S. Capitol whereas drones and helicopters assault it. Is that this a preferred vacation present in Russia? Who is aware of. The larger query: Why does the FSB must fundraise?
Bizarre Science
— Gatorland in Orlando, Florida, can boast an interesting new resident: a leucistic white alligator, born on Dec. 7, CNN reported. The feminine gator is believed to be considered one of solely eight on the earth and the one one born in human care. She was hatched together with a normal-colored brother of the identical dimension (about 19 inches lengthy). “Leucistic alligators are the rarest genetic variation within the American alligator,” the park mentioned. They’ve vivid blue eyes, versus albino gators, which have pink eyes. The general public is invited to vote on a reputation on the park’s social media websites.
— Scientists at Northwestern College in Chicago have created teeny-tiny VR headsets for laboratory mice, Sky Information reported on Dec. 8, in order that they’ll expertise the liberty they’ll by no means have. The Miniature Rodent Stereo Illumination VR has two lenses and two screens to present the little dudes a sensible 3D image of … aerial threats, like an owl coming in for a meal. The goggles assist the mice “interact with the setting in a extra pure manner,” mentioned lead scientist Daniel Dombeck.
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Crime Report
In Louisville, Kentucky, a bronze statue of President Abraham Lincoln has been seated on a rock, overlooking the Ohio River, since 2009, the Louisville Courier Journal reported. However Lincoln’s prime hat, which rested at his aspect on the rock, disappeared someday at the start of December. The sculptor, Ed Hamilton, suspects the hat was stolen: “It was anchored down into that monolith rock,” he mentioned. “I do not know what they might have used, perhaps some extra manpower or some crowbars. Deliver the hat again, as a result of you’ll be able to’t put on it,” he warned potential thieves. Police and park officers are investigating.
Vibrant Thought
An unnamed 22-year-old man from Taiwan was detained on Dec. 5 on the Suvarnabhumi Worldwide Airport in Bangkok after he was discovered to be transporting two Asian small-clawed otters and a prairie canine, Metro Information reported. The person had the animals stuffed into three separate socks and taped into his boxer shorts; safety officers grew to become suspicious in regards to the giant bulge under the person’s waistband. They imagine he bought them at a market within the metropolis. The animals have been taken to the Wildlife Conservation Workplace; the smuggler was arrested. “We are going to catch anybody who tries to take animals on planes,” a Thai customs division spokesperson mentioned.
Suspicions Confirmed
Cops in Genoa, Italy, have been stumped by a drug-trafficking case of their metropolis, BNN reported on Dec. 1 — that’s, till they observed a lot of bald and beardless males visiting an area barbershop. Investigators initiated surveillance and searched the store, the place they discovered 100 grams of cocaine, precision scales and packaging supplies. In addition they discovered cannabis on the barber’s house and proof of ongoing communication with inmates in a Genoa jail. The 55-year-old barber is awaiting sentencing on the Marassi jail.
Superior!
The Burnside Shelter in Portland, Oregon, hit the jackpot earlier within the 12 months when staff found a pair of gold sneakers on the backside of a donation bin, United Press Worldwide reported. Seems, the Air Jordan 3 kicks have been commissioned by Spike Lee for him to put on on the 2019 Academy Awards — they usually’re valued at greater than $10,000, in response to Sotheby’s. The public sale home will donate 100% of the proceeds, anticipated to be as a lot as $20,000, to the Portland Rescue Mission, which operates the shelter. Bidding continues via Dec. 18.
Wait, What?
Sergey Vladimirovich Ochigava was arraigned on Dec. 5 in Los Angeles federal courtroom after a bizarrely uninterrupted journey from Denmark to L.A., the Related Press reported. The Russian flew in November with out a ticket, passport, visa or seat project. Flight crew members informed investigators that he wandered across the aircraft and switched seats whereas speaking with different passengers. When U.S. Customs and Border Patrol searched his belongings, they discovered “Russian identification playing cards and an Israeli identification card,” courtroom paperwork outlined. Ochigava gave a wide range of explanations, together with that he hadn’t slept in three days and wasn’t positive how he received via safety in Copenhagen. A trial is scheduled for Dec. 26.
Compelling Clarification
Michael Inexperienced, 50, and Byron Bolden, 37, have been sentenced in December in Colorado’s 18th Judicial District for felony theft after they shoplifted about $2,100 price of things from a Kohl’s retailer, The Denver Gazette reported. In Colorado, theft below $2,000 is a misdemeanor, which is why their protection counsel creatively argued that the shop was having a sale, and the boys had coupons, which introduced the worth of the gadgets down under the brink for felony theft. The DA wasn’t having it: “Simply because an merchandise is on sale does not imply it is free to steal,” mentioned John Kellner. “Retailers in our neighborhood are fed up with theft, and my workplace will actively prosecute these offenders.”
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Least Competent Felony
— On Dec. 9, as first responders have been helping an individual “experiencing an altered psychological state” in Columbia County, Florida, Stanley Williams, 35, hopped into the ready ambulance and drove away, ClickOrlando reported. However officers did not must chase him down — Williams drove to the sheriff’s workplace operations heart and stopped close to the principle entrance, the place he was arrested and brought to a hospital for examination. Williams faces grand theft and evading legislation enforcement prices.
— Leonard Thuo Mwithiga, 52, a Kenyan government, adopted his spouse of twenty-two years to the USA, hoping to persuade her to return house to him, Oddity Central reported. However when she refused, Mwithiga allegedly determined she should die. Throughout an Uber experience, Mwithiga informed the driving force he was “very, very mad” and wanted a hitman. The Uber driver received in contact with Connecticut State Police, who enlisted him as an informant. Between September and December, the 2 engaged in a number of conversations in regards to the plot, all of which have been shared with authorities. Mwithiga needed his spouse “injected with one thing to make her very sick, ‘like a most cancers,'” and he needed her to die a sluggish loss of life. Lastly, on Dec. 4, the informant launched Mwithiga to a “hitman,” i.e., undercover cop, who was paid an advance on the job. Mwithiga requested that she be killed whereas he was away in Kenya, so he would have an alibi. As a substitute, he was arrested and held on $5 million bond.
Noticed That Coming
Kathryn Tunison Smith, 67, of Midvale, Utah, already had 5 excellent arrest warrants towards her, two involving her neighbors, when she sealed her personal destiny, ABC4-TV reported. On Dec. 12, she was arrested after a TikTok video got here to mild depicting Smith making racist and crass feedback to a neighbor. In a single interplay, Smith got here onto the neighbor’s property and “started ripping up (the neighbor’s) backyard and continued … till the neighbor chased her away with a stick,” the fees allege. Mayor Marcus Stevenson posted on X, “I am hopeful that this can be a optimistic step for the therapeutic of the focused household, the affected neighborhood, Ms. Smith and our whole neighborhood.” She was booked and launched on her personal recognizance, so …
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