News Stories - Strange and Funny

[annettefayeroach]

Some people should not be parents.

A Phoenix woman was arrested and could face a charge of child abuse after police said she put beer into her 2-year-old son's sippy cup at a pizza restaurant.

Valerie M. Topete, 36, is facing one count of child abuse after a witness called police and told them she saw Topete pour beer from a pitcher into the infant's cup and place it in front of the child on Tuesday in the 4900 block of East Ray Road.

The witness told police the child later fell from his seat, leading her to believe the boy was intoxicated.

Topete told police her son had been grasping for the pitcher and that she had put a "splash of beer" into her son's cup that contained apple juice, according to police. She told them it was "reverse psychology" to stop him from grabbing at the pitcher. The mother initially told officers the child did not drink from the cup, but later said the child may have drank the beer.

Officers said the cup had about 4 ounces of liquid with foam on the surface and a distinct odor of alcohol.

The boy was taken to Chandler Hospital as a precaution.

Child Protective Service was called to the hospital. Police said the father of the child, and the boy's two siblings, ages 4 and 8, who had also been at the restaurant, arrived at the hospital and the children were turned over to him.

[loulizlee]

Doris Thompson, 82-Year-Old Career Criminal, Arrested Again For Burglary

Doris Thompson's 20-page rap sheet dates back to 1955.
The 82-year-old career criminal was arrested again late last month in El Segundo for an alleged string of doctors' office burglaries that began in March and netted her $17,000, according to the Los Angeles Times.
This time, police said a detective, who had dealt with Thompson before, recognized Thompson from a security camera video from one of her alleged crimes.
Court records obtained by the Times show Thompson has been imprisoned at least nine times for burglary in Los Angeles and Orange counties.
The Daily Breeze reports that, in 1957, police arrested Thompson in connection with a homicide, but she was deemed insane and committed to a hospital.
Thompson's rap sheet also includes arrests for disturbing the peace, forgery and grand theft. When she was arrested for her latest alleged burglaries, "she advised detectives that her arrest was a case of mistaken identity," Torrance police Sgt. Robert Watt said.
Gawker doesn't see Thompson changing her ways.
"Even if she beats the rap, it's a safe bet she'll be a similar situation again soon," Taylor Berman writes.

Commentary:  I think she is crazy like a fox.  I wish I had that much energy.

[falcon9]

"The Daily Breeze reports that, in 1957, police arrested Thompson in connection with a homicide, but she was deemed insane and committed to a hospital."
 
Commentary:  I think she is crazy like a fox.  I wish I had that much energy.

No, she's a career criminal who should never have been released from an insane asylum or, prison.

[duroz]

Man Calls Cops After Prostitute Raises Rate
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (KTLA) --

What would you do if you were being charged more than what you bargained for?

A 45-year-old man in Ann Arbor, Michigan took his case to the police Wednesday night after deal gone bad with a prostitute he met online.

Police say the man contacted the 19-year-old Ohio woman through an undisclosed website and had agreed on a set price for her services.


But when it came time for money to change hands, the woman took his cash -- and then claimed her price had gone up and demanded more.

So he called police to report a robbery.

According to investigators, the two gave vastly different accounts of what happened, but at the end of it all, the woman was still arrested.

The man was not arrested, and charges have yet to be filed in the case.

COMMENTARY: I can see how this may have upset the customer, but I don't think I would have called the police if I had been in his shoes.
**Apparently, the woman who had been hired for services hasn't heard of, or doesn't believe in the policy "The customer is always right"

[duroz]

Hundreds of Human Body Parts Found in Storage Locker
CNN  6:32 a.m. PDT, August 30, 2012
PENSACOLA, Fla. --

For $900, the winning bid at a Pensacola storage auction got the contents of Unit B12 -- and a police investigation.

Police say body parts belonging to more than 100 people were found stored in formaldehyde inside the unit, in plastic containers, specimen cups, trash bags and even a 32-ounce Styrofoam cup from a convenience store. Some of the containers had cracked and leaked, police said.

The discovery was reported to police Friday after the purchaser of the unit began going through the items, said George Klages, manager of Uncle Bob's Storage.

Investigators know the unit was rented by Michael Berkland, a former associate medical examiner, but they're now trying to figure out if a crime was committed, said Capt. David Alexander of the Pensacola Police Department.

He said authorities have made some attempts to reach Berkland, who worked for the Medical Examiner's Office between 1997 and May 2003, when he was fired for failing to complete autopsy reports in a timely manner.

Berkland, who is no longer licensed in Florida, was also at one point a private pathologist, Alexander said. Families would sometimes contact him for second opinions about autopsy decisions that had been rendered, he said.

Police said Klages told them Berkland rented the unit from April 8, 2009, until it was auctioned August 22. He said Berkland was late on rental payments several times during the lease but usually paid right before the unit contents were to be auctioned.

The storage unit also contained office furniture and other property.

Police say the remains are believed to be from autopsies Berkland did between 1997 and 2007 at funeral homes in Pensacola, Tallahassee, Fort Walton Beach and Panama City. Some of the containers had labels with names and autopsy dates but others did not.

The remains are now with the Medical Examiner's Office. The Pensacola Police Department said it is not releasing the inventory because some of the decedent families may not be aware of the investigation.

The State Attorney's Office and Medical Examiner's Officer are also taking part in the investigation.

COMMENTARY: I always wondered if I would buy a storage unit's contents if i had the opportunity, thinking I would just end up with a bunch of worthless junk. The possibility of creepy contents like this, however, had never crossed my mind.
Wonder what he was saving them for.......

[virigarcia]

That is so scary. I wonder why never on the tv program shows how when you buy units, you might not gain a profit but an investigation/loss.

[falcon9]

"Mass. judge OKs sex change for inmate:

(CBS/AP) BOSTON - A federal judge has ordered the Massachusetts Department of Correction to provide a taxpayer-funded sex-change operation for transgender inmate Michelle Kosilek, who is serving life in prison for murder.

U.S. District Judge Mark Wolf ruled Tuesday in the case of  Kosilek, who was born a man but has received hormone treatments and lives as a woman in an all-male prison. Robert Kosilek was convicted of murder in the killing of his wife in 1990.

Wolf is believed to be the first federal judge to order prison oficials to provide the surgery for a transgender inmate.


Michelle Kosilek first sued the Department of Correction 12 years ago. Two years later, Wolf ruled that Kosilek was entitled to treatment for gender-identity disorder, but stopped short of ordering surgery. Kosilek sued again in 2005, arguing that the surgery is a medical necessity."

-http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-504083_162-57505705-504083/mass-judge-oks-sex-change-for-inmate/
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"Medical necessity"?  More like another waste of tax-payer dollars.

[duroz]

"Mass. judge OKs sex change for inmate:"

"Medical necessity"?  More like another waste of tax-payer dollars.

Indeed it does.

Wow, this is one of those stories you shake your head at, and say UNbelievable.
(By that, I don't mean that I don't believe it's true)

[falcon9]

"Mass. judge OKs sex change for inmate:"
{commentary}:
"Medical necessity"?  More like another waste of tax-payer dollars.

Indeed it does.

Wow, this is one of those stories you shake your head at, and say UNbelievable.

Wait until I find the reference to the 'prison religion' which involves partaking of steak as an aspect of the specious belief system, (thinly-veiled way to get steak on the tax-payer's tab).

[duroz]

"Mass. judge OKs sex change for inmate:"
{commentary}:
"Medical necessity"?  More like another waste of tax-payer dollars.

Indeed it does.

Wow, this is one of those stories you shake your head at, and say UNbelievable.

Wait until I find the reference to the 'prison religion' which involves partaking of steak as an aspect of the specious belief system, (thinly-veiled way to get steak on the tax-payer's tab).

OK, well now you have me curious.....I hope you're going to look for it asap?

[falcon9]

OK, well now you have me curious.....I hope you're going to look for it asap?

Well, there's "the infamous Church of the New Song, a prison-based faith whose sacraments were sherry and steak", however I'm looking further too.
http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1994-11-12/news/9411111048_1_prison-ministries-jailhouse-converts-spiritual

[loulizlee]

STRANGE HUM ROCKS SEATTLE

As the home of grunge rock, Seattle has a reputation as a place where strange sounds are created.
But there's a new sound buzzing through the western part of the city, and this one can't be attributed to an electric guitar. This This strange humming noise has residents like Julie Schickling rattled.
"It gets high and lower, and goes away, then comes back," Schickling told NWCN.
She recorded the noise and uploaded it to the West Seattle Blog.
Some describe the bizarre noise as a growl, but Kay Kirkpatrick just said the sound was "kind of creepy."
No one can even pin down exactly when the humming started. Some old-timers claim it's been happening for years, while other residents say they've just recently started hearing it.
One theory as to the source of the noise may be weirder than the sound itself: frisky fish.
Biologists at the University of Washington's Marine Biology program told KING-TV that the source of the noise may the male midshipman fish, a bottom-dwelling fish with a distinct mating call.
it sounds fishy, but a recording of the midshipman fish by scientists at Cornell University sounds eerily similar to the sound Shickling recorded.
The biologists believe that ship hulls or buildings in the area are acting as giant sub-woofers, carrying the low-frequency sound for miles.
Seattle isn't the only place hearing strange noises. Residents of Temuka, New Zealand, have also been hearing bizarre sounds this past week, according to Stuff.co.nz.
Initially, residents thought that mysterious ringing sounds they were hearing were coming from a diesel tank in the area. Now, however, a card payment system at a local truck stop is believed causing the racket.  (Huffington Post)

Commentary:  I have heard of strange humming sounds for years in different parts of the country.  Officials have guessed many different things as the reason the for humming sounds, from power lines to underground changes.   This is the first time I have heard of mating fish causing humming sounds on land. 

[duroz]

STRANGE HUM ROCKS SEATTLE

.....Biologists at the University of Washington's Marine Biology program told KING-TV that the source of the noise may the male midshipman fish, a bottom-dwelling fish with a distinct mating call.
it sounds fishy, but a recording of the midshipman fish by scientists at Cornell University sounds eerily similar to the sound Shickling recorded.
The biologists believe that ship hulls or buildings in the area are acting as giant sub-woofers, carrying the low-frequency sound for miles.
Seattle isn't the only place hearing strange noises. Residents of Temuka, New Zealand, have also been hearing bizarre sounds this past week, according to Stuff.co.nz.  ........


Commentary:......This is the first time I have heard of mating fish causing humming sounds on land. 

Maybe the male midshipman fish are humming something "mood-setting" by Barry White for their lady fish........?

[loulizlee]

Could be.  One never knows. 

[hudsonmike09]

 

"Mass. judge OKs sex change for inmate:"

"Medical necessity"?  More like another waste of tax-payer dollars.

Indeed it does.

Wow, this is one of those stories you shake your head at, and say UNbelievable.
(By that, I don't mean that I don't believe it's true)

This story makes me wonder  about this judge. Maybe it's time someone took a closer look at his past record??