Police in Brighton, New Jersey, charged Zyair J. Dennis, 24, on Aug. 23 with one count of defiant trespassing after an incident on Aug. 18, the Cherry Hill Courier Post reported. Dennis, of Millville, New Jersey, was recorded at the Cohanzick Zoo taunting a tiger after climbing a barrier into the animal's enclosure. Police said she tried to "entice" one of the Bengal tigers through a second, inside fence. In the video, the tiger appeared to try to bite the woman's hand. Dennis was also caught on camera at the zoo's bear exhibit, demonstrating the same kind of behavior, said Bridgerton Police Chief Michael Gaimari. [Cherry Hill Courier Post, 8/27/2024]

Weird in the Wild

A bald eagle that was “rescued” near Wilson’s Creek National Battlefield in Missouri because it couldn’t seem to fly wasn’t injured at all, Fox News reported on Aug. 25. Instead, wildlife officials at the Missouri Department of Conservation determined that it was “too fat to fly.” “The bird was ... engorged with raccoon,” officials said. X-rays taken at a nearby zoo showed a raccoon paw inside the eagle’s distended stomach. The bird was released near where it was found. [Fox News, 8/25/2024]

Florida

Tampa police responded to a call on Aug. 24 at the Rags to Riches Animal Rescue, WFTS-TV reported. Dominique Amerosa, one of the owners of the rescue, said she and her mother were doing a meet-and-greet with a potential owner for Bluey, a disabled pug, when they told the woman she wouldn't be a good fit because of her other dogs. First, the woman wouldn't give the dog back to the owners; then she retrieved a gun out of her car and pointed it at the back of Amerosa's head. "My lovely neighbor came out and saw her with my mom and then ran in her house to call 911," Amerosa said. "That is a very scary person," she said. Police said they are investigating and working with the state's attorney's office to "determine the most appropriate charges." [WFTS, 8/25/2024]

Unclear on the Concept

Rolando Ramos, the quarterbacks coach for the Cigarroa Toros football program in Laredo, Texas, was arrested on Aug. 19 after he called police to report that a prostitute had stolen money from him, the Laredo Morning Times reported. When Ramos tried to pay her, she allegedly grabbed $100 and ran away. Ramos, who is also a health and physical education teacher at Cigarroa High School, faced a $2,500 bond for soliciting prostitution and was released later that day. He was placed on administrative leave by the district. [Laredo Morning Times, 8/23/2024]

SNAFU

The U.S. Navy has run out of pants, the New York Post reported on Aug. 21. The official "Navy Working Uniform," or NWU, camouflage trousers are out of stock because of "Defense Logistics Agency vendor issues," officials said. This particular uniform is allowed for wear on the job and out in public, but only new recruits will get new pants until at least October. In the meantime, sailors will be allowed to wear coveralls off-base (so chic) or the "2-piece Organizational Clothing," which features flame-resistant tops and bottoms. [NY Post, 8/21/2024]

Bright Idea

A 9-year-old boy left his home in Brooklyn, New York, for school on Aug. 22 but never showed up, the Associated Press reported. His parents called police, who released a description of the missing child. When the New York CBS News helicopter arrived at the scene, they spotted the truant on the rooftop of his family's building. "We came across a person sitting in a chair over here on the rooftop. We zoomed in with the camera," said reporter Dan Rice. "It appeared to be the child that fit the description of the missing child." They alerted police and as the news helicopter watched, Rice said, "He just packs up his computer and his book bag and goes off with the police officers," who took the boy to his parents. [AP, 8/23/2024]

Questionable Judgment

Back in January, a 33-year-old man underwent emergency surgery at Graz University Hospital in Austria after a forestry accident, Sky News reported. It wasn't until July, however, that the patient learned the unnamed surgeon allowed his 13-year-old daughter to drill a hole in the patient's head. "There was no contact, no explanation or apology, nothing," said the patient's attorney, Peter Freiberger. "That is simply undignified." The operation was successful, but the patient is still recovering. The main surgeon and another specialist who was present during the operation were let go by the hospital. Investigations by the public prosecutor's office are underway. [Sky News, 8/27/2024]

Wrong Place, Wrong Time

Riders on the Supergirl Sky Flight ride at Mexico City's Six Flags Mexico were stranded on Aug. 18 as heavy rain and winds caused the ride to shut down, United Press International reported. Those who were on the ride at the time dangled about 240 feet in the air for 10 minutes as they were buffeted by the weather. Six Flags Mexico said the storm caused several rides to cease operating for a few minutes, but no injuries were reported. [UPI, 8/26/2024]

News That Sounds Like a Joke

The Hong Kong Education Bureau has produced a 70-page sex education manual for kids between 12 and 14 years old, The New York Times reported on Aug. 26. The booklet advises kids to avoid premarital sex and other "intimate behaviors" by participating in exercise and other pastimes, such as badminton, that "draw attention away from undesirable activities." The Education Bureau is undeterred by criticism and ridicule; it said the advice will help kids "cope with the various physiological and psychological consequences of premarital sex." Meanwhile, teenagers are incorporating it into their slang, with phrases such as "friends with badminton." [NY Times, 8/26/2024]

News You Can Use

Residents of Oxford, Massachusetts, are buzzing over a voluntary curfew officials put in place in late August, CNN reported. The restriction on outdoor activities after 6 p.m. through the end of September (and 5 p.m. in October until the first frost) is meant to keep citizens safe from mosquitoes that may be carrying eastern equine encephalitis, or EEE, a deadly infection, but about 200 people showed up at a town meeting to protest it. Officials say the curfew makes people more aware of the threat and gets them off the streets while communities are spraying chemicals to combat the mosquitoes. “It’s an unpopular recommendation, but we feel that it’s a really important part of a layered prevention strategy,” said Dr. Catherine Brown, the Massachusetts state epidemiologist. One commenter on social media complained: “Government overreach in the name of safety has upended the lives of our kids enough.” Others called for a dusk-to-dawn curfew, which would mean getting inside by about 8 p.m. [CNN, 8/27/2024]

Least Competent Criminal

Deario Wilkerson, 20, literally fell into law enforcement’s lap on Aug. 26 after he tried to hide out in the attic of a home in Memphis, NBC News reported. Wilkerson was wanted for first-degree murder in a case from April, in which Troy Cunningham was shot and killed in downtown Memphis. After the U.S. Marshals Service surrounded the home where Wilkerson was hiding, the fugitive fell through the ceiling into the kitchen of the home, landing uninjured. [NBC News, 8/27/2024]

At the busy New Chitose Airport in Hokkaido, Japan, everything came to a screeching halt on Aug. 17 after a pair of scissors went missing from a store near the boarding gates, the BBC reported. The airport canceled 36 flights and delayed more than 200 others, leaving hundreds of travelers doing repeat security checks. Flights eventually resumed, but the scissors weren't found until the next day -- at the store where they went missing. Social media users were strikingly complimentary and upbeat about the delays, though: "This incident showcased the safety of Japanese aviation," one posted. [BBC, 8/19/2024]

Unclear on the Concept

-- An Applebee’s restaurant in Portage, Indiana, became the site of a scuffle on Aug. 2, USA Today reported. According to the Portage Police Department, officers arrived in response to a report of a verbal disturbance. There they found Shawneesha Cobbs, 28, who had been loudly arguing with the store manager. Cobbs' companions were under the impression that the restaurant’s $15.99 all-you-can-eat deal applied to the whole group, and when the manager explained that the deal was per person, Cobbs said the menu didn’t specify that. (It did.) The rabble-rouser then verbally assaulted another couple leaving the restaurant; that’s when she was placed under arrest and charged with disorderly conduct. [USA Today, 8/18/2024]

-- Jeff Daniels lookalike Mayor Benji Cranford of Thomson, Georgia, was arrested on Aug. 14 after a grand jury indicted him for allegedly supplying a 750 ml bottle of Seagram's Extra Dry Gin to prisoners on a roadside work crew, WRDW-TV reported. The indictment said Cranford bought the bottle on June 4 and left it in a ditch along the path of the work crew from the Jefferson County Correctional Institution. Cranford was charged with furnishing prohibited items to inmates and criminal attempt to commit a felony. He bonded out three hours later. [WRDW, 8/14/2024]

It's Come to This

Students are headed back to school at H.E. Charles Middle School in El Paso, Texas, with a fresh restriction on the clothes they can wear, KVIA-TV reported on Aug. 2. Principal Nick DeSantis sent a letter to families stating that students would no longer be able to wear "black tops with black bottoms," saying the look can be "associated with depression and mental health issues and/or criminality." Sarah Venegas, executive principal for the district, backed DeSantis up: Students will be allowed to wear only blue jeans or khaki pants. Some parents don't agree: "I don't think we should be grouping, and red-flagging kids that just like to wear black," said Stephanie Rascon. Mental health expert Krista Wingate suggested that educators might instead "be looking out for different signs of stress or ... anxiety." [KVIA, 8/2/2024]

The Entrepreneurial Spirit

Jose Marti-Alvarez of Miami Gardens, Florida, came up with a shady plan to make some dough, Local10-TV reported. Marti-Alvarez, 55, was in court on Aug. 19 facing felony charges of running "an elaborate scheme to defraud tourists staying in the hotels of Miami Springs," police said. He had distributed flyers to hotels near Miami International Airport, advertising "Roman Pizzeria" -- a name dangerously close to Roman's Pizzeria, which has had a loyal following in the area for four decades. Marti-Alvarez's pizzas were delivered "bad, uncooked, sometimes in a box with a piece of raw dough," said Jesus Roman, the real pizza man. Marti-Alvarez had been duping folks for several years, garnering bad reviews and customer complaints for the real Roman's. Finally Roman went to the police. Marti-Alvarez was held on fraud charges, along with aggravated battery after he hit a hotel worker with his car while trying to flee. [Local10, 8/20/2024]

Dastardly

Russian chess player Amina Abakarova, 40, of Dagestan could be banned from competition for life after she was accused of poisoning another player at the Dagestan Classical Chess Championship on Aug. 2, Oddity Central reported. Surveillance video captured Abakarova stopping at a table and spreading a substance on the board and pieces where her competitor, Umayganat Osmanova, 30, soon would be playing. Her behavior could have been innocent, but about 30 minutes later, Osmanova started experiencing nausea and dizziness. Doctors confirmed she had been poisoned with mercury; Osmanova ended up in the hospital. "I felt a lack of air and a taste of iron in my mouth," she said. Abakarova confessed to using mercury from an old thermometer to soil the board, hoping to "knock her (opponent) out of the tournament." She will likely also lose her job and may face criminal prosecution. [Oddity Central, 8/15/2024]

Animal Antics

Taboo, a black-and-white 12-year-old cat from West Yorkshire, England, has made a name for herself in the neighborhood, People reported. She's a cat burglar. Taboo's owner, Sandra Danskin, said she steals clothing and gardening equipment from nearby households, forcing Danskin to post them on social media to reunite them with their owners. "This morning, I had four pairs of socks and a pair of underpants," Danskin said. "Also, we've had mopheads and kitchen rolls." She suspects the kitty grabs items off laundry lines or sneaks into homes where the door is left open. Helpfully, she always brings both socks of a pair, carrying one at a time. [People, 8/20/2024]

News You Can Use

Homeowners who don’t want to advertise the details of their property can blur their homes on Google Street View, MSN reported on Aug. 22. “Would-be thieves certainly want to scout their locations before they hit them,” said Christopher Herrmann, a professor of law and police science at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York. Criminals might look for security barriers, front-door cameras or exterior surveillance systems. But, he warned, “It may be more of a red flag,” alerting thieves that there is something worth stealing. “We make it easy for anyone to blur their home if they prefer,” said a Google spokesperson. “Just click on the ‘Report a Problem’ button and submit a request.” [MSN, 8/22/2024]

Smooth Reaction

Folks are having some fun in Morehead City, North Carolina, with a clever "sign war" outside popular businesses, WCTI-TV reported. It all started with a birthday message at Ioanni's Bar and Grill: "HAPPY BIRTHDAY JEFF." After the message remained up for 26 days, Dank Burrito posted: "IOANNIS QUIT BEING LAZY CHANGE YOUR SIGN." Them were fightin' words, so Ioanni's spelled out: "DANK WE ARE NOT LAZY JUST BUSIER THAN YOU." Carteret County resident Peyton Draper said the feud "started with these and now it's all the way down (the highway), all the different restaurants messing with each other." The sign war has even spread to flower stores and churches. Ioanni's offered a truce: "LET'S DUKE IT OUT NOT TACO BOUT IT." [WCTI, 8/19/2024]

Buh-bye

The Bollinger (Missouri) County Sheriff's Office revealed that on Aug. 19, the entire police department of Marble Hill, the county's largest city, resigned, effective Aug. 24. KOMU-TV reported that chief Kristin Nenninger told Facebook followers that she could no longer "faithfully support my officers and provide you ... with law enforcement services you all deserve due to the city putting constraints on the budget and cutting into the police budget. ... The Bollinger County Sheriff's Office is committed to finding a viable solution." [KOMU, 8/21/2024]

Randol White lives adjacent to a parking lot full of driverless Waymo cars in San Francisco, KGO-TV reported on Aug. 13. And he's a big fan of the autonomous vehicles. But over the last few weeks, White has been assaulted by the sounds of car horns. "I was like, where is that coming from? And I looked down, and I was like, I think it's coming from the Waymo cars," he said. Sure enough, the "smart" cars have become confused and all started honking at each other, both during the day and at night. "I could not be more cranky today," said neighbor Russell Pofsky. "It affects the way you feel." Waymo said it has identified the glitch and is working on a fix. [KGO, 8/13/2024]

You Can't Make This Up

Richard E. Brown of Kershaw County, South Carolina, filed a lawsuit on Aug. 1 against Buc-ee's, the convenience store chain, WBTW-TV reported. Brown was walking on a sidewalk at a store in Florence County, South Carolina, in 2022 when he tripped over a rope that was holding down the large inflatable beaver mascot, which caused him several injuries, including to his right shoulder. The lawsuit claims that Buc-ee's was "aware of the dangerous condition of the rope that was holding the inflatable beaver in place." Brown is suing for negligence and seeking unspecified financial damages. Buc-ee's has not responded. [WBTW, 8/11/2024]

It's a Dirty Job

In Pittsburgh on Aug. 12, the Allegheny River was the site of a massive dredging and cleanup conducted by Three Rivers Waterkeeper, an environmental group. TribLIVE reported that in just four hours, the operation pulled about 50,000 pounds of vehicle parts from the river, along with an intact Volkswagen Beetle, bicycles, skateboards and a mattress. "If you were to dive down there right now, you'd see a solid tangle of vehicles," said Capt. Evan Clark. Many of the cars were thought to be from a long-closed downtown parking lot. "To see this cleanup work, it shows that people care about the rivers, and they're getting better," Clark said. [TribLIVE, 8/12/2024]

Unclear on the Concept

Even after Cody Mortensen, 28, of Lucerne Valley, California, was told that he would "probably die," he insisted on biking across Regent's Slide, a massive landslide near Big Sur. The Mercury News reported that on Aug. 9, Mortensen talked with a construction worker who said the road was not passable, but the biker "said he was going to try anyways." Sure enough, Mortensen fell more than 100 feet toward the ocean, abandoned his bicycle and climbed down toward the beach, where he was rescued by Bettencourt and Big Sur Fire. He had hit his head and seemed confused, witnesses said, and his arm was cut. Mortensen faces charges of wanton disregard to obey a person directing traffic and failing to obey traffic signs. [Mercury News, 8/13/2024]

Nope

Thrill-seekers will want to put Berlin, Germany, on their list of spots to visit, Yahoo! News reported on Aug. 10. Atop a 40-story hotel near the former East Berlin's famous TV tower is the highest swing in Europe, which allows riders to soar out over the city about 400 feet below. "It feels a bit like flying," said Victoria Voigt, 34. Riders pay about $22 for five minutes on the swing, which opened in June and has thrilled more than 100 riders per day. Pascal Vent, 36, tried the swing for his birthday: "I came here to feel a bit younger." [Yahoo! News, 8/10/2024]

Recent Alarming Headline

Residents of Feather Falls, California, are barking mad over an incident that took place on Aug. 8, KCRA-TV reported. The Butte County Sheriff's Office said Davina Corbin, 56, was found dead on the Black Hawk Trail after apparently being mauled by a pack of dogs. Max Hecker, who lives in the area, said the dogs are Great Danes that are known to terrorize people. "They'd be out here in the road, and you would have to wade through 'em," Hecker said. He said he and other neighbors had repeatedly contacted Butte County Animal Control, to no avail. "They didn't do anything about any of this," he said. "That lady should have never died." Officials rounded up the dogs, and a search warrant was issued at a property across from where Corbin was found. [KCRA, 8/12/2024]

Clothing Optional

Harley Walters of San Antonio, Texas, was working at home on Aug. 13 when he looked out a window and saw a naked man walking down the sidewalk with his dog by his side. KENS5-TV reported that Walters worried the man was suffering some kind of physical or mental health issue; a group of neighbors decided to confront the man. "The other gentleman that stopped him on the street ... said, 'Hey, are you aware that you don't have pants on?'" Walters said. "He said, 'Yeah,' like it was no big deal." Police who responded to the scene said the man was high on mushrooms; officers gave him a courtesy ride home and did not charge him. [KENS5, 8/13/2024]

Oops

Auckland City Mission in New Zealand is trying to recover more than its reputation after the charity accidentally distributed fake candy that was actually chunks of methamphetamine, The New York Times reported on Aug. 14. The candies looked like individually wrapped pineapple sweets and had been donated by a member of the public, said Helen Robinson, the group's chief executive. Each block of meth weighed about 3 grams, packing up to 300 doses of the drug -- enough to potentially be lethal. Three people were treated after tasting the candy, but it was so unpleasant they didn't eat the whole thing. Auckland police were hoping to recover all the candy and were looking into the origins of the donation. [NY Times, 8/14/2024]

What’s in a Name?

Elaine Salmon, a teacher at Peak to Peak Mountain Charter School in Pine Mountain Club, California, was readying her classroom for the new year on Aug. 4 when she left for a moment to make some copies. KERO-TV reported that when Salmon returned, she found an unexpected visitor in the room: a bear. Salmon called her husband, who got the bear's attention and held the classroom door open for it to rush back outside. The animal didn't do any real damage, but the school plans to change the door handles, since a bear was able to maneuver the latch. The bear is persistent: Salmon said it came back again. Maybe it was just looking for a fish? [KERO, 8/9/2024]

Questionable Judgment

(See what we did there?) On Aug. 13 in Detroit, 36th District Judge Kenneth King got a little carried away while “trying to serve as a deterrence” to a teenager in his courtroom, the Detroit Free Press reported. The 16-year-old girl was in court on a field trip when she fell asleep during King’s 45-minute address to the group between hearings. King threatened her with jail and contempt of court and forced her to wear a jail uniform and handcuffs before ultimately freeing her. “I wanted to instill in this kid that this is not a joke, this is a very serious situation,” King said. Marissa Ebersole Wood, the leader of the nonprofit group that organized the trip, said, “We have spoken to the student and her parents, and the young lady was traumatized by the judge’s unnecessary disciplinary treatment and scolding. ... The group of students should have been simply asked to leave the courtroom if he thought they were disrespectful.” King said he has reached out to the family with an offer to mentor the girl, but has not received a response. [Detroit Free Press, 8/15/2024]