Unusual News

Wealthy Minnesota Town Tries to Ban Wind Energy

The town of Orono, with about 8,000 residents, adopted an ordinance last December prohibiting wind energy conversion systems within its zoning districts. That move upset resident Jay Nygard, who’s suing Orono, claiming state law allows local governments to regulate small turbines but not ban them completely. The city’s position was that his property is too small to safely house the wind turbine. The turbine was placed within five feet of his neighbor’s land, officials say. read more

9 of 12 Jurors who Convicted Protestor for Elbowing Cop Sign Letter Asking for her to Avoid Prison Time

Jurors were prohibited from researching anything having to do with the case, including possible sentences, while they were empaneled. Immediately after the conclusion of the case, however, they found that McMillan faces up to seven years in prison. Upon learning this, nine of the 12 jurors have sent a letter to Judge Ronald Zweibel asking that McMillan get community service and probation instead of prison. read more

Pepsi and Coke Remove Harmful Substance from Sports Drinks after Teenager’s Online Campaign

The largest soft drink manufacturers in the U.S. have dumped a controversial ingredient from their sports drinks following a campaign launched by a 17-year-old. Sarah Kavanagh discovered that PepsiCo's Gatorade contained the additive BVO, which functioned as a flame retardant. Medical reports showed that consuming too much created serious health problems, like swollen hands and oozing pores. Aghast by this, Kavanagh decided to launch a petition asking PepsiCo to drop the ingredient. read more

Asian-American Students Outperform White Peers Due to Working Harder

Asian students are not smarter than white students, according to a new study. They just work harder. Sociologists found that Asian-American students do better in school than white classmates. The reason for this is due to having a stronger work ethic. “[They] are harder working because of cultural beliefs that emphasize the strong connection between effort and achievement,” wrote the researchers. And their parents "better cultivate qualities that enable their...academic success.” read more

Residents of Illinois, Connecticut and Maryland most Likely to Wish they could Move

Owners of relocation companies and rental trucks looking for more business should open up shop in Illinois, Connecticut and Maryland. About half the residents of those three states wish they could move elsewhere, according to a Gallup poll. Where are people happiest? Hawaii (no surprise there), Montana and Maine, where only 23% of residents of each of those states say they’d rather be somewhere else. Oregon, New Hampshire and Texas followed closely at 24%. read more

Wife Loses Custody of Dog She Treated like a Child to Husband who Treated it like a Dog

The family court judge ruled that Daniel Hament, a veterinarian who took the dog to work with him each day and treated it more like a dog, should keep the animal. Laura Baker, according to the court, “is more doting and treats the dog like a child.” The court acknowledged “that either party would provide the dog with a good life, but that it would be better for the dog’s routine to let it continue to go to work with Hament. read more

Defense Dept. Agrees to Provide Recruits with American-Made Athletic Shoes…as soon as some are Made

The U.S. military has been required since the early 1940s to provide new recruits with American-made clothing and food. But for many years now, the armed forces have had to give out foreign-made athletic shoes because these kinds were the only ones available in the U.S. But now the Department of Defense says it will make sure military recruits use their one-time stipend for athletic shoes during basic training on brands made in the USA. That is just as soon as some become available. read more

National Park Service Creates an Historic Landmark that can’t be Visited

A remote stretch of the Grand Canyon has been declared a historic landmark to commemorate a fatal plane crash that proved instrumental in the development of U.S. aviation. But Americans won’t be able to visit because the National Park Service wants to keep the location secret to preserve the area. Efforts were made to retrieve human remains after the accident, but no bodies were found intact.. To this day the area reportedly still contains some remnants of aircraft wreckage. read more

Another Reason to Hate Fax Machines

While O’Brien was undergoing treatment, a state police investigator, trying to help O’Brien’s wife, Stephanie Cannon O’Brien, attempted to file disability retirement papers with the New York State and Local Retirement System from three different hospital fax machines. However, O’Brien died seven minutes before the papers—on the ninth attempt—were successfully received. read more

JPMorgan Chase Bank Closes Accounts of Porn Actors

JPMorgan Chase recently notified customers who work in adult films that they must close all of their accounts with the bank by May 11. Chase gave no reason for the closures in the hundreds of letters they sent out. Banks have been able to take this stand since a 2012 warning by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation that included adult entertainment on a list of businesses that might have a higher risk of consumer fraud. read more

In Upside-Down World of Campaign Financing, Senators are Required to Turn in Paper Copies Which are then Converted to Digital Versions

The U.S. Senate still requires disclosure of campaign contributions on paper that later get digitized. The system is so out of date that if senators or candidates e-file their campaign finance reports, they get into trouble. The problem resides in the Senate’s “byzantine” filing requirements. Paper copies of reports must be sent to the Senate secretary, who sends them to the FEC, which gives them to a contractor to digitize. The data is then posted weeks past the filing deadline. read more

New FDA Food Safety Regulation may Drive up the Cost of Beer

The FDA wants to classify companies that distribute spent grain to farms as animal feed manufacturers. Breweries regularly sell or give their spent grain, which is left over from the beer-making process, to dairy farms, which feed it to cows. Breweries would have two choices: Pass this cost onto consumers in the form of higher beer prices, or stop selling the spent grain to farms and just dump it in landfills, which would be less environmentally friendly. read more

Portland Dumps Millions of Gallons of Drinking Water after Young Man Urinates in Reservoir…Again

Officials in Portland, Oregon, have decided to empty nearly 40 million gallons from the city’s primary reservoir for drinking water because an individual urinated in it. The decision marks the second time in three years that the city has flushed large portions of its water supply because someone peed in it. The latest dump, delivered by 19-year-old Trey McDaniel, was caught on a video surveillance camera. read more

Federal Agency Charges for Reports Available Free Online

Around since 1950, NTIS was set up as a clearinghouse for technical papers produced by the government. It has continued to sell these reports to the public even though many of them can be had for free through other agencies. For instance, anyone interested in the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s handy report on chemical hazards can order a free copy here. Or they can pay the NTIS $30. read more

U.S. Security Barriers on Border with Mexico May Disrupt Pumas more than Humans

“The suggestion is that the intermittent fencing present in this part of the world does affect some native species, but does not necessarily restrict the movement of humans (including illegal migrants), who may negatively impact native species.” In some study areas, pumas had largely abandoned habitats divided by a border wall. But coatis, which aren’t inclined to relocate like pumas, could be more impacted by the barriers and might experience a collapse in their population. read more

Retired Supreme Court Justice Stevens Suggests Adding 5 Words to Second Amendment to Clarify Right to Bear Arms

Stevens proposes a five-word change to the Second Amendment. As he would write it, it reads: “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms when serving in the Militia shall not be infringed.” Those five words, which would clarify the Second Amendment to bring it in line with what Stevens says is the framers’ intent, could prove to do more to protect generations to come than all the armed guards in the world. read more