Unusual News

Hospital Tries to Evict Patient who Refuses to Leave

Smith has been “verbally and physically abusive to staff, and often becomes belligerent and disruptive, resulting in numerous complaints from other patients,” St. Francis claimed. She has even called the police, public health officials and others to complain if her room is not a constant 83 degrees, according to the complaint. read more

Florida Cop Catches Mom Stealing Groceries and Buys Her $100 of Food Instead of Jail Time

Robles explained that she had three children and no food at home, and was desperate to feed her family. She was looking for work, but meanwhile money had run out and her children could not be fed. Thomas checked Robles’ criminal record, which contained no serious prior arrests. Nor was she a habitual shoplifter. So the officer charged the mother with a misdemeanor, and then proceeded to buy $100 worth of groceries for Robles to take home. read more

Number of Federal Employees Drops to 47-Year Low

The federal bureaucracy is not the ever-expanding blob that conservatives warn so much about, not according to the latest employee numbers out of Washington. As of September, and before the government shutdown, federal offices employed 2,723,000 individuals—the lowest figure on record since 1966, when there were 2,721,000 employees. read more

Saudi Royal Family Rejects Place on UN Security Council

The abruptness of the decision caught even the highest ranking Saudi diplomats by surprise. Just hours before the reversal, Osama Nugali, spokesman for the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, forwarded a message on his Twitter account celebrating the kingdom’s election to the Security Council seat it had “sought for more than two years with the help of a team of the best Saudi diplomats to represent the kingdom.” read more

African-American Inmates Sue Private Prison Company for Endangering Them by Housing Them with Hispanic Gangs

All 2,400 prisoners at the North Fork Correctional Facility in Western Oklahoma are from California, which shipped them there in 2007 . The lawsuit alleges that CCA and its former warden, Fred Figueroa, didn’t train guards properly and left some positions understaffed, which led to the “severe and permanent physical and mental injuries” suffered by the four plaintiffs read more

Judge Explains to Ohio Man that he is Legally Dead

Donald Eugene Miller Jr. of Ohio was declared legally dead nearly 20 years ago after he walked out on his life and disappeared. But Miller never died, and now he’s struggling to convince the legal system that he should live again. Judge Davis refused to reverse the original decree, citing the three-year legal limit for changing a death ruling. read more

Oil Prices Rise Based on Tweet about 40-Year-Old Yom Kippur War

Despite the fact that the message included the date 1973 and a reference to the long-gone Soviet Union, traders mistook the Twitter post as indication Israel had just attacked Syria. This mistaken assumption led them to worry that the supply of petroleum might shrink, which prompted a buying spree that raised the barrel price of oil by $1. But even after traders realized the tweet wasn’t about a current event, oil prices went up even higher. read more

California Court Rules It’s Not Stealing If You Don’t Plan to Keep It

Kurt A. Carr took Matthew Cardoza’s iPhone in December 2010 while he was making a call outside a hospital in Martinez, where he worked. Cardoza fought with Carr to get it back and, after getting punched a few times, managed to wrest it away. But did Carr really break the law, which defines theft as depriving someone of their property with the intention of permanently keeping it from them? read more

Congress Less Popular than Toenail Fungus and Zombies, but more Popular than Miley Cyrus and Ebola Virus

There are a lot of things out there that Americans will choose over Congress. These include: • Hemorrhoids (which poll 22% over Congress) • Potholes (+11% above Congress) • Dog shit (+7%) • Zombies (+6%) • Toenail fungus (+3%) • Cockroaches (+2%) read more

Supreme Court Gives Go-Ahead to Oral Sex in Virginia

The U.S. Supreme Court this week refused to consider a lower-court ruling that struck down Virginia’s anti-sodomy law, first passed in 1960, much to the dismay of state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II, who is running for governor. Cuccinelli has defended the state’s “crimes against nature” law, which bans oral and anal sex, claiming it is necessary to prosecute child predators. read more

Rep. Issa Wins Chutzpah Award for Asking for Exemption to Shutdown He Supported

Issa, a conservative leader of House Republicans, supports the shutdown, a fact that did not escape Judge Jackson. “While the vast majority of litigants who now must endure a delay in the progress of their matters do so due to circumstances beyond their control, that cannot be said of the House of Representatives, which has played a role in the shutdown that prompted the stay motion.” read more

Texas Government Sued for Over-Regulating Hair Braiding

Is the “business-friendly” orientation of Texas government for whites only? The state of Texas—whose governor regularly touts the laxity of its regulatory environment—stands accused of over-regulating the trade of African hair-braiding in a lawsuit filed by one of its premier practitioners. read more

It’s Illegal for Furloughed Federal Employees to Check Work Email during the Shutdown

If workers do access their inboxes, they will be in violation of a 19th century law, the Antideficiency Act, adopted during the Chester Arthur administration that carries a penalty of fines or even imprisonment. The no-email prohibition also applies to managers, prohibiting them from even using their agency email systems to alert workers that the shutdown has ended and to report back to the office. read more

Occupy Wall Street Debit Card Raises Eyebrows and Concerns among Activists

Contributing to the debit card’s launch amounts to joining “the revolution to make banking fair, open and affordable,” according to the cooperative’s website. Some Occupy participants hate the idea of the debit card, saying it conflicts with the movement’s messaging and purpose. “Too much blood, sweat and tears have been going into Occupy to have that turned into a piece of plastic,” Bill Dobbs, a longtime Occupy member, told The New York Times. read more

U.S. Files Lawsuit in Support of Mine Worker Who Claimed Hand Scan Violated His Belief in Mark of the Beast Prophecy

Butcher refused to subject himself to the scans, insisting the technology clashed with the New Testament’s Book of Revelation, which says to beware of marks on the forehead or right hand that symbolize allegiance to the antichrist. the vendor noted Chapter 13, Verse 16 of the Book of Revelation, and suggested it was okay to scan a person’s left hand, palm facing up, to avoid any religious conflict. But Butcher rejected this compromise. read more

Soldiers Brace for New Rules Limiting Tattoos

Forcing soldiers to remove offensive tattoos is a definite escalation from current regulations, which allow the Army to urge removal but not require it. The definition of “offensive” tattoos includes those that are racist, sexist, or indecent, i.e., “grossly offensive to modesty, decency, or propriety.” Although such vague definitions would be unconstitutional if applied to civilian life, those in the military have greatly circumscribed rights to self-expression. read more