WEIRD NEWS

Ewwww!
A man accused of filming women in the bathroom of a pizza restaurant in Wright Township, Pennsylvania, was discovered after a woman saw a man's hand in the ceiling! Police have now issued warrants for the arrest of 42-year-old Juan Bermudes Prieto, of Hazleton, who they accuse of recording about 40 videos of women and girls on two recent Saturdays! Police Chief Royce Engler said a woman in the bathroom "looked up and saw a hand in the ceiling." She ran out and told the employees and her husband, who went in the men's bathroom. Prieto was in the ceiling, and jumped down and escaped through a window but he dropped his cell phone, which police confiscated, along with two hats. He also left a car he borrowed at the restaurant. Prieto had worked at the restaurant for over a year, but only on weekends. Anyone with information on victims or Prieto's whereabouts is asked to call Wright Township police. (PennLive.com)

Hammer Vs. Stun Gun: Guess Which One Wins

In Des Moines, Iowa, folks were simply shocked to see a guy using a hammer to destroy the beautiful sculptures at the Robert D. Ray Asian Garden - a local garden and park. Bystanders called police and begged the nutcase to stop, but to no avail. When police arrived, the man still refused to put down the hammer so they used a stun gun on him which was quite effective in getting him to stop the madness. He was then arrested without further incident. (WSOC News)

Hundreds Attend 8,400-Year-Old Man's Funeral

They call him "The Ancient One" which is a pretty good description because he's 8,400 years old and he just had a pretty big funeral. The bones of the "Kennewick Man" have been returned to the ground and over 200 members of five Columbia Plateau tribes and bands gathered at an undisclosed location over the weekend for the official funeral. "We always knew the Ancient One to be Indian," says Aaron Ashley, Umatilla board member and chairman of the Cultural Resources Committee. "We have oral stories that tell of our history on this land, and we knew, at the moment of his discovery, that he was our relation." However, tribal members had to wait more than 20 years to be allowed to rebury the bones which were found on the banks of the Columbia River by two college students in Kennewick, Wash. The skeleton is among the oldest and most complete found in North America, and though tribes immediately filed claims for the Ancient One, a federal judge decided to allow scientists to study the bones. A DNA study in 2015 concluded the remains were Native American, but legislation signed by President Obama on Dec. 19 required the skeleton to be turned over to the coalition of tribes within 90 days. (City Herald)

Good News! Your Cat Won't Drive You Crazy!

New research is good news for cat owners. Despite all the jokes about "crazy cat ladies" and the notions that cats may boost one's risk of psychiatric disorders and other mental illnesses, a new study finds people who grow up in a house with cats are no more likely to suffer from mental illness than those who are cat free. Researchers followed 5,000 children from birth to age 18, gathering health data as well as information on whether they grew up with a cat or even whether their mother lived with a cat while pregnant. They found cat ownership in pregnancy and childhood did not increase one's risk of psychiatric problems. Researchers maintain, however, that exposure to T. Gondii - a parasite found in cat waste - during pregnancy can lead to miscarriage, stillbirth, and other health problems for the baby so pregnant women shouldn't handle soiled cat litter. (Psychological Medicine)

A Girl, A Dog and The Supreme Court

Ehlena Fry is a 13-year-old girl who was born with cerebral palsy. Her pediatrician had said to keep Wonder - her special service dog - with her at all times. The Goldendoodle helped her turn on lights, open doors, go to the bathroom, and more. But eight years ago her Michigan school said Ehlena couldn't bring Wonder to class, arguing that a human aide could help her with those tasks. So the family moved Ehlena to a new school district and sued the old district in 2012. It took eight years but Ehlena finally got her day in court - the Supreme Court - which voted in a rare unanimous 8-0 ruling that the school was wrong! Ehlena's old school district argued -- and an appeals court agreed in 2015 -- that her family needed to go through the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act administrative process before it sued under the Americans With Disabilities Act. The Supreme Court ruled that may not be the case, as Ehlena's family appears to be taking issue with access to the school, not her education. The appeals court has now been instructed to look at whether Ehlena and her family could make the same complaints if the school was some other kind of public facility and if Ehlena was an adult instead of a student. As for Wonder, he's now 10 years old and retired as a service dog. (Detroit Free Press)

Don't Give Anyone Any Ideas!

Back in 2013, children's author Helen Bailey was giving a tour of her $1.6 million home when she joked that the cesspool beneath the garage would be a "good place to hide a body." That turned out to be a very bad joke indeed because that's exactly what her then boyfriend, Ian Stewart, did. Stewart was on the tour that day and admitted that's where he got the idea to bury Bailey's body three years later after suffocating her with a pillow. Stewart, 56, was found guilty of his fiancee's 2016 murder in a UK court this week in a case that now has authorities re-examining his wife's death in 2010. Prosecutors say Stewart fed Bailey sleeping drugs for weeks before smothering her on April 11 -- the same day he increased the monthly sum moved from Bailey's bank account into the couple's joint account from $750 to $5,000. He initially told police that Bailey vanished after leaving a note saying she was staying in Kent. He later said business associates of her late husband kidnapped Bailey and blackmailed him -- a story the prosecution argued was "bizarre nonsense." Prosecutors instead painted Stewart as a cold and calculating "narcissist" playing "the long game" to steal Bailey's $5 million fortune, noting that he attempted to sell an apartment Bailey owned and went on a two-week holiday to Spain shortly after the 51-year-old's death. (Guardian)

You Can Lead a Horse to Water...

You know what they say about leading a horse to water. In New Jersey, a 30-year-old anorexic and bulimic woman, identified only as Ashley G., petitioned a court to refuse force-feeding three months ago and has now died after a judge granted her request. Her court-appointed lawyer, Edward D'Alessandro Jr., said, "I feel glad that she is no longer suffering, but I feel a profound sense of sadness that modern science and all the efforts by a strong, loving family couldn't overcome this problem." She weighed just 69 pounds and had been a patient at a psychiatric hospital since 2014. In 2016 she told the court that she did not want food or water and would prefer instead to enter palliative care. She also said she would resist force-feedings, which are administered through a tube inserted through the nose and pushed down the throat. D'Alessandro said his client's bone density was comparable to a 92-year-old's and she would be at risk for injury if restrained. Judge Paul Armstrong found her very competent and noted that her parents, doctors, psychiatrists, court-appointed medical guardian and the ethics committee at Morristown Medical Center all supported her decision to refuse force-feedings. (Daily Record)

What the What?

Not quite sure what the world record is for shortest time between buying a gun and then injuring yourself with the gun is - but this has to be close. In Sandy, Utah, a 29-year-old man is recovering after police say he accidentally shot himself in the thigh. It happened around 10:30am Wednesday in the parking lot of Scheel's Sporting Goods where the idiot had just purchased the weapon moments ago. Lt. Dean Carriger with Sandy Police Department said, "He took that gun out to his vehicle in the parking lot, at which time he loaded the handgun and attempted to put that gun in a holster." That's when the gun discharged, shooting him in the right thigh. Lt. Carrigner added, "If you decide to go out and make a purchase of a firearm, make sure you understand how that firearm operates before you start to manipulate that firearm." (Good4Utah.com)

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