WEIRD NEWS

Leading Atlanta Lawyer Needs a Good Lawyer

Claud "Tex" McIver is known as one of the top attorneys in Atlanta. Well, now he needs a good attorney after being charged with murdering his wife. McIver claims the whole thing was an accident and he was initially charged with reckless misconduct and involuntary manslaughter in the death of Diane McIver. But that's all changed and his new charges include malice murder and three counts of influencing witnesses. McIver said he'd been in the rear seat of an SUV when the revolver he was holding went off as the vehicle went over a bump, fatally injuring his wife. He had been out on bail but was returned to jail after investigators searched his condo and found a gun in his sock drawer. The new charges appear to be linked to his behavior after the shooting. According to court documents, McIver is accused of instructing family friend Dani Jo Carter, who was driving the SUV, to lie to police and say she wasn't there when Diane McIver was shot. McIver also allegedly told Bill Crane, his spokesman after the shooting, to retract a statement he received from McIver saying he had taken the gun out because he was afraid there might be Black Lives Matter protesters in the area. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

Here's a Lawsuit We Can All Get Behind!

After electronics engineer Mats Järlström publicly challenged the mathematical formula used by the traffic cameras in his town of Beaverton, Ore., he was slapped with a $500 ticket for practicing engineering without a license. Now he's suing the Oregon State Board of Examiners for squashing his First Amendment right to discuss public safety issues. The story began all the way back in 2013 when Järlström's wife received a $260 ticket for running a red light. So Jarlstrom studied the light cycles at various intersections caught by traffic cameras and claimed that the formulas were outdated; he believes the yellow light cycle is too short for turning lanes. He attended more than a dozen city council meetings, did interviews with local television stations, and even wrote to the state's board of engineer examiners. His mistake was including the words "I am an engineer" in his email. State law says that engineers must be licensed by the state to practice engineering, which includes speaking on the topic. The automated traffic cameras in Beaverton resulted in 25,000 tickets between 2001 and 2014, many of which the 56-year-old Järlström believes are unwarranted. But for Järlström, who paid the board's $500 fine (his wife's original $260 fine was also paid), the matter is now more personal. He says, "I feel violated at this point in time.'' He's also working on an article on the subject he hopes to publish in an academic journal. (NBC News)

Apparently Delta Doesn't Believe in When You Gotta Go...

Passengers aboard the Delta Air Lines flight from Atlanta to Milwaukee were told they were third in line for takeoff. Thirty minutes later, they were still waiting - and Kima Hamilton says he could wait no longer. It's a case of when you gotta, you gotta go. Though passengers were told to remain in their seats - and Hamilton had been told a bathroom visit would forfeit the plane's position in line - Hamilton says he just couldn't hold it any longer and was forced to make an emergency run to pee. Even though the plane was sitting still the entire time, when he returned to his seat, the pilot announced that the plane would return to the gate so a passenger could be removed. As agents approached him, Hamilton initially refused to get out of his seat. In a video from another passenger, he can be heard calmly asking for an explanation. He said, "I had to pee. I tried to hold it the first time ... and now I'm being kicked off the plane." All passengers were eventually removed, but Hamilton, who was met by FBI agents, was not allowed to return. Instead, he says he got a partial refund from Delta but paid three times the price of his original ticket to take another flight. It gets worse - passengers aboard another Delta flight reportedly used the bathroom during taxiing without repercussions. all Delta would say is, "it is imperative that passengers comply with crew instructions." (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)

Getting Sloppy Drunk and Tackling Robots is No Way to Go Through Life

Meanwhile, down in a Silicon Valley parking lot, 41-year-old Jason Sylvain tackled a security robot - allegedly drunk at the time. Mountain View Police Department spokeswoman Katie Nelson said an employee for Knightscope detained Sylvain before officers got to the scene. The spokesperson added, "When we arrived, we met with Sylvain, and as we were speaking with him, he appeared confused, had red, glassy eyes and a strong odor of alcohol emitted from him." Locals weren't apparently eager to defend a fellow human for standing up to our robot overlords. Mountain View resident Eamonn Callon said, "I think this is a pretty pathetic incident. It shows how spineless the drunk guys in Silicon Valley really are because they attack a victim who doesn't even have any arms." (ABC7)

Another FOX Host "Goes on Vacation"

Another prime time FOX News host is under fire after making sexually suggestive remarks about Ivanka Trump. As a result, Jesse Watters made the surprise announcement that he's taking a break and going on vacation just three days after his show, The Five, landed a prime-time spot. Watters' controversial comment aired during a segment discussing Ivanka Trump's appearance at the W20 Summit in Berlin. After criticizing people for booing her, he added, while smiling and gesturing with his hand, "So I don't really get what's going on here, but I really liked how she was speaking into that microphone." After a lot of public backlash, Watters defended his quip, saying, "During the break, we were commenting on Ivanka's voice and how it was low and steady and resonates like a smooth jazz radio DJ. This was in no way a joke about anything else." Not everyone was buying the explanation, however. Given Fox's recent troubles over sexual harassment scandals with Roger Ailes and Bill O'Reilly, the New York Times notes that the timing couldn't be worse for the network. (The Hill)

Probably Better Ways to Motivate Kids to Do Homework

In Goodyear, Arizona, 49-year-old Darrly Ingram was charged with child abuse because police say he used a stun gun on his son multiple times - because the 11-year-old boy didn't do his homework. Ingram was arrested after the boy turned up at school with abrasions on his right shoulder. The victim said he had been tased multiple times since last year but the incident last week was the worst. Ingram used a stun gun on the boy's leg twice and on his shoulder twice for 30 seconds, according to police. On other occasions, the victim said his father hit him in the leg with a cane or made him kneel on rock salt while holding weights. Neighbors were surprised by the allegations. Heather Sherrill said Ingram appeared to be a tough but loving father who helped out around the neighborhood. Court documents show Ingram is an Air Force veteran. Both she and Diane Sheldon, another neighbor, said the 11-year-old had a reputation for misbehaving. Sheldon said she spoke with Ingram when the 11-year-old shot her car with a BB gun about two weeks ago and Ingram indicated he would discipline the boy. Sheldon said she had no idea that might include a stun gun. When police talked to Ingram, he initially denied having a stun gun. Officers later located the device and Ingram now faces one felony count of child abuse. (Arizona Family)

What the What?

In Bath Township, Ohio, 20-year-old Joseph Murphy called 911 and said he need a police dog. When the dispatcher asked why, Murphy said, "She stole heroin from me." So yeah, the police showed up and body cameras show officers questioning Murphy. On the video, Murphy can be heard explaining that a woman stole money from him. But the officers wanted to know about the heroin that he mentioned on the emergency call. A short time later, officers were surprised when Murphy pulled a "brown waxy substance" from his pants. We'll let you guess what it was. Police seized the substance and a felony drug possession charge is expected after test results are returned from Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation. Incidentally, Murphy was also arrested for DUI after crashing a Mercedes with a blood alcohol level was .121. Murphy also made national headlines on New Year's Day, accused of urinating on a Florida trooper's leg during a disorderly conduct arrest on a Disney property. (WCPO News)

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