WEIRD NEWS

Childish Pranks?

Well it's happened. One couple's insatiable thirst for internet fame has caused them to lose custody of their children. Mike and Heather Martin created the YouTube channel "DaddyOFive" and posted a serious of what they called "pranks" on their kids. Problem is those pranks included yelling at the children and possibly even physical abuse. The DaddyOFive YouTube channel, racked up more than 760,000 subscribers and had become extremely popular, but it all began to fall apart after another YouTube personality, Philip DeFranco, posted a video compilation of the Martins' worst antics on April 17 and more people started to take notice. As a result, Rose Hall of North Carolina, the biological mom of 9-year-old Emma and 11-year-old Cody - who were seen in the DaddyOFive videos - has been given temporary emergency custody of the children. On a new video posted on the DaddyOFive channel, a tearful Heather Martin says, "This has been the absolute worst week of our life." All of their other "prank" videos have since been removed. She noted they'd made "some terrible parenting decisions" and became carried away with "the shock factor" to get more views - a stark difference from a since-removed video in which they taunted the "haters." Hall first alerted authorities in October about the DaddyOFive videos and fellow YouTubers helped raise funds for her legal representation. In a video update with Hall, her attorney Tim Conlon says Emma and Cody are now "deprogramming" while a CPS probe is ongoing. (Independent)

Free Vacation on Canada's Highest Peak

Natalia Martinez will be spending a little more time on Canada's highest peak than she planned. She was nine days into her solo climb of Yukon's Mount Logan, and about halfway up, when two earthquakes hit the area Monday morning - leading to avalanches and unstable terrain that have made it unsafe for her to move up or down. Martinez, an accomplished 37-year-old mountain climber from Argentina, is currently stuck at around 10,000 feet, until rescuers can get to her via helicopter - which may not be until Friday thanks to bad weather. Martinez's partner, who has been keeping in touch with her via satellite phone said, "Things are not settled yet, and another aftershock is possible." She's also dealing with high winds, and on Monday night she had to leave the tent every few hours to dig out so that her camp wouldn't be buried by blowing snow, but her partner and another friend say she is well-equipped to handle the emergency. (Newser)

Welcome to the Hotel California...Oh, Wait.

Welcome to the Hotel California. Well, unless you actually are the Hotel California. The Eagles have filed a lawsuit accusing the owners of a Mexico hotel of using the name "Hotel California," which the band owns the copyright for. The Eagles said owners of the 11-room Todos Santos hotel in Baja California Sur "actively encourage" guests to believe the hotel is associated with the band, in order to sell t-shirts and other merchandise, and make guests feel welcome. This allegedly included piping "Hotel California" and other Eagles songs through the hotel sound system, and selling t-shirts in that refer to the hotel as "legendary," resulting in apparent confusion among many guests who posted online reviews. Reportedly, Hotel California Baja LLC has applied with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to register the Hotel California name. The lawsuit filed in Los Angeles federal court seeks a variety of damages and a halt to any infringement. Hey, better not go into a bar and order a Tequila Sunrise - The Eagles will sue ya! Hey, better not rent that movie with Antonio Banderas and Selma Hayek - The Eagles will sue ya! Hey, better not do any standing on a corner in Winslow, Arizona - The Eagles will sue ya! Hey, I hope you don't enjoy living in the HOV lane - The Eagles will sue ya! Hey, I hope you don't look your girlfriend in the eye and lie to her - The Eagles will sue ya! Hey, I hope your kid doesn't ask you why the earth revolves around the sun and you don't know the answer - The Eagles will sue ya! Hey, I hope Donald Trump doesn't actually build a wall "On the Border" - The Eagles will sue him! (Reuters)

Kim Davis is Back in the News...Against Her Wishes

Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk who famously defied the supreme court and refused to marry gay people, is back in the news - but not because she wants to be. A federal appeals court has ruled a same-sex couple denied a marriage license for months by Davis can indeed sue her for damages. Originally, the damages lawsuit from David Ermold and David Moore was declared moot by a lower court due to the fact that a new state law last July removed the requirement that clerks sign marriage license forms. But the appeals court found that ruling to be in error, and ruled that Ermold and Moore can sue over Davis' refusal to issue a license even though they did eventually get one. Davis' side doesn't seem fazed by the ruling: The founder of a Christian advocacy group representing her says that though the new ruling "keeps the case alive for a little while," it isn't "a victory," and he is confident Davis "will prevail." But the attorney for Ermold and Moore thinks he's wrong saying, "We're going to get damages, I'm sure of that." The case was sent back to the same US district judge in Kentucky who originally declared it moot, and the next step is a trial. The whole process could take up to two years. (Reuters)

Hotel Knows Who's Your Daddy Even Though You Do Not

Seven years ago, an unidentified woman spent three nights in a Halle, Germany hotel with a man who got her pregnant, but never gave her his name. She gave birth to a son nine months after the encounter and sued to force the hotel to reveal her lover's full identity. She wanted the man, whom she knew only by the first name Michael, to pay child support. But a Munich court has rejected her request, arguing that it could unduly breach the privacy of four other men with the same name who were registered at the hotel during the period. Those men have the right to "control their own data and protect their own marriage and family," the judges said, adding it wasn't clear the name the man gave the woman was his real one. The Munich Appeals Court will now review the case. Or in other words, maybe don't sleep with people you don't even know. (BBC)

Either We Get Our Way Or We Euthanize Everyone!

Amid a "shocking" tragedy, locals say something smells fishy in central Colorado. On April 12, the owners of the Lion's Gate wild animal sanctuary requested to move to a nearby but more urban location citing safety concerns after recurring flooding on the property but Elbert County commissioners voted no, citing safety concerns. Then on April 20, the sanctuary suddenly euthanized all 11 of its animals - three lions, three tigers, and five bears - and the Lion's Gate web site went dark, showing only the words, "This account has been suspended." The owner of a nearby, larger sanctuary says he had offered to take the animals, but co-owner Dr. Joan Laub and a sanctuary volunteer say the senior animals wouldn't have survived a move to a larger sanctuary and that the county commission's vote forced the sanctuary's hand. County Chairman Danny Wilcox said that the commission is "shocked" the animals were put down after the owners had said they'd continue to operate if their request was denied. A spokeswoman for Colorado Parks and Wildlife calls the killings unprecedented saying, "This has never happened before in our state." (Denver Post)

So How Would You Honor Your Childhood Friend?

Tom McDonald has found a most interesting way to honor his childhood friend. When Roy Riegel, McDonald's friend and fellow New York Mets superfan, died in 2008 at the age of 48. McDonald kept Riegel's ashes in a peanut can wrapped in Mets ticket stubs next to his collection of baseball autographs and World Series highlights, but he wasn't sure exactly what to do with them - that is until one day he went to the bathroom and had an epiphany. He's since flushed scoops of Riegel's ashes at 16 Major League stadiums around the country - something he calls the "perfect tribute" to his friend, "the best plumber you ever saw" who "walked that tightrope between genius and insanity." Hank Riegel agrees, saying his brother "would definitely approve of it." And there's a method to the madness. McDonald says a baseball game must be in progress when the ashes are flushed, and if McDonald also has to use the facilities, "I always flush in between." McDonald has flushed Riegel's ashes in Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Detroit, Baltimore, and Chicago (though not at Wrigley Field due to the Cubs' rival status), to name a few. McDonald says he has enough ashes left for one final flush, which he plans to do at North Carolina's Durham Athletic Park, where the movie Bull Durham was filmed. (New York Daily News)

What the WHAT?

A mother has sparked outrage after allowing her son to pee in a cup he had just been drinking from in the middle of a restaurant! Don't worry - this happened in Krasnodar, Russia, where a picture showing the little boy standing next to a table in a food court relieving himself into the cup his mother is holding went viral. Another woman, seated at the same table appears to be averting her gaze during the bizarre moment. Of course the photo has drawn tons of public outrage and scorn, especially because there apparently was a restroom nearby. One commenter noted that "even animals don't pee next to where they eat!" (Metro)

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