WEIRD NEWS

The Latest "Living While Black" Atrocity

In St. Louis, Hilary Brooke Mueller decided she would attempt to block D'Arreion Toles from entering the condo building where he lives. His only "crime" - was apparently being a black man. Mueller, who was outside with her dog, repeatedly asked Toles what unit of the Elder Shire Lofts condominium complex he lived in. After he managed to get past her and into the building, she followed him into the elevator and all the way to his door, then she called police. About 30 minutes later, police arrived at the unit and told Toles that Mueller had reported being "uncomfortable" with his presence; he told police he rented the unit and had shown Mueller his key fob. He posted videos of the unbelievable encounter with Mueller on Facebook and she quickly became known as "Apartment Patty." Eventually her identity was uncovered and that led to getting her racist butt fired. Real estate management company Tribeca-STL, posted a statement on its website saying she had been fired. Neither Mueller nor the police have yet commented on the situation, but Toles told reporters he felt unsafe, even concerned he could end up like Botham Jean, the black man shot dead by a police officer in his own Dallas apartment. Even so, he asked supporters not to attack Mueller saying, "I am not upset with her. I am not going to go after her legally or anything like that. I wish her the best. I would still have a conversation with her." That's an amazing man. (KMOV)

Catholic Reverend in the Headlines. Wanna Guess Why?

A reverend for the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City was arrested after allegedly trying to pick up a prostitute. Two Salt Lake City police officers saw 63-year-old Andrzej Pawel Skrzypiec repeatedly driving around a parking lot. Officer Palmer and Officer Roop were working undercover as street prostitutes and at one point Skrzypiec approached Palmer and accused the officer of being a cop. Palmer denied the accusation and asked if Skrzypiec was looking for a date. Skrzypiec admitted he was and then asked Palmer and Roop to get into his vehicle. Skrzypiec later explained what he wanted to the undercover officers and he agreed to pay for the sexual encounter. A third officer was signaled and Skrzypiec was taken into custody. After reading the suspect his Miranda rights, Skyrzpiec told the two officers that they were too pretty to be prostitutes. He later denied making a sex deal and claimed he roaming the area to get a taco from a nearby taco stand. The Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City's website says Skrzypiec is on temporary leave from his duties. (KUTV)

Well Grandpa Won't Be Flying Out for a While

It seems 56-year-old Hatam Hamad had a few too many during a flight from New Orleans to London and at one point in the flight allegedly exposed himself and slapped another passenger. Hamad, who has 25 grandchildren, was taken into custody when the plane landed at Heathrow Airport. In court, the prosecutor read a statement from Joel Vilmenay, the man who was assaulted, which described the bizarre incident. Vilmenay said he was flying with his wife and two children when Hamad walked down the aisle of the plane with his genitals hanging out, putting them "within three inches of my face." Vilmenay stood up to confront Hamad, who responded by "grunting" and then exposing himself to another passenger. He then back-handed Velmenay across the chest before he was escorted to the back of the aircraft, where members of the flight crew guarded him until the plane landed. Hamad initially pleaded not guilty but changed his mind and was given a six-week jail sentence suspended for one year after admitting to the assault. (WSRZ)

Stephen Hawking's Final Warning From Beyond the Grave

A new Stephen Hawking book comes out today and the late physicist has a warning that sounds straight out of a dystopian sci-fi movie. Hawking worries that genetic editing will allow the rich to turn themselves into "superhumans" who will eventually dominate the world and perhaps the universe. In the book Brief Answers to the Big Questions, Hawking writes: "Once such superhumans appear, there will be significant political problems with unimproved humans, who won't be able to compete. Presumably, they will die out, or become unimportant. Instead, there will be a race of self-designing beings who are improving at an ever-increasing rate." Looking further out, "if the human race manages to redesign itself, it will probably spread out and colonize other planets and stars." As for our No. 2 threat? Hawking says climate change. (Newser)

Mother of the Year - For Real This Time

For once we've got a real mother-of-the-year contender. In Queensland, Australia, 23-year-old Fiona Simpson was driving home with her 4-month-old daughter and 78-year-old grandmother when it started raining. As the rain started to come down harder, she pulled over. Then, it started to hail-and the hail shattered the window next to the infant. That's when Simpson decided to act as a human shield for the baby, shielding the girl with her own body and later trying to also help her grandmother when hail broke the front window of the car. The trio was caught in a "supercell thunderstorm," that caused giant hail and a tornado. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said or Simpson, "She's one of the bravest people I've read of lately," and recommend her for a hero award. Simpson says she's been overwhelmed with supportive messages since her story made headlines: "People are offering to help, offering to send me ointments and creams, offering to buy me a massage, a few insurance companies have offered to replace my car." (ABC Australia)

Sleep More! Earn Rewards Points!

Japan is known for keeping some of the world's longest working hours, but some companies are starting to realize that their workers also need to sleep in order to be productive. One such company is actually encouraging employees to sleep more by rewarding them with points that can be spent at cafeterias and shops. CRAZY, a Tokyo-based wedding planning company, recently announced the implementation of a "sleep remuneration system." Workers who install the Sleep Analysis app on their smartphones and share their data with the company are eligible to receive points according to how many hours of sleep they get ever night. All employees have to do is place their smartphones by their beds and start the Airweave Sleep Analysis app, and it will take care of the rest. The software can track body movements during sleep, measure sleep depth and sleep time, among other things. If the app shows that an employee has slept the minimum of 6 hours per night, for five nights a week, they will receive 500 points ($4.50). If they manage to do that 6 times a week, they get 600 points ($5.40), and reaching the 6-hour threshold for a full week yields 1,000 points ($9). Employees also get a bonus of 1,000 points if they share their sleep data with the company for a full month, even if they don't meet the set sleep goals. (Oddity Central)

What the What?

In Bradenton, Florida, police arrested 22-year-old Hermes Callijas-Gasperin who allegedly pelted his mother with sausages because she accidentally bumped into him while making his dinner. According to the police report, the food fight erupted when Callijas-Gasperin demanded his mom make him dinner, and she said she was busy. When she did begin to cook his meal - sausages - she accidentally bumped into her son. He expressed his outrage by throwing the sausages at her, hitting her in the eye, and then put his hands on her neck and pushed her. Somebody wasn't raised right! (Metro)

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