WJW-TV [Cleveland, OH]
16 January 2019
Giant Kentucky snowman gives
would-be vandal dose of instant karma
PETERSBURG, Ky. — A driver was dealt a dose of instant
karma when the person tried to topple a snowman with their vehicle on Monday.
[…] [Cory Lutz] came home Monday to find a set of tire tracks in his yard that
abruptly ended at the base of the snowman.
The [tree] stump was exposed and now featured a snowy imprint of a
bumper. […]
Fortean Times Appreciation (closed Facebook group)
27 December 2017
Ian Jarvis
Does anyone in the north of England remember this
story from the 84 miner’s strike? After one of the winter battles between
police and pickets, the latter stole a helmet from one of the fallen policemen.
The following day, two officers in a squad car spotted the helmet on a
daft-looking snowman near the pit gates surrounded by jeering miners. Fuming,
they accelerated at it to scatter the men and smash it down, only to completely
write off their car when it turned out to be built over a concealed iron bollard. I believed this when I heard
it back in 84, but over the years, it seems to have happened at every colliery
in Yorkshire and, although many had heard about it, no one had actually seen it
take place. […]
=====
Washington Post
17 January 2019
Trump keeps mentioning
taped-up women at the border. Experts have no idea what he’s talking about.
President Trump has a new favorite anecdote, one that
fixates on tape. […] On at least eight occasions over a period of 12 days this
month, the president has argued publicly for his proposed wall on the southern
border by claiming without evidence that traffickers tie up and silence women
with tape before illegally driving them through the desert from Mexico to the
United States in the backs of cars and windowless vans. […]
=====
The following item has also been added to the Halloween
Candy (2018) file.
Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum [OH]
17 January 2019
Father gets four years in
prison after son ingests meth after trick-or-treating
BUCYRUS - A man whose son ate methamphetamine will
spend the next four years in prison after pleading guilty to two felonies this
week. Cambray Carwell, 25, of Galion, was arrested Nov. 2, just a few days
after his 5-year-old son was taken to the emergency room for seizures,
according to Crawford County Prosecutor Matt Crall. The boy became sick Oct.
28, the night he went trick-or-treating in Galion. "It was determined that
he was positive for methamphetamines," Crall said. Carwell initially
blamed the child's sickness on potentially tainted candy collected in the
community, which Crall said led Galion police officers to warn parents of the
potential danger. […]
=====
The Advocate [Baton Rouge, LA]
17 January 2019
Smiley: Wait; hold that
apocalypse!
Barbara Anne Eaton, of Baton Rouge, tells a story that
made me laugh out loud: "This time of year always takes me back to the Sunday
that I was the front door usher at the 11 a.m. service for First United
Methodist on North Boulevard. As the parishioners were streaming in, many
mentioned how disturbed they were by the sign being held by a woman on the
other side of the boulevard, which read 'THE END IS NEAR.' Phyllis McLaurin,
being a good Christian, reached out to the woman, saying, 'Why don’t you come
into the church to worship with us?' To which the woman replied, 'Ma’am, I am
not holding this sign to tell the Methodists that the end is near; I am holding
this sign to tell the runners in the Louisiana Marathon that THE END IS NEAR!'”
=====
Washington Examiner
16 January 2019
Border rancher: 'We've found
prayer rugs out here. It's unreal'
LORDSBURG, N.M. — Ranchers and farmers near the
U.S.-Mexico border have been finding prayer rugs on their properties in recent
months, according to one rancher who asked to remain anonymous for fear of
retaliation by cartels who move the individuals. […]
The Daily Beast
18 January 2019
Trump Tweets Discredited
Right-Wing Meme About ‘Muslim Prayer Rugs’ at Border
President Donald Trump claimed that Muslim prayer rugs
are being found on the U.S.-Mexico border in a tweet Friday, dredging up a
long-running, discredited right-wing internet rumor. Citing a Washington Examiner story that ran on
Wednesday, Trump tweeted that the identities of some people crossing the border
would be a “big surprise.” […]
=====
The Daily Beast
18 January 2019
Is a Serial-Killer Gang Murdering Young Men Across the
U.S.?
[…] His death was
ruled an accidental drowning by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office.
But a team of retired detectives and a gang expert believe he’s one of about
100 victims of the Smiley-Face Killers, an alleged organized gang of serial
killers that communicates on the dark web, with cells in dozens of cities
across the United States. An additional 250 cases might be connected, but they
can’t prove it, they say. […]
=====
CTV News [Canada]
19 January 2019
Parents warned about person
dressed as clown who allegedly tried to grab girl
Parents of students attending an elementary school in
Edmonton [Alberta] are being asked to remain vigilant after a person dressed as
a clown allegedly grabbed a young girl. Christine Whitebear is one of many
parents who received a letter from officials at Tipaskan Elementary School
alerting them of the alleged incident. The note said someone wearing clown
makeup and dressed in a patterned jacket attempted to grab a student in an
alley near the school on Friday morning. […]
=====
The Sun [UK]
19 January 2019
Jilted girlfriend sells
boyfriend’s £186 Xbox for £3 after finding out he cheated on her
A JILTED girlfriend sold her boyfriend’s Xbox for just
£3 after discovering he had cheated on her. Georgia Jackson, 24, advertised
Josh Maddock’s “pride and joy” console for sale on a Facebook selling site. The
mum of one wrote: “First one to collect can have it for £3. […] Xbox One
consoles usually cost around £186 — but Georgia also threw in a set of brand
new headphones worth £44 and four games. […]
[Cf. “The $50 Porsche.”]
=====
The Guardian [UK]
19 January 2019
Is the ‘Croydon cat killer’ a
fox – or a human still at large?
Police officers, vets and an animal rescue
organisation believe that the killing and mutilation of some cats, rabbits and
other animals across parts of England are the result of human involvement, even
though a major police investigation has found no evidence to support that
claim. […] Although [South Norwood Animal Rescue and Liberty] acknowledges that
foxes did play a part in some of the mutilations it has seen, the organisation
said that in some cases the heads had been cut off cleanly, indicating the use
of a blade. What appeared to be the deliberate placing of a cat’s head in
prominent locations – often near, or on, a child’s trampoline – also indicated
human involvement, the organisation said. […]
