Weird News

Fox News sued over airing suicide of chase suspect

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:22:18 -0700

PHOENIX (AP) — A woman has sued Fox News Network for airing live footage last fall of a suspect in a police chase committing suicide in the Arizona desert and not using a time delay that would have prevented the death from being broadcast on national television.

The lawsuit alleges the children of suspect JoDon Romero have suffered emotional distress from having seen the video of their father fatally shooting himself on Sept. 28 at the end of an 80-mile car chase.

The lawsuit was filed June 6 in metro Phoenix by the mother of Romero's three sons, ages 15, 13 and 9.

It was also filed against Fox Entertainment Group Inc. and Fox's parent company, News Corp.

The network says in a statement that it couldn't comment because of the pending litigation.

Lawsuit alleges McDonald's payroll debit card full of fees

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:20:50 -0700

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Would you like fees with that?

A Pennsylvania woman wants just the beef, not the fees she says she'll be charged to get her McDonald's wages from a debit card.

Single mom Natalie Gunshannon has filed suit over bank fees that allegedly include $1.00 to check her balance, $1.50 to withdraw cash and $15 to replace a lost card.

The 27-year-old Gunshannon, who lives near Wilkes-Barre, says the JPMorgan Chase payroll card was her only payment option.

Her suit names franchise owners Albert and Carol Mueller, who employ about 800 people at 16 McDonald's restaurants in northeastern Pennsylvania.

Gunshannon's lawyer, Michael Cefalo, said employers and banks are "squeezing the most vulnerable" workers.

The Muellers' spokeswoman had no immediate comment. A message left with JPMorgan Chase on Tuesday was not immediately returned.

Police arrest 13-year-old boy in wrestling death of sister

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 12:52:36 -0700

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A 13-year-old boy from a New Orleans suburb has been arrested after authorities said he used TV wrestling moves on his 5-year-old half-sister, who died from the beating.

Jefferson Parish Sheriff's spokesman Col. John Fortunato said the boy was arrested Tuesday after a coroner's investigation found the girl died of multiple injuries, including broken ribs, lacerations of the liver and internal bleeding.

Deputies said they received a 911 call from the boy's home on Sunday, and found the girl unresponsive a short time later.

Investigators said the teen told them he repeatedly slammed the girl on a bed, punched her in the stomach, jumped on her and struck her with his elbow several times.

New NYC evacuation zones include 3 million people

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:54:19 -0700

NEW YORK (AP) — More than one-third of New York City residents' homes are now located in evacuation zones that have been updated and expanded following Superstorm Sandy last year.

Officials said last month the number of zones would double and encompass about 600,000 more residents. Details were released Tuesday.

Altogether, the six new zones incorporate about 3 million people -- approximately 37 percent of the population. Officials said, however, that many storms will require evacuating only some zones.

The zones reflect a new understanding of flooding risks. Sandy inundated chunks of the city, including some areas without evacuation orders.

Officials said the new zones also will help tailor evacuation orders better to particular storms.

There have been only two mandatory evacuation orders in the city's history -- for Sandy in 2012 and Hurricane Irene in 2011.

Wood in Lake Michigan could be from long lost ship

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 09:42:21 -0700

FAIRPORT, Mich. (AP) — Scientists said Tuesday that a wooden beam, extending from the floor of northern Lake Michigan, appears to have been there for centuries -- an important finding as they try to determine whether it's part of the Griffin, the first European-style ship to sail on the upper Great Lakes.

Marine archaeologists from the U.S. and France are studying the timber and digging a pit beneath it.

They said Tuesday that a probing device has detected what appears to be a solid surface 18 to 20 feet below the lake floor.

They said they still aren't certain whether they are dealing with a shipwreck or natural phenomena. But Michel L'Hour, of France's Department of Underwater Archaeological Research, said the timber appears similar to a bowsprit, which is a pole that extends from a vessel's stem.

The Griffin, also known as Le Griffon, was the first full-size sailing vessel to navigate the upper Great Lakes -- pioneering modern commercial shipping that followed in the region.

The ship disappeared in 1679. It has never been conclusively determined exactly what happened to the Griffin, although some have speculated various theories from pirate attacks to mutiny.

Woman pleads not guilty in buttocks-injection case

Tue, 18 Jun 2013 09:31:26 -0700

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi woman has pleaded not guilty to killing a woman by giving silicone injections as a buttocks enhancement.

Tracey Lynn Garner entered the plea Tuesday in Hinds County Circuit Court.

Judge Winston Kidd said he will consider Garner's request to be released on bond. Kidd also extended a gag order to prevent attorneys from discussing charges against Garner.

Garner, 53, is charged with two counts of depraved heart murder, each punishable by life in prison.

Garner was arrested and charged last week in the January 2010 death of Marilyn Hale, 23, of Selma, Ala. No trial date has been set.

In September 2012, Garner was also arrested and charged in the March 2012 death of Karima Gordon, 37, of Atlanta.

Judge Kidd on Tuesday set that trial for March 17.

Woman charged in 2nd buttocks-enhancement death

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:33:13 -0700

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — Authorities said Monday that a Mississippi woman has been charged in another death, related to her administering buttocks-enhancing injections without being trained or licensed.

The state attorney general's office says 53-year-old Tracey Lynn Garner of Jackson, formerly known as Morris Garner, was arrested Thursday and charged with one count of depraved heart murder. Conviction carries a potential life sentence.

The release says Garner injected "a silicone substance" into Marilyn Hale of Selma, Ala., on Jan. 13, 2010, and Hale later died.

Records show Garner was in the Hinds County Detention Center on Monday. Her attorney, John Colette, was not immediately available.

Garner had been on house arrest awaiting trial in a similar case in the 2012 death of an Atlanta woman.

Diners on Maryland restaurant's patio hit by car

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 15:32:14 -0700

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) — Police said four people sitting on an outdoor patio at a restaurant in Maryland were struck by a car that jumped the curb on Monday afternoon.

Anne Arundel County police say it happened about 1:25 p.m. Monday at Zoe's Kitchen. Officers say a car driven by a 78-year-old man jumped the curb and hit the diners.

Three of the customers were treated at the scene. The fourth customer and the driver were taken to hospitals for treatment of injuries that were not life-threatening.

The accident is under investigation.

Miss Utah latest beauty queen to botch answer

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:16:07 -0700

LAS VEGAS (AP) — Miss Utah Marissa Powell is the latest beauty queen to trip on national television, not over her gown, but during the interview segment.

Asked about income inequality at the Miss USA pageant in Las Vegas Sunday night, the 21 year-old gave a rambling, awkwardly-worded answer that included several long pauses and the phrase "create education better."

The cringe-inducing response was getting lots of buzz Monday. Pageant co-owner Donald Trump scolded the haters on Twitter, saying anyone can lose their train of thought.

But Miss Utah is not the only beauty to mangle an answer, and her answer was certainly not the worst recorded in a pageant.

Miss South Carolina took that crown with her 2007 "such as"-filled response to a question about geographical literacy.

No medical negligence in penile implant, jury decides

Mon, 17 Jun 2013 14:05:57 -0700

WILMINGTON, Del. (AP) — A jury in Delaware decided on Monday there was no medical negligence in a penile implant procedure that the patient said left him with an erection for eight months.

The New Castle County Superior Court jury decided that urologist Dr. Thomas Desperito was not negligent in the procedure he performed in December 2009 on 44-year-old truck driver Daniel Metzgar.

The News Journal of Wilmington reported that during the week-long trial, Metzgar testified that his constant erection drew taunts from family and friends, as well as stares, slurs and threats from strangers.

He testified that the procedure caused him to withdraw from much of life, wearing long, baggy sweat pants and a long shirt to hide his condition.

Metzgar had the prosthesis removed in August 2010, after tubing from the device punctured his scrotum.