Dateline: CaliforniaAn injured University of California, San Diego student is suing the institution for failing to stop her from protesting President Donald Trump. Maria Ana Carrola Flores was reportedly injured on election day last year when she entered the I-5 freeway on foot as part of a protest against the newly elected President. According to the university’s newspaper, The Guardian, the protest began when a number of students met at Library Walk and began moving around campus, chanting anti-Trump slogans. The group eventually made their way onto the 8-lane freeway, where they allegedly attempted to block traffic. According to reports, an emergency vehicle was driving back and forth across the southbound lanes to halt oncoming traffic, but a car managed to bypass it and strike Flores, causing her serious injuries including a crushed pelvis and a fractured leg. Police officials say the driver who hit Flores was not under the influence of drugs or alcohol at the time. In a lawsuit filed last November, Flores claimed that UCSD and the UC Board of Regents should be held partially responsible for her injuries since university officials were aware of the protest and did nothing to stop it. The lawsuit also names the County of San Diego, the State of California and the driver of the vehicle as defendants.Dateline: RussiaA man was arrested for driving a stolen tank-like vehicle into the wall of a convenience store and then stealing a bottle of wine. Police in the Russian town of Apatity say an allegedly inebriated man stole a tank-like vehicle on caterpillar tracks from a privately-run motorsport training ground last week. He reportedly then drove the vehicle through a forest and into the small town. Eyewitnesses told police the man was having some trouble steering the vehicle, and video footage taken by bystanders at the scene appears to show the vehicle’s driver unsuccessfully attempt to turn the vehicle around in a narrow street before crushing a parked car and crashing into a small grocery store. The footage captures the man exit the vehicle and enter the store through a broken window. When police later caught up with the man and arrested him, they discovered a bottle of wine in his possession that was allegedly taken from the store. Reports say the man did not resist arresting officers.Dateline: SwedenA new ad from Ikea contains an invisible coupon that will appear only after a pregnant woman urinates on it. Ikea’s first new ad of the year, which appears in Sweden’s Amelia Magazine and advertises for a crib, states, “Peeing on this ad may change your life.” The ad comes with instructions telling readers to “pee on the marked area” and “wait a few minutes” to find out if you’re pregnant. The ad says that if you are expecting, your urine will reveal a new lower price of the brand’s crib. According to Swedish advertising agency Åkestam Holst—who created the ad—the technology to include a pregnancy test strip on printed paper was developed in collaboration with Mercene Labs. The strips use antibodies that bind to the pregnancy hormone hCG, making them change color. A spokesperson for the agency claimed that the strips “have the potential to improve medical diagnostics.” Designers reportedly faced a number of logistical issues while developing the ad, including scaling up the size of the strips and finding proper materials with a “controlled capillary flow” that would work for the project. Consumer response to the campaign has been mixed.Dateline: FloridaPolice in Tallahassee are searching for a man who tore a urinal off the restroom wall at a sports bar before running naked into the woods. According to police reports, staff at Miller’s Ale House say a man entered the bar’s restroom last week and then exited a few moments later, allegedly soaked in water. Witnesses say he then left the bar and proceeded to run across the parking lot while stripping off his clothes. An employee told police that by the time the man made it to the edge of the woods to the north of the establishment, he was completely naked. He then allegedly entered the woods and disappeared. When officers arrived on the scene, the bar was completely flooded due to a urinal having been ripped from the wall of the restroom. Surveillance cameras in the bar reportedly caught footage of the incident and were turned over to police. The man is wanted for criminal mischief.Dateline: HawaiiThousands of Hawaiian residents and tourists received an emergency missile alert last week when an employee “pushed the wrong button.” Around 8am on Jan. 13, Hawaii’s Emergency Management Agency sent an alert to the cell phones of residents and tourists saying, “BALLISTIC MISSILE THREAT INBOUND TO HAWAII. SEEK IMMEDIATE SHELTER. THIS IS NOT A DRILL.” It took 38 minutes for the agency to send a message out stating that the alarm was in fact a mistake. Authorities said the error was caused by an officer who accidentally chose a wrong menu option while trying to run a system test. They also said a template has been created to inform the public of false alarms. The employee has been disciplined and reassigned.
Compiled by Joshua Lee. Email your weird news to josh@alibi.com.
