Dateline: CanadaA small, provincial police department on the east coast of Canada is seeing a lot of traffic on its social media thanks to its initials. The Royal Newfoundland Constabulary has had its Twitter feed bombarded by messages about American businessman-turned-politician Donald Trump thanks to the candidate’s presence at the Republican National Convention. A cursory search on Twitter for the letters “RNC” makes the Royal Newfoundland Constabulary’s handle, @RNC_PoliceNL, pop up first. This has caused many politically minded posters to add their opinions to the police department’s Twitter feed. Mix-ups began two years ago, but since the RNC kicked off in Cleveland earlier this month, RNC Const. Geoff Higdon—who runs the Constabulary’s Twitter account—told CBC News the service’s news feeds and notifications have “just completely jammed with mentions to us regarding either love or hatred toward Donald Trump.” One person enthusiastically tweeted “Go Trump!!! Beat Crooked Hillary!!!” at the police department. Another promised a “bloodbath if you do not temporarily suspend the open and concealed carry law.” Others observed that “delegates are not sent to vote their conscientious (sic). They represent the people, not themselves” and that “Republicans really do love celebrities being there (sic) standard barriers (sic) yet they rail against Hollywood … Funny.” In an attempt to curb the wave of political sloganeering, the department has been telling followers, “We have nothing to do with @realDonaldTrump. We’re a Canadian police service in Newfoundland and Labrador with no US Political affiliations.”Dateline: EnglandAn elderly British woman reportedly fended off an attempted robbery by using bacon. On its Facebook page, Greater Manchester Police Trafford South reported, “an 86-year-old female withdrew a large quantity of money from a cash machine before heading into a supermarket in Altrincham. Whilst shopping, the lady was challenged by an unknown female who grabbed her trolley and demanded the money she had withdrawn. The 86-year-old lady then defended herself by repeatedly hitting the female offender over the head with a packet of bacon.” The department has yet to find or identify the alleged criminal, but did note the elderly victim was unharmed and that the offender “retreated and made off from the supermarket.” The Facebook post ended with the hashtag #BeatOffWithBacon.Dateline: MichiganPolice in Milford arrested 24-year-old William Wilcox for an outstanding warrant after the fugitive was spotted playing Pokémon GO on his smartphone outside the village’s police station. “He made our job much easier for us that day,” Milford Police Chief Thomas Lindberg told Fox2Detroit.com. Officers said Wilcox was wearing pajamas and standing near a flagpole outside the station—which has been designated a Pokémon gym by the game—around 10:30pm on the evening of July 14. Several officers recognized Wilcox thanks to a rap sheet that includes a 2014 conviction for receiving stolen property. A quick records check indicated Wilcox was wanted on a misdemeanor warrant for failure to appear on a breaking and entering charge. “He either forgot that he had a warrant out for his arrest or was just ignoring it thinking nothing will happen,” Lindberg told WXYZ-7 in Detroit. “I think he was more upset that he had to stop playing the game.” Wilcox was released on his own recognizance the next day and is expected back in court later this month.Dateline: CaliforniaA miniature border wall has been erected around presidential candidate Donald Trump’s star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Los Angeles photographer and street artist Plastic Jesus has taken credit for constructing the 6-inch-high wall, which is made of concrete, is topped with barbed wire and features “Keep Out” signs written in English and Spanish. The wall is also adorned with tiny posters of Plastic Jesus’ signature artwork containing the slogan “Stop Making Stupid People Famous.” The wall went up on Tuesday, July 19, the same day Trump was nominated as his party’s official candidate at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. Trump has promised to build a wall between the United States and Mexico and has said he would make Mexico pay for it. “I wanted something that was going to attack Trump’s policies rather than make it a personal attack on him,” the British-born Jesus told CNET.
Compiled by Devin D. O'Leary. Email your weird news to devin@alibi.com.
