Odds & Ends

Odds & Ends

Devin D. O'Leary
\
5 min read
Share ::

Dateline: Israel

American pop star Britney Spears is causing a major disruption in Israel, forcing the country to move an entire election. Seems that the singer is set to perform her first-ever concert in Tel Aviv on July 3. Unfortunately for locals, that’s the same day as the Israeli Labor Party’s primary election. So party officials have moved the election—not because they wanted to see the concert instead (or so they say), but because of security concerns. “We delayed the vote one day to July 4,” Labor Party spokesperson Liron Zach told CNN. “We couldn’t hire enough security for the election because of the Britney Spears concert on July 3. There would also be a lot of traffic and roadblocks that would make it hard for the vote to go ahead.” The primary will decide who becomes chairman of the party. That elected official will then be in the running for prime minister. Spears’ concert is being held at Yarkon Park, right across the street from the Tel Aviv exhibition grounds where the polling is set to take place. “We aren’t concerned about voters favoring Spears over the party,” insisted Zach. “The two main concerns are security and traffic.” The Tel Aviv stop is part of Spears’ first world tour since 2011.

Dateline: Canada

Police in Hamilton, Ontario are on the hunt for the person or persons who stole $45,000 worth to lettuce. Between 8pm on March 31 and 4pm on April 1, a truck and refrigerated trailer full of lettuce went missing. Police say the truck eventually turned up in Toronto, but the trailer full of lettuce is missing. Police asked the public to “romaine calm” after the incident. Unwilling to let it go, police also asked the public on social media to “lettuce know if you have any tips.” The pun-filled Facebook post also let readers know, “Your information could be the tip of the iceberg and uncover a major theft ring.”

Dateline: Tennessee

A man wearing a bra threw water balloons at a state trooper and then led him on a high-speed chase.
The Tennessean reports that 57-year-old Alan Brian Prisby of Decatur was arrested and charged with evading arrest, driving under the influence, implied consent violation, reckless driving and speeding. According to the arrest warrant, filed earlier this month, Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper Julio Lasalle was checking a roadside welcome center when he saw a maroon Jeep Wrangler parked in the commercial vehicle area. He went to tell the driver to move. Before he reached the Jeep, however, a white object—later identified as a water balloon—was thrown out the window. Lasalle wrote in his report that he approached the vehicle and notice the driver was wearing a “white bra,” from which he “removed a second water balloon and tried to bust it on the ground near my feet.” When Lasalle returned to his vehicle to call for backup, Prisby drove back onto the interstate, eventually leading the trooper on a chase with speeds up to 100 mph. Lasalle, with the help of police from Clarksville, eventually took Prisby into custody. According to the police report, Prisby had slurred speech, red watery eyes and smelled of alcohol at the time of his arrest. Lasalle searched the Jeep and found an open bottle of Bailey’s Irish Cream. Prisby was taken to Montgomery County Jail and held on $20,000 bond.

Dateline: California

In what amounts to a very small victory, a woman who fell off California’s highest bridge while taking a selfie will not be charged with trespassing. The Placer County Sheriff’s Office said the Sacramento-area woman was airlifted to a hospital after the 60-foot fall and is expected to survive. The woman—unidentified in press reports—and a group of friends were walking on a catwalk underneath the 730-foot-tall Foresthill Bridge near Auburn when she fell while taking a photo. Authorities said the walkways under the bridge are closed to the public, and people who access them are violating the law.

Dateline: Kentucky

President Donald Trump has vowed to revive America’s coal industry—but if the Kentucky Coal Mining Museum is any indication, it’s going to be an uphill battle. The museum, located in Benham, Ky. announced earlier this month it is installing solar panels on its roof as part of a project aimed at lowering the energy costs of one of the city’s largest electric customers. “We believe that this project will help save at least eight to ten thousand dollars off the energy costs on this building alone,” Communications Director Brandon Robinson of the Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College—which owns the museum—told WYMT Mountain News. “It is a little ironic,” he conceded. The museum was opened in 1994 in a building that once housed the company store for a former coal camp town. The site houses relics from the state’s coal mining past, including items from the personal collection of “Coal Miner’s Daughter” singer Loretta Lynn.

Compiled by Devin D. O'Leary. Email your weird news to devin@alibi.com.

1 2 3 455

Search