In the news
Adam Eidinger, founder of the pro-marijuana group DCMJ, said 4,200 joints will be distributed at 8 a.m. on Jan. 20 so that advocates can push for legalization by going to the National Mall and lighting up at 4 minutes and 20 seconds into President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration speech.
Ingbert Zacharias, a spokesman for police in Mainhausen, Germany, said officers don’t know whether it was a prank, a dare or an act of revenge that led to a wall being quietly built overnight to block the front door of a man who had to tear it down to leave his house.
Amanda Sherman, 24, of Harrisville, Pa., meant to just get a 10-minute oil change for her husband’s pickup but ended up leaving with a new daughter when she unexpectedly gave birth in an auto dealership restroom.
Chuck Morse, president of the New Hampshire Senate, said he is too superstitious to sit in the governor’s chair during his two-day stint as the state’s interim governor, which will end at noon today when Gov.-elect Chris Sununu is sworn into office.
Mark Crotreau, fire chief in Concord, Mass., said three sleeping firefighters narrowly escaped when their station went up in flames in the middle of the night, heavily damaging one firetruck and causing smoke and heat damage to another truck and an ambulance.
Allen Jamroz, 54, of Mosinee, Wis., faces felony kidnapping and sexual assault charges after a woman told authorities that she escaped from a wooden box in his basement, where he sealed her in after using a stun gun to subdue her and forcing her to perform a sex act.
Paula Butler, spokesman for the tourism promotion group Visit Philadelphia, said a 2017 calendar that omitted the month of December was the result of a printing error, adding, “We love December. It’s a great month and we would never delete it for any reason.”
Patrick Howard, 56, of Robertsville, Mo., was arrested on assault, child endangerment and other charges, accused of pointing a gun at his wife and pouring gasoline on a crib that held their grandchild and threatening to light it on fire, sheriff’s deputies said.
Anna Rose, a U.S. Park Police sergeant, said a woman walking in the woods near the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., reported finding several weapons, including two guns in a violin case, which led investigators to discover more guns and ammunition.