NEWS OF THE WEIRD
Yearning to fly free
Two weeks after a plea deal fell through in connection with a 2019 attempt to stow away on a flight at Chicago’s O’hare International Airport, Marilyn Hartman, 69, was arrested and charged with trespassing March 16 as she attempted to sneak onto another flight at O’hare, the Associated Press reported.
At the time of her 2019 arrest, Hartman was on probation after bypassing security in January 2018 and boarding a flight from Chicago to London without a ticket.
The Cook County Sheriff ’s Department planned to seek a felony escape charge for Hartman.
Sucking it up
In March, Einstein Cafe, an upscale dessert chain with outlets across the Gulf Arab states, started a fad by selling its thick, milky drinks in plastic baby bottles, complete with nipples.
The Associated Press reported the cafe was inspired by photos of trendy bottles on social media, and the idea was an instant hit. People lined up at Einstein stores, and they “took photos, they had fun, they remembered their childhood,” said Younes Molla, CEO of the chain, but others “were so angry they said horrible things.”
In Dubai, Kuwait and Bahrain, the government cracked down on the new cafe offerings, saying the bottles violate the countries’ customs and traditions; in Oman, citizens were asked to report sightings of the baby bottle confections to a consumer protection hotline.
School stops the steal
Laura Rose Carroll, 50, and her daughter, Emily Rose Grover, 17, were arrested in Pensacola, Fla., on March 16 after an investigation by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement found the duo had allegedly stuffed the ballot box with votes for Emily for homecoming queen last fall.
Suspicions were raised when the Escambia County School District reported illegal accessing of hundreds of its students’ digital accounts.
Authorities said Carroll, an assistant elementary school principal, had access to the district’s student information system, and investigators traced unauthorized entries into the system to Carroll’s cellphone and computers, where nearly 250 votes were cast.
Each was charged with offenses against computers and other cybercrimes, along with conspiracy.
Pennies not from heaven
Andreas Flaten of Peachtree City, Ga., quit his job at Walker Luxury Autoworks in November, visibly annoying his boss, he told WGCL-TV, but he was promised his final $915 paycheck would be paid in January.
When the check didn’t come, Flaten contacted the Georgia Department of Labor, and one night in mid-march, 500 pounds of oily pennies were dumped in his driveway, presumably totaling $915.
Flaten has been storing them in a wheelbarrow, but they can’t be cashed until they are cleaned.
Fine points of law
Lawyers filing briefs for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit were advised March 16 the court would be officially discouraging the use of the Garamond typeface, a centuries-old font widely used in books, because it “can be more difficult to read,” wrote court clerk Mark J. Langer.
Fox News reported the font is popular among attorneys, but author and web designer David Kadavy, gets it: “Garamond is considered one of the best fonts in existence, (but it) can be a disaster on the web. … It’s better to use a modern font that has been drawn with the screen in mind.”