STATUS UPDATES

A week in which Duterte got stingy, Banksy got whitewashed, and a man swam at a dam

DEFIED

A swimming ban at the Hoover Dam. A Welshman was fined $330 (U.S.) after he swam across the river at the dam, the BBC reported. Arron Hughes, 28, was on a stag trip when he took a dip at the dam, not far from Las Vegas. Conveniently, the turbines were not on. His explanation amounted to that it was hot, and “I even have a tattoo saying ‘no regrets,’ that’s the type of person I am.”

PUNISHED

A Maryland couple who posted “prank” videos of themselves berating their children have been sentenced to five years of probation. The couple uploaded videos to their “DaddyOFive” YouTube channel, in which they swore at their children and broke their toys. The probation restricts contact with their children.

OVERABUNDANT

Kangaroos in Australia. So experts are suggesting that more residents should add them to their menus. The population of wild kangaroos has almost doubled in six years, to 44 million at last count in 2015, the New York Daily News reported. The meat is considered nutritious, but since the roo is the national animal, it comes with a side of stigma.

IMMORTALIZED

Some popular playthings, in the National Toy Hall of Fame in Rochester, N.Y. A dozen finalists have been announced, including the paper airplane, sand and the Wiffle Ball. Ultimately, only two or three will be inducted Nov. 9, chosen with input from teachers and historians among others, for their longevity and ability to inspire creative play. The Wiffle Ball?

DEFILED

A mural by Banksy. A resident of Calais, France, painted over the image by the British street artist. The mural, near the “Jungle” refugee camp, showed survivors on a raft after a wreck, London’s Telegraph reports. Some of Banksy’s works can fetch millions, but in this case, the resident said the mural, painted in 2015, was fading and looked shabby, and authorities had ignored it.

SPARED

The Hemingway cats. Amid the wreckage of Hurricane Irma, 54 cats who live at Ernest Hemingway’s house in Key West, Fla., were unharmed, the New York Times reported. The cats, mostly with six or seven toes, are descendants of a white cat owned by Hemingway. Staff at the Ernest Hemingway Home and Museum refused to evacuate, and protected the creatures.

ENDANGERED

The Philippine government’s Commission on Human Rights. A vote by legislators reduced its annual budget to 1,000 pesos ($24 Canadian). The commission, investigating the violent war on drugs led by President Rodrigo Duterte, had a budget of 749 million pesos (about $18 million), the BBC reported. The legislation is expected to be passed before the money can be spent.

VAPOURIZED

£141 million ($230 million Canadian) on a snap election. That was the cost of British Prime Minister Theresa May’s gamble in June. May’s Conservatives lost their parliamentary majority, and also offered £1 billion in extra spending to secure the support of the Democratic Unionist Party. At least the vote ensured that British politics remained interesting.