During court proceedings on June 7 at the Albany City Court in New York, a 34-year-old woman in the audience allegedly released hundreds of cockroaches from plastic containers into the courtroom, resulting in the courthouse being closed for the rest of the day for fumigation and the woman facing charges. "What transpired is not advocacy or activism, it is criminal behavior with the intent to disrupt a proceeding and cause damage," noted a statement from the Office of Court Administration.
Gassed
Reynold Gladu has owned a gas station in Amherst, Mass., since 1973. But at least for now, he no longer sells fuel, the Daily Hampshire Gazette reported on June 7. When his pumps ran dry this month, he didn't refill them because he can't abide the high prices. "I don't want to be a part of it anymore," he said. "This is the biggest rip-off that ever has happened to people in my lifetime." His station will continue to do oil changes and other service, but when it comes to selling gas, he said, "Enough is enough."
Insurance assurance
GEICO insurance must pay a woman identified only as M.O. a $5.2 million settlement, the Missouri Court of Appeals ruled on June 7, after she contracted the sexually transmitted disease HPV from an insured member during intimate relations in his automobile. The Kansas City Star reported that the Jackson County woman contacted GEICO in February 2021, and the company sent the case to arbitration. Four months later, the arbitrator found that the man was liable for not disclosing his infection status, and M.O. was awarded the large sum, to be paid by GEICO. The company appealed, but the three-judge panel upheld the decision.
Out of commission
A taxi in Alkmaar, the Netherlands, is out of service for the time being, NL Times reported on June 8, but not because it's in need of repairs. In the Netherlands, seagulls are a protected species, and a pair of gulls have built a nest and laid an egg on the windshield of a parked taxi, right between the wipers. Before the egg was laid, employees tried to move the nest repeatedly, but the pair kept returning and rebuilding it. Now, the taxi must stay put until the baby gull hatches and fledges. Let's hope the meter's not running.
The pants did it
Before Stephen Patterson boarded a flight from Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe, Pa., on June 3, he stopped for a drink in the airport bar and paid with a $100 bill, which the cashier noticed was stamped with "for motion picture use only," WPXI-TV reported. The cashier notified police officers who, after discovering that he had purchased a round-trip ticket, were waiting for Patterson on June 5 when he flew back into the airport. "He said that the pants he was wearing were not his, and he found the $100 bill in the pocket, so he decided to just use it," Park Police Chief Henry Fontana said. Fontana didn't explain who owned the pants, or how Patterson ended up wearing them. Perhaps Patterson can explain that to the judge when he comes up on felony charges.
