Top 5 Weird, Funny and Sizzling news of this week
Parents fined for taking children on vacation
A British couple has been fined $1,800 for taking their children out of school for a week for a family vacation. Natasha and Stewart Sutherland took their two teen daughters and six-year-old son to the Greek island of Rhodes for a week at the end of September. They
were fined $650 initially for failing to ensure their children attended school regularly. That fine doubled when they didn't pay it within 21 days.Stewart Sutherland argued in court he booked the family vacation - which he said was also educational - before new rules about taking children out of school came into effect Sept. 1. He also said he and his wife rarely get time off together, and the vacation was much needed family time. But a judge still fined the couple $1,800 in court Jan. 15, the BBC reported. The couple started a petition asking the government to reverse amendments to the education regulations
British woman impersonates bride, cancels wedding
A British woman who cancelled her brother's wedding 20 days before the vows were to be exchanged told the couple, "I have saved you on the divorce. “Court heard Ann Duffy, 50, pretended to be her future sister-in-law and called the Plymouth Register Office, telling magistrates she wanted to cancel the big day.Duffy and the other woman had a strained relationship, the Plymouth Herald reported, due to a disagreement over the care of Duffy's mother, who had moved in with Duffy's brother and fiancee. She later told police she was trying to protect her brother. "I have cancelled your wedding. Would you like me to send you the confirmation email?" Duffy said to her brother, the court heard. Defence lawyer Roger Page said Duffy thought her brother was making a "disastrous move" and pointed out the couple was able to re-book the wedding the next day. Duffy pleaded guilty to one count of harassment.
McDonald's Worker Sold Drug from Restaurant
JANUARY 16--A McDonald’s employee who recently served time in prison on a narcotics charge has been arrested for allegedly selling heroin from the fast food restaurant, police report. Theodore Levon Upshaw, 28, was busted yesterday after selling “20 stamp bags of heroin” to a confidential police informant, according to a criminal complaint. While Wednesday’s transaction took place in the eatery’s parking lot--after Upshaw took a break from work--the informant had “previously made multiple purchases of heroin” from Upshaw inside the McDonald’s in Murrysville, a municipality in Westmoreland County.
Following the buy, cops busted Upshaw--who was wearing his work uniform--on several felony narcotics charges, including heroin possession and delivery of heroin. He was booked into the county jail, where he is being held in lieu of $50,000 bond.
Upshaw, pictured in the above mug shot, has been living in an alternative housing facility since his early release from state prison, where he was serving three years on a conviction for possession with intent to deliver narcotics
Typo sends readers on to adult hotline
WOODSTOCK, Ont. ─ Anyone can make a mistake, including a well-intentioned Ontario Provincial Police officer just trying to catch a thief. On Thursday, Woodstock Sentinel Review readers looking to provide information to Crime Stoppers about a daytime break and enter in Thamesford, Ont., were in for a surprise. A two-digit typo in an OPP press release ended up connecting people to an adult chat line called America's Hottest Talk Line.
"If you are looking for a hot man, you know where to go," a reader said after phoning the paper to inform it of the error published on the website. After dialing the 1-888 number, callers are greeted by an energetic female voice that says, "Welcome to America's Hottest Talk Line.""Ladies, to talk to interesting and exciting guys free, press one now," the voice instructs.
Guys, hot ladies are waiting to talk to you."It is not known how long the adult hotline has owned the 1-888 numbers, but it is not the first time the number has made an appearance in press releases. A quick scan of e-mails from the OPP and the Woodstock Police Service reveal that, in recent years, several e-mails directing residents with information about crimes to call the incorrect number. The typo also appears on websites across Canada from Red Deer, Alta., to Sudbury, Ont.
Smoking during pregnancy could make your baby gay, claims controversial study
Smoking and drinking during pregnancy could make your baby gay and stupid, if the claims of a neuroscientist are to be believed. A controversial study has found that a pregnant woman’s lifestyle could influence their child’s IQ or sexuality.
Dr Dick Swaab – professor of neurobiology at Amsterdam University – claims that drinking, taking drugs or living in a area with high pollution levels have an impact on the development of foetuses and could affect children later in life. Taking synthetic hormones and smoking while pregnant can increase the chances of girls becoming lesbian or bisexual, while drinking and drug-taking could lower a child’s IQ, Dr Swaab suggests.
And the more older brothers a boy has, the more it is thought to increase his chance of being gay, it is reported. The study claims this could be because the mother’s immune system develops stronger responses to male hormones with each son that is born. Dr Swaab also believes living in an area of high pollution is linked with an increased risk of autism. He told the Sunday Times: ‘Pre-birth exposure to both nicotine and amphetamines increases the chance of lesbian daughters. ‘Pregnant women suffering from stress are also more likely to have homosexual children of both genders because their raised level of the stress hormone cortisol affects the production of foetal sex hormones.’ He added: ‘In women who drink a lot, cells that were meant to migrate across the foetal brain can end up leaving the brain altogether.’
However, Dr Swaab recognised lifestyle factors were a small influence and added that genetics play the most important role in child development.
