Czech president torches underpants,
stunt stuns journalists
Prague (AP) – A fiery stunt by the Czech president has really stunned journalists this time. Milos Zeman announced a press conference for Thursday, but instead of briefing reporters, he had two firefighters in protective gear burn a huge pair of red underpants in front of them. Czech media said the boxer shorts in question had been hoisted by activists in 2015, replacing the official presidential flag on Prague Castle. The red underwear was meant to symbolize Zeman’s close relationships with Russia and China and has since become a symbol for criticism of his presidency. After the incineration, Zeman told reporters: “I’m sorry to make you look like little idiots, you really don’t deserve it.” Zeman, 72, has often clashed with the press, even waving a fake machine gun at reporters last year.
‘Dead’ husband returns after
Japan police send wrong body
Tokyo (AP) – A Japanese wife has told police the body she thought was of her missing husband belonged to a stranger after her spouse turned up alive a year later. Tokyo police acknowledged Wednesday that the body found in a river in eastern Tokyo in June 2017 was of another man reported missing at around the same time. Police apologized for the mix-up and said the remains would be returned to the right family. Police initially believed the body was of a man in his early 40s reported missing by his family three days earlier, and handed it over to them after positive identification by the wife and two relatives. The body was then cremated by the family. The family earlier this month notified police that the man came home alive in May. Police refused to say where he was or what he was doing. The body, of another missing man in his late 30s, might have been misidentified because both men were about the same height and age, Tokyo’s metropolitan police said. The metropolitan police said they regretted the mistake and promised to take preventive measures.
Vows in the air: German couple
married in tightrope wedding
Berlin (AP) – A couple in eastern Germany have gotten married in a swing dangling from a motorcycle atop a tightrope, 14 meters (46 feet) above the ground. The German news agency dpa reported that a pastor standing in a cage atop a fire service ladder presided over the wedding of Nicole Backhaus and Jens Knorr in the town of Stassfurt on Saturday. The couple exchanged rings in the air but, for safety’s sake, waited until they were back on the ground to kiss. More than 3,000 people watched the wedding in the sky, which took place during a local festival. The tightrope was stretched between the town wall and a tower, and the motorbike was ridden by Falko Traber, a member of a family of artists.
2 inn workers eat pot-laced candy
left by guests, get sick
Shelburne, Vt. (AP) – Police say two employees of an inn at a popular Vermont tourist destination ate marijuana-laced chocolate left behind by guests and got sick. Shelburne Police were called to the Inn at Shelburne Farms on Wednesday after receiving a report an employee felt ill and was lying in the parking lot. The two employees were taken to the hospital and have since been released. The inn’s spokeswoman says that any food left behind is not to be consumed by staff and that the inn’s training programs will be reviewed with employees. Police are asking that people who possess edibles keep them secure. The edibles in this case resembled malted milk balls. No charges will be filed against the guests. Recreational use of marijuana will become legal in Vermont on July 1.
Exhaust-ing ordeal:
Woman gets head stuck in tailpipe
Winsted, Minn. (AP) – A young woman endured an exhaust-ing ordeal when she got her head stuck in a truck’s oversized tailpipe at a Minnesota music festival. Firefighters used a power saw to free the woman from her predicament at last weekend’s Winstock Music Festival in Winsted, about 40 miles west of Minneapolis. Video of the rescue was posted on Facebook. KARE-TV reports that it’s unknown how she ended up with her head in the tailpipe, but alcohol may have been a factor: The McLeod County Sheriff’s Office says she was cited for underage drinking and escorted out.
