Oddlyenough

Rapper with song ‘Sell Drugsz’ gets prison

A Rhode Island rapper whose songs include “Sell Drugsz” has been sentenced to three years in prison for doing just that. Federal prosecutors say 30-year-old Michael Persaud, of Johnston, was sentenced in federal court in Providence for trafficking heroin and fentanyl. His stage name is Montana Millz. Prosecutors say an East Providence undercover detective bought nearly 22 grams of fentanyl and a small amount of heroin from Persaud over a four-month period beginning in October 2016. Authorities also say they seized 44 grams of fentanyl from his home.

Persaud’s lawyer, Matthew Smith, calls the sentence “fair and just.” Prosecutors had asked for a six-year prison term. Persaud also awaits sentencing in Lebanon County, Pennsylvania, where a jury convicted him of drug charges.

(AP)

Storm blows historic building to Canada

A fishing-industry building on the US National Register of Historic Places is half-submerged in waters near a Canadian island, and conservationists fear it could disintegrate before legal tangles are resolved. The January 4 blizzard tore the brine shed from its mooring at McCurdy’s Smokehouse off Lubec, Maine, and it was blown to nearby Campobello Island in New Brunswick.

The shed is among five buildings that comprise the last traditional smoked-herring facility in the US, and an organisation called Lubec Landmarks has worked for almost 25 years to preserve it. Lubec Landmarks President Rachel Rubeor said legal tangles, including salvage rights claims by some Canadian citizens, could doom the building. “The bureaucratic nonsense is hampering us,” said Rubeor, who said vandals with chain saws are threatening to dismantle the building.

A spokesman for US Senator Angus King, I-Maine, said his staff has worked to facilitate communication among organisations across all levels of Government on both sides of the border “to help save and possibly preserve this historic landmark.”

The shed’s remains, which include significant portions of its roof, flooring and fireplace plus some side walls, floated under the bridge between Lubec and the Canadian island. “It is just a miracle that it didn’t hit the bridge. It just sailed right through the pilings,” said Lubec Town Administrator Renee Gray.

(AP)

Lobsters to be numb before cooking: Swiss government

Switzerland has banned the common culinary practice of throwing fresh lobsters into boiling water as part of an overhaul of its animal protection rules. “Live crustaceans, including the lobster, may no longer be transported on ice or in ice water. Aquatic species must always be kept in their natural environment. Crustaceans must now be stunned before killing them,” say the rules adopted by the Government that will take effect in March. The regulations also aim to crack down on illegal puppy farms, outlaw automatic devices that punish dogs for barking, spell out conditions for putting down sick or injured animals, and make organisers responsible for animal welfare at public events.

Neighbouring Italy’s highest court ruled in June that lobsters must not be kept on ice in restaurants because it causes them unjustifiable suffering before they head for death by fine dining.

(Reuters)

Hoo is next? Man says he’s the latest victim of owls

A spate of recent owl attacks has ruffled the feathers of metropolitan Atlanta’s residents. WSB-TV reports there have been at least three instances of owls attacking humans or pets since late December, most recently in the heart of Midtown. Serrita Holt says her Yorkie, Freedom, was killed following a December 23 attack in Henry County. She said the dog sustained puncture wounds to his back and chest. The next week, Deborah Johnson was scratched on her leg and knocked over by a large owl attacking her dachshund in Cobb County.

Eric Thornton says an owl swooped down as he left his townhouse, cutting his head. Atlanta Audubon Society spokesman Adam Betuel says owl attacks are rare, but recent cold weather might have made younger birds more aggressive.

(AP)

Man to run Boston Marathon backward

A California runner is training to break a Guinness World Record by running the entirely of the Boston Marathon while facing backward. Loren Zitomersky, an experienced runner, said he is planning to run all 26.2 miles of the Boston Marathon while facing backward in order to raise money for the Epilepsy Foundation of Greater Los Angeles.

Zitomersky, whose brother, Brian, died of epilepsy-related causes at the age of seven, said he is also aiming to break a Guinness World Record by finishing the marathon with a time under three hours, 43 minutes and 39 seconds. Zitomersky said backward running has caused him a lot of pain in his legs, but it doesn’t compare to the struggles faced by epilepsy patients.

“The pain and the struggle that I’m feeling when I’m running backwards is temporary,” he told KABC-TV. “For them, they live with this struggle and the difficulties every single day.”

(UPI)