It isn’t always possible to chronicle every news item that comes across the digital transom in real time, and sometimes the stories, while intriguing, just don’t merit a full article. But that doesn’t mean they’re without merit, as I hope this grab bag of bypassed stories proves. From science to trivia, honors to passings, there’s something for every taste in this catchall article.
Hold onto your cosmic hats! We’re gonna do a down-and-dirty overview of three stories that made the news in recent days – the terrorist attack in Moscow on March 22nd that left more than 130 dead; the diminution of Donald Trump’s civil fraud bond on the 25th; and the catastrophic bridge collapse in Baltimore on the 26th. Each deserves a deeper dive, buy hey! I’m only human.
On 5 February 2024, Samantha Jo Petersen, 34, was indicted on 21 counts relating to an accident that occurred the previous September, when Petersen crashed her car into an Amish buggy in southeast Minnesota, killing two children and seriously wounding two others. Petersen, high on meth and texting at the time, tried to switch roles with her twin sister Sarah, fearing jail time. The charges include vehicular homicide and driving under the influence. Killed in the September 25th crash were Irma Miller, 11, and her sister Wilma, 7.
On January 30, 2024, Justin Mohn, 23, killed and beheaded his father, Michael, 68, at the home they shared in Levittown, PA. He posted a video of him holding the head, wrapped in a plastic bag, on his YouTube channel, calling his father a traitor because he was a federal employee. In a 14-minute tirade, Mohn spouted rightwing conspiracy theories and antigovernment slogans, brandishing the head for part of the time, later seen in the background sitting in a cooking pot. Mohn then took his father’s car and fled the scene, arrested later that evening approximately 100 miles away, after his mother returned home, discovered the body, and phoned 911 at about 7 PM EST.
On Monday, 5 February 2024, Buckingham Palace announced that King Charles III of the United Kingdom had been diagnosed with cancer. The 75-year-old monarch had undergone treatment for a benign enlarged prostate on January 26th, and was said to be recovering well. But another area of concern was noted at the time, and has now been confirmed as cancer, though the Palace has thus far not revealed what type of cancer, beyond stating that it does not involve the prostate. The King began outpatient cancer treatment the day his diagnosis was announced.
When it comes to Old Hollywood glamor, style and chic, nobody does it like Bette Davis. Which is ironic, because, unlike most actresses of her era, Bette never shied away from unglamorous parts, unlikeable characters, and unflattering makeup, even agreeing to aging techniques that had her convincingly playing a 60-year-old Virgin Queen when she was barely 30 herself.
