HUNT ON FOR FAKE BEARD BANDIT IN ROBBERY PROBE
The FBI is searching for an Arizona bank robbery suspect seen in security camera footage wearing what appears to be a very unconvincing fake beard. The video shows the suspect wearing a baseball cap and a fake beard that doesn’t come close to matching his gray hair. The FBI said the man threatened to spray a teller at the Wells Fargo Bank in Mesa with acid if she didn’t hand over any cash. The teller hid below the counter to avoid any attack and the suspect fled. It was unclear whether he managed to take any money from the bank.
(UPI)
PROF lANDS IN TROUBlE OVER MATHS EQUATION
An Ivy league professor aboard an American Airlines flight was questioned after a passenger mistook a math equation for Arabic and possible Islamic code for a terrorist attack. Guido Menzio, an economics professor at the University of Pennsylvania, was working on a differential math equation as the Syracuse-bound plane was preparing to take off from Philadelphia. The 41-minute flight was delayed by two hours as the olive-skinned, curly, dark-haired native Italian was questioned.
A blond-haired woman wearing flip-flops and appearing to be in her 30s had passed a note to a flight attendant. American Airlines flight 3950 returned to the gate at Philadelphia International Airport and was met by what he described as an “FBI-looking man in black”. He learned the woman thought he was a terrorist.
After realising he was only doing math, the flight took off minus the complaining passenger. The woman boarded a later flight for Syracuse. Menzio boarded the original flight again.
American Airlines confirmed the woman had raised suspicions about Menzio. Casey Norton, a spokesperson for American Airlines, said the woman initially told the crew she was sick. Norton said that when passengers raise concerns about issues during their flight, “we try to work with them peacefully to resolve it”.
(UPI)
2,000 PIGEONS TO FlY OVER NY FITTED WITH lED lIGHTS
An artist is planning to release about 2,000 pigeons fitted with lED lights over New York’s East River. Boston artist Duke Riley’s public art project ‘Fly By Night’ features thousands of specially trained pigeons circling above the East River on weekends from May 7 to June 12.
Riley developed a connection with pigeons after rescuing one as a young boy and many of the birds involved in the project come from his personal flock.
“Fly By Night pays homage to pigeon-keeping, both in New York and farther afield,” the project’s description states. “Pigeons have been domesticated for thousands of years and kept by people around the world for their companionship, sport, and service.”
The project will see the birds emerge from a historic boat at the Brooklyn Navy Yard with lED lights attached to leg bands that were historically used to carry messages. The birds will then circle around the river as the sun continues to set, creating a floating body of light in the night sky. “It will look like a constellation or tiny shooting stars the darker it gets,” Riley told WNYC.
(UPI)
FRENCH MAN SUES FORMER EMPlOYER OVER ‘BORE OUT’
A French man claims that his former employer caused him to “bore out” of his job and become depressed by stripping him of his responsibilities.
Frederic Desnard, a 44-year-old ex-facilities manager at French perfume company Interparfums Inc, is suing the company for $170,000 in damages after claiming he was “shelved” when the company lost an important contract.
Desnard states that his employer sent him on “a descent into hell” by giving him only menial tasks over the course of four years. “I was depressed, and ashamed of being paid for doing nothing,” he said.
Desnard left the company in 2014 and claims that the “bore out” cost him holiday pay, a potential promotion and that his depression and anxiety led to an epileptic fit while driving.
The attorney for Interparfums Inc. claims “inconsistencies” in Desnard’s story saying he “never said anything about being bored during the four-year period”. “And if he actually had nothing to do over these years, why didn’t he mention itIJ” they added.
(UPI)
CYPRUS ARTIST PAINTS DARTH VADER PORTRAIT WITH COFFEE
An artist in Cyprus celebrated Star Wars Day by using a mug of coffee to paint a portrait of iconic antihero-turned-villain-turned-antihero Darth Vader.
Video of the painting session, posted to YouTube by Upcycle.Club, shows artist Maria A Aristidou sketching some lines on her canvas before bringing out her paint — a mug of coffee.
Aristidou’s time-lapse footage ends with a finished portrait of luke Skywalker’s dad.
“It’s the 4th of May, and today we are celebrating, ‘May the fourth be with you,’” Aristidou said using painted sheets of paper, referencing the popular saying that inspired the unofficial Star Wars Day holiday.
(UPI)