I live on the edge of a nature preserve, and on Christmas Day I noticed a handful of bright green plants with ruby red berries blooming near my back yard. I was struck by the festive color combination, perfect for the holidays. But that delight was dampened when after a little online sleuthing I realized they are Brazilian pepper trees, […]
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For years, the south Florida city of Opa-locka, already one of the most unusual communities in a very odd state, had one of the more bizarre ordinances on the books. The city, famous for its Moorish architecture and home to myriad CIA ops, including the Bay of Pigs invasion, had a strict dress code. It was illegal to show up […]
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Don’t call it a manhunt. It’s a chicken hunt. Police in Walker, Louisiana are scratching around for a pesky fowl who has been harassing bank patrons. The bird has chased customers attempting to use the bank’s ATM and has even tried to invade cars using the drive-through facilities. The “aggressive chicken” is still on the loose, but police have issued […]
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By Abrahm Lustgarten Pro Publica On a 110-degree day several years ago, surrounded by piles of sand and rock in the desert outside of Las Vegas, I stepped into a yellow cage large enough to fit three standing adults and was lowered 600 feet through a black hole into the ground. There, at the bottom, amid pooling water and dripping […]
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By Justin Elliott and Robert Faturechi Pro Publica In November 2017, with the administration of President Donald Trump rushing to get a massive tax overhaul through Congress, Sen. Ron Johnson stunned his colleagues by announcing he would vote “no.” Making the rounds on cable TV, the Wisconsin Republican became the first GOP senator to declare his opposition, spooking Senate leaders who were […]
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By J.C. Bruce I have been assigned by Tropic Press to write this new periodic dispatch from the Gunshine State, an effort to provide a fair and balanced perspective on news emanating from this subtropical paradise that may seem confusing, confounding, and, perhaps, utterly crazy to outsiders. We’ll begin this unbiased and totally objective report with a look at how […]
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By Alexander Strange This is a test. There are two images accompanying this article. One is a photograph of an iguana, a kind of lizard. The other is not. Can you tell the difference? If so, your powers of observation are keener than some. Specifically, better than a woman in Poland who called the authorities when she saw an unusual object […]
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The Small Business Administration refuses to give pandemic relief loans to people who have filed for bankruptcy, even if their businesses can survive. By Lydia DePillis ProPublica Like every other storefront in downtown Lincoln, Nebraska, the Coffee House — a cavernous student hangout slinging espresso and decadent pastries since 1987 — saw its revenue dry up almost overnight last spring […]
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Thousands of lives have been lost in Florida due to the coronavirus pandemic and now the disease has claimed an entire city. Thankfully, the mermaids are okay. The community in question is Weeki Wachee, a popular tourist destination about 50 miles north of Tampa, known for its mermaid shows since the 1940s and, at one time, the biggest tourist attraction […]
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