Lawsuit gets nod: Prison tutor says he suspected cheating
JACKSON (AP) — A Michigan prison inmate says he was transferred and lost his job as a tutor after complaining that teachers were supplying answers to a high school equivalency test.
U.S. District Judge Mark Goldsmith declined to dismiss the lawsuit, the Detroit Free Press reported last Thursday, which means it will go to trial or be settled.
Munin Kathawa, 57, who is serving a life sentence for murder, sued five people, including a deputy warden, claiming his rights were violated. He said he reported his concerns about cheating in 2018 to a state lawmaker and a Catholic priest.
“There is no dispute that Kathawa was an excellent tutor,” Goldsmith said. “Nonetheless, he was removed from his position. ... A jury could reasonably infer that Kathawa was terminated as retaliation for making comments about the GED program and other matters.”
Kathawa said he was falsely accused of being a safety threat and removed as a tutor.
Justices turn away appeal of women who went topless at beach
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court is leaving in place the public nudity convictions of three women who removed their bathing suit tops on a New Hampshire beach as part of a campaign advocating for the rights of women to go topless.
The justices declined Monday to review a state court decision that found no violation of the women’s constitutional rights.
Heidi Lilley, Kia Sinclair and Ginger Pierro are part of the Free the Nipple campaign, a global effort advocating for the rights of women to go topless. They were arrested in 2016 after removing their tops at a beach in Laconia and refusing to put them on when beachgoers complained. Pierro was doing yoga, while the two others were sunbathing.
Animal house: Squirrel wrecks home, insurance won’t fix it
ATLANTA (AP) — An Atlanta couple said they came home from a winter vacation to find their house had been ransacked by an unusual suspect: a squirrel.
Kari and Dustin Drees bought their first home last month in Atlanta’s affluent Buckhead district and went to visit family a week later, news outlets reported.
During their vacation, an alarm went off in the home but friends said the doors and windows were not breached.
When the couple came home, their house was a mess, with floors scratched up, baseboards chewed on and a kitchen faucet running, Kari Drees said.
A squirrel had fallen down their chimney, defecating and scratching at everything to get out. Eventually it made a nest in the couple’s couch.
“We’re stressed at first, “ Laro Drees said, “but we were like, ‘This is why you have homeowner’s insurance.’”
But the couple’s home insurance provider Mercury Insurance, told them it wouldn’t cover the damages because “a squirrel is a rodent,” which is not covered under the policy.
A representative from Mercury told news outlets the contract “explicitly stated” the insurance does not cover damages by rodents. The couple was told if a raccoon destroyed the house, the damages would have been covered.
The couple will need to repair furniture, windows, floors, walls and have the home professionally cleaned.
Mercury offered to pay for safe housing for the family for up to two weeks.
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