oddly enough


oddly enough

Woman settles suit to use ‘8THEIST’ license plate

NEWARK, N.J.

A woman whose request for a vanity license plate reading “8THEIST” was denied two years ago when state officials said it might be considered offensive will now be allowed to display it.

A settlement filed in federal court Friday resolves a lawsuit filed in 2014 by Shannon Morgan. As part of the settlement, the state Motor Vehicle Commission also will issue the following vanity plates or “combinations that are substantially similar”: SECULAR, RATIONL, HUMANST, ATHEISM, GODLESS, HEATHEN, HERETIC, SKEPTIC, BLASFMR, REASON, EVOLVE, TRANS, LGBTR.TS, LGBTQ, PRIDE, QUEER, GAYPOWR, LGBTALY, FEMINISM, FEMINST, EQUALITY and 4WOMEN.

The commission will pay Morgan, who’s from Maurice River in Cumberland County, $75,000 to resolve her claim.

“Initially this was an oversight that was corrected immediately,” commission spokeswoman Mairin Bellack said. “The plate was and is still available upon request. The [commission] has issued variations of 8THEIST upon proper request.”

Morgan’s lawsuit said the Motor Vehicle Commission violated her First Amendment rights when its website rejected the 8THEIST vanity plate. She said she received a message stating her request was ineligible as it “may carry connotations offensive to good taste and decency.”

Rescuers free squirrel with head stuck in cup

ENFIELD, Conn.

Emergency responders in Connecticut have come to the rescue of a squirrel that was caught in a nutty situation.

Members of Enfield Emergency Medical Services responded Friday after the rodent got its head stuck in what appeared to be a plastic or paper cup.

Video posted on the Enfield EMS Facebook page shows the critter wildly jumping and flipping into the air in an effort to dislodge the cup.

Responders’ first attempt to remove the cup was unsuccessful. The wily rodent hopped out of one officer’s hands and through the legs of another.

The second attempt proved more successful. An officer covered the animal with a blanket and held its body steady while another officer removed the cup before the critter scampered away into some nearby bushes.

Associated Press

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