ODDLY ENOUGH

ODDLY ENOUGH

Putin’s ex-bodyguard rejects TV debate after duel challenge

MOSCOW

President Vladimir Putin’s former bodyguard has rejected an opposition leader’s invitation for a television debate after challenging him to a duel.

Gen. Viktor Zolotov, chief of Russia’s National Guard and Putin’s long-time bodyguard, recorded a rare video address to opposition leader Alexei Navalny last month, challenging him to a duel over his investigation into corruption at the National Guard.

Navalny, who was released Sunday after spending 50 days in jail for an unsanctioned protest, put out a video Thursday, reiterating his claims and inviting Zolotov to a TV debate.

Zolotov told Russian news agencies Friday that he had challenged Navalny to an actual duel and that he does not want a public discussion with him.

Navalny’s video got over 2.6 million views in less than a day.

Congressman’s documents found in abandoned unit

PHOENIX

An Arizona man stumbled upon a trove of historical documents possibly worth thousands of dollars after purchasing an abandoned storage unit for $20 in a Phoenix suburb.

The Arizona Republic reports Don Smith discovered a collection of about 200 letters belonging to Henry Ellsworth Barbour, a Republican congressman from California from 1919 to 1933.

The collection includes two letters signed by President Herbert Hoover, White House invitations from President Warren Harding and an invitation to groundbreaking ceremonies for the Golden Gate Bridge.

He also found a congressional gavel that a 1933 letter says is made from wood used at the U.S. Capitol after it was partially destroyed when the British set fire in 1814.

The items were to be auctioned Friday.

Haunted house suspends actors for mock rapes

AKRON, OHIO

Complaints from visitors about being pushed onto a mattress where actors simulated raping them at an “edgy” haunted house in Akron has led to the suspension of the actors involved.

The Akron Beacon Journal reports Akron Fright Fest owner Jeremy Caudill says he was “shocked and appalled” when he learned recently what had happened at his haunted house in Summit County’s Springfield Township.

Some visitors complained to the newspaper they were injured by actors who shoved them. Two customers said they were pushed onto a mattress where actors simulated rape.Caudill says he’s still determining what happened and promises additional security and monitoring going forward.

Fright Fest is advertised as a hands-on experience with actors getting physical and swearing amid “risque scenes.”

Associated Press