News of the Weird
Bizarre but true stories about real people collected by syndicated columnist Chuck Shepherd.
To settle a discrimination lawsuit by transsexual men, the New York Metropolitan Transit Authority agreed to open all of its restrooms on the basis of individuals’ “gender expression,” meaning that, for example, any man dressed seriously as a woman could choose the ladies’ room.
The New York City government is currently considering adopting a rule to permit people to switch genders on their birth certificates, regardless of whether they’ve had surgery, as long as they’ve lived in the new gender for two years and a physician and a mental-health counselor approve.
Karen Madden, 38, went on trial in December in Harrisburg, Pa., after allegedly confessing to stealing $550,000 worth of jewelry and handbags from the residence of her former boss, who is the chancellor of the state’s college system. The chancellor, testifying at a July hearing on the charges, said Madden had called her recently and apologized but then went on to say, “I hope you and I can still be friends, and I would like to use you, can I use you as a reference, just for the work part?”
(Send your Weird News to Chuck Shepherd, P.O. Box 18737, Tampa FL 33679 or [email protected] or go to www.NewsoftheWeird.com.) NEWS OF THE WEIRD
