OFFBEAT NEWS:

In case you missed it, “Live & Let Fly” reported earlier this week that an unnamed United Airlines traveler tried bringing her emotional support peacock on a flight out of Newark’s Liberty Airport. Her request was shot down – even though she had a second ticket for it, but the airline still denied the bird board because of concerns about passenger safety.

United says the “animal did not meet the guidelines for a number of reasons, including its weight and size.” But they also say this shouldn’t have been a shock as they told the customer that on three separate occasions (in advance) that her bird wasn’t gonna fly with them.

So what happened? The woman – now identified as New York artist Ventiko, says some “human friends” agreed to drive her and Dexter on the thousand-mile journey. And are we shocked to hear that Dexter has his own Instagram account? Of course not.

A Vietnamese airline is apologizing for an “improvised performance” by its flight attendants, news outlets have reported. The airline crew reportedly stripped down to bikinis and underwear to welcome home a national soccer team that didn’t even win their match. The airline has previously used attendants in bikinis to attract customers, but claims this wasn’t a marketing ploy. They were hit with a small fine and a slap on the wrist from Vietnam’s civil aviation agency.

The first thing to do when it snows is to throw salt on the roads, but some states are starting to think the salt is contaminating waterways. Their solution? Beet juice, and in some cases, BEER! Experts think that the sodium being added to the water from the roads are making fresh water lakes an rivers unsustainable for aquatic life. Not so sure if beet juice, molasses, beer, and for Wisconsin, cheese brine will resolve that issue…but it doesn’t tear up the bottom of your car, so yay!

STUPID CRIMINALS:

• An Alabama man has been busted with a large amount of meth found inside a fake soda can. Thomas Wayne Wilemon was spotted driving his car at a gas station when police realized there was a warrant out for his arrest. They found a small bag of meth in Wileman’s pocket and a fake soda can with a false bottom containing 30 grams of meth, several needles, an assortment of pills, and digital scales. How big was this “soda can?”
• An unnamed 20-year-old Seattle man was arrested after robbing a Pizza Hut delivery driver. He and another man allegedly called in an order under an alias to have the food delivered, but when the delivery girl got there, she was given the run around and eventually robbed of the pizza at gunpoint. She’s fine, but here’s the best part: Pizza Hut tracked down the culprit… because he used the same phone number to order pizza a few days prior. It STILL gets better! When cops arrived at his door they say they smelled marijuana, heard loud music and announced themselves. That’s when they they heard a voice inside saying, “Don’t answer.” Bad move. He was arrested on robbery and assault charges.
• A nursing home is under investigation after a resident offered a staff member a THC-laced Oreo. The cookies were supposedly from Michigan and help “manage his pain.” He wouldn’t reveal who brought the cookies to him, but about 20 were seized and destroyed. Any arrests in the case will hinge on findings of the investigation, which will focus on the source of the cookies.

To hear more ‘Offbeat News’, tune into The Morning Brew with Bob Allen on KMZN 99.5FM/740AM or follow him on Facebook.