Nation and world briefs, July 24, 2023
Bell tolls for Wisconsin man who wins Hemingway look-alike contest
KEY WEST, Fla. (AP) — The annual Hemingway Look-Alike Contest has been won by a Wisconsin man who was celebrating his 68th birthday. Gerrit Marshall of Madison won Saturday night’s contest in Key West, Florida, over 140 white-bearded men. It was Marshall’s 11th try. Competitors in sportsman’s attire, most emulating the rugged “Papa” persona Hemingway adopted in his later years, paraded onstage at Sloppy Joe’s Bar before a judging panel of previous winners. As well as the contest and other festival events, the look-alikes focus on raising scholarship funds for Keys students. Hemingway Look-Alike Society president David Douglas estimated that they amassed close to $125,000 during the 2023 festival.
Woman found dead after grizzly bear encounter near Yellowstone National Park
WEST YELLOWSTONE, Montana (AP) — A woman was found dead in Montana on Saturday after coming into contact with a grizzly bear on a trail west of Yellowstone National Park. The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks said in a statement on Sunday that her body was found near grizzly bear tracks. The attack comes amid a rise in Montana’s grizzly bear population and an increase in sightings, the department said. Forest rangers issued an emergency closure of the popular hiking area in West Yellowstone and continue to investigate the woman’s death.
Search for missing Texas rodeo goat brings residents of a small rural county together
RAYMONDVILLE, Texas (AP) — The search for a rodeo goat that has been missing for more than a week has the residents of a rural South Texas county enthralled as they are using horses, ATVs and even contemplating utilizing a helicopter to find the missing animal. Alison Savage, president of the Willacy County Livestock Show and Fair, says local business have donated prizes and gifts worth more than $5,000 as a reward for the person who finds the goat. On Sunday, possible goat tracks were spotted in a cotton field near Lyford, south of Raymondville. The goat escaped after a youth rodeo on July 15.
San Francisco-based craft beer company open to buyout from employees
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A spokesman for Anchor Brewing says the company is open to a purchase offer from its employees but warned that time is running out. The 127-year-old San Francisco-based trailblazer of craft beers stunned beer lovers earlier in July when it announced it would cease operations. Spokesman Sam Singer said Saturday that Anchor had received an email from employees saying they had launched an effort to purchase the brewery. He said the company would gladly consider a serious officer with verifiable sources of income.
The 1975 cancels shows in Jakarta, Taipei after band’s same-sex kiss controversy
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — British pop rock band The 1975 has announced it was canceling its shows in Jakarta and Taipei after the Malaysian government cut short a music festival, a day before, as the band’s lead singer slammed the country’s anti-gay laws and kissed a male bandmate during their performance. The 1975 was scheduled to have a performance at We The Fest, Indonesia’s annual summer music festival, in Jakarta on Sunday night. The group said on Sunday they regret announcing that their forthcoming shows in Jakarta and Taipei will no longer be going ahead as planned “due to the current circumstances”
Michigan man charged with murder in case involving ex-girlfriend and her toddler
LANSING, Mich. (AP) — A man accused of stabbing his ex-girlfriend and kidnapping and killing her 2-year-old daughter has been charged with murder by Michigan’s attorney general. Attorney General Dana Nessel charged 26-year-old Rashad Trice on Friday with 20 counts, including one count each of first-degree premeditated murder and felony murder in Wynter Cole Smith’s strangulation death. The Lansing man faces 18 other charges in connection with the alleged stabbing and sexual assault of his ex-girlfriend in Lansing. He also allegedly stole her car and drove away with Smith. The child’s body was found July 5 in Detroit.
