Custody spat over New Orleans escape-artist dog settled with visitation agreement
The wiry terrier named Scrim who had virtually all of New Orleans looking for him while he spent most of the previous year on the run – enduring a hurricane, a historic snowfall and other perils – landed in the middle of an adoption controversy among those who recently brought him to heel again and then wanted to keep him.
But in a video showing them sharing a sofa with Scrim, those who helmed an effort to bring the dog off the streets to domesticity announced a Solomonic solution that would keep all of them involved in his life – though his owner would be a local animal rescue shelter proprietor who had lost him in November and ultimately reneged on an earlier agreement for a key search volunteer to adopt him.
News of shelter proprietor Michelle Cheramie's change of heart had ignited a wave of social media hatred, including accusations of selfishness and her viewing the ungovernable pup as little more than 'a meal ticket' given the viral media attention his abscondence had generated.
Nonetheless, in their video with Cheramie and Scrim, would-be adopters Tammy Murray and Freba Maulauizada pleaded for a stop to the acrimony that had erupted in what seemed like only the latest tale to prove the intense passions that pets can inspire in Americans – and how nothing good can truly last on the internet.
'Please, please … do not hate,' Murray said in the video, after having described herself as 'devastated and really speechless' at her foiled adoption of Scrim in an earlier social media post that prompted the digital pile-on suffered by Cheramie. 'It does not get us anywhere, and it feels awful.'
Zeus' Rescues reportedly first took in Scrim after he was found astray in a south-east Louisiana trailer park on Halloween 2023. He bolted from Cheramie's home in November, doing so by chewing through a second-floor window screen and leaping 13ft on to a driveway.
Scrim was staying with Cheramie – who owns Zeus' Rescues – while he recovered from having earlier gone on the lam for six months after fleeing his then-adoptive family's yard.
He survived summer temperatures above 100F, Hurricane Francine in September and wounds that were suspected to have been inflicted by someone wielding an air pellet gun. He was also missing a chunk of ear as well as several teeth – and had a number of abrasions – when he was caught in October and placed in Cheramie's home to rest and await readoption.
After he skedaddled from Cheramie's home in November, the trail went quickly cold after the batteries in Scrim's GPS collar died within hours. People with nets and tranquilizer darts formed search parties that scoured the city for Scrim on both of his runs, but they came up empty-handed.
He eschewed baits of beef tripe and locally beloved Popeyes fried chicken while making fleeting appearances on doorbell camera videos across New Orleans, earning him international media coverage as well as a large online following within the city and beyond.
Eventually, on 11 February, an apparently hungry Scrim reportedly crawled into a narrow trap designed for cats, was recaptured and returned to Cheramie. She said a veterinary exam and X-rays indicated that Scrim had tapeworms and intestinal parasites but was otherwise in good health.
Murray at that point thought Scrim would be going to the home she shared with her partner, Maulauizada. The animal advocate and furniture designer, who had spent days and nights partaking in efforts to find Scrim, had submitted an application to adopt the dog through Zeus' Rescues and had gained approval.
However, on 18 February, Cheramie announced on Facebook that she had decided to keep Scrim for herself after he had bonded with her dog, Scooby, and had even been received warmly by her cats.
'I had a change of heart,' Cheramie wrote. 'I wanted him to be my dog.'
She acknowledged that Murray and Maulauizada 'took it hard', referred to 'a lot of hurt and pain', and expressed a desire for a time when 'we will all heal'.
Murray herself confirmed that was the case in her own social media statement, writing: 'No words. Devastated and really speechless. 10+ months of my life dedicated to bringing him home to safety. Even made it official and filled out an application and got approved only to be here … not my dog.'
Many sympathized with Murray. One user wrote Cheramie was acting 'selfish … and … isn't putting Scrim's needs before her emotions'. Another wrote: 'She sees him as a meal ticket.' And still another wrote to Zeus' Rescues: 'I think you have showed you can't properly take care of him. This should not be your dog.'
The Louisiana news outlet Nola.com reported that someone telephoned Cheramie and threateningly told her: 'You better never let me see you out on the street.'
The rancorous tone of the dialogue unwittingly set off by Murray's and Cheramie's dueling statements then evidently prompted both to collaborate on defusing it.
Convinced that Scrim was thriving in Cheramie's home, Murray and Maulauizada then essentially dropped their adoption claim to leave him in the care of the Zeus' Rescues proprietor, with assurances that they would still have roles in his life. They also made a conciliatory video with Cheramie and Scrim, on her lap, between them.
An intermittently teary-eyed Murray said in the video: 'Our focus is on Scrim. I hope everyone can celebrate with us that this dog is just doing wonderful.'
Apologizing for the statement that unleashed the backlash directed at Cheramie, she added: We really want this to end on a good note.'
Cheramie, for her part, denied Scrim's measure of fame was a factor in her love for him. She said she was grateful Murray and Maualauizada engaged in 'honest and open conversations' with her about 'a painful situation' – and wanted 'what's best' for Scrim.
'I love the fact that we can have this type of relationship and that we're here now doing this,' Cheramie remarked.
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Newsweek
5 hours ago
- Newsweek
Steve Carell, Morgan Freeman Delivered Mail for USPS. Lots of Other Stars Too
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Even Walt Disney delivered mail before Mickey Mouse graced the silver screen, and a whole host of musicians started off as postal workers, including the legendary jazz bassist Charles Mingus. A group of United States Postal Service (USPS) mechanics and vehicles, possibly Ford Model A Parcel Post trucks, awaiting repair at an USPS garage, United States, circa 1935. A group of United States Postal Service (USPS) mechanics and vehicles, possibly Ford Model A Parcel Post trucks, awaiting repair at an USPS garage, United States, circa 1935. FPG/Archive Photos/Getty "To be a jazz musician is a meager livelihood for most," USPS historian Steve Kochersperger told Newsweek. "He was a brilliant musician, but he depended on the Postal Service when he needed to pay the bills." Even "I'm Yours" singer Jason Mraz worked as a casual clerk before pursuing his music career. "All of our most precious documents, contracts, presents and checks from grandma go through their trusted hands," Mraz told Newsweek via email. "I personally think they are national service members that get overlooked—like park rangers, but for packages." Today, USPS processes and delivers on average over 370 million pieces of mail daily, thanks to its nationwide network of 640,000 employees and automated sorters. Though vehicular transportation has made mail delivery much faster than in its early days, the system still employs 6,450 "fleet of feet" workers who deliver mail entirely on foot. A testament to the reliability of its workers, the phrase "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" has long been attributed to the U.S. Postal Service. 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Politico
15 hours ago
- Politico
Hunter Biden's alternate history
BLAME GAME — Hunter Biden suddenly has a lot to say. In multiple interviews released this week, he addressed his drug addiction, his infamous laptop, his father dropping out of the race for president and media coverage of his family, with some particularly choice words reserved for CNN anchor Jake Tapper, the co-author of a recent book about Joe Biden, actor George Clooney and The New York Times. It's understandable that the president's son might want to defend the family in the wake of recriminations over Biden's legacy, as a wave of books and negative press accounts have come out about the 46th president's health in his final years in office. But the decision to air his grievances — and crowd out the news cycle at a moment when Donald Trump and his party are desperately trying to divert attention away from the Jeffrey Epstein saga — isn't being welcomed by Democrats. In Hunter's most notable interview, spanning over three hours with online documentarian Andrew Callaghan and his network Channel 5, the younger Biden pontificates at length on his own addiction and recovery, before tearing into the party apparatus that he believes pushed his dad to abandon his 2024 campaign. Hunter's lengthy comments, filmed a month ago, represent an unvarnished look into the collective psyche of the close-knit Biden family since the former president dropped out. What it reveals is a lack of awareness and accountability for Biden's own role in losing the 2024 election, in favor of an alternate history. One profanity-laced tirade stands out. 'Fuck [George Clooney]! Fuck him and everyone around him. I don't have to be fucking nice,' Biden said. 'Number one, I agree with Quentin Tarantino, George Clooney is not a fucking actor, he's a fucking — I don't know what he is, he's a brand … Fuck you, what do you have to do with fucking anything, why do I have to fucking listen to you? What right do you have to step on a man who's given 52 years of his fucking life to the service of his country, and decide that you, George Clooney, are going to take out basically a full-page ad in fucking The New York Times to undermine the president? Which, by the way, what do you think people care about the most? Why do you think the Republicans have an advantage? Because they're unified.' Hunter remains convinced that his father should not have dropped out of the race. He admits the debate was a disaster, but chalks it up to the time his dad had spent on a plane prior and an Ambien he was given in order to sleep. He says 'my dad grew old in front of everyone's eyes,' and that Americans need to reconsider 'how we handle people who age in front of our eyes,' while insisting he was politically viable because of the 81 million votes he received in 2020. At the time Biden dropped out, Gallup polling showed his job approval rating at an anemic 36 percent, the lowest of his presidency, and aides working on the campaign were consistently fretting about their chances to the press. One reportedly insisted, 'no one involved in the effort thinks he has a path [to victory].' Hunter, however, contends his dad had 'cleared every hurdle they set up for him.' On the post-debate Democratic collective freakout, Hunter says, 'He goes and does [ABC News' This Week with George] Stephanopoulos. Everyone says, 'that's not enough. We've got to see him give a press conference.' For what? You remember that, it was about a two-hour long press conference, and he gave a tour de force, around the world history lesson about the existence of NATO, Russian aggression and Ukraine.' President Biden became vulnerable again, according to Hunter's telling, after he got COVID, which was when he said the Democratic Party elite vultures descended and insisted they'd destroy the party if he didn't drop out. Notably, Hunter doesn't blame Vice President Kamala Harris, whom he calls very loyal. At another point, he insists she's still the future of the party. In whole, the interview is a view of history that is simply inconsistent with the facts. Biden was in position to suffer a historic loss, according to publicly available polling that kept getting worse. And Hunter Biden's account is full of contradictions — according to him, Americans need to learn to deal with a president who's getting old and who's undone by an Ambien, yet that same president also gave a 'tour de force' press conference and never should have dropped out. Most remarkable is the way in Hunter's mind, his dad is a victim. As he notes multiple times with pride, Biden was a leader in the Democratic Party for over half a century. He was a senator for decades, vice president for eight years and president for four. He had better relationships with congressional leaders than President Obama. But at the same time, somehow he's free of all responsibility for the party's current unpopularity. Instead, it is the fault of Democratic elites, which somehow does not include Joe Biden himself. The majority of the younger Biden's interview with Callaghan is consumed by questions of addiction and a lack of humanity in our politics. When he's speaking on those topics, he can be erudite and remind viewers of our collective fragility. His situation — much of the worst of his life exposed to a media and public hungry to devour it — is an unfortunate and ugly outgrowth of modern American culture (it's also won him a legion of fans). And he's able to directly diagnose a big problem for Democrats, a widespread perception that they are increasingly the party of only the elite. He's engaging insofar as he is willing to be impolite and unhinged in a political milieu dominated by evasion and artifice. He's likely channeling the true feelings of his family. But his beliefs also involve constantly shifting blame — to Rudy Giuliani, Tapper, Clooney, Pod Save America or whoever else is closest at hand. That makes his recent media tour seem at times like a public temper tantrum, a chance to excuse himself and his dad and lash out indiscriminately at everyone else. 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