The State of the States

Rocket Man vs. N.Y. Parking Enforcement

While North Korea threatens the U.S. with nuclear annihilation, it’s nice to be reminded of our similarities—that no matter if you’re part of a democracy or dictatorship, everyone @&! hates paying parking fines.

DPRK’s diplomatic mission to the United Nations has racked up more than 1,300 unpaid parking tickets in New York City since the 90s. The grand total? Over $156,000 .

The local NBC "I-Team" tracked down a North Korean diplomat near the nation’s U.N. office, but he told the news outlet, “It's not true. It is false. Whenever we have a ticket, we pay. Because, you know, if we have three tickets the city does not allow us to renew their permission."

And North Korea would never do anything without permission. (Though, let’s be honest, when you find a parking ticket on your car your first thought is rage and fury, regardless of whether you have a nuclear arsenal at your fingertips.)

Better Than Drinking Alone?

A drunken Pennsylvania man forced his way into a woman’s home and sat down with two 12-packs of beer because he didn’t want to drink alone.

The thirty-nine-year-old was charged with criminal trespass, defiant trespass, illegal possession of a prescription drug, disorderly conduct, loitering and prowling at night, and public drunkenness.

Police say the suspect had done the same thing earlier that day in another woman’s home.

When It Rains, It Pours: Miami Resident Ticketed For Broken Fence Hours After Irma

Miami resident Celso Perez was clearing branches from the street when a car pulled up from the county.

"We thought he was here to help us or offer some type of assistance with the trees," Perez told WSNV-TV. “Maybe he was going to bring us ice or something,”

The Miami-Dade county code enforcer did indeed bring "something": a safety notice for Perez’s downed fence.

"I laughed," Perez said. "I thought he was kidding. 'You are kidding right? We just had a hurricane six hours ago.'"

While county code enforcers are known for their riotous sense of humor, this one wasn’t joking. The officer told Perez his knocked-over fence made it easy to access his pool and needed to be fixed. According to Perez, the code enforcement officer told him he’d write up a report and return later to check on him.

A bit of sunshine: days after this story broke, Miami-Dade Mayor Carlos Gimenez posted on Twitter that "There will be no code enforcement in @MiamiDadeCounty for the next 30 days."

—Josh Herman