Wanted: His dad's frozen head

Ashley Shaffer
Updated

We’re talking aliens. We’re talking "Harry Potter" creatures IRL (maybe). And we're talking about a frozen, preserved head. It's Ashley, back from vacation. Let's get to it.

But first, Dobby is free: Creepy surveillance footage captured a bizarre creature that has the internet wondering if Dobby from "Harry Potter" is real. TBH, I'm terrified.

He's suing to get his dad's frozen head back

Laurence Pilgeram agreed to pay a company $120,000 to preserve his body indefinitely at a temperature of minus 196 degrees Celsius, in hope that some future technology would one day restore his life. It's called cryonics. After he died, his head was separated and placed in a vat of liquid nitrogen, where it presumably will remain forever, or at least until he is restored. The thing is, he wanted his entire body preserved – not just his head. Now, his son claims the cryonics company mishandled his father's remains and is suing it for $1 million. Plus, he wants his dad's head back.

Kurt Pilgeram of Dutton, Mont., is in a legal battle with a cryonics company that he claims mishandled his father's remains. He would like his father's head returned after the company seperated it from and creamated his father's body, which Pilgeram says is a violation of the agreement between the company and his father.
Kurt Pilgeram of Dutton, Mont., is in a legal battle with a cryonics company that he claims mishandled his father's remains. He would like his father's head returned after the company seperated it from and creamated his father's body, which Pilgeram says is a violation of the agreement between the company and his father.

Pride flags ban 'is the right decision' at embassies, Pence says

This Pride Month, wave your rainbow flags high 🏳️‍🌈 – just not on U.S. embassy flagpoles, the Trump administration says. American embassies have been banned from flying the pride flag on flagpoles, Vice President Mike Pence confirmed Monday. “One flag should fly, and that’s the American flag, and I support that," he said. Some embassies haven't lowered their rainbow flags, however – a move seemingly in conflict with the ban. The Trump administration came under fire this June for allegedly banning U.S. embassies from flying the pride flag for June's Pride Month celebrating the LGBTQ community.

What I'm reading:

Helicopter crash pilot tried to 'save people on the ground.'

Authorities sifted smashed wreckage from a helicopter atop a New York City high rise Tuesday, investigating Monday's crash that killed a pilot and briefly triggered fears of terrorism again in the heart of the nation's biggest city. Here’s what we know now:

  • Why did the pilot choose the roof of a 54-story building for his ill-fated landing? “I think he tried to land on the building to save the people on the ground,” said Paul Dudley, the manager of Linden Airport, where the helicopter was based. “Because if he went to the ground it would have been carnage.”

  • Was the pilot experienced? Tim McCormack, 58, was no rookie. FAA records say he had been certified in 2004 to fly helicopters and single-engine airplanes. He was even certified as a flight instructor last year.

  • Aren't aircraft banned in that area? A flight restriction bans aircraft from flying below 3,000 feet and within a 1-mile radius of Trump Tower, just a few blocks from the crash site.

💌 'Beautiful' letters from Kim Jong Un

President Donald Trump says he got a "warm" letter from North Korea's Kim Jong Un. Though he didn't disclose the contents of the letter, Trump said Tuesday it was "beautiful" and he still hopes for some kind of nuclear weapons agreement, possibly in a third summit with the North Korean leader. “We have a very good relationship together," Trump said, adding that "I think something will happen" on a deal despite a summit with Kim that collapsed in February.

Trump also mentioned reports that Kim's assassinated half-brother Kim Jong Nam once served as a CIA asset in North Korea. "I wouldn't let that happen under my auspices," Trump said at the White House.

Real quick

37 years later, her friends found out she died

For 37 years, Mary Silvani lay in a nameless grave in Nevada, the victim of a heinous and heartless act. A man raped and killed her. Her family abandoned her. No friends ever reported her missing, so she was designated a Jane Doe – her burial service attended only by gravediggers. It wasn't until last month that Silvani's identity was revealed, largely with the help of DNA, family records and stories from distant relatives. Still, there was little to be known about Silvani – until now. This week, after reading about the missing girl story in the Detroit Free Press, friends from Silvani's high school days came forward to honor the former “Jane Doe.”

A sketch of Mary Edith Silvani created by artist Carl Koppelman alongside a high school yearbook picture from Mackenzie High School in Detroit, Mich.
A sketch of Mary Edith Silvani created by artist Carl Koppelman alongside a high school yearbook picture from Mackenzie High School in Detroit, Mich.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Wanted: His dad's frozen head