Subscribe | UPI Odd Newsletter Subscribe MLK costume causes stir at school PEYTON, Colo., May 18 (UPI) -- The parents of a Colorado second grader said officials overreacted when they had their son remove his face paint while portraying Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Advertisement Michelle and Anthony King said their son, Sean, was instructed to come to school at Meridian Ranch Elementary School in Peyton dressed as the civil rights leader for his class' "living wax museum" project, KKTV, Colorado Springs, reported Thursday. Michelle King said the principal and three district staff members approached her and said the black face paint would have to be removed because a school employee took offense. "It's embarrassing," she said. "It's sad for the kids and sad for Sean because he's a very good student. He really thinks of school very highly. King said staff members told her they could not say if her son would face punishment if he did not remove the makeup. The mother said she took Sean home to change. Advertisement "I think they took it farther than what it had to be," the mother said. A spokeswoman said the principal deemed the costume a disruption after receiving a complaint from a school employee. "When something becomes offensive or distracting, that's when it falls under the board policy of dress code, and making sure if something is distracting, that it's removed from the learning environment," Stephanie Wurtz-Meredith said. Baby born on sailboat in South Carolina CHARLESTON, S.C., May 18 (UPI) -- A South Carolina couple said their son was born on the family's sailing vessel when the mother went into labor aboard the docked ship. Nicole Midence and her husband, Jack, said they were on Jack Midence's parents' boat, the Kitty Hawk, early Tuesday at Ashley Marina in Charleston with their 18-month-old daughter, Marietta, when Nicole went into labor, WCSC-TV, Charleston, reported Thursday. The couple said they called their midwife, and baby Jack Benjamin Midence was born at 8:01 a.m. weighing 8 pounds, 1 ounce. The elder Jack Midence said he "got to catch the baby on his way out" and his daughter greeted her new brother with hugs and kisses. Midence said he entered the event in the ship's log. Advertisement Bank robber uses cellphone accomplice NEW YORK, May 18 (UPI) -- Police in New York said they were searching for suspects in a bank robbery involving a teller being threatened via a suspect's phone. Investigators said a man, described as between 25 and 30 years old with a medium build, walked into the Alma Bank on 58th Street in Brooklyn around 10:20 a.m. on May 8 and told the teller his girlfriend was on the phone and wanted to open an account, the New York Daily News reported Thursday. The voice on the other end of the phone told the teller the man had a gun and threatened the worker's life and family if he did not cooperate. The man fled with an undisclosed amount of cash and was seen getting into a dark colored BMW with a blond woman behind the wheel. Woman holds 'X-HUSBAND SALE' in yard SUPERIOR, Wis., May 18 (UPI) -- Police in Superior, Wis., said they towed a GMC Yukon used as part of a woman's yard display aimed at insulting her ex-husband. Police said the Superior woman, who filed for divorce last July, caused traffic delays with her yard display Wednesday when she put out large signs reading "X-HUSBAND SALE" and "FREE" next to items purported to be his. Advertisement She had covered the GMC, which had flat tires, with words including "cheater" and multiple obscenities, the Duluth (Minn.) News Tribune reported Thursday. Police had the sport utility vehicle towed away, but the rest of the lawn display was left intact, Sgt. William Lear said. "If it's creating a disturbance, if there's threats, if it's blocking traffic, we can tow it," Lear said.
