In Other News: Mom gives daughter a Bible thumping; the very wealthy pay a lot of taxes

Published 9:41 pm Saturday, October 28, 2017

Editor’s note: “In Other News” is a list of state, national and global headlines compiled by the Daily Citizen-News staff. Click on the headlines below to read the full stories. To suggest a story, email the appropriate link to inothernews@daltoncitizen.com.

Mom who beat girl for incorrect Bible verses gets prison

A Pennsylvania woman who beat and tried to strangle her daughter for incorrectly reciting Bible verses has been sentenced to prison. Forty-one-year-old Rhonda Shoffner was sentenced Wednesday to 2½ to five years in prison after pleading guilty to charges including aggravated assault of her daughter, who was younger than 13. Police say the girl was forced to kneel on the bathroom floor at Shoffner’s Middletown home and repeat Bible verses. They say Shoffner slammed her head into the wall each time she made a mistake. They say Shoffner also told the child she was going to kill her and attempted to strangle her. — Fox News

Wisconsin man gets locked in beer cooler, starts drinking

For most people, being locked overnight in a convenience store’s beer cooler would be cause for concern, even panic. For one Wisconsin man, it was cause to start drinking. Police in the town of Marshfield say Jeremy Van Ert, 38, walked into the local Kwik Trip convenience store Tuesday night to buy some beer. However, Van Ert became trapped in the store’s walk-in cooler at midnight, when its lock automatically engaged.  Marshfield police Chief Rick Gramza told WAOW that Van Ert “knew that Kwik Trip would not sell him any beer, so he decided to remain in the beer cooler.” — Fox News

OMB: Top 20 percent pay 95 percent of taxes, middle class ‘single digits‘

Any tax cut for middle income earners will also provide a benefit for those further up the income scale, including the top 20 percent who now pay 95 percent of all income taxes, according to the director of the Office of Management and Budget. In explaining the complicated tax system the administration and congressional Republicans are trying to simplify, Mick Mulvaney played the role of professor at Georgetown University Wednesday night and dished the eye-popping numbers and impact of a middle class tax cut. — Washington Examiner

Saudi promise of ‘moderate Islam’ shifts power

The man who may soon be king of Saudi Arabia is charting a new, more modern course for a country so conservative that for decades there were no concerts or film screenings and women who attempted to drive were arrested. Since catapulting to power with the support of his father, the king, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has pushed forth changes that could usher in a new era for one of the United States’ most important allies and swing the kingdom away from decades of ultraconservative dogma and restrictions. He’s introduced musical concerts and movies again and is seen as the force behind the king’s decision to grant women the right to drive as of next year. — Daily Mail

College costume crackdown ramps up as Halloween draws near

As another Halloween season approaches, an ever-growing number of universities are cracking down on offensive costumes, even hosting panel discussions to instruct students on what to avoid. Humboldt State University, for instance, plans to host a discussion Monday on how “cultures are disregarded, mocked, or simply dehumanized” by Halloween costumes, encouraging students to avoid “cultural appropriation” in their costume selections. — Campus Reform