Quick Takes: Parlez-vous français?

Want to play some street music in Quebec City this summer? Better bring the rulebook—and a French language dictionary. The notoriously byzantine rules for busking in the Canadian city have gotten even more complicated. This year the city determined all singing in two of the city’s 53 ­designated busking sites must be in the French language. The change has forced some street performers to move away from the French-only sections. “It kind of takes away from the cultural mixture that was so beautiful years ago in Quebec,” former New Orleans–based musician Bosco Baker told the CBC in June. “The more you limit, the more [you] have artists that are less inspired to put art out.” Other city busking rules limit the number of performers in a group and the number of hours an act can perform. Local governments in Quebec, Canada’s francophone province, have instituted rules for years to protect the French language. The province’s latest French language protections went into effect in June, mandating that commercial signs make French words twice the size of English words and requiring businesses with 25 employees or more to register with Quebec’s French-language ministry to ensure proper Frenchification.

Conceding his points

An Oklahoma manufacturer found a good way to unload millions of American Express reward points: He used them to pay a tariff bill. In a July 2 interview with KFOR, Robert Keeley, whose company manufactures effects pedals for guitars, said he used 1.83 million reward points to pay a $10,800 tariff bill he owed on pedal components he imported from China. Unfortunately, Keeley said, he won’t be able to defray his tariff costs for long. “I had 2 million points and I spent 1.83 million,” he told the Oklahoma broadcaster. “At some point in time … it’s definitely going to be reflected in my pricing.”

Rover to the rescue

Something small caught the eye of patrolmen in the middle of a desolate road outside of Zaragoza, Spain, July 1. It was a very persistent Yorkshire terrier named Lucas, according to an officer. “The animal kept barking,” Civil Guard patrolman Jośe María Ledesma told Aragón Noticias. “He flagged us down.” The officers followed the little dog to the side of the road where they heard its 78-year-old owner moaning in pain from a fall down the embankment. Civil Guard officials credit the dog for saving the life of the elderly man, who was rushed to the hospital for treatment.

Hanging in suspense

It was only 10 minutes, but it must have seemed like hours for amusement park patrons who got stuck at the top of a newly constructed roller coaster. During its first day open to the public on June 28, the Siren’s Curse roller coaster at Ohio’s Cedar Point malfunctioned. The coaster contains an unusual feature wherein the track appears to break free of the structure and tilts forward by 90 degrees. That’s where the coaster car broke down, resulting in roughly two dozen thrill-seekers stuck 160 feet in the air until track operators could remedy the mishap. Cedar Point officials reported no injuries and said the coaster was back into working order within a half hour.

Bear in the back seat

Bears are good at getting into cars, but not so good at getting out. That was the helpful public reminder from Colorado’s Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office after a deputy responded to a call about a bear stuck in a red Subaru. In a July 1 social media post, authorities released body camera footage of the deputy opening the Subaru’s door from a distance using a rope on the handle and then coaxing the bear out of the vehicle. After examining the vehicle and finding the bear had damaged seats and ripped off door panels, the officer admitted to the victim, “Your car is destroyed.” Sheriff’s officials urged locals to lock their car doors to prevent bears from “redecorating” their vehicles.

Fast-food fender bender

It wasn’t drugs, alcohol, or even a cellphone that distracted a Wisconsin driver who crashed into the back of a police car. It was something arguably more intoxicating: Taco Bell. Officials with the Walworth County Sheriff’s Office say 41-year-old Kristin Belongia crashed into the back of a deputy’s patrol vehicle on Interstate 43. According to officers, they know the suspect was traveling fast because the patrol car was going approximately 60 mph when Belongia’s vehicle collided with it and caused major damage. According to deputies, the woman claimed she lost track of her speed and position on the roadway because she was enjoying a Taco Bell meal.

Beethoven on the go

To hear the music, drivers will have to turn down their radios. That’s the situation outside of Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, where officials with the Fujairah Fine Arts Academy say they recently installed musical rumble strips on a road leading into the city. As cars cruise over the grooved sections, it sounds like the tires are playing a portion of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony ­commonly known as “Ode to Joy.” According to the academy’s director, drivers can experience the music by navigating to the right lane and maintaining 60 mph while driving over the half-mile stretch.