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Wedding bells on Aisle 1: Pair weds at Home Depot (June 13th, 2010 @ 5:07am)
LAKE FOREST, Calif. (AP) - The bride wore white. The guests wore orange smocks. A southern California couple were married Saturday in front of more than 100 guests at a Home Depot store where they work. The wedding party for 56-year-old Carolyn Weatherly and Audwin Mosby, who's 55, marched down an aisle of light bulbs, grills and paint to the outdoor garden section, where a wedding arbor and stage had been built from the store's lumber and supplies.
The bride said the store in Lake Forest is like a second home and her colleagues are like family.
A regional manager said it's only the second wedding in a Home Depot.
Bra causes headache for lawyer visiting Miami jail (June 13th, 2010 @ 5:41am)
MIAMI (AP) - An attorney claims she couldn't visit her client at a South Florida detention center because of the undergarment she was wearing. The attorney said an underwire bra set off a metal detector at the Miami Federal Detention Center earlier this month. Guards at the facility then wouldn't let the woman inside.
According to The Miami Herald, the attorney removed the bra in a bathroom and again tried to enter the detention center. This time, guards refused to let her inside because she wasn't wearing a bra.
The woman later e-mailed other attorneys about the incident.
Officials at the detention center declined to comment to the newspaper, as did the attorney who was involved.
Person in sunroof leads to drunken driving arrest (June 13th, 2010 @ 5:48am)
YPSILANTI, Mich. (AP) - Police arrested a suspected drunken driver after spotting a passenger standing through the sunroof of her vehicle while it was heading down the street. Police told AnnArbor.com that an officer noticed the vehicle about 3:30 a.m. Saturday. Police said the 30-year-old woman was intoxicated, though they declined to release her blood-alcohol level.
The woman was later released pending charges of operating while intoxicated.
Two-faced kitten puzzles veterinarian in W.Va. (June 13th, 2010 @ 5:51am)
CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) - The kitten born with two faces in Charleston was given a 50 percent chance of survival by an area veterinarian. The kitten known as Two Face brought the animal to the vet shortly after it was born on Wednesday because its mother refused to nurse the kitten. Dr. Erica Drake said the kitten was born with a rare condition called diprosopus, which means the kitten literally has two faces. Two Face has four eyes, two noses and two mouths.
Drake said the kitten's two mouths act independently and she believes each mouth has a separate esophagus leading to one stomach. It'll take a closer look at the kitten's internal anatomy before known about how the kitten will be able to function
Washed out bridge cancels weddings in Boulder (June 13th, 2010 @ 5:52am)
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) - What's worse than rain on your wedding day? Try a swollen creek washing out the only bridge to your dream wedding spot. This week's flooding destroyed the bridge to Boulder's Red Lion Restaurant, forcing couples to scramble to find last minute accommodations for hundreds of guests this weekend.
Andrea Maneely and Tom Prince met waiting tables there and thought it would be the perfect place to exchange their vows. They had to find another spot at the last minute for double the price.
Manager Christina Mueller said she doesn't know how she's going to make up the $100,000 in lost business but she said she's getting an attitude check from her brides.
Sunday's bride plans to take up a collection to help fix the bridge.
Police: Drive-thru order ends in food fight, brawl (June 13th, 2010 @ 11:02am)
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) - Hamburgers, fries, punches and chairs all were thrown during a fight involving customers and employees of a fast food restaurant in Kalamazoo that ended with two arrests. Police said four customers in a vehicle at a Wendy's drive-thru lane midday Saturday claimed their order was incorrect. Police said they hurled drinks, hamburgers and fries at an employee inside.
Police said the employee then threw food at the vehicle, hitting it with a drink, ketchup and fries, and two people from the vehicle went inside the restaurant, where they fought with employees.
Two of the customers were arrested on charges of assault. The employee had scrapes and abrasions, but didn't need medical attention.
Police said employees blamed the fight on a "communication breakdown."
Deer drops in for dinner at upstate NY restaurant (June 14th, 2010 @ 5:27am)
BATAVIA, N.Y. (AP) - It wasn't on the menu, but customers at a western New York restaurant got an up-close look at some venison on the hoof.
Management and customers say a deer crashed through a window at an Applebee's in Batavia just after 7 p.m. Sunday.
Customer Bruce Beck, who was visiting from Wisconsin, says the deer nearly slid into the booth next to his before veering away and running through the restaurant.
Witnesses say people were able to herd the deer out the front door.
No one was hurt.
Vietnamese taxi driver returns bag with $26,500 (June 14th, 2010 @ 12:17pm)
HANOI, Vietnam (AP) - A Vietnamese company says it's lucky an honest man was driving the taxi cab where a forgetful employee left a bag with about $26,500 in the back seat. Nguyen Thi Thuy Lien, human resources officer for Cuu Long Petro Gas Service Transportation JSC in Ho Chi Minh City, says the passenger left the bag in the cab last week. It had important documents as well as the money in three currencies.
The passenger called the cab company after he realized the bag was missing. The 23-year-old driver, Doan Thanh Xuan, heard the radio call and returned the bag unopened. He was given a $100 reward from the company and grateful passenger.
The average monthly income in Vietnam is about $80.
Police: Man kicks door after wine is thrown away (June 14th, 2010 @ 12:25pm)
NAPLES, Fla. (AP) - Authorities arrested a 45-year-old man accused of kicking a fast food restaurant's door after employees threw away his wine. Maurice Alfred Belmore faces charges of criminal mischief and trespass. He was jailed in Collier County on $3,000 bond. It was unclear if Belmore had an attorney.
According to deputies, a manager of a local Sonic Drive-In told investigators that an employee threw away wine that Belmore had left in the restaurant's parking lot. Belmore started kicking the restaurant's door after he realized the wine was missing.
Sweet-tooth burglar grabs cookies from Fla. store (June 14th, 2010 @ 12:32pm)
OCALA, Fla. (AP) - Police are searching for a burglar who stole a box of cookies from a north Florida discount store. Police said the thief took a box of Oreo Cakesters from the Dollar General store early Friday morning. The cookies are valued at $2.50. Surveillance footage shows a man entering the store after breaking a glass door.
According to the Ocala Star-Banner, the same store was targeted by a burglar in February. In that incident, the suspect made off with snack cakes and other items.
Cops bust woman, 74, for pouring mayo in book drop (June 14th, 2010 @ 1:14pm)
BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Police said a 74-year-old woman arrested after pouring mayonnaise in the Ada County library's book drop box is a person of interest in a yearlong spree of condiment-related crimes of the same sort. The woman was arrested Sunday at the library, moments after police said she pulled through the outside drive-through and dumped an open jar of mayonnaise in the box designated for reading materials.
The woman was released from the county jail and faces a misdemeanor charge of malicious injury to property. Police did not disclose a motive.
Boise police said the woman is under investigation for at least 10 similar cases of vandalism since May 2009. Library employees have reported finding books in the drop box covered in corn syrup and ketchup.
Va. officials find goat shoved in woman's trunk (June 14th, 2010 @ 6:28pm)
BEDFORD, Va. (AP) - Authorities said a regional drunken-driving checkpoint led to the discovery of a goat, bound and shoved in the trunk of a car. The Bedford Sheriff's Office said the car, driven by 32-year-old woman, pulled up to the checkpoint on Friday night when deputies heard noises from the trunk.
When asked what was in the trunk, the driver said she bought a goat from a farmer to give to the four passengers in her car, who are from Kenya but reside in Lynchburg. The goat was panting heavily and animal control officers said the temperature in the trunk was 94 degrees.
The woman told deputies she is from the United Kingdom and transporting goats in this manner was acceptable there. She was charged with cruelty to an animal and released.
NY barkeep famed for flaming liquor stunt arrested (June 14th, 2010 @ 6:28pm)
NEW YORK (AP) - A barkeep whose flaming liquor show was featured in "Real Housewives of New York City" has been arrested for performing the fiery feat. Authorities said undercover fire marshals arrested the barkeep about 2 a.m. Sunday after he set alight Apotheke's bar top, where he had poured various liquors. Chief Fire Marshal Robert Byrnes said the stunt sparked a "huge fireball."
Fire officials said the flames created a danger for the dozens of people at the Chinatown bar.
The 40-year-old man was described as a "cocktail artist" on the bar's website. He told The New York Times that he is a mixologist, not "a pyrotechnic maniac."
The bartender was arrested on two counts of misdemeanor reckless endangerment.
Mass. town can't unload house near landfill (June 15th, 2010 @ 10:44am)
NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (AP) - A Massachusetts town has lowered the price of a home it's trying to sell because there's barely been a sniff of interest.
The four-bedroom, 3,000-square-foot home on 2.4 acres of land is right next to Northampton's landfill. When potential buyers find out about it, they back away.
Northampton's Board of Public Works bought the home as part of a legal settlement with the previous owners, who frequently complained about the landfill's odor.
The home went on the market about a year ago for nearly $479,000. When it didn't sell, the price was lowered to $375,000. Board Chairman Terry Culhane said the price was slashed again to $290,000 last week.
Culhane tells The Republican of Springfield he'd be surprised if someone doesn't bite now.
Crafty gorilla tries to use branch to flee exhibit (June 15th, 2010 @ 12:13pm)
ASHEBORO, N.C. (AP) - The North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro temporarily closed its gorilla exhibit after one of the apes nearly made a break for it. Zoo spokesman Tom Gillespie said a branch from a tree fell into the exhibit Sunday. One female gorilla tried to use the branch as a ladder to climb out of the exhibit, but she didn't make it.
The exhibit remained closed Tuesday as staff horticulturists checked nearby trees for loose limbs. Zoo officials think the branch came down after being weakened by a storm Saturday.
Hoo-wah! Rejoice amid scent of a 'corpse flower' (June 15th, 2010 @ 11:29am) Policy >> Talk About It EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) - The "corpse flower" is alive at Michigan State University. But it won't last forever.
The 5-foot-tall Amorphophallus titanum that flowered Friday for the first time in 15 years is expected to finish blooming Tuesday.
Mike Grillo, a Ph.D. student, tells the Lansing State Journal that the randomly flowering plant "looks like something meaty that's dead" and seduces flies and carrion beetles by emitting a pungent perfume akin to the putrid smell of rotting flesh. Portions of its large leaves are blood-colored burgundy.
About 500 visitors have viewed the plant, which naturally grows in equatorial rainforests on the Indonesian island of Sumatra.
Grillo said the plant will lie dormant for several months before regrowing.
Pet waste removal worker finds $58 in dog poop (June 15th, 2010 @ 12:12pm)
ST. LOUIS (AP) - This is why your mother says to wash your hands after handling money: A St. Louis worker found $58- packed in dog poop. Steve Wilson works for DoodyCalls Pet Waste Removal. On a recent call, he noticed money sticking out from doggie doo. Wilson wasn't sure what to do, but eventually pulled out the bills, sanitized them, placed them in a plastic zip-locked bag and returned them to the customer. It turned out to be $58.
The company said the money was torn, but the serial numbers were identifiable, which means the bills could be returned to a bank and replaced with new money.
The Association of Professional Animal Waste Specialists says Wilson is the first person in his profession to find and report money in dog poop.
Cops find naked drunk men covered in mud in woods (June 15th, 2010 @ 12:14pm)
LEWISTON, N.Y. (AP) - Police in western New York said two Canadian men attended a church festival and wound up in the woods drunk, naked and covered in mud. State police said troopers found a 22-year-old man from Hamilton, Ontario sitting along a road in the town of Lewiston, just outside Niagara Falls, around 5:45 a.m. Sunday.
Troopers said he was caked in mud. After questioning him, troopers found a 23-year-old man from Hamilton covered in mud and passed out in a ditch nearby.
Police said both men were highly intoxicated.
Troopers say the men had attended the St. John de LaSalle Carnival on Saturday and afterward decided to make it a "Woodstock event" by dancing naked in the woods. Both men were taken to a local hospital where they were treated and released.
Neither man was charged.
Mother falcon attacks dog, people in Buffalo, NY (June 15th, 2010 @ 12:14pm)
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - Her chicks have left the nest, but a peregrine falcon nesting on a Buffalo tower is proving to be an overprotective mother. Antoine Lanier said he saw the falcon recently chase a teenage boy across a street near the University of Buffalo's South Campus, where a falcon nesting platform is perched on McKay Tower.
Minutes later, Lanier said the falcon swooped in and attacked his dog, leaving the pooch with bloodied paws and ears.
State wildlife biologist Connie Adams said the falcon chicks hatched on the UB tower have left the nest, but the mother remains defensive of her territory.
She said the falcon attacked a pair of bird watchers and a man working on the roof of a Buffalo hospital.
Adams said the mother falcon should become less aggressive in about two weeks.
NY police dog finds parole violator 1st day on job (June 15th, 2010 @ 11:06pm)
NEWBURGH, N.Y. (AP) - A new police dog has learned an old trick- tracking down a parole violator outside New York City on its first day on the job.
Bloodhound Tank Tebow (TEE'-boh) is handled by Officer Curtis Hahne (hayn) in Newburgh, 60 miles north of New York.
Tank was donated to police Monday and began his career with the officer Tuesday. Two hours later police were dispatched to an apartment complex on a tip the parole violator was there. But by the time police arrived the man had disappeared.
Police say Tank followed the man's scent into a commercial area, through woods, across streets and into another apartment complex several blocks away. They say the man surrendered without incident.
Tank is certified by the National Police Bloodhound Association. He'll also be used to find missing people
La. cabbie accused of extorting 10 percent tip (June 16th, 2010 @ 5:46am)
KENNER, La. (AP) - Authorities in the New Orleans area say a cab driver is accused of locking a Texas tourist in his cab and demanding a 10 percent tip on a $33 airport fare.
The Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office says in an incident report that 37-year-old Sohail Kahn was booked with extortion and false imprisonment, and the New Orleans Taxicab Regulation Bureau also seized his permit.
Kahn could not be reached for comment Wednesday by The Associated Press because he has no listed phone number.
The Times-Picayune quotes the incident report as saying the passenger, a 57-year-old woman from Bellaire, Texas, called 911 from her cell phone after arguing with the driver for a half-hour.
Sal-XK
06-16-2010, 10:47 AM
Congressman Bob Etheridge (D-NC) Assaults Student on Washington Sidewalk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_oqIP9yagkQ
Dog spots gator in Ohio that's captured barehanded (June 17th, 2010 @ 5:36am)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Witnesses say a reptile wrangler used his bare hands to capture a 4-foot alligator that an alert dog noticed outside an Ohio business.
Employee Jeff Colucy was with his Weimaraner in the parking lot of a Columbus company that makes office fixtures when the dog went on alert Wednesday morning, focused on the alligator hunkered down in a puddle.
Police brought in reptile wrangler Chris Law, who captured the gator by grabbing it at the tail with his bare hands. He says he didn't have his usual reptile rescue gear because he was about to leave on vacation.
Law says people often buy alligators as pets, then dump them when they get too big. He picks up about 40 a year and turns them over to wildlife rescue groups.
100 dead cats found in nonfunctioning freezer (June 20th, 2010 @ 12:54pm)
BLACK RIVER FALLS, Wis. (AP) - Social services has removed three children from a home in Jackson County where 100 dead cats were found in a nonfunctioning freezer. Sheriff Duane Waldera said filthy conditions and feces from another 17 live cats caused deputies to determine the house was unlivable.
Gabriella Bernabei said authorities are targeting her and her boyfriend because of their Wiccan religious beliefs. Bernabei said the cats were kept in the garage freezer because she planned to bury them. She said she was properly storing the carcasses until she could get to the burials.
The live cats were taken to the Jackson County Animal Shelter. Animal control officer Barb Pfaff says some were too sick to save.
Police stop truck with man trying to crawl on roof (June 20th, 2010 @ 12:55pm)
MONROE, La. (AP) - Two men were arrested after a sheriff's deputy saw one man riding in the bed of a truck attempting to crawl onto the roof of the vehicle. According to Friday's News Star, the truck traveling on I-20 was driven by a 36-year-old man. Reportedly, the vehicle swerved from left to right, crossing the center line three times.
After being pulled over, the arrest affidavit states the man became agitated and refused to follow verbal commands. He was then subdued with a Taser.
The affidavit states there was a strong odor of alcohol coming from the man in the truck bed. That man, 38, reportedly said he'd had eight or nine alcoholic drinks that day.
The men were booked into the Ouachita Correctional Center.
Pa. man allegedly smuggles drugs in soup packets (June 20th, 2010 @ 1:29pm)
WASHINGTON (AP) - Authorities arrested a Pennsylvania man who allegedly tried to smuggle more than four pounds of cocaine through Dulles International Airport using powdered soup packets. Customs and Border Protection officers arrested the man after he arrived on board a flight from El Salvador on Thursday.
Authorities said a customs dog identified the man as carrying drugs. When authorities opened the soup packets the drugs were hidden and they found some still contained rice.
It isn't the first time authorities at the airport have seen creative smugglers. Last year officers found heroin in juice boxes and cocaine in cooked chicken.
Woman allegedly leaves son alone, goes for drive (June 20th, 2010 @ 2:18pm)
BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) - A woman was accused of leaving her 6-year-old son home alone at night while she drove to a city an hour to the east. Authorities said the 39-year-old mother drove to Medina late Wednesday, and the boy called 911 when he woke up early Thursday and became scared when he could not find his mother.
Authorities said the mother told deputies she couldn't sleep so she went for a drive.
The woman was charged with felony abuse or neglect of a child, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison upon conviction. Her bond was set at $1,500 cash.
Mo. man's sign against Democrats torched twice (June 20th, 2010 @ 2:39pm)
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - A Missouri man who had the side of a semi-truck box trailer professionally painted with a sign assailing Democrats says he put the trailer in a cornfield along a busy highway because he wanted people to see it. The sign, next to U.S. 71 about an hour south of Kansas City, reads: "Are you a Producer or Parasite. Democrats - Party of the Parasites."
A lot of people have seen David Jungerman's sign, and someone clearly has not liked it. It's been torched twice, first on May 12, then about a week later. Then an empty farm house that Jungerman, 72, owns was also set on fire, The Kansas City Star reported.
"Things are getting a little out of hand out there," said Chief Deputy Justin Moreland of the Bates County Sheriff's Office.
Jungerman has posted a $5,000 reward for information leading to an arrest for the fires, which have left the sign harder to read and the trailer tires burnt to nothing.
Jungerman said he should have been more clear that he wasn't taking aim at local Democrats.
"They're more conservative than many Republicans," he said. "I should have put an ad in the paper to explain that. No, I meant the national Democrat parasite base that is sucking this country dry.
"The ones that just take from the government and not give anything back."
And to be sure, local Democrats don't want to be linked to the fires. Jungerman has every right to speak his mind, said Kay Caskey, a Bates County Democrat and wife of longtime state Sen. Harold Caskey.
"Obviously our country is in disarray now because of economics, jobs and foreclosures," she said. "We are hurting as a country. But there are too many people who want to tear it down instead of build it up. Yes, there is anger out there, and we are a long way from Washington.
"This man has a right to do what he did, but around here some people might wonder at what point do you cross the line?"
Jungerman says he's not even a die-hard Republican. He voted for Claire McCaskill when she won a U.S. Senate seat in 2006. He put the sign out to make a point.
His problem now is that corn is looking good, and soon it will obscure his trailer sign from highway traffic.
"Well, I would have pulled it out of there by now if they hadn't burned the tires off," he said.
NY vacuum salesmen charged with damaging mattress (June 20th, 2010 @ 4:10pm)
SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) - Two vacuum salesmen didn't exactly close the deal at a recent home demonstration in central New York. State police charged the Syracuse men with a misdemeanor after a $1,300 Sealy latex foam mattress was damaged. Trooper Andy Davis said the damage occurred during a demonstration Monday at a home in Richfield Springs. Davis wouldn't elaborate on what was done to the mattress.
Davis said the men were both at the home when police arrived and were trying to save the situation. They were charged with reckless endangerment of property.
The mattress owner is looking for reimbursement.
Pirates seek record, not booty, at Calif. festival (June 20th, 2010 @ 6:56pm)
VALLEJO, Calif. (AP) - Yo-ho-ho, how many pirates can there be?
That's the question this weekend at the fourth annual Northern California Pirate Festival in Vallejo.
Festival-goers are seeking to enter the Guinness Book of World Records for the most costumed pirates in one place. On Saturday, nearly 2,300 pirates had registered. But the festival's official count wouldn't be out until after the event ends Sunday.
Festival spokesperson Shannon Damnavits says each pirate has to wear a red wristband, stand in one place for 10 minutes and be photographed. Guinness then certifies the count.
The current titleholder is Brixham, England, where 1,722 costumed pirates were recorded.
Blonde, pony-tailed burglar found bed just right (June 20th, 2010 @ 8:48pm)
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - A blonde, pony-tailed burglar ate some food, drank some alcohol, tried on clothes and then found the bed in a New Zealand home just right.
But upon finding a modern-day Goldilocks asleep in his bed, the homeowner in the southern city of Christchurch exercised an option The Three Bears didn't: He called police.
In court Monday, 39-year-old Vanessa Joy Long pleaded guilty and said she blacked out and doesn't remember what happened June 5. The judge ordered a probation report to see if Long was suitable for home detention and could pay for her misdemeanors.
The damage was estimated at 1,500 New Zealand dollars ($1,064).
She was released on bail for sentence on Sept. 1.
NC man hollers 'Summertime' to win title (June 21st, 2010 @ 5:40am)
SPIVEY'S CORNER, N.C. (AP) - A North Carolina man who won the National Hollerin' Contest says he almost disqualified himself by going over the four-minute time limit.
The Fayetteville Observer reports that Tony Peacock of Siler City won the 42nd annual contest Saturday in Spivey's Corner in central North Carolina. His hollerin' rendition of the popular Gershwin tune "Summertime" got him the title.
Peacock says he had to cut short his last holler because he had only two seconds left.
The winner of the contest gets bragging rights and opportunities to perform at events and on television.
Participants competed in several categories: men's national hollerin' contest, ladies callin', conch shell blowin', whistlin' and junior and teen hollerin'.
Rat suspected of starting fire in Yakima (June 21st, 2010 @ 7:04am)
YAKIMA, Wash. (AP) - A rat is suspected of starting a fire at the Veterans of Foreign War building in Yakima.
KAPP-TV reports that investigators discovered a rat had chewed through an electrical cord. The rat apparently caught fire and ran to its nest, igniting flammable items.
The fire last week spread quickly through the building, damaging several rooms and war memorabilia.
The fire department says damage could exceed $1 million.
First day of summer means snowballs at Pa. museum (June 21st, 2010 @ 11:42am)
PITTSBURGH (AP) - The patrons carrying small coolers and plastic bags into Pittsburgh's Carnegie Science Center weren't bringing their lunch. They were packing snowballs.
Monday marked the first day of summer and the science museum's annual Snowball Day. Visitors are encouraged every year to save a snowball from the winter in their freezer and then take it to the science center on the first day of summer. Those who do get to name their own price to get into the museum for the day.
But the most fun comes when they get to throw their snowballs into the Ohio River from the deck of a submarine that is docked outside the museum.
$75M mansion near Orlando selling 'as is' (June 22nd, 2010 @ 6:15am)
WINDERMERE, Fla. (AP) - The brochure promises a "monument to unparalleled success."
The 90,000-square-foot home for sale outside Orlando has 23 bathrooms, 13 bedrooms, 10 kitchens and three pools. All that and more for $75 million "as is."
The catch? It's not finished.
Nicknamed "Versailles" by owner and timeshare tycoon David Siegel, the mansion hit the market recently as the largest home for sale in the United States. Construction was halted last year to save money in a recession that proved particularly hard on Siegel's industry.
The home also has a 20-car garage, a bowling alley, an indoor-roller rink, a movie theater, a video arcade, a fitness center, a baseball field and two tennis courts.
But the mansion's interior has no carpet, tile or interior walls.
NYC Naked Cowboy to Naked Cowgirl: Stop copying me (June 22nd, 2010 @ 6:37am)
NEW YORK (AP) - New York City's famous Naked Cowboy wants a bikini-clad woman who calls herself The Naked Cowgirl to stop ripping off his trademark.
The Times Square cowboy, whose real name is Robert Burck, is known for strumming his guitar wearing only briefs and a cowboy hat. He has sent a cease-and-desist letter to Sandy Kane, who wears a red, white and blue cowboy hat and matching bikini.
Burck says if Kane's going to make money by posing for photos, he wants her to sign a "Naked Cowboy Franchise Agreement." Most of his licensed franchisees are required to pay $5,000 a year or $500 a month and go through a screening process.
Kane, who is in her 50s, is a former stripper who's now a fixture of the city comedy scene. Her real name is Sandra Brodsky. She says she doesn't owe Burck anything.
$3,600 found on highway returned to Pa. newlyweds (June 22nd, 2010 @ 7:30am)
BRIDGEVILLE, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania man found an envelope stuffed with $3,600 and returned it to the newlyweds who lost it after their wedding reception.
David and Ashley Marasco, of Bridgeville, had mistakenly driven off with their wedding album on top of the trunk of their car Sunday. The money had been tucked inside.
Another motorist pointed out the album on the trunk, but the envelope had already fallen out.
Brennan Breene, also of Bridgeville, says he saw the envelope with cash sticking out Sunday in the middle of Washington Pike, a busy highway southwest of Pittsburgh. So, he stopped to pick it up.
He says he learned about the Maraco's misfortune Monday from local news websites, so he gave the cash to police to be returned.
Breene says he knew the money wasn't his.
Pork board squeals over imaginary unicorn meat (June 22nd, 2010 @ 11:37am)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - It's official: The National Pork Board says it knows unicorns don't exist.
The industry group says it was only protecting its trademark when it issued cease-and-desist warning to online retailer ThinkGeek for calling a fake unicorn meat product "the new white meat."
ThinkGeek put the fictional item on its Web site as an April Fool's prank. But the 12-page letter from lawyers was no joke.
ThinkGeek issued an apology this week but says the board was being "pig-headed."
Trapped drunk NZ driver cracks another beer (June 22nd, 2010 @ 6:50pm)
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) - Trapped after flipping his car while drunk driving, a New Zealand man opened another beer as he waited to be rescued.
Paul Nigel Sneddon, 47, pleaded guilty to careless driving and drunken driving in a district court in the North Island city of Palmerston North, the Dominion Post newspaper reported Wednesday.
Sneddon failed to take a corner on June 1, crashed through a wooden barrier, and flipped his car onto its roof.
The newspaper quoted defense lawyer Peter Young as telling the court when Sneddon found he could not open the doors, "he had nothing else to do at that point, so he had another beer."
When police found him trapped in the vehicle his breath-alcohol level was 1,191 micrograms- nearly three times the legal limit of 400 micrograms.
Prosecutor police Sgt. Ollie Outtrim told the court Sneddon went on a drinking bender after losing his job at a bakery.
Asked by an officer how much alcohol he had consumed, Sneddon replied: "'Plenty. I've been drinking for four days straight,' adding he had just lost his job in a local bakery," Outtrim was quoted as saying.
Judge Gregory Ross fined Sneddon 1,100 New Zealand dollars ($776) and disqualified him from driving for 10 months.
Barks lead firefighters to dog stuck in water tank (June 23rd, 2010 @ 12:32pm)
CHARLESTON, Ill. (AP) - You've heard of a cat stuck in a tree? How about a dog stuck in a tank? The latter is what firefighters found Sunday after people walking by an old water treatment plant in Charleston reported hearing barks from inside. The town is about 45 miles south of Champaign. It wasn't clear how the Labrador retriever got into the empty concrete tank but it was obvious to firefighters he couldn't get out.
Charleston Fire Chief Pat Goodwin said firefighters climbed down into the 14-foot-deep tank and raised the 80-pound dog using a harness.
Coles County animal control officer Josh Pfoor said the dog was scared but otherwise fine. Pfoor said the dog was given back to his owners, who had reported him missing.
Wash. police find stolen mower in slow getaway (June 23rd, 2010 @ 2:27pm)
KENNEWICK, Wash. (AP) - Police in Washington state say they caught a man making a slow getaway on a stolen riding mower.
The Tri-City Herald reports officers responding to a burglary call Tuesday morning found a 31-year-old man riding the mower in the street, pulling a trailer of other lawn care equipment.
He was jailed for investigation of burglary, theft and drug charges.
Police: Man stabs himself, says he was attacked (June 23rd, 2010 @ 6:22pm)
EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (AP) - Authorities said a man intentionally stabbed himself in the abdomen and then filed a police report claiming he was attacked by a stranger. The man, 20, told officers he was riding his bike when he got into an argument with another person on a sidewalk. He said he'd gone to a gas station Tuesday afternoon to inflate his tires when the person came back, stabbed him and fled with his wallet.
The man was taken to the hospital, where police said he confessed to stabbing himself and said no one else was involved.
WEAU-TV reported that officers recovered the knife but aren't saying why the man stabbed himself. Police recommend the man be charged with filing a false complaint.
Man run over by truck after dog puts it in gear (June 23rd, 2010 @ 6:22pm)
RIDGE MANOR, Fla. (AP) - A man was reportedly run over by his own truck after his dog put it into gear. The sheriff's office reported that 43-year-old Christopher Bishop was checking under his Ford F-150 for oil leaks Sunday evening. He had put the running truck into neutral and left the driver's door open. While he was under the truck, Bishop's bulldog, Tassey, jumped into the truck and knocked the vehicle into gear. The truck rolled over the left side of Bishop's body.
Bishop managed to get up, stop the vehicle and go into his house. After several hours of pain, Bishop finally called for help.
He was taken to a nearby hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.
Police: Video game spat becomes Father's Day fight (June 23rd, 2010 @ 6:22pm)
VERNON, Conn. (AP) - Connecticut authorities said a 54-year-old man and his girlfriend were arrested after a dispute over a noisy video game erupted into a Father's Day struggle with police officers. Vernon police say the man, George Stein, was playing video games Sunday night when a child annoyed by the noise shut the door to the room Stein was in.
Police said Stein got angry and grabbed some kind of weapon, which led his girlfriend's son to call police.
Authorities said the girlfriend, 42-year-old April Devaux, became combative with officers, refused to let go of a front porch post and spat in an officer's face.
Devaux was charged with assault on police and other crimes, while Stein was charged with threatening. Both posted bail.
A message was left at the couple's home Monday.
Police: Church burglar leaves birth certificate (June 23rd, 2010 @ 6:22pm)
YORK, Pa. (AP) - Police said a man who stole petty cash from a central Pennsylvania church is in custody after leaving his birth certificate behind when he left. Authorities said 28-year-old Allen Larry Dawes has been extradited to York County to faces charges after being arrested earlier this month in New Jersey.
Investigators said Dawes broke into First St. John's Church in York on May 11. Police said Dawes spent the night sleeping in a hallway and ate cereal from a pantry that holds food for the needy.
Officials said Dawes has no fixed address. He was being held on $16,000 bail at York County Prison on charges including burglary and institutional vandalism. It was not clear if he had an attorney.
Man drifts a mile into Gulf off Fla. on pool float (June 24th, 2010 @ 4:43am)
BELLEAIR BEACH, Fla. (AP) - A man who apparently passed out on a pool float at a Tampa area beach ended up drifting about a mile from Florida's shore in the Gulf of Mexico.
The U.S. Coast Guard rescued the man, identified as Jerry Whipple, on Wednesday afternoon.
Coast Guard Petty Officer First Class Mariana O'Leary says they suspect the man was very drunk.
The Coast Guard says a boater reported seeing an unconscious man floating well offshore. The Coast Guard and a Clearwater Fire Rescue unit responded and found the man, still unconscious and wearing a life jacket.
He eventually woke up and was checked by paramedics at a Coast Guard station.
O'Leary said the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office will investigate the incident.
Conn. TV reporter: I was working, not shoplifting (June 24th, 2010 @ 7:16am)
MILFORD, Conn. (AP) - Police say a Connecticut television traffic reporter told authorities she was working on a freelance news story when she was arrested for shoplifting.
Thirty-three-year-old Desiree Fontaine is a reporter for WTNH-TV in New Haven. Police say she stole about $105 worth of merchandise from a Milford mall including jewelry, cologne and a men's Hawaiian-style shirt.
She was charged Saturday with misdemeanor larceny, and the police report was released Wednesday.
Police say Fontaine told an officer she was a freelance reporter and was doing "something on the side." She didn't say for whom she was working.
Fontaine's lawyer, Hugh Keefe, declined to comment Thursday.
WTNH says Fontaine is out on personal leave.
Malaysian charged with smuggling heroin in her bra (June 24th, 2010 @ 12:26pm)
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - A 43-year-old Malaysian woman was charged with smuggling heroin in her bra. Drug trafficking carries the mandatory death penalty upon conviction. Prosecutor Raya Hazeelia Mohammad said Harini Che Soh was charged in a court in eastern Terengganu state Wednesday. No plea was recorded.
Raya Hazeelia said Thursday that Harini was arrested last week at a bus terminal. She could not immediately give further details.
The Star reported 20 ampoules of heroin were found in Harini's bra after police became suspicious of her "abnormal bust size."
A woman with Harini was reportedly arrested. It is not clear whether she also was charged.
'Angry women' detain accused changing room peeper (June 24th, 2010 @ 1:27pm)
CHURCH HILL, Tenn. (AP) - Police say 10 "angry women" detained an accused changing room peeper at a thrift store in East Tennessee until officers arrived. Twenty-year-old Bradley J. Wallen was charged with two misdemeanors, observation without consent and photographing in violation of privacy.
Church Hill police chief Mark Johnson told the Kingsport Times-News that a small hole between the men's and women's changing rooms at the Flashbacks and Reruns thrift store was allegedly discovered by a woman who dropped something on the floor.
Johnson said "10 angry women" prevented Wallen from leaving by blocking a rear door.
Wallen was released after his arrest Tuesday. Jail records do not show that he has hired a lawyer and a Thursday telephone call to his residence was not answered.
Woman charged with DUI names drugs test would show (June 24th, 2010 @ 1:27pm)
KINGSPORT, Tenn. (AP) - Police said a woman being charged with DUI voluntarily uttered that blood being drawn for testing would show positive for "only" a few drugs. Sullivan County jailers said 35-year-old Bobbie K. Cato posted bond after an amount was set Thursday morning in court. She was due in court Friday where an attorney would be assigned.
The Kingsport Times-News quoted a police report that stated Cato was arrested Wednesday afternoon when her car blocked a convenience store entrance as she lay across the passenger seat with her legs hanging out of the vehicle.
Although she denied drinking or using drugs at the scene, the report stated she said at a hospital the only drugs that would show up on the blood screen about to be done were Xanax, Lortab and Phenergan.
Wash. county plans blood drive to fight mosquitoes (June 24th, 2010 @ 1:28pm)
WEST RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) - A county in Washington state is promoting mosquito control awareness by doing some blood sucking of its own.
The Benton County Mosquito Control District is hosting a blood drive Friday at its West Richland office as part of National Mosquito Control Awareness Week, which runs June 20-26. The district says the blood will go to the Red Cross, not the insects.
The district hopes that the blood drive will get under the skin of some residents by making them aware of the hazards posed by the little blood sucking insects and teaching residents to eliminate standing water around homes where the suckers may breed.
Lottery mistake wins Ohio store clerk $250,000 (June 25th, 2010 @ 3:47pm)
NEW LEXINGTON, Ohio (AP) - An Ohio store clerk's mistake when printing a Mega Millions lottery ticket has won her $250,000.
Naomi Mauller forgot to add an extra game to a customer's lottery ticket Tuesday night so she printed a new ticket and bought the flubbed ticket for $2.
Both her ticket and the new ticket were winners, bringing in a quarter million dollars for each ticketholder.
Mauller said she will to use the money to buy a car and pay off some debt. She met the other winner at the convenience store in New Lexington on Friday to celebrate. His name was not available.
Man accused of trying to sell baby beaten in jail (June 26th, 2010 @ 1:44pm)
SALINAS, Calif. (AP) - Jail officials in California say a father accused of trying to sell his baby for $25 outside a Walmart is recovering after other inmates beat him.
Thirty-eight-year-old Patrick Fousek and 20-year-old Samantha Tomasini, of Salinas, pleaded not guilty to child endangerment and drug charges Friday.
Fousek appeared in court with a bruised eye and stitches. Sheriff's Cmdr. Mike Richards said the man was attacked Thursday at the Monterey County Jail. He also suffered two cracked ribs and is now being held away from the general population.
Fousek is accused of approaching two women Wednesday and asking if they'd like to purchase his 6-month-old.
He and Tomasini were arrested a few hours later at their home, and Child Protective Services took the baby.
Motorcyclist collides with bear on NJ highway (June 26th, 2010 @ 6:01pm)
FREDON, N.J. (AP) - A motorcyclist escaped serious injury Saturday when he collided with a black bear that unexpectedly ran across a northwestern New Jersey highway. Sgt. Julian Castellanos, a state police spokesman, said the man was northbound on Route 94 in the Sussex County community of Fredon when the accident occurred around 9:30 a.m.
The motorcyclist- whose name was not released- was taken to Newton Memorial Hospital, where he was treated for minor injuries and later released.
Castellanos said the bear also survived and walked into the woods.
Raccoon blamed for 5-hour downtown Memphis outage (June 26th, 2010 @ 6:01pm)
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) - A raccoon described as acrobatic and mean-spirited knocked out power to a section of downtown Memphis that included two hospitals and the newspaper for more than five hours.
Memphis Light, Gas and Water Division president Jerry Collins told The Commercial Appeal said the raccoon climbed more than 30 feet, over barriers intended to keep animals out, and short-circuited a switch on a substation.
Overall, about 8,000 customers were without city power late Thursday and early Friday.
Emergency generators restored power to the Regional Medical Center at Memphis and Le Bonheur Children's Hospital within seconds, but the outage delayed production of Friday's newspaper at The Commercial Appeal and disrupted other businesses.
Off-duty cop thwarts chain-wielding robber at KFC (June 27th, 2010 @ 6:53pm)
SAN DIEGO (AP) - A would-be robber wielding a chain at a San Diego Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant didn't count on one of the customers being an armed, off-duty, plainclothes police sergeant. Witnesses said the man barged in Saturday afternoon, smashed his heavy chain on the counter and ordered all the employees into the kitchen.
But before he could open the cash register, the sergeant pointed his gun at the man and ordered him to the ground.
Witnesses said the suspect demanded to see the officer's badge, and the sergeant complied.
The suspect was arrested for attempted armed robbery.
Lion decides to play through at Mont. golf course (June 27th, 2010 @ 6:53pm)
BOZEMAN, Mont. (AP) - Golfers at a western Montana golf course faced a hazard with real teeth- and claws- when a mountain lion decided to play through. Golfers said they spotted the elusive predator while teeing off at Valley View Golf Club Friday morning in Bozeman.
Bozeman animal control officer Kathy Middleton said the lion was first sighted near Aspen Pointe senior living center before other callers later saw it at the golf course.
Joe Knarr with Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks said the agency has been receiving calls about lions all through the south of town. He said mountain lions sightings are common in the area, though there have been more reports this year than previous years.
Middleton said the lion spotted Friday most likely was just passing through.
Tenn. police: Home intruder sleeps on couch (June 27th, 2010 @ 6:53pm)
DYERSBURG, Tenn. (AP) - Police arrested a man who fell asleep after breaking into a home. The Dyersburg State Gazette reported that residents returned home and found the 22-year-old man asleep on the couch.
Terry McCreight, an investigators for the Dyer County Sheriff's Department, said officers determined that the man once lived in the residence but had been asked to move.
Police said he broke a window and kicked in the door of the home while nobody was there on Thursday. Deputies arrived and took him into custody on without incident.
He was charged with vandalism and aggravated burglary.
Cops: Drunk pair push stroller with kids, bayonet (June 27th, 2010 @ 6:53pm)
YPSILANTI, Mich. (AP) - Authorities said a drunken man and woman were arrested after they were found pushing a baby stroller holding two young boys, open containers of alcohol and a bayonet inside. Police said in a statement that the 30-year-old woman and 52-year-old man were arrested after police were called about 1:30 a.m. Friday when the woman tried to take a bike off a porch.
The statement said security guards had been watching the pair and initially detained the woman. Police said officers found the woman's one- and four-year-old sons in the stroller along with alcohol and the "double-edged bayonet."
AnnArbor.com reported the children were turned over to a relative. Charges were pending.
Marilyn Monroe chest X-rays auctioned for $45,000 (June 27th, 2010 @ 7:32pm)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - The apparently endless market for images of Marilyn Monroe now extends to inside the bombshell's body.
A set of three Monroe Chest X-rays from a 1954 hospital visit sold Sunday for $45,000 at the Hollywood Legends auction at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.
Julien's Auctions, which sold the X-rays, estmated that they would only fetch a total of about $3,000.
Other Monroe-abilia that sold included a chair from her last photo shoot that went for $35,000.
The auction included items from other actresses, including a pair of earrings worn by Kate Winslet in "Titanic" that sold for $25,000 and a dress Audrey Hepburn wore when she starred opposite Fred Astaire in the musical "Funny Face" that fetched $56,250.
Double diplomas: 2 NY schools, 19 sets of twins (June 28th, 2010 @ 9:36am)
BALDWINSVILLE, N.Y. (AP) - People attending graduation ceremonies at a pair of upstate New York high schools couldn't be blamed for thinking they were seeing double.
Twelve sets of twins graduated from Baker High School in Baldwinsville on Sunday, the same day seven sets of twins received their diplomas during ceremonies at nearby Jamesville-DeWitt High School in the Syracuse area.
Representatives from Guinness World Records say Baker High's graduating class with 12 sets of twins breaks the previous record of 10, set by a Massachusetts high school in 2007.
Principal Joseph DeBarbieri, himself a twin, says four of his school's 12 sets of twins plan to attend the same college as their sibling.
Camo-wearing bowhunters marry in tree in Iowa (June 28th, 2010 @ 11:09am)
ANAMOSA, Iowa (AP) - An Iowa couple whose passion for bowhunting encouraged Cupid's arrow to strike wore camouflage to blend in with the wooded backdrop at their treetop wedding.
Forty-two year-old Kim Silver dressed in a silk gown made by camouflage specialists Mossy Oak, and her 61-year-old groom, Marvin Hunter, was dressed in camo shirt and pants at the Saturday nuptials.
They said their vows atop a tree stand hunting platform at the Anamosa Bowhunters Archery Club in the state's northeast. The bride and groom occasionally punctuated the ceremony by firing arrows at targets.
Hunter said the couple had always joked about getting married on a tree stand. Silver said the pair they hunt together so much that the camo wedding "just seemed like the right thing to do."
Wis. chief forester fined $263 for shooting turkey (June 28th, 2010 @ 2:33pm)
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - The chief forester in Wisconsin has turned himself in and paid a $263 fine for shooting a hen turkey out of season.
Paul DeLong says he made a mistake this spring when he mistook a tuft of feathers on the bird for a beard. He thought it was a male bird that could be shot legally.
DeLong heads the Department of Natural Resources' Forestry Division, which manages Wisconsin's forests.
DNR Chief Warden Randy Stark says DeLong turned himself in. Stark says a member of the public likely wouldn't have been cited, but he decided to cite DeLong because he was a DNR employee and DeLong asked to be treated like any other agency worker. The DNR says he won't be reprimanded, though.
DeLong says he wanted to take responsibility for his error.
Mass. school district tests rife with errors (June 29th, 2010 @ 9:00am)
SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) - The school superintendent in Springfield, Mass., has taken responsibility for tests given to the district's 11th- and 12th-graders that were rife with spelling, grammatical and factual errors.
Two tests given in May to about 2,600 students contained about 100 errors combined.
The mistakes included the phrases "truning around" and "For God's skae," as well as a note on one test that read "This is the end of the Test," when there were two more pages.
The district contracts with an outside company to develop the exams. Superintendent Alan Ingram said Monday it wasn't that company's fault. He said the district's own proofreaders dropped the ball. He said he would make sure the district does a better job of checking the tests in the future.
Okla. inmates not tickled pink with new jumpsuits (June 29th, 2010 @ 10:35am)
MANGUM, Okla. (AP) - A southwestern Oklahoma sheriff is dressing county inmates in hot pink jumpsuits as a deterrent to crime and to make them easier to spot.
Greer County Sheriff Devin Huckabay says the new suits replace the faded and tattered orange jumpsuits worn until now.
Huckabay says male inmates "don't like wearing them" and that the snazzy jumpsuits therefore are an incentive to not break the law and wind up in jail.
He says the prisoners wearing pink are also "hard to miss" and so can be easily managed when working on community projects or being transferred.
Man, 81, accused of machete chase near taco stand (June 29th, 2010 @ 1:20pm)
SALEM, Ore. (AP) - Police said an 81-year-old man was arrested after he chased another man around a Salem taco stand while armed with a machete. Salem police said Monday the man accused the taco stand owner of stealing a drill from his nearby business. When the taco stand owner denied it, the suspect left and returned with a machete.
Lt. Dave Okada said the suspect chased the unidentified man around the stand several times before officers arrested him on accusations of menacing and attempted assault. He was booked into the Marion County Jail.
There were no injuries in Sunday's incident.
Calif. woman says Chihuahua died saving her kids (June 29th, 2010 @ 3:56pm)
RICHMOND, Calif. (AP) - A Northern California woman says her Chihuahua died protecting her children from two pit bulls that got into her apartment.
Mayda Estrella, of Richmond, says the family's Chihuahua, named Manchas, jumped in between the canine invaders and her 4-year-old son Sunday. A pit bull grabbed Manchas with its jaws and carried the Chihuahua away.
Contra Costa County animal services officials say the Chihuahua was killed, and the pit bulls are now in custody.
The pit bulls' owner says they had escaped their yard by chewing through a fence. Estrella says her front door was open when the dogs came in.
She says when she saw the dogs come in, she ran into a bedroom with her other child, a newborn baby.
County officials say the owner won't face criminal charges.
Adondo
06-30-2010, 01:15 PM
Anyone heading to the West Coast Camp Commander in Silverton this year, and coming from the west, WATCH OUT! There may be vampires!! You have to drive right thru Fruita to get to Ouray.
From here: http://www.kdvr.com/news/kdvr-vampire-crash-txt,0,4980779.story
FRUITA, Colo. - If a Western Slope woman is to be believed, vampires may be lurking in Colorado's Grand Valley.
The woman claims she spotted a vampire in the middle of a dirt road near Fruita, Colo. Sunday night. She told Colorado State Troopers she was startled by the undead being, threw her SUV into reverse, and crashed into a canal.
She was not injured.
State Troopers say the woman's husband arrived at the scene and took her home. The vampire, which was not seen by anyone else, apparently let her get away.
Troopers do not suspect drugs or alcohol to be factors in the crash.
9-year-old Conn. girl gets stuck inside chimney (June 30th, 2010 @ 10:32am)
NEW CANAAN, Conn. (AP) - A 9-year-old Connecticut girl who climbed to the roof of her house and attempted to crawl back inside through the chimney has been rescued after getting stuck.
Assistant Fire Chief Jack Hennessey says the girl climbed up a house painter's ladder Wednesday morning, walked across the roof and tried to climb down the chimney.
She almost made it to the fireplace before getting stuck in the flue at about 6:30 a.m.
Family members heard her cries for help and called rescue workers, who tried to take apart the flue.
Hennessey said after about 20 minutes, the girl was able to wiggle herself down through the hole and out the fireplace.
She was not injured.
Pa. man fined $600 for trash he says is garden aid (June 30th, 2010 @ 12:24pm)
SCOTTDALE, Pa. (AP) - A western Pennsylvania man said he'll appeal a $600 fine for keeping hundreds of full trash bags on his property that he claims are used to insulate his organic vegetable garden. Officials in Scottdale, said the bags littering Thomas Zeller's property, along with used tires, are trash and a district judge agreed Tuesday.
The 57-year-old Zeller said he fills the trash bags with leaves to insulate the ground on which he claims to grow 350 varieties of medicinal herbs and numerous vegetables. He estimates the garden produces 3,400 pounds of organic vegetables annually.
The same judge gave Zeller more than 30 days to clean up the bags, and fined him because borough officials said many of the bags remain on his property.
He said the borough is "making me an international criminal."
Man arrested for entering house, taking shower (June 30th, 2010 @ 5:08pm)
ROSWELL, Ga. (AP) - Authorities have arrested a man accused of breaking into a home near Roswell High School at around 2:30 p.m. Wednesday and taking a shower. Roswell police spokesman Lt. James McGee said neighbors tell police they saw a man entering the home.
Police said the homeowner then arrived and found someone taking a shower. McGee said the woman talked to the man who was in the shower, then came back out of the house.
She called police who got the man out.
McGee said the unidentified man insisted he was the "Duke of Germany" before he was taken to jail in north Fulton County.
Mother charged for phony letter about son's job (June 30th, 2010 @ 5:10pm)
PADUCAH, Ky. (AP) - A western Kentucky woman's attempt to get her son out of jail on bond came undone over a misspelling. The Paducah Sun reported court officials became suspicious when the 44-year-old mother presented a letter allegedly from Wagner Moving and Storage. The woman knew bond for her son would be lowered if he had written proof of a job.
But the company name was misspelled and when investigators checked, they learned the woman had asked for such a letter from the company and had been denied.
She was jailed Tuesday on a charge of evidence tampering. Her son was charged with receiving stolen property.
They both were in jail Wednesday in lieu of cash bonds.
Police say pair stole nearly $2K from Pa. jail (June 30th, 2010 @ 5:12pm)
HOLLIDAYSBURG, Pa. (AP) - A couple were charged with stealing nearly $2,000 from a central Pennsylvania jail by using a routing number from a check the woman got from the jail after her release last year. Police said a 61-year-old man and his 51-year-old wife used the routing number to use Blair County jail account to pay their utility bills and transfer $179 to the man's bank account.
The wife got the routing number when she received a check for $6.95 to reimburse her for money remaining in her inmate expense account after her release on unrelated theft charges in October. The couple pleaded not guilty and face a preliminary hearing July 13.
County officials said they've changed the way its inmate account is handled to prevent future abuses.
Men face assault charges after dog doo dispute (June 30th, 2010 @ 6:20pm)
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - Three men face assault charges after they allegedly attacked an off-duty Harrisburg police officer in a dispute over dog waste. Police said brothers Matthew Stauffer, 33, and Daniel Stauffer, 31, attacked police Officer John Doll earlier this month.
Investigators said the Stauffers confronted Doll about his dog's waste, even though Doll had already bagged it. According to court documents, Doll identified himself as an off-duty officer and got both men to the ground before a third man attacked him.
Police charged the Stauffers and 25-year-old Noah Coburn with aggravated assault, conspiracy and public drunkeness. All three men are free on bail.
Phone listings for all three suspects were not available Wednesday.
Police seek mischief maker dressed as leprechaun (June 30th, 2010 @ 8:29pm)
BOULDER, Colo. (AP) - Police responding to reports of a man leaping between cars in a Colorado supermarket parking lot didn't need a detailed description of the suspect.
Boulder Police Sgt. Fred Gerhardt says witnesses on Wednesday reported a man was dressed as a leprechaun and pretending to shoot at people with his fingers.
Witnesses told police the man may have made obscene gestures.
Gerhardt says they likely called police because the man "was acting bizarre."
Officers did not find anyone matching the description of the leprechaun.
Gerhardt says this is the first time Boulder police have received a complaint about a leprechaun.
La. deputies say man planned to eat park duck (June 30th, 2010 @ 12:21pm)
CHALMETTE, La. (AP) - A St. Bernard Parish man was arrested Monday after sheriff's deputies said he stole a duck from a public park and planned to eat it. The Sheriff's Office said the man, 38, was booked with theft of an animal after someone saw him take a muscovie duck from Sidney Torres Park. A deputy found the man at his home with a duck inside a bucket in his van, authorities said.
Deputies said the man told them he intended to eat the animal.
The duck was returned to the park and set free.
Adondo
07-01-2010, 11:48 AM
Maggots force plane back to gate in Atlanta
Jun. 30, 2010 02:15 PM
Associated Press
ATLANTA - Maggots falling from an overhead bin from a spoiled container of meat forced a US Airways flight to return to the gate so the bin could be cleaned.
Passenger Donna Adamo said she noticed a couple of flies on the Monday flight when she got to her seat but didn't think much of it. Then, as the plane was taxiing, she heard a passenger behind her causing a commotion and refusing to take her seat.
"Then I heard the word maggot' and that kind of got everybody creeped out," she said. "All of a sudden, I felt somebody flick the back of my hair and on the front of me came a maggot, which I flicked off me."
A passenger had the container in a carry-on bag and brought it on Monday's flight heading from Atlanta to Charlotte, N.C., said US Airways spokesman Todd Lehmacher. The pilot announced that they were returning to the gate because of a "minor emergency on board" and the flight attendants told everyone to sit down and be calm, Adamo said.
"I felt like they were crawling all over me because it only takes one maggot to upset your world," she said. "And as they're telling us to stay calm and seated, I see a maggot looking back at me and I'm thinking, These are anaerobic, flesh-eating larvae that the flight attendants don't have to sit with.'"
A shaky cell phone video shot by Adamo as passengers deplaned shows a small white maggot wriggling across a seat.
Once the plane returned to the gate, the passengers were asked to get off, and a crew boarded to clean up the mess, Lehmacher said. The flight then continued on to Charlotte, where the plane was taken out of service and fumigated "out of an abundance of caution."
The passenger who brought the spoiled meat on board did not get back on the plane and was put on another flight, Lehmacher said. Other passengers were told their connecting flights in Charlotte would be held for them, said Adamo, who was traveling home to Syracuse, N.Y., and made her connection.
It's unclear why the spoiled meat was brought on the plane, and Adamo said she didn't notice a foul smell at any point.
"You can buy meat anywhere," Adamo said. "I don't know what special piece of meat was in Atlanta that needed to get to Charlotte, but it affected hundreds, if not thousands ... of passengers, and is a health risk."
Adondo
07-12-2010, 10:29 AM
by Justin Burton, KGW news staff
kgw.com
Posted on July 9, 2010 at 11:38 PM
Updated Saturday, Jul 10 at 9:20 AM
PORTLAND, Ore. -- A car full of people dressed as zombies crashed on Interstate 84 near downtown Portland on Friday, causing initial confusion by people who witnessed the crash.
Portland Police said the car was swerving in the eastbound lanes of the freeway just east of the Lloyd District just after 9:30 p.m. when it rolled over and crashed onto its top.
Emergency crews took five victims from the crash to area hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.
Police said that in their investigation they learned that the people inside the car were dressed as zombie costumes and they were headed to a party at the time of the crash.
Sgt. Greg Stewart said people who witnessed the crash initially thought the victims' injuries were much more serious, because of the zombie costumes.
"We're glad that everyone is alive, despite being 'undead'," Sgt. Stewart said, referring to the costumes.
While everyone in the car was taken to the hospital, Stewart said crews are investigating the possibility that more people were in the car at the time of the crash but fled the scene on foot.
The crash halted traffic in the eastbound lanes for about an hour, reducing travel to just one lane. All eastbound lanes were opened at around 11 p.m.
Adondo
07-12-2010, 10:33 AM
NM man set on fire after losing drinking bet
Jul 10, 6:05 PM (ET)
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) - A 47-year-old man's friends set his prosthetic leg on fire after he lost a drinking bet, causing him to suffer severe burns to his buttocks and lower back. Dona Ana County sheriff's deputies found the man naked on the side of U.S. Route 70 with his prosthetic leg in flames. Deputies learned that the man and his friends were drinking Monday and bet that whoever drank the least would be set on fire.
The man told investigators that at six beers, he drank the least, and agreed to let his friends set him on fire.
He said his friends ignited his prosthetic leg, and the flames spread to his body.
The sheriff's office said the man took his clothes off because of the pain and his friends decided to take him to the hospital. But they got nervous and instead dropped him off on the side of the highway.
The man was taken to a Texas burn treatment center.
Adondo
07-14-2010, 01:08 PM
BLAINE, Wash. - A Washington State Patrol trooper says the driver of a FedEx tractor-trailer rig choked on some spicy pork rinds, lost control of his truck on an interstate and jackknifed it before coming to a stop in a muddy ditch.
Trooper Keith Leary says Edward Sutherland was driving his rig southbound from Blaine near the Canadian border Monday when he began choking and veered from the southbound lanes across the median into northbound lanes of Interstate 5.
The trooper says the truck didn't hit any vehicles. Leary says the 42-year-old driver suffered minor injuries and will be cited for driving with wheels off the roadway.
Adondo
07-20-2010, 05:21 PM
From here: (with a video also) http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/russia/7900322/Russian-investigation-into-paragliding-donkey.html
Russian investigation into paragliding donkey
Russian police have opened a criminal investigation into a group of entrepreneurs who tied a donkey to a parachute before sending the animal on a bizarre flight high above a popular Russian holiday resort.
Andrew Osborn in Moscow
Published: 5:40PM BST 20 Jul 2010
The tourism touts, in Russia's southern Krasnodar region, carried out the stunt in an attempt to get beachgoers to follow in the donkey's footsteps and pay to enjoy a similar parachute ride.
However, the publicity gimmick, which lasted half an hour, turned sour when the donkey began screaming in distress. Children watching from the beach started to cry, and news of the tasteless incident reached local police. To make matters worse, the donkey had less than a soft landing and was dragged several feet over the surface of the Sea of Azov before being hauled on to the beach half-alive.
"The donkey was screaming, and children were crying yet nobody had the brains to call the police," said Larisa Tuchkova, a local police spokeswoman. Instead, most beachgoers filmed the bizarre flight on their mobile phones and later tried to sell the footage to local newspapers. Some beach goers did try to intervene. As the donkey soared more than 100ft above their heads, several people told the touts to "stop torturing" the animal but their requests were ignored.
According to local reports, children watching the spectacle asked their parents "Why did they tie a doggy to a parachute."
Police say they are now investigating whether the group of entrepreneurs responsible for the prank were guilty of animal cruelty. They could be jailed for up to two years if found guilty of such charges. It is not known whether the donkey survived its ordeal.
Fla. deputy shoots himself in leg during training (July 29th, 2010 @ 12:18pm)
CRESTVIEW, Fla. (AP) - An Okaloosa Sheriff's deputy is on leave after shooting himself in the leg during a training exercise at a firing range. Miguel Rojas accidentally hit himself Tuesday when deputies were forced to use their less-dominant hand to shoot. The 35-year-old caught his finger in the trigger guard while trying to holster his gun. The bullet broke a small bone in Rojas' leg, but the injury didn't require surgery.
The department's chief deputy said Rojas is in good spirits, but won't get any relief from his co-workers for a while.
He is an eight-year sheriff's department veteran and a member of its Special Response Team.
Churchill's choppers sold at auction in England (July 29th, 2010 @ 8:48am)
LONDON (AP) - A partial set of dentures used by former British leader Winston Churchill- described as the teeth that saved the world- sold at auction Thursday for 15,200 pounds ($23,723.)
The upper dentures, one of several sets specially made for the wartime prime minister, were crucial for maintaining his distinctively slurred speaking style famous from World War II-era radio broadcasts.
"From childhood, Churchill had a very distinctive natural lisp; he had trouble with his S's," said Jane Hughes, who is head of learning at London's Hunterian Museum, a medical museum run by the Royal College of Surgeons.
"He wanted to maintain (the lisp) because he was already so well known for it," she said. "The dentures wouldn't quite connect with the top of the mouth, but that was on purpose."
The museum displays a duplicate set of Churchill's dentures, with the caption "the teeth that saved the world." They are on show in a glass cabinet alongside other famous teeth- including dentures worn by Queen Caroline, the estranged wife of King George IV.
Churchill had many problems with his teeth as a child and probably lost some of them quite early. He regarded the skill of his dentist, Wilfred Fish, so highly that he nominated him for a knighthood.
Fish's technician, a young man called Derek Cudlipp, started making sets of identical dentures for Churchill before the war- when the politician was in his 60s. Three sets were made and worn on a rotational basis because Churchill often broke them, and Cudlipp was frequently called to Downing Street to provide a spare set.
The state of the dentures often hinted at how well the war effort was going, said Nigel Cudlipp, the son of the technician and the seller of the set of teeth at Thursday's auction.
"Churchill was not a man who was gifted with a lot of patience, and when things were going badly he would put his thumb behind the teeth and flick them across the room," he said.
"My father was in his early 20s, very shy. He probably found him quite overwhelming," he said, adding that Churchill even prevented his father from joining the military so that he could be on standby.
The false teeth were bought by a British collector of Churchill memorabilia at an auction in England at three times the estimated price. Keys Auctioneers said the man previously bought a microphone said to have been used by Churchill to announce the end of the war.
Meanwhile, a British publisher announced it would release a complete digitized archive of papers documenting his life.
Bloomsbury Publishing announced Thursday about 1 million pages of the papers, including everything from childhood school reports to private letters and notes, can be accessed online through libraries and schools starting in 2012.
The vast collection is currently housed in 2,500 boxes in a dedicated archive center in Cambridge, England.
Churchill served as prime minister from 1940 to 1945 and then from 1951 to 1955.
500-pound alligator rounded up in SC lagoon (July 29th, 2010 @ 1:26pm)
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. (AP) - As gators go, the one found in a South Carolina lagoon was downright gargantuan. The Island Packet of Hilton Head reported that an 11-foot-long, 500 pound alligator was removed from a lagoon on the resort island on Wednesday. It took three gator wrestlers from the Critter Management company and a truck to pull the gator from the lagoon near a church.
A worker said the gator was so big, it was a like a frog in a puddle.
Critter Management owner Joe Maffo said most encounters with gators occur during the spring and early summer. He said the gator probably just found a lagoon where he felt comfortable.
Saggy pants foolish but legal, NYC judge rules (July 29th, 2010 @ 6:36am)
NEW YORK (AP) - Wearing saggy pants is not a crime, just foolish.
That's how a New York City judge ruled in throwing out a summons issued to a man wearing low-slung pants that exposed his underwear.
Judge Ruben Franco said that the summons appeared to be an attempt by one police officer to show his displeasure with the style.
The Bronx man, Julio Martinez, was issued the ticket on April 20.
The judge writes that many may find the low-slung trouser trend distasteful and foolish. But he says people can dress how they want as long as they do not offend public order and decency.
Franco's decision was issued last month. Martinez and his Legal Aid attorney could not be reached for comment.
Man listed as Tokyo's oldest had been dead decades (July 29th, 2010 @ 5:49am)
TOKYO (AP) - A man listed as the oldest living male in Tokyo in fact died some 30 years ago, city officials said after his body was found mummified in his bed.
Police visited the home of Sogen Kato at the request of ward officials updating their list of centenarians ahead of Respect for the Elderly Day in September. Kato was born July 22, 1899.
Welfare officials have tried to meet Kato since earlier this year, but his family members repeatedly chased them away, saying Kato was well but didn't want to see anyone, said Tomoko Iwamatsu, an official at Tokyo's downtown Adachi Ward, where Kato lived.
Officials grew suspicious and sought an investigation by police, who forced their way into the house Wednesday. Police said the mummified body believed to be Kato was lying in his bed, wearing underwear and pajamas, covered with a blanket.
His granddaughter told investigators Kato holed up in his room about 30 years ago after declaring he wanted to be a living Buddha, police and Tokyo officials said. They believe Kato died soon after that.
Tokyo police were investigating possible crimes on suspicion Kato's family received pension money of the man and his dead wife.
"His family must have known he has been dead all these years and acted as if nothing happened," said Tokyo metropolitan welfare official Yutaka Muroi. "It's so eerie."
Package for 'grandma' contains 6 lbs. of drugs (July 29th, 2010 @ 4:39am)
TALLADEGA, Ala. (AP) - A package addressed from "Grandpa Henderson" in San Diego to "Grandma Henderson" in Talladega, Ala., wasn't ordinary mail, and it wasn't picked up by any grandmother.
The package aroused suspicions among Talladega postal inspectors, who contacted the Talladega County drug task force. Task force commander Jason Murray said a trained drug-detection dog singled out the package, and law enforcement officers waited for someone to pick it up.
Three men did that Saturday. They were stopped after they left the post office, and officers found more than 6 pounds of marijuana in the package.
Murray said the three have been charged with trafficking in marijuana.
Md. man sentenced for stealing library's tarantula (July 29th, 2010 @ 4:37am)
WESTMINSTER, Md. (AP) - A Maryland man has been sentenced to 90 days in jail for stealing a spider from a public library.
Carroll County Circuit Judge J. Barry Hughes sentenced 27-year-old Randy Humple of Westminster on Monday.
Staff at the Westminster library called police May 19 after they discovered Chili Rose, a Chilean Rose tarantula at the information desk, had disappeared. Witnesses told authorities they saw Humple with the spider and that he bragged about swiping it.
Hughes also sentenced Humple to four years in prison for violating his probation in a 2007 assault case. Humple told the judge he knows he's done some stupid things and he wants to serve his sentence.
The judge said that while what Humple did may have been "stupid on one level," it was also "criminal on another level."
Prodigal gun: Man reunited with stolen revolver (July 29th, 2010 @ 4:34pm)
TERRELL, Texas (AP) - A rural east Texas man has been reunited with his long-lost gun more than two decades after it was stolen. Kauffman County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Pat Laney says Bruce Garner received his H&R nine-shot revolver at an upbeat property hearing Thursday morning.
According to the Sheriff's Office, burglars took the gun from Garner's home in Terrell soon after he moved there in June 1989. Terrell is about 30 miles east of Dallas.
The thieves were never caught. But deputies found the firearm at a pawn shop and traced it to Garner.
Garner says he's astounded that he was able to get his favorite dispatch gun back. The 59-year-old leathersmith says he once used it to hunt and trap to make money.
Police: Cheeseburger found in SC woman's gas tank (July 29th, 2010 @ 6:25pm)
ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) - A South Carolina woman found out fast food won't make your car go fast. The Herald of Rock Hill reported Thursday a 30-year-old woman made a complaint to police after she took her car to a Rock Hill mechanic last week because it would suddenly stop running.
Police said a mechanic found a cheeseburger and pickle inside the car's gas tank. The woman told officers she had no idea how it happened.
Investigators said the damage cost about $1,000 to repair.
Inmate sues man he's convicted of burglarizing (July 30th, 2010 @ 5:00am)
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - A Florida inmate is suing the man he's convicted of burglarizing, claiming the man and two others roughed him up during a citizen's arrest.
Michael Dupree is serving a 12-year sentence for burglary and cocaine possession stemming from a 2007 break-in of a van in St. Petersburg. Dupree allegedly stole a bicycle locked inside and was apprehended after the owner, Anthony McKoy, saw him with the bike down the street.
Dupree says McKoy and two others pointed a gun at him, handcuffed him and placed a knee painfully in his back. He's seeking $500,000 for disabilities and distress suffered during the takedown.
Dupree filed the civil lawsuit on his own, without the help of an attorney.
After being served with the suit, McKoy said, "I thought it was a joke. I'm the victim."
Police: Ohio driver in chase stopped at red lights (July 30th, 2010 @ 6:20am)
CINCINNATI (AP) - Cincinnati police say a speeding driver tried to flee arrest while obeying red lights.
Police say a 26-year-old woman was going 78 mph in a 55 mph zone early Friday on Interstate 75 when an officer tried to pull her over. Police say she exited the highway to drive home.
Police say that when the woman reached local streets, she drove the speed limit and stopped at red lights. They used sticks that punctured her tires, just yards from her home.
She told police she feared having her car impounded, which they did.
Police say she resisted, and they used a stun gun before charging her with resisting arrest, failing to comply with police, speeding and driving under suspension.
Country's oldest mail carrier retires at 91 (July 30th, 2010 @ 1:13pm)
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - At 91 years old, the country's oldest mail carrier is finally hanging up his keys after driving more than 1.1 million miles delivering mail in Tennessee. According to the U.S. Postal Service, rural carrier Mancel Prince will make one more lap of his nearly 100-mile route before he retires on Friday in Decherd.
Prince was born in Tennessee and served in World War II, the Korean War and in Vietnam before retiring as a command sergeant major after 34 years. He returned home after his military career and began working as a mail carrier.
He earned a Million-Mile Safe Driving award for 35 years of accident-free driving.
Giant South Dakota hailstone breaks US records (July 30th, 2010 @ 2:00pm)
VIVIAN, S.D. (AP) - The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says a giant hailstone that fell in central South Dakota has broken U.S. records, even though the man who found it says it melted somewhat while waiting to be evaluated.
The NOAA's National Climate Extremes Committee says the hailstone found in the town of Vivian on July 23 measures 8 inches in diameter and weighs 1 pound, 15 ounces. The committee says the South Dakota ice chunk breaks records set by hailstones discovered in Nebraska and Kansas.
Ranch hand Leslie Scott says the hailstone was about 3 inches larger when he found it. Scott says he put it in the freezer but that he couldn't prevent some melting because of an hours-long power outage that followed the storm.
Woman with broken leg calls 911; Suspect collapses (July 30th, 2010 @ 6:21pm)
WALKER, La. (AP) - Livingston Parish sheriff's deputies arrested a man who passed out while allegedly trying to break into a mobile home where an 82-year-old woman was calling 911, crowbar in hand. Deputies said 24-year-old Derrick Gauthreaux of Denham Springs was checked at a hospital Thursday, then booked into the parish jail on one count of attempted burglary.
Investigators said the woman reported an attempted break-in about 10:30 a.m. Thursday, and said she was recovering from a broken leg but had a crowbar for protection.
Chief of Operations Perry Rushing said Gauthreaux told deputies he had been released from the New Orleans jail around midnight, and records showed he'd received a summons for an open alcoholic drink about an hour before his arrest.
He remained jailed Friday in lieu of $50,000 bond. It was not clear whether he had an attorney.
Store manager tells robber Jesus wouldn't approve (July 31st, 2010 @ 1:04am)
POMPANO BEACH, Fla. (AP) - A cell phone store manager in South Florida dissuaded an armed man from robbing the store by telling him Jesus wouldn't approve. Instead of panicking when the suspect pulled a weapon, Nayara Goncalves started talking with him. He was jobless, and the 20-year-old Christian offered to connect him with friends who could help him find work.
She said she believed the man when he said he attended church and wasn't a bad person. She told him the answer to his financial problems wasn't in the cash register.
Then, the clerk nudged him with a little sin of her own. She said the store would hold her responsible for any cash he stole.
Goncalves said, "I just wanted to remind him that he knew better."
Police: 2 men tried to sell wood blocks as laptops (July 31st, 2010 @ 11:54am)
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) - Investigators in Mississippi say two men wrapped blocks of wood in duct tape and bubble wrap, attached Toshiba labels and tried to pass them off as laptops.
Hinds County authorities charged the men with trademark infringement and selling goods with counterfeit labels. WLBT-TV in Jackson reports the men were caught Thursday when they tried to sell the fake laptops to an off-duty state trooper.
Hinds County Sheriff's Lt. Jeffery Scott says authorities also found binders filled with paper being passed off as computers.
However, no one actually bought the fakes.
Arrests sought after burgers, fries tossed in pool (July 31st, 2010 @ 1:46pm)
DALE CITY, Va. (AP) - The hamburger patties, French fries and pretzels tossed into the pool were bad enough. But did a vandal really have to smear mozzarella cheese on the water slide?
Officials in northern Virginia's Prince William County said that mischief was done overnight at Waterworks Waterpark, plus more.
But it's no laughing matter: The park is closed until workers can drain, sanitize and refill the pool.
Prince William County Park Authority spokeswoman Dianne Cabot says the vandalism took place between 10 p.m. Friday, when the last lifeguard left, and 8 a.m. Saturday. A reward is being offered for tips leading to an arrest in the case.
Officials say in addition to the food, someone threw tables, chairs, lifeguard stands and cigarette butts in the water.
Brazilian men swapped at birth work, live together (July 31st, 2010 @ 12:33pm)
By STAN LEHMAN Associated Press Writer
SAO PAULO (AP) - Two years back, Dimas Aliprandi and Elton Plaster didn't know of each other's existence. Then they learned they had been accidentally switched at birth more than 20 years ago.
The discovery didn't bring bitterness or recrimination. Rather, it led to the creation of a bigger family.
Today, the two 25-year-olds are living and working together with both sets of parents growing vegetables and coffee on a small farm in southeastern Brazil.
The chain of events started with Aliprandi, who was always intrigued that he did not resemble the four sisters he grew up with.
"There was something different," he told The Associated Press by phone. "I had blonde hair and blue eyes and my sisters had dark hair and eyes.
"I had the typical features of a descendent of German immigrants, while my sisters and parents were of Italian stock. Something did not add up"
Aliprandi said he was 14 when his suspicions intensified after watching a TV news report on babies getting switched at birth because of mistakes at hospitals.
"I told my father of my doubts and that I wanted to do a DNA test. But it was too expensive" for the family, he said.
A decade later, Aliprandi did it on his own.
"In December 2008, when I was 24, I decided I needed an answer to my doubts and paid 300 reals ($166) for a DNA test that confirmed my suspicions that I was not the birth son of the man and woman who had raised me," he said.
It was a big shock for his parents, Zilda and Antonio Aliprandi. They at first refused to believe the results, but eventually decided to help him look for his biological parents.
The search began at the Madre Regina Protmann Hospital, where he was born.
"I showed the hospital the results of the DNA test and told them that they proved that I had been switched at birth," Aliprandi said.
But hospital officials were skeptical, he said, and asked him to have another DNA test, which he did three months later.
Repeated calls to the hospital for comment went unanswered.
The DNA results were the same as the first- Aliprandi had been given to the wrong mother as an infant.
He said the hospital then searched its records and found Elton Plaster was born there on the same day.
The records led Aliprandi to the 35-acre (14-hectare) farm where Plaster lived with his parents, Nilza and Adelson, in the town of Santa Maria de Jetiba, about 30 miles (45 kilometers) from the Aliprandi home in Joao Neiva.
The Plasters agreed to do DNA tests.
"They discovered that Elton was the biological son of the man and woman that I had been calling Mom and Dad for 24 years," Aliprandi said. "Meanwhile, Elton discovered that the couple he had always regarded as his biological parents were mine."
The discovery did not cause any upset, he said.
"Instead it sparked a desire to join our families," Aliprandi said. "Elton and I wanted to remain with those who raised us and with our birth parents. We wanted to expand our families."
So about a year ago, Aliprandi and the parents who raised him accepted an offer from the Plasters to move to their farm, where they built a home.
"This is the way it should be," Adelson Plaster recently told Globo TV. "We are all together and I now have two sons living and working here."
Aliprandi and Plaster both feel blessed by their new circumstances.
"It's not everyone who can say he has two fathers and two mothers living together with him," Aliprandi said.
Police: Wendy's robber complains about skimpy haul (August 1st, 2010 @ 1:47pm)
ATLANTA (AP) - Police say a man who robbed a fast-food restaurant with a gun was so mad about the amount of loot that he called back twice to complain.
The man walked up to the drive-through window of an Atlanta Wendy's late Saturday night, wearing a ski mask and holding a gun.
He demanded the cash drawer, grabbed it and ran away.
But police say he later called the fast food restaurant to complain about the amount of cash.
Police say in one call he said that "next time there better be more than $586."
He called again with a similar complaint.
Sharp curve in Maine nets another big fish spill (August 1st, 2010 @ 3:45pm)
WHITING, Maine (AP) - There's something fishy in Whiting, Maine.
For the third time, a fish truck has accidently dumped its load in Esther MacLaughlin's front yard, located on a sharp turn near the intersection of Route 189 and Route 1.
Maine State Police say a truck carrying at least 22,000 pounds of lobster-bait herring overturned on the curve Saturday, spilling its cargo and injuring the driver.
Trooper Andrew Foss tells the Bangor Daily News the driver blew a tire as he drove through the curve, causing the truck to flip on its side. The driver was hospitalized with leg injuries. The truck sustained $25,000 in damage.
Robin McPhail says her mother lives near a bad intersection, calling it "a really bad corner" with many accidents.
Ohio Red Cross giving away new car, or Amish buggy (August 2nd, 2010 @ 5:33am)
CLEVELAND (AP) - To spur blood donations, an Ohio Red Cross chapter is offering people who give a pint of blood the chance to win a car or a horse-drawn buggy.
Spokeswoman Christy Chapman in Cleveland says the Red Cross didn't want to leave its many Amish donors out of the giveaway. The organization's Northern Ohio blood services region includes three counties with one of the nation's largest Amish populations.
The Red Cross regional operation has a board member who is Amish and who is arranging to have a buggy custom made for the contest, which wraps up Sept. 6.
Blood donors who prefer a more modern mode of transportation can win a 2010 Nissan Versa.
Porn site airs at Indonesia's parliament (August 2nd, 2010 @ 8:17am)
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) - Indonesian lawmakers and journalists got a shock when an online porn video blazed across dozens of computer monitors outside the press room at Parliament.
Witnesses say it took security guards 10 minutes to shut down the computers Monday.
The touch-screen monitors are used by visitors to check the Parliament agenda and other political activities.
House Secretary-General Nining Indra said the unwanted interruption was probably caused by someone trying to access a porn site on the computer system.
She said officials would use close circuit TV footage to investigate.
Indonesia is the world's most populous Muslim nation. Authorities have been trying to crack down on porn ahead of the holy fasting month of Ramadan that starts next week.
Mystery as Tokyo loses track of centenarians (August 3rd, 2010 @ 8:20am)
By MARI YAMAGUCHI
Associated Press Writer
TOKYO (AP) - Japanese authorities admitted Tuesday they'd lost track of a 113-year-old woman listed as the Tokyo's oldest, days after police searched the home of the city's official oldest man- only to find his long-dead, mummified body.
Officials launched a search this week for Fusa Furuya, born in July 1897 and listed as Tokyo's oldest citizen, after it emerged her whereabouts are unknown.
Several other celebrated centenarians are also unaccounted for due to poor record-keeping and follow-up in a country that prides itself in its number of long-lived citizens but also frets about an unraveling of traditional family ties.
Officials updating their records ahead of a holiday next month honoring the elderly found that Furuya does not live at the address where she is registered, said Hiroshi Sugimoto, an official in Tokyo's Suginami ward.
Furuya's 79-year-old daughter, whose name was not disclosed, told officials she was not aware of her mother's registration at that address and said she thought her mother was just outside Tokyo with her younger brother, with whom she has lost touch. But that address turned out to be a vacant lot.
Police are also interviewing the brother and another daughter, but still have not been able to locate Furuya.
The disappearance follows last week's grisly discovery- also by officials updating the most-elderly list- that the man listed as Tokyo's oldest male, who would have been 111 years old, had actually been dead for some 30 years and his decayed body was still in his home.
Police are investigating the family of Sogen Kato for alleged abandonment and swindling his pension money. Kato is believed to have died around 1978 after he had retreated to his bedroom, saying he wanted to be a living Buddha.
Officials said that they had not personally contacted the city's two oldest people for decades.
Authorities are also looking for a 106-year-old man who is missing in Nagoya, central Japan, Kyodo News agency reported. The Asahi newspaper said three more centenarians were unaccounted for in Tokyo.
The missing elderly people could cast doubt on the exact number of centenarians in Japan, a figure that has been rising for decades.
Officially, Japan has 40,399 people aged 100 or older, including 4,800 in Tokyo, according to an annual health ministry report last year marking the Sept 21 holiday for the elderly.
Each centenarian receives a letter and a gift from a local government office- usually by mail. Officials in fewer than half of the country's 47 prefectures (states) routinely keep track of centenarians in person, Kyodo said, citing its own tally.
Health and Welfare Minister Akira Nagatsuma urged officials to find a better way to monitor the elderly.
"Many people have doubts whether the government properly keeps track of senior citizens' whereabouts," he said. "It is important for public offices to check up on them- where and how they are- and follow through all the way."
But local officials say it is hard to keep track because families are often reluctant to receive official visits.
Many also send their elderly relatives to nursing homes without doing the proper paperwork.
"It's shocking that even relatives don't know if their parents are alive or dead," Chiba University professor Yoshinori Hiroi, an expert on public welfare, told public broadcaster NHK. "These cases were typical examples of thinning relationship among families and neighbors in Japan today."
The rapidly graying population has also fueled concerns about Japan's overburdened public pension and medical care system.
Pa. city shames owners of blighted property on Web (August 3rd, 2010 @ 10:04am)
READING, Pa. (AP) - Property owners neglecting their homes in one eastern Pennsylvania city are getting an online shaming.
Reading (RED-ing') Mayor Tom McMahon on Monday announced a new online "Wall of Shame" featuring blighted properties.
McMahon says the property owners' names will be posted along with pictures and addresses. He says he's serving notice to property owners who fail to take action on eyesore properties.
Ten properties are already facing designation as blighted, which could lead to them being torn down. Fifty other properties are listed on the site, and McMahon says they're being targeted for blighted status by the city.
Michigan man says he's grateful dog chewed off toe (August 3rd, 2010 @ 11:34pm)
ROCKFORD, Mich. (AP) - A Michigan man says he's grateful his dog ate most of his toe while he was passed out drunk.
Jerry Douthett of Rockford says Kiko's action helped uncover an undiagnosed diabetic condition and led to treatment that could save his life.
The Grand Rapids Press reported that the 48-year-old musician knew for a while something was wrong with his foot. He resisted seeking care until giving in to his nurse wife's pressure one day last month.
Before going for an appointment, Douthett says he went out drinking, then came home and passed out. When he awoke, the terrier was beside him in bed and lots of blood was where his toe used to be.
His wife rushed him to Spectrum Health Blodgett Campus, where doctors found a bone infection and amputated the rest of the toe.
Woman told robber computer had tracking device (August 4th, 2010 @ 5:49am)
ATLANTA (AP) - An Atlanta woman who used her feet to type a computer message to her boyfriend asking for help after she was robbed and bound says she persuaded the robber not to steal her laptop.
The woman, 39-year-old Amy Windom, appeared on NBC's "Today" show Wednesday and described her ordeal.
She says a robber entered her home early Tuesday and bound her to her bed. Windom says the robber left her computer after she told him it has a tracking device.
She says she propped up the laptop and after realizing she couldn't type with her feet, wedged the power cord between her toes and produced messages. She got her boyfriend's attention with an instant message and he sent the police to her home.
Pa. woman's stripper job leads to fraud charges (August 4th, 2010 @ 6:24am)
DOYLESTOWN, Pa. (AP) - A Pennsylvania woman is accused of illegally accepting workers' compensation payments while working as a stripper.
Forty-three-year-old Christina Gamble waived a preliminary hearing scheduled for Tuesday and will face trial next month.
Prosecutors say the Quakertown woman claimed she hurt her back at her waitressing job and couldn't work. A judge granted her $360 per week in benefits in October 2008.
But private investigators working for the restaurant's insurance company say they taped her dancing at C.R. Fanny's Gentlemen's Club and Sports Bar in Wilson later that year.
Gamble is charged with two counts of workers' compensation fraud and one count of theft. Her phone number is unlisted.
NY prosecutors not sure which twin to charge (August 5th, 2010 @ 12:48am)
LOCKPORT, N.Y. (AP) - Authorities trying to solve a shooting in New York have zeroed in on identical twin brothers- but now they have to figure out which one to charge.
A prosecutor on Wednesday won the right to photograph 31-year-old Niagara Falls residents Edward and Raymond Nickens with their shirts on and off to see which one might match a witness' description in the May shooting.
The brothers wore matching clothes and goatees in court. But tattoos visible on their arms were different.
Edward Nickens' attorney argued photos should be taken after charges are filed. Raymond Nickens' attorney said police have already taken pictures.
But the judge allowed the photo session after the Niagara County prosecutor said the brothers could change their appearances to look even more alike.
Landlord spray paints 'deadbeat tenants' on home (August 5th, 2010 @ 5:46am)
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - A North Carolina landlord fed up with tenants who didn't pay their rent painted her criticism on the garage for all to see.
WBTV reports that landlord Vanessa McCants spray painted the words "deadbeat tenants" on a Charlotte house she rents to Shanae Jackson.
McCants says she hasn't been paid the $1,300 monthly rent for two months and she's losing the home to foreclosure.
Jackson admits she's not paying the rent but says she can't afford both the rent and moving expenses.
Jackson called police after painting over the critique on the side of the home's garage. Police refused to charge McCants because spray painting your own property is not a crime.
Adondo
08-05-2010, 02:19 PM
Good ol' Seattle... right across the mountains from here.
And, their parking meters run at the rate of 40 minutes to a reality hour. Put in an hour's worth of quarters? You'll come back in 59 minutes to an already yellowing with age $35 parking ticket. Glad to see them get into the news with this. :)
VOIDED: Seattle dead man gets parking ticket
By The Associated Press
Seattle police say a veteran parking enforcement officer thought the man reclining in the driver’s seat of a parked car was sleeping.
When she found him unmoved in a two-hour parking zone after more than two hours had elapsed, police say she rapped twice on the window, left a $42 ticket and moved on.
About 40 minutes later, the 36-year-old man’s girlfriend found the car with a GPS device and called for help. The man was pronounced dead.
The King County medical examiner’s office identified the man found Tuesday as Derek Michael Eldridge. The cause of death was under investigation, but police say there was no sign of violence.
Police spokeswoman Renee Witt says the unidentified parking officer decided the man “was simply a sound sleeper.” Seattlepi.com says the parking officer later voided the ticket.
Court rejects candidate's appeal over expletive (August 9th, 2010 @ 7:53am)
MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A candidate for the Wisconsin Legislature who wants to use an expletive and a racially charged phrase to describe herself on the ballot has lost an appeal of a federal judge's order dismissing her lawsuit.
Ieshuh (eye-EE'-shu) Griffin appealed U.S. District Judge Rudolph Randa's decision rejecting her lawsuit on Thursday. She wants to describe herself on the ballot as "NOT the 'whiteman's b----."
The judge on Friday dismissed her appeal, saying no matter how creatively she argues the issue, she can't file her lawsuit as a habeas corpus action. Randa says those are reserved for people in custody, which Griffin is not.
Griffin said Monday she will attempt to appeal the order directly to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Dancers from Ohio strip club protest at church (August 9th, 2010 @ 12:14pm)
WARSAW, Ohio (AP) - The owner of an Ohio strip club and some of his dancers have been protesting at a church that has done the same to them for four years. Women in bikinis sat in camp chairs Sunday outside the New Beginnings Ministries church in Warsaw, about 60 miles northeast of Columbus.
Tommy George owns the Foxhole strip club in nearby Newcastle. He says he and his employees decided to start coming to the church because they were fed up.
George says the church's pastor, Bill Dunfee, and his congregation have bothered the club's weekend patrons. He says they come armed with bullhorns, signs and video cameras for posting customers' license plate numbers online.
Dunfee calls George a "parasite" and says seeing the protesters outside the church has strengthened the resolve of his flock.
Man goes naked in Neb. for spiritual experience (August 9th, 2010 @ 12:35pm)
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Lincoln police say a man was spotted walking naked near two churches and a parochial high school. Police said a passer-by called dispatch around 8:40 a.m. Sunday after seeing the man near Pius X High School. According to police reports, the 35-year-old man told officers that he went naked for a spiritual experience.
Capt. David Beggs said the man was cited on suspicion of public indecency, among other misdemeanors.
Police: W. Pa. woman used diaper in traffic beef (August 9th, 2010 @ 12:37pm)
CONNELLSVILLE, Pa. (AP) - State police said a woman wiped a dirty diaper on the window of another woman's vehicle during a dispute in a traffic jam as both were leaving the Fayette County Fair. Jessica Hollis, 23, of Mount Pleasant, has been charged with harassment in the incident which state police in Uniontown said happened about 10:50 p.m. Saturday.
Police said Hollis smeared the diaper on the rear window of a vehicle driven by 36-year-old Melanie Campbell, of Hopwood.
Police said the women began arguing while they were stuck in traffic leaving the fairgrounds in Dunbar Township.
Online court records don't list an attorney for Hollis, and a phone number listed in her name was disconnected Monday.
Fargo man sentenced in feces assault on police (August 9th, 2010 @ 12:41pm)
FARGO, N.D. (AP) - A Fargo man who tried to kick his own feces at police officers who responded to a party at his home was sentenced to serve a year in jail. Dennis Fike, 66. also must complete alcohol treatment or he might face another year in jail.
Fike was accused of defecating on a rug and attempting to kick feces at the officers last Aug. 28. His attorney argued that a handcuffed Fike had asked to use the bathroom and been denied.
Ga. pastor arrested protesting 'Demon' mascot (August 9th, 2010 @ 9:51am)
WARNER ROBINS, Ga. (AP) - Police have arrested a pastor in Georgia for protesting outside a high school against its demon mascot.
Police spokeswoman Tabitha Pugh said 36-year-old Donald Crosby was arrested Monday in the central Georgia city of Warner Robins.
Crosby and supporters picked the opening day of classes to protest against the pitchfork-wielding mascot. Crosby, of Kingdom Builders Church of Jesus Christ, says his son attends the school and he doesn't want him exposed to the name's devilish connotations.
Crosby was charged with picketing without a license and disorderly conduct. He was released on bond. He did not immediately return a telephone call seeking comment.
School officials say the mascot honors a World War II fighter squadron nicknamed the "Screamin' Demons."
Idaho farmer unknowingly tends to 300 pot plants (August 10th, 2010 @ 12:15pm)
JEROME, Idaho (AP) - Authorities say a southern Idaho farmer unknowingly watered and fertilized more than 300 marijuana plants while tending to his corn fields. The Jerome County sheriff's office says the farmer found the plot of pot growing between his tall, green stalks of unripened corn early Monday and called authorities.
The sheriff's office says the 314 low-grade marijuana plants are valued at $628,000 and would have been ready for plucking in the next month or so- just before the corn harvest.
A detective says the pot was started from seed and relocated to the field, a common way marijuana growers hide their plants.
Authorities have ruled out the farmer as a suspect, saying there have been at least two other similar reports in the past year.
Oregon residents report glow-in-the dark shrimp (August 10th, 2010 @ 12:17pm)
NEWPORT, Ore. (AP) - People who bought pink shrimp at some Oregon stores are reporting that it glows in the dark. Experts told The Register-Guard that they shouldn't worry because it's due to certain marine bacteria that can cause shrimp and other seafood to appear luminescent. They said it's not a health risk and does not indicate mishandling during processing.
Specialists at Oregon State University Sea Grant Extension say the bacteria can grow at refrigerator temperatures, especially on seafood products where salt was added during processing.
Cat turns on vacuum, causes emergency alert (August 10th, 2010 @ 12:21pm)
BERLIN (AP) - A cat home alone in Germany apparently turned on the vacuum cleaner, frightened itself half to death and wound up being attended to by emergency services. Police in the Bavarian city of Bayreuth said a neighbor heard the cat's cries- not to mention a vacuum left running for hours- and feared there'd been a terrible accident.
The fire service sped to the scene Monday evening, but found only the cat and the machine.
A police statement Tuesday said the emergency call wasn't entirely in vain, though, because "at least the cat could be calmed down."
Strip club landlord accused of smashing windows (August 10th, 2010 @ 12:24pm)
NORWALK, Conn. (AP) - Connecticut police arrested the landlord of a Norwalk strip club after he threatened a patron with a metal pipe and smashed out windows of the building. Thirty-nine-year-old Christopher LaRose of Norwalk was charged with threatening, criminal mischief and breach of peace.
Police said LaRose became hostile early Sunday morning when management of the Office Cafe, which has a no-hat policy, asked him to remove his hat. Police said he was allowed into the club, but got angry with the bartender for being slow in serving him a beer.
Police said he threw a glass at the bartender, swung the pipe at a patron who tried to calm him down and smashed two windows.
LaRose posted $5,000 bail and is due in court next Monday. He didn't immediately return a message Tuesday.
Man allegedly harasses nurse who laughed at name (August 10th, 2010 @ 1:28pm)
EVERETT, Wash. (AP) - An ex-convict was jailed on a charge that he harassed a nurse who laughed at his plan to name his newborn after late mob boss John Gotti. John Keinath allegedly told the nurse back in March he would strangle her for laughing at him. He was charged with felony harassment and had been free awaiting trial, but on Monday, a Snohomish County Superior Court judge ordered him held on $1 million bail.
The Herald of Everett reported that according to prosecutors, Keinath spent the past few months trying to trick people at Stevens Hospital into giving him the nurse's identity, and he finally learned it. That led to concerns about her safety.
Keinath was arrested late last week after being chased around by local police and U.S. marshals.
His previous convictions include a drive-by shooting and assaulting someone with a piece of pipe.
It was unclear if Keinath has an attorney.
Video shows woman smashing window over McNuggets (August 10th, 2010 @ 1:28pm)
TOLEDO, Ohio (AP) - A security video from a McDonald's in Ohio shows a woman punching two restaurant employees and smashing a drive-thru window because she couldn't get Chicken McNuggets. The tantrum caught on tape in Toledo earlier this year shows the customer reaching through the drive-thru window, slugging one worker and then another. She then grabs a bottle out of her car and tosses it through the glass window before speeding off.
It happened early on New Year's Day. Police say Melodi Dushane was angry that McNuggets weren't being served, because it was breakfast time.
Dushane says she was drunk at the time. She was sentenced to 60 days in jail last month and ordered to pay McDonald's for the broken window.
The video was released Monday when it became public record.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPWsBwDDupg&feature=player_embedded
Dog surprises officer by giving birth in squad car (August 10th, 2010 @ 3:22pm)
PRESCOTT VALLEY, Ariz. (AP) - A pit bull delivered quite a surprise in the back of a Prescott Valley patrol car. Prescott Valley police said Tuesday that an officer picked up the pit bull on Friday from an area woman who had been watching the dog.
The officer noticed the dog appeared quite pregnant, but the woman told him she was not. She told the officers she was only supposed to watch the dog for a short time and that its owners never picked her up.
The officer put the dog in the back of his patrol car to be impounded, but when he got to the station, he found more than one dog in the back.
Dutchess had given birth to a male puppy during the ride. The officer took the dog to a kennel and brought the puppy to her. Soon after, she gave birth to a second puppy.
Dutchess was taken to the Yavapai Humane Society and is believed to have given birth to more puppies but it's unclear how many.
Authorities are looking for her owners.
NY police find live cat 'marinating' in car trunk (August 10th, 2010 @ 6:32pm)
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) - Police say a traffic stop led to animal cruelty charges after they found a live cat "marinating" in oil and peppers in the trunk of a car.
Buffalo police say officers heard the cat meowing when they stopped 51-year-old Gary Korkuc of Cheektowaga to ticket him for running a stop sign Sunday night.
They say they checked the trunk and found 4-year-old Navarro in a cage, his fur covered with oil, crushed red peppers and chili peppers.
Police say Korkuc told them he did it because Navarro was ill-tempered. Korkuc was charged with cruelty and released; his phone number isn't listed.
Police say he told them he was going to cook Navarro. Korkuc also told officers a number of things that didn't make sense, including that his neutered male cat was pregnant.
Animal advocates have cleaned Navarro and put him up for adoption.
Adondo
08-12-2010, 03:38 PM
More news from the other side of my state. (Washington - the OTHER one. :) )
GROSS: Seattle woman attacked with feces
By The Associated Press
Seattle police say a man has been arrested after attacking a female neighbor with a bucket of feces, urine and vomit.
A police report says the attack occurred Sunday night in a stairwell at a South Seattle apartment complex. Officers arrived to find the woman’s clothes soaked with urine. There was fecal matter on her back and vomit in her hair, and they wrote that the stench was so bad it was difficult to interview the victim.
The victim said her attacker also lives in the apartment complex. She said he called her Sunday to report that something appeared wrong with her car. Nothing was, but as she returned from the parking lot she was attacked.
The police report says the pair had a history arguments. Police spokesman Mark Jamieson says the suspect, 69-year-old Ronald V. Ellis, was arrested for investigation of assault Wednesday night.
Adondo
08-12-2010, 03:40 PM
SURVEY SAYS: Mount Rainier 14,411 feet high -- still
By Mike Archbold, The News Tribune
Mount Rainier is stuck in a rut.
For the third straight time, an expedition sponsored by the Land Surveyor’s Association of Washington found the state’s signature peak to be 14,411 feet high.
The expedition announced its findings Wednesday.
“The new elevation came in at only a few inches different than the previous observations,” said Larry Signani of Sumner, a surveyor and numbers cruncher for the expedition. “The published value will remain at 14,411 feet.”
In 1988 and 1998, the association also sent teams to the summit. Using global positioning system equipment, they calculated its height both times at 14,411 feet -- give or take an inch or two.
That’s one foot higher than the previously accepted height of 14,410 feet.
The newest measurement is within 0.3 feet of the previous two measurements, which also were taken at this time of year.
Vandalism of a permanent marker used to make readings on the summit could account for the slight difference. Someone tried to remove the brass cap from the marker, which team members were forced to pound back in place during last month’s expedition.
Whether the newest measurement will supplant the often-used 14,410 foot measurement is anyone’s guess. Despite the two previous surveys, Mount Rainier National Park still uses the lower height on its web site.
Park Superintendent Dave Uberuaga said Wednesday that with three significant surveys all pointing to 14,411 feet “it may be time for the park to seriously consider making a request to (the U.S. Geological Survey) to change that measurement.
“We have to be accurate and sensitive to data,” he said.
Bob Anderson, a surveyor from Friday Harbor and the lead climber on the expedition, acknowledged the 14,411-foot height isn’t used in some publications but noted the Geological Survey has certified their measurement.
Signani said the Geological Survey measured Rainier in 1956 before GPS was available and came up with 14,410 feet. He later obtained the data from that survey, recalculated it and found a tiny error in a vertical angle. Correcting that error produced a height of 14,411 feet, he said.
Rainier’s height has ranged from 12,330 feet in 1842 to 14,532 in 1897.
The latest expedition wasn’t concerned solely with proving how high the mountain is. It also was a chance to use new digital technology to gather data in a remote location, Anderson said.
GPS technology has changed dramatically since 1988 when the team included more than 140 volunteers using some of the first portable GPS units. Those units weighed over 65 pounds each and could connect with only four GPS satellites. Readings took hours as they waited for the satellites to come overhead.
Signani said a lot of data was gathered in 1988 and finely calculated by top mathematicians. It has held up over the years, he added.
This time the team was only nine surveyors who carried GPS units that weighed two pounds. The devices were able to use more than 45 satellites for tracking.
Anderson said the team spent nearly 24 hours on the summit and took redundant measurements to check accuracy.
Adondo
08-25-2010, 11:29 AM
https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2010/08/PHP4C754F9AA4617-4.jpg
MADISON, Wis. - The camera of a vacationing New Jersey family who posed for a picture in front of the Wisconsin State Capitol captured more than smiles. It also caught a thief in the act.
John Myers, of Bloomfield, N.J., set the self-timer on his camera and hustled into the frame with his wife and two children Saturday. While their backs were turned, someone grabbed their bag, which held Myers' wallet and other items.
After Myers discovered the bag missing, he checked his camera. Sure enough, the image showed a man picking up the bag.
Myers told the Wisconsin State Journal that he showed the photo to officers, who recognized the man.
When officers found him, he was still carrying the bag.
The suspect pleaded not guilty Tuesday to misdemeanor theft.
Adondo
08-26-2010, 12:28 PM
2 arrested in Oregon at 'Shop With a Cop' day
Aug. 25, 2010 07:31 PM
Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. - Two men arrested in Oregon for shoplifting during a "Shop With a Cop" event for school children initially thought it was a bad time for stealing - with more than 60 uniformed officers on scene.
But Portland Sgt. Pete Simpson says the two gave it some more thought and decided police would be distracted so it would be a good time to steal.
They were wrong.
Store security officers at the Fred Meyer store weren't caught off guard Wednesday. Simpson says security watched the two young men packing their own backpacks with blenders, shoes, clothes and tools while officers helped children pick out supplies for the school year.
The Oregonian says the two were then arrested.
Ohio police chopper camera falls off, smashes cars (August 26th, 2010 @ 5:08am)
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - A camera mounted to a police helicopter in Ohio fell off mid-flight, striking at least three vehicles in a parking lot.
No one on the ground was hurt when the infrared camera valued at roughly $100,000 came crashing down around noon Wednesday in Columbus. One vehicle was heavily damaged.
At the time the chopper dropped its accidental bomb, the helicopter was being used in the search for a missing woman.
Police Sgt. Richard Weiner (WY'-nur) says the camera had been reinstalled on the chopper before it took off.
It's not clear why the camera came unhitched. Police are investigating, along with the Federal Aviation Administration.
Mass. police: Shark sighting a practical joke (August 26th, 2010 @ 6:18am)
SOMERSET, Mass. (AP) - A practical joker in Massachusetts has taken advantage of recent shark sightings and caused a scare with a fake fin.
Police say about 50 people were drawn to a Somerset, Mass., cove on Wednesday night after someone reported seeing a shark fin in the water. Police tell the Herald News of Fall River that several 911 calls came in to Somerset and Swansea police.
Responding officers soon realized that the "shark" was just a piece of Styrofoam cut into a fin shape, wrapped in gray duct tape and weighted down.
There was no word on who pulled the prank.
Several Massachusetts beaches have been closed this summer after shark sightings. Police cautioned that the joke could have caused a problem had there been a real emergency call.
Flying fish knocks paddler from Mo. river race (August 26th, 2010 @ 10:02am)
By ALAN SCHER ZAGIER
Associated Press Writer
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) - A fish out of water sent a Texas kayaker onto dry land instead of the finish line at an annual Missouri River endurance race.
Houston resident Brad Pennington was considered one of the favorites among men's solo racers in the Missouri River 340, a canoe and kayak race that began Tuesday morning in Kansas City, Kan. At least until a 30-pound Asian silver carp jumped from the water and hit him in the head. The fish are known to panic and jump in response to passing vessels.
"It felt like a brick hit me," Pennington said Wednesday.
The 43-year-old lawyer already was having trouble steering his boat, a streamlined model built for speed but not necessarily sturdy enough to withstand a river known for commercial transport. The fish flew as Pennington was trying to return to shore to repair his kayak, assisted by a competing three-man team.
Pennington said he had to withdraw just hours into the 340-mile race because of a "pounding, pounding headache that kept getting worse." A nurse suggested further medical treatment, but he declined.
"It's definitely a risk of being out on the river," said Tracy Hill, a project leader for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's local fisheries office. "It's extremely serious. Those things can kill you."
Hill spent Wednesday volunteering at the race's Huntsdale checkpoint near Columbia. One day earlier, while conducting tests on the river, he was hit several times by flying carp.
Hill and his colleagues already wear construction hard hats while on the job. He suggested- with a straight face- that an upgrade to hockey helmets and protective netting might be in order.
Asian carp can eat up to 40 percent of their weight a day in plankton and were imported in the 1970s as a way to control algae and plankton in fish ponds. But the fish made their way into the wild and have infested waterways including parts of the Mississippi, Illinois and Missouri rivers. Work continues to prevent the voracious fish from slipping into the Great Lakes.
Man shot in head felt bullet only 4 years later (August 25th, 2010 @ 7:32pm)
https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2010/08/18ef9b4babc240f78dd22fef3ca35811-4.jpg
BERLIN (AP) - A 35-year-old man who walked around for five years with a bullet lodged in the back of his head says he suspected for a while something was there but only went to doctors after he started getting headaches.
Robert Chojecki was partying on New Years Eve five years ago in the German town of Herne when he was hit with the .22-caliber bullet. Doctors removed it this week from between his skin and skull.
The Polish-born Chojecki told RTL television Wednesday he thought he'd been hit by fireworks, but later forgot about it.
He said at first he had "no pain, but approximately one year ago I started to get a headache."
Police say the bullet may have been fired in celebration. Doctors say he should have no problems now that it has been removed.
'Bed Intruder' songster turning fame into a future
By ERRIN HAINES
Associated Press Writer
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (AP) - Antoine Dodson's angry, head-shaking TV interview about a rape attempt against his younger sister in her bed has turned into an iTunes chart-topping song.
The song plays off many of his lines, including: "Y'all need to hide your kids, hide your wife and hide your husband, 'cause they raping everybody out here."
In the first 2 1/2 weeks of sales, the song selling for $1.29 had about 60,000 downloads and at least 25 million views on YouTube. The musicians who put it together are splitting the proceeds with the 24-year-old Dodson.
He says he plans to use the money to move his family out of public housing in Huntsville, Ala.
Still, some suggest that the college student and his family are being exploited and that his online rant plays to African-American stereotypes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKsVSBhSwJg&feature=channel
Adondo
09-01-2010, 11:58 AM
By Laura Roberts
Published: 2:28PM BST 31 Aug 2010
Man blows himself up trying to kill a spider
It is not known if the spider survived REUTERS
The 28 year-old suffered severe burns after attacking the arachnid with an aerosol can at his home in Clacton in Essex.
The man was summoned by his wife to deal with a spider she had seen scuttling behind the lavatory on Bank Holiday Monday. Not being able to reach it, the man decided to kill it by spraying it with the can.
However he was unable to see whether it was dead because the bulb in the bathroom light had blown. At this point he turned to a cigarette lighter to illuminate the room, but in the process ignited the gas fumes and caused an explosion.
The blast was so strong it blew the man off his feet and lifted the loft door off its hinges.
He suffered flash burns to his head, legs and torso and was rushed by ambulance to hospital after dousing himself in cold water.
A spokesman for Essex Fire Service said: "It appears the wife had spotted the creepy crawly in the bathroom and asked her husband to capture it.
"He sprayed it first with an aerosol where it was lurking behind the toilet bowl and when that didn't appear to work, he lit up his lighter to spread some light on the situation as the bathroom bulb had blown.
"There was an almighty explosion which blew the man back into his hallway and lifted the hatch on the loft.
"He did exactly the right thing by jumping into the shower and cooling his burns with cold water while his wife raised the alarm."
Firefighters administered emergency first aid at the scene while waiting for ambulance teams to arrive.
A spokesman added: "We're not entirely sure whether the spider got away or not but there was no sign of it at the scene."
Ambulance crews treated the man for burns to his arms, legs and face and breathing difficulties and he was taken to the Colchester General Hospital, in Essex, where he was given pain relief and discharged in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
In June last year Simon Elsey, 40, from Rotherham, suffered severe burns after a can of hairspray exploded at his home. The canister had been left on top of a children's fireguard in front of a lit fire in the sitting room. The blast was so powerful it blew out two window panes and the can was found embedded in the ceiling. Mr Elsey had been asleep in the sitting room at the time and firefighters said he was lucky not to be engulfed in flames.
^ Wanna bet the truth is he used the spay can and lighter as a flame torch and the flame backed up into the can?
Adondo
09-01-2010, 12:52 PM
While reading that story, I had visuals of a completely unscathed spider crawling out past the wreckage of the bathroom door, with the guy inside writhing around in flames as the mushroom cloud of fire explodes out the window.
Reminds me of a story a while back where some idiot set off dozens of bug bombs. (cans of fogging spray, the kind you set and run away from) The 20 plus cans of bug killer are hissing away, while a forgotten pilot light in a water heater finally was reached by the ever-expanding cloud of explosive insecticide. The house was knocked off its foundation, all its windows and doors were explosively removed, neighboring buildings lost windows, etc. What was left didn't burn because the explosion was too brief, but cockroaches were running out of every crack and seam.
Adondo
09-01-2010, 01:11 PM
This town is about 2 hour's drive north of where I live. The poor guy will never live this one down.
Hiker accidentally shoots himself in the rear
updated 8/31/2010 3:31:32 PM ET
WENATCHEE, Wash. — A hiker on Blewett Pass shot himself in the butt when he put a handgun in his back pocket. The Chelan County sheriff's office said the 52-year-old Snohomish man had moved his .40-caliber handgun from its holster to his back pocket Saturday to see if that position would be more comfortable.
The Wenatchee World reported the gun fired the bullet down his left buttock and left leg, coming to rest just above the knee. He was treated at Central Washington Hospital in Wenatchee.
___
Information from: The Wenatchee World, http://www.wenatcheeworld.com
Adondo
09-01-2010, 01:25 PM
1 September 2010 Last updated at 15:20 ET
Mervyn Kinkead crosses Irish Sea in a bath
BBC Mervyn salied to Portpatrick in his modified bath
https://theultimatejeep.com/images/imported/2010/09/_48950236_bath4-4.jpg
At an age when many people are thinking about how to get in and out of the bath, Mervyn Kinkead has put his own tub to a use which belies his advancing years.
The 65-year-old from Lisburn has become the first man to cross the Irish Sea in a bath.
With only a relatively minor hiccup along the way, Mervyn covered the 19 nautical miles from Donaghadee across to Portpatrick in about eight hours.
The problem arose when the bath, probably used to being filled, began to take in water about three miles out of Portpatrick.
However it was soon righted, and Mervyn made it across to Scotland shortly before nightfall.
"It all began as a bit of a joke," Mervyn told BBC district reporter Claire Savage.
"Then someone said about doing it for charity so I thought I had better do it."
The adventurous admiral admitted to feeling like a celebrity when a crowd gathered in Portpatrick to herald his damp arrival.
However, his pride in his achievement does not equate to certainty over whether he would repeat the trip.
"I am glad it is all over. I would do it again - well, I would consider doing it again!"
NM Goodwill collection box turns up inert grenade (September 3rd, 2010 @ 11:53am)
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - Just in case it wasn't clear: Weapons and drugs don't make good charitable donations.
Albuquerque police briefly evacuated a Goodwill store Thursday after someone left a pistol, ammunition, a grenade and some marijuana in a collection box.
Police spokeswoman Nadine Hamby says the police bomb squad took the grenade away for demolition after determining tit was a World War II-style inert- or inactive- grenade.
The police report did not list what type of guns were in the box or the quantity of marijuana.
The same thing happened to me when I was working for The Salvation Army, someone donated a "bouncing betty" and we called the Los Angeles Police Department Bomb Squad who ended up calling the military and a crew flew up from San Diego and blew it up in our parking lot.
Montana teen accidentally texts sheriff to buy pot (September 3rd, 2010 @ 11:43am)
HELENA, Mont. (AP) - General rule of thumb: when looking to buy marijuana, don't text the sheriff. Authorities said a Helena teen hit a wrong number and inadvertently sent a message to Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo Dutton, saying "Hey Dawg, do you have a $20 I can buy right now?"
A detective pretending to be the dealer organized a meeting at a time when the boy knew he and another teen would be at a particular store.
The detective spotted two teenage boys and one of the boy's fathers- who was unaware of what was going on- at the store. He called the phone number three times to make sure he had the right person. Dutton said when the detective showed the teens his badge, one of the boys fainted.
No citations were issued after the parents of the boys, who were 15 and 16, got involved.
Conn. driver falls from car on I-95, Dodge goes on (September 3rd, 2010 @ 10:32am)
DARIEN, Conn. (AP) - Connecticut State Police say a man fell out of his car onto Interstate 95 and watched his vehicle drive on for about two-tenths of a mile before it crashed into a pole. Troopers said they're not sure why 51-year-old Robert Craig of Killingworth fell out of his 2006 Dodge Charger late Tuesday morning in Darien near Exit 10. Police said Craig was treated for minor injuries at Stamford Hospital.
State police said Craig fell onto the highway but wasn't struck by any vehicles. They say other motorists stopped to help him and get him to safety.
Troopers said the car continued down the highway before striking a light pole and metal guardrail on the right shoulder.
The accident remains under investigation.
Cell phone left in Ala. burglary leads to arrest (September 1st, 2010 @ 12:21pm)
RUSSELLVILLE, Ala. (AP) - Police investigating a home burglary in Russellville found a surprising clue- a cell phone that got left behind. Franklin County District Attorney Joey Rushing said the phone was left near where a computer was taken in the weekend burglary. Investigators began calling some of the phone numbers and determined the phone belonged to a 19-year-old who was on probation for a previous burglary.
The prosecutor said police also got surveillance video from the Wal-Mart in Russellville that shows the suspect cashing in coins believed to have been taken during the burglary.
Rushing said, "It helps when you've got stupid criminals."
The cell phone's owner, Tyler Blake Garrison, was questioned and charged with burglary. He remained in jail Wednesday. Garrison's attorney, Jeff Barksdale, declined comment.
Cell phone victim helps deputies recover property (August 31st, 2010 @ 12:51pm)
MALIBU, Calif. (AP) - A man who bought a cell phone online, only to find it was the same one that was stolen from his car, tipped off California sheriff's deputies, who arrested a man they believe broke into dozens of vehices.
Deputies arrested 28-year-old Neil Hefner and recovered 163 cell phones, along with computers, wallets, gift cards and rare coins. He was booked for investigation of burglary.
Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. John Benedict says one victim was looking for a new phone on Craigslist, found one that looked like his old one and bought it.
When it arrived, many of his phone numbers were still programmed into it so he called deputies. Benedict says the seller's return address was on the package.
Adondo
09-09-2010, 04:57 PM
Xbox blocks W.Va. gamer over town's name: Fort Gay
Sep 8, 1:46 PM (ET)
By VICKI SMITH
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. (AP) - Microsoft Corp. and the chief rules enforcer for Xbox Live are apologizing to a small West Virginia town and a 26-year-old gamer accused of violating the online gaming service's code of conduct by publicly declaring he's from Fort Gay - a name the company considered offensive.
The town's name is real. But when Josh Moore tried to tell Seattle-based Microsoft and the enforcement team at Xbox Live, they wouldn't take his word for it. Or Google it. Or check the U.S. Postal Service website for a ZIP code.
Instead, they suspended his gaming privileges for a few days until Moore could convince them the location in his profile, "fort gay WV," wasn't a joke or a slur: It's an actual community of about 800 in Wayne County, along West Virginia's western border with Kentucky.
"At first I thought, 'Wow, somebody's thinking I live in the gayest town in West Virginia or something.' I was mad. ... It makes me feel like they hate gay people," said Moore, an unemployed factory worker who plays shooters like Medal of Honor, Call of Duty and Ghost Recon under the gamertag Joshanboo.
"I'm not even gay, and it makes me feel like they were discriminating," said Moore, who missed a key Search and Destroy competition because of last week's brief suspension. His team lost.
Angry and incredulous, Moore contacted customer service.
"I figured, I'll explain to them, 'Look in my account. Fort Gay is a real place,'" Moore reasoned. But the employee was unreceptive, warning Moore if he put Fort Gay back in his profile, Xbox Live would cancel his account and keep his $12 monthly membership fee, which he'd paid in advance for two years.
"I told him, Google it - 25514!" Moore said, offering up the town's ZIP code. "He said, 'I can't help you.'"
Mayor David Thompson also tried to intervene, but with little success. He told television station WSAZ, which first reported the dispute, that he was informed the city's name didn't matter. The word "gay," he was told, was inappropriate in any context.
"It was so inappropriate for them, they wouldn't even say the word," Thompson told the AP Wednesday. "They said, 'that word.' It's beyond me. That's the name of our town! It's appalling. It's a slap in our face."
Stephen Toulouse, director of policy and enforcement for Xbox Live blamed miscommunication.
"Someone took the phrase 'fort gay WV' and believed that the individual who had that was trying to offend, or trying to use it in a pejorative manner," Toulouse said. "Unfortunately, one of my people agreed with that. ... When it was brought to my attention, we did revoke the suspension."
Complaints, he notes, come to agents with no contextual information, including who the suspected offender is or what games they play. The agent simply looks at the language and determines whether it complies with policy.
The Xbox Live player's contract says users cannot "create a gamertag, avatar or use text in other profile fields that may offend other members," and lists potentially dangerous topics such as drug use, hate speech and racial, ethnic or religious slurs.
Fort Gay has been a community since 1789, when 11 people tried to establish a settlement at the junction of the Tug and Big Sandy rivers, across from what is now Louisa, Ky. It was incorporated as Cassville in 1875 but was simultaneously known as Fort Gay until 1932, when town leaders changed it to the latter for good.
Toulouse said he will contact Moore and apologize. Staying ahead of slang and policing Xbox for offensive is a constant challenge, he said.
"In this very, very specific case, a mistake was made," he said, "and we're going to make it right."
Adondo
09-09-2010, 05:01 PM
95 snakes found in burst bag at Malaysia airport
Sep 3, 12:23 AM (ET)
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) - A Malaysian man pleaded guilty to wildlife smuggling after his bag bursting with 95 live boa constrictors broke open on a luggage conveyer belt at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, an official said Friday.
Keng Liang "Anson" Wong, 52, who was previously convicted of wildlife trafficking in the United States, was charged Wednesday in a district court with exporting the endangered boas without a permit, said Shamsuddin Osman, an official with Malaysia's wildlife department.
The offense that carries a penalty of up to seven years in prison and a fine, Shamsuddin said.
Wong was arrested Aug. 26 after airport authorities found the boa constrictors, together with a few other snakes and a turtle, when his bag broke open on a luggage conveyor belt. Wong was transiting from Malaysia's northern Penang state to Indonesia's capital Jakarta.
The court will reconvene Monday pending Wong's appointment of a lawyer, Shamsuddin said.
He said the criminal charges involve the boas only, because the other animals are not listed as endangered. All of the animals are alive and under the care of wildlife officials, Shamsuddin said.
A decade ago, Wong was sentenced to almost six years in prison in the U.S. for running an animal-smuggling ring that prosecutors said imported and sold more than 300 protected reptiles native to Asia and Africa from 1996 until Wong's arrest in Mexico in 1998. It is unclear whether he served the full term.
Activists say the illegal wildlife trade used to flourish in Malaysia until the country recently stepped up efforts to crack down on it. In July, Parliament passed a new law to punish poachers and smugglers more severely, but the act has not yet taken effect.
Bolivian cops detain woman who tried to mail mummy (October 26th, 2010 @ 12:23pm)
LA PAZ, Bolivia (AP) - Bolivian police said they've detained a woman who tried to mail a mummy to France. Police Col. Adolfo Cardenas said Tuesday a Peruvian woman tried to send the human remains from a post office in the town of Desaguadero along the Peruvian border. The destination was in the French city of Compiegne.
The mummy was discovered in a routine check of the package.
Cardenas said he doesn't know how old the mummy is, but says it was well-preserved and may have been from the Inca culture.
North Dakota police arrest man in urinal shooting (October 26th, 2010 @ 12:20pm)
WILLISTON, N.D. (AP) - Police in Williston arrested a man who allegedly shot a urinal in a local bar. Authorities say the 21-year-old man fired a shot from a .45-caliber handgun into a urinal in the bathroom at Whispers. Damage was estimated at $500.
The Williston Herald reported that the man was arrested on charges of vandalism and discharging a firearm within city limits.
Victim takes fake weapon and beats would-be robber (October 25th, 2010 @ 6:25pm)
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Police said a man using a fake gun in a San Fernando Valley stickup was beaten with the prop weapon when the would-be victim took it from him. Los Angeles police Sgt. Jeff Collado told City News Service on Thursday that the attempted robbery suspect was bloodied and he was hospitalized. His name hasn't been released.
The sergeant said the man confronted the would-be victim at 11:40 p.m. Wednesday in the valley's Winnetka area 25 miles northwest of downtown Los Angeles. The intended victim, whose name is being withheld, disarmed him and used the fake weapon to beat him.
Couple sue after Mega Death sauce hospitalizes son (October 25th, 2010 @ 6:25pm)
CLEVELAND, Tenn. (AP) - Some don't like it hot. A Steak 'n Shake restaurant in Cleveland, Tenn., was sued by a couple who claimed it served a hot sauce that sent their son to the hospital.
Tim and Mary Katherine Gann said a restaurant server gave their minor child a bottle of Blair's Mega Death Sauce for his chili and encouraged him to eat some. When he did, he broke out in hives, had trouble breathing and suffered severe pain.
The brand isn't customarily served by the chain, according to the Cleveland Daily Banner. Mega Death's maker warns that it's "500 times hotter than a jalapeno."
A spokeswoman for franchise owner Debbie Richmond said Thursday the company wasn't commenting.
The lawsuit seeks $10,000 in compensation and $50,000 punitive damages.
Adondo
10-26-2010, 05:00 PM
Robber takes off mask a bit too early
Mom sees his face published in U.K. media, makes him turn himself in
MANCHESTER, England — A masked man who robbed a U.K. bookmaker is in jail now because he took off his disguise an instant too early.
After waving a handgun, demanding and receiving a bag of money from a frightened clerk, the man paused as he walked out the door. He then removed his scarf. Security cameras were able to capture a clear picture of his face.
His photograph was published in local media and the Manchester Police published the video on YouTube. His mother recognized him and made him turn himself into police.
Lorenzo Mason, 21, will serve five years in jail for the crime, Sky News reported.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39855633/ns/world_news-weird_news/
superacerc
10-26-2010, 08:49 PM
Handguns are illegal in the UK arent they? Cant be a true story then. If you ban handguns it has to be impossible for someone to have one......right??? (Hopefully you can detect the sarcasm) :confused:
Adondo
10-27-2010, 09:38 AM
Handguns are illegal in the UK arent they? Cant be a true story then. If you ban handguns it has to be impossible for someone to have one......right??? (Hopefully you can detect the sarcasm)
Everyone who thinks gun control eliminates crimes committed with guns, forgets one little tidbit of info... criminals do NOT care about the law, hence they will be the only ones packing the pieces. How many car jackings have we read about in Houston TX? I can't remember any... probably because any would-be car jacker would be shot by everyone in the car.
This next one cracks me up. Someone needs to get a REAL life.
Thief takes everything but the cat in Facebook home burglary
By Winda Benedetti
Popular Facebook game "Pet Society" lets players decorate a virtual apartment and clothe a virtual pet. Now, if only it came with a virtual home alarm system.
Here's a lesson that all of you Facebook game players should heed: If you're going to have a fancy virtual house, you'd better install a fancy virtual home alarm system.
Authorities in Italy are investigating a home burglary that took place within the popular Facebook game "Pet Society."
"Pet Society" – a social pet simulation game from Playfish – lets players decorate virtual houses and shop for stylish virtual clothes for their virtual pets.
But Paola Letizia of Palermo, Italy, told police that a hacker stripped her home within the game taking everything but the blue-colored cat that lived there.
According to British news site Metro, the not-a-cat-burglar swiped the virtual furniture, virtual clothes and virtual paintings that 44-year-old Letizia had spiffed up her seven-room home with. And those virtual items cost her real money – somewhere around $140. (Proof that game micropayments really do add up.)
"I don’t think it matters that the flat only exists in Facebook," Letizia told the Italian media. "It is real to me and I have suffered a real loss."
Playfish does not appear to offer home alarm systems for their "Pet Society" homes. In their place, we'd like to recommend that social network game players try installing a little thing called a strong password. Apparently the hacker was able to access Letizia's Facebook account by cracking her password.
Italy's "postal police" are investigating the crime as an 'aggravated entry' into Letizia's e-mail and Facebook account. The offence carries a penalty of up to five years in a real prison.
From here: http://technolog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2010/10/26/5353302-thief-takes-everything-but-the-cat-in-facebook-home-burglary
Minnesota fire station blaze destroys truck
Oct. 30, 2010 10:23 AM
Associated Press
ST. CLOUD, Minn. - Firefighters in St. Cloud didn't have to go far for their latest fire call.
A blaze broke out Friday at a fire station in southeast St. Cloud.
Authorities say a firetruck was destroyed and there's smoke damage to the building.
Fire marshal Mike Post tells WJON that no one was hurt.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/2010/10/30/20101030minnesota-fire-station-fire-ON.html#ixzz1438HNYPr
Accused bank robber dropped wallet
Oct. 30, 2010 10:19 AM
Associated Press
DESTIN, Fla. - Investigators knew a man accused of stealing $6,000 from a Florida Panhandle bank didn't stuff the cash in his wallet. That's because he somehow left it there, making it easy for authorities to find him.
The Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office says the 26-year-old robber brandished a handgun at Destin's Union State Bank on Thursday, ordering the employees to the floor. Deputies say he fled with $6,000.
While investigators searched the bank, a witness found a wallet nearby. Investigators showed the ID photo to bank employees, who thought it might be the robber.
Deputies searched the man's house and say they found cash and a gun that appeared to be the one used by the robber.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/2010/10/30/20101030florida-bank-robber-drops-wallet-ON.html#ixzz1438VdMnN
Judge: 4-year-old can be sued in bike crash
Oct. 29, 2010 05:30 PM
Associated Press
NEW YORK - She might have been too young for grade school, but a judge says a New York City girl was old enough to be sued over a bicycle accident that happened when she was 4.
A Manhattan judge refused earlier this month to toss out negligence claims against Juliet Breitman. She, her mother and others are being sued by the estate of a woman who said she was severely hurt when hit by bicycles that Juliet and a boy were racing down a sidewalk in April 2009.
The woman, Claire Menagh, died later that year.
Juliet was three months shy of 5. The judge says there's no evidence a child of that age couldn't appreciate "the danger of riding a bicycle into an elderly woman."
Lawyers for those involved didn't immediately return calls Friday night.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/2010/10/29/20101029new-york-4-year-old-sued.html#ixzz1438oMs00
Burglars leave thank-you note for homeowners
Oct. 29, 2010 12:29 PM
Associated Press
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - Two suspects face multiple charges after North Carolina police said they left a note thanking the homeowners for the $5,000 worth of electronics gear and food they stole.
Fayetteville police spokesman Dan Grubb said Friday the pair left one note on a white paper napkin saying simply, "Thanks." Grubb said a second message etched into a wall Wednesday morning said the same thing, and added: "We love the stuff we got."
Police charged Dajuan Marquis Avant and Darrell Sturdivant Jr. with breaking and entering, larceny, and other charges.
Both 19-year-olds are from Fayetteville. It was not known if either had an attorney.
The homeowners told The Fayetteville Observer the stolen loot included a box of corn dogs, frozen chicken and beer.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/offbeat/articles/2010/10/29/20101029north-carolina-burglars-leave-note.html#ixzz14393wpwv
Adondo
11-04-2010, 11:36 AM
By CORY MATTESON / Lincoln Journal Star JournalStar.com | Posted: Tuesday, November 2, 2010 6:00 pm
The Halloween crime of the year torch appears to have been passed to Lincoln in 2010.
Early Monday, a police officer pulled over a pickup being driven erratically by a man dressed as a Breathalyzer.
Matthew Nieveen, 19, was cited for second-offense driving under the influence and being a minor in possession of alcohol.
According to a police report, he was driving a 1992 Ford F-150 northbound on 33rd Street between Holdrege and Huntington when an officer saw the truck rapidly accelerate and cross the center line several times. The officer stopped the truck at 37th and Huntington, the report states.
The officer said Nieveen had watery eyes and slurred speech and smelled like alcohol. Police found a bottle of vodka, a half-full bottle of Mountain Dew and vodka and several cans and bottles of beer in the truck.
"He was dressed as a PBT (preliminary breath testing) alcohol sensor and had been attending a Halloween party prior to the stop," the report says.
Police took Nieveen to Cornhusker Place, where, the report says, his blood alcohol measured more than twice the legal limit of .08 percent. The legal limit for minors is zero.
Nieveen also was cited for an open container violation and negligent driving before being released to detox staff.
Last Halloween, an 18-year-old in a similar outfit was arrested for driving drunk in Oxford, Ohio.
In other costumed arrest news, Lincoln Police Officer Katie Flood said officers arrested a French maid early Saturday and what was described in reports as a "naughty border patrol agent" Sunday. Both women, both younger than 21, were arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and being minors in possession of alcohol.
Reach Cory Matteson at 402-473-7438 or
[email protected].
Copyright 2010 JournalStar.com. All rights reserved.
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