Post insane / odd / unique news releases here

[LWM]

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.

[LWM]

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.

[LWM]

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.

[LWM]

Man shot in head felt bullet only 4 years later (August 25th, 2010 @ 7:32pm)



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.