Post insane / odd / unique news releases here

[LWM]

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.

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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.

[LWM]

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.

[LWM]

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.

[LWM]

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."

[LWM]

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.

[LWM]

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.

[LWM]

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.

[LWM]

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.

[LWM]

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.