unReactive.com

Man Accused of Lobbing Urine Into Yards - Yahoo! News: "Tue Dec 27, 5:54 PM ET
CLIVE, Iowa - A Nebraska man has been arrested in central Iowa for allegedly delivering some unwanted Christmas gifts. Reno Tobler, 54, was arrested Thursday in Clive after police caught him lobbing urine bottles into backyards.
'We've got a Grinch that has been lobbing urine,' said Clive Police Chief Robert Cox. 'Since this fall, we've had eight to 10 incidents reported where people have found containers full of urine thrown into their backyards.'
Tobler is a truck driver whose route regularly takes him to the Clive area. He was charged with littering and harassment for allegedly tossing detergent-sized bottles of his urine over fences.
Tobler told police that it was a longtime hobby of his to deliver the bottles. Police searched his vehicle and found several other urine-filled bottles ready for delivery.
Tobler was taken to the Polk County Jail and was released on a $500 bond."

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What makes people do this?
Man Pleads No Contest to Cattle Relations - Yahoo! News: "Fri Dec 23, 5:49 PM ET
NEILLSVILLE, Wis. - A 64-year-old man has pleaded no contest to charges in Clark County Circuit Court after telling police he regularly had been using calves for sexual gratification.
Harold G. Hart was placed on two years probation Thursday and ordered to have psychological counseling and an alcohol and drug abuse assessment after pleading to charges of sexual gratification with an animal and disorderly conduct.
According to the criminal complaint, the family living on the farm Hart visited, installed a motion sensor because they had seen suspicious footprints and vehicle tracks.
When the sensor sounded, Hart was caught leaving the barn. He later told police the farm was a routine stop, usually after bar closing or on trips to strip clubs near Marshfield or Neillsville.
Hart told police he had gone to the farm at least 50 times in the last year, sometimes two to four times in a week."

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Alleged Burglar's Car Gets Stuck in Ice: "Fri Dec 23, 6:57 PM ET

SCARBOROUGH, Maine - A man faced a burglary charge after his car got stuck on the icy driveway of a house that had just been burglarized.
Shawn Tarr, 29, of Portland, was in court Friday afternoon being arraigned, officials at the Cumberland County Jail in Portland said.
Tarr was arrested Thursday in Scarborough after police received a report of a burglary in progress at a home on Broadturn Road in this southern Maine town.
As the owner returned home, she found a car in the driveway. Tarr told the woman that he was turning around when he got stuck in ice on her driveway, and asked her to back up the car while he pushed, police said. The woman, who was not identified by police, complied, but also was unable to move the car.
The woman, who had noticed her laptop computer on the rear the seat of the car as she walked by the car, returned to her house as Tarr tried frantically to move the vehicle, police said. Her daughter had already called police.
Scarborough officer Doug Weed said Tarr was trying to shove boards under the wheels of the icebound car when he arrived.
Police discovered Tarr had several warrants out for his arrest, including one for burglary. Police also say Tarr's car turned out to be stolen from a Westbrook dealership.
'Christmas cards taken from the Broadturn Road residence were found under the seat of the vehicle,' police said."

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Woman Swallows Cell Phone After Argument: "Sat Dec 24, 4:24 AM ET

BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. - A lovers' dispute over a cell phone ended suddenly when the woman swallowed the phone whole, police said.
Police said they received a call at 4:52 a.m. Friday from a Blue Springs man who said his girlfriend was having trouble breathing. When they arrived at the house they found the 24-year-old woman had a cell phone lodged in her throat.
'He wanted the phone and she wouldn't give it to him, so she attempted to swallow it,' Detective Sgt. Steve Decker of the Blue Springs Police Department. 'She just put the entire phone in her mouth so he couldn't get it.'
Police said an ambulance transported the woman to St. Mary's Medical Center in Blue Springs. A hospital spokeswoman said she couldn't give details about the woman's health since police have not released her identity."

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Man tries to rob bank by phone - 10 Dec 2005 - National News: "Man tries to rob bank by phone

10.12.05
Police have made an arrest after a man rang a bank manager demanding money two days after robbing the same south Auckland bank.
The accused man, who was located last night, will appear in court today on charges of aggravated robbery and demanding with menaces, Detective Sergeant John Love said.
He has also been charged with the unlawful taking of a Ford Falcon car that was in his possession.
Mr Love said police tracked him down after tracing telephone calls that were made to the bank.
Police said yesterday that the Kiwi Bank branch at Flat Bush was robbed on Wednesday afternoon, when the offender got away with a small amount of money.
The offender rang the bank manager yesterday asking for a meeting and for the manager to take a brown paper bag of money with him.
The meeting was to have been about 50m from the branch, which is on Dawson Rd, but the caller rang back to say he was uncomfortable with the location.
He then asked for a meeting about a kilometre away in Othello Dr, but didn't turn up.
Mr Love said the money taken on Wednesday had not been recovered. "

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Ronald MacDonald Charged in Wendy's Theft - Yahoo! News: "Mon Nov 28, 4:33 PM ET

MANCHESTER, N.H. - You'd think that just working at a Wendy's restaurant would be difficult for Ronald MacDonald. Now, the 22-year-old MacDonald — no relation to Ronald McDonald, the clown — has been charged with stealing money from a safe at the Wendy's.
Police said the restaurant manager called police early Monday, saying he found MacDonald and another employee taking money from the safe at about 1:30 a.m.
MacDonald and Steve Lemay, 20, both of Manchester, were detained at the store until police arrived."

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Gainesville.com |Plane diverted to Charlotte because of unruly passenger: "November 25. 2005 10:15PM

An intoxicated passenger who lit a cigarette and urinated in the aisle led pilots to divert a United Airlines flight from Orlando, Fla., to Washington, D.C., an airline spokeswoman said.
The man, whose name the airline declined to release, was taken off flight 1502 in Charlotte and questioned by police, spokeswoman Robin Urbanski said.
The man was 'acting extremely inappropriately,' Urbanski said. 'When you want to run a safe airline, we don't tolerate that type of activity on our aircraft.'
A Charlotte-Mecklenburg police watch commander referred questions about an in-flight incident to the FBI in Charlotte, which did not immediately return a call seeking comment."

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Man Cuts in Line, Is Wrestled to Ground - Yahoo! News: "Fri Nov 25, 9:34 AM ET

ORLANDO, Fla. - Security guards wrestled a man to the ground in a Wal-Mart after he cut in line to get laptop computers that were on sale Friday, a television station reported.
The man started arguing with people inside the store, WFTV-TV in Orlando reported. He then started fighting with the guards, the station reported
One man told WFTV that the laptops were being thrown into the air and people rushed toward them, collapsing on each other. Another man described the scene as crazy.
Orlando police and Orange County sheriff's officials didn't return phone messages seeking comment. The store's manager referred questions to Wal-Mart Stores Inc. headquarters in Bentonville, Ark., where officials at had no immediate comment."

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100-Pound Woman Wins Turkey-Eating Contest - Yahoo! News: "Thu Nov 24, 1:48 PM ET

NEW YORK - It's a question just begging to be asked: How much turkey can a person shove into their mouth in 12 minutes?
A group of competitive American eaters assembled at Artie's Deli in New York on Wednesday to gobble down 10-pound roast turkeys and find out.
Eric 'Badlands' Booker started quickly, ripping through two turkey breasts and establishing an eight-ounce lead after three minutes. As time ticked down and the competitors faced moister meat in the drumsticks and shoulders, Sonya 'The Black Widow' Thomas, Chip Simpson and Tim Janus gained speed.
After 12 minutes, nearly all had stripped their bird to the bone.
After examining the scales, the judges announced a verdict: the 100-pound Thomas, of Alexandria, Va., had taken first prize, worth $2,500. Booker dropped to sixth place.
How much turkey did Thomas eat? A total of 4 pounds, 3.1 ounces.
Thomas says she took the 'Black Widow' nickname because she likes to 'eliminate the males' in eating contests. Her other records include eating 65 hard-boiled eggs in 6 minutes and 40 seconds.
Her idol? Japanese competitive eating champion Takeru Kobayashi."

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RIP
World's Ugliest Dog Dies at 14 - Yahoo! News: "Wed Nov 23, 2:47 PM ET

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - Sam, the tiny dog whose hairless body and crooked teeth earned him a reputation as the World's Ugliest Dog, has died.
The pooch died Friday, just short of his 15th birthday, his owner said.
'I don't think there'll ever be another Sam,' Susie Lockheed said, adding: 'Some people would think that's a good thing.'
Sam won the ugliest dog contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair this summer for the third year in a row. The pedigreed Chinese crested had made appearances on TV in Japan, radio in New Zealand and in Britain's Daily Mirror tabloid. He also had met Donald Trump on a talk show set.
Lockheed said she initially was terrified of Sam when she agreed to take him in as a rescue dog six years ago on a 48-hour trial basis. Although she fell in love with him, his appearance repulsed her then-boyfriend and prompted the man to break up with her.
Later, however, Sam became a matchmaker by bringing together Lockheed and her current beau, who saw a picture of the two on an online dating site.
Lockheed said she had Sam euthanized after she learned Sam's heart was failing.
She said she's felt a little lost ever since, and is sleeping with Sam's favorite toy — a stuffed bear he picked up and carried home."

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Ananova - Designer creates wall of breasts: "Designer creates wall of breasts

A Dutch designer has created a wall of fake breasts to help male shoppers buy bras that fit their wives or girlfriends.
Wendy Rameckers works at the Piet Zwart Institute for Retail and Design in Rotterdam, reports Het Nieuwsblad.
'Most men have a selective memory,' she explained. 'They know all about their car, but never seem to know their wife's bra size.
'When trying to buy a sexy bra for their wife or girlfriend, usually they point to other women in the shop or, when asked about size, they say a 'handful'.'
The wall consists of rows of silicon breasts in all sizes. By look and touch, male shoppers can work out the right size, she says."

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Burglar Makes Pizza, Flees With $3,000 - Yahoo! News: "Tue Nov 1, 9:38 PM ET

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif. - A pizza parlor burglar paused to make a pizza before fleeing with $3,000.
A security camera showed the intruder playing pizza chef after breaking into Sonny's Pizza and Pasta through a bathroom window early Monday, said Lt. Ted Boyne of the Orange County Sheriff's Department.
The burglar put on an employee's shirt after entering the pizza parlor about 2 a.m., then he made a pizza, spreading sauce, cheese and pepperoni over the dough and placing it in the oven, the lieutenant said.
Employees arriving about 3 a.m. apparently scared him off before the pizza was ready, Boyne said. The burglar fled with about $3,000.
'We found the pizza burned in the oven,' he added."

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Thief Steals $75,000 Worth of Bull Semen - Yahoo! News: "Wed Nov 2, 8:56 PM ET

WOLFSVILLE, Md. - Someone stole $75,000 worth of bull semen from a Frederick County farm, the sheriff's office says. Eric Fleming said the six small canisters of frozen semen taken from a liquid nitrogen tank represented four to five years of collection work.
He said he had planned to sell it and use the proceeds to expand his breeding herd of shorthorn beef cattle.
'I'm so depressed about this that I probably will get out of the cattle business,' Fleming said Tuesday.
He said he found the semen missing from an outbuilding on his Stonewood Acres farm in northwestern Frederick County Sunday night.
Fleming said the canisters held the semen of 40 to 50 bulls."

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Man Sues After Using Glue-Covered Toilet : "Wed Nov 2, 8:58 PM ET

BOULDER, Colorado - A hardware retailer Home Depot has found itself in a sticky situation, defending a lawsuit filed by a man who claims the chain's Louisville store ignored his cries for help after he fell victim to a prank and was glued to a toilet seat.
Bob Dougherty, 57, of Nederland, said he became stuck to a bathroom toilet seat on which somebody had smeared glue on Oct. 30, 2003, and felt 'tremendous panic' when he realized he was stuck.
'They left me there, going through all that stress,' Dougherty told The (Boulder) Daily Camera. 'They just let me rot.'
His lawsuit, filed Friday said Dougherty was recovering from heart bypass surgery at the time and thought he was having a heart attack. A store employee who heard him calling for help informed the head clerk via radio, but the head clerk 'believed it to be a hoax,' the lawsuit said.
Home Depot spokeswoman Kathryn Gallagher said she could not comment on pending litigation.
The lawsuit said after about 15 minutes, store officials called for an ambulance. Paramedics unbolted the toilet seat, and while wheeling a 'frightened and humiliated' Dougherty out of the store, he passed out.
The lawsuit said the toilet seat separated from his skin, leaving abrasions.
'This is not Home Depot's fault,' he said. 'But I am blaming them for letting me hang in there and just ignoring me.'"

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Introducing the all-night burglary.. - Yahoo! News: "Wed Nov 2,10:09 AM ET
LJUBLJANA (Reuters) - Armed robbers calmly spent an entire night in one of Slovenia's leading banks to clean out up to 500 safe-deposit boxes, the Ljubljana Police Administration said Wednesday.
The police could not say how much cash and valuables were stolen from SKB bank, a Slovenian unit of France's Societe Generale, during the public and market holiday on Monday and Tuesday.
They said at least three robbers entered the SKB's safe deposit building Monday night, by using a valid pass code, tied up the two security guards and took about seven hours to break into the safe deposit boxes.
The police said an investigation was underway. "

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Boys get gunshots, not treats, for Halloween - Yahoo! News: "Wed Nov 2,10:04 AM ET


ROME (Reuters) - Two Italian boys were recovering in hospital on Tuesday after a 70-year-old man shot them with his hunting rifle because he was frightened by their Halloween costumes.
The 14-year-old boys, dressed as demons, had knocked on the man's door during an evening of 'trick or treat' near the northern town of Turin and set off a firecracker.
When the door opened, instead of a treat, the man fired four shots at the boys having been scared by the noise and their strange outfits, the news agency ANSA said.
Police arrested the man, who lived alone and was the victim of several robberies, for attempted murder, ANSA said. Police said the boys' lives were not in danger but one risked losing an eye.
The tradition of asking neighbors for sweets or money on Halloween is relatively new to Italy but is gaining popularity. "

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ottawasun.com - National/World - Devilish doo-doo prank ignites panic: "By Sun Media
WINNIPEG -- A Winnipeg teen is being hailed as a hero for helping his family to safety after a prank got out of hand and destroyed his home.
Jordan Feasey, 16, was sleeping in his family's mobile home last weekend, when his mom awoke and noticed something was amiss.
'She got up and looked out the window, and saw there was a fire on our outside deck,' said the teen's dad, Mel Ottenbreit.
The fire was started by someone who left a flaming bag of fecal matter on the family's doorstep, police said yesterday.
It quickly spread, blocking both the trailer's exits, so Jordan's mother woke him up and called on him to help.
Jordan then rushed to wake up his little brother and sister.
His mom, Susan Feasey, had already called 911, so the family could do little but watch as flames engulfed their home.
Damages are estimated at $120,000.
Jordan's quick thinking has already earned him a letter of commendation from the Winnipeg Fire Department.
Police have arrested a 16-year-old boy, known to the family, who faces arson charges. "

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Wis. Bridge Begins Raining $20 Bills: "Wed Oct 26, 9:10 PM ET

GREEN BAY, Wis. - It was a clear morning in Green Bay — and then it began raining money. Traffic came to a halt on the congested bridge Wednesday after $20 bills from a money bag that had been accidentally dropped from an armored truck began blowing around and down to the Fox River banks below.
Commuters jumped out of cars, hopped dividers and nearly caused accidents trying to catch the flying cash, police said.
By the time officers arrived at around 7:34 a.m., some 10 minutes after being called, there was chaos on and below Leo Frigo Memorial Bridge.
'People were stuffing handfuls of money into their pockets and running back to their cars and speeding off,' police Lt. John Balza said.
Of the $80,000 in the bag initially, some $72,000 was recovered, but almost none of it willingly, he said.
'No one was like, 'Oh here, I'm collecting this for police,'' Balza said. 'They were basically seen jamming it in their pockets.'
Police said they are not sure how the money bag fell out of the armored courier owned by Badger Armor Inc. There was no immediate response when The Associated Press phoned the company and left a message seeking comment.
Police Capt. Greg Urban called on people who picked up the money to be 'honest and ethical' and turn it over to police.
'Technically, it's the crime of theft, not finders keepers,' he said."

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Suspect in W.Va. Break-In Found Asleep - Yahoo! News: "Fri Oct 28, 5:35 PM ET
CHARLESTON, W.Va. - A suspect in a break-in at a veterinarian's office wasn't hard to find. He was sleeping in his office at a neighboring business and allegedly had some stolen items in his pockets.
Chad Lee Mays, 26, of Malden was charged Thursday with breaking and entering. Mays owns a tire shop next door to the Kanawha Boulevard Animal Hospital in Charleston, according to a criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court.
Charleston police responding to the break-in saw a tire shop employee outside that business early Thursday morning, waiting for it to open. The employee said Mays was inside sleeping.
Mays told police he had heard an alarm go off at the veterinarian's office but did not see anything. He then said he needed to use a restroom and walked into another room where Patrolman S.S. Midkiff saw a computer similar to one that had been reported stolen, the complaint said.
Police searched the suspect and allegedly found cash and vials of veterinary drugs in his pockets.
Mays was being held Friday at South Central Regional Jail in Charleston."

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Pa. Gas Company Callers Get Sex-Talk Line - Yahoo! News: "Fri Oct 28, 5:33 PM ET

WASHINGTON, Pa. - Instead of information about a utility bill, callers to phone numbers listed for a local gas company get an offer for a different kind of service.
Colombia Gas customers in Washington found that two numbers listed in the Yellow Book USA don't go to the utility, but instead reach a message directing them to a sex-talk line.
'I mean, how can this happen?' said Helen George, an Amity resident who tried to call Columbia's office in Washington but reached the Intimate Encounters line.
Officials from Columbia Gas said the numbers were from a former office and should have been changed.
Intimate Encounters makes a habit of using well-known numbers and in the past has bought the use of an old Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission number set up to report injured or dead manatees and toll-free numbers that used to belong to the Policy Review journal, the World Wildlife Fund and rape crisis lines in Maine and Arizona."

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BBC NEWS | UK | 'Women can't cook' claims Ramsay'Women can't cook' claims Ramsay
Women "can't cook to save their lives", celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay has said.
The controversial chef said more men are learning what to do in the kitchen, while women are more likely to be able to mix a cocktail than cook.
"When they eat, they cheat - it is ready meals and pre-prepared meals all the way," he said in the Radio Times.
Ramsay, 38, who has an award-winning female chef at one of his restaurants, is known for his fiery temper as much for his culinary skills.
"I've been visiting ladies' houses up and down the country with our film crew and you would be amazed how little cooking the girls are doing," the chef said ahead of the launch of his latest television show.
"Seriously, there are huge numbers of young women out there who know how to mix cocktails but can't cook to save their lives, whereas men are finding their way into the kitchen in ever growing numbers.
"Trust me, I am only telling you what I have discovered."
Angela Hartnett, head chef at the Ramsay's The Connaught in Mayfair and a Michelin-starred chef, defended his comments.
She said they were based on a survey for a TV programme which claimed 75% of women asked admitted they could not cook.
"So, he hasn't made these comments up willy-nilly," she told BBC Breakfast.
She said men were becoming more interested in cooking, with her master classes split 50-50.
"A lot of husbands come and say they do all the cooking because their wives can't cook.
"It's not necessarily a bad thing - so long as someone is cooking, does it really matter who it is?"
She acknowledged that the ready availability of pre-prepared meals made it easy for people never to have to learn to cook.

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Man requests longer prison sentence to match Bird's jersey number - NBA - Yahoo! Sports: "October 20, 2005
OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- A man got a prison term longer than prosecutors and defense attorneys had agreed to -- all because of Larry Bird.
The lawyers reached a plea agreement Tuesday for a 30-year term for a man accused of shooting with an intent to kill and robbery. But Eric James Torpy wanted his prison term to match Bird's jersey number 33.
``He said if he was going to go down, he was going to go down in Larry Bird's jersey,'' Oklahoma County District Judge Ray Elliott said Wednesday. ``We accommodated his request and he was just as happy as he could be.
``I've never seen anything like this in 26 years in the courthouse. But, I know the DA is happy about it.''"

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umm

'Abandoned' prisoner sues God - Yahoo! News UK: "A Romanian prisoner serving 20 years for murder has sued God for failing to save him from the Devil. The inmate claims his Baptism was a contract with God to keep him out of trouble.
'God even claimed and received from me various goods and prayers in exchange for forgiveness and the promise that I would be rid of problems and have a better life,' he wrote in the lawsuit. 'But on the contrary I was left in the Devil's hands.'
Court officials said the legal action is likely to be dropped because they're unable to subpoena God. "

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Now you never need to stop drinking..:Thu Oct 6, 2005 8:30 AM ET "BERLIN (Reuters) - Fans of non-stop drinking may soon be able to cut down on time wasted ordering refills, thanks to a beer coaster that can tell when a glass is empty.
The coaster, fitted with sensors, measures the weight of the beer and sends a signal behind the bar when it's time for a refill.
Anxious drinkers can also attract the attention of staff by waving the plastic mat, thanks to a motion sensor.
It was invented by students Matthias Hahnen and Robert Doerr for a project at the University of Saarbruecken in southwest Germany.
The device has attracted the attention of beer vendors in North America, including a leading Canadian brewer, according to Michael Schmitz, one of the supervisors of the project.
'They wanted to know if they could use it or make it themselves,' he said. 'The prototype cost about 84 euros to make one but if mass produced, it could be done for around 10 euros.'"

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Man found driving ambulance with dead deer: "By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) - A man reported missing from a Florida hospital was found in North Carolina dressed like a doctor and driving a stolen ambulance with a dead deer wedged in the back, authorities said.
Leon Holliman Jr., 37, was reported missing from a River Region Human Services facility in Jacksonville last month.
The North Carolina State Highway Patrol found him driving the ambulance with the deer on Sunday.
'I don't know how the man got it up in there,' said Sgt. Robert Pearson. 'It was a six point buck.'
It wasn't known where Holliman got the deer, which had been dead for some time, Pearson said.
Holliman was admitted to a North Carolina hospital for a psychiatric evaluation. Police said they would decide whether to charge Holliman after that evaluation is complete."

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German brews world's strongest beer - Yahoo! NewsFri Sep 9, 2:13 PM ET
BERLIN (Reuters) - A German brewer has concocted what he says is the world's strongest beer, a potent drink with an alcohol content of 25.4 percent that is served in a shot glass.
"Everyone who has tried it is enthusiastic. It tastes like a quirky mixture of beer and sherry," said Bavarian brewer Harald Schneider.
Schneider, who lives in southern Germany where beer is a tradition, said his beer fermented for 12 weeks for an alcohol content twice that of Germany's other strongest beers.
"People will only be able to drink two or three glasses, otherwise they'll drop like flies," he said.
Schneider expects the holders of the world's strongest beer, the Boston Beer Company, to put up a fight.
"I'm pretty sure the Americans have something up their sleeve."

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6abc.com: Gargoyle Returns from Vacation: "FAIRFAX, VT-September 5, 2005 - Gargy the gargoyle had a great vacation. But he isn't talking.
In June, someone swiped one of the stone gargoyles at the end of Sally Beyor's driveway in Fairfax, Vermont.
A couple of weeks ago Gargy was back. Beyor has no idea who took the stone ornament. She says there was a note with Gargy, a $20 bill and snapshots of his vacation.
Beyor found pictures of her gargoyle at places like Mount Rushmore in South Dakota and Yellowstone National Park.
She says it looks like he had a good trip but she's glad he's back."

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Sky News : CCTV Shop Raid: Britain's Thickest Thief?: "BRITAIN'S THICKEST THIEF?

A hooded man has been dubbed Britain's thickest thief after stealing from a CCTV shop.
The man was caught on eight separate surveillance cameras as he targeted the shop in Manchester and stole a laptop computer worth 700[pounds].
He chose to raid the store despite numerous signs around the store warning that closed circuit television cameras were in operation.
CCTV images show the man from every single angle - one frame shows him handling a door, which forensic experts believe will provide them with a perfect set of fingerprints.
There are even pictures of him looking through the shop window half an hour earlier, jumping up to get a better look.
Owner of the shop, David Arathoon, 54, has said the thief's actions are proving 'the biggest boost to business imaginable'.
He said: 'I didn't know whether to laugh or be annoyed, and in the end I did both.'
Mr Arathoon told the Daily Star: 'Frame by frame, cameras filmed him around the shop. The stupidity to think stealing from a CCTV shop is a good idea is astonishing.'
Manchester Police have said they will collect any evidence."

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Feds: Inmates Talked Through Toilets - Yahoo! News: "Fri Aug 19, 7:14 PM ET
PHILADELPHIA - Co-defendants in a drug case emptied toilet bowls in their Federal Detention Center cells and yelled to each other through the drainpipes about killing witnesses who might testify against them, prosecutors said.
What Dawud Bey and those he communicated with didn't know was that the FBI was also listening, via wiretaps in and around their cells, Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. Ehlers said Thursday.
Bey, 36, pleaded guilty in February to a charge of conspiracy to manufacture and distribute cocaine. Prosecutors revealed details from the wiretaps in an effort to prove that Bey also threatened government witnesses and their families.
U.S. District Judge Mary A. McLaughlin postponed Bey's sentencing Thursday until after Labor Day, saying she wanted to 'take it under advisement.'
Bey's attorney, Joseph C. Santaguida, said Bey's comments were just 'talk' and 'bravado.' But FBI Agent Kevin M. Lewis testified that witnesses had to be relocated because of threats by Bey and others."

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Nev. Intruder Demands Food at Gunpoint - Yahoo! News: "Fri Aug 19, 5:30 PM ET

SPARKS, Nev. - Police have arrested a man they say terrorized a woman and her family when he appeared at the back door, pointed a gun at her and demanded food.
Daniel Peter Jeppsen was arrested Thursday on charges of kidnapping, robbery and assault with a deadly weapon, burglary, drug and weapons charges.
The 56-year-old woman told police she heard banging in her backyard. When she looked out she saw Jeppsen, who pointed the gun at her.
He demanded food, and eventually put the gun in his pocket as he ate, police said.
Investigators said he then ordered her to leave the house with him, then changed his mind and they went back inside.
The woman's husband and 13-year-old granddaughter initially were unaware Jeppsen was in the house until they encountered him in the living room.
The granddaughter eventually able to leave and called police.
Jeppsen, who has no known address, was under the influence of drugs and had illegal drugs in his possession, police said. He was jailed on $128,000 bail."

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: "Sat Aug 20, 4:24 AM ET

GARDNERVILLE, Nev. - A stalking foray atop a power pole left a lucky feline jolted, frizzled and dazed but otherwise OK after he fell off the 40-foot pole and sparked a fire outside a fire house.
The frazzled cat was discovered when paramedic-firefighters Andrew Chrzanowski and Jeremy Hall responded to the fire Wednesday morning after the lights went out at the Topaz Ranch Estates fire house.
'When we got the fire knocked down we saw this burned cat close to the base of the pole,' Hall said.
They assumed it was dead until Chrzanowski noticed it was breathing. He put it on a blanket and gave it oxygen.
'We both thought that with the amount of burns he had he wasn't going to make it, but then we started to look more closely and we saw it was all superficial,' Hall said. 'The fire just burned all his hair off.'
The firefighters believe the cat was on the pole, because a bird's nest was found on top and there was a large black spot where something had touched a relay switch on the 25,000-volt line.
Animal Control officer Janet Duzan took the cat to Carson Valley Veterinary Hospital, where Veterinarian Steve Talbot said it should make a full recovery.
'The doctor said it looks like he was in a flash fire and got singed from head to toe,' Duzan said.
The cat will be put up for adoption if it is not claimed by its owner, she said."

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Diaper sparks bomb alert - Yahoo! News: "Thu Aug 18,11:54 AM ET

BERLIN (Reuters) - An 'electronic nappy' used to monitor wetness sparked a bomb alert in a German post office when it arrived in a parcel ticking suspiciously, police in the southwestern city of Heilbronn said Thursday.
'They suspected it was a bomb so they put the package into an empty room and called the police,' said a police spokesman. 'It was supposed to respond to wetness with bleeping sounds but this one ticked.'
Two squad cars rushed to the scene and immediately contacted the sender. Police gave the all clear after they contacted the woman who told them the intercepted package contained only a malfunctioning diaper. "

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LancasterOnline.com: Man Fires Gun at Car to Silence Alarm: "SIMI VALLEY, Calif. (AP) - A man annoyed by a noisy car alarm fired at least three bullets into a Toyota Camry, silencing the alarm and bringing out police who hauled him away in handcuffs, authorities said.
David Owen Rye, 48, was arrested and booked for investigation of reckless discharge of a firearm and felony vandalism, Sgt. John Adamczyk said. Rye allegedly told officers he grabbed his handgun and went out to put a stop to the car alarm.
The owner of the Camry, a sailor whose ship the USS Theodore Roosevelt just returned from an eight-month cruise, was visiting a friend when he heard the gunfire at about 10 p.m. Tuesday, KCAL-TV reported.
'I mean, that's not a safe guy. I mean, you get upset over an alarm, over a noise like that, (then) there's some little kids making too much noise and he decides to do something awful,' sailor Nicholas Moreno, 25, said.
Police were called to the Yosemite Avenue apartment building and Rye was ordered out of his apartment by an officer with a bullhorn. A Los Angeles Police Department helicopter also responded and Rye was arrested.
Neighbor Ken Davis said he heard gunshots and looked outside to see Rye holding a gun.
'It was little scary,' Davis said. 'I didn't know what kind of mood he was in. I didn't want to say anything to him.'"

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ABC13.com: Court gets last laugh on man who tried to pay fine with pennies: "By The Associated Press
(8/03/05 - MOORHEAD, MN) — A man ticketed for speeding thought he'd get even by paying his fine with 12,000 pennies.
But the judge had the final word by making him wait for the change to be counted.
'If the person is mad at the cop, why take it out on court administration?' said Clay County District Judge John Pearson. 'They're punishing the wrong people.'
Rather than count the small garbage can full of pennies by hand, Court Administrator Jan Cosette took them to the bank, where they were put in a counting machine. She returned with $120 in cash and some extra pennies, which were given to the Seattle man, who waited in the courthouse.
He was cited for driving 70 mph in a 55 mph zone March 5. "

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5 kittens accidentally shipped to Vermont
"By Associated Press
VERGENNES, Vt. --A worker in the returns department at Country Home Products got a return and a surprise when he opened a brush trimmer sent back from South Carolina. Inside the box was the trimmer - and five kittens.
The kittens survived the bumpy and hot two-day trip to Vermont and are doing fine.
The South Carolina customers returned the trimmer, a gas-powered contraption on wheels that cuts grass, weeds and brush, because they wanted a field and brush mower instead, said Deb Peters, who works in the Country Home Products returns department. The box had been stored in a barn a mile from the South Carolinians' home, and they apparently sealed the box without looking inside, Peters said.
FedEx shipped the box containing the trimmer and the kittens from South Carolina, and it arrived in Vergennes about noon Wednesday.
'My co-worker Alan Bean opened the box. Something moved. He jumped; and he looked in again and there was five kittens,' Peters said. 'Three black ones, a gray one and one that looked like a Siamese.'
Country Home employees dashed to the nearby Vergennes Animal Hospital and returned with bottles of kitten formula, which the kittens devoured.
The 3-week-old kittens were taken to Addison County Humane Society in Middlebury, where they met Hazel, a black domestic cat whose kittens had just been weaned. Hazel is a now a surrogate mother to the kittens, providing a steady diet until they can eat solid food, said Jill Tucker, executive director of the Humane Society"

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Women Pushing Car Charged With DUI - Yahoo! News: "PORTAGE, Ind. - Two women who took turns steering a broken-down vehicle face drunk driving charges after their slow-moving car crashed into a parked car.
Kaylyn Kezy, 34, of Gary, was pushing the disabled car, while Melissa Fredenburg, 32, of Chesterton, steered from the passenger seat, police said. The two were moving the car into a parking lot at a nearby motel early Friday in the city about 10 miles east of Gary.
Police said both women had a blood-alcohol levels of 0.17 percent, more than twice the state's legal limit to drive.
Authorities said the women were operating the vehicle while intoxicated — even though the car's engine wasn't working.
A prosecutor acknowledged the charges could be difficult to prosecute in court.
'The statute and case law supports (a DUI charge) ... but it will be interesting to see,' said Deputy Prosecutor Adam Burroughs, who authorized the charges.
Burroughs said that the office had prosecuted drunken drivers who were stopped in restaurant drive-through lanes or who were on private property. Bicycles and motorized wheelchairs are about the only vehicles in which a person would be unlikely to face a drunken-driving charge, he said."

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Who wouldn't fall for such a clever trick? - Yahoo! News: "Mon Jul 25, 9:04 AM ET

PALERMO, Italy (Reuters) - An Italian couple stole 50,000 euros from a woman in the Sicilian city of Palermo after convincing her they were vampires who would impregnate her with the son of the Anti-Christ if she did not pay them.
The man, a cabaret singer, and his girlfriend took the money from their victim over four years by selling her pills at 3,000 euros each that they said would abort the Anti-Christ's son.
Police uncovered the fraud after the 47-year-old woman's family became concerned when they discovered she had spent all her savings, local news agencies AGI and ANSA reported. "

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Farmer killed by falling cow - Yahoo! News: "Tue Jul 26,10:03 AM ET

ZAGREB (Reuters) - A Croatian farmer was killed when a cow he was about to milk fell and crushed him, local media reported Tuesday.
The unfortunate 61-year-old farmer, from the village of Cadjavacki Lug in central Croatia, went into the stable where his family keeps nine cows, as he had every morning for the past 20 years, the Vecernji List newspaper reported.
'I think he slipped, grabbed the milking machine and knocked it over. That must have frightened the cow, which slipped and fell on top of him,' his distraught daughter-in-law, who was in the stable with him, told the daily.
'It took me and the rest of the family almost three minutes to get the cow off him.'
She said the cow, named Lara, had been very meek and that even children could milk her without fear. The newspaper did not say what had become of the cow. "

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What do you suppose he thought would happen? - Yahoo! News: "Tue Jul 26,10:01 AM ET

SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Reuters) - A Texas man was arrested on Monday after calling police to complain about the theft of his marijuana, authorities said.
Stephen Knight, 17, said three men had broken into his apartment, hogtied him with Christmas lights and stole some marijuana, along with a plasma screen television, police said.
Police are looking for the suspects. In the meantime, they arrested Knight after finding several marijuana plants growing under heat lamps in the apartment, four grams of harvested marijuana and a tablet of ecstasy, Officer Chad Ripley said.
Knight said the men barged into his home early on Monday morning demanding, 'Where's the weed?,' according to San Antonio police. "

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I love judges like this!Man Forced to Wear Sign for Animal Cruelty - Yahoo! News: "Fri Jul 22, 8:26 PM ET

HOPWOOD, Pa. - A western Pennsylvania man said he endured more than he expected when he agreed to an unusual sentence for an animal cruelty conviction.
Ulysses Zimmerman, 22, of Point Marion, pleaded guilty to animal cruelty for allegedly neglecting his dog, denying it veterinary care and strangling the animal.
But Zimmerman didn't pay a fine or spend time in jail. Instead, he stood at a busy intersection in South Union Township Thursday, wearing a sign that read, 'I Plead Guilty ... Animal Cruelty is a Crime ... My Dog's Name WAS Salt and Pepper.'
Zimmerman was supposed to stand at the intersection for eight hours, but Robin Moore, the Fayette County Humane officer who devised the sentence, allowed Zimmerman to leave early because of all the abuse passing motorists hurled at him.
'Everybody started screaming at me and cussing me. I got there at 9:30 a.m., but Robin said at noon that she'd heard enough and that I could leave,' Zimmerman said.
Zimmerman denies he intentionally hurt his pet."

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Firefighters Tear Apart Wrong Vehicle - Yahoo! News: "Fri Jul 22, 8:17 PM ET

ALBANY, N.Y. - Albany firefighters were tearing apart a minivan as part of a training exercise when someone noticed the personal items inside. That's when they realized they had trashed the wrong vehicle.
This week, Albany officials approved the city's share of the $12,000 bill for the 2002 Dodge Caravan that was mistakenly ripped open during a drill at a junk yard a year ago.
Officials say the firefighters routinely practice accident scene rescue techniques by tearing open donated junked cars. In June 2004, they were supposed to practice on an older vehicle located on another part of junk yard.
Instead, they used the Jaws of Life to tear open a three-year-old minivan that was at the business to undergo repairs.
The owner of the junk yard admitted its role in the mistake and is splitting the cost of the van with the fire department."

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Mom With Headache Lets Son Drive to School - Yahoo! News: "Fri Jul 22, 8:15 PM ET

FONTANA, Calif. - A 13-year-old boy drove to school because mom had a headache. A school security supervisor caught the boy behind the wheel when he pulled up Tuesday morning in the staff parking lot at Ruth Harris Middle School, police Sgt. William Megenney said.
The mother and son live in San Bernardino, about 14 miles away from the school.
When the school officer called his home, his mother Ricela Perez, 35, said, 'I had a headache and didn't want to drive to school, so I let him drive.'
The mother and son each received misdemeanor traffic tickets: Perez for loaning her vehicle to an unlicensed driver and the teenager for driving without a license.
'The officer was extremely nice in this case because he actually could have arrested the mother for child endangerment,' Megenney said."

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Police send nude shopper home with warning - Yahoo! News: "Wed Jul 20, 9:03 AM ET

BERLIN (Reuters) - German police let a nearly naked shopper go home after she told them she was getting groceries in the nude because she lost a spin the bottle contest, a police spokesman in Cologne said Wednesday.
'We're a tolerant city that is open to the world,' said spokesman Burkard Jahn. 'She could have been arrested for disturbing the peace, but we decided to let her go home with a verbal warning to dress appropriately next time.'
The 35-year-old Cologne woman entered the 24-hour shop at 4 a.m. wearing nothing but an unbuttoned jeans jacket, Jahn said. He said police decided to let her go because few people and presumably no small children saw her at that time of day. "

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Double happiness as panda gives birth to twins - Yahoo! News: "Wed Jul 6, 3:02 AM ET

BEIJING (Reuters) - A giant panda at a Chinese reserve has given birth to twins and mother and offspring are doing well, the China Daily said on Wednesday.
Pandas normally only rear one cub at a time and Ying Ying, who lived in the Wolong panda reserve in southwest Sichuan province, had chosen one of her new babies to care for, the paper said without specifying the twins' sex.
Park staff would raise the other and return it to its mother later, the report said.
'This marks the beginning of the year's breeding season for China's captive giant pandas,' Cao Qingyao, a State Forestry Administration spokesperson, was quoted as saying.
A picture showed a park staff member petting one of the tiny newborn cubs, its eyes still sealed shut and thin white fur covering its pink skin.
The Wolong reserve is one of the few places in the world that has had consistent success expanding its population of pandas, which are notoriously difficult to breed in captivity.
More than 70 panda cubs had been born at the reserve, 61 of which had survived, the newspaper said.
The giant panda is one of the world's most endangered species, with fewer than 1,600 living in the wild in western China. "

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Air France plane hits cow in Nigeria - Yahoo! News: "Wed Jul 6, 6:59 AM ET

PARIS (Reuters) - An Air France passenger jet with more than 190 people on board struck a cow shortly after landing at the coastal city of Port Harcourt, a spokeswoman for the airline said on Wednesday.
The jet hit the animal which had strayed onto the runway shortly after the regular flight landed with 196 passengers on board.
'The plane hit the cow after landing but there is absolutely no problem. Nobody was hurt,' a spokeswoman said.
Port Harcourt is the centre of Nigeria's oil industry. "

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Couple Sentenced for Hiring Son a Stripper - Yahoo! News: "Fri Jul 8,10:59 AM ET

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A couple pleaded guilty Thursday to hiring a stripper for their son's 16th birthday party and were sentenced to two years probation.
Landon and Anette Pharris, who were charged with contributing the delinquency of a minor, also were ordered to take parenting classes.
The parents hired the stripper to perform at a September party attended by about a dozen young people.
Cassandra Joyce Park, 29, who police say used the stage name 'Sassy,' danced for a few hours before partygoers took up a collection and paid her $150 more to fully disrobe, Anette Pharris said.
The stripper and the man she was with were also granted probation.
Police were tipped off to the party by a photo developer at a drug store who saw pictures of the occasion.
Pharris said after being arrested that she tried to do something special for her son.
'We even had grandpa there,' she said."

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Burglar Plunges Through Store's Ceiling - Yahoo! News: "Fri Jul 8, 9:23 PM ET

MINNEAPOLIS - A man's attempt to steal from a SuperAmerica store in downtown Minneapolis this week fell through. Literally. The burglar plunged through the false ceiling of the store early Wednesday morning, startling an employee who was cleaning up. The burglar then tried to climb back out.
Instead, he got tangled in some wires. That's how the police found him.
'When the police come in, he's dangling from the ceiling,' said Lt. Michael Kjos. 'He might not have been thinking real clearly at the time.'
The 24-year-old man told police he was hungry.
Willie Nelson was charged with third-degree attempted burglary. He was released pending his next court appearance, scheduled for July 14.
According to the criminal complaint, a guard claimed to see Nelson pound on the front door of the store after closing time.
Somehow, Nelson later got onto the roof of the store. When the employee saw a foot burst through the ceiling tiles, the employee ran outside and hailed a passing police car."

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Ohio man charged with exposing his breasts - Yahoo! News: "Thu Jul 7,12:46 PM ET

CHICAGO (AFP) - An Ohio man with the breasts of a woman has been charged with indecent exposure after he was spotted shirtless.
'He's a guy. He's real tall, and he's got a full set of breasts,' assistant Cincinnati solicitor Kevin Donovan told the Cincinnati Post.
Jerome Mason, 23, was spotted shirtless by police at 1:00 am on April 22. Since then, the 6-foot, 200-pound man's case has floundered in the courts because he has failed to meet with his court-appointed attorney.
But public defender Michael Welsh said the charges really ought to be dropped.
'It's not illegal for a man to expose his breasts,' Welsh told the Cincinnati Post.
'It's also not even technically illegal for a woman to expose her breasts (in public),' he said Thursday."

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Strippers Arrested in Alleged Spanking - Yahoo! News: "Sun Jul 10,12:03 PM ET

JACKSONVILLE, Ark. - Three strippers and two nightclub managers have been arrested for allegedly spanking a trucker at his 31st birthday bash and severely bruising his backside.
After his friends paid $25, Keith Lowery was handcuffed and spanked with a 3-foot-long paddle and a belt while one of the strippers restrained his head with her legs, investigators with the Pulaski County Sheriff's Office said.
Kelly Eslick, 21, a stripper at Sensations nightclub in Jacksonville, northeast of Little Rock, admitted to police that she used a paddle drilled with holes for less air resistance while the two other dancers, Lisa Nolen, 23, and Charlene Smith, 23, used the belt.
The three women were charged with misdemeanor battery, and they and two other club employees — James Daugherty, 31, and Dena Mitchell, 30 — were charged with participating in an obscene performance at a live public show, a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
Daugherty had planned to have patrons sign a waiver releasing the club from liability, but investigators said the club has agreed to discontinue all spankings. All five club employees were arraigned Friday, then released after receiving an Aug. 4 court date in Pulaski County District Court."

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Melon causes truck crash; 1 dead, 30 hurt - Yahoo! News: "PHNOM PENH (Reuters) - A melon caused a Cambodian truck to overturn, killing one person and injuring 30, officials said Thursday.

The melon rolled under the truck's brake pedal and the vehicle overturned as the driver tried to unjam it, they said.
The overloaded truck, which crashed Wednesday, was carrying workers, fruits and vegetables from a local market in the remote and hilly northeastern province of Mondulkiri.
'The driver could not use the brake to slow the truck,' policeman Ieng Tum told Reuters by telephone.
'The truck overturned as the driver was trying to get the fruit out from under the pedal brake,' he said. "

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Calif. Prankster Changing Traffic Lights - Yahoo! News: "Wed Jun 22,10:15 PM ET


SUNNYVALE, Calif. - A tech-savvy prankster has been tampering with traffic lights in this Silicon Valley town, turning them off and rejigging wires so the lights flash red in all directions.
The prankster also has surreptitiously turned traffic lights to face the wrong way, mixed up the audible crosswalk signals that help guide the blind and thrown off the timing of lights to delay drivers.
City officials have launched a publicity campaign in hopes of thwarting the unknown crafty engineer, who has evaded the law for months.
The trickster has been performing antics for three months and has used a key to open control boxes and reprogram the lights. Most audaciously, he or she recently used a cherry-picker truck to turn an overhead signal across a busy intersection — but no residents or city officials reported any unusual activity.
No one has been hurt because of the pranks. Nonetheless, after ruling out insiders who work for the traffic division, Sunnyvale officials are asking residents to put down their cell phones and handheld computers and look for anyone tinkering with lights."

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Pizza Shop Robber Leaves Job Application - Yahoo! News: "Wed Jun 22, 8:51 PM ET


LAS VEGAS - A man accused of holding up a pizza parlor left behind a job application with his real name and address, authorities said. 'I would chalk it up to either inexperience or plain stupidity,' Clark County prosecutor Frank Coumou told the Las Vegas Review-Journal for a Wednesday report.
Alejandro Martinez, 23, of Las Vegas, was being held Wednesday at the Clark County jail pending a Monday appearance in Clark County District Court. He faces felony burglary and robbery with a weapon charges in the May 25 heist.
Authorities said Martinez ordered a pizza and started filling out the application before displaying a gun and demanding money. The clerk handed over $200.
Outside, a witness wrote down the license plate number of a getaway car, leading police to Martinez' home.
Martinez' lawyer, Deputy Public Defender James Ruggeroli, said authorities have the wrong man. He said said the pizza shop clerk couldn't identify Martinez as the robber, and the job application was not presented as evidence at a preliminary hearing."

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Gas Station Owner Cashes in $1.4M Pennies - Yahoo! News: "Thu Jun 23, 4:56 PM ET


FLOMATON, Ala. - Edmond Knowles started out saving pennies in a 5-gallon can. Thirty-eight years later, he was storing them in four 55-gallon drums and three 20-gallon drums — nearly 1.4 million in all.
Knowles, who runs a gas station, cashed them in Wednesday, pocketing $13,804.59 after they were counted at a bank.
'It's just something that happened,' he said. 'I started so long ago that I don't even remember why.'
He got some help along the way from customers at Ed's Service Station.
'Customers would come by and say: `Ed, throw these in your drum,'' he said.
Coinstar Inc., a company that maintains coin-counting machines in banks and supermarkets, said Knowles' 1,380,459 pennies breaks the record of 1,048,013 held by Eugene J. Sukie of Barberton, Ohio.
Coinstar spokesman George White said the company's research and U.S. Census data indicate that coins worth more than $10 billion are sitting idle in American homes. White said the amount collected by Knowles is about the same amount that passes through a person's hands over the years. 'Ed just took the time to close his hand,' said White."

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Cats use fax as toilet, spark Japan house fireFri Jun 10, 6:55 AM ET
TOKYO (Reuters) - Two kittens picked the wrong place to relieve themselves when they urinated on a fax machine, sparking a fire that extensively damaged their Japanese owner's house.
Investigators in the western city of Kobe have concluded that the fire in January was caused by a spark generated when the urine soaked the machine's electrical printing mechanism.
The fire damaged the kitchen and living room before it was put out by the house's owner, who was treated for mild smoke inhalation, said Masahito Oyabu, a fireman at the Nagata fire station in central Kobe.
The kittens quickly ran to safety, he added.
"If you have a cat, or a dog for that matter, be careful where they urinate," Oyabu said. "Especially keep them away from electrical appliances and wires."

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"Drink or die, driver told
30/05/2005 13:47 - (SA)

Johannesburg - A truck driver was recovering from alcohol poisoning in hospital in Witbank after being forced to drink two bottles of brandy during a hijacking near Delmas, Mpumalanga police said on Monday.
'Four bogus policemen stopped the truck driver on Friday night about 22:00 and asked him to get out of the vehicle so they could check his fingerprints. When he refused, they allegedly assaulted him and forced him to drink two 750ml of brandy, or die.
'After drinking the two bottles, he had a black-out,' Captain Abie Khoabane said.
The man woke up along the highway on Saturday morning, barely able to walk, suffering from a severe hangover and with his truck missing.
He continued to sleep till Sunday, when he was able to walk to the nearest police station, Khoabane said.
Police have recovered the truck and arrested one of the suspected robbers.
The remaining three were still at large. They allegedly drive a white Golf with police markings and have police appointment cards.
The unidentified truck driver was still at hospital, reportedly in a stable condition.
'This is a new modus operandi. They force people to drink the brandy - without as much as a dash or ice - in two minutes or die.
'The victims usually can't remember much of the incident,' Khoabane said. "

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Mom Indicted for Hiring Stripper for Son - Yahoo! News: "NASHVILLE, Tenn. - A mother faces criminal charges after she hired a stripper to dance at her 16-year-old son's birthday party. Anette Pharris, 34, has been indicted by a grand jury on charges of contributing to the delinquency of a minor and involving a minor in obscene acts. The boy's father, the stripper and two others also face charges.
'I tried to do something special for my son,' Pharris said. 'It didn't harm him.'
About 10 people under the age of 18 were at the birthday party in September, including minors who were not related to the family, authorities said.
Police spokesman Don Aaron said minors are not permitted in adult establishments.
'A person shouldn't be allowed to circumvent that law by hiring a stripper, a lady who took all her clothes off and spent a good amount of time dancing around minors,' he said.
Anette Pharris took photos at the party and tried to have them developed at a nearby drug store. Drug store employees notified authorities, police said.
'Who are they to tell me what I can and can't show to my own children?' the mother said."

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Drivers in the drink after beer truck flips - Yahoo! News: "Wed May 11,11:43 AM ET
TORONTO (Reuters) - A truck hauling 2,000 cases of beer flipped over and unleashed a sea of suds onto Canada's busiest highway on Wednesday, in a scene that could have been lifted from the Canadian cliche handbook.
The early morning accident brought rush hour traffic to a standstill on highway 401 in north Toronto, as rescuers worked to free a woman trapped in the small car that collided with the tractor trailer.
'Believe it or not with this crushed car, the young lady driving it is going to be okay,' Ontario Provincial Police Sgt. Cam Wooley told CP24 news.
'We've got sand down now absorbing the beer,' he added.
In Canada, beer is closely co-advertised with the national obsession of hockey and an enduring national stereotype is the McKenzie brothers, the 1980s-era comedy team of Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas who swilled beer and ended every sentence with 'eh?'.
Police said the beer-soaked sand would be scooped into bins and returned to the supplier for destruction. "

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Peruvian woman sinks teeth into robber's testicle - Yahoo! News: "Fri May 13, 4:04 PM ET
LIMA, Peru (Reuters) - A Peruvian woman sank her teeth into the testicles of a man who broke into her property to steal cattle and tried to rape her, leaving doctors no option but to lop one off, police and officials said on Friday.
'It looked like a dog bite. The man arrived with his right testicle dead and hanging by a thread ... there was nothing to do but cut it off,' said Hugo Jaime, a surgeon in the regional hospital in Huanuco in the Andes northeast of Lima.
The incident happened on Monday night in a remote village when Hermogenes Meza and 10 men broke tried to steal Elizabeth Coz's cattle.
Coz was not arrested because she acted out of self defence, the officer added. The men ran away when Coz and relatives started stoning them. "

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Man Claims Firing Over Drinking Wrong Beer - Yahoo! News: "MILLIKEN, Colo. - A former supervisor at a Budweiser distributorship says he was fired for drinking a Coors beer in public.
Ross Hopkins, 41, filed suit in Weld County District Court, saying American Eagle Distributing Co. has no right to tell him what kind of beer to drink when he is off-duty.
Hopkins said he was fired in May 2003 after the son-in-law of the distributorship owner saw him drinking Coors in a Greeley bar.
Jeff Bedingfield, an attorney for American Eagle, declined to discuss the specifics of the lawsuit but said 'there are two sides to every story.'
In its court response, American Eagle said Hopkins was fired 'for conduct that relates to a bona fide occupational requirement that is reasonably and rationally related to the employment activities and responsibilities of a particular employee.'
The court filing does not directly challenge Hopkins' claim that he was fired, at least in part, for drinking Coors in public."

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1010 WINS - Study: 600 Pre-school Kids Expelled In NY: "May 17, 2005 11:29 am US/Eastern
(1010 WINS) (NEW YORK) More than 600 kids are expelled from preschool in New York each year, according to a new study. That means preschoolers get kicked out at a rate nearly 18 times higher than that of kids from kindergarten to 12th grade. Preschoolers are generally three- and four-years-old.
The study shows that boys are four-and-a-half times more likely to get booted out than girls. Black children are twice as likely to get expelled as white or Hispanic preschoolers.
On average, six out of every one-thousand preschoolers are expelled from schools across the country.
In New York, the rate is nine out of every 1,000.
Preschool is not required in New York, so it's easier to remove a troublemaker than it would be in higher grades.
Roughly 42,000 kids attend preschool in New York.
The two-year study was done by Yale University researcher Walter Gilliam."

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ZUG: Comedy Articles: Prank Phone Call to Mapquest:
"MAPQUEST: Thank you for calling MapQuest...
JOHN HARGRAVE: I'M LOST!
MAPQUEST: [Long pause]
JH: I'm TOTALLY LOST from YOUR DIRECTIONS!
MAPQUEST: Um ... OK, I'm not sure what you want me to do about this.
JH: You can HELP ME! You're the MAP company, aren't you!?
MAPQUEST: We don't usually give directions over the phone.
JH: You work for MAPquest, right?
MAPQUEST: Yes.
JH: So can you look it up on one of your MAPS?
MAPQUEST: Well, I can try to help, but I have no idea where you are, sir.
JH: I'm trying to find 150 Clarendon Street.
MAPQUEST: I ... ah, I have no idea what city you are in, sir.
JH: THAT MAKES TWO OF US!
MAPQUEST: OK. Can you spell the name of the street?
JH: C-L-A-R-E-N-D-O-N. It's in Boston. I think I'm in Boston. But man, this is not a good area. MapQuest has really taken me to a bad part of town.
MAPQUEST: What street are you on now?
JH: HOW SHOULD I KNOW!? Your directions say "Bear left on UNNAMED ROAD." What does that even MEAN?
MAPQUEST: I have no idea. I'm guessing the street just doesn't have a name. I'm not trying to be smug, I just don't know.
JH: Is it really an unnamed road, or you just couldn't find the street sign?
MAPQUEST: You'd need to call our Denver office for that. They do the web site.
JH: Are you guys too lazy to figure out the name of the road? Why didn't you ask somebody?
MAPQUEST: Sir, could you stop and ask someone there for directions?
JH: No way. There's a group of Hispanic guys on the corner, and they look kind of angry. One of them has a razor blade around his neck.
MAPQUEST: Oh my.
JH: Hang on. Oh, I'm sorry, it's a locket. It looked like a razor blade. I caught a glint in the sun.
MAPQUEST: [Uncomfortably long pause]
JH: How we doing on those directions?
MAPQUEST: Can you spell the name of the street again for me?
JH: Oh, geez. One of them is coming over here.
[At this point, I played two parts.]
JH [as Hispanic guy]: What the FUCK are you looking at, amigos?
JH: Hi, I'm just trying to find directions...
JH [as Hispanic guy]: Why don't you get the FUCK out of here then?
JH: Right, I'm leaving. I'm sorry. Very sorry.
JH [as Hispanic guy]: ¡El ma's MapQuest es un servicio muy malo!
JH: [Back to the MapQuest lady] You've got to get me out of here. You've got to help me.
MAPQUEST: I'll try. I really apologize for any inconvenience. What street are you on?
JH: THE UNNAMED ROAD!
MAPQUEST: OK, what comes after the unnamed road?
JH: It says to turn left on St. James Ave. But it says 0.0 miles. What does that mean?
MAPQUEST: I really have no idea.
JH: Why would you tell me to go 0.0 miles? Doesn't that mean to stand in place?
MAPQUEST: Sir, do you have a phone number where you're trying to get to?
JH: Why?
MAPQUEST: Could you call and ask for directions?
JH: Great. Maybe you could just put a disclaimer on the end of MapQuest driving directions that says PLEASE IGNORE THESE USELESS DIRECTIONS AND JUST CALL FIRST.
MAPQUEST: I am trying to help you, sir.
JH: Who codes this stuff? Horses?
MAPQUEST: I really don't know. You'd have to contact them.
JH: The horses? I'd have to contact the horses?
MAPQUEST: OK, can you spell the name...
JH: Oh no. He's ... hang on. Hold on?
MAPQUEST: Yes.
JH: STAY AWAY FROM ME! NO! GET AWAY! [I was now running down a busy street in Boston, carrying my laptop and cellphone. Coincidentally, an ambulance drove by me with its sirens on as I was running, adding to the effect.]
MAPQUEST: Sir? SIR?
JH: Hang on. [Breathing heavily] You there? Are you still there?
MAPQUEST: I'm still here.
JH: I found a dumpster to hide under.
MAPQUEST: Are you OK?
JH: Oh no.
MAPQUEST: What?
JH: I left my 3 year old in the car!
MAPQUEST: YOU DID WHAT?!?
JH: Oh geez.
MAPQUEST: Sir, you HAVE to get back and help that child! You cannot leave your child in a bad neighborhood like that!
JH: I know! I panicked! This is all MapQuest's fault!
MAPQUEST: We need to help get you back right now. Do you want me to phone for help?
JH: Oh, you know what? Hang on. Aha ha ha. I see it. It's just right across the street. There it is!
MAPQUEST: You found it?
JH: There's 150 Clarendon. I was just across the street this whole time! That's great. That's just great. Thanks a lot.
MAPQUEST: You go back and get your child!
JH: Viva La MapQuest! Thanks for your help!"

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Bold thieves build complete ATM - Yahoo! News: "Fri May 6,12:18 PM ET

BUCHAREST (Reuters) - Audacious thieves in Romania have constructed a complete automated teller machine (ATM), minus the cash box, to steal the details of account holders, banking officials said.
Fake ATMs have appeared at apartment buildings or in areas of the capital where there are no banks, local papers reported.
Usually criminals only place a fake panel over an existing ATM, and do not construct a complete machine.
Police are investigating the incidents.
Romania's biggest bank, Banca Comerciala Romana (BCR), said customers should only use ATMs situated around bank branches. 'Banks do not install ATMs in blocks of flats,' BCR spokesman Cornel Cojocaru said. "

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Ky. Man Charged With Drunken Horse Riding - Yahoo! News:
"SOMERSET, Ky. - A man has been charged with drunken driving — for riding a horse while allegedly intoxicated. Millard Greg Dwyer, 42, was arrested Sunday night after he rode his horse onto a downtown street in front of an off-duty state trooper, Somerset Police Lt. Allan Coomer said.
Trooper Martin Wesley told local officers that Dwyer looked like he was about to fall off the horse.
Coomer said Dwyer admitted to being drunk and told officers that he had ridden the horse from Fishing Creek, which was about 5 miles away.
Dwyer told officers that he had consumed about a twelve pack, Coomer said. Dwyer failed sobriety tests, Coomer said, and was charged with operating a vehicle other than a motor vehicle under the influence of intoxicants.
A breath test showed Dwyer's alcohol level at .244, more than three times the limit, Coomer said.
Dwyer was released from the Pulaski County Dentention Center Monday, jail officials said. He faces a fine of between $20-$100, plus court costs, Coomer said.
Coomer said the arrest was 'very unusual,' but Somerset police have arrested others for similar violations, such as riding a bicycle and a lawn mower under the influence."

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Man Charged in Women's Underwear Theft - Yahoo! News: "Tue May 10, 5:57 PM ET

NEW WILMINGTON, Pa. - A man found outside a Westminster College dormitory over the weekend was arrested on charges of stealing the underwear of female students.
Police said James Brian Eberle, 32, was arrested Saturday near Shaw Hall dormitory and police found four pairs of women's panties and three bras stuffed into his pants. College officials had reported a suspicious man on campus days before.
Eberle was charged with burglary, criminal trespass, theft and receiving stolen property. He was freed on bond pending a May 17 preliminary hearing.
Eberle does not have a listed phone number and it was not immediately clear whether he had an attorney."

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Car Hits House, but Toddler Keeps Sleeping - Yahoo! News: "NORFOLK, Va. - Wild horses might be able to wake TaylorAnn Richason, but not mere horsepower. Her whole house shook early Tuesday when a car crashed into it, destroying a sheetrock wall just inches from the 3-year-old's bed. The toddler, uninjured, slept right through it.
Marsha Richason ran to her daughter's room to find steam wafting through it from the car's smashed radiator.
'There was an angel on my daughter's side,' she said.
The car slammed into the side of the Richasons' house about 2:30 a.m., punching a hole in the child's bedroom wall. Police had tried to pull over the car, and the driver took off, said Cpl. Kurt Stanton, a police spokesman. The driver then lost control and slammed into the Richason's home.
Stanton said the driver fled, but an injured passenger was apprehended but had not been charged.
The driver was identified as George David Denardo III, 19. He is wanted for felony hit and run, evasion and driving on a suspended license. Stanton said Denardo also had been wanted for failure to appear.
Besides a hole in their home, the Richason's did get something else from the ordeal.
'I got me a souvenir,' Travis Richason said, showing a crumpled license plate he found in a crawl space under their house after the car was towed."

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Pizza delivery ends prison siege - Yahoo! News: "Mon May 9, 1:53 PM ET


SYDNEY (Reuters) - An Australian prison siege ended Monday after a group of inmates agreed to release a guard they had held for two days in return for a delivery of pizzas, prison officials said.
A group of up to 20 inmates seized control of the reception area of the maximum security Risdon Prison in Hobart, capital of the southern island state of Tasmania, Saturday, demanding better treatment and improvements to the jail.
The siege was resolved in far less dramatic circumstances.
'Our staff member was negotiated out with the delivery of 15 pizzas,' Graeme Barber, Tasmania's director of prisons, told reporters.
The prisoners had earlier made a list of 24 demands. But none was so pressing as the need for a take-out meal and the guard was released unharmed not long after midnight.
About 20 prisoners, some being held as hostages, were involved in the siege. The last of the hostages was released by their pizza-filled captors early Monday.
Risdon Prison holds Martin Bryant, who was convicted of Australia's worst massacre of modern times when he shot dead 35 people in 1996 in the Tasmanian tourist town and former penal colony of Port Arthur. "

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Dog kills cat, court awards owner $45,000 - Yahoo! News: "Tue May 10,12:07 PM ET

SEATTLE (Reuters) - A woman who sued a neighbor after her cat was mauled by his dog was awarded more than $45,000, the Seattle woman's lawyer said on Monday.
Paula Roemer's cat Yofi was killed after her neighbor's dog broke through a fence in February 2004. The dog's owner, Wallace Gray, had pleaded guilty to animal-control violations in Seattle Municipal Court and admitted negligence.
Seattle District Court Judge Barbara Linde ordered Gray to pay Roemer a little over $45,000 for Yofi's death, including $30,000 for the value of the cat, $15,000 for emotional distress, and other charges.
Roemer's lawyer, Adam Karp, who specializes in animal cases, said that while multimillion-dollar judgments have been awarded over thoroughbred horses, her award was the highest for a pet in the United States that he was aware of. Roemer has said she would donate the money to animal welfare groups. "

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Yahoo! News - Officer on Toilet Accidentally Fires Gun: "Fri Apr 22, 6:59 AM ET

SAN ANTONIO - This is one story they'll be telling around the San Antonio Police Department for a long time. An off-duty officer was at a San Antonio auto auction house yesterday when nature called, a police spokesman said.
Officer Craig Clancy strolled to the appropriate facility and was lowering his trousers when his pistol fell from his waistband. When Clancy fumbled for the falling firearm, it went off, twice.
One of the bullets nicked a bit of floor tile into the leg of a man who was washing his hands nearby. That man was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.
Police internal affairs is investigating. "

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Yahoo! News - Man Gets Jail Instead of Ride From Police: "Sat Apr 23, 5:55 PM ET
STATESBORO, Ga. - Sgt. Jason Kearney sat in his marked patrol car Thursday, waiting for his colleagues to join him for lunch when Ron Stone asked him for a ride.
The Bulloch County deputy agreed to take Stone to his car, but first he insisted on searching Stone for weapons, said Sheriff Lynn Anderson.
'Stone told Sergeant Kearney to go ahead,' Anderson said.
But instead of packing a pistol, the 30-year-old Stone was packing pot — two small bags, Anderson said.
Stone told the uniformed officer he had spent the night at a friend's house and the marijuana was not his, police said.
Instead of a ride to his car, Stone got a ride to the Bulloch County Jail, where police later learned he was wanted in another county on an outstanding warrant for marijuana possession with intent to distribute. "

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Yahoo! News - Man Pleads Guilty in French Fries Rage:

DuBOIS, Pa. - A man who angrily berated fast-food employees when a drive-thru clerk told him the restaurant was out of french fries pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 45 days in jail.
Gregg Luttman, of DuBois, pleaded guilty to assault, resisting arrest, institutional vandalism and other charges stemming from the confrontation on New Year's Day at a Burger King restaurant.
Luttman made an obscene gesture at a drive-thru clerk, cursed at restaurant staff and nearly hit an employee with his truck after workers told Luttman the restaurant had run out of french fries and onion rings, said police in Sandy Township, Clearfield County.
When police tried to arrest Luttman, he scuffled with officer and kicked out the back window of a police cruiser, police said.
In addition to jail time, Luttman last week was fined $150 and ordered to serve two years' probation. "

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WMTW.com - News - Auburn Man Ordered To Pay Support For Child That's Not His: "POSTED: 6:42 am EDT April 24, 2005

AUBURN, Maine -- Maine officials are coming after a 35-year-old man who they said owes thousands in back child support for a child that is not his.
They said Geoffrey Fisher owes about $11,000 in child support to cover the time from the child's birth until paternity tests proved that Fisher was not the father.
They say Fisher failed to file a court motion three years ago that would have relieved him or any financial responsibilities for the child.
But Fisher said he's flabbergasted that the state sent him a letter seeking payment even though DNA tests have proven he isn't the father.
His attorney, James Howaniec, said he plans to file a motion to relieve Fisher of parental responsibilities. But he said Fisher could still be held responsible for past child support."

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Yahoo! News - Tornado Uncovers Pot Operation in Florida: "Thu Apr 14,11:20 AM ET
PALM BAY, Fla. - A tornado that ripped through Geoffrey Crook's home didn't just tear away his roof. Authorities say it exposed his elaborate marijuana-growing operation.
Crook, 41, was charged Tuesday with possession and manufacturing of cannabis after police officers served him with an arrest warrant at his job. He was released on $1,000 bond Tuesday night.
The operation had lamps, hydroponic equipment and log books. Fifty-four marijuana plants neatly arranged in the master bedroom had a street value of about $8,000, authorities said.
The operation was uncovered in February after a twister, with winds whipping up to 112 mph, tore away Crook's roof.
Palm Bay police and other emergency crews were searching through the debris for injured victims when they came across the 2- to 3-foot plants. Crook was not at home during the storm.
Crook had a disconnected telephone number and couldn't be reached for comment Wednesday. "

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Driver Uses Car To Keep Trucker Off Freeway: "Truck Driver Later Charged With DWI
POSTED: 10:56 am CDT April 14, 2005
CASTLE CREEK, N.Y. -- A New York man who says he lost a close friend to a drunken driver -- and didn't want to see it happen to anyone else -- used his car to block a tractor-trailer from pulling onto a highway because he thought the trucker was drunk.
Michael Scanlon's vehicle wound up being rammed by the truck.
State police said Scanlon saw the truck hit the overhead canopy at a gas station Wednesday north of Binghamton, N.Y. The father of four followed the truck and blocked its path as it tried to get on Interstate 81.
A short time after the truck rammed Scanlon's car, troopers arrived and arrested the trucker. The Canadian truck driver was charged with driving while intoxicated and reckless driving. "

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Pawned Computer Had Child Porn Pictures: "Apr 12, 2005 7:26 am US/Eastern
(1010 WINS) MILFORD, Conn. A Milford pawn shop owner is credited with directing police to an alleged child porn suspect.
Police say a 43-year-old New Haven man left 304 images of child pornography on a computer he brought into a pawn shop. Gary Bremer was arrested over the weekend.
Police say Bremer was trying to get cash when he sold his laptop to National Pawn in November of 2003. The store's owner spotted child pornography on the laptop last June.
Milford police were contacted and Bremer was arrested on child pornography charges Saturday, ending a nine-month investigation.
Bremer faces charges of possession of child pornography and importing child pornography.
He was released from police custody on a written promise to appear April 26th in Milford Superior Court."

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local6.com - Automotive - Hacked Highway Sign Sets Speed Limit At 100 MPH: "Message Changed On Construction Sign
POSTED: 9:24 am EDT April 8, 2005
VIENNA TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- The message was too good to be true.
An electronic highway sign on Interstate 75 in Michigan told drivers: 'Speed limit 100 mph go go go.'
For months, the signboard in Genesee County had been alerting commuters to construction that starts this month.
Someone hacked the sign, which is controlled by a computer through a subcontractor.
State highway officials say they're investigating who changed it and how.
The speed limit in the area is 70.
Bill Shreck, a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Transportation, said officials 'weren't amused' by the traffic message."

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Local10.com - News - Man Seriously Burned When He Falls Asleep While Cooking: "POSTED: 2:45 pm EDT April 5, 2005
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. -- A South Florida man was seriously burned Tuesday when he fell asleep while cooking.
Hollywood fire spokesman Matt Phillips said the man suffered burns on 38 percent of his body.
The man dozed off while he was heating cooking oil on his stovetop. Phillips said when the man woke up, he knocked the pan onto himself, causing the burns.
Fire Rescue quickly put out the fire. It didn't affect any of the other apartments in the complex.
The injured man was taken to a hospital and will be transferred to the Tampa Burn Center. "

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Yahoo! News - Preschooler Helps Save Home From Fire: "Fri Apr 1, 5:35 PM ET
By The Associated Press
SAN DIEGO - A 4-year-old boy riding his bike near his saw smoke coming from a house and notified a mail carrier in time to save the home from flames.

Preschooler Bailey Couturier was riding around noon Thursday when he saw smoke coming from a house.
Bailey tracked down a mail carrier, who called 911 on a cell phone.
'He told the mailman, 'I'm not kidding! I'm not kidding! I'm not kidding! There's a fire!'' said Bailey's grandmother, Paula Couturier.
Fire fighters arrived at the home and extinguished the fire, which started in a wood pile in front of the house, before it destroyed the home.
The flames discolored an exterior brick wall and cracked the driveway.
Louisa Lopez, 29, was returning to work from her home when her husband called to say the house was on fire.
When she arrived home, Bailey said, 'Excuse me, excuse me! Your house got caught on fire!'
Lopez and her husband said they will find a way to thank Bailey for saving their home. "

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Yahoo! News - Car Hood Pops Open, but Men Keep Driving: "Fri Apr 1, 8:22 PM ET
CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Two men traveling on Interstate 380 ended up in jail because the hood of their car popped open. The men were heading south of I-380 on Tuesday when the hood open and covered the windshield, the Linn County sheriff's office said.

Instead of pulling over to fix the problem, the men stuck their heads out the windows so they could see the road and kept going at about 55 mph, officials said.
Two Linn County deputies on patrol took note, and pulled them over.
They arrested the driver, Travis Williams, 25, of Cedar Rapids, on suspicion of driving under suspension, and no proof of insurance. The passenger, Brandon Calmese, 27, of Cedar Rapids, was arrested on a parole violation warrant from Illinois.
Both men were taken to jail. Williams was released Thursday afternoon. Calmese remained in jail on the Illinois warrant.
'It's a little bit hard to drive with the hood of the car laid over the window,' Sheriff Don Zeller said. "

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Yahoo! News - Burglar Takes Items, but Then Cleans Up: "Fri Apr 1, 9:10 PM ET
RICHMOND, Va. - A woman's apartment was cleaned out, and cleaned up by a burglar, police said. According to police, the woman returned home Thursday after being away for a week and discovered her television, computer and other items missing. The burglar had also helped himself to food and booze.

But this was not a thoughtless thief. Police said the rear sliding glass door, which the woman had left open, was closed and locked when she returned. In addition, 'clothes and dishes had been washed and dried,' according to the police report.
Police Capt. Karl Leonard said it's possible the burglar knew the woman was going to be gone for a while and may have decided to take up residence in the interim.
'They probably didn't want to stay in a dirty apartment,' said Leonard, calling the case 'very, very unusual.'
'We've had burglaries in the past where people have fixed themselves a sandwich,' he added. 'But nobody's ever done the wash.' "

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Yahoo! News - Error Puts Strippers on Public Access TV: "Sat Apr 2, 1:49 AM ET
POUGHKEEPSIE, N.Y. - Viewers expecting to see the latest local meeting on their public access channel got an eyeful recently when Cablevision played a tape of nude dancers accidentally.

The mistake affected customers in parts of Dutchess, Ulster, Putnam and Orange counties.
Hopewell Junction resident George Morton returned home from Palm Sunday Mass and turned on his television to see a striptease contest.
'I thought, this is terrible,' Morton said. 'I don't get HBO or anything like that.'
Cablevision said Thursday it was not a public access program and that a 'program switching error' occurred.
'When it was detected, the programming was removed immediately,' Cablevision spokesman Bill Powers said. 'We have taken appropriate steps to prevent this from happening again.'
Morton said he planned to file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission. "

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Yahoo! News - Men beware: withholding sex can be grounds for separation, alimony: "Thu Mar 24, 2:26 PM ET
ROME (AFP) - Seven years of withholding sex went too far in the eyes of an Italian court, which ordered a Sicilian man to pay alimony to his wife for refusing conjugal relations.

The man, whose name was given only as Francesco, decided to punish his wife Piera after she opposed him in a family argument -- a punishment that lasted seven years.
The highest Italian appeals court called the man's actions -- or rather, inactions -- an 'offence to her dignity,' and said it constituted grounds for separation.
The court also ordered him to pay alimony to his now former wife and their children, born when their marriage saw happier times, and carry the legal costs of the case.
'The refusal to have sexual and affectionate relations over seven years with his wife constitutes a very serious offence to her dignity and has caused frustration with serious consequences for her psychological equilibrium,' the court judgement stated.
The behaviour is a violation of article 143 of the civil code which imposes a duty of moral and material assistance between husband and wife, the court ruled."

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Yahoo! News - Calif. Inmate Swallows Handcuff Key: "Fri Mar 25, 6:30 PM ET
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. - A jail inmate swallowed his key to freedom. During a sweep of the high-security wing of the county jail, deputies discovered that Jose Angel Juarez had swallowed a handcuff key and set off the metal detector during a walkthrough screening.

Deputies weren't sure what set off the detector, but they knew the cause was in Juarez's midsection. A 1 1/2-inch handcuff key could be seen in Juarez's belly after deputies ordered him to take an X-ray.
'It's our belief that the inmate would be using this to escape from custody,' Lt. Craig Wilson said, adding that authorities don't know where Juarez got the key.
Juarez, 29, is awaiting trial on felony charges of conspiracy, assault with a deadly weapon, kidnapping, robbery and carjacking, stemming from a Dec. 18, 2003, robbery of Farm Fresh Produce.
His alleged partner in the robbery, Francisco Antonio Alvarado, 25, pleaded guilty in October to robbery, conspiracy, assault and receiving stolen property and was sentenced to 10 years, four months in prison."

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Easter Bunny Gets Pummeled by Boy at Mall: "Sat Mar 26,12:59 PM ET


BAY CITY, Mich. - The Easter Bunny is hopping mad. Bryan Johnson, who portrays the furry character at the Bay City Mall, says he was pummeled in an unprovoked attack on the job. Police say the attacker was a 12-year-old boy who sat on Johnson's lap the day before the March 18 incident.

Johnson, 18, suffered a bloody nose. He kept his cool during the attack, deeming it inappropriate for the Easter Bunny to fight back. But he's not willing to forgive and forget.
'They (the sheriff's deputies) told me it was up to me, and I feel that the boy should be prosecuted,' Johnson told The Bay City Times.
Johnson told Bay County Sheriff's deputies that the boy hit him in the face at least six times before running away.
Bay County Sheriff John E. Miller said the youth has been in trouble in the past. The case will be forwarded to the Bay County prosecutor's office next week for action, he said.
Johnson, meanwhile, is back on the job at the mall, where he had been working as the Easter Bunny for about a week before the attack.
'I just like getting the kids to laugh and have fun,' he said. His job is to get his picture taken with children and make them laugh. That can be difficult because he is not allowed to speak while in costume.
Johnson said his 12-year-old attacker seemed perfectly happy the day before the incident. "Yeah, he came up and said, 'Hi,' and was sitting on my lap and talking," Johnson said. "He seemed OK."
But when he saw Johnson the next day, the boy didn't want to talk.
"He just started hitting," Johnson said."

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Yahoo! News - Runway Scarecrow Machine Lost in Translation: "Wed Mar 23,10:24 AM ET
BEIJING (Reuters) - China imported a U.S.-made scream machine to scare away the birds at Beijing airport -- except they didn't recognize the noises and refused to budge.

The bird-dispersing equipment had recorded the screams of American birds or the sounds of the birds' natural enemies, the Beijing Evening News said.
'Local birds did not understand the foreign language,' the newspaper said.
So Chinese experts 'translated' the U.S. bird noises into those of their Chinese counterparts.
'The workers have already recorded six or seven bird screams which are common in Beijing,' it said, adding that the new scare tactics were undergoing tests. "

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