Baby placenta facial treatments

Dubai - Beauty-conscious women in Dubai are being targeted by a controversial product claimed to make them look younger made from newborn baby placenta. British therapist Mona Mirza says new customers walk through the doors of her Dubai clinic almost every day, as word spreads of the new procedure. ?The main reason why human placenta is effective is because it is bio-identical to our own physiology,? she said. And while adult skin will continue mimicking the placenta cells for about three months, the treatment is not cheap. A 60-minute session costs around $307.---...More

Bingo caller told to cut ?fat ladies?

UK - A bingo caller has been advised to stop using phrases such as ?two fat ladies? for fear of offending his audience. John Sayers, who runs charity games in Sudbury, Suffolk, says he was told by a council clerk the traditional bingo call could upset some players. A town council spokeswoman said it was ?sad? they had to give the advice but they had to be ?politically correct?. ?The concern was that if there might be two large ladies in the audience when I said ?two fat ladies 88? or someone might think I was looking at their legs when I said ?legs 11?,? he said. ---...More

Pa. student suspended for wearing Santa suit

WALLINGFORD, Pa. (AP) -- A suburban Philadelphia teenager was suspended for a day for wearing a Santa Claus suit to school---...More

Man pays $72 for a taco, says 'Merry Christmas'

SANDUSKY, Ohio (AP) -- So much for the value menu. A Taco Bell manager in Ohio says a man who appeared drunk walked into the restaurant earlier this week and handed him $72 for just one taco. The manager tells police near the northern Ohio town of Sandusky that the customer who seemed to be in his early 20s refused to take back the money and told workers "Merry Christmas.----...More

Attorney sued after biting off part of man's nose

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- A Memphis attorney bit off part of a man's nose during a fight in a restaurant bathroom. A lawsuit filed by Greg Herbers claims attorney Mark Lambert attacked him last June after Herbers asked two men in a bathroom stall to get out so that he could use it---...More

Wis. teen will need legal permission to date girls

APPLETON, Wis. (AP) -- A Wisconsin teenager will need legal permission to date girls for the next three years after he was convicted of fleeing to Tennessee with his girlfriend in a stolen car---...More

Aussie, Chinese officials urge pandas to reproduce

ADELAIDE, Australia (AP) -- Australian and Chinese officials urged two bamboo-munching giant pandas on Sunday to consider reproducing during their 10-year residency Down Under---...More

Woman plans to be a graduate, bride on same day

CLINTON, Iowa (AP) -- A 34-year-old Florida woman plans to be a graduate and bride on the same day in Iowa. Tricia Giordano said she has always been the kind of person who loves to stay busy. She was scheduled to get her degree on Saturday afternoon at Ashford University in Clinton, Iowa. Shortly after that, she planned to head across campus to the chapel and swap her cap and gown for a wedding dress--...More

Man Attacks Italian PM, Breaks Nose and Teeth

Italy - Police in Italy say a man with a history of mental problems hit Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi in the face with a statue Sunday. Mr. Berlusconi was taken to a hospital with a broken nose, two broken teeth, and a cut lip. Doctors say they want to keep him in the hospital overnight for observation. Mr. Berlusconi was signing autographs and shaking hands after a rally in Milan Sunday. His attacker moved close enough to throw a small statue at the prime minister?s face. Mr. Berlusconi covered his face as security agents pushed him into his car. ----...More

Shopper gets scratch on new car, sarcastic note

Lehigh Valley - Someone scratched a Luzerne County woman?s new car in the Lehigh Valley Mall parking lot and left her a note saying she deserved it for taking up two parking spaces, according to a Whitehall police report. Kulaga, 24, of Drums said she was in the mall for about four hours Sunday and around 4 p.m. returned to her car, where she found the note that read ?Your $30,000 car isn?t worth taking up two spaces? in purple ink. She found a fresh scratch on the front quarter panel on the passenger side of the car, police said.----...More

Sheriff: Bailiff unknowingly sold stolen wreaths

MANCHESTER, N.H. (AP) -- The Hillsborough County sheriff said a court bailiff sold stolen Christmas wreaths in the lobby of the Superior Court in Manchester. Sheriff James Hardy said the bailiff sold the wreaths after being asked to do so by an elderly woman who told the bailiff she had made them---...More

Mom of Ohio suspect: Pipe bombs are his hobby

AKRON - The mother of a former doctor accused of making pipe bombs in his northeast Ohio apartment says her son made the bombs to detonate in remote areas as a hobby. On Thursday, Mark Campano was ordered held without bond on a federal charge of illegal possession of a destructive device. Campano was taken into custody Nov. 23 after two explosions at his apartment complex in Cuyahoga Falls. Authorities say they seized about 35 pipe bombs plus firearms and ammunition.--...More

Man allegedly assaults wife over snow shoveling

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa (AP) -- Police arrested a man who allegedly assaulted his wife when she refused to help him shovel snow. Officers said they went to the residence early Wednesday afternoon after the 44-year-old woman said her husband struck her in the head with his chest and attempted to pull her out of the house---...More

Dutch man reports theft of Ecstasy pill collection

AMSTERDAM (AP) -- A man who said he spent two decades collecting Ecstasy pills of all colors and shapes as a hobby has turned to police for help after they were stolen - because he said some of them are poisonous---...More

Fla. woman accused of hitting man with raw steak

DUNNELLON, Fla. (AP) -- A 53-year-old was arrested after allegedly hitting a man in the head with a raw steak. According to a Marion County Sheriff's Office report, the man told deputies Elsie Egan repeatedly hit him with the uncooked meat and slapped his face after he refused a piece of sliced bread. The man said he wanted a bread roll---...More

Man Carves Tunnel for 14 Years to Park Near House

India - A man in India has proved that nothing?s impossible, not when you have the willpower and the right equipment. Frustrated with a hilly range that blocked easy access to his home, Ramchandra Das, a villager from Kewati, eastern Bihar, slugged away at the rocky mountain for 14 years creating a small tunnel. The tunnel, measuring 10 m in length and 4 m width, finally enabled Das to park his truck by his home. Prior to this, there was no convenient way for him to drive his vehicle to his house. ?I could not park my truck near my house since the mountain blocked my path. I had to leave my truck miles away, so I decided to do something about it myself.? ---...More

Scantily-clad 'David' decked out as St. Nick

BIG SPRING, Texas (AP) -- A Texas homeowner who adorned his front lawn with Michelangelo's "David" as a scantily clad Santa got more than just jolly laughs from his neighbors. Barry McBee said he was aiming to make people chuckle by adding a Santa hat and white beard to the 5-foot-tall replica of the Renaissance statue with six-pack abs - an image at odds with usual depictions of a fat, jolly St. Nick---...More

Iowa Kmart workers open tin can, find $10,000

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- When employees of a Des Moines Kmart store finally opened a red tin can that had been sitting on the customer service counter for four days, they got a $10,000 surprise. The can contained $10,380 in assorted bills. Employees called police after opening the can Friday---...More

Tenn. man arrested for allegedly drunk-dialing 911

MURFREESBORO, Tenn. (AP) -- A Middle Tennessee man was arrested after police said he drunk-dialed 911 and has called police 47 times over the last year. Murfreesboro police arrested a 57-year-old man on Thursday after police responded to an emergency call to find him intoxicated in his home. According to the police report, officers asked him why he called 911 and he replied that he was "just drunk.".---...More

Police jail man for rubbing burger in wife's face

PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) -- A 25-year-old Port St. Lucie man was arrested for allegedly rubbing a hamburger on his wife's face during an argument. Police said Daniel Boss and his wife got into it late Thursday night and started calling each other names. At some point, the woman apparently poured soda on Boss' hamburger, causing him to grab the sandwich, rub it in her face and start throwing food---...More

Ind. man caught on bike with stolen Christmas tree

PORTAGE, Ind. (AP) -- Authorities said they caught an Indiana man riding a bike while balancing a stolen Christmas tree across the handlebars. Police in Portage said they spotted 48-year-old Phillip Menefee about 1 a.m. Friday riding the bike equipped with a homemade motor but no lights. Police had been investigating motor noise near a Christmas tree lot---...More

Australia?s kangaroo, emu ?Coat of Arms? chips

Australia - Some Australians are up in arms over a new kangaroo and emu flavored chip, horrified that people are encouraged to eat the nation?s coat of arms which depicts the iconic Australian animals. Complaints to Australia?s Advertising Standards Bureau said the ?BBQ Coat of Arms? chips were degrading for native wildlife and sent the wrong message to Australian children, reported the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper. ?It implies that it is perfectly OK to kill kangaroos and emus just for fun!? said one complaint. But the company manufacturing the chips rejected the charge, saying the kangaroo and emu flavored chips celebrated Australia?s heritage.---...More

Gambler Blew $127 Million - They made him do it

LAS VEGAS, Nevada - During a year-long gambling binge at the Caesars Palace and Rio casinos in 2007, Terrance Watanabe managed to lose nearly $127 million. The run is believed to be one of the biggest losing streaks by an individual in Las Vegas history. It devoured much of Mr. Watanabe?s personal fortune, he says, which he built up over more than two decades running his family?s party-favor import business in Omaha, Neb. It also benefitted the two casinos? parent company, Harrah?s Entertainment Inc., which derived about 5.6% of its Las Vegas gambling revenue from Mr. Watanabe that year. In a civil suit filed in Clark County District Court last month, Mr. Watanabe, 52 years old, says casino staff routinely plied him with liquor and pain medication as part of a systematic plan to keep him gambling.

Britain pulls the plug on its UFO hotline

LONDON (AP) -- Britain's military has closed a hotline that took reports of unidentified flying objects, or UFOs, after determining that the money is better spent in Afghanistan---...More

'Elf' jailed over dynamite hoax on Ga. mall Santa

MORROW, Ga. (AP) -- A man dressed as an elf is jailed after police in Georgia say he told a mall Santa that he was carrying dynamite---...More

Deer swims Hudson River from New Jersey to New York

New York - A scrappy young buck desperate to hoof it out of New Jersey swam some 2,000 yards to the Empire State on Tuesday afternoon. Cops were on the lookout after reports of a deer roaming downtown Jersey City started coming in. A police boat in New York Harbor spotted the deer running along the rocky shore of Governors Island about 1:30 p.m. and sped to the rescue. Cops shot the 10-point buck with a tranquilizer and hauled him off to a nature preserve near the southwest shore of Staten Island.----...More

Parents ditched kids to shop

COMMERCE, Georgia - Authorities in Georgia said two people were arrested for allegedly leaving their young children alone at a Wal-Mart so they could go shopping. Police said Mario Navarro, 35, and Elias Esmeralda, 31, left their children, ages 9 and 9 months, in a shopping cart at the Commerce, Ga., Wal-Mart at 7 a.m. on Black Friday and left the retail outlet to do more shopping. Witnesses said Wal-Mart employees paged the parents for 45 minutes---...More

Cops: Woman makes threat to help boss make flight

MIAMI (AP) -- A South Florida woman has been charged with calling in a bomb threat to keep her boss from missing a flight. An arrest report said a 31-year-old woman was charged Thursday with making a false report of planting a bomb. Miami International Airport officials received a call and an e-mail Wednesday claiming that a bomb was on an American Airlines plane. Police searched the specified aircraft but didn't find a bomb---...More

Man accused of ramming car into hot dog stand

CARY, N.C. (AP) -- Police said a North Carolina man rammed his car into a hot dog stand when the vendor refused to sell him a hot dog and drink for a dollar. WRAL-TV reported 23-year-old David Kelbaugh of Rolesville was charged Wednesday with assault with a deadly weapon, hit-and-run, driving while intoxicated and injury to property. Police said Kelbaugh was drinking at a bar in Cary early Wednesday when he left to order food at the hot dog stand---...More

Police seek bald man who swiped family's turkey

JACKSON, Mich. (AP) -- Jackson police are working to crack a case of fowl play. They're searching for a man who broke into an apartment about 11 p.m. Tuesday and stole a family's holiday turkey. Police Lt. Christopher Simpson told the Jackson Citizen Patriot the suspect ran into the kitchen and stole the turkey out of the freezer....

Police: Barefoot thief steals shoes for left feet

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- It didn't take Knoxville police gumshoes to track down a suspected shoe thief. He was sauntering barefoot through the parking lot of a Knoxville store called the Shoe Show Wednesday morning when an employee identified him as the man who crammed shoes into his pockets and pushed her out of his way as he walked out Tuesday night....

Pa. prosecutor wants 'no-tip' charges dropped

BETHLEHEM, Pa. (AP) -- An eastern Pennsylvania prosecutor wants charges dropped against a couple who refused to pay a tip at a restaurant where they said they got poor service. Northampton County District Attorney John Morganelli said he's recommending that Bethlehem police drop the theft of services charges---...More

Kangaroo tries to drown dog, attacks owner

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) -- A kangaroo startled by a man walking his dog attacked the pair, pinning the pet underwater and slashing the owner in the abdomen with its hind legs. The Australian, Chris Rickard, was in stable condition Monday after the attack, which ended when the 49-year-old elbowed the kangaroo in the throat---...More

Robin Hood Banker Gave Millions To The Poor

Germany - A German bank manager who secretly transferred millions of pounds from rich clients to debt-ridden customers has been spared jail. The 62-year-old, dubbed the ?Robin Hood banker?, was found guilty of moving a total of 7.6 million euros (?6.85m) between 2003 and 2005. She carried out 117 separate transfers to try and stop people?s accounts closing due to lack of funds. As a rule she moved the money back when the indebted clients were solvent again. But 1.1 million euros (?991,000) was lost when certain customers were unable to pay their debts.---...More

Officers say they?ll no longer carry beanbag guns

PORTLAND, Oregon - The union that represents Portland police and a Portland police spokeswoman both said Monday they?re hearing some officers are planning to ask the city to decertify their use of beanbag guns after one of their own was put on leave last week for using his on a 12-year-old girl. Officer Christopher Humphreys was assisting another officer who was trying to arrest the adult-sized 12-year-old. Police said the girl punched the officer in the face before he took her down. Humphreys then shot her in the leg with his beanbag gun at close range---
...More

I?ll keep having babies until I have twins

UK - A mother expecting her 14th child has vowed to keep having children until she has twins. Sara Foss, 39, already picks up 50,000 pounds in benefits every year. She said: ?All I?ve ever wanted is twins or triplets. It?s my biggest wish, and I?m going to keep trying until I do it. ?It would be fantastic. In fact, I won?t stop trying until I?ve done it. I love having babies - it?s the most wonderful thing in the world.? Miss Foss, of Derby, was 16 when she had her first baby, Patrick, in 1986. She has almost averaged one birth a year since.---...More

Teen breaks into home for snacks

SHEBOYGAN, Wisconsin - A Sheboygan teen has been charged with breaking into a neighbor?s house to look for snack food. Ronald M. Savela Jr. is 17 but is charged as an adult with felony attempted burglary. The Sheboygan Press says the charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 4 years. The criminal complaint quotes the teen as saying he smashed the window with a rock and removed the screen. He says he was looking for snack food but didn?t find any.----...More

Man Marries Virtual Girlfriend With Public Reception

Japan - A man who calls himself SAL9000 has married his virtual girlfriend with a public reception. The man reportedly fell in love with a virtual girl named Nene Anegasaki and plans to hold a public wedding reception in Tokyo. Since the girl doesn?t really exist, SAL9000 reportedly took his Nintendo DS to Guam for a legal ceremony and honeymoon, and will livecast the upcoming wedding reception online. SAL9000 met his ?bride? on the video game Love Plus, which requires players to take out the virtual girl on dates, buy her gifts and make their girlfriends happy like they would in real life.---...More

Woman tries to kill new husband twice

WEST PALM BEACH, Florida - A Florida woman allegedly tried twice to kill her husband within a few months of their wedding before being set up with a police officer posing as a hit man. Police in Boynton Beach said Dalia Dippolito tried to find a hired killer, ending up paying someone who took her money and failed to follow through. She then allegedly decided on a do-it-yourself killing and gave her husband, Michael, antifreeze concealed in tea from Starbucks, but it tasted so bad he spat it out. ----...More

Fines for too-tall grass - $1,000 a day

JUPITER, Florida - An overgrown lawn could cost a homeowner $1,000 a day. A plan to quadruple the penalty from the current maximum of $250 per day for a first violation is scheduled for consideration at the town council meeting. A repeat violation by the same person would be boosted to $5,000 a day maximum from $500 per day. If the code enforcement board finds that the violation is irreversible - the unapproved removal of an historic tree, for example ? the violator would face a maximum fine of $15,000. The current maximum penalty is $5,000. Last year Jupiter?s seven-person Code Enforcement Division collected about $39,000 in fines.--- ...More

Captain America wins rock-paper-scissors title

TAYLOR, Mich. (AP) -- A Michigan man has won the world Rock Paper Scissors championship in Toronto. Tim Conrad clinched the title after five hours of play and nine matches at the Steam Whistle Brewery on Saturday night----...More

NFL Owner Fined $250,000

Nashville, Tennessee - The NFL has fined Tennessee Titans owner Bud Adams $250,000 for making an obscene gesture at Bills fans. It happened in Nashville. After the Titans beat the Bills 41-17, Adams was seen ?flipping off? fans from his luxury suite at the stadium. Adams apologized later in the day for the display of his middle fingers. ?I do realize that those types of things shouldn?t happen,? Adams said in a statement. ----...More

Video shows patient cop with affectionate cat

TAYLOR, Texas (AP) -- A black cat showed affection by crawling up and down a Texas police officer in a friendly display captured on the patrol car's dashcam. Taylor police Officer Keith Urban was seen being patient with the cat, whose image was captured during a recent traffic stop, then finally gently booting the kitty away----...More

Man carrying $600 pinched for alleged pencil theft

BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP) -- Police have arrested a man after he allegedly stole a pencil from a Bellingham store even though he was carrying $600 in cash. The man, 44, was booked into the Whatcom County Jail after police learned he had an outstanding warrant from Everett----...More

Turkey on NJ Turnpike causes havoc, evades capture

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) -- Authorities have stopped trying to capture a wild turkey that calls Interchange 14B on the New Jersey Turnpike home. The bird has been causing havoc for toll collectors and motorists as it runs across toll booths, plays in traffic, and sits atop toll collectors' parked cars----...More

Idaho boy, 11, shoots black bear on family's porch

DRIGGS, Idaho (AP) -- An 11-year-old boy shot a black bear on his family's front porch after he said it wouldn't leave. The boy was at his home near Driggs, just west of the Idaho-Wyoming border, with his younger sisters last Wednesday when the bear showed up. The youngster said he couldn't shoo it away, so he went and got his gun and shot it---...More

Police: Man upset over ticket phoned trooper's mom

CARLE PLACE, N.Y. (AP) -- Police said a Long Island man upset about a speeding ticket tried to get even with a state trooper by making a prank phone call to his mother. Authorities said Lawrence Demaio, of Carle Place, called the woman about a month after the ticket was issued and told her her son had been badly hurt in a car accident---...More

Fla. man arrested for calling 911, asking for sex

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) -- Florida police say a man arrested for repeatedly calling 911 looking for sex claimed it was the only number he could dial after running out of cell phone minutes---...More

Spider-Man slugs man

HOLLYWOOD, California - A man in a Spider-Man costume was arrested on outstanding warrants in Los Angeles after he allegedly hit a man on Hollywood Boulevard. First, officers had to figure out which Spider-Man impostor was which, because they found four of them dressed as the superhero. They stopped the second, and it was the suspect. The victim told police he was hit in the face and arms but did not want to press charges but Christopher Loomis, 39, was booked on outstanding misdemeanor warrants.---...More

San Diego Great Dane named world's tallest dog

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Only one animal got credit for a record Thursday, the same day Norway registered the world's largest gingerbread man; the most people hugging in one minute were in the U.K.; Italy set the mark for the fastest consumption of a bowl of pasta; Finland had the most nationalities in a single sauna; and a team from Mexico assembled the world's longest paper clip chain---...More

UK man breaks record for pulling bus with hair

LONDON (AP) -- A British man broke the world record for pulling a double-decker bus with his hair. Manjit Singh broke the Guinness World Record on Thursday by pulling the bus weighing 8.5 British tons for 21.2 meters (69.55 feet) across Battersea Park in London with ribbons attached to his hair---...More

Milwaukee muggers see Army ID, return wallet

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- A Milwaukee Army reservist's military identification earned him some street cred Tuesday, when he says four men who mugged him at gunpoint returned his belongings and thanked him for his service after finding the ID---...More

Wedding ring found in dump amid 10 tons of trash

PARSIPPANY, N.J. (AP) -- Sanitation workers sorted through 10 tons of trash to recover a wedding ring accidentally thrown away by a New Jersey couple---...More

Veteran’s Day Tribute

Veteran’s Day Tribute


When America had an urgent need,
These brave ones raised a hand;
No hesitation held them back;
They were proud to take a stand.


They left their friends and family;
They gave up normal life;
To serve their country and their God,
They plowed into the strife.


They fought for freedom and for peace
On strange and foreign shores;
Some lost new friends; some lost their lives
In long and brutal wars.


Other veterans answered a call
To support the ones who fought;
Their country had requirements for
The essential skills they brought.


We salute each and every one of them,
The noble and the brave,
The ones still with us here today,
And those who rest in a grave.


So here’s to our country’s heroes;
They’re a cut above the rest;
Let’s give the honor that is due
To our country’s very best.


By Joanna Fuchs

Chestnut gobbles down 50 meatballs to win contest

LAS VEGAS (AP) -- Joey Chestnut maintained his dominance in the sport of competitive eating - and expanded his palate - by winning the first-ever Martorano's Masters Meatball Eating Championship in Las Vegas. Chestnut on Sunday gobbled 50 meatballs in 10 minutes at the Rio All Suite Hotel & Casino. The 6.25 pounds was a new world record and earned him the first-place prize of $1,500....More

Robbery suspects found sleeping in Calif. garage

POMONA, Calif. (AP) -- Authorities said four men were arrested after being found sleeping in a garage stacked with stolen property. Pomona police Lt. Alex Rilloraza said officers discovered the suspects Friday while investigating the robbery of electronics from a nearby home. He said some of the stolen goods were in the suspects' pockets---...More

Student expelled after row over short dress

SAO PAULO, Brazil - In Brazil, famed for its tiny bikinis and carefree attitude, a university student has been expelled after violent protests by students outraged at the short outfit she wore on campus. The Universidade Bandeirante (Uniban) said it had expelled the student, Geysi Villa Nova Arruda, 20, for “flagrant disrespect of ethical principles, academic dignity and morality,” in a statement published in some newspapers. Her dress sparked student protests in this largely Roman Catholic country....More

Accused bigamist says he didn?t say ?I do?

DETROIT - A married Detroit man says he can?t be accused of bigamy because he didn?t say ?I do? in a marriage ceremony to a second woman. Eugene Pallisco, 44, testified in Oakland County Circuit Court that his marriage to Lesley Keith, 38, was a sham and Keith knew it. Keith told Judge Cheryl Matthews he stood mute during the 2002 marriage ceremony and never uttered the words of consent ?I do.? Several witnesses, however, testified they heard Pallisco say ?I do? and believed the marriage to be legitimate.---...More

Mayor, 92, wins fifth term

SOUTH COATESVILLE, Pennsylvania - A 92-year-old mayor just elected to a fifth term is older than the Pennsylvania town he represents. James C. Kennedy of South Coatesville is not the oldest mayor in the United States, an honor believed to be held by Dorothy Gechen, the 101-year-old mayor of Ocean Breeze, Fla., the Philadelphia Daily News reported. But he is old enough that he decided to rest instead of attending a victory party. Kennedy, a Democrat, won 85-59. ---...More

Driver suspected in bank van heist

LYON, France - French police are looking for the driver of a security van suspected of driving off with more than 10 million euros ($14.85 million) after the man vanished, apparently after first clearing out his flat. The van disappeared after the three-member crew took delivery of the cash at a branch of the Bank of France in the southeastern city of Lyon. While they were making their delivery rounds, two crew members who had left the driver alone returned to find the van had disappeared. It was found abandoned later in the day. -- More

Nolan brother planned jailbreak

CHICAGO, Illinois - Authorities in Chicago said the brother of ?The Dark Knight? director Christopher Nolan was allegedly planning a jail escape worthy of Batman. Officials at the high-rise Metropolitan Correctional Center in downtown Chicago said they discovered 31 feet of rope made from bedsheets, a harness, a razor and a metal clip that could unlock handcuffs in the cell of Matthew Nolan, 41, who was arrested in February on Costa Rican murder charges.--More

Newlywed Kills Bride, Kidnaps Friend

GAINESVILLE, Florida - A Florida newlywed allegedly killed his bride and kidnapped a friend before surrendering to deputies after a dramatic six-hour standoff. Twenty-three-year-old Charles Edwin Duke was taken into custody in Levy County. Investigators say he fatally shot 22-year-old Felicia Fine Duke in an argument at their Cedar Key home, then fled with a friend who was staying with them. ---More

Pay problem parents not to breed

New Zealand - An outspoken Kiwi politician has proposed a new solution to the country?s child abuse problem - pay the ?appalling underclass? not to breed. Michael Laws - ?That there is a group within our society who give their children no hope nor opportunity from the moment that they are born,? the regional mayor wrote on the New Zealand radio website where he broadcasts as a talkback DJ. ?That these ?parents? are known to authorities ? and yet the authorities can only intervene after children have been harmed.? ?It would be far better for this appalling underclass to be offered financial inducements not to have children, given the toxic environment that they would provide for any child in their care.?---...More

'You hit a what?' SUV nearly slams into elephant

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) -- It's not unusual to see a deer or a cow crossing Oklahoma's rural highways. But an elephant? A couple driving home from church nearly slammed into a giant pachyderm that had escaped from a nearby circus late Wednesday---...More

Man rescues stray dog, but ends up with 10 pooches

ATLANTA (AP) -- An Atlanta man who rescued one stray dog from traffic now has his hands full with 10 pooches. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Thursday that Gary DeNicola rescued the dog in late September with plans to take it to a shelter the next day. But it turns out the dog was pregnant and gave birth to nine puppies that night. Now DeNicola is running an animal shelter of sorts himself and he's looking for good homes for the dogs---...More

Terrorist Attack-Fort Hood Shooting by Major Hasan

Shooter Major Malik Nadal Hasan Kills 13 and 31 wounded at Fort Hood Texas.

Malik Nadal Hasan A Muslim extremist infiltrates the US Military and goes on a Jihad.

Fort Hood shooting: Army psychiatrist named as gunman is still aliveUS major unconscious and under military guard after being shot four times during Texas base rampage that killed 13

The US army psychiatrist who allegedly shot dead 13 people and wounded 30 when he went on a rampage at Fort Hood military base in Texas is alive in a hospital under military guard.

The gunman, identified as Major Nidal Malik Hasan, 39, was initially reported to have been killed. But it emerged early this morning he survived despite being shot four times by a police officer. He is on a ventilator and unconscious, according to military officials. "I would say his death is not imminent," a military spokesman told the Associated Press.

Hasan was about to be deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan, said Kay Bailey Hutchison, Republican senator for Texas. One of Hasan's cousins, Nader Hasan, told reporters the major was dreading going to war, having counselled scores of returning soldiers with post-traumatic stress disorder....More

Police: Drunk man admits theft after traffic stop

DECATUR, Ala. (AP) -- Officials said a man gave deputies more than they asked for when he was pulled over on suspicion of drunk driving. Sheriff Greg Bartlett told WAFF Tuesday that 48-year-old man pulled out in front of a deputy in the early morning hours of Halloween and the official observed the truck weaving in and out of lanes heading to I-65.---...More

Man Shows Up Alive at Own Funeral

Brazil - A Brazilian bricklayer reportedly killed in a car crash shocked his mourning family by showing up alive at his funeral. Relatives of Ademir Jorge Goncalves, 59, had identified him as the victim of a car crash in Parana state in southern Brazil. As is customary in Brazil, the funeral was held the following day, which happened to be the holiday of Finados, when Brazilians visit cemeteries to honor the dead. What family members didn?t know was that Goncalves had spent the night at a truck stop talking with friends over drinks of a sugarcane liquor known as cachaca. He did not get word about his own funeral until it was already happening. ---...More

Chinese villagers listed as dead in welfare scam

China - Hundreds of Chinese villagers are protesting after they were registered as dead and struck from village lists. The taxes villages pay to higher levels of government and the social warfare payments allocated by the central Government are both based on the number of households. By recording the false deaths, local officials held back payments. And the victims are also deprived of newly established medical insurance and pension schemes. The 300 members of Zhouzhuang village - a sixth of the population - discovered they were ?dead? when a man tried to apply for a new identity book for his parents. ---...More

Pa. robbery victim IDs suspect from old yearbook

ERIE, Pa. (AP) -- After being robbed of his jacket, cell phone, keys and $300, a Pennsylvania man was left with the odd feeling that his assailants looked familiar. Police say that's because they went to school together about 15 years ago--...More

Illegal Immigrants With Criminal Records on the Rise

LOS ANGELES, California - Immigration agents assigned to track down people who have ignored deportation orders have increasingly arrested immigrants with criminal records during the past year, new data show. Data from Immigration and Customs Enforcement show a shift from the prior three years, when more than 70 percent of immigrants arrested by fugitive operations teams had no criminal histories. About 45 percent of the 35,000 immigrants arrested by the teams during the 2009 fiscal year had criminal convictions. The figure is up from 23 percent during the prior year.--...More

Stupid neighbor cited for repeated horn honking

VANDALIA, Ohio - Police in Ohio said a woman was cited for disorderly conduct for repeatedly honking her horn while driving past a neighbor?s home. Vandalia police said a woman called officers to report a female neighbor was honking the horn every time she drove past her window and investigators warned the neighbor to cease the honking. The woman was again warned to cease the honking and cited for disorderly conduct.---...More

Man without ride stole ambulance

RICHMOND, Michigan - Michigan State Police said a man denied a ride from people at a hospital stole an ambulance. Sgt. Craig Nyeholt with the Michigan State Police Richmond Post said Marcus Belgrave Jr., 31, of Detroit, stole a Richmond Lenox EMS ambulance idling outside the emergency room entrance of St. John River District Hospital in East China Township. Belgrave took the ambulance after failing to get a ride to his car in St. Clair, Michigan----...More

Heavyset Fla. man allegedly robs same bank 4 times

TAMARAC, Fla. (AP) -- Investigators are searching for a man who has robbed the same South Florida bank four times in the past year. The suspect has targeted a Tamarac BankAtlantic so many times that during the last heist one of the tellers said, "He's here again." The alleged robber is heavyset and has with dreadlocks. He wears different clothes each time, but during Saturday's heist the suspect wore all-black clothes, gloves and a black hat---...More

Pa. woman, daughter hold signs admitting theft

BEDFORD, Pa. (AP) -- In exchange for no jail time, a woman and her adult daughter have agreed to stand outside a Pennsylvania courthouse holding signs saying they stole a gift card from a 9-year-old girl on her birthday---...More

Hotels come to the rescue of stray dogs

TAIPEI - Taipei?s dogs are living it up at hotels, complete with VIP suites and pools, that aim to ease the problem of strays that has plagued the city for decades. Hoping to discourage people from dumping unwanted pets on the streets, two Taipei proprietors have opened giant hotels dedicated to dogs, with pools, salons, classes and playrooms. The hotels offer an alternative to pet owners who lack the time or space to look after dogs and who can pay the room rate of $14 a day plus food.---...More

Marilyn Monroe crypt auction fails again

LOS ANGELES, California - A second attempt to sell a crypt on top of Marilyn Monroe?s final resting place has failed, with not a single bid received for the burial spot in a celebrity-filled Los Angeles cemetery. Widow Elsie Poncher is trying to sell her husband?s crypt to pay off the mortgage on her Beverly Hills home. On selling the crypt, Poncher had planned to move her husband, who died in 1986, to an adjacent crypt intended for her.---...More

Ohio woman hopes trick-or-treater may find ring

TERRACE PARK, Ohio (AP) -- A Halloween trick or treater in Ohio may have gotten a bigger treat than expected - a diamond ring. A woman in suburban Cincinnati said she thinks she may have lost her wedding ring when she was tossing candy into trick or treaters' bags on Halloween---...More

Woman calls 911 to report herself as drunk driver

NEILSVILLE, Wis. (AP) -- The call came into the 911 dispatcher: "I don't want to hurt anybody. I'm drunk." And with that, Mary Strey, 49, of Granton, reported herself as a drunken driver about three miles northeast of Neilsville in central Wisconsin--...More

Elderly Patient Locked in Ambulance for Hours

UK - An elderly kidney patient was locked in the back of an ambulance for five hours after the driver forgot about him and clocked off duty. The 65-year-old man was trapped at Sharston ambulance station in Manchester from the early evening until the middle of the night. Staff at the patient?s care home contacted police after he failed to return from a regular hospital appointment in a non-emergency ambulance. It is thought the driver forgot about the man after dropping off three other patients.---...More

Man convicted in orange rabbit pedicab hit-and-run

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- The Mercedes driver testified he didn't see the 6-foot-tall orange rabbit driving a pedicab because he was fumbling for a dropped cell phone---...More

Smoking bans extend to the great outdoors

Massachusetts - It was a recent trip to the park that finally did it. Jason Mayo watched as a father pushed his child on a swing, cigarette clenched between his teeth. On every upswing, the child got a face full of exhaled smoke. ?We can?t tell people how to parent,?? said Mayo, a member of the Ayer parks and recreation committee, which has banned smoking in the town?s recreation areas. ?But all the other kids around him were inhaling that cigarette too.?? As antismoking sentiment sweeps across the country, nonsmokers are taking back bars, restaurants, and workplaces, snuffing smoking out of its indoor havens. And now some of them are turning their sights on the great outdoors.---...More

Homes for sale for $1.00 - No buyers

Chicago, Illinois - Officials in suburban Barrington - put three homes up for a sale at just a dollar a piece and did not get a single bidder. Though the homes aren?t officially designated landmarks, they are believed to have some historic value; that?s why Barrington officials want to sell the homes - which are located in the suburb?s downtown - rather than just demolish them to make way for development, which is the alternative.---...More

Worried pilot asks passengers to pray

TEHRAN, Iran - A worried Iranian airline pilot asked passengers to start praying after his plane was hit by a technical glitch highlighting once again the notorious record of Tehran’s aircraft. The Aseman Airlines Boeing plane had taken off from Tehran airport after a six-hour delay, but had to return following a technical fault. “The plane took off at 0015 in the morning and had to land back in Tehran after 45 minutes. The pilot told the passengers the plane is facing a technical problem and has to return. So please pray.....More

Woman kicks man’s testicle into his abdomen

Langley, Canada - Anthony Clark was walking along 200th Avenue in the Brookswood area of Langley when he passed his assailant on the sidewalk. “I was looking down and then I took a passing glance and saw her walk up to me,” he said. That’s when the young woman inexplicably kicked him in the groin hard enough to send one of his testicles into his abdomen. Clark wasn’t aware of the severity of his injury until later that night when he “noticed something was missing.”....More

Man allegedly torches van after wild test drive

WILKES-BARRE, Pa. (AP) -- Police in eastern Pennsylvania said a man unhappy with his new van took a car salesman on a wild ride and later torched the vehicle in front of the dealership. Authorities say 58-year-old John Walton Jr. went to Coccia Ford near Wilkes-Barre on Tuesday complaining that his van had transmission problems....More

Somali who claims to be centenarian marries teen

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) -- A Somali man who claims to be a centenarian has married a 17-year old girl. Ahmed Mohamed Dhore celebrated his marriage to Safiya Abdulle late Tuesday in central Somalia before hundreds of guests. Somali adolescent girls are often married off to older men. But it is rare for a man as old as Dhore to marry a girl of Abdulle's age...More

Buy Your Caskets, Urns Online

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin - The world’s largest retailer wants to keep its customers even after they die. Wal-Mart has started selling caskets on its Web site at prices that undercut many funeral homes, long the major seller of caskets. The move follows a similar one by discount rival Costco, which also sells caskets on its site. Wal-Mart quietly put up about 15 caskets and dozens of urns on its Web site....More

Beware Of Toyota's Death Mats-3.8 Million Recalled!

Washington -- Toyota Motor Corp. began mailing notices this week to 3.8 million vehicle owners, urging them to remove their floor mats while it seeks a remedy for reports of sudden, unintended acceleration...More

Man who threw feces in CA courtroom gets 31 years

SAN DIEGO (AP) -- A man who sneaked a bag of his feces into a San Diego courtroom during his home-invasion robbery trial, smeared it on his lawyer and threw it at jurors has been sentenced to 31 years in prison....More

Convicted sex offender sets himself on fire

Oklahoma - A convicted sex offender burned to death when he set himself on fire as authorities served a warrant at his rural Tulsa County home. Tulsa County sheriff’s deputies and state Pardon and Parole Board officers were sent to a house to contact Johnnie Joe Hobbs, 47. After finding the house empty, the squad peered into a cargo van that sat in the cluttered yard about 3 p.m. Hobbs, who was in the van, reached out and slammed the door shut. He then doused the van with gasoline and ignited it. Medics pronounced him dead at the scene....More

Burglar scared off by barking woman

ATHENS, Georgia - Police in Georgia said a woman acted like a dog to successfully scare away a would-be burglar who was trying to get into her home. Investigators said a suspicious man, who the woman said appeared to be homeless, attempted to turn the Athens woman’s door knob at about 11 p.m. and she responded by dropping to the floor, scratching on the door and emulating the behavior of a large dog....More

Cop Pulls Gun on Haunted House Worker

BALTIMORE, Maryland - Authorities say a Baltimore city police officer pulled his gun on a chain-saw-wielding haunted house worker who was trying to get “one last scream” out of him. Baltimore County police say Sgt. Eric Janik was been charged with assault for pulling his service weapon on the worker, who was dressed up as the killer from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The man dropped the chain saw, which had no chain and was not dangerous....More

5-Year-Old Body Builder Sets World Record

Italy - A muscle-bound boy has been entered into the Guinness Book of Records after performing an incredible physical stunt. Romanian Giuliano Stroe, five, has been training since the age of two in Italy - where he lives with his family - and now the hard work has finally paid off. He was entered into the record books earlier this year after performing some impressive ‘hand-walking’ skills to a panel of judges and an astonished audience on an Italian TV show....More

RI hospital has 5th wrong-site surgery since '07

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- Health officials are investigating how a surgeon at Rhode Island Hospital mistakenly operated on the wrong part of a patient's hand, the hospital's fifth wrong-site surgery since 2007. Hospital President Timothy Babineau said in a letter that the mistake Thursday happened on a patient scheduled for surgery on two fingers. A joint on one finger underwent a procedure meant for another....More

RI city smashes Guinness bead record

EAST PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- A record-setting strand of beads has helped the city of East Providence put its recent financial woes behind it, at least for a night...More

Man claims he’s cockroach king

LANSING, Michigan - A Michigan man says he expects Guinness World Records to award him the world record for fitting the most cockroaches in his mouth. Sean Murphy of Lansing, whose age was not reported, said it likely will be weeks until he officially learns whether the 16 Madagascar hissing cockroaches he held in his mouth for 10 seconds will be recognized as a world record....More

Man sues over unnecessary artificial rectum

Japan - A Japanese man has sued a hospital, arguing it unnecessarily gave him an artificial rectum after misdiagnosing him as suffering rectal cancer, a hospital official says. The man underwent surgery in March at a university hospital in western Miyazaki prefecture to remove the tumour. But his doctor told the man, whose age and name were not reported, that a later examination found no cancer cells in the removed tissue....More

Woman flashes $27,000 at Mass. bar, gets robbed

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (AP) -- Massachusetts police say they are searching for two men suspected of robbing a woman of $27,000 after she flashed the cash in a Springfield bar. Sgt. John Delaney said on Friday that the 22-year-old woman was robbed Monday night by two men wearing dark clothing and bandanas, one armed with what appeared to be a semiautomatic handgun....More

W.Va. florist to robber: Give back the cash, jerk

WHEELING, W.Va. (AP) -- Linda Contraguerro hopes the man who robbed her Wheeling flower shop can read, because she has a message for him. "Hey jerk, we want our money back," are the words she posted on a sign in front of Warwood Florist Creative Arts & Crafts. Police are still looking for the man who walked into the shop on Oct. 14 and pointed a gun at a cashier before making off with $150 in cash...More

Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer in Pork Chop

North Carolina - It might not be worth as much as a grilled cheese sandwich said to bear the image of the Virgin Mary, but a North Carolina woman believes she’s found a well-known Christmas character in her pork chop. Sue Church stopped by the FOX8 studios to show us a pork chop that resembles Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Some have suggested the meat actually resembles the antler-wearing dog in How the Grinch Stole Christmas....More

Amelia Earhart Hair Just Thread - Keeping on display anyway

CLEVELAND, Ohio - A Cleveland museum has learned that what it thought was a lock of hair from Amelia Earhart is just thread. A group looking for DNA evidence recently asked the International Women’s Air and Space Museum for a sample of the “hair” for comparison. Museum executive director Toni Mullee says an analysis determined the specimen was thread that looked like hair. Mullee says the thread will stay on display, with a full explanation...More

Gunman prays with clerk, then finishes robbery

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) -- Police said a gunman spent nearly 10 minutes on his knees praying with the clerk at an Indianapolis check cashing business before fleeing with her cell phone and $20 from the register. Security video from the Advance America branch clearly showed the man's face during Monday's stickup, and a 23-year-old man surrendered Tuesday on a preliminary charge of robbery....More

Woman Sets Trailer On Fire Trying To Get Raccoon

Indiana - Trying to get a large raccoon out from under her mobile home, a Northwest Indiana woman accidently set the home on fire. The 52-year-old woman, who lives in the 100 block of Valley Drive in rural Portage, Ind., told police she used a full bag with eight to 10 “smoke bomb” fireworks, lighting them and throwing them under the mobile home. Soon after, she saw white smoke and dialed 911...More

Ohio football mom blasts school with sign in yard

BERLIN HEIGHTS, Ohio (AP) -- An Ohio mother who says her son got a raw deal from his middle school's football program has put her feelings on a marquee-style sign in her yard. Amy Ortner's bright yellow sign in Berlin Heights in northern Ohio has letters about six inches tall and the message, "Berlin football - Shame shame - We don't play those kind of games!"...More

Nev. man accused of DUI for 3rd time in 17 days

RENO, Nev. (AP) -- A 50-year-old Reno man has been arrested on suspicion of drunken driving for the third time in less than three weeks. Reno Police Sgt. Tom Robinson said the man was stopped Monday afternoon on a U.S. Highway 395 off-ramp on the south end of town after a concerned citizen alerted police about his erratic driving. He said a check of the man's police record found he had been arrested on the same charge two other times since Oct. 2....More

Blood from leech ties man to 2001 crime

SYDNEY - An Australian man faces jail for armed robbery after police used blood from a leech to make a DNA match from a 2001 crime scene. Peter Alec Cannon, 54, pleaded guilty to aggravated armed robbery in the Supreme Court in Launceston on the island state of Tasmania. Crown prosecutor John Ransom told the court that a policeman had picked up a leech from near a safe at the scene of the crime from which forensic scientists extracted blood and a DNA sample....More

Feds investigate Toys R Us

NEW YORK - The federal government is reportedly investigating whether Toys R Us Inc. has improperly acted to discourage discounting and keep the prices consumers pay on baby products such as strollers and car seats higher than they otherwise may have been. The Wall Street Journal reported that the Federal Trade Commission is examining whether the nation’s biggest toy store chain violated an 11-year-old FTC order that it avoid anticompetitive tactics that could stifle competition and keep prices high....More

Police stop driver for 15 violations in 11 minutes

GOSSAU, Switzerland (AP) -- Authorities say an Italian man took reckless driving to new heights in 11 frantic minutes of traffic violations in eastern Switzerland...More

Convicted Priest Says He Didn’t Kill Nun

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A Roman Catholic priest imprisoned for killing a nun 29 years ago told a newspaper that he is innocent, but a prosecutor and the victim’s nephew wondered why he is only making the claim now. The Rev. Gerald Robinson, now 71, was convicted in 2006 for killing Sister Margaret Ann Pahl in 1980 by strangling her and stabbing her 31 times in a Toledo hospital chapel. Church historians have said it’s the only documented case of a Catholic priest killing a nun....More

Illegal Alien Halloween Costume

LOS ANGELES, California - A Southern California immigrant rights group asked the Target store chain and a costume company to stop selling an “illegal alien” Halloween costume it said is offensive to immigrants. The costume features the mask of an alien with a green card and an orange jumpsuit with “illegal alien” written across the front....More

Stupid News-All-Male College Bans Cross-Dressing

Georgia - A new policy at the all-male college is banning “wearing of clothing usually worn by women” on the Georgia campus or at college-sponsored events. The policy aims to “get back to the legacy” of Morehouse College. Other clothing prohibited at certain times or places on campus include caps, do-rags, sunglasses, jeans, “sagging pants” and clothes with derogatory language....More

Singer Leona Lewis punched in the head at a book signing

UK - The 24-year-old had been due to fly out for a day-long promotional trip, but pulled out in the aftermath of the incident. Former X Factor winner Lewis had been signing copies of her autobiography at Waterstone’s Piccadilly in London when a man in the queue suddenly lashed out. She had been at the shop for more than an hour when the man, who had been waiting in the queue for five hours, suddenly lashed out at her. Shocked fans could only look on in horror as she clutched her head before bursting into tears...More

Stupid News-Man left mother lying on floor for 17 hours

HOLMDEL, New Jersey - A 79-year old woman was allegedly left lying on her kitchen after her 58-year-old son tried to lift her, gave up and went back to his bed. Eleanor Oprotkowitz, 79, fell around 9 p.m. and her son had unsuccessfully tried to lift her off the floor. The man went back to sleep, leaving her mother on the floor. Around 1:30 p.m. the next day a neighbor who checks on the elderly woman daily found her and called police.....More

Cops: 300-lb man in dress tries to steal rum, cola

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (AP) -- Police said a person believed to be a man disguised as a woman in a black dress tried to steal a bottle of rum and cola drinks from a local drug store. The store's loss prevention officer unsuccessfully tried to stop the person, who is described as about 20 years old, 6-foot-3-inches tall and weighing 300 pounds....More

Man gets probation after stabbing ex-girlfriend’s pet fish

Oregon - A 27-year-old Southeast Portland man who beat his ex-girlfriend and then stabbed her pet fish and left it impaled in her apartment has been sentenced to two years of probation and a psychological evaluation. An attorney for Donald Earl Fite III said he didn’t want to talk about the details of the assault, but that stabbing the fish was “a very low point” in his client’s life. “He is absolutely mortified and ashamed about what he did to the fish,” said attorney Tom MacNair today in Multnomah County Circuit Court....More

Juveniles laughed after setting 15-year-old on fire

Deerfield Beach, Florida - Five juveniles were in custody after a 15-year-old was intentionally set on fire at a Deerfield Beach, Florida, apartment complex, police said. Michael Brewer suffered second-degree burns over 80 percent of his body. “He’s in for a long, long recovery,” Broward County Sheriff Al Lamberti told reporters. From what the suspects and witnesses have told police, the suspect yelled, “He’s a snitch, he’s a snitch” and “pour it on him.” Another juvenile threw what police believe was rubbing alcohol on Brewer from a plastic jug and used a lighter to set him on fire, he said.....More

Deputy makes fun of one-armed man

ST. LUCIE COUNTY, Florida - A St. Lucie County Sheriff’s deputy who said he made fun of a man with no arm at a softball game, and another deputy who was “discourteous” to the public each received a written reprimand, according to internal investigation records. The deputies, Thomas Johnson and Rigoberto Iglesias, were on a softball team sponsored by the jail’s food service provider. The home plate umpire said Johnson “insulted” a base umpire, who has a single arm, “by removing one arm from the sleeve of his shirt, placing the arm inside his shirt, thus indicating that he only had one arm as well.”......More

Burglar makes off with $1,000 in candy

New Orleans, Louisiana - A burglar or burglars took $1,000 in candy and soft drinks from a concession stand at John Slidell Park. The break-in at the park on Robert Boulevard took place between 10 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. Once inside, they took $1,000 worth of candy such as M and Ms and Snickers as well as several cases of soda and sports drinks, Foltz said. Before leaving, the burglars ate several pickles and poured jalapeno peppers inside the stand, he said.....More

Police say newlyweds robbed chapel after wedding

SEVIERVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Police said two Campbell County newlyweds were arrested on their wedding night for burglarizing the Sevierville chapel where they were married. WATE-TV reported that Brian Dykes and Mindy McGhee were married Wednesday at the Angel's View Wedding Chapel at the Black Bear Ridge Resort. Following the wedding, the couple rented a cabin at the resort....More

Stupid News:Man sleeps as house catches fire, collapses

Pennsylvania - A suburban Pittsburgh man whose home caught on fire and partially collapsed slept through the entire ordeal. He was awakened by firefighters doing a walk-through of the home more than two hours later. Ross Township Fire Marshal John Reubi says he was “flabbergasted” that anyone survived the blaze. After controlling the fire, firefighters walked through and found the man in a bedroom. Reubi says it appeared the man had no idea what was going on.....More

Madoff mask a natural for Halloween

NEW YORK (AP) -- Don't be alarmed if Bernard Madoff comes knocking this Halloween.

The real Madoff pleaded guilty to a decades-long Ponzi scheme that cost investors millions of dollars. The New York financier is now serving a 150-year prison sentence.

But he'll be joining the witches and ghosts on spook night.

Madoff masks are at retail stores and on Web sites that sell costumes. One firm that makes a rubber Madoff mask, Rubie's Costume Company, has distributed more than 15,000 of them to stores across the country....More

Police to observe speed limits in emergencies

Las Vegas, Nevada - Lights flashing and sirens blaring. Speeding past other cars and rushing through intersections. Someone needs help. A bad guy needs to be caught. Racing to a call as fast as possible has become an accepted part of being a cop. But as deadly crashes involving speeding police cars mount, more agencies, including the Metropolitan Police Department, are considering speed limits and other measures to make sure their officers get to their destinations safely.....More

Officials: Food stamps swapped for booze, Viagra

DETROIT (AP) -- Viagra and pornography are not staples on the government's food stamp list. But authorities say a Detroit liquor store supplied them during a series of illegal deals.---...More

Man Kills Pet After Fight Over Last Cigarette

DELAND, Florida - Authorities say a Florida man became angry and strangled a pet rat after accusing his wife of taking the last cigarette. The Volusia County Sheriff?s Office reports that 22-year-old Darren Daniels grabbed his wife during a confrontation. The 20-year-old woman told deputies that she eventually ran away and hid outside for about an hour. Before that, Daniels reportedly grabbed a white rat from a tank in their apartment, smashed its head and then strangled it. ---...More

Guy accidentally shoots self in butt

Florida - A Fort Myers man accidentally shot himself in the rear end, news-press.com reports. Timothy Allen Davis, 22, told investigators that when he pulled a shirt out of a drawer, his .380 semiautomatic handgun flipped in the air, landed and fired. He didn’t know he had been hit. When he went to his sister to tell her everything was okay, she noticed blood coming out of his pants....More

Dr. Phil Sued for Sexual Harassment

California - A former patient of Dr. Phil McGraw has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court against the talk show host alleging that she was sexually harassed, brainwashed and subject to fraud at the hands of the doctor and members of his staff. Plaintiff Shirley Dieu claimed she was “held against her will” in McGraw’s Hollywood production offices in 2007 after seeking therapy from the television personality....More

Priest Seeks Custody of Child From Stripper

PEMBROKE PINES, Forida - A South Florida priest on indefinite leave is seeking custody of the child he conceived with a former stripper. David Dueppen admits he fathered the child, and asked for 70 percent custody in Miami-Dade Family Court papers filed this week. The 42-year-old joined the priesthood in 1999, and stepped away in August after Beatrice Hernandez approached the archdiocese. He served most recently in Pembroke Pines......More

ND woman's 7-foot-long dog could be record holder

CASSELTON, N.D. (AP) -- Boomer may be a buster: Measuring 3 feet tall at the shoulders and 7 feet long from nose to destructive wagging tail, he might be the world's tallest living dog. Owner Caryn Weber says her 3-year-old Landseer Newfoundland keeps all four paws on the floor when he drinks from the kitchen faucet in her family's eastern North Dakota farm house---...More

Woman Found in Home Under 8 Feet of Trash

JACKSONVILLE, Florida - Authorities have found the body of a 71-year-old woman after wading through a Jacksonville, Florida home filled with garbage piled eight feet high. The Florida Times-Union reports that officers were checking on Carina E. Decampo after worried family members called to say they hadn?t heard from her in weeks. They were met with what police called ?unbelievable squalor? and a stench that made officers ill.---...More

Powder in mail identified,It's Alfredo Sauce

RIFLE - Italian food does not usually garner the attention of local emergency response people. However, three emergency agencies responded to a call to the Grand River Hospital and Medical Center after receiving a call that two employees had been exposed to a white powdery substance found in an envelope. It was determined it was powdered alfredo sauce....More