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

Neb. woman accused of throwing dog at officer

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Police said a woman will not face charges for throwing a dog at an officer during a domestic violence investigation. Police Capt. Davidsaver said officers were called to southeast Lincoln for a report of domestic violence late Monday. He said the woman was suspected of throwing a cell phone that hit her boyfriend in the face....More

Dad to Son’s Kidnappers: Just Kill Him

Baghdad - By the third day of negotiating with his son’s kidnappers, Rasul Amoore had sold his car, withdrawn his bank savings and borrowed money from his siblings and friends to raise funds for the 6-year-old’s release. Even then he was able to gather only $8,000 of the $50,000 demanded by Ahmed’s captors. Amoore, angered and mentally tormented by the kidnappers, decided to gamble with his son’s life. Just kill him. Four hours later the kidnappers released Ahmed unharmed, but only after receiving $10,000.....More

Treasure hunt halted as possible prank

SPRINGFIELD, Illinois - An Illinois woman who set out on a treasure hunt for buried gold coins after finding a cryptic note in an antique rocking chair may have been the victim of a prolific prankster who died more than 30 years ago. Patty Henken recently tore up a vacant lot where a typewritten note signed by “Chauncey Wolcott” - found in an old chair she bought at auction - suggested she would find $250 in U.S. gold coins. An Iowa woman who read news accounts of the hunt said she knows Wolcott’s true identity: John “Jay” Slaven, a notorious practical joker and coin collector who often used a typewriter in his pranks.....More

Tax Dollars: Copenhagen Trip Wasn’t Cheap

Washington DC - Taxpayers shelled out probably $1 million or more for the president, his wife and others to fly to Copenhagen and back to woo members of the International Olympic Committee. The president’s 14-hour trip to Copenhagen and back cost about $790,000 to $1.4 million. However, presidential travel requires additional spending, especially for security personnel and equipment. Also, first lady Michelle Obama and some administration officials traveled to Copenhagen at public expense ahead of the president......More

Mayor Dies After Being Hit By Train

LIVERPOOL, Texas - The mayor of Liverpool has died after being hit by a train in what Brazoria County authorities say appears to be a suicide. Brazoria County Sheriff’s investigator Jimmy Miller says the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Co. called about 4 a.m. and reported a train had struck a man lying on the tracks. The train’s engineer told investigators he spotted 42-year-old Mike Peters and tried to stop. The engineer also blew the train’s whistle, but Peters didn’t get off the tracks.....More

Artificial Heart Inspired by the Cockroach

India - A ground-breaking $2,400 artificial heart inspired by the anatomy of the cockroach could revolutionize human cardiac care, scientists in India believe. The development of a robust, affordable and safe synthetic heart remains one of the holy grails of biomedical engineering amid a shortage of donated organs and rising levels of heart disease.The two types of artificial hearts available in the U.S. today are expensive, costing at least $50,000 apiece. Both have problems, with patients vulnerable to infections and strokes, experts say.---