Man Strips At Airport Checkpoint In Protest

Police say a man stripped to his underwear at a Virginia airport checkpoint in a protest against security procedures. Airport police said the man took off his shirt and pants at Richmond International..more

'Whacked out' couple make trouble at Mass

UPPER DARBY, Pa., Dec. 30 (UPI) -- Police in Pennsylvania said they arrested a "whacked out" couple after a midnight mass that featured the pair fondling each other and flushing drugs....more

Weather Leads To $900 Cab Ride

 New York - A New York family said they had to take a $900 cab ride home from an airport after discovering the bus they planned to take wasn’t running due to the weather. They booked a Jet Blue flight from Orlando to Buffalo, N.Y., about 400 miles from home. ”What the airport taxi are charging to take people to New York is $1,100. He decided to waive $200 so he charged me $900,” a family member said.  More…

Lost ring returns to owner after 29 years

Colorado - Twenty nine years ago, Kamala Madden’s high school class ring disappeared while she was sunbathing in the backyard of her mother’s home. Now, all grown up, she thought it was long gone. Until now. This week she received a Facebook message from a total stranger claiming to have her ring.  More…

Woman went nude in store

Maryland - Police in Maryland said they arrested a woman accused of stripping nude inside a convenience store and sexually harassing others in the shop. The Wicomico County Sheriff’s Office said Jennifer Marie Riegler, 22, of Accomac, Va., allegedly took off all her clothes at the Royal Farms store in Hebron. Investigators said Riegler made sexual comments to customers and employees.  More…

Fake “Nurse of the Year” Headed to Prison

Connecticut - A woman who staged a dinner honoring herself as “Nurse of the Year” will spend nine months in prison for practicing nursing without a license. Betty Lichtenstein, 57, of Danbury was working for Dr. Gerald Weiss in 2009, when Weiss complained to the Connecticut Department of Health that Lichtenstein had acted unprofessionally. An investigation found that Lichtenstein was never licensed to practice nursing.  More…

$50k in heroin at airport: It’s for my ailing grandmother

Detroit - A 53-year-old Oklahoma man says $50,000 worth of heroin found during a customs inspection at Detroit Metropolitan Airport was intended as a pain reliever for his ailing grandmother. Federal authorities say Stevan Patong Thao was arrested after arriving on a flight that originated in Laos and stopped in Narita, Japan. Thao was caught transporting two pill bottles containing 490 heroin capsules. More…

Man tried to register taxi he stole

California - Authorities in Northern California say a man released from a hospital after a psychiatric evaluation stole a taxi and tried to register it at a Department of Motor Vehicles office. 26-year-old Jermaine Grosse was arrested on suspicion of auto theft and forgery...More

94-year-old man fathers son

India - A 94-year-old man in India claims he has become the country’s oldest father by siring a son. Ramajit Raghav, a Kharkhoda farm laborer, said his wife, Shakuntala, who is in her mid-50s, recently gave birth to a son at Kharkhoda Civil Hospital. Hospital officials confirmed the birth but did not confirm whether Raghav was the child’s father...More

Man makes, guitars from cigar boxes

NEW LENOX, Ill., Dec. 29 (UPI) -- An Illinois man who has created 17 guitars from cigar boxes said he is also making a mandolin from the boxes and is now aiming to create a dulcimer...More

Spider-Man Cursed: Lead Actress Quits

New York - One of the lead actresses in Broadway’s “Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark,” Natalie Mendoza, who suffered a concussion during the musical’s first preview performance last month, is leaving the production, according to two people who work on the show and who spoke on condition of anonymity. Ms. Mendoza’s representatives and the producers of “Spider-Man” have been hammering out an exit agreement for days now...More

Newspaper Employee Steals ATM With Forklift

Florida - An employee of the Daytona Beach News-Journal newspaper is accused of using a forklift to steal an ATM from the building, police said. Daytona Police Chief Mike Chitwood said the employee, Jamie Greene, disconnected the power from the ATM and lifted the machine into a truck using a forklift. Both the truck and the forklift were owned by the newspaper. They were unable to open the ATM....More

N.J. man: Iceland 'too small to fail'

BRANCHBURG, N.J., Dec. 29 (UPI) -- A New Jersey businessman and hockey enthusiast was so moved by Iceland's financial troubles he organized 100 people to attend a hockey tournament there...More

$450,000 in drugs found on man passed out in taxi

Illinois - A frustrated cabdriver unwittingly delivered a man carrying a bag that was allegedly filled with nearly a half-million dollars in drugs to officers at the Rogers Park District police station. The driver said he picked up a fare in the Lincoln Park neighborhood and took the man to an address in Rogers Park. The passenger, later identified by police as Joseph Andrew Hoffman, 25, chatted on his phone for about half the trip but was unconscious by the time they arrived at the destination...More

Drunken driver reports himself to police

Iowa - Iowa City police say a 25-year-old man called 911 to report a drunken driver: himself. Francisco Castro called the emergency number. Officers found Castro sitting in the driver’s seat of a running vehicle. Police say Castro told officers that he called 911 because he thought he was too drunk to drive. A follow-up test showed his blood-alcohol level was nearly three times the legal limit.

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Rancher gets prized dog back for $10,000

Texas - A Texas rancher is still missing his pickup and trailer, but considers it well worth paying a $10,000 reward to have his dog back. Chris Cooley’s truck disappeared from a parking lot, along with six cattle gates, financial papers and his golden retriever, Jim Bowie. When Nathan Ramos of San Antonio called him and said he’d found Jim Bowie while walking his own dog, Cooley handed over the $10,000 he had posted for a reward...More

Ambulances get speeding tickets

Canada - Edmonton’s paramedics have been told to slow down and are getting tickets for speeding. A memo sent by Alberta Health Services to Emergency Medical Services workers directed drivers to respond within the posted speed limits even when responding with lights and siren. “It just doesn’t make a lot of sense,” said Elisabeth Ballermann, president of the Health Sciences Association of Alberta, which represents EMS workers. Edmonton paramedics are also getting ticketed for going through red lights...More

Drunken snowmobiler taunts police

Canada - Mounties say a man was so drunk he thought it would be a good idea to taunt police by spinning his snowmobile around a parking lot while swearing at officers. The man finally fell off his snowmobile right in front of officers in the midst of his antics. Police arrested a 35-year-old man from the Rural Municipality of St. Andrews and impounded a 2011 Polaris snowmobile....More

Man burned while cleaning lit fireplace

Colorado - A Colorado Springs man who tried to clean his natural-gas fireplace while it was still lit nearly roasted himself over an open fire. He was hospitalized with second-degree burns. Colorado Springs fire authorities say the unnamed man received facial burns after using an aerosol cleaner on the lit fireplace. Fire Lt. Tom Ruane said that the aerosol cleaner produced “a big fireball.”..More

19 Santas hit the Florida surf

COCOA BEACH, Fla., Dec. 26 (UPI) -- Nineteen surfers dressed in Santa suits rode the waves off Cocoa Beach, Fla., to "spread a little Christmas cheer," one them said.
Fifty-seven-year-old Rockledge surfer George Trosset and his fellow elves took on the 4- to 6-foot waves Friday morning when the air temperature was at about 65 degrees and the water at about 60 degrees, Florida Today reported....More

Shopper fights crowds so cousin could have Happy Kwanzaa

Humble, Texas - There was mayhem at an Humble mall as a crowd got unruly while waiting in line to purchase a high-dollar pair of sneakers. Police were called out to Deerbrook Mall before the sun came up as hundreds converged on the mall, hoping to be among the first to get their hands on the latest Nike Air Jordans. Akem Baer said, “I did all of this for her (cousin) so she better have a Merry Christmas and a Happy Kwanzaa.”...More

Christmas reindeer seized at airport

Los Angeles - A pair of Christmas reindeer were stopped and seized by custom officials at Los Angeles International Airport after they were found to be carrying grass and seeds prohibited in the country. The reindeer were being carried in the luggage of a passenger from El Salvador who was visiting family for the holidays. The seeds are required to be accompanied with a plant health certificate if they are to be allowed in the country....More

Cop arrested for tire puncture

Florida - A Florida police officer was arrested and charged with felony criminal mischief for allegedly damaging a co-worker’s vehicle by puncturing a tire. The officer, identified as Megan Ray, 40, “attempted to puncture the front passenger’s side tire several times” and tried to remove the victim’s “Fraternal Order of Police metal emblem from her (license) plate” while the car was parked in the Police Memorial Building parking lot...More 

‘Father Christmas’ arrests Italian mafioso

Italy - Father Christmas had a bad surprise in store for a suspected Sicilian mafia member — an arrest for racketeering. A policeman dressed as Father Christmas nabbed the man in a sting operation as he was coming out of a shop where he had extracted some protection money.“Father Christmas” dropped the bag of sweets that he was giving out and arrested 37-year-old Salvatore Politini, believed to be a member of the Santapaola mafia clan....More 

Shoppers Maced at Chaotic Air Jordan Sneaker Sale

Texas - Mesquite police used pepper spray to control an unruly crowd of sneaker shoppers. The incident happened at Towne East Mall, where dozens of people had lined up top buy Nike’s new Air Jordan 11 Retro, which went on sale at 6 a.m. Sisters Laurie and Lorraine Martinez described the scene as frightening and chaotic. “Nothing like I’ve ever experienced before,” Lorraine Martinez said. “I got pushed in a corner and we all got maced....More

Elvis Presley sets fire to judge's car in Siberia

A former police officer dressed up as Elvis Presley set fire to a local judge's car in the Siberian city of Omsk, local police said on Thursday. "Several passers-by were witnesses to the arson," police said. "They called the police and said that an Elvis lookalike was trying to set fire to a car." Police said the incident, which was filmed on CCTV, was not linked to the judge's professional activities. "Elvis Presley" could face up to five years in prison if found guilty...More

School janitor arrested for stealing Christmas presents

Florida - A janitor at Wilson Elementary in Sanford was arrested after she admitted to stealing two bags of wrapped presents. The Seminole County Sheriff’s Office says surveillance video from last Friday evening shows 47-year-old Barbara Williams, a custodian at the school, entering the locked office of the principal and removing two bags of wrapped presents....More

Boy, 13, Busted For Illegal Marker Possession, writing on paper

Oklahoma City - A 13-year-old boy was arrested for using a permanent marker while in class at his Oklahoma City middle school, a violation of an obscure city ordinance. The boy was spotted “in possession of a permanent marker” by Roosevelt Middle School teacher DeLynn Woodside (Pictured). A police spokesman referred to the student’s bust as a “citizen’s arrest” effectuated by Woodside....More

Bank Teller has last laugh on robber

A courageous teller laughed in the face of a would-be bandit who demanded cash from her in a lower Manhattan bank, police said yesterday. The 25-year-old teller was working at the Citibank branch at 127 Hudson St. at around 5 p.m. Monday, when the unidentified man strolled up and stated, "Excuse me, miss. This is a robbery. Give me all your large bills. Don't do anything stupid." The teller thought it was a joke and started laughing. The perp repeated, "Give me all your large bills" -- but she still refused. The crook fled, empty-handed....More

USA News-23 percent can’t pass military exam

USA - Nearly one-fourth of the students who try to join the military fail its entrance exam, painting a grim picture of an education system that produces graduates who can’t answer basic math, science and reading questions. The study is on top of Pentagon data that shows 75 percent of those aged 17 to 24 don’t qualify for the military because they are physically unfit, have a criminal record or didn’t graduate high school...More

Punks Steal, Vandalize Family’s Christmas Decorations

California - Police in La Canada Flintridge are on the lookout for men in baggy sweatshirts. Officials say the two young men vandalized a family’s outdoor Christmas decorations and display. But the decorating-damage-duo might not have the last laugh. The homeowner caught the act on tape. The home, on Indianola Way, was decked with stuffed animals and a holiday sleigh....More

Mechanical Singing Santa Irks Neighbors

New Jersey - A 6-foot-tall mechanical Santa Claus singing Christmas carols is drawing complaints from neighbors of its New Jersey owner. Union Beach residents said the musical decoration has been souring their holiday spirit with its non-stop singing. It’s literally 12 to 13 hours a day,” neighbor Mark Dittman said. Jill Patella, the singing Santa’s owner, said the ornament was the final gift she received from her husband, who died three years ago....more

Pearl turns up after decades - in man’s ear

Georgia - A Georgia man had a pearl from his mother’s necklace stuck in his ear for 41 years, but didn’t realize it until now. When Wright was 5, he and his sister, Regina, got hold of their mother’s necklace. “My mom was at work and the babysitter was watching us.” “My sister broke the necklace, and the pearls went everywhere.” Regina apparently shoved two pearls in his ear. Wright was taken to the hospital where the doctor said he got it out, but there were two....More

China - Ha Wenjin Woman Adopts 1,500 Stray Dogs

China - Ha Wenjin of Tangquan County, Nanjing, China, is a Good Samaritan beyond any definition of the word. She has relinquished her job, her home, her jewelry and her car to adopt more than 1,500 stray dogs. She used the funds she got from the sale of her worldly goods to establish an unofficial dog rescue center. “At first I did this in my spare time, but as I gathered more and more abandoned pets, I had to work full time for them,” said Ms. Wenjin...More

Man takes cigarette break, cops take him to psych ward

New York - A pair of blundering cops mistook a downtown man’s cigarette break for a suicide attempt. A lawyer enjoying a puff on the sill of his second-floor apartment window says he was wrestled to the floor by cops who hauled him off to the loony bin. He was shocked when a police car rolled up and two cops jumped out. “Are you about to commit suicide?” one cop asked. The 40-year-old trial lawyer scoffed. “If I jumped from here, I’d just sprain my ankle.”...More

Man breaks into home, licks the arm of a sleeping woman

Sweden - A Swedish burglary suspect swears he has no idea how he wound up in the home of a couple, licking the arm of a sleeping woman. The 22-year-old man, whose name was not released, told police in eastern Sweden he had had a little too much to drink and didn’t remember anything about his alleged break-in. In fact, had demanded to know who the two strangers were and why they were in his house....More

Smart Car loaded with 19 students

Pakistan - Students in Pakistan set a new world record by packing 19 students inside a standard Smart Car. Students from Karachi Grammar School were among the 19 packed into the tiny vehicle, breaking a previous record of 18 set in January in Australia, Geo News reported....More

Man brings club to sword fight

Indiana - A man was inside his home when he became upset that headlights from a car on the street were shining into his bedroom. That’s when police say he got into a fight with the man in the car. The man from the house eventually picked up a wooden club and the man from the car pulled out a samurai sword. The man with the sword sliced off three fingers from the man with the club...More

Woman holds police at bay after pistol-whipping her husband

Pennsylvania - Rodney Rutherford, Brazzilia Rutherford’s husband, testified that he was in the basement of the family’s home when his wife came looking for a fight. He said he tried to avoid her by going to the kitchen, when she pushed him. He said he then retreated to their bedroom and locked the door. “The next thing I know, the door got kicked off the hinges and went flying across the room,” he said. He said his wife then pulled a pistol out of her pocket. “She hauled off and hit me,” he testified...More

Artist told to remove nudes from park

BOCA RATON, Fla., Dec. 17 (UPI) -- A Florida artist said she was "offended" at the removal of her two nude sculptures from a community center where they had twice before been displayed...More

Soldier jailed for stealing Israeli army chief's gun (Reuters)

euters - A soldier who stole the gun and credit card details of Israel's military chief was sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment Sunday, Israeli media reported...more

Man drives old lady to rob bank

Janesville - When an elderly woman asked Luke Weimert to give her a ride to a bank, he had no idea his good deed would result in his arrest at gunpoint. Weimert thought 70-year-old Sandra Leanne Bathke was going to the bank to withdraw some cash to pay her rent. He was an hour into his interview with investigators before he realized Bathke, was accused of robbing the bank...more

Monkeys take up residence near airport

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Floridians near the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport said a family of non-native monkeys has moved into the area with their adopted raccoon.Monkeys take up residence near airport - UPI.com

Free booze for the homeless

Canada - A University of Victoria study recommends hiking alcohol prices in the province, while giving homeless people controlled access to free booze. That way, the study’s authors argue, young people will be less likely binge drink, and homeless people will be less likely to turn to cheaper non-beverage alternatives, like hairspray and hand sanitizer....More

Invention keeps saggy pants up

NEW YORK, Dec. 16 (UPI) -- A New York man said he has invented the perfect fashion accessory designed to keep low-riding pants sagging at just the right level...More

Wedding Off, Jilted Bride Sues for $95,942

Illinois - Fury has overtaken a jilted bride who is suing her former fiancé for the wedding costs. Dominique Buttitta, dumped four days before the wedding was to take place, is seeking damages of $95,942 from Vito Salerno to cover wedding expenses and the cost of the lawsuit. According to the case filed Cook County Circuit Court, an attorney, claimed breach of promise to marry and intentional infliction of emotional distress....More

Underwear thief returns to prison

BISMARCK, N.D., Dec. 16 (UPI) -- A North Dakota man returned to prison after he was found to have violated his probation for a third time by possessing women's underwear...More

Club owner posts “No Negroes Allowed” sign

Abbotsford, Wisconsin - A sign excluding black people from a future Abbotsford, Wisconsin business is enraging some people in the small town. It’s a sign generations of people may have never seen, yet Mark Prior says it’s his right to discriminate. Prior posted his ‘No Negros Allowed’ sign after he says he had some problems with black people in the past and needed to make a policy against them. ..More

Michael Vick Wants to Get Dog

USA - Eagles quarterback Michael Vick, who spent time in prison for his involvement in dog fighting, said having a dog as a pet would help in his rehabilitation. “I think just to have a pet in my household and to show people that I genuinely care, and my love and my passion for animals; I think it would be outstanding. My daughters miss having one, and that’s the hardest thing: telling them that we can’t have one because of my actions.” ..More

Man leads guards on low-speed shopping cart chase

When choosing a getaway vehicle, it's a good idea to make sure it goes more than 3 miles an hour. A Palm Beach man led security guards on an intense slow-speed chase in a motorized shopping cart in...More

Clinic wall crashed into twice in one day

Kansas - Two elderly patients drove through the same wall in the same day. Tammy Hatley, a chiropractic assistant at Lakewood Chiropractic in Wichita, said an elderly woman arriving for an appointment pressed the wrong pedal in the parking lot and crashed through the wall into the office. Another patient, an elderly man, slammed on the wrong pedal about 5 hours after the initial incident and shattered the newly replaced glass....more

Man Throws Dead Squirrel In Drive-Thru Window

Bartonville, Illinois - While all sorts of stuff has been thrown by enraged motorists through the drive-thru window, it wasn’t until last week that someone got arrested for heaving a dead squirrel at a fast food worker. When the Hardee’s worker told Christopher Thompson that she did not believe the animal was real she turned away from the window. That’s when the motorist said, “Yes, it is,” and “threw the dead squirrel into the restaurant.” ..More

Putin channels Fats Domino at party

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Vladimir Putin showed a whimsical side this weekend, taking a stage to play a piano and sing Fats Domino's "Blueberry Hill" in English.

The Russian premier wowed a celebrity crowd including Sharon Stone, Kevin Costner and Goldie Hawn at a children's charity dinner in St. Petersburg, ABC News reported....More

Condom museum opens in Thailand

Thailand - The recent opening of a small condom museum in Nonthaburi should hardly come as surprising news, given Thailand is one of the world’s largest producers of condoms, surpassing even traditional giants like The Netherlands. And then there’s the work that Thailand’s very own condom king, Mechai Viravaidya, has done over the last three decades, raising awareness on condom usage around the world....More

Toothpick removed from foot after 10 years

The 26-year-old consulted doctors at the clinic in Feldkirch several times to ask for help regarding the agonising pains in her right foot. Doctors decided to x-ray the limb but failed to spot a four-centimetre long piece of toothpick that was stuck deep inside the flesh. Reports have it they claimed the woman was insane and was imagining the pain....More