Odd, Weird and Offbeat News
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Cooked, salted or dried, field mice strung on sticks are sold as a popular delicacy in Malawi markets and roadside stalls.
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June 20, 2009
Bruno opens Amsterdam "pink light" brothel
British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen, in his latest incarnation as a gay Austrian fashion reporter, jet skied through a canal into Amsterdam's red light district on Friday to open a brothel full of men in thongs ahead of the Dutch premiere of 'Bruno'.
3:01 PM PDT, July 6, 2009
ODD NEWS
Wallet stolen in 1982 found in NYC tree; $20 gone
Money doesn't grow on trees, but a tree-care supervisor in New York City's Central Park found an old wallet inside a dead one.
May 22, 2009
Letourneau hosts `Hot for Teacher' night at bar
A teacher who became notorious in the 1990s for having an affair with a sixth-grader is hosting a "Hot for Teacher" night at a Seattle bar - along with the former student, now her husband.
May 13, 2009
Woman goes hysterical after man refuses to buy car for her
A popular Chinese online video showing a woman going hysterical after her male companion refuses to buy her a car is stirring debate about Shanghai's females, who are renowned for their demanding ways.
May 15, 2009
Man tried to hire prostitute for his son, 14
A man who tried to hire a prostitute to take his 14-year-old son's virginity as a present was spared jail by a court on today.
10:04 AM PDT, May 4, 2009
Man cut off, ate finger to protest overdue wages
A Serbian union official who chopped off his finger and ate it in a protest over wages that in some cases have not been paid in years, said Monday he did it to show how desperate he and other workers were.
Farmers fear pigs may get 'swine' flu from people
Humans have it. Pigs don't. At least not yet, and U.S. pork producers are doing everything they can to make sure that the new H1N1 virus, known around the world as the "swine flu," stays out of their herds.
Could it be the return of 'Flash Mountain'?
Call it an unexpected consequence of the bad economy: A recent round of staff reductions at Disneyland could result in the return of embarrassing episodes of public nudity at the Happiest Place on Earth.
11:20 AM PDT, April 25, 2009
Man, 84, fights off carjackers with groin kick
An 84-year-old man has a black eye, but he still has his car, after fighting off two would-be carjackers. Ted Mazetier said he stopped Wednesday night to help two men with a disabled car when one punched him in the face and demanded his keys. Mazetier said he kicked the man in the groin and the other in the belly. The two men fled as a passer-by stopped to help.
April 15, 2009
Man bites python who dragged him up a tree
A Kenyan man bit a python who wrapped him in its coils and hauled him up a tree in a struggle that lasted hours, local media said Wednesday.
Karate expert kills two over lice infection
A Russian karate expert has been charged with beating to death a 61-year-old woman and her son, whom he accused of infecting his wife with lice, an investigator said Friday.
BACK/STORY
The Road to Area 51
Area 51. It's the most famous military institution in the world that doesn't officially exist. If it did, it would be found about 100 miles outside Las Vegas in Nevada's high desert, tucked between an Air Force base and an abandoned nuclear testing ground.
April 20, 2009
Porterhouse sizzles at bulldog beauty contest
For three years, Porterhouse was so close to the title he could drool on it. Now, the Beautiful Bulldog crown is his to slobber on for the rest of the year.
April 1, 2009
2-nosed bunny found in Conn. pet shop
It's no April Fools joke. The baby bunny really does have two noses. A Connecticut pet shop worker found the nosey bunny in a delivery of 6-week-old dwarf rabbits that arrived at the Milford store last week. Both noses have two nostrils.
2:17 PM PDT, March 31, 2009
Barstool crash serves up drunk driving charge
Falling off a barstool can hurt one's pride, if not more, but an Ohio man got into trouble with the law for crashing his motorized version.
March 30, 2009
Instead of tight underwear, lingerie firm offers women "liberating" loincloths
Whether you're a g-string girl or prefer granny-style knickers, a Japanese lingerie maker is inviting women to liberate themselves from conventional, body-hugging underwear and don loincloths instead.
March 30, 2009
Arsonist escapes prison by clinging under security van
Police were hunting Monday a convicted arsonist who escaped from London's Pentonville prison by clinging to the underside of the security van that brought him there.
March 30, 2009
Cops: Man finds cell phone and demands owner pay $300 for it back
Police arrested a school safety officer, saying he demanded $300 from a woman after finding her cell phone. The 30-year-old man, who works at Lawrence High School in Massachusetts, was charged with theft of lost mislaid property Saturday.
March 30, 2009
Woman who sued police dog over buttocks bite fined
A woman sued a police dog that she blamed for injuries after it bit her in the buttocks. To a suburban Detroit judge, the bottom line was that the lawsuit was frivolous. So Warren District Judge David Viviano slapped 55-year-old Inez Starks with a $500 fine.
March 27, 2009
'Dumbest criminal' tries to rob officer at a cop convention gathering
A retired police chief said he was robbed by "probably the dumbest criminal in Pennsylvania," at a police officers' convention on Friday morning.
2:32 PM PDT, March 30, 2009
Attempt to flee delayed flight may land Briton in jail
A British tourist's bid to flee a delayed flight by opening an emergency exit as the plane idled on the tarmac at a New York airport could earn him a year behind bars on charges of reckless endangerment.
March 24, 2009
Crash pilot who paused to pray is convicted
A Tunisian pilot who paused to pray instead of taking emergency measures before crash-landing his plane, killing 16 people, has been sentenced to 10 years in jail by an Italian court along with his co-pilot.
2:14 PM PDT, March 20, 2009
Special Olympics bowler: I can beat the president
The top bowler for the Special Olympics looks forward to meeting President Barack Obama in an alley.
2:58 PM PDT, March 20, 2009
Surprising marriage ends in bizarre Ohio killing
James M. Mason knew his wife since she was born a boy. The janitor and former military man was a boarder in the child's home and was treated like family.
March 18, 2009
Legally blind man saves woman from attacker
A legally blind man was credited with saving a woman after authorities said a 45-year-old man broke into her apartment on Saturday night. Authorities said the man, a convicted rapist, was waiting for the woman to return home from work.
March 18, 2009
Wife divorcing ex-CEO: $43 million not enough
Former United Technologies Corp. chief executive George David and his wife are doing battle in Hartford in a divorce trial that shines light on the couple's extravagant lifestyle.
March 17, 2009
La. police arrest growling man on drug charges
Authorities arrested a 32-year-old Texas man on drug charges on Thursday after construction workers saw him on his hands and knees, eating mud and growling like a dog. A woman who accompanied the man from Texas told investigators he had been wandering around the complex and eating dog food.
March 18, 2009
Dog eats $400, but woman recovers some cash later
A North Carolina family's dog didn't eat the children's homework, he ate mom's money. Kelley Davis said she had an extra $400 in cash to deposit after working extra hours as a physical therapist.
March 13, 2009
Prisoners used nail clippers to escape
Six high-risk prisoners escaped a Canadian jail last summer after spending four months chipping a path to freedom with nail clippers and other makeshift tools, according to a government report released on Thursday.
March 16, 2009
Wash. man caught in HOV lane with unbuckled dummy
You forgot to buckle up, dummy! A commuter who put a homemade dummy in the passenger seat to sneak into the car pool lane was caught Wednesday near Seattle. But it wasn't because a cop realized the passenger was fake. Instead, the State Patrol trooper noticed the dangling belt buckle on the passenger side and suspected a seat belt violation.
March 13, 2009
Man unwisely tries to rob Tae Kwon Do studio
A robber gets more than he bargained for when he targeted a Tae Kwon Do studio in suburban Milwaukee. The robber thought he could quietly slip in and out of David Kang's studio in Fox Point with some loot. What he didn't realize is that he would encounter a Tae Kwon Do master who wasn't about to let him off the hook.
March 9, 2009
Washing machine liberated women most?
Feminists of the world sit down before you read this. The Vatican newspaper says that perhaps the washing machine did more to liberate women in the 20th century than the pill or the right to work.
March 6, 2009
Octopus gets inside lunchbox at Boston aquarium
What is 7 feet long, weighs 30 pounds, has eight arms and fits in a box slightly larger than a milk crate? Truman the octopus. Truman squeezed into a clear, acrylic box while trying to snag his lunch at the New England Aquarium in Boston.
March 3, 2009
Man assaults Chuck E. Cheese mascot
A Massachusetts man has been fined $500 for assaulting a Chuck E. Cheese mouse.
Man bottles, sells New York tap water -- to New Yorkers
New York City's tap water has been called among the nation's freshest. It's so good that a young entrepreneur is bottling it and selling it for $1.50.
February 21, 2009
GARDEN BRIEFS
Family's home-grown cucumber is a whopper
The Segee family in Leimert Park has discovered a simple way to get daughters Jai'Neil, left, Dee'Anna and Jai'Lynn excited about growing their own food: cultivate a 28-pound cucumber.
February 8, 2009
Boy marries dog to ward off tiger attacks
An infant boy was married off to his neighbors' dog in eastern India by villagers, who said it will stop the groom from being killed by wild animals, officials and witnesses said on Wednesday.
Woman's record-length fingernails broken in crash
A Utah woman listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for her long fingernails has lost them in a car crash. Lee Redmond of Salt Lake City sustained serious but non-life-threatening injuries in the accident Tuesday.
12:40 PM PST, February 13, 2009
Report: British boy becomes father at 13
He's 13. He scarcely looks 10. And according to a British tabloid, he's a father.
Ox born with heart-shaped marking
Remember Heart-kun the chihuahua? Mickey Moo the cow? Following in the footsteps of those other animals-with-unusual-markings who so captivated humankind comes Heart, an ox born with a prominent heart pattern on his forehead.
January 20, 2009
Two Burmese survive month at sea in an ice box
Two Myanmar fishermen have survived for almost a month in shark-infested waters by floating in a large ice box after their boat sank, rescue officials said.
January 21, 2009
Ind. man, 72, shaves shaggy eyebrows for charity
A 72-year-old man with eyebrows so long he brushed them each morning raised $1,600 for charity from people who paid to take turns trimming his out-of-control brows.
January 21, 2009
Fleeing suspect picks the wrong place to hide
A suspect who ran away from a traffic stop on Wednesday chose the wrong place to hide when he slipped under a parked moving truck - and then was run over when the driver pulled away. The Arizona Department of Public Safety said an officer stopped a 26-year-old man in west Phoenix just before 7 a.m. after he ran a red light. The man gave the officer his license, then ran away and disappeared behind a convenience store.
6:27 PM PST, January 14, 2009
NJ man posed as female veterinarian, police say
Police say a New Jersey man posed as a female animal doctor, ran an illegal veterinary practice and set up a phony rescue agency that may have duped pet lovers out of thousands of dollars.
January 14, 2009
'American Idol' sues over 'Stripper Idol' contest
"American Idol" wants an Austin strip club to take it off. The company that owns the popular television show sued in federal court to stop the weekly "Stripper Idol" contest at Palazio Men's Club. FremantleMedia North America also wants to seize Palazio's profits from the amateur stripping contest.
January 13, 2009
Australia offers up 'best job': lounge in paradise
Position: Island caretaker. Duties: Lazing around Australia's Great Barrier Reef for six months. Salary: 150,000 Australian dollars ($100,000).
January 12, 2009
Would-be bride, 107, seeks first husband
A 107-year-old Chinese woman who was afraid to marry when she was young has decided to look for her first husband and hopes to find a fellow centenarian so they will have something to talk about, a Chinese paper reported.
January 11, 2009
Rare tree kangaroo species has twins at Neb. zoo
Nebraska zookeepers are seeing double and they're thrilled about it, with the births of twins to a rare species of tree kangaroo.
January 12, 2009
Pair accused of assault over unappreciated gift
A couple accused of assaulting each other over an unappreciated Christmas gift have been ordered to stay away from each other. Randi Young, 24, and Heath Blom, 26, were arrested on Christmas day. Police said the pair argued after Blom complained about getting a Wii game system from Young instead of the remote control airplane he asked for. When Young started to leave, Blom allegedly grabbed her by the hair and she turned around and hit him,
Columnist explains how she read 462 books in one year
Sarah Weinman, who writes the Times' "Dark Passages" column, discusses "vacuum" reading and when she realized she had a talent.
Teenage girl, a rarity aboard fishing boats, lands giant yellowfin tuna
Sarah, 17, can fish. On her first long-range trip to waters off southern Baja California, she wrestled from the depths a yellowfin tuna weighing 234 pounds. It was one of the largest hauled aboard the vessel.
January 7, 2009
NY man demands estranged wife pay him for kidney
A New York doctor is demanding that his estranged wife pay him $1.5 million to compensate him for the kidney he gave her while they were still on good terms. Dr. Richard Batista spoke Wednesday to reporters at his lawyer's office in Garden City, Long Island.
January 7, 2009
Police seek blow-up doll sex bandit
An Australian man broke into three adult shops, had sex with blow up dolls named "Jungle Jane" and then dumped his plastic conquests in a nearby alley, local media reported Wednesday.
January 7, 2009
Gulp! Mexico tells citizens to swallow their gum
The country that gave the world chewing gum is getting gummed up: The average square yard (meter) of Mexico City sidewalk has 70 blobs of discarded chew.
January 7, 2009
Report: Schools spent $67K on cappuccino machines
An inspector's report shows Chicago Public Schools employees bent rules to spend $67,000 for espresso machines that largely haven't been used. The report shows the nation's third-largest district bought 30 cappuccino machines for a culinary arts program.
January 6, 2009
Driver warned of jail's sexual gorillas
An Australian court has issued a blunt warning about the sexual predators a young driver faces in jail if he does not stop speeding, as authorities struggle to stop teenagers street racing.
December 31, 2008
Some women threaten no sex if their men shoot fireworks
Some women in Naples said they won't make love if their men shoot off dangerous fireworks on New Year's Eve. "Se Spari, Niente Sesso" (If you shoot, no sex), as the reported group calls itself, claims to have signed up hundreds of women in the Naples area to combat celebrations that injure or maim hundreds each year.
Woman, 89, who kept boy's football, sues parents
An 89-year-old Cincinnati-area woman arrested for confiscating the neighbor kid's football is now suing the boy's parents. Edna Jester filed a lawsuit in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court claiming she has suffered emotional distress because footballs and other playthings belonging to her next-door neighbors keep landing in her yard.
December 31, 2008
Man tries to fool cops by calling 911 during stop
Authorities said a Sarasota man about to be pulled over by police tried to lure officers away by making a fake 911 call. Officers said they were following a 28-year-old man's car Monday to make a traffic stop when they got a 911 call for an armed robbery happening several blocks away.
December 30, 2008
Ore. woman, 88, gives naked intruder the 'squeeze'
The Multnomah County Sheriff's Office said an 88-year-old woman fended off a naked intruder by grabbing the man's crotch and squeezing. Deputy Paul McRedmond said the man got into the house Tuesday through a sliding door. He backed the woman into her living room and pushed her face down onto a chair.
December 30, 2008
Banned words list offers no 'bailout' to offenders
A movie about a "maverick," his journey "from Wall Street to Main Street," his "desperate search" for a "monkey" and a "game-changing" revelation about his "carbon footprint" probably would make the nation's word-watchers physically ill.
December 30, 2008
Tick tock ... tick: Extra second added to 2008
Those eager to put 2008 behind them will have to hold their good-byes for just a moment this New Year's Eve.
December 30, 2008
Woman slips out of cuffs and allegedly kicks cops
A Goffstown, N.H., woman slipped out of a pair of handcuffs and kicked two officers after being arrested on a drunken driving charge. The 47-year-old woman was charged on Monday after rear-ending another car around 4:30 p.m.
December 30, 2008
Man accused of ramming wheelchair into officer
A 45-year-old paraplegic rammed his wheelchair into an officer, threw urine from his catheter bag a patrol car and spat at the officer, police said Sunday. Ralph Evegan was arrested on charges of assaulting a police officer, obstructing official business, resisting arrest and disorderly conduct.
December 29, 2008
Detective asks to use bathroom, finds stolen gun
Authorities said a stolen gun was recovered when a detective tried to used the suspect's bathroom and couldn't get the toilet to work. A detective investigating the theft of a handgun, jewelry and cash from a Jensen Beach home was told a possible suspect might be staying at a Port St. Lucie hotel.
December 24, 2008
Let it snow: China builds "world's largest" ice Santa
China's freezing northern city of Harbin is building what organizers say is the world's largest Santa Claus ice sculpture.
December 17, 2008
Father offers daughter to shoe-thrower
An Egyptian man said on Wednesday he was offering his 20-year-old daughter in marriage to Iraqi journalist Muntazer al-Zaidi, who threw his shoes at U.S. President George W. Bush in Baghdad on Sunday,
December 22, 2008
Police probe assault on 50 "witches"
Indian police began a probe on Monday into reports that villagers in a tribal area of central India beat 50 women with sticks after accusing them of witchcraft, and cut off their hair.
December 19, 2008
Shocking study finds most will torture if ordered
Some things never change. Scientists said on Friday they had replicated an experiment in which people obediently delivered painful shocks to others if encouraged to do so by authority figures.
7:59 AM PST, December 22, 2008
Lonely man jumps into polar bear's cage in Berlin
A man jumped into the Berlin zoo enclosure of famed polar bear Knut on Monday, but officials were able to keep the animal away from the intruder by distracting him with a leg of beef, police said.
9:28 PM PST, December 18, 2008
Burger King launches beef-scented body spray
Looking to beef up your mojo this holiday season?
12:53 PM PST, December 14, 2008
Bush ducks shoes in Baghdad
It gives fresh meaning to the phrase shooed away.
4:22 PM PST, December 14, 2008
South El Monte imposes nightly curfew on its mayor
Fed up with the nocturnal work habits of its mayor, a city council has approved a curfew limiting how late she can work at City Hall.
December 10, 2008
Vets fix feline's face after 'cat'-astrophe
Me-ouch! Veterinarians on Tuesday performed an unusual surgery to reattach the face of a cat they believe was injured by a car's fan belt, probably because she tried to stay warm under the hood.
Blog: A new girdle for flabby upper arms
It's come to this, ladies: Our flab will not be tolerated. Not on our tummies or our butts or our thighs -- thanks to Spanx. And now, even flabby upper arms are off limits.
December 8, 2008
Dog tries to rescue dog that was hit by car
Chileans have a new hero: an apparently homeless dog who's gone missing. A surveillance camera on a Santiago freeway captured images of a dog trotting past speeding cars to pull the body of another dog, mortally struck by a vehicle, away from traffic, to the median strip.
A Victorian mansion, built for the dogs
Well, it turns out that Coco Puff and Darla didn't actually spend $20,000 on their home -- their owner, Tammy Kassis, did.
The doggie mansion is equipped with heating and air conditioning and hardwood floors, among other luxuries. Photos
December 4, 2008
Police detain 49 for "satanic" clothes
Police have arrested 49 people this week in a northern Iranian city during a crackdown on "satanic" clothes, IRNA news agency reported Thursday.
December 3, 2008
Forget socks, adopt a koala for Christmas
They're cute, they're cuddly and, in these times of financial woe, they make an affordable festive gift that's also good for the soul -- adopt a rescued koala.
December 5, 2008
Dog frozen to Wis. sidewalk; fat helped it survive
A dog weighing more than 120 pounds survived being frozen to a sidewalk overnight, probably because he was insulated by layers of fat, authorities said. The Sheboygan County Humane Society says the "morbidly obese" dog, an aging border collie mix named Jiffy, froze to the sidewalk when he was left out overnight Wednesday. Shelter manager Carey Payne says few dogs could survive the single-digit temperatures, and it was probably the fat that made the difference.
December 3, 2008
Nigeria "witchdoctor" held over child killing claim
Police have arrested a man in southeastern Nigeria who said in a television documentary he had killed 110 children he believed to be possessed by evil spirits, officials said on Wednesday.
December 3, 2008
Swedish researchers create body-swap illusion
Researchers using closed-circuit televisions to create an illusion have made volunteers virtually swap bodies, even making women believe they were in a man's body and vice-versa.
December 1, 2008
Man says God ordered him to ram vehicle at 100 mph
A man who rammed his truck into a woman's vehicle on a highway early Friday told authorities he crashed into her while going more than 100 mph because God told him "she needed to be taken off the road."
December 3, 2008
Man jumps into cab of moving pickup to stop theft
A man who saw his pickup truck being stolen jumped into the bed of the moving vehicle, kicked out the back window and crawled into the cab to stop the thief. Police said the woman who stole the truck then jumped out and hopped into her boyfriend's car, which the truck owner chased until officers intervened.
November 28, 2008
Edna Parker dies at 115; former teacher was world's oldest person
Edna Parker, a former Indiana schoolteacher who was certified as the world's oldest person, died Wednesday at a nursing home in Shelbyville, Ind. She was 115.
November 26, 2008
Italian party to pay for babies named after Mussolini
An Italian right-wing party is offering 1,500 euros ($1,930) to parents who name their babies after wartime fascist dictator Benito Mussolini or his wife Rachele, saying their names are under threat.
November 27, 2008
Disgruntled 8-year-old boy crashes teacher's car
An eight-year-old German schoolboy who wanted to complain to his mother about being sent out of class took his teacher's car and crashed it, police said.
November 28, 2008
Judge allows civil suit over co-worker's perfume
A federal judge says a Detroit city employee can proceed with a civil suit claiming she couldn't work because of a co-worker's strong perfume.
November 27, 2008
Thief uses lubricant to swipe ring on woman's hand
Police said a thief used a Vaseline-like lubricant to swipe an expensive ring off an elderly woman's hand in broad daylight. Authorities said two men bumped 80-year-old Helen Artim's car, then asked her to open her trunk to check for damage.
November 26, 2008
Why won't the polar bears mate? They're both female
Puzzled Japanese zookeepers have cleared up a mystery over a lack of chemistry between a couple of polar bears as both turn out to be female, a Japanese zoo said Wednesday.
November 25, 2008
Bra for the boys an online bestseller in Japan
Who said bras are only for women? A Japanese online lingerie retailer is selling bras for cross-dressing men and they've quickly become one of its most popular items.
November 22, 2008
Panda in China zoo bites student who wanted a hug
A college student in southern China was bitten by a panda after he broke into the bear's enclosure hoping to get a hug, state media and a park employee said Saturday.
4:24 PM PST, November 21, 2008
Man says cell phone saved him from stray bullet
R.J. Richard says he doesn't normally put his cell phone in his chest pocket. But he says it saved his life the one time he did.
November 21, 2008
Court rules obese have right to two airline seats
Obese people have the right to two seats for the price of one on flights within Canada, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled Thursday.
8:15 AM PST, November 18, 2008
City threatens blind woman over unpaid 1-cent bill
A 74-year-old blind woman was shocked when her daughter found a letter from the city saying a lien would be placed on her home unless she paid an overdue water bill.
8:14 AM PST, November 18, 2008
Iowa magician, hand model sues over snipped finger
A hand model, magician and actor blames a Martha Stewart-branded lounge chair for snipping off a bit of his livelihood.
10:18 AM PST, November 14, 2008
Robber threatens to complain after finding no cash
Police say a central Pennsylvania man tried to rob a bank - but tellers' empty cash drawers thwarted his attempt. Springettsbury Township Police Lt. Scott Laird said the tellers were waiting for their cash drawers to be filled when a man entered a Susquehanna Bank branch Thursday morning and demanded money. The first teller fainted and the next two showed him their empty cash drawers.
11:13 AM PST, November 14, 2008
Kanye West says he's 'voice of this generation'
Kanye West is to music what Michael Jordan was to basketball--at least that West thinks, in his humble estimation. "I realize that my place and position in history is that I will go down as the voice of this generation, of this decade, I will be the loudest voice," he said in an interview on Wednesday.
2:09 PM PST, November 12, 2008
Canadian prisoner, too fat for cell, released early
An obese inmate who goes by the nickname "Big Mike" has been granted early parole because a Canadian prison could not accommodate his 430-pound frame.
9:12 AM PST, November 11, 2008
Husband's coffin kills woman in Brazil
Police say a woman has died on the way to a cemetery when a traffic accident hurled her husband's coffin against the back of her neck.
10:36 AM PST, November 11, 2008
Peru offers bald dog of Incas to Obamas
Peruvians crazy about their national dog, a bald and often toothless breed popular among Incan kings, offered Monday to send a hypoallergenic puppy to the Obama family.
2:10 PM PST, November 10, 2008
Woman found living with three dead siblings
An elderly woman has been living with two skeletons and a badly decomposed body of her siblings in a suburb of Chicago, one of whom may have died at least 20 years ago, authorities said on Saturday.
1:50 PM PST, November 10, 2008
World's ugliest dog dies after battle with cancer
A one-eyed, three-legged dog that won the title of world's ugliest pooch this summer has died. The St. Petersburg Times in Florida reports that Gus, a Chinese crested dog, had cancer. He was 9. Gus was rescued from a bad home and went on to win the annual World's Ugliest Dog contest at the Sonoma-Marin Fair in northern California. Photos
2:07 PM PST, November 10, 2008
Cops have tough time finding sober driver for boy
Indiana state police said that after a mother was arrested for drunken driving, the three relatives who came to pick up her 1-year-old son also had all been drinking. A state trooper stopped a minivan for speeding early Saturday on U.S. 30 in Schererville in northwestern Indiana. He arrested the 24-year-old woman on a drunken driving charges.
2:12 PM PST, November 10, 2008
Brazil gang robs, blows up police station
A group of men used dynamite to blow up a police station in a town in Brazil's Sao Paulo state on Monday, after seizing machine guns and a large cache of confiscated drugs from the building.
10:26 AM PST, November 7, 2008
Pres. Bush's dog bites reporter: Is that news?
It seems President Bush's dog Barney wasn't much in the mood for friendly attention during his walk outside the White House on Thursday. So when Reuters reporter Jon Decker reached down to pet the Scottish terrier, the seemingly docile dog snapped at him and bit Decker's right index finger.
November 6, 2008
Careful burglar takes no chances and wears 2 masks
It could be called the case of the careful cat burglar. Authorities said a man wore not one, but two masks when he broke into a house in Beaufort on Wednesday. The Beaufort Gazette reported the suspect got away with a woman's purse and several other items.
11:26 AM PST, November 5, 2008
Victim drives sleeping rapist to police station
A New Zealand rape victim drove her rapist to a police station when he fell asleep in his car after assaulting the woman, local media reported today.
Blog: World's oldest person of African descent casts historic vote for Obama
When Gertrude Baines was born, Grover Cleveland was president, the American flag had 44 stars, and African Americans risked their lives to vote. Today, she cast a ballot for Barack Obama.8:56 AM PST, November 3, 2008
Palin takes prank call from fake French president
Sarah Palin unwittingly took a prank call Saturday from a Canadian comedian posing as French President Nicolas Sarkozy and telling her she would make a good president someday.
November 1, 2008
Michigan woman denies treats to Obama supporters, their kids
A suburban Detroit woman has decided to scare up the vote among neighborhood children by just offering treats to John McCain supporters.
10:32 AM PDT, October 31, 2008
Michigan bowler dies moments after 300 game
He had belonged to the same team at a bowling alley for 45 years, and he had just rolled a 300 for his first perfect game.
October 30, 2008
Vietnam suspends plan to ban small-chested drivers
Faced with mounting public criticism, Vietnam's Health Ministry suspended a widely ridiculed plan to ban short, thin and small-chested drivers.
9:02 AM PDT, October 27, 2008
World's heaviest man marries in Mexico
The world's heaviest man has tied the knot. Manuel Uribe, who hasn't left his bed in six years, married his longtime girlfriend Claudia Solis Sunday in northern Mexico.
October 25, 2008
SoCal woman arrested for allegedly abducting noisy dog
An officer at a San Diego County correctional facility who had complained about the barking of her neighbor's dog was arrested after being accused of stealing the animal and abandoning it some 15 miles away.
October 24, 2008
Fla. woman grows dreads to nearly 9 feet
Asha Mandela has hair that could rival Rapunzel's. The South Florida woman who started growing her hair 20 years ago now has locks longer than she is tall.
October 24, 2008
Lightning strike kills 52 cows
Lightning struck only once -- but 52 cows are dead at an Uruguayan ranch.
11:24 AM PDT, October 23, 2008
Woman jailed after 'killing' virtual husband
A 43-year-old player in a virtual game world became so angry about her sudden divorce from her online husband that she logged on with his password and killed his digital persona, police said Thursday.
11:20 AM PDT, October 22, 2008
Tina Fey glues ears down to look like Sarah Palin
Actress Tina Fey says she glues her ears down for her popular television impressions of Sarah Palin, but it took her a while to accept she was almost a perfect double for the Republican vice presidential candidate.
2:22 PM PDT, October 20, 2008
Fla. woman chooses to go jail over $7.45 bill
A woman decided to go to jail rather than pay her bill at a Fort Pierce Waffle House restaurant. The total she went to jail over: $7.45. According to a police report, Maryanne O'Neill, 66, ordered coffee and a sandwich at a Waffle House restaurant on Saturday but refused to pay the bill.
4:12 PM PDT, October 20, 2008
Ex-Mormon calendar- maker has BYU diploma yanked
Brigham Young University has yanked the diploma of a man who created a calendar featuring shirtless Mormon missionaries and was later excommunicated from the church.
October 17, 2008
Pa. man eats belly-busting, 15-lb. burger
It took Brad Sciullo 4 hours and 39 minutes to finish a marathon. A meat marathon, that is. Photos
10:38 AM PDT, October 17, 2008
World record sandwich? Iranians eat evidence
Iran failed Friday to register what it said would be the world's largest sandwich in the Guinness book of World Records after people rushed forward and began eating it -- before it was measured.
October 22, 2008
UK police find naked burglary suspect in chimney
British police say they found a naked burglary suspect trapped in the chimney of a supermarket in the northern English town of Pemberton.
10:26 AM PDT, October 17, 2008
Father takes son to court for idleness
A father took his 20-year old son to an Islamic court in northern Nigeria for idleness, asking that he be sent to prison for refusing to engage in productive activities, state news agency NAN said Friday.
October 16, 2008
Fla. deputy learns Tasers don't work on wild boars
While normally effective on people, a Hernando deputy learned the hard way that Taser stun guns do not work very well on wild boars.
8:46 AM PDT, October 16, 2008
Man making kebabs next to corpse
A man discovered making kebabs near a corpse has been banned from managing food businesses and fined 3,800 pounds, Wolverhampton City Council said Tuesday.
October 16, 2008
Irish bookies crown Obama the winner
Ireland's major betting company Paddy Power is so sure that Barack Obama will win the U.S. presidential election next month that it paid out more than 1 million euros ($1.35 million) on pro-Obama bets Thursday.
October 16, 2008
Woman's body cremated in culvert, officials say
The daughter and a grandson of an 84-year-old woman who died at a Northern California farmhouse cremated her on an improvised barbecue and fashioned a necklace with a chunk of the woman's skull, authorities in rural Tehama County said Wednesday.
2:11 PM PDT, October 15, 2008
Suit against God thrown out over lack of address
A judge has thrown out a Nebraska legislator's lawsuit against God, saying the Almighty wasn't properly served due to his unlisted home address. State Sen. Ernie Chambers filed the lawsuit last year seeking a permanent injunction against God.
Official undone by tight trouser crackdown
A senior official in South Sudan who ordered a crackdown on young women wearing tight trousers has been sacked, officials said Saturday.
12:24 PM PDT, October 11, 2008
Cambodian couple saws house in two in divorce settlement
A couple in rural Cambodia has terminated their 18-year marriage with a divorce settlement that entailed sawing in two the wooden house they once shared, villagers said Friday.
2:55 PM PDT, October 10, 2008
NY election mix-up: 'Osama' on the ballot
Who is running for president? In an upstate New York county, hundreds of voters have been sent absentee ballots in which they could vote for "Barack Osama."
October 11, 2008
Fake realtor rented out unknowing owner's NY home
A Long Island, N.Y., family thought they got a good deal when they found a rental house for $1,000 a month -- until the owner showed up and asked what they were doing there.
1:52 PM PDT, October 9, 2008
Strong-arm robber in Mich. ends up $30 in the hole
Police said a strong-arm robber got locked in a chokehold by his intended victim and ended up $30 in the hole. Police in the Detroit suburb of Warren said the robber approached a 36-year-old man and demanded money on Tuesday night.
1:55 PM PDT, October 9, 2008
Man to hold 'I was stupid' sign outside Wis. plant
A man who caused damage at a waste water treatment plant in Eau Claire has decided to pick public humiliation over jail time to pay for his crime.
8:12 AM PDT, October 10, 2008
Russia's Putin gets tiger cub for his birthday
There's no doubt what Vladimir Putin's favorite birthday present is this year -- a rare Ussuri tiger cub. Photos
10:40 AM PDT, October 9, 2008
Judge sentences rap music fan to Bach, Beethoven
A defendant had a hard time facing the music.
October 8, 2008
Foo Fighters tell McCain to stop using 'My Hero' song
Yet another band is complaining about John McCain's use of their song to promote his campaign. This time, it's the Foo Fighters.
12:03 PM PDT, October 8, 2008
Judge dismisses blonde's lawsuit over brown dye
A Connecticut judge has given the brush-off to a blonde woman's lawsuit claiming L'Oreal Inc. ruined her social life when she accidentally dyed her hair brunette with one of its products.
World's tallest man becomes world's tallest dad
The world's tallest man, China's Bao Xishun, became the world's tallest father this week with the birth of his first child, a boy whose initial height seems a compromise between his gigantic dad and average-sized mum. Photos
October 6, 2008
Surf-loving priests lead interfaith worshipers in a 'blessing of the waves'
Catholics, Jews and Muslims gather at the Huntington Beach Pier to offer brief prayers. After a bowl of holy water is poured into the ocean, some grab their boards and hit the waves. Photos
1:09 PM PDT, October 2, 2008
Man shoots himself in arm after being denied sex
Authorities say a Fort Myers man shot himself in the arm after his girlfriend refused to have sex with him. The Lee County Sheriff's Office reported that a 29-year-old man and his girlfriend returned home from a bar early Wednesday morning.
October 3, 2008
2008 Ig Nobel Prizes honor research on stripper fertility and Coca-Cola as spermicide
Deborah Anderson had heard the urban legends about the contraceptive effectiveness of Coca-Cola products for years. So she and her colleagues decided to put the soft drink to the test. In the lab, that is. List of winners
October 2, 2008
Bid of $1.75 on eBay gets abandoned Saginaw home
With a winning bid of just $1.75, a Chicago woman has won an auction for an abandoned home in Saginaw. Photos
October 8, 2008
Man sued over in NYC over 25-foot Viagra rocket
A New York man is being sued for trademark infringement after he towed a 25-foot-long fake missile around Manhattan with the words "Viva Viagra" printed in blue on its sides.
Blog: Leo DiCaprio, Jen Aniston, Halle Berry say 'DON'T VOTE!!!'
Video: Stars like Dustin Hoffman, Halle Berry, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Jamie Foxx, Eva Longoria, Jennifer Aniston, Ellen DeGeneres, Kevin Bacon, Kyra Sedgwick and more, took the time to make this "5 Friends" video telling, make that urging, everyone NOT to vote.
7:37 AM PDT, September 30, 2008
Fat dolphins going on a diet at Japan aquarium
Dolphins at a Japanese marine park are going on a low fat diet after developing pot bellies and failing to look sharp in their aquatic performances.
8:41 AM PDT, September 25, 2008
Man charged after allegedly farting toward cop
A West Virginia man who police said passed gas and fanned it toward a patrolman has been charged with battery on a police officer.
September 19, 2008
Man sentenced to 6 years in prison for robbing toddler's piggy bank
A man convicted of stealing $20 from a toddler's piggy bank has been sentenced to six years in prison.
2:37 PM PDT, September 19, 2008
Hackers claim break-in to Palin's e-mail account
Hackers broke into the Yahoo! e-mail account that Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin used for official business as Alaska's governor, revealing as evidence a few inconsequential personal messages she has received since John McCain selected her as his running mate.
September 17, 2008
Hotel fires philandering male staff
A small hotel on Turkey's Mediterranean coast has fired all its male employees for repeatedly having affairs with foreign female guests, the manager said on Wednesday.
September 16, 2008
Court detains preacher with 86 wives
A Nigerian Muslim court Monday detained an 84-year-old Islamic preacher with 86 wives after he failed to heed a call by local leaders to divorce all but four of them.
2:27 PM PDT, September 12, 2008
Dad chases nude boy from daughter's room with pipe
An angry Deltona father whacked his teenage daughter's boyfriend with a metal pipe after finding the boy naked in his daughter's room. Authorities say the father, 45, didn't even know his daughter had a boyfriend or that the youngster had been sneaking into the home for more than a year.
2:20 PM PDT, September 11, 2008
Lewd vandal leaves greasy imprints on Neb. town
Boy, how people here wish their busiest vandal would find another way to make his mark. Beginning more than a year ago, some man has been skipping from one business to another at night, pressing his naked behind - sometimes his groin, sometimes both - on windows. Store owners, church workers and school janitors have had to wash lotion and petroleum jelly off the windows he selects.
9:18 AM PDT, September 10, 2008
Airline seeks bald men as walking billboards
New Zealand's national airline is offering to pay bald travelers to use their heads - literally - in a new advertising campaign.
2:24 PM PDT, September 10, 2008
Principal regrets making students view excrement
A Colorado Springs elementary school principal has apologized for making students look inside a bag of human feces and urine.
2:53 PM PDT, September 9, 2008
Man says he's eaten 23,000 Big Macs since 1972
A 54-year-old man says his obsessive-compulsive disorder drove him to eat 23,000 Big Macs in 36 years. Fifty-four-year-old Don Gorske says he hit the milestone last month, continuing a pleasurable obsession that began May 17, 1972 when he got his first car.
September 7, 2008
Fish flies out of lake, breaks Arkansas teen's jaw
It's a fishing tale that packs a wallop so strong it broke the jaw of a southeastern Arkansas teen and covered him in fish blood and guts.
2:28 PM PDT, September 5, 2008
NJ cops kick in door over bird's cries for help
Cries for help inside a Trenton, N.J., home turned out to be for the birds. Neighbors called police Wednesday morning after hearing a woman's persistent cry of "Help me! Help me!" coming from a house. Officers arrived and when no one answered the door, they kicked it in to make a rescue.
August 29, 2008
Remember your loved one -- as a diamond
Diamonds really are forever. Algordanza, a small company based in the mountainous southeast of Switzerland, uses the ashes of dead people to make diamonds as a permanent memento for their nearest and dearest.
12:59 PM PDT, September 4, 2008
Man accused of igniting sleeping man's pants
A man was freed on $20,000 bond after being accused of setting another man's pants on fire. Joseph Hornsey, 21, was charged with aggravated battery.
1:30 PM PDT, September 3, 2008
Cross-dressing thief leaves fake breast behind
Police in Port St. Lucie are on the lookout for a cross-dressing man who snatched a 74-year-old woman's purse. As if that weren't odd enough, they're depending on a strange clue. The suspect left behind a condom filled with water he had been using as a fake breast.
September 3, 2008
Suspected car burglar gets a dirty dumping
A 22-year-old suspected truck burglar made a dirty mistake after he tried to hide inside a portable toilet on Saturday. Tampa police said the man broke into two pickup trucks at a parking lot and the owner of the second truck fought the suspect and chased him to a nearby construction site.
September 1, 2008
Russia's Putin tracks tiger in latest TV escapade
He's driven a big truck, flown in a Russian fighter jet and fished shirtless on national television.
10:39 AM PDT, August 29, 2008
Help-wanted ad for nanny: `My kids are a pain'
It was an unusually honest ad for a live-in nanny, a 1,000-word tome beginning, "My kids are a pain." But it worked, attracting a brave soul who's never been a nanny before.
August 14, 2008
Man gets 2 years in prison for killing cat
A Los Angeles man who killed his girlfriend's cat, telling her to "follow the blood trail to find Tweety," has been sentenced to two years in prison.
1:58 PM PDT, August 28, 2008
Disposable diaper breaks fall, saves child's life
A disposable diaper has saved the life of an 18-month-old boy, breaking his fall from a third-floor apartment window, officials said Thursday.
8:04 AM PDT, August 28, 2008
Italian museum defies pope over crucified frog
An Italian museum today defied Pope Benedict and refused to remove a modern art sculpture portraying a crucified green frog holding a beer mug and an egg that the Vatican had condemned as blasphemous.
Indonesia's "tree man" comes home after treatment
An Indonesian man dubbed the "tree man" because of gnarled growths on his body has returned from hospital after six kilograms (13 pounds) of warts were surgically removed from his body, a doctor said on Tuesday.
Man jailed after sending Iowa hostages for beer
An Illinois man who police say held five people hostage in a motel in Fort Madison, Iowa, was arrested after he sent two of his hostages on a beer run.
7:30 AM PDT, August 27, 2008
Woman forced from fed building for lesbian shirt
A woman wearing a T-shirt promoting lesbianism said she was forced the leave a federal building Monday by a security guard who didn't approve of her attire.
7:48 AM PDT, August 27, 2008
Australian school bans cartwheels in playground
A school in northern Australia will review a ban on cartwheels, handstands and other gymnastic tumbles in the playground after a community backlash, the state education department said Wednesday.
Blog: Alabama to place 'fat tax' on obese state employees
Alabama officials are warning state employees to shape up or pay more for health insurance.
2:45 PM PDT, August 26, 2008
Cat survives being walled in under bath for 7 weeks
A four-year-old cat in Germany called Bonny has survived after being walled in beneath a bathtub for seven weeks, its owner said today.
August 25, 2008
Fame finds 4-eared feline thanks to Internet photo
The owners of Yoda - a cat with four ears - could use a couple extra hands to answer their telephones.
9:44 AM PDT, August 26, 2008
Feisty puppy scares off 3 bears in NJ back yard
If only Goldilocks had a cockapoo.
August 25, 2008
Abandoned baby found safe with dog
A newborn baby abandoned outdoors in winter by her 14-year-old mother was found safe in a dog pen with a mother dog and her brood of puppies near the city of La Plata, Argentine media reported on Friday.
7:51 AM PDT, August 22, 2008
Man uses Barbie fishing rod to make record catch
David Hayes' granddaughter just asked him to hold her Barbie rod and reel while she went to the bathroom. He did. And seconds later he landed the state record channel catfish at 21 pounds, 1 ounce.
Colo. residents debate cow and bear confrontation
It sounds like this cow had a beef with the bear. Neighbors spotted a cow and a wild bear nuzzling noses Sunday and playing in a pasture. The bear later dashed away, but no one's sure whether the cow wanted the pasture for herself or more playtime.
9:41 AM PDT, August 19, 2008
Court gives green light to "boobs on bikes" parade
A New Zealand court has allowed a parade of topless porn stars on motor bikes to proceed on the main street of the country's biggest city, local media said Tuesday.
August 14, 2008
Man banned from girlfriend's home after noisy sex
A British man has been banned from visiting his girlfriend's home after neighbors complained about noisy sex, a local government official said Thursday.
12:04 PM PDT, August 18, 2008
Baby whale seems to think yacht is its mother
Australian media say a lost humpback whale calf has bonded with a yacht it seems to think is its mother. The 1- to 2-month-old calf was first sighted Sunday in waters off north Sydney, and on Monday tried to suckle from a yacht, which it would not leave.
12:47 PM PDT, August 18, 2008
Teen trying to burn spiders sets home on fire
Fire investigators have come up with an unusual cause of a blaze that damaged a home in Reno - spider killing. Reno Fire Battalion Chief Rick Kajans said a teenager was using fire to try to kill spiders Sunday afternoon when he accidentally set a fence on fire that then also burned part of his home on Neil Road.
2:20 PM PDT, August 15, 2008
Georgia men claim hairy, frozen corpse is Bigfoot
Two men claim they've bagged Bigfoot, and they say they have the hairy corpse of the legendary creature stored away in a freezer. | Blog
Blog: The Beyonce ad and skin bleaching
The controversy over the recent L'Oreal Paris ad for Feria hair color featuring an allegedly whitewashed Beyonce (right) should spur talk about the perils of skin bleaching.
August 14, 2008
Ohio man buys new truck with thousands of coins
An Ohio man who says he doesn't trust paper money has delivered enough coins to cover half the price of a brand new pickup truck.
11:21 AM PDT, August 14, 2008
Ex-cop sentenced for pulling over woman for number
A former part-time Pennsylvania police officer has been sentenced to 30 days in jail for pulling over a woman while he was off duty - just to give her his phone number. Steven Klinger, 32, was charged with official oppression, or acting outside his authority as an officer.
August 13, 2008
Buy evidence of my husband's adultery on eBay
An Australian woman has taken revenge on her cheating husband by putting a photograph of his lover's underpants up for sale on the auction site eBay.
9:01 AM PDT, August 12, 2008
Man says he's porn inspector, demands free videos
A man claiming to be a police detective tried to get an adult novelty shop to give him free X-rated videos, saying he wanted to make sure the performers weren't underage, authorities said.
8:10 AM PDT, August 11, 2008
Forklift helps 700-lb Mexican man take rare outing
A 700-pound man once considered the world's most obese person left his home for the first time in five months Sunday with the aid of a forklift and a platform truck.
August 13, 2008
Winnie-the-Pooh held for robbery?
Japanese police have arrested a 20-year-old man who attacked and robbed two people after they stared at his Winnie-the-Pooh costume, officials said on Tuesday.
3:38 PM PDT, August 8, 2008
White supremacists hope Obama wins
They're not exactly rooting for Barack Obama, but prominent white supremacists anticipate a boost to their cause if he becomes the first black president. His election, they say, would trigger a backlash -- whites rising up, a revolution of sorts -- that they think is long overdue.
Tenn. constable wins election with 1 vote -- her own
All it takes is one vote to win. Just ask a Tennessee woman who was elected constable by voting for herself. Angela Tuttle, 32, said her father encouraged her to run as a write-in candidate because no one else was vying for one of the positions in Hancock County, which is in northeastern Tennessee.
12:58 PM PDT, August 6, 2008
Woman riding a donkey fights off lion with machete
A Mexican woman said she fought a 500-pound lion with a machete near the resort city of Acapulco and scared him away. Celsa Aleman said she and her 7-year-old niece were riding a donkey Monday along a road when the lion went after the animal's legs.
12:18 PM PDT, August 6, 2008
26 teen cheerleaders rescued from crammed elevator
Twenty-six teenage cheerleaders tried to cram themselves into an elevator at the University of Texas to see how many would fit, but then they got stuck and had to be rescued. One girl was treated and released at a hospital and two others were treated at the scene after the Tuesday night prank, officials said.
8:34 AM PDT, August 5, 2008
S. Korean firm delivers commercial dog clones
Booger died in 2006, but now he's back - at least in clone form, after the birth last week of puppies replicated by a South Korean company.
2:11 PM PDT, August 5, 2008
Policewomen get 'bullet-proof bras'
Thousands of German policewomen will receive what media have labeled "bullet-proof bras."
2:55 PM PDT, August 4, 2008
Farmer erects his own 'redneck Stonehenge'
A farmer has erected a fence in his backyard made of three old cars sticking up in the air to send a message to new neighbors that he can do whatever he wants on his farm. "This is just a fun way for me to say, 'Hey boys, I'm still here,'" said Rhett Davis. "This is my redneck Stonehenge."
10:02 AM PDT, August 6, 2008
Wily sea lion slips aboard family's Wash. sailboat
No one wants to be stuck with a large, uninvited visitor. Especially a sea lion that makes itself at home on a family sailboat - twice.
8:06 AM PDT, August 5, 2008
Mountain lion snatches dog from owners' bedroom
A mountain lion has snatched a Labrador retriever from a bedroom in the foothills southwest of Denver, and the dog's dead body was found nearby.
August 5, 2008
Israeli parents forget daughter at airport
An Israeli couple going on a European vacation remembered to take their duty-free purchases and their 18 suitcases, but forgot their 3-year-old daughter at the airport, police said Monday.
August 4, 2008
Chef: sorry for suggesting poison plant in salad
A British celebrity chef says he's sorry for mistakenly recommending a deadly plant as a tasty salad ingredient.
3:08 PM PDT, August 4, 2008
Alleged pickup thief loses truck to carjacker
A pickup truck thief lost his purloined Chevy Silverado to an armed carjacker during a 7-Eleven stop. Police Cmdr. Kelly McMillin said "you couldn't make up something stranger than this."
2:48 PM PDT, July 30, 2008
Golden retriever adopts tiger cubs at Kansas zoo
A dog at a southeast Kansas zoo has adopted three tiger cubs abandoned by their mother. Safari Zoological Park owner Tom Harvey said the tiger cubs were born Sunday, but the mother had problems with them.
1:56 PM PDT, July 31, 2008
Alleged thief stuck under trash bin for 12 hours
A suspected thief trying to steal $10 worth of copper got himself into a stinky situation when he was trapped under a trash bin at a county landfill for 12 hours, sheriff's deputies said.
4:00 PM PDT, July 17, 2008
Flush with frustration, Seattle sells 5 of its public toilets on eBay for $89,000 each
Seattle's five problem-plagued public toilets could be yours if you're flush.
7:45 AM PDT, July 16, 2008
Man wore 'World's Greatest Dad' shirt while planning sex with minor
A 33-year-old Michigan man is accused of wearing a "World's Greatest Dad" shirt to a meeting for sex with what he thought was a 14-year-old girl.
7:43 AM PDT, July 16, 2008
Wis. woman accused of placing dead rat in restaurant food, demanding $500,000 in hush money
A woman accused of planting a dead lab rat in restaurant food and demanding $500,000 to keep quiet was charged Monday with one felony count of extortion. Debbie R. Miller, 41, of Appleton, also faces misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct and resisting an officer.Miller claimed to find the rat in her lunch April 17 as she ate at the upscale Seasons Restaurant in Grand Chute, according to the criminal complaint.
3:10 PM PDT, July 12, 2008
Fake bouts showing men kissing draw suspicion
Crowds in Arkansas came for the lure of cage fighting and $1 beer, but police say what they got instead was men ripping each others' clothes off and kissing -- a stunt suspected of being orchestrated by Sacha Baron Cohen of "Borat" fame.
1:00 PM PDT, July 8, 2008
Nevada brothel offers customers gas rebate
A Nevada brothel is trying to stimulate business by offering free gasoline.
10:37 AM PDT, July 9, 2008
Naked man arrested after hijacking Las Vegas bus
Maybe he lost his shirt at a casino. Police in Las Vegas say they arrested a naked man who stole a beer and then hijacked a bus several miles northeast of the Strip.
Desk rage spoils workplace for many Americans
Get out of the way, road rage. Here comes desk rage.
BLOG: Jennifer Lopez hit with lawsuit over dog-bite incident
A flight attendant claims Lopez's guard dog chomped her leg on a plane trip almost two years ago, and now she wants to take a $5-million bite out of the singer's pocketbook.
2:09 PM PDT, June 27, 2008
Single mom selling Fla. home and heart on Internet
She's tried night clubs and online dating sites, but now a 42-year-old single mother is looking for love where everyone else's heart is breaking - the real estate market.
11:52 AM PDT, June 23, 2008
Ugliest dog: 3 legs, 1 eye, no hair, all winner
Gus the dog has three legs, one eye and no hair, except for a white tuft on the top of his head. He's a real winner.
10:38 AM PDT, June 23, 2008
NC 'Big twins' tip scales at a combined 23 pounds
They aren't America's heaviest newborn twins on record, but they certainly tip the scales: Sean William Maynard and Abigail Rose Maynard weighed in at a combined 23 pounds and 1 ounce at birth this week, a North Carolina hospital announced Friday.
9:31 AM PDT, June 23, 2008
Ex-cook pleads guilty to putting hair in steak
A former restaurant cook has pleaded guilty to a food-tampering charge alleging he inserted hairs in a steak before giving it to a dissatisfied customer. Ryan Kropp, 24, of West Bend, was fired along with another cook after the incident Feb. 23 at the Texas Roadhouse restaurant.
1:20 PM PDT, June 19, 2008
Russian spa opens monument to the enema
A monument to the enema, a procedure many people would rather not think about, has been unveiled at a spa in the southern Russian city of Zheleznovodsk. The bronze syringe bulb, which weighs 800 pounds and is held by three angels, was unveiled at the Mashuk-Akva Term spa, the spa's director said Thursday.
1:15 PM PDT, June 19, 2008
Norway arrests woman for carrying cocaine in wig
A British woman's bulging wig did not fool customs agents in Norway who realized she wasn't just having a bad hair day. The wig was concealing 2.2 pounds of cocaine glued to her head and customs agents detained her on suspicion of cocaine smuggling, authorities said Wednesday.
1:06 PM PDT, June 19, 2008
Thief breaks into donation box, steals fake money
A thief bashed the plastic glass to get to the $1, $5, $10 and $20 bills inside the Drop-A-Note donation box in the Kentucky Theatre's lobby. But all they probably got were fistfuls of worthless paper, fake bills layered inside to hide the real cash.
June 20, 2008
Canadian officials say 6th foot a hoax
VANCOUVER, Canada -- British Columbia's coroner's office is calling the discovery of a sixth floating human foot a hoax, saying it was really an animal paw stuffed inside a running shoe.
3:13 PM PDT, June 18, 2008
100 Philippine students run naked at university
Members of a fraternity at the University of the Philippines held their annual ritual of running naked on campus six months early today - by official request - to celebrate the state-run school's centennial anniversary. Hundreds of cheering students lined the main campus avenue, jostling for positions with their digital and cell phone cameras.
June 17, 2008
New Zealand cafe serves dishwashing liquid
The owner of a New Zealand cafe that mistakenly served dishwashing liquid as mulled wine has been fined for causing emotional harm to two women, court officials said Monday.
9:41 AM PDT, June 16, 2008
Feds say man wore diaper full of heroin
Frank Keys Jr. faces up to 40 years in prison after he was found cruising down the highway with more than 200 grams of heroin in the diaper he was wearing, federal officials said.
12:08 PM PDT, June 16, 2008
Italian kidnaps ex-girlfriend to get ironing done
An Italian man was arrested on suspicion of kidnapping his ex-girlfriend from a pub, taking her home and forcing her to iron his clothes and wash the dishes, police said on Monday.
3:58 PM PDT, June 12, 2008
700-pound Mexican man hopes to stand for wedding
Manuel Uribe, who once weighed a half ton but has slimmed down to about 700 pounds, celebrates his 43rd birthday on Wednesday with a simple wish for the coming year: to be able to stand on his own two feet to get married.
4:25 PM PDT, June 11, 2008
'Unicorn' deer is found in Italian nature preserve
A deer with a single horn in the center of its head -- much like the fabled, mythical unicorn -- has been spotted in a nature preserve in Italy, park officials said Wednesday.
June 11, 2008
Nail-in-skull survivor: 'It never really hurt'
George Chandler says he didn't know a 2 1/2-inch nail was driven into his skull until his buddy spotted it stuck through his cap.
12:06 PM PDT, June 6, 2008
Pa. crews rescue nude man stuck in portable potty
Rescue crews had to cut apart a portable toilet to rescue a man who got stuck naked inside the potty. Authorities say the 31-year-old man used his cell phone to call 911 on Sunday from inside a portable toilet.
June 4, 2008
Man orders father murdered to get his job
An Indian man, frustrated at failing to find employment, ordered the murder of his father to get his government job, a day before the victim was to retire, police said on Tuesday.
11:44 AM PDT, May 24, 2008
German authorities take baby from parents who posted ad on eBay offering to sell him
Authorities in southern Germany said Saturday they have taken custody of a 7-month-old boy after his parents posted an ad on eBay offering to sell him for one euro, the equivalent of $1.57.
May 21, 2008
Romp in woods ends in charges for airline workers
A pilot's nighttime romp in the woods with a flight attendant has ended with both suspended and under arrest, police said.
Lost parrot tells vet his home address
TOKYO - When Yosuke the parrot flew out of his cage and got lost, he did exactly what he had been taught -- recite his name and address to a stranger willing to help.
May 13, 2008
Texas teens tell police they converted skull into bong
Three teenagers were arrested after two of them told police they dug up a secluded grave north of Houston, removed the skull from the coffin and converted it into a marijuana bong.
May 13, 2008
'Darth Vader' spared jail in Jedi church attacks
A man who dressed up as Darth Vader, wearing a garbage bag for a cape, and assaulted the founders of a group calling itself the Jedi church was given a suspended sentence Tuesday.
3:31 PM PDT, May 27, 2008
Twins who were separated at birth sue for damages
Spanish twins who were separated at birth through a hospital error - then reunited as adults through a fluke - are suing for millions in damages, as is a third woman who grew up thinking, erroneously, that she was one of the twins, a lawyer said Tuesday.
Minor leaguer traded for 10 baseball bats in Texas
During three years in the low minors, John Odom never really made a name for himself until he got traded for a bunch of bats.
May 22, 2008
Pilots run out of fuel, pray, land near Jesus sign
It seemed like an almost literal answer to their prayers. When two New Zealand pilots ran out of fuel in a microlight airplane they offered prayers and were able to make an emergency landing in a field - coming to rest right next to a sign reading, "Jesus is Lord."
October 17, 2007
Anatomically correct chocolate Jesus sculpture returns to NYC
"My Sweet Lord," an anatomically correct milk chocolate sculpture of Jesus Christ that infuriated Catholics before its April unveiling was canceled, returns Oct. 27 to a Chelsea art gallery, its creator said Tuesday.
October 11, 2007
Condom experts told that size matters
As the world's top condom experts convene this week to update international standards, one American entrepreneur has a simple message: Size matters. It's shaking up an industry that has generally taken a one-size-fits-all approach.
6:45 PM PDT, October 3, 2007
Mooning activist linked to older crime
Mooning a police officer was community activist Steven Lee Myrick's undoing. Myrick, 41, was convicted by a jury Tuesday of raping a Hawthorne woman during a burglary seven years ago.
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